She had decided to walk home for some reason, through the main city at least. There was still a chance she would catch the tube from another stop, but she needed some time to think. Lucy's mind had kept going over and over the questions that Inspector had asked and what her answers were to them. She needed to chill, and relax and just stop thinking about everything for a few moments...so she went shopping.

There was still some of that £775 she had got for that watch last week and although that was meant to be kept safe for future rent, none of that stuff seemed important anymore. Rent was just something silly and normal, nothing going on right now saw silly or normal. It was beyond ridiculous and unordinary to say the least. So for once in her miserable and boring life,cane was going to do something just s little bit average for a girl her age and...shop! Living in the same shoes, literally, for five years wasn't what she felt like doing anymore and neither was dressing in old, ill fitting clothes. Just one nice thing she could put on, a dress or skirt, and one nice meal for her dinner tonight as she finally had the time to cook. That's all she wanted.

Lucy started in one of the mainstream stores in the heart of the city, the only all the cool girls shopped at judging by the large swarms of teenagers in crop tops. But even that shop was too expensive for her. A single dress had been £90 and it wasn't anything that great. A clunky, glittery, chain mail styled dress which reminded her of a charity shop piece. That's why she'd moved to a just as well known but considerably more affordable shop. Still stylish but not over the top, still easy on the wallet but not Primark.

Going around a clothing store with money in her purse felt strange, like a kid in a sweet shop and being told they could pick anything they wanted for the very first time. There were multiple things that jumped out at her and she choose only a few of them before going into a changing cubicle. The end result was a simple dress but lovely all the same. It was white, different for her, but it just looked so clean and pristine that it was her favourite from the moment she laid eyes on it. It had a high round neck, and while half of the dress was revealed and ended at her mid thigh, the other half had an extra layer of covering. The material over her left leg went all the way down to the floor and started at her waist where the joining of longer material to the short was hidden by a gold metal belt. There were no arms but it was still sophisticated, way too nice for something she needed to own. But she had to have it. When she handed over the £70 it cost, her heart didn't even flutter at how much she was handing over for something she would never wear, but right now she needed to treat herself. And she was smiling, really smiling. Not that faked corner of the mouth lift she usually made. Lucy thanked the cashier with a grin and then left the shop with a skip in her step.

How she wished things would have stayed like that for at least five minutes, but her smile dropped as soon as she left the shop. A man was stood across the street, leaning against the building opposite the one she had just been in. He didn't look like anything unordinary and he wasn't doing anything but he was looking her way...but Lucy recognised him. The man, older, maybe in his late 30's was wearing dark denim jeans and a black shirt. He had short brown hair and a leather jacket on. Very regular wear, nothing offensive but she had seen it before. Not just someone similar but him. She knew she had.

She wasn't going mental, she definitely knew that face and the clothes he was wearing matched something she had seen earlier today. It was after the police station. He had been stood at a bus stop just outside the station when she left. Lucy had walked past it in a rush to get as far away from any figures of authority as possible. She had her head kept down but out the corner of her eyes she had saw him stood there, eyes following her as she walked past. There had been no reason to give it a second though at the time. He was just a guy. But now as the same man looked away as soon as her eyes turned in his direction, she knew it was more than coincidence.

Or was it? Her head could just be playing tricks on her. He could've caught the bus into town to do a little shopping himself. But London wasn't exactly a small place. Had this have happened back in Her home town of Luton, Lucy would have shrugged it off but here in one of the busiest city's in the world? There was...she was being stupid wasn't she?

Between meeting and questions and beating herself up, there wasn't time to get herself together. He was just a guy...just a guy. So she began walking. Lucy turned the left and started walking straight down the street towards the nearest food shop to pick up some ingredients for a chicken tikka masala with rice. Something she'd learnt from her mother but hadn't made in years due to the time constraints and tiredness, but she welcomes the distraction now and the energy.

However, no matter how many times she tried to shake the cold shiver off the back of her neck or rid herself from feeling eyes burning into her back, Lucy couldn't ignore that protective instinct telling her to look behind her. But she couldn't, no matter how much she wanted to, just incase he was there. Nothing could happen, she was in crowded London. She would be fine. She would worry once she was on her way home.

