An Exceptional Young Woman--Part 23/23
Title: An Exceptional Young Woman
Category: Smallville
Rating: Teen/PG13
Genre: Friendship/Romance
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Warnings: AU, barely detectable OOC
Summary: Chloe gets thrown out of Smallville High, landing her in boarding school, or more specifically, the sister school to Excelsior Academy. What will she think when she meets the young Oliver Queen?
banner by sarcastic_fina
Before anyone tries to murder me for ending it here, please know that there is an Epilogue coming, bringing with it the promise of a happy ending.
Blue
"I thought it would be prudent to have coffee ready. Unfortunately, I'm terrible at making the stuff, but I know you think about coffee at least once every four minutes, so I went to the local Starbucks for a pitcher. It's hot."
Chloe smiled weakly, accepting the mug of coffee Mr. Christopher handed her before sitting down in his desk chair. Chloe had taken up residence in the arm chair in the corner of his office, her legs tucked under her. Mr. Williams, sitting in her usual chair, which had been pulled around to the side, gave her a concerned look. She looked tired, the traces of last night's makeup still around her eyes, her hair tousled. She was dressed for comfort in a gray hoodie and sweats, which only served to make her face look even more washed out.
"I think we should just go ahead and establish right here that we're men, and this is far from our territory," Mr. Williams joked, partly serious.
This time Chloe laughed a little bit, and Mr. Christopher spoke for her. "She knows. She doesn't expect us to play mom." He smiled at her. "I'm proud of you, you know. It would have been easy to be selfish, but--"
"But Clark comes first."
At this Mr. Christopher shook his head. "No, Chloe. It's not that. It's that the world comes first."
Mr. Williams nodded. "You know him, you know what he's capable of. He's going to save so many lives...it's difficult to comprehend. He's going to save the world a hundred times over. And you're going to help him do it."
Mr. Christopher gave him a sharp look. "What happened to not telling people about their future?"
Mr. Williams dismissed the warning. "She's not going to go berserk. And after what she just put herself through, I think she has a right to know why."
His friend smiled at this, apparently happy with the decision.
Chloe didn't say anything, just stared into her coffee for a long time. It was the color of Oliver's eyes. She blinked at the thought, embarrassed for even thinking it, and then looked out the window. Mr. Christopher gave her a sympathetic look.
"From what it sounds like in your head, Chloe, it wasn't that bad. I've witnessed my share of high school brea--arguments, and teenagers can be extremely nasty to each other. You two were fairly mature about it."
Chloe scoffed bitterly. Then she turned to look at him. "You do realize that doesn't make me feel even remotely better, right? I know I did the right thing, and even that doesn't make me feel better! I lied to his face. I'm keeping things from him. I know we're just in high school, and I can't expect my first boyfriend to be the end-all-be-all for me, but I really care about him and he deserves better than this."
The two men waited for her to say everything she needed to, and Mr. Williams appeared to be deciding whether or not to say something. He looked to Mr. Christopher for help, as if asking exactly how much he should say.
"It's up to you. I don't think you should tell her that, but the basic outline might not be the worst idea."
Mr. Williams nodded and then looked at Chloe. "All right, now, before I talk to you about these things, you should understand something about how my ability works, Chloe." He knew he had her attention by the way her eyes fixed intently on him, her need to have everything explained to her eternal. Mr. Christopher chuckled. "I don't always see detail. I get glimpses of the future, mostly of how people will affect other people, or be affected by others. Which is why I've seen so much of your friend Clark and of you. However, not everything I see is set in stone. I see current paths. I'm not God. I don't necessarily know exactly what will happen and how it will happen every single moment of every day from here to eternity. That's not even close. As you proved last night, just because I see it doesn't mean it can't be changed. You might be interested to know that for a while your future involved graduating from Smallville HIgh. That changed when Principle Kwan's son got infected by the meteors."
Chloe stared at him, trying to absorb this. "Wow," she said finally.
He nodded. "So I want you to know, if it's any comfort at all, that Oliver is going to be a pretty important part of your life, and his role certainly didn't end last night. Things won't go the way you anticipate, but your...friendship will be one of the most important aspects of your life. You two will do a lot of good together. And it won't always be this difficult. I promise."
Chloe smiled softly, not sure why that promise comforted her before she took another sip of coffee.
"I'm just not sure what to do," Chloe said. "I want to go talk to him, but I don't know how to make anything better. Nothing's changed since last night. I still can't be fully honest with him."
"He needs time," Mr. Williams said simply. "I'm not going to tell you how much, but he just needs time. Like I said, last night is far from the end for the two of you."
"Are we still friends after high school?" Chloe dared to ask.
He nodded. "In a way. You'll...drift apart," he chose the words carefully, "for a while. But you certainly won't hate each other by any means, and you'll find a way back into each other's lives eventually."
Chloe nodded her head slowly. "Okay."
Mr. Williams raised an eyebrow at this response and then looked at Mr. Christopher. He just shrugged. "I've told you. She's extremely mature for her age."
"Well, I know. I gathered that much as her director, but still..." he trailed off, impressed.
Chloe, in turn, quirked an eyebrow. "I'm still in the room," she reminded them, and the two chuckled.
"Sorry," Mr. Christopher apologized. "I think we've gotten accustomed to having these conversations without anyone to overhear. I mean it as a compliment, though, Chloe. You're an incredibly mature young woman, and I have never met anyone with your capacity to take things in stride before. It is no mistake that someone like you was brought into the lives of Clark Kent and Oliver Queen."
Chloe looked away at the name, the smile that had been growing at the compliment quickly fading.
He cringed. "Right. So, there's something else you should know about, I think," he looked to Mr. Williams, who nodded.
"What's that?" Chloe asked.
"Lex," they said together. Chloe just blinked at them. Since that day last fall when Lex had verbally attacked her, she'd seen very little--if anything--of him. Eventually dealing with her own life had driven thoughts of him from her mind.
"W--what about him?" she asked, confused.
