Okay. I just wanna apologize for the long wait first of all! I'm very sorry about that! Please forgive me! Now, I would like to thank all of you who review last time: thank you to FlowerChild17 and Sarah. -_- Seriously people? Two reviews, TWO? Looks like we need to work on our reviewing skills! Now after ya read this chapter, REVIEW. Please!
Stella stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. In the foggy glass she saw a small window behind her. Maybe I could just crawl out through there? she thought to herself. She couldn't bear the thought of having to go back to that table. Embarrassment enveloped her because of the way she had treated Ringo. But it wasn't because she didn't like him; it was because she hadn't told Grace about their kiss yet. Ugh, Grace . . . She was going to be angry with Stella for that.
Well, can't stay in here forever. . . Stella thought as she looked at her reflection one last time. She walked out of the bathroom just in time to be ridiculed by John and Paul. She gave them a bored expression as she sat down next to Ringo. It made her nervous how his sparkling blue eyes watched every move she made. She ignored his gaze by watching her ice cream slowly melt in front of her. However, she could still hear the George and Grace's conversation.
"George, aren't you sweating? I mean you are wearing a scarf in Florida . . ." Grace trailed off her interruption of George eating.
"I am but I can't take the scarf off 'cause everyone will know who I am," he pulled at the sides of the dark scarf for emphasis on it being hot in the room.
"You're sweatin'? Me skin's too sensitive for this much heat!" Ringo complained while John laughed at him.
"Rings 'as sensitive skin!" John threw his head back and laughed loudly for everyone to hear.
Stella suddenly became protective of the drummer. She didn't like how the rhythm guitarist had insulted Ringo.
"Don't make fun of him!" Stella scolded John and he stuck his tongue out. Ringo turned to the girl on his left.
"It's alright Stella, I don't mind it" he smiled goofily.
"He's like you Stella! Everyone picks on you," Grace laughed at her friend who crossed her arms and pouted. Stella leaned back in her chair and started spinning again.
"That's not true . . ." she mumbled and Grace laughed again.
"You know it's true!" Stella pouted more while Grace turned away from the conversation.
Ringo turned to the saddened girl. "She was only jokin' ya know," he said taking her hand in his.
Stella looked up to meet his eyes. "I know. . ." she sighed.
"Besides, me mates pick on me all the time and look at me," he said grinning.
"Yeah, you seem pretty happy!" she giggled as he squeezed her hand reassuringly.
They stayed like that for a second, smiling at each other and holding hands. Stella glanced over at Grace and George struggling to talk to each other with John between them. She chuckled at the sight. Ringo saw this and looked in the same direction as her.
"They really like each othah, huh?" Ringo said turning back to look at Stella.
"Yeah," was all she could think to say. He looked so serious all of a sudden.
"I guess one kiss can do that, ya know," he said quietly and began leaning closer to her.
Stella prepared for what was about to happen; their first public display of affection. However, to Stella's relief, John distracted Ringo. His groan from having to move seats could be heard throughout the diner.
Thank God for John's bad attitude! Stella thought to herself.
Ringo leaned back in his seat, looking disappointed because their moment had passed. He began spinning slowly in his chair again. Stella felt bad, but she really wasn't ready for that. She liked Ringo, liked him a lot, but something was holding her back. . .
She thought about this as John tried to get the waitresses attention, but failed.
"Pardon miss," Paul called to the waitress for John. She strode over to the six sitting at the booth with a pad of paper and a pen in her hand. She seemed young, probably around the same age as Grace and Stella. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders which caught John and Paul's eye.
"How may I help you?" the waitress asked with a forced smile and an act of cheeriness. John smiled flirtatiously at her.
"Can I order some ice cream?" he scratched his chin under the fake beard as the waitress continued her act of happiness.
"Sure! What would you like, sir?" She twirled the pen in her hand through her yellow hair as she waited for John's answer.
"Whatevah Gracey had ordered earlier," the waitress lifted the bill that was set in front of Stella to see the said order.
