PART III

He left the shower and got ready before going down to the kitchen, where Felicity was waiting. Before getting into the room, he stood leaning against the jamb of the door, watching her. Oliver didn't know if she really was so shameless as it appeared or she was just overreacting. She had helped herself to breakfast! That girl was unbelievable. Were they so poor at her home that they couldn't give her food? Yesterday he had her at dinner and now at breakfast…it was starting to be overwhelming.

"Why didn't you eat breakfast at home?"

"I did."

Oliver looked at her, opening his eyes. "What are you doing now, then?"

Felicity smiled. "These cereals your mother buys are delicious... I love them!"

"She bought them for me, don't eat them."

"She's also been buying them for you for the last seven years?"

Oliver looked at her sternly and she bit her lower lip, smiling. It was so funny to make him itch... but no, it would be better not to insist more and leave him alone. They had many hours ahead and too many errands to start an argument.

Felicity reached into the cereal box and stole a few more. "You have a car, right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just checking how we will get to the city."

"Yes I have a car, but I'm not gonna use it."

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "And how do you want us to go? Flying? Or perhaps you can teleport us?"

"We're going in yours."

"I don't drive."

Oliver laughed. "You don't drive? At your age?"

"What has my age got to do with it?! No, I don't drive, you idiot! So we'll have to take your car to go there."

"We'll go on the bus."

"Do you have any idea of the amount of things we need to get? We need a car."

Oliver shrugged "Not mine...I'm not gonna ruin the upholstery with all your stuff."

"You're such a snob! It's not a Jaguar, you know."

"I really like my car, that's all."

"I guess the previous owners also liked it. What is it? Second, third hand?"

"Very funny. I assure you that there will be very few times you'll get into a car like that."

Felicity rose from the chair. "I'll do it today."

"No, you won't."

"Yes."

"I said no!"

Felicity was putting him on edge. She kept touching all the buttons and levers of the car, jumping, playing with the stereo...it was worse than travelling with a five year old girl.

Oliver was losing his patience.

"Could you stop? You're going to break something!"

"God, Queenie! I love your car!" She looked at the button that was between the two seats and pointed. "What is that?"

"Don't push...!"

He raised a hand to his forehead and rubbed it. Why did she ask anything if she ended up pressing it without waiting for an answer? Felicity had pressed the button and watched the car roof excitedly.

Oliver clenched his jaw. "You're gonna clog the car hood. Couldn't you leave it how it was?" He pointed to the button she had pressed. "From there it goes up and down."

"Don't you dare to turn it down!" She closed her eyes and leaned against the seat. "It's so good to feel the air on your face...I've always wanted to ride in a convertible!"

Oliver rolled his eyes and refocused on the road. The village was not far from the city, just 15 minutes with the car, but with Felicity next to him, it seemed twice as long.

He shook his head to hear her sing the song playing on the radio. Deep down, he had to recognise that her enthusiasm was contagious... He found himself almost smiling. She was infecting him with the desire to start singing too... He frowned and shook his head again, what nonsense! Sing with her full-throated...they'll both seem crazy.

He looked at her and had to admit that, as there was a side of Felicity that drove him crazy, there was another part of her that amused him, and which sometimes was a pleasure to see. Like that time, or that morning in the room.

He began to laugh, remembering how she was blushing.

Felicity hit him in the arm. "Don't laugh at me! I'm not that bad a singer."

"I'm not laughing about that."

"What then? Tell me and we both can laugh."

"I do not think you're gonna see the fun in it..."

"Well, I have a very good sense of humour."

"Okay so, if you want to know… It's about this morning."

Felicity frowned. "What happened this morning?"

Oliver laughed again. "You and your ridiculousness…" when she was expecting something more he kept talking, "…my underwear?"

Felicity's face turned angry and she looked at the road. "That wasn't funny!"

"I already warned you..."

"Don't laugh!"

"Well, you do have to recognise that it is very funny...it's even ridiculous. That can happen to you at 11 years... it's understandable... But at 25? Don't you see it's exaggerated?"

