Chapter 6:
First Fight
In the brief history of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak's friendship, I consider one particular event a milestone. As I've said, it was right about that time when school had started for me that they had begun to get close. As the leaves turned yellow and orange all around the city and fell to the ground by the millions to welcome Fall, there had been several memories of friendship shared between them. But that one time was the time when I knew for sure that they had crossed the line from friendship to a more serious relationship.
What makes you so sure, Stephen?
Emily, I thought you were smarter than that. Just think about it. Only the best and truest of friends can fight like hell and make up like heaven.
Oh, I get it! You're talking about their first real fight. I love that story. Come on, tell it. Tell it!
Okay, but we gotta tell it like they tell it. I'll tell Dad's side of the story, and you tell your mom's side of the story.
A/N: The rest of the chapter will be told from Felicity's and Oliver's points of view. Felicity's lines are italicized.
"You're making me nervous!" I said. "I thought you told me when I took the job that I didn't have to set foot at QC." I looked at Oliver with searching eyes. I loved solving puzzles, but I hate real-life mysteries. Last Friday he told me he needed me to show up at Queen Consolidated today, Monday, but he wouldn't tell me why exactly. He just said that Garber had something for me to work on, but that I needed to come get some documents myself. I sat with him at the back of his limousine, my heart throbbing in my chest.
He had introduced his driver and bodyguard, Mr. John Diggle. The whole trip from my apartment to QC, the man glanced at me every now and then from the rear view mirror. I wasn't annoyed by that, coz he seemed to be a really nice man. I was more annoyed by Oliver's secret. "What could be so important that he needed to bring me over?" I kept asking myself. He had even arranged for Lucia, his former nanny, to watch Stephen and Emily in the apartment while we're gone.
The limo stopped in front of the huge steps of Queen Consolidated's enormous building. "Stay here," Oliver instructed as he got out on the other side. Mr. Diggle opened my door and held it, as Oliver bent over slightly to offer his hand. I took it, and he pulled me out gently.
As he closed the door behind me, I said, "Thank you, Mr. Diggle." To which he responded, "You can call me John, Ms. Smoak." I smiled at him and said, "All right, John, if you promise to call me Felicity." He smiled back and nodded in the affirmative. I pulled down my black-and-white dress a bit to smoothen the wrinkles and straightened my glasses, and then Oliver walked me up the steps towards the main entrance.
It was a few minutes before 8:00 in the morning, and almost all the employees were just coming in as we arrived. Almost everyone stopped to greet Oliver "good morning." People – men and women alike – were staring at us. Some carried on, walking hurriedly to their respective offices and floors, but I could still hear them talking about us: "Who is she?" "I have no idea." "First time I saw her." I was starting to feel uncomfortable, but I kept my poise and walked confidently beside Oliver, keeping up with his gait.
We passed through routine security at the main entrance, but at Oliver's signal, the guards skipped the usual bag check and frisking. Security personnel in the x-ray area and those behind the counter in the lobby were smirking, mumbling things to one another. I wouldn't have thought that that had anything to do with me if they hadn't been stealing glances as soon as we passed through the main entrance. I wasn't being paranoid, but seriously, if I had eyes all over my body, I would have freaked out to see everyone staring at me from different directions as we crossed the spacious lobby and stopped in front of the elevators. I felt like a lone goldfish in a huge aquarium.
As we waited for a ride, I looked at myself in the mirror on the wall right across the elevators to check out how I looked. "Was there something on my face? Was the dress I picked too tight or provocative?" I asked myself.
I noticed Felicity was acting a little edgy. I took a step near her and touched her arm. "Is everything okay?" I asked. She flashed a fake smile and lifted her eyebrows as she nodded. That wasn't like her at all. Her smile had always been genuine up to this point. Not wanting to make a big deal out of it, I just told her, "Relax. Everything will be fine."
