A/N: I know I have to finish Dance with me, but I found this fic I wrote awhile ago, and I was sort of inspired to continue writing it.


Veritas: The Latin word for truth.

Chapter I: Girly Girl Butterflies

The stone building looked a bit rustic in her opinion, and timid amid all the sky scrapers of Metropolis. However, the sight before her, of the spinning golden globe emblazoned with the signature of her favorite newspaper, set her green eyes into a dream–like trance. At this very moment, she felt like all the girly girls at her high school, and it didn't make her sick in the least.

Her hands fell to the belt of her sand colored trench coat, ready to the tie the knot and head into her dream. This felt rather surreal. But just as she was about to do so, something, or rather someone, brushed passed her. Frowning, Chloe turned in the direction of the passerby, who had stopped, looking her way as well with an apology already situated on the edge of his tongue.

Chloe's eyes slightly widened. If the expensive suit wasn't already a dead giveaway, his chiseled features, height, and all around familiar face made the name label even more obvious. Why, he was Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Industries, and ex-boyfriend of her cousin, Lois Lane. Her lips transformed into a frown. She loathed him, flat out loathed him for breaking her cousin's heart. Of course, she'd barely met him, but the feeling was mutual.

His eyes squinted in her direction. "Do I know you?"

"Lois Lane?"

He twitched, running a hand uncomfortably through his hair. "Yikes!"

Yikes was right. No one crossed the wrath of Chloe Anne Sullivan and walked away a happy camper, no one.

"You're her cousin, aren't you?"

Duh! They had met once at a thanksgiving dinner, when he had left her mouth in "Wow". Of course, she was but a child then, only 16, and still crushing out on Clark Kent. Her eyes gave him a quick once over. Yup, he looked pretty much the same, albeit hotter, if that was possible.

He blinked, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his pants. "Well, tell Lois I said hi."

Hi? He wanted her to pass a greeting onto his ex? Seriously? Chloe just stared at him. Oliver Queen chuckled, a rumbling from the throat that she oddly found herself liking…Curse him!

"You are going to see her, aren't you?"

Chloe's eyes drifted towards the Daily Planet. Her dream, interrupted because of some stupid hotshot industrialist play-boy. Lois was in there. She was the one who got her the internship. How did Mr. Queen know? Was he keeping tabs on his ex? Did he do that for all his ex-girlfriends? Chloe shook her head, turning back around to face him. "What're you doing here?"

His smile faded. "Am I inclined to let you know?"

Of course he wasn't. They weren't even what she considered acquaintances. They were strangers, and she preferred to keep it that way. "No." And with that said, she spun her heels towards the spinning doors of the Daily Planet.

"Wait…"

Chloe stopped in her tracks. This better had been because she had dropped her wallet and he was kind enough to return it to her. In her opinion of him, he could use the Good Samaritan label. Maybe, just maybe, she'd like him a bit more.

"I'm here on business."

Chloe turned to face him, a not so pleasant smile upon her face. This was interruption number two. This guy really needed to stop with the impediments. "And here I thought it was for a vacation."

"Believe me, I could use one."

"I'm sure you have a private jet to whisk you off to wherever it is you desire whenever it is you desire."

"I do, but it doesn't work like that."

Chloe frowned.

"Just tell Lois I said hi."

She rolled her eyes, but for some reason found herself nodding. Why did she have to be so nice? "Bye, Mr. Queen."

"Good luck on your first day."

The petite blonde eyed the taller blonde for a brief moment. "How did you…"

"The excited yet butterflies in your tummy syndrome…It's written blatantly across your face. Hard to miss."

Chloe shook her head. He may have been right, but that gave him no right to read a complete stranger. She hadn't asked. Oh wait, she had…opps. Tightening the belt of her trench coat, she watched him disappear down the sidewalk before turning towards the spinning doors. She guessed she had to inform Lois about her ex.

xoxoxox

From the moment Chloe walked through the revolving doors, she couldn't wipe the grin off her face. The metaphorical butterflies were fluttering rampantly across her stomach, but Chloe figured it was more excitement and less nerves. The hustle and bustle was something to ogle at. There were smartly dressed people milling about, younger folks running after regular DP workers with coffees, mail, or pencils. Chloe was even able to avoid a collision with the mail cart.

She was sure the tapping of fingers against keyboards was something that would grow familiar. Of course, she couldn't wait until the day her own fingers flew across a computer that belonged to the greatest paper in the entire world. Chloe knew that wasn't an exaggeration. The Daily Planet was America's most trusted newspaper. It was read all around the world. The Gotham Post failed in comparison, even the Star City Registe0072 wasn't up to par, and the Inquisitor…Well, that wasn't even a legitimate comparison.

After getting situated, the Daily Planet press badge pinned proudly to her blazer, Chloe found her cousin with ease. Why, she was in the basement along with another intern, her heels abandoned as she lounged in a chair sucking a lollypop. So not the image she had in mind of a Daily Planet intern, but this girl was Lois Lane after all. Typical, ordinary, normal, those definitions just didn't fit.

"Chloe," Lois squealed, jumping up from her chair and practically flying towards the petite blonde. "You made it."

"Of course I did," Chloe stated with a smile as her eyes wandered over her tall cousin's appearance. Lois's ponytail was in disarray with strands sticking up here and there, her blouse was wrinkled, and there was a run in her stocking. The brunette gave off the appearance of a person who had been hard at work, running around all over the building. But if Chloe knew her cousin, and she knew her cousin, that just wasn't the case. "So what are you doing?"

