]|I{•------» 𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 «------•}I|[

↤ 𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐘𝐔 ↦

]|I{•------» 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 «------•}I|[

↤ 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐖𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 ↦

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞" ↦ 𝐑𝐚𝐲𝐧𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

↤ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 ↦

'𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟕 - 𝟏𝟎:𝟐𝟏 𝐚𝐦'

Rayna Harington, daughter of Vanessa and Hunter Harington, was placing the last set of clothes in her suitcase for her getaway. Oliver Queen, her best friend, whom she had been friends with since she was in diapers, invited her and their other friend Theo on a three-week cruise to Hong Kong. It was supposed to be amazing, the sights, the food and the sex, but she didn't think about what could happen.

Oliver Queen was a complicated person to be friends with. He was the heir to a major fortune and a great name like her. He was currently dating another lifelong friend, Laurel Lance. They were getting serious, so he acted out like he always did.

He started fooling around with said girlfriend's older sister, Sara Lance. Rayna had loved Sara from afar for a long time, longer than Sara had her sights set on Oliver, but Rayna also couldn't help falling for her best friends, her rock and anchor. So they used this trip to figure out their feelings which meant a lot of fooling around.

Rayna couldn't be with Sara without Sara being with Oliver, and Oliver couldn't be with Sara without Rayna and Theo just loved Rayna. It was one messy and odd love triangle, but they loved each other so they tried making it work.

Rayna and Sara knew Oliver still loved Laurel; they had history and had been together for a long time. He just couldn't commit to her, not how she wanted him to. He was young and immature, he wasn't the person she needed him to be, but Sara and Rayna let him be him without judgment.

Sara and Rayna weren't the first people Oliver cheated on Laurel with; they wouldn't be the last. So with that all in mind, Rayna decided to go on the trip to escape the pressures of being the oldest Harington, Harvard's upcoming valedictorian, exam seasons and just everything. She didn't think she would be away from everything for so long.

Karla Harington, the youngest and last daughter of Vanessa and Hunter Harington, watched her older sister, her idol, with a soft smile. She didn't realize this would be the last time she would ever see her sister for a long time. Karla was 12, in her first years of high school and was already on her way to being a wonderful student and person.

Karla handed the last item on the bed to Rayna, "Thanks Kar" Rayna said softly, zipping up her bag and looking around the room one last time, checking if she had forgotten anything. Her eyes strayed to the wall of achievements; her art, tennis and running awards shined brightly on the glass stand courtesy of their maid, Cherice.

Rayna was an accomplished woman all her life. She had to be due to her status. Nothing besides perfection was allowed in the Harington home.

Rayna knew three languages, English, Chinese and Spanish and was learning her fourth, French. All for the sake of the Harington business because how could a CEO of such a great company not talk with her overseas associates?

Despite her parents' disagreements, she was on her way to being at the top of grades at Harvard, studying business and an art minor.

"Art is a jobless and poor people job, Rayna. We just want the best for you," they would tell her repeatedly, "Art isn't a career. It's a hobby," they would tell her, scrunching their noses up at her paintings. They didn't care that her paintings went for thousands of dollars, but they attended her shows with their business-like smiles on for the camera.

Despite the rough and high-expectation environment, Rayna was a sweet, caring and beautiful person. She treated the staff like family members. She couldn't hurt a fly despite the self-defence classes she and the Lances were in together.

Rayna sighed at the meaningless achievements, picked her suitcase up, and wheeled it out while Karla followed her into the parlour room where their favourite maid, Cherice, was. Rayna's parents were nowhere in sight since they were at their company, Harrington Industries.

They didn't know of Rayna's spontaneous trip because if they did, they would forbid her. It was too close to exam season to be partying and gallivanting off on a yacht.

"I'll miss you," Rayna said to her all-in-blood mother figure, Cherice. Cherice had been there for Rayna since she was young, taking her to events and lending an ear to her relationship problems.

Cherice smiled softly at the woman she called the daughter and hugged her tightly, "We'll miss you, Ms. Rayna," she mumbled into her ear, patting her long blonde hair. A Harrington trait.

