Author's note: This chapter's about a page shorter than usual, simply because
I'm setting up for a (hopefully) longer one dealing with the after affects of this
chapter.
-----
Chloe was in the midst of working on an article for the Torch - god, it was
good to be doing that again - when she heard the doorbell ring. Closing the
laptop, the teen left her seat at the kitchen table to make her way out to
the front door. It wasn't her father, he'd had a late meeting at the plant
but he had his keys, it couldn't be Clark, he'd left an hour ago...
She laughed softly and told herself, "Quit trying to figure it out and *look*
Chloe."
Moving to peer out a window, a tiny squeak of shock escaped her and she all but
flew to the door, throwing it open. "ERIN!"
The older mutant grinned and waved slightly. "Hi,"
After hugging her former teacher firmly, Chloe drew her inside and closed the
door. "What are you doing here?" She asked without preamble, her curiosity
demanding answers.
Erin's grin returned, looking over the living room. "Well, it's a long story.."
"I'll bet it is." The teen agreed with a smirk. "Short stories and anyone
connected to Westchester really don't go together." Moving forward, she held
out a hand. "Can I take your coat?"
"Thank you." Handing it to her, the teacher turned to give the house a better
look. "You've a great house, Chlo'. I can certainly see why you wanted to come
back here." She snuck a grin over her shoulder. "And when you get the chance,
I want to meet the big reason."
Chloe blushed. "He just dropped me off a little while ago."
"Oh? Date?"
"Sort of." She replied with a grin. "We spent the day together. It was...great!"
"That's fantastic!" Erin smiled widely. "Progress I take it?"
"A *lot*!" Chloe hung up the jacket she was holding then turned expectant
eyes on her friend. "So, why are you here again?"
"Let's sit down," the taller blonde demurred. "This is a conversation best
had in the comfort of chairs."
"You're stalling." The younger mutant accused with a laugh but did as Erin
had requested, curling up in her favorite corner of the couch - right next
to the end table where the pile of photos from Westchester sat.
"So I am." Erin agreed, sitting as well. "To be honest, Chlo', I'm here
because the Professor sent me."
"What's wrong?" Chloe asked anxiously, sitting up. "Did something happen? Is
Rogue ok? Do I need to go back? Does someone here know?"
"Hold on, it's nothing like that." The teacher reassured, holding up a hand
to forestall anymore questions. "Everyone is fine, Rogue included. I brought
a present from her actually, I'll give it to you later." She smiled. "The
Professor just thought that you could use someone in town, another mutant,
you can talk to about..." Her eyes turned sympathetic. "The way we have to
live."
"Lying to everyone you mean." The other girl sighed heavily. "I've already
had to...I mean, I haven't had to come right out and say 'No, Clark, I'm not
a mutant' but...I've had to deflect him and a few others away from the truth
and I *hate* it!"
Erin moved to sit next to her, hugging her lightly. "It's not easy, Chloe. I
won't lie to you and say it's supposed to be. Life at the school shelters most
of us from it but anyone who chooses to live outside...they encounter it."
Chloe turned pained eyes on her friend. "Does it ever get easier?"
"I wish I could say yes." Resting her head against her young friend's, Erin paused.
"But there's no way to be sure."
"But it could?" The young mutant asked, desperate to hang onto hope - no matter how
minor that hope was.
"Yes," Erin replied, refusing to rip that hope away frm her. "It could."
"How?"
"Having people around you who know, who aren't mutants but don't care that you are,
and...someone who..."
"Loves me?" Chloe finished sadly. "Not happening, Erin. The one person I think I
could...I've already lied to. How could I expect him to ignore that?"
"You'd be surprised." Erin replied gently, brushing a hand over her friend's hair.
"You'd be very surprised."
----
"Chloe?" Unlocking the front door, Gabe Sullivan stepped into the house in time to
hear a loud burst of laughter from the kitchen. "Honey?"
"In the kitchen Dad!" his daughter called out, still laughing.
Dropping his coat on a chair, her father noticed the unfamiliar jacket and his eyebrows
rose briefly in curiosity before he made his way to the kitchen and found Chloe sitting
at the table drinking coffee with an unfamiliar blonde woman. "Sorry I'm late, sweetheart,"
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head then moved to pour his own cup.
"It's ok, I didn't get in myself until a couple hours ago." She smiled and
by that smile he knew she'd been out with Clark. "Dad, I want you to meet
Erin Davies. She was one of my teachers at the school."
