good Trouble

Part III: I know I'm in but I'm out there

From Sara (1:13pm)

What are you doing?

To Sara (1:13pm)

Just working on some homework :/

From Sara (1:13pm)

Good so nothing important

To Sara (1:14pm)

Haha why?

From Sara (1:14)

Im outside your building. Lets go on an adventure :)

. . .

"So, where are we going?" Felicity asked as she rolled her window down. The breeze tossed her loose hair all over the place as Sara pressed down hard on the gas pedal, picking up speed. She grabbed an extra pair of sunglasses from a cup holder and slid them on.

Sara glanced over at her, smiling slightly at how relaxed and carefree Felicity seemed. It had taken her awhile to feel fully comfortable around Sara, and Sara was glad she was finally letting her see this side of her. She replied, "Lake Ogawa. Nate was telling me about this really cool spot he found, and I've been wanting to check it out."

"Cool," Felicity said with a smile. Sara could have invited anyone to come explore this spot with her: Nyssa, Amaya, John Constantine… but she had chosen Felicity. A shiver ran up her spine. She rolled her window up halfway to block some of the breeze, not noticing that the wind was too warm to cause chills.

Sara cranked her music as she sped down the road leading out of town.

It was summer when I saw your face
Looked like a teenage runaway
Oh god I never thought we'd take it that far
Some killer queen you are

Fifteen minutes later Sara turned her car down a tiny dirt road that circled the lake. "He said to follow this road for about ten minutes and then look for a sign that says something about not feeding the turtles."

They drove for a few more minutes until Felicity pointed out the sign. "There it is!"

Pulling her car off the dirt road, Sara came to a stop right behind the sign. They exited the car and made their way through the thin layer of forest that surrounded the lake, emerging into a beautiful, open clearing.

"Wow," Felicity said, taking in the crystal-clear water of the lake, the cloudless blue sky above their heads, and the vibrant green of the trees and grass. It looked like a scene you'd see pictured on a postcard.

"Yeah," Sara agreed. As she made her way to the edge of lake, she lifted her Starling City Rockets ball cap off her head and tossed it aside. Her t-shirt was next, followed quickly by her shorts until she was left standing on the edge of the lake in just her boy-short style underwear and sports bra.

"What are you doing?" Felicity called, still rooted to the same spot.

Sara turned, and Felicity's eyes swept over Sara's exposed stomach. "Swimming, duh! Come on!" She took a step into the lake. "The water's not bad!"

Felicity came closer, stopping once she reached the small sandy embankment. "I don't know," she said with a blush reddening her cheeks. "I didn't bring my swimsuit."

Sara laughed, walking deeper into the lake. The water was now up to her knees. "Neither did I!" Sara called, her tone matching the obviousness of her statement.

When Felicity didn't respond, Sara turned toward her, sinking chest-deep into the water. "What's wrong?" she asked, sensing the other girl's hesitation.

"It's just," Felicity began, scuffing her flip-flop clad foot into the sand and avoiding Sara's eyes, "you're in really good shape."

"Felicity," Sara whined in disbelief that the reason Felicity didn't want to swim was because she felt insecure about her body, and in front of Sara of all people. "Trust me. You have a great body. You have nothing to be nervous about."

Sara's compliment did not help to lessen her blush. "Not like yours," she mumbled.

"You know," Sara began. "When I was little, the other kids used to make fun of me and say I looked like a boy or that I was too muscular. I've really only started to like my body since high school, and I still get insecure about it all the time," Sara confessed, grabbing Felicity's attention. "There are so many different body types, and everyone has their own ideas about what they find attractive. You never know how someone else will feel about your body, but you can control how you feel about it." She paused, looking Felicity in the eye. "And, well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all feel insecure about our bodies sometimes, but I promise you that I won't be thinking anything bad about your body, Felicity." Quite the opposite, most likely, Sara thought to herself, but she couldn't very well say that aloud.

Felicity smiled softly at Sara's reassurances. She crossed her arms over her torso and pulled her shirt over her head, letting it drop onto the dirt.

Sara wolf-whistled at her, making Felicity blush harder. "Shut up!" Felicity called with laughter in her voice. Sara truly did make her feel comfortable in her own skin; she just accepted her for exactly who she was.

