A/N: I think I might be a little out-of-character for both Chloe and Oliver in this story, but I guess that's the beauty of alternate universes. I'm so grateful for this now… while it's not the happiest fic, it gives me much-needed relief from the angst/drama.

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own nothing. Everything belongs to their respective owners.

Take a Chance

Chapter 1

Upon entering the house I breathed a sigh of relief as the rain started pouring. My car was breaking down as it was; there was no way I would be able to push it towards the Kent farm by myself after a long day at the Daily Planet.

I had the place to myself as Clark and Lois were taking their first vacation as a couple. It took me locking them in the same room for them to finally admit their feelings for each other, but it was worth it. When they decided to take a vacation, I realized that I hadn't taken time off in a long time, so I told Clark that I would take care of Shelby and relax at the farm.

Of course, the fact we took our vacation at the same time left the Planet slightly understaffed, which was risky considering the upcoming merger with Queen Industries, but we figured it would make Tess Mercer realize that she wouldn't have a paper without us.

Shelby walked towards me. "Hey, you want to watch the rain?" I petted the Kent family dog and turned my head towards the window when I realized there was someone at the front door.

As I approached the front door, I jokingly said, "Not the best idea to go for a walk, don't you think?"

I opened the door to realize my guest was none other than Oliver Queen. What would a billionaire playboy CEO want at the Kent farm? Or in Smallville for that matter? According to the rumour mill, he was in Metropolis to announce the resulting layoffs from the merger in a press conference later this week. However, Metropolis is two hours away from here, and private jets don't exactly fly to Smallville.

He flashed his signature grin and asked. "Could you push my car in the driveway?"

I raised my eyebrows in shock. "Excuse me?"

"I was..."

"I know what you said. You expect me to push your car?"

"Do you expect me to push it?"

I sighed before slamming the door in his face. Sure, my hair was a little wet from the rain, and I may not be dressed for a black-tie event, but I wasn't anybody's servant.

While I had hoped he would take off to the next farm, it didn't surprise me when I looked out the front window a few minutes later and saw him on the front porch. I wondered for a moment if he could sue me because I let him freeze. The guy probably hadn't experienced real weather conditions since he was stranded on an island, and while I hoped that would have taught him some humility, apparently I was wrong.

Sadly though, part of me felt bad for him. It's not like there was a nearby hotel that he could stay at. I grabbed my rain coat and a poncho and walked outside. As much as it pained me to do this, I was going to help him out.

I turned to him as I closed the door. "I don't know what you had expected from me, but if we worked together, we might be able to get your car through the gate." I threw him the poncho. "It's not Armani, but it'll do."

He stared at me quizzically and fumbled with the poncho.

I rolled my eyes. "You've seriously never worn a poncho? Consider it like an extra-large shirt."

Fortunately, his car wasn't far from the gate, so we didn't have to push it far. Once we got it a couple yards off the road, he backed off from the car and shrugged. At that point, I made a mad dash for the door with him not too far behind me.

As we walked in the front door, I asked. "So Mr. Queen, what brings you to Smallville?"

"Ah, you do know me."

I faced him as I hung up my raincoat. "Despite what they teach you at Excelsior, charm doesn't always get what you want."

He chuckled. "Really? I think I'm doing pretty well."

"Believe me, if it wasn't raining, I'd let you starve in your car. Try to dry off; I'm going to have a shower." I walked past him to go upstairs, but I stopped on a dime and pointed at him. "No ideas, or else I will kick you out of here."

He just smiled and silently walked past the staircase.

I couldn't help but look over my shoulder the entire time I was in the shower. I didn't trust him. However, there was still once facet of Oliver Queen that was a gentleman because I didn't hear or see anything. I thought about walking out in a bathrobe to allow him to shower sooner, but I thought that would be pushing the little faith I had in him, so I changed into some dry clothes.

When I reached the last step, I said. "If you want a shower, it's upstairs. I left a towel for you on the...What are you doing?"

He dismounted from his hand stand and turned to face me. "Yoga relaxes me."

"Not that. The..." I pointed to his bare chest. "That!"

"You said to try and dry off. My shirt was wet." He then pointed to his shirt which was laid over a kitchen chair.

Light a fire, put on a sweater, make a hot drink, any of these are viable options. But no, he has to take off his shirt and do yoga in the middle of the Kent's living room.

I walked over to his bag and unzipped it slightly to grab a shirt. I tossed it at him and smirked. "Wouldn't want you to catch a cold."

