The Nightscape

Followed And Watched

A week later, she met up with Guy in a nearby café, Anya being twenty minutes late, as per usual. Lyra refused to start the conversation or even order a drink until she arrived, not trusting that the two of them hadn't tried to set her up so she would have to talk to him alone. Luckily, just before she was about to walk out, Anya turned up, ordering a latte for herself and an espresso for Lyra, which went a little way to mollifying her anger at her being late and putting her in an awkward situation. 

"So, do you actually want to ally yourself with me, or are you only agreeing to this for the protection?" Guy asked. Lyra raised her eyebrows. 

"I'm sorry, but do you actually care about my answer?" She glanced at Anya for support, but she seemed happy to let the two of them hash this out by themselves, flicking shamelessly through tinder. 

"Yes, I do. Because Anya just kind of fell into an alliance with me and she was about as useful as a chocolate teapot for the first few years." Under the table, Anya kicked his shin without looking up, making him wince, though she didn't say a word. Lyra personally agreed, knowing full well that that was exactly something her friend would have done, though she didn't dare say it. 

"Fine, then. I definitely joined you because of a sudden and extreme change of heart and it has nothing to do with the fact that Hayden came into my home and threatened me and my dad." She said sarcastically, gaining a strange look from Anya. 

"Jeez, no one tells me anything." Anya commented and was promptly ignored. 

"Can you really not see where I'm coming from in all this?"

"I could ask the same of you!" Lyra cried out, frustrated and a little too loudly. A quick glare to the other's around her quickly curbed their interest, and she was careful to drop her tone after that. "My point is that no matter what I tell you, no matter if I lie to you or not, you already know that I'm only here to keep my family safe. So why don't you just tell me what being part of your stupid little gang means and what I have to do to get your protection and then we can all go our separate ways?" Anya raised an eyebrow. 

"We gotta split up? That sucks, I was gonna invite you out to dinner tonight." She commented with a sigh, playing it up to irritate her friend and try to make the situation a little lighter. The other two more or less ignored her in favour of their tense standoff. 

"It means that you do as I say, within reason. That includes not going into the Day or Night scape alone, and always answering your phone, and staying close to home-"

"You're starting to sound like an over controlling boyfriend, Guy, and I really don't like it." Lyra said with narrowed eyes, Anya snickering to herself. Guy's features contorted into a scowl for a moment before he got himself under control, but they had both seen it. 

"That's not it at all. At the end of the day, you're the most important member of our gang, so you need to be guarded more closely-"

"A good thing to remember, Lyra, is that who he decides needs the most protection varies depending on his mood. Sometimes its me, sometimes it's Ettie, and now it looks like you've been drawn in. Huh, weird how it's only the girls who get the protection, isn't it?" Anya said, her words barbed, and by the look of frustration on Guy's face, it wasn't the first time they'd argued over this.

"Anya, this really isn't the time to rehash this yet again-"

"It never is a good time, though, is it? And its not exactly rehashing it when you never gave a good enough excuse in the first place!" 

"For the final time, I care about you a hell of a lot, which is why I worry about you more than the other's, not because I don't think you can look after yourself, because I know that you can! And as for Ettie, she's my little sister, and it is my job to take care of her-"