A/N: Okay, just a couple of things... Thanks for the apology from the reviewer. (: I was just a bit appalled lol so don't worry about me being mad anymore. I've never gotten bad feedback before, so in a way you've kinda helped me through a challenge. Thank you!
Second, I'm sorry for taking forever to update. This chapter is HECKA long and took me ages to write because I couldn't let it end so soon. Personally, I think its a bit rough and I was too lazy and excited to read through it thoroughly 10 times like I usually do before posting. (yes... 10 times... xD)
Oh and don't worry, Loretta doesn't need to be taken care of. Georgie's old enough to handle her. (; He's gettin' a new gal soon anyway... (surprise surprise!)
John... hm.. I'm sorry, guys, but Kay and him go at it AGAIN towards the end. It HAD to happen, sadly. But thanks to Ringo and Flower wth the whole terrible Mod outfit thing that's gonna happen next chapter, I think Flower's gonna be Johnny's new best friend. lol (Phoenix, in real life, read the chapter when John got coffee all over him and thought he hated her for trying to help, so I had to reassure her that he doesn't with this..)
PAul! lovelovelove! God, what if he found this... lol Um, I'm sorry for writing so much about him and Kay. The story was INTENDED to focus on Ringo and Phoe, but since Phoenix is like my best friend, I found it incredibly awkward to write lovey scenes for them. That's why I designed their special relationship to be childish and adorably sweet. :D So I'm sorry if reading too much Paul and Kay is too much for some of you out there. lololololol
Enjoy and REVIEW or I'm sendin' the Nowhere Man on you! ;D
Kay
DISCLAIMER: PSh, if I owned these guys, I wouldn't be wasting my life writing about them. Just wait till I get a damn time machine... heheheh ;D
Ch 10
All You Need is Love
Liverpool, 1965
Meanwhile…
"I love fish and chips." Ringo licks his lips hungrily and starts to devour one of his favorite snacks. He and the girls are walking their way back to their apartment and had just stopped at a local fish and chips stand to get some lunch.
"This makes the American stuff look like rubbish." Kaila agrees, stuffing her face while carefully balancing shopping bags on her arms. Together, she and Phoenix have a total of twenty bags full of groovy attire.
"Will you guys stop?" Flower whines. "I'm a freaking vegetarian! Quit rubbing it in!" she pouts, looking at her cheese sandwich grumpily. She feels left out.
"You can always come back to the world of meat lovers, Flower dear." Ringo teases, kissing her hair lovingly. "Till then, we'll remind you of what you're missing." He winks.
Phoenix smiles and rolls her eyes. "Whatever, at least I'm trying to save the animals instead of helping to kill them off." She says.
"Oh stop! Just eat your damn sandwich and quit tryin' to condemn us of our eating habits." Kaila scolds jokingly. "Say, Ringo, where are we exactly?" she asks, not being too familiar with the area.
"Penny Lane." Ringo answers with a shrug. Kaila and Phoenix look at each other with excited eyes and big smiles. They mouth Oh my gosh! Penny freaking Lane! Ringo, who is in the middle, looks at them with a confused grin. "Something funny?" he asks, not sure if he should be playing along or not.
"We're just super happy to, um, be here with you guys!" Kaila attempts to cover up their fan-girl moment. "You don't know how gear it is for us." She laughs nervously.
"Yeah, you guys are amazing for letting us stay with you until we go home." Phoenix adds in with a wide smile.
"Go home?" Ringo turns sad then and looks down at his Flower with a frown. "You- You're not gonna stay with me?" he asks with disappointment. Not another one…
"No! No, we're staying!" Kaila reassures quickly, glaring at her friend. What the hell is wrong with you? Her eyes say. "Flower just means that until John gets fed up with me and kicks us out!" she tries to sound convincing.
"Yeah, exactly!" Phoenix backs up quickly, smiling up at Ringo. "I'm not going anywhere!" she kisses him. Kaila nods approvingly. She can't stand the thought of leaving now. Not when she and Flower have just won the hearts of two of the greatest musicians of all time. She's planning on staying until the end, the present.
"Paul won't let that happen, Kay; I promise." Ringo winks. Putting an arm around each of the girls' shoulders, he happily walks them on down another corner with a happy grin on his face. He gets to keep his bird after all.
