Heyy guys heres the next chapterr thanks sooo much for your reviewss I'm glad everyones warming up to clark luthor and you'll be seeing a lot of him;)

Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Where does it Hurt- Alexz Johnson

If you let me in, I won't let you down. Put your faith in me. Cause wherever you crash, wherever you land, that's where I'll be. There'll always be a place for you inside my arms.

The morning after, Lois had left for work without a word to Clark as he was left alone in his room, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about everything he had learned the night before. Lane knew everything about him... all his questions had been answered about himself. Everything Lionel had kept from him... but it seemed none of that mattered anymore, he couldn't help but think about Clark Kent, and his connection with Lex... his brother. How could Lex have had the heart to befriend anyone? He sighed, realizing he didn't want to know. He didn't care, this wasn't his world, he didn't need to know everything about the relationships his counterpart had, he'd be leaving here soon enough. Clark pinched the bridge of his nose as frustration grew within him when he realized there was no possible way for him to get out of here! What can he do?! He knew one thing for sure, staying here under the same roof as Lane was doing something to him and he didn't know what it was. He wanted to leave, badly. Clark got up and headed towards the bathroom, to wash his face, an idea suddenly came to him when he looked down at his hand. Taking a bar of soap, he put soap all around the blue k ring and pulled as hard as he could. Grunting, Clark gave up as he saw the blue glow from the ring almost mocking his failed attempt. Clark growled and smashed the bar of soap to the floor, not bothering to pick it up. Walking out the bathroom, he turned on some TV, seeing if anything good was on, he turned the channel to a show called 'Breaking Bad' which actually turned out to be really good as he poured himself a glass of bourbon. He looked up when the door opened and a familiar blonde walked in with her hands on her hips, "You always drink in the middle of the day?"

Clark smirked back at her, "Well since I don't have my powers I can actually feel the effects of alcohol and if I'm going to entertain myself in here for god knows how long, I might as well. Besides, time doesn't mean much when you're under house arrest."

Kara bit back her smile as she watched him continue to stare at the TV, "I can tell you're having a blast." Clark gave her a sarcastic smile as she sat down on the couch next to him; she looked back at the TV, "I heard this was a good episode."

Clark ignored her as he looked down at his glass, drinking the rest in one gulp, feeling the burning sensation in the back of his throat, "I take it's your turn on making the daily check Clark Luthor check in?"

Kara scrunched her face as she gave him an apologetic look, "Pretty much."

Sighing, Clark asked, "So any news on when I'm getting out of here?"

He noticed her face fall as she worried her lip, "We're still making progress..."

"Code for 'don't get your hopes up'..." He sighed as she didn't answer. Clark looked back at her, staring at her features, and then down to her wrist as she wore a silver bracelet with a weird symbol on it, taking a deep breath, he got up, "I'm gonna get another drink you want one..." Kara shook her head no, "By the way, I know you're my cousin... you forgot to mention that in your introduction."

Kara looked up at him surprised, hesitating at first, "How did you-"

"Lane told me. She didn't mind sharing that piece of information with me... could've had a heads up from you yourself." He looked at her with a blank face.

Kara stuttered for a moment, "I figured it'd be easier if you didn't know who I was... so you don't get too attached here before you go to your own world."

Clark scoffed, "Trust me, knowing you're my cousin won't give me that fluffy feeling inside that's gonna make me wanna stay."

"Too bad"

He turned to face her, raising his brow, "Why would you even want me to st-" Then he realized and rolled his eyes, "Never mind, got it." Kara chuckled.

"Look, if you want to know about your planet or your family, I won't keep that from you; I just thought it'd be better if things didn't get personal... more than they already are."

Clark shook his head, "Trust me, I don't want a bonfire party where you're gonna get all teary eyed talking about our home planet that blew up and everyone you loved who died."

Kara smiled shaking her head, "Fair enough... so how's everything here with Lois..."

He took another sip of his drink, "It's alright, she's minding her own business and I'm minding mine, just like we agreed."

