Chapter One
Seven months later…
Clark took a bite of the apple in his hand and looked over at Chloe, she was just coming to the end of his background research for their geography project and she had that look on her face. It was the same look she had whenever he handed in an article for the Torch; he thought of it as her 'teacher' look, marking his work in her head as she read. He ignored her and finished off his apple in a few large bites before abandoning the core to the forgotten lunch tray; he hadn't even been hungry. He wished Pete was with them, he wished anyone was sitting with them, there was nothing worse than just sitting there with Chloe while she appraised you in her mind. He sighed and took a sip of orange juice as she closed the folder over and placed it on the table; she smiled widely at him and stole a sip of his orange juice.
"I'm stunned, Clark," she sighed. "I can't believe how much work you did, I feel really guilty now. It's all so good too," She groaned and dropped her head onto the table. "I feel like such an idiot,"
"Chloe, don't be stupid. We can work on it some more tonight if you want, you can show me what you've got," he smiled; Chloe looked up at him from her position on the cafeteria table and sighed again. "You have started, right?" She frowned and closed her eyes, wishing she could disappear from Clark's attentive gaze; not something she thought she would ever feel. "Chloe, the whole project is due in a couple of days,"
"I know, I know but I got this tiny story with the Daily Planet and I only just finished it yesterday and I feel so guilty but I had to get it out of the way," she rambled, picking up Clark's folder and waving it in the air. "But I can be there tonight, we can get started and it will all be fine. I promise, you won't have to do anything else, I'll finish everything off and it'll be done," She knew she was rambling on and that Clark had probably tuned out every word but she felt bad and she was trying to make it up to him.
"Its fine, Chloe, don't worry about it," said Clark, checking his watch. "Look, I've got a class in a few minutes but come over tonight, we'll sort something out," Chloe beamed her thanks at him and he couldn't help but smile back, he didn't really mind that she hadn't done any work. He knew how important that story would have been, no matter how 'tiny' it was, and he was happy for her, happy that she was getting the notice she deserved. He waved his goodbye and left her sitting in the cafeteria, still feeling guilty but knowing that Clark had already forgiven her. It was his one vice, he couldn't hold a grudge.
"Excuse me," said a tiny voice from behind Chloe, she stood and turned around to face a blonde haired girl with a huge art folder clasped to her chest. Chloe frowned, there was something familiar about the girl but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Was that Clark Kent?" She pointed to the door through which Clark had just made his exit, Chloe turned to look and nodded.
"Yeah, it was. Are you looking for him? I can give him a message if you like," said Chloe, she would inevitably catch up with Clark before this stranger.
"No, it's okay. I'm sure I'll see him around," she said and wandered off. Chloe watched her leave, still racking her brains for any memory of the girl. She was strangely attractive and the strange scar peeking out from beneath her fringe made her even more fascinating; Chloe immediately thought of Harry Potter and began to laugh to herself, grabbing her bag and heading for class.
Clark sat in the loft of the barn with his papers spread out across the desk; he didn't know why he was so worried about this project. It was only geography and he was sure it didn't matter all that much whether they passed or failed. He knew Chloe had been welcome for the excuse to spend some time with him, he had been taken up with Lana lately and Chloe was beginning to feel ostracised again. He gathered all the papers together and glanced out of the window, wondering if Chloe was ever going to show up, it was almost ten o'clock. When he said 'come over tonight', he hadn't meant the middle of it. He was about to switch the lights off and head back into the house when he heard the barn door creak open and Chloe came running up the stairs with her bag on her back and a million papers in her hand.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, Clark," she smiled. "I got all caught up in this thing and… It doesn't matter, I'm here now," Clark sighed and sat down on the sofa, Chloe perched herself on the edge of the coffee table and produced a photograph of a blonde girl wrapped in bandages and lying in a hospital bed from the papers in her arms. "Recognise her?" Clark took the photograph and stared at it intensely before shaking his head and handing it back. "That is Ashley Robbins; you saved her life last August. She got hit by lightning on the hottest day of the year,"
"Yeah, I remember her. She passed out when I got to her and she hasn't woken up since," said Clark, nodding at the memory.
"She hasn't woken up until now; she cornered me in the cafeteria today. She was asking about you and said she'd catch up with you later," said Chloe, finally letting go of everything in her arms and piling it on the coffee table. "Have you seen her anywhere?"
"No," said Clark. "Is this what you've been 'caught up' in because she probably just wants to say thanks, Chloe. We need to get this project sorted out and you've been really distant lately," He hadn't meant to say anything out loud but his throwaway remark obviously hit a nerve as Chloe went silent and looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that,"
"No, you're right. I have been caught up with the Torch and the Planet lately but you were spending so much time with Lana, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get some work done," she sighed, Clark was about to reply but she hadn't finished. "Not that you are an unwelcome distraction, Mr Kent," He smiled and gently squeezed her knee, Chloe smiled and that was that. They had argued and made up all within the space of two minutes, that may have been their record.
"Okay, let's get this work stuff out of the way and then we can talk about your Daily Planet story," he said and Chloe nodded. It sounded perfect.
Ashley stood in the shadows beneath the Kent's barn looking up at the lights in the open window. She felt a little lost, so much had changed in the seven months she had been sleeping, she thought that Clark Kent was dating Lana Lang but it didn't appear that way anymore. She wondered if Chloe was his new girlfriend or if they were just good friends as they had always been. She didn't know why she was even bothering, there was no way Clark would ever notice her, not now she was scarred and ugly. She only wanted to thank him but there was something else about him that called to her, she wanted to get to know him properly. She wanted to tell him what she had dreamt in her seven month sleep and how she had felt when he took her into his arms and rescued her. She was certain that without Clark; she would have died in the middle of that field surrounded by paper and her paints. She looked up at the lights again and hearing Chloe's laugh, closed her eyes tightly and started to walk away.
Somewhere on the horizon, there was a rumble of thunder…
