Gift of Fate Chapter 10 (11/?)
Summary: Oliver has been missing for two years, ever since his boat went down in a sudden storm. Chloe is still grieving for him. What will it take for her to move on and live her life again? What happened to Oliver? Will he ever come back? And who's behind the mysterious disappearances in Star City?
Rating: PG-13 for the most part, however there are sections that are NC-17 (my first attempt, for the record) for sexual content. This fic contains violence and language. Chapters containing sexual content will be preceded by a warning.
Spoilers: The entire series, basically. The basic setting is season six with a twist, but anything is fair game if it works for this fic.
Warning: Again, this is AU and is a continuation of my fic Twist of Fate, which you really need to read first or this isn't going to make any sense. There will sexual content and violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just playing around with them.
Beta: jessicaj703 Thanks for all the help!
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9
Banner by geek_or_unique
Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay in posting this. I ended up doing a lot more editing than I expected and with Finals next week, I'm busier than ever. If all goes well, the next chapter should be up early next week. It's written and waiting for a final edit. But, as I have learned with the last few chapters, that doesn't really mean anything.
Chapter 10
Chloe looked around the bullpen and smirked. The Green Arrow was certainly stirring things up in Star City. When people realized the mysterious vigilante wasn’t going away, they wanted to know more about him. Her editor was no exception. Green Arrow stories and pictures were top priority. So far all of the attention had been pretty fair. There were the inevitable questions about whether or not he was a criminal, but it was nothing unwarranted. Chloe hadn’t bothered to get involved. Her colleagues’ preoccupation with Oliver’s alter ego actually left her with some of the other articles. She hadn’t had anything on the front page yet, but she was moving up.
Some of her co-workers were having an animated conversation about whether or not the Green Arrow had superpowers. Chloe forced herself not to butt in when someone suggested he could teleport and turned back to the article she was working on. She was going to have to tell Oliver that one. He’d definitely get a kick out of it.
It had been several weeks since his first night out. Aside from some cuts and bruises and a few more mishaps with equipment, everything had gone well. Chloe had played eyes in the sky every night, calling the police as he got done with one set of bad guys and telling him where to go next. Usually she sat in his secret room working on her articles or doing her homework. Considering that Oliver was taking as many classes as she, working at Queen Industries practically full time, and patrolling every night she was actually jealous that he was juggling it all so well.
Despite the pressure and the dangers, Oliver seemed a lot happier now that he was doing something. Chloe had to admit that helping him help people was a pretty amazing rush, even though she wasn’t out there in the middle of the action the way he was. And it was pretty cool that the two of them were working together to do it, like a team.
A tentative voice broke through her thoughts. “Bright ey--Chloe?”
Eyes wide, she looked up to see none other than Jimmy Olsen, bow-tie peeking out of his sweater vest and camera around his neck, standing in front of her. “What are you doing here?” she asked in astonishment.
He held up his camera. “The Planet wants pictures of this new vigilante. I got the assignment. I’m here on loan until I get something. What are you doing here?”
“I’m going to school at SCU,” she said slowly. “How did you know I’m at the Register?”
“I didn’t,” he stammered. “I saw you when I came in a couple of minutes ago.”
Chloe nodded, not sure of what else to say. She knew that Jimmy would want to hang out, partly because she was probably the only person in the city that he knew and partly because he still thought he was in love with her. She didn’t even want to think about what that might look like to Oliver. As if things couldn’t get any more complicated between the two of them, now she had to worry about him being jealous.
“I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat,” Jimmy said nervously, once more interrupting her thoughts. “You know, just to catch up.”
Biting her lip, Chloe hesitated slightly. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Jimmy.”
“Because of the guy I saw you with in Metropolis?” he guessed. He sounded almost bitter.
“Sorta,” she hedged. “That is actually incredibly complicated.” And please don’t ask me any more about it because I am not getting into the gritty details of my relationship with Oliver.
“You wanna talk about it?” Jimmy offered.
Chloe shook her head vehemently. “No. Thanks. But, no.”
Looking slightly hurt, he changed the subject. “So what about lunch?”
“I really don’t know...”
“Come on,” he pleaded. “I don’t know anyone in Star City and I thought that we were at least friends before everything happened.”
He had an excellent point. She just didn’t care. She didn’t have the energy to try and be friends with Jimmy while worrying about leading him on.
Chloe was struggling to come up with a good excuse not to go to out to eat with him when a hush fell over the bullpen. Chloe looked up to see Oliver walking toward her. It wasn’t the first time he’d stopped by for lunch or to pick her up or even just to chat. But it never ceased to amaze her friends and coworkers that they knew each other. After all, he was Star City’s golden boy. Without fail, there was an awkward silence when he walked in and quiet mutters when he left.
Guessing what it was that he wanted, Chloe started saving her work and closing everything so she could shut down the computer.
Catching sight of Jimmy standing beside her, Oliver’s pace slowed slightly and he frowned. Chloe discretely shook her head and grimaced, trying to convey that she wasn’t happy that Jimmy was there. Oliver seemed to get the message, because he sped back up and the creases that had marred his forehead disappeared.
“Lunch?” she guessed when he stopped in front of her desk.
“If you’ve got time,” he said with a bright grin.
Chloe nodded and started throwing stuff in her purse. Jimmy shifted awkwardly beside her and cleared his throat. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “This is Jimmy, by the way. He’s a photographer from the Planet and the two of us used to work together a lot. He’s here to get the first pictures of Star City’s vigilante.”
“Really?” Oliver said, eyebrow raised. “Good luck. I’ve heard that he’s pretty elusive.”
Trying to hold back her laughter, Chloe shot Oliver a glare before turning to Jimmy. “This is Oliver. He’s one of my closest friends. I’m staying with him since I moved out here.”