As he put on his shirt, the lights started to flicker and then the power went out.

Great, I thought. This was supposed to be my vacation, now I'm stuck inside with a stuck-up billionaire who clearly wishes that I was easy. I'm not going to get a wink of sleep tonight.

He grabbed his cell phone from the table and started fiddling with it, trying to get reception.

"Yeah, we're not getting reception with this kind of rain." Not that we got clear reception at the Kent farm without rain.

"Thought I would try."

"Okay, the couch is yours. I'm going upstairs to bed. What I said for the shower goes double while I'm sleeping."

"Good night... I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't give it."

"Well, care to enlighten me?"

"Why bother when you probably won't remember it in the morning? That's usually how it works with you isn't it?"

"Do you have a problem with me?"

"For one, you expected me to push your car when we barely got it inside the gate between the two of us. It infuriates me that you're burying your parent's legacy because you're too busy gallivanting with booze and floozies, yet the papers still paint you as the prince of society with your regal name and trust fund. Now, your merger with Luthorcorp will result in hundreds of layoffs to people you probably couldn't care less about." I paused for a moment to catch my breath and then dialled up the sarcasm. "You're just... loveable."

He laughed as he flopped down on the couch. "You need to get out more often; I think you've spent too much time reading my life."

Believe me, if it wasn't part of my job, I wouldn't waste a second of my life researching his. "I go out."

"With other people?"

"What makes you think that I don't have friends?"

"The fact that there isn't a single picture of you in this house."

You actually took the time to look around before doing half-naked yoga? Right. "That's not true, there's one of Clark and I right..." I walked over to the fireplace where there used to be a picture of us while we were still in high school, but he was right. Instead of that photo, there was a picture of Clark and Lois at the Planet. "Well... it used to be here."

He caught me off guard when he reached around me to grab the photo. "Who's she?"

"My cousin."

Placing the photo back, he said, "Ouch, must be tough being replaced by family."

"She's his girlfriend too, and I'm not being replaced, I'm..." As I turned to face him, I realized how close he was because I almost hit his chest with my head. At least he was still wearing the shirt — otherwise, that would have been awkward. I walked around him and tried again to reach the staircase. "Different priorities, that's all. People change."

"Which explains why there are no pictures of you and multiple pictures of her. Yet, you still defend him." He shook his head as his mouth held a mischievous grin. "Isn't it girl-code to not have interest in the same guy?"

This guy was starting to piss me off. "Clark is my best friend! It's been that way for years." Just because I wanted more at one time didn't mean that our friendship was anything else. "Besides, my relationship with Clark is none of your business."

"Relationship?"

"Oh, come on, you know what I mean."

"Whatever you say, Sidekick."

"What did you just call me?"

His grin widened as he responded, "What...Sidekick?"

"I'm no one's sidekick." Sure that was a lie, but he had no right to call me that.

"You're... what his name again?"

"Clark."

He could clearly tell that he was getting to me. "Yes... Clark's sidekick. You're house-sitting, aren't you? You take care of his life while he's probably out gallivanting with Lois. It's cute actually."

I said with conviction, "I'm his friend." Then it hit me; did I say Lois' name?

"I thought you were his best friend."

I was at the point where I wanted to rip his pretty head off his body and throw it out in the rain, but I knew that I couldn't do that. I didn't even have the heart to kick him out. I sighed. "I'm going to bed. Please get some sleep."

"'Night Sidekick."

"It's Ch..." No, as much as I hated that nickname, I wasn't giving him the satisfaction of my actual name. He didn't deserve it.

"Ch? Pretty name, but I'll think I'll stick to Sidekick until you tell me what 'Ch' is short for."

"Goodnight, Mr. Queen." I said as I placed my foot on the first step.

I tried to run up the stairs, but my foot caught one of the top steps. I was falling over when I noticed an arm around my body to stop me. How in the world did he catch up to me? I then looked down at his hand, conveniently placed on my chest. After all that, he still managed to get to second base with me.

"Um..."

He immediately moved his hand towards my midsection and offered his other hand to help me stand up. "Sorry."

I shook my head as I continued up the staircase, but he was still following me. At the top of the steps I said, "I think I can handle it from here."

"I don't know what you're talking about. The shower is upstairs right?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"An apology is hardly necessary, but it's Oliver, if you don't mind."

Nicely played Mr. Queen, but we're not going to be on a first-name basis that easy.

As I closed the door, I looked at the clock – 10:00 – the earliest I gone to bed in years. Then again, I'm just hoping I can sleep at all.