The next morning, Adeline woke up with sunshine in her eyes, and faint yelling in her ears. She pushed herself into a sitting position, rubbed her eyes, and stretched her arms above her head. She threw back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed as a yawn passed her lips. Looking around the room, it took her a moment to realize where she was, and she broke into a grin. Quickly, she rummaged around her suitcase for her dressing gown, slipped it on, and opened the bedroom door just a bit.
"... never listen to me, Roger! The one time I ask you to do something —"
"Oh, come off it! It's not like we were having the queen over! You're making a mountain out of a molehill, Brian!"
Adeline stepped out of the bedroom, tying the rope of her dressing gown into a knot as she walked towards the yelling.
"I don't want Addy thinking we live like bums!"
"Which is why I cleaned the van!"
"Ahem." Adeline entered the room, a small smile on her lips. She fought the urge to giggle as both heads snapped towards her. She crossed her arms over her chest, arched a brow, and walked over to Brian, who kept his eyes trained on her face.
"I, uh, hope we didn't wake you, Addy," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Not entirely. But you're not exactly quiet, you know," she said, poking his chest gently.
"Point taken. Who's in the mood for breakfast?" Brian turned away from his friends and walked into the kitchen, muttering under his breath.
Adeline watched him, a small smile on her lips. She uncrossed her arms and set her hands on her hips, then turned to Roger.
"I told him not to worry about it last night. Honest," she said before glancing over to Brian in the kitchen.
"Oh, I believe you. But he can be pretty uptight sometimes." He then held out his hand to her. "Roger Taylor."
"Adeline Garrison." She took his hand and shook it firmly. "It's nice to officially meet you. Brian talked about you a lot in his letters."
"All good things, I hope," he said, a small smirk on his lips.
"Only the best things," she said, and she let go of his hand. With a grin, she went to join Brian in the kitchen, and she could hear footsteps behind her, meaning Roger had followed her over. But instead of following her all the way to Brian, he sat himself down at the kitchen table with his head in his hands.
"Rough night?" Brian asked, glancing over his shoulder to Roger.
"You don't know the half of it," he muttered, rubbing his face, "Tim's driving me nuts with this new project. And he won't let me make any changes!"
"Tim? Your lead singer?" Adeline asked, wrapping her arms around Brian from behind so she could rest her head on his back.
"That's the one. He's really starting to get on my last nerve," Roger grumbled.
"You've got a shorter fuse than I thought," Adeline murmured.
"And for someone of his height, that's not saying much," Brian whispered back.
"I can hear you, leggy," Roger shot back, and Adeline snorted. She set her head on Brian's back again, and he turned to look at Roger.
"Really? Leggy? That's the best you can do?"
"Shut up, it's early."
The three of them were quiet for just a minute, then laughter filled the kitchen. Addy had let go of Brian to hoist herself onto the counter, still laughing. Once they'd all calmed down, Roger had his head propped up in the palm of his hand, and he was grinning.
"All right, she can stay. She's got a good sense of humor."
"Wonderful, I'm Taylor-made." She grinned, and Brian groaned.
"That was bad, Addy. Even for you," he said, nudging her leg. She just continued to smile up at him, and he shook his head and went back to making breakfast.
"So, this Tim guy, is he always like this? Not letting you make changes?" she asked, looking over to Roger.
"No, not always. But he's been getting pretty rough around the edges lately. Think he's a bit dissatisfied with where we are at the moment," Roger said, running his fingers through his hair. Adeline nodded, chewing on her bottom lip in thought.
"Are you rehearsing soon? I'd love to hear you guys," she said, and Brian smiled at her as he handed her a mug of coffee.
"We'll be playing together tonight before a pub gig tomorrow. You can tag along with us," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
"Sounds like a plan. Good coffee, by the way." She nudged him with her foot, and he chuckled, grabbing her ankle with a grin.
"Just be wary of Tim. He's got that rockstar mindset, and you're technically a foreign girl," Roger said, and Brian rolled his eyes.
"He's got it no worse than you do, Rog," Brian said, then turned back to Addy, "but he's right. Just be careful."
***
That night, Adeline was in Roger's van, the two men up front and her in the seat just behind them. The instruments were secured in the back, and Adeline was practically bouncing. Her parents had never let her go to any kind of concert back home, so getting to watch one of her best friends perform was like a taste of freedom.
"So you've really never been to a concert before?" Roger asked.
"Unless choir concerts count, nope. Strict Catholic family," she said.
"You were a choir girl? You left that out of your letters, didn't you?" Brian asked, looking back at her with a smirk.
"Not church choir. Just school choir. And of course I left it out. There were much better things to talk about. Like bad dates," she said, poking his arm gently. He rolled his eyes as she and Roger laughed.
"Well, maybe if you can learn the words to our songs, you can sing backup one night," Roger offered, glancing back at her.
"If Tim is as stubborn as you say, I think I'd better pass. Thanks for the offer, though," she said, chuckling quietly.
"Smart woman," Brian agreed, and she reached forward to give his hand a squeeze. The conversation then dissolved into singing along to the Beatles, the three of them harmonizing with smiles on their faces. When they finally arrived, Tim was waiting for them with a sour look on his face.
