Chapter 14! :)
I know I said I wasn't posting until tomorrow morning but I got impatient. :) Hope you all like this one. :D
Story: Never Say Goodbye
Pairing/Characters: Collie, Lollie, Chlimmy, Lexana, mentions of past Clana
Rating: R
Disclaimer: don’t own anything
Warning: slash, mentions of m/m sex
Spoilers: season 6, starts at 6x04, Arrow
Summary: That night at the penthouse was not the first time Clark met Oliver Queen. He has met him before but he just doesn’t remember where or when. But as the memories return, Clark finds out that his fateful summer in Metropolis is not as long gone as he thought it was.
Chapter 14
After filling in Oliver on the details, Clark promised to go find out exactly what proof Lois had and get back to him. Oliver sounded worried on the phone and Clark repeatedly assured him that they would find a plan. He knew exactly what Oliver was going through. Too many times had his secret been close to exposure. Lois may be dating Oliver and she may care about him deeply, for all he knew, but in the end, she was working to be a reporter. He had no clue how she would take the news or any idea what she would do with the information.
So he headed toward Lois’s apartment and was happy when he found she wasn’t around. He did find the pictures she was describing and his heart sank as he realized she wasn’t kidding around.
He heard footsteps and he saw Chloe. She stopped when she saw him. “I swear I'm losing my scare reflex because of you.”
“Lois asked me to . . .” he started but she didn’t let him finish.
“Oh, please, Clark,” she said dismissively. “Are you going to tell me why you're digging in Lois' purse, snoop dogg? Wait. Let me guess. You're covering for the new pledge of your hero fraternity.”
“Last time Lois said she had a lead on the Green Arrow, she was just bluffing,” Clark explained. “Now she says Jimmy has shots that will help I.D. him.”
“Jimmy?” Chloe repeated. “He's moonlighting for Lois?”
“I guess we all have secrets to keep,” Clark said pointedly. “You should know that better than anyone right now. You knew that Lana was pregnant, didn't you?”
Then it was like the straw that broke the camel’s back. Chloe exploded. "Clark, before you unload your anger on me, can I just say that I think it is incredibly unfair that everyone trusts me to keep their secrets, and then they turn around and they throw me attitude for keeping someone else's secret?” she said, raising her voice. “Look, I'm sorry that I had to take a two-second breather from hiding the fact that you are an alien from another planet to protect someone else for a change. God!”
Immediately feeling guilty, Clark took her in his arms and just held her.
“You had that coming, you know?” Chloe asked her head resting on his chest.
He pulled away and looked at her intensively. “For the record . . . I prefer ‘intergalactic traveler’ over ‘alien from another planet’,” he said seriously.
Chloe chucked and he was glad that they weren’t fighting. He knew sometimes he acted like an idiot and he was glad Chloe was so forgiving.
“So what are you going to do?” Chloe asked.
“I don’t know,” Clark confessed. “I mean, I’m torn.”
“I know you’ll figure it out,” Chloe said confidently. “And you sounded a little off on the phone this morning . . .”
“Oliver was there,” he said and quickly filled her in on what happened. He filtered out the parts about Oliver catching him floating and the discussion on his flying.
“Oh no!” Chloe said, “I’m so sorry Clark.”
“What are you apologizing for?” he asked.
“For interrupting,” she said, “You almost kissed! That’s huge.”
“Chloe it was nothing,” he insisted, “In fact, I’m glad you called. You stopped me from making a big mistake.”
“If kissing Oliver Queen counts as a mistake, I wouldn’t mind making more of those type of mistakes,” Chloe said with a smile.
“He’s dating Lois,” Clark said, “And why do I feel as if we’ve had this conversation several times?”
“Because we have,” Chloe replied promptly. “But that doesn’t discount the fact he has feelings for you.” Before Clark could protest she shook her head. “From what I could tell, you two were doing some major flirting and if I hadn’t called, he would’ve kissed you. Clark, I can understand that you’re trying to spare Lois but with your plan, more people are going to get hurt. You need to be upfront with Oliver and the two of you need to figure out where you stand. That way, Lois can get out of the relationship before she invests too much into it.”
He knew she was right. “I guess. I got to go anyhow. Need to figure out this whole Lois-Oliver-Green Arrow deal.”
