Chapter Nine: Electric
No matter how much her parents wanted her to give up on music and settle on a normal life, Lillie was far too stubborn to embrace their desires. So, Friday night as usual, Lillie found herself in the supply room in the back of the pub, braiding her hair as she warmed her voice up. The show was starting in twenty minutes and for once, she was ahead of schedule. She'd already tuned all of her instruments, set up her kit on the stage, done her makeup and gotten ready, and as she finished tying her hair off into her signature show bunches, she realised that she had nothing else to do before starting.
With a small sigh, Lillie began to pace around the tiny room, humming quietly. One of the things she hated about performing was warming her voice up. The repetition of it annoyed her, and if anything, it always made her doubt her abilities as a singer, putting the doubts in her mind. It wasn't something she could just skip though, so she began to sing quietly, singing the first thing that came into her head.
"Yesterday, my life was in ruin, now today I know what I'm doing," she sang, pacing around the room, that focused she didn't even hear the door creak open. "Got a feeling-"
"I should be doing alright..." the sound of a beautifully melodic voice came from behind, and upon hearing it Lillie sun round, initially shocked, except when she saw it was Brian, a grin spread across her face, matching his own expression.
"Doing alright..." the two sang together, their eyes locking in an intense stare, and Lillie couldn't hold back the laugh she was fighting, the laugh which came from the utter happiness of being around Brian.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it, I was walking past and heard you singing and..." Brian began to explain, flushing red as she realised he'd actually interrupted her warming up.
"I hate warm ups at the best of time and then you come along and sing better than me?" Lillie teased, raising one of her eyebrows. "It's fine, Bri, don't worry,"
But Brian did worry. He always worried when he was around Lillie, as much as he loved being around her. He constantly worried he'd make a fool of himself, worried that he'd annoy her or that she'd get bored of him. Any second he spent with Lillie he felt so lucky to have her company. Any time he made her smile or laugh he felt thrilled. He loved being around her, and he loved every part of her, her personality, her appearance, and the more time he spent with her the more he realised he was slowly but surely falling in love with her.
What he didn't know was that Lillie felt the exact same way. She'd never been in a relationship before, never even had a real crush on someone before. It wasn't something she was ever bothered about, never something she spent too long dwelling on. Either people didn't interest her or she didn't interest them, but it didn't matter too much, because until she met Brian, she never even thought about falling in love or getting a crush. Except there she was, two weeks into knowing Brian, and she couldn't imagine never having those feelings for him. Everything about him made her like him, the way he smiled at her when he picked her up from work, the way he frowned in concentration when playing his Red Special, the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't watching. She'd never felt like that before, but there she was, hopelessly falling head over heels in love with Brian.
"Well, anyway, how you feeling?" Brian asked, snapping the two of them out of their thoughts. Brian had known Lillie long enough to know she suffered from bouts of nerves, especially before playing.
"Fine really, it's not like I haven't played here before," she shrugged, running her hands down her black flared jumpsuit.
Brian loved the clothes Lillie wore. She always seemed to be in-fashion with what she wore day-to-day, even in her work clothes, but she never seemed to blend in with what everyone else was wearing. She always managed to stand out in what she wore, looking unique compared to everyone else. However, he loved her show outfits, and what she was wearing that day was no exception. When Queen played gigs, they liked to have fun with their costumes, going for the full glam-rock aesthetic, whilst Lillie just seemed to dress like she did normally but more glamorously, like she was allowing herself to reach her full potential. Seeing her in her show outfits made Brian's heart pang in his chest, and as he looked her up and down, he found himself speechless yet again.
"Brian?" Lillie frowned, holding back a small snigger. "Not that I don't adore every second you spend envying my clothes, I'm on in fifteen minutes and you could just stare at me then, what're you doing here?"
"Oh, right, sorry," Brian nodded, coming back to reality as he blushed again.
As he spoke, he darted out of the room, and Lillie frowned in confusion, wondering what he was doing. She wasn't left wondering for long, as he soon came back into the tiny supply room holding a guitar. It wasn't just any guitar though, it was a beautiful white electric guitar, one she recognised from the few times she'd been to Queen's studio rehearsals. She'd once told John about how, once she'd saved enough, she wanted to buy that exact model since it was so stunning. Lillie didn't know if it was weird that she found the instrument beautiful, but she struggled to hold back a gasp as Brian held it out to her, offering it to her.
