Title: New Friends, Old Places

Disclaimer: See prologue.

Rating: PG-13

Author: Supergurl15

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews peeps! And I the author/writer (which is like the same thing... huh.) have decided that there will be a guest appearance by someone... someone we all know. ;) I won't tell you who, but I will tell you that it's someone who Chloe knows. Muhahahahahahahaha!!!!

Okay, soooo while you peoples wrack your brains trying to figure out who it is, here's the next chapter.

Oh and:

1. I don't really know Gwen (the secretary)'s last name, so I sorta, kinda made it up.

2. I know the geography of Smallville is a little "off" but hey, work with me peoples!

To the reviews!

Imzadi- Wow. You're like a true blue Lindsey fan... it's kinda cool. Keep guessing...

Princess Lollipop- Glad ya like the fic so far. I know... the ending was... (cries) Wesley's GONE!!! (cries) Why did it have to end? It's not fair! Thanks for the luck on the Biology project. :) Ah, teachers. They just don't get it! Their students have lives, but do we have lives now? Noooooo! Not will all the homework they're piling up on us.

Just as a reminder, I own nothing... just the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in italics.

Chapter 4

Two days had gone by since Pete had received the email from Chloe, and he hadn't heard from her since then. Which was okay, it gave him more time to perfect "The Plan".

First, he would ask Chloe, Clark and Lana to meet him at the local diner across the street from he antique store, but not tell Chloe that he had invited Clark and Lana and vice versa. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a bona fide, fool proof plan but hopefully it would be enough to get Chloe to stay and work out whatever differences she had with Clark and Lana. And if 'plan A' didn't work, Pete Ross was prepared with a back up 'plan B'. Which was almost the same as 'plan A' except for the sole fact that they would be meeting at Crater Lake to investigate a murder scene instead of meeting at the local diner.

Chloe wasn't one to turn down a good investigation, and for once in the eight years that he had known her, this 'flaw' had finally proven to be a good thing. He just hoped that it would work.

"Pete!?" His sister, Leia, came thundering up the stairs, two at a time. The cordless phone in one hand and a bag of popcorn in the other. "Phone."

She held the phone impatiently, snatching her hand away mere seconds before he grabbed the phone, she then turned around running back downstairs. Pete didn't have to guess, Passions was on.

Pete rolled his eyes at his sister's odd antics and put the phone to his ear.

It could be worse. He reasoned.

"Hello?"

"And no screw ups this time." Somehow Holland Manners managed to even make whispering appear loud and menacing. He slammed the phone down on the receiver. He was starting to regret the decision of sending him to Smallville. It wasn't that he couldn't do the job, but with no one to take charge of the other project they were losing valuable time. Time that the senior partners didn't have.

But then again, he was the only one well suited for the assignment. If there was anyone who had a God given gift of negotiation it was-

"Mr. Manners, you have a phone call on line three." Gwen Davenport, Wolfram and Hart's secretary, poked her head into the office door, unfortunately interrupting his train of thought.

"Thank you Gwen." She nodded a curt 'you're welcome', leaving Mr. Manner's to his personal affairs.

"Fine... but only if you-. You said that before Pete, how do I know...?" Chloe flopped down on the hotel bed, her eyes fixated on the creamy beige ceiling.

"Okay, okay," She continued, holding the cell phone against her ear as she kicked off her black flip-flop sandals. "I'll come, just no Clark or Lana. I really mean it Pete. NO Clark AND, and possibly OR Lana."

"No, I haven't told my dad that I'm here yet. For some reason whenever I tell him Lana somehow manages to figure out that I'm here."

Is Pete planning something?

She could have sworn she could hear the gears turning in Pete's head, even through the phone.

Yep, definitely planning something.

Deciding to ignore her reporter sense for now she refocused her attention to whatever Pete was saying at the moment, unfortunately she missed a good four seconds of it when she had zoned out a few moments ago.

