Amelia's P.O.V.

I hadn't mentioned anything about what Freddie had told me the other day to Roger. I was rather surprised that he'd shared that information about him with me in the first place. But I understood why Freddie had told me. He said that he saw something different developing between Roger and I, and being Roger's bandmate and one of his closest friends, I trusted his word. He wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't been sincere about it.

When Freddie mentioned that Roger had never been in a long lasting relationship with anyone, I understood what that felt like. None of the boyfriends I'd ever had hung around for long either, so I could relate to seeing everyone around me happy with someone and me being on my own. But what really kept playing in my mind was what Freddie had said in relation to how Roger felt about me. He apparently treated me differently to any of the others girls he'd gotten together with before. So could it be true? Did Roger actually like me?

But yet my stubbornness still stood in the way. That couldn't be the case, Roger probably acted this way around all the girls. He was the ladies-man of the group after all, how could I possibly believe that his feelings were sincere? But he didn't act this way around other women, according to Freddie. The Roger I'd gotten to know was different to what anyone else had seen. And he was an absolute sweetheart to me, I felt bad for having these doubts about him. Maybe he was being genuine and I was just being a pig-headed bitch? I didn't know for sure.

The whole situation had minced up head to the point where it was affecting my organisation skills at work, and I'd picked absolutely the worse day to do it. The cafe was bustling, orders were coming and going faster than I could keep up with which inevitably lead to orders being mixed up, forgetting things and Dorothy having a go at me every time I did something wrong. Charlotte had to swoop in and save my ass several times, and each time she did she'd tease me afterwards with a smirk on her face saying;

'Stop thinking about him, maybe then you'll be able to concentrate.'

Every time she made a remark, I would shoot daggers at her but would have to look away straight after so she wouldn't notice how red faced I was. I was glad to get out of there at the end of the day, I didn't think I could take the embarrassment much more. When I got home, I spent the rest of the day outside - now that the weather had picked up - mainly at the stables checking up on the newborn foal one of our mares gave birth to the other night, and because it was anemic, I was keeping an extra close eye on it. Being a veterinary nurse does have its uses, I suppose.

Anyway, after a long days work I eventually decided to return to the house when the sun had almost completely disappeared over the horizon. I made my way back slowly, exhausted from today's events, and was about to walk to the front door when something caught my eye. I turned my head to notice that a light was still on in the barn. Strange. I was certain the band would have stopped working and gone inside or went down to the pub by now. The possibility that it could have been left on popped into my head, so I decided to go and check it out nonetheless.

I made my way to the barn but stopped outside the large wooden doors before heading in. One of them was slightly ajar, which normally should be locked at this time of night. Cautiously pushing it open, I stepped inside and walking tentatively into the recording area of the studio. Looking around, there was no one to be seen. All that was present in the room were the instruments we had in here scattered around the place; the piano, the guitars, basses as well as equipment like speakers, microphones etc. One of the guitars in particular stood out at me which I know for a fact wasn't one of ours. It was a mahogany-red colour, with a black pickguard and neck which stood up proudly on a stand at the right side of the room. I walked towards it and looked at it more closely, noticing parts of it had been made from everyday items you would find around the house. I soon gathered that this was Brian's guitar, the one I'd been hearing coming from the barn over these last few weeks. I was impressed that such a unique guitar, homemade and all, could make such a brilliant sound.

Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I carried on pacing slowly around the recording room, looking at the band's set up whilst glancing over my shoulder every so often at the door to make sure no one walked in unexpectedly. Eventually, I made my way over in the direction of the drumkit until I was standing beside it. So this is where Roger spent his time, then? Brushing my fingertips over the cymbals, they rattled at the touch, making the only noise that could be heard in the building. Noticing a pair of sticks sitting on the top of the bass drum, I was unable to resist the temptation and picked one of them up, holding it in my hand. I stood there for a good ten seconds thinking I was still alone, until a voice sounded over the intercom and echoed throughout the barn.

'I'll be honest, I didn't put you down as being a drummer.'

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the shock of the sudden disturbance, so much so that the drumstick dropped out of hand, crashed off the tom-toms, the snare and eventually landing on the floor, creating a cringeworthy amount of noise. Flustered and embarrassed, I quickly picked the drumstick up off the ground and put it back in it's place where it was before. I looked up at the control booth window to see Roger smirking down at me, giving me a little wave as I scolded myself for not making sure no one was in there. Still, at least that explained why the light was on.

I shouted back, hopefully loud enough for him to hear through the glass, 'I-I saw the light was on and...'

'It's okay. Come on up.' Roger replied through the speakers and signalled to me to join him in the booth. Like a child who'd been caught doing something they shouldn't of, I apprehensively made my way up the steps to the control room and stepped through the door.

'I-I was just looking...I-I didn't mean to mess with your stuff.'

'Lee, relax, it's fine,' Roger chuckled, who was sat at the mixing desk, 'You were just being curious. Who could blame you?'

'Are you sure? I'm not interrupting anything, am I?' I asked.

