Chapter Five

The bell rang, ending class, and Chloe and Clark slinked off together to some claps of the students remaining in the classroom. Chloe stomped with her head down and Clark followed behind her, hands on her shoulders, guiding her through the hallway traffic. Clark steered her to the Torch office, and Chloe unlocked the door and they walked in.

"Agree to never EVER mention it again," Chloe said and plopped down on the comfy padding on her chair at her desk and fired up her computer.

"I VOW to never EVER mention it," Clark said. She grinned when he sat beside her.

"Look away, look away," Chloe said with a smile, waving her hands at Clark, and he rolled his eyes and turned away. "You know I don't want you seeing My password, Clark," she said. Quickly she punched in 'csluvsck'. Seconds later, she was logged in. "It's ok now, you may look upon the research goddess."

Clark watched Chloe while she intensely surfed websites and online resources, watched how her fingers danced over the keyboard, watched how her eyes flew over the fonts, watched how her right index finger clicked her mouse. She saved files, printed webpages, unzipped programs. As much as he was fascinated with her computer skills, he loved watching her face: Her face glowed from the monitor's light, she smiled when she found the information she wanted, her brows furrowed when a page was not found, she slurped a Blo-Pop, she nibbled on her pen, she chewed her bottom lip. Chloe was entranced with websites that contained theories of humanzees and Oliver, a similiar chimpanzee to Beppo. Clark was entranced with just her.

"Earth to Clark..." Chloe said, "Come in, Clark."

"Wha...?" Clark said.

"As interesting as you think of me researching is," Chloe said with a smile, "you need to do some researching, too."

Clark grinned and went to his computer, and logged in under 'clark'. He looked up and Chloe was still smiling. She had never seen him so ...intensely looking at her. Clark was the one usually catching her doing the gazing, but this was the first time she experienced it.

"Since you're taking the Wall of Weird stance," Clark said and typed, "I'll just look up stuff on chimpanzees and evolution."

"Pete is thinking of asking Erica Fox to the Carnival, " Chloe said out of nowhere.

"Really?" Clark asked, still looking at the screen, sliding down in his chair. He knew where she was going.

"Yeah. No one has asked me out yet," Chloe hinted. Hoped. "No one at all."

"I'm sure someone will," Clark said. He just didn't know how to ask Chloe out. He could say, "Let's catch the Universal Monsters film festival at the Talon" to her, "let's share a milkshake at Schwab's Drugstore", "let's study together", "let's do homework together", "let's hang out Saturday...or Sunday...or after school", ""let's do...whatever." And Chloe readily, quickly, happily agreed. But Clark couldn't string together the words, "Chloe, I want to take you out on a date." He worried; if they dated and broke up, he'd lose a friend. He grimaced. He promised he'd never hurt her. And if they broke up, she'd hurt.

Chloe looked over and saw his grimace. She sighed. Three times since she moved to Smallville, Clark had saved Chloe's life. The first was when she, Pete and Clark were at the river during the Spring Break of their eighth grade school year. The class was reading "Tom Sawyer" and they were inspired to make a raft and take it on the river. Everything went well until the water turned fast and choppy. Chloe fell overboard and caught her foot in the branches down below the water's surface. The raft rushed along. Clark told Pete to somehow guide the raft and he jumped in after her. Chloe watched her world darken like the murky depths. Then she was coughing up water on Clark, when he held her close, on the banks of the river.

And already in their Freshman year, Clark saved her from a fire in the Torch. Fire. Water. Wind made the raft go fast. 'If Clark said go out with me, and I say yes, would the Earth swallow me up?' she thought. 'I'd risk it...why won't he?' She glanced over again; Only Clark could fearlessly do the things he did and fear going from friend to boyfriend. 'Maybe the elements are against Me,' Chloe thought sadly. Pete said that Clark liked her, thought that she was fun; so when would she cross over to be a fun date and not a buddy, a pal, a chum? Pete hinted that no one asked her or Clark out was because...it was like they were already going out together. Just at snacktime Pete made it crystral clear to them both. But Chloe wanted to be asked out on a date, not just asked to "let's do something." They sat silently for awhile, and made notes for the interview with Beppo's trainer.

"Um..." Clark said, breaking the usual awkward silence that followed Chloe's hints about being asked out, "How are we getting to the Fairgrounds?"

"Kwan's taking us," Chloe leaned to the other side of the monitor.

"Cool," Clark said and punched the print screen button.

"Yeah," Chloe nodded and went back to her screen. "But he can't bring us back so I called your mom and my daddy."

"Why both?" Clark said, surprised that Chloe micromanaged him. Again.

"Daddy promised to buy me a new sweater," Chloe said. "And he wanted some Dad time."

"Oh," Clark said. He liked clothes shopping with Chloe. She always selected the quirkiest looking tops and pants and Clark loved that she'd try on the clothes and ask what he thought. Chloe loved modeling for him, plus she'd get him to try on clothes out of his usual primary color/flannel/jeans motif. They once spent three hours just trying on new stuff. Clark thought that she was fun to be with; Chloe thought they could could do anything together.

"Next time you can help me pick out clothes, Clark," Chloe said.

"OK," He said.

"And as long as I get you to try on something," Chloe added. She saw a clingy burgandy sweater that she thought Clark would look hot in. Burgandy was Chloe's favorite color.

"OK," He said with a laugh. Clark had no say when it was his turn to try on clothes. He was Chloe's tall, muscular dress up doll. And he didn't mind one second. She giggled and things were normal between them again.

"Are the Torch's intrepid reporters ready?" Principal Kwan said after stepping into the doorway.

"Yes!" Chloe said, shutting her computer down. She was a perky ball of energy again.

"I'm set," Clark said, doing the same to his computer.

"Let's get going," Kwan said. "I want to get back as soon possible and its a long drive to the fairground."

"OK," Clark and Chloe said at the same time, and they grinned at each other. They made sure each other had everything they needed and they followed the principal through the hallways. Kwan signed them out in the attendence office and drove them to the fairgrounds.