The Long Way Home

by ohemgeeitscoley

Oliver is more famous for his womanizing ways than his band Green Arrow is for making music. Felicity agrees to help out a friend by going on tour with him to make a documentary on him.

5. Chapter 5

"He actually said that," Laurel asked as she grabbed the wire from Felicity's hands, attaching it to the small box that was clipped to her jeans.

"Word for word with added eye rolls on my part," Felicity responded, glancing down at the tablet to check the microphone's connection.

"He's an ass."

Felicity glanced up from her tablet, smiling slightly at Laurel before looking back down. "Can you adjust the tuner a little to the left?"

Laurel did as Felicity instructed. "That better?"

"Perfect."

"Are we going to be hooked up to mics from now on?"

"Only at the venues, hopefully. There are enough cameras set up over the place to be able to get the footage, but there's no way I'd be able to get decent sound quality other than when you guys were playing. So, mics. Sorry."

"Not a big deal," Laurel said with a shrug. "Now the whole world can know how ditzy I am in real life."

"You aren't ditzy."

"You haven't really seen me pre-show. I get jitters still."

"There was a show a couple weeks ago where she made me cluck like a chicken while she tried to keep time to it. It was horrifying," Roy spoke up from the corner of the room.

"You said you wouldn't tell anybody about that," Laurel looked over at Roy rolling her eyes.

"I told Felicity. That isn't just anybody. Besides, girl needs to know what she got herself into."

"I promise to edit the film to make it look like those ideas were Roy's."

"I knew we would be fast friends, but I didn't think it'd be this fast," Laurel said with a smile.

"Do you know where Thea is," Felicity asked Roy. "She's the only one that isn't hooked up yet."

"She left the hotel a little bit ago. She should be here soon." Roy shrugged, messing with the wire under his shirt. "Are these going to be on during the concert?"

Felicity shook her head. "No. I can turn them off and on from the tablet, see," she asked, holding the tablet up. "Couple of swipes here and there controls them completely."

"How do I know if they are on?"

Felicity smiled cheekily at him before responding. "You don't. You'll just have to be on your best behavior."

"That's going to be hard," Thea's voice had a hint of laughter to it as she walked into the room. "Even his best behavior is going to be bad on a normal scale."

"That's hurtful," Roy said, placing his hand over his heart.

"I've never been the girlfriend to lie."

"There you two are," Barry said as he walked into the room. "I need you guys out on the stage for sound check. Oliver's MIA and I need to test everything out."

Roy groaned from the couch, standing up and stretching his arms forward. "Not singing."

Laurel glared at him, following him out the door. "I did it last time. It's your turn, Harper."

Shaking her head, Thea laughed as she turned to look at Felicity. "Do you know where my brother is?"

"Last time I saw him he was in my bed." Felicity cringed as the words left her mouth. "Not like in, in my bed. I mean, he was in my bed. But not because he was, you know, in my bed." Sighing, she brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "I mean he was in my bed accusing me of sleeping with him, which I did not. I mean, I guess technically I did sleep next to him, but now you know, with, with him. And I'm just going to stop talking."

Thea's eyes widened as Felicity moved across the room to grab another microphone set. "You really do have a way with words."

Shaking her head, Felicity held out the microphone for Thea. "Babbling Blonde with No Filter should have been my high school moniker."

"Beats Spoiled Brat Who Only Graduated Because of Daddy's Money."

Felicity rolled her eyes, picking her tablet up off of a table. "Kids suck."

"People suck," Thea corrected, clipping the microphone into place. "Including my brother. I heard some of what you told Laurel. She's right, he's being an ass. Apparently that's his thing these days."

"I'm not convinced it hasn't always been his thing."

Thea tilted her head in agreement, her eyebrows lifting slightly. "To be fair, he was raised to take over as a CEO for a pretty decent sized company. Being nice wasn't really high up on the list of qualities that our father thought he needed."

"What were you raised to be?"

Thea laughed, but the smile that spread across her face was sad. "I don't think I was really raised to be anything. I mean, I had to take etiquette classes, but, honestly, it wasn't until my dad really realized that Oliver wasn't following in his footsteps that he noticed me. And then it was all about his great big plan for me, the first woman to take over as CEO." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "He's going to be so disappointed in me when he finds out."

"You didn't tell them you left?"

"No, I… I don't really know how. I mean, I don't even know if it's a forever deal. I might go back. I just, I felt so stuck. I'm 19. I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life. And I really don't care for being told what I'm going to do."

Felicity smiled at her. "You'll be fine. Sometimes parents are wrong. Your mics are good to go, by the way, if you want to go watch Roy make a fool out of himself."