They exchanged glances again. "You should be wary of him, Chloe," Mr. Williams finally said.
"Thanks. I love cryptic warnings. They make life more interesting," Chloe rolled her eyes before helping herself to another cup of coffee.
"Lex is someone I really can't give you specifics on, I'm afraid, but you should be on the alert with regards to him. Things are changing for him. Mr. Allenmeyer's death was a breaking point."
Chloe cringed involuntarily. She looked up at them pleadingly. "Was there--"
"Anything you could have done?" Mr. Christopher cut in. "No. His future has been the same for as long as we've been aware of him. Both Mr. Williams and I made our own attempts to prevent what happened, but there was nothing to be done." He glanced at Mr. Williams. "His fate remains the same."
Chloe frowned slightly, not missing the present tense of the statement, but recognizing that that was all they were going to tell her about Duncan Allenmeyer. For now, at least. "Back to Lex, then..." she prompted.
"Right," Mr. Williams picked up. "First, with the understanding that absolutely no one else is to know about this aside from the select few who already do--"
"Yeah, yeah," Chloe muttered bitterly.
"--there was an incident last night. Lionel Luthor was called to the school because his son was found out on the rooftop, clutching a bundle of blankets and insisting that it was his younger brother, Julian."
Chloe stared at them, wide-eyed. "What?"
"He's had a psychotic break," Mr. Christopher explained. "His younger brother has been dead for years."
Chloe blinked repeatedly, trying to decide what to make of this information. Finally, unsure of herself, "Is there--"
"Something you can do? No," he replied resignedly. "The Luthor boy is headed down a very dark path, unfortunately, and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent it, though many will try. The only one who might have had a chance of saving him is his father, and, regrettably, Lionel Luthor at present is more inclined to drive Lex to that darkness than to save him from it."
Chloe shook her head. "There's got to be somethi--"
"There's not."
"But you two said nothing you know is set in stone."
Mr. Williams shook his head. "I said not everything is set in stone. There are a few things that appear to be. Young Mr. Luthor seems to be one of those things."
Chloe looked out the window, frustrated. "I don't understand."
"To be perfectly honest?" Mr. Christopher asked, shoulders rising ruefully, "neither do we ninety percent of the time. I chalk it up to a Divine plan."
Chloe nodded vaguely, trying to imagine a dark version of Lex Luthor. He didn't seem dark to her, just lost and hurting.
...but then, that's the perfect breeding ground for darkness.
Mr. Christopher listened to her inner monologue with interest. He nodded in agreement, though she'd forgotten he was listening.
Finally, she heaved a heavy sigh and turned back to them both. "All right, I'm begging you, tell me something happy?"
They both grinned at her. "You're not going to flunk Algebra, no matter how convinced you are the day after the final that you bombed it."
Chloe laughed. "Well, that's a relief, I must say."
___________________________________________
Two Years Later
Chloe was sitting in that same arm chair in the corner of Mr. Christopher's office that she'd become so accustomed to over the last couple of years, happily taking a swig of her coffee.
"Will you be at the ceremony tomorrow, then?" she asked.
"Of course. I love listening to the parents. You'd be amazed how many of them never thought their kids were going to make it."
Chloe chuckled. It was the end of her junior year, and summer vacation would begin tomorrow. She was attending the graduation ceremony to watch Claire and Diana receive their diplomas, as well as the boys. But especially Oliver. She knew there was no hiding from Mr. Christopher--or Mr. Williams for that matter--that that was her secret motive, but she was trying very hard not to think about it.
She and Oliver hadn't lasted long after the dance her freshman year. A few months...barely through the summer. He'd tried, bless him. But after a while it had gotten to be too much for him, and Chloe couldn't blame him. She hated every minute of it, but she didn't blame him. She cared too much about him to pretend it was his fault. He'd finally just looked her in the eye and said he couldn't deal with it any more.
She'd been ready for it. Mr. Williams had had mercy on her and given her fair warning that it was coming, but even if he hadn't, she would have known. Oliver might be good at reading her, but she knew him inside and out. She'd been able to see it in his eyes that it was getting to be too much for him. The secrets. It would have been too much for anyone, really. It was only fair to let him go, but she had clung to him selfishly to the last second. She knew it didn't mean that he didn't care about her. At least, she wanted to believe that.
"He does," Mr. Christopher ventured in for her and she looked up, no longer surprised when he did this sort of thing. "He still thinks about you just as often as he did when you first met. He wonders how you're doing and worries about you."
Chloe nodded, trying to choke back tears at the revelation.
Mr. Williams leaned forward and patted her arm comfortingly. "It gets--"
"Better, you promise," Chloe rolled her eyes, finishing the sentence for him. He'd been saying it for two years.
"It does. It's going to take a while to get there, but tomorrow is not the last you'll see of Oliver Queen, I promise."
Chloe wanted to believe more than she actually did.
"Even when the chips are down, Chloe, remember that. This is not the last you two will see of each other. There are going to be...times where you lose hope of that...I can't--"
"Can't tell me the specifics, I know," Chloe smiled softly, shaking her head. "Why do I even talk to the two of you?" Chloe demanded, unable to stop smiling at them in spite of her words.
"Because I provide coffee?" Mr. Christopher suggested.
She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together so as not to laugh. "It's a definite possibility." They were quiet for a while and Chloe swirled her coffee in her favorite mug. "I am so glad this year is over," she sighed exhaustedly.
"It was a long one for you," Mr. Williams agreed.
"You did well, though," Mr. Christopher added. "Though I still wish you would audition for another play."
"No, no," Chloe argued humorously. "The Tempest was my one and only moment on the stage. Just be glad I still take your class," she added, smirking.
"Yes, thank God you still grace me with your presence there," he smiled back, knowing just how much she really enjoyed it and how much she appreciated him as her teacher.
"I can't wait to be home for the summer," Chloe changed topics easily. "I still can't believe I got the internship. And please don't exchange one of those knowing glances with each other because I swear they're driving me absolutely crazy!" she added as the two teachers were about to do just that.
