Sal here. I'm sorry this chapter took so long in getting out, but what with Thanksgiving and choir rehearsals and, in general, LIFE getting in the way, I fell a little behind. What's more, Freddie doesn't make his chapters easy, perfectionist that he is. ;) But here it is, finally, and I will try in the future to post these in a more timely manner!

Freddie

Right. Apparently it's once again my turn to play the narrator- and I must say, for the first time I think I'm actually looking forward to it. In the beginning I wasn't all that wild to participate, to be honest, because I'll be the first to admit, I'm not as skilled at telling a good tale as others might be, and it must be quite clear by now that words are not, nor have they ever really been, my greatest ally. And yet, I keep hearing that all you people are just dying to hear more of my side of the story, so you darlings must not mind all that much, which makes you even more lovely in my eyes.

So, here I am again, back by popular demand, because clearly you can't get enough of me. Can't say I blame you, of course.

But anyway, let's get on with it, shall we?

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The hardest part of the next morning was waking up.

Well, no. Let me put that another way. Waking up in itself was no trouble. It was what happened only moments after awakening that proved difficult.

I don't sleep very much on a regular basis; as long as I have about four hours, I can take on the next twenty with ease. So I wound up stirring a couple of hours before Julia intended to and tried to move my right arm a bit only to find something warm and soft was lying on top of it. Very slowly I opened my eyes, and found that I was in a much more dangerous position than the one in which I'd drifted off.

Last night, being as loath to sleep in an empty bed as I am, I had snuggled up as close to Julia as I could manage without looking like I had any ulterior motives. And I had none, of course; simply because I rested my hand on her waist and kissed her shoulder, it didn't mean I desired anything more from her. It wasn't Julia, it was me. Very me. I do things like that all the time.

But it seemed that during the night, I had had a few second thoughts.

For I had awakened to see both my arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, my nose nestled against her shoulder. No funny business, she had kept saying- and here we were, spooning away, on scarcely the first night of this new sleeping arrangement.

Well, isn't this just fucking perfect.

Although I knew Julia would very likely kill me for letting this happen, were she to find out, I didn't panic. In fact, this would be a very easy fix. So it was with quite a cool head I began to unfasten myself from around her, leaning back, brushing her hair back in case the feathery ends should tickle my nose and betray me with a sneeze. Sliding my arm out from under her side would be the hardest part, she was laying so heavily against it. But little by little, I started dragging my arm away from beneath her.

That's when she shifted a bit in her sleep, let out a small, soft moan, and rolled over to face me, settling once more on top of my forearm. I drew a heavy sigh.

Now I had to wake her up and explain what was happening; it seemed a better idea to take care of it now than to have her interrogate me later. Not that I necessarily wanted to, but it didn't look like I really had a choice, as it were. So I lifted up my dead right arm, reached over and poked my finger into her ribs twice to rouse her. Or intended to, anyway.

Before I could follow through, Julia moved her little hand along my chest, pushing it further and further across until it had slid around my waist and was holding on. Her head was resting on my shoulder now, and I watched in stunned silence as she nuzzled her nose and lips against my chest for a bit. At last, with one more quiet sigh, Julia settled back in and lay still from then on.

My hand was still poised to rudely wake her up, but now I couldn't bring myself to do it. She deserved to know, certainly; as mortified as this might make her, she had every right to be informed that maybe I'd been wrong to talk her into something that would not at all please that self-satisfied nuisance she called a boyfriend. Ugh, what a dreadful bore. How in hell had those two ended up together anyhow?

But anyway. So now I didn't know what to do.

And then I asked myself, Well, why should I have to do anything?

After all, it was Julia who had made this more intimate than I, though unwittingly- but she was still responsible. She was, if nothing else, a reasonable woman, and therefore could not honestly be angry about something she did herself. It wasn't my fault if she felt more comfortable holding onto me in her sleep- and far be it from me to take that comfort away. Letting it lie was clearly the kindest way to approach this, so that's what I did.

The hand I had intended to wake her with relaxed, fell softly back against the bed. I kissed the top of her head, tried not to think about how nice her hair smelled, or how mad she would be if she saw what we were doing at present. At the moment I didn't care; besides, she would do enough caring for the both of us come morning.

"You always did like to complicate things," I whispered against the part in her hair.

The warmth of her body so close to mine was making me drowsy again. I don't know how long I spent laying there, forcing those old memories back down into the hole whence they came, but it was long enough for one last cigarette, some silent, idle lamenting on how behind I was getting in work, and a few Why me's for the flavor, before I eventually drifted back to sleep.

