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“You know, I owe you my first-born child for this. Thank you so much!” Iris squealed as she squeezed the blonde’s hand and bounced in excitement.
Felicity rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop her grin. Iris had been having a tough time at school, and after all her hard work, she deserved to have some good fun.
“Lis, how did manage to get these tickets?” Iris asked, as the two of them continued to be jostled by the other ecstatic fans. “I thought floor tickets sold out in like thirty seconds!” She grabbed Felicity’s hand and placed it over her heart. “My heart feels like it might combust at this rate.”
Felicity couldn’t help but laugh, glad to see her friend finally smiling again. “Oh you know, I just have impeccable timing.” She paused before wiggling her fingers. “And I’ve got these babies.” She winked at Iris as her best friend burst out into giggles.
“I’m not going to comment on what else that could have meant. You’re lucky I understand you so well. But seriously, I have never be so glad that my best friend happens to be a genius hacker.. who apparently uses her skills to win us awesome tickets to see my favorite bands.”
Felicity shrugged, “It’s really no big deal. The school paper has been draining the life out of you… you deserved this.” She winced as the crowd starting chanting, calling out for the show to start, even though it was still half an hour early.
“I didn’t know you even liked The Lab! Or did you come for Arrow?” Iris asked, turning her curious gaze on her embarrassed friend. “Oh my God, do you even know who they are?!”
She held up her hands defensively as she blushed. “Hey! When I got the tickets and saw it would be a duo show, I listened to both of the band’s music! I liked what I heard. Especially some of Arrow’s stuff.” She huff, “I’m not a complete amateur.”
Iris smirked, looking at her knowingly. “You’re going to be blown away when you see them live. The lead singer for Arrow is-“
“To die for. Like seriously. I would take a bullet for that glorious human being.” A random girl standing by them interrupted. Her friend nodded vigorously.
“I would gladly have that man’s children. Hundreds of them if he wants.”
Felicity looked over at Iris, both of them trying to hold back their laughter.
“Yeah, uh huh” Iris said, “what they said.” As the other girls turned to continue their conversation about their undying love, Iris turned back to Felicity excitedly.
“Ok but really I hear he’s a grade A jerk,” she whispered. “Now Barry, the lead guitarist for The Lab? “ Iris couldn’t even finish, choosing to fan herself instead.
Felicity giggled, taking another look around the venue. The stadium was packed, filled to the brim with restless fans. With their special tickets, she and Iris were right up front, nearly touching the state with their ‘Pit’ tickets.
“Crap, Iris. I need to go to the bathroom.” She knew she shouldn’t have had so much coffee. But then, she would have been asleep on her feet, after staying up all night to finish her code.
“What! Lis’ you can’t!” Iris whined.
“Yep. Definitely need to pee.” Felicity nodded as she started making her way out of the crowd. She felt Iris start to follow her, before Felicity turned to stop her friend. “Hey, I’ll be fine finding it. You stay here and save the spots, ok?” When she saw her friend nod, she continued fighting her way out of the rowdy crowd.
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Okay, maybe she wasn’t as smart as she thought she was. She looked around the empty hallway. It was void of people, and unfortunately, of bathroom signs.
When she had first found the regular bathroom, the line had been ridiculously long, so she opted to explore and find a more secluded one. Not her best decision, she realized, as she spent over 15 minutes wandering aimlessly. Ugh, and she really needed to pee.
It seemed the gods had finally heard her plea, as one of the doors swung open and someone walked out. Finally, she could get some help.
He didn’t acknowledge her, just quickly turning and walking down the hall- away from her.
“Excuse me!” Felicity called out, as she sped up to try to catch up with his long strides. He ignored her, not even turning her way.
“Wait!” He somehow began walking even faster, though he finally did address her.
“I don’t know how you got back here, but I don’t have time for a meet and greet.” He didn’t even turn around, just yelling it over his shoulder. She huffed, who did this guy think he was?
“Hey!” She shouted one last time, desperate for help. He finally stopped in his tracks, spinning around to face her. She gulped when she saw how furious he looked.
“Do you not understand what no means? I don’t have time for this.” He nearly growled, before turning to leave again.
She wasn’t quite sure what came over her, but before she realized what she was doing, her hand shot out, grabbing his sleeve before he could leave.
