Author's Note: Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, followed, and favorited the story! You guys are awesome! I had written the first two chapters out, but the next chapter should take a little longer to update. Just a few things before we go on, please remember that Laurel is hurting over Oliver and Sara so she's a little bossy and demanding. Remember she's only had 5 months to process and she's in a bit of a mess so she comes off as kind of abrasive. I hope I was able to capture her emotions accurately. Second, I hope everyone is in character! Please let me know if they aren't! And third, Oliver will be removing his head from his ass soon! (It will also be kinda slow burn, I still have to see how long this will be, but there will be pining) I hope you guys like it!

Thank you to: Arrowsandink, LadyMorganaPendragon, Shes-guilty-by-design, Bellapaige88, BlueJean452, Lexi, Anonymus13, Prisonbreak1232, Guest, Gary, Guest, shippersgonnaship, Avidreader, and kwimz!

Enjoy!

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!" A Midsummer Night's Dream By William Shakespeare

Chapter 2 Exposition

Laurel Lance walked back to her apartment suite with Tommy escorting her. He had rambled something about how dangerous the campus was at night, but really she knew he wanted her to explain what had happened in their Shakespeare class.

He had admitted when he slid into the seat beside her that he had not understood a word of the Old English. And then he proceeded to pout and bribe her with a double chocolate caramel muffin he had brought just to convince her to explain what the first three Acts of A Midsummer Nights Dream were about.

She hadn't gotten very far in her explanation before their Professor came in, so she knew that now the only reason Tommy was accompanying her home was to extract that summary from her so he wouldn't have to finish the play – if he even started it.

"Tommy, you didn't have to walk me home. I know you live all the way on the other side of campus." She said giving him a knowing look.

He shrugged, leaned against her apartment door, and casually said, "I was just making sure you got home okay."

She rolled her eyes and knocked her shoulder against his playfully. "Yeah, because you're Mr. Safety. I know the truth, Tommy." She teased sticking her key in the lock and missing the panicked look that crossed his face.

"The truth?" he asked loudly.

Laurel glanced at him caught off guard by the weird breathy quality his voice had taken on. What was wrong with him? He sounded weird. Almost like that night when they…No Laurel stop thinking about sleeping with Tommy.

It was a one-time thing.

Tommy was her friend and she only knew how that would end. She knew he wasn't Oliver, but she also knew that Tommy was just as much of a commitment-phobic. She needed Tommy in her life and she wouldn't ruin it because sex with him had been amazing. He seemed to light a fire in her at every touch, every kiss, every stroke. It wasn't an ideal situation, but she didn't regret her night with him. As much as she thought about that night she knew she couldn't go down that road. That would only lead to trouble.

"Yeah. The truth..." she paused and opened the door before moving aside to let him in.

Tommy stared in shock at the woman in front of him. Her acknowledgment of his feelings hit him hard right in the center of his chest. He felt the butterflies in his stomach – which were always present when she was around – take flight and move through his whole body. He felt his stomach churn and he wondered whether he was going to get sick on the ugly blue carpeting in the dormitory hallway.

He wasn't even sure how she had figured it out! He thought he had the whole situation under control. He thought he had successfully hid his feelings.

How had she even figured it out? Or had Felicity told her? He was going to kill Felicity for her lack of secret keeping. They had pinky promised and now…now Laurel knew! If a pinky promise couldn't even be kept what was the world coming to?

"The truth? Oh…well Laurel. I mean…I know we've known each other for awhile, but I really—"

"Tommy! Hey!" Felicity greeted walking into the living room from the kitchen her tablet in hand.

"Felicity, I thought you were at work." Laurel said.

She shook her head and settled on the couch a bowl of Ramen on the coffee table in front of her. "I got home about fifteen minutes ago. I hurried across campus because I am starving. I made about three packets if you guys want some." She said holding up the bowl and moving it closer to her face so she could slurp it down.

Laurel glanced over at Tommy and smiled. "You want any?"

Tommy opened his mouth and looked between them feeling torn. He wanted to talk to Laurel alone to explain his feelings for her – that she somehow had figured out – but it was easier pretending that everything was fine, which was how Laurel was acting. If he was going with the latter he could just sit on the couch next to Felicity and make fun of her for wearing those stupid Panda flats they had all tried to get her to throw away and act as normal as possible.

"Tommy?" Laurel asked raising an eyebrow at him.

He stuttered and shrugged finally. "I should probably go. Ollie…" he trailed off and shrugged helplessly again.

Laurel's eyes darkened and she looked away from him. "Okay. Well I'll see you later then." She replied in a clipped tone.

