Oliver Queen

Wordcount: 400
Prompt: Name by the Goo Goo Dolls

Scars are souvineirs you never lose
The past is never far
Did you lose yourself somewhere out there
Did you get to be a star?
And don't it make you sad to know that life
Is more than who we are


I like to think I have a pretty good poker face. At least most of the time. When it all gets to be overwhelming, well, that's another story. When I falter like I did a few weeks ago--everyone around me can see how screwed up I am. The effort it takes to hide it is too much and when I hit that point, frankly I just don't care who sees anymore.

But when my friends dragged me out of my pit of despair and reminded me of why I fight in the first place, I began to see things I hadn't seen in the past. I began to have an appreciation for people that I hadn't fully had before.

Chloe Sullivan has always been a bit of a mystery to me. But watching her the last few weeks, I'm starting to gain an understanding of her that I never thought I'd have. It's so easy to see who people appear to be on the surface, but who they are on the inside is often radically different, and she is not an exception.

She is the one who sees the rest of us. Who pushes us to be all we can be, and she's so good at it, the rest of us overlook who she really is. She's not a sidekick, even if that's what I affectionately call her. She's a hero by her own right.

And all heroes fall.

I've watched her work. I've worked with her side-by-side on many occasions, and it's starting to dawn on me that she needs more than this. She needs someone to see her, too.

She may be the caretaker, the Watchtower, but even care takers need someone to take care of them once in awhile. A few months ago, her husband was brutally murdered, and since then she's thrown herself into work on a level that I understand, and even sympathize with. But it's not healthy.

So I'm making it part of my job to make sure she's taken care of too. She may watch the watchmen, but I'll take care of the caretaker.

/Mun feedback is welcome. :)