Premonition
by Lener
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Smallville.
Chapter Three
The minute the last bell rang, signaling the end of school, Chloe stuffed all her books into her bag and slung it over her shoulder before dashing out of the already crowded corridors of Smallville High, ignoring the shouts from Clark and Pete. Winding her way through the corridor towards the big glass doors of the High School, Chloe caught sight of the tips of Rick Freeman's spiky dark hairdo leaving the building.
She quickened her pace; weaving carefully through the throng of students and bags until finally she burst out into the sweltering sunlight of midday. Traffic was busy, as in the vision that she had seen just before school started. Heart thumping wildly, Chloe scanned the students getting ready to cross the road, searching for the spiky hairdo she'd lost while trying to get through the big glass doors.
Time was running out…
There was a couple- a dark-haired boy and a blonde, but in the dream Rick was alone, so she ruled them out…
There was a girl with cropped red hair, inspecting her nails closely…
A group of boys talking and laughing…
Two girls with equally curly blond hair chatting away…
And then Chloe's breath caught in her throat.
A boy with dark hair absorbed in a book and about to step down from the pavement without looking…
"NO!" even before Chloe's scream was halfway out, she had dropped her bag and leapt down the steps of Smallville High, sprinting desperately towards Rick, whose one foot was already on the road…
Somewhere at the back of her mind, Chloe heard an impatient horn from a vehicle…
*
Clark breathed in the air tainted with exhaust gas as he stepped out of the doors of Smallville High, hitching the bag higher onto his shoulders. Before he took another step, he realised that something was wrong. Clark's eyes dropped to the ground, taking in the sight of a familiar abandoned leather bag, then a loud horn made him look sharply up, taking in the horrifying scene as quick as lightning.
There was Chloe, dashing towards a lone figure on the edge of the road and the pavement, and a dangerous-looking black car speeding head on towards the figure, whom Clark recognized as Rick Freeman. Rick's other foot made full contact with the road, but his head was still in the book which he held in his hands.
Suddenly, Chloe's voice rang in his head.
"…when you leave the school, look both ways before you cross, and don't read 'Romeo and Juliet' while you're doing it."
And then it dawned on him.
"Chloe…" Clark's eyes shot open.
Without a second thought, he ran at super speed towards Chloe, and just as she reached Rick Freeman, grabbed both of their arms and dumped them back onto the pavement before super speeding back to where he had been (outside the school doors). Another loud horn issued from the vehicle and a curse from the driver was blown away by the wind. Sure that none of the students had seen him, Clark ran (at normal speed) towards a dazed Chloe and Rick, who were both lying on the pavement.
"Chloe! Oh my god… are you okay?" Clark helped a very shaken Chloe up, while Rick staggered to his feet and stared in shock at the paperback he had been reading. 'Romeo and Juliet' lay on the road, a tyre mark right through the middle of the page.
"Whoa…" was all Chloe could say. Her cheek was scratched where she had fallen hard on the pavement, but other than that small line of blood, she was not injured. Rick had a bruise on his shoulder, but otherwise he too was all right.
"What happened?" Clark asked as a crowd began to form.
"I… I wasn't looking… where I was… going," Rick seemed confused.
Chloe, who seemed to have gotten her strength (and confidence) back, grinned weakly. "Now you know why I told you not to read 'Romeo and Juliet' while going home…"
Rick stared in disbelief at the torn paperback, then looked at Chloe and nodded his head slowly, as though processing what she'd just said. "T… thank you…" and with that he walked shakily back towards Smallville High.
As soon as the crowd dispersed, Clark gripped Chloe by the shoulders and glared at her, "What in Heaven's name were you trying to do, Chloe? You could've gotten yourself killed!" he tried to keep his voice down.
"I had to do something! There was no time to run back in and call for help, Clark. Rick would've been smashed to a pulp by then. Besides, I managed to keep both of us alive," Chloe rolled her eyes and began stalking back to the steps to pick up her bag. Clark threw up his hands in exasperation and followed her, fighting the urge to tell her that it was only thanks to him that Rick and her were still walking now.
"You knew this even before it happened, didn't you?" Clark hissed in an accusatory tone. He watched as Chloe picked up her bag and started off towards home, deliberately taking her time to answer his question.
That was okay- he could wait. He was free for the whole afternoon, and he would do anything to find out what Chloe's problem was.
*
Chloe walked on, well aware of Clark's presence behind her.
"You knew it would happen even before it did, didn't you?" he asked again, this time sounding impatient.
"If I did, what's that to you?" she lazily, taking a turn at the corner. He followed her.
