Chapter 7

Shawna trudged into her room to find Lorraine and Briana there with Elspeth, sat round a table doing nails and chatting. Sidling over to the window she opened it, dragging the bag inside and taking out bottle of beer from where they'd been chilling in the fourth-floor wind.

"Anyone?" she asked, offering, but they all shook their heads.

"Rough day?" Elspeth asked, and the others both turned to face her.

"You could say that." She took a long, deep swig of the beer, shivering slightly at the cold. "Tony and I broke up this afternoon, which wasn't completely unexpected, but it's never nice. No acrimony, you know, no shouting and slagging, just a polite agreement that it wasn't really working.

So I thought 'I'll cheer myself up, I'll go and see Marcus, he makes me feel better about these things.'"

"I thought Hope was going to try and get him out tonight?" Elspeth pointed out.

"Exactly right." Shawna credited her with a big thumbs-up. "And I blew that date, too, walking in with my pathetic, sad-arsed sob-story. Two relationshiops in one day — good going even for me."

"He didn't send her away for you, did he?" Briana winced.

"No, he was the perfect gentleman... he stood there trying not to make a decision, not wanting to upset anyone, and Hope made the decision for him, said he should just invite me in. So we all sat there."

"It must have been horribly awkward." Lorraine looked sympathetic, Elspeth thoughtful. Briana's anger wasn't really very well suppressed.

"I know, Bri, I shouldn't have taken him up on the offer... I realised that about three minutes after I sat down, but... you know, it wasn't awkward at all. He was... well, Marcus wouldn't pick up on an awkward vibe if it crawled up his bum, you know." She shook the empty bottle and went over to get another. The other three deferred again.

"And she was really nice about it all. She still talked, to both of us... it was a really, really nice evening, just talking. Just... being with people, without having to live up to anyone's expectations or be the life of the party. That's what's good about Marcus, see, just taking it easy and still being liked. And Hope, too..."

"Well, at least it ended well, then." Elspeth managed, nudging the other two as they stared.

"Yeah..." Briana managed. "If... well, Marcus and Hope can always go out another night, right?"

"Oh, you know, I think he actually likes her. He could really have had a chance there, could really have found someone. He deserves it..."

"So... you don't sound hopeful."

"Is he stuck back on you again?" Briana couldn't hold back, and Shawna just laughed, half-way between drunk and crying.

"He always is, always was... sometimes I think he always will be... but now... now I think she likes me too. I didn't want to do that, I really didn't..." The others all snapped their full attention to her now. "You know... if I'd thought for a second... I mean, I didn't know she liked girls. And I didn't even try, I didn't do my hair or my makeup, I was just... quiet. Me... sedate, relaxed, dull me... And she fell for that."

"Bu..." Lorraine managed, but Briana snapped across her, obviously disbelieving.

"You didn't flirt at all?"

"Bu..." Lorraine tried again.

"Not even slightly... trust me, it's one of my most practiced skills."

"But... what do you mean Hope likes girls?" Lorraine finally managed, and Elspeth and Briana just turned to stare at her.

"You didn't know?" Shawna sat up a little, wobbled under the effects of the beer, and slumped back down again. "I thought you were her room-mate."

"I am, but... are you sure?"

"Um... it's true." Elspeth told her, quietly.

"Oh..."

"Is that a problem?"

"No... I mean... if she was going to try anything she would have done by now, right?"

"God, Lorraine, she's bisexual, that doesn't make her a rapist!" Briana snapped at her, transferring her anger easily from one to the other.

"I know... it just takes some getting used to. I thought... you know... you'd be able to tell."

"What, you thought the crew-cut and the dungarees would give it away?" Elspeth put in, and Lorraine nodded.

"Maybe... I don't know. I just thought it'd be a bit more... obvious."

"It doesn't make us bad people." Briana calmed a little, following Elspeth's lead.