Love by a Different Name

Chloe looked at the menu, still in disbelief that she was sitting here, waiting for her date to show up. She didn't do blind dates; she didn't even live in Coast City.

Her date wasn't making things easy either, as he was running late, but Hal insisted to Chloe that he would be worth her time. It probably was the only reason that she accepted the date in the first place.

Hal Jordan was one of the few people she could call a friend, even if he knew Chloe under a different name, but such are the circumstances when her real self was supposed to be dead. Despite living in different cities, Chloe made sure to cover the annual air show in Coast City, almost exclusively for the reason to catch up. Hal was a guy who was far from being subtle, but once informed that she would never date him, the guy could take a hint. But that didn't stop him from insisting that instead of being married to a guy, she was married to her job, and even she needed a night off.

So, almost to shut him up, she obliged him and said yes to this crazy idea, even though the only thing she knew about her date was his name. Roy Connor.

But now that she was here, Chloe wanted to give up on the whole thing. Putting her menu down, Chloe checked her cell phone. Sure, she had been late to her fair share of things, and ten minutes wasn't much, but the longer she sat here, the longer she felt guilty. If nothing else, the guy still deserved more than Chloe could give him.

She sighed; about to text Hal to thank him, and then find a decent reason to get out of here, but suddenly a voice came in earshot.

"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was terrible."

Chloe narrowed her eyes momentarily, as the voice sounded oddly familiar. But she shrugged it off as she tossed her phone into her purse, looking up to tell Roy that apologizing wasn't necessary. But that was harder than she thought as she met his eyes. Her mouth gaped open, but no words came out. There was no way it was him, but did he ever look like him. Blonde hair instead of brown, brown eyes instead of blue, they were small differences, but enough.

Or so she thought. She had to double-check to be sure. "Roy?"

~0~

Cora Sutherland.

Oliver hadn't exactly been socially active since beginning his new life in Coast City, a stretch for him, and two years after starting again, his friend essentially pushed him at this girl, saying that she'd change his life. But Oliver was skeptical, because he already dated the girl who changed his life.

But she was gone, for good.

The girl inside the restaurant waiting for him as he sat in his car deserved more than this, more than him. It was a miracle enough that the world hadn't figured him as Oliver Queen, after that, Oliver was content in living in silence, just to survive. Life didn't owe him much more than that.

Maybe it was wrong giving up his company, his parent's legacy, to Tess of all people. But the only person who still knew Oliver was alive kept him updated, and told him if he ever decided to come back, there was a seat open for him at the board. She also apologized, .time. For Chloe.

Tess had long seen the error in her ways, and when she caught on that Lionel and Clark were targeting Oliver next, she planned behind both of their backs, and got Oliver to safety, all while planting the falsehood that Oliver was dead.

From there, it was life in Coast City, in a job Tess had set up for him, working as a pawn for a global conglomerate. It wasn't ideal, but it gave him a chance to enjoy his life, to try to start over, even as someone else.

The anonymity allowed him to go places and not be photographed, to explore the chance of a real relationship, but Oliver couldn't do it. They weren't Chloe.

So why was he here? He knew the reasons for why Hal did this set-up. If nothing else, you can be friends, like we are, Hal insisted, but Oliver wasn't so sure. After a chance meeting in a bar one night, Hal Jordan had become one of Oliver's closest friends, and while he trusted the guy, even that had its limits.

He thought about driving away, he was already ten minutes late, but instead, Oliver got out of his car. After all, Cora had grabbed his interest. Apparently her and Hal go way back, and she seemed like an interesting enough person if she could quash Hal's advances in a single night, while establishing a friendship. From what Hal had told Oliver, Cora was a hard-as-nails journalist for the Star City Register, and from Oliver had found out, she wrote the stuff that most wouldn't, a trait he admired in Chloe.

Oliver shook his head, he couldn't do this, the constant comparison. This girl was likely completely different than Chloe, and Hal was right about one thing. Oliver had to move forward, even if he didn't want to. He had tried once with Lois, and that was a lie at best. They were friends, pretending to be more. Her current status with Clark Luthor alone cemented that.

He opened the door to the restaurant, and after a quick conversation with the hostess, she pointed towards a table. Oliver had to admit, Cora was a beautiful woman from what he could see. Wavy blonde hair framed her face as she looked at her phone, her fingers tapping against the surface.

Oliver approached the table carefully, finding the easiest excuse he could think of. "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was terrible."

An awful lie, but Oliver had every intention of getting through this night, no matter the consequences. Then again, that was before she looked up at him.

Was he imagining things? It had been years, five, six, the number didn't matter, but looking at this woman, Oliver couldn't help but see the woman he loved. The woman he lost.

He watched as her eyes' widened, blinking a couple times before asking, "Roy?" A fair question, because right now, even Oliver doubted his name.

Sera's Scribbles: A couple things...

1) This is still very much a WIP, so bear with me.
2) I've never written Hal before, I don't know if he's going to physically show up, but please let me know if I'm off the mark at anytime.
3) If you're familiar with my stories, you know I use "~0~" to usually show gaps in time. For the first two chapters, it's for changing of viewpoints, and the POV of this isn't exactly something I'm used to. I apologize in advance if you're confused by it.