Chapter Text
Snow had fallen in the night, laying a thick blanket over the light snow that had fallen the day before until even the tallest grass was no longer visible. The bare branches of the trees were blackened skeletons under the cold, fluffy comfort of white, just waiting for a breeze to free them from the frozen cover.
Two young women, barely recognizable in several layers against the cold wind, bantered with each other as they trudged across the open quad on their way to class.
"I can't believe you're still playing that game," the girl on the left muttered, derision dripping.
Felicity rolled her eyes and hitched her laptop bag a little higher on her shoulder. Sara just would not let this go.
"All of your friends miss you. Dig has been asking after you. Roy, Thea... they all want to hang out." Felicity didn't answer. "Is this thing even a game? It doesn't look like a game at all. It doesn't even look fun. It looks like you're studying or writing code for a class or something."
Felicity tried not to sigh, redirecting her attention to the sound of her feet crunching in the snow instead; the cut-stone edifice of McKenley Hall, the steam of her breath as she exhaled slowly and the other huddled students dedicated enough to go to class in this disaster of a day. She measured her words carefully before she defended herself. For the umpteenth time.
"It's a real game, Sara. It's a text-based RPG, role-playing game. And it would be fabulous if you guys would leave me alone about it."
"I thought you said it was a puddle or something like that."
Felicity bit the inside of her lip and reminded herself that this was her best friend and despite being a pain in the ass about this, she really was a great friend. "It's called a MUD. Multiple User Domain."
"That's right, I remember now. It's still stupid." Felicity clicked her tongue but Sara plowed on, "but why aren't there any pictures?"
"Because you use your imagination, Sara. Remember choose-your-own-adventure books?"
Sara didn't look at Felicity as she answered, they were both checking for traffic before crossing to McKenley Hall. "Vaguely. I preferred to play outside. Climb trees, that kind of stuff."
"Well," Felicity said as she mounted the first step to the lecture hall, watching for icy spots, "it's like those books, just online so it's more interactive. And other people play with me."
"Other complete and total geeks, you mean. And not even real people - pixels on a screen. Not your friends. Who miss you." Sara grabbed the door and held it open for Felicity, both girls stomping their feet to rid them of excess snow.
"Yes, that's what I mean, doofus," Felicity said, sticking her tongue out. "And if they miss me so much, maybe they should get off my case. I don't exactly want to hang out with people who make fun of me all the time." Sara opened her mouth to protest, but Felicity headed her off. "Are we meeting up after class?"
Sara tugged off her gloves and shoved them in her pockets as they walked down the hall towards their classes. "I may have to stay after and talk to Pearman about my paper. French Lit isn't going so hot. If I'm not in the break room by 10:30, just go on without me."
"No, it's okay. I have some stuff I can do," Felicity said, unwinding her scarf. "I'm aces in computer science, but it wouldn't hurt to do a little studying for this criminal psych."
"Of course you're aces in CompSci, Lissy. Was there any doubt?"
Felicity gave Sara a sheepish grin and pulled off her hat, earning a giggle from Sara. Felicity squinted in confusion. "What?"
"Oh, Lissy. Your hair... it's sticking up everywhere..."
Felicity scrambled to smooth it, combing through it with her fingers, but Sara's giggles increased. "Maybe you should put the hat back o-" her voice dropped to a whisper and she stared over Felicity's shoulder, freezing all movement, not even moving her mouth. "Don't move, Lissy. Oliver Queen is about to walk by here."
Felicity closed her eyes and tried to melt through the floor. She'd gotten an A in physics, surely there had to be a way to force the floor to open up and swallow her and her bad hair up in a huge hole through sheer will, right?
Nope. There wasn't.
"Ladies." Oliver smiled his heart-stuttering, knee-compromising smile and inclined his head towards them as he walked by on the way to class - her class - and she tried to speak. Felicity opened her mouth to acknowledge him and a piece of her wild, traitorous hair flew in her mouth. She reached up with a hooked finger to pull it out, but he had walked by and she was treated to a view of his back as he strode down the hall. She tried not to notice how his coat didn't cover his butt all the way...and how his jeans fit him just right...
Fingers snapped in front of her face. Felicity jumped and blinked. "Yes! What?!"
Sara grinned, tucking her scarf into her overlarge coat pocket. "You've got it sooo bad."
Felicity's face felt hot and she stammered, "shut up, Sara."
"You do, though."
"Shut up, I said."
"Well, I'll just say this. He didn't smile at me. He smiled at you."
"That's just because my hair was absolutely ridiculous." She reached up to smooth it again.
"Hmmm....I don't think so. But it's all academic anyway. Doesn't matter. You'll never get anywhere with him." Sara turned to walk away.
Felicity stared after her for a minute, stung. She knew that she was no prize, but to hear her best friend say that...she grabbed Sara's arm and spun her around. "That was a terrible thing to say, Sara! Why would you say that?" she said, hurt mixing with anger.
"You're never going to get anywhere with anyone if you don't get out from behind your computer. You have to actually choose your own adventure, not just type about it! You can have or do anything you want, just get off your cute little butt!"
Sara flounced off with a smug smile on her face, leaving Felicity standing in the lobby, nonplussed.
>>------>
[OOC] Elarain: omg you guys
[OOC] Quapuk: what?
[OOC] Elarain: my roomie is giving me hell about this game
[OOC] Raynoth: Asritya?
[OOC] Elarain: yeah
[OOC] Quapuk: why?
[OOC] Elarain: she doesn't get it and she wants me to date a guy
[OOC] Quapuk: you could date me ;)
[OOC] Elarain: you're in norway, doofus
[OOC] Quapuk: semantics :D
[OOC] Marlinda: it would be nice to see you settled though, Ela
[OOC] Elarain: Marli! didn't see you log in
[OOC] Raynoth: she's sneaky like that
[OOC] Marlinda: hush you. Ela, you're always here. *always*. it would be really nice to see you out having a good time
[OOC] Elarain: this is a good time!
[OOC] Marlinda: you know what I mean
[[A new player has joined the game]]
A half-elf appears in the village square. He claims to be an archer. He is wearing a leather jerkin, a hood and carries a bow and arrow. It would appear that he is new to town and could use some help. He says his name is Ryeth. Do you greet him?
Felicity clicked her fingers on the keyboard.
/greet Ryeth
You raise your hand and wave to Ryeth.
[IC] Raynoth: Greetings, half-elf, and welcome to our realm! I am Raynoth, an immortal of Asritya. In our world you will find friends and foes alike. I am here to assure that any problems you have are resolved quickly. Should anything arise, please notify me or my fellow immortal, Marlinda, at once.
[OOC] Marlinda: Welcome n00b!
[OOC] Quapuk: wassup, newbie
[OOC] Elarain: hihi! welcome aboard!
[OOC] Ryeth: Hello, everyone
[OOC] Marlinda: are you new to MUDs, or just our little realm?
[OOC] Ryeth: just asritya, but I haven't been mudding long. I only know the barebones basics
[OOC] Raynoth: We can teach you, we love n00bs! First things first, let's get you leveled up and outfitted! Who has what?
[OOC] Elarain: I have lvl 7 armor, lvl 15 armor and a lvl 17 bow and arrow
[OOC] Quapuk: I can supplement that
[OOC] Raynoth: anyone want to powerlevel Ryeth? n00b, you down for a raid on the toths?
[OOC] Marlinda: I'm down
[OOC] Quapuk: omw to marketplace
[OOC] Elarain: at marketplace. low on mana, anyone got a spell?
[OOC] Raynoth: I'll handle it.
[OOC] Ryeth: I really appreciate this.
[OOC] Quapuk: No sweat!
[OOC] Raynoth: It's our pleasure
[OOC] Marlinda: We want you to stick around after all, so we can get to know you a bit. if you're nice, we might let you make friends with our Ela.
>>------>
"Oliver Queen smiled at you again today. Did you see?" Sara looked at Felicity over her shoulder in the mirror as she was putting on her trademark touch of makeup that she only bothered with when they were going to be around her crush, Nyssa.
"No, he didn't. You're making that up." Felicity didn't bother looking up. The thought of Oliver Queen, the best-looking and most popular guy in school liking her was so absurd that she didn't bother favoring it with her attention. Especially not when she was chatting with someone who did like her.
"He did. When we were in the library."
"Whatever, Sara. If it makes you happy to lie to me, then you go right ahead. But he didn't and we both know it."
"Ugh, Felicity, you are so stubborn sometimes." Sara slammed the top on the mascara and twisted it shut with more force than was strictly necessary. "Are you done yet?"
"Just about..." Felicity continued to type without slowing down. "Just a few more minutes."
"Felicity. Come on," Sara whined. "Thea is texting me constantly, Diggle will never stop complaining if we're late again, Nyssa is going to be there and I want to have time to talk to her. I don't want to be late to this movie!"
"And I told you, you don't have to take me with you. The previews take up the first fifteen minutes anyway and you and Nyssa can have plenty of fun in the dark. Plus," Felicity said without looking up from the scrolling, colored lines of text, "I don't care anything about some movie about a guy wearing a flag and throwing a Frisbee."
"Uh, that guy," Sara sneered, "is Captain America. And it's not a Frisbee, it's a shield. And you just say this shit to get under my skin."
"You're right," Felicity said, smirking without looking up, her fingernails clacking against the keyboard of her laptop so fast it was almost one continuous sound, "I do."
"What the hell is so interesting?" Sara dropped her bag and walked over to Felicity's desk, peering over her shoulder. "Oh. Of course it's this game." She made a disgusted, clicking sound. "You've been on that computer every waking minute for the past three weeks." She watched the screen, trying to catch familiar words amid the madness scrolling by in primary and secondary colors. Something caught her eye and she bent over, squinting. "Who is 'Ryeth', and why is he blowing you a kiss?"
Felicity slammed the laptop shut. "Nobody. He's nobody. Let's go. You're going to miss Corporal America."
"Captain America. And nice try to goad me and change the subject at the same time."
"Thanks."
"Do you have an online boyfriend?"
"No, and shut up."
>>------->
You enter a peaceful clearing in the Herenoth Wood. The sun breaks through the trees and makes the clearing very pleasant. The trees are blowing gently in the breeze. Small animals skitter away as you enter.
A wooded trail leads north.
A comfortable-looking cottage with a small plume of smoke sits to the east.
The trail to the south looks darker and more frightening.
You can go back to the west.
Ryeth is standing here.
Felicity smiled then blushed. Online crushes were weird, but the fact that he hadn't missed an aggreed-on time in the four weeks they'd been...talking... made her feel...oh hell. She didn't know how to describe whatever it was they had going on or how it made her feel. But she felt happy about whatever this was with Ryeth.
Online crushes were definitely weird.
Felicity made herself comfortable in her leather computer chair, tucking one leg under herself and began typing.
You hug Ryeth.
Ryeth kisses you.
Ryeth produces red roses from nowhere and hands them to you!
You blush.
You say, thank you
Ryeth says, youre welcome
You say, rough day at school?
Ryeth says, it was meh.
You say, same here. it snowed again today.
Ryeth says, here too. is that so terrible?
You say, no, not the worst thing in the world, just makes getting to class cold and miserable. it was a lot of snow. :) sorry your day was crappy.
Ryeth says, we got a lot of snow, too. my day wasn't horrible, just not my best. want to tell me about your crappy day?
You say, I don't know that it would make anything better. complaining rarely does. :)
Ryeth says, true, but it may feel better to get it off your chest
You sigh.
You say, you may be right
You say, see, I'm kind of invisible at school. I mean, I know it's college and everyone kinds of blends together, but I'm totally unremarkable.
Ryeth says, oh, I doubt that. the Elarain I know could never be invisible. ;)
You say, no, it's true. I don't stand out at all. but my roomie is on my case to go with her to this frat party she's been invited to.
Ryeth says, you don't want to go?
You say, it's a couples thing, a valentine party.
Ryeth says, it sounds fun.
You say, remember the thing about me being unremarkable? I'm also shy. I don't have a date and won't be Sadie Hawkins-ing anyone. not my style AT ALL.
Ryeth frowns.
Ryeth says, you're pretty outspoken here with me lol, but you're not at all unremarkable. don't believe that about yourself.
You say, well, that's just with you. I'm pretty intimidated by just about everyone else. I don't think i could be myself around them..
Ryeth says, maybe one day you could open up around them?.
You say, I doubt it. .
You say, in the meantime, i don't know what to do about this stupid valentines day party. there's no way I could ever get a date in time.
Ryeth shuffles his feet.
Ryeth says, weeeelllllll....about that.......
You say, what?.
Ryeth says, why don't you go with me? or take me? or whatever?
Felicity laughed out loud. Well, she thought to herself, this is an occasion where a 'lol' would be appropriate, but I won't do that to him. She started typing again.
You say, don't be a goofball.
Ryeth says, I'm not. I figured out weeks ago we go to the same school
She was fairly certain her heart stopped in that moment.
You stare at Ryeth..
You say, shut up.
Ryeth says, I'm serious.
Ryeth says, you go to BU?
Felicity sat back in her computer chair and then cursed, sprawling her arms and legs wildly when it rocked back farther than she intended. Righting herself, she typed, 'say yeah'.
You say, yeah.
Ryeth says, well there you go. we go to the same school.
You say, omg holy shit.
Ryeth says, I really would like to meet you. I promise I'm not a crazy stalker or anything.
You say, I don't know....
Ryeth says, I absolutely do not want to make you do anything at all that makes you uncomfortable, but I would like to meet you.
Ryeth says, tell you what. how about we do lunch/coffee at the little bistro by the quad. totally public, lots of easy escapes. If you think I'm a troll, you can run away. no hard feelings.
Felicity bit her lip. She'd met people from online before, and having a date to this Valentine's party would get Sara off her case. Plus she really, really liked this guy.
On the other hand, she really, really liked this guy, and that was mildly terrifying.
Ryeth says, you still there? did I freak you out too much?
You say, I'm a little freaked out, but not too badly I don't think
Ryeth says, good
You say, do you know who I am?
Ryeth says, I have a guess, but only a guess
Ryeth says, I'll tell you if I'm right or not
Felicity thought for a second, her hands frozen over the keys, questions churning.
You say, so you think you know me already?
You say, BU is a big school
Ryeth says, if you're who I think you are, you're in my psych class
Felicity pondered that for a second, mentally reviewing all of the guys in that class - and one guy she'd been staring at for three semesters of school at BU already. But that was impossible, so she tried to push that out of her mind and thought about the other guys in her class. Barry? Tommy? Who could it be?
You say, I'm in a psych class, but so are about 80 other girls
You say, and there are other classes
You say, plus, how do you know I'm really a girl?
Ryeth says, I could be wrong
Ryeth says, but I think I'm right ;)
Ryeth says, and I trust you.
You say, well, I guess we'll see
Ryeth says, really? you'll meet me?
Felicity closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Opening her eyes, she leaned forward and typed a few words.
You nod
You say, yes.
>>------->
She stopped when she rounded the corner and the navy blue sign with gold lettering of the bistro came into sight. Felicity took a deep breath, the hundredth (or maybe thousandth) in the 24 hours since she had agreed to meet Ryeth. He had refused to tell her his name saying that if he was right and they knew each other, he wanted to see the look of surprise on her face. She had no idea why, but she trusted him. She had no reason to trust him, he was an internet stranger, but she trusted him and agreed to meet him without knowing his name. It was public, after all. Of course, now that it was time to do this thing, she was chiding herself mercilessly for such an irresponsibile decision.
Sara was ecstatic at first when she'd heard Felicity had met a guy, then when she discovered that it was a guy from online and Felicity didn't know the guy's name this morning, she and Diggle had had to be talked out of coming to the bistro and watching the date (and oh my God was she actually on a date is this a real date what the hell is she doing ohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod) and had finally settled for reguar texts every five minutes, or a reply whenever they texted her because they got skittish. They'd only backed down after Thea intervened and told them to leave Felicity alone and let her have a good time, that she wasn't worried about it. They still given her (and the life of her laptop) a dire warning if she didn't return their texts and said that any guy worth keeping would understand that she had friends who cared about her. All four of them had been weird about the whole thing, but Felicity was touched and hoped Ryeth wouldn't be annoyed with constant texts from worried friends.
She took another deep breath, blowing out a huge, billowing cloud when she exhaled that disappeared instantly on the wind, then took another.
Do it, Felicity. Just do this. He won't hurt you. You're in a crowd of people. You can do this. It's just coffee and lunch. You can do this. Just go.
She squared her shoulders and trudged through the snow to the bistro.
>>------->
Ryeth had told her he would be wearing a dark green sweater layered over a t-shirt and jeans.
Felicity walked into the bistro and immediately stamped her feet to clear her boots of snow, inhaling the warm, comfortable scent of baked goods, coffee and various house specialties as she cast her eyes around the room, looking for a green sweater.
There was one green sweater in the corner, worn by - no. No. That was Oliver Queen. It couldn't possibly be him. He was looking at her and smiling, but it was just because the bells on the door had jingled when she came in. It couldn't possibly be him. Oh, now he was raising his hand and waving. It was only because he knew her. He was being polite. Nice guy. Right?
Felicity smiled in response to Oliver's greeting and walked to the opposite side of the bistro, shrugging out of her coat as she sat down. She was still too cold, but she'd told him that she'd be recognizable because she'd be wearing a red sweater and he couldn't really see that if she had a big grey peacoat on. She'd learned her lesson from the hat incident, though, and had her hair up in (what she hoped was) a stylish, sleek ponytail.
Ryeth wasn't here, though. He had always been on time for every online meeting, but he wasn't here today. Felicity tried not to be hurt, giving herself lots of reasons why he hadn't showed up yet. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he was actually here already, just out of sight and wanted to get a look at her to make sure she wasn't a troll. Maybe he had already gotten a look at her and thought she really was a troll. You know what? That was the most likely scenario.
Maybe she should just run. This was such a bad idea. This was awful. She shouldn't do this. She'd been so confident before she crossed the threshold, and now she'd seen the cutest, most popular guy on campus and her confidence was totally shaken.
She should run.
But why should she worry? He wasn't here for her. No, he wasn't, and Ryeth was late, which meant he probably wasn't coming or he'd already left. Time to drink coffee and soothe her nerves. To pretend this had never happened and try to think up a new character name so she could pretend Elarain had never existed in case Ryeth ever logged back on to Asritya. One of the immortals would change her name and everyone liked her well enough to keep her secret. No one need ever know.
Yep. Time to erase this whole thing from existence. All because he was three minutes late.
The waitress came over to her table and introduced herself as Isabel, asking if Felicity wanted anything to drink. Felicity told her that she was meeting someone for lunch but she'd love a coffee and an ice water with an order of the bistro's famous homemade potato chips to munch on, please. The smell was just too much to resist and who cares if they're fattening? Not like she had someone to impress, anyway, right?
The waitress scrawled down her order and smiled, saying she'd be right back.
Felicity picked a pen from her purse as the waitress walked away. Felicity mused idly that the pen was red, matching her sweater, and wondered where on earth she'd picked up a red pen. There was a puzzle book lying on the table for people to while the time away with while they waited for their.
Yes. Good. Something to take my mind off of this. Felicity set her quick mind to work, studying the puzzle book and trying desperately to convince herself that she hadn't been stood up, that something had legitimately happened and the problem wasn't with her as she glanced hopefully to the door every time the bell jingled.
She had only circled the words 'sincere' and 'seriously' and was absently chewing the top of her pen when she heard someone clearing their throat. Felicity's head snapped up, automatically sitting back from the table to make room for the drinks and chips.
"Felicity Smoak?"
