Gah, this chapter gave me so. much. trouble. I am so sorry for only now finishing it, I also apologize if it seems a little rushed...I've had this idea in my head so long, and was very unhappy with how this was turning out, so I'm finally just putting this together and throwing it out there. Oh, and if anyone is interested in betaing any of my work or future works, please let me know. i would be interested. I also have a tumblr, which is dairi89, so if you're interested or would like to talk or have a question please feel free to drop by. I have a teaser for another story I'm slowly working on there, too. ;)

It would be a week and a half - nine days, not that she was counting - before she set eyes on that particular pair of blues once more. A quite distinctive shade that, if she were honest, had never strayed very far from her mind all nine of those days.

Her superiors were doing some sort of inspection or quality test today, so all in the office were asked to dress up. Which was stupid, considering it was a dental office and most people were wearing scrubs. Nonetheless, she'd put on modest yet still fasionable heels and a semi-fancy yet comfortable and entirely work appropriate dress. Heels of which were supposed to be comfortable but after hours of walking around in them, she only wanted to use them as a weapon to show her boss just what she thought of this unnecessary 'dressing up.'

It was her fault, really, because she was walking backwards yet again and she knew better than to do that, especially in these heels. She'd been walking a new patient out, actually, their file in her hand as she turned to give them one last piece of advice.

"...and don't forget to floss everyday, no matter what the government says! You really can't afford any build up around those shallow roots, remember." Felicity was telling a young lady, who cracked a smile but solemnly nodded. Then Felicity began to wave her over towards the front desk,

"Now, Charla over here will take care of -" she had been going to go into financial matters and billing insurance, which were things Charla at the front desk would take care of, but Felicity did not get to finish seeing as someone had inconsideratly left a few children's play blocks right in the middle of the room. Which Felicity had not seen, as she did not possess eyes on the back of her head, which promptly led to her stumbling, the file slipping from her fingers and connecting with the ground, papers spilling out, and Felicity throwing her arms wildly as she tried not to fall.

It wasn't helping - her balance was lost, so the only thing she could do now was brace for impact. The impact...did not come as she had imagined. Not even close.

She was imagining a full-out face plant, or perhaps if she fell backwards a simple but hard landing on her behind. It would be mortifying, but slightly less than the flace plant. What actually happened, the reality of the situation was much more mortifying than anything she could have imagined.

The only impact was against a person - a real, live, living, breathing person, and not the cold, impersonal tile floor. She could feel the person's hands grab onto her upper arms to steady her, and her momentum combined with this person's reaching out to steady her had led her to practically fall against an unknown chest. Her eyes, shut tight in preparation for the meeting of the floor, slowly opened upon realizing her balance was back and there was no more danger of her face meeting the floor anytime soon. And she saw her carefully painted sky blue nails resting on a blue uniformed chest, right next to a shiny silver badge.

"Oh God, I'm going to be arrested for assaulting an officer." Felicity muttered, then winced, as ever unable to control her brain-to-mouth filter. The answering breathy chuckle made her look up into a too-familiar yet never seen this close up pair of spectacular blue eyes. Felicity sucked in a quick breath of air and made herself lean away.

"Are you all right?" He asked her, some of the mirth fading from his eyes but there was still a seriousness in their depths that some how called to her. Plus, he was still holding on to her arms...she shook her head to clear it.

"Yes, I'm fine, Mr. Queen...Officer Queen? Uh. I'm sorry for, uh falling for you...over you! Onto you, I mean, or uh however this... happened." Felicity winced again and closed her eyes, interally berating herself and why oh why could she not think or speak coherently in his presence..he'll think she's an utter idiot.

Plus, she had no idea he was a cop. She shouldn't be as fascinated by that as she was.

"It's Oliver, and you didn't. I uh...saw you falling, and didn't want you to get hurt. You should be more careful, miss...?" Now certain she could remain upright on her own, he almost reluctantly released her arms and took a step back, but went no further than that. Her interesting speech patterns had tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he found himself even more drawn to this blonde beauty who spoke her mind.

"Smoak. Felicity. Uh, yeah, I mean I usually am but usually, there is not playing blocks lying around quite this far out..." Felicity trailed off, eying the offending blocks curiously. There were no chairs this far out, which made it even more strange..hm. And then she lost her train of thought as Mr- Officer Queen bent down to collect the papers and file folder she dropped. The smile as he straightened up and handed them to her did something to her insides.

