･ﾟೃ⁀➷ 𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇
WHAT HAPPENS IN STARLING
⠀⠀𝐍𝐎𝐀𝐇 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐒. Lizzie had taken that time to get him a bottle of water, sitting patiently by his side. He looked so young. Eyes red and sniffled, she wanted to hug him all over again, his oversized sweatshirt looked, even more, larger on him for some reason. He must have been keeping all that bottle up for a while now. They both sat on the floor instead of the chairs, it was more grounding (ignore the pun, please).
⠀⠀"Do you need anything?" Lizzie asked him in concern. He shook his head, she didn't know since when they were trusting each other for moments as vulnerable as this, but looking back at the time he'd helped her during her panic attack in Central City general a month ago, she decided it was a mutual decision.
⠀⠀"Thank you," He croaked.
⠀⠀"You're welcome," She smiled, "And thank you for that time at the hospital, I never got to thank you."
⠀⠀He smiled in return, "Well, this was a shitshow," He added with a laugh. Lizzie chuckled.
⠀⠀"Maybe," She shrugged, "But you looked like you needed it."
⠀⠀"Maybe." After a second, he started giggling.
⠀⠀"What?" Lizzie asked him, an auburn brow raised in confusion.
⠀⠀"Maybe could be our Always," He grinned.
⠀⠀They both started crackling like children. And god, Lizzie hadn't laughed this much in a long time. She doubted Noah had either.
⠀⠀And then her phone started ringing again and ruined the moment. She groaned on seeing who it was, the same number from Starling City, "Oh, give up already," She muttered. Noah was close enough that he heard her, "It's Serenity," She explained, blocking the number for good, "My dear sister thinks everything is perfectly fine after ignoring us for twelve years. She's called three times already," She shoved her phone in her pocket, huffing.
⠀⠀"You know, I really hated Caitlin when she went to college at Ivy," Noah said, "She didn't even call that much because of how busy she was and I was stuck with mom so I stopped answering after a while. It was shitty, but as soon as Cait got her own place with Ronnie she invited me over and asked me to move in. I said no, at first, but I still talked to her, heard her out, not for her but for myself and we started meeting up again and I got to know Ronnie, too. The next time she asked me to move in with her, Ronnie did too, I said yes and quite frankly I have to say it was the best decision of my life I've made so far."
⠀⠀"And the point?" Lizzie asked impatiently. She had a feeling there was a moral Noah wanted to share.
⠀⠀"Give her a chance," Noah said, "She might have some reason for doing what she did. If not, maybe she does feel like shit for it. You don't have to forgive, but it's always a good idea to just hear her out. Not for her, for you."
⠀⠀Lizzie looked at him in contemplation for a moment, then sighed. She grabbed her phone and unlocked it.
⠀⠀"Hey, what happened to your screen?" Noah asked, looking at the broken screen Lizzie hadn't bothered getting fixed.
⠀⠀"Uh, I sort of dropped it when I ran into you on Christmas," Lizzie said, "But it's alright, I'll get it fixed later," She added before the brown-haired boy could apologize.
⠀⠀"Cisco could fix it for you," He said, "It wouldn't even take a day for him."
⠀⠀"Really?" Lizzie looked surprised, she knew he was an engineer but she didn't think he would be able to fix a phone screen of all things, "I'll ask him I guess."
⠀⠀She didn't know if she and Cisco Ramon were on good enough for her to ask him for favors, but it couldn't hurt to ask, right? Lizzie unblocked the unknown number and clicked on it.
⠀⠀She took a deep breath as the line rang, Noah gripped her hand assuringly. He really was a gift, wasn't he? She kept the phone close to her ear, listening to the ringing sound, waiting for someone to pick it up.
⠀⠀"Hello?" It wasn't Serenity. It was a gruff male voice, sounding rather tired. Lizzie was rather disappointed. She let go of Noah's hand in surprise.
⠀⠀"Hello?" She said, "I'm Lizzie Allen, um, you called me today—"
⠀⠀"Detective Allen's sister?" The man asked.
⠀⠀"Yes," She blurted out, "Detective Serenity Allen, yeah, she's my older sister."