She pulled her shorts down next and then quickly raced into the water to join Sara. As she came barreling toward her, she watched as Sara's eyes widened in surprise, and when she reached her, Felicity pushed down firmly on her shoulders, dunking the other girl underwater.

Sara emerged seconds later, sputtering. "Hey!" she squealed, splashing some water at Felicity. Felicity just laughed and backed away from her a little, dodging.

She sobered and said sincerely, "I'm sorry the other kids made fun of you."

Sara shrugged. "It's okay." It was in the past now, and it wasn't Felicity's fault. Still, she appreciated the sentiment.

"If it's any consolation," Felicity began with a smile, circling around her friend, "I got made fun of, too. For being a nerd."

Sara shook her head, wide, teasing grin settling on her face as she spun to follow Felicity. "You are a nerd."

Felicity splashed Sara again. "Yeah, but a cute nerd," she said, remembering how Iris had referred to her, Barry, and Amaya in that way at Tommy's party, and how Sara had agreed.

"And oh so humble," Sara joked, lunging for her. Felicity managed to move out of the way, causing Sara to dive face first into the lake due to her own momentum.

Felicity shrugged exaggeratedly. "I am many things," she confirmed, still joking.

They continued to splash and chase and dunk each other until they were short of breath and their bellies hurt from laughing. Sara reclined on her back and floated, staring up at the vast sky. Felicity did the same, and they floated in comfortable silence for some time, letting the bright sun warm their wet skin.

"Oh my god," Sara said suddenly, interrupting the tranquility that had settled over them. She started to swim back toward the shore.

"What?" Felicity asked, allowing her feet to sink down under her, pulling her upright once again.

Sara pointed and said, "Look. See that vine up over that rock? I'm gonna swing on it!"

Felicity's eyes widened as she followed the direction of Sara's finger. The rock was huge, at least six feet tall, and the vine did not look particularly thick and strong. "Uh, are you sure about this?" she called, as Sara began to scale the rock.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked as she made it to the top. She stood beaming down at Felicity with her hands settled on her hips. Felicity believed it was referred to as the power pose, and Sara pulled it off remarkably well. She could practically see the outline of every muscle on Sara's body.

Felicity scrunched up her nose. "Because it looks dangerous? That vine doesn't look very strong. What if it snaps? Or what if you hit your head on a rock or something?"

"Then I trust you to give me mouth-to-mouth," she replied with wink.

Felicity blushed as thoughts of pressing her lips to Sara's rushed unexpectedly into her mind. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Felicity tried to protest again, "Sara."

"It'll be fine, Felicity. I promise!" She didn't allow Felicity any more time to object, and instead, grabbed hold of the vine and gave it a few hard tugs to test its sturdiness. She then took three huge steps forward and leapt off the edge of the rock and over the lake, swinging far out over the middle before letting go and dropping into the water, cannonball-style.

Felicity couldn't help but shriek in anticipation. Sara emerged, popping out of the water and swinging her hair up and back from her face. "That was awesome!" she gasped out. "You have to try it!"

"Really?" Felicity's eyes sparkled with excitement. It had looked fun.

Sara nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I'm gonna do it again after you go."

"Okay, okay!" Felicity laughed; Sara's elation was contagious.

She climbed up the rock and grabbed ahold of the vine. Like Sara, she gave it a couple hard tugs just to make sure it'd hold her. She stepped closer to the edge of the rock, and when she looked down, her heart started pounding hard in her chest. It looked really high. Much higher than it had looked from below.

"You got this!" Sara called, sensing her hesitation. "Get a running start so you have enough momentum, and don't let go of the vine until you're out over the deepest part!"

Felicity stepped back. You can do this, she chanted in her head. She grasped tight to the vine, took a few steps forward and then jumped, shrieking as she flew out over the lake. She heard Sara cheering for her as she let go of the vine and sank deep into the water.

Felicity felt giddy as she pushed through the surface of the lake. "That was so much fun!"

They spent the next hour or so taking turns swinging from the vine or jumping off the rock until they started to feel tired and the sun was high in the sky.

"We should probably get out while the sun is still out so our underwear can dry," Sara said. When they both reached the shore, Felicity found a smooth rock to sit on. "Wait here," Sara said. "I'm going to go get something from my car."

