A/N: This is a little something I wrote about Felicity and Thea meeting after 3x09. I hope you like it!

Felicity walked numbly inside of Verdant. It was early, or late. She guessed it depended on your view of life. It was six in the morning and the club must have closed about an hour ago. It was empty and clean, the light of day unflattering on the plain grey walls.

The silence was oppressive and she brought her arms around her body unconsciously, trying to shield herself from something, she didn't even know what.

She had bolted out of the foundry hours ago, yelling at Diggle when he had tried to stop her, grabbing her bag in a haste and not bothering with her jacket, stepping out in the cold winter night and unlocking her car with shaky hands.

She had driven home, pretending to not notice him following her. Part of her had felt terrible for the way she had treated Dig. He had always been kind and supporting, a true friend and he was one of the few people she really loved. But in that moment the pained look he had given her after her outburst had granted her an odd, dark thrill. Hurting her friend had made her feel something different from the terrifying sense of emptiness.

"Oliver Queen is dead."

She had frozen at Malcolm Merlyn's words, dread making her world stop for a moment. Roy had gone to confront him after two days without news, when neither of them could wait anymore, the lack of answers driving them crazy. She had taken the ear-bud out, smashing it on the table, as if breaking it could somehow erase the words from her memory.

She didn't even know what she was doing at Verdant again. She had been pacing restlessly inside her townhouse, angry tears clouding her eyes, exhausting her.

"Hello?"

Felicity turned sharply, her heart hammering in her chest. She thought she was alone.

"Oh, hi! Sorry I haven't recognized you. Were you looking for someone?"

Thea spoke gently, with a hint of cheerfulness even if Felicity could tell it wasn't genuine. She approached her slowly, concern showing in her face at the lack of an answer and at Felicity's disheveled appearance. "Are you all right?"

Felicity suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to laugh and she couldn't stop herself, she didn't have the strength. It sounded bitter and strained in the empty room and she could see Thea was scared.

"Did something happened? Something happened to my brother, right? I- He hasn't come home in two days, W- what happened, please?"

Thea pleaded, suddenly grasping her forearms to make her focus on her and Felicity stifled a sob, knowing that in the moment she said it out loud it would be real.

"It's all my fault."

"What?"

"I didn't stop him, I can't believe I didn't. I should have- I-"

"What happened?"

"He is dead, Thea."

She could hear the hollowness in her voice and she didn't even flinch when Thea's grip on her arms tightened painfully, pain and anger storming in her eyes.

"What? No! You are lying! That's not, no!"

She watched the tears running down the young girl's cheeks and her voice cracking when she saw the truth in Felicity's eyes.

"Come with me, there is something I need to show you."

While she led Thea downstairs Felicity briefly thought that the last thing Oliver would have wanted was to involve his sister in their mission. But Oliver was gone and he was never coming back.

He had wanted to protect her so badly that he hadn't realized that Thea was already involved. Malcolm had taken away her innocence and tricked her, leading her brother to certain death as a result.

She needed to know. The lies had to stop if they really wanted to protect her, to open her eyes and make her see what kind of man her father really was.

She ignored Thea's wary questions as she opened the door and started walking down the steps of their secret hideout, the place she had naively called her home because she had shared it with the people she considered family.

As they reached the basement and Thea looked shocked at the glass case with the Arrow costume, the pieces finally coming together in her mind, Felicity finally realized she was saying goodbye to the world as she knew it, goodbye to everything she had taken for granted, goodbye to Oliver, who she had foolishly believed would never abandon her.