Chapter 20

Oliver stared down at his phone in disbelief. He had received plenty of calls today, most of them undesirable, but then again, the last few days weren't his favourites by any stretch of the imagination. However, what he wasn't expecting was to see her name displayed on his phone.

It had been over three months since Oliver came back to Star City and minus a few texts, he had heard nothing from Chloe. Granted, he knew why she was calling, it wouldn't take a genius to figure that out, but right now wasn't the best time to catch up.

Third ring in, Oliver thought about letting the call go to voicemail, hoping she'd understand that he'd call her back when it didn't feel like everything he had been working for was inches from going to shambles. But when the fourth ring sounded, Oliver decided against ducking her call and answered.

"Chloe, I'm sorry, I don't have time right now." Not the greeting he wanted to give her, but the necessary one for the time.

"So it really is that bad?" Chloe swallowed hard as she looked out the window of the cab. She had only heard Oliver talk like that once before and that hadn't been a pretty sight. "Hal told me you weren't taking his calls."

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, wondering what his friend was thinking, calling her. Things weren't great, but it wasn't like he was throwing his life away. "I just need some time alone."

"No you don't," Chloe quickly countered, because considering recent news, alone time only meant one thing and she had seen him come too far to sit back while he pissed away his reputation. "Look, I didn't fly across the country so you could brood."

Pushing his chair back, Oliver tried to contain his surprise. "You're in Star City?"

It was probably an extreme response, but after Hal told her that Oliver had been radio silent since yesterday, Chloe hoped there was a way that she could still get through to him. "I saw the headlines and I knew. I knew I had to be here for you." Feeling her cheeks redden, she cleared her throat before turning back to her driver. "Now tell me your address before I lose my life savings trying to find the building."

Chloe could practically hear Oliver grin on the other side as he told her the address, which she relayed to the cab driver, who replied Why didn't you just say so?

But the truth was that for some reason, his fame tended to go by the way-side, even though his fame was the only reason she knew that he was troubled. That particular fact was her fault, because between ignoring his calls and text messages, Chloe knew that she hadn't exactly been a great friend lately.

It wasn't fair to him, but Chloe always felt a pang of something whenever he contacted her. That feeling was something she was familiar with, but she tried to bury it because she couldn't blame Oliver for wanting to come back to Star City. It was a beautiful place if her cab ride was any indication, but it appeared that time was over, as the car pulled over to a stop. Smiling at her driver, she paid up and opened the door, feeling the late afternoon sunshine warm her as she stepped out of the car.

Reaching back, Chloe picked up her purse and her bag, knowing she should have prepared herself more for this, but this wasn't a planned trip. However, today seemed to be full of surprises.

Her grin maintained as the doorman bowed his head to her, the smiles contagious as she walked through the lobby to the private elevator. Chloe was a little surprised he was at home, but she couldn't blame him from wanting to avoid the press efforts. In fact, she was more surprised there weren't more press members here, but that answer came in the form of a press conference, a link to which was sent by Lois to Chloe's email.

Watching as Bill Walters answered the flurry of questions from the vultures of the press, Chloe swallowed hard as she stood in front of the elevator. She was aware that couldn't back away from this, but she had begun to second guess coming here. Yet even if she wanted to walk away, her feet had other ideas and she stepped inside, turning off her phone before instinctively lifting her fingers towards the keypad. It didn't take long for Chloe to realize that she didn't know the code, so her hand came back to her side as her eyes glanced up to the corner.

The silence didn't last, as Oliver was quick to activate the elevator, but Chloe spent that time trying not to let her emotions show too much. He had promised not to bury himself in his old ways, and so far, all signs pointed to him listening to her, but these were extenuating circumstances. It had also been over three months since she had seen Oliver, enough time for just about anything to occur. Would the guy that she remembered really be on the other side of the elevator?

