C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - O N E
REJECTION
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A/N: Woah... we're on chapter 21... and um... this is only episode 3 of 23...
"Huh? What do you think?" Oliver wondered excitedly as we stepped into the dusty remnants of his father's abandoned factory. It was dimly lit and smelled like smoke and dirt. I wrinkled my nose at the undesirable scent as I examined the building Oliver was leading me into. Diggle followed next to me, seeming equally as dubious about the venture. "Great place for a club, right?" He said, turning towards us, namely me.
"Oliver, I'm proud of your new... entrepreneurship, but a club? Here?" I said honestly, less than impressed by the cracked, dingy windows and broken beams overhead.
"Sure, it needs some... repairs, but once it's all fixed up, it'll be great. I'm thinking have the bar here, the DJ booth here, dance floor here. There's a private office upstairs and even a space that's perfect to make into a storage cellar." Oliver listed, gesturing to different features of the ghetto building.
"Oliver, are you sure you want to do this? You don't exactly have much experience in running... well, anything." I reminded him, but this didn't seem to make him rethink anything.
"Well, then I should do some research," Oliver responded. "Tommy and I are scoping out the competition tomorrow. There's a new club opening downtown. Poison, I think."
"Poison?" I repeated, raising my eyebrow. "Max Fuller owns that club."
"Wait, he does?" Oliver said, a little taken aback.
"Who's Max Fuller?" Dig wondered.
"A grade A dick that we used to be friends with. Oliver slept with his fiancee."
"To be fair, it was before the wedding," Oliver added.
"It was at the rehearsal dinner." I told Dig.
"Which is technically before the wedding! And besides, who stays mad at a castaway?" Oliver defended. "So, you in Katie? It'll be me, you, and Tommy. It'll be fun. Even if I'm the third wheel."
"Actually, Oliver... Tommy and I aren't together anymore." I said gingerly.
"Wait, you two broke up? When?"
"A few days ago."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's kind of... complicated." I alluded before quickly trying to change the subject. "Anyways, this place is definitely gonna need some major TLC if you want it to become a hit nightclub."
"So you do see potential in it?" He pressed teasingly.
I rolled my eyes. "With a lot of work and money, yeah. Maybe."
"Yes!" He cheered victoriously. "What do you think, Diggle."
"Oh, I'm just here to provide security to you and Miss Mitchell. I'm not here to give commentary and interior design advice." Dig shut down.
"Oh, come on, Dig. Speak freely. Humor me."
Dig sighed. "Well, this is the Glades. Your rich friend wouldn't come to this neighborhood on a dare."
"Well, I am Oliver Queen," Ollie said in a cocky tone. "I'm a bit of a local celebrity. People would stand in line for three hours if I opened a nightclub."
"And no one who lives in the Glades would see a penny of the cover charges," Dig added sharply, which Oliver responded too quickly, as if he had been expecting this retort.
"I figure if we make it a successful business, we gentrify the neighborhood."
"Right. Gentrification." Dig repeated, nodding his head skeptically.
Oliver looked to Dig for further commentary, but he didn't say anything. Oliver turned back to me then. "Come on, Katie. Just because you and Tommy aren't together anymore doesn't mean we can't all still be friends. Come to the club with us."
"Fine," I answered reluctantly, knowing he would just keep badgering me if I didn't agree. "I'll be there. But I can't stay out too late. I have work the next day and I have an article I want to get published soon."
"Really, what's it about?" Oliver wondered.
I hesitated to answer, and even glanced towards Diggle as if I was cautious of him knowing about the topic. As far as I knew, Diggle was unaware of my previous engagements with the Hood.
"The Vigilante." I exposed and Oliver's eyes widened.
"You're writing about the Hood? Karter, that guy is crazy!" He immediately argued.
"He's saved several people, Oliver. And all by his lonesome. That's news people want to read."
"Then leave it to another reporter. I'm sure someone else is gunning to write about him."
"Why not me?"
"Karter..." Oliver started, pausing to take a breath and calm down. "If you get involved in this guy, if you stick your nose where it shouldn't be, you could wind up getting hurt."
"I'm being careful." I assured him. "I'm writing about the Hood whether you like it or not. The entire newspaper is depending on these stories, anyway. I'm not letting them down. I'm writing about the Hood."
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I returned to my apartment rather than the Queen's mansion since most of my stuff had been delivered and I was in the process of unpacking and actually moving in. It was dark now as we had visited the factory in the evening and then got dinner at a nearby restaurant. Oliver had further argued that I stop writing about the Arrow, and I had further ignored him.
At my apartment, I changed into a pale pink t-shirt and grey sweatpants. Disregarding Oliver's warnings, I opened my laptop and went to work doing more digging on the Vigilante. I had emailed a couple people who had claimed to be witnesses to the Hood, but none had responded yet. Even still, I kept trying. I was convinced there was more for me to find out about him. I couldn't explain it, but I felt so oddly connected and close to the Hood that I couldn't give up looking.
