Paul woke up slowly. He looked around and wondered where the heck he was. Then he remembered. He glanced around the huge hotel room until he spotted Rita sitting on the railing around the balcony, staring down the ten story drop. He quickly got dressed and cautiously approached her.
"Have you ever wondered what it feels like when you're about to die?" she asked, without looking at him.
"No," he replied, standing beside her. "How did you know I was coming up behind you?"
"I have a knack for sensing your presence," she sighed. "And plus your ankles pop when you walk."
"How about you? Have you ever wondered?"
"Constantly. Sometimes, I wish I could just end it...I don't deserve to be living. I'm too far gone from the world to experience and appreciate simple things such as the sun peeping in through my window and waking me up before my alarm goes off...kittens playing with my feet...Hell, I can't even tell people I love them. I've been hurt too many times by those three little words that I've come to hate them..."
"You don't have to," Paul shrugged.
"Have to what?"
"Say the words." Paul took Rita's hand in his own. "And, as for appreciating simple things...that's an added bonus to life. Not completely necessary. All you need is someone that can help you feel again."
"What if I don't want to?"
"To what?"
"Go on..."
"Well, you made us all a promise. And I know how you never break promises." He scooped Rita into his arms and carried her away from the balcony. "If you killed yerself, you'd break that promise. I have an idea of something you can do to make Georgie feel bad about what he did to you. That is if you don't mind breaking one of two of your few morals."
"I have more than one moral?" Rita grinned. "I thought my only moral was no shagging married men..."
"You remember how you once accused my of not being spontaneous?"
Rita thought a moment. "Yes...I believe I did accuse you of that...several times."
"Let's get married."
"Muh?!" Rita squeeked. "That's just a little too spontaneous Paul."
"I know, I just wanted to see your reaction," Paul laughed. "But I do have a plan."
"Is it a very famous plan?"
"No...but it should be. It envolves..."
***
George was sitting at a table on set with Pattie when they came in hand-in-hand, John close behind with a wicked grin on his face.
Paul and Rita whoosed by, but John stopped. "Eh Geo, guess what."
"What?"
"Paul swiped your girlfriend. You know, the one you went out with two days ago. Our sweet and lovely Rita O'Tell. The girl you've been dating for about...how long...a year and a half was it?" John smiled innocently, keeping his eyes locked with George's.
George could see Pattie's face turning red. She bolted out of her chair and slapped him across the face, then she stomped off in the direction Paul and Rita had gone.
"Now that blondie's gone..." John hummed. John grabbed George by his collar and and growled. "Give me one good reason not to cripple ya for what you did to me best mate."
"Ok, she saw Pattie kiss me a while back. That's when Pattie and I met," George explained. "When Rita stopped talking to me I assumed she wanted to break it off..."
John was getting ready to punch George when a banshee-like shriek came from the direction Paul and Rita had went. The two of them shared a glance and ran toward the noise.
When they reached their destination they found Rita and Pattie in the mother of all cat-fights. Paul was standing to the side watching, debating wheather or not to break it up. From what they could tell...Rita had the upper hand. She had Pattie hair wrapped around her hand and had yanked Pattie to her knees.
John jumped forward and grabbed Rita's wrist before she could punch out Pattie. "Rita, calm down..."
"This little floozy jumped on me back and attacked me Johnnie," Rita growled in a voice that sounded nothing like her own. She let go of Pattie anyway. "And as for the whole George thing missy, you can have him. It was time I moved on anyroad."
With that, Rita walked back over to Paul and the two of them walked off together.
***
Despite their rough beginning, Pattie and Rita became good friends. For about two years, Rita and Paul were on and off again...off for good when she found out he was still dating Jane. Only that time Rita didn't end up in a fight instead she called John at one in the morning.
"Hello?" he had answered the phone in a groggy voice.
"John, you and I need to talk," he heard Rita say on the other end then hang up.
He knew when she did that, she meant ASAP. He left Cyn a note saying he was going to town then left. When he arrived at Rita's home, she was sitting in her second floor window.
"Well, if it isn't the Liddypool welcoming committee," he joked as he approached the house.
"Sod off Johnnie," Rita chuckled, then disappeared from her window. A few minutes later, she opened the door and let him in. "I didn't think you would some so quickly."
"Well, after last time, I didn't want to chance it."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" John asked hestitantly.
"More like who...Jane and Paul."
John looked at the ground. "Well...I don't know. He wanted to tell you himself. How did you find out anyroad?"
"He told me earlier today," she sighed. "But that's not the reason I called you to talk."
