IF NOT FOR YOU {George Harrison}

Chapter 2

Two weeks later...

Over the following two weeks, I became the best waitress in the Reeperbahn. I learned to weasel money out of male costumers by unbuttoning my blouse a little, clean up dishes lickity split, and how to yell curse words in German (every word I learned from my cousin Astrid).

Astrid worked part time but she hated every second of it. All she wanted to do was spend her days taking pictures. It was her passion. She would pull me over whenever she was on break and show me the pictures she took. Some were of wild life she found on her evening walks, but most of them were of Stu.

Stu and I had walked to the bar together after getting off the train, and when he and Astrid had met eyes, I knew their fates were sealed. It had been incredible to watch their romance bloom so quickly. Astrid and I had been up all night the following night talking all about Stu. I had been afraid that it would fade away after a few days but it still remained strong. They were passionate about each other and together their dreams seemed to blossom. One of Stu's band members had said that he had been playing better then ever, and that he had started painting again. And Astrid had found her muse, taking as many pictures of Stu as she could. "He's very pose able," she'd told me. "And he's extremely photogenic."

Their sudden and fervent love had been one of the most beautiful things I would ever witness.

The Reeperbahn was filthy and filled with working women, and men who came to forget their lives and their wives. The characters that worked and floated about the Reeperbahn were something out of a fantasy novel.
There was a prostitute named Celestine, who I came to be friends with. Her long red curls and multicolored eyes made her a catch to the costumers. She spoke four different languages, saying, "Zer ahr men of every culture who need to forget their reality, and who am I to stand in their vay?"

And there was of course Leonard, the janitor. He was seclusive and had a wild look in his eyes. I'd heard that he'd been held in four different prisons in Germany, France, Italy, and Holland. He would hide behind the bar until someone needed to be thrown out or cleaned up.

And there was my aunt Jaila and my uncle Hansen. They ran a tight ship, at work and at home. My six cousins, Lyra, Astrid, Luca, Dana, Cecile, and Hansen Jr, were all kept on a leash. Astrid often told me that she wanted to run away and live in Liverpool with me and her fathers sister, my mother. She wanted nothing more then to escape the madness that was Hamburg. That is, until she met Stu. It was then that she decided that it was time to leave home. She had gathered up her savings, found a job at the paper, and rented a small two bedroom apartment. Her original plan was to move in with Lyra. But Lyra, who had recently fallen pregnant, didn't want any other expenses. I told Astrid that as soon as I saved up enough, I would move out of my aunt and uncles house and in with her. She had never looked more grateful. And while her parents were sad to see her go, they were happy to have one less mouth to feed.

The only problem I had with Astrid moving out and on to to better things, was that I had to take over her shifts.

That was a blessing and a curse.

It was a curse because the later I worked, the worse the crowds became. Men of all sorts came in, whether they be wealthy or poor, to drink their weight and find a lover.

And it was a blessing because, for the first time since coming to Hamburg, I got to hear the Quarrymen play.

"Hallo, ladies and swines!" The boy speaking was a decent height with sandy brown hair and a long, thin nose. He had a cigarette perched between his teeth, and it made his speech a little difficult to understand. "Today we have decided to change our name! We are now the Silver Beats! Or the Silver Beetles, George hasn't voted yet. Anyway, here we go!"

And with that, I entered a land of enchantment.

From the way their lead singer sang to the way the two guitarists strummed and the piano player played to the way the drummer kept the beat, it was magical. The lead singer had a raspy voice that sounded harsh and deep and sexy and made you want nothing more then to listen on and on. The lead back up singer had a deeper voice then the lead, and his voice held the melody and made the whole song smoother.

The drummer looked exhausted and like he wasn't that interested, which rather threw the whole thing off. And of course Stu was doing to best he could, but the person who caught my eye was the bassist.

The way he went tap, tap, tap to the beat of the drums with his foot and the way he made his guitar dance was like no other I'd ever seen. And his face, oh that face. His dark, almost black eyes sparkled in the lights. It looked like he had a thousand stars glistening in his eyes.

It was like I was under a spell.

And then Astrid vomited all over the front of her dress.

I rushed to help and clean up, but somehow, Stu was already at her side. How he had managed to fly off the stage and then reach Astrid was some sort of mystery to me.

"Astrid, love, are ye alright? Do ye need anythin'? Water?"

Stu grabbed a cup of water off my tray. I didn't know how I hadn't managed to spill it when I ran to Astrid.

Astrid sadly explained that it was, she was rather embarrassed to say, her monthlies. They always made her sick, and she hadn't known they were coming on. Stu, surprisingly, acted like he'd seen it a thousand times. He explained that he had a sister at home and knew what Astrid was going through. He had just offered to walk her home, when the lead singer of the band came up to Stu.

"What do ye think yer doin'? We have a gig to play, Stu!"

Stu shot him a glare that sent shivers done my spine. The other boy gave in grudgingly and waved him off.

"Di'nt have any other songs prepared anyways."

The rest of the band separated, Stu taking Astrids things and waving a quick goodbye to me.

The tallest one in the band, the lead backup singer with big doe eyes, came straight up to me with a charming smirk.

"Howzit, lass? Where ye from? We're from Liverpool, 'cept for Stu, he's from Scotland. Anyhoo, what does a lad like me 'ave to do fer a drink?"

I waved him off, looking around for the bassist.

"Don' 'ave time for ye now, mate."

He frowned, his features somehow becoming even more adorable.

"Suit yerself. Names Paul, by the way. And the one you're looking for," he turned, pointing directly to the brown eyed boy I'd been trying to find. He was sitting by Celestine. "Is over there."

He walked away and into the crowd to find a girl to dance with.

A/N: Woohoo we met our boys in this chapter. I really love writing Astrid and Stu stuff for no apparent reason, so get ready for more of that.
Anyways, don't forget to vote and comment! Thank you so much for reading!