7. Lucy

Flopping down onto the sofa for what had to be the hundredth time that day, Lucy groaned, having realised during her flop that she needed a drink and that this meant getting back up again for the hundred-and-first time. She looked around, trying to see who she could convince to bring her a drink. Steve was standing by the kettle. Perfect.

         “Steeeve?” she started, elongating his name as much as she thought necessary and using her ‘damsel in distress’ voice (which she had perfected at 16 for use in just this type of situation) to show him that helping her would make him her knight-in-shining-armour forever. Steve, knowing full well what she was about to say, simply looked at her. She batted her eyelashes at him, since she knew that she wouldn’t actually have to say anything for him to know what she wanted and that he was probably still feeling guilty enough to do whatever she asked. He went to say something, probably some joke-sarcastic comment about being Lucy’s slave but Carter, coming in from the hallway at about 100mph once he had heard Lucy say Steve’s name, cut him off.

         “Baby girl, everything okay?” he asked Lucy, with a puppy-dog look in his eyes that was probably supposed to be concern for her wellbeing but in fact just served to irritate her in her tired, post-hangover, Sunday evening state of mind.

         “Fine thanks, I was just going to ask Steve to make me tea since I only just sat down again and he loves me so very, very much,” she explained, turning to Steve for the last part and batting her eyelashes again while reverting to the voice. Steve went to laugh and turn to the kettle but Carter interrupted again.

         “I’ll make you tea, my sweetheart, because I-“

         “Aw thanks, babe,” Lucy interrupted him before he could try to say the ‘L-word’. Steve looked at her half knowingly, half amused as Carter spun round like an eager teacher’s pet to make tea. Don’t, Lucy mouthed at Steve, who was smirking at her reaction. He knew her aversion to that word, and especially to that word coming from Carter. As the kettle boiled, Lucy tried to ignore Carter gazing at her. Steve thumped him on the back perhaps less gently than he ought, partly to stop him gazing and partly to get his attention and ask for a coffee, since he was boiling the kettle anyway. Carter grimaced. He didn’t like Steve. He didn’t like the fact that he and Lucy were so close and he definitely didn’t like the fact that their friends were always making jokes about Lucy and Steve being together. If Carter had it his way, he and Lucy would just be alone, the two of them, forever, with nothing to distract them but their love.

       Carter kept trying to tell Lucy that he loved her. She must not realise, he thought, or she wouldn’t let herself get distracted. Obviously she loves me back but doesn’t know how to express it. He looked up from the mugs only to be dismayed by what he saw. Lucy had stretched out on the sofa but her legs were over Steve, who had stretched out at the other end, facing her. They were laughing together, either at some joke or at the T.V. Carter brought the drinks over, resisting the temptation to ‘accidentally’ spill Steve’s on him and inserted himself next to Lucy, fidgeting until he had his arms around her and she had been forced to remove her legs from Steve’s.

6. Georgia

James and Tricia were sleeping on the sofas, both making strange purring noises. Georgia could see the spare mattresses on the floor, but Michael and Sue were in the kitchen standing with Lucy and Jill hadn’t come back last night, not with them and not by herself. None of them were talking, but there was no way the Browns could have not heard the commotion. Georgia could see that Michael desperately wanted to put his arm around Lucy but couldn’t, partly because his sister was there and partly because he didn’t feel right putting his arm around her when she was wearing Carter’s shirt. Of course, Georgia couldn’t see into his mind, but she knew pretty much how his brain worked and she could see his arm twitching towards Lucy every so often. Sue looked up and smiled a relieved smile when she saw Georgia.

         “Hey,” Georgia said softly, “so how is everyone?”

         “Hungover,” replied Sue. A strange grunt came from Michael, which Sue translated, “Mikey’s lost his voice and he feels like a car has hit him in the face three times.”

         “How do you know that if he can’t talk?”

         “I just do,” Sue shrugged, as did Michael.

         “It’s their weird twin telepathy thing,” piped up Lucy, “Plus anyone would feel like that after the amount of Tequila Michael drank last night.” The girls laughed and Michael shoved Lucy playfully, earning himself a retaliation shove and making Lucy laugh for the first time that morning. There was a short silence after her laugh which was relief tinged with awkward hesitation just in case she started crying again. Even Lucy looked concerned. Georgia took the silence as an opportunity and grabbed Lucy’s hand, pulling her outside and facing little resistance.

