Chapter Text
So Melina admits she may have gone a bit too over-the-top after the rest of her band had abandoned her at her own party. But really, what else was there to expect when you saw someone dressed in a giant overflowing cape lined with faux fur and a King’s crown bigger than their head? The outfit called for some melodrama.
However, at some point in the night, Melina had taken off the grandiose crown and cape combination, or rather, someone had yanked it off her in the heat of the moment. It was too late in the night to worry over such details. Or was it early in the morning at this point?
Regardless, the party was still going strong. Strangers were infesting every corner of the house, which was quite a feat, given the sheer amount of space Garden Lodge seemed to inhabit. However, there was a single woman sitting in one of the chairs tucked into the corner, not engaging with anyone else in the room. Naturally, this was the person Melina felt most drawn to.
“You seem to be a bit lost,” was her introductory line, as she stole a chair next to the young woman, angling herself to get a better look. The woman looked to be around Melina’s age, give or take a few years. And damn if she was not exactly Melina’s type as well. Dark brown hair that fell to her chin in a messy wave, and deep dark eyes complimenting her rounded face.
“Yeah, well. This isn’t exactly my scene,” the woman began in a thick Irish accent. “My friend invited me, and told me that ‘when Melina Mercury throws a party, you don’t ask questions,’ but I still have so many.” The woman looked around the room in a mixture of distaste and curiosity.
“Such as,” Melina waved her hand, intrigued at this woman’s candor.
“Uh, first of all, who is Melina Mercury?” She laughed, and Melina tilted her head in confusion. Did this woman mean, like, in a deeper psychological sense? As in, who is Melina Mercury behind the larger-than-life façade? Or did she actually have no idea who she was talking to, and genuinely thought Melina was just another party guest? Melina actually felt a little bit offended. “I mean, I assume she’s probably some big actress or singer or such, with a name like Mercury and a house like this but I’ve never heard of her.”
Melina almost didn’t process the statement, with how enamored she was at the Irishwoman’s lilt. It was much warmer and friendlier than Paula’s similar accent. But after a second, she laughed. The woman gazed at her curiously.
“She’s a singer. The lead singer for King. The rock group? You’ve never heard of them?” Melina asked, shaking her head. It had been almost five years since this was an issue for her.
The other woman shook her head. And okay, not knowing who Melina was is one thing. Not knowing King on the other hand…
“I’m sorry, no. Maybe if I heard a chorus to one of their songs?” The woman suggested.
“Uhh… we will, we will, rock you…” Melina began to sing, quiet enough so that none of the other party guests heard her. The woman shook her head. “Can anybody find me somebody to love?” Another headshake. “Bum bum bum… another one bites the dust. Another one bites the dust?” She even added the iconic baseline. The other woman began to laugh as she shook her head. “Mama, oohh, didn’t mean to make you cry?”
“Not ringing any bells, sorry. Maybe, they’re just not as popular in Ireland? And I’ve never really been into rock anyways. You have a lovely voice, though.”
Melina stared at this woman in a daze, entirely lost for words.
“…thank you. What did you say your name was, again?”
“Jamie Hutton,” she said with a smile. “And yours?”
Melina just laughed a disbelieving laugh. She needed to answer, but she would feel incredibly stupid if she were to tell this woman the answer to her question. And she wasn’t sure how it would have landed, what with Jamie’s seeming distaste with the idea of excess wealth and partygoing.
“Meherokh.” The name had tumbled out of her mouth in a panic, knowing her silence was growing uncomfortable. It wasn’t even what she meant to say, even though it was technically true. Her eyes widened in shock as she reached a hand towards her mouth.
“Is it actually?” Jamie teased. “Because you don’t look so sure.”
“Yes, it is. I’m just so used to the nickname my friends call me because… well. Meherokh.” She said her name with no other explanation, simply adding an exaggerated accent, sure that the other woman would get her point.
“In that case, my name is actually Saoirse Hutton. But I go by Jamie because… well. Saoirse.” Jamie said in the same voice as Melina, only thickening her already very apparent Irish accent instead. “Anyways, you seem to be uninterested in the party as well if you’re hanging out here.”
She gestured around at the bland, quiet corner the two were sitting in.
“Not… disinterested in the party. More like, hiding from certain people.” Which was a half-truth. She craned her neck as she spoke. She was, indeed, trying to avoid Paula fucking Prenter from talking to her right now. But she was also trying to play down how the pretty woman in the corner was the most interesting person at this entire shitshow she was hosting.
“Which people? Maybe I can be a lookout. Don’t want anybody disturbing this peace and quiet.”
Melina’s eyes scanned the room, only taking a couple of seconds before spotting Paula. She was leaning in close to another woman, her body language screaming that she was interested, but her eyes were scanning the room. Presumably for Melina. And then they made eye contact.
