Radio Lovers - (john deacon)

Chapter 1

William was sitting on his swivel chair, drafting topics for tomorrow mornings talk show. He let out a deep sigh and groaned. As soon as his face hit the palm of his hands, he felt his eyelids slowly shut. 

Drifting off during work had become a daily occurrence because of nightmares and just anxious thoughts chasing each other in his head. He couldn't seem to just fall asleep anymore. Every night was a struggle. This became especially difficult because ever since he took his morning talk show job. 

Waking up at 3, to drive to work and get there by 4. God, sometimes William felt like he was going to drift off on the road. Lucky, he hasn't, but there have been several close calls. 

His eyes snapped open when he heard the door to the studio quickly open. He swiveled around to see his boss, Lou.

"Will, I gotta good one for you today," Lou said, his grinning from ear to ear.

"Whatcha got, Lou?" William replied eagerly. '86 had been a big year so far. The Smiths, Iggy Pop, R.E.M and Van Halen all had albums coming out this year. Surely they would all be hits. His mind began to race with all the possibilities. 

Ever since he started this job, he got to meet so many popular musicians. Will had never really been a rock fan; his parents were big on jazz and soul music, but since he started conducting interviews, rock began to grow on him. 

It also didn't help that all of the boys were so cute. 

"Nah, Queen."

"Queen? Bohemian Rhapsody Queen?" 

"Exactly! They're on fire right now, I tell you! Number one on the charts, selling out stadiums, selling millions of records too. I mean, these guys are really, REALLY good."

"Wow." Williams mouse gaped open. "I mean, of course, I'll do it, Lou. I'd be honored, I just need to read up on them m-"

"No time! They're coming in an hour!" Lou scanned the entire room. "God, clean this shit up. Its a monstrosity in here!"

"Hey!" William snapped. "This is MY studio. I like it like this."

"Yeah?  I'm YOUR boss, and I don't like it like this."

William straightened up in his chair, immediately regretting talking back. He muttered a "sorry" to which Lou intentionally ignored.

"I trust you. You don't need any more time of research. You got this down. A Kind Of Magic is the new one."

Lou was right, William was well informed about Queen's latest album. Because of Williams crushing anxiety around men, particularly ones in bands, he read up extensively on popular artists so he didn't want to make a fool of himself on live air. William shuddered at the thought of saying the wrong thing, accidentally swearing, or in general just fucking up.

"Um, of course, Lou. I won't disappoint." 

"Go get 'em, kid." Lou smiled and shut the door. 

Although William looked calm, on the inside he was screaming. A range of emotions came and went: rage, fear, anxiety, excitement. 

"God I need to get it together," He thought, and took a deep breath. He glanced at the clock. 39 minutes until Queen walked into this room. 

Shaking off whatever anxiety was left lingering on him he said out loud. "Will, don't you fuck this up." 

---------------------------------

"Will!" There was a knock on the studio door. "They're here. Get ready."

Will's eyes burst open, realizing what had just happened. 

"Oh my fucking god." He said. "Oh my fucking god, you idiot, Will. You fucking idiot."

He looked down at his notebook with interview questions. It was coated in drool. "Fuck!"

He heard the creaky studio door open and laughs filled the room. 

Will's eyes widened. He saw Freddie. He had a face like Will had never seen before. It was quite different. Then Brian came with Roger next to him. They were joking around like a bunch of school kids. 

Then, another boy. John Deacon. 

William never really looked at John up close. He knew what Freddie looked like, of course, he did. Brian was interesting too, with his signature curly locks. Roger was always in the back, yet noticeable because of his eccentric drumming and striking blond hair.  

But he never really noticed John. John looked like the boy in the back of the class who never really talked but you could tell there was something going on inside his pretty little head. 

"H-Hey guys! Welcome!" Will squeaked out.

"Darling," Freddie shook hands with Will and embraced him. "Nice to meet you."

Brain and Roger said their hello's as well. 

William watched John as he flopped down onto his studio couch. The couch was quite nasty. It was old, the leather was peeling and there was probably crumbs littered all over the thing. 

"Deaky, dear, say hi to the young man," Freddie said. 

John only grumbled in response. His arm was draped over his eyes, as his other arm hung off the side of the couch. He looked quite comfortable lying down on the old thing. 

"Don't mind him. He just has a stomach ache. Tour does that to you, ya know?" Brian sighed, clearly having experienced the short end of the stick when it came to touring. 

"I, um, I have some pills if you want?" Will offered to John

John muttered something resembling a no. A "no thank you" would have been nice, Will thought. 

"Mate your area looks like a mess," Brain laughed, gingerly picking up his drool-soaked questionnaire. Will drew his attention to Brain and Roger by his work desk, clumsily fiddling around with all of his things. 

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry." Will said snatching the paper away and crumpling it into the trash. 

"Well don't you need that?" Freddie asked. 

Will gulped. "No, no. It's okay. I have it down."

"Well look at him. We got a little professional here." Roger said from a chair in the corner of the room. "Don't get many of those, these days. Freddie can tell ya." Roger jutted his thumb towards Freddie. 

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Don't get me started, Rog." 

"Well, should we get this show on?" Brain clasped his hands together excitedly. 

"Yes. Uh, yes we should." William put on a smile. He prayed to whatever god there was, that he didn't fuck this up.