The Kensington Odeon

Monica's feet in her sandals shuffled uncomfortably as she stood on the lamp lit pavement and stared up at the showtimes above the entrance, trying to decide what she liked best on the programme. But the selection of features was so small, for there were only three screens and she was too nervous waiting on Freddie to figure it out.

The kiss goodbye from him that morning on the doorstep as he set off for the studio had been replaying in her head all day, before she took off and spent a few hours looking around shop windows and cafes and restaurants for signs advertising jobs, but with no luck at all. Her CV was yet to be posted back to her by her parents, and the job centre was her last resort, but she was considering it only if still couldn't find anywhere in a month's time.

Later in the day, Monica had gotten back to Freddie's flat in time to change into an black cotton buttoned blouse and elegant khaki palazzo pants, paired with her flats and a staple camel coat. It wasn't a lot, but it was all she had left with her in her suitcase that was clean and mostly unworn.

She found a pair of curling irons in Freddie's bathroom (which she assumed were Mary's, but she didn't care) and hoped that enhancing the waves in her brown hair, and that a few coats of mascara, would improve the way she felt about her overall appearance before she put the keys he left in her care safe in her leather shoulder bag and left.

Monica's heart skipped a beat at each an every taxi that pulled up at the entrance to the cinema, hoping it was him. She'd turn around and look at the upcoming film posters on the door lit up by the overhead lights and pretend to be distracted as whoever it was emerged from their cab.

Eventually Freddie did arrive after she waited for ten or fifteen minutes, and at that point she'd gotten so bored of waiting and had forgotten how to be anxious that she was now counting spare change in her pocket. She gave a few pounds the homeless man sitting at the lamppost a hundred yards away from where she stood, and then began to calculate much was left to buy perhaps a small tub of popcorn when she felt a small tap on her shoulder.

She thought that it was a beggar that had observed her giving change from a distance so she quickly put her purse back onto her coat pocket.

But the velvety British voice it belonged to said otherwise, "Darling, why must you act so suspiciously?"

Freddie had arrived with a pair of tinted sunglasses to partially mask his identity, wearing a dark fur coat for the night was cool, dark flares embroidered with stars where there were meant to be pockets, and white leather trainers.

"Hello." she blushed as she forced a smile.

He smiled back as he pulled her into his arms, sliding his tongue between her lips.

Such a public display of affection left her feeling bashful, for she hadn't kissed him back out in the open in front of so many eyes since the night that they met at the club, or on the taxi back to the hotel.

But then again time whirled by in that room, and their senses were lost in a trance.

His lips parted hers, "You found your way here alright?"

She nodded, her fingers digging into the fur of his coat, "Yes. I just followed your instructions... I didn't see you coming back though"

"I asked the driver to park around the corner so that nobody would recognise me," he could feel stares on him, "We should go inside quickly though"

"Yes, lets" she noticed people stopping and looking in their general direction.

"I wish I prepared myself for this" she thought as it begun to occur that from now on her private life wasn't going to remain private for long.

Nonetheless, she was startled by the fact that she was now entering a cinema with marble flooring and stairs in it, and a massive royal blue carpet. It felt more like a hospital rather than a place where she was going to be entertained in the evening.

"This is the fanciest cinema that I've ever been in," she whispered, "Even the staff are in bow ties"

He giggled, and explained, "The boys and I had a gig here a few years back... just when we started to do well"

"Speaking of boys," She queued up within  the red velvet rope, "How was work?"

"Work was good. But I've been thinking about you all day long" his hand on her waist slipped around her.

"Didn't I tell you that I don't want to inconvenience you?" She whispered jokingly.

"Oh, but the thought of you kept me focused," he kissed the side of her head, the heat of his breath in her ear. "I needed a few days off to recuperate anyway, even if it meant just eating and sleeping and fucking-"

"Freddie!!" She hissed as he chuckled mischievously, a senior couple turning around slightly when they overheard him.

Regardless, her arm clung onto his, for each word that escaped his mouth was making her melt and lose her balance as she stared into space.

"So, did you decide on anything you'd like to watch?" He murmured.

"I'm afraid not," she answered. "I decided to wait for you."

"Well I don't care, I want to spend time with you, that's all"

"Oh... do you want to leave and find something else to do then?" She was slightly disappointed.

If anything, a movie was one thing she needed at that moment to take her mind off things.

