Disclaimer: Smallville and its characters are the property of the WB and Marvel and such, not me.

 Songs aint mine either. This is my story, however, and is now copyright. © Don't even TRY

and steal it! (Just kidding!)

A/N: You may notice that not only does Lana not live with Chloe, but also she isn't in the story

very much. The reason for this is simply that I don't like Lana and find it more interesting to write

Pete. Don't all you Lana fans kill me, there is NO Lana bashing in this story. I don't take my hate

 out on my work.

Read and Review. New chapter coming soon.

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Chloe and Lana sat in The Torch office, finishing the last articles for the day. Clark had long since

left to assist his parents on the farm, and Pete had a date so they were the only two left in the office.

 I was a stinking hot day, had to be mid 90's. Even though they both wore short tops and shorts,

Sweat still clung to their skin like a virus. It seemed the air was pressing in on them. One must

 wonder, can't this school afford air conditioning?

 "Damn it's hot!" Chloe complained.

 "Yeah, it's like being in an oven."

 "I don't know about you, but I'm going to call it a day. I'd much rather get back home to the

coolness of my bedroom fan."

 "Hey, I've got some things to finish off at the Talon. I'll see you tomorrow ok?"

 "Sure thing."

~*~

both girls exited the office and headed their separate ways. Chloe headed for her car and turned the

air con up Full Boal. It wasn't long before she reached her house, and stepped inside to the coolness

of her fan. The site that greeted her when she entered the lounge was less than pleasant. There sat

Gabe, beer in hand, looking like he hadn't had a goodnights sleep in days. The TV was on some

 corny soap, but he wasn't watching. Chloe was shocked.

 "Dad? What happened?" There was no answer. This was really starting to scare her. " Dad? Dad

 are you ok?" He voice was slightly firmer, as she moved over and stood next to him.

 "What does it look like? Lionel Luthor fired me today. Cheating bastard."

 "I'm so sorry. I know you needed that job." She placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. He

 jerked and grabbed her arm, hard.

 "DON'T TOUCH ME!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER YOU

 LITTLE BITCH!!"

Chloe grew angry. No one talked about her mother like this. "How dare you! She was a good

person!"

He gripped her arm tighter, causing her eyes to widen in horror. What was wrong with him?

 "Dad, stop it! You're hurting me!" You could hear the terror in her voice.

 "Hurting? You don't know what pain is. But you will. When I'm through you'll wish you had

never been born!"

with his free arm, he hit her on the top of the thigh. Then he threw her across the room and into a

wall. She fell onto the ground in a heap. She lay there quivering, not daring to move. What was

wrong with her father? He had never acted this way before. He walked up and grabbed the base of

her neck, lifting her from the ground.

 "I don't want a single word from you. Now get to your room."

Chloe instantly ran up, then shut and locked the door behind her. She fell onto the bed and began

crying, long silent sobs. She stayed like this the entire night, drifting between sleep and

 consciousness. All the time crying, wishing it was over.

~*~

Chloe woke up early the next morning, showered, the stood in front of her mirror to survey the

damage. It was worse than she thought. A big purple bruise was forming just above her elbow

 where Gabe had grabbed her. Another bruise showed dark on her thigh, and her eyes were

 bloodshot. There was a thin, purple line going around her neck, where her father had lifted her from

 the ground.  She had to hide this.

She put on a long sleeved turtleneck, to hide the bruise on her arm and neck, and a long skirt to hide

 the one on her thigh. Her eyes she could pass off as lack of coffee. They'd seen her on a caffeine

 shortage before, and knew what to expect. Just in case, she applied extra coats of make-up, to make

 her look happy.

Confident that she was ready, she headed out the door, leaving before Gabe woke up.

~*~

Clark walked into the Torch office and was shocked. Even this early in the morning it was hot,

 and here was Chloe in a long skirt and turtleneck skivvy. Her eyes are slightly red as well, not to

mention the make-up overkill.

 "Ah Chloe? Are you ok?"

She put on the mask that she often wore. Practiced so many times, so convincible it was scary.

 "Sure Clark, why do you ask?"

 "Well, it's close to 100 and you're wearing a turtleneck. Plus you eyes are red."

 "Don't worry. It's not THAT hot. Besides, I need a caffeine update. My coffee supplies on the

verge of non-existent and I don't get paid until Saturday."

 "Well come by the loft later, we practically never use our coffee. I could give you a dose."

 "Thanks, but no thanks. I've some homework to finish, no time to do anything else you know."

 "Well, if you're sure."

She smiled, this was working too well. Maybe they wouldn't think anything was wrong and leave it

at that. But then, she knew she couldn't keep this up forever. What's a girl to do?

~*~

Clark wasn't the only one who noticed changes in Chloe that day. Both Lana and Pete wanted to

know why she was wearing such bizarre things in spring, and her teachers were none too happy at

the lack of concentration. She would jump anytime someone touched her, and was walking rather

 differently, as if she had a sore leg. Although everyone passed this off as Caffeine Deprivation, Pete

wasn't too sure.

