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Clark shifted his bookbag onto his shoulder as he walked with Chloe and Pete out the front doors of Smallville High that afternoon. “Is it just me or has this been a really long week?” And it wasn’t even Friday yet. One more day, he thought, glancing across the parking lot to where Lana was standing, talking to one of her friends from the cheerleading squad.
“Not just you,” Chloe said, shaking her head as she glanced over at the group too. Oliver seemed to be the center of their attention again. It had been almost a month since she had spoken with him at all. She hadn’t reached out to him, but he hadn’t made an effort either, and her dad was still in a lower position than he deserved.
“Definitely not,” Pete agreed, descending the stairs. “Glad tomorrow is Friday. What are we doing this weekend?” he asked, glancing between them and noticing they were both staring off across the distance. He followed Clark’s gaze first, rolling his eyes a little when he spotted Lana, and then he followed Chloe’s line of sight to where Oliver was. The taller man’s bookbag was on the ground and he winced as he watched Oliver shove one of the football players a couple feet backwards.
Chloe sighed and rolled her eyes too, stopping to watch Oliver go after the jock. “Is it just me, or has he gotten worse?”
“It’s not just you,” Pete agreed, frowning a little as his teammate took a swing at Oliver’s face.
“It was going to happen sooner or later,” Lex said, walking up to them and watching the fight too. ”He's showing his true colors.”
She looked over at Lex and pursed her lips together. Nodding, “I guess you were right.”
“Of course I was.” He made a face as he watched Oliver and the other guy as they shoved each other back and forth. “Pathetic.” Shaking his head, he glanced toward his car.
Chloe looked over at the fight again, then glanced toward the school doors just in time to see the principal coming out of the building, “took him long enough.”
“Mr. Queen! Mr. Anderson! That is quite enough,” he said loudly, moving toward them with a deep frown on his face.
“I’m surprised they haven’t kicked him out yet,” Lex said with a smirk.
“Your dad must be keeping him here,” she said uncomfortably. She couldn’t help but be afraid that they would kick him out, that he would have to move somewhere else. But she wasn’t sure why she cared. He wasn’t talking to her anymore, barely even acknowledged her in biology and she did the same. Besides, she knew he didn’t want to be around there anyway, but it still unsettled her.
“Dad and his charity cases,” Lex mumbled, rolling his eyes. “I’m gonna head home. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear about the latest.” He motioned his thumb in Oliver’s direction and headed toward his car. “See you guys tomorrow.”
“Bye,” Clark called, but the rest of them remained silent.
As the principal pulled Oliver and the jock back toward school, Chloe frowned when she saw Scott, a much smaller kid -- if she remembered correctly, a freshman-- following them inside. “What is he doing?” She asked as they approached.
“Beats me,” Pete answered with a shrug. “But baldie has the right idea. I’m getting outta here,” he told her. “See you.” He headed away, too.
Chloe didn’t move, just watched as they got closer, she glanced at Oliver but kept her attention on Scott.
“He was helping me!” Scott told the principal as they made their way back inside.
“It doesn’t matter, there are no acceptable reasons for physical violence at this school,” the principal said firmly, moving out of hearing range.
Clark frowned a little at that, raising his eyebrows.
She turned to look at Clark and frowned, cocking her head, “that makes no sense, right?”
“Not really, but why would Scott be lying?” he asked, shaking his head.
“I don’t know,” she told Clark, “but remind me to find out tomorrow.”
He nodded a little. “Need a ride home?”
“I’m actually making a stop for coffee before I go home, if you wanna come?” She asked, arching her eyebrows a little.
He glanced across the parking lot and noticed Lana getting in her car, then sighed a little. “Yeah, okay, why not?”
Chloe followed his gaze and sighed a little too, then reached for Clark’s arm and tugged on it, “c’mon.”
He glanced down at her, smiling a little. “We can work on the math homework,” he suggested as he let her pull him toward the parking lot.
“Sounds like an incredible time at the Talon,” she said, smirking slightly and rolling her eyes.
He smirked back at her. “What? Don’t find math enchanting?” he teased, draping his arm around her shoulders as he led her to his truck.
“Fascinating,” she said, leaning against him. “Like magic happening right before my eyes.”
He just chuckled.
* * *
The next morning, before classes even started, Chloe went searching for Scott. It wasn’t hard to find him, he was usually in the computer labs since he worked there. She knocked on the open door then stepped into the room, “Scott?” She called, arching her eyebrows.
He looked up at the unfamiliar voice, his eyes widening just a little when he saw her. “H-hi,” he stammered, rising to his feet and pushing his glasses up higher on his nose.