"Oh no, darling. We both made our way here" he looked at the showtimes on the wall, and an idea came to mind.

"What's the matter then?" She asked.

He looked right and left, and leaned closer to her.

"How about... we try and get a screen to ourselves, or with as little people as possible?" He whispered.

"A screen to ourselves? Whatever would he want to do with that?"

"But there are only three screens," she pointed out. "Each one is bound to have people in it"

"Well, we shall find somewhere quiet to sit... and we will pick the film with the lowest sale this week, that way there'll likely be less people in the audience" he explained his plan.

"Up on the balcony or downstairs?" She asked.

"Wherever is quietest" he repeated.

"What if it doesn't work?" She whispered.

"Come to think of it, I am Freddie Mercury," he grinned. "I can get them to seat us wherever we like"

"Won't that draw attention?" She looked around anxiously.

"Only if we aren't discreet about it... I have my passport in my pocket to prove that I am a VIP person, so I don't even have to open my mouth" he said.

They reached the top of the fast-moving queue, and the teenage clerk lifted his head, "Hello sir, what would you like to watch?"

"Which one of your movies is doing shit at the box office?" Freddie blatantly asked.

The clerk widened his eyes at such a request, "Do you mean which one has the lowest sales this week?"

Freddie nodded, "Yes please. If that's no trouble to find"

"Let me get my manager" he stood up from his chair and exited through the door behind him.

The sound of mutters increased behind them, and Monica tugged Freddie's arm, "Is this a good idea? People are staring"

"It'll be worth it, I promise" he whispered back.

"What if they realise it's you?" She felt paranoid, for she didn't know of the people recognised it was him or if they were annoyed waiting.

"The staff will sort it out." He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"You're used to this, Freddie. I'm not"

The clerk came back with a log book that monitored box office receipts.

"I shouldn't be doing this as it's holding our customers back, but my boss is happy to let me" he explained as he started flicking through it carefully.

"Tell him that I say thank you for any inconveniences this causes" Freddie leaned against the counter.

"Well, according to this, last week it was... The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which is on in..." he glanced to the wall. "It's on in ten minutes, and so far only a few people have bought a ticket for it. It's been playing since March so audiences are sick of it by now, I imagine."

"Sounds perfect for what we want... but why on earth are they showing Disney movies here at night?" Freddie exclaimed.

The clerk shrugged, "It's just the way we schedule our programmes. Either that, or Annie Hall in screen one, sir. Take your pick."

Freddie turned to Monica, "Right, what do want to see, darling?"

She could feel the line of glaring people forming fast and growing impatient behind them. She didn't want to see either films, but she just wanted to be alone with Freddie and out of the queue. And so far there were no children in sight, so maybe the Disney film would have the least seats.

She linked her arm with his and whispered, "Well, if it means that we have some time together, regardless of how interesting the movie is, I'd say Winnie The Pooh..."

"Oh fuck it," he hastily dug through his pocket and put a note onto the countertop, "Two for Winnie the Pooh, please."

Monica felt her cheeks burn at the sound of chuckles behind them as the clerk handed them their admission tickets.

"I have another request" Freddie tipped his sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose, revealing his eyes.

Monica watched as the clerk squinted slightly, trying to piece the familiar face together.

"Could you get us somewhere quiet to sit, if possible?" He put his open passport that read Frederick Mercury in front of the young man behind the glass.

A little star struck at first (something Monica felt only a few nights before at the car in the club), the clerk managed to pull himself together, pointing to the Ushers standing at the staircase, "Show it to them and they'll take you to sit where you won't be bothered"

"Thank you," Freddie flashed a quick toothy smile. "Keep the change, dear man."

The clerk beamed, watching as Freddie pulled the girl by his side away and hissed, "My god, I hope none of them ask me to sing!"

"Will you sing for me when we get back to your flat?" She asked playfully.

His hand slipped down to her buttock, "Only if you can make me"

She jumped a little, and they stopped at the bottom of the steps to hand their tickets to the Ushers.

"Could you help us find somewhere to sit where we can be unbothered? I don't want to draw attention" Freddie's voice had gone down to a hush as he handed them his passport.

"We'll see what we can find" the usher gestured them to follow him.

