Author's Notes: I shamelessly took the story line of The Notebook and Arrow and this is where it's led me. If you all like it, I may continue it so let me know!

Do you ever just wake up knowing that the day is going to go horribly wrong? Maybe you didn't sleep well. Maybe it was the sushi you ate last night. Maybe you just feel off. Regardless of the reason, you just know. Felicity Smoak woke today, just knowing.

Today is supposed to be one of the most exciting days before the wedding. It's the final fitting for the bridesmaids and herself. And yet, something in the pit of her stomach is screaming at her to watch out. Today will not be her day. She rolls over and tries to force that feeling out of her head by reminding herself of everything that has gone so seemingly perfect. Perfect dress. Perfect church. Perfect flowers. Perfect Groom. Oh boy the groom. Dylan. Sometimes she just stares at him and wonders how the hell she got so lucky. He's the most honest and kind person she's ever known. He's charismatic and magnetic. He commands the room. Hell, looking at him before he even speaks is enough to take your breath away. Golden brown eyes and dark brown hair. Tall and broad but not overly muscular. Dreamy. In one word, that's how Felicity would describe him. She knows she's got the man of her dreams.

Somewhere deep down inside of her is always quick to whisper 'twice'. Just as quickly as that nasty thought emerges, she forces it back down where it belongs, at the bottom of the ocean.

"And there it is." She mumbles into her pillow. She realizes why today is going to be off and horrible and absolutely no good. It's his birthday. He'd be 25 today.

"Nope. No. Not today, Sir. No." She declares as she swings her feet off the bed and makes her way to the bathroom. She's not going to let another day be ruined by the thought of Oliver Queen. Her emotions for him tended to live somewhere in the red hot hatred section of her heart, and today was no different.

She hasn't always felt that way.

When Felicity was 17, she met the boy she knew would be her forever. High School had never been a problem for Felicity. In all honestly, she was actually a problem for high school. They had to make harder tests and give her special homework to keep her engaged. Oliver, on the other hand, despite being very bright, was lazy. He came to class, but anyone could tell his mind was in other places. Over the course of the semester, Felicity started noticing that he would periodically look her way. As much as she'd like to believe he just enjoyed the view, she knew he was slightly more interested in what was on her paper. She wasn't a cheater and she knew she needed to confront him about his wandering eyes. The problem, though, was his eyes. They were the bluest eyes she'd ever seen and they always seemed to have a hint of mischief in them. She had a hard time concentrating when she caught them looking at her. She caught him twice in one week looking right at her and when she would look up he wouldn't even try to hide it. He would just give a small smirk and continue gazing. About a week after she caught him staring he appeared at her locker. He looked nervous.

"Felicity Smoak? Hi, I'm Oliver Queen."

"I know who you are."

He looked at her for a moment like he was surprised she knew who he was but continued, "Right, obviously. I mean, I sit next to you in Literature, which of course you'd know. Not that you'd take special notice that I was there or anything but that seems like the most obvious way you'd know me. Not that I'm not knowable from other places. I mean I play football and wrestle. But I've never seen you at either of those events, not that I've been looking for you. I swear I'm going to stop babbling in 3..2..1... I'm sorry."

She just stared at him. There was so much information hitting her at once she didn't know what to say in response. And just when he looked like he couldn't be more mortified and started to walk away she spoke up.

"I sit on the visitors side. Less crowded."

He looked shocked that she managed to follow his whole train-wreck of a conversation. She smiles and continues, " Let's make a deal. You can carry my books to class and I'll write a little bigger to so don't have to strain so hard." She waited for his answer.

His returned her smile and responded. "Oh, I haven't been looking at your notes."

Looking back, Felicity knows that she's never flushed harder than at that moment. That day was the start of something beautiful. And devastating. It was the beginning of everything. And nothing.

Felicity pulls herself from her bittersweet memories and forces herself to get ready.

She heads out to meet her bridesmaids at the bridal shop about 25 minutes from her apartment.

She passes Queen Consolidated on her way and she finds herself thinking of the last time she was there with a sigh. She can't believe it's been five years.

"I can't believe you didn't even consider talking to me before making such a big commitment, Oliver! Two months in China is a long time! The two months on a different continent!" Felicity exclaimed as she shut his office door.

"I didn't realize we were the type of couple that ran huge decisions by each other. I must have missed that." He responded calmly, which only fueled Felicity's anger.

"Of course this is where this argument is going. This is where every argument has gone for the last three weeks. I'm not going to apologize for choosing my future, my career, what I want, over where my boyfriend wants me to work. Palmer Technologies has a better Applied Sciences department and I was offered a better position, so I took it. I won't apologize for that."

"You won't apologize for choosing a company on the other side of the country. We had plans, Felicity!" Oliver's voice cracked slightly and Felicity could feel the guilt creep it's way back in.

"You act like we can't have plans anymore. I know this is going to be hard. I know it's not what you want. And yes, I should have talked to you about it before signing a contract but I did sign the contract. It's happening. But long distance can work, Oliver. It doesn't have to be all or nothing." Now she was the one with the cracking voice.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know."

She froze. She could feel this coming since the day she told him about the job. He just sat there solemnly and she could feel in her bones that this wasn't an argument they were going to get over.

