Can I tell you guys how sad I am that this story is over? I've been plodding through this one since January. I'm going to miss it. *sniff* I hope you guys enjoy it. Feedback is greatly appreciated!
Oh yeah. Please understand that I have been weaned off cartoons through the dedicated watching of movies like "When Harry Met Sally," Audrey Hepburn romantic comedies and stuff where everything is wrapped up nice and neat.
And if you ship Clana, you might want to shield your eyes.
Chapter 5: "Friendship Takes a Holiday"
Chloe was awakened by the sound of her ringing telephone on Thursday morning. It was her least favorite way to wake up, especially during the summer when she enjoyed sleeping in.
At least it wasn't a telemarketer. It was the Torch's new adviser, Miss Renard. Miss Renard was an English and art teacher who seemed to be taking her new position as newspaper adviser seriously, unlike the parade of four or five in the past year who seemed to only take the position for a few extra dollars each paycheck in exchange for a laissez-faire approach to advising. Unfortunately, Miss Renard had been tapped to inform Chloe that the newspaper budget had been cut by half this year, meaning the staff would have to increase advertising by seventy-five percent to continue putting out the paper on a weekly basis. Miss Renard, having only been hired last week, was still in Topeka, getting ready to move. She wouldn't be there for the first meeting, but she promised Chloe she would be there the following week to go over things with her. To top it off, the yearbook staff would be "borrowing" one of their iMacs for the semester, leaving Chloe with only three terminals for twelve reporters and herself.
Chloe hung up the phone and stood up. The house was empty, with both of her parents out, and it was silent with the stillness of humid summer air. It would have been the perfect day to lounge around with a guilty-pleasure Oprah's Book Club selection. Instead, she had to go out and work. The floorboards were cool on her heels as she walked to the bathroom, the bathroom tile even cooler. As soon as her mouth was full of toothpaste lather, the phone rang again. Damn that Miss Renard.
She groaned as she strode back to her room to pick it up, her mouth still foamy.
"Hello?" she answered in an irritable tone.
"Chloe, I'm glad I caught you." Clark was in a good mood and didn't seem to notice that she was not in a good mood.
"Aren't you supposed to be in a field picking cotton or something?" Chloe mumbled, wiping some dribbling foam from her bottom lip with her toothbrush.
"Chloe, my family grows corn and vegetables. And I took a break. You sound funny. Are you eating or something?"
"Brushing my teeth."
"Oh. Are you going to be busy today around three? We haven't hung out in awhile, and —"
"Yeah, I'm going to be running around doing stuff for the Torch."
"Need help?" he asked hopefully.
"Well …" Chloe tried to think of a tactful way to tell him she wanted to do things alone. She had a feeling that she would be treated to an afternoon of his fawning over Lana, and she would be a masochist if she wanted to tolerate an entire day of that when she was already in a bad mood. There was no need to subject herself to more torture, or Clark to an endless afternoon of sarcasm. "Actually, I was thinking of going to see Jorge during lunch, and —"
"I thought it was over between you two." The happy, hopeful tone in his voice faded just a bit, just enough for Chloe to notice.
"It is, in the romantic sense. But he's still my friend. And he is good to talk to about the meteors. He's going to minor in geology and he's just got a lot of ideas."
"OK. I was just asking. What about tomorrow?" Still hopeful.
"Tomorrow's the Torch meeting," Chloe said, continuing to wrack her brain for excuses not to see him. "I'll be busy all morning preparing for it, and then afterward —"
"OK, never mind then. I guess I'll see you when I see you." His tone was defeated now.
They hung up quickly, and Chloe felt horrible for being so vague. She had a strange feeling that Clark wanted to talk about something important, and the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she would dread it. It would make the summer so wonderful if Clark came over, big smile and shining teeth, just to tell her that he and Lana were now Smallville's newest couple. Not.
Chloe showered and dressed, making a mental list of all the businesses in town she could hit up for some ads. She planned to stop by the Ledger at lunchtime and pick Jorge's brain. The boy was a veritable gold mine of ideas, when distracted from anything to do with the meteor shower.