In Belfast, the cinemas were the packed with people, regardless of whether or not it was an opening weekend. And there were half as much staff there to allow admittance. This cinema felt empty, much more than she expected for the upmarket location that it was and the amount of seats it housed. She didn't like the exposed feeling such an empty space gave her, but she knew that for someone like Freddie or any other member of Queen it must've been a rare treat to have it in a public place.

They were lead into the screen, and not once did Freddie remove his sunglasses. The downstairs seating block was scattered with people. As for upstairs on the balcony block with significantly less seats, there were no heads visible.

"Are you sure you want to watch this?" She watched the usher disappear down the steps.

"I don't know, and I don't care about sitting through a child's film," he pressed, adjusting the collar of his polo shirt, "My god, it is hot in here!"

"My school back home would put the heating on in full blast all the time, especially in the middle of summer," she casually said. "Glad to get out of there"

"My god, the way she talks about school as if it was only yesterday. She's so young, too young for me, in fact... an eighteen year old? Not to mention a virgin? Freddie, what on Earth were you thinking?" He felt a sense of guilt and shame that had conflicted him in recent days, watching as she folded her camel coat onto her lap and put it onto the empty seat next to her.

"What if somebody comes up to us?" Monica whispered again as she leaned against the rail and observed more people emerge below with their snacks of popcorn and toffee apples.

"Well, if they're asking for an autograph that's fine" he replied, slipping his fur coat off of his arms.

"What's the worst fan experience you've had, if you don't mind me asking?" She sat back down.

"Well, Japan was bloody awful the first time... I fell in love with the country, of course. But my god!" He laced his warm hand with hers. "They were everywhere. We had to be escorted here and there by double the amount of security, smuggled into laundry lifts or hotels... I still have the paper flower one of them gave me. It was the first time we realised our music actually meant something to someone in the world... all those nights we went to bed hungry, the effort, it was finally worth it."

The turn that the conversation took had left Monica feeling guilty for not being a Queen fan beforehand, and rather as someone who knew of him.

Freddie had noticed she'd gone quiet, and saw a sad look in her eyes, "Monica? What is it?"

"Well, I better be honest."

"This is really stupid, but I didn't know that you guys worked so hard.. sacrificed so much. You especially, what with the immigrating from Zanzibar to London after an uprising"

"But darling, I'm glad my family boarded that plane to London," he reassured her, squeezing her hand lovingly. "I told you why yesterday morning...I mean, my life wouldn't have been very big if I stayed."

"Perhaps, but that still makes me feel bad for not being a fan of yours." She smiled to herself, staring down at her lap.

"What a silly little thing to be tormenting yourself with," He put his arms around her. "I'm glad you appreciate me as a human being more than anything"

She rested her head against his shoulder, for she was glad to receive the warmth that she'd been craving all day, until she felt his hand lift her chin.

"Here I am, staring up at the the beautiful chiselled face and those brown eyes that magnetised me across that dance floor"

Her lips met his before she even had time to finish her thoughts. She would've settled even more into his hold if it weren't for the plastic armrest digging in between them.

"These bloody obstacles!" He hissed, pushing it up and back, out of their way before opening his arms again, "there... that's much nicer, dear.

She rested against him again, this time with ease.

"I just hope I get a job sometime soon" she murmured.

"I can still get you a job, you know" He begun to smooth her hair.

She lifted her head from his chest, "But that'd be too easy!"

"But darling-"

The lights has dimmed before he had time to finish his sentence.

"What were you saying?" She whispered loudly over the Pearl and Dean theme blaring from the speakers.

"If you really are stuck for a job, I can find you something" he answered,  stretching his head to kiss her hand perched on his shoulder.

"We'd get sick of each other after a while!" She giggled.

"Who could ever get sick of you?" He purred.

"...I guess I just don't want you to regret being generous to me" she stared blankly at the screen as food products and what not flashed by.

"I want to take care of you" was all he could say.

She looked up at him again, "The way you say that makes me feel so dizzy"

"Good," he kissed her nose. "My spell must be working on you"

"Oh, it certainly is" she moulded herself against him, and turned her eyes back to the screen.

***

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One quarter of the way through the film...

"That bear's voice is really getting on my nerves" she heard Freddie mutter above her as they watched Pooh emerge from a dirty puddle.

"What are you supposed to be?" Christopher Robin asked.

"Our thoughts exactly... could be blackface" Freddie continued.

"Freddie?!" Monica hissed.

