𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐘 𝐎 𝐔. "*°• 𝕭𝖗𝖎𝖆𝖓 𝕸𝖆𝖞 & 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓 •°*"

#1, When We Met.

It was a sunny summer day in June 1970. The cafe I worked at was getting crowded, many people sought the coolness of the air conditioning or a nice refreshing iced coffee. "Maria! Table four is asking for more ice in their drinks!" Joseph, my boss, shouted at me from the other side of the room. "Got it!" I replied and quickly finished taking orders at the counter to get the ice. I knew I would have to work a few hours overtime today but that was fine, since I would get more pay and with the rising costs I could use it. At home, I still had to call in a plumber for my faucet that was dripping.

The day flew by and soon the evening fell. By nine-thirty I had finally finished work while the coffee shop had already closed its doors by eight-thirty. After closing hours there was still a lot of dishwashing and cleaning to be done but since there was limited staff, me and Rosalind, another young girl, had to do everything. Joseph had left for home long ago; that man never did anything for his own business. The job didn't pay a lot but enough to make sure I had a roof above my head and enough food in my fridge. With all the chores finished, Rosalind had left for home and I needed closed the place. As I locked the door I heard a group of people laughing as they entered the club next to the cafe. Muted music and dim lights came from behind the door; it looked pleasant in there. Usually I didn't feel like being anywhere this late but this time a drink and some conviviality wouldn't hurt.

As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by a cheerful atmosphere. There was dancing and drinking everywhere. I finally felt like I could loosen up a bit. With a faint smile, I walked over to the bar and pulled a chair to settle down. I raised my hand to the bartender. "One whiskey sour please." He nodded, telling me he heard what I said and then went to pour me a glass. As I was waiting for my order, I read the labels on the bottles in front of me, just to kill some time. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A gentle, almost shy, voice came from behind my left shoulder. I turned my head and looked into the prettiest pair of hazel eyes I had ever seen. A tall man with majestical long brown curls and perfect facial features was standing behind me, pointing at the seat next to me. "Eh no, not at all. Feel free to sit down." I said with a polite smile.

When the bartender set down my drink, he apparently recognized the man. "Hey Brian, can I get you the usual?" He asked while drying some cleaned glasses with his towel. "Yeah, that's alright." The man, who's name appeared to be Brian, nodded with a smile. "The usual, huh? You come here often?" I turned to him with curiosity. "Oh yeah, my band performs here every Friday night. We're actually playing again tonight. It's going to be the first time with our new singer." He explained and leaned on the bar with one arm. "Aha, hope that goes well." I chuckled softly and took another sip from my drink. "Yeah.. He has an amazing voice but.. His looks might not be something everyone enjoys. He has a bit of an odd face and the people here really loved Tim.. Our previous singer." Brian sighed. "I'm sure you guys will do great—By the way, I'm Maria. Maria Robertson." I held out my hand and waited for him to shake it. "Right, we completely forgot the introduction. How rude of me." He laughed and shook my hand. "Brian May." He smiled.

We chatted a bit for the rest of the night. I found out he was a guitarist, that was an interest we shared. He played the keyboard and as well but not as much as his guitar. I also found out he had studied physics and mathematics at Imperial College London, from which he graduated with a degree in physics in 1968. After a while the clock hit ten and Brian spoke up. "I'm so sorry that I have to interrupt this lovely conversation. The band needs me, we're setting things up for the performance and we still need to do some final rehearsals together." Brian excused himself and got off his seat. "I'll try to spot you in the crowd tonight." He winked, oh my god he winked at me! "Y-Yes of course. I'll be there, front row." I said, a bit flustered by his flirting. We said our goodbyes and he left.

I hung around the bar a bit until I noticed Brian and the rest of his band coming on stage. I scanned them one by one. The drummer was a cute blonde with blue eyes and long hair, but it wasn't as long and majestic as Brian's. Then there was the guy with the funny teeth, that was probably the new singer we talked about. Lastly, at the other side was a guy with a bass guitar, he had similar hair to the drummer but then brown-colored. He surely wasn't ugly either. I got off my seat and quickly headed to the stage to make sure I had a spot in the front. Brian noticed me and sent me a quick smile that I happily returned. Once the band was all set and more people started to gather, the drummer spoke through his mic. "Alright everybody, we're back here for another spectacular night. Although it's a little different from what you're used to. We have a new singer, Freddie Bulsara." The lead singer cleared his throat and looked at the blonde. "I told you it's Freddie Mercury now already, Roger." The drummer, who's name appeared to be Roger, apologized. "Right right, sorry." He then focused on the audience again. "I know you all loved Tim, we did too.. until he decided to leave us for some band named Humpy Bong—I know that's a ridiculous name." Roger laughed, the crowd laughing along. "Either way, we are no longer Smile. We now go by the name Queen. So... We'll show you what Queen has in store for you tonight. Ready, Freddie?" The lead singer nodded and soon the music started playing.

It was almost hypnotizing to see them play, particularly Brian. The way he moved his fingers so fast and smooth over the neck of his guitar and the strings. He played some awesome riffs. During the performance, he had his eyes on me the entire time. That made me feel so special, even when I barely knew the guy. Although I thought the band was incredible, most of the audience thought otherwise. They didn't like the new singer very much. Sure he had a good voice but he wasn't Tim.

After they were done playing, most people left or went for another drink at the bar. So did I, I sat at the bar and watched the band pack up their stuff. Soon they were walking past the bar, in the direction of the exit. Brian caught sight of me sitting there and glanced at his bandmates. "Go ahead, I'll be right there." He told them. Once they were out of sight, he approached me. "So, what did you think?" He grinned. "That was amazing, you guys are really good at what you do. Although I'm not sure everyone likes... What was his name? Freddie right?" Brian let out a chuckle, his curls bobbing with the sound of his laughter. "Ah yeah.. Fred is quite the character. He's unique, but perhaps that's why we need him. The band is boring without him." He shrugged. His expression then turned a little more serious. "Hey uhm.. It's pretty late and.. I don't know what your plan for the rest of the night is but I wouldn't be a good man if I let you walk home all alone. So.. I'm giving you two options. I either walk you home or.. we can go to my place and maybe have a nice chat?" That offer caught me by surprise, not in a bad way. "Oh well.. I wouldn't mind heading to your place." I answered with a gentle smile. "Great." A similar smile appeared on his face and he lead us outside.

The streets were lighten up by a row of street lanterns. A few drunks guys were hanging near an alleyway and a group of partygoers were walking outside of another club, giggling. As we walked to the end of the street, a cold breeze hit me. Even though it was summer, the nights could still be cold. Brian noticed my shivering and took off the leather coat he was wearing on top of his white button up shirt. "Here." He smiled and hung the coat around my shoulders. "Thanks." I returned a smile but then got a little concerned. "Aren't you cold now?" I nodded at the way his shirt was partly unbuttoned at the top. He shook his head. "I'm fine really." Once we walked around the corner, we found a red Ford Cortina parked. It belonged to Brian. He walked up to the car and opened the passengers door for me, then threw his guitar in the backseat before getting in himself. Once we were all settled he started the car and began to drive off to his place. This all escalated really fast in one night..