Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville… but I do own a gorgeous Apple desktop and a vivid imagination. Ponder that.

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Survival

Part 1: Gratitude

Chapter 2: Shades of Amazing

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Chloe opened her eyes to glaring, orange plastic. The life-raft.

She and Oliver had spent their first day on the island dealing with only the most obvious of necessities. After a spell of brooding and then the obligatory playful roughhousing, they had dedicated themselves to the task of surviving before finally retreating beneath the raft lean-to to sleep.

Chloe smiled, recalling his whispered storytelling, and turned to face the solid warmth against her side. She was tucked into him as she had been the night before, one long arm about her body. What had felt safe and warm then, felt a little too intimate in the light of morning – especially with his shirt unbuttoned. The skin was lightly tanned like the rest of him seemed to be, and like his arms (which she had often admired before) his chest and abs were muscled. Clearly, he had a gym membership – or whatever the billionaire equivalent was.

She snorted softly to herself. She was staring. As much as she enjoyed looking at attractive guys, she hated how limp and gooey she got over it sometimes. It's not like trailing after Clark ever developed into a romantic relationship. Maybe she's just one of those people who always gets overlooked by the men she's actually attracted to.

Judging from two years of high school, her future love life will fall in one of a few categories: unrequited feelings á la Clark, nice guy who's nice and all but…, or the Justin Gaines classic. Chloe shuddered, remembering the growl of a chainsaw. Even knocked out, the sound had filtered into her mind and into all the nightmares afterward. Why did obsessive, murdering metahuman stalkers always seem so charming at first? And attentive? And interesting?

She wrinkled her nose. New rule of thumb: guys that show eager interest in her are clearly insane (or getting there). And guys like Clark who – romantically – are practically Chloe-phobic, those are the ones worth getting. Not that they'd be interested, though. Maybe one day she'll just wind up despairing of true love and choose to settle down with somebody nice – someone that's more friend than lover.

Chloe winced at the thought. Would she ever become so jaded?

A bolt of shame flashed through her. Hadn't she been hoping for a summer fling to get Clark off her mind? Someone to get rid of her virginity and make her feel desired for once? Chloe shook the thought off. The girl knew she would have regretted it. In spite of the hard shell of pragmatism, snark, and ambition, Chloe still had a soft underbelly. She wanted true love, a home of her own, and eventually a few kids that she could cuddle and encourage – and with the Lane genes at work – inevitably pull out of trouble. All that and a Pulitzer.

Chloe couldn't believe that she had been planning to share her body with a guy she barely knew. With her luck, he'd have been just as inexperienced as her – adding up to no orgasm and no emotional connection. Thank god for Oliver, in spite of the whole stranded-on-an-island thing.

A surge of gratitude swelled up in her. He'd saved her from more than just Lionel's schemes – he'd also saved her from her own. If she had to be alone on an island with somebody, Chloe was glad it was him. Oliver Queen was a man willing to give up some of his vices for her, whisper Robin Hood stories before bed, and save her from billionaires, pirates, and herself. It didn't hurt either that his body was prime ogling material. All in all though…

Wow. In person he's really… wow.

One side of Oliver's lips curled upwards. "I appreciate the compliment."

Green eyes met brown. "Oh shit, I said that? You were awake?" She groaned, hand to her forehead.

"Hey now, don't get worked up about it," Oliver smiled, pulling her hand from her face.

"It's embarrassing! I don't do blatant appreciation! Especially not ogling!" Under her breath, she muttered, "Not often, anyways."

He quirked a brow. "How do you expect to be looked at unless you show someone you're looking? No, don't shake your head, Chloe… Think about it. Men aren't superhuman, we don't instinctively know if a woman's interested. And we aren't all confident enough to stick our necks out when we might be unwelcome."

Chloe wrinkled her nose. "Sounds like something Lois always says: go out into the world exuding vibes of awesome, and awesome things and people will come to you."

"Well, when you feel great, you look great, and that's something people are attracted to, I guess." Thinking of her cousin, Oliver laughed. "I get the feeling that when I meet your cousin, we'll either be antagonistic friends or best bros."

She smirked. "Don't kid yourself. With Lois, you can be both at once – or you guys might end up dating."

"Nah," he shrugged off. "I think if I met her on my own, we might have had a relationship for a time, but anything lasting? No. I've gotten to know her pretty well through your stories, I think, and while her bull-headedness would be endearing in a friend, it would be disastrous in a romantic partner. No offense to your cousin, but I appreciate an open mind just as much as I appreciate nerve. I prefer your brand of moxie."

A flicker of hurt washed over her eyes. "Don't patronize me, Oliver," Chloe frowned as she scooted herself out of the lean-to. Bemused, he followed, pulling his archery equipment out as he went.

"What do you mean?" he asked, concerned by her abrupt change in mood.

She sighed. "I mean that it's my brand of moxie that landed me in this mess in the first place – not that I don't appreciate it. This is paradise compared to the wreckage my life would've been under Lionel's thumb. Still. My choices – my bullheadedness – landed me in Lionel Luthor's sandbox. I tried to play with the big boys, even when I knew I couldn't handle it."

