Rubber Ball

The bell rings when Christine is putting on her dress, the one with the swallows on it and the high hem that only covers the upper part of her thigh. She usually doesn’t wear these kinds of dresses but this is a special occasion, she’s finally going to go to a talent show.

“Harry, can you get that?” she yells at her step-brother, who is downstairs in the living room and who can easily answer the door. “I’ll be down in five.”
“You better mean five seconds,” Harry yells back, reluctance audible in his voice even from this distance.

“Just open the door,” Christine fires back, hoping the irritation that she’s feeling isn’t too clear. She needs to be on friendly terms with Harry if she wants him to take her to the talent show. He said he’d go, but he can always change his mind.

This almost happened yesterday, when she came home late. Harry had taken one look at her disheveled state and had assumed the worst. He had started yelling at her about how irresponsible she was, frolicking around with that Louis guy instead of looking after their mother. It was her duty as a daughter to look after her mother, not go chasing around guys. It had been lucky for her that Harry was off early that day or else their mother would have been alone for hours.

Christine hadn’t yelled back at him because she knew he was right – it was indeed her responsibility to look after her mother – instead, she had apologized. It had been irresponsible of her to not go straight home, it’s just that she wanted to spend some time alone with Louis outside of school, and no, not in the way he thinks, they’re just friends. She had also begged for him not to tell their dad – she didn’t want him to yell at her as well.

Harry hadn’t said anything after that, he had just walked off and Christine had been convinced he was still mad at her. She just knew he wasn’t going to go to the talent show and she was going to miss her chance to see the Beatles.

However, during dinner two hours later, her step-brother didn’t cancel their plans, instead, he told her not to forget to cook early tomorrow so they could leave in time. Relieve had made her body feel like jelly. The rest of the night and the next day she had spent in excitement, the kind that made her stomach ache with butterflies.
Christine can hear the door open and closing, which is followed by the sound of two boys talking. Both are voices are friendly but the deeper one sounds a bit strained, which doesn’t surprise Christine. She knows that for a reason unknown to her, Harry doesn’t really like Louis. He has always been a bit cold towards her friend whenever he comes ‘round the house. Could it be Harry acts like this because he thinks they’re more than friends? He has never liked it when boys or men show interest in Christine.

For whatever reason, Harry doesn’t like Louis, which means Christine has to hurry if she doesn’t want awkward situations to occur downstairs. She’s going to have to wear flat hair today, there’s no time to get it into a bob.

The conversation is friendly enough when the blonde walks into the living room three minutes later. Harry and Louis are sitting on sofa’s opposite each other and are talking about guitars and rock’n’roll, no tensions palpable between them. It seems their taste in music has brought them together.

“Rory and the Hurricanes are amazing, you should check them out,” Harry urges Louis, his lean body leaning back against the cushions and a smile on his face. “If you love the Beatles, you’ll like them. Their drummer plays with them, when the Beatles drummer, Pete Best is his name I believe, doesn’t show up. He tends to do that a lot, I heard.”

“I didn’t know you knew any local bands,” Christine observes, as she sits down next to her friend, Louis. “I thought you only liked American artists.” She remembers Harry switching to another station when a British performer is played on radio Luxemburg, mutter under his breath about ‘rip-offs’ and ‘spoiling good music’.

“I do like British bands, just not the ones on the radio.” Harry’s smile turns into a scowl and he shakes his head in disappointment. “There isn’t any original one among them.”

“If you want original, you’ll like the Beatles,” Louis jumps in, an eager grin stretching his lips wide. He suddenly looks like a little boy trying to convince his parents to buy him a pony. It looks really endearing and Christine thinks that if this doesn’t make Harry like Louis, she doesn’t know what will.

And indeed, Harry laughs at Louis’s enthusiasm in good humor and says, “You really like this band, don’t you? You know what, I’ll give them a chance, seeing as Christine here likes them as well.“

“There’s a chance they’re playing today. They’ve got a lot of fans, but they still play talent shows on occasion.”

“They probably do it to boost their ego,” Christine jokes. “as they always win. It’s a bit unfair, really.”

“They have a record deal, then,” Harry asks, his eyebrow furrowed in confusion. “Isn’t that usually the first price of these talent shows.”

“As far as I know, they aren’t signed,” Louis answers. “They did record a single back in Germany but only as a background band for some fellow named Tony Sheridan.“

“That’s why some people, including me, thought they were foreigners,” Christine admits, a faint blush on her cheeks because she feels a little ashamed about her wrong assumption. “They’re advertised as a group with a hit single in Germany.”

“I did not know that.”

“Guys, we should probably go. “ Louis looks up from where he’s looking at his watch, the light of the lamp catching the gold around the hourglass. It’s a gift from his father, who’s more often at sea than with his family.

“I’m going to say goodbye to my mum before we go,” Christine tells her friend as she stands up from the couch. “I promised her I would.”

“Sure, but don’t make it too long,” Louis says as he stands up as well. Christine moves aside so her friend can walk past her. “It’s no fun if we miss the first couple of bands.”

“I will hurry,” the blonde promises before she turns to Harry. “Are you coming, Harry?”

“That’s alright.” Harry dismisses his sister’s invitation with a shake of his head and a smile. “I already said goodbye when you were making yourself pretty.”

“I’ll go alone then,” Christine says reluctantly, still a bit afraid of leaving Harry and Louis alone. Her brother might seem to like her friend right now but she’s a bit afraid of how long it might last. What if Harry starts to ask Louis about what is intentions are towards his sister?

