Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (Roger Taylor/Ben H

Chapter 1

I was sitting in the living area watching the television not really paying attention to what was playing, I was more lost in my own thoughts. I heard the phone ring from the kitchen but paid no attention to it as my mother was in there and she'd be the one to answer it. "Jenny!" my mom yelled my name, even though she yelled her voice was soft as always.

I got up from my seat and ran to the kitchen to see what she wanted. "Yes mother?" I asked, the phone was up to her ear. "Phone call from Mary" she said, smiling at me. I was surprised to be hearing from Mary. She was my childhood best friend but we hadn't spoken much in the last few weeks, I'd been quite the recluse lately. She handed me the phone and I put it up to my ear waiting for Mary to speak first."Are you there?" Mary spoke in a gentle tone. "Yes, Hello Mary." I said, I had to sound as confused as I was to be hearing from her. "I'm sorry for randomly calling you, I just wanted to know if you would like to see this band tonight with me" she started, "It's just some local small college band, they're quite good, i see them all the time" she said. Bands, crowds, loud music, definitely not my thing. "I don't know Mary, that's not really my scene" I told her, I know this was an attempt to get me out of the house. "Come on, it'll be fun, we'll have drinks and dance all night, like old times." She said, I could hear the smile in her voice. I thought about it for a while before finally giving in, maybe it could be fun. Who knows."Fine i'll go, what time?" I said sighing not really all the way on board with going. "I'll pick you up at 6:30" She said, sounding happier than it had been the whole phone call.

We said our goodbyes as I hung the phone up on the wall and looked at the time. Shit, it was 6:00 already, I needed to get ready fast. I ran up the stairs to my room and ransacked my closet for anything decent to wear. I decided on a pair of blue jean bell bottoms, and one of my mom's old band t-shirts, it was a band I had never heard of. I had done my signature cat eyeliner and bright red lipstick. I looked at the time and it was already 6:25, I looked through my bag making sure I had money, an ID and pepper spray, which I always carried around just in case.

By the time I was ready Mary's car was parked in the driveway, I walked out the door locking it behind me. I gave her a slight smile and a wave walking to her car. I open the passenger side door and hop in. "Hello Mary" I greeted her. She gave me a smile in return. "Hey, I'm so glad to see you!" she said, still smiling at me. We drove the rest of the way in silence. We didn't have to fill every moment with conversation, we were just that close. Soon we were at the pub where they were playing. I stepped out of the car, already regretting my decision to come. There were so many people here. "It's gonna be fun, I promise" Mary spoke, noticing the grim look on my face. "I hope so" I replied

Inside the pub was filled with people, enough to give me a panic attack, but I kept my cool. Mary was off to get us drinks and I watched as the band started. I studied them carefully, they weren't bad if I was being honest, and the drummer was so hot. He had blonde shoulder length hair and piercing blue eyes. I saw Mary coming back with our drinks, I chose Smirnoff vodka. I needed something strong to get through the night. We went through so many drinks and I was very drunk at this point.