The girl paused for breath, looking up at him with agonized green eyes. "It's… you mean to compliment me, I know. You probably picked up from my stories that, while I love my cousin, I've always felt inadequate in comparison. She can do something completely crazy and have it work out. She can do anything. I… I appreciate the attempt at complimenting me, but the quirks you depreciate in Lois are in me too."

"Hardly." Seeing her lips open again, Oliver placed his hand over mouth. Looking down at the petite blond sternly, he remarked, "May I speak now? Good." He shook his head. "Chloe, pay attention. I'd rather not have to have this conversation every morning, but I will if you don't listen up." Her eyes were focused on his, looking for something, hoping for something.

"I don't know your cousin personally, so I can't judge her. But I can tell how much you love her, which means your stories about her were told with fond regard with no intention of misrepresentation. From what I've gleaned, Lois Lane is badass, brash, busty, bull-headed…" his eyes softened at Chloe's alliteration-inspired smile "…and a whole bunch of other 'b' words that add up to the one person in your life who loves you completely and would do anything for you. And, frankly, Lois Lane sounds like an amazing young woman.

"But, you, Chloe – you are just as amazing. You were driven by desperation when you snuck into my office for an interview. From everything I know about you, you'd normally have gone through official channels out of respect for my personal privacy… You may investigate the local meteor infected and publish your findings in the Torch, but while some of it might be indiscreet, you never write anything untrue… You may have bias in one direction or another, but you're willing to explore other points of view.

"I doubt Lois would have been so understanding of my vices or have success in nudging me into giving them up… Chloe, you care so much about people that you neglect yourself. You excused Clark and Lana for their thoughtlessness when you vilify yourself for almost betraying them to Lionel.

"You're also prudent. Compared to your cousin who goes through with her crazy plans and succeeds by the seat of her pants, you make plans that can work for us mere mortals, with proof and layouts and back-ups. More cautious and less costly, in spite of all the meteor-infected hijinks you've been drawn into.

"You're a different shade of amazing, Sidekick. Not as obvious, perhaps, as your cousin, but much easier to live and grow with." He slid his hand away from her mouth slowly, looking at her with a mock expression of resignation. "You may proceed."

Pushing a stray strand of hair behind one ear, she stared at him. "First of all, wow. Are speeches a boardroom-skill of yours? Have you ever considered running for office?"

Oliver ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "I didn't mean to get as preachy as I did." A smile curled his lips. "And is this supposed to be an interview? Sorry, continue."

Chloe rolled her eyes with more emphasis than she felt. Strangely, she felt a bit like giggling – giggling! What's the world coming to? She shook the thought loose. "It was an interesting metaphor, your 'shade of awesome.' So, equating people to colors, what colors would we be?"

"Well, I've never gotten this question before – I usually get 'boxers or briefs?' or 'blondes or brunettes?'" His smirk softened to a smile under her chiding glance. "Your cousin sounds like the color red – passionate, violent, energized, and endlessly stubborn. Like the clichéd bull that charges at the color, she's unstoppable but easily blindsided.

"You, you're green. Just as powerful, but less aggressive. You're not the type to hit someone head-on, you examine the who, what, how, and why. As much as you look to bring awareness with the truth, you seek to share new perspectives. You're more fluid than Lois, adapting to things in ways she cannot. I get the feeling that whatever happens and however much she grows up, Lois will always be Lois. But you can reinvent yourself, Chloe – better and better each time."

Silence and a smile.

"And you?" the girl wondered softly. "What about you?"

"Me?" Oliver wondered. "I don't know. Personally, I'd like to be green. Favorite color and all," he deflected with a grin.

"Ollie." Chloe slipped her hand in his. "You can reinvent yourself – you've already started. Let's be green together."

He ducked his head. This girl. He's in a situation that could prove fatal… and this girl makes him grateful for it. The chance to get to know her on an even deeper level. The chance to fix himself up before he ruins his life permanently – no more drugs, drinks, or women.

Maybe just a woman, then? Chloe came to mind.

Well, that didn't quite qualify, did it? She was only sixteen for one thing – that's practically pedophilic! And for another, Oliver cared too much about her to ever treat her like he had the string of women he used for self-gratification. Ha! There's a word! Those women had indulged his self-gratification, and now this green-eyed slip of a girl was teaching him gratitude. What a heavy debt he'll owe her when all is said and done.

"I'd like that a lot, Sidekick. So tell me, what do green people do when they're stranded on an island?"

Chloe squeezed his hand. "They adapt. They survive. And they grow stronger."

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A/N:

Sorry for Oliver's excessive pep talk. Because, yes, it was excessive. No one talks like that in real life… But Chloe needed an ego boost pronto so she can go on to kick ass without the toughening influence and/or confidence boost of two years of Smallville's gauntlet of Kryptonite hijinks and emotional rejection. That's my explanation.