Arrow: the Two Archers

Chapter 2: Awkward Visits

Lydia had to admit she had definitely underestimated Laurel Lance's kindness. When she had heard Oliver rant about her on the island, going on for hours and hours until she eventually told him that she'd had enough, she had attributed his excessive emphasis on it to him simply being in love with her. The kind of thing she had always been told happened when people thought about their significant other. However, after the morning she had had, she was surprised to find that he hadn't been exaggerating at all. Her willingness to take Lydia in and care for her, despite the young girl being a complete stranger, has completely blindsided her.

And in a way, it reminded her of her parents. Something on which Lydia still hadn't quite decided what her feelings were.

These thoughts kept running around in her head as she walked through the streets of the Glades. At first Laurel had been hesitant to let her come to this neighborhood by herself, but she relented slightly when Lydia revealed that it was where she had grown up. She had finally agreed when Lydia promised to stop by her legal office, the CNRI, once she was done  with her tour. As she walked, her eyes kept darting across the street, focusing on anything from the people to the buildings or the cars. It was strange. She had been so young the last time she had seen these streets. And yet, there was still a certain familiarity to them. Lydia couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

Growing up in the Glades brought with it a certain degree of carefulness and some amount of bravado. Days and nights spent looking over one's shoulder, glaring at anyone who looked at you funny, hands always ready to clench into fists or legs always ready to run. Back on the island, those instincts had been honed to near perfection and helped her survive. But now she was back, and while she couldn't help that these things had become second nature to her, it pained her to see so many of the people who passed her by on the street exhibiting the same behaviors. For better or worse, the Glades clearly hadn't changed in the five years Lydia had been away.

She was snapped out of her thoughts once she finally reached the end of her walk, coming up to the red-bricked building that housed the offices of the CNRI, and spotted two people in particular standing outside. After getting closer, she was able to identify them as Laurel and Oliver Queen. And they seemed to be in the midst of a heated discussion.

"I can't believe you! Seriously? After everything you did, you still have the nerve to pull this?"

"Laurel, I can explain..."

"Explain what? The reasoning behind leaving a young girl to fend for herself as soon as you were off the plane? Because I seriously doubt there's a good explanation for that."

Lydia quickened her pace, hurrying to cut into the conversation before Laurel decided to commit murder.

"Actually, that was because of me." Lydia spoke up.
"I told Oliver I wasn't comfortable with the idea of staying in his mansion. So he directed me to the next best thing, your apartment."

Laurel was silent for a few moments, eyes wide in surprise as she scrambled to pick her train of thought back up.

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"It's alright. Probably wasn't very logical of me." Lydia dismissed before turning towards Oliver.
"Hey, Ollie. How are you doing?"

Oliver gave her a small smile. She had gotten good enough at communicating with him without words to be able to tell what was behind it: thank you.

"It's gonna take some adjusting, but it's good to be back home." he said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a phone.
"I also took the liberty of getting this for you. To make it easier for you to adjust too."

Lydia took it with a smile before turning to Laurel again.

"So, lunch? You said you knew a place."

The older woman nodded, seeming almost eager to get away from there. Lydia simply gave Oliver a wave before hurrying after Laurel. They walked in silence, a silence that neither of them wanted to be the first to break. Laurel led them to an Italian fast-food restaurant named Mario's Pizza, an establishment Lydia had a few memories of from her life before becoming a castaway. Now, after five years of not having access to fast food, she could definitely say she appreciated it a lot more. She was about halfway through her pepperoni pizza when Laurel finally spoke up.