An Exceptional Young Woman--Part 16/23
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
~~So, this chapter took much longer than usual because I was halfway done with it when I accidentally deleted it. I know. I'm technologically savvy like that. It's a gift.
Anyway, read on.~~
--16--
Chloe returned to classes in a bit of a daze, not entirely sure what was happening around her.
Claire, she internally noted somewhere in her mind's recesses, had returned to classes, which was good. Claire and DIana spent most of their day shooting Chloe curious glances and exchanging significant glances with each other. In the end, Claire decided to temporarily spare Chloe and write it off as exhaustion from her trip to Smallville and..other recent events.
Chloe was not exhausted, however. She was very much awake, a strange fluttery sensation in her stomach ensuring that fact. She seemed hyper-aware of everything that touched her, she noticed. Her clothes, her chair, her bag, her desk...the feel of the pages in her book as she turned them, the people who bumped into her or brushed against her in the hallway. She also couldn't stop her fingers from drifting up to her lips every so often, brushing over them questioningly.
Her lunch was spent in meetings with teachers and the editor of the paper, finding out what work she had to catch up on.
She acknowledged a vague sense of disappointment when Claire informed her that the drama department had gotten its auditoium back, so they were staying in St. Joan's.
She expected Mr. Christopher to ask her to give her monologue, and he looked ready to do just that before he stopped, shook his head with a knowing smile, and told her simply, "Tomorrow." At the end of class he added sincerely, "By the way, Chloe, I'm glad to know your father was all right."
Chloe just nodded her thanks, not entirely certain how he knew whether her father were all right or not, before allowing herself to be carted off by Claire who "desperately" needed her for a costume fitting--which was fair enough considering Chloe's fitting was supposed to be a week ago.
"So," Claire said casually, a pin in her teeth and a yellow tape measure draped about her neck as she toyed with Chloe's hemline, "Diana mentioned you talked to Ollie yesterday, too."
"Hmm?" Chloe snapped out of her reverie at the mention of Oliver's name. "Oh. Yeah. He was in pretty bad shape."
Claire nodded understandingly, her fingers moving deftly over the fabric as she littered it with carefully placed pins. "he seemed better today, according to Di. I wouldn't know, " she added contritely. "I just noticed he seemed pretty concerned about the fact that you weren't there," she added.
Chloe's cheeks tinged pink, a fact which did not escape Claire's hawklike eyes.
"I got the impression he was worried you were avoiding him," she added.
"I wasn't," Chloe assured quickly. "I had to talk withy my--"
"Teachers," Claire nodded, stepping back to eye the hem. "That's what I told him." Her eyes now lost all pretense of studying the costume and instead fixed determinedly on Chloe's. "I said I was sure there was absolutely no reason why you would be avoiding him. He didn't look placated."
Chloe chewed her lip nervously.
"There isn't any reason you would be avoiding him is there?"
"I'm not--"
"I didn't say you were. I just wanted to know if there was a reason you would."
Her eyes darted anxiously to the doorway, but she knew there was no escape. Then, before she could prevent it, the words burst forth unbidden from her lips, "Wemighthavekissed."
Claire dropped her scissors in shock. Chloe instinctively braced herself for the inevitable "I told you so" speech, but it never came. "Oh my god! He kissed you? This is amazing!" she squeaked excitedly, flinging herself unthinkingly at Chloe and jumping up and down with her arms around Chloe, causing both of them to get stuck by a few pins.
"Ow! Claire, get off," Chloe attempted unsuccessfully. "Technically I kissed him. And then we kissed. And then he kissed me."
There were no words to describe the excited squeal that emitted from Claire's throat. She hugged Chloe still tighter before eventually realizing her celebration was somewhat one-sided. "Why aren't you jumping up and down?" she demanded unreasonably.
Chloe sighed, finally extracting herself from Claire's embrace. "I don't know. I'm not sorry...exactly. It's just...it all happened so fast. I still have whiplash."
"Fast?" Claire asked disbelievingly.
Chloe nodded absently, not noticing Claire's tone.
"Chloe?" Claire asked.
"Hmm?"
