A/N:I will tell you straight off that I am a Chlark fan. At first I thought I was a Chlex-er, but all I seem to write is Chlark. Maybe I just like Chloe too much. Maybe I want her to hook up with someone really bad so I can live vicariously. I love this new character in the Superman universe and can only pray that the PTB work her into the history and futuresomehow. She's too great to lose!
Disclaimer:I own nothing of Smallville. I would love to, but it just wasn't to be… So I just "satisfy" myself writing with the characters. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 1
The day was finally winding down… the colors of the brilliant Kansas sunset draining all of Chloe's stresses away. University was a lot more challenging than high school ever had been, but in the same way, it was eminently satisfying. Her classes were challenging her and she was meeting new and interesting people. Add to all that, she was back in her beloved Metropolis. As the sun disappeared and the dusk fell ever heavier on the street below, she climbed back in to her apartment through her window from the fire escape and heaved a heavy sigh. "Then why am I so bored?" she asked her empty apartment… obviously rhetorically.
She sighed again as she puttered around the kitchen making something to eat. It just felt like life had lost all of its zest the day she'd left Smallville. She missed Clark and Pete desperately and wondered if they ever thought of her anymore. Her eyes strayed to the 11x14" photo that she'd had blown up from the end of their sophomore year. There she was... sandwiched between her two best buds… all of them grinning so hard that you would have thought their jaws would have busted into little pieces from the straining. "That had been such a great day…" muttered Chloe.
Dwiddle-dee-do! Dwiddle-dee-do! A/N: Please picture Wayne and Garth moving their hands in a waving motion to indicate a flashback. (Besides, how do you spell that?) If you don't know who Wayne and Garth are… Oh, could you just shoot me?
"Mrs. Kent, could you puhleeze take a picture of us?" Chloe begged, batting her eyes at Clark's mother.
Clark leaned against the counter and shot Chloe a petulant look. "Ahh, Chlo… Do we hafta?"
"Clark Joseph Kent!" Chloe matched him pout for pout and she could tell that he really regretted his moment of weakness two years prior. "You promised!"
Clark groaned. "Did you, honey?" his mom chided gently. "If you did…"
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I just don't think I'm very photogenic." He ducked his head and Chloe wondered if he did that because he was embarrassed or because he hadfinally realized his eyes gave him away every time he tried to lie.
She laughed in disdain. "Clark, you know for a fact that you're a beautiful male specimen. Girls cry themselves to sleep at night because you never even notice them." Including me, she thought as quietly as she could. She had to think quietly because sometimes she could swear that he could read her mind.
Martha Kent looked at the two teens and smiled. It's so lovely for Clark to have such a pretty and vivacious friend. Clark just lets himself get too serious sometimes. She understood the why… but sometimes she was afraid that he was ruining his childhood with all that angst. She shook her head. That was a problem for a different day. "So, Chloe dear… Where do you want you and Clark to stand?"
Chloe looked at Clark for a moment and then shook her head. "Mrs. Kent, I know you're really busy, but would you mind trying to take a candid shot of us when Pete gets his lazy butt here?"
"You know, not everyone can be artificially juiced up each and every morning," Clark laughed, tickling her side. "How many have you had this morning?"
Chloe shrieked and jumped away from her tormentor. "Two cups regular and three double-shot lattes," she said matter-of-factly.
Even Martha gasped. "Chloe Sullivan! It's 9:30 in the morning! What are you trying to do to yourself?"
Chloe laughed. "I'm a city girl, Mrs. Kent. We wanted an early start and that's not something that comes easily to me." She smiled her 100-watt patented Sullivan grin. "Plus, I know these two boys. If they have it their way, I'll be lucky to get a cup of plain before dinner! I have to keep up my strength somehow."
Clark smirked. "That's true, Mom. Plus, you never want an encounter with the Chloe monster enduring caffeine withdrawals." He shuddered at memories.
"Clark!" Chloe shrieked and whacked Clark on his shoulder. Pain shot up her arm and she had to shake her hand to disperse the pain. "Damn, Clark! Have you been lifting weights after school?"
Clark blushed a fiery red and his mouth just moved up and down soundlessly and Chloe giggled in delight. Clark is soooo adorable when I mention his oh so hunky body! "Chloe, why do you think I married a farmer?" Martha drawled lazily. Chloe just looked at her blankly until the realization of what was just said kicked in. She could feel herself blush hotly and Martha just smiled knowingly.
"Mo-o-o-om!" Clark groaned. "You're not supposed to say stuff like that!"
The sound of a car breaking on the driveway distracted them all from a potentially disturbing conversation. "Pete!" Chloe exclaimed and ran out the door.
She could hear laughter behind her and Clark saying, "Gee, you'd think she hadn't just seen him yesterday…" She was glad that there was a breeze to cool her burning cheeks. Oooo! Clark's going to pay for making fun of me! To distract herself momentarily, she threw herself into Pete's arms.
"Sheesh, Chlo!" Pete grunted upon impact, struggling to stay upright. "Where's the fire?"
"Clark was making fun of me…" she started, moving away from him slightly so she could look at his reaction to her news.
Pete fluttered his hand to his chest in shock. "And he still lives to tell the tale? You must be getting soft, Sullivan!"
She pushed at his arm, reigning in from actually smacking him on the arm since her hand still stung from its contact with Clark earlier. "Pete! I'm not finished!" She waited until he mimed zipping his lips before she continued. "And then Mrs. Kent started talking about what attracted her to Mr. Kent!"
Pete's eyes rounded and then he burst into laughter. "With you and Clark in the same room?" he gasped. She nodded silently which caused further laughter. "Oh, dear!"
"What's up?" Clark asked, suddenly appearing slightly behind Chloe.
"If you weren't so slow, Kent," Chloe snarked, not even turning around and causing Pete to practically double over with laughter convulsions, "you would know." She glared at Pete as he fell to the ground, unable to maintain his vertical stance while laughing so hard. "Ross, if you're laughing at me…" She let it trail off threateningly.
Clark helped Pete up and then turned to her with that Kent smile. She could feel herself melting within. That smile needs to be federally regulated, she thought wryly.
"Ah, Chloe. You know we love you…" he said, throwing his arm around her shoulders. Pete joined in and she couldn't help but laugh.
How can I stay mad when two beautiful guys say they love me? "How did I ever fall in with you two maniacs," she asked helplessly. They all began to laugh because each knew she hadn't given them a chance to not be her friend. Suddenly, Chloe felt a flash and knew that the picture Mrs. Kent had just taken would be a masterpiece… something she'd treasure forever.
Dwiddle-dee-do! Dwiddle-dee-do!
Chloe shook her head and sighed again. When Pete had moved away, things had changed so much… some for the better and some not. She sniffed and realized she was burning her dinner… again. She raced into the kitchen and took her rice pot off the burner and threw it in the sink. "Damn it, Sullivan! Pay attention!" Her doorbell rang and she raced to the door. She needed a distraction… any distraction. Maybe Susan wanted to study and she could convince her to go grab some food as well. "Susan, you've saved me from…" she started as she threw open the door. She stopped as she found a large bouquet of wildflowers practically surrounding her face. She stepped back so she could look over it… and her eyes widened.
"Chloe, I need your help…"