Work Text:
[Standing with the wallflowers
Wishing you would've stayed at home
You kick yourself for coming
When you're standing there all alone]
God how many parties will there be in this new world? Parties, galas, fundraisers…the list of fancy names goes on, but what they all boil down to are parties for the rich so they can dress up and show their wealth through flamboyant clothes and gaudy jewelry. That's not fair; some of the gowns are nice. Lie. All of the gowns are always beautiful, too beautiful. And hers are always plain, too plain.
Tonight was Saturday. Her Saturday off from EVERYTHING, no work of any kind, no parties to attend…or so she thought. Something always managed to come up every time she had a Saturday to herself. It was never anything relaxing either. Her best friend from college was an artist. Tonight she was holding a showcase in Starling City. After 3 separate, ignored invitations and some minor begging on Sarah's part Felicity had begrudgingly agreed to attend. She actually wanted to go though. She hadn't seen Sarah since before she began working with Oliver and Digg.
The last time that she'd seen Sarah Walker was when Sarah had left to travel the world. It had seemed strange to Felicity that she take her art on the road, but she had insisted that an artist's life was that of a vagabond. Traveling in search of new adventures and experiences, looking for her white whale. The one inspiration that would last a lifetime. That had been three years ago. Now Sarah was back in Starling City. Last night when they talked she revealed that her mission was complete, but gave no more details, saying only that she'd see tomorrow.
Standing in the gallery now, she was taking in all of her surroundings. The gallery was like any other she'd been in. It had large white walls all around the space with random walls sprinkled throughout the space to give an illusion of more space than there was. Felicity was pressed against one such wall staring around at the art and to the crowd of people. No matter how many events she partook in she was never comfortable in these situations. She didn't really know anyone here and she couldn't find Sarah. Tonight she sported some curls in her hair with a black one shoulder, flowing cocktail dress adorned with a white flower to hold up the sash just under her bust. Adorable and sexy without being too much for the event, which was more upscale than she'd thought. This just wasn't her scene, her hair and gowns only made her feel awkward. The conversations to follow were usually more so. She wished that she could turn Sarah down, but it had always been a flaw in their relationship.
In college the only times that Felicity ever skipped her classes was at the hands of Sarah Walker. One day they'd been on their way to Economics, which was by itself daunting, but their professor amplified that by a hundred plus with her monotone voice, stuttering speech and apparent lack of confidence when it came to the material. Horrendous. Sarah had cornered her outside of the class while she was preparing herself mentally and emotionally, for some reason she seemed to constantly walk out of the room with a strange desire to cry, looped her arm through Felicity's and began to lead her back down the stairs the way that they'd come.
"What are you doing? We have to go to class"
"Ask me what we're going to do today!" was the only explanation that Sarah offered as she tugged her friend out of the building.
"Seriously Sarah, I have a hard enough time understanding without cutting out on the class"
Felicity knew that she wasn't going to win. Against her better judgment she let out a sigh, "You win. What are we going to do today?"
"The same thing we do every day, Pinky. Plot to take over the world! Muahahahahahaha!" The maniacal laughing had caught her off guard and she burst into a hysterical fit of laughter along with Sarah.
"Have I ever told you I love you? Wait…" she paused in their stride, still arm in arm, headed for the parking lot where Sarah's car was parked "why am I Pinky?!"
"Obviously for your quirky fun personality"
"Not my lack of intelligence?"
"Of course not, everyone knows that I'm the evil mastermind behind this operation"
"Well your right about that…okay, I accept your apology"
"Letting that slide, let us commence our evil plotting!"
"Let's"
Now as she scanned the room for the only person she knew, she kicked herself for coming. I should've stayed home and watched some episodes of Fringe. I just bought the third season and Lincoln is so gorgeous. I could slip out now and no one would notice…except when Sarah realizes I'm not here and kicks me literally for leaving her showcase. I could probably hold my own against her, Digg's been teaching me that cool trick where you flip the attacker over your shoulder. It could work on her; she's much smaller than Diggle…hmm… Just then she was rescued from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. Turning around she found Sarah with a tall lean man following up behind her.
Sarah was a tall, petite woman who was a natural blonde, unlike Felicity. She was toned from regular exercise with legs that went on forever. In the beginning of their relationship Felicity had been a little jealous of Sarah's good looks, but she loved herself and that was all in the past. The guy behind her looked slightly awkward, like Felicity, with messy brown hair and a slight athletic build. He was wearing a black suit vest over his grey dress shirt and a blue tie to match Sarah's knee length cocktail dress. Along with some jeans and Chuck Taylors he looked a nice balance of relaxed and business.
"Ask me what we're going to do today!" Sarah demanded with a bright smile and ready hug for Felicity.
When they separated she replied, with an equally bright smile. "What are we going to do today?"
