Zoey's gaze flicks over the books on the shelf. She ignores the Scotch sitting just a few feet away. Over the past few months, she had developed a budding relationship with Lex. She didn't know what to call it. She didn't really care what it actually was. She was more frustrated with the pace of things. She was frustrated with how Oliver was being overprotective. She was frustrated with Adam, the cute guy Lana had met in physical therapy who had moved into the apartment above the Talon. Zoey hadn't been in favor of it but didn't voice her concerns to Lana. Jonathan having a heart attack didn't lessen the frustration she was feeling.

Zoey glances at the bottle of Scotch once more. She bites her lip. One drink wouldn't hurt. She starts to move towards the bar. The door opens and she turns to see Bruce. "Your party kinda sucks," she greets.

"It's not really my party," Bruce counters, walking over to her. He holds out a bottle of sparkling water and she raises an eyebrow. "If you want any chance of joining me at Princeton, then you won't have that drink."

Zoey stares at him, then takes the bottle of sparkling water. "What makes you think that I would want to join you at Princeton," she argues.

Bruce stares at her. "No, you're right. I mean, you didn't want to join me out here."

"Are you mad that I chose to go back to Smallville?"

"No."

"I asked you what we were. You didn't answer. So, why would I want to move somewhere where the only person I would know can't even be honest with me about the relationship we have?"

"I thought the necklace I sent you made it pretty clear, Zoey."

"It's not the same thing, Bruce," Zoey softly tells him, then walks out of the room.

Zoey sighs when there's a knock on the hotel suite door. After leaving Bruce, she had headed back to the hotel. She had wanted to privately lick her wounds. All she wanted was to be with someone one who was honest with her. She stands up when there's a second knock at the door. She looks through the peephole and frowns seeing Bruce standing there. She opens the door and stares at him.

"Can I come in," Bruce asks. Zoey opens the door wider and he walks in. She stares at him, waiting. "I can't be your boyfriend."

Zoey rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I figured that out for myself, Bruce."

"I'm not going to do long distance, Zoey. That's not fair to either of us. I care about you too much to have a relationship that's mostly over the phone and email."

She moves closer to him. "If I joined you at Princeton, then we could be together?"

"Yes."

"Is that a promise?"

Bruce pulls her against his chest. "Yes."

"And if I happen to meet someone before I can join you at Princeton?"

"Then you would have a choice to make."

Zoey leans up and softly kisses him. His hand slides under her t-shirt. If she had to wait until after high school to be with him, she was willing to wait. In the meantime, she would enjoy her life. And if something happened before she went to Princeton. She would deal with it.

Zoey yawns as she walks into the manager's office of the Talon. She was exhausted since she hadn't gotten back to Smallville until early that morning. Thunderstorms in Gotham had pushed her flight out until early that Monday morning. It probably didn't help that she had scheduled her flight back to Metropolis on a late Sunday night. She also knew that it didn't help that she had spent that extra time with Bruce and that it had led to them spending the majority of the night up. She grabs her bag from the bottom drawer in the desk and turns to find Lex standing in the doorway.

"Lex, hi," she greets, fighting off another yawn.

"You disappeared over the weekend," Lex says, walking towards her.

"I was in Gotham for the annual Wayne Foundation Gala. I was supposed to get back last night, but my flight got delayed because of the weather."

Lex reaches up and gently tugs off the scarf she was wearing. "I'm sure it had nothing to do with an overly broody heir."

Zoey rolls her eyes. "He's not broody. And that's none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going home to get some much-needed sleep."

She starts to walk out of the office. Lex grabs her wrist and she looks at him. He pulls her into a soft kiss. Of everything that had been going on in his life over the past year, she was the only thing that had been normal. He had wanted to take things slow with her. He hadn't wanted to fuck things up with her. His slowly building relationship with Zoey was the only time that Lionel had said anything positive about his dating life.

"Lex, you have a great opportunity in front of you," Lionel tells him. He motions to the door that Zoey had just walked through. "Don't fuck it up. The Carmichaels may be in the business of hotels, but they have connections with the most powerful people."

Lex reluctantly ends the kiss. Zoey looks up at him. "I get a feeling that I'm not getting much sleep tonight," she softly says.

"Only if you want to."

"Oh, I want to. The question is my place or yours?"

Lex wakes up to soft snoring in the bed next to him. He looks over and finds a mass of blonde curls. Zoey. He wasn't going to deny that he had been jealous. Zoey's relationship with Bruce was an open secret. Everyone knew about it. Zoey and Bruce refused to talk about it with anyone. He runs a hand down her back and she stirs. She rolls onto her back. He leans down and presses his lips against hers.

It doesn't take long for the kiss to become filled with desire. He's sliding into her. Her moans fill the bedroom. He comes with a grunt and collapses on the bed next to her. Zoey yawns and stretches. "I should probably get cleaned up and head out. I have to head to Metropolis."

Lex frowns. "What are you doing in Metropolis?"

"Meeting with my therapist and then with Austin."

"Did Austin say why you needed to meet with him?"

"No. But I'm sure it's nothing."

"I'm working with the FBI to put my father in prison," Lex tells her. Zoey raises an eyebrow. "You should be prepared in case he tries something."

