AUTHOR: Nymph Du Pave
FANDOM: Smallville
PAIRING: Lex Luthor/Clark Kent, hints of a few others
RATING: PG-13
AUTHOR'S EMAIL: nymph_du_pave@hotmail.com
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is one of my favorite chapters. I just love this, and I love writing from Chloe's POV. It's something that I'm trying more and more of in my spare time. I love her so!
FEEDBACK: You can thank UofSNarnian for the posting of this. I wasn't sure if it was too soon, but I was convinced it wasn't, so I am posting this.
Chapter Five
Make-Believe
It had been late in the day, really late, when she heard about everything that had happened with Clark and Lex. They had a fight and, of course, since she was hearing about it through the grapevine, she was getting the versions most susceptible to bullshit.
However, as a reporter-in-the-making, she prided herself on being able to wade through all the rumor and false truths. She figured, knowing Clark, that she could discard the slapping, the fistfight, and the all-out brawl on Smallville's main street.
And the threats to Lex's life.
And visa versa.
It had been clear, however, that the fight was suspected to be about the already fragile standing that Lex was rumored to have with the Kents. According to popular belief Lex was either blackmailing the Kents, or backing out of an already purposed deal.
It, thankfully, had nothing to do with gay man-love.
That could be a problem, she thought. She'd come from Metropolis to Smallville, like Lex. She was shocked to see how very backwards things were in the town. At nine and living in the city, she'd had gay neighbors and everything had been explained to her. Here the Ross's were spoken of behind their backs as 'almost as good as white' and 'strangely intelligent black folk'. Only because the Ross's had been living here some thirty-odd years did that make it okay. There were about seven other black families in all of Smallville that she knew of. Seven. Out of a population of how many? It was something like thirty-five thousand or so.
Needless to say it was not a popular place culturally and she knew that the last thing either Clark or Lex needed was to be outed. She was surprised that very few Smallvillites new about Lex's sexual orientation, but the majority of them were farmers whose wives nowadays helped on the land and in the house instead of playing bridge and talking about the latest gossip. If they did, they still would have to know someone in Metropolis that kept into that area to find out that Lex had been a playboy to both sides of the arena.
Chloe sighed and turned left, onto American Ave. She had been able to pick out bits and pieces of the truth. Both boys were accusing the other of being selfish and of lying. Clark had started the fight, both Lana and Chloe were mentioned and apparently Clark had been so pissed he'd spilled his drink on his lap.
She turned again, this time onto the dirtroad that lead to Clark's house, and sped up.
It had been hard not going straight to Lex, but she'd decided that Clark needed to talk. First of all, he knew what Lex felt about him, knew that Lex was in love and Chloe wanted to remind him of this. Lex still had no idea.
Also, Clark had come to her before when he and Lex argued, the few times they had, and she knew that this was their biggest yet. She wasn't even sure Lex would be comfortable talking to her. He might not even admit to her his feelings for Clark and that would make a discussion between them awkward and difficult.
So she was here to help Clark, to be there for him.
"If that's what he wants," she muttered to herself and passed Lana's drive. She scrunched her nose on instinct. She was sure that she would never get over her dislike for Lang. It was just meant to be. If she was supposed to like the little pink princess in her perfectly fucked up world, there would be some kind of sign. But there hadn't been. So she took that as a sign itself.
She pulled into Clark's drive a minute later and sighed. This wouldn't be tough. Clark was still her friend and she still loved him. Everybody makes their share of bad decisions and mistakes. Treating him like a prospective story was just one of hers. But friends made it through bad times and stupid mistakes.
She was just going to be there for him, treating right now as it would be any other way on any other day, as if the fights had not happened.
Still her breath was shallow and her gut was tense. What if he didn't want her to be there for him? What if he didn't want to talk to her?
Yeesh.
She rang the doorbell and reminded herself that she was just trying to be there for the boy that she used to desire. He fought with Lex, it was bound to be tough and, maybe, if he could talk about it with someone, he could see the light.
Martha answered the door wiping her hands on an ever-present dish-towel. It was almost seven so the Kents would have already finished diner. She was probably washing and drying the dishes.
"Chloe! Hey! How's it going? We haven't seen you here in the longest!"
Chloe figured from day one that Clark would have told his parents about her keeping the adoption papers. He seemed to share everything with them and something this important… Well, she was sure it wouldn't be any different.
