Previously on Silver Lining

She looked at this stranger with a sad smile and she couldn't fight it anymore. Barry was trying to be nice and she was being a bitch. She smiled at him blushing a little and then she looked over his shoulder for a second. She saw Oliver talking with Isabel and Moira and how his face tensed when his eyes met Felicity's again. He stopped talking and even Moira and Isabel turned around to look at the same "thing" that he was looking at.

Felicity hid behind Barry and held his hand tightly, trying to forget Oliver's burning gaze just a few meters away.

"Come on my Bradley Cooper, I need that drink"

Felicity held Barry's hand tightly, as if her life depended on it and walked almost running through the crowd to reach the farthest bar from the dance floor. She wanted to be as separate as possible from Oliver and his gaze.

Felicity is just your imagination, he didn't recognize you in this dress! He just thought you were an attractive businesswoman from Gotham City. Stupid girl! You have to stop watching romantic comedies!

Meanwhile, Barry followed her smiling, shifting his gaze to the back of her dress and her blond hair covering her naked shoulders.

"Hey, where are you going so fast? I don't think they are going to run out of drinks before midnight!" Barry said dodging guests while Felicity continued walking as fast as she could with her heels. "Or maybe you're some kind of Cinderella? "

She didn't answer him. She just arrived at the bar, made a gesture to the waiter and sat on a stool.

"Two tequila shots please"

Barry looked surprised. "Oh… when I said that I wanted to make you smile I thought that one Cosmopolitan would be enough."

Felicity shook her head several times. "Are you kidding me? I want to fix my night. So Bradley, you have to get ready for a tequila marathon! "

"It's Barry…"

The waiter put two shots on the bar counter and Felicity offered one to her new handsome friend.

"Nope." She looked at him intensely. " Tonight you are Bradley Cooper, my hero, ok?" Her eyes flicked for a moment, trying to forget Oliver's gaze. "I deserve my own hero"

"As you wish my lady" he added with a bow, making Felicity laugh.

Both took the shot in one gulp, but after leaving the glass on the bar they started coughing.

"Bradley …" Felicity managed to say between coughs. "I think I'll accept that Cosmopolitan now."

After a second of silence both began to laugh until an elderly couple sitting behind Felicity looked at them sourly.

"What are you looking at? Do you want a tequila shot my friends?" Barry exclaimed approaching them.

The old lady looked really upset so she stood up, whispered something to her husband and left the bar. At that, Felicity and Barry laughed even more.

"Hey Cinderella, I said I could make you smile and I was right …"

"Yes, you were right Barry".

…

Across the room, Oliver was standing between his mother and Isabel who were sharing a friendly chat about the luxury and the fashionable boutiques in Starling City. He tried to smile at their jokes but his eyes wandered from side to side of the room looking for an image that he could not erase from his mind: Felicity dressed in a pink dress with her blonde hair over her shoulders. He had never seen her more beautiful. Never.

"If you'll excuse me …"

Oliver left the two women chatting and started walking around the room greeting some guests. Tired of his "public face" and looking for a quieter place to clear his mind, he went upstairs and leaned against the railing watching everything that happened at his feet. It was when he saw her. She sat on a stool next to the same guy he had seen her with before. Both were smiling. The guy rested his hand on her bare shoulder while Felicity lightly touched his arm every time she laughed or said something funny. He felt a punch in the stomach. Clutching the railing until his nuckles turned white, Oliver closed his eyes and breathed deeply trying to calm his nerves.

What is happening to me? Why I don't approached her and greeted her as her friend? What am I doing? Dammit …

He turned his gaze to her again and watched how her dress showed off the white skin of her legs. How she gently touched her hair and occasionally made the gesture to push up her glasses without realizing that she wasn't wearing them.

That simple gesture made him smile. It was then that something came to his mind. Something that he refused to forget: Felicity in front of her computers working long hours in the lair. Felicity behind her desk in her new office trying to convince him of something. And always succeeding. Felicity risking her own life when she came to the island to bring him back home. Felicity risking her life in every mission. Felicity … His girl.

But that tiny moment of happiness slipped through his fingers when he saw Barry offering Felicity his hand for a dance. Felicity smiled and jumped up holding his hand and following him through the crowd to the dance floor.