That answer came quickly once the elevator arrived, opening to Oliver's smiling face, allowing for Chloe to relax, but only slightly. He was happy to see her, that was encouraging, but she couldn't take any chances.

"How much have you had to drink?" she asked, completely serious as she exited the elevator.

"Not enough," Oliver joked, but apparently his attempt on humour was lost on her. "Seriously, Chloe... I actually haven't had any. I know what's at stake and I'm not jeopardizing that."

"Good." Chloe let a small grin crack through as she looked around the room. "Although for the record, I'm not sure that energy drinks are much better," she said as she took note of the cans that lined his desk. "When was the last time you slept?"

It had been awhile, as the wrinkled clothing he wore probably gave away. Besides the few minutes of shut eye he got at his desk, sleep hadn't been high on his priority list. But Oliver shrugged it off, especially considering the source. "This coming from the woman who needs an hourly coffee and two hours of shut-eye?"

"I'm not running a company," Chloe countered.

Oliver laughed as he leaned back to sit on his desk, letting the silence set in before Chloe turned back to look at him. "It's nice to see you too."

Smiling as she dipped her head slightly, Chloe said, "Sorry."

He shrugged, not wanting Chloe to focus on that for too long. His gaze ended up on his phone, reminding Oliver that he should address the reason she thought she had to come to Star City. "How bad do Hal's messages sound?"

"He's just worried, you should probably give him a call."

"I will, I just…" He just didn't know what to say. Oliver didn't know how he could have been this blind to an issue that was so close to his company. Although Hal would be one of the few who would understand, that didn't make this easier to bear.

Seeing the defeat in his eyes, Chloe walked over to the desk and sat down next to him. "This wasn't what you had in mind when you woke up yesterday morning, was it?"

"Not even close," Oliver replied, as no one anticipated that his CFO, a man that had stood by his parents for years, would embezzle funds and disappear without a trace. Stakeholders wanted his head on a stick, and earlier this year, he probably would have given it to them.

Even now, he understood their position, but that didn't make anything better, so Oliver had fought the press battle all day yesterday, leaving it up to his team after he locked himself at home, trying to find a solution for this. The initial betrayal stung more than he wanted to admit, but he was grateful to have someone like Bill on his side. The board also questioned Oliver, but Bill shut them up for now, hopefully giving Oliver the time he needed to fix the mess. It was thanks to him that he was able to leave the office in one piece.

"You can't blame yourself." Chloe tried to give him a smile, wrapping her hand around his arm.

"Doesn't stop me from doing it anyway," Oliver said, pulling her close, still grasping the reality that she had come all this way.

For the next few minutes, they sat on the desk in silence, reveling in each other's company. Chloe had forgotten how much she missed this feeling. The soothing way his thumb made circles on her back, the reassuring way that the rest of his hand held her, it provided a sense of peace that she had forgotten for awhile.

Biting her tongue, Chloe tried to conceal any reaction as she leaned her head down to rest on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for being distant lately. Things haven't been the easiest for me either."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Oliver offered, more than willing to put his problems aside if he could actually help someone. That was probably the worst part of all this, there wasn't a cut and dry solution and Oliver wasn't sure if he could find a solution that he could live with.

"No," Chloe replied, as she was trying to forget the images in her mind, the hurt she had experienced. All she could hope for was to lie to Oliver and hope that he couldn't tell. "Things are fine now, so there's no point on dwelling on the past."

Oliver sensed the apprehension in her voice, but her words brought him back to business, leading to Oliver bringing his arm back to his side. "As much as I'm enjoying this," he said, standing up before turning to face Chloe, "I think I have a few calls to make." After a quick glance around, Oliver smiled and added, "Make yourself at home."

"Sure… thanks."

Hearing his footsteps retreat, Chloe stood up, looking at the disarray in front of her, the frustration that he had tried to hide. File folders covered the floor and furniture, but the most concerning thing was the sparkle of broken glass on the floor. No sign of liquid on the floor or wall, so Oliver had told her the truth, but he wasn't taking it easy.

