Rating: a slight change... PG13 for the language.

Author's Note: I know it's a short chapter, so bear with me! And thanks for all the reviews!

CHAPTER 3

As the rain continued to fall, Chloe and Clark sat in silence and darkness, not speaking. What could be said? Chloe had just been told that her best friend, the best friend she'd had a crush on for years, was an...was an alien.

How could she respond to something like that? How could anybody?

Chloe had never even known. Sure, she'd seen him do some pretty amazing things, and he had always been in the right places at the right times, but she had chalked that up to him just being Clark. An honest guy who could surprise his friends. A lot.

But no. All this time, he'd been an alien. The adrenaline rushes? His "super" strength. The ability to find things no one else could ever discover? His x-ray vision. And only he knew how many other things he could do. As of yet, he hadn't told Chloe exactly what those powers were. Maybe he was afraid to. She was already having enough trouble dealing with what had happened. There was no way to tell how much more she could absorb.

Clark drew in a sharp breath, and Chloe turned to him, "Chloe...," he started, his voice weak and pleading.

She held up a hand to stop him. She didn't want to talk, not then. She couldn't. Instead, she gazed at him, taking note of the regret in his eyes.

Those eyes. She had often found herself wondering just what colors he possessed within those orbs. Grey and green seemed to be what made up the swirl of colors, but she had occasionally glimpsed blue and brown while staring upward and locking gazes with him.

But now...

She couldn't even meet his stare.

She knew he was watching her, concerned, but Chloe couldn't find the strength (how ironic) to look at him. She just couldn't believe that Clark...wasn't Clark.

The rain continued to drum against the school, and Chloe was beginning to find the silence unbearable.

"Chloe...," and she supposed he felt the same, "I know you're probably upset."

That was it. His attempt at condolences. His attempt to calm her to the fact that he wasn't human, that he'd been hiding it for years and years.

"Probably?" she asked him, barely containing the rage in her voice, "probably? Clark, I just found out that I possess powers that belong to my best friend from another fucking planet!"

He flinched at her use of words, and she felt a small pinch of regret. Still, she continued, a force within herself.

"And you couldn't tell me?" she asked him accusingly.

He sighed, "Chloe, you know I couldn't."

"Whatever, Clark," she spat out, "I'm just a little upset that you've been hiding this from me for years."

She had a right to be angry. Everything about him had been lie. She didn't even know if she could ever trust him again.

"I'm-,"

Chloe cut him off, "And not only me, but Pete! Your two best friends." she turned to look at him, and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Um...well, actually, Pete knows."

Chloe froze, unable to speak.

Pete knew.

It was then that she was hit with such a rush of anger and hurt that she couldn't help but begin to cry. He hadn't told her. He hadn't planned on telling her. And she couldn't help but think that if the lightning strike hadn't happened, he never would've told her.

It was obvious that Clark didn't trust her.

"I see," she whispered, heartbroken. So that had been what had brought them apart. Not Lana. Not Lex. Clark's secrets. That had been the rift between them. And the fact that he had never meant to tell her caused the chasm to grow larger. In a way, Chloe felt as if she were slipping even farther away from the only constant in her life with every second that passed.

She watched as he winced painfully, "I wasn't going to tell Pete. He stumbled across...across my spaceship."

Chloe would have laughed out loud if their situation wasn't so dire, "Your spaceship."

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Okay," Chloe tried to smile, but she could only stretch her mouth into a thin line, "So what else do you do?" She had a right to know, after all.

Clark hesitated, and she sighed, "Now that I have these...powers, I have to know what I can and can't do, Clark."

He nodded, "I know," he paused, "well, I have...heat vision."

"Heat vision?" every sentence that came out of his mouth was weirder than the last.

"Yeah. You just concentrate on whatever's in front of you, and it happens."

He waited for her to say something, but Chloe simply nodded, afraid of what she would say if she opened her mouth again.

Clark frowned thoughtfully, "I, ah, have super-speed, I guess you call it."

Something clicked in Chloe's mind, "You mean that's how you got to school every time you missed the bus?"

He chuckled, but the sound was cut off by a groan, "Yeah," he rubbed his injured shoulder gently, "that's how I made it to school."

They fell silent for a few moments, both unsure of what to say. Chloe was still feeling the sting from the discovery of Clark's secret, but the fear of the unknown was also beginning to take hold of her mind. How was she ever going to get used to the powers she possessed? Would she ever be back to normal?

"Chloe, I'm sorry about not telling you," Clark started, "and I just hope that-,"

She held up a hand to stop his words, "I know you probably kept it from me for a lot of reasons, and I understand that," she sighed wearily, "but you should've told me a long time ago. I'm your best friend, Clark." the last words were said quietly, almost too softly for Chloe to hear herself.

"I know," he answered.

Chloe frowned, "No, you don't know," she stood up and began pacing nervously. It felt as if every nerve in her body were about to explode, she was so anxious, "and it's not okay between us, Clark."

"Chloe-,"

"It may never be." she finished.

Clark looked as if he wished to say something, but she turned away from him, almost afraid to look at him. She heard him sigh heavily behind her, and she allowed a tear to slip down her cheek.

Things would never be okay between them.