Fighting Echoes (2/?)
Author:
serafina19
Title: Fighting Echoes
Summary: As identities and affiliations are exposed, the Justice League begins to form. But once an old foe re-emerges and raises the stakes, Evie is forced to determine how much she is willing to sacrifice to protect everyone she cares about. Sequel to “Notbroken.”
Fic Rating: NC-17 Chapter Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Coarse language, violence and adult content.... and I mess with canon, a lot.
Special thanks to:
552158 for the amazing banners that I couldn’t stop admiring when you sent them to me. Also, big love to
slytherinpunk, without you, I probably wouldn’t have the guts to try this.
August part 1
August 3
"Wow," Chloe said, breaking the pause between the two friends as Evie had just finished explaining everything. "It is really complicated."
"Do you see why I played my cards so close to my chest now?"
"I just..."
Seeing Chloe struggle with her words, Evie chuckled before interrupting, "I know... it is pretty unbelievable. I want you to know that the only reason I told Oliver first was because...actually that was Victor's idea. I thought I was just going to get acclimatized with Watchtower, the idea of doing what the guys do, but I guess he had something else in mind."
"I understand."
Evie placed her hand on Chloe's shoulder, because Evie knew there were consequences with coming clean. "I know this will probably show me in a new light, and while it may cost me your friendship, I'm glad Victor did what he did."
Smiling as she stood up, Evie added, "The idea that I can be honest with you guys... that I can trust you enough with this secret... it means more than you know."
At this point, Evie had every intention of leaving their apartment, to allow Chloe to think about everything, but Chloe had already made up her mind, as she walked around Evie to face her. "As does everything you've done for me since we've met." With a grin, Chloe hugged Evie. "Just so you know... I don't think I could hate you if I tried."
Returning the embrace, Evie couldn't help but sigh at those words. "And then there's that... the fact you and Oliver are taking this so well makes me wish I had told you sooner."
"You had a good reason."
Evie rolled her eyes as she backed away, those words all too familiar. "Oliver said that too."
"Well, we're right," Chloe replied with confidence before subtly biting her lip. "I hate to ask this but..."
"How much of it was real?"
Chloe was initially caught off-guard by easily Evie narrowed down her question, but then she realized that she couldn't really blame her. With what she could do, it wasn't a stretch for Chloe to think this way, and Evie probably was waiting for her to ask. "Exactly."
After taking a deep breath, Evie replied honestly, "Actually, more than you likely think."
With that, Chloe began to recap their friendship in her head, back to the day when they first met, when Evie was just her athletic roommate. At the time, she was just grateful for a sane roommate, because Chloe could have never foreseen how close she would get to Evie. She also couldn't have foreseen how close to her work with Clark Evie had been, and now sitting across from her, Chloe couldn't help but wonder if their meeting was more than just a coincidence.
"What about the fact that you were my roommate?"
It was the first of many questions Evie had seen coming. There was always an aspect of too-good-to-be-true with their friendship, but Evie had chalked it up to the world telling her to give living another chance. "I had no idea who you were until you said you were from Smallville, because let's face it, I'm not likely ever forgetting that place. A little research later... I knew who you were, but I was the furthest thing from knowing you."
Chuckling, Chloe rolled her eyes, remembering her conversation with Victor and AC back in their headquarters in Star City. "Who knew a girl from a small town would get recognized so easily in the big city?" Watching Evie's head jerk back in response, Chloe added, "Oliver knew about my Torch articles before he met me."
That brought a smile from Evie as she went to the kitchen to fill up her coffee cup, only to see that the pot was empty. Feeling too lazy to make more in that moment, she turned around instead. "That doesn't surprise me actually. We were running in similar circles, even before we met. If nothing else, Victor united us all."
Noticing the machine next to her roommate reminded Chloe of another aspect that bonded them together early on. "Okay, what about the almond mocha?"
Evie's initial reaction was a single chuckle before she responded, "Purely coincidence." When Chloe understandingly seemed skeptical of her response, Evie shrugged, knowing there was no other answer she could give her than, "It was my former boss' favourite and I made sure that I knew how to make it just in case I screwed up."
Looking back up, Evie felt more weight leaving her shoulders, but her smile faded fast as she noticed Chloe's expression.
"What about Oliver?"
Her mouth gaped open right away, and Evie shook her head what felt like a million times. Grabbing Chloe's hands, Evie said as honestly as she could, "He's in love with you... please don't doubt that."
Realizing that she had been misunderstood, it was Chloe's turn to shake her head. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I'm still processing everything, but I more meant along the lines of... I'm not exactly sure how to word this."
"Let me try then. You want to know if I did anything to influence your relationship right?" Seeing Chloe nod, Evie released her hands, smirk firmly on her face as she walked around Chloe. "Well, I can say with absolute certainty that I didn't control either of you."
"How about the game?"
