A/N: Okay, you've probably all been waiting for this… if you noticed it's absence, that is. Actually no, you probably weren't. You probably didn't even realise that this hasn't happened yet… okay, go ahead and find out what it is… if you haven't figured it out already.
Chapter 17 – And I Love Her
"Kids! Dinner's ready!" Joan called up the stairs. Max came out of his little reverie and trotted out the door, me following suit. We flew down the stairs and into the dining room where Joan and Bob were serving… yes, spaghetti and herb bread. We were right – our senses hadn't failed us! They hadn't gone to too much effort. It wasn't formal or anything, it just seemed like your typical family dinner. Then again, I was no one special. Why should they tizz it up for me? I was wearing pink shorts and a pretty white florally top with my silver sandals. Max was wearing cargo pants and an A Hard Day's Night shirt. Joan was wearing a denim skirt and light pink button up blouse and Bob was wearing denim shorts and a t-shirt – nothing out of the ordinary.
"It smells delicious!" I complimented politely as Max and I sat down across from his parents.
"Why thank you, Sadie," Joan seemed flattered.
"What's in it? Basil, white wine?"
"Yes, how do you know?"
"We could smell it!"
Max inconspicuously kicked my shin, making me jump. Joan looked at me worriedly.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes, fine!" I replied. And with an evil and amused smirk on my face I made a motion with my hand under the table. Max suddenly jumped and wriggled uncomfortably. He scowled at me. I had given him a wedgie without making contact with him – it was great!
"Max?" Joan asked.
"Yep, fine," Max assured her, recovering after I let go.
"Okay, let's dig in!" Bob suddenly exclaimed, impatient from waiting for his food.
"Okay, calm down!" his wife warned him.
The four of us devoured the delicious meal. But about halfway through my bowl I started feeling funny. It felt like my skin was slightly burning up. I sculled my glass of water in attempt to stop the burning sensation. The cutlery and crockery on the table started shaking and my eyes widened in panic. I looked alarmingly at Max, who looked equally as alarmed. He mouthed 'stop it' at me and I worriedly shook my head at him. He looked irritated as he turned his head back to look straight ahead as if nothing was happening.
"What's going on?" Joan was alarmed, "Is it an earthquake, Bob?"
"No, it's not an earthquake," Bob tried calmingly reassuring his wife.
"Then why are the things shaking?"
There was suddenly a loud rumbling of thunder and a strong gust of wind that blew pieces of paper and serviettes around the room. Joan and Bob got up to retrieve the items and close the window as Max and I stared in horror. I gave him a look to say, 'And you're blaming me?' He nodded apologetically in understanding.
"I can't control it!" Max whispered in my ear.
"Me neither!"
"I'm not nervous. Are you nervous?"
"No. I'm… I'm burning up.'
"So am I…"
"We have to be having a reaction to something in the spaghetti."
"That's the only explanation."
"Max, help!" Joan pleaded with her son, trying to close the stubborn window. The wind was too strong. Max just sat there, staring intently at the window.
"Max! I said help!" she yelled.
"I'm trying!" he retorted frustratingly, then said to me, "You try too."
He tried stopping the wind whilst I tried closing the window. Neither worked.
"Our minds aren't strong enough," I theorised to him, "We have to do it by hand motions."
"How?" he asked, panicky, "They'll see us!"
"They won't be watching us!"
We nodded to each other and at the same time raised our hands slightly and made the appropriate motions to try and control our out-of-control powers. Joan was still screaming at her son for assistance but her voice was just a droning sound in the background. I was fully concentrated on closing the window and Max was doing the same thing with his attempt to control the wind. I think I burst a blood vessel straining so hard – our theory about our powers being a muscle must be true, for it certainly felt like I was using an obscure muscle. Eventually, in one big rush, the window finally slammed shut, frightening Joan. The wind calmed down and the thunder stopped. Things in the room that were shaking were now still.
"Max, how come you didn't help me?" Joan wanted to know. She looked at her son disappointedly.
"I told you, I did," he said through gritted teeth.
"No you didn't, you just sat there!"
Max looked at me, not knowing what to say.
"It's called willpower, Mum," he told her spitefully, "You should check your facts before you start accusing people-."
"Don't talk to your mother like that!" Bob reprimanded forcefully.
"And look what you've done, now you've gone and embarrassed yourself in front of your girlfriend," Joan pointed out, motioning to an awkward-feeling me.
