Queen Of Hearts | Roger Taylor

III

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I handed the customer her drinks after she had paid. She smiled at me and walked away, as I moved on to the next. It was a busy night at Chef's, the usual Friday night where students could finally let loose and drink till they drop. Sadly, Jack was sick, so I was stuck with the new girl Dana. She was nice and good at her job, but we didn't really connect.

A lot of girls started turning their heads and squealing when the door opened. I rolled my eyes. The star of the show had finally arrived. First, I saw my brother coming in followed by Freddie and John. After that, Roger came. Some girls walked up to him to talk to him and others just looked and smiled, trying to get him to notice them. Honestly, it was pathetic.

They chose a booth in the corner. After I had gotten their usual drinks ready, I served them immediately. My brother smiled when he saw me coming. I put their drinks down and smiled, greeting them all. They had been really busy playing in all different pubs and writing songs. The new name Queen was growing bigger and bigger. More people seem to notice them.

"Darling, how have you been? You look amazing as usual," Freddie complimented me when he stood up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He and I had grown really close since he joined the band – and transformed them into something totally different.

"I've been good, keeping busy as always. School's a pain in the arse," I joked. They all laughed. My eyes went over to the blonde drummer in the back of the booth. He seemed off today. He looked pissed and hadn't even touched his drink, which he would usually down. He looked over to me, wanting to say something but I beat him to it. "Alright, I have to get back to it."

Roger called me three times the last week. One of the times no one was home and he left a short message on the machine and the other two times my brother picked up. I told him that I couldn't speak to him right now, I was always busy. It probably looked like I ignored him, but I didn't even need to try for that. He just called on very inconvenient times.

I turned around and headed back to the bar, serving other people who had been waiting for a while. The night carried on like usual. I'm glad the costumers kept me working, that meant I had no time to give Roger the attention that he needed. The boys seemed to enjoy themselves, laughing and joking around. I looked over once or twice every thirty minutes, seeing them telling each other stories. There was only one who didn't seem to have a good time tonight.

After it had calmed down, I told Dana I was going out for a smoke for a bit. She nodded and told me that she would handle it here. I grabbed my jacket and pack of cigarettes, before walking through the backdoor. But I wasn't alone since I saw a familiar mop of blonde hair leaning against the wall. I almost wanted to walk back inside, when I decided that I wouldn't let him scare me away.

"Hi," he greeted me. I lit up my cigarette, taking a drag and blowing out the smoke. When I looked at him, I gave him a small smile. However, he didn't settle for that as he sighed and cleared his throat. "Why have you been ignoring me?"

"I get paid to work, not to chat with the customers," I answered quick. I leaned against the wall on my side, so that I could look at him.

"Why didn't you call me back?" he asked me. I shrugged.

I laughed. "Are you sad because I didn't call you back like all the other girls?" I teased him.

He scoffed. "You still have my shirt. I like it back,"

"It's in my purse," I admitted. He was surprised by that answer. I was hoping that if I would give it back tonight he would stop calling.

"How's Uni?" he asked, changing the subject. I was aware that he would do this whenever he didn't have a right answer.

"Busy. Taking up 90% of my headspace, but it will all be worth it," I said. That's what I told myself every day. One day it will all be worth it.

"So, what if I would get stabbed right now, would you be able to save me?" he joked. I rolled my eyes and took another drag of my cigarette.

"There is a difference between want and would," I said. His mouth fell open and I laughed, throwing my head back a little.

"You would just let me die?" he asked, still stunned.

"No, of course not. I would never let you die, purposely," I said the last word slowly.

He inched closer to me, and I threw my cigarette on the ground, pushing it out with my foot. His face was inches from mine, and I quickly backed away before anything could happen.

"I need to get back to work," I walked inside again. I grabbed the shirt out of my purse and threw it at Roger, who was still standing inside. "It's clean!"



⋆



The dining table was full of study books and papers. I had the day off and decided to catch up on some revising and essay writing. I wasn't behind on schedule, but if I did it now, I could work tomorrow and not worry about any homework. I had just written down the last sentence of the essay I was working on when the front door open and closed. I heard keys jingling and footsteps coming closer.

"Hey, Lo," my brother greeted me. He rubbed my shoulders and gave me a kiss on my hair. I looked up at him and smiled.

"How were rehearsals?" I asked him, while marking some point in my book.

