Title: Recovery 7/8
Author: Amanda
E-mail: ficklemuse02@yahoo.com
Summary: Set in the summer between Season 2 and Season 3 - looks at what our favorite Smallville residents have been up to in the three months since 'Exodus'.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own anybody. (But oh, what a glorious notion... owning Luthors....*sigh*) Smallville belongs to Millar/Gough etc.
** ** **
Daily Planet:
Chloe looked at her watch for the tenth time in the past thirty minutes and let out a curse foul enough to impress even the boys in the advertising department. She'd called for a tow more than two hours ago and there was still no sign of anyone and even though the Planet was in a good enough neighborhood the last thing she wanted to do was hang out down town after dark. Lois was in Key West for the week with some school friends which meant Chloe was taking the bus to their small apartment.
She scrawled a quick note for the tow truck guy, locked the doors and stuffed her keys in her purse before heading to the bus stop.
She'd been waiting for about fifteen minutes when there was a sleek glide of a stretch limo pulling up in front of the stop. One tinted window rolled down and Lionel's driver Anthony grinned at her.
"You need a ride Miss Sullivan?"
"Anthony! You're a life saver." Chloe started to open the passenger's side door only to hear a loud snore. Looking down through the open window she saw Rex, Anthony's bulldog sprawled out on the seat and deeply asleep.
"You can just move him to the floor if you want." Anthony grinned sheepishly.
"I know how Rex here feels and I wouldn't move him for all the world. Mind if I ride in back?"
"Nah. go ahead. There's some bottled water in the fridge. I just need to make one stop to gas up and I'll take you on home."
"My hero." Chloe slipped back to the door and climbed in, careful not to catch the hem of her skirt in the door. The first thing she did when the limo pulled out into Metropolis rush hour traffic was slip out of her heels and prop her bare feet up on the cool leather seat across from her.
Then she slipped out of her jacket leaving her in a flowing shirt and lacy camisole. The air conditioning in the office she shared with six other interns had been broken all summer and she was pretty sure she knew how turkeys felt at Thanksgiving.
By the time they'd pulled away from the downtown block Chloe was already glancing through her notes for tomorrow's schedule and sipping a perfectly chilled bottle of Ty*Nant. The bottled water made her smirk because apparently Lex wasn't the only Luthor with a fondness for phallic symbols.
She'd be the first to admit that the Luthors lived a lifestyle that she couldn't imagine on an everyday scale. But the occasional limo ride had to be good for a person's soul.
By the time they pulled into the gas station, all of Chloe's tension and stress had just dissolved away and she was almost dowsing when the partition slid down.
"This might take a few minutes Miss Sullivan."
"That's okay Anthony. I've got no place better to be tonight." As soon as the words were out of her mouth Chloe realized how true, and how lame they really were. The Daily Planet wasn't a good place to make friends. There was too much competition between them in hopes of getting asked back the following year. Lois was out of town which meant there was no one waiting for her at home. And as much as she'd missed Metropolis when she moved to Smallville she was missing Smallville just as much.
Chloe closed her eyes and leaned her head back, running the water bottle over her warm face and neck when she heard the door on the other side open and close quickly. Her eyes flew open to catch only a brief glimpse of crystal clear blue before her mouth was being devoured. Her hand shot out and pushed against an oddly immovable chest. When she was finally released she had to blink several times to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. "Clark?"
"God! I missed you." Clark grinned as he shamelessly peered down at the flimsy camisole. "I saw Jeeves here pick you up on the corner. Didn't your dad ever teach you not to take rides from strangers, especially when I'm more than willing to ride you."
"Wait a minute! Clark! What are you doing here? Where have you been? Everyone's been going crazy looking for you all summer!" Seeing the almost glassy looking expression in Clark's eyes, Chloe frowned. "Have you been drinking? Oh God! Are you taking something?"
