Chapter 6- Close Encounters Of The Persistent Kind
Author's Note: To keep the confusion to a minimum I will always refer to Chloe as Chloe. The only time she will be referred to as Lynnsey is in dialogue. Hopefully that will keep everything understandable!
"This can't be it," Clark muttered to himself as he made his way to apartment 4G. The hallways were littered with beer bottles and trash. It was undoubtedly the slum district.
A busty brunette answered the door. "Hiya."
"Uh.hi. Is Ch- I mean Lynnsey here?" Clark asked.
"You a client of hers?" the girl asked smacking gum and absently twisting a strand of brown hair.
"No. Just a friend," Clark answered.
The girl laughed. "Lynn ain't got no friends."
"Is she here?" Clark pressed.
"Nah."
"Can I leave a note?"
"I don't see why not."
Clark grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen from his coat pocket and quickly scribbled a note. "Thanks," he said handing the girl the note.
"If I can ever do anything for you," the girl said, looking Clark up and down. "You know where to find me."
Clark silently turned and left.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chloe got home at almost ten the next morning. She went straight to her room and shut the door. As she sat down to take off her boots she noticed a slip of paper on her bed.
Everything is okay in the end. If it's not
okay, it's not the end.
FB
"Val!" Chloe shouted. This had to be a mistake. FB had to stand for something else. There's no way that Clark could have found her. Chloe had worked too hard to cover her trail to have it blown open.
"What?"
"Where did this come from?" Chloe asked rushing into Valerie's room.
"Some guy dropped it off last night," Valerie answered disinterestedly.
"What guy?" Chloe pressed, hoping with all her might that Valerie would prove her guess wrong.
"Said he was a friend. I told him you ain't got no friends."
"What did he look like?"
"Tall dark and handsome. Wavy black hair. Golden skin. Gorgeous. Said he wasn't a client."
Chloe raced from the room, as Valerie followed her. She grabbed her coat off of her bed and her keys from the hall table.
"Where you going?" Valerie asked.
She had to make Clark see that she was better off without him. She couldn't let him back into her life after the way he had treated her. "To deal with a past that won't die," Chloe answered bitterly.
"What about your clients?"
"You take them. Keep all the money."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
There was a note taped to the door when Clark got home for lunch at one o'clock. As he read it his mouth dropped.
The end never comes. Meet me at the old hang out.
LL/CS
Clark ran to the Talon as fast as he could. When he saw Chloe he had to do a double take. She had died her hair red, and it hung in tight ringlets to her waist. Her eyes were blue instead of the deep sea green that Clark remembered. Chloe was wearing a tight, low-cut, blue sleeveless shirt, tight black miniskirt, fishnet hose, and knee-high black leather boots. Clark timidly walked up to her.
"Chloe?"
Chloe looked up at him. "The name's Lynnsey."
"Oh, sorry," Clark said turning to leave.
"Chloe Sullivan was erased a long time ago."
"You'll always be Chloe to me," Clark said turning back around.
"I was never anything to you," Chloe spat.
"Don't say that," Clark said.
"Don't tell me what to do," Chloe said angrily. "I never meant anything to you. I was just a crutch.a last resort."
"Chloe." Clark said.
"The name's Lynnsey," Chloe said loudly. "What do you want, Clark?"
"I read your diary."
Chloe stood up and laughed once. "You're too late, Clark. Two and a half years too late."
"No," Clark pressed.
Chloe laughed again. "Yes."
"Clark?" Lana asked walking to the pair.
Chloe took one look at Lana and let out a breath in a smug huff before leaving.
"Not now, Lan," Clark said running after Chloe. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around.
"Let go of me. I need to go home," Chloe said hotly.
"Do you have an appointment?" Clark said angrily.
Chloe's eyes flared as she slapped Clark. She knew it wouldn't hurt him, but it got her point across.
"Chloe, I didn't mean that," Clark said quickly.
Chloe sneered. "My name is Lynnsey. Don't forget that!"
"Lynnsey," Clark corrected himself. "I didn't mean it that way."
"Yes you did," Chloe said. "I should never have come."
"You should never have left," Clark said, changing Chloe's words.
"I had no choice. I didn't belong here," Chloe said, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"I did care about you, Ch- Lynnsey. You just didn't give me a chance to prove it," Clark said desperately.
"You had six years to prove it!" Chloe growled.
"That's not fair," Clark said.
"Yes it is, and you know it," Chloe said opening her car door. "You read my diary. You know how I felt. One note won't change that."
