Author's note: For anyone who's enjoying this story, I encourage you to read a sequel written by a
dear friend, and a fantastic Smallville writer in her own right, Julie. It's called Untouchable and
it's a Lex fic with some *fantastic* C/C interactions. Plus, more of the X-Men bunch make their
appearances. You can find the story here: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=834412 ) The
sequel doesn't spoil any details of this story so you can read without fear. ;-)
Enjoy!
Medie
-------------
"Chloe..." Erin's gentle voice brought the girl's head around, troubled eyes still reddened from
her tears. "There's someone here to see you."
"Dad?" She questioned automatically, trying to compose herself. She didn't want her father to see
her like this. It would break his heart.
Her friend shook her head slightly. "No." Reaching out, she touched Chloe's shoulder. "Just listen
to him."
"What?" Chloe frowned in confusion, a feeling of foreboding coming over her. "It's not..."
"Chloe."
Clark's voice brought her to her feet and she started to run toward the door when she stopped short,
the feeling of invisible hands tugging her backward.
"Please," Erin entreated. "Listen."
The telekinetic hold on her lessened enough that she could turn to face the older woman. "Erin...I
*can't* do this."
The taller blonde stepped closer and smiled supportively. "You haven't much choice, Chloe." Looking
back at Clark, she added. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."
He nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Davies...really."
She smiled faintly. "Save your thanks for when this is over." With that, she left.
Lifting her chin, Chloe looked defiantly at Clark, determined not to let him see her cry. There was
no way he was going to see her cry. She wouldn't let him. "Hurry up and talk." She muttered,
folding her arms across her chest.
"Chloe..." He looked into her face, trying to see any sign of how she truly felt but she was
expressionless. There was no sign as to how she felt beyond the defiance in her posture. This was
not going to be easy. "I'm sorry, I should have asked outright."
"Yes," She replied tightly. "You should have. But you didn't. You went behind my back. So, how's it
feel Clark? Knowing what I am? Feel better now that you know my dirty little secret?" She sniffed
slightly and blinked hard. No reaction. Just push him out of here and get it over with. "I'm a
mutant. Happy? I'd say I belong on the 'Wall of Weird' but the fact of it is, I'm not that kind of
freak."
"You're not a freak Chloe!" Clark burst out, moving forward only to have her back away from him.
The rejection stung but he kept going, the very picture of determination. "You're not a freak.
You're just different." Like me. Oh how he wanted to say the words. He truly wanted to but...he
just couldn't. Even now the words refused to cross his lips.
"Different?" She smirked. "That's a good word for it. Different from everyone else, from all the
*normal* people. Which, if you look at our town, normal pretty much consists of you and your
parents."
"No." He shook his head.
"No what?" Chloe countered. "No, there're more normal people in town?" She snorted. "Not likely.
In case you hadn't noticed Clark, Smallville's the capital of Weirdness. Roswell sees less
lunatics than we do."
"That's not what I meant." Moving forward, he grabbed her by the arms, refusing to let go when she
tugged to pull free. "You're not different like that Chloe. You're a mutant, big deal." He ducked
his head to meet her gaze. "I'm not exactly normal myself."
Apparently, he couldn't come right out and say it, Clark noted ruefully, but he was damn good at
hinting around.
"Clark, last time I checked, aside from a behemoth crush on Lana Lang, you are the poster boy for
All-American normalcy." Chloe shot back, tearing her gaze away from his. "You couldn't be more
normal if you had a dog, ran track, and were the star of the football team."
"You'd be surprised Chlo'," He murmured softly. "You'd be very surprised. About a lot of things."
Something in his tone caught her attention and she looked up. "Like?"
His eyes on her face, Clark found himself wondering how he could have possibly not seen her like
this before. How blind had he made himself not to see the girl that stood before him. "Like I don't
have a behemoth of a crush on Lana Lang."
"You don't?" She smiled wryly. "What happened? Did you get hit by lightening?"
