Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not the character's, not the show; I barely own this fic, considering I've used some ideas and dialogue from season seven.

A/N: Mostly, I wrote this story because I was suffering from some serious 'lack of Clark and Chloe friendship during the last couple of seasons' syndromes; and because on my story "When Clark Comes Back" a reviewer mentioned how they thought it was funny that neither Chloe nor Clark thought it was weird that he took off her pants while she was sleeping. So I figured I'd take it a little further.

This one's set during season seven; right after the Bizzaro incident.

Also, someone told me I needed a beta, so I got one. You know me, I'm a people pleaser; so I'd like to thank evilsamurai. He's been sooo much help. Now don't freak out The Fallen Sky, we've talked about this. I'm allowed to have a male beta. You just need to learn to trust me around other guys;)

Warning: some characters may be a little out of character; especially Clark.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

"Chloe, maybe it's time to let go of him a little."

I throw my plate into the sink with a little more force than necessary.

'I'm not holding onto him. I'm not! It's not my fault Jor-el trapped Clark in the fortress. It's not my fault a phantom was impersonating him while he was gone. And it is NOT my fault I realized he wasn't Clark before she did.'

I brace my palms against the sink and slowly count to ten. It's supposed to calm me down, but I guess I'm too riled up. Truth is, I'm tired of this. Clark is nothing more than a friend. Well, he's my best friend; but still, I have a boyfriend. When is she going to get that through her head? When is she going to stop accusing me of having feelings for him? I mean, I know we had this intense triangle…thing going before; but come on, that was years ago! I don't have feelings for Clark anymore. Not like that. Not even a little bit.

'Lana's my friend. Lana's my friend. Lana's my friend…' I chant to myself over and over. I need to try to be a little more sympathetic. I need to look at things from her point of view.

And as I start to do just that, I close my eyes and sigh. The other truth is, I can totally see why she thinks the things she does about us.

Clark and I are almost always together; practically joined at the hip; but that's really not our fault. We're best friends; have been since the eighth grade. It's only natural for us to spend a lot of time together but…my best friend's an alien…with superpowers; so that makes our relationship a little more intimate because there aren't a lot of people Clark can trust because of his secret. Which means, there aren't a lot of people he can just relax and be himself around.

That's what I don't understand. Lana knows this. She knows Clark can't let anyone too close to him. She knows how guarded he is with his secret; I mean, he didn't even tell me. I saw him catch a car during our senior year, and Lana just found out last year. She watched him rescue me from the huge popsicle maker she'd locked me into…on purpose. Can't say that I blame her. If I was about to marry Lex Luthor; but I still had questions about my ex; I probably would've locked her in a huge freezer too. Although, I probably wouldn't have gotten into bed with a Luthor to begin with…

I take a deep breath. Thinking about Lana using me as bait is not making it easier for me to understand why she thinks I need to "let go of Clark a little". In fact, thinking about Lana using me as bait actually hurts…physically. I look down at my hands; my grip on the sink has tightened considerably without my knowledge. I guess I'm angry. I didn't realize just how angry I am until now…

With a conscious attempt to calm myself down…once again; I loosen my hold on the sink and smile at the back of my hands sadly.

Even if I wanted to let go of Clark, I couldn't. Not because he's my best friend; not because I love him…to a certain degree; and not because I'm in love with him either; but because of how much we depend on each other. We have to; because we need each other to survive. Literally. While Clark does all the hard work, like stopping bullets and catching airplanes; I do the easier things; mostly getting kryptonite away from him and figuring out ways to save him…even if it's just from himself. We're a team; and sometimes that can make our significant others, Lana and Jimmy, feel left out.

Maybe it's not right; maybe it's not even healthy, but I don't think it will ever change. As long as he needs me, I'll be here for him.

And he'll be here for me; whether I need him or not. That's a fact. He's like the overprotective older brother I never wanted.

I walk away from the sink and head for the bathroom with a sigh. I need a shower. No, I need a bath; a nice, long, hot, bubble bath. Oh, and music I decide as an afterthought before grabbing my mp3 player. I'm going to turn it up deafeningly loud and drift off into a world of oblivion. That should help.

And it would've too; if after I got completely comfortable (I'm talking eyes closed, feet propped, and arms dangling over the side) someone didn't tap me on the shoulder and scare the crap out of me.

"Clark!" I yell for my best friend before I can fully open my eyes; but he's already here. In fact, he's the one who nearly caused my heart attack.

"Do you always scream my name when you think you're in trouble?" He smirks.

"It's faster than dialing 911" I gasp without thinking; then I glare up at him. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"You didn't answer me when I called your name" he answers knowing by 'in here' I was referring to here…inside the bathroom. Clark and I pretty much have an open door policy. We rarely knock; and we never wait for an answer. But we usually are pretty good about respecting bathroom privacies.

"Well, knock first." I tell him.

"Would you have heard me if I had knocked?" He asks before bending down to pick up my dangling ear buds. Despite the fact that they're nowhere near my ears, I can hear every word to the song that is currently playing. Clearly.

I snatch them away from him.

"Is there something I can help you with Clark?"

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. I'm hardly ever short with him.

"Is someone hurt?" I clarify.

"No"-

"In danger?"

He shakes his head.

"Dying?"

"No, but"-

I close my eyes and put the ear buds back into my ears, promptly dismissing him. If he doesn't need my help, he shouldn't be in here. He should be with his girlfriend, Lana; or at least waiting outside until I'm finished.