Oliver almost winced at the friend label. He definitely wasn’t making any progress in their relationship, despite his frequent attempts to figure out what was holding Chloe back while simultaneously proving that he was over all his issues from the island. On the other hand, he could understand her reluctance to define their relationship to Jimmy, who she was obviously slightly uncomfortable around. He just wondered how she really defined their relationship.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he focused on Jimmy, who was actually speaking to him.
“How do you and Chloe know each other?”
Oliver shrugged. “I went to Smallville High for my senior year. She showed me around and we became friends. There’s really not that much to tell.” Understatement of the century, but you don’t look like you can handle the truth.
“He actually got sent out there to avoid trouble,” Chloe added, her eyes dancing. “Needless to say, hanging out with me and my nosey reporter tendencies got us into more trouble than he ever managed on his own.”
Oliver chuckled and shrugged innocently.
“So you’re from around here?” Jimmy pressed, completely changing the subject.
“You could say that,” Oliver said, trying not to laugh. He thought everyone knew who he was. Jimmy must not have been in town long. This could be fun, he mused. “My parents’ company is based here.” Before the interrogation could continue, he offered his arm to Chloe. “You ready? I’m thinking the Italian place down the street.”
She beamed. “I am totally craving tiramisu,” she said, threading her arm through his and glancing back at Jimmy. “See you later.”
“Bye,” he said weakly.
Moving closer to Oliver, she hissed, “Let’s get out of here.”
“Your wish is my command,” he chuckled.
The moment they stepped outside into the sunlight, Chloe relaxed visibly and a gentle smile crossed her face. Then she shook herself and looked up at Oliver apologetically. “Sorry about that. I had no idea he was even in town.”
“Not your fault,” he shrugged. I just hope him being here doesn’t change anything.
“The only problem is that now he’s not going to leave me alone. I could barely get him to take ‘no’ for an answer before.”
Unconsciously, Oliver tightened his grip on his on her arm, pulling her slightly closer. “Just out of curiosity, what did you tell him? About us in general.”
“When he asked me out just before you got back, all I told him was that the guy I had been dating went missing and that I wasn’t over it.” She blushed slightly. “I have yet to mention that you’re that guy, so as far as he knows we’re just friends. I don’t want to have to explain it to him,” she added hotly. “It’s none of his business. I shouldn’t have to give him the details of my love life to him just because he can’t take a hint.”
Warmed slightly by the fact that she’d referred to their relationship as her love life, Oliver nodded and pulled open the door to the restaurant. “Well if he keeps giving you trouble, I’m sure there’s a certain vigilante out there who wouldn’t mind scaring the crap out of him.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. The Green Arrow has better things to do than terrorize Jimmy Olsen. I’ll just call Lois.”
Oliver stared at her in mock horror. “That’s cruel.”
“It’s not as if he doesn’t deserve it,” she grumbled.
Seeing as he whole-heartedly agreed, Oliver chose not to say anything and hid behind the menu. After a few moments, he looked up at Chloe again. “So how are things at the Register?”
“Not bad,” she shrugged. “Same old. Green Arrow is still a hot topic. I heard a girl today who thought he had the ability to teleport. It’s getting slightly ridiculous.”
“I expected it to be worse,” Oliver admitted. “Besides, teleportation sounds like that might be a handy power to have.”
“I’ve met someone who could teleport.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously. “She turned out to be crazy obsessed with Clark and nearly killed a bunch of people before he stopped her.”
“Right,” he grimaced. “Taking that off the list of superpowers I wish I had.”
She laughed. “If you did that for every power a psycho meta-human possessed, you’d be left with a very short list of abilities.”
“Well, I’m trying to avoid going crazy,” he teased.
“I hate to break it to you,” she said, lowering her voice so that no one else could hear, “parading around town with a bow and arrow dressed head to toe in green leather doesn’t exactly qualify as sane.”
“But it doesn’t qualify as psychotic either. Besides, I doubt that enabling me could be considered the behavior of a mentally stable person.”
“I don’t think I’ve been stable since I moved to Smallville. Must be all of the meteor rocks.”
“Why am I not surprised that they cause insanity?”
Chloe laughed, a happy and carefree sound that Oliver would never get tired of hearing. “Maybe because of the sheer number of infected psychos who tried to kill me?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s why. I seemed to have blocked out those memories.”
“Since I’m the one with all the near death experiences, shouldn’t I be the one blocking stuff out?”
“Ah, but you were not the one worrying,” he countered. “I used to spend hours wondering how the hell you managed to stay alive long enough for us to meet.”
“Skill,” she grinned. “Pure, unadulterated skill.”
“You know, I think I could use some of that now that I’ve taken up certain after hours hobbies.”
“I don’t know. I tend to end up being more of a damsel in distress than a hero swooping in to save the day.”
Oliver’s face softened and he automatically reached out to take her hand, ignoring the electric charge the seemed to course up his arm at the contact. “You could never be a damsel in distress. How many times have you kicked meta-human ass because they underestimated you?”
“Not as often as you think,” she said ruefully. “A lot of my escapes were courtesy of Clark.”
“It’s not as if you took any of it lying down,” Oliver pointed out. “That takes a lot of guts considering you know what these people are capable of.”
She smiled and slid her hand out from under his as the waitress came around the corner to take their order.
***
Lunch hadn’t lasted long enough for Oliver, but Chloe’d had to go back to the Register. Her editor and been on her case the past few days since she pulled a lot of weird hours between her college classes and doing research for the heroes in her life. She hadn’t want to press her luck by staying gone too long, so he’d reluctantly said good bye.
He was sitting in his office at Queen Industries, going through some of the work for his online classes while taking a break from looking over some official documents. It was boring and he’d rather be doing it at home while Chloe researched her next article. At least then the silence would have been filled with witty banter and he wouldn’t have felt like his brain was pouring out of his ears.
The intercom on his desk buzzed. “Mr. Queen. There’s someone here to see you. He says he’s an old friend.”
Welcoming the distraction, no matter who it turned out to be, he hit the button and said, “Let him in.”
