be us against the world - t - olicity - interlude 2 [a]
title: we keep all our promises (be us against the world)
category: arrow
genre: drama/romance
chapter rating: pg-13/teen
overall rating: nc-17/explicit
Polyvore: Fashion Show Outfits (Felicity, Kelsey, Jennifer)
word count: 8,933
summary: [au - no island] Oliver Queen has no idea what he's doing with his life, but when his father gives him an ultimatum, he has to figure it out. After meeting Felicity Smoak, he finds himself on a new path and his eyes are opened to what happiness really means and how finding it takes more courage than he ever thought he had.
Previous: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Interlude One,
dhfreak
Interlude. (2/2)
Felicity was pretty sure Kelsey's favorite part about fashion shows wasn't actually going to them so much as getting to dress her friends up.
"I really should be working," Jennifer complained, sitting in front of Kelsey in little more than her underwear, on a cushioned dining room chair, hair tied back and out of the way. "Business is picking up; I shouldn't have closed early."
"It's one day," Kelsey dismissed, digging in her make-up bag. "And besides, I thought Marissa offered to keep it open for you."
"She did." Jenn frowned, her nose wrinkling. "I love Marissa, I do, but she knows nothing about flowers, and I just know something will go wrong and then I'll feel like I should be there fixing it. It just made more sense to lock up than deal with the 'what ifs.'"
"How has she been dating you this long and still not know anything about flowers?" Kelsey scoffed. "I know more about flowers than a person should ever need to."
"We try not to bring our work home." She shrugged. "I don't know anything about law except not to break it, but she's working her butt off in law school, so…"
"So you two are just going to grow old not talking about work? Ever?" Kelsey arched an unconvinced eyebrow. "You literally own a flower shop. Shouldn't that be kind of a defining part of who you are?"
"I'm a business owner, not the business itself." She rolled her eyes. "And what would you know? Your last relationship lasted fifteen minutes in a supply closet."
"It was ten minutes in a bathroom stall and I was having a dry-spell, don't judge me!"
Felicity grinned from her seat on the couch, her hair in curlers and a Wired magazine in her lap, going mostly unread as she listened to them argue.
"You're always going through a dry-spell, and that's my point. Relationships are more difficult than quickies. Marissa gets stressed out over school, so she doesn't like to talk about it. I get stressed out about the shop, so I don't talk about flowers with her. It's like a trigger at this point." She groaned. "Anyway, we talk about other things. Books, people we met, funny things that happened."
"The sex must be amazing," Kelsey muttered with a snort.
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "It is."
Pulling up a chair, Kelsey started working on Jennifer's make-up, her concentration zeroing in on the task. But after a few minutes, she came back to the subject at hand. "What do you think, Smoaks? Can a relationship survive if they never talk about the big stuff?"
"Work isn't the only big thing in our lives," Jennifer argued, but Kelsey was quick to hush her, casting a curious look over her shoulder.
Distracted by an article in her magazine, Felicity replied, "Hm? Uh, I don't know… Jenna and Marissa get along better than most people I know."
"Sure, but they might be the anomaly. What about you? Do you talk about work in your relationships?"
"I love my work. I'll talk about it with anyone…" She cast her eyes off to the side. "It's nice though, when you have someone who really listens to that stuff. I mean, I know I can go off on really long tangents and I don't blame people for getting bored when they have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's nice when they make an effort. Even Oliver, who I'm pretty sure doesn't know anything about computers, he always listens when I talk." She smiled slowly. "At lunch today, I ranted for fifteen minutes about this complete jerk I had to deal with on the third floor, and he listened to every word… Well, he also offered to have him fired or physically thrown out of the building, but we agreed that was a bit much. Anyway, it was just nice to vent to someone and actually be heard, you know?"
When she didn't get a reply right away, she looked up to find her two friends staring at her, Kelsey smirking while Jenn's eyebrows were hiked in surprise.
"What…?"
"We asked you about relationships and your head jumped to Oliver," Jennifer said, her brow slowly furrowed. "Since when are you guys so close?"
"Since he started working at QC and spending every lunch break with our brainy beauty," Kelsey said, looking satisfied.
Sighing, Felicity shook her head. "You're reading into it. I was just using him as an example."
