Kaleidoscope
by Lener
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Smallville.
Chapter Four
The rest of the school day whizzed past in a blur.
Clark felt torn between wanting to comfort Lana and wanting to comfort Chloe. In the end, he chose a neutral stand, but he could not help flinching whenever people walked past Chloe and avoided her like the plague. She was handling it really well though, Clark had to hand it to her. Chloe's head was still up in the air, her back straight and her eyes clear. As for Lana, guys and girls alike were swarming to her, comforting her, siding with her and saying that she had only been trying to help Chloe, and that Chloe had been ungrateful.
Clark knew that it was pretty unfair. Although Chloe had not been entirely right, she was entitled to her own feelings. Part of him found that what Chloe had said was quite true. Lana had always used her 'dead parents' story to start a conversation or turn the attention towards her.
Clark stop it… since when do you criticize the girl of your dreams? He reprimanded himself, then stopped. He was criticizing her for her own good, sometimes one had to change their ways…
A rude voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and Clark was glad for the distraction. But when he turned around, all the gladness seeped from him in a second.
Whitney had cornered Chloe, trapping her in between the wall and himself. She was looking up at him- no, glaring up at him.
"Don't you ever dare insult Lana in front of the whole school ever again…" Whitney was saying as he glared down at Chloe. His back was facing Clark, but Clark knew that he was probably staring daggers at Chloe.
"You weren't even there at the cafeteria. How did you know what happened exactly? I'll bet you listened to your girlfriend's thwarted version of the whole…" Chloe tried to defend herself, but Whitney interrupted her.
"Do you want me to give you a preview of what I'm going to do to you the next time you insult Lana?" Whitney raised a fist, ready to strike. Without wasting any time, Clark rushed forward to help his best friend.
*
Chloe kept her eyes on Whitney's raised fist and stuck out her chin defiantly. She dared him to strike her, but just as he brought his arm forward, someone grabbed it tightly, and Chloe caught a glimpse of Clark's blue sweater behind Whitney.
She did not know whether to feel glad or angry that he had intervened.
"Don't you dare hit her, Whitney," Clark said in a hard voice. Whitney whirled around, furious, and Chloe seized the chance to slip away. She dashed down the crowded hallway, without turning back to see both boys.
*
Clark held on to Whitney's hand as the football quarterback turned around, hatred burning in his eyes. He yanked his hand out of Clark's grasp and said quietly, "I have no business with you, Clark. Otherwise you wouldn't be so lucky this time."
And with that, the blonde boy walked away, leaving Clark alone.
He looked back to where Chloe had been standing, but she was gone. His eyes suddenly flicked to the spot which she had been standing on, and noticed a black leather notebook with a shiny golden buckle. On its face was written in purple glitter 'Chloe', and Clark knew at once that it was her organizer. He picked it up and smiled.
Now he would have a reason for going after his best friend.
*
Chloe slammed her car door close, then marched up the driveway to her house. Her father was still at work, so she would be alone at home for the next few hours or so. She fished for her keys from her bag and pulled them out, then proceeded to open the door to her house.
It was peaceful and quiet inside, so she dumped her bag on the kitchen floor and grabbed a bagel from the pantry to munch on while she did her homework. When Chloe had settled herself down at the kitchen table, she unzipped her bag to take out her organizer, only to find it was not in her bag.
"Oh no…" Chloe muttered as she felt all around and into the dark spaces. "I must have left it in school…" she got up from the table and grabbed her car keys.
It was time to make a quick trip back to Smallville High. Chloe just hoped that no one had picked her organizer up and flipped through it. She shuddered, imagining what secrets they could unfold. Lucky for her all her deepest darkest secrets were kept in her laptop in a coded Word document which no one could access. But still… a secret glimpse into the life of Chloe Sullivan would not be good for her reputation. Like I even have one now, Chloe thought as she flung open the door, bumping straight into something very solid.
"ARGH!!!" Chloe gave a loud yell, and almost toppled over. She found her footing at the last minute, grabbing the arm of a couch on her right for support.
Standing in the doorway was Clark Kent.
"Whoa," he said, fingering his ear lobes and trying to smile at the same time.
She could not look Clark in the face, so she settled for a distant tree behind his left shoulder. He is not hot. He is not hot. I do not think he is cute. Clark Kent is not handsome. Oh my god he's so terrific. Oops... Clark is not hot. Chloe's head was spinning.
