The hospital room Elliot was being housed was surprisingly welcoming when I visited him for the first time since the explosion, he not initially being allowed any guests for a few days while he peacefully tried to recuperate.

'Hi,' I smiled as I sat next to Elliot, extremely happy to see my friend once again.

'Aria,' Elliot smiled back, even happier to have company after being alone during one of he worst experiences of his life. 'Thank you for coming to see me, it really means everything.'

'How couldn't I?' I grinned, glad to see that Elliot was coping well. 'I've missed you.'

'So, what's been happening in Aria Coleman's life?' Elliot asked me, genuinely interested in what I had been doing.

'Nothing much, really,' I answered him vaguely. 'Well, I did maybe quit my job...'

'What?' Elliot was surprised at this new drama. 'Why? Was it Oliver?'

'Wow, you are correct,' I was just as surprised that Elliot could guess what happened so easily. 'But how did you know?'

'I know you love Tommy too, so I predicted that there would be some love triangle going on with you all,' Elliot shrugged his deduction off as if it was nothing.

'Well, it's probably more of a love square or something,' I informed him slowly. 'Laurel may also be involved, which makes everything so much more complicated.'

'You really are in trouble,' Elliot shook his head comedically. 'How are things with the other part of your life, anyway? Your alter-ego?'

'Well, my 'alter-ego' may have also quit her night job,' I grimaced.

'Now it all makes sense,' Elliot sounded overcome with realisation. 'The Hood, he's...'

He mouthed the word Oliver to me in fear of someone else hearing us.

'How you pieced that together so quickly, I don't know,' I marvelled at Elliot's ability. 'But yes, you are right, again.'

'So, Aria, the main question is, are you Team Oliver or Team Tommy?' Elliot inquired cheekily, but I knew he just wanted to take his mind of his own life by listening to mine.

'Neither,' I concluded almost immediately. 'But, Tommy is a good friend. He managed to look past our history and now I couldn't imagine my life without him. I know that sounds stupid and slightly cringey, but seriously, he's wonderful.'

'What did he do?' Elliot was like a hawk, latching on to what had happened a few nights ago. 'Why do you think he's so amazing, all of a sudden?'

'He kind of took me to an art gallery, and then out for dinner,' I tried to explain, but did so poorly. 'But, it wasn't a date. It was more of a nostalgic thing to take my mind of everything.'

'It sounds like a date to me,' Elliot contradicted me rather sassily.

'I know it sounds like a date, but it wasn't,' I shook my head at once, denying mine and Tommy's relationship was anything other than platonic. 'He just wanted to do something nice, for his friend.'

'Friends don't do that, Aria,' Elliot almost laughed at me. 'Maybe you're best friends, but best friends who used to go out with other don't take each other on dates just to cheer them up. Now, I definitely am Team Tommy. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?'

'I am not going out with Tommy!' I exclaimed, slightly scornfully and shocked Elliot would ever imply our union once again. 'He is a friend, as I have told you many times now, and you know how it ended last time I was with him. It was scandalous, remember?'

'I never thought you'd befriend a cheater, but I was wrong,' Elliot suggested I was also wrong.

'And I never thought you would be talking about my life like it's a soap opera, but here we are,' I said back, making Elliot and I burst into laughter.

'I have missed a lot being cooped up in here,' Elliot commented light-heartedly, but I knew he was growing frustrated at his situation, and I couldn't blame him, not at all.

We became silent for a few moments, I spotting the thick bandages that covered the ends of Elliot's thighs, where his limbs ended. My stomach sank as I realised that the blast would change his life forever, and that my friend wouldn't be able to walk again unless he learnt how to use two prosthetic legs. How could this have happened purely down to coincidence? Someone didn't want us to know what Unidac Industries were creating, and they wanted us to pay for it.

'I'm so sorry, Elliot,' I apologised sadly on his behalf. 'This never should have happened. Whoever did this was truly evil, and I'm so sorry.'

