Notes:
I'm so sorry for the late update, I had major muse Friday and Saturday but also a sore throat that was joined by one hell of a headache... feeling better now and pretty much wrote the entire chapter today, I apologize for any mistakes, I'm still not feeling a 100%.
Part of the dialog is directly taken from the Arrow Episode 5.06 And so it Begins?
So this chapter once again turned out completely different than I thought it would. Let me know what you think.
Chapter 45: All the stress, shit, I'm mess, tryna flex, enemies I never even met, I need rest, ya, I'm a whack, ya
Thea
"I am not having this discussion again right now. I've told you my stance on the matter at least a dozen times, Felicity. It still hasn't changed. Just because they were at the same place at the same time as we were and maybe helped diffuse the situation, changes nothing. I am not recruiting anyone right now." Her brother sounded both pissed and exhausted, which was understandable. They had just spent the whole night looking for the Throwing-Star-Killer, what a lame and on the nose name the press gave him, but then again not a surprise given that the same press was responsible for the mess they had to clean up tonight, thanks to one Susan Williams. Well, she did like the way the woman tended to criticise their new mayor, but she was also dragging the Queen name through the mud again and she really didn't like that. And not to forget the panic she had created tonight.
They had managed to take care of the situation and the panic but unfortunately they had come up with zero, zilch, nada, yet again when it came to learning more about or catching Prometheus.
That was highly frustrating.
The fact that the guy seemed to be at least two steps ahead of them at all times was very frustrating and annoying. But that was only partially why Ollie sounded the way he did. He had been looking forward to going straight home, have a nice hot shower, some food and maybe hang with Sara if she was still awake and in the mood to spend time with him, as he had told her on their way back to the Bunker. And now Felicity was keeping him here, longer than he had expected to be. And the two of them together was still a little weird. She knew Felicity had hoped to maybe get back together with Ollie when he had first come back home, but she had really thought the other woman had put that thought out of her mind by now. It was obvious Ollie was only interested in Sara, even if that was a total mess of its own, that she wasn't even close to trying and sort out, and he was also still uncomfortable around Felicity.
Well, Felicity had been on a couple of dates lately, so maybe she had gotten the hint and was really moving on. She was still sending little jibes Ollie's way every once in a while, though. And that pissed Thea off to no end. It had been Felicity's choice that had led to this. So why was she trying to punish Ollie for moving on? She hadn't wanted him. Not really, not the real him. She had only wanted the nice, shiny, superficial portrayal of Oliver Queen that he presented to the world. But as soon as things got complicated and ugly, she had turned her back and walked away from him. Thea had lost a little of her respect for the older woman after the way she had treated Ollie when the William situation had come to light. She could understand that Felicity was hurt, that she was angry at him for keeping his son from her. But what she didn't understand was her refusal to hear Ollie's side, to talk about it and to work through it together.
She loved Felicity; she was her friend and someone she cherished deeply, but she just couldn't understand what made her act the way she had. Even less the way she had put Ollie down for her choice. She was really fed up with those little gibes she threw at him regularly. But her older brother had made her promise to stay out of it. So she was and kept her mouth shut, grinding her teeth every time Felicity threw another underhanded comment at her brother. What surprised her was how Ollie just took it and didn't react to it. She would've lost it with the other woman a long time ago had she treaded her the way she was treading Ollie. So she had a new sense of respect for her brother for that.
But that wasn't the current issue and why Ollie was close to losing his shit, if she was reading him correctly and she usually was. No, it was because Team Arrow's IT genius once again brought up the prospect of recruiting "Wild Dog", "Ragman", and Curtis to the team. Something Ollie had declined numerous times and Thea herself thought was a bad idea.
"Well, maybe you aren't but you are not the only one on this team Oliver. I, we think it would be good to have more people here who could help. Like you know when you decide to just leave with no warning or further information and end up hooking up with your ex. It would be very helpful to have more people here trying to keep the city from being destroyed while you're gone doing what- or whoever." Thea and Laurel exchanged a look, and both of them winced at Felicity's choice of words. She really needed to learn to filter her thoughts and not say everything that came to her mind.
