Title: The Girl With The Red Mask

Category: Arrow

Genre: Romance

Ship: Felicity/Oliver

Chapter Rating: pg-13

Overall Rating: mature

Chapter Word Count: 3,609

-4-

"Oliver Queen?"

Felicity sighed, dropped her arms from around Barry's shoulders and took a step back. His wince at the glare she directed at him did not faze her, especially since she'd already told him two times that; yes indeed, Oliver Queen had asked her out on a date.

A part of her reasoned that he couldn't really be blamed for his skepticism. Even she still had a hard time believing it.

"Yes, Barry. Oliver Queen." Her voice was distorted, since it came through her teeth. His obvious concern aside, there was a note of disbelief in his tone that rubbed her just a little raw. Felicity may not have been the type of person to stare at herself in the mirror and bask in the glory that was her physical superiority, but she wasn't needlessly self deprecating either. She knew she was pretty, perhaps even a little more so with the help of the gorgeous dresses her mother made for her and some expertly applied makeup. She also knew for a fact that Oliver's reputation painted him as the type of guy to prefer the overtly sexy type of girl, their leather and bikinis an antithesis to her thrift store sweaters and colorful skirts. Still, Barry's strong disbelief made her shoulders tense. Why wouldn't Oliver's head be turned by someone like her? And it wasn't like no one had ever found her appealing either. She'd gone on those few dates with Ray hadn't she?

Although perhaps Ray wasn't the best example for her to use, even if he was kind of handsome.

"Sorry, sorry." Barry apologized, raising his hands in front of him as if they were a shield. "It's just that we all know Oliver's usual type and well… you're not that type."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Your concern is sweet Barry, but unnecessary." She avoided his gaze, choosing instead to pull at a lose thread on the sleeve of her red sweater. "The other day at Big Belly Burger was just a random coincidence. I told him that it wasn't a good idea for us to date and I stick by that."

Barry blushed, the bright red stain on his cheeks sweet and endearing. He took a step towards her, raising his arms again in near-perfect hold, and waited for her to step back into him. She took his offered hand, wrapping her arm around one shoulder and lacing her fingers with his, using her new position to shift him a little so that his frame was indeed perfect. Felicity looked into his green eyes, at the small blonde flecks amongst the pretty jade. How she wished it could be as simple as what she was trying to do, to feel that same frustrating burst of butterflies in her stomach whenever a different pair of eyes were trained on her. A warm sapphire that burned like fire.

They danced for another twenty minutes, Felicity's attention splitting in that funny way it did whenever she was teaching a dance, getting lost in the music and the movements, while still keeping an eye on her student, correcting him here and there and making sure his hold remained solid. Barry would never be a professional dancer. He was too uncoordinated, too long and gangly and unsure of his footing, but what he didn't have in grace he made up for with proper technique and hours of rehearsal. After almost three weeks of nearly continuous practices, no one could say that Barry couldn't at least perform a respectable waltz. It made Felicity nearly sing with happiness.

Someone cleared their throat, and Felicity turned to look at the disturbance. She jumped away from Barry as if his touch burned her, a ridiculous flash of guilt flaring through her.

Oliver leaned against the open doorway, arms crossed over his chest and looking more handsome than any eighteen-year-old had a right to.

"I didn't know you gave lessons," he said in way of greeting. His instant familiarity with her suited him. The guy was as stubborn as a mule.

Beside her Barry whispered. "Speak of the devil."

Felicity ignored him, a part of her recognizing that she wasn't surprised that Oliver had appeared. It seemed the universe (or perhaps Oliver himself) was hell bent on putting him right in her path, especially when what she really wanted was to pretend she didn't even know him.

"Just to my friends," she responded. Oliver grinned at her, pushed off the wall and sauntered towards her, his gait somehow managing to look somewhat predatory to her. Or maybe it was just her overactive mind again.

Barry took a step back, so maybe it wasn't just her.

"I-I should get going." He said, prompting Felicity to turn around and glare at him. She watched silently — all the while shooting daggers his way with her eyes — as he gathered his things and practically flew from the studio. Oliver watched him go with amusement dancing in his eyes, his lips pressed firmly together to fight a smile she could see dragging up the corners of his lips.

"That's the second time you've made my friends leave." She accused, turning her back to him and bending over to pick up her book bag.

"I didn't make them do anything." He defended, his eyes flying up to her face when she turned back around. Was he checking out her ass? Felicity felt her ears get warm.

