“You should have asked your boyfriend to stay for dinner.” Cain commented as he put away his dinner plate after washing it, and dropping onto the couch, my phone in hand.

“It’s not like that.” I distantly replied.

I was keeping myself busy in the kitchen, hoping that Cain would get distracted and stop bringing up Etienne. If I remembered correctly, and I knew I did, the two of them had only met for the second time today. Nevertheless, Cain hadn’t stopped talking about Etienne during dinner, and was obviously still not over that. Honestly, I thought it was a good idea for them to hang out more, and especially for Cain to meet new people, but right now I couldn’t deal with the feelings that came whenever Etienne and I were together.

The conversation from Notre Damme was as fresh in my mind as if it’d happened yesterday. And yet, I still acted as if it’d never happened. I messaged Etienne all the same, and when we chatted on the way home tonight, neither of us had mentioned that day. It was so strange, because on one hand, I found myself wishing that it’d never happened and that we could continue our charade. But another part of me, a part that had begun manifesting itself more and more recently, was asking questions. Was it all worth it? Was perusing a relationship with Etienne truly worthwhile? Yes, he was handsome and hot, compassionate, kind, funny, outgoing, always knew what to say, could read the room and mediate any situation… He had defended me against monsters on more than one occasion, even if I hadn’t really needed it (as I had begun to realise as I got more comfortable with my powers).

I let out a heavy sigh, before turning around, leaning on the kitchen counter, and contemplating my living room. I wasn’t looking at anything in particular, as my gaze wandered from Cain who’d stretched out on the couch and was still playing Candy Crush, my TV which was actually a computer monitor sat on a set of drawers, the myriad of lit-up windows outside that prevented anyone from seeing the night sky…

Despite the quiet atmosphere, I wasn’t feeling at ease.

I headed to the window and drew the curtains shut.

“Did you get bored of everyone being able to see you?” Cain distractedly and nonchalantly spoke.

"Do you have eyes on the back of your head?” I half-jokingly, half-dryly replied, as I was still preoccupied with Etienne.

“No, I have eyes in the same place all your neighbours have them.”

“Well you have arms as well, so next time close the curtains yourself if it bothers you so much.” I ruffled his hair, before unceremoniously pushing his legs to the side to make room for myself on the couch.

Cain remained in that position just long enough for me to get the TV remote, before putting his legs back where they were, disregarding the fact that I was now sitting there.

“Your couch is too small.” He had the nerve to add.

“And your mouth of too big,” I retorted, turning the TV on.

It took a moment for the flat computer screen to pick up the signal from my upstairs neighbours’ antenna, but soon enough the blue error message turned into an image of a well-dressed journalist inside a filming studio.

“- has still claimed responsibility for the attack on Liberty Island, USA.” The journalist spoke, while an image of the smoking remains of the Statue of Liberty filled the screen behind them. “Although the local Artisan guild has done an excellent job of repairing and mitigating the damages, the impact that this attack has had on the morale of the local population is great beyond description. New Yorkers now live in terror, as they are forced to always fear and expect the worst.”

The report cut to a street interview of some locals.

“I can’t even go to Target without fearing that I won’t come back home,” A person labelled as ‘citizen 1’ by the automated subtitles spoke. “And this so-called Vigilante Protectorate Alliance is not helping the cause either. I’m almost as afraid of them as I am of those terrorists!”

“You know things get bad when the senate starts debating re-introducing weapon-carry laws.” The ‘man in a blue cap’ spoke. “Today it’s a landmark, tomorrow it’s by block. Thankfully only those self-entitles tourists got hurt this time, but I fear us citizens will be next.”

“I bet it’s the high rankers.” ‘Citizen 2’ exclaimed. “They always do whatever they want and disregard our lives! I’m only a B-, and I still get discriminated against everywhere I go! I can’t even begin how hard it must be for all the C’s and D’s. They must tremble in fear whenever an A, or lords forbid an S enters-”

With a press of the button, I switched channels. The attack on the statue of Liberty was news, but I preferred to look for a different channel that reported on it; one that was less focused on sensationalised interviews.

