Blank Space

by YellowFlicker

"I trust you with my life!" The words are heavy conviction. "I just...This thing I do, it creates enemies. I wanted to keep you and my family safe from that so I thought... I thought it would be a lot more difficult to link me to the vigilante, if the Hood the was operational months before i came back from the dead. " (AU) [on hiatus for MASSIVE editing. thank you]

4. Two

'...do you remember the first time you saw her?'

o

'I meant it when I said I didn't believe in love at first sight. It takes time to really, truly fall for someone. Yet I believe in a moment. A moment when you glimpse the truth within someone, and they glimpse the truth within you. In that moment, you don't belong to yourself any longer, not completely. Part of you belongs to him; part of him belongs to you. After that, you can't take it back, no matter how much you want to, no matter how hard you try'

A thousand pieces of you

o

Tommy has never thought of himself as the sharpest tool in the shed (despite being assured on multiple occasions that he was, in fact, a tool), but he does know about people. It's not a conscious thing really; he just gets them, instinctively (and by paying attention): what they think or feel or why they do things. Robert Queen always calls him perceptive because of that; tells him that if he ever decides to apply that gift to business, half the job would be done for him, because in business - like in life - it's all about people and what they want.

But Tommy is 21 and though Harvard Business School didn't turn out as bad as he'd expected, the mere thought of shadowing his actual father in any capacity makes him do stupid things like persuading Oliver on the perks of skinny-dipping in a mall's fountain when they are both stoned out of their minds. Still, between the feelings of abandonment and, at the same time, dreading any amount of Malcolm Merlyn's attention, it is all pretty confusing and Tommy has turned the 'not-thinking-about-it' route into an art form.

But that Saturday morning Tommy isn't thinking about any of those things. The summer has just begun and for the first time in months, he, Laurel, Oliver and Sara are in the same city at the same time. Laurel is fresh out of graduation and, in typical Laurel fashion, has already found a job with in the District Attorney's office. (She is also going through one of the 'off-again' periods with Oliver, but they don't talk about that.) Sara has just come back from her sophomore year in Princeton and it makes Laurel tear up with laughter when it turns out that her sister is more successful at picking up women than both Oliver and Tommy – something which Oliver denies vehemently, but facts are hard to fight with: Sara is of the drop dead gorgeous kind, inside-out. If Tommy was a girl, he would totally throw his panties her way. Hell, he'd throw them at her right now if he could be sure she wouldn't strangle him with them! Tommy on the other hand is one semester away from graduating and Oliver has managed to not kicked out of the fourth ivy-league institution he is auditioning ('what is it this time, Jon Hopkins?' Oliver had rolled his eyes at that and flipped him off lazily). So really, they all agree that, each for they own reasons, they deserves one hell of a party.

They are just talking about it when Sara gets distracted by something right over Tommy's shoulder.

"Is that Felicity?"

Laurel turns her head so fast that she might give herself whiplash, and curses under her breath. She turns back to the table, pins Sara with a level-4 glare.

"Sara, don't you dare…"

But it's too late and not just because threats bounce of Sara like water off a duck – but because she is actually yelling 'Felicity!' across the café so loudly that half the customers turn in her direction – including the girl in question, and Tommy has to sigh. It's strange sometimes, how complicated sisters are – specifically Sara and Laurel, since they are the sisters Tommy knows best. They have this deep connection that almost makes them seem telepathic. They can have entire conversations in just one look and yet, this doesn't soften the differences between them at all. It doesn't contain Laurel's tempers, it doesn't soften Sara's stubbornness. And when they disagree, it becomes explosive because neither of the Lance sisters is very much inclined towards compromise.

And it's a matter known to both Tommy and Oliver (judging by the weary look on his face) that Felicity Smoak is a matter where Sara and Laurel disagree to the nines.

