On Loving Paul [McLennon]

Ringo

Three days after George's confession, the Beatles were playing in the club.mit wasn't a particularly busy night, with only about a third of the tables occupied. Stuart was continuously winking at a pretty, blonde girl who caught his eye while John and Paul kept looking at each other and George noticed, feeling glad that he didn't have to hide the fact that he knew what was going on between them any longer - from them, anyway.

Once they had finished their set, they sat down in the audience to watch the next band that was playing - group called Rory and the Hurricanes.

"The singing isn't all that great," John whispered to his mates.

"No," Paul shook his head. "It isn't."

"But the drummer is bloody fantastic," George pointed out.

Stuart, John, and Paul all turned their attention to the drummer. And George was right. He was amazing!! He was so in beat with the other instruments and the lyrics. He was so enthusiastic, bobbing his head about with every beat on his drum set.

When Rory and the Hurricanes were finished, they also entered the audience. However they, unlike the Beatles, did not stick together. Instead the split up. The drummer sat down on his own a few tables away from John, Paul, George, and Stuart and the four of them stood and strode over to him, sitting down around him.

"Mind if we join you?" George asked.

The drummer looked around at the four of them and shook his head. "Not at all," he said.

"George Harrison," George extended his hand. He usually wasn't so sociable so easily, but he had a good feeling about this young man.

"Richard Starkey," said the man, shaking George's outstretched hand. "All my friends call me Ringo."

"Paul McCartney," Paul introduced himself.

"John Lennon,"

"Stuart Sutcliffe,"

Ringo nodded. "Pleaded to meet you,"

"Your skills with the drums are fantastic," Paul said. "Amazing. You're very talented. Where did you learn to play like that?"

"My mum got be a drum kit when I was five for a birthday present and I've been obsessed ever since," Ringo explained. "Anything I could learn from anywhere and anyone, I took the chance."

"Well, it's paid off." John nodded. "Your skills are certainly impressive."

Ringo nodded as well. "Thank you,"

Over the next five weeks, John and Paul successfully keep their secret from all but George and George attempted to not make things super awkward when he was alone with the two of them - he, of course, failed miserably.

Stuart began dating the blonde from the audience who turned out to be a German girl, about Stuart's age, named Astrid.

George hung out with Ringo quite a bit. The Beatles always stayed for a performance from Rory and the Hurricanes and went to the club to see them on nights that the Beatles weren't performing themselves. A few times, Ringo joined them when he had nothing better to do and he started hanging out with the Beatles more than his own bandmates.

Paul and Stuart were arguing and fighting on a nightly basis. Whether they had a show or not, Paul and Stuart would find something to get into a fight about. Once, after a performance, an argument ended with Stuart punching Paul and the two of them getting into a major fist fight, leaving Stuart out of breath with bruises. Paul, on the other hand, being smaller than Stuart, was left rather bloody and bruised.

"Paul, this has got to stop." John sighed later that night as he dabbed a wet cloth on Paul's split lip. "The two of you are going to kill each other one of these nights. And, I hate to break it to you, but Stuart is a hell of a lot stronger than you."

"He punched me!" Paul yelped.

John just sighed again.

But John needn't worry. Just over five weeks after George's confession, something happened. Something big.

The Beatles were performing a concert. Ringo was sitting at a table at the front of audience clapping along to the music with a big goofy grin across his face.

Everything was going well until the shouting in the audience started and Paul looked up to see a group of cops entering the club. He contorted his expression to one of puzzlement as the men ran toward the stage and grabbed George by the arm and dragged him away.

"What the hell?!" John yelped.

Ringo scrambled up from his seat and chased after the cops.

"George!" Paul made to run after him, but John grabbed his arm and held him back.

"How old iz he?" Astrid came over to the stage and asked concernedly.

"Why?" John furrowed his brows as Stuart hurried over.

"How old?!" Astrid cried.

"Seventeen," Paul said.

Astrid sighed heavily. "No one told you?"

"Told us what?" Stuart asked.

"You have to be eighteen to be play ze club!" Astrid exclaimed.

John and Paul shot each other a worried look, then looked back to Astrid. "That would have been some good information to know," John said. "Next time I see the guy who hired us, I swear to God, I'm going to murder him."