"Where's my hug?" Karla said, bringing the attention to her, like usual. Rayna smiled and hugged her tightly, "I'll be back in three weeks, and I'll bring a present home, promise," she told her blonde younger sister.

"Promise?" Karla asked with a pout, and Rayan nodded, clutching her pinkie with Karla's and kissing her forehead like she had done for years.

Karla was everything to Rayna, her reason for staying in the house despite her age. She had done everything for her sister and would continue to do so. They had no secrets between them, always listening to the other's problems and defending the other until their last breath.

"I'll miss you, little dove," Rayna said her last goodbye to her sister and hopped in the car as the driver drove to the docks.

She missed what Karla said, but she'll see her soon, right?

↤ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 ↦

'𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟕 - 𝟏𝟏𝐚𝐦'

Rayna's chauffeur arrived at the vast and beautiful Merlyn Estate quickly after leaving the Harington Mansion. The Merlyn Mansion was much darker than the Harington Mansion and more unkept due to the sudden and tragic death of Rebecca Merlyn, the Merlyn matriarch 14 years ago.

After coming home late from her free clinic in the Glades she was mugged and shot. With her death left the house shrouded in darkness and mystery and left behind two sad boys who just wanted there mother and a husband too upset to do anything other than grieve.

Malcom Merlyn left his two young boys, Theodore and Thomas alone for two years without a phone call or a note. Just left in the middle of the night and came back a changed man, much sterner and darker than the carefree and loving man he used to be.

Grief does that to people, changes them beyond repair. It brings the most darkest and burred parts of us to light. Only the skilled people can pretend nothing had changed, move on like it didn't happen and leave a gaping hole where a heart was supposed to be.

Theodore Merlyn, heir to Merlyn Global and the oldest son of Malcom and Rebecca Merlyn sneaked outside through the back door of the mansion and got inside the expensive limo with practiced ease and stealth.

Oliver had invited Theo along with them, making the Starling City quarter into a trio not that they minded.

"Rayna" Theo greeted his long life friend and crush with a soft smile he only reversed for her and kiss on the cheek.

"Theo, darling" she purred sinking into his light touch and his kiss.

Rayna and Theo were each other's ride or die's and had been for nearly 20 years. She was by his side holding his small hand at his mother's funeral. She cheered him on at every football game like his personal cheerleader and they stayed by each other's side when they graduated high school and were in the same class at Harvard.

So it was understandable that one of them fell in love with the other with that much history and memories and Theo did. It was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes that Theo loved Rayna more than a friend but they denied it to everyone. They were just friends, good friends they would tell anyone who asked which was mainly the paparazzi.

They knew the truth and that's all that mattered, surely they could have one thing that was just there's and there's alone. There love no matter how one sided it was was the only private thing they had together. The quartet didn't know, their parents didn't know and neither did the paps  - it didn't stop the rumors and theories though.

Rayna loved Theo for all his strengths and the weakness, the burning anger and darkness that stewed deep in his heart and his love of birds and the way his eyes would stay enraptured as they flew high in the sky without a care. She also loved the way he looked at her, like she had hung the very sun that shined upon them. She loved seeing the pure adoration and love he held in his heart and eyes for her and only her. She loved that he loved her.

Rayna reciprocated his feelings and had since she was young but there was the matter of Sara Lance, the other love of her life. Rayna had figured out her sexuality early on in high school when she started experimenting, she didn't label but she knew. She knew that she couldn't just be with one partner at a time, she felt empty when she did. She appreciated beauty in all forms.

Theo didn't mind that Rayna didn't love him on the level he loved her, he was happy to just be by her side no matter how hard it was to see her pining over Sara and by extension Oliver. He knew she would always come back to him like he would always come back to her. That was the type of love he had for her, they were each other's ride or die.

The quartet and their other friends knew that Rayna had a big heart and loved many people in all different forms. She had a big heart and it was open for many people and they couldn't imagine her ever being a guarded person or having a hard time letting people in. But they didn't know what would happen on that boat and what made her the way she would be. The woman that came out on top of even purgatory. 

Rayna and Theo leaned into the soft leather seats of the limo and talked about the trip, what amazing sights they would (wouldn't) see and the people they would meet in Hong Kong. Their voices were soft even with the divider up it's just how they were, secretive and soft in their movements and voices like everything about them was a secret.