"Uh, what were you saying? Oh, that. That was just an "idle treat"; good gosh Pete I never thought you would be the one to take my meaningless rants and jokes seriously." She paused, "Vampires? Right Pete, and I'm sure the vampires play pool with Santa Claus and the Tooth fairy on their day off."

It was a lie, but one she had to tell. There was a difference between a lie that you had to tell and a flat out lie, wasn't there? But really, how sane would she sound telling her best friend that vampires weren't a figment of someone's imagination and only found in myths and lore, but that they roamed the streets of L.A. nightly. And she was sure the line, 'Oh, they're pretty harmless once you get past the 'I'm a ruthless killer' thing. I actually work for one, he's a pretty great guy.' would go over really well.

That and it wasn't her 'secret' to tell. She finally had a 'secret life' of her own; there was no way that she was just going to tell Pete everything that happened during the past three and a half years of her life.

"Yeah, uh, okay. Pete's Diner? So let me guess, this Pete's diner is your favorite hang out spot? Okay. Why doesn't that surprise me?" The light rapping at the door jolted Chloe from her conversation with Pete.

"Pete, I'll call have to call you back. Yep! See ya!" Pressing the end button on her cell, she set the phone down on the billowy navy blue comforter. She stretched leisurely for a moment and walked over to the door.

Okay? And there's the little fact that I didn't tell anyone that I was going to be in Smallville this week. Unless of course Pete told half the town, or it could be... Lana or Clark dropping by to-

"By whatever powers that be, please don't let that be Clark." She muttered under her breath, closing her eyes momentarily. She didn't even bother to slow her already snail-like pace. If it was Clark, maybe it was time to face the music. She was a little tired of running from her past life in Smallville, and she didn't think she could come up with an excuse in the next minute that he hadn't already heard before.

Slowly she walked towards the door as if it were a frightened animal that had to be approached with caution for fear of startling it and provoking it to attack.

The soft knocking became more evident as Chloe neared the door, gradually she unlocked the top and bottom lock and undid the "gold" chain.

Her heart was in her throat as she opened the heavy steel door, with each passing second the quickened thumping of her heart rang louder and faster in her ears.

She finally gathered enough courage to peer around the door.

"Angel?" It was more of a choked out gasp than an actual word. She had never been more elated to see the vampire in her entire life.

"You were expecting someone else?" Something was clearly wrong; her heart rate was three times beyond normal.

Ah, the benefits of being a vampire.

He knew he must have looked concerned because she attempted a classic "all is right in the world of Chloe" smile.

"Umm... no, no. I, you, I wasn't expecting you to, uh, be here. Especially since the sun is in full force today, and those little full day naps you've been having lately..." She was babbling, and hesitating.

Can't vampires hear your heartbeat?

When she saw the amused look on his face there was no doubt about it, she was rambling. And Chloe Sullivan doesn't ramble, she was sarcastic, witty, and occasionally over enthusiastic about things, but she never rambled.

"Ever since we've been here I haven't been having those 'little full day naps' that much... well, at all."

"That's good," Somewhere between her babbling and her almost good-natured thought processes; she realized that she must have opened the door. "Hibernation isn't really your thing. Better suited for cutesy fur bearing critters."

Not that you're anything but cute... uh, that was wrong wasn't it?

There was the old Chloe Sullivan wit, but she still didn't seem 'okay', she was acting like she was hiding something. "Or so I've heard."

She smiled half-heartedly at the comment, and little by little he could hear her pulse return to its normal pace.

Pulling her gray hoodie over her shoulders she stepped out into the hall.

"So to what do I owe the honor?" She teased, the issue of Clark in the past, for now anyway. Maybe she could avoid running into him throughout this whole vacation to Meteor Land.

"Apparently Cordy's got something planned. She wants everyone to meet her downstairs, in ten minutes? It was either five or ten..."

Yep. The Alzheimer's is finally kicking in. Smiling at your own joke Chloe? She mentally chided herself. That's pathetic.