“Shit. She spotted me.” Melina said under her breath, turning back around to give Jamie an apologetic look. Jamie just shrugged in response as she watched a woman walk towards them, presumably the same person Meherokh was worried about.
“Well, there goes that idea. She’s not hurting you or anything, right?” Jamie’s voice suddenly turned serious.
Melina laughed.
“No, she couldn’t hurt me if she tried,” Melina meant it in the most literal sense. “She’s just… like a newborn puppy. Fun to play with but after a few hours you just want to be left alone, and she keeps humping your leg. Not getting the hint.”
“I had a girlfriend like that once. I had to break up with her three separate times, can you believe?” And for a single moment, Melina forgot about Paula and praised all the gay gods out there that this beautiful woman was also a lesbian, or at least into women. But then Paula stepped into her field of vision and spoiled the moment.
“Hey, why are you hanging in the back?” Paula asked with mock-concern. “There’s plenty of people still here to see you. You don’t want to be hanging around with the nobody’s over in the corner," she turned to Jamie. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Jamie replied, her face scrunched up in a way that showed that there clearly was at least a little bit taken.
“I’ll be there in a minute, Paula.” Melina gave the other woman her winningest smile. “Just needed to get my energy back up. This has been a hell of a party.”
“Of course, only the best for you,” Paula smiled back at her, placing a hand on her shoulder before walking back into the huddled masses. Melina and Jamie both sat in silence as they watched her retreating form.
“So how long has that been a thing?” Jamie asked, breaking the silence.
“Me and Paula?” Melina asked with a shocked laugh. “Oh no, it’s not like that. It’s complicated but I am definitely not dating her.”
“Oh. She just seemed really into you, that’s all. She looked like she was going to get on her hands and knees at any second and worship the ground you walk on. Bit unnerving, actually.”
Melina laughed at the entirely-too-accurate description.
“Oh, believe me, I know she’s into me.” Melina made a motion to toss her hair back, before remembering that she had shorn most of her long locks off the night prior. Instead, she ran her hair through what was left, which was, admittedly not much. “Doesn’t mean she cares about me, though.”
“Very wise.” Jamie noted. “It’s good to know the difference. So are you going to tell me which one is Melina or am I going to have to guess?” Jamie reverted the conversation back to the original topic from before.
“I’d love to see you guess first,” Melina said, both because it was true and because she was stalling for time, trying to figure out how to break the news. Jamie hummed.
“Well, whoever she is, she’s not living up to the hype. Everyone in this crowd seems to blend together.”
Melina certainly agreed, but it was interesting to know how an outsider saw everything. Each person was wearing outrageous clothes, and some had forsaken the idea of clothes altogether, thus creating the effect that no one was actually doing anything all that outrageous. She looked down at what was left of her outfit, a glorified black bra and leather pants, and sighed.
“At least give me a hint. Is she in the room right now?” Jamie asked when she noticed that she was not getting a response.
“Yes.” Melina said without hesitation.
“Okay, second hint. What is she doing? Is she dancing? Singing? Whatever that is?” Jamie nodded her head over to a couple in the middle of the dancefloor. The younger man had his legs wrapped around the older man’s shoulders and was doing sit ups. Jamie and Melina both abandoned the conversation for a moment to watch the pair.
“Not that,” Melina confirmed after a moment. “She’s talking.” Jamie nodded, biting her lip in concentration as she scanned the room. Melina found it very distracting.
“I assume it’s not the person your friend is talking to,” Melina twisted her head to see who Jamie was referring to, even though she already knew the answer. The woman who Paula was talking to was a tiny blonde woman who seemed very passionate about whatever the topic of the conversation was. However, Paula seemed to notice Melina’s eyes on her and began frantically kissing the startled woman, who presumably only wanted to talk. Melina rolled her eyes.
“No, it’s not her. I’d like to think Melina Mercury has a little more self-respect than that.” Melina said, though she took pity on the blonde. She, too, had been on the receiving end of one of Paula’s impulsive kissing sprees. Truly, the woman needed to learn to keep it in her pants. And coming from Melina, that was just sad.
“Well, there don’t seem to be too many people at this party who are just talking.” Jamie pointed out.
“You are.” Melina pointed out, trying to offer the other woman a hint.
“And you.” Jamie said, seemingly still not getting it. Melina hummed in agreement, leaning forwards to communicate that she was trying to make a point. “Just tell me!” Jamie cried. “I’m never going to guess.”
Melina held her hands out, trying to come up with an appropriately dramatic reveal and pose combination. But before anything came to mind, Paula stood up on Melina’s piano (damn her!) and called out for everyone’s attention.
“Everyone! Melina has agreed she’s going to sing for us!” The audience broke out into rapturous applause, looking around the room for their goddess of the night.
“Melina did not agree to sing for us,” Melina muttered under her breath, so that Jamie barely caught what she was saying.
