I know some of you are probably eager for Oliver to return, but please, be patient.
Leave a review after reading, please.
Special thanks to Lauriver4ever, Nightbat0204, Aryan229, NeoTyson, and Jerry for reviewing the previous chapter.
Laurel has hit rock bottom lately. It was bad enough that she started drinking, but it was even worse when she started driving her new car after drinking. She got pulled for DUI and her driver's licence has been suspended indefinitely. Quentin, Tommy, and Thea have each tried talking to her, but she refused to accept their company.
Laurel walks back to her house and lies down in her bed. Once again, she cries with her face buried on her pillow. Her life was a mess and she knew it was because she can't get her mind off Oliver. She didn't what else to do.
Her moment of despair was interrupted when she heard a knock on her window. It was Barry.
"Hey, can I come in?" he asked. His voice was muffled because of the window. "I would've come through the front door, but your dad's home."
Laurel wanted to shout at him and tell him to go away, but for some reason, she didn't. She gets off her bed and opens the window, letting Barry in.
"Thank you," said Barry.
"My dad will kill you if he found out you here, not to mention my boyfriend," said Laurel.
"Is he?" asked Barry.
Laurel was shocked by Barry's question.
"You haven't been treating Tommy like your boyfriend," said Barry.
"I'm just... you know what I'm going through," said Laurel.
"Thea told me everything," said Barry. "Drinking. DUI. Licence suspension. Laurel, this has to stop."
"It's one thing to tell the Black Canary to take a break. It's another that you think you can tell me what to do," said Laurel.
"As your friend, I have the right to be concerned," said Barry. "Laurel, I know you miss Oliver, but drinking and pushing your friends and family away are not gonna help you deal with this."
"And what do you suggest?" asked Laurel.
"You need to talk to someone," said Barry. "If not me, at least someone. Oliver would want you to."
"The dead don't want anything," said Laurel. Seeing the wide-eyed look on Barry's face, she says, "Thea's words, not mine."
"Laurel, when I was 11, my mom was murdered," said Barry. "When I moved in with Joe, I wanted to be alone. I didn't want to talk to anyone except my dad. I was so caught up on what happened to my mother, what happened to dad that I pushed everyone else away. But then I learned that pushing people away is not how you deal with losing someone. You open yourself to the people close to you."
Laurel glares at Barry for a few seconds before looking away and crossing her arms.
"Fine," said Barry, giving up. "You wanna be a drunken mess for the rest of your life, that's your choice. But at least think about what I said."
Barry leaves Laurel's house in super speed. Laurel can only sit on her bed and think about Barry's words.
She knows that he is right. She can't keep coping with her grief with alcoholic drinks and solitude. The only question is "Who will she turn to?" She can't turn to Barry considering how she behaved in front of him recently. She could talk to Tommy, but she was still hung up on guilt over kissing Oliver. She didn't want to talk to her dad because he never liked Oliver. There was only one person she could talk to now.
At the Queen mansion, someone knocks on the door. Thea runs to the door and opens it. She was surprised to see Laurel.
"Uh, hey, Laurel," greeted Thea.
"Look, Thea, I know our earlier conversation was a bit... well... it got out of hand," started Laurel. "But a friend just told me that I need to let people in. I decided to listen."
"And why start with me? What about Tommy? He's your boyfriend," asked Thea.
"Thea, there's something I need to show you and I need you to keep it between us," said Laurel.
"Suddenly, I'm scared," said Thea.
"Just tell your mom that we're going out to town," said Laurel.
"O-kay," said Thea, nervous and curious.
Laurel leads Thea to the abandoned Queen Consolidated factory.
"Why are we here?" asked Thea.
"It's about Oliver," answered Laurel.
Laurel punches in the code that opens the door to the basement. Laurel walks downstairs while Thea follows. Thea was shocked when she saw what was underneath. The basement was full of computers, medical equipment, gym equipment, arrows, and a lot more.
"Oliver wouldn't like it that I showed you all this, but... you deserve to know," said Laurel.
Thea's attention is captured by the display case showing a mannequin with a familiar-looking green hood.
"Ollie... he's... him?" asked a surprised Thea.
"Yes, he was," said Laurel. "Long story short, what happened to him on the island... it turned him into... him."
Thea couldn't comprehend how she was feeling right now. She didn't know if she was feeling too shocked to express her anger that he lied to her, or if she's too angry to feel shocked. Before she can think any further, she moves on to the display case next to Oliver's costume. It was Laurel's suit.
"And you're... her," guessed Thea.