"Have you met Oliver Queen? Let me introduce you: Meet Ollie, the official playboy of Excelsior's. He has his choice of any girl he wants any day he wants. But he hasn't had eyes for anyone since he set said eyes on you. He's actually started acting mature since you showed up. This," she gestured feverishly at Chloe, "is the slowest gear he has short of neutral. I don't think you're fully comprehending the fact that if you two were going any slower you'd be in reverse."
Chloe stared.
"He--has--been--waiting--for--you," Claire spelled out slowly. "Something I have never seen him do for any other girl," she added with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh," Chloe said, realizing for the first time what last night might have been like from Oliver's perspective. "Oh."
Claire nodded, scoffing amusedly. "Boy are you ever crazy," she said affectionately.
They were quiet for a moment.
Then, Claire decided to leave Chloe to her own devices again. "So," she broke the silence, "what do you think?"
Chloe turned to look at herself in the full-length mirror. Claire had dressed her in a loose white blouse, lopsided to bare her shoulder and somewhat worn and weathered looking, with the addition of a modified sarong--reminiscent skirt, designed to look like the fabric of an Elizabethan dress that had been torn and wrapped about her waist more practically.
"Of course," Claire added appraisingly, "your hair will need to be tousled and we'll pretty much douse you with bronzer when you go in for makeup, but I think you'll look pretty fabulous for a girl who's been shipwrecked since she was pre-pubescent."
Chloe grinned at Claire's reflection in the mirror. "It looks great, Claire." Her eyes danced laughingly. "And I like the color."
Because, of course, the sarong was green.
__________________________________________________
Chloe had to admit she was anxious about returning to rehearsal that night for more than one reason. While she had said she was more confident in her lines, she'd still been away from the actual play for a few days, and she was afraid she'd have lost any progress she'd already made. Aside from that, she was concerned that people would keep asking her about her trip home, and it was difficult to keep dancing around the subject of her time with Clark.
But mostly--the real reason--was that she was nervous about seeing Oliver again? What would he do? Wait for her to make a move? Assume they were together and kiss her in front of everyone? Were they together?
What if he accuses me of avoiding him at lunch? He might not believe I really had to be somewhere else? Or maybe by now he's already fed up with me and--
Her eratic thoughts were cut off by the feel of a hand slipping in hers. Chloe jolted in surprise and glanced up at the owner to see Oliver, who had arrived at Excelsior's auditorium at nearly the same time as she and Diana had. He didn't say anything, just gave her a knowing wink and pushed the door open for both of them.
Diana watched from behind with a pleased expression on her face, her merry eyes dancing.
Other than holding her hand in between scenes, Oliver behaved totally normally for the entire rehearsal. Or so Chloe assumed. She wasn't entirely sure if there was a normal code of behavior in existence between the two of them.
A couple of cast members noticed, Dave in particular raising a quizzical brow at Chloe, as if questioning whether she wanted him to tell Oliver to knock it off or not. Aside from that, no one said anything, and no one seemed to particularly mind.
At the end of the night, Oliver and Geoff walked Chloe and Diana home, Chloe and Oliver following a few paces behind the other couple, mostly in silence. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, Chloe noted, just...genuine. Neither of them felt the need to speak just yet. She re-situated her fingers in his, pleasantly conscious of the fact that it felt nice...his larger, somewhat calloused hand around her small one. He had a strong grip and occasionally he liked to play with her fingers. Whether this was conscious or subconscious she hadn't yet decided.
He didn't do anything else until they reached St. Joan's. Distantly, Chloe could overhear Geoff's endless attempts to sweep the eternally shy Diana off her feet, never truly succeeding. She was about to comment on the matter when Oliver's lips met hers again. His free hand swept into her hair, cradling the side of her face. Instinctively--though she couldn't be sure how it had become instinctive--Chloe kissed him back, the feel and taste of his lips having become welcome and familiar by now.
It was over too quickly--for Chloe at least. Oliver was smirking when he pulled back again. "See how much better it is when we both do it?" he teased, referring to the rather one-sided finale to the previous evening.
Chloe clucked her tongue, rolling her eyes and shoving him away. She turned and snagged Diana, leaving the boys behind as they pushed through the massive doors in front of St. Joan's.
Of course, she did all this while failing to suppress a grin.
Oliver watched her go with that ever-arrogant smirk fully in tact, knowing he wasn't even remotely in trouble.
For once.
____________________________________________________________
P.S. For my review of S10 E1 Lazarus, go here.
