Chapter Text
“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Chloe said as she got into the driver’s side of her car. She glanced over at Lois and waited until she was in the car before starting it. She had been expecting the trip to Planned Parenthood to be a lot more intrusive and awkward but it had been pretty easy going and while she already knew most of what they told her, it had been informative, too.
“It’s not the most pleasant experience, but.” Lois shrugged. “Beats an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy any day of the week.”
Chloe made a face at that and nodded. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
Lois smirked. “Well, you need to, just in case. Cause there’s only one way that guarantees you won’t get pregnant, and it’s not the fun way.”
“This is why I wanted to come here, to reduce risks as much as I can,” Chloe reminded her cousin. “Back when Ollie and I got paired up with the fake baby was enough experience for a lifetime.”
“But he did pretty well with it, right?”
“Way better than me,” Chloe admitted.
“Well, we’re not the most maternal of women,” Lois told her with a shrug.
“I’m okay with that,” she told Lois. “I don’t want to have kids.”
“Really? Never?”
“No,” she said. “How are we supposed to be moms when we barely remember ours?”
Lois shrugged, focusing on the road ahead of them. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s instinctual when the time is right?”
“I don’t know,” Chloe said, glancing over at her cousin then looking ahead once more. “I guess we have plenty of time before we find out, if we decide to,” she added, wanting to change the subject.
“Well, I’m definitely not in a rush.” Lois glanced sideways at her cousin.
“Didn’t think so.” She glanced at Lois and smiled. “I am starving, though.”
“I want a big juicy burger with a ton of melted cheese.”
“And fries and a milkshake,” Chloe agreed, making her way toward the burger joint where they had dropped off Ollie, Lex, Clark and Lana before heading to her appointment.
“Maybe cheesy chili fries,” Lois added wistfully.
“Good idea,” Chloe said, parking a moment later. “And then, what are our plans?”
“Party at the Delta house.” Lois flashed her a bright smile.
“I knew it.” With a shake of her head, she got out of the car and headed toward the entrance for the restaurant.
“But in a good way, right?” Lois followed her quickly.
“Yeah, it sounds like fun,” she said, looking around the room once they were inside then grinning brightly when she saw them sitting toward the back of the restaurant.
Lois lifted her hand in a wave, glancing sideways at Chloe.
“What?” Chloe asked as she headed toward their table.
“Nothing.” She shrugged, following her to the table and sitting down beside Lex.
“Hey,” Chloe greeted, sitting down next to Ollie and smiling at him.
“Hey.” Oliver smiled, shifting on the booth and draping his arm around her shoulders. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“Did you guys eat?” she asked, leaning a little closer to him.
“No, we just ordered drinks. We were waiting for you,” Lana told her, leaning forward onto the table.
“Where were you?” Clark asked.
“We went to get some stuff done,” Chloe answered nonchalantly like she had the previous time Clark asked.
Oliver studied her for a moment, but decided to ask her how things went later, when they were away from the others.
She saw the look on his face, so she smiled at him then reached for the menu silently.
He gave her shoulder a squeeze and picked up a menu, too, glancing over it as he ignored the others’ chatter.
Chloe shifted a little closer and looked over at him. “Everything okay here?”
“Everything’s fine,” he assured her. “You?”
“Yep,” she told him, smiling brightly even though her face got warm.
He relaxed, meeting her eyes. “Good.”
“Yeah.” She held his gaze and grinned before turning toward the menu again. “Lois said there is a party after here.”
“Oh?” He glanced over at Lois.
She smirked. “Nobody throws a better party than my friends.” She paused, glancing sideways at Lex. “No offense.”
“I bet your friends don’t have magic spells that work at their parties,” Lex said, sitting back against his chair.
“Don’t,” Chloe groaned.
“And we’re counting that in the win column,” Lois informed him.
“I agree,” Lana muttered, looking firmly at the menu.
Chloe shook her head. “We should order,” she said, sitting up.
Oliver nodded and raised his hand to flag down the waitress. He smiled at the older woman when she approached. “I think we’re ready to order now, Lisa.”
Relaxing, Chloe didn’t hesitate before ordering her food. It was much better than discussing the last party they went to together. Besides, she was hoping she and Oliver actually remembered the time alone they had today.