Felicity chuckled. "Aren't you afraid someone will see you?" she asked, referring to Sara's state of undress.

Sara smirked. "Nah, Nate said this place was pretty secluded, and I'm only going to be up there for a minute. If someone comes, I'll just hide behind my car or something."

Felicity just shrugged. Did Sara ever worry about anything? That girl was probably the most laid-back person Felicity had ever met.

Sara returned moments later to find Felicity reclined on the bank of the lake, eyes closed, soaking up the sun. Sara allowed her eyes to travel over Felicity's body; she couldn't believe that Felicity felt insecure about her body. Sara hadn't been lying when she had told Felicity she had a great body. She was thin, and toned, and curvy in all the right places.

"Whaddya get?" Felicity asked, opening her eyes and locking them with Sara's. Sara blushed a little and hoped Felicity hadn't caught her staring.

She held up the fishing pole she had fetched from her car. Bending over, she picked her ball cap up from the dirt and settled it back onto her head. She then settled next to Felicity and began to dig into the dirt to look for worms.

"I've never been fishing before," Felicity admitted.

"Really?" Sara asked, sounding surprised. She found a worm and baited her hook. Felicity scrunched her nose up in disgust. "My dad used to take me and Laurel all the time."

Felicity shrugged and looked out at the lake. "My dad left when I was seven. He wasn't really much of an outdoors-type anyway."

"I can teach you," Sara offered. She turned the reel until her bobber hit the top of the pole. "To cast, you hold this button in and bring your pole back, careful of the hook," Sara demonstrated. "Laurel hooked me once in the cheek when we were kids." Felicity's eyes widened and Sara chuckled. "I still have a small scar, but it just looks like a freckle. Then, you fling the rod over your head and release the button to cast your line." Felicity watched as the line flew into the lake, landing perfectly in the deepest area. "Now, we just keep an eye on the bobber and when it goes under, that means we've got a bite. Wanna try?"

"Sure," Felicity agreed easily. Sara reeled the line in and walked Felicity through the steps once more.

"Not bad!" Sara complimented as the bobber landed in the water. Felicity's cast didn't go as far as Sara's, but it was pretty good for a first time. "Now, we wait."

After a few moments of companionable silence, Sara asked, "Do you miss your dad?"

"I do," Felicity nodded, watching as Sara drew patterns in the dirt with her finger. "We were a lot more similar than my mom and me."

"How so?" Sara asked quietly, pausing her drawing to meet Felicity's eyes.

"I guess you haven't met my mom yet," Felicity laughed. "but when you do, you'll understand. I get my nerdiness from my dad. My love of learning and computer science all comes from him. My mom tries, but she doesn't really understand why school is so important to me."

"Everyone always says that Laurel is a lot like my dad and that I'm more like my mom," Sara said, barely above a whisper, going back to her finger-drawing.

Felicity couldn't imagine what Sara had been through when she had lost her mom. Sure, their situations were similar in some ways; they both had parents that had left them, but Felicity knew (or at least she was pretty sure) that her dad was still alive, and that if she ever wanted to try to find him, she had that option. Sara's mom hadn't wanted to leave; Sara's mom had wanted to be part of her children's lives, but she had been taken from them. Felicity's dad had made that choice all on his own.

"Life still feels weird without her," Sara continued. "It's been over a year and I still miss her all the time, still wish I could talk to her about everything. Does it ever get easier?"

Felicity shrugged. "There are days that I miss him a lot, and there are days that I don't think about him at all. But, it's different for me. I mean, my dad chose to leave… I can't really know what it will be like for you."

Sara nodded. "I think it's similar, though. We both suffered the loss of a parent, even though the circumstances are different. My mom would have liked you," Sara said, glancing at Felicity to smile at her. "She'd have said you're a good influence on me."

Felicity smiled down at her knees. Her stomach felt warm and tingly. It was a nice thought, that Sara's mom would have liked her.

There was a slight tug on the pole still clutched in her hand, and her eyes immediately went to the lake where the bobber had been. "Oh my god! We have a bite!" she exclaimed excitedly, jumping to her feet.