         “Thank goodness it’s summer,” said Georgia as the two girls sat on the wall outside the house, “Else we’d both be freezing.” Lucy laughed and looked at herself and then at her friend.

         “Gee, we match!” she giggled, pointing out that both of the girls were wearing pastel-coloured men’s shirts and bare legs with their hair in messy buns. It looked like a uniform and Georgia and Lucy laughed and began to reminisce about the hideous shirts they had been forced to wear to school for so many years.

         “Remember when we always had to be sure our shirts were tucked in so Mrs. Willows wouldn’t take our jumpers?” Georgia giggled.

         “Remember how long your skirt used to be?” Lucy giggled, slightly louder.

         “Remember how short yours was?” Georgia retaliated, laughing even harder.

         “Remember when Jill’s became non-existent and she got sent home?” The two girls were roaring with laughter now, but they calmed down soon enough when their minds wandered to the morning’s events.

         “And Claire was so cute and ditsy.”

         “She still is.”

         “You know she doesn’t mean it,” soothed Georgia, “She tries her best but it’s a lapse in judgement and she doesn’t mean to upset you, neither of them do.”

         “I don’t know why I care so much. It doesn’t directly affect me so I should be fine with it as long as I don’t have to see it.”

         “It’s just because you know what they’re both like. You know they don’t actually want to be together, it’s just a mistake. Claire always regrets it, at least. Steve wouldn’t tell anyone except you.”

         “He doesn’t tell me. He rarely talks to me about her because I don’t let him. She tells me not to and I don’t want to anyway.” She sighed, “I wouldn’t mind it, I’d be fine with it if they didn’t regret it so much and if it didn’t make everything so awkward and make them hate each other. Every time they do this I end up clearing up after their mess when it all… goes pear-shaped.”

         “Impressive that you’re not swearing,” said Georgia.

         “New year’s resolution.”

         “In June?”

         “Just to be different.” The girls laughed quietly again. Georgia put her arm around Lucy, who fidgeted slightly to fit better into the embrace.

         “You need to stop caring about other people and be more concerned with yourself. Hang on, haven’t we had this conversation before?”

         “Only every time I’ve been upset over the past 8 years,” said Lucy, “So it’s rare… or not so rare.”

         The girls sat like that for a good 5 minutes before they both got cramp and decided to move. Georgia sighed to herself. Nothing like a good cuddle on a Sunday morning before I have to leave and go all the way back to Nottingham with Tricia. As she followed Lucy back into the house she looked around at all her friends once more. Joe had come downstairs and was sitting with James, Margaret, Tricia, Michael and Sue, who had shoved all the mattresses together and piled cushions and blankets up on top of them. Georgia smiled.

         “Right, nobody gets dressed until we’ve watched at least 2 shitty films in a row. Where are the others?” 10 minutes later they were still arguing about film choices but they had been joined by Steve and Claire (Carter had gone home) who were sitting at opposite ends of the group. Lucy, in her typical fashion, was pretending nothing had happened and crawling over everyone, trying to bring some order to the chaos and quite happy to be failing miserably.

6. Claire

Steve’s knock was really more of a tentative tap. Silence followed it but he waited. He knew Lucy. This would all blow over. She was a forgiver, she couldn’t hold grudges, couldn’t stay angry, especially not at her best friends. He and Claire had done this before, ‘relapsed’, and Lucy had always forgiven them. Please don’t let this time be any different. The door opened and Steve fumbled, having been about to throw  his arms around Lucy as she opened the door and beg for her forgiveness (which usually worked). This time, though, Carter was standing in the doorway, shirtless and hungover, with a strange mix of concern, confusion and anger on his face. Damn, thought Steve, it IS different.

         “Um, hey Carter,” Steve said cautiously, “can I talk to Luce?”

         “No,” came the stern reply, “she doesn’t want to talk to you. She’s very upset and you’ve made her cry. What did you do?”

         “Carter!” shouted Lucy’s voice from inside her room, “don’t tell him that! And if you needed to know, you’d know.” Carter looked at Steve and shrugged before shutting the door in his face. Steve tapped again and was greeted once more by Carter.