"She agreed or you made it a point?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Doesn't matter." He brought his glass to his lips, "She knows better than any of you not to get on my bad side."

Kara smirked, "Then you don't know Lois very well, she makes it her mission to get onto people's bad side."

"Yeah... not too different from the one in my world. At least she's not showing that side of her to me."

Sighing, she replied, "Look I know you're doing your best to cooperate so I'm not going to give you my two cents on this but just do me a favor and don't be your usual self to her."

Clark smirked shaking his head to himself, "Dually noted, but for the record you should stop talking about her as if she's a sensitive six year old... at least your approach was better than Tess'"

Kara blinked, "Tess was here?"

A small smile creeped up his face, "Let's just say she made it a point to show who had the upper hand. Sweet girl."

Kara got up and huffed, "I'm going to have to talk to her about that..."

"Relax, I can handle Tess, but feel free to knock her out... oh wait... you don't operate like that" he smirked, "Too moral."

Kara rolled her eyes at him, "We have a code yes, but we do make a point to make sure our team is at an understanding, Tess is just being difficult."

Clark looked down at his glass for a long moment before speaking again, "So what, you're some kind of a hero like the rest of them?"

She smiled back at him, "Yeah, I use my powers to watch over and protect the world from chaos, and save as many lives as possible like the rest of our team."

He looked up at her, "Right..." she watched him deep in thought.

"What?" She asked.

His eyes met hers as he shook his head, "Nothing... you all just see the world in black and white, it's a lot more complicated where I'm from."

Furrowing her brows, Kara stepped towards Clark, "How so?"

He didn't answer her for a moment, "Forget it." He got up and brushed past her.

Kara drew her brows together as she turned to face him, "You know you say it's more complicated but the truth is you don't know what we've been through, what we've seen. Black and white is a hell of an understatement of describing Earth-1, trust me when I say we don't see it like that... that's just wishful thinking." She said in a soft tone as her voice cracked.

Clark watched her for a moment, and hesitated before asking, "How did he die?" She looked up at him, "Kent... how did he die."

Her eyes fluttered as she inhaled deeply, "He died during battle with Doomsday, another Kryptonian... he was destroying Metropolis and his sole purpose was to kill. Kal-El-" She stopped when she realized her mistake and looked at Clark who swallowed hard at the name, but didn't look confused, she realized Lois told him more than he bargained for and continued, "Kal-El died trying to save Earth. We all tried helping, but Doomsday made it his mission to kill him..."

Clark blinked, "What the hell is Doomsday?"

Kara wore steel eyes, "He was a mindless killing machine with no feelings apart from unfocused hatred, murderous rage, and the sheer malicious joy of destruction."

His lips parted as those words sounded oddly familiar... words that were used to describe his alter ego. "So Kent died fighting this thing off... did Doomsday at least die in the process?"

She smirked, "Kal-El didn't die for nothing. He weakened the beast so much that he was nearly on the verge of death... now he's in the deepest, darkest part of the universe, hopefully dead. But we know one thing for sure, he's never coming near this galaxy... A lot of innocent people died that day, no one's going to forget Doomsday... especially Lois." Clark suddenly felt uncomfortable as he thought about the death of Lane's husband.

Kara looked down at her phone which suddenly vibrated as she looked up at Clark with a smile, "It's Oliver, I better get going. Bye Clark." Clark nodded back at her as Kara left, realizing that there was something so much more powerful than him, something that can actually succeed in killing him. He sighed, just what he needed, another person on his list wanting to kill him, he better watch his back when he returns to his world, hoping that there isn't a Doomsday in his world... then he wondered whether anyone even cared if he was gone like they do in this world. Would they cry? Or would they celebrate that Clark Luthor had finally died. That Ultraman had finally died.

