Right Here all along (3/4)
Title: Right here all along
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own nothing....title and lyrics are from based on the song of the same name by Amanda Marshall.
Dedication/Summary: This is for 552158 / Franica for the Chlollie Gift Giving Extravaganza, who wanted a AU fanfic “where they have known each other, grown up together and they are meeting now again and fall in love,” similar to the HIMYM episode “The Window.”
Part 1 Part 2
Part 3
It had been a long night, and in a way, an even longer morning for Anna. Looking down into her bag, she searched herself for strength as she started up the steps. The coffee would help, she supposed, but Anna wasn't sure if what she was doing was a great idea. Part of her wanted to let sleeping dogs lie, but seeing what happened between Chloe and Tim, it was time, and Anna was finally ready to face the consequences. Taking a deep breath, she was about to continue walking when she heard the door open.
When she saw Oliver on the other side, Anna said with a smile, "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"
The same couldn't be said for Oliver, as he hardly expected to see anyone, let alone Anna, at this moment. He saw her bow her head slightly and reach into her coat before he finally asked, "How are you holding up?"
He had been concerned about her since he let his driver take her home, and it was clear that she was still shaken up from everything, even though her mouth tugged into a grin.
"I've had better days, but I thought I'd check up on Chloe." Bowing her head, she took a couple steps up before saying softly, "For the record, I'm happy for you two."
"What?"
Seeing the shock on his face, Anna quickly backpedalled. "Oh... sorry... I thought that..."
"No, nothing happened." He let the door close behind him as he approached the stairs. "But if you need anyone to talk to... I'm here."
Anna frowned slightly as she sat on the top step and put her tray of coffee down. Here goes nothing, she thought. After patting the space next to her, she turned her head back to Oliver. "Thanks, but the scary thing is that you might need that more than I do."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What makes you say that?"
Turning her head back around, she said softly, "Do you remember what you did the day you found out Chloe left?"
Oliver initially took a step back before sitting next to her. "I'm surprised you remember."
After grabbing her coffee and taking a sip, Anna stared at the wall as she confessed, "It's not every day a girl like me gets propositioned by Oliver Queen." She sighed as bowed her head. "I know you didn't mean anything by it... but it still caught me off-guard, although it shouldn't have. I knew something was wrong before you even said anything."
"How?"
Looking at the other cup at the tray, she responded, "You bought an almond mocha with extra whip."
"So?"
"I prepared your coffee for five years, so I know you never stray away from black coffee unless you need a boost and you add two sugars. Almond mochas... they were Chloe's drink." She finally faced Oliver before continuing. "Then there's the fact that you stared at it for two hours."
His head moved back at that statement before his eyes narrowed. "I did?"
Anna nodded. "My guess is you wanted a reminder of her, and Chloe always left an aroma of almond mochas no matter where she went. As you sat there, I contemplated whether it was the most romantic or the creepiest thing I had ever seen. Knowing you two as well as I do... I settled on the former."
He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. "I just missed her."
"Nice try... I'm going to bet that you think that was the last time you thought you saw me that night?"
"Wasn't it?"
She shook her head as she stood up. "Ever wonder how you ended up back in your apartment and not in the hospital or police station?"
In a moment of desperation, Oliver grabbed her arm. "You?"
She tapped his hand with hers and made her way to the door."I was worried about you. After my shift, I found you at some seedy bar doing shots and with the help of the bouncer, I got you to my car." Pausing to take one last look back, Anna grinned. "That's when you told me that you were in love with Chloe."
Oliver finally got up to turn and face her."Why didn't you say anything?"
Anna said calmly, "Why would I? You were distraught, drunk out of your mind, and not to mention that you propositioned me while you were sober... I just figured we'd forget about it."
"Until now."
"Yeah... until now. You deserved to know... everything. And so does Chloe."
Pointing to the coffees, Oliver said, "You should probably go see her before it gets too cold," before turning his back to her.
"Oliver... one of these days you have to tell her how you feel."
"Someday," he said quietly.