Once the elevator doors opened, I let her get on first, and then I got in after her, holding the doors in place. I pushed the close button. "No one else is getting on?" she asked. "Oh, this is my private elevator. It goes straight to my floor," I explained. "Oh, I see," she said. The doors opened thirty-some floors after, and Steve Garber, head of the IT department, was there to greet us.
"Good morning, Mr. Queen. And good morning, Ms. Smoak! It's wonderful to finally meet you in person," the man said.
"The feeling is mutual, sir," I answered him. It was good to finally meet my immediate boss. For the last two to three months, we had been communicating only via email, chat, video conferencing, and Skype. Garber was nice, but he had so much more to learn. I'd been meaning to ask him where he got his IT training, but I had decided not to, as it might not be appropriate. He might misinterpret my sincere intentions of helping him and think of me as an arrogant know-it-all who didn't know what's good for her. So, I just contented myself with making one suggestion and recommendation after another, hoping that he would oblige, and almost every time, he did.
Just as we got out of the elevator and began to walk with Garber down the carpeted, marble-walled hallway, a woman with brunette hair, in her mid-thirties, walked up to Oliver from behind. She was wearing a figure-squeezing black dress that flaunted her slender form and magnified her cleavage better than a pair of binoculars could. She touched Oliver on the shoulder and slid her hand down his arms, stopping at his elbow. "My, my, Oliver Queen, looking as handsome as always," she said with a seductive tone of voice.
Oliver looked at her and pressed his lips together before saying, "Good morning, Isabel."
"And what do we have here?" she asked. "New secretary?"
"Isabel Rochev, this is Felicity Smoak. Felicity, Ms. Rochev is the head of the accounting department." When he finished the brief introduction, he looked at the woman in black. "Isabel, Felicity is an exceptional IT specialist. MIT, class of 2009. She started working for QC more than two months ago. Garber called her in for a special meeting today."
The woman's eyebrow lifted, almost touching her hairline. She looked at me from top to bottom, and then up again. She had a cynical smirk on one corner of her lips. She then put one hand on her hips and looped her other arm around Oliver's right arm. "Seems like you've switched gears, Oliver, dear. I didn't know you had a thing for blondes with brains."
Now that hurt. I barely knew this woman, let alone liked her. How dare her talk like that! The flirting I could handle, but those words… Grrr! I may be blonde, but I'm not that blonde!
I looked at Oliver's face. The last traces of a smile were gone. He pressed his lips harder and squinted at her. Before he could let go of her arm, she pulled away, saying, "Well, see you around, Ms. Smoak. I'm sure Oliver here can keep you busy." Oliver was more than humiliated. He was insulted. I was insulted. I was beginning to really hate that place.
To lighten the tension in the air, Garber cleared his throat and began to speak. "This way, sir. Everybody's waiting." Garber directed us to a large conference room down the hallway next to Oliver's impressive-looking office.
"Everybody?!" I heard the word echo in my brain. "Who's everybody? I thought Garber only wanted to show me something," I thought to myself in panic.
It turns out the entire IT department was there waiting for us. At Oliver's signal, everybody sat down. Garber ushered me to a seat near the front, as he took his place in front of the screen, facing everyone. Oliver sat several meters away, at the rear end of the conference table.
I shut my eyes and paused for a moment to breathe. "Isabel sure knows how to make an entrance," I thought. That woman was nothing but trouble ever since. I saw the look on Felicity's face. She was more than embarrassed. She was insulted. I was insulted. "I've got some explaining to do later," I told myself. I really hoped Felicity didn't start hating QC because of her, especially not now.
"Good morning, people!" Garber began his speech. I opened my eyes and put on a CEO smile.
