Twist of Fate 6/?
Feb. 15th, 2011 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luminare91Title: Twist of Fate
Summary: Oliver finds himself at Smallville High where he meet Chloe and discovers the world of Meta-humans. But will his newfound happiness be threatened by the presence of an old enemy.
Rating: PG-13 (Mostly for mild language and violence in later chapters. I don't see it going any further, but if it does, the rating will change accordingly.)
Warning: This is mostly AU. I plan to work in as much from the series as I can, but the timeline is completely mine and character ages have been changed as I see fit. Oliver's only a year older than Chloe in this. She already knows about Clark's powers. And Lois is living with Chloe.
Relationships: Chlollie, Clois (just a teeny, tiny bit.)
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
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552158
Author's Note: This chapter was hard to write in places and I'm not sure that I'm one hundred percent happy with it, but I don't feel like I can do anything else, so I'm posting it. Hope you like it.
Chapter 6
It had been a week. Seven whole days since Clark had come barreling in and rescued them from Justin. One hundred and sixty-eight hours since Oliver had been forced to go back to Star City. Ten thousand and eighty minutes since he’d last seen Chloe, even longer since he’d spoken to her seeing as she’d been unconscious at the time. They’d been playing phone tag since he left.
Oliver growled angrily and sank into a chair, glaring out the window at the Star City skyline.
Across the room, his guardian, Matt Rolston, sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to tell you, Oliver. We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. The board thinks you’re too irresponsible to run the company. They want to vote you out.”
“I thought they couldn’t do that?” Oliver groaned. “My parents left the company to me.”
“And you inherited it three months ago on your birthday,” Matt said tiredly. “I know you said you didn’t want to run things until you’d at least graduated high school. But the fact is, you’re technically the CEO, even if you have someone else running things. Because you’re also the face of the company, the board has every right to try to lock you out until you’re twenty-five and I doubt the’ll want to let you back in.”
“And they think that because I was kidnapped that they have the right to do that?” Oliver demanded.
Matt snatched a stack of magazines off the table and tossed them at Oliver. “Do you see how the tabloids are spinning this?”
Oliver didn’t bother to even look at the magazines. He’d seen all the headlines so many times that they were burned into his brain. Heir to Queen Industries Beats Girlfriend. Mr. Queen Reveals Violent Streak. Girl Hospitalized After Oliver Queen Loses Control. And his personal favorite, Oliver Queen Involved in Satanic Cult.
“Now I know that’s not what happened,” Matt said. “And I’m pretty sure half the population of Smallville could back you up, but until you’re willing to produce evidence to the contrary instead of just saying “no comment” the press is going to believe this garbage. Everything you do and everything the company does will be under scrutiny. We’ve already got investors threatening to pull out if this isn’t cleared up. I get that want to give this girl her privacy. That’s why I pulled you out of Smallville when I did. But you’re going to have to give them something. The police reports aren’t good enough. You know as well as I do how easily those could have been faked to cover your ass.”
“Easier said than done,” Oliver grumbled under his breath. He’d been speaking to Clark on a regular basis since he’d had trouble getting a hold of Chloe and he already knew how protective the other man was of his secret. He doubted Clark would want to tell the board of Queen Industries what had happened, even if he did leave out the superpowered bits.
Matt collected his briefcase and stood. “I’m gonna head over to the office and see if I can’t clear some of this up. I already have the legal department pressuring the tabloids to print retractions. But until you give me something else, that’s all I can do.”
“Thanks for everything,” Oliver said softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Shaking his head, Matt left the room. Oliver pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at it.
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“All right. That’s it!” Lois shouted, launching herself across the room to where Chloe sat on her bed. “You are done moping! Talk to me!”
“There’s nothing to tell, Lo,” Chloe sighed.
“Oh yes there is!” Lois snapped. “You’ve been pining over jolly green giant ever since he left. What happened?”
Knowing there was no stopping Lois once she got started, Chloe relented. “While we were waiting for Justin to come back, he told me he was falling for me and I might have said that I thought I was too and we might have almost kissed.”
Lois gaped at her. “You almost had a major lip lock with one of the wealthiest and hottest guys to walk the planet and you didn’t TELL ME?”
“Well excuse me if I was a bit preoccupied by the fact that we were almost bludgeoned to death by my psycho stalker!” Chloe glared at her cousin. “I haven’t even gotten to talk to him about it. For all I know, it was just the stress of the situation getting to us.”
“That’s bullshit,” Lois snapped. “And you know it, which makes it double bullshit. Now I realize that you were unconscious for this, but believe me when I say he was the one verbally castrating the doctors, not me. I was playing nice. Well actually I was just enjoying the show, but that’s not the point. Do you really think I haven’t noticed how many times he’s called you since he’s been gone? I hear the messages too, you know. Hell, I’ve answered at least three times! Do you really think he’d be playing phone tag like that with someone he’d had a thing for in the heat of the moment?”
