A/N: When I said "no romance" I meant no outright, in-your-face romance. Of course, that doesn't include implied romance which can be interpreted any way you want!

Disclaimer: Check chap 1.

Chapter 2: The Amazing Obliviousness of One's Friends

Lex's POV

The next morning, I was working in my study and the cat was taking a nap on the sofa when Clark stormed through the door. I have to say, I was very happy to see him at first; after all, it was beautiful Saturday morning and I was stuck looking over paperwork. My face fell as I saw the look on Clark's. He was nervous and frightened. I stood and walked over to him. "Hi, Clark. What's-" I was cutoff suddenly by a loud purring noise. Clark and I both looked down to see the cat rubbing up against Clark's leg. Clark turned back to me, a small smile permeating features. He leaned down and picked up the cat.

"Ah," Clark cooed at the golden ball of fluff. "Boy or girl?" he asked.

"Girl," I answered.

"What's her name?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. She hasn't told me yet." Clark gave me an odd look. "My staff just calls her kitty." Clark laughed at that. 'Kitty' purred in his arms. She looked up into his face with what seemed like a hopeful look, but then again she always had weird looks.

"When'd you get her?"

"I found her yesterday at the high school."

"Really?" Clark seemed surprised. I nodded.

Clark petted her softly. "She's beautiful," he crooned, "and somehow oddly familiar."

I looked into Clark's face. "You think so, too? I think it's the eyes. They remind me of someone." Clark nodded. The cat looked from Clark to me and then back to Clark. Her expression was one of sorrow. I also noticed that the purring had stopped. "So," I began, trying to take my mind off her strange mannerisms. "What's up?"

Clark's face fell once again. "It's Chloe," he said. The cat meowed loudly. I glared at her for a moment trying to tell her to behave. She shot me a look of indignation. Huh, indignation from a cat. Clark continued, "She's gone missing."

That got my attention. "What do you mean?" I asked. The cat began to squirm in Clark's arms, so Clark set her on the floor. She sat and frowned up at him.

"We don't know where she is. She didn't come home from school yesterday," he explained.

"Have you called the police?"

Clark nodded. "They said she has to be missing for twenty-four hours before they'll start an investigation."

"Well, is there any evidence that something happened to her?" I asked. I was starting to get worried. Chloe's curiosity was infamous for getting her into tight spots.

"Well, no. We keep trying to call her cell phone, but no one answers. I don't know what to do. Her father was already in Metropolis so he's looking there, and Lana, Lois, and my parents are checking out her usual hang-outs around Smallville." Clark sighed. He walked over to the couch (nearly stepping on the cat who growled angrily) and sat dejectedly with his head in his hands. The cat jumped onto his lap, and he gently began to stroke her.

I walked over and sat across from him. Clark voiced his concern, "Chloe's had so many near-death experiences already. I'm afraid her nine lives are going to run out."

I sighed. Clark had taken the words right from my mouth. Of course, I would never actually speak them. The most annoying thing, though, was that I still felt the need to protect Chloe even though my father had taken her off his hit list. "She'll be fine Clark. She's smart and can take care of herself. I'm sure you're worrying over nothing." Okay, so I'm a damn hypocrite. In reality I was worried as hell. God, Chloe why do you always have to get into these situations?

"I know," Clark said, pulling me from my own thoughts. "It's just that I don't know what I'd do without her. It was so hard when I thought she had died. I just…I just want her to be okay." I nodded in understanding. The cat, who was still on Clark's lap, curled up against him and purred. It seemed to have a soothing effect on him. He smiled slightly and petted the cat. I sat and watched Clark pet her. She was definitely an amazing cat.

After a moment, I spoke up, "Have they investigated the Torch office?" I asked.

Clark shook his head. "We can't get in. Chloe was the one with the keys to the school, and I don't think the principal or janitors will let us borrow a key either."

I smiled widely. Because I so often donated equipment to the school, I needed a key to let the people who dropped off the equipment into the school. "I have a key," I told Clark.

He looked up at me, eyes hopeful. "Really?" he asked. What? Did he think I was lying?

"Yeah," I answered. "Why don't we play the role of Chloe this time and go investigate." Clark nodded enthusiastically. We both stood and began to walk to the doors. The cat, however, had different plans. She ran in front of us and sat right in front of the doors. I sighed. "No," I told her, lifting her into my arms. "You have to stay here." I set the cat on the sofa, noticing her angry look as I walked out the door.