What the heck am I thinking? She thought.
"Huh?" Clark said.
Oh man, had she just said the last part out loud?
"What are you doing here, Clark?" Chloe asked, not bothering to ask him to come in.
"Well, it's just… you dropped your organizer," Clark explained, pulling out the familiar looking leather book from his back. Chloe could glimpse her name in purple glitter on the sleek cover. Without thinking, she snatched the book out of Clark's hands and clutched it protectively towards herself.
"Where'd you get it?" she asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of her voice. Had Clark went through her organizer? It would not be worst than reading her journal, but still… Chloe wished somebody would shoot her then and there.
"You dropped it when you um… took off in school," Clark said. Chloe smiled a small smile. She knew that Clark was trying not to bring up the past. "I didn't look at anything so don't worry," Clark added.
"Okay thanks," Chloe reached down to close the door, but Clark stopped her.
"I was wondering if… I could, you know, come in…?" Clark asked.
"Oh. Right," Chloe felt flustered. She'd forgotten that she did not have to head back to Smallville High. Stepping away from the door, she motioned for Clark to come in, then closed the door after him. He walked to the kitchen table and settled down on a chair across from where she had been sitting. Chloe stuffed her organizer back into her bag, then plopped down onto the chair.
"So… bagel?" Chloe graciously offered the bag of bagels to Clark, who took one, but did not bite into it straightaway. "Thanks," he said.
"If you came here to psycho me into apologizing to Lana, I'm not going to do it. I might have regretted it a little, but I won't apologize because I told her the truth. Well, most of it," Chloe launched ahead defensively.
*
Clark grinned. He should have known that his best friend was never one to mince words, or to beat around the bush. That was what he liked about her, though. She was frank and direct. But sometimes she could be too direct. "I didn't come to psycho you, Chlo. In fact, I kinda agree with what you said. Not all but, yes, some of it was true," Clark found himself saying.
Chloe stared at him as if he'd grown another head. Clark wondered if she would look at him like that if he told her that he had come from another planet.
"Are you having a fever, Clark?" Chloe leaned across the table and placed a hand on his forehead. Clark tried to ignore the tingles that her smooth skin made on contact with his. What was his problem? He was acting as though Chloe was… Lana.
"Clark?" Chloe snapped him back to reality. He must have been stalling.
"Yea?" Clark replied.
"What's so great about Lana?" Chloe asked, as though reading his thoughts. Clark studied her face. There was no sign of anything that might give away how she was feeling right now. In fact, she just seemed curious. Clark took the question as one that best friends shared among themselves. He opened his mouth to answer, but his mind just went blank. What was so great about Lana?
"Well… err… she… um…" Clark stammered.
The phone rang, and Clark breathed a sigh of relief when Chloe got up to answer it. She cradled the receiver between her right shoulder and ear, then spoke into the mouthpiece, "Chloe Sullivan speaking."
*
"Chloe Sullivan speaking," Chloe said into the phone.
"Oh… Chloe? It's… Mrs. Kent… Is Clark at your place?" there came a sniffling voice. Chloe's heart thumped as she glanced over at the unsuspecting Clark. Could something horrible have happened?
"Yes, he's here," she said, and Clark's head snapped up to meet her eyes. "Do you want to speak to him?" Chloe added quickly. There came a muffled sound from the other line, and Chloe took it as a yes. She thrust the phone to Clark, who had walked over from the table.
"Hello? Mom is that you?" Clark asked.
There was silence as he listened.
Then, "Oh god."
Chloe lunged forward as the received fell from Clark's hands. She could hear a dial tone on the other end.
"Clark what happened?" she asked, worried.
"Dad…" Clark whispered, "he… he's in the hospital."
Author's Note: Oh dear. Now what happened to Mr. Jonathan Kent????? Well, the answer will be revealed in the next chapter! As for this chapter, what do you think of it? Did it suck or not? Do review and tell me! I would appreciate it a lot. Special thanks to:
… (I know Lana isn't that bad! But I hate her all the same.. lol)
Suz
Sylphide (Thanks for the compliments!)
Starburst (If you review, you'll see your name! lol)
JennerBee (I will bash Lana… when I get the chance! lol)
brenkding
Thanks for reviewing!!