Hi guys. Some people said they were confused about some parts of my story. I will try my best to clarify any confusion by answering your questions.
*To Suz*: Clark was never afraid of entering the house, he was just against Pete and Chloe going. Note that I did not have Clark walk away in that scene. This was just the farm boy being kind of stubborn. He stayed near by in case his friends needed him and did not hesitate to enter the house when they did (Chloe's, or rather Pete's scream).
*To Sylphide*: I'm sorry for the confusion, I thought I was clear (though I was probably clear only to myself). Starting with the first night that Clark, Pete and Chloe entered the house, Chloe was 'taken over' by the spirit of Lillian. During this 'possession', Lily shared her memory with Chloe of the night she died, hence Chloe felt the pain of Lily's gunshot wound to the chest.
At the very end of Chapter 4, Chloe is in the house again, and again she is 'taken over' by Lily. This time, Lily takes Chloe back to when she and Frankie first met (Chapter5). This was Lily's way of showing Chloe who killed her. Chloe could see everything Lily saw when this actually happened in the past (early 1942) and saw that both flash backs had a face in common, that of Mr. Nicholas Hunter. Maybe I should have put a year on the dream/flash back. I may have gone back and fixed that by the time this is posted.
I guess confusion happens when you write off the top of your head. Again, I apologize.
Did this help any? If not, then e-mail me at nik8100@aol.com. Please be specific with your questions so that I can be specific with the answers.
Chloe instantly thought of the sloppy manner in which she had planned her cover. It was shoty at best, but she didn't think they would really discover her whereabouts. Her first encounter with Lily had left her both physically and mentally drained. After all, it wasn't like she didn't sweat blood trying to meet every deadline for the Torch by putting in what some would call ridiculously long hours. Then the mental bulb flicked on. The light was rather dull, but she realized her mistake. She shouldn't have completely shut them out, then they wouldn't be breathing down her neck trying to find out what happened to her.
Maybe she was being selfish in not giving Pete and Clark the details about her episode last night. They were there with her and she knew how much her blacking out had horrified them. She just wanted to fully understand for herself what was happening before she let them in.
The ghost had wanted Chloe to solve the case and make things right. Lily did not want to harm her, that much was evident by the difference in the two possessions. Now that Chloe knew this, she could let her two best friends know what was going on.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Clark's voice cut into the air ahead of hers.
"Chloe, it's obvious you haven't perfected the art of lying. Why would you come back here to put yourself in danger?"
Again, her lips made to form words, but Clark kept talking, denying her the chance to answer him.
Clark's voice was on the edge of a growl as he spoke, and the tone of his voice, sharp as icicles stabbed the air. "Do you like having people worry about you at all hours of the night and day, wondering if you're safe? You shut everyone out like your well being means nothing to us." Clark's cheeks were burning with color. He saw the wide-eyed look on Chloe's face as his words exploded off his tongue. He couldn't control them though. Anger and fear fought a vicious battle inside him and he couldn't stop his emotions from erupting into words. "Damn it Chloe, we could have lost you last night!" It was the first time he'd said that out loud, the first time he had allowed himself to realize it. He could have lost his Chloe. *His Chloe*? The cluster in Clark's stomach doubled and he fought back a sweep of nausea.
Pete was too shocked at Clark's outburst to state is own concern toward Chloe. He looked up at Clark with pure disbelief. He'd never seen the fire of Clark's temper hit the oil like that before. It wasn't just his words. Pete observed the intensity of Clark's features as he spat the words at Chloe. There was just as much love as there was anger. Pete blinked and looked at Chloe, still at a loss for words.
Chloe didn't bother to wipe at the tear traveling down her cheek. Clark had made her feel not only guilty, but he had hurt her. Clark *hurt* her. He couldn't understand that she thought she was doing the right thing. Scratch that, she was hardly thinking at all. She wasn't suppose to be hurt by his concern. He was angry at her, had chided her like she was a little girl. And that's what she felt like now with the tears coursing down her cheeks. An irresponsible child who had been insensitive toward the feelings of others.