Felicity looked offended. "To me, those are embarrassing situations, it does not matter if I'm 11 years old or 30... If you like to show your body around, then you should get a job at a strip club, jerk! but leave me alone."

Oliver laughed with more enthusiasm, which caused her to be even more angry. He had no right to laugh like that and call her ridiculous. If she did not feel comfortable with people half naked beside her, it was her problem and nobody had to question it...much less Oliver, who barely knew anything about her.

"Pull over the car."

"What?"

"I said, pull over the car."

"Why?"

Felicity took a deep breath. "I want to get out."

Oliver tried to guess what had happened. Did his jokes bother her that much? Because they were just that, jokes… He never had the intention to make her feel bad or offend her.

They were already entering the city and he did not intend to stop now. He had promised to go with her to all her errands and that's what he intended to do.

"I told you to stop! Are you deaf?" she said, angry.

"We have not arrived. There are a few streets more."

"I don't care! I want to get out now. Either you stop, or I jump out the car. Your choice."

Oliver huffed and pulled the car onto the sidewalk so she could get out. He didn't know how, but she always got what she wanted... Well, he didn't care if she stayed alone at the entrance of the city... and by what he had seen the day before, she looked capable of jumping if he didn't stop.

"Get out if you want. I'd prefer to leave you here before you do something stupid that could ruin my car…" She left the car and slammed the door. "Careful!"

Felicity ignored him and started walking down the street. Oliver ran his hands over his face. He'll go back to the town and leave her there. It's what she deserved for...for...for being annoying and too proud. But instead of speeding up and getting away from her, he began to slowly follow her, staying at her side.

Why couldn't he leave?

He didn't have to worry about her. Felicity had decided to get out of the car…it was her decision.

"I wasn't laughing at you."

"I'm not asking."

"Come on, Felicity, stop with this nonsense and get in the car..."

"Go home, Queen. Didn't you say you didn't want to come? Then leave."

That's exactly what he should do, leave and let her manage all her errands by herself. If he didn't want to go with her in the first place, why was he now insisting?

But for some strange reason he didn't understand, he wasn't able to leave her there.

"I am sorry."

Felicity stopped and turned to him. "What did you say?"

Oliver stopped the car. "I'm apologising. I'm sorry I called you ridiculous and that I laughed at your attitude."

Felicity looked down.

She didn't expect an a apology... Nor was it what she wanted for her behavior. She was just angry and had left the car because she didn't want to be with him. She didn't expect any gesture from him to fix things...and, deep down, she had to admit that his gesture was kind of tender...

"You forgive me?" Felicity nodded slightly. "So... Could you get in the car now? Can we now continue our journey?"

Felicity looked at him, annoyed. All he wanted was to change her mind? She was so wrong when she thought she saw something positive in him... All that he wanted was to get away with it. He was giving her the reason as she was a crazy person, and that was something she hated.

"I don't want your apologies, you idiot."

Oliver didn't understand anything. What had he done now? He had apologised, he had apologised for his attitude. Isn't that correct? Women, especially Felicity, were very complicated for him...

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Felicity, who had begun to walk again, turned and looked at him, furious. "I don't need any idiot to kiss my ass!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"That you don't have to flatter me just to keep me happy."

"I'm not doing that! I was apologising!"

Felicity crossed her arms. "Yeah, but only because you wanted me to get into the car again."

Oliver nodded. "Among other things ... but also because it was what I felt I had to do." Felicity lowered her head and kept listening. "Or do you think I'm the kind of person who does something that I don't believe I should do? I seriously didn't want to make fun of you... It just seemed funny to me... But you felt offended, and I apologised for that... Look, I'm gonna propose you something to make things easier for both of us." Felicity became more interested in what he was about to say. "It is clear that we are not the best of friends, and that quite often we prefer to break the other's head before listening to each other... but I think we owe ourselves a truce. We can't be arguing all this week Felicity, we would go crazy."

"So what do you want? Be friends?"

Oliver shake his head. "Well, friends... I don't know, but we have to start with something, right?" Felicity nodded, dubious. "So... Deal?"

Felicity opened the car door and sat down. "Deal."

