𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬 | george harrison

five

after eight stops and five shows, the band decided it'd be a good idea for me to finally sit in on a concert. well, paul asked if i could do his hair for a show and the decision was made from there. george seemed to be a bit uneasy about the whole thing, he felt i might create unwanted press.

like i wanted people to think i was their groupie.

"so how long are these things anyway?" i asked, picking at my boots as i watched john and ringo toss useless lyrics around.

"haven't you ever been to a rock concert, dear?" john asked, removing his glasses when making eye contact with me.

"why yes i have. i haven't been to one of your little... events before though. i'm not exactly sure what to expect." i gave him a twisted smile.

ringo got up from his spot on the couch and plopped next to me on the floor.

"blimey!"

"what? oh! i was gonna do my makeup on the floor here," i explained, picking up my eyelash curler and liners off the floor after ringo sat right on them.

john erupted in laughter when ringo shot up, seeing his behind was now decorated with lipstick.

i got up quickly and reached for a damp towel, now on my knees attempting to rub the makeup off of his trousers.

"let's hope it didn't leak onto his knickers. you'll have to take off-"

"pipe down, john. quit being an arse."

"as long as you keep your hands off ringo's."

"children, children please." ringo attempted to shut us both up, turning to face me and taking the towel out of my grip.

"sorry." i apologised, blushing once again.

ringo gave me a warm smile before collecting his drum sticks and making his way off the bus. john followed after shooting me a grin and his middle finger. i rolled my eyes before sitting back down and continuing to get ready for this show.

"whatcha doin?" george asked, making his way out from the bathroom.

"jesus, every time one beatle exits another one appears." i laughed, digging through my makeup bag for my mirror. "i'm putting on some makeup before your show."

he nodded as he struggled with his tie. he was wearing a floral dress shirt with a white blazer and he was attempting to secure a bright pink tie to his neck.

i got up, finding myself once again tampering with one of the lad's clothing.

"y'know, we may have to keep you around as an assistant." george joked.

"how ever did you all get along without me?" i played along, my hands working their magic on the problem tie.
"aaand got it!" i brushed off his shoulders too.

with my hands still on his shoulders, he placed a warm hand on my waist, once he began to raise the other to my face as his lips got closer to mine, i pulled my hands back to myself. causing us both to jump a bit.

"michelle, i-" before george got to say anything else, john reappeared on the bus.

poking his head in, he said, "hey! oh- sorry lovebirds. is this a bad time? gee. i always seem to catch you two at the worst times,"

"what is it, john?" i asked.

"we need your lover boy in there."

"where's paul?" george asked.

"he's already in there. we're all in there waiting on you. come on!" he exclaimed impatiently.

george turned to me yet again.

"good luck tonight. i'll see you later, i'll be the one in the purple down in front."

"see you, michelle."

and with that, i was finally alone on this bus. no beatles, no anger fuelled driver, absolutely nothing but my thoughts.
after spending about thirty minutes perfecting my eye liner, i realised i still had about an hour to kill. for the first time, i decided to venture over to the lads' bunks. after all, i had been sleeping on the couch so i hadn't seen much.

condoms, cigarettes and contact lenses. the big three. this must be john's bunk.

i chuckled lightly and took a seat on his narrow mattress. i looked directly across from me and found a journal sitting on the opposite side bunk.

don't touch it, michelle. that is personal property. you can't stoop that low. do not-

ignoring my own conscious, my curiosity got the best of me. i picked up the leather bound journal and began to flip through the pages. almost every page seemed to be entirely filled up.

"i'm well aware it's wrong, but i can't help having feelings for her. i find myself thinking about her all the time. when i write, sing, play guitar. she's always on my mind." i found myself reading aloud quietly as i paced back and fourth.
"she's not like all the other birds we see on tour, she's not afraid to tell me when i'm being an arse. she doesn't beg for my attention. why do i always want to give it to her? i think i'm falling..." i stopped as i quickly shut the journal and placed it back exactly where it was. i couldn't read anymore. it was not my business.
although i couldn't help but think, who wrote it? and more importantly,

was it about me?

i buried the thoughts in the back of my head and collected all of my own belongings into my bag before heading outside into the venue. before stepping outside, i pulled back the curtain slightly and found myself staring at thousands and thousands of fans.
my anxiety levels grew immensely as the realisation set in that i would have to not only exit this bus, but walk to and enter through the backstage door myself.

i did not think this through.

i quickly shut the curtain, hoping nobody had seen me yet. i took a deep breath and opened the door slowly.

so far so good.

i closed the door behind me and began to make my way to the doors. just as i thought i had made it, i was stopped.

"sorry ma'am, can't let you back there." the security guard by the entrance said.

"oh, no you don't understand. i'm with the band. i,"

"yeah, i've heard that before." he said, cutting me off. "just get back in line."

"excuse me? i literally just walked off that bus. i need to get in there this is the way they told me to come in from." i explained, trying to reason with the tall man.

"look, it was a good try but over my dead body are you getting back there miss." he scoffed, looking at me like i was some twelve year old with a fantasy.

"okay, sir, why don't you take that taser of yours and shove it-"

"OKAY. sorry kris, she is with us. i should've let you know. my bad." paul smiled at the guard, peeking his head out of the semi open door and taking my arm.

kris did nothing but give us both a death glare as we closed the door rather swiftly once paul had pulled me back there with him.

"what a prick." i said, crossing my arms.

"you threatened to shove the man's taser up his arse!" paul exclaimed.

"not technically. you stopped me mid threat." i laughed, causing paul to roll his eyes and grab ahold of my arm once again. he pulled me through hallway after hallway as we walked quickly to the lads' dressing room.

"well look what the cat dragged in." john said, focusing his attention to paul and i after he heard the door open.
john took a few steps closer to me and placed a hand on my shoulder as he leaned in.

"well what'd you say? are you ready for your first real rock concert?"

—

a/n: hello! i'm so glad you all are loving this story as much as i am. it does have quite a few chapters left, but i'm beginning to think about what to write next. would anyone be interested in a roger taylor (queen) fic next? let me know!
xX, emily