Chapter Text
Fifteen Years Ago
Felicity didn’t understand what she was doing there. She had wanted to go to space camp, not camp, camp . But, her mother had shipped her off here, so she “could the same experiences as the other kids.” As if she wanted that. She wanted to learn. But, after having locked herself in her room, she had decided to go ahead and just go to the camp her mom wanted. Which is where she now found herself. At Camp Weehawken. Sitting awkwardly next to Oliver Queen, while the rest of their peers were inside at the end of summer dance, making out. With more tongue than Felicity was comfortable seeing for her lifetime. She didn’t quite know why Oliver was sitting next to her. Given the reputation he had acquired over summer, she would have figured he’d be a part of the group making out with each other.
“So,” Oliver broke the silence that had grown between them, “I’m really good at archery. It’s really popular right now.”
“I don’t know why. It looks utterly ridiculous to me.” She knew it came out harsher than she had intended.
Oliver’s smile fell and silence ensued between them again.
Immediately regretting her words, she attempted to backtrack. “But, if it’s something you enjoy, you should continue doing it.”
“You’re funny. It’s weird.”
Felicity shook her head, attempting to clear it a bit. “Yeah, I’m weird. I get that a lot.” Which, she did. More often than she wanted to admit. But, it was because she was so smart. She was younger than her peers in school.
“Me, too.”
That caught her off guard. “Yeah, right. Everyone loves you. You’re Oliver Queen. Your family is practically royalty. They’re perfect.”
“That’s what everyone thinks. Sometimes I feel like I have to portray the perfect son, to the perfect family. But, I don’t want that. I guess that’s why sometimes I rebel and screw up.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “My parents are getting divorced.” He was quiet for a few seconds. “That’s why I had to go to camp for the summer. My sister’s ten years younger than I am. I don’t know how she’s going to take the news. I mean, she probably won't understand, but still.”
Felicity’s eyes widened with Oliver’s revelation. What was she supposed to say? A noise coming from Oliver caught her attention. She looked over at him. “Are you crying? ”
“No,” Oliver whimpered.
“Jesus,” she let a breath out. She scooted a bit closer to him, and put an arm around his shoulder. She wasn’t one to offer comfort to anyone, but she figured she could at least try in this situation. Because that was what nice people did… at least she hoped it was. “Look, I’m not really an affectionate person.” After another pause, she said, “People aren’t meant to be together forever.” She felt Oliver stir beside her at her words.
“You think so?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah,” she answered quickly. She had come to this conclusion a long time ago, when her father had left her and her mother. It had left her heartbroken; and even though she was so young, she had decided that she wouldn’t depend on anyone else, ever again.
They fell into a comfortable silence.
“Can I finger you?” Oliver asked.
“No.”
“Okay.”
Felicity removed her arm from around Oliver, bringing it back to her side, with her hand on her lap. She sighed. At least summer was just about over.
__________
Five Years Ago
Felicity walked through the house of the frat party she was at. Her childhood friend, Sara, had invited her to meet her here. She looked around for Sara, but it proved to be more difficult with the amount of half naked people around. Sara had told her it was a PJs party, and she had a worn long johns. Apparently she had missed the memo to dress as skimpy as she could. Walking around, she found a familiar face dancing in between two girls. A smile came to her face, remembering Oliver Queen. The guy who tried to finger her when she was twelve years old.
“Hey!” Sara called from her right.
She turned to look at her. “Sara.”
Sara hugged her with a huge smile on her face. Felicity could tell she was already pretty buzzed.
“Oh. My. God.” She unbuckled Felicity’s coat. “I told you this was a pajama party . What is this?” she asked, taking a look at her pajamas, a look of disgust on her face. “You’re wearing actual long johns? What? This is a party, Felicity! Wait, you just have to be drunk and look hot! Watch me,” Sara instructed, pointing at herself. She moved to stand on a nearby chair. “Hey!” she yelled out, attempting to get everyone's attention, but not many people turned to look at her. Unhappy with that, she repeated louder, “Hey!” That caught everyone’s attention and the music was momentarily cut off. “I’m so drunk!” Sara announced to the room, which proceeded to erupt in cheers. Sara got down and walked back to Felicity. “Come on.” Sara pulled Felicity along to the keg, where she then filled a cup for her. “Here.”
Felicity took the cup and a hefty drink, still looking around, hoping to catch sight of Oliver again.
