speechless | roger taylor

one

"Have I got to?" Elise Rudd asked, a small pout playing on her lips as she swung her legs over her best friend's lap. She took the mug of tea he had brought her, graciously holding it up to her lips and taking a small sip, letting the warmth run through her.

"Please? I'd love for you to finally meet my friends," John begged. He rested his arms on her legs and looked at her pleadingly. "They've heard so much about you, they won't leave me alone until you agree to come!"

John Deacon was the bassist of a band called Queen, and over the few years that he'd been playing with them, they've always heard of Elise but had never met her. She claimed it was because she didn't want to take away from his rockstar time rather than the truth, which was that she was shy.

He'd been trying to get her to go to one of his gigs for ages now, going from bringing it up casually to practically begging her, over and over. He hoped that this time, it'd work, mainly because he couldn't wait for his two worlds to meet.

Elise was always one to make new friends; it was easy for her, despite being shy at first. Her snarkiness somehow always got people's attention, and she guessed it was just because she rarely got offended. Once she got to know someone, and be comfortable with them, the shyness disappeared.

John had always told her that it was because of her kindhearted personality and how caring she was. She would laugh and shrug it off, usually saying that she's only ever like that with him. She was the most comfortable with him, anyway; she was herself around him, no matter what

She wasn't quite sure why she was so shy and scared of meeting her best friend's band. She thought that maybe it had something to do with them being 'rock stars' and all, or because of everything she'd heard. She felt as if, maybe, she wasn't good enough to meet them.

Elise had heard their music and had read every single article in the news about them. How couldn't she? John was her best friend. He'd introduced her to their first album when it came out, immediately getting it on record and bringing it to her flat. She'd sit for hours listening to their voices and the lyrics they sang, though John never quite knew that.

John knew she loved his band almost as much as he did. She'd always have his records on when he came around, and she'd always be humming or singing along. He was never worried about that. It wasn't that she hated Queen, or the idea of it—they both just knew that it would be a little frightening for her to meet them at first. He was just as shy as she was, before he joined Queen.

Elise smiled at him, deciding that maybe it was finally time for her to meet his band. The rain was softly hitting the window of his lounge, sounding a soft patter throughout his flat. She held her mug of tea close, trying to gain some of its warmth.

"I'll come," she agreed, watching as John's face lit up, as if he was a child let loose in a candy store. "But—"

"What? What is it?" John asked happily, almost bouncing up and down in his seat.

Elise laughed. "I don't know what to wear?"

"That's easy!" he told her, "Vera should be home soon, she's got some nice things you could probably borrow! We've not got that much time between now and the gig, so you'll probably be able to use her wardrobe. She's very good at dressing people up, you know—"

"Deaky, love," she laughed, cutting him off, "please, take a breath. I don't want you passing out before we're even at the show."

John laughed softly and took a deep breath before holding his hands out, motioning for her to hand him her mug. She obliged and held out her tea for him, resting her head against the back of the sofa as he took a sip.

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, the only sound running through his flat being the crackling of the fire and the patters of the rain against the window. Elise was cuddled up to John's side, her legs still over his lap as they shared her tea.

Two spaced out knocks on John's door told the two of them that Veronica was home. Elise swung her legs off of John's lap, taking the tea from him as he began to stand up. He made his way over to the door and opened it for his wife, a smile painted on both of their faces as she stepped through the door.

"Hello, love," he greeted her, pressing a soft kiss to her lips as she shrugged her purse off of her shoulders, blindly hanging it up behind her on the coat hook.

"Hello," she smiled as she pulled away. "Hi, Elise."

"Vera!" Elise giggled, standing up and placing her mug on the coffee table. She made her way towards Veronica, pulling her into a tight hug. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, dear. Finally decided if you're going to the gig tonight?" Veronica asked, kicking her heels off. She shrugged her jacket off as well and hung it with her purse, waiting for Elise's response.

"I have. I'm going, but, I need to ask a favour of you," Elise told her, scratching at the back of her neck.

"If you need to borrow some clothes, it's no problem, really. I've got the perfect thing to match John's outfit for tonight!" Veronica told her, almost as if she could read her mind. Elise let out a soft laugh and nodded, following her into her and John's shared bedroom.

Veronica rummaged in her closet for a few moments as Elise sat on the edge of their bed with John by her side. She shuffled through a few of her dresses before peering her head out of the closet, looking at John.

"Black, right? Is Roger still going to wear that glitzy thing?" she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Yes, as far as I know," he laughed, falling onto his back. His hair spread out around his face, making him look as close to angelic as one could be.

It took Veronica a few moments to find the glitzy black dress that she had worn to one of their gigs a while back. "Aha!" she exclaimed, coming out of the closet with the dress in her hands.

Elise looked at it with a smile on her face. It was strapless and looked as if it'd fall at the bottoms of her knees, and she loved it. "Can I try it on?" she asked.

"Of course! I'll find some heels that'd match it, if you'd like," Veronica told her as she handed her the dress. She nodded happily and made her way into their bathroom, stripping from her sweatpants and tank top.

Elise slid the dress over her curves, realising only moments after that her bra wouldn't fit under it. She stripped off her bra as well and pulled the rest of the dress up, quite happy with how it fit her.

"Roger's going to be all over her," Veronica told her husband as she rummaged through her shoes.

"I don't know if I really want that," John said truthfully, "I'm not sure how she's going to be with him, you know? I dunno, maybe they'll hit it off."

"As long as he doesn't hurt her," said Veronica, "I'll beat him to a bloody pulp if he does. She's like my sister, you know that."

"I'll help you with that, love," John laughed.

Elise made her way out of the bathroom, her fingers fiddling with the zipper on the side of her dress. "Could I get some help?" she asked.

John stood from where he was sat and made his way over to his best friend, pulling the zipper up for her as Veronica emerged from her closet, holding a pair of black, strappy heels.

"I knew that'd be the perfect one!" Veronica smiled, "bloody hell, you look better in that than I ever have."

Elise let out a laugh and took the heels that she held out for her, mumbling a small thank you. She easily strapped them on and was nearly as tall as John by now.

"You look very good," John told her, pulling her in for a small hug. Elise was blushing ten shades of pink by now, and she felt as pretty as she looked.

"Well!" Veronica exclaimed, clasping her hands together, "shall I do your hair?"

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