A few seconds later, the door flew open and a tall, lean man in an Air Force uniform burst into the room. “Seriously, dude. You get banished to some hick town in the middle of nowhere and you can’t be bothered to call. Then you fall off the face of the earth and despite your miraculous return, you still don’t call. A guy might think you’re avoiding him.”
Oliver grinned as he stood and walked around his desk to shake the guy’s hand. “That goes both ways, man. You could have picked up a phone. Or did you lose my number?”
“More likely deleted it to make room for a pretty girl’s number,” the other man scoffed, rolling his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Sure,” Oliver laughed. “What the hell are you wearing?”
“What’s the matter? Never seen a military uniform?” the man teased.
“Not on you, Hal. You never seemed the military type.”
“Well we’re all full of surprises.”
Oliver rolled his eyes. He and Hal Jordan had met at Star City Academy, the private school he’d been sent to after the incident with Duncan and Lex at Excelsior. His guardian had wanted him close by in case he started causing trouble again. Hal had been one of the first people he’d met, and like Chloe, he’d been completely unimpressed with Oliver’s status. They’d shared a similar outlook on life: party hard and boy had they done that. More than that, Hal had a great sense of humor and was a really good, truly loyal friend. Oliver had regretted not staying in touch while he was in Smallville, but he just wasn’t the best at maintaining relationships. Before Chloe, he’d never really worked at it.
“So what exactly brought this on?” Oliver asked, gesturing at the uniform his friend was wearing.
Hal shrugged. “You know me. I always wanted to fly something and go to space. The best way to do that was to join the Air Force. Plus, it keeps me out of trouble,” he added with a grin.
“And they actually let you behind the wheel of a plane?”
“One, planes don’t actually have steering wheels. Two, I’m one of their best pilots. I’ve passed everything with flying colors and they’ve got me training for the space program.”
“Wow,” Oliver said, completely impressed. “That’s awesome, man.”
“It’s pretty awesome,” Hal acknowledged. “What about you? I’ve been in detention, boot-camp, and flight simulators for the past few years. What’s been up with you?”
Sighing, Oliver quickly recounted everything that had happened the past three years, from meeting Chloe to making it off the island. Again, he was forced to leave out some of the more interesting details -- including the fact that he was friends with an alien, which Hal, the proverbial skeptic, would have loved.
Hal shook his head and collapsed into one of the chairs. “If anyone told me that you’d end up on a deserted island and survive for two years, I’d have told ‘em that that they were crazy and that you’d have been a goner in less than a week. Don’t get me wrong, man. You’re resourceful.” He chuckled good-naturedly. “It’s gotten us out of a couple of tight spots. But I’d have never guessed that you’d be able to Castaway it.”
“I’d have said the same thing,” Oliver admitted. “But I did. It was one hell of an experience. Not one I want to repeat, though.”
“I’ll say. I want my islands with sandy beaches and scantily clad women.”
“Well you certainly haven’t changed.”
Hal smirked. “Did you expect me to? I’m surprised that you did. One girl all this time? That’s impressive, dude.”
“It would be more impressive if we were actually still together,” Oliver sighed. “But it was too complicated after everything that happened. She spent years thinking I was dead and trying to get over me and I spent two years trying to prepare myself for her rejection when I did get back, if I ever did. We decided to take a step back to deal and get to know each other again. But that was months ago, back in May. It sucks.”
“So you haven’t had sex since you went missing?” Hal said incredulously. “That really sucks.”
Oliver rolled his eyes. Hal’s mind always had occupied the gutter.
Sighing, he sat back and smiled ruefully. “Hal, I haven’t had sex in over three years.”
Hal choked on air. “Say that again? The guy who could get laid without even trying, and usually did just that, hasn’t gotten any in three years?”
“Yep.”
“Do I even want to know why?”
“Because I don’t want to screw it up,” Oliver said simply.
The light bulb going off in Hal’s head was practically visible. “You must really like this girl if you’ve been waiting that long.”
“You have no idea,” Oliver muttered. “The first thing I wanted to do when I got back was to take that step in our relationship, the one I’d been saying no to because I wanted to do everything right. And then we realized that things were a lot more complicated than we thought. We realized that if we kept going like things hadn’t changed, we’d really screw things up. We’ve been tap dancing around each other for months. But, you know what? It’s worth it.”
“I believe you,” Hal said, slightly moved by the emotion in his friend’s voice. “But how much longer are you going to wait?”
Oliver just shrugged and Hal shook his head. “I just don’t know if I could do it.”
“Just wait,” Oliver smirked. “You’ll meet someone eventually who’ll be worth it.”
Hal smiled mysteriously. “Maybe I already have.”
“Really? I always thought you liked girls too much to make do with just one this early in life,” Oliver teased.
“Well, it’s complicated,” Hal grumbled. “We’re in this off and on convoluted relationship that even I don’t fully understand. I’m not even sure that we’re actually in a relationship.” He leaned back, crossing his arms and almost pouting.
Despite the golden opportunity to poke fun at his friend, Oliver let it go. He and Chloe were basically in the same holding pattern. They just had half an idea of where they stood with each other. “If she’s worth it, stick with it. Hopefully things will get better.”
Hal nodded slightly, but pursed his lips, becoming more serious than before. “Hopefully. The only problem is a major monkey wrench has been thrown in the works. And I don’t know how to handle it.”
“Monkey wrench?” Oliver repeated. “Don’t tell me you cheated on her.”
“If only it were that simple,” Hal grimaced.
Thoroughly confused, Oliver crossed his arms and leaned forward. “All right. What happened?”
“A story for another time,” Hal said, a smirk on his face. “I’ve actually got some things to take care of, but I figured that if I didn’t stop by that I’d never see you.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. I’m a bad friend.”
“The worst. But I’ll see you later, right?”
“You got someplace to stay?”
“I was just gonna check into a hotel.”
“I’d offer the guest room, but Chloe’s pretty much claimed it,” Oliver said ruefully. And I’m jumping off the balcony in green leather at night, so it would be a little awkward for you to be there. “But feel free to stop by whenever. The code hasn’t changed.”
