Tomorrow Never Knows: Chapter Nineteen

[jenny_wren28]

Tomorrow Never Knows
Title: Chapter Nineteen
Authors: lovely_rita_mm,jenny_wren28, & pennylane_fic
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.

Here's Part III of the Fancy Dress Ball. Enjoy!

Previous updates located HERE!


Chapter 19

After making sure Jane was safely gone, Maggie made her way back to the balcony. From the door she could see that Paul and Linda were still there in the shadows kissing. Maggie had to resist the urge to burst through the door and shout, “What the hell are you thinking?” at Paul. But that would never do in front of Linda. Instead she walked calmly up to them, and cleared her throat, announcing her presence.

She had to clear it a second time before either of them noticed she was there.

“Oh, Maggie! Sorry!” Linda blushed.

Maggie smiled at her. She was going to kill Paul. “Paul, I need to talk to you. Lin, you don’t mind if I steal him away for a minute, do you?”

“No, that’s fine!”

“Great, thanks.”

“Ow!” Paul yelped as she grabbed his arm firmly, and towed him back inside the ballroom. Another conveniently placed plant gave them a place to talk and screened them from Linda and the rest of the party.

“What in the hell were you thinking?”

“What?” Paul asked, all innocence.

“Leaving Jane all alone, while you’re out here making out with someone else. Jane almost saw you, you know.”

“Jane wasn’t alone, you were with her,” Paul reminded her. “Ow!” Maggie tightened her grip again.

“Well, she wants to know where you are, and now she’s looking for you. You’d better damn well go find her. You said you didn’t want to be unfair to Linda, well, you’d better try being fair to Jane too.”

“I thought you wanted me and Linda together?”

“I do - but not with all this sneaking around. It’s beneath you, and it isn’t fair to either of them. Now, go find Jane. I’ll go back and keep Linda company.”

“Fine, fine,” Paul grumbled, and made his way through the crowd in the direction of the purple potted plant that Maggie pointed him towards.

“Everything all right?” Linda asked when Maggie stepped back onto the balcony.

“Fine. Paul just had to take care of something, but he’ll be back. Now, help me find John? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Sure!”

Setting out opposite the direction Paul had gone, Maggie and Linda wandered through the party, commenting on this costume or that, both keeping an eye out for Maggie’s fiancé.

“There he is!” Linda said, pointing. Maggie looked over and right away her heart dropped into her stomach. John was talking to a familiar tiny dark figure.

“That’s her! That’s the woman I was telling you about,” Maggie whispered, gripping Linda’s arm.

“Uh-oh.”

“He looks like he’s into her, doesn’t he?”

“Kinda. She looks into him, that’s for sure. Jeez, could she stand any closer? Is she caressing his jacket?”

“That’s it, let’s go break this up,” Maggie said grimly.

“I’ve got your back! Let me know if you want me to hold her down while you punch!”

Maggie flashed a grateful smile at her friend, and then marched over towards John.

“Hello,” Maggie said, trying her best to sound casual.

John gave Maggie a bit smile. “Hi luv! I was looking for you, but then I ran into Yoko! You remember Yoko, right?”

“How could I forget?” Maggie said. Then, addressing Yoko, “I hope you got your ring back. I mailed it right out when Dot found it. I wanted to save you from having to stop by to pick it up.” The little ploys Yoko was pulling to try to see John were getting more and more bold. When Dot had told Maggie that a small black-clad Asian woman had been by the house and that a strange ring had turned up on the table near the door afterwards, Maggie had quickly figured out what Yoko had done. It wasn’t going to work - Yoko’s ring was posted back to her immediately, giving her no reason to drop by again to look for it.

“Oh, that was nice of you, luv,” John beamed at Maggie, and she smiled back sweetly. Why was John so oblivious to what this woman was trying to pull? Or was it just an act on his part? She didn’t know anymore.

“Where’s your costume?” Maggie asked Yoko, who looked just as she always did.

“Oh, Yoko thinks that dressing up disguises our true inner selves and is a betrayal of who we are artistically,” John answered, and then looked at Yoko. “Did I get that right?” Yoko nodded.

Okay, that’s it, Maggie thought. She’d had about enough of Yoko and her artistic pretension. “John, can I talk to you, for a minute?”

“Sure, luv! Hey, wait!” Maggie wasted no time in dragging him off to somewhere more secluded. She would merely ask him about whether he’d seen Paul and fill him in on what was happened. She would not nag him about why he was talking with Yoko. No, she would control herself.

Linda watched John being dragged behind a screen of plants, and once they were out of sight, she and Yoko stood there together awkwardly.

“Well, I think I’m going to wander. It’s been nice to meet you,” Linda said even though they hadn’t been introduced and she wasn’t all that glad to meet her. She’d go find Paul, that’s what she’d do.

Once Maggie had successfully cornered John, she turned on him. “You have no idea what a nightmare this party has been. Jane’s here.”

“I know, Paul told me all about it.”

“Ugh, well, I’ve been trying to keep Jane occupied while Paul got some time in with Linda. Now I’ve just sent him back after Jane, and I’m supposed to be keeping Linda company.”

“Shouldn’t you be doing that instead of hiding behind this plant with me?” John said in stage whisper. “Not that I mind, of course, but I left Yoko just standing there and I don’t want to be rude.”

“Argh. What is it about Yoko? Why is she even here?” Maggie asked in utter frustration.

“Because I invited her. Don’t start this again, luv.”

“Don’t start what again?” Maggie said, knowing full well what he meant but wanting him to say it outright.

“I’ve told you. Yoko is a friend. I don’t tell you who you can be friends with, do I?”

Maggie shook her head stubbornly. “She’s after something. She’s after…”

“My money? Don’t worry, there’s plenty of it to go around.”

“You’re not actually giving her money, are you?”

“That’s not your business.” John’s voice grew cold.

“Actually it is. The Beatles are exactly my business. You’re my business. Jesus, John, we’re engaged. Or is that the problem? Your personal finances aren’t my business because we’re not married yet? I’m not your wife, so it’s none of my business? Of course, I guess what you spent on Yoko wasn’t any of Cyn’s business either, and she actually was your wife.” Maggie couldn’t help the words that rushed out of her mouth. Maggie knew when John had first proposed that they would get married when the time was right. There had never been a real reason to rush things. They were together and that was all that had mattered. Lately though, thanks to Yoko’s interference, Maggie wondered if there would ever be a right time. Why would John complicate things with Maggie by marrying her withYoko waiting in the wings?

“What did you just say? What does Yoko have to do with Cyn?” John looked confused. John clearly didn’t get what she meant by what she’d said, because he still had no idea that Yoko was the woman he’d originally left Cyn for. Yoko and Cyn and marriage in general was really more than Maggie wanted to get into standing behind a potted plant at a party, so she decided to try and change the subject.

“Never mind. We’ll talk about this later, okay?” She gave John a weak smile. “Let’s just get back to the party. I left Linda standing there, and I don’t want to be rude either.” Before John could say anything further, she stepped out from behind the plant. She heard the leaves of the plant rustle as John followed her.

Linda wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but Maggie spotted Paul almost right away - he was hard to miss as he wandered by in his armor and short skirt.

“Paul!” she called. He stopped and turned his head in her direction.

“Paul!” That sounded like Linda. Maggie watched as Paul turned in the direction of the blonde woman in white. He took a step towards her, holding out his hand. Linda reached for it.

“Paul?” Hearing his name for a third time, this time from behind him, Paul turned and looked to see a red-haired woman in white stood staring at him, a shocked expression on her face. Paul turned pale and dropped his hand.

Maggie watched in horror as Paul stood there, a woman in white on either side of him. Clearly Jane had no idea who Linda was, but could nevertheless tell that this strange woman was on familiar terms with Paul. Their costumes matched, after all. Linda knew very well who Jane was and seemed confused to see her here, and wearing a very similar costume.

Paul stood in the middle, looking back and forth at them both, unable to decide to whom he should speak first.

“Hello, luv!” Argh! It was Mick. Maggie tore herself away from watching the train wreck in front of her and gave him a glance. “Mick, you have really crappy timing. And what’s with that wig? You look ridiculous.”

“I’m a Beatle, luv! Wooooo!” He shook his head in imitation. “Do you want to shag me now?”

“Not really,” she said dryly. “Now hush for a minute, I’m in the middle of something. Or rather, Paul is.” Maggie turned back to watch Paul still standing between Jane and Linda.

Finally, Paul turned to his right. “Jane…” he said pleadingly. But he had waited too long. She turned her back on him and stormed off. He looked at Linda, half-expecting her to slap him or storm off in the other direction.

Instead she smiled sadly at him. “You know what, Paul? If you’re ever in New York, give me a call. I’ll see you later.” Linda shook her head at him. Maggie drew her breath in - Linda was so calm. She didn’t make a scene or give him ultimatums. Just said, “so long”. Linda, having spotted Maggie, walked away from Paul without a backwards glance.

“Hi Maggie.”

“Hi Lin. Are you okay?” Maggie didn’t want to make any gesture that might betray Linda to Paul, who was still watching.

“I’m fine.” Linda looked over at Mick, who was still standing next to Maggie. “Hey Mick, do you want to dance?”

“Always, luv.”

“Then let’s go,” Linda said smiling coyly at him. They’d known each other for a while, and Mick was always fun. He draped an arm over her shoulder, and as they walked past Paul, laughing and chatting, Linda gave him a little wave.

Paul turned to Maggie, looking utterly devastated. Maggie just shook her head at him. She glanced behind her, where John stood, looking amused by Paul’s misfortune. Paul turned away from Maggie and John and disappeared into the crowd; presumably he was going to find Jane.

“What’s so funny?” Maggie asked John.

“Paul. Got what he deserved, didn’t he?”

Maggie couldn’t deny that - but Jane and Linda had both been hurt because of it, and that wasn’t so funny.

“I’m going to go find Linda.”

“She’s with Mick, she’s fine.”

“She’s not fine, she was just pretending to be fine so Paul wouldn’t see how hurt she was.”

“Really?”

“I guess it worked. If you can’t see the difference, I’m sure Paul won’t be able to either.” Maggie wasn’t sure what to say to John after that, but she needn’t have worried. Yoko materialized out of nowhere and was now hovering inches from John.

“Yoko.” Maggie said flatly.

“Luv,” John said with warning in his voice. Maggie was in no mood for it. She opened her mouth but wasn’t sure what would come out of it.

“Maggie?” It was Linda and Mick, back again. “Is Paul gone?”

“Yep. Are you okay?”

“Not really. Do you think we could go home early? I hate to…”

“Of course, Lin, of course. Let’s go.”

Mick protested to Maggie, “Leaving the party early? But I haven’t had a chance to dance with you yet, luv. Don’t you want to dance with Mick now that he’s dressed as your favorite rock star?”

“A cheap imitation if you ask me,” John muttered.

“I don’t think anyone did,” Mick grinned at him.

“Maggie needs to take Linda home, so she won’t be dancing with you, you wanker. Go hit on someone else’s girl.” John said. “And take off that ridiculous wig, while you’re at it!”

“Are you coming?” Maggie asked John.

“I’m going to stay for a bit. Chat with Yoko some more, plus I haven’t seen George or Ringo all night.”

“Fine.” Maggie gave John a wounded look, but didn’t know what else she could do. She couldn’t tell John he couldn’t stay - he was a grown man. And she didn’t want to make a scene in front of Yoko, who looked almost smug. Maggie wanted to punch her in the nose.

“Come on, Linda, let’s go. I’ll see you at home. John - don’t be too late?”

“I won’t, don’t worry.” He kissed her. “Just send the driver back after he drops you off, okay?”

“Sure.” Maggie gave him a last look before she and Linda started towards the door. John had already turned away and was talking animatedly to Yoko. Maggie felt something inside of her break.

“Hey, Mags, where are you going? I haven’t seen you all night!” It was George, looking dashing as a pirate. Maggie realized that she hadn’t really seen much of him tonight.

“Hey. Actually, Linda and I were just leaving.”

“Oh no! How come?”

“Linda’s not feeling well.” Maggie looked over at Linda for a second, before pulling George slightly aside. “It’s a really long story. I’ll tell you later. Can you do me a favor? I have to take Linda home but John wouldn’t come. He wanted to stay and talk to Yoko, who is apparently here. Can you please go keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t get too cozy?”

“No problem. I will make a massive pain of myself. You will never have seen such a clingy third wheel,” George promised her.

“Thanks,” Maggie said, smiling at him despite herself.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and headed off in the direction that Maggie had indicated. John and Yoko were about to have company.

~~~~~~~~~

A/N: This is why we love George. Could Maggie Sue ask for a better friend?

Also, speaking of George, Rest In Peace. ☹

~~~~~

Continue to Chapter Twenty

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