CHAPTER FORTY
'DOING ALRIGHT'

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5 MONTHS LATER, DECEMBER 1972

'ROGER, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP MOVING?' I SCOLDED MY BOYFRIEND WHO WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF ME AS I TRIED TO APPLY EYELINER ON HIM, although that was easier said than done as every time I got anywhere near his eyes he would recoil in fear. Attempting once again, I reached up to continue what I was doing, only for the drummer to flinch as soon as the pencil touched his skin, 'Roger!'

'I'm sorry!' he whined for the fifteenth time, 'I just don't like having such a pointy object that close to my eyeball.'

'Heidi, darling, forget him and come and do my makeup instead,' Freddie suggested as he walked by, looking very relaxed in a white dressing gown and admiring his reflection in front of the mirrors, 'At least I'm not afraid of a bloody pencil.'

'Shut up, Fred.' Roger fired back, their bickering earning a small chuckle from me.

Tonight was the night of Queen's long-anticipated concert at the famous Marquee Club, and their first live show in a major venue. The band had only played a handful of gigs since the summer and although they'd been rehearsing day and night for weeks, tensions were high. The boys were currently backstage getting ready, and with time running out, Penny and I had stepped in to help them at the last minute with their hair and makeup, as they said they needed to look 'glam'. Whilst roadies, engineers, and technicians bustled about the building making sure everything was in order for tonight's performance, inside the dressing room should have been calm. But I can tell you that the by the chaos ensuing it was far from that.

'I don't know why I agreed to do this.' I commented, after having finally gotten the drummer to stay still. Penny was currently at the table next to me, trying to do the best she could to get Deaky's mane of hair under control with a brush, 'Remind me why you lot don't have stylists?'

Roger scoffed, 'It's Trident, love, not Sony Records.'

'Y'know, you should have seen this coming when you started going out with us,' Freddie told Penny and I, which made us stop what we were doing, 'One of you is a hairdresser and the other's an artist. It's what you get for being talented rockstar girlfriends.'

Penny's gaze met with mine, 'I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered?'

'Right now, for the sake of my own sanity, I'm going to go with the latter.' I replied honestly.

Penny and I continued what we were doing until eventually, everyone was ready...well, almost everyone.

'No. No way.' the guitarist grumbled as he sat on one of the couches tuning the Red Special.

'Come on, Bri, it's only a bit of eyeshadow and eyeliner,' I tried to convince him, 'Freddie was planning full drag, you're lucky we managed to talk him out of it.'

'Heidi, you are not putting makeup on me. I'll look like a clown.'

'Don't be so fucking boring, Brian,' Roger, who was sat next to him with a cigarette in hand, exasperated, 'If we're going out there looking like this, you sure as hell are too.'

'Honestly, it's really not that bad.' John piped in from across the room, who was currently turning his bass.

The guitarist grimaced as I gave him the best puppy dog eyes I could, 'Please, Bri.'

As much as it physically pained him to agree to the idea, eventually after a long, overtly dragged out silence, the guitarist sighed and gave in, 'Alright, fine,' I beamed in delight, 'But please, don't go mad.'

'I promise.' I smiled happily as he put his guitar down and joined me at the mirrors, unaware of the fact he was about to get a complete makeover.

While it'd been a relatively short space of time, a lot had happened in the last five months. The band had finished recording their first album, which was brilliant news, however Trident were struggling to find a record company to release it. This meant there was some uncertainty about what would happen, but the boys remained positive. All they could do in the meantime was get their name out there and hope for the best.

Outside of the band, however, things were looking up. By the beginning of August, Roger and I had moved into our new flat in Barnes, and truthfully, I don't think I'd ever been happier. Yeah, it wasn't Buckingham Palace, it was a lot smaller than the old house but it was home; nowhere I'd previously lived had felt like home until now. And as for Colin - he'd moved back to Scotland and within months had landed himself back in prison, for burglary again, and was sentenced to at least 8 years inside. Although I hadn't received justice after what he did to me, at least now he couldn't hurt anyone else. It was good news to my ears.

I'd also shattered my parents dreams of me becoming a chemist and left Imperial College. I applied to a number of art schools, though not expecting to hear anything back, until I was asked to come along to a couple of interviews and was miraculously offered a place at Chelsea Art School, which I began attending in September. It felt unreal - I was finally doing what I'd always wanted with no one stopping me. I'd also resigned from the antique shop and taken up a part-time job as a barmaid at one of the local pubs, working a few shifts here and there to earn a bit of cash whilst Rog was at De Lane Lea with the band, composing and recording in the studio often until the small hours of the morning.

Speaking of myself and Roger - we were doing alright. Having moved out of the old house and left the bad memories behind, we'd grown closer and our love only stronger. The drummer insisted on taking me out on a couple of dates and doing things properly, seeing as we'd done it the wrong way round. It was still weird that we were officially a couple; particularly weird for the rest of the band who were so accustomed to us never getting along, but I think they were getting used it. It wasn't all plain sailing though; without the financial support from my parents (not that we wanted it of course) trying to keep a roof over our heads with neither of us bringing in a steady income was tough. But Roger and I loved and supported each other and that was what mattered. We always got through it, one way or another.

