Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

Chapter two:

Day four-six


Clark ruffled the blonde hair beneath his fingers, grinning as the owner of said hair squawked in indignation, batting at his hand. "Damn it Clark!" She spluttered, pulling away to half-glare half-pout up at him.

The farmboy chuckled at her reaction and moved out of reach as she attempted to whack him. "Good morning to you too." He jabbed.

Huffing, Chloe put her hands on her hips and full on glared at him, suspicion in her eyes as she surveyed him. "And just what's got you so pepped?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just a nice day is all." He shrugged nonchalantly, eyeing her with humour.

"Hmph," She crossed her arms. "Was before a certain annoying farmboy came along and messed up my hair."

"Right. So, seriously, why so smiley all of a sudden? I mean, it's a step up from your usual brooding, but still..." She trailed off as he glared.

"I don't brood." He brooded, sniffing in a haughty manner that drew a reluctant giggle from the petite blonde.

"Right, so?" She pressed, not allowing him to deflect the topic.

He rolled his eyes at her persistence and finally relented. "Lex felt really bad for what happened at the plant, so he invited me to a charity event in Metropolis." He revealed.

"Nice. So are you his plus one or what?" She paused and smiled mischievously. "Could this constitute a date?"

"Chloe!" He whined. "Why did you have to say it like that? Besides, Lex got me my own ticket."

"Great, so who's your plus one?" She pressed.

Clark shook his head, chuckling. "Who do you think?" He queried, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Beaming, Chloe gave him a quick peck on the cheek and drew away when he went to lean in. "Oh no you don't, we can't bunk again. The only reason we didn't get in trouble last time was because of what happened at the plant."

Raising an eyebrow, he gave her a look. "And who's idea was it then?"

"I've apologized for that already. Get over yourself." She teased, dancing around him as he went to grab at her. "Later." She promised, winking.

He gave a fond smile and sighed in consternation. "Alright." He agreed.

"Great!" She chirped. "I'll see you at five."

Hours later found both teens waiting at the Kent's farm, anxiously watching the clock as they did so.

Pacing around the living room, Chloe watched the sleek limousine pull up the path to the farm. "Christ, he doesn't spare any expense, does he?" She murmured, lips twitching as she watched Clark fiddle with the collar of his suit. "You alright there?"

Starting slightly, Clark pasted on a smile and nodded a little too quickly. "Yeah, I'm great."

"You've never worn a suit before, have you?" She mused, swallowing the urge to laugh.

"Once." He admitted, looking down at her amused expression.

She tsk'ed, reaching out to straighten his tie. "Well, at least you can pull it off." She lamented.

Glancing down, the farmboy looked over her own dress, sleek and red, yet despite being completely against her colouring it still somehow managed to look amazing on her. "Uh-huh." He agreed dumbly, staring at her.

Snapping her fingers in front of his face, the blonde gave a grin and grabbed his hand, pulling him out the door. "Come on, you."

Despite his amazing balance Clark still stumbled as he followed the girl, mostly because of the height difference requiring him to slouch and bend forwards to keep up as she hurried down the porch steps and into the limo.

"Hi, Lex." He greeted as he was pulled through the door, the older man looking in amusement as the much smaller blonde manhandled him.

"Clark, Chloe." He nodded, raising an eyebrow as they sat down. To his side his date suppressed a smile at the two teens and waved lightly, seeming to prefer her silence.

For the most part the ride to Metropolis was spent with Lex politely conversing with his date, a brunette that apparently was smarter than the usual girls he hung around with. Meanwhile Chloe teased and flirted with Clark as he fumbled with his suit, grunting to her that he hated "monkey suits" and earning a laugh from the boisterous teen.

"Ooh, come on." She grinned, and Clark manoeuvred them so that he could lead them out the door, refusing to be dragged around any more than he already had been.

The bald billionaire watched after them and smiled lightly as they wandered through the maze of other party-goers, his "date" exiting the limo on her own and walking up to the door. "Bye Lex."

He casually waved her off, taking a moment to compose himself before getting out of the car, frowning as he was assailed with camera flashes.


"Lana!" Chloe hustled up to the smaller girl, still hand-in-hand with Clark. "How's it going? Who're you here with?"

"Great, I'm here with Whitney." She nodded to a corner sofa that had been set up where Whitney had somehow managed to attract a crowd of older men with his regaling of football exploits. The well-dressed gentlemen, most of whom looked to be at least twice his age, laughed as he spoke, seemingly amused by his small-town manners.