They watched as Pooh floated up to the canopy of a honey tree. And as Pooh and Christopher Robin sang Little Black Raincloud, she felt Freddie's body stiffen.

"What's the matter?" She whispered, but he just sat up and waited as Pooh got rid of the remaining honey bees in his head.

He waited to listen, and until a swarm of bees began to chase Pooh through the air a familiar melody played.

"That's my song!" He leapt up, mouth agape, pointing at the screen.

"Really?" She watched as the audience below briefly looked behind them before turning back to watch the film.

"The Millionaire Waltz! That's Brian's guitar solo in The Millionaire Waltz!" He hissed, watching as Pooh clung onto the balloon for dear life.

"I'm sure it's just a song that sounds the same" she wanted to say.

"Hold on... that's Strauss, isn't it? ...Yes, it is" his cheeks turned pink.

"I thought that you were ready to sue the Walt Disney corporation" she watched as he awkwardly sat back down in his seat.

Then, a black vertical rectangle with small white slipped across the screen, wiping the movie off and revealing a bright white backdrop.

"Is this a part of the movie?" Monica's brows furrowed, and she sat up and leaned against the balcony edge.

Freddie sat up a little and looked up behind him at the window of the projection room. A chorus of concerned mutters filled the air as sound came to a halt and the screen turned black .

Moments later the theatre usher ran to the front, "I'm sorry ladies and gentleman, we are experiencing a malfunction in the projection room. Please don't hesitate to leave for a toilet break and buy more refreshments at the snack bar. We will fix this issue as quickly as possible."

"Do you want to get anything?" Monica turned to him, watching in the dark as the rest of the audience got up and left their seats.

He put his hand on her thigh, "I'm alright, unless you'd like something"

She sat back down, "I'm alright"

"Good" he took her back in his arms, and settled back against him.

The theatre was now dark and silent, and the only sound was his quickening heartbeat in her ear. Monica could feel his eyes on her as she stared into the black nothingness that had a Disney film beaming on it not a minute before.

"Just us now" he softly rubbed his hand up and down her thigh.

"Surely not in a screening for a child's film!" She thought, lifting her head and noticing a fierce gleam in his stare, the dim lights above the screen bouncing onto the contours of his carved face.

But he was too beautiful. Those pursed lips above her were begging for a nibble.

She put her hands on him, and she could feel his skin temperature rising upon her palm and underneath the cold metal chains around his neck and his body hair as her hand rested on his thumping chest, his tongue swirling in between her lips.

He feverishly undid the button of her trousers before slipping his long fingers underneath the elastic waistband of her panties.

"Freddie!" She gasped in a kiss as his fingertips crawled in between her legs.

Instinctively her hand burrowed underneath his polo shirt before tugging at his trouser zipper. His fingers slipped inside her, and soon enough she could feel his hardness throbbing below her palm.

"Mmmmph..." he grunted hungrily in response, and she helplessly slipped her hand underneath his boxer shorts and wrapped her fingers around his thick meat.

"What if someone sees?" She managed to let out, and the dizziness ensued as his teeth nibbled on her skin.

He didn't reply, and his fingers slipped back and forth as she moved her hand up and down on him.

"You saucy minx..." he growled in her ear, "first you answer my phone calls, then you lead me on like a..."

"Like a what?" Her lips were touching distance from his, and at that moment her thumb slipped across his tip.

He let out a moan, "A love drunk fool"

"I won't do it again" she put on the most innocent facial expression she could.

"You better not" he kissed her again, fingering her harder.

Her hand went faster in response, and his hot pre cum was seeping from his angry tip, and his free hand pushed the back of her neck down.

"What if someone sees?" She refrained.

"Nobody's here, baby..." he sat back, unzipping his trousers further.

Insistent on making it a quick one, she peeled his boxers back as he sat up to pull his trousers down low enough, shuffling them down his thighs and exposing himself.

"If my friends and family could see me now..." she closed her eyes as she bent over and leaned down, mouth open and tongue outstretched...

"That's it, babe... swallow the rest of it..." He hissed and squirmed in his seat, grabbing onto her hair as he threw his head back in ecstasy.

She lapped up what she could take in, but the rest of it slipped from the corners of her lips and into the base of his shaft as she gagged.

Grabbing her hair, he pushed her back up into her seat and attacked her with kisses again.