"Sorry," Mr. Williams said. "I'm sure you'll have a great summer, though."
Chloe narrowed her eyes at him, then she steeled herself. "And you're sure it's...you know...safe for me to be gone this summer?" she raised her eyebrows.
He nodded. "You'll be just fine. As will Clark."
"Thank God." Chloe still remembered that first summer with nausea. She had had to pull a giant splinter of meteor rock out of Clark's stomach. She'd never seen so much blood in her life and she honestly thought Clark had died and she was too late. She would never forget that moment of pure, unadulterated fear.
She'd almost lost her best friend.
"Well," Mr. Christopher glanced at his watch. "We should get going, and you've been having guilty thoughts about unfinished packing all morning," he raised a knowing eyebrow at Chloe.
She bit her lip, cheeks flushing. "I hate that you can do that," she said for the billionth time since their Sunday mornings had begun together.
She rose and gave both teachers a warm hug. "Thank you," she told them. "I'm going to miss this all summer."
"You'll e-mail us," Mr. Williams said before she could. "And we'll reply, don't worry. But make the most of that internship!"
"I will," Chloe nodded. "Keep me in the loop," she told them both seriously. "You know the number if anything serious comes up."
"Of course," Mr. Christopher nodded. "Go," he shooed her. "Have a great summer, Chloe. We'll be here when you get back. See some theatre while you're in Metropolis."
_______________________________________
Chloe heaved a sigh, finally sitting down on her bed and wiping her brow. The last of her things had finally been packed away. Except one thing.
She opened the drawer and pulled out a picture frame of her and Oliver that she hadn't dared to have on display since their breakup. She touched his face in the picture. She missed him. Closing her eyes to gather herself for a moment, she took a deep breath.
"Better pack you away, too, Ollie," she told the photo before turning to stick it in her suitcase. She pulled the zipper shut and that was it.
She was dressed in her green, yellow, and blue floral sundress for the graduation ceremony that afternoon, and as she looked around her now stripped room she felt a twinge of sadness. Next year would be painfully lonely with Claire and Diana gone.
She blinked back a few tears and all of a sudden Clark was in her room.
"Oh my God, Clark!" she clutched her heart. "I will never get used to that!"
"Sorry," he grinned, not appearing sorry at all. "I had a minute of free time, so I thought I'd see about picking up some of your luggage early." Clark had told her father that he was going to "drive" Chloe home from school. When questioned why, he answered that he didn't see enough of her that year, and she was going to be gone all summer, so he wanted the fun of the road trip together.
Of course, not seeing much of her that year was a lie. Clark dropped by at least once a week these days in lieu of their once-upon-a-time phone calls. Chloe could only assume that would continue through the summer.
"Thanks, I actually just finished," Chloe said, pulling herself together. Clark studied her.
"Is everything all right?" he asked gently.
Chloe brusquely brushed the tears away with back of her hand, smiling. "I'm just...going to miss the girls," she said. "It will be a lonely year next year. I've got other friends, but...there's only one Claire and one Diana in this world, that's for sure."
Clark nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I--"
He stopped short when someone knocked on the door.
"Do you want me to--"
"No, you can stay," Chloe said. "I'll just tell whoever it is you got into town early."
It was probably Claire, she assumed. And she was probably going to make Chloe cry.
She opened the door and her heart completely failed her.
"Can I come in?"
Chloe couldn't respond. She couldn't do anything but stand there.
Clark swiftly came to the rescue. He picked up one of her suitcases and walked over toward the door. He met the pair of brown eyes with a hint of warning. "I was just going to take one of Chloe's bags down to my car before I grab a bite to eat. I won't be back for a while, so I'm sure she has plenty of time to talk."
Oliver met Clark's eyes unwaveringly before nodding his gratitude. Clark gently nudged Chloe to the side to get past her. When he was long gone Oliver looked at Chloe for permission.
Starting slightly, she took another step to the side, as though to allow him in.
She and Oliver hadn't been able to avoid each other's company over the years, not with their mutual friends, but he rarely spoke to her if he could help it, and they were never left alone with each other. He certainly didn't seek her company, that was certain.
He stood in the middle of her empty room, dressed in collared shirt and tie for graduation, hands shoved in his pockets as he took in the sight of her suitcases. Chloe closed the door softly, taking a deep breath before turning to look at him, waiting.
"So..." he said slowly, not meeting her eyes right away. Then, grasping at straws, "So Clark's taking you home to Kansas, then? That's good. How's he doing?"
"Clark's good," was all she could manage. She had no idea what he was doing there, and she wasn't sure she trusted herself to speak or move or...breathe.
Oliver nodded. "That's good. You two are...." he trailed off, hoping for her to finish the sentence for him.
"As good of friends as ever," Chloe supplied, knowing what he was thinking.
He glanced out her window. "That's good," he repeated. Then, finally, he summoned up his courage and looked at her. "I wanted---I wanted to--well, hell if I know what I was thinking when I started walking over here, but I guess I wanted to see you because I figured we'd both pretend we couldn't see each other straight through the graduation ceremony and I was pretty sure I would go vomit afterwards if we did, so here I am."
Chloe blinked at this blunt explanation. "Oh."
"Yeah, 'oh.' " He rolled his eyes. "So I guess I'm here to apologize or something, but for the life of me, I don't know what I'm apologizing for."
Chloe smiled gently. He was still so...Oliver. "Maybe you needed to hear one instead?" she offered.
He looked at her in surprise and she sighed, walking over to her bed and sitting down, playing with the hem of her dress to busy her fingers.
"I am sorry, Oliver. I've been sorry every day since Spring Formal. Sorrier than you know, but the sad fact of the matter is that even now nothing's changed. I'm still keeping secrets and lying to people I love and I hate every minute of it but I've got to do it." She met his eyes pleadingly, and there was no doubt in his mind that she was sincere.
"Why?" he asked finally, his expression weary. "Why do it if you hate it?"
"Because there are things in this world that are so much more important than what I want, and this is one of them," she said a little sadly.