"I know a lot of your set is the new songs you've been working on, and they sound great on your acoustic, but I thought maybe, since you practiced them on my old lady and they were brilliant, that maybe you wanted to play them on this tonight?" Brian suggested, his gaze fixed on the instrument, though he knew Lillie was still staring at it in shock. "I borrowed it from the studio, but they definitely won't mind and you can borrow it anytime. I noticed you looking at it the other day..."
"Oh, bloody hell, Brian!" Lillie exclaimed. She'd have been lying if she said that she hadn't been worried about her set not sounding as good because of her lack of an electric guitar, but the gesture of Brian borrowing a guitar just for her made her stomach flip in excitement and appreciation. "Are you sure this is okay?"
"Yeah, of course it is," Brian laughed nervously, meeting her eye and offering her a smile. "I tuned it for you, all you need to do is plug it into your amp. Here..."
With shaking hands, Lillie took hold if the instrument, slinging the strap over her shoulder. Fixing her focus onto the guitar, she placed her fingers on the strings, testing it out as she played the chords that made up the riff she'd come up with at the first jam session. She knew Brian was watching her carefully, and for once, the nerves got to her. She took her fingers off the strings, taking the strap off her shoulder as she placed the guitar on the floor against the wall. Nervously, she looked up to Brian, only to see he had been gazing at her like nothing else mattered, and the sight of him made her sigh through a smile. The two's eyes met again, and butterflies began to flutter in her stomach.
"Oh, Brian, thank you," she sighed out, and he knew how much she meant it just from her tone.
What also told Brian just how much she meant it was when she puled him into a tight hug. Upon her touch he was instantly stunned, realising that they'd never touched like that before, never been in an embrace like that before. He expected himself to feel giddily nervous, expected the aforementioned butterflies to go mad, but if anything, her touch made him feel calm, serene, as if it was meant to happen, as if the two of them fitted together so perfectly there was no room for nerves.
He felt her sigh slightly, her arms squeezing him tightly. Even in the red platform stilettos she was wearing, she was still shorter than him, her head reaching his shoulders. And so, she rested her forehead against the crook of his neck, a gesture which sent him wild, the previous serendipity destroyed by his want to be closer to her, not that he could really be any closer physically. He sighed slightly, his hand moving up to stroke her hair gently in an attempt to distract himself from the newfound desire he had for her.
As if she read his mind, Lillie pulled away slightly, though remained just as close to him. Her hands, which had previously been on his back, moved how to his waist, though she couldn't look up at him. Everything he felt, she felt the exact same way, and she wasn't quite sure what that all meant, or what she wanted to do about the sudden feelings. All she knew, though, was that she wanted to stay there in that moment, her hands on Brian.
"L-Lillie?" he frowned slightly, his hand going to her chin, guiding it upwards so she would look at him, her eyes finally meeting his.
It was then, that her grey eyes locked onto his, and like a tonne of bricks it hit her. It hit her how much she actually liked Brian. Previously unknown feelings, feelings she couldn't quite comprehend all suddenly seemed to become aligned, and everything made sense. With that, Lillie knew there was nothing more she wanted in the world. Not even her much desired music career seemed to hold a candle to Brian as in that moment, he was everything she could think about.
"What are you thinking?" Brian frowned again, though her intense gaze on him left him feeling worried, left him wondering what exactly was going on in her mind. He was going as red as his guitar, a sight which was quite endearing to the girl, who let out a small laugh.
"I'm thinking... I'm thinking 'fuck it'," she explained in a hushed voice to him, before moving her hands up to the lapels of his shirt, pulling him down closer to him, before pushing her lips against his.
For a moment, the shock had Brian practically paralyzed. He couldn't quite believe it, that Lillie had actually done it, with no hesitation. She'd hugged him, held him tightly, but he didn't expect her to actually kiss him, that gesture seemed to only exist in his dreams. It seemed impossible to him that it was actually happening, the impossibility leaving him frozen for a moment. That moment only lasted for a mere second, the fireworks and buzzing excitement taking over his whole body as he realised the situation, realised that Lillie was actually kissing him.
Whilst fireworks were going off within Brian, Lillie couldn't deny the electric current running between them, though she felt herself quickly slipping into a panic that he wasn't kissing her back. It was the first time she'd ever kissed anyone, let alone someone who meant so much to her, and the thought that she'd misread the signals, that she'd utterly embarrassed herself and ruined her friendship with Brian was causing her to panic slightly. She found herself pulling away, not that she truly wanted to, more out of shame for thinking he wasn't into it, only for Brian to move his hands to her, one of them holding her waist and the other placed at the small of her back, pulling her closer to him, his lips pushing back against hers until they were in full synchronisation, their mouths working as one against each other, their bodies fitting together as a perfect pair.