“Thanks man.” Hal stood and stared moving toward the doors. “We really shouldn’t wait three years before seeing each other again.”
“I’ll try not to go missing again,” Oliver said dryly.
Hal laughed. “I’ll hold you to that. See ya, Ollie.”
“Bye.”
Oliver was smiling as he went back to work.
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. He even managed to get through all of his schoolwork and the majority of the paperwork for QI. For once, he and Chloe were leaving work at about the same time, so they planned to walk back to the penthouse together. He gathered up the papers he needed to go over before work the next day and left his office.
When he got downstairs, he found Tess standing outside, clearly waiting for him. Since the day she’d stopped by the penthouse and met Chloe, Oliver hadn’t seen much of Tess. They’d met up for lunch once or twice, but that had been weeks, probably months before. Life had gotten in the way. He’d had to focus more of his time and energy on Queen Industries and school in an effort to stay on the good side of the board. Once he’d decided to become Green Arrow, his free time had been even more limited. And Tess had been busy as well, attempting to sort out her degree and find a job. The last time he’d spoken to her, she hadn’t even been sure that she would stay in Star City.
Although Oliver didn’t want to admit it, he knew that he’d been unconsciously avoiding Tess because he was well aware of the fact that her feelings for him were complicated, to say the least. He didn’t want to encourage her or lead her on in any way, especially when he was so focused on getting Chloe back. So he’d done everything he could to avoid potentially romantic situations. Unfortunately, that had severely limited the number of times they were both free and it hadn’t been long before they’d just stopped trying.
That had been months ago and Oliver was actually happy to see Tess again. He did consider her a friend, albeit one with feelings that he didn’t return. He hoped that she’d gotten over those feelings so that they could remain friends.
Tess smiled when she saw him walking toward her, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Oliver asked warmly, giving her a quick hug. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Tess shrugged, her face still impassively smooth. “I’ve been busy. But I had some time, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”
“Well, I’m glad you did,” he said, trying to keep the smile on his face. The woman standing in front of him definitely wasn’t the same woman he’d seen the last time they’d talked. It was as if she’d built a wall around herself. “It’s been too long. I hope you’re not working too hard and if you ever need help just let me know.”
“I’ve got it handled.” She allowed herself a small, emotionless smile. “Thank you for the offer. But I would like to catch up, if you have time for dinner tonight.”
Oliver shook his head ruefully. “I can’t. I’ve got paperwork to take care of and it can’t wait.” And Chloe and I have to prep for my patrol tonight, he added to himself. That couldn’t be avoided. He was heading into a new part of town and needed to do a little bit of research first.
“Some other time then?” Tess suggested. Something flickered deep in her eyes, but she quelled it before he could identify it.
“Definitely,” he nodded emphatically. “Let me know if you’re free for lunch some time this week. That’s usually more doable. My evenings get pretty busy.”
Another smile curled her lips, this one slightly ominous. “It’s a date.”
Something about the way she said the word “date” didn’t sit well with him. He still remembered the look on Chloe’s face after seeing the video of him and Tess walking into the hospital right after they’d been rescued. Though months had passed and they hadn’t spent much time together while she was sorting out her life after the kidnapping, Oliver couldn’t be sure that she had gotten over her feelings for him. He hoped she had, but there was no way to know. And while he didn’t want to lose one of the few friends he had, he didn’t want to lead her on or risk messing things up with Chloe. Not when he felt like they were so close to being more than friends again.
Caught between the proverbial rock and hard place, Oliver decided to do nothing for the time being and just see where things went. “Call me with a time that’s good for you,” he said, “and I’ll take you to one of my favorite restaurants.”
“Sounds fun,” Tess said softly.
He grinned and started to step past her, but something crossed her face and the smooth blank mask she’d exhibited throughout their conversation slipped a little, revealing an intense emotion. Before he could even begin to process what that might mean, she closed the distance between them, kissing him firmly on the lips.
Oliver froze in surprise, his mind going completely blank with surprise. The moment his senses reengaged, he grabbed Tess’s shoulders and pushed her away.
Definitely not the girl I met on that boat, he thought grimly.
Tess smirked. “What’s the matter?”
“When have I ever given you the impression that I was interested in a romantic relationship with you?” he demanded, his eyes hard.
She didn’t answer.
“That’s what I thought. Look, I don’t feel that way about you. And I don’t see that changing. I’m willing and would like to be friends. But that’s it. That’s where I draw the line, Tess.”
Tess jerked out of his grasp, her face becoming hard and her eyes going blank. “Fine. I won’t bother you anymore.”
Oliver groaned. That hadn’t been what he meant. “Tess, you don’t have to leave. You just can’t expect me to be okay with you throwing yourself on me when I don’t feel that way.”
“But I do,” she snapped. “I do feel that way. And that’s not changing. So I’ll just say goodbye. I got a job offer in another state that I think I’ll take. You won’t have to worry about me bothering you.”
Before he could figure out what to say, she spun on her heel and disappeared into the crowd of people surging down the sidewalk at the end of the workday. Oliver cursed under his breath. He regretted pushing Tess away like that. He really didn’t have many people that he actually considered friends. But Chloe was more important and he wasn’t going to let anyone come between them. He couldn’t. He needed her too much. If Tess couldn’t handle the fact that he didn’t feel the way she did, that wasn’t his fault.
So why did he still feel like a world-class jerk?
Running his hand through his hair, Oliver sat on a nearby bench, hoping that he wouldn’t screw things up with Chloe the way he seemed to with every other girl he’d ever even pretended to date. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he managed to push her away, too.
Completely oblivious to the people pushing past her, Chloe stood rooted in the middle of the sidewalk, dismay coursing through her, praying to God that her eyes had deceived her and she hadn’t seen Tess kiss Oliver.