I almost never did that, in those days. Most times, when I woke up, I stayed up. I was too high-strung to behave any other way. Of course, cocaine did sort of help as far as that was concerned, another thing I was going without now, along with the cameras, and the sex, and the performing, and my friends... and why I'm telling you this, I don't know. Where was I? Oh, right.

When I woke again, I was rested, with the pillow at my right smushed but empty. I do admit that I was a bit disappointed; I had been curious as to how Julia would react, seeing herself so comfortably nestled against me when she woke up.

The dull white light slipping through the shuttered window said it was much later than five in the morning. Music wafted from the kitchen, Julia's low voice softly singing along. I couldn't tell if Danny was up yet- but it was clearly high time for me to be.

"What time is it, I wonder?" I whispered to myself.

And somehow, that thing heard me all the way across the fucking bedroom, and replied in just as quiet a voice, "The current time is seven thirty-four, a.m., Eastern time."

My eyes narrowed. "I thought there was an alarm set at five!"

"The alarm was executed at five-thirty a.m.," Modo 1 chirped. "Do you wish to set another?"

I started to grumble a "No" when I realized, "Hang on- aren't you supposed to only come on if someone says 'Hey, Modo'?"

For once, the thing didn't answer. For a few moments, it stayed lit up, then darkened again.

I didn't hesitate. Throwing on Julia's oversized dressing gown and putting on the slippers I'd bought yesterday, I ran toward the kitchen, but stopped just at the edge of the short hall. There Julia was, mouthing quietly to herself, dressed for work, with her hair pulled up just the way her dear stick-in-the-mud liked it, cigarette in one hand while the other was busily writing something down, I didn't know what. What was indeed painfully obvious was that she was in a great hurry. I wondered if Julia had slept through the alarm as well.

Her head was bent to the list she was making out, so didn't notice me right away- nor was she paying too much attention to the DJs babbling on the radio now. I didn't either, of course, though I did hear snatches of a little overexcited chatter, saying something about a horde of photos flooding the socials all over New Jersey, with one image in particular going "viral" overnight. Some of the radio team were going on about it being a kind of grand Christmas miracle, while one of the group playing devil's advocate and claiming the pictures were just the work of a "Photoshopping genius," and that there was no way the photos taken could have been genuine, considering how long gone-

Then the voices gave over to static while Julia absently changed the station to something a bit more festive.

"Danny, what are you doing?" she called following a long drag.

From the floor below came the muffled answer. "Looking at Lauren's Facebook, remember?"

Facebook again, I noted to myself, the Mark Zuckerberg thing.

"For fifteen whole minutes?" Julia asked skeptically.

Long pause. "Uhhh- and I added some more music to the library, too. But that's all!"

Julia rolled her eyes. "Please shut it down, Danny. Come up here and, um-" She paused, furrowed her brow. "Oh, what's the word, that new word you learned-"

"Hanashimashou!" He yelled at the ceiling. "It means, 'let's talk'!"

"I know what it means!" Julia popped back. "That's why I was trying to say it there!"

"Oh, okay, sorry." Another pause. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not yet! Why?"

"'Cos you only say 'let's talk' when I'm in trouble."

"Relax, you're not, I just want to see you before you go. Just shut it off."

"Okay, then, I'm logging out."

"And then shut it off."

A sigh. "I'm gonna, I'm gonna."

"You better."

As she laughed and shook her head, that silly damn line from Romeo and Juliet flew threw my mind again, the first thing I had thought upon seeing her last Sunday. While I have read the odd Shakespeare play, I certainly don't go around quoting the Bard- but I had associated that line with Julia for many years. And somehow, watching her, with those beautiful words ringing in my ears, I forgot whatever quarrel it was I had with the stupid little Modo thing in the first place.

What a sweet little family, I decided. No sooner had I thought it, than a strange little twinge pricked me deep inside- the first of many to come. I can't really explain it in any other way, except that it was a kind of longing, almost like a vague feeling of regret.

The feeling, thankfully, didn't have the chance to develop further. It was here that, in a softer voice, one she thought only she could hear, Julia muttered, "Ah, my little phantom, you're so much like your father..."

"Is he?" I blurted.

Julia looked my way, her complexion going just a little pale, but she recovered fast. "Oh," she exclaimed. "I thought you were, uh, asleep."