Clark shook his head sadly. "Aww. Poor Chloe. You think I have to be high to want to kiss you? Oh… that's right. You don't remember what we did when you and Pete got bitten by those things in the cave."
"Clark, you're not making any sense."
"Sure I am." Clark flopped back into the leather and pulled Chloe up on his lap. "Maybe if we reenact everything you'll remember more." He quickly positioned Chloe so that she was straddling his lap, his face almost buried in her cleavage. "Getting the picture?"
"Clark! You're sick! This isn't you!" Chloe struggled futilely in Clark's grip only to have the pressure on her hips increase. After a few frightening moments, Chloe allowed herself to go slack and she felt the pressure decrease.
"Didn't you miss me Chloe?" Clark whispered seductively while he trailed his fingers from the nape of her neck down her spine. "I missed you a lot."
"Clark. Stop it. Whatever is going on with you you don't get to –" Chloe's angry words were cut off by another deep, slow kiss.
"Lana's yesterday. I don't even know why I spent all that time following her around." His hands curved over Chloe's backside and squeezed gently. "You're more than she is. She's a scared little girl…" His tongue flicked out and drew a ticklish line across the seam of Chloe's lips. "You're not a little girl and you're not scared of anything." He started a slow rocking motion with his hips. "What do you want with ol' Lionel? All he's got his money and anyone can get that."
"Clark- where have you been all summer?" Chloe asked trying to control the rising panic she felt in her chest. Clark was her FRIEND. Even when they were fighting they were friends and Clark wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't. So she tried to play along. "I've missed you."
"Oh, here and there. I've been working." Clark finally loosened his grip on Chloe and reached for the bar and poured himself a drink. "You don't have to be afraid of me Chlo'. You don't remember but when you had that thing in you, you asked if you fell would I catch you. So you got up on the railing and jumped." Clark ran calloused hand over Chloe's knee. "And I did catch you. I always catch you even when you can't remember it."
"Clark—"
"Come on. Let's go out. Have some fun."
"Like you had fun with Lana when you asked her out?" Chloe ventured. Lana had told her about their date at the Wild Coyote where Clark had dumped her for Jessie. He'd been acting very strangely then and Chloe couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't for the same reasons.
"If I wanted Lana I'd be with Lana. But I'm here. I'm with you." He winked. "And I can do things for you that Luthor only dreams about."
Chloe's palm itched and she wanted to slap the smug look off Clark's face and if it weren't for the fact there was obviously something very wrong with her friend she would have. "There's nothing going on between me and Lionel. Get your mind out of the gutter Kent."
"Make you a deal. I'll get my mind out of the gutter if you'll join the rest of me there." Setting aside his empty glass, Clark leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss right over Chloe's heart. "Come with me. I'll show you the best time you've ever had. And if you don't like it I'll take you home no questions asked." Clark smoothed a rough thumb over Chloe's lips. "And- I'll fill in all the gaps. I'll give you the exclusive of a lifetime."
"Right. Like I'm gonna fall for that." Chloe rolled her eyes. "You're about as transparent as an open window. Next thing I know you're going to ask me up to your place to see your etchings."
"Then we'll just have to have some fun here." Clark's eyes glittered in the dim light of the limo as he pushed forward until Chloe was pressed back against the seat, eye wide. "Wanna play poker?"
"I don't have any cards with me." Chloe answered quickly.
"Lucky for me I know where you keep 'em." Clark grinned and slid his hand just inside the top of Chloe's camisole and mimed removing a deck of cards. "See?"
Chloe was spared from answering when the limo phone rang. She reached for it only to have Clark catch her hand and bring it to rest on his thigh while he answered the phone. "Big Daddy Warbucks' Pimp Mobile how can we service you?" When whoever was on the other line hung up, Clark turned his attention back to Chloe. "Now… where were we?"
"You were about to tell me where you're staying." Chloe offered with a weak smile. "Because I want to see you again but I have this deadline first thing in the morning." Chloe tried hard to maintain her train of thought while Clark slid his hand over her calf and up to the back of her knee.