By noon, she had six signed contracts for monthly advertisements, two for bimonthly ones and one weekly ad, from Rocket Ron's Burgers and Fries, after she and Jorge ordered the new Rocket Ron Double Bacon Cheeseburger Special and promised to tell all their friends to come in and try it. She only finished half of her sandwich. After walking Jorge back to the Ledger office she hit up the other half of Main Street and part of Elm, crossing the street deliberately to avoid the Talon.
At the end of the day she was exhausted. Her feet hurt, and she was warm from all the walking and fast-talking she had done.
When she got home, a note scrawled by her father was taped to her bedroom door. "Clark called at 5. He says to call him back."
Chloe ripped the sign off the door with a sigh, changed into shorts and a tank top and crawled into bed. From the nightstand drawer she pulled out a tattered hardbound copy of "Sherlock Holmes" and began to read, trying to keep the thought and idea of a certain brown-haired boy out of her mind.
***
Bright and early the next morning, Chloe arrived at the Torch office. She turned off the ringer on her cell phone and made the agenda for the meeting. She updated software, backed up files on Zip disk, and ran virus scans on all the computers. She opened all the windows to lessen the stuffiness in the room. She dusted the furniture and reorganized the Wall of Weird by date. By noon, there was nothing more to do than wait for her staff to show up. She pushed her chair next to the window and watched with half-hearted interest as two guys practiced skateboarding tricks on the front steps. The clock on the wall read 12:03. It was going to be a long day. She turned around and signed on to the Internet. Maybe she could find something to buy off eBay. Compulsive shopping for useless items was always a good distraction.
***
When Clark was done with work, he showered and got ready for the Torch meeting. He knew Chloe was avoiding him, and this time Pete didn't have hints as to why. Yesterday in town he had seen her eating lunch with Jorge through the window of Rocket Ron's. They hadn't seen Clark. They were laughing as their heads were bent over a picture or file or something. Clark didn't want to interrupt their party of two and kept walking.
Chloe didn't return his phone call last night either. It was unlike her. Was she going out of her way to avoid him?
Clark missed her. Earlier in the day he began to have mental conversations with Chloe in his head, complete with her facial expressions and her facetious retorts. It wasn't half as good as actually talking to her. At least she would have to see him today at the meeting. Maybe he could catch her for an hour beforehand so they could talk. Clark hoped. He thought fleetingly of making an appointment.
"Where are you going?" Martha asked as she came into the kitchen with a basket of green apples.
"Torch meeting," Clark said,
taking an apple from the bunch and biting into it. He sat down at the kitchen
table while Martha began washing the apples in the sink. "Dad said I could
borrow the truck."
"Chloe or Pete's not picking you up?"
"Nope," Clark said. He paused for a moment. "Mom, you're a girl, right?"
Martha smirked when she looked at him. "Last time I checked."
"Sorry," Clark said, embarrassed and ducking his head. "I mean, you were a teenage girl once. What does it mean when they don't want to talk to you?"
"That depends. Is this about Lana?" Martha said, sitting down across from her son. She began peeling one of the apples.
It was a moment before Clark looked at his mother through his eyelashes and shook his head no. Martha's eyebrows went up for just a split second before she recovered and asked, "Who?"
"Chloe." Clark avoided his mother's gaze and continued to crunch on his apple.
"What's going on?"
"I'm not sure. All summer she's been calling me every day or vice versa, and in the past two days she's been impossible to get a hold of. It's like she's hiding from me."
Martha frowned. "Why do you think that is?"
"I don't know. Ever since that night we ran into each other at the Talon, it's been strange between us."
A shadow of realization passed over Martha's face. She put down the apple she was peeling and put her hand on her son's. "Clark, when you talk to Chloe, what's the topic of conversation?" Martha asked.
Clark thought about it for a moment. "When we were in Metropolis, we talked about everything: current events, pop culture, the things that were going on in our lives, but since we got back … Lately it's been meteor rocks, the Torch and …" Clark trailed off. "Lately the conversations have been about Lana."