As my eyes are closed, I can't see him; but I feel him reach over me. I open them just as he pulls the buds from my ears.

"You know what Kent? I'm thinking we need boundaries."

"Boundaries?" He wrinkles his eyebrows.

"Yes, boundaries. First, you need to start knocking."-

"Knocking?"

"Knocking; on front doors, bathroom doors, bedroom doors, all doors; and don't just knock either. Wait until I say 'come in' before entering."

"But what if"-

"And second, I'm in the tub; naked. You shouldn't be in here."

"There are bubbles Chloe, I can't see anything."

"Still"-

"And I have x-ray vision. If I wanted to, I could see you naked anytime. What is this?" He asks before grabbing my arm. I'm still a little hung up on the bold statement he just made; the one about being able to see me naked whenever he wants; so, I don't answer him right away.

"Chloe?"

When he squeezes my arm a little harder, I wince and look down at it. There's a bruise there. A big one. I didn't know that.

"It's nothing. I hurt myself all the time. You know that" I answer quickly.

"This is a handprint" he replies angrily.

I can see that. That's where his domineering double grabbed me earlier today.

I snatch my arm away and put it behind my back. No need in making him any angrier by telling the truth. The phantom's gone. There's nothing Clark can do about this now but sit around and feel guilty for not being there to protect me. And I really do hate his little bouts of guilt induced depressions.

"Chloe!"

"What?"

"I just"-

"Can't we have this conversation when I'm dressed?"

"No, we can have it now."

No huh? I take a deep breath and quickly slide down until my head is completely submerged. I figure if I don't come up for air soon, he'll take the hint and leave.

Not such a bright idea. I'm not the one with the x-ray vision or the super-hearing. How am I supposed to know whether or not he left?

I gasp when Clark grabs one of my breasts. I'm sure it was an accident, and that he was just trying to get me to come up for air; but still…

I cough and sputter when my head breaks the surface. It's not a good idea to gasp while under water.

"Chloe!" Clark panics and pats my back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…are you okay?"

I nod my head vigorously because I'm having a little trouble speaking at the moment.

"Chloe?"

I turn my head slightly, praying that it's the answering machine and he's not actually here. No such luck. There in the doorway is my slack jawed, wide eyed boyfriend, watching Clark slap at my very naked back. Dammit. This is not my day.

I double my efforts to regain the ability to speak. Clark sucks at lying.

"Don't tell me" I cough "I fell asleep in the tub" more coughing "and nearly drowned."

"You fell asleep in the tub and nearly drowned." Clark parrots. I'm so proud of him.

"How embarrassing." I choke and push at Clark's arm. He's still patting my back, and I can tell it's making Jimmy a little uneasy. "I'm fine" I tell Clark when he doesn't seem to get it.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I think Jimmy can handle it from here" I nod my head toward my boyfriend and smile. "Right, Jimmy?"

"Uh yeah; I can take it from here. Th-thanks C. K…. Hey, how'd you get in here anyway?" Jimmy asks once he's by my side and Clark has backed away a little. A very little.

"I left the door unlocked for you" I answer for him.

"Oh. It's a good thing you did, or else Clark wouldn't have gotten to you in time."

"Actually, I have a key." Clark answers promptly; then smiles at me. He's proud of himself for coming up with an answer all by himself. I hardly let him; and with good reason too. He sucks at it. Telling Jimmy that he has a key; a key he's never used before by the way, was not a good idea. It's just gonna make Jimmy wonder why Clark has a key to my apartment.

'Idiot.'

I want to kick him so bad, but I'll only hurt myself; and, I'm still naked. So I settle for giving him a glare…that he doesn't see because he's looking at his phone.

"Hey Lana," he answers casually while walking back to the tub and stopping to take a knee beside me. With a concerned frown on his face, he grabs my chin and turns my head slightly, his eyes catching and holding mine. "I gotta go," he tells me; then he frowns. "No, Chloe." He says into the phone before removing it from his ear and placing it against his chest. "But we will talk about your arm later" he whispers and quickly puts the phone back to his ear so that he can answer a question only he was able to hear Lana ask.

"She almost drowned" he says before placing a goodbye kiss on my cheek.

"Boundaries!" I hiss lowly so Jimmy can't hear.

He ignores me.

"In the bathtub." He says while standing up.

I close my eyes, wishing he didn't just tell her that.

He gives Jimmy a departing nod before leaving behind an awkward silence.

"She's fine Lana" is the last thing I hear him say before he's gone.

I'm the first to break the silence, and only because I'm beginning to shrivel up.

"Can you pass me my towel?"

Jimmy nods and does as I ask; albeit a bit mechanically.

"So, Clark has a key to your apartment?"

'I knew it! Damn Kent...'

"Jimmy"-

"I don't have a key."

"Relax, Lana gave it to him; not me."

He frowns at me. "Why would Lana give her boyfriend a key to your apartment?"

"Because she used to live here. I just never got around to changing the locks. He never even uses it; okay Jimmy? You're my guy." I say a bit automatically. I don't know how many times I've had to tell him that; but I'm guessing somewhere around a hundred.

I smile at him until he reluctantly smiles back.

I don't know how many times I've had to do that too.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

A/N: I really hope this is enough to satisfy you guys until I post "Bring Her to Me". This story is eight chapters long. I should be able to post the first chapter to BHTM after this one is done.

Next post will be Tuesday November 23rd.