Another time, another place

Facing the impossible?

That Monday afternoon Stephen and Emily had an interview. It was part of the promotion of the second season of Arrow, which was about to air on TV, so they had to do many things of this kind at that time. Stephen had been dying to aske Emily about her "date" with Ian (since she dind't tell him anything at the end), but they hadn't had the opportunity, so he waited patiently. Besides, he didn't want to look very desperate or extra interested because he wasn't. Was he?

For their interview, they sat in their meeting room, where they usually went through the script before filming. They greeted their interviewer and they just started with the questions. At the beginning it just the same as always.
"The first season of Arrow has been quite a success, so tell me, how are you living this?" He asked them.
Emily looked at Stephen, like asking him for permission to talk, so he made a sign with his head, meaning that she could speak first.
"Well, I basically do the same I did before but instead of working with animals, I have to pretend to be somebody else. But apart from that, I still hang out with the same friends, I go out to normal places... You know, it's not like I'm Angelina Jolie, so...", she explained, taking importance away from her.
"I try to have a normal life. Sometimes it's easier, sometimes more complicated, but in general terms fans are so kind to me that I can't complain too much", Stephen said meaning every single word.
Now the man looked directly at Emily. "Emily, you were just a supporting role and now you are a regular one. Does this excite you?"
Emily repressed a smile. Of course she felt excited. What kind of question was that?
"Yeah, sure. I mean, I used to take part in some episodes randomly and now I'm in all of them, so I'm much busier and that's a change. But I love it."
"And now we have to bear her every single day...", Stephen joked.
Emily faced him with a smile from ear to ear. "But you love me, you're not fooling anyone..."
Stephen put his hand on his chest, pointing at himself. "Ok, you got me".
And they shared a knowing smile.
"Now I'm going to ask you short questions sent by the fans, ¿ok?
They nodded. "Perfect".
Emily tied her hair in a ponytail, it was hot.
"What's your favourite animal?"
Emily smiled. "I love cats, but I'm gonna say my dog!"
Stephen laughs and said "Can she even say that?"
The interviewer nodded and she stuck out her tongue to Stephen, which made him smile again.
"Ok, my favourite animal...", he murmured while looking up, trying to get inspired. "I don't know right now... Can I say her dog too?". She immediately laughs, infecting him with laughter.
"Ok, another question. You have to finish the sentence. When you're not on set, you're..."
"watching TV series", Emily answered without hesitation.
"with my daughter", Stephen replied.
Emily couldn't help thinking that he hadn't mentioned his wife. In fact he hardly ever did it.
"Who is the funniest person on set?"
Emily frowned, thinking carefully. "Ehmm... Gosh, don't make me choose...."
"If you don't say me I won't judge you", Stephen told her, putting his hand on her back.
"Good. Colton", she said with false determination.
"Hey!" he complaint and laughed at the same time.
"What?", she asked like not knowing what happened. Then she sighed and said to the interviewer: "men..."
Stephen remained silent for a few seconds and then he answered: "I will say Stephen Amell", causing everyone to laugh. "I mean, he's such a hilarious man..."
Emily nodded cracking up. "True, so funny this Amell..."
"And why didn't you say my name, Bett?"
She gave him a twinkle in his eyes. "Just teasing you...."
He got closer to her and whispered: "Hate you..."
She grinned. "I know". They stared at each other, but they came back to Earth when the interviewer made another question: "Can you say a default and a quality of the other?"
This time Stephen came first. "Ok, the default... she's very impulsive. And the quality... ehm..."
Emily hit his elbow with her own. "So quick to talk about the bad and now you have to think? You're definitely winning my heart!" she exclamed, pretending to be offended, though in a way she was.
He took her hand and said in a low voice: "I'm just trying to choose just one out of the many qualities you have". Then silence. He grinned. "I've just killed you, haven't I?"
She took her hand out of his. "Of course not. Well, maybe. Ok, yes!", she finally agreed and they laughed.
