Bed of Roses

Chapter 8

ACT TWO - NIGHT

"Everything is more intense at night."

Chapter 8

November 1974, Rainbow Theatre

Your hips swayed at the sound of Jailhouse Rock as you watched from the side of the stage, concerned as Roger hit the drums with anger. You knew he was stressed from the way he played the drums; you overheard Freddie complain to Mary as he changed his outfit, saying how the camera crew was getting on his nerves and making him unable to really connect with the audience, but you knew Freddie would keep his calm, at least on stage. He was the most excited for today, the day they've been preparing for months: the recording of Queen Live at the Rainbow '74.

They all arrived at the Theatre in a separate car, and you, Veronica (John's girlfriend), Chrissie (Brian's girlfriend) and Mary (you never really knew where she was with Freddie, but you supposed they were doing fine at the moment. You always thought of her as Freddie's person, not really a girlfriend, but something like that). You felt weird in the band's girlfriends car, almost as if tonight you were playing a role, that role being the classy and quiet rockstar girlfriend.

When you got there, the crew filmed them in the dressing room, so you were all discouraged of really interacting with them. So your last memory of talking to Roger was when you both separated, right in front of your shared flat as the cars arrived to pick you up. You were holding his hand, both of you quiet since you knew he was nervous, his striped blazer shining against the streetlights. You knew you'd barely be able to see him again before the show, so as you saw the first black limo getting closer to your house, you squeezed his hand to get his attention. "The cars arrived. In case I don't get to talk to you again before the show, good luck, Rog", you said, pressing your lips against his. The car lights shined through your closed lids, and you broke up the kiss.

"Thank you, Y/N. See you later", he said, moving to his limo. You couldn't see the boys inside the car; the limo tinted windows were too dark. But you waved at them, and you hoped they answered. Roger gave you a quick smile as he opened the door, and you smiled back at him.

You knew he was stressed. They all were, with Trident, their studio, keeping most of their earnings. And now that they are recording their show tonight, they're a pile of nerves.

The second limo showed up in your street, and you moved across your front yard to get to it. It was too cold for November, your deep red satin dress and black tights didn't really protect you against the cold wind. The clicking of your heels on the cement calmed you down a little. It would be okay. Everything's gonna turn out alright tonight.

You got inside the limo, making small talk with the other girls. You were actually quite close to them; they were the only ones who understood what you went through: the long weeks without seeing Roger, the occasional cheating. But you also felt a bit uncomfortable with them; you saw the boys with other people that were not them when you visited Roger on tour - and you knew things were more complex between Mary and Freddie, but Chrissie and Veronica were in a serious relationship, just like you. You sometimes wondered if they thought the same about you, if Roger cheated on you more times than you knew.

But you didn't want to think about anything stressful, especially things that are already sorted out. So you all talked about your outfits and complained about Trident and easy stuff like that. You felt like they were all better rockstar girlfriends then you; they all had jobs, but they would feel complete if they were only wives and mothers. You knew you wouldn't. But you didn't want to think about stressful things, so you laughed as Mary told a story about a funny german lady, talking about how she bought an entire closet worth of clothing with her at her shift at Biba, the store she worked at. And you hoped the show would be good, with little to no problems.