"Well then you could have told me! I could've helped get Rick off that road!" Clark burst out.
"Look, Clark, I handled it okay by myself. What makes you think I need you?" Chloe rolled her eyes and quickened her pace, but Clark only walked faster to match hers.
Clark seemed stunned at her total lack of compassion, but a second later he shouted, "I'm your friend!"
Chloe flinched, realizing he'd said 'friend' and not 'best friend' or… Shaking her head, she cleared the thought from her mind.
"Oh really, Clark? Well, I've had it with you and your saviour complex! You think you can do what everyone can't! This might come as a surprise for you, Clark, but you can't, okay? You can't! You're not a superhero! You can't save everyone," Chloe jabbed at the air in front of Clark's chest, her eyes filling up with angry tears.
*
Seeing Chloe's eyes well up with tears, Clark felt something tug at his heart, but the anger he was feeling inside seemed to overpower that feeling of regret and guilt.
"Chloe…" he insisted, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She wrenched it away immediately, then walked a few paces before saying, "You just can't bring yourself to face the fact that I can actually achieve something without getting help from someone else."
Her words felt like someone had slapped him hard across the face. Surely she couldn't have been referring to his upcoming date with Lana on Friday?
"Look, Chloe, you were the one who told Lana I would-"
"This isn't about Lana! Stop trying to make it about Lana!" she was hysterical now.
Clark decided to try another approach, "Okay, I just didn't want you to get hurt!" he argued, trying to justify his acting 'mean'.
Chloe took a gulp of air, then steadied her voice as she spoke. "That's a nice goal, Clark, but believe it or not, I think I've been hurt by you too much to even care," her voice was hard, and a steely strange flash of neon green filled her eyes. A split second later Chloe had whirled around and stalked off back home, leaving Clark standing on the curbside.
Author's Note: Ouch. Poor Clark. Poor Chloe. I just thought a nice argument would bring up the tension in this story! Don't worry… I'm sure they'll patch up… I think. Haha… meanwhile, why don't you leave a review? Replies are below:
Sylphide- LOL! That was one helluva review, my good reader! Haha… well, I'm really glad you find my fics "awesome"! And I'm not sure if I'm going to put lots of Lana in this fic anyway… but who cares? Who likes Lana? Muahahaha!!!! I just managed to whip up this 3rd chapter last night… so I haven't done this whole fic yet. By the way, how on earth did you know that Rick wouldn't listen to Chloe? Hmm… I guess it was quite obvious, huh? Without that little bit of action and tension there wouldn't have been such a "tension-filled" chapter! Haha!
ChloeKent- Hey! Thanks for the review! I'm glad you had a good time reading this fic. Lol! You're welcome!
clovergrl- Yo! Thanks for reviewing! Whoa… the 'pink side', huh? That's what they call Lana-ish things? Don't worry… I'll never set the tiniest bit of a foot over on that side!!! I'm glad you liked the previous chapter. Hope you'll like this one!
Btab12207- Hello Kris. Thank you for your review! I'm glad you think this story is nice! Well, of course there'll be some Clana to me Chloe jealous but in the end it's all our favourite Chlark-y goodness!
Suz- Hey! Thanks for that review! Well, that Clana part just makes it more challenging, doesn't it? Getting Clark and Chloe back together when that big pink monster is in the way! Hehe… Bleugh… I'm getting really tired of Smallville Season 2 because there's just WAY too much Clana in it. That's why I've decided to start writing MORE Chlark! MUAAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
crazy- Shucks, well then you just picked the wrong story to review! Coz I am the number one fan of Chlark and if you don't like that pairing then I'm really sorry, you don't want to read this story. Muahahahahaha! But thanks for reading the first few chapters anyway.
MissFizz- Hello! Thanks for the review! Glad you like the story!
Starburst- Yo! Thanks for reviewing! Yep… Chloe gets premonitions when she touches something (like what Phoebe gets in 'Charmed', if you watch that show). I think the "premonition" bit was in that episode when Lana could see what the criminal was doing… anyway it's still totally different from premonitions.
candychelle44- Hey! Thanks for the review! Yea… a psychic and nosy journalist! Lol… I'm glad you're a fan of Chlark too! Heck, everyone who reads this has to be except for… *cough*
kayfanatik- Hello! Thanks for the review! I hope you'll continue reading!
Michelle- Hey! Thanks for the review! Lol! I'm really happy that you think both my Smallville stories rock! Ew… no WAY will I ever ever support Clana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lol… I hope you're satisfied with this update and don't worry I'm not a vegetarian, although I have nothing against them. Hahaa!