Author’s Note: I know this is an evil cliffhanger so please don't pelt me with rotten fruit. The next chapter is short and almost written, so it should be up soon!
Chapter 11 And it's only going to get more interesting from here :)
Rating: PG-13 for the most part, however there are sections that are NC-17 (my first attempt, for the record) for sexual content. This fic contains violence and language. Chapters containing sexual content will be preceded by a warning.
Spoilers: The entire series, basically. The basic setting is season six with a twist, but anything is fair game if it works for this fic.
Warning: Again, this is AU and is a continuation of my fic Twist of Fate, which you really need to read first or this isn't going to make any sense. There will sexual content and violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just playing around with them.
Beta: jessicaj703 Thanks for all the help!
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9
Banner by geek_or_unique
Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay in posting this. I ended up doing a lot more editing than I expected and with Finals next week, I'm busier than ever. If all goes well, the next chapter should be up early next week. It's written and waiting for a final edit. But, as I have learned with the last few chapters, that doesn't really mean anything.
Chapter 10
Chloe looked around the bullpen and smirked. The Green Arrow was certainly stirring things up in Star City. When people realized the mysterious vigilante wasn’t going away, they wanted to know more about him. Her editor was no exception. Green Arrow stories and pictures were top priority. So far all of the attention had been pretty fair. There were the inevitable questions about whether or not he was a criminal, but it was nothing unwarranted. Chloe hadn’t bothered to get involved. Her colleagues’ preoccupation with Oliver’s alter ego actually left her with some of the other articles. She hadn’t had anything on the front page yet, but she was moving up.
Some of her co-workers were having an animated conversation about whether or not the Green Arrow had superpowers. Chloe forced herself not to butt in when someone suggested he could teleport and turned back to the article she was working on. She was going to have to tell Oliver that one. He’d definitely get a kick out of it.
It had been several weeks since his first night out. Aside from some cuts and bruises and a few more mishaps with equipment, everything had gone well. Chloe had played eyes in the sky every night, calling the police as he got done with one set of bad guys and telling him where to go next. Usually she sat in his secret room working on her articles or doing her homework. Considering that Oliver was taking as many classes as she, working at Queen Industries practically full time, and patrolling every night she was actually jealous that he was juggling it all so well.
Despite the pressure and the dangers, Oliver seemed a lot happier now that he was doing something. Chloe had to admit that helping him help people was a pretty amazing rush, even though she wasn’t out there in the middle of the action the way he was. And it was pretty cool that the two of them were working together to do it, like a team.
A tentative voice broke through her thoughts. “Bright ey--Chloe?”
Eyes wide, she looked up to see none other than Jimmy Olsen, bow-tie peeking out of his sweater vest and camera around his neck, standing in front of her. “What are you doing here?” she asked in astonishment.
He held up his camera. “The Planet wants pictures of this new vigilante. I got the assignment. I’m here on loan until I get something. What are you doing here?”
“I’m going to school at SCU,” she said slowly. “How did you know I’m at the Register?”
“I didn’t,” he stammered. “I saw you when I came in a couple of minutes ago.”
Chloe nodded, not sure of what else to say. She knew that Jimmy would want to hang out, partly because she was probably the only person in the city that he knew and partly because he still thought he was in love with her. She didn’t even want to think about what that might look like to Oliver. As if things couldn’t get any more complicated between the two of them, now she had to worry about him being jealous.
“I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat,” Jimmy said nervously, once more interrupting her thoughts. “You know, just to catch up.”
Biting her lip, Chloe hesitated slightly. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Jimmy.”
“Because of the guy I saw you with in Metropolis?” he guessed. He sounded almost bitter.
“Sorta,” she hedged. “That is actually incredibly complicated.” And please don’t ask me any more about it because I am not getting into the gritty details of my relationship with Oliver.
“You wanna talk about it?” Jimmy offered.
Chloe shook her head vehemently. “No. Thanks. But, no.”
Looking slightly hurt, he changed the subject. “So what about lunch?”
“I really don’t know...”
“Come on,” he pleaded. “I don’t know anyone in Star City and I thought that we were at least friends before everything happened.”
He had an excellent point. She just didn’t care. She didn’t have the energy to try and be friends with Jimmy while worrying about leading him on.
Chloe was struggling to come up with a good excuse not to go to out to eat with him when a hush fell over the bullpen. Chloe looked up to see Oliver walking toward her. It wasn’t the first time he’d stopped by for lunch or to pick her up or even just to chat. But it never ceased to amaze her friends and coworkers that they knew each other. After all, he was Star City’s golden boy. Without fail, there was an awkward silence when he walked in and quiet mutters when he left.
Guessing what it was that he wanted, Chloe started saving her work and closing everything so she could shut down the computer.
Catching sight of Jimmy standing beside her, Oliver’s pace slowed slightly and he frowned. Chloe discretely shook her head and grimaced, trying to convey that she wasn’t happy that Jimmy was there. Oliver seemed to get the message, because he sped back up and the creases that had marred his forehead disappeared.
“Lunch?” she guessed when he stopped in front of her desk.
“If you’ve got time,” he said with a bright grin.
Chloe nodded and started throwing stuff in her purse. Jimmy shifted awkwardly beside her and cleared his throat. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “This is Jimmy, by the way. He’s a photographer from the Planet and the two of us used to work together a lot. He’s here to get the first pictures of Star City’s vigilante.”
“Really?” Oliver said, eyebrow raised. “Good luck. I’ve heard that he’s pretty elusive.”
Trying to hold back her laughter, Chloe shot Oliver a glare before turning to Jimmy. “This is Oliver. He’s one of my closest friends. I’m staying with him since I moved out here.”
Oliver almost winced at the friend label. He definitely wasn’t making any progress in their relationship, despite his frequent attempts to figure out what was holding Chloe back while simultaneously proving that he was over all his issues from the island. On the other hand, he could understand her reluctance to define their relationship to Jimmy, who she was obviously slightly uncomfortable around. He just wondered how she really defined their relationship.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he focused on Jimmy, who was actually speaking to him.