She didn't know what would happen with that kind of pact with Oliver... maybe she even should have listened. There were probably some tricks...but his words had sounded sincere. It was silly to trust him that way because she barely knew him... but there was something, maybe the way he had spoken, or how he look at her... He had something that reached to her, and she couldn't understand it... why did she felt so good with him? It was strange, but this nonsense to start being friends made her feel very comfortable, very in peace.

Oliver looked at the building in which Felicity had entered. She hadn't been inside five minutes when she came outside and walked to the car, where he was waiting, looking very angry.

"I'm surrounded by incompetence!"

"What happened?"

"We had already confirmed the wedding photographer, I just came to finish some things with him, and now it turns out that there is no photographer!"

"How that there is no photographer?"

Felicity blew her cheeks out in a huff. "He's gone on vacation!" Oliver didn't understand. "It seems that he won a prize and went."

"But... he can't do that! If you have previous commitments you have to call them to let them know that you won't be able to do it or you leave after doing your job!"

"Well, he did! And now we don't have a photographer!"

Oliver hesitated before speak. "I could help…"

"You? How?"

"I'm a photographer, I could do the wedding job."

Felicity raised an eyebrow and laughed. Hard. "The wedding photographer? You?"

Oliver was offended. "What's so funny? It's my job, I take pictures."

"Yeah, and I think it's great...but do you really want to take photos of Laurel's wedding?"

Oliver shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because your higher purpose right now is to ruin the wedding? How will you do it?" Oliver was silent. "Come on Queenie, we'd better finish our other errands before we start running late."

He put the car on without a word. He was thinking about Felicity's last words. Why hadn't he thought of Laurel all day? He had gone back for her, not to be shopping with her sister...but the truth was that he was doing exclusively the last thing. He was spending every moment of the day with Felicity...and strangely that idea no longer exasperated him as much as the day before, even more, the last hours in the city had been quite nice and Felicity had made him forget for a day who had brought him back... Was that good? He didn't know for sure...but it was better than to be sad because of that stupid wedding.

The first thing he did when he woke up was take one of the bags he had brought with him and get some of his photos. He had been up all night thinking about this situation and yet he didn't know what he wanted to do about Laurel, the wedding or the pictures...but he knew he wanted to show his work to Felicity. The day before he had had the feeling that she hadn't believed that he had a studio in the capital and really was a photographer. He didn't know why, but had the need to have Felicity see and appreciate his work. With a lot of folders under his arm he left home to go get her.

He hadn't advanced two metres when someone grabbed his arm.

"Did you think to escape me?"

Oliver smiled. "Actually I was looking for you!"

Felicity raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? For me? That's a first... Is it that the tables have turned, or what? Now you're chasing after me?"

Oliver showed her the folders. "I wanted you to see this."

"And that is…?"

"My photos."

Felicity closed her eyes. "Are you still going with that? You're not going to do the wedding photos, get used to the idea." She started walking, leaving him standing behind.

Oliver grabbed her arm and turned her to him. "It's not about that. I just want you to see them."

Felicity smiled. In just one day things had changed considerably. Now he cared about her opinion? She liked that...it was nice to feel that someone needed something from you, even if it was a simple opinion on some pictures. She bit her lower lip and nodded, indicating that he follow her. They entered a small cafe and sat.

"Why the sudden interest about me seeing them?"

"I don't know... Yesterday I got the feeling that you didn't take me seriously when I told you that I work doing this."

Felicity showed him an average smile. "You mean like when you found out that I was the vet?"

"But mine was understandable…! After so many years I came back thinking that everything was the same, and I found a completely different town... I think it was normal that I didn't take well to all those changes."

Felicity nodded. "Well, are you going to show me something or not?"

Oliver smiled and began to take pictures out of the folders. "Before you start to look at them, you should know that this is not my best work... these are personal pictures, of my travels and my things...they are not made in a studio and much less with the most powerful cameras. But those I have at home."

Oliver seemed excited as he talked about his work, it was like a small child who is explaining the operation of a new toy. Felicity smiled again, it was obvious that photography was important to him...it was part of his life. As much as for her the clinic and animals.

