»nineteen«

                                    

                                          
I fell asleep reading an article on the goals of K.R.I. And what I woke up to was not nearly as pleasing. 
                          
I was always a lucid dreamer, so weird dreams were relatively normal, but this was not lucid dreaming. I could control nothing, I had no influence on what my mind came up with and I couldn't even tell it was a dream until I woke up screaming.
                          
The sound of running footsteps and my door being pushed open scared me at first until I realized it was Oliver.
                          
"Melissa, Mel, sweetie, what's wrong." He sat down on the edge of my bed and gave me a concerned look.
                          
I got myself under control and took deep breaths. And then I lost it again and just started crying.
                          
"Shh,"Oliver said scooting closer. "What's wrong Melissa?" He put an arm around me.
                          
"It was just a dream." I replied shakily thinking of what had happened. "Just a dream." I mumbled.
                          
"No, this wasn't just a dream, or a nightmare." Oliver concluded. "Something about it messes with you. It's okay, you can tell me." Oliver really struck me as the kind of person who knew what to do here. I knew he would be supportive so I spilled what had happened in my dream.
                          
"It's mostly about Chris." I started off. "Okay, so, Chris, who has never really been prone to good decision making, for some reason decided to join a gang. Gangs aren't too plentiful in Central but the ones that are there are hardcore and dangerous." I paused. "This is going to sound insane, but it wasn't a dream, I know that's what happened, Chris is gonna get himself killed, and I have to do something." I knew Oliver probably wasn't going to let me run off to Central to save my best friend who I only thought was in danger because of a nightmare. I wouldn't have let myself go so it genuinely suprised me when Oliver replied.
                          
"Okay." Oliver said simply. "I need a location, an approximate time and a plan on how to save him."
                          
"You're serious?" I asked pushing hair out of my face. 
                          
"Saving people is what I do. And I have a feeling that you're right about this." Oliver said. "Put on something dark and with a hood, be in the garage in three minutes." Oliver stood up and left my room.
                          
This seemed more like a dream that that nightmare. I stood and dug through my closet until I found a navy blue hoodie and put on some jeans. Still pulling my hair into a ponytail I ran downstairs to the garage where Oliver was waiting.
                          
"Okay, you've gotta brief me on the way and I make a plan." Oliver said taking keys to a motorcycle. "Keep your hood up, and don't get distracted." He added.
                          
"Alright."I said taking my seat on the back of the motorcycle. Having my hair back helped but Oliver told me if I held on tight enough I wouldn't need a helmet so my hood was constantly flying off my head as we sped through the town at one in the morning.
                          
"You missed the exit." I yelled 
                          
"We have to stop first." Oliver replied. "Just a few minutes." He pulled up in front of a building and dismounted the bike like a horse. "Stay here. I'll be back, two minutes tops." Less than two minutes later Oliver, now dressed as the green arrow, ran out and handed me a navy blue mask, an earpiece, a bullet proof vest, and a handgun.
                          
"You can work a hand gun right?" He asked before handing it over. I nodded, I may have been a privileged kid, but my mom took safety serious. Chris was also a pretty good shot, so I went to the range with him a couple times. 
                          
"I'm actually an okay shot." I said putting in the earpiece. 
                          
"Great." He replied. "Barry and I can talk to you through this." Oliver said about the earpiece. "Don't take off your mask or hood." He reminded. "This is high density kevlar, five times stronger than steel, less than half the weight. Wear it and you're less likely to die." He sat back down on the bike. "And God so help you if you tell Felicity anything about this." He added.