With all the formality her English upbringing could provide, the mutant stood
and offered a hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sullivan. You've a wonderful home
here and an even more wonderful daughter."
"Don't I know it." He replied with a grin. "But thank you." Shaking her hand, he
glanced at his daughter then at the woman standing before him. "Mind if I ask what
brings you to Smallville?"
"A teaching position actually." Erin took her seat again. "At the school. The
Professor thought I could use the experience and that Chloe could use the
company."
"Ahh..you're..." He fumbled there, not sure if they found use of the word
'mutant' offensive or not.
"A mutant? Yes." She nodded.
"All the teachers at the school are, Dad. Most are former students too."
Chloe smiled. "I could have stayed on and done the same."
"If you don't mind my saying, Ms. Davies, you seem a bit young to be an
accredited teacher."
"Well, I'm not that much younger than most teachers these days but yes, I'm
younger than usual." Erin answered honestly, unoffended by Gabe's questions.
"I went to the school in Westchester when I was thirteen and went right through
high school there." She paused long enough to take a sip of coffee. "Since I
wasn't comfortable with leaving the school, I would - like many others - take
courses all year round."
"Which got her into college a little earlier." Chloe jumped in almost
protectively. "A lot of the teachers there are the same way."
"Better education and faster." Erin joked.
"So you'll be staying long-term in Smallville?" Her host asked hesitantly.
Sitting back, the teacher bit her lip slightly then looked at Chloe. "Mind
giving us a few minutes?"
The teen frowned, clearly not wanting to. "Well.."
"Please, Chloe." Her father interjected with a firm look.
With a heavy sigh, the blonde picked up her coffee. "Ok, I need to finish
that article anyway."
When she left the room, Gabe looked back at the teacher again. "Well?"
"Yes. It's long-term." Erin nodded. "We thought it would be good for Chloe
to have another mutant in town that she can turn to."
"Someone to protect her?"
The mutant smiled and dropped her gaze briefly. "You're a perceptive man,
Mr. Sullivan. Yes, we want to protect Chloe." She affirmed. "She's a young
utant, and in this day and age, the Professor was concerned about letting
her go so far from the school without someone to help if she needs it."
"How did she do at the school? With her abilities?" Before him sat an
opportunity to find out the things about the school Chloe had either
deliberately or unconsciously left vague and Gabe wasn't about to let it
pass.
"Wonderfully, your daughter is a very talented mutant, Mr. Sullivan. One of
the most talented I've seen in all my time at the school - the Professor
says the same - she's got a lot of power and she uses it wisely. It's a rare
gift for one of us to be so young, so talented, and so responsible with that
talent. It's certainly a testament to the way you've raised her."
"Thank you. Is she safe here?"
"One thing mutants know about safety that the rest of the world doesn't,
Mr. Sullivan, is that it is an illusion. There's always something - be it a
person or a natural event - that can be dangerous. The better question might
be, 'is she well-protected here?'" Erin paused then turned a determined gaze
on the clearly worried father. "If you and I have anything to say about it?
If her friends in Westchester have anything to say about it? Yes. She is
well-protected. We'll bloody well see to that."
Holding out a hand, Gabe smiled. "Ms. Davies, may I say, I'm very glad you're
here."
Standing, she shook his hand firmly. "Mr. Sullivan, may I say, I'm very glad
Chloe has you at home. Most mutants can't say they have such a supportive
parent...She's a lucky girl."
"I'm the lucky one." He replied with a proud look. "I have her."
-----
"Clark?" Entering the Torch's office, Chloe was surprised when her friend
jumped. "Is something wrong?"
He turned, a nervous smile on his face. "No, nothing's wrong. Why'd you ask?"
She moved forward hesitantly. "Because you practically went through the
ceiling when I said your name. What is it?"
"Nothing, really." Clark waved a hand. "You just surprised me."
The one thing she'd long ago learned about her best friend was that Clark
Kent couldn't lie to save his life. Chloe frowned and turned to set her coffee
on her desk.
That was when she saw the picture.
It was one of the ones she'd had taken back in Westchester before she'd left.
One that featured Kitty sneaking into the pictuire - by stepping through the
wall - and Chloe had been standing next to Hank McCoy, her science partner.
"Oh god..." Alarmed, she caught sight of the computer screen and found herself
looking at a page full of information on Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
"Clark..." A tremulous note entered her voice and she lifted scared eyes to his.
"What's going on here? Where did you get that picture? Did you take it from my
house?"