He looks up at her and continues, "Look, I don't know where we stand anymore. We've spent almost everyday together for the past two years. I understand Palmer is giving you the opportunity of a life time, paying for the rest of your degree and giving you a job. Baby, I get that, I really do. But I'm stuck here. QC. This is it for me. I've known where I stand with this company since I was 10. In 3 years, I'll be Vice President. When Dad steps down, I'll be CEO. I won't be able to spend weeks on the other side of the country. And you won't either. Felicity, you are going to prove to them your worth so quickly I know they'll do everything they can to keep you. And they should. You are the smartest, most hard working person I've ever met. I honestly don't know why you've stuck around with me for so long." Oliver wasn't looking at her anymore. He was staring out of his office windows with a resigned look on his face.

Felicity didn't know where to begin to respond. Mostly because there weren't any questions. He seemed to have already made up his mind.

"Oliver. I know you're upset with me. But we still have a month together before I leave for PT and you go to China. We can sit down and work out a schedule. It doesn't have to be the end. I love you. I don't want this to be over." She was trying very hard to keep the tears from spilling over and she could tell Oliver was having the same problem.

Oliver moved from his chair around so he was standing right in front of her, leaning back on his desk. He takes her hands in his and begins rubbing small circles over the top of them. She can tell he is trying to choose his words carefully and that scares her more than anything.

"Felicity, we have a month left. Then you're leaving and I'm going to China. I think I need this time. We need this time. We can finish out this month and just see where we are when I get back." Oliver says as he's looking anywhere but at her.

"Please don't do this. You don't mean it." The previously unshed tears were now rolling freely down her cheeks. "God, Oliver, why wait until the end of the summer. If you want to break up with me just do it. Do it! Right now!"

Oliver just watched her, waiting for her to calm down. This wasn't how he wanted this conversation to go and he knew she was just scared and overreacting.

"You know what, if you won't do it, I will. It's over. Okay? It's over." Felicity was screaming now and somewhere in the back of her mind she was thankful she had shut his office door. She knew she was overreacting but she was so mad at the very thought of him leaving her, all acceptable behavior flew out the window.

"Stop crying. Come here." Oliver moves to put his arms around her, but Felicity pushes him away.

"Don't touch me! I hate you! I hate you." Felicity backs up until she is against the doors, surprised by her own words. They had always swore to each other that no matter how mad they may be at each other, they could never hate each other. You couldn't hate someone you loved so much.

Oliver holds his hands up in surrender. "Okay. You hate me? Really? Fine. I'm leaving. You can see yourself out when you're ready." He moves around her and opens the door to leave.

"We're not really breaking up. Oliver? Come on. This is just a fight. We'll get through it like all the others. Oliver?" She wills him to turn around and answer her but he's already gone.

It wasn't until the next morning that she heard from him again. He left her a text message that said, "I changed my China plans. I'm taking the yacht instead of flying. I'm leaving today. Enjoy your new job. - O".

She's back in her car, but emotionally she's all over the place. Sometimes all it takes is one little thought of him and all of the walls she's thrown up seem to crumble down. She misses him. Of course she does. He made his decision in that office 5 years ago and that decision changed her life forever. Every time she thinks about it she gets angry all over again. Mostly at him. A little at herself. If he had just listened to her. If he didn't walk away. If she hadn't yelled at him. If she didn't tell him she hated him. If if if. All the ifs in the world doesn't change the did. Those things did happen. And as she pulls into the bridal shop parking lot she vows to put all of her annual anguish over a man she'll never see again aside and focus on the man she'll spend the rest of her life loving.

Her bridesmaids consist of her two cousins, Shelby and Sydney, her best friend Sara, and her college roommate Taylor.

As she opens the door to the shop she wonders why she was even entertaining the thought of Oliver on a day like this. Her favorite people all in one place, celebrating her and Dylan.

"There you are, we were beginning to think you had stood up your own wedding party!" Taylor said with a wide grin. It was clear she had already helped herself to the mimosas.

"I'm so sorry you guys! Traffic was horrible and I woke up late. I'm here now so hand me one of those drinks and lets get to checking these measurements." Everyone seemed to take her enthusiasm at face value as they begin to change into their dresses. Everyone but Sara.

She eyes Felicity from the couch she's sitting on. She knows her best friend better than anyone else in the whole world. Felicity's mouth said she was late because of traffic. But her eyes screamed 'I took the long way here so I could drive by QC and wallow in self loathing for a few extra minutes today'. Sara wasn't dumb. She was the person who held Felicity's hand when she cried for hours. She was the one who told her that she was strong enough to make it through Oliver leaving. She was with Felicity when she got the call from Thea telling her that Oliver's yacht when down in a storm. She picked up the pieces, because it was her job. And as someone who is keen on picking up her pieces, she can tell Felicity is hanging on by a thread. It's his birthday. The five year anniversary of his death is in a few days. She's getting married in 3 weeks. It's all too much for her. Sara doesn't even think Felicity knows she's so close to losing it. No, that was Sara's job to know that. That's why Sara chugs the rest of her mimosa and has a 5 second panic attack when she looks at her news update on her phone. That's why Sara, very calmly, gets up and drinks the rest of Shelby's and then moves on towards Felicity's fitting room. She takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.

"Hey Lis? Can you come here for a second?"

"Yeah hold on! Almost got the dress laced up. Okay, what's up?" She opens the door and smiles at Sara.

Sara blows out the breath she's been holding. 'This is going to be a lot of pieces' she thinks to herself before looking Felicity in the eye and saying, "He's alive."