"I'll never understand what it is you got caught up in," he sighed, looking down and shaking his head. "I'll never get it."
"I think you will, someday," Chloe said to his surprise. He looked at her with his brows raised, but she wasn't looking at him, just out her window, her eyes very, very far away from him.
Mr. Christopher and Mr. Williams had never gone so far as to tell her exactly what her future was with Oliver, but they always insisted it got better and that he was part of the supposed 'great things' she would do. She couldn't believe that things would ever get better between them until he finally knew the truth. She knew she couldn't tell him today, no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't give that to him. But she clung to the hope that one day she would be able to come clean, if only to salvage their friendship.
She looked up at him, eyes glassy with un-shed tears and Oliver couldn't help but share in whatever bizarre conviction of hope she had. "Okay," he said finally, nodding. "If you say so."
"I've missed you," she said. "It won't be the same around here without you and everyone else."
He smiled for her benefit. "We'll all be in touch."
By which you mean, Claire and Diana and occasionally Geoff and Alden will be in touch, Chloe thought sadly. She doubted very much that she was going to hear from Oliver for a long time. "I know," she said. Then, before she could stop herself, "Write to me, once in a while, will you? Just the occasional e-mail. I'd like to know you're all right."
This time his smile was less artificial. "Once a week," he promised, whether or not Chloe believed him, and he knew she didn't. "I've missed talking to you. You always kept my head on straight."
Chloe chuckled. "You needed a lot of help," she teased.
He grinned, walking over to sit next to her and throwing an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "I seem to remember the affection was mutual."
"Not at first," she reminded him, a teasing smile on her lips.
Oliver rolled his eyes. "God I thought you hated me."
"I did," she laughed, "but mostly just because I was so gosh darn attracted to you! It drove me crazy because I was convinced I should be repulsed by you!"
He laughed. "Well I'm pretty sure I thought you were the most amazing person in the world from the first moment I saw you. In spite of the fact that you looked ready to murder me at any given moment."
Chloe frowned until she suddenly recalled that very first day she'd seen him, teasing Lex and Duncan. "I was planning to punch you, I think. I'm not sure. I didn't really think it through."
He grinned. "You also looked pretty ready to hit me the first time I kissed you," he reminded her, eyes dancing.
"You were such an arrogant jerk!" she accused.
"What do you mean I was? I like to think I still am."
I wouldn't know, Chloe thought sadly. "Probably," she said aloud. "So what are your plans?" she changed the subject.
He shrugged. "Yale--It's where my parents went.--Business degree. Run the company. Die. By the way, I'd like to be creamated. No open coffins at my funeral."
Chloe shoved him away. "Shut up!" she laughed. "Jeez, I'm depressed enough, thank you!"
He laughed too, eyes full of mirth. "Yeah, yeah, I know. What about you? You know what you'll do after next year?"
She shrugged. "Probably Metropolis University. Journalism."
He nodded. "Good. I'm glad that's still what you want to do."
She smiled. "Was there ever any doubt?"
"Only on your part," he grinned. "Although I admit I thought you had something going there with Shakespeare. Sure you haven't got any Hollywood aspirations?" he teased.
She laughed. "Three years later I still can't live that down."
"That's because you were amazing. Everyone loved you," he told her genuinely.
She smiled softly, blushing and looking down. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. She looked up at him. "This is a perfectly awful thing to say, but...I think I may have loved you."
Oliver was very still, unsure he'd heard her correctly as he turned to look at her and read her expression. She looked so vulnerable, scared of rejection for feelings she'd had ages ago, that nothing but the need to prevent insanity had made her confess to.
Personally, he thought his heart was going to explode in his chest and he couldn't tell if it were a positive or a negative feeling. He slid his hand over her cheek and threaded it into her hair, pulling her to him to plant a soft kiss on her lips. He felt her suck in a sharp breath at the contact as a thousand emotions flooded through him. He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers with his eyes closed, just trying to steady his breathing. He wanted to say he loved her, too, that he still loved her, but he knew her admission didn't change anything. She'd already said it. 'Even now nothing's changed.' The words echoed in his mind unfeelingly. He didn't think he could handle telling her he loved her only to have to walk away from her and deal with the fact that it wasn't enough. So he said nothing, just remained very still, wishing that time would stay still with him, long enough to figure out the solution that didn't exist.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke, afraid to open his eyes. "I should go....I have to...give a speech." His throat was tight, making words oddly difficult to form.
He opened his eyes and saw with a pang in his chest that tears were rolling down her cheeks. She nodded, though, wiping them away carelessly and putting on a brave face like she always did.
"I'll see you there," she promised.
"Say goodbye to me before you leave?" he practically begged.
"Of course," she smiled through her tears, and Oliver had half a mind to throw graduation to hell and just stay with her and kiss her until he could make her stop crying and make it--them--make sense.
But instead he stood from the bed, breaking away from her before he did something stupid. He tried to say something else, but for the life of him no words would come out, so he just left, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Not a minute after Oliver was gone, Clark appeared, pulling Chloe into his arms and hugging her as tightly as he could. "It's okay," he told her repeatedly as she cried into his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm so sorry, Chloe."
Clark knew he shouldn't have been listening in, but he'd had a feeling she was going to need him when Oliver left, and he hadn't been wrong. Clark would never quite get over the guilt that Chloe and Oliver hadn't worked out because she was keeping his secret. She'd never said that was the reason, but he'd known, deep down. It all came back to him. He squeezed her even tighter and rocked her soothingly.
"It's all going to be okay," he promised her.
Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three; Chapter Four; Chapter Five; Chapter Six; Chapter Seven; Chapter Eight; Chapter Nine; Chapter Ten; Chapter Eleven; Chapter Twelve ; Chapter Thirteen; Chapter Fourteen; Chapter Fifteen; Chapter Sixteen; Chapter Seventeen; Chapter Eighteen; Chapter Nineteen; Chapter Twenty; Chapter Twenty-One; Chapter Twenty-Two; Chapter Twenty-Three; Epilogue
Category: Smallville
Rating: Teen/PG13
Genre: Friendship/Romance
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Warnings: AU, barely detectable OOC
Summary: Chloe gets thrown out of Smallville High, landing her in boarding school, or more specifically, the sister school to Excelsior Academy. What will she think when she meets the young Oliver Queen?
banner by sarcastic_fina
Before anyone tries to murder me for ending it here, please know that there is an Epilogue coming, bringing with it the promise of a happy ending.
Blue
"I thought it would be prudent to have coffee ready. Unfortunately, I'm terrible at making the stuff, but I know you think about coffee at least once every four minutes, so I went to the local Starbucks for a pitcher. It's hot."
Chloe smiled weakly, accepting the mug of coffee Mr. Christopher handed her before sitting down in his desk chair. Chloe had taken up residence in the arm chair in the corner of his office, her legs tucked under her. Mr. Williams, sitting in her usual chair, which had been pulled around to the side, gave her a concerned look. She looked tired, the traces of last night's makeup still around her eyes, her hair tousled. She was dressed for comfort in a gray hoodie and sweats, which only served to make her face look even more washed out.
"I think we should just go ahead and establish right here that we're men, and this is far from our territory," Mr. Williams joked, partly serious.
This time Chloe laughed a little bit, and Mr. Christopher spoke for her. "She knows. She doesn't expect us to play mom." He smiled at her. "I'm proud of you, you know. It would have been easy to be selfish, but--"
"But Clark comes first."
At this Mr. Christopher shook his head. "No, Chloe. It's not that. It's that the world comes first."
Mr. Williams nodded. "You know him, you know what he's capable of. He's going to save so many lives...it's difficult to comprehend. He's going to save the world a hundred times over. And you're going to help him do it."
Mr. Christopher gave him a sharp look. "What happened to not telling people about their future?"
Mr. Williams dismissed the warning. "She's not going to go berserk. And after what she just put herself through, I think she has a right to know why."
His friend smiled at this, apparently happy with the decision.
Chloe didn't say anything, just stared into her coffee for a long time. It was the color of Oliver's eyes. She blinked at the thought, embarrassed for even thinking it, and then looked out the window. Mr. Christopher gave her a sympathetic look.
"From what it sounds like in your head, Chloe, it wasn't that bad. I've witnessed my share of high school brea--arguments, and teenagers can be extremely nasty to each other. You two were fairly mature about it."
Chloe scoffed bitterly. Then she turned to look at him. "You do realize that doesn't make me feel even remotely better, right? I know I did the right thing, and even that doesn't make me feel better! I lied to his face. I'm keeping things from him. I know we're just in high school, and I can't expect my first boyfriend to be the end-all-be-all for me, but I really care about him and he deserves better than this."
The two men waited for her to say everything she needed to, and Mr. Williams appeared to be deciding whether or not to say something. He looked to Mr. Christopher for help, as if asking exactly how much he should say.
"It's up to you. I don't think you should tell her that, but the basic outline might not be the worst idea."
Mr. Williams nodded and then looked at Chloe. "All right, now, before I talk to you about these things, you should understand something about how my ability works, Chloe." He knew he had her attention by the way her eyes fixed intently on him, her need to have everything explained to her eternal. Mr. Christopher chuckled. "I don't always see detail. I get glimpses of the future, mostly of how people will affect other people, or be affected by others. Which is why I've seen so much of your friend Clark and of you. However, not everything I see is set in stone. I see current paths. I'm not God. I don't necessarily know exactly what will happen and how it will happen every single moment of every day from here to eternity. That's not even close. As you proved last night, just because I see it doesn't mean it can't be changed. You might be interested to know that for a while your future involved graduating from Smallville HIgh. That changed when Principle Kwan's son got infected by the meteors."
Chloe stared at him, trying to absorb this. "Wow," she said finally.
He nodded. "So I want you to know, if it's any comfort at all, that Oliver is going to be a pretty important part of your life, and his role certainly didn't end last night. Things won't go the way you anticipate, but your...friendship will be one of the most important aspects of your life. You two will do a lot of good together. And it won't always be this difficult. I promise."
Chloe smiled softly, not sure why that promise comforted her before she took another sip of coffee.
"I'm just not sure what to do," Chloe said. "I want to go talk to him, but I don't know how to make anything better. Nothing's changed since last night. I still can't be fully honest with him."
"He needs time," Mr. Williams said simply. "I'm not going to tell you how much, but he just needs time. Like I said, last night is far from the end for the two of you."
"Are we still friends after high school?" Chloe dared to ask.
He nodded. "In a way. You'll...drift apart," he chose the words carefully, "for a while. But you certainly won't hate each other by any means, and you'll find a way back into each other's lives eventually."
Chloe nodded her head slowly. "Okay."
Mr. Williams raised an eyebrow at this response and then looked at Mr. Christopher. He just shrugged. "I've told you. She's extremely mature for her age."
"Well, I know. I gathered that much as her director, but still..." he trailed off, impressed.
Chloe, in turn, quirked an eyebrow. "I'm still in the room," she reminded them, and the two chuckled.
"Sorry," Mr. Christopher apologized. "I think we've gotten accustomed to having these conversations without anyone to overhear. I mean it as a compliment, though, Chloe. You're an incredibly mature young woman, and I have never met anyone with your capacity to take things in stride before. It is no mistake that someone like you was brought into the lives of Clark Kent and Oliver Queen."
Chloe looked away at the name, the smile that had been growing at the compliment quickly fading.
He cringed. "Right. So, there's something else you should know about, I think," he looked to Mr. Williams, who nodded.
"What's that?" Chloe asked.
"Lex," they said together. Chloe just blinked at them. Since that day last fall when Lex had verbally attacked her, she'd seen very little--if anything--of him. Eventually dealing with her own life had driven thoughts of him from her mind.
"W--what about him?" she asked, confused.
They exchanged glances again. "You should be wary of him, Chloe," Mr. Williams finally said.