"Yes, an example of what you want out of a man in a relationship. Someone who listens and encourages you and offers to Donald Trump people if they offend your delicate sensibilities…" Kelsey's voice took on a slightly mocking tone.
"I don't even know if he can fire anybody, he was just offering to make me laugh."
"Great sense of humor," Jennifer said, eyes narrowed and a playful smile tugging at her lips.
"Stop," Felicity ordered, feeling a flush crawl up her neck. "We're friends."
"Mm-hmm…" Kelsey whirled back around to face Jennifer and continued with her make-up. "Anyway, I may not be an expert on relationships, but I do know that you should probably be sharing the burden, right? Instead of just keeping it to yourself."
Jennifer sighed. "I don't know… Maybe. I just, I get so worked up about the shop, and I don't want that to start leaking into my relationship." She looked from her back to Felicity. "I love her, she's the least stressful part of my life besides you guys… Maybe when the shop isn't such a huge issue with me, I'll be happy to share it with her."
Humming disagreeably, Kelsey shrugged. "Your choice, J. But it's gotta suck bottling all that stress up. I mean, one day, you're gonna blow. You can't take on that much stress and not."
"Thank you, Dr. Phil, but I'll deal with it when it happens."
"Sure, but we have a witness, so I get to say 'I told you so.'"
"Those are the rules…" Felicity added.
"Fine. You can sing it for all I care," Jennifer muttered.
"Or not," Felicity piped up. "No singing would be good."
"Hey! I have a great singing voice!"
Jennifer and Felicity exchanged a dubious look.
"Cut it out, I do!" Kelsey claimed. When they still didn't agree, she glared at them. "You guys suck."
Jennifer grinned. "Not as much or as often as you do."
Helpless to it, Kelsey laughed, grinning widely. "True."
Back on task, they put the issue of relationships behind them and focused on getting ready. Kelsey had personally picked out dresses for each of them and when their make-up and hair was finished, she had them change before she got her camera. It was a long-time tradition that any time they got dressed up and went out together, they had to take before-and-after pictures. Felicity's before-picture consisted of her hair piled up on her head, her favorite MIT hoodie, and a ratty pair of jeans. But the after picture had her in a black mini-dress with gold and silver sequins that created a belt at her waist, a crossing wave pattern over her chest, and lined the top of her sweetheart neckline. She was feeling pretty glamorous, with ringlets falling down her back and heart-shaped gold and black earrings her nana had given her on her thirteenth birthday.
They set out for the fashion show in a cab, the tickets tucked in Kelsey's clutch and their names added to a VIP list. When they arrived, Felicity wasn't surprised to see cameras set up and various familiar faces, if only from magazines, lined a red carpet leading inside. Kelsey led them past the hub-bub even though Felicity knew she loved the spotlight. Much as Kelsey loved to linger and talk about who she was wearing, in this case, her own designs, her friends didn't. Jennifer was never as eager to have attention on her, even if she looked drop-dead gorgeous in her blue and black bodycon dress, with floral, lace and sequin patterns and long sleeves. She was a knockout even if she never saw herself as one. But, in true fashion, it was Kelsey who stole the show; her black sequin dress had a V that dipped down to below her navel and completely exposed her back. She wasn't the least bit concerned about modesty, and it showed.
The fashion show itself was what Felicity expected, a lot of flashing cameras, beautiful models, and the type of clothing that would neither fit her body shape nor really appealed to her. But Kelsey watched with stars in her eyes as each person came out, and Felicity really enjoyed the champagne being passed around liberally in tall flutes. Admittedly, more often than not, Felicity found herself on her phone, texting Jennifer since she was on the other side of Kelsey and just as uninterested in most of the show as she was. The glitz and glamour were more Kelsey's style, but they did like coming out with her, if only because it gave them time to spend in each other's company.
When the show finished, the after-party began, and that was where Felicity usually had her fun. She got to meet a variety of people and see Kelsey in her natural habitat, charming everyone she met and getting her name out there as she talked design. Jennifer had wandered off when she saw a buffet table, generally ignored by the public but never by a hungry Jennifer. Felicity was just about to join her when she heard a voice to her left, "Are you a model?"
Her head whipped to the side, only to drop down a few inches before she saw the girl, all arms, legs, and thick brown hair. "What? Oh, hah, no. That's flattering though."
"Oh." The girl's mouth twisted up as she looked her up and down. "So who are you wearing?"