Her head spun as his hands fondled her breasts underneath her blouse before his lips slid down her abdomen.

He pulled her hips to the edge of her seat as he kneeled down in front of her and tucked her palazzo pants off, tossing them aside before prying her legs apart and putting his head in between her thighs.

"I'm going to hell..." she moaned under her breath the moment she felt his fingers spread her folds, even though she stopped believing in heaven and hell years ago.

Soon enough she was too disoriented to care, her thighs trembling as his tongue darted on her gently. It was so bad it was good.

She cried his name louder, her fingers catching onto his silky raven hair as she spiralled closer and closer to orgasm

He got back onto his feet, licking his lips as he advanced on her before trapping her with his arms and pulling her onto his lap as he fell back into his seat.

"My goddess..." he reached up and caressed her cheek, hungrily kissing her fingers as they ran lightly along the stubble of his upper lip. It didn't matter if they were only half-clothed. The dreamy look in those brown eyes boring into hers were pulling her in for more.

His hands pulled her waist against his as they explored each others mouths, then squeezed her bare thighs straddling his hips.

"Ride me..." he hissed into her ear.

She elevated slightly and positioned herself, then eased herself onto his member as his lips fell upon her neck.

"So big..." She heaved as he grabbed a hold of her waist, and his hips started to buck in rhythm with her body, his sweaty face engulfed in her brown hair as he savoured the sweet aroma wafting through it..

She no longer felt exposed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and moved up and down, for it was happening so quickly and she was too lost in his entrancing eyes, that frenzied smile, his euphoric touch, the heavenly sound of his moans...

"Give me all of you..." he pulled Monica's head down and kissed her, biting her lower lip as his hands on her bottom pumped her up and down furiously.

She reached her climax as her body spammed around him uncontrollably, barely noticing how hard he was biting it as Freddie's body struck a few final times before quaking and exploding beneath her.

They sat slumped against one another on the seat until their heart rate settled, savouring the taste of each others' mouths one final time.

Freddie immediately pulled away when he could taste blood on Monica's lips, and her mouth felt stinging hot red. Confused, she leapt off of him and frantically dug through her bag for a tissue. 

"Bloody hell, I've injured the girl! ...Moments ago it was all so lovely" he watched helplessly as she grabbed her palazzo pants off the floor with one hand, stopping the bleeding of her lip with the other with her back to him.

"I need to go to the toilet" she pleaded, and he nodded and buckled his trousers back up.

She looked below to see two people walk back into the screening and their seats with armfuls of popcorn as Freddie grabbed his coat behind her, and she was relieved that nobody was down there the whole time.

"Darling, are you alright? Do you want to go back home?" He turned her gently, inspecting the now burst and bruised lip donning her angelic face.

She looked away in shame and nodded.

"Oh, but what about the rest of the film?" He smoothed her hair back from her face.

"I don't really want to finish it" she confessed.

"Well, thank god for that. Me neither" he helped her into her camel coat.

He couldn't help feeling that he was slowly corrupting her as they found their way out of the screening filling with the audience coming back in. He waited outside the toilet in the corridor as she cleaned herself up and made sure she looked like she did not have sex minutes before, just hoping that he didn't leave her feeling exploited or ashamed of herself.

"You're the one who should be ashamed Freddie, not her, what with your bloody big teeth and sexual appetite," he scolded himself. "This isn't the way mum and dad brought you up... then again, they didn't bring you up to be a rockstar either... oh, but that's still no excuse for not keeping it in your pants! What if you go to quickly and it pushes her away?"

She emerged, noticing he looked sullen as he sat on the bench.

She put a hand on his shoulder, "You ready?"

He reluctantly got onto his feet, head hung low. She took his hand, but he didn't seem to reciprocate.

"Come on, let me see that sweet goofy smile that caused the damage," she coaxed him. "Or I will race you back to Stafford terrace"

She felt his hand stiffen and he stopped walking, "Is that a challenge?"

"God, I love her innocence" he watched as she let go and stepped away from him as if she was about to declare something. The playful twinkle in her blue eyes was already very telling.

His mouth curled at the corners as the mischief returned, and she shrugged naïvely, "I walked all the way here in ten minutes, so..."

He made a grab for her, but she jumped away from him in time.

"Whatever it takes to get him to sing for me" she convinced herself as he chased her out of the cinema that evening.