He sighed and took a step closer to her. "About before—"

"It's fine, Tommy. How about at lunch tomorrow I explain the play? It's not hard, I promise. It's all love and confusion, some witticisms too. Nothing you can't handle." She said smiling at him and the tension he felt before seemed to melt away when she smiled at him like that.

Except he still felt puzzled about this situation.

All he could concentrate on was how confused he was by what she was saying. It seemed like…like she didn't care that he had been pining after her for years. Was she just playing it cool? Or did she find him so unattractive she wanted to spare his feelings and pretend everything was fine?

What had she really meant when she said she knew the 'truth?'

He became completely lost when she continued talking about their class instead of his deep-seeded secret love for her.

"Laurel…" he began unsure where to even start.

"It's just a love story. Not some crazed war story. I know, you didn't read it so don't even pretend you did. I'll catch you all up." She added.

Felicity chuckled from her position on the couch, "There's no such thing as just a love story. There's always some bloodshed, at least with good ones, not the Rom-Com ones. Like, Romeo and Juliet, although in my defense I hated that play. Now, Macbeth! That's a good one."

Laurel shot her an incredulous look, "Macbeth is a good love story? Seriously, Felicity! It's not about love at all!"

"Yes, it is! It's about how a man loved a country so much he was willing to do anything for it. And Lady Macbeth loved—"

"So just to be clear when you said you knew 'the truth'…what exactly where you talking about?" Tommy asked feeling befuddled about everything going on in this moment. They were talking about Shakespeare plays that much he knew, but he still had no idea what she meant when she said she knew 'the truth.' He was obviously missing something, but he had no idea what.

"I was talking about A Midsummer Night's Dream. I was saying I knew the reason why you walked me home. You wanted to know about the play, not because you wanted to keep me safe or anything. I mean, it's a college campus, Tommy, not the Glades. I know that was just a cover to help you get out of doing your homework. I know you didn't read it, "She frowned at him and narrowed her eyes. "What were you talking about?"

He opened his mouth feeling relief wash through him, but also a little disappointed – read a lot – that they wouldn't have any opportunity to talk about the fact that he was in love with her.

How do you feel Laurel? Give me some clue. Anything to tell me what you feel about me.

He just wanted to talk about it and yet he couldn't bring himself to bring it up. Their one night together continued to follow him around. All he could think about was the softness of her skin against his, those big eyes staring up at him with such trust he felt his heart constrict. He dreamed about that night and yet he couldn't bring it up because of his fears.

Fear that she was still in love with Oliver.

Fear he wasn't good enough for her.

Fear she didn't love him like he loved her.

There were too many variables and he so wished that things were different.

He stared down at her and took a deep breath hovering between stepping up, and going back to normal.

"Just…hoping you'd give me a lot of details. I already know I'm not going to read it." He bit his lip hard trying to hold back the real words he wanted to say to the woman in front of him. Just like he'd done for years. "I'm sorry you caught me." He added and then glanced over at Felicity was watching them curiously.

"I'll see you later." He announced edging toward the door.

Laurel stared at him and then moved forward to walk him the two steps out the door. "Tomorrow. Lunch. You. Me. Shakespeare." She announced solemnly.

He laughed and nodded before saying 'goodnight.'

Laurel slid into the seat beside Felicity and leaned into the couch as they both tuned in to the show that was on the TV. She smiled and laughed when she saw that it was some stupid reality show.

"How was class?' Felicity asked munching on some noodles.

"Fine." she said picking the remote up and moving to change the channel.

"Hey…you know how you asked me earlier about Ollie?" Laurel asked suddenly turning to look at Felicity.

Felicity made a choking sound and Laurel smacked her hard on the back when she began to struggle to breath. Felicity coughed loudly several times before Laurel got up to get her water to clear her throat out. She finally settled down and looked at Laurel through watery eyes.

"Yeah, why?" she croaked.

Laurel bit her lip, "why did you ask me that?"

"Oh…well…this is kinda weird, but he's in my Macroeconomics class."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He asked me to be his…study buddy." She said with some disdain.

Laurel blinked as she took in her roommate's words. Felicity shifted uncomfortably on the couch and waited for Laurel to say something.

"What did you say?" Laurel asked.

Felicity grimaced and set her bowl of noodles down. "I told him I would have to talk to you. I don't even know why he wants to be my study buddy anyway."

Laurel sighed heavily and took her friend's hand. "I'm sorry, Felicity."

"For what?" she asked in surprise.