Thea could understand that Felicity was feeling hurt and maybe a little bitter about the way things had turned out between her and Ollie and Ollie and Sara. But bringing Sara up like this was never a good idea, less now than before. Her older brother had always been overprotective of the younger Lance sister, at least for as long as Thea could remember, but it had gotten even more intense since her pregnancy.
Thea could understand that.
She wished Felicity could understand why Ollie was the way he was with Sara. Yes, he loved her. But that wasn't just it. Ollie and Sara had known each other for longer than she had been alive. They had been through so much together; they had so much history. Of course Ollie would take Sara's side. Always. Because Sara would take Ollie's side. Always. That's who they were, that's who they've always been.
She remembered when she had first learnt about Sara's eating disorder. She remembered Ollie and their mom talking about it a lot. And their dad sometimes chiming in too. She remembered Ollie and Tommy being so worried about their friend, visiting Sara at the clinic every single day. She remembered Ollie beating himself up, telling Tommy it was his fault. That he should've noticed it sooner, that he should've told someone sooner, but how he hadn't wanted to betray her trust. A choice that had led to Sara ending up in the emergency room only a short time after their mom had forced Ollie to tell Sara's parents. Ollie had been the one who had found her passed out. Who had called 911, who had stayed with Sara until her parents had showed up and even after, until the hospital staff had kicked him out because visiting hours had been over, but still he had stayed in the hospital waiting room. Until their parents and she had gone to get him. He had been a mess. He had been so worried about her. She had never before seen Ollie as distraught as he had been that evening. It had shaken her to the core. Her big brother never lost his composure like that. She had only been nine at the time, and Ollie's reaction to Sara's illness had made her realize how serious her friend's situation was more than anything else.
And it had scared her.
She had spent that night in Ollie's bed, curled up on her big brother's chest, wishing on anything and everything she could come up with that Sara was going to be okay.
Ollie had always been overprotective of Sara. Felicity and Dig and anyone new in their lives would never be able to understand why. Understand the depths of Ollie and Sara's connection, of their friendship.
One time Ollie had overdosed at a party, she had only found out that that had been the reason why her big brother was at the hospital through chance. Just like their parents had only found out that Ollie was at the hospital through chance. He had been twenty going on twenty-one at the time. He had been at maybe his second or third college; she wasn't sure. But they had learnt through an acquaintance of her parents who had worked at the college that Ollie had been admitted to the hospital not too far from his college a day ago. They obviously all went straight away to see him and find out what had happened and why they hadn't been informed.
What none of the three Queens had expected when they arrived and finally were admitted to his room was eighteen-year-old Sara Lance, sitting cross-legged in the chair next to his bed, holding one of his hands and biting her lip. She was wearing an oversized hoodie, Thea had been sure was one of Ollie's and looked like shit; pale, there were dark circles around her eyes, her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she looked like she had been crying.
Her brother had been lying in the hospital bed with an IV in his arm, looking even paler than Sara, who was holding vigil at his bed. He was asleep, or maybe unconscious. They hadn't known at the time what the reason for his trip to the hospital was. And Sara had refused to say a word to them. And both her parents had tried everything to get her to talk. Her mother had eventually managed to get a doctor to tell her what was wrong with her son, and Thea had accidentally overheard them while coming back from the canteen.
Ollie had overdosed on drugs.
Her brother had had a drug overdose. Her big brother was doing drugs. Thea hadn't been able to wrap her head around that one for a very long time. He had been her hero, this had been the first time that he had fallen off of the pedestal she had put him on her entire life. Not for long though, because Ollie was Ollie. Her big brother and he was still the best big brother in the world. This hadn't changed. He was still her hero, maybe even more so now than back when she was just a kid. He would always be her hero, only she no longer placed him on a pedestal. She knew he was human, and he tended to make mistakes. Lots of them, actually. But his heart was in the right place and his intentions good.
But what made him her hero above all else was the fact that no matter how often and hard he fell, he always got back up and fought back. He never gave up. And that was what made him a genuine hero.
Sara hadn't left his side once during his entire three-day stay at the hospital. She had only left when he had been discharged and even then; she had come home with them and spent another two days at his side. Until Laurel had shown up after she had learnt about Ollie's trip to the hospital.
