~* Chick Flick *~
un·ex·pect·ed
[uhn-ik-spek-tid]
adjective
not expected or regarded as likely to happen. Their Love? so unexpected
[One]
Oliver
The thought cluttered his mind on a quiet Tuesday afternoon
His breathing was still, steady in the dark room. His thoughts? well those weren't quite as steady.
He was going to ask her to marry him.
Laurel
Thee Laurel.
He was going to ask her to be his wife.
She'd been dropping hints for a while now, asking where he saw their relationship headed, what he wanted in life, what he thought of big families, would he ever want to have twins? what about Larry for a boys name?
all understandable having dated as long as they had- except for the whole Larry situation, she knew he wanted his first born son to carry on his fathers name. His mother, too, was pent on getting him married, and more importantly, getting herself grandkids. Though a little less subtle with her approach "Oliver, you're not getting any younger, god knows I'm not, and I want grandchildren!"
He got the message nonetheless. Loud and clear, he would say.
He thought about the last couple years for a moment, thinking they'd felt like a strange, slightly arousing game of cat and mouse since dodging her hints of moving in together a few years back, her hinting at marriage and a life together and him.. well lets say he was considerably less keen to the idea
And if he was being completely honest ,which he was, it was a sort of new resolution for him, honesty
He tended to avoid commitment like the plague.
But Laurel, she stuck with him all these years, she was all he really knew. Even though their relationship was like a disconcerting off-and-on-again roller coaster ride, those that always seemed to be on the edge of flying over the tracks, he'd never strayed too far from her.
So he laid there, next to Laurel's softly sleeping form, asking himself- why the hell not?
Why shouldn't he ask Laurel Lance to marry him?
He was CEO of a large company, albeit an under-qualified one, but he was giving it his best shot. He had his own apartment, penthouse actually, and it was about time he settled down, a thought he never imagined his head was even capable of forming.
but there it was
His partying days were definitely behind him, he didn't think his liver could take any more abuse. His wandering eye was reigned in tight, his self control at an all time high, his inhibitions very much his own-
It was the perfect time, he couldn't imagine a more perfect time
He would get the ring out from the Queen family vault, he would make reservations at that expensive french restaurant she liked that had those clam things that he, personally, thought were gross but she couldn't seem get enough of whenever he managed a night off to take her out. He would put the ring on a breadstick, stuck out just far enough for the glint of the diamond to catch her eye like in those romantic movies she loved so much.
She would cry, happy tears, of course, and people would clap. A moment to remember- like she'd said she wanted.
Their epic love finally culminating.
He laid stretched out on her bed, sleep escaping him while he studied the cracked finishing of the eggshell ceiling.
He looked over towards the warm sleeping body that laid peacefully beside him, her dark hair sprawled over the plain bedding, her chest rising and falling in soft movements. He watched her for a few moments before falling back into his side of the bed, his arms coming to rest behind his head as he continued to trace the edges of her cracking ceiling with tired eyes that refused to rest, finding the faults in Laurels handy work too interesting to miss.
"Ollie?" her groggy voice called out softly "Why aren't you asleep?" she asked, turning on her side to face him, her eyes still closed, heavy with sleep
"Your ceiling needs fixing" he whispered into the dark room
"What?" the word was uttered lethargically, her voice already losing the battle with exhaustion.
"Your ceiling, It needs-" the soft sound of her snores cut him off, his meaningless words getting lost in the darkness. He glanced at her, already back to sleeping with a blank expression on her face, motionless almost to the degree that Oliver would be checking her pulse frantically. Her face was peaceful, free of the usual tension that took residence on her features that always seemed to have her on edge, the weight of her line of work, she'd told him once, was too important to take lightly.
He considered her for a moment, what she meant to him...she was... Laurel... she was his constant, his reality
"Sleep" she said after a heart beat of silence, breaking the peaceful spell "you have work tomorrow" breaking the moment of the world being just him and just her, together in her dark room with the faulty ceiling, thoughts of spending the rest of their lives together floating around his cluttered mind.
But he complied, falling into a restless slumber
He awoke hours later to the sound of Laurel padding around the room barefoot in unsuccessful stealth. He watched her walking groggily but still productively through the room, gathering her clothes, patting at her dark hair that had rustled with sleep. She was pulling on her dress pants when she noticed him watching her
"good morning" she said, a smile spreading slowly on her face
"Morning" he murmured, stretching his hands behind him, resting his head on the palms of his folded arms while he watched his girlfriend get dressed
"enjoying the show?" she asked with a chuckle, glancing at him over her shoulder
"mmmmmm" he answered, his eyes openly raking over her topless back
"I have to work late today" she told him after she was fully dressed, only a few buttons left undone, revealing a patch of smooth skin.