Paula then, while still standing on Melina’s damn piano, gestured her arms out wide to where Jamie and Melina were sitting. All eyes turned to the embarrassed couple. Jamie’s eyes widened in panic and Melina’s just rolled into the back of her head.
“Tadah!” Melina cried, standing up with a flourish, her back to the crowd, focused only on Jamie, hoping she would see the humor in things.
“You? You’re… oh!” Jamie seemed at a loss for words. “Oh, that makes sense.” She said, much more quietly.
Melina’s shoulders sagged.
“I’ll come back.” She promised. “I don’t think that Paula very much liked me putting more than ten seconds of attention into someone who isn’t her.”
“You should probably tell her to fuck off.” Jamie suggested, her voice in a whisper now that she knew others were looking at her. Or, looking at Melina, more accurately. Melina laughed at that, even though Jamie didn’t mean it as a joke, and strode over to the piano.
“Requests?” Melina called to the crowd, and suddenly a thousand voices rang out, song titles mashing together into an unpleasant roar that was impossible to distinguish. Jamie did not move from her spot, but shifted onto her knees in order to stand a bit taller, and see over the gathering crowd.
Melina just laughed at the noise, and shrugged her shoulders, beginning to lightly play the piano keys, seemingly in a trance. Jamie noted that she seemed to be playing fairly accurately for someone who had presumably drank a lot throughout the night. She only had a couple of seconds to ponder this, before Melina opened her mouth.
And then she began singing.
And for a single moment in time, everything fell away. The rowdy crowd all seemed to freeze for this singular moment, and just listened. Melina paid them no mind as she continued playing her piano, entirely in her element.
When she reached the chorus, people in the crowd began singing along. But the spell was not broken. There were seemingly hundreds of voices singing in unison but somehow, Jamie could still hear Melina underneath it all. Everybody was still under her command.
And Jamie was transfixed. Suddenly, she got it. How this quiet, unassuming woman that she had talked to was able to hold the world in the palm of her hand. Why you really weren’t supposed to ask questions when Melina Mercury invited you to a party. And she couldn’t stop herself from applauding along with the crowd when the song ended.
Melina stood up from her piano seat, and mock bowed. When people began chanting for an encore, she just shook her head.
“I’m sorry, lovies! If you want to hear more, you’re going to have to go to a concert. And I promise you, it’ll be much more entertaining than whatever that was.” She flicked her wrist absent-mindedly at the piano.
Soon, the partygoers returned to their merrymaking. Melina waited until most of them took their eyes off of her and returned back to where Jamie was sitting, looking shell-shocked.
“So, is that King? Is that what your band sounds like?” Jamie asked, breaking the silence.
“Oh, heavens no. That was a Sharon John number. The two of us are such good friends. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard her either?” Jamie shook her head, still looking lost.
“Well, whatever it was. I really liked it. You were very good.” Jamie felt that this was a bit of an understatement, but she didn’t know what else there was to say about it. Besides, Melina must know how good she is, she had hundreds of other guests telling her the same thing.
“Thank you.” Melina said, seemingly genuine. “Good to know I’ve got the Jamie Hutton approval.”
“So, Melina Mercury, can I ask you another question?” Jamie requested, trying to insert a little more confidence back into her voice.
“Go for it.” Melina leaned back into her seat.
“You are so talented. I’ve only heard you for a minute or so and I can tell. God know what you’re like with a full crowd and band behind you. So why are you surrounding yourself with a bunch of idiots? You’ve got, what was her name, Paula? Running around trying to get your attention like you’re her mother. And everyone else is just,” she paused. Melina turned to follow her eyesight and saw that two drunk guests were hanging dangerously off the balcony. “Everyone else is that.”
And that was the real question, wasn’t it? Melina knew the answer, as much as she liked to pretend she didn’t. Everyone in her life was leaving her. For families, loving husbands with 2.5 children and picket white fences. Something Melina could never have, even if she had wanted it. And then there was Mark, who wouldn’t even acknowledge her anymore. Melina was terribly alone, and she hated the feeling. But to admit it aloud felt almost childish. As if she couldn’t be left to her own devices for the few weeks King were not recording albums or touring without sulking like a petty child. The very thought that Melina Mercury was even capable of feeling the gaping loneliness she felt in her chest seemed preposterous to acknowledge.
“That’s a very long story,” Melina said instead.
“Well, if you’d like to get out of here… maybe get a drink somewhere a little bit quieter. I’d love to hear all about it.” Jamie suggested.
“Leave my own party?” Melina asked, placing her hand to her chest as if the suggestion alone was scandalous.
“Exactly. It’s your own party. You make the rules. And you don’t owe any of these people. Anything.” Jamie said, fiercely.
Melina considered the words carefully.
“Lead the way.”