“Hey,” she said, smiling when she saw he seemed suddenly nervous. “You busy?”
Scott shook his head, eyes widening just a little more. “No, not at all. What’s up?”
“Just a couple of off the record questions, if you don’t mind,” she told him, reaching for the door and closing it.
“Oh. Uh, I’d heard the Torch was done for the semester,” he said, scratching the back of his neck.
“Right.” Her face fell at that. “So there’s no point asking anything on record. I was just curious about what happened yesterday...”
“Oh. That.” He grimaced a little. “Drew was being a jackass, as usual.” He shook his head and moved to sit down at the computer once more.
“Well, that’s not surprising,” she said, frowning a little. “But how did Oliver get involved?”
He glanced up at her again. “Well, Drew took something of mine. Ollie got it back for me. Told him if he ever messed with me again, it’d be the last thing he did.”
“So his fight with Drew was because he was protecting you?” She asked, unsure.
“Well, yeah.” He looked confused. “He got my grandpa’s watch back from him.”
She looked just as confused as her stomach tightened a little. “Have you seen Oliver doing something like that for other people?”
He nodded again. “A couple of times. Word’s starting to get out. We geeks have a defender.” He grinned a little and looked at his computer.
She blinked at that, surprised, “who did he help?”
“Some other friends of mine. You know, because of the jocks.” He made a face. “They think they own the place.”
“Trust me, I know. You saw what happened to the Torch, right?” She said, arching her eyebrows.
He grimaced again. “Yeah.” He looked at her apologetically.
“Do you think your friends would mind if I asked them a couple of questions too?”
“Probably not.” Scott raised his eyebrows. “And you’re welcome to use one of our computers if you want to work on articles.”
Her face softened at that and she nodded. “Thanks, I might take you up on that.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper, scribbling her email quickly. “Could you email me your friend’s names? If we have a hero in Smallville High, maybe the Ledger will be interested in printing something about it.”
He paused, glancing down at the paper for a moment. “I’m not sure he’d be real happy about that,” he admitted.
“Don’t worry, if he’s not okay with it, I’ll make sure our hero remains anonymous,” she told him, smiling brightly even as her stomach tightened. Referring to Oliver as a hero had definitely not been something she thought she’d be doing.
“All right.” He nodded a little, glancing at her once more and offering her a smile. “I’ll email you.”
“Thanks, Scott. You’ve been great help,” she told him, still smiling as she made her way to the door, her face falling when she stepped outside of the room. She definitely needed to find out more about whatever Oliver was doing. Fast. She wasn’t entirely sure why it mattered so much to her, but she knew it did.
* * *
Clark plopped down on the couch in his loft, glancing over as Chloe leaned against his desk. “So what are you guys up to for Thanksgiving this year?” he asked curiously.
“Dad is probably watching the game and I’m... ignoring it?” Chloe said, shrugging a little. “Thanksgiving hasn’t really been a big holiday for dad and I since we can’t cook.”
He smiled a little at that. “You guys could always come over here. Mom hates the game, too, so you guys could hang out.”
She held her breath a little then shook her head. “I don’t want to get in the way of your family time,” she said.
“I wouldn’t say no to a feast prepared by Mrs. Kent, Chloe,” Lex said, smirking.
“Well, good. Then don’t. Because you’re invited, too.” Clark smiled at Lex and then looked at Chloe. “Come on, Chlo. It won’t be the same without you.”
“I’ll talk to my dad,” she promised Clark, smiling at him and shaking her head a little. “But you need to make sure your parents are okay with you inviting us, Clark.”
“They already okayed it,” he assured them. “The more the merrier, right? I mean that’s what Thanksgiving is all about.”
“I’d love to come,” Lex said, then shook his head, “but I think dad is planning a party with some investors in Metropolis, and it’s good PR for me to come with him.”
Clark’s smile slipped a little. “You sure? I mean, maybe you can get out of it?”
“Believe me, I’m trying to,” Lex told him.
“What about Oliver? Would he be going with you guys?” Chloe asked before she could stop herself. Since her talk with Scott, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Oliver.
Clark winced at the look on Lex’s face and he moved, getting up off the sofa and picking up his football.
“Doubtful. He’d probably screw everything up,” Lex responded.
Chloe chewed on the inside of her bottom lip to stop herself from saying anything else, and just nodded instead as she tried to stop herself from imagining Oliver by himself at the mansion during the holiday with absolutely no family or friends to spend it with.
