The Sound of Silence | Paul McCartney ✅

2

Paul pushed the door to the dressing room open and let me go in front of him. I looked around; the three other Beatles and Jeannie were already in there, and Neil was standing at the door with a sour look on his face and his arms crossed against his chest.

Jean was sitting on John's lap, and already drinking from a bottle of wine, which was extremely usual behavior for her. John was drinking from a glass, a darker-looking liquid, which I assumed was whiskey or rum. I felt shy and out of place, though nobody glanced at Paul and me as Paul took my hand in his and led me across the room and over to a settee in the corner. I sat down and Paul sat beside me, though there were two or three inches between us. He kept our hands laced together, giving a quick squeeze at my hand as Jean looked at us and flashed me a grin, holding her bottle of wine up to me in a silent toast.

Surprisingly, Paul's hand laced with my own made me feel relaxed. I noticed that he was rubbing the top of my hand with the pad of his thumb. It was soothing.

"Drink?"

"Just a small one," I replied as I swallowed. Paul let go of my hand and walked to the small drinks cabinet besides the settee which John and Jeannie were sitting on. He quickly returned with two glasses of the brown-looking liquid which John was drinking.

"Whiskey." He explained as he handed me a glass.

Silently, I downed the drink in two gulps and held the glass out to him. Paul looked impressed. "Maybe I'll have another one."

Grinning, he held his own glass out to me and I took it, not bothering to watch as he went to refill the glass I had previously given him. Paul returned with two glasses, and settled down beside me, though there was now no space between us. I had to admit - I liked it.

"That's John," Paul said, leaning close to me and gesturing to the man who was beneath Jean, who had finished her bottle of wine and was now drinking from the same glass of whiskey as John. "That's George," he pointed to a third Beatle who was in a conversation with the fourth and Neil, "and that's Ringo."

I nodded, finishing the glass of whiskey and taking the next glass from Paul, who held it out to me. "After this drink, lads," Neil said as he withdrew himself from the conversation he'd previously been having with George and Ringo, "we should head back to the hotel."

Paul nodded and downed his drink, and John handed his to Jean, who looked more than happy to finish it for him. Ringo and George downed their own and then quickly stood up and refilled their glasses once more (much to Neil's dismay, shown in the excessively loud sigh which he let out). They toasted to each other, gulped their drinks down in one mouthful, and then whooped, slamming their glasses down on the side, which caused me to wince and Paul to chuckle beside me.

"It was nice to meet you, ladies," Neil said, "we'll look out for your next shoot, won't we, lads?"

"What're you on about, Nel?" Ringo asked in confusion.

"Jean and Addy are coming back to the hotel with us!"

"We are?" I asked in surprise.

"We are!" Jean agreed, standing up and dragging John up after her. She was a little shaky on her feet, but John looped an arm around her waist and held her up against him. I knew she'd be fine.

"I think you are, dolly." Paul said, leaning closer to me and whispering in my ear.

* * * * *

"Drink!?" John asked as he poured six glasses of whiskey and handed them to each of us. Paul and I were the only ones who thanked him for the drinks, and we were definitely the most sober of the six of us. Neil had declined to join us, instead saying that he had some things to work on for the the next day in Portsmouth.