Whatareweafraidof, lovethechruce : Thanks!

Kanahime-chan: Lol. You're so right!

Abhinke4u: totally agree;)

Madlenita: Lol. I know, I laughed when I was writing the part with Lois.

The fallen sky: God TFS, I bet that took you two days to write. Unfortunately, I've got a little less than five minutes to respond . So, I'll just say thank you so very much for writing all those amazing things, and making all those amazing observations, and trying your very best to make some future predictions. And just so you know, you're not swaying me to make this a M-rated fic...'cause I know you were thinking about it;)

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

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this. I'm going to call him and cancel," Chloe announces to her cousin before picking up her cell and attempting to unzip her dress as well.

"Whoa, oh no you don't!" Lois yells as she jumps out of Chloe's bed and practically tackles her younger cousin. She grabs a hold of the zipper on Chloe's dress and refuses to allow her to pull it down any further. "Do I need to remind you of how much I spent so you could meet this guy?"

Chloe rolls her eyes and groans loudly. She can't believe she let Lois talk her into signing up for one of those online dating services either. Is she really that desperate to find a guy? She's satisfied with being single, right? She only signed up to make Lois shut up. Her cousin had been hounding her for a few weeks straight, even offered to pay for it with her own money, until finally Chloe just couldn't take it anymore. She agreed.

Now, she wishes she hadn't agreed, and she wishes she hadn't let Lois pay even more. She can't cancel the date and waste Lois's money. She'll feel too guilty.

Damn.

"Plus, he might be totally worth it," Lois continues as if she didn't just guilt trip her.

Or, he might not. Chloe thinks before gently reprimanding herself. She should stop being such a pessimist. Lois could be right. Her date could turn out to be Mr. Right.

She lets Lois finish dressing her and doing her make up, but only because her cousin has insisted.

"There you go," Lois beams twenty minutes later. Chloe checks herself in the mirror. She's wearing a little black dress with red heels. The effect is…eye-catching. She's just glad her makeup is subtle; or else she'd look like a prostitute.

There's a knock on the door and Chloe suddenly decides she has to use the bathroom. She starts to head toward her new refuge where, once inside, she'll lock the door and refuse to come out for about three days.

"No, this way," Lois commands as she grabs Chloe's arm and steers her in the opposite direction of the bathroom. It's all Chloe can do to keep from muttering a few obscenities Lois's way. She should be allowed to use the bathroom! She would be allowed to use the bathroom if her cousin didn't know her so well. Damn her.

Once they're in front of the door, where Lois had to physically guide her in order to keep her from running off, Chloe sighs heavily. There's nothing else to do but answer the door. So, she answers the door, and just as fast as she opens it, that's how fast she wants to close it back; but her mind and body aren't in sync right now. She just stands there and stares at her "date;" her old, balding, and short date.

He's got to be at least fifty, with grey hair and the kind of receding hairline that makes one wish he would just cut his losses as well as the rest of the hair off. Not even a good toupee could help him out. And his height; Chloe's not a very tall woman. In fact, Chloe's not a tall woman at all, yet she's at least a head taller than this man who is supposed to be her date; and the heels aren't helping either.

She glares back at Lois, who in turn doesn't have the decency to contain her snickers before running into her Clark's bedroom. It's the closest room, and Chloe has no doubt that she's having a good laugh at her expense.

"Hello, I'm Walter. Walter Gray. It's nice to meet you."

Chloe turns back and gives the man her attention. She forces herself to smile back at him as she introduces herself. Mentally, she gives herself a lecture. She needs to stop being prejudice. Walter could be a very nice man. Still, she doesn't invite him inside for a drink. She just wants to get this thing done and over with. "Shall we?" she asks as brightly as she can while gesturing toward the parking lot.

He smiles back at her and she's so relieved to see teeth that she doesn't care if they're actually his. "Use the bathroom before we go, dear" he tells her while pointing into the apartment even as she's shutting and locking the door.

She shakes her head. No, she doesn't have to use the bathroom. She wishes she could live in the bathroom for the next week or so. Maybe longer than that; it depends on how long it takes to get over this date.