That's what she told herself for the next ten minutes she spent walking and running around the local Tesco Express picking up the combination of herbs, spices and vegetables she had committed to memory for the recipe. Until she walked back outside. And there he was again. Had she of not been waned by Moriarty and had she of not been looking for him, Lucy never would had noticed. He was stood across the street again, by a Tube station entrance with his back turned to her and a mobile phone raised to his ear. But it was definitely him. Someone was following her and it was most likely the ones she'd been warned about. It could have been the police too but..something didn't sit right in her gut when she stared into the man's back. It wasn't in her head anymore and it wasn't just some words coming from a strangers mouth either. It was real and she was living through it now with no where to run.

Well...there was one place. She couldn't run there but she could definitely give a small buzz in. She didn't give it a second thought. There wasn't a doubt in her head that it could go any worse than returning home to have that man follow her there. So Lucy rummaged in her handbag for her phone and punched in the speed dial for one of the only two numbers on her phone.

Samuel. He had been the one to help her yesterday, a favour he didn't have to pull for her. And he had the number, the one he used to contact Mr Moriarty...who actually could help her. Her breaths deepened but she began to walk down the streets with the phone to her ear. She didn't want the man to know she had saw him so she walked fast down the street in any direction. It didn't matter as long as she stayed in a crowded part of the city and didn't get lost. She'd walk in circles until she found away out of this.

"Hello?" He answered on the seventh of either dial tone, his voice straight as it usually was.

"Samuel? It's Lucy Scott." The way she spoke...she surprised herself. Lucy sounded almost strong, the way she said her name the way she did. There was no shakiness, barely any hint of the fear which was strongly making its way through her veins, and she walk the same way. Bags in one hand, phone in the other, she walked fast with a foot never out of place. For the first time, taking a deep breath had worked and she toughened up to get done what was needed.

"Lucy?" Samuel sounded almost confused on the other end of the line. "Well, I didn't think I'd be hearing from you again." He laughed, he actually laughed. After everything the sound of her voice was amusing to him.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Scoffing confidently, she was happy to be able to still joke with him lightly. Through everything, the sound of his voice was even a welcomed sound of normality. "Listen, I haven't got time I need one last favour please." The confidence dropped slightly and Lucy allowed herself to sound more pleading that she would've liked to admit.

"...go on." Samuel instructed, sounding intrugued but it was that tone where she knew he was more likely than not, smirking to himself.

"I need that number. The one you called yesterday." There wasn't time to dilly dally around the topic. "Mr...Moriarty...that's who you called isn't it? You're friend?"

Suddenly, all the humour sounded as if it melted from his voice. "He isn't a friend Lucy. You don't want to be contacting him." It sounded dark, like a warning, but it was muffled as Samuel spoke in a quieter tone. Not that there was anyone to hear their conversation as she quickly decided to turn into one of the large department stores to wander aimlessly around for a while. If she didn't loose that guy in here, then she wouldn't anywhere.

"But I need his help...again. Just-" Lucy panicked too quick about him not giving her what he wanted and began to beg, but she was cut off before things got too embarrassing. His snap at her shut her up.

"What? You shot someone else already?" He returned to mocking her, laughing lightly at his own joke made too soon for it to make her smile in the least. Lucy didn't give him the satisfaction of replying and rolled her eyed.

"Something he wanted me about is happening." She stayed on point and took a glance behind her as she stepped onto the escalator. No sign yet, but if the guy was good he would stay right behind her. "He didn't tell me what to do if it happened and..." As she finally watched the guy enter the store, Lucy's voice trailed off and she faced forward again.

"Did he say he would be in contact again?"

"I...no...I don't think so." Taking a second to collect her nerves, Lucy tuned back into what Samuel was saying but shook her head visibly and unhelpfully. He wasn't there to watch her responded! "But he said he would help me..." That was the whole point of that meeting wasn't it? He agreed? He hadn't told her what to do if this actually happened. "Lock your doors". That was it. But something told her a locked door would provide much protection.