* * *
Chloe looked over at Oliver once they were all out of the car and arched her eyebrows at him. The more time that passed, the more curious she was about his surprise. Now that they were probably going to get the chance to be alone, she planned on asking him about it.
He reached over and took her hand, weaving his fingers through hers as he followed Lois and Lex toward the large house. If he had to guess, he assumed it was a frat house.
“Guess this is where she spent most of her time while she was here,” Chloe said quietly, looking over at him then turning to watch her cousin walk right into the house like she owned the place.
Oliver frowned, watching her head inside the house, greeted by a couple of big guys who were grinning at her. “I guess so.”
Chloe paused when she noticed the look on Lex’s face. “Ollie, look,” she whispered, a smirk appearing on her lips. He looked less than impressed by Lois’ jock type friends.
“Yeah, he’s not interested in your cousin at all,” he responded.
“Not at all,” she agreed, shaking her head. “So, are we going to stay at the party?” she asked him, turning her full attention on him once more.
“Depends. Do you want to go in for awhile?” He looked from the house back to her.
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “We can go in and then you can show me your surprise...”
A smile tugged at his mouth. “Not that you’re inpatient or anything.”
“Hey, I’ve been good enough already,” she pointed out. “You’re just torturing me at this point.”
He chuckled, spinning her around without warning and dipping his head to kiss her.
Chloe gasped but instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling against his lips as she kissed him back and pulling away a moment later. “Don’t distract me!”
Oliver shot her a devious grin. “You don’t enjoy my distractions?”
She gave him a look but couldn’t stop herself from grinning back and leaning closer to kiss him again.
“That’s what I thought,” he murmured against her lips, eliciting a wolf whistle from one of the guys that stood on the porch.
Chloe paused, her face getting warm immediately and she looked up at him. “Let’s go inside.”
“I’m not sure going inside is going to prevent prying eyes,” he confessed.
“Well, do you have any suggestions?” She asked, holding her breath.
“We can pop in for a few minutes, but then I’m kidnapping you,” Oliver informed her.
“Promise?” she asked, her face bright.
“Promise.” He reached down and took her hand.
She slid her fingers through his and squeezed his hand. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Nodding, he led her up to the porch, ignoring the guys that were lingering there, smirking at them. The inside of the house was what he’d expected to see: a somewhat dilapidated sofa and chairs, lots of beer cans and bottles, and far too many people already crowded together in too small a space. He grimaced, tightening his hold on her hand and trying to spot her cousin.
Chloe made a face and shook her head. “Think they are still going from the weekend?
Oliver shrugged a shoulder. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Have you been to one of these before?” she asked curiously.
“A frat party?” When she nodded, he drew in a breath. “Yeah, a couple. Don’t remember much about them though.”
Cocking her head, she looked at him for a moment. “Because you were about...” She looked around and nodded at a guy who seemed to be passed out on the floor. “That drunk?”
“Possibly worse,” he confessed, grimacing again.
“It’s weird,” she said, shaking her head.
“What is?”
“Thinking of you like that,” she said, nodding at the guy again. “It doesn’t fit the you I know, no matter how hard you tried to make yourself look bad.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek. “Maybe knowing you has made me a better person,” he suggested quietly.
She smiled brightly then shook her head. “As much as I’d like to take credit, I think you’re just a good person and you were trying so hard not to be for a while.”
Oliver lifted a hand to her cheek, leaning in and kissing her softly. “No one’s ever had as much faith in me as you do.”
Her face softened and she squeezed his hand again, holding her breath for a moment. “Maybe you never let them see the real you.”
“They never wanted to,” he told her.
“That’s their loss,” she said sincerely, lifting her other hand to cup his cheek.
Oliver leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you,” she whispered, brushing her lips against his then pulling back enough to look at him. “I’m glad you came with us.”
“Me too,” he agreed.
“Come on,” she said as she pulled away but tugged on his hand. “Let’s go pretend we’re interested so we can leave,” she teased.
He laughed, letting her pull him farther into the crowd to find her cousin.