⠀⠀The man sighed, "I'm Officer Quentin Lance from the Starling City Police Department. Miss Allen, your sister was involved in a shootout last night—"
⠀⠀Her heart stopped.
⠀⠀"—She's critically injured," Officer Lance finished, "She's at Starling General Hospital if you would like to visit."
⠀⠀"Is—Is she going to be okay?" Lizzie's voice quivered, she looked back at Barry stuck to the machines keeping him alive and kept seeing another sibling in the same position.
⠀⠀Lance sighed, "I don't know, kid, but your sister's a strong woman. She's too damn stubborn to go out like this knowing her."
⠀⠀The version of Serenity Lizzie remembered was strong, stronger than anyone she knew.
⠀⠀But she didn't know this version of Serenity. And she didn't know if she would be okay either.
⠀⠀"Kid?" Lance said when she said nothing, "Will you come see her?"
⠀⠀Lizzie hated Serenity. She left her and Barry alone right when they needed her the most, she never answered their calls, she never came back. Lizzie hated her sister more than anything. But . . . this was the same sister who she'd looked up to for years as a child, who had always held her after nightmares and sang with her along with the car radio. Barry was gone, for now, or forever, but he was gone. Serenity was the only family Lizzie had right now.
⠀⠀"Yes."
. ᵒ . ࿐ ࿔*
⠀⠀"𝐈 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐉𝐎𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄," Eddie said as he stopped the car in front of Starling General. Lizzie had called Rome, who had called Eddie, who had agreed because Rome had blackmailed him and Lizzie had thrown puppy eyes at him to drive them both (because Rome wasn't leaving her alone right now fuck you Eddie it's a weekend) to Starling City. Rome had, meanwhile, texted Iris that she was taking Lizzie out for a suprise Birthday Sleepover and wouldn't let her come back until Sunday. And Iris was more than happy to give her blessings.
⠀⠀Yeah, Iris was going to kill Eddie too.
⠀⠀"Oh, trust me, my mom will do worse if finds out you broke Grandma Annie's vase."
⠀⠀"Why does it matter if Grandma Annie isn't even dead, yet!"
⠀⠀"I have her on speed dial, Edward," Rome smirked. Eddie glared at her as she opened the door and walked out of the car, tugging Lizzie behind her.
⠀⠀"Thank you—" Lizzie got two words out before Rome pulled her out of the car.
⠀⠀"You're staying at Aunt Martha's until I come back on Sunday or I will let Iris skin you both alive!" Eddie yelled before taking off.
⠀⠀"Now, before we go in," Rome began, "You are going to take deep breaths. The Officer said she'll be fine because bitches don't go down easy—"
⠀⠀"Rome!"
⠀⠀"Yes, I'm sorry, but she disappears for 12 years so that's about all I got," Rome continued, "Your sister will be okay. So will Barry, so will you, so don't panic."
⠀⠀"I'm not panicking."
⠀⠀"You were twirling your hair the entire ride, that's a dead giveaway," Her eyes softened, "Serenity will be okay. Deep breaths and then we're going in."
⠀⠀Lizzie rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to break, Rome."
⠀⠀They stepped in the hall eyes and Lizzie got that deja vu. She really wanted to not come to a hospital because a sibling was on death's door. A horrible thought struck her then.
⠀⠀If Serenity didn't make it, she would die thinking Lizzie hated her.
⠀⠀And maybe she did, maybe she didn't. But she wouldn't know until she let go of the anger and let Serenity explain and Lizzie hadn't done any of it, because she couldn't control her fucking mouth for once and now Serenity was going die and she would die thinking Lizzie hated her and-
⠀⠀"We're looking for Serenity Allen," Rome asked the receptionist smoothly, "She's a Detective, got involved in a shootout last night—"
⠀⠀"Lizzie Allen?" The auburn-haired girl turned around to see an Officer, "We spoke on the phone. I'm Quentin Lance."
⠀⠀"Nice to meet you," Lizzie greeted him, "Is- Is Serenity okay?"
⠀⠀Lance looked more tired than he sounded on the phone, he looked at Rome who stood by Lizzie, "Your friend?"
⠀⠀"Rome Evans," The silverette introduced herself.
