Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! This has been my most successful story so far! You guys rock!
Don't worry, the story's not over yet! This chapter is sort of a flashback, telling what happened after Lizzy's letter was written.
A couple days earlier…
Lizzy paced back and forth across the small space of floor in Jude's old bedroom, biting the nail on her index finger anxiously. Her brow was knit in indecision, as she cast periodic glances at the bed. The contents of her suitcase had been scattered all over the comforter, put together in a variety of outfits. Everything from jeans and T-shirts to skirts and casual dresses. She had packed an array of styles, not knowing what exactly she would want to wear each day--or what the weather would be like.
Stu, Pam and Brian were picking her up in an less than an hour, and she had not yet made a decision. What does one where to this Cavern Club? she asked herself. Lizzy had been to clubs before, and most of them were like The Glass Onion where the patrons were dressed casually. She figured the Cavern was the same, from the description she'd been given. Brian had told her it was a rock 'n' roll club, so she thought jeans and a T-shirt or something would be okay.
But then she thought it would be weird if she just threw on anything--without putting any thought into it--for her first official outing with her new…friends? She didn't know if they qualified as friends just yet…maybe acquaintances? Either way, she wanted to look nice. Maybe it was because she wanted to make a good impression.
Or, maybe it was partly because she kind of wanted to look good in front of Brian.
Shame on her for thinking that, but her female hormones couldn't deny how attractive he was. Besides, she was single. What could it hurt?
Paul, was her immediate thought.
She shook her head, actively wrestling with her own thoughts. No, Paul wouldn't be angry or upset over this. They weren't dating anymore. If she told Paul right now that she had met someone, he would probably shake his head, saying, "Leave it to you to fall for a British guy.", or something like that.
Paul would be okay with it. He would. She was sure.
The real question at hand was the one she was really denying herself: was she going to be okay with it?
Of course I am, she thought, I'm single, and it's just a crush. It'll be a little vacation fling and nothing more. It's not like I can get attached.
It wasn't her fault that Brian had been flirting back yesterday afternoon, in that gorgeous accent of his. Sometimes, it was hard to even understand what the hell he was saying, but he could talk for hours and Lizzy would listen. Why did she find his foreign dialect so appealing? She had no clue. Maybe she was more like her mother than she'd originally thought.
Thinking of Brian rambling in his accented voice made her grin. Yesterday, as the two of them, Stu, and Pam had been sitting in the coffee shop--the latter two had been in line waiting to order something--he had told her who exactly a Scouser was. He said a Scouser was another name for a native of Liverpool, and it could also be used to describe their dialect. It had originally come from a local food of some kind called scouse. Then, he proceeded to help teach her some of the lingo--random, pointless phrases and words, but nevertheless, it was slang.
"I figure, as long as yer half Scouser, you'll be able to pick it up quickly. I won't be teachin' ya none of the really vulgar stuff, though," he had said. "Now, 'round 'ere, we 'ave a lot of names fer you Yankees. No offense or anything."
"None taken." Lizzy had said.
"'Round 'ere, we'd call ya a corksucker."
Lizzy's eyes grew wide. "Excuse me?"
Brian enjoyed getting a good laugh out of her reaction--a reaction he'd probably intended to cause. "All right, let's try something else."
"Okay."
"Say ya wanna tell someone to 'shut up'," he chuckled again, "You'd say, purra a zipper on it."
Lizzy tilted her head to the side. "Pur a zipper on it? You sound like a cat…purr…a…zipp--"
"Ya have to say it with an accent, Lizzy, 'else it don't sound right." He was clearly amused.
"I can't."
"'Course ya can," Brian assured her. "'aven't ya listened to yer grandmother at all? Try 'n copy her."
Lizzy thought about it for a second, trying to think of both her grandma's and her father's accents.
"I'm waitin'…yer not gonna pass the test…maybe yer not worthy 'o bein' an honorary Scouser after--"
He was rambling again, and this time on purpose, just so she could stick that bit of new vocabulary in.
"Oh, purr a zipper on it, ya 'ardfaced git!" she laughed, unable to keep a straight face. A look of surprise passed over Brian's features, and he clapped.