         “I just want to talk to you, Luce,” he yelled past the rower in the doorway, “I want to apologise for being an idiot.” Suddenly, Carter was pushed out of the way and Lucy strode past him, wearing his shirt and not looking at Steve. She hadn’t taken her makeup off last night and now Steve could see there were tear-tracks in the smudges of her mascara beneath her eyes. She walked to the stairs and went down into the kitchen without making eye contact with anyone. Claire, having dressed herself (resisting the instinct to put Steve’s shirt on) in her outfit from last night, watched this unfold from the stairs separating the floor where the boys’ rooms were situated from the middle landing, which was where Lucy’s room was. When Lucy had disappeared down the stairs to the kitchen, Claire moved furtively down to where Steve was alternating between staring at Carter and the empty staircase.

         “She’s seriously pissed, isn’t she?” she asked.

         “No, Claire, she just really wanted a cuppa,” Steve said sarcastically.

         “Alright, sorry,” apologised Claire, feeling snubbed, “I was just wondering how pissed she was. Should we go downstairs?”

         “Definitely not,” came a voice from behind them. Turning around, they saw Georgia standing at the door To Neil’s room, wearing his shirt. She went past Claire and Steve to Carter, “’scuse me, I left all my clothes in here.” Coming back out of Lucy’s room with a pair of jeans on, she carried a bundle of Claire’s clothes. Claire took them from her. Georgia was very calm and it reassured Claire to know that not everyone was furious at her (and Steve).

         “Thanks, Gee. Are you going to go downstairs?”

         “I’ll talk to her. Neil told me what happened,” she looked between Steve and Claire, who both looked down at the floor to avoid her gaze, “Honestly you guys, timing.” Claire knew what she meant. With the stress that organising the party had caused her, coupled with her confrontation with Jill last night, this couldn’t have been the best wake-up call for Lucy. She began to feel really guilty. Steve, though, was feeling even guiltier because he knew another, much bigger stress that Lucy was attempting to deal with at the moment. He and Claire hadn’t made eye contact all morning, they both knew what a big mistake they had made. Carter went back inside Lucy’s room, closing the door behind him and leaving Claire and Steve alone. She smoothed down her curls and fidgeted, he stayed stock-still and cleared his throat.

         “I’m going to have a shower,” Claire announced, trying to make it seem as if it was to no one in particular. She marched off quickly, then slowed down slightly when she realised that she was alone with her thoughts and had no access to shampoo since she didn’t dare use Lucy’s bathroom. She decided her best bet was to ask Joe but then realised that she hadn’t seen Joe all morning. She knocked on his door and went in when she heard his sleepy voice telling her to do so. If he was asleep, he doesn’t know what happened. His room is a whole room over from Steve’s. But one look at his face and she knew he had heard everything. Her heart sank.

         “I didn’t mean for-” she began.

         “Come here,” Joe cut her off before any sort of gushing could occur. She ran and hurled herself onto his bed, curling up in his arms and beginning to silently sob.

         “Why do I always do such stupid things?” she cried, her voice muffled by being buried in Joe’s chest.

         “It’s okay, babe,” Joe soothed her, “It’s all going to be okay. She knows you don’t mean any harm, she loves you.” This only made Claire cry harder.

         “I love her too! I just don’t think before I do things or say stuff!”

         “She knows, babe. We all do. You’ve never been spiteful. Everything’s going to be okay.”

I hope you're right, Claire thought.

6. Lucy

There was a banging coming from Lucy’s door. She groaned and forced herself out of bed and over to the door. Seeing Neil standing there, she raised her eyebrow. Instead of laughing, though, Neil just said, “We have a problem.”

         “What is it?” she said in a tired voice, trying to convey how unwelcome this intrusion was to her and her headache. Apparently failing to convey this with her eyes, she said, “You realise I’m more hung-over than anyone else in this house, right?” a groan came from the bed, “Except maybe lightweight Carter over there,” she added, sniggering slightly then immediately regretting it as her throbbing head punished her.

         “Just come with me, I'll show you,” Neil said. the lump in the bed which Neil now knew was Carter moved and emitted yet another groan.

