Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: I would like to express my thanks to those who reviewed last chapter, even if there was an utter lack of chloe/oliver interaction. I'm glad you guys are liking the story thus far. And now on with the story...

When Ollie met Chloe

Chapter 3

Peeved

Chloe sighed as she proceeded to walk towards the house. The day felt like it would never end. If she knew that she would have to deal with everything she probably would have chosen to remain in bed.

Problem # 1:Jimmy. Sure Jimmy Olsen seemed harmless. But the night before, he just planted one on Chloe. Maybe she should have expected it. After all they did have a history. Not a particularly good one but a history nonetheless. Still maybe she did, in some level, want him to kiss her. But the moment it happened she felt nothing.

After finding the body of the girl everything pretty much ended anyway. But then Clark had to drop by just as Jimmy was coming out of the bathroom this morning. She would have laughed at the way that Clark said goodbye, not even bothering to ask why she asked him to drop by in the first place.

Problem # 2: Clark. Yes admittedly she told him that she wasn't exactly expecting them to hook up when she kissed him on Dark Thursday and he agreed. But then the expression on his face this morning, well it was enough for her to doubt his own words. He seemed crestfallen. Add the prior interrogation; what exactly was she supposed to think?

Problem # 3: Lana. She was supposedly moving on with her life. But she was lying to herself if she denied the fact that she was still harboring some secret hope that one day Clark would just blurt out his secret to her and then they could live happily ever after. If she even so much as thought about hooking up with Clark, well was she willing to sacrifice a friendship that she had come to depend on?

And finally, well he did not exactly qualify as a problem per se, Oliver Queen was entirely too interested in her.

When Lois asked her to wait for someone while she went off somewhere, Chloe did not exactly expect to meet another billionaire playboy. It wasn't as if Smallville needed another one of those.

So she was at the barn, half-hoping that Clark would return already. They were supposed to be investigating the recent weirdfest. But ever since he left the apartment he was MIA, something that she didn't appreciate since he was the superpowered one in their duo. He should be grateful that she managed to track him down, well after her strange encounter with Oliver Queen.

The first time she saw him all she thought was 'yum' and it was fun when she finally recognized him. It was fun watching him try and find out her name. She would have cackled evilly at his expression when she left without telling him anything, but she was launched into full investigative mode.

Chloe briefly wondered if Mrs. Kent told him who she was. It wasn't as if she gave Clark's mom explicit instructions not to tell him who she was. She shrugged as she contemplated that possibility. She had far more important things to worry about.

Clark was off to the Luthor mansion, to interrogate the lord of the manor about the recent freaky incident. Of course she had to remind her best friend to keep his temper in check. She had to remind him that Lex was not always the one responsible for all nefarious events in Smallville. Of course Clark was letting his emotions get the better of him. Thus the reinforcement of problem 2 and 3, if he was still so hung up on Lana then why the hell was he disappointed that she didn't want to hook up with him?

'Men!' she blurted out in annoyance.

She saw Mrs. Kent waving from the kitchen.

She was supposed to head straight for the loft and start on her research. Clark was mysteriously harmed by the plant at the forest when they rescued the guy from the night before. Therefore it was kryptonite based. She assigned herself the task of finding out the why, while Clark was chasing a false lead. At least she felt that it was completely useless to try and pin everything on Lex. Clark asked her to wait for him at the farm and then they were supposed to check up on the guy from the forest, code for look for more clues at the hospital.

"Hey Mrs. Kent!" She waved back and was about to keep walking towards the barn.

"Chloe, would you mind coming in for a bit?" Martha smiled at her. "I made some coffee and cookies."

Chloe smiled at her, "No fair Mrs. Kent, you know my weakness." She teased the older woman and headed for the door that would lead her to the cookies and her favorite liquid.

Martha laughed at her words. Ever since Chloe discovered Clark's secret she had been coming to the farm more often. And she was grateful for the company. She never would have thought that the blonde reporter would be such a loyal secret keeper, on the second thought; she'd always known that Chloe's loyalty would trump any desire to break out the biggest story in history.