Martha put down her knife and apple and put her hand on top of Clark's. "Clark, I know how you feel about Lana —"
"She's just a friend now, Mom," Clark insisted. "We're just better that way." Martha looked into his eyes and saw that for the very first time, that was a true statement.
"And what about Chloe?"
"I want to know if she wants to be more than friends." Clark let out a deep breath after he said it. It was the first time he had said it out loud, and it felt good, despite the fact that he had no idea how Chloe would take it. Martha looked up sharply.
"Since when have you been interested in Chloe?"
"Probably since forever. But I only just realized it when I started to miss her," Clark said definitively, standing up and heading for the door. "I'm going over there early. Maybe I can talk to her before the meeting."
"Bring her by afterward for dinner," Martha called after him. "We'll have pie for dessert."
Clark cam back and gave his mother an hug before leaving. He had a very good feeling about this.
***
"Clark!" Lana got out of Nell's car just as Clark parked his truck. She walked over to him.
"Hi," Clark said. "How's everything?" He gave her a friendly hug.
Lana nodded and smiled as she pulled away. "It's going great. I'm concentrating on work, reading and riding my horse. I'm going out with some girls tomorrow for some nachos. I've started a journal. Life is good."
Clark grinned. "I'm glad. You going to the Torch meeting?"
"Yeah. But first I have to stop by the football field and drop off a book of cheers for the cheerleaders. Want to walk with me?"
Clark looked up toward the Torch office window. The sun reflected off the glass, so he couldn't see inside. Maybe she wasn't even here yet. "Sure," he told Lana, trailing after her as she headed for the football field.
***
Chloe rolled her eyes as she looked out the window to see Lana and Clark hug at and head toward the football field. They were probably going to go make out first. Why was she torturing herself with her active imagination?
"How's it going?" a voice said behind her.
Chloe turned around. It was Pete wearing his football jersey and carrying a large duffel bag. "Hey, I didn't see you," Chloe said, indicating the window.
"I came in through the back," he replied, dropping his football gear on the floor. "Football practice this morning." Chloe noticed he had just showered.
"You think you'll actually get to play this season?" Chloe joked.
"Hey, seven seniors graduated last year, so I might," he replied, somewhat defensively. "How are things going on the platonic front?"
"Great," Chloe said cheerfully. Pete's eyes lit up. "Oh, you mean with Clark," she added sarcastically. Pete laughed. "With Jorge, being platonic is awesome. He's my soul mate when it comes to meteorites and outrageous theories. Being platonic with Clark, on the other hand, means trying not to think about him, avoiding seeing him and failing desperately."
Pete sat down and looked at her sympathetically. "OK, well, how about I help you get your mind off it tonight?" he offered.
Chloe looked at him. "How? Are you going to give me a lobotomy?"
"Ha, you're funny when you're miserable. Except not really. Laura loaned me a movie on DVD" – he pulled it out of his duffel bag and handed it to Chloe – "and you're the only person I know who owns a DVD player. Plus your dad's got that monster 52-inch TV …"
Chloe checked out the title and laughed. "'Meet Joe Black'? I'm not a Brad Pitt fan. Or a sappy movie fan."
"Oh, come on," Pete cajoled. "She told me it was her favorite movie and I have to watch it. Don't make me watch it alone. At least we can keep a running commentary to amuse each other."
"Fine. We can do it after the meeting."
"Actually, I have to be home during dinner. But I'll come by right after. How's that?" Chloe nodded and started to hand the DVD back to him, but he said, "No, keep it. With my memory I'll come over and forget to bring it." Chloe stuck it in her bag.
"You need any help with setting up a slide show for the meeting or anything?" Pete asked. "I know how you like to make everything as elaborate as possible so that we all get at least half as excited as you get over the newspaper."
Chloe shot him an evil glare. "I hope you have that one page of story ideas I assigned."
Pete shuffled around in his duffel bag and handed her a piece of paper with a smug look on his face. "Done."
Chloe grinned. "Why aren't more staff members like you?"