"We go on one overnight camping trip and she's already taking the job of camp counselor." Chloe paused, watching her wriggling sky blue painted toes. "Uh. I'm gonna get my shoes."

She gestured towards the hotel room with one hand, twirling the key around with the other. Dashing into the room she slipped on the flip-flops, grabbed her purse, then walked back out the door.

"Sorry about that." Angel turned to look at the potential reporter, watching her as she fumbled with the key, and threw it in her purse along with her cell phone.

It wasn't long before she managed to catch up with him, and despite her shorter size and shorter leg strides, soon fell into step with her vampire friend.

"Chloe?"

Why is he looking at me like that? Like I'm some defenseless damsel in distress who needs everyone's sympathy?

"Are you okay?"

The question seemed to catch her off guard and she unconsciously mashed the elevator button several times before finding a suitable answer.

"Who? Me?" She knitted her eyebrows together in confusion, "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You tell me... you seemed pretty freaked out back there."

"No. I mean, fine. Nothing's wrong." She attempted another 'Chloe' smile. "Hey look, the elevator."

She sped past him into the elevator, hitting the 'door open' button for a few other temporary residents who had gathered sometime during their conversation.

Chloe leaned back against the elevator wall, trying not to let her eyes linger too long on the vampire standing to her left. It was a bit odd. Could he really read her emotions by simply hearing the beating of her tell tale heart?

Vampires... they're like freakin' psychics. There's no use trying to hide anything from them, they've got a sixth sense. But at least Angel realizes that I exist. Clark sure didn't, he's oblivious to everything but the "lovely Lana Lang".

The blond haired stranger had been sitting in the Talon all day. Lana had specifically told Melody to call the police if the man was still there after she had left, but being the shy and bashful person that Melody was, she just couldn't tell him to go. Lana had told her that something about the seemingly handsome stranger wasn't all that normal. Normal for Smallville anyway, which wasn't saying much. Even she knew that Smallville was far from being anyone's 'safe haven'.

It may have had something to do with his dark attire, or the way he isolated himself from the regular bustle of the day. It was like he didn't have a care. The world could be ending and fifty bucks said that the stranger would hold onto his blasé front.

It was terrifying.

And there, sitting in the darkened corner he looked frightening; in a dark, seductive, slightly corrupted, vampire type of way.

Seductive? Where did that come from? You're supposed to be telling him to "get out"! Not drooling over him.

Melody timidly walked over to the table, her shoulder length pink hair swaying after her during the short trek.

"Um. I don't really mean to sound rude." She paused briefly, taking a deep breath, being nervous sucked. "But it's almost closing time."

He nodded vacantly; looking up from the newspaper he had been reading but choosing not to speak.

"Thanks." And so, Melody walked off as quickly as she came. The majority of her other customers had already left, with the exception of the couple snuggled contentedly on the couch.

"We close in ten minutes."

Maybe this telling people what to do thing isn't that bad. She thought while civilly informing the couple of the Talon's closing hours.

When they left a moment later she decided it would be more practical to start cleaning up now. Like any good natured teen she wanted to get home earlier not later.

She wandered into the dimly lighted kitchen, a little shelving here, a little mopping there, and she was done. She smiled at her handiwork, shutting the lights off and returning once more to the serving counter.

Hey, if I hurry I can still catch the O.C.

She hated having to be the last one to leave, especially when it meant having to miss a good twenty to thirty minutes of the O.C. It was nearly impossible to sit on the couch and try to figure out what was going on when you missed the first half hour, but as assistant manager locking up was her appointed task.

Melody was halfway to the door when a blood curling thought hit her like a ton of bricks; the scary guy hadn't left yet. Or had he? She didn't exactly see him leave, but then again she had been in the back room for a good while.

Shrugging in typical teenage fashion she reached her destination, the door.

Whoa. She shuttered silently, something didn't seem right. Bad case of the chills.

If only she had stuck to her intuition and glanced behind her she might have been able to fend off the clawed hand that so viciously ripped out her throat.