"Forget about it."
"But if I get fired then I have to go back to Smallville and …" Chloe stuck out her lower lip in a perfect pout. "Smallville's no fun. I wanna stay here and see everything you have to show me."
"You mean it?" Clark purred as he nuzzled her ear. "Because I can show you everything. I'm better than any of those losers you've been writing about. A bigger story than you know." He squeezed her fingers around his inner thigh. "A bigger everything than you know."
Chloe drew in a shaky breath. "I always knew there was something special about you Clark Kent."
Clark's grin grew even wider. "I knew I could count on you Chloe."
"But you still haven't told me where I can find you." Chloe protested seconds before Clark pulled her into another kiss.
"You don't have to find me." Clark replied as he finally pulled away. "Don't you remember when you were buried alive? You said 'I knew it was you. It's always you.' There's no place you can go that I won't find you." With those words Clark blew her a kiss and climbed out of the limo, disappearing into the night before she could lean out the door to follow.
With shaking fingers Chloe picked up her cell phone and began dialing. "Judge Ross? This is Chloe Sullivan Ma'am. I know it's supper time but I really need to talk to Pete. It's important."
"Hello?" Pete's muffled voice came through the telephone as tried to finish whatever was in his mouth.
"Pete go where nobody can overhear you." Chloe demanded. She shifted on the leather seat and winced in pain. Gingerly she tugged the hem of her skirt down on one side and inspected the five finger shaped bruises.
"Okay. Chloe what's going on?"
"Why don't you tell me?" Chloe demanded. "I just saw Clark. No- scratch that. I did a lot more than SAW Clark. He was here. With me."
"What do you mean he was with you? Chloe is he with you now? You gotta get out of there…"
"So you DO know something!" Chloe accused. She swallowed and tried to get her temper under control. It wasn't about her hurt feelings. The important thing was that Clark needed her help. "He was here and he was acting like he's on drugs. Remember the way he was at the beginning of last fall with that girl Jessie? He was all over me Pete." She pulled up the hem of her skirt and inspected the rapidly darkening bruise there. "You said he was acting weird and then you clammed up real quick."
"Chloe it doesn't matter. Where are you right now?"
"It does too matter Pete Ross!" Chloe snapped. "I'm the one he was groping and I'm the one asking the questions now either you can give me some answers right now or I can have Clark's picture plastered all over the front page of the Daily Planet and see what turns up THEN!"
"Chloe! NO!" Pete yelled into the phone. "Look. You can't do that. If you scare him off he might not come back to Metropolis. Was he wearing anything different?"
"Yeah. Leather." Chloe plucked a cube of ice from Clark's drink glass and applied it to her inner thigh. Then she noticed a small domed shape indentation. "Peter… you want to tell me about Clark and the class rings?" She ventured. THAT was the difference. Things began clicking into place in her brain. Pete's interest in the red meteor rock last fall and Clark *had* been wearing one of the bogus class rings when all of them had been recalled to the jeweler. The only one that was left was the ring in her desk drawer.
"Was Clark wearing a class ring?"
"You answer my questions first Pete." Chloe held firm.
"Chloe this is no time for you to be playing Woodward and Bernstein. Clark's sick."
"The red rocks. They make Clark sick?" Chloe leaned back and closed her eyes. "They do something to him… like the green rocks do to everyone else right?" When there was silence on the other end of the line Chloe felt like reaching out and smacking Pete silly. "RIGHT? Come on! Pete I can't help Clark until I know what's wrong with him!"
"I can't tell you Chloe. You gotta call the Kents. They'll know what to do."
"Damn you Pete! Don't you dare weasel out on me!" Chloe lowered her voice. "He *HURT* me and now you're invoking the 'He Man Woman Hater's' oath for him? Thanks for a lot of NOTHING!"