"Not anymore," I smiled, coming closer. "Good morning."

"Hi." She cleared her throat. "Now, just so you know, I'm actually about to leave for work in about five minutes-"

I frowned. "So early. My God, the sun's barely up! What for?"

"Because I have a million things to do today, and I want to get most of them done as early as possible so we can decorate the tree at our leisure later tonight. Danny's been itching to do it for weeks, and it bothers me that it's so late in the month and our pine still doesn't have any clothes on."

I laughed. She had such a funny way of putting things sometimes. She looked up at me for a little while until she turned away to make one final check on her list, then grabbed a mug. "Coffee or tea, my friend?"

"Tea today," I replied.

"One cup of Earl Grey, coming up."

"I can do it, you've got your hands full," I said, then opened up the pantry and stared blankly into it, not knowing what to do next. For some reason, kitchens always eluded me. I barely knew my way around my own.

Julia walked up behind me and quietly shut the pantry door. "Why don't you let me," she said, her nose wrinkling up above a new smile.

"If you insist," I sighed.

"Oh, I do, I do. Now stand over there and watch what I'm doing."

"I'll do exactly as I please, thank you." With a haughty lift of my chin, I walked over and stood in the exact opposite place from where she had gestured.

Rolling her eyes, Julia poured some of the hot water she had waiting on the stove into the cup. "Sleep well?"

"Very," I replied. "Did you?"

"Quite."

It was on the tip of my tongue to say something clever about her conduct last night, but I stayed quiet. She didn't know what she was doing, I decided, and mentioning it would only embarrass her. Besides, I'd been an asshole enough lately without any extra effort on my part.

So instead I said casually, "Well, I don't know about you, but I believe our little experiment proved a roaring success. I think we should keep doing it, and, um- you know- keep up the research."

"I have to agree- as long as the results come back the same." She dipped the bag into the water and handed me the cup.

"Cheers," I said, then this question flew out of my mouth before I could think about what I was asking: "What happened to Danny's father, darling?"

Julia didn't answer, didn't really react at all. For the very instant after I asked, Danny stomped loudly up the stairs.

"Konnichiwa!" he cried.

"Ohayou, Mr. Phantom," I greeted him, nodding respectfully to the dog once again bouncing along behind him. "Fry."

Danny squinted. "What's ohayou again?"

"That's how you say good morning in Japanese," I explained.

"Okay, come here, offspring, I know you're about to leave, if I don't see you before you run out the door, aishiteru," Julia said quickly, holding out her arms. Danny wrapped his arms around her, kissed her cheek, and returned the "aishiteru".

When Julia skipped back into the bedroom to grab something, the boy tugged on my sleeve and had me bend down closer to him.

As soon as I did, he asked me very bluntly, "Freddie, are you famous?"

That threw me off.

Not famous enough, apparently, I told myself.

Well, if anything, that answered the question of whether Danny knew who I was: he didn't. Julia most likely hadn't told him one thing about me. Not that she should have, or that I wanted her to. After all, I never spoke of her either. It only made sense, it was only fair- and yet, it stung.

Still, I kept my hurt surprise under wraps and replied, "To a point. People know my name, things like that. Or they used to."

He nodded. "And what you look like?"

"Oh, yes. Mine is a face one never forgets."

Danny pushed his glasses up his nose, deep in thought. "If you took it off, would people, um, not recognize you?"

I folded my arms, knowing he was referring to my mustache. "Probably not as well. Why?"

"Well, uh- I mean- Dr. Preus last night said something about a- you doing something to, you know, be on the safe side- like a disguise or something."

I couldn't help a smirk. "You just don't like my mustache."

Danny shook his head so vehemently that the big round glasses almost fell off his face. "No! It's cool! It's great! I love it."

"Mr. Phantom, you are as bad at lying as your mum is," I laughed. "It's all right, Julia doesn't think much of it either, don't feel too monstrous-"

"I never said that! Keep me out of this!" she called from the other room.

"But I like it, so on it stays," I went on over her. "Anyway, it's bad enough I have to go by a different name around here, I at least want my looks to be my own."

"Different name?" he asked. "Oh, yeah, you told the your name was Rick, or something."

"Richard Dubroc," I corrected him. "That's what it says on my drivers license, so it must be true."

Danny was confused. "I always thought you had to know how to drive first, before you get your drivers license."

I forced a smile. "Not this time."