"Organizing the files of the basement." Lois gestured towards the shelves upon shelves filled with dusty boxes and then towards the piles upon stacks of papers littering the floor. "The DP is going to back up everything on the computers, but the archives still have to be alphabetized." She leaned towards Chloe. "But I think it's because they just want us interns to have something to do, as if fetching around coffees all day isn't enough work."

Chloe giggled, her eyes drifting towards the other intern who was smiling in her direction with sympathy.

Lois followed her gaze. "Oh, that's…," Lois paused, scratching at her head. What was this guy's name again?

"Randal," he answered for her.

Oh right, he was Randal. How had she forgotten yet again? "Ask him anything, and he'll do it," she whispered.

"Nice to meet you," Chloe stated, sticking out her hand for him to shake. He shook it with a smile.

"She's the nicer one," Lois pointed out, placing her elbow upon Chloe's shoulder, who shrugged it off in an instant.

"You two related?"

Chloe didn't fail to notice Randal gulp or the fact that he was slowly backing away. Maybe Lois shouldn't have told him that they were in fact related by blood.

xoxoxox

By the time lunch rolled around, Chloe was grateful. Her stomach was growling, a fact Lois so graciously pointed out as they passed the DP's editor. How embarrassing. Chloe kept her head down the entire walk towards the elevator, and only when they were out of the building did she take the opportunity to smack Lois across the shoulder.

The girl fended her off, running ahead of her. Chloe had to say that she was impressed. Lois was fast on her feet, especially for a girl adorning 4 inch heels. Too bad Lois didn't coordinate her eyes like she did her feet, because the next thing Chloe knew, Lois was caught in a collision.

Her eyes blinked. All she could feel was hard flesh; perfectly sculpted beneath…flannel? Turning her eyes up, she met a creamy fix of blue…her favorite color. The girl swallowed.

The guy on the receiving end blushed; at least she supposed he would've given the scenario. Instead, his eyes narrowed. "Do you mind?"

"Maybe you should watch where you're going, buddy?" Lois stated, pushing away from the guy dressed in…plaid?

"Clark," Chloe said breathlessly, hands upon her knees as she caught her breath. Heels and running? This wasn't her cup of tea.

"Clark as in Clark Kent?" Lois asked, craning her neck in her cousin's direction. Okay, so Lois had to admit, with the way her cousin described this Clark guy, she had imagined a tall broad shouldered hottie, not a-well, awkward teen with a certain fetish for all things plaid. Her nose wrinkled.

Clark's lips thinned. He turned to Chloe. "Who is this?"

"My cousin, Lois Lane."

"This is Lois?"

Now, Lois was intrigued. So Chloe had told him about her as well. She wondered what the image he had conjured in his mind about her looked like. A curious smile invaded her lips as she turned back to Clark. "So…"

Clark, however, didn't bother paying attention. "She doesn't look like a juvenile delinquent."

"Juvenile delinquent?!"

Chloe blushed. Yup, this was going exactly the way she had imagined. "Think more army brat."

"I'm not an army brat anymore," Lois chastised. It was true, and Chloe could attest to that.

The blonde grabbed Lois by the sleeve, turning to Clark with an apologetic expression. "Look, Clark, I'll see you later. Lois and I have plans for lunch."

He genuinely looked torn, and for a brief moment, Lois couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. No wonder Chloe had liked him for so long. Then again, Chloe was her cousin, and since they had the same blood, Lois had dibs. So she waved off Clark Kent with a large grin as they headed off towards Tony's Pizza.

xoxoxox

The girls settled into a squeaky clean plastic booth, Lois not bothering to pick up a menu. She had it memorized by heart. The girl often came here for food, especially since she'd joined the big leagues, or Metropolis University.

"You told him I was an army brat?" the girl questioned, smacking down her cousin's menu with her hand.

Chloe frowned, then sighed, swiping her bangs to the side. "Not exactly," she confessed.

"Not exactly? Chloe what does that even mean? The guy thought I was a delinquent."

Okay, so Chloe had to giggle. "I just told him you liked to party, and at one point, had this major rebellious streak."

"Whatever," she stated in a disgruntled manner as Chloe once more began scanning the menu.

"Why do you even care?" Chloe asked, her eyes looking over from the top of the menu. "It's not as if you two hit it off…" Her eyes unintentionally traveled left, where she spotted an elderly fellow reading the paper, when it hit her. "Lois?"

"What, Chloe?" the girl snapped, putting down her hand, giving up for the moment on trying to attain a waiter's attention. "Yes, me and this Clark guy didn't hit it off…"

"No," the blonde sighed. "I just meant, I met…Oliver Queen, and he told me to tell you hi." Lois's expression hardened before her composure relaxed. If Chloe hadn't been staring, she wouldn't have even noticed the change.

"I know," Lois whispered, fiddling with the salt shaker. She looked up with a smile. "I do work at the Daily Planet, remember? I think someone's covering a story on his appearance in Metropolis."

Chloe reached for her cousin's hand, sending her a sympathetic smile.

"I'm fine," Lois added with a grin, and just to prove her point, she shot her hand in the air, snapping her fingers. "Yo, dude in the button down…"

Chloe sweat dropped, hiding her face behind her menu.