Taylor let her fingers run on the line of books before her. She was standing in the middle of the guide books section, right where all the books about France were sold. She looked for the letter “B”, and looked at the most interesting ones. Brittany... She could finally go there.

It was nearly the end of the morning, and she wanted to get prepared for the trip. John had called her in the morning to tell her that a ferry would sail to Saint-Malo from Portsmouth, and that it would leave around five in the afternoon. Taylor had this knot in her stomach just thinking about leaving London for the first time. With John, on top of that. It could only be a good trip, and she could not wait to visit everything in the city.

She grabbed three books and walked up to the counter, behind which a lovely woman was reading poetry. Taylor gently put the books down on it, and the woman raised her eyes, with a wide smile. She put her book aside, wedging a bookmark etween the two pages she was reading. She took Taylor's books and made them spin to check the price of each of them, writing them down on a paper. While writing the price of the second one, the woman smiled.

“Are you planning to go to Brittany?”

“Yes, I'm leaving in the afternoon.”

“I went there a few months ago. I loved the places I visited. You are very lucky to have the opportunity to travel there! I personally think it's the most interesting part of France!”

The bookseller looked at Taylor, her smile fading away. She started to blush and nervously played with a lock of her red hair.

“I am deeply sorry, madam. I talk too much!”

“Oh no, I don't mind! I prefer people talking a lot rather than silent ones. Though my best friend is a kind of silent man! It's him who gave me tickets for Brittany. My mother was born there, and I never left London. It's now or never!”

“Oh, great! I bet your friend is very kind! This is a very beautiful present, I must say. Did you celebrate your birthday recently?”

“Yes, last week. And I got the tickets yesterday.”

“Oh, happy birthday, then! I hope that you will enjoy your trip as much as I did. Where are you going exactly?”

“Saint-Malo. My mother's birthplace.”

“Oh, what a pretty city! This was one of my favourites! I wish I could go there once again, I miss it! Oh, by the way, it's twenty-one pounds for the three books.”

“Here they are.”

Taylor smiled and took twenty-five pounds out from her wallet. She handed them to the nice bookseller, who put them in a box and gave her four pounds back. They smiled at each other, and the woman put the books in a clean paper bag, giving it to Taylor, along with a piece of paper on which she had written the total of her purchase.

“Thank you! Well, I have to go now to pack my stuff, I'll come back and tell you about my trip, then!”

“With great pleasure! I'd love to hear your thoughts about Brittany! I fell in love with it, I tell you! Thank you for coming in this bookshop, and I hope to see you soon! Oh, and once again, happy birthday!”

“Thank you again, madam! Have a nice day, and good luck for your work!”

“With poetry, I fell like I'm less busy!” the bookseller laughed. “Goodbye, and have a lovely day!”

Taylor waved at her and suddenly noticed a picture of Queen in a frame on the counter. With a smirk, she bit her lip, trying to refrain from screaming that John was her best friend, and how lovely he was. Unfortunately, due to his status, she could not do that.

She got out of the bookshop, holding the paper bag in one hand. She turned her head in both directions, wondering where she came from. She finally remembered the way and walked to the right, looking down at her feet while walking. From time to time, she would raise her eyes to make sure that she would not get lost in the full London streets. After a few minutes of walking, she did, and frowned, as she noticed a tall young man, with long blonde hair falling on his shoulders, with a leather jacket and light blue jeans, wearing sunglasses, even though it was not particularly sunny. She had seen his face somewhere.

Obviously.

Taylor quickly got closer to him and grabbed his arm, whispering something to him, as he jumped in surprise.

“Roger Taylor?”

“Hey, who are you? Let me g– oh, I'm sorry! You're Taylor, aren't you? John's friend?”

“Yes, it's me!”

“Hold on a second.”

He took her by the arm and led her to a narrow street nearby, fearing that some people might recognise him. He removed his sunglasses, blinking a bit, his blue eyes staring into her green ones. He ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat.

“It's so nice to see you there! How have you been since we last met at the airport?”

“I've been great! How about you? Aren't you too tired because of the last tour?”

“No, no I feel okay. I think I'll feel the tiredness later. So, did you go to the restaurant with Deaky? He told us that he wanted to celebrate your birthday properly!”

“Oh, yes, we did! It was absolutely perfect!”

Taylor's voice trembled, making Rog frown. He quickly stretched his back and put his hand on his hips.

“What's wrong, Taylor? Your voice cracked.”

“Oh, nothing...” she sighed. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure!”

“Has John called you since yesterday?”

“Mmh, yes. This morning, actually. I got him on the phone for about an hour, just before I left home and got here. Why? Is there anything wrong?”

“Did he tell you about what happened?”

Roger's eyes widened a bit, and he sighed, letting his arms fall lazily. He looked down, biting his bottom lip and pouting.

“He told me. But you shouldn't feel guilty, you know. You're not going to force yourself to love him whereas you don't, mmh? Don't worry, it's not your fault.”

“How does he feel? He also called this morning, but he sounded like he was hiding something.”

“Oh, he's fine, don't worry. Of course, he's a bit sad, but he'll be alright. He'll have a rest today, just before you leave in the afternoon.”

“Oh no, he feels bad because of me, that's horrible!”