"I love you," Clark said in one last desperate attempt, as Chloe climbed into her car.
"That's too bad, because I hate you. Maybe that would have meant something to me in high school. Hell, it would have made my dreams come true. But you didn't say it then. This isn't a fairy tale Clark. Those three words won't make it all better," Chloe replied slamming the door and speeding off.
Clark growled in frustration as Lana came out to him.
"Clark? Who was that?" Lana asked.
"Lynnsey," Clark said angrily. "I need to talk to everyone. Can you take me to pick up Pete and then to Lex's mansion?"
"Of course," Lana said running back into the Talon to get her jacket and keys.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they got to the mansion Lex rushed to his friends.
"Clark, what happened?" Lex asked.
When Clark didn't answer, Lana did. "Clark met a girl at the Talon. Something happened. She looked like a prostitute."
Lex nodded once in understanding. "She was, Lana."
"No," Clark said loudly. "I lost her again, Lex."
"Clark, what is it? Who did you lose again?" Pete asked.
Clark let himself fall onto Lex's couch.
Lex looked to Lana and Pete. "The girl was Chloe."
Lana gasped. "Are you sure?"
Clark nodded, setting his head into his hands. "Yes, I'm sure," he said rudely.
"Clark." Lex warned. Lex wouldn't let Clark take out his aggression on Lana.
"Sorry, Lan," Clark said.
"What happened?" Lana asked sitting beside Clark.
"Lex found her for me. I went to see her. She wasn't there. I left a note. She came here," Clark explained.
"Oh, man," Pete exclaimed.
"I told her I loved her. She said that it was too late. She said that she hates me," Clark said, his lower lip trembling.
Lex's temper flared. "How dare she talk to you like that?"
"Lex, calm down. I know how she felt. She was hurt very badly. She probably hasn't gotten over it," Pete said.
"It's all my fault," Clark said softly.
"No it isn't," Lana soothed.
Clark's head sprang up to look at Lana, his eyes like fire. "Yes it is. I read her diary. She left because I wasn't paying attention to her. Because she got tired of trying to compete with you and Lex for my friendship. It ripped her apart. It killed her inside."
"Yes, it did," Pete agreed.
"Pete!" Lana exclaimed as Lex said, "You knew?"
"Chloe always told me everything. She confided in me. She felt that I was the only person that cared about her. She was so sad. She never smiled those last few months. It was inevitable that she would leave," Pete said sadly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Clark asked amazed.
"I did. I convinced you to ask her to the formal-" Pete started.
"Where I left her for Lana," Clark groaned, cutting Pete off.
"Did you know she was leaving?" Lana asked.
Pete nodded ashamedly. "She came to me the night of graduation. She wouldn't tell me where she was going, only that she had to leave this life behind. She wanted me to know so I wouldn't worry. She said that I was the only one who would care. She made me promise not to tell."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Lex raged.
"I loved her! She was my best friend. I wasn't going to betray her!" Pete shouted.
Lana stood and wrapped her arms around Pete. "I had no idea."
"Chloe knew I wouldn't tell. She loved me as much as I did her. As much as Clark thought he loved her. When Clark became obsessed with you two, all Chloe and I had were each other," Pete said in sad reminiscence.
"Let me talk to her," Lex said leaving no room for argument.
"She won't talk to you," Clark said surely.
"Not to Lex Luthor, no. If she didn't know it was me," Lex said picking up the phone. "Yeah. I want to make an appointment with Lynnsey. Tomorrow night, Metropolis Hotel, room 117. Eleven? Perfect. The name's Alex. Thanks."
"Wait a minute. Clark used the name Lynnsey before. Who's Lynnsey?" Lana asked.
"Chloe goes by Lynnsey Lee," Lex explained.
"LL," Lana whispered.
Pete laughed in smug understanding. "Figures. The two people who meant the most to Clark: Lex Luthor and Lana Lang. L.L."
"What are you going to do?" Clark asked Lex.
"Talk to her, mess with her a little," Lex said.
"Don't hurt her, Lex," Pete warned. Pete had slowly become Lex's friend over the course of the years, but he still was upset with what Lionel had done to his family.
"That's not up to me," Lex answered.
"Like hell it isn't," Pete said loudly. Now he accepted Lex as one of his own, and he treated him as such.
"Pete, stop it," Lana said sternly. "You're not helping."
"I don't care. I won't let anyone hurt Chlo," Pete said, lowering his voice.
"I know, sweetheart. Lex won't do anything to hurt her if he can avoid it. Right, Lex?" Lana asked.