“Maybe,” Chloe squeaked.
Lois sighed. “Cuz, I know you’re used to coming in second. But Oliver likes you! Smallville can see it and we both know how useless he is when it comes to love!”
At that, Chloe smiled slightly. “He is pretty clueless. It’s just...I’m not used to have guys like me back. I’ve been in one-sided relationships. Either I’m head over heals in love with them, or they’re trying to kill me. I don’t know what to do with this.”
Lois shifted closer and put her arm around Chloe’s shoulder. “I may not know Oliver very well,” she said. “But I saw the way he was looking at you at the Talon, like you were a puzzle that he needed to solve. And when he picked you up to go the bonfire, he had the first real smile I’d ever seen on him.”
“How did you know that?” Chloe asked suspiciously. “Were you spying on me?”
“Well duh!” Lois rolled her eyes. “You get a mysterious phone call and tried to tell me that you were going to get down and dirty with Pete and Clark in the Kents’ barn. Can you say misdirection? I saw through it in a heartbeat. I watched you through the bathroom window.”
Chloe laughed. “You’re shameless. You know that right?”
“Yep!” Lois said cheerfully. “It’s why you love me. Now stop interrupting.”
Making a show of locking her lips, Chloe indicated for Lois to go on.
“Like I said earlier, Oliver was the one the practically assaulting the doctors to find out if you were all right. And I’m willing to bet that it he hadn’t been forcibly dragged to Star City, he wouldn’t have left your hospital room. And if that’s not enough proof,” Lois added, “despite everything that was going on, he was polite and civil to me and I’m an ass.”
Chloe laughed again. “All right. You convinced me. I’m done being insecure.”
“Good.” Lois stood and hurried across the room. She dropped to her stomach beside her bed and pulled out an old shoebox. Returning to Chloe’s bed, she sat down next to her cousin and opened the box. She dug out a wad of cash and held it up.
“Last time I counted, there was almost eight hundred dollars here,” she said. “That should be enough to buy a round trip ticket to Star City and an amazing outfit for when you see him.”
Chloe’s mouth fell open. “Lois! I can’t take that! You’ve been saving for months. You had to have a reason.”
“Not really,” Lois shrugged. “It’s my emergency cash. And this is definitely an emergency. Seeing you all sad and mopey has me depressed too, which is seriously cramping my style. Now come on!” She grabbed Chloe’s wrist and pulled her off the bed. “We have to go shopping! Grab your purse and get your butt downstairs.”
“Lois,” Chloe whined.
“Nope, no excuses. Come on.”
The phone rang. Chloe immediately grabbed the handset
“Don’t you dare!” Lois hissed. “If that’s Smallville, you’d better tell him that you’re unavailable. I don’t care what farm emergency he’s having! I mean it Chlo.”
Ignoring her cousin’s threatening, Chloe hit the button and brought the phone to her ear. “Sullivan residence.”
“Chloe?”
She nearly dropped the phone. “Hi, Oliver.”
Lois’ eyes widened. “On second thought, stay here. I’m gonna get a snack. You two chat.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the phone. “How are you?” she asked softly.
“I’d be better if I was in Smallville with you,” he answered truthfully.
“Really?”
Oliver gripped the phone more tightly. “I’m pretty sure that last time we were together we were interrupted by a telekinetic maniac. I think I owe you a kiss, don’t I?”
“Maybe.” Chloe bit her lip. “Are you all right?”
“Still a little sore, but in one piece. What about you?”
“I’m fine. My head doesn’t hurt any more and you can barely see the bruise.”
“That’s good,” Oliver murmured. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up. I didn’t want to leave, but things...things came up and I didn’t have a choice.”
“Clark told me you calling every half hour,” she said with a hint of a smile. “I kind of figured you hadn’t wanted to leave. Thanks for worrying about me. You really didn’t have to.”
His eyebrows shot up. He stood and began pacing the living room. “Are you kidding me?” he demanded. “The girl I’m developing feelings for was thrown against a wall and knocked out! Of course I’m going to worry.”
Chloe flinched slightly at the indignation in his voice. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just not used to having someone worry about me like that.”
“Oh.” Oliver’s voice softened. “Well in that case, thank you for worrying about me. You know, I really, really miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” she whispered. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away and silently ordered herself to suck it up. She was not about to cry while she was on the phone with him. “When do you think you’ll be back?”
“That’s the thing,” Oliver answered slowly. “I’m not sure and that’s kind of why I called. I don’t suppose you’ve been reading the tabloids, have you.”
She shook her head, forgetting that he could’t see her. “Not lately. Why?”
