Hey guys! I know I saidI'd update weekly but I felt like posting this chapter sooner. I might be a little short, I hope you guys don't mind! I forgot to mention a few things about the story. It starts around the beginning of season three with a few changes. The most notable change is that Sara never came to Starling and is still presumed dead. Enjoy!

Alex woke up the next morning thinking of nothing but The Arrow and the opportunity he had given her. She glanced at her clock and saw that it was only 6:30. Knowing that at this point she would not be able to get to sleep again she decided to make this a productive morning by packing and getting ready to move.

As she was packing up some boxes a thought struck her. She grabbed her phone and dialed Roy's number.

"Hey, Alex," he said. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could do me another favor," she said.

"Sure," he replied."What do you need?"

"I remember you mentioning awhile back that your girlfriend owns the club where you work," Alex started. "I was wondering if you could see if she'd be willing to interview me."

"Uh, yeah, I could ask her," Roy said a bit awkwardly.

"What's the matter?" Alex asked. "Did you break up or something?"

"No- I mean yes," Roy replied. "But that's not the problem."

"Then what is?" she asked, confused by his hesitation.

"Well," he started, unsure what to say, "the problem is she's Thea Queen."

"So?" Alex asked. She knew who Thea Queen was, of course. The Queens had been all over the news for the past two years. Suddenly she understood what Roy was thinking. "Oh. I'm not like that, Roy. I'd never blame her for that. You should know that."

"Okay," he said. "I'll give her a call and she if she has any jobs open. Oh, and Alex?"

"Yeah?" She asked, a cold quality to her voice.

"If you have trouble finding a place," he hesitated, "well, you can always crash at my place if you need to."

"Thanks," she said evenly. "But I'm fine."

How could he think that about me? Alex thought angrily as she hung up. I thought he knew me better than that. And now he's got me thinking about it...

She looked around her room, fighting back tears. Despite her best efforts her eyes were soon brimming with water. Memories were coming back to her. Good and bad and unspeakably terrible. She was about to lose herself in grief, just as she had so many times before.

No, she thought firmly. I won't let myself do this again. Not today. I can't.

Taking a deep breath she decided to go for a walk to clear her head. As she was leaving the apartment building her phone rang. It was Roy. She ignored it and started down the street.

Ten minutes later Alex was in a section of the Glades that hadn't been restored after the Undertaking. It used to be filled with houses; now it was filled with rubble. She hadn't intended to go here but her feet tended to carry her to this area. To this pile of bricks and boards.

She climbed up the rubble and just sat there. She didn't cry, she never cried while she was there. Most of the time she would bring a flask with just enough liquor to numb the pain. Never any more.

Soon Roy appeared heading towards her. She thought about walking away but she didn't feel like moving. He came up and sat next to her. They both let a minute pass in silence.

"I'm sorry," Roy finally said. "I didn't mean to bring back memories."

"No," Alex accused with a voice as cold as steel. "What you meant was that I would blame someone for something that clearly wasn't her fault. What you meant was that I'd blame Thea Queen for things she had no part in."

"I know," Roy said, "that under most circumstances you wouldn't. I just thought this time might be an exception."

"I don't make exceptions when it comes to my principles," she replied, her voice still steely. "You should know that by now."

"I know," Roy said. "And I will never forget that again."

Alex sighed. She thought of all the times she had come here. At first the visits had been daily. She'd find her way here, sick with grief, and Roy would always find her. He'd sit with her in silence until she left. Once he had brought a case of beer and the tradition of bringing alcohol started.

"You got your flask today?" He asked, either reading her thoughts or trying to make conversation.

"It's a bit early for that," she answered, the coldness gone.

"You never had all that much, anyway," Roy said. "Why is that?"

"I couldn't let myself become a drunk," Alex replied. "Especially here. It wouldn't have been right. I can practically hear them saying 'don't waste your potential, don't throw your life away,' Well, I think I did one of those things when I dropped out of school. I wasn't going to do the other to get rid of their memory."

"You've got plenty of potential left, Al," Roy reminded her. "What about working with the Arrow?"

"That's not exactly what my parents had in mind for my career," Alex almost laughed. "I bet Joey would have thought it was amazing, though."

"Yeah," Roy said."He would've looked up to you even more. If that's even possible."

Alex sighed, "He was a good kid. God, that was makes it sound so wrong."

"He was," Roy agreed, "one of the best kids I've known. He always saw the bright side."

Alex murmured her agreement and they lapsed into a silence that was comfortable between them, but also painful. Rich with memories that Alex knew would never fade. And, good or bad, she didn't want them to. After all, they were all that she had left of her family.

Thanks to Princessalexandrea0201 for being my first follower and to WinterRain36 for being my first reviewer. They said:

Is Alex going to become Roy's girlfriend? Will Thea join the team also? Please share! :)

I can't give you all the details but I will say that there is definitely some romantic interest between them. As for Thea, as you can see from this chapter she's going to be making some appearances for sure. But I won't say exactly how important she'll become.