It had surprised Thea that Laurel hadn't learnt about it from Ollie or Sara, but from Tommy who had also only learnt about it through chance, showing up at their door to see if Ollie was home because he hadn't been able to reach him on his cell.
Tommy had then let Laurel know.
And Laurel had come home from college as soon as she had learnt about it. Sara had left shortly before Laurel had arrived, Thea had wondered what that had been about. But never asked, just like she had wondered why Ollie hadn't let Laurel and Tommy know. And why Sara had stayed with him the entire time.
It had been pretty clear Sara had been with him when he overdosed, or if she hadn't been with him, had been the one who had found him. But what had she done at his college? Why had she been there? It had been in the middle of the week and she had had classes herself, even as a senior in High School.
Thea had never given it that much thought back then, it had crossed her mind and then it had been gone. She had only been eleven at the time, after all. Just a kid. A naïve, overprotected kid. But now, now she wondered if Ollie and Sara had already been hooking up at the time. She had learnt from Laurel that her brother had apparently been sneaking around with her roommate's younger sister for more than a year before the Gambit. That had been a shocking revelation, but so many things made so much more sense now. And she should've known. But again, she had only been a kid back then, and the possibility of Ollie and Sara hooking up behind Laurel's back never even crossed her mind.
Ollie had told no one about Sara's eating disorder to not break her trust.
Sara had refused to tell anyone that Ollie was in the hospital because he had overdosed.
Ollie and Sara had always been extremely protective of and loyal to each other. And that hadn't changed, it had only intensified the older they got. Because of everything they've been through together before and after the Gambit went down. And everyone who hadn't grown up with them couldn't possibly understand their bond.
The beeping of the computer seemed to happen in the exact right moment, keeping Ollie from replying to Felicity's remark and distracting everyone from the argument that had been sure to enfold.
"What do we have?" Her brother addressed his ex, who had returned to her workstation in order to see what the computer had come up with.
This was an excellent question. As Dig had pointed out earlier, Prometheus was trying to draw Ollie out. So there must be something to those throwing stars or the victims that they had missed so far. Thea looked at Laurel in hopeful anticipation, who returned her look. Both of them hoping that Felicity had actually found something that would help them find the newest threat to their home. They were still trying to figure out what their new mayor was up to and so far drawing a blank, even with Laurel's job at the D.A.'s office. They thought she might be able to dig and figure out dirt about Ruvé while working for her, but Damien Darhk's widow was very good in covering her tracks and keeping her cards close to her chest.
"At first, not much of anything. No links between home addresses, personal histories, favorite colors, Nada. So the victimology algorithm moved on to crazy Zodiac killer kind of stuff. Such as looking for anagrams in case Prometheus was sending a message in the names of the victims he's been choosing." The IT genius explained. Thea wished she'd get to the point right away. Who cared how she did it? She wanted to know the results. So they could finally catch the guy.
"Is he?" Ollie asked what she was sure everyone was thinking.
"Kind of. Ahh. First 4 victims- Tobias Church, Sam Conahan, Peter Meld, and Gay Eked. Victims 3 and 4 were not random. I think Prometheus is using those names as anagrams to spell out other names. Adam Hunt, Ted Gaynor, Palmer Cokes, Sachi Beech." She explained further, yet it didn't help Thea get rid of her confusion.
"Those names supposed to mean anything to us?" some of them did sound familiar but she wasn't in the mood to try and figure it out herself, it had been a long night and she did have a rather big test tomorrow, so just like Ollie, she really wanted to head home and just crash, maybe see if she could reach Roy before falling asleep. Maybe he'd have some ideas or ways of learning more about Prometheus. Or maybe he knew what was going on with Sara and Ollie.
"Those names are on the list." Ollie sounded somber and thoughtful. Huh.
"You mean they were in the notebook dad gave you?" She wanted to make sure she understood what he was talking about.
"Yes, I thought that it was my way to save the city. And maybe…" Ollie stopped himself before saying anymore, but the look on his face made her think he was contemplating something.