"Right," Lex answered.
Author's Note: To keep the confusion to a minimum I will always refer to Chloe as Chloe. The only time she will be referred to as Lynnsey is in dialogue. Hopefully that will keep everything understandable!
"This can't be it," Clark muttered to himself as he made his way to apartment 4G. The hallways were littered with beer bottles and trash. It was undoubtedly the slum district.
A busty brunette answered the door. "Hiya."
"Uh.hi. Is Ch- I mean Lynnsey here?" Clark asked.
"You a client of hers?" the girl asked smacking gum and absently twisting a strand of brown hair.
"No. Just a friend," Clark answered.
The girl laughed. "Lynn ain't got no friends."
"Is she here?" Clark pressed.
"Nah."
"Can I leave a note?"
"I don't see why not."
Clark grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen from his coat pocket and quickly scribbled a note. "Thanks," he said handing the girl the note.
"If I can ever do anything for you," the girl said, looking Clark up and down. "You know where to find me."
Clark silently turned and left.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chloe got home at almost ten the next morning. She went straight to her room and shut the door. As she sat down to take off her boots she noticed a slip of paper on her bed.
Everything is okay in the end. If it's not
okay, it's not the end.
FB
"Val!" Chloe shouted. This had to be a mistake. FB had to stand for something else. There's no way that Clark could have found her. Chloe had worked too hard to cover her trail to have it blown open.
"What?"
"Where did this come from?" Chloe asked rushing into Valerie's room.
"Some guy dropped it off last night," Valerie answered disinterestedly.
"What guy?" Chloe pressed, hoping with all her might that Valerie would prove her guess wrong.
"Said he was a friend. I told him you ain't got no friends."
"What did he look like?"
"Tall dark and handsome. Wavy black hair. Golden skin. Gorgeous. Said he wasn't a client."
Chloe raced from the room, as Valerie followed her. She grabbed her coat off of her bed and her keys from the hall table.
"Where you going?" Valerie asked.
She had to make Clark see that she was better off without him. She couldn't let him back into her life after the way he had treated her. "To deal with a past that won't die," Chloe answered bitterly.
"What about your clients?"
"You take them. Keep all the money."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
There was a note taped to the door when Clark got home for lunch at one o'clock. As he read it his mouth dropped.
The end never comes. Meet me at the old hang out.
LL/CS
Clark ran to the Talon as fast as he could. When he saw Chloe he had to do a double take. She had died her hair red, and it hung in tight ringlets to her waist. Her eyes were blue instead of the deep sea green that Clark remembered. Chloe was wearing a tight, low-cut, blue sleeveless shirt, tight black miniskirt, fishnet hose, and knee-high black leather boots. Clark timidly walked up to her.
"Chloe?"
Chloe looked up at him. "The name's Lynnsey."
"Oh, sorry," Clark said turning to leave.
"Chloe Sullivan was erased a long time ago."
"You'll always be Chloe to me," Clark said turning back around.
"I was never anything to you," Chloe spat.
"Don't say that," Clark said.
"Don't tell me what to do," Chloe said angrily. "I never meant anything to you. I was just a crutch.a last resort."
"Chloe." Clark said.
"The name's Lynnsey," Chloe said loudly. "What do you want, Clark?"
"I read your diary."
Chloe stood up and laughed once. "You're too late, Clark. Two and a half years too late."
"No," Clark pressed.
Chloe laughed again. "Yes."
"Clark?" Lana asked walking to the pair.
Chloe took one look at Lana and let out a breath in a smug huff before leaving.
"Not now, Lan," Clark said running after Chloe. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around.
"Let go of me. I need to go home," Chloe said hotly.
"Do you have an appointment?" Clark said angrily.
Chloe's eyes flared as she slapped Clark. She knew it wouldn't hurt him, but it got her point across.
"Chloe, I didn't mean that," Clark said quickly.
Chloe sneered. "My name is Lynnsey. Don't forget that!"
"Lynnsey," Clark corrected himself. "I didn't mean it that way."
"Yes you did," Chloe said. "I should never have come."
"You should never have left," Clark said, changing Chloe's words.
"I had no choice. I didn't belong here," Chloe said, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"I did care about you, Ch- Lynnsey. You just didn't give me a chance to prove it," Clark said desperately.
"You had six years to prove it!" Chloe growled.
"That's not fair," Clark said.
"Yes it is, and you know it," Chloe said opening her car door. "You read my diary. You know how I felt. One note won't change that."
"I love you," Clark said in one last desperate attempt, as Chloe climbed into her car.
