THEA QUEEN
"LOVE IS THE INEXPRESSIBLE COMFORT OF FEELING SAFE WITH A PERSON BECAUSE YOU NEITHER HAVE TO WEIGH YOUR THOUGHTS NOR MEASURE YOUR WORDS." DINAH CRAIK
"Hey, Speedy."
I look away from my tablet to see my brother walking into the club, his business suit (I'll never get used to him wearing one) still on, and a briefcase in hand. He makes his way into my (his) office and although I was initially planning to leave, I decide to make an exception for a few moments alone with Ollie (we don't get those anymore).
"Look who decided to finally show up to his club." I tease, treading unfamiliar waters.
"You're doing a great job with it." Is his short reply (most his replies are short ever since he came back from the island) which is proceeded by a barely audible chuckle (to my relief).
I walk into the office and gesture him inside, to which he willingly obliges and comfortably takes a seat on the plush, red sofa, and addition I added a couple of weeks ago.
"How is the club?" He asks me and I take a seat from across him, on a matching sofa.
"It's okay. The same old thing. Didn't realize how hard it was running a bar though. But I think I do it much better than you." I say frankly, with a note of tease to lighten the atmosphere.
"Ya. Ya, I think you do. I'm proud of you Speedy," He admits softly and I have to blink back the tears that form in my eyes at his words because that all I've ever wanted to hear from him.
"It's not just me though. Roy. He's been helping a lot. With everything. And I'm thinking of getting him a higher position. Something better than a bartender." I tell my brother, trying to defend Roy's place in my life.
"Whatever you want." His voice is slightly distant as if bringing my boyfriend into the conversation meant that he should remove himself from it.
"You know, you've got to get used to Roy, and me and Roy. Cause he's not going anywhere Ollie. Not if I have anything to say about it." I defend my boyfriend.
And for good measure (and my own curiosity) I add,
"And plus, I never complain about that blonde secretary you've been hanging out with all the time. Do I?"
"Executive Assistant." His response is immediate and I don't know what to make of it.
"What?"
"She's my Executive Assistant. Don't ever let her catch you calling her a secretary." He warns me, and leaves so many doors open for my next move.
"That's if I get to meet this new Executive Assistant of yours. Is that all she is by the way? I mean, the blond, geeky kinds aren't really your type, but I guess she's pretty in her own way." I walk through the door with the most opportunities to continue this conversation.
"Thea, Felicity is a friend. A good friend. I needed someone I could trust to manage me at QC and she was the only possibility I could think of." It's touching; his answer. Too bad, I don't believe a single word of it.
I'm about to grill him more on his relationship with the blonde, when the woman in question bursts into the room (and when I mean burst, I mean burst. The dramatic flinging of doors and all), with a tablet and phone in tow.
Without even bothering to look at her surroundings, she strides straight towards my brother and thrusts a phone into his ear, which he accepts with a questioning glance.
"Call now, questions later." Is her four-word reply.
"Hello?" Ollie's voice is tentative but firm, and if I inch closer to attempt to hear the other side of the phone call, blaming my curiosity on Ollie's EA's excited face.
"Mr Adams, what a surprise. I was expecting to hear from you in a week or so." Oliver says politely and I internally gag.
Whatever 'Mr Adams' says through the phone makes Oliver 's face (almost) mirror Felicity 's excited one and he gets off his seat to continue the conversation outside.
Before he leaves, he holds the phone a few inches away from his ear, covers the speaker and looks at Felicity with a smile that causes me to choke on my own spit because I didn't even know Oliver Queen from before or after the island could smile like that.
"Felicity Smoak, you are remarkable."
And with that, he leaves the room.
It's then that my brother's new friend decides to notice the other presence in the room; me. When she does, she makes an adorable squeak and stumbles back.
"God, I didn't notice you. Not that you're not noticeable, your very noticeable, cause your Thea Queen and your Oliver's sister who's really pretty and successful and practically runs Verdant where come often and is probably internally laughing at me because I'm rambling. And I will stop. Now." She's unbelievably cute, and genuine. I can see why Ollie is so enamoured with her.