A whole week went by and Clark never said a word to Lois since their talk. She had been busy with her article at the Planet and whenever she got home, he had ignored her the entire time while Lois respected his wishes and kept her distance. Lois had left Chris at daycare as she was working from home, in her office. She had brought home a whole box of old police reports which had any relevance of the victims of the Metropolis Suffocator over the past year, hoping to find something. While she was reading through the reports, more like skimming through them, she heard footsteps. Slowly raising her head, she stared back at Clark, who was leaning against the doorframe of her office. She noticed his broad chest as his black shirt fit tightly against his torso. Swallowing hard, Lois managed to find her voice, dropping the paper she was reading from her hands, "Hey." She simply said.

Clark nodded, unsure of what to say, stepping into her office, he spoke up, "Is there ever a day you're not working?" He said. Lois knew he wanted to ease the tension between them, and instead of facing their last conversation, she respected that he wanted to move past it, never mentioning again.

The corner of her mouth curved up as she watched him, "Hardly. I wouldn't say ever though, I had to take a sabbatical for a couple of months, along with my maternity leave... It was the longest I had gone without writing a single article."

Raising his eyebrow, Clark replied, "How many weeks are we talking here?"

Lois looked down at her hands gripping her pen, unable to look up at him, "Around eight and a half months."

Clark's lips parted, he cocked his head to the side, trying to make sense of it, "I own the Daily Planet in my world, and standard maternity leave in our books is 12 weeks, how the hell did you manage to persuade your boss to give you more than half a year off without being at least demoted?"

Taking a deep breath, Lois answered in a quiet tone, which could've been near impossible to hear, but Clark managed to, "They seemed to understand given the fact that I lost my husband, and I was having his baby on my own." Clark kept silent at that, not knowing what to say, thinking about when Kara told him how he died in this world. He watched her hands gripping her pen tightly, "Clark Kent died... three months before I had our son. I was still grieving. Once my editor at the Daily Planet heard what happened, they let me take a leave of absence until after I had Chris. So that was three months, plus another three months of maternity leave, but... even after that I couldn't go back. So I didn't go to work for another two and a half months... I just wasn't ready yet." She pulled at the corner of her mouth, unable to look up at his eyes, scared she was just going to let it hit her and break down in front of him. Exhaling deeply, she kept telling herself, He's not Smallville.

Clark continued to stare back at her, watching her usually composed face break, he could tell how much pain she was holding in. She was good though, he had to give her credit for being able to make the effort to hide it so well. He wondered what she did when she was alone, how exactly she dealt with it in those eight and a half months. He opened his mouth to speak, "He died before you had your kid..." He stated. Lois raised her head to stare back at him and nodded emotionlessly. Clark nodded, slowly blinking as he licked his lips. Kent never got to meet his son. The kid never got to be held by his father. He would never get to see him grow up into a man, and raise him. Kent would never see what a beautiful chi- NO, he thought to himself. He would not think like that. He couldn't get attached like that. This wasn't his problem. This wasn't his life to be sympathetic about. He couldn't. Sympathy was for the weak. Forcing those thoughts back, he came back to reality, and sat himself on the chair across from Lois as she watched him with interest. Leaning back, he looked back at her, "So what've you been working on since you got back to the bullpen."

He could've sworn he saw a glimmer in her eyes briefly. She spoke with a sigh, "There's a serial killer in Metropolis, and I'm trying to find out who it is." Lois said with determination.

Nodding, Clark replied, "Metropolis Suffocator?" He tilted his head, smirking at her, "You could've figured out a more creative name than that."

Lois chuckled, "Yeah well, I've created better names for the people who make my headlines. This guy doesn't deserve one."

Clark nodded, "Any leads?"

Shrugging, Lois brought out a file, "So far, he's killing young women at random from clubs or bars. My theory is that he could've had a past with these women, ex-boyfriend, or possibly a stalker, maybe they went to school or worked together and he's out for revenge..." She said while tying her hair up in a messy bun.

Clark read through her files, without looking at her, he answered, "Maybe he's never had any history with these women, maybe he just walks by, sees something in these women that he doesn't like and decided he wanted to kill them. Eliminate them."

