Calendar Girl (7/12)

[serafina19]

Title: Calendar Girl
Summary:  Chloe leaves for Star City to start fresh after inadvertently seeing Clark and Lana consummate their relationship. But she soon finds herself hesitating to let another guy into her life when she accidentally runs into Oliver Queen during her first day at Star City University.
Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for a couple of original characters, any resemblance to another character is coincidental.

Author Note: Okay, so I have managed to get the remaining chapters somewhat written, but school is terribly hectic for the next couple of weeks, so bear with me because I have no clue how often I'll be updating. The goal is to finish this by the end of the month... hopefully I can keep to that.

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Banner courtesy of: geek_or_unique

 

February

All of the things that I thought were so easy
Just got harder and harder each day

February 7

"John, we need to talk." Upon seeing her assignment, Chloe had barged into the editor's office, not even bothering to knock or warn him. She couldn't believe that she was forced to write about this...again.

He looked up from his desk tried to smile, but Chloe knew that he sensed her frustration. "How can I help you?"

"By giving me another piece because I refuse to be known as the fluffy girl around here. Can't you give the Valentine's Day story to someone else?"

John tried to brush her off. "Would if I could, but unfortunately, everyone else is booked for the next issue."

"Can you at least answer why out of anyone you picked me for this article? Half of the Journal's staff is in a happy relationship. I'm sure they would write it better than I could."

"The truth?"

"Please," she said, crossing her arms.

"Evie told me to give it to you... get you in the spirit of the day. She might have mentioned something about it opening your eyes."

Chloe lifted her head in disbelief, muttering, "She could use that advice herself."

"I'm with you there," he said, shaking his head.

"You see it too?"

"Who doesn't see it?"

"Them, but there's no point of saying anything. I know Scott doesn't think of Evie in that way."

His head popped up with a confused expression."What? Where did you hear that?"

Chloe laughed as she stared at her dumbfounded editor. "I knew it. Evie throws that line around, but I knew it wasn't true."

John looked back down at his paperwork and pretended to shrug it off. "I didn't say it wasn't true."

"You didn't deny it either."

Dropping his pen, he looked up at Chloe. "You feel like attempting a Valentine's Day miracle?"

She knew that Evie wouldn't like her for meddling, but now that Chloe was sure, she wanted to see her roommate smile again. Evie had seemed distracted since the carnival, and this might be the thing she needed to lift her spirits. Closing the door, Chloe sat down in the chair across his desk. "What did you have in mind?"

February 14

Evie quickly closed the door behind her. "You don't have any plans, do you? Because I have no intention of opening that door unless it's absolutely necessary."

Taking a break from checking her email, Chloe raised an eyebrow at Evie. "You're kidding me, right? I had a hard enough time writing the article... I don't need a front row seat."

"You know that writing that article could have been a good thing."

"Oh course you'd think that... it was your idea."

Evie's mouth opened slightly at the accusation, but she shook her head soon after. "John promised he wouldn't tell."

"He also promised he wouldn't make me write a sappy love article again," Chloe pointed out as there was a knock on the door. Looking at her satisfied roommate, Chloe got up and opened the door, relieved to see John holding up his half of the deal as she lifted up the flowers that sat outside their room. "Well... someone's thinking of you."

Evie peered around her book, completely dropping it upon the sight of the lilies on her bed. "What the – " Peering up at Chloe, she asked, "How do you know they're for me?"

Picking up the white envelope embedded in the flowers, Chloe turned it and read, "Evie," before passing it to Evie. Settling on her bed, Chloe started a new email to update everyone that the flowers were received. "Although I'm surprised to see lilies, usually it's roses for today."

"Lilies are my favourite."

"Are they?"

"I thought I told you," Evie replied with narrowed eyes.

Chloe arched an eyebrow. "Did you? Hmm.." Her fingers hit the keyboard as she finished up her email. Not only was Chloe aware of Evie's favourite flower, but Scott was already in the loop, so now it was just up to Chloe to get Evie to show up.

Meanwhile across the room, Evie opened up the card and sighed upon seeing the writing inside. "You think you're sooooo sneaky."