 "Hey Chloe?"

 "Oh, Pete, hi!"

 "Chloe, what's wrong?"

 "Nothing a little coffee won't fix, why?"

 "You're jumping, you're wearing extra make-up, you have on the hottest clothes while it's 100 in

 the shade and you're walking as if someone tossed you into a wall."

 "Oh that's nothing, sprained ankle."

 "Chloe?"

 "Yes?"

 "You can't keep lying. You may have Clark and Lana fooled, but not me."

 "What are you saying?"

 "Chloe, please! Tell me what happened!"

 "Nothing happened Pete, just leave me alone!" She said, angrier than she intended. Pete's face fell.

 "If you insist. But I know you'll tell me. That's what I'm here for."

~*~

Chloe was alone in The Torch office. She wanted to stay here as long as she could, but knew she

 had to get home some time. She finally plucked up the courage to move, turned off the lights and

headed for her car. It didn't take long to drive home normally, but she wanted to stall. She stopped

every chance she got. She took the longest route she could manage and even drove around a few

 blocks several times. Eventually, she stopped outside her house.

Gathering up all her energy, she opened the door and walked inside. Gabe was sitting on the couch,

with the lights turned low. He looked up at her and stared. Not an angry glare, not anything. Just a

blank face. The type of menacing look you expect from a maniac.

 "Where have you been?" His voice was void of emotion.

 "I…I was finishing up…at the torch."

 "Liar."

 "What?"

 "Not even you would stay there until 6. I'll bet you were out with one of those 'friends' of yours."

 "What are you talking about?"

 "Who do you think you're fooling? Two guys, and you expect me to believe you're just friends."

 "Dad I…"

 "Don't call me that ridiculous pet name. I am your father, and to be treated with respect."

 "But I…"

 "Shut up." He hit her across the face with the back of his hand. She stood there shocked, her face

stinging and hands shaking. "I'm not stupid you know. Just like you mother. She cheated on me you

know. Twice. I still stayed with her. What a fool I was."

That was when the anger showed. He glared, and began to beat her with all his might. She wanted

to scream, but knew that this would only aggravate him further. Instead she just cowered, trying to

 ignore the pain, a task that is almost impossible.

~*~

The next morning Chloe had even more bruises. Her father had been clever. He would only hit in

 places easy to hide. The only visible bruise was a small one above her eye. She added layers of

 makeup and long sleave clothing to hide what had happened to her. She knew what would happen if

she did. He would beat her more. Not just a few bruises, but she'd end up with cuts and scars that

would haunt her. He might even kill her. No, it was safer this way.

She sat down at her computer and began to make a new CD to listen to, to take her mind off things.

 Just randomly adding songs she wanted to listen to. Before she knew it, her list consisted of 24

songs.

Avril Lavigne – I'm With You Avril Lavigne – Tomorrow Avril Lavigne – Why Course of Nature – Caught in the Sun Creed – One Last Breath Dixie Chicks – Travelling Soldier Dixie Chicks – Goodbye Earl Evanescence – Bring me to life Evanescence – Away From Me Evanescence – Exodus Evanescence – My Immortal Evanescence – Hello Garbage – Cup Of Coffee Garbage – Drive You Home Garbage – Only Happy When It Rains Jewel – Foolish Games Jewel – Hands  Jewel – I'm Fading Linkin Park – A Place For My Head Linkin Park – Numb Linkin Park – Crawling Linkin Park – My December Linkin Park – Runaway Savage Garden – Two Beds and a Coffee Machine

As she looked over the list, she didn't notice that these were the most depressing songs in her

 playlist. She just chucked it in her discman and headed to school.

~*~

If Clark was surprised by Chloe's appearance, he didn't show it. Just blinked, and went on talking.

 Chloe wasn't actually listening.

 "…The next issue…Hey, Chlo what's up?"

 "Sorry Clark?" She put on a smile, but it wasn't as convincing as the last.

 "I said I've got those articles you wanted for the next issue. You know, the ones about the link to

 the caves and the meteor rocks."

 "There's a link?" She asked, stupidly.

 "You should know, you told me to do the research. I didn't agree with it."

 "Oh yeah. Thanks Clark, just put them on my desk."

 "Sure. Are you ok?"

 "Fine, what makes you think otherwise?"

 "Your fazed expression and those clothes."

 "What about my clothes?"

 "Firstly, those are the dullest colours I've ever seen you wear." He was right. Just a plain grey

and black. "And secondly it has to be 150 or somewhere close, yet you still manage to put on a sweater."

 "It's not that hot…"

 "Then why are you sweating?"

 "I'm…I'm not feeling well. I'll talk to you later."

She got up and ran out of the Torch office. Clark looked stunned, then sighed. She was probably

 just overstressed, one part of him said. The other wasn't too sure. Either way, he was worried.

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So how did you like the first chap? I'll have more next week. The next chapter is written, so I can

update on a week by week basis, as long as nothing happens. It's not going to be a very long story tho,

maybe 4 chapters at the most.