Lyra's POV
"You've been standing here," she says, furrowing her brows at me.
My hands leave the frame. I haven't acted stealthily enough and have let her catch me like a thief looking for something to steal.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
"I just want to talk."
Then I walk inside. I haven't planned to go this far, but I find myself doing so, going with the flow of this moment as different ideas occur to me. I can pick one of them, and things might still go in my favor.
"I just want to talk," I explain.
"To talk… to talk about what?"
"To talk as a friend. I mean no harm to you."
She won't buy that, will she?
Her eyes roam over me as if she can see through my heart and has already decided my coming here can't mean anything good.
I smile. "I just came here as a friend."
"A friend… how is that?"
"Like a normal girl, talk." I wink.
"But I don't know you… I've never been friends with you."