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
~~So, this chapter took much longer than usual because I was halfway done with it when I accidentally deleted it. I know. I'm technologically savvy like that. It's a gift.
Anyway, read on.~~
--16--
Chloe returned to classes in a bit of a daze, not entirely sure what was happening around her.
Claire, she internally noted somewhere in her mind's recesses, had returned to classes, which was good. Claire and DIana spent most of their day shooting Chloe curious glances and exchanging significant glances with each other. In the end, Claire decided to temporarily spare Chloe and write it off as exhaustion from her trip to Smallville and..other recent events.
Chloe was not exhausted, however. She was very much awake, a strange fluttery sensation in her stomach ensuring that fact. She seemed hyper-aware of everything that touched her, she noticed. Her clothes, her chair, her bag, her desk...the feel of the pages in her book as she turned them, the people who bumped into her or brushed against her in the hallway. She also couldn't stop her fingers from drifting up to her lips every so often, brushing over them questioningly.
Her lunch was spent in meetings with teachers and the editor of the paper, finding out what work she had to catch up on.
She acknowledged a vague sense of disappointment when Claire informed her that the drama department had gotten its auditoium back, so they were staying in St. Joan's.
She expected Mr. Christopher to ask her to give her monologue, and he looked ready to do just that before he stopped, shook his head with a knowing smile, and told her simply, "Tomorrow." At the end of class he added sincerely, "By the way, Chloe, I'm glad to know your father was all right."
Chloe just nodded her thanks, not entirely certain how he knew whether her father were all right or not, before allowing herself to be carted off by Claire who "desperately" needed her for a costume fitting--which was fair enough considering Chloe's fitting was supposed to be a week ago.
"So," Claire said casually, a pin in her teeth and a yellow tape measure draped about her neck as she toyed with Chloe's hemline, "Diana mentioned you talked to Ollie yesterday, too."
"Hmm?" Chloe snapped out of her reverie at the mention of Oliver's name. "Oh. Yeah. He was in pretty bad shape."
Claire nodded understandingly, her fingers moving deftly over the fabric as she littered it with carefully placed pins. "he seemed better today, according to Di. I wouldn't know, " she added contritely. "I just noticed he seemed pretty concerned about the fact that you weren't there," she added.
Chloe's cheeks tinged pink, a fact which did not escape Claire's hawklike eyes.
"I got the impression he was worried you were avoiding him," she added.
"I wasn't," Chloe assured quickly. "I had to talk withy my--"
"Teachers," Claire nodded, stepping back to eye the hem. "That's what I told him." Her eyes now lost all pretense of studying the costume and instead fixed determinedly on Chloe's. "I said I was sure there was absolutely no reason why you would be avoiding him. He didn't look placated."
Chloe chewed her lip nervously.
"There isn't any reason you would be avoiding him is there?"
"I'm not--"
"I didn't say you were. I just wanted to know if there was a reason you would."
Her eyes darted anxiously to the doorway, but she knew there was no escape. Then, before she could prevent it, the words burst forth unbidden from her lips, "Wemighthavekissed."
Claire dropped her scissors in shock. Chloe instinctively braced herself for the inevitable "I told you so" speech, but it never came. "Oh my god! He kissed you? This is amazing!" she squeaked excitedly, flinging herself unthinkingly at Chloe and jumping up and down with her arms around Chloe, causing both of them to get stuck by a few pins.
"Ow! Claire, get off," Chloe attempted unsuccessfully. "Technically I kissed him. And then we kissed. And then he kissed me."
There were no words to describe the excited squeal that emitted from Claire's throat. She hugged Chloe still tighter before eventually realizing her celebration was somewhat one-sided. "Why aren't you jumping up and down?" she demanded unreasonably.
Chloe sighed, finally extracting herself from Claire's embrace. "I don't know. I'm not sorry...exactly. It's just...it all happened so fast. I still have whiplash."
"Fast?" Claire asked disbelievingly.
Chloe nodded absently, not noticing Claire's tone.
"Chloe?" Claire asked.
"Hmm?"
"Have you met Oliver Queen? Let me introduce you: Meet Ollie, the official playboy of Excelsior's. He has his choice of any girl he wants any day he wants. But he hasn't had eyes for anyone since he set said eyes on you. He's actually started acting mature since you showed up. This," she gestured feverishly at Chloe, "is the slowest gear he has short of neutral. I don't think you're fully comprehending the fact that if you two were going any slower you'd be in reverse."