"Bravo," he said, smirking. "The last part was a nice touch. Where'd ya learn that one?"
She shrugged. "The city."
"Very nice," he replied. Then, he leaned in closer, across the table, looking somewhat serious. "Now, 'ere's yer challenge: listen to yer family some more, and I order ya to talk like a Scouser tomorrow night at the Cavern."
"The whole night?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He nodded. "The whole night."
Lizzy remembered the challenge Brian had given her, and had every intention of following through with it. Prior to her current clothes dilemma, she had been practicing her Liverpudlian dialect. She had even practiced speaking with it during dinner, making both her parents and her grandmother laugh. Jude had given her a few pointers, too. She didn't sound that bad, really--at least she didn't think so. She liked to think that she had improved greatly from yesterday afternoon. Lucy had even said that she kind of sounded like Jude, which was actually amusing. Lizzy wondered, briefly, if she spoke like this long enough, she would automatically forget to use her American accent. What if, the next time she picked up the phone and called Paul, he heard her talking like a Scouser? He would get a kick out of that, for sure.
See, Paul. You let me go to Liverpool for two weeks and this is what happens.
Lizzy was debating with the idea. If she didn't want to pick it up permanently, then she decided that she would let the accent slip through every once and awhile--just for fun. She could just hear herself mock-arguing with her father, her voice matching his, in the middle of their New York City apartment.
Tearing herself from her musings over everything but the task at hand, Lizzy stopped pacing and approached the bed. Finally, she chose a nice skirt and her favorite tunic-like top to wear with Converse sneakers. She knew they would be dancing, so she wanted to be comfortable. She also decided to wear Jude's hat--if Brian wanted her to talk like a Liverpudlian, then she wanted to try and dress like one, too.
After dressing herself, Lizzy dug out a mirror from her bag and put on some makeup. Not a lot; it was subtle, and it looked good. She didn't want to make it seem as though she was trying very hard to impress Brian, because she really wasn't…or at least she didn't think so. She was going out, so she wanted to add a little something else.
Once she was sure that she was ready, Lizzy bounded down the steps and into the living room where her parents and grandmother sat. She stood in front of them and twirled around in a circle, her arms out at her sides and she skirt billowing in the air.
"How do I look?" she asked.
"Wonderful, dear." Martha beamed. Jude slung his arm around Lucy's shoulders and smirked at his teenage daughter.
"I remember goin' to the Cavern," he told her nostalgically. "It's quite a place. Good music, dancing…I 'aven't been there since I dated Molly, though…" Lucy threw him a look, feeling uncomfortable about her husband mentioning an old flame--one she had met yesterday. "Do ya wanna go, Luce? Bet it'd be more fun goin' with you." Jude tried, trying to lessen the awkward statement he'd made in front of his wife. She smiled, leaning on his shoulder.
"Oh, I'm sure it would," she giggled, "but I think Lizzy would appreciate it if we weren't in the same place while she's on her date. You know, so we can't spy on her."
Lizzy put her hands on her hips. "It's not a date. I'm just going with a small group of…acquaintances. That's all."
"Mm-hmm. Is that so? It looked to me like you fancied that one boy…what was his name…?"
"Brian." Lizzy said quickly.
"Ah, see? You do--"
"Let her be, Jude." Martha laughed, coming to her granddaughter's aid. She noticed that Lizzy's cheeks had turned a slight shade of pink talking about the young man.
A car honked outside, and Lizzy knew that it was Stu, Pam and Brian. "That's them--I gotta go."
Jude stood, and escorted his daughter to the front door. "Be careful, now, Lizzy," he said. "It gets pretty crowded at the Cavern."
"This isn't my first time going to a club, Dad."
"This is different, love. You'll see."
Lizzy got on her tiptoes to give Jude a kiss on the cheek. "See ya later." she said, switching to her newly-acquired Liverpudlian accent.
Jude chuckled. "Have a good time."
Lizzy walked to the car, and slid into the backseat next to Pam. Stu was driving, and Brian was sitting in the passenger's seat. "'ello, 'ello." she said. Brian smiled.
"Takin' the challenge, are ya?" he asked.
