"I still can't believe you're wearing that!" Ruby exclaimed yet again, gesturing over to Connie's choice of outfit for the evening as they took their seats on the front row of the theatre, awaiting the start of the show.

After Mr Hill had told her all about the job Brian Epstein had requested her for, and after a few hours of deliberation, he had recomended to Connie that she took someone else along with her. She knew it was just to make sure she stayed focused ad didn't get distracted from the job at hand, but she also couldn't help but think it was all because he didn't trust her to do a good job of it. Either way, she'd been stuck with requesting the help of someone, and considering she would have much rather gauged her eyes out than ask Henry along, she asked Ruby, an idea that seemed pretty smart at the time.

However, Connie was regretting her decision after Ruby had spent the whole night so far critisisng her choice of outfit. Whilst she'd gone for a tartan dress that reached just above her knee and featured a little white collar, wearing small kitten heels with her hair pushed back by a white alice band, Connie's outfit couldn't have been more different. She'd gone back to her roots, wearing checked trousers with a white shirt tucked in, finishing off her outfit with her old leather jacket, the one that had the small beetle pin John had bought her as a going away present. It wasn't as if she was that shocking, she was still wearing heels and her hair was straight, but the casuality of her clothes shocked Ruby, who still couldn't seem to get her head around most people in the country not being able to constantly afford the nicest, new dresses.

"I can't believe it, we're front row for a Beatles concert and then we're going to meet them as press, and you're wearing that," Ruby continued, and as she was speaking, Connie found herself staring at the stage, as if trying to see past the curtains covering the wings, wondering what the boys were doing at that precise moment.

"I'm sure they won't mind," she muttered quietly, and she was truly sure, considering her outfit that night was the sort of thing she always used to wear back home.

"Well, whatever," Ruby rolled her eyes, and Connie could only hope she was going to drop the topic fully. "I actually can't believe we're here! This gig sold out months ago, but yet here we are with press passes! Which one's your favourite? I think I like John the best, he's the most handsome,"

"I don't have a favourite," she lied, remembering all the rehearsals she'd go to where she'd tell John and Paul that George was her favourite, just to wind them up. After Ringo joined, she loved teasing the three of them by calling him her new favourite; Not that it was true, George would always be her favourite. "You think John's handsome?"

"Of course! Don't you?" At first Ruby's response made her want to laugh, though the dumbfounded expression of shock on her face as she suggested Connie finding John handsome made her grimace slightly.

"No, no way," she tried to remember that Ruby didn't know they were related, but even so, it was hard to hide her disgust at her suggestion. "What about the others?"

"I don't know, I wish I had eyelashes as nice as Paul's, and Ringo seems like a nice man, but God, don't you think George is handsome too? You must think he's handsome!" Ruby frowned slightly as she began, before she turned to Connie enthusiastically, and upon seeing the small blush rising on her cheeks at the mention of George, she laughed triumphantly. "So he's your favourite, then! I couldn't imagine that, you and George Harrison,"

Connie frowned slightly at Ruby's surprise, not sure as to why she couldn't imagine George being her favourite. Her mind spun with the memories of George, the way he was when they were teenagers, when they used to hang out. Neither of them really realised that what they were doing was going out on dates but going out for lunch, walking down by the docks, going to the record store, going to the cinema when they could afford it... All of that was the sort of thing girls like Ruby would have classed as a date, and maybe they were dates, but neither George or Connie were brave enough to admit to that fact.

They were always just friends, never putting a different label on their relationship, but at the same time she always knew there was a chemistry between herself and George. What she had with Paul, that was friendship, but what she had with George was completely different. There had been occasions where Connie wanted to approach George with how she felt, but she didn't want to assume George felt the same, didn't want to spoil their friendship, because even if the bond that they had was best suited to them being a couple, it was a bond all the same, and Connie treasured it far too much to ruin it.

Except just before she left for London and afterwards when she visited home in 1962, when she did sit down and have a serious conversation with George, Connie realised that maybe George had felt the same all along, maybe he always wanted to be more than friends with her but was equally as scared as her to ruin their friendship. By the time she realised that what they had could be truly special, it was too late.