“They don’t have a lot of details, but someone heard enough to know that something happened.” He hated that he had to be the one to tell her. He hated what he had to ask her to do. “The story’s spreading that...that I’m the one that put in the hospital.”
“What?” she gasped.
“They don’t know who you are, or even where you are,” he assured her quickly. “But someone overheard me telling my guardian, Matt, that I kinda felt like it was my fault any of it had happened. The first story was printed in Star City, a couple of hours after Clark got us to the hospital.”
Chloe was silent for a long moment before whispering, “Is that why you had to go back?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, my god,” she whimpered, unable to keep the tears out of her voice. “I’m so sorry, Oliver. If it wasn’t for me, Justin never would have gone after you. None of this would have happened.”
“Yeah, and it’s probably my fault this got to the papers,” he said soothingly. “You don’t have to apologize.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Chloe asked.
Oh, boy. “Yeah. And I feel like a complete dick for asking, but the board’s trying to prove that I’m not fit to run things. And apparently, it’s not enough for me to tell the papers that nothing happened and give the board my side of the story.”
“Oh,” Chloe whispered as realization washed over her. “You need me to tell them what happened. Would I need to make a statement to the papers, too?”
“Probably,” he admitted. “Look if you’re not comfortable with this, you don’t have to do anything. I can come up with something to solve this problem. But it may be a while before I get back--”
“Ollie,” Chloe said softly, interrupting his rambling. “I’ll do it.”
“You will?”
She almost laughed at the astonishment in his voice. “Yeah. I’ll see if Clark can give me a lift out to Star City. There should be fewer questions that way.”
“I’ll text him the address of the penthouse. Thank you so much,” he whispered. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered back. “Bye.” The moment she hung up, Chloe grabbed her purse and bolted out the door.
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Ten minutes later, Chloe was standing in the Kents’ barn, a duffle bag on the floor in front of her. Clark placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
Chloe nodded. “Yeah.”
“Just making sure.” Clark picked up her duffle and slung it across his back before scooping her into her arms, bridal style, and held her close to his chest. “Ready?”
“Let’s go.” Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face against Clark’s neck. She still wasn’t used to traveling by superspeed. It almost always made her slightly queasy. The wind buffeted her back and tore at her hair. And then just like that it was over.
“You can look now,” Clark murmured, setting her on her feet.
Clutching her stomach, Chloe opened her eyes and looked around the penthouse. The decor was very modern and a little cold. Oliver was standing on the opposite side of the living room. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
As soon as her stomach settled, Chloe crossed the room to him. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” he said weakly. “I’m just still getting used to the idea that Clark can cover half the continental US in less than a minute.”
Clark grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I forget that people find it weird.”
“Just a little,” Oliver deadpanned.
“Then I guess that means we shouldn’t introduce you the kid we met last year who as even faster than Clark, huh?” Chloe joked.
“Faster? How can someone be faster?”
“Just go with it,” Clark advised. “If you come back to Smallville, you’ll meet weirder. I should get back to the farm. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” With a gust of wind he was gone.
Oliver looked down at Chloe. “How do you get used to that?”
“I’m not sure that I am,” she admitted. “Do you know what he meant that he’d see us tomorrow?”
“Oh, I called him before I called you. I wanted his advice on how much of all this,” he gestured at the stack of tabloids still lying on the table, “I should tell you. I was a little caught up in everything and I kinda blurted out that Matt wanted Clark to tell his side of the story too.”
“And he agreed?” Chloe asked incredulously.
Oliver nodded. “I was surprised too. But before I had a chance to ask him why he was willing to risk it he told me that you’d want to know what’s going on so you could make your own decision and hung up.”
“Wow. He’s really taking this well.”
“I get the feeling he’s generally pretty protective about his secret,” Oliver said.
Chloe only nodded. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to the couch and sat down. “How was Clark exposed to the meteor rock?”
He was avoiding the reason she was there and he knew it. But he was genuinely curious and he just didn’t want to think about what he was asking her to do. Chloe leaned against the side of the couch and bit her lip. Oliver waited patiently, playing with her fingers as he did.
“You can’t tell this to anyone,” she finally said. “I mean, I still can’t believe Clark’s letting me tell you. But he is and I don’t want there to be secrets between us.”
Oliver squeezed her hand. “I won’t tell anyone. I swear.”
“All right,” she nodded. “Clark’s an alien from the planet that’s the source of the meteor rocks. His parents sent him here in a spaceship so that he’d survive when the planet exploded. The radioactive meteor rocks are actually poisonous to him.”
She said everything in one breath, and when she was done, she bit her lip and waited for Oliver to say something.
“Clark’s an alien,” he said slowly.
“Yeah,” Chloe whispered.
“As in not human?”
“Yeah.”
