To love a flower ~ Roger Taylor

Chapter 1

Friday night and the lights are low...

It was a casual day at work in the record store for Renée. As always, the place wasn't too crowded, and she took her time with helping the costumers to find the record they were looking for, recommending artists and occasionally having a nice conversation about music.

She quite enjoyed her job, but Renée was striving to reach more someday...if that day would come.

She was sorting out some shelves at the front of the store and let out a loud sigh. It did annoy her when ignorant people didn't put the records back where they belonged.

The doorbell rang, announcing that someone had entered the shop. Renée turned around to see a man with long black hair and a stylish coat walking in.

A smile lit up her face as she recognized Freddie. He came here pretty often, looking around the store, trying to find unique, underrated music. “Good afternoon Freddie,” she greeted him, receiving a polite smile from him while he said hello.

Renée returned to her work, knowing Freddie would stay at least half an hour to test out the different records before buying one. The two weren't really friends, acquaintances fit better, although she would like to know more about him, and why he was so interested in music that was a little bit different. In the very best way possible of course.

After a few minutes, Renée was just about to get a cup of tea from the back of the shop, when someone tapped her shoulder. It was Freddie, holding a record. “I'd like to buy this one, please,” he said.

She was surprised that he had already settled on one, but she nodded, going to the cashier's counter. Freddie put the record on the counter and Renée immediately recognized it, as she had it herself. “Oh, this one's great!” she exclaimed, getting a little too excited. Then she noticed how loud she said that and felt the blood rush to her face before adding “Good choice”. Freddie chuckled, “I agree.”

While Renée was packing the record into a bag, Freddie was taking the money out to pay for it. He put it on the counter, along with a red flyer. Renée raised her eyebrows, curious about what it might be about.

“Uhm, my band -Queen- is playing at this bar tomorrow night. Since we like the same music, I figured maybe you'd like to come and listen?” Freddie said. Renée raised her eyebrows even more. “You're in a band?” she asked, taking the flyer and reading it. Freddie nodded. “But you don't have to come,” he said hurriedly, muttering “Only if you want to.”

Renée had heard of the bar where they were going to play at before, and she liked the idea of hearing the kind of music Freddie made. Slightly pulling the tips of her hair, she said: “No, I'd love to come,” a smile forming on her lips.

Freddie smiled back in excitement. He clapped his hands. “Great! Then maybe I'll see you tomorrow before the gig starts?” he asked. Renée nodded. “Yes, why not,” she answered and waved at Freddie as he walked out of the store again.

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Saturday night came around faster than Renée thought, and she found herself trying to find an outfit for the gig. She soon settled on a black pair of bell-bottom jeans and a red striped shirt. Listening to some music, she got dressed and went into the bathroom to get her makeup done. She looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Her fawn-brownish hair went down to her chest, and a pair of hazel-eyes stared back at her. She scrunched up her face when her gaze focused on her nose like she always did. She had never liked her nose, as it was way too pointed in her opinion.

Renée put on some mascara and her favourite red lipstick which she only wore on special occasions. Then, she went to her bedroom, took her acoustic guitar and started playing a random melody. She hasn’t been able to get it out of her head in the last few days. Only a few minutes later, she got up and went out of her apartment to her second-hand, red Opel.

The drive to the bar took longer than she expected, as there was a lot of traffic on the streets of London and she had a little trouble remembering the way. That was also the reason why she came a little later than she had promised to Freddie.

She stepped out of her car into the warm evening breeze and walked into the bar.

When she came in, she could already feel the genuinely cosy atmosphere.
Lively conversations filled the room, people were laughing, getting drinks and having fun. Finally, she looked over to the stage. The band was already taking in their places.

Renée let her eyes drift across the stage. Freddie was standing there, trying to set up his mic stand; a young man with light brown, long hair was plugging in a bass left next to him. Right next to Freddie, slightly in the background, another guy with extraordinarily curly, dark hair was picking up a red guitar.

Lastly, she noticed the drum set standing behind Freddie. A handsome blonde man was sitting behind the drums, playing around with the drum sticks. She didn't quite know why, but something about him made her look at him for just a bit longer than at the others.

She walked closer to the stage and waved at Freddie, so he would notice her. When he finally did, he gave her a small smile, waved back and pointed to her left. Renée frowned, she didn't know what Freddie wanted. He chuckled to himself when he noticed that she didn't get it, and called out: “Mary!”

Renée looked to her left, where Freddie had directed his yell at, and saw a young blonde woman standing at the bar. She turned around to look at Freddie and then at Renée. She nodded at him before he turned back to talk about something with his bandmates. The woman walked towards her with a sympathetic smile. “Are you Renée? I'm Mary, Freddie's girlfriend. He told me you'd come.”

Renée smiled back, confirming Mary's question and briefly hugged her. While they went to get a drink together, they chatted a little bit about this and that. “Is this your first time listening to the boys?” Mary asked, taking a sip from her glass. Renée nodded, sudden excitement filling her body.

She wanted to hear some new music, maybe something to get inspired by. “I don't know, but I already know they're going to be great. I feel like Freddie has a refreshing taste in music. Not so mainstream like most people,” Renée said, looking at the band on the stage, now waiting for the bar to quiet down a bit.

A/N: Uhm hi, this is the first chapter of my Roger Taylor fanfiction. I really hope you liked it, and if you did, I'd really appreciate it if you comment and vote. Or don't, because who am I to tell you to do something?
But yeah, I will try to upload regurlarly, so stay tuned for chapter 2!

Have a nice day

Sofia🌻