An arrow fanfic. OLICITY of course! :)

I do not own ARROW. :(

To thatmasquedgirl: Thank you for proofreading. You are an awesome beta! :)

Thank you all for the AMAZING feedback! :) Keep them coming?

Felicity had asked Oliver the question he dreaded the most, since he'd returned to Starling City. "Why don't you want to see Laurel?"

Those words sent a gnawing pain through his heart, a pain that had consumed him, both during waking hours and in his dreams. The years he was on that horrible island, Laurel was the one person he held onto. She was what had kept him alive. But then Oliver returned home and he found out that Laurel had moved on—had moved on with his best friend.

It was hard enough to be back with a face that ugly and scarred. But like always, fate had been cruel to him, as he found out that Laurel was with Tommy. That's why Oliver decided to sever his relationship with the two. How could he win her heart again if he looked like the way he did? Oliver had an idea how Laurel would react if she saw him:she would totally freak out if she saw how his appearance had changed.

So to protect himself from all the heartache, he kept refusing to see Laurel and Tommy.

As Felicity waited for Oliver to answer her question, she saw all kinds of emotions being displayed on his face. Her heart bled as she saw him in pain. 'He still loves Laurel,' she thought. To her, it was heartbreaking to see her friend hurting. So Felicity instinctively closed the gap between them in three steps and pulled him into a hug, while his eyes fell shut involuntarily.

As Felicity's eyes watered and the tears spilled, she held onto Oliver tightly. The arms he felt around him made Oliver feel so vulnerable and, still, those same arms made him feel like he could overcome anything. At one point, Oliver felt that his shirt had gotten wet from her tears. Her face was still in the crook of his neck, as a soft sob escaped her lips.

"Felicity?" he said, as his eyes fluttered open.

"Yes?" she replied, her voice a little muffled.

"Look at me, please?"

Felicity locked eyes with his piercing blue ones and said."Yes, Oliver."

"Why are you crying?"

She sniffled and shook her head. "I just can't stand it if someone I care about is hurting."

Oliver nodded, as he attempted to smile. "It's OK, Felicity. I can take it. You don't have to spill your tears for me. I'll be alright."

Felicity sighed deeply, as her eyes closed for mere seconds. "Will you agree to a meeting with Laurel?" she asked carefully.

"I don't know if I can. I can take the punishment, I can take the pain, but I'm not so sure if I can see her just yet. I haven't been faithful to her, Felicity. While I dated Laurel, I cheated on her more than once. So, maybe this is Karma giving me payback. I'm pretty sure I deserve it," Oliver said, as a lump formed in his throat.

"Don't say that! No one deserves to feel the pain you're feeling!" Felicity exclaimed, as she cupped his face gently.

Oliver shook his head and said, "How can you care about me? Look at me! I have this ugly face!"

Felicity threw him a deadly glare. "Oliver Queen you are not ugly! Get that through your thick head, OK?! You aren't ugly."

"I can't see Laurel, Felicity. I… I just can't. What if she can't see past this?" he said, referring to his scarred face.

Felicity smiled, as she placed her hand on his warm chest. "She will… she will be able to look past the surface, believe me."

As Felicity looked at him with hopeful eyes, Oliver nodded and decided at that very moment to see Laurel.

~ That evening ~

Laurel was in the living room, busy finishing up on a case she was working on, when she heard a knock on the door. With a file in hand, she walked towards the door and opened it. Laurel saw a man with his face scarred, making a sudden fear creep on her.

She cleared her throat and asked with a trembling voice."Can I help you with something, mister?"

"Aren't you gonna let me in, Laurel?" Oliver asked, as his heart rammed against his chest.

It was then, when Laurel recognized his voice. She looked at him in disbelief, her mouth open slightly. "Oliver? Oliver, is that you?" she asked, still shocked.

"Yeah, it's me. Aren't you gonna invite me in?" he said, as he observed her.

Laurel was afraid of him—that was a fact. The woman that he loved was scared of him…

As Oliver looked at her with pain in his eyes, Laurel shook her head and cleared her throat once more. "Of course. Come in," she replied, her voice shaky.

Oliver stepped inside and followed Laurel. She nervously looked at him and asked, "Do you want a drink?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm good."

"I need one, so why don't you take a seat, while I grab a beer," she said and hastily walked into her kitchen.

Oliver took a seat on the couch and waited. After a few minutes, Laurel walked back into the living room with a beer in her hand and took a seat. "So… uhum, how are you, Oliver?" she asked, as she avoided his gaze by studying her glass.

"I'm doing fine. How are you?" he asked softly.

Oliver tried to make eye contact, but wasn't able to because Laurel deliberately avoided his gaze.

