I started writing this story before Lois moved to Smallville, so you're just going to have to pretend that she never came into the picture.
WARNING: I got very freaked-out and paranoid while writing this. If you are easily scared (like me), I suggest that you don't read this late at night. If you are really really really easily scared, I suggest that you don't read this at all.
Chapter One—Graduation day
Chloe Sullivan sat at her computer trying to write and finding little success. This was a predicament she'd rarely found herself in before. Never had she been so inarticulate, for she was a girl of many words. Frustrated, she allowed her head to fall on the keyboard. It did nothing to inspire her.
This was the one article she should have been able to write quickly—the one article she'd barely had to do any research for—the one article that she had known was coming since the beginning of freshman year. This was the last front page story of her senior year. This was a story about her graduation.
On Tuesday, June the 6th, an approximate three-hundred and fifty teens at Smallville High School will transform from students into alumni. Dr. Steward Danver will speak in front of rgkhjfjhkgdfhdsjgk!!!
"Gaaaaaaaugghh!" Had the janitors at Smallville High not already gone home for the night they would have been startled by the angry shriek emitted from the petite blonde's mouth.
In truth, it wasn't the article that kept Chloe from writing. She knew that next week of her life would be the last one before she was thrust into the real world, and this article made everything seem so…final. She'd worked her way into a top journalism school and had snagged a great scholarship that would allow her to spend her extra time at an internship rather than a summer job, but she was still hesitant to leave Smallville.
She'd complained to her father for so long about living in such a nowhere town, but Chloe found herself appalled at the notion of leaving the cozy village. She was definitely going to miss the warmth and the feeling of home that Smallville eminated.
The ringing of a cell phone shook Chloe from her deep thoughts. She drew a maroon Nokia from her butterflied handbag.
"Chloe Sullivan, budding young reporter, speaking", Chloe greeted the caller cheerily.
The only sound returned was heavy breathing reminiscent of that in horror movies. A shrill bell told Chloe that the person on the other end had hung up; she rolled her eyes and placed the phone back in the bag. It wasn't the first time she'd been threatened, and it no longer scared her.
Again the cell phone rang.
"Listen", Chloe began in an annoyed tone, "If you're some immature prankster trying to scare me, find someone who's an easier scare. If you're some freaky stalker person, find something a little less cliche. If you have actually something to say to me, I suggest you tell me instead of wasting my minutes."
"Chloe, what's going on?"
The reporter's mouth dropped wide open as she realized that it was her father on the line.
"There was just some prank-calling idiot that I thought was calling me back", Chloe explained, knowing her father would most likely force her to come home if he thought a stalker was after her, "It was nothing, really."
"Listen, Chlo' ", Gabe began, "Maybe you ought to come home. It's late at night, you're all alone, and you're getting calls from a possible lunatic."
"Dad", Chloe protested, "It's really nothing, and I need to get this article finished."
"You can finish it tomorrow, sweetheart", his tone implied that he meant business, " I'm worried about you.
Chloe grudgingly agreed and said goodbye. She packed up her iBook and headed out the door. The walk from the school building to her car was one she always dreaded on nights when she had stayed late at school, but she took a deep breath and raced to the car as fast as she could.
As much as she hated to admit it, Chloe had been scared ever since Lionel had been released from jail. She began carrying pepper spray and looked over her shoulder more often. Why, oh why, hadn't she parked closer to the school?
There was a rustling sound in the bushes behind her. Could it be one of Lionel's men? She opened the car door and placed her computer on the passenger's seat. She checked the back seat for anyone who might be waiting for her. There was another sound, louder this time. Chloe spun around, wielding only her car keys as a weapon.
Nobody was there.
Chloe jumped into her car, closed the door, and locked it. She pulled out of her parking spot and exited the lot. As she was driving away, she could have sworn she saw a man in the rearview mirror.