Thea's grin spread across her face, her eyes gleaming. "It's one of my favorite past times." She walked over to the side door that led to the stage, she turned around briefly, raising her eyebrow. "You coming?"

Felicity shook her head. "No, I need to track down your brother."

Thea grimaced. "Might try the bar."

Felicity laughed as Thea left the room and picked up the remaining microphone from the table. She flipped it around in her hand for a minute, trying to decide whether it was worth looking for Oliver then, or waiting until after the show.

"You're good with her."

Felicity turned around, finding Oliver leaning against the door. His arms were wrapped around his chest, and he had an unfamiliar smile pulling against his lips. He moved away from the door as he started walking into the room.

"You might have been the first person to tell her it's okay to not do what our parents want."

"I doubt that. I'm sure she got the message loud and clear when you didn't do what they wanted you to do."

Oliver shrugged. "I'm sure she got the 'here's how you screw up the good life that was handed to you' message, but never a 'you could still be successful anyway' message."

"And here I was thinking you were the poster boy of success."

"At selling records and making an ass out of myself maybe."

"Well, everyone has their talents."

Oliver laughed, shaking his head. "You really don't-"

Felicity rolled her eyes, interrupting him. "Hold back?" She raised her eyebrow, her head shaking in disbelief. "We've had this conversation already. What are you doing here, Oliver?"

"Tommy said something about needing a mic," Oliver started, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. If Felicity wasn't completely convinced Oliver Queen was incapable of feeling awkward, she would swear that he was. "Look, about earlier, Felicity—"

Felicity let out a deep breath, stopping him from continuing. "We don't have to talk about it," she said, holding out the last microphone for him. He reached for it, wrapping his hand around her wrist.

"Yes, we do." He took a deep breathing, shaking his head briefly before dropping her hand. "I shouldn't have said any of that this morning. I remember some of what happened last night… and you, you were kind. And I haven't done anything to deserve that from you. I shouldn't have jumped to the conclusions that I did."

Felicity watched as he lifted his shirt up slightly to place the microphone beneath it. "Tommy talk to you" she asked.

"He did."

"Well, I'll make sure to tell him you apologized."

"I'm not doing this for Tommy, Felicity."

Snorting, Felicity ran her hands through her hair. "You're not? I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Have you actually seen me do anything Tommy has suggested?" Oliver watched as Felicity pursed her lips, her head tilting in defeat. "This isn't coming from Tommy. I think that maybe you and I could be friends. And as you've pointed out, I don't have a lot of those."

"I can think of one."

"Well, I'm hoping to make it two."

Felicity looked at him. He had placed his hands in his pocket after finishing placing his microphone, and kept shifting his weight. Forward, left, back, right, over and over again. It didn't look natural on him, the way he was holding himself. She shook her head, maybe he meant it. "Okay."

"Okay, we're friends," Oliver asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"No. Okay, you apologized and I believe you." She glanced down at her tablet, switching all of the microphones off. "The show starts soon, you should go."

"Right." He looked over at her quizzically. "We don't go on for two hours."

"Like I said, soon."

Oliver nodded, smiling at her briefly as he laughed quietly. He shook his head before turning around and heading toward the door.

Letting out a sigh as the door shut, Felicity ran her hands through her hair. She laughed slightly as she leaned back against the wall. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had come up with multiple scenarios that she envisioned she would have to deal with after agreeing to help Tommy. She imagined Oliver just ignoring her and pretending that she didn't exist, Oliver attempting to do nothing but get down her pants, Oliver being exactly what the tabloids played him out to be. What she hadn't expected was what she had found Oliver to be. Everything she had imagined in varying degrees. She wasn't sure what was real with him. She wasn't sure he knew what was real to him.

The sound of a guitar being strummed along with the muffled sound of cheering pulled Felicity from her thoughts. She shook her head as she pushed off of the wall and made her way out of the room and toward the exit. She smiled at John as he opened up the door for her. "Shouldn't you be with Oliver?"

"He sort of disappeared after he went in to talk with you."

Felicity raised her eyebrow. "Want me to turn his mic on? We can play detective and see if we can find him."

John smiled at her, his eyes brightening. No. He'll be alright. Not the first time he's done this, it normally works out."

"Normally?"

Shrugging his shoulders, John tilted his head. "About 75% of the time. The odds go down if I go searching for him. He doesn't like feeling as if I am treating him like a child."

"Maybe he shouldn't act like a child then."

John snorted, his smile growing. "Care to tell him that?"

"Every chance I get."

"You should get going." He nodded his head toward the crowd. "The opening acts are pretty good."

"Thanks." She smiled at him again before making her way toward the back of the bar signaling to the bartender for a bottle of water. He returned the smile, quickly making his way down the bar to take order. She sat down on the barstool swirling it around until she was facing the stage. The band was moving into its second song. It was calmer than the first, the drums not as loud, the singer sang the words softer. She moved her head along with the beat, watching the crowd's reactions vary from disinterest to swaying along with the band.