Lois raised her brow at him, "That's abrasive... Why would he do that? How does that even pass for a motive? Every killer has a motive." She challenged.

Chuckling under his breath, Clark threw the file back on her desk and leaned back on his chair, putting his hands behind his head, "These women seem awfully random to be tied together, they're not even the same age. Why does any serial killer do anything? He probably only had the intention to kill the first victim who just rubbed him the wrong way, and so since he killed her, he felt a rush, and couldn't stop cause killing her was just so easy, he decided to just kill any woman for the fun of it. Find a challenge because it's just that satisfying to succeed without getting caught."

Lois furrowed her brows at him, "How would you know that?" Clark simply stared back at her, "I mean why such a hunch? Did that just come up off the top of your head?" She asked cautiously.

Clark gave a humourless laugh, "Relax Lane, I'm not a serial killer. I don't kill for the fun of it, but I do know the satisfaction of killing someone... and searching for more." Lois' lips parted, as her eyes widened at what he just said. Clark sighed, suddenly turning serious, "There are people who get what they deserve from me... almost every day." He got up and left her office, leaving Lois baffled.

Lois sat dumbfounded and suddenly got up and stalked after him, "So you use your powers to KILL people?! You're telling me you have this extraordinary gift that if humans had them, would only abuse them for their own selfish needs and that's exactly what you do? What you're doing is murder Clark!" Clark stopped in the middle of the living room, his back facing her as she continued, "You just told me that you know the feeling of satisfaction when killing someone. What? You mean if anyone pisses you off you just erase them from the planet just because you can?! Is that how Lionel taught you to run the business? Kill to get what you want? Any business deals to make yourselves richer ends in death threats? Cause that worked out great for him when he pays people to do his dirty work. I guess in this case he used you to do his dirty work for him not caring about any of the consequences and so you made a habit out of it!" She scoffed in shock, "You're telling me you're not a serial killer, but what you just described seems a lot like my case on Jack the Ripper here!"

Clark turned around to face her with cold eyes, "You don't know what you're talking about." He said in a low tone.

Lois shook her head in astonishment, "Lionel's killed a lot of people to get what he wanted Clark. Oliver's parents were one of them and he was eleven when Lionel had them killed! Is that really what you've become? You've become an emotionless killing machine?! Finding satisfaction once the person who crossed your path is eliminated? Not a care in the world at who they are? Do you seriously not have a conscience?! This is sick!" She exclaimed, tears in her eyes, and a sudden fear rose up when Clark stepped towards her, inches away and his face was rock hard, clenching his jaw at her.

An emotionless killing machine... Her words continued to echo through his ears as his blood boiled in rage.

Clark was about to let her have it when he saw the fear in her eyes, and something else... disappointment. For some reason, it didn't feel right to have her look at him like that, and his anger soon disappeared without his knowledge. Taking a deep breath, Clark stepped away from her and sat himself down on the couch. Resting his elbowing on his knees, he clamped his hands together, looking forward. Lois took unsteady breaths as he spoke calmly, "My dad... Lionel used to beat the crap out of my mom when I was little. I hear it happening... and there wasn't anything a ten year old can do about it. Since then... my whole life, if I see somebody in trouble I can't walk away. You can tell me the way I do it is wrong and sick. I know that's not how you people do it here. You have a moral, a freaking code of ethics, but in my world... it's a lot more dark and twisted and the only way I know how to keep people safe is to get blood on my hands. That may not be how your world works out but for me... even if it means I have to kill someone, I know that by killing that one person, I get the satisfaction that I made someone else's life a little more bearable, to let them know that the person who'd been hurting them will never hurt them again. The rapists, the abusers, the muggers, the thugs, gangsters, robbers, the serial killers..." He looked up, into Lois' eyes and said, "I give people security in knowing that I got rid of the one person who was making their lives a living hell. I would've given anything to have been able to do that for my mom... but instead all I can do is watch until one day, she couldn't take it anymore that she killed herself. She killed herself because she knew no one was going to save her from him, from her personal hell, and not even her kids were enough to keep her living. She couldn't stay alive to just stand by and idly watch her husband destroy her kids' lives and not be able to do anything about it. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw her slit her own wrists in the kitchen. And since then I vowed to never walk away, never to stand by and hope something else will come along to make it better for them, and I never will. I'm not about to change that for anyone."