And he was good...very good. She had rarely seen pictures like that...they were pictures that transmitted, even when most of them were landscapes or buildings. They were simple images, but made at the right time and in which you could almost breathe the atmosphere in there.

"They're beautiful." She kept turning pictures. "My God! So many different places!" She looked up to face him. "You've really been to all those places?"

Oliver smiled. "Yes...since I left here until I set up the studio. I've spent my life travelling...I almost like travel as much as I love taking pictures."

Felicity's eyes widened as she recognized the scene of one of the photos. "New York! Have you been there?!"

Oliver nodded. "Five years ago, after traveling to Italy. I spent a few months there."

"I would love to go all those places... Where else have you been?"

"France, London, Mexico..." He smiled. "I've been nomadic during these years."

Felicity bit her lower lip. "I envy you..."

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "You? Envy me? He laughed, "this moment should have been immortalized. Felicity Smoak recognizing she envies someone!"

She raised her hand to hit him across the table.

"Don't make fun!" She looked back to the New York photograph. "It's true... You can't imagine how I would have liked to leave the village as you did, knowing all these places...I don't know..." She looked at him, sighing. "Here everything is so monotonous, so routine..."

"Don't think it's all so beautiful...it's hard to be alone."

"Well, it is not like I am in much more company than you are..."

"I don't mean a couple, you can find that anywhere...I mean family. Here you have Laurel, Sarah... even my mother."

"Yes, that's true..." She looked forward. "Tell me more about your trips!"

Oliver grinned and began to speak. He had never spoken to anyone about his travels or his life...it was true what he said, those had been lonely years. He only had some friends in town, but none of them even came close to be like the friends who had left at home. They had been chatting animatedly for almost an hour when he saw a guy approach the table and began to ruffle Felicity's hair.

"Smoaky! I'm mad at you, huh!... I arrived yesterday and you haven't come to see me... very bad of you."

"Tommy! Don't touch my hair! You know I hate it..." She combed her hair with her fingers and stared. "And if I didn't go to see you yesterday it was because I was busy. "

That "Tommy" guy turned and looked down. Oliver felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't know who he was and the guy looked at him as if trying to figure out if he was dangerous then turned to Felicity again.

"Yeah...occupied with this blondie?"

Oliver was about to say something. Who did that idiot think he was? but Felicity intervened before him.

"Do you mean Oliver?" She seemed nervous. "Oliver is...is...a friend...mine... Yes, my friend...that's..."

"Another "friend"?... Felicity, always the same, huh? You don't stop…"

Felicity decided to follow his game. "Yeah, you know me." She got up and grabbed his arm pulling him toward the door. "I'll see you in a bit and we can continue talking Tommy, right now I can't."

Oliver watched as they said goodbye. He didn't like that guy a bit... Felicity returned to the table and sat down.

"Who was that clown?"

"He's not a clown!"

Oliver rolled his eyes. "He is… Besides, I am now your new "friend"? Such an assho..."

Felicity broke him off. "Tommy is adorable! So please don't mess with him."

"Are you interested in him?"

Felicity looked as if he just said the dumbest thing in the world and burst out laughing. Oliver frowned, Felicity being interested in that Tommy guy wasn't that funny, they clearly had a good relationship. Well, he'd only seen that relationship for five minutes... but it was enough to know he didn't like that guy for her.

"Tommy and me?... Oh, God..."

"What other reason is there to make him believe that I'm your new conquest?"

"We were just joking."

"Yes, sure."

He turned his head and looked toward the street. He was in a bad mood...and what was worse was that he didn't understand why. He had no reason to get angry! What did he care about Felicity's relationship with Tommy? He was trying to convince himself that why he had such a bad mood was that he didn't liked Tommy, when he saw something on the street that make him froze.

He looked at Felicity seriously. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"That."

He pointed to the outside of the cafe through the windows. Felicity turned her head to see what he was talking about and sighed.

Tommy and Laurel were kissing in the street.

She should have told him that Tommy was Laurel's fiancé, but she couldn't...she didn't dare. She wasn't sure how he was going to take it, so she chose to remain silent, clearly she hadn't counted on that.

"You should have told me!"