"No." He replied in all seriousness. "Something better."
Her mouth formed an 'o' of shock as she looked up into his face and saw an expression that she'd
always thought was reserved for teen prom queens with perfect raven hair and perfect green eyes
but now was directed with all it's heart stopping sincerity at her.
At her.
Part of her mind screamed out that she was supposed to stay mad at him, he'd betrayed her in the
worst of all ways, but she couldn't find it in her to care. Rejecting him when he was looking at
her like *this* would be akin to kicking a puppy, only worse. "Clark..."
"Chloe, I know all about keeping secrets." He insisted. "I should have respected yours but," He
looked anguished and moved on hand to touch her face lightly. "I couldn't help it. I was worried
about you...I wanted to help and you weren't.." He shook his head. "I shouldn't be making excuses,
Chlo', it was wrong to go behind your back like I did."
A glimmer of a smile formed on her face but Chloe wasn't ready to let go of it just yet. "I was
trying to protect you." She confessed honestly. "This kind of secret, if I'd told you, you would
have to lie to protect me. To quote someone from the school, 'a mutant's greatest defense is their
anonymity.' I didn't want to make you lie to everyone. Not because of me."
The innocently spoken words lanced through Clark like a thousand meteor rocks. She was trying to
protect him from doing what he was already doing. A heavy sigh escaped him and he backed away,
guilt preventing him from standing so close.
Despite herself, she was alarmed by his reaction and she took a step forward. "Clark?"
"I don't deserve that." He confessed miserably. "Your protection."
Her brow furrowed and she took another step. "Why not?"
"I'm not who I pretend to be." Clark muttered in defeat. "I've never been who I pretended to be."
Confusion swirled through Chloe and she reached out to touch his hand, curling her fingers around
his. "Clark?"
Pained eyes met hers and he said the fateful words. "I'm not exactly normal, Chlo'. Nowhere near
normal to tell you the truth."
"Not normal?"
"Not human."
------
Chloe went numb. She suspected this had to have been how Clark felt when he found out about her
but that thought went to the back of her mind very quickly. The predominant thoughts swirled
around in a tangled jumble of confusion and shock. "A...alien?" She stared at him in blank shock.
"As in from another..."
"Planet." He confirmed. "I know it's a shock, Chlo'," his eyes dropped but not before she saw the
fear and desperate need for acceptance in them. "I only found out that part of it this year."
"Part?" She repeated absently.
"There's a lot more to this." Clark elaborated. "A lot more."
Shaking her head briskly, Chloe gathered her chaotic emotions under her control and forced herself
to look at him with an expression somewhere near normalcy. She dropped onto the nearest surface,
Erin's sofa, then sucked in a steadying breath. It hurt, on one level, to realize that he'd been
keeping this huge secret from her for so long and that hurt was more intense almost than the
realization that he'd gone behind her back to find out just what was wrong. But on the other hand,
she understood it. He'd been protecting himself as much as his friends but at the same time, the
fear of confessing such a massive deception and worrying about acceptance...it was understandable
to her. Wasn't she in the very same place? Hiding a secret from all that knew her, except her
family, and battling the terror as to what would happen if her friends knew the truth? How could
she be angry at him for feeling the same way she did and doing the same things she did? She wanted
to be.
But the anger wouldn't manifest. Instead, she felt aching sympathy and sorrow. Sorrow that he'd
been made to bear this massive burden by himself. She didn't doubt his parents knew and supported
him but the older he got, the more independent he became, and the more of that burden settled on
his shoulders and the harder it became for him. She'd had a taste of it and even a few months was
already having a tremendous strain on her emotions, the thought of a lifetime's worth...
Impulsively, Chloe pulled him down on the sofa with her and leaned over to hug him fiercely. There
was nothing that she could say to make it better, nothing that could possibly ease that burden he
was bearing, nothing but, "You're right, Clark, you're not who you pretended to be." He started to
react, unsure of where this was going, but she cut him off. "You're better."