She had always found opening acts to be interesting. They weren't typically the reason for people to come to the show, but they were enough entertainment to keep the crowd entertained and waiting for more.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Felicity glanced up at Tommy as he sat down next to her. She rolled her eyes, sending him a disbelieving look. "A penny? My thoughts are worth at least a dime. I've got student loans to pay off you know."

Tommy laughed. "Fair enough. I think I can spare a dime."

"I was just thinking about the band. They're good."

"It was a tough pick. This city has a lot of good local music."

Felicity untwisted the lid of her water, taking a drink before continuing the conversation. "All of the opening bands for the tour are local?"

"Yeah. They tried to run the first tour with bigger bands, but honestly, Oliver doesn't work well with other egos. Plus, it gives these guys a break. Opening for Green Arrow can give them the boost they need to make it just a little bit longer."

"Music biz is tough," Felicity noted. "Glad I chose the safe career field of filmmaking."

Tommy shook his head. "I'll think you'll be fine."

"Maybe. I did get a pretty sweet gig to film a behind the scenes documentary of a pretty popular band. So, who knows, maybe it's a sign I'll make it after all."

"It's definitely a sign you'll make it after all."

Felicity smiled at him, focusing her attention back on the band and enjoying the comfortable silence that fell between them as the listened. Halfway through the second opening band's set, Tommy stood up, stretching his arms behind his back.

"It's almost show time," he said. "You staying back here? I could probably get you up front. I know people."

Felicity rolled her eyes, laughing. "I think I get up close and personal with Oliver Queen enough." She flinched slightly at the verbiage she used. "You know what I mean."

"Sure I do," Tommy replied teasingly. "I did see him in your bed this morning."

"Shouldn't piss off the girl who is going to be sleeping across from you the next few months, Merlyn. It's dangerous territory you're stepping—hey, is that Laurel," Felicity asked, squinting at the person moving toward them.

"We can't find Oliver," Laurel exclaimed as soon as she was sure no one else could overhear. Her eyes were narrowed, her lips set in a small line. "We've looked everywhere, Tommy. We are supposed to go on in twenty minutes."

"That's alright, we can find him. Has anyone checked with Digg?"

"I ran into him when I first came out here," Felicity spoke up. "He said Oliver disappeared right after talking with me."

"That was almost two hours ago." Tommy's face paled slightly, his eyes showing off the worry he was trying to keep out of his voice.

"He's probably here someplace." Felicity smiled reassuringly at the two of them. "Did you have Roy check the bathrooms?"

Laurel shook her head. "I can text him though," She she said puling out her phone. "This band only has a couple more songs, Tommy. I don't know what you want us to do. Oliver's never actually missed a show before."

"Really," Felicity asked, not bothering to keep the surprise out of her voice. "I sort of assumed this was a common occurrence."

Tommy's jaw ticked slightly. "No. Never. If he doesn't show up soon… can Barry signal the band to get them to play a few more songs?"

"Maybe," Laurel replied, her eyes glancing up briefly. "Texting him next. Maybe we should call a hospital? The police?"

"Police first. I would think that if he ended up in the hospital one of us would be called."

Tommy pulled his phone out, quickly searching for the number to the local police department.

"I swear to God, if he's been arrested—" Tommy turned around to face Felicity, his voice trailing off as the volume of the crowd grew louder. His eyes narrowed as he watched Felicity's eyes widen. He turned back around to look at the stage, dropping his phone from his ear in the process.

The music had come to a halt as Oliver took the stage, his hand covering his nose as blood trailed down the side of his face. The other guy was slightly taller than him, Tommy noted as he watched Oliver's fist slide into the guy's face. Tommy groaned, his body moving toward the stage immediately.

"We need to get John down here," he yelled at Laurel and Felicity over his shoulder, already turning to make his way through the crowd. "Now!" He flinched at the sound of the crowd cheering and glanced up just in time to see Oliver stumble back on the stage. He heard John yelling somewhere to his right for people to get out of his way. He stopped in his tracks as two men in uniform beat him to the stage. His hands moved to rub his forehead as he heard the sound of handcuffs followed by the all too familiar warnings tumbling from the officer's mouth.

Oliver was laughing from the stage, his head rolling backward. "You're arresting me? You're seriously arresting me? Do you have any idea who I am?"

The cop raised his eyebrow. "Why don't you just stay quiet, son."

Snorting, Oliver shook his head, but thankfully didn't say anything else as the officer walked him off the stage and over to the side exit. John finished the walk toward him, shaking his head as he stopped next to him. "Well, this is inconvenient."

