Lily unlocked the bathroom door, letting steam invade the tiny corridor leading to the two bedrooms next to it. She stretched her back, then ran up to her bedroom. Once there, she hurriedly made her bed and picked up all the stuff that were laying around on the floor. Her laundry got sent straight to the laundry basket, her books back to her bookshelf, her records back to their shelf as well, and finally, her furry dog was put on the bed. After she did all that, she gave the floor a sweep, singing one of her favourite songs ever, The 59th Street Bridge Song.

                Right after she woke up in the morning, she had received a phone call from her now favourite neighbour, Freddie, who asked when he could come over. Like he had said to her after the concert, which was two days behind them, he had bought new records, which he could not wait to listen to with her.

                This mere call was enough to bring excitement and joy to her heart. It actually felt awkward; it was the same kind of emotions she felt each time she knew she would see Brian.

                She sat on the edge of her bed and sighed in relief after she was done sweeping the floor. Her eyes wandered across the room and landed on a framed picture of herself with Brian, hand in hand. All of a sudden, her jolly mood darkened.

                During the party after the concert, Brian had not been as happy as he wished he would have been. Singing White Queen, which was quite a personal song, in front of the large audience was something that got him really emotional, as it made him bare his own soul. He had been touched by Lily's reaction when she heard the song, her tears and smiles decorating her face. However, there was something that made him upset, and which he could not get out of his mind.

                Seeing her linking arms with that stranger.

                Lily had been trying hard to make him spill the beans about the reason why he had suddenly been so distant. When he did, it was not pretty. He had stormed out of the pub in tears and gone back home. Since then, Lily did not have any news from him, and though she tried calling him, he had not answered even once.

                The doorbell interrupted her daydream. She got up and crossed the flat, the fabric of her long psychedelic dress moulding her limbs. She unlocked the front door and opened it, revealing a smiling Freddie, carrying four records under his arm. "Hello sweetie," he crooned, "how are you, beautiful?"

                "I'm fine, I guess!" she smiled back. She stepped aside and let him in, earning a light kiss on the forehead. She closed the door and held his records while he took off his shoes. "Let's have a look at what you brought... Between The Buttons, rather good, even if many people spit on it. Surrealistic Pillow, haven't heard that one yet. Happy Together, yup, not too bad. And... Are You Experienced. Great choices, Freddie!"

                "I knew you'd like them! So, how have you been since I last saw you?"

                "Oh, well... It's been boring, really."

                "Didn't you hang out with Brian?"

                Lily gulped and blushed. She looked down, clearing her throat, and handed him his records back. "No. Actually, we kinda argued at the party."

                "No?" Freddie gasped with round eyes. "But I thought it was impossible for you to argue! I mean, especially after that goddamn great concert! What happened?"

                "Oh, he got a bit jealous to see me with you."

                Freddie looked down and scratched the back of his head. He pouted and blushed. "I'm very sorry it happened. If you want, I can leave you alone. Especially if it can help you two to work it out."

                "Freddie, are you kidding? I'm glad you're here. It'll help me think about some other things than this argument. Don't worry about that. Let's listen to those records instead, what do you think?"

                The young man chuckled shyly and nodded. Lily linked arms with him and both crossed the flat, chatting about their studies and how it was going for each of them. Once they got in her bedroom, Lily closed the door, and Freddie took Surrealistic Pillow out of its sleeve to play it on her turntable. The first track, She Has Funny Cars sounded through the speakers, with its intro, a soft beat of drums, accompanied by maracas.

                Lily let herself fall backwards on the mattress, her long chestnut brown hair cascading over the covers. Freddie turned his head and smiled at this sight, grateful she could not see him grin, since she had closed her eyes. He slowly and gently lay down next to her, careful not to pull her hair as he rested his head on the mattress. He turned it to face her, and his eyes followed her features, as if his pupils were a pencil drawing them on a sheet of paper.

                Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink, feeling his chocolate eyes on her. The corners of her lips rose in a shy grin, as her right hand blindly searched for his. Their fingers entwined together, and their palms met. Their hearts raced, and the music suddenly seemed muffled. Lily opened her eyelids and turned to Freddie, who looked away, a bit embarrassed.

