Title: Shine
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing, Character, etc: Chloe Sullivan
Prompt: 001- Beginnings
Word Count: 2,121
Rating: PG
Author's Note: Deals with Chloe entering College at Metropolis University. Has slight spoilers for the first two episodes of SV Season 5- "Arrival" and "Mortal", but not too many. Set sometime in the future of S5.Has a bit of added Chloe/Clark, just because.
Disclaimer: NOT MINE! DANCES
It was scary. It felt very scary to pack up her room- her pictures, her posters, the knick knacks, the very things that screamed "Chloe Sullivan lives here, dammit!". Now, stripped pretty much bare, the plain apartment walls looked sad and lonely.
"Is that everything honey?" Gabe said, coming up and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah." Chloe said, turning from her room and gazing at her father. "I think so." She said, fighting back tears. "I'm ready."
Her VW bug couldn't hold everything she needed for school, and the Kents had very graciously offered the use of their pickup for her exodus to Metropolis University. Clark was driving the pickup, and Lois and Lana were riding up with Chloe in the bug.
Smallville was still recovering from the meteor shower months earlier. Some areas of the town had minimal damage and had rebounded quickly- such as the apartment complex that Gabe and Chloe called home. Many downtown businesses such as the Talon and Fordman's had only a bit of cosmetic damage and had reopened quickly. Luthor Corp, under Lex's guidance, had brought in teams to remove the meteor rock and clean up the town. The outskirts of town, where the Kents lived, was struck the hardest- the Kents had moved into the same apartment complex as the Sullivan's during the Summer, for their house had been demolished completely. Fortunately, their insurance claim went through rather quickly, and they were already in the process of rebuilding their house, just as it had been before.
Lana had brought along her pink I-Pod, and she plugged it into the special port in the bug as they sped away from Smallville, Chloe, Lois, and Lana danced and laughed along to the music.
Soon they were on the highway, and they quickly were able to pass Gabe and Clark in the pickup. They honked and waved as they passed.
"Clark drives like a grandma." Chloe said, looking back at the pickup in her rear-view mirror.
"That's for sure." Lois snorted. "Dale Jr. he's not."
It felt strange, Chloe thought, to have a whole parade of people following you. Her Dad, Clark, Lois, and Lana- her own little procession, all carrying her belongings, following her as they wandered all over the campus, looking for her ever elusive dorm.
"I can't believe this." She muttered. "How hard can it be to find a stinking dorm building?"
"I would think, that someone who actually went to school here would know where Shuster Dorm is." Clark glared at Lois.
"I've been through a lot of trauma since then, Smallville." Lois glared back at Clark. "And I was in another dorm."
"Whatever." Clark sighed.
"We should ask someone." Lana sighed. "Someone has to know. Right?"
"Enough!" Chloe threw her box towards Clark, who scrambled to catch it. She withdrew her orange cell phone and brought up the web browser. Within seconds, she found a map. "It's….that way." Chloe said pointing to her right. "See? You've gotta love modern technology."
"I would have loved it a lot more if you would have discovered it, oh before we walked all the way to Siberia and back." Lois huffed.
"Let's just get Chloe checked in. And then we'll all go out and get some lunch." Gabe said, taking control of the situation. "Forward march, troops."
Her stuff filled the room, but still, the room didn't feel like it belonged to her. It was strange and foreign. It stunk of cleaner and disinfectant, like a hotel room.
She gazed at the walls, her side of the room covered in movie posters- Lord of the Rings, the latest Warrior Angel movie, and a Star Wars poster from the original 1977 release that Lana had found in storage at the Talon-it had been Chloe's graudation present from Lana, along with treating her to a matinee of Revenge of the Sith in Grandville. There was a mini-wall of weird (just because she was in Metropolis, she couldn't forget where she came from), and a bulletin board filled with pictures, Torch articles and movie stubs.
Daisy, her faithful cow, rested on the pillows atop her purple quilt. Lex had sent a lovely bouquet of tulips waiting for Chloe when she checked in, and she'd placed them carefully on the nightstand. Most importantly, her computer was hooked up to the school's network and Chloe was already downloading torrents of "Lost" and "Prison Break" that she'd missed while packing.
She felt…lonely.
She was eighteen.
Being here, in Metropolis, studying Journalism at Met U, this was her dream.
Then why in the hell was she so sad?
As soon as she lost sight of the Kent's truck, Chloe had resisted the urge to cry; resisted the urge to text message "COME BACK!"
The dorms were still pretty much deserted- most of the students wouldn't arrive until tomorrow. Chloe had been allowed to move in early due to Gabe's work schedule at the Grandville Wal-Mart.
She'd been able to chat with both Lana and Pete over AIM for awhile, and that had helped. Pete was starting his college career at Princeton next week, and had to leave the chat early to pack. Lana had complained of sleepiness and had left shortly thereafter.
Chloe wanted her Dad. She'd do anything right now to hear his voice, his corny jokes, to feel his comforting hug. She didn't pick up the phone to call him, for Chloe knew she'd burst into tears at the sound of his voice.
Eighteen years old, and she wanted her Daddy. Eighteen years old, and she couldn't bear to be alone. At this point, she would have killed for a friendly face, even if it was Janitor Echolls from Smallville High.
There was a knock on the door, and Chloe climbed up from her desk chair to answer it. She expected to see her R.A., offering some helpful hint about life at Metropolis U (she'd stopped by three times this afternoon, doing just the same while Chloe was packing), but was delighted by who was at the door.
