A special Thanks to my reviewers and those who put this story on their alert list, your support means the world to me. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.
And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.
"This dress is way too short Sara." I complained again. I tugged at the seams, this dress barely reached my mid thigh. Sara let out an irritated groan beside me.
"No it's not." Sara scolded lightly. My constant complaining had been getting on her nerves; none of her reassurances had appeased me. She was glaring at me in annoyance, I knew she would forcibly drag me to the party if she had to, I might as well save my energy.
I stood in front of the full length mirror in my room, I was wearing a little black lace number that was way too short for my liking. My pasty white skin stood out in stark contrast to the deep black of the dress. I really needed to get some sun on my skin, I was ghostly pale!
The push up bra that Sara had forced me to buy made my boobs look fuller than it actually was. This dress hugged my body tightly, I looked like my mother minus the bright blonde hair. I turned around to look at my back, I gasped out loudly making Sara laugh a little. This dress made my ass look enormous. I looked like a tramp! I really wanted to get out of this dress, this was not me!
Sara had tricked me into buying this dress and the matching lingerie for it, half of my hard earned money in the past year was spent on these ridiculously small pieces of clothing. It had been ages since I had worn a dress, the last time had been on my mom's wedding day and it had not been a pleasant experience. I felt extremely uncomfortable in it; this was going to be one long evening.
She was busy looking for the perfect lip shade for me, my choices were rejected by her. According to her all my choices were dark and depressing, she was determined to give me a makeover. I was dreading the outcome of this little experimental makeover, she was turning me into a complete stranger! She wanted me to dye my hair but I had stood firmly against it, which was where I drew the line. There was no way in hell I was going blonde!
"Why did I agree to this again?" I couldn't help but whine. She was rummaging through her makeup collection, contemplating between the choices that were available to her.
"Because I broke up with my boyfriend and I needed a distraction." She replied off handedly. They had been dating for barely two weeks; Sara seemed to like him a lot but the sudden break up still puzzled me. It came out of nowhere, I just realized that this was becoming a pattern with her, she would like a guy and jump into a relationship with him only to break up with him a couple of weeks later.
Clearly she was battling some issues but I didn't want to force it out of her, she was never the one to suppress her feelings and this really worried me. We had grown really close in these last few months and she had always been forthcoming about her problems to me but she was hiding something, I could feel something brewing within her. A girl like Sara keeping secrets was a bad thing. I really hoped she would talk to me soon.
She had been mopping about for a week now. There had been a lot of tears and movie marathons. I didn't get an opportune time to drill her for answers until now.
"What happened I thought you really liked him?" I asked her cautiously as I turned to look at her, she was wearing a short electric blue dress that enhanced all her curves. She looked like a million bucks. Her perfect blonde hair was cascading over her shoulders.
"I really wanted to like him." She replied dejectedly, she had me more confused than before. She plopped down on my bed suddenly looking too tired to stand on her feet.
"I don't understand." I moved to sit next to her on the bed. She let out a long sigh.
"I thought he might be the one to help me move on from him." She told me, her voice filled with agony. I saw her visibly shivering.
"Him? Who Leo?" I asked her, I didn't realize she had liked her previous boyfriend so much. He was a tool, I was quite happy when she broke up with him.
"Someone else." She whispered, I reached out to hug her, I felt her shivering in my arms.
"Sara, who is this guy? How long have you liked him?" I asked her, Sara was never the one to shy away from her feelings but apparently this mystery guy had her bunched up in knots. Sara was in an unrequited love, it felt strange knowing that the bold and beautiful Sara was not loved back, that someone had chosen over her!
"A little over three years." She mumbled into my shoulder, I rubbed soothing circles on her back. Wow! Three years? I hadn't realized that she had been pinning for someone for so long.
"Does he know?" I asked her confused, I really didn't know how to comfort her. Should I tell her to move on, that she was way too young to be hung up on one guy? She is a kid and that she will outgrow these feeling that she has for the mystery guy? Or should I tell her to win him over?
"No." She let out a panicked yelp.
"Why not?" I was in shock, three years was a long time to not tell a guy how she felt about him. Where was the strong courageous Sara whom I saw every day? It made me more curious.