"Laurel?" he asked.

"Yes?" she replied, still avoiding his gaze.

"Look at me," he demanded.

She cleared her throat and finally looked him straight in the eyes. "Yes?"

Oliver let out a deep breath and shook his head. He then stood up and looked down at her. "I don't know why you insisted on seeing me. You asked Felicity to meet with me and now that I'm here, you avoid looking at me like I'm some kind of disease. I know that I don't look like…" he said, but stopped mid sentence, as he felt an unbearable pain shoot through his heart.

"Oliver… I uhumm…" was all she managed to say.

He shook his head. "It's OK. Felicity was wrong, though. I don't think you'll ever be able to see past these scars," Oliver said sadly.

Laurel also stood up, but Oliver stopped her. "Don't bother, Laurel. You're even more beautiful than I remembered, but I guess you and Tommy deserve each other," he said and walked out the door without looking back.

~ Three days later ~

Felicity was on her way to the foundry. She was worried about Oliver because he hadn't made contact with her or Diggle. Even his mother and Thea hadn't seen him in three days. Where could he be? Diggle had searched for him, but he couldn't find him, either. After work, Felicity decided to try the foundry again. She left QC a little after ten in the evening, because she had plenty of work to finish.

As the foundry came into view, she furrowed her brows, wondering if Oliver was there. As Felicity heard the rumble of thunder, she stepped onto the gas pedal. "Rain, please don't fall from the sky yet. Please let me reach the foundry first," she whispered.

Her prayer wasn't answered, though, because it was pouring as her car screeched to a halt in front of the foundry.

"Aaargh! What now?" she exclaimed.

Felicity waited five minutes, but after that she decided to just go for the door, because it kept pouring and pouring.

"Well, here goes nothing," she said and ran towards the door of the foundry.

As she punched in the code, a shiver went down her spine. It was cold and she was completely soaked. Felicity walked down the steps and saw Oliver lying on the mat where they usually did their workout. Empty bottles of alcohol littered the floor, showing that he had been drinking.

"Crap!" she said, wondering what had happened that he had to drink excessively.

"Oliver," she whispered, but he was in a deep slumber.

As she knelt next to him, she lightly grabbed his upper arm to try to wake him up. Apparently she wasn't gentle enough because he woke up startled and swiftly grabbed and pinned her onto the mat. Felicity yelped loudly, and when he realized it was her, he looked her in the eyes and said, "What are you doing here, Felicity?"

Felicity closed her eyes for several seconds as she tried to form coherent sentences. The feel of his warm body pressed against hers and his hot breath made her dizzy. He was still holding her hands above her head as he glared angrily at her. Even though he was drunk and she was a little scared, she felt a violent shiver up and down her spine. He looked so hot at the moment, even while he threw a deadly glare at her. 'What! Hot? Oliver—hot?' she thought as she shook her head, not understanding why she was thinking such things.

"Oliver? Where were you? Everyone's been looking for you," she said, her voice shaky.

He did as if he didn't hear her and kept looking her in the eyes, while still pinning Felicity to the floor.

"Oliver, where were you? We were worried sick about you," Felicity tried again.

But still, he didn't react and kept his hands locked on hers.

"Oliver Queen. Answer me and let go of me!" she ordered, her voice trembling noticeably.

"You were wrong, Felicity. She just kept staring at my face—she couldn't see me! You were wrong!" he spat.

Felicity gulped and asked, "You met with her?"

Oliver still had his blue eyes locked on hers and said, "Yes, I went to see Laurel and you know what happened? She looked at me like I was some kind of freak of nature!"

Felicity's heart bled, as she heard those words. "I'm so sorry, Oliver."

Oliver avoided her gaze and hissed, "I do not want your pity."

"It's not pity!" she exclaimed. Felicity was about to give him a piece of her mind, but then she felt how cold it was, shivering as she realized that she was soaking wet. "Let go off me, Oliver. I'm soaking wet," She managed to say.

Instead of letting her go, Oliver looked down at her. She was wearing a white blouse, so as his eyes fell on her chest, he saw that she was wearing a red bra. Felicity's body tingled as she saw him stare at her, his eyes betraying his desire. 'What? No! We're friends! He doesn't look at me that way!' she thought.

It was like he could read her mind because he shook his head, trying to put a halt to his indecent thoughts. He was drunk, but he still managed to clear his head and finally let go of her. Oliver then got up and walked to the bathroom to freshen up.

As her heart hammered against her rib-cage, Felicity walked towards the cabinet to grab a towel. Her knees were shaky as she attempted to stay on her feet, drying herself.

After a few minutes, Oliver walked out the bathroom and locked eyes with her. "Leave, Felicity. I need to be alone," he demanded.

