Changes

Chapter One - Help!

For the past few months, The Beatles have been working on another major movie. It was for their next upcoming album, Help! It brought an almost nostalgic feeling from when they were in the making of Hard Days Night. Every morning at the crack of dawns, John and sometimes I would have to get ready to leave for the studio. When we found out the plot of the movie, we found it very odd. After Ringo stumbles upon a valuable gem, the band starts getting harassed by a fringe religious group. To escape their sudden stalkers, the boys hit the road. As John, Paul, George and Ringo travel the globe, they perform a mix of musical numbers.

Meanwhile, while I've been on the inside of that. They've inspired me to bring on some songs from my world. Obviously, I would have to say I wrote it when in truth I didn't. Not there, at least. I took credit for this world to keep everyone sane. I never wanted "my" songs to get published, but I wrote it out for fun.

The other day, I introduced John to The Long Way Home by Tom Waits, but I changed the lyrics a tad bit. Instead of, "I'm your man", "I'm your woman".

"It's a beautiful song, darling." John said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "I haven't heard you sing in a while, have I?"

"Don't think so." I shrugged.

"Your voice is gorgeous!"

"Thank you!" I blushed.

"Who really wrote it?" John asked, suddenly looking down.

"Tom Waits." I muttered.

"Is he a drag?" John suddenly asked surprised.

"No, why?" I asked, confused.

"Well aren't the lyrics I'm your woman?" He sang.

"It's originally "I'm your man", but I changed it."

"Ah, alright. I still love it." John gave a smile. I smiled back and hugged him tightly which he reciprocated.

It was simple moments like these that still said he felt awkward and disappointed. I kept telling myself to just give him time and space, but it's been 8 months since. That's plenty of time. 8 months is nothing compared to a decade, so I guess I'm just being impatient. How I really knew it was from something that I overheard one night at a dinner party hosted by Paul's father that we attended.

The Beatles, Mimi Smith and Pete Shotton were having a conversation in the dining room that I nearly walked in on. I stopped my quick feet when I heard my name be uttered by Mimi,

"John, what's this thing I've been hearing buzzing around about Y/N?"

"Oh ... that." John cleared his throat. "To put it simply, she can travel through one universe to another."

"I'm sorry?" She chuckled, not believing a word he said. "John, you're hilarious!" She said, sarcastically.

"It's true." George reassured, gently.

"There's no such thing!" She practically shouted. No one cared, though.

"You see, she has this locket that gives her the power -" John had taken about fifteen minutes to explain to Mimi about me.

I had been standing on the other side of the entrance to the dining room for over 20 minutes, listening to them chat on and on about me.

"Oh my, well that's something ..." was all Mimi could say about the news. She then stormed out of the dining room, right past me. I clenched my chest, not daring to let out a breath in case she'd notice me. She didn't.

"A drink for the lovely madam?" A deep voice scared me. My breath hitched as I looked to see who offered me a drink. It was Paul's father. He had two cocktails in his hands, one he wanted to give to me.

"Um - sure! Thank you." I accepted, politely. He nodded, handing me the drink and the walking away over to talk to Bryan and some other man I didn't recognize. I sipped my drink as I turned my attention back to the boys.

"John, have your feelings about - or even for - Y/N changed since that whole thing?" Pete asked, curiously.

"Well, to be honest ... yes. They have." John replied lowly.

"How so?" Paul asked.

"She lied to me for a long time. I trusted her with everything and she clearly didn't with me ... I feel like I don't even know her. I got to know this other Y/N but not the Y/N. It feels like I've been seeing a different woman and now I just ended things with her to be with someone else. I still love her, of course. It's just different."

"That's understandable." Ringo replied, simply as he patted John's shoulder. "You're a very loyal man, John."

Not for long, if he meets Yoko. I said to myself.

"Thank you." John replied to Ringo.

"It's good you're giving her a second chance." George said.

"Yeah ... anyways -" And then I finally stopped listening.

His feelings for me had expectedly changed, and so did mine. While his feelings became weaker, mine became stronger, realizing how much I need him in my life. The thing I tried to focus on most was the positives which is that we are still together and he still loves me and I love him.