“But he looks human.”
“Uh huh.”
“Is there anything else he can do?”
Chloe nodded miserably. “He has heat vision. Basically, he can shoot lasers out of his eyes. He also has x-ray vision, superhearing, and superbreath. We think he’s also supposed to be able to fly, because every now and then he wakes up hovering, but he’s never actually managed it. He’s also impervious to harm, unless there’s meteor rock around.”
For a long moment, they just sat there as Oliver absorbed what she’d told him. He wasn’t freaking out as much as he probably should have been, but then again, in the past week, he’d been kidnapped and nearly killed by someone with the ability to move objects with their mind. After a few more minutes, Chloe got up and walked to the windows.
It’s too much, she thought fretfully. He’s freaking out and he’s going to tell me to get lost. I should have waited until things had calmed down to tell him.
Oliver could see from her reflection in the glass that she was freaking out. She was probably assuming the worst about him, that he was panicking. That would be the the most reasonable reaction on his part. He couldn’t blame her for being uneasy and insecure.They hadn’t exactly settled anything between them before Justin had interrupted.
Sighing, he stood and crossed the room. Chloe was so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn’t notice his approach until he stepped in front of her. She started slightly. Grin tugging at his lips, Oliver laid his hands on her shoulders. “You know, I don’t think I gave you a proper welcome.”
“Really?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. The nervousness in her voice was almost masked by the snark.
His grin broadened. “Really.”
Slowly, he bent and brushed his lips tenderly against her cheek. He got the feeling that she wasn’t quite ready for a real kiss. After a moment, he felt the tension begin to leave her and he pulled her tightly against his chest. Chloe reflexively wrapped her arms around him, letting his much larger frame engulf her.
“Have a mentioned that I missed you?” he murmured.
Chloe chuckled. “Not since we got off the phone. If it makes you feel better, I missed you too. I was driving Lois crazy.”
“Well we can’t have that,” he said, pulling away slightly to look at her. “Do you want to watch a movie and order pizza? We never did get to it the other night.”
“Sounds good. What movie do you have in mind?”
Oliver shrugged. “Why don’t you pick something while I order the pizza? They’re in that cabinet.”
Reluctantly, Chloe moved away from him and knelt in front of the entertainment center. He had more movies than a video store.
“Don’t tell me you’ve actually watched all these.” Chloe shouted over her shoulder.
“Most of them,” Oliver laughed from the kitchen. “What do you want on your pizza?”
“Anything but anchovies and olives!”
“All right.”
Turning back to his movie collection, Chloe examined the dozens of movies carefully. At last half a dozen titles jumped out at her. After a moment, she sighed and clapped a hand over her eyes and grabbed blindly grabbed for a movie. She knocked about three off the shelf in the process.
“What are you doing?” Oliver asked from behind her, laughing.
She felt her cheeks redden as she replaced the movies she’d knocked down. “I’m picking a movie. What’s it’ look like I’m doing?’
Oliver did his best to suppress is laughter. “And what did you chose?”
Chloe held it up over her shoulder and he arched an eyebrow. “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves?”
“Is that okay?”
Laughing, Oliver bent and kissed her on the cheek again. “That’s my favorite.”
“Go figure,” she whispered. “Did you get the pizza ordered?”
“Yep. Pop the movie in and come sit down.”
“Why don’t you put the movie in?” Chloe suggested. “I don’t know how to use your system.”
As the opening credits played, Olive sat on the couch beside Chloe. He wasn’t sure what she would be comfortable with. He was almost sure she hadn’t been on many dates, so he was going to let her call the shots. Sensing that Oliver was letting her take the lead, Chloe moved closer to him so that she was pressed up against his side. He draped his arm over his shoulder and pulled her close.
“Before it get’s too late,” Oliver said slowly, hesitating slightly. “Where do you want to stay while you’re here? I have a guest room, but if you’d be more comfortable at a hotel, I can call and arrange a room.”
Flushing slightly, Chloe reached up and twined her fingers through his. “Here’s fine. If I won’t be in the way.”
Squeezing her hand, Oliver whispered, “You could never be in the way.”
Chloe burrowed a little more securely into his side and the two lapsed into silence as they watched the movie.
Chapter 7
Summary: Oliver finds himself at Smallville High where he meet Chloe and discovers the world of Meta-humans. But will his newfound happiness be threatened by the presence of an old enemy.
Rating: PG-13 (Mostly for mild language and violence in later chapters. I don't see it going any further, but if it does, the rating will change accordingly.)
Warning: This is mostly AU. I plan to work in as much from the series as I can, but the timeline is completely mine and character ages have been changed as I see fit. Oliver's only a year older than Chloe in this. She already knows about Clark's powers. And Lois is living with Chloe.
