Part 10

Things went according to plan, it just wasn't the plan Oliver wanted.

Oliver Queen, alive and well.

The world couldn't believe it, as the gossip rags called it a publicity stunt, but after the necessary DNA tests were done, everyone actually rejoiced in his home town, saying that they knew all along. For a week, he began to miss his privacy, as he couldn't even go into the lobby of Queen Industries without at least five photographers hounding him for the perfect shot.

He'd usually give it to them, wanting peace and quiet, but there wasn't much of that. But he didn't regret coming clean. He owed Tess after all the work that she had done and this was what Oliver was supposed to do. Hiding in the shadows while his company suffered was cowardly and that wasn't something that Oliver considered himself. As much as it killed him to admit, Chloe was right. He couldn't leave the company behind, even if he held just an advisory role. This was his life.

But living like this, knowing she was here and he couldn't reach out and touch her, it hurt. They had to pretend to be strangers when they were the furthest thing from that. This was the choice Chloe had made, and Oliver had to respect that, no matter how much it hurt waking up to an empty bed and that the only reminder he had of her status was a single photo they took before their break-up.

It wasn't hidden well, within a frame which held a photo of his parents, but it wasn't something people would look for. But it was enough in plain sight that Oliver knew that within one frame contained every person that he had loved and who had loved him back.

Holding the frame in his hand, Oliver sighed as he took in his parents' smiles, so lost in reality that he didn't even realize that his assistant was calling his name.

"Mr. Queen?"

His head bolted up, noticing a look of concern in her eyes. "What is it Lauren?"

A grin quickly framing her face, she pointed her thumb towards the door. "I'm sorry to bother you, but there's a man here who doesn't have an appointment who is insisting to see you."

Such was the burden of the decision. Every day people would pretend to be somebody else, wanting an interview, or something else. But Oliver told Lauren that she had permission to shoo them away, which is why it caught his curiosity why she was in his office now. "Did he leave his name?"

Lauren nodded. "Hal Jordan." Normally, she was more than willing to toss people out of Oliver's office, it was the reason she had held onto her job, but Hal was different. Oliver's alias hadn't been leaked to the press, yet he knew it, and he had details no one should have. It was either a genuine person trying to reach out, or Oliver's worst nightmare, she just wanted to know which one it was. "He's a—"

"Send him in."

The hint of a smile on her boss' face was more than Lauren had seen in days, so she was quick to hold the door open. "Mr. Jordan...please come inside. I'm sorry about the wait."

"Don't you worry about that," Hal said with a wink, but Lauren shook her head at his advance, heading back to her desk without a further word. Of course, Hal wasn't put off by her dismissal at all, directing his attention to Oliver. "So... I was chugging beers with one of the richest guys in the world?"

Oliver stood from his desk, grin widening. "Looks that way." He hadn't expected Hal to come by this quickly, but he was glad to see him. Hal was a familiar face, a guy that wouldn't bullshit with him, and one of the few that accepted him. "What brings you by?"

"Besides the fact you haven't called since your grand reveal? Seriously, I'm hurt by the lack of consideration." Hal's feigned hurt wore away quickly, his face turning serious. "Talked to Cora... said you two didn't work out. Thought I'd talk to the wounded parties considering I'm sort of to blame."

Hearing Chloe's alias stung more than Oliver wanted to admit, but it didn't stop him from deflecting the conversation topic. "I have to ask... why did you insist on setting us up?"

At this point, Hal was still trying to get used to the office, the reality of everything. Back when he met Oliver, he seemed a little lost. It was easy now to see why and it was one of the reasons he wanted Oliver to have a solid relationship. Hearing about the transfer, Hal called in a favour from the one person he knew in Star City.

However, there was more to calling Cora than that. "I was hoping that your snarkiness would cancel out and you'd find it yourselves to smile longer than five seconds." It even happened, much to Hal's surprise and satisfaction. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, things fell apart. A valid reason, but it still felt sudden. "Have to admit, I thought I hit the jackpot with you two."

