A/N: As promised, here is the next chapter of the story. Surprisingly enough, I didn't get as many reviews as I would have thought… but perhaps that's because more people use the computers at work and school than I thought… ;D I shouldn't be surprised. Before I was trying to be "good, that was me!
Chapter 7
As we drove into the school parking lot, I realized that in some ways this felt really odd. Usually I was either coming into school with or immediately meeting my boys. This felt odd. But we walked into school and I noticed that my sisters had formed up behind me. Suddenly I was struck with how similar it seemed to all those teen movies where a popular clique was walking down the hall. I smiled and wondered where the background music was… or the wind machine at least. I rolled my eyes at my whimsy and just tried to make my way down the hallway with the least amount of fuss.
But I couldn't believe how sexy I was feeling. I strutted down that hallway as if I owned every single thing in sight. I heard all the thoughts of my fellow students, but it felt like an homage to me and my crew. I smiled. It felt very appropriate. I noticed Lana standing by her open locker with a disapproving look on her face. "She has friends?" came the virulent thought.
My eyes narrowed. That was totally the last straw. I waved my hand and froze everyone around me. I stopped dead in my tracks and my sisters came around me. "What's up, Chloe?" Fran asked. Surpisingly, she looked a little worried.
"You know what? I thought Lana was my friend." My eyes watered a little. I had my new friends, but the pain of losing an old one smarted a lot. "She thinks absolutely the worst things about me! I'm so sick of it!"
Trinity looked at me with a mock frown on her face. I could tell she wasn't really serious because her eyes glinted with mischief. "You have to be careful about using your powers. We don't really want anyone to know the secret. But you're right. She thinks she's beyond everyone else. That is an attitude that needs to be corrected." She gestured for me to release the time freeze and then waved her hand at some jocks playing with a football. The football slammed into her face with a satisfying thud.
"My nose!" Lana screamed, clutching the injury. She ran to the nurse's station and I had to try hard to swallow my laugh.
We didn't walk too much further before we came to my locker, which Clark was leaning against. I smiled. It was so nice that he was waiting for me… The look on his face was priceless. I didn't wear dresses very often, but this was beyond the norm. He was blushing and glaring around at any other guy that might have noticed. It was so sweet. I turned to Trinity and the others for a moment. "Do you…?"
Fran smiled and it almost seemed lecherous coming from her. "No problem, Chlo. We'll see you later." They walked away and I watched them. A strange thought crossed my mind and I did my best to stamp it out. I loved having sister goddesses and I loved that I felt like I belonged within their group… but it really didn't feel like it would last. I couldn't understand what that could possibly mean, so I just shrugged. It wasn't worth agonizing over.
I saunter over to Clark, Smile #615 plastered on my face. "Hey there, handsome!"
He gaped at me for a minute, and I couldn't blame him. Only one other time in our entire acquaintance had I been so forward. Then he smiled… and I would have melted had I not been trying my darndest to impress him. "What's the occasion, Chlo?"
I batted my eyes at him, and I could have sworn he winced. Okay, maybe I was taking it a bit far, but it was so much fun! "You mean this old thing? I figured it was just about time to wear it, don't you?"
He swallowed convulsively and I hid my face in my locker so I wouldn't start giggling. Maybe this is why I'd never gotten anywhere with Clark… I hadn't been confident enough in myself to actually flirt. "So, Chloe… I was wondering…" I could feel another moment coming, so I quickly pulled my head and my algebra book out of my locker. But whatever he was about to say was lost in the sound of the school bell. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for class again!"
I smiled again. "No worries, Clark." I grabbed his hand before I waved the other. Immediately, all our fellow students froze in their tracks… and I laughed in delight. Maybe this was a better deal than I'd thought. I turned back to my locker to grab the other books I'd need for the morning. "Clark, with your super-speed, I have no idea why you're late all the time. After all, it's not like anyone would be able to see you. I honestly think you should consider…" By this time, I had surfaced from my locker and was looking directly at Clark. "Okay, Clark. What's the sitch? What did I do to get Daddy Clarky's panties in a twist?"
