AN: My first fic, be nice! :D I don't actually believe in PID, but it does make a good idea for a story...
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own the Beatles...
Summary: What if the Paul Is Dead rumors were true?
November 1966
John arrived at the studio, incredibly worried. An hour ago, he had returned home after driving all the way to Paul's house, only to notice that Paul actually wasn't there. After that, Brian had called to ask him to come to the studio immediatly. Normally, John would have told him to leave him alone and not talk about work on his night off, but something in his manager's voice had made him feel that it was indeed very important. So, John had surprisingly agreed to go without a fuss. He was actually hoping to finally see Paul and give him the apology he deserved.
John opened the door of George Martin's office without knocking. He first noticed that the small room was unusually crowded for a simple Beatle meeting. George Martin was sitting behind his desk, smoking in silence. Standing next to him was Brian, with a grim look on his pale face. Ringo was casually pacing, looking extremely confused. Mal and Neil were making small talk by the window, trying to lighten the mood. Derek Taylor, Peter Brown and Tony Barrow were also present.
"Ah, John. Thanks for actually showing up", Brian said with a sad smile.
"Cut it out Eppy. What the fuck's going on?" John asked tactlessly.
Brian flinched.
"This is serious matter, John. We should wait for everyone to be here." He answered in a voice that made it clear that he should not argue.
John sighed and sat down in a chair in front of George Martin's desk. A couple of minutes passed, then George entered the office too.
"Hey guys!" he said brightly. "So, what are we all doing here, then?"
Brian and George Martin exchanged a long look, then the manager sighed and cleared his throat.
"Okay. I think everyone should sit down for this. "
With their eyebrows raised, everyone slowly found a chair and gathered around the desk.
"Wait a minute, Eppy. Paul's not even here yet. Don't you want to wait for him?" Ringo pointed out.
"Ah, no. You see, this actually concerns Paul. " Brian continued with a trembling voice.
"What about him?" John asked loudly. "You're not here to convince us to kick him out of the band, are you?"
"John..." George Martin warned, looking at Brian with a worried expression.
"Look, I know I said his bass playing sucked this afternoon, but come on, who am I kidding? Paul's the best fucking musician there is!" John continued, determined to defend his lover.
"John, nobody is saying anything bad about Paul here, all right?" Brian interrupted in an unusually loud voice. "We all know that Paul is incredible, and..."
He swallowed painfully. John only raised his eyebrows when Brian suddenly let out a small sob.
"Are you all right, Eppy?" Ringo asked, now extremely worried.
Brian opened his mouth to reply, but the poor man just sobbed harder. Then, George Martin said the three words that would change their entire lives forever.
"Paul is dead."
There was a complete silence. John felt like he was punched in the stomach.
"What?" Everyone gasped.
"What do you mean, Paul's dead?" Ringo asked, astounded.
"If it's a joke, I'm telling you right now, it's not funny at all!" George exploded.
"Come on, guys, would we ever joke about something like that?" George Martin said, shocked.
Everyone stopped talking at once, flabbergasted. John just remained sitting in his chair, unmoving and not saying a word. He could feel Brian staring at him.
"What happened?" Neil whispered.
"He had a car accident! After he left the studio, the weather got really bad. He apparently lost control of his car, and he ended up crashing in a tree!" Brian answered in a shaky voice.
John managed to look up, and he looked around the room to look at his fellow Beatles. Both were white as a sheet. Ringo was openly crying, shaking his head in disbelief and despair. George was totally still, a hand in front of his mouth, looking like he was going to be sick.
"What are we going to do, then?" Peter Brown asked in a low voice.
"I think we should think about everything tonight and talk about it in the morning. We're all upset, we need some time to clear our heads." George Martin replied with a sad smile.
"Let's all meet here again at 10 o'clock tommorow. We just called Paul's father and Jane. They will join us then. " Brian managed to say. "Until then, please don't tell anyone that Paul is... gone. It would be very bad for the band if..."
John reacted for the first time at hearing those words.
"Are you fucking KIDDING ME? Paul is fucking DEAD and all you care about is the fucking band? I couldn't care less about the band, WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?"
Mad out of his mind, John stood up and left the office, not forgetting to slam the door behind him. John numbly got out of the studio, and then sat down on the sidewalk. He slowly took his head in his hands.
John felt like the world had stopped. Paul could not be dead. It was ridiculous to even think that. Paul was his friend, his best friend, his lover, his soul mate. Hell, Paul was the fucking most important person in the whole damn world. The one person he truly loved and cared about. After everything John had gone through in his life, it was ridiculous to think that God would be cruel enough to even think about taking Paul away from him. And also, Paul was not stupid enough to get himself killed. After all, Paul had promised him that he would never leave him. He had said he would always be by his side to play music until they were both old and grey. He had promised. And Paul never broke his promises.
"Hey." Someone mumbled behind him.
John slowly looked up. His empty eyes managed to see George and Ringo, both teary-eyed and simply looking awful. George smiled sadly and held out a hand, and John took it. As soon as he was standing in front of his friends, George and Ringo pulled him into a tight hug. For the very first time in their lives, the three men ignored their pride and let the tears fall. Ringo and George could only keep holding John tighter when he starting saying over and over through his tears: "He fucking promised me!"
I think John needs thousands of hugs... :( Please review!