Omniscient POV

Clark and Lex walked into the torch office, and Lex flicked the light switch. The fluorescent overhead lights illuminated the room. The two saw nothing out of the ordinary. Lex strode over to Chloe's desk and Clark walked to the broom closet. On Chloe's desk, the green computer monitor was turned off and a file of the freak-of-the-week sat open before it. Lex frowned. Why had Chloe not put it away? he thought. Lex closed the folder. His eyes skimmed over her half-full coffee cup and scattered pens and pencils. Something was obviously wrong. Chloe may not have been exactly organized, but she did clean up a bit before leaving the Torch office. Lex reached toward the top drawer and started to slide it open.

"Hey, Lex!" Clark called, peeking his head out from inside the closet. "I think you should come and take a look at this." Lex closed the drawer he had begun to open, not noticing the book inside labeled Spells.

Lex walked over to the closet and poked his head inside. "What have you found, Clark?" he asked.

"Look," Clark said, pointing to a pile of fabric folded and set neatly on a shelf. Lex approached the shelf and unfolded the fabric. It was a woman's shirt. It was red with spiraling yellow designs along the seams. "That's Chloe's shirt," Clark said.

Lex refolded the shirt and set it back on the shelf along with the other clothes. "Chloe probably keeps clothes here for nights when she works late," he reasoned.

Clark shook his head. "Those were the clothes she was wearing yesterday."

Lex raised an eyebrow. "Though I'm sure a nude Chloe running around town would be extremely amusing, I very much doubt that Chloe would strip before running away." Clark's face turned pink, and Lex chuckled.

After a moment, Clark's face turned very serious. "Wait a second," he said, moving toward the door. Clark quietly peeked outside before swiftly pulling his head back in and closing the door so that only a sliver of the room outside was visible. "Someone's coming," he whispered.

"Who?" Lex asked. Clark only shrugged. They then positioned themselves so that they both could see out into the room.

A tall boy entered the torch office. His mouse-brown haired was slightly ruffled and his eyes were bloodshot. He held a large weathered book under one arm and a tiny journal in his other hand. The boy walked over to Chloe's desk and dropped the book and journal onto it. He stood there with his hands on the text, his red eyes facing forward, perfectly still. The feeling in the room shifted somehow when he entered. It was almost as if electricity charged through the floor and walls. A stench came along with it. It smelled like stale air from a long-forgotten tomb. Lex shivered slightly and Clark fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Do you know who that is?" Lex asked in a hushed voice.

Clark jumped, remembering he was not alone in the closet. "I think it's Brandon, Chloe's own history connoisseur. But he seems…" Clark paused, choosing his words, "different."

After a moment, Brandon moved. He exhaled loudly and said, "Chloe, where are you?" Lex and Clark leaned in toward the door. Brandon was looking for Chloe, and Chloe was missing. Conclusion anyone?

Brandon snarled. "Damn it, Chloe! I know you're here!" He was now yelling. "You had no where else to go. I know what you did, so get your furry cat-ass out here!" Brandon slammed his hand down on the desk, and a charge ran through the room like a bolt of electricity. Clark and Lex both flinched as the charge reached them. Clark was knocked off balance (something that never happened) and fell forward. The door flew open as Clark and Lex, who had fallen with Clark, tumbled out onto the floor. Brandon turned his steely gaze on them.

"Clark," he growled, acid dripping from the word. "Where's Chloe?"

"We don't know where she is! We're looking for her, too," Clark stammered as he scrambled to his feet.

Lex, who was already back on his feet and dusting off his suit, studied Brandon. "What do you want with Chloe?" he asked.

Brandon looked to Lex. His eyes burned with crimson fire, and if asked in that second, Lex would have sworn he was facing a daemon. Brandon's lips contorted to form a sneer. Before Lex could blink, Brandon raised his arm and flicked his wrist. A blast of dark red energy shot from his fingers, slamming into Lex and throwing him off his feet. With a sickening smack Lex hit the wall behind him and slumped to the ground. Clark rushed over to his friend. Clark knelt beside him and asked, "Are you okay?"

Lex sat up and touched his hand to his head. Feeling that his head was sticky with blood, Lex cringed. He turned to his friend, though, and flashed his trademark smirk belying the pain. "Just peachy."

Clark and Lex turned as they heard Brandon approach. "Where's Chloe?" he demanded.

Clark glared at him. "I already told you: we don't know!"

Brandon sighed loudly. He turned away and massaged his temples for a few seconds before turning back to Clark. "Where is the cat?" he asked, annoyance evident in his voice.

Lex looked up. What does the cat have to do with any of this? he thought. Then a look of understanding passed over his face.

"What does the cat have to do with any of this?" Clark asked, echoing Lex's thoughts.

"Clark," Lex said cautiously, "I think Chloe is the cat."

A/N: Oh, cliffie! Are Clark and Lex going to be okay? Why does Brandon want to find Chloe? All will be revealed in time! I got the line get your furry cat-ass out here from the movie Eight-Legged Freaks. I just love that line!