Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow, or else there would be less of NTA and Black Siren's redemption arc would be drawn out two seasons because I like her as a villain more. I also don't own the Green Arrow comics.
Ember
After her mother's demise, Laurel stopped using her middle name. Her mother had been a strong and courageous woman, she'd had her flaws and wasn't always the best mother she could be, but she'd loved her daughter fiercely and taught her daughter to never give up hope. Dinah honored her mother the best way she knew how, by switching to her first name and continuing her training so that one day the Black Canary would protect the streets of Starling City again. She promised Ted that she would at least wait until she turned eighteen before putting on a mask.
Dinah never planned on meeting Oliver Queen. As a Starling City resident, she of course knew about the city's golden boy. The only child of one of the city's richest families who used his money and influence for bettering the city one public library, food drive, homeless shelter, and outreach program at a time. There were days she found it difficult to believe he was the same age as her. He'd already accomplished so much, because he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life – he set his goals and worked tirelessly to see them to fruition.
She admired him for his self-awareness and dedication, even if she felt he wasn't doing enough. What good was a free clinic when hundreds of families lived in rodent-infested apartment buildings, where the halls were flush with drugs and dirty water? Queen treated the symptoms, which was all fine and dandy, but he would have done more good if he focused his energy on the cancers eating away at their city.
At school Dinah had to listen to the jocks mocking Queen rather than admitting to feeling inadequate in the face of his accomplishments. Most of the other girls mooned over him, believing he could be their knight in white, or rather green, armor. Dinah kept her opinions to herself, though she did occasionally admit to seeing the physical appeal – Oliver Queen certainly was easy on the eyes.
When Oliver Queen strolled into her physics class the spring semester of junior year, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her; Ted had landed in a good wallop to her head the evening before. There was no way the golden boy was attending Starling City's underfunded public high school, not unless his parents had suddenly disowned him. She watched in disbelief as the rest of the class piped down, realizing who was in their midst. Mr. McKay checked Queen's schedule and the note accompanying him, while Queen looked around the room a cheeky grin on his handsome face.
"Ahhh, righty then, looks like this is in order," Mr. McKay coughed awkwardly; "If you'd like to take seat next to uh, Miss Lance, yes Miss Lance will do nicely. She'll be able to bring you up to speed on what we're covering in no time."
Dinah did her best to not blanch at that request. She'd maintained her grades even after her mom's death, knowing the senior Dinah would've been disappointed if she'd neglected her school work to become a vigilante. Sometimes that meant teachers requested her help tutoring other students, which Dinah took in stride, but that never involved forcing her into the limelight of high school gossip. Dinah existed on a fringe in the high school cliques, a book-smart girl with a tragic life story. Her classmates associated with her, but none tried to be her friends, leaving her a mystery they had little interest is solving, which suited her just fine.
She didn't want the limelight that being seeing with Queen would bring, if only for a week or more. She didn't suspect then that he'd be sticking around a lot longer than a week.
"Hi, I'm Oliver Queen," he said after following Mr. McKay's vague pointing and the other students stares to the empty seat next to Dinah.
"I know who you are," she snarked back. She preferred to interact with her schoolmates in a prickly manner, the better to nip any ideas of friendship in the bud. She was capable of being nice and polite, but wouldn't risk a change in character, not even for golden boy Queen.
"I figured as much, but its only polite to share mine when I'm asking for yours," Oliver replied with a charming smile. It wasn't fair how sweet and genuine he looked when he smiled like that.
"Dinah Lance," she replied with a grumpy frown and shook his proffered hand. Oliver continued to smile at her as he sat down, and Dinah just knew he spelled trouble for her.
BC-BS-BC-BS
Oliver Queen was as golden in person as he appeared in the papers and on television; no, he was even more of a golden boy in person, which Dinah hadn't thought possible until she met him. Within thirty minutes of meeting him, she learned he wasn't just attending Starling High for the thrill of it but had truly transferred from his prestigious private school to graduate from her high school. He wanted to learn firsthand the effort it took for children of lesser privilege to overcome their circumstances and succeed in the world and he knew part of that lay in the education they were offered. He'd relocated to better understand what he could do to help children in the future.
He surprised her in that first meeting with his passion, and his persistence in ignoring her porcupine behavior. She knew then that Oliver Queen was destined for something great, but she never imagined that he'd want to make her a part of that future.
Oliver's transition into public school life wasn't as smooth as he dreamed it would be. All the jocks who'd mocked him before, now wanted to be his best friend. All the girls that mooned over his pictures, now mooned over him in person and tried to seduce him. Most of the kids from the Glades hated him because they believed he only saw them as charity cases. Oliver endured a lot of tormenting, even from those who claimed to be his friends, and somehow that led to him seeking out Dinah's company.
"What are you doing?" Dinah snapped at him the third lunch in a row he chose to sit at her table; "Don't you have friends elsewhere who are just dying to schmooze up to you? Because I'm certainly not going to."
"I know. You don't want me here, but at least you're honest about it and not cruel. So, would it be alright if I just sat here?"
"Fine. But don't expect me to talk to you," Dinah gave in because he looked so tired. She wondered if he had anyone supporting him in this endeavor. He certainly had no real friends at Starling High, she wasn't sure about friends at his old school, and he'd implied his parents weren't keen on this plan of his. If she didn't have Ted to support and train her in her dream of picking up her mother's mantle, she wasn't sure she'd have to stamina to reach her goal.
Eventually, they started talking. Then they became friends. After years of keeping everyone out, Dinah wasn't prepared to let Oliver in. She hadn't just built a wall and tossed away the key, she'd buried herself under a mountain, but he still found her. He was so pure and good-hearted, he slipped through all her defenses as if they weren't even there. He was sweet and compassionate; he didn't see anyone as a charity case, but people in need of tools they couldn't get to better their lives. He provided those tools and sought to transform one life at a time and so create a better world.
His passion and fire drew her to him, but it was his forgiving and loving nature that captured her. At times it scared her, how important Oliver became to her in such a brief time. She wanted his dreams to succeed, wanted to help him achieve those dreams any way she could. She found herself listening to him talk about his day, his thoughts, and feelings for hours after school and shared her own – though she never told him about Black Canary and the mask she planned to wear one day. He was like a drug to her, sweeter than air and consuming her thoughts even when he wasn't around.
She didn't mean to fall for him. She certainly didn't expect him to do the same for her. Yet there they were, seventeen and deeply in love. And for the first time in years, Dinah was blissfully happy.
