Lillie always knew that her friendship with John Deacon was something special, the two of them being more like brother and sister than friends. In the recent years, the years after Queen's success began, their friendship had been put to the test considering they only got to see each other every few months. If anything though, it made every second they spent together more special, and after a while, Lillie had gotten used to the knowledge that she'd never quite know when she'd next see her best friend. Every so often John would drop in and they'd hang out for a few days, and then he'd be gone again, and Lillie had gotten used to it as if it was a routine. That routine was often disrupted by her work schedule, leaving them with very little time to spend together, so the Monday morning after seeing John on the Saturday, Lillie got ready for work with very small expectations regarding whether she'd get to see John again before he went off working again.

Those expectations, however, were completely flipped upside down as she was doing her makeup for work when her mother barged into her room unannounced without knocking. Elizabeth Sparrow shot a small look of disdain to her daughter, before glancing around the room. Fair enough, Lillie wasn't the most organised person when it came to her room, finding comfort in chaos, but to her mother, it was mess. The papers strewn across the floor from where Lillie was figuring out songs and what order they'd go in if she had the opportunity to make a full album, the books about other musicians piled high on her desk, her instruments piled up in the corner of the room, her guitar on her bed from where she was tuning it moments before, a few dresses laid out from where she was picking her next show outfit. What, to Lillie, looked like the inside of her mind, looked like mess to her mother, and the sight of it all made her let out a disappointed sigh, shaking her head, not that the shame bothered Lillie. No, she was used to the instant, unforgiving disappointment her mother threw at her every time they saw each other, which was a lot, considering they still lived together.

"Alright, I know, I'm leaving in half an hour," Lillie muttered, not even bothering to look up from the mirror as she drew on her eyeliner, expecting her mother to begin lecturing her about getting to work on time.

"John's on the phone for you," Elizabeth cut in sharply. They may have grown up together, but Lillie's mother was never keen on her daughter's best friend. She'd have much preferred for Lillie to be friends with other girls, girls who weren't into rock and roll music, girls who weren't John Deacon. "I tried to get rid of him but he said it was urgent. Does he not know you're at work soon, it's very inconsiderate of him to call,"

Lillie didn't hang around to finish listening to her mother's complaints. As soon as she heard John's name, a grin spread across her face and she jumped up from where she had been sat in front of her mirror, pushing past her mother to rush downstairs. Even as she got downstairs, seeing the phone lying off the hook on the side table by the door, she could still hear her mother's sigh of disdain.

Not that it mattered, because on the phone was her best friend. The best friends who had laughed with her, gotten drunk and partied with her, the best friend who had held her hand and hugged her whilst she cried through the trauma she'd faced. The best friend who had supported her far more than her parents ever had.

"Johnny!" She cheered down the phone, grinning as she heard his laughter. "What's up, kid?"

"Lee, I've told you before, I'm only a year younger than you, hardly a kid," he laughed.

"Whatever, what's up anyway? I've got work in half an hour and I'm already running behind schedule," she sighed, and it was true. Her alarm hadn't gone off, and even if she wasn't due to start work for another hour, it was still a long bus journey.

"I was just gonna see if you fancied hanging out later? Me and the boys were planning on going to Roger's flat for a jam session and I know that's something you'd want to come along for. The boys insist you come along, anyway, they all really liked you,"

John's words left Lillie utterly stunned. A jam session with Queen, not to mention they all liked her enough to want her to hang out with them? Lillie couldn't quite believe it, and if the words hadn't have come from John, the person she trusted more than anything, she'd have been certain it was a lie. In the back of her mind, Lillie couldn't help but think of the band, her excitement not just fixing on seeing her best friend again but on seeing Freddie and Roger again, not to mention Brian. She really liked Freddie and Roger, but there was something special about Brian, something so special that the mere thought of him was causing butterflies in her stomach once again.

Sure, Lillie had been thinking about John and when she'd next get to see him, but she'd be a liar if she said that her thoughts hadn't been caught up on the guitarist. The way he'd looked at her, the way he'd talked to her the day before when he'd visited her at work, it was making her go mad in an attempt to figure out why he was being so kind, so gentle, so caring. From what John had told her, Brian was a lone ranger, never really showing much interest in women, too caught up in his own mind, but whenever she was around him, she felt as if Brian was studying her, as if nothing else mattered to him in the room. It was odd, no one ever acted like that around Lillie, not men, not women, and especially not someone as good looking as Brian, and she felt as if she was caught up trying to figure out what it all meant.

