Loveless(98)

‘It’s not because of you!’ said Pip much too quickly.

Both of them were panicking. Rooney started changing into her pyjamas just to give herself something to do. Pip began to gather up her own clothes from yesterday while determinedly keeping her eyes averted from Rooney, who was now just wearing pyjamas shorts.

I really, really wanted to laugh, but for both their sakes, kept my mouth shut.

Pip spent much longer than she needed to gathering her belongings and, thankfully, by the time she dared to turn round, Rooney had a pyjama top on and was sitting at her desk, attempting to look casual by scrolling through her phone.

‘Well …’ Pip looked at me, almost disoriented. ‘I’ll … see you later?’

‘Yeah,’ I said. I clenched my lips together so that I didn’t laugh.

Pip went to leave the room, but suddenly looked down at the pile of clothes she had in her hands and said, ‘Oh, shit, erm, I think – these aren’t mine?’ She pulled out a pair of leggings with the words ‘St John’s College’ on them. Rooney’s.

Rooney glanced over, feigning nonchalance. ‘Oh, yeah, those are mine.’ She held out a hand.

Pip had no choice but to approach Rooney and hand them over.

Rooney’s eyes stayed focused on Pip’s as she slowly approached. Pip held out the leggings and dropped them into Rooney’s open hand from a height that suggested she was nervous to put her hand anywhere near Rooney’s skin.

‘Thanks,’ said Rooney.

An awkward smile. ‘No problem.’ Pip hovered next to Rooney’s desk. ‘So … were you out last night, or …?’

Clearly Rooney was not expecting this. She clenched the leggings in her hand and said, ‘Oh, yeah! Yeah, I was just … me and some friends went out to Wiff Waff and then stayed in their room.’ Rooney pointed out of the window. ‘In a different building. I couldn’t be assed to walk back here.’

Pip nodded. ‘Cool. Wiff Waff … that’s the table-tennis bar, right?’

‘Yeah.’

‘That sounds fun.’

‘Yeah, it was good. I get so competitive, though.’

Pip smiled. ‘Yeah, I know.’

From the look on her face, this statement seemed to shake Rooney to her core.

‘Yes,’ said Rooney, strained, after a long pause. ‘So … you and Georgia had a sleepover?’

‘Oh, yeah, erm –’ Pip suddenly blanched. ‘I mean – just a platonic sleepover. Obviously. We didn’t – Georgia’s not –’

‘I know,’ said Rooney quickly. ‘Georgia’s not into sex.’

Pip’s mouth twitched. Rooney using the word ‘sex’ seemed to have sent Pip on to another level of panic.

‘Georgia’s right here,’ I said, literally unable to keep the giant smile off my face by this point.

Pip stepped back, her cheeks tinged red. ‘Um … anyway, yeah, I’d better go.’

Rooney looked dazed. ‘OK.’

‘I … well, it was nice to … um … yeah.’

‘Yeah.’

Pip opened her mouth to say something more, then shot a panicked glance towards me, and then she was out of the room without another word.

We waited a few seconds until we heard the door at the end of the corridor shut.

And then Rooney exploded.

‘Are you FUCKING JOKING ME, GEORGIA? Could you not have done me the tiniest courtesy of WARNING ME that the girl I like was going to BE HERE when I got back?’ She started pacing back and forth. ‘Do you think I would have waltzed in here wearing fucking LAST NIGHT’S CLOTHES with last night’s make-up smeared all over my FUCKING face had I known that Pip Quintana was going to be here with the most FUCKING adorable bedhead I have ever seen in my FUCKING life?’

‘You’re going to wake up the whole corridor,’ I said, but she didn’t even seem to hear me.

Rooney collapsed on to her side of the bed face first. ‘What sort of impression am I supposed to make wandering back into my own college room at seven a.m. like I’ve just been out fucking some person I never want to speak to again?’

‘Were you?’ I asked.

She lifted her head and gave me a sharp look. ‘NO! For fuck’s sake! I haven’t done that since before the Bailey Ball.’

I shrugged. ‘Thought I’d check.’

She rolled on to her back, spreading out her limbs as if willing herself to melt into the sheets. ‘I’m a mess.’

‘So’s Pip,’ I said. ‘You’re kind of made for each other.’

Rooney made a low grunting sound. ‘Don’t give me false hope. She’s never going to like me after what I did.’

‘Do you want my opinion?’

‘No.’

‘OK.’

‘Wait, yes. Yes I do.’

‘Pip likes you back and I think you should actually try talking to her normally again.’

She rolled on to her front. ‘Absolutely impossible. If you’re going to offer ideas, please offer realistic ones.’

‘Why is that impossible?’

‘Because I’m shit and she deserves better. I can’t fall in love, anyway. I’ll get over this. Pip should be with a nice person.’