Chapter 5
Another Year
"Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised. "
-Denis Waitley
Katie opened her eyes with a smile. She glanced over to the window as the sun filtered through. It was yet another night without any nightmares. She can't explain it, but she really thinks it has something to do with Oliver no longer dawning the hood. Ever since he told her, she's just felt at peace. Even though there were so many other things for them to worry about, him not wearing that hood and risking his life every night just made it all bearable.
Katie sat up from the bed and glanced around the room. Oliver wasn't there, but she smelled something cooking. A smile pulled at her lips, because she expects a waffle waiting for her with a pile of whipped cream an sprinkles. An unintentional Queen family tradition for those celebrating a birthday. Katie stood from the bed, and stepped into the hall. She stopped by Robyn's room first, but the child wasn't there. She then stopped over to Ari's room and she wasn't there either. Katie appeared at Will's door, and the room was empty too. She sighed because she imagined some annoying surprise that she would secretly love, waiting for her.
Katie walked downstairs, hearing conversations. She wonders if she was supposed to wait until someone came to get her. She hopes she isn't messing up the surprise by showing up too early. She just shook her head before pushing open the door and stepping into the kitchen, stopping at the sight of Oliver putting some scrambled eggs on Will's plate as the boy reads a book. Oliver looks over to her with a smile.
"You're up, I was hoping you would sleep a little longer?"
"Oh, really, and why is that?" she asked inching closer and glancing around for her waffle.
"Twinkie-" she turned back to him with a furrowed brow. "I told you that I would be helping out more, so you could sleep in." he turned putting some eggs on Ari's plate before looking over to Katie who was staring. "Did you want breakfast, I'm making eggs."
"Eggs?" Katie repeated with a furrowed brow. "Today, you cooked eggs."
"Yes," confused at her odd behavior, he sat the pan down. "Are you ok?"
Katie lets out a sigh, but nods. "Yep, I'm good," she nudged her head. "I'm not hungry." she moved around Oliver to stand above William's shoulder to see he was looking over his math book. "How did studying with Ari go last night?" she glanced over to the Ari who let out a snort, but kept her eyes on her cell phone.
"Alright I guess." Will replied not tearing his eyes from the book. "When she wasn't texting with Jamie, I learned plenty."
"Seriously?" Katie glanced over to Ari before reaching over to grab a piece of Robyn's cereal and chucking it at the girl, who jumped back and finally looked up. "I thought we had a a deal, you want to go to the movies with Jamie, you help Will study for his test."
"Which I did, but c'mon, I already spend two days a week tutoring, I didn't think I had to do it here. Plus he's fine, he knows that stuff, he's just being obsessive."
"I'm not being obsessive," Will said angrily standing to his feet with his book and stalking back upstairs to his room.
Katie and Oliver turned to Ari who looked back over to them.
"You know Ari, we really don't ask you to do much, so I didn't think helping Will with his math would be too difficult for you." Oliver walked over to stand in front of her. "You know starting a new school is stressful and he's just trying to do his best, and he asked you to help him."
"Fine, I'll help the little dweeb." she sighed standing to her feet and heading for the steps.
"It's scary how much they remind me of you and speedy." Katie said looking over to Oliver and laughing. She move around to clean up the mess the kids left behind.
"Twinkie, I can do that." Oliver said watching her.
"I can do it too," she smiled while she picked up their plates as she looked over to Oliver. "Liver, I get you're here and you want to help, but I've been doing this for a while and I don't know how to stop." she moved toward the sink and Oliver went to block her. "You can't just swoop in and change everything. I mean you're already taking my baby away."
"Robyn is going to daycare, which we both agreed would be good for her. She needs friends, that aren't imaginary." he took the plates from her hands.
"You're not kidding anyone, Liver. This is all part of your scheme to get me to accept your job offer." she poked him in the chest. "It's not going to work." she turned and walked over to Robyn before lifting the girl into her arms. "Let's get you all cleaned up." she pressed a kiss to the baby's cheek before looking back over to Oliver. "Still can't believe you made eggs." she shook her head before walking from the kitchen.
"What's wrong with eggs?!" Oliver called after her.