In the interest of complete disclosure, Oliver has to admit that he is fully prepared to dislike Felicity Smoak. It's not anything personal, since he's never met her, but this girl's existence has been the source of a lot of pain and anguish for Laurel in the past year. Tommy has taken to calling the previous summer 'Laurel's dark ages' and he isn't so far off. Some of it Oliver has learned through Laurel herself, some of it through Tommy, so Oliver is familiar (maybe a bit more familiar than he is comfortable with, sometimes) with the depth of the betrayal Laurel had felt when her father remarried, adding a stepmother and stepsister to their family. Insisting that her stepmother is a reformed Vegas stripper was the bright spot in Laurel's rants – when she is angry, it gets nastier. The stepsister apparently is a hell-spawn as well… which seems to contradict Sara's not-so-quiet gushing that the girl – Felicity – is a genius and badass wrapped in Goth package.

For a little while there, Oliver had flirted with the idea that maybe Laurel was just a bit jealous, since apparently, the Stepmother's Spawn had graduated with honors from high school at 16, gotten into MIT at 17, and was among the best of her year – according to Sara, at least. That was not an easy bar to top and Laurel is freakishly competitive… but Ollie had changed his mind on that real quick when, after a night out some months ago, after he and Tommy had had to take a tipsy/drunk Laurel back to her dorm room, she had just sat down on the stairs and cried with gut-wrenching sobs, mumbling about anniversaries and how she couldn't believe that her father had forgotten about her mother so soon, when she had barely been gone for 4 years. Tommy had not hesitated a single second before he sat down and wrapped Laurel in an embrace so tight that she finally stopped shaking, murmuring god-knew-what in her hair.

That had been the moment Oliver had known beyond any doubt that Tommy's feelings for Laurel were very much not-platonic… (which had made the whole getting back to the 'on-again' part of his relationship with laurel herself a lot more complicated than Oliver had ever thought it would be)

So yeah, all in all, Oliver doesn't know what to expect when cornered by chance into meeting Laurel Lance's evil stepsister, but once Sara spots her – very loudly - Oliver finds himself… surprised.

The first thing that comes to his mind as he zeroes in on her is that this girl is actually the exact opposite of Laurel, and as far from his type as one could possibly get. Felicity Smoak is short and curvy and dark - and not in the luscious-brunette way, but rather, in the edgy, 'don't talk to me' way. And though her hair falls in her face and her face is hidden beneath edgy makeup, Oliver can tell that she is pretty, in a sweet, forgettable way (Except her lips. There was nothing forgettable about those and it takes Oliver the total of one blink to know it. They are painted a dark maroon and she has a red pen trapped between them as she digs in her small bag. When Sara calls her name and as she turns, she catches it, lips falling open in surprise. Yeah, she has a pretty mouth). When Felicity Smoak faces Sara's 100 watt smile with a hesitant one of her own, her cheeks dimple and her whole face sweetens… and Oliver knows, in exactly that moment, that despite the departure from his usual preferences, he would be very willing to talk Felicity Smoak into going out with him, if only once. (The thought that she would love his Ducati comes unbidden, but it seemed it was there to stay.)

"I can't believe this!" Laurel hisses from his right.

Oliver hmm-ed absentmindedly, assuming that what Laurel couldn't believe was the fact that Sara had practically snatched Felicity from the counter and was leading her to their table. On the other hand, he practically felt Tommy's look, because of course Tommy noticed (Oliver wasn't exactly being subtle; Laurel would have noticed too if she wasn't fuming) and one single eyebrow coming up to question him is Tommy's silent way of asking 'Are you for real right now?!' Oliver limits himself with a shrug and half a smirk, just as Sara's voice starts carrying to them.

"… and then it was too late to say no. Not like I was doing anything better." Sara flicks her hair over her shoulder as she comes to sit back at Tommy's side, dragging a chair there for Felicity too… who doesn't immediately sit down.

"Anyway. Felicity, this here is Laurel's best friend and one of my top five favorite people ever; and that there, is her disastrous ex-boyfriend – you are still her ex, right Ollie? You didn't like, get together in the 20 seconds that I left this table?"