"Okay," Sara said, coaching her. "Give the pole a jerk backwards to lodge the hook. Now, reel it in!"

Felicity did as she was told, walking down to the edge of the lake as she continued to reel in the line. "Aww, look at him," she said as the fish broke through the surface.

"You just caught yourself a fish!" Sara said, pride lacing her tone.

An accomplished smile lifted her cheeks. "Now what do we do?" she asked, accidentally swinging the fish toward Sara's face. Sara laughed, stepping back quickly. "Sorry!"

Sara grabbed the fish and removed it from the hook. "Now we throw him back. Unless you want to grill him up later?" she joked.

"Let's throw him back," Felicity said quickly. She had no desire to cook up the little guy.

Sara laughed at Felicity's immediate response. She squatted down and placed the fish back into the water where he swam away.

"That was a good way to end the day! We should probably actually head back soon," Sara said, noticing the sun was beginning to set. She felt goosebumps spread all over her. With the sun no longer high in the sky, the air had taken on a very modest chill. "I'm all dry, are you?"

"Yep," Felicity confirmed heading toward her discarded shirt and shorts. They dressed quickly, and Sara grabbed her fishing pole.

In minutes, Felicity was settled back into the passenger seat of Sara's car riding into the setting sun.

"Today was really fun," Felicity remarked, feeling somewhat sad that it was almost over. She gazed at the pretty colors filling the sky: oranges, pinks, yellows, and purples.

Sara smiled over at her. "It really was. It'll probably be too cold to swim there again until next summer, but we could make it our fishing spot until the lake freezes over."

Felicity's stomach fluttered. She liked the sound of that. Our spot.

Sara grinned, cranking the radio as they headed back into town.

I wanna get college-girl drunk tonight

No morning fears, no mountains to climb

They say the best memories

Are the ones that we forget

. . .

"Wait, wait, wait! So, Oliver kissed you?! I can't believe you didn't tell me until now!" Curtis exclaimed during lunch on Monday. Felicity was sitting at her usual table with her three closest friends, finally updating them on everything that had happened over the weekend. "How was it? Was he a good kisser?"

Felicity blushed. She wasn't normally the type to gush and spill sordid details to her friends. "He is a good kisser, and it was going really well until… I got sick and vomited all over the sidewalk."

"What?!" Cisco blurted out through a laugh.

Felicity nodded. "Yep. Apparently you shouldn't mix alcohol and pot brownies."

"You ate a pot brownie?!" Caitlyn exclaimed surprised. "Who are you and what have you done with Felicity?"

Felicity sighed, "I know! But Oliver offered it to me, and I didn't want to tell him 'no', you know?"

"So what happened after you puked?" Curtis asked.

"I was mortified so I just took off and ran back to the party." She paused, smiling. "Luckily, I ran into Sara, and she took care of me."

"Sara's who you hung out with at Tommy's party, right?" Caitlyn asked.

Felicity nodded. "Yeah. We have Lit together and have become pretty good friends, actually. We hung out yesterday, too, and it was so much fun. We went swimming at Lake Ogawa, and she taught me how to fish."

"Have you talked to Oliver since the party?" Caitlyn asked.

She smiled, raising her eyebrow slightly. "He texted me last night. Must have asked around for my number, because I never gave it to him. Anyway, he asked me to go out with him on Friday! I really thought that I had ruined everything, and that he'd think I was totally disgusting or something for getting sick."

Caitlyn squealed. "That's awesome!"

Felicity smiled, happy that her friends were so excited for her.

"So," Caitlyn continued, intrigue dripping from her tone, "what else happened at the party? Tell us more about the lifestyles of the rich and famous."

Felicity spent the rest of the lunch hour filling her friends in on every little detail about Nyssa's party, her enormous mansion, and the cast of characters: Oliver, Sara, Nyssa, Amaya, Barry, and Iris.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, Felicity and Curtis waved goodbye to Caitlyn and Cisco, and headed down the hall to their next class.

"So," Curtis said, bumping her shoulder lightly and looking at her expectantly. "You have a crush."

Felicity's eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she looked at Curtis, raising an eyebrow. Why was he stating the obvious? "Already know that, Curtis; it's not news."

"Oh, it's news, alright," Curtis replied with a cryptic smile, tone dripping of gossip.