"Thank you, M- Officer Queen." She all but whispered, her hand blindly reaching out for the file because her eyes were glued to his. She must have taken them though, because the next thing she knew he was clearing his throat and putting his hands in his pockets.

"Please, call me Oliver." Pause. "And uh...if this isn't too forward, Miss Smoak, I was wondering if...if you..."

Felicity froze. Was he actually asking her out? Well, attempting to anyway. Honestly, she did not know how she felt about that implication. He seemed nice, though his sister might be slightly crazy, and she knows he has been through a lot...she remembers vaguely hearing something of his family being involved in a car accident of some kind, if her memory served right...of course, she'd had other things on her mind around that time...

"Miss Smoak!" The call of her boss jolted the blonde out of her thoughts, blinking as she found Oliver was still miraculously standing in front of her, somehow. She really hoped she hadn't missed his actual question, if he'd been able to spit it out yet..

"Is there a problem here? Because if not, my employee needs to get back to her work." He put an unwanted hand on Felicity's shoulder as he looked on at Oliver, and she glared and side-stepped to avoid him. Oliver seemed to notice the interaction but said nothing of it.

"No, sir."

"Good, then. Miss Smoak, Mrs. Watson really needs that file." And with another pat to her shoulder, the man was gone. Felicity only barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes, it was not like they were even that busy today...

"Are you sure you're all right?" Oliver asked, keeping his voice low, his eyes alight with a strange sort of intensity that she couldn't name.

"Yes, fine. Just, a bit of an annoying boss - I'm sure you know how that can be.." Felicity trailed off, attempting to lighten the mood with a joke, but that weird intensity remained in his eyes. So she tried a different tactic, "You were wondering something..?" She asked, keeping her voice light and hoping it didn't sound too, well, hopeful. Because she needed something good to look forward to in her life, and if he was ready then she was ready to take a chance on him.

Oliver pursed his lips, holding her gaze a moment before he finally responded, "It can wait." He said, voice flat, "I won't hold you up any longer." He added, then turned and walked away.

Felicity sighed, her gaze following him for a moment as he stalked over to a large black man who was also in uniform, seated next to a young man in a red hoodie. Who was in handcuffs. As the other officer started shaking his head at something Oliver had said, Felicity turned and started back to work.

Oliver Queen was a coward.

That was his only explanation for having backed out of asking her out like that. Yes, they'd been interrupted, and he wasn't sure what was going on between her and her boss but that gave him no right for wanting to deck the man. Something about the interaction had unsettled Oliver because it was clear Felicity wasn't welcoming the attentions, and then she'd called him annoying...but then she'd surprised him by bringing up what he'd been trying to get out. So, he reacted as he normally did when thrown off-kilter - he ran.

Something John Diggle needled him about afterward, and even the Harper kid was smirking at him. Oliver hoped they forget to give him Novacaine when they fill that cavity; anything to wipe that stupid little smirk off his stupid little face...

Harper, a low-level convict who was supposed to be out within the year, had broken a tooth and needed some other work done so, weirdly, Diggle had volunteered them for this assignment. As soon as they arrived and the other man was giving him 'looks' every time a blonde walked by, Oliver finally understood why. Apparently, he'd talked to Thea. Diggle was interested to see if this Felicity person really exsisted and if Oliver was really as gone over her as Thea seemed to think. Diggle had rarely ever seen Queen interested in anything non-work related, so this he needed to see to believe.

And what a show they put on for him. Not five minutes after arriving, the general practitioners door opened and out stepped a blonde wearing heels and glasses, who immediately turned and started walking backwards. Then promptly tripped and papers went flying. John had never seen Oliver move as fast as he did in that moment - one second, he was standing beside him, the next Oliver was standing in front of this Felicity person.

And they actually talked. More than just shy smiles - Thea would be proud.

Until they were interrupted, and Oliver came skulking back. Diggle sighed and shook his head.

"Go back and talk to her, man. You won't know unless you actually ask, and you may not get another chance." Diggle tried to reason with him, but Oliver still looked doubtful. Harper was called to the back, so they started to herd him in that direction, but John had to add, "We don't need to both be here the entire time, so man, do us both a favor and go talk to her before we leave."

It took him all the way up until they were actually leaving for him to work up the courage again. And by that time, he couldn't find her. He approached the woman working the front desk and asked,

"Uh, hi...look, would it be ok if I left a note for someone?"

"For Felicity, right?" The woman with short brown hair asked, seeming much too excited. "If you wait just a second, I can go get her!" She declared, jumping up from her chair.

