A/N So this wasn't originally the way I was going to go but I think it makes a little more sense at this point, and maybe I'll write that other chapter in the future, but for now here's what you get. This chapter was really hard for me to write just because I based Felicity's life so much off of my own so it hit pretty close to home, but I think it's important to the story so I write it anyway. I'm fairly happy with it though and I hope you are too!
Oliver's pancakes were actually better than hers, somehow, though she would never admit it, and once they were through talking about Laurel, breakfast was pretty enjoyable.
He stayed over there for the remainder of the day. They spent a lot of time sitting on the couch, a movie playing, though they seldom watched it. At lunch time he made the most amazing grilled cheese she had ever eaten. He was obviously a much better cook than she was, although she wasn't really a cook at all. She could rock a bowl of cereal like nobodies business, but a sandwich this good was way out of her league.
She insisted on putting away the dishes afterward since it was her kitchen after all, and he let her. She asked him if he had to work at all that day, since she hadn't realized before that just because she had a day off didn't mean he did.
"I called in sick." He said simply.
"You called in sick so you could spend the day with me?" She asked incredulously. No one had ever done that for her.
"Well yeah. I couldn't let you stay here all day by yourself. That would have been terrible for both of us. I would have had to work, and you would have been by yourself. So this was a win-win. I promise."
She smiled. It was nice to spend a day like this with him. Just a lazy day together. It wouldn't last of course. Tomorrow they would have to go back to work, and things would go back to normal, but today it was nice.
He went back home late that night, so late it almost seemed pointless even though he lived next door. Really she just wanted him to stay forever.
Once he had gone she immediately felt the difference. It was quiet, as it had been before, but it was a different kind of silence. It was an empty silence. And she hated it.
She slept better that night than she had in months, dreaming of Oliver. She arrived at work the next morning in such a good mood, even her coworkers noticed.
But that happiness quickly, if not immediately faded when she saw
her walk through the door. It was Natalie, the friend that Kyle had cheated on her with. And she was headed straight for Felicity. She really hoped she wasn't there to give an apology because Felicity wanted no part of that. In a way, breaking up with Kyle was the best thing she had ever done, even if the way it happened wasn't.
"Felicity." Natalie clearly hadn't forgotten, Felicity was certain of that. It was in the way she said her name. "I was hoping you could help me with something."
"You're asking for my help? Are you insane?" She couldn't help herself, she wanted to say a lot worse to her, but insane seemed like a good place to start.
"Look, I know I made a big mistake," Natalie said. "But I didn't really know you would just up and leave like you did. I didn't want you to do that. That wasn't fair. If anyone should have run away it was Kyle. And I am sorry. But... you're so much better off without him, even if you don't see it. And I really do need your help."
Felicity glared at her. "You do know I'm a technical specialist right? I don't do... people problems."
"No I know. It's my phone. It's all locked up, and my carrier said there was nothing they could do unless I wanted to pay to replace it, which I would really rather not."
"So you came all the way here, to me, for help with your phone?"
"Oh I don't live that far from here." Of course you don't, Felicity thought. It was just her luck to still be too close to her old life. She should have just moved back to Nevada like her sister.
"Okay fine." Felicity said. It was, after all, her job to help the customers, even if it was the last thing she wanted to do. "Leave it here with me and come back in like an hour and pick it up?"
She didn't want to stay and fix Natalie's phone. She wanted to bolt. She wanted to get in her car and drive until she hit the ocean. This new life that she had tried to build for herself suddenly didn't seem that great. But she couldn't do that. Not yet.
During her lunch break she faked a migraine and decided to just go home. Well, she didn't really have to fake anything because seeing Natalie had actually given her a headache, but she may have made it seem a little bit worse than it really was.
She didn't tell Oliver she had gone home. He would have wanted to leave work early and be with her, but she just wanted to be alone. Hen she got home she changed out of her work uniform and immediately cried herself to sleep.
She woke up hours later to banging on the door. It was most likely Oliver but she ignored it anyway. He probably saw her car in the parking garage, but she told herself there was no way for him to know if she was even home so it wasn't like he could say she was ignoring him. Except that she was.
It wasn't him that she was upset with, but no matter what he said to her, she wouldn't feel any better, so she would rather just sit alone.
She wrapped herself up in a blanket and put on some music, though it didn't make her feel any better. At the moment she didn't think anything would make her feel better.
When Natalie had returned to pick up her phone Felicity tried her hardest to get her to leave right away but she continued to talk about Kyle until she couldn't take it anymore.
"I really am sorry Felicity. I didn't realize what a big effect sleeping with Kyle would have on you." Natalie had said. "He told me your relationship was in horrible shape and that you wouldn't care. That you were practically broken up already."