"Okay"
"theres this case we have to crack today, a little girl's mother is unjustly in jail, she's all she has left" she explained from her bathroom, sweeping a brush in circular motions over her face
He closed his eyes for another second, his heavy thoughts finally taking a toll on him, before he heard her moving through the room again. Her cheeks had a pinkish flush swept over them,he noticed as she approached, and her eyes were darkened only slightly by a deep shade of eyeshadow. She stepped over his discarded shirt to give him a quick peck on the lips
She hovered over him, brushing her nose over his "Lunch?"
"I'm actually having lunch with Tommy"
Silence
She pulled back abruptly "Is he back?" she asked, her voice sounding the slightest bit strained
"Yeah, he got back yesterday night, called me as soon as he arrived, said Europe treated him well"
"Yeah?" she swallowed, not quite meeting his eyes
"Yeah"
she gathered her heels quickly, sitting on the bed with her back to him, strapping them on in a rush, not looking at him as she reached across him to get her keys from the nightstand. He grabbed her wrist before she could make her hasty exit, kissing the inside of her palm
"everything ok?" his brows were furrowed, confused by her odd behavior
"Fine"
"you sure? as soon as I mentioned that Tommy was back you freaked, is something wrong?"
"No!" she snapped "Im fine, nothing is wrong" she said, softer this time, her shoulders still tense, body language practically screaming that she was anything but fine.
"Just in a hurry"
"Okay" he said reluctantly "If you're sure"
"Positive" she smiled then, her muscles straining for it to appear sincere, but he knew better
"Okay"
Tommy
He was back
back in Starling
back home.
Don't get him wrong, Europe was great, the continent was packed with countless very foreign, very willing belle filles that took it upon themselves to make him feel very much at home
But you know what they say, there's no place like home, actual home, and you know what else they say, home is where the heart is...or something like that. His favorite, though is, there's nothing like a big juicy, cholesterol packed, American burger... thats probably not a saying, but burgers are his kryptonite and better if they're shared with a friend
A best friend
"Tommy Merlyn" he heard a familiar voice call from across the parking garage at Big Belly Burger, taking his attention from handing his cab driver a bill. Tommy turned, knowing exactly who that voice belonged to
"Oliver Queen" he called back, a wide smile spreading on his face
He watched Oliver look both ways before crossing the street, his green tie blowing over his shoulder, a familiar smile on his face. He gave the driver a fifty dollar bill "keep the change" and walked over to meet his friend half way
"where have you been, buddy?" Oliver asked, clapping him on the back in one of those very manly kind of hugs
"Oh you know, making a name for us Americans in Europe" he said, wagging his eyebrows at his friend
he laughed "of course", motioning his head as if it were something obvious that he should have already known "well, we missed you here, in plain old America"
it was Tommy's turn to laugh "you look to be doing just fine without me" he teased, nodding towards his expensive business suit
Oliver chuckled and shrugged before going serious and bringing a hand to his friend's shoulder "I missed you Tommy, I hope you stick around this time around"
"I missed you too, Oliver" he said, refraining from using his childhood nickname, thinking it was no longer fitting for the business man that his friend had become
thanking every god of every religion that he wasn't the old Ollie of before, not that he didn't like the old Ollie, it was just time they both grew up, the reckless billionaire act had lost its charm and he was glad Oliver thought the same.
"I'm not planning on leaving again any time soon, I missed burgers too much" he confessed, as they made their way inside the fast food establishment. The inside was bright, filled with people on their lunch breaks. They slid into the only booth that was free and ordered their food, double burgers for both of them and a large chocolate shake- for old times sake
"what? no burgers in Europe?" Oliver joked, after they had their orders and began digging into the enormous burgers, Tommy eyeing the large stack of meat eagerly.
"not the big, amazing, greasy kind" he mumbled in between bites "they're all gourmet and refined, it should be a crime, really" he wiped some grease off his fingers and sighed contently "yeah, it's good to be back"
They joked around for a few moments, remembering why they were best friends, falling back into easy conversation
"so, how are the Queens? your mom? Thea?" he asked, a glint of genuine curiosity in his eyes
Oliver nodded, swallowing his bite before answering. "They're good, Thea's growing up, seeing boys" he added with a touch of distaste "planning on college next fall" he continued, taking another massive bite from his burger
"my mom remarried, got together with Walter" he shrugged "he's good for her, it's been a long time since my dad..."
"yeah" Tommy said gently, not making him finish the sentence, his eyes softening at the edges like they did when he'd consoled him all those years ago- never pitied, which, at his greatest time of need, he was grateful for.
"Walter Steele? The guy that helped your dad run the company?"
"Mhmm" he nodded, shoving the last bite of his burger into his mouth and crushing the wrapper in his palm.