“Good luck,” she said.
“Thanks, I think I’ll need it,” he replied and took off. When he reached home, he called Oliver again and updated him on the situation.
“Those pictures exist,” he said.
“Great,” Oliver said, sounding tired, “I don’t know what to do now, Clark. Should I tell her?”
“You can’t just tell her,” Clark replied, “If you do, she’ll suspect something’s up and then it will lead right back to me. That would be good for neither one of us.”
“Then what do we do?” Oliver asked.
“We need a plan,” Clark said, “Lois wants to figure out a plan to expose you.”
“What if,” Oliver said slowly, “You pretend you’re helping her out and really, we come up with a plan to make sure she doesn’t find out?”
“Got any ideas?” Clark wasn’t too fond of all the deception that was taking place but he knew he had no choice.
“Just one,” Oliver responded, “And I’m going to need your help.”
Clark listened patiently as Oliver spilled the details of his plan. He had a few doubts but he agreed to go along with it.
His next step was to call Lois. She met him the barn fairly quickly.
“Hey, I got your call. What's the 911?” she said.
“I've been thinking,” Clark said. “Maybe your Oliver theory isn't so far out there. And if he is the Green Arrow, you deserve to know the truth.”
“Really?” Lois said, doubt etching her features. “Because I've been doing some thinking of my own, and . . . maybe I don't want to know. I went through all the articles on Green Arrow's crimes, and what if we just got off on the wrong foot? I mean, the whole ‘rob from the rich to give to the poor’ thing . . . that wins him some points, right?”
He glanced at her suspiciously. She didn’t sound anything like the Lois he knew. “Are you feeling okay?”
“No! I'm not all right, Clark,” she exclaimed. “I think I'm in love with Oliver.” He froze. This was not happening . . . it had to be some nightmare. Lois started to pace around the barn.
“I don't know how you ever let Lana go if you felt this way,” she went on. “Because I swear, the guy could tell me he was from Mars right now, and I would find a way to dismiss it as an endearing quirk.”
He tried to remain rational about the situation. “Lois, you're like a pit bull on a pant leg,” he said. “You're never going to let this go until you know for sure.”
She looked frustrated. “I hate that you know me like that,” she said. “But I can't just pull a Lois and ambush him. What if I'm wrong?”
He tried to look thoughtful, as if an idea just struck him. “What if you never need to confront him?”
She seemed intrigued. “Hmm. You got a plan?”
“Just one,” he said, with a smile. He quickly filled Lois in on his ideas and when he was done, he was pleased to see she looked impressed.
“Well, Smallville, you really have been thinking this through,” Lois said, “Nice work. Now I’m going to go call Oliver.”
He nodded. “Sounds good . . . see you later, Lois.”
“I’ll call you,” she said over her shoulder as she moved toward the exit, “And let you know when we’re going to be meeting.”
He didn’t say anything and just waited until she left. Right on cue, his phone rang as he heard the car drive off.
Glancing at the caller ID, he was not surprised to see Oliver’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” he said.
“So how’s the plan going?” Oliver asked. “Did she fall for it?” He remembered her declaration of love for Oliver and felt slightly guilty but didn’t bring it up.
“She fell for it all right,” he said, “Our plan is right on schedule. She should be calling you any minute now.”
“Then I’ll get off the phone,” Oliver responded, “See you tonight?”
“Tonight,” he echoed and hung up.
Tonight, everything would change . . . he would betray one of his closest friends to protect the identity of her boyfriend. Her boyfriend . . . and the man they were both in love with.
“That way Lois can get out of the relationship before she invests too much into it.” Chloe’s words hit him hard.
Too little, too late, Chlo, he thought sadly. Now he definitely couldn’t do anything. Lois was not the type of person to give herself to any man. If she was thinking she was in love, then this was serious and Clark would just have to step back.
Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, he got ready for what was to come. He didn’t have to wait for Lois’s call, in which she told him what he already knew. He was expected at Oliver’s place at 7 pm, for a “movie night”.
The day moved slowly but when the time came, he ran to Metropolis. As he waited in the elevator, he could hear Lois’s voice.
“Isn't this exciting?” he heard her say. “Our first group movie night. I mean, don't you just love spontaneity?” Oh Lois, he thought, you really should’ve been an actress.