"Oh, don't-" he started, but she was already gone. Oliver exhaled slowly and lowered his head, trying to work up his courage again - just spit it out, man. How difficult could it be? ...

"What is it, Charla? What - oh, hi." Felicity stopped herself, blinking at Oliver. She was standing in front of him now and he kind of forgot what he was supposed to do.

"I'll go put these files away," the brown haired woman said, winking at him.

"Miss Smoak, I..." pause. She looked confused at first, but was now smiling at him. He could do this. "Are you doing anything Saturday afternoon?" It was said in a rush, but there it was, finally out.

He couldn't take it back - oh no, what if he'd read her wrong and she laughed in his face, or sneered at him, or - or smiled wider?

"There is a little coffee shop around the corner here I like to visit Saturday afternoons." She said, taking another step towards him, somehow still smiling. Oliver deflated, the tension melting out of him, and he smiled too.

"How's 1 o'clock sound?" He found himself saying, surprised but pleased.

"Sounds like a date." For some reason, then her eyes widened. "I mean, not like a date-date, well unless, I mean..."

"I kind of meant it like a date-date, Miss Smoak, but well, I'd like to take it slow and get to know each other first so...get-to-know you date?" Oliver found himself rambling, Thea would be disappointed in him but hey as long as she said yes...

"That sounds good. And it's Felicity. I guess I'll see you Saturday, Oliver." Felicity smiled sweetly at him, and his answering smile made his cheeks hurt. Oliver nodded, still smiling at her, but then they were called back to their respective work loads. Saturday could not get here quickly enough...

The day had come, the day Oliver was both eagerly anticipating and fearfully dreading. What if she decided he was too boring, too damaged? What if she decided he simply wasn't worth the effort and didn't show at all? Or worse, forgot. He'd be humiliated. Unfortunately, he'd had to work Friday night so these thoughts kept him company, chasing themselves around in his brain all night.

Still, he buried his insecurities and for once in his life was detirmined to focus on the positive. He was having lunch with a beautiful woman today. So, when Diggle came in a few hours early to relieve him (apparently his wife Lyla, who worked fire rescue, had been called away in the wee hours of the morning due to an apartment fire and John had been unable to go back to sleep so he'd brought his grumpy self into work a little early) Oliver was unable to contain his enthusiasm and clocked out, going home to try and rest for a few hours before getting ready. For his date. He grinned again.

He arrived half an hour early, but so what. He waited and wondered what kind of coffee and sandwich she'd get - or maybe a salad?

One o'clock came and went, and no Felicity. Maybe she was just running late.

A few minutes late turned into thirty, and then an hour.

At the two-hour-late mark, Oliver realized she was not coming. One of his fears had come true - she had stood him up. Whatever the reason, the fact remained the same - he was here, and she was not. She'd sent along no message or note. Oliver looked around and sighed, finally getting up. This was the only coffee shop around her workplace, so there was no way he was at the wrong place. He'd been stood up.

He was a fool for thinking she was actually interested in him. She probably was only trying to let him down easy, maybe not wanting to make a scene. ...but she could have just said no, and that would've been fine. There was no need to be so cruel as to get his hopes up only to humiliate and hurt him like this. Dejected, Oliver left the shop and headed out to the sidewalk, pulling out his phone to check it. He had put it on silent so as not to disturb them. Seemed a pretty useless notion, now. Diggle had called him four times and left a message. Deciding he needed a walk and something to take his mind off the blonde's cruelty, he headed for the police station seeing as it wasn't too far away.

When Oliver let himself in the backdoor, Barry was standing there. A kid whom he did not want to see right now.

"Hey Oliver, I heard you had a date earlier, how'd it- go..."

Oliver just grunted at him and walked past him, shaking his head as he heard Barry's, "That great, huh?" then pushed those thoughts away as he searched out Diggle. Who was around the next corner. Unfortunately, Barry was trailing after him.

"I'm sorry your date didn't go well, dude."

"She didn't show." Oliver bit out, clenching his jaw as he turned back to Diggle. "You and Thea were wrong. But that doesn't matter - you called me?" Oliver frowned, he didn't really blame his friends and family, but he did sorta blame them for getting his hopes up. But now he was wondering why Diggle was giving him such a serious look...like he was going to say something that Oliver didn't like.

"Yeah, I'm...I left you a message. Oliver, I know why Felicity didn't show."

-
So, if you were paying attention I left a big clue about what happened with Felicity. Perhaps not that obvious, but...you'll hopefully find out next week!