"Ollie…Ollie has a tendency to…use people to get to me. I mean, he uses people period, but when we…break up. Well, in this case when he hurts me too badly to come and talk to me like an adult, he always picks girls that I…He is always trying to get back together with me. I mean, it's weird. He cheats on me and then finds girls to make me jealous with. I don't really get it, honestly. I know he loves me and I love him, but we don't…work. Sometimes I think we're just stuck in this cycle because we're both so familiar with it." Laurel admitted quietly.

Felicity frowned, "so you're saying that Oliver only asked me to be study buddies to get to you?" she paused taking in what that meant. Laurel watched Felicity take those words in and something strange passed over her features, but Laurel couldn't understand what the blonde was thinking.

She gave her a gentle smile and squeezed her hand. She didn't want Felicity to be hurt by Ollie, just like she was. Felicity wore her heart on her sleeve and she knew Ollie would take advantage of that. She was vulnerable and she needed to be kept safe, unlike how she had protected Sara. But Laurel refused to think about Sara so…

"Ollie doesn't care about other people's feelings. He only cares about what he wants and what he wants is me back. I mean, he left, like three messages on my phone when he got here last week."

"What did he say?"

Laurel shrugged, "I didn't listen to them."

"Are you going to go back to him?" Felicity asked tentatively.

Laurel scowled at the thought. But she couldn't help but wonder the same thing. Was she going to get back together with him? It's what they did. They broke up then made up. It was a sick cycle that neither of them could break. Laurel always assumed they would just end up together, but… Was sleeping with Sara finally going too far? Were they actually done for good or was this another phase in the Merry-Go-Round they were currently riding together.

She really wanted to be finished with him, after everything that had happened she wanted to have nothing more to do with him. Maybe, maybe one day they could be friends, but all she could remember was walking into her apartment and Sara and him going at it without a care in the world. All she could think about were their apologetic faces, but she couldn't help wonder if Ollie was actually sorry.

Before the Sara thing, they were going to give it another try. He was the one who called her and then he slept with her sister… They weren't exactly together, but they kind of were. They hadn't had the talk, but they had agreed to try again. So they were semi-dating. Regardless, it was shitty because she thought she was in love with him, but now…now she wasn't so sure.

She was uncertain where she wanted to go from here.

Tommy, though was another factor for her hesitation.

"I don't know." Laurel said finally. She wasn't sure how she felt about Ollie anymore, especially after her one night with Tommy. All she knew was that she needed to warn Felicity about Ollie if they were going to be studying together. She wasn't jealous about them spending time together, she was just worried. She trusted Felicity's judgment she just wanted her to be cautious.

"You still love him."

Laurel glanced over at her friend and then away slowly unable to nod or shake her head. Sometimes she wondered if she just loved the idea of Ollie and not him as an actual person. Like, she loved how they used to be and now, she was just caught in a rut with him.

The apartment was quiet as Laurel tried to avoid looking at her. She really wasn't sure at this point.

"So…should I be study buddies with him?" Felicity asked finally.

"If you want, but remember that he's Oliver Queen and even though he wants you to think he's a good person, he makes some pretty shitty decisions and drags people down with him. It's not that he's a bad person per se, he just…takes everything for granted and utilizes his resources until there's nothing left. Then he moves on. Felicity, listen to me, I don't want you to get hurt." Laurel said darkly.

Felicity studied her friend before nodding slowly storing that tidbit of information in the back of her mind.

The next day Felicity was in the cafeteria eating breakfast when someone slid onto the bench across from her. She was taken aback by anyone joining her at this hour, especially since it was so early.

She knew Laurel was already in some debate class, Tommy rarely made it to breakfast, and her computer science friends usually ate at a café across campus since that's where all the professors hung out and they were always trying to suck up to get in on the latest technology project the professors were involved in. So anyone joining her was pretty atypical.

"Felicity."

She stared at Oliver Queen in surprise as he sat across from her. She looked around the cafeteria to see if anyone else noticed this strange phenomenon.

"Good morning." He greeted leaning across the table and trying to capture her attention.

She gulped down the mouthful of cheerios she had just shoved into her mouth and made an attempt to respond, but all that came out was some strange garbled noise and some half chewed cheerios.

She grimaced and tried to pretend that she didn't just spew food at him.

Oliver grinned in jollity at her and she cleared her throat to try again.

"What do you want?" She cringed at her wording and tried again, "I didn't mean it like 'what do you want.' I wasn't trying to be rude. I mean, it came off as rude. But I wasn't going for rudeness. I'm sorry, I haven't had my cup of coffee this morning."

He chuckled and looked over at the cup next to the orange juice she had grabbed.

"Isn't there coffee in there?"

She glanced over at the half full cup and winced because he was half right.

"I need a full cup to get this noggin going." She said tapping her forehead.

