Hello :) Another chapter! :) Thank you for nice reviews, favs, follows and messages! I LOVE THEM! I appreciate all of them and I'm happy that you take your time leaving some support. THANK YOU! I hope you will like this chapter. I APOLOGIZE IT TOOK SO LONG! :( Lots of things are happening in my life right now...

EDITED BY youfixedmybrokenwings :) thank you my precious angel! :))))) 333

The music was far too loud for Felicity's taste. The blinking, colourful lights were making her vision blurry, her shorts were too short and too tight… Now she knew why Tommy Merlyn paid the bartenders as much as he did. The job was not difficult though, Felicity was taught how to make fancy drinks and what kind of whisky to serve to the VIPs. The dress code was not established, but Felicity quickly learned that bare legs brought great tips. A few months ago, not being confident with her body, she would have never worn shorts, but Oliver kept telling her over and over that she was beautiful and finally she believed him. After many times of turning the lights off in the bedroom Felicity finally realised that she really was beautiful. Oliver was slowly making her confident again and she wasn't complaining about his methods. He was her perfect man, a prince from her dreams and Felicity wasn't afraid of him leaving anymore. Not after their first night together. When she'd woken up in the morning, tangled in his sheets, she'd panicked when she found he wasn't there with her. She'd tried to collect all of her clothes that were strewn around the apartment and that had led her to Oliver, who was in the kitchen making breakfast for her in nothing but tight boxers. So after her freak out he'd carried her back to bed and forbidden her to leave until breakfast was ready. The sad thing was, all Oliver got for his efforts was a yelling at for not being with her when she woke up. He had to promise not to make Felicity breakfast again and then he made love to her until she finally said out loud that Oliver was never going to leave her.

"Felicity, table 3 wants another bottle of the same champagne they had before," yelled one of the bartenders and poured tequila into three glasses that stood in front of her.

"Mhm… That would be this one," murmured Felicity, taking the bottle and sighing loudly before walking up the stairs to where the VIP tables were placed. On her way down she met Thomas Merlyn, the night club runner.

"Hey, Felicity, I'm meeting the co-owner of this place to talk about a few things, could you please bring some scotch from the closed drawer to my office?" asked the man and winked at Felicity. "And don't tell anyone, we'll be working after all," he laughed. "The papers are too boring when you're sober, you know?"

"Yes, Mr. Merlyn, I'll bring it in a minute," smiled Felicity and her eyes widened when she saw her boss' angry face. "I mean…Tommy," she laughed nervously and felt her cheeks burning up.

"Oh, much better!" Tommy smiled kindly at her and ran upstairs. Felicity quickly went to stand behind the counter. She poured a few drinks and, not wanting to keep her boss waiting, opened the drawer and for a second she wondered what to take. Every bottle probably cost as much as Dylan's summer camp, if not more. Finally she was running up the stairs, checking on the VIPs' tables. She'd been in Tommy's office a few times, but never when the club was open for business. She had no idea how could he talk about business in this noise!

"Knock, knock," said Felicity loudly, opening the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't know if you heard me knocking…" she closed the door behind her and suddenly all of the noise and loud music disappeared. "Wow, it's really silent here," she added. "Sound proof doors and walls! Of course! Who would want to have an office in such a loud place…" Felicity cursed herself for being so stupid. She started babbling again.

"Felicity?" Felicity froze. She knew this voice. She knew this voice very well. It was the voice that not so long ago was whispering sweet words into her ear. It belonged to the person she lied to, or at least with whom she hadn't shared the truth. Oliver turned in his seat to look at the babbling woman that, he had no doubt, was his girlfriend. The silence was unbearable. Oliver was looking at his girl confused, she was looking at her feet realising the club that Oliver owned and worked at for a few years was Verdant. Tommy… Well, Tommy got comfortable in his chair and looked curiously at them both. Someone could quicky get him some popcorn and Tommy would be sitting there, watching the whole scene and impatiently waiting for what was about to come.

"Oliver! Verdant… It's Verdant. I had no idea this was your night club. So yeah, I was waiting for a good time to tell you…" Felicity dared to look up at her boyfriend and squeezed the bottle of scotch in her now sweating hands. "I guess now is the best time to tell you that I was fired from my old job but Mr. Merlyn, I mean Tommy was so kind as to hire me here…" she paused to take a deep breath.