Breaking free of his shocked silence, Clark moved forward. "It's not what you
think, Chlo', really it isn't..."
"Isn't what?" She felt anger and fear beginning to war for control of her
reaction. "You took something from my house, Clark. A personal photograph.
*My* picture." She backed up. "How could I misread that?"
"You've been so different...I just...I was worried and I thought..."
"You thought what?!" She near-yelled. "That you'd go behind my back and try
and find out?"
"Chloe? Clark? What's going on?"
It happened so fast, Chloe didn't realize what she was doing before it was
done. Spinning to face Pete, she waved a hand at him. "Not now, Pete!"
Instantly, he froze mid-question and - from somewhere behind her - Chloe
registered Clark's shocked exclamation and the magnitude of what she'd done
hit her.
She turned horrified eyes on the young man behind her.
"Chloe..." Taking a step toward her, he wasn't entirely sure of what was
going on yet, or what he was going to do when he reached her, but he just
knew he had to touch her. Keep her from running, knowing instinctively that
was exactly what she was about to do, keep her with him.
But Chloe wasn't hearing him. She was reacting purely on instinct. The only
thing she was truly aware of was that she'd just used her powers in front of
Clark. He'd seen some of what she could do and it wouldn't take much to figure
it out from there. He knew about her friends, he was researching the school,
he would know. He'd find out.
She had to get out of there.
Turning, she raced around Pete and toward the door.
"Chloe!" Clark started to race after her but she turned in the doorway and
waved a hand, unfreezing Pete.
"Chloe?" Pete frowned in confusion. "Where'd she go?" He looked at his friend
and saw the look on his face. "Clark? What's wrong man?"
"Excuse me, Pete." His friend moved him aside and ran to the door.
Chloe might not have had superspeed at her disposal, but when sufficiently
motivated, she had disappearing down to a fine art. Try as he might, Clark
could see no sign of her in the crowd.
She was gone.
Closing his eyes, he let his head fall against the doorframe with a thunk.
"Clark, what's goin' on here? Where'd Chloe go? Did something happen?" Pete's
voice was hinting at the young man's frustrations and he stopped next to his
friend, looking up at him. "You ok?"
"No." The taller of the two replied heavily. "I think I just made the biggest
mistake of my life."
TBC
I'm setting up for a (hopefully) longer one dealing with the after affects of this
chapter.
-----
Chloe was in the midst of working on an article for the Torch - god, it was
good to be doing that again - when she heard the doorbell ring. Closing the
laptop, the teen left her seat at the kitchen table to make her way out to
the front door. It wasn't her father, he'd had a late meeting at the plant
but he had his keys, it couldn't be Clark, he'd left an hour ago...
She laughed softly and told herself, "Quit trying to figure it out and *look*
Chloe."
Moving to peer out a window, a tiny squeak of shock escaped her and she all but
flew to the door, throwing it open. "ERIN!"
The older mutant grinned and waved slightly. "Hi,"
After hugging her former teacher firmly, Chloe drew her inside and closed the
door. "What are you doing here?" She asked without preamble, her curiosity
demanding answers.
Erin's grin returned, looking over the living room. "Well, it's a long story.."
"I'll bet it is." The teen agreed with a smirk. "Short stories and anyone
connected to Westchester really don't go together." Moving forward, she held
out a hand. "Can I take your coat?"
"Thank you." Handing it to her, the teacher turned to give the house a better
look. "You've a great house, Chlo'. I can certainly see why you wanted to come
back here." She snuck a grin over her shoulder. "And when you get the chance,
I want to meet the big reason."
Chloe blushed. "He just dropped me off a little while ago."
"Oh? Date?"
"Sort of." She replied with a grin. "We spent the day together. It was...great!"
"That's fantastic!" Erin smiled widely. "Progress I take it?"
"A *lot*!" Chloe hung up the jacket she was holding then turned expectant
eyes on her friend. "So, why are you here again?"
"Let's sit down," the taller blonde demurred. "This is a conversation best
had in the comfort of chairs."
"You're stalling." The younger mutant accused with a laugh but did as Erin
had requested, curling up in her favorite corner of the couch - right next
to the end table where the pile of photos from Westchester sat.
"So I am." Erin agreed, sitting as well. "To be honest, Chlo', I'm here
because the Professor sent me."
"What's wrong?" Chloe asked anxiously, sitting up. "Did something happen? Is
Rogue ok? Do I need to go back? Does someone here know?"