'You don't need to be sorry, Aria,' Elliot told me very kindly. 'The person who caused the explosion is the one who should be, because I know a very angry vigilante who will kick their arse for destroying all the evidence we had on Unidac.'

'And more importantly, for what they did to you,' I added ferociously. 'I promised myself I wouldn't let any of my friends get hurt more than they have, but I failed. And for my mistake, they will pay.'

How I would find the menace behind this, however, was something I couldn't answer.

---

'Hey,' Tommy greeted me as I returned to the house from the hospital. 'How was Elliot?'

'He... He's getting better,' I answered, hanging my coat up on the rack in the lobby of the house. 'But he's not okay, not really. He tried to pretend he was in my company, but he's still shaken up after what happened.'

'It's only been four days since he was taken into hospital, Aria,' Tommy reminded me, level-headed. 'He won't have recovered yet, it'll take him months, years, to cope with what he's going through. Luckily, he has a friend like you to talk to.'

'But he has friends in Central City who probably miss him,' I interjected, feeling frustrated at the whole situation. 'He has a job there, a home. And because I asked him to help me, he can't see them anytime soon.'

'You know, there's a train that runs directly from Central City to Starling City every day,' Tommy pointed out with a small smile. 'They'll see him soon, it's not that hard to get on a train.'

'Says the man who has probably never stepped foot on a, what do you call it, a train?' I jeered as I stopped being so frazzled.

'I've been on a train!' Tommy took offence. 'In fact, in tenth grade, we went on a train to see a dam in Keystone City.'

'That sounds so exciting,' I pretended to be impressed. 'Did you go to the zoo to see some beavers too?'

'I think the school did like a year later, but I wasn't there,' Tommy told me with a mischievous look in his eyes. 'That Keystone trip was the last trip I didn't skip.'

'Oh yeah, I forgot you were a 'bad boy', as many the girls would've said as they pined for you,' I smirked at him, finding his old identity amusing. 'Why they were attracted to you, I don't know.'

'What, was I not your type in high school?' Tommy smirked back. 'What were you into, science nerds?'

'I just wasn't superficial, Tommy,' I declared proudly. 'And you sounded like you were so annoying in high school, I would have avoided you even if you had a pretty face.'

'Are you saying I'm pretty, Aria?' Tommy pouted, thinking that he was hilarious.

'Maybe a little,' I admitted, before realising what I was saying. 'But, totally platonically, as your best friend.'

I was spiralling down into dangerous depths here. I didn't want Tommy to get the wrong idea. He was just a friend, a very attractive friend with beautiful grey eyes and perfect hair.

Oh dear. This is what I had tried to prevent happening, but yet I was failing just like I had failed to keep my feelings away from him the last time. I didn't want history to repeat itself, yet part of me would always love Tommy, no matter what, and it would resurface when I was least expecting it to.

'Anyway, how was work?' I changed the topic to avoid any more embarrassment. 'How is life working for your dad?'

'Better than I expected, actually,' Tommy answered happily. 'I never thought I would work for a corporation mainly dealing with paperwork, but it turns out that I do, and I enjoy it. Maybe I needed a nine-to-five office job to make me grow up.'

'You have changed,' I agreed with a nod. 'In a good way. You're not so dependent on your dad's money anymore.'

'Well, I am dependent on his company, so I kinda am still,' Tommy rolled his eyes, but really, I knew he was more than glad of his father's help. 'One of the perks of working for my father is that I'm in my office all day, alone. But I don't think I could actually have talk to anyone with all the paperwork that gets left for me. I really need a partner, or someone to help me at least; answering my calls about appointments and business deals, sifting through papers with me, and just someone to share my workload.'

He gave me a very conspicuous look, as if he was considering something in the spur of the moment, something that involved me.

'Would... You be interested?' He proposed cheekily with a grin. 'After all, you don't have a job at the moment, and I don't think you'll want to have to go through a load of boring, pointless interviews.'

'I am not being your secretary, Tommy,' I raised my eyebrows at him.