There was a long silence between them as Clark looked down to his hands. He didn't realize Lois had sat next to him on the couch until he felt her hand on his wrist, sliding up to entwine their fingers together. Clark kept his hand limp while Lois squeezed it tightly with hers. He slowly looked up to meet her eyes filled with tears that refused to fall; she nodded, showing him she understood while squeezing his hand. Sighing, Clark looked down at their hands. Her hand felt warm, it felt right as he stroked the back of it with his thumb. Like something was finally being lifted off his chest and being replaced with something else, something soothing, making him at ease. And it came as fast as it left. It hit him like a lightning bolt as he looked down at their hands. Exhaling deeply, Clark untangled their fingers and slid his hand out of hers, and silently got off the couch, locking himself in the only place he could be alone in. Lois stared back at the closed door, once again, he bolted at the first sign of kindness. She swallowed back, pinching the bridge of her nose, kicking herself for judging him so quickly, throwing spiteful words at him. He was no serial killer. He was protecting his people in his own way.

That night, Clark was stirring in his sleep, tossing and turning, as his nightmares consumed him.

He laid against the hard wood floor, every single muscle in his body had tensed as his blood boiled inside of him. The pain was excruciating, every ounce of his body felt like it was being burned, as if his skin was slowly being peeled off to show exposed flesh which burnt against the heat of the air. He had screamed enough. The screaming had worn out of him. He simply laid there, while every vein in his body turned green, he jerked against the hand that grabbed at his wrist. He slowly opened his eyes, beads of sweat clouding his vision, but the vision became clearer as the blurred face had turned into a bald figure, and he knew he was staring into the eyes of his brother. Eyes full of malice, and hatred towards him.

"I was raised in your shadow, now you're gonna die in mine." He said with a twisted sneer on his face as he took out a gold rock and laid it beside Clark's arm. Bringing his face closer, Lex whispered in his ear, "Let's see if the Man of Steel can survive this." He said as he brought the burning rod in front of his face. Clark wanted to lunge forward at him, wanted to strangle him, wanted to kill him, but most of all, he wanted to scream for help. For anyone to save him. But there was no one. No one was coming for him. Not tonight. He felt trapped in his own body, trying to shatter anything to try and get out, but he felt paralyzed in his own skin, feeling nothing but pain, just wishing it was over already, hoping to die as soon as possible just to get away from the pain. No. He knew Lex wasn't going to make it that easy. His brother was going to enjoy the last breath he takes, and makes sure it's the most painful one. Lex brought the rod towards his wrist, "That way, when you're dead, the world will know exactly who finally killed Ultraman... and I'll be known as their hero, and you'll only be remembered as a monster. And dear old dad and his Veritas covenant won't have to worry about the Traveler going rogue..." Lex tilted his head down at him, "I'm doing this for the greater good Clark. You'll no longer be my father's obsession, we're all better off without you." He spat out as he brought the rod towards his wrist and stabbed it against his skin as hard as possible, until the loudest, most excruciating pain came out of Clark's mouth.

