Chapter 8

The feeling never went away. An entire week alone at the Talon and the butterflies refuse to leave. I thought going back to the Daily Planet would help things, but Lois had convinced Tess that I needed another week off and Tess actually agreed with her for once.

I knew what Lois was doing; this is what I did to her when she refused to admit her feelings to Clark. However, I at least had the decency of letting them be together and it was only for an hour. Part of me wanted to go to Metropolis, give Lois a piece of my mind and continuing working, but I had no way of getting there. My car was still in the shop, I couldn't justify paying the fare for a two hour taxi ride, Lois had Clark wrapped around her little finger, and I didn't want to inconvenience anyone in Smallville.

So I was reduced to deliberating my decision at the Talon; like house arrest only with good coffee. Tammy was my only friend in the scenario, but even she was telling me that it was for my own good.

To make matters worse, even Mother Nature was on Lois's side. It rained almost all week and I was almost convinced that I would have to live through another power outage.

On the positive side, I had been brushing up my cooking skills. It reminded me of him, the creativity and the 'creativity' of home-cooked meals. It was a bittersweet feeling, but the only facet of that week that I had truly embraced. The rest hurt too much.

Not that I didn't have reminders of his visit to Metropolis as I skimmed the front pages of the Daily Planet. I felt like a jealous ex-girlfriend checking to see if he was going out like he used to. But he wasn't, and I wasn't sure how to react to that.

Sure, there were questions on where he had been since arriving to Metropolis, but he wouldn't cave. He wouldn't show his hand on what his actions would be, only that he 'was working on merger-related issues' throughout the week and they would just have to wait for the press conference for answers.

That was today. That was a couple hours ago.

At this point, he was probably heading back to Star City on private jet, back to his high-class life, and would soon forget the week we shared. He said that he wouldn't forget, but I knew better.

People left me, forgot me, or ignored me. It was inevitable.

But for some reason, it hadn't hurt this much, not even with Jimmy, and that almost made me feel worse. Jimmy had been a shock, he had died. Meanwhile, I had only seen a glimpse of Oliver and I knew he was leaving. So why did it hurt this much?

I sighed deeply and started to put the final touches on my sauce. As I checked on the water for my pasta, someone unlocked the door. I brought my head up to see Lois, who looked worn out from her day at work.

"You're home early."

Placing her purse down before closing the door, Lois tried a smile. "My story kind of rewrote itself thanks to some new developments."

"What are you writing on again?"

Pouring herself a glass of water, Lois weaved her hand through her hair as she replied flatly, "Oh... you know... I'm covering the business section for Frank for tomorrow's issue. Corporate dilemmas, problematic decisions etcetera."

I chuckled momentarily as I stirred the sauce. "You sound completely thrilled, Lois. Is it not Blur-related enough for you?"

After chugging her water, Lois walked across the room and fired up her laptop. "I took this assignment to see if I could set my focus elsewhere, especially considering recent events."

"Clark did tell you that he has a stash of all the articles you wrote about him, right?"

Lois paused for a moment, and I could tell the wheels in her head were turning. "He didn't... but no worries, this was a one-time thing. Now that I have the inside scoop, I'm the perfect person to cover the Blur, don't you think?"

The lid started clattering, so I quickly lifted it to prevent water from boiling over. "Sorry."

"I can't believe you're cooking again."

"We've survived on take-out for too long. It's about time we enjoyed some real food."

She let out a half-smile and pointed her thumb to the door. "I got pizzas coming, figured we could use a girl's night in."

"That sounds great; I can save this for another time." I turned off the stove elements. "Any chance of a girl's night out soon?"

"After the weekend, you can do whatever you want, but right now, there's something you have to see." She looked back at her laptop momentarily and sighed.

"What is it?" I could tell something was going on, Lois seemed nervous.

Lois bit her lower lip as she inserted her USB in her computer. "You have to promise me that you'll watch the entire thing."

"Why?"

She finally looked up at me and said, "Can you trust me?"

"Sometimes, but right now that makes me doubt you more." I began to walk towards her when I heard Oliver's voice coming from the computer, so I headed to the door. "That would be why."

Lois stopped the video and then grabbed my arm. "Please, after this I won't say a word."

"You won't Lois and you know it!"

There was a knock at the door and I was about to open it when Lois yelled, "One minute," and dragged me over to the computer. "Just watch it Chlo. You need to hear what he says on this. After this, you can go back to your regularly scheduled life. I'll call off everything."

I sighed, wanting to give in, but not like this. "How long is it?"

"Two minutes, probably even less. I'll pay the delivery boy, and we'll have fun tonight."

I pointed my finger at her face. "Two minutes... and that's it."

Saluting me, she said, "Aye Aye cuz."

