CHAPTER THIRTEEN: BURNING GOLD
Looking for an exit in this world of fear
I can see the path that leads the way
Mama never left, and daddy needs me here
I wish the wind would carry a change
Looking through the window to a world of dreams
I can see my future slip away
Honey you won't get there if you don't believe
I wish the wind would carry a change
I've had enough
I'm standing up
I need, I need a change
I've had enough of chasing luck
I need, I need a change
I'm setting fire to the life that I know
Let's start a fire everywhere that we go
We starting fires, we starting fires
'Til our lives are burning gold
'Til our lives are burning gold
Looking for my ticket to a higher place
I can see my chance begin to fade
One step forward and two back again
I wish the wind would carry a change
I've had enough
I'm standing up
I need, I need a change
I've had enough of chasing luck
I need, I need a change
I'm setting fire to the life that I know
Let's start a fire everywhere that we go
We starting fires, we starting fires
'Til our lives are burning gold
'Til our lives are burning gold
Another hundred yards and she'd made it to the top. Concentrating on her breathing, Felicity pushed herself to complete the goal she had set out for herself. Her ponytail bounced against her neck, wiping some of the sweat away. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, the beat of some song pounding in her ears. She was almost there. Almost at Starling lookout. Almost. And then she was. She did it. She slowed down, resting her hands on the railing keeping her from falling down the cliff. The city beneath her, people going about their day, the streets coming to life as the day started. Breathing heavily, Felicity let the rising sun warm her skin. She wiped her forehead on her sleeve and dried her hands on her pink running pants.
She had gotten into running, and yoga, a lot more over the last few weeks. After Oliver's revelation, which she still felt like wasn't true, she had desperately needed the output. It gave her some time to think, and a weird sense of purpose. Yeah, weird right?
It made her feel like she was doing something with her life. She had been, almost desperately looking into colleges the first few months of her gap-year, but it had led to nothing. And as the deadline for admissions came closer and closer, she had sort of given up on ever finding something. Her father had urged her to try at least something, but she would not have it.
Besides, apart from the constant searching, she enjoyed her life without school. She could sleep in, and delve into her hobbies. She learned how to cook, read all the books she had always wanted to read but never had the time to do so, learned to play the piano and she was now fluent in French and Spanish. So, the year wasn't wasted completely.
She had caught her breath and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her jacket, pausing the music and checking her texts. Her dad had called her twice and left her a text.
'Meet me in my office please. Asap. –Malcolm '
She groaned and rolled her eyes. She strolled back to the car, Frederick already waiting for her. Why her dad didn't just get her her own car instead of having her drag the poor guy along with her everywhere she went.
"How was your run, Miss Merlyn?"
"Frederick, I told you, call me Felicity. Please." She tilted her head to the side, smiling softly at the old man. He had worked for her family ever since she could remember, and it was starting to show. His hair was greyer and the lines in his face more distinctive.
"And it was lovely, thank you."
He smiled and nodded politely before opening the car door for her. She slid inside and started toying with her phone. They got home fairly quickly, she took a shower and decided on a nice pair of black jeans and a lightweight chambray blouse with some comfy leopard-print loafers. She pulled her hair into a bun, put on some make-up, grabbed her bag and she was on her way to Merlyn Global Group.
The drive didn't take long, the elevator ride up 33 floors seemed to take way longer. When the doors slid open she was greeted by her father's executive assistant, a young, frivolous brunette named Meredith. She had always liked Meredith. She was way nicer to her than her father's previous assistants. Just like Felicity, she didn't take any of Malcolm's bullshit and refused to bring him coffee. Something Felicity admired about her. Not a lot of people dared to stand up to the mighty Malcolm Merlyn. Plus, she was smart, too.
Meredith smiled at her and guided her towards her father's office like Felicity didn't know exactly where it is. Protocol, she supposed. Her dad was on the phone when they stepped inside the large office, arguing like a true business man. He nodded at Meredith when he turned around and spotted them. He gestured to the chair for Felicity to sit. She felt like she was being called into the principal's office. Meredith put a hand on her shoulder and smiled softly at her.
"Don't worry, everything is fine. Good luck." She whispered before turning on her heel and walking out of the office, closing the door behind her.
Felicity stepped forward and slumped into the chair, crossing her legs. Malcolm said his goodbyes to the person on the other end of the line and pressed the end button. He sat down in his own chair and folded his hands on top of his desk.
"Good morning, sweetheart."
Felicity quirked up an eyebrow. "Morning."
"How was your run?"
