i believe in yesterday ☽ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 [𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐧𝐞]

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲

dust cluttered the empty indra club. john looked at the small stage, taking in where they'd performed every day since they got there.

"bloody dark in here, eh?" john shouted. the others were backstage. george just barely heard him over the amplifiers and feedback from the microphone. the band was preparing for that night, and a strange presence was felt in the air.

almost tension, for john. he couldn't stop thinking about telling molly, but he didn't want their friendship to be ruined. he knew she knew he knew she had a crush on him, but he just didn't want to embarrass her.

"john, get up here!" stuart called. "get'cher guitar, too!"

he sighed and hoisted himself up onto the stage, bumping and stepping on cords and stands. "watch it!" pete cried while john almost kicked his drum set off the stage. "what's gotten into you, lennon?"

he glared at him, trying to stay calm. "just a bit tired."

pete shrugged and grabbed the drums off the ground, handing him his guitar as he did. "where's george's friend, uh... millie?"

"it's molly," george remarked as he came into the stage between the two. "and she's out shopping." he adjusted his leather jacket and slicked up hair, being careful not to mess it up.

"with what money?" stuart asked, getting ready to let the owner know they were almost ready for a sound test.

george fixed himself once more, saying, "i gave her a few pounds,"

they all played a few notes on their instruments to make sure it sounded okay. the sounds of out of tuned guitars and bass filled the empty club. once they were done, they put their things down and rushed backstage as the club was about to open.

paul was in the back trying to find a new shirt because the one he had on had a giant pudding stain on it. "johnny, where's that one grey shirt?" he asked.

john pointed to a little grey thing on the floor, smiling. he surely didn't think paul would wear the sweaty thing, but he did.

"thanks!" paul closed the room door with a grin.

john shuddered and sat on a small wooden chair, stretching his fingers so they wouldn't cramp. pete and stuart joined paul in the dressing room, and george sat coyly next to him. "you nervous?" he asked him.

john shook his head. although he was quite excited, there was a hint of nervousness in him. he didn't want to admit it, but there was.

"nah..." he lied, lifting a cigarette to his mouth. "i've done this plenty of times,"

george chuckled and nodded with him. "yeah, me too,"

the air smelled like cigarettes and coffee, an unusual combo. molly's sudden fingers skimmed over the gruff hands of the guitarist, taking his hands.

"john, look what i got!" she brought a white dress up to her face, grinning widely. on the dress, there two words. two words that would forever change the course of history. it read, the beatles. "the man at the desk ran out of letters, so he just put this..." she told him. she'd gone to a tailor who made prints on shirts and dresses.

"the beatles?" paul came out of the dressing room with the dirty grey shirt on, looking between the two. "i thought we were the-"

"the beatles," john repeated. "we're the beatles now."

george spoke up, saying, "t's got a nice ring to it," he chuckled.

paul shrugged and looked at the dress. he took it in his hands and examined the new band name. it did sound pretty nice to him, so, he stuck with it.  he rushed pete and stuart out of the dressing room and showed them the dress. "new band name, boys,"