Chapter Seven: Through the Years
Time went on. Felicity continued to go to school and do some illegal hacking on the side. Her relationship with Cooper continued. They now had been dating for a year and a half. They were as serious about one another as they've always been. They were both hacktivist and they were going to save the world through their hacking. They were happy but Felicity truly couldn't believe that she had found her soul mate. Plus the sex was great.
Then everything went wrong. They were found out. Not their romantic relationship, but their hacking. They had created a virus and the FBI had discovered them. Cooper had taken the blame. He was arrested while Felicity remained free. There wasn't really a trial he was just locked away. He would never see the light of day again. He didn't end up serving his time because Felicity got the call that told her Cooper couldn't handle being incarcerated and had hung himself.
For days, Felicity was depressed. She felt as if her soul was crushed. She barely ate, she didn't shower. She went to her classes automatically and her grades slipped a bit. She felt ashamed that she always compared Cooper to Oliver. She felt guilty that she felt Cooper wasn't her soul mate. It wasn't until she finally got a good look in a mirror that she saw the person she had become. She didn't like what she saw. She had no makeup. She was paler than she had ever been before. Her hair was greasy and stringy. Her roots, later than the black dye, were showing. Her cheeks had begun to shallow out from her lack of food. Her clothes were practically falling off her body.
She frowned at the virtually unrecognizable woman in the mirror. She looked awful. She pressed her lips together and scratched her head. She was disgusted by the way her hair felt. She then gagged as she got a good whiff of herself. She ran into her room and grabbed some clothing and then dashed back into the bathroom for a much-needed shower and shampoo. She felt a bit dizzy when she was done but she also felt ten times better.
Felicity took another look in the mirror and though she was cleaner and her hair had more buoyancy, she still felt like scum. She needed a change. She grabbed her bag and her keys and went on a shopping trip.
She decided on a completely different look. Brighter clothes and makeup. High heeled shoes. Pleased by the dent she put in her credit card, Felicity was pleased. She made it back to her dorm and changed. She took a look in the mirror and still she felt something was off. She heard her phone ring and answered it. It was her mom checking up on her. Felicity absently listened to her mother babble on and on. She had heard about Cooper. How Felicity never found out. Maybe in her daze, she told her. She did not know, but as she listened to her mom's voice Felicity had another thought. She knew what was missing. Her hair. It was too dark for her new look. She never really looked like her mom. She was more her father's daughter. Brains and looks. Why not change her look to pay tribute to the parent who stayed.
Felicity politely said goodbye to her mother and headed to the nearest drug store. By the end of the day, Felicity had bagged all her old clothes, except for the dress she wore on her date with Oliver, and tossed them out. She was now a bright and lovely blonde. She even put away her contacts (they were too expensive to toss out) and was wearing her contacts. The only thing she kept from her old life was her industrial piercing.
In the end, Felicity was pleased with the changes in her life. Her grades improved and she found a new love in Big Belly Burger. She was looking healthier and she was beginning to feel happier. She never dated anyone while at school again. She wanted to honor Cooper's memory somehow. She was no longer a cyber activist.
Months passed and it was time for graduation. Her mother was coming from Nevada and she was happy and nervous. Her mother was a handful and Felicity believed that the less she saw of her the better. She loved her mom and she appreciated all of the sacrifices that she had made to give Felicity they best life she could. But her mother was embarrassing. She suffered through the same babbling Felicity did and she was not beyond saying anything that would humiliate her daughter.
Graduation went well. Felicity was top of her class and her mother was one of the loudest parents amongst the crowd when Felicity walked to get her diploma. After the ceremony, the two women went out to eat at a nice restaurant and talked about their plans for the future. Donna Smoak was going to return to her life as a waitress in some casino or another. Felicity was headed back to Starling City. A month ago, she got a personal call from Walter Steele, the CEO of Queen Consolidated after Robert Queen went missing somewhere in the China seas. Mr. Steele offered her a starting position in the IT department and Felicity took it. She really didn't have time to think about the decision, nor did she want the time. The first thing she thought about as soon as she got the job offer was Oliver Queen and their memorable night. After all this time, she could not forget that night. It stayed with her on her lonely nights, more than the nights she thought of about Cooper. She just could not completely forget Oliver. She wanted to hold on to his memory just as much as she had wanted to hold on to Cooper's, so she took the job. She was moving to Starling City within the month.