"You're treading in very dangerous territory Lucy." The dark warning was unmissable. Samuel had taken to whispering now as she pressed the phone tighter to her ear. "This isn't a normal guy who is just doing you a favour. I'm surprised he even agreed yesterday. He's a dangerous man, notoriously so." Lucy was listening to him, truly she was. But none of it hit her deeper than being followed did. No matter who this Moriarty was, no matter what he did, he agreed to help and that was better than anything else she had been offered up to now. He was all she had, as sad as it was to admit.

"If I don't try..." Stepping off the escalator, she did a small look over her shoulder and low and behold there he was following her trail "Please Samuel...it's just one number." She was begging him silently in her head. 'Come on, please' turning into the only words she knew for a few moments.

"A number which could get you killed." Everything could get her killed in this moment. Nothing was safe. Talking to this man. Walking around London. Going home. Going to the police. Nothing, at least...at least with Mr Moriarty that was a chance. "0-7-8-2-4-1-7-4-0-0-2." She hadn't even had to ask again. With a heavy sigh, he had started to roll of the numbers easily. Managing to dodge behind a cash desk and quickly locating a pen and scrap of receipt to jot the number down on.

"Thank you." Lucy murmured hurriedly, scarpering but clutching the sharp shard of paper in her fist. "I owe you one Samuel, really I do." She would think of something to thank him with, beyond the normal thank you card or chocolate routine people did.

"I know, just, be careful Lucy." Samuel spoke softly. "I don't want to see you dragged into something you can't get out of. More so than you already are anyway." In that moment, Lucy couldn't picture herself in any deeper trouble than she already was, as niece as that sounded. But it made sense, what more trouble could she be in than stalking and most certain death. She couldn't help but let a smirk come to her lips though, as Samuel spoke those words.

"Are you getting soft on me?" She could help from teasing even if it did make her sound like her mood had done a total 180 degree flip. However, the man on the other end didn't join in and she heard him sigh again, causing her smile to drop and her pace to quicken.

"You're a sweet girl Lucy. Remember what I said." Samuel hung up the phone after that. It left the dead tone ringing in her ear for a few short second before Lucy lowered the phone and let it hand by her side. She was in a department store with a dead end most likely coming up, a guy was following her and she needed to ring the number of a dangerous criminal. For God's sake.

Thankfully it hadn't even reached lunch time yet so she had time. No rush. As long as she was in public nothing could happen. Surely. But there had to be a way to ditch him, there had to be. She had to at least try to before ringing the number in the middle of a public street.

Looking behind her, Lucy could see the guy browsing through shirts in a different department. He Chad a good view of her, just like she did of him. It was obviously going to be harder than slipping away. She picked up a random item of clothing from the rail to her left. There was a vague blur of writing above to her right which she knew was a changing room, so with quick steps she walked over while never taking her eyes off the man. He was keeping his back to her right up until she was at the wall of the changing rooms. But as he turned his head to subtly check on her, Lucy jumped behind the wall out of sight. He might have seen her dodge, there was a chance. But it was slim. She had been careful. The girl manning the changing units smiled at her and took the single dress from her hands while leading her to one of the small booths lined again the wall.

"Thank you." Lucy muttered under her breath and stepped forward, allowing the girl to drag the curtain across the rail behind her silently. Dropping all of her bags to the floor, she then took a seat on the small stool in the booth a puffed out. Now she to sit and wait.

An hour had passed. It had began to look weird after ten or fifteen minutes, especially for the girl outside, but surprisingly Lucy had picked being judged by a stranger than being followed home by a stranger. She had then requested different sizes in the dress and different colours if they had it to dismiss any suspicion building however, and wasting away the time.

It was time to leave now though. Not only was the chicken she bought starting to turn but if that guy hadn't thought she's give him the slip by now then he never would and she wasn't about to pitch up camp in this cramped booth forever. With any luck, the guy would have thoughts she'd left. He'd have left himself to try and track her down again and she was free to walk out this store and even jump into a taxi before she was spotted. That was the plan anyhow.