The elevator stopped and gave off a ding to show he had arrived. It opened and he was greeted with Lois.
“Clark, come on in,” she said, taking the popcorn and soda from his hands. “Let me get your jacket.”
Overdoing it a bit, Lois? He knew she was nervous . . . he could feel it.
“Thanks for having me over,” he said. He glanced around the room. “Lois, looks like you went all out.” He met Oliver’s eyes briefly.
“Well, it's not a party until you . . .” she said but stopped suddenly. “Oh, no. I can't believe I did that. You can't have cocktails without ice.” She shook her head. “Don't worry. Yours will be virgin.”
If she only knew that he could handle more alcohol than anyone and have no reaction. But he wasn’t going to let her in on that particular tidbit.
“I'll run to the corner,” Oliver offered. “I can grab it.”
“No, no, I got it!” she said quickly. “My party, my bad.” Then she was gone.
“Think she suspects anything?” Oliver asked, approaching him.
“I think she's a little preoccupied,” Clark assured him.
“Then it's show time,” Oliver declared. He opened his hidden Green Arrow room and entered it, only to emerge a few minutes later.
Clark cringed as he handed him the costume. This was not something he was looking forward to.
“Don’t worry,” Oliver said, clearly amused at his reluctance, “I had it slightly altered.”
“Fast work,” Clark observed.
“Let’s get a move on shall we?” Oliver said. Clark nodded and went to an empty room to change.
He grimaced as he put on the last pieces of the uniform. How did Oliver go out in this every day? The leather was uncomfortable, to say the least.
Oliver was on the phone when he got back, presumably with Lois. He hung up.
“Time for you to go,” Oliver said and Clark nodded.
When he found the alley that Lois was in, he saw the thugs that they had sent. Jimmy was there too and both are fighting off the thugs.
He threw one of the thugs across the alley and was going to reach for an arrow but the other two were already running away. That was a relief . . . he didn’t want to actually use the bow.
Lois came closer and gave him a confident smile. “Your secret's safe with me, Oliver,” she said softly.
What happened next he would’ve never imagined ever. Because after her promise, she proceeded to kiss him.
He could hear the flashes go off as Jimmy began to snap pictures and he had no clue what to do. Lois was kissing him. She pulled away, clearly realizing that she wasn’t kissing Oliver.
“You’re . . . uh,” she started. That was when Oliver showed up, still in his street clothes.
“That’s a hell of a thank you,” he commented.
Lois’s eyes were wide and she quickly slapped him. He didn’t feel anything but went with the slap, to avoid suspicion. She turned to Oliver, smiling sheepishly.
He used that as time to leave and he knew all eyes were on him as he disappeared in a flash. Stopping at a corner, he removed his hood and glasses, shocked at what happened.
No time to mull, he decided. Oliver and Lois would be heading back so he had to beat them there. Which was no problem at all. He arrived at the penthouse in seconds. Quickly, he removed the Green Arrow uniform, only too relieved to get out of it, and back into his regular clothes.
Their plan had worked but nobody had seen that kiss coming. He wasn’t ready to face either one of them. How could he face Oliver after kissing his girlfriend? After hiding the costume in Oliver’s Green Arrow room, he headed home.
Lois was a good kisser but he found she just didn’t do anything for him. He hoped everything worked out between Oliver and Lois because as much as it hurt him to see them together, he wanted Oliver to be happy. If Lois made him happy, so be it.
He did go see Chloe the next day and when he entered the apartment, he found both Lois and Chloe there.
“Clark,” Chloe said.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Uh, Lois was just telling me about her exciting night last night,” Chloe explained.
“Yeah, I don't know where you disappeared to last night, Smallville, but it turns out I was wrong about Oliver,” Lois told him.
Chloe was looking devious and he just knew that she had figured out that Oliver was the Green Arrow and he had covered for him last night.
“He's not the Green Arrow!” Chloe exclaimed, in mock surprise. “Can you believe that? Luckily Oliver showed up when our hero was still around, but it looks like you were way off base about him. And the craziest part is he chucked a guy across an alley, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Lois confirmed.
“And then supersped away,” Chloe continued. “I mean, who does that?”
She looked directly at Clark when she said this, a huge smile on her face. Busted.