"Let's just say that blondes aren't his type." She told me wistfully.
"That's ridiculous." I protested, I really didn't believe in that concept.
"One day you will change your tune and I will be there to watch it happen." She told me, a roguish smile played on her lips. I was glad that she was still pulling my leg. I smiled along with her.
"We will be late." She moaned in complain as she walked towards the dresser to fix her makeup. Curiosity was killing me, who was this guy?
"Sara who is he? Do I know him?" I voiced out my thoughts.
She turned around and looked at me. There was a brief moment of hesitation before she spoke again.
"Felicity I am not ready to talk about him, maybe someday I will tell you all about him." She told me softly.
"Alright." I conceded, she would surely talk to me if needed. I just wanted her to know that I am there if she ever needed me.
"He would never know how you feel unless you tell him Sara." I told her, I didn't want her to mess up her life because she lived under the delusion of a relationship that never existed to begin with.
"It's complicated." She told me, exhaustion filled in her voice.
"Here, I just found you your color." She handed me a bright red lip shade. No way, it was way too bright.
"I don't think this is my color Sara." I protested.
"Trust me I know what I am doing." She retorted confidently, the stubborn glint in her eye told me that I was not going to win this battle.
"Fine, give it here I can do it myself." I grumbled irritably.
"That's like a good girl." She teased, making my mood sour further. I moved to stand in front of the mirror and carefully applied the lipstick.
"My dad is going to drive us both, I will go to tell him that we are ready." She told me, I nodded in understanding.
I picked up my purse and the mask that was lying on my bed. This was my first masquerade ball, I was nervous and excited at the same time, everyone in Starling city knew about the legendary masquerade ball that the Merlyn's threw on Halloween eve. Tommy had been very insistent about my attendance, he just wouldn't take no for an answer.
I made my way down to the living room, my mom had her camera out. She was furiously taking pictures of Sara who didn't mind posing for her. I groaned, why did she have to do this? It was just a damn masquerade ball! She noticed me walking in.
"Oh look at my baby." She literally cooed, I wanted to bury my head in a foot of sand. I saw Sara smirking at me behind my mother.
"Oh look at her Quentin, so beautiful." She was gloating, somebody stop her please!
"You look nice honey." Quentin complimented me but he earned a swat on his arm from my mother.
"Nice? Nice? She looks Gorgeous." She argued, I saw Quentin grimace visibly. My mom moved towards me camera in hand.
"Mom can we not do this please." I protested weakly.
"Just a couple I swear." She told me, Sara wiggled her eyebrows at me. I wanted to kill her.
My mother's enthusiasm caught up with the both of us and we ended up posing for a lot more than a couple of pictures.
"You know I am not entirely comfortable with the idea of my girls going to that stupid party." Quentin complained to my mother. My mother threw him an exasperated look, I knew she was the one who had convinced him to let us go. Right now I wished Quentin hadn't fallen for my mother's persuading skills.
I spent the entire car ride laughing at Sara's crazy antics. Her taste in music was terrible, she sang along loudly making me and Quentin laugh out loud. Quentin stopped in front of the Merlyn mansion, it was a freaking palace! It was definitely a sight to behold.
"I am so excited." Sara let out a shrill shriek beside me.
"Remember the curfew girls." Quentin reminded sternly, he was gripping the steering wheel tightly. I knew he was itching to take us back home but he was too much of a coward to face my mother after that. Sara paid him no heed as she looked ahead, her eyes were shining with anticipation.
"Don't worry Quentin, Tommy said he would drop us." I told Quentin. We both got out of the car, looked like everyone who mattered in Starling city were here.
"Sara remember the rules." Quentin reminded her.
"No drinking, no smoking and absolute no sex. I remember them dad." She mocked him, she had a mischievous smile on her face.
"Right." He replied tightly.
We walked in, this place was huge. It literally reeked of money, the décor was modern and sleek. The mayor and the AD walked right past us, I felt out of place here. I should have turned Tommy's invitation down. I heard a low wolf whistle behind me.
"What a sight." I heard a cocky voice, we found a grinning Tommy behind us. He had cleaned up well, he looked dashing in his three piece suit.
"That's really classy Merlyn." Sara snipped at him.
