A/N: I'll start off by saying that Arrow is one of my favorite TV shows, despite the crappy writing in season 4. I'm obsessed with Sara Lance, and she's the only woman that I ship Oliver with in the show aside from Felicity. And before I get flamed for shipping Olicity, let me first point out that I'm highly aware of Oliver's romantic relationship with Laurel in the comics. I just don't ship them in the show.

As for this story, I've been wanting to write a story that delves a little bit deeper into Thea's story arc, while also incorporating my own spin on how things turn out. It takes place in S4 and I plan on following some of the original storylines. I just won't be including or describing everything that happens while I incorporate my OC.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Arrow, the CW, or DC comics. I only own Jake and the original characters from his story.

Life had a funny way of fucking people up when they least expect it, especially when it came to the life of Jake Hawthorne. His life had never been easy before, but at least then he didn't have to wake up every single morning with the need to just make it through another day. That feeling, that pain, had started 4 years ago when his dad was murdered.

Before then, Jake had lived a decent life with his parents in Starling City. They lived in a fairly safe apartment complex in the heart of the town. His father was a cop and his mother was a nurse. Jake had learned early on how to fight from his uncle Benji and his hardworking father, who thought of the skill as a necessity in life. As time passed and Jake got older, the need to protect himself became a want, an interest. Discovering and learning about all the different fighting styles became his passion.

But that passion had also escalated his natural instinct to start trouble, which often landed him in his father's office at the station. His arsenal of mischief ranged from filming himself free running on private property to "finishing" fights in school. He got lucky when Detective Lance's eldest daughter offered to help him stay out of trouble. Laurel was like a big sister to him. She would look out for him while he was on the streets and watch over him when his parents worked late night shifts.

Sara Lance took an immediate liking to Jake, recognizing his untamable spirit and playful behavior. They were the ultimate trouble making duo, making Laurel's life a living hell as they'd crash the Queen's famous charity events and dinner parties. The youngest Lance sister also had an interesting romantic backstory with Benji, who at the time was breezing through his early twenties

And then everything took a tragic turn for Jake and the people he cared about, starting in late 2006 with the presumed death of his uncle during a two year term in Afghanistan.

Jake felt empty after that, he wouldn't cry because he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop if he did. Instead, he'd fake a smile and just try to get through each day.

Unfortunately, that method didn't work on Thea Queen, one of the few people he had been able to talk to after everything. Their friendship was unexpected to say the least, as Jake had never seen himself associating with someone as self-centered and privileged as the youngest Queen. In fact, he was pretty sure that they wouldn't have even given each other the time of day if Jake hadn't been close with Laurel.

But there was another side to Thea, someone who was just as broken and damaged underneath, someone who cared about other people. Over the course of their friendship, Jake couldn't help the small crush that he developed on the girl.

It was amusing to Jake, looking back on his past and realizing how naïve he was when it came to understanding the real world. It was common sense for him, his dad dealt with people who poisoned this earth on a daily basis. And yet, he still couldn't truly understand how fucked up the world was until he experienced it for himself.

In a way, being taken and stranded for nearly 4 years in Northeastern Brazil was a blessing for him. He now had both the knowledge and experience to do something, to help make a difference. And after everything he had heard once he returned to Star City, it seemed he wasn't the only one who agreed.

Star City, October, 2015

Jake let out a nerve wrecking sigh as he stood in front of his mother's apartment door. He couldn't help the sick feeling that overcame him as he finally built up the courage to knock.

He could hear the sound of feet shuffling on the other side before the door opened wide, revealing a fairly short middle aged woman with long brown hair. She was dressed in a pair of blue scrubs. Her purse hung from her shoulder, indicating that she was about to leave the apartment.

Jake made eye contact with his mother, a nervous smile plays on his lips, "Hey, mom."

She dropped her purse on the ground as she stares up at her only child in shock, "Oh my God. Jacob, what the hell happened?! You promised me before leaving that you would check in with me everyday! I hadn't heard from you in almost 4 years, I thought something happened!"

Jake enveloped his mother in a tight embrace as she started to sob. Choking back his own tears he rubbed her back in comfort.

His mother is the first to pull away, stepping back and taking in his new appearance. She leaned forward once again, her fingers trace over the scar on his left eyebrow and into his short navy blue curls.