Ari appeared at Will's door, watching the boy as he read over his math book. She let a huff.
"Will, you seriously know that math." Ari said and Will glared over to her. "Do you want to know why you know it?" she walked over and took a seat beside him on his bed. "Because you sleep in the room across from me, and my intelligence is just in the air." she moved into the boy waving her hands as if pushing the air on him. "But until it kicks in, I will help you study. I'm going to teach you all the tricks to getting this stuff to stick,"
"Don't forget to tell him who taught you those tricks." they both turned to see Katie standing at the door. She walked in and flicked her hands in front of her toward Ari and the girl let out a laugh. "Go, you should be going to school." she glanced over to Will. "I'm driving you today since Robyn's day care is on the way. Give me a few minutes to get her into some clothes and we'll be ready to go."
On the drive to Will's school, Katie glanced back to him to see his eyes down to his book.
"Did Ari teach you the acronyms?" she asked and Will glanced over to her. "When studying, you need acronyms, it makes it easy to remember. Give me one that your stuck on."
"I don't know, order of operations?"
"PEMDAS?" Katie says and Will nods. "People eat more donuts after school." Will looked at her with a furrowed brow. "C'mon you think of one?"
"Uh, purple elephants make dirty apple sauce." Will laughed glancing over to Katie who laughed as well.
"Good, now when you think of order of operations, you'll remember purple-"
"Parenthesis..."
"Elephants..."
"Exponents."
"Make..."
"Multiplication, division, addition and subtract." Will replied with a proud smile as he looked down to his book before looking back over to Katie. "Thanks."
"Anytime. I was once a tutor, so if Ari gives you anymore trouble, let me know and you and me can learn more funny acronyms. I have an arsenal, just ask your dad."
"You used to tutor Oliver?" Will asked.
"I did. He wasn't as focused as you are, though." Katie smiled as she turned back to the road and remembered young Oliver. "He was always itching to get into trouble and usually took me with him." she pulled up to the drop off, and glanced back to Will. "My advice. The power of positive thinking can sometimes work. If you believe you're going to pass, and you study, nine times out of ten, you will. Just don't stress about it."
"Ok," he said slipping his book in to his backpack, before turning to Robyn and holding up a hand. The girl laughed before high fiving him. Will opened the door about to get out before turning to Katie. "People eat minty doritos and socks." and Katie couldn't help but to laugh. The boy just smiled before finally stepping out of the car.
It actually took a bit for Katie to leave Robyn at daycare. The fact that it was an ARGUS daycare made leaving her less desirable. She's been practically attached to the child for months, and she couldn't find it in herself to just walk away. It's when she watched Robyn as she found another girl to play with and how in that moment, the child forgot all about her, did Katie realize that Oliver was right, and this really would be good for her.
When she returned to her car, she didn't move. She wasn't sure where she should go. She could go home, but there was no one there and nothing to do when she got there. Katie let out a sigh as she dropped her head back against the seat of her car. She couldn't believe she'd let her life get to this point. That without the kids and Oliver, there was nothing else for her to focus on, which she thinks was Oliver's plan. Katie glanced over to her rear view mirror, looking back to her reflection when she decided. It was her birthday, and she was going to do something crazy.
After school, Ari was a bit nervous to return to work at City Hall. She'd changed into her boring work clothes before arriving. She stopped at security who had a new badge waiting for her. When she arrived at the elevator, she scanned around smiling when people waved at her. She was starting to believe Oliver was telling the truth when he said that people were asking about her. When the doors opened, she turned, not expecting to see a familiar face.
"Well if it isn't the pipsqueak." Rene greeted as the teen stepped inside.
"Long time, no see Ramirez," Ari said fist bumping the man. "I hear you got a promotion, how's it going?"
"I'm being underpaid." Rene grumbled, and Ari just laughed.
The elevators opened again and Ari stepped back to stand beside Rene. They both looked up to see another familiar face.
"Adam!" Ari said a little too enthusiastic. She realized it and mentally kicked herself. She cleared her throat, "Hey."
"Hey to you. It's been a while." the man smiled at the girl before glancing over to the glare of Rene. "Rene, right?"