Busted, Evie thought as she heard those words, but she played innocent anyway. "What about it?"
"The fact that after all these years, Ollie was telling the truth?"
Evie still had her back to Chloe, so she wasn't concerned about her expression as she bit her tongue, but she still cracked. "Maybe..."
"You told me-"
Turning around, Evie began to explain. "I didn't lie to you, at least not about that. When we were buying tickets, he was ten people ahead of us. I heard where he was sitting and I... manipulated it so we sat next to him." Shrugging a shoulder, she added, "Who needs premeditation when you have dumb luck?"
Watching Chloe sit down at the kitchen table, Evie herself leaned against the counter, exhaling loudly before continuing, "All jokes aside, I gave more powerless pep talks than anything. I liked you two, manipulating feelings would have been silly if I wanted you to work out. That, and I still prefer to let things happen. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to intervene more than I did, because you two don't make things easy."
Seeing Chloe's mouth open, Evie pointed a finger towards her and said sternly, "Don't even try to deny that."
With a chuckle, Chloe held her hands up to feign her innocence. "Wasn't going to."
Evie laughed back before looking back at the coffee pot. "I don't know about you, but I could really use some caffeine right now."
Getting up from the chair, Chloe smiled. "Lead the way."
~0~
As Chloe typed away on her laptop, she was also trying to make sense of everything she had heard today. It was probably that reason that Evie had insisted on having some space between them so that she had some time to absorb everything, but that didn't necessarily make things easier. But she obliged her friend and went over to Oliver's and waited for him to come home.
Hearing the knock, she brought her head up, surprised to see Oliver standing in the door frame. "Hey."
"Hey," Chloe replied, shutting her laptop almost immediately to put it on the bedside table. "Thought you were patrolling tonight." Not that she was complaining that he was back, as Oliver was one of the few people she could actually talk to in regards to Evie.
Sitting down on his side of the bed, Oliver stripped down to his boxers before going under the covers. "It was dead out there, Victor told me he had it covered." Seeing the expression on her face, he shuffled over to Chloe, wrapping an arm behind her back to pull her closer. "Are you okay?"
Her head resting on Oliver's shoulder, Chloe sighed. "I'm just trying to figure out why I never saw it."
Knowing that Evie had been planning on telling Chloe today, Oliver had prepared himself, knowing that finding out Evie's past wouldn't be easy for either woman. He was shocked and he spent about half the time with Evie in comparison to Chloe, not to mention the two years he spent on an island.
Seeing Chloe now, she seemed alright, but Chloe was one of the best at masking her emotions, so Oliver couldn't tell for sure if she was holding back or not. However, the last thing Oliver wanted to do was prod her, so instead he told her what he could. "She never wanted us to know."
Chloe smirked as she snuggled closer to him, their heads slinking down to their pillows. "I know, but I... I feel terrible that she's had to keep it to herself all this time." Rolling onto her side, she smoothed her hand down her chest, smiling at how comfortable she felt in his arms before her thoughts returned to Evie. "She's my friend Oliver, to know that she suffered so much..."
Settling a finger under her chin, Oliver brought her face up to meet her eyes. "That's why we do this Chloe. We will take Lex down; make him pay for everything he's done, including what he and his father have done to her."
August 16
Oliver knocked on the door, but noticed it opened immediately, Clark on the other side. "Hey," he said, taking a look around the apartment. "You girls ready?"
Because the five of them hadn't hung out as much recently, Lois had come up with this idea to go out together, but by the expressions, it seemed not everything was going according to plan.
"We are," Lois replied, sounding less than impressed, "but for once in... ever, Evie's not." Turning her head to the side, she yelled, "Come on Evie, we're ready to go."
"Lois!"
"What?" Lois asked, eyes firmly on her cousin, "Even you think she's taking too long."
Chloe was about to reply, but all heads turned towards the bedroom door as it creaked open slightly, just enough for everyone to hear Evie say, "I'm not feeling overly well, you guys go ahead," before she shut it again.
For a minute, there was silence in the main area, but Lois broke out first, slamming her purse on the table. "Oh now that's a bunch of crap."
"Lois..." Turning back to the guys, Chloe sighed. "We'll be right back."
"Go ahead," Oliver responded with a smile, hoping Lois wouldn't be too hard on Evie, as it hadn't been the easiest month for her.
She nodded, and headed towards their bedroom, knocking carefully before she entered, surprised to see how calm Lois had become since entering. She had just sat down on the bed, across from Evie, who Chloe could tell was a little rattled.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked cautiously as she approached them.
"Really bad-"
"Excuse is whatever you're going to say." Lois supplied as a finish. "She just hates the idea of a fifth wheel, which is ridiculous because I did it for years. Yeah yeah, you can lecture me about you guys not being official couples, but it was close enough, trust me."
