A/N: This fic is the first in a series of reality TV show AUs I'm planning to write. It was inspired by and is dedicated to by amazing Twitter friends. Special thanks to Kirena for being my beta reader and helping to keep me on track! I hope you all enjoy. :)

Prologue: The First Night

Felicity Smoak was freaking out. She could barely manage to talk to one man without making a fool out of herself, and now she was about to talk to twenty men on national television?! What on Earth had she been thinking when she had let Curtis sign her up for this?

Production Assistants rushed around the set applying the finishing touches to the driveway, the garden, and the front of the house. One woman wearing a headset was dabbing even more makeup on her face while another added more bobby pins and hairspray to Felicity's unruly blonde hair. A producer was droning on and on to her with some final directions, and Felicity tried her best to listen. Be sure to smile at all times. Don't spend more than 30 seconds on each introduction. Don't worry about catching their names – there will be a cheat sheet for her to use off camera with names and pictures.

"Places everyone!" a voice boomed through a megaphone. Crew members rushed off the set and behind the camera. The sudden emptiness in the large front-yard area was almost jarring. A loud buzzing noise sounded, and the crew fell silent. "And… Action!"

The long time host of the show, Malcolm Merlyn, faced the camera and began his rehearsed monologue.

"Welcome back for a brand new season of the Bachelorette! Our newest Bachelorette is none other than the beautiful and successful Felicity Smoak. She's the CEO of one of the most up-and-coming technology companies in the world, and at only 26, she's been featured in Forbes top career women under 30 two years in a row! But now that her career has taken off, Felicity is here to fill a void in her life – the void left by the absence of Love." Malcolm paused dramatically while the camera zoomed in on Felicity's face. She tried to focus on looking excited and happy to be here, but really she wanted to roll her eyes at how cheesy this was.

She was perfectly fine having a successful career. She didn't need a man to define her happiness – unlike the way Malcolm and the show were sure to portray it. The only reason she'd even agreed to go on this archaic show was because Curtis said the exposure for the company would be good and that they would be able to help a lot more people if -

"Are you ready to meet the bachelors?" Malcolm Merlyn crooned with a fake smile plastered on his face, interrupting her inner tirade. Felicity could only attempt a smile and nodded her head.

A few cameras focused in on her face as the first limo pulled up. A tall, dark, and handsome man stepped out with a million dollar grin (and possibly a million dollar tuxedo). He gracefully made his way towards her, grabbed her hand, and brought it to his lips while she gaped.

"You must be Felicity," he said with a charming glint in his eye. "I'm Tommy Merlyn."

Merlyn? Felicity's eyes flickered over to where Malcolm was hovering just off camera. The look on his face was indecipherable.

Tommy cleared his throat. "Yep, you heard right. Malcolm is my father."

Felicity flushed at her own rudeness. "Oh, sorry! It's great to meet you Tommy. Who your dad is doesn't matter to me."

Tommy grinned again. "I'm glad to hear it. I'll talk to you inside and I'm sure you'll see I'm much more handsome and fun than him anyway." He winked at her and walked past her into the house.

Felicity chuckled and turned back to where the limo door was opening again for the next bachelor to step out and meet her.

The next few limos full of men passed by in a blur. Felicity was startled to meet an eye-patch wearing man with an Australian accent. She was a little creeped out to meet a dark-haired man with big eyes who said he'd been following her career in the technology world since she was in college (he also hinted he knew where she lived…so yeah. Creepy). She was excited to meet a lanky, dorky crime scene investigator. By the time she met the self-proclaimed "hacktivist" with the questionable wardrobe, she was getting pretty tired and overwhelmed. She knew she was about at her limit when she couldn't even remember the man's name who gave her a clock as a present (which was weird, but she pretended to be grateful for it obviously).

She'd met 19 men already. So far, most had been handsome. Some had been charming. A few she could see possibly having a connection with. She hadn't felt the spark yet though. The one her mom always talked about that happens when you meet the one you're supposed to be with. Maybe her mom was wrong? Maybe a spark doesn't come when you're first meeting someone. Maybe it develops over time, she wondered.

Besides, she told herself, coming on this show to actually find love would be naïve. She should be happy to just meet some great guys and hopefully develop some new friendships while getting publicity for her company.

One man left.

While waiting for the final limo, Felicity reminded herself to be polite and keep an open mind. Just because she was tired and overloaded with new names and faces didn't mean she should treat the last bachelor any different. It wouldn't be fair to him if she let her own exhaustion color her first impression of him.

The limo pulled to a stop and the door opened.

Felicity's breath caught when the man inside emerged. He was tall and his well-tailored suit fit snugly against his muscled arms and torso. He had short, light hair and a shadow of stubble across his jaw. His eyes – even from fifteen feet away – were a striking blue.

Felicity gulped. Other men tonight had been handsome, but this one was beautiful.

The man walked up to her with a panther-like grace. He smiled at her and extended his hand. She had to remind herself to smile, and promptly realized that she had probably been staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

"Felicity Smoak? Hi, I'm Oliver Queen." His voice was like honey and whiskey and it set her nerves on fire instantly.

"Hi, I'm Felicity Smoak," she stammered, reaching her hand out to fit in his. When her words registered, she cringed, yanked her hand from his, and rested it on her forehead. "Which you knew already since you just said it. I promise I'm not normally like this. It's been a long evening and clearly my brain isn't functioning correctly. It's like that time I had my wisdom teeth removed and my mom said I was talking about a hot, green hooded vigilante when I woke up." She cringed again. "Which you did not need to know. I don't need you to think I'm some sort of supporter of lawless civilians running around and creating their own rules. Not that I think our society is perfect, obviously, because -"

"Felicity." He cut her off by putting his hands on her shoulders. Mortified, she glanced at him and saw his lips turned up at the corner. Something about his expression simultaneously caused her insides to feel like molten lava while also settling her nervous heart rate.

"Oliver," she smiled sheepishly and he grinned in return. "I look forward to talking to you inside and proving that I'm not actually a lunatic."

"I didn't think you were." His eyes twinkled. "And when we talk inside, you'll have to tell me all about this green hooded vigilante."

She playfully shoved his shoulder and he laughed.

"I'll never talk to you again if you're going to keep throwing my momentary lack of filter in my face," she teased.

He smirked. "Never?"

"Never," she confirmed with a nod.

"Well then I'll stop." Even though he was still smiling, his eyes turned a little more serious. Almost pensive. "I already like it when you talk to me."

Heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks. She couldn't believe this! She was blushing like a middle schooler because a handsome boy told her he liked talking to her! What was wrong with her?

Oliver cleared his throat as if to refocus himself. "I'll see you inside, Felicity." Before she could say anything, he leaned in slowly and pressed his soft lips against her cheek. The smell of his aftershave crowded her senses and the soft scratch of his stubble against her jaw left her dizzy.

He drew back and looked at her. He smiled, then walked towards the door into the mansion. She turned to watch him, wondering what had just happened.

That, she could almost hear her mother saying in her mind, was a spark.

Maybe there really was hope for this whole thing after all.