She frowned a little. "Dad. Just stop. We both know you didn't want me here to chit-chat."
Malcolm nodded. Sometimes his daughter was just too smart. It was hard to hide anything from her nowadays. "You're right."
"I've discussed it with my Vice-President and we want you to come work with us. You'll be observing at first so you can get the hang of how things work around here, find a place where you'll fit in, but it will lead to a job."
Felicity frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Really dad? I don't even have a business degree."
"Felicity. We both know that you're smarter than 90% of the people in this building. Believe me, you don't need one. And if you are my daughter, business is in your blood."
Before he could finish, she was moving to stand up. "No."
"I won't do it. I don't want to be in business."
Malcolm narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips into a firm line. He'd been hoping to avoid this, but it seemed there was no way around it.
"I wasn't asking, Felicity. Sit back down."
Her eyes widened shortly in surprise. She then glowered at him but did sit back down.
"You can't make me do this."
He smirked at her, he actually smirked at her. "Tell that to your trust funds and soon to be frozen bank accounts."
Felicity's eyes widened and she sat up a little straighter. "You wouldn't."
"In order to make sure my daughter has a bright future, oh yes I would." He said.
She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. She hated how much she relied on that money. But she didn't have anything else. She already knew she was defeated. She would have to take his offer. But, she was at least going to try to get something out of it.
"Fine. But I have a few conditions."
She rolled her eyes when Malcolm scoffed. "Already a true business woman."
"Alright. Name it and it's yours."
Felicity smirked a little. "Okay first of all, a car. I don't need poor Frederick to have to drive me around all day. Give the guy a rest."
"Deal." Malcolm said, grin in place, hand rubbing at his chin.
"An Office." She pursed her lips.
"Alright."
"And my own place. I was thinking about something with a nice view. Maybe a penthouse downtown. Hmm, yes, that'll do, I think." She stared at him defiantly. She was playing with fire, she was well aware, purposely trying to push Malcolm's buttons so he wouldn't force her to join the company. She didn't expect his answer. Like, at all.
"Alright. Whatever you want, Felicity."
She scoffed and grinned. She didn't think he would actually go through with it after that last one. She rubbed her hands together.
"And no early mornings. I'm a night owl."
Malcolm shook his head and sighed "Fine. You're starting on Monday."
"Oh, right, yes, that was my last condition. I'm not starting until, hmm, I guess a week after my birthday. I want just a few more weeks off."
"Felicity, for god's sake."
"Hey! You wanted me to do this. This is me doing it."
"Fine."
"Now, I have to get going, because you're futureless daughter has plans for the day."
Without another word and a wide smirk across her face she left her dad's office, leaving a stunned and slightly impressed Malcolm behind. Once she stepped out of the lobby on the ground floor and into the crisp January air, she asked Frederick to drive her to the café she was meeting Sara and Anne.
It had been way too long since she had spent some time with them. It was a shame that Charlotte wouldn't be able to join them, but her pre-med schedule was just downright insane.
Felicity had quickly (and strictly platonically) fallen in love with Anne. Besides the fact that she was simply stunning, with her long dark brown, almost black, hair, long limbs and cheekbones to die for, She was also bubbly, funny, smart and had the best taste in books and movies. Something she and Felicity liked to gush over every chance they got. Felicity was currently reading on of the books Anne had recommended, Looking For Alaska by John Green, and she was already loving it, carrying it everywhere she went.
And that was why, as she sat down at one of the tables in the back-yard of the café, she pulled the worn out book from her purse and flipped it open where she'd left off. She hadn't really looked around, but the terrace was beautiful. Pink roses growing against the white brick walls. The winter sun was bright, screaming for sunglasses, warming up the day slowly but surely, and after a while, the weather was nice enough for Felicity to take off her coat.
The waiter placed the coffee Felicity had ordered earlier on her table and smiled at her. She returned the favor and thanked him, stirring absentmindedly as she read. She knew she was way too early, Sara and Anne wouldn't be there for another half-hour, but Felicity enjoyed her little moment to herself, so she could process the events of that morning. She wasn't sure she was ready to join her father's company, but it was too late to back out now.
Anne and Sara arrived early.
"You're already here." Sara exclaimed, pulling her in for a hug.
Felicity. "Yeah, and you wouldn't believe the news I have."
"Ooh! Do tell!" Anne giggled before hugging Felicity as well.
Felicity laughed as they sat down. The waiter walked outside to take their orders. Felicity asked for another Latté as she had already downed the other one. She straightened her back and held up her hands.
