A/N: I have been really struggling to write lately. I want to, but I'm just drawing a blank. I'm still working on chapter 12 of The Retreat, I promise, but I sit down and the words just won't come. I started on another piece that I'm really excited about, but that one is also going to end up being a multi-chapter beast and I just needed something that I could write up and be done with. So, here we are. I'm calling it Audience Participation both to fit this chapter, and also because I want my readers to get involved. PM me prompts-a setting, a phrase, a couple objects to be included, whatever you can think of. If it speaks to me I will write it. Depending on how many I get and which ones get the creative juices flowing I may or may not be able to do them all, but if you send me something I will do my best.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Oliver grumbled as he settled into his seat beside Diggle. He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced around with a smirk of disdain on his handsome face. "This is all just an illusion, none of it is real."
Felicity poked his arm with a frown. "Stop being a spoilsport," she hissed. "This is supposed to be fun. Besides, how do you know none of it is real? Have you ever been hypnotized? Or have you just watched other people and rolled your eyes and assumed it was all an act?"
Oliver rolled his eyes, and she snorted as her point was proven. "Nobody can put someone else to sleep just by talking in a soothing voice, and then manipulate their subconscious to the point that they say and do ridiculous things. Every audience participation show is a scam. They have people planted in the audience who go along with whatever nonsense the performer is trying to sell."
Roy chuckled from Felicity's other side. "I bet you'd never volunteer to go up there," he teased. "Oliver Queen would never act like an ass in front of a huge group of people. Oh, wait."
Felicity and Digg choked on their laughter as Oliver scowled. "It wouldn't matter if I did volunteer," he replied, shaking his head. "They'll only 'choose' one of their pre-determined participants."
She grinned mischievously. "We'll see about that," she murmured, and Oliver swung his gaze to her sharply. He didn't like the look on her face. It never boded well for him.
The lights in the theater went down and the audience began cheering and applauding as the headliner took the stage. Oliver sighed as the Amazing Alistair went into his routine, shaking his head in disbelief at the people who were buying into the fakery.
Felicity leaned into him. "You can't honestly tell me you think that woman is spilling at the dirty details of how often she masturbates and which of her toys are her favorites, and not be hypnotized into doing it. No one would be that graphically honest in front of a roomful of strangers!" she whispered.
"What I can't honestly believe is that you actually do believe in this," he whispered back. "You're too intelligent and your brain is too science-minded to not see this is all a hoax."
She shrugged. "There are some things science can't explain," she acknowledged. "Brains are very complex organs and we're still learning a lot about how they function. Susceptibility to various forms of manipulation and control isn't unreasonable to believe in."
The person behind them made an irritated shushing sound, so Felicity straightened back up in her seat. The show continued on, and Oliver had to admit it was amusing. He still maintained it was completely staged, but regardless, the antics of the people 'hypnotized' were entertaining.
Then the Amazing Alistair called for another volunteer and before Oliver knew what was happening, Felicity was standing up and calling out in a loud, clear voice. "Oliver Queen would like to volunteer!" His jaw dropped and he hurriedly gestured for Felicity to sit down and shut up, but she grinned innocently at him as the audience around them began cheering and encouraging him to head up to the front.
Alistair spoke into the microphone. "By all means, Mr. Queen, we would love to have you up here!" he said enthusiastically, his eyes gleaming. "I don't believe I've ever had such a distinguished, well-known volunteer before!" he mock-confided to the crowd, who roared their approval.
Oliver glared at Felicity as he stepped past her and Roy, who muttered, "Guess that kills your 'all the volunteers are plants' theory", eliciting a snicker from his former friend. He trudged to the stage like a man walking to his doom. He would never admit it out loud, but he felt a prickle of unease that he'd been plucked from the audience with no forewarning. This guy must actually believe he would be able to hypnotize him.
But he wouldn't. He couldn't. Or at least Oliver was now desperately trying to convince himself that was the case.
He stepped up onto the stage and turned to face the audience, attempting to pick out his friends from the crowd. He was staring into overwhelmingly bright lights, however, and the faces before him were blurry from the halo effect. Alistair grabbed his hand and gave it a firm shake, then invited him to sit down on the chair so they could chat for a few minutes, as the other volunteers had done.
"So tell us about yourself a little bit, Oliver," Alistair invited.
Oliver smirked. "I'm a billionaire," he said dryly, and the audience burst into laughter. "Former billionaire, actually," he amended. "You might have heard that Slade Wilson and Isabel Rochev took over my company and a large portion of my assets before their siege on Starling City last spring."
The crowd booed, and Alistair shook his head sadly. "Such a horrible time," he said somberly. Then he brightened. "What about something happy?"
Oliver hesitated. "I have some great, supportive friends," he said finally, and the crowd clapped.
"What about a lady friend?" Alistair prodded.
His eyes automatically sought Felicity out and this time, despite the lights, he was able to find her. "I'm too busy to commit to anyone right now," he said carefully. "But if I could, I would." He hoped Felicity understood the subtle message. Only something as important as his commitment to Starling could supersede his feelings for her.
The crowd "awww"ed and Oliver felt the corner of his lips curve up in a slight smile. He had to admit, he kind of liked the attention a little bit. It was the first time it wasn't negative. He wasn't the arrogant, spoiled playboy getting out of a drunk driving charge, or the irresponsible CEO who was letting Queen Consolidated go down the drain. It was just for fun, and it was kind of nice.
"Alright, Oliver, it's time to begin," Alistair said, and Oliver nodded, slightly nervous. "Are you ready?"