He nodded mock seriousness on his face. "So would this be a bad time to ask whether you talked to Laurel about being study buddies?"

She looked away from his hopeful face and concentrated on the rapidly growing soggy cheerios in her bowl.

"I did." she said finally.

"And…?"

"And…I think it went well. The talk, I mean. It was much better than the ones over the summer. Honestly, the only reason I didn't even recognize you before was because she referred to you in other terms…or Ollie. Not that I should recognize you. I mean, I don't watch Access Hollywood or read People or anything. I feel like they rot my brain. Sometimes though when Laurel leaves them laying around the apartment I do, but not usually. So…I would've told you no yesterday if I had known…but since I'm obviously off my A-Game I didn't…recognize you. I did talk to Laurel though and she said…that it would be…okay." Felicity rambled trying not to concentrate on the clear blue mirthful eyes that were trained on her.

"But, I should forewarn you I am going to ride you really hard." Felicity's eyes widened at what she said and she felt a furious blush come over her cheeks. "I mean, I'm going to ride you hard, like a teacher. No! Not like a teacher, that sounds really…I'm trying to say that I'm going to be on you constantly. Er…like keep your nose to the grindstone or whatever." She babbled feeling like she was falling further and further down a hole.

She watched Oliver study her with delighted eyes and she wished that something would swallow her, preferably some large animal, since that seemed more plausible than the floor opening up and making her disappear. She really did not want to have a chance to face what she had just said.

Ride hard, really?

"I just want you to study. I'm not going to waste my time if you don't…study. Hard. Like a lot," she stuttered desiring to face palm herself to shut up. "I'm not trying to come on to you!" she blurted out finally.

His grin was stretched across his face so wide she wondered if it would split in two, but when she said the last words it dimmed a bit and she felt a little wistful, like she wanted that smile back.

"I know." He replied calmly.

"Right. Just to be…clear. Just study buddies. I'll help you pass Macro." She said trying to maintain some semblance of dignity.

"And what do you get?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"What do you get from our deal?"

She frowned not fully understanding what he meant.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed impatiently and all traces of humor were gone from his face.

"Like what do you get? What's your angle?

"My angle?" she asked surprised.

He nodded vehemently and she leaned back against her chair taking in the young billionaire across from her.

She tilted her head and studied him.

His hair was disheveled, but in more of a sexy-bed-head type of way. The way that models looked in those glossy magazine ads where they seem as though they just rolled out of bed, but they instead spend hours getting the messy look just right. In her opinion though, he could do with a hair-cut, but she liked the dark blonde on him very much. The coloring brought out the blueness in his eyes, which were bright and sparkled like the seas in the Caribbean. Or at least what she thought the sea would look like from the pictures in the aforementioned magazines she'd seen. His jaw was clenched as if he were waiting for her to reveal some bad news, but she also saw the sharp angle of it and the bone structure was so inhumanly perfect she wondered how someone could be so attractive.

What she saw underneath all of the bravado though, was a man waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was asking her point blank what she was getting out of this, as if he knew everyone wanted something from him and she was just like everyone else. Even though she was literally just helping him in Macroeconomics. She figured with being as in high demand as he was he was probably bugged all day for just being Oliver Queen.

She saw loneliness too behind those blue eyes and she suddenly craved very badly to give the guy with too much riding on his shoulders a hug. Even if he was just a rich partying playboy he still had to probably deal with uptight parents and a company he would be forced to work at, but have no idea how to run.

She wondered vaguely what he really wanted out of life or had he just been told what he wanted since he was born.

"I don't want anything." She said finally pushing the rest of her cheerios away suddenly not feeling very hungry.

"Nothing?" he asked in surprise.

She shook her head and offered him a melancholic smile. "I'm doing this because I like Tommy and he's a good friend…and Laurel…well…" she gave a little shrug and then reached for her bag. She pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down her phone number. Handing it to him she saw a peculiar expression on his face, but she pushed it away assuming that he was thinking of Laurel.

"I'll see you around." She said softly before departing from the cafeteria.

She knew some how that giving Oliver her phone number was probably a bad idea, but then again she was only helping him out with one class. He seemed like he needed some help, and not just in the school department.

How could anything bad come from that?

It was finally Saturday and Laurel was putting on the silky black tank-top she had gotten at Forever 21 and a pair of dark wash jeans. She had done her make up to perfection and had picked out the jewelry she would wear with it. Now, the last thing she needed were some heels to go with the outfit.

She dug through her small closest and came up empty handed huffing at the fact she couldn't find the pointed pumps she wore to these types of frat parties.

"Felicity!" Laurel yelled from her room.