She looked up and thanked God she was sitting down, because that smile would melt lead. She'd thought her heart had stopped before, but no. Ten thousand butterflies were fluttering against her chest, trying to get out.
"Yes?"
"I'm Oliver Queen."
"I know who you are," she said and immediately felt like an ass. Don't be rude, Lissy. She realized she was clutching her pen in a vise grip and tried valiantly to relax. She failed.
Oliver smiled even brighter and she reminded herself to breathe. "I tried to get your attention earlier, but you didn't seem to know who I was. I'm sorry I didn't come over sooner, but I kind of had to work up the nerve." He smiled sheepishly, looking over her head for a second before looking back to her face. "I'm Ryeth. May I sit down?"
Felicity dropped the pen and covered her suddenly slack mouth with both hands, her eyes wide.
"Well, now, that's kind of defeating the purpose of not telling you who I am in advance of our meeting," Oliver grinned, sliding his bookbag off of his shoulder to the ground as he sat across from her, "if you're covering half your face then I can't see it. I can see your eyes though. They're huge." He got a look on his face Felicity couldn't quite place - that kind of look seemed impossible aimed at her coming from him. "And beautiful."
"You're lying." Felicity threw out the accusation wildly, shaking her head, her voice sounding unusual in her own ears. "This is a trick. Someone paid you -"
Oliver shook his head, still smiling. "I assure you, no one paid me. There isn't enough money in the world that could make me play a trick like this on someone - especially not you. This is a real blind date. I'm the real Oliver Queen, and I'm also really Ryeth. I have my laptop right here," he patted the backpack next to him, and Felicity followed his hand with her wide eyes, "would you like me to log on to Asritya to show you?"
"No! I mean no. I just don't...I can't..." Felicity's eyes welled with tears she couldn't explain, and Oliver's expression turned hurt and confused.
"I'm sorry, Felicity. This was a bad idea, I should have told you who I was and given you a chance to refuse, I know a lot of people don't like -"
"No, it's not that, not at all. I know this is cliche, but it's not you, it's me," Felicity wiped her eyes. "It's just...I'm so...I'm unremarkable, like I told you. I don't understand why you're here with me. It's like reverse catfishing. You could have left when you saw who I was and not talked to me anymore-"
"Felicity," Oliver reached across the table and took her hand in his. She noted dimly how warm it was, how large it was around hers and how strong but gentle his grip was. She looked at her hand wrapped in his dumbly, uncomprehendingly until he squeezed and tugged it a little to get her attention, then she looked back up at him.
"I knew it was you. I wanted it to be you. You and 'catfishing' don't belong in the same paragraph. There's no way you could have talked me out of meeting you today." He gave her that thousand-watt smile again and she teared up another time. "Want to hear something weird?"
Felicity gave a quick nod. She'd have agreed to almost anything in that moment, in the daze she was in.
"I talked one of your friends into telling me what classes you were taking this semester so I could take an elective with you. And then I hocked her into telling me what you were interested in so I could try and learn to do the same things."
"Who did you...? Thea." Felicity said, realization dawning.
Oliver laughed. "Yes, that's her. She's close with my family, so she can vouch that I'm not a crazy stalker. I mean, I felt totally stalkery about it, but I wanted to get closer to you, but we didn't run in the same circles and I didn't know how. I've had a crush on you since I transferred here over a year ago." Felicity did cry now and shook her head. Oliver nodded and said, "its true."
Felicity huffed a laugh, trying to believe, willing herself to believe. "I had a crush on you, too, but then so does every other girl at this school. Teachers, too." Oliver laughed, and it was like music. "You're the most popular, handsome, amazing guy at BU. Thus, you were - are - totally out of my league. Frat boy and all that."
Oliver smiled and shook his head. "Not a chance. You're the one that's way out of my league. But speaking of Valentine's..." Oliver let go of her hand and bent to his backpack, talking to her as he was unzipping. "My frat house is hosting a Valentine's party, and I was wondering..."
He resurfaced at the table with a small bouquet of miniature pink and red roses. "Would you mind being my date to the Valentine's party tomorrow, Elarain?"