She Makes Me - A Brian May Fan Fiction

Chapter 25: Because I Can

[Simone]

21st of September, 1968

Second year of nursing school was the most excruciatingly painful experience of my life. It's worse than my dad's existence in my life from years before. It was stressful, and not to mention, very unhealthy. It is a bitter irony—I study to teach people to be healthy while I basically murder my body by doing so. But to be fair, the experience outside the classrooms were a tad bit fun. Kate had always made the experience bearable for me.

However, the recent months had brought about a peculiar shift in our dynamic. Kate had begun to withdraw from our bond, opting to spend more time with her boyfriend instead. I wasn't mad about it. She seemed happy. But her partner, in my honest opinion, was nothing short of a tyrant—a sentiment I had tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to convey to her. How could someone claim to love another and yet subject them to constant belittlement for the smallest of errors? If I were ever to find myself dating someone like him, which would never happen, I would swiftly remove myself out of that situation. His personality alone was the biggest warning sign towards a potentially exhausting relationship. But ultimately, it was her decision to make.

"Why would you do that?" I protested, my frustration palpable in my tone.

"How can you not grasp this, Simone? My family's relocating to Ireland, and I'll be completing my studies there because my mum secured a job opportunity," Kate explained, her words tinged with exasperation. "Not everything is about you."

"I'm not against your move," I retorted, exasperation evident in my gestures. "It's about the fact that you're dropping this bombshell on me just two days before you leave. Two days! And not just that, you also lied that you had enrolled yourself to uni for this semester already. That's not a normal friend behavior, is it?"

"You don't get to decide for me."

With a frustrated sigh, I threw my hands into the air, though I relented nonetheless. "Could you give me a telephone number at least?"

***

"Kate," I greeted her calmly, mustering a smile.

Initially, she appeared taken aback, almost as if she were startled by our presence. "Hi. Hi, Simone and Freddie," she responded shyly.

"When did you get back?" I inquired, attempting to break the ice.

"Um... just three weeks ago," she stuttered. "You?"

"Toward the end of September," I replied. "Did you not receive any of my calls?"

"Oh..." she trailed off, her gaze shifting uncomfortably.

The atmosphere was observably awkward, but despite it all, I couldn't deny the flood of emotions that surged within me at the sight of her. How could I not miss her? Our bond had been unbreakable for fifteen years, similar to that of sisters. It was only her departure that had severed our communication.

Yet, as I observed her, it dawned upon me just how much she had changed. Physically, she was almost unrecognizable. Gone were the days of her blond, wavy locks—replaced now by dark brown, straightened hair, not unlike my own. Even her fashion sense had undergone a transformation. You would've mistaken her with Brigitte Bardot before with her style. She wasn't into the clothes I always wore until now—more similar to Marianne Faithfull's. But she now sported attire more aligned with my fashion inspirations, a stark departure from the styles we once shared.

"You look different," Freddie chimed in, breaking the tension. "A lot."

"Just fancied a bit of a change," she replied, a hint of defensiveness in her tone.