Anyway, with five minutes to go and Brian now wandering around with a faceful of makeup on, the tension in the room had once again escalated. Even Freddie, who thought nothing of performing, was looking rather anxious. As the band waited to be summoned, Roger leant against one of the tables twirling his drumsticks and stared at the wall distractedly, a clear sign he too was nervous. Whilst I put the makeup away, my eyes wandered over the drummer where I quickly noticed the worried look on his face. Smiling sympathetically, I moved towards him and stood in front of him, running my fingers through his straightened blonde hair which was already dishevelled.

'Even after half a can of hairspray, your hair still has a mind of its own.' I noted as I brought it over his shoulders.

Roger shrugged, 'I wouldn't worry, Heidi, it'll be a sweaty mess in about half an hour anyway.'

'Yeah, that's true,' I smiled softly. The blonde continued to twirl his drumsticks, 'Nervous?'

'How'd you guess?' he replied half-heartedly.

'Darling, you'll be fine,' I assured him, 'You and the boys have worked your socks off to get here. Just do what you always do and blow the roof off the place. You'll smash it, I know you will.'

'Thanks, love,' Roger grinned as he leant in pressed a clumsy kiss to my lips. He pulled me closer to him so I was now standing right in between his legs, 'Y'know, we've got a couple of minutes to spare before we go on stage...'

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and smirked, 'Why, what do you have in mind?' despite knowing exactly what he was thinking.

'Quickie in the storage room?' he suggested, making me snort in amusement, 'What? It'd get rid of my pre-show nerves!'

I just smiled at him in disbelief, 'As able as you are, Roger, I think even you would struggle to get the job done and be on stage in five minutes.'

'Is that a challenge?' the drummer's smirk grew wider, our bodies now pressed against one another.

'It would be if we had the time,' I replied, making him pout childishly, 'Listen, after the show I'll make it up to you; and it'll be more than just a quick shag in the storage room. What d'you say?'

Even though his eyes lit up at the prospect, he couldn't help but make a jibe, 'You really know how to torture me, don't you Heidi?'

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled, 'Good things come to those who wait.' before our lips met again in a heated kiss, setting us off on a short make-out session and earning several eye rolls from our friends who we'd forgotten were in the room.

Before things got out of hand (or should I say Roger's hands for that matter), we were interrupted by John Harris, a roadie who'd worked for the band since the days of Smile, entered the room.

'One minute to go, lads.'

'Thank you, John, we're coming. Ready, my loveys?' Freddie turned and asked his bandmates.

'Always, Fred.' Brian smiled, John and Roger replying with similar responses.

The singer beamed proudly, 'That's what I like to hear.'

The boys grabbed their stuff as they headed towards the door, 'Good luck, guys.' I smiled.

'Not that you need it.' Penny who was stood next to me added, also beaming.

'Of course we don't, darling, Queen never fails to impress. But thank you kindly.' Freddie replied cheekily as he blew her a kiss and strode out the room.

Roger wandered back over to me for a moment, 'See you after the show, yeah?'

'Don't worry, I'll be in the wings somewhere.' I assured the drummer as I gave him a peck on the lips. Just as he was about to walk away, I rested my hand on his arm, 'Hey,' Roger turned around and faced me again, 'I'm so proud of you. You know that, right?'

He smiled, 'Course I do.'

I smiled back and removed my hand from his arm, 'Good luck.'

Giving me a wink, the drummer sauntered out of the room, following the rest of the band towards the stage ready to give the audience everything they had, as Penny and I left to watch the show, filled with pride and knowing this was only the beginning of great things to come for Queen.

✧･ﾟ:*✧  THE END  ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Completed 19/2/19

hey guys!

well, well - what a journey this has been. i'm sorry this is such a rubbish ending and i know for a lot of you it probably feels like the book has come to an end so soon, but this book has been a work in progress for almost four years. nevertheless, i wouldn't have spent those years any other way.

once again all i can really say is thank you. thank you so much for every vote, comment and reading lists adds you have kindly given this story since it began. i try to read all the comments, whether they be vine/meme references, song lyric threads, or just lovely compliments they always make me laugh or bring a smile to my face.

i still can't believe how popular this book has become, just today it hit a quarter of a million reads - that's insane! i've had so many messages from people telling me of the joy it has brought them, how it's inspired them to write their own stories - i never know what to say other than thank you. it's a wonderful feeling, at least i'm doing something right in my life.

in the last chapter i asked you guys what you would maybe want me to do when i finished this book and a lot of you requested a sequel. now, i'm not going to make any promises bc the last time i did that it went horribly wrong. however, i do have a few ideas which could make up a sequel or possibly several books. i'm also very attached to heidi and would love for her character to grow but nothing is set in stone yet. something may or may not happen, you'll know if it does.

for now though i guess i'll leave you all with a couple last thank you's. thank you to the loyal readers that have been there since the beginning and to the new readers that have sky rocketed the book to where it is now. thank you for giving me the motivation and support to keep writing.

i love you guys sm and i hope you enjoyed this book!

all my love,
anna xx