Chapter 1 - May
An: I do not own Arrow. The response to the prologue has been amazing. Now I'm nervous because I don't want to disappoint anyone! Additionally, is not letting me reply to any reviews. So for anyone that has reviewed any of my stories since Friday, thank you. I will respond even if I have to PM you.
May-1
It was May 1st; his father sent him to the barber for a haircut, gave him $5,000 cash and reminded him he had to find a job before he was dropped off on the strip in front of the Bellagio fountains. Oliver distinctly remembered peeing in this fountain with Tommy during one of his many Spring breaks. In fact that might be the only thing he does in fact remember from that particular break but he does know he enjoyed himself immensely.
Contrary to what his parents thought of him, he was not a naive boy who was blind to the fact that he lived a privileged lifestyle. He just didn't understand what was so wrong about him enjoying it. These days most of his partying was just to annoy his parents. The lifestyle was beginning to get a bit redundant. Even his best friend Tommy seemed to be slowing down as well, though that probably had to do with the mystery girl that Tommy was interested in.
Oliver started walking, dragging his two large suitcases, a supersized carryon resting on both and a back-pack full of clothes with him. He can feel the wad of cash in his pocket; he spends more than that on his bar bill in one night. How was he supposed to live on $5,000 until he found a job? He would just have to find a way to survive. He was not going to let his father win.
His first night in Vegas he checked into a normal room at one of the lower price hotels on the strip. He knew he couldn't afford the usual suite at the Grand. He actually did a little bit of research on hotel prices before he started the challenge but despite his research, he would have to find an apartment soon or the room would eat through his funds. He carefully examined the real estate section of the local newspaper looking for a furnished apartment to rent. He viewed a few but realised they wouldn't accept him until he had a steady source of income to pay the rent. He then prioritised finding a job. He started approaching the casinos for jobs but apparently when you had a criminal record and no degree, it significantly decreased your chances of employment, even the Big Belly Burger didn't want to hire him to flip burgers. He needed to revise his plan but he had to get out of that hotel room as it was significantly eating through his funds. He wondered how was he supposed to get an apartment to rent when he had no job?
He found a solution by dropping the standard of the apartment he was looking for. He ended up in a shady old unfurnished apartment on the top floor of a building just outside the strip whose owner didn't care if he had a job once he paid the first three month's rent up front. He checked out of the hotel, bought a sleeping bag and slept on the floor. It was like those camping trips during the summer that his parents forced him to go on so he would be out of their way.
The apartment consisted of one room, barely bigger than his walk in closet at the mansion, and a small shower/bathroom. He thought the walls were made of paper. He could hear everything his neighbours on both sides of him were doing, including their night time activities and the neighbour on the left was very active at night. He ignored all of the pitter patter noises he heard in the roof. He didn't want to know what it was crawling around up there. The pipes vibrated whenever he turned on a tap or flushed a toilet. He was grateful that they at least worked, though hot water would have been nice. There was no air conditioning, which forced him out during the day, where he would seek shelter in the air conditioned Wal-Mart three blocks away.
There were a few shady characters in his building. He was fairly sure that the person on the bottom floor was running a drug lab. Having dabbled a bit with some recreational drugs, he knew how dealers acted. He also thought he might have seen blood stains on another neighbour's shirt. He pretended that he didn't notice anything and gave the man a wide berth whenever he saw him. He made sure the deadbolt on his apartment door was always engaged. He briefly wondered if he should add some more locks to the door but he didn't know how to do that and he couldn't afford a locksmith.
He kept his hair short but also decided to add a five o'clock shadow to his appearance to give himself a more rugged look. It seemed to get him more respect from his neighbours.
May - 2
It was May 16th, his birthday. His father had sent a driver to pick him up on the outskirts of the strip at 6:00am in the morning. It was close to a five hour drive back to Starling City. He would arrive in time for lunch with his family, then spend the rest of the day at the Mansion before partying with Tommy and then returning to Las Vegas in the early morning hours. His mother and sister were not to know about the details of his deal with his father. Robert was sure that Moira would interfere and undo everything he had been trying to achieve. The official cover was that Oliver was on a road trip enjoying his last year for freedom. He maintained contact with his mother and sister via phone calls and e-mails. He had been dating a beautiful Brazilian model for a month but she meant nothing to him so it was easy to break up with her. He didn't need the complications of a relationship messing with this challenge.
