The Starling Vigilante [Watty's 2015 Award Winner]

Chapter 31

'Hey, Aria!' Laurel greeted me as I joined her at the Grind & Jolt Cafe, out first meeting place seeming to have stuck.

'Hi,' I said, sitting down at Laurel's table. As I was about to ask what she wanted, I spotted a coffee in her hand. 'I'll just go and order my coffee.'

'I already have,' Laurel said, smiling. Standing up, Laurel made her way to the counter and collected my coffee. 'Here you go.'

'Thankyou!' I exclaimed. This small gesture was one of the only acts of kindness I had been given since I arrived in Starling, and although it was only a coffee, it meant a great deal to me. 'How much-'

'I've already paid,' Laurel smiled again. I felt bad for her buying me it, but I couldn't turn down her favour either.

'So, how's your week been?' I asked her, making conversation.

'Nothing special really happened,' Laurel said. 'Except from meeting you. And spending time with Ollie.'

She really seemed to love Oliver Queen, no matter what everyone else said.

'How did you meet Oliver?' I asked, genuinely interested. I wondered how Laurel ended up dating a billionaire.

'We're childhood friends,' Laurel explained. 'I've known him since I started Junior School, actually. I never knew that one day I'd be dating him, though.'

'When did you start dating?' I asked, trying to be interested in Laurel' s life.

'Three months ago,' Laurel said proudly, beaming with a wide smile. 'Luckily he picked me instead of my sister.'

'You have a sister?' I asked, almost surprised. For some reason I had assumed Laurel was an only child.

'Yeah,' Laurel said, the tone in her voice indicating there was some sort of bad history between her and her sister. 'She's called Sara, my younger sister. She also had a crush on Ollie before I was with him. She probably still does, actually.'

'If she's your younger sister, won't she be a little young for him?' I pointed out. I thought that Oliver was Laurel's age, not her sister's age.

'Sara's 18 years old,' Laurel explained. 'But yeah, I agree. So, enough about me, what about you? Do you have any family in Starling?'

'No,' I said truthfully. 'My parents and sisters are back in England.'

'Don't you ever get a bit lonely?' Laurel asked.

'Well, I miss my family,' I answered. 'But no, I have friends here.'

'Hopefully more than just me?' Laurel laughed. So she actually thought we were friends, which I was glad about.

'No, I have more friends than just you,' I laughed.

'Is there anyone... romantically in your life?' Laurel asked.

'No,' I laughed. 'I don't think there's anyone I've met yet who I would date.'

The only guy I'd really met was Merlyn, and I really did not want to date him.

'Well, I know someone who would be perfect for you,' Laurel smiled. 'He needs a girlfriend too, he gets in way too much trouble.'

'Not like your boyfriend does or anything,' I joked. 'Who is he?'

'Tommy Merlyn.'

---

After I said my goodbyes to Laurel, I made my way back to the house. Why did both Laurel and Merlyn want me to protect Tommy in some way? I didn't even know who he was properly, only a conversation between us. Whatever the reason, they seemed to care and worry about Tommy. Maybe it was the influence of his friend Oliver, or just Merlyn's way of making my life harder.

'Hey...' Tommy said as I walked into the house. My face blushing, I wondered if he knew about what Laurel said about him. 'Are you alright?'

'Yes, I'm fine,' I said, pulling myself together. Trying not to laugh at my reaction, I headed upstairs.

'Laurel said you were friends with her,' Tommy shouted up the staircase. Walking back down into the corridor, I worried that Laurel had told Tommy of her idea of us 'dating'.

'Yeah, I just saw her,' I said, trying to be casual as possible.

'She tried to set me up with you, didn't she?' Tommy deduced. Gold star for Tommy Merlyn.

'Yeah, she did,' I laughed, feeling way more relaxed, the tension dropping dramatically.

'She keeps trying to set me up with every girl she meets,' Tommy rolled his eyes. 'And I'm just happy to be single. I don't understand why she keeps doing this.'

'Hey, it's fine, it's only a joke,' I reassured Tommy. 'I think.'

We both shared an awkward silence and then burst into laughter in unison.

'At least it didn't make it awkward between us,' Tommy sighed. 'Unless you feel uncomfortable-'

'No, honestly, it's fine,' I cut in. 'It was only some stupid thing Laurel thought of. I just think she's really trying to get me some friends.'

'Why do you need friends?' Tommy asked. 'Well, I mean, you've probably got enough already.'

'Actually I don't,' I admitted. 'I left all my friends behind in... England, and trust me, I soon found out they weren't as nice as I thought they were.'

'What happened?' Tommy asked, sensing my sadness and reluctance. 'Hey, you can tell me, I'm not gonna know who these friends are.'

Even though I hardly knew Tommy, I felt that whatever I said to him would be in confidence, and that I could trust him. He seemed like a good guy, and if I wanted to earn his trust and protect him, I needed to be friends with him.

'My...'friend' cheated on me with my ex, when my ex and I were together,' I explained, the feelings of anger I had first experienced flooding back again.

'Oh, I'm so sorry,' Tommy said gently. 'I would never be friends with people like that. I don't blame you for moving on. You deserve better.'

But somehow, I got the feeling that my life was going to get even worse.