"Promise me you guys won't freak out, because it's kind of a lot that's happening all at once, and I'm kind of excited about it, but I'll have to wait and see how it works out."
Anne tilted her head to the side, smiling at her while Sara narrowed her eyes in curiosity.
"Spill, Felicity." She said, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger.
"My dad wants me to join the company." She said calmly, pressing her lips together.
"What?! Don't tell me you're going to do it." Sara exclaimed.
She didn't answer, but looked down at her hands. Anne averted her gaze, pressing her lips into a firm line, absentmindedly tugging at the sleeve of her blouse. Right at that moment, the waiter came back outside and put their drinks on the little table. Sensing the tension, he got out of there as quickly as he could. Smart guy.
"Felicity! You're kidding right?" Sara exclaimed once he was out of hearing distance.
"I didn't have much of a choice in the matter, Sara. He basically forced me to come work for him."
Sara's face fell. "Oh. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I got a good deal out of it. I'm getting a car and a place of my own."
"That's great. But what about college?" Sara was obviously still not entertaining the idea of Felicity in the corporate world. Felicity shrugged.
"I don't know."
"I think this might be a good thing." Anne said quietly, meeting Felicity's gaze.
Sara frowned. "What why?!"
Anne smiled and put an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders, pressing her nose to Sara's cheek.
"Because, if she doesn't like it, she'll be all the more motivated to find something else that she does enjoy."
"I can at least give it a shot, right?" Felicity said, lifting her shoulders.
Sara glared at Felicity for a second before turning to Anne and pressing a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. "I hate it when you're right." She said
Anne chuckled and smiled brightly at her when She turned back to Felicity. "Fine. But if Malcolm is being a dick you're getting the hell out of there."
Felicity placed a hand over her heart. "I hereby vow to get the hell out if my dad is being a dick."
Sara and Anne couldn't stop the giggles from bursting out. Sara ran a hand over her face and Anne buried hers in Sara's shoulder.
"Enough about me! How are you guys? Besides still too freaking adorable? It's been way too long."
Sara and Anne both burst out in laughter, exchanging a look and a smile. "We've been busy."
"Yeah. School is crazy. I mean, I love all the art and everything, but I still have to find a subject for my paper on World Culture."
Anne put her hand over Sara's. "You'll find something, don't stress it."
Sara smiled at her girlfriend, tilting her head to the side and squeezing her hand. Their coffee's arrived and Felicity licked her lips in anticipation.
"Why don't you ask Oliver if you can come with him and his dad on their trip to China? China has culture. And I'm sure it will get you some extra credit if you take your own pictures."
Sara was silent for a second, glancing over at Anne, who lifted her shoulders.
"That would be amazing, actually. You think they would let me tag along?"
"Are you kidding, of course they would, especially Robert. If I ask him there's no way he will say no."
Felicity chuckled, smirking a little. She had Robert wrapped around her little finger since she was five. She loved him, not because he would give her anything she would ever want, but because he genuinely cared about her and showed interest in her beside the mandatory father-daughter conversations.
Sara clapped excitedly, grabbing Anne's arm and beaming up at her. "I can't believe it. This is going to be great."
Anne laughed and rolled her eyes. Sara suddenly quieted, eyes widening.
"Wait? Does that mean that you and Olive are on speaking terms?"
Felicity stiffened, meeting Anne's wondering gaze and then Sara's. She put down her cup and licked her lips.
"No. Uhm, not exactly. I mean, It's not that we're not talking, but we just don't really see each other anymore."
Felicity stared at her hands. She had tried to give Oliver as little thought as possible, and it sucked. Deep down she knew he had lied to her when he told her he didn't have feelings for her, but often she just brushed it off as her own feelings for him making her see things that weren't there.
"What even happened between you two? You were so close and then….just not." Anne asked softly, reaching out a hand to put it on Felicity's arm. She shrugged.
"I guess I…I uhm thought there was something more between us, but there wasn't."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Anne said apologetically.
Felicity shook her head. "It's okay. It's not your fault."
Sara bit her lip just a little too obvious. Felicity narrowed her eyes and sat up a little straighter.
"Sara? What is it?"
Sara shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. "Nothing."
"Liar." Anne chimed in, giving her a scrutinizing look.
"What did I do to you?" Sara said, scoffing and raising her eyebrows.
"You are hiding something, you little minx." Anne poked Sara's stomach, making her giggle. She then took hold of Sara's chin, moving her face closer to Sara's, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Spill it, Sar."