The curtain was pulled back by Lucy and with a baited breath, she creeped out from the dressing rooms as stealthily as she could manage without looking like a crazed lunatic to the people around her. He was no where to be seen. Not a whisper. The men's department was empty and the space around her was clear of anyone but women. She'd done it! She's actually done it! All by herself! He was gone and she had been the one to fool him.

A sense of pride bloated her stomach to the point where she wanted to break out in a grin. Not that she did, her mind too focused on getting out of the damn department store before she got too cocky and the guy creeped up behind her like in the movies. So she practically ran to the stair well, the escalator being to open and viewable for her liking, down to the ground floor and out of the side entrance of the store. That particular door led out onto a smaller, yet still crowded, street just to be safe and there was a passing empty taxi she managed to flag down within a matter of seconds.

Her luck was changing. She was due a peak of good fortune and even if it only lasted an hour she would be grateful as long as she got home safe and could stay there long enough to make that call before they tracked her down.

Rattling off the address of her apartment, Lucy kept her head facing down for the first ten minutes of the journey and tried to calm herself. As well as trying to work out what she was going to say once she made the call. She would think of something. She had too.

Pacing her living room, Lucy had her hand tightly wrapped around her mobile phone. She was wearing the floor out under her feet, but the more she thought about making the call the more she was put off the idea altogether. It had sounded so easy, then as soon as she had reached home just over half an hour ago, her hands had started to shake and she was at a loss as to what to say when he answered her call. If he answered her call.

The number was keyed in. All she had to do was press the green button. But... That's the thing, there was so many 'buts' and 'what ifs'. She just had to do it, like ripping off a plaster. She would do it...now.

Lucy bit her lip as she raised the phone to her ear and her free hand pinched the thin bridge of her nose. She felt cringeworthy, as if she was a child calling her parents to say she needed bailed out. Only she wasn't a child, she was a 27 year old woman and she wasn't calling her parents, but a man she had met one for less than a hour. A total stranger.

"Hello?" The familiar voice sounded after barely a few rings and the suddenness of it forced all of the air out from Lucy's lungs. But she managed to gather herself speedily to avoid looking like a total idiot. Where had that strong talker from the police interview gone?

"Hello..." Her voice was a mere squeak. "Eh, is this Moriarty, eh Mr Moriarty?" She expected the line to go dead after that. Two seconds in and she'd already embarrassed herself. The red burn of a blush spread across her cheeks and she was thankful no one was there to see as the man finally replied in a long Irish drawl.

"Yes, of course it is." Then there was a short pause. All Lucy could here was her heart beating widely in her chest as well as her deep, parted breaths. "Who is this?" Of course, shouldn't that have been the first thing for her to say?

"It's Lucy Scott." She waited, but no sign of recognition came from him. "We met last night at-"

"I know..." Moriarty interrupted her with what sounded like a scoff and she could already picture his eyes rolling just like they had done last night. "What do you want?" There was boredom...as if he had literally no idea why she could be on the phone. It was something she found...unbelievable really. They had just talked last night, he had warned her of almost certain death and he sounded annoyed.

"Erm..nothing. Well..." Lucy trailed off as her mind came to a stand still. At a loss of how to say it without pleading or being too desperate, she didn't realise how long her silence fell upon their call.

"I am a very busy man Miss Scott." Darkness overcame him voice. The exasperation being instantly replaced by warning. It made her spine rattle and her breath catch in her wind pipe as imaginary pressure was applied to her throat.

"They're following me. Or at least someone is." Choking out the words, Lucy shook her head to clear everything from her thoughts which wasn't needed and flashbacks from when she was in the streets appeared behind her eyes. The feeling of fear crawling up her back, the panic in her stomach. "They followed me through London today."

"How can you be sure?" Moriarty asked, voice low and daring. But Lucy didn't hesitate in beginning to tell him just how sure she was.