She struggled not to break into sobs as Clark turned away from her and starting walking, not waiting for an explanation from her. Ignoring her tears.
Pete stood there not knowing which one of his friends needed him more. Chloe was on the verge of breaking down and Clark was angry enough to go and do something completely foolish. He wasn't cut out for this type of thing. He was a teenager, nothing in his life was suppose to be this hard, this complicated. He did need a ride home though. Pete would have to make a decision.
***
Clark didn't let his parents know that he was home. He went straight to his fortress of solitude and sat by his telescope. The knot in his stomach had shown no mercy and it seemed like it wasn't going to anytime soon. The moment he got into his truck, he immediately regretted sacrificing Chloe to the flames. But she had gotten to him in a way that she never had before.
Intense was an understatement for what he felt. What exactly did he feel? Whatever it was, it hurt as if it were grating against his bones. How could Chloe not trust him? She had put both his mind and his body through the wringer and he was hurt. Hurt that she felt she *shouldn't* let him in. Wait, he didn't know Chloe's reasons for lying to him. He had turned his back on her while his emotions got the best of him.
The image of Chloe's face washed in tears squirmed painfully into his mind. He did not have the will to banish it from his head and his heartache seemed to multiply exponentially. Heartache. Clark looked up to the celestial bodies gracing the clear sky above. God help him. He was in love with his best friend Chloe Sullivan.
***
Chloe ran up the stairs past her dad sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. She slammed the door to her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed. The damn tears wouldn't stop.
Pete had tried to console her as she drove him home, but Chloe couldn't discuss this, and she knew he understood. He promised to call her in the morning to check on her. She didn't mean to shut him out twice, but she just couldn't think above her emotions.
Clark had been insensitive and assuming. He hadn't given her a chance to defend herself. Then he simply walked away. The pain in his eyes brought pain to her heart, and tears to her eyes. And now, some twenty-odd minutes later, her face was still wet. The power his words had over her was unreal.
'Damn it Chloe, we could have lost you last night!' Those words sat on her mind like an acme anvil. She could only imagine that the weight of that same anvil rested on Clarks heart. Was he hurt or wasn't he? Maybe that wasn't pain she saw in his green-hazel eyes. Maybe it was pure, unabashed anger, mirroring the heat of his words. She didn't know. The blur of her tears had rendered her judgment unreliable at the time. She would try not to be angry with him though, she didn't want to be assuming as he had been and start cursing him.
Chloe sat up on her bed and wiped her cheeks with her palms. 'Bloody coward,' she thought. Not of herself, but of Clark. "You can't solve a problem by turning your back." She spoke the words knowing Clark could not hear them. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it, feeling like she was on the verge of tears again.
Her head came up at the sound of a knock on her door. "Chloe, is everything all right?" Her father's voice was muffled by the door between them.
She sniffed silently and spoke loud enough for him to hear. "I'm fine dad." Her face could not match the phony smile she had put in her voice. She unconsciously crossed her fingers and hoped he would be satisfied.
"Is this about a boy, Chloe? I know I'm a member of the enemy gender, but I can still listen...if you need me to." He had slipped a joke in, but his voice was heavy with concern.
Chloe sighed. She was building lie, upon lie, upon lie. It wasn't getting any easier. "No dad I'm fine. But I'll let you know when I finally succumb to the world of teenage angst."
"All right, honey. I'm thinking about calling for pizza, what do you think?"
"No thanks, I'm just gonna crash. I'm beat."
"OK. Goodnight, sweety."
"Night," Chloe called back. She stretched across her bed again and within minutes, she did indeed fall asleep.
***
Thank God it was Saturday. Chloe woke up a little disoriented and almost scrambled out of bed until she realized it was the weekend. She'd have been shamefully late, anyhow. Her clock read 10:02 a.m. She dragged herself out of bed, fully dressed in yesterday's attire.
Chloe peeled out of her clothes and stepped into the steamy spikes of hot water being dispensed by the shower head. She put her head under the spray and let the water run over her face, washing away any remnants of sleep that might be lingering.
