Neither of the two parties were aware of the other's presence until they literally bumped into each other.
"Oh!" Jessie gasped as she slammed into the person. "I'm sorry-"
"God!" The man exclaimed, stumbling back a step. "Sorry, I-"
Their eyes met.
"Mr Bailey!" The girl's eyes widened. "I can explain-"
"Devon!" George said at the same time as Jessie. "I can explain-"
The girl and the Beatle stared at each other.
Their expressions seemed to say you know him?!
"Sorry," Ringo said. "But what's happening?"
"Devon Bailey." The man offered his hand.
"Ringo Starr." They shook hands firmly.
"Jessie Baxter." Devon turned to the girl again and shook his head.
"George Harrison!" George grinned. "Erm, right, sorry. Continue."
Devon raised an eyebrow at him, then said to Jessie, "What on earth am I meant to do with you?"
She twisted her fingers nervously. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine," he cut her off.
George already knew about Devon's connection to the girl and the time-traveling guitar, but Ringo was still confused.
"Can someone just explain what all this is about?" He said with exasperation.
"This is Mr Bailey. He's the stand-in music teacher at my school at the moment. The guitar... It's his," Jessie told him. "I just meant to borrow it for an hour or so, but... Y'know, things happened," she grinned. "And here we are!"
"And it just so happened that a friend of mine mentioned meeting a George Harrison lookalike yesterday," Devon said. "And what with you meddling with time travel," he looked pointedly at Jessie, "I kept an eye open."
"Found me in a bar, he did," George nodded. "Mentioned Jess and saw right through me!"
"Now that we're all more or less on the same page..." Devon scratched his chin. "I'm brought back to the matter of you, Miss Baxter."
She gulped. "The matter of me?"
"As a member of Thornleigh staff, even if temporary, I'm obliged to drag a truant student by the ear back to school, or even to the police in a runaway case." He noticed Ringo instinctively take a protective step in front of the girl. "But this is hardly a usual case," he said with an amused smile. "Between us, I'm willing to let it slide for another couple of days."
Jessie and the two Beatles let out a relieved sigh.
Devon carried on. "And I'll stick up for you when you come back..."
Jessie grinned.
"...on one condition."
Her smile faded a little. "Yeah?"
The music teacher paused. "That you tell me all about this bloody amazing adventure of yours!"
With any previous tension now completely gone, the group broke into relieved laughter.
"Well, I'd better love you and leave you," Devon said. "Someone has to get back to the school before the end of lunch." He winked at Jessie. As he walked away from them, he added, "And try to keep out of trouble! They had cops lookin' for you, last I checked."
* * *
Paul stared at the clock and blinked as the minute hand moved a fraction with a dull tick. He'd been there for ten minutes, yet to him each passing minute seemed to resemble one year. Every time he blinked, he could see the plaque on the ground by the statues, the words clear as day.
Two words. Two numbers.
Yet they'd tumbled around in the back of his mind all day.
The Beatles
1960 - 1970
"C'mon, Paulie," John threw a cushion in his direction. "Quit moping. I'm sure they'll be here any minute... Maybe they even found George!"
"S'not that," Paul murmured. "S'that plaque, John."
John plopped down on the sofa next to him. "Look at me, Paul."
His friend looked up at him through his thick lashes.
"Realistically, ye' gotta admit that if it's anyone's fault we all split up, it's either me or you."
"Please," Paul said quietly. "I don't wanna think about it."
"And if you listen, you'll never have to!" John put a firm hand on Paul's shoulder. "All we gotta do is keep on our toes, y'know? Think a little harder and keep things runnin' smoothly, eh?"
"John Lennon and running smoothly don't really belong in the same sentence." Paul cracked a wary grin. "But I s'pose you're right."
John made a show of buffing his nails on his shirt. "Aren't I always?"
Paul was nodding thoughtfully. "Yeah... We've got a second chance, y'know?"
"That's the spirit!" John stood on the sofa and punched his fist in the air. "We got to the toppermost of the poppermost, and there we'll stay! Ten years, huh? I say let's beat that, Macca, my friend!"
Paul grinned, then he glanced out the window behind John and through the thick net curtains saw a group of people walking up the path to the house. "They're back!"
John sat down again. "Let's not worry them with all this, eh? The poor lad's 'ave got enough on their plate as it is."
Just before the door burst open, Paul had time to point out, "So do we!"
"Well, fancy seeing you here!" George said when they walked into the living room. "Not a bad setup ye' got!" He looked around the house, taking in every detail.
"George!" Paul leapt up. "Thank god!"
"What?" George laughed, returning Paul's brotherly hug. "Ye' didn't believe I could look after meself?"
"Please!" Ringo scoffed. "That Bailey fellow was practically babysittin' you!"
"C'mon!" George protested. "All he did was give me a place for the night, and left me at the music shop for the day!"
"But ye' didn't have t' stay there," John said. "Ye' could've walked on out again and carried on yer merry way!"
"But ye' stayed put like a good little boy!" Paul ruffled the youngest Beatle's hair.
"Nine months!" George squirmed out of Paul's grasp. "I'm only nine months younger than you!" He said indignantly. "Besides, I was perfectly happy messin' about in a music storeroom!"
"What did you two do all day anyway?" Jessie looked at Paul and John. "I'm guessing you haven't been sitting here the whole time!"
"Of course not!" Said John. "We went through half the city, felt like ants, then went walkabout along the waterfront!" Then he added, "lookin' for George, of course."
George was gonna open his mouth and point out the fact that never would he exert himself and travel that far, then decided against it.
"Oh, and we became one with the modern world of southies," Paul interjected. "And e-phones!"
John nodded solemnly, "Sir Paul McCharmly took a southie with a waitress girl." He tried to hold his expression, but ended up breaking into a grin again.
Ringo and George just started at Paul in confusion, but Jessie was just stifling snorts of laughter.
"IPhone, Paul," she laughed. "You took a selfie on an iPhone!"
"Well it's close enough, innit?" He grumbled, glaring as his friends laughed.
YOU ARE READING
Yesterday - A Beatles Fanfic
Fanfiction"Lucky seven's what they say. Seven will send your troubles away. It's just a number that doesn't count. My troubles are here to stay. Lucky seven's what they say. Seven will take your worries away. Seven adds to no amount. My worries are here to s...