Nor should he, as for all the positive steps that the company had taken, this was a huge setback. Newscasters had been speculating all day, but Chloe tried to tune out every single one because she knew that all they were interested in was the worst case scenario.

It was the one unfortunate facet of the realm Chloe worked in, because even though they knew the story, they never knew how much the aftermath could affect the subject. As she leaned down to pick up the glass, Chloe realized that she never fully knew how much she learned from Oliver.

After dropping the shards in the garbage can, Chloe looked in the direction Oliver walked out, noticing that he was still on the phone. She wasn't sure what help she could provide him, but even if it was just moral support, Chloe was willing to provide what he needed. After all, she meant every word when she said that she had to be here.

Her hand moved back on the desk, colliding with an unfamiliar object, causing Chloe to turn around. Eyes narrowing, Chloe's hand curled around the string, as this was probably one of the last things she could expect to see lying on Oliver's desk. After all, who shot bows and arrows anymore?

Although this was no Robin Hood bow, as it was likely worth more than Chloe could ever guess. Looking over her shoulder, Chloe found the target across the room with two arrows in the dead centre, but none of them seem damaged in the slightest.

He knew what he was doing, that was for sure. It was the only way he could hit the target from this distance with that kind of accuracy. She picked up the bow, tested the string, but she knew it wasn't the best idea to test a weapon that hadn't been calibrated to her. Putting it down, Chloe was about to look for Oliver again when suddenly his hand came into view, covering hers as she placed the bow back on the desk.

Oliver had noticed Chloe jump slightly, but he continued smirking at his bow as she retracted her fingers from it, carefully moving her hand so that her skin didn't collide with Oliver. "It may seem primitive, but it's got more power than you think."

"Is that so?" Chloe asked, her gaze matching his on the bow.

Leaning forward, Oliver whispered, "Ask Hal." Chloe had shivered in response, but after he grasped the bow in his hand, Oliver took a few steps back. "He decided to play William Tell one night and ended up shooting himself in the foot."

Oliver knew that it wasn't the best time to test the waters, but he had been working for the last twenty hours and right now, Chloe was literally a sight for sore eyes. Besides, no amount of time apart was going to erase the memory of how close they had become, which was proven in her reactions.

"How drunk was he?"

After a chuckle, Oliver replied, "I think it's safe to say that we were a little past tipsy a few hours before that happened."

Chloe smiled cautiously, even with her back turned to him. Her eyes had also squeezed shut while she silently told herself to get a grip before finally facing him. "How long have you been an archery buff?" In all her time with Oliver, she had never seen him shoot and it appeared to be something that was important to him.

"One of the last gifts from my father was a kid's bow." Oliver smiled at the memory, even as Chloe's expression fell, as there was no way for her to know that this was tied to his parents. Hardly anyone did. Slowly pulling back the string, Oliver's smile widened. "He taught me that life wasn't about speed. It was about patience, determination and accuracy. Plus a quiet strength to keep yourself in check."

"So this is your secret weapon?" Chloe asked, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Not really," Oliver said, walking past Chloe to pull the two arrows out of the target. "It's just something that helps me relax." It allowed him to think of his parents, about all the work that he had put into this company. Oddly enough, shooting an arrow reminded Oliver of the good in his life and it was probably the only way he had gotten through the last twenty hours, as the glass he had smashed when he got home had only caused further anger and frustration.

However, Oliver was ready to put it away, as he had a renewed sense of focus. Or at least, that was before Chloe spoke again, "Show me."

He paused in his step, but after a moment of silence, he said, "Okay." Oliver moved back to where he had been standing before, dropping one of the arrows to the ground before aligning his shot. "Grab that can and stand there." When she gave him a skeptical glance, Oliver walked over to his desk to pick up the can himself before holding it out to her. "Trust me."