TBC
dear friend, and a fantastic Smallville writer in her own right, Julie. It's called Untouchable and
it's a Lex fic with some *fantastic* C/C interactions. Plus, more of the X-Men bunch make their
appearances. You can find the story here: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=834412 ) The
sequel doesn't spoil any details of this story so you can read without fear. ;-)
Enjoy!
Medie
-------------
"Chloe..." Erin's gentle voice brought the girl's head around, troubled eyes still reddened from
her tears. "There's someone here to see you."
"Dad?" She questioned automatically, trying to compose herself. She didn't want her father to see
her like this. It would break his heart.
Her friend shook her head slightly. "No." Reaching out, she touched Chloe's shoulder. "Just listen
to him."
"What?" Chloe frowned in confusion, a feeling of foreboding coming over her. "It's not..."
"Chloe."
Clark's voice brought her to her feet and she started to run toward the door when she stopped short,
the feeling of invisible hands tugging her backward.
"Please," Erin entreated. "Listen."
The telekinetic hold on her lessened enough that she could turn to face the older woman. "Erin...I
*can't* do this."
The taller blonde stepped closer and smiled supportively. "You haven't much choice, Chloe." Looking
back at Clark, she added. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."
He nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Davies...really."
She smiled faintly. "Save your thanks for when this is over." With that, she left.
Lifting her chin, Chloe looked defiantly at Clark, determined not to let him see her cry. There was
no way he was going to see her cry. She wouldn't let him. "Hurry up and talk." She muttered,
folding her arms across her chest.
"Chloe..." He looked into her face, trying to see any sign of how she truly felt but she was
expressionless. There was no sign as to how she felt beyond the defiance in her posture. This was
not going to be easy. "I'm sorry, I should have asked outright."
"Yes," She replied tightly. "You should have. But you didn't. You went behind my back. So, how's it
feel Clark? Knowing what I am? Feel better now that you know my dirty little secret?" She sniffed
slightly and blinked hard. No reaction. Just push him out of here and get it over with. "I'm a
mutant. Happy? I'd say I belong on the 'Wall of Weird' but the fact of it is, I'm not that kind of
freak."
"You're not a freak Chloe!" Clark burst out, moving forward only to have her back away from him.
The rejection stung but he kept going, the very picture of determination. "You're not a freak.
You're just different." Like me. Oh how he wanted to say the words. He truly wanted to but...he
just couldn't. Even now the words refused to cross his lips.
"Different?" She smirked. "That's a good word for it. Different from everyone else, from all the
*normal* people. Which, if you look at our town, normal pretty much consists of you and your
parents."
"No." He shook his head.
"No what?" Chloe countered. "No, there're more normal people in town?" She snorted. "Not likely.
In case you hadn't noticed Clark, Smallville's the capital of Weirdness. Roswell sees less
lunatics than we do."
"That's not what I meant." Moving forward, he grabbed her by the arms, refusing to let go when she
tugged to pull free. "You're not different like that Chloe. You're a mutant, big deal." He ducked
his head to meet her gaze. "I'm not exactly normal myself."
Apparently, he couldn't come right out and say it, Clark noted ruefully, but he was damn good at
hinting around.
"Clark, last time I checked, aside from a behemoth crush on Lana Lang, you are the poster boy for
All-American normalcy." Chloe shot back, tearing her gaze away from his. "You couldn't be more
normal if you had a dog, ran track, and were the star of the football team."
"You'd be surprised Chlo'," He murmured softly. "You'd be very surprised. About a lot of things."
Something in his tone caught her attention and she looked up. "Like?"
His eyes on her face, Clark found himself wondering how he could have possibly not seen her like
this before. How blind had he made himself not to see the girl that stood before him. "Like I don't
have a behemoth of a crush on Lana Lang."
"You don't?" She smiled wryly. "What happened? Did you get hit by lightening?"
"No." He replied in all seriousness. "Something better."
