Chapter 6

"And on his farm he had a tragic homecoming queen. E-i-e-i-o. With a pink sweater set here, and a pink sweater set there. Here a pink sweater set , there a pink sweater set, everywhere pink sweater sets. Old-" Chloe stopped when she saw lights ion the distance.

That was ridiculous. If she was right she had to be at least a quarter mile from home. There was no way she could see any lights from it yet.

Chloe shrugged. "Great, now I'm hallucinating," she said through clenched teeth.

She could no longer feel her feet, but she trudged along anyway, not daring to stop. Chloe shook with cold.

"Old MacDonald had a farm. E-i-e-i-o. And on that farm was a loyal best friend…" Once again Chloe stopped as the light got closer. It was a car. More importantly, Clark's car.

She tried to wave at it, but her arms wouldn't move. "Hey," she squeaked out, trying to yell.

The truck stopped a few feet in front of her and someone jumped out.

"Clark?" she asked tiredly as the man wrapped a strong arm around her.

"No, sweetie. It's Jonathan. You're going to be okay, now," Jonathan assured her, leading her back to the truck. A few steps from the door Chloe fainted.

* * *

"Everyone, it looks like we're going to be spending the night here," Lex announced. "We have cake, pie, and muffins. Take as little as you can get by on. As for coffee, you're welcome to as much as you want."

Everyone made a rush for the counter as Lex stepped out of the way.

"You okay, man?" Pete asked, looking at Clark.

Clark was shredding napkins on a nearby table. Almost the whole table was covered in them. "What if she's dead and I never told her?" he asked the room.

Lex sat across from Clark as Pete slid in next to Clark.

"Never told her what?" Lex asked, looking at his best friend.

Clark looked up at Lex, his blue-green eyes filled with sadness. "That I don't want Lana. I want her."

Pete's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" he asked in shock.

Clark turned to Pete. "Pete, I don't want Lana. I want Chloe. I realize it now."

"Are you sure?" Lex asked, warily. "Are you sure you're not just feeling this because she's missing?"

"Because if you are, and then you change your mind later, you'll…" Pete trailed off. "Honestly, you'd kill her and then I'd kill you."

"You can't-" Clark cut himself off, shooting a glance at Lex.

"I can try, Clark," Pete answered. "And believe me I won't stop."

Clark sighed heavily. "It's more than that. When she pulled the friends card something inside screamed at me when I agreed."

"Think about it, Clark. You have to be sure that once the snow clears you'll feel the same way and not run back to Lana," Lex warned.

* * *

Jonathan scooped the girl into his arms, kicking the truck door so Martha would open it. He nestled Chloe in next to Martha, then crossed to his side of the truck.

"Jonathan, she's covered in ice," Martha said, fearing for the girl. "She's completely blue."

Jonathan reached over and grabbed a blanket out of the box at Martha's feet. "Take the other one off of her and put this one on. We'll go to her house. It's the closest."

Martha wrapped Chloe tightly. She ran her fingers through Chloe's hair, trying to get some of the ice and snow out. "You'll be okay, Chloe. I know you will. It's alright. You'll be okay. You'll be just fine," Martha crooned.

Jonathan started the truck on its slow trek to the Sullivan home as Martha held Chloe tightly.