         “You can stay here, Carter,” Neil told it, “Only Lucy should see this.” Lucy looked at  him, becoming more and more concerned by not only his secrecy but also his stern, forlorn attitude. She followed him obediently down the corridor and up the stairs to Steve’s door. He stopped and turned to her.

         “What is it?” she asked again, this time in a worried tone, “Has something happened to Steve?” Neil shook his head and pointed at the door. Lucy walked to the door and opened it slowly, her mind swimming with all the possible scenarios she was about to see, many of them involving Steve missing limbs. Neil shushed her from outside as she walked in and turned to look at Steve’s bed. Seeing no bloodstained sheets her fear lifted a little and her vision cleared enough to see that there was another body beside him. Get in, Steve. She thought to herself, smirking again. However, when she looked closer, she thought she recognised the curly brown hair spread over the pillow next to him, though the face was hidden by the duvet. Looking around, she began to recognise certain articles of clothing which were strewn all over the floor. And then, I gave that skirt as a birthday present about a month ago. To Claire. As she realised what she was really seeing, she heard Neil rushing up behind her, probably to attempt to stop her from doing what she did next.

         “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!” she screamed, ignoring the pain that the rush of anger and the cry caused her aching head. Neil’s arms grabbed her, stopping her from running forward and doing whatever she would have done had she reached the criminals in the bed. The two guilty parties shot up and Claire screamed as she realised what was happening and attempted to burrow under the duvet. Steve was paralysed with fear and guilt. Lucy continued to shout at the top of her lungs, “CLAIRE ROBERTS AND STEVEN LEWIS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

         “Lucy, calm down, please!” Neil half-cried, trying to hold her steady and soothe her as much as possible. Eventually she stopped struggling and he relented. Seeing her staying still and hoping that meant she was calm again, Steve nudged Claire to come out from under the covers. She poked her head out but kept the duvet wrapped around her in what Lucy saw as a feeble attempt to preserve what shreds of dignity she had left after being found in Steve’s bed. Again. Steve looked from Lucy to Neil to Claire and back again, speechless. Lucy’s head began to throb again. She sighed and turned on her heel, shoving Neil out of the way as gently as she could in her heightened state of emotion. Stalking out of the room, she heard Neil start to follow her. She spun around.

         “Don’t you dare,” she almost hissed. Neil tried to sound reasonable.

         “Lucy, why can’t they-“

         “I said don’t you dare try to defend them! They were drunk and stupid and I give it thirty seconds before they realise the full extent of what has happened and of what they’ve put me through this morning.” Neil went to try and hug her but she spun back around and stormed back downstairs. She slammed her bedroom door and exhaled angrily. Carter shot up and asked as tentatively as he could, “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

         “It’s like all my friends have clubbed together and just decided that it has been too long since my last breakdown,” she sighed, feeling slightly comforted (but not much) by the warm duvet and Carter’s presence.

         “What are you talking about? They wouldn’t be intentionally hurtful to you,” he reasoned, “Your friends love you.”

         “I know,” said Lucy, “and I love them too. It’s just that everything seems to be going wrong like it used to when we were still in school and they know how badly depressed I used to get. I thought everyone was finished with the drama.” She sighed and buried herself deeper in the covers. Carter put his arms around her and for a moment she thought she could pretend that nothing bad had happened, and that people had learnt their lessons the first time round.

         Then, reality came knocking.

5. Georgia

Joe was seething. Georgia could practically see steam coming from the top of his head.

         “Joseph Lane, calm down. You're grinding your teeth again. Breathe in, breathe out, in the nose, out the mouth. What happened?”

         “I don’t know fully, that’s what I'm trying to find out,” said Joe through gritted teeth.

         “Well nobody’s going to tell you anything if you yell at them. What have you heard?” Georgia asked, trying to sound relaxed so as to calm Joe down.

         “All I know is that Lucy spoke to Jill and Claire and now she’s crying. From what I could gather between sobs, Jill and Claire both did something to upset her. I want to know what it is.” Georgia paused, realising that Joe knew less than she did. She turned to James, who was looking at her expectantly.

         “I’m going with Joe to find out what happened after we left,” she told him.