“And I don’t really have time for dealing with assholes!” She sputtered out, as anger took over. Who the hell was this guy? “But I don’t think anyone has time to deal with what will happen if I end up peeing my pants because some jerk won’t help a girl out!”
He blinked twice, confusion settling over his features. She shuffled her feet, looking down in embarrassment.
“Look, I’m sorry for being so annoyingly persistent. But I’ve basically been walking around this maze for what seems like forever just trying to find a bathroom. I know it wasn’t very smart, having three cups of coffee before coming, but trust me if I didn’t, I would be a zombie right now, and zombie me is probably a hundred times worse than i-really-need-to-pee me. And you didn’t need to know… any of that.”
She finally looked up at him, realizing how much taller he was than her, and to see him… smiling?
“Did you even take a breath through all of that?”
She barely heard his laughter, as she finally took the time to take him in. He was ridiculously handsome, with bright blue eyes and nice facial scruff. And he was wearing a leather jacket that fit him quite well. Huh, such lax uniform requirements.
“Excuse me?” Mystery man asked, amusement coloring his voice. Of course she had said her thoughts out loud.
“Nope, nothing.” She stammered, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment. “Just ignore me.” She froze. “Wait, don’t ignore me. Please, please just show me where I can find a bathroom.”
He grinned, showing off his ridiculously cute dimples.
“This way,” He said, gesturing his head for her to follow. They went back to the door she had seen him leave from, as he took out a key and let her into the room. “Sorry for yelling at you earlier. I wasn’t expecting for you to just be looking for the bathroom.”
She couldn’t help but smile, surprised that he was actually apologizing. “It’s okay. But really, you should tone down your grumpy face. It was a bit much.” She teased.
“Oh really? I was told the ladies loved it.” He replied, playing along.
“Nope!” She said, popping the ‘p’ as she shook her head. “Though the growling was pretty hot.. I mean. Not that I think you’re hot. Not that you’re not. Did that even make sense? Well I’m sure it would be hot for most people. Except for people who need to pee. Yeah, not hot at all.”
She had to look away from his amused face, choosing instead to take in the room. It was a spacious lounge room, with couches, a tv, and a snack bar.
“Woah.” She breathed out, taking it all in. “They sure know how to treat their employees right.”
“I-“ He froze, shaking his head in amusement before pointing out a door. “The bathroom is right back there,” He offered. She nodded gratefully before making her way to the door without trying to run.
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She breathed a sigh of release as she left the bathroom; glad she had made it in time.
“Thank you so much!” She beamed as she skipped back to him. Before he could respond, a knock interrupted.
“Hey, you better be getting your ass ready!” They heard through the door.
She watched as her mystery man rolled his eyes. “I’ll be there on time, Tommy. Don’t worry!”
“You better! Or shots on you tonight!” She watched mesmerized as he shook his hand in amusement and took a sip from his water bottle. She shook her head, trying to distract herself from how attractive he was. She realized she didn’t even know his name.
“Oh! I’m Felicity, by the way.” She held out a hand, which he took curiously.
“Oliver.”
“Oliver. Well, thanks for helping me out! You’re my knight in shining armor,” She teased, before slowly making her way out the room. “It seems like you’ve got places to be, so if you could just point me in the right direction…” She really didn’t want to embarrass herself any more in front of Oliver.
“Non-sense. I’ll walk you back,” He smiled charmingly as he held the door open for her.
They walked in comfortable silence until curiosity got the best of her. “So do you get to watch a lot shows?” Clearly she took him off guard, as he blinked at her in confusion. “You know, since you work here. Do you get to watch the shows?”
“Uh yeah, I do see lots of shows.” He finally answered, smiling like he was in on a secret.
“Very cool.” She said, as she started humming the tune to her favorite Arrow song.
“So are you here for The Lab? Or for Arrow?” Oliver asked.
“Technically I’m here for my friend, Iris. She’s a huge fan of The Lab, so I surprised her with tickets. I never actually listened to either band’s music until yesterday” She answered, playing with her hands in embarrassment.
Oliver huffed out an unexpected laugh beside her. “Makes sense.”
She decided to ignore him, rambling on. “After listening, I think I like Arrow a bit more. Their music just feels more raw and honest, you know?” She didn’t wait for a response. “I heard from the girls we were standing by that the lead singer of Arrow is, quote on quote, to die for.” She giggled. “But Iris says he’s apparently a bit of a jerk.” She looked curiously at Oliver as she felt him stiffen, but continued. “But I think that’s a bit of an unfair judgment. It’s not like we actually know the guy or anything.”