"You were fired?" Oliver got up from the chair and walked up to her. He knew she was struggling with money and he thought she probably didn't take the news about losing her job very well… Who would? He was only upset about one thing - that she had to go through this all alone.

"Yeah, some time ago," sighed Felicity quietly. "But the owner let me keep the extra hours so that would be about two days per week…"

"You didn't tell me anything! You should have… You could have said something," Oliver told her, not fully understanding why she hadn't.

"Can we talk tomorrow?" asked Felicity hesitantly and walked to the desk to place the bottle on it. "That is if you still want to talk to me at all? It's crazy busy down there and I should go back…"

"Yeah, go," said Oliver, looking at her. Felicity couldn't hold his gaze; she looked down, feeling dull pain in her chest. Was that it? Was Oliver that mad at her? Felicity blinked several times and took a deep breath before turning around and walking to the door. "Felicity? I can wait for you and walk you home later," offered Oliver and she quickly nodded.

"If it won't be too late…"

"It won't be!" Oliver and Felicity almost forgot about Tommy who still was in the room, listening to the conversation. "Felicity, you finish early tonight," he announced. "And on your way out take a bottle of something good, Oliver'll pay for it," Tommy smiled at Felicity who stood by the door, confused. "And now go, the sooner we finish the better!" Felicity left the room in hurry. Fortunately she had no time to worry due to the crowd in the night club.

"Oliver!" Tommy yelled after Felicity closed the door. "Do you have a girl?"

"Um, yeah, I do," Oliver sighed, still thinking of what had just happened.

"And you haven't told me?"

"What are you, a gossip girl? You're acting like Thea," said Oliver, pouring some whiskey into a glass. Today had been a long day and he didn't need Tommy bothering him with all kinds of questions right now.

"I'm a gossip boy, come on, tell me something!"

"Felicity is my girlfriend, okay? Is that enough?" asked Oliver impatiently and looked at his friend. He was slightly amused by Tommy's interest in Felicity.

"Hmm… she's your girlfriend and she's working here for two shifts?" wondered Tommy. He hadn't known Felicity for a long time, but he thought she was a kind, helpful person, always smiling. And she was working her hands off. He thought that maybe she had student loans or something like that to pay off, but most of the girls Oliver used to date would simply ask for the money - or steal some - knowing Oliver wouldn't see a difference on his bank account. This Felicity could be the first girl who liked Oliver for being his grumpy self, not for his money…

"I offered help many times, but she never accepted," sighed Oliver. "She's been struggling with money her whole life… And now she was fired? I could have helped her out or hire her here…"

"Seeing her reaction that's probably what she tried to avoid," noticed Tommy. He was smiling at Oliver like a man possessed. "She seems to be a good girl…is she?"

"Tommy!"

"What? I'm happy you finally found someone who hopefully won't try to steal your fortune. Someone who wouldn't want your company to become hers," continued Tommy, "someone who won't use your credit card without your knowledge…"

"I got it," interrupted Oliver. "Yeah, she's different," he sighed. "She's working her butt off for her son…" Tommy choked on his whiskey.

"Uh, her what?" he asked and Oliver glared at him.

"Her son," repeated Oliver sternly.

"Please tell me you're not caught up in some terrible family drama," worried Tommy.

"Well not in the way you may think," replied Oliver. "There definitely is some drama, but we're getting there. And her son is an amazing kid."

"And his father?"

"He makes the drama part," said Oliver, getting up from his chair. "Sorry, I can't even think about this stuff right now," he announced, pointing at the papers. All he could think about was Felicity. Right now she was probably worrying herself to no end, babbling and twisting her ponytail.

"I have to say that I understand why she did that," said Tommy slowly. "Unlike any other girl she wants to show you she's not after your money, it's a good thing."

"But I know that already and I want to help her!"

"She doesn't want help. How old is she? 25?" asked Tommy.

"Yeah…"

"And if she has problems with the baby daddy it was probably not planned," he concluded. "She's very young, I'm 30 and I don't think of babies… I think she's trying to prove that she's not a damsel in distress, she doesn't need anyone to come to the rescue."

"You're right," admitted Oliver. "But it hurts to see how she struggles every day."

"Then maybe take care of the kid?" offered Tommy. "Change the diaper, feed…she's not breast feeding, is she?"

"Uh… he's 7 years old," said Oliver, a little confused and annoyed. Tommy's eyes went wide.