         “We’d only been gone a minute when Lucy got upset, it must have been something extreme,” James pointed out, “Steve and Neil have just walked off as well and I think Claire must have gone into the loos because she walked in that direction. You’ll have to ask Jill.”

         “Damn,” said Georgia, “I was hoping to not have to speak to her.”

         “Come on,” Joe urged, “We can find the others later.” They walked over to the bar, leaving James with Tricia and Margaret. Georgia hurried to keep up with Joe, who wasn’t the tallest person but walked in quick, long strides when he was angry. As he approached the bar, Jill turned around and saw him.

         “Joey!” she cried, flailing her arms in the air in an attempt to get him to hug her. Her newly-full glass spilled out onto the floor and Joe stopped just short of her reach. He looked at her dead-on.

         “Jill, what did you say to Lucy?” he demanded.

         “Joey-Joey-Joe-Joe” she cried, indignant and sounding vaguely distressed, “I didn’t say anything! She just started crying and ran off. You know what a drama queen she can be sometimes.” Joe looked at her sardonically, waiting for some indication that she understood what an ironic thing that was to say. Seeing no flicker of realisation, he probed further, trying to find out what had happened before that had led to Lucy, who never usually allowed herself to break emotionally, especially in public, breaking down and running off. Ever since they were sixteen, Jill had been able to affect Lucy in such a way that broke down all her barriers and walls, and took advantage of her overly-trusting, giving nature.

         “I was so confused,” Jill was saying, “because I was just telling her that I forgave her for the whole thing with Steve because I’d tried to do the same with Neil so we were even.” Georgia, who had been trying to cut Jill off throughout this whole explanation, finally succeeded before Jill could drag Claire’ name into it again.

         “I think everyone’s just been drinking a bit too much again!” said Georgia, trying to placate the situation. Joe turned to her and tried to sound as if he was controlling his anger.

         “I haven’t drunk anything, how about you, Jilly-Jilly-Jill-Jill?” he asked, turning now to a swaying Jill, who was sitting on her barstool, clinging to the seat as if it were the only thing keeping her anchored to the earth. She was alternating between looking confused, blissful and afraid as she became slightly more aware of her situation. Having finished her drink, she turned to the bartender and demanded another cocktail with a  ridiculous name and terrible taste.

         “You’ve been cut off,” he told her, “it’s water or nothing for you now.” Jill looked shocked. She looked at him pathetically and whined, “Why not?” like a spoilt child who had just been refused their way.

         “Orders from higher up,” he told her.

         “Higher up?” asked Joe.

         “Well she’s not actually working tonight but I'm still inclined to do what she says.” Jill looked at him sullenly and began to attempt to moan and flirt her way to another drink. When she was refused continuously, she huffed and puffed at got off her stool. Shakily, she made her way to the door and left. Joe looked at Georgia, confused.

         “Gee, Gee,” he said, “do you think Luce is back?”

         “I think she knew Jill would leave if she couldn’t drink any more. Come on, let’s go find her so I can finally have my birthday with my friends.”

5. Claire

Claire’s phone bleeped at her. Tricia and Margaret looked over her shoulders at the distress message from Georgia.

         “Oh god,” groaned Claire, “Not again.”

         “This seems to happen every time Jill and Lucy are together,” Tricia pointed out. Margaret agreed, “They need to keep away from each other.”

         “Come on, we have to go and help before someone starts getting really angry,” Claire said, “This won’t end well if it gets violent.” Even in her advanced state of tipsiness, Claire managed to lead Tricia and Margaret quickly over to the bar, where they found quite an unusual scene.

         Lucy was half off her stool, being held from behind by the shoulders by Neil, with a look of pure frustration tinged with what Claire recognised as the weariness that Jill always brought out in her. Jill was sat, drunk and oblivious, on her own bar stool, explaining (Claire began to pick up as she got closer) how proud she was of herself for confessing to and forgiving Lucy. Georgia had inserted herself between the girls’ stools with a hand on each girl’s leg and kept glancing worriedly at Neil, whose expression was a mixture of strained (presumably from holding Lucy back), confused and concerned. Steve stood next to Neil, closer to being in between the girls and trying to cut Jill off as she rambled while James was standing next to him, almost beside Jill but still turned towards her so as not to appear as if he was on her side. Claire hurried over, flanked by Tricia and Margaret.  She tapped James on the shoulder as none of them had noticed her approaching and he moved out of the way, a look of thanks on his face, to stand between Steve and Neil.