                "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't ask you if I could hold your hand."

                "I absolutely don't mind, don't worry," he smiled, still not daring to face her. "I'm... I'm just very shy, and didn't expect it."

                Lily giggled and snuggled up to him. His lips met her forehead, while his arm encircled her shoulders. His thumb gently stroked the skin of her arm, which brought a wider grin to her face. "The music isn't bad, is it?" she whispered.

                "It's rather good, I think. But that's only the first track, perhaps the next ones won't be as good."

                "I love the woman's voice. It's so soothing. What's her name?"

                Freddie grabbed the sleeve and turned it over to read the back. "Grace Slick. She's the only woman of the band. Look at her, she's absolutely gorgeous."

                "Oh, wow, yes, you're right! I wish I could look like her."

                "You're pretty close already. But you're already gorgeous as Lily Howell, you know? I don't believe it's possible for you to get any more beautiful."

                "Stop it, you idiot!" she laughed, playfully slapping his arm. "I personally think I'm pretty, yes, but maybe not gorgeous. That's completely different."

                "At least you admit you have beauty in yourself."

                "Everybody's beautiful. It's just that not everybody's attracted to everybody. It's a matter of taste. Nobody's ugly, unless their soul is."

                Freddie smiled widely and held her a bit closer. "I agree with what you said. That's a nice way to see things. Oh, can I smoke a cigarette, or should I wait until I leave?"

                "Oh, no, you can. Just give me a second, I'm going to open the window, otherwise my mother will know a cigarette's been smoked in here. She's very open-minded, but cigarettes are a no-no."

                "I can understand that, don't worry."

                Freddie jumped on his feet and walked up to his jacket, which he had put on the back of her chair. He rummaged through the pocket to find his packet, while Lily opened her window, leaning out of it for a few seconds.

                "The weather's rather nice today," she stated, looking up at the sky, "not one single cloud to be seen."

                "Yeah, but it's not that warm, I think," Freddie replied, sticking his cigarette between his lips. "Oh, that song sounds so nice!"

                "Let me check the title... Somebody To Love."

                The young man laughed and sighed in a dramatic way, like an overacting actor. "That's exactly what I need! I desperately need somebody to love! Can anybody find me somebody to love? Lily, find me somebody to love, I beg you!"

                Lily laughed and looked all around. Her eyes landed on her furry dog, which she picked up and handed to him. "Here's your somebody."

                 "Ooooh! What a cute somebody! What's their name?"

                "Oh, it doesn't really have one. I'd say... Frely."

                "Wait, did you just mix our names together?"

                "Yes," she admitted in a giggle. Both shared a laugh, then Freddie went to sit on the window sill, lighting up his cigarette and blowing the smoke outside. Lily started to dance slowly to the music, closing her eyes as she spun around, lifting her chin. Her arms gracefully moved in random directions, sometimes hiding her face, or moving locks of her hair accidentally.

                From the window, smoke filling his lungs, Freddie watched her dancing as if nobody was watching. A smile lit up his face, admiring the way she almost did not care about what he could think about her. When the song ended, Lily opened her eyes and sighed with joy.

                "Would you like to dance with me?"

                "Sure. Just... let me finish my cigarette. I wouldn't like the smell to disturb you. I wouldn't like you to get in trouble either."

                Lily smiled and slowly walked up to him, standing between his spread legs. She stroked his cheek and kissed the opposite one. "I really like spending time with you."

                "So do I."

                "Oh, your cigarette got tiny, it's time to dance!"

                Freddie chuckled and nodded, crashing his cigarette butt in a small cup she handed him, before throwing it in her paper basket. He turned to her, and rested his right hand on her waist, and held hers in his left one. They started to dance, smiling at each other, on the song that was playing.

                My Best Friend.

                They kept dancing until all the songs of the album played. While Freddie was putting the record back into its sleeve, Lily gasped with a grin and snapped her fingers.

                "Hey, Freddie, let's play something!"

                "Okay, what album?"

                "No, no, not an album. Let's play a song on the guitar and the bass!"

