I Will [Paul McCartney/Beatles Fanfiction]

eight

"I LOVE ROCK N' ROLL," shrieked Carlton as he excitedly threw his Wagner record out the window.

It turns out "Your Mother Should Know" worked better than both Paul and Carmen had originally thought it would, completely startling her brother out of his classical daze.

"I'm so glad you caught up with society, Carl," Carmen teased, observing the boy leaning halfway out the window.

"WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING ALL MY LIFE?" Carlton responded, not even seeming to care about his volume anymore.

She shrugged. "I've been asking you for years."

Paul laughed at her comment and muttered, "You're welcome."

She rolled her eyes and hit his arm playfully and he returned the gesture.

"OH, PLEASE," Carlton yelled as he began to toss his Tchaikovsky collection. "JUST DATE ALREADY IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE LIKE THAT."

Paul liked the idea of them being an official couple, and was even more enthusiastic now that her brother had just approved. However, just as he was opening his mouth to tell Carmen he agreed, she said, "Well, it's a bit early for that, don't you think, Carl? I mean, it's only been a little over a week since we met."

Carmen glanced at Paul to make sure she wasn't the only one thinking about that, and Paul quickly brushed aside his surprised look so she wouldn't see and nodded.

"Besides, I've got a lot going down at the studios," he forced himself to add.

"Exactly."

At this point, though, Carlton wasn't really paying attention to them, just busy ditching all the records he once held dear. Classical music was calming and soothing and unlike the pump of adrenaline supplied by rock music; he wasn't used to it, but he liked it. In some ways, that's kind of like being exposed to love. You don't know there's anything like it until you feel it.

As Paul stood there in the Daltons' living room, watching the girl who was laughing at her brother's antics, he realized that he was feeling things for her that he'd never felt for Jane. At the time, he'd thought of it as merely a crush, because he never really had time to have a crush on Jane; he just asked her out right away. But whatever it was, he liked it.

He'd realize it wasn't just a crush soon enough.

***

When he returned to his house, he found that the other boys weren't anywhere to be seen. Ringo had left a note on the counter saying they'd gone out for a bit, but didn't give any details more specific than that, so Paul just took the opportunity to enjoy his alone time.

He knew it wasn't anything Carmen had against him, and she was completely right in saying they hadn't known each other very long, but it still hurt him when she basically told her brother off for suggesting they become a thing. The truth was that he didn't want to wait. He liked Carmen, he really did, and it was obvious she liked him, too.

Maybe she'd only given an excuse so she didn't have to be mean. What if Paul's failure to see her on Tuesday upset her, and now she didn't want to be around him?

Oh, shut up, Paul, he told himself. She... She likes you. She does.

To distract himself, Paul did what he normally did: had a cup of tea, read a few chapters of a book, took a hot shower, watched some lame attempt at a comedy show on television, and went to bed. Little did he know, the other Beatles were coming up with the solution he needed at that very moment without even thinking about it.

He'd find his solution the following day.

***

Even shorter than last chapter, sorry. :( I'm working on lengths, don't worry! I hope it's good anyway!