But the way that Martha was chattering on about how much Jonathon and her had missed seeing Chloe and Pete around, the way she warmly invited Chloe in and then told her to just march herself up the stairs and to Clark's room… It was obvious that Clark wasn't sharing everything.
She walked up the familiar steps feeling a little odd and out of place. She had been hoping that Clark would be hiding in his little Fortress of Solitude. It was a less intimate place and somewhere she could go and not feel like she was intruding.
She knocked his door lightly and her the bed squeaking slightly.
"It's Chloe," she whispered.
"Oh." The bed squeaked again. "Come in."
She opened the door to find Clark curled up in bed, facing the window.
"Shut it behind you, okay?"
At least he was letting her into his room. She closed the door and stood there for a minute looking at the view. The sun was going down behind the barn and the sky was a bright mixture of red and orange.
"It's beautiful."
Clark shrugged.
"What was the squeaking all about?"
He held up a leather-bound book. "I thought you were my mom. I was hiding it under the bed."
"What is it?"
Clark sighed and flipped over onto his back, scooting up to the headboard of the bed and crossing his legs. He patted the now empty spot in an invitation and Chloe had to blink back against the sting in her eyes. He was slowly forgiving her. He was allowing her back into his life.
She sat down, toed off her shoes – clunkers, Pete called them – and crossed her legs as well, pulling on the hem of her capris.
Clark handed her the book. It was small but thick and when she opened it, there was a lot of Clark's handwriting. Pages and pages full.
He stared back out the window. "It must have been, I don't know, two weeks after I realized that I was actually in love with Lex. Not just physically attracted to him, but in love with him. I went over to his house with his produce and he came down like normal and we got to talking about the stupidest things." Clark paused for a full minute before continuing. "He brought me up to his study and we were laughing about something or other, when he picked this up and tossed it to me. He told me that every boy should have a secret treasure. He knew that I gave the chest to Lana-"
"The metal one."
Clark nodded. "That was the original purpose. Was for me to give it to her. He thought that it was time I had a treasure of my own and told me to open it. I did and was surprised to see that it was blank."
Chloe shut the book and fingered the cover. It said 'Neverland' on the cover, embellished, ample and gorgeous.
"I thought it was the story of Peter Pan, but it was a journal. He laughed when I used the word journal. He said that it was a magic book of sorts, that it could take me anywhere I wanted. All I had to do was write it and it would happen. It would be real."
Clark laughed softly and Chloe saw the longing there. "I felt twelve. I got home though and wasn't sure what to write. It took me more than a month. Then one night, Lex and I were out in the barn when a storm rushed in. He had to go so I ran with him to his car. He slipped and I caught him before he fell. As I pulled him up our cheeks touched and I-"
Chloe held her breath, desperate to know the ending.
"Well, if you read the book, I kissed him. I kissed him hard and convinced him to come back to the barn with me. I started writing that night," he finished softly.
"What really happened?" she prodded.
"In that book I can fly, Chloe. I can save people. I'm a hero with a life, a history. In real life I'm a loser that let my cheek brush against his then sheltered his leather seats from the rain with my body. That was it. I let him go, Chlo. I let him leave."
She nodded. "Sometimes imagination is so much better. It's a world a lot of people want to live in."
He breathed in and finally looked at her. "I don't want you to ever lie to me again, Chloe. Not about something like… that. Never. Okay?"
Her eyes were burning with tears again. She nodded. "Of course."
He nodded back. "So, I'm assuming I can trust you."
"Yes. With my heart, I swear, Clark."
He reached for her and Chloe wasn't sure how long she stayed in his embrace before he starting talking again. He was warm and addictive and someone still liked and trusted her.
"I couldn't in a million years hate you, but I can't be your friend if I can't trust you, Chloe. I know you had your reasons." He pulled her into his lap and moved her head to rest on his shoulder. "I know you had your reasons, and I'm going to take them away. I love you and want you to know me, so I'm going to tell you the truth now."
She nodded against his shoulder.
"And I want you to be quiet and listen to me, alright? I want you to believe me. I'm not lying to you."
"Okay, Clark."
They sat like that, her curled into his lap and lying on his shoulder while he played with her hair absently. They breathed in and out, in and out for a while, then he cleared his throat lightly.
"It started with the meteor shower."
To be continued...