“How do you and Chloe know each other?”
Oliver shrugged. “I went to Smallville High for my senior year. She showed me around and we became friends. There’s really not that much to tell.” Understatement of the century, but you don’t look like you can handle the truth.
“He actually got sent out there to avoid trouble,” Chloe added, her eyes dancing. “Needless to say, hanging out with me and my nosey reporter tendencies got us into more trouble than he ever managed on his own.”
Oliver chuckled and shrugged innocently.
“So you’re from around here?” Jimmy pressed, completely changing the subject.
“You could say that,” Oliver said, trying not to laugh. He thought everyone knew who he was. Jimmy must not have been in town long. This could be fun, he mused. “My parents’ company is based here.” Before the interrogation could continue, he offered his arm to Chloe. “You ready? I’m thinking the Italian place down the street.”
She beamed. “I am totally craving tiramisu,” she said, threading her arm through his and glancing back at Jimmy. “See you later.”
“Bye,” he said weakly.
Moving closer to Oliver, she hissed, “Let’s get out of here.”
“Your wish is my command,” he chuckled.
The moment they stepped outside into the sunlight, Chloe relaxed visibly and a gentle smile crossed her face. Then she shook herself and looked up at Oliver apologetically. “Sorry about that. I had no idea he was even in town.”
“Not your fault,” he shrugged. I just hope him being here doesn’t change anything.
“The only problem is that now he’s not going to leave me alone. I could barely get him to take ‘no’ for an answer before.”
Unconsciously, Oliver tightened his grip on his on her arm, pulling her slightly closer. “Just out of curiosity, what did you tell him? About us in general.”
“When he asked me out just before you got back, all I told him was that the guy I had been dating went missing and that I wasn’t over it.” She blushed slightly. “I have yet to mention that you’re that guy, so as far as he knows we’re just friends. I don’t want to have to explain it to him,” she added hotly. “It’s none of his business. I shouldn’t have to give him the details of my love life to him just because he can’t take a hint.”
Warmed slightly by the fact that she’d referred to their relationship as her love life, Oliver nodded and pulled open the door to the restaurant. “Well if he keeps giving you trouble, I’m sure there’s a certain vigilante out there who wouldn’t mind scaring the crap out of him.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. The Green Arrow has better things to do than terrorize Jimmy Olsen. I’ll just call Lois.”
Oliver stared at her in mock horror. “That’s cruel.”
“It’s not as if he doesn’t deserve it,” she grumbled.
Seeing as he whole-heartedly agreed, Oliver chose not to say anything and hid behind the menu. After a few moments, he looked up at Chloe again. “So how are things at the Register?”
“Not bad,” she shrugged. “Same old. Green Arrow is still a hot topic. I heard a girl today who thought he had the ability to teleport. It’s getting slightly ridiculous.”
“I expected it to be worse,” Oliver admitted. “Besides, teleportation sounds like that might be a handy power to have.”
“I’ve met someone who could teleport.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously. “She turned out to be crazy obsessed with Clark and nearly killed a bunch of people before he stopped her.”
“Right,” he grimaced. “Taking that off the list of superpowers I wish I had.”
She laughed. “If you did that for every power a psycho meta-human possessed, you’d be left with a very short list of abilities.”
“Well, I’m trying to avoid going crazy,” he teased.
“I hate to break it to you,” she said, lowering her voice so that no one else could hear, “parading around town with a bow and arrow dressed head to toe in green leather doesn’t exactly qualify as sane.”
“But it doesn’t qualify as psychotic either. Besides, I doubt that enabling me could be considered the behavior of a mentally stable person.”
“I don’t think I’ve been stable since I moved to Smallville. Must be all of the meteor rocks.”
“Why am I not surprised that they cause insanity?”
Chloe laughed, a happy and carefree sound that Oliver would never get tired of hearing. “Maybe because of the sheer number of infected psychos who tried to kill me?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s why. I seemed to have blocked out those memories.”
“Since I’m the one with all the near death experiences, shouldn’t I be the one blocking stuff out?”
“Ah, but you were not the one worrying,” he countered. “I used to spend hours wondering how the hell you managed to stay alive long enough for us to meet.”
“Skill,” she grinned. “Pure, unadulterated skill.”
“You know, I think I could use some of that now that I’ve taken up certain after hours hobbies.”
“I don’t know. I tend to end up being more of a damsel in distress than a hero swooping in to save the day.”
Oliver’s face softened and he automatically reached out to take her hand, ignoring the electric charge the seemed to course up his arm at the contact. “You could never be a damsel in distress. How many times have you kicked meta-human ass because they underestimated you?”
“Not as often as you think,” she said ruefully. “A lot of my escapes were courtesy of Clark.”
“It’s not as if you took any of it lying down,” Oliver pointed out. “That takes a lot of guts considering you know what these people are capable of.”
She smiled and slid her hand out from under his as the waitress came around the corner to take their order.
***
Lunch hadn’t lasted long enough for Oliver, but Chloe’d had to go back to the Register. Her editor and been on her case the past few days since she pulled a lot of weird hours between her college classes and doing research for the heroes in her life. She hadn’t want to press her luck by staying gone too long, so he’d reluctantly said good bye.
He was sitting in his office at Queen Industries, going through some of the work for his online classes while taking a break from looking over some official documents. It was boring and he’d rather be doing it at home while Chloe researched her next article. At least then the silence would have been filled with witty banter and he wouldn’t have felt like his brain was pouring out of his ears.
The intercom on his desk buzzed. “Mr. Queen. There’s someone here to see you. He says he’s an old friend.”
Welcoming the distraction, no matter who it turned out to be, he hit the button and said, “Let him in.”
A few seconds later, the door flew open and a tall, lean man in an Air Force uniform burst into the room. “Seriously, dude. You get banished to some hick town in the middle of nowhere and you can’t be bothered to call. Then you fall off the face of the earth and despite your miraculous return, you still don’t call. A guy might think you’re avoiding him.”