"Your presence is enough Oliver."

"I can't help it if my presence intimidates your friends Felicity." She scoffed, and the action made Oliver raise his eyebrows and grin. She bit her tongue from saying anything else, more than a little perturbed by the reactions he always seemed to garner from her. While being far from letting someone's bullshit slide by, she wasn't usually so confrontational either. Oliver made her want to smack him just as much as he made her want to—

"Intimidating is a strong word Oliver. I think the one you're looking for is more along the lines of 'disturbing' or 'unpleasant.'"

He hummed and Felicity blinked, noticing just how close he'd gotten. Definitely closer than was socially acceptable. She took a step back and Oliver stepped closer. She frowned. "What do you want?"

"What makes you think I want anything."

She groaned, rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers in a motion that implied weariness from a lifetime of dealing with his shenanigans, rather than just a few sporadic occasions. It struck her that maybe he wasn't the only one that was making themselves familiar with the other too quickly. She wasn't normally like this around people she'd only recently met, and yet somehow Oliver made her feel like she was talking to an old friend.

Even if his thick-headedness was a bit infuriating.

"Oliver…" she warned, glaring at him.

"Okay, fine!" He held his hands up in surrender. "You got me Smoak, I am here because I require your services. I didn't know that you actually did give lessons, but now that I do, I'm glad you do."

"You want dance lessons?" And she was a dancing monkey.

"Don't sound so incredulous Liss, sometimes a humble man such as myself finds himself in need of assistance with the finer arts."

Felicity rolled her eyes, more at his use of the word humble in application to himself than anything else. "It's Felicity, not Liss." She corrected.

"I think Liss suits you," he continued, starting a slow walk towards the studio's sound setup.

"Pretty hardcore setup for a room that doesn't get used all that much," he commented.

"I'm not complaining, I may be the only one who uses this room often, but it's nice to have it. Most professional dance studios would kill for a setup as good as this one."

"But not yours?" Oliver asked, turning to look her straight in the eye. "You go that really fancy studio. The one with the hard to say name."

"Trebunskaya."

"My point exactly."

Felicity sighed and shook her head, but a smile began to tug at the edges of her lips. Despite what his reputation might portray him as, it was easier to talk to him than she might have initially thought.

"Stop trying to distract me Liss," he pointed accusingly at her, narrowing his eyes. "I came here to enlist your services for some dance classes and I don't intend to leave until you agree to it." Felicity's smile disappeared.

"What's your ploy here, Oliver?"

"No ploy," he tucked his hands behind his back and gave her a look so innocent it was obvious he wasn't being entirely honest. "My sister's birthday is coming up, and thanks to you and your dance buddies she's all about 'fancy-Cinderella dancing' right now." Felicity nodded, remembering the sweet little girl she'd met the one time she'd been to Queen Manor.

"Unfortunately whatever Thea wants, Thea gets. And on top of that, my parents want me to dance at her party."

"Which brings you to me."

"Exactly."

"Alright then, what's in it for me?" she was teasing him, of course. While not particularly sure it was the greatest idea, she couldn't help but think of little Thea and her birthday party. Felicity told herself she would do this for her. Not for Oliver. Definitely not for him.

Oliver lifted his eyebrows, "You mean you wouldn't do it just because you and I are such good friends?"

Felicity snorted. "Definitely not."

He grinned at her, flashing his perfect teeth and dimples in a way that made her think it was both practiced and yet somehow effortless. "How about a ride to your dance studio, every day?"

"I have a ride."

"A reliable one," he quickly countered. "One that doesn't leave you to walk all that way in the rain."

"It was just that one day, and I was going to take a bus."

"A bus!" He flinched as if burned.

"Busses aren't that bad Oliver! We've talked about this."

"I don't know; I've heard some things."

"And I'm sure whatever you've heard is nothing more than exaggerations. People at this school love to invent stories about the horrors of bourgeois things. I'm sure public transportation is just another one of the topics that falls in that category."

"Okay, two things." Oliver was frowning now. "I'm pretty sure the only reason I know what bourgeois means is because it was the topic of the one paper that I actually had to do myself last year because I couldn't get anyone to help me with it. Two: my best friend Tommy has ridden the bus before, and he told me a crazy lady with pink flamingos came up to him and asked him to donate a kidney."

Felicity frowned. As much as she'd like to call shenanigans on the story, she too had come across crazy-pink-flamingo lady. Dealing with her had been an experience Felicity was sure she wouldn't forget anytime soon.

