Code Black // Arrow

07 | Thick Tension

"Okay. What else did you miss?" Tommy paused with his wrists resting on the table with his fork in his right hand. He tilted his head to the side, slightly squinting into the air as he concentrated harder.

A sweet smile graced my lips. This was the first time in a while I had really seen my brother this happy in a while. He was a rather happy person in general, so it wasn't uncommon. This was a different kind of happiness. This was Tommy having his best friend back. For a year, Tommy lost not only his best friend and his sister. Now, he had both of us back in his life. Joy radiated in his brown eyes.

"Super Bowl winners..." Tommy blurted, determined to tell his best friend about everything he had missed. "Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again."

I cracked a smile before I placed more potatoes in my mouth. Oliver's eyes flickered from Tommy to where I sat beside my brother. He was clearly still occupied with thoughts of what happened earlier.

The friendship the two of us had was different from what it would be now. Five years was a lot of time for two people to change. I knew how much I changed since then, especially with everything I had gone through and what I had my Dad teach me. I was not the same girl I used to be.

Five years alone on an island was sure to change you in ways I wouldn't be able to imagine. The things Oliver must had gone through to stay alive every day must had been intense. There's no way he didn't come off of that island without some baggage in his mind.

"A black president, that's new." Tommy continued with a flick of his hand. "Oh, and 'Lost', they were all dead..." His head tilted to the side as confusion swept over his facial features. His lips pursed and he glanced in my direction beside him. "I think?"

A small giggle slipped off of my lips. That show confused me as much as it confused him. I remembered nights where the two of us would sit on the couch in our apartment to watch that show and try to understand everything.

From my peripheral vision, I could feel Oliver's gaze on me, so strong, like he wanted me to meet his look. I kept my chin directed in my brother's direction, stubbornly. I wasn't ready for all of his questions. What happened to him on that island intrigued me, probably the same amount that it intrigued him to know what happened to me when I was kidnapped.

"What was it like there?" Thea questioned, curiously.

I stopped my hand in mid-air with food on my fork, mouth partially left agape. Everyone's motions froze as they were taken aback by Thea's brave question. Moira sent out a group text strictly telling everyone not to ask Oliver about his time on the island. She thought the whole experience would be too much for him to discuss after just leaving it.

The tension in the dining room grew thicker from the question. There was already an abundance of it in the mansion, but Thea's curiosity took the price to make it worse. Even Raisa, the Queen's maid, had sharply turned her back to the table, not wanting to be a part of the situation.

Oliver hesitated before he chose to answer. "Cold," he answered his sister. The answer was short and left our imaginations to be the ones to figure out the rest.

Tommy placed his hand on my shoulder and broke the silence that fell back upon the table. "Tomorrow, the three of us, we're doing the city. You've got a lot to catch up on."

"Oh, actually," I pressed my lips together while setting my fork down on my nearly empty plate. My eyes darted between Oliver and my brother. "I had plans to have lunch with Dad tomorrow. We have some things to talk about."

Tommy frowned at the news. He seemed to really want to get the original team back together. The three of us used to own Starling City with our partying. You know, after the two accepted the fact that I would always be joining their sides, no matter how much they disapproved at first.