         “What in the heck has happened now?” she demanded. Jill looked elated at her arrival and cried out, “Yes! Claire knows what I’m talking about, you did it to her too!” Claire looked immediately at Steve, beginning to comprehend the situation. Jill continued, “You sab… sabby… mucked up her and Steve just like you did to me! Tell her, Clairey baby!” Claire winced at the unwanted nickname but said calmly to Jill, “I never said I thought Lucy was responsible for Steve and me breaking up.”

         “Yes you did,” asserted Jill (in as assertive a voice as she could manage through her slurred words), “You say it all the time when you drinky drinky drink!” Panic and anger surged through Claire’s mind. So you can remember what I say when we’re both drunk but you can’t ever remember to clear up after yourself at home. So many dirty plates everywhere but THIS is a priority in your mind. Claire realised that everyone was staring at her but didn’t understand why until she saw Lucy sit down again with a hurt look on her face. Neil’s grasp of her shoulders softened from restraint to comfort.

         “You really said that?” Lucy asked Claire dejectedly, “And to Jill?” Claire realised she had spoken out loud instead of to herself. She moved to Lucy and grabbed her hands, speaking in as apologetic a tone as she could.

         “I was drunk and she brought it up and I was suggestible because of the drinking but I never meant it, you know I would never think that!” she searched for Lucy’s eyes, which were avoiding hers. Then she heard James speak from behind her, suggesting that everybody go and look at something really interesting over on the other side of the bar, except for Claire, Jill and Lucy. Claire stayed where she was, holding Lucy’s hands and trying to catch her eye. She heard Georgia agreeing with James, but Steve and Neil stayed where they were.

         “No,” said Neil simply, “I’m staying.”

         “Me too,” agreed Steve, “I’m staying.”

         James, Georgia, Margaret and Tricia hesitated awkwardly for a moment but all silently decided it was best to let the five of them work it out between themselves. They walked away slowly, casting glances back at the unchanging situation behind them. Nobody there spoke. When they had gone, Jill piped up, “See? You all thought I was making it up and being a bitch but Claire agreed with me the whole time!”

         “No!” cried out Claire, “She’s lying!”

         “I am not!” shouted Jill, sounding genuinely hurt. Claire felt something break inside of her.

         “Of course you are!” she yelled at Jill, “You’re always lying! You're a pathological liar who gets a kick out of bitching and making up stories to get other people in trouble. We put up with it at first because it wasn’t that bad and it was only about Sue, who wasn’t very nice anyway at that  point. But then, you started taking advantage of other people as well. The things you used to say about Joe were horrible, and then you apparently decided that it should be your mission in life to try and do anything in your power to hurt Lucy, even if it meant getting other people in trouble at the same time! You’re a selfish bitch, Jill, and all you ever want is glory and attention even though nobody likes you!”

         There was a silence. Claire stood there, panting while Neil and Steve looked between her and Jill, who was sat, motionless and slightly more sober now, staring at Claire with a gobsmacked expression. Lucy had gone from staring at the floor behind Jill with her head up to hanging her head to hide her face. The silence was broken by a sob which emanated from her. Claire spun round to face her again, having turned to yell at Jill.

       “Luce?” she tried. Lucy sobbed again and stood up, shaking off Neil’s hands but keeping her head down. She ran, at first towards the toilets but swerving when she was halfway there. The group at the bar looked to where she was heading and saw Carter, talking to Joe. Lucy ran towards them and threw her arms around them both. Joe said something to her and, following her response, detached himself and started to walk determinedly towards the bar. As he walked past Georgia she grabbed his arm and spoke to him. From what Claire could see, she was trying to calm him down. She desperately wanted to ask if anyone else could tell what was going on but the awkward silence that had been engulfing the group since Lucy had run away was too much to break. That was, until Steve grunted slightly and walked over to Georgia and Joe. Neil followed him. Not wanting to be left with Jill, Claire went to the toilets to hide for a while as she wasn’t sure whether or not everyone hated her and it wasn’t in her nature to ask.