"What?"

"Oh please, don't play innocent. This has set-up written all over it, even if I couldn't recognize John's writing on the card." Evie rolled her eyes and held out the flowers to Chloe with a solemn expression. "Give them to someone who deserves it."

Sighing, Chloe grabbed her laptop and re-opened the email, showing Evie that Scott was going along with it. "It may have started out that way, but John's girlfriend caught him ordering the flowers and told Scott because she thought he was cheating on her. After we managed to get Karen calmed down, we had to tell Scott everything, and he told us that he'd be there."

Evie read the words on the screen, but she quickly handed the computer back to Chloe and stood up to face the window. "I can't," was all she could manage to say before she clamped her mouth shut and shook her head.

"Why not? From what I've seen, you deserve it."

"I do?"

Chloe tried to hold back, but she let a chuckle out. "Yes. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met and you two have been walking around this way too long."

"You sure?"

"Believe me, I wouldn't do this if I wasn't sure."

Evie whispered as she faced Chloe. "You better be right."

Chloe got up from the bed and started to look through Evie's clothes. "I may not be the most girly-girl person, but how about I help you knock his socks off?"

~0~

It had been a couple hours since Evie left, which Chloe had taken as a good sign, but when she heard a knock at the door, she hurried to answer it, hoping it was something along the lines of forgetting her wallet to split the bill.

However, when she opened the door, she saw her RA, Hailey, standing on the other side.

"Hi."

Hailey pointed towards the stairwell. "They found a gas leak in the building and they need everyone out of the building for the night. Do you have a place where you can stay?"

"Yeah, I'll call my cousin."

"Great. Try to be out in fifteen minutes."

"Wait, my roommate's out for the evening."

"Evie's taken care of, don't worry about it."

"What? How?"

Chloe looked around the room to see if anything was out of place, then racked her brain if Evie had said anything , but she couldn't think of anything. By the time she whipped her head back towards the hallway, Hailey had already moved onto the next room, and Chloe didn't want to be a bother to her later, so she quickly packed a bag before walking over to Lazee's to call Lois.

She answered on the second ring, "Lane."

"Lois, hey."

Chloe could hear Lois sighing. "Sorry cuz, can I call you back?"

Hearing the background noise, Chloe asked, " Where are you?"

"Worker's revolt in New York. I'm trying to get a good portfolio piece to work for a legitimate paper."

"That's great. I just wanted to catch up, but I'll wait until you get back."

"Sounds good. Bye Chlo."

"Bye."

Chloe sat at her table quietly with her bag and nowhere to go. Looking through her contacts, she saw only one more option. After begrudgingly dialling the number, Chloe put the phone on her ear, waiting for the tone. This wasn't a day she was hoping to call Oliver.

"You're a welcome voice for sore ears."

Within moments of hearing his voice, Chloe found herself grinning. "But I haven't said anything yet."

"What can I do for you?"

Chloe brought her head up to see her dorm building in the distance."There's a gas leak in our building...I know you likely have plans but I was wondering if I could crash on your couch tonight until it's safe to go back."

"Absolutely. I'm actually up to my ears in paperwork, so I'd welcome the distraction. Do you need me to pick you up?"

"I'm on campus, so I don't mind walking. What's your address?"

"I'll be at Lazee's in fifteen."

Before she had a chance to respond, Oliver had hung up, so Chloe wandered over the counter to order her usual. She figured if she had listen to the love-drunk conversations around her, she might as well be caffeinated.

~0~

Walking through the door of the penthouse, Chloe eyes immediately widened. "I'm sorry... you live here?"

"Yes?"

Taking a look around as she put her bag her bag down, she stated, "I take it your bathroom's twice the size of our dorm."

"Three times, likely."

"Three? What do you do in..." Chloe brought her palm to her face before adding, "Don't answer that. Please."

Oliver chuckled. "Wasn't planning on it."

The buzzing of her phone initially caught Chloe off-guard as she shuffled through her purse to find it. Upon seeing the caller id, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Let me guess...Clark?"

"Who else?"