"Hold on, it's nothing like that." The teacher reassured, holding up a hand
to forestall anymore questions. "Everyone is fine, Rogue included. I brought
a present from her actually, I'll give it to you later." She smiled. "The
Professor just thought that you could use someone in town, another mutant,
you can talk to about..." Her eyes turned sympathetic. "The way we have to
live."
"Lying to everyone you mean." The other girl sighed heavily. "I've already
had to...I mean, I haven't had to come right out and say 'No, Clark, I'm not
a mutant' but...I've had to deflect him and a few others away from the truth
and I *hate* it!"
Erin moved to sit next to her, hugging her lightly. "It's not easy, Chloe. I
won't lie to you and say it's supposed to be. Life at the school shelters most
of us from it but anyone who chooses to live outside...they encounter it."
Chloe turned pained eyes on her friend. "Does it ever get easier?"
"I wish I could say yes." Resting her head against her young friend's, Erin paused.
"But there's no way to be sure."
"But it could?" The young mutant asked, desperate to hang onto hope - no matter how
minor that hope was.
"Yes," Erin replied, refusing to rip that hope away frm her. "It could."
"How?"
"Having people around you who know, who aren't mutants but don't care that you are,
and...someone who..."
"Loves me?" Chloe finished sadly. "Not happening, Erin. The one person I think I
could...I've already lied to. How could I expect him to ignore that?"
"You'd be surprised." Erin replied gently, brushing a hand over her friend's hair.
"You'd be very surprised."
----
"Chloe?" Unlocking the front door, Gabe Sullivan stepped into the house in time to
hear a loud burst of laughter from the kitchen. "Honey?"
"In the kitchen Dad!" his daughter called out, still laughing.
Dropping his coat on a chair, her father noticed the unfamiliar jacket and his eyebrows
rose briefly in curiosity before he made his way to the kitchen and found Chloe sitting
at the table drinking coffee with an unfamiliar blonde woman. "Sorry I'm late, sweetheart,"
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head then moved to pour his own cup.
"It's ok, I didn't get in myself until a couple hours ago." She smiled and
by that smile he knew she'd been out with Clark. "Dad, I want you to meet
Erin Davies. She was one of my teachers at the school."
With all the formality her English upbringing could provide, the mutant stood
and offered a hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sullivan. You've a wonderful home
here and an even more wonderful daughter."
"Don't I know it." He replied with a grin. "But thank you." Shaking her hand, he
glanced at his daughter then at the woman standing before him. "Mind if I ask what
brings you to Smallville?"
"A teaching position actually." Erin took her seat again. "At the school. The
Professor thought I could use the experience and that Chloe could use the
company."
"Ahh..you're..." He fumbled there, not sure if they found use of the word
'mutant' offensive or not.
"A mutant? Yes." She nodded.
"All the teachers at the school are, Dad. Most are former students too."
Chloe smiled. "I could have stayed on and done the same."
"If you don't mind my saying, Ms. Davies, you seem a bit young to be an
accredited teacher."
"Well, I'm not that much younger than most teachers these days but yes, I'm
younger than usual." Erin answered honestly, unoffended by Gabe's questions.
"I went to the school in Westchester when I was thirteen and went right through
high school there." She paused long enough to take a sip of coffee. "Since I
wasn't comfortable with leaving the school, I would - like many others - take
courses all year round."
"Which got her into college a little earlier." Chloe jumped in almost
protectively. "A lot of the teachers there are the same way."
"Better education and faster." Erin joked.
"So you'll be staying long-term in Smallville?" Her host asked hesitantly.
Sitting back, the teacher bit her lip slightly then looked at Chloe. "Mind
giving us a few minutes?"
The teen frowned, clearly not wanting to. "Well.."
"Please, Chloe." Her father interjected with a firm look.
With a heavy sigh, the blonde picked up her coffee. "Ok, I need to finish
that article anyway."
When she left the room, Gabe looked back at the teacher again. "Well?"
"Yes. It's long-term." Erin nodded. "We thought it would be good for Chloe
to have another mutant in town that she can turn to."
"Someone to protect her?"
The mutant smiled and dropped her gaze briefly. "You're a perceptive man,
Mr. Sullivan. Yes, we want to protect Chloe." She affirmed. "She's a young
utant, and in this day and age, the Professor was concerned about letting
her go so far from the school without someone to help if she needs it."
"How did she do at the school? With her abilities?" Before him sat an
opportunity to find out the things about the school Chloe had either
deliberately or unconsciously left vague and Gabe wasn't about to let it
pass.