"Yep, that's me." Rene kept his eyes on the man, paying extra attention to how close he stood to Ari.
Adam turned his eyes back to Ari just as the door opened up again. "Well this is me, but we should hang out. I can catch you up on all the office gossip you've missed." the man laughed, and Ari did as well as he stepped off the elevator waving to her.
A smile settled on Ari's face, that fell the moment she turned to Rene who was staring at her.
"What's that look?"
"That guy doesn't know you're sixteen, does he?"
"First of all, I will be seventeen next month, and it doesn't matter, we're just friends." she looked up when the doors opened to her floor before turning to Rene. "I'll see you around, maybe you can catch me up on the other office gossip."
"And risk getting my ass kicked by Oliver or the doc, I think not." he replied before reaching over to press his floor. He turned back to the girl. "Watch yourself with that Adam guy. There's just something off about him."
"Sure, pot, kettle." she muttered, and he took a step toward her, making her run off laughing.
Rene just shook his head, unable to stop the smile from pulling at his face. Once the doors opened, he stepped off in time to see Oliver and Quentin walking down the hall. He quickened his step to catch up to them.
"Pipsqueak just got here." Rene said as they stepped into Oliver's office. "She's on her way to check in."
"How did she seem?" Oliver looked over to Rene as he moved to sit behind his desk. "Did she seem nervous?"
"No, she seemed as annoying as ever." Rene glanced down for a moment. "Uh, we saw the guy." he looked back over to Oliver who just stared at the man in confusion. "You know the guy, the Adam guy."
"Adam Becker?" Oliver asked, his gaze slightly darkening
"Yeah, he seemed to pop up on the elevator right after her, and I don't know man, there's something about that guy."
"What guy?" Quentin finally spoke totally confused. "Who is Adam Becker?"
"He's one of the legal aids downstairs, and him-" Oliver sighed as he sat back in his seat. "Him and Ari are friends, I guess."
"The guy is like my age," Rene added. "It's weird, and I don't like it."
"Alright, calm down cujo." Quentin said before turning to Oliver. "Do we think this is a problem?"
Oliver looked at the man for a moment before turning to Rene. On one hand, Oliver didn't know much about the guy other than he worked in City hall, on the other hand he knows his sixteen year old is hanging out with a guy way older than her and he didn't like it.
"Look I get it, I'm a father of two girls, and them interacting with anyone of the opposite sex throws up the protective dad instinct, but I had to restrain myself." Quentin watched as Oliver turned away. "As of now, is there a problem?"
"As of now, no." Oliver looked back up to the man. "But Quentin, if it does becomes a problem, I will personally handle it." Quentin just nods before turning and leaving. Oliver turned to Rene.
"You're not just going to let this go, are you?" Rene asked.
"No, watch him and watch her, if he crosses a line, I need you to tell me right away, and I will take care of it."
"I mean if I see him cross a line, I could handle it." Rene replied backing out of the office. "But I'll keep you in the loop Hoss." he nods before leaving the office.
Rene had only stepped out of the office, before looking up to see the elevator open up and out walking someone else he hadn't seen in a while. A smile pulled at his lips as he walked over to the woman.
"Well look what the cat dragged in." he said and Katie chuckled.
"Oh haha, Rami," she nudged her head toward Oliver's office. "Is he free?"
"Yeah, should be." Rene replied glancing back before turning back to Katie. "So uh, you've been a ghost. How's everything going?"
Katie looked at the man with a quirked brow and just shrugged. "My head is still above water. Three kids with three different personalities and-" she looked up when Oliver stepped out of his office, his eyes going to her. She figured he heard her voice,"And then there's my biggest headache." she turned back to Rene. "But I'm good. What about you? I mean I've heard through the grapevine that you're trying to get custody of Zoe. Kind of odd that I didn't hear it from you."
Rene turned away slightly and sighed. "I just uh-" he turned back to Katie. "Didn't want to dump something else on you. I know I've cashed out my favors card with you."
Katie just scoffed before giving the man a slight shove. "Not sure how many more times I can say it, but I got your back Rami. No limitations. I wish you the best of luck, and if you need me, I'm here. Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go yell at the mayor."