I noticed a man staring at Mary, I looked him up and down. He was darker with fucked up teeth but somehow he pulled it off. "Sorry.. I like your coat" he said, turning to Mary. "It's from Biba," she replied. "She works there." I added. "Would you two want to come find the band with me?" he asked. Now usually i wouldn't do this but i was very drunk, "Of course! I kinda wanna meet the drummer" I laughed a little too loud, he signaled for us to follow him. We followed him to the back parking lot, Mary and I both stumbling. I made sure I had my pepper spray in my bag given we were following a random man into a secluded area, which was definitely a bad idea. We heard some men arguing in the distance as we approached him. I realized it was the band. "I enjoyed the show." the man whose name I didn't know yet spoke. "Thanks," the blonde boy replied. "Thanks man" the curly haired guitarist added. "I'm Freddie by the way" he said. So that's what his name was, Freddie. It suited him well actually, he looked like a Freddie. "And who are these two ladies?" The man with curly hair asked. "Uh.. I'm Mary, and this is Jennifer" Mary said.. It was very obvious we were drunk and the two men looked worried for us. "It's just Jenny actually" I said, i hated being called Jennifer. I was only ever called that by my mother when she was angry with me. "I'm Roger, and this is Brian" the blonde boy spoke. I gave him a slight smile, "nice to meet you Roger and Brian." I said. "I've been following you for a while actually.." Freddie started. "Smile. Makes sense for a dental student" he said looking at Roger. "And your astrophysics, aren't you?" He turned to Brian. "Yeah" he replied. "Makes you the clever one." he smiled at Brian. "I suppose it does." Brian said smiling, looking at Roger. Roger rolled his eyes. "I actually write songs of my own, might be of interest to you." he said with one hand on his hip. Freddie was quite the character, I was so fascinated by him. "Well you're about five minutes too late. Our lead singer just quit." Roger said. "Well then you'll need someone new.." Freddie said, he was quite performer material if I did say so myself. "Any Ideas?" Roger asked, not fully expecting an answer. "What about me?" he said confidently, god i wish i had that kind of confidence. "Not with those teeth mate." Roger chuckled. I was kind of taken aback by this mean comment he made, even in my drunken state. Freddie started singing, my mouth dropped. I did not expect him to have such a voice. They all sung in harmony, it was the song doing all right, which i had recognized from earlier in the pub. Me and Mary looked at each other both shocked. I had noticed that Mary seemed to have taken a liking to Freddie, which surprised me because he wasn't really her type.

"I was born with four additional incisors. More space in my mouth means more range." Freddie said. "I'll consider your offer" he smiled walking away. "Do you play bass?" Roger yelled back at him. "Nope," he said, his back turned to us. Brian and Roger looked at each other in disbelief, what a guy. Me and Mary were left alone with the boys and it made me nervous. I didn't know these men. "Can you guys drive yourselves home?" brian asked. We were clearly intoxicated. That was obvious and neither of us thought of that. "Shit I never thought of that." Mary said, looking defeated. "We could give you a lift home." Roger told us, Mary gave me a distrustful look. "Sure!" I said a little too enthusiastically. "What about my car?" Mary said still not on board with the idea. "We'll take care of it, we can drop your car off. Give me your keys" Brian said. Mary very clearly did not like this idea. "Wha-? No!" Mary protested. "What? We're not just gonna let you drive yourself home and crash!" Brian told her. She was really in no state to drive, she was still stumbling over her words and could stand still. Mary finally gave in and agreed, giving Brian her car keys. "I need it by 8:00 am tomorrow, I have work." She told him. Brian nodded. "Why don't you come sit and talk with us, we aren't leaving just yet." Roger said, staring at me rather than Mary. Which I wasn't complaining about, a hot guy giving me attention? I don't see that everyday. I nodded my head and went to sit uncomfortably close to Roger but he didn't seem to mind. Mary sat a few feet away from me. "So, you're a dentist huh?" I said giggling. "Yeah, well studying to be one.. And you're a..?" He said more of a question than a statement. "Well.. I'm kind of nothing at the moment. College was a waste of my time and money so I dropped out." I started "My life is kind of sad, I don't have a job either" I said kind of embarrassed to admit. I spent most of my time in my room writing stories. "My dream job is to be a writer, but that's never going to happen." I said looking down. "I wanna see some of your works, I'm sure you're a fantastic writer. And if we ever get famous I'll make sure you become a writer." he smiled at me. I looked at him in awe, why was he being so nice to me? "What?" He laughed a bit. "You're just very sweet to me, that's all" I gave him an awkward smile, he returned the smile and we continued on with our conversation.

We talked for what seemed like hours and the alcohol had worn off. Somewhere in between all of our conversation the alcohol had worn off and Mary had convinced Brian to let her drive herself home. I had decided to stay because I was too lost in conversation with Roger. I checked the time on my watch, shit it was almost 2:00 am. "I think I need to go home now. Its been lovely talking to you guys, really" I said you guys, though it was mainly me and Roger talking to each other. We exchanged numbers, and I sat in the back seat of the van. Roger hopped in the passenger seat and Brian drove. I explained to them where my house was. As Brian drove me and Roger did most of the talking with Brian butting in every once in a while. We reached my house, and as I got out of the van I said my goodbyes to Roger and Brian. Satisfied I had made some new friends. I opened the door quietly knowing everyone was asleep. I walked up stairs changing into more comfortable clothes, jumping into bed, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.