Thanks to all you that have reviewed my story so far. In this chapter there is a Clark/Chloe moment but don't worry, they don't kiss or anything. They just talk like good friends. Also in this chapter, I decided to go into a little depth with Jonathan Kent so please bare with me. :) I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Five: Something New
Chloe was sitting on her front porch, reading old editions of the 'Torch' when, out of the corner of her eye, saw Clark walking toward her.
She took a deep breath to steady her sudden happiness that always seemed to come about whenever Clark was around. Then she suddenly felt nervous. After all, things between her and Clark where not exactly as they used to be. Something had changed between them although they tried not to notice it.
"Hey, Chloe." Clark said, as he climbed up the porch steps. "How's it going?"
"Well, I've defiantly had better days. What about you?"
"Great." Clark sat down in the chair beside her. There was a pause between them. "What are you doing?" he asked. He pointed to the copies of the papers in her lap.
"I'm trying to get together the best copies of the 'Torch' so I can show them to the Daily Planet. I'd like to give them an idea of what I can do. And the rest, I'm going to give to my cousin Lo-." she stopped talking as one of the papers fell in the floor. "I keep dropping everything."
Clark reached down and picked up the paper. He handed it to her, their hands touching.
"Um-." Chloe started, her voice quivering a little. "Listen Clark, I wanted to apologize for the other day. I didn't mean to snap at you or sound rude. I guess my defense mode went into over drive."
Clark smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about. You did have a right to be angry. After all, that was the last edition of the 'Torch' for the school year-."
"And probably my last as editor, seeing that I'm moving to Metropolis." she shook her head. "I can't believe that this is happening. I'm leaving Smallville. When I left Metropolis a few years ago, I thought that Smallville would never feel like home to me. Metropolis was my home. And I felt that way when I arrived here." she looked at Clark. "But on my first day of school, you change my mind about Smallville."
"I did?" Clark asked.
Chloe nodded. "You became my friend when I really needed someone to talk to. And I thank you for that Clark. I'll never forget that, no matter where I am."
Clark smiled. "I'll never forget you either, Chloe."
Chloe grinned. "Do you mean that?"
"Of course. How could I forget the perky blond haired snoop who's always getting in some kind of trouble?"
They both laughed. "Okay." Chloe said. "I've had enough of this mush. Let's talk about something else."
"I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I need you to get any information you can on a place in Metropolis called 'Staten Labs'."
Chloe's eyebrow went up. "Staten Labs? Sure. I can ask a few of my friends on the computer tonight to send some info. But why this sudden interest in 'Staten Labs'?"
"It's...complicated." he changed the subject. "I promised my dad I'd be home by now." he stood up. "How about we hang out sometime before you leave?"
Chloe nodded. "Sure. How about tomorrow? We can meet at the Talon."
Clark smiled. "Great. See you then." he hurried down the porch steps.
Chloe watched him until he disappeared from sight then she returned to her reading, with a small smile on her face.
Annie hurried into the Kent barn, holding a glass of ice cold lemonade in her hand. "Mr. Kent? Where are you?"
"Over here." he yelled back.
Annie walked toward the sound of his voice and found him putting up new shelves on the barn walls. "Here. I thought you could use this." she held out the glass of lemonade to him.
Jonathan set down his hammer, wiped his sweaty brow then took the glass. "Thanks." he gulped the drink down and handed her back the empty glass. "That was just what I needed."
"Your welcome. Can I help you with anything?" Annie asked.
"I thought you where helping Martha in the kitchen." Jonathan picked up his hammer and began to nail in another nail.
"Cooking is NOT for me." Annie leaned against the wall. "I figured that out when Mrs. Kent asked me to watch her cake while she cleaned up upstairs. And I did. I watched it burn to a crisp."
Jonathan laughed.
"That's not all. We baked another cake. Only I filled the cake pan to full and it ran all over the oven." she shook her head. "It was an awful mess. But Mrs. Kent was really nice about it. I, on the other hand, was screaming and kicking the oven. That's when Mrs. Kent decided that maybe I should take you a drink. So need any help?"
Jonathan looked around. "Do you think you could pitch that hay over there?"
"Sure. I think I can do that without putting a pitchfork through my foot." Annie grabbed the nearby pitchfork and began to do her job.
They worked in silence for a while then Annie set the fork down in a huff. "How do you manage to do this everyday?"
Jonathan laughed. "You get used to it. Believe me."
"Did you always want to be a farmer?"
Jonathan began measuring the wall for another shelf. "This farm belonged to my father and before him to my grandfather. Its all I've ever known. And its an good honest living."
"That's true. But did you ever want to be anything else?"
"Why so curious?" Jonathan asked.
"I'm sorry. I was just making conversation." Annie picked up her pitchfork again and began to work.
"The answer is yes." Jonathan said, over his shoulder.
Annie looked at him. "What?"
"You asked if I ever wanted to be something else other then a farmer."
Annie smiled. "What did you want to be?"
"Zorro." Jonathan answered with a smile.
Annie burst out laughing. "Zorro? You wanted to be Zorro?" she stopped laughing. "Who's Zorro?"
Jonathan shook his head. "Never mind. It was a stupid joke. But seriously, when I was young, I wanted to be a football player for the 'Metropolis Sharks'. That was my dream. I hated farming."
"Then why did you become one?" Annie asked.
"Because that's what my father wanted. I couldn't let him down. It took be a while to take pride in farming. If I had to make the choice again between football and farming, I would choose farming."
"Do you expect Clark to become a farmer and take over the farm?"
"As much as I would like Clark to take on the farm," Jonathan shook his head. "I think he's meant for greater things then pitching hay."
Annie smiled. "I'm sure he is. With great parents like you, he could be anything." she glanced down to find her arm had vanished. Her eyes widened. "Uh, Mr. Kent?"
Jonathan hurried over to her. "It's happing again."
Annie's arm reappeared. "What's happing to me...?"
*Flashback* The man with the needle comes closer and closer. He sticks the needle in her arm, a creamy white liquid entering her bloodstream.
"There. Now we'll know how it works." he said, removing the needle. He grinned at his assistant, a big man with a black beard and cold eyes.
"Do you really think it will work?" the man asked.
The older man grinned. "We'll soon find out..."
"Annie?" Jonathan's voice broke through her thoughts. He grabbed her arm to steady her. Suddenly something shot through Annie's whole body. It was almost like electric. Jonathan let out a cry as the shock went through him. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
Annie sank to the floor shaking as the condition started to ware off. She turned to Jonathan. "Mr. Kent?" He was still breathing. Annie shook his shoulder. "Mr. Kent?" But it was no use. Jonathan was out cold.