"What did I do?"
They both turned to see Oliver standing behind them. He glanced over to Katie, hoping for an answer but she just stared back to him before moving around him and heading to his office. Oliver looked up to the ceiling and let out a sigh, turning a glare at the sudden chuckles from Rene.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Oliver asked. Rene just held up his hands and backed away, still laughing. Oliver shook his head before heading to his office, deciding to close the door, in case there really would be yelling.
Inside of the office, he found Katie sitting on the couch, so he walked over and sat down beside her. He smiled as he reached over and let his fingers slip through her now shoulder length hair.
"You cut your hair." he said letting has gaze move over her hair. "I like it. It looks nice."
"Yeah, well I decided today I wanted to do something crazy." she turned to face him. "Want to take a guess why?"
Oliver smiled, his fingers once again sliding through her hair. "Because it's your birthday,"
"No, because it's my birth-" she stopped when she realized what he'd just said. "Wait, you know today is my birthday?"
"Of course." he replied still smiling at her, even though she was still glaring at him.
She didn't say anything for a moment before shoving him and standing to her feet to leave, but Oliver quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back to sit.
"No, I'm leaving. You know it's my birthday, but I don't get morning birthday sex, or a birthday waffle, or even any acknowledgment that it's my birthday." she turned to him, shoving him again. "You've just accelerated my search for my next husband." she tried to pull away so she could leave, but Oliver's hand snaked around her waist, keeping her seated.
"Do you remember your birthday last year?" Katie turned away, deciding she was done talking. Oliver just shook his head at her stubbornness. "Well let me remind you. I made you a birthday waffle, and you thought that there was too much whip cream and you didn't like the sprinkles."
"I never said that." she muttered folding her arms over her chest still tugging herself to place some space between them, but he just pulled her back.
"You didn't have to, I watched you as you ate or, more like barely ate it." Oliver replied but she still refused to look at him. "You still didn't have your memories, so you didn't like much of anything we did that day, until you finally admitted that you didn't like celebrating your birthday and would rather treat it like a regular day, so I just thought this year-"
"It's fine, whatever, just let me go." she tried to pull away, but Oliver didn't let her go. His explanation didn't see to improve her mood. "You're right, that's what I said, and today you were just following my wishes." she tugged once again, but he wasn't letting up. "Let me go now and you can go on with your day."
"No, this is my day now. Ensuring you don't leave this office upset is my day." he replied and Katie turned to him with narrowed eyes.
"Why couldn't at least one person say happy birthday?" she grumbled before sitting back on the couch. "And I find it hard to believe that the first time you start following my wishes, is my birthday."
"You're being dramatic, we can celebrate your birthday, if you want?"
"If I want?" she scoffed turning back to him. "You know what, I don't want do anything. Just let the day pass like it was any other day."
"You're being ridiculous. Just say that you actually want to celebrate your birthday, and we will. I'll take the rest of the day off and we can do anything you want."
"I'm not saying anything," she replied stubbornly and Oliver just chuckled. There was a knock at his door before it opened and in walked Quentin who came to a stop.
"Oh, sorry, Maddy wasn't out there, and I didn't know you had a visitor." Quentin turned to Katie. "And it's the birthday girl. Happy Birthday, you guys doing anything special?"
"No, because Oliver no longer loves or cares about me." she pulled once again, finally releasing herself from his grasp before standing to her feet. "He doesn't know how to just come out and say it, so he's letting his actions speak for him." she looked back over to Oliver. "And I was going to invite you to lunch after yelling at you, but now, I'm going to find a better lunch date." she turned turned to Quentin who pulled her into a hug and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Thank you." she pulled from the hug, only to turn one final dirty look toward Oliver before leaving the office.
"Do I want to know what that was about?" Quentin asked over to Oliver who couldn't help but to shake his head.
"She thinks we're not celebrating her birthday, but we are, she just doesn't know it yet. She's just being too stubborn to admit she actually does like the birthday fuss."
"Well, be careful. That whole saying, happy wife, happy life is the greatest piece of advice anyone can give you. Whatever you're planning, do it quick."
