The Girl Behind It All

Chapter 7

"Soo," Jess said as she leaned over my computer, "I heard you were spotted in the elevator with thee Oliver Queen. Is he as dreamy as everyone says?" I looked up at her as I gathered my things to leave.

"Yes he is." I yawned.

"What's been up with you, Lis? You have a new boyfriend or something?"

"Or something." I mumbled. "Listen, I've just been really tired. I gotta go, though. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Mmhmm." Jessica said and waved to me. Dragging my feet, I made my way down to the parking garage. It seems like later and later I'm getting out of work and the parking area is creepy. I hurried to my car and unlocked it.

As I walked into my apartment I half expected The Hood to be waiting in my living room yet again. Only, he wasn't. I guess it's too early in the day for him to be about. I turn on the TV and go about making myself some tv dinner. I CAN cook, I'm just too lazy. Especially when I live by myself, all alone. With no one to care for but myself. I heave a heavy sigh. "All alone, forever. I'm going to become the crazy cat lady Starling City. Figures. Especially with this stupid crush I have on the stupid vigilante-" I scream and drop my heated up tv dinner to the floor when I turn and see the Hood standing in my living room.
Hard as it is to see with his hood pulled so low, I see his lips curve into a smile. "I'm sorry for scaring you."
I take deep gulping breaths and nod to him before I can answer. "You know ... you have an ... arrow in your leg."
He looks down and breaks the arrow in half!
"That's why I'm here. Do you think you can find out information about this arrow for me? Where it comes from, who makes? Who has ordered arrows like these in the past month?"
I take the arrow from him and cut my eyes at him. "I should get a reward for this." I mumbled. Looking down at my now dirty clothes- damn, this is my favorite skirt! - I'm thankful I decided to eat before changing. I sit at my computer and search for this arrow. I notice an inscription. I snapped a picture of it on my phone and connected my phone to my computer. "This will take a few minutes. I'm running the image through the national and international database of weapons. If it wasn't sold on the black market, I'll find out who manufactured it." I said and stood. I turned around and the Hood was standing just shy of touching me, his head bent down staring and the food on my floor. 
"I'm sorry about your . . . dinner." He whispered. 
"That's fine, I guess. It didn't really look all that appetizing anyway." I looked away and shrugged. Wondering, not for the fifth time, who the man under that hood really is. 
"Felicity," He started to say just as my computer dinged.
I looked over at my screen and cocked my head in confusion. "According to this someone named John Smith bought a few sets of these exact arrows in Taiwan just a few months ago. But he used a credit card. Idiot." I looked back at the vigilante, "I can have the exact location of this Smith by tomorrow."
He nodded and turned away from me. "Thank you, Felicity. You have unknowingly become a very important part of my team."
"Thank you!" I called after him as he jumped out my window. I rushed over to see where he went but he was gone. No more than an hour later as I was throwing in some sweatpants and a tank top, my bell rang. Suspiciously, I walked over to it and grabbed my baseball bat. Bat in hand I opened the door.
There stood John Diggle. He looked at me, then to the bat and laughed. "Think that will protect you from an intruder?"
"I can hit very hard, thank you very much." I stood a little taller. "What are you doing here?  I mean, would you like to come in?"
With a smile he handed me a medium sized paper bag. "No thank you. I'm just a messenger for a . . . friend."
I dropped the bat and opened the bag. Dinner. From Jade Dragon! And it smelled so good. As if on cue, my stomach rumbled.
"I was told that your dinner was interrupted. Have a goodnight, Ms. Smoak." I looked up at John as he walked down the hall, back to my dinner and then back at John. He tilted his head my way before disappearing down the steps.

I paced back and forth nonstop until Diggle walked through the door. His smile dropped from his face and he shook his head at me. "First I would like to say that you're a bitch for not bringing the food to her yourself. Second, I found the distributor of the drug. The Count. He's been distributing his own very special kind of crazy for the last few months now. But i don't see how that's any of your concern, seeing as it has nothing to so with your damned book."
"I need to take fulfill my promise to-"
"Your father, yes I know."
"But," I said patiently, "I'd like to make this city a better place. For my sister, for you and me. For Felicity."
Diggle rolled his eyes at me. "I'm surprised you don't sit outside her bedroom window and watch her sleep with how you go on about protecting her."
I chose to ignore that and instead smiled. "She accept the food?"
"Yes. And now she knows I work with the Hood. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Yes. I want her as a part of this team, but I'd like to ease her into it. I don't want to scare her away." I can't scare her away. I don't want to admit it to him, though he might already know, but I need her. Diggle said nothing.

"Do you know she said she has a crush on the Hood?"

Diggle chuckled. "Did you know the Hood has a crush on her? I wonder how amazed she'd be at that information."

I said nothing this time. I cannot have someone I care about be brought into this. It seems like I keep having to tell myself this over and over to make myself believe it. I need Felicity close, as a part of this team and as a friend. Maybe as something more.