“So maybe you can talk your dad into letting you spend Thanksgiving with us so you’re not stuck in Metropolis basically alone on Thanksgiving,” Clark said, trying to get off the subject of Oliver. The last thing he wanted was to have to break up some kind of verbal spat between his two closest friends.
She turned to Clark and gave him a look at that, “like Oliver will be at the mansion?” She said before she could stop herself. She should not be defending him, not until she knew more, but her instincts about Oliver had always been that he was a good guy.
And there it was.
“Seriously? You’re back to defending him?” Lex asked dubiously. “Didn’t you get burned bad enough last time?”
“I’m just pointing it out, Lex. He has absolutely no family and the guy he considered family is also dead, he has to feel pretty terrible especially around the holidays. I don’t think it would kill you to at least make an effort a couple of times a year.”
“No, but it might kill you,” he said sharply.
Chloe rolled her eyes at that, “he’s not going to hurt me.”
“Tell that to Duncan.” He glared at her.
“Yeah, about that,” she said, sitting up, eyes narrowing too.
Lex’s eyes narrowed, as well and he shifted, straightening.
“Lana! Glad you could make it!” Clark said loudly, moving between Lex and Chloe and over to where Lana had just made it to the top step.
Chloe stared at Lex for a moment then turned to look over at where Lana was but didn’t say anything else. That was probably not the best conversation to have at that moment anyway.
He stared right back at her, eyes darker than usual, then he looked away as well, jaw tense with anger.
“Feels like I interrupted something,” Lana said, glancing between them and raising her eyebrows. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Chloe told her as she sat back against the couch.
“We were just talking about Thanksgiving,” Clark said, smiling awkwardly. “What are you and Nell doing?”
“She’s wanting to go to Metropolis,” Lana answered, wrinkling her nose a little.
Clark’s face fell a little at the information. “What for?”
Chloe rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, looking through her texts just to keep busy.
“Just to do something different. I’m not excited,” she admitted.
“Well, if you want to stay in Smallville, you can come to the farm. Chloe and Lex might come too.”
“Really?” Lana glanced over at Chloe.
“I have to talk to dad,” she said, uninterested, planning on figuring out if Lex was going to be there or not.
She pursed her lips, nodding a little and glancing at Clark. “It’d be fun if we could all be together.”
“Yeah.” Clark smiled. “You should suggest it to Nell.”
Lana smiled back at him. “Yeah, I think I will. I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“She is welcome to come too, if she wants,” he told her.
Chloe sighed as silently as possible and shook her head just a little before glancing at Lex. She wasn’t happy with herself for opening her mouth, but she had been wanting to know more about this story for a while now. Maybe she’d have to get him alone and ask.
* * *
The following Monday, the week of Thanksgiving, Chloe had a huge surprise when she got to school and this time, it had been a good one. She was still keeping her things in the Torch’s office, since she didn’t really like her locker and it wasn’t big enough anyway, so when she went in to grab her books and saw that, not only had it been completely clean, but the computers had been replaced with brand new ones and installed, she had been shocked to say the least.
As soon as she saw the principal arriving, she went to ask him how that had happened and all he had been able to tell her, was that it had been an anonymous donation and that they had insisted on setting everything up during the weekend.
There were only two people in Smallville that could afford something like that, and only one that was in good standings enough with the school to be able to dictate which department their donations were being sent to. Besides, she and Oliver weren’t talking still.
With a deep breath, she made her way down the hallway and toward Lex’s locker when she saw him there, pulling out his books. They hadn’t really talked since the other day at the farm, so she was careful when she approached him. “Lex?”
He didn’t turn at the sound of her voice. At least not immediately. He finished putting his books in his locker before glancing at her casually, over his shoulder. “Chloe.”
She shifted a little, trying to figure out his expression, but that wasn’t always easy with him. “I just came from the Torch.”
He arched an eyebrow, but remained silent.
“Did... you or your dad have anything to do with it?”
Lex paused, smirking faintly. “Don’t we usually?”
Chloe let out a breath and shook her head a little. “I guess so, there aren’t many people who could pull that off, especially so quickly,” she said, smiling a little.
“Well, it could have been faster, but.” He shrugged a little, closing his locker.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely, nodding a little.
“You’re welcome,” he said, glancing past her to where Oliver stood a few feet away, watching them silently. “What do you say we go grab some coffee at the Talon?”
“Yeah,” she nodded a little, “I think we have enough time before the bell.”
He smiled at her, offering her his arm wordlessly.
She smiled back at him and took his arm, starting down the hall with him.
Lex tossed a casual smirk over his shoulder at Oliver before facing forward once more. As far as he was concerned, she didn’t need to know he had nothing to do with the Torch at all.