"I think I might know the message Prometheus is trying to send Oliver." Laurel chimed in on the conversation, even if hesitantly.
"You do? Because I don't. Do you guys?" Felicity seemed as confused as Thea felt, even if there was a bit of dread in the pit of her stomach too. She didn't like the look on Laurel's face. Ollie had turned fully to her roommate now, looking at her expectantly.
"He's saying he's not the serial killer, you are. Or at least he's no more a serial killer than you are." Laurel looked a little remorseful for stating it, but also very sure about her conclusion, and Thea had to agree reluctantly that it made sense.
"I was trying to help this city. Prometheus isn't." Ollie insisted, looking at Laurel incredulously.
"I know that, Ollie. That's not my point of view. I'm just saying I think that's Prometheus message. Maybe he's trying to rattle you. To get you off of your game, Oliver. All I'm saying is what I believe to be his intention." Laurel clarified her statement, and Thea appreciated that. It was important. Things between Ollie and Laurel had been strained ever since Laurel and Sara had talked about her and Ollie's affair. She knew Laurel wanted to talk to Ollie and get his side of the story but she also knew that Laurel learning the truth about her sister and former boyfriend was messing with her head and led to a strained atmosphere in the Bunker and on the field which was terrible. And possibly very dangerous.
The whole situation with Team Arrow was a mess.
Felicity and Ollie had their issues, understandably so. Laurel and Ollie had their issues because of Laurel drenching up the past. She got her roommate's need for closure, but she wasn't sure it was helping anyone right now. And the timing seemed to be pretty bad. They were dealing with a majorly corrupt mayor who might have a seriously sinister endgame, a psycho serial killer who was apparently playing mind games with her brother and not to forget a pregnant Sara, who was very vulnerable right now and in no position to protect herself, should anyone of their numerous enemies find out her connection to the Green Arrow. So, focusing on the issues at hand seemed more important than all the personal shit everyone was vilifying Ollie and giving him hell for.
She got it, she really did.
She understood where Felicity was coming from and yes, she'd be hurt too in her shoes. They had been broken up less than two months when Ollie got Sara pregnant. Despite that, it had been Felicity's choice, and she needed to grow up and deal with the consequences of her actions. And stop blaming Ollie for everything.
And Laurel, she loved Laurel like a sister and she could also understand where she was coming from and that she was hurting and wanted closure. But at the same time, it had been ten years ago. Both Ollie and Sara had apologized to her several times. What more did she want? Sara had explained the situation to her. So it was time for her to move on and let it go.
"You need to anagram the names on the list against Star City's population because that should point us toward Prometheus' next targets." Ollie gave Felicity one more order before turning around and leaving the Bunker to head home, Thea presumed. Probably to brood. She sighed deeply. Her brother was not going to take this well. She hoped Sara was still up and in the mood to hang with Ollie. He could really use her company right about now.
She wasn't sure what the hell had happened! Or was going on.
"Hey Speedy, Sara and I are going to spend a couple of days with our cells off. Everything's fine we just need some space. Thanks. I'll talk to you soon. Love Ollie."
That's what she got. That's all she got. And apparently, he had turned his cell off right after. Given her answering text and the questions that came with it, could not be delivered. What the hell was going on? She had read and reread the message so many times and she still couldn't figure out what was going on or what had led to Ollie's decision to disconnect with the world and everyone who wasn't Sara, apparently. Which made sense. The fact alone that they were living together would make it a bit difficult and awkward if he were avoiding her too.
Or maybe not.
Sara would probably get it and possibly, given her latest behavior, not even mind it? Maybe Ollie and Sara had been avoiding each other ever since Central City? That didn't seem right. Sara had sought comfort in Ollie during the Thanksgiving dinner. So she doubted they were avoiding each other at home. She could be wrong though, but she had a feeling that she wasn't. Ollie had mentioned looking forward to heading home and hopefully hang with Sara a couple of nights ago. So they were probably fine. She hoped.
But something was going on. Thea was sure of it. Something had happened in Central City or right after Central City that had changed the dynamic between Sara and Oliver. And Sara seemed to have been the one who initiated it… but why? And what had led to the blonde keeping her brother at arm's lengths? And what did this mean?