Looking down at herself, she said, "Kelsey Harris, I think. She usually dresses us in her designs, anyway." She shrugged. "Exposure."
"Never heard of her," the girl said simply.
Felicity turned and pointed toward her friend, where she was entertaining a group of people, her head back as she laughed. "She's the red-head."
The girl followed her finger and nodded. "Cool. So, she's a designer?"
"Yes, she is. She's interning right now, but she'll be a name you know in a few years, I'm sure." She smiled proudly at her friend's back before looking back to the girl. "Not to pry, but aren't you a little young to be here?"
"I come to these all the time. I'm going to be a model when I grow up." Her eyes lit up then. "Hey, maybe I'll wear your friend's clothes."
Smiling, she nodded. "Maybe you will."
"Cool." Her eyes darted away and she said, "There's my mom, I gotta go. If she sees me, she'll tell me it's past my bedtime, and I'm having too much fun to go." She grinned mischievously then. "See ya later!" With that, she hurried off, ducking and weaving around people.
A blonde woman appeared then, looking so put together that Felicity felt uncomfortable in her own skin. "Excuse me, have you seen my daughter? About this tall, extremely defiant and very talkative."
Felicity stifled her amusement. "She was here, but I'm not sure where exactly she ran off to."
The woman let out a heavy sigh, but offered a faint smile. "Thank you. Enjoy your evening."
"You too."
After she'd walked away, a familiar voice piped up, "Saying hi to the future mother-in-law?"
Felicity turned her head to see Kelsey at her side, one hand on her hip while the other held a nearly empty flute of champagne.
"What?" she asked, her brow furrowed.
"That was Moira Queen," she said, in a 'duh' fashion.
Felicity paused, her eyes slowly widening. "It was?"
"Yeah. You didn't know?" She frowned. "Weren't you talking to the munchkin? That's Thea Queen. She comes to these shows all the time."
"We didn't really exchange names…"
Kelsey shrugged. "So? How's it feel to meet the family?"
Rolling her eyes, she elbowed Kelsey. "Shut up."
Chuckling, Kelsey wrapped an arm around Felicity's waist. "Come on, I want to show my awesome dress off and you're wearing it."
"Fine… But I've had a lot of champagne, so who knows what I'll say."
Snorting, she raised an eyebrow at her. "Like you need champagne to put your foot in your mouth."
"Exactly."
For the most part, however, Felicity managed not to make a complete fool of herself. Jennifer wandered over to join them and Kelsey was happy to maneuver them how she liked to show off her dresses to whomever was willing to listen and, considering how easy it was to become completely enamored with Kelsey on the whole, she had a lot of them interested. Which meant Felicity was dizzy by the end of the night after being twisted and turned for far too long. Still, when she went home that night, she was happy. A night out with her girls was always warranted.
While Rufus still held a special place in her heart, Felicity couldn't help but have a soft spot for Jasper. She was a beautiful dog, but it was probably more how Oliver lit up when he met her that did it for her. He was so careful when he walked her for the first time, and more patient than she ever would have given him credit for. He didn't mind how often she stopped to sniff things or how she peed on just about every building they passed, he just looked excited to have been paired.
As they walked through the park, she was somewhat amused to talk to him about whether or not she'd been clubbing. Felicity loved dancing, and get a few drinks in her and she could spend the whole night sandwiched between Kelsey and Jennifer on a dance floor. She imagined, however, her nights weren't that similar to Oliver's. When she thought about him going to the club, she imagined him in the middle of a huge group of women, all vying for his attention. Felicity was happy for her anonymity; she and her best friends could dance freely. Sure, there were always a few men who tried to take one or all of their attention away, but for the most part, it was all about relieving stress and having fun with each other. Of course, she couldn't count how many times Kelsey snuck off with a guy for a quickie before returning to their side, knocking back a shot, and getting back into the groove. She was a free spirit who never apologized for herself and Felicity rather envied her that.