Oliver saw Thea and Roy approaching them and in just a few moves, the four ended up dancing in the middle of the dance floor while the rest of the astonished guests (all in their fifties) tried to follow their rhythm. Roy and Barry made comical movements as the girls giggled and laughed together.

At that moment, Oliver felt like he was watching a movie. As if everything was out of his own world. Out of his reach. Heartbroken, he felt that happiness and fun were reserved for everyone but him. With a lump in his throat, he began to descend the stairs until he reached the dance floor with a happy Felicity just a few feet away. He watched her intensely while she danced around. Moving her hips to the beat of the music and surrounded by Barry, who cautiously approached her and grabbed her waist while she laughed and laughed and laughed. All Oliver could hear was her laughter.

Suddenly, he saw Felicity's new friend standing behind her and giving her left shoulder a soft kiss. It was then that something almost animal seized him. Clenching his fists Oliver started walking towards them, not caring if the waiters and the other guests were standing on his way. Thea was the first to see her brother coming. But it was the expression on his face that made her stop dancing. Roy noticed the change in Thea's attitude and after seeing Oliver, he stopped dead and tried to call Felicity but it was in vain. Felicity and Barry were still happily dancing without realizing what was about to happen.

Seeing the frightened face of his sister, Oliver realized in time what he was doing and how the other guests were looking at him. He took a long breath and put on his fake smile one more time that night.

"Hey guys!" he said with extreme friendliness.

Felicity who had her back to him, stopped dancing at the sound of his voice and turned slowly. Barry at her side looked confused, but he just smiled.

"Mr. Queen …" he managed to say adjusting the knot of his tie.

Felicity didn't say a word until Oliver looked into her eyes. With a straight face, almost angry, she swallowed. Twice.

"Hi Oliver" she managed to say with a voice harsher than she intended.

Oliver stared at her for a few seconds keeping his fake smile, until Barry came up to him holding out his hand nervously. Oliver looked at his hand and shook it with excessive force.

"I'm Barry Allen, Mr. Queen. I am an assistant forensic investigator from the police of Central City. It's a honor to meet you." he said hiding his sore hand in his pocket.

Oliver looked at him smiling but remained silent. After a few seconds he looked away to the crowd. "I see you're all having a great time at the party."

Felicity and Thea looked at each other knowing that his words weren't friendly at all. However, Barry, not knowing the real Oliver, made another mistake. A huge one. "Yes, Mr. Queen, is a great party!" He replied, hitting him on the back as if they were lifelong friends.

Oliver's whole body stiffened and Felicity noticed how every muscle in his jaw tensed.

"Oh, no …" whispered Felicity covering her mouth with her hand, fearing Oliver's reaction.

She wasn't wrong. Oliver bit his lower lip and looked down for a moment before giving a decisive step towards Barry. He positioned himself just a few inches away and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Do not ever do that again. Never. " his throaty voice, The Hood's voice, left them all paralyzed.

But not Felicity. Visibly upset, she stepped forward and stood between the two men. Barry stepped back instinctively and Felicity placed a hand on Oliver's chest stopping him from moving any closer.

" Oliver… enough. " She hissed .

He stopped and looked at Felicity's hand placed over his chest. His eyes scanned each of her fingers and her nails painted pink like her dress. Like her lips. Felicity licked them slowly as she tried to read his mind. No, stop it Felicity, stop it!

Her hand started to tremble so she quickly put it away from his chest missing the feeling of his warm skin under his shirt.

"Felicity, I asked you to come to this gala to work and not to dance. You are not at your prom." He took a step towards Felicity but she didn't move, not even a centimeter. I'm not afraid of you, Oliver Queen. She lifted her chin and stared hard into his eyes remaining silent. "Now you have an important place in Queen Consolidated and you have to behave accordingly, is that clear?"

She froze at his words. Never in her whole life Oliver talked to her like this. Never. Each of his words dug as stakes in Felicity's heart. But she was stronger than he thought. She kept her tears away and stepped back standing next to Barry. She slowly took his hand on hers again.

"I'm sorry I failed … YOU Mr. Queen. " She said marking each word. "Don't worry, it won't happen again."

She noticed Oliver's eyes running from her face down to her hand, so she intertwined her fingers with Barry's and looked at her new friend with a sad smile.

"Let's go Barry".

Felicity turned her back to Oliver and walked away without looking back.