Chloe and Whitney turned around to find Clark Kent and Lana Lang with matching frowns on their faces.

"Clark, Lana," Whitney replied icily.

"Why are you kissing him?" Clark asked Chloe. The couple advanced on them.

"What are you doing?" Lana asked, looking from Chloe to Whitney.

Chloe stepped back. "Excuse me? Have you been living under a rock? We got married!"

Whitney glared at Clark, his jaw and his grip on Chloe's hand tightening. "Forget it. It's none of your business, Kent," he replied through clenched teeth. It felt like he was back in high school and Clark was trying to steal his girlfriend again. But this was different, he reminded himself. Chloe was his wife; he could feel her wedding ring digging into his hand reassuringly. She wouldn't leave him for that jerk Clark Kent. Hell, Clark had left her in pieces when he'd chosen Lana. He turned to look at Lana. She was pale and looked confused.

"I don't understand," she said. "How? Why?"

"I do." Clark's eyes narrowed and he glanced from Whitney to Chloe. "Can I talk to you for a second, Chloe?" He reached out a hand towards her.

She flinched away. "What? For five years you don't write, you don't call, you don't e-mail and now you want to talk? Forget it." She closed her eyes and turned back to Whitney. "I want to go now."

"Okay." He gave Clark one last glare then put an arm around Chloe and led her back towards the car.

Clark started after them but Lana stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Clark, they need some time. It must have been a pretty big shock for them to see us again after so long. Let's just go home. I'm sure we'll see them at the party and you'll be able to talk to Chloe then."

"You're right." He smiled. "Of course you're right… I'm just a little weirded out by them being together. I mean, Chloe and Whitney. Exact opposite…"

She slid an arm through his. "Sure." But in her head, she worried if Clark was actually over Chloe. He acted pretty jealous when he saw them together…

As the two couples walked off in completely opposite directions, Lex Luthor came out from the shadows of an adjoining building. For once in his life, he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

"What a jerk," Chloe fumed. She was sitting in the front seat of the jeep, her arms crossed against her chest. She was close to tears. "I can't believe him!"

Whitney nodded, staring out at the snow swirling around the windshield. "Well, it was quite the shock, you have to admit, right?" He reached out a hand and rubbed her back slowly. "We don't have to stay if you don't want to. We'll go back to Metropolis in the morning and go somewhere nice and warm and you won't even have to think about them again…"

She sniffled but shook her head. "No, I have to face this. If I don't it'll just haunt me for the rest of my life." She leaned towards him and lay her head onto his shoulder. "Where is Lex?"

"Running and hiding in fear of your wrath?" he said dryly, checking his watch. "He should be back any minute."

"He's going to get an earful," she said sleepily. The steady 'whup-whup' of the windshield wipers, the heat in the car and Whitney's soothing hand rubbing up and down her back was putting Chloe to sleep.

She woke up clothed in pajamas with Whitney breathing deeply beside her, his arm wrapped loosely around her waist. She watched him sleep for a minute. He looked so much more innocent and young, very unlike when he was awake. After leaving Smallville, he probably had had to grow up pretty quick. He'd been a jock in high school who didn't have to really work at much except football. All the teachers loved him, the students worshiped the ground he walked on. She smiled. In high school, she'd been a nerd. There was no use in denying it. She'd spent all her free time in the Torch's office, working on that dumb little newspaper… now she was working with a big paper with real stories and real journalists… She sighed and snuggled against him and tried to fall back asleep, wanting nothing more than to dream cute dreams of Whitney. Instead, all she could hear was Clark and Lana attacking them,

"Why are you kissing him?"

"What are you doing?"

"How? Why?"

She squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears and to close off the voices. Why wouldn't someone like Whitney choose someone like her? Was it so far-fetched? They'd changed, grown different. They weren't the stupid high school kids that they'd been five years ago. Whitney loved her and she loved him. Right? She must have made enough noise because the arm tightened around her.

"Chloe? Chlo? What's wrong?" Whitney asked sleepily, kissing her bare shoulder.

She turned towards him and searched his eyes with her own. She needed reassurance. "Do you love me, Whitney?"

He looked at her, confused. "Of couse." A quick grin. "I didn't just marry you for your connections…"

She hit him lightly. "I'm serious."

He blinked, trying to become more awake. "So'm I. Look, is this about Clark and Lana? It doesn't change anything. I don't feel any different. I love you. I. Love. You. Okay?" She was really upset, he realized, looking at her face. "What, did you think I'd run off with Lana the minute I saw Lana?"

"I don't know," she replied in a small voice, burying her head in her arms. "I guess it scared me because that's all that seemed to happen to Clark in high school. Every time I needed him, every time he said that he'd chosen me, he ran off to her. She was a guy magnet… probably still is…"

"I still love you. I'm here aren't I?"

"You're just plotting your escape," she replied, a small smile creeping onto her face.

He sighed. "You caught me. I was about to sneak out the window but you woke up. I guess I'll just have to settle for the beautiful, talented, wonderful, sweet and caring Chloe Sullivan…"

She giggled. "That's all?"

He pulled her towards him. "What more do you want? Brilliant, stubborn, smart, funny, perfect woman of my dreams?"

"That'll do…" She said then kissed him.