"Don't wait too long this time and make her go through another Tim."
After she watched Oliver as he wordlessly walked down the steps, Anna found the way to Chloe's door, sighing as she knocked on it.
~0~
Chloe fluttered her eyes open and rolled over to find a note on the other side of the bed, reminding her of the events of the previous night. Finding an apartment, fighting with Tim, falling asleep with Oliver at her side. Not seeing him there actually made her realize how much she missed him. Sure, he had a good reason... work was always going to be important, and he had no obligation to stay, but she felt herself frowning because she missed the way she had felt in his arms. He made her feel safe, appreciated... loved.
Hearing the knock on the door, Chloe scrambled to the door, expecting to see Oliver, but instead found a different smiling face on the other side.
"Anna."
"Morning Chloe!" Anna said, taking note of the fact Chloe was still in her dress from last night. "Are you okay?"
Chloe blinked a few times, hoping her disappointment wasn't that transparent. "Yeah. What's up?"
"I come bearing an almond mocha... and I wanted to talk about last night." Chloe brought it to her lips happily and frowned slightly when she realized it was cold. "Sorry, I ran into Oliver on the way."
"Oh... he..."
"Kept you company, relax, he told me," Anna finished. "But there's something I need to tell you."
"Okay."
Anna bit her bottom lift before her expression turned more serious. "You might want to sit down."
Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Anna... what's going on?"
"Last night... this morning? Doesn't matter...Tim came by to talk to me... he wanted to give me his side of the story."
"Please tell me you didn't listen."
"I gave him five minutes... and he made good use of them."
Chloe rolled her eyes as she took a seat on the couch. "What did he tell you?"
Anna followed suit, sitting on a chair across from Chloe. "He meant every word he said at the club... but he was just frustrated because he could never measure up."
"Please tell me that you're not still together."
Anna shook her head. "But I'm part of the reason he cheated on you."
The sudden confession caused Chloe's head to retract, but she soon regained herself. "I don't follow."
"He cheated on you because he wanted to see if he could. The girl didn't even know you two were dating because everyone assumes the same thing."
"Oliver."
Anna nodded her head in agreement. "Every two days Oliver's in a tabloid, often with you by his side. I don't condone what Tim did to you, but..."
"I don't get how this is your fault," Chloe interjected.
"Well...you didn't want to find out the truth about Tim the way you did, neither did I. Let's just say I learned from that."
Chloe's expression remained confused. "From what? I don't get what you have to do with this."
"You remember when my dad needed emergency surgery and my mother took a second job just to pay the medical bills?"
"Yes."
"Well, my mom wasn't the only one with a second job." Anna reached into her bag and pulled out a file folder, placing in on the coffee table between the two women. Chloe opened the folder and looked through the papers inside. It was full of pictures and articles, bringing back fond memories Oliver and her had shared. "I was approached by a tabloid editor, and he asked me do to some undercover work on you two. I initially refused, but they promised to pay me four times my salary."
"How long?"
"Six months... I quit once the hospital bills were paid."
"I can't believe this."
Anna wiped a tear from her eye, but stayed strong as she continued, "You can hate me all you want, and I wouldn't blame you, but it killed me seeing my dad in the hospital. All that time, when they told me to screw the truth and get the money shot... it was the worst time of my life."
"I believe you."
"Well... there's more. When I did quit, they insisted on me staying. That's when I realized that they needed me more than I needed them, so I stayed on the condition that I controlled what they printed. But then you left three weeks later, and I realized how selfish I was being and got out for good."
"I'm glad my leaving did something good around here."
"Do you regret it now?"
"I don't know... part of me does."
"I know this is going to sound strange, but I think it was for the best. I wouldn't have come clean if you didn't leave."
"Why not?"
Anna sighed. "Because I screwed up... and this gives me a chance to make it right... for everyone." Anna reached over to pull a tape player out of her coat pocket. "I wouldn't have had that if you didn't leave."
"What is this?"
