Title: Someone Like You
Category: Smallville
Genre: Romance/Drama
Ship: Chlollie
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,435
Status: WIP
Summary: When Chloe is relegated to second choice for Clark once again; she decides it's the last time. Determined to start a new chapter in her life, she leaves behind everything she's known and starts over in a new place. Star City.
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly.

A/N: Thanks so much to chloesilvers for being my beta for this :)

12 Months Later…

Chloe hustled down the busy street, scooting around kids on skateboards and mothers with strollers as she moved towards her favorite coffee stand. Inhaling deeply she took in the fresh spring air, enjoying the warm sunshine on her face. She loved the weather in Star City, with mild winters and warm balmy summers, much more than the weather in Metropolis. As she moved down the sidewalk she skipped to the side to avoid colliding with a small golden haired girl who crossed her path. The young mother adeptly snagged the small girl out of the way, apologizing to Chloe for the inconvenience.

"It's no problem, really," she said with a smile, holding her hand out for a high five. The little girl slapped her hand against Chloe's and gave her a huge smile, revealing two missing front teeth.

Giving the girl a wave she continued on her way. As she rounded the corner she sighed in exasperation at seeing the long line at the stand as she skirted around a woman talking on her cell phone.

The barista glanced up and spotting her gave a jaunty wave. "Chloe!"

Moving through the crowd she headed towards her friend. "Hi Darc, I'm so, so, late, please tell me-" She broke off as a cup was held automatically out to her.

"Way ahead of you babe. I had a feeling you'd be running late so I wanted to have it ready for you."

"Thank you, you are amazing! I'm sorry to grab it and go, but if I don't get to work, myboss is gonna kill me."She reached out to hand her money for the drink.

Darcy waved her away. "No worries, this one's on the house," she laughed. "Now get moving!"

"I'm going, I'm going. Bye Darcy," she grinned giving her friend a wave.

Chloe gripped her coffee as she hurried up the steps of the Gazette and inside. She headed for the stairs moving upwards quickly. At the top she pushed through the double glass doors into the bustling bullpen. She walked to her desk, setting her things down and powering up her computer. Dropping into her chair she sighed deeply before taking a gulp of her coffee.

"Good morning Chloe," the soft spoken woman in the desk across from hers waved with a smile.

Chloe gave her a grin. "Good morning Miranda! How are you?"

"I'm fine. Running late again are we?" she razzed gently.

Chloe dropped her head back and groaned. "Ugh, yes. I think this story is going to kill me. I was out late last night meeting a source, I slept through my alarm this morning, couldn't find my keys, and then just as I was leaving my building I broke a heel. Thank god I always carry a pair of flats with me!"

"Wow. Girl, you need a vacation. Don't worry about being late though, you know you're Weiss' star reporter. He'll never get mad at you for being late."

"I don't know about that," Chloe laughed. "I hate being late but it was just one of those days."

"Sullivan!" They both jumped as a voice shouted over the din of the bullpen. "My office, now!"

"Be right there sir." Chloe gave Miranda a small grin. "Duty calls!"

Chloe sighed as she sank down into her desk chair. A day of tracking down leads and meeting a few sources left her no closer to getting the break in she needed for her story. She rubbed her temples trying to soothe away the headache that was building. Letting her hand fall to the desk she was surprised to fell it land on something. It was a plain manila envelope with her name written across it.

"Hey Miranda?"

Miranda glanced up from her computer. "What's up Chlo?"

"Did you see anyone stop by my desk and drop this envelope off?" She asked holding it up.

Miranda shook her head slowly. "No I didn't see anyone. Who's it from?"

"I have no idea," Chloe said in puzzlement as Miranda walked over to check it out.

"Well open it, let's see!" She nudged Chloe with her elbow.

Slowly Chloe opened the envelope and dumped the contents out onto the desk. An 8x10 photo slid out and she gasped at what she saw. It showed a certain warehouse down on the docks that she had been investigating for weeks. A warehouse that was supposed to be empty and abandoned but this photo showed quite a bit of activity going on. A shipping container stood open and men were moving what looked like a whole lot of cocaine.

Chloe pumped her fist in the air and barely restrained from squealing like a little girl. This was the start of what she needed, but not enough. She opened the envelope desperately looking for more photos. There were none but there was a small piece of white paper. Dumping it out she flipped it over to see handwriting.

You're on the right track Miss Sullivan. Keep digging. Meet me on the roof at 10pm. I'll give you all of the proof you need to bury this guy.

GA

Chloe frowned as she looked closer for any kind of identifying marks telling who and where this came from. She didn't recognize the initials but for some reason they sounded really familiar. She was sure she didn't know anyone with the initials GA except…for a certain green leather clad vigilante hero.

"GA…does that stand for what I think it does?" Miranda asked in a whisper, eyes wide.

"There's no way! Is there?" Chloe asked looking up at Miranda. "It has to be someone else."

Though at this point she didn't care who it was if they were willing to help her get the proof she needed to show that there were dirty cops in the police department who were working for Diego Martez, the notorious drug king/respected businessman. Most people thought he was an upstanding businessman who did a lot for the community. But Chloe had been digging into his life and financials and she was coming up with all sorts of things that were not adding up. There were all sorts of empty companies owned by him that she knew were fronts for all his illegal activities.

"Yeah, but what if it is! He's obviously knows you are his biggest supporter from all the articles you've written about him. He knows he can bring you the proof you need to put the truth out there in ways that he can't. He can catch bad guys himself but if there's no evidence they won't get put away!"

"Miranda we don't even know if it is him!" Chloe protested.