His frown deepened, which isn't really what I'd wanted, but he was being so judgemental. "Chloe, we could get in trouble with this. You didn't freeze the entire world, just the hallway. What if someone comes in…"
This time it was my turn to frown. "And what if an asteroid burned a fiery path onto the planet and destroyed every living being on it? Clark, stop acting like you have a stick up your touckas!" I shook my head and started off for class. He wasn't the only one that was running a touch behind today. I could hear him hurrying to catch up, but I wasn't slowing down. Just as we were about to reach our class, he reached out his hand and pushed me gently against the wall. He still had his lecture face on and I wasn't in the mood.
"Chloe, listen. I know it's a rush to have these powers, but you have to be careful. What if someone saw and wanted to do experiments on you to see the extent of your powers?" What made the difference this time was the fact that his face looked more worried than disapproving.
It was so adorable that he was worried about me. I wanted to kiss the worry away, but that would be overstepping the bounds of our friendship. "Clark, if someone tried to do that, I'd just freeze time and get out of there." It seemed so easy to me.
Clark shook his head. "You're being overconfident, Chloe. What if they secured your hands or if you were tied in place… Or if someone was holding your arms? Remember, we couldn't even budge Lana and Pete yesterday…"
I paled as I realized that he'd been thinking about this much more clearly than I had. "But how would they know…?"
"That you had special powers?" He smiled sadly. "Well, let's think about right now. If our school had security cameras, we would have disappeared from our lockers one moment and appeared outside of class the next. And if someone with a suspicious mind…" He looked at me mischieviously.
I instantly knew who he was talking about. "You mean someone like me, I suppose…" I pulled a wry grimace.
He laughed. "It's not just inquisitive people like you, Chlo. But what about people like Lex… or Lana if she's still mad at you?"
I thought about the football incident and grimaced. What had started out as a childish prank could have turned bad fast. "Okay, I get it, Clark. I think I just let it all go to my head. I promise I'll be a good girl…" I felt very humbled. I wasn't totally invulnerable after all and if I'd known Clark's powers and he'd pulled something like I had this morning, I would have disapproved as well.
Clark chuckled. "Don't promise things you can't deliver, Chlo!" I whacked him on the arm, but smiled in response. "Just be careful. I'll help when I can."
"I knew you would," I grinned. "So, are we in the clear?" I figured I'd put the school on hold for too long already.
He looked around the hallway and scooted a little closer to me. I breathed in his body wash scent and had to fight not to close my eyes and moan. I wanted to scream. I hadn't had this kind of intense reaction to him in such a long time… "I think we're good," he said softly. I found that amusing because everyone was frozen and couldn't actually hear us, but I let it go. "No one's looking inour direction."
As quickly as I could, I let the freeze go. It was like unpausing a movie. Everything continued along without us. I looked up at Clark and realized that he wasn't moving away and was actually staring at me. I smiled. "Clark, if we're going to get to class on time, we gotta' move." He looked a little startled, but didn't move away. I was starting to feel a little nervous myself. Had I unfrozen everyone else and then managed to freeze him? I was starting to panic when he took a deep, shuddering breath. "Clark, are you okay? Did I freeze you or something?" He actually blushed and I thought… Well, it doesn't really matter what I thought, does it? He just shook his head and backed away from me like I had the plague. Great, I thought sarcastically. We're back to square one again! I shrugged. I couldn't keep up with his attitude currently. "Well, I'll see you next period, 'k?"
He nodded dumbly and I moved quickly away. "Ummmm, Chloe?" His voice was actually quavering so I turned around quickly.
"Clark, seriously? Are you okay?" I came up to him quickly and put a supporting hand on his arm. He looked like he was going to pass out and he really didn't need that type of rep at school. "Maybe you should sit down on the stairs or something for a second. Put your head between your knees."
He blushed deeper and shook his head. Now I was really starting to get anxious. What was wrong with him? Finally, I got my answer. "Chlo, would you like to go to the movies tonight?"