"Thanks. I love cryptic warnings. They make life more interesting," Chloe rolled her eyes before helping herself to another cup of coffee.
"Lex is someone I really can't give you specifics on, I'm afraid, but you should be on the alert with regards to him. Things are changing for him. Mr. Allenmeyer's death was a breaking point."
Chloe cringed involuntarily. She looked up at them pleadingly. "Was there--"
"Anything you could have done?" Mr. Christopher cut in. "No. His future has been the same for as long as we've been aware of him. Both Mr. Williams and I made our own attempts to prevent what happened, but there was nothing to be done." He glanced at Mr. Williams. "His fate remains the same."
Chloe frowned slightly, not missing the present tense of the statement, but recognizing that that was all they were going to tell her about Duncan Allenmeyer. For now, at least. "Back to Lex, then..." she prompted.
"Right," Mr. Williams picked up. "First, with the understanding that absolutely no one else is to know about this aside from the select few who already do--"
"Yeah, yeah," Chloe muttered bitterly.
"--there was an incident last night. Lionel Luthor was called to the school because his son was found out on the rooftop, clutching a bundle of blankets and insisting that it was his younger brother, Julian."
Chloe stared at them, wide-eyed. "What?"
"He's had a psychotic break," Mr. Christopher explained. "His younger brother has been dead for years."
Chloe blinked repeatedly, trying to decide what to make of this information. Finally, unsure of herself, "Is there--"
"Something you can do? No," he replied resignedly. "The Luthor boy is headed down a very dark path, unfortunately, and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent it, though many will try. The only one who might have had a chance of saving him is his father, and, regrettably, Lionel Luthor at present is more inclined to drive Lex to that darkness than to save him from it."
Chloe shook her head. "There's got to be somethi--"
"There's not."
"But you two said nothing you know is set in stone."
Mr. Williams shook his head. "I said not everything is set in stone. There are a few things that appear to be. Young Mr. Luthor seems to be one of those things."
Chloe looked out the window, frustrated. "I don't understand."
"To be perfectly honest?" Mr. Christopher asked, shoulders rising ruefully, "neither do we ninety percent of the time. I chalk it up to a Divine plan."
Chloe nodded vaguely, trying to imagine a dark version of Lex Luthor. He didn't seem dark to her, just lost and hurting.
...but then, that's the perfect breeding ground for darkness.
Mr. Christopher listened to her inner monologue with interest. He nodded in agreement, though she'd forgotten he was listening.
Finally, she heaved a heavy sigh and turned back to them both. "All right, I'm begging you, tell me something happy?"
They both grinned at her. "You're not going to flunk Algebra, no matter how convinced you are the day after the final that you bombed it."
Chloe laughed. "Well, that's a relief, I must say."
___________________________________________
Two Years Later
Chloe was sitting in that same arm chair in the corner of Mr. Christopher's office that she'd become so accustomed to over the last couple of years, happily taking a swig of her coffee.
"Will you be at the ceremony tomorrow, then?" she asked.
"Of course. I love listening to the parents. You'd be amazed how many of them never thought their kids were going to make it."
Chloe chuckled. It was the end of her junior year, and summer vacation would begin tomorrow. She was attending the graduation ceremony to watch Claire and Diana receive their diplomas, as well as the boys. But especially Oliver. She knew there was no hiding from Mr. Christopher--or Mr. Williams for that matter--that that was her secret motive, but she was trying very hard not to think about it.
She and Oliver hadn't lasted long after the dance her freshman year. A few months...barely through the summer. He'd tried, bless him. But after a while it had gotten to be too much for him, and Chloe couldn't blame him. She hated every minute of it, but she didn't blame him. She cared too much about him to pretend it was his fault. He'd finally just looked her in the eye and said he couldn't deal with it any more.
She'd been ready for it. Mr. Williams had had mercy on her and given her fair warning that it was coming, but even if he hadn't, she would have known. Oliver might be good at reading her, but she knew him inside and out. She'd been able to see it in his eyes that it was getting to be too much for him. The secrets. It would have been too much for anyone, really. It was only fair to let him go, but she had clung to him selfishly to the last second. She knew it didn't mean that he didn't care about her. At least, she wanted to believe that.
"He does," Mr. Christopher ventured in for her and she looked up, no longer surprised when he did this sort of thing. "He still thinks about you just as often as he did when you first met. He wonders how you're doing and worries about you."
Chloe nodded, trying to choke back tears at the revelation.
Mr. Williams leaned forward and patted her arm comfortingly. "It gets--"
"Better, you promise," Chloe rolled her eyes, finishing the sentence for him. He'd been saying it for two years.
"It does. It's going to take a while to get there, but tomorrow is not the last you'll see of Oliver Queen, I promise."
Chloe wanted to believe more than she actually did.
"Even when the chips are down, Chloe, remember that. This is not the last you two will see of each other. There are going to be...times where you lose hope of that...I can't--"
"Can't tell me the specifics, I know," Chloe smiled softly, shaking her head. "Why do I even talk to the two of you?" Chloe demanded, unable to stop smiling at them in spite of her words.
"Because I provide coffee?" Mr. Christopher suggested.
She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together so as not to laugh. "It's a definite possibility." They were quiet for a while and Chloe swirled her coffee in her favorite mug. "I am so glad this year is over," she sighed exhaustedly.
"It was a long one for you," Mr. Williams agreed.
"You did well, though," Mr. Christopher added. "Though I still wish you would audition for another play."
"No, no," Chloe argued humorously. "The Tempest was my one and only moment on the stage. Just be glad I still take your class," she added, smirking.
"Yes, thank God you still grace me with your presence there," he smiled back, knowing just how much she really enjoyed it and how much she appreciated him as her teacher.
"I can't wait to be home for the summer," Chloe changed topics easily. "I still can't believe I got the internship. And please don't exchange one of those knowing glances with each other because I swear they're driving me absolutely crazy!" she added as the two teachers were about to do just that.
