A/N: This is basically a fun piece that I started writing a few months ago after hearing the song 'Boring' by Pink – it really seemed to fit Chlollie. I'd recommend Googling the lyrics or listening to it because it was what specifically gave me this story idea. Throw out canon – this is an altered season 7-8 and it's a shorter fic like 'On Making Wishes' or 'Red K Caper'. Hope you have as much fun reading as I did writing!

Chapter 1

It was the way she was standing that first caught his attention.

In an alley in one of the worst parts of Star City, she exuded an attitude of confidence, like nothing could touch her. It would have amused him if it weren't borderline suicidal.

Just as he was getting ready to cross to the next rooftop and drop down for a chat with the intriguing little blonde, someone else got there first.

"All alone, sweetheart?" The voice belonged to a guy who, while young, looked like a stereotypical gangbanger, and he carried the requisite switchblade to back up his image.

The blonde looked up, eyes sweeping over the man in front of her. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm meeting someone."

"Well, I'll keep you company," he offered suggestively. "I'll give you a real thrill."

The blonde suddenly raised her hands, and Oliver saw she was holding a Taser gun. "You're not my type. Now unless you want to get a real thrill from this, keep walking."

She had balls – he had to give her that. Oliver leapt to the neighboring rooftop silently and readied himself to drop down behind the gangbanger, who was now shifting from foot to foot in agitation.

"Bitch, I will cut you." It didn't sound like an idle threat.

He landed behind the gangbanger. "You need lessons on how to treat a lady."

The younger man whirled around, knife coming up in a striking motion which Oliver blocked easily before landing a solid punch to the man's jaw. A second later, he shuddered and dropped to the ground unconscious.

Oliver raised his brows and glanced from the probes that had hit the guy to the blonde currently pointing her Taser gun at him. "Hey there – easy. I'm the good guy."

The blonde raised a brow. "The good guy carrying a crossbow in a dark alley? You'll forgive me if I decide to err on the side of disbelief." Her hands were steady, and Oliver didn't really doubt she'd tase him if she decided he was a threat.

That was the downfall of starting out in the hero business – the people he tried to help were usually afraid of him. He couldn't help grinning at her bravado as he raised his hands in mock surrender. "Oh, come on. Do I really look like the bad guy here? I did just swoop in to save you."

"Well, you are sneaking around alleys at night. Then again, the local gangs would probably laugh you out of the hood for wearing green leather tights."

"Pants, not tights," he corrected her. He cast an appraising look at the young woman before him. Dressed in dark jeans, a pink silk blouse and a dark brown, lightweight blazer, she looked like one of the local university students. Or a young professional – he noted she was carrying a laptop bag. Blonde hair that skimmed the tops of her shoulders, big eyes, and a fresh faced girl-next-door kind of beauty tipped the scale in favor of student.

"Semantics," she scoffed. "So if you're one of the good guys, I'm guessing you might be the mysterious vigilante I've been hearing rumors of lately, making a dent in crime one arrow at a time."

He chose to ignore that. "This alley isn't safe even during daylight hours. You shouldn't be here."

"All the commotion has probably scared off the person I was meeting anyway," she replied. "If they even decided to show up."

"This meeting – business or pleasure?" Not his business, but he couldn't quell his sudden curiosity.

"Do I look like the kind of girl who gets off on dirty alleys? I was following a story."

"You're a reporter?" She didn't look like any reporter he'd ever seen, but then he was usually followed around by the worst of the lot.

"I will be when I finish school," she answered, confirming his student theory. "So what should I call you?"

Oliver shot an arrow up into the ledge of a building, pulling the line to test it. "I'm sure you'll come up with something." He soared upwards, catching the side of the fire escape and using it to make his way onto the roof. He edged around the side of the building and jumped to the next rooftop, following the blonde as she walked briskly back into a busier area of the city and hailed a cab that disappeared into the steady stream of traffic.

Star City, one year later

Chloe followed her cousin Lucy into one of the hottest nightclubs in Star City, wishing that she'd opted for her bunny slippers and a cup of the new French roast she'd picked up that afternoon. But Lucy was a lot like Lois in that she was a force to be reckoned with when she had her mind set on something.

She eyed the long line skeptically, already damning the heels her cousin had forced on her. "Lucy, this line is ridiculous. We're never getting in here."

Lucy flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder and raised a brow. "I told you, I've got a guy."

Chloe snorted in amusement. Lucy had a lot of guys in a lot of places that she tended to string along, but she doubted that was going to help with their present situation. "I've been here for two months and you just got here yesterday. I really don't think…" she broke off as Lucy suddenly waved at one of the bouncers, who grinned and motioned them forward.

"Lucy – looking good." The tall, burly bouncer eyed both of them appreciatively. He lifted the rope to let them in, ignoring the groans of protest from those in line. "No VIP pass this time though – it's full."

Lucy pouted. "Really? There's nothing you can do?"