“Hmm,” Clark said, trying to remain calm. “It's a good thing Oliver showed up when he did. Then you know for sure.”
“Oh, she knew before he showed up,” Chloe responded.
“You did?” Clark asked.
“Ask her how,” Chloe said.
“How?” Clark asked.
“I kissed him,” Lois said.
Stay calm, Clark, he told himself. He knew this story. Or at least he thought he did.
“Isn't that romantic?” Chloe said. “Oh, I'm sorry, Lois. Finish the story.” Clark tried to interrupt, wanting to leave but Chloe put her hand on his chest before he could do anything. “This is the best part.”
“Well, he was holding me in his arms,” Lois gushed. “And Ollie's a good kisser . . . don't get me wrong . . . but that Green Arrow, he could teach Ollie a thing or two.” Taking a sip of her coffee, she stood up off the couch and walked past them, a smile on her face.
Clark shook his head and smiled. Chloe was staring at him with a grin on her face. He met her eyes and sighed. Just when he thought his life couldn’t get any stranger, this happened.
He made a quick excuse to leave before she could ask any questions. The rest of the day, he avoided any phone calls and prayed that Oliver didn’t make a spontaneous visit. His friend was going to be upset and he would apologize . . . when he got the nerve to see him.
Clark was relaxing in his loft when he heard footsteps. It wasn’t Oliver, much to his relief but he saw who it was, he almost wished it was Oliver. Lana.
“Sorry that you had to find out like this,” Lana said.
“It's okay,” Clark told her. “You don't have to tell me every little detail of your life anymore.”
“Clark, we both know that a proposal is more than a little detail,” Lana protested. “And as messed up as it is . . . you were the first person that I wanted to tell.”
That was messed up. Why would she think he would want to hear about her engagement to his ex-best friend?
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” he asked.
“Clark, you said that you didn't love me anymore, and I tried to cut everything off, but I'm not made that way,” Lana said. “Even if we're not talking, you are still a part of my life, and I'm not trying to deny it anymore. I'm trying to put it into perspective.”
“I guess we both need to do that,” Clark agreed. He certainly needed to figure out how he was going to handle seeing Oliver, being so in love with him.
“Chloe said that you came by to talk to me,” Lana said. “What was it about? Whatever secret Chloe is helping you to protect, Clark . . . please, just once . . . just trust me.”
Trust you? What, was she kidding? She was so close to Lex and she wanted him to let her know his biggest secret? Seeing her pleading gaze, he felt a twinge of guilt but pushed it away quickly.
“It doesn’t matter now,” he stated, turning away from her. He couldn’t bear to see the pain on her face. Lana Lang would always hold a part of his heart and no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t close himself off to her either.
She put a hand on his arm. “Clark, don’t do that.”
“I know about the baby,” he said, “Lex told me. Everything's changed.”
“Even the fact that you told me that you look back at the past and regret it every day?” Lana questioned. “Has that changed, too? I guess that I can't ask you to see me the same way.”
She turned to leave, walking down the stairs but Clark stopped her.
“Lana,” he said and when she looked at him, he took a deep breath. “I hope Lex makes you very happy.” She nodded and left.
That had to be the hardest conversation he had ever had. But all in all, he wished her happiness. It couldn’t be with him . . . their time had passed. Hopefully, Lex would make her happy. If he didn’t, Clark would have something to say about it.
He was tired, just wanted to head to bed. It had been a long day. Just as he was about to head down the stairs, he heard someone walk up.
And was shocked to see Oliver at the bottom of the steps. Oh no, he thought. It seemed confrontation time was now.
“Oliver, look, about what happened,” he started. But Oliver wasn’t saying anything.
Oliver quickly closed the distance between them, until they were standing face to face.
“Oliver,” he began again but Oliver refused to let him speak.
In one swift move, Oliver crushed his mouth on Clark’s. He was taken aback for a moment but then gave himself completely to the kiss, wrapping his arms around Oliver.
The kiss escaladed in passion quickly, Oliver’s mouth exploring every inch of his own and he returned it enthusiastically.
Just as abruptly as the kiss started, it ended. Oliver pulled away, both of them breathless.
Oliver took a few quick sharp breaths. “Now we’re even,” Oliver told him.
And as quickly as he came, he was gone, leaving Clark standing there, wide eyed, staring at the spot where the blonde had previously stood, wondering what the hell had happened.