"Well, that's unexpected." She grinned, restraining the laughter that threatened to bubble up at their sheer difference. "Glad he's enjoying himself, I guess. How about you?"

"I'm alright." She smiled, turning as Lex tapped her on the shoulder. "Thanks for inviting us."

"No problem, I'm glad you're enjoying the party. Though," He glanced at Whitney strangely. "I'm surprised at the quarterback's entourage. How'd that happen?"

The two left to talk about whatever art piece they were particularly interested in, leaving them on their own. "Well, guess we're supposed to mingle." She spotted several well-known figures and bemoaned that she wouldn't get the chance to interview them.

"I think I'm gonna go get some air." Clark hedged, looking nervous at the large crowd.

She gave him a sympathetic look, realizing that he had almost definitely never been to a do like this before. "I'll come with. Come on." She ushered him towards the front doors, stepping out and taking a seat on the stairs. Thankfully the paparazzi had cleared out, leaving the street mostly empty save for a sleeping tramp and his dog at the bus stop.

"It's so loud." Clark frowned, shaking his head as he listened to the noise coming from the building.

"Mn." She nodded, looking around while he stared at the ground. "What's that?" Her keen eye spotted something in the foliage, and looking in the same direction Clark suddenly got to his feet. "Clark?" She asked in confusion as he started walking over.

All of a sudden a bus came screaming down the road, driving onto the pavement and spinning out of control. "Clark!" She screamed, stunned as the bus flew towards him.

He turned from where he had scared whoever was in the trees off, confused as he saw her frightened visage.

For a moment he stared between her and the bus, ready to step out of the way, but then all of a sudden he looked over to the bus bench and his gaze hardened, the boy himself reaching out and meeting the speeding vehicle head-on.

Staring in stunned silence. the blonde watched as he somehow caught it, stopping it with sheer strength alone. "Whoa." She breathed.

He turned to her with wide eyes, quickly checking to make sure the other people were alright and breathing a sigh of relief before abruptly letting the bus go and moving away and back to her. "Chloe-" He started.

"What happened!?" The scream drew both teens attentions to the entrance, where several people were coming out and looking at the damaged public transportation.

Clark looked between the people and the bus and turned back to Chloe, only to see that she was still staring at him in awe. "The bus crashed. I just- I think the driver was asleep at the wheel." He explained to the nearest person, who quickly spread the word while several people called the police.

"Clark." She stared at him, blinking. "We need to talk."

Nodding shamefacedly, Clark made to follow her, unnoticed by the people around them.


Chloe pursed her lips, scrutinizing him with narrowed eyes.

"So, you've got, what, superpowers?" She queried.

Nodding, Clark tried to explain further. "I came down with the meteor shower. In a ship."

"It's-That's... Insane." She whispered, and quickly moved to reassure him at his hurt expression. "And amazing. Clark, I get how hard it must have been having to hide this, but I swear I won't tell anyone!"

"Thanks." He mumbled. "Do you think any differently of me?" He looked away.

"Yeah." She said bluntly, reinforcing his hurt. "Clark, you're an alien from another planet, but despite that you're one of the bravest, kindest, most heroic people I know. I think that if there were more people like you out there then the world would be a better place." She spoke honestly, reaching out to take his hand.

"Chloe, I- Thank you." He said sincerely, returning her smile.


Standing in the middle of the Torch office, Chloe stared indignantly as principal Kwan lectured her on her lack of censorship for the school newspaper. "...And until then I'm relieving you of your duties as Editor."

Sputtering, the blonde shook her head in denial. "You can't do that!" She spoke vehemently, glaring.

Ignoring her protests, he exited the room, leaving her standing there seething in rage with her friends watching with pity. "I'll go talk to him and see if I can't change his mind." Lana offered.

"I don't see how that'll change his mind, but thanks." She said bitterly.

Lana exited the office, leaving her and Clark alone. "Chloe... It'll be okay."

"I-" She huffed and seemed to deflate. "I know it seems stupid that I'd get so worked up over the Torch, but it's the only place where I can just be myself, where I can focus on the paper and work my ass off and actually enjoy it, y'know?" She winced.

The large teen wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I get it."

Returning to the two, Lana wrung her hands together and gave a nervous look. "So, some good news and bad news. Kwan'll let you work at the Torch, but he made me the editor."

"What!?" The taller girl screeched, emerald eyes wide in shock.

"I know it sounds bad, but you can still ghost-write and I'll print it all out. It's not the end of the world Chloe." The brunette attempted to placate her.