⠀⠀"Her cousin gave us a lift here," Lizzie explained, "He'll be back to pick us up on Sunday."
⠀⠀"And where will you two stay until then?" Lance asked, looking between the two.
⠀⠀"At my aunt's," Rome answered, looking about as unhappy as she felt about the woman. Yes, this was the same aunt who didn't know when to mind her own business and Lizzie was extremely grateful for the sacrifice Rome was making for her.
⠀⠀"I would offer you my daughter's spare room but . . . " He muttered, "Your sister's not awake yet, but Doc says she should be fine."
⠀⠀Lizzie wondered if he was lying to her or to himself.
⠀⠀"I'll show you both to her room,"
⠀⠀The girls followed him silently, Rome kept looking at Lizzie in concern (Lizzie wasn't blind, as you know). Right outside what Lance pointed out was Serenity's recovery room stood a small crowd, and Lizzie imminently recognized a certain blonde standing with her back towards the auburn-haired girl.
⠀⠀"Felicity?"
⠀⠀"Oh, Lizzie!" The blonde turned around, without another word she hugged the auburn-haired girl tightly which startled her just a little bit. Lizzie behind her mop of blonde hair to see two men looking at her in confusion. The shorter of the two, a blonde man, looked at Lance as if asking a silent question. Felicity pulled apart from Lizzie, "This is Lizzie," She said to the two men, "Barry and Serenity's younger sister."
⠀⠀"Oh," The blonde man said, "I'm Oliver Queen. I'm a . . . " He looked confused for a second, Lizzie raised an eyebrow, "Friend. I'm a friend," He said tightly. The auburn-haired girl decided he was still debating if it was the correct title.
⠀⠀So, this was the famous billionaire/playboy who returned from the dead? Lizzie didn't need to turn around to know what Rome was thinking.
⠀⠀"John Diggle," The latter of the two extended his calloused hand which Lizzie took to shake, "Your sister and I friends," He seemed more certain with the title for their relationship.
⠀⠀"So, how's Barry?" Oliver asked, seemingly genuine which gave Lizzie the impression he was one of the new friends her brother made on his visit to Starling City a month ago.
⠀⠀"Not awake," She said numbly, "Like Serenity."
⠀⠀Felicity winced at that, Oliver for some reason looked incredibly guilty.
⠀⠀"Anyone heard from Harper?" Lance asked suddenly.
⠀⠀"Thea's with him," Oliver answered, "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Again."
⠀⠀"Roy Harper," Felicity said, she was talking to Lizzie, "is Serenity's ward. It's a long story, his uncle died in the Undertaking so she took over guardianship of him. They're actually close now, like brother-sister, I guess. He's not really happy with . . . " She shrugged vaguely, "Thea's his girlfriend. And Oliver's sister."
⠀⠀"Did you tell Laurel?" Mr. Diggle asked.
⠀⠀"No," Lance sighed, "She's not picking up."
⠀⠀"You can go check on her," Felicity assured him, "Lizzie and her friend can stay with me."
⠀⠀"Um, actually we were going to stay at Rome's aunt's—"
⠀⠀"We would love that, Miss Smoak," Rome said quickly, jumping at the opportunity of not having to stay with her bitch of an aunt, "I'm Rome, by the way, Lizzie told me all about you."
⠀⠀"Alright," Lance said, he turned to Lizzie, "You have my number, call me if you need anything, kid."
⠀⠀Lizzie nodded.
⠀⠀Rome pulled Lizzie to sit down at one of the plastic chairs, "I'm getting us something to eat," She said before walking aware, probably searching for a vending machine.
⠀⠀Oliver turned around to leave but Felicity stopped him, "Where the hell do you think you're going?" She demanded, even if her tone was as soft as ever, it was also sharp and demanding. Lizzie didn't know Felicity Smoak could do that. But then again she'd known the blonde for a month only.
⠀⠀"Finding the man who's responsible," Oliver whispered harshly. Lizzie heard him, she pretended she didn't.
⠀⠀"That's the Police's job!" Felicity whispered back, just as harshly, "Detective Allen was shot, not-" She cut herself off, "If you go, Roy will follow you, and he'll do something reckless and then Serenity will murder you both!"