Evie pursed her lips, shaking her head as she whispered back, "It's not that."
"Then it's something that you swore wasn't getting to you," Lois replied.
Chloe felt confused as she glanced back and forth between the two when she noticed Evie gritting her teeth as she still refused to look up. "It's nothing."
"More along the line of should-be-nothing." Turning to face Chloe, Lois explained, "Last week's Inquisitor had a photo of Evie and Oliver... called her Oliver's mistress. It's preposterous, but you know how silly these writers get. One stupid photo and they're-"
Ignoring the obvious dig at Lois' old job, Chloe knew this was only making it worse, so she promptly interrupted her cousin.
"Lois, can you give Evie and I a minute?"
Rolling her eyes, Lois got off the bed. "Fine."
Hearing the door click shut, Chloe finally sat down next to her friend, trying to lessen the blows of her cousin. "She means well, and I'm sure if she knew everything that she'd understand what you're going through."
Evie managed a half-smile as she replied, "I know. She's just... being Lois."
"But that photo has nothing to do with your mood, does it?" Chloe had recognized the bracelet on Evie's wrist, and knew by how much she was fiddling with it that he was the real cause.
"No," Evie said, staring down at her wrist again, not surprised at how easily Chloe had narrowed it down. After all, she had proudly shown it off when Scott gave it to her on their first anniversary. "I guess the best way I can say this is that I'm jealous."
It sounded stupid, she knew that, especially for how hard Evie pushed for Chloe and Oliver to be together, but being the odd one out only reminded that in another state stood the guy that tried everything and more to be with her, and she still couldn't be with him.
It was why she had taken it off in the first place, as it only reminded her of what she had given up. But getting ready tonight, Evie saw it again, as she didn't have the heart to get rid of it, and all of her prior emotions came to the surface. "Seeing you guys, how happy you are... it reminds me of what I had... and it makes me miss him that much more."
"You ever think of telling him everything?"
Evie immediately scoffed. "And tell him what exactly? Remember me? I'm your desperate ex who's still in love with you, but guess what? I'm a freak who was indirectly responsible for your father's death." Silence lingering between the friends, letting the words sink in, Evie broke it with a sigh. "I can't do that to him."
Evie knew that Chloe would have a relatable comeback, so when she saw her friend's mouth open, Evie cut her off. "I know... but it works with you and Oliver because... because you lived that life, you dabbled into the superhero world. Scott, he supports them, but I can't push him into this life."
"What about Clark and Lois?"
Taking a breath, Evie got off the bed and took a couple steps to lean against the nearby wall. "He's practically invincible Chloe, and Lois has hung around you long enough to know the intricacies of the whole unexplainable argument. Scott didn't really see that side of any of us, and I can't know for sure that I'd keep him safe. Don't get me wrong... it's sucks, but it's better this way."
"Don't you think he'd prefer a say in that? I know I did when Oliver kept his secret from me."
He would, Evie knew that. All Scott wanted was for her to open up to him, but the idea of telling Scott that she tore his family apart kept her silent. Besides, that relationship was her past now, and Evie could only hope that things could get better as time went by. "It doesn't matter anymore Chloe... we've said our goodbyes." With another sigh, Evie fiddled with the clasp and buried the bracelet in her jewellery box. "In the end, I'll never be able to give him what he wants."
Even with her back to her, Chloe could sense that Evie needed a conversation change. "Doesn't mean you can't have fun tonight." Chloe watched her turn around, so she stood up to take her opening. "Come on Evie, you can't let this take control your life."
Evie wanted to answer, but first a knock came on the door, Oliver's head peeking in. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," Chloe said with a smile before turning her head to face Oliver, "tell Clark and Lois to go ahead. I'm going to spend some quality time with my roommate... you're welcome to join."
Seeing Oliver about to shut the door, Evie held her arm out and began walking towards the door. "Wait Oliver, don't." He did, much to her relief, so Evie turned to look back and forth between the blondes. "You guys go, I don't want to ruin your night."
"You won't," Chloe replied, "we could call Bart to get some pizza and we could fire up the XBox at Watchtower. It'll be fun."
"Hardly the fun you had in mind," Evie said with an air of defeat.
"Sleazy dancing or fun times with friends?" Chloe looked back up at her boyfriend and asked, "I don't know about you Ollie, but what do you think?"
Looking between the two women, as far as Oliver was concerned, his decision was already made. "I'll let Clark and Lois know we're staying here."
When she heard the door close, Evie shook her head as she lifted it slightly. "He's such a liar."
Tossing Evie her coat, Chloe smirked back. "Only because he knows I'm good for a rain check."
Rolling her eyes at that comment as she put on her coat, Evie began to head to the door. "And now I see how you're related to Lois."
Turning her head back, Evie zipped out of the room quickly as she narrowly missed getting hit by Chloe's shoe as Evie shut the door. Leaning her head against it, Evie finally found a smile.