Relationships: Chlollie, Clois (just a teeny, tiny bit.)
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
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552158 Author's Note: This chapter was hard to write in places and I'm not sure that I'm one hundred percent happy with it, but I don't feel like I can do anything else, so I'm posting it. Hope you like it.
Chapter 6
It had been a week. Seven whole days since Clark had come barreling in and rescued them from Justin. One hundred and sixty-eight hours since Oliver had been forced to go back to Star City. Ten thousand and eighty minutes since he’d last seen Chloe, even longer since he’d spoken to her seeing as she’d been unconscious at the time. They’d been playing phone tag since he left.
Oliver growled angrily and sank into a chair, glaring out the window at the Star City skyline.
Across the room, his guardian, Matt Rolston, sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to tell you, Oliver. We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. The board thinks you’re too irresponsible to run the company. They want to vote you out.”
“I thought they couldn’t do that?” Oliver groaned. “My parents left the company to me.”
“And you inherited it three months ago on your birthday,” Matt said tiredly. “I know you said you didn’t want to run things until you’d at least graduated high school. But the fact is, you’re technically the CEO, even if you have someone else running things. Because you’re also the face of the company, the board has every right to try to lock you out until you’re twenty-five and I doubt the’ll want to let you back in.”
“And they think that because I was kidnapped that they have the right to do that?” Oliver demanded.
Matt snatched a stack of magazines off the table and tossed them at Oliver. “Do you see how the tabloids are spinning this?”
Oliver didn’t bother to even look at the magazines. He’d seen all the headlines so many times that they were burned into his brain. Heir to Queen Industries Beats Girlfriend. Mr. Queen Reveals Violent Streak. Girl Hospitalized After Oliver Queen Loses Control. And his personal favorite, Oliver Queen Involved in Satanic Cult.
“Now I know that’s not what happened,” Matt said. “And I’m pretty sure half the population of Smallville could back you up, but until you’re willing to produce evidence to the contrary instead of just saying “no comment” the press is going to believe this garbage. Everything you do and everything the company does will be under scrutiny. We’ve already got investors threatening to pull out if this isn’t cleared up. I get that want to give this girl her privacy. That’s why I pulled you out of Smallville when I did. But you’re going to have to give them something. The police reports aren’t good enough. You know as well as I do how easily those could have been faked to cover your ass.”
“So instead a girl who was terrorized by a stalker has to come forward and tell the board exactly what happened?” Oliver snapped.
“I’m not saying I like it,” Matt sighed. “But that may be our only choice. And I’d recommend that the guy who found you come forward as well. The more people you have backing you up the better.”“Easier said than done,” Oliver grumbled under his breath. He’d been speaking to Clark on a regular basis since he’d had trouble getting a hold of Chloe and he already knew how protective the other man was of his secret. He doubted Clark would want to tell the board of Queen Industries what had happened, even if he did leave out the superpowered bits.
Matt collected his briefcase and stood. “I’m gonna head over to the office and see if I can’t clear some of this up. I already have the legal department pressuring the tabloids to print retractions. But until you give me something else, that’s all I can do.”
“Thanks for everything,” Oliver said softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Shaking his head, Matt left the room. Oliver pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at it.
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“All right. That’s it!” Lois shouted, launching herself across the room to where Chloe sat on her bed. “You are done moping! Talk to me!”
“There’s nothing to tell, Lo,” Chloe sighed.
“Oh yes there is!” Lois snapped. “You’ve been pining over jolly green giant ever since he left. What happened?”
Knowing there was no stopping Lois once she got started, Chloe relented. “While we were waiting for Justin to come back, he told me he was falling for me and I might have said that I thought I was too and we might have almost kissed.”
Lois gaped at her. “You almost had a major lip lock with one of the wealthiest and hottest guys to walk the planet and you didn’t TELL ME?”
“Well excuse me if I was a bit preoccupied by the fact that we were almost bludgeoned to death by my psycho stalker!” Chloe glared at her cousin. “I haven’t even gotten to talk to him about it. For all I know, it was just the stress of the situation getting to us.”
“That’s bullshit,” Lois snapped. “And you know it, which makes it double bullshit. Now I realize that you were unconscious for this, but believe me when I say he was the one verbally castrating the doctors, not me. I was playing nice. Well actually I was just enjoying the show, but that’s not the point. Do you really think I haven’t noticed how many times he’s called you since he’s been gone? I hear the messages too, you know. Hell, I’ve answered at least three times! Do you really think he’d be playing phone tag like that with someone he’d had a thing for in the heat of the moment?”
“Maybe,” Chloe squeaked.
Lois sighed. “Cuz, I know you’re used to coming in second. But Oliver likes you! Smallville can see it and we both know how useless he is when it comes to love!”
