Chapter 13 - Get Mine, Get Yours

Zoey smiles as she sits down at the counter in Max's kitchen. It was the day of her sixteenth birthday party. It was being held that night at Rosewood Star City on the top floor. Everyone around her was buzzing with excitement. Zoey was just happy that she got to spend her actual sixteenth birthday having dinner with the Kents and hanging out with her friends. Max had shown up and brought with him a brand new all-black Mercedes Benz G-Wagon. She had been excited about having her car; the Kents were not as enthused about the expensive SUV.

A hand touches her back and she glances to find Bruce standing there with a small wrapped box. "Happy birthday," he says, handing her the box. He presses a soft kiss against her cheek before sitting down in the empty chair next to her.

Zoey tears off the wrapping paper to discover a jewelry box. She opens it and her gaze widens upon finding a tear-drop pearl and diamond necklace. "I…I…Bruce…"

"I wasn't sure what to get you. Alfred said to do diamonds, but I didn't think you'd like—"

"Bruce," Zoey softly interrupts. "I love it. Thank you."

Bruce smiles and softly kisses her. She smiles against his lips. He pulls her close. A throat clearing causes them to pull apart. Max was standing on the other side of the counter. "If you two are able to separate for five minutes," Max begins. He slides a piece of paper towards Zoey. "Your schedule for the day."

Zoey picks up the paper and reads over it. She rolls her eyes. "I'm not doing that last one," she states.

Bruce takes the paper and reads it. The last bullet point was: walk the red carpet. "Why is there a red carpet at the party in the first place," he questions.

"Because it's also the CRC New Year's Eve party," Max answers. "We always have red carpet."

"I'm not doing that," Zoey repeats.

"I'll do it with you," Bruce suggests. She looks at him, confused. "It'll be fun. We don't have to talk to the press." Zoey shifts. She wasn't sure about walking the red carpet. It felt like it went against everything she had said about her life not being tabloid fodder. Bruce grabs her hand and squeezes. "I'll be with you the entire time."

Zoey sighs. "Okay," she reluctantly agrees. She turns to Max. "But I'm not talking to the press."

Max smiles. "You don't have to talk the press." He shoots them a grin before walking out of the kitchen.

Zoey looks at Bruce. "If they ask questions, you get to answer them."

Bruce chuckles and softly kisses her. "Deal."

Zoey tightly clutches Bruce's hand as they finally make their way to the party atop of the Rosewood Star City. She had hated walking the red carpet outside of the building. The camera flashes. People were screaming at them; she barely understood the questions being asked. Bruce had kept his word and stuck by her the entire time. Zoey's gaze searches the crowd.

"Looking for any in particular," Bruce questions, running his hand down her back.

"Oliver," Zoey answers, shooting him a smile. "He told me he would be here."

"Maybe he's not here yet."

"Maybe."

Bruce grasps her hand and tugs her into the crowd. He pulls her against his chest, hands settling on her hips. Her arms wrap around his neck. He presses a soft kiss against her cheek. "You look beautiful," he quietly tells her.

A light blush covers Zoey's face. Her hair had been straightened and fell in soft waves down. She wore a pale green spaghetti strap sequin dress that ended above her knees. The heels she wore matched her dress. An emerald arrow bracelet sat on her left wrist. And necklace that Bruce had given her finished her look for the night.

"How many of these people do you know?"

"Like less than five," Zoey tells him. "This is the New Year's Eve party and Uncle Max just added my birthday onto it."

"What did you do for your actual birthday?"

"School."

"Whose car with the big red bow," Clark questions as he and Zoey step into the farmhouse. Jonathan and Martha were waiting in the kitchen, neither of them seemed too happy at the moment. Max was sitting at the table. He holds out a small pink box with a bow to Zoey. She reluctantly takes it.

"You got me a car," Zoey questions, opening the box. Inside was a key with the Mercedes logo on it.

"Of course, I got you a car," Max smirks. He stands up. "It's your sixteenth birthday. Every sixteen-year-old deserves a car on their birthday."

Zoey tightly embraces her uncle. She couldn't hide her excitement. She didn't think she would be getting a car. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Max pulls back. He picks up a box that was wrapped in emerald wrapping paper and hands it to her. "Oliver wanted you to have this before the party," he explains.

Zoey quickly rips off the wrapping paper and opens the box. She laughs, pulling out a teddy bear dressed as Robin Hood. "It's so cute," she says, showing off the teddy bear.

Max shakes his head. He gently touches the emerald arrow setting around the teddy bear's neck. "Fucking Oliver," he mutters.

Zoey can't help but smile. She knew that Max wasn't Oliver's biggest fan. She looks in the box and finds a notecard. She instantly recognizes the untidy scrawl of Oliver's handwriting.

'Happy Birthday, Zo! Looking forward to your party.
P.S. There's a bracelet on the bear.'

"You invited Oliver to the party," Max questions.

Zoey looks up from the teddy bear. "Of course I invited Ollie. Why wouldn't I?"

"I just don't know if it's a good idea, Zoey. Especially with all the CRC board there. I invited some people from Wayne Enterprises."

Zoey stares at her uncle. "Why wouldn't it be a good idea, Uncle Max?"

Max shifts. He didn't want to answer the question. He was hiding something. He glances at the Kents. "Maybe we can talk—"

"Does this have to do with my trust," Zoey interrupts. "The one that holds half the shares of Queen Industries in it?"

"I see Oliver told you about it," Max replies.

"How long did you know about it?"

Max sighs. "Matt told me about a couple of weeks before he died."

"You've known for years," Zoey angrily snaps. She couldn't believe that Max had known about the trust. "When did you tell Oliver?"