"Chloe…"
Chloe could hear the sigh in her friend's voice before it passed his lips.
"Clark's allergic to the rocks. That's all I know. After what happened with his folks and the baby and stuff Clark put on the ring. That's why he left that's why he's acting crazy. He's allergic and the Kents don't know how to fix it except by getting him away from the rocks."
"That's all I needed to know Pete." Chloe exhaled. She rarely played hardball with Pete but there was no way she was going to let Clark go on his merry way doing whatever he wanted. "So all I have to do is get the ring off of him?"
"That should do it. But you oughta know, the last time this happened Mr. Kent had to use a sledgehammer to do it."
Chloe rolled her eyes and dropped the sliver of ice back into Clark's glass. "Never send a man to do a woman's job. Tell Mr. and Mrs. Kent that I'll bring Clark home."
"Chloe, don't do anything…"
"Pete, you're the one who knew that meteor rocks make Clark sick and you let him work at my desk with that ring in it all semester- if you call *me* stupid I'm going to stuff your teeth down your throat." Chloe disconnected her phone and flung it to one side, resting her tired eyes against the car seat.
Clark was allergic to meteor rocks.
It made sense in a weird sort of way. She knew that so long as Lana wore the green meteor rock necklace Clark couldn't get within five feet of her without turning into a klutz.
And Clark was always around when meteor stuff was happening. *ALWAYS* around.
He was way too interested in astronomy for a normal 15 year old boy.
Then there was that freaky thing he did when he disappeared as soon as a person had their back turned. More than once had they been in the middle of a conversation only for Chloe to turn around and find Clark long gone.
And of course no one had thought to tell her because of the Kent code of secrecy. 'Trust No One' was pretty much their motto.
Well if Pete thought he was getting off the hook he was sorely mistaken. He'd be covering chess club and the audio visual club all of next year.
By the time the limo pulled up to Chloe's apartment she was more exhausted than she could ever remember feeling in her life before. But she also had a plan.
** ** **
Author: Amanda
E-mail: ficklemuse02@yahoo.com
Summary: Set in the summer between Season 2 and Season 3 - looks at what our favorite Smallville residents have been up to in the three months since 'Exodus'.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own anybody. (But oh, what a glorious notion... owning Luthors....*sigh*) Smallville belongs to Millar/Gough etc.
** ** **
Daily Planet:
Chloe looked at her watch for the tenth time in the past thirty minutes and let out a curse foul enough to impress even the boys in the advertising department. She'd called for a tow more than two hours ago and there was still no sign of anyone and even though the Planet was in a good enough neighborhood the last thing she wanted to do was hang out down town after dark. Lois was in Key West for the week with some school friends which meant Chloe was taking the bus to their small apartment.
She scrawled a quick note for the tow truck guy, locked the doors and stuffed her keys in her purse before heading to the bus stop.
She'd been waiting for about fifteen minutes when there was a sleek glide of a stretch limo pulling up in front of the stop. One tinted window rolled down and Lionel's driver Anthony grinned at her.
"You need a ride Miss Sullivan?"
"Anthony! You're a life saver." Chloe started to open the passenger's side door only to hear a loud snore. Looking down through the open window she saw Rex, Anthony's bulldog sprawled out on the seat and deeply asleep.
"You can just move him to the floor if you want." Anthony grinned sheepishly.
"I know how Rex here feels and I wouldn't move him for all the world. Mind if I ride in back?"
"Nah. go ahead. There's some bottled water in the fridge. I just need to make one stop to gas up and I'll take you on home."
"My hero." Chloe slipped back to the door and climbed in, careful not to catch the hem of her skirt in the door. The first thing she did when the limo pulled out into Metropolis rush hour traffic was slip out of her heels and prop her bare feet up on the cool leather seat across from her.
Then she slipped out of her jacket leaving her in a flowing shirt and lacy camisole. The air conditioning in the office she shared with six other interns had been broken all summer and she was pretty sure she knew how turkeys felt at Thanksgiving.