He put all the photos back in the folder and, after paying the waiter, left the establishment. He felt bad, anguished... He knew Laurel was going to marry, he shouldn't have been surprised because of that image...but it wasn't the same imagining it as seeing it. He sat on a bench in a park and covered his face with his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. He was an idiot...he had returned to seek an illusion, something that however much he insisted, he wasn't going to recover.

Someone sat beside him and put an arm around his shoulders rubbing his back. He knew it was Felicity, partly because there was no one else at that time who could worry about him and partly because she had something that made him recognize her without even looking at her.

"You knew she was engaged... it was only a matter of time until you saw them together..."

Oliver continued with his face in his hands. "I know... I know that."

Felicity rubbed his back with more strength. "Come on, Queenie, cheer up..."

Oliver turned to her and locked his head in her chest, hugging her with all his strength. He needed containment, knowing that there was someone with him...and Felicity was the person who, in those moments, could give him that... She was almost the only one that with he would dare to do something like that. He was strong, never collapsed...and that feeling that came over him now… He felt he could only share it with her.

Minutes passed, Felicity couldn't say how many, but there had been enough when he finally let her go. She had been noticing how he calmed down, slowly. She would never have imagined such a reaction from Oliver, but since the moment he held her, she felt the need to make him feel good, to transmit through that simple gesture full support...support that two days ago she would have given to anybody but him.

Oliver rose from the bench and took a couple of steps away, rubbed his face and turned to look at her.

"I'll invite you to spend the day together."

Felicity smiled. "We are gonna spend the day together even if you don't invite me."

"I know... but I invite you as a friend. Not because you want to check that I will not mess with your sister... Let's just be two friends having fun together." Oliver extended a hand. "Do you accept?"

"I do," she said, taking his hand.

Felicity was swinging slowly on the swing while talking nonstop, and he listened quietly and with apparent attention. Things weren't like the first day, Felicity chattering trying to break the awkward silence or annoy him with something. Now she spoke because she knew that he listened with interest.

It was already dark and they were in the town park running out the last hours of the day...one day that had been fantastic. They hadn't done anything special; they just had spent the morning in the next village. After eating in the car, they returned to their village and now they were talking, walking and talking. They had much more in common than they had thought...almost had more similarities than differences now that they were given the opportunity to meet each other.

Oliver laughed. "Have you ever thought of looking at that?"

"What?"

"Your verbal incontinence... You don't shut up!" He looked at his watch. "Have you noticed all the hours you've been talking nonstop?"

"You also have spoken..."

Oliver laughed and sat on the swing next to hers. "Do you want to do a competition?"

"What type?"

Oliver started to swing. "Let's see which of the two of us jumps higher from the swing."

Felicity began to swing too and laughed. "I used to play this as a child with my sisters, and I always won."

"Well, today you're going to lose."

Felicity swung with strength. "I never lose, Queenie! On three, we jump!"

"One!"

"Two!"

And neither waited for the arrival of the three. They both jumped around the time Felicity finished pronouncing the word Two, sticking a blow against the ground and rolling over each other. Felicity was trapped beneath him.

"You cheated! I haven't said three."

"You didn't wait either."

"I'm not talking about me... I'm just saying you're a cheater, what I am... is something else..." She pulled her arm from under his body, where it was stuck. "Ouch! I hurt myself in the fall... you have really funny ideas, Queenie. We are too old to do these things... And I'm a little younger... I don't want to imagine how your injuries have been…"

Oliver put his hand over her mouth. "You can not do it, right?"

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Be quiet."

"Of course I can! However long you want..."

"Okay... let's try. Let's see how long you are able to be silent."

Felicity nodded and stared into his eyes, taking him up on the challenge. Soon, she was starting to get lost in his eyes, and then she noticed how Oliver slowly lowered the hand that he'd put over her mouth to her neck, starting to tinker with the earlobe.

She got nervous, her heart started beating very quickly... She knew what was going to happen, and she also knew how she was going to react when it happened… She closed her eyes and waited. It didn't take long to notice Oliver's lips on hers, kissing her… a kiss that, as she knew, she was going to respond with everything in her.