Beatle Girl

Goldilocks

You arrive at the studio early the next day. You're happy to find three large couches surrounding Ringo's drum sets and all of the boys sitting calmly with their instruments. You find this setup leagues more comfortable than the previous 'you are the audience, they're the performer' setup they had before with them on stage. You set your bag down on George's couch and he stands up to say hi and hug you before he goes back to playing.

The boys had gotten there maybe an hour before you, so they were already pretty deep into practicing. Paul had introduced a new song called "Hold Me Tight" for the new album and he and John had been so focused on creating everyone's parts that they didn't notice you come in. Ringo noticed, however; he nods his head back as he's playing, calling you over.

"Is that our new official Beatle girl?" He says as you walk towards him, smiling.

He stops playing to hug you and John and Paul notice the sudden silence. They smile at you, though they go quickly back to playing. "It is."

"Well, congratulations." He says to George as well as you. "You're perfect for the family."

You smile and pull him closer before giving a quick wave to Brian and sitting next to George. Once again, you lay on the opposite end of the couch with your legs up between the two of you. It's the perfect place for you to be able to look at him, and boy do you use that advantage.

You pull out your sketchbook and draw him as the boys form the instrumentals out of thin air. Eventually, Brian decides they've hit a wall and asks if anyone else has a new song. No one says anything for a moment until you step in. "George has a new song."

He looks at you, confused. "I do?"

"He played a great rendition of 'Til There Was You for me yesterday."

George looks down, blushing. The rest of them only grow more confused.

"From The Music Man?" John and Paul say in unison, shocked.

"She asked me to play it for her." He looks back up at them, grabbing the neck of his guitar. "I sped it up a bit and transferred it to the guitar."

John looks at Paul, then back at George. "Okay then, let's hear it."

"I don't think I even know the lyrics." Paul mumbles.

"I could write them down for you." You offer, flipping the page on your sketchbook.

"Yes, please."

George begins to play, and he, John, and Paul all hum along imperfectly when the words are supposed to come in. You smile to yourself, jotting down the lyrics. You jump in by the third line and the boys stop humming, letting you take the lead. You and George stop after the first chorus and wait for the ruling.

"Well, I like it." Paul says and John nods after taking a drag of his cigarette. He turns to Brian. "What do you think, Mr. Epstein?"

He rubs his lips, looking off into space a bit. Then he puts his hand down, uncrossing his legs and looking at George. "It's good. We'll keep it."

You smile at George and he smiles back, grabbing your leg and gently kissing your knee.

—

You finish the lyrics way before Paul is ready for them again. They decided to split the guitar part into two and add soft drums and bass, though George kept the lead part. You had started to doodle mindlessly on the edges while you were waiting. You drew another George, this time lying on the hill under the willow tree, blossoming flowers in the background — the way you saw him on your first date. You had been outlining the flowers for maybe the third time when Paul asks if you have the lyrics ready.

You nod, gently ripping the page out of the sketchbook and handing it to him. He murmurs a gentle thank you as he takes it from you, then stops, noticing the drawing. He smiles, turning the paper back towards you. "Is this supposed to be George?"

Everyone leans in to get a closer look at the drawing. Ringo tries his best to see it, though Paul is facing the opposite direction. Smiles grow on each of their faces. George reaches his hand out for the paper and Paul hands it over. "It's really quite good." Paul adds and John nods, though he goes back to practicing his part.

"Alright, alright. Let's get back to practicing." Brian says, clapping his hands once. George gives the paper back to Paul, smiling. They return to playing, this time with lyrics, getting real takes.

Suddenly, Brian whispers your name and motions you over to his couch. You follow obediently. "We need to work on the outfits."

"Oh, yeah. I worked on it a bit last night, let me show you what I have." You flip a few pages back on your sketchbook and show him the four blank figures you've drawn white shirts and black vests on. It's a take on what you've always seen them wearing at the Cavern, though more refined.

Brian looks closely, rubbing his chin. "I don't know, I was thinking of something closer to a suit. They looked good at the release party, didn't they?"

"Well, yeah, but they were so sweaty afterward. It's not really practical."

"Oh, they'll be fine. They'll sweat no matter what. I've got a guy that makes really light suits anyway."

"Alright." You erase the shirts from the manikin. "Whatever the boss says."

He laughs. "It'll be good. They've got to have a look, you know? Something identifiable."

You replace the vests with long black suits with pointy white collars and black ties. Brian smiles behind you. "Yes, that's good."

You finish them off quite quickly. "We could do something with the hair, too. It would add to the 'look.'" You start drawing on the heads of the figure. "They all pretty much have the bowl cut look already, except for John. We could even them all out."

"Oh, that's perfect." He watches as you add fluffy bowl cuts to each of them. "What about makeup?"

"I assume you don't want them to look like they're wearing any. I'll add foundation and concealer. Maybe darken their eyebrows a bit."

"You have the materials for that?"

"No, of course not. I mean, not in their shades." You look back at him. "We'll have to buy some before the tour."

"Okay, we can do that when we buy the suits." He puts a hand on your shoulder. "See, I knew you'd be great at this."

"Well, you're not asking much. Maureen or Cynthia could have done this just as easily."

"Oh, I'm sure they could. But Cynthia's a bore and the boys don't really like her. Maureen's sweet, but she's a lot to handle. Plus, she's a little heavy with the eyeliner. Can't have her doing that on the boys." He leans back, removing his hand. "You're the perfect in-between. You're our Goldilocks."

You don't like how he talks about the other girls but it's not something you're not used to hearing. "Well, I'm honored. I'll gladly hang out with The Beatles for pay."

He smiles, then does a single clap again. The boys all stop playing and look at him. He takes the sketchbook from you and shows them. "What d'ya guys think?"

They come up closer, grabbing the sketchbook and passing it between each other.

"Which ones which?" John asks.

Ringo laughs. "They're all the same, Johnny. You need your glasses again?"

You reach for the sketchbook and George hands it to you. You quickly sketch features on each of them: George with deeper cheekbones and his fangs, Ringo with a round nose, John with a sharp and long nose, and Paul with his downturned eyes and long eyelashes. Brian laughs as he watches you. You turn it back to the boys. "Better?"

They laugh. John grabs the book and looks at it closely, smiling. "Much better."