"I want to let you in on a secret. I'm not who you think I am. In fact, my disguise is so thin, I'm surprised you haven't seen right through me. I'm the girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend. Sometimes I want to rip off this facade like I did at the Spring Formal, but I can't because you'll get scared and you'll run away again. So I decided that it's better to live with a lie than expose my true feelings. "This is so much easier when you're unconscious. "My dad told me there are two types of girls. The ones you grow out of and the ones you grow into. I really hope I'm the latter. I may not be the one you love today, but I'll let you go for now, hoping one day you'll fly back to me because I think you're worth the wait."

The words were foggy, half-heard, and yet they plagued his mind. Clark replayed them in his mind over and over for a week. He thought that it possibly had been Lana at first, that she'd come to see him, but his father informed him after his mother recovered and they could focus on more inane things, that Lana had never come to visit him, claiming that illness scared her.

That hurt Clark deeply.

He didn't realize that Lana wouldn't even see him when he'd been dying. He'd wanted her to be there badly, but she'd not come through for him, and he couldn't understand why. His mother insisted it was her problem and her own hang-ups, but it still stung. He thought he'd meant more to her. Apparently he hadn't.

Chloe had come instead.

She'd come, read those words to him, and then he'd woken up five minutes later, healthy as if he'd never had so much a cough, let alone a spiking fever.

Chloe had missed school for a week. He wondered if he'd insulted her by calling out Lana's name-and yes, his titanium trap memory was replaying that too-and refused to come to school, too embarrassed to see him. Lana was cloying lately, talking about how they missed their shot when they had their limo "not a date" last year and with everything that then happened with Jesse. Clark didn't understand her renewed interest with him, when she'd been so cool lately.

Sighing, he walked into the Torch and stopped. Chloe was there and she looked oddly clammy.

"Chlo?"

She sat down on the sofa and coughed a little. "Ugh, flu's going around. I missed so much school daddy forced me out of the house even if I'm 100.3!"

"That doesn't sound so reassuring."

"It was worse last week. I think I'll be okay in a few more days."

He nodded and pulled a rolling chair out from the nearest desk to her. Swinging one leg over it, he leaned on the chair back and up at her. "Chloe, I know you came to see me."

"You were sick; I brought a Hallmark card."

Clark gulped, unsure of how to broach her written confession. "I think I said something horrible to you."

"You were sick and I understand that Lana was gonna be the first person you'd want to see when you were waking up. It's not a big deal. You, um, didn't remember anything else but saying her name, did you?" She was looking back at him, eyes wide with fear and he realized she hadn't counted on him ever hearing it, let alone remembering it word for word and with every inflection.

She'd not dealt with an alien memory before.

"No why? Did I miss some Gabe Sullivan recommended jokes?"

"Nothing off color," she said, relaxing. "So, how about the new lunch menus. I hear they're gonna go to grade Z filler."

"No such thing."

"It'll taste like it."

"Chloe, look, I need to ask you something and it won't go outside of this office because I can't explain how I know this and you probably can't explain your half of this either. We can just pretend this never happened."

Chloe tensed and her smile fell. "I don't understand?"

"I wasn't sick, Chlo. I was dying. You know I was, don't you?"

"I knew that Helen had been called in special even though you don't like doctors. Hell, except for the broken ribs, I don't even remember you having a cold."

"You either," Clark added.

She looked away. "I went to Smallville Medical Center and begged it out of Helen. She said she didn't know how to help you and that the prognosis was terrible."

"You begged it out of her?"

She swallowed. "Exactly. I guess she broke confidentiality for a hysterical best friend. I was scared for you."

"Chloe, what my mom and I had, there was no cure for it."

"Mrs. Kent got better. Clark, what are you getting at? If you ask me questions, I'll ask mine back."

"I-"

"The mold spore was unlike anything seen on Earth. I hacked the CDC records so I know. Your mom was flatlining and a flash of light was seen by the entire hospital staff, the lights went out, and when the generators kicked in, your mom was sitting up healthy. None of that makes sense."

"Well I had a 105 degree fever and was in a coma and five minutes later I was awake and as healthy as I'd ever been!"

"Why was the mold spore extraterrestrial, Clark?"

"Why did I wake up fine, Chloe?"

She looked down at her nails. "I can't tell you."

"I can't either."

"See stalemate. Nothing weird happened; we'll just go with that story," she huffed.

"I never knew you to hide secrets before."

"Well, then," she said, gathering up her purse and walking out the door. "You never really knew me."