__________
Oliver walked away from the two girls he had been dancing with, using the excuse he needed a new beer. On most nights, it was something that he enjoyed. The partying, the girls, the booze. But, sometimes it got boring. It was the same thing over and over again. He spotted Tommy, his childhood best friend, and walked towards him. He didn’t want to deal with random girls throwing themselves at him tonight.
“Hey,” Tommy greeted. “Did you find anyone?”
“Nah,” Oliver shook his head. Looking around the room, hoping to avoid the two girls, Oliver spotted what appeared to be a familiar set of eyes. But, he didn’t know where he knew them from. Or the name of whom they belonged.
“Hey, do you know that girl?” Oliver asked Tommy, motioning over to where the girl he had been staring at stood with her friend.
“The sexy pioneer?”
“I’m pretty sure I know her.” Before Tommy could say anything else to him, Oliver took off towards the blue eyed, blonde, pointing the foam finger he had at her.
She began walking towards him as well with a smile, making him think maybe she remembered him, too.
Stopping a few inches apart, Oliver said confidently, “I know you.”
She smiled brightly. “Hi, Oliver Queen of Camp Weehawken. I’m Felicity Smoak. You tried to finger me.”
He remembered instantly. “Yeah! Sorry about that,” he grimaced. “Teenage hormones of a fourteen year old. Wait, do you go here? What are you doing here?” he asked, genuinely curious. He didn’t remember much about her, just how funny she was. And her babbles that could sometimes go on forever. It weirded out most people, but he had found it intriguing that whole summer. She was a nice distraction from everything going on at home. But, he hadn’t wanted to treat her like just any other girl. From the moment he’d met her, he knew she was different. So, he’d stayed away. Not really talking to her, unless necessary. At least until that end of summer dance, where he was pretty sure he had embarrassed himself.
“No, no I don’t go to CCU. I go to M.I.T., actually. My mom lives here, and I’m town for this family thing.”
“Wow. So you grew up to be a lot smarter than me.”
“Yep. Sometime’s my neck’s so sore.”
“Why?” he asked, perplexed.
“Because my brain is so big.” She grinned.
Oliver laughed. “That’s better than being kicked out three colleges. This one is number four, and we’re hoping it sticks.”
“Hopefully,” Felicity agreed with him.
“I like you,” Oliver said with a grin, and he found himself actually meaning it.
“Wait, why? You don’t even know me.”
“I like you,” he repeated.
After a minute of silently staring into each other’s eyes, Felicity spoke. “I have to go to this stupid family thing tomorrow, want to go with me?”
The words came out of his mouth before he could think them through. “Yeah, sure. I’ll come with you. What is it?”
She shrugged. “Just some stupid thing.”
__________
When Oliver had agreed to come with Felicity to the “stupid family thing,” her father’s funeral had definitely not been anywhere on the list of things it could be in his mind. He looked around, feeling completely out of his element. It was the most uncomfortable he’d ever been. The reverend spoke about Felicity’s father’s accomplishments, and from the sounds of it, he had been a very intelligent individual. After the service, they had all gone back to Felicity’s mom’s house for the reception. He stood staring out one of the windows, and caught sight of Felicity comforting her mom, by wrapping a blanket around her. Probably to ward off the chilly air that had settled. He wondered why it was that she had disregarded it as a stupid family thing. Nonetheless, he would make the most of this. No matter what. He would offer his support to Felicity, because she had been there for him when they were kids and he was going through his parents’ divorce. And, because he really liked her.
He hadn't thought it could get more awkward, but Felicity proved him wrong.
__________
Felicity couldn’t say what it was that had made her want to invite Oliver to her father’s funeral, but she had just gone ahead and done it. There was no going back now. She found Oliver and walked him over to where her mom was standing.
“Hey mom, this is Oliver. Oliver, this is my mom,” Felicity introduced the two.
“Honey,” her mom began, “I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”
Her mom was always more invested in her relationships than her accomplishments. And, it annoyed Felicity to no end. They were so different.
“Oh, I’m not dating him,” Felicity answered easily. “I just had a one night stand with him when I was twelve years old.”
Oliver looked uneasy standing between the two women. “It’s a nice funeral.”
After the reception, Felicity walked Oliver back out to his car. He got in and Felicity leaned against the door frame.
“I'm glad you stayed,” she spoke softly.
“Me, too,” Oliver responded. “I'll call you--”
“Oliver,” Felicity interrupted, “You're a wonderful guy. If you're lucky, you're never going to see me again.”
He nodded once, his expression not quite describable, before starting up his car and driving away.
