Thank you for reading! I'm so excited where this story is going, but it looks like it is going to be a long one! haha. Please keep reading and let me know what you are thinking.
To Erica, this is definitely after season one, but this is in an alternate universe. :)
CHAPTER 4
A week later Harmony stood on a platform outside of Queen Consolidated while Oliver, her now fiancé, was speaking to the press about upcoming projects that the company was taking on. She fidgeted as she stood waiting from him to finish his company business before he introduced her and made the announcement of their engagement.
She stared down at the ring that Oliver had given her. He had taken her ring shopping the day after she had met with him and agreed to marry him. He had tired to buy her something big and flashy, but she kept refusing everything that he picked. It wasn't that he had bad tastes, but more that he wasn't thinking about her tastes. But she couldn't blame him for that since there was no way he could know. They had only just met and neither of them really knew each other well enough to pick something out for the other, especially jewelry. But in the end he found something that she liked. It was a simply halo ring with a bright blue sapphire in the middle. It was understated, but elegant. When he had showed it to her she simply held out her hand and that was that. Since then she hadn't taken it off, partly because she was afraid of losing it and partly because she loved it. Oliver Queen was a quick learner.
Harmony then turned her attention to the dress she wore. It was a beautiful satin blue dress overlaid with cream lace that hit her just above the knees with sleeves that went three quarters of the way down her arm. If she was totally honest with herself, Harmony loved the dress, but she still felt very uncomfortable in it. Everything she was doing was very uncomfortable, but she knew that this was her only choice.
Oliver had insisted that Harmony get a new dress for the press conference that day, and it took everything in her plus some help from Felicity to find this dress and not cost a small fortune but was suitable for the occasion. Spending lots of money on frivolous things wasn't something with which Harmony was very comfortable. This lifestyle would take some getting used to.
Suddenly Harmony heard her name being mentioned and was jerked from her thoughts. She stepped forward and Oliver's cue and smiled to the crowd. Although she was uncomfortable, she knew how to play a part when needed.
"And finally, my last announcement today is of a personal nature." Oliver turned and took Harmony's hand and pulled her to stand directly next to him. He gave her a small smile in reassurance then turned back to the crowd. "I would like to formally announce my engagement. This lovely woman standing at my side is my fiancé, Ms. Harmony Anne Holmes. As of the moment we do not have a date set for our wedding, but we should have one soon."
As Oliver paused the crowd erupted into cheers and reporters seized the moment to bombard him and Harmony with questions of how they met and how long they had known each other. Oliver answered with ease simply stating that they had known each other for some time and had met through a mutual friend.
The crowd erupted again in cheers and demanded to see them kiss. At this Harmony froze. She knew that they would have to do this eventually, but she figured that it would have been in private when they were closer and felt more connected to each other, not in front of crazed reporters taking photos and wanting to see passion that just wasn't there.
Oliver turned to see the slightly panicked look on Harmony's face and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He knew there was no avoiding it and tried to give her a reassuring look. When he stepped closer, he put his hand on her face and looked straight into her eyes. He wanted her to focus on him and not the crowd.
As Harmony looked into Oliver's eyes, everything else faded away. All she could think about was he touch on her hand and face and the intensity in his eyes. As he leaned closer her eyes closed and she felt the smallest pressure of his lips upon hers. It was a brief kiss, but it was enough to cause Harmony's body to begin to tingle.
Before Harmony could really wrap her head around the kiss that just took place, Oliver had pulled away, smiled at cameras that were taking pictures.
As they smiled for the cameras and listened as reporters bombarded them with more inappropriate questions, a gun shot rung through the air. Immediately Oliver had Harmony pinned to the platform with his body covering hers.
Head whipping around to find Diggle, Oliver pulled himself up off of Harmony. Noticing her complete confusion and fear Oliver picked her up and carried her as fast as he could into the build with Diggle close on his heels.
Someone had taken a shot at them and Oliver could only guess that it had been Allen Crisp. No one else would have dared to make that open of a shot in such a public manner. Anger flowed through Oliver as he thought of the consequences of what could have happened today. Harmony or himself could have been killed. He had to get her to safety and quickly.
Once safely inside Oliver set Harmony down on her feet and guided her down into the parking garage where his car was. He was going to wait to have Harmony move into the mansion, but now it seemed like he had no choice but to have her move in as soon as possible. Crisp would be out for her blood and Oliver was not going to let her die because of her psychotic stepbrother who was too greedy for his own good.
Harmony was in a daze as Oliver pulled her along to the black car parked in the garage. She knew in her head that Allen had tried to kill her, but somehow she still couldn't believe he actually tried. She began to shake as Oliver helped her into the car and then slid in next to her.
Digg pulled the car out of the garage and headed out towards the glades. Oliver was wrapped up in his own anger so long that he hadn't noticed the way that Harmony was shaking until they had been driving for fifteen minutes. But when Oliver did finally notice, his heart broke.
The beautiful woman who he had shared a warm passionate kiss with not half an hour before sat shaking in her seat, staring out the window with tears running down her face. She looked so sad that Oliver's heart ached within his chest. He may not know her that well, but seeing her cry the way she was now stirred something deep inside of him, a primal need to protect her from any and everything.
Oliver reached out and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. At his touch Harmony jumped. She turned to see his concerned look on his face. She tried to smile at him, but couldn't seem to muster one. So she wiped her tears and asked him where they were going.
"To your apartment." He said softly.
"Why are we going there? Shouldn't you go to the office?" she was still in so much shock that she couldn't see the reasoning behind it.
"No…" Oliver was slow to answer. "We need to get you packed up and moved into the mansion today."
"But… why?" she ask dumbfounded.
"Because someone took a shot at you. I knew this was a possibility, I had hoped it wouldn't happen, but it seems that you are now in more danger than before. We have to get your stuff packed up and get you moved to the mansion so you will be safe. You won't be safe at your place anymore."
The words struck her hard. She knew what he was saying was true, but she thought she would have more time, but evidently not.
She took a deep breath and nodded her acknowledgement. Oliver was right. She was no longer safe at her apartment. She needed protection and she could only get that when she was with Oliver.
As they pulled up in front of her run down apartment building, Harmony sighed. This was not something she was looking forward to, but she didn't really have a choice anymore. She opened the car door and waited for Oliver to follow her. She stared at the building blinked back tears. Hearing the car door close she began to walk forward without waiting to see if Oliver was following behind her.
