This one takes place (obviously) the morning after Warrior.

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own nothing. The characters/locations belong to the creators of Smallville/Superman.

Morning After

I woke up to my phone vibrating on the table. I grabbed my head and rubbed my eyes. I've been having weird dreams lately, but last night's took the cake.

Looking at the caller ID, I answered. "Ollie?"

"Sorry, if I'm waking you up, but I was hoping we could talk."

He sounded serious. I was hoping he hadn't found out about the money I had been borrowing from his company for the Kryptonite weapons. I hadn't found the right time to tell him about it yet.

"I'll be at Watchtower in an hour, we can talk then." I figured by then I would be caffeinated and ready to take the blame.

"No, it's okay. I'll say my peace and get it over with."

Now he sounded nervous. What was he talking about?

"Last night, that shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry."

What happened last night? I couldn't say anything, so there was a large pause.

"Chloe?"

Snap out of it. "Yeah, I'm here. Just..." What was I doing? "Just thinking."

"So I'll see you around?"

I was still clueless about what he was talking about "Yeah... yeah, of course. Bye."

Getting out of bed, I picked up my green top to put it away when something hit my foot. It was an arrowhead. I put my fingers to my mouth, remembering why I had it. It really happened; it wasn't a dream. I sat myself down on the floor and stared at the arrowhead.

I kissed him. Did I kiss him? All the details seemed fuzzy now.

After the Stephen Swift situation, I just wanted to relax at Watchtower by myself because I couldn't face Lois after that. But he was there doing target practice. A single malt later, I found myself comfortable, but I had Stephen's words swirling in my head.

When was the last time I had a good time? I guess burying a husband while everyone in my life disappears eliminates fun times. I had focused my energy into Watchtower, even when the gang went awol. Where was I supposed to find fun in a time like that?

Of course, Oliver had an answer for that. "Sometimes, it's right in front of your face, you just have to want to see it." Ollie, even for you, that was bad. But it worked. I went next to him and learned how to shoot an arrow. Or, in my case, attempted to learn, as I missed the target three times. I figured I should quit after breaking the tip off his arrow, but fate had different plans as I returned the arrow to him. Our eyes met and then it happened.

Something about that entire night felt different. Of course, since Roulette, Oliver had been acting weird, not that I minded it...anything beat him having a death wish.

But this was Oliver Queen: billionaire, playboy, and high-society Oliver Queen. My entire life has been spent in the shadows and I couldn't continue living that way with him. Furthermore, he was Lois' ex – I couldn't do that to her. Of course, with her dating Clark, she technically broke that rule first. And Jimmy. It was too soon. Yet, when Jimmy needed help, Oliver was there for him. He looked as bad as I did at Jimmy's funeral.

After living so long in solitude; it felt good to have some human contact. Clark had officially replaced me with Lois, and Oliver had been there for me and vice versa. I just wasn't ready for another train wreck, and that was the only way a relationship between Ollie and I could end. However, it doesn't have to be serious, just a simple arrangement. I could tell that he didn't regret it, and in a way, I didn't either.

I grabbed my phone and looked at it. Fun — that was the theme of last night. I dialled Oliver's number and sighed. I couldn't believe that I was doing this.

"Hey Chloe, is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure of... anything right now."

"Don't worry about it. That's why I said..."

"No, I want to give this a shot."

"You do?"

"Yeah, but let's keep this simple. I'm not looking for a relationship, just..."

"I get it."

Of course you get it. "But we need to keep it to ourselves for a little while."

He paused for a moment and responded, "Okay."

"Okay." I repeated.

I heard a knock on my door, so I slammed my phone shut and stashed the arrowhead in my pocket. Even though I felt the point through my pocket, I had to deal with the pain. The last person I needed prying into this was Lois.

I got up from the floor. "Come in."

Lois opened the door. "I thought I heard you talking. Who's calling you this early in the morning?"

"Oliver." I said before thinking.

"Really?"

I needed a cover story, fast. "I'm picking up a package for him before we meet for coffee." Okay, that was lame, but it seemed to satisfy Lois as she was dying to say something.

"So I heard you went out with your masked friend last night. I wanted to ask you how it went last night, but I fell asleep before you came in."

Great. How do I explain to Lois that I went out with a boy who got magically transformed into a man by a comic book and almost tried to kill me when I tried to fix things?

"No offence, but I stayed out knowing you were going to interrogate me when I got home." That was the truth.

"Well, you're not getting out of it that easy."

"I won't be seeing him again anytime soon, Lo. Any leads that you need to follow today?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have a juicy one this morning." She looked anxious to leave, but I could tell she wanted more details.

"You're not getting any more out of me, so don't let that lead go to waste. Go."

She hesitated, but then grabbed her bag. "Thanks, cuz. See you later."

I went to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee while trying to figure out what I just did. It would be simple, Ollie understood that. He knows what I've been through. It'll be fun.