5. Lucy

         “Cartwright!” slurred Jill with a very fake, very drunk grin stretched across her face, “Can I have ‘a word’?” She put finger quotes around ‘a word’ and her drink sloshed out from the glass in her hand to the floor. Lucy turned and sighed at the sound of her voice.

         “Jill, you’re totally pissed,” she said bluntly, “have some water.”

         “I’m fine!” Jill protested, “You know I can handle my drinky-winky super good!” she said, spilling her cocktail all over her shoes and not seeming to notice. Lucy looked at Georgia and raised an eyebrow at Jill’s antics. Georgia laughed and excused herself. She looked around for Steve and hurried over to where he was standing with Neil and James.

         “We may have a problem,” she said, gesturing to where Lucy and Jill were. The three turned to look. James turned to look at Steve and Neil.

         “Fiver says it’s about one of you two.”

         “Well what else would it be about? They haven’t spoken for about a month and Jill’s drunk. It’s what she loves to talk about when she’s drunk,” agreed Steve. He and Neil exchanged worried glances and Steve wondered aloud if they should go over there and try and break it up before it came to blows. They decided to try moving closer to listen in subtly.

         “…because I still love you as my best friend, I would never want to lose you, you mean so much to me,” Jill was saying, “But I need to get this off my chest, you know?” Lucy smiled and nodded. She turned to the barman and ordered another drink. She was going to need it.

         “Of course, babe,” she said to Jill, “Any time you need to.” Jill’s face got very serious and she looked Lucy dead in the eyes, standing as still as she could manage. She took a moment to think about the words she was trying to get out before saying, “It’s about Neil.” Steve high-fived James, a feeling of relief and victory washing over him. Neil sighed and Georgia patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. They were about to try and find somewhere to hide him when they heard Jill saying something shocking.

         “I never liked him. I only tried to get him because you liked him and he liked you! I never really wanted to go out with him. I’m sorry.” Lucy was having a hard time figuring out what had just happened. Part of what she was experiencing was a relief that she hadn’t done anything wrong (usually when she got confronted by Jill, Lucy discovered that she’d committed some sort of heinous crime which she, funnily enough, never had any memory of). The rest of her, though, was bewildered.

         “But, you never did anything with Neil. You always said you didn’t like him. You were constantly complaining that he drove a wedge between us as friends and that my going out with him was the reason we weren’t as close anymore. I don’t get what you mean.” Jill looked around and then at the floor. Lucy tried again, “Jill?” she probed. Jill sighed and lifted her gaze to meet Lucy’s eyes.

         “I tried to get him to pick me over you,” she admitted, “When you first went out with him, I tried to get close to him as a friend so that I could try and take him like you took Steve from me!”

         Lucy was taken aback. Next to them, attempting to subtly spy on their conversation, Georgia and James gasped and Steve groaned at the revelation that he was involved, too, while Neil was more confused than anyone else.

         “Wait, so is this about me ‘taking’ Steve from you by being friends with him four years ago even though I’ve told you so many times that nothing did or will happen there and I was friends with him before you two had even met, or about you going after Neil while I was going out with him so that you could try and do to me what you imagine I did to you with Steve, four years ago?” Lucy asked, getting gradually more enraged with every word so that by the end she was nearly seething. The eavesdropping foursome overheard and realised from Lucy’s tone that intervention was necessary. Steve and Neil shot up and darted over, followed swiftly by Georgia and James.

         “Sorry, couldn’t help overhearing,” said Steve, “Mainly because we were trying to, but still.”

         “I was just letting Lucy know that we’re even now,” Jill told him.

         “Even? EVEN?” Lucy nearly roared, “What the f-“

         “We didn’t realise you were uneven in the first place,” said Neil, grabbing Lucy’s shoulders as he did so and sitting her back down.

         “Well, she saboo… sab… sabut… ruined my relationship with Steve, so I made us even by trying to do the same to her,” slurred Jill, “But I guess you two were just too good at being a couple so I couldn’t. Pooey. But it was for Claire as well.” Steve groaned again. Georgia showed him her phone, having just texted Claire JILL VS LUCY AT BAR OVER STEVE/NEIL. HELP. X. If anyone could try to save the situation now, Claire could.