Real Love: Chapter Ten
Real Love
Title: Chapter Ten
Authors: lovely_rita_mm & jenny_wren28
Starring: The Beatles (specifically John Lennon) and Maggie Sue
Rating: R for language, sex, & implied drug use.
Disclaimer: We don’t own any of the Beatles, this obviously never happened, and much to the real Maggie’s disappointment, is a complete work of fiction.
In which old friends make a reappearance.
Previous updates are located HERE.
Chapter 10
Maggie had long ago decided she preferred the clubs and bars of the 1960s to the ones in her own time. Sure, the music was still loud, but it was, in her opinion, of better quality. It didn’t hurt to be in a circle populated by people who were responsible for that music - already rock legends, or someday would be. No, you couldn’t really compare. This current party was being thrown by Mick Jagger, not for any special occasion, but just because he liked to throw parties.
Maggie sat on her barstool, next to John, taking in the scene. They were surrounded by friends who were largely being considerate by not blowing cigarette smoke in her direction. Paul was in usual form, telling a funny story from the Mad Day Out, and enjoying being the center of attention. She was nursing what was clearly a non-alcoholic drink, which had escaped comment - until now.
“Would you like another, luv?” It was Mick, and he was waving fresh glass of clear liquid in front of her.
“No, thanks, Mick, sticking with water for right now.” Maggie tried not to roll her eyes. Mick had been trying to refresh her drink all night and she was pretty confident the clear liquid in them wasn’t non-alcoholic. If she didn’t know better (and if she didn’t know that Mick knew better), she’d think Mick was trying to get her drunk.
“Perhaps you’d like something stiffer than what you’ve got there,” he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
“I told you my drink is fine,” Maggie said, trying to keep it light. She looked over at John for rescue, but he was laughing at something Paul was saying and not paying attention.
“I was talking about Lennon.” Mick smirked and let his eyes do an exaggerated wander down towards John’s crotch, and then had to dodge as John - who had finally caught on - threw a playful punch in his direction. This time Maggie did roll her eyes. Boys.
“You know where to find me if you change your mind, luv,” Mick called out before strolling away drink in hand. He was on a mission to make sure everyone was having a good time at his party. You had to give him credit - he did his best to take care of his party guests. The female ones anyway.
Maggie turned her attention back to Paul who was mid-story. “I swear I would have died if John hadn’t saved me!”
“I grabbed for you too, John was just faster,” George protested.
“Are we sure George wasn’t the one that pushed him?” John quipped and everyone laughed.
The Mad Day Out had been a chance for the band to get out of the studio, play dress-up for the day, and mug for the cameras. Maggie was thrilled to see some of her favorite Beatle photos come to life. Watching John lay his head playfully and affectionately on Paul’s shoulder made them look as far as possible from musical partners destined for a nasty breakup. Seeing the band mingle and hide in a crowd, staring through the railings of a church garden gave Maggie a weird sense of déjà vu - she’d had a t-shirt with that image on it. All in all, it had been a bizarre and delightful day - excepting Paul nearly falling from a Tube station roof.
Maggie sighed and rubbed her pregnant belly. The baby was pressing on her bladder again, so it was time for another trip to the rest room. She hadn’t gotten very far before her progress was impeded by Mick Jagger, who had a desperate look in his eye. He didn’t give her time to argue, he just grabbed her arm and steered her towards the dance floor. Before Maggie could protest, she was on the center of the floor, surrounded by people writhing and jumping around.
“Mick,” she yelled, but he couldn’t hear her over the loud music. Nor could he see her, and he was still focused on towing her across the room, weaving circuitously through the crowd, until they were on the other side of the dance floor.
“Mick! What in the hell?” Maggie said, as soon as she thought he could hear her.
“Hush, luv, in here, quick!” Mick said, pulling her into the coat check room, and lowering her down behind a long coat rack as gently as he could. It was still summer, so the rack didn’t offer as much protection from prying eyes as it would have in the winter, but there were a few forlorn looking jackets hanging from it. Maggie was grateful for that - all she needed was for John to see her hiding in a coatroom and being groped by Mick.
But Mick wasn’t trying to grope her. Or kiss her. Actually, he looked rather like he was cowering behind her.
“Mick?”
“You’ve got to hide me!”
“What?”
“Save me! It’s her!”
“Her who?”
Just then Maggie saw a small black shadow flit past big window that fronted the coatroom.
“Yoko!” Both their voices echoed with horror.
Mick whispered, “Don’t move, don’t make a sound.”
Maggie waited and watched as the shadow moved past again. It hesitated for a moment this time, which made Mick clutch at her, but finally it disappeared. It was a few more minutes before Mick would let her peer cautiously around the few coats that had been shielding them.
“Is she gone?” Mick said timidly.
“I think so. But do you want to tell me what the hell this is about?” What was Yoko doing here? She’d left town after John had made it clear he wasn’t interested, and she hadn’t been back since.
“What this is about is that that woman intends on bagging herself a rock star. She’s moved on from Lennon to me!”
“What?” Maggie looked at Mick incredulously, taking in his wild panicked eyes.
“She’s been following me all over town for the last week. Coming to gigs, parties, sending me postcards with ridiculous things on them.” He started banging the back of his head against the wall gently. “Then she just showed up here, completely uninvited. I saw her coming at me so I panicked and grabbed the first person I saw and ran. Which was you. Sort of makes you collateral damage, luv. Sorry.
“No, Mick. I’m the one who’s sorry.” Maggie patted him on the arm. “Really.” As much as she hadn’t appreciated being yanked across the club when she had to go to the bathroom, she full well understood Mick’s desperate need to get away from Yoko.
“Can’t your girlfriend do anything to help?”
“Marianne thinks it’s hilarious.”
“Oh, Mick.”
“Besides, she’s out of town, so I’m all alone and vulnerable.”
Maggie cocked an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “Uh-huh.”
“What? I am vulnerable, whether or not you believe it.” He folded his arms and stuck out his full lower lip in a pout.
Maggie giggled.
“Fine, let me check to see if the coast is clear and I’ll help you up,” Mick said with a sigh.
Maggie pondered the situation on her way back to her bar stool. It struck her as funny that Mick, who normally loved being chased by women, had been frightened off by Yoko, while John had clearly found her fascinating. She supposed it was because John seemed to like forming deep connections with people, whereas Mick struck Maggie as someone just looking for a fun time. Yoko was not a fun time. For anyone.
Maggie sat back on her barstool, next to John, and let the conversation swirl around her. She wondered if Yoko would try to approach John at all, but she didn’t. She was there though. It wouldn’t have been obvious to the untrained eye, but Maggie could spot her small, dark figure from miles away. Every once in a while, she would see it flutter through the crowd, darting in now and then when Yoko had spotted her prey. She saw Mick flee across the room in terror a few times, which made her chuckle despite herself. Finally, she saw Mick nearly crash into the lovely Chris O’Dell. After a quick glance over his shoulder, Mick introduced himself and pulled Chris onto the dance floor, where they quickly got lost. That was the last Maggie saw of either of them that night.
~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Hope you enjoyed this one - it was fun to write. We have to disappear again for a little while to do more writing. But we'll be back!
Happy New Year to all our lovely readers! Thanks for sticking with us!
Continue to Chapter Eleven
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