"Wonderfully, your daughter is a very talented mutant, Mr. Sullivan. One of
the most talented I've seen in all my time at the school - the Professor
says the same - she's got a lot of power and she uses it wisely. It's a rare
gift for one of us to be so young, so talented, and so responsible with that
talent. It's certainly a testament to the way you've raised her."
"Thank you. Is she safe here?"
"One thing mutants know about safety that the rest of the world doesn't,
Mr. Sullivan, is that it is an illusion. There's always something - be it a
person or a natural event - that can be dangerous. The better question might
be, 'is she well-protected here?'" Erin paused then turned a determined gaze
on the clearly worried father. "If you and I have anything to say about it?
If her friends in Westchester have anything to say about it? Yes. She is
well-protected. We'll bloody well see to that."
Holding out a hand, Gabe smiled. "Ms. Davies, may I say, I'm very glad you're
here."
Standing, she shook his hand firmly. "Mr. Sullivan, may I say, I'm very glad
Chloe has you at home. Most mutants can't say they have such a supportive
parent...She's a lucky girl."
"I'm the lucky one." He replied with a proud look. "I have her."
-----
"Clark?" Entering the Torch's office, Chloe was surprised when her friend
jumped. "Is something wrong?"
He turned, a nervous smile on his face. "No, nothing's wrong. Why'd you ask?"
She moved forward hesitantly. "Because you practically went through the
ceiling when I said your name. What is it?"
"Nothing, really." Clark waved a hand. "You just surprised me."
The one thing she'd long ago learned about her best friend was that Clark
Kent couldn't lie to save his life. Chloe frowned and turned to set her coffee
on her desk.
That was when she saw the picture.
It was one of the ones she'd had taken back in Westchester before she'd left.
One that featured Kitty sneaking into the pictuire - by stepping through the
wall - and Chloe had been standing next to Hank McCoy, her science partner.
"Oh god..." Alarmed, she caught sight of the computer screen and found herself
looking at a page full of information on Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
"Clark..." A tremulous note entered her voice and she lifted scared eyes to his.
"What's going on here? Where did you get that picture? Did you take it from my
house?"
Breaking free of his shocked silence, Clark moved forward. "It's not what you
think, Chlo', really it isn't..."
"Isn't what?" She felt anger and fear beginning to war for control of her
reaction. "You took something from my house, Clark. A personal photograph.
*My* picture." She backed up. "How could I misread that?"
"You've been so different...I just...I was worried and I thought..."
"You thought what?!" She near-yelled. "That you'd go behind my back and try
and find out?"
"Chloe? Clark? What's going on?"
It happened so fast, Chloe didn't realize what she was doing before it was
done. Spinning to face Pete, she waved a hand at him. "Not now, Pete!"
Instantly, he froze mid-question and - from somewhere behind her - Chloe
registered Clark's shocked exclamation and the magnitude of what she'd done
hit her.
She turned horrified eyes on the young man behind her.
"Chloe..." Taking a step toward her, he wasn't entirely sure of what was
going on yet, or what he was going to do when he reached her, but he just
knew he had to touch her. Keep her from running, knowing instinctively that
was exactly what she was about to do, keep her with him.
But Chloe wasn't hearing him. She was reacting purely on instinct. The only
thing she was truly aware of was that she'd just used her powers in front of
Clark. He'd seen some of what she could do and it wouldn't take much to figure
it out from there. He knew about her friends, he was researching the school,
he would know. He'd find out.
She had to get out of there.
Turning, she raced around Pete and toward the door.
"Chloe!" Clark started to race after her but she turned in the doorway and
waved a hand, unfreezing Pete.
"Chloe?" Pete frowned in confusion. "Where'd she go?" He looked at his friend
and saw the look on his face. "Clark? What's wrong man?"
"Excuse me, Pete." His friend moved him aside and ran to the door.
Chloe might not have had superspeed at her disposal, but when sufficiently
motivated, she had disappearing down to a fine art. Try as he might, Clark
could see no sign of her in the crowd.
She was gone.
Closing his eyes, he let his head fall against the doorframe with a thunk.
"Clark, what's goin' on here? Where'd Chloe go? Did something happen?" Pete's
voice was hinting at the young man's frustrations and he stopped next to his
friend, looking up at him. "You ok?"
"No." The taller of the two replied heavily. "I think I just made the biggest
mistake of my life."
TBC