I Will [Paul McCartney/Beatles Fanfiction]

six

Of course, though, after the giddy happiness of the moment faded a little, Carmen became slightly nervous. After all, her first meeting with Paul hadn't exactly...gone smoothly. What would the other boys' first impressions of her be, and what would her first impression of them be?

As she headed down the hallway to the room the boys had gotten ready in beside Paul, she must've thought of every last possible scenario as to how their meeting would go. Paul noticed her change in expression a few moments later and smiled a bit.

"Oi, they won't be too bad," he assured her. "Just because they're 'legends' doesn't mean they're any different from normal people."

"I know," Carmen smiled a little in return. "You've already proven that. It's still going to be...interesting to meet them, I think."

Paul laughed. "Well, you're right about that last part. There's no denying it."

They walked down a few more corridors before Paul nudged open a door at the end of the hall, the room containing the three other Beatles. Ringo was fiddling around with his mustache as George dealt him four cards for whatever game they were beginning to play and John had been sneaking up behind him with a cup of water in his hand, which was raised as though he was going to dump it on the drummer. However, he looked up and paused when he saw the twosome that had just entered.

The shock melted away quickly, though. It was obvious. "Oooooooh, Paulie brought a bird!"

This earned the attention of the other two, and as Ringo looked up, his head bumped into the cup John was holding and the water spilled out, completely drenching him. "Goodness, Lennon," Ringo sighed flatly.

John, however, didn't even seem to hear him. "Well, how about it, Macca? Aren't you going to introduce us?" he grinned.

Paul glanced down at Carmen and she shrugged in return, so he took this as a 'sure' and said, "This is Carmen Dalton--"

"Oh, yes, didn't you break her camera or something?" George cut him off.

"Yeah, he did," Carmen chuckled, "and then I lost my job, but whatever. I've got another one and I like this one better anyway, so really, he ended up doing me a favor."

"Flirting at its finest," John snickered.

"Oh, come off it," Paul rolled his eyes. "I like her."

"Aw," Ringo said as he dried his hair with a towel given to him by one of the staff members of the venue they'd played at.

"But we aren't an item," Paul quickly said to make sure none of them got the wrong idea.

"Yet," George added.

Well, they got the wrong idea anyway. He sighed in defeat while Carmen just laughed.

"So, how'd you like our show?" Ringo asked her.

"Oh, it was really great! You guys sounded great and the amps were working flawlessly; you could hear the instruments really well where I was," she answered.

"I think I like her, too," John said.

"Oh, come off it," Paul simply told him again.

***

Carmen had to admit: meeting the boys went a lot better than she thought it would, and they ended up inviting her out to join them for dinner. She normally would've said no because her brother never wanted her to be out late, but then remembered she'd made it all the way to Birmingham from London without him stopping her, so she figured there was no reason to decline and went along with them. It occurred to her as the group got take-out food: the way their personalities were in the movies were exactly on point. She enjoyed pleasant conversations with the band as they ate, feeling more comfortable with them already than she ever had with anyone else before.

After a while when Paul finally noticed she had no way to get back to London, he offered to drive her despite the long ride, and she would've said no so as not to cause any trouble if she had another choice. Defeatedly, though, Carmen gave in and stood up, getting the few belongings she'd taken with her. As they announced their departure, a chorus of "goodbye"s rose up from the other Beatles that was ended by the door shutting behind Paul and Carmen.

The first few minutes of the drive were quiet, then she commented, "They seemed alright."

"I suppose they aren't too bad," Paul shrugged. "Say, what did you really think of our show?"

"Uh, what I said earlier. Why?" He shrugged again, and Carmen seemed to read his mind. "Oh, my gosh, you seriously think I was just trying to get along with them? Come on, Paul, I meant it. You guys are really good!"

"We aren't good," Paul said, "we're fabulous."

She laughed. "Well, you sure about that?"

"I'm certain." He jokingly flipped his hair. "We're the most fabulous group of Scousers you ever did see."

"The most fabulous group of Scousers with the most fabulous, colorful outfits you ever did see," she agreed. "So, what're the Scousers going to do at the studios now? Start a new album?"

"Nah, I think we're going to get some much-needed time off. At least, I hope so," Paul responded. "Speaking of which, what's your work schedule like? If I don't have any work at the studios, maybe we could do something."

"Er, I work mornings from usually nine to three in the afternoon on weekdays, and six to ten at night on weekends with the exception of this one because my boss insisted we all come to your concert."

"Do you think you'd be up to going to the cinemas or something after you finish your shift on, say, Tuesday?"

"Sounds good to me," she smiled. "I'll hold you to your word on that."

After another brief moment of silence, Paul suddenly asked, "Oh, wait, could you get my radio from the backseat?"

"Sure thing!" Carmen reached behind her until she found the small, square-shaped object he was talking about.

The rest of the drive back to Carmen's house was spent the way Paul normally usually drove. They had the volume up as loud as it could go, speeding down a narrow, uncrowded road with the windows rolled down. He normally had a good time doing this by himself, but having someone with him now -- especially her -- made it all the more better, and he just couldn't stop smiling.

As they arrived at the Dalton household, he turned it down so as not to bother the seemingly always-annoyed Carlton more than he had to and sighed with satisfaction.

"It's been a good day," he told her. "Thanks for that."

Her only response was a smile. Then, slightly hesitantly, she leaned over the seat and kissed him on the cheek. It was quick and sweet, and Paul felt the color come rushing into his face, causing it to turn a deep shade of red.

Carmen chuckled upon sight of this. "I'll see you Tuesday, Paul." She began to walk towards her house, but then stopped after a few feet and, laughing, said, "Oh, and by the way, if you don't want Carlton to start coming outside with a pickax or something, I wouldn't show up out of nowhere again tomorrow morning."

"Got it," he called back, chuckling but, at the same time, noticing his voice was a little more higher-pitched than usual due to unfading shock. "Tuesday it is."