"Sure, why not?" Oliver returned, and Alistair chuckled.
"Close your eyes for me. I'm going to count backward from ten, and when I hit one, you're going to fall asleep. You will respond only to the sound of my voice. Ten, nine, eight, seven…"
In the audience, Felicity was sitting on the edge of her seat. She couldn't believe Oliver was up there, and now that he was, she was getting anxious. This had the potential to be very, very bad, and she was frustrated with herself because she hadn't thought of it before sending Oliver up there. She'd only wanted to prove a point to him and maybe mess with him a little bit, but there was so much in his mind that the general public shouldn't have access to. What if Alistair asked anything about the island? Oliver would be furious if he divulged anything he wasn't ready to talk about himself. Or if they touched upon anything related to the Arrow? He'd been a suspect at one point, what if Alistair brought it up?
Digg reached over and took Felicity's hand. "It will be okay," he said quietly. "If he starts to say anything he shouldn't, I can create a commotion to distract everyone."
Felicity brightened, pulling out her phone quickly and tapping rapidly. "Me too," she said with a sigh of relief. "I have the power grid pulled up and can shut everything down in less than a second."
Digg chuckled. "It should worry me that you can do all that through your phone," he teased.
She shrugged and grinned. "What can I say? Oliver's money buys a lot of advanced technology."
"He's asleep!" Roy whispered loudly, and they snapped back to attention. Alistair was going through the routine of telling Oliver when he woke up he would obey Alistair's every command and he would have no memory of anything he was about to do, the usual.
"Now, Oliver, tell me something that no one knows about you, and you would never want anyone to know," he demanded, winking at the audience, and Felicity tensed. Her finger hovered over her phone, ready to push the button the instant Oliver said anything incriminating.
"I wanted to be a ballet dancer when I was younger," Oliver said slowly, and Felicity relaxed. Then she slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles that the other members of the audience were erupting in. "I used to go with my parents and when I was ten, I told them I wanted to take lessons. My father forbade it. He probably wouldn't have if he'd known it was because I thought that was a great way to surround myself with women and I'd be sure to get laid all the time."
The crowd shrieked with laughter. Even Digg's shoulders were shaking, despite his effort to hold back the mirth, and Roy guffawed loudly. Felicity winced. Oliver was going to kill her when he found out what he'd said.
And done, apparently. Alistair coaxed Oliver into performing a few pirouettes and an arabesque. Felicity was so mortified on Oliver's behalf that she covered her eyes with her hands, peeking between her fingers so as not to get the full, embarrassing effect.
When Oliver had done a grand jete, Alistair allowed him to sit back down. He asked a few more innocuous questions that led to predictably amusing answers, then started digging a little more. "You avoided answering my question earlier about if you had a lady friend," Alistair pointed out. "Is there someone special in your life, Oliver?"
Felicity held her breath as Oliver nodded. "I'm in love," he said simply, and she exhaled slowly. She'd known, but she'd honestly never really believed. "I can't give her the life she deserves, but I will always wish I could."
The audience was quiet, somehow sensing that the story behind the statement was on the tragic side. Alistair murmured sympathetically. "What would you say to her if you could be totally, one hundred percent honest?"
Felicity's eyes were glued to the stage, but she felt Digg and Roy each take hold of one of her hands and grip tightly. She appreciated their support because she had no idea if she was ready to hear what Oliver had to say.
Oliver took a deep breath. "I would say, 'Felicity, you are the love of my life. I never knew what love was before I met you. After the island, I never believed that I would be able to fall in love, to be happy with someone. Then you burst into my life and I knew I was wrong. I'd had no idea what I was capable of, what was inside me, and you brought it all out. You are so precious to me that I will spend every day of my life denying myself the happiness you would bring me, in order to protect you from the danger that being with me would put you in. You mean so much more than my own happiness, and I will love you until the day I die.' "
The theater fell so quiet that Felicity's sniffles and muffled sobs were audible to every person in it. Alistair cleared his throat uncomfortably, the previous levity dashed. "Oliver, close your eyes for me. I'm going to count back from ten, and when I hit one you will wake up and open your eyes. You will have no memory of what happened while you were on stage with me. Ten, nine, eight, seven…"
Oliver opened his eyes, glancing around in confusion at the somber faces and wondering at the hushed atmosphere. Previous volunteers woke up to uproarious laughter and good-natured teasing from Alistair. Instead, the hypnotist gazed at him pityingly and gestured that it would be okay for Oliver to leave the stage.
As Oliver approached his seat, he felt the sensation of what could only be described as a sense of anticipation. It was like the audience was collectively holding their breath while they waited for him to sit back down. When he saw Felicity's red-rimmed eyes and tremulous smile, he knew. He didn't know exactly what had happened, what he'd said, but he knew all the same.
"Felicity," he began, his voice hesitant, and she shook her head. She put her hand on his cheek, stroking it with her thumb.
"Close your eyes, Oliver," she commanded softly, and he did so without hesitation. Her arms slid around his neck; her lips pressed against his, warm and firm. His arms came up seemingly without his consent and wrapped around her waist, and he deepened the kiss while the cheers and applause of the audience sounded distantly in his ears.
"I love you," she whispered against his lips after breaking the kiss. "And I'll be damned if I'm going to let you push me away again. You do not get to make this choice for me. I have a say in my life, and I choose you. All the risks that come with it, all the danger, I don't care. I choose us, and you better choose us, too."
Oliver knew better than to argue. He'd fought hard and long, and in the end, she won. He should have known it was a losing battle from the start. "I choose us," he whispered back. "For the rest of our lives. I choose us."