Tommy glared at him. "Yeah. You want to deal with this? I'll go… I'll go attempt to get him out so we don't miss anymore shows."

John nodded in agreement. "Refund?"

"Not if we can get away with not giving one. They did get a show after all."

"I suppose they did."

Pressing his fingers against the side of his head, he took a deep breath. "How much did he have to drink?"

"He was sober when he was with me," Felicity said from behind them. Both men turned around, finding the worried faces of Felicity and Laurel. "That was only two hours ago, Tommy. I don't… he didn't sound like he was planning on hitting the bar either."

"Why else would he—" Tommy's voice trailed off as Felicity shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Laurel, will you help John with cleaning this mess up?"

Laurel nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"Better grab your camera Felicity, you'll come with me."

The ride to the police station was quiet. Felicity kept glancing over at Tommy has he navigated the bus through the late city traffic. She bit down on the bottom of her lip, glancing over at him every couple of minutes. He pulled the bus up against the curb across the street from the station.

"You coming in," he asked glancing over at her.

"Um, no." Felicity pursed her lips as her head shook faintly. "Cops aren't awfully fond of cameras. Figure I might want to keep it out of their zone."

Tommy nodded understandingly. "Makes sense to me."

He made no move to exit the car when Felicity's phone chimed. She glanced down at it, swiping it unlocked to read the message from Laurel. She held back a groan as she looked up at Tommy.

"Laurel," she explained. "John found who he's assuming to be the girlfriend of the other guy in one of the dressing rooms."

Tommy didn't hold back the groan as his head fell forward. "Of course. That's just great."

He opened the door, standing outside of it for a second. "Well, hopefully I'll be back with him. There's no way we can cancel the next few shows. Tonight was bad enough."

"Don't worry about any of that now. Just… go worry about getting him out."

Watching as Tommy walked into the building, Felicity quickly texted Laurel back to let her know that they were there. She leaned her head against the window, wondering how long it took to get somebody out of jail. She imagined that if he was actually being charged they would be thrown off schedule a least a few days.

She pulled up a game on her phone, mindlessly playing it as she waited for any sign of Tommy or Oliver. She smiled when she saw Laurel's name flash across the screen again.

"Hey, how'd everything go," Felicity asked, leaning her head against the headrest.

"No refunds, place is clearing out. So, I suppose it's a win," Laurel replied, her voice dry.

"That bad?"

"Could be worse. Tommy have any luck with Oliver yet?"

"I don't know, I stayed out in the bus. I didn't really think me walking in with a camera was going to put them in a friendly mood."

"There's probably truth to that. He's been in there about an hour, right?"

"Yeah. I'm wondering if I should go in and see how things are going. There's only so many games a girl can play by herself before getting bored."

"We're on our way over. If Oliver gets out, we need to get on the road right away if we want to make it the next city."

"We can have a party in the parking lot," Felicity said sarcastically, smiling at Laurel's laughter.

"We won't even have to walk far to our own cell."

Felicity laughed, shaking her head. "All right, I'll see you guys soon." She grabbed her bag and opened up the door rubbing her hands against her bare arms as she started making her way inside. She stopped halfway across the parking lot, eyes widening as she heard Tommy and Oliver's voices. She pulled the camera out of her bag, turning it on and setting it up just in time to capture Oliver slamming the door to the station open. Her breath caught when she saw the look on Tommy's face. In the few weeks she had spent with Tommy, she had seen a variety of emotions from him, but she'd yet to see him seriously angry. His eyebrows were drawn together, his eyes darkened.

"I don't get why you're so mad about this, the charges were dropped." Oliver's voice was low, as he turned around to face Tommy. "We could probably still go have a concert."

Tommy opened his mouth, before closing it again. He shook his head, laughing softly. "You just don't get it do you, Oliver? You were arrested for getting into a fight with some girl's boyfriend. You probably don't even know this girl's name. You aren't even drunk. This is just you."

"Maybe it is. What's so wrong with this being me? You used to be the one who got arrested with me."

"I grew up! You aren't a kid anymore man. You have to go grow up."

"You have to stop drinking," Oliver replied, his voice mimicking Tommy's. "You have to stop getting arrested. You have to grow up. Anything else you want to demand out of me, mom?"

"I'm done. After this tour, you need to find a new manager." Tommy made his way around Oliver, walking toward Felicity.

"You aren't serious," Oliver shouted.

"Yeah, I am." Tommy turned back around. "I kept telling myself that if I just stuck around a little longer, that you would finally get it together. That maybe if you stopped drinking, I would get my best friend back. And I get it now. This is you. The drinking, the womanizing, the all-around not giving a fuck… that's you. But that's not my best friend, and I'm done waiting around for him to come back."