Oliver nods before holding up a finger and stepping out of his office. He spots Katie waiting by the elevator, and he walked over, sliding a hand around her waist. She kept her eyes on the doors, refusing to turn to him.
"Where are you going?" Oliver asked, but Katie didn't even say anything. The elevator door opened, and Katie pulled away to step inside. "You know, I thought we were supposed to be using our words." Katie scoffed, still refusing to look at him. "Twinkie, you told me-"
"I did." she finally spoke, her eyes turning to his. "And after all this time, you don't even see why I said it." she reach over to press a floor before turning back to him.
"Then tell me." he replied grabbing the door to keep it from closing.
"Mr. Mayor?"
Oliver turned to see one of the assistants standing behind him. His hand moved from the elevator, and he quickly turned to catch it, but it was too late. He watched as she looked at him for a moment before dropping her eyes as the door closed.
For lunch, Katie decided to spend it with Thea. She walked into the woman's room and found her just as she left her.
"You know Speedy, a miraculous resurrection would've been the best birthday present" Katie sat her food on a nearby table and took a seat beside Thea. "I know if you were awake, you'd kick your brother's ass for ditching the birthday fanfare on my birthday." she turned away. "And sure I told him I didn't like celebrating my birthday, but he wasn't supposed to believe me." she turned back to Thea with a smile before pressing a kiss to her forehead. She then grabbed the remote and turned on the television. "So I'm still trying to get into this stupid teeny soap opera show you were obsessed with and honestly, it's not terrible." she flicked through the channels until she found the show before taking a seat at the small table to eat her sandwich. "I swear if this guy doesn't realize that's his sister, this show is going to get even more ridiculous." she laughed before glancing over to Thea. "I can see why you like it." she turned back to the television and continued to eat her lunch.
An hour later, Ethan stepped into Thea's room, a smile coming to his face at the sight of Katie curled up in the chair beside her bed, her jacket covering her. The man shook his head before closing the door, which jilted her away.
Katie's eyes snapped open, first looking over to Ethan before turning to Thea, letting out a sigh.
"I dreamed she woke up." Katie slid a hand over her face before turning to Ethan. "Ethan...five months."
Ethan sighed before walking over to her. "We've had that conversation. You called me in the middle of the night to talk about that subject, but if you want, we can do it again."
"There's brain activity." Katie recounted turning back to Thea. "Her organs are functioning. Except for the fact that a machine is breathing for her." she turned back to Ethan. "She can wake up."
"She can wake up." he repeated. "I mean, you did."
"I woke up with zero memory of who I was." Katie sighed before standing to her feet and placing a kiss to Thea's head. "I'll see you later Thea, I love you."
Katie slipped on her jacket and grabbed her bag, as Ethan walked her to the elevator. She reached forward to press the button before turning to him.
"So how have you been feeling?" Ethan asked and Katie turned to him. "Any pain lately?"
Katie shook her head. "No, actually. None whatsoever. Maybe we don't need to have that surgery talk."
"Maybe, I still want to do another exam in a few weeks just in case." he replied and Katie just nods before Ethan reaches into his pocket and pulled out a Kit Kat bar wrapped in a bow.
"A Kit Kat, for my Kit Kat."
Katie chuckled before taking the candy. "Thanks Ethan. Surprisingly enough, this is my first birthday present."
"What, Oliver hasn't planned some wildly romantic day for the two of you?"
Katie shook her head. "Nope. He's at work. My last birthday, I told him that I didn't like celebrating my birthday, so this year he decided to listen and not even acknowledge my birthday."
"That sounds wildly out of character." Ethan replied as the elevator doors opened and he watched as Katie stepped inside. "Did you want me to beat him up? Because I will." Katie took a step forward and placed a kiss to the man's cheek.
"No," she sighed. "Don't beat him up. I still like him or whatever." she shrugged as she stepped back and gave the man a wave. "See ya." he waved back as the doors closed.
Katie stood there on the elevator, before lifting the Kit Kat and once again sighed. She slipped her hand in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone and dialed.
