Disclaimer – I do not own Arrow.

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~:::Four years ago:::~

She loved this café.

With it's homely décor, an owner who had taken a lost looking black haired girl under her wing and treated her like one of her own children from the very first day that they had met, and the fact that it was open twenty-four hours a day, everything about it was perfect.

It was her home away from home.

All her life she had dreamed of going to MIT; a place where she wouldn't feel like a freak, a place that had other people like her, as smart as her, people that wanted to learn and do great things with the ever changing technology of the world.

Las Vegas had failed to provide any of that for her. From the kids at school who could never understand her to the teachers that were increasingly frustrated with the child that would never stop babbling and asking questions. And then of course there was her mother; who between her work at the casino and the revolving door of men that came in and out of her life, didn't have all that much time left for her one and only daughter.

So Felicity was here after graduating top of her class a year and a half early, riding on the coattails of a full scholarship in one of the best universities the country had to offer, living the dream that she had strived for her whole life.

Of course reality was very different from the dream that she had conjured up for herself as a child.

Her dreams had never included her having to work during every free hour to afford rent and food. Her dreams had never entailed having to escape from her dorm in the hopes of having a few hours of peace and quiet, just so that she could study.

That was how she had stumbled across Raisa's Café a year ago. She had been tired, cold and hungry, escaping from yet another party her dorm mates were hosting at their dorms in her second month of college. During the day the campus offered numerous hideouts for her to tuck herself away in to avoid the crowds that came with university life, but she was smart enough to know that under the cover of darkness the nooks and crannies of campus weren't always the safest places to be in.

So she had walked around in search of an escape, and somehow stumbled on the café; the decorative lights that surrounded the entrance putting out a warming glow that just beckoned her to come in.

And since that day she had thanked every deity that she had found it, by now loosing count of the amount of times she had escaped to the sanctuary of it's warm walls.

She knew that she was becoming a permanent fixture in the café, the black haired girl surrounded by textbooks, her laptop, endless study notes and a tall mug full of steaming hot coffee. Which was another major plus in her book – the coffee they served was divine and she was pretty sure that regardless of the amount of free refills Raisa kept sneaking her, she just about left half of her pay there anyway, in an effort to cover the excessive amount of caffeine that she consumed.

It wasn't odd for her to be in the café at all hours of the night, and she had come to be accustomed to the 'Night Crawlers' as she liked to call them in her head, swaying their way into the café in the wee hours of the morning, looking for some much needed sustenance after a night of drinking and partying and God only knows what else.

She wasn't judging them, at least not outwardly, and sometimes she was even a little bit envious of them. Of their ability to let loose and forget about all the responsibilities of bills and GPA's that were like a constant grey cloud over her head.

So it wasn't odd for her to see two guys make their way into the warm confines of the shop at two in the morning on a Thursday, walking to the counter with a slow gait that clearly gave away the fact that they were trying to act sober.

No, that wasn't what was odd. The fact that Raisa made her way around the counter to first greet both boys with hugs and then slap the blond haired one upside the head was what was strange and Felicity couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the sight.

That sound was enough to attract the dark haired boys attention, and he turned towards her, clearly noticing her for the first time while his friend was busy being scolded by the plump woman who definitely didn't even reach his shoulder in height.

"What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" He drawled.

The answering snort and a tilt of her head in question resulted in two matching pinkish tinges to appear on his cheeks and she had the fleeting thought that the boy in front of her was cute. Not really her type but cute all the same.

Not that Felicity Smoak really had a type; she had never really had a boyfriend to be honest, but that was beside the point.

"Lets start again. Hi, I'm Tommy".

She couldn't help but smile at the boyish grin that overtook his face as she shook the hand that he offered her.

"Felicity." Not feeling the need to elaborate and give her last name considering he didn't give her his.

"So I couldn't help but notice you laughing at my friend over there receiving a whopping from Raisa…"

Felicity let her gaze drift from Tommy to the blond haired boy still being scolded by Raisa, not failing to notice the way his shoulders filled out the shirt he was wearing or the way the rolled up sleeves revealed his forearms. Backtracking from that particular thought, because since when are forearms a thing? That weren't sexy. They just weren't.

As soon as she looked back and saw the grin spread across Tommy's face she knew she had been caught staring.

"Raisa is one of a kind, I've never met anyone like her", Felicity tried deflecting.

"That she is. So how come I've never met you? I would definitely remember your face".

Felicity scoffed at that, but the slight upturn of his eyebrow was his only reaction as he waited for her to reply.