She walks beside Walter, not behind, determined to speed up his pace as he leads her to his car. It doesn't work. He keeps his point-twenty-five-miles-an-hour stride until they reach his black Lincoln. He opens the door for her, and she gets inside without hesitation. She barely remembers to thank him. She mentally scolds herself again. She's not like this. She's a nice woman, with a good heart. Why is she being such a bitch to this man? It's not his fault. It's Lois's…and her own; because she shouldn't have agreed to go on the date in the first place.

Chloe stares ahead, lost in thought for a few seconds before she realizes the car isn't moving. Walter's in the car, she knows that. Not only did she hear his door open and shut; but she can see him via her peripheral vision; and she can feel that his eyes are on her. What the hell does he want? Doing her best not to sigh, she looks his way and forces a smile onto her face. The keys are in his hand poised just below the ignition. He seems to be waiting for something before he starts the car; but it doesn't seem as if he's gonna tell her what it is.

"Is something wrong, Walter?" Chloe gets out through that fake smile she's been barely holding onto.

Walter gives Chloe a confused look, as if he can't believe she doesn't know what's wrong before saying, "Put your seatbelt on, dear."

Chloe grits her teeth before reaching back for the safety belt. She doesn't like being called dear by this older man; and she hates being told what to do by him as well. He's not her damn father.

Despite his many attempts at a conversation, Chloe keeps as silent as possible on their way to the restaurant. He's got too many grandchildren, doctor appointments, and senior activities to contend with. They, he and Chloe, have absolutely nothing in common.

They end up at Giovanni's, a four star Italian restaurant. Not a bad choice, but Chloe wishes they could've gone somewhere a little further, like somewhere in Oregon; somewhere where there's no chance in hell she'd see anyone she knows.

And she's right to wish that, because as soon as she she's seated, she sees someone she knows. Now, she doesn't know this woman very well, but she's seen her before and that's enough for Chloe. Her first instinct is to duck underneath the table; but Kelly West has already spotted her and is heading her way. She stands and attempts to greet the woman with a handshake, after all, she barely knows her; but Kelly's not having that. She embraces Chloe in a quick hug and introduces her date, Liam Hall. God, he's gorgeous.

Liam gives a low whistle and a wink after being introduced to Chloe. Kelly elbows him playfully, not the least bit worried. Apparently, Liam does a lot of flirting and doesn't mean anything by it.

"So, Mr. Sullivan," Liam starts off making Chloe visibly wince. "Has anyone ever assumed you're dating your daughter?" he grins good-naturedly as he shakes Walter's hand. Kelly jabs him in the rib again. "I think it's sweet that you still make time for your father. I wish my father and I were still on speaking terms," she ends with a small smile.

Just then, Walter grabs Chloe's hand and as he pulls her seat out for her, he informs the other couple that Chloe is not his daughter. She's his date.

Chloe chooses not to look at Liam and Kelly as they make apologies and excuse themselves. She's too mortified to face them. She doesn't need a mirror to see that her face is beet red. Why couldn't Walter just let them think he was her father? Would that have been too much to ask for?

When the waiter comes, she doesn't hesitate with her order. She wants, no, needs, a drink. She orders the first thing she sees that has vodka in it.

"Make it nonalcoholic, please," Walter tells the waiter before hastily launching into his order.

Chloe interrupts him. "I want alcohol in my drink," she tells the waiter.

"You can't have alcohol, dear," Walter says before finishing his order. He doesn't even look up at her as he says this. It's like he thinks he's made the final decision and she's not supposed to question it.

"I want alcohol in my drink," Chloe tells the waiter firmly; he's very young and at a loss for what to do so he stands there with his pen, pad, and a helpless look on his face.

"No alcohol," Walter tells the waiter, his voice is just as firm.

Chloe sends the waiter away and asks him to come back later with a tight smile on her face. The poor boy looks like he's about to have a mental breakdown, or cry at least.

"Why are you telling me I can't have alcohol?" she hisses as soon as they're alone.

He raises those thin, grey, eyebrows at her, as if she should already know the answer before speaking. "What if something happens to me and you have to take over the wheel, dear? You shouldn't drink and drive, you know."

That's when Chloe decides she can't do it anymore. She can't finish this date. She's got to go.

She stands up, excusing herself so that she can go to the ladies room where she plans on calling a taxi and ditching Walter Gray; plus she really does have to use the bathroom.

Walter openly frowns at her, which truly pisses Chloe off. Does she need his permission to pee too? "What?" she snaps a little more irritably than she intended.