"Hi Martin it's-" she chuckled as the man began singing the birthday song. "You're a terrible singer, you know that? I was calling because I think you were right. I can't look at Ethan and not feel guilty at not doing everything I can to get Laurel back. So maybe it's time for that conversation."
Katie found herself sitting on the bench in front of a pond she hadn't visited in a long time. A smile pulled at her lips as she looked out as the sun reflected against the water. She remembers a faint memory, coming here on one of her birthdays with her mom and dad. She can't remember much from the day, but she remembers being so happy.
A throat cleared, and Katie looked up to see the face of the woman who looked just like her mother. She doesn't think she will ever get used to it. She stood to her feet, with a pleasant smile.
"Hi, uh...Ella, right?"
"That's right." the woman said as Katie gestured for her to sit. They both moved to sit on the bench before looking out to the water. "I was actually surprised to hear that you wanted to talk to me." she turned to Katie for a moment and let out a sigh. "Actually a part of me was glad." she bit the corner of her lip. "Didn't realize how hard this would be."
"Yeah, I totally get it." Katie said looking at the woman, unable to not see her mother. She shook her head and turned back to look at the water. "Maybe we should just keep this short. I need you to tell me everything you know about this whole cross universe mess. My friend lost his wife and now there is a woman from a different world here and she's gone. We need to figure out how to get her back. We need to figure out how to get everyone back that's supposed to be here, and send everyone who doesn't, back to where they came from." she glanced over to woman. "Including you. I'm sure you'd like to get back home."
"I mean I guess. There really isn't much waiting for me." Ella shrugged. "I doubt if anyone even knows that I'm gone." the woman shook her head as she looked out to the pond. "Plus my home isn't...it's not this. I can't remember the last time I visited this pond."
"Well maybe when you get back you can."
Ella turned back to Katie with a slight frown, before a smile appears on her face and she nods.
"Yeah, maybe I can."
Katie's phone suddenly rings, and she pulls it from her pocket to see Oliver's number. Ella glances over to see the name, Liver, on the screen with a familiar face.
"Another bizarre anomaly of this world. You being married to Oliver Queen." the woman shook her head.
"Oh, where you're from was the me from your universe not married to Oliver?" Katie asked and the woman turned to her and shook her head.
"Quite the opposite. They were enemies. Kind of mortal enemies." the ringing continued, and Ella nudged her head. "Are you going to answer that?"
Katie glanced back down to the phone, not wanting to answer it, but also not wanting to worry him. He'd call ever so often after she told him about the random bouts of abdominal pain she'd had.
"Uh, could you give me one sec?" Katie stood to her feet and took a couple of steps away before bringing the phone to her ear. "Are you finally ready to admit that our flame has just burned out?"
"Sorry Twinkie, I love you more every day we're together, no matter how dramatic you are. Where are you?"
"I'm at the pond. The one my parents would take me to for birthdays. I was going to invite you, but you know, you've been kicked onto my list of people I'm not happy with right now."
"I'm sorry, I thought I was doing what you wanted. If I knew you wanted the birthday crazy, I would've made sure you had all the birthday crazy today."
"Yeah, well we can't change it now."
"Except we can. I need you to meet me somewhere. I'll text you the address."
"Oliver Queen, I don't want some thrown together at the last minute birthday party."
"It's not a party, that's all I will say over the phone. I'll see you soon."
Once he hung up, Katie's phone vibrated with a text from Oliver with an address she didn't recognize. She shook her head before looking over to the woman on the bench who sat with a smile on her face as she looked out to the water. Katie walked over and slid her phone into her pocket.
"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have to go." Katie said as the woman looked over to her.
"Oh, is everything alright?" Ella stood to her feet, but Katie nods.
"Yeah, I think my husband may be trying to get back on my good side." she glanced around the park, before turning back to the water. She turned back to Ella. "Maybe we could meet some other time."
"We should. I get this is tough, but we really should be directing much more attention on Felix. He's here, and even though he hasn't made a move yet, I'm pretty sure he will."
"On me? Why exactly?" Katie asked. "That's the one thing I don't get. Why would some magical being from another universe want me dead."