"The audio equivalent of a money shot... and I've had it for three years. I know you've forgiven me, but this proves you can trust me." Anna slipped on her coat and took one last look at Chloe. "What you do with it is up to you. You can listen to it, throw it out... it's your call. Even though Oliver would likely kill me if knew I taped this, you deserved the truth... all of it."
Before Anna could open the door, Chloe quickly said, "Anna... I do forgive you."
"Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me."
With that, Anna left the room and sighed as she closed the door, wondering if Chloe would actually listen to it. If she did, then she knew that Anna was lying. The recording did exist, but she accidentally recorded over most of it. However if necessary, Anna could fill in the blanks. Even though was a long time ago... she remembered that night like it was yesterday.
Anna pulled one of Oliver's arms, trying to get him away from his latest shot. "Come on Ollie, I'm getting you out of here."
He easily shook off her grip and downed the alcohol. "What's the point?"
"She'll be back, or she'll visit... this isn't goodbye." Anna grabbed one of his arms and was able to successfully drag him off the stool. "Work with me, Oliver... you have a good hundred pounds on me."
"What do you care?"
She swallowed as she realized that her recorder was still on, but couldn't turn off the recording until she got to her car. Biting her lip, Anna continued to drag him across the bar. "I'm your friend Oliver."
"Yeah right," he muttered back.
At the door, the bouncer had walked over to her and asked, "Need help?'
Anna nodded and pointed her head towards her car. Oliver initially struggled at the switch, but eventually he relaxed as the bouncer set him down in the passenger seat.
"Thanks," she said before the bouncer waved and took off. After closing the passenger door, Anna found her way to the driver's seat and was about to put the key in the ignition when he heard him whisper something.
"I loved her, you know."
She whipped her head around to look at him. "What?"
"I... I never told her...Chloe... I loved her."
"Shit," she said as she scrambled for the off-switch on her recording device.
The rest of the car ride was quiet, and Oliver eventually fell asleep, making her job of getting him upstairs a lot harder, but she had done it. As for the recording, Anna had held onto it, wondering what to do with it. Even though giving it to the tabloid was never an option, Anna knew she couldn't just walk up to Chloe and Kanas and say "By the way, Oliver loves you." It wasn't that simple.
So Anna let it collect dust until yesterday, content on letting that be her little secret. But after hearing what Tim said to Chloe, tracking that tape down was the first thing she did when she got home that night. Something Tim had said had been ringing in her ears.
After a while, it's a little hard for a regular guy to measure up to Oliver Queen.
The whole time she stood there, the thing that got her attention wasn't that Tim cheated on Chloe, it was that he felt inadequate next to Oliver. That was her confirmation that Chloe felt the same, so Anna listened to the recording for an hour, wondering how she was going to explain it to either of them.
When Tim came to her, she thought she had frantically pressed the stop button as it was rewinding, but she had really pressed the record button. After Tim had left and Anna realized what she had done, she wanted to pull her hair out. All this time, she likely had what Chloe wanted to hear and she never gave it to her... now it was gone.
Anna didn't sleep the entire night because she was so frustrated about her error. So she got up and began collecting all of her work and put it in a folder. This was the facet of her confession that she could control. At six, she headed down to Tahli's and ordered the coffee and headed to Chloe's building, ready to tell her everything, but at the stairwell, she choked.
How was she supposed to explain to one of her closest friends that she had spied on her and Oliver behind her back for almost seven months?
When she finally gained enough courage to climb the steps, Oliver had opened the door, and she realized that this was her chance. Anna had planned on playing what was left of the recording and then explaining the rest for Chloe, but instead, she reached inside of her coat and clicked the record button before she said her first words to him. Oliver was too afraid to tell Chloe the truth, so when she said that she was happy for them, it was all a bluff to get him to open up. Part of her felt guilty for playing him, but it was done now... now it was up to Chloe to determine whether or not it was worthwhile.
~0~
Meanwhile, Chloe stared at the tape recorder wondering what she was supposed to do. After a couple minutes, she found the courage to press the play button.
