#john deaon

"Kathryn, dear get up, it's nearly noon!" at the sound of her mother's shrill voice, the barely conscious mess of dark blue hair groaned into her pillow. It wasn't even late for christ's sake. And, this was one of the only times she could really sleep in anymore, her job at a thrift store in the upper west side had weird hours, but it was the only time she would be getting paid to help sew and repair fabrics, something she loved to do and only wanted to improve with. The new job wasn't providing her with enough money to keep up with the rent in her old apartment, so she had reluctantly moved back in with her parents and younger brother.

"Kathryn!" her mother yelled again, but this time with a different tone, could she be excited? Positivity was not something Mrs. Newton was the best at, as it was not something she valued highly.

"Come look at the telly! Kathryn!" Katy huffed, that's what she'd rather be called, and told her mother this many times, it was a decision she made when she realized she wanted to be known for her art. A vital part of her that was ignored by her family, and only one of many including her new hair color and fashion sense.

"What is it, Mum?" Katy's British accent had disappeared for the most part, but sometimes made an appearance, especially when she was around her family. Her older brother Daniel and her parents had been able to maintain their accents through their move from Hampton, London, England to New York City in 1960. Unlike them, Katy was only thirteen and had just begun to make friends in her hometown.

She begrudgingly called back and rolled out of her bed, accidentally stepping on one of the many crumpled sketches on her floor. What she wanted to be doing in her twenties was thrive through her designs and cosmetology skills, but her parents had made their disappointment clear many times. They resented her for going down this path especially it being one of an artist, they were both lawyers, even now still encouraging her to go to law school and offering to pay for it.

She gave herself one quick glance to her mirror in the corner of her room, wanting to make sure the makeup she wore last night hadn't turned her into something like a rabid animal. Katy had brown eyes, and to her, they were nothing more than that. Often she'd wear bright eyeshadow, maybe a deep red or an electric blue, always intending on looking like nothing less than art. She was only about 5 feet, making her the punchline to many jokes, and some of the fashion statements she wanted to make more difficult to pull off.

"Kathryn! It's Brian! On the telly!"

Katy actually turned her head this time, and went quickly to their small living room to see what her mother was talking about.

Katy did not have many friends when she was growing up in London, and to say that was an understatement. She was shy and often seen as a loner, except for when she was with Brian May. He had stuck by her as many of his own friends thought she was odd or awkward, he never thought that. He was polite to her father and looked up to Daniel, Katy's own mum had made jokes about wanting them to marry and always wanted to insinuate something that as twelve year olds, Brian and Katy just couldn't understand. When she moved to New York, it was even harder to establish any relationships she thought would last, which is why she turned to art. There was nothing she loved more than to sketch the people of New York City, the only difference between her art and reality was they were wearing outfits she had designed to enhance their natural beauty. So, she didn't have many friends but she did have art, and living in New York City made that easier for her to cultivate, and harder for her parents to control. It was all too often that she would sneak onto the fire escape and leave to dance or just have a smoke, she was nothing like her family and they all knew this.

But Brian always loved her, he always accepted her for the individual she was, and he was devastated she found out she was moving.

It indeed was that same Brian who was playing guitar and performing on stage and live television for what looked like thousands of people. Katy instantly recognized him, then smiled at the sight of his new hairdo, on her faded small screen he looked like a poodle and it reminded her, and her mother as she could tell, of when he would get scared of Katy's tiny dog Finn, whenever he came over to play.

It wasn't just Brian's face on their 1972 Sony Trinitron Television, but he was playing guitar with three other men in front of a huge crowd.

She watched each one of them perform and nodded her head to the beat, Brian was killing it and she knew her mother secretly completely agreed, her foot tapping the whole time. Katy's gaze rested for an extra moment on the lead singer, he was clad in a yellow striped sweater and black polka dot sequin jacket, one that she quite rather liked the fit of.

"Kathryn! They're touring America!" the credits began to roll on the screen, listing the various dates of their 1974 American tour dates over an image of her one true friend in her life doing what he loved. "Do you still talk to Brian? You should invite him for dinner, your father would like that, and the drummer can come too?" her mother never joked like this, but Brian always had a special place in her heart for being so kind to her daughter, even when she wasn't.

"Oh Kathryn if you don't go, I will" she remarked when her daughter just continued to stare at the screen, the picture changed to one of the blond drummer.

Katy couldn't help but agree with her, maybe not about the dinner, but she had missed her old friend. They had always kept in touch, the telephone definitely made that easier, but neither of them ever had the money or the time to reconnect in person. Of course, Brian had told her a little about the band he was in, but he was always humble and promised to tell her more when they met in person.