"Because the Pete is one of a kind." Chloe gave him a quick hug before sitting down at the terminal in front of her.
***
The meeting went pretty quickly, as Chloe assigned Pete as the new advertising director and three staff members to help him solicit more ads by the end of the summer. Lana predictably offered weekly ads from the Talon, which meant they were almost at their goal. After an hour, Chloe was finally finished and the dozen or so staff members trickled out of the office slowly. When she was finally alone, Chloe sat down to design some advertisements. But the door opened and out of the corner of her eye, Chloe knew it was Clark. Her heart sank and beat a little bit faster at the same time. This was the first time they had been alone together in a long time. And it was different from when they were in Metropolis; yes, because of Lana.
"Chloe, do you have a minute?" Clark asked, sitting down next to her.
Chloe deliberately kept her eyes on the screen. "I'm kind of busy, but sure."
"My mom wants to know if you can come over for dinner tonight."
"I was kind of planning to stay here and finish designing –"
Clark put his hand on hers, which was clutching the mouse. Chloe looked up at him. "Chloe, it's eight weeks before school starts," he said quietly. "I think you'll have plenty of time. Are you mad at me or something?"
Chloe looked down at his hand, feeling an electrifying heat where their skin was touching. As soon as she recovered from the shock, she moved her hand away and began typing.
"I'm not mad," she said softly, still deliberately not looking into his face.
"Then what is it?"
Chloe paused in her typing and placed both hands on her lap. She looked at him. "Did you want to talk about Lana again?"
"Well …" Clark looked down at his hands.
Suddenly Chloe felt a wave of anger overcome her. She stood up and took a deep breath before speaking, trying to control the volume and tone of her voice. "Look, it's just that I don't want to hear it," she said, her voice strained. "I've been listening to you rant and rave about Lana since the day we met, and frankly, I'm really tired of it. I wish sometimes that we could talk about me and about what I'm feeling. But the topic for some reason always swerves back to Lana Lang. And as much as I would love to despise her and you, I just can't. So let's just not talk about it." She shut down her computer and grabbed her bag, heading for the door.
"Chloe —" Clark stood up and followed her, but then Chloe abruptly stopped walking to face him.
She held up her hand, a gesture to tell him to stop talking. "I don't want to hear it," she repeated. "I'm just tired of it, that's all. I need some time to just not hear it for awhile. I'm sorry, Clark." Chloe looked up at Clark quickly and before the sadness in his face could register, she started running down the hallway, toward the staircase, taking them two by two and running to her car. When she got there, she realized that Clark could have caught up with her quickly, but he didn't. She looked up toward the school, at the second-floor window where the Torch office was. Her eyes darted toward the entrance to the school. He didn't come out.
Chloe got in her car and drove home. She wiped a tear from her cheek and continued to try to push the thought of Clark from her mind. It was getting to be a full-time job.
***
Chloe enjoyed dinner with her parents. Her mother was in Metropolis a lot for business, but this week she was home. She even cooked, which was a rarity and a treat in the Sullivan household. It was a pleasant way to end a day that had been tiring and stressful.
So when the doorbell rang as Chloe flopped down on the couch after changing into her pajamas, she groaned. She had forgotten about Pete's movie night.
"Chloe, can you get the door?" Gabe called from the kitchen.
Chloe reluctantly stood up and answered the front door. "All right, Pete, let's get this movie over with," she started to say.
But it was Clark who stood there, holding a foil-covered pie plate.
"Sorry," he said. "Pete invited me, and I promise not to talk about you-know-who." He held out the pie. "Peace offering? My mom made it."
Chloe opened the door wider to let him in. "Sure. You can bring it into the kitchen," she said with a sigh. "I'm just going upstairs to get the DVD," she told him as she headed up the stairs. She paused and turned around. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you." He nodded. She looked at him and saw that no other words needed to be spoken. She ran up the stairs quickly.
When she came back downstairs, the phone rang.
"Hello?" she said, running into the kitchen to answer it. Clark was already sitting in the living room. Her parents, bless their crazy hearts, were singing "Love Will Keep Us Together" as her father washed and her mother dried. They were so corny sometimes. OK, most of the time.
