More than just a friend || Roger Taylor

12- I'll be your plus one

24th March 1978

The addiction I seemed to label as Roger Taylor didn't weaken, or become a resource I used less often. In fact I spent more time with him now than I had before knowing there was only a matter of nights until the ones we'd usually spend together would be ones he spent playing gigs across Europe.

The morning after Freddie's party had been one to welcome much anticipated hangovers and a slightly less expected day the two of us spent of the sofa watching shitty films, but it was nice. It was nice to be almost wrapped up in our own little world, one he made feel normal.

I liked that he made me feel like I was any other girl sometimes. That he took to buy shitty takeout and sit in some average park, or to just sit in the bar chatting, or down the beach as the sun set, or just lounging around on his sofa. Regardless of how we did spend our days, I soon enough realised it was more than the company I liked. It was the way we spent the time I was starting to enjoy too. Because really it just made me feel like any average girl, which is the life I'd never been given a chance to experience. Meaning it was the life I'd always admired.

And that's also why I liked Julian, not entirely in the same way I did Roger, but I liked him. Not because he had eyes as soft as Roger's or a smirk as confident or hair as blonde, or even a dressing gown so comfy I could spend my day lounging in- but because being his friend felt like it gave me the chance to be normal.

So that's why I chose to finally act on my promise to go round his flat for a change and meet the roommate he spoke so highly of, the dress she'd apparently recreated sat in a small gift bag besides a wrapped bottle of wine on the kitchen counter as I waited for the minutes between four and five o'clock to pass.

I sat flicking through a few spare magazines, just skimming over the prints on each page- that was until the phone rang. I didn't enjoy the sensation of the ringing as much as I once did. I used to smile brightly and jump up at the fair chance I'd be answering to Roger's raspy tone, but since the phone call I'd spent hearing my dad's dreadfully harsh tone I was slightly more hesitant in how quickly I leaped up to answer.

Regardless, I still did. I peeled myself up from the sofa and padded to the phone hooked against the wall, a slight nerve banging the back of my mind as my ear met the phone.

"Hey... you alright ?" Roger asked, a sense of relief washing over me when I recognised the tone almost instantly.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. You ok ?"

"Yeah... I was just wondering if you were busy tonight ? I was thinking I could come over... if you wanted that is."

"Oh fuck." I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand, my eyes squeezing shut as my tongue clicked. "I'm going round Julians for dinner. I promised I would to meet his flatmate Summer. I'm sure if I explained that someone rather important was gonna be going away for a little while they would get it ?"

"No it's fine don't worry." He reassured me, a relieved sigh echoing through to his end, which earned me the usual chuckle from him. "I can be your plus one for a change."

"What..." I sputtered out, eyes wide and mouth swinging open as he chuckled. I didn't even partly expect the answer he gave, which was clear from the expression on my face, but that also meant I had little clue how to actually respond to him. Just because he'd suggest joining me for what was meant to be a drink or two round a friends didn't necessarily mean it was an idea good.

"Cmon... it'll be fun. I wanna see you as much as I can before I go anyway. I don't care if I'm only gone a month I still wanna see that smile of yours." I rolled my eyes and giggled, shaking my head from each side knowing full well he'd managed to convince me so easily to agree with him. But him and I both knew he'd had a certain power over me since the night we'd met. And he knew how to use it well- not that I ever seemed to complain at the time.