Aftermath

Chapter One.

Sitting on the corner of her bed, Chloe could not help think that the past days had been a dream. One hell of a dream, but a dream still. Since the death of Jonathan Kent, things had not been as usual on the farm. Lana and Clark finally breaking up, Martha Kent being appointed governor, Lionel being 'possessed' by Jor-El. The worse had surely been the return of Zod, reincarnated in Lex Luthor, with Lana Lang as his woman. Man, that had been quite a hard thing for Clark to swallow, well, once he got back from the Phantom Zone. Speaking of the Zone, he still had not told her how he had got out. Note to self, ask 'super-farm-boy' how the heck he managed that one. She had trouble remembering her own escape, all she could remember was being dragged and beaten, some guy tried to pull her pants down but in the chaos and confusion got hit by a glass bottle. That had been a narrow escape. Lionel had gotten out too, but in a far worse state than she was. He was still in hospital, one month after that night.

All Chloe could remember after escaping her attackers was a blur. She remembered hiding in a dark corner, and watching the aerial battle between the forces of light and darkness; Namaan and Sageeth. After his escape Clark had seemed to fly straight to the Luthor tower, looking for his nemesis. She could not remember the battle clearly, first because of the trauma caused by the events of that night, and second because both those guys moved at the speed of light so...it had been a bit tricky to follow. What kept her from sleeping however was the simple fact that the fight was not over yet. One month had passed, and Namaan and Sageeth were just getting started. Sure, the fight was no longer one of fisticuffs. Zod had been sent back to the Phantom Zone, but Lex was different. It seemed that he had finally become what they had all feared, Lex Luthor was the über-villain, but with the billionaire touch. Even more scary, as far as Chloe was concerned.

So there she was, thinking of the time passed, of the hero found, and the friends lost. Martha and Lois still missing, and nobody had no clue of where they might be. After taking care of Zod, Clark had taken care of the cities one by one. That had been a gargantuan work and he had been glad to come home and find that one friendly face, harbouring that drop-dead-gorgeous smile know as the Sullivan Special. After rebuilding, Clark had been chasing Fine around the globe and had just a couple of days before, managed to find and destroy the Black spaceship. That was definitely one problem less, although none of them was never sure of how many 'mini-Fines' were released. Well, at least he can't 'reproduce' now. So yes, Chloe had been on the farm all that time, being there for her special male friend. Taking care of his emotional lesions while he healed the world of its physical wounds. She had been there for him, but he still could not see what was under his eyes. Nothing had happened since that kiss at the daily planet, in the middle of chaos and destruction. Nothing. They did not even talk about it. She said to herself it was better that way, but was it...

Clark woke up with an awful feeling. He had had trouble sleeping since the return of Zod. No matter haw hard he had worked to rebuild all the major cities, hit by the virus set by Fine, Clark never felt satisfied. He could not help thinking it was entirely his fault. He felt he owed the world an apology. He needed to talk to Lionel, but the latter was still in coma. It was Lionel who had freed him. That was yet another thought keeping him awake. The man he had accused of killing his father, of trying to kill him, and of doing so much evil, had been the one to save him and indirectly, save the rest of the planet too. Lionel Luthor: Saviour of Humanity. Not exactly the man he knew. But then again, maybe had he really changed. Can a Luthor change? When looking at Lionel, Clark was tempted to say yes. But he could not help but think of Lex. Freed of Zod, Lex had claimed he had forgotten everything that happened after he was injected the poison by Fine in the Luthorcorp lab. Could he be trusted? Chloe believed he had embraced his role as Sageeth and was indeed planning a hell lot of evil.

Chloe. That was another point he would have to clear soon. With Lana out of his life, Clark had finally figured out how important Chloe was to him. The kiss shared in the Daily Planet had given him more strength than he could imagine. Trapped in the Phantom Zone, all he could think of was her. She had been his reason to fight. Once out of the Zone, Clark had found himself floating in the air, and, as dumb as that may seem, he could fly. Clark considered flying back to metropolis to engage Zod right away, but thought better to go to the fortress first, and find a way to fight his kryptonian enemy. There he was given a shield by his father that he was told he could use during his fight against Zod. It turned out the shield was the weapon that extracted the spiritual Zod out of Lex and sent him back to the Phantom Zone. It seemed to have more or less the same characteristics as black kryptonite, except the weapon was a lot more controllable.

