Hi everyone,
I met Stephen Amell in real life and had a chance to chat with him, and the exchange inspired me to write this short little drabble. Everything that happens in this story is "true", but I changed the names and setting to match the Arrow-verse. Enjoy!
Love,
Pippin
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I was meeting Oliver Queen today and I didn't want to look like a frump. I nervously checked my reflection in the rearview mirror. My red hair was rising away from my head in less curl than it was fluff caused by humidity. My dark yellow dress and denim overshirt looked very... hipster, but not embarrassingly so. My armpits were damp with the stress of driving into downtown. Although I wasn't too worried about that, it was about ninety-eight degrees outside, and everyone would look a little damp.
So I went the extra mile and applied red lipstick, holding my cellphone precariously close to my face for the lighting.
"Do I look okay?" I asked Bugs, patiently waiting in the passenger seat. My brother is a saint for the amount of times he has quietly and respectfully sat through last-minute groomings such as this.
"Yep!" he replied, ever helpful, but with a slight lilt at the end of the reply as if he was also asking a question.
"Ready?" I asked. He was born ready.
"Are you?" he laughed.
"Yes, finally. I just don't want to look like an idiot. It's been a long day at work."
Naturally on one of the most exciting days of my life, one of the attorneys at the firm would ask for me to do a task last minute before I could clock out. I did their bidding (naturally) as fast as possible, then met Bugs in a movie theater parking lot. Then we carpooled into downtown Star City.
The drive was long, and hot, and we arrived forty-five minutes after it started. We were in a neighborhood I was slightly familiar with, but with construction nearby, the streets were taking on a sort of ominous Gotham tone instead. (Now, THERE is a city I would never live in!)
The event itself was a charity gala, the sort of thing one expects to see a member of the Queen family attend. Although now it was just Oliver and Thea Queen, both parents long gone and no other forgotten siblings to speak of.
I viewed Mr. Mayor Queen as a celebrity that just happened to be in our city. Before he was old and responsible and democratically sound, he was just a young ruffian known for being a playboy, bat-shit rich and loving it. Someone who was probably heading for a role on The Bachelorette or some sort of Jersey Shore reality.
But when his dad's yacht was wrecked while he was on it, we all thought he was gone for good. Then he showed up again, and - well, you probably know the story. He's famous for it. Lost on an uninhabited Asian island for 5 years? I would have been dead in three days.
My brother has another theory entirely.
"I'm telling you, he's the guy in the hood," he said one day.
"Oliver QUEEN? You think?"
"It's the perfect origin story," Bugs insisted. "And the arrow thing didn't happen until after he came back. They never appear in the same place at the same time unless one of them mysteriously disappears. Whenever something happens to Mr. Queen, the Arrow disappears for awhile. I'm telling you. Same guy."
I had my doubts, but I had to admit, it was the best theory I'd ever heard. My friends were still voting for Michael Jackson, Johnny Depp, or Bruce Wayne (ha!).
The bouncer took an uncomfortably long time to examine our licenses. Neither of us look old enough to be in a bar. I look seventeen, Bugs looks eighteen. I'm twenty seven. He's twenty three. We'll appreciate this when we're elderly.
Then our hands were stamped and we were ushered into the venue; it was crowded but not unpleasant. There were tables and seats in old repurposed wood, a bar with stools along the right, and on the left a pair of double doors that led to a gravel plaza and deck.
We went out onto the deck to look around; nothing was really happening quite yet, except for a game of bean bag toss in front of us, and someone on a microphone making general announcements. There was a photo op sheet spread up on the wooden fence separating the plaza from the rest of the world, and a serving table up on the right where the Mayor would be pouring drinks and collecting donations.
But it was hot. The molten lava sort of hot, where everything sticks and drips. No shade at all, except for those that arrived early and grabbed the tables with umbrellas. (Although they did have one of those nice little hose things that periodically misted a small area. It'd be weird if I stood in it's spray zone the whole time though...)
We retreated indoors to order food and water if possible.
"I don't really see him anywhere," I said.
Bugs made a sarcastic motion of drawing an arrow from a quiver and shooting it off into the distance.