'No, no, of course not. I'm just finishing off a few things from earlier on today. Bit lonesome, though. Stick around if you like, but if you don't want to it's fine.'

I stood there for a moment before replying, 'Yeah, alright. I'll stay for a while.'

Roger smiled as I made my way over the the mixing desk and sat down on one of the chairs beside him. For the next half hour or so, he showed me what exactly it was he and the band did. He showed me the equipment they used, recording techniques, and played snippets of songs that were still yet to be completed - which showed me the true genius of this band and their capabilities. Although I already knew a lot about the recording side of things from my dad, I didn't want to spoil Roger's enthusiasm and listened to him observantly. I could tell by the way he talked about his job that he enjoyed every minute of it, and I was lucky enough to be able to see why first-hand.

'So, this is my contribution to the new album. Well, part of it anyways.' Roger told whilst he fiddled around with the sliders and buttons.

'Are you sure it's okay for me to hear unfinished work?' I fretted, glancing out of the glass window in front of us that looked down onto the recording room, making sure no one else was around.

'Of course it is, Lee,' Roger assured, 'It's my song, I want you to hear it. Not to mention this is your home, after all. You should be allowed to see what's going on.'

My eyebrows furrowed, 'If you say so.'

Roger smiled softly and then returned his attention to the mixing desk, 'Anyway, as I was saying, this is the song I've written for 'A Night At The Opera.' It still needs a bit of work but overall most of the song is there.'

He pressed a button on the controls and turned up the volume so I could hear it. The heavy intro of said-song began playing through the speakers in the room, before the lyrics kicked in, with an oddly a familiar voice singing them.

'The machine of a dream,
Such a clean machine.
With the pistons a pumpin',
and the hubcaps all gleam.'

'Is this...you? Singing this?' I asked Roger, over the music. He simply nodded as we listened to the next lines of the song.

'When I'm holding your wheel,
All I hear is your gear.
When my hand's on your grease gun,
Oh it's like a disease son.'

We listened for maybe a minute longer until Roger stopped the track as I was in the midst of having a laughing fit.

'What's so funny?' he asked, now chuckling himself.

I looked up at him, after I'd finally composed myself, 'Is this a love song about a car, Roger?'

'Well, yeah. I've never really had anyone to write a love song about apart from a car, if I'm honest.'

Although Roger had said this in a semi-joking manner, I instantly stopped laughing when he had finished his sentence. A feeling of guilt overpowered me as he looked down at the mixing desk. So what Freddie had told me was true. I didn't want to assume anything until I was 100% definite, so I bit my lip and decided to ask him a rather personal question. I just hoped he wouldn't think I was prying into his private life.

'Roger?' I began. He looked back at me as I paused, still worried about how he'd reply to this, 'Have you...ever been in love with anyone?'

He looked surprised by my question. I began to think I might have offended him, so I quickly apologised.

'I'm sorry, that's none of my...'

'No, it's fine; honestly,' Roger said, his smile settling my nerves, 'I have been in a few relationships in the past, but they were never serious, nor did they last. I guess I've just not found the right person yet, you know? So, no, I don't suppose I have been 'in love'.'

'Oh, I see.' I replied, not quite sure as what to say.

'Now you know why I've written a love song about my car.' he smiled.

I just nodded as an awkwardness loomed over us as we sat there in silence for a couple of seconds.

'Listen, I hope I didn't put you on the spot to much with my question.'

He just smiled, 'Of course not, it's fine.'

'If it makes you feel any better, I'm the same - I've been in a few relationships but they never lasted either. I suppose I've yet to find 'the one', as they call it, too.'

Roger nodded, 'You and me both.'

The two of us sat there for a few seconds longer, the atmosphere in the room was still rather tense.

I cleared my throat, 'Well, I think the song is fantastic, Roger, and will be a great addition to the album. You should be proud of yourself.'

'Thank you,' he beamed, 'God knows what I've been through to get it here.'

''What do you mean? Were the others not impressed by it?'

'I guess you could say that,' Roger chuckled, 'They didn't think I was being serious when I first showed them the track. None of them were keen to have it on the album, which obviously lead to a lot of disputes. Eventually they came around, only after I locked myself in a cupboard as an act of protest, mind you.'

'Really?' I laughed, 'My god, you have had a bit of a battle to get it here. I'm glad they agreed in the end, if would have been foolish not to.'

We listened to the rest of the song, which was titled, 'I'm In Love With My Car' (very fitting) and talked about the album itself a bit more before I decided to ask him :-

'So, are you going to show me any other compositions, or is that the only song I'm allowed to hear?'

Roger's usual flirtatiousness shone through again with his next comment that I couldn't help but smile at.

'Lee, I'll show you anything you want to see.'

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Hey guys!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was pretty straightforward to write as most of it had been written beforehand. Leave a vote/comment if you like, it would be greatly appreciated. And thank you for all the support so far on this book, it makes me so happy to know that people are actually enjoying this book and excited for updates. Honestly I didn't think anyone would notice this book, but it's almost at 2K, ahhhh I can't believe it! I'll try and get the next chapter up asap.

Thank you once again!

- Anna :-)