He looked genuinely regretful. "Sorry. Special event going on."

She shrugged and grabbed Chloe's arm. "No worries. Thanks, Ty."

Ty smiled and led them through the nightclub to a small table that was strategically placed to have a great view of the bar, dance floor, and the coveted VIP area that was situated to their right. Once they were seated, he waved over a bartender. "First drinks are on the house. Enjoy your night, ladies." He winked at Lucy before walking away.

"So how do you know Ty?" Chloe asked, raising her voice to be heard over the beat of the music.

"I met him in L.A. last year. He's cool – he's a club promoter." Lucy scanned the drink menu before looking at the bartender. "Vodka martini with lime."

"Club promoter? I thought he was a bouncer," she replied as she looked over her own menu. "I'll have the Mai Tai."

"We should order a Flaming Volcano later," Lucy said, setting her menu down.

Chloe glanced down the menu until she found the Flaming Volcano. "That looks huge, Lu – like 32 ounces of knock me on my ass huge."

"Oh, come on – we could share it."

"I don't want to be hung over this weekend. I'm leaving on Monday and we have dinner plans with Uncle Sam tomorrow night." One of them had to be the voice of reason, and that role usually fell to Chloe when spending time with either of her cousins.

"Seriously, Chloe, you need to loosen up. Which is what tonight is about. And even if we had the mother of all hangovers, Daddy wouldn't blame you. You may be a year older, but he thinks you can do no wrong – valedictorian of your high school, internships with top newspapers every summer, and set to graduate with honors from Met U next year. Meanwhile Lois barely finished high school, dropped out of college, and is writing about Elvis sightings and flying barn doors for a tabloid. And I'm a fashion design student – only slightly above the flying barn door in his eyes."

"Lois is pitching to major newspapers all the time, and she's definitely improving. I've put in a good word for her with my editor," Chloe replied. "And you just finished an internship in Paris, Lucy. That wasn't easy to get."

Lucy shrugged. "I know I worked hard for it. Try telling that to the General. Anyway, I'm glad you were still here in Star City while we were in town. Dad has meetings with some aircraft guys…"

"Ferris Aircraft," Chloe reminded her.

"Whatever. And I hardly ever get to see you when Lois isn't around."

Chloe suppressed a sigh; it was no secret that Lois and Lucy didn't get along very well, and she had played referee to more than one of their knock-down-drag-outs over the years. She thought the problem wasn't so much that they were different since she got along well with both of them, and she couldn't be more different from her larger than life cousins. It had more to do with the fact that Lois had taken on a mothering role to Lucy that she'd had a hard time letting go of. And the older Lucy got, the more she resented it.

Chloe could understand that since she had first-hand experience with how impossibly overbearing her older cousin could be. When she and Jimmy Olsen had rekindled their long ago flame two years ago, Lois had not been a fan. She grew to tolerate Jimmy in a friendly way, but it was pretty clear to everyone that she expected the young photographer to be a mere stepping stone on the relationship path.

Despite Lois' attitude, Chloe's residual feelings for her best friend Clark, and her ongoing battle with hiding her sidekicking role from Jimmy, they'd weathered the ups and downs fairly well. And then Chloe caught him flirting with Clark's cousin, Kara. Not one to brush things under the rug, she called him out on it and in the midst of that argument Lois walked in.

The whole night had been one big mess, and at the end of it Chloe told Jimmy she wanted to take a break. And to really give herself some distance, she accepted another summer internship offer from the Star City Gazette. She had interned there the summer before, and she'd genuinely enjoyed her time in sunny California. She felt like the last two months had definitely given her some much needed perspective. She and Jimmy hadn't spoken since their breakup, but she figured she would deal with that when she got back. Either way, they had to find a way to get along for the sake of their working relationship.

"Besides, you promised that I was in charge of tonight's entertainment," Lucy went on, a mischievous smile lighting up her face. "You finally broke up with that yawn worthy douchebag…"

"His name is Jimmy," Chloe interrupted, rolling her eyes. Trust that her love life would be the only thing the Lane sisters could agree on. "And he's not a douchebag, Lucy."

"He was hitting on Clark's cornfield beauty queen cousin behind your back, Chlo. That spells douchebag in every dictionary," Lucy said as their drinks arrived. She took a sip before continuing. "If it were me or Lois, what would you tell us?"

That he was a douchebag, she thought. Only in her case it was more complicated because Jimmy had a major point when he accused her of being both emotionally and physically unavailable. It didn't totally excuse his behavior, but she believed him when he said nothing had happened beyond them hanging out together. Regardless, there had been some interest there and it still hurt. She knew that was the only part that Lois and Lucy cared about.

"Your problem is that you've only had this one serious boyfriend Chloe. My personal recommendation is that you take this opportunity to have a fling. It gives a girl an idea of what her options are."

The idea that her younger cousin was having 'flings' was slightly cringe worthy. "I think we both know I'm not really the fling type."