"Sorry," Mr. Williams said. "I'm sure you'll have a great summer, though."
Chloe narrowed her eyes at him, then she steeled herself. "And you're sure it's...you know...safe for me to be gone this summer?" she raised her eyebrows.
He nodded. "You'll be just fine. As will Clark."
"Thank God." Chloe still remembered that first summer with nausea. She had had to pull a giant splinter of meteor rock out of Clark's stomach. She'd never seen so much blood in her life and she honestly thought Clark had died and she was too late. She would never forget that moment of pure, unadulterated fear.
She'd almost lost her best friend.
"Well," Mr. Christopher glanced at his watch. "We should get going, and you've been having guilty thoughts about unfinished packing all morning," he raised a knowing eyebrow at Chloe.
She bit her lip, cheeks flushing. "I hate that you can do that," she said for the billionth time since their Sunday mornings had begun together.
She rose and gave both teachers a warm hug. "Thank you," she told them. "I'm going to miss this all summer."
"You'll e-mail us," Mr. Williams said before she could. "And we'll reply, don't worry. But make the most of that internship!"
"I will," Chloe nodded. "Keep me in the loop," she told them both seriously. "You know the number if anything serious comes up."
"Of course," Mr. Christopher nodded. "Go," he shooed her. "Have a great summer, Chloe. We'll be here when you get back. See some theatre while you're in Metropolis."
_______________________________________
Chloe heaved a sigh, finally sitting down on her bed and wiping her brow. The last of her things had finally been packed away. Except one thing.
She opened the drawer and pulled out a picture frame of her and Oliver that she hadn't dared to have on display since their breakup. She touched his face in the picture. She missed him. Closing her eyes to gather herself for a moment, she took a deep breath.
"Better pack you away, too, Ollie," she told the photo before turning to stick it in her suitcase. She pulled the zipper shut and that was it.
She was dressed in her green, yellow, and blue floral sundress for the graduation ceremony that afternoon, and as she looked around her now stripped room she felt a twinge of sadness. Next year would be painfully lonely with Claire and Diana gone.
She blinked back a few tears and all of a sudden Clark was in her room.
"Oh my God, Clark!" she clutched her heart. "I will never get used to that!"
"Sorry," he grinned, not appearing sorry at all. "I had a minute of free time, so I thought I'd see about picking up some of your luggage early." Clark had told her father that he was going to "drive" Chloe home from school. When questioned why, he answered that he didn't see enough of her that year, and she was going to be gone all summer, so he wanted the fun of the road trip together.
Of course, not seeing much of her that year was a lie. Clark dropped by at least once a week these days in lieu of their once-upon-a-time phone calls. Chloe could only assume that would continue through the summer.
"Thanks, I actually just finished," Chloe said, pulling herself together. Clark studied her.
"Is everything all right?" he asked gently.
Chloe brusquely brushed the tears away with back of her hand, smiling. "I'm just...going to miss the girls," she said. "It will be a lonely year next year. I've got other friends, but...there's only one Claire and one Diana in this world, that's for sure."
Clark nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I--"
He stopped short when someone knocked on the door.
"Do you want me to--"
"No, you can stay," Chloe said. "I'll just tell whoever it is you got into town early."
It was probably Claire, she assumed. And she was probably going to make Chloe cry.
She opened the door and her heart completely failed her.
"Can I come in?"
Chloe couldn't respond. She couldn't do anything but stand there.
Clark swiftly came to the rescue. He picked up one of her suitcases and walked over toward the door. He met the pair of brown eyes with a hint of warning. "I was just going to take one of Chloe's bags down to my car before I grab a bite to eat. I won't be back for a while, so I'm sure she has plenty of time to talk."
Oliver met Clark's eyes unwaveringly before nodding his gratitude. Clark gently nudged Chloe to the side to get past her. When he was long gone Oliver looked at Chloe for permission.
Starting slightly, she took another step to the side, as though to allow him in.
She and Oliver hadn't been able to avoid each other's company over the years, not with their mutual friends, but he rarely spoke to her if he could help it, and they were never left alone with each other. He certainly didn't seek her company, that was certain.
He stood in the middle of her empty room, dressed in collared shirt and tie for graduation, hands shoved in his pockets as he took in the sight of her suitcases. Chloe closed the door softly, taking a deep breath before turning to look at him, waiting.
"So..." he said slowly, not meeting her eyes right away. Then, grasping at straws, "So Clark's taking you home to Kansas, then? That's good. How's he doing?"
"Clark's good," was all she could manage. She had no idea what he was doing there, and she wasn't sure she trusted herself to speak or move or...breathe.
Oliver nodded. "That's good. You two are...." he trailed off, hoping for her to finish the sentence for him.
"As good of friends as ever," Chloe supplied, knowing what he was thinking.
He glanced out her window. "That's good," he repeated. Then, finally, he summoned up his courage and looked at her. "I wanted---I wanted to--well, hell if I know what I was thinking when I started walking over here, but I guess I wanted to see you because I figured we'd both pretend we couldn't see each other straight through the graduation ceremony and I was pretty sure I would go vomit afterwards if we did, so here I am."
Chloe blinked at this blunt explanation. "Oh."
"Yeah, 'oh.' " He rolled his eyes. "So I guess I'm here to apologize or something, but for the life of me, I don't know what I'm apologizing for."
Chloe smiled gently. He was still so...Oliver. "Maybe you needed to hear one instead?" she offered.
He looked at her in surprise and she sighed, walking over to her bed and sitting down, playing with the hem of her dress to busy her fingers.
"I am sorry, Oliver. I've been sorry every day since Spring Formal. Sorrier than you know, but the sad fact of the matter is that even now nothing's changed. I'm still keeping secrets and lying to people I love and I hate every minute of it but I've got to do it." She met his eyes pleadingly, and there was no doubt in his mind that she was sincere.
"Why?" he asked finally, his expression weary. "Why do it if you hate it?"
"Because there are things in this world that are so much more important than what I want, and this is one of them," she said a little sadly.