"CLARK!" She breathed, pulling him inside the door and into a tight hug. "You're here!" Chloe rested her head on his chest for a moment, before gazing up at him, puzzled. "Why are you here?"
"I thought…I thought you might need some company."
"Well…you know…I…" For a second, she considered playing it cool and acting like she was having the time of her life. As soon as the thought entered her head Chloe shook it off. Clark excelled at making up bad excuses, but he could see right through them, super powers or not. "I am."
"Yeah." He nodded slightly. "When I got home, Mom started talking about her first night and how lonely she was, even though she'd just moved across town…Plus, I kind of heard you choke back a sob as we drove away." He ruffled her blonde hair. "It just kinda seemed that you could use a friend."
"Could I ever." She beamed. "My roommate won't be here until tomorrow- anyone but my RA, Little Miss Sunshine, won't be here until tomorrow. Did your parents mind you borrowing the car again today?"
"I didn't drive."
"You ran all the way to Metropolis for me?" Chloe blushed slightly. "You really are my own personal superhero."
"I'm your best friend."
"Close enough." Chloe said, hugging him once more.
Chloe leaned her head on Clark's shoulder as the opening credits of the movie rolled. It had been quite a night. Utilizing Clark's gift for super speed, they'd travelled to New York City for pizza and cheesecake, before zipping to a carnival on a pier in California. Perched on her bed beside them was a stuffed Panda Bear that Clark had won by hitting the bell on one of those strongman tests- and she was thrilled to have it, even though Clark had a slight advantage when it came to winning it.
"I can't believe you have an advance copy of Warrior Angel Begins!" Clark said. "This is awesome!"
"Lois has connections." She said drowsily.
"Sleepy?"
"A little." Chloe muttered, cuddling closer to Clark.
"It's okay." He said. "Go ahead and close your eyes."
"But…I…you…"
"I'll be here when you wake up, I promise." Clark patted her head. "There's no place on Earth that I'd rather be."
"But…"
"It's okay, Chlo."
Feeling warm and secure, Chloe closed her eyes and dreamed.
It felt a bit naughty waking up next to Clark, even though they hadn't done anything in the least bit so. They were friends, and he'd been a true friend to her when Chloe had really needed one.
It was easy to imagine, though, for a second, as she woke up facing a still sleeping Clark, that he was hers in that way.
He looked so beautiful when he slept. Innocent. Clark had grown his hair long this summer- longer than he'd ever had it before, and it curled slightly around his face. With the rumpled bed head effect…he was stunning.
Chloe gazed up at the alarm clock. Ten O'Clock. Her roommate would be here soon.
"Hey sleepy head." She said, reaching over and tapping Clark's shoulder. "Up and at em."
Clark looked momentarily lost as he woke up and recognized his surroundings. "Good morning." He sat up and stretched. "See, I told you that you'd make it through your first night."
"Without you, I probably would have cried myself to sleep while downloading torrents of My Little Pony cartoons." She laughed. "I…thank you, Clark."
"That's what friends are for." He stood up and stretched. "I had a great time."
"Me too." She sighed. "I just wish it could always be this way."
"What do you mean?"
"Things will change." Chloe shrugged. "We're both going to make new friends, and grow, and change, and by Christmas Break we probably won't even recognize each other."
"Chloe. Chloe. Yeah, things will change, some, I guess. But I'm always going to be your friend. You're still at the very top of my speed dial." He laughed. "You're going to do so much; you'll be writing headlines for the Daily Planet before I even know it! But no matter where you go or what you do, you're going to be my friend. You know my secret…"
"I figured out your secret." She countered.
"Not all of it. Not the alien part."
"Okay, I'll give you that one."
"See?" Clark smiled. "Chloe, I don't know what the future holds. I don't know where I'll be in five or even ten years. But I do know, that no matter where I am, or what I'm doing, I want you to be a part of my life. You're important to me."
"Likewise." Chloe leaned over and gave him a hug. "You're my hero, Clark."
"And you're mine. Uh-oh."
"What?"
"I…I think your roommate has arrived. And the R.A.'s with her."
"And let me guess, you didn't sign in on the visitors list."
"You think they would have let me stay overnight if I did?"
"I guess not."
"I'll call…okay?"
She nodded. "You better."
Clark sped out of the room, passing Chloe's roommate, her parents, and the ever cheerful R.A.
"What's up with the A.C. in this place?" Her roommate muttered as Clark sped by, too fast for human eyes to see.
"I'll have them check into that." Her dad said, patting her arm.
"Chloe?" The R.A. knocked when the party arrived at the room. "Your roommate is here!"
"Come on in" Chloe called, coming from the bathroom clad in a fresh outfit of jeans and a tank top.
"It's so great you're both here. I'm glad that you both chose to study with us at Met U." The R.A. announced, her eyes dancing. "It's a little uncommon, but you're both Journalism Majors…most Freshmen don't even have a major declared at this point."
Chloe spun around and saw a friendly face, a pretty girl with auburn hair and a nervous expression standing next to the R.A.
"Chloe Sullivan….meet Iris West." The R.A. introduced.
The girls shook smiled and shook hands.
"Well, Chloe, is it?" Iris' father asked. "We thought we'd go get an Early Lunch and get Iris here her textbooks before we unloaded the U-Haul. Would you like to come with us?"
"That….that would be great." Chloe smiled. "Thank you very much, Mr. West."
"No problem." He grinned. "Looking forward to starting your college career? It's a great school. My Alma Mater." He beamed.
"Why yes…yes I am." Chloe said, her voice confident and sure. She would take life and embrace it, embrace the changes and the challenges that were sure to await her.
This was her time to shine.
And shine she would.