After that there had been rebuilding, with Clark flying all around the planet, doing construction work, cleaning up all he could. When he came back to the farm, sometimes after several days, Chloe was always there. Waiting, smiling. And he could say nothing to her. What was killing Clark Kent however was the fact that he could not find his mother, or Lois. He had travelled the globe in all possible directions looking for them, but no trace of them anywhere. He could not help feeling he had failed them. He had failed to save them.

All he could do was wait. And that was simply unbearable. Clark rose from the couch slowly. Sitting in the darkness he contemplated the past days and weeks. As despair filled him, he felt and urge to let it all out, to cry his heart out and scream all his pain. Somehow he managed to keep it all inside, uncertain if it was a good thing.

Clark walked to the kitchen, looking to pour himself a glass of milk. For a being capable of moving faster than bullet, his movements were slow and gave an impression of extreme tiredness. He was in the kitchen when he heard a noise behind him. As the light went on he turned around and could not help staring at the simple beauty staring at him in his plaid red shirt.

"Got milk?"

"Hi Chloe. Can't sleep?"

"Nah and it seems I'm not the only one…"

"I had a bad dream."

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

As she sat down facing him, Chloe could not help wonder what was going on behind his blue gaze. She had loved him for years, and had been close to having 'something' with him. With Clark Kent, the word 'relationship' might not be the best one concerning his love life. Now, sitting with him in his kitchen, alone in that house, wearing only his plaid shirt and her knickers, she secretly wished for some action. The thought of Clark taking her on the kitchen table crossed her mind. As her throat tightened Clark finally broke the silence;

"How's the milk?" already cursing himself for such a dumb icebreaker, Clark could not help smile at Chloe's puzzled expression. She really was gorgeous he thought. The thought of using his x-ray vision to see what was underneath his shirt crossed his mind, but he thought better to stay a gentleman.

The moment was awkward, but then, it was not the only one. The minutes they had spent together since 'the kiss' had all been awkward. They barely talked, but both sensed they needed each other. Gabe had left right before the chaos. He was now living in Gotham city, and from what Chloe had heard, he was happy there. The only one she had left in Smallville was Clark. And the only one Clark had, was her. And he meant to keep her. He just had not figured out how to tell her. Clark knew he had hurt her in the past, and now more than ever, he was scared of her getting hurt. Not emotionally, but physically. He was scared that all the evil he had brought on earth would hurt her, more that it already did. Sitting in the kitchen with her made Clark feel invincible but hopeless at the same time. He felt nothing could hurt him if he had her love, but hopeless cause he could not enjoy that love, nor tell her how we really felt.

Sitting at the other end of the table, Chloe was wondering if Clark had ever used his x-ray vision to see her naked. Nah, he was too much of a gentleman for that...too bad...she grinned at herself and drank a little milk. Being so close to the object of her affecting made her heart beat faster, and she wondered if Clark heard it. Maybe, but he did not show it. Nevertheless, it was time they talked, seriously, no more small talk.

"Clark, we need to talk. Actually, you don't need to talk...for now...just listen." As she tied up her hair in her back, Clark felt a shiver down his spine. It was definitely not the cool summer breeze having that effect on him.

"Look, I know you're not feeling okay, and that you have a lot to think about right now, but I have to say it... We kissed Clark! And acting like we didn't does not help! At least it's not helping me. I am a big girl Clark, and I know that you still love Lana. It's okay. I learned to live with it. But you and me not talking, ITS KILLING ME! I need us to communicate! I need us to be friends! I am tired of the small talk, or of the 'no talk'! I need you Clark."

With that last confession, Chloe rose and left the kitchen, leaving Clark to himself. Clark stared at her leave, not knowing what to do. How to react. He however knew that if he did not react soon, he would lose her too. He decided he needed to talk to her too, at least to answer her. Clark promptly finished his milk and walked upstairs to his room. There, sitting on the bed, was a beautiful blond girl, silently crying. She wiped her tears as soon as she saw him, and looked away. Clark felt his heart sink at the sight of tears running down her beautiful face. Standing in front of Chloe, he decided she needed a friend more than a boyfriend right now, so a friend he would be.

"Chloe, I know I haven't been very present the past month, and I'm sorry. You are my best friend Chloe. My only friend. I need you too."

With these words he knelt and took her in his arms. In this tight embrace he felt revived. Her too. At least now she knew what to expect. He had carefully avoided to mention 'the kiss' and told her she was his best friend. He couldn't have been clearer about his feelings. Too bad Chlo, this one is definitely a lost cause.

TBC...