"Sara!" Laurel's voice climbs at least 2 octaves higher than normal.

"Hilarious, Lance." Oliver deadpans, cause the jab actually stings…

"Yeah, they're still friendly-ish– but that's just cause they've known each other since they were snooty brats and even Laurel's heart-of-stone softens at Ollie's puppy eyes. Guys, meet the brand new Lance family addition and greatest tech-savvy genius you will ever have the privilege to lay your eyes upon."

Tommy snorts. "Upon?"

Sara answers him with a haughty smirk. "Yup. I'm a college girl now; I get to use fancy words."

"That's not a fancy word, Sara." Laurel says, exasperated. "And our friends have names, which I'm sure they would like you to use when introducing them to strangers, as opposed to objectifying them into boy-toys."

Sara looked at her sister as if she is a particularly slow child. "But they are boy-toys. They've worked very hard for it too."

Oliver sees Laurel close her eyes and can practically hear her count back form 10… or 100. It is a bit funny actually – in the 'possibly-live grenade in your hand' kind of way. But instead of watching this situation evolve to its full explosive potential, Oliver makes the choice to diffuse it. Sara and Laurel arguing in public is never a good idea – there would be no getting them to go to the same party at the same time for at least a month if that happens.

"Hi." He says extending a hand to Felicity Smoak, his smoothest smile on. "I'm Oliver Queen." Even though he knows just by the look Felicity Smoak gives him, that she already knows that. "Disastrous ex and current dropout – my puppy eyes apparently don't work on college professors. You can objectify me anytime."

There is something sharp in Felicity's eyes, her intelligence probably, as she fixes them on him. Oliver's practiced smile falls just a tiny bit, because that unflinching look reminds him vaguely of his mother when she knows he fucked up and is waiting for him to admit to it (which is disturbing on so many levels he almost physically flinches from the thought). But for the smallest fraction of a second there is also a certain kind of weariness in Felicity's blue-grey eyes, one that could even be shyness. It's gone in a blink though, the odd vulnerability is wiped clean from her expression as she takes his hand.

"Felicity Smoak." That's all she says, and she doesn't even bother with the perfunctory smile that follows an introduction. Her nails are painted black, her fingers long and her palm tiny in his. The sureness of her grip confirms his suspicion: this girl is a no-bullshit kind of person.

It really is a wonder that she and Laurel don't get along – they have a lot in common so far.

"Thomas Merlyn." Tommy says, reminding Oliver to blink and move, cause staring is for amateurs and he is smoother than that. It takes Tommy a moment to smile at her, but when he does, its sincere. "You can call me Tommy."

"Nice to meet you Tommy." Felicity says and then physically takes a step backwards from them and the whole conversation they hadn't even begun. "Ok, so I came here to introduce myself and now that I have, I'm gonna go. Enjoy the coffee, bye."

"What? No, wait!" And Sara has already grabbed her by the hand, refusing to let her go. "Stay with us a little. I've wanted to introduce you guys since forever."

"Oh yeah, let's just make this whole thing even more awkward, why don't we, Sara." Laurel hisses, and Sara turns to glare at her sister. Both Oliver and Tommy realize this could go to hell in a hand basket really soon, but neither has the balls to step into whatever is happening between the two Lances.

"What is your damage Laurel?" Sara grits out, both disbelieving and irritated. "Can't you just say hello and goodbye and goodbye like a normal person?"

It makes Laurel roll her eyes.

"Why, of course. Where are my manners?" And her voice drip with saccharine sarcasm. "Hello Felicity, how are you? Made any small children cry today?"

Felicity Smoak answers with a calmness that baffles Oliver into staring at her.

"Sadly no, but its only 10.30. I can still try to bring out the human in you."

Laurel's eyes flash. "Hilarious."

"Aren't I just." And the grin Felicity Smoak puts on is the epitome of I-have-zero-fucks-to-give. Oliver should know, he wears it often enough. But beneath all that, there is vein of restlessness to this girl that Oliver immediately recognizes: it's like she can't get out of here soon enough.