They liked just basking in the presence of one other, they didn't need to talk all the time. They could feel when another was upset and just wanted peace. They were comfortable in the silence, if they were together.

They talked about their parents and how hilarious it was they didn't know about the trip not that they would realize they were gone even with the long vacation. They were just that busy and oblivious. If only there parents knew, they might've saved themselves from all that heartache and pain.

They talked about their younger siblings and how nice it was going to be to get away from their constant need of attention and the idolization they had for them. They would regret ever thinking that though.

They quickly arrived at the the Starling Docks were the beautiful Queen's Gambit sat mighty in the calm blue waters.

↤ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭, 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬/𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 ↦

'𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟕 - 𝟏𝟏: 𝟏𝟓 𝐚𝐦-𝟏𝟐𝐚𝐦'

Rayna and Theo met with Oliver, who stood at the docks for the pair and hugged them while a staff member grabbed their luggage and took it to their rooms.

Robert Queen appeared above the duo at the boat railing and grinned at them. "Well, well, Rayna Harington" He started but his eyes narrowed at the sight of Theo, clearly not expecting him but played his suspicions off. "And Theo Merlyn. Welcome aboard the Queen's Gambit!"

Theo nodded curtly at him while Rayna smiled at the bearded man, waved at him from below, and yelled, "Thanks, Mr. Queen, for having us."

"Of course, with everything your family has done for us and what you've done with Oliver, keeping him outta trouble," he joked, making Oliver scowl at his father while Rayna grinned at them. Theo smirked at Oliver, it was true they were always keeping him out of trouble but they didn't know they occasionally joined in on the chaos.

Rayna glanced over her shoulder feeling like she was being watched, to see Oliver's girlfriend, Laurel glaring at her from her car at the top of the hill. She clenched her jaw and stepped onto the boat, ignoring Laurel and the boys going in search for a drink (and Sara).

Rayna and Laurel never got along, mainly because of Laurel's silent judgment and envy of Rayna. Laurel judged her and Theo's relationship despite them never hooking up, they all knew it was her being envious. Laurel had liked Theo but Theo always had his sights on Rayna and would continue to do so. So, Laurel 'settled' for Oliver.

It's just the way it was, the way it has been for years. It didn't help that she was currently about to fuck her boyfriend and sister at the same time.

No one knew about their little rendezvous, and it was supposed to stay like that. Sara wasn't ready to tell anyone about her sexuality or her crush on Oliver, and Rayna knew her parents' thoughts on the matter and how bad it could affect her soon-to-be position in the company. Oliver would be praised for it if anyone found out but not surprising since he was a man and a known party boy.

Theo didn't even know about them hooking up, just thinking it was going to be nice vacation just the three of them. He also wouldn't pass up an opportunity to see Rayna in a bathing suit. He didn't even know Sara was on board, no one did.

Oliver and Rayna made their way to their room after dropping Theo off to get settled. Doing so, Oliver acted like a tour guide.

"And here is our destination! The room of ~ love-making ~" he joked with an over-the-top British accent, which made Rayna roll her eyes because the Haringtons were originally from Britain and had British accents. Rayna's was soft, but it really came out when she was angered.

They stopped at the room they would share for most of the trip. Sara and a bottle of wine awaited them in the room.

"My little songbird," Rayna greeted her somewhat girlfriend with a kiss on the lips, which Sara reciprocated without a problem. Rayna adored Sara with all her heart. She was so adorably innocent, from the way her freckles stood out on her smooth face or the sweet sound of her voice.

"Ray," Sara greeted her in that sweet willowy voice of hers, making a smile bloom on Rayna's face.

"Anyone see you?" Oliver questioned lightly as he placed his bags down with a thump.

Sara giggled and shook her head, "Nope," she said, popping the p.

Soon they were all in different states of undress and snacking away at some snacks while trying to get the party started with some alcohol. A storm was brewing in the background. It was a nice ambience but slightly scary since they were on a boat in the middle of nowhere.

Oliver went to check the storm out with his father while Sara and Rayna looked around for a bottle opener to open said alcohol bottle.

Sara sighed and turned to me with a smile, "Find it?" she asked with a pout.