Chapter 15
Story: Never Say Goodbye
Pairing/Characters: Collie, Lollie, Chlimmy, Lexana, mentions of past Clana
Rating: R
Disclaimer: don’t own anything
Warning: slash, mentions of m/m sex
Spoilers: season 6, starts at 6x04, Arrow
Summary: That night at the penthouse was not the first time Clark met Oliver Queen. He has met him before but he just doesn’t remember where or when. But as the memories return, Clark finds out that his fateful summer in Metropolis is not as long gone as he thought it was.
Chapter 14
After filling in Oliver on the details, Clark promised to go find out exactly what proof Lois had and get back to him. Oliver sounded worried on the phone and Clark repeatedly assured him that they would find a plan. He knew exactly what Oliver was going through. Too many times had his secret been close to exposure. Lois may be dating Oliver and she may care about him deeply, for all he knew, but in the end, she was working to be a reporter. He had no clue how she would take the news or any idea what she would do with the information.
So he headed toward Lois’s apartment and was happy when he found she wasn’t around. He did find the pictures she was describing and his heart sank as he realized she wasn’t kidding around.
He heard footsteps and he saw Chloe. She stopped when she saw him. “I swear I'm losing my scare reflex because of you.”
“Lois asked me to . . .” he started but she didn’t let him finish.
“Oh, please, Clark,” she said dismissively. “Are you going to tell me why you're digging in Lois' purse, snoop dogg? Wait. Let me guess. You're covering for the new pledge of your hero fraternity.”
“Last time Lois said she had a lead on the Green Arrow, she was just bluffing,” Clark explained. “Now she says Jimmy has shots that will help I.D. him.”
“Jimmy?” Chloe repeated. “He's moonlighting for Lois?”
“I guess we all have secrets to keep,” Clark said pointedly. “You should know that better than anyone right now. You knew that Lana was pregnant, didn't you?”
Then it was like the straw that broke the camel’s back. Chloe exploded. "Clark, before you unload your anger on me, can I just say that I think it is incredibly unfair that everyone trusts me to keep their secrets, and then they turn around and they throw me attitude for keeping someone else's secret?” she said, raising her voice. “Look, I'm sorry that I had to take a two-second breather from hiding the fact that you are an alien from another planet to protect someone else for a change. God!”
Immediately feeling guilty, Clark took her in his arms and just held her.
“You had that coming, you know?” Chloe asked her head resting on his chest.
He pulled away and looked at her intensively. “For the record . . . I prefer ‘intergalactic traveler’ over ‘alien from another planet’,” he said seriously.
Chloe chucked and he was glad that they weren’t fighting. He knew sometimes he acted like an idiot and he was glad Chloe was so forgiving.
“So what are you going to do?” Chloe asked.
“I don’t know,” Clark confessed. “I mean, I’m torn.”
“I know you’ll figure it out,” Chloe said confidently. “And you sounded a little off on the phone this morning . . .”
“Oliver was there,” he said and quickly filled her in on what happened. He filtered out the parts about Oliver catching him floating and the discussion on his flying.
“Oh no!” Chloe said, “I’m so sorry Clark.”
“What are you apologizing for?” he asked.
“For interrupting,” she said, “You almost kissed! That’s huge.”
“Chloe it was nothing,” he insisted, “In fact, I’m glad you called. You stopped me from making a big mistake.”
“If kissing Oliver Queen counts as a mistake, I wouldn’t mind making more of those type of mistakes,” Chloe said with a smile.
“He’s dating Lois,” Clark said, “And why do I feel as if we’ve had this conversation several times?”
“Because we have,” Chloe replied promptly. “But that doesn’t discount the fact he has feelings for you.” Before Clark could protest she shook her head. “From what I could tell, you two were doing some major flirting and if I hadn’t called, he would’ve kissed you. Clark, I can understand that you’re trying to spare Lois but with your plan, more people are going to get hurt. You need to be upfront with Oliver and the two of you need to figure out where you stand. That way, Lois can get out of the relationship before she invests too much into it.”
He knew she was right. “I guess. I got to go anyhow. Need to figure out this whole Lois-Oliver-Green Arrow deal.”
“Good luck,” she said.
