Everything In This World
By Viv
*~*~ Part Six ~*~*
Chloe rubbed her cold hands together. Wrapping her coat tighter around her, she looked around the quiet street. This was Smallville at night, she thought. My town.
The months had flown by as Chloe immersed had herself in her work. There had been so much to do, what with her regular school work, editorials and layouts for the Torch as well as her job applications for next summer - she had hardly even noticed Clark's total absence from her life.
Except of course, for the times when she had noticed.
The one major difference in her life now was that she had taken to skulking around town, always keeping to the shadows like some brooding superhero, arranging for herself to do errands later or earlier than usual. That way, she assured herself, she would have the least chance of running into Clark.
Clark Kent, the town's newly crowned swimming hero. He had led the Smallville High swimming team to unprecedented glory by winning the State Championships. She could almost chuckle at the irony of the fact, that of all the things that Clark had most wanted in life (besides Lana) he had gotten the whole town worship thing. To be fair, Chloe didn't think that Clark's previous passion for football had as much to do with the fame and glory per se; he had craved it so that he would have had enough fire power to register on the Lana jock-meter.
Now he had the fame and the glory. And he also had her.
According to all known sources, both reliable and unreliable, Clark Kent at last had what he had craved for so long - Lana Lang. God knew what happened with Whitney.
Which was weird, really, because Chloe felt certain that if she hadn't blown up at Clark like that, effectively severing their friendship, it wouldn't have happened so quickly.
She sighed at the perversity of Life.
Life for Chloe during the past few months had not been as unpleasant as she thought they would have been. There was something to be said for total immersion in work and the total lack of conflicted turmoil milling about underneath the surface of her emotions. It bred a kind of contentment and peace that Chloe had missed about life - before her feelings for Clark had escalated to its disastrous eruption.
On reflection, she knew that she could have gone on living the way she had, biting her lip whenever Clark stared at Lana, wondering whether he'd rather be with her than Chloe. Forgiving him for doing that total turnaround at the Prom, and letting things run their natural course.
But that wasn't what Chloe had wanted, or as she felt now, what she deserved. She deserved a guy who would fall head over heels in love with her full stop, without all the baggage that came with incessant doubting over whether he loved her the way she wanted him to love her, or ... well, she had just wanted to know whether they had been real - that he had really liked her for her and had not given the dating thing a try for the sake of their friendship.
Ironically enough, while she still couldn't really stomach the thought of being in the same room with Clark, she had developed a sort of quasi-friendship with Lana. Chloe, for one, didn't know why Lana had insisted on pushing the friendship - god knew that every other normal person in her situation would have known to stay the hell away, especially when Chloe had been in her 'take no prisoners' mode for the first few weeks PC (Post Clark). But Lana had been persistent and so unshakeably nice, caring about whether Chloe was truly okay, showing up at her house at odd times with coffee in hand and arranging study sessions for their shared classes - that she had broken through even Chloe's acerbic, cynical defences long enough for Chloe to succumb to her friendship. Of course, after that night in the graveyard, becoming better friends with Lana Lang hadn't been as alien a concept as she had previously thought.
So she and Lana were friends, while she and Clark weren't. Talk about a screwed up world.
Chloe straightened as she turned the last thought over in her mind. It wasn't just screwed up, she thought. It was downright weird.
Making an internal decision, she turned around the corner and found herself in front of The Talon for the first time in months. She had avoided going to the place for very obvious reasons - after all, the whole avoiding Clark thing would have been moot if she had dared to show her face in there - but today, she felt refreshed. Her life had basically been on hold for the past few months, and maybe today she was ready to move on.
She peered cautiously through the window, scanning the area for Clark. She was feeling refreshed but not that refreshed. She would leave Clark to another lifetime.
Seeing no sign of him, she took a deep breath and went in.
The Talon was buzzing with life. Chloe scanned the room without knowing who or what she was searching for. Bereft of her friends, she felt entirely lost amidst the sea of activity in the coffee house. Everyone seemed to be with someone, having fun, chatting and feeling relaxed. Which was in direct contrast to Chloe at the moment, her fists clenched tightly in her pockets and her entire body tense as a board.