The tickets for their New York show were pricey to say the least, Katy tried a few box offices and a few friends before finally realizing Brian should just meet her somewhere in the city instead. Not knowing how exactly to reach him, she called his mother, Ruth who still lived in that same Hampton neighborhood in London, and, who was more than happy to give her a way to reconnect with Brian.

She pressed her ear nervously to her pink rotary phone as she held it and played with the chord, twirling it around her fingers and walking around her room, for all she knew his agent could answer. On one of the last rings, she finally hear some rustling and a connection.

"'ello?" Now that she thought about it, Katy couldn't remember the last time she had actually had the time to catch up with her friend, but despite this she recognized his voice instantly.

"Brain!" She laughed into the phone, relieved to be hearing his voice and not a stranger's.

"Shady Katy?" he questioned back, on the other end of Katy's line, he was just as excited that this call was from her and not a stranger.

"I've missed you! Are you still studying astrophysics?"

"Not exactly" he laughed "I'm assuming mum gave you this number?"

"She did, and she told me to give you a kiss too"

He groaned, as did she when first prodded by Ruth earlier.

"I'm sorry about that, you know how it is" Katy nodded and laughed, she did.

The two caught up as if nothing had changed except their situation, and that may have been true, although it felt like it had been forever for the both of them since they actually hugged for the last time. Eventually the conversation digressed to Queen's - Katy now knew that as the band that sent her modest friend into riches - tour of America, specifically their New York shows.

"I would love to come Bri, I really would, but I don't have the money right now, what if we meet for drinks?" Brian just laughed, he was rolling his eyes, unsure of how naive his closest childhood friend was truly being.

"Don't worry about that, Katy Shady Lady," she huffed at the dumb nickname, "are you at least free on that night? Oh and, have you made any friends yet?" confused as to how Brian could be free on the night of one of his shows, she answered anyways with a yes to both questions. Besides Brian, and since her transition to New York, she had gained one more close friend, a film student from one of her philosophy classes at school. Jo was always the first to see and most excited by the clothing Katy designed, often volunteering to model. As if anyone could detest anyway, she was beautiful and easily could've made it as an actress in Hollywood as opposed to behind the scenes - what she wanted - she appreciated Katy in a way that even Brian couldn't, she knew her for the new her and encouraged it.

"So it's settled?" Brian asked, tugging her along the joke that she still did not understand.

"What? Where would you like to go for dinner? I mean we could visit my parents but they-" "Katy, I'm sending you three tickets in the mail, make sure that night stays free, yeah?"

She nodded and smiled before realizing he could not see her, and finally accepted his proposition, after having to make sure he was certain he could do that. Sometimes she forgot how wonderful true friends could be, she was just worried she had to find one more to go with her to the concert now.

-

Jo had not stopped talking about how excited she was for the show that night. Actually, she hadn't been able to stop talking about it since Katy invited her, three weeks ago.

"Joey, stop moving for one second before I poke your eye out" she was attempting to coat her friend's brown with a hint of green eyes in a gold liner she had made herself.

"Okay fine but when I'm in Love with My Car comes on you're gonna need to give me a second" her friend looked up at her, her eyes now looking more beautiful than ever, as Katy's record player spinned in her dimly lit room. She didn't own any of their records them but Jo did, and brought her collection over to listen to as they got ready for the concert.

"So, who did you decide to bring tonight?" she ignored Jo's previous statement, mostly because she didn't know the song, and continued to apply glitter to her eyes and eyebrows, grateful that Jo let her experiment so much with her looks. Katy had also let her choose the third person to bring, as she had many more friends than Katy did and she honestly didn't quite care, whoever she chose always ended up being someone unique.

"Oh, um," Jo blushed and looked away, it wasn't usual that Katy saw her like this, flustered.

"Well, her name is Michelle, you know Michelle, and um, she's in my film class, she's really pretty and offered to be in my next video, she's really nice, you're going to love her, I promise" Katy just smiled, she could tell Jo was nervous but anyone Jo liked, Katy would be more than happy to meet.

"Done!" she took Jo over to her mirror to show her the final look. She was beautiful, as always of course, Katy couldn't help but stare. She was much taller, with curly brown hair and the ability to pull off any look. Tonight it was a white long gown that made her into a goddess, one of Katy's earlier and simpler pieces, the city was going to be too cold for anything too experimental.

She then quickly did her own makeup, light green eyeshadow tonight and big wings, something reminiscent of the 1950s but with more spunk,

"A 50s housewife gone wrong" she remarked to Jo. That was basically her brand, nostalgia with a burst of New Age.