She felt Oliver’s hand on her arm, and was surprised to see a rather sad look on his face. “That’s very.. nice of you to think. You’re kind of remarkable, Felicity.”
She blushed. “Thanks for kind of remarking on it.” He chuckled, as he continued to lead her back to the stage and seats.
“Where are your seats?” He asked.
“I managed to get us tickets for the Pit” She answered.
“Well then, just go through that door. I guess I’ll leave you here.” Felicity tried to fight the wave of disappointment that saying goodbye brought.
“Thanks again… I really appreciate it.” Before she could talk herself out of it, she raised herself on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek, definitely enjoying the feel of his stubble against her face.
Before she had the chance to fully pull back, she felt his warm hands on her hips, and suddenly she was hauled forward, and his lips were on hers.
It was a soft and chaste kiss, and over far too soon, in her opinion. When she finally opened her eyes, he was smiling gently at her.
“I’ll see you around, Felicity.” And with that, he spun around and left, not giving her a chance to respond. Dazed, she turned and made her way through the door and back to the excited crowd. Unlikely, she thought, as she recalled his last words. She wanted to smack herself in the face for not getting his number when she had the chance.
Letting out a disappointed sigh, she fought her way through the crowd, eventually making it back to Iris.
“Where have you been?! I was starting to think you got kidnapped or something!” Iris said, as she pulled the blonde in for a hug.
“Sorry sorry, it was just a pain to find the bathroom.” Iris raised a brow in confusion.
“Felicity, there is definitely a bathroom like right out that door.”
“I know, but the line was ridiculously long, so I kind of snuck into some employee area, and this really hot guy helped me find a bathroom.” She said nonchalantly, trying not to make a big deal of it.
“Hot guy?! Spill!” But before Felicity could say anything else, the lights dimmed, and the show was starting.
The Lab sounded pretty great live. Iris did a good job picking her favorite band, Felicity thought, as she moved her body along with the music. Since she and Iris were literally touching the stage, Iris had managed to touch Barry’s hand as he interacted with the crowd. She was pretty sure her friend had been close to collapsing from joy.
Before she even knew it, The Lab was wrapping up their set, and it was time for Arrow to come on stage. She didn’t know how it was possible, but the crowd’s screams managed to get even louder. She worried that she would barely be able to hear the music. But suddenly, that became the last of her worries. Because the band had finally taken their place on stage. And right at the forefront, playing his guitar and singing to the crowd? Was a guy that looked identical to Oliver.
She froze, before frantically grabbing Iris’s sleeve.
“Iris! What is his name?!” She questioned, not believing his eyes.
“Ahh, so you’ve fallen under his spell too? That’s Oliver Queen! Lead singer for Arrow.” Iris smirked, amused by her seemingly star struck friend.
“Oh frack.” Felicity groaned. She had insulted him! Called him a jerk.. and then kissed him. And the whole time she thought he was an employee at the arena!
Unable to take her eyes off of him, she watched as his eyes swept through the crowd, until they finally landed on her. She wanted to duck away and hide, but as he kept his eyes locked on hers, she was frozen where she stood. It was almost as if it was just the two of them, and he was serenading her.
But soon the fan’s screams shook her out of her reverie, and she shyly looked away. She was mortified. How did she not realize who he was? He probably thought she was a complete idiot, coming to a concert without even knowing who was in the band.
She couldn’t divert her eyes for long, as the energy only got higher as the band started playing one of their biggest hits. She couldn’t help herself from quietly singing along. When she finally brought her eyes back up to the stage, she was relieved to see he was no longer looking at her. He was looking at the other side of the crowd; however, he was backing up, stepping closer and closer to where she stood.
He finally spun around, passionately playing his guitar solo… right by her. She swallowed, as Oliver managed to catch her eyes again. This time, he sent her a wink, grinning wildly.
She immediately felt her face light up in embarrassment, but couldn’t stop her automatic smile in return.
“Oh my God! Felicity, Oliver totally just winked at you! We’re definitely close enough to take a selfie!” Iris shouted over the crowd and music. But Felicity couldn’t bring herself to listen, still completely entrapped by his performance. He kept his eyes locked on hers. Only occasionally looking around the arena and interacting with other sections. But he always came back to her.