"That's just it. He doesn't care if you live or die. He wants your powers. And if he gets what he wants that could possibly lead to a lot of bad things. Like end of the world bad. Possibly end of worlds. So yeah, we should meet again, because this is happening."
Katie looked at the woman for a moment unsure of what to say to that. She just once again nods.
"Ok, um, I'll stop by ARGUS and we can start figuring things out." Katie began backing away before turning to head for her car.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Ella said and Katie turned back to see the woman walking over her. She dug in her bag and pulled out a small box with a yellow bow. "Happy Birthday."
Katie looked at the box before looking up to the woman's eyes. "Oh, uh, you didn't have to get me anything. I can't accept this."
"You know I thought I would never get to celebrate another one of my daughter's birthdays, and yes, I know—I know you're not her, and I know she's gone, but...but you have her face, and you have her voice and her smile, so I don't think I'm going to get any closer to that moment than this." Katie looked at the woman for a moment longer before taking the box. "Happy Birthday." she nods before turning and walking away.
Katie stands there for a moment watching the woman before looking down to the box. She takes a deep breath before untying the box and lifting the lid of the little box. She can't help but to let out a snort, that turns into a laugh as she reaches in and picks up the twinkie. She looks up to find the woman gone. She drops her eyes back down to the snack cake, before turning back over to the water.
"You know I'm going to be so upset if this is some sick game you two are playing from the great beyond." Katie shook her head before turning and heading to her car.
Oliver pulled into the driveway of the house, glancing down to his watch. He still had time to make this stop before going to meet Katie. He headed into the house about to head upstairs, before stopping at the sound of laughter from the living room. When Oliver walked over to check it out, what he didn't expect to find was Will, Ari, and Jamie sitting in the living room.
"Oh, you're here, I uh—I thought you said you and Katie would be home late to do her whole birthday surprise thing." Ari said standing to her feet and walking around to Oliver.
"I had to pick something up." Oliver looked at Ari before lifting his eyes to Jamie. "Hi Jamie."
"Uh, hi sir," Jamie quickly stood to his feet and walked over to shake Oliver's hand. "Ari told me she was helping Will study for a math test, and math is sort of my jam, so she asked me to meet her here after work to help."
"She did, did she?" Oliver looked back over to Ari. "I have to pick up a gift for Katie upstairs, why don't you help me Ari." the man turned and headed up the stairs.
Ati looked over to Jamie who looked nervous. "Just let me talk to him. He can be reasonable when he wants." Ari turned and headed upstairs.
Ari walked into Oliver and Katie's room just as Oliver walked from the closet with large box that he sat on the bed.
"I know what you're going to say. I should've told you that I was inviting Jamie over."
"Then why didn't you?" Oliver asked turning to the girl who slipped her hands in her pockets and shrugged. "Not good enough. Words."
"Because I knew you'd overreact even though nothing is even going on. He's like super good at math and I thought he could help."
"Ari, you're super good at math, so I doubt that's why he's here." Oliver folded his arms over his chest. "I get you think I overreact, but you're a teenage girl and Jamie is a teenage boy, and two teenagers in a house with no parents can lead to bad decisions, trust me."
"It's not like that, we're just helping Will study." she pointed at him. "Plus, I heard stories about you and Katie studying and I'm guessing that since you didn't actually admit you had feelings for her until years later, nothing happened. So maybe two teenagers can be in a house without parents without it leading to bad decisions."
"You're right." Oliver said walking over to the box and opening it, pulling out a smaller box that's beautifully wrapped.
"I am?"
"Yeah, you are. Sometimes teenagers can be left in a house without supervision." Oliver looked over to the girl. "And had you actually asked me if Jamie could come over, I would believe you were those teenagers. But sneaking around, keeping secrets, that doesn't paint the picture of a trustworthy teenager." Oliver slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number and brought the phone to his ear as he looked over to Ari. "I need a favor."
Katie wasn't sure where she was going. She entered the location Oliver sent her in her phone, but absolutely nothing looked familiar as she glanced out the window.