"The same thing we do every day, Pinky. Plot to take over the world! Muahahahahahaha!" They both proceeded to maniacally laugh complete with hand gestures to assure everyone that they were indeed, criminal masterminds. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, Felicity I'd love for you to meet my boyfriend Chuck"
She reached her hand out to shake Chuck's proffered hand. "It's nice to meet you Chuck"
"Likewise. I've heard a lot about the amazing Felicity. It's nice to put a face to the name"
"Chuck here is a computer whiz like you Lis. He has a degree from Stanford" Sarah supplied after a moment.
"That's good to hear, I like you already Chuck" Chuck and Felicity proceeded to talk about technical jargon while Sarah just watched with joy at her best friend and her boyfriend hitting it off. Soon someone else caught her eye and she left the group only to return with another man on her arm.
"Lis, this is John Casey. He owns the gallery, we've been friends for a while now" she introduced and Felicity once again raised her arm to shake hands with her newest acquaintance.
"It's nice to meet you John. You have a great gallery; I especially like the useless walls everywhere. Not that they're useless, it's just that they're not holding up the ceiling, which is good because then I'm sure that you'd have some sort of structural code that you should be checking into and the building inspector might condemn it, then you'd have to go get some permits from the city and do a complete remodel then you…" she looked around at the faces watching for what would come out next. Chuck was shocked that she'd spewed so much in such a short time, unaccustomed to her rambling. John had a similar expression to Chuck's but filled with more amusement, while Sarah simply smiled at her. "I forgot where I was going with this. Sorry, sometimes my brain is a runaway train that I can't jump from. Not that I would. Jump from a runaway train that is. It seems really dangerous, now that I think about it, would you need special gear? But you wouldn't have it with you anyway because who thinks that the train will runaway, maybe if they're extremely safety oriented and always prepared for the worst…what were we talking about?" She felt a blush climbing to her face at the embarrassment that she'd let her mind runaway from her while apologizing for doing just that. Ugh…could this night get any weirder?
[The centers of attention are busy making all their moves
Oh Girl...
While all the guys are lookin at them
Then I got my eye on you
Only you]
Art was interesting. He'd never loved to stare at it for inordinate amounts of time, but there is something beautiful about different interpretations all working to convey a single theme without the use of words. SO anyone in any place, in any language, knew what was happening and shared in the moments and ideas of each other. Tonight was Saturday. His Saturday off from EVERYTHING…or so he thought. Apparently Thea had other ideas. She'd been invited to a showcase for a local artist that had gone global with her art and was coming home for a special show. She was going to go with Roy, but he was held up with something and she'd managed to convince Oliver to go with her until Roy could get there, but not without some minor begging on her part. He wished that he could refuse her but she was his own form of kryptonite.
When they arrived they were looking at some of the pieces. He was surveying the gallery, not unlike any other he'd seen, when he saw her. She was beautiful in her dress, and Isobel thought that her skirts were too short, he thought to himself. He was debating whether or not to walk over to her when he noticed another blonde woman walk up to her. Engulfing Felicity's slight frame in an embrace. She had a guy behind her that he assumed was her boyfriend from the way that he was following behind her, severely uncomfortable. Try as he might he didn't want to look away from her. A few times Thea had tried to talk to him about whatever piece he was pretending to stare at while he looked through it to ogle Felicity with her friend. Why hadn't she told him she'd be here tonight? Then again I hadn't told her, but mine was a last minute thing. Why is this bothering me so much? She's a big girl. She doesn't have to consult me about her weekend plans. His earlier assumption was proven correct when the blonde and the guy following her started holding hands. He was relieved for a minute before he saw that another man had joined the party. He was more muscular than the follower and not as tall. Not her type. These kinds of thoughts came up more and more frequently lately. He wasn't even surprised by them anymore. Ever since the Count had kidnapped Felicity, he'd been slowly realizing just how much he really cared for her. At this point it was alarmingly clear that he cared more than was good for him or her if he ever felt the need to act upon it. This wasn't something that would end well. He hadn't lied when he said that he didn't think that it was a good time to start a relationship with someone that could make him fall in love. The only problem was that he was already teetering on the edge of a cliff, dangerously close to careening over into a freefall.
"Oliver! I swear, what the hell are you staring at, because it's blaringly obvious that it is not the art." Thea's angry admission had caught him off guard. "Oh, is that Felicity over there? (Whistles) Damn, she cleans up nice. I have to ask where she got that dress" looking to her brother at his lack of answer she saw the irritation written on his face. He likes to think that he's closed off, but she can always read him, at least when it's important. Turning back to gawk at the group across the gallery along with her brother she stated "Ah, I see. New guy. He's not much to look at. Reminds me of Adam Baldwin and I've never been a fan of Baldwin's, but he is handsome, I suppose, in a rugged sort of way." After a pause she was beginning to actually be worried for her brother. His face at her comment had turned darker than it originally was. "Why don't you go over and say hi? Stake your claim or something"
"No, I don't want to ruin her night with friends. Hey, Thea, I'm going to leave. Roy should be here soon and I still have some office work that I was going to tackle this weekend. See you at home later?" He was looking at her now with eyes so sad, she felt guilty for even dragging him here. She hadn't realized he had such strong feelings for his secretary and friend.