By the time they'd pulled away from the downtown block Chloe was already glancing through her notes for tomorrow's schedule and sipping a perfectly chilled bottle of Ty*Nant. The bottled water made her smirk because apparently Lex wasn't the only Luthor with a fondness for phallic symbols.
She'd be the first to admit that the Luthors lived a lifestyle that she couldn't imagine on an everyday scale. But the occasional limo ride had to be good for a person's soul.
By the time they pulled into the gas station, all of Chloe's tension and stress had just dissolved away and she was almost dowsing when the partition slid down.
"This might take a few minutes Miss Sullivan."
"That's okay Anthony. I've got no place better to be tonight." As soon as the words were out of her mouth Chloe realized how true, and how lame they really were. The Daily Planet wasn't a good place to make friends. There was too much competition between them in hopes of getting asked back the following year. Lois was out of town which meant there was no one waiting for her at home. And as much as she'd missed Metropolis when she moved to Smallville she was missing Smallville just as much.
Chloe closed her eyes and leaned her head back, running the water bottle over her warm face and neck when she heard the door on the other side open and close quickly. Her eyes flew open to catch only a brief glimpse of crystal clear blue before her mouth was being devoured. Her hand shot out and pushed against an oddly immovable chest. When she was finally released she had to blink several times to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. "Clark?"
"God! I missed you." Clark grinned as he shamelessly peered down at the flimsy camisole. "I saw Jeeves here pick you up on the corner. Didn't your dad ever teach you not to take rides from strangers, especially when I'm more than willing to ride you."
"Wait a minute! Clark! What are you doing here? Where have you been? Everyone's been going crazy looking for you all summer!" Seeing the almost glassy looking expression in Clark's eyes, Chloe frowned. "Have you been drinking? Oh God! Are you taking something?"
Clark shook his head sadly. "Aww. Poor Chloe. You think I have to be high to want to kiss you? Oh… that's right. You don't remember what we did when you and Pete got bitten by those things in the cave."
"Clark, you're not making any sense."
"Sure I am." Clark flopped back into the leather and pulled Chloe up on his lap. "Maybe if we reenact everything you'll remember more." He quickly positioned Chloe so that she was straddling his lap, his face almost buried in her cleavage. "Getting the picture?"
"Clark! You're sick! This isn't you!" Chloe struggled futilely in Clark's grip only to have the pressure on her hips increase. After a few frightening moments, Chloe allowed herself to go slack and she felt the pressure decrease.
"Didn't you miss me Chloe?" Clark whispered seductively while he trailed his fingers from the nape of her neck down her spine. "I missed you a lot."
"Clark. Stop it. Whatever is going on with you you don't get to –" Chloe's angry words were cut off by another deep, slow kiss.
"Lana's yesterday. I don't even know why I spent all that time following her around." His hands curved over Chloe's backside and squeezed gently. "You're more than she is. She's a scared little girl…" His tongue flicked out and drew a ticklish line across the seam of Chloe's lips. "You're not a little girl and you're not scared of anything." He started a slow rocking motion with his hips. "What do you want with ol' Lionel? All he's got his money and anyone can get that."
"Clark- where have you been all summer?" Chloe asked trying to control the rising panic she felt in her chest. Clark was her FRIEND. Even when they were fighting they were friends and Clark wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't. So she tried to play along. "I've missed you."
"Oh, here and there. I've been working." Clark finally loosened his grip on Chloe and reached for the bar and poured himself a drink. "You don't have to be afraid of me Chlo'. You don't remember but when you had that thing in you, you asked if you fell would I catch you. So you got up on the railing and jumped." Clark ran calloused hand over Chloe's knee. "And I did catch you. I always catch you even when you can't remember it."
"Clark—"
"Come on. Let's go out. Have some fun."