"I've been training with Oliver since his little 'motorcycle incident'," said Laurel.
"But he wasn't riding. He was saving those hostages that Mr. Merlyn captured," realized Thea.
"He's a hero, Thea," said Laurel. "It's too bad he had to die for Silverstone City to finally realize that."
Thea turns around and looks at Laurel. She approaches and hugs her. Laurel hugged her back.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save him," said Laurel.
"It's okay," said Thea. "He died saving this city. It's good to know."
"To be honest, I expected you to be a little angry, considering Ollie and I lied to you for months," said Laurel.
"I'm no comic book geek, but I know that heroes keep their identities a secret to protect the ones they love," said Thea.
"Nice to know you understand," said Laurel.
"So, do you want to tell Tommy?" asked Thea. "He's Oliver's best friend. He deserves to know."
"He does, but... I'm not ready to tell him yet," said Laurel.
Thea tilts her head to the left as she observed Laurel closely. "Okay, what did you do?"
"Wh-what?" asked Laurel nervously.
"I know how a person looks when they did something bad," said Thea.
"Thea, I really don't want to talk about it," said Laurel.
"Just tell me," said Thea. "What happened? What other secret could convince you not to tell Tommy about Oliver's big secret? I promise to keep it between us."
"Before he died, I... I..." Laurel paused for a moment. "I kissed him."
Thea gasps and covers her open mouth with both her hands.
"You were right, Thea. I still love him," said Laurel. "But I can't tell Tommy. If I do, he's gonna think something was going on between me and Ollie. I don't want to jeopardize our relationship."
"But do you still want to be with Tommy?" asked Thea.
"Thea, Ollie's gone," said Laurel. "And I can't abandon Tommy."
"But you've been pushing him away since Ollie died," said Thea. "I'm surprised you haven't broken up with him yet."
"Look, Thea, I need time to figure out what I'm gonna do," said Laurel. "Until then, I just need you to keep this a secret. Promise?"
"Cross my heart," said Thea, doing the cross-my-heart gesture.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Silverstone City, Killer Frost has just left Kord Industries, but not after leaving behind more than couple dozen dead bodies, who were either pierced with icicles, had their necks snapped, or were turned into ice statues. Before Killer Frost can make it far, the Flash shows up.
"Hey, Flash," greeted Killer Frost with a smile.
"Hey, uh, Frost," greeted Flash, waving as well.
"It's Killer Frost," said Killer Frost, putting emphasis on the first word in her nickname.
"You know I can't let you walk out of here with... whatever it is you stole, right?" said Flash.
"And you know that I know you, right?" replied Killer Frost. "Think I didn't prepare for your arrival?"
Killer Frost immediately covers the area with cold smoke. Flash manages to clear the area by rotating his arms at super speed. However, Killer Frost wasn't where she was a few seconds ago. Suddenly, Flash felt something hit him in the back. He reaches back and pulls it out. It was a dart.
"I calculated the exact amount of sedative that can counter your hyper-metabolism," said Killer Frost. "Nighty night, Flash."
Flash closes his eyes as he falls to the ground.
Killer Frost started to walk away, but her attention was caught by fire around the corner. She takes a look and finds a man on fire by the dumpster. When the man turned around, Killer Frost gasped in shock, recognizing his face.
"Ronnie?"
The man on fire ignores her and flies away, using the fire emanating from his hands for boost.
Killer Frost just stood and watched. She didn't want to believe it, but the man definitely looked like Ronnie. He just didn't behave like him. Remembering the unconscious speedster around the corner, Killer Frost chooses to think about the burning man after she makes her escape.
Meanwhile, in the fields outside Star City, Tatsu was sitting by the campfire while shining her sword. Oliver was sitting across her, looking at the bow in his hand.
"You're not ready," guessed Tatsu.
"I'm just afraid people are gonna start putting the pieces together," said Oliver.
"Then you need to choose," said Tatsu. "Who should make his presence known first? Oliver Queen? Or a man in a green hood?"
Oliver didn't say a word. He just continued staring at the campfire.
"You'll know what to do when you get home," said Tatsu.
After a long silence, Oliver speaks.
"Tatsu, thank you," he said. "I owe you for the rest of my life."
"You don't owe me anything," said Tatsu.
"Yes, I do," said Oliver. "You did me, my friends, and my family a huge favor. I'm forever grateful."
Tatsu looks at Oliver and cracks a small smile. Oliver smiles in response.
Not my best chapter, but I thought I'd make things interesting with Thea being involved in Oliver's secret and finally introducing Firestorm.