"Hey I was just admiring God's creation." He told us cheerfully.
"Are you drunk?" I asked him, in my defense he did look a little dazed.
"I am drunk with happiness now that my two favorite ladies are here." He told us, his cheesiness was vomit inducing.
"Can I hit him?" Sara asked me, I know she was ready to beat him to a pulp.
"Sure, but it is his house Sara and there are too many witnesses." I teased her.
"Gee thanks for having back smoaky." He feigned hurt, he was clutching his heart as it was in pain. God wasn't he dramatic?
"Don't make me rethink saving you Merlyn." I deadpanned.
"What can I get you two lovely ladies to drink?" He asked us.
"Some red wine would be great." I told him with a challenging look, what? He did ask us what we wanted. He was already regretting his choice of words.
"I would love a cold beer." Sara told him, she was trying to throw him off completely.
"Club soda it is." He took off, I knew Quentin had given him a specific set of instructions. I was now sure that explicit threats were relayed to Tommy.
"Adam Donner is here." Sara bounced in excitement beside me.
"Who is here?" I asked her, the name did sound very familiar.
"Adam Donner the public defender, the third sexiest man in the city." She replied with a giddy look on her face, oh now I remembered him there was a poster of his in Sara's room.
"Ah!" I muttered in recognition.
"I am going to ask him for a dance." She told me animatedly. People around us looked at us curiously, Sara was quite oblivious to the attention. Her focus was now trained on one man.
"Are you insane? You don't even know him." I shout whispered.
"I know his ass looks great in dress pants." She replied saucily.
"Sara." I scolded with a smile on my face, I did not want to draw attention to us.
"Loosen up Felicity I did not come all the way down here to watch him from afar." She retorted and glided away from me before I can hold her down next to me. I couldn't help but be impressed, Sara had managed to get him to dance with her. She winked at me playfully, I couldn't believe this was the same Sara who is harboring a secret crush on someone.
I saw Tommy walking towards me with ours drinks in hand. He followed my line of sight.
"Woah! When did that happen?" He asked me, he looked pretty amused.
"Like a minute ago Tommy." I responded.
"She is pretty quick." He had a proud smile on his face. I just noticed he had a split lip.
"What's wrong with your lip?" I asked him.
"Camille is a ferocious kisser, she…. .." He began his detailed description of his encounter with the head cheer leader of Starling high.
"Stop stop, it is gross, forget I asked anything." I cut him off before I was mentally scarred.
I heard someone calling Tommy's name behind us. His father waved at him to come over. Malcolm Merlyn was truly an intimidating man, even from across the hall I found him creepy. There was definitely something off about him.
"Will you be alright? I will be back in a second." He was reluctant to leave me alone, I knew no one here except for Sara and him and she was still dancing away in Adam Donner's arms. There was just this one more person whom I knew about but he was nowhere to be seen I couldn't help but look for him as soon as I got here.
Now it was his turn to ignore me, I didn't know what brought that about but it stung like hell. He avoided me at school, he stayed away when I was with Tommy and even if he stopped by big belly Thea did all the talking. The conversations that I did manage to strike up was always clipped and cut off by him. I was becoming increasingly frustrated, why was he suddenly acting like this? I had partially agreed to come to this ball because I knew he would be here.
I was acting irrationally, the twinge of disappointment caused by his absence was growing by the second.
"Go I will be fine, I will be by the bar." I reassured him, he silently raised his eyebrows in question.
"Drinking another club soda." I told him firmly, these shoes were killing me. I shuffled my feet uncomfortably, I needed to sit down and rest my feet. I didn't want to pull Sara away from her latest crush.
The Merlyn's had a beautiful garden, I was aware that it was the creation of some highly paid gardeners. They had stone benches in their garden, who does that? Apparently the filthy rich. I sat down and removed my shoes, it was a bit chilly out here but it was quiet and peaceful too. The cold grass felt good between my toes, it felt soothing to my aching feet.
Why was I here? Was I so desperate to see him? All the suppressed feelings of hurt was trying make its way out, I refused to cry a tear for him. I was done playing the cat and mouse game with him. How did I let him weasel his way into my heart?
"The ball is inside you know." I heard him before I saw him. I refused to look at him.