It left Felicity with a sense of “what if,” but knowing it could never be more than that. She didn't allow herself to get close to people, because they always wound up leaving. Today had just been a reminder of that. With a sigh she walked back inside her mom’s house.
_________
One Year Ago
Felicity looked around at the different pieces the jeweler had on display at the local farmer’s market. It had become a tradition for her, Sara, and her other childhood best friend Iris, to go at least once a month.
Sara's parents had also divorced when she was younger. Both Felicity’s mom, Donna, and Sara’s dad, Quintin, had met during a divorcees support group. They had bonded over being left behind with young daughters and had been friends ever since. When they were younger, Sara and Felicity had hoped their parents would get married so they could become sisters, but after years of nothing, they had resigned to the fact Donna and Quintin would never be more than friends.
Iris’ dad, Joe, had also been a part of the same support group, but had come in a couple of years later. Donna, Quintin, and Joe, would all hang out, and in turn Iris had also grown close to the two girls.
Sara was eating a sample from one of the vendors, when Tommy came to stand next to her. He didn't really notice her at first, but when they both looked at the same item, Tommy made a comment that had them both glancing up at each other.
“Hey,” Sara said, as recognition flooded her. She pointed at Tommy. “Yeah, we, we went to college together.”
“Yeah, we did. CCU.” He turned slightly to where Oliver was. “Hey Oliver! Look, it's Sara.”
Oliver walked over to stand where Tommy and Sara were. “Hey,” he greeted, followed by a hug to Sara. “How's it going?”
“Pretty well,” she answered. “Just shopping around. My roommate and I come here a lot. She's actually right over there.” Sara pointed to where Iris and Felicity were, smelling candles. “Felicity!” Sara called out, devilish smirk on her face.
Felicity turned immediately at the sound of her name. She felt caught off guard by the sight of Oliver. A smile crept onto her face. She hadn’t thought she would ever see him again. She walked towards them and Oliver met her halfway. They stopped inches from each other, just taking each other in.
“Oliver,” she breathed.
“Felicity.” He tipped his head.
She found herself unable to look away from him. Time had been good to him. He's always been good looking, but now he was just breathtaking. He looked every bit of the man he was. And, he was muscular, very, very muscular. She figured he probably worked out. Yeah, he definitely worked out.
“What is this? The Peach Pit?” Tommy asked. “That was a 90210 reference.”
“And how do you know that?” Sara asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Uh, well…” Tommy floundered, looking unsure of what to say next.
But, Felicity ignored them and instead focused solely on Oliver, standing right before her. She focused on his blue, blue eyes that were sucking her in.
“What are you doing here?” Oliver asked her.
“Oh, um, I just moved to Starling. I’m vice president of Palmer Tech. They’re starting a branch out here in Starling and I’m helping to get it off the ground. Also, we’re about to launch our next line of smart wearables. So, I’m also doing that.”
At that moment, a tall skinny, brunette that Felicity could only describe as a model walked up next to Oliver. She wrapped an arm around his waist, and lay her other one on his chest, showing their obvious closeness.
“Hi,” she said, looking between Oliver and Felicity.
Definitely Russian , Felicity thought. She felt slightly uncomfortable standing before them.
After another second of silence, Oliver offered introductions. “Isabel, this is Felicity. Felicity, Isabel.”
Isabel offered Felicity a smile, but Felicity couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not. Felicity gave her a small nod, but couldn’t take her eyes off of Oliver. And, it appeared he couldn’t either. Which, Felicity did not mind one bit. Not one bit.
“Felicity!” she heard being called out behind her. Probably by Sara.
“Well, we’re going to head out.” She looked at Isabel and said, “It was nice to meet you.”
“Like wise,” she responded with a tight smile.
The smile looked fake once again, and Felicity momentarily wondered how Oliver had ended up with someone like her. The Oliver she remembered from camp, surely deserved better.
Oliver interceded. “Yeah. Well, give me your number. We should hang out.”
Felicity agreed with him. “Yeah, we should. Give me your phone.” She held her hand out for Oliver’s phone. Once he did, she quickly typed her info in and took a silly shot of herself for her contact photo, before handing it back to him. She to turned to head to where Sara and Iris were waiting for her, but stopped to look back at Oliver and gave him one last goodbye. “Bye,” she said, waving at him.
“See you later.”
Felicity smiled and then headed off to her friends. Oliver had been an anomaly in her life that appeared every so often. She wondered if this time around he would stick around longer.