Part 12

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The twins Mike and Gene lounged and channel surfed in their buddy Trev's living room as they waited for the other half of their band to arrive. The Collins' just moved in the previous week and some of the boxes still littered the house. Being long-time friends had allowed the brothers to escape their own family temporarily. Not that they didn't like they folks, it was just nice that they could have a change of scenery. Plus, a chance to earn a few bucks with the gig they got at the Talon.

Neither of them budged from their seat when they heard Trev's car pull up. They knew he had Chloe with him by the unmistakable sound of two car doors opening and closing a few seconds apart from each other. They hoped Trev didn't forget to replenish their stock of microwave popcorn.

"Hey!" They said in unison not taking their eyes off the T.V. when they heard their friends come in.

Trev made his way to the kitchen so it was Chloe who returned their greeting "Hey guys."

The soft tone of her voice was not the exuberant one they were accustomed to. It made the twins look at her and what they saw was a puffy-eyed Chloe Sullivan taking off her jacket. Mike immediately rushed to her side and Gene cleared the tab sheets that were on the couch.

They started the interrogation as soon as she was seated. With a stern voice Gene began, "Who was it, what did he do to you, and where can we find him?"

Chloe let out a small giggle at Gene's antic even if she still felt drained from bawling her eyes out.

"Seriously, Chloe," Mike placed his hands on her shoulders and started to knead her tense neck muscles, "what happened?"

"It's nothing, guys," she assured them, "I'll be fine. I'm just tired, that's all." Chloe looked at her two friends who sat on either side of her. She always considered Mike and Gene as her brothers and they were clearly being that to her now. The concern reflected in their eyes showed how much they cared for her and that they were unconvinced of her declaration of stable state of being. Chloe knew that they will not stop until they heard the full story.

But it was the truth - she was tired. Chloe had engaged herself in a juggling act and had not slept well since Tuesday night. With Trev and their band now in town as well as a regular show, they had to spend everyday after school to practice and to study new material. As soon as their class ended, she and Trev would sprint over to his place and get to work. They'd take a quick dinner break or a coffee run and wind down with some fun jamming.

By the time Chloe could get home she'd be exhausted from the physical demand of playing drums. It wasn't like sitting down and playing guitar or bass. It takes a concerted effort of arms, legs, hands and feet to play. With aching limbs at around 10 o'clock was when she could get to her household chores, homework, and writing Torch articles. Shut-eye occurred at around 2 or 3 am. She'd wake thirty minutes before Trev would pick her up. Just enough time to take a quick shower, dress up and down a cup of coffee.

She could hardly keep her eyes open in class and Chloe struggled to stay focused. Her thoughts would drift to the new rolls she had to perfect. Whenever she could, she scribbled the article she had to write or note down things she needed to research. Chloe took every opportunity to work on her extra-curricular activities or homework during breaks so she wouldn't have to worry about them later on. Having a laptop surely made things easier but it was taking her a while to get used to a new hustled lifestyle.

Her schedule was swamped and it ate up the time she usually spent on the Torch and her Smallville friends - Pete and Clark. During class, Chloe would sometimes catch herself looking at Clark and wondered if he was missing her already. She surely missed him.

Out in the hallway she'd look around to see if she could catch a glimpse of the tall, handsome, blue-eyed Clark Kent. Her day would perk up a bit when she did see him. However, time did not permit her to linger for a short conversation or even the chance to ask him what happened at the Talon Tuesday afternoon.

She wanted to sit with Clark and Pete during lunch, but with their equally hectic schedules, it was the only time she and Trev had to catch up. Though Trev had asked to pick up where they left off in Metropolis, Chloe thought it best that they at least start off as friends again. As much as she could, she brought him up to speed with Smallville and him for Metropolis.

Today was not a good day. With the party later that night, she and Trev had to hurry to make the most of the two-hour window they had for practice. They were halfway to the parking lot when Chloe remembered a book she needed as reference material for her column. She ran to the Torch office to retrieve it but got the shock of a lifetime instead.

Initially she was glad to catch a quick look at her Smallville gang, Lana included. It also relieved her that people remembered their deadline and that their articles were in. She had planned to come in Saturday morning to cram the editing and layout of the Torch.

When she finally heard Clark's voice, it was not what she wanted to hear after such a long absence. The look in his eyes did not have the gentleness she longed to gaze into. His were flaring and his impassioned tone rose to a volume she never heard any of her friends speak to her before. And this was Clark - mild, cool, calm and collected Clark just blared at her. He dealt her a blow that aggravated her physical stress, emotional anxiety and pressured time table. It shocked her to the core and all she could do was to stand there frozen, locked in Clark's steely stare.

Then she felt a pain as if her chest caved in. Whatever strength that kept her together up and left along with the control she tried to muster to keep the tears at bay. One escaped at the corner of her eye and it released the torrent that followed. How she managed to move her feet and leave the office baffled her.

She heard Trev call out her name in worry. Chloe ran towards him and he held her as she unleashed untamed sobs against his chest. Trev led her to the car and wordlessly drove towards his house. Their silence allowed Chloe to release and ride out what she felt. Trev brushed the hair off her face or give her hand a little squeeze whenever he could.

And here she was, surrounded by affectionate and supportive friends who were like family from the years they've known each other. A fresh stream of tears threatened to burst through just from recalling the events of the day.

When Mike and Gene saw her face turn red and her eyes brim with tears they enveloped her in a group hug they felt she needed. They released her when they heard her exhale deeply in an effort to rein in her emotion.

"Sorry," Chloe said fanning herself with her hands and confessed, "just had a breakdown."

Trev came in the living room and handed Gene a box of tissues to hold on to. He gave Chloe a glass of water and sat on the chair he placed directly in front of her. She drank and tried to regain control of herself.

Chloe continued. "The stress got to me, I guess. I'm not used to being constantly physically tired." She tried a smile and partially succeeded. "Give me a mental challenge any day."

Mike ruffled Chloe's hair and it reminded her of how Pete would sometimes do that. She missed him, too. "You've handled more stress than this before. Our schedule was more packed in Metropolis two years ago."

"You're out of shape." Gene joked and tipped her chin. "C'mon - spill. Your poker face is never really good, you know?"

Chloe looked at each of them - Mike, Trev, Gene - and wondered how she could tell them what really triggered her distress. How could she tell Trev without offending him?

It was Trev who broke the silence and it was as if he could read her thoughts. "It's Kent, isn't it?"