At that, Chloe smiled slightly. “He is pretty clueless. It’s just...I’m not used to have guys like me back. I’ve been in one-sided relationships. Either I’m head over heals in love with them, or they’re trying to kill me. I don’t know what to do with this.”
Lois shifted closer and put her arm around Chloe’s shoulder. “I may not know Oliver very well,” she said. “But I saw the way he was looking at you at the Talon, like you were a puzzle that he needed to solve. And when he picked you up to go the bonfire, he had the first real smile I’d ever seen on him.”
“How did you know that?” Chloe asked suspiciously. “Were you spying on me?”
“Well duh!” Lois rolled her eyes. “You get a mysterious phone call and tried to tell me that you were going to get down and dirty with Pete and Clark in the Kents’ barn. Can you say misdirection? I saw through it in a heartbeat. I watched you through the bathroom window.”
Chloe laughed. “You’re shameless. You know that right?”
“Yep!” Lois said cheerfully. “It’s why you love me. Now stop interrupting.”
Making a show of locking her lips, Chloe indicated for Lois to go on.
“Like I said earlier, Oliver was the one the practically assaulting the doctors to find out if you were all right. And I’m willing to bet that it he hadn’t been forcibly dragged to Star City, he wouldn’t have left your hospital room. And if that’s not enough proof,” Lois added, “despite everything that was going on, he was polite and civil to me and I’m an ass.”
Chloe laughed again. “All right. You convinced me. I’m done being insecure.”
“Good.” Lois stood and hurried across the room. She dropped to her stomach beside her bed and pulled out an old shoebox. Returning to Chloe’s bed, she sat down next to her cousin and opened the box. She dug out a wad of cash and held it up.
“Last time I counted, there was almost eight hundred dollars here,” she said. “That should be enough to buy a round trip ticket to Star City and an amazing outfit for when you see him.”
Chloe’s mouth fell open. “Lois! I can’t take that! You’ve been saving for months. You had to have a reason.”
“Not really,” Lois shrugged. “It’s my emergency cash. And this is definitely an emergency. Seeing you all sad and mopey has me depressed too, which is seriously cramping my style. Now come on!” She grabbed Chloe’s wrist and pulled her off the bed. “We have to go shopping! Grab your purse and get your butt downstairs.”
“Lois,” Chloe whined.
“Nope, no excuses. Come on.”
The phone rang. Chloe immediately grabbed the handset
“Don’t you dare!” Lois hissed. “If that’s Smallville, you’d better tell him that you’re unavailable. I don’t care what farm emergency he’s having! I mean it Chlo.”
Ignoring her cousin’s threatening, Chloe hit the button and brought the phone to her ear. “Sullivan residence.”
“Chloe?”
She nearly dropped the phone. “Hi, Oliver.”
Lois’ eyes widened. “On second thought, stay here. I’m gonna get a snack. You two chat.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the phone. “How are you?” she asked softly.
“I’d be better if I was in Smallville with you,” he answered truthfully.
“Really?”
Oliver gripped the phone more tightly. “I’m pretty sure that last time we were together we were interrupted by a telekinetic maniac. I think I owe you a kiss, don’t I?”
“Maybe.” Chloe bit her lip. “Are you all right?”
“Still a little sore, but in one piece. What about you?”
“I’m fine. My head doesn’t hurt any more and you can barely see the bruise.”
“That’s good,” Oliver murmured. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up. I didn’t want to leave, but things...things came up and I didn’t have a choice.”
“Clark told me you calling every half hour,” she said with a hint of a smile. “I kind of figured you hadn’t wanted to leave. Thanks for worrying about me. You really didn’t have to.”
His eyebrows shot up. He stood and began pacing the living room. “Are you kidding me?” he demanded. “The girl I’m developing feelings for was thrown against a wall and knocked out! Of course I’m going to worry.”
Chloe flinched slightly at the indignation in his voice. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just not used to having someone worry about me like that.”
“Oh.” Oliver’s voice softened. “Well in that case, thank you for worrying about me. You know, I really, really miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” she whispered. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away and silently ordered herself to suck it up. She was not about to cry while she was on the phone with him. “When do you think you’ll be back?”
“That’s the thing,” Oliver answered slowly. “I’m not sure and that’s kind of why I called. I don’t suppose you’ve been reading the tabloids, have you.”
She shook her head, forgetting that he could’t see her. “Not lately. Why?”
“They don’t have a lot of details, but someone heard enough to know that something happened.” He hated that he had to be the one to tell her. He hated what he had to ask her to do. “The story’s spreading that...that I’m the one that put in the hospital.”
“What?” she gasped.
“They don’t know who you are, or even where you are,” he assured her quickly. “But someone overheard me telling my guardian, Matt, that I kinda felt like it was my fault any of it had happened. The first story was printed in Star City, a couple of hours after Clark got us to the hospital.”