"I'm Felicity Smoak. We've met before—once. When Walter was rescued and I came by his hospital room to give flowers. But you probably didn't notice me because you were busy with your dad, who isn't your dad anymore and ...I'm sorry—I didn't mean to imply that—you know."
"That's alright. I know what you mean. And I do remember you." I save her from misery, as the poor girl's cheeks are already flaming red.
Ollie then charges into the room or more specifically to Felicity and envelopes her in a big hug murmuring a quiet but audible praise into her hair,
"I don't know what you did, but you are the best EA ever."
It appears that it wasn't exactly a compliment. Well, not for Felicity.
"That's because I shouldn't be an EA. I am overqualified to be an EA. I spent years studying my ass off to become an IT expert, not an EA. Oliver I'm a genius. My IQ is higher than everyone in your stupid conference combined!" She yells with a passion and if it weren't for Oliver telling me how smart she actually is, I would have scoffed at her for being cocky.
"I know. And as soon as I get settled in, I promise to put you back where you belong and hire a new secretary." He reassures her, putting his hands on her shoulder and I'm surprised by the lack of reaction from Felicity as if this is a normal occurrence every day.
"I'm holding you to that."
And if I was surprised by Felicity's nonchalance to Oliver's touch then it was nothing compared to the shock I'm in when Felicity jabs Ollie (do not touch me or I'll flinch and regard you as a threat Ollie) in the chest and he fails to give a response.
They finally remove themselves from their love bubble when Ollie realizes that he has a little sister sitting in the room posing as an audience. He clears his throat and shifts Felicity around using her elbows so that she's facing me.
"Speedy, this is..."
"Felicity. Your friend. We've met already. Twice." I interrupt him and then I wish I hadn't because the room is then bathed in an awkward silence I'm not able to break.
But Felicity is.
"So...I like the new Verdant. Not that I didn't like the old Verdant. I mean, I never really had a good look at the old Verdant because I was too busy—helping you. Set up your routers. And you know..."
And that's how we found ourselves discussing business for the next half hour; from QC to Verdant and then somehow to Big Belly Burger. But in all interest, I was only paying attention and participating when I was asked a question or when Ollie or Felicity looked at me for an opinion.
I was too busy (creepily) observing my brother.
I was young when Ollie left in that boat almost 7 years ago, but it was obvious that the man that came back from the island was not the boy that left. He was changed—and not in his sudden knowledge of Russian, or the scary amount of scars he received—but in the way he presented himself, the way he acted, it was different.
Ollie was never good at speaking his heart, he'd always make things seem insubstantial, as if they didn't matter to him. He was always good at hiding his feelings, but he used to talk to us. He used to come home (drunk or not), go to the kitchen to find something to eat, and on the way to his room, strike up a conversation with anyone in passing.
Now, he's as silent as night. And it's getting harder and harder to talk to him. Because when we (me, Laurel, Mom, anyone) try to talk to him, he closes off, and thinks. He thinks about what he's going to say, as if saying the wrong thing will cost him his life. He carefully weighs his words and his stance is always stiff and defensive, as if we're interrogating him (when in reality we're just asking about his day).
And honestly, I don't know whether I should be hurt by the fact that he does none of this with Felicity or happy that he's found someone he can be genuinely carefree around.
He's relaxed with her by his side. It's as if he has no role to play, no mask to wear. He's not afraid of saying the wrong thing and the words just tumble out of his mouth before he can think it through. He doesn't close off, as though he has no fear to be who is he is. He laughs and smiles as he pleases, and frowns and glares openly. He's relaxed and happy, and he doesn't look like he wants to be anywhere but here. In other words, with Felicity, it's as if Ollie can just be. And it hurts like hell—because why can't he be like that with his own family?
My inner musings and the conversation end when Felicity grabs her coat and tablet and stands up.
"Well, that was fun I guess. But um—I have a pint of mint chip ice cream and a Doctor Who episode waiting for me at home so I better get going." She says as she makes her way to the door.