"It was the same man. I came out the police station this morning and he was there. I came out of a shop and he was there again. Came out another and there he was again and then-"

"Alright, alright. I get the point." The annoyance dropped and he was back to sounding depressed just like that. In the snap of her fingers, his mood flipped. She heard him sigh heavily but then his lips had twisted upwards at one side. It was easy to tell by the way he spoke next. "But you better be right, otherwise..." Moriarty was teasing her, threatening her.

"Otherwise what?" She dared to ask in a whisper, her heart sinking like a stone in water.

"Otherwise it won't just be Peter Samson's men coming after you." There was a minute between his words where Lucy listened for his low chuckling and Moriarty listened for her fear filled silence. Neither were disappointed. When Moriarty overcame his amusement, his tone straightened and the threats dropped. "All of my time isn't dedicated to you and your petty life."

"You..." Lucy started but stopped just as quickly, suddenly realising how little and childish she would've sounded.

"I?" He caught on to her hesitation and laughed louder this time. "What?" Moriarty pushed her for an answer until the reality of it dawned on him and he hummed. A gentle 'oooh' rolling smoothly off his tongue in a deep, throaty voice. "Oh poor Lucy...you thought I was all for you?" He teased her but he was so relaxed as he did so.

"No." Lucy snapped at him. "I thought you were going to help me. And, I need help." She stopped pacing her living room and stood still in the dead centre of the room with a hand buried in her hair.

"But why should I help you again?" She thought. That was the mistake. She thought he was going to help, but like Samuel had brought up over the phone, Moriarty never gave any indication he would be in contact to provide any further help. "I already gave you advice and cleared any evidence pointing to you." There was a long which Lucy failed to fill. Her breathing was deep and all she could do was listen and hope he didn't get sick of waiting. "What did he look like?" She was shocked first and foremost but she didn't get her hopes up, he hadn't confirmed doing anything about going further.

"The guy? He was...stocky." As she started to describe the man, the details she'd made sure to commit to her memory flashed up in her mind. "He had dark hair, he was older. Maybe 40? Dressed in dark colours. But he always had his back to me."

"Okay." Moriarty confirmed listening to everything she was said and she could faintly hear him scribbling a pen across some surface in the background. "And...well you called me..." His voice drifted for a second. "What was it exactly, you thought I could do to help?"

"I just...I want it to all go away." Allowing herself to finally be honest, no matter how stupid she dare sound, Lucy frowned and dropped down on to the sofa after crossing the room to it. She sounded defeated, tired, scared. Everything she had been in the past 24 hours dripped from her mouth and to a certain degree it was sickening, to herself mostly.

"It all?" Moriarty queried, but the sudden quirk of interest couldn't be dismissed. She'd captured his attention somehow, instead of pushing him away with disgust like she'd imagined.

"All of this. The following and the police and the fear...everything." She explained, her head beginning to shake lightly even though no one was there to see it. "It's been a day...one day. I appreciate the clearing my name of the crime but they still know...I don't know how but. Please." It all just came flooding out and for a long time, as she waited for Moriarty's reply, she thought he would hang up. But then he uttered his next words, her eyes opened raised to stare into midair.

"Meet me for dinner."

"I'm sorry?" The pitch of her voice had rose as she once again stood up and walked the kitchen before turning to pace back and forth.

"Dinner. 7pm." He was agreeing. Wasn't he? He was meeting her again. "Texture. Try not to be late or look as run down as you did last night." The first thing that came to mind was the dress, still in the bag, lying on her bed. Retail therapy had come in handy after didn't even care that the man had just offender her. It was better than him saying nothing at all.

"Okay." Lucy nodded her head and felt like crying as Mr Moriarty said his last words and hung up the phone.

"Goodbye Miss Scott."

-What Kind Of Man Loves Like This-

Hi :)

Just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to everyone who has supported and read this story! I wasn't really sure whether people were going to like it, it not being Sherlock centered...yet ;) hehehe

so THANK YOU! And I'd really love it if people could continue reviewing the story. Even if it's just a few words so I know what you like, what you don't like, what you think of Lucy? And how I actually write Moriarty (because it's really hard! Hahaha) anything would be good feedback though so please take the time!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, next one should be up tomorrow or Friday :D xxx