Fight From the Inside

1 | She Got Long Black Wavy Hair

Roger paced back and forth nervously as the band stood backstage and anxiously awaited the opening band to finish their set. Tonight Queen were to be the headlining act for the first time, and their gig at Imperial College had people absolutely packed to the brim in the tiny hall. The band couldn't believe their luck - they finally seemed to be getting some kind of attention from the public, and in turn, their live gigs were getting better and better.

The muffled music coming from the first band served to be a distraction for Roger as Freddie put the finishing touch on his hair as he swished around elegantly in his stage costume; Brian and John were sitting on the ratty red couch, tuning their instruments for the fiftieth time. Roger sighed and meandered out of the green room, lingering at the edge of the curtain, peering out onto the stage stealthily - usually he couldn't give two fucks about opening bands, but this one piqued his interest. Not only were they musically valid, but their lead singer branded a beautiful guitar, a killer voice, and was... a girl? He stared, shocked.

Not that Roger minded. He just hadn't ever seen such a spectacle. She not only commanded the stage, but was also obviously well-versed when it came to guitar and had a soaring voice to match. He watched, entranced, as the band finished up their final song to thunderous applause, only to be knocked out of his current state by the band's own drummer hastily stepping off stage and yelling over the crowd - "it's all yours, mate". Roger blinked, turning to hurry back to the green room, only stopping for half a second to give the singer another glance.

Back in the room, the rest of the band was gearing up to perform. The roadies would soon have their own equipment ready for use. Roger twirled a clearly battered drumstick in his hand and abruptly dropped it when the girl from the band strode confidently into the green room, followed by the rest of her bandmates.

"Watch it, Rog", Freddie stated with a twinkle in his eye. "You know how Trident feels about us breaking any more sticks."

"Oi, shaddap", the blonde rasped. "I don't need to think of those fucks before I do a gig."

Freddie let a small giggle slip and immediately watched Roger's baby blues following the girl around the room as she set her guitar in an old worn case, her teased wavy hair dangling down in front of her face as she lovingly closed the case and propped it up against the worn couch. She donned a long metallic black dress, the slip showing high red platform boots. But Roger just wanted a glance at her damn face-

"You look like you just stumbled upon a Rolls Royce with the keys still in it, Rog," Freddie said dryly.

"Huh?" Roger was way too involved in his obvious ogling, which clearly annoyed Freddie. How dare Roger ignore him? His disdain quickly melted away as Freddie saw the look on the drummer's face and turned to inspect his ornate outfit instead, quietly laughing to himself. He knew that look. He hadn't seen it in a long time, but he knew it.

"Thirty seconds!"

Roger awoke from his trance as the stage manager shouted into the room. Hurriedly grabbing his sticks, he met the other three members at the side of the stage, obscured by the thick black curtain hanging at the side.

"What're we opening with?" Roger said, dazedly glancing at the crowd. He hadn't realized just how many people were here.

"What do you think?" Brian glared, and walked out on stage, playing the opening riff to Keep Yourself Alive. Roger nodded and joined him along with John thumping away at his bass. The crowd cheered, and all of Roger's thoughts faded away as the task at hand became most important.

The last to join the stage was obviously Freddie, which the crowd welcomed with a hearty set of screams from females and males alike. Roger was always the one with the most female attention, but Freddie's ability to captivate any and all genders never ceased to amaze Roger. He smiled to himself as Freddie pointed out into the crowd, which elicited a few squeaks of excitement. He then turned to Roger, awaiting the next line of the song.