'Not a secretary, more like an equal co-worker,' Tommy corrected my assumptions.

'But I can't be equal to you, you're in a pretty high-up position,' I pointed out negatively. 'Plus, we did this before at the club, and it didn't go so well. And you can't employ people for your dad, I'm not so sure he would like the idea of you doing this without his consultation.'

'Well, we can ask my father when he comes home from work,' Tommy planned a once. 'Which is very soon, may I add.'

And he was right; Malcolm had already met us in the lounge no less than ten minutes later, his timing impeccable. Sure enough, Tommy pitched his idea to his father, and very surprisingly, he said yes, without hesitation.

I was grateful, extremely grateful, that Tommy had pushed for me to become employed again, but I didn't have a real idea of what he actually did at Merlyn Global Group. Yes, he went through paperwork Malcolm didn't have time to sort through, and he listened to messages from investors and entrepreneurs, but I had no idea what I was letting myself into.

Well, what Tommy was letting me into.

The next morning, as I was busy trying to decide what to eat before I travelled with Malcolm and Tommy to my new job, I heard Tommy call me through to the lounge urgently.

'What is it, Tommy?' I asked him, confused, as he turned up the volume on the TV, making an expression that appeared to be shock.

'Missing CEO of Queen Consolidated, Walter Steele, was found late last night,' a reporter on some news channel announced. 'He was rescued by none other than The Hood after being in forced captivity for nearly half a year. Steele and his family are unavailable to comment on the story while he recuperates in hospital.'

'Walter's... Alive?' I gasped at this new information, overcome with joy as I remembered back to a few weeks before Christmas, when he and Felicity had been investigating something shady and he had disappeared shortly after. 'He's alive!'

'Wait, you didn't hear from Oliver before this?' Tommy asked me, surprised. 'I thought he would've...'

'Apparently not,' I said, annoyed, while watching what I said in front of Malcolm, as he had followed me into the lounge after hearing Tommy calling into the kitchen.

Whatever Oliver thought of me and what was between us, I at least expected a quick phone call from him if he had news so momentous. Oliver knew that I cared for Walter and I was one of the people who stayed in his team to help find him, but evidently I had left before I had gotten the chance to. What was Oliver's deal?

Tommy just acted surprised, as if he was offended for me. His father, however, had a very different reaction, walking in circles in a rushed manner as soon as he had heard enough.

'Dad, are you okay?' Tommy checked to see if his father was alright before he could leave the room. 'You're acting... Weird.'

'I'm sorry, Tommy, I'm just a bit... Ovewhelmed,' Malcolm explained loosely. 'Walter was my business partner, but more so a friend. I missed him, and I didn't know how to react to this news.'

Malcolm was proving himself more and more, showing that in fact he did have empathy and that he cared about others, now he had retired the assassin alias and becoming the Malcolm Merlyn we all knew and loved.

'Oh, dad, we're gonna be late if we don't go now,' Tommy suddenly said as he looked at his watch, the three of us pressed for time.

'We're not going to work,' Malcolm decided unexpectedly. 'I can see that you want to visit Walter, Aria, and I want to too. I can't put any of you through a day of work, unable to speak to him for the first time in so long.'

'Thank you, Malcolm,' I responded with a smile, grateful for his kindness and understanding.

Malcolm really had changed.

---

Walter was staying in a more lavish version of the room Elliot was, it looking familiar as I remembered that the Queens had used the same room when in need of medical attention.

'Walter,' I smiled with pure happiness as I saw him for the first time since his disappearance, a large bouquet in my hands after having quickly stopped by at the local florist.

'Aria,' he smiled back in reaction to my presence. 'Thank you. And the flowers are lovely.'

I turned to place them on the window sill to see that I hadn't been the only one to bring Walter flowers.

'They're from a friend from work,' Walter explained. 'I'm not quite sure if you'd have met her, Felicity Smoak?'