Part 4
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own nothing....title and lyrics are from based on the song of the same name by Amanda Marshall.
Dedication/Summary: This is for 552158 / Franica for the Chlollie Gift Giving Extravaganza, who wanted a AU fanfic “where they have known each other, grown up together and they are meeting now again and fall in love,” similar to the HIMYM episode “The Window.”
Part 1 Part 2
Part 3
It had been a long night, and in a way, an even longer morning for Anna. Looking down into her bag, she searched herself for strength as she started up the steps. The coffee would help, she supposed, but Anna wasn't sure if what she was doing was a great idea. Part of her wanted to let sleeping dogs lie, but seeing what happened between Chloe and Tim, it was time, and Anna was finally ready to face the consequences. Taking a deep breath, she was about to continue walking when she heard the door open.
When she saw Oliver on the other side, Anna said with a smile, "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"
The same couldn't be said for Oliver, as he hardly expected to see anyone, let alone Anna, at this moment. He saw her bow her head slightly and reach into her coat before he finally asked, "How are you holding up?"
He had been concerned about her since he let his driver take her home, and it was clear that she was still shaken up from everything, even though her mouth tugged into a grin.
"I've had better days, but I thought I'd check up on Chloe." Bowing her head, she took a couple steps up before saying softly, "For the record, I'm happy for you two."
"What?"
Seeing the shock on his face, Anna quickly backpedalled. "Oh... sorry... I thought that..."
"No, nothing happened." He let the door close behind him as he approached the stairs. "But if you need anyone to talk to... I'm here."
Anna frowned slightly as she sat on the top step and put her tray of coffee down. Here goes nothing, she thought. After patting the space next to her, she turned her head back to Oliver. "Thanks, but the scary thing is that you might need that more than I do."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What makes you say that?"
Turning her head back around, she said softly, "Do you remember what you did the day you found out Chloe left?"
Oliver initially took a step back before sitting next to her. "I'm surprised you remember."
After grabbing her coffee and taking a sip, Anna stared at the wall as she confessed, "It's not every day a girl like me gets propositioned by Oliver Queen." She sighed as bowed her head. "I know you didn't mean anything by it... but it still caught me off-guard, although it shouldn't have. I knew something was wrong before you even said anything."
"How?"
Looking at the other cup at the tray, she responded, "You bought an almond mocha with extra whip."
"So?"
"I prepared your coffee for five years, so I know you never stray away from black coffee unless you need a boost and you add two sugars. Almond mochas... they were Chloe's drink." She finally faced Oliver before continuing. "Then there's the fact that you stared at it for two hours."
His head moved back at that statement before his eyes narrowed. "I did?"
Anna nodded. "My guess is you wanted a reminder of her, and Chloe always left an aroma of almond mochas no matter where she went. As you sat there, I contemplated whether it was the most romantic or the creepiest thing I had ever seen. Knowing you two as well as I do... I settled on the former."
He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. "I just missed her."
"Nice try... I'm going to bet that you think that was the last time you thought you saw me that night?"
"Wasn't it?"
She shook her head as she stood up. "Ever wonder how you ended up back in your apartment and not in the hospital or police station?"
In a moment of desperation, Oliver grabbed her arm. "You?"
She tapped his hand with hers and made her way to the door."I was worried about you. After my shift, I found you at some seedy bar doing shots and with the help of the bouncer, I got you to my car." Pausing to take one last look back, Anna grinned. "That's when you told me that you were in love with Chloe."
Oliver finally got up to turn and face her."Why didn't you say anything?"
Anna said calmly, "Why would I? You were distraught, drunk out of your mind, and not to mention that you propositioned me while you were sober... I just figured we'd forget about it."
"Until now."
"Yeah... until now. You deserved to know... everything. And so does Chloe."
Pointing to the coffees, Oliver said, "You should probably go see her before it gets too cold," before turning his back to her.
"Oliver... one of these days you have to tell her how you feel."
"Someday," he said quietly.
