Fight From the Inside

19 | The Night Comes Down

Here be your usual smut warning. I would appreciate it sooooo much if you could leave a vote or a comment down below letting me know what you thought! Enjoy :)

At least he looked that way to Madeline.

Cigarette hanging haphazardly from his mouth, he extended his hand to Madeline and indicated for her to pass her own cigarette to him- instead, she stood there, frowning.

Shrugging, Roger plucked the cigarette from Madeline's lips and placed it in between his own, the dark red lipstick stained on the filter delicately transferring and leaving the tiniest imprint as he unbuttoned his denim shirt, using it to shield himself from the wind. Lighting the cigarette successfully, he looked on, both cigarettes hanging from his mouth as Stella stealthily snuck back through the back door to the bar, engaging the deadbolt as she stuck her tongue out at a wildly confused Madeline through the tiny security window in the door.

"What the f-...Stella?! STELLA! We are having a very long and very serious conversation later!" She pounded her fist on the door as Stella plugged her ears and feigned innocence.

Defeated, she flipped her back onto the cool metal door, leaning against it as she eyeballed a tired Roger, his blonde hair drenched in sweat and clinging to his neck. His open denim shirt was now waving in the wind, exposing his toned drummer's body and threatening to blow right off of him and down the alleyway.

She gritted her teeth. The sight of his bare chest and glistening skin was involuntarily triggering memories of the few intimate moments they shared together, sweet hot recollections flashing ceaselessly in her mind. Despite being absolutely freezing in the blustery alley, she felt a rush of heat spread up her chest and her neck, causing a lump of embarrassment to form in her throat. She hoped Roger didn't notice what he was doing to her.

Shooting a glance behind her shoulder, her eyes darted over the tiny security window, looking for a reaction or any kind of encouragement from Stella; unfortunately (or was it fortunately?) she'd left them alone, and Madeline suddenly felt the weight of the situation at hand pulling down on her conscious. The two of them hadn't been alone together since before the Taylor Female Misunderstanding Incident (copyright Freddie Mercury) and this was the make or break moment that terrified Madeline most of all.

It terrified Roger, too, who hoped she couldn't hear his heart attempting to beat its way out of his rib cage. He ran his eyes along her arms, which were tightly wrapped around her middle, and he became painfully aware of the fact he still hadn't cooled down yet from the performance - physically or otherwise. Especially otherwise. The brisk wind felt soothing against his hot skin, biting just enough to ground him and provide mental clarity - which he desperately needed, considering his on-stage tantrum minutes prior. Pushing damp locks of blonde hair out of his face, he briefly considered what he needed to say to her, took a deep inhale, and began speaking.

"I get it, I get it", Roger said, kicking at the loose asphalt, his sparkly silver Chuck Taylors a dull shine in the dim light of the solitary streetlight. They were dirtier than Madeline remembered.

"Get what?" She crossed her arms, frowning into the wind.

Roger bridged the gap between them and extended his hand, offering to return the now-lit cigarette to its previous owner. She nodded at his gesture, taking the cigarette and heavily dragging off of it.

"You don't trust me."

She frowned, anger beginning to manifest itself in her stomach, the heat spreading up her neck to her face.

"No", she said, scoffing at his ridiculous claim. "That's not it at all-"

"Then why-"

"Roger, you were kissing her-"