"No," I laughed. "He'll be here." I pointed to a big empty table in the middle of the room. "Why don't we sit here?" I suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Bugs replied, sitting across from me and picking up a menu. Suddenly the right corner of the room erupted in cheers and clapping. The Mayor entered, looking pleasantly dressed down, shaking hands and accepting awkwardly timed selfies as he made his way along the bar. Some people didn't even notice, nor care, that Oliver Queen was standing beside them. One woman on a cell phone looked over her shoulder at him with a bewildered and annoyed expression.
I looked across the table at my brother and grinned widely. "It's him!" I squealed, being totally uncool. I quickly turned the camera on my phone towards Oliver, recording him as he walked by my table. He's just the mayor, I told myself. Just a mayor who does really, really good deeds for this city!
I stood up awkwardly to say hello. He was standing right next to me, then turned ever so slightly to talk to another person at the bar.
He's also your childhood crush back when he was just the rich famous guy, my evil mind reminded me. You totally wanted to be Mrs. Queen!
I lost my nerve and slumped down in my seat again. That was it, I thought. Lost my chance! Before I know it, his term will be up, and he moves to Canada, and we never hear or see him again!
My brother laughed at me and shrugged. He's more obsessed with the idea of superheroes than he is with a current mayor. Now if Mr. Queen proved his theory and swooped in with a bow and arrow... Bugs would likely be fangirling as hard as I.
"Hi, Mr. Queen!" shouted someone. "Can we get a picture of you with the baseball team?"
"Certainly!" he replied, walking behind me to the table right behind ours, were a very large group of young men sat dressed in blues and whites.
I sat frozen at my table. If I were to turn in my seat and look behind me, my face would be pressed into his spinal chord. That's how close he was standing to me.
"Uh," I said to Bugs.
Bugs was cheerfully laughing at my star-struck face.
Oliver looped an an arm around two baseball players on each side. They were cheering like crazy fraternity brothers. The flash went off and they cheered again.
He unlooped his arms from about their shoulders and -
JAB!
An elbow drove right between my shoulder blades.
I jumped and shrieked loudly. It scared the bejeezus out of me but also hit a particularly ticklish spot. I whipped my head around fully scold a few baseball boy frat bros and saw that it was - in fact - the mayor himself that elbowed me, not the one of the jocks.
"Oh my GOD!" He exclaimed, looking down at me. "I am SO sorry!"
"It's okay?!" I squeaked.
He was quickly ushered away to his next photo op, and I moved in slow motion until I was staring at my brother again. His mouth was hanging open and he was laughing.
"Hey so," I said cheekily, "Does this mean I just got into a fight with the Green Arrow... and won?"
Bugs just continued in his merriment to point and laugh at my expense.
"Hey question," I said, "If he's going outside that means the event is really starting - why don't we head out, check it out, and then come back for food?"
"Sounds fine to me! I'm good with whatever."
"Ya sure?"
"I mean, I'm going to definitely need food eventually, but we can walk around I bit, I don't care."
We hustled back outside to the plaza, where Mr. Queen had gone up to the microphone and was welcoming everyone to the event, urging us to be sure to donate what we can and thanking us for participating in a great cause. When he stepped down from the microphone he walked right past me a second time, and this time I felt sort of dejected. Or is it rejected?
I wondered if the exchange I imagined in my head would ever happen. Mr. Queen, I wanted to say, I just want to thank you for all you've done for this city... Particularly for the programs you've sponsored for cancer research and aid...
Oliver Queen got behind the "punch table" (outdoor counter, really) where you could make your donations, and began pouring cups of ale from a tap. A line was quickly forming. Bingo!
"Let's get in line, yeah?" I barked. "Ale, and then food? I just - I think if we go inside now we'll miss our chance, ya know? Ale, talk to the Mayor, and then food?"
Bugs shrugged his shoulders complacently. "Fine by me," he smiled. "The ale looks good."
"Well," I said, pulling out my phone again, "My treat!" I held it up at a decent enough angle. "SMILE!" I sang loudly. He smiled and we probably took the cutest sibling selfie known to mankind.
The line maneuvered through the pea gravel section of the plaza alongside the deck. Without any shade, my brother and I roasted alive for several minutes. I was literally turning into a piece of toast, the gross kind, more charcoal than bread...
We were closer now, and I handed my phone off to Bugs. My hands were shaking nervously as I handed over the money to pay for the ale. I was actively avoiding eye-contact with Oliver as I made this exchange, even though it was clearly my turn to talk to him. Social anxiety and being star-struck were hitting me hard at once.