Inside, though, I fought back a slew of bitchy retorts. I didn't want to be cruel to the boy, but it was wearing at me that all these people I'd met of late seemed to find it so amusingly peculiar that I didn't know how to drive. Funny, how it had never embarrassed me before. Not that I was physically incapable of driving a car, I simply chose not to learn. I had the chance to, a long time ago, I just didn't have the patience- or the inclination, really- to practice at it. Besides, that's what chauffeurs were for. And even here, I had Charles.

But until I call him, and he comes round, I'm still stuck here all alone, I told myself. Fuck.

I have never been very good at laying low, staying still, keeping quiet. It was really starting to wear away at me, the fact that I couldn't just go into the studio and work like I wanted to. We -as Queen, I mean- we had just recently (if forty-two years ago counts as recently) completed a very spectacular demo track called "A Kind of Vision," something we intended to really get into in the following weeks, and while we still had yet to come up with more songs for a potential new album, I couldn't help feeling like my being held hostage in a place so far removed from where I belonged was slowing me down. I needed to write something, record something, do something useful with myself. Perhaps I wouldn't remember any of it- but at least I would have done it.

Julia burst from the bedroom, purse slung over her shoulder. "Okay, fellas, I'm gone."

"Wait. Am I coming with you again?"

She shook her head. "Not unless you just want to hang around my office, and I don't think either you or Stuart would be too excited about that. What's more, you're not even dressed. You slept too late."

"Well, I didn't want to wake up; I was having the most wonderful dream, you see."

"Yeah, I'll bet," she said saucily- so saucily I had to wonder how she found me when she awoke that morning.

I followed Julia downstairs, leaving Danny and the animals where they were. When she turned to see me shadowing her, she smiled. "What is it, Freddie?"

"Darling, tell me something, would you?"

She nodded, opening the door to the garage. "Sure."

"Look at me first."

Julia faced me.

In retrospect, I know how insecure it may sound to you, but this is what I asked: "Julia, now that you know I can't actually drive, do you, you know- do you think any less of me?"

She cocked her head. "Does it bother you that much?"

"What bothers me is the way people, Stevie included, seem to think I'm somehow sort of inept at everything else, just because I don't know how to-"

"Freddie, you don't have to tell them you can't."

"I know, but it's like I don't even have to. They already know. Who fucking cares if I can't drive? Who told them? What wants to know?"

"Welcome to the world of TMI," she sighed.

"What?"

"Too much information," she explained. After a moment, she put her hand on my shoulder. "Hey, I just had a really stupid idea."

I chuckled. "Ooo, what's that?"

Julia smiled. "I wonder if you might let me teach you."

My eyes widened. "To what? Drive?"

"Like I said, a really stupid idea- but I have an hour for lunch every day, if you have nothing better to do, I'd be happy to at least help you shake out the cobwebs. Granted, you'll probably learn to hate me as much as anything else, because I'm the worst teacher in the world, but- anyway." Her smiled seemed to weaken; she was already rethinking the proposition.

What she didn't know was that I was seriously considering it.

Julia looked more and more uncomfortable the longer I stood there saying nothing. "Anyway, I'll... see you later tonight."

"How much later?" I finally asked.

"Oh, about five-thirty to six- unless you want to do the driving thing, in which case I will see you at noon. But Danny had a good point: you have to have a disguise."

Eleven hours was too fucking long. That settled it. Just before she could traipse into the garage, I caught her arm one more time.

"So, these hypothetical lessons," I said casually. "Will they hypothetically, um- earn me a kiss?"

She blinked. "A kiss?"

"I still owe you one after all," I said. "In return for that big smacking kiss you gave me before. Remember?"

Julia's eyes seemed to light up from the inside, then turned rather sly. "That and more, Mr. J."

That and more?

"See you at noon," I told her. "Hope you recognize me."

She just laughed, then disappeared into her car- and only after she had driven away did it occur to me, she never answered the question.

Clever, I said to myself. Ah. What a clever little idiot you are, my dear.

Now, look. I'm no fool. I knew what was going on. Julia was bluffing. It was so very clear she was bluffing. She thought I was kidding; she didn't think for one second I'd actually go for it, the poor girl. The poor pretty little idiot. Even after all this time, she still had no idea who she was dealing with.

Which was why, after saying "Sayonara" to Danny, calling Charles, and cleaning up, I lathered up my whole face and gave my reflection a long, last look.

"Nice knowing you," I murmured.

I picked up the razor, set it against my lip- and did what was very likely the smartest thing I could have done.