"Like you had fun with Lana when you asked her out?" Chloe ventured. Lana had told her about their date at the Wild Coyote where Clark had dumped her for Jessie. He'd been acting very strangely then and Chloe couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't for the same reasons.
"If I wanted Lana I'd be with Lana. But I'm here. I'm with you." He winked. "And I can do things for you that Luthor only dreams about."
Chloe's palm itched and she wanted to slap the smug look off Clark's face and if it weren't for the fact there was obviously something very wrong with her friend she would have. "There's nothing going on between me and Lionel. Get your mind out of the gutter Kent."
"Make you a deal. I'll get my mind out of the gutter if you'll join the rest of me there." Setting aside his empty glass, Clark leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss right over Chloe's heart. "Come with me. I'll show you the best time you've ever had. And if you don't like it I'll take you home no questions asked." Clark smoothed a rough thumb over Chloe's lips. "And- I'll fill in all the gaps. I'll give you the exclusive of a lifetime."
"Right. Like I'm gonna fall for that." Chloe rolled her eyes. "You're about as transparent as an open window. Next thing I know you're going to ask me up to your place to see your etchings."
"Then we'll just have to have some fun here." Clark's eyes glittered in the dim light of the limo as he pushed forward until Chloe was pressed back against the seat, eye wide. "Wanna play poker?"
"I don't have any cards with me." Chloe answered quickly.
"Lucky for me I know where you keep 'em." Clark grinned and slid his hand just inside the top of Chloe's camisole and mimed removing a deck of cards. "See?"
Chloe was spared from answering when the limo phone rang. She reached for it only to have Clark catch her hand and bring it to rest on his thigh while he answered the phone. "Big Daddy Warbucks' Pimp Mobile how can we service you?" When whoever was on the other line hung up, Clark turned his attention back to Chloe. "Now… where were we?"
"You were about to tell me where you're staying." Chloe offered with a weak smile. "Because I want to see you again but I have this deadline first thing in the morning." Chloe tried hard to maintain her train of thought while Clark slid his hand over her calf and up to the back of her knee.
"Forget about it."
"But if I get fired then I have to go back to Smallville and …" Chloe stuck out her lower lip in a perfect pout. "Smallville's no fun. I wanna stay here and see everything you have to show me."
"You mean it?" Clark purred as he nuzzled her ear. "Because I can show you everything. I'm better than any of those losers you've been writing about. A bigger story than you know." He squeezed her fingers around his inner thigh. "A bigger everything than you know."
Chloe drew in a shaky breath. "I always knew there was something special about you Clark Kent."
Clark's grin grew even wider. "I knew I could count on you Chloe."
"But you still haven't told me where I can find you." Chloe protested seconds before Clark pulled her into another kiss.
"You don't have to find me." Clark replied as he finally pulled away. "Don't you remember when you were buried alive? You said 'I knew it was you. It's always you.' There's no place you can go that I won't find you." With those words Clark blew her a kiss and climbed out of the limo, disappearing into the night before she could lean out the door to follow.
With shaking fingers Chloe picked up her cell phone and began dialing. "Judge Ross? This is Chloe Sullivan Ma'am. I know it's supper time but I really need to talk to Pete. It's important."
"Hello?" Pete's muffled voice came through the telephone as tried to finish whatever was in his mouth.
"Pete go where nobody can overhear you." Chloe demanded. She shifted on the leather seat and winced in pain. Gingerly she tugged the hem of her skirt down on one side and inspected the five finger shaped bruises.
"Okay. Chloe what's going on?"
"Why don't you tell me?" Chloe demanded. "I just saw Clark. No- scratch that. I did a lot more than SAW Clark. He was here. With me."
