Ten minutes later, in Chloe's buggy, Clark asked the question he'd been dying to know.

"So, what? Did you replace my parents with androids or something?" he asked the driver.

Chloe was completely focused on the road, although she'd only been driving with one hand. The other was pulled up near her shoulder, so she could take quick glances at Clark and still manage not to crash the car. She let a faint evil smile develop across her lips, "Would it matter if I did?"

"Chloe!" Clark almost jumped out of his seat. She was really pulling all the stops tonight. He didn't know how much longer he could keep saying her name; it must be losing its effect on her. "Of course it would. I wouldn't exchange my parents for the world."

"Of course you wouldn't…but admit it; it would have its advantages at first."

Clark couldn't argue with that, so he just went back to his first question. "So, how did you convince them to go to a midnight concert in Metropolis?" Repeating the words, "midnight" "concert" and "Metropolis," every time he mentioned where they were going, might have sounded redundant. But the fact that they were going still hadn't sunk in. Clark hadn't done anything nearly this social and adventurous before. He'd never even been to a concert in Smallville before. He wasn't sure if Smallville had concerts.

This time Chloe let loose a full, maniacal smile, complete with evil glints in her eyes, "I told them that it was a Backstreet Boys Concert, and that we'd been dying to go for months, but when you found out it was at midnight, you decided not to go. "

Clark's face became red. "But my mom was only talking about one artist," he said, reasonably, trying not to blow up in case Chloe was joking.

"I told her that Nick Carter was your hero," she explained, smirking to herself. She knew Clark wouldn't hurt a fly. Even if he wanted to beat the hell out of her, unless she did something illegal and dastardly, he wouldn't. Clark always tried to find a peaceful way. Poor soul, she thought.

Clark's face was as red as an apple. "That doesn't even sound remotely like me!"

"I know," Chloe gleamed; it was always enjoyable to see Clark heat up. "I was surprised when they bought it."

Clark sighed and bent forward, putting his head in his hands. In what alternate universe was he? To be truthful, when Chloe walked in, he should have known they were going someplace extraordinary. She was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and black t-shirt with a band name on it and the neck and shoulder cut off. Very seventies. He hadn't really realized at the time that she was sporting strange apparel, or maybe he had and hadn't given a thought to it. The outfit was different, unique, Chloe. He had come back down in a new pair of jeans and a plain red t-shirt. When he first got into the car, Chloe looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that we're going to a rock concert, right?" she had said. Clark had just shrugged it off and waited for her to start the engine.

Now, to break the uncomfortable silence, Chloe started to sing quietly, "Guess mine is not the first heart broken; my eyes are not the first to cry."

Clark sat up angrily. "Chloe!" he said, in a Hulk-like manner, giving her the "you-don't-want-to-mess-with-me" stare.

"I'm not the first to know," she belted, "there's just no getting over YOU!"

"You know I hate that movie!"

"It's your fault you had it on," she said.

Clark was silent.

"You suck," he stated finally.

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When they arrived at the concert, Clark was in a slightly better mood. Chloe had been playing one of his favorite CDs in the car, as a way of softening him up. It had worked brilliantly. He even attempted to smile once or twice, but then remembered that he wasn't supposed to be enjoying this.

The Sharks Stadium was enormous. Outside, the arena was surrounded by parking spaces, with huge sets of stairs leading up to the various levels. Inside, what was typically a football field had been transformed into a concert area, with a high stage and ropes so the fans couldn't attack the performers. In the middle of the stage, however, a ramp divided the mosh pit into two sections, so the performers could be a part of the crowd.

"Come on," Chloe said, not surprised much by all the chaos. "We're in the mosh pit."

By this time Clark had ceased to be surprised by Chloe's punches and simply asked another question that had been bothering him. "Chloe, we randomly decided to come here tonight, right?"

"For the most part," Chloe admitted, starting to drag Clark by his hand in a way to start the procession toward the stage. She couldn't help but notice how nicely her hand fit in his, and the warmth from his hand spreading into hers. But she quickly discharged all thoughts; she wasn't going to let her love life interrupt tonight. This was strictly about making Clark cheerful again.

"Then how exactly did we get mosh pit tickets on such short notice? If he's as famous as you say he is, last minute tickets are certainly more than you can afford…at the moment, that is," he added quickly. He didn't want to offend any more of her feelings.

"Well, we do have an advantage over other people," she said, without turning around.

"And that is?"

"We have a billionaire for a friend," she stated happily.

Clark rolled his eyes. He was too tired for any more disbelief, but he also didn't like the fact that Chloe had gone behind his back to ask help from one of the last people he wanted to talk to right now. Even if they had re-established their friendship, Clark was still skeptical about Lex's motives, especially since his map of the caves was nowhere to be found in his barn.

"Did you have to?" Clark complained. "Now he's going to want something in return from you."

Chloe laughed, "Getting last minute tickets isn't as expensive as, say, buying five new computers for the Torch. I doubt very much that he'll consider this as a trade for something illegal."

Clark considered Chloe's reasoning for a second, but he doubted it slightly. Something about Lex's mannerisms lately had given Clark reason to believe that Lex was desperate, very desperate. He was almost overly obsessed about the caves, far more obsessed than Clark had been lately. The only things that had real importance to him anymore were the stones, and two of them were missing from sight.

Maybe that's the reason I'm so depressed, he thought.

Once Clark had entered the arena, he immediately regretted it. The speakers popped his ears almost instantly, and he felt almost claustrophobic from all the people milling about him.

"Chloe, I can't stand this…noise!" he said finally. He had failed to discover the wonder of Music Appreciation Class in high school.

Chloe, however, had. "It's not noise! Just close your eyes, Kent," she suggested. "Try to distinguish the different instruments. We have time; it's just the opening act."

Reluctantly, Clark obeyed. At first he couldn't hear a thing, with all the people talking and shouting around him, but he tried to focus on the loudspeakers. He relaxed into the music, letting his heart find the beat of the drum. He could almost feel himself plucking the strings on the guitar, and the bass was the energy of his soul. He felt as if he didn't exist anymore, as if his body was somehow playing the music booming over the crowd. He felt happy. He opened his eyes with a smile, and Chloe was gone.