It would take some time to get over some of the demons, to get over everything, but for once, Evie understood now that no matter what happened, she wasn't alone anymore.
August 29
Chloe sat alone at her table at the Ace of Clubs, sipping her drink delicately as she waited for Oliver to show up. He had texted her to let her know a meeting had gone late and he'd meet her there, but this was getting ridiculous, and based on the way this random guy was looking at her, it wasn't about to get better.
"Hey gorgeous, need a top up?"
Not only was her glass still half-full, Chloe had no intention of letting the guy know she was anywhere interested. "No."
"Well..."
Her eyes widened as the guy actually had the audacity to sit down in the seat across from her, so Chloe promptly told him, "Seat's taken too."
"By who exactly?"
"That would be me," Oliver announced, waiting for the guy to turn around in embarrassment. Sure enough, the seat was vacated in seconds, only to be taken up by Oliver. "Sorry about that," he said to Chloe before sipping his water.
"You should be," Chloe playfully fired back. "For a second, I was about to question your timing skills."
Oliver narrowed his eyes as he asked, "You weren't waiting too long, were you?"
She sat back in her chair and took a look as some of the patrons that showed up after her started leaving. "Do you want me to answer that honestly?"
Seeing her expression, Oliver pursed his lips, not realizing just how long he made her wait, especially considering what tonight was. "I'm sorry, I got here as soon as I -"
"Hey," Chloe said, grabbing his hands in hers, "It's the hazard of dating a CEO." Staring straight into his brown eyes, she smirked before continuing, "All things considered... the upside is worth the wait."
Oliver smiled back at her as he glanced quickly at the menu. "Did you order already?"
"The wine, yes," Chloe replied as she sipped it. "I'm almost a glass down already, which makes me wonder if you took your time to get me drunk."
"Yes," he said after a quiet chuckle, "because it takes so much convincing for you to spend time with me."
After that comment, Chloe had sat back in her chair, giving her a better view of the dress she was wearing tonight. She looked perfect, not that she ever looked otherwise, but the olive green complimented her eyes perfectly, and it fit tonight's occasion perfectly.
In a way, Oliver couldn't blame the guy for trying, and even his interruption allowed for even more parallels, but in the end, Oliver was the only guy he wanted to Chloe to see tonight.
Noticing the wandering expression Oliver had after she had leaned back, Chloe replied, "Fair point," and watched as her comment brought him back to reality.
"Anyway," he said, grabbing the menu from her side of the table, "I'm glad you didn't order... I took the liberty this time."
"Really?"
And sure enough, within seconds, plates were settled in front of them, and Chloe's wine glass was filled up before the waiter settled a small gift box in front of her. Chloe wanted to start eating, but the box took precedence in her mind. It wasn't her birthday, or any other event that she could think of off the top of her mind.
Seeing where her stare ended up, Oliver interrupted her thoughts, "Happy anniversary."
Chloe blinked a couple times as she picked up the box. Looking towards Oliver, she narrowed her eyes. "Anniversary? Last I checked it's not two months for a couple of days."
"Try five years."
She began racking her brain again for ideas when it finally hit her. The day they met. "We're celebrating that too? Ollie, I didn't think we..."
"I like to make excuses for spoiling you."
"You don't have to," Chloe said as she fiddled with the ribbon on the box, "you spoil me every day." After that, she immediately rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I just said that."
"Embarrassed?"
"Not of you... of how bad that sounded."
Oliver shrugged a shoulder as he reached across the table to smooth his fingers down her arm. "Well, the sentiment is appreciated."
"What is this Ollie?"
"The point of a present," he replied, leaning back in his chair, "you have open it yourself."
"Funny," she said pulling on the ribbon and taking off the top of the box. Inside was just a piece of paper, so Chloe pulled it out.
Oliver watched from the other side of the table, waiting for her eyes to widen once she started to read it, and he was completely prepared for an undeserving comment, but he beat her to speaking. "Keep in mind this isn't something I can exactly return."
"No, I suppose you can't... but a satellite?" Reading over the paper again to make sure that she hadn't read it wrong, Chloe eventually settled the paper on her lap. "You set the bar kind of high don't you think?"
"If it makes you feel better, you're not the only one being spoiled."
Smiling as she put the box in her purse, Chloe looked back up at Oliver, who flashed his own smile. "Thank you," she said, wondering how she could have gotten so lucky.
"No problem," Oliver replied, grateful that Chloe accepted the gift much better than he had anticipated. It wasn't always easy to show her how much she meant to him, but Oliver was glad this one panned out. "Happy anniversary."
"Happy anniversary," Chloe repeated, smile widening as the other people ate around them, unaware of how happy both of them were feeling at that moment.
September
Sera's Scribbles: Just as another reminder, this fic's rating will go up for September.