Sara pouted and sighed. "Laurel and Oliver had a big fight yesterday!"
As soon as the words had left her lips she slapped a hand over her mouth. Not that Laurel had her promise not to tell anyone, because she didn't even know Sara had heard every word of the argument, but it still felt like she was betraying someone's trust and she wasn't supposed to tell them.
"About what?" Felicity asked curiously, leaning in closer, elbows on the table.
Sara pursed her lips. Anne raised an eyebrow at her, resulting in a sigh and a shake of Sara's head.
"Laurel seemed to think that their relationship was more than it in reality is, and Oliver had to make it clear to her that he has feelings for someone else."
Her eyes fell on Felicity. It took a second for Felicity to catch on and suddenly she felt like all the air got knocked out of her lungs and she was about to faint. Her eyes went wide, breathing speeding up quickly. Anne stared at her in worry, occasionally glancing at Sara, not knowing what to do. Sara just waited, concern written all over her face. She knew well enough not to push Felicity, so she simply extended a hand and put it over Felicity's.
"It doesn't change anything." She said quietly, sighing softly and shaking her head.
A week later, Thea was leading Felicity down a hallway of an apartment building. The apartment building where she would be moving into soon. Thea claimed she had a surprise for her, and even though she usually hated surprises, she couldn't deny the twelve-year old her joy. So, as they made their way towards the front door of Felicity's new apartment, Thea handed her a blindfold.
"Put it on." She ordered.
Felicity rolled her eyes and obliged.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Thea asked, checking if Felicity could see anything.
"I don't know, five." Felicity held up her hands and shrugged.
"Ha! Wrong." Thea giggled and knocked on the front door.
Felicity rolled her eyes underneath the blindfold. She could hear the door opening and she was being ushered inside. From what she could remember, they ended up in the living-room, but from the lack of sound her heels were making on the hard-wood floor, she figured someone put a rug in it. It was also warmer than the last time she had been there, a few days prior, when she and her father had signed the lease.
"Okay." Thea said, position Felicity in what was apparently the right angle.
"You can take off the blindfold now."
Felicity chuckled and pulled the piece of fabric off her head, blinking a couple of times against the brightness of the place. She was indeed standing in the living room of her new home, but instead of the bare walls and empty space, there was furniture and artwork and light fixtures and curtains and it was beautiful. She should have given the place a more proper once over, taking in the colors. The colors that she loved, and the furniture that suited her like you wouldn't believe. It was as if someone had stolen her mental picture of what she wanted the place to look like and copied it into near perfect detail.
But, in preference to that, her gaze was fixated on one thing: Oliver, casually lounging on the cream colored couch, leaning against the pastel pillows, smirk in place, holding a bouquet of pink peonies in one hand and an expensive bottle of champagne in the other.
"Nice place you got here." He said. She stood in shock as he moved to stand up, putting the bottle of champagne on the coffee-table. She hadn't seen him in so long, and not until that moment, she realized how much she had missed his familiar face. Before he was halfway to her, she leaped and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. He stammered back a bit, caught off guard before wrapping his arms around her back and slowly swaying her from side to side, lowering his head onto her shoulder.
Felicity didn't really know what she was supposed to say other than that she'd missed his presence in her life like crazy. The number of times she'd seen and talked to him she could count on both of her hands. His 'confession' had felt like a blow to her stomach and ever since then, their friendship had been strained, if it could have even be called a friendship anymore. Oliver pulled back a little, but not letting go of her.
"These are for you, and the bottle too, to celebrate, obviously."
She gladly accepted the flowers and smiled brightly at him. Normally she was the one nervous and babbling, but it was nice to see Oliver be the awkward one for a change.
"Thank you, they are beautiful" She said, smiling up at him.
"Can we just forget everything that happened and start over? Because I miss you like there's no tomorrow and I don't know what to do without you in my life." Oliver murmured.
"Agreed." She said, hugging him again.
He lifted her off the ground, making her laugh as he twirled her around. An impatient Thea cleared her throat, arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her foot against the hardwood floor. Oliver put Felicity back on the ground and they both laughed as they looked at her.
A smile spread across Thea's face. "But what do you think?" She asked, gesturing around the room. For the first time since they had walked in, Felicity really took in the place and sighed in amazement. She craned her head around to look at as much as she could from where she was tucked under Oliver's arm, pressed into his side. She sighed again and smiled brightly at the girl.
"I don't know how you did it, Thea, but you're a miracle worker. This is amazing, I love it!"
