A week or so later things were going swell. Ibex had been practicing just about every night together, really refining their sound. Things at the Biba store had actually gotten better with Mary, you'd spent the last week training her and you'd actually found the smallest sliver of friendship—well, you couldn't quite call it friendship. You were tolerant of each other to a point that tasks were no long assigned with intentions of pettiness. You'd even had the slightest bit of fun one day while restocking the hat rack from boxes in the back last Thursday. You joked about with trying on the hats and acting like the difficult customers you'd had to deal with earlier in the day. Come Friday morning you were both a bit more relaxed around each other.

Freddie and Roger both secured a booth to begin selling items in the Kensington Market. They had spent the last few days attempting to collect art and assorted items from friends as well as items from their own treasure trove of what few possessions they owned. Freddie took down many of his sketches from the bedroom and asked for your help placing them into some rather beat-up frames Roger had found. Then he began pricing them off and pilling them up in the corner.

This Friday morning you awoke to Freddie incessantly begging you to ditch work for the day and come hang out with Rog and him as they set up the booth.

"Oh come on y/n," he groaned, "It's Friday for god sakes!"

"Freddie, you know I can't just leave anytime I like," you replied, to which he rolled his eyes and turned over.

"I don't understand why you keep such a dreadfully time-consuming job," he exclaimed, raising his arms up as he lay, "My god, you are all fur coat and no knickers! Your so-called love for me is a bloody sham!" he rolled over and ranted on, "You claim to be doing this work for me, but I hardly ever get to see you!"

"You know we need the money," you answered, pulling your shirt over your head.

"For what?" he replied, "For one room in a flat where I just keep the bed warm?"

Conversations like this, even though somewhat light when you factor in the added theatrica of Freddie's drama-queen type gestures and statements. Really in this situation it wasn't that he was upset about your job and the money you made for him and yourself, it was that he, in that moment, missed you.

"You know it's not like that," you responded, tying your shoes on the chair next to the bed, "We do plenty of stuff together and a lot of that money goes towards buying you things".

"Well, I don't need all that shit," he stated, sitting up and flipping back his hair, "Darling, money can't buy happiness".

You grabbed your coat off the chair, "Well money does buy food," you replied, "and this roof over our heads".

"Damn this fucking roof," said Freddie plopping his face into his pillow as you left the room.

"Bye Fred," you called out as you walked towards the front door. You heard a slight grunt from the bedroom as you stepped out the door. He wouldn't be upset for long, you thought to yourself, give him five minutes and he'll be off making his morning cup of tea.

You really did get frustrated with your job. It had good pay and you did enjoy it, but your schedule did get rather intrusive in your time spent with Freddie. Maybe with Mary working now, you'd talk to Deb about reducing your hours. You did need the money, but you really couldn't continually disappoint Freddie with how busy you were. This morning's argument almost got too serious. You knew he was joking, but it still hit you hard.

You arrived at work, clocked in, and took your position behind the register like usual. Friday mornings once again were rather slow mornings, they always were, and so you settled in for the long haul.

A few hours of working around the shop and things became a little more interesting, you got to be out on the floor instead of behind the counter—wooh, you thought to yourself sarcastically. You were just in the back restocking some coats out front when you heard the door open rather quickly and the sound of a few people rushing in. You swiftly made your way out to the front, plastering a saleswoman smile on your face—you'd been working on your 'valued employee' act as of late, there had been some competition with Mary around. Arm still full of coats, you walked to help the customers that that just arrived and of course, who else could it be but Freddie and Roger.

"What do you think of this one Rog?" said Freddie holding up a coat to his chest and giving a little twirl—putting on a little show as usual.

"Hm, not quite, far too prudish, try something else," responded Roger, playing along.

Freddie gestured to a yellow coat, to which Roger gave a very dramatized face of disgust and shook his head. Freddie rolled his eyes and smiled then looked at you, "Oh look here, this attractive young lady here has got some fine choices. Ooh leopard print!" he said with a growl at the end.

"A bit tacky really," said Roger in his now out of character voice as he picked up a bit of the fabric and let it fall.

"I'm sure you won't be saying that in a few years' time Rog," you laughed thinking of Roger in his leopard print vests, shirts, and trousers, Roger and Freddie of course wouldn't get it now and so you brought the conversation back to normalcy, "What are you guys up to?"

"Breaking you out," Freddie responded in a hushed tone as not to let your manager hear.

"Freddie I can't just leave," you replied, hanging the leopard print coats on the rack next to you. Freddie just rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips.

"Come on, y/n, it'd be fun to have you, we're going 'round picking up things to sell in the booth," said Roger.

Freddie rejoined the conversation, "Mom called and said the Burgesses next door have things for us".

"I can't go all the way to Feltham, are you crazy!?" you hissed.

"Surely you can ask that new girl you hired to take over," he replied nonchalantly, directing his eyes towards the counter, but his view was blocked by the coats. And thank goodness, you weren't sure whether or not Freddie was supposed to meet Mary yet or not.

