Those three little words (a Maylor fanfiction)

Part 18

Warning: reference to rape
John's POV
I ran back down the street, using the two footprint tracks to guide me, until I reached Roger's house. I pushed open the front door and found Freddie and Roger alone in the living room, "Um, sorry...Bri's gone home..." I said and Freddie looked round at me, his eyes like daggers.

I noticed that he had the blonde curled up in his arms and he was shaking a little, "Roger, what's the matter?" I knelt down next to the small man and he looked up for a second, showing his red and tear-stained face, "I'm fine, John... go home..." he mumbled as a small sob escaped him. "I'm staying right here..." I cooed, sitting up on the couch behind him and gently wrapping my arms around him.

He started to shake even more and the occasional sob turned to proper cries, "Hey, hey... don't cry, dear..." Freddie pushed some of his hair out of his face and sat Roger up to let him calm down a second. Freddie looked over at me and had a very concerned expression on his face, his eyes pleading me to help him sort this out.

"So what happened? Why's all this?" Freddie asked, placing a hand on the drummer's knee and rubbing it slightly. "I told Brian how I felt... and now I feel like such a jackass, it came out completely wrong and then I told him he had to go-" he began sobbing again and I passed him a tissue to wipe his eyes, "and he just left... no goodbye or kiss or anything... I said it then he was just gone..." he said, tears still streaming down his face.

"Do you want to talk to him and tell him what you actually meant?" I suggested and Roger nodded, "I do, but I don't know if he'll get mad or be okay with it... and I'm highly doubting he'll do the latter. I mean, I want to apologise and everything but one, I need time to calm down and two, so does he. Should I just leave it 'til tomorrow?" He searched both mine and Freddie's faces for a reply and his worried expression softened a tad when Freddie broke out into a small smile.

"I think that would be best, dear... leave him be for tonight and go round in the morning..." he said and I nodded, "yeah, leave some time to cool off..." Roger was still whimpering but had calmed down a lot since I came back. "Um, I'm going to check outside a minute, see if they're gone..." I said, standing up and patting Roger's knee.

I found the end of the hallway and poked my head out the door that led to the back garden. People were rushing about, just like when we got here, trying to put things away and get out of Roger's garden as quickly as they could. The burly cockney man can over with a small smile on his face, "everything alright?" I nodded, "yeah... just wondering when they'll be gone... Roger wanted to clear off some of this snow..."

His smile grew slightly, "we shouldn't be long, tell him... we'll be out of here very soon" I smiled back and put my thumb up, "cheers, don't rush but he does kinda want his time for a while..." I looked down at the floor as he gave me a little wave, walking off to wherever he needed to go.

I tramped back into the living room and Roger had calmed down significantly, "they're almost out..." I said, sitting down where I was before, and the blonde nodded, "cheers...actually thank you both of you... this is not a good time but it's a bit better than if I was left alone. I'd end up like you earlier if I was left alone... or worse" he looked down at his knees which were tucked up to his chest and smiled.

"I'm glad we can make it a little better for you..." Freddie said, smiling slightly. There was a bit of a silence, but not an awkward one, just a kind of fulfilled silence where we'd said all we needed. "Um, if you wouldn't mind, I'd kind of like to be alone... you can stay down here and I'll just go upstairs or you can go if you like..." Roger said, breaking the silence, and Freddie made a face like 'are you sure?', "I'm fine... go on home..." he added.