"Good, got some really nice songs down. Freddie wants to record an album," he told me. I smiled and stood up to boil some water. I leaned against the fridge as I watched him make a small lunch for himself – and me.

"Why are you making me food?" I asked, laughing. He looked at me with a dead stare.

"Because I know you haven't eaten," he said like it was the most obvious thing. "Anyway, Roger won't stop asking about you."

"Why?" I asked.

"I think he kind of likes you," Brian teased. I rolled my eyes and gave him a little shove. Just in time as the water was boiling, and I poured us both some tea.

"Roger fancies anything that has boobs, an ass and long hair," I spoke. I sat on the table, and my brother put a plate in front of me. Toast with peanut butter.

"I know you're making him chase you," he said, thinking he was smarter than me. "You two go like peas in a pot."

"People say that about us, you know," I tried to change the subject.

"That's because we're twins, but you and Roger. I don't know, there's something you bring out of him," he said, taking a sip of his tea. He rummaged through the papers on the table, trying to understand some of it. He always said that it wasn't very different from astrophysics, but it was.

"Like finally writing some good songs?" I joked. He laughed at my joke and then gave me the serious look.

"Why don't you come by rehearsals tomorrow?" my brother proposed.

"I can't, I have to work and study," I lied. Well, half lied. I had to work, but not really study.

"Your shift starts at seven and this paper is due in two weeks," he out-smarted me. I rolled my eyes, knowing he was right.

So, I did. The next day I bought some food for the guys and then made my way to the rehearsal space they rented. They had been writing different songs, arguing over the fact that there needed to be an album soon but there was no money for it. I hoped they would have a peaceful practice session today because I was in no mood to walk into drama.

I heard the music as I made my way into the space. They were rehearsing Seven Seas of Rye, a song I had heard my brother play multiple time. I loved it. It was definitely one of my favourites – not that I heard a lot because they kept it a secret. They all seemed caught up in their performance, Freddie giving his all as usual. My brother and John seemed to have an interaction going on as they played, smiling at each other. But the best sight had to be Roger, drumming away like there was no tomorrow. Sometimes he closed his eyes; I had noticed it before and honestly, it was a sight to see. They soon stopped playing and applauded loudly, causing them to notice me.

"It's your biggest fan!" I shouted as if they couldn't hear me without the added volume. Freddie laughed and made his way towards me, engulfing me in a hug.

"Haven't seen you in a while, darling. It's so nice to have you here," he grinned, letting go off me. My brother gave me the usual kiss on the cheek, that John copied.

"Oh, I brought food! I thought you rock stars might be hungry," I said, pointing to the bag on the table. Three of them all huddled around it, trying to sort out who had what. I turned around, looking into the familiar baby blue eyes.

"It's good to see you," he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek and smiling. "Are you staying?"

"No, I have to work, actually. I just came to get the car," I answered, looking at my brother. His eyes widened and I realized that at that point that wasn't going to happen. "Brian, seriously?"

"Sorry, I promised Deaky I'd help him move some stuff to his new place later," he said.

"Oh, you're moving? Fun," I said, looking at Deaky.

"Yeah, the place is bigger than my last one," he said. I looked at my brother again and raised my brows, waiting for him to make up some solution.

"I can drive you," Roger said from behind me. I grabbed my purse, turning around.

"It's fine, I'll take the bus."

I walked out of the rehearsal space, taking the long bus to Chef's. It was a Wednesday, so it wouldn't be a long night. People needed to work and go to Uni in the morning, anyway.

The night came and went as I expected. Jack and I joked around with each other all night, which was refreshing. He needed to open the place tomorrow, so I told him I would lock up after the last customer of the night left. It was around eleven thirty now, which was reasonable early for a weekday.

After cleaning up everything and putting the chairs on the table, I walked to the lockers in the kitchen to get my stuff. There were two lockers standing next to each other, the red paint that was once on it was almost all off. No one really had their own locker here. We just shared the one that was free. I opened one and grabbed my bag, seeing the many pictures that I had taken with my other colleagues when I started working here. It had been just at the beginning of Uni, when my brother and I moved here.

I closed the locker and put on my coat. I quickly looked in the mirror, pulling the ponytail out of my hair and combing it through. I did one last check everywhere – was the back door closed, stove off and was no one else here – and then grabbed my keys and left. After locking the door, I turned around and saw only one car standing on the lot. Roger's car.

"Need a ride?"