Faking It • Queen FanFiction

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 30

After parting ways with Roger in the car park of Bernie's flat, her and Brian drove to his place to see Chrissie so that he could finish packing. Chrissie and Veronica, John's wife, were also also going to Ridge Farm, but Bernie had no doubt that they were already packed. Unfortunately, she had missed the wedding due to her injuries, but she'd seen the photos and a slice of wedding cake was kindly brought back for her. Veronica looked like a royal in her long, beautifully laced wedding gown.

"Bernie, I'm worried," Brian confessed in the privacy of the car once they'd parted ways with Roger. She'd fully expected for this to not fully be over just yet, Brian liked to brood too much to let it go that easily.

"About...?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you, acts around you and talks about you. There's a kind of softness in his eyes that I've never seen before. Just please be careful around him?" There was almost a tone of vulnerability in his voice and Bernie couldn't help but feel bad for him. It mustn't be easy to see your two best friends get in such a muddle. So she promised to keep her wits about her and then that was that.

"Oh, hi Bernie!" The wide, welcoming face of Chrissie greeted Bernie at the door and ushered her inside, offering her a coffee with Brian in tow. He pecked her on the cheek and they went through to the kitchen with his hand lovingly around Chrissie's waist. Bernie always thought the pair of them were so adorable and she secretly hoped to have what they had with somebody one day in her future.

"Hello Chrissie. I'm okay, thank you, this is only a fleeting visit to say bye to you and Brian before your trip to Ridge Farm." Struggling to hide the disappointment, Bernie worked hard to keep the smile on her face, though she could feel that it didn't quite meet her own eyes.

"Oh, that's nice of you,  he's not even fully packed yet, he's probably deciding which of the exact same jeans he wants to bring," Chrissie rolled her eyes with a tentative smile and brought Bernie through to their bedroom, which was in an almighty state. Everywhere you looked there were masses of clothes, toiletries, makeup and other travel necessities.

"Bloody hell. Six weeks, huh?" Bernie's eyes widened as she scanned the room.  Leaning on the doorframe, she crossed her arms and poked the back of Brian's knees with the toe of her boots as he entered the room, leaning down to resolve some of the mess. He tipped backwards onto his backside with a thump. "Got ya that time," she chuckled whilst Chrissie looked on with mild amusement. Chrissie had never been a fan of the bond between her beloved boyfriend and his best friend, but that was something that Bernie felt she would just have to live with. No way was she adjusting her friendship just to make somebody else happy.

"Bitch!" Brian cried, sitting upright again and dusting himself off, not that the floor was dirty anyway. A sweet grimace followed as he remembered he was supposed to be being nice to Bernie as, in her words, he was 'abandoning' her for six weeks.

An hour later and Bernie was heading back down the wallpapered hallway to the front door, the two lovebirds closely behind ready to say their final goodbyes. "Well have a lovely time, make sure he actually does work," Bernie said to Chrissie and tilting her head towards Brian in a mocking, mistrusting way.

"Oh don't worry, us women will keep him in check."

"Actually, can I have a word?" stepping forward, Brian took Bernie's elbow and walked with her to the end of his gravelled driveway, out of Chrissie's earshot. From the doorway of the house, she certainly looked impatient, but Bernie's attention was snapped away by the feeling of Brian's hands firmly on her shoulders, forcing her body round to face him. "I'm a little bit worried about you being left alone with Holden for over a month whilst we're all away. I know you're about to tell me that you have Flo, but how often is she at home? Just...be extra vigilant, okay?" The genuine concern in his eyes gave her a grounding sense of impending doom.

Up until this point, she'd considered what it'd be like having to withstand Holden for six weeks singlehandedly, but now a new light had been cast on the situation at hand. Ridge Farm was a real place that all of her most trusted friends would be going to for a six week period. Six weeks. Of course she had other friends, but none who knew her situation with Holden like Brian and Roger did. And perhaps Chrissie, Bernie had reason to suspect that Brian had told her everything, for she did like a gossip and they were in each other's pockets after all.

"Brian, I'll be fine, don't worry about me, go write some masterpieces, okay?" But even Bernie could hear the consternation in her own voice. Would she be fine? What would happen once Holden found out everyone was gone? Never mind that, she had priorities outside of her landlord's unpredictability.

Reluctantly, Brian turned back around and rejoined his wife on his doorstep. And so, with one final dramatic wave, Bernie saw them off and headed back down the allied shortcuts back to her flat. Everybody left tomorrow, tomorrow, meaning that Bernie's practical and theory exams were in two weeks, two weeks!

Step, step. Perhaps if Holden didn't know they were gone, he wouldn't bother her. Step, step. Yes, so all she had to do was keep it a secret from him. Perfect.
Step, step. But surely he'd notice when Roger didn't come round anymore? Step, step. It was times like these when Bernie really wished Flo was around more often, or at least took holiday. Step, step. Although, to be fair, what difference would one week make in the vastness of six? Step, step. She'd be just as vulnerable, just for seven less days, which was nothing compared to the thirty-five others she'd be spending alone. Step, step. Maybe she'd just be better off to spend more time at college than usual...

Bernie's thoughts as she walked circulated back to hoping that she'd just be able to keep Queen's absence a secret from Holden. That way, she couldn't be in any more danger around him than she already was.

However, when she got to the top of the stairs, something about Holden's evil grin through his window told her that he already knew what the situation was. But how?

21/12/22