Somebody To Love - Maylor/Deacury

8 - Under Pressure

Freddie's POV

"Good morning, darling," I spoke into the phone. It was a Monday morning, the start of a new week, and I had decided to check up on Mary before I went to the studio. She had insisted that we talk everyday, despite the fact that we hardly had anything new to tell each other. Still, our conversations helped me cope with any feelings of homesickness that I might have.

"Morning, Freddie," she replied, "I've missed hearing your voice."

I laughed playfully, "Oh, don't be silly - we've talked everyday."

"I know, but still..." she paused, thinking of a way to start the conversation, "How is everything going with the album?"

I leaned against the wall, using my free hand to toy with the phone cord as I spoke, "It's a bit too early to tell, but we're making progress. I'm going to present one of my songs to the boys today."

She sighed, "That's exciting! What's it called?"

"I'm not quite sure yet," I explained, "I've been working on it for a while. I think I've played you the piano bit I wrote for it, actually."

"I'm sure you did," Mary sounded distracted, "Well, it sounds like you have your work cut out for you, so I'll let you go. Tell the boys I said hi."

I smiled, "I will. But Mary-"

"I love you," she interrupted. Each time she said those words, I felt a stab of guilt. The truth is that I had been having doubts about our relationship for a while, but having voiced them to a close friend made them feel more real. Still, I replied as I always did.

"I love you, dear. Goodbye." As soon as I hung up the phone, I turned to find our drummer standing at the end of the hallway with a grin on his face.

"I love you dear," Roger mocked me, a hand clutching his heart.

Walking towards him, I laughed, "Fuck off."

He was still smiling as we walked to the door, "Next time you should save your phone sex for later, we've been waiting in the studio all morning." This earned him a laugh and a playful swat at his arm. Since Roger had been tense lately, seeing him laugh made me forget about my own worries for a moment, even if the jokes were at my expense.

We were interrupted by the manager calling from the kitchen, "Freddie?"

I froze, "Not now, Paul." I had been avoiding him all weekend, but he kept trying to talk to me alone.

He begged, "It will only take a minute."

"I'll wait in the studio," Roger decided, giving my shoulder a supportive touch.

I tried to stop him, but he had already left, "Rog-" I sighed. I guess it was inevitable that I would have to address the situation with Paul sooner or later, so I decided to get it over with. I joined him in the kitchen, "Listen, I know what we're both thinking-"

"Freddie-"

"-But that doesn't mean that anything can happen between us," I paused, "I have a girlfriend, and you're our manager. Our relationship is purely business - I'm afraid it has to stay that way."

"I'm sorry if I acted unprofessionally," he met my eyes, awaiting my reaction, "But I don't see it as a mistake."

"Paul," I stepped closer, lowering my voice and speaking slowly as I chose my words carefully, "I'm sure it's no secret to you that I've been with men before, but each time I get the same guilt. If Mary found out..." I shook my head, "It's just not fair to do that to her."

He looked surprised at my bluntness, laughing nervously, "If you think so."

"Yes," I started to leave, "Well, I can't keep the band waiting any longer or surely I'll be replaced!"

John's POV

When Freddie finally arrived at the studio, Brian looked up from tuning his guitar and said exactly what we were all thinking, "Fucking finally."

The singer looked tense. "I'm sorry, really," he apologized, taking off his jacket and tossing it onto the chair opposite Brian, "Mary had wanted me to call her, and afterwards Paul kept bothering me."

"Well now that we're all here," I started, kicking one leg over the other, "What are we doing today?"

Roger replied, "Does anybody have a new song that's ready to be played?"

Brian was quiet. I could tell by Freddie's expression that he was contemplating something. He had pulled out a sheet of paper as he sat down, but put it away when Roger said 'ready to be played'. Now, he got an idea, "Do you remember that song I proposed, 'Seaside Rendezvous'?"

"The one with the vocalized instrumental bit?" Brian asked, skeptical. When Freddie had shared his idea for the song, it was met with criticism from the guitarist. He thought the concept was too outlandish to pull off, and had ultimately decided that his time could be better used to work on other songs.

"Yes, dear," Freddie confirmed.

He stood up, still holding his guitar, "Well in that case, I'll go work on one of my songs in the booth." He disappeared into the booth, closing the door as silence filled the room.

Roger scoffed, "I guess that's the song we're working on, then."

"Didn't leave us much of a choice," I added. Freddie had wandered off to find his mic stand, leaving us to set up our respective instruments. Roger would usually strike up a conversation when it was just the two of us, but he remained quiet behind his drum kit as he warmed up.

By the time I was finished tuning my bass, Freddie had finished setting up his microphone and sat next to me on the couch. He gave me a tired smile and wrapped his arms around me, laying his head on my shoulder. I rested my arm around his shoulders, and he let out a shaky sigh. I could tell that something was upsetting him, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," He slowly sat up, removing his embrace. He glanced over at Roger, who was still drumming away, "I'm just a bit worried about Rog, that's all."

I looked at the drummer in question. He was completely lost in his playing - even more than usual - and seemed oblivious to the fact that anyone was watching him. I said, "He has been distant the past couple of days." Still, I had a feeling that this wasn't the only thing on Freddie's mind. I faced him, "What was Paul bothering you about?"

"Oh, nothing for you to worry about," he quickly assured me. Standing up, he asked, "Are you ready to play?"

I went along with his sudden change of topic, grabbing my guitar as I rose to my feet, "Yes." Finding my usual spot between the piano and the drum kit, I plugged my guitar into the amp and adjusted the equalization while Freddie provided lyric sheets, complete with specialized notes in the margins.

Roger had stopped playing and was reading over his lyric sheet while Freddie found his spot at the piano. Meanwhile, I was testing out a few starting notes as most of my part was to be improvised during the first run through. Freddie played his starting chord on the piano, letting the sound fade out, "Everybody ready?"