"Well, as you can see," Garber continued, "our entire department has been called up here today for a special announcement. If you hadn't yet noticed, since our merger more than three months ago, a lot has been going on in our department. A lot of changes. Good changes. In fact, the performance of our section has never been better. Two months ago, most of you expressed that you were having difficulties running our programs, troubleshooting problems with the mainframe or the servers… Hey, some of us couldn't even fix online glitches! But thanks to the ingenious adjustments done by our newest specialist, Smoak, and many of her invaluable contributions to the upgrades in our system, performance efficiency in our department has gone up by 65% just in the last month. Well done, everyone!" And turning to Felicity, Garber interjected, "And congratulations, Ms. Smoak!"
With much excitement and pride, I applauded, and everyone in the room followed suit. I knew Garber wasn't finished, so I hadn't walked up to Felicity yet, even though I couldn't wait to see how she had reacted to Garber's praises.
"I know some of you already know about my resignation. As outgoing Senior Supervisor of the IT department of Queen Consolidated, it is my pleasure and privilege to announce the promotion of Ms. Smoak to take my place effective on the first day of October. I expect everyone to give Ms. Smoak a warm reception and the utmost respect she truly deserves as your new boss. I would expect nothing less from you all. Good day, and thank you for coming."
Everybody's jaw dropped. And as Garber walked away, a hushed commotion filled the room. Half of the people were standing, the other half remained seated, but all of them were dumbfounded over Garber's baffling announcement. Scanning the room, I had mixed emotions tugging from the opposite corners of my heart. Felicity was among those who stayed seated. She was still staring at Garber, who was standing right in front of her, shaking her hand. Her lips were pale, and her eyes were welling up with tears. Her face was the picture of utter disbelief, shock, embarrassment… I don't know for sure. I wet my lower lip, bit down on it, and heaved a troubled sigh. "What have I done?" I asked myself.
"Congratulations, again, Ms. Smoak!" Garber let go of my hand and walked away.
I honestly didn't know what to think or how I should feel. I mean, I just got promoted, and by next month, I'm probably going to get paid three times what I'm getting at the moment. I should be ecstatic, right? Garber praised me in front of all these people and told them that he expected them to show me respect. I should be proud, right? But I didn't feel ecstatic. I didn't feel proud. I was totally embarrassed. And why wouldn't I be? Men and women who had been in this company longer than I have – literally – aimed suspicious stares at me. They were whispering amongst themselves, fabricating demeaning accusations about how in the world I could have gotten the promotion. Several versions of the same lie were within my hearing distance, but the worst, most brazen lie someone came up with was this: "I bet my bottom dollar she got the job because she slept with him." They gossiped in hushed voices as they left the room… until there was no one there but Oliver and me.
Her tears fell. She took a tissue from her purse and wiped her face dry, and then she stood up. When her tender but sad blue eyes met my regretful ones, I said in an apologetic tone, "I can explain."
"Oliver, I just want to go home. Please take me home." That was all she said. She walked out of the conference room and saw Diggle waiting in my office. "John, please take me home."
John looked at me, puzzled, as if asking, "What went wrong?" I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders, putting my hands in my pockets. John and I followed her down the hallway, into the elevator, and out of the building.
It was quiet in the limo as Diggle drove us away from QC. I couldn't breathe with all the tension. I couldn't stand another second fearing that Felicity was angry with me. So I mustered some courage and tried again, "Felicity, please give me a chance to explain." Her answer was silence. Another tear fell from her eye. She turned her face away from me to look out the window.
I kept trying. I could sense that she was hurting deeply, but I refused to accept that this could be the end of our friendship… the end of us. At that moment, I realized I couldn't lose Felicity. Not now, not ever. So I took the risk and began to explain, whether or not she'd listen.
"Garber came to me last week and handed me his resignation. His diabetic mother fell and broke her hip, bedridden for the rest of her life now. He said she asked him, being her only child, to come take care of her. So he's moving to Canada permanently. I accepted his irrevocable resignation. When I asked him whom he thought would be the best person for the position he's vacating, he unequivocally picked you. He said you were a genius, one of a kind, and that I'd be crazy not to offer you the job because you would be an asset to the company."