Max pushed his chair out and sadly got up to go upstairs. I attempted a weak smile at Joan and Bob before following after him. Once in his room, he started breaking down. I had never seen him like this before. His tough exterior was cracking now.
"I did help, Sadie, I did!" he cried to me.
"I know you did," I calmed.
"She doesn't understand!"
"I'm not embarrassed by you, by the way."
His smile returned.
"Really?"
"Nah, that's why I'm standing here comforting you. I know exactly what happened down there, so I'm on your side a hundred percent. Which is my side as well."
"Thank you," he embraced me.
"You're so cute," I reminded him. I saw the blood rush to his cheeks and we pulled away.
"Now… where do you keep your instruments?"
"In my pants."
My death glare sent him tumbling backwards.
"Okay, okay!" he put his hands up in surrender, "In Abbey Road studios."
"What?"
"Yeah, come on, I'll show you," he got up off the floor and I followed him down the hall. As I went past the stairs I quickly and quietly trotted to the bottom step where I could see the dining room. Luckily no one was there, nor did anyone attempt cleaning up. I didn't want to be rude or lazy so with a wave of my hand all the plates stacked on top of each other. Smiling, satisfied with myself, I turned to go back up the stairs but the sound of plates smashing on the tiles followed by an ear-piercing scream interrupted me. Peering into the kitchen, I found two smashed plates lying on the ground in many pieces and a petrified looking Joan standing there gawking at nothing with her hands covering her mouth.
"What happened?" I asked, rushing into the kitchen.
"She must've seen an ant," Bob laughed, mocking his wife's tendency to be frightened easily.
"Joan?"
She didn't say anything, she just whimpered. Soon Max was behind me, looking at the scene in shock.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Your mother saw an ant," I whispered to him. He made a face that suggested he was not amused by my joke, one that seemed to run in the family.
"Mum, what happened?" he asked his mother. She mumbled something unintelligible as she pointed to the dining room. All three of our gazes followed hers to see what the fuss was about. All we could see were dirty dishes and a stack of… oh my God! She saw! She saw it! That's what frightened her! She saw me stacking the plates and dropped the ones she was holding!
"What is it?" Bob still didn't understand what the fuss was about – neither of us did, except me. And Max would probably figure it out sooner or later. Knowing him, it would be sooner!
"Th-the the plates!" she stuttered as I slowly edged away, trying to get out the other side of the kitchen, "They stacked themselves!"
"Honey, how on earth could they stack themselves?" Bob obviously didn't believe her.
A crack of thunder. I was waiting for it. He turned an absolutely furious gaze on me, making me back away quicker. With my powers I had excellent self-defence, so I was ready.
"I'm sorry Joan, I stacked them," I admitted. Max gave me a panicked 'what the hell are you doing?' look, thinking I was going to reveal the truth.
"I was just trying to be helpful. You mustn't have seen my hands, making it look like they were moving on their own."
I could see Max relax a bit at my cover up.
"See Joan? They weren't moving on their own," Bob told his wife calmly, "You can calm down now."
Max angrily dragged me by my arm upstairs and into his room.
"What the hell was that?" he spun around to ask me.
"I didn't mean to scare your mum!" I apologised.
"Oh, so then what were you doing even using your powers in front of her?"
"I didn't know she was watching! Can't you just let it go?" I was getting frustrated with his interrogation.
"Okay, fine."
"Now, show me your musical instruments."
"Follow me."
He walked out of his room and I followed him down the hall. There was a closed door at the end of the hallway that said 'Abbey Road studios' on it. So that's what he meant. He opened the door for me and motioned gentlemanly for me to go in. The room had Beatles posters all over the walls. There was a desk with an iMac on it, a keyboard, a drum kit, a bass guitar, an acoustic guitar and… a Rickenbacker 325!
"Oh… my… George!" I ran over and picked up the guitar and started strumming random things excitedly.
"You found Johnny," Max smiled, "I was wondering how long it would take you."
"It's the same as John's!"
"I know."
"How on earth could you afford all of this?"
"Gradual presents over the years. Julia here was my first instrument. Got her because I took guitar lessons."
He picked up the acoustic guitar.