⠀⠀"Thea's keeping him busy, he'll be fine," Oliver snapped, "You need to stay with her, and you," He told Mr. Diggle who looked ready to tear the CEO a new one, but the blonde started again before he could, "Lance said cops can't protect her, one of us have to."
⠀⠀Diggle didn't say another word. He nodded grimly.
⠀⠀Oliver stormed off without another word, looking like he was going to kill someone.
⠀⠀"What is up with him?" Lizzie frowned.
⠀⠀"He's in love with your sister and doesn't know how to process his feelings," Felicity muttered before falling on a chair next to the auburn-haired girl. So they were dating. Rome's info was rarely incorrect, so not a surprise.
⠀⠀Diggle snorted before sitting on a chair adjacent to them.
⠀⠀Lizzie took the moment of peace to unravel whatever the fuck just happened in the middle of the hallway of this stupid hospital. And the fact that her sister had a ward, apparently. Another thing on the list of things Lizzie needed to bring up when the brunette woke up (if she did, a chilling voice added).
⠀⠀"Who's Laurel?" Lizzie asked instead.
⠀⠀"Detec- Officer Lance's daughter," Felicity explained, "Serenity's best friend."
⠀⠀"Besides you, that is," Diggle added. Felicity smiled ruefully.
⠀⠀"She's going through a lot," The blonde continued, "I don't know her that well, though, at least not as well as Serenity does. Definitely not as well as Oliver. But we think this might add to her already crippling anxiety."
⠀⠀Lizzie could sympathize with that.
⠀⠀The blonde's phone chimed, she took a look at it, "It's Roy," She told Diggle.
⠀⠀The man in question raised an eyebrow, "When did you get his number?"
⠀⠀"Right after we invited him to . . ." She sent a panicked glance towards Lizzie, "Oliver's club."
⠀⠀Lizzie scrunched her nose in confusion. However, before she could ask anyone there to elaborate on that, Rome appeared, dropping energy bars, water bottles, and two bags of chips in Lizzie's lap.
⠀⠀"Eat up, Allen," She said picking out one energy bar for herself, "You didn't have anything at Lunch, I'm not blind. Apparently, hospital vending machines don't have mini-birthday cupcakes so there goes that plan. This is gonna have to do," She tore open the energy bar.
⠀⠀"It's your birthday?" Felicity asked.
⠀⠀"Yep," Lizzie said nonchalantly.
⠀⠀"Worst one so far," Rome added.
⠀⠀Felicity just looked sad. Yeah, sure, it's incredibly depressing to spend your birthday outside your dying sister's hospital room, but that was the theme her life was going in these days.
⠀⠀"I mean, I spent Christmas in the exact same position, so you know," She tried to lighten the mood with a joke. That just made it worse as the blonde flinched and Mr. Diggle frowned. Rome stopped munching her energy bar to give the auburn-haired girl a look.
⠀⠀"Since why do you make dark jokes? That was my thing."
⠀⠀"It's been a long day, Rome!" Lizzie snapped. She crossed her arms and pulled legs on the plastic chair. Rome continued giving her a look, "Oh, shut up."
⠀⠀"I didn't say anything."
⠀⠀"You were thinking it."
✎↷ ❪ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄! ❫ ✩˚₊ ͙
𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝟤𝟧𝟪𝟪
so, roy harper is 17 right now in this universe
and he was 16 in season 1 of arrow, and so was
thea and she's 17 right now too. everything is
the same except the fact that thea got empac
-itated while moira was in jail and oliver was
drowning in self-pity on lian yu and she could
own the Verdant then and be a minor and fit
my plot.
(roy and serenity have a very sweet relationship,
like brother and sister)
and yes, in six feet under, oliver and serenity had
some solid chemistry and that was a spoiler. but
do they end up together? (who know?)
and this is an arrow plot (but i made it myself, it's
just connected to arrow) some batfamily charect
-ers will also show up next chapter and i'll explain
everything that happened here.
also, there's a quote in the season 2 arrow part of
six feet under where diggle tells serenity her sister
should get therapy. that dark joke was the reason
diggle says that for people who will wonder reading
that book.