“Thanks, I think I’ll need it,” he replied and took off. When he reached home, he called Oliver again and updated him on the situation.
“Those pictures exist,” he said.
“Great,” Oliver said, sounding tired, “I don’t know what to do now, Clark. Should I tell her?”
“You can’t just tell her,” Clark replied, “If you do, she’ll suspect something’s up and then it will lead right back to me. That would be good for neither one of us.”
“Then what do we do?” Oliver asked.
“We need a plan,” Clark said, “Lois wants to figure out a plan to expose you.”
“What if,” Oliver said slowly, “You pretend you’re helping her out and really, we come up with a plan to make sure she doesn’t find out?”
“Got any ideas?” Clark wasn’t too fond of all the deception that was taking place but he knew he had no choice.
“Just one,” Oliver responded, “And I’m going to need your help.”
Clark listened patiently as Oliver spilled the details of his plan. He had a few doubts but he agreed to go along with it.
His next step was to call Lois. She met him the barn fairly quickly.
“Hey, I got your call. What's the 911?” she said.
“I've been thinking,” Clark said. “Maybe your Oliver theory isn't so far out there. And if he is the Green Arrow, you deserve to know the truth.”
“Really?” Lois said, doubt etching her features. “Because I've been doing some thinking of my own, and . . . maybe I don't want to know. I went through all the articles on Green Arrow's crimes, and what if we just got off on the wrong foot? I mean, the whole ‘rob from the rich to give to the poor’ thing . . . that wins him some points, right?”
He glanced at her suspiciously. She didn’t sound anything like the Lois he knew. “Are you feeling okay?”
“No! I'm not all right, Clark,” she exclaimed. “I think I'm in love with Oliver.” He froze. This was not happening . . . it had to be some nightmare. Lois started to pace around the barn.
“I don't know how you ever let Lana go if you felt this way,” she went on. “Because I swear, the guy could tell me he was from Mars right now, and I would find a way to dismiss it as an endearing quirk.”
He tried to remain rational about the situation. “Lois, you're like a pit bull on a pant leg,” he said. “You're never going to let this go until you know for sure.”
She looked frustrated. “I hate that you know me like that,” she said. “But I can't just pull a Lois and ambush him. What if I'm wrong?”
He tried to look thoughtful, as if an idea just struck him. “What if you never need to confront him?”
She seemed intrigued. “Hmm. You got a plan?”
“Just one,” he said, with a smile. He quickly filled Lois in on his ideas and when he was done, he was pleased to see she looked impressed.
“Well, Smallville, you really have been thinking this through,” Lois said, “Nice work. Now I’m going to go call Oliver.”
He nodded. “Sounds good . . . see you later, Lois.”
“I’ll call you,” she said over her shoulder as she moved toward the exit, “And let you know when we’re going to be meeting.”
He didn’t say anything and just waited until she left. Right on cue, his phone rang as he heard the car drive off.
Glancing at the caller ID, he was not surprised to see Oliver’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” he said.
“So how’s the plan going?” Oliver asked. “Did she fall for it?” He remembered her declaration of love for Oliver and felt slightly guilty but didn’t bring it up.
“She fell for it all right,” he said, “Our plan is right on schedule. She should be calling you any minute now.”
“Then I’ll get off the phone,” Oliver responded, “See you tonight?”
“Tonight,” he echoed and hung up.
Tonight, everything would change . . . he would betray one of his closest friends to protect the identity of her boyfriend. Her boyfriend . . . and the man they were both in love with.
“That way Lois can get out of the relationship before she invests too much into it.” Chloe’s words hit him hard.
Too little, too late, Chlo, he thought sadly. Now he definitely couldn’t do anything. Lois was not the type of person to give herself to any man. If she was thinking she was in love, then this was serious and Clark would just have to step back.
Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, he got ready for what was to come. He didn’t have to wait for Lois’s call, in which she told him what he already knew. He was expected at Oliver’s place at 7 pm, for a “movie night”.
The day moved slowly but when the time came, he ran to Metropolis. As he waited in the elevator, he could hear Lois’s voice.
“Isn't this exciting?” he heard her say. “Our first group movie night. I mean, don't you just love spontaneity?” Oh Lois, he thought, you really should’ve been an actress.
The elevator stopped and gave off a ding to show he had arrived. It opened and he was greeted with Lois.
