Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.
Chapter four:
Chloe stepped through the door to the beanery, raising an eyebrow as she immediately noticed a certain Lana Lang standing at the counter with an apron on, smiling politely as she greeted customers while carrying a tray loaded down with multiple cups of coffee and pastries. "Hey!" She acknowledged when the brunette noticed them. "What is this, some cheer-leading charity for a night thing?" She nodded at the now-empty tray.
"Kind of, except for the cheer-leading and charity part." She smiled, placing the tray down and placing several more full mugs on it. "I've quit the team." She explained at the blonde's confused tilt of her head.
"Really?" Clark cut it from his place towering over the petite reporter-in-training. "Why is that, I thought you liked cheer-leading?" He asked confusedly.
"I did, but I decided that it just wasn't me, y'know." She shrugged self-consciously.
Clark considered her words for a moment and then shrugged. "It's funny, you quitting at the same time as I did." He pondered aloud. "It's a funny coincidence."
"Well, stranger things have happened." Chloe interjected, shrugging and forcefully stifling the spark of irritation at Clark's doe eyes being directed at Lana. "So how long have you been working here?" She queried with a raised eyebrow. She hadn't been here in nearly a week, and she knew that Clark hadn't been here in at least three days.
"A couple of days." The tiny brunette confirmed her suspicions with a guileless smile. "It's been... Interesting." She admitted sheepishly, and Chloe noticed the wary frowns the other waitressing staff were giving her, as though expecting the new girl to screw up at any given moment. "I've had a few mishaps."
Chloe made a face. "Yeowch, that bad?" She half-joked, not surprised when the other girl nodded guiltily.
"So," Lana started once more, pasting her work smile back on and tilting her head. "What'll you two have?" She asked, specifically looking at Clark as she spoke.
"I'll just have a regular coffee." The blonde ordered, trying to make it easier for her.
"Same here." Clark beamed at the shorter girl, and Chloe wasn't surprised when she went to sit at a table and looking back found him still in conversation with Lana.
She sat there for a moment, huffing when five minutes went by and the two hadn't stopped talking until, finally, an older waitress walked towards them and scolded the new worker. "Nice chat?" She questioned dryly, smirking slightly at his flushed look of guilt.
"We were just talking about school, apparently Tina has been following her around more often and she and Whitney are back on the outs." He informed her with a frown.
"Trouble in paradise huh?" She stated distractedly, watching Lana fumble as she tried to take another couple's order. She'd tried to dislike the other girl for the effect she had on Clark but even with them both running in completely different circles she still couldn't bring herself to blame the brunette; she was, overall, a nice person and unlike others like Dawn Stiles and Felice Chandler didn't flaunt her inherent superiority over the masses.
She supposed that she'd learn what it felt like now that she had her own special... attributes to hide from the throngs of people. "...I'm sorry, what?" She came to just as Clark finished speaking, earning an adorable pout in return that she returned with an awkward smile.
"I asked if you wanted to look into the rumor in school about the D&T teach having unusual abilities?" He repeated, giving her an inquisitive glance.
Chloe shrugged nonchalantly, running a hand through her blonde locks and blinking when she felt just how smooth it was. 'Well, invincibility; I guess it makes your hair harder to damage.' She pondered, biting her lip when she realized that it was going to be a bitch to cut. "Nah, we can't just go around starting witch-hunts just because of "Rumors"." She sighed, mind still focused on other things.
The dark-haired farmboy looked genuinely surprised at her words and responded with a bemused; "Alright." And went back to Lana-watching.
"So," She grinned as she watched him, jealously beaten by amusement. "Are you gonna go for it?" She indicated the brunette at his flummoxed expression. "This could be your best chance." She insisted at his bewildered look in response to her words.
"Chloe, I can't just take advantage of her arguments with Whitney like that." He objected halfheartedly, awkwardly looking away. "It wouldn't be right."
She snickered at his too-good-to-be-true sentiments, shaking her head. "She's not married, Clark." She laughed. "Go for it."
"I... Really?" He mumbled, looking back over at the other girl.
She quenched the spark's attempt to ignite into a flame and nodded in emphasis. "Seriously, Clark. She hasn't taken a vow of celibacy. Take a chance." She commanded.
"Alright. Alright, I will!" He nodded decisively and stood up to walk over to her.
The blonde watched him stop in front of Lana, accidentally distracting the girl and causing the girl to drop the tray full of steaming hot coffee onto the floor. "Ooh" She winced, giving a sympathetic look when he glanced back at her, panicked. "That's not gonna win him any brownie points." She commented to herself, watching as he seemed to wilt while Lana looked down, shamefaced.
Chloe stepped out the door, noticing a familiar form making his way over to her. "Hi, Whitney." She greeted the star quarterback, sans his signature jacket. "Something wrong?" She asked at his derisive look.
"Nothing." He said briskly. "Have you seen Lana?"
"Yeah, she's inside..." She trailed off as the taller blonde brushed past her, then paused as she thought of something. "Can I still dye my hair?" She mumbled to herself, running a finger along a strand of said hair with a nonplussed look.