Chloe looked as though she were about to blow a fuse, but Clark's hand resting on her shoulder calmed her and she just gave a resigned sigh, drooping. "Thanks Lana."

The other girl looked uncertain, but gave an awkward smile nonetheless and quickly left, seeming to feel the tenseness in the atmosphere.

"I can't believe this." She lamented, dropping into her- Lana's- chair.

"It'll be okay." Clark repeated, rubbing her shoulder.

The blonde shook her head and stood, stepping out of the office into the corridor.

Palming her face, Chloe heard Clark jog up to her. "How about we go somewhere?"

"Okay." She replied after a moment, sighing. "Where to?"

Despite her dry tone, Clark gave her a grin. "How about the movies? Or maybe bowling?"

"What...?" She perked up from her tired state, raising an eyebrow in interest. "You mean like a date?" She queried.

"Yeah." He nodded and the girl smiled softly.

"Sure. I guess we've got the time now, right?" She shrugged, allowing the farmboy to grab her hand and lead her across the car park.

For three hours the petite blonde let herself be distracted by Clark, allowing herself to be dragged off to the movies and not putting up a complaint when he ushered her home.

"Clark," She quirked her lips slightly in amusement as he hovered to the edge of her vision, shifting awkwardly outside her door. "Thanks for the evening. It still hurts having to lose the Torch like that, but... It was nice. Sort of an official first date." She mused,reflecting on their lack of a proper date up until that point.

"'First date?'" He grinned, teasing her. "Does that mean I don't get a goodnight kiss?"

Rolling her eyes, Chloe leaned in, meeting his lips with her own. "Seriously, thanks Clark." She smiled after they had both pulled away.

She watched as he walked out of view and then fell against the door, feeling giddy in a girly way that she generally tried to avoid. But for some reason this time she didn't mind.

Spending the night with mixed feelings, it wasn't until three days later that the blonde received good news about the school paper.


"Chloe, did you hear the good news?" Pete asked from his place, sitting opposite her computer.

She grinned as she nodded, eyes bright. "Principal Kwan told me this morning, he didn't seem happy about it. Did you have something to do with this?" She queried, directing her question towards Lana, the tiny brunette having just followed after her into the office.

"I told him that you were born to report the news, and that I refused to publish until he rehired you. When he threatened to shut down the Torch I printed an article about it and he finally caved." She smiled lightly.

Unable to contain herself, Chloe wrapped her arms around the other girl. "Thank you!"

Pete stood, stepping around the two girls and moving towards the open door. "Well, I guess I'll leave you guys to it. Clark, man!" He exclaimed as the tall farmboy nearly walked into him. "We still up to that game later?"

"Sure. I'll see you after school." He agreed.

"Awesome." With that last remark the shorter boy exited the office, leaving the other three standing there.

"Clark, Lana got me the Torch back!" Chloe said giddily, pulling away from the other girl.

"That's great!" he smiled, turning to the other girl. "Thanks, Lana."

Practically bouncing in excitement, Chloe ignored the two teens exchange in favour of quickly walking to her computer, booting it up and getting started on her next article.

A minute later Clark came up behind her, peering over her shoulder. "So, guess we're back to work, huh?" He asked, amused expression belaying any fears she may have had that he was disappointed.

"You better believe it, buddy." She gave him a look that only made his grin widen. "I can't believe Pete ran off before I could give him an assignment!" She complained.

"Smart." He commented, chuckling at her glare. "I'm glad you're back in charge. I don't know what I'd do without my editor bossing me around."

"Yeah, right." She huffed, relenting to his charm and turning back to her personal computer. "Onto the next story." She declared triumphantly, typing away.

He rolled his eyes at her tenacity. "I don't think we've had any murderous meteor freaks lately." He pondered.

"She slowed in her typing, eventually stilling completely. "About that... Should I take down the wall?"

"What?" He started, staring at her. "Why would you want to do that?"

"I just... I don't wanna upset you or anything. I mean, some of that stuff up there you were there for personal, and I've seen the way you look at it sometimes." She revealed, shrugging awkwardly.

He smiled gently and shook his head in response. "I think that wall's a part of you, and I'm happy that you'd do that for me, but don't. I think that this wall could do a lot of good, and you put so much effort into it... Thank you, but no."

"Are you sure?"

He smiled wider at her uncertain face and nodded in response. "I'm sure."

"Okay, then." She stood and wrapped her arms around his chest, pressing her face into his shirt and enjoying the way he rested his chest in her soft locks.