"Okay, yeah. I'll see you later. Be careful big brother"
[You might think you're nothing special
But I'm about to lose my heart
Baby don't you realize
How beautiful you really are]
Patrolling isn't that big of a deal. Sometimes at night, even when they aren't working in the foundry, he'll go out on patrol just because he's restless or can't sleep. Although it's not often that he can get a good night's sleep. Tonight after seeing Felicity at the gallery looking so beautiful and the thought that that guy was hitting on her made his stomach churn. Had he not been restless before… As he jumped from rooftop to rooftop he paused as he saw a flash of something in a dark alleyway. Nothing good ever happens in darkened alleys. At closer glance he could see that what had caught his eye was a mop of flowing golden hair below him. The woman appeared tipsy, with the shoes she was wearing that could be dangerous all on its own. The dress she wore made her a target for any scum out on patrol other than him tonight. He got closer to keep an eye on her so that no one bothered her as she made her way home, tonight was quiet anyway. When he felt solid earth underneighth him he realized that the blonde swaying in front of him was the same one previously engaged in his thoughts.
"Felicity, what are you doing here? Are you drunk?"
"Hey!" she said much louder than necessary, "It's the Arrow! Hey buddy. Out protecting the world from evil doers?" she was on the verge of saying more when she tripped over her own feet. After reclaiming what little balance she still had she kept going, "I may be just a little tipsy. I had a lot of little drinks at my friends art show tonight"
"I can see you had a couple. What happened to your two drink limit? You never have more than that" He was upset by this development. Why had she felt the need to drink so much? He was a little weary of talking to her on the street like this, but there was no way that he was leaving her to get home by herself now.
"Ugh…I don't want to talk about it…alright you twisted my arm, so tonight, my friend Sarah, she's a good artist, and so pretty, don't you think she's pretty? Her hair is naturally blonde and curly, beautiful…what were we saying?"
"You went to an art show"
"Oh yeah. Sarah tried to set me up with this guy, Joe, John, something J. Maybe it was Jay? Any who he was hitting on me and he was a cool guy but my heart is off limits to everyone, except one, which is the kicker to this story! I saw him today at the show and he completely ignored me!"
"What? Want me to Arrow him?" he asked slightly joking, although he did want to put an arrow through whoever this sleezeball was, especially if he was the only one allowed to have her heart. As far as Oliver was concerned this guy was public enemy number one.
"Yeah! Wait no. I think I might love him. That would be sad later, I think" she ceased all movements and bent over slightly like she was going to be sick all over the pavement. Then she corrected her stance and stumbled along with him holding up half of her body weight with her arm draped around his shoulders to keep her upright. "I saw Oliver with his sister at the art show. Stupid Queen couldn't even say hi to me. The whole night was stupid; I didn't know anyone except Sarah and then her boyfriend who may take her place as my best friend. I'd make him my husband, but he's dating her and that's the worst thing you could do to a friend don't you think?" After another moment she let out a little giggle "Are you taking me home Mr. Arrow? Heh, Heh THE ARROW is taking me home…good maybe it'll make him jealous and he'll see that I'm right in front of him, waiting. Always waiting…I don't feel so good. I'm sorry in advance if I manage to throw up on your suit" He had just lifted her over his shoulder in order to climb her fire escape. He didn't trust her on the ladder and he certainly couldn't walk up the steps in his suit. She rubbed her hand across the fabric of his back, slightly distracting him from his job of carrying her up the ladder. "It's so soft. Do you ever feel weird wearing this thing? What's the deal with all of the leather anyway? You're weird. I'm glad we're friends" He'd finally managed to get her up and into her bedroom window connected to the fire escape. He was in the process of helping her get to her bed when she turned abruptly and kissed him square on the mouth. It was over before it began, but that small taste knocked him off of the edge. He was about to leave as she got into bed, but he turned to face her again.
"So the only one with access to your heart is Oliver Queen?" he was unsure of the conversation that they'd just shared. Or rather, the conversation that Felicity carried on her own as he tried to get her home without them being seen by anyone who would connect her to him later on. Either way, he needed to know if that was indeed what she had divulged in her inebriated state.
"Yep. And the idiot doesn't even know it… moron" He turned to leave again when she closed her eyes, but her voice stopped him once again. It wasn't like he wanted to leave anyway. "Hey," she called softly. Barely above a whisper, "ask me what we're going to do today"
Intrigued he took the bait, "What are we going to do today?"
"The same thing we do every day, Arrow. Plot to foil evil doers! Muahahahaha…"