Title/Link: I Don't Date Football Players
Author: hughie87
Pairing: Chlark
Rating: PG
Warnings (if needed): None
Spoilers (when applicable): Season 4's "Devoted", just the Chlark part of the ending.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the pen I edit with.


Part One

"Wow. So. . . 60 yard pass to win the big game at the last second," Chloe started hesitantly as she and Clark strolled across the almost vacant football field. "You're gonna be, like, some superhero around here. I just might have to do an article on you."

"Does that mean you're back at the Torch?" Clark asked.

"Yeah." Chloe nodded. She took a deep breath. "Since I'm not very good at ignoring 500 pound elephants, I'm really sorry that I made things so ridiculously awkward between us."

With a smile, Clark told her, "You know, I thought you made a great cheerleader."

After a nervous laugh, Chloe said, "Yeah, lets never talk about that again, okay? Look, Clark." Chloe stopped and turned to face Clark, reaching out to touch him briefly on the forearm before pulling her hand away self-consciously. "As much as I would like to blame the pom-pom juice for this, I obviously still have those feelings in me somewhere."

Clark watched Chloe toggle up and down on the toes of her flip-flops, fidgeting her fingers together rapidly. She waited with nervous patience for Clark to respond.

"Chloe. . . I wish I felt the same way, but I don't. At least, not right now," Clark told her gently.

Chloe's eyes filled with shimmery tears from either his answer or the embarrassment she must have felt, Clark wasn't sure which. With a herculean effort, Chloe smiled.

"I know that. And I accept it. I just hope we can keep our friendship," Chloe told Clark sincerely. "Except now, you're gonna be, like, big man on campus." Chloe laughed again, a merry sound even through her quavering lips.

"Well, I'm hoping my new editor will keep me in line," Clark replied, smiling down at her. Chloe tried to blink the tears away while shaking her head, making it seem like she was trying to shake her blonde hair out of her eyes. She lifted her face to him again, her eyes meeting his somberly. "I'm gonna make time for the Torch."

A slow, shy smile spread across Chloe's face, a smile Clark hadn't seen since he asked her to the Spring Formal that day in his barn a little over two years ago. It did something funny to him. Clark's face shifted as his stomach went queasy.

"Wow. Superhero and a journalist. What are the odds?" Chloe pondered aloud as they looked at one another. Chloe's eyes still held budding tears threatening to fall, but she smiled warmly through them. Clark stepped closer to her and bent down, pressing a kiss sweetly against her smooth cheek.

Returning to his full height, Clark was dismayed to see the bright smile had disappeared. Chloe pressed her lips into a thin line as Clark watched her eyes swerve from his and then back again.

Her mouth quirked up again at it's corners. "I'll see you, Monday." She gave him a small smile, telling him she needed some time, but they would be okay. Chloe turned and made her way toward the school. He didn't know when or how he'd come to understand Chloe's smiles. He just did. They'd always been able to communicate on some other level, it seemed.

As Clark watched Chloe walk away from him, another funny thing happened. His heart flipped.