Sitting in that theatre waiting for the boys to appear on stage was bringing it all back. That night sat on the wall outside of her house during her farewell party after they'd both stepped outside to get some air, the night in 1962 when they found out Love Me Do had reached the chart. Those nights, whilst fuelled by alcohol, seemed to have been catalysed by the fear they both felt for the future, the fear they felt at being apart, the fear of so many opportunities to explore their true feelings they had missed out on.

They'd tried to make up for it. The way he'd kissed her cheek as he gave her the little silver locket that she'd never taken off since. The way she squeezed his hand as he'd said goodbye that night. The way she'd grabbed hold of his shirt collar to pull him closer to her. The way he took hold of her chin to kiss her. The way he'd held her so tightly yet so gently that night as she laid cuddled up to him in bed. Small, sweet, little touches she'd tried to repress since they came with the painful backlash of it not being enough. Connie tried to keep the thought of home and her friends out of her mind to stop her feelings of homesickness, and the memories of George and their more intimate moments were the worst for making her feel homesick. She was normally alright, occasionally thinking of her friends and what might have been with George, but as she sat in the theatre it seemed almost overwhelming, the weight of nerves and nostalgia pushing down onto her.

Except it was at that exact moment that she felt all of her nerves slip away as she glanced over to the curtains once more, seeing them flick slightly. It was barely noticeable, but she saw it, and she saw the face behind it, searching the crowd. Close enough to notice the bright blue eyes that met with hers, Connie felt her anxiety be replaced by excitement as she recognised it was Ringo. She wasn't allowed to savour the excitement for very long as he quickly disappeared, only to be replaced by the silhouettes of others, moving quickly as if they were shoving each other out of the way to look properly through the gap in the curtain whilst still trying to go unnoticed. It was then, in that silent, practically invisible chaos, that Connie caught sight of a pair of dark eyes that met with hers.

It was him.

***

"Hey, lads! Come look over 'ere!" Ringo called from where he was stood by the curtain, whispering excitedly over to the three other members of the Beatles who were stood by his drumkit tuning their guitars.

"Come away from the curtain, Ringo, what if someone spots you?" Paul replied deadpan, not even looking up from his bass. "You know how wild they can get,"

"Yeah, maybe he likes it wild, don't you son?" John smirked, flashing a look to Paul before winking at Ringo, the drummer still stood by the curtain, holding it open ever so slightly so he could still see Connie in the crowd.

"Just come here, will ya?" he insisted, and when the rest of them still seemed to ignore him, laughing off his request, he sighed before exclaiming, "I can see Con on the front row!"

That seemed to get their attention as the three of them all looked up, their necks practically snapping up to look at him. John was frowning, as if he didn't believe him, Paul looked thrilled, whilst George looked stunned. Despite that, George was the first one to put his guitar aside to practically run over to Ringo, nudging him gently out of the way so he could see through the curtain, not that his view lasted long, as John soon shoved him out of the way to look himself.

"Family first, Georgie," John excused himself, narrowing his eyes slightly as he squinted to spot Connie out in the crowd, though the other three soon noticed him struggling.

"Blind as a bat, you are," Paul shook his head, holding back a chuckle as he pushed John out of the way to look himself. John pulled a face at him, muttering a curse about his bad eyesight under his breath, though Paul ignored him, instead focusing on trying to spot Connie. "Where, Ringo?"

"First row!" Ringo exclaimed from where he was stood behind George, who was attempting to see past Paul.

"I see her!" Paul called, turning round to the others excitedly, a grin lighting across his face.

"Move then, let me see!" George muttered, frustrated at not being about to see Connie.

"Paulie, you better move before lover-boy gets too het up," John called from behind them, smirking.

Of course all of the other members of the Beatles knew how George felt about John's cousin. Paul had known George liked her the first time he saw her, on the bus that day in 1956. They were only in their early teens, but Paul knew there was some sort of special connection between his best friends. John knew after seeing them together after George preformed with the Quarrymen for the first time, the way Connie had excitedly ran over to him, hugging him and ruffling his hair as she praised his playing telling him there really was some sort of bond between them that extended far past friendship even if the two of them didn't yet realise it. And as for Ringo... well he knew after he saw them kissing the last night they all spent together in Liverpool, accidentally running in - and shortly running out - of the room they had snuck off to.

