the drummer boy ❦ Roger Taylor

9

"Where have you been, missy?" My mother scolded, hands on her hips. She was already at the bottom of the stairs whilst I was stumbling through the front door, no matter how quiet I tried to be. Her eyebrows were slanted and angry looking, and I actually felt scared of my mum for the first time since I was a child.

"I was out." I simply said, shrugging and trying to get past her and up to my room. She extended her arm, keeping me from getting past.

"It's four in the morning, Julia. Four a.m! You're lucky that your father is away. He's not as lenient as me." She whisper-shouted, and I felt the urge to roll my eyes. My dad is the least strict person that I know. Hell, he doesn't even care for us that much. Mum still doesn't realise that the reason he decides to work away so much is because he doesn't love her anymore. I know that - I'm the one who found him shagging the maid of honour at my cousins wedding when I was fourteen. And my mums sister on Christmas Day the year later.

After I fell asleep, I was out for a few hours, until Roger gently nudged me to wake me up. No word of a lie, although short, it was the best sleep that I had since before the incident. I didn't want to leave. It was so peaceful and beautiful, I wanted to stay all night. I knew that couldn't happen, though. So we begrudgingly packed the stuff away, and he drove me home. We were silent in the car, me watching out the window sleepily. A cassette played very quietly, a resonant hum making me even more tired. When he left, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek through the open window, and we parted.

"I'm sorry, mum. I went out for dinner, and I fell asleep at a friends house." I lied, also not meaning my apology. She raised her eyebrow.

"Which friend?"

"Tasha, my only friend," I chuckled, trying to use reverse psychology to hopefully make her feel guilty. She nodded, probably not believing me, but she seemed to tired to push me any further. I gave her a short hug, and went to my bedroom.

-

I woke up the next day feeling extremely happy.

It was almost eleven when I finally got up. Although I had a broken sleep, I felt fine. If anything, I felt more awake than ever. I took five minutes simply cuddled in my duvet, imagining Rogers arms around me the night before.

We hadn't made a definite plan to see each other again; I was hinting to see him today. I asked his plans in conversation, and he said that he had rehearsals with the band. Now that Freddie was a member, they were making plans to perform more.

"Julia, someone's on the phone for you!" I heard my mum shout from the hallway. I shot out of bed, throwing on some silk shorts and jogging to the phone. Mum was holding it out impatiently, "it's a boy." She whispered, and I grabbed it quickly.

"Hello?" I said breathlessly, knowing exactly who I wanted it to be.

"Good morning, Jules."

"Hey, Tash!" I exclaimed, noticing my mum watching from the end of the hallway.

"Tash? It's Roger, babe." He laughed. I gave my mum a fake smile, twiddling the chord with my fingers.

"I had a really good night, thanks, Tasha. Thanks for letting me crash at yours. Do you have a cold? Your voice has gotten really low overnight." I lied. I heard loud laughter now, and I pressed the phone to my ear in hopes that mum couldn't hear the deep voice.

"You're welcome, darling, oh yes, my throat is very sore!" Roger said, putting on a high pitched, girly voice. I could now hear another laugh, probably Brian's. Fortunately, my mum had disappeared down the stairs, content with my conversation.

"Sorry about that. Mum was giving me daggers," I giggled, still speaking quietly, "seriously, though, thank you for last night. I had a really nice time."

"You're welcome. Thank you, for coming." I could actually sense his smile from over the phone, making me grin.

There was a moments silence, before Roger spoke again.

"How do you fancy coming to rehearsal today? Freddie's bringing Mary, so I thought to invite you." He asked. I knew from his question that I would accept, obviously. But I had to act coy.

"I don't think I have any plans, hmmm..." I pretended to think, "yes, I'll come."

"Great. I'll pick you up in twenty minutes, then?" He suggested.

"Sounds great."

"See you soon, Julia."

I put the phone down, running straight into my bedroom. I didn't have time to prepare like I did yesterday, so I pulled out the first thing I could see, which happened to be a pair of flared dungarees. I matched a plain white tee shirt with it, and decided to go simple with makeup.

As I was rubbing some bright red lipstick on, Deborah came in, sucking on a lolly pop.

"Hey, Julia." She said casually, flopping onto my bed. I glanced at her, whilst picking out a pair of sunglasses. I went with a black cat eye pair.

"You alright?" I said.

"Who are you getting all pretty for?" She mocked, flipping through a magazine that was left on my floor.

"I'm meeting Tash," I lied. Lies were coming out of my mouth very easily recently. "I'll be back later on."

She didn't reply, instead tossing the magazine back onto the floor and exiting my room.

"Debs?" I said, but she had already left. Whatever.

I saw Rogers car turn onto my road through my large window, so I decided to leave the house now, to avoid the scenario of my mum seeing him.

"Bye mum, love you." I hurriedly said, grabbing my denim jacket and bag from the coat hook.

"Hang on, where are you going now?" She said, as I was opening the door.

"I'm going out, mum. Stop suffocating me! I'm eighteen, you know." I rolled my eyes. Big mistake. I noticed my mums expression drop, and I instantly felt guilty. "I'm sorry, mum. I just want to have a little more freedom. Please."

"You're right. Have a good time, lovey. Stay safe." She sighed reluctantly, kissing my cheek and letting me leave.

Brian and Roger was pulling up just as I got to the end of my path, and I wasted no time getting into the back before anyone got a good view of the lads. Roger smiled at me from the passenger seat, looking gorgeous as per.

"You're in a rush," Brian said as we pulled away, "meeting Tash?" He asked mockingly. I laughed with them, slightly out of breath from rushing. Roger still had his eyes on me, and bit his lip when he saw my tight dungarees. He didn't have to say anything, and neither did I. We seemed to be able to communicate just with a look.

This boy.

-

A slight filler, but there'll be another part up either this evening or in the morning!

Unedited too.