Chloe became obsessed with Oliver Queen. Not in the stalker-ish way, but as a fellow human being she was intrigued by him. He never slipped up being Green Arrow, yet everyday there was something about him in the papers that evoked an eye roll from her. She admitted alarmingly that maybe she had got it all wrong. Maybe Oliver wasn't the 'fun buddy' type; maybe he was someone else. Sadness grew in her chest as Chloe realised that she didn't really know him, well, not the real him. She was at her desk in the Planet when the phone rang annoyingly.
"You've reached Chloe Sullivan at the Daily Planet", her voice droned.
"Work not treating you well?"
Chloe's eyes peeled open at the sound of his voice, "Jimmy!"
"Actually, I prefer James."
Chloe spoke on the phone to Jimmy for hours, talking about meeting up. She had to cower behind her chair every time Kahn walked past, snooping about per usual.
Jimmy Olsen walked through the weathered doors and made sure everyone had their eyes on him…not on purpose of course. His feet caught on the corner of the door as he stumbled over, knocked coffee off a passer by's hand and head butted a chair along the way. "Only you Jim- James", Chloe smiled as she helped him get up.
"It might be the bump to my head, but your eyes got brighter, Bright Eyes."
They strolled leisurely to Metro Café and grabbed a table by the fire place. It was cold outside, the snow dusted every inch of surface and swirls of frost shone on the windows. Chloe finally noticed the subtle changes in the man sitting nest to her. Jimmy had grown a little taller and his jaws lost the boyish roundness it once retained. His voice had a certain timbre to it that made her smile.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
"Nothing. Just thinking about the first day we met."
At that exact moment Oliver rushed in from the cold, beating the icy cold off of his un-gloved hands. Chloe's face resembled a tomato as she struggled to introduce the two men to each other.
"Oliver Queen, James Olsen. James is a photographer and Oliver Queen is a, well, billionaire tycoon."
Oliver didn't know why, but an automatic wave of hostility rolled off him towards the Olsen guy. He saw the glimmer in his eyes and the sheen in his smile. James liked Chloe. Oliver shook his hands a little too firmly, to see whether this guy could handle the subtly forceful nature of Chloe or not.
Chloe disapproved greatly, not that it mattered to him.
"Chloe" Oliver motioned to speak privately. She got up slowly and walked to the muffin stand.
"Just to remind you, my New Year party is next week. I've invited really close friends and they won't feel comfortable with anyone else" he hinted not too softly. She rolled her eyes again, tut-ting while doing so. "Let me guess. You don't like Jimmy."
She guessed right, Oliver didn't like James….or Jimmy as she liked to call him. Chloe looked back at him and smiled her glorious smile.
Great, Oliver thought. She likes him too.