"Unbelievable! Here we are, worried sick about you and what do you say to me? Hmmm? I have to leave? You're a real piece of work, you know that!"

"I'm not gonna warn you again, Felicity. Leave, please," He said, his voice trembling.

"No. I know that you expected more from Lau…" she began, but he cut her off.

"Don't talk about her," he spat. "Leave, Felicity. I don't need your pity," Oliver said, as he invaded her personal space.

He walked toward her with a threatening look on his face, making her walk backwards, and Felicity came to a halt as her back hit the wall. Oliver was towering over her as he said, "Leave, now."

Felicity gulped and shook her head. "I'm not gonna leave you in this state. You're drunk!" she exclaimed, while her mind went to the gutter. Why did her eyes land on his lips? She shook her head and sighed deeply. "Don't stand so close to me," she said, her voice squeaky and shaky.

Oliver still had his blue eyes locked on hers and inhaled her scent. 'God! She smells so good. She always does,' he thought. "Are you sure? Do you really want me to take a step back, Felicity?" he asked, his voice deeper than usual.

Oliver saw how she was reacting to his actions and he, in his drunken state, liked it very much. 'God, I should stop this!' was what went through his mind, but he couldn't stop, even if he tried.

"Yeah… yes, I am sure that I want you to give me some space…" she stammered, her heart beating wildly.

Oliver's eyes fell shut, as he decided to stop trapping her against the wall. He didn't want to do anything he'd regret as soon as he was sober. So, even though he was angry at the moment, he knew that he still needed her as a friend. So Oliver turned around and walked away from her.

"What do you want, Felicity? Just go, OK?" he said.

Felicity closed the gap between them and stood two steps away from him. "What happened at Laurel's place? What did she say?" Felicity asked.

Oliver shut his eyes for mere seconds, and, while a tear escaped his eye, he warned her, "Felicity, if you know what's good for you, you will leave now."

She shook her head. "No! I'm staying! And don't try to change my mind. It won't work," she stated with determination in her voice.

This time, Oliver walked over to her like a predator towards its prey. Oliver stood in front of her in a blink of an eye and towered over her. She immediately jumped up, her heart beating wildly against her rib cage.

"What… what are you doing, Oliver?" she stuttered.

"I said: go home," he growled.

Felicity was afraid, but still she didn't make a move to leave. Oliver had enough of her stubbornness and kept walking towards her, so once again Felicity walked backwards till she hit a wall. She closed her eyes, feeling his hot breath on her face.

"Go home," he reiterated. His voice very low, making chills go up and down her spine.

Felicity shook her head. "N-nooo… you need me," she whispered,and, even though she was a bit afraid, she kept standing in her spot.

"Don't make me do something I'll regret, Felicity," he threatened.

But she slowly opened her eyes and looked straight at him. "N-n-noo..." she managed to say. "You will not harm me…" she whispered, her voice very shaky. "You care about me. We're friends. And I know for a fact that you will never, ever hurt me, Oliver. So stop with the façade and let's talk about it." Even as she spoke, she could feel herself trembling lightly.

"Get the hell out of here," he warned again.

"No."

His face was so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath.

"I'm ugly. I look like a freak. That's why Laurel is afraid of me. Or she's just ashamed of me. Women are so unpredictable," he hissed.

Felicity shook her head. "You are not ugly. And I don't think you look like a freak, Oliver. You're a good guy. If she doesn't want you in her life, then that's her loss. But you have your flaws-we all know that. Like you told me before, you haven't been faithful to her, but I know that you are trying now... trying to be a better person. I think you're a great guy, just stay true to yourself, OK?" Felicity whispered, as she touched his face.

An unexpected tingle went through her body as she caressed his face. She smiled at him while her fingers traced the scars on his cheek, and he held his breath. As she boldly cupped his face, she stared into his gorgeous blue eyes intensely. Her fingers slowly traced the scars on his other cheek, her fingers trembling, and she whimpered softly. The sound that escaped her lips was not loud, but Oliver heard it very clearly. At that, he closed his eyes, as he reveled at her soft caress.

'No, no. She's my friend. I can't go there,' he thought, mentally slapping himself.

At the same time, Felicity was thinking, 'Felicity Megan Smoak, you will not even think of going there! He's vulnerable right now. And… he is your friend!'

They both felt a thick tension in the air as Felicity still stood with her back against the wall. Oliver's presence was trapping her, towering over her so close...

It seemed like time stood still. In that very moment, the pain Oliver felt was forgotten. And everything else faded before the both of them...

But all of a sudden, they both heard the door of the foundry open and close.

"Digg!" they both whispered.

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