WILD ( freddie mercury. )

EIGHTEEN - THE LOSER IN THE END

★彡 EIGHTEEN 彡★

FREDDIE HOPED THAT THE UNIVERSE WOULD TAKE PITY ON HIS EXHAUSTED SOUL. That it would let him rest for a while, but it seemed that everything and everyone was against him because the moment he stepped foot inside the familiar recording studio he hasn't visited for months, everyone went quiet and they stared at him as he was the object of their curiosity and interest, which then made him a whole lot uncomfortable—his nerves tensing up and flight instinct being activated, ready to fly out of the room to avoid their gazes until Brian seemed to take sympathy for him, softly ushering the crew to leave so that they can talk to the man in private.

Freddie shuffled on his feet, looking nothing like the confident man he is whenever he performs on stage and it didn't even take him a few minutes before he let out an accidental choked sob, rushing to the three who embraced him without hesitation— not even caring that Freddie hasn't seen them for months or even spent time with them, no matter what he does, he's still family. And family will always be their priority. "I'm sorry," Freddie whispered almost inaudibly and Roger kept the cigarette he was supposed to light up away, the snarky reply getting stuck on his throat when he saw how genuinely broken Freddie looked.

They weren't going to lie, the three were all itching to know what happened ever since Elijah suddenly dropped by a few hours before his departure for Japan, tear-stricken eyes being unsuccessfully concealed by his glasses and shockingly announced that he and Freddie aren't 'officially together' before handing a small letter to John for Freddie, leaving no explanation to why the two suddenly broke up— seeing that Freddie and Elijah were very much in love with each other. A certain thought hasn't left their minds since that day.

How could everything go so bloody wrong?

Roger mused as Freddie slowly calmed down, Brian heaving him up to place him on the couch, noticing that he was still shaken from the unintended breakdown he experienced in front of them and John placed a glass of water next to him. "Are you okay, Freddie?"

Said male merely shook his head, coughing out loud and it was only that they noticed the evident dark bags underneath his eyes, the looming heaviness that settled on his shoulders— reminding Brian of the tale of Atlas who carried the world on his shoulders because that is exactly what Freddie appeared to be like— and the obvious weight loss which did nothing to soothe their worries. Freddie may have a big heart for everyone and made sure that even their audience was taken care of however that doesn't mean he had the same attitude towards himself. Brian recalled the days where they still weren't popular and only had enough money to buy food, just a simple band playing songs in the pub and Freddie nearly starved himself just to save money for rent, his cats' food and to be able to record an album. Nevertheless, all those hard work paid off, but Freddie not taking care of himself was more likely than anyone thinks.