I nearly laughed… seriously! That's what had him scared stiff? Did he think that I was going to swear off our friendship because he'd lectured me a little bit? Man, if that was all it took to break our friendship up, he would have broken it off a million times because I was prone to lecture him about anything and everything. "Clark, that would be fine. What time do you and Pete want to meet me at the Talon?" This time he paled slightly. I pushed him toward the stairs. "Clark, what is wrong with you? You gotta' relax! I'm not going to get mad just 'cause you read me a little lecture!" I went to move away, but he captured my hand again. It really seemed like we were in this position a lot lately. He shook his head, but stayed sitting, which I definitely appreciated. My 5'2" frame was in no way ready to catch his 6' plus frame. But there was something… Something I was missing here… "Clark?"
He smiled tremulously. "Chloe, you misunderstood me. I was asking… asking you on a d…d…d…"
Suddenly the pieces fell into place and I wondered if I should be the one sitting down. My head started to swim and my knees felt like they were made of noodles. "A date?" I choked. I didn't know which way to look. He looked at me with those vulnerable puppy dog eyes again and I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle. It was too good to be true. With my free hand, I pinched my leg… I had to know if I was dreaming. All I managed to do was put a probable bruise on my hip. But then my subconscious butted in and I could have screamed. But I had to ask the question my mind posed. "What about Lana, Clark? Are you just asking me out 'cause she won't date you currently? Are you going to dump me as soon as she's free?" I could feel the tears burning, but I refused to let them fall. Even the possibility was enough to make me supremely angry. He'd used me like this before and there was no way on God's green earth I was going to allow that to happen again!
He jumped to his feet as if I'd just set fire to his breeches. "No!" he said a little too loudly and everyone looked our way. The thoughts waving toward us did nothing to help my floundering self-esteem. He blushed a little again. I wanted to pull away, but there was no way I could break his grip.
I turned my face away from his. I didn't want to hear it and I didn't want to guilt him into his answer. "Clark, listen. The first bell was the five minute warning. We have like 30 seconds to get to class." I pulled on my hand, but there was no budging in his grip or stance.
"Chlo, listen," he said in a low, intense voice. "Lana… Well, Lana's changed a lot… or maybe she hasn't and I'm just starting to notice. I've been thinking for a little while that the reason I was convinced that I was in love with her was because every time she came near I'd get weak in the knees. But it was because of that stupid necklace Nell made from the meteor that killed her parents."
A light dawned. "Oh and that's the kind…"
"That hurts me," he finished. He shuddered. "Thinking about it now, it's really morbid to keep the thing that killed your parents around your neck. But I really like you, Chloe… and I think… I think…" He stuttered to a halt.
I had to take pity on the poor boy. I drew close and kissed him on the cheek. "I'd love to," I murmured in his ear.
The shining smile I got in response was almost worth any pain that would come of this… and I knew it wasn't going to be easy. "Great. I'll pick you up around 7?"
I giggled. "Sure you can find my house, farm boy? I mean it is within city limits…" We both laughed and the tension that had been building dissipated as if it had never been there. "That'd be great, Clark. See you later…"
We backed away from each other until we both got tumbled about by someone running to their class. That knocked some sense into us and we gave each other embarrassed grins before moving off to class. I was just glad that we had most of our classes together so I could revel in the thought that Clark had asked me out again… I hadn't thought he ever would after the spring dance disaster… This was turning into the best day ever! I didn't even care that I'd gotten a tardy to add to my ever growing list. Clark had actually asked me out and it was going to happen tonight!
A/N: Now, if anyone catches the oldies television reference in the beginning of this chapter, I'll give you two gold stars! For those that have reviewed, I have my responses! ;D
Definitions: Smile #615: Come-hither
spaceboi's pixie: I'm so glad you liked it. And just as you requested, you get another… ;D
iluvsmallville1: Well, if you're anything like me, in a couple chapters or three, you're gonna' burst into tears! As you know, I write ahead and in a little bit, I nearly cried writing it. Made me feel almost like J.K. Rowling and how she cried when she "killed" Sirius Black in "Order of the Phoenix". I can't tell you how happy that made me. My biggest dream is to have people love my work as much as I do hers…
markmark261: I know that things have been (and are going to continue for a little while) going Chloe's way. And her being the underdog is one of the reasons why so many people root for her. But trials are coming her way… Never fear! (Oh, and I'm glad you liked it! ;D)
