"NO!!! We're doing it again!!" Paul's powerful voice echoed through the studio. The other three groaned audibly as they attempted to perform the song to his liking. They began the track for what felt like the umpteenth time. 

When I call you up, your line's engaged
I have had enough, so act your age
We have lost the time that was so hard to find
And I will lose my mind
If you won't see me, you won't see me

I don't know why you should want to hide

But I can't get through, my hands are tied
I won't want to stay, I don't have much to say
But I get turned away
And you won't see me, you won't see me

Time after time you refuse to even listen

I wouldn't mind if I knew what I was missing

Though the days are few they're filled with tears
And since I lost you, it feels like years
Yes, it seems so long, girl, since you've been gone
And I just can't go on
If you won't see me, you won't see me

Even though the boys had been at it for a while, Paul's voice still sounded impressively clear and robust. Nevertheless, I could hear in their moans between takes that they were not currently in the jolliest state of mind. I decided it was time to wipe my red-rimmed eyes and check up on them. 

I apprehensively cracked the door open and tried to slip through as casually as possible. Naturally, John was the first to notice my arrival. However, instead of announcing my presence with enthusiasm as he usually did, he simply acknowledged me with a curt nod. 

George spotted me next and flashed me his signature shy yet knowing grin, "Oh, well look who it is!"

"Good afternoon, Gail. How are you feeling?" Ringo asked with a pleasant smile.

I could feel the pain stir with each thump of my heart as a lump began to form in my throat, "I'm...feeling okay..."

"Good, good, yes, we're all good! Now, let's play it again!" Paul barked. 

Once again, he was met with three worn out groans; this time, I was also able to note the increasingly vexed rolling of the eyes. 

"Come on, give it a rest, Paul, me bloody head's killing me!" George remarked as he wearily brought a hand to his head. 

"Yeah, mine too..." Ringo concurred softly. 

"Maybe you guys would feel better if you stopped partying so hard late at night, leaving messes for me to clean up..." I snidely suggested, admittedly a tad bitter that they didn't ask me to join.

John quickly snapped at this, "Oh I'm sorry! We totally would've invited you, but you made it clear with your little outburst yesterday that you don't want me anywhere near you!!"

I sighed, rolled my eyes and considerately approached him, "It's not like that, John. I lashed out because I was hurt and confused. I didn't mean it..."

John shook his head disbelievingly, "Listen, I know you're upset 'cuz that sorry sod broke up with you, but that doesn't give you the right to talk to me like that!"

"Lay off of her, John! Neil just got done being a creep with her, he's had his lousy eye on her for a while..." Paul piped up. 

I looked up at him in shock. How did he know this? How quickly did word get around at EMI anyway? I turned my head back to John hopelessly, "Please forgive me..."

John shrugged and fiddled with his guitar, "We'll see..."

With a soft grunt, I relented. Clearly, forgiveness was too much to ask of him right now. This snarky, moody side of the boys was such a stark contrast to the carefree, lighthearted air they had during the photoshoot. 

Meanwhile, Paul was still strictly business, "Alright lads, let's play it again, and let's do it right this time!"

With that, everyone was fed up. They all loudly dismissed him and left the room. Suddenly, it was just me and Paul. 

"Ah, fine leave! You bloody bastards!" Paul hollered at the doorway. Angrily, he picked up his guitar. At first, he just strummed it crazily, not making much sense of a tune. Eventually, though, he calmed down a bit and segued into one of his songs.

I'm looking through you,
Where did you go?
I thought I knew you,
What did I know?
You don't look different, but you have changed.
I'm looking through you, you're not the same.

Your lips are moving,

I cannot hear.
Your voice is soothing,
But the words aren't clear.
You don't sound different,
I've learned the game.
I'm looking through you,
You're not the same.

Why, tell me why, did you not treat me right?

Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight.

You're thinking of me,

The same old way.
You were above me,
But not today.
The only difference is you're down there.
I'm looking through you, 

And you're nowhere.

Sighing dejectedly, Paul looked visibly sad as he finished off the song. I, for one, was quite surprised at his temperament lately. Of the four, though he always took his music seriously, he was usually the most cheerful and optimistic; something was clearly biting at him.

Despite the butterflies forming in my stomach from being alone with Paul, I managed to finally swallow my nerves and say something. 

"Um, Paul...are you feeling okay..?" 

Paul looked up at me with a softened expression, "Yeah, I've just...got a lot of things on my mind..."

"Those songs were about Jane, weren't they?" I sympathetically deducted. 

Paul looked down, bit his lip and sighed in defeat, "I love Jane, but I really don't get to see much of her anymore...she's always off shooting some film or other..."

I nodded, recalling their conversation from the night before.

"You know, sometimes, I wish she would just stop being an actress! But every time I bring it up, she just doesn't listen! I wish she could just be a good little girl and stand by my side..." he continued.

As I listened to him rant, I felt an odd irritation building inside of me. All of a sudden, I felt the urge to defend Jane. 

"Well, who are you to tell her what she can and can't do!?" I snapped. "How do you know what a 'good little girl' does!? If this is something she wants, why not support her!?"

"I'm her beau, she belongs to me! Everything I say and do for her is in her best interest..." 

"She can make her own decisions, Paul! You're always trying to control everything and everybody!" I fired back.

"There's no need to get so worked up, love, I know you want me..." Paul replied swiftly, a sly gleam in his eyes. 