* * *
Zatanna Zatara had been to a lot of parties, even though she wasn’t in college yet. She was used to getting invites after her father’s stage performances, and while he was resting or preparing for his next show, she generally did what she could to have fun. The current party wasn’t fun, however. Of course, most of the frat parties she’d been to weren’t all that entertaining. She was on her way to the door, deciding to throw in the towel for the night, when she spotted a cute guy with dark hair, looking around awkwardly. Like he didn’t quite fit in.
She made her way over to him, leaning against the wall in front of him. “You’re looking a little lost.”
Clark stilled and turned to look at her. “Oh, hi. I don’t dance...” he said, nodding at the people who were mostly drinking instead of dancing.
She flashed him a smile. “And you’re not drinking, either, which means you’re probably out of your element.”
He smiled shyly. “My friends wanted to come.”
Zatanna glanced around. “They didn’t ditch you, did they?”
“Oh, no, they are around,” he said even as he scanned the room looking for Lana.
Her smile slipped for a moment, then she turned to face him again. “I’m Zatanna,” she told him.
Clark turned his attention back on her and held out his hand. “Clark.”
She slid her hand into his, shaking it and smiling. “Nice to meet you, Clark.”
He smiled at her then nodded. “I should find my friends before they get in trouble,” he said awkwardly.
“Oh.” Her face fell, but she pushed herself away from the wall. “Good luck.”
“Thanks,” he said, but paused. “Are you here alone?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged.
“Oh. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “You can come with me? If you want to.”
Zatanna paused, then smiled again. “Yeah, okay.”
Clark smiled back at her and nodded before starting through the crowd.
She followed him, glancing over at a blonde couple that were talking quietly alone in a corner. Apparently they were two of Clark’s friends.
“Hey,” Clark greeted as he stepped up to Chloe and Oliver. “Have you seen Lana?”
Oliver pulled away from Chloe, and shook his head. “Not since we first got here.” His gaze shifted to Zatanna.
Chloe shook her head. “Nope, she’s probably with Lois and Lex?”
Zatanna studied Oliver with a frown, wondering why he looked so familiar.
“I haven’t seen them either,” Clark admitted.
Chloe frowned when she noticed the girl staring at Oliver and shifted a little closer to him. “Who is this?”
“I’m Zatanna,” the dark haired girl introduced herself with a slight smile. “And you two are Clark’s friends?”
“I’m Chloe, and this is Oliver,” she said, smiling slightly back at the girl.
“I hm, met Zatanna over there, she was alone,” Clark explained.
“Hi, Chloe,” she greeted, focusing on Oliver again. “You look familiar.”
Oliver smiled, but it was faint. “Oliver Queen,” he told her with a one-shouldered shrug.
Clark stared between them and nodded. “I should go find them,” he said again.
“I’m sure they are fine, Clark,” Chloe said, shaking her head.
Shifting from one foot to the other, Zatanna surveyed the room. “I could probably help find your other friends.”
Chloe shook her head. “They are probably outside, I have the keys to the car.”
“We should see if they’re wanting to hang here longer,” Oliver told her, looking thoughtful.
“Well, if we wanna go for a walk or something, I can leave the keys with Clark,” Chloe suggested, looking at Oliver.
“You’re going to leave?” Clark frowned.
“Oh, right. Yeah, we can do that.” He nodded quickly. He glanced at the dark haired man. “Yeah, I sorta...have something special planned for me and Chloe.”
Chloe paused, staring at Ollie for a moment then shrugging. She didn’t exactly want to tell Clark that, but it was too late now. “We will get back here, though.”
Clark frowned but just nodded as he looked at her.
“We’ll see you later,” Oliver told him, reaching down and taking Chloe’s hand. “It was nice to meet you.”
Chloe reached in her purse and held the keys out to Clark. “Just, whatever you do, don’t let Lois have these,” she warned him.
“You should keep them, then. If you’re coming back here,” Clark told her. “Soon, right?”
“Maybe not as soon as you’re ready to leave,” Oliver answered.
Zatanna tilted her head to the side, watching as he led Chloe away from Clark before the other man could protest anymore.
Chloe glanced over her shoulder at Zatanna and Clark before looking at Oliver again. “So, now can you tell me where we’re going?”
Oliver laughed. “You’ll see.”