Miranda's expression dropped. "This is true. It would be awesome if it was. But if it's not I want you to be careful!" As Chloe opened her mouth to speak she held up a hand. "I know you always are, but you are my best friend Chloe and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Chloe's face softened. "I know."

"You still have that pepper spray I gave you right?"

"And the Taser," she said with a smile.

"Good," Miranda grinned before glancing at her watch. "Holy crap! It's eight already? Charlie is gonna kill me for being late. I'm sorry, I gotta run girl." She reached out and smothered Chloe in a quick hug. "Make sure you call or text me when you get home! I want to make sure you got there safe."

"Yes, Mom." Chloe rolled her eyes and waved Miranda away. "I'll be fine. Now get going before Charlie calls me wondering where you are."

"Bye!"

Chloe grinned and watched her flustered friend fly out of the bullpen. Glancing at her watch she saw she still had two hours till she should head to the roof. Turning to her computer she set to do some more digging before she needed to head up.

Chloe took a deep breath, staring at the doorknob. It was the door to the roof. Nervousness suddenly invaded her muscles and she formed two tight fists in hope that they would stop shaking.

She pushed the door open and stepped out onto the roof, feeling the brisk night air hit her face. She looked around and didn't see anyone, so she assumed that she was a little early. She walked over to the edge of the roof and looked over the shining city. Star City was a beautiful place, especially at night, and although she loved the little view she had from her small apartment, this was breathtaking.

She heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind her before a deep voice broke the silence. "Magnificent, isn't it? Do you like my city, Chloe Sullivan?"

Chloe glanced behind her and saw the Green Arrow suddenly standing next to her, looking out at the city. She gazed up at him in amazement- she couldn't believe that he was actually standing in front of her.

She had been here for a year, but this was the first time that she had run into the resident leather clad hero of Star City. She had written plenty of articles about him and knew all of the good things he was doing, but despite all of her sleuthing around and occasionally getting into trouble, she had never so much as laid her eyes on him.

She let herself take a moment to just look at him, to drink him in. He was taller than she had visualized from the few camera stills she had seen. Her eyes trailed up the green leather that seemed to fit him like a second skin over to the armbands that showed off his toned, muscular arms, until she finally reached the hood ad sunglasses hiding his face.

He was even better looking in person, even if she couldn't see much of his face. His voice was deep and gravelly- she knew that it was probably made so by a distorter to disguise his real voice.

She finally answered his questions. "Yes, I love Star City, there's no other place like it. You know, on nights like tonight, the city almost glows with a green hue." She dreamily gazed out at the cityscape as a memory came to mind. "It reminds me of the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz. It was my favorite story as a kid- I always wanted to live there."

A grin crossed his face at her words. "I've heard mention of a few people saying the same," he said quietly. Glancing at her profile he hesitated before asking quietly. "You don't consider Metropolis your home anymore?"

Her heart dropped at the mention of Metropolis and she snorted with disdain. "I thought Metropolis would always be my home. Turns out, people you thought closest to you can drive you from the only home you've known. No, there's nothing for me in Metropolis anymore."

He cocked his head in curiosity, knowing there was a story there, but didn't ask further. Holding his hand out to her he opened his fingers to reveal a jump drive.

Reaching out, Chloe took it from him. "Why do you trust me with this information?"

"I know that I can. You've been one of my few outspoken, unshakable supporters. You have a sense of justice unlike anyone I've ever seen. You've taken down criminals, shed light in the dark places of Star City and Metropolis when people purposefully put on blinders."

She shrugged off the praise. "I don't like seeing people take advantage of their position or money to ruin other people's lives. I don't think they should get away with atrocities just because they have money or because they can."

He shot her a knowing look. "People like Lex Luthor? I read about all the work you did to put him away."

Her gaze hardened. "Lex deserved the deep, dark hole he now resides in a hundred times over. He wrecked more than a few lives in his pursuit of power," she said resolutely.

His hands clenched tightly on the brick ledge. "The Luthors' vindictiveness reached farther than many people even know," he said darkly. "I know well what they are capable of; Lex deserved everything he got and more."

She glanced up at him with a knowing look. It always amazed her, the amount of people who had terrible things happen to them because of the Luthors.

Turning his head he looked down at her. "I like your style, Chloe Sullivan. I think we'll make a great team."

"You mean, this isn't a one-time deal?"

"I think we can help each other. Working together will benefit both of us. I can do plenty of my own digging, but I don't have the means to get the information out into the light. What good is it if I can get the bad guy and have the proof needed to put him away if I can't get it out there? That's where you come in."

Her chin rose defiantly. "You're assuming a lot. What makes you think I want to be any kind of team with you? I like working alone," she said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

He smirked. "No you don't. And…just…call it a hunch."

Pulling his folded bow out, he flicked his wrist and she watched in fascination as it snapped open to its full size.

Jumping to the edge of the roof he strung a zip line arrow and loosened it towards the roof of the building across the way. Flicking his wrist again he folded the bow closed and snapped it on the zip line.

"Wait!" She reached a hand out as if to stop him. "If we are going to do this, how do I get a hold of you?"

"I'll be around," he said with a grin. "Be careful on your way home. The streets aren't a safe place after dark, Miss Sullivan." Giving her a jaunty salute he leapt off the building, zipping away quickly into the night.

Chloe watched with a grin as he disappeared. Glancing down at her hand, she opened it to reveal the jump drive. Her heart jumped in excitement at the proof it could hold. Turning, she headed quickly for the door, wanted to get her things and get home so she could go over everything without anyone looking over her shoulder.

He'd called them a team. It'd been a long time since she'd been part of a team and she realized that she was suddenly thrilled at the thought.

A/N: Please review! I'd really like to know what you think :)