She heard a muffled 'what' and she sighed knowing that Nyssa would yell at them for yelling through the walls, which made no sense to Laurel, but whatever. She threw on a robe and then hurried out the door into Felicity's room where she was lounging on the bed reading some magazine about technology.

"Did you borrow my pointy black shoes?" Laurel asked glancing at her closest as if the shoes would jump out at her.

Felicity shook her head, "No. But maybe Nyssa—"

There was a knocking at the door and Laurel threw her a desperate look. "It's Tommy, can you please get that?"

Felicity smiled slightly and got off the bed to answer the door. Laurel quickly hurried back to her room and finished getting ready emerging from her room still frantically looking for her shoes.

"Sorry! Just give me a few more—Ollie!" Laurel said in surprise when her eyes finally made contact with Ollie instead of Tommy who she thought would be there. He was standing in their living room with a backpack over his shoulder and a notebook in his hand. She frowned wondering why he had a backpack.

"Laurel." Ollie greeted looking away from Felicity and over to her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked her tone becoming annoyed.

He opened his mouth, but she took a step forward and quickly cut him off. "Are you coming with us to Chi Psi tonight?"

He glanced over at Felicity who seemed to be edging her way back toward her room.

"Felicity? Could you see if Nyssa has my shoes? I want to talk to Ollie." Laurel said her tone she knew was a little too bossy, but she needed to talk to Ollie alone.

Felicity nodded only too happy to leave the two exes and went to Nyssa's room hurrying in without even knocking. When she was gone Laurel turned back to Ollie and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the annoyance even more evident in her voice.

He held up the notebook he was holding and waved it around. "Studying. With Felicity."

She felt her eyes narrow at him and she studied his face, which was a mask of indifference. She couldn't tell what he was thinking and that heightened her annoyance.

If this was some ploy to get back with her she wasn't really sure of his angle. Did he just want to see if she was going with Tommy? Or was he planning on trying to seduce Felicity in their apartment while she was out at this party? What was he thinking?

Whatever the reason was she felt the sudden need to explain to him what his boundaries with Felicity were. She didn't want her friend to be hurt, especially by Ollie. She didn't know much about Felicity's past, but after watching her be emotionally destroyed by Cooper last year she felt the need to protect her friend. Sometimes Laurel felt like she was Felicity's impromptu big sister.

"Did Tommy tell you we were going to Chi Psi?" she demanded trying to see through his mask.

Ollie nodded, "yep. He invited me, but I need to study."

Laurel felt her jaw literally drop at that.

Study? Ollie?

No fucking way was he here just to study. He had an angle, she just had to figure out what it was.

"Stay away from Felicity." Laurel snapped suddenly and she cringed inwardly at how much of a jealous ex-girlfriend she was sounding. She was playing right into his trap she could feel it.

Ollie raised an eyebrow at her and then glanced over her shoulder to where a door softly closed. Laurel whirled around to find Felicity staring at the both of them irritation clear in her eyes.

"Nyssa said and I quote, 'I wouldn't fucking touch those ugly ass shoes if I was dying of frostbite on top of a mountain' so…looks like you lost them or Melinda has them." Felicity said and then she walked back toward her room and slammed the door a little harder than necessary.

Oliver felt like he should've waited a little while before he came over to Felicity's. He had momentarily forgotten that she lived with Laurel, although how that was possible he had no idea.

After meeting Felicity six days earlier he had thought of little else, besides her. He had tried to get her off his mind with a few nameless brunettes he had met at some parties during the week, but nothing seemed to work. Not even drinking until he got sick or burying himself deep within a one night stand.

All he thought of since he met Felicity was Felicity. And he really didn't get it. He figured it was only because she had turned him down and didn't know whom he was, so he felt some type of way about it.

As each day ticked by though the urge to go see her was growing. And that was something he really didn't get. He'd met this girl and she'd been very straightforward about her distaste for him, and yet he couldn't understand this lure he had to her.

By Saturday he couldn't take much more of this strange feeling and he finally broke. He had tried to wait until their next Macro class together, but it was proving impossible. Every day he went without seeing her, the desire to see her was growing more and more present. He'd never felt this way about a girl before and it was strange.

So now here he was, standing in her living room while Laurel began some tiresome tirade about how shitty of a person he was.

Oliver took in the weird altercation that was going on in the apartment, wishing he had waited a few extra minutes so he could just be alone with Felicity and not be lectured by Laurel.

Although, he hadn't called or anything to see if Felicity was free so maybe this was his karma for not letting her know before hand that he was coming over. Now, he was stuck with Laurel and yes, he didn't particularly want to study, but he also didn't really want to go to some Frat party with Tommy and her either.