"I told you to use the bathroom before we left the house, dear."

"Well, I didn't have to go then!" Chloe's barely able to get the words out through her clenched teeth. She turns quickly, both realizing and regretting the fact that she just sounded like a five year old who refused to go to the bathroom on the way to an outing with her father, only to find she can't hold it very long only ten minutes into the car ride.

Even if she could find a way to appreciate Walter, it would never, ever, work. He's too paternal. Not to mention a control freak.

Quickly, she locks herself into a stall and relieves herself. Before she can flush the toilet, she's dialing the cab. Then she drops her phone…into the toilet…which she hasn't flushed yet. She swears loudly; probably loud enough for Walter to hear her. And at the thought of Walter, she seriously considers fishing her phone out of the toilet. It's for his own safety; really. She won't be able to make it through their date without killing him.

In the end, she decides to just flush the toilet, but she refuses to watch her phone disappear, she washes her hands and sits back down in front of Walter…and a plate of pasta that she did not order.

"You were gone when the waiter came back, so I ordered for you, dear."

Chloe winces. If he calls her "dear" one more time…

She eats her food silently; letting Walter do all of the talking and answering every question with just one word if she can manage it. She doesn't even look at her drink, let alone touch it. She's sure there's no alcohol in it; and she's also sure that Walter signaled the waiter over as soon as she went to the bathroom so he could order her something nonalcoholic without interruption.

When the check finally comes, Chloe pulls out her wallet and pays for her own meal. She doesn't want Walter to pay for her, but she still gets angrier with him when he doesn't offer. As she exits the restaurant, she has to tell herself that it's okay that he didn't pay. It's not like she wanted him to anyway. And besides, the date's over. She's going home.

Home. It's the thought of going home that puts a smile on her face as she gets into Walter's car.

"Put your seatbelt on, dear," Walter tells her, and with just those few words he's managed to snatch the smile off Chloe's face. It's the last straw.

"Chloe, dear; put your"-

"No!" she shouts stubbornly. She's not wearing the stupid seatbelt. She's not doing anything he says. Just because he's old, it doesn't mean she's got to listen to him.

Walter openly stares at her with a shocked and dismayed expression on his face for about a whole minute before he cleans it up. Then he sighs out an, "all right, have it your way."

Chloe would smile, but then Walter turns off the car and puts the keys in his lap. "I can sit here all night," he smiles widely at her.

She rolls her eyes and looks out the window. Why is she being so stubborn? She should just put the damn seatbelt on and let Walter take her home. But there's an even bigger part of her that doesn't want to give in to Walter's demands and it casts long shadows over the part of her that just wants to go home. She can't help it; so, she sits there and stares at anything but Walter for about a good ten minutes. That's how long she lasts because Walter has just turned on his radio and is torturing her with some banjo and fiddle playing back of the woods music. She can't deal. She reaches behind herself, grabs the seatbelt and buckles in. Immediately, Walter starts the car and drives off.

She's a little disgusted in herself for caving so quickly, so she keeps staring ahead, refusing to acknowledge Walter's presence. That is until they hit a red light and she can see him staring at her the whole time via her peripheral vision. She makes the mistake of glancing at him and catches the smug look on his face. He's so happy he got her to obey and Chloe can't let him get away with that. She takes off her seatbelt once the light turns green and she knows that he can't just stop in the middle of the road. And even if he does stop in the middle of the road, she'll just get out of the car and walk home. She's not that far.

She's right. Walter doesn't stop the car; he does something much worse. He tries to put her seatbelt back on…while he's supposed to be driving. They run a red light and are immediately stopped by the police.

No one says a word until the cop is at Walter's window. And the first words spoken come from said cop.

"Do you know why I pulled you over, sir?"

Walter shakes his head and blatantly lies. "No sir."

"You ran a red light. License and registration please."

Walter's mouth falls open, as if he's truly in shock and he shakes his head repeatedly as he reaches across Chloe's lap, making her cringe, to dig around in his glove department.

"I'm so very sorry," Walter says in a trembling voice. "I can't believe I did that." He hangs his head in shame as he hands the officer his papers. "I was just trying to get my date to put on her seatbelt. It's the law you know; but she's a stubborn one she is. I should've been paying more attention. I could have caused an accident! Oh, I can't believe this," he cries as he rests his forehead against the steering wheel.