"I'll never understand what it is you got caught up in," he sighed, looking down and shaking his head. "I'll never get it."
"I think you will, someday," Chloe said to his surprise. He looked at her with his brows raised, but she wasn't looking at him, just out her window, her eyes very, very far away from him.
Mr. Christopher and Mr. Williams had never gone so far as to tell her exactly what her future was with Oliver, but they always insisted it got better and that he was part of the supposed 'great things' she would do. She couldn't believe that things would ever get better between them until he finally knew the truth. She knew she couldn't tell him today, no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't give that to him. But she clung to the hope that one day she would be able to come clean, if only to salvage their friendship.
She looked up at him, eyes glassy with un-shed tears and Oliver couldn't help but share in whatever bizarre conviction of hope she had. "Okay," he said finally, nodding. "If you say so."
"I've missed you," she said. "It won't be the same around here without you and everyone else."
He smiled for her benefit. "We'll all be in touch."
By which you mean, Claire and Diana and occasionally Geoff and Alden will be in touch, Chloe thought sadly. She doubted very much that she was going to hear from Oliver for a long time. "I know," she said. Then, before she could stop herself, "Write to me, once in a while, will you? Just the occasional e-mail. I'd like to know you're all right."
This time his smile was less artificial. "Once a week," he promised, whether or not Chloe believed him, and he knew she didn't. "I've missed talking to you. You always kept my head on straight."
Chloe chuckled. "You needed a lot of help," she teased.
He grinned, walking over to sit next to her and throwing an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "I seem to remember the affection was mutual."
"Not at first," she reminded him, a teasing smile on her lips.
Oliver rolled his eyes. "God I thought you hated me."
"I did," she laughed, "but mostly just because I was so gosh darn attracted to you! It drove me crazy because I was convinced I should be repulsed by you!"
He laughed. "Well I'm pretty sure I thought you were the most amazing person in the world from the first moment I saw you. In spite of the fact that you looked ready to murder me at any given moment."
Chloe frowned until she suddenly recalled that very first day she'd seen him, teasing Lex and Duncan. "I was planning to punch you, I think. I'm not sure. I didn't really think it through."
He grinned. "You also looked pretty ready to hit me the first time I kissed you," he reminded her, eyes dancing.
"You were such an arrogant jerk!" she accused.
"What do you mean I was? I like to think I still am."
I wouldn't know, Chloe thought sadly. "Probably," she said aloud. "So what are your plans?" she changed the subject.
He shrugged. "Yale--It's where my parents went.--Business degree. Run the company. Die. By the way, I'd like to be creamated. No open coffins at my funeral."
Chloe shoved him away. "Shut up!" she laughed. "Jeez, I'm depressed enough, thank you!"
He laughed too, eyes full of mirth. "Yeah, yeah, I know. What about you? You know what you'll do after next year?"
She shrugged. "Probably Metropolis University. Journalism."
He nodded. "Good. I'm glad that's still what you want to do."
She smiled. "Was there ever any doubt?"
"Only on your part," he grinned. "Although I admit I thought you had something going there with Shakespeare. Sure you haven't got any Hollywood aspirations?" he teased.
She laughed. "Three years later I still can't live that down."
"That's because you were amazing. Everyone loved you," he told her genuinely.
She smiled softly, blushing and looking down. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. She looked up at him. "This is a perfectly awful thing to say, but...I think I may have loved you."
Oliver was very still, unsure he'd heard her correctly as he turned to look at her and read her expression. She looked so vulnerable, scared of rejection for feelings she'd had ages ago, that nothing but the need to prevent insanity had made her confess to.
Personally, he thought his heart was going to explode in his chest and he couldn't tell if it were a positive or a negative feeling. He slid his hand over her cheek and threaded it into her hair, pulling her to him to plant a soft kiss on her lips. He felt her suck in a sharp breath at the contact as a thousand emotions flooded through him. He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers with his eyes closed, just trying to steady his breathing. He wanted to say he loved her, too, that he still loved her, but he knew her admission didn't change anything. She'd already said it. 'Even now nothing's changed.' The words echoed in his mind unfeelingly. He didn't think he could handle telling her he loved her only to have to walk away from her and deal with the fact that it wasn't enough. So he said nothing, just remained very still, wishing that time would stay still with him, long enough to figure out the solution that didn't exist.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke, afraid to open his eyes. "I should go....I have to...give a speech." His throat was tight, making words oddly difficult to form.
He opened his eyes and saw with a pang in his chest that tears were rolling down her cheeks. She nodded, though, wiping them away carelessly and putting on a brave face like she always did.
"I'll see you there," she promised.
"Say goodbye to me before you leave?" he practically begged.
"Of course," she smiled through her tears, and Oliver had half a mind to throw graduation to hell and just stay with her and kiss her until he could make her stop crying and make it--them--make sense.
But instead he stood from the bed, breaking away from her before he did something stupid. He tried to say something else, but for the life of him no words would come out, so he just left, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Not a minute after Oliver was gone, Clark appeared, pulling Chloe into his arms and hugging her as tightly as he could. "It's okay," he told her repeatedly as she cried into his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm so sorry, Chloe."
Clark knew he shouldn't have been listening in, but he'd had a feeling she was going to need him when Oliver left, and he hadn't been wrong. Clark would never quite get over the guilt that Chloe and Oliver hadn't worked out because she was keeping his secret. She'd never said that was the reason, but he'd known, deep down. It all came back to him. He squeezed her even tighter and rocked her soothingly.
"It's all going to be okay," he promised her.
Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three; Chapter Four; Chapter Five; Chapter Six; Chapter Seven; Chapter Eight; Chapter Nine; Chapter Ten; Chapter Eleven; Chapter Twelve ; Chapter Thirteen; Chapter Fourteen; Chapter Fifteen; Chapter Sixteen; Chapter Seventeen; Chapter Eighteen; Chapter Nineteen; Chapter Twenty; Chapter Twenty-One; Chapter Twenty-Two; Chapter Twenty-Three; Epilogue