He just figured that Felicity was probably not doing anything on a Saturday anyway and if Laurel was out of the apartment maybe he could try and get to know her a little more without school and his ex getting in the way.

And maybe if he got to know her and see that she was just like every other girl he knew, he wouldn't care so much about her and thus he could continue drinking and fucking his way through Connecticut.

Simple, easy, plan. But Laurel was fucking ruining it for him with this whole lecturing business, so while she talked he spaced out, his brain going to the one topic that had been on his mind…Felicity.

Since they had decided to be study buddies they hadn't really talked after that, which was something else that annoyed him. He was used to girls chasing him, not him chasing girls.

He had texted her once to tell her he saved her number and to save his, but that was it, which again was weird since usually girls wanted to text as much as possible. Although, she had told him that there were two people in their group – which he wasn't happy about since he wanted to keep her to himself – and they met on Monday nights, so that was something.

But that was it.

That was all the interaction with Felicity that he got. And it wasn't acceptable. He wanted more and he really didn't want to think about the why behind it.

Usually he would just let the whole thing go and try to find some other girl to cure his ever present boredom, but what was so weird about all of this was that he didn't want another girl. He wanted to talk to Felicity, get to know her, and spend time with her.

He figured once he solved the Felicity Mystery then he'd move on. So showing up at her apartment tonight had been his first step in finding out more about the petite blonde.

And also curing the strange feeling inside him.

"Laurel, she's my study buddy. I don't have some ulterior motive. You're being fucking paranoid." He snipped annoyed that she caused Felicity to go away, but in all actuality he should probably not be too snippy with her, since he was still in the red-zone.

"I'm looking out for my friend, Ollie. She's not some prize to win!"

"I know that!"

"She's been hurt in the past and I won't let you hurt her to get to me."

Oliver frowned and glanced over at the door he knew now to be Felicity's.

"Who hurt her?" he asked cautiously his mind already going to Tommy, because really he didn't know who else it could be. He didn't know her well enough to know whom she hung out with, except for Tommy. Maybe Tommy didn't like her as much as he first thought. Or maybe Tommy had friend-zoned her or something, but then again they seemed pretty comfortable with each other at the café.

Laurel waved that issue away impatiently, "it doesn't matter. What does matter is that she was hurt and she loved him a lot, but he lied and cheated on her. I know how you are Ollie, and I don't want you to pretend to be friends with her just to use her."

"I'm not going to use her! We're just studying for Macro. She's going to help me, like she helped Tommy." Oliver exclaimed his mind already storing Laurel's information in some part of his brain that was slowly becoming Facts About Felicity. He felt confused about the cheating part though, since in his experience girls who were cheated on rarely became friends with their exes. Maybe Felicity was forgiving to Tommy? Or maybe it wasn't even Tommy, but someone else entirely…and Tommy was helping her through it?

Oliver was surprised at how much he really wanted to know about what had happened and what Laurel was eluding to. He was also surprised at the anger that churned in his gut at someone hurting Felicity.

Laurel rolled her eyes impatiently, "and that's the problem! She has such a big heart and she's so loyal to people that even when she's being hurt by someone she…she ignores it in favor of their needs. It happened with Tommy and I'm sure it will happen with you."

Oliver scowled his desire to know what was happening between Tommy and Felicity now at an all time high. He was also having trouble ignoring the odd monstrous feeling in his chest at the mention of them together, or really at the thought of Tommy doing something to Felicity. The feeling he had, had when he saw them together at the café was raging within him again in full force. "What happened with Tommy?"

"She cared about him a lot! And then…well it doesn't matter. All I'm saying is don't lead her on. I know how you work Ollie and Felicity is different. She's not going to put up with your bullshit."

"Why are you telling me this? You sound like an overprotective big sister." He said impatiently trying not to let out the anger he felt at the idea of Tommy and Felicity onto Laurel.

Laurel snorted and shook her head, "and we know how you feel about sisters, don't we."

"I apologized about that, like a hundred times, Laurel! I'm sorry, okay! It was a seriously dick move on my part, but I can't change the past. I do want us to try and move past this. Maybe…friends." He said quickly the anger he felt about Felicity and Tommy rapidly turning to guilt at what he had done with Sara.

She huffed, "friends, right."

He opened his mouth to reply, but there was a loud knock on the door interrupting them. Laurel reached forward to reveal Tommy behind the door and Oliver watched his best friend look between them with a furrowed brow.

"Lover's quarrel?" he tried to tease, but Oliver noticed that the smile planted on his face didn't reach his eyes.

