SARA
Five years were separating, sisters, Laurel and Sara Lance. To a stranger on the street, they couldn't have been more different. Although, it wasn't just strangers who thought that. Sara couldn't work out most days, how she and Laurel were related, let alone sisters.
Laurel was the, older, responsible, and more uptight one if you asked Sara. Where she tended to think of herself as a free spirit, she rarely did what her parents expected of her and her choice of a boyfriend was not at what they had hoped for at all.
Even Laurel seemed to have a problem with Sara seeing Leonard. Sara couldn't put her finger on what it was, but they had, had many arguments over the last year about why Leonard was completely wrong for her.
Sara didn't care. She knew Leonard's story; she knew his family and all the stories that went along with that, but mostly she knew that he didn't want to be a part of that.
Senior year was pretty much as she had expected, classes, reading, essays, making out with Leonard between classes, part time job, shopping with Kara, study sessions with Leonard, which turned into make-out sessions.
Sara had raced in the door after work, to get changed to go and see Leonard. She was just about to head out when Laurel had started up again.
"He's not worth it Sara, look at his family. They are nothing but common criminals; everyone knows this."
"He is different Laurel; he's not like the rest of them."
"It seems that way now, but he'll get pulled into just like everybody else, just like..." Laurel trailed off.
"Just like who?"
"It doesn't matter, just trust me on this."
Sara glared at her sister. If Laurel couldn't give her any other details, she wasn't going to listen. Sara walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her. She drove across town to Leonard's and was fuming by the time she got there. How dare Laurel say those things? She thought.
Just as she was about to knock, the front door was pulled open, and she ran into Mick Rory, Leonard's best friend, and pseudo-brother.
"Hey Blondie, I'm just heading out for pizza, you staying?"
"Heck yes! There is no way I want to be at home with Laurel right now."
"What happened this time?" Mick asked.
"Same crap," Sara said, "Leonard isn't right for me, he is just going to end up like his dad."
"You know she is just trying to look out for you right?"
"She has a funny way of showing it. She could at least try to be supportive. Laurel thinks she knows everything, but she has no idea what she is talking about." Sara said in frustration.
"Laurel might know more than you think," Mick said, with a look that made Sara think about his words for a minute. "But hey, I'm gonna get food, I'll be back."
Sara smiled and waved at Mick as he headed to his car before making her way inside. The townhouse was three story with a basement. It was dark brick on the outside, with wood paneling on the walls inside. It wasn't the kind of place that you would assume that criminals lived, but Sara knew that it was Leonard's mother who had pushed for the house.
Jessica Snart was a nurse at Starling General, and although Sara knew, Jessica hated her husband's line of work, hers had come in handy on many occasions. Jessica had chestnut hair, green eyes, and from what Sara had heard about their college years, she was the girl every guy wanted. She had come from a highly respected family in National City, but as all stories went, she fell in love, and that was that. It was hard to understand now, why someone like Jessica would stay with someone like Lewis, but Sara knew that the older woman had stayed for her children.
"Hey Sare," Lisa, Leonard's younger sister, greeted her, looking up from her book.
"Hey yourself," Sara replied with a smile, "How was school?"
"If I never had to go back again, that would be great."
Sara laughed, "I understand completely. Where is everyone?"
"Mom is at work, Dad is out, and Len is in his room," Lisa said with a smile, "head on up, I need to finish this homework before tomorrow."
Sara smiled at the younger girl and then headed up to the second floor. Being in this house, always felt like being in the mansion from Beauty and the Beast. She was free to look around and go anywhere she wanted, except for the basement. Not that Sara had any desire to do so.
Leonard's door wasn't open when she got there. She opened it and smiled when she saw him laying on his bed with his earphones in and his eyes closed. Sara closed the door again, toed off her shoes, leaving them and her bag by the door. She made her way over to the bed and lay down next to her boyfriend.
"Hey beautiful," Leonard said, opening his eyes and pulling out his right earphone to hand to Sara. "How was work?"
She accepted the earphone and stuffed it in her ear, before reaching down and linking her hand with his. "Work was fine, missed you, though."
Leonard smiled and kissed her head, "I missed you too."
They lay there for a while, not speaking, the music coming from his iPod was the only sound. They had been dating for just over a year, and they were content just to be together. Sara rolled closer to his side and rested an arm on his chest while her head found its usual spot on his shoulder.
"I like you being here," Leonard said, finally breaking the silence.
Sara let out a soft laugh, "I like being here."
The music died, and Sara realized, Leonard had turned the iPod off. She looked up at him, as he moved, so his face was next to hers. Sara gave him a confused smile, before he cupped her cheek, leaned in, and pressed his lips to hers. She had been so focused on his sudden change that it took her a moment before she returned the kiss. As he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.
