Interviewing Basketball Stars

Author: Liz Luthor

Disclaimer: I've no RIGHTS to these characters, perhaps, but c'mon... Don't you like the little world I've created with them? Of course you do.

Couples: Chloe/Whitney

Author's Note: I'm so excited about this one!! I've been looking forward to writing it. ;) PLEASE review—I want feedback more than ever on this chapter!



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Whitney was feeling particularly inattentive that Thursday. He walked the halls of Smallville High without expression, drowsily waving at those he knew as he passed them by and sitting uncharacteristically quietly in all of his classes, as well as lunch.

During Literature, his only class with Chloe, he paid nearly no attention whatsoever to the lesson provided. Instead, he occupied his time by observing Chloe from across the room, who didn't seem to be enjoying the class either. Afterwards, he called out to her to get her attention.

"You okay?" he asked, still pretty out of it.

"Yeah, fine. Why?" she replied, confused.

"You looked like you were ready to kill someone in there," he laughed.

Chloe rolled her eyes and said, "It's just the guy who sits next to me. You know him?" Whitney shook his head. "He never shuts up! He kept going on and on about something apparently funny his friend did during lunch. He's the most annoying person I've ever met! Sorry, had to let it out. Thanks for you concern, though," she smiled. Whitney smiled back slightly and turned at the next corner to get to his class.

'That's interesting,' Chloe thought. 'Whitney Fordman was watching me from a distance.' She shrugged. 'Hey, I don't mind!' she laughed to herself.



.: Next day, at lunch :.



"That's weird," Tatiana Hullender snickered, referring to the table at which Clark, Lana, Chloe, Whitney, Pete, Amber, and Lindsay now sat. "Now, I knew Amber was going out with Pete, but Lana and Clark? Ooh, and look at Chloe and Whitney. They seem to be hitting it off!" she laughed. "It looks like Lindsay's the only one alone for once! It's like the world just turned upside-down!!"

Lindsay heard Tatiana's voice from her table—she was the only one paying attention to it. 'I'm better off than you are...' she mentally replied. Despite not having anyone to talk to, she felt much more at ease here. Besides, she didn't really feel like talking to anybody today.

Clark asked Lana, "So how's the Talon doing?"

She nodded and smiled. "Its great. How's Kent Farm?" she laughed.

Clark smiled and replied in a Southern accent, "Boy, I'll tell ya, the day's just keep gettin' longer and longer. Ya wake up with the sun and don't quit workin' till the day's done," he could no longer keep a straight face and started to laugh uncontrollably along with Lana. The others at the table had heard this remark and were laughing as well.

When lunch ended and the bell rang, Whitney approached Clark stiffly. "What's up, Whitney?" Clark wondered.

Whitney looked down for a minute, then back up, and answered, "Look, I never really got out a straight apology for what I did to you earlier this year. I'm really sorry," he looked very sincere.

Clark nodded, "Don't worry about it. I've put it behind me," and smiled. Whitney brightened slightly.

"Well, then, would you mind if I asked you a favor?" Clark shook his head. "Do you think you could... you know, just kind of make sure Chloe doesn't find out about it?" He seemed uncomfortable.

"Wait a minute—you like Chloe?" Clark didn't seem very happy about this. "I haven't told her about it yet, but what is this? You finally apologize about it just because you want to secure your relationship with Chloe?" Whitney closed his eyes, prepared for how this would end.

"That's not it, Clark. I was just thinking about it and-"

"No! Look, if you want Chloe to like you, be truthful with her, at least! And if you weren't planning on that, then she deserves better than you anyway!" Clark walked away angrily, leaving a disappointed Whitney behind in the hall.



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After school, Lana walked up to Clark and asked bravely, "Is something wrong? You've been off in your own world since lunch, and you were fine then. What happened?"

Clark hesitated. "It's nothing... I just had a little talk with Whitney and he made me mad."

"...Feel like elaborating on that...?" Lana questioned.

"I really don't wanna talk about it..." he responded lamely and left for his locker. She almost started to feel like he was blowing her off, but she knew it wasn't her—it was something Whitney had said...



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Amber and Lindsay laughed. They were having a good time talking on their way home from school. They had lived next door to each other since the third grade, when Lindsay had moved to Smallville.

Amber let out a sigh of content. "You know, I've been so much happier lately, hanging out with Pete and his friends. Don't you agree?" Lindsay nodded and smiled. "...Yeah, I bet you're just happy cuz Whitney's there!" she joked.

"You know it!" Lindsay laughed back. "But, nah, that's not really the only reason. I feel much more self-confident, y'know, like nobody's gonna backstab me... Unlike the people we usually associate with." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Amber agreed. "That's horrible... But, speaking of Whitney—you do still like him, of course?" she probed. Lindsay nodded and pretended to shoot herself in the head.

"I know, I know... He doesn't like me back," she sighed. "I seriously need to get over him, don't I?"

Amber gave an indirect answer. "Well, there are lots of other guys for you to choose from, you know," she offered. "Come on, that tall, dark, exotic look you've got," she teased. Lindsay spit her tongue out at her. She laughed, and then said, "Look, I'd just hate to see you get hurt. I know how much you like Whitney... I just think you might have better luck elsewhere."

Lindsay returned a smile. Amber was such a good friend.



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Chloe was (as usual) typing away on the computer in the Torch office when she heard the door open. Instinctively she saved and closed the document on which she was working and turned around to greet her visitor.

"Oh, hi, Whitney. What brings you here?" she inquired.

He set down his backpack and sat in front of Chloe, kneeling on the floor. "I don't really know, actually... But I know that I like to talk to you, and you're always here, so..." She noticed he looked kind of nervous and wondered why he was acting differently. Then again, she was glad he wanted to talk to her. She found that she liked talking to him, as well. Lately, he had completely and single-handedly defied her definition of "jock", and she decidedly wanted to learn more about his personality.

She smiled and asked, "Anything in particular you wanna talk about, or should I just pull something from the air as I so often do?"

Whitney shrugged and noted, "Just seems like you're the only person I can talk to recently... It's probably just me." There was a silence. Chloe didn't know what to say. "...Forget I said that," he smiled. "How are things?"

"Good. With exams coming up, it doesn't get much better than that, though," she laughed. "You?"

He was hesitant with his reply. "...Uhh... I guess it could be worse... Oh, I hope I wasn't interrupting your work or anything-" he said abruptly, observing the computer behind her.

"No, not at all. In fact, I'm actually ahead of schedule. I have no life," she commented, nodding sadly. Whitney let out a short laugh in response, and there was silence again. "...You know what?" Chloe began. "I never said thank you for that interview the other day!"

"...You're welcome?"

Chloe laughed. "Thanks! And thank you for defending me the other day from those girls in the hall. You're a great guy," she smiled. "Lana made a mistake by letting you go." There was another short silence before Chloe stood up, followed by Whitney, and declared, "I'd better go."



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Clark treaded through the empty halls, still in a bad mood. He had an article for Chloe, so he was headed for the Torch office, fully expecting her to be there. Alone.

However, as he swung open the door, he saw Whitney standing in front of her with his hands on her shoulders. He leaned over and gave her a swift kiss on the lips.



.: End :.



Author's Notes: THE FIRST KISS! Yay! *waves little victory flag* Please review!! It'll make me really really really happy if you do...



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