Donna was happy to help Felicity pack her things. She wanted to spend as much time with her daughter as she could. She wasn't sure when she would be able to save enough money to see her again. Felicity was happy for the help. They parted on good terms.
Starling City was a great city. Sure the crime rate in the Glades was on the rise, but everywhere else was worth living. Felicity found a small apartment near Queen Consolidated (QC). She worked hard and made no waves. She made a couple of friends who didn't think she was too brainy to spend time with. She went on a few dates but none of them lived up to Cooper. She had a couple of one night stands but they never lived up to Oliver. Her love life was very disappointing.
Years passed and it was coming up on the anniversary of when Oliver Queen went missing. It was going to be year five. Two years ago, Felicity started a tradition of drinking cheap red wine and staying in with a carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a tearjerker. She found she just could not be happy on this day. No one questioned her choices on this day. She just wanted to be alone.
Felicity was out at a bar with a date when she found out that Oliver Queen was not dead. Her date was a sports fan and couldn't resist going to a sports bar. The place was a loud and highly inappropriate place for a first date. Steven Conrad was a co-worker. He worked in Accounting. They met in the staff room. He had gray eyes and light brown hair. He wasn't very tall and was kinda flabby for someone in his early twenty's but he seemed friendly enough. So, when he asked her out one day, she said yes.
Now, Felicity regretted that decision. The man was watching every sporting event on all the TVs. He booed and cheered loudly. He ignored Felicity most of the night. He only acknowledged she was there when he wanted to comment on what was on the screens. That wasn't even the worst part of the night. No, the worst part of the night happened when the news interrupted every game. The tag was Lost Billionaire Found.
"Aw, Come on," Steven cried in outrage. His face was turning a vibrant red. "This isn't important. Turn back to the games."
He slammed his fists on the table. He knocked over his drink over and shook their plates. Felicity jumped at his sudden display of violence. She did her best to ignore her furious date and turned her attention towards the TV. Her ears strained to hear what the reporter was saying.
"Oliver Queen is alive," she heard the male reports voice say. The bartender turned up the volume at the Queen name.
"Who cares," Steven shouted. His eyes were bulging now.
"The Starling City resident was found in the North China sea five days ago. Five years after he was missing and presumed dead following the accident at sea that claimed the Queen's Gambit. Queen was a regular tabloid presence and a fixture of the Starling City club scene. Shortly before his disappearance, he was acquitted of assault charges streaming from a highly publicized altercation with paparazzi. Queen is the son of Starling City billionaire Robert Queen, who was also on board but now officially confirmed deceased."
The rest of the report turned into a fog in her head. Felicity was in a near state of shock. Oliver was alive. The man she couldn't forget was still alive. She wondered if she was going to see him again. Of course not, she thought. He probably has forgotten all about her. Five years is an awfully long time to remember a one night stand. She did, why wouldn't he? Because he was Oliver Freaking Queen and he had many one-night stands. She was not going to be that special one that stood out. Besides, he probably wouldn't even recognize her. She has changed so much. She shook herself out of her daze and blinked up at her still upset date.
"I have to go," she stumbled over the words as she rose and placed a twenty dollar bill on the table to cover her meal.
Steven barely acknowledged her as he was getting into a fight with a few men in the bar.
Felicity didn't even realize she was crying until she got into her car. She wiped her tears. She didn't even know why she was crying. She only spent a small amount of time with Oliver and she never really got to know him. But sometimes, she thinks she saw a part of him that one night that he rarely showed to anyone.
That night Felicity dreamt of Oliver Queen again. This time it was not their one night together. This time it was the determination he pursued her that flashed through her mind. It was funny that she forgot about that part of their brief time together. It was a pleasant memory to hold on two for the four weeks because on that fourth week she saw Oliver in person again and that one moment changed her entire life.
END OF CH. 7