"Wait, Felicity," Oliver calls and gets up after her. Another thing I forgot, my brother seems to have a weird obsession with Felicity's name. He's always saying it, even when it's not necessary.
"It's a storm outside. I'll drive you home." He tells her, and to my surprise, Felicity doesn't argue, she seems to be the type of girl who doesn't take favours too easily and I assume that she probably doesn't like driving in a storm.
Ollie gives me a farewell along with a peck on the cheek, before he shrugs on his coat and leaves the club, his hand placed protectively over Felicity's back.
A couple (maybe 10) minutes later, I'm also packing up, storing my phone into my purse and grabbing my coat from the rack, getting ready to face the frenzy of people that will storm the bar in about an hour.
I do a final sweep of the office, making sure that I have everything I need before I go home to change and come back. It's then that I spot a silver phone on the couch, and upon seeing the panda phone case, I rule it out to be Felicity's. I'm actually surprised, I didn't think that she'd go anywhere without her phone, but maybe I confused it with her tablet.
I grab the phone, not wanting to lock it in the room, and refrain from putting it in my purse, but rather holding it in my hand in an event that Felicity comes back looking for it. My guess was right, because the phone starts to play an identifiable song that makes me smile, and I look at the phone before I stumble on the steps and almost drop it.
Ollie is calling Felicity (there is nothing surprising about that, she must be using Ollie's phone to locate hers) but I can't seem to tear my eyes away from the picture that appears on the screen to answer.
It's a picture of the two of them. They're in Big Belly Burger, and Felicity's left hand is holding onto a drink—her cheeks hollowed in the motion of slurping it—and her right hand in probably taking the picture. But it's Ollie's face that gets my eyes widening. Because I don't think, I've ever seen him look at anyone like that before.
To normal eye (okay, maybe to Felicity's eyes. That girl may be a genius, but she clearly oblivious to the way my brother looks at her) it looks as if he's smiling at the camera. But he's not. He's smiling at Felicity. His face is one of complete amusement, adoration, and...Happiness. For the first time in a long time, my brother looks peacefully happy with the woman beside him, and I can't help but be ridiculously thankful for Felicity Smoak.
The ringing comes to a stop and I realized that I never really answered the phone. Turns out to be unnecessary as the caller itself rushes in, high heels clicking on the floor.
"Sorry. I forgot my phone." She says, indicating the device in my hands, and I deliberately avoid the conversation of her 'Oliver' picture.
I hand it over to her and she returns her thanks when in reality, I should be thanking her.
"Thank You." So I do.
"For..."
"For helping my brother. For being there for him. We all know how hard it is." I tell her truthfully.
"Yes, we do. Especially when he gets all grumpy and growly and stomps across the room like a bear whose fish has been stolen." The metaphor is so ludicrous but so fitting that it makes me laugh.
Eventually, I can feel my face fall.
"I just don't know what I'm doing wrong," I complain and place my head on the bar.
Felicity places her hand on my shoulder.
"You're not doing anything wrong. It's just that—the man that left for the Gambit and the man that came back are not the same. Maybe instead of trying to find the old Oliver in him, you can try to get to know the new one. This way he doesn't have to live to what he thinks your expectations are, and you get to have your brother back."
If it were anyone else, I would have sassed them away. But I see bits of the Oliver I grew up with (not the partying playboy, but the kind and sweet brother) when he's around Felicity so I'll take anything she gives.
"Speaking of, your brother's waiting for me. So I better get going." She gives me an adorable wave before making her way to the club doors.
"Hey, Felicity," I call her.
"We should hang out sometime." No one can blame me for wanting to hang out with my future sister-in-law.
"Ya. We should." She says before walking out the door.
Walking to my brother.
"SOMETIMES, YOU MEET A PERSON AND YOU JUST CLICK - YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH THEM, LIKE YOU'VE KNOWN THEM YOUR WHOLE LIFE, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO PRETEND TO BE ANYONE OR ANYTHING." ALEXANDRA ADORNETTO
Thea Queen has a good feeling that Oliver Queen has already found that person in Felicity Smoak