4.06: Agendas

Intro

Chloe didn't know what to say. She just sat on the couch and stared at the doorway, and the boy who stood in it. Clark's eyes searched her face, and then flickered over to the man beside her. For the first time since he'd joined her in that room, Chloe noticed just how close her and Lex were sitting.

Clark opened his mouth a couple of times but no sound came out. That was all that she needed though. She dropped the black beret onto the couch and crossed the room as quickly as her legs would carry her. Her eyes closed tightly, holding back tears, when Clark wrapped his arms around her. She felt him lift her off of the ground, and his grip was starting to hurt. But when he buried his face into the curve of her neck, she forgot about the pain in her ribs.

Eventually he set her down and pulled back just enough to see her face. "Chloe," his forehead wrinkled in the familiar concerned expression, his voice strained as if he hadn't used it in a while. "Mom told me...are you okay? I'm sorry that I wasn't here."

She nodded and wiped the tear tracks from her eyes, acutely aware that Lex was still in the room. She still didn't like him to see her cry. "I'm fine Clark," she lied, choosing to ignore the conversation that her and Lex had just had.

"Chloe," he frowned at her, not believing her for a second. She looked up at him sadly.

"I'll be fine," she said instead. "Where have you been anyways?" Clark paled and immediately adopted that shifty look that he got whenever he was about to lie.

"I was visiting family," he told her, barely able to keep his eyes from looking down at his hands.

"Right," she nodded shortly. "Clark Kent, man of mystery. How could I have forgotten?" Clark looked hurt and Lex decided that that was the moment to step in.

"Clark," he held his hand out for Clark to shake. Chloe frowned when Clark made no move to return the greeting, but she noticed that Lex didn't seem terribly surprised. "Nice to have you back."

"I'll bet," Clark said in the nastiest voice that Chloe had heard since his summer in Metropolis. Lex smirked.

"I think I'll leave you both to talk," he turned to Chloe with a small smile. "You probably have a lot to catch up on."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Thanks." Lex nodded at her and then made his way out of the room.

"Clark?" he stopped in the doorway but didn't turn around. "Welcome home."

"Thanks," Clark muttered, but Lex was already gone.

TBC...

A/N: It's been a while...I'm sorry. I've been taking some of my reviewer's comments to heart and am hoping to make a few improvements to the story line. I realize that I may alienate some of the Chlexers out there with some of the stuff to come. The hardest part about writing a series of fics is to have them turn out the way that you want, without having them be totally OOC. Smallville is a drama, with lots of angst (just look at the nauseating and repetitive Clark/Lana scenes and storylines), so it only makes sense that I add a little angst and stretch out the final outcome. Right?

Also, having Lex and Chloe thrust right into a relationship would be not only out of character for her, but even more so for him. Add in the painful emotional state that Chloe is in, and the guilt that Lex feels (in my fics) and you don't get a nice situation. They would end up hating each other, and as I am a Chlexer myself, I don't want to write them there. The basis of Smallville is not Chloe/Lex, it is first and foremost Clark Kent and Lex Luthor...they're the future of the entire Superman saga. It's their story. I just like to add in Chloe and Pete once in a while.

There are a few things that I can tell you about the rest of this series (which I'm HOPING will go until 4.22, like an actual season):

-First, there WILL be some Clark/Chloe closeness. He IS her best friend, the star of this show, and a general good guy. Those of you who hate Clark (I know that you're out there), I've got to wonder why you watch Smallville in the first place. But for the record, I AM a Chlexer...

-Second, I really don't like Lana. So she will eventually come back, but not yet because I'm just not ready to write her in. The series won't be full of Lana-bashing, that wouldn't be fair, but I am going to keep her presence at a minimum. Sorry Lana Lovers.

-Third, I like Pete...or as some of you have dubbed him, Product-Placement-Pete. He may be underused, living in Wichita (or wherever), and destined to be with Lana...but let us all remember that he was the first person to recognize how special Chloe Sullivan really is. Since this season is so obviously Chloe-centric, and I'm incorporating both Chlex and Chlark, it only makes sense to have the original Chloe lover portrayed in a positive, supportive role. We like Pete.

-Fourth, the shippiness won't be immediate, but there be shippy scenes in every episode, much like the REAL Smallville (you know how they like to tease us).

So, if any of you are still with me :0) , I'm off to type up Chapter One.

:0)

Cheers.