There was disappointment throughout Hal's expression, and Oliver almost wanted to tell him how true that idea was, of how small the world had been for them to find each other. "I can't blame her for wanting anonymity," was the best he could say and besides, Oliver couldn't blame Hal either because, "Otherwise... you did."

In all the time he knew Oliver as Roy Connor, there has been some rough times, but right now, Hal knew this hurt just as much. Maybe even more, as Roy... Oliver... didn't matter the name, the man hid plenty of things behind a simple smirk. "Damn. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Oliver replied, knowing it was something he likely couldn't change. "Some things just aren't meant to be."

"Well," Hal said, clapping his hands together to go along with the switch in conversation. "The way I see it, you owe me about a hundred beers." Looking around the office again, he couldn't help but shake his head. "You're loaded man, and you let me pay."

Grabbing his coat, Oliver smirked. Hal had timed his visit well, as it was close to the end of the day, and his research could wait until tomorrow. "How about we start with one?"

"That I'll take."

~0~

It had been a crazy night out, and Hal had gone back to his usual ways of flirting with everything that walked. Oliver sipped his drink slowly, as the night seemed to be like the others. But as he looked up, he noticed another lonely face in the crowd. One he barely recognized.

Her hair falling to her shoulders, it just barely showed her face as she swirled the drink in her hand. Gone was the light in her eyes that Oliver had seen before, replaced by frustration and sadness. She cleaned up well, but it was quite a shift in appearance from their last meeting.

Downing the rest of his drink, Oliver realized he should probably say hi. He got up from his seat and headed over to the couch she was sitting at. Even as he got closer, she never looked up, which is why Oliver cleared his throat to get her attention. "Hey."

Emily looked up, rolling her eyes upon seeing Oliver. How fitting that out of everyone she ran into tonight... it was him. Initially, she thought she'd play dumb, hoping Oliver wouldn't remember the one time they met, but she shook that idea off, knowing the effort would be futile. "If you're looking for information... I'm afraid that I'm not much help." She downed the rest of her glass, slamming it down on the table. It didn't help.

Oliver sat down next to her the couch, leaning back as he stared out into the packed bar. "Why's that?"

Shaking her head, Emily finally faced Oliver. "Let just say that I'm not Chloe's favourite person right now either."

Oliver waited a few moments, but not once did the woman try to cover her tracks. But she had spoken Chloe's name with ease, with a straight face, looking straight at him. The problem was that Oliver wasn't sure if she had meant to tell him that she knew about Chloe, or if it was just a slip of the tongue. So he played it safely. "What happened?"

"Stupid disagreement," Emily replied, completely unaware of her slip-up, as the alcohol seemed be doing its job. All she could think about was the conversation she had shared with Chloe earlier this week.

The disadvantage of lying about being comfortable with Chloe's decision was that it was hypocritical for Emily to tell her to change her life, to go for it. The man hunt was done, the press clippings had stopped; she could have gone home last year. Emily knew this, yet she always insisted on staying in Star City, not wanting to face her family ever again. That life, as far as she was concerned, was done.

But Chloe accused her of being as afraid as she was of stepping out with Oliver, and no matter how different their situations were, Chloe was right. But Emily didn't see that until Chloe stormed out of her apartment, slamming the door on her way. She supposed that it didn't hurt that Chloe figured out that Emily knew about Oliver's plans to come out too.

Sighing as she titled her head against the couch, her eyes looking up at the ceiling. "It's my fault, but... it still sucks."

Watching her lean her head further back to get the waitress' attention and order another drink, Oliver couldn't help but wonder if he was involved in all this. It seemed like Emily knew more than she was letting on. "Seems like an extreme reaction for a barista-regular friendship."

Emily realized that she should probably get a grip on herself. Things weren't really that bad, it was just frustrating more than anything. "It is, but Cora and I... we talk a lot." She knew Oliver wanted to know more, but she sat up properly, trying to explain her sudden change in sentence. "Sorry for the vagueness, but as happy as she was with you, our story is... complicated to say the least."

For a while, they sat there in silence, not even looking towards each other as everyone around them had continued about their business. Eventually, Oliver couldn't help but ask, "Do you think that we could have worked out?"