The events of the night previous had not yet invaded her thoughts. She didn't want them to. She didn't even think of how soon it would be until her will power could no longer hold them at bay. As she washed the shampoo out of her hair, Chloe went over what she would do with her day. None of these plans involved a certain haunted manor.
She returned to her room and dressed. She threw on a heather-gray sweat shirt with 'Smallville High' printed on the front in bold dark red letters and a pair of dark denim jeans. She brushed her hair back and bound it into a ponytail. She never bothered to style it on the weekends anyway, especially when she didn't have any particular plans.
With her mind still free of all things angsty and all things farmboy, Chloe bounced down the stairs and was met with the smell of...Belgian waffles. She followed her nose to the kitchen and leaned on the door frame, not entering.
Her dad had his chef's hat and apron on and was stirring thick batter with a large wooden spoon. Chloe smiled at his image and wished she had her camera. She'd snap a shot of this moment, freeze it forever and maybe someday show it to her children. 'Grandpa making Belgian waffles with flour on the tip of his nose'.
She wanted to stand there and silently watch him a little longer, but her stomach yielded the mother of roars and gave her away. "Whoa," she said, smiling down. She patted her stomach. "You never fail to let me know when you've been neglected." She looked up at her father. "I guess I've been exposed."
He nodded to the plate of golden waffles sitting in front of him. "I've got the perfect remedy for an abused stomach. Morning, honey," he said as Chloe walked toward the island where the waffles waited.
"Morning, dad." She picked up a fork and studied the waffles, lifting the top one. "Well, your technique certainly as improved since..." Chloe decided to detour around the last of the sentence. She smiled. "I'm hungry enough to eat the whole stack, so keep 'em coming and pass the syrup."
Chloe saturated her waffles in syrup and held to her promise of finishing off the stack.
***
Pete had called her shortly after she finished her waffles. She cradled the cordless between her ear and shoulder as she piled the dishes into the dishwasher. "Pete wait." She stopped him before he could say anything after his greeting. "After a long night's rest, I've finally got a clear head. Please have mercy and let it stay that way."
"All right Chloe..."
"Oh, and Pete?"
"Yeah, Chloe?"
"Don't even mention the 'C' name, OK?"
"Chloe, you can't just..."
"I'll love you forever, " she pled.
"You'll love me anyway."
"Humor me, all right?"
"Fine, but your gonna have to face the 'C' name sooner or later."
Chloe went to the sink and pushed up her sleeves to clean the waffle iron. "Later works fine for me." The phone nearly slipped so she readjusted it with a soapy hand. "Do you have any plans for today?"
"Well, me and...'you know who' are gonna shoot some hoops for a couple of hours. I'm free after that."
Chloe continued to scrub furiously at the waffle iron. 'Non-stick my ass,' she thought. The waffles were good, but the mess was hell to clean. "I might call you, OK? Maybe we can do something."
"What will you do in the meantime?"
"Don't worry, I'm not looking for any supernatural trouble today. Trust me." Her smile ceased at her own words. Why would Pete trust her after all the lying she had done?
Pete knew Chloe well enough to know why she fell silent. "I trust you Chloe."
She started to ask why, but she didn't want to get into it. Besides, she knew why. To pretend otherwise would just be self pitying. "Thanks, Pete."
Pete's voice softened. "I'm here for you Chloe, and I will be for as long as I can."
Chloe knew she deserved to be flayed by Pete as well, but was glad she hadn't been. She wouldn't have been able to take it. "I'll see you later?"
"Yeah. Goodbye Chloe."
"Bye, Pete."
After finishing the dishes and a few other chores, Chloe headed off to the Torch office to finish some articles. This would certainly keep her mind off of the 'C' name for a while.
**Author's note: I know this chapter is a little different from the previous ones. I thought we could all use a break from the main plot of the story. I delivered Chlark as promised, but I'm not through yet. There will definitely be more to come. If you didn't like this chapter, let me know. Please be specific about what you did not like.