There was a crash coming from outside. The noise made me jump, startled by its unexpectedness. I stood up and crept towards the window. Last time I had heard loud, unexpected crashes from my apartment, the Chinese mob tried to kidnap me.
That was also the last time I had talked to the Hood. On the roof.
I bolted to the stairwell, nearly tripping as I shuffled up the stairs, still dressed in virtually pajamas. I hadn't even bothered to put on shoes so the concrete floor of the roof was like ice on the soles of my bare feet.
"It's you," I said as I stood in front of the door that led back down the stairwell. A hooded figure was shrouded in darkness on the opposite side of the rooftop. A cool breeze ruffled my auburn hair, which fell over my shoulders in loose waves. We strongly juxtaposed each other, him in his dark-colored leather armor getup, tall with broad shoulders and a strong build, versus me, shorter with a slim build wearing lounging clothes.
"I heard you got a job writing about me." That familiar deep voice rang out into the night air. The Hood was facing away from me, staring off into the city lights.
"Last time we were here, you saved me from being thrown off this very building," I said, eager to ask him the billions of questions that I had been hoarding away in my mind.
"You can't write about me." He decided authoritatively, turning around to face me. All I could make out in the poor lighting of the thin moon and the dull city lights was dark grease smeared around his eyes. The familiar silhouette of his bow appeared as a dark shadow on his back.
"Why not?" I questioned, taking a step forward. Just as I did, he took a step back, keeping his distance. I chuckled. "It wasn't the kiss, was it?" I joked, remembering the last time we had met and he had saved my life. "Don't worry. I don't go around kissing any dark-hooded vigilante that comes around."
"Find a new topic to write about." He demanded impatiently. Clearly, he didn't share the same sense of humor.
"Why?! People need to know who you are! Not your true identity, I get why you operate anonymously. But they need to see that you're a hero, not a criminal!" I declared, crossing my arms over my chest at the cold air nipped at my bare arms. My feet were freezing by now and the chill was setting into my bones. "The police want your head on a pike," I informed him, though I was fairly certain he would have already known this fact. "Especially Detective Quentin Lance."
"Lance is the least of my problems." He said. "I'm more worried about a nosy, overbearing reporter writing about my every little action."
"I'm trying to help you!" I snapped at the Hood, who was being particularly stubborn tonight.
"I don't need your help!" He called back, his voice booming and echoing around the rooftop.
I scoffed at the Hood. "So your plan is to take down every last criminal in Starling City single-handedly?" I questioned skeptically, raising an eyebrow at him. "If an entire police force can't eradicate this city of criminals, then how is it you believe you can do it on your own? Even if you are some... specially trained, ninja super soldier?" I tested dubiously.
"I'm not restricted by the same protocols as the police. I'm not a detective."
"Right. You're a vigilante. That's what they're calling you, right? Cops don't like vigilantes!" I argued with him. "How do you plan to continue flying under the radar, taking out high-risk targets while you're being hunted down like a serial killer by the police department, huh?"
"Stop looking into me. You're going to get yourself hurt."
The Hood was gone as quickly as he had come, leaving me in the chilly night breeze, staring off onto an empty roof.
I returned to my apartment just as a familiar face was raising his fist to knock on the door. "Tommy?" I recognized. He spun around to face me. He seemed a bit frazzled, but he still took notice of my strange attire to be out of the apartment. He ignored any questions that might have developed in his head and greeted me.
"Kate."
"What are you doing here?" I wondered, crossing my arms over my chest.
"I thought we could talk. Inside, maybe?" He suggested, gesturing over his shoulder at the closed apartment door. I walked around him and opened the door, which I hadn't wasted time locking before running out to meet the Arrow.
I led him inside and he closed the door behind himself. "Kate, I've been thinking a lot and I think it's a mistake."
"What is?"
"Us not being together." He clarified.
"Tommy–"
"Karter, the time we were together was the best time of my life. It made me feel like my life actually had meaning." He started, taking my hand and sitting on the couch, guiding me down next to him. "I hate who I used to be. I'm trying to change. I really am. And I'm doing that for you. Because I love you.
"We don't have to rush back into things. I know I freaked you out with the ring and the proposal... I'm sorry. But we can go back to watching the Walking Dead on the weekends and having lunch at Little Corner Deli. I just want us to be back together. I want to be a better man for you. Let me prove myself."
I stared into his stormy grey eyes. His eyes always seemed so full of emotion, so honest. I was too entranced by the silver orbs that I didn't notice he had begun leaning forward and I had started mimicking the motion. Our lips met softly and hesitantly. I was the first to pull away, but Tommy seemed to think the brief kiss was enough.
"I need time, Tommy." I told him and his eyebrows creased into a disappointed expression as his face fell and his head dropped. "I still have feelings for you. I always will, but I can't just jump back into the way we were if I don't trust you.
"Prove to me that you can be better and that I can trust you and maybe– maybe– I'll consider us getting back together."
Tommy's face lit up. "That's all I want, Kate. I will prove that I can be the man you deserve."