penny assembled into brian's beat up austin mini (an ironically little car for such a tall man), sliding in the back seat beside roger, who had a sour expression on his face. "morning boys!" penny grinned in excitement. she couldn't wait to give freddie his present and meet his parents. "what's wrong, meadows?"
"he's just pissed because john stayed at ours last night, so he can't ride passenger," brian chuckled, raising his eyebrows at penny through the rear view mirror.
"what does john being at yours have anything to do with seating arrangements?"
a sickeningly smug smile overcame john's slender face when he boasted, "because i called shotgun first." roger kicked the chair in front of him harshly, causing john to yelp in protest.
"aw come on, rog! you get to sit next to me the whole way there, that's got to count for something, right?"
"... yeah, that's true," he replied, a small smile finally cracking through his set pout. "you are very enjoyable to look at."
john swivelled in his chair, knowing that roger was yet again flirting with penny to make him jealous. "watch it!" he hissed, earning a confused stare from penny and a faux innocent wink from roger. she couldn't understand why he was suddenly so defensive; this was the first time she had seen him since saturday and to say it was awkward was the understatement of the century. the pair had only come into contact once when john answered brian's phone for him, surprised to hear penny's voice on the other line. he'd forgotten that they had become accustom to ringing each other every sunday night for a one on one catchup.
brian merely concentrated on the road, yet again fulfilling his role as the dad of the bunch.
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excusing herself from the table, penny barely caught the childhood story mary was translating for her father, who was speaking through the use of sign language. her head was swimming. when she decided to leave, freddie (or farrokh, a secret that was revealed to them, shocking even his beloved girlfriend) was taking a phone call and the boys were discussing their personal lives with freddie's mother, john pointing at roger and yelling "he's a dentist," much to roger's dismay. shuffling out of the back door, a gust of chilling autumn wind settled over penny's body and cooled her down immediately. too many loud conversations were taking place around the small table and it was enough to give make the young woman need a moment to breathe. penelope did love the atmosphere, just felt a bit overwhelmed. she plucked a barely-touched cigarette carton from the wide front pocket of her denim flares, placing one of the sticks in between plump lips and shielding the lighter from the wind. john used this as an opportunity to finally make amends with the girl he adored so much, thus explaining why the door opened for a second time in the same minute.
"hey." his voice was timid but he tried to distract his nerves by also lighting a cigarette.
"hey..."
"i'm sorry."
"john—"
"no please just let me say this: i'm so sorry for the other day, i don't know what came over me. i was jealous and rude and you don't deserve anyone ever saying something like that, especially not by someone who's meant to be your best friend. please forgive me? i'll buy you a dozen sunflowers and serenade you if i have to!"
"can brian serenade me instead? i prefer his voice."
"rude!"
"i'm kidding, deaks! of course i forgive you - i've missed you."
"i've missed you too," john beamed, ruffling her hair and drawing her into a hug. "so... how was the date?"
penny bit the inside of her cheek, a wash of embarrassment causing her cheeks to tint a light pink. "a complete nightmare. you were right, he just wanted a quick shag."
"oh love, i'm sorry."
"i'm not, he was a complete tool - he bloody insulted you!"
"god, what did you do this time?" john grimaced, knowing that the one way to really get penny's blood boiling was seeing the mistreatment of her friends. she stubbed their cigarettes against the wall she was currently leaning on, very aware that john's hand was still placed on the side of her waist from their embrace. a few years ago, this action wouldn't have made her bat an eyelid because it was something she was so oblivious too. just a friendly exchange. however over the past year, penelope became hyper sensitive to his touch; it was like sparks erupted in her body at the slightest graze.
"i almost broke his thumb," penny smirked proudly like the cat that got the cream. she waited until his bewildered chuckles had subsided to speak again, setting her amber eyes directly on his silvery green ones. "why were you jealous?"
"w-what?"
"you said you were jealous that bill asked me out. why?"
silence engulfed the pair. john let his eyes flicker over her face as he weighed up his options: he could either play it off as nothing, or he could confess to his best friend that he was completely and utterly head over heals for her, sealing the deal with a much anticipated kiss. the latter seemed a lot more appealing. so, breathing in a shaky breath, john gradually leant forward, keeping his wide eyes on penny's the entire time so that he could detect any kind of protest in them. he couldn't.
their noses barely touched when roger swung the back door open with an almighty bang, making the pair leap apart in fright.
"for the love of god, rog! you almost gave me a heart attack!" john couldn't think of another moment where he's wanted to hit the blonde more than he did now.
"john, you can shag penny later! freddie's got news and it seems very important so both of you get your bony arses inside, now!"
penny sheepishly rushed past the men, flustered beyond belief. what the hell just happened?
"do you think kash is hot?" she faintly heard roger ask as she slumped into the nearest seat, which happened to be next to mary. the concerned redhead mouthed "what happened" discreetly, to which she responded with a slight shake of her head, signalling that she would tell her later.
"great, now that everyone's here," freddie spoke to the group, pointedly stealing a slight glance at john and penny (both of whom looked like they'd seen a ghost). "i have an announcement. one of the A & R men from EMI saw us recording and gave our demo to john reid... he looks after elton john. he wants to meet us and possibly even manage us!"
tingles ran up the backs of everyone's spines, using freddie's dramatic pause to audibly gasp at the news. john was the first to speak, mumbling a "shut up" in the back of his hand, closely followed by roger and brian laughing in utter disbelief. everyone was up on their feet, shouting congratulations, clinking glasses and hugging tightly - all except freddie's father, who sat at the head of the table with a look of sorrow on his face.