"My turn...", Emily started. "Ok, a quality: great sense of solidarity and integrity".
The interviewer interrupted her. "That makes 2, not one quality..."
"She loves me way too much, you see", Stephen said as a kind of a secret to the other man, but loud enough so she could hear it.
"Sure, isn't it obvious?", she went along with the joke. "Well, and your default..."
Again: silence.
"No faults, I know", he said, teasing her.
"Oh, shut up, you cocky!", she shouted punching his arm.
"So what do you say?" the other man asked her.
"Stubborn."
Stephen looked at her. "I'm not stubborn", he pointed out.
"Yes, you are".
He shook his head. "No, I don't think so..."
"You are BEING stubborn now...", she said and they laughed when they realised it was true.
"Well, one last question", the interviewer said. "Much has been said about Olicity, but what I want to know is: if you were your characters, who would you like to date?"
"Quentin", Stephen claimed and Emily was dying with laughter.
"He's great", Stephen added.
"Yeah, he's great", Emily coincided. "But Quentin and the Arrow? Call me crazy, but maybe it would be kind of an impossible love".
He smiled at her. "Rarer things have happened".
She nodded without knowing exactly what to get out of his comment.
"I would say Tommy. He and Felicity would be great together. I mean, he's dead now, but he would be perfect for her".
Stephen turned his body completely to confront her. "Would you cheat on me with my best friend? So cruel..."
She looked surprised. "Cheat on you? Excuse me, but you're not fortunate enough to be with me. I mean, with Felicity".
"Yet", he replied with an intriguing look.
"Yet", she repeated.
Then the interviewer spoke again. "So there's hope for Olicity fans?"
They stared at each other, smiled and then Stephen said: "There's always hope. Impossible is nothing, right?".
At the end, they were asked to pose for a couple of pictures to acompany the interview. To do so, Emily posed with a bow and Stephen put on Felicity's glasses and pretended to be checking a tablet. After that, on their way to the cafe, she told him:
"Glasses look good on you, eh?"
"Really?"
"Yeah! You even look smart with them", she teased him implying he wasn't smart, which made him laugh. It was impossible to be serious when being around these two.
"Miss Rickards!", someone shouted from behind. They turned around and saw Colton approaching them. "Tell me everything about Ian".
Suddenly, he looked at Stephen, worried that he didn't know anything and he would have messed it up.
"Don't worry, he knows everything. Ok, I'll tell you both, because i forgot to call you Stephen, so..."
They sat down far from the rest of the cast. Stephen was happy: finally he was gonna know what happened. "I had a really nice time. He was very cute and all and I enjoyed lunch".
Stephen and Colton remained silent. They looked at each other with impatience and then Colton asked what both of them were dying to know. "But something happened?"
Emily shook her head. "Nope, nothing."
"And are you going to see him again?", Colton insisted.
"Dunno", she answered.
Colton opened his can of coke and had a sip. "Good. You know, exer are exes. They can't be your friends nor your boyfriends again."
Stephen nodded. "Totally agree".
"I once tried to remain friends with one of my exes and it was a disaster. We always ended up making out, so we never got over each other and moving on was sort of impossible."
"I can imagine", Stephen replied puffing. "I think you can never look at somebody who you loved so much as a mere friend".
"Yeah, me too. It feels so weird..." Colton answered.
Emily was a little bit shocked, so she waved her hand at them. "Hey? I'm still here, just so you know, so can you just stop discussing my love life, please?"
"Colton, Stephen! Get ready!", someone screamed, calling them to shoot.
Colton kissed her cheek. "See you later, love".

Stephen pinched her nose before leaving. She stood there, smiling to herself. What goofball friends she had... Then, her phone rang. She checked it. It was Ian, he was calling her. She hesitated. Eventually she didn't pick it up. Maybe Colton and Stephen were right. 'Stephen...", she thought. There was a sentence still on her mind: There's always hope. Impossible is nothing. He had said that during the interview and it was hammering her head. What kind of impossible was she facing up to, if there was any? One thing was clear: before trying to do the impossible, first you need to know what it is. First you need to know what you feel.