Laurel rolled her eyes and moved back into the apartment.

"Oliver wishes." She snapped looking under the couch for what he assumed were her shoes.

"What?" he asked befuddled.

He didn't understand Laurel. He had told her at least twice that he was here to study with Felicity. Not her. Felicity.

"He's here to study with Felicity." She added from the floor.

Apparently she did hear him.

She was just doing that weird female passive aggressive bullshit that always confused him.

Tommy glanced over at him with raised eyebrows. "So we're on the merry-go-round again?" he muttered quietly so Laurel wouldn't here.

Oliver shook his head feeling irritated. "No. I really am here to study."

Both Laurel and Tommy looked over at him with raised eyebrows of disbelief and then Tommy laughed loudly and clapped Oliver on the shoulder.

"Man, if you're trying to get laid go to a club, but don't use Felicity. She's a good person and she definitely will have to use her Loud Voice to tell you to go fuck yourself. Trust me when I say look elsewhere." Tommy said quietly.

Oliver heard Laurel huff from her position on the floor and he wondered if she'd heard him. He looked between the two people he considered the closest to him for most of his life and feeling undeniably hurt about what they were saying.

Did they really only see him as someone who used people to get what he wanted? Did he really come off as that big of an asshole?

Sure, he had fucked up more times than he was willing to think about, but these two people had stood by him throughout his life…until now. Now, he felt like…like they were giving up on him. Like he was a lost cause.

And why was Tommy warning him away from Felicity? Did he have feels for her? And what was up with Laurel going all protective big sister?

They were being really fucking weird. And he really didn't like the fact that they both looking at him like he was the villain.

"I'm not using anyone." He said loudly wanting them both to hear that and hopefully Felicity too if she was by some miracle listening to this asinine conversation.

"Sure, buddy, whatever." Tommy said waving him off and Laurel let out another dark laugh at his announcement as well.

He scowled at both of them annoyed that they thought so low of him, but a small voice inside his head spoke up.

Who could blame them? I have done a lot of fucked up things.

His scowl deepened and he bypassed both of them who were now kneeling on the floor searching for Laurel's shoes and walked over toward Felicity's door. Instead of knocking he burst into the room and listened to her shriek in surprise.

"Don't you knock?" Felicity snapped glaring at him from her perch on her bed.

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her tone, "I didn't think it was necessary."

She scowled and slid off her bed to stand in front of him. "Not necessary? I could've been changing! Or-Or I don't know maybe…getting ready to go shower! Or doing something that I wouldn't want anyone to see! You don't just get to storm in here!"

Oliver felt his lips slip into a genuine smile at how annoyed she seemed. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason seeing her in such a huff was just one more endearing thing that was added to the list of things he liked about Felicity.

It also seemed to help that just being around her seemed to make all of the annoyance he felt at Tommy and Laurel disappear. She was like sunshine warming him from being somewhere cold and dark all day.

He shook his head at his own inner sappiness and tried to ignore the pleasantly warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that came from being around her.

"I didn't storm." He stated.

"Well you should've knocked. I could've been doing a lot of inappropriate things in here," she paused momentarily and winced. "And by inappropriate I do not mean touching myself or anything. Not that I am sexually repressed, but…I'll just stop there."

Oliver's eyes widened as images of Felicity infiltrated his mind, ones where she was touching herself on the bed in the corner moaning loudly and panting heavily. His eyes darted over there and he could already picture her spread out upon the teal comforter fingers arched and teasing in just the right way to make her come, while hopefully thinking of him. He felt his pants tighten and he slowly let out a breath trying to concentrate on something that was very un-sexual like…

"Laurel, did you find your shoes?" Felicity asked looking over his shoulder.

Oliver felt suddenly very un-aroused at the mention of his ex and he sent a quick prayer above for the interruption.

Wait! Since when do I think of Laurel as un-sexual?

"Yeah." Laurel said shortly.

He turned around feeling more in control of his body and gave her a stiff smile.

"Have fun." He said a little more forcefully than he normally would, except Laurel's words still haunted him. He knew he deserved his fair share of lectures of how to treat her and so on and so forth, but he was genuinely just trying to study with Felicity. And he was annoyed that he was getting shit for it.

He didn't have an agenda and he wished people would see that.

At least he didn't have an agenda anymore, unless you counted getting to know someone as an agenda, which he didn't.

Laurel glanced over at Felicity and then sighed heavily. "Be carful." She said and Oliver watched as she gave Felicity a meaningful look.

Felicity nodded and turned back to Oliver once Laurel had left.

"We should get out of my room."