"Okay, sure!" the waitress smiled and started to walk away but changed her mind. She turned around again and looked at John and Paul. "Pardon me sir," she was talking more to John than Paul. "but you're accent is . . . different and strangely familiar. Where are you and your friends from exactly?"
"We're from um uh" Paul had taken the conversation in hopes of earning this waitress as his own. Unfortunately, he failed miserably at steering the conversation away from their heritage.
Stella looked nervously at Ringo. He looked calm, but prepared for what could possibly happen.
"Wait!" the waitress's eyes widened as the realization struck her to who these strangers were. "You're the Beatles!" The group's eyes widened and there was a moment of silence as the waitress was star struck. John was the one to speak.
"Well," he stood up and took out a wad of cash. "I think it's probably time tah go, don't ya think so Paulie?" Paul nodded his head and the whole room turned into a riot.
People started running towards them in complete chaos. Ringo tightened his grip on Stella's hand and ran out of the diner as fast as he could, dragging the small girl behind him. For the short boy that he was, Ringo could run pretty fast. It was hard for Stella to keep up with him. Good thing he's holding my hand!
As they rounded a corner, Stella spotted her uncle's record store. She pointed to it and yelled, "There!"
Ringo nodded in agreement with her as they sprinted up to the old building. They rushed inside before the screaming mob came running around the corner and saw them. The bell above the door jingled as they crashed through the door panting like dogs. Ringo leaned against the door trying to catch his breath. Stella giggled at the frazzled drummer. His teased hair had been flattened from the wind and his beard and moustache were lop-sided.
Ringo gave her a puzzled look for a second, but then heard the footsteps of the crowd coming. He grabbed Stella by the shoulders, guided her behind a counter of records and ducked down with her. He held his finger up to his lips as if to tell her to be quiet. She rolled her eyes at him as she reached for his face.
"This might hurt a little," she whispered, following his orders to be silent.
He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but relaxed when he felt her finger tips on his cheek. Stella suddenly felt self conscience when she realized Ringo was watching her. She had felt confident a minute ago, but as soon as those clear blue eyes fell on her, she lost it.
Her fingers fumbled around searching for the edge of the fake beard until Ringo's hand covered hers. He directed her to the spot where the beard ended. Stella smiled shyly as she gently pulled the hair piece off his face. The drummer winced a few times, pretending he was in real pain. Stella playfully pushed his shoulder, but laughed at his joke.
"There we go!" Stella said enthusiastically of Ringo. "As good as new!"
He almost looked like himself again. Except for his hair. It wasn't quite as flat as it normally was, but it would have to do.
"Aw, ya didn't like me disguise?" Ringo asked acting hurt.
"Nah, you look better without a beard," Stella answered playing along. "Although . . . I kinda liked the moustache," she admitted quietly. She looked down at the brand new rug trying to hide her blushing cheeks.
She and Ringo were still crouching behind the counter in front of the window even though the throng of crazed fans had passed them a few minutes ago. Stella felt uncomfortable. She could feel the drummer's eyes on her again. She quickly rose to her feet.
"We should, uh probably leave. . ." she suggested not making eye contact with the slightly taller boy.
"Okay. But I'm not going back tah that grotty 'otel!" Ringo exclaimed loudly.
Stella broke out into a fit of giggles. The goofy Beatle gave her a small smile. He enjoyed making others happy. But he especially enjoyed making this slightly younger girl laugh. To Ringo Starr, there was just something different about this Stella.
"What're ya laughing at?" he asked opening the door for her.
"What you said! 'Grotty.' What does that mean?" Stella asked looking back at Ringo as she left the record store.
"Oh," Ringo chuckled following behind her. "It means 'grotesque'!"
"Oooohhh," Stella laughed nervously and looked away from the drummer to hide her blushing cheeks. She felt as though she should have known what this word meant. Once her blushes faded, she turned back to Ringo and said sadly, "You have to go back to the hotel."