"Your father doesn't scare me," Zoey replies, standing up. She shoots him a smile before disappearing into the bathroom.

"I'm totally not jealous," Zoey says as she stands at the bar in the Talon with Lana. She was looking through the brochure Lana had given her. "Paris is amazing. And you can stay at the Rosewood. It has amazing views."

"I can't afford to stay there, Zoey," Lana replies.

"One of the perks of being friends with a hotel heiress is free hotel suites," Zoey counters. "I refuse to accept no as an answer. Just let me know when you need it. Besides, wouldn't you rather have your own suite than have to share a dorm with someone for senior year."

Lana laughs. "All right. You talked me into it. And what are you doing this summer?"

"I'm doing the summer internship program at Queen Industries. It should be fun. Well, as long as I don't end up as the CEO's summer intern."

"I think anyone would want that job."

"Um…everyone but me." Zoey spots Chloe walking into the Talon. "You should totally do it. And I'm gonna make myself scarce." She shoots Lana a smile and makes her way out of the Talon. Her Blackberry buzzes and she pulls it out of her bag.

"You should have told me that you applied for the Queen Industries summer internship program," Oliver greets.

"I wanted to earn it based on merit," Zoey argues. "Not because of who I know."

"Zo, I wouldn't have interfered."

"Zoey!" Zoey turns to see Chloe walking towards them. "Zoey, why have you been avoiding me?"

"Because I don't want the whole world to know that I've been fucking Lex Luthor," Zoey honestly answers. She stares at Chloe in disbelief, wondering why she just said that out loud. She looks down at her Blackberry to discover that Oliver had hung up. Zoey quickly climbs into her Porsche and takes off.

"A fucking phone call would have sufficed," Zoey mutters, opening the door and letting Oliver in. She knew that it wouldn't take Oliver long to show up in Smallville after he heard what she had said to Chloe. Clark had told her about Chloe being involved in an accident at LuthorCorp and getting doused with a chemical that gave her the ability to get the truth out of anyone. Luckily, Clark had managed to find an antidote and save Chloe's life. Max had been in Star City for the week, trusting Zoey to be on her own for the week.

"I wanted to know what the hell is going through your mind," Oliver snaps. "Have you been drinking?"

Zoey glares. "I don't appreciate you coming into my home and accusing me of things," she argues. "I think you should leave."

"I'm not going anywhere until I know that you're okay."

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine, Oliver. Now, you can get back on your plane and go home."

Oliver moves closer to her. "I want you to tell me why, Zoey."

"Because he doesn't treat me like a china doll."

Oliver stares at her. He pulls her into a bruising kiss. It was one filled with anger and jealously. Her back hits the wall. His hands slide under her skirt. He teases her. Her nails dig into his shoulder. Her body shudders. She quickly undoes his jeans. He pulls his hand away. Zoey shoves him onto the couch. She straddles his waist and sinks onto him. He yanks off her sweater, wanting access to more of her skin.

Zoey lets out a soft moan as her second orgasm hits. His hands tightly grip her hips. Now, he wanted his release. "Fuck," she cries out. Oliver grunts, his own orgasm hits him. She collapses on top of him. His hand lightly strokes her back.

"You know, Zo," Oliver softly begins. He buries a hand in her hair. "You really pissed me off, Zo. I was just filled with anger after I heard you answer your friend's question."

"Ollie—"

"I hate the idea of his hands on you. His lips on you. I…It's all I could see on the flight out here. And on the drive." Oliver stares at the ceiling. He squeezes her thigh. "I don't want you to get hurt, Zo. I've seen what Lex does to people he considers a friend. I don't want you to end up like them."

Zoey bites her lip. She leans down and softly kisses him. "Okay."

Zoey stares at the file in disbelief. She wasn't going to deny that she had been curious about the package that arrived by private courier from Lionel Luthor. Lionel was currently sitting in a federal prison cell. He had been arrested for the murder of his parents and was awaiting trial. Lana and Lex had sold their shares of the Talon to Max. Lana was getting ready to leave for art school in Paris. But at that moment, none of that mattered to her.

Anger is all that fills Zoey as she makes her way to the Luthor mansion and into Lex's study. He was sitting behind his desk. Zoey slams the file in front of him. "What the fuck is," she demands.

Lex looks through the folder. There were numerous photos of Zoey. Some of them she was alone. In others, she was either with Max, Oliver Queen, or Bruce Wayne. There were photos taken from a surveillance camera that had been planted in her home. Photos that showed her being intimate with Oliver. Lex closes the folder and holds it out to her. "Zoey, this has to be the work of my father. He—"

"I don't care who did it," Zoey snaps, grabbing the folder from him. "But you will stay the fuck away from me and my family."

That night in Star City, Oliver frowns when there's a knock at his penthouse door. He was all set to go out on his nightly patrol. The knocking grows more incessant. "Shit," Oliver mutters, walking over to the door. He places the compound bow by the door. "Look, I don't know how you—"

"Ollie," Zoey calls out.

Oliver yanks open the door. Zoey was standing there. Her eyes were red. "Zo."

Could you look me in the eye
And tell me that you're happy now, ohhh, ohhh
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased,
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?