*To Suz*: Clark was never afraid of entering the house, he was just against Pete and Chloe going. Note that I did not have Clark walk away in that scene. This was just the farm boy being kind of stubborn. He stayed near by in case his friends needed him and did not hesitate to enter the house when they did (Chloe's, or rather Pete's scream).
*To Sylphide*: I'm sorry for the confusion, I thought I was clear (though I was probably clear only to myself). Starting with the first night that Clark, Pete and Chloe entered the house, Chloe was 'taken over' by the spirit of Lillian. During this 'possession', Lily shared her memory with Chloe of the night she died, hence Chloe felt the pain of Lily's gunshot wound to the chest.
At the very end of Chapter 4, Chloe is in the house again, and again she is 'taken over' by Lily. This time, Lily takes Chloe back to when she and Frankie first met (Chapter5). This was Lily's way of showing Chloe who killed her. Chloe could see everything Lily saw when this actually happened in the past (early 1942) and saw that both flash backs had a face in common, that of Mr. Nicholas Hunter. Maybe I should have put a year on the dream/flash back. I may have gone back and fixed that by the time this is posted.
I guess confusion happens when you write off the top of your head. Again, I apologize.
Did this help any? If not, then e-mail me at nik8100@aol.com. Please be specific with your questions so that I can be specific with the answers.
Chloe instantly thought of the sloppy manner in which she had planned her cover. It was shoty at best, but she didn't think they would really discover her whereabouts. Her first encounter with Lily had left her both physically and mentally drained. After all, it wasn't like she didn't sweat blood trying to meet every deadline for the Torch by putting in what some would call ridiculously long hours. Then the mental bulb flicked on. The light was rather dull, but she realized her mistake. She shouldn't have completely shut them out, then they wouldn't be breathing down her neck trying to find out what happened to her.
Maybe she was being selfish in not giving Pete and Clark the details about her episode last night. They were there with her and she knew how much her blacking out had horrified them. She just wanted to fully understand for herself what was happening before she let them in.
The ghost had wanted Chloe to solve the case and make things right. Lily did not want to harm her, that much was evident by the difference in the two possessions. Now that Chloe knew this, she could let her two best friends know what was going on.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Clark's voice cut into the air ahead of hers.
"Chloe, it's obvious you haven't perfected the art of lying. Why would you come back here to put yourself in danger?"
Again, her lips made to form words, but Clark kept talking, denying her the chance to answer him.
Clark's voice was on the edge of a growl as he spoke, and the tone of his voice, sharp as icicles stabbed the air. "Do you like having people worry about you at all hours of the night and day, wondering if you're safe? You shut everyone out like your well being means nothing to us." Clark's cheeks were burning with color. He saw the wide-eyed look on Chloe's face as his words exploded off his tongue. He couldn't control them though. Anger and fear fought a vicious battle inside him and he couldn't stop his emotions from erupting into words. "Damn it Chloe, we could have lost you last night!" It was the first time he'd said that out loud, the first time he had allowed himself to realize it. He could have lost his Chloe. *His Chloe*? The cluster in Clark's stomach doubled and he fought back a sweep of nausea.
Pete was too shocked at Clark's outburst to state is own concern toward Chloe. He looked up at Clark with pure disbelief. He'd never seen the fire of Clark's temper hit the oil like that before. It wasn't just his words. Pete observed the intensity of Clark's features as he spat the words at Chloe. There was just as much love as there was anger. Pete blinked and looked at Chloe, still at a loss for words.
Chloe didn't bother to wipe at the tear traveling down her cheek. Clark had made her feel not only guilty, but he had hurt her. Clark *hurt* her. He couldn't understand that she thought she was doing the right thing. Scratch that, she was hardly thinking at all. She wasn't suppose to be hurt by his concern. He was angry at her, had chided her like she was a little girl. And that's what she felt like now with the tears coursing down her cheeks. An irresponsible child who had been insensitive toward the feelings of others.