"You're not seriously going to waste all the work that went into getting us ready for tonight, are you?"

She had a point. Chloe looked down at her dress, an off the shoulder black mini in a soft jersey material. Black was not a color she usually favored given her pale complexion, but after two months in the California sun, she had a sun kissed glow that paired well with it. She'd spent far too much money on the little designer number, but with the peacock blue heels adding several inches to her modest height, she felt sexy and confident.

Lucy had lent her some signature pieces of jewelry she'd gotten in Paris – a few silver bangles accented with aquamarine stones and matching chandelier earrings that really popped against the dark fabric of her dress. They'd hit a high end spa that afternoon, a gift from the General, and Chloe's freshly trimmed hair fell in loose, silky waves to the tops of her shoulders. A makeup artist at the salon had given Chloe a dewy summer look and a subtle smoky eye that she hoped she would be able to recreate.

She couldn't deny that she felt more glamorous than she could remember feeling in a long time. Maybe part of it was being in a new place; no one knew Chloe Sullivan here aside from the other interns and reporters she'd worked with at the Gazette over the summer. If there were ever a time to have a fling, it would be now.

"Come on, Chloe. WWLD, right?"

Chloe laughed. 'What Would Lois Do' had been a favorite game of Lucy's when they were younger, before she'd become aggravated by her older sister's bossiness. "I don't know."

"Chloe, I hate to say you're boring, but…"

She felt a little twinge at that, remembering how Lois had declared her relationship with Jimmy a snooze fest shortly after meeting him. Alien best friends and meteor freaks aside, was she really that boring?

"Okay, I'll make a deal with you," she finally said. "I refuse to have a fling based solely on my cousin pressuring me into it – this isn't high school. But what if I agree to be open to the idea tonight provided that the right opportunity presents itself?"

The possibility alone was enough to send a tingle of excitement along her nerve endings. She wasn't entirely sure she could go through with it, but the idea that she might had her looking around the club with renewed interest.

Lucy grinned smugly. "I'll take it. Now drink up so we can hit the dance floor and see what kind of hotties we're dealing with tonight."

It was her hair that caught his attention, gleaming blonde waves that seemed to catch and hold the lights on the dance floor; odd since his taste usually ran more towards brunettes. Oliver shifted his position in order to get a better look at the girl. There was something familiar about her that he couldn't quite place, and it was enough to hold his interest.

He sipped his scotch, only vaguely aware of his date running her hand along his arm. The blonde was petite with long legs shown to their best advantage by a short hemline and the four inch heels she was wearing. The rounded curve of her hips hugged by the snug fit of her dress brought to mind a slew of images that immediately spiked his pulse.

Sex in heels, he thought. Her dance partner thought so too if his body language was anything to go by. He moved closer to her whenever he had the chance. Oliver wondered if the guy was her boyfriend. After observing the way she kept a deliberate distance between them, he didn't think so.

He caught a glimpse of her profile as she tilted her head to speak to a tall brunette dancing beside her. The feeling that he knew her struck him again, and he started flipping through images of girls he'd met recently. Something about meeting her at a club didn't seem right though.

Then she turned in his direction and walked by with her brunette friend, who was laughing at something the blonde said. Oliver sucked in a breath, surprised as he realized why she was familiar. It was the girl from the alley. It must have been at least a year since he'd seen her that night, armed with her Taser and brazenly facing down two different strangers in the space of minutes.

He'd never met anyone like her before or since, and he'd found himself wondering about her a few times on his nightly patrols. He recalled that she'd been a journalism student. SCU or even UCLA were both possibilities since she might only be home for the summer; she also might have graduated by now.

Oliver shifted again to keep the two women in his line of sight. They were now sitting at a table to his left, and he recognized the man who had walked over to talk to them – Ty Mabry, a local club promoter.

"Oliver, are you even listening to me?"

The plaintive tone of his date jerked his attention back to the present. He flashed a smile though his earlier interest had cooled considerably. Still, he supposed he owed it to her to make an effort. They rejoined their group, and his friend Hal shot him a questioning look which he shrugged off.

For the next half hour he kept his attention focused on his date, a lingerie model / eye candy actress who was hanging on his arm in order to generate buzz for her upcoming film. Oliver didn't kid himself it was more than publicity for either of them, but he'd definitely considered sleeping with her before he'd spotted the blonde. Hell, he didn't even know her name. Suddenly that mattered to him.

When his date made a restroom exit, Oliver walked back over to the rail. The blonde was still at the table, laughing as a fiery drink was set down between her and the other girl – a Flaming Volcano by the looks of it. He caught the bartender's eye as he passed.

"What can I get you, Mr. Queen?"

Oliver nodded to the blonde's table. "Put their tab with mine and ask them if they want to join us."

The bartender didn't seem surprised by the request, and Oliver watched as he walked over to talk to the two girls. He didn't know the blonde's name yet, but he was about to rectify that.

Up Next: WWLD :)