I walked back over to the computer and stared at his face, frozen on the screen. I pulled the time bar to the beginning and hesitatingly held the cursor over the play button. Taking a deep breath, I clicked the mouse pad and listened as he spoke:

He looked up and down the group of journalists and flashed a smile. "Hello everyone. Thank you for coming today."

His eyes softened as his focus appeared to wander for a moment before he cleared his throat and continued his speech.

"Today, I was supposed to be reading this speech saying how sorry I am about letting go of thousands of Queen Industries employees. We all know that you would write how heartless I am and if I really cared, I would act like it. The truth is, I've been afraid of letting everyone down. I have always cared about this company, but I've been so satisfied with the status quo that I haven't always made the right decisions. When I heard the figures, I wanted to do something about it, but I thought it was out of my hands."

Then I saw him smile again, this time was different. This was the smile I had gotten used to seeing.

"Then I met someone who wasn't afraid to hold back their opinion of me. They told me that it was time I started earning your respect instead of expecting it. I got so used to being a figurehead that I forgot that this was my company... my decision. To this person, you know who you are... thank you for showing me that."

I paused the video for a moment. Oh no... was Lois right? I wanted to quit watching, but I promised Lois, so I clicked to continue watching.

He looked up with a confident gaze, more confident than I had ever seen him.

"During my time in Kansas, I had the opportunity to familiarize myself with the workers from outside of Metropolis. These men and women roll up their sleeves dedicating themselves to an earnest day of work or they drive the two hour distance just to pay the bills. These are people who deserve their jobs, these were people that stood by my parents when they built this company, and it's my turn to stand by them."

Oliver took a quick breath and stared at the podium before speaking again.

"I haven't been the CEO that you wanted me to be, and while I will never be my parents, I'll do everything in my power to ensure that Queen Industries employees get the treatment they deserve. There will be some layoffs, but I won't be announcing any today. There has to be a better solution without so many people losing their jobs, and I will find it. I won't leave until I do."

Then chaos broke out. Journalists were pushing the microphones closer and each one wanted to be the first question. What surprised me was who was able to ask the first question. Clark. I guess Lois wasn't alone in covering this story.

"Why the sudden change of heart? Why now?"

Oliver smiled at Clark before looking back up at the crowd. "Sometimes it takes the right moment for a person to realize their mistakes... Thank you. That'll be all."

The video stopped as he began to leave the podium, but I couldn't take my eyes off it.

I won't leave until I do.

Those words haunted me. He was supposed to go back... he had to go back. I couldn't deal with seeing him at the Planet, and I couldn't handle the society girls banter about who his next conquest was.

Oliver had gotten to me. It hurt to admit, but it was the truth.

All my senses had left me. The only thing I could feel was my racing heartbeat as I looked at my trembling hands through blinking eyes. I couldn't even smell the pizza in the apartment.

That reminded me that Lois was probably waiting for a reaction... granted my silence probably did that more than anything.

So I tried to regain my composure and said softly, "Alright Lois, I'm ready for it, so just... spill."

No response, a shocker considering it was Lois. Then it hit me.

"I see, you're giving me the silent treatment so that I can spill my heart out to you about him. It's not happening Lois... so just forget it."

It was still silent, not a word, a movement or even a sound.

Placing my hands on the edge of the table, I sighed. "Fine, just this once and we can forget all about it."

I refused to turn around and face her because I was sure that if I did, I would lose it. "I'm not going to lie, I miss his smile... his warmth... and the way he knew exactly the way I was feeling even if I didn't."

I walked over to look out the window and watch the surging rainstorm.

"He made living without electronics or take-out entertaining. For that week, it wasn't about the next story, or who needed to be helped... it was about two people getting past each obstacle put in front of them. Getting past all the reasons nothing should happen and enjoying the moment even though you know that it won't last... that it can't last. Yet you push for each day, hoping that maybe you did enough to change their mind. But you're still scared because you're not used to this happening... in fact, it's never happened to you before and you're not sure how to react to it, and..."

Realizing how I let myself get carried away, I stopped talking momentarily. "Even though he's staying in town, it doesn't make a difference... he's got more important things to do." As I turned around, I added, "So I hope that means you're willing to stop talking about..."

I froze in place when I noticed that Lois was nowhere to be found and there was someone else who had heard my confession. There he stood, with a slight, simple grin on his face. So much for the delivery boy.

"Oliver," I finished.

"Lois told me to give you this."

It wasn't the sentence I was expecting, but I slowly walked up to Oliver to grab the piece of paper in his hand, which contained a familiar phrase written in Lois' writing.

Don't do anything I wouldn't do, cuz.

It was her catchphrase, yet I never understood it. Lois had no limits, while I, on the other hand, had plenty. High fences and low trenches, I was content with hiding from the world while having the secondary by-line. With him... I'd be the face of the front page.

So, when she writes, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," while he's standing in front of me, what's she's really saying is, "You like him, so I'm making you do something about it"... or in simpler terms... Enjoy payback, cuz.