"Chloe." She quickly turned around as Lana approached, astutely trying to avoid the surprised expression on the other girl's face. "How are you?"
"Good." She eyed Lana, frowning at her messy hair and harried expression. "You look like hell." Chloe said honestly.
Lana gave a quick chuckle. "I know, I feel it. Everyone called in sick today at the last minute, and I couldn't get anyone to cover for them. So here I am ... serving the worst coffee in the world and hoping people don't notice."
Chloe looked around the buzzing room, alive with talk and activity. "I could help, if you like." She shrugged as she yanked off her shoulder bag. "I mean, I drink a lot of coffee, and -"
"Would you?" Lana asked hopefully, not bothering to hide her desperation. "I'm desperate."
"I know." Chloe couldn't suppress a smile at Lana's frenzied expression. "Just tell me what you want me to do."
"Thanks Chloe." Lana relaxed visibly, although Chloe was just starting to realise how peaked the former cheerleader looked. She began to appreciate just how much work and effort it took for Lana to run the coffee house. To think that Chloe had been complaining about the amount of her work.
Lana led Chloe to the back room to allow her to dump her bag and coat, and to don an apron.
"You look like a real waitress." Lana smiled at her, her eyes twinkling.
"Yeah, except for the part about knowing what to do." Chloe replied with a light-hearted smile. "I should warn you, I'm kind of a klutz sometimes. I might drop things."
Lana shook back her hair and laughed. "Worse than me?"
Chloe gave her an appraising look. "Maybe not." She smiled. "Although knowing me, I could give you some stiff competition."
Lana shrugged her shoulders in mirth. "Why not. I could use some competition." And with that they headed out to face the might of Smallville's coffee drinking population.
***
"So that was one tall half-decaf latte, one short non-fat latte, one tall cappuccino and a short non-fat chai ... latte?"
"And two banana muffins." The fussy girl said.
"And two banana muffins." Chloe quickly scribbled the last order down, cursing her moment of weakness by offering her incompetent services to Lana.
She had been standing at this table for five minutes trying to get the order right, struggling to remember what latte was which and who wanted what, and at the same time restraining herself from wanting to tip the entire contents of said latte over the blonde airhead's head. Which only led her to one inevitable conclusion - that she sucked at being a waitress big time.
She sucked big chunks, and it was still only 8 o'clock. The post-dinner rush would be starting soon.
Chloe absently blew blonde wisps of hair off her face as she deposited the order with Lana. Watching Lana in action, harried and anxious as she was, Chloe was forced to admire her for her almost tireless energy and dedication. To have taken on all this work, and still be keeping up with school and not be a screaming, bitter individual took a lot of courage and well, niceness.
Lana stared at her quizzically, catching Chloe in her moment of contemplation. Chloe smiled sheepishly, shaking her head distractedly as she went back to the melee.
Somewhere at the back of her mind she was avoiding thinking about the Clark sighting she would almost inevitably make tonight. After all, what self-respecting boyfriend wouldn't camp out at his girlfriend's place of business every night, especially if that said boyfriend was Clark Kent, the High Priest in the temple of Lana.
"Lana." Chloe froze as she heard Clark's voice sail easily over the crowded din of the room. Without thinking, she quickly dashed behind the counter and ducked her head, hoping he'd take his seat somewhere - away from there - and delay the inevitable disaster.
"This is stupid Chloe." She muttered to herself. She was Chloe Sullivan - not some mousy little cry baby who trembled at the sight of her former best friend. If anything, Clark should hide from her.
Lana's eyes were wide with awkwardness, and even Chloe couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl. She was caught in a real vice, of the Clark and Chloe variety.
"Oh ... Clark." She gasped in surprise as he leaned in to plant a quick kiss. Her eyes darted towards Chloe's, but Chloe quickly looked away, pretending to concentrate on a spot of spilled coffee on the counter. "What are you doing here?"
"Practice finished early." He grinned cheekily at her, not noticing her obvious awkwardness. "Thought I'd pay my girlfriend a visit."
Even through all the hurt she was feeling at the moment and the painful drumming of her heart, Chloe had to roll her eyes. Clark could be such a living cliché at times. And also - a huge embarrassing dork.