Chloe stared.
"He--has--been--waiting--for--you," Claire spelled out slowly. "Something I have never seen him do for any other girl," she added with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh," Chloe said, realizing for the first time what last night might have been like from Oliver's perspective. "Oh."
Claire nodded, scoffing amusedly. "Boy are you ever crazy," she said affectionately.
They were quiet for a moment.
Then, Claire decided to leave Chloe to her own devices again. "So," she broke the silence, "what do you think?"
Chloe turned to look at herself in the full-length mirror. Claire had dressed her in a loose white blouse, lopsided to bare her shoulder and somewhat worn and weathered looking, with the addition of a modified sarong--reminiscent skirt, designed to look like the fabric of an Elizabethan dress that had been torn and wrapped about her waist more practically.
"Of course," Claire added appraisingly, "your hair will need to be tousled and we'll pretty much douse you with bronzer when you go in for makeup, but I think you'll look pretty fabulous for a girl who's been shipwrecked since she was pre-pubescent."
Chloe grinned at Claire's reflection in the mirror. "It looks great, Claire." Her eyes danced laughingly. "And I like the color."
Because, of course, the sarong was green.
__________________________________________________
Chloe had to admit she was anxious about returning to rehearsal that night for more than one reason. While she had said she was more confident in her lines, she'd still been away from the actual play for a few days, and she was afraid she'd have lost any progress she'd already made. Aside from that, she was concerned that people would keep asking her about her trip home, and it was difficult to keep dancing around the subject of her time with Clark.
But mostly--the real reason--was that she was nervous about seeing Oliver again? What would he do? Wait for her to make a move? Assume they were together and kiss her in front of everyone? Were they together?
What if he accuses me of avoiding him at lunch? He might not believe I really had to be somewhere else? Or maybe by now he's already fed up with me and--
Her eratic thoughts were cut off by the feel of a hand slipping in hers. Chloe jolted in surprise and glanced up at the owner to see Oliver, who had arrived at Excelsior's auditorium at nearly the same time as she and Diana had. He didn't say anything, just gave her a knowing wink and pushed the door open for both of them.
Diana watched from behind with a pleased expression on her face, her merry eyes dancing.
Other than holding her hand in between scenes, Oliver behaved totally normally for the entire rehearsal. Or so Chloe assumed. She wasn't entirely sure if there was a normal code of behavior in existence between the two of them.
A couple of cast members noticed, Dave in particular raising a quizzical brow at Chloe, as if questioning whether she wanted him to tell Oliver to knock it off or not. Aside from that, no one said anything, and no one seemed to particularly mind.
At the end of the night, Oliver and Geoff walked Chloe and Diana home, Chloe and Oliver following a few paces behind the other couple, mostly in silence. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, Chloe noted, just...genuine. Neither of them felt the need to speak just yet. She re-situated her fingers in his, pleasantly conscious of the fact that it felt nice...his larger, somewhat calloused hand around her small one. He had a strong grip and occasionally he liked to play with her fingers. Whether this was conscious or subconscious she hadn't yet decided.
He didn't do anything else until they reached St. Joan's. Distantly, Chloe could overhear Geoff's endless attempts to sweep the eternally shy Diana off her feet, never truly succeeding. She was about to comment on the matter when Oliver's lips met hers again. His free hand swept into her hair, cradling the side of her face. Instinctively--though she couldn't be sure how it had become instinctive--Chloe kissed him back, the feel and taste of his lips having become welcome and familiar by now.
It was over too quickly--for Chloe at least. Oliver was smirking when he pulled back again. "See how much better it is when we both do it?" he teased, referring to the rather one-sided finale to the previous evening.
Chloe clucked her tongue, rolling her eyes and shoving him away. She turned and snagged Diana, leaving the boys behind as they pushed through the massive doors in front of St. Joan's.
Of course, she did all this while failing to suppress a grin.
Oliver watched her go with that ever-arrogant smirk fully in tact, knowing he wasn't even remotely in trouble.
For once.
____________________________________________________________
P.S. For my review of S10 E1 Lazarus, go here.
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