"Don't wait too long this time and make her go through another Tim."
After she watched Oliver as he wordlessly walked down the steps, Anna found the way to Chloe's door, sighing as she knocked on it.
~0~
Chloe fluttered her eyes open and rolled over to find a note on the other side of the bed, reminding her of the events of the previous night. Finding an apartment, fighting with Tim, falling asleep with Oliver at her side. Not seeing him there actually made her realize how much she missed him. Sure, he had a good reason... work was always going to be important, and he had no obligation to stay, but she felt herself frowning because she missed the way she had felt in his arms. He made her feel safe, appreciated... loved.
Hearing the knock on the door, Chloe scrambled to the door, expecting to see Oliver, but instead found a different smiling face on the other side.
"Anna."
"Morning Chloe!" Anna said, taking note of the fact Chloe was still in her dress from last night. "Are you okay?"
Chloe blinked a few times, hoping her disappointment wasn't that transparent. "Yeah. What's up?"
"I come bearing an almond mocha... and I wanted to talk about last night." Chloe brought it to her lips happily and frowned slightly when she realized it was cold. "Sorry, I ran into Oliver on the way."
"Oh... he..."
"Kept you company, relax, he told me," Anna finished. "But there's something I need to tell you."
"Okay."
Anna bit her bottom lift before her expression turned more serious. "You might want to sit down."
Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Anna... what's going on?"
"Last night... this morning? Doesn't matter...Tim came by to talk to me... he wanted to give me his side of the story."
"Please tell me you didn't listen."
"I gave him five minutes... and he made good use of them."
Chloe rolled her eyes as she took a seat on the couch. "What did he tell you?"
Anna followed suit, sitting on a chair across from Chloe. "He meant every word he said at the club... but he was just frustrated because he could never measure up."
"Please tell me that you're not still together."
Anna shook her head. "But I'm part of the reason he cheated on you."
The sudden confession caused Chloe's head to retract, but she soon regained herself. "I don't follow."
"He cheated on you because he wanted to see if he could. The girl didn't even know you two were dating because everyone assumes the same thing."
"Oliver."
Anna nodded her head in agreement. "Every two days Oliver's in a tabloid, often with you by his side. I don't condone what Tim did to you, but..."
"I don't get how this is your fault," Chloe interjected.
"Well...you didn't want to find out the truth about Tim the way you did, neither did I. Let's just say I learned from that."
Chloe's expression remained confused. "From what? I don't get what you have to do with this."
"You remember when my dad needed emergency surgery and my mother took a second job just to pay the medical bills?"
"Yes."
"Well, my mom wasn't the only one with a second job." Anna reached into her bag and pulled out a file folder, placing in on the coffee table between the two women. Chloe opened the folder and looked through the papers inside. It was full of pictures and articles, bringing back fond memories Oliver and her had shared. "I was approached by a tabloid editor, and he asked me do to some undercover work on you two. I initially refused, but they promised to pay me four times my salary."
"How long?"
"Six months... I quit once the hospital bills were paid."
"I can't believe this."
Anna wiped a tear from her eye, but stayed strong as she continued, "You can hate me all you want, and I wouldn't blame you, but it killed me seeing my dad in the hospital. All that time, when they told me to screw the truth and get the money shot... it was the worst time of my life."
"I believe you."
"Well... there's more. When I did quit, they insisted on me staying. That's when I realized that they needed me more than I needed them, so I stayed on the condition that I controlled what they printed. But then you left three weeks later, and I realized how selfish I was being and got out for good."
"I'm glad my leaving did something good around here."
"Do you regret it now?"
"I don't know... part of me does."
"I know this is going to sound strange, but I think it was for the best. I wouldn't have come clean if you didn't leave."
"Why not?"
Anna sighed. "Because I screwed up... and this gives me a chance to make it right... for everyone." Anna reached over to pull a tape player out of her coat pocket. "I wouldn't have had that if you didn't leave."
"What is this?"