Chloe was silent for a long moment before whispering, “Is that why you had to go back?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, my god,” she whimpered, unable to keep the tears out of her voice. “I’m so sorry, Oliver. If it wasn’t for me, Justin never would have gone after you. None of this would have happened.”
“Yeah, and it’s probably my fault this got to the papers,” he said soothingly. “You don’t have to apologize.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Chloe asked.
Oh, boy. “Yeah. And I feel like a complete dick for asking, but the board’s trying to prove that I’m not fit to run things. And apparently, it’s not enough for me to tell the papers that nothing happened and give the board my side of the story.”
“Oh,” Chloe whispered as realization washed over her. “You need me to tell them what happened. Would I need to make a statement to the papers, too?”
“Probably,” he admitted. “Look if you’re not comfortable with this, you don’t have to do anything. I can come up with something to solve this problem. But it may be a while before I get back--”
“Ollie,” Chloe said softly, interrupting his rambling. “I’ll do it.”
“You will?”
She almost laughed at the astonishment in his voice. “Yeah. I’ll see if Clark can give me a lift out to Star City. There should be fewer questions that way.”
“I’ll text him the address of the penthouse. Thank you so much,” he whispered. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered back. “Bye.” The moment she hung up, Chloe grabbed her purse and bolted out the door.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ten minutes later, Chloe was standing in the Kents’ barn, a duffle bag on the floor in front of her. Clark placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
Chloe nodded. “Yeah.”
“Just making sure.” Clark picked up her duffle and slung it across his back before scooping her into her arms, bridal style, and held her close to his chest. “Ready?”
“Let’s go.” Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face against Clark’s neck. She still wasn’t used to traveling by superspeed. It almost always made her slightly queasy. The wind buffeted her back and tore at her hair. And then just like that it was over.
“You can look now,” Clark murmured, setting her on her feet.
Clutching her stomach, Chloe opened her eyes and looked around the penthouse. The decor was very modern and a little cold. Oliver was standing on the opposite side of the living room. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
As soon as her stomach settled, Chloe crossed the room to him. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” he said weakly. “I’m just still getting used to the idea that Clark can cover half the continental US in less than a minute.”
Clark grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I forget that people find it weird.”
“Just a little,” Oliver deadpanned.
“Then I guess that means we shouldn’t introduce you the kid we met last year who as even faster than Clark, huh?” Chloe joked.
“Faster? How can someone be faster?”
“Just go with it,” Clark advised. “If you come back to Smallville, you’ll meet weirder. I should get back to the farm. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” With a gust of wind he was gone.
Oliver looked down at Chloe. “How do you get used to that?”
“I’m not sure that I am,” she admitted. “Do you know what he meant that he’d see us tomorrow?”
“Oh, I called him before I called you. I wanted his advice on how much of all this,” he gestured at the stack of tabloids still lying on the table, “I should tell you. I was a little caught up in everything and I kinda blurted out that Matt wanted Clark to tell his side of the story too.”
“And he agreed?” Chloe asked incredulously.
Oliver nodded. “I was surprised too. But before I had a chance to ask him why he was willing to risk it he told me that you’d want to know what’s going on so you could make your own decision and hung up.”
“Wow. He’s really taking this well.”
“I get the feeling he’s generally pretty protective about his secret,” Oliver said.
Chloe only nodded. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to the couch and sat down. “How was Clark exposed to the meteor rock?”
He was avoiding the reason she was there and he knew it. But he was genuinely curious and he just didn’t want to think about what he was asking her to do. Chloe leaned against the side of the couch and bit her lip. Oliver waited patiently, playing with her fingers as he did.
“You can’t tell this to anyone,” she finally said. “I mean, I still can’t believe Clark’s letting me tell you. But he is and I don’t want there to be secrets between us.”
Oliver squeezed her hand. “I won’t tell anyone. I swear.”
“All right,” she nodded. “Clark’s an alien from the planet that’s the source of the meteor rocks. His parents sent him here in a spaceship so that he’d survive when the planet exploded. The radioactive meteor rocks are actually poisonous to him.”
She said everything in one breath, and when she was done, she bit her lip and waited for Oliver to say something.
“Clark’s an alien,” he said slowly.
“Yeah,” Chloe whispered.
“As in not human?”
“Yeah.”
“But he looks human.”
“Uh huh.”
“Is there anything else he can do?”
Chloe nodded miserably. “He has heat vision. Basically, he can shoot lasers out of his eyes. He also has x-ray vision, superhearing, and superbreath. We think he’s also supposed to be able to fly, because every now and then he wakes up hovering, but he’s never actually managed it. He’s also impervious to harm, unless there’s meteor rock around.”