"Oh?" The two of them walked along the darkend Penny Lane.
"While me and Paul were yelling at eachother...I sort of said that I had been shackin' up with you from time to time to get him mad," she admitted hestitantly.
"Did it work?"
"Oh yeah. He shut his trap then and there. I think he didn't know what to think," she laughed, pulling around a corner and into a roundabout. "Follow me. I've never given you the tour of Penny Lane like I did Paulie. But since it's two-thirty in the morning...I doubt all the interesting people will be out."
"Some other time then luv," John glanced at Rita. "So...what exactly did you tell Paul we did?"
"Remember what all you were saying the other night to me while you were drunk?"
"Say no more," John laughed. "So that's why you left London this afternoon..."
"Yes," Rita nodded. "Jane sort of caught us."
"Want to ride back with me? We're recording one of my songs tomorrow. I wanted you to hear it before the album came out," John explained. "It would mean alot to me if you did."
"Sure. What are you guys calling your new album anyroad?"
"We're thinking of maybe calling it Rubber Soul...not sure though," John looked down at Rita to find her digging through his jacket pocket. "What are you doing?"
"Don't play games with me Johnnie, I know you have some with you," Rita dug through his pockets until she found a small bottle. "I knew you had some with you." She dashed off and John chased after her.
He finally caught up to her at the gates of Strawberry Fields. She was gasping for air and had her hands behind her back.
"Hand it over," John ordered, intending to sound intimidating, but instead he sounded like a breathless asthma patient.
"No," she said in her sweet child-like voice.
John managed to fight her hands from behind her back and pried each of her hands open. "What did you do with it?" He felt the pockets of her jeans only find them empty as well.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she smirked and ran through the gate laughing hysterically.
John went after her and almost instantly caught up. "Where is it?" he asked in a sing-song voice, putting his arms around her so her arms were trapped at her sides.
"I'm not telling," she replied in the same tone.
"I have ways of finding things," John warned. "Like, say...a strip search."
"Sounds kinky," Rita scoffed. "Naughty boy, you're married."
"You know as well as I do that it's not a good marriage," John whispered in her ear. "Now..what did you do with me bottle?"
"I don't have it," Rita giggled.
"You took it out of me pocket and ran like the devil was after ya," John scoffed. He carried her behind some tall brush. "Tell me where you put it or I'll look where I think it is."
"It's still in your pocket Johnnie."
"No, it's not. You wouldn't have run if you hadn't taken it."
John unbuttoned Rita's blouse and felt around inside it. Nothing...except what was always there. It was a rather cool night, but John felt rather flushed for some reason. Had to of been all the running...
"The moon is beautiful tonight," Rita commented.
John looked up to the sky and saw the big orange full moon. He caught a whif of the lavender scent that always stuck on Rita and forgot what he had brought her behind the brush for. But he knew what he wanted at that moment...not that he would get it...
"John...if you could have one thing you want but don't have, what would you get?" Rita whispered, looking up at John.
"You," he replied and kissed her.
***
"I thought you were going to say your little bottle," Rita snickered. "What are you looking for?"
"My shirt...I failed to be watching where you threw it."
"You mean this shirt?" Rita hummed, holding up the green t-shirt.
John took his shirt and pulled it back on. "Now, speaking of my lit'le bottle...what did you do with it?"
"I told you already. It's in your jacket pocket. Never left it."
John looked at Rita for a long moment then checked his jacket pocket. Sure enough, his bottle of LSD was still there. "Why didn't you just tell me it was still there?"
"I did! Several times Johnnie. You should trust me more often. When have I ever lied to you?"
"There was that one occurance when you wouldn't tell me when you were planning something after we got back from touring America the first time," John reminded.
"That wasn't lying, I was withholding the truth," Rita stated, holding her chin up proudly. "I can truthfully say I have never done anything I should be sorry or feel guilty over."
"Oh, so my Little Rit has decided to feel again," John rolled his eyes and plopped down on the ground beside her. "Besides, you never feel sorry for anything. Have you ever tried this stuff?"
"Once or twice. But you know how I react to sugar cubes..."
"Ever taken it straight?"
"No...Never really felt moved to do so." She grinned wickedly. "But there's a first time fer everything right?"
"You are very tempermental, you know that right?" John sighed.
"Of course...I take after me big brother," she replied cutely.
"Oh...so we're back to the brother/sister relationship," John looked at the ground and pretended to find something interesting to play with.
"For now anyway. Yer a married man...we can't have anything but that now can we?"
"Smartass."
"Thank you," Rita smirked. "Now, you said I could take this stuff straight
up..."