"Had your fun, then?" Paul asks grudgingly as John Lennon finally walks out of the bathroom with a navy robe on and a white towel around his neck. He notices that the man's skin isn't even wrinkled from the water. "How did you- ?"
"I'm just that good." John explains smugly, walking into his room and sniffing the air. "Why the hell does it smell like effing flowers in my room?" he wrinkles his nose with disgust. "Bunch of girls," he mutters, shaking his head irritably.
George walks up behind Paul, laughing. "Wow, took 'im long enough." He says. "Better make sure he didn't leave a mess…" They make their way into the bathroom and find a terrible surprise waiting for them.
"DAMMIT, JOHN!" they shout angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you!"
The bathroom is completely soaked and full of bath bubbles. Suds cover the lou, sink and counter and overflow from the tub. John's submarine collection of all different colors, the yellow one being his favorite, litters the bubbly floor.
This is no longer a bathroom, but a wonderland of submarines out to sea in an octopus' bubbly garden.
"There's no way I'm cleaning this!" Paul wails, pulling at his hair in distress. "Oh, Kay's gonna have a cow when she gets home!"
"Looks like you're already having one for her." George remarks quietly, shaking his head with regret at the mess.
"I'm gonna kill him!" Paul roars. "This is just too much!" he starts to head out of the door, but George stops him.
"It's what he wants, Paul. Don't give him the satisfaction." He says wisely.
"I can't take it any longer, Harrison! He's drivin' me mad here!"
"Am I? Then my scheme's workin' just the way I want it." John intrudes happily, observing his friends in the hall, still in his bathrobe.
Without a word, Paul forces himself to pass his arse of a friend and continues his way silently to the kitchen. George follows and rolls his eyes at John. "You're makin' him into a diva, y'know." He scolds.
"Ain't it great?" John smiles smugly.
"Yeah, Kay'll just love it." George bites back sarcastically.
"Exactly," John whispers loudly, snapping his fingers as he walks back to his room. George sighs and catches up with his friend in the kitchen. What a day he's been having so far: making the decision to break off his and Loretta's relationship, dealing with a vengeful John, cleaning and now comforting a high strung Paul.
"So, are you seriously gonna cut our hair?" Kaila asks Ringo anxiously, hoping he was kidding earlier before.
"Aye, I am!" Ringo answers happily, skipping down the hall towards their apartment door. "I can't wait to see what the fellas did with the place!" he jumps around in circles, waiting for girls to catch up.
"He's so cute!" Flower marvels with a giggle. "I love how he can be childish about almost everything!"
"Let's just hope he's not when it comes to people's hair and scissors…" Kaila says worriedly, biting her lip.
They all walk inside and find the back of John's head and the sofa. He's watching some British comedy on the telly and laughs at a joke they had just missed.
"Where's everyone?" Ringo asks, dumping his load of the girls' clothes next to the coat rack tree. Phoenix and Kaila do the same and begin taking off their coats.
"The bathroom." Answers John with a chuckle, looking back at them, "Hey there, princess," he greets Kaila with a wry smile. "How goes it, fire bird?" he nods at Phoenix happily.
Phoenix grins, "Howdy, John!" she walks on over and plops down on the sofa next to him. Simultaneously, they both recline their feet on the glass coffee table, smiles plastered on their faces.
Ringo laughs, "Aw, look my best mate is bonding with my girl! How sweet!" he nudges Kay. "Let's go see what the other two are doing. In the bathroom you say?" he asks John.
Lennon waves him away without looking away from the telly. "Yeah, yeah,"
He answers lazily.
"Have fun," Phoenix says just as vaguely.
Ringo and Kaila walk down the hall while John turns to Flower. "You're not so bad, y'know." He says with a grin.
"I know," Phoenix says indifferently, like it was an obvious observation. "You owe me and Ringo big time, by the way."
"Why's that?" John asks curiously.
"You'll see." She answers, not wanting to give away the surprise. Oh boy was he going to love her for this…
"Hello, hello!" Ringo calls brightly, knocking on the bathroom door. "Anyone in?" he asks.
"Don't open it!" two voices, sounding a bit frustrated, emit from inside.
"What the hell are you doing in there together?" Kaila asks suspiciously. "We're comin' in, like it or not!" she shouts defiantly.