He handed me the ale. "There you go," he said cheerfully.
"Okay, so, uh," I began in an oddly shrill voice of upper-pitch blushing and so unlike me. "I just wanted to say that, um, I just really appreciate everything that you're doing, particularly with the latest campaign to promote awareness and donate to cancer research..." While I was rambling, he went from the passive expression of politely listening to breaking into a huge, almost uncharacteristic smile of absolute warmth.
"I'm in remission from cancer right now and my best friend would like, while I was in chemotherapy, would text me pictures and articles about what you've been participating and giving to recently, and it just made me really happy... and..."
He put a hand to his chin in a thoughtful, considerate sort of way. "How long have you, uh, been in remission for?" he asked.
"Two years now," I replied.
"Good for you," Oliver said in a rather gentle tone.
"And yeah, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate it. So much."
He excused a humble half-shrug. "Oh, absolutely," he replied kindly, holding out his hand. "And what's your name?"
"Oh, Pippin. Pippin Strange," I said, reaching over and shaking his hand. His hand was warm and not too grippy. "And this is my brother, Bugs," I added, grabbing my phone from Bugs so he could shake Oliver's hand too.
"Hey there!" Oliver exclaimed.
"S'up, dude," said my brother with a happy smile, his voice about a million octaves deeper than the Mayor's. The contrast was hilarious.
Oliver shook Bugs's hand heartily across the counter. "Good to meet you, man!"
"It was really nice to meet you," I said. "Thank you so much." I gestured to the ale and Bugs collected it, and my small change that I had forgotten.
"So," Bugs said as we stepped away and the next person in line stepped up. "Get everything you need?"
"I got something, anyway," I giggled, feeling the emotional high of the conversation I had imagined would happen having actually just occurred. A chance to say thank you. Something I didn't think would ever happen; he'd never truly know how much the little gestures meant to me.
My brother and I went inside and picked a table. He ordered a massive burger. I ordered chicken strips and fries. We over-used the ketchup and laughed and joked, reminiscing over my conversation to the Mayor as if it were a memory from ten years ago instead of ten minutes.
But that's how it is for us survivors, I guess. You can't wait to feel nostalgic; otherwise you may not get a chance. The last ten seconds you just had is time spent alive, (already making it better than the alternative) and it is part of a rich and present history. With a near and uncertain future with a possible expiration date, you'd best celebrate that last ten seconds, and celebrate it well.
When Mayor Oliver Queen put a campaign to fight cancer at the forefront of one of his recent causes to sponsor, I was fifteen pounds underweight and as bald as Lex Luthor with an IV up my arm and one ER visit in my back pocket. That's something that personally affects me. My phone would buzz while I sat in the unfeeling recliner of the chemotherapy department, and I'd open a picture from my best friend to an article and pictures.
Look at this awesome shirt! my friend's brutally honest and perfectly timed text would read. I would totally buy it for you right now but I don't have enough money. It seems weird to send it to you while you're there - is that weird? - but I know that you'd like to see it.
I wouldn't have wanted to see anything else! I replied. I love it! Send more!
Mayor of Star City Oliver Queen Raises $140,000 for Cancer Research with Limited Edition Apparel Campaign
My brother doesn't have to prove he's the man in the Green Arrow's hood for me to know he's a hero.
And I would think to myself; well, maybe I won't make it, but thanks to his generosity and creativity, somebody will.
But I did actually make it. So far.
And it was a privilege to tell him so.
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Thanks so much for reading everyone! It was such an exciting evening to meet the man in the green hood. He was such a delightful and genuine person.
a couple of notes;
1 - You can see my pics of the event on instagram, find me at myapapaya_adventures
2 - You can see the video Bugs took of me talking to Stephen Amell on my "Mya Papaya" YouTube channel in a video cleverly disguised with the title "I MET STEPHEN AMELL". My channel url can't be shared in this document but the original URL user you can search for is MrsPippinBaggins
... seriously that URL was the choice of a 13 year old me long before I realized the internet is forever. That used to be my name here on fanfiction, but I changed it to Pippin Strange when I realized I could not in fact marry Frodo Baggins.
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Hope you enjoyed :)