Unfortunately, Rayna couldn't find one, so she shook her head. Sara, the ever-brave one, walked out of the room searching for Ollie and called, "Ollie...where do you keep a bottle opener on this thing?"

Rayna watched the love of her life with a soft smile and crawled onto the bed, waiting for Oliver to return. Sara followed her, straddled the woman, and littered soft kisses on her face and neck, enjoying the sound of her laughter.

After more kissing and caressing, Oliver returned with a bottle opener and poured them glasses of wine.

He handed one to Rayna, who accepted it, "My hero~" She purred at him, chuckled, and handed one to Sara.

Sara looked around the room, hearing another crash of lighting, "That sounds really close," she said, worried.

"That doesn't sound very scientific," Oliver teased her, and Rayna giggled, sipping the expensive wine. Nothing less for Oliver's best girls, apparently.

Oliver stalked closer to Sara, who rolled her eyes and teased him back, "What would you know about science, Mr. Ivy League dropout?"

Rayna chuckled at the comeback, and Oliver sent her a little glare, but she poked her tongue at him. Oliver sat in between the two girls as they sipped the wine.

"I know a lot of about science," Oliver told them as a matter of face and continued, "I know fermentation...I know biology" He kissed Sara softly while she pulled back and said, "Laurel is going to kill me. She's so going to kill me."

Rayna trailed her long manicured nails up her naked arm, kissed her collarbone, and muttered, "She won't find out."

They were interrupted with the door opening and Theo gaping at them, taking everything in with a quick glance. Rayna his love kissing Sara's collarbone with her slender arm wrapped around her small waist while Oliver pulled back from a kiss with Sara. They all stared at him, not expecting him to waltz in without knocking.

"You going to join us?" Sara asked with a smile, knowing he wouldn't pass up on the only opportunity of potentially having fun with Rayna.

He shook the surprise and confusion off hearing the smaller blonde's words and smirked. He walked in and pulled his jumper off and walked over and joined them.

They were all adults and were free in their sexualities and feelings.

As he made it to the bed, sitting next to Rayna who smirked at him from behind Sara while Oliver and her made out. Before there lips could touch a loud boom echoed through the room, a another streak of lightning lit up the room.

Sara sat up lightly and looked at them, "That was really close," she said fearfully. She had a fear of loud noises, not a fear per say , but she hated them. They irritated her. It was just something about Sara that made her Sara.

"Sara, we're going to be fine," Oliver told her, looking at her and Rayna and glancing at Theo, reassuring them. Oliver kissed Sara deeply and switched to Rayna, bringing her face closer to him as his lips touched hers.

Theo watched with a small smile, as his best friend, his brother-in-all kissing his love. He thought it would bring anger and heartache but he didn't feel that. He felt something else and so did his other head.

A loud boom sounded like a cannon going off, and everything was chaos. They went flying, the bed tipped over, and they screamed as they got sent to the flow. The lights flickered and shut off completely, leaving them in darkness and fear. Rayna crawled to them quickly, but another creak echoed, and the boat ripped Sara away.

"SARA!" Oliver, Theo and Rayna screamed, trying to grab ahold of her outreached hand, her face showing her fear, but they were too late.

Then they all submerged in the water, choking on the freezing salt water, trying to get out of the way of the broken parts of the boat.

Rayna reached the top of the water and hacked on the water, looking around in the darkness shivering in the cold water. She looked around for Sara, Theo or Oliver but couldn't see anyone, "SARA! THEO! OLIVIER! ANYONE, HELLO!" she screamed, trying to stay afloat and not choke on water, praying they found her.

She heard a yell of her name and followed it quickly, "Over here!" she yelled and saw a white light near the distance.

↤ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐭, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐚 ↦

'𝟐𝟖𝐭𝐡 - 𝟑𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟕 '

She paddled against the strong current and finally reached them. A strong pair of hands helped her on the raft. Robert, Oliver, Theo and another man were sitting on the life raft and some boxes of supplies.

"Where's Sara!" Rayna asked them, coughing the water out of her mouth and lungs. She couldn't find her.

Theo held her tightly against him and shook his head, "I don't know. We couldn't find her!" he told his distressed best friend.