"'course I am."
Stu took off, heading into the city of Liverpool, to Matthew Street where the Cavern Club was located. They made small talk during the ride, Lizzy feeling more and more comfortable with her new accent. It was fun, she noted, and she was able to stick a few common phrases into their conversation, blending in with the others easily. When they arrived, Stu parked down the street from the club and they walked, approaching the building with the red neon sign hanging over its entrance. Pam, Brian and Stu pooled their money, paying for Lizzy as well. As they went downstairs, Lizzy was already finding herself enjoying the atmosphere. She could hear the band's music starting up.
"We're taking ya back to the sixties tonight…" the singer proclaimed.
Lizzy was surprised about how much the Cavern Club actually lived up to its name. The room really looked cavernous, with its lack of lighting, arched ceiling and different entrances and exits on each side of the space that were also arched. It was made entirely out of brick; the room was narrow, but long in length. On the other side was the stage, against the back wall which was cluttered with what looked like posters.
And there were people everywhere.
She'd thought the Glass Onion had been packed, but this place was nothing compared to that. She figured that since the large room was quite narrow, that there wasn't anywhere anyone could go, which was why the patrons were standing or dancing so close together. Speaking of the dancing…Lizzy had seen some pretty provocative moves in the club in Florida, but her father had been right--this was different. Much different. The patrons--mostly the younger generation; people in their late teens to early twenties--were all on top of each other. It wasn't as raunchy as the dancing in the American clubs could get. It wasn't revolting…it was passionate and sensual. Like their actions were driven by both the rhythm of the music and the possible chemistry between the couples that happened to be paired up. For Lizzy, the sight was kind of a culture shock.
"What'd ya think?" Pam asked over the music.
"'S…different." Lizzy laughed.
"Yer gonna 'ave fun. Trust me." She took hold of Stu's arm and dragged him into the crowd of people. Lizzy stood by the wall off to the side, watching everyone, trying to figure out where Brian went. A new, fast and upbeat song began while Lizzy looked around.
Well she was just seventeen
You know what I mean
And the way she looked
Was way beyond compare
So how could I dance with another,
Oh, when I saw her standing there
Finally, she caught his eye as he emerged from the crowd on the other side of the room. He appeared to be searching the mob of people as well--her stomach flip-flopped, wondering if she was the person he was looking for.
…Well she looked at me
And I, I could see
That before too long
I'd fall in love with her
She wouldn't dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standing there
He smiled and quickly made his way through a small clearing in the mass of people to get to her.
Well my heart went boom
When I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine
Brian grinned again. "Wanna dance?" he asked.
"I'd fancy that." she replied. Brian took her hand and led her into the crowd. She stood with a small space in between them, gawking at the people dancing around them, unsure of what to do. Brian chuckled, shaking his head.
"Lemme show ya how we dance 'ere." He took her hands and wrapped them around his neck. He pulled her to him, eliminating the space that had been between them before. They moved back and forth to the pace of the song, one of Brian's hands on the small of Lizzy's back. She was kind of reluctant about being pressed up against Brian in such a cramped area, but then again, she wasn't really complaining about it, either.
Oh we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long I fell in love with her
Now I'll never dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standing there
"Ya sound quite lovely with that accent, ya know." Brian said, referring to the conversation in the car and her statement when she had accepted his invitation to dance.
"Yer not too bad yerself."
She was flirting again, but she couldn't help it, especially with the look he was giving her. She tightened her hold on him and moved closer, which was barely even possible.
Well my heart went boom
When I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine
Oh we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long I fell in love with her
Now I'll never dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standing there
Oh, since I saw her standing there
Yeah, well since I saw her standing there
Suddenly, his lips were on hers, and they shared a small kiss. Feeling hesitant--Lizzy hadn't had the opportunity to kiss someone of the opposite sex who happened to be her age since Paul--she broke it, looking up at Brian. She thought about it for a moment, telling herself that she wouldn't get attached. It was just a little summer romance, and it would end before she left Liverpool. Lizzy's pressed her lips to Brian's, and shared a kiss that was more passionate than the one before. Another song started up, and they continued dancing together through the night…