"What's with the face, Tim?" Brian asked as he climbed out of the van.
"You're late, that's what's with the face," he said, folding his arms.
"Sorry 'bout that. we spent most of the day with a friend of mine. Time sort of got away from us," Brian said as he unloaded his guitar case from the back of the van.
"I don't care if you were spending the day with John Lennon. We need to rehearse!"
"Oi, give them a break, will you?" Adeline said, jumping out of the back of the van. Brian was quick to catch her, wrapping an arm around her middle.
"Addy, you could've broken your ankle," he muttered, and she grinned.
"Nah, I knew you'd catch me." She winked up at him, then turned to Tim. "They weren't that late anyways. Take it easy." She had her hands on her hips, and Tim just looked at her.
"You're the friend?" he asked.
"I am. And they were showing me around. Didn't realize that was a crime here in London," she said, then she turned to help Roger unload a few things from the back of the van.
"Look, Tim, I'm sorry. Let's just get to practicing," Brian said quietly as he walked over their lead singer.
"It's... it's fine. Just make sure you're on time tomorrow night."
A few hours later, Adeline was struggling to stay awake as the boys argued over on the stage they were rehearsing on. She'd tuned them out long ago, and was keeping herself entertained by making faces at Brian and Roger.
"Tim, I really don't think it sounds better slow!" Roger groaned, slumping back in his seat.
"Well I think it does!" Tim looked back at him, gripping his guitar so hard his knuckles turned white.
"Why don't we ask our non biased audience. Addy?" Brian called, snapping his fingers to catch her attention.
"Mhm, 'm listening," she said, rubbing her eyes.
"Do you think it sounded better slow or fast?" he asked, moving a bit closer so he could hear her.
"I dunno. I think when you put the two together it sounded really good. Like, the fast interlude or whatever," she said, folding her arms on the table to rest her head on them.
"Let's try that then," Tim said quickly, and Brian shared a look with Roger. With a shrug, Brian walked back to his spot, adjusted his guitar, and they started the song up again. Adeline tapped her foot to the beat, still trying to stay awake. But her eyes snapped open when Brian's more upbeat guitar solo began. She sat up, alert and awake, watching him with a wide smile. He seemed so focused, and it looked like it was second nature to him.
"Woo!" she cheered, bouncing in her seat while clapping her hands. She watched a smile work its way onto Brian's face, and he nodded his head towards her once he finished up.
"Doing all right," the three of them harmonized, and then they stopped playing. Brian set his guitar aside and hopped down from the stage, and Roger set his drumsticks down. Adeline jumped up from her seat and into Brian's arms, laughing as he spun her around in a hug.
"How was that?" he asked, grinning down at her.
"That was great!" She smiled up at him, and he spun her around again. She held onto him tightly even after he put her back down, and she could see Roger shaking his head.
"You two keep this up, and everyone will think you're in love," he called, and the two laughed.
"Trust me, there's none of that there," Brian said, and Adeline nodded.
"He's like a brother to me. A very tall, long haired brother," she said, squeaking as he squeezed her.
"And she's a very short, slightly shorter haired sister to me," he said, holding her close.
"I'm not that short. You're just a tree," she muttered, pushing away from him with a small smile. Brian rolled his eyes, and with one last squeeze to her shoulder, he went to go help Roger load their things back into the van. That left Adeline and Tim alone in the empty room.
"So, you're from America, right?" he asked, setting his bass down in its stand.
"That I am. Why do you ask?" She tilted her head as he walked closer to her.
"I've just never met an American girl before."
"We're not a rarity. We're literally everywhere," she said, rolling her eyes with her hands on her hips.
"Not around here, though," he said, and Adeline realized how very close to her he was.
"Consider yourself lucky then," she murmured, looking up at him with her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Believe me, I am." He leaned down a bit closer to her, and then he was kissing her. His hands were on her waist, and her arms had somehow found their way around his neck. They stayed like that for what felt like a while, but the sound of footsteps outside broke them apart.
"See you at the show tomorrow night?" he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.
"Mhm, you will," she whispered back, unsure of what exactly just happened. She felt his hands leave her waist, and she was quick to fix her hair back into place. She watched as Tim straightened his shirt and went to go grab his bass.
"Addy! Ready to go? We're waiting on you!" Brian called from the doorway.
"What? Oh, yeah! Sorry about that!" she apologized, and with one final glance at Tim, she turned on her heel and hurried over to her friend, who held out a hand for her. Before she took it, she kicked off her shoes and picked them up, sighing in relief.
"Addy, you really shouldn't walk with no shoes on to the van," Brian muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Carry me, then," she said, and he sighed.
"Brian, let's go! I'm tired!" Roger called from the driver's seat.
"Oh, all right. Climb on." Brian crouched a bit, and Adeline climbed onto his back, wrapping one arm around his neck with her other hand held her shoes.
"Wise choice. Now, onward!" She set her chin on his shoulder, and with a chuckle, he made his way to the van, unaware of Tim watching the two of them from the doorway, eyeing Adeline from behind.