Sighing slightly, Lillie glanced to the clock, though the excitement towards John's invitation had hit her. Putting her thoughts of Brian May to one side, she refocused herself on the conversation.

"Deaks, that'd be amazing, I'd love to! I'm at work till three, but I'll take my guitar with me and hop on a bus straight after I finish, so I should get there at like half-three, maybe four, is that alright?" she explained, glancing towards the top of the stairs where her mother was watching her annoyedly.

"Actually Lee, you're working at the big office building just on the outskirts of town right? Because Brian lives about five minutes away from there, I could see if he could pick you up if you want? It'd be on his way and he'd be more than happy to do it," John suggested, and Lillie was unsure as to whether John had picked up on the energy between his bandmate and best friend.

"Brian? Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure, why, is there a problem with Brian picking you up?" John asked, and by his tone and slight laugh Lillie's previous question was answered; of course John would know, he knew Lillie better than she knew herself most of the time.

"Oh, bugger off, Deaks," she rolled her eyes, laughing.

"I'll call Brian and get him to pick you up at three, see you later Lee!" John practically announced, and with that, hung up, leaving Lillie dumbfoundedly thrilled.

John hanging up meant that it saved Lillie from being teased further by him, leaving her grateful, though he also hung up before she could protest, not that she was going to. In fact, the prospect of Brian picking her up thrilled her just as much as the thought of watching Queen practice. It wasn't just watching Queen practice though, it was the possibility of playing with them in a jam session. She'd never 'jammed' with anybody except for John, and the idea of it made her feel like a real musician. The thrill didn't last for long though, nerves kicking in almost instantly, and she knew she wouldn't be able to focus all day at work from the excitement.

"What did he want?" her mother's voice called, making Lillie roll her eyes.

"First of all, it's rude to listen in on other people's conversations, and secondly, 'he' is a rude way to address someone I've known practically my whole life," Lillie snapped slightly, heading back up the stairs. "I'm hanging out with his band later, doing rock and roll things, all stuff you wouldn't like, it's going to be great fun,"

***

A desk job was boring enough, but that day really dragged for Lillie, the excitement within her making the clock seem to tick slower. As soon as the clock's hand hit three, however, she ran off to the bathroom, changing in one of the stalls into a pair of high waisted beige flares and a checked white top, her self esteem regarding her height making her slip on a pair of platform heels. Her hair and makeup still intact, her mind instantly went to worrying about her glasses. Lillie had spent so long hating them and never letting anyone see her in anything but contact lenses that the prospect of now hanging out with people important to her without contacts was a worry. Her prescription had run out though, and with her busy schedule she probably wouldn't have time to pick up the next batch of lenses any time soon, so if she wanted to spend anytime with John and his band before they left again, she'd have to sort out her issues with her glasses.

Looking her appearance over once more, Lillie quickly rushed out of the bathroom and back to her desk where she collected her guitar which had been hidden under the desk all day. She tried to keep her music dreams hidden from her day job, not wanting anyone to not take her seriously because of it. Today, however, was different, as she marched out of the office building, proudly carrying her instrument, only to see a car parked out front, Brian sat behind the driver's wheel. At the sight of him excitement buzzed within her, and that mixed with the pride she felt for herself made her feel as if she was a completely different person, like the person she was when she performed. Lillie wasn't used to being that person day-to-day.

Upon seeing Lillie leave the building, Brian May felt his heart surge in his chest. All day he'd been thinking of her, to the extent that as soon as John had rang him asking him to pick her up, he eagerly agreed, which was quite uncharacteristic for him in the eyes of his bandmates. His excitement at the prospect of her joining them matched and possibly even surpassed that of John, which instantly signalled to the boys that something was going on with him. Brian never normally took to people easily, especially not women, often finding himself lost for words or intimidated, and no one knew that better than the three other members of Queen, who were so used to speaking on his behalf, or even teasing him about it. Except with Lillie, he felt an instant rapport, like his usual anxieties were gone and all he wanted to do was talk to her, get to know her, just be with her. If anything, seeing her the day before in an attempt to denounce his initial feelings had made it worse, made him want to see her even more.

He'd never met anyone he instantly wanted to get to know more, not even Freddie, John or Roger, but yet there she was. And that fact scared him.

