-Three weeks Later-
The weeks had crawled by; they had been lonely without Roger. Chris and Holly would come over a lot to try and cheer me up. I loved them and appreciated everything that they were doing. But it just wasn't the same. However, I had introduced both of them to Vanity and they had immediately clicked. Every Saturday we would go out for coffee together no matter what was happening. I was getting ready to head out to meet them now. I had thrown on a green silky jumpsuit patterned with white swans, something I knew Freddie would LOVE. I hadn't heard from anyone in the band since the incident at the airport, it honestly felt as though a huge chunk of me was missing. I missed my deep chats with Brian, John's sarcastic jabs. Freddie's complete outrageousness and his love for all things fashion. But despite all this my mind always drifted back to how much I missed Roger. I missed his arms wrapped around me, his hands running through my hair. His soft lips kissing me. Most of all I missed how it sounded when he told me he loved me.
I ruffled my hair a little, letting its natural look take over. Before I sighed and stepped out of the door, making my way toward our coffee shop of choice. It was this beautiful little shop, it played records and had a silky smooth wooden interior. Everything was written up in chalk and they had fairy lights twinkling across every little bit of the ceiling. It was called 'Deja Brew' and most recently had become my place of sanctuary. I would go in here often and read the tabloids they had on display in a tidy little rack. I would often see Queen in them, mostly Freddie. All of them looked happy, except Roger. He would usually be lurking in the background, his eyes down and his hands in his pockets. He didn't look like his usual self, I had yet to read about any scandals that he had been having with other women. Knowing Roger he would have an endless stream of gorgeous girls throwing themselves at him. The bell rang as I entered the coffee shop and pushed away my thoughts of Roger as I made my way to our usual table where the other three girls already sat. They waved me over and I plastered on a well-practiced smile before walking over to them
"Hi Darling, how are you?" Chris smiled, she looked fabulous. Brian was treating her well I knew that, they were the most adorable couple together. I missed seeing them together.
"Fine thanks Chris" I turned to look to Holly who was beaming. She and John made the most glorious couple, they clicked so well together. They brought out the best in each other, even if they would get a little freaky sometimes. We chatted softly for a while. Vanity was not quite as loud as usual. Something was up, I knew it. I could just tell with her
"I actually have some news" Vanity said, a nervous look covering her face. She always had unshakeable confidence so I was thrown. She paused looking very happily at us all
"I have a Girlfriend" She smiled "So I guess I'm trying to say that I'm Gay" she smiled again. All of us squealed and pulled her in to a tight hug. It made me feel so happy she had felt comfortable enough to expose herself fully to us.
"Her name is Katy" she continued "She is great, so incredibly smart and very beautiful" She laughed blushing a little
"Gosh I am so happy for you V. You deserve the world" I said pulling her in to another tight hug. Just as I did I heard the familiar scratch of the record changing. Another one was placed on gently and an intricate piano riff filled the room. My arms went limp around Vanity and I pulled back
"Evie are you okay?"
"Evie"
"Everything all right Hun?"
The piano riff made a knot tie tightly in my stomach and I knew tears would soon follow. I sat stone still, eyes closed. Taking a few deep breaths and letting the song fill the air. I opened my eyes and saw the three girls staring at me
"I-I am fine" My voice wobbled more then I meant it to "It's just, Roger wrote this song for me. It's about our first date" I smiled sadly. As my song continued to play I couldn't help but wonder how everyone in the band was, I turned my attention to Chris and Holly
"So how is the band?" I asked. Chris and Holly exchanged a reserved look. Before Chris spoke smiling
"They have actually just headed off to record their album" She paused checking I was okay before continuing. I smiled despite the pang of knowing Roger didn't say goodbye before they had left. They must have pushed the date forward because they weren't due to leave for another week. I had been clinging on to an ounce of hope he would say goodbye
"The boys have all written individual songs and are arguing about what is going on the record. Freddie has had some outrageous idea to make some crazy song" She rolled her eyes "It's going to involve opera or something like that"
I laughed wistfully "Only Fred could come up with that" I hesitated again
"How is Roger doing?" A silence filled the air as if everyone had caught their breath at the fact I had even spoken about him. Holly and Chris exchanged another look quickly and this time it was Holly who spoke
"Evie if I am being honest. He isn't holding up too well. He is heartbroken, since the tour finished he has spent every day locked up drinking and smoking. He really isn't the same as he used to be" She sighed sadly
"He won't talk to anyone about anything that had happened and apparently after you left the airport he had a huge screaming match with Chrystal and went crazy at her" She sighed sadly. Looking to see my reaction, my palms had stared sweating and my eyes were wide in shock. I obviously hadn't realised how much Roger had been effected by what was going on. But that still didn't change what he had done, I couldn't sell myself short because I still loved him. I couldn't be made a fool of myself once again, I had to resist the urge to run back to him. I smiled as the conversation slowly buffered back in to something else. Leaving me alone to think about everything Holly had just told me. He was hurting too.