She struggled not to break into sobs as Clark turned away from her and starting walking, not waiting for an explanation from her. Ignoring her tears.
Pete stood there not knowing which one of his friends needed him more. Chloe was on the verge of breaking down and Clark was angry enough to go and do something completely foolish. He wasn't cut out for this type of thing. He was a teenager, nothing in his life was suppose to be this hard, this complicated. He did need a ride home though. Pete would have to make a decision.
***
Clark didn't let his parents know that he was home. He went straight to his fortress of solitude and sat by his telescope. The knot in his stomach had shown no mercy and it seemed like it wasn't going to anytime soon. The moment he got into his truck, he immediately regretted sacrificing Chloe to the flames. But she had gotten to him in a way that she never had before.
Intense was an understatement for what he felt. What exactly did he feel? Whatever it was, it hurt as if it were grating against his bones. How could Chloe not trust him? She had put both his mind and his body through the wringer and he was hurt. Hurt that she felt she *shouldn't* let him in. Wait, he didn't know Chloe's reasons for lying to him. He had turned his back on her while his emotions got the best of him.
The image of Chloe's face washed in tears squirmed painfully into his mind. He did not have the will to banish it from his head and his heartache seemed to multiply exponentially. Heartache. Clark looked up to the celestial bodies gracing the clear sky above. God help him. He was in love with his best friend Chloe Sullivan.
***
Chloe ran up the stairs past her dad sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. She slammed the door to her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed. The damn tears wouldn't stop.
Pete had tried to console her as she drove him home, but Chloe couldn't discuss this, and she knew he understood. He promised to call her in the morning to check on her. She didn't mean to shut him out twice, but she just couldn't think above her emotions.
Clark had been insensitive and assuming. He hadn't given her a chance to defend herself. Then he simply walked away. The pain in his eyes brought pain to her heart, and tears to her eyes. And now, some twenty-odd minutes later, her face was still wet. The power his words had over her was unreal.
'Damn it Chloe, we could have lost you last night!' Those words sat on her mind like an acme anvil. She could only imagine that the weight of that same anvil rested on Clarks heart. Was he hurt or wasn't he? Maybe that wasn't pain she saw in his green-hazel eyes. Maybe it was pure, unabashed anger, mirroring the heat of his words. She didn't know. The blur of her tears had rendered her judgment unreliable at the time. She would try not to be angry with him though, she didn't want to be assuming as he had been and start cursing him.
Chloe sat up on her bed and wiped her cheeks with her palms. 'Bloody coward,' she thought. Not of herself, but of Clark. "You can't solve a problem by turning your back." She spoke the words knowing Clark could not hear them. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it, feeling like she was on the verge of tears again.
Her head came up at the sound of a knock on her door. "Chloe, is everything all right?" Her father's voice was muffled by the door between them.
She sniffed silently and spoke loud enough for him to hear. "I'm fine dad." Her face could not match the phony smile she had put in her voice. She unconsciously crossed her fingers and hoped he would be satisfied.
"Is this about a boy, Chloe? I know I'm a member of the enemy gender, but I can still listen...if you need me to." He had slipped a joke in, but his voice was heavy with concern.
Chloe sighed. She was building lie, upon lie, upon lie. It wasn't getting any easier. "No dad I'm fine. But I'll let you know when I finally succumb to the world of teenage angst."
"All right, honey. I'm thinking about calling for pizza, what do you think?"
"No thanks, I'm just gonna crash. I'm beat."
"OK. Goodnight, sweety."
"Night," Chloe called back. She stretched across her bed again and within minutes, she did indeed fall asleep.
***
Thank God it was Saturday. Chloe woke up a little disoriented and almost scrambled out of bed until she realized it was the weekend. She'd have been shamefully late, anyhow. Her clock read 10:02 a.m. She dragged herself out of bed, fully dressed in yesterday's attire.
Chloe peeled out of her clothes and stepped into the steamy spikes of hot water being dispensed by the shower head. She put her head under the spray and let the water run over her face, washing away any remnants of sleep that might be lingering.
