He's So Fine [Beatles / George Harrison FanFiction]

Chapter Twenty: 11th February 1964

It's true what they say. New York never sleeps.

London does. London is deserted between the hours of two and six am, it becomes a ghost town. And Liverpool - well, Liverpool is the city that likes to sleep in. Nothing warms up in Liverpool until gone 11 at the earliest. But New York never stops.

They'd slept with the balcony door cracked after Della complained she was being suffocated by the heavy clouds of cigarette smoke filling the bedroom, of which she'd contributed at least half. They'd propped the door open an inch, held in place with cushions from the sofa in the main lounge, but they must have fallen over because George could feel a far stiffer, stronger breeze now and the street noise below had increased significantly. Cars and shouting and horns beeping and - fucking hell, they're up early - Beatle fans with their incessant We Want The Beatles! We Want The Beatles!

Too lazy to go and shut the door, George pulled the cover up higher up and moved closer to Della, putting his hand on her bare shoulder. Her skin was cold. George pulled the covers over their heads and snuggled in behind her, inhaling the faint smell of soap on her, the sweet honeysuckle scent of her shampoo.

He closed his eyes, but sleep seemed unlikely. His body had woken up. A craving for nicotine was creeping in and the need for a piss was building pressure on his abdomen. There was a muggy, stuffy feeling in his head - the start of a hangover rather than the illness he'd suffered from since he set foot in America. His throat was still scratchy but other than that, it was fading now. Still, he felt too heavy to move. If he could will himself back to sleep, hangovers and cravings would subside, at least temporarily.

A car horn blew loudly outside and someone yelled at the fans to get out of the damn street! Della stirred and sighed but didn't wake.

George tried to estimate the time. It was light outside. A cool, grey wintery light. Bright but cold. Della has slept in George's room every night since they arrived in New York, but she's left every morning before 7am, except for yesterday. After the Ed Sullivan Show, they didn't get back to the hotel until 4am, then they slept until nearly lunchtime before they had to get up for press conferences and interviews.