Gnik Nus

Chapter 13

It was now the first of October and I'd had no more trouble with George. Since he apologised, things have been quite civil and even friendly sometimes. Though we were technically 'together', Ben and I were still awkward with each other. Occasionally we would quickly kiss each other to keep up appearances, or just for the sake of it, but it was never passion-filled or terribly comfortable. Truth was, I craved his affection. Ben was a terribly sweet and adorable guy. The only thing that irked me about him was his American accent and the way he ate.

Brian had some news. The fabs were here to hear it, so it obviously concerned them as well.
"Everyone, I have an announcement to make," he started as he sat us all down in the lounge/bedroom, "This will affect you all, if only for a short time."
"What is it, Brian?" Adam asked.
"My mother is coming to visit."
"Oh, Queenie!" I exclaimed.
"You even know Brian's mother's name?" Paul asked incredulously.
"That is rather absurd, Sophie," Brian commented.
"I told you there wasn't much I didn't know," I defended.
"Yes, well, anywho, she is staying with me. Here. Which means you lot can't be," Brian revealed.
"Why not?" Adam asked.
"Why not? Because then she'll see you, of course! She will want to know who you are and why you are all staying here."
"Why don't you just tell her?" Ben suggested.
"What?! I can't do that! That's obscene! She cannot know. She would never understand it, anyway."
"Well then what are we supposed to do, Brian?" Peter chimed in.
"That's where I thought the boys could come in."

He looked sheepishly at each of them individually – Paul, then Ringo then George then John. They didn't look very impressed.
"You want them to stay with us?" John asked incredulously, "Brian, they're your problem, not ours."
"We're not anyone's 'problem', Lennon," I shot.
"Sophie's right, John," Paul interjected, "They didn't ask to be brought here. Brian's looked after them out of the goodness of his own heart. They're our friends now, John. We should do the same. I only wish you could stay with me, but I live at Jane's parents' house, so I don't think it would be possible."
Ah, Paul: always the peacekeeper. He was the one who was friendliest to us out of the four of them – when I say that, the criteria for 'friendliest' is the one who talks to all of us, even Jack. Paul's comment seemed to shut John up for a moment. He scowled as if pondering his decision.
"I don't have a problem with a few of them staying with me at Kinfauns," George chimed in (in July he moved out of the apartment he shared with Ringo downstairs and into his own house). It was clear to me that I would not be staying with George, nor Kylie with Ringo. No way.
"You're lucky Cyn and Julian are at her mother's house," John finally spat out. It was his way of accepting us as free lodgers in his home.

We argued on who would be staying with whom. In all honesty, there shouldn't have even been a discussion. Eventually the eight of us were divided up between John, Ringo and George. Ethel and Jack were staying with Ringo downstairs so they didn't have to travel far; Jenny, Ben and Adam were staying with George, which left Peter, Kylie and me at John's. I could tell that Brian specifically placed Peter with us. I could assume what his reasoning behind this was, too. We were required to take most of our belongings with us also, so as not to cause Brian's mother to become suspicious. It was only for two nights, but the effort put into relocating and hiding us made it seem like a much bigger operation.

Turns out Brian didn't give us much notice, as his mother was coming that afternoon.
"Thanks for the notice, Brian," Adam scoffed.
"I apologise, but she was originally staying the week after next when, of course, we would be on tour, so she had to visit now instead," Brian explained.
"But you still didn't tell us she was coming in two weeks," Jenny, not one to usually speak up, questioned.
"Yes, I did leave it a little late to tell you, and I'm sorry. Now let's get packing!"
I was nervous about staying at Kenwood, John's home. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I'd even be going to a Beatle's house, despite the fact that I'd been to Ringo's apartment before. Brian's placement of us was strategic. Ben wasn't placed with me and Kylie wasn't placed with Ringo. Peter was placed with Kylie and I, I guess, to 'protect' us from John. No one knew about George and I, so I guess Brian just subconsciously knew not to place me at George's. It was that night that things got hectic.