She imagined, too, that she would fit in nicely with Oliver. Or, at least the Oliver that was used to being in the public eye and drinking himself blind. She could see him and Kelsey being bosom buddies, partying to all hours together and only regretting it when they woke up the next morning to feel their heart beat banging in their skulls. Compared to Kelsey, Felicity was probably boring. She had work and dog walking and, depending on the night, her girls, but other than that, she was content to read or relax at home. Maybe she fell somewhere in the middle; not quite a party girl but not a homebody either. Jennifer ranged closer to the homebody. While she could always be convinced to come out, it was never her idea to hit the club scene or the bar. She preferred a bottle of wine at home with her cat, Bo Jangles, Marissa, and a good TV show to going out. An ideal night for Kelsey, on the other hand, was a line of shots, as many hot men as she could handle, good music, and very little clothing. Of course, Kelsey was an extreme. But then, Oliver could be too.
"We should go out sometime," he said suddenly.
Her head turned to look up at him, her eyes a little wide. She would be lying if her brain didn't immediately go down the route of dinner and wine and dancing. She could imagine Oliver across from her in a place like Table Salt, an expensive bottle of red on the table. He would be lighthearted, teasing her about one of her many verbal gaffes, and they would talk about work, her more than him, since he never liked talking about QC, and after they would go out dancing. His hands would never leave her; they'd linger on her hips and his fingers would find and tangle with hers, and he'd kiss a path up her neck. She could see that. For the first time, she admitted to wanting that.
"To the clubs. You, me, uh, my friend Tommy, maybe."
And then reality crashed back down on her abruptly.
"Tommy?" she repeated, because, like an idiot, it dawned on her that he was not asking her out on a date, or at least not a one-on-one date. More like, what, a group date? Or maybe this friend Tommy of his was someone he thought she might like. Because, obviously, he didn't think of her that way. She was Felicity, from IT, the girl who shot him down and frequently put her foot in her mouth. He dated supermodels and socialites. He probably only saw her as a friend, which is what she had been telling herself she thought of him until two minutes ago when her imagination got away from her and created a fantasy that would never come true. She blamed her friends for constantly suggesting things were more than what they seemed. God, why couldn't she just stick with friendship? Why did she have to become interested in him at all? It was probably his stupidly handsome face and that smile and the way he listened and how he laughed and she could still remember how he smelled when he hugged her after Rufus died. And wow, this was not helping. Backspace, backspace, delete cache. She needed to get her head on straight.
"Merlyn. He's my best friend. You'll like him."
So it was him setting her up... Okay, talk about reading the situation wrong. Humming faintly, she cast her eyes away. Somehow she thought going on any kind of outing with a guy who was best friend's with Oliver, when she'd only just realized she kind of wanted to go on a date with Oliver, was probably a really terrible idea.
She changed the subject after that, focusing back on why Oliver was working at QC. It was a good distraction both because she finally learned what brought him to a place he obviously didn't want to be and gave her a chance to stop thinking about that weird ball of lead in her belly that was built completely of disappointment. Pushing away that feeling, she focused on him and what he was saying. Just as she thought, he wasn't happy at QC, but the pressures of amounting to something were pushing him into it. So when he told her that his dad thought he was wasting his life, it made sense to ask him if he thought he was. Because really, in the end, what did it matter what others thought?
When she got into MIT, she remembered her cousin telling her that she'd probably get bored so fast. And there were others too, who thought working with computers must be so tedious, but Felicity never let that bother her. She loved computers. She loved pushing her limits and creating code and hacking. She didn't find it boring at all. She loved it. So why not pursue something she loved? Why not do exactly what she wanted with her life? Screw anyone who thought different. This was her life and she wasn't going to waste it following the status quo. So she went to MIT and she graduated summa cum laude. And it was the best damn thing she ever did.
"I never wanted to follow in my father's footsteps," he told her. "I don't fit there."
"So what's worse? Being somewhere you don't fit or being lost?"
He frowned, staring a head of himself, deep in thought.
"Maybe that's the real question…" She smiled up at him. "It's not 'what do I want to do with my life?' it's 'what do I not want to do?' If nothing else, you can start narrowing down the list."
He nodded slowly, humming.
The rest of their walk was spent with him mostly deep in thought, but she didn't mind. It was nice actually, peaceful even. Déjà vu hit her when they ventured closer to the dog park. They had another dog between them now, but there was that same sense of domesticity to it. The difference now, of course, being that her feelings had since developed, and in a way she hadn't expected. But he'd made it clear that his feelings were platonic. He wouldn't have suggested she meet Tommy otherwise, right? And that was fine, she told herself. Totally and completely fine. They were friends.
She could do friends.
[Continue.]