"Is that what happened ma'am?"

Ma'am; which means the officer is addressing Chloe. She barely restrains a roll of her eyes as she confirms Walter's story.

The officer writes out a ticket and hands it to Chloe…to Chloe! For not wearing her seatbelt, Chloe gets a ticket and Walter gets a, "Continue to drive safely," from the cop. He was the one who ran a red light. She can't believe this!

She silently stuffs the ticket in her purse and thinks of all the ways she could kill Walter and get away with it. Of course she's not going to act on it, but it's good for her psyche right now.

"Chloe."

"What!" she snaps, not even caring that Walter may still end up having a stroke or a heart attack because of his run in with the law.

"Put your seatbelt on, dear."

She does as he says and ignores the looks he's giving her during the rest of the ride home. She knows they're laced with satisfaction.

She's says nothing when she gets out of his car. Nothing; not even, "Goodbye, I hope I never have to see your withering face again!" She's too pissed off for that, and it's not as if he waited around to hear her say it either. He tore off as soon as she slammed his door shut.

When Chloe gets into her apartment, she heads straight for Clark's room, ready to dump on her best friend; but he's not there. She lets out a growl of frustration. Not being able to talk to Clark when she needs him is perhaps worse than her entire evening with Walter and the time she caught chicken pox combined.

She turns on his TV and hops into Clark's bed. She's all the way in; center of the bed, back against the headboard, and feet nowhere near the edge. She'd take off her shoes but she's subconsciously punishing Clark for not being here for her. Her plan is to wait there until he gets home because she really can't sleep until she sees him.

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

Clark walks into his room with a deep sigh. Kelly West called him earlier this evening. He didn't get to answer the phone, so she left a message. It was about Chloe. She wanted to apologize for assuming Chloe's date was her father, she feels like an idiot, blah, blah, blah.

He hasn't heard from Kelly in over a week yet she called to talk about Chloe? She dumped him, just after he made that dinner for her. He's not sad over it, just confused. He doesn't understand why he was dumped. He's been going crazy just thinking about it. She offered no explanation whatsoever, and she honestly didn't seem to be angry with him. Maybe it wasn't something he did. Now there's a thought.

He shakes his head and turns off his light. He's pretty sure it was him somehow.

Before scooting into bed, he undresses down to his boxers; then he falls out of his bed. There's someone already there. He's not alone.

He hurries and turns on his light. It's Chloe. Chloe's in his bed. Then he rolls his eyes…at himself. Who else would it be? Who else does he share an apartment with?

He approaches her slowly, careful not to wake her…or Clark junior. She's still dressed for her date. Has to be. She's in a short black dress, which is even shorter now that it's practically ridden up to her waist; and red heels. Very sexy red heels; and just like that Clark Junior's awake.

He swears softly and turns so that Chloe can't see him; but he reminds himself that she's asleep. She won't see. He almost can't believe this is happening. Almost.

It started about two months ago. Chloe'd come out the shower all wet with just a towel on and he'd get a hard on; or she'd wink at him because he did something silly but she thought it was adorable; or she'd bend over to pick up something she spilled, or she'd run, or smile, or whatever! Anything she'd do would cause him to get hard, instantly. He figured he needed to start dating; he was sure he kept having reactions to Chloe because she was the only female he ever spent any time with. So, A month later he was dating Kelly West.

It didn't help. There's something wrong with him.

He clears his throat and scratches his head. Normally, Clark would just pick Chloe up and take her to her own room; but in his current condition he's afraid he might poke her with his…well, he's afraid he might poke her. And if he slides in next to her, he'll most definitely poke her.

He shrugs his shoulders, takes of her shoes, throws them into his closet, and covers her up fully. More than likely she fell asleep in his bed because she wanted to talk to him about her date. He hopes it went horrible. He's not sure why; he just does.

He heads for her room, more than sure she'd be okay with okay with him sleeping in her bed. It's not like she's not occupying his at the moment. Although Chloe's bed set is a lot more feminine than his, he hops in and also ignores the fact that Chloe's bed is much more comfortable than his is. He closes his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

It doesn't.

Chloe's pillows smell just like her; and naturally he gets another hard on.

What the hell is wrong with him?

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

A/N: Next post will be Friday, the 13th