"But it's so homey." He blurted out. He winced inwardly at himself, wishing that he hadn't said anything. But it was the truth. Being in her room wasn't like being in other girl's rooms.

Felicity's room was pleasant and warm, just like her. It was like getting a hug from a very good friend.

The walls were painted a light shade of blue, and movie posters hung on the walls. There was an overloaded bookshelf and a vey untidy desk with a computer on it. He noticed there were no family pictures. It was simply and yet it was so Felicity. He shook his head at that thought wondering when he started paying attention to things like girl's rooms.

She blinked, narrowed her eyes at him before carefully moving toward the living room. There was a small table near the window and she walked over to sit there.

"So why are you really here?" she asked gesturing to the seat next to her.

He set his notebook down and dropped his bag beside him.

"To study."

"For…?"

"Macro. You know the class we have together."

She paused and looked down at the notebook on the table.

"Oliver, what's this really about? Our study group doesn't meet until Monday night. I told you this when we texted." She said patiently.

"It's just…I couldn't wait until Monday," He paused and looked out the window. "Listen, I've…I started reading the chapter and I don't get it. At all. Hell, I'll be honest I don't get most of my classes. I was hoping that maybe if you weren't doing anything tonight that you could help me. I know it's a lot to ask and you probably—"

She held a hand up to stop him and looked him dead in the eye. He saw the usually crystal blue turn a darker color, like cobalt and he wondered whether he said something wrong.

"Oliver, I need you to be honest with me. If this studying thing is going to work I need honesty," she paused glancing momentarily away and then back at him with a look of determination. "Do you have an agenda?"

He blinked caught off guard by her question. "An agenda?"

"Look, after listening to your…conversation with Laurel – which I didn't do on purpose you guys just speak really loud – I don't want to be just another victim in the bloodshed that is your love life. I'm not a prize or a thing or an object to use. I am a person and I will be treated like a person. So I need you to be honest with me. Are you going to use me to get back together with Laurel or are you just here for help?"

He stared at her in astonishment. No one had ever spoken to him like this and he found it surprisingly refreshing. He already knew he couldn't lie to her so he wasn't even going to try. When he finally found his voice he shook his head while speaking. "No agenda. I genuinely need help." He said fully telling her the truth.

He did truly need help, and she wasn't just another casualty in the war between him and Laurel. Sure, he still wanted to sleep with her, but right now all he needed was her help. And maybe to understand why he felt so…different around her.

"Good. I'll help you, but I won't deal with lies." She said softly giving him a sincere smile.

He nodded slowly, his heart flipping at the sincerity honest written all over her face. He had never met someone so open and trustworthy before. It was different and enjoyable and something he really wanted to maintain in his life. He dealt with too much bullshit already, all the phony, plastic-like lifestyle of the rich and famous. Being around Felicity made him feel, like a normal person. And he really liked that. But that didn't explain why he felt so…weird around her. Like his heartbeat sped up, he had a weird twittering feeling in his stomach, like butterflies, and he felt like…like he was breathless. It was weird and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Or why it was happening. He had just met the girl, and they hadn't even kissed yet!

"So you heard everything?" he asked uncomfortably.

She nodded and gave him the same gentle smile. "It's nothing I don't know. Laurel…she's gotten pretty overprotective since…the summer. She likes to play big sister and I let her…mostly. Recently it's becoming a bit too much…" She said trailing off.

"Why don't you tell her that?"

Felicity shrugged, "because I think it helps her. She's always been a little bossy and protective, but lately it's just escalated. I don't mind for the most part, but I can't stand when she speaks for me, which is what she did earlier." She paused and fidgeted in her chair, "Listen, I'm not taking into consideration anything Laurel or Tommy have said, I'm putting my faith in you. If you let me down then I'll know the truth, but I'm my own person and I'll figure out my own life. It's my life. My choice."

Oliver found himself smiling at her declaration and he felt the sudden weight that had been resting on his chest since stepping into the apartment vanish. Felicity was giving him a chance and that was more than he could ask for. He knew he had screwed up in the past, but Felicity was giving him an opportunity to show who he truly was, which was more than he could say for Tommy and Laurel.

He felt elated at not feeling like the villain for something he had foolishly done, he was being given a chance to show Felicity that he wasn't a bad guy, he just made bad choices. And he was going to change that.

He felt a resolve solidifying within him that he wouldn't let her down because of his past mistakes. Felicity was putting faith in him and that was much more than he could ask for. And he would show her who the real Oliver Queen was, not the one he pretended to be, or the one he had accidentally become. He wanted to show Felicity the man he could be and he realized with a scary amount of clarity that this woman was just as special as his friends claimed she was.

(A/n: So what did you think? Please review!)