"I love you, Sara Lance," he said.
Her heart beat in her chest, faster than normal, she was sure of it. They hadn't exchanged those words before. It wasn't that she didn't want to, she did, but Leonard had told her once that love wasn't for him. So his confession here, now, it meant everything.
"I love you too," she said with a smile pressing her lips back to his.
The bedroom door opened suddenly, causing them to break apart.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Leonard's mom said to them, stopping in the doorway. "Lisa told me you two went with Mick to get the food; I was coming in to get laundry."
"It's okay mom," Leonard said, as Sara smiled at the woman.
"I'll be having words with your sister when I get back downstairs."
"Don't bother, she thinks she is funny; that's all that matters," Leonard said getting off the bed and picking up his dirty clothes hamper. "I'll take it downstairs for you."
As Leonard left the room, Sara got off the bed and walked over to his mother who pulled her into a side hug.
"How are you, Sara?" Jessica asked.
"I'm doing alright," Sara replied with a shrug.
"Forgive me if I'm wrong but you don't exactly seem okay," Jessica said as they made their way downstairs together.
Sara liked Jessica. The woman appeared to know when something was bothering her, but she rarely pushed Sara into talking about it.
"It's just sister stuff, nothing I can talk about," Sara said, looking around.
Jessica squeezed her hand and gave her a knowing smile. "How about you come see me after work tomorrow, and we can have a coffee?"
Smiling, Sara nodded at the woman, "That sounds nice."
"Are you organizing a date with my girlfriend, mom?" Leonard said, appearing at their side.
"This isn't The Bold and the Beautiful, Leonard," Jessica commented into the other room to have a talk with her daughter.
Sara smiled up at her boyfriend, who was looking confused. "I like your mom; she's not at all like mine," she said leaning up to kiss him as the front door opened.
"Food!" Mick yelled with his mouth full of pizza already, as he headed past Leonard and Sara to the kitchen.
"I'll kiss you later," Sara said with a grin before following Mick through to the other room.
Dinner had been enjoyable. It always was, when Lewis was out of the house. He was pleasant enough to Sara when she was there, but she was also very aware that it was because she was the Police Captain's daughter. Lewis Snart didn't want to do anything that would draw attention to himself or anything he had planned. From what Sara gathered from conversations not only at Leonard's house but also her own, the police had a good idea about what Lewis was doing, but they had no actual proof to tie him to anything.
After the food was gone and the plates had been cleaned, Sara found herself back in Leonard's room. She was staring out the window when she heard the door close and turned to see her boyfriend walk in.
"So," she started, "words were said before dinner."
"They were," he said walking toward her.
Sara bit her lip, as he moved closer, crossing the room to where she was. She didn't know what to think. What if he regretted saying it? What if he didn't really, feel it? Letting her head fall she stared the carpet in his room as if it was the most exciting thing on the planet.
She felt him take her hands in his and Sara looked up at him again. His eyes were unlike she had seen them before. Instead of the cool blue, she was used to seeing, they now seemed to be as blue as the ocean and full of promise.
"You're worried about it," he said.
"You said that love wasn't a thing for you. You told me you wouldn't ever fall in love."
"I always thought that, but that was until I met you," Leonard confessed.
Sara was sure the smile on her face could be seen from space. She didn't know what to say, her thoughts were all jumbled, but in the best way. Leaning up, she pressed her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did. Leonard returned the kiss, moving his hands to her hips and pulling her closer to him.
Breaking the kiss, Leonard rested his forehead against hers and Sara looked up at him.
"Say it again," she whispered, with a slight giggle and a smile.
"I love you," he said.
Sara smiled wider, "I love you too."
The next day, after school, Sara drove herself to the hospital to meet with her boyfriend's mother. Jessica was waiting at the hospital cafe when Sara arrived, and the young blonde smiled brightly, as she made her way over to the woman. She hugged Jessica tightly and then sat down across from the woman, who had already ordered her a chai latte.
"Thanks for this," Sara said, sipping the drink.
"It's no problem," Jessica said, with a smile, "How are you doing, Sara?"
Sara scratched the back of her neck and shrugged, "I don't know," she admitted.
"Do you want to try telling me about it? I have been where you are before."
"I just, well I love Leonard a lot," Sara said, "I just wish that Laurel could see that."
"Oh, believe me, she can see it, a blind man could see how much you and my son love each other!" Jessica exclaimed
Sara let out a laugh and shook her head, "Is it that obvious?"
"Only to everyone on the planet, Sweetie."
Laughing again, Sara smiled across the table. It was strange to be able to talk to Jessica so freely like this. She had always thought it would be the most bizarre thing, to speak to her boyfriend's mom, about her relationship, but Jessica had always been their biggest fan.