"Chloe, it's me." Pete.
"What's with the stunt?" Chloe whispered viciously, turning her back to the living room and wondering whether Clark had enhanced hearing as well.
"What stunt?" Pete asked in a faux-innocent tone.
"You know what I'm talking about," she whispered.
"Hey, the guy looked like he was down. And he's a Claire Forlani fan, so you know he's going to be cheered up by that movie," Pete said, continuing in his not-so-oblivious tone. "And there's another reason for this phone call."
"What?" Chloe said.
"Uh, don't get mad at me."
"Are you kidding me?"
"I'm going to be late. Like a half-hour."
"What!"
"Chloe, my mom wants me to do the dishes, and our dishwasher's broken. And my older brothers came for dinner, my sister's here, plus two parents, two sisters-in-law and a couple of nephews. And a baby niece. So I'll be a half-hour late. Start the movie without me, OK?"
"Sure," Chloe said dejectedly. "Traitor." She walked back into the living room and turned on the TV and DVD player. "Pete's going to be late. He says to start without him."
Gabe Sullivan had set up the living room so the couch was the perfect place to sit and watch the television, which dominated the room. It was against the window to avoid glare, and the loveseat and the recliner were pushed into the corners. They both only provided side views of the television.
When Chloe turned to sit down, she saw that Clark had chosen the exact center of the couch to sit down. She sat down at one end, trying as much as possible not to touch him.
"Chloe," Clark said. She looked at him as he edged toward the other end of the couch.
She suddenly felt sorry for him. He was trying his best. He was a little bit lacking in the social skills department, but then who was she to talk? Her face relaxed and she said, "I'm sorry. You know how I get. The 'can't let it go' complex I get."
Clark nodded and didn't take his eyes off her. Chloe felt uncomfortable. She had never felt that way with Clark looking at her before. To interrupt the moment, she picked up the remote from the side table and aimed it at the DVD player.
"Our feature presentation is 'Meet Joe Black,' starring a guy who can't seem to get a decent haircut, and another guy who still reminds me of Hannibal Lecter and biting some guy's face." Chloe shuddered. "Ugh."
Clark grinned. "This, from a girl who voluntarily goes to Animal Control to take pictures of dead, fat-sucked deer and who has no problem breaking and entering crime scenes and wacko scientists' laboratories. I believe it."
Chloe smiled but didn't look at him.
The movie started and they were quiet, until Brad Pitt got mauled in the street.
"Whoa!" Chloe screamed, instinctively hiding her face behind her hands.
"Hey, that happened to me once," Clark said nonchalantly.
Chloe finally looked at him, and he was smirking. "You are so weird," she said. Then she shrugged. "But it works for you."
They laughed and continued watching.
***
An hour later, they were still quiet, but Chloe was beginning to fidget. "This is boring," she said.
"Shh," Clark told her. "Claire Forlani." He pointed to the screen.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Can this movie go any slower? Did we inadvertently play this movie in slow-motion?" She checked the DVD player settings to make sure. "Oh my God, this is normal speed. I feel like I'm watching this movie underwater."
"Well, can I finish it in peace?" Clark asked her impatiently.
"They're completely silent!" Chloe pointed out. "They're just standing there looking at each other. I think this movie was made as an excuse to drool over Brad Pitt."
"Don't forget Claire Forlani," Clark responded.
Chloe picked up the DVD to read the credits and gasped, "Oh my God, this movie is a hundred-ninety minutes long! We still have two hours of this silent, looking-at-each-other-dramatically crap. I hate Pete!"
Clark ignored her and continued to watch the movie. It was pretty good. A supernatural guy who couldn't tell the woman he loved about his true nature. And he did really enjoy looking at Claire Forlani. She was great in that movie "Mallrats."
