A Little Too Much Togetherness-#4
"Well, this is awkward."
Felicity recognized Laurel's voice. She tried to sit up, but her head protested loudly. She groaned, easing back until she felt her shoulders come to rest against something solid.
"This is inconvenient," said Felicity. "Being handcuffed to your dad when I had a full bladder, that was awkward."
"When were you handcuffed to my dad?" Laurel asked.
"A few months ago. And it was all his fault, and we swore to never speak of it again, so don't tell him I said anything."
"How did you get free?"
"We had to wait for Oliver to rescue us," Felicity replied. "Apparently lock-picking is not a skill taught at the police academy."
"Well, yeah, because law enforcement has all these crazy ideas about things like search warrants and probable cause." Laurel shifted, pulling on Felicity's arm. "Sorry."
Felicity sighed. "If you apologize every time you move, then I'll feel like I have to apologize every time I move, and then that's all we'll talk about."
"Then what should we talk about?" asked Laurel. "I don't really know you, so I have no idea if we have anything in common besides Ollie. And clearly that subject is off the table since everyone's still ignoring the elephant in the room."
Felicity twisted her wrist this way and that. "The next time I see Oliver, I'm getting him to teach me how to unlock these things." She looked up at Laurel. "Wait . . . what elephant?"
"You."
"I'm the elephant?" Felicity mumbled, but Laurel continued, talking over her.
"You're the woman Oliver loves, not that he seems to be doing anything about it. Slade Wilson's men took me, but you were the real prize."
"That wasn't—"
"I heard everything," said Laurel. "When Ollie brought you to his house and left you there. Slade's thugs had already grabbed me, and they took me to his creepy little hideout where he watched all his camera feeds. I heard Ollie tell you Slade took the wrong woman."
Felicity tried to protest.
"AA taught me to talk things out," Laurel said. "I'm trying to express my emotions in healthy ways. Look, Ollie was my first love, and there will probably always be a little part of me that wishes he was my last one too. But we've both changed. We don't fit together anymore, I know that. I just figured that I'd find someone else before he did, and . . . honestly, it was a shock to discover that his someone wasn't Sara or even anyone I knew. I'm not jealous—I'm just surprised."
Felicity frowned. "Laurel, you know that wasn't real, right? It was all part of the plan to get me close to Slade."
"Right," Laurel scoffed. "It may have been part of the plan to make Slade think he had the wrong woman, but that doesn't mean it wasn't true."
"But it wasn't," said Felicity, choking out a laugh. "Him and me?"
"I heard him, Felicity. God knows Ollie's lied to me enough times that I know what it sounds like, and he wasn't lying."
Felicity covered her face with her hands, pulling Laurel's arm upward. "If ever there was a perfect time for Oliver to show up for a rescue, now would be it."
"I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable," Laurel said. "Believe me, I never thought I'd be convincing someone else that Ollie loved her."
"Okay, you have to stop talking now. Just stop." Felicity had her hands over her ears now, not caring at all how she was yanking Laurel's arm around. "No more 'Ollie,' no more throwing the 'L' word around. You know what? Let's just not talk. At all."
"Okay."
When Felicity dropped her hands from her ears, the handcuff encircling her wrist slipped down. She gaped at it.
"No freaking way."
"What happened to no talking?" Laurel asked.
Felicity held up her wrist. As Laurel watched, she drew her fingers together, making her hand as narrow as she could. Using her free hand, she slipped the cuff off her wrist. She stood up.
"I'm going to . . . I'm just gonna go," she said. "You'll be all right, right? At least we're not stuck together anymore. So I'll just go." She turned to leave, but there were footsteps clanging on the metal stairs.
"Felicity?" Oliver said. "Why are all the lights off?" He pulled the lever and suddenly the Foundry was awash in light.
Felicity didn't stop to let her eyes adjust to the brightness. Even though her head was throbbing, she rushed toward the stairs.
"Felicity?"
He was in her way. She brushed past him, his hand trailing down her arm. He stopped at her wrist, tightening his hold, and she stumbled backward. Oliver caught her, of course. He always did.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Just let her go, Ollie," Laurel called out.
Cheeks burning with embarrassment, Felicity ran up the stairs and out of the Foundry. Oliver stared after her as Laurel approached him.
"What was that about?" he asked her. "And what's that about?" He pointed to the half-open handcuffs dangling from her wrist.
"This? Not important right now," said Laurel, shaking the cuffs. "That?" She glanced up the stairs. "Just a little more truth than she's ready for."