A Night at the Theatre

Chapitre 1

22nd of August 1975

You eyed the piece of newspaper one last time and glanced at the building in front of you, tugging at the strip of your bass case.

Yep. Right address.

You pushed the doors of the empty theatre. The hall was empty, the sound of your steps resonated between the marble walls. The announce informed the audition took place in the main room, so you lost no time heading towards the main doors and pushed them with both of your hands.

You scoffed under the weight and glanced at the room; at least twenty meters of empty velvet seats separated you from the stage, thus the guys.

You observed them some seconds when the man who was currently talking stopped when he saw you. The one who was back at you turned when he heard the door: he escaped the row he was in and went into the ally, arms opened. "Hello darling! I suppose you're y/n!"

You scoffed, but the little stress you were feeling from now vanished as he put you at ease. You walked to him and extended your hand to shake it, but he took you in his arms and greeted you briefly. He let you go and turned. "So, let me quickly introduce you to the others before we start." He took a serious tone, but kept his ongoing attitude. "First of all, your host here." He put a hand on his chest. "I'm Freddie. Freddie Mercury." You nodded.

You knew who he was; since their last album had had his little success with the title Killer Queen, you had started following their appearances on the television, and him being the lead singer of the band, he was always introduced.

Freddie went next to you and put a hand at your back. He lifted his hand toward the first guy; it was a tall, slender man with long curly hair. He had tight black pants and platform shoes, that added to his already big size. "This is Brian May, our guitarist." Brian got up from the backseat he was leaning against, waved at you and smiled; he seemed really nice, and you smiled back.

He moved his hand towards the second guy, next to Brian: "And this is Roger Taylor, our drummer." You shifted your gaze to him, and he cocked an eyebrow. He scanned you, from your face to your feet, then back to your face. He moved a long blond lock from the side of his face and kept his rather closed expression. It felt like he was wondering what you were doing here and nearly made you feel out of place; he radiates the complete opposite energy that the two other musicians gave you.

You noticed Brian lightly nudge at him. At your side, Freddie threw him a look but you didn't see him due to your position. He didn't move but – very – slightly bowed his head.

Freddie removed his hand from your upper back and clapped: "Right children. y/n, just go on the stage and do what you want. The amps are there." You nodded and climbed on the stage.

You put your case on the ground and unbuckled it; in the background, you heard heated whispers. You assumed they were bickering about something external to you and didn't pay attention as you plugged your guitar to the amplifiers.

Once done, you cleared your throat and they stopped their interactions. Brian smiled kindly to you: "Whenever you want."

At his side, Roger rolled his eyes and crossed his arms on his chest.

You took out your mediator and started jamming, not really following a particular path, where auditioners usually chose songs to perform.

Further, Brian whispered things in Freddie's ear, this one nodding. He then glanced at Roger, who started talking with him too. You didn't pay attention to them, as you were still playing, waiting for them to stop you when they would feel it.

You played again for some time when Freddie came to the stage and knocked on the wooden floor; it took you out of your playing and you stopped. "I think we heard enough dear, thank you so much."

He was smiling kindly to you, but you didn't know if it meant anything. Brian came next to Freddie; "y/n, you play very well, I must tell you."

You huffed and bit your lip; you felt your cheeks heat a bit. "Thank you, that's very kind of you." Freddie resumed: "Do you mind coming tomorrow morning to play with us? It would be great to see if we match together, you know." You nodded. You were excited, but once again, it didn't mean you were in. Further away, Roger shot his bandmate at the back of his head with his gaze at his proposition, as he hadn't been informed of it. Freddie took a step back and grabbed a piece of paper to scratch something on it and you took the opportunity to pack your stuff.

You went down the estrade. Freddie went to you and handed you the paper: "This is Brian's address, his father is kind enough to let us the garage to play." You nodded as you read it; it wasn't far from your home, you could go there by feet. Brian added: "Come at eleven, right?" You nodded once again. "Eleven in the morning, of course."

At the back, Roger huffed.

"Right, I will be there on time, you can count on me. See you tomorrow!"

You smiled at the three of them, got of wave from Freddie, a smile from Brian and another scan of your whole form from Roger as you ascended the theatre and pushed the heavy doors.

As soon as you left, Freddie and Brian turned to Roger, pissed and surprised looks on their faces. Brian opened his mouth but Freddie was quicker: "Are you fucking serious Roger? Can I know what happened in your head?"

He huffed and looked everywhere but at Freddie, doing as he didn't see what he was talking about but betrayed himself. Brian carried on: "We're lucky she didn't leave when you laid your eyes on her, Rog. What's the matter?"

The guitarist didn't understand his friend's attitude; yes it was the fifth audition they had of the day, it was kinda tiring, but he had been nice with the guy the auditioned right before – even if he was more than mediocre.

The blond couldn't resist to the pressure and let out: "We're not a damn women institute!" He had talked with a fit of disproportionate anger, fists clenched at his sides. Freddie couldn't help but laugh at his dramatic response and Brian gasped: "Do you say that because she is a woman?"

Freddie mechanically put a hand in front of his mouth as he laughed and added: "Our little Roger is afraid for his virility? Don't worry Rog, you're not going to lose your dick in your sleep because a woman will potentially join our band."

Roger was fuming, but wanted to change the subject. They had been auditioning people since the beginning of the summer, but no one fitted. Either guys coming to audition weren't good enough, or it didn't match with their style.

Or Freddie didn't like them.

Time was pressing though: they will be soon recording their album, and okay it was possible to add the bassline on the tracks after if they didn't find a bassist to come in the studio with them, but... Well, in nearly two months, they hadn't found anybody; why would it change now?

He shook his head. "Anybody down for a pint?"

Freddie and Brian exchanged a look. The singer said: "Sure. It was the last audition of the day, so..."

Brian checked his watch: "And we had to give back the keys of the theatre an hour ago."