"What are you talking about?" Felicity asked with a chuckle.

They slid into their seats in study hall, and Curtis leaned over to whisper in Felicity's ear, "You are totally crushing on Sara Lance."

Felicity's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in surprise. "What?"

"You mentioned her, like, a hundred times at lunch, and every time you did, you got this goofy smile on your face. It's the exact same look I used to get when I was crushing on Rene."

The bell rang, and Ms. Darhk walked to the center of the room. "Alright, everyone, quiet down and get to work."

We're just friends! Felicity scrawled on a loose scrap of paper and passed it over to Curtis. I like Oliver!

Curtis smiled as he read the note and scribbled back, Girl, you are in denial. Lemme ask you this: Do you get excited when she texts you? Moreso than you do when I or Caitlyn or Cisco do? Do you want to hang out with her more than your other friends? Do you make excuses to touch her? Have you ever thought about kissing her, or more?

He smirked triumphantly as he watched her read over it, and a blush colored her cheeks. She looked up at him with a pointed glare and crumbled their note up, tossing it into her backpack.

Yes, she did all of those things, but did it mean that she had a crush on Sara? She got excited to read Sara's texts and spend time with her because she was a new friend, a cool friend, who Felicity never would have thought she'd be friends with. And, she'd only thought about kissing Sara a few times, probably just because Sara was bisexual and kissed girls, so naturally Felicity would wonder about what it'd be like to kiss her; that's all. Right?

. . .

"Okay, so just wait out here. I'll be back in a minute," Sara said as she opened the car door.

"Aren't you nervous? Do you ever get nervous?" Felicity asked.

"A little," she confessed, and then smirked. "But that's what makes it fun. The thrill you feel when you might get caught; the rush you feel when you don't."

Felicity just shook her head.

"Be right back," Sara said, turning to head into the liquor store.

Felicity tapped her fingers nervously against the steering wheel as she stared through her rearview mirror at the entrance to the store. Sara's fearlessness was definitely one of the things Felicity admired about her most. Moments later, Sara emerged with a victorious smile carrying a brown paper bag very obviously covering a bottle of liquor.

"See?" Sara said, sliding into the passenger seat. "No problem!" She held up the fake ID and said, "At least Constantine is good for something."

"Lemme see that," Felicity said grabbing the ID from Sara. Their fingers brushed for a second and Felicity was very aware of that fact. Thanks, Curtis.

In fact, since Curtis had put the idea into her head that she maybe had a crush on Sara, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She did get excited when Sara texted her. She did want to spend time with Sara above everyone else. Her belly did somersaults and her skin tingled whenever they touched. She felt flustered and flattered when Sara flirted with her, and she had on multiple occasions wondered what kissing Sara would be like.

It had been messing with her head so much that it had even impacted her date with Oliver the previous night. It was a first date, they're meant to be somewhat awkward, but every time there was an awkward lull in their conversation, Felicity couldn't help thinking that it had never been that awkward when she had begun hanging out with Sara.

Overall, the date went really well. Oliver took her to a nice restaurant, and he looked handsome as ever. He complimented her more than once on her appearance and paid for dinner. And while the compliments had been appreciated and had definitely made her blush, they didn't make her stomach twist in that pleasant way it did when Sara made an offhanded remark about how pretty she was.

He had laced his fingers through hers when he walked her to her door, and she had taken note of just how large his hand was, how it nearly engulfed the entirety of hers, and she couldn't decide if she liked it or not. Whenever Sara had grabbed her hand, theirs were much more evenly matched and seemed to fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle. And when he kissed her goodnight, memories of the way Sara's lips had looked pressed against Nyssa's flashed behind her closed eyelids.

So, yeah, she found herself comparing Oliver to Sara all night.

Even still, it wasn't enough to fully convince her that Curtis was right. She still found Oliver attractive, and she had been really excited for their date. And even though she thought about Sara kissing Nyssa while she was kissing Oliver, she still enjoyed the feel of Oliver's lips against her own.

How could she be sure that what she felt toward Sara was romantic in nature? She had never had crushes on girls in the past, so she didn't really have anything to go by or compare her current situation to. She wasn't entirely convinced that what she felt for Sara wasn't just admiration. Sara was probably the coolest person Felicity knew; who wouldn't feel flattered if someone as cool as Sara wanted to be friends and hang out all the time?

