More than just a friend || Roger Taylor

18- every unmatched piece of him

"This job is awful... please tell me you told them someone was dying or something."

"Yeah well you left the address on the fridge too... so I'll be on my way to pick you up the moment this call ends." Julian replied, slightly smugly, a small smile taking to my lips as he spoke.

"And what are we gonna do after that ?"

"Well... I was thinking we could get lunch. But I don't mind what we do really, I just wanna spend every second I can before you fly off to America." I sighed a little, hearing the worry and muffled concern in his tone. I still planned on going home, only to see mum before it was too late, and neither Julian or Connie were fond of the idea. Both of them were trying to drag me away from the whole idea as much as they could, but I'd agreed to it.

"I'm only going for three weeks... calm down. But as long as you can get me out of here- I don't care where we go." I chuckled slightly, eagerly waiting for his response knowing it could get me out of my dreaded job.

"Go run in there, wipe that smile off your face and tell them something awful had happened to a close friend and it's best you go home. I'll see you in a minute doll."

I laughed, slamming the phone back down, taking a short breathe in which I let my cheeks fade from their slightly rosier shade and smile drop, and tried my hardest to look suddenly devastated.

"Everything alright miss ?" The same women asked, a small concern as my eyes fell to the floor and my head gently shook from side to side. "What happened ?"

"There's been an accident involving one of my... my erm... close friends." She gasped, throwing her hands other her mouth as I sniffled, trying my hardest not to laugh as she gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Oh that's awful !" She examined, her hand wrapping itself round my shoulders as my teeth bit down on my bottom lip to try and hide a smile.

"Yeah... I don't think I'm gonna be able to do the rest of the shoot... it's very sudden. Do you think you guys have enough material for me to go home ?"

"I'm sure we can make something work." The women reassured me, pulling me into an oddly unexpected hug.

"Thank you. And... could you keep it quiet. I don't want everyone here knowing about my private life." I asked quietly, pulling another fake sniffle as she slowly let me go, her head nodding frantically.

"Of course. Now... I'll grab your original clothes from the changing room, and you can just keep that dress." She rushed off to the changing rooms, leaving me to smugly smile only for a short moment before she hurried back over with a bag of clothes.

"I can't thank you enough..." I mumbled slightly, almost yanking the bag from her hand before rushing to the front doors, where I did of course find Julian's car.

I quickly rushed over to the door, getting in the car with a relieved sigh as he chuckled to himself. I smiled across at him, a clear gratefulness in my expression as he smiled with the same sense of pride.

"You're a life saver." I huffed, both of us laughing as he turned the key in the ignition and i pulled my hair out of the monstrosity of pins it had been shoved into.

"I know." He shrugged, taking a small second to look me up and down like he always would. "What the fuck are you wearing ? You look like a bloody tomato."

"Don't even start."

-

After quickly stopping at mine to allow me to change out of the hideous dress I was going to be printed in, me and Julian decided to wonder down to the nearest cafe for a coffee.

Mel was bound to kill me when I next saw her, but I was tired enough as it was. Running out of one shoot couldn't hurt, and it wasn't like I hadn't already posed in every position I could've. I had never been so grateful to be suddenly pulled from a job.

"How are you doing ? Not still heartbroken are you ?" Julian asked, partly sympathetic as he sipped his tall coffee almost too slowly for my liking. I shrugged a little, shoulders raising themselves as my mind struggled to gather the words for an answer only needing to be short.

I was unsure how to feel about Roger. I still struggled to accept the fact he was part of my past rather than the present, or the future. It seemed I still could recall the feel of his lips, or the hold of hit arms. I could easily place myself back in that moment if I wanted to. But that's because it had only been a certain number of weeks since I did last see him, and the wounds the papers caused were still fresh.

I tried everything to distract myself, and Connie and Julian tried their best to help, but his name always crept back into my constantly circling train of thoughts. It was strange, and sudden. It wasn't how me and him should've ended, and I think that's why it left my feeling as hollow as it did.

But I couldn't let myself ponder on his name for too long, especially when I was stay opposite one of the few people trying to avoid the very thing happening.

"I'll take that as a yes then..." Julian smirked slightly, an undeniable cockiness in the pull at his lips as I guiltily nodded. "Don't worry, you're not gonna stay hung up on him forever. I won't allow it."

"I'll hold you to that."

"You've just gotta look around." He gestured around the small cafe, coincidentally the same cafe me and Roger had met for the second time in. "She's cute over there... green eyes, glasses, gorgeous dark braids."

"I'm not looking for someone at this very moment. But yeah you're right she is cute." He rolled his eyes playfully, hesitantly nodding. "I'm not gonna stay stuck on Roger forever. It just, well it feels weird I guess. Sudden. Still."

"That's the awful side affect of a broken heart I'm afraid Miss. Petrov... which I'm guessing you think is gonna magically heal after spending two weeks with your cuntish dad and angelic mum whist filming a bloody movie !"

"I'm at least hoping it will... I mean if my dads good at anything it's bloody consuming my head. He drives me insane. It will keep me bloody distracted anyway." I shook my head gently, taking a sip of my own coffee as Julian clicked his tongue and brushed his hair back slightly.

"It just... feels weird. You of all people going home..." he looked down at the thin plate against the old wood for a second, as if his eyes weren't quite ready to look at mine. "I know I haven't known you all that long but... it does worry me. Scares me a bit."

"It scares me too. I don't even know why I fucking agreed to it most nights... but I bloody did." We both laughed a slightly awkward laugh, one jammed full of a tension we hadn't quite expected.

"You're bloody crazy doll."

An- as you can tell minimal effort went into this 😭👍🏻 but enjoy and ty for reading :)