Outlawed || Starrison

Chapter Fourteen

We were thinking in a silence for a while, when the door suddenly burst open. Brian stood there, very pale. He didn't look angry, more likely... terrified. After a moment of staring at us with wide eyes, he finally spoke:
"Lads, is it true?" John and Paul looked at me unsure. "I need to know that! Is Ringo gay?"

"Yeah..." I replied with a small voice, feeling weak.

"Okay... cops said there are some photos so... he's got someone, yeah?"

I stared at the floor; I wasn't ashamed of my feeling towards Richard. I was scared of Brian's reaction.

"I'm your manager. Tell me, what the hell is going on!"

"Ringo..." I started.

"Yeah?"

"Ringo and I.. we... are together..." Finally, I got this confession out of my chest.

"But you know it's..."

"Of course we know! But what could we do?! Is there some way to fall out of love that I don't know about?!" My patience broke as my voice raised and raised, screaming at people that wanted only to help me.

"Geo, calm down." I felt John's hand on my arm.

Brian sighed. "He's right. We won't help Ringo by arguing."

I felt miserable; I wanted to lock myself in a room and cry. That was the only thing I had energy for and it scared me.

"So, what are we gonna do?" said Paul.

"We have to get him out of the arrest."

"You know..." Epstein started. "There's something like a bail." A bail. The thing we've all forgotten about, shocked by the latest events. But there was one problem...

"Brian... but we have no money," Paul shyly murmured what we all thought of.

Eppy only shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

"Thank you," said both Lennon and McCartney, but there was one thing I wanted to know.

"Eppy?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you helping us?"

Everyone looked at me with surprised eyes, but it was actually a good question. After all, this man was breaking a law for us. He's our manager, that's true, but there were many other bands like The Beatles. Nothing tied him to us. Why didn't he just blow the whistle on me?

"Because..." Brian sighed and spoke after a minute that seemed like eternity. "I... like boys."

"What?" John couldn't help the shock and said with his typical tact: "You're queer?"

Paul and I just stared at him with a silent astonishment.

"Yeah..." He looked at the floor, avoiding our eyes. "But that's not important right now. We have to get Ringo out of the arrest. This is what counts." He walked towards the door, but stopped, hearing my scream.

"Bri! Thanks," I murmured. "Same to you, guys. You don't even know how much your support mean to me."

John was the first to answer, smiling: "You're our friend. Just like Ringo. And if Pete messed with him... he messed with all of us."