Brian follows Roger to the stage. He watches as the purple lights illuminate the drummer's back that's covered by a thin, white shirt. Roger glances over his shoulder and flashes Brian an enthusiastic grin. Brian smiles at him, excitement and nervousness filling his stomach. It's the first show of the tour and it'll take a while for them to get used to performing for an audience again. It's been over half a year since their last tour ended.
Tonight they're playing at Liverpool Empire Theatre for the first time. Brian likes visiting new venues and places. It's refreshing, the change of scenery.
They are greeted with loud cheers from the audience as they take their places on the stage. They begin their set with a song from their new album, Bohemian Rhapsody. They've never performed the song live before.
As they're nearing the end of their set, the audience is elated with them. They're screaming, jumping and singing along. The noise is deafening.
Brian can see several people crying in the front row. They're happy tears. It's one of the things Brian has always loved about playing music; being able to evoke feelings in others.
They get off the stage and wander in the narrow, labyrinthine corridors as they look for their dressing room. Brian supposes they should have paid more attention to their surroundings when they were led to the stage by a member of the venue staff.
Brian sighs in relief when they run into (in Freddie's case, literally) the stage manager. The dark-haired man looks annoyed as he rubs his nose that has collided with Freddie's forehead.
"Hi!" Freddie exclaims, slightly too enthusiastically in Brian's opinion. "We're looking for our dressing room."
The man gestures with his hand to a door on the left of him. With a disapproving glare at the quartet, he rushes off, tripping over his own feet.
"He seemed cheerful," Freddie says when the man is out of sight. He shakes his head. "Being rude to performers isn't good for the reputation of this place."
"Well, you probably broke his nose," John shrugs.
"No I didn't. I have broken noses before. I know what it looks like," Freddie states. "Although, a bit of rework could do his nose good, don't you think?"
Brian rolls his eyes. "Let's just go to the dressing room."
The door creaks when Freddie pushes it open. Brian inhales sharply and tries to ignore the panic that clouds his mind; while he loves spending time with his three bandmates, he would much prefer having a dressing room of his own. He hates changing clothes in front of others. He should be used to it by now, but it terrifies him more each time. He isn't comfortable with his body. Not in the slightest.
Brian makes his way to the corner of the spacious room where his clothes lie on a slipper chair. He struggles to tear off his shirt as the white fabric clings to his sweaty skin. Cold air hits his bare upper body – the dressing room has air conditioning, unlike every other place in the building. He feels exposed even though he knows no one is looking at him. He picks up a shirt from the chair and hastily puts it on.
Glancing at the others, Brian finds John and Freddie are ready to leave. Roger is standing in the middle of the room, laughing at something. He's halfway through changing clothes and he doesn't have a shirt on. Brian averts his eyes.
"Hurry up, Roger." Brian crosses his arms over his chest.
Roger smirks. "What's the rush? I didn't realize you were so eager to go to the party."
"What party?" Brian questions, frowning.
"You don't listen much, do you?" Roger finally manages to put on a shirt. However, him bothering to button it seems to be too much to ask.