"Better not get suds all over the hall carpet!" This is George.
"Yeah, love, make sure Ringo doesn't get too excited!" That's Paul.
Kaila looks at Ringo, confused, but they both shrug and proceed to open the door. "Oh my," she gasps, observing the mess.
"BUBBLES!" Ringo cries hysterically, wanting so much to jump in dog-pile style like it was a bundle of raked leaves on a fall afternoon. He jumps in place impatiently. "Aw, can't I, Kay?" he begs childishly with a pout.
"NO." the other three says at once.
"We've been trying to clear this all up for the past hour!" Paul whines, looking at Kaila for sympathy.
"Yeah, Johnny did this for revenge for that damn coffee stunt you pulled this morning!" George throws an accusing glare at the girl.
"None of that would have happened if he didn't get himself wasted last night!" Kay defends herself, crossing her arms.
"You know you would have found a reason to do it all the same." Ringo smiles teasingly.
"That, my friend, is most likely true." Kay admits with a sly grin, "but I'm still not to blame for his bloody actions, now, am I? I wouldn't have lost my temper if he didn't insult me when I was right there in the room." She says bitterly.
"John always insults you." George contradicts.
"And you're always in the room when he does it." Paul admits with an apologetic half-smile.
"WHATEVER!" Kaila shouts irritably. "I'm not the one who threw a freaking beach party in the bath- Are those submarines?" she asks incredulously, forgetting her speech. She's spotted the collection in the tub.
"Yeah, John likes to play with them in the bath." Paul explains with a grin.
Remembering A Hard Day's Night, Kaila laughs uncontrollably. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! JOHNNY PLAYS WITH BATH TOYS!" she skips out of the room, leaving the boys to continue cleaning the mess and makes her way happily back to the parlor.
"What're you squealing about now?" Phoenix asks impatiently, trying to watch the program on the telly. This is so cool… Vintage T.V shows…
Kaila ignores her, "Johnny-boy!" she bursts happily to a very wide eyed John.
"…Kaila-bird?" He answers unsurely. What's she gonna do now? Pour bath water on me? Knew I should have drained the tub…
"Do you want to know a secret?" she begins singing. George, Paul and Ringo appear then, surveying the scene curiously. "WELL?" she asks when John looks at her like she's on something not related to tea.
"Um… yeah?" he answers, not believing what he's seeing right now.
"Do you promise not to tell!"
John nods slowly. Ringo and the others attempt to stifle oncoming giggles. Phoenix shakes her head, knowing what's coming from past experience…
"WHOOOOA! Closer! Let me whisper in your ear! Ha, fat chance." She adds. "Say the words you long to hear! JOHNNY PLAYS WITH TOYS! OOOOOH!" Kaila finishes the, erm, awkward song and takes a low bow in front of a very silent Phoenix and a very wide-eyed John. George, Ringo and Paul laugh hysterically.
"…What the hell was that exactly?" he finally says, almost speechless.
"Probably the best performance in my career. Great cover don't ya think?" Kaila answers proudly.
"Here, here!" Paul shouts with enthusiasm.
"Who would hire you as a performer?" John asks incredulously, "You're terrible! Harrison doesn't sing it like that!"
"Hey, hey!" Kaila raises a warning brow. "You haven't heard nothin' yet, sweetheart. That was just my killer voice meant to murder your hearin'." She explains happily.
"Well it certainly did its effing job." John mutters. "Now move!" he shouts, "You're in me and Flower's way of the telly!"
Phoenix shakes her head with a blushing face. "Why did you have to do that with me here?" she moans. "You're an embarrassment every time something actually cool happens to us!"
Kaila smiles, "What're friends for, Phoe?" she walks over to the huge pile of bags near the door behind the couch. "I'm puttin' these away since somebody is too busy hangin' round a killjoy over here." Gathering up the mound in her arms, she begins to head for George's old room, now belonging to herself and Phoenix.
"I'll help you, doll." Paul offers sweetly. "Ringo, help George with the mess in the lou, will ya?" he adds quickly.
George rolls his eyes, "He's just gonna play around in the suds…" he mutters with annoyance. "C'mon, big nose." He leads Ringo by the sleeve after Paul and Kay down the hall to the bathroom.
