There were times when Oliver felt genuinely concerned for Felicity. He had dragged her into his crusade as the vigilante and he could see the physical toll it took from her. Oliver wasn't sure if he was just imagining it but, sometimes, there was a hollowness in her eyes; one that he hadn't recognised previously. Felicity Smoak was usually the epitome of life. She was happy and hopeful and didn't hesitate to use the word "candy" in a sentence, any sentence. However, recently, her bubbliness had fizzled. She was harsh and precautious and Oliver couldn't help but blame himself. He had done this to her, forced her into this.

"Are you okay?" Oliver knew what she would say but he felt obliged to ask. It was the least he could do.

"I'm fine." Felicity smiled gingerly yet the smile didn't reach her eyes. There was no bright blue twinkle, just … emptiness.

"Felicity-" Oliver tried but was instantaneously stopped.

"Oliver, I'm fine really," Felicity mumbled the next bit under her breathe. "Under the circumstance."

Oliver let out an audible sigh, his large chest heaving up and down as he did. He knew the effect The Hood had had on Felicity's life and he would do anything in his power to stop her from hurting … apart from the one thing she actually needed from him.

"I'm so sorry," Oliver placed a heavy hand upon Felicity's shoulder, giving her a ginger squeeze. "I just can't bring Thea into this, I just can't. I know she's your best friend and I know you hate lying to her but after everything that's she been through recently telling her the truth will kill her."

Felicity, to some degree, knew that Oliver was right. She had witnessed Thea breakdown after the accident with the Queen's Gambit and she wasn't sure if her friend go through such distress again. Selfishly enough, Felicity wasn't sure if she could stomach Thea going through such distress again. Yet equally, Felicity knew lying to Thea was wrong. Whenever Thea wanted to hang out or spend some time together, Felicity always had to say no, she always had to make up a bogus excuse because she was helping Diggle and Oliver. Now the lies were escalating and Thea – who wasn't stupid – knew something was wrong. Thea had already begun questioning Felicity about where she spent all her time. All Felicity really wanted was to tell Thea the truth … she just wanted the heavy weight upon her chest to be lifted.

"Lying to her will eventually kill her too." Felicity spoke after moments of eerie silence. "What if she finds out from someone else? We're two of the closest people to her and if she finds out we've been lying to her-"

"She won't." Oliver was careful when hiding his identity under the hood and he was positive that Thea would never know the truth. What Thea didn't know wouldn't hurt her. And, despite wanting to prevent Felicity from hurting, he had to put Thea first.

"I'm pretty sure you decided to become The Hood on your own, Oliver and yet, here we are. Diggle and I weren't part of your original plan but we eventually found out. It's not impossible for Thea to find out either."

"She won't." Oliver said again, just a lot more sternly. His voice was laced with so much ice it scared Felicity. Her shoulders went rigid and Oliver felt her tighten underneath him. Again, he felt guilty for making her feel the way that she did. "I am sorry, Felicity. I care for you so much but Thea's my sister and I want the best for her-"

"So do I!" Felicity jumped out of her swivel work chair, startling Oliver. "I care about Thea too, Oliver and I'm not sure if I can keep his secret from her for much longer. Lying to her is breaking my heart."

If only Felicity knew that her conflicted situation was breaking Oliver's heart too.