As the band played through their set, Oliver would move around stage, and though Felicity would try to watch the other members of the band, she could always feel when his focus was on her. Even from across the stage.
“Lis. Oliver Queen has been checking you out, this entire time!” Iris squealed, grabbing onto her hand.
Felicity shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous, there’s thousands of people here tonight, and hundreds in this little corner. He’s not actually looking at me.” But she knew she was lying. Oliver had managed to keep his word after all. But she didn’t want to read more into it. It was one night, where they had both felt a connection. But she wasn’t a groupie, and they would both have to return back to their regular lives after the night. And his regular life consisted of traveling the world and performing for adoring fans.. not dating a tech expert from MIT.
And there she was, thinking ahead of herself. ‘Oliver Queen’ didn’t even date. So she shook it off, and decided to just enjoy the show. She danced and sang along to the music, and even managed to wink at him once, enjoying just living in the moment.
All too soon, though it really had been hours since the show first started, Arrow announced their last song, and she knew her incredible night was coming to an end. Strangely, for the entire last song, Oliver avoided her section, instead walking around the stage and interacting with the other half of the crowd.
It was a good thing, she told herself. Most people probably thought it was strange that he spent so much time concentrating on one spot. But then, as the last notes of the song played out, he made his way straight towards her. The whole band thanked the crowd for coming out, and the fans cheered for everyone’s great performance.
And then suddenly Oliver was in front of her, holding down a hand for her. She stared at in shock, before suddenly fans were screaming and pushing, trying to grab his outreached hand. But he only had eyes for her, and his eyes were pleading with her to take it. But what exactly was he planning on doing? Pulling her up on stage?
“Felicity! Take it!” Iris urged. “You know its for you!”
And though she knew she had to get back to real life, she decided to take a leap of faith, and surged up to grab his hand. His answering smile, which highlighted the dimples she loved so much, was blinding as he hauled her up onto stage. Wow he was strong, pulling her up with just one hand, before he pulled her into his chest.
Before he managed to swoop in and steal another kiss, she stopped him before turning and pointing to Iris.
“I can’t leave my best friend behind,” She said innocently, already knowing that he probably wouldn’t refuse her. He grinned, clearly amused, before turning and offering a hand to a shell shocked Iris. She quickly grabbed his hand and was on stage in no time. Before a word could be said, Oliver grabbed Felicity’s hand before leading them backstage.
“Told you I’d see you around,” He said when they finally got backstage and was met with the rest of both band members. His friends were hollering in amusement, but Felicity paid them no attention.
“Felicity?! How in the-“ Iris froze as Barry cheerfully greeted her, asking her if she enjoyed the show. And suddenly Felicity was left alone with Oliver, as Iris abandoned her to talk with Barry.
“So, did you have fun at the show?” Oliver asked, grinning as grabbed her hand to pull her closer. Speechless, she could only nod.
“And what’s the verdict? Is the singer for Arrow as much of a jerk as you thought?”
Finally finding her voice, she let out a light laugh. “I dunno, he was kind of an ass, you know, hiding his identity and all. But then again, he’s kind of a really amazing kisser. So maybe I’ll give him some points for that.” And with that, his lips were on hers again, and she lost herself in his searing kiss.
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Two years later…
He eagerly opened the loft’s door, excited to finally see her again. The band had been recording a new album, leaving him with barely any time to come home. He would make sure to make it up to her soon, especially with their anniversary coming up.
He grinned, thinking back to when they first met. He had been stuck in a rut, allowing the fame to get to his head, and mixing that with his family drama… it all really made him a pain to be around. But then he had met her, and he was genuinely laughing and smiling for the first time in years.
“Oliver, I’m going to kill you!” He heard her shout from the living room, where he could hear the TV quietly playing. He smiled as he made his way over, curious to see what he had done to piss her off.
“What’d I do-?”He was cut off as a pillow smacked him in the face, but as he saw what was on screen he knew he probably deserved it.
Felicity turned up the volume, allowing him to hear the interview.
“So it’s pretty clear you’re madly in love with your girlfriend, Felicity.” The interviewer grinned, clearly excited to learn more about his personal life. “Can you tell us how you met, and how she managed to sweep you off your feet?”
He chuckled, already knowing how he responded in the interview. He was pretty sure he heard Felicity mumbling about sounding crazy.
“Well.. she threatened to pee her pants.”