"God, I am so sorry that I wasn't there for you when your dad died. You needed me and I drowned myself in my work at the hospital. I should've been there, out of all the days that I've worked and you were alone, I should've been there," she looked away, unable to meet her son's eyes.

Jake gathered his mother's hands into his own, forcing her to turn to him again, "Its not your fault, mom. I left because I needed space, I felt suffocated. I held all of my emotions in for so long, and I needed a moment to myself."

He paused, sighing as he glanced down to his feet, "I wanted to escape from everything, to take my mind off of all the bad shit that was going on in my life. But, I'm sorry. I should've called to let you know I was alive. I'll explain everything that happened later, but, uh, if you don't mind, I'd like to take you to work. You can catch me up on everything during the ride."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, his mother bent over to pick up her purse, giving Jake a small smile before locking up and following him out the door.

Jake exhaled as he stood outside of the district attorney's office. He was still trying to make complete sense of the new information he had been given from his mother.

He was already familiar of what she told him, most of which pertained to the return of Oliver Queen. His thoughts had immediately drifted over to Thea upon hearing the name. And ever since he dropped his mother off at the hospital, his mind had been plagued of her and everything that happened between them before he left Starling.

October, 2011

Starling City Queen Mansion

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Thea stomped angrily after Jake, following him to his truck parked at the front of the Mansion.

Jake turned around with a small smirk on his face, leaning into the driver seat door, "What can I say? I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a drug bust."

Thea rolled her eyes in annoyance, glaring at him when a laugh slips from his lips, "This isn't funny, Jake! I needed those for the party tonight!"

Jake breathed out an exhausted sigh, running a rough hand through his curly mop of dark hair, "You're right Thea, this isn't funny. Nothing about the idea of you becoming a drug addict amuses me. Tommy was right, okay? Oliver wouldn't want to see you like this."

Thea scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "Well guess what? Oliver isn't here, what he wants for me doesn't matter anymore. My brother is gone."

The brunette teenager paused her words and looks away, choking back a silent sob. Not long after, she turned back to Jake, masking her emotions with a heated glare.

"Y'know, it's funny that you're preaching to me about what my brother would want when you're still obsessed with what happened to your dad. I guess we're both not getting the memo."

Letting the words sink in, Jake nodded his head before giving Thea a blank stare. He shoved his hands inside the pockets of his cargo shorts.

It doesn't take long for Thea to realize what she just said, and a look of regret ghosted over her features as she stepped closer to Jake, "Jake... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

Jake shrugged away from Thea as she reached for him, "No, don't apologize. You're right, I should move on."

He turned away from her for a brief moment before staring back again with an intense look in his eyes, "I shouldn't be searching for the guy that murdered my dad for no reason. I should be off to college by now, living my life. I mean, why shouldn't I? Like you said, it doesn't matter what my dad wants. He's gone. Why should I care?"

Jake paused, letting out a fake laugh.

"I know that my dad is dead. I confirmed his body at the morgue. But Oliver? Your dad? They're missing, you don't know if they died Thea. You can have hope and I can't because I know what happened to my dad."

Thea looked away with tears in her eyes.

Jake glanced down at his feet, he shook his head before letting out an bitter scoff, "What am I doing wrong, Thea? I mean, should I just drown myself working at a job? Or should I spend the rest of my life consuming and buying drugs from a guy who lives in a sketchy RV?"

Jake stepped closer to Thea, pulling the sleeves of his hoodie up and thrusting his arms out in front of him, "The other two options? I could leave this God forsaken city for a while and try to move on, or I can keep doing this," he paused, nodding down to his bruised hands as Thea covered her mouth in shock.

Thea closed the gap between them, her fingers gently trail over the bruising on his knuckles.

"Oh my God. Jake, what the hell!?"

Present Day

Jake took a deep breath before entering the office, sporting a small smile as he stared at the blonde young woman in front of him in amusement.

She was leaning over her desk, spinning a pen between her fingers as she focused on the scattered papers in front of her.

"Imagine my reaction when I found out you were the new kickass DA that's taking the city by storm. Congrats Laurel, you made it to the big leagues!" He exclaimed, a proud grin adorning his features.

Laurel lifted her head up, jumping back slightly in shock as she stared up at a pair of deep blue eyes. The shock shown in her facial expression had quickly disappeared, turning into a relieved one. She pushed back her chair and stood up before rushing over to Jake.