"Please stop." Felicity said. She didn't want to hear any more.
"I just want to make things better. We broke up you know? Me and him. We didn't stay together long after you left. He broke up with me and started dating this other girl."
"Was that supposed to make me feel better? Because it really didn't. Can you please just go?" Natalie did, reluctantly. That was when Felicity decided she had to go home.
She slept for the rest of the day, not once getting up to eat. The thought of eating anything made her sick.
She woke up from nightmares multiple times that night, each time worse than the last. It was a horrible change from the night before. She tried to think of Oliver instead, but Kyle kept popping into her 7 in the morning she'd called in sick again, claiming her migraine had turned into the flu.
She checked her phone messages then too, finding that she had half a dozen messages from Oliver, who was worried about her, as she assumed he would be, but she made no point to answer them. She knew that every second she didn't answer the harder the conversation would be when she did, but she didn't care. She wasn't ready to talk to Oliver yet. So she went back to sleep.
She sat on her computer for the majority of that day, just messing around. She checked the news, the weather, and her email. She looked at some online stores but bought nothing. She was bored by noon but it was something to do, something to keep her mind busy. It didn't always help though. The bad memories still came back. She even considered looking for a new apartment that was farther away because though she liked her new place, if was going to be a problem if she's going to run into people she used to know. She found one that was pretty nice and she's as looking at the details when Oliver knocked on her door again.
She got up this time, wrapping the blanket tightly around her shoulders before answering the door.
Oliver was worried about Felicity. She was home, her car was in the garage, but she wasn't answering any of his calls or texts, and she didn't answer the door. Things had seemed so good with them when he left the other day, but something have happened after that. He just hoped it was something he could help with.
He wasn't going to give up though. Wednesday after work he knocked on her door again. This time she answered, though not for a few seconds or so.
He knew without a doubt that something was wrong as he saw her. Her hair was a mess and she wasn't wearing makeup. She looked like she hadn't slept or eaten in days.
"Are you sick?" He asked. "You should have told me, I would have stayed with you."
"No I didn't want you to." She said. "I wanted to be alone."
"So you're not sick?" He asked. He almost wanted to be mad. If she wasn't sick, then why wasn't she answering his calls? And why wasn't she going to work? She went to work yesterday didn't she? But he didn't yell, because there had to be another reason. Something was definitely wrong.
"Not exactly." She sat down on the couch, closing her laptop, which he could have sworn was showing apartment listings. Was she looking for a new place? She just moved here!
"What happened? Because Monday you were fine. Things were great. And then Tuesday comes and you won't answer any of my calls, or even the door. I was really worried about you Felicity! I thought you had gotten kidnapped or something!"
"I can handle myself Oliver. I can't believe you thought I was kidnapped because I didn't answer my door!"
"What else was I supposed to think? You want to tell me the real reason?" She glared at him. She didn't want to tell him, he could see it in her eyes. "Felicity, what happened?"
She stared at him for a minute before she spoke, and when she did, he felt like an asshole for being mad.
"My past happened okay? I was at work yesterday, in a noticeably good mood, when Natalie, the friend of mine who I caught with Kyle, walks up and asks me for help with her stupid phone. But she didn't want to talk about her phone. She wanted to talk about Kyle, and how lucky I was to have been cheated on like that, because I'm so much better off now." She was angry, and there was no reason for it. She should be happy, excited about her new relationship, and her new life, but her old life just wasn't letting her.
"Oh Felicity I'm sorry." He moved to touch her, comfort her in any way he could, but she wouldn't let him.
"She just kept saying she was sorry, like it was going to make me feel any better to know what she thinks. She said I'm better off without him, and she's right, I already knew that, but that doesn't mean I'm okay. I thought I could run away. Leave everything behind. And I was doing so well. But I don't know how I could have been so stupid. No matter how far away I try to be, I'm still going to be too close."
"No Felicity you can't think like that. There's nothing good about being cheated on Felicity, nothing. Don't let anyone tell you that. But you're a fighter Felicity, you can get through this. And I really wish you would let me help you. It's easier if you're not on your own."
"I know I just... I wanted some time to myself after that. I was a wreck. I didn't want you to see me like that."
"I don't care if you're a wreck." He said. "I just want to help you. Will you let me do that?"
She sighed. "Okay." She snuggled against him, resting her head on his shoulder and quickly falling asleep. He wrapped his arm around her pulling her closer. He just hoped that when she woke up she would feel better.
A/N Sorry for any depression I may have caused you but it was important to me that it's believable, and after reading the reviews (Thank you by the way!) I put myself in Felicity's shoes, and figured out how I would handle the situation, and went from there. Again, sorry for the depression it's just kind of how I am, but chapter 12 will be lighter, I promise! It's already started too!