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We were all heading out of the coffee shop; Vanity and I were heading to the store to open it up. I had been working a lot of extra shifts recently to take my mind off of things. Vanity had been taking a lot of time off, to spend time with Katy. So I had been running the store alone, I was really grateful as it had kept me busy and kept my mind away from Roger. As soon as the door to the store jingled open I headed to the growing stack of records we had collected. I picked out The Beatles 'Magical Mystery Tour' and placed it gently on the turntable. The full, warm, round sound of the music filled the room. Vanity had headed in to the back to sort through some stock, leaving me alone to look after the shop. Business usually didn't pick up until after the first hour we opened. I pulled out a small, golden, embroidered notebook I had sewn myself a while ago. It contained all the poems I had written through every light and dark moment of my life. I pulled out my most treasured one, the one I has sung at the night of the party and began to tweak it, adding more and making it longer. I was desperately attempting to create it in to a full blown song; everything I was writing was incredibly raw. My feelings came out in a complete stream of consciousness, an outpouring of thoughts and emotions. Honest and truthful to the very last word.
The bell rang signifying the beginning of a steady flow of customers, a lot of people had heard about me designing Queen's stage outfits. As Queen had gained popularity more and more people had came to buy original pieces of my clothing from here. It was nice to be appreciated for my talent. However every time Queen were mentioned a pang still struck a harsh blowing my chest. I still was in love with working at 'hidden boutique' I love the constant stream of customers and their outrageous fashion. The store was a safe haven where anyone could be whoever or whatever they wanted with zero judgement. Vanity was talking about setting up a small record shop in the far corner of the shop to fit in with our target market's interests. A girl walked up tot the counter. She had a glitzy pair of trousers, that looked really like the ones I had designed a year or so ago.
"Hey" She said I bright beam making her face light up "I was just wondering if you have stocked anymore Evelyn Lily pieces?" I stood shocked for a minute, she wanted to buy my clothing?
"Eh no we haven't sorry" I smiled a tight lipped apologetic grimace
"Okay no problem. I really love her pieces. I noticed she hasn't released any for a while" She paused looking at me "Do you know if everything is alright with her?"
"She has lost her way" I told her sadly "She had her heart shattered"
"Well let her know from me she is awesome and shouldn't let this stop her immense talent" She waved before walking out the door, the trousers I had designed sparkling off in to the distance. Drinking in the last words the girl had said to me.
The rest of my shift flew by, I kept myself busy and distanced through I couldn't seem to shake what that girl had said to me. I gave Vanity a quick kiss on the cheek as she locked the store door for the night and we went our separate ways.
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I walked home wrapping my jacket around me tightly. The season was turning colder and although that meant fabulous fur coats, it also meant rain here in London. Whenever I was out with Roger and it would start to rain he would take off his jacket quickly and swoop it over both of our heads to keep us from getting wet. Though I suspect I would benefit from it a lot more than he did. If I ever shivered or I looked cold he would give me soft kiss on the lips. Claiming it would warm me up, it worked every time. Just as I was thinking of Roger's soft kiss the heavens seemed to open and rain began to lash down harshly from thick black clouds towering above. I hastily ran and took shelter under a magazine stand. A tabloid caught my eye, a photo of Queen was plastered on the front. It announced they were the new up and coming band of London. I flicked through it quickly to a double page spread on the boys. It described their tour of America and featured many photos of Holly, Chris, Brian, John and Freddie. However Roger was not present in most of the photos. The ones he was present in, he had his hand up defensively and a pair of dark sunglasses covering his beautiful eyes. In every photo his head was looking down at the ground. It wasn't like Roger, he would always be the one to play up to the press. Making teasing remarks and quick comedic quips. I put the tabloid back down on the stand and pulled out an umbrella from my hand bag, rushing my way home.
I wrung out my hair when as I toppled through the door, it was a dripping wet mess. My makeup had run and my outfit was drenched through to my skin. I threw my bag on the floor and began to peel off the clothes that were sticking to my wet skin. Just as I was doing so the phone rang loudly, making me jump about three feet in the air. I reluctantly mooched over to answer it holding the receiver close to my lips and speaking.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Evelyn DARLING" Freddie's warm voice sounded down the phone "How are you?"
I paused, mostly because I was stunned he had actually called "Eh yeah. I'm okay thank you Fred. How are you?" I replied politely
"Well darling. I am actually in a bit of a tricky situation" he sighed "You see. Your song you sang absolutely infatuated me, it was so raw and pure and true. I loved it. I want to make it a Queen song, if you'd let me" He paused expectantly
"o-oh yeah of course, no problem" I said forcing happiness in to my voice
"But dear, this is where there is another issue" he sighed again "I simply cannot write the rest of this song alone..." he paused again, as if to create suspense
"I want you to come out to the farm, we can collaborate. Cross boundaries together darling. Make a true piece of art out of this. Work with me and the other boys. It could be amazing Evie" I could feel him smiling down the receiver at me
"What do you say Miss Evelyn Lily?"
I gulped "I-I-I....."
Hello again. Okay damn guys I have been writing a LOT. But I hope you are liking it. I can't believer this is the 20th chapter. WOW.
Love you, E xxxxx