“You sound like you’re afraid your mother will bite you,” Louis observes, a look of confusion on his face.

“Christine is just afraid I’ll tell you something embarrassing.” There isn’t as much mischievousness in Harry’s eyes as Christine expects, so she isn’t entirely sure if he’s joking or not. “You don’t have to worry, Chrisie, I won’t do that.”

“Just don’t kill each other,” the blonde murmurs before turning around before quickly walking to her mother’s room.

Harry and Louis are still having a friendly conversation as Christine reappears five minutes later. The older boy even has an arm thrown around the younger one’s shoulder. She had been nervous over nothing it appears.

“Let’s go, then,” she announces as she walks up to her brother and her friend, who turn around at the sound of her voice. Harry takes his arm from around Louis’s shoulder.

There’s a satisfied smile on Harry’s face and Christine worriedly turns her eyes towards Louis. Dread coils in her stomach when she sees the uncomfortable look on her friend’s face, but then she sees his lips are pulled into a smile and she breathes again. Whatever Harry told Louis hasn’t shocked him.

“Don’t forget to put on your coat,” Harry tells Christine. He takes his sister’s coat from the coat rack hanging on the wall behind him and hands it over to her.

She laughs at her brother and jokes, “Thank you, dad.” Harry doesn’t seem to appreciate the jib, his face folding into a scowl.

“Don’t call me that.”

When Christine has put on her coat, the three teens leave for the talent show. The wind that has been blowing around the house all day, has died down a bit as they make their way through the busy streets. The sun shines in their eyes as it travels to the horizon, only emanating a small amount of heat. All too soon, Christine feels sweaty under her coat because they’re walking so quickly, but she doesn’t take the black article of clothing off.
The first band has already taken the stage when they arrive at the competition. Christine can’t see them, as they’re behind the church, but she can hear them. They’re playing a cheerful tune that ignites the excitement that has gathered inside her stomach.

“Come on,” Louis exclaims as he grabs Christine’s hand. It seems she’s going to slow for him. “They’ve already started.”

The blonde girl lets herself be dragged by her friend, a laugh escaping her as they scurry around the corner of the church. She’s sure she’s grinning from ear to ear but she doesn’t care if she looks stupid. She’s too thrilled to be there.

Christine is now able to see the band and she’s a little disappointment when she sees they’re dressed like any other band. They are wearing suits in matching colors, aside from the lead singer who’s is a brighter color. Their hairstyles are short and done all proper. They are such a contrast to The Beatles, who wear leather jackets with leather jeans and their hairstyles are so long that some people think they’re wearing wigs.

“Let’s stand close to the stage,” Louis suggests as they make their way through the throng of teenagers, Harry following behind them at a slower pace. Christine seems to have forgotten he’s there and he doesn’t like it.

The crowd is scattered around the field behind the church, so Louis and Christine don’t have difficulty finding a spot in front of the stage. They’ll have the best spot if the Beatles are going to perform. The rest of the crowd will have to fight for a place from which they can better see the four boys. Christine has seen it happen before when she had been at her first Beatles performance. The whole crowd had surged forward like they had been drawn to the stage like to a magnet. And then they had started playing and all the girls in the crowd had lost it. It had been mania and Christine may have, maybe, taken part in it.

“Is this the Beatles?” Harry asks, appearing next to Christine. He points with his chin to the rock’n’roll group who just have finished their cover of ‘Rock Around The Clock.’ “They aren’t too original, are they?” The lead singer of the band looks in Harry’s direction with a glare but doesn’t say anything. Harry doesn’t blink an eye.

“This isn’t the Beatles,” Christine tells her step-brother, holding back a laugh at Harry’s bluntness. “The Beatles are dressed in leather and have longer hair.”

“Long hair is good,” Harry says in all seriousness before dragging his hand through his own long hair with a cheeky grin on his face. Their parents have tried to convince him to cut it for years, saying it makes him look like a girl, but to no avail.

“Hey guys, Liam here is from America,” Louis interrupts.

Liam isn’t a sailor like Christine expected when she turns to look at the man who her friend is talking about. She can tell by the lack of tattoos and there are no signs of callouses on the inside of his hand when he waves at them. He does, however, has the built of one, broad shouldered and all.

But what is the brown-haired, puppy-dog-eyed American doing in England or rather Liverpool, if he isn’t one of the seafaring people?

“He just told me he’s a musician.” Louis doesn’t seem to be able to stand still as he shares this bit of information, constantly shifting his weight from one of his legs to the other. “Are you participating in the talent show as well.”

“No, no,” Liam denies. Christine forgets the breath for a moment at the sound of the man’s accent. It is as if she’s landed in one of those American movies. “I’m not good enough for a talent show.”

“Have you already tried?” Louis wants to know, as inquisitive as always. “You can’t be sure you’re not good enough if you haven’t even tried.”

“No, I haven’t tried, but I don’t need to, to know if I could win or not.” It’s clear Liam doesn’t want to elaborate any further and Christine hopes Louis is able to see this.

Louis does sense Liam’s mood, much to his friend’s relieve, and starts on another subject, namely the difference between Americans and the British people. They get a few good laughs out of it.

That day, Liam, the sweet American, becomes a part of Christine’s life. He works his way into her and Louis’s heart with ease, his kind spirit and good taste in music making them warm up to him. Harry is more difficult to mellow but he too relents to his charm.

What Christine doesn’t know is that Liam will change her life just as much as Zayn will.

Notes

This was supposed to be the third chapter, not Revelations. I'm sorry guys. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.