A few minutes later, he looked over at Chloe. She was asleep, clutching the remote tightly in hand and her legs folded under her. Clark reached over and wedged the remote from her hand and to pause the movie. But when Clark got the remote, Chloe shifted and leaned her head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly. Clark checked his watch. It wasn't even ten o'clock yet. But then he remembered what Pete had said — Pete. He was supposed to show up. Where was he?
Clark should call Pete to see where he was, but was afraid to move. He checked the time on the movie. There were still about fifty minutes left. Maybe Chloe would wake up before then. He started the movie again.
***
Chloe awoke with a start. The living room was dark and the TV silent. She was leaning on … Clark. She looked up at him in the darkness, the only light coming from outside the window, where the porch light shone brightly.
"How long since the most boring movie to end all boring movies ended?" she mumbled, pulling away. Chloe noticed that Clark's arm was cradling her shoulder and he held on firmly.
"Stay here," he whispered.
Chloe wordlessly placed her head back on his shoulder, closing her eyes once again and breathing in his scent, of Ivory soap, detergent and something else, a scent that was uniquely Clark.
He kissed the top of her head.
She pulled away reflexively. "What are you doing?" she asked, afraid of the answer.
Clark took his arm off Chloe's shoulder and shifted to face her. "Something I should have done a long time ago."
"Well … what … what about Lana? I thought —"
"Lana and I are better off as friends. We're too much alike , and she needs to learn how to take care of herself." He paused, taking one of Chloe's hands in both of his own. "And because I think I found someone else who I'd like to be more than friends with."
Chloe looked down at her hand, which looked so small next to both of his large, tan hands. They were warm and made her feel safe and protected. Funny that just the gesture of taking her hand in his could do that.
Chloe found her voice. "Clark, I don't want to be some romance experiment or back-up girlfriend."
"No," he said softly. "It's been you all along. I should have realized it back in Metropolis." He shifted again, one hand reaching into his back pocket to pull something out. He handed it to Chloe. It was a picture of the two of them standing in front of the Daily Planet building. The security guard had taken the picture. Clark was looking into the camera, but Chloe was staring up into his face, grinning madly.
Her grandparents had sent him the pictures, too.
"I've been carrying that picture for two days. I've missed you, Chloe. Being apart from you for two days has made me see how much a part of my life you are — and how I want you there all the time. Every day."
"But it's going to mess everything up — our friendship — what if we break up?"
Clark shook his head again. "You're really cynical, you know that? I don't know anything about the future. All I know is that you're my best friend, and I want to kiss you."
That last sentence made Chloe smile, and Clark took it as an invitation, leaning forward to place his lips on hers, kissing gently.
His lips were soft, and yes, there was the taste of mint that she had tasted on her lips, just like this, once before. It was awkward at first as their noses bumped, and Chloe opened her eyes for a moment. Clark's were tightly closed and his face was gently pressing closer to hers urgently. His lips massaged hers rhythmically, as if in time to a song.
She gave in to the rhythm just as his tongue hesitantly probed its way into her mouth. And she accepted it.
It seemed like an eternity when he finally pulled away, and she breathed heavily, remembering the last time her lips had tingled this way and mentally taking notes on every jolt of electricity in every part of her body, so that this time, she would remember forever.
"So, promise me something," Chloe said as Clark pulled her into his lap and began placing butterfly kisses on her neck and collarbone.
"OK," Clark said between kisses. "I promise to kiss you like this every day. How's that?"
Chloe giggled as she lightly punched his shoulder. "I'm being serious." She pushed him away playfully.
Clark looked at her expectantly.
"Promise me," she said slowly, "that no matter what happens, we'll always be friends." Chloe knew that if having a romance with Clark meant a month or a year down the line they would be bitter ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend, it wasn't worth it. She valued Clark too much to ever sacrifice their friendship.
"I promise," Clark said seriously and without hesitation.
Chloe smiled. "Now where were we?"
Clark leaned forward, taking her face in both of his hands and kissing her cheek gently, tracing a slow, deliberate path from her cheekbone to her lips. "Here?"
Chloe exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath. "Yeah," she sighed.
***
To be continued … kind of.
Epilogue: Where was Pete? Stay tuned …