She placed a cup of coffee and a plateful of cookies in front of her son's best friend. "I'd like to thank you for being here when Oliver Queen dropped by." She said as she sat across from Chloe.

"It's no big deal. I was here anyway." Chloe replied dismissively as she took a sip of her ambrosia.

"Chloe." She used her motherly tone and the younger woman looked at her sheepishly.

"You're welcome Mrs. Kent. I was happy to help. So is Mr. Queen giving you his support?" she leaned forward and asked with such interest.

Martha nodded smilingly. "He told me that I could count in his support. He was such a pleasant young man."

Chloe scoffed at her description but kept her opinions to herself.

Martha's smile widened. "He asked me to give you this." She handed Chloe the calling card that Oliver gave her earlier.

Chloe's brows furrowed as she reached for the card.

Oliver Queen

(785) 555-6345

"I think that's his private number. He gave me an entirely different calling card." Martha was smiling at her.

Chloe frowned slightly. "Did he say why he wanted me to have this?"

"He said you two have a bet to settle." Martha was still smiling.

She remained quiet at the answer. So somehow the blonde billionaire managed to find out her name. She shouldn't be surprised, after all Mrs. Kent could have told him who she was.

"It was amusing actually." Martha commented offhandedly.

Chloe looked at her curiously.

"The way he was trying to learn your name." Martha said in explanation. "He was trying to get me to tell him. It was Lois who actually told him who you were."

Chloe rolled her eyes. Of course Mrs. Kent didn't spill the beans. That honor belonged to her own flesh and blood. She placed the card on the table and focused her attention back to the cookies.

"So are you going to give him a call?" Martha broached the question carefully. She knew that Oliver was interested in Chloe. She saw it in the way he looked at her as she left this morning. She saw it as the young man asked for her name. She saw it as he handed her the calling card. And she could tell that it was a rare thing for Oliver to do what he did today.

Chloe just shrugged in return. "I really don't know Mrs. Kent. I just have too much stuff going on right now."

Martha nodded. "I understand."

"I mean I have the Planet. And I'm actually giving dating a try." Chloe bit into her cookie with too much fervor.

"You're already seeing someone?" This was news to Martha.

"Kinda. It's not all that settled yet." Chloe bit her lip as she waited for Martha's reaction.

"I think Oliver wants to ask you to the costume ball." Martha said plainly. If nothing was settled yet then there was no reason for her not to go with Oliver. It was high time that young men started to notice the gem that was Chloe Sullivan.

Chloe actually snorted at her words. "Like I would be caught dead at a social event hosted by Lex. No offense."

"None taken dear, I know that you already picked Clark's side in this ridiculous battle between him and Lex." Martha shook her head disapprovingly.

"It was inevitable. Besides, it's hardly a battle. They're fighting over a girl." She said with such distaste.

'If you only knew.' Martha thought to herself. "It's okay to keep your options open Chloe." She said as she reached for the young girl's arm. "You never know, you just might like Mr. Queen."

"I doubt it." She wrinkled her nose. She put down her empty cup and snagged one last cookie from the plate. "Thanks for the snack Mrs. K. But I need to go back to work. Clark would be coming back soon and I need to at least have something on our new meteor freak." She got up from the chair and started for the door.

"Chloe, you forgot something." Martha looked at the calling card meaningfully.

Chloe frowned and took the card, slipped it in her back pocket. She was all set to go to the barn when Martha said her name again.

"I never thanked you for being there for Clark. I just want you to know that he appreciates it. More than you'll ever know, as do I." Martha looked at the young woman warmly.

Chloe grinned at her. "Thanks Mrs. Kent. I'm glad I'm able to help." She waved with finality and left the house.

Chloe was busy reading up on the current meteor related file. It was strange that something as innocent as a plant could bloody Clark's hands. It meant that whatever they were dealing with was new.

And coincidentally this occurred right after Clark's grand exit from the phantom zone. 'Maybe there is a connection.' She thought to herself.

It had been almost an hour since Clark went off in his own little adventure. And she had been busy with trying to actually find out the real cause of the problem.