"Not that this hasn't been… interesting, but I'm kinda waiting for someone, so…"

Laurel snorts. "You have a date?" The incredulity in her tone is sharp, mocking, and it causes everyone to take a moment and appreciate its bite – a moment during which Laurel becomes incredibly aware of herself and Oliver can see that she regrets it (the tips of her ears are starting to turn pink) but Laurel is nothing if not stubborn: she barrels on, throwing a daring look at Felicity.

"Not exactly, Laurel." And its awkward, because somehow Felicity manages to make Laurel's name sound like its a filthy word. "But since you're so eager not to let me leave, I might as well make myself comfortable."

And that's how Felicity Smoak plants herself in the free chair right between Oliver and Sara, staring Laurel in the face as if she was rising up to the challenge and twirling that red pen between nimble fingers.

"So, what do you want to talk about?Life? Love? Common symptoms of sexually transmittable disease?1"

Sara bites back her laugh but she's the only one that dares make a noise. Oliver and Tommy catch each others eye, both freaked out and uncomfortable, though Oliver has to admit that a small part of him is... kinda enjoying this. He hasn't met a lot f people that can go toe to toe with Laurel without some serious damage, but this girl… she looks like she could dance circles around anyone.

"I think you should go now." Laurel hisses.

"Oh, I think I should stay." Felicity snaps back. "How was your morning Sara?"

Sara gives her stepsister one of her brightest smiles.

"It was alright. Don't think I didn't notice that you left out the last of the Chock-Chips for me, by the way – thank you. Where were you off to so early in the morning, anyway?" Sara turns to Tommy and Oliver. "She was up at 6 in the morning, I have no idea how she does it."

Oliver takes the hint. He can't very well let Sara do all the work, can he. The fact that he actually wants to talk to Felicity Smoak is just about… 37% of his reasoning.

"What did you have to do, to get up at 6 in the morning? Is the sun even up that early?"

Felicity's eyebrows rise a little on her forehead.

"Dawn is at 5.02 a.m. this time of year." She says, cocking her head to the side. The sun catches her hair as she does that, and the vibrant blue streaks in it winks at him. "I find it incredibly unsurprising that you don't know that."

Oliver's smile grew wider, playful. "You're avoiding the question." Oliver points out, as if she didn't know that. "Not every well either – I should know."

Felicity Smoak rolls her eyes at him.

"I am running a scavenger hunt." She states plainly.

Sara's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, what kind?"

"What's the prize in the end?" Tommy asks, leaning forward on the table.

Oliver throws a glance in Laurel's direction – she is still fuming.

"I am." Felicity says simply, and then something occurs to her and she adds. "If he can find me, that is."

Sara huffs out a laugh. "Ook. That's hot."

That makes Felicity's eyes soften a little, the tension ease just a tiny bit from her shoulders.

"If you says so." She says noncommittally, but her tone lacks the practiced blase note form before.

"Didn't you have a nasty incident with a stalker a couple of months ago?" Laurel asks, and though it's not as biting as before, it's still harsh. "Isn't that why had to come here this summer? To put a thousand miles between that and yourself."

Tommy and Oliver aren't even subtle about their 'wtf' moment this time, because they know Laurel: If anyone would have so much as hinted that it was a girl's fault for being stalked, Laurel would have torn their throat out – figuratively of course - and now she was… kinda suggesting it?

Felicity's eyes flashed, but just as she opened her mouth to say something back to that, she trailed off and her face was flooded with astonishment, because sure enough, a random guy comes by their table, looking a bit uncertain as he takes them in.