Jake sighed into Laurel's shoulder as she enveloped him into a tight embrace. They hold onto each other for a moment before Jake pulled away with a grin, "Hell, if I keep getting hugs like that I might not ever want to leave again."

Laurel gave Jake a playful shove as they both move back to her desk.

Gathering the papers on her desk, Laurel gave Jake a pointed look, "I'll make sure to put a tracker on you the next time you disappear. No calls, texts or letters? Seriously, Jake?"

Jake inhaled deeply, sinking down into the cushioned chair in front of Laurel's desk, "I know, and I'm sorry. I'll spare you the excuses and explain everything later, but it's a long story. Right now, I'm back and that's all that matters."

Laurel stacked the papers up in a pile and set them aside. She glanced at Jake before taking a seat behind her desk, "Have you talked to Thea?"

The young man in front of her sighed, rubbing his gloved hands together before adjusting the baseball cap on his head, "No, I uh...just got back. I visited my mom before coming here, I'll see her later on tonight."Laurel gave a Jake a knowing smile, her grey eyes glinting in mild amusement, "Thea missed you. In fact, I'm pretty sure she was more upset than I was when you left."

Jake nodded his head in response, looking past Laurel and out of the window. As he stared at the glowing sun peeking out from the blind covered window, he couldn't help but think about all the good times he had shared with the youngest Queen.

His train of thought was interrupted by the woman in front of him, who placed a small file in front of him.

Laurel cleared her throat, meeting Jake's eyes again with a hopeful and slightly uneasy look on her face, "News came in a few months ago about Phillippe Garmudela, a crew of fisherman found his body in the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of Rio De Janeiro. I already informed your mother."

She paused, reaching over to grasp onto Jakes gloved hand as he stares at the open file, unblinkingly, "We got him, Jake. You can finally be at peace."

The young man in front of her couldn't help the empty feeling inside him as he stared down at the words pertaining to the death of his father's killer. He wanted to feel relieved, knowing that the man who murdered his father finally got his karma. Especially since he was responsible for the man's untimely demise. But all he felt inside was emptiness, a gaping hole in his heart. He lost a part of himself that he could never get back.

The phone rang suddenly, bringing Jake out of his thoughts. Laurel answered it, closing the file and putting it away.

Jake turned to Laurel as she murmured quietly into the phone, a look of worry ghosting over her features.

She stood up suddenly after hanging up, "Hey, I'm really sorry for cutting this short. But there was an attack at City Hall, and my dad's there," she rushed to grab her purse and made her way to the door.

Jake stood up as well with a small smile, "I can go with you. I don't really have anything to do until later on, and I can go see your dad since he's there, make sure he's okay. Besides, I wanted to see if I could get a head start at the station."

Laurel turned around with slightly panicked eyes, "Oh, no! That's fine! You just got back, and I'm sure that my dad's fine. Besides, there are a few new places in the city, and I wouldn't want you to miss out on that. I'll put in a good word for you at the station and update you on everything later."

Jake scrunched his nose in confusion at Laurel's weird behavior for a moment, nodding his head afterwards, "Alright then. I'll just go meet my mom during her lunch break."

Laurel sent Jake a small smile as he left the office.

From his seat at the bar, Jake smiled slightly, admiring the scene in front of him on the dance floor.

Verdant had seemed to be the go-to place for nightlife in Star City nowadays, and Jake couldn't find it in himself to disagree with that as he bobbed his head to the loud and upbeat music. Clubs had always been his type of scenery. The atmosphere coupled with the upbeat music awakened his spontaneous and adventurous personality.

His eyes roamed over the club, scanning over the dozens of faces colored with the hues of the flashing multicolored lights from the ceiling. He repeated that a few times before stopping on a particular one near the entrance.

Jake nearly dropped his glass of iced bourbon in shock as he sits up in his stool. His deep blue eyes froze, staring at a certain green eyed young woman.

She looked so different from the last time he saw her, with her short dark hair and eyes filled with darkness. It was like the privileged young girl he once knew had transformed into a mature, down to earth young woman.

Jake gulped nervously, feeling like his heart dropped down to his stomach as Thea finally made eye contact.

He turned away from her shocked gaze, finishing what was left of his bourbon and downing the two shots of Russian vodka he had ordered minutes ago. He sighed, relishing in the burning sensation that rushed down his throat before standing up and turning away from the bar, facing Thea as she strides over to him.