Lois laid in bed, wide awake as she slept on her side, unable to sleep, simply thinking about the man sleeping in the next room. She continued to lay there in silence when a piercing scream burst through her wall. Lois jumped up and turned to the wall, "Clark?" She whispered softly. When she heard the scream again, it was louder, and it sounded like he was in extreme pain. Lois leapt out of her bed and swung her door open, running across the hall to his room. When she opened the door, she noticed Clark laying extremely stiff against the bed, screaming as loud as he can, suddenly tossing and turning around in his sleep. Lois ran to his side and grabbed his arms from swinging around, while he continued to fight back, clutching the sheets tightly in his fists. Lois tried to calm him down, using a soothing tone, placing her hands against his bare chest, "Shh Clark... Clark calm down, wake up Clark!" She tried to calm him but his scream continued to pierce through the air and Lois began to get scared at his outburst. She grabbed his face, "Clark shh... shh it's okay I'm here. CLARK WAKE UP!" She slapped his face, and leaned into his ear, "It's okay Clark, wake up. It's not real." Clark heard her voice in his head and began to get confused, suddenly, everything went black, he wasn't at the Luthor mansion anymore, the pain had slowly faded away. He felt the floor against his back turn soft, into a bed and he felt soothing hands caress his face rather than a hot rod penetrating against his skin, and a soft whisper in his ear replaced the spiteful one in his mind. Slowly regaining consciousness, Clark jumped up into a sitting position and opened his eyes, panting and sweating vigorously. Lois kept a hold of his face in her hands, "Clark? Hey, hey, it's okay."

Clark looked around, suddenly aware of where he was, but utterly confused, "W-what happened?" He choked out.

Lois stroked his cheek, as his breathing slowed back to normal, "You were having a nightmare. You're okay now..." She said softly.

Clark huffed, his tense muscles began to relax and his hands began to cramp as he let go of the bed sheets. He buried his head in his hands, and whispered under his breath, "Lex..." Lois didn't hear him, but saw the distraught look on his face, "It's like it was happening all over again." He said in his hands, more to himself, forgetting Lois was there.

Lois realized he was reliving a traumatizing event in his dreams, something that really took a toll on him. She ran her fingers through his hair in comfort and Clark didn't protest to it. Chewing on her bottom lip, Lois debated for a short while, before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him close to her, "You're okay now. It was just a dream. It's over." She said softly.

Clark sat stiff against Lois, not used to being comforted like this after a nightmare. He used to have this dream all the time, only once he woke up, he was all alone, alone to deal with it himself, to try and go back to sleep, pretending it didn't happen. Suddenly, after one of those dreams, he found himself in her embrace, being comforted, something that had never happened to him since the last time his mother comforted him after a nightmare. And soon after, Clark realized he really needed his. He really needed someone tonight. Surrendering to her embrace, Clark wrapped his arm around her middle and hugged her close to him, leaning his head against her shoulder as she stroked his hair, "You're okay." She whispered once again, and soon after, the fear was gone, that pain in his heart disappeared when Lois wrapped her arms around him. They continued to stay like that for a moment longer. Lois was the first to pull away and felt Clark's arm tighten around her for a brief moment as she froze against him, feeling the heat of his bare chest emanating through her and then he released her, placing his hands on his lap. She pulled away and stared back at his face, "Are you going to be okay?" She asked, showing concern for him. Clark looked away, unable to answer her. Lois sighed and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

After a brief pause, Clark's eyes met hers in the darkness, "No." Lois nodded, knowing it was useless to try and convince him it was better if he did talk about it. She brought her hand up out of reflex and cupped his cheek. Clark, suddenly aware of her contact, moved his head away from her hand. Lois dropped her hand to her side, suddenly aware that this wasn't her husband she was comforting. She silently got up out of the bed and walked towards the door, "Hey..." His voice called out to her as she turned around to face him, unable to see his face in the darkness. After a long moment, Clark finally spoke up, "Thanks." He mumbled.

Lois smiled back at him, unsure if he could see her or not. Without another word, she turned to walk back to her room. Clark fell back on his bed, taking deep breaths while staring up at the ceiling, he knew he wasn't going to sleep for the rest of the night, and so he continued to let his thoughts consume him, while only one ran through his head, the memory of having her in his arms.

"Top of the morning and I came prepared with your favorite food." Chloe called out as she walked into Lois' home, holding a bag of maple donuts and coffee. Dropping them on her lap, Lois grinned up at her cousin.

"You sure know how to make someone's morning perfect Cuz." Lois said as she dug into the bag and pulled out a donut. Chloe chuckled as she took a sip of her coffee. "So, any news?" Lois asked.