Her mouth formed an 'o' of shock as she looked up into his face and saw an expression that she'd
always thought was reserved for teen prom queens with perfect raven hair and perfect green eyes
but now was directed with all it's heart stopping sincerity at her.
At her.
Part of her mind screamed out that she was supposed to stay mad at him, he'd betrayed her in the
worst of all ways, but she couldn't find it in her to care. Rejecting him when he was looking at
her like *this* would be akin to kicking a puppy, only worse. "Clark..."
"Chloe, I know all about keeping secrets." He insisted. "I should have respected yours but," He
looked anguished and moved on hand to touch her face lightly. "I couldn't help it. I was worried
about you...I wanted to help and you weren't.." He shook his head. "I shouldn't be making excuses,
Chlo', it was wrong to go behind your back like I did."
A glimmer of a smile formed on her face but Chloe wasn't ready to let go of it just yet. "I was
trying to protect you." She confessed honestly. "This kind of secret, if I'd told you, you would
have to lie to protect me. To quote someone from the school, 'a mutant's greatest defense is their
anonymity.' I didn't want to make you lie to everyone. Not because of me."
The innocently spoken words lanced through Clark like a thousand meteor rocks. She was trying to
protect him from doing what he was already doing. A heavy sigh escaped him and he backed away,
guilt preventing him from standing so close.
Despite herself, she was alarmed by his reaction and she took a step forward. "Clark?"
"I don't deserve that." He confessed miserably. "Your protection."
Her brow furrowed and she took another step. "Why not?"
"I'm not who I pretend to be." Clark muttered in defeat. "I've never been who I pretended to be."
Confusion swirled through Chloe and she reached out to touch his hand, curling her fingers around
his. "Clark?"
Pained eyes met hers and he said the fateful words. "I'm not exactly normal, Chlo'. Nowhere near
normal to tell you the truth."
"Not normal?"
"Not human."
------
Chloe went numb. She suspected this had to have been how Clark felt when he found out about her
but that thought went to the back of her mind very quickly. The predominant thoughts swirled
around in a tangled jumble of confusion and shock. "A...alien?" She stared at him in blank shock.
"As in from another..."
"Planet." He confirmed. "I know it's a shock, Chlo'," his eyes dropped but not before she saw the
fear and desperate need for acceptance in them. "I only found out that part of it this year."
"Part?" She repeated absently.
"There's a lot more to this." Clark elaborated. "A lot more."
Shaking her head briskly, Chloe gathered her chaotic emotions under her control and forced herself
to look at him with an expression somewhere near normalcy. She dropped onto the nearest surface,
Erin's sofa, then sucked in a steadying breath. It hurt, on one level, to realize that he'd been
keeping this huge secret from her for so long and that hurt was more intense almost than the
realization that he'd gone behind her back to find out just what was wrong. But on the other hand,
she understood it. He'd been protecting himself as much as his friends but at the same time, the
fear of confessing such a massive deception and worrying about acceptance...it was understandable
to her. Wasn't she in the very same place? Hiding a secret from all that knew her, except her
family, and battling the terror as to what would happen if her friends knew the truth? How could
she be angry at him for feeling the same way she did and doing the same things she did? She wanted
to be.
But the anger wouldn't manifest. Instead, she felt aching sympathy and sorrow. Sorrow that he'd
been made to bear this massive burden by himself. She didn't doubt his parents knew and supported
him but the older he got, the more independent he became, and the more of that burden settled on
his shoulders and the harder it became for him. She'd had a taste of it and even a few months was
already having a tremendous strain on her emotions, the thought of a lifetime's worth...
Impulsively, Chloe pulled him down on the sofa with her and leaned over to hug him fiercely. There
was nothing that she could say to make it better, nothing that could possibly ease that burden he
was bearing, nothing but, "You're right, Clark, you're not who you pretended to be." He started to
react, unsure of where this was going, but she cut him off. "You're better."
TBC