Jake sported a faint smile once Thea reached him, she stood a few feet away with her arms lazily positioned on her chest. Her green eyes dilated slightly as she looked him over a few times. She just stared at him afterwards in awe, the shock in her facial expression disappeared as she consciously accepted his presence.

Walking up to her, Jake nodded his head as he looked Thea over, noticing the red leather jacket and the torn black jeans she wore.

"I'm impressed, Queen. Edgy looks good on you."

Thea scoffed in amusement before pulling Jake in for a brief hug, running a hand through his dyed hair after she pulls away. "I can't say the same for you. What the hell did you do to your hair? I liked the curly afro, made you look like a dork."

Jake chuckled, glancing down to his feet for a brief moment as his cheeks flush a bright red. "I had to shave most of it, it was pretty hot where I was. And I've always wanted to dye it."

He paused, a confident smirk playing on his lips, "Don't worry, though. I'm still a dork."

Thea shook her head, looking away with a small smile as the music died down a little bit. She then frowned for a brief moment, sighing afterwards as she turned back to Jake with apologetic eyes, "Hey I- uh, I never got to apologize for what I said about your dad, before you left."

Jake sighed, shaking his head as moved closer to Thea,"I didn't leave because of you. I mean, yeah, I was pissed afterwards. But I knew that you didn't mean it, I forgave you a long time ago."

Thea let out a brief sigh of relief, sending the man in front of her small glare afterwards while playfully punching his shoulder, "Y'know, I get that you needed space. But not keeping in contact with the people who care about you was kind of a dick move."

Before Jake could respond, Thea's cellphone beeped from her jacket pocket. She excused herself, moving over to the entrance to take the call.

Waiting for Thea's return, Jake looked around the club once more. His breathing stopped for a few moments when he spotted a shaded male figure upstairs in the VIP section. The figure saluted Jake, exposing the familiar skull shaped brand mark on the base of his tanned hand.

Jake turned his gaze away from the VIP section when Thea returned to him with a tired sigh.

"That was Ollie, I have to go," she told him, running a hand through her dark hair in exhaustion.

Jake shrugged as they both start walking to the entrance, "Its fine, really. I actually have to get home in a little bit. My mom's hell-bent on keeping me around at all times now that I'm back. Besides, we have plenty of time to catch up."

Thea gave Jake a small smile as they both headed for the front entrance, "Yeah, we do. It was good seeing you."

Jake whistled softly into the night, stuffing his gloved hands inside of his pockets as he made his way home, taking a shortcut through an abandoned area of the Glades.

While making his way through a fenced alleyway in between two apartment buildings, he stopped moving after hearing the sound of footsteps behind him. Turning his head slightly, Jake glanced back at the familiar figure behind him. He recognized him from the club.

Taking a deep breath, Jake spoke up in a calm tone, "Look, man, I don't want any trouble. You can just walk away, unscathed and alive. It doesn't have to end with your blood covering my hands."

The hooded man behind him laughed and proceeded to pull out a knife from his back pocket, "Ah, Vic told me you were a comedian. Unfortunately, your act is gonna have to get cut short garoto. Ain't that right boys?"

Jake exhaled as two more guys jump down from the nearby fire escape, they crack their knuckles as and marched over to him. Both of them attack at the same time, swinging their arms at Jake, who dodged each punch.

When the masked one threw a punch aimed at his gut, Jake deflected it with his hand and stunned him with a strike to the forehead. He grabbed the arm and effortlessly twisted it back, dislocating the goon's shoulder. He used the masked goon as a shield, shoving him into the heavier goon with a bandana wrapped around his forehead.

Jake stepped back slightly as the heavier goon delivers a right hook to his face. He laughed, dabbing at the blood in the corner of his mouth before pulling out a butterfly knife from his jeans pocket. He stabbed the heavier goon in the wrist after striking the pressure point in the nape of his neck. Then, in a rush of adrenaline and anger, he slammed the heavier goons head against the brick wall.

Jake spit out the blood from his mouth as the hooded man behind him let out a battle cry, slashing his right shoulder blade with his knife.

In response, Jake let out a brief grunt of pain before flipping the man over his wounded shoulder.

He wrapped one of his arms around the man's neck in a tight grip, lifting his body up from the ground, "I lied when I said you could live. I won't risk the lives of my loved ones," he closed his eyes as he twisted the man's neck in an unnatural angle thus snapping it.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the prologue! Don't forget to review and let me know what you think.