Oliver had taken the opportunity to pack all of his dirty laundry in three jumbo size black garbage bags. When his father wasn't paying attention he was going to ask Raisa to do it for him. He had no idea where the nearest Laundromat was yet or even how to do laundry. He was also going to steal more clothes from his closet so he could go longer without having to wash. Oliver was going to ensure he enjoyed the lavish lifestyle to the fullest while he was there.
Lunch with his family was the first proper meal he had had since he left for Vegas. He never ate at the hotel. He at least knew that the food was too expensive there. He had found a cheap Chinese place and he rotated between eating there and Big Belly Burger. His apartment had no stove. He was not investing any of the meagre sum his father gave him on a stove or fridge for that matter. He would have to survive on cheap take out.
His mother quizzed him about his road trip thus far. Oliver had to make several things up. He might have put the St. Louis Arch in the wrong state too. His little sister, Thea, gave him a weird look when he was talking about it. His sister was begging to join his road trip for the summer. Fortunately his father shut that down, telling her to concentrate on her SATs. She was going into her last year of high school. He wanted her to go to one college and perhaps graduate with honours. Thea rolled her eyes at her father. She wanted to have fun just like Oliver.
After lunch with his parents, Oliver packed more clothes from his closet and took a nap on his bed. It was wonderful to sleep on a soft bed off the ground. With no loud noises around or weird creatures to worry about, Oliver drifted off to sleep easily. It was only when Tommy was slapping him awake, did he realise how important feeling safe was to a good night's rest. He had only been there a short time but it was stressful to live in a place where your security was compromised. He hadn't realise it before but he was constantly on guard in that apartment.
Half an hour later, Oliver was entering Tommy's limo to go to the party Tommy had been planning for the last two months. There were plenty of hot models, who surrounded them as soon as they arrived. He made his way to straight to the bar, three of the models in tow. It had been 16 days since he had any alcohol. He was going to celebrate with tequila and lots of body shots.
Sometime during the night he saw Tommy talking with Laurel and Sara Lance, two of his ex-girlfriends. Laurel was the biggest disaster from his past. She was his first attempt at a serious relationship. Back then he wasn't ready for such a thing. Commitment wasn't a word that existed in his dictionary. It ultimately ended up with him breaking her heart. Things were fairly cordial now, Tommy having worked hard to smooth over things between Laurel and Oliver. You could almost call what he had with Laurel now, friendship.
After disappearing into Tommy's limo for a quickie with a young aspiring model, he returned to the bar. Tommy was nowhere to be found but the drinks were still flowing. He enjoyed a few more shots off of some particularly eager models. He knew this would be his last night of fun until May next year when he would have two more years of freedom.
He returned, drunk, to the Manor in the wee hours of the morning, where the Queen driver was waiting, ready to take him back to Las Vegas. A note from Raisa assured him that everything had been washed and cleaned for him and was safe in the trunk. She had also sent him back with plenty of leftovers. He slept all the way back to Vegas, the driver having to wake him up and kick him out of the car when they arrived.
May-3
It was hard to return to the tiny fire hazard he called an apartment but he wouldn't give his father that victory. Two more years of freedom was worth toughing it out. He would find a job. He knew he would. He was confident that he could prove everyone wrong and survive. He wasn't a wimp that would perish without his parents to prop him up.
His sex life was taking a serious hit with this challenge too. Whereas women used to flock to him in droves, he only attracted a few brave ones now but it was enough so that he wouldn't be celibate for the year. No more supermodels and actresses though. The girls in Vegas really liked his new hair cut and five o'clock shadow. He had met a few at Wal-Mart and gone back to their places for a little fun. There was no way he could consider bringing a girl back to his place. The only real difference in his one-night stands now was that they didn't know he was a billionaire's son so none of them feigned interest in him the next day. It was easy to get in, enjoy the act, sleep on a proper bed, have a hot shower, maybe pinch some breakfast and then leave without any complications.
May-4
It had taken him till the end of May but he eventually realised that the active neighbour next door was a prostitute. The man with the blood on his shirt was her pimp. He also had girls on the other floors. He supposed if he really needed the cash he could just charge a few girls for the one night stands. He did have a good body, though the current diet wasn't helping his muscle mass. He would have to start some form of exercising. He decided to pick up running. It had always helped to be able to out run women's husbands or boyfriends after he had been caught in bed with them.
The month ended and Oliver had yet to find a job or figure out how to get his laundry done. Perhaps this challenge had been more difficult than he originally thought.