Thea reread the text message for the umpteenth time.
"Hey Speedy, Sara and I are going to spend a couple of days with our cells off. Everything's fine we just need some space. Thanks. I'll talk to you soon. Love Ollie."
It still made no more sense to her than before, and there were still no answers in it… or were there?
"… Sara and I… we just need some space…"
Sara and I. That was a pretty clear statement. It wasn't Ollie who needed space and who was going off the grid, and it wasn't Sara, but it was the two of them together. Sara and I. That was a good sign, right?
We just need some space. We. As in Ollie and Sara together. They needed space from everyone else. So, they could be together. Alone. Uninterrupted. Just the two of them.
Sara and I need some space.
Huh. That was interesting. Take all the filler out and that was the message.
Sara and I need some space. Everything's fine. She knew Ollie threw that in to make sure that she wouldn't worry. And it worked. She was a little worried, but mostly curious and confused. She hoped this was a good thing. Sara and Ollie spending some time alone together. With no interruptions. Maybe they were figuring out things about the baby? Maybe there was a chance that Sara might end up staying after all? Maybe even get back with Ollie? She really hoped it was a good sign. And she really hoped the two of them could get their shit together and just get together already. It was obvious that they were meant to be. Everyone with eyes could see that.
Maybe Roy knew what was going on? Sara and he had gotten very close the last couple of months, and she seemed to confide in him quite a bit. Not that she would ever ask Roy to betray Sara's trust and tell her what the other woman had told him. She simply meant that maybe he knew if she needed to be worried about Ollie and Sara in general. Or if they were fine. If there was something going on that she wasn't aware of that Sara was struggling with, maybe? Yeah, she should really see if she could reach Roy later on. Thea looked at her watch and cursed. She needed to go like 10 minutes ago or she was going to be late for class.
Damn.
Thea got up off the couch, grabbed her school books, purse and keys and ran out the door, putting her thoughts about her older brother and his pregnant roommate out of her mind for the time being. She could focus on that after school.
Notes:
Ollie, Tommy and Sara used to play with fire when they were young and every once in a while they got burned...not that they learnt from it... I did mention they were a huge, hot mess pre-Gambit, right?
Okay so I'm forcing myself to watch Arrow season five and I'm just constantly screaming internally... the recruits are so bad on so many levels... they get so much screen time so fast but none of that leads us to care about them... I'm like constantly thinking 'why are you taking up so much story time? Why are you here?' It's so bad!
And then there's Felicity undermining and pushing Oliver around in her constant need to control him. So she gets to date and not tell him about it for ages and when he just considers maybe asking someone out she gives him shit about it? WTF? It is even worse then the recruits and it's very surprising that that's even possible...!
And then there's Dig claiming killing was the Hood's first resort not last and that is such bullshit and worst of all Oliver buys it.
And then there are like 2-3 scenes an episode that just get me going "call Sara! Like with Quentin and his alcoholism, Oliver needing help in the field, Mayor Queen needing protection from Church,... I swear Season 5 would've been like a million times better had they just brought the Canary back and have the stupid need for a team issue solved.
This is so bad... this is so bad... I'm going to hide in my own little universe soon... this is why I've started writing "What's wrong with us when Happy Hurts" I swear.
The one bright side so far is Anatoly, I love him so much. Wish they'd have a scene between Oliver and Anatoly where they talked about Sara and what happened to her but that would be too much to ask for from the Arrow writers... never mind that Anatoly liked Sara very much and respected the hell out of her. He would've wanted to know what had happened to her and why she wasn't with Oliver.
I've reached Invasion, so yay, I'm 8 episodes in now and playing sudoku while watching it because there are so many filler scenes (recruits hello) and other bad things (Felicity and her treatment of Oliver, Dig and his 'killing used to be your first approach and not last resort' BS,...) I really hope the second half does get better as everyone is saying. And what's with all the vigilantes? We already have four for Team Arrow why do we need another rogue vigilante as a protagonist that actually sort of does what Oliver used to do? I get what they're trying to do but having Prometheus with his old arrowheads and the anagrams and Vigilante at the same time is overkill. Plus the Recruits and Team Arrow slamming Oliver for killing people while praising Vigilante? WTF? We get it writers, you hate Oliver.