Ringo giggles, "Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!" he sings.
Hours later, Kaila squirms out of Ringo's grasp as he attempts to drag her out into the living room. "NO! I DON'T WANT THEM TO SEE ME LIKE THIS!" she screams.
"You look fab, Kay!" Ringo insists for the hundredth time. "Really, I should know."
"When I say I wanted a trim, I didn't actually mean ALL of my damn hair to be hacked off, Richard!" she snarls bitterly, shoving him away and stopping near the living room entrance. Might as well get this over with…
"I thought you needed the extra layers!" Ringo says with shock. How rude!
"Will you stop whining and be grateful!" Phoenix comes out of the bathroom, feeling pampered and refreshed. Her hair is no longer pulled back into a bun, but is cascading around her shoulders, curled into spiraling ringlets. Ringo worked extra hard to make sure it looked good and he thought he succeeded fairly well.
Kaila's hair, however, is a different story. Her dirty blonde hair with crimson highlights is no longer flowing past her shoulders freely, but is cut and layered with the back cropped and the sides going slightly past her chin. Her bangs, formerly fashioned to the left side, now go across her forehead and get in her eyes, which she detests fervidly.
Phoenix skips past her friend into the living room, dragging Ringo along by the hand. "Howdy, everyone!" she greets loudly. George looks up from his guitar picking while John and Paul look up from their many drafts of music. They've been practicing while Ringo was styling away with the girls' hair.
"Oh, hey!" Paul exclaims, pointing at Phoenix. "Someone got a bit of a change-up, yeah?"
Phoenix rolls her eyes, "No shit, Paul." She mutters.
"Don't be rude, Flower." Ringo warns kindly.
She smiles sweetly, "Who, me?"
"Leave her be, Rich," John interferes, "she's only statin' the truth."
Kaila shyly flattens herself against the hallway wall, hoping not to be seen. She's slightly nervous and her rage of confidence is now extinguished.
"I have an idea!" Phoenix says suddenly, getting comfortable with Ringo on the arm chair. "We should go to the Cavern tonight! Kaila and I have always wanted to see it in this time." She hopes that this will give an opportunity for her and Ringo's evil plan of making Kaila look more like a clown with her recently bought attire.
"Sounds gear." John replies. "I need to find a bird for tonight, anyway…"
"Loretta and I are kinda endin' now." George says with a frown. "I don't think I should invite her since I'm already planning on signing off the relationship."
"Meet new friends!" Paul suggests with a wicked grin.
"Yeah, I'll share if you want." John shrugs, organizing the papers of lyrics.
"C'mon, Georgie, it'll be a gas!" Ringo chimes in, ruffling Flower's hair. "And I wanna show my bird off with her new little do and all…" he smiles fondly and kisses her.
"Speaking of which, where's mine?" Paul wonders, looking around. "She still getting done up or somethin'?"
"Nah, she's hiding." Phoenix explains casually. "Go find her so she can feed us dinner." She commands, realizing her sudden appetite.
"Not Italian again…" John mutters, wrinkling his nose.
Paul smiles, "Hide and go-find-Kay!" Kaila hears this and runs for her and Phoenix's room to go hide in their closet.
"Ooh! I wanna play, Paulie! Pick ME!" John jumps off of the couch with sudden excitement.
"Shove off! It's my game, Lennon!" Paul waves him away with annoyance.
"Don't be a blue meanie!" John whines with a nasally voice. He stomps his foot stubbornly and marches to the kitchen door loudly, opening the door while saying, "I'm stealin' a cookie!" with a five-year-old grumpy pout. Paul smiles smugly with satisfaction and makes his way for the hall.
George gets up and stretches, heading over to the coat rack. "I'm gonna break it to Loretta… just to get it over with." He mumbles, shoving his arms through his jacket's sleeves.
"You're breaking it off right before you go out?" Phoenix asks. "Aw, Georgie! Want me and Ringo to come along for support?" she smiles at her friend sadly, wanting so much for him to feel better.
"Yeah, we'll get some ice cream afterwards!" Ringo adds hopefully, putting an arm around his girl.
