Amelia's P.O.V.

Today was the day. The day I'd been dreading and had desperately tried to push to the back of my mind for weeks, was finally here. I felt sick when I woke up this morning. Physically sick. Which was only made worse when I was greeted by a similar sight outside my bedroom window to the first day the band arrived here - crew members and roadies rushing around with equipment. Although this time they were collecting it and putting into the back of vans to be taken away, rather than delivering it.

Because I couldn't face the thought of being at home before it was time for the band to leave - which according to my mother had been delayed so they weren't leaving until the early afternoon - I went about my normal duties on the farm in the morning as quickly as I could, ignoring the hustle and bustle around me, before jumping into my car and speeding off down to the village to work. There, I thought I'd be able to forget about what was happening back at home for a while, but it didn't make much difference as my colleagues soon detected there was something wrong without me even saying a word.

'What's up with you today? You're walking around with a face on you like a slapped arse.' Dorothy informed me as I brought through a pile of dirty dishes into the kitchen and placed them down next to the sink.

I looked at her, confused, 'What are you talking about? I'm fine.' I lied.

'Nah, you've barely said a word all morning. You didn't even say 'hello' to us when you arrived, and that's not like you,' she stopped putting filling inside a sandwich and leant with her back against the counter, 'Is it by any chance because your new boyfriend is heading back up to London today?'

My head spun around as I stared at the older woman in disbelief, 'Who told you about that?'

She scoffed, 'Amelia, we both know Charlotte can't keep anything a secret.'

'What are you saying about me?' as if on cue, Charlotte entered the kitchen, also carrying a pile of dishes and looking at the two of us suspiciously. Dorothy looked away and went back to what she was doing like we hadn't even been talking, as I just glared at my so-called friend.

'Thanks for blabbing about my 'love life' like it's some sort of juicy gossip, Char.' I said sarcastically.

She shrugged, 'So I might have let slip about your little date with Roger. So what? You shouldn't be so coy about it, Lee. You two are well cute together, and you know it.'

'Well it doesn't matter. He is not my boyfriend.' I told her bluntly, 'And probably never will be...'

'You don't know that for certain.' Charlotte tried to reassure me, 'Just because you have to part ways doesn't mean it's the end of the road.'

'I dunno, maybe it's best she doesn't get any closer to him anyway,' Dorothy crossed her arms, 'I mean, these rock star types - they're the last people you want to get involved with. Not to mention he'll be a distraction...'

'Shut up, Dorothy, you're not helping,' Charlotte snarled at her. She then turned her attention back to me.

'Look, I know it must be shit having to say goodbye to someone who you've barely even had enough time to get to know, but Roger really likes you, Lee. And I can see how much you like him too. You have a golden opportunity staring at you in the face, you can't let something like this pass you by. Just...don't let him leave without expressing how you feel, alright?'

I nodded, looking down at my hands, 'Yeah, I know.'

'Good.'

'Hey! I don't pay you lot to stand around and chat all day. Get back to work!' Mrs Harold poked her head around the kitchen door and glared at us, ending the conversation.

As we got back to work, Dorothy muttered something under her breath which made us all laugh, 'You hardly pay us at all.'

For the rest of my shift, I mulled over Charlotte's words of advice intensely. She was right, although I'd already hinted to him in Brighton that I liked him, I had to tell Roger the truth before he left - I'd be kicking myself if I didn't. Part of me felt like an idiot for falling for someone who would be on the other side of the world most of the time (presuming whatever this was lead to something one day) and I was well aware of the other consequences too, that could cause everything to go up in flames.

But, if I'm honest, I was so infatuated and intrigued by Roger that I probably wouldn't care. So I promised myself that I'd make sure he knew exactly how I felt when the time came for him to go. I just hoped my nerves wouldn't cause me to have a complete shutdown and go into panic mode, which considering the way I was acting today, could quite easily happen.

When I eventually returned to the farm, most the band's equipment looked pretty much packed and ready to go, although I couldn't say the same for the boys themselves as I hadn't seen them all day. Probably for the best, anyway. I entered the house, and soon searched for things to keep myself busy - mainly housework which normally I would have hated. After about an hour, I'd fully immersed myself in what I was doing amd soon forgot about the world around me. It was only whilst I was putting a load of laundry on, my mum entered the room, interrupting and bringing me back into reality.

'The boys are outside about to leave. I'm sure you'll be wanting to say goodbye.' she said.

I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach as I nodded hesitantly in reply. Once I'd finished loading the washing machine, I turned it on before anxiously walking with Mum outside to the front of the house. Sure enough, the four members of the band were there, throwing some last minute belongings into their van and struggling to fit it all in. My dad appeared from around the back of the house and approached them, along with Jasper who was roaming around curiously wondering what all the commotion was about.

'You all set, lads?' Dad asked.

'I think so,' Brian smiled, as he only just managed to shut the boot of the van, 'Hope this stuff doesn't fall out halfway up the motorway.'

'If it does, it'll only be your junk that'll go flying anyway, so it doesn't matter.' Freddie smirked.