                "Oh, uh, I can't play very well, I would only butcher the song. Once again, I forgot my tape recorder, we could've listened to our demos."

                "I got mine back, but I don't want to listen to them. What song would you like to play?"

                Freddie shrugged and sat on the edge of her bed, thinking about a song. Meanwhile, Lily grabbed her acoustic guitar and tuned it quietly. Long minutes of silence followed, until she eventually broke it. "Do you know the lyrics to I'm A Boy, by The Who?"

                "I do!"

                "Let's play that! Would you like to sing Roger's part, or Pete's?"

                "Roger's."

                Lily nodded and started to play a few chords on her guitar, not caring much if it was not supposed to be an acoustic song. She cleared her throat, focused on her strings, and then started to sing Pete Townshend's part.

                "One girl was called Jean Marie, another little girl was called Felicity, another little girl was Sally Joy, the other was me, and I'm a boy..."

                She looked up at Freddie, then smiled. The latter nodded and started to sing the beginning of his part.

                "My name is Bill and I'm a head case, they practice making up on my face, yeah, I feel lucky if I get trousers to wear, spend ages taking hairpins from my hair..."

                Both started to sing the chorus. Freddie put his heart into the song, almost forgetting he was in real life. He forgot his heart was beating in his chest, pumping his blood through his whole body. He was not aware of the air filling his lungs anymore, his five senses had disappeared. The music was his only master.

                "I want to play cricket on the green, drive my bike across the street, cut myself and see my blood, I want to come home all covered in mud..."

                They sang the last chorus together again, then Lily improvised a few notes on the guitar, before flattening the strings with the palms of her hand. Her eyes were staring at Freddie, widening. She gulped and waited for him to say something. Instead, he just coughed and looked up, frowning a little.

                "I didn't know you could sing that well, Freddie! That was splendid! Let's play another song!"

                "I'm all for it, darling!"

                She giggled and shook her head, finger combing her fringe. She plucked her strings, then flattened them once again with her hand. "What'd you like to play?"

                "A Beatles song?"

                "Yup! Which one?"

                "Rain?"

                Lily nodded and played an acoustic version of the song, though it was not an acoustic song either. They started to sing it together, but after the two first lines, Lily gave up and listened to him, barely looking at the chords she was playing. Freddie glanced at her from time to time with a wide grin, amused by the look upon her face.

                Until the end of the afternoon, they played and sang other songs, sitting on the floor, face to face. After nine songs, Lily's finger started to bleed. It did not disturb her that much, since they still could sing a Capella.

                Once they found themselves out of songs, they stopped singing, and Lily cuddled up to Freddie. The latter shyly smiled and encircled her with his arms, holding her so close that she could hear his heartbeat. His lips kissed her fringe a few times, before she slightly pulled away, so she could face him.

                "I swear that if Brian ever needs a new singer, I'll introduce you to him. Your vocal range is absolutely mind-blowing! You can basically sing anything."

                "Why, thank you, sweetie. I'm soon going to pass an audition for a rock band, we'll see what it gives."

                "Oh, good luck, then! You'll tell me if you're hired, okay?"

                "I promise I will," he smiled. "By the way, I know Tim."

                Lily frowned. "Wait, are we talking about the same Tim? Tim Staffell?"

                "Yup, the singer and harmonica player of 1984."

                "Wow, really? Why didn't you tell me that at the concert?"

                "I wasn't sure. He's at Ealing too. I met him only once to ask him the way to a classroom. One day, I was eating a sandwich outside, and he came up to me to ask me what kind of music I liked."

                "Oh, he probably smiled a lot and sat next to you."

                "That's what he did."

                "Good old Tim."

                They chuckled and Lily took a look at her wristwatch. It was seven in the evening, and her mother still had not come back home, which meant she still had a lot of things to do at work. Lily scratched her neck then glanced at Freddie.

                "Do you have anything planned tonight?"

                "No, normally not."

                "Would you like to stay for dinner? My mum probably has a lot of stuff left to do at work, and she won't be home before midnight or something."

                "I wouldn't like to disturb you."

                "That's an invitation, you idiot."

                Freddie laughed and pecked her cheek.

                "Fine, I'm staying, then."