What If Stories: It's Your Move
Yes It Is & Tomorrow Never Knows
Title: What If Stories: It's Your Move
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.
Ok, this story takes place before Tomorrow Never Knows during the making of Sgt Pepper. We feel like we've ignored Ringo, so this one is about him and Maggie Sue. We hope you enjoy! :-)
(P.S. We wrote these stories purely for fun. Don't consider them "canon" - they're mostly "what ifs", some funny, some serious.)
Previous updates located HERE!
It's Your Move
“It’s your move, Maggie Sue. Maggie Sue?”
“Huh?” Maggie blinked and focused on the man in front of her.
He waved his hand in front of her face. “Penny for your thoughts, luv...”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just John. We had another fight about drugs. You know how he is.” Maggie swished her glass around. There was nothing left but half-melted ice.
“We all know how he is, luv. Cheers by the way.” He raised his glass to Maggie and then drained it. Looking around, he admired the somewhat sparse decor of Paul’s flat. Ringo wondered where Paul was taking his girlfriends now that John and Maggie were living here.
“What are they working on tonight?” Maggie asked.
“Oh, Mr. Kite, I think.”
“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” Maggie said automatically, knowing how particular John was about his song titles.
Ringo heaved a dramatic sigh. “Fine, then. BEING for the Benefit of Mr. Kite. The lads are all there, but me. Poor Ringo. All here by his lonesome.” He got up and refilled both their drinks.
“I’m right here, you know.”
Ringo grinned at her.
Maggie moved her rook. “So, they didn’t need their drummer tonight?”
“They’re still working the song out, so no. I’d just be in the way at this stage. Besides, why would they need me when Paul’s just as good a drummer?” Ringo said glumly. He took Maggie’s rook with his bishop.
“Oh, Ringo. Everyone knows you’re the heart of this band. And you’re an amazing drummer.”
He waved his hand at her, dismissing her compliment. “Never mind that. I know I’m the outsider.”
“I’m an outsider too, you know. I don’t even belong here.” Maggie downed the drink Ringo had handed you and then moved her Queen to protect her last remaining rook.
Ringo moved his queen in response. “Check.”
While Maggie tried to get her king out of check, Ringo grabbed both of their drinks and refilled them.
Within two moves, Maggie was back in check again. Within four, it was Ringo who was in check.
For another half hour and half a bottle of scotch, they chased each other around the board until Ringo finally groaned, and rubbed his hands through his hair in exasperation.
“What do you say we start a new game, luv? Call this one a draw?”
“All right.” Maggie nodded vigorously. She was feeling the effects of the alcohol. She certainly didn’t drink nearly often enough to keep up with a Beatle. She felt pleasantly buzzed right now, which meant she should probably slow down. However, at this moment, she was feeling tired and bored of common sense. What had common sense ever gotten her?
“You know what you should do?” Maggie stabbed her finger at Ringo. He looked up from the board he was setting up.
“What?”
“You should march over to that studio, and grab those drum sticks right out of Paul’s smug hands and show him who the real drummer is.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah!”
“Who does he think he is? He’s the bass player. YOU’RE the drummer!”
“Yeah! That’s right! I used to be really big you know. When I was with Rory Storm, I had “Starr-Time”! Where’s my “Starr-Time” now? Huh?”
“Damn-straight. The Beatles should totally have “Starr-Time”. You’re being totally margin…marginalize…ripped off!”
“Yeah!” Ringo slammed the last chess piece into place, and he held his glass up for Maggie to clink.
“Lennon/McCartney. Who needs them?” Maggie said by way of a toast.
“That’s right! I’M going to write a song about Octopusses. Right?” Ringo looked at Maggie for verification.
“That’s right, and it’s going to be my very favorite Beatles song.” She nodded solemnly.
“So it’s settled then.”
“Yes. We’ll show them!” Maggie looked down at the chess board and suddenly giggled. The chess pieces had such funny shapes. She picked up the horse and held it up for Ringo to see. “It’s a horse!”
He held up a rook. “And this one’s a castle, isn’t it? Chess is such a funny game! Hey! I’ve got an idea!”
“What’s that?”
“What if we made chess more interesting?”
“Okay, let’s do it!” Maggie sat and thought for a minute. “How?”
“Strip chess?”
“Lose a chess piece, lose an item of clothing?”
“That’s what strip means, yes.”
“Let’s do it! Let me just go put on a sweater.”
“No, luv, as is.” He wagged a finger at her.
“Well, that’s no fair - you’ve got a tie AND a vest on,” she said, gesturing at his brightly colored clothing.
“The vest is off! Gone!” Ringo proclaimed, as he undid the buttons.
“Woohoo, goodbye vest!” Maggie grabbed it, swung it around her head and let it fly in the direction of the kitchen.
“All right then, you move first.”