Rayna shook her head in denial, "No. No! she's out there. We can't leave her!" she told them as she racked with sobs. She didn't care that she was freezing; she needed Sara!

"She's gone," Robert told her sympathetically, watching the girl he loved as a daughter cry her eyes out.

"It's okay, I got you. We're going to be okay," Theo said in a shaky voice, and she clung to him tighter than she had ever done in her life.

Even with the grief of losing her best friend and love she felt relieved Theo and Oliver were alive by her side.

The three of them stayed huddled and nestled together, finding warmth in each other against the sound and biting wind.

They weren't sure how long they floated aimlessly through the open sea, but the food began to run out. There was only enough for one person realistically, and there were five of them. They wouldn't last long like that; Rayna knew it, and so did everyone else.

One afternoon, Oliver was asleep on his father's shoulder while Rayna lay against the floor of the raft with Theo by her side, being lured by the soft rocks of the water against the raft.

Her eyes were getting heavy from being awake for so long and the blinding light of the sun. The water bottle she, Theo and Oliver had been sharing was almost empty. Robert sat awake with a hard expression, something she had never seen before. Robert was a kind man who loved his family so much. There was never anything but a smile on his face.

He looked at Rayna and then the other man with a strange glint in his eye.

"You're a great woman, Rayna. You'll get far, further than you already are. Promise me you two will be there for Oliver please. He'll be there for you, I know he will," he finally said and nodded to Rayna and Theo.

Rayna blinked wearily but nodded, "Of course, Robert. I promise," she told him and Theo nodded in confusion, which cemented his resolve, and a burning determination entered his eyes.

He looked at his son with a soft expression and nudged him softly, "Oliver. Wake up," he told his son.

Oliver slowly opened his eyes, lifting his head and squinting at the sunlight hovering over him. "What?" he asked, annoyed, "just rest, Dad. Save your strength," he mumbled and closed his eyes again.

"I'm not the man you thought I was, Oliver. And I'm sorry. Survive for me," Robert told him, looking at Rayna, Theo and the other man with a clenched jaw. He pulled a handgun out of his life jacket, aimed it at the man, and fired.

Rayna watched it all go down in slow motion and was scared, sliding away from him, thinking she would be next as hot blood spattered against her pale cheek. The men fell back into the water with a slapsh.

Theo pulled Rayna against him, shielding her away from Robert and his gun. Rayna could feel his shaking body against her and clutched onto him, afraid.

Oliver had woken back up, now wide awake from the loud gunshot and slid to Rayna and Theo and stared at his father like he was crazy and yelled, "Dad! What are you doing?"

Robert didn't say anything, didn't explain, just said, "Survive, Oliver," and then shot himself in the head, closing his eyes and his head falling to the side with a glaring hole in his head.

"No!" Oliver yelled, crawling to him. Rayna shuttered and felt sick to the core, eyes brimming with tears and began to sob. It was all too much for her, for the both of them. Two people had just died in front of them.

Oliver sobbed over his father's now dead body. Rayna unlatched from Theo and crawled over to him, swallowing the bile that rose in her mouth and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against him. Trying to give him a sense of comfort over the turn of events.

"Why? Why would he do that?" Oliver whimpered after a while, feeling he couldn't cry anymore. There were no more tears left.

"To let you live," Rayna said. It was the only thing she could think of. "He loved you," she mumbled against him. He really did.

He looked back at her with red eyes and wet cheeks and pulled her into a tight hug, not letting go, and she wouldn't let him even if he wanted to.

They floated along the desolate sea, the three of them huddled together for two more days, hungry and thirsty until they reached it.

An island, land. After days they found a place where they could find food and shelter to get home to their families. She didn't think of the danger lurking at every corner of that island or the eyes that were watching them with burning curiosity and suspicion.

She didn't know of the betrayal, loss and death she would face. Time could only tell what would become of them.

]|I{•------» 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄/𝐒 «------•}I|[

Theo is my new OC and I love him too bits! He's kinda based off Mitch Rapp and a little bit of Thomas from the Maze Runner. Rayna's love life is all over the place, it's not meant to make sense like real love doesn't.

vote and comment x

words: 4, 444