Chloe obliged him, taking the can from his hand and moving herself to stand where she thought was right in front of the target. However, it wasn't long before Oliver dropped his bow and walked towards her again, guiding her arm to the right spot. But while he was focused on the action, Chloe's eyes were locked on his.

Her breathing didn't stop being uneven when he took the bow once more and pulled the string back. Chloe had inhaled when he took the shot, dropping the can instinctively, but to her surprise, the can fell to the ground. Her head tilted, but within a few seconds, she picked the can up again and noticed the tab was missing. Shaking her head, she walked back to the target, the arrowhead in the dead centre, the tab between Chloe and the wall.

"That's a neat trick," she said, pulling the arrow from the wall, tossing the tab in the air. "Do you show off your skills to every woman that comes here?"

Oliver laughed as he began to approach her. "You'd be the third... and considering the first was my mother—"

"The second implies that you were serious about someone once."

Surprised by her interjection, Oliver reached forward to take the arrow from her. "I was going to say that it's pretty rare for a woman to take the opportunity to really get to know me."

Chloe looked up at his inviting eyes, swearing that he was a foot closer than before. Clearing her throat, she tried to get away, because this wasn't why she came here. "Well, we have a lot of work to do, we should get started."

Unfortunately for her, the effort was stopped quickly with Oliver reaching for her hand, his face slightly puzzled. "We?"

Smiling before a small shrug, Chloe confirmed, "Yes, we. I'm not just going to sit around here." He let her go, so she walked away, trying to dissipate whatever was brewing, but she could still feel it in every fibre of her being.

It was just a stupid archery trick, but there was something about the way he spoke, combined with his determination to do the right thing, that had struck a chord with her. So when she began to look over papers, Chloe noticed the words start to blur.

Biting the inside of her lip, Chloe tried to focus. She couldn't do this, she couldn't let herself be this way. However, that didn't change the fact that Chloe had no idea what she was looking for. "Hey Ollie," she said as she turned, unaware that he was right behind her and about to say her name.

"Yes?"

"Um, you go first."

It wasn't hard for Oliver to see that he had caught her off-guard. It was mostly unintentional, but ever since she arrived, there was something that he needed to say. "I just realized that I never said thank you."

What she was doing was far and beyond what they were, yet there was no hesitation in her assistance. It wasn't unexpected, but it was that reason that made the words of gratitude feel inadequate. By coming here, it almost felt like those months of separation had completely faded away. More importantly, his problems faded away and Oliver believed he could do anything. And for once, that was anything of a positive nature because when she looked at him, he felt like a different man, a better man.

True, a lot had changed, but Oliver could never forget the way she smiled at him, and now was no exception. "Okay," she practically whispered, the single word enough for Oliver to skip a breath.

After a quick nod, Oliver was about to ask what she needed, but it appeared that the fatigue had caught up with him. His restraint went by the way-side as he stepped closer to her, reaching up to rest his fingertips on her ear. Her breathing has slowed, but she was far from fighting him this time.

Leaning his forehead down to touch hers, Chloe reacted accordingly, parting her lips a little, inviting him silently as his chin tilted up.

"Chloe, I –"

"I know," she interjected, realizing that she didn't want him to back away this time. "It's okay." Closing her eyes, anticipating the rest of the distance to be closed, Chloe took a deep breath in.

His lips against hers was better than she remembered, his tongue deepening the kiss right away, but as always, Oliver made a simple kiss feel like so much more. His hands expertly worked on her body, remembering the little things that made her wonder how she managed being apart from him for so long. As she clutched his arms for balance, Chloe did her best to reciprocate, but part of her was still in denial that this was happening.

She knew that no matter how hard she tried to fight it, Chloe couldn't fight him, not when it was clear how much he wanted it too. After her foot made contact with the desk, he wasted little time lifting her up, desperation high on both sides as their shirts soon fell aside.