She stared at the ID. "This looks legit; Constantine did a good job." She squinted down at the picture of Sara and smirked, "Aww, look at this picture of you. You look so cute."

"Gimme that," Sara said, snatching it back. Felicity noticed the very light pink that tinged Sara's cheeks at Felicity's light teasing. "Alight. Let's go get drunk!"

An hour and a few vodka sodas later, the girls were sprawled across the couch in Felicity's living room. The TV was on, and Sara had settled on a trashy episode of Cheaters.

"Sara?" Felicity mused, taking a small sip of her vodka soda.

"Hmm?" Sara responded, tearing her eyes from the dramatic scene currently unfolding on the TV to look at Felicity.

"How did you know you were bi?" Sara had never explicitly mentioned her sexuality to Felicity before, but she seemed quite open about it. Felicity hoped that it was okay for her to ask; she had been wanting to all week, and the alcohol had finally given her the courage to do so.

Sara thought for a minute and then replied, "I guess I just always kinda knew. I had crushes on girls the same way I had crushes on boys growing up."

"But," Felicity pressed, swirling the liquid in her glass around, "how did you know that what you felt toward those girls was a crush and not just feelings of admiration? Or that the way you felt was different from the way straight girls feel about their friends?"

"I don't think straight girls dream about finger fucking girls that they just admire," Sara said bluntly, probably a result of the alcohol flowing through her veins. Still, Felicity blushed at her crassness. Sara continued, "I remember one time in kindergarten, some girl asked me who from our class I wanted to marry, and I said Abigail Ford. The girl looked at me and frowned, telling me that girls couldn't marry other girls. I guess that's when I realized that I was different from many of the other kids."

"That's awful," Felicity said, reaching over to touch Sara's arm comfortingly.

Sara shrugged. "Yeah, but, I mean, kids don't know any better. She only knew what a hetero-normative society had taught her; that boys and girls date each other. But, after that, I was careful not to say anything similar for a long time. I felt like there was maybe something wrong with me and I needed to keep it hidden."

Felicity slid from the couch and onto the floor stretching her legs out in front of her, "But you continued to have crushes on girls?" She craned her neck up to look at Sara.

"Well, like, as much as you can when you're a kid. One year we got a new girl in class, and I just remember thinking she was cute and wanting to be around her. I really liked the way her ponytail swished back and forth when she walked. There were a few other times where'd I think a classmate was cute and try to become friends with her, just to be close to her."

Felicity nodded, feeling like she could relate somewhat to elementary-school Sara. What Sara went through seemed similar to what Felicity was currently going through, only the teenage version. "What changed? What made you okay with being out?"

"I met Nyssa, and she was totally okay with being queer. She helped me realize that it was okay, and that I should be who I am, and the people who matter won't care."

Nyssa seemed like a really good influence on Sara's life; Felicity was glad that she had had someone like that, to support her when times were tough.

She wondered if Sara had ended things with her or if they were still hooking up. She hoped it was the former, because she really liked Nyssa and felt she deserved better than that.

"Any reason for the sudden curiosity about my sexuality?" Sara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Felicity answered quickly; perhaps too quickly. She felt color rise to her cheeks, so she bent her head to stare down into her drink. "Just, uh, curious."

She was still staring into her drink, so she missed the smug, yet pleased smirk that settled on Sara's lips.

A/N: The first set of song lyrics come from Bleachers "Rollercoaster"; the second come from The Wombats "Turn".

I think Caity Lotz has talked a little bit about being called a boy or being told she was too muscular as a kid, and so those comments inspired the conversation at the lake. I figure Caity and Sara share the same body, so maybe they had similar experiences growing up haha

Also, it's been awhile since I've been fishing so please forgive the use of any incorrect terms or description (let me know, so I can change it!)

I'm notoriously bad at estimating chapter length & numbers, so now there will be 5 total chapters instead of 4!

Please leave me a comment letting me know what you thought of this chapter or the story so far in general! I really appreciate everyone who has left a comment so far! You guys make my day! :)

-H.M. :)