He'd not told either of them he'd caught them, but it didn't really matter. By catching them, Ringo was just like the other two, in on the secret of George and Connie's feelings, even if the two of them were still struggling to embrace it properly.

As George moved to stand by the gap in the curtain, Paul and Ringo both turned to John, exchanging a look between the three of them that was a mixture of amusement and frustration at the situation, because as much as it entertained them that George and Connie were practically childhood sweethearts who'd never acted on their feelings, they were sick of the two of them not acting on it. It didn't help that they'd been separated for years, but now Connie was so close to them, they knew something was bound to happen.

"God... doesn't she look..." George whispered, sounding as if he was in awe as he caught sight of Connie in the audience, though he hesitated, pausing as he realised she'd seen him, and was smiling softly, her eyes squinting ever so slightly the way they did when she was really happy.

"Close your mouth, George, you'll catch flies," John said, noticing the way the sight of his cousin had left his bandmate that stunned his mouth was hanging agape. George spun around back to the other boys, shooting a small glare to John who let out a laugh. "I know the Lennon genes in her make her pretty, but don't let her distract you, we've got a gig to do,"

George nodded, setting his jaw slightly as he tried to put the thought of Connie out of her mind, even though he knew that she was there in the front row, that fact ringing through him like an alarm. He sighed slightly, going back to where he'd left his guitar, slinging the strap back over his shoulder, before nodding over to Paul.

"Right..." He spoke quietly, feeling the gaze of all of the boys on him. "How long till we start this thing?"

***
As soon as the opening few notes of Roll Over Beethoven were played out through the speakers, Connie felt a wave of exhileration that ran through her, a feeling that was doubled as the curtains were pulled back to reveal the band. Upon seeing them, the crowd went wild, and she could understand why, because she too wanted to scream, except she was too stunned, too thrilled to do anything but stand and grin at the sight of them all.

Connie's eyes immediately went to John, who looked the same as he did when she last saw him, though his hair was a bit neater and his tie was straight, leaving her to wonder if Paul had straightened it for him the way he usually did. He was singing, stood by his own microphone, playing his guitar expertly without even having to look, instead looking out over the crowd, though she knew he probably couldn't see anything past the stage's edge. Her eyes then drifted to Ringo, at the back focused on the drumkit on front of him, though he was beaming with the adrenaline. And then her gaze shifted to Paul and George, sharing a mic as they sang the harmonies together, occasionally exchanging a smirk to each other.

They all looked the same as when she'd last seen them, a reassuring sight considering so much had changed for them. They still looked like the boys from Liverpool she'd grown up with, her boys. Except they weren't her boys, not in that theatre, where everyone - especially the teenage girls - were screaming, crying, calling out their names. It was a little annoying actually, considering she could barely hear the music over the cries from the crowd. Back when they used to play the Cavern, the crowd was always enthusiastic, but that was on another level, and no one was more enthusiastic than Ruby, who's usual calm demeanour had gone right out of the window.

"Will you shut up a bit, I can barely hear them sing!" Connie called to Ruby, though she doubted the woman heard her over the noise. However, she must have heard her, because she looked away from the stage to look at Connie, then back at the stage in disbelief.

"Constance, they're all looking at you!" she cried incredulously.

Connie frowned, before looking back at the stage only to realise that Ruby was right. Somehow, even with his terrible eyesight, Joh had spotted her, and was grinning at the sight of her. When she met his eye, he winked, and she responded by rolling her eyes, fighting back the urge to stick her two middle fingers up at him. Then, she saw the others looking too, and she knew she was the luckiest girl in the whole theatre, knowing the fact that they were all staring at her was everything every other teenage girl in the room wanted.

She especially felt lucky when, as they moved on to performing This Boy, she caught George's eye. He looked over at her as he sang the harmonies out with Paul, and she could tell by the look on his face that he was nervous to see her, the sight of his nerves being rather reassuring considering she'd felt the same way.

"Oh, and this boy, would be happy, just to love you..."

The way George offered her a small, gentle smile as John sang and he harmonised made the words change, hold new meaning. They seemed to match up with the heavy bout of nostalgia that had hit her, and she found herself unable to stop from smiling back at him, fighting back the tears that threatened to show when she realised just how much she had missed him, and just how much she actually cared about him.

***

Word count: 2886

***