Things I Never Said / Brian May.

Concert

June 1971 (Two years earlier)

Lonely and stressed. I was lonely and stressed. There I sat, stress building on me like the weight of the world on Atlas' shoulders. My nose buried in a book, my hands in my already unruly hair. I was definitely quite the sight for the other people in the café.

As hard as I stared at the words in the book, none of them were sticking with me. It was like my brain couldn't process anything. I wasn't too surprised, though. I was running on roughly 3 hours of sleep.

My eyes started to close on their own, but I forced myself awake. My eyes snapped open and I took a long sip of my coffee.

"Hey, are you okay?" A voice asked. I looked up and saw a tall guy standing above me. He had neat blond hair and blue eyes that I felt could see right through me.

"Um, yeah," I managed to mumble. Despite my assurance that I was fine, he sat across from me. He folded his hands on the table and looked at my book.

"Chemistry?" He asked. I nodded wordlessly. He flashed me a perfect smile, and my loneliness and my stress subsided.

Maybe that was why I ignored the bad for so long.

September 1973 (present day)

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I chewed my lip as I waited for Brian to answer. It had been a few days and he hadn't called me, so I was beginning to get worried. I figured he just forgot, but part of me worried our date made him lose interest.

"Hello?" He finally answered.

"Hi," I said. "It's, um—"

"Eleanor!" He finished for me. "Oh, god. I'm so sorry I haven't called. Practices have been going so late this week. I've barely gotten a moment to myself!"

"It's okay." I smiled to myself. What a sweetie.

"I'm glad you called, really, because I was gonna ask you if you wanted to come to another show and hang out after," he said. I didn't understand how he was so smooth and casual about this. If I were asking someone out, I'd be really nervous.

"That sounds fun." I smiled and played with my hair absentmindedly as we talked. I couldn't help but find myself completely smitten with Brian. Most guys made me a little nervous, but Brian was different. Just by looking at him, you could tell how kind and gentle he was.

"Wonderful." He sounded relieved. "I'd pick you up, but I have to be there a few hours early. Couldn't make you wait that long for me. Anyways, the show starts at nine."

"I'm sure Sarah will be going anyways," I replied. He laughed, and it was music to my ears.

"I'm sure she will," he said. "It's at the pub on Green Street. Promise me you won't get in the crowd and have a panic attack again?"

I giggled and nodded. "Promise."

"Good." I could hear the smile on his lips. "I'll see you then."

Sarah went to the show as well. She hung out with me for longer than she had in the past, saying that she wasn't in the mood to hook up with a random guy. I respected that. Really, I respected her. She was a smart, capable woman who was also very comfortable in herself and her sexuality. She was a good role model.

We both had drinks in our hands, but it was already her second. She seemed pretty buzzed. She was singing along to the music softly and swaying back and forth in her seat. After a few songs, she finally leaned over to whisper to me.

"Brian's cute," she said. I nodded in agreement. I'd been watching Brian the whole time, admiring his skill. He was amazing at playing, and he clearly loved what he did. His enthusiasm and talent combined made my heart flutter.