“Buy one get one free! Out whiter than white toothpaste! So your teeth can be as clean as those of a mountain Lion.” An old man with shining-white teeth exclaimed.

I didn’t even bother watching long enough to see his face transform into that of a lion, as I switched channels. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with that toothpaste, but it had been on sale for two weeks now. If anything, this advert only made me want to buy it less.

“Don’t forget to join our commemorative march on the eve of the Solstice.” A different journalist, that looked more like a history professor than a news reporter spoke. “The march will begin at the Arch of Triumph, at midday, and end at the Defence around 6. Refreshments will, as usual, be provided along the way, and escorts will be present in the two Wild Lands that we will traverse.”

I glanced at Cain, to check what he was doing. Surprisingly enough, he’d put the phone down on his chest, and was watching the news with me.

“It’s playing an ad so I can regain lives.” He explained, noticing my gaze.

I nodded to myself. That made more sense than him caring about the outside world.

“The War has marked us all in many ways, and here at France 4, we believe that no matter how many years have passed since its end, commemorating all the lives, and territory lost during that century is of utmost importance. Today we live in peace, and we no longer segregate based on ranks and classes, but this progress would have been impossible without the sacrifice of the brave soldiers during the War,”

“Don’t you have anything better to do than watch that?” Cain suddenly asked.

He’d returned his attention to my phone, but clearly, he’d still been listening to the TV.

“Don’t you have anything better to do than complain?” I asked, switching the channel in hopes of hearing more about that terrorist attack in NYC.

After the brief ending of an advert, a cartoon began playing. It was some story about goblins building a castle. I remembered seeing those same goblin faces on some cookie packaging at the store.

“Look, they’re playing a fun cartoon for kids, don’t you wanna watch that instead of criticising my life choices?”

Cain lifted his eyes and stared at the screen with an expression full of disdain for a few minutes.

“Goblins don’t talk like that. They can’t build such houses either, let alone a castle. Unless those are humans that have been cursed and become goblins. This is inaccurate.”

“It’s also fiction.” I smirked.

Even though he was grumpy, at least he was saying stuff kids were supposed to say.

“Switch the channel already, I’d rather watch people talk about other people getting killed than this.” Cain complained, as he sat up and tried to grab the remote out of my hands.

“Uh-uh.”

I extended my arm where he couldn’t reach it, and pressed the button.

“Viens ce soir dans ma demeure, Tu auras toute ma chaleur,” an off-camera person sang, as a group of girls in bikinis danced on a beach. “Viens ce soir dans ma bicoque, Toi la poule et moi le coq,” The singer continued.

I quickly changed the channel before Cain had had the time to listen to any more of that song.

“The prime minister of the Eastern United States of America declared that no new weapon laws will be put in place following the unprovoked terrorist attack at the statue of liberty earlier today.” A different news reporter spoke. “It is unclear as to what the PM’s true position on the matter is, as she has refused to comment or present a potential list of suspects. According to Mathias Williams, the secretary of defence, this matter is currently under internal investigation. Meanwhile, the prime minister of the pacific side of the mega-nation has refused to hold any press conferences. Is he the one that the ESA is trying to place behind this attack? Keep watching as this investigation unfolds.”

“Don’t you find it stupid how they’re making such a big deal of something that can be fixed in a matter of hours?” Cain asked, not lifting his eyes away from the phone.

“I think it’s more about the feeling of safety in your own city rather than the actual statue.” I replied. “I would have been scared too if someone suddenly blew up the Eifel tower, no matter how fast it’d get repaired afterwards.”

“No one suddenly blows up anything.” Cain retorted. “It’s always carefully planned and orchestrated by someone. If you want my opinion-”

He was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.