Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (JoeMazzello!JohnDeacon fanfic)

sixty two

sorry in advance for the long ass authors note

i watched six underground and guys, i fell down the Ben Hardy hole all over again. i so much anxiety watching that film tho. perhaps a four fanfic is on the cards 🤔 🤔

pls note that i'm not entirely sure if all of this information in this chapter is accurate. i tried to get as much right as possible by doing some research but as i say, i'm not sure and so feel free to correct me!

STL hit 600k! thank you so much! i was thinking of doing another *celebration* chapter but don't quite know what to do. like do i one where it's a chapter in the future on the set of the movie? but that might be a little odd considering it's a Ben!Roger fic. lemme know though!

this chapter is quite short and boring and i apologise. i tried to make it as good as i could but it didn't turn out that way
++|++

The next few months, were in simple terms, hard for the band. They were skint. Proper skint. They weren't getting money from their music, had found themselves in debt with Trident and the companies from the tour who were needing to be paid. 

Things had gotten so bad that Roger and Brian no longer had the flat. Roger had moved in with Rebecca while Brian was kipping on Roxanne and John's couch for the foreseeable.

He could have asked Kayla if he could stay with her but he didn't want to put pressure on her. Their relationship -while no longer a secret-, was still rather new.

It was horrible, seeing them struggling the way they were and Roxanne, she did everything he could to help but every day, they seemed to be coming home from meetings with more and more people who were looking for their money.

And so now the four of them, along with Rebecca, Roxy and Kayla were all in Roxy's flat (Mary was working), where they were having a proper dinner.

"It's them that's the problem," Brian says, thanking her when she hands him his plate, "It's Trident."

"So what are you going to do?" Kayla asks, looking up at him from where she's sat on the floor.

"We need to get out," Roger agrees, "We've given them all these songs...we've had a number two album for Christ sake and we're not seeing anything for it. Brian and I can't pay our rent but I saw one of those arseholes driving a Rolls Royce into the car park."

"Can you do that?" Roxy frowns, sitting on the arm of the couch, "Leave the contract? I thought your lawyer said it wasn't possible."

Jim Beach (or Miami) was their lawyer and even though Roxy hadn't met the man yet, she knew that he was doing his best with this current situation. As John had said, it was as if he was one of the only ones on their side.

Freddie, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during their talks suddenly speaks, tossing his plate onto the coffee table with a clatter, "I'm not writing any more songs. I refuse. They're not getting anything from this band until we see the money we're entitled to."

"We have to pay people, Freddie," John sighs, "We need to pay Trident back even if we don't want to. Our debt lies with them too."

"How much is it?" Rebecca asks tentatively.

Brian shares a look with the rest of the band, silently asking if they should disclose it.

"It's around two hundred thousand," John mutters and Roxanne's wide eyes meet Kayla's.

That was a lot of money - a lot more than she thought but she supposes that it all adds up; the travelling the studio time...yeah, she gets it.

Just how the hell were they going to pay it all back.

++|++

Later on, when everyone else is gone and Brian is out for a date with Kayla, Roxanne had decided to take a bath and when she returns to the living room afterwards, she sees John sat on the floor in front of the coffee table which is covered in sheets of paper.

She silently sits on the couch across from him, watching as he rips another sheet from his notebook, crumpling it up and tossing it over his shoulder.

Hesitantly, she turns one of the pieces on the table towards her and when he doesn't stop her or protest, Roxanne skims over it. 

It's covered in notes and scribbles and god, so many sums that she doesn't even attempt to follow. 

She jumps when John lets out a frustrated groan, tossing his pen off to the side before running his hands over his tired face and only when he looks up does he notice her watching him with concern. 

"Hi," she waves, "You...what are you doing?" 

"I'm trying to find a way out of this mess," he grumbles, grabbing a rather thick stack of paper. 

"What's that?" 

"A copy of our contract," he glances at her as she moves to sit down beside him, "It's a long shot but 'm going to have a look through it. See if there's a loophole." 

"And what's this?" she points to a sheet with a lot of numbers on it and if she's disturbing him, he doesn't let her see it and he hands it over to her. 

"That," he points to the number close to the bottom of the page, "Is how long it'll take us to pay it all back." 

Roxanne lets out a low whistle, "That's a long time." 

"It is," he sighs, rubbing his hands over his face again before he looks at her, "I don't know what we're going to do, Rox. They want us to go back into the studio, to some farm fuck knows where to record the new record but if we don't - if this doesn't work, if the album doesn't sell...that'll be it for us." 

He scratches under Casper's chin when he appears beside him as if he knows that John is starting to really stress and Roxanne places her hand under his chin, making him look at her. 

"Then make it the best you can," she whispers, "The four of you, you're incredible. You can do it, I know you can." 

His forehead touches hers and he lets himself relax. 

"Will you love me even if I'm penniless and living in the gutter?" 

"John," she tuts, making him snort out a laugh, "You know that I'd be right there in that gutter with you." 

"I know," he murmurs, "I'm sorry."

She kisses his cheek, "Just...you do know that you can talk to me, right? About anything? I don't like seeing you get so stressed." 

"Of course I do, love." 

"Good."