"I could use a pep talk…" George mutters thoughtfully, "so, yeah, you should. Let's go; we'll steal John's car." He grabs the ring of keys on the hook next to the door frame and goes out into the main hall of the building. Their apartment is on the top floor, which means a lot of stairs because Ringo loves to race.
"I guess they'll know we're gone when they find out." Phoenix shrugs, hopping off of Ringo and taking his hand to lift him up. He leans down and kisses her neatly on the lips before leading her by the hand across the room and out the door.
"READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!" Paul shouts after the apartment door shuts firmly. "Where are ya, honey?" he impersonates an Elvis Presley voice.
Kaila shrinks against the closet's close walls. Usually, she'd be eating up all this attention right off the plate, but considering the present circumstances and outrageous hair, she'd rather not at the moment…
"I'm looking through you! Where did you go?" Paul sings to himself while going through his own room before moving on to the now clean bathroom. He checks behind the shower curtain, the towel closet, under the sink, the lou itself (idiot…) and walks out completely puzzled. Since the other side of the apartment is the kitchen and laundry room (and the parlor, of course) he knows that Kay has to be on this side, where all the rooms are.
"I thought I knew you. What did I know?" he breathes as he searches John's room (of all places). He even checks underneath the bed. Still, she's not found.
"You don't look different, but you've still changed…" Ringo and George's room is done with… So, obviously, she has to be in her and Flower's.
"Come on out, lovely. I miss seein' your pretty face!" Paul calls as he enters through the threshold. Kaila stiffens at the sound of how close his voice is. Go away! She squeezes her eyes shut and waits with a hammering heart.
"You're gonna be fine, Georgie." Ringo reassures sweetly as his friend drives silently through the darkening town of Liverpool. "Just remember to stay calm and be sincere."
"I can't believe this…" George whispers frantically, shaking his head as he turns another corner.
"That you're finally getting rid of a girl you don't like?" Phoenix asks with confusion from the back seat.
"No," says George, "That Ringo is giving advice on birds. It's incredibly unrealistic." He sighs and halts the car at a stop sign.
"I can be helpful relationship-wise!" Ringo defends with a pout. "Can't I, Flower?" he asks hopefully.
Phoenix giggles, "Um, yeah, of course!" she ducks her head to stiffen her laughter. This is just too adorable to bear.
"We're here…" George gulps nervously. "Should I, er, go in alone?" he gazes up at the towering white brick building that is Loretta Martin's home. It looks incredibly intimidating and not at all inviting, but cold and foreboding. An orange light comes from the lower level, the parlor area, and the girl's silhouette is seen through the filmy white curtains. She seems to be lounging on a sofa with a book keeping her company.
"Well, think about it," Flower interrupts George's dreading thoughts, "On a scale for awkwardness of one to ten, how bad do you think it'll be for you if me and Ringo go in while you break up with Loretta?" she tries not to sound too sarcastic.
"What the hell kind of pep talk is that, Flower?" George shoots back.
"I think what she's trying to say," Ringo interferes quickly, "is that we're here for you, but not physically for times like these." He pokes George's chest, right where his heart is. "We'll be with you the whole time in there."
"Yeah, what he said." Flower smiles apologetically. "Sorry," she adds.
"No problem…" George mutters, "Just nervous, y'know?" he takes a deep breath, exhales shakily and opens the car door firmly. "Won't be long." He says as he exits.
"Poor lad…" Ringo sighs sadly and turns back to Flower. "Wanna play a game?" he asks with a sudden brightness.
"I don't understand why you think it looks terrible." Paul shakes his head with disbelief as he smoothes out the short dirty strawberry blonde locks of Kay's hair, surveying its new texture. "It's actually pretty fab, I think." He smiles.
Kaila huffs with a sulky expression. Paul had finally found her curled up in the closet and they are now sitting on her soft blue comforter Indian style, Kay on his lap. "John won't think so…" she mumbles indignantly, fiddling her hands nervously.
McCartney leans close to her ear, "Should his opinion matter?" he asks in a low voice, catching the scent of lavender and tea leaves in her hair.
Kay turns her head to meet his hazel eyes. He looks so tired, but then Kay's noticed that his eyes give his expression that effect. Just looking at them makes her feel trippy and off balance. "I hope you know," she whispers softly, "that I love you, James." her voice is nothing more than a murmur.