The sighed and smirked in satisfaction. "Good! Not that I was expecting a different reaction."
"Alright, enough with the gloating, Speedy." Oliver said, pulling Felicity even closer against him if that were even possible. He sure as hell wasn't letting go of her anytime soon.
"Ollie, please don't call me that. I hate that nickname." Thea rolled her eyes.
Oliver shook his head, mouthing the word never before smiling down at Felicity.
"Why don't we show Felicity around her newly and expertly decorated home? I'm sure she would love to see the rest of your genius."
Felicity chuckled as he removed his arm from around her shoulders and extended a hand. She took it and the three of them moved to the kitchen. Thea babbled about everything she had done to make it perfect and suit Felicity's style and Felicity lost track of the number of times she thanked her for it. Oliver never left her side, and for the first time in months, Felicity felt home.
After the tour of her simply spectacularly decorated home, they opened the bottle of champagne and ended up curled up on the couch, shoes kicked off, watching one of Thea's favorite movies, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Felicity was sitting in the middle, her legs tossed in Oliver's legs. Her head was resting on his shoulder as he kept tracing patterns just above her knee, not really paying attention to the movie. Felicity had an arm draped around Thea's shoulders. The girl had fallen asleep a little while ago, clutching the bowl of popcorn, most of her weight resting against Felicity's side.
It had already been late when they'd arrived and all the impressions and excitement had exhausted her. Her legs were pulled up under her, tucked underneath the faux-fur throw that had been carefully draped over the back of the couch before being put to good use.
Felicity watched her sleep for a while until Oliver's fingers had stopped moving against her leg.
"Felicity?" He asked quietly, his gaze transfixed on his hand on her leg.
"Yeah?" she replied in the same low tone.
"I lied." She looked at his face, but his gaze never wavered. She swallowed and licked her lips.
"I know." She said.
That's when his head shot up to look at her. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"That wouldn't have changed anything Oliver." She shrugged and smiled softly as she met his gaze.
"It wasn't about whether or not you were lying. Yeah, sure, I was angry because you lied to me because I asked for the truth. But you made that choice, and me calling you out on it wouldn't have changed anything."
Oliver's face fell. He licked his lips and swallowed, making his Adam's apple bob.
"Maybe it was the wrong choice." He said quietly, reaching for her hand and squeezing it softly.
A sad smile crept up on her lips. "Maybe it was."
She carefully maneuvered her arm from around Thea and reached out to touch his cheek, thumb stroking against his cheekbone as she stared into those familiar blue orbs. The homey feeling she felt before must have caught fire inside of her because it was blazing and burning like never before. It took her breath away a little.
"I really care about you, Oliver."
"I really care about you too, Felicity." He said, leaning into the touch of her hand against his cheek.
"Why do I feel like there's a but coming?" He asked, looking into her eyes.
She sighed and nodded. "It's not a very bad but, but it's a but. I don't know, does that even make sense?"
"Just say it, Felicity." He said, pulling her hand from his cheek and lacing his fingers with her own.
She sighed again and gave in, looking away for a second before turning back to him.
"But I don't want to ruin our friendship. I mean, we obviously have stuff to catch up on, and I don't wanna rush things. Friendship first, you know what I'm saying?"
She quirked an eyebrow up at him and bit her lip. He nodded.
"I get it. Take things slow, get back into our groove, right."
"Right." She agreed with a slight nod of her head.
Oliver smiled at her. "There is obviously something between us, always has, and that's not just going to go away, even with time."
A bright smile lit up Felicity's entire face as Oliver bended down, his gaze never leaving hers and he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. She grabbed their champagne glasses from the coffee-table, handing him his own and held hers up for a toast.
"To taking things slow." She said.
"To taking things slow." He echoed.
They clinked their glasses together and took sips of the bubbly liquid. Felicity leaned back against the couch and into Oliver, his arm coming up around her shoulders. The way she fit perfectly under his arm didn't escape his notice. They finished watching the movie and when it was time for them to leave, Oliver scooped Thea up into his arms. She stirred a little but didn't wake. Felicity walked them to her front door, pressing a kiss to Thea's hair.
Saying goodbye to Oliver with the conversation they had just had still fresh in her mind was a little strange, but nice. Oliver pressed his lips to her cheeks, causing the butterflies in her stomach to go absolutely bat-shit crazy.
She watched his back retreat and waved as he turned around to look at her one last time before getting into the elevator. Little did they know, their promise to salvage their friendship first before pursuing a romantic relationship would last for seven days, two hours, 23 minutes and 5 seconds.