the drummer boy ❦ Roger Taylor

22

* trigger s.a / violence*

"IT'S GAME TIME!" Brian yelled above the ruckus of the pub, causing a wave of cheers from us.

Two hours had passed, and we were all slaughtered. The few drinks had turned into an outright celebration, and there wasn't a sober person in the room. The music was loud, the drinks were flowing, and the atmosphere was incredible.

"What sort of game?" Deborah slurred, tipping some of her drink out of the cup and down her face.

"Never have I ever. You say something that you've never done, and people have to drink if they've done it. Simple." He concluded. We all nodded, pulling our drinks close to us. "Who's first?"

"I'll go," John volunteered, "I've got a good one. Never have I ever...given birth!"

We all shared confused looks, and burst out laughing.

"That's a shit one, Deaky. I'll go. Never have I ever...kissed a boy." Freddie shrugged. I drank, followed by Debs, Mary, Freddie and Roger. When questioned, he put it down to a really feminine looking man. Freddie didn't justify his.

"My go. Never have I ever had a threesome." Brian smirked, eyes scanning us all to see who was guilty. No one drank for a second, then I noticed Deborah's arm raise to take a drink. My jaw dropped.

"Debs! Why didn't you tell me?!" I exclaimed, to which she just giggled.

I waited for anyone else to drink. I felt Roger hesitate next to me, and he took a quick sip from his cup. I looked at him, to see he was already looking at me. His face held a sheepish smile, and I raised my eyebrow.

I didn't have a problem with him having had a threesome, I just don't know why he didn't tell me. I suppose we don't know everything about each other. Hell, he knew nothing about my sex life. I had no right to be upset. Still, the thought of another girl in bed with him made me jealous.

"Two girls?" Mary asked.

"Lets move on." He mumbled.

"Ok then. Never have I ever cheated on someone." She said, causing the table to become silent. Again, no one drank at first. Then, Roger bought his glass to his lips and drank. I didn't look at him this time. Instead, I focused on the rim of my glass, and how I wanted to jab it into his face. He cheated? I wanted to know the whole story, hoping that it'd be a tragic story of how his girlfriend cheated on him, so he got revenge. Or that he was only young, a school boy error. Anything to justify his actions.

No one said anything, and the tension was thick in the air. I felt everyone's eyes on me. I decided to leave the room, to avoid getting upset. I had no right to, technically. It's not like we were a couple. Standing up, Roger grasped my wrist. I looked down to him.

"Where are you going?" He asked quietly, as everyone gradually began their conversations again. I shook my head.

"For a smoke." I replied bluntly. He went to stand up.

"I'll come too."

Before he could stand fully, I gently nudged him back down so he was sitting. He frowned.

"Don't."

He took my commands, sadly watching as I walked away. I squeezed on my glass. No one else followed me. I was glad. I needed to process the last ten minutes alone, in the fresh air.

I lit up the fag, taking an extremely long drag from it. The outdoor smoking area was behind the pub, so it was quiet, other than a few other smokers. I was glad. I didn't want to get into a conversation with anyone at the moment.

Part of me was thinking that I was being completely irrational and over the top, but the other part was let down. I thought Roger was this perfect man who could do no wrong, but he was just like my dad. Wasn't he?

But he's so kind, funny and caring. He hadn't shown me any sign to not trust him, to think bad of him. It had only been a short while that we've known each other, but he's made me the happiest I've ever felt.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice said from behind me. Upon turning around, I saw Dave, the bar man. I groaned inaudibly. I couldn't be bothered to handle his shit at the moment. So, I ignored him. I continued smoking, but I could sense him getting nearer to me. "You know, it's rude to ignore people. Especially when they're just being kind."

There's that word. 'Kind'. Maybe he's right, maybe I shouldn't be so uptight just because he's not Roger. I sighed.

"Sorry, just having an odd night." I reluctantly replied. The reply somehow gave Dave permission to get very close to me, now standing barely a foot from me.

"Whys that?" He asked, clearly not caring at all. I knew this as his eyes raked up and down my body, biting his lip as he did so. I moved an inch away from him, now realising we were the only ones in the area. My heart began to beat fast. "I can take your mind off of today, if you want. You can come back to my house."

"No. No, thank you." I said as kindly as I could.

"Oh, come on," he dragged out the last word, moving closer towards me during the elongated syllable, "it'll be fun."

"I said no."

However, he didn't stop, and I felt his hands snake round my hips and place themselves on my bum. I was having flashbacks to that day. When those vile men tried to take Deborah and I. When Brian and Roger saved us. How I wished that I had said yes to Roger coming outside with me for a smoke.

"Don't be fucking frigid." Dave murmured in my ear. He continued to grope my body, and I felt myself crumbling and becoming more scared by the minute.

However, I thought of how I wish that I'd done something before. How I wish I'd stuck up for myself with those men. A wave of adrenaline coursed through my veins, and I swiftly kneed Dave in the balls. Following this, I printed my cigarette onto his arm. He fell to his knees. I smashed my glass against the wall, causing it to become a jagged weapon.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" I cried, backing away from him, pointing my glass towards him shakily. He raised his hands up in defeat, clearly scared that I was going to stab him. "SEE? IT'S NOT NICE, IS IT? TO FEEL FUCKING THREATENED?" I screamed. Tears fell from my eyes, partly with upset that this had nearly happened to me again, but also with pride that I'd managed to get him off of me. Still extremely drunk, my back hit against the wall, and I slid down it slowly. Dave was still holding his hands up in the air. I held the glass firmly in front of me, in case he decided to come any closer.

"Alright! Calm down. I'm sorry!" He apologised, fear evident in his tone. I loosened my grip slightly, still keeping it close. The kerfuffle obviously was heard from inside the pub, because Roger, followed by the rest of the group and a few stragglers came out of the door. They looked from Dave to me, with shocked expressions. Roger cautiously approached me.

"Jules? Put that down. You're safe." He said comfortingly, kneeling down beside me. I must've looked like a deer caught in headlights. I dropped it to the floor, after seeing the worry on his face. Behind him, Mary and Deb's stood, hands over their mouths in shock. Brian and Freddie were just behind Roger, giving Dave dirty looks. Once I dropped it, Roger scooped me into his arms, and held me close to him. I let out quiet sobs. "It's ok, I promise. You're safe with me." He whispered in my ear. And I believed him.

All of the shit didn't matter, as long as I had him.

-

If you didn't see, I updated before this.

Pretty eventful chapter!
Poor Julia can't catch a break :( but I did say this book would have a lot of drama. And this isn't it!!

However, at the same time, I want to really progress their relationship. That's why I'm trying not to rush it too quickly.

If you think the story is unrealistic, then, yes, I suppose it is. But that's why it's a fictional book rather than a factual one.

Hope you enjoyed!!