"No," Ringo groaned the word in the back of his throat and stopped walking. "I don't wanna go back." Stella looked back at him. He was serious about not going anywhere.
"People are going to know who you are, Ringo! You don't have a disguise anymore!" Stella knitted her eyebrows together. She didn't want him to leave either but without his disguise, he couldn't go anywhere.
"Well," Ringo looked down at his shoes sadly "Why can't I go tah yer 'ouse?" he looked up hopefully at the shorter girl. She thought for a moment before responding to his request. How would her mother feel if she came home to see a famous musician in her house? She wouldn't be home when Stella got there but what if Ringo stayed long enough for them to meet? Stella had made her decision.
"I guess you could come," Stella said with a smile. The goofy drummer jumped for joy at this.
"My house isn't too far. It's about a mile from here," she informed him.
As they walked to Stella's house, the two got to know each other a little better. Ringo was extremely curious as to know why Stella pretended not to like The Beatles. She explained how she didn't like to go along with the crowd. Yet, she admitted that she couldn't help loving the band. Another topic that weighed on the boy's mind was her taste in music. They soon discovered that they both liked the same genre of music; mostly '50s and some country.
In return, Stella asked Ringo everything she wanted to know about him. Especially about how he got his name. She adored his name, Ringo Starr. It was so different, so unique, so memorable. He told her about his band before The Beatles, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes. Since the band had a country western feel to it, Ringo decided to change his name to go along with it. He chose "Ringo" because of his love of wearing rings and simply shorted his last name, Starkey to "Starr."
"So your real name's Richard Starkey?" Stella asked.
"Yeah, sometimes me mates call me 'Richie'," he replied.
"Oh."
"Whut?" Ringo asked her.
"Nothing," she answered simply.
"No, whut? Ya don't like et?" he asked poking her side.
Stella yelped at his touch, but giggled immediately afterward. Ringo grinned evilly and proceeded to poke her again.
"Will you stop that!" the laughing girl begged smiling up at him.
"If ya answer me question, I will!" Ringo exclaimed chuckling.
"Fine!" Stella stuck out her tongue playfully at the mop headed boy. "I do like your name! But . . . it's a little too formal for you!" she tapped his nose with her index finger as she said the last part.
Ringo gazed down at her with a small smile playing on his lips. Stella stared back at him, losing herself in his clear blue eyes. They were like the ocean and she was at the mercy of their unpredictable ways. Yet, this ocean never drowned her; it was always calm and serene and never hurt her.
Stella suddenly felt the need to be closer to those beautiful eyes. And those lips. Rising on her tippy toes, she lifted her hand up to run it through Ringo's hair. The musician stepped closer to her and placed his hand on the small of her back. He let his other hand rest on her shoulder for a second and then travel down to her elbow. They continued to stare at each other for a minute with their noses barely touching before letting their lips close the distance between them.
Stella rested her hand on the back of Ringo's neck as they continued kissing. She could feel his hand pressing against her back, forcing their bodies to touch along with their lips. When they finally calmed down and pulled apart, Stella was in a daze. She looked away from the Beatle who she had just been kissing. Well . . . kissing was putting it mildly. Fortunately, they were on a street that wasn't very busy so maybe no one saw them.
Still not sure of what had just happened, Stella continued walking toward her house. She avoided looking at Ringo because of her crimson face. However, she felt his fingers lace around hers as they made their way down the street.
Once in front of her house, Ringo stopped walking. Stella turned around and looked at him with concern.
"Change your mind or something?" she asked still holding his hand.
"No. . ." he answered awkwardly looking down at the ground. "I just. . .wanted tah say that I'm really glad ya met John at that record store." He gave Stella a shy smile.
"Me too," she agreed kissing his cheek.
After that, she turned around and led him by the hand into her house. But not before asking him if he had any allergies to pets.
So, what'd ya think? Here's a thought: Tell me in a review! Please!
Oh, and I'd like to thank Obscure Séance Rita for pushing me to finish this chapter! You guys can thank her too in a review! Till next time! XOXOXO