Oliver evaluates the dude in in 30 seconds: probably about Oliver's age, maybe a couple of years younger; tall and lanky and, judging by the way his clothes hang on him, he doesn't spend all his time with his nose in books or behind a computer screen the way Oliver imagines geeks do. Blonde, blue eyes and all that crap… but by far what most seems to define this guy is not anything about him, as much as the fact that he is very, very focused on Felicity Smoak. He's spared less than a glance for the rest of them (which was admittedly weird since, even admitting he might not know Tommy or Oliver, there were still two gorgeous girls sitting on that table and any self-respecting male would have looked over at them least twice). For a second, Oliver thinks this one is the stalker Laurel was talking about – that is until the guy opens his mouth, releasing a long breath.

"Holy fuck…"

Felicity cocks her head to the side, eyebrows shooting up. "Huh. Not the reaction I was going for." But her eyes are intent on him.

"Can I help you?" Tommy asks in his best 'what the fuck do you want, mortal' tone.

"No, I don't think so." The dude says, but then he smiles at Felicity and holds out his hand for her. "Hello. I'm Cooper Seldon… but you probably already know that. Right. It's an honor to meet you. You're amazing."

Felicity lets out a breathy sound that could have been a chuckle, except she seems too surprised to manage it right.

"Thanks" She says, her voice a bit higher than normal. "Hi to you too. I'm…"

"You're the Oracle." Cooper says, almost reverently. Oliver's eyebrows reach for his hairline and he's about to crack a bad joke when he notices how that name makes Felicity wince.

"Oracle? That's what you call yourself?" Laurel mocks, and for the first time Seldon looks away from Felicity Smoak and fixes ice-blue eyes on Laurel.

"No. That's what we call her."

"We?" Sara tries, but instead of looking at her Cooper Seldon goes back to staring at Felicity right in the eye, and Oliver finds himself both stunned by his nerve and irritated by it at the same time.

"Felicity Smoak." She says softly and though its the second time she introduces herself in one day, Oliver can tell that this right here is a whole different thing from the one before it. "That's my actual name. Just so you know. Cause calling me Oracle is gonna get old really fast. Not to mention awkward. So… yeah. Ok."

Seldon huffs a small laugh – he hasn't let go of her hand yet.

It's surprisingly amusing to watch her get nervous; apparently she talks a lot more when she's is caught off guard or when her defenses are down. And maybe Felicity feels his look because precisely in that moment she turns and catches his eye. The deer-in-the-headlights expression she is sporting makes her look exactly as young as she actually is, and there is a vulnerability about her then, looking at him without any pretense, to which Oliver can't help but respond to: before he knows what he's doing, he finds himself smiling at her; one of the few honest smiles he ever gives. He doesn't know what reaction he was expecting, but it the way she still completely is definitely a surprise. Felicity looks at him like it's the first time she is actually seeing him and it lasts less than a blink, but within that blink, the full measure of her concentrations slams on him and something clicks in the distance, and he feels surreality naked under her scrutiny.

But then she blinks and he looks away, startling Felicity back into the moment.

"This is Sara, my stepsister." She says quickly, and then points at Laurel. "That's my other stepsister. Tommy Merlyn and Oliver Queen."

Cooper Seldon nods at them but he doesn't seem all that interested and doesn't bother to hide it.

"You know… I always thought you were a guy." he says instead, skipping the whole introduction part. A one-track-mind kind of guy, Oliver thins darkly, eying him a lot more carefully now.

Felicity smiles, her eyes knowing. "Most guys do."

"I'm relieved you're not though - being already half in love with you was a problem cause I couldn't see myself in the gay scene very comfortably, but I was prepared to make an exception in your case."

Her laughter comes out surprised but the pure, undiluted amusement in it and it is beautiful. Her whole face changes and she goes from pretty, to beautiful in the fraction of a second, and Oliver can't really help but stare, because she is smiling fully, but for someone else.

Jealously is a feeling he is not used to, and the way it creeps onto him now leaves him completely befuddled.

"That's… comforting to know, I guess." Felicity finally says. They smile at each other for a bit.

"So… I've been meaning to ask you this since… ever since it happened really." Seldon leans in a little closer and really, the guy is shameless and he is starting to get on Oliver's last nerve.

