9

                                    

                                          
"I think that you and I need to have a conversation, Mel," Max said, "don't you?"
                          
Mel blushed a deeper red and nodded. "Yeah, I think so, too."
                          
"Good thought, Max." Their mother said, "talk some sense into her for me."
                          
Max nodded, shooting a wink to his older twin sister when their mother's back was turned. He grabbed her hand and playfully pulled her up the stairs.
                          
"Where are Sam and Danny?" She asked.
                          
"Walked 'em to school." Max replied as he led her into her room.
                          
"But you didn't want to go yourself?" Mel asked.
                          
"Was waiting for you and your new beau." Max teased. "Ringo Starr!" He exclaimed excitedly.
                          
"Shush!" She giggled, unable to contain her excitement and happiness. "Mum might hear you!"
                          
"Sis," Max reminded her, "you're sleeping with Ringo Starr! He's a Beatle."
                          
"I'm not sleeping with him -"
                          
"You honestly expect me to believe that you slept at his house last night, and you didn't do anything?" Max teased, though he was deadly serious. Mel blushed. "Aha! I knew it!" He paused. "So just what did you do?"
                          
She slapped her brother's arm. "I'm not telling you!"
                          
"Am I going to be an uncle soon?" Max teased her.
                          
"Max!" She exclaimed. "We haven't... we haven't done that yet."
                          
Max smirked. "But you have done something -"
                          
"Shush!" Melissa laughed.
                          
"I still can't believe that Ringo Starr is the guy that you went home with - is it a one time thing?"
                          
"No," Mel replied. "We're boyfriend and girlfriend, now. The other boys sorted it out for us -"
                          
"You've met the other three?!" Max was a Beatles fan; not as much of one as his sister was. He was a little jealous that she had met them all, though.
                          
"Yes," she answered. "And I can introduce you, too... if you'd like -"
                          
"Yes!" Melissa smiled and pulled her brother into a hug. "He treats you well though, right...?"
                          
Melissa smiled and kissed Max's cheek. "Yeah," she replied. "So far. He hasn't given me any reason to think that he wouldn't."
                          
"Ringo always was your favourite." Max grinned. "You did well. Who would have thought that my sister would be dating a Beatle?"
                          
"No one," she said, "now please don't tell anybody - they're supposed to be seen as single, okay?" Max nodded. "Ooh!" Mel exclaimed, getting off of the bed where they were sitting, "I wonder if they'd sign all of my records -"
                          
"Well Ritchie definitely would." He teased.
                          
She slapped her brother's arm again and began to dig through her records, getting them out and ready for when she next saw the boys.
                          
"So what are they like then?"
                          
"Who?" Mel asked absentmindedly.
                          
"The Beatles!" Her brother exclaimed.
                          
"Oh," Mel answered. Of course, his answer had been obvious. Why hadn't it occurred to her before, she wondered? "They're nice."
                          
"Just nice?" He raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Mel," Max said, "you've got to give me more than that."
                          
"Hm, okay then." She sat back on the bed with her brother. "George is really sweet, and he's a good cook. Paul is pretty, just like everybody says he is. He likes to drink a bit, I think." She paused. "John is a huge flirt. Ritchie gets jealous, and earlier I had to assure him that I wasn't interested in John, but only in him."
                          
"How sweet." Mel agreed with her twin, who had spoken. "And what's Ringo like?"
                          
"Hmm," Melissa teased, "how long have you got?"
                          
Max looked at the non-existent watch on his hand and Mel laughed. "All day, sis." He answered. "You can gush about Mr Starr as much as you want to -"
                          
"He's so sweet," she said, "he's jealous, like I mentioned before, but he's also very protective. I was in the bathroom earlier, and John was flirting with me and then we saw Paul in the shower -"
                          
"You've seen Paul's -"
                          
"No!" Melissa blushed. "He covered it up." She paused. "But Ringo shouted at him and John to get out of the bathroom so I could clean my teeth. He made me tea, and let me borrow his clothes -"
                          
"He seems amazing - the perfect guy for my sister!"
                          
Mel agreed with him, and nodded. "He is," she said. "Which reminds me - I need to get changed!"
                          
"Those are yesterday's clothes?" Max raised an eyebrow. "Ew... smelly."
                          
She slapped her brother playfully on the arm, the two of them laughing. "Get out of my room, Max!" Mel laughed as her brother hurried out of the room, fearing that she would slap him again.
                          
* * * * *
                          
"We 'eard you this morning, y'know." It was the first thing that any of his three friends had said to him as soon as he had set foot in the studio after walking Mel home.
                          
Ringo shot a look at John. "Eh?"
                          
"With yer girl." He smirked. "She's loud -"
                          
"John," Paul warned, "don't take the joke too far -"
                          
"She isn't a joke!" Ringo exclaimed as he sat down at his drum kit. 
                          
"O'course she isn't," George agreed as he strummed a few chords on his guitar quietly, "but the noise that you two were making earlier sure is."
                          
"Oh, Ritchie!" Paul exclaimed, sounding scarily feminine. He was imitating Mel, and Ringo didn't like it.
                          
Ringo stood up, throwing his drumsticks across the room - one at John, and the other at Paul. "Shud up!" He yelled, shocking the others - Ringo never reacted to anything the way he was now. "I don't wanna 'ear another word 'bout it! 'ave a little respect fer the lady!"
                          
John couldn't help but snigger at what Ringo had said. The drummer shot his friend a glare and then stormed out, his feet taking him to where he most wanted to be.