Are they seriously trying to tell me that Oliver and Thea and Felicity all forgot JJ's second birthday and they needed Rene, the new guy to come up with a plan to make sure Dig could spend his son's birthday with him? I mean it wasn't like one of Oliver's main reasons for breaking Dig out against his will was so he could be in his son's life. It's not like Oliver has missed everything in his own son's life and still is that he wouldn't make sure his 'brother' wouldn't have to go through the same pain. WTF Arrow writers! I swear things like that piss me off so much!
And right, Thea wouldn't tell Oliver about Quentin's alcohol problems for that long and Oliver wouldn't contact Sara and let her know as soon as Thea had told him and Sara wouldn't come home to make sure her dad 'I never forgot your voice dad' was okay and getting the help he needed.
This is so bad! Everyone is so out of character. It makes no sense.
Episode 9 was so bad! The flashback? Oliver just killing everyone in his way to Claybourne? WTF?! That is not true to who he is. It's not what the Hood did. God, the character assassination of Oliver just keeps on getting worse.
Oliver killing Billy was so stupid. So unnecessary. Why?! What where they thinking? What was the point of that? Not that I or anyone actually cared about Billy at that point in time… never got the chance to. Too many new characters that are being shoved down our throats. Well, Billy was actually one of the few I actually liked and could've come to really like… had they not killed him right away for unnecessary drama….
Oliver ending up at the journalists place (see I can't even remember her name there are too many new people to keep up with (I'm usually good with remembering character's names), she reminds me of Samantha from the way she looks) and confiding in her just like that? WTF?! Huh? That makes no sense at all. Oliver wouldn't do that.
And again, I never cared about Evelyn, so her turning evil... who cares? Big shocker…! Not.
And E2 Laurel at the end... honestly, did anyone actually believe it was her? I mean everyone who watched Legends knows that Sara wouldn't bring her back. And why didn't Oliver just you know, call Sara real quick to make sure? Why Arrow? Why? They once again took a Sara/ Oliver line and used it for another Oliver pairing! Stop taking shit away from Canarrow! "I watched you die" is specifically Oliver to Sara. That is so them. That is part of their story that is what makes them special. It's Oliver and Sara. Just like "Don't talk to me like I'm other people." Is Sara and Oliver and only fits them because they know each other better than anyone else ever could! Just to slide in a little Canarrow rant in my overall Arrow rant, because I can, and haven't ranted specifically about them in a while… lol.
How did those people get their jobs as writers? How did they keep their jobs as writers?
This season is all over the place and there are too many freaking plots! Focus on two, maybe three but pick them and go deep.
Oliver as the Mayor, that should be a major plot line. Period.
Then there's the Recruits, you decided to force them on me now give me a reason to actually care about them (they should've just picked one maybe two additional people and be done with it. It would've given them the room to let us get to know them first. We already had Curtis, so keeping him made sense, sort of, give me Rory who has an interesting backstory and let's be done with it.)
Then obviously there is Prometheus, stay focused on him, he is the big bad after all.
Skip Vigilante, he's unnecessary.
Skip E2 Laurel, that is unnecessary, you chose to kill Laurel, let her rest in peace.
Skip any leftover unnecessary Olicity drama, you chose to break them up in the most moronic and horrible way ever, now let that dead horse rest. They moved on (at least Felicity did.) Let them be adults about it.
If you decide to do Quentin relapsing, give him airtime and focus on him and the struggles and the repercussion that comes from it. Go in deep and show us the ugliness of it. Otherwise just let him be a recovering alcoholic.
But most importantly keep your focus on your main character which is Oliver! I want it to be about him. His struggles, his life, his relationships, his trauma, his PTSD,…
Sorry for my rant. But you guys insist I watch Season 5 so you'll have to deal with this...lmao.
Or just skip and ignore it. That's cool too.
The chapter title is from the song "I cannot be nice" by Tom MacDonald again, this song just goes really well with this story.