"I'll be in my study if you need anything. Second door on the left."

"Thanks again Ollie."

He walked around her and waved. "Good luck."

Right before the call went to voicemail, Chloe opened her phone. "Hi Clark."

"What took you so long to answer?"

"I'm capable of having a life, you know."

"You have a date tonight?"

His surprised tone didn't go unnoticed, but considering her social tendencies in Smallville, it's not like Chloe could blame him. "No, course not. My phone was stuck in my bag. What do you need?"

"Red tie or blue?"

"What?" Chloe blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out if she had heard him correctly.

"I'm going out with Lana tonight and I can't make up my mind."

"So you're calling me? For tie advice?" To say the least, that wasn't exactly what Chloe was expecting when she saw Clark was calling her.

"You're always honest with me."

"Umm... I can't really give a great opinion across the country, but red's a good colour for Valentine's Day, I guess."

"Okay, thanks."

Chloe paused before asking her next question. "What's the plan?"

"Just dinner... but I'm... I'm going to tell her my secret."

"Really?"

"I figured that it would make things easier, you know. I mean, you knew and didn't tell anyone and you didn't leave because of it."

She felt a slight pang when he mentioned her leaving, because with both her and Pete leaving, it didn't leave Clark anybody besides his mom who knew his secret. This was the first time that Chloe had even considered what Clark must have thought when she left town and she felt bad for barely staying in contact. However, being able to trust Lana with everything was a big step, because he had never volunteered to disclose it before.

Noticing her silence, Clark said, "Hey Chloe... you still there?"

"Yeah... sorry... I'm here, and I'm happy for you and Lana. It's great that you feel comfortable enough to be honest with her."

Chloe heard Clark sigh on the other end. "It means a lot to hear you say that. For a while I thought you were going to leave us behind."

"Clark, just because I left doesn't make you any less important... I just needed to experience life for myself."

"I know, and I'm sorry for how I acted in Star City. You're right, it was your decision, and I overreacted to the entire thing. I care about you Chloe, and I just don't want to see you get hurt, but if Oliver's friendship makes you happy, then I'll try to accept that."

Her eyes widened at his apology, it wasn't everyday that Clark admitted his mistakes. Hearing him say that he didn't want Oliver to hurt her initially felt like someone punched her in the face, because Clark Kent had hurt her more than just about anyone. However, his acceptance of her decision was more than Chloe had ever expected at this point, so she smiled lightly as she spoke, "Thanks Clark... but you should probably get going, Lana's probably waiting for you."

"Bye Chloe. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Goodbye Clark." She closed her phone and put it on silent, feeling her eyes water and not wanting to talk with anyone while she was like this. Taking a final look at the time, she tossed her phone on the couch before heading on onto the balcony. Chloe had come a long way in getting over Clark, but hearing how happy he was only reinforced how much Chloe despised Valentine's Day.

She didn't understand why couples needed a day to themselves to make excuses for why they loved each other.  Couldn't they just love each other unconditionally every day? Did heart-shaped candies, diamonds, and roses really show how much you loved someone? Was it really necessary to rub in everyone else's faces how happy they were?

Feeling the cold night air against her skin, Chloe rubbed her arm to warm herself up while marvelling the view that Oliver got to experience every day. It sure beat the window of her dorm room as the skyline was highlighted by the sun setting over the horizon.

Looking back into the penthouse, she thought about Oliver and how he had been forced to do work tonight. She was appreciative for that fact though, because if the situation had been different, he'd likely stand where she was with a different woman around his arm, while she had no place to stay. Feeling her chest tighten at the thought of that possibility, she headed back into the penthouse and leaned against the glass door.

It's commonly said that there was someone out there for everyone, but she saw herself as the exception to the rule. No one had ever looked at her as anything more than a friend, nor did she ever expect it to change.

She eventually sat on one of the leather couches, hoping to find some hard-core action film for the non-romantics today. Unfortunately after turning on the television, Chloe found herself flipping through channel after channel with little success.

"Romantic comedy... romantic comedy... terrible film in general... gossip...Oh look! Romantic comedy!"