"What the hell is this, Liver?" she muttered as she drove. Not even a second later she felt her car sputter and slow down, and when she looked down to the dash, the lights had gone out. "No, no—fuck!" she turned the wheel, hoping to move the car out of the road.
Katie groaned before reaching over to grab her phone, only to realize she had no signal.
"Oh happy fucking birthday to me,"
Katie stepped out of her car, letting her eyes scan the area. She didn't see any buildings or houses. It was just a road surrounded by trees. She lifted her phone, hoping to find a signal to call for help. She took a couple of steps, before the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Katie lifted her head, her eyes once again searching. She wasn't alone, and she could feel it.
"This shouldn't have been this easy,"
Katie whipped around, her eyes going to a man who stood in the middle of the road in front of her. He was older, much older than her, from what she could tell from the gray hair that she could see from the hood he was wearing. He was wearing some kind of cloak, the hood covering his face so she couldn't see what he looked like.
"I think I'm slightly disappointed I didn't show up in person." the man reached up and pulled down the hood of his cloak, a smile on his face as he looks over to Katie. "Where are my manners, I am-"
"Felix Faust." Katie said still warily watching the old man. When she imagined him, she pictured someone a bit more terrorizing than the old man she was looking at. "Seriously? You're the guy I'm supposed to be afraid of? I feel like I should find you a chair before you break a hip."
Felix chuckles, before lifting his hand toward Katie, and in the blink of an eye Katie found herself unable to breathe. The phone dropped from her hand, before she reached up placing her hand on her neck as if trying to will the air to leave her lungs.
"Well this old coot is able to steal the air from your lungs while not even being in your presence. I can hurt you without breaking a sweat, so I think sweetheart, you should be scared."
Katie frowned, reaching out to grab him, only for her hands to just past through him.
"I expected you to be formidable. A challenge even. Your counterpart from my earth would stomp you under a rug, and yet you're the one with the power that brought us all here." he dropped his hand, and Katie could feel the air rush to her lungs. "I'm not even at full capacity yet." he chuckled. "But I'm not really sure I need to be." he tilted his head as he looked down to her. "You have no idea the power you hold you damn fool." he shook his head. "You're not even worthy of it. You should-"
"You talk too much, which seems to be a standard for you bad guys." Katie's breathing hadn't evened out, but she was too pissed to care as she lifted her eyes back to the man. "You have absolutely no idea the shit I've gone through, and if you want to be one of them, then you should show up in person." she lifted her hand in front of her and watched as they glowed. A smile tugged at her lips before she reached forward, now physically able to grab his arm. "Or maybe one day I will be able to bring you here myself." she turned back to the old man's eyes. "You should get to full capacity, because I promise you the next time you see me, I will be."
And just like that he disappeared and Katie stumbled back, still gasping for air. She lifted her eyes at the sound of her ringing phone before walking over and picking it up from the ground to see Oliver's number. She took a couple of deep breaths before answering the phone and bringing it to her ear.
"Twinkie, where are you? Are you alright? Did you get lost?" Oliver asked as Katie silently scanned the area, her eyes settling on her car. "Twinkie, I need you to talk to me, are you ok?"
She most certainly wasn't.
Author's Note:
That was...interesting.
ReviewReplies:
Adela: You might be right. The good rarely lasts long for these two. But I guess we'll see how it all unfolds. Thanks!
Another chapter down and as always special thanks everyone reading this story!
Sneak Peek
She dialed the number she wished to hell she didn't have to call. As it rang, she debated on just hanging up and once again burying her head in the sand to what has been staring her in the face.
"Well this is a surprise," came the familiar British voice from the other end of the line. "I'm almost afraid to ask, so I won't, and just say it's nice to hear from you. Did you get my birthday gift?"
"You sent me a gift?" Katie asked walking over to take a seat at the counter. "Do I want to know what it is?"
"I'm not going to give it away." Constantine chuckled. "Ok love, I guess something mystical is afoot, or else I don't think you'd be calling me. What do you need?"
"Does the name Felix Faust ring any bells?" Katie asked the question that was immediately followed by silence. She glanced down to her phone to make sure the call hadn't dropped or anything before bringing it back to her ear. "You still there?"