"That's too bad, because I hate you. Maybe that would have meant something to me in high school. Hell, it would have made my dreams come true. But you didn't say it then. This isn't a fairy tale Clark. Those three words won't make it all better," Chloe replied slamming the door and speeding off.
Clark growled in frustration as Lana came out to him.
"Clark? Who was that?" Lana asked.
"Lynnsey," Clark said angrily. "I need to talk to everyone. Can you take me to pick up Pete and then to Lex's mansion?"
"Of course," Lana said running back into the Talon to get her jacket and keys.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they got to the mansion Lex rushed to his friends.
"Clark, what happened?" Lex asked.
When Clark didn't answer, Lana did. "Clark met a girl at the Talon. Something happened. She looked like a prostitute."
Lex nodded once in understanding. "She was, Lana."
"No," Clark said loudly. "I lost her again, Lex."
"Clark, what is it? Who did you lose again?" Pete asked.
Clark let himself fall onto Lex's couch.
Lex looked to Lana and Pete. "The girl was Chloe."
Lana gasped. "Are you sure?"
Clark nodded, setting his head into his hands. "Yes, I'm sure," he said rudely.
"Clark." Lex warned. Lex wouldn't let Clark take out his aggression on Lana.
"Sorry, Lan," Clark said.
"What happened?" Lana asked sitting beside Clark.
"Lex found her for me. I went to see her. She wasn't there. I left a note. She came here," Clark explained.
"Oh, man," Pete exclaimed.
"I told her I loved her. She said that it was too late. She said that she hates me," Clark said, his lower lip trembling.
Lex's temper flared. "How dare she talk to you like that?"
"Lex, calm down. I know how she felt. She was hurt very badly. She probably hasn't gotten over it," Pete said.
"It's all my fault," Clark said softly.
"No it isn't," Lana soothed.
Clark's head sprang up to look at Lana, his eyes like fire. "Yes it is. I read her diary. She left because I wasn't paying attention to her. Because she got tired of trying to compete with you and Lex for my friendship. It ripped her apart. It killed her inside."
"Yes, it did," Pete agreed.
"Pete!" Lana exclaimed as Lex said, "You knew?"
"Chloe always told me everything. She confided in me. She felt that I was the only person that cared about her. She was so sad. She never smiled those last few months. It was inevitable that she would leave," Pete said sadly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Clark asked amazed.
"I did. I convinced you to ask her to the formal-" Pete started.
"Where I left her for Lana," Clark groaned, cutting Pete off.
"Did you know she was leaving?" Lana asked.
Pete nodded ashamedly. "She came to me the night of graduation. She wouldn't tell me where she was going, only that she had to leave this life behind. She wanted me to know so I wouldn't worry. She said that I was the only one who would care. She made me promise not to tell."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Lex raged.
"I loved her! She was my best friend. I wasn't going to betray her!" Pete shouted.
Lana stood and wrapped her arms around Pete. "I had no idea."
"Chloe knew I wouldn't tell. She loved me as much as I did her. As much as Clark thought he loved her. When Clark became obsessed with you two, all Chloe and I had were each other," Pete said in sad reminiscence.
"Let me talk to her," Lex said leaving no room for argument.
"She won't talk to you," Clark said surely.
"Not to Lex Luthor, no. If she didn't know it was me," Lex said picking up the phone. "Yeah. I want to make an appointment with Lynnsey. Tomorrow night, Metropolis Hotel, room 117. Eleven? Perfect. The name's Alex. Thanks."
"Wait a minute. Clark used the name Lynnsey before. Who's Lynnsey?" Lana asked.
"Chloe goes by Lynnsey Lee," Lex explained.
"LL," Lana whispered.
Pete laughed in smug understanding. "Figures. The two people who meant the most to Clark: Lex Luthor and Lana Lang. L.L."
"What are you going to do?" Clark asked Lex.
"Talk to her, mess with her a little," Lex said.
"Don't hurt her, Lex," Pete warned. Pete had slowly become Lex's friend over the course of the years, but he still was upset with what Lionel had done to his family.
"That's not up to me," Lex answered.
"Like hell it isn't," Pete said loudly. Now he accepted Lex as one of his own, and he treated him as such.
"Pete, stop it," Lana said sternly. "You're not helping."
"I don't care. I won't let anyone hurt Chlo," Pete said, lowering his voice.
"I know, sweetheart. Lex won't do anything to hurt her if he can avoid it. Right, Lex?" Lana asked.
"Right," Lex answered.