Macca rests his forehead on hers, their noses almost touching. They both close their eyes and breathe in silence. He's never felt so at peace before, never been fully at rest and blissful. No other girl did that for him in the past. "Believe me," he finally whispers back. "I'm no longer wondering." His hand finds her face and gently beckons her even closer to have her lips greet his. No fireworks go off, just raining peace.
George walks out of Loretta's house feeling better than before he went in minutes before. He had just explained his thoughts to the girl and she had tearfully bid him to leave without any further comment. The relationship is off; finished. No drama, no complications, just separation.
After settling back into the car, George drives Ringo and Flower to the local ice cream parlor and buys them all a cone with double scoops. Ringo, being Ringo, orders his with chocolate glazed over chocolate ice cream with chocolate cow shaped sprinkles. When he tries to order a glass of chocolate milk on the side, Phoenix kindly reminds him that he can get some back at home and he changes his mind reluctantly.
Phoenix's cone is piled with strawberry ice cream and whipped cream with a smiley face drawn in with sprinkles and a cherry. She had demanded that she was to do it herself to make the face just right for George's money's worth.
George is still working on his melting plain vanilla cone when they all pull into their parking space before their apartment building. After Ringo leads Flower out of the car like a gentleman, George makes sure all the doors are locked and makes his way after the couple into the building. He hopes that tonight's plan of going to the Cavern Club will makes his mood slightly better.
"I KNOW HOW TO MAKE COOKIES, DAMMIT!"
"WELL THE RECIPE DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT BURNING DOWN THE WHOLE DAMN BUILDING, NOW, DOES IT, LENNON!"
"SHOVE OFF, YOU MISERABLE-"
"OH, DON'T EVEN TRY THAT CRAP ON ME!"
This lovely argument is heard fairly well as George walks off the elevator and finds Ringo and Flower fixing their ears to the apartment door. "What's all this?" he asks, licking the last of his ice cream before noisily crunching the cone into his mouth.
"They're at it again…" Ringo mutters with disappointment, noticing his friend's arrival. "We should hurry up and get in to make them sign a peace treaty before it's too late."
"It makes great television." Phoenix comments thoughtfully, nodding her dark haired head. "But it's probably best to save poor Paul from this…"
George shoves in the key and opens the door, chuckling under his breath. What a bunch of misfits he and his friends are sometimes… "Anyone noticed we'd gone?" he calls to an empty living room as he and the other two file in after, sliding off their coats.
"THANK GOD." Kaila shouts from inside the kitchen and storms out to see the arrivals. "I've had it with that idiot!" she screeches. "He ruined my kitchen, Georgie! Flour is everywhere."
"She's right here, actually." Ringo points to Flower and walks on to the kitchen to observe the damage. "What's up with Johnny ruining all the Spring Cleaning today?" he says as the door swings closed behind him. Paul and John are sweeping up the white dusty powder that covers the yellowed square tiles.
"Was only makin' cookies…" John mutters with annoyance. "Ad then she, or shall I say IT-"
"John," Paul warns, shooting a glare.
"…came in to find me accidently setting fire to them in the oven." John finishes, ignoring McCartney's stare. His voice turns high and girly now, "Then she started going off on the mess and how poor Paulie and Harrison worked their arses off all day cleaning like the oh-so-splendid gents that they are to please her!" he rolls his eyes. "Bitch," he mutters.
"Watch it!" Ringo and Paul shout at the same time.
"I call 'em as I see them!" John retorts bitterly, slamming the dust pan down on the floor to sweep up the flour.
"Oh, then she should be allowed to do the same!" Paul fumes angrily. "Hurry up and get this cleaned so you can get ready for the Cavern tonight!" in a rage he storms out of the kitchen, just as Kay had did not too long before.
Ringo shakes his head at John and mutters something about chicken wings as he exits as well. John tries to calm down his temper and get the job done and over with. His brilliant plan of a day full of revenge hasn't been giving him much laughs.
A/N: Oh my gosh. After posting this, I've totally forgotten that everyone already went to the Cavern a couple chapters ago... O.O SNAP!
um... well how about... AW CRAPPPPPP. Let's just have the boys perform there instead, 'kay? Maybe they get a call from Eppy or somethin'... I'll work it out while you lovely people REVIEW.
Kay