One Hundred Names (Special Edition)

and I realised I didn’t like that very much, so yeah … What you say matters to me,’ she swallowed hard and decided to go for it, cringing and meaning it in equal amounts, ‘
you
matter to me.’
    He had that look. Oh God, he had that look. Her insides turned to mush again.
    There was a knock on the door.
    ‘Ignore it,’ Steve said firmly, and Kitty had every intention of obeying him right then. Whatever he wanted, whatever he said.
    But the knocking persisted.
    Steve shook his head.
    She sat there, a grin spreading on her face.
    ‘Hey, guys,’ they heard Sam’s voice, ‘are you in there?’
    Kitty had to stand up, but Steve dived for her and pinned her down on the bed.
    ‘I told you not to move,’ he whispered, his hair hanging down and tickling her face, as they were practically nose to nose.
    ‘Eh, if you’re in there, I’d really appreciate your help.’ He sounded anxious. Kitty’s eyes looked at the door quickly, then up at Steve.
    ‘I think I preferred it when you were a shit reporter,’ he whispered and climbed off her.
    She laughed and tidied herself before opening the door.
    ‘Sam, hi,’ she said. ‘Sorry for the delay.’
    Sam looked from Kitty to Steve but was so caught up in his own dilemma he didn’t notice anything odd. He walked straight into their room.
    ‘I take it you spoke to Mary-Rose.’
    ‘You knew?’
    ‘Well, she never said anything but I could tell.’
    ‘Tell what?’ Steve asked, from where he lay back on his own twin bed.
    ‘That she has feelings for him,’ Kitty said.
    ‘Oh, yeah, I could tell that.’
    ‘You could?’
    ‘Of course, it’s obvious.’
    ‘Shit.’ Sam sat on the bed, still in shock. ‘I’m such an idiot. I can’t believe I said all of those things. I had no idea …’
    ‘What did you say to her?’ Kitty asked, concerned now.
    ‘Well, what could I say? I had no idea. I was so surprised, I just said I had to take it all in and think about it.’
    Steve sucked in air.
    ‘Think about it?’ Kitty asked.
    ‘Well, what was I supposed to say?’ He looked from one to the other.
    ‘That you feel the same way too,’ Steve said, but he wasn’t looking at Sam, he was looking at Kitty.
    ‘But I don’t know if I do. I mean, I adore her, she’s my best friend, I’d do anything for her, I’ve just never thought of her in that way.’
    ‘Yeah, well, start thinking about it, buddy,’ Steve said.
    ‘But is it possible, for us, after being friends—’
    ‘Yes,’ Steve and Kitty said in unison. They caught each other’s eyes and smiled.
    Sam looked at them both again, studied them, glancing from one to the other, and Kitty thought he’d finally got it, that the penny had finally dropped, that he would leave them in peace.
    ‘Do you mind if I sleep in here tonight and you sleep with Mary-Rose? She won’t let me in the room and they’ve no more rooms left,’ he said.
    Those words Kitty did not want to hear. She wanted to say no, she was so frustrated, thinking of the possibilities of what could have happened that night, in that terribly squeaky bed. She looked at Steve and he was silently smothering himself with a pillow. Kitty laughed.
    ‘Sure, Sam. You can have my bed. Just don’t snore or your room-mate will take your life.’
    After the events of the day were eventually quietening in Kitty’s head, she felt herself finally drifting closer to sleep when the sound of music coming from outside brought her to the surface again.
    She looked across at Mary-Rose who had finally fallen asleep after shedding buckets of tears, then she got out of bed and padded across the creaking floor to see outside.
    ‘Mary-Rose,’ she hissed at her sleeping room-mate. ‘You have to see this!’
    Mary-Rose groggily raised herself onto her elbows and looked around the room, confused as to where she was.
    ‘Look!’ Kitty said, louder now, excited.
    Mary-Rose finally registered the music, got out of bed and joined her at the window. It took her a moment, as it did for Kitty to take the scene in. Slowly, a smile crawled onto her face and she looked at Kitty with delight.
    ‘Let’s get down there.’
    Kitty threw on the clothes she had abandoned before getting into bed and ran downstairs, out of the guesthouse and out onto the road. The night was still, the small town completely shut down, everybody at home and in bed. Above them the clear sky twinkled with a million stars.
    St Margaret’s bus had been moved from the car park, and was parked in