My face went hot with fury. It dawned on me how obvious it must have been; not just to Paul, but to everyone. Up until this point, I seldom spoke to him unless he spoke to me first. Then again, he had been cool and distant around me too.

I stammered, "Th...that's not the point! Jane's a great girl and you're going to lose her because you're so hellbent on changing her! You always try to change everything about everyone to suit your own needs!"

"I wouldn't change a thing about you..." he said nonchalantly. 

I stopped cold. It was a smooth line, for sure, but at that moment I wasn't having it. 

"I'm going to go now, Paul..." I said with as resolutely as I could in that instance. 

And so I did. Without looking back, I walked away and left Paul in the studio with his guitar.

***

A couple hours later, I heard a knock on my door.

"Gail, it's me! Can you open up?" I knew it would be Paul. While I was still rather sore at him, I thought it would only be fair of me to hear him out.

I cracked the door open slightly, "Yes..?"

"Gail, I came to apologize. Can I come in?" 

Without a word, I nodded and let him in. 

"Gail, I truly am sorry about earlier. I just...I get so nervous around you! I could barely say a bloody word to you a couple days ago, even though there were times when I desperately wanted to, like when John was dogging on you for not talking to us, or during the photoshoot, or especially when I sensed what Neil was up to. But then today, we were finally talking and...and...I was choking up! The only way I knew how to cover it up was to get cocky..." he paced the floor looking flustered. 

I sighed, my anger fizzling away as I realized what had been happening. I didn't know I had this effect on Paul. I wondered, was this something Jane noticed?

"I'm sorry, too, Paul," I said. "I guess...this break up has been affecting me more than I thought." I looked down as I felt the familiar pain eating away at me again. 

Paul looked down at me tenderly, "Would you like me to take you home?"

I looked up, my heart fluttering against my will, his dark puppy-dog eyes staring at me intensely. There was a niggling little voice in the back of my head telling me this could be a bad idea, but it was hard to say no to such a perfect, beautiful face. 

Once again, I nodded. And so, off we went.

*** 

The drive on the way there was quiet. I couldn't decide if the silence was eerie or comforting. Part of me was still shell-shocked that this was even happening. Paul McCartney, the man I had secretly pined after for months now, was now driving me home. I hadn't mentally prepared myself for this. I could've done my hair! 

As we made our way to my doorstep, I was unsure of how to proceed. My conscience was dictating that I ended it here. However, I wasn't really listening to my conscience today.

"Would you like to come inside for some tea?" I offered with a pleasant smile.

Paul grinned, "That sounds lovely!"

***

Once inside my flat, I dutifully made us the tea and then sat down at the foot of my bed with him. He beamed, his eyes twinkling, as my body positioned itself next to his. 

"This is good tea!" he noted as he took a sip.

"Thanks! I've gotten good at it..." I chuckled with amusement.

Paul smiled warmly in return, "So, tell me Gail, how does a girl like you get stuck as a plain old secretary anyhow?"

Suddenly, I felt my stomach drop as I looked down at my mug. "It's...what my dad wanted..." I said softly. 

"Oh..?" Paul urged, his face now painted with intrigue. 

Unexpectedly overcome with emotion, I began to cry. Paul immediately pulled me closer and stroked the back of my head to comfort me.

"Gail, Gail! What's the matter, love!?" he inquired.

"It's my dad!" I said between sobs. "He lives my life for me, makes all the choices! Ever since my mum died when I was five, he's been so overly-controlling! I do love him, and I know he just wants what's best for me but...when things don't go exactly his way, he screams at me!"

As I was explaining all this to him, I suddenly realized why the way Paul spoke about Jane had struck such a nerve with me earlier. 

"Has he ever hit you..?" Paul asked gently.

I rubbed my eye as I gasped for air, "A few times, when he gets really drunk..."

Paul shook his head disapprovingly, "Bloody bastard..." he turned to face me with a look of intent, "You know, my mother died when I was young too, it always stayed with me. Tell me, what was your mother's name?"

I looked up at him, new tears forming in my eyes, "Genevieve..."

I could see his face swell up with grief as I said this, and he pulled me in for a hug. When he let go, he looked intently at me again.

"You know, you were right about Jane. She is a great girl, and I shouldn't be treating her the way I have. I don't want to turn into your father..."

I shook my head strenuously, "No, that won't happen. You're nothing like him!"

At that, Paul beamed with pride. I could feel his face inching towards mine.

"You know, that bloke was bloody mad to let a bird like you go..." he said slowly as he leaned.

Instinctively, I began to lean towards him as well. Alas, my conscience kicked in again and I broke into a sweat. 

"Paul, no! I - I can't..." I stumbled upon my words, tears streaming down my face. 

Paul pouted a bit, "But Gail...why?"

I looked up at him sorrowfully, "It...it just wouldn't be right..."

Though visibly disheartened, Paul nodded in understanding.

"I'm going to need to ask you to leave..." I said gravely. 

Again, Paul nodded as he brushed past me without another word. 

That night, as I laid wide awake in bed, the tears kept falling. It hit me that I couldn't have Paul, I couldn't have Issac, I couldn't have anybody. I could only have this aching feeling in my heart that never seemed to go away no matter what happened. 

***

NOTE: Hey!!! So, what did you think!!? xP Paul said "You know" a little too much in this one but I still think it's the most dramatic one I've written so far. I thought about splitting this up into two chapters, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer for the juicy stuff. And trust me, there will be plenty more to come! ;) Cheers! ♥♥♥