Their mouths finally disentangled, partially to take a moment to breathe, partially to take in the view in front of them. Chloe was tempted to smile, but it didn't take long for her to see Oliver's expression sour. "Ollie?"

His lips parted, but to her surprise, he backed away. "I'm sorry, I can't do this."

"What?"

"Chloe, I..."

I want more than this. You deserve more than this.

The words were right there, right on his tongue, but he bit them back. This wasn't the time or place to do this and he wasn't about to risk everything on a fatigued slip, whether it came from his upstairs or downstairs brain. After a few seconds, he found another way to finish that sentence. "I want to, but there are more important things than what I want."

"You're right," she admitted, although she didn't appreciate that he had likely sugar-coated the truth. After pushing herself off the desk, Chloe leaned down to retrieve her shirt, realizing that her words did nothing to dull the pit in her stomach.

Chloe tried to push it aside as she crossed the room to where she was standing before, but it was no use. As she lowered herself to the floor, she tried to focus, but the words weren't much clearer than they were before. Fortunately for her, Oliver broke the silence, likely sensing the tension as well. "So did you really come out all this way for my problems?"

"No," Chloe admitted, biting the inside of her lip to hold back her emotions. "I've always wanted to see the city." That was about as much truth as she felt like telling right now.

"Maybe I can give you a tour when this is done," Oliver replied as he continued to filter through papers.

"I'd like that." Looking up, Chloe put on a brave face before meeting his eyes, her chest tightening over the simple smile he gave her. However, the moment was soon broken when Oliver's phone vibrated. She chuckled as her eyes moved to look at it. "Has that thing been quiet since this happened?"

"No," Oliver said, dragging the single word over the surprise of the caller on his phone. He glanced at Chloe before answering the call, tentatively saying, "Hey."

Chloe had caught the glance out of the corner of her eye, as his reaction seemed strange to her. The casual greeting meant that it wasn't business related and his voice seemed nervous more than agitated when he gave minimal responses. Combined with the fact that she kept feeling him staring at her, Chloe had a sense she knew who he was talking to and once she heard him say goodbye, she was ready to call him on it.

"That was Lois... wasn't it?"

Oliver nodded, not intending to hide the reason for the call, as he knew that Chloe could read him too easily. "Chloe, I'm so sorry." Despite his prior suspicions, he never guessed something of this magnitude had occurred.

He had taken a step closer to Chloe, but she quickly stood up to build a bigger distance, shrugging off his apology in the process. "Did you tell Lois that I was here?" Chloe knew it wasn't what he wanted to hear, but as much as Chloe loved her cousin, Lois flying across the country wasn't what Chloe needed. This conversation wasn't what she needed either, as she felt her tears returning to her, but she knew that there was no avoiding it now.

However, that didn't stop Chloe from turning around before Oliver had a chance to speak again. "She asked if I would let her know if you called me and I agreed. I can't blame her for being worried when –"

"When my mother suffered every day and now she's finally free and reunited with my dad?" Chloe paused to take a deep breath, trying to sniffle back her tears while recognizing the sound of footsteps behind her. "I mean, I got to say goodbye in person. Can't ask for more than that right?"

Stopping just behind Chloe, Oliver watched as she lifted her eyes to look at him without turning her head. He hated that she echoed his words back to him, but that wasn't what hurt the most. "You should have told me."

"Why?" Chloe replied, skepticism thick in her voice. "Would you really want to know?"

"You know I would." After everything she had shared with him and especially after meeting her mother, Oliver figured that Chloe trusted him.

"Maybe I didn't want your pity, ever think of that?" Chloe sighed as she faced him again, frustration coming to the surface. She never expected her mother to get better, but she had been working so hard to ensure that her mom would be okay. For years, she had been inches away from being an orphan, but actually being one now felt so much worse. "I just wanted to forget all this for a few hours. That's the reason we even started this whole thing." No emotions, no backstories, no complications, yet somehow, he had become the most complicated thing in her life. "Oliver, our lives were supposed to be off-limits and off the record. You weren't supposed to –"

Care.

