It's Time (Sequel to Radioactive)

Chaper 8 (part 2)

George's POV

In a state of caution, I twisted the door handle and slowly pushed the heavy wood door open. Relief washed over me when I walked fully into the room.

John, Paul and Ringo were sitting in a circle, smoking cigarettes and playing Monopoly. The all appeared happy; true smiles spread across their faces.

They noticed me as soon as the door thumped close, and turned their faces towards me.

"Where you been Georgie?" Paul asked, a hint of worry in his voice. "We had to start the game without you."

I smiled and sat down beside John, who was clearly loosing the game.

"Went for a ride on a pony. I found Kelley and brought here back. She's in pretty rough shape," I added quietly.

I knew if John and Paul knew everything Kelley had told me, they would make the situation worse. It was probably better to leave her alone for a while, and then try and comfort her.

With my help, John ended up winning Monopoly, and thankfully there was no arguing. For how much I loved playing the game, it was defiantly one which destroyed friendships.

"Hey guys," Ringo called from the door. "There's a party tonight."

He was holding one of the piece of paper left at the door by Brian, advertising a party.

Paul looked up from the bowl of crisps he was eating and asked, "do they have a band playing."

I gave him a quizzical look. We were coming here to get away from the crazy concerts and people. If we played tonight, there was a good chance we'd be recognised and attacked.

Ringo shook his head and put the paper down on the table.

"Doesn't say. You could ask the organiser to find out, but I don't think it would be a good idea." At least Ringo thought the same way I did.

Paul smiled and reached for the phone on the table. He slowly dialled the number for the front desk.

I tuned Paul out while he talked to the lady on the other end of the phone and thought about what he was getting us into. It was also odd that John hadn't said a word or given his opinion. Usually he would jump at the chance to do something like this, but he wasn't.

"Well, that's that I guess. We're in!" Paul slammed down the phone and began jumping around the room.

Ringo rolled his eyes and took a cigarette from his pocket.

"How are we going to do this Paul?" He asked between drags. "They'll be whole bunch of girls there."

Paul had a huge grin on his face. At this point, I knew he either had a good plan, or we'd all be dead within the hour.

"We're booked as the Quarrymen, and we'll just play covers of stuff like we used to. Avoid playing a lot of our stuff, and people won't noticed anything! It will be fun!"

Before Ringo and I could say anything, John stood up from the couch and walked towards the door.

"Fine," he said quietly. "It'll be good. But only on one condition. Kelley gets to play something with us."

He had his glasses on, and was looking solemnly at the ground. I was too shocked to answer, as John had never really been like this before.

I think Paul was in the same state I was, but he quickly regained his confidence.

"Alright," he smiled, "just have her meet us there. Everything will be great."

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John's POV

I walked down the hall to Kelley's room. I wanted to make sure she was alright, and also tell her about the party tonight. George had said he didn't want Kelley to know that she was going to play with us. If she knew, she might not come.

I knocked on the door slowly, not wanting to make her angry or cause any alarm. Chances were she was really upset about something; George wouldn't ride a pony for as long as he did without good reason.

As I stood waiting at her door, I tried to remember when George had first told me about her. I chuckled to myself as I thought about George, who had gone running down the hall, screaming about something in the streets. At the time, I had been too tired to see what the alarm was about. I wish I had have gone, at least so I felt better about it now if for no other reason.

After a couple minutes of waiting, I decided to give up. Kelley would have come to the door if she had wanted to.

Before leaving, I scribed a message on a slip of paper and slipped it under her door. With any luck, she would wake up soon, and come to meet us.

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George's POV

We all walked slowly down the hill towards the dance hall. I was carrying my guitar and Kelley's, while John carried his own guitar and Paul's bass. Ringo refused to use another drum kit, so Paul had offered to help him carry all the parts.

"How did you get Kelley's guitar by the way John? I thought she wasn't up yet."

John smiled and gave a little shrug.

"She left her door open when she left this morning. Paul had mentioned this party, and I thought it would be best to get it from her." He took his eyes off the road and looked over Kelley's guitar, which was gleaming in my hands. "Plus it's a damn nice guitar. Wouldn't have minded playing it meself."

I shook my head, trying not to laugh with John, and avoiding to hit him at the same time. It wasn't right that he had taken it, but it was a nice guitar.

When we got to the hall, I was surprised to find most people were already there. I felt odd, almost that we had gotten the time wrong. Paul assured me that he had got the right time though, and told me it was probably just getting started.

As we all began quickly setting up, I kept an eye on the doors, waiting for Kelley to show up. I felt terrible; we should have woken her up.

Shortly, John handed me my guitar as he put his on. He smiled and nodded to Paul, who smiled and looked over at Ringo, who had finished adjusting his skins.

With a final nod, John stepped up to the microphone.

"Hello," he began quietly. "We're the Quarrymen."