"You're not a fan of Valentine's Day, are you?" With his fingers curled around the top of the couch, Oliver's eyebrows lifted as he stared intently at Chloe.

"I thought you had a lot of paperwork."

"I wanted to check on you to make sure you were okay."

A sigh left Chloe, not really wanting to touch the subject, but knew that Oliver wouldn't let it go. "You know my outlook on love; I figured that would be obvious."

"So why set up Evie?"

Chloe shrugged and turned her gaze towards the television, where there was a fictional depiction of the inevitable reunion and exchange of mutual feelings. "I still believe in love... in movies, in television, in books... for other people."

"But not you?"

"I think I'm more suited for being a third wheel," she said, quickly shutting off the television and carefully dropping the remote on the table.

"Based on Clark?"

"Not just him. Based on the fact she hasn't called by now, I'm also assuming Evie and Scott."

"You need to stop thinking of yourself that way." Sitting next to her on the couch, Oliver placed a hand on her leg. "Besides, you're not a third wheel to me."

"No, I guess I'd be closer to the triple digits with you," Chloe said as she turned her head to face Oliver, who clearly wasn't amused by her comment. "What? You know it's –"

"Complete bullshit...yes." He blurted, raising his eyebrows as he watched Chloe's reaction. "You're probably more important to me than anyone else... and besides, even though you don't have anyone sending you tulips today, people do care about you Chloe. That's more than I could say for me."

He had shifted his body on the couch towards the wall and refused to look at Chloe, who sensed the pain behind his final comment. "Ollie... you don't seriously believe that."

"It's just... I started second-guessing everything. What if the board stops taking me seriously? I'd risk everything my parents worked so hard to build for a couple years of fun that I'm not sure that I even enjoyed. It's selfish and ..." His words trailed off momentarily as he bowed his head. "Maybe everyone else is right about me."

"Don't say that Ollie. Come on...it's like you said to me... it doesn't matter what's written in the papers. The board knows about your dedication to the company, that's not going anywhere. The only thing that matters is that the people close to you know the truth."

Dejected, Oliver asked, "Like who?"

"Hey..." Chloe reached out to grab Oliver's shoulder. When that didn't work, she placed her hand under his chin and turned his face, forcing him to look at her. "Hey... you've got me, okay? I'm here for you, and that doesn't change whether I'm here or across the country."

Grabbing her hand, he brought them down onto his lap. "It's only a matter of time before that happens you know, the Planet would be stupid to not hire you."

"I can only hope so, not everyone sees me like you do."

"Same here."

There was a pause where Chloe and Oliver stared at each other from the corner of their eyes, letting the silence live on for a couple moments because there was something about being together and just talking that gave them more satisfaction than a lot of other things.

"I should get back to work."

Chloe covered her mouth as she yawned. "I think I'm ready to call it a night, anyway. I'm just glad there's no school tomorrow, even though I find it kind of strange that we get a day off for the sake of Valentine's Day."

"I don't make the rules, but don't argue with a chance to sleep in. I've got an early meeting, so," Oliver got up from the couch, "feel free to sleep in as long as you want."

"So I'm assuming that being a bachelor pad and all..." Chloe propped a pillow, "probably means that this couch is going to be my sleeping place tonight."

Oliver shook his head as Chloe stretched her legs out. He held his hand out to her. "C'mon."

Lifting her hand slightly to grab his, Chloe pulled herself off the couch with a confused look on her face. Oliver led her through the penthouse and down the hallway, releasing her hand to open up the final door to reveal his bedroom.

"I'll be working all night, so I'll likely crash on my couch in the study if I don't fall asleep on my desk. So you might as well be comfortable."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all."

Chloe moved past him and went to close the door when she said, "Thanks again for letting me crash here."

Oliver had gone back to the main room to grab her bag, so he yelled down the hallway, "Anytime." As he handed it to her, his expression softened before adding, "And Chloe?"

Blinking, Chloe murmured. "Hmm?"

"Don't give yet. You're an incredible woman and there's a lucky guy out there who's coming as fast as he can."