"See, that's the problem right there, Oliver. Garber told you to offer me the job," Felicity was clearly angry, but she was holding back her rage.
"I'm sorry… I… Garber and I thought it would be a good idea to surprise you. I didn't think-"
"That's right! You didn't think!" Now she was beginning to yell. "You didn't think about the other IT specialists in your company who had been standing in line for who knows how long just to get a promotion!"
"But Garber said you were the best!" I started to raise my voice, too. "He said no one in the department came close to what you could do for the company-"
She cut me off. "And that's supposed to flatter me?! O, come on! So what if I'm more brilliant than anyone in the entire department?" The intensity in her voice was escalating, and I could sense that the next words she was about to say would be even more emotionally charged. "Don't patronize me, Oliver! I'm not Isabel Rochev!"
"You've got to be kidding! What does Isabel have to do with-"
"You don't get it, do you, Oliver! Maybe Isabel has the effrontery to keep working for you after whatever it was you had with her in the past. Maybe she has nerves of steel that let her work in a company filled with back-stabbing gossipers. But I don't! Look, no one cares if I'm smart or qualified. They may never care. How am I supposed to take charge now that everyone thinks I got the job just because I may have slept with you?!" As soon as she let that last line out of her chest, she broke down crying.
I wanted to take her hand in mine. I wanted to wrap my arms around her. I wanted to hold her face in my hands and tell her how sorry I am. But I knew this wasn't the time. All I managed to say was, "I'm really, really sorry, Felicity. You're right. I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking of the repercussions of your promotion."
For the first time since we got in the car, Felicity turned to look at me. "Now you're talking," she said in a significantly calmer tone. She removed her glasses, looked down, and pinched the bridge of her nose. Then she spoke again, "Oliver, you didn't even think to ask if I wanted the job in the first place. And what was I to do with Emily? You know getting a job is complicated for me. I really don't appreciate the surprise. It was so inconsiderate of you."
"I'm sorry. On impulse, and at the prompting of Garber, we set up the surprise. I thought you'd be happy. You're perfect for the job, not because I think that you and Emily could use the pay hike, but because I believe that you're the best at what you do and you deserved the position. But, I should have talked things over with you instead of surprising you like that." Felicity just nodded in agreement.
The car pulled to a stop. We were in front of her apartment building. In as much as I didn't want to leave our conversation hanging, I knew it was unfair to her for me to keep pushing until she at least says she forgives me. So I didn't push. She opened the door, and before she got out, she said, "Oliver, I need some time away from you… to think." She got out, closed the door, and left.
I understood what she meant. I just didn't like how it felt. But she needed some space, and I was willing to wait. I gave her a day, then two. But as the week was coming to a close, I was beginning to feel downcast. She wasn't answering my texts or returning my calls. I was afraid I'd be reading her resignation letter the following Monday. I thought it'd be pointless to knock on her door because I had promised to give her time.
Soon it was Friday. I took Stephen to the park, hoping to see our blonde girls. But as the sun began to set, Stephen said, "Dad, I don't think they're coming." He handed me the basketball, and together we sat on her park bench and talked for a while.
"What happened, Dad? Did you and Felicity have a fight?"
"Yeah, we sure did. A big one."
"What about?"
"Oh, I pulled a stunt on her at work and she didn't like it."
"And why did you do that?"
"Coz I wasn't thinking."
Stephen grinned and said, "You'll get her back, Dad." He opened the outside pocket of my sports bag and took out something. He handed me my Swiss knife and smiled. I took it from my son's hand and started carving.
It had been a week since our fight, and oh, how I missed him. Emily missed him. Every time my phone buzzed or rang, my heart ached. We had become such good friends. Now I'm just… I'm not so sure how we're supposed to move on after what happened. "Maybe I should quit my job and go back to free-lancing. Emily and I weren't doing so badly before the Queens came into our lives," I thought. I needed some air. "Emily, sweetie, let's go to the park."