"He's what? But she's…but…25 minus 7 is like…" he stuttered.

"Tommy! What the hell? You better start wondering if you don't have a 14 year old child out there somewhere!"

"Oh no," gasped Tommy, clearly terrified. "You think it's possible?"

"Seriously?"

"Maybe not," he said and sat silently on his chair.

"Yeah, better not… Can I take her home now?" asked Oliver, walking to the door. "I really have to talk to her."

"Sure, man," agreed Tommy. "I think I remember how to mix drinks," he smiled at his best friend. "See you soon then?"

"See you soon," said Oliver and started walking down the stairs, then through the dance floor to the counter where Felicity was standing.

"Hey, meet me out the front as soon as Tommy takes you off," shouted Oliver to Felicity who quickly nodded.

"Yeah, sure! Oliver, I'm sorry…" she started apologising in a brief pause between customers, but Oliver interrupted her.

"I can't hear a thing, we'll talk in a minute!" he half-shouted and elbowed his way through the crowd, disappearing through the door. Felicity blinked a few times, feeling a dull ache spread through her chest. She finally believed that Oliver was there to lean on, that he cared for her and Dylan, and now she feared he was going to leave. She wasn't a team player, she failed to tell him about some important stuff in her life and now she was worried about what was to come. She didn't want to tell anyone, not just Oliver! She hadn't even told her mother, not wanting to worry her. The only person who knew was John Diggle because she'd asked him to print some of her recommendations, but he'd promised not to tell anyone, not even Lyla. Felicity was a person who expected a lot from herself. Every failure was something she was ashamed of, after so many times of people upsetting her she chose to be as strong as possible, and just as independent.

After a short while Felicity started walking out of the club, the loud music getting quieter with every step, the air cooler. She almost ran into Oliver when she saw him, trying to apologise, maybe even plead with him not to leave her…

"Aren't you cold in those shorts?" asked Oliver when he saw her.

"I…no. Uh, Oliver, I'm sorry," she started, not really knowing what to say. She really was sorry, she didn't want to lie to Oliver, she wanted to tell him. "I had no idea it's your club, I didn't… I didn't want you to find out like that," she sighed. "Please say something," she begged.

"I don't know what to say," he whispered. "I just ask myself one thing, don't you trust me, Felicity?"

"It's not about trust!"

"What is it about then?" asked Oliver, clearly annoyed. "I don't understand," he said. "I care for you, I really like your son, I am trying to help the both of you not because I think you can't handle it, but because we're supposed to be a team now and I just wanted to make things easier for you!"

"It's really not about trust. Everything was so good, so perfect between us, I was afraid it would be gone once I told you," she confessed. "Remember Mother's Day?" Oliver nodded. "I told you something was wrong and that I would tell you if I couldn't handle it."

"Mother's Day? That was a crazy long time ago!"

"Not really… But I handled it!" said Felicity. "I got a new job immediately and it was all good, but I thought you'd be worried…"

"Yes, no doubt I'd be worried." Oliver was looking at her, straight in the eyes, but Felicity couldn't hold his gaze. She looked down at her bare legs that now were shivering from the cold night air.

"I'm sorry," whispered Felicity with a broken voice.

"Come here," said Oliver and pulled his girlfriend into a hug. They were standing like that in the cold night, Oliver felt Felicity's hot tears against his shirt. He knew she didn't want to cry, he didn't want her to cry either. It hurt him to feel how sobs were shaking her small body, fist holding tight to his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she gasped once again and felt Oliver's arms tighten around her. "I didn't even tell my mom and I tell her everything!"

"It's okay…"

"I told John, but only because I needed to leave Dylan with someone…" sobbed Felicity.

"It's fine, it really is," said Oliver gently rubbing her back. "We should go home, you're tired."

"Hmm… yeah, actually I am," admitted Felicity and took Oliver's hand as they started walking down the street. "Are you very mad at me?" she asked and Oliver's heart broke in half at her trembling voice.

"Just a little," replied Oliver squeezing her palm. "Not mad enough to leave," he whispered. He knew that was what Felicity had been really afraid of, and heard her sigh of relief. She wrapped an arm around his waist and walked clumsily, hugging him with all the strength she had. They walked together on the sidewalk leaving Verdant far, far behind.

thank you for reading :) ~missfsmoak