"Last summer," Max confesses. "He found out about it and asked me if it was true. He found out from the board of Queen Industries. Oliver was gone for three years. They were getting ready to have him declared dead when he was rescued. If Oliver had been declared dead, you would have gotten the rest of the Queen Industries shares."

Zoey blinks. "What? Why me? Ollie…he's not…we're not…"

"You're not related to Oliver. Or Robert and Moira," Max answers. "If that's what you're wondering. Matt had a DNA test done. Zoey, Shannon, and Matt are your parents. I don't know why you. I don't know why Matt had things done the way he did. Except that he did it. And he's not here to ask about it."

Zoey looks at the teddy bear. She shakes her head and runs up the stairs to her room. She closes the door behind her and flops face-first onto her bed. She felt as if her entire had changed and she had zero say in the matter.

Zoey looks around the crowded party. The music was blaring. She had gotten separated from Bruce during the night. The giant clock in the corner said there were only five minutes until midnight. Then she spots Oliver on the other side of the room. His date for the night was a tall blonde woman with wavy hair. She watches as he walks through and makes the decision to quickly follow him. She wanted to know why he had been avoiding her.

Oliver jumps when he walks out of the bathroom and finds Zoey standing there. "Why have you been avoiding me," she demands.

"I haven't been avoiding you, Zo," Oliver lies. Truth was, he had been avoiding her. He had tried more than once to put the images of her riding Bruce with her dress down to her waist out of his mind since last summer. He thought not seeing her would make things easier, but it didn't. He had decided that she would never know it was him who had been watching her in the woods that night.

Zoey stares at him. "Why have you been avoiding me, Ollie?"

She was hurt. The tone of her voice declared it. "I'm not," Oliver lies once more.

"Why are you lying to me," Zoey quietly asks.

He doesn't know if it's the alcohol clouding his brain or the desire to make her feel better because he hated seeing her in pain or some combination of both, but Oliver opens the bathroom door. He grabs Zoey's wrist and pulls her in with him. He closes the door and traps her between the door and his chest. Then he leans down and kisses her. Zoey's frozen for a moment, then slowly kisses him back. There was something different about this kiss; it was nothing like how she felt with Bruce. He gently coaxes her lips open and his tongue takes the opportunity to explore as much as possible.

Oliver wraps an arm around her waist and lifts her; all without breaking the kiss. Her legs wrap around his hips; her dress rides up. He shoves the dress up even more and presses his erection against her. Neither of them pays attention to the sound of fireworks going off. She breaks the kiss; her chest is heaving. He rests his forehead against hers. "Zo…" He trails off. He wasn't sure what to say.

Zoey leans forward and presses her lips against his. She knew it was wrong. She knew she should push him away. She knew she should go back to the party and find Bruce. But there was something in her that just wanted more of him. He tightens his grip on her and steps backward. Oliver reaches behind him and shoves the toilet lid down before sitting down. His lips trail down her neck and across her shoulder. She grinds against him, searching for a release.

"We need to stop," Oliver murmurs against the top of her breasts. His hand gently pushes the strap of her dress up.

"I don't want to," Zoey breathlessly tells him. Her hands run over his chest.

"Prison stripes don't look good on me," Oliver says.

Zoey looks down at him. There was something in that moment that made her feel so powerful. There was something in the way that he was looking at her; Bruce had never looked at her like that. He would do anything she wanted. She wanted him; she wanted him in any way that he would let her have him. "Kissing isn't a crime," she states before pulling him back into another kiss. And for the first time since he was a teenager, Oliver was truly happy just to be kissing.

Bruce looks around the crowd. The fireworks were still going off even though the clock had hit midnight ten minutes earlier. He had been searching for Zoey. There's a tap on his shoulder and he turns to find Zoey standing behind him. "I've been looking for you," she brightly says. Her face was flushed. "Where have you been?"

Bruce laughs. "I was looking for you. Where were you?"

"I had to go use the bathroom," Zoey tells him. She motions to the clock. "We missed midnight."

Bruce pulls her against his chest. "It's okay."

Zoey leans up and softly kisses him. "Do you want to get out of here," she quietly asks him.

Bruce reaches down and grabs her hand. She can't help but laugh as he leads her across the bar and towards the elevator. He punches the button and she leans against him. The elevator doors open and they step in. She pushes him against the back of the elevator and pulls him down into a kiss.

"Whoa, this is awkward," Oliver loudly says, stepping into the elevator.

Zoey pulls away from Bruce and smiles at him. "Hi, Ollie," she greets, turning to lean against Bruce. His back was pressed against his chest. "Where's your date?"

"I think she went home," Oliver replies.

A silence settles over the elevator. Zoey's green eyes meet Oliver's hazel eyes in the reflection from the elevator doors. His eyes were burning. She wasn't sure with what; anger or jealousy. She didn't care. She liked having him look at her like that. Her skin felt like it was fire from everywhere he had touched her.

The elevator comes to a stop. The doors open. "Happy birthday, Zo," Oliver tells her before stepping off the elevator.

"Thanks," Zoey softly says. Every single part of her wants to follow Oliver; she wants to join him in the hotel room he had intended to use. She wanted to know what it felt like to have him touch her the way that Bruce touched her. Bruce runs a hand down her arm and she smiles up at him. Zoey knew that she needed to put all the thoughts of Oliver out of her mind. She was with Bruce; he loved her. She just wasn't sure if she loved him.

Can you put your hands on my waistline?
Want your skin up against mine
Move my hips to the baseline
Let me get mine, you get yours
Hang a 'please don't disturb' sign
Put my back into a slow grin (slow grind)
Sending chills up and down my spine
Let me get mine, you get yours