I was so sure the guys won't be there at this hour. It was Monday morning, around 10:30. Emily and I walked to the park. The sunshine and the breeze were just right. When we got there, Emily went straight for the sandbox. I gave her the plastic pail and trowel and watched her get settled in. As I turned back towards my bench, I caught a glimpse of the basketball court. For a moment, I imagined Oliver and Stephen playing ball. The wind blew; it blew my memories away. I sighed as I tucked some hair behind my ear and pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose.
I walked over to my park bench, and before I could put our Disney bag down, I saw it. Carved on the topmost wooden slat of the back rest was my very own name: Felicity Smoak. "This wasn't here before our fight," I thought. Then I began to sob, my heart bursting at the seams with joy. "He's reaching out to me. He really is sorry. He does care after all," I thought to myself. I stuck my hand into the bag and groped in it for my phone. When I found it, I called Oliver's number.
After just one ring, he picked up. Before I could even speak, he said, "Hey! Glad you called. Where are you?" I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was happy to hear mine.
"Uhm, I'm at the park. I see you carved my name," I said softly and slowly.
"You like it?"
"Very much. Can we talk?"
"Well, it depends. I'm on coffee break right now, but I've got an important meeting at 11:00."
"Oh… maybe next time then."
"But… see, if you would kindly let down your hair, take off your glasses, and turn around in that exact same spot where you're standing now, wearing that gorgeous pink dress and nice grey sweater, I might reconsider." I gasped. I hung up and turned around. There he was. Oliver was walking towards me, holding his phone with one hand and a coffee tray for two with the other.
Felicity didn't move from where she was standing. She waited for me to come, her eyes locked onto mine. As I requested, she let her hair down. She took off her glasses. And then she smiled and took my breath away. When we were just a couple of feet away, I put my phone and the coffee tray down on the bench and moved closer to her. I took both her hands in mine and lifted them close to my chest.
"Hey," I said tenderly. "Hey," she replied, matching the tone of my voice.
Then I paused, looking into her eyes. What I was about to say required all the courage I had in my bones. "Felicity, please find it in your heart to forgive me. I truly am sorry for putting you in that awfully embarrassing situation. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I did, coz I wasn't thinking straight." She was nodding her head as tears began to fall from her beautiful blue orbs. "Most of all, I am sorry that my past has caught up with me and hurt you this way. People haven't been very forgiving. And even after I had long since turned my back on my shameful old ways, my former reputation keeps haunting me. Now it hurts me to see that it may have started to haunt you too."
"Oh, Oliver… I do forgive you! You're my best friend." Felicity replied. She managed another smile as her eyes continued to well up with tears. "I don't care what people think of you. I may not have known who you were, but I know who you have become. You are a kind, gentle, and honorable man with a heart strong enough to rise above pain and whatever challenge life brings your way. You can't change your past. Neither can I. All we can do is live in the present the best way we can so that we can change the future."
Her words touched the core of my being in two very different ways. They soothed my soul like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. They set my heart ablaze like a flaming torch brandished in the dead of night.
I pulled her in and wrapped her arms around my waist. I cupped my hands on both sides of her face and spoke. "I want so much to change the future… with you, Felicity Smoak… if you're willing to be more than just my friend."
"I sure would like us to try," she replied. As soon as those words left her mouth, I sealed it with a kiss. It was a gentle, meaningful kiss – perfect and pure and passionate in every way. We poured into it not just our souls but our dreams and hopes.
Oliver and I pulled back at just about the same time. I chuckled as he planted one more kiss on my forehead as he held on to my arms. "How is this possible?" I asked. "We've become a couple without even going out on a date!" He replied, "Who needs dates? What could be better than falling in love with my best friend?!" After one final embrace, Oliver said goodbye and left for his meeting at QC. I sat on my now-official park bench, smiling as I watched Emily play. "Oh, Emily," I sighed. I reveled in the thought that maybe, just maybe, she might have a daddy after all.