Nothing had ever felt more right, Lillie thought quickly, though her mind strayed onto the strange new feeling stirring inside her. What was it? The perfect kiss seemed to become sloppier, more passionate, their mouths moving apart slightly before Brian pulled her back, reconnecting with her, which was when she realised that those were the feelings of lust and desire. They were feelings she'd never felt before, feelings she couldn't imagine having for anyone else but the man holding her tightly like he never wanted to let go, kissing her so lovingly like he'd never loved someone more.
And it was true, because Brian had never felt such strong feelings for anyone else. No ex-girlfriend, no rare one-night-stand could even compare to how Lillie was making him feel. He'd always thought she was special, right from the first moment he first saw her perform, but the thought of her actually kissing him was sending him wild. Here she was, this shining, special, wonderful woman, kissing him like he was the last man alive, making him feel as if there was no one else that mattered. All the time they'd spent together in jam sessions, pub trips and even drives from picking her up from work, all that time he'd been so enamoured by her, practically obsessed with the smallest things about her, from her laugh to the way she'd push her glasses up her nose, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine she would actually like him back. It was thrilling and exciting, but at the same time, truly moving, because everything suddenly seemed to fit together like a puzzle, the electric chemistry between the two finally drawing them together.
After what seemed like forever, Lillie pulled away from him, resting her head back onto the crook of his neck, gasping for breath.Brian leant his head down slightly, resting it against hers, his whole being still buzzing with the thrill of her touch, of her kiss. Quietly, Lillie let out a small laugh, and Brian couldn't help but laugh with her. He realised, feeling her body shake wth the small snorts of laughter, that there was no taking it back. What they'd just done, there was no going back from it. Any chance of just being friends and ignoring the feelings between the two of them had just gone straight out of the window.
Not that Brian minded. After that kiss, all Brian could think about was kissing her again, holding her for longer, just being with her at every moment. Little did he know that Lillie felt the exact same way, and she hadn't have been enjoying the peaceful embrace, she would have kissed him again, but stronger, more passionate, because now that was all she could think about.
Just as Lillie decided she wanted to kiss him again, pulling her head up to meet his lips once more, there came a knock at the door, and the two darted apart, hoping it was quick enough to not be caught by the newcomer. Flustered, Brian ran a hand through his curly hair whilst Lillie turned to the open door only to see John stood in the doorway. How long he'd been stood there, neither of them knew, or wanted to guess. The neutral, blasé look on his face told them both that he'd seen nothing, but Lillie couldn't help but fear that her best friend had seen everything. Lillie knew John though, and she knew he'd hate to embarrass her by bringing it up, if he'd seen anything at all, so she sighed, relaxing slightly, putting on a grin to her best friend, feeling her blush fade away.
"Alright, Deaks?" she greeted, her fingers fiddling with her braids in nerves.
"Yeah, are you ready to go on?" he asked. "It's five to now. Lee, you wouldn't believe how full the room is, it's an even bigger crowd than last week!"
"Yeah it's probably because half of them heard Queen were in the audience," Lillie rolled her eyes, trying to hide the excitement she felt at how big the crowd supposedly was. "You bastards, stealing my limelight,"
"Yeah, well, Mick told me to tell you that you better get on soon," John told her, before looking over to Brian. "Come on, Brian, we've saved you a seat, you'd better sit down before Roger invites a girl over. Good luck, Lee!"
With that, Brian began to drift over towards the doorway, following his bandmate. He didn't really want to leave her, no matter how much he knew he had to With a small sigh, he turned back to her as she stood by the door, offering her a small smile.
"Yeah, good luck, Lillie, you're going to be amazing tonight," he told her, pausing slightly as he looked to the floor before looking back up at her. "You're amazing, Lillie Sparrow,"
"Likewise, Brian May," she grinned, struggling to hold back the utter joy she felt at his comment, and her smile made Brian feel ecstatic as he left the room with John to find his bandmates, struggling to hold back the excitement from his encounter.
That night, Lillie played better than ever, sang better than ever, and had the whole audience in a wild frenzy of enthusiasm as she performed her heart out, her encounter with Brian leaving her completely electric, as if she was finally becoming the person she was meant to be, both personally and musically.
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Word count: 2929
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