"Yeah," she replied honestly. "You brought something out of her that no one else has."

"What's that?"

"Optimism." It was an odd word choice, Emily knew that, but it was the one that fit the best. With Oliver, Chloe saw the good in her life, instead of focusing on the bad around her. There was light in her eyes, and she smiled a lot more. Just because she momentarily lost sight of that didn't mean it couldn't be fixed, she just wasn't sure how.

The waitress came by with her drink, so Emily paid her, making sure to sip this one instead of throwing it back like the others. "This is going to sound crazy coming from a tipsy barista but... don't completely close the door."

She noticed Oliver's eyes widen at her admission, and Emily knew it wasn't her place. But after everything, she just didn't care. Of everything that was messed up in her life, one thing wasn't. "My boyfriend… he got this promotion and I thought that he'd leave me behind." Emily was happy for Vic, but with higher exposure, the more afraid she was of the fact that she'd be in the limelight or that they'd drift apart. "Instead, he made time for me... made sure I knew how much I meant to him."

It's why she saw hope in Chloe and Oliver. The story may be different, Oliver's profile may be ten-fold of Victor's, but they were both stronger people. They were both people could handle the pressure thrust upon them. With a smile, she said, "It can't compare, but... it can work."

Oliver had sat back, listening as Emily finally felt comfortable talking with him. He acknowledged the similarities in their stories with a nod, but Chloe had made her choice. "Yeah, but what real chance do we have now?"

"Holding onto hope is never a wasted venture." Sighing, she threw caution in the wind and downed the drink again. She wasn't normally like this, drinking alcohol like coffee, but life was supposed to get easier. "I mean, you guys have gone through everything in life and somehow miraculously found each other." Lifting her glass, forgetting it was empty, she shut her eyes when she felt no liquid coming towards her mouth. Tipping it away from her, she was still looking at it when she added, "If that isn't serendipity, I don't know what is."

There it was again. The name could have just been a slip, but this felt like more to Oliver. "How much had Cora had told you about me?"

The glass hit the table, and for another sentence, Emily kept her eyes there. "You were the one who got away." Feeling her phone buzz, Emily pulled it out of her purse. Seeing the text from Victor, she knew she had to wrap this up. "A tumultuous relationship to say the least, but out of the relationships she had… you were the one she wanted to work out."

She stood up, grabbing her purse and took a deep breath. There was a large chance that this was the last time she was going to see him under the circumstances. Whether things got more complicated or easier, Emily didn't know, but she did know this: life wasn't going to be the same. Finally looking at Oliver, taking in the confusion in his face, not fully aware of what she had admitted to him, Emily knew she had to walk away. She did, as a quick grin was the only gesture she gave Oliver, as goodbye seemed like an inadequate word now.

He grinned back, but within a few steps, he noticed Emily struggle with her balance. "You're not driving, are you?" The last thing he wanted was to see a confidante of Chloe's get hurt, even if things were strained right now.

But she was quick to shake her head, turning her head to show that she appreciated the sentiment. "My boyfriend's coming to pick me up. I'm angry at myself, but I'm not that stupid."

Another stumble as she turned around got Oliver to bolt up, grabbing her hand to keep her from falling. "Do you want me to –"

Feeling her cheeks warm up out of embarrassment, Emily tapped Oliver's hand, feeling him release her. She found her balance, knowing she didn't have to get far, but it was very likely she'd regret the last drink. "No Oliver, but thanks." Testing a couple steps forward, she seemed okay, so she kept going. But not before she turned her head to smile at Oliver. "Enjoy your night… and thanks."

Oliver watched intently, her footing much improved as she reached the door. She got into a car parked in front of her free will, so he could only hope that she would be alright.

So Oliver went back to his seat prior to joining Emily and he ordered a drink. However, once he got it, the alcohol seemed to have less appeal.

Chloe was more than willing to admit that she could tell Emily everything and that she had help in the past. Emily had just indirectly told him that she knew about Chloe being alive and that they had gone through everything. It may have been the alcohol talking, but Oliver had a feeling that the barista was right, that she had a more complicated story than he could have ever imagined.