Roommates (Roger Taylor/Queen)

24. The Real Deal

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
'THE REAL DEAL'

A/N: Fun fact, the place in the header picture - I've been there, I bought a pair of sunglasses in a shop on that street. It actually looks exactly same. Just some useless information there 😂

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WITH THE INITIAL EXCITEMENT OF THE BAND BEING SIGNED AND PLAYING AT THE MARQUEE CLUB IN DECEMBER HAVING ALMOST SUNK IN, the determination to work even harder than before seemed to kick up another gear as the boys rehearsed almost every night at De Lane Lea Studios in Soho to keep up the standard expected of - now - professional recording artists (even if they were only given access to the equipment when everyone else in Britain was asleep).

Roger wouldn't come home until all hours - some days he'd leave in the morning and I wouldn't see him again until the following one - but when he was home, he'd usually lock himself away in his room, penning down ideas for potential songs whenever inspiration struck. This meant the house was pretty quiet; not that I was complaining, of course. Not having to listen to him hammering away at that drum kit every evening was certainly a blessing. Although, I think I'd gotten used to him being around, creating commotion everywhere he went, as it was a bit strange when he wasn't. Then again it would be very hard not to notice the absence of his ego, though, wouldn't it?

Anyway, tonight, the band were to perform at a local medical college having been approached by the student's union after one of their members had seen them perform live before, their lasting impression obviously being a positive one. Eager to get their name out there further, they immediately accepted, although that didn't mean they weren't as nervous as ever when the night finally came around and last minute preparations were made before they were due to begin show.

'Stop pacing back and forth, you're making me nervous and I'm not even in the band.' I told Brian as he paced the length of the make-shift dressing room (probably an office or a staff room by day), whilst fiddling with the tuning pegs on his guitar for the thousandth time in the last five minutes.

All around us people were bustling around, most of them I hadn't a clue who they were, but they obviously had some important part to play in organising tonight's show.

'You're usually pretty calm and collected before a gig, what's troubling you?' I asked him.

He just shook his head, 'It's just that we have a reputation to uphold now, you know.? Our manager is here tonight, we need to be the best we can be and show him what we can do, but if it's a flop, well...that can only be bad, right?'

'Oh come on, Bri. You're overthinking things as usual. Trident's hardly gonna drop you if there's a little less people in the audience than expected,' I tried to assure him, 'Besides, I went and had a look outside earlier and saw a huge queue at the door so I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just do what you always do and blow them away. You'll be fine.'

Brian gave me the best smile he could without showing he was panicking, 'Thanks Heidi.'

Five minutes before 'showtime'. The tension in the room was definitely building up now as everyone seemed to be on tender hooks.

'How do I look, my darling, do I look like the real deal?' Freddie approached me and gave me a full view of the outfit he was wearing tonight, which consisted of nearly all satin apart from his platform boots.

'Like a Greek god, Freddie,' I told him with a smile as he tried to contain an excited squeal, suddenly grabbing my shoulders and giving me a huge kiss on the cheek, before prancing off out the room, ready to give the audience everything he had.