“Clark, come on in,” she said, taking the popcorn and soda from his hands. “Let me get your jacket.”
Overdoing it a bit, Lois? He knew she was nervous . . . he could feel it.
“Thanks for having me over,” he said. He glanced around the room. “Lois, looks like you went all out.” He met Oliver’s eyes briefly.
“Well, it's not a party until you . . .” she said but stopped suddenly. “Oh, no. I can't believe I did that. You can't have cocktails without ice.” She shook her head. “Don't worry. Yours will be virgin.”
If she only knew that he could handle more alcohol than anyone and have no reaction. But he wasn’t going to let her in on that particular tidbit.
“I'll run to the corner,” Oliver offered. “I can grab it.”
“No, no, I got it!” she said quickly. “My party, my bad.” Then she was gone.
“Think she suspects anything?” Oliver asked, approaching him.
“I think she's a little preoccupied,” Clark assured him.
“Then it's show time,” Oliver declared. He opened his hidden Green Arrow room and entered it, only to emerge a few minutes later.
Clark cringed as he handed him the costume. This was not something he was looking forward to.
“Don’t worry,” Oliver said, clearly amused at his reluctance, “I had it slightly altered.”
“Fast work,” Clark observed.
“Let’s get a move on shall we?” Oliver said. Clark nodded and went to an empty room to change.
He grimaced as he put on the last pieces of the uniform. How did Oliver go out in this every day? The leather was uncomfortable, to say the least.
Oliver was on the phone when he got back, presumably with Lois. He hung up.
“Time for you to go,” Oliver said and Clark nodded.
When he found the alley that Lois was in, he saw the thugs that they had sent. Jimmy was there too and both are fighting off the thugs.
He threw one of the thugs across the alley and was going to reach for an arrow but the other two were already running away. That was a relief . . . he didn’t want to actually use the bow.
Lois came closer and gave him a confident smile. “Your secret's safe with me, Oliver,” she said softly.
What happened next he would’ve never imagined ever. Because after her promise, she proceeded to kiss him.
He could hear the flashes go off as Jimmy began to snap pictures and he had no clue what to do. Lois was kissing him. She pulled away, clearly realizing that she wasn’t kissing Oliver.
“You’re . . . uh,” she started. That was when Oliver showed up, still in his street clothes.
“That’s a hell of a thank you,” he commented.
Lois’s eyes were wide and she quickly slapped him. He didn’t feel anything but went with the slap, to avoid suspicion. She turned to Oliver, smiling sheepishly.
He used that as time to leave and he knew all eyes were on him as he disappeared in a flash. Stopping at a corner, he removed his hood and glasses, shocked at what happened.
No time to mull, he decided. Oliver and Lois would be heading back so he had to beat them there. Which was no problem at all. He arrived at the penthouse in seconds. Quickly, he removed the Green Arrow uniform, only too relieved to get out of it, and back into his regular clothes.
Their plan had worked but nobody had seen that kiss coming. He wasn’t ready to face either one of them. How could he face Oliver after kissing his girlfriend? After hiding the costume in Oliver’s Green Arrow room, he headed home.
Lois was a good kisser but he found she just didn’t do anything for him. He hoped everything worked out between Oliver and Lois because as much as it hurt him to see them together, he wanted Oliver to be happy. If Lois made him happy, so be it.
He did go see Chloe the next day and when he entered the apartment, he found both Lois and Chloe there.
“Clark,” Chloe said.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Uh, Lois was just telling me about her exciting night last night,” Chloe explained.
“Yeah, I don't know where you disappeared to last night, Smallville, but it turns out I was wrong about Oliver,” Lois told him.
Chloe was looking devious and he just knew that she had figured out that Oliver was the Green Arrow and he had covered for him last night.
“He's not the Green Arrow!” Chloe exclaimed, in mock surprise. “Can you believe that? Luckily Oliver showed up when our hero was still around, but it looks like you were way off base about him. And the craziest part is he chucked a guy across an alley, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Lois confirmed.
“And then supersped away,” Chloe continued. “I mean, who does that?”
She looked directly at Clark when she said this, a huge smile on her face. Busted.
“Hmm,” Clark said, trying to remain calm. “It's a good thing Oliver showed up when he did. Then you know for sure.”
