A/N: I decided that because I've been SUCH the slacker with updating that everyone deserved a new chapter as soon as possible. Hope you enjoy it…(Woulda been up Friday, but I was having trouble uploading.)
Chapter 13
I let out a shriek and windmilled my arms and legs. If life had been anything like cartoons or very predictable television, that would have been the precise moment I would fall to the ground. I breathed a small sigh of relief. I didn't want to start this morning out by crashing painfully to the floor.
I heard a crash in Dad's room and could hear him thundering down the hallway. "Chloe! Chloe! Are you all right?"
Using the light fixture, I pushed myself to the door. I wasn't sure how, but I had to stop Dad from coming straight in. "Dad, I'm fine. Just had a teeny nightmare. Go back to sleep."
He paused outside my door. Never before had I thanked the PTB so fervently for Dad being so respectful of my privacy. He didn't even turn the knob to peek in. "Are you sure, baby? You want me to bring you something?"
"Oh, no!" I swallowed hard to bring my panic under control. "I mean, I'm okay, Daddy. I'm gonna' go back to sleep for a little while."
Dad paused outside and his silence was stretching out long enough that I was starting to get a little nervous… especially as I knew he was still outside my door. I briefly wondered where my mind-reading powers were, but it was so blessedly silent in my head that I didn't want to open that can of worms again. Thankfully, I was watching warily, so I caught him opening the door. "Dad!" I shrieked in horror. "I'm not decent!"
The door immediately stilled. "Chloe," Dad said reluctantly, sounding really stressed out. I wondered what was wrong. He cleared his throat. "Chloe, Clark isn't in there, is he?"
I started to laugh. I couldn't help myself. As it continued, I wondered if it sounded as hysterical as it felt. Was it the thought of getting caught by Dad in bed with a boy or the fantasy becoming reality of Clark in my bed? Finally, I was able to get a hold of myself. "Clark dropped me off at home just before you got in. I would have said good night, but I was totally beat!"
Even through the door, I could feel his relief warring with his suspicion. I decided to take pity on him… and it seemed like it would be good for my current situation. "Dad, Clark's going to come by later and I need a little more sleep." I laughed again and winced at the bitterness within it. "You can listen to see if someone tries to sneak out…"
When I heard Dad laugh, I knew that he had been reassured. "Okay, honey. Go back to sleep. I'm going to go fix some breakfast." His footsteps sounded down the stairs and I heaved a sigh of relief. I'd bought myself some time… but not too much.
My mind ran through all the possible solutions. I was already by the door, so I tried to reach the door knob. I had never cursed quite so fluently about my small stature. I had to practically stand on the ceiling to give myself the "boost" to reach the knob. I pushed myself as far down as I could. When I let go, I was hoping that I would at least stay where I was… Instead, I crashed back into the ceiling.
I hung there for a moment, mentally reviewing all the curse words I could remember in any language. It would have been more satisfying to scream them out, but I really didn't want Dad to see me plastered on the ceiling. I didn't think his heart could take that. When I'd reviewed my entire inappropriate vocabulary, I was truly at a loss for what to try next. Since my sisters weren't around, I only had one other person to ask who had powers.
I hauled myself along the ceiling until I was hovering over my purse… lying innocently on the floor. I decided then and there that I was always going to leave my purse on my desk. Even pushing off as hard as I could from the ceiling didn't bring me closer to it. I had a phone line in my room for my modem, but I didn't have an actual phone for it. I wanted to throw a tantrum, but that wouldn't get me my phone any faster. I looked around for anything that could help me. My eyes fell on the closet. I wanted to dismiss it right away because most of my hangers were plastic or wood. But then I realized that Dad may have picked up my dry cleaning the day before. I moved as quickly as I could to the closet and hauled myself down to peer inside. I grabbed the entire dry cