Code Black // Arrow

15 | Girl's Night

His excitement transferred to the spoon where he scooped a large amount of the minty goodness and shoved it into his mouth. Our heads snapped up in unison at the sound of footsteps fall against the hallway floor. Chase's face scrunched together as he attempted to swallow the large mouthful while the rest of his body became taut, waiting for the person to round the corner or continue on to the rest of floor.

There were only three other apartments located in this particular hallway; one resident who worked late, the other, an elderly women, who rarely left her home unless she needed to see her grandchildren.

The two cops stationed out in front of the apartment building were assigned the task of watching residents and visitors if they were to enter the premise. Anyone who radiated suspiciousness would be asked to prove they lived here and, potentially, searched.

My shifted backward slightly, shocked by the person that rounded the hallway and stepped down the dead end. "Oliver...?" I breathed.

Oliver's pace gradually slowed as his own surprised emotions washed over him, taken aback by my appearance in front of Laurel's apartment with the door opened behind me. His head cocked to the side as he neared us, eyes squinted at our figures, dressed in jeans paired with a denim, button up shirt. A brown, paper bag and a brown jacket grasped in his hands.

"Hensley?" He greeted me. "Uh, hi."

His steel blue eyes glanced from my figure to Chase, who slightly stood protectively in front of my body with the bowl grasped in his left hand. The boys briefly raised their chins and stared at each other before Oliver swiftly looked back to me.

"Is Laurel— Are you okay?" asked Oliver. "There are two cop cars outside."

"Yeah," I answered with a soft bob of my head. "You can thank Detective Lance for that. He's worried about her being involved with this case, which I don't completely blame him."

Oliver's head matched my actions, understanding the predicament. "I, uh—" His eyes squinted once more with his eyebrows scrunched together. "I tried to go by your place, but no one was home."

"Not sure what Tommy is up to, but it's girl's night," I informed him, casually folded my arms across my chest.

"Girl's night?"

Familiar footsteps sounded from inside the apartment.

"I'm sorry, but I thought I heard you say—" Laurel walked up to the opened door with her eyes glued on me until she noticed a third figure in the hallway. "Oh," she deadpanned.

"Hi," Oliver repeated the greeting, lips pressed into a thin line.

Every emotion vanished from her face as she heavily glared at him, visibly irritated by his appearance at her apartment. Her arms tightly crossed over her chest.

Chase slyly glanced between the two, easily sensing the thick tension that resided between the two. "I'm gonna go check the perimeter," he softly whispered to me, carrying the bowl of ice cream close to his chest.

His body walked down the hallway with a quick glimpse over his shoulder, smirking at his ability to leave during such an awkward moment. No doubt he was surely only walking to another hallway just to hide and eat his melting ice cream.

"How am I supposed to stay away from you if you won't stay away from me?" Laurel countered after Chase walked away.

"I—"

"What are you doing here, Ollie?" She demanded, voice laced with strong annoyance.

Oliver's eyes darted between the two of us, noticing the way a small gap settled between us, arms crossed over our chests as we peered up at him. The only difference between our stances was how I wasn't glowering at him, instead more curious to know why he wandered up to her doorstep tonight.