"I love it" Jo smiled, admiring her friend's brave and bold approaches.

They met Michelle at the venue, it wasn't exactly Madison Square Garden, but it was much bigger than Katy expected. Michelle was taller than Jo, lean and tan with curly hair and bright eyes, when she spotted them, she ran up to Jo and smiled, kissing her on the cheek and grabbing her hand. Katy watched them, Jo laughing, introducing the two most important people in her life to each other. She never explicitly said anything to Katy about her love life, but they both knew Katy knew, only Jo did not realize how happy and intrigued it made Katy feel to know, and to fully accept.

"Brian and I want to see each other before the show, is that okay?"

"Is that okay" Jo laughed "of course it's fucking okay I've been waiting to meet Roger Taylor for my entire goddamn life" Michelle nodded her head in agreement, she complimented Jo's dress, and Katy's work. It was clear she was hiding her excitement in order to appear calm, something Jo could see right through. They put their backstage passes on and suddenly felt like they were being treated differently. Katy couldn't tell if a fan with long blonde hair was staring at her in jealousy or something else, she ignored it as she waited for Jo to figure out where exactly they were going.

"This way!" she motioned for her two friends to follow her, Jo was fine with always have to be the one to ask the questions, it was a task she had learned to love.

It was as if they went through one door and their whole perspectives changed. Suddenly they were backstage, people running around them, some holding water, cameras, extra drumsticks, Katy didn't know where to look until Michelle just pointed. All the way in the back corner, was a van with the Queen logo poorly drawn and even more poorly taped to the door. A wave of excitement overcame Katy as she quickly made her way over, with her friends unsurely trailing behind.

She knocked on the door, nervous at the sudden realization that a different bandmate might answer. She heard yelling from inside the tiny silver van. Some of it was definitely music, but she didn't think the sound of glass breaking and a sudden "DEAKY LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE" were from any record. Just then, she saw someone else peak through the blinds on the truck window right next to the door. She thought it could be Brian, the man was wearing aviators and only peaked his eyes through so she really couldn't tell, but he didn't seem to recognize her, and actually looked slightly annoyed to see her.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Katy was face to face with her childhood friend, she hadn't seen him in over a decade. She ran into her best friend's arms and heard a faint squeal she knew could only belong to Jo from behind her.

Brian, also enveloped in this hug, was trying to ignore the loud complaining of his bandmate who was audible although he was still fully inside the van.

"Roger, how many times do I have to say it to you darling! I just simply will not go on stage without my eyes done, now where the hell is is Debbie?! I can do it myself she just has my makeup"

"Sorry about them, blueberry" Brian mocked her good naturedly, "can I meet your new friends?"

The blinds on the car window were suddenly pulled up, revealing an impatient yet attractive man with long hair and bangs, the aviators now clipped to his robe, looking for someone. It caused Brian to shoot an annoyed glance, he hoped Freddie would get a grip on his damn temper or Debbie, their formal makeup artist - who Freddie often spoke poorly of due to her "dullness"- would show up to her only job.

Jo took that opportunity to cough loudly and grab an equally excited Michelle's hand "Yeah Katy, please introduce us to your friend, please" she said in a smiling tone, waving to Brian, whose attitude changed to excitement as he waved back and walked over.

But Katy's eyes were still on the window where the lead singer of her friend's band was looking out from moments ago. She hoped he would walk by again, and heard he was looking for makeup.

"Roger!" From inside the car, Freddie's tone had suddenly changed completely. He did not expect to see such a unique looking person outside his truck, when he was wearing nothing at all besides a robe. "Roger!" he snapped, trying to get the attention of his friend, suddenly aware of how loud he was being before.

"What, Fred?" he looked up from brushing his hair in the mirror.

"Who is the girl Brian is talking to" Freddie mouthed to Roger, he did not want them to hear him and had honestly no idea how loud he was being at any given moment.

"Oh come on Freddie you know I can't read your lips" Roger retorted, a smile at the edge of his mouth. Freddie just rolled his eyes and walked over to him, any thoughts of Debbie temporarily disappearing from his concerns.

"Brian's childhood friend, she moved in primary school and they haven't seen each other since" John piped in, a little offended that Freddie went to Roger before him.

"Are she and Brian..." Freddie trailed off, trying to look out the window without being seen, when instead he caught a glimpse of two other girls, holding hands, he smiled softly.

"I just told you, they haven't seen each other since primary school Fred, no one was sleeping around in primary school, ya fool" Freddie rolled his eyes, secretly embarrassed at the mistake. "Maybe you weren't sleeping around Deaky, but I was" he winked, saving himself from any further questions when John rolled his eyes.