"I go to MIT by day and work most nights, not much time for a social life", she answered with a sigh. "Let me guess, you guys go to Harvard?"

He nodded his head in response.

"Yep. Me and my friend over there are in our third year".

"Mmm. So what brings you to our side of town?"

"The ladies."

Well at least the boy was direct, Felicity thought.

"There's something about computer girls and their glasses that trumps our law girls with their suits and briefcases".

He was blunt and truthful and it was in that moment that Felicity decided that she liked Tommy.

Feeling someone's gaze on her she looked up, only to see the blond boy staring down at her. When or how he had moved to stand next to their table without her even noticing she would never know, but that was some serious ninja stealth movement he had going on.

Tommy's voice broke through her thoughts as she caught the tail end of what he was saying.

"…get out of here?".

"Nah, Raisa wants us to eat something".

Tommy nodded in response as Felicity watched their interaction with curiosity. They were obviously close, and she would put money on them being friends for a lot longer than their three years of shared college life if she was a gambler. Which she wasn't, and the fact that she practically grew up in a casino had nothing to do with anything and she should really stop having conversations with herself in her head. It was getting distracting.

Without any prior warning the blond boy was pushed into the booth beside Felicity, causing her to scoot over towards the far side as much as possible as he vocally protested to the rough treatment, only to become silent after one stern look and final nudge from Raisa.

"You eat young man! If you boys want to come into my shop drunk and begging for food I cant stop you, but you will sit and behave while I cook for you!" her tone was harsh, but the love that shone in her eyes as she looked at the two boys was almost maternal.

"You know we just love your cooking Raisa and practically refuse to eat anything else". The dark haired boy said charmingly.

Her response was to swipe him with a dishcloth that had previously been stowed inside her apron, as she replied to him in her thick Russian accent. "You quiet Mr. Tommy. Your sweets words do nothing to me! And you better be eating something when you are away from me, what will I tell your father when he asks me why you are so thin?"

And with that she turned on her heels and headed for the direction of the kitchen.

There was history between the two boys and Raisa and Felicity wanted to unravel that mystery. She hated mysteries.

Silence encroached over their table with Raisa's departure that Felicity couldn't help but break.

"Sooooo…feel free to join me at the only not available booth in the café. I mean it's totally fine but you guys don't even know me. I could be a serial killer. Or you guys could be serial killers. Which would be bad. Not that you guys look like serial killers. But you know, stranger danger and all. And feel free to stop me from babbling at any time…"

She could feel the flames of embarrassment lighting up her face as she took in the equally bemused faces of the boys.

Tommy, feeling like he owed Oliver an explanation and Felicity some time to compose herself turned the attention onto him.

"This is Felicity, she attends MIT and I was just telling her all about our preferences for the MIT ladies".

Oliver scoffed at that and Tommy tilted his head at the mirroring actions of his booth buddies to the same statement.

"So before I forget, how did things end with Helena?" Tommy was never one to pry but there was a certain enjoyment that came from making fun of his best friend.

Oliver's tense jaw and the hand that was brought up to rub the back of his neck showed his very real and increasing frustration.

"That girl is crazy Tommy. Just out of this world crazy. Apparently she found out we were going to MIT tonight, that's why she was at the party tonight, like literally to follow me there…" he let his words drift off and Tommy watched as he glanced sideways at the brunette sitting beside him as if only now realizing that she was still there.

Never mind that he was the one blocking her one and only escape from her (now their) booth.

"Crazy seems to be a thing on this campus. I had a lacrosse player that was just a bit too acquainted with the notion of being a stalker. You really have to cut them off early or you're pretty much screwed in the long run".

Tommy laughed out loud at that, liking the girl sitting opposite them more with every word that tumbled out of her mouth.

He didn't know how long they sat there but when they went their separate ways, the guys back to their flat and Felicity to her own dorm, the first rays of sunlight where just starting to peak over the horizon.

For once in her life, Felicity Smoak wasn't annoyed at being distracted from her studies, wasn't frustrated at the thought of being up again the next night for an all-nighter as she caught up on all the work that she hadn't done.

For once in his life, Tommy Merlyn enjoyed the company of a girl for strictly platonic reasons.

And for once in his life, Oliver Queen regretted not getting a girls full name.

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Thank you to Serenadreams for being my new Beta!

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So meet my new story! I do hope you like it. Fair warning – this will not be a college fic – this was just the prologue of how they met while still in college. The majority of the fic will be four years after this. That includes a Boss an Executive Assistant and the Bratva.

As always reviews are appreciated/loved/adored.

Love to all – stay safe everybody!

-Stace - XOX