“Oh, she knew before he showed up,” Chloe responded.
“You did?” Clark asked.
“Ask her how,” Chloe said.
“How?” Clark asked.
“I kissed him,” Lois said.
Stay calm, Clark, he told himself. He knew this story. Or at least he thought he did.
“Isn't that romantic?” Chloe said. “Oh, I'm sorry, Lois. Finish the story.” Clark tried to interrupt, wanting to leave but Chloe put her hand on his chest before he could do anything. “This is the best part.”
“Well, he was holding me in his arms,” Lois gushed. “And Ollie's a good kisser . . . don't get me wrong . . . but that Green Arrow, he could teach Ollie a thing or two.” Taking a sip of her coffee, she stood up off the couch and walked past them, a smile on her face.
Clark shook his head and smiled. Chloe was staring at him with a grin on her face. He met her eyes and sighed. Just when he thought his life couldn’t get any stranger, this happened.
He made a quick excuse to leave before she could ask any questions. The rest of the day, he avoided any phone calls and prayed that Oliver didn’t make a spontaneous visit. His friend was going to be upset and he would apologize . . . when he got the nerve to see him.
Clark was relaxing in his loft when he heard footsteps. It wasn’t Oliver, much to his relief but he saw who it was, he almost wished it was Oliver. Lana.
“Sorry that you had to find out like this,” Lana said.
“It's okay,” Clark told her. “You don't have to tell me every little detail of your life anymore.”
“Clark, we both know that a proposal is more than a little detail,” Lana protested. “And as messed up as it is . . . you were the first person that I wanted to tell.”
That was messed up. Why would she think he would want to hear about her engagement to his ex-best friend?
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” he asked.
“Clark, you said that you didn't love me anymore, and I tried to cut everything off, but I'm not made that way,” Lana said. “Even if we're not talking, you are still a part of my life, and I'm not trying to deny it anymore. I'm trying to put it into perspective.”
“I guess we both need to do that,” Clark agreed. He certainly needed to figure out how he was going to handle seeing Oliver, being so in love with him.
“Chloe said that you came by to talk to me,” Lana said. “What was it about? Whatever secret Chloe is helping you to protect, Clark . . . please, just once . . . just trust me.”
Trust you? What, was she kidding? She was so close to Lex and she wanted him to let her know his biggest secret? Seeing her pleading gaze, he felt a twinge of guilt but pushed it away quickly.
“It doesn’t matter now,” he stated, turning away from her. He couldn’t bear to see the pain on her face. Lana Lang would always hold a part of his heart and no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t close himself off to her either.
She put a hand on his arm. “Clark, don’t do that.”
“I know about the baby,” he said, “Lex told me. Everything's changed.”
“Even the fact that you told me that you look back at the past and regret it every day?” Lana questioned. “Has that changed, too? I guess that I can't ask you to see me the same way.”
She turned to leave, walking down the stairs but Clark stopped her.
“Lana,” he said and when she looked at him, he took a deep breath. “I hope Lex makes you very happy.” She nodded and left.
That had to be the hardest conversation he had ever had. But all in all, he wished her happiness. It couldn’t be with him . . . their time had passed. Hopefully, Lex would make her happy. If he didn’t, Clark would have something to say about it.
He was tired, just wanted to head to bed. It had been a long day. Just as he was about to head down the stairs, he heard someone walk up.
And was shocked to see Oliver at the bottom of the steps. Oh no, he thought. It seemed confrontation time was now.
“Oliver, look, about what happened,” he started. But Oliver wasn’t saying anything.
Oliver quickly closed the distance between them, until they were standing face to face.
“Oliver,” he began again but Oliver refused to let him speak.
In one swift move, Oliver crushed his mouth on Clark’s. He was taken aback for a moment but then gave himself completely to the kiss, wrapping his arms around Oliver.
The kiss escaladed in passion quickly, Oliver’s mouth exploring every inch of his own and he returned it enthusiastically.
Just as abruptly as the kiss started, it ended. Oliver pulled away, both of them breathless.
Oliver took a few quick sharp breaths. “Now we’re even,” Oliver told him.
And as quickly as he came, he was gone, leaving Clark standing there, wide eyed, staring at the spot where the blonde had previously stood, wondering what the hell had happened.
Chapter 15