"Named after the great song written by John Lennon on which beautiful acoustic finger picking is portrayed," he added, mockingly formal, "This is Starkey, my precious drum set. Got 'em for Christmas when I was eleven. Named after the great Beatle drummer, Mr Richard Starkey. And this is Lady Madonna, my next acquisition," he played a chord on the keyboard, "Twelfth birthday gift – named after the legendary piano lead in said song. You're holding Johnny, my thirteenth birthday present. And this is my latest baby… Lucy!"
He swung the bass into his hands and cradled it like a baby.
"Let me guess… named after the legendary bass line in Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds?"
"Yes!"
"How did I know?" I mumbled to myself.
He set the bass back on its stand and spread his arms wide, indicating the room.
"These are my babies," he introduced, "My prized possessions."
"When your prized possessions start to weigh you down… look in my direction, I'll be round, I'll be round…" I started singing.
"That's not going to happen."
"What's the song called? And what album is it from?" I asked subconsciously, plucking away at Johnny.
"And Your Bird Can Sing and it's from Revolver," he sighed and answered me.
"Yes, good boy."
"And what, you think I wouldn't know? I know everything about them, remember?"
"Me too!"
"Yes…"
"Why don't we start this thing… any time a song plays or someone mentions a song we have to name it and the album it's from, no matter what, okay?"
"Okay. Should be easy. We know them all."
"Ah, but it's who can beat the other one to it, and correctly too."
"Um, okay…"
"I'll keep a tally."
"I bet you will."
"So… show me something."
"Okay."
He picked up his guitar Julia and started to play and sing the song Julia. It was so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. He stopped midway, placing it back on its stand shyly.
"What'd you stop for?" I complained.
"I'm not very good…" he coyly said.
"Are you kidding? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were Lennon himself, with the mop top and all and the perfect replica of one of the most sombre songs!"
"You think so?"
"Yes!"
"If you say so, Sexy Sadie."
I half expected Mum to jump out from behind the drums and make some misinterpreted comment about marriage.
"Let's go outside," Max suggested, taking my hand and pulling me out the door.
"Okay…?"
"It's a beautiful night and I want to show you something."
Max and I were lying under the stars in his backyard with our hands tucked behind our heads.
"Bright are the stars that shine, dark is the sky… I know this love of mine, will never die, And I Love Her," Max sang to me.
I smiled and looked up at the almost half moon that was covered partly by clouds. It had been five days since the last full moon, the one that gave us what we had. I saw Max reach up and, with a wave of his hand, drifted the clouds away so we could see the moon fully. It was amazing.
"Isn't it weird…" I mused, "that that pretty thing up there gave us these incredible powers?"
I pointed to the moon and spoke as if I was high… which I was not.
"I know, right?" he was speaking that way too, "It looks so… serene, like it wouldn't hurt a fly."
"But it hurt me!"
"Yeah," he agreed.
"Yeah," I copied.
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
"Who's your favourite Beatle?" he suddenly asked me. I was taken aback a little, because surprisingly, we never actually talked about The Beatles… we just made song references. We weren't in our 'high' state anymore.
"George," I replied back without a thought.
"Paul," he told me his favourite.
"Why Paul?" I asked.
"He wrote so many good songs… I can relate to some of them. And obviously because he wrote the song that I am named after. Why George?"
"Where do I start? He wrote some of the best songs. He was so cute and adorable, and…" I trailed off, remembering that my boyfriend was lying next to me, "Sorry."
"Now I see why you like me so much," he sounded disappointed, as if his resemblance to George was the reason I loved him.
"Max, that is not the reason I like you. Sure, it's a bonus that you look a little like him, but I like you for who you are! You're sweet and cute and quiet like he is… but at least you don't have a reputation with the ladies! At least I hope. But seriously – wouldn't you be happy that you looked like one of our idols?"
"I guess I am. It's the fact that they're your idols too and you're in a relationship with me."
"Exactly. I'm in a relationship with you, Maxwell Edison, not George Harrison."
"And I'm in a relationship with you, Sadie Parkinson, not Paul McCartney."
I did one of those stupid laughs that sound like I was spitting. Max realised what he had said and laughed along with me. We turned our heads to look at each other and he ended up grabbing me. He rolled me on top of him, surprising me. Where had this come from? We looked into each other's eyes adoringly and I was soon leaning my head closer to him. Our lips crashed softly together and we began making out. Our first kiss! It was magical… more magical than I imagined. Before I knew it, I was going on a Magical Mystery Tour…
A/N: They finally kissed! Awww! And what was with the incident at dinner? And isn't it so adorable with Max's 'babies'?