'Very funny,' Brian replied with deadpan expression. He then turned to my dad, 'Listen, Frank, we really enjoyed our stay here and enjoyed using your fantastic recording studio. It's been a whirlwind of a year for us so far; it was great just to have a little bit of a break for a while - and what better place than Ridge Farm, right?'

'Yeah, we really appreciated the wonderful hospitality.' John added, 'We felt very at home here. Thank you.'

'You're very welcome, boys.' Mum smiled, 'It was a pleasure having you here.'

The band exchanged farewells with my parents, who wished them the best of luck for the future. Even Jasper came over to say goodbye, stealing all the attention as the boys stroked and patted him.

'Oh, I could just take you home with me!' Freddie exclaimed as he practically cuddled Jasper half to death, 'Too bad there's not enough room in the van for you.'

After the boys had finished fussing over Jasper, he followed my parents back to the house, and I was left to say my goodbyes. Putting my hands behind my back, I approached the four band members whilst putting on a smile.

'Goodness, where did that month go?' I chuckled lightly, the boys laughing in agreement, 'Too bad you couldn't have stayed longer. Anyway, no matter. I do hope you guys had a lovely time here at the farm; it was an absolute pleasure meeting you all. Oh, and thanks again for taking me with you on your little road trip yesterday. It was a blast.'

'You're very welcome, Amelia. We enjoyed every minute here. And meeting you was a pleasure too,' Brian said, kindly.

There was a short silence between us all, none of us wanting to be the first to say goodbye. Freddie then stepped forward, and with his usual energy, lightened up the mood effortlessly, 'Oh, come 'ere before one of us starts getting teary!'

The next thing I knew, I was enveloped in a huge bear hug from Freddie, which made me giggle, 'Goodbye, Freddie. Take care of yourself. And keep up the baking - I'll be expecting to see you with your own cookery programme soon too, so don't disappoint me.'

He laughed at my joke, 'Not if you're not there to save my backside at the last minute when everything goes horribly wrong I won't.'

Tutting at the singer, I moved on to John and gave him a hug as well, 'See ya, John. Good luck for parenthood - give Veronica my best.'

'Thank you, Amelia, I will.' he smiled.

After I said goodbye to Brian - I had to go up on my tip toes to hug him as he was at least a head taller than me - I eventually reached Roger, who was looking down at the ground with his hands in his pockets. He'd been pretty quiet for the most part, only occasionally smiling when the odd funny thing was said, but he finally looked up properly when I stood in front of him. The other three sensed that we would prefer to be alone, so they made their way over to the van and clambered into it, leaving Roger and I to say whatever it was we had to say before him and the band left the farm.

'So...' Roger began, 'This is it, as they say.'

I smiled slightly, 'I suppose it is.'

There was pause between us, before the drummer spoke up again, 'You know, I've had a really great time these last few weeks with you, Lee, and I enjoyed everything we did. Going to Brighton, getting pissed at the pub, even being put on the back of a horse. I'm just sorry it had to come to an end so soon...'

'Don't worry about it, Rog,' I told him, 'It can't be all fun and no work, unfortunately. But I'm glad you had fun - god knows I did - and I'm sure that one day we can meet up and do it all again when we have the chance. Only if...you want to, of course?'

He smiled sweetly at me, 'I would love that.'

Roger then opened his arms up wide, his usual goofy grin plastered on his face, as he waited for me to give him a hug. Chuckling at him, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, as he encircled his around my waist.

'You take care, yeah?' I mumbled into his shoulder, 'I hope everything goes well for you with the upcoming album and all.'

'Thanks, Lee. Hope you settle into your new job...and save lots of animals.' he rubbed my back as I could feel him smiling, which made me smile too.

Getting lost in the moment, I closed my eyes and sighed as I rested my chin on Roger's shoulder, not wanting to let him go. After a little bit longer, we pulled back from each other's embrace and stood looking at each other, sadness evident on both our faces.
I didn't want the hug to end, and I certainly didn't want to see Roger leave without saying what I really wanted to him, like Charlotte had told me to. I knew I had to do something before he got into that van and drove away; I didn't even know when the next time I'd see him would be.

But I was so nervous. When I opened my mouth, I couldn't even think of words to make coherent sentences. So I just stood there with my hands trembling like crazy as I felt like I was about to have a some sort of mental breakdown.

'Lee?' Roger's voice snapped me back into reality as he looked at me concerned, 'You okay?'

It was then that I realised that if words weren't going to work, I was going to have to express how I felt through actions instead. It'd almost happened once before, but this time, nothing was going to stop me from what I'd been longing to do for weeks on end.

'Fuck it. If this is the last time I'm going to see you for god knows how long, I might as well make it count.'