"What do you mean he was with you? Chloe is he with you now? You gotta get out of there…"
"So you DO know something!" Chloe accused. She swallowed and tried to get her temper under control. It wasn't about her hurt feelings. The important thing was that Clark needed her help. "He was here and he was acting like he's on drugs. Remember the way he was at the beginning of last fall with that girl Jessie? He was all over me Pete." She pulled up the hem of her skirt and inspected the rapidly darkening bruise there. "You said he was acting weird and then you clammed up real quick."
"Chloe it doesn't matter. Where are you right now?"
"It does too matter Pete Ross!" Chloe snapped. "I'm the one he was groping and I'm the one asking the questions now either you can give me some answers right now or I can have Clark's picture plastered all over the front page of the Daily Planet and see what turns up THEN!"
"Chloe! NO!" Pete yelled into the phone. "Look. You can't do that. If you scare him off he might not come back to Metropolis. Was he wearing anything different?"
"Yeah. Leather." Chloe plucked a cube of ice from Clark's drink glass and applied it to her inner thigh. Then she noticed a small domed shape indentation. "Peter… you want to tell me about Clark and the class rings?" She ventured. THAT was the difference. Things began clicking into place in her brain. Pete's interest in the red meteor rock last fall and Clark *had* been wearing one of the bogus class rings when all of them had been recalled to the jeweler. The only one that was left was the ring in her desk drawer.
"Was Clark wearing a class ring?"
"You answer my questions first Pete." Chloe held firm.
"Chloe this is no time for you to be playing Woodward and Bernstein. Clark's sick."
"The red rocks. They make Clark sick?" Chloe leaned back and closed her eyes. "They do something to him… like the green rocks do to everyone else right?" When there was silence on the other end of the line Chloe felt like reaching out and smacking Pete silly. "RIGHT? Come on! Pete I can't help Clark until I know what's wrong with him!"
"I can't tell you Chloe. You gotta call the Kents. They'll know what to do."
"Damn you Pete! Don't you dare weasel out on me!" Chloe lowered her voice. "He *HURT* me and now you're invoking the 'He Man Woman Hater's' oath for him? Thanks for a lot of NOTHING!"
"Chloe…"
Chloe could hear the sigh in her friend's voice before it passed his lips.
"Clark's allergic to the rocks. That's all I know. After what happened with his folks and the baby and stuff Clark put on the ring. That's why he left that's why he's acting crazy. He's allergic and the Kents don't know how to fix it except by getting him away from the rocks."
"That's all I needed to know Pete." Chloe exhaled. She rarely played hardball with Pete but there was no way she was going to let Clark go on his merry way doing whatever he wanted. "So all I have to do is get the ring off of him?"
"That should do it. But you oughta know, the last time this happened Mr. Kent had to use a sledgehammer to do it."
Chloe rolled her eyes and dropped the sliver of ice back into Clark's glass. "Never send a man to do a woman's job. Tell Mr. and Mrs. Kent that I'll bring Clark home."
"Chloe, don't do anything…"
"Pete, you're the one who knew that meteor rocks make Clark sick and you let him work at my desk with that ring in it all semester- if you call *me* stupid I'm going to stuff your teeth down your throat." Chloe disconnected her phone and flung it to one side, resting her tired eyes against the car seat.
Clark was allergic to meteor rocks.
It made sense in a weird sort of way. She knew that so long as Lana wore the green meteor rock necklace Clark couldn't get within five feet of her without turning into a klutz.
And Clark was always around when meteor stuff was happening. *ALWAYS* around.
He was way too interested in astronomy for a normal 15 year old boy.
Then there was that freaky thing he did when he disappeared as soon as a person had their back turned. More than once had they been in the middle of a conversation only for Chloe to turn around and find Clark long gone.
And of course no one had thought to tell her because of the Kent code of secrecy. 'Trust No One' was pretty much their motto.
Well if Pete thought he was getting off the hook he was sorely mistaken. He'd be covering chess club and the audio visual club all of next year.
By the time the limo pulled up to Chloe's apartment she was more exhausted than she could ever remember feeling in her life before. But she also had a plan.
** ** **