The events of the night previous had not yet invaded her thoughts. She didn't want them to. She didn't even think of how soon it would be until her will power could no longer hold them at bay. As she washed the shampoo out of her hair, Chloe went over what she would do with her day. None of these plans involved a certain haunted manor.
She returned to her room and dressed. She threw on a heather-gray sweat shirt with 'Smallville High' printed on the front in bold dark red letters and a pair of dark denim jeans. She brushed her hair back and bound it into a ponytail. She never bothered to style it on the weekends anyway, especially when she didn't have any particular plans.
With her mind still free of all things angsty and all things farmboy, Chloe bounced down the stairs and was met with the smell of...Belgian waffles. She followed her nose to the kitchen and leaned on the door frame, not entering.
Her dad had his chef's hat and apron on and was stirring thick batter with a large wooden spoon. Chloe smiled at his image and wished she had her camera. She'd snap a shot of this moment, freeze it forever and maybe someday show it to her children. 'Grandpa making Belgian waffles with flour on the tip of his nose'.
She wanted to stand there and silently watch him a little longer, but her stomach yielded the mother of roars and gave her away. "Whoa," she said, smiling down. She patted her stomach. "You never fail to let me know when you've been neglected." She looked up at her father. "I guess I've been exposed."
He nodded to the plate of golden waffles sitting in front of him. "I've got the perfect remedy for an abused stomach. Morning, honey," he said as Chloe walked toward the island where the waffles waited.
"Morning, dad." She picked up a fork and studied the waffles, lifting the top one. "Well, your technique certainly as improved since..." Chloe decided to detour around the last of the sentence. She smiled. "I'm hungry enough to eat the whole stack, so keep 'em coming and pass the syrup."
Chloe saturated her waffles in syrup and held to her promise of finishing off the stack.
***
Pete had called her shortly after she finished her waffles. She cradled the cordless between her ear and shoulder as she piled the dishes into the dishwasher. "Pete wait." She stopped him before he could say anything after his greeting. "After a long night's rest, I've finally got a clear head. Please have mercy and let it stay that way."
"All right Chloe..."
"Oh, and Pete?"
"Yeah, Chloe?"
"Don't even mention the 'C' name, OK?"
"Chloe, you can't just..."
"I'll love you forever, " she pled.
"You'll love me anyway."
"Humor me, all right?"
"Fine, but your gonna have to face the 'C' name sooner or later."
Chloe went to the sink and pushed up her sleeves to clean the waffle iron. "Later works fine for me." The phone nearly slipped so she readjusted it with a soapy hand. "Do you have any plans for today?"
"Well, me and...'you know who' are gonna shoot some hoops for a couple of hours. I'm free after that."
Chloe continued to scrub furiously at the waffle iron. 'Non-stick my ass,' she thought. The waffles were good, but the mess was hell to clean. "I might call you, OK? Maybe we can do something."
"What will you do in the meantime?"
"Don't worry, I'm not looking for any supernatural trouble today. Trust me." Her smile ceased at her own words. Why would Pete trust her after all the lying she had done?
Pete knew Chloe well enough to know why she fell silent. "I trust you Chloe."
She started to ask why, but she didn't want to get into it. Besides, she knew why. To pretend otherwise would just be self pitying. "Thanks, Pete."
Pete's voice softened. "I'm here for you Chloe, and I will be for as long as I can."
Chloe knew she deserved to be flayed by Pete as well, but was glad she hadn't been. She wouldn't have been able to take it. "I'll see you later?"
"Yeah. Goodbye Chloe."
"Bye, Pete."
After finishing the dishes and a few other chores, Chloe headed off to the Torch office to finish some articles. This would certainly keep her mind off of the 'C' name for a while.
**Author's note: I know this chapter is a little different from the previous ones. I thought we could all use a break from the main plot of the story. I delivered Chlark as promised, but I'm not through yet. There will definitely be more to come. If you didn't like this chapter, let me know. Please be specific about what you did not like.