FOR LONDON [1: TOM HOLLAND]

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Tom is supposed to be picking her up in twenty minutes; she should be ready by now. But the truth is that she's not — not at all — and for once, it has nothing to do with him in the slightest.

Maria crosses one leg over another, fingers smoothing out the dark grey of her sweatpants to distract herself for a moment before she fixes her gaze onto Iris. Her supposedly cold-hearted roommate's eyes are rimmed with red, giving away the fact that she's been crying for the best part of an hour now, but won't tell her best friend what's wrong.

"Iris," she pleads, hating the way that Iris looks so small, curled up in the corner of their shitty worn couch.

"Go get ready," she responds, rolling her eyes and letting out a breath.

Maria stands her ground, and fixes the other girl with the best glare she can manage.

"You're upset." She says, in way of simply no.

"Oh — Oh! Now you wanna start noticing shit, huh?" Iris starts, sitting up a little straighter. Perhaps she'd sound angry, if it weren't for the way her voice is cracking.

Maria's eyes widen somewhat, and then her brows furrow, more confused than anything else.

She hesitates, but doesn't reply; unsure of how to proceed here.

"What did I do?" She eventually settles on asking, voice far softer than she means for it to be.

Iris makes a noise of frustration and clenches her hands into fists, smacking them off her thighs. "Me and Karis!" She exclaims, and though it's not an entire thought, she doesn't continue.

Maria blinks.

"What about you and Karis?"

As soon as she's said it, she knows it was the wrong thing to have vocalised.

"This! This is exactly what you do. All the time, Mar!"

"I —," she pauses, resists the urge to reach out to Iris and sits further back in her seat, "I don't know what you're talking about, Iris."

The way Iris's eyes widen and her bottom lip shakes before she bites it to hide that makes Maria's stomach drop.

"We're dating, Mar! We have been for months. And every time I so much as mention that, you shut me down and I don't think I can take it anymore! You're supposed to be my best friend, for crying out loud —"

Whatever she's about to say next is cut off by a sob, and the silence that follows that single sound is awful.

"You guys are dating?"

Iris swallows thickly, and levels Maria with the most incredulous look she can manage. "Are you serious right now? You didn't know?" She sounds sad, more than anything else.

"No, I —" she's an idiot. How many times over the past year has Iris mentioned date nights, and a girlfriend, and — god, no wonder they're sat here like this right now. "Yesterday — when I. . . I said you were just two good friends, didn't I?" That was the final straw, doesn't need to be said.

"Oh my god," that's Iris, descending into the kind of laughter than still half-sounds like a sob, "You really are the most oblivious person on planet earth, aren't you?" She doesn't say it to be cruel; she's just in utter disbelief, close enough to teasing.

"I think I might be," Maria agrees, shaking her head.

"I have been so worried to have this talk with you. I've been so confused, Maria. I thought — god, I'm stupid — I've sat here thinking you disapprove of me and her all this time, when in truth you haven't been brushing us off, you've just reached all time record high levels of dumbass!"