"See," Oliver pointed at her frown, recognizing a victory. "You can't even deny that it's a thing."

"The exception, Oliver. Not the rule."

"We're losing track of the conversation," He frowned, scratching at his temple. "I can sweeten the deal."

"Oh?"

"I'll give you a ride to your dance studio every day after school, and I'll talk to my mom about letting you dance at my sister's birthday. It's a win-win. I get dance lessons out of this so I don't make a fool out of myself, and you can perform and maybe get more people to become interested in your teacher's studio."

Felicity bit her lip. It was certainly easier to tell Oliver no when all he had to offer was avoiding a long walk or a ride on the bus. Increased exposure for her studio wasn't something she could easily pass up.

He waited for her response, face carefully passive, as if afraid that showing too much excitement might make her change her mind. Slowly, as if not entirely sure that she was quite making the right decision, Felicity nodded. Oliver's celebratory grin was practically blinding.

The rest of the day passed by in a whirlwind. Each tick of the second hand seemed too accelerated, as if time itself were rushing forward. Felicity smoothed her hair down. She was definitely being a little dramatic.

Oliver's silver Porsche sped up to the front of the school the moment she stepped out, screeching to a halt. She searched her memory for details of his driving the last – and only – time that she'd been in his car, but couldn't remember anything. Felicity hoped that he would at least drive like a sane person while she was in the car, or she was going to have to put her foot down on this whole "driving you to your studio after class" business.

"How was your day?" He asked the moment she slid into the car. Felicity raised an eyebrow at him.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"I literally saw you less than two hours ago Oliver."

"A lot can happen in just two hours Felicity," he defended.

"It was alright, not a lot happens in A.P. US History, just a lot of videos and note taking." She admitted.

"Please don't hate me for asking this, but is it true that you're taking all AP classes this year?"

Felicity actually chuckled a little at that. "So I take you've heard all those rumors about the 'dance-girl'."

"I have," he admitted. "It kind of just seems to me like everyone's jealous."

"Jealous?" Felicity raised her eyebrows, her mouth falling open just a little.

"Most of the kids who are being vicious are the ones that haven't had to do their own homework in forever. I think really they're just upset that you have all your shit together when they don't."

Felicity actually smiled at that. Of course, it was the same thing that Cate always told her, but it was different hearing it from someone else. Not just because it was Oliver who said it, but because Cate was her best friend and therefore was under strict obligation to say those kinds of things to her. It was a best friend thing.

"I actually am taking all AP classes this year." She told him. Oliver blew a low whistle.

"How do you keep up with the all the workload?"

"Very carefully." She admitted. "And with lots of coffee for some of those late nights."

"Raisa and my mom have the coffee on lockdown anytime after seven." Oliver told her. "Usually when I have to stay awake I sneak some Red-Bulls into the mini fridge in my room."

Felicity laughed, imagining Oliver doing his best to be sneaky and smuggle a few cans of energy drink past his kindly housekeeper and his mother. The image was a cute one, but definitely not something she'd ever imagined Oliver doing. The image of the boy who sneaks things into his room refused to correlate with her perspective of Oliver, bad boy of Starling Academy.

"I may be a caffeine fiend Oliver, but Red-Bulls always make me feel a little too wired."

"You've got to get step your caffeine game Smoak, you're going to get left behind."

"I promise I'll work on it."

Oliver turned and grinned at her quickly, before turning his eyes back on the road. Whether it was because she was in the car and he was making a conscious effort to drive well, or he really was just an all around good driver, Felicity felt herself relaxing into the seat. All too soon Eva's dance studio came into view, and Felicity frowned, wondering when she'd begun to dread parting ways with him.

"Looks like we're here."

Felicity turned in her seat to look at him. "Do you want to come inside? My class doesn't start for another hour and a half, we can use the space here to start your lessons if you want." She told herself there was nothing wrong with starting the lessons today. She'd promised after all.

Oliver nodded, a small smile on his lips. He parked in the adjacent parking lot and got out of the car quickly, rounding over to Felicity's side and opening the door for her much like the last time he'd given her a ride somewhere. Thankfully rainwater didn't splash her in the face this time. She took his offered hand, deciding that indulging him was probably easier than making a fuss.

"You sure your teacher won't mind us using her space?"

Felicity shook her head. The thought had actually crossed her mind a few weeks ago when she'd first started teaching Barry, since at the time he'd asked if some of their lessons could be after school instead of during their lunch. When Felicity had run the idea past Eva, expecting a polite but resound "no", she'd been told the opposite.