They were quiet for a moment, as quiet as a packed restaurant could be anyway and Tommy's internal struggle raged on, he still hadn't asked about who he was dying to know about but god he wanted to. He'd spent so much time lying in his too-large too-luxurious bed wondering if she'd finished law school like she said she would, if she helped as many people as she wanted to, if her eyes still shined whenever she talked about lawyer-y stuff
he'd bet his trust find they did, just as passionately as he remembered
he rubbed the back if his neck nervously, he was going to ask, just casually slip it in between remarks about the good old days, it was natural to ask, right? they'd all been friends at one time...
but thats when he said it
"I'm going to ask Laurel to marry me"
his heart dropped to his feet, a ball of anxiety building slowly in the pit of his stomach.
of course they were still together
Oliver and Laurel
Laurel and Oliver
thats how it'd been since he could remember, how it always was
only when it hadn't been, when she'd shown up, sobbing, mumbling something about Ollie having cheated on her again
I'd been his shoulder she cried on that night, needing the comfort that he was all too eager to provide
his name she breathed out, his hair she'd run her slender fingers through as she clung onto him for dear life.
and he'd struggled with it, god knows he'd struggled himself mad, his own little piece of hell with wanting her as bad as he did
but Laurel? She was it
she was
god he'd been such an idiot thinking the stars would align in his favor, that she'd realize Oliver wasn't for her- too much history, too much hurt
that she'd somehow be waiting for him
yeah, stupid alright, because she wasn't his to want- she loved Oliver, Oliver, his best friend Oliver
she'd told him as much after her lips had left his, after he was left feeling cold without her lips to warm his up, to chase away the chill, the biting frigid guilt that he saw reflected in her eyes.
He knew that after having tasted what she felt like, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from wanting more- from aching for more, and even though it'd be hypocritical of him, he knew Oliver would be upset, would hate them both for it.
so he'd left, gone as far as his luxurious taste would take him, run all the way to France.
But he was back now, his stupid hope of their love burning out crushed with a simple sentence. And he felt like shit for wishing his friend, his best friend, anything but the best- but his heart ached, his hopes throbbing with hurt.
"really?" He asked, but it sounded strained, even to his ears
"yeah, she's been hinting at it for months now" he said,working on finishing his shake, checking his watch knowing he had an important meeting in half-an hour
"and my moms been hinting that she wants grandkids, with the subtly of an elephant" he chuckled
kids?
Shit
his mind reeled
"thats great, Oliver"
he wasn't ready to see Oliver and Laurel's kids
he nodded, grinning "Im going to put it on a breadstick"
he wondered if he would ever be- ready
"like that one movie she likes?"
no he wouldn't, but he'd be damned if he was anything but happy for his two friends
"Yeah" he laughed "It's not too cheesy right?"
he felt like he'd been punched in the gut, his eyes unfocused, momentarily going to an alternate universe where Oliver and Laurel had a football team of kids, a tacky minivan who's sliding door always seemed to stick, a very cliche, very Laurel picket white fence, a garden and a retirement plan...
"Not in the slightest, its perfect, she'll love it"
no, not an alternate universe, the future
a future he came to realize he didn't have a place in
His pulse raced and his stomach somersaulted, would he be ready when the time came? to realize she was happy with Oliver? to watch her be happy? would he have the strength to be the best man at the wedding and do the stupid bunny hop ?
He pushed the unsettling questions from his mind, as far as he could get them, instead commenting on Oliver's constant watch checking. "Big meeting?" He lifted an eyebrow and Oliver looked up sheepishly, "yeah, sorry about that" he apologized
"Walters been talking about a collaboration with Smoak Industries, it's a company from central city, fairly new, says we need them" he explained "apparently their technological division is the best thing since sliced bread and Walter thinks their head of the division, a so called, Flick Smaok, will be able to turn our shitty division around" Tommy hummed in acknowledgement
"Flick?"
"Yeah, he's apparently a genius. Graduated first in his class at MIT, skipped like three grades, perfect SAT scores, child prodigy, so it seems. His dad, Clint Smoak, the CEO, couldn't stop talking about him"
"yeah? He must look like the typical nerd then" Tommy commented, making absentminded conversation, his mind perpetually elsewhere
"hmm" he said while sipping up the last of his shake "don't know, I haven't seen him, he's scheduled to drop by my office later today- all I know is what his father's bragged to me about at the charity gala where I met him"
'Flick graduated as the top student at MIT', 'never got less than an A in any class', 'Flick has an eye for technology, after Flick came to the company, it's changed so much for the better', he'd zoned out a bit after that, only listening enough to 'ahh' and 'ooh' in the right places. At the end he'd agreed to meet with the almighty Flick on Walter's request
"and Walter?"
"Doesn't know much either, apparently he'd been studying abroad or something " he finished, dismissing the conversation as unimportant with a shrug of his shoulders
Tommy nodded, chewing distractedly on a French fry
Oliver smirked "had lots of those I bet" he said, motioning at the strip of fried potato
Tommy laughed but it didn't touch his eyes
"Your jokes are still terrible"