"Where I spend my time is none of your business." I snapped, I was furious, so furious that I could kill him with my bare hands. Why does this have to be so complicated?
"You look cold." He argued.
"Again none of your business." I shut him down firmly.
I felt something warm drape around my shoulders, he had placed his coat around me. This sparked my anger even more. I ripped off the offending piece of garment and threw it at him. I was momentarily blinded by rage and hurt.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" I yelled. I heard a surprised gasp, I looked around, I had startled a couple who were out for a stroll. I was filled with embarrassment. I turned to look at Oliver, he looked miserable. He had a split lip and a black eye, what had happened? Who did this to him?
"Come with me." He pulled me by my hand, my hand felt small and delicate in his large hand. We made our way into several hallways before we reached this room. Oliver locked the door behind him.
"Where are we?" I demanded, my anger had considerably ebbed away.
"My room." He replied softly.
"You have your own room in Merlyn mansion, why am I not surprised?" I couldn't keep the sarcasm away. He replied me with a wry smile.
"Why am I here Oliver?" I asked him.
"I preferred if you made a scene in private." He replied lazily. I couldn't help but scoff at his answer.
"I wasn't making a scene." I had to grit my teeth to keep myself from yelling at him.
"Tell that to the two poor souls." He retorted light heartedly. Was this some kind of sick joke? I seethed in silence.
"I am sorry, I just needed to talk to you where we can't be overheard." He told me, he seemed to be apologetic.
"What happened to you?" I asked him as I motioned to his face.
"In my defense she didn't tell me she was married." He told me airily.
"Stop doing that, I know you got into a fight with Tommy." I told him heatedly. His smile vanished from his face.
"How do you know that?" He asked me softly.
"I am not an idiot Oliver, it is apparent that you two got into a tussle but you came out of it worse than he did." I explained, the moment I saw Oliver I knew it was Tommy who had given him the shiner but what I didn't understand was why would Tommy do that to his best friend?
"You are way too smart for us." He mumbled under his breath.
"Why did you guys fight?" I asked him, I couldn't believe Tommy had gotten the better of Oliver, unless Oliver let him.
"We both wanted the same girl." He tried to brush it off.
"You are lying." I snapped bitterly.
"No I am not." He retorted swiftly.
"Why do you always want others to think the worst of you, is it so hard tell the truth?" I bawled in anger.
"It was about you alright." He yelled back, I was stunned into silence. His intensity made me shiver a little.
"What about me?" My voice was barely a whisper.
"He wanted me to stay far away from you; he thinks I am bad for you." He replied dejectedly.
"I am not a piece of property; I can decide what's good for me." I was beyond furious now, how dare they decide what was best for me.
"I agree with him." He told me, was I hearing this right? Did he just say that he agreed with Tommy.
"Both of you can go to hell." I told him, I was done with the both of them. I was a plaything to them wasn't I? I was on the verge of a meltdown; I wanted to get out here before that happened. I walked towards the door but Oliver blocked my way.
"Please move." I pleaded. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks.
"I thought he was right." He told me, his voice filled with uncertainty.
"How about you let me decide what's right for me." I gripped weakly. He moved closer to wipe away my tears. I felt tingles throughout my body.
I felt his palms engulf my face, he rubbed away the tears that had spilled earlier. I had stopped shaking yet he remained unmoved from his place. His face drifted lower, his eyes were clouded with an unknown intensity, it was much darker than its usual color. I could feel his breath on my face. I didn't even think of protesting as he lowered his lips onto mine.
There was desperation and longing in our kisses. I couldn't help but give him more when he nibbled on my lower lip. His tongue coaxed my mouth open. He let out a low hiss, I knew his split lip must sting a lot but he refused to let our lips move away. His hands had moved down to engulf me in a tight embrace. I was pressed against him, I felt delicious friction throughout my body. I may have been kissed before but never like this. I tried to match him, he continued with long and bold suck. The wet mingling of our tongues was reverberating around the room. A small whimper escaped me when our lips separated.
It took me a moment to catch my breath, the realization of what just happened dawned on me. I felt panic set in my body. What did I just do?
I hope you guys enjoyed….. Let me know what you think.
Reviews = Love