But so far no go. She leaned back on the couch. Her gaze landed on the card that was innocuously lying on the table. She took it out of her back pocket because she felt completely weird having it in her possession.

Sure it was fun; she did flirt with the guy, just a teeny bit. But it wasn't supposed to go anywhere. Harmless flirting was not supposed to get her the number of a very eligible bachelor.

She stared at the calling card. What exactly was the harm in calling him? She would have the opportunity to berate him for being such a cop out. She grabbed her phone and punched in the number. After a moment's hesitation she pressed call.

The phone rang a three times before it was answered. "Queen." Was the curt greeting.

"What is it with billionaires answering their phones with their last names? Why can't you just answer the phone like normal people? Would a simple hello kill you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Oliver laughed warmly at her greeting. He had been waiting for her call. He had hoped that it wouldn't take her long to call him and he wasn't disappointed. "How are you Chloe Sullivan? Intern for the Daily Planet, freshman at Metropolis University, majoring in journalism." He rattled of the information he had in front of him.

"Should I be impressed now? You took such a coward's way out Mr. Queen. I can't say I'm not disappointed." She shook her head disapprovingly, even though he couldn't see her expression.

He heard the disapproval in her voice. It just amused him more. "I would have been a fool for not taking advantage of the fact that the Kent residence was full of people who knew you. Wouldn't you have been more disappointed if I didn't utilize those resources to the best of my ability?" he countered easily.

"Whatever." She retorted dismissively. "So why did you want me to call you? Aside from the gloating."

"I wasn't aware I was gloating." Oliver replied with laughter in his voice. The blonde one was really too much, her quick wit was enough to reel him in.

"Don't bother denying it. You were." She rejoined grumpily. She could not deny that the conversation was not going the way she expected it to go.

"I wasn't. I merely wanted to thank you for your company this morning." Oliver could hear a slight edge to her tone. Maybe he was gloating, just a little bit.

"You're welcome then. Is that all?" she asked with such curtness. Sure he was handsome, gorgeous even. But he didn't have to act like a typical arrogant rich kid.

"Actually I was hoping that you would come with me to the costume ball that Lex Luthor's hosting at his mansion." Oliver tried to inject some nonchalance in his words.

Chloe wrinkled her nose, "No thanks."

"Is there any particular reason why?" Oliver asked in a clipped tone, he was not used to outright rejection.

"You mean aside from the lack of an actual invitation? That felt more like an order rather than an invite." She replied coolly.

"Is your objection solely based on the way I phrased my request?" He was back in good humor, she certainly was an original. Attending the ball with her would provide him with much entertainment and it didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes as well.

"My objection had more to do with your entire person Mr. Queen. I prefer not to associate with your type." Chloe rolled her eyes in exasperation, she should have expected the man not to take no for an answer.

"And which type am I exactly?" Oliver smiled to himself; he was enjoying the conversation more and more.

"I have a feeling that you know which type you are. Now that you told me to go to the ball with you and I said no, should we end this already?" Chloe tapped her foot impatiently.

"I happen to be enjoying our conversation Ms. Sullivan." He responded simply.

"Well this conversation is simply a waste of my cell phone minutes. Thanks for the invitation, but no thanks. I have to wash my hair." She said impertinently. Inwardly she was giggling at her rejoinder.

"You are aware that the second you said no, you made your self unattainable?" He asked charmingly.

"I'm not some object that you have to win." Her eyes narrowed at the thought. Oliver Queen was an arrogant prick.

"But by purposefully rejecting me you are making yourself a challenge. And I have to inform you Ms. Sullivan, I happen to love challenges." He truly did and he never lost. Chloe just made herself even more worthy of his pursuit.

"Chloe, who are you talking to?" He heard the male voice just as he was waiting for Chloe's response.

"No one." She told the unidentified man. "I have to go." She told him and hung up.

Oliver looked at his phone and wondered who could have interrupted their interesting banter. He needed to start planning. He had to get her to agree to go to the ball with him. Going with someone else was simply not an option.

TBC