There was a knock on the door.

Freddie shot Roger a glance, who shot John a glance, who looked out the window.

"It's the girl" John mouthed.

Sometimes, Freddie really didn't know what took him over. He tied up his robe, for the most part, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Bri" he said, holding eye contact with Katy whilst drawing the attention of Brian, who was still talking to Jo and Michelle, more Jo, about the embarrassing things Katy liked to do (such as being irrationally scared of elevators, and lack of knowledge when it came to rock and roll) whose face quickly turned into a mixture of anger and confusion when he saw Freddie talking to his friend.

"Who is this beautiful pixie? Can I keep her?" he winked. John was the one to laugh from inside this time, Freddie sure could act. Katy blushed, even harder after she heard Jo scream

"That's Katy! She loves your style!" and then shoot her a thumbs up, Katy's eyes widened. She was obviously angry that Jo had exposed her like that, but she couldn't deny it, his fashion sense was something else.

"Well Kate, it's a pleasure to meet you" he took her hand in his and kissed it, she admired his black nail polish. "And, I call this look" he referred to his maroon silk robe "my birthday suit, I can show you the whole thing sometime if you'd like"

"Freddie I swear I will hit you right now I don't care if we have to cancel the show"

"Don't worry Bri, I'm only teasing" he matched Katy's eyes again and winked.

"I like to call him Galileo" the first words Katy could muster up the courage to say to who felt like a god in front of her.

Brian just sighed and walked over.

"Katy likes to think she's clever, Galileo was the astronomer who discovered Jupiter's moons-" Brian shot her a fake annoyed look, he secretly quite liked the nickname but if he told her that, she'd stop.

"Oh no, don't worry, I get it, it's because you were going to be a nerd before I saved that arse" Freddie interrupted, earning a laugh from Katy (what he wanted) and a glare from Brian (a problem he will have to deal with later).

"Anyways" Freddie continued, smiling at his success, "why'd you knock? Galileo's out here talking to...." it was clear he wanted an introduction, but Michelle and Jo were caught up in their own conversation and couldn't hear him. "My friends, Jo and Michelle" Katy smiled, happy to see Jo happy.

"I knocked, because I accidentally overheard that you couldn't find your makeup" she started

"Don't worry about it, if you're near Freddie you might find yourself accidentally hearing a lot of things" Brian interrupted, he was the one smiling this time, and Freddie glared before realizing what she had just said to him.

"You have makeup?" he asked, hopeful, and surprised by the kindness and accepting nature of this practical stranger, but anyone who Brian loved, must be good, Freddie rationalized.

She nodded, "I did Michelle's on the way here" pointing to her, before actually looking over to see her and Jo holding hands. Katy and Freddie both stayed silent for a second. Caught up in their own thoughts.

"Well, dear" Freddie finally coughed "if you wouldn't mind me borrowing it, Debbie - our makeup artist - is an absolute bore, nothing like you darling, and she's also very late" Katy didn't know what to do with all of this flirtation, she herself had never been so entranced by a boy and he was actually receptive to it.

She couldn't help but watch him apply the dark shadow to his water line and eyelids, she had made her way fully inside the van by now, and looked around. It was nothing too fancy at all, if anything, it needed a good wash. There was a broken beer bottle on the floor that John, Brian's friend and bassist was currently cleaning up, and Roger made his way outside to talk to an internally freaking out Jo.

When she looked back to Freddie he was already staring at her.

"Did you design that dress?" He asked, his gaze suddenly making her nervous.

"I did, the first attempt took me all night and was a slightly different pattern but my parents threw that one out, they aren't the biggest patrons of my art. This one isn't as nice but I-"

"You look absolutely stunning, I meant it when I said like a pixie, some woodland fairy, that is what you are" Katy blushed, she appreciated his odd compliment.

"Freddie you better not be high right now, we've got a show to play in - shit in ten bloody minutes" John suddenly realized the time and hurriedly began to gather his things.

"Don't worry darling, we are performers, they can wait a minute, maybe they'll get all hot and heavy. Are you watching tonight?" he spoke from John to Katy, while having his back to them, watching through the mirror as he tried to multi task by also changing into his leather outfit, makeup finished and looking lovely. Katy tried her best not to stare but found it hard, she almost wanted to reply with "I'm watching right now" but she lacked the witty confidence she so admired in the man in front of her.

"Of course, I'm excited to see Brian" she decided to say instead, feeding into the game it was clear that Freddie liked to play.

"And are you excited to see me?" he turned around, locking eyes with her, dressed to a tee.

"I just met you" 

CHAPTER TWO