Loveless(27)

‘Wh– don’t say that. There just weren’t many out girls when we were at school. You didn’t have many options.’

Pip had kissed two girls during the time we’d known each other – one of whom repeatedly denied it ever happened, and the other told Pip she didn’t actually like her that way, she’d just thought it was a joke between friends.

Pip looked down on to the sticky bar surface. ‘Yeah, but, like … I don’t even know how to, like … date. Like how does that even happen?’

I didn’t know what to say to her. It wasn’t like I had the answers, and even if I did, we were both too tipsy to make much sense of them.

‘Is there something bad about me?’ she said suddenly, looking me right in the eyes. ‘Am I … really annoying … am I just really annoying to everyone?’

‘Pip …’ I wrapped one arm round her shoulders. ‘No, God – no, of course you’re not. God. Why d’you think that?’

‘I dunno,’ she grumbled. ‘Just thought there might be a specific reason as to why I’m forever alone.’

‘You’re not forever alone when I’m here. I’m your best friend.’

She sighed. ‘Fine.’

I squeezed her, and then our drinks arrived.

‘D’you think, since I’m your best friend, you could try not despising Rooney with every fibre of your being? At least for tonight?’

Pip sipped her cider. ‘I will attempt it. I can make no promises.’

That would have to be good enough.

As soon as we’d finished our drinks, Rooney started dancing. She also seemed to be on speaking terms with various people in the club, so kept vanishing to socialise elsewhere. I felt bad for thinking it, but I actually didn’t mind, because I got to have some time to myself with my best friends.

And it turned out that clubbing was slightly better when you were with people you know and love. Pip managed to get us to do our usual stupid dance moves, and after that I was smiling, and laughing and almost felt happy. Rooney even joined us, and Pip managed to keep her dagger-eyes to a minimum. If it weren’t for the scary older students crowded around us and the ever-present threat of Rooney trying to set me up with a guy, I would have been having a genuinely good time.

Unfortunately, this only lasted half an hour before Rooney intervened.

Me, Jason and Pip had gone to sit down on some leather sofas when Rooney appeared with a guy I didn’t know. He was wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt, peach chinos and boat shoes.

‘Hey!’ Rooney shouted at me over the music. ‘Georgia!’

‘Yeah?’

‘This is Miles!’ She pointed at the guy. I looked at him. He smiled in a way that immediately annoyed me.

‘Hi?’ I said.

‘Come dance with us!’ Rooney held out a hand to me.

‘I’m tired,’ I said, because I was.

‘I think you and Miles would really get along!’ said Rooney. It was painfully obvious what she was trying to do.

And I did not want to go along with it.

‘Maybe later!’ I said.

Miles didn’t seem too bothered, but Rooney’s smile dropped a little. She stepped close to me so that Miles couldn’t hear us.

‘Just give him a try!’ she said. ‘You could just kiss him and see.’

‘She’s fine,’ said Jason’s voice from one side. I hadn’t realised he was listening in.

‘I’m just trying to help –’

‘I know,’ said Jason. ‘But Georgia doesn’t want to. You can see it on her face.’

Rooney struck him with a long stare.

‘I see,’ she said. ‘Interesting.’

Miles had already wandered off towards some friends, so Rooney turned to Pip, who was also listening to the conversation with a stern expression, and said, ‘Quintana? Shall we dance?’

She said it like she was challenging Pip to a duel, so Pip of course accepted and went to dance with Rooney like she had a point to prove. Rooney wasn’t sober enough to understand the point that Pip was trying to make: Rooney hadn’t got to her. Except she obviously had. I sank back into the sofa with Jason and we watched Rooney and Pip dance.

It almost looked like Pip was having fun, were it not for the Mr Darcy-like grimace on her face every time Rooney got too close to her. Lights flashed around them, and every few seconds they would be hidden from view by other dancing bodies and smiling faces – but then they’d return, and they’d be a little closer to each other, moving to the music. Rooney towered over Pip, mostly because of her giant heeled boots, but she was a few inches taller normally anyway, and when Rooney put her arms round her, I felt suddenly worried that they’d both just fall over, and then Pip started to protest, but must have found herself ignored, realising she’d got herself into this situation and now had to deal with it.

For a moment I thought Rooney was going to lean in and kiss her, but she didn’t.

Pip shot a glance at me, and I just smiled at her, then stopped watching them. They weren’t going to murder each other. Hopefully.

Jason and I ate a packet of crisps Jason had procured from the bar and we talked, and it reminded me of what we’d do on the school play dress-rehearsal days when we weren’t needed in a scene. Pip was always a lead role so she was busy the whole day, but Jason and I would get to sneak off and sit behind a curtain somewhere, eating snacks and watching TikTok compilations on my phone, trying not to laugh too loud.