Melanie rushes next to Anna with her clipboard in hand. They stand outside of the curtain opening, watching the band perform one of their last songs. Anna glances over to her best friend. Her eyes are pink.
Anna takes a deep breath and holds it as she looks Roger onstage. He was suspiciously quiet and his performance has been angrier. But it's great.
She looks back at Melanie. She sees a small smile on her face. A good smile on her best friend's face. That is something she hasn't seen for herself in a while.
"I'm guessing you missed the concert scene too much?" Anna asks.
"I couldn't handle another bed next to mine without my best friend in it," Melanie tells her.
"What happened to you in the room?"
"What do you mean?"
"You have a different vibe from this morning, it's giving me the chills." Anna states.
"I don't know, I was just thinking for a while." Melanie sighs. Anna notices the camera and an envelope in her free hand.
"I'm guessing you went on a walk?"
"Yeah," Melanie gulps, "I did."
They both look at the stage. "Thank you, Glasgow!" Freddie says into his mic. Melanie watches Roger gets down from his drums. Her heart beats faster as he glances over at her. She sees a small smile on his face as he walks to the other side of the stage as fans start to cheer.
"I never have seen him this way," Anna tells her friend.
"What do you mean?"
"This is one of the best performances of his life, yet he is different."
Melanie watches the drummer softly. Her heart flutters as she watches the four men happily walk off stage. John's eyes light up as he sees Melanie. He rushes, almost drunkenly, to her with a simple smile on his face.
"Are you feeling any better Melanie?" He asks as Melanie quickly hands him water.
"I'm feeling good enough to help break down the set. Thank you for asking." Melanie answers him.
"I'm wondering if I could talk to you for a minute," John asks the roadie, glancing over at Roger.
"Oh, uh, sure," Melanie says as John gestures her to walk with him. He looks behind him to see his three friends conversing with others.
"Act like we are looking at my bass, cameras will show anywhere," John says as another takes his bass from him. "Roger has been moody all day, you know."
"He has?"
"Yes, did he ever stop by your room earlier? He sort of disappeared for a while before rehearsal." John asks.
"Yeah, he did," Melanie tells him. "It was an odd conversation."
"Did he tell you about the paper?"
"He did."
"I'm sorry Melanie."
"Don't be, not if it's your fault." Melanie feels John's hand on her upper back lead her into an empty room, away from the cameras.
"I just want you to know that I would never think of you as a groupie." The bassist says as he looks down at his feet.
"I know you wouldn't."
"Have you been doing alright? I know that the past day or so has been a mess." John gestures her to sit down.
"I've been managing," Melanie says shyly.
"Roger still loves you very much. I don't know how much he tells you that, but Roger has never been in love like this before. I've never seen him like this before."
"I know he loves me, but it feels different now."
"It's been hard for all of us."
"I'm aware." Meanie looks away from the bassist shyly as people start to file in the room. The rest of the band, some roadies, and Anna.
Melanie watches Roger converse with a girl. Her heart drops a little when the girl hits his arm playful. She looks away from him to John, but only for a moment. The girl wouldn't stop touching him. Roger nudges her off sometimes but lets her continue to touch him.
"Do you want me to walk you back to the hotel, Mel?" John asks. His eyes Roger and the drummer acknowledges him and Melanie.
"I want to see Roger first," Melanie says as John nods at Anna.
"Hey, if everything okay?" Anna asks the two, approaching them.
"Yeah, everything is fine." The roadie tells her best friend.
John whispers into Anna's ear as Melanie looks over to Roger, who keeps eyeing her as the girl tugs at his arm with a giggle. He doesn't give in to the girls' advances. Melanie sighs as she looks away from the drummer. She has a sudden feeling of being in the wrong place.
Melanie looks over at the open door before glancing at John and Anna. She hesitates to go out the door, but she does, closing the door behind her. Soon enough, she sees very few paparazzi. No cameras flash.
Their only focus is on the band.
She following a few of her roadie friends, just in case the might follow, to the side of the hallway and she quickly makes an exit. No one is there, causing some ease in Melanie.
Taking a deep breath, she starts to walk a little quicker. Melanie has a tight grip on her things as she continues to walk to the hotel. Tears slide slowly down her cheeks, only for her to wipe them off.
Melanie feels lucky to be safe at this time of night. The streets are empty, unusually safe. "Perfect night for a kidnapping!" Melanie mumbles to herself. She tries to shake the feeling of not being safe off her shoulders.
She stops at a bench but doesn't sit down. She looks up at the city. The lights of rooms and offices are as bright as the stars in the sky. She sees many Queen fans on the other side of the street conversing.
A smile rests on Melanie's face. It's clear that the band Queen makes them so happy. Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger make them happy. Their songs make them happy. The overwhelming feeling of love settles in her heart as sadness still resides.
Melanie gets the sudden urge to keep going to the hotel. She is not surprised to see more Queen fans on her way there. The exciting vibe radiates and some of the fans have tears of joy in their eyes.
Once she gets to the hotel, she goes straight to the stairs. Every step she takes, she goes faster. She doesn't know what emotions are going through her head.
Looking at the envelope, Melanie feels a teardrop roll down her check and drop next to the name Roger. The envelope is like a casket. A casket of all the time she has worked on tour.
It has multiple photos of her and of Roger. Pictures of her and him one night when Roger was fiddling with her camera.
He took some pictures of her. Special pictures. Only for him to see.
YOU ARE READING
His Personal Roadie
Fanfiction**Roger Taylor** Melanie is a young woman fresh out of graduate school, but not following the path she was expecting. She had graduated as an artist, yet struggling to get her start. But when she is offered to be a roadie and assistant...