“Nah, Taylor, don't make a fuss about it. He's really happy to go to Brittany with you, you know. He couldn't stop talking about that, I swear! He's not mad at you, actually he's glad that you will still be friends.”

“Is he? Do you think it'll hurt him to be with me in Brittany?”

“Nah. He's very impatient.”

“Thank you very much, Roger Taylor. I feel relieved now, I must say!” she chuckled. “I still have to pack my stuff and see what we can visit once we get here! I even bought a camera!”

“Oh, that's great! Well, I'm leaving you alone! By the way, happy birthday, and enjoy your trip to France! Dis bonjour aux mouettes de ma part!”

“Oh, thanks! But what does that mean?”

“Say hello from me to the gulls. I had a friend in college who was half French, and who loved teaching me very weird things, like this, for example.”

Roger giggled and briefly hugged Taylor, patting her back. He pulled away and put on his sunglasses, smiling widely.

“Well, I hope I'll have the chance to see you soon!”

“I hope too! Have a nice day, Roger Taylor.”

“Have a nice day, Taylor Taylor!”

He laughed and waved at her, before walking in the opposite direction. Taylor walked home, thinking about what Roger said to her. John was alright. He was alright. He was not mad at her because she said she did not love him back. She did not need to worry, after all.

Now all she had to do was to get home and pack her stuff, waiting for the first and greatest trip of her life.

Meanwhile, John closed his suitcase after he added his toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, and shoes. He sighed and let himself fall on the bed, making the suitcase jump a bit and nearly fall off the bed; luckily, he caught it at the right time and closed his eyes for a minute.

He had not slept at all during the whole night, and now, it was almost noon. Completely shaken by what happened the night before, his mind did not seem to want to take a break. He spent the night and the morning cleaning his flat, so it would not be too dirty when he would come back from his trip to Brittany.

Though he was now all ready to go, he did not really know whether he actually wanted to go or not. He got really curious about Brittany, this was not the problem, but knowing that he would spend all this time with Taylor made him uncomfortable. He sure loved her a lot, he was still crazy about her, but she did not share those feelings, and she clearly said it to him. How would he feel when he is with her?

But there was one thing he feared more than the way he would feel or act: the friendship kiss.

Just at the thought of her giving him a friendship kiss gave him a lump in his throat. He did not want to have more false hopes... Her deepened kiss of the night before was enough. Although he did not regret this kiss at all. At least he had the chance to fully taste the lips of the woman he fell in love with.

“Everything will be alright, Deaky!” he said, his eyes still closed. “Nothing will happen, and if something embarrasses you too much, you can just tell her! It's not a crime, is it?”

John sighed deeply and opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. He had a lump in his throat, and teary eyes. His vision was getting blurry, and he had troubles gulping. It was as if his heart was burning. Not in physical pain. He quickly sat up and buried his face in his hands. The urge to cry was so important, but nothing was coming out of his mouth. His crying was struck in his throat, making it burn as well.

Suddenly, the telephone rang, making him jump in surprise. He quickly wiped his tears with his sleeve, sniffing loudly. He stood up and ran to the table in the next room. He picked up the phone and pressed the handset against his ear, after he wedged a lock of his hair behind it.

“He-Hello?”

“John Deacon? Taylor here!”

John gulped, and it hurt. He took a deep, silent breath and forced himself to smile, even though she could not see him.

“Oh, hi! How are you, today?”

“Quite excited about the trip, I must say... You?”

“Great!”

John yelled at himself internally. “LIAR!!!”

“Oh, good, then. I-I went to a bookshop this morning to buy guides about Brittany. I found so many interesting things! We'll take a look together, mmh? I don't want to visit places you don't want to go to.”

“No, no, you really shouldn't care about what I want and what I don't want. This is your trip, Taylor. I want you to enjoy every bit of it.”

“No, we're two in this trip. I won't enjoy it if you don't.”

John nodded, and a heavy silence fell between them. He could hear her breathe through the telephone, and turn her head. He felt the tears coming back but refrained immediately from crying. Taylor cleared her throat and breathed a bit louder.

“John Deacon?”

“Yes?”

“When I came out of the bookshop, I met Roger, and... Ah... I asked him how you felt, because of yesterday... I feel terrible, you know, I just can't help worrying about you. He told me not to worry much, that you'll get better, but I just can't believe it. I would like to talk about it before we leave.”

“That's a good idea.”

“I let you speak first. Aside from apologising endlessly and asking how you feel, I don't have much to say.”

“Well... Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, do.”

“Please don't ever kiss me again, I'm talking about the friendship kiss, because it will make me feel terrible and I'm afraid of believing in vain things. Kiss me only if you share feelings, which I doubt will ever happen.”

“O-okay... Anything else?”

“I won't stop laughing with you like we did for the past few months. And I'm sorry that I told you about my feelings. That was a terrible idea. I feel like it's breaking us and I just don't want it to be the end of our friendship.”

“This won't be the end, John Deacon. As long as I'm here with you, this won't be the end.”

His face lit up with a bright smile. He closed his eyes and let a tear of joy roll down his cheek. He did not bother wiping it off, and chuckled silently.

“I'm glad that it won't.”

“I am too. Is everything clear between us, now?”

“Yes, it is. We can now travel to Brittany with lighter hearts.”