For a long moment, they just sat there as Oliver absorbed what she’d told him. He wasn’t freaking out as much as he probably should have been, but then again, in the past week, he’d been kidnapped and nearly killed by someone with the ability to move objects with their mind. After a few more minutes, Chloe got up and walked to the windows.
It’s too much, she thought fretfully. He’s freaking out and he’s going to tell me to get lost. I should have waited until things had calmed down to tell him.
Oliver could see from her reflection in the glass that she was freaking out. She was probably assuming the worst about him, that he was panicking. That would be the the most reasonable reaction on his part. He couldn’t blame her for being uneasy and insecure.They hadn’t exactly settled anything between them before Justin had interrupted.
Sighing, he stood and crossed the room. Chloe was so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn’t notice his approach until he stepped in front of her. She started slightly. Grin tugging at his lips, Oliver laid his hands on her shoulders. “You know, I don’t think I gave you a proper welcome.”
“Really?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. The nervousness in her voice was almost masked by the snark.
His grin broadened. “Really.”
Slowly, he bent and brushed his lips tenderly against her cheek. He got the feeling that she wasn’t quite ready for a real kiss. After a moment, he felt the tension begin to leave her and he pulled her tightly against his chest. Chloe reflexively wrapped her arms around him, letting his much larger frame engulf her.
“Have a mentioned that I missed you?” he murmured.
Chloe chuckled. “Not since we got off the phone. If it makes you feel better, I missed you too. I was driving Lois crazy.”
“Well we can’t have that,” he said, pulling away slightly to look at her. “Do you want to watch a movie and order pizza? We never did get to it the other night.”
“Sounds good. What movie do you have in mind?”
Oliver shrugged. “Why don’t you pick something while I order the pizza? They’re in that cabinet.”
Reluctantly, Chloe moved away from him and knelt in front of the entertainment center. He had more movies than a video store.
“Don’t tell me you’ve actually watched all these.” Chloe shouted over her shoulder.
“Most of them,” Oliver laughed from the kitchen. “What do you want on your pizza?”
“Anything but anchovies and olives!”
“All right.”
Turning back to his movie collection, Chloe examined the dozens of movies carefully. At last half a dozen titles jumped out at her. After a moment, she sighed and clapped a hand over her eyes and grabbed blindly grabbed for a movie. She knocked about three off the shelf in the process.
“What are you doing?” Oliver asked from behind her, laughing.
She felt her cheeks redden as she replaced the movies she’d knocked down. “I’m picking a movie. What’s it’ look like I’m doing?’
Oliver did his best to suppress is laughter. “And what did you chose?”
Chloe held it up over her shoulder and he arched an eyebrow. “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves?”
“Is that okay?”
Laughing, Oliver bent and kissed her on the cheek again. “That’s my favorite.”
“Go figure,” she whispered. “Did you get the pizza ordered?”
“Yep. Pop the movie in and come sit down.”
“Why don’t you put the movie in?” Chloe suggested. “I don’t know how to use your system.”
As the opening credits played, Olive sat on the couch beside Chloe. He wasn’t sure what she would be comfortable with. He was almost sure she hadn’t been on many dates, so he was going to let her call the shots. Sensing that Oliver was letting her take the lead, Chloe moved closer to him so that she was pressed up against his side. He draped his arm over his shoulder and pulled her close.
“Before it get’s too late,” Oliver said slowly, hesitating slightly. “Where do you want to stay while you’re here? I have a guest room, but if you’d be more comfortable at a hotel, I can call and arrange a room.”
Flushing slightly, Chloe reached up and twined her fingers through his. “Here’s fine. If I won’t be in the way.”
Squeezing her hand, Oliver whispered, “You could never be in the way.”
Chloe burrowed a little more securely into his side and the two lapsed into silence as they watched the movie.
Chapter 7
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Date: 2011-02-16 02:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 01:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-16 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 01:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-16 05:05 pm (UTC)I can't wait to read more! =)
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Date: 2011-02-17 01:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-16 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 01:12 pm (UTC)Glad you're enjoying
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Date: 2011-02-17 03:48 am (UTC)I absolutely adore the Chlo-Lo part: “It’s my emergency cash. And this is definitely an emergency. Seeing you all sad and mopey has me depressed too, which is seriously cramping my style." Aww Lois is so sweet. I love the strong bond that the cousins share.
Also I'm loving Oliver more and more with every chapter. He's so considerate of Chloe's comfort level in their relationship *Squishes Ollie*
Heh "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" thumbs up to Chloe for selecting that :D
Awesome update! Looking forward to reading the next chapter :D
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Date: 2011-02-17 01:16 pm (UTC)i think everyone needs a cousin like lois. someone who's not afraid to kick ass for you or give you a hug if you need one.
thanks for the review!