Taking Roger by complete surprise, I grabbed ahold of his jacket and pulled him close to me, before kissing him on the lips with every ounce of passion I could find in my body. He kissed me back with equal fervour, cupping my face with his hands and pushed my loose hair out of way so he could return the favour properly. I could hear Freddie, Brian and John cheering happily in the background for us whilst they beeped the van horn, but it felt like Roger and I were the only two people in the world right now. The kiss was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before and was perfect in every way. Sure, I'd kissed other guys in the past - maybe even for longer and more intimately - but there wasn't anything sexual about this one whatsoever. It was a goodbye, and we meant it.

When we eventually pulled back and opened our eyes, the two of us just stared at each other as we both tried to comprehend what had just happened. After weeks, we'd finally let loose what we'd been bottling up for what had honestly felt like forever. And, man, it felt good.

Once we were out of our daze, I stepped back slightly from Roger, re-adjusting his jacket which I'd misaligned after grabbing it so roughly, and gave him one last smile, 'Goodbye, Roger.'

He beamed back at me, his blue eyes which had captivated me from day one shining brighter than the sun itself, 'Goodbye, Amelia.'

After sharing one last quick hug, Roger reluctantly walked over to the door of the van; not breaking eye contact with me until he got into the back and joined his bandmates who were smiling and whispering things to him - not that I couldn't guess what about. After the boys shut the door behind them, the van began to pull away, the four of them waving to me out of the window with cheeky grins across their faces.

As I stood and waved back to them, I met Roger's gaze one more time. He waved at me, flashing a smile which could make anyone swoon, whilst I beamed back at him. The van headed down the driveway and rolled out onto the road, before driving off until it disappeared into the distance, leaving me standing there feeling both ecstatic but also broken-hearted.

* * *

That evening after dinner, I decided to go for a long walk through the nearby fields and meadows; something I often did when I wanted to clear my head. Walking in the glow of the setting sun, I lost myself in my thoughts as I slowly made my way back to the farm, a soft breeze whipping my now messy hair out of the way as I looked down at the ground.

I know it sounded sad and pathetic, but I was missing the boys already. The farm was so quiet without them; no blaring music coming from the barn, no arguments or laughter ringing through the entire house. Although this was the case when every band came to stay here, usually I hated it - all the racket that they brought with them. But with Queen, I didn't mind. I enjoyed listening to them rocking away next door, even if it carried on until all hours of the night, and I'd become very fond of them as people as well. I felt honoured to have spent so much time in their company.

As you could imagine, I was thinking about Roger the most, and understandably, the kiss. I don't know what came over me - I was just sick of hiding my feelings and having to keep myself restrained for any longer. So I went for it, in a way I'd never done with anyone before, and the way Roger reacted and the way I'd felt during it was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. That wasn't just some innocent kiss on the lips. There had been fireworks, and sadly I only truly realised that after he'd left, when I'd recovered from the shock of it all.

Anyway, as I saw the farmhouse coming into view through the trees, I decided to go and check up on the horses first at the stable and make sure they were alright. Wandering into the quiet stable yard, each horse popped their heads out of their door when they heard me coming, which made me smile. After making sure they had enough hay and they were all settled, I decided to lock up for the night.

Going around each of the rooms, I checked each one before locking them shut with the set of keys we kept in the house, although I usually had them on me most of the time. When I came to the last room - the tack room - I switched on the light and had a quick look around to make sure everything was in order, and as I did, a small object mysteriously sitting on top of one of the saddles suddenly caught my attention.

It was a small, velvet box - from what I could tell - with a little note attached to the top of it. Walking towards the peculiar item, I picked it up and detached the note which had been sellotaped to the lid of the box, before unfolding it and reading the message:

Noticed yesterday how much you liked this. Think of it as sort of a late birthday present!

R.T.

Opening the lid of the box, I couldn't help chuckle at what was inside - the necklace I'd taken a shine to at that stall back in Brighton. Taking it out of its box and looking at it, I shook my head, slightly annoyed that Roger had unnecessarily spent money on me yet again - I'd have to write the poor guy a cheque for all the money I owed him at this rate.

But, overall, I was extremely flattered by his gift, and I smiled like an idiot as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I was going to miss him terribly - I knew I would. But although he was gone for now, I'm sure I would see Roger again one day, when we had the time. We were both in London, for gods sake, and in relatively the same area. Surely we'd run into each other somewhere.

I know I was being very optimistic, but deep down, I just hoped that this wasn't the end of the road. I would hate to never see Roger again, for this to have just been some holiday romance and nothing more. But after that kiss, I can assure you, there was no chance of me forgetting about him anytime soon. And I had to trust that Roger wouldn't do the same when thinking about me.

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Hello everyone!

THEY KISSED! At long last! 😂 Hope that brought you as much joy reading it as it brought me whilst writing it. I can't stress enough about how sorry I am for such the long wait...again. I didn't have internet until yesterday because I was on holiday so I would have uploaded this sooner. But now it's here and I really hope you all liked it. This is not the last chapter, by the way. The next chapter is the last, and it's a little epilogue sort of thing. It's going to be really cute, so I hope you like it once it's published. Anyway, I'd love to hear your opinions on this part so please comment/vote, it's so so appreciated.

Thank you for all the support!

- Anna :-)