So Felicity even knew about Walter's return before me? Perhaps it was because she was probably still in Team Arrow, but I doubted that she would've managed to find out where Walter was all by herself, and she wasn't The Hood. And, why didn't she think to tell me either?

Just as I was about to say my goodbyes and leave the hospital before I got too angry at Oliver, Thea appeared at the door, surprised to see me.

'Hello, Thea,' I smiled weakly, realising how I had not only been ignoring Oliver since I had broken things off with him and the team, but also his sister.

'Why are you here?' She asked me genuinely, a bit of resentment in her voice.

'I was just leaving, actually,' I told her, passing her so I could get to the door, but instead of going to speak to her step-father, she followed me into the corridor of the hospital.

'Why have you been so cold recently, with my brother?' Thea asked me, as if she couldn't ask Oliver herself. 'And truthfully.'

'It's... A long story,' I tried to drop the conversation.

'When people say that it's a long story, it usually isn't,' she frowned, trying to understand my behaviour.

But she couldn't know the real reason. If I told her, it would mean exposing Oliver and myself with all our secrets.

'I quit the club,' I tried to tell her as vaguely as possible.

'But why?' Thea pressed frustratedly. 'You were fine in my brother's company, and then after Tommy quit, you did too. You were fine working there but suddenly, something changed. What was it?'

'People fight, Thea,' I stated, feeling cornered and I wasn't too happy about that. 'People fall out, it happens in any friendship and in every relationship. Oliver and I just couldn't... See eye to eye, about a lot of things.'

'You tried to date Ollie,' Thea put the pieces together quickly, realising what had happened partially. 'And because you couldn't get past your feelings, you quit the club? And then distanced yourself from everyone who cares about you?'

'Well, not everyone,' I said before it was too late.

'You're staying with Tommy and Malcolm Merlyn,' Thea realised, slightly shaking her head. 'You still love Tommy, don't you?'

'So what if I do?' I interjected, but I didn't really mean it.

'Just, please don't block everyone out of your life except from the Merlyns,' Thea requested sadly. 'Ollie misses you, and so do I, Laurel too.'

'I miss you too, Thea,' I spoke truthfully.

But I wasn't going to promise anything regarding Oliver. I didn't want to see him anytime soon.

And to my dismay, that wish was broken almost immediately, for I bumped into Oliver just a minute after leaving Thea.

'Hey.'

I wasn't going to answer with anything polite, or friendly. Oliver had proven himself to not be a good friend or stay away from other people's girlfriends.

'I heard that Walter was saved by The Hood,' I spouted irritably. 'On the news, a day after you found him.'

'That's why I wanted to talk to you, now,' Oliver responded quietly.

'Why didn't you tell me?' I demanded angrily. 'I wanted to see Walter again as much as you did! I tried to help you find him when I was on your team!'

'Because Malcolm Merlyn, who you trust, who you live with, is the one who was holding him in Bludhaven!' Oliver told me just as frustratedly. 'I couldn't risk calling you in case he heard our conversation, I don't know what that man is capable of, not now.'

'No,' I couldn't believe what Oliver was saying.

Malcolm had changed. He wasn't the assassin he used to be, I was sure of it. If Oliver was telling the truth and Malcolm had been lying all this time, then everything I thought was right was wrong. Why would Rip tell me not to kill Malcolm if he had kidnapped Walter? Oliver must've been lying, trying to get me back on his side. Oliver was really good at lying and manipulating people. But who was worse, Oliver or Malcolm?

I put my money on Oliver.

'Did you think that making up a lie this huge would make me abandon all my morals and come back to you, to your team?' I spat even angrier. 'You must have a really low opinion of me, Oliver. I'm happy living with the Merlyns, about to start working with Tommy, and most of all, being away from you. So, goodbye, and don't bother calling next time, because I won't answer.'

I stormed away from Oliver just as he was about to say something to win me over or change my mind or some other weak technique to try and persuade me otherwise. I was done with that vigilante, officially. I wouldn't let another person dictate my life.