Unravel Me | Arrow [ COMPLETED ]

chapter nineteen

"Words only get through if they're sharp"

DODIE - 'Burned Out'

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Oliver's party seemed to move in slow motion.

Cali drifted through the hordes of party-goers, all dressed in scandalous outfits that barely matched the 'prison' criteria. A glass of champagne was pressed into her hand by a faceless waiter that vanished before he was properly visible. The lights flashed in time to a song that Cali couldn't properly hear because it was so loud. It felt surreal to be there, like she was so hopelessly detached from reality.

"Hey kid." Detective Lance peeled himself away from the wall, streamlining through the crowds until the two of them were face to face. His eyes, for once, weren't angry. He just seemed resigned. "You missed your boy's speech."

Cali shook her head and drained her champagne. "Doubt I missed much at all, then."

Lance's smile was all teeth. He had his own glass of champagne, which seemed to be the normal for the party really, but he didn't drink any of it. "I don't understand the appeal of these...gatherings," he said blithely, casting his sharp gaze out over the people. Cali knew who he was looking for. "You rich kids must not understand how uncomfortable all this makes regular people."

Oh no, Cali knew exactly what it was like. She just had to smile and bear it, because this was Oliver trying to prove a point and manipulate his closest friends and family at the exact same time and she was too tired to try and talk him out of it. Besides, something like this was so far out of her control.

Magic hands swapped her empty champagne glass for another - this one slightly larger, slightly more full - and Cali took a long drink almost instantly. "You haven't seen my brother around, have you?"

Detective Lance eyed her drink warily. "You sure you should be drowning yourself in those already?" he said in lieu of answering, nodding at the wine glass. "I'm supposed to be the alcoholic here, not you."

Cali rolled her eyes, finishing off her champagne in one last drink just to prove a point. This time, it burned slightly on the way down. "Alcoholism isn't limited to one person," she chirped, wrinkling her nose. "Let's be miserable together." She glanced around for a waiter, snagging the attention of one almost immediately.

To her credit, she didn't drink the wine straight away this time. She just nursed the glass, comforted by the fact that she could, if she wanted to.

Lance swept his arm out in a vague, general gesture. "Your brother left earlier. He was only here until the people started arriving." He turned his bitter grin on Cali. "It's strange, isn't it? I would've thought this would be his scene. There's plenty of young girls here - he could take his pick of the damn litter."

"Quinten," Cali warned quietly. "That's enough."

Lance shook his head but dropped his arm. He took a small sip of his champagne. "I don't know how you can do this all the time," he mumbled.

"Practice."

He grumbled something under his breath that Cali didn't hear and very obviously didn't meet her eyes.

Cali sighed into the rim of her glass as she raised it to her lips to take a drink. Another change that surely must have come from Oliver's time away. Before the Gambit went down and the entire horror show started, Oliver had hated champagne. Of all the polite, mature party drinks, it had been that specific wine he'd refused to drink.