"It's just when we first started hanging out, he told me that he wasn't ever going to fall in love, that it just wasn't something that he expected in his life," Sara said.
"That was until he met you. He has been smitten with you from day one; he just didn't know it."
"He told me as much last night when he finally said he loves me," Sara said, with a smile.
"It's funny how much you remind me of Lewis and myself; it wasn't easy for us either. So many people thought that he was wrong for me," Jessica said.
"How did you do it? Get past all the, well for lack of a better term, the haters," Sara asked, "I can't imagine it was easy for you."
"It wasn't, that's for sure. I was young, and in love, and as you may have noticed, I'm very headstrong. Nobody was going to tell me what I could or couldn't do."
"That's pretty much the stand I've taken," Sara said.
"I know. I see a lot of me in you; that's why I think you're perfect for Len. And that came out a little more creepy that I planned on it being. I guess what I'm saying is that you are perfect. You love him for him, and you aren't worried about what people say about our family; you know not to judge a book by its cover."
Sara thought about Jessica's words as she sipped her coffee. It was hard to imagine Jessica being her age, and being in love with Lewis. Had he been different back then? Had he been more like Leonard? She had unanswered questions rolling through her mind as she sat at the table. What if Leonard did end up becoming like his dad?
The thoughts stayed with her even after she left the hospital and drove home. Sara hated the idea of something coming between her and Leonard but what if Laurel ended up being right? She was thankful to return home to an empty house. Making herself a coffee, Sara sat on the window-seat in the front room and stared out at the cars passing by. She loved Leonard. She was sure of that, but what if love wasn't enough in the end?
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and before Sara knew it, she was studying for finals. Laurel was still on her case about Leonard, which to Sara seemed strange considering her parents didn't appear to care about it at all. It didn't matter to Sara though. Laurel was wrong about Leonard! Sara knew that because he had proved it so many times over the last couple of months.
She was currently lying on his bed playing with his class ring that was on the chain around her neck. Leonard had given it to her on the night of their senior prom, it was cheesy and traditional, and nothing like them at all but it worked. Sara smiled at the memory of the evening; the ring wasn't the only prom night tradition that they had held up, but that wasn't something she was going to share with anyone else.
Sighing she kicked her chemistry book onto the floor and rolled onto her stomach and put her head on her arms.
"What did that book ever do to you?" Leonard asked.
"It hurt my brain. I'm over studying; I mean when am I ever going to need chemistry anyway?"
"Probably never," Leonard said, with a shrug. She watched as he tossed his book to the floor and lay down next to her.
"Hi," Sara whispered, smiling at him.
As Leonard reached out and tucked some hair behind her ear, Sara wondered how she could love him more than she did, and then he kissed her. It was soft, almost as if he was telling her something, promising her forever. Sara smiled into the kiss as she returned it.
A knock on the door broke them apart, and Sara rolled onto her side, as Leonard sat up.
"You decent?" Mick called out, through the closed door, causing Sara to roll her eyes.
Leonard walked over and pulled it open. "What do you think we are doing exactly? No, wait, don't answer that."
Mick smirked at them, and Sara threw a pillow in his direction.
"What do you want Mick?" she asked.
"Jessica called, she wants us to meet her at that Italian place on 5th for dinner, you too Blondie."
"When did Mom call?" Leonard asked. "I didn't hear the phone."
"She called my cell, you guys ready to go?"
Sara nodded and got off the bed, sliding her phone into her back pocket, and pulling on her boots. Making her way over to the guys she laced her fingers with Leonard's, and they followed Mick downstairs to where Lisa was waiting.
"Were they decent?" she asked.
Leonard hit his sister over the back of the head lightly. "Do you really think we would be doing anything with you downstairs?"
Sara laughed as Lisa rubbed the back of her head and shot her brother a death stare.
"I guess not," she mumbled.
"Can we go? I'm starving!" Mick exclaimed.
Sara pulled open the door and bounced down the stairs turning at the bottom to smile up at her boyfriend and his family. She was happy. Why wouldn't she be? Her life was, pretty perfect. As they headed to Mick's car, Sara all but danced across the road. Then out of nowhere a car came speeding around the corner, as if it had been waiting for them.
It all happened so fast, one minute she was standing and the next Mick had pushed her to the ground. Sara wasn't sure at what point she had, heard the gunshot but there had definitely been one. Leonard was by her side a second later, helping her to sit. Her wrist hurt, but it was nothing compared to the way her hurt felt, as Lisa let out a scream at the sight of Mick holding his shoulder and cursing from the pain.
"Oh my...Mick," Sara said panicked.
"I'm all right, hurts like hell but we should probably go to the hospital before I lose any more blood."
Sara nodded as Leonard took the keys and they got into the car and headed to the emergency room.