She managed a chuckle as she closed the door. "Night Ollie."

February 15

Chloe rubbed her eyes open as she remembered the circumstances of how she ended up in Oliver's bed. She honestly didn't want to wake up, his sheets clung to her body and she didn't want it to end. Even after she pulled back the sheets, Chloe struggled with touching her toes on the ground, feeling the coolness of the hardwood against her skin.

As she carefully opened the door, Chloe noticed that it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, which made her think that Oliver had left for his meeting, which was confirmed when Chloe found a note on the coffee machine.

Hope you slept well. I know it's not an almond mocha... but I think you'll like it. Let me know if you need to stay another night. Oliver

There was a cup next to the machine, which Chloe happily took and filled. A happy sigh left her as she sipped it lightly before plopping on the couch, where she found her phone wedged between the cushion. It displayed two missed calls, both from Evie, which worried Chloe, so without investigating further, she frantically dialled her roommate's number, hoping that she was okay.

Evie answered on the second ring. "About time roomie."

"What time did you call?"

There was a long pause before Evie snickered. "Ten minutes ago... and last night, but it's not anything important."

"So you're okay?"

"Yep."

"And the date went well?"

"Yep."

"You found a place to stay?"

"Oliver didn't tell you?"

"Oliver didn't tell me what?"

"Hmm... never mind."

"Evie..."

"So rumour is that you stayed at Oliver's last night. You feel like sharing?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Wouldn't dream of it... except I have to go. Catch you later, Chloe."

"Evie!" But it was no use, Evie had long hung up the phone, which led Chloe to dial another number. If Evie wasn't going to tell her what was going on, hopefully Oliver would.

"Good morning sleepy-head."

"Sleepy-head?  What time is it?"

"10:30."

Looking around for a clock, Chloe asked, "Seriously?"

She heard him chuckle before admitting, "You looked pretty cozy this morning."

Upon hearing that, Chloe could feel her cheeks warming. "You peeked in on me?"

"So what's up?"

"What was your unspoken part of Evie and Scott's date?"

"You talked to her this morning?"

"How else would I know, considering you didn't tell me."

"The conversation never really came up... not really anyway."

"Oliver..."

He sighed before giving in.  "We had a feeling Evie would figure it out, and Scott still wanted to surprise her, so he decided to take her to a hotel restaurant for dinner, and no, I'm not telling you which one, because I doubt that I'm supposed to be telling you this much. However, I figured they deserved to enjoy their night in style, so I bought them the penthouse suite for the night to give them some privacy. If they stayed for more... that was their business, but it gave Evie a place to stay, especially considering I was the only one who knew about the gas leak."

While listening to Oliver, Chloe wondered why she was left in the dark, but what mattered was that the plan worked, and they deserved a nice night out. "Wow... that's really sweet of you."

"I thought it would be a nice gesture."

Figuring it would be over, Chloe asked, "How was your early meeting?"

"I honestly would have rather spent the morning making you breakfast."

"You can cook?"

"You sound so surprised."

"Maybe I am."

"Well, I should cook for you girls some time, show off my skills."

Hearing her stomach grumble, Chloe silently chuckled. "I know I'm in… it's one less meal I have to pay for."

Oliver's tone turned serious as he said, "You know that you can stop by whenever right? Even if you just need refuge from the world... the door's always open."

"You don't mean that literally right? Because I doubt that would be a good philosophy unless you want to get robbed."

"Very funny, although the key on the counter would likely help."

"Key? What key?" Chloe walked over to the kitchen and found the silver key with a second note. "I didn't get past the coffee."

"Figured as much." She could hear the door opening on the other end, and heard him say, "Hold on a sec," before covering up the phone. After a couple seconds of muffled voices, Oliver came back on the line. "Sorry Chloe, can I call you back? I have..."

"No problem Ollie, I wouldn't want you to get behind."

"Thanks."

"Bye."

She picked up the key and smiled as she headed back to the bedroom to get changed. Evie may be off the hook for explanations, but it looked like it was Chloe's turn to set a story straight and she preferred to get started early... and then maybe call Lois before she found out.

March