Summer Of '75 (Roger Taylor/Queen)

Chapter 2

'You're telling me. I had to get stitches where I smacked my head off the pavement.' John said, red-faced.

'I didn't get any injuries, thankfully.' Roger told, proudly, 'Having said that, the hangover the next day was a killer.'

'That's because I broke your fall.' John grumbled.

'And what a good crash mat you made, Deaky.' Roger smiled cheekily, patting John on the shoulder who sat there glaring back at his friend.

The stories continued until everyone had finished their meal.

'That was a spectacular dinner, Mrs. Andrews, thank you for preparing such a beautiful meal. One of the finest I've had, if not the finest.' Freddie praised, to which the rest of the band nodded in agreement and said thank you as well.

'Oh, Freddie, you're too kind. It was nothing. Just wanted to give you all a proper welcome meal.' My mum smiled, 'I wouldn't get too used used to it though. I'm afraid you're going to have to make your own dinner some nights. Hope one of you boys know how to cook.'

'Well that's me out of the question.' Freddie said, chuckling, 'Couldn't cook even to save my life.'

'Don't worry, I know how to cook a bit. We'll manage between us all, I'm sure.' said Brian reassuringly.

* * *

After helping my mother clear away the table and wash the dishes, I popped outside to check on the horses again before heading back in the direction of the house. At this point, the sun drowned in the horizon as it began to go down. An orange haze now casted over the fields and patches of forest surrounding the area, but the warmth in the air still remained. I walked up to the patio and, wanting to take in as much of the glorious evening as I could, sat down on the edge of one of the deck chairs and stayed there for a while. I was so lost in admiring the view I didn't even hear the front door opening and closing behind me until I saw the shadow of a figure across the ground in front of me. I turned my head around to see Roger, who I don't think expected to see me sitting here either.

'Oh, hello.' he said, pleasantly surprised.

'Hi,' I replied. Roger took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and placed one between his lips before lighting it and taking a few puffs from it, 'Y'know, you can smoke indoors if you want.'

'I know, I know. I just felt it'd be politer if I didn't.' he chuckled, 'Want one?'

'No, I'm alright, I'm trying to quit. Old habit. But thanks though.' I replied.

'Wise choice,' he nodded, before looking at the sunset in the distance, 'Lovely evening, isn't it?'

'Yeah, absolutely stunning.'

'You're lucky to live here in such a beautiful part of the world. Beats living in the middle of London, that's for sure.'

'London has its moments of beauty too.'

'You think?' Roger asked.

'Oh yeah, definitely. Depends where you are though. Some parts are nicer than others.'

Roger nodded in agreement, 'You must know it pretty well, then.'

'I live there actually.' I told him.

His face lit up, 'Really? Whereabouts?

'Richmond.'

'That's funny, I'm not too far away - I live in Kensington.' he told.

'Ooh, very fancy.'

'It's not in the posh parts, though,' Roger laughed, 'To be honest, I want to get out of there. I'd prefer to live somewhere a little less enclosed.'

'Yeah, I know what you mean. It's easier to get to and from work, but if it was up to me, I'd much rather be living somewhere like this. I guess that's just what I'm used to.'

'I don't blame you, it's a tranquil place,' Roger replied, taking a drag from his cigarette.

As we made casual conversation, a voice suddenly boomed from inside the house.

'ROGER!' I recognised the irate person to be Brian.

'What?' Roger replied, shouting equally as loudly back.

Brian appeared at the doorway looking aggravated, 'You dumped all of your luggage, and your entire wardrobe which you decided to bring with you, on my bed. I can't even get into the bloody thing with the amount of clothes covering it. Go upstairs and move it to your side of the room. Oh, hello there Amelia.'

I laughed, 'Hello Brian.'

'Alright Mother, I'll be right there.' Roger sassed, before Brian stormed off upstairs again.

'Do you lot ever get on?' I asked.

'Surprisingly, yes. It's a miracle we haven't split up yet the amount of arguments we have but I guess that's just how the relationship we have works - the fights clear the air. Anyway, I'd better head upstairs and tend to His Majesty's wishes, sharing a room with him for four weeks is going to be hell but I'll survive. If I don't see you again tonight, enjoy the rest of your evening.'

'Thank you, you too. Good night, Roger.' I said.

'Good night, Amelia.' Roger replied with a smile before entering the house and closing the door behind him.

I sat there outside for a while longer until the sun had fully gone down and disappeared beyond the horizon. I smiled to myself - I could already tell that having Queen under the same roof as us was going to be interesting, more interesting than any other band that had visited here before. I could only imagine what chaos was bound to happen during their stay here at Ridge Farm, and to be honest, I was excited to find out what that might entail.

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Hello again, fellow Queenies! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's not as long as the last one but most of them will probably be about this length from now on. Just to let you know, the chances of a third chapter being uploaded relatively soon are slim. I have exams coming up in less than a month and I really need to start getting my shit together and actually revise, meaning most of my time will be spent on that. Therefore, it may be a while before a new chapter is published, to which I apologise; I hope you can understand why this needs to take a backseat for a while. Nonetheless, I will be continuing this book, so don't worry! I hope you can wait a while until then. Who knows, maybe I will upload a chapter soon, but I'm just saying not to get your hopes up. Anyway, I'm rambling away here like there's no tomorrow so once again I hope you like this chapter and I'll try to get the next chapter as soon as I can. As always, a vote/comment would be much appreciated and maybe even a click of my follow button if you haven't done so already.

Many thanks!

- Anna :-) x