Not Just A Roadie / Queen Fanfiction

14 • Hotel

JENNIFER'S POV

the band introduced me to John Reid and Paul Prenter. Paul's role wasn't really outlined to me, but I knew Manager John was the band and tour manager. I had a lot of respect for him already, running around like a headless chicken with this blundering idiot (Paul) at his side. he didn't seem to do much, just look important, nodding along with Manager John and throwing sarcasm at the band. well, the band bar Freddie.

we made our way to our designated hotel rooms; there was a slight tiff about where I was going to stay because Manager John had only booked 3 rooms. "this is what happens when we pick up fans," Paul had scoffed. he made me feel unwelcome, but what was I supposed to do about that?

eventually, it was settled that the rooming would go as follows:
-Freddie & Paul
-Brian & Roger
-Manager John & Bassist John
and all the beds were doubles, so I'd possibly be staying in the room with Manager John and Bassist John.

after a minor argument between Brian, Roger and Freddie, we'd concluded that I was best to sleep in the same room as Manager John (who was gay) and Bassist John (who was married). according to Freddie, he "didn't trust Brian and Roger to keep it in their pants". the thought made me slightly uncomfortable, having had not the most pleasant experiences with Russ in the past.

Brian, Roger and Bassist John assured me that Freddie was only joking, as everybody was laughing, but I couldn't decide where I felt safest. Brian had told me that Freddie and Paul were best left alone, so it was a personal tie between the two John's or Brian and Roger.

I had only met Manager John about half an hour ago, so I felt very awkward sharing a room with him, so eventually I decided to stay with Brian and Roger. luckily, we'd escaped Paul's snide remarks as him and Freddie had disappeared to their room a while ago, pretty much as soon as we got upstairs (and as soon as Freddie had finished having a go at Brian and Roger).

so now it was the decision between Brian's bed or Roger's bed. this was a tricky situation, beings as I didn't particularly want to be sharing a bed with either of them - not because it was them, or that I didn't trust them - I just felt naturally awkward. having met them about five hours ago may have had something to do with it.

after a careful assessment I turned to Roger and said, "right, if you sleep with no clothes on, you definitely will be [wearing clothes] tonight."

I thought about it and decided that if I was married and my husband had to leave for a couple of months, I wouldn't want him staying in the same bed as another random woman - even platonically. so the moral decision was to not be a hypocrite. naturally, I felt quite comfortable around Roger already, he had been very kind to me on the bus earlier when he didn't necessarily have to. I was grateful for that, legitimacy was becoming harder to come by these days - especially from a member of a successful band. for such famous people, they really were down to earth, and I was developing a soft spot for Roger.

perhaps it was more than just a 'soft spot', I hadn't had those feelings in just under a decade and I'd forgotten what a crush felt like.

———

that night it took me ages to fall asleep. I kept tossing and turning; and feeling extremely guilty about doing so, because Roger was probably tired after travelling all day and I didn't want to move too much. it was around midnight by the time we'd all assigned our rooms, had a drink in the bar downstairs and had come back to our rooms to settle for the night. that meant it must have been nearing 1 a.m right now, and i still wasn't asleep.

this was rubbish. I was very used to suffering from mild insomnia at home, but here was so different. nothing smelled like my apartment, nothing felt like my apartment (although the beds were much more preferably comfy here) and nothing looked like my apartment. usually I wouldn't get homesick, that place wasn't my home, but this was the first time I was questioning my decision to leave.

just as I had laid on my back and stared at the ceiling in defeat, sighing in frustration, I felt a hand snake gently around my waist.

ROGER'S POV

god, Jennifer jiffled a lot. constantly turning over, flipping the pillow around, sighing angrily at the dark room. I decided that she needed to calm down, I could tell she was getting worked up, so I put an arm around her to try and comfort her.

when I first placed my arm around her waist, she wiggled away quick as a whip, which made me retract my hand. "sorry," I whispered to her genuinely, feeling guilty for giving her such a shock, she probably thought I was asleep.

after a minute however, I felt Jennifer's weight shift and then she was right next to me, and she put her arm around my torso. deciding it was safe to do so, I pulled her into a gentle embrace under the duvet and within minutes I felt her body relax. it made me wonder what caused her insomnia and for her to jerk away from me so suddenly, but to become so relaxed once she was safe in my arms. was she startled from the change in environment - a one off thing - or was struggling to sleep and feeling anxious about physical contact a regular thing for her?

I had a lot to learn about this woman, and I was more than happy to do so. I was also fairly sure that the way my feelings were going, Jennifer was more than just a friendly mechanic who spontaneously joined our tour to me.

and yet, having her safely wrapped up in my arms brought me more joy than sticking that crisp in Brian's hair earlier.