"The audio equivalent of a money shot... and I've had it for three years. I know you've forgiven me, but this proves you can trust me." Anna slipped on her coat and took one last look at Chloe. "What you do with it is up to you. You can listen to it, throw it out... it's your call. Even though Oliver would likely kill me if knew I taped this, you deserved the truth... all of it."
Before Anna could open the door, Chloe quickly said, "Anna... I do forgive you."
"Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me."
With that, Anna left the room and sighed as she closed the door, wondering if Chloe would actually listen to it. If she did, then she knew that Anna was lying. The recording did exist, but she accidentally recorded over most of it. However if necessary, Anna could fill in the blanks. Even though was a long time ago... she remembered that night like it was yesterday.
Anna pulled one of Oliver's arms, trying to get him away from his latest shot. "Come on Ollie, I'm getting you out of here."
He easily shook off her grip and downed the alcohol. "What's the point?"
"She'll be back, or she'll visit... this isn't goodbye." Anna grabbed one of his arms and was able to successfully drag him off the stool. "Work with me, Oliver... you have a good hundred pounds on me."
"What do you care?"
She swallowed as she realized that her recorder was still on, but couldn't turn off the recording until she got to her car. Biting her lip, Anna continued to drag him across the bar. "I'm your friend Oliver."
"Yeah right," he muttered back.
At the door, the bouncer had walked over to her and asked, "Need help?'
Anna nodded and pointed her head towards her car. Oliver initially struggled at the switch, but eventually he relaxed as the bouncer set him down in the passenger seat.
"Thanks," she said before the bouncer waved and took off. After closing the passenger door, Anna found her way to the driver's seat and was about to put the key in the ignition when he heard him whisper something.
"I loved her, you know."
She whipped her head around to look at him. "What?"
"I... I never told her...Chloe... I loved her."
"Shit," she said as she scrambled for the off-switch on her recording device.
The rest of the car ride was quiet, and Oliver eventually fell asleep, making her job of getting him upstairs a lot harder, but she had done it. As for the recording, Anna had held onto it, wondering what to do with it. Even though giving it to the tabloid was never an option, Anna knew she couldn't just walk up to Chloe and Kanas and say "By the way, Oliver loves you." It wasn't that simple.
So Anna let it collect dust until yesterday, content on letting that be her little secret. But after hearing what Tim said to Chloe, tracking that tape down was the first thing she did when she got home that night. Something Tim had said had been ringing in her ears.
After a while, it's a little hard for a regular guy to measure up to Oliver Queen.
The whole time she stood there, the thing that got her attention wasn't that Tim cheated on Chloe, it was that he felt inadequate next to Oliver. That was her confirmation that Chloe felt the same, so Anna listened to the recording for an hour, wondering how she was going to explain it to either of them.
When Tim came to her, she thought she had frantically pressed the stop button as it was rewinding, but she had really pressed the record button. After Tim had left and Anna realized what she had done, she wanted to pull her hair out. All this time, she likely had what Chloe wanted to hear and she never gave it to her... now it was gone.
Anna didn't sleep the entire night because she was so frustrated about her error. So she got up and began collecting all of her work and put it in a folder. This was the facet of her confession that she could control. At six, she headed down to Tahli's and ordered the coffee and headed to Chloe's building, ready to tell her everything, but at the stairwell, she choked.
How was she supposed to explain to one of her closest friends that she had spied on her and Oliver behind her back for almost seven months?
When she finally gained enough courage to climb the steps, Oliver had opened the door, and she realized that this was her chance. Anna had planned on playing what was left of the recording and then explaining the rest for Chloe, but instead, she reached inside of her coat and clicked the record button before she said her first words to him. Oliver was too afraid to tell Chloe the truth, so when she said that she was happy for them, it was all a bluff to get him to open up. Part of her felt guilty for playing him, but it was done now... now it was up to Chloe to determine whether or not it was worthwhile.
~0~
Meanwhile, Chloe stared at the tape recorder wondering what she was supposed to do. After a couple minutes, she found the courage to press the play button.
Part 4