(which is ironic, 'cause Oliver would have been exactly as shameless if but given the opportunity)

"How did you do it?" Seldon asks in a whisper, and then, at the look of confusion on he rfaec, he adds to it. "The hack into the IRSD-base, how did you… I mean, that was three years ago, how old even were you?"

Felicity opens and closes her mouth a couple of times and looks a bit lost for words, eyes bouncing around from Seldon to Oliver, to Laurel and Sara and then back to Seldon again.

"Ah… Three years ago would make me a little bit older than 14. Which is beside the point, because I don't know what you're talking about, clearly. And seeing that I don't know what you're talking about, I can neither confirm nor deny any involvement with that… that fantastic piece of work." She finishes, lips curving into a mischievous smile.

Oliver wants to remind them that hey, they're not alone and their flirting is getting annoying real quick, but Sara gives him a look so sharp that it promises serious retribution if he so much as dares ruin this moment. Oliver is tempted to do it just to see the look on her face, but then he catches sight of Felicity's face and how the mischief has softened to something a lot more genuine and shy… and something stops him from opening his mouth.

She looked miserable just 5 minutes ago, like a trapped animal – a feeling Oliver knows well enough to be able to appreciate the fact that right now, Felicity is over it. So he keeps his mouth shut and tells himself it really doesn't matter why he does it.

Cooper Seldon's voice breaks his thoughts.

"Do you wanna go somewhere? Anywhere? I don't know any good coffee places around here, but I can find out. Wanna have a cup of coffee with me?"

It is clear that Felicity wants to go with him, but there is a glint in her eyes, a playful one that tells Oliver she also likes to tease – and why not, since she seems to be so good at it! She gets up, but leans against the chair, making it clear she isn't moving anytime soon.

She wasn't going to make this easy for him and Oliver smiles around the rim of his cup. He really likes this girl and it's just too bad that he's not the one she's playing with... but he intends to change that soon enough. The fact that there is another guy in the picture never really stopped him before.

"I don't like questions." Felicity says and it makes Cooper Seldon frown even though he is still smiling.

"Have some coffee with me?" he tries again.

"That's still a question." She points out and Oliver barely holds back his laugh.

Work for it, blondie. Third time's a charm.

"Come have coffee with me."

...Or not.

Her brows twitch upwards in a look that practically giggles 'Really?' in Seldon's face. Her smiles gets wider. "That's too demanding."

Cooper Seldon laughs.

Just Oliver's luck that the guy has a sense of humor. This would have been so much easier if he hadn't.

"Ok. Ok. I got this. Hmmm. Ok, so I'm gonna go grab a cup of coffee…"

Felicity takes a tiny step closer to him. "I would love to join you." she says, mirroring his smile.

She waves at them and goes, without looking back. Oliver follows her with his eyes until she's outside and feels a sharp stab of annoyance when she hops behind Cooper Seldon's bike, wrapping her arms around his middle.

He was right thought, she looks good on one.

"Well, that was interesting." Sara says, sounding amused. "Felicity has scored again." Then she laughs because how cute was it, she says, that he couldn't take his eyes off her, like she was some mirage.

Oliver looks away from the window… and almost flinches when he meets Tommy's amused (and irritatingly knowing) stare. One eyebrow comes up to question him silently, so Oliver discretely stamps on his best friends foot from under the table.

"She's going to get in trouble, and then we will have to deal with dad and his rants over her."

Sara snorts. "That guy isn't trouble. He's smitten, that's what he is. And Felicity deserves someone falling over for her like that, cause she is awesome. And you need to stop being a bitch to her Laurel." Sara's tone has gone from casually observing to hard as steel as she talks to her sister, but Laurel shrugs it off.

"I have the right to have my own opinion, Sara. If you don't like it, well tough, cause it's not changing."

Sara's eyes sharpen. "Sure you do, Laurel. And I have the right to point out how unbelievably stupid your opinion is. You don't like it; well tough, cause that's not changing either."