Without a thought, he jumped out of the car and ran round to the other side, opening the passenger side door as she approached, swinging her guitar ever so slightly as she walked. An aura seemed to radiate from her, like she was some magical creature. She looked just as beautiful as she had done yesterday in her Debenhams uniform, and she especially looked just as nice as she had done when performing. Her hair was pulled up, her makeup light and she was wearing glasses, just like she had done at the shop. Not the typical perceptions of beauty, but in that moment Brian couldn't think of anything more so.

"Hello!" he called, enthusiastically to the extent he was instantly cringing. Normally so chill, so calm, what had happened to him? "I'm really sorry about this, it was John's idea to invite you along but Freddie decided that you definitely had to join us, and once Freddie gets an idea in his head we all just tend to go along with it. I'm sure you have better things to be doing,"

"So you saw me yesterday as a shop assistant and today I'm leaving an office, but yet you still think I've got better things to do than hang out with my best friend and favourite band?" Lillie laughed slightly, and Brian could tell she was just as nervous as him. "To be honest, until Deacy rang this morning I was planning on taking up an extra shift, so you're saving me from that,"

Lillie slipped her guitar onto the backseat, wrapping the seatbelt around it before getting into the shotgun seat, where Brian was still holding he door for her. As soon as she was in, he darted back into the driver's seat, trying not to focus on how much he related to the way she was careful with her instrument. Doing his own seatbelt, he glanced over at her slightly, trying to hold back a grin before he began to drive back to the studio.

"I didn't even know you worked in an office, I thought you were a barmaid and a shop assistant," Brian noted.

"Weekdays I'm an admin assistant, most nights I work at the pub, and weekends I work at Debenhams and then Friday night and Saturday night I play gigs," Lillie explained. "The contract I'm on at the office is only a three month thing though, I'm just filling in whilst someone's off sick but they come back in two weeks so I'll be back down to two jobs soon,"

"That sounds like so much hard work," Brian commented, noting on how nonchalant she said it all, as if it was completely normal to work three jobs seven days a week. "I guess we're lucky that the band's starting to hit success, I don't think I'd be able to cope working like you do,"

"What do you think you'd be doing if you weren't doing Queen?" Lillie asked with a small frown, realising that, despite loving Queen, she didn't really know that much about John's bandmates.

"I'd probably still be doing my doctorate," Brian shrugged slightly. "I was halfway through my PhD in astrophysics when I decided to go all-in with Queen, not that my parents were all too pleased, especially my Dad. To him, I was pretty much giving up the opportunity of a successful career in science to go play guitar for the fun of it,"

"Astrophysics!" Lillie exclaimed, almost excitedly, leaving Brian slightly shocked. Not that many people seemed to show that much enthusiasm for his degree subject. "I love space and all that stuff, I think it's so interesting, but I was never that good at science in school and I probably know nothing about it all compared to you, I was always better at maths, hence the degree,"

"You've got a degree in Maths?" Brian couldn't help but he taken aback slightly.

"Well, I studied it for a year up North at Leeds University, but then I decided it wasn't for me and switched to study English Lit at King's College, I couldn't have gone more opposite, and if you think your parents were disappointed that you put astrophysics on hold, you should have seen mine when they realised I was moving back home, let alone switching courses,"

"Guess we're both just mess-ups in the eyes of our parent's then,but the degree though, that's amazing," Brian grinned slightly, holding himself back from saying 'you're amazing', though Lillie was left relieved he didn't mention the topic of her parents again. "So how come you decided you wanted to do music then?"

"Probably the same as you, I've always played instruments and loved it, until one day I decided to try doing it for real," she explained, avoiding the actual truth of the matter. "It's a lot harder on my own though than if I had a band. Like, with Queen, you've all got your instruments and you can work together, but on my own I've got to play it all, sing it all, write it all. Don't get me wrong, I love it, I think I'd prefer to be on my own than with anyone else, but it's just tricky. Not only am I on my own trying to fund it all, making the music all myself, but I'm a woman, and music is quite often a man's game,"

"I think it's more special that you're on your own, it just makes it all far more impressive," Brian spoke, failing to hide his admiration. He glanced away from the road for a moment to look at her, smiling gently, though he noticed her tense ever so slightly as he took his focus away from driving before smiling back at him.

"If I didn't say it before, I'm glad Deacy decided to bring you all to the pub the other night, it was the most fun I'd had in a long time, and I'm sure today is going to be the same," she told him, making his insides turn.

"I'm glad too... really glad," he said with a grin, speaking quickly to get the words out before he could regret them, knowing he'd never meant anything more.

***

Word count: 3058

***