She wondered briefly what Eva would think when she'd see Oliver instead of Barry. Not that Eva would have reason to know who was who, but still.

Oliver, seemingly determined to play the role of the ever-perfect gentleman, opened the front doors to the studio for her. Felicity felt a slight blush warm her cheeks.

Beside her Oliver blew out a low whistle. "This place is fancy Smoak."

"That's the idea. High-end ballroom dancing lessons. Only the best of the best here." Felicity swore she wasn't bragging. It was what the article in the Starling Times said after all. There was nothing wrong with being proud of where you learned to dance.

Okay, so maybe she was bragging a little.

The look Oliver gave her was a mixture of amused and smitten. Felicity bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from babbling at him. "Follow me." She instructed, making a beeline for the smallest of the dance rooms. It'd be easier for her to already be set up in there by the time she had to say goodbye to Oliver and greet her fellow dancers.

Once they were inside the room, Oliver watched her as she walked about, setting her stuff down in its usual corner and changing her shoes. Felicity frowned at the suede boots he was wearing. Fashionable, but hardly the best pair of shoes to dance with. She probably should have let him buy a pair of dance shoes before beginning their lessons.

"Do you have a pair of dance shoes?"

Oliver paused midstride towards her. "No?"

"You don't sound very sure."

"Well I mean, I might. My mom tends to buy a lot of things and then they just kind of end up in my closet."

Felicity actually laughed at that a little. "They'd look like any pair of dress shoes really, just find some with sleek soles. The less traction against the floor the better."

"For smooth gliding?"

"Exactly." Oliver nodded, and returned his attention to examining the dance room. "This looks a lot like the one at school. Except for the roof. The roof here kind of reminds me of an old church. You can see the support beams and everything. And the mirrors here look all old style like, they're all spotted at the edges and everything."

"Eva wanted the place to look like that." Felicity began explaining. "The mirrors are actually really old, that's why they look like that. She's always had a thing for classics and vintage things. The sound system in here used to just be a record player, until her employees begged her to upgrade to a better one. She kept the record player in her office though."

"Do you like vintage?"

"I think it has a certain appeal." She admitted. Oliver hummed. "Are you ready?" She asked him, finally done setting up and slipping her flats on. Now that they were about to get down to business, Oliver actually looked a little nervous. "This your fist time?"

The tips of his ears turned bright red.

"Don't worry," she teased. "I'll be gentle."

"What are you teaching me, sexy tango?" Oliver wagged his eyebrows at her.

"Oh heavens no. Tango has to be earned my friend. I'm starting you off with a foxtrot."

"Foxtrot?"

"Yes, it's not the easiest first dance to learn, but I think it might be the best place to start for you. You'll need to be elegant and smooth. No sudden, jerky movements, and I want you to learn rhythm. We'll do a simple step pattern of slow, slow, quick, quick. The line of the dance is counter-clockwise around the edge or the dance floor. You got all that?"

"Yes?"

"Trust me, it's easier to understand in practice than it is in theory. Come here." Oliver walked over to her, stopping a few feet away from her and looking humorously out of his depth. Felicity was beginning to think this might actually be a good thing. She stepped right up to him and grabbed both of his hands, grabbing hold of one and placing the other on her back, just beneath her shoulder blade. As soon as she was in his personal space Felicity took note of the cologne he was wearing. Spicy, and yet subtle. A pleasant fragrance that seemed to be used carefully so as not to be overbearing.

"Didn't realize we'd get this close." Oliver pointed out, his Adams apple bobbing as he swallowed.

"Like hell you didn't Queen." His answering look was both sheepish and endearing. Damn him.

Felicity took a deep breath. "Now remember: slow, slow, quick, quick. And move your feet where I tell when I tell you and how I tell you."

"Yes ma'am."

"And Oliver. Just remember, if you step on my toes, I will hurt you."

AN: Wow! Has it been a long time or what? I will be 100% honest, for a while there I thought I'd never write another word of this story, but here it is, a new chapter. I hope everyone is having a good Holliday season, (did I spell that right? It's 4am I don't even know.) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and that you forgive me for my long absence from writing and fanficdom. It's been a hell of a year. To my darling Col, you are amazing and I adore you. To my snowflake Chrissy, miss you, too. Please leave reviews, I do love them so much. I hope to have chapter 5 up by next Saturday, so here's hoping.

-Owls