Oliver grinned as he stood and walked around his desk to shake the guy’s hand. “That goes both ways, man. You could have picked up a phone. Or did you lose my number?”
“More likely deleted it to make room for a pretty girl’s number,” the other man scoffed, rolling his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Sure,” Oliver laughed. “What the hell are you wearing?”
“What’s the matter? Never seen a military uniform?” the man teased.
“Not on you, Hal. You never seemed the military type.”
“Well we’re all full of surprises.”
Oliver rolled his eyes. He and Hal Jordan had met at Star City Academy, the private school he’d been sent to after the incident with Duncan and Lex at Excelsior. His guardian had wanted him close by in case he started causing trouble again. Hal had been one of the first people he’d met, and like Chloe, he’d been completely unimpressed with Oliver’s status. They’d shared a similar outlook on life: party hard and boy had they done that. More than that, Hal had a great sense of humor and was a really good, truly loyal friend. Oliver had regretted not staying in touch while he was in Smallville, but he just wasn’t the best at maintaining relationships. Before Chloe, he’d never really worked at it.
“So what exactly brought this on?” Oliver asked, gesturing at the uniform his friend was wearing.
Hal shrugged. “You know me. I always wanted to fly something and go to space. The best way to do that was to join the Air Force. Plus, it keeps me out of trouble,” he added with a grin.
“And they actually let you behind the wheel of a plane?”
“One, planes don’t actually have steering wheels. Two, I’m one of their best pilots. I’ve passed everything with flying colors and they’ve got me training for the space program.”
“Wow,” Oliver said, completely impressed. “That’s awesome, man.”
“It’s pretty awesome,” Hal acknowledged. “What about you? I’ve been in detention, boot-camp, and flight simulators for the past few years. What’s been up with you?”
Sighing, Oliver quickly recounted everything that had happened the past three years, from meeting Chloe to making it off the island. Again, he was forced to leave out some of the more interesting details -- including the fact that he was friends with an alien, which Hal, the proverbial skeptic, would have loved.
Hal shook his head and collapsed into one of the chairs. “If anyone told me that you’d end up on a deserted island and survive for two years, I’d have told ‘em that that they were crazy and that you’d have been a goner in less than a week. Don’t get me wrong, man. You’re resourceful.” He chuckled good-naturedly. “It’s gotten us out of a couple of tight spots. But I’d have never guessed that you’d be able to Castaway it.”
“I’d have said the same thing,” Oliver admitted. “But I did. It was one hell of an experience. Not one I want to repeat, though.”
“I’ll say. I want my islands with sandy beaches and scantily clad women.”
“Well you certainly haven’t changed.”
Hal smirked. “Did you expect me to? I’m surprised that you did. One girl all this time? That’s impressive, dude.”
“It would be more impressive if we were actually still together,” Oliver sighed. “But it was too complicated after everything that happened. She spent years thinking I was dead and trying to get over me and I spent two years trying to prepare myself for her rejection when I did get back, if I ever did. We decided to take a step back to deal and get to know each other again. But that was months ago, back in May. It sucks.”
“So you haven’t had sex since you went missing?” Hal said incredulously. “That really sucks.”
Oliver rolled his eyes. Hal’s mind always had occupied the gutter.
Sighing, he sat back and smiled ruefully. “Hal, I haven’t had sex in over three years.”
Hal choked on air. “Say that again? The guy who could get laid without even trying, and usually did just that, hasn’t gotten any in three years?”
“Yep.”
“Do I even want to know why?”
“Because I don’t want to screw it up,” Oliver said simply.
The light bulb going off in Hal’s head was practically visible. “You must really like this girl if you’ve been waiting that long.”
“You have no idea,” Oliver muttered. “The first thing I wanted to do when I got back was to take that step in our relationship, the one I’d been saying no to because I wanted to do everything right. And then we realized that things were a lot more complicated than we thought. We realized that if we kept going like things hadn’t changed, we’d really screw things up. We’ve been tap dancing around each other for months. But, you know what? It’s worth it.”
“I believe you,” Hal said, slightly moved by the emotion in his friend’s voice. “But how much longer are you going to wait?”
Oliver just shrugged and Hal shook his head. “I just don’t know if I could do it.”
“Just wait,” Oliver smirked. “You’ll meet someone eventually who’ll be worth it.”
Hal smiled mysteriously. “Maybe I already have.”
“Really? I always thought you liked girls too much to make do with just one this early in life,” Oliver teased.
“Well, it’s complicated,” Hal grumbled. “We’re in this off and on convoluted relationship that even I don’t fully understand. I’m not even sure that we’re actually in a relationship.” He leaned back, crossing his arms and almost pouting.
Despite the golden opportunity to poke fun at his friend, Oliver let it go. He and Chloe were basically in the same holding pattern. They just had half an idea of where they stood with each other. “If she’s worth it, stick with it. Hopefully things will get better.”
Hal nodded slightly, but pursed his lips, becoming more serious than before. “Hopefully. The only problem is a major monkey wrench has been thrown in the works. And I don’t know how to handle it.”
“Monkey wrench?” Oliver repeated. “Don’t tell me you cheated on her.”
“If only it were that simple,” Hal grimaced.
Thoroughly confused, Oliver crossed his arms and leaned forward. “All right. What happened?”
“A story for another time,” Hal said, a smirk on his face. “I’ve actually got some things to take care of, but I figured that if I didn’t stop by that I’d never see you.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. I’m a bad friend.”
“The worst. But I’ll see you later, right?”
“You got someplace to stay?”
“I was just gonna check into a hotel.”
“I’d offer the guest room, but Chloe’s pretty much claimed it,” Oliver said ruefully. And I’m jumping off the balcony in green leather at night, so it would be a little awkward for you to be there. “But feel free to stop by whenever. The code hasn’t changed.”