Chloe shook her head, "Not really, we're still doing our research, if we can make any progress with that, maybe we can figure out a way to send him back." Lois noticed Chloe deep in thought, "How's everything going here by the way? Is Clark Luthor being a pain in the ass?" She joked to which Lois rolled her eyes at.

"Not exactly. We do manage to have small conversations here and there. I feel like he's finally loosening up, he's opening up to me bit by bit and I think he's really coming around..." Chloe nodded at her cousin, staring back at her with a distant look on her face. Furrowing her brows at her, Lois touched Chloe's arm, "Is everything okay Chloe? You seemed like you were somewhere else for a second there."

Chloe took a deep breath as she stared back at her cousin, "You're different Lo." Lois blinked at that, "You just seem glowing now, happier." A small smile formed on Lois' lips. Chloe stared back at her cousin for a long while, before speaking up again, "Lois... there's something you need to know."

Lois looked down at her watch and widened her eyes, "Oh gosh! Can we table this for later Cuz? I have to drop Chris off at the daycare and then I have to get to the Planet!" She said as she rushed around the house as Chloe swallowed back nervously, relieved at the interruption.

"Yeah, sure." Chloe said as Lois carried Chris in her arms, with her bag, and car keys in the other hand.

"Sorry Chlo I can't stay any longer, I know I promised to hang out for some breakfast, but I didn't realize the time. I'll make it up to you with lunch okay!" She called out as she reached the door. Chloe nodded as she smiled back at her cousin, "Can you let Clark know I'm gone I think he's still sleeping."

"No problem. Have fun at work. Bye Chris!" They both waved by as Lois rushed out the door. Chloe was left alone, her smile faded as she looked down at her coffee cup. The silence felt comforting, as she contemplated on what to do. Clark Kent was missing and she had no idea what to do about it! Chloe closed her eyes, "Clark... if you can hear me... please come back to us. Please." She whispered softly. She heard the door open and saw Clark Luthor walking into the living room. Chloe sat still as she watched him look around till he saw her. Taking a deep breath, Chloe spoke in a confident tone, "Lois went to work."

Clark nodded, "I heard." He said bluntly. Chloe went back to sipping her coffee, as Clark walked towards her, "So what, you're here to keep me company? Or do you just housesit for Lane as a side job?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.

Giving him a small smirk, Chloe crossed her leg, "I was hanging out with my cousin until she had to go to work. And I was wondering if she was having second thoughts on keeping you here."

Clark raised his brow at her, "Wondering or hoping?" Chloe stayed silent at that. Clark tilted his head, analyzing her, "So you're married to Oliver Queen." Chloe looked up at him as he looked down at her ring.

"Yeah." She said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Clark scoffed at her, "Funny, never thought the billionaire would be interested in a small town high school reporter who wasn't a Victoria's Secret model. How'd you get on his radar? Or are you just his sloppy seconds after Lane?" He smiled as she glared at him.

Chloe simply smirked at him, "My relationship with Oliver is none of your concern, we met through mutual friends, shared same interests and fell in love. Simple as any other story."

"And does that same story apply to Lane and Kent..." He asked.

The corner of Chloe's mouth twitched, "If you're so curious about her love life why don't you just ask her."

Clark rolled his eyes, walking away from her, while twirling his gold ring around his pinkie, "What's your story?" Chloe blinked, taken aback by that, Clark turned to face her as he lowered himself on the couch, leaning back, "As far as I know you and Lane didn't even coexist together in my world. How is it that her cousin is such a big part of this team? You don't have any special powers." He asked.

After a moment of silence, Chloe took another sip of her coffee, "Clark Kent and I were best friends since eight grade. We went to Smallville High together."

Clark raised his brow at her, "He knew you before he ever met Lane" Stating in a sarcastic manner.