"Freddie I can't just—" you said before he interrupted you.

"For god sakes, let me take care of it," he said as he marched his way up towards the counter. You stopped him just before he reached the counter. He saw Mary but it didn't matter much, she was busy untangling some necklaces and didn't pay much attention—or acted like she didn't.

"Oh alright, I'll join you two," you gave in, "But this can't be a regular thing, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Freddie scoffed..almost as if to hold a grudge and harp back on this morning's conversation, "Well?" he gestured to the door.

"I'll meet you two out 'round back," you replied, better to leave discretely with them.

You walked up to the counter to talk to Mary, who was busy with a little gold butterfly necklace.

"That your boyfriend?" she asked, not even glancing up from her work. She sounded content. There was always an odd sort of surprise whenever she started a conversation. Her interjections regularly during the work day were always rather unexpected and quiet as she always seemed to have this distant concentration. This time it was actual concentration on her task at hand.

"Uh, yeah," you smiled, it took a second to respond as you were trying to work out the logistics of how to sneak out of here.

"Seem's sweet," she added, still involved with her untangling task.

"Yeah he is," you replied, and paused once more, "Hey Mary, would it be alright if you covered for me for today? Freddie wants me to go help him and his friend run some errands around town".

"Sure," she answered.

"Really?" you were surprised at how quickly she had agreed.

"Yeah, it's a slow day, I've got it covered. If Debora asks, I'll tell her you were feeling ill and went home," she responded.

"Oh my gosh thank you so much," you said excitedly as you grabbed your things, you couldn't keep the boys waiting.

"No problem," she replied, finally finishing untangling the necklace and laying it down on the counter top and turned to you, "Have fun with...Freddie? Was it?"

"Yes," you smiled, "Thank you again, so much. See you Monday!" you exclaimed as you walked towards the back door to which Mary nodded and continued about her work.

You snuck out the back door of the store to see Freddie and Rog hanging out about the alleyway. Freddie smiled when he saw you.

"Took you long enough," he laughed, "Could've gotten married and divorced in that time," you rolled you eyes, smiled, and gave him a little peck on the cheek.

"Sorry that I took so long apparently," you replied.

"Oh you didn't take long at all, we just came 'round," said Roger, you'd noticed Roger at this age had a habit of unnecessarily defending himself, maybe he felt vulnerable. It wasn't too noticeable but in contrast to how he would be one day, it definitely was something you picked up on.

"So Feltham?" you put forward.

"Yes," replied Freddie, as you all began walking, "We better get going if we're going to catch the bus in time".

Roger ran up, meeting your's and Freddie's pace, "And we're coming back to set up the booth some, right Fred?"

"Yes," Freddie responded swiftly as you all turned to walk down Kensington High Street. You could see the bus stop way off in the distance, "Shit, we're going to miss it," said Freddie.

"No we're not," you smiled, "Come on, I'll race ya," you challenged, bouncing up and down a bit to pump up the boys. Freddie got this competitive glimmer in his eyes and Roger painted a fairly determined glare across his face. They both nodded. "Okay—ready, set, go!" you shouted out and next thing you knew, you were off. 

The three of you easily caught the attention of many spectators out on the street. Many were more elderly and some varied in fascination with your race while others seemed to be more annoyed. You, however, were too focused on beating the boys at your sides. You all had a fairly similar running speed so it really was quite competitive. To your right, Roger was full set on beating Freddie and that was for certain, his hair was flying out behind him and it was clear the spirit of competition was driving him wholeheartedly. To your left, Freddie ran with a devilish smile, it was quite obvious he was most-likely going to win this race. There was something about him that just had something else coming for you.

You saw the busses begin pulling up to the stop and you all began to try to run even faster, but your stamina was quickly running out. The three of you swerved in and around displays out on store fronts and it was only one more street before the stop. That's when Freddie pulled out all stops and began to sprint far ahead of both of you. You and Rog just let him go, and off he went.

As he neared the bus, he transitioned into a skip and then stopped to let you and Roger catch up. He was smiling, clearly taking pride in his speed. When you both walked up to the bus he took a bow.

"You don't become St. Peter's best sprinter without something to show for it," he stated with a prideful grin. You all stepped onto the bus and took your seats.

"You were St. Peter's best sprinter?" you laughed sarcastically and very out of breath, "I have a hard time believing that".

"Best in all of Panchgani—no, all of India!" he said to you with a flourish as you rolled your eyes and paid the fee for the three of you.

It was a fairly warm afternoon and the bus was rather muggy, particles shown in through the side windows in beams of light that barely angled in through the windows. You all walked to the back of the bus and took your seats, Roger quite liked the back of the bus. You'd road the bus with Roger and Freddie a few times, but never all the way to Feltham.