That was supposed to be the end of the sentence, but the hurt in his eyes stopped everything. How could she say that? How could she actually say that with a straight face, knowing they had ended things before he left, knowing that she had come all this way not for his body, but for him?

Even worse yet, she had come to Star City to help Oliver, but who was she kidding? Instead, she bogged him down with all of her problems when hundreds, maybe even thousands of jobs were at stake.

"This was a mistake," she said, shaking her head, realizing she had to get out of here. Even though she didn't want to head back to Kansas, it was looking like a much better option than distracting Oliver from what he needed to do. "I shouldn't have come, I'm sorry."

Oliver sprung into action, as he understood her need to flee, but he also knew that he didn't want her to be alone right now. "C'mon, you just need to get some rest. Or I can go get you coffee from this place a –"

"Thanks," Chloe replied, shaking the tears from her eyes. "But no. You have more important things to do right now and I... I have a funeral to plan."

You're important to me too.

Again, the words were right there, but instead, all he said was, "Are you sure?" He didn't like saying that, but Oliver had a feeling that there was no way that he could change her mind.

And he was right. For even though Chloe knew that he could probably help, maybe even relate, now wasn't the time. "Running doesn't change the fact that she's gone." Looking up at him, she added, "Goodbye Oliver."

Not being able to look at him any longer, Chloe felt grateful when Oliver let her go, something that wasn't easy for either side, but her last two words had froze him, causing his grip to loosen. Releasing a hard breath as the elevator descended, there was a part of Chloe wanted to go back up, to tell him everything, but when the elevator stopped, she got out and quickly left the building.

This... this was his world. Despite the current news, Chloe knew that Oliver was actually respected here and he had stayed true to his word and let himself be happy. And all that was without her.

It was the classic story of her life, finding the down-and-out soul to be saved, falling for the poor sucker along the way, only for them to inevitably leave her behind. First, she had helped Clark out of his shell, just in time for high school. He would always stick by her, but Clark never saw her that way, which was probably why their relationship was so brief.

That was about all he and Oliver had in common, so the comparison was incomplete at best. But it was really easy to compare him to someone else in her life. In fact, their stories were stupidly similar.

"Chloe?"

Speak of the devil.

Trying to hide her tears, Chloe sniffed a few times before turning to face him. "What are you doing here?"

Matt narrowed his eyes as he finished crossing the street, taking note of her red eyes, but he could see she was trying to hide it. "I... I actually just bought a place here. I guess I forgot to mention that I was looking to establish the western headquarters in Star City while I was in Metropolis."

Chloe nodded, glad to have something new cloud her thoughts, as the move came as a surprise to her. "I thought you were pretty attached to Chicago."

"I am, and it will always be my home, but I thought it was time to embrace the west coast considering a good chunk of my dealings happen here." He paused, knowing that he couldn't completely ignore the fact that she was standing here of all places. "But... what are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," Chloe sighed, knowing Matt meant well, but getting into the details of this encounter wasn't on her to-do list.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

It seemed like such a silly question, but as Chloe glanced down at her bags, she realized it was completely valid. "Not... really."

"Then let's go. I live a few blocks from here and there's no way I'm letting you go to a hotel."

Chloe thought about arguing, but this provided an out that she desperately needed, so she nodded, allowing Matt to take her bag from her.

However, what she didn't know was that Oliver had followed her downstairs, watching the encounter from inside the building. He wanted to go outside, but he knew that what she had right now was what she needed.

Goodbye Oliver.

He had hoped that it didn't sound as permanent as it did in his head, but watching her walk away, Oliver had this feeling that he wasn't so lucky.

Sera's Scribbles: I think I may have bitten off a bit more than I could chew here. I know what I wanted from this, but I don't think I got it. Fear not, if you can bear with my so-so material until Chapter 21 (or 22)... we should be good.