Chloe nodded her head, "That high school paper you say I was only known for, Clark was my partner in crime. We would solve mysteries in Smallville, mysteries of the meteor rocks and the people who were infected by them. I did the investigating, while Clark did all the saving and took zero credit for it." He noticed the glistening of her eyes as she spoke about him.

"You're telling me, the farm boy version of me was best friends with you, and was a high school reporter?"

Chloe nodded, adding with a smile on her face, "Not to mention star quarterback of the Smallville High football team."

Clark chuckled, "Geeky farm boy AND a high school jock? This world just keeps getting better." Chloe laughed humourlessly, shaking her head to herself. Clark still voiced amusement, "So how did Lane manage to cross paths with him?"

Chloe sighed as she replied, "There was a point in my life when I was forced to blackmail Lionel Luthor, he wanted me to investigate Clark, find out his secret for him. I refused to do that because I would never betray my best friend, but Lionel threatened me, so I fought fire with fire and worked with Lex to bring him down. Consequently, Lionel tried to have me killed. And when the world thought I had died, Lois came to Smallville looking for me, and met Clark along the way because I left a message saying if anyone could find out what happened to me, it would be him. Ever since then, Lois had become a bigger part of all our lives in Smallville and she moved out here when she was 19." She said while taking a deep breath.

Clark raised his brow at her, "You know your world isn't that different from mine. You were investigating my father's company and tried to exploit him, before you got the chance to get too close, Lionel had you killed. Only, he made sure you were actually dead." Chloe drew her brows together as he spoke, "Not too long after, Lane came into town to investigate your death, but Lionel cleaned his hands, and she couldn't find anything to make it stick that he was responsible. Same journey, different destination. There was no knight in shining armour best friend or a Luthor on the inside helping you two out." He shrugged.

Chloe nodded, "Well, every story has their different endings. I'm just glad I had my knight in shining armour, if it wasn't for Clark Kent, I wouldn't be the person I am today and I'm forever grateful to have had him in my life for as much as I did."

Clark smirked as he replied sarcastically, "What are you in love with him or something?"

Chloe looked up at him and smiled, "I'll always love Clark, he was my best friend." She rolled her eyes to herself, "There was one point in my life when we were younger when I had feelings for him, but I always knew we weren't going to be more than friends and eventually that was more than enough for me. Eventually I moved on."

"With Oliver." He said as he scoffed.

Chloe shook her head, "Oliver will always be my true love, but there was someone who came before him who really opened up my heart. I fell completely in love with him and moved on from my feelings for Clark."

Clark furrowed his brows, "If he was so special why aren't you with him now?"

Chloe took an unsteady breath as she spoke softly, "He died."

Sighing, Clark leaned back against the couch, "Guess love's no match for death in this world." Chloe looked up at him, "You and Lane both lost the ones you love and yet here you are, married to someone else, trusting someone else to take care of you. What's the point when at any moment, you could lose them forever." Clark shook his head to himself, "Love is nothing but a lifetime full of disappointments and tragedy. You're just setting yourselves up for it."

Chloe looked down at her mug, "I agree, losing the one you love is tragic, but gaining another love, opening up your heart to someone else is all you can hope for. It took me a long time to know what I wanted, a long time to move on from Jimmy, and once I did, I've never felt more free and happy than I do with Oliver. If having that is tragic, I say give me tragedy, as long as I can be with the one I love for as much as possible and keep the memories. I wouldn't give that up for the world. I learned to appreciate what I had more when I saw just how much Lois had lost when her Clark died." Her eyes had become glossy; they sat in silence as no one said a word. Chloe cleared her throat and got up, walking towards the door, "I should get going." When her hand wrapped around the door knob, she slowly turned to face him as he was staring back at her. "For what it's worth... it's really good to talk to you again." Clark blinked in confusion as she took an unsteady breath, her eyes filled with tears, "I've missed you so much Clark." She breathed out before she left, as Clark parted his lips, realizing he just had a heart to heart with a complete stranger. What was happening to him?

Leaning back on the couch he huffed out, "Shit..."

To be continued more coming soon:)!