“Thanks man.” Hal stood and stared moving toward the doors. “We really shouldn’t wait three years before seeing each other again.”
“I’ll try not to go missing again,” Oliver said dryly.
Hal laughed. “I’ll hold you to that. See ya, Ollie.”
“Bye.”
Oliver was smiling as he went back to work.
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. He even managed to get through all of his schoolwork and the majority of the paperwork for QI. For once, he and Chloe were leaving work at about the same time, so they planned to walk back to the penthouse together. He gathered up the papers he needed to go over before work the next day and left his office.
When he got downstairs, he found Tess standing outside, clearly waiting for him. Since the day she’d stopped by the penthouse and met Chloe, Oliver hadn’t seen much of Tess. They’d met up for lunch once or twice, but that had been weeks, probably months before. Life had gotten in the way. He’d had to focus more of his time and energy on Queen Industries and school in an effort to stay on the good side of the board. Once he’d decided to become Green Arrow, his free time had been even more limited. And Tess had been busy as well, attempting to sort out her degree and find a job. The last time he’d spoken to her, she hadn’t even been sure that she would stay in Star City.
Although Oliver didn’t want to admit it, he knew that he’d been unconsciously avoiding Tess because he was well aware of the fact that her feelings for him were complicated, to say the least. He didn’t want to encourage her or lead her on in any way, especially when he was so focused on getting Chloe back. So he’d done everything he could to avoid potentially romantic situations. Unfortunately, that had severely limited the number of times they were both free and it hadn’t been long before they’d just stopped trying.
That had been months ago and Oliver was actually happy to see Tess again. He did consider her a friend, albeit one with feelings that he didn’t return. He hoped that she’d gotten over those feelings so that they could remain friends.
Tess smiled when she saw him walking toward her, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Oliver asked warmly, giving her a quick hug. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Tess shrugged, her face still impassively smooth. “I’ve been busy. But I had some time, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”
“Well, I’m glad you did,” he said, trying to keep the smile on his face. The woman standing in front of him definitely wasn’t the same woman he’d seen the last time they’d talked. It was as if she’d built a wall around herself. “It’s been too long. I hope you’re not working too hard and if you ever need help just let me know.”
“I’ve got it handled.” She allowed herself a small, emotionless smile. “Thank you for the offer. But I would like to catch up, if you have time for dinner tonight.”
Oliver shook his head ruefully. “I can’t. I’ve got paperwork to take care of and it can’t wait.” And Chloe and I have to prep for my patrol tonight, he added to himself. That couldn’t be avoided. He was heading into a new part of town and needed to do a little bit of research first.
“Some other time then?” Tess suggested. Something flickered deep in her eyes, but she quelled it before he could identify it.
“Definitely,” he nodded emphatically. “Let me know if you’re free for lunch some time this week. That’s usually more doable. My evenings get pretty busy.”
Another smile curled her lips, this one slightly ominous. “It’s a date.”
Something about the way she said the word “date” didn’t sit well with him. He still remembered the look on Chloe’s face after seeing the video of him and Tess walking into the hospital right after they’d been rescued. Though months had passed and they hadn’t spent much time together while she was sorting out her life after the kidnapping, Oliver couldn’t be sure that she had gotten over her feelings for him. He hoped she had, but there was no way to know. And while he didn’t want to lose one of the few friends he had, he didn’t want to lead her on or risk messing things up with Chloe. Not when he felt like they were so close to being more than friends again.
Caught between the proverbial rock and hard place, Oliver decided to do nothing for the time being and just see where things went. “Call me with a time that’s good for you,” he said, “and I’ll take you to one of my favorite restaurants.”
“Sounds fun,” Tess said softly.
He grinned and started to step past her, but something crossed her face and the smooth blank mask she’d exhibited throughout their conversation slipped a little, revealing an intense emotion. Before he could even begin to process what that might mean, she closed the distance between them, kissing him firmly on the lips.
Oliver froze in surprise, his mind going completely blank with surprise. The moment his senses reengaged, he grabbed Tess’s shoulders and pushed her away.
Definitely not the girl I met on that boat, he thought grimly.
Tess smirked. “What’s the matter?”
“When have I ever given you the impression that I was interested in a romantic relationship with you?” he demanded, his eyes hard.
She didn’t answer.
“That’s what I thought. Look, I don’t feel that way about you. And I don’t see that changing. I’m willing and would like to be friends. But that’s it. That’s where I draw the line, Tess.”
Tess jerked out of his grasp, her face becoming hard and her eyes going blank. “Fine. I won’t bother you anymore.”
Oliver groaned. That hadn’t been what he meant. “Tess, you don’t have to leave. You just can’t expect me to be okay with you throwing yourself on me when I don’t feel that way.”
“But I do,” she snapped. “I do feel that way. And that’s not changing. So I’ll just say goodbye. I got a job offer in another state that I think I’ll take. You won’t have to worry about me bothering you.”
Before he could figure out what to say, she spun on her heel and disappeared into the crowd of people surging down the sidewalk at the end of the workday. Oliver cursed under his breath. He regretted pushing Tess away like that. He really didn’t have many people that he actually considered friends. But Chloe was more important and he wasn’t going to let anyone come between them. He couldn’t. He needed her too much. If Tess couldn’t handle the fact that he didn’t feel the way she did, that wasn’t his fault.
So why did he still feel like a world-class jerk?
Running his hand through his hair, Oliver sat on a nearby bench, hoping that he wouldn’t screw things up with Chloe the way he seemed to with every other girl he’d ever even pretended to date. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he managed to push her away, too.
Completely oblivious to the people pushing past her, Chloe stood rooted in the middle of the sidewalk, dismay coursing through her, praying to God that her eyes had deceived her and she hadn’t seen Tess kiss Oliver.
Author’s Note: I know this is an evil cliffhanger so please don't pelt me with rotten fruit. The next chapter is short and almost written, so it should be up soon!
Chapter 11 And it's only going to get more interesting from here :)