Everybody Lies

AN – Still feeling the darkness of the current season but I had to write about Thea's recent comment to Oliver as that has just stuck in my brain. Also, I slipped this one by my beta so prepare yourself for more mistakes than normal but I hope you can ignore them and enjoy anyway – that goes for you too, Mic! :)

DISCLAIMER – I haven't won the lottery (yet) nor do I own Arrow (yet)…..I figure both are just as likely to happen, right?!


"You're the only one in my life who doesn't lie to me Ollie." I tossed it out carelessly as I dared to hope he would agree with it even as I dreaded the possibility that he might deny it. Neither happened though and he just gave me that smile that is more like a grimace…the look in his eyes was that of a dog I once saw the gardener try to help.

I was seven years old and I still remember it as if it was yesterday which is weird considering all the tragedies that happened after that. The dog was a scraggly mutt and it had clearly been in a fight as it was covered in blood and limping. My nanny shooed me away as she tried to help the gardener but I didn't leave. Instead I hid around the corner and watched as the poor dog alternated between a snarling growl and a crying yelp as they tried to help it. I remember its eyes were wild, scared, hopeful and just seeing it made me cry.

Seeing Ollie sometimes also makes me cry as his eyes have the same wild, scared, hopeful look. I was so happy when he returned from that island that it took me a longer than it should have to see that he no longer smiled or laughed. I knew he was hiding stuff from me but I didn't considering that lying – he just needed time to work through a lot of crap.

Then he got better for a while when Felicity Smoak and John Diggle were suddenly always with him. I didn't question him on how weird that looked because I was just happy that he was happy and I had my brother back in some small way. I told myself then that everything would be ok but then there was the destruction of the Glades and everything fell apart again.

Ollie left but he returned (I still believe it was Felicity and John who brought him back but I have no proof of that), Mom was arrested but she survived her trial, I had Roy and the Club so I again I told myself that everything would be ok. I was so happy to have survived all that crap and put my life back together that it took longer than it should have to see that Mom was still hiding something. It took longer than it should have to see that Ollie avoided her. It took longer than it should have to see that Roy avoided me and that he was hiding something.

I gave them all time – time to work through their crap and talk to me but none of them did. No one in my life talks to me at all! I know they think they are protecting me but I don't need their protection. I need the truth!

I have watched them all hide the truth from me. I've watched Ollie and Mom avoid each other's eyes and even avoid being near the other but both tell me everything is ok. I've even watched Ollie and Roy exchange looks now when before they avoided each other like the plague. I've watched Roy avoid my eyes and walk away…and he walks to Ollie...Ollie who still has Felicity and John at his side, Ollie who now has Sara back from the dead. What do I have? I have nothing, no one – I only have the lies.

For a moment the anger breaks free and I looked away from my brother. This time it was me hiding the truth from him. I guess everybody lies though because in just a moment I looked back, I smiled and I told him I will be ok before I walked away.

As I walked away I remembered the look in the dog's eyes, the look in Oliver's eyes and I couldn't help but wonder if Ollie saw that same wild, scared, hopeful look in my eyes when I lied to him.


AN2 - I would like to Roy's POV as well as the original Team Arrow POVs as I think there are things they are all lying about either to each other or themselves! As always I'm open to your suggestions so review or PM me if you have an idea!