Roger ran back to take the last seat, it was a rather full bus today and honestly you were surprised the back seat was even open. Roger sat at window seat and had just been staring out the window when a fairly large woman came in through the door in the back and are up to ask him a question.

"Excuse me, miss?" the lady said to Rog who then finally turned his head around, "Oh, sorry, um, sir...is this seat taken?"

"As a matter of fact it is," he answered, not too shortly but it was clear that had ticked him off a bit.

"Hiya Rog," you said with a quick wave. The lady noticed your presence and went off to find another seat.

Freddie giggled as you both sat down.

"Oh fuck off Fred," said Roger, clearly frustrated, "I swear, if one more person calls me miss—that's it".

Freddie just kept giggling to himself, Roger just rolled his eyes and returned to looking out the window as the bus slowly pulled away from the stop. Freddie stopped laughing and sat staring out and down the aisle at the range of characters that had joined you on your ride. It would be a long ride to Feltham, you'd gotten used to the ride, but you weren't sure Roger had ever been.

"I suppose this is your first time over to Freddie's," you said to Roger to start up conversation and clear the air.

"Heh, yeah I suppose so," Roger finally laughed, breathing a bit of air, "Is it a long ride?"

"Yeah a bit," you answered smiling, it would be a long while. It was quiet a minute a minute more.

"So y/n," Roger began, turning to you, "I don't think I've ever even asked, where exactly are you from?"

"Oh she's from far away Rog," Freddie answered, engaging in the conversation. You laughed a bit, indeed you were from far away.

"Yeah I'm from the United States originally," you answered, as the bus bounced up and down a bit.

"Then how'd you end up in London?" asked Roger, fiddling with the metal rim of the windowsill.

"Well.." you tried to think of a proper answer, you hadn't been asked before come to think of it.

"What does it matter Rog?" interrupted Freddie, taking Roger aback slightly, "She's a foreigner like me".

"Sorry, I was just asking," replied Roger, he turned away a moment.

"Oh you're fine," you responded trying to make him feel better, "Yeah, anyway, I was raised back in the states and back in sevenee—er, sixty-four, when I was seventeen," you corrected yourself, "I came here. Soon enough there was Freddie". Freddie smiled at you sweetly.

"Now Fred, you said you moved over here in sixty-four right?" asked Rog continuing the conversation.

"Right," stated Freddie.

"Looks like it was meant to be," concluded Roger, making amends with Freddie's previous interruption.

"Meant to be indeed," agreed Freddie, placing his arm around you and kissing your temple with an over-exagerrated smack.

Thinking about it, it's crazy how 'meant to be' it seemed, not that you could even begin to understand it. You were seventeen, Freddie was seventeen, the two of you just outside London back in 64'. What a dream that would've been to you back in 2017, hm, you thought about it a second—2017, you hadn't thought of that in awhile.

"You got a girl Rog?" asked Freddie, interrupting your thoughts.

Roger sighed, shaking his head but not despairingly, "Sadly not at the moment".

"Aw, it's alright Rog," you replied, "You're bound to find some girl soon".

"Not looking like that," Freddie joked, "Well unless you're going for a bloke!" he teased, this got Roger back and fiery again.

"That's it!" Roger exclaimed, "I'm growing a beard! I'm done with this shit".

Freddie was just laughing, and at this point so were you. Roger crossed his arms and turned away in frustration, which of course made you and Freddie laugh harder. He really did look rather effeminate from behind.

"Oh come on Rog," you laughed, wiping a tear from your eye, "We're only joking".

Roger turned back around, he cracked a slight smile, "..I suppose it is rather funny really," he began laughing a bit, "Miss," The three of you all began laughing together. The back of the bus was just filled with your cackles, if it annoyed people, so what, "I'm still growing that beard though," Roger stated in seriousness.

That only caused you and Freddie to continue laughing and Roger was back to laughing too. You spent much of the rest of your ride to Feltham talking away, cracking jokes, telling stories and whatnot. It really was a fun ride. You enjoyed the company of Roger now too. It was crazy knowing that he was the Roger Taylor and that Freddie was the Freddie Mercury, here you were, plopped between the two of them, giggling away on a bus to Feltham. You marveled at the idea—the very real reality you were living and loving. 

_______

I hope you liked this part, I am slowly trying to get more into developing characters and I have quite a few ideas of what's to come. It's all rather complex 😂  I just wanted to say that the next chapter (and some thereafter) may take a bit longer to write than usual as the spring semester for me is starting tomorrow. I have a lot more classes this semester than last and a lot more essay intensive ones, so writing may be a bit more of a burden than I'd like. On the bright side they may help me with writing this! (Particularly by english and sociology classes I'm sure). Who knows, maybe they'll inspire me to write even more. I just know that the next chapter for certain will be delayed for at least another two or three weeks, I'll be be busy celebrating my birthday and trying to get settled into the semester. Anyway, thank you so much for reading. I hope you liked this chapter—I made it a bit longer than usual to compensate for the delay. Love you all 💕