But Lana didn't seem to mind. She hugged him back, more comfortably this time as her shoulders relaxed, leaning into his frame. Chloe grabbed a cloth and began to clean the counter in front of her viciously.
She would not get emotional. She would not get emotional.
Clark's eyes widened when he spotted Chloe by the counter. His hands dropped heavily to his sides as he let go of Lana, disentangling himself from her arms.
"Chloe." He breathed in that unique Clark way of his, as he quickly stalked over.
"Yeah?" Chloe said coolly, continuing to scrub the same spot on the counter.
"You're here."
"Ah - yeah."
Lana came up behind him and quickly glanced between Chloe and Clark. "Chloe's just helping me out tonight. Everybody called in sick at the last minute." Clark nodded mutely, his eyes still trained on Chloe, who shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze. Noticing this, Lana smiled at Chloe and quickly excused herself, "I better go look after the customers."
Clark's gaze never left Chloe's face. She was starting to feel just a little bit self-conscious. It was like he was trying to see through her.
Finally he smiled, making Chloe involuntarily relax. "I haven't seen you in months Chloe. How have you been?"
"Good." She blushed underneath his gaze, her throat suddenly dry. She didn't know what else to say after everything that she had said in their last conversation.
All of a sudden her emotions came flooding to the fore. She missed him. She missed everything they did together, from all the crazy pseudo-journalistic stunts to investigating weird phenomena around town, to their relaxed talks about life, the universe and everything. She missed their regular coffee sessions, she missed arguing with someone who could put up with her sarcasm
and wit, and she missed having a best friend like Clark.
"Look Clark, I'm so sorry-"
"I'm so sorry Chloe-"
They looked at each other in embarrassing confusion. Then Clark ducked his head, motioning for Chloe to continue.
Chloe took a deep breath. "Clark, I'm sorry for saying all those things to you. I shouldn't have said them." She was sorry, regretting the time that they had to spend apart just so she could miss him with the ache and pain that she was missing him now.
"No, I'm sorry. You were right - I was taking everything for granted. I just - I was so confused, and I didn't know what to do ... about us. I was - I was feeling all these things -"
"You don't ... you don't have to talk about it." Chloe interrupted him as her understanding crystallised. She suddenly understood why Clark had treated her the way he had. He had been in love with Lana, but he had also started having feelings for Chloe. One feeling had been crystal clear, while the other had been murky, a whirlpool of confusion. He had been pulled in two directions by these emotions and being Clark, he had just stood still, hoping for one emotion or the other to tug him across the line.
Chloe had effectively pushed him over the line. The timing had just been so wrong, she realised with regret lingering in her heart. It could have worked out, but for Clark's inactivity and her explosive temper.
Clark's voice dragged her back to the present. "No, I want to -"
"Clark, I just want to learn to be friends again." She interrupted him again, raising imploring eyes to meet his glittering blue orbs. "All that other stuff - we can deal with that later."
He frowned, staring at her with that patented intense gaze that made Chloe think he was trying to somehow look into her, through her. She almost buckled under the strain of her feigned neutrality. "Are you sure Chloe?"
"I'm sure." They stared at each other seriously, before she burst into a smile. "Can we hug now?"
Needing no further encouragement, Clark closed the gap between them and enveloped her in the warmest, friendliest bear hug she could ever remember, a hug that was uniquely Clark-like. She buried her face into his chest, inhaling the scent of chlorine and hay that clung to his sweater, sighing happily in contentment.
She had her friend back, and as far as Chloe was concerned, everything else be damned.
A polite cough drew Chloe back from the oblivion of happiness that had erupted within her. She had actually forgotten where they were.
She turned to face Lana, who was grinning like a mad woman, apron and tray in hand. "What's this?" She asked her curiously.
Lana smiled mischievously. "Clark's going to help us out, aren't you Clark?" She batted her eyelashes at him, and any resistance that Clark was going to put up dissipated like thin trails of smoke into the cool night air.
Clark looked up reluctantly, although his blue eyes glinted with mirth. "I am, aren't I?"
Chloe didn't even bother feeling sorry for him.
(c) July 2002