“All right. You refill the drinks, while I think.” It was hard to think what the best move would be. Maybe she’d move one of those little stubby pieces. What were they again? Oh right. Pawns.
Ringo handed Maggie her drink and she sipped it. Then she closed her eyes, reached out a finger and dropped it towards the board. She peeped one eye open when she felt her hand touch a chess piece. “I’m tired of being careful. It never gets me anywhere. Just chased around the board in circles. I’m going to move THIS piece.”
“Um, I don’t think you can, actually - your pawns are blocking the rook.”
“All right then, if you want to play by the RULES. How about THIS piece?” Maggie moved her finger forward slightly. Decisively, she moved that pawn forward. The consequences be damned.
* * *
An hour later John unlocked the door to Paul’s flat to find his fiancé and a very naked drummer sitting on the sofa, a half-empty chess board between them. Ringo’s clothes, two empty bottles, and various chess pieces littered the floor.
Maggie looked up when John walked into the room. “John!” She leaped up and jumped on him, hooking her arms around his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. It suddenly became very clear to John that she wasn’t wearing anything under the long t-shirt she had on.
John took a few awkward steps forward. It was clear Maggie wasn’t going to let go. She was happily wrapped around him, head on his shoulder, eyes closed. He tried to pull her shirt down so that it covered more of her bare bum. He spared a glance for Ringo, who was focused heavily on the board in front of him. He wore only a tie and a single sock.
“Luv?” He nudged Maggie.
“Huh? Oh, right. It’s my turn next. How rude I’m being!”
She climbed down from John and plopped herself across from Ringo, who had just moved his queen in front of his king with a heavy sigh.
Maggie only glanced at the board for a second before swiping her Queen across the board and taking Ringo’s remaining bishop.
With a smug look, Ringo knocked Maggie’s queen down with his last pawn.
“Pawn takes queen! Shirt comes off!” Ringo pointed at Maggie in triumph. Suddenly he realized that John was standing there gaping at both of them. “Oh, hello, John. How did things go at the studio?”
“Fine, though I think Paul’s gunning to be both bassist and drummer.”
“I knew it!” Ringo jumped up in agitation, causing his tie to move and John to get an eyeful. John winced a bit, which made Maggie giggle, recalling Ringo complaining about John and Yoko’s Two Virgins cover in the Beatles Anthology videos. Served John right! Maggie continued to laugh every time she pictured the disdainful look on older Ringo’s face, which was so similar to John’s current expression. Her laughter caused John to turn to her in confusion. Maybe it was because her shirt was exposing more of her than John preferred. She shrugged. Ringo was a Beatle, wasn’t he? It was nothing he hadn’t seen before! This thought made her start laughing again.
John reached down and picked up one of the bottles. “Just how much did you two drink?” Ringo looked over at Maggie and they both shrugged and broke into helpless laughter. John shook his head.
“All right. That’s it!” He gathered up Ringo’s clothes and herded him towards the bathroom. “Ritchie, you get dressed. I’m calling a cab to take you home.”
Within 15 minutes, he had Ringo out the door and safely headed homeward.
“What am I going to do with you? Corrupting our drummer, you naughty girl.”
Maggie stuck her tongue out at him and bent down to pick up the chess pieces. By doing so, she exposed another tantalizing glimpse of flesh to John. His palms started to sweat. He didn’t know how much she’d had to drink. He couldn’t take advantage, could he?
Maggie noticed John noticing her, gave him a grin, and then dropped the handful of chess pieces she’d gathered.
“Oops, I dropped them,” she giggled. “I guess I’ll just bend over and pick them up again. She slowly bent from the waist, allowing her shirt to ride up over the backs of her thighs. She peeped up at him, and batted her eyes innocently.
She straightened up and then began a lazy stretch, which caused her shirt to ride up in another very interesting way. “Check, John. It’s your move…” she started to tease him, but before she’d gotten all of the words out, she found herself pressed onto the couch, chess board hard at her back.
The opening gambit was followed by move and counter-move, til both players lay spent and exhausted on the board.
“I guess you win,” Maggie said, gesturing at the pile of clothes on the ground. She should have guessed that strip chess would have such a satisfying endgame.
“Check and mate, luv,” John murmured into her ear. “Check and mate.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Hope you enjoyed it! We only have two more short stories so we're going to space them out. We're still working on the sequel to Tomorrow Never Knows, but we're also really busy with real life, so it may be awhile. Thanks for your patience!
In the meantime, if you can't wait for the next update? Why not read one of our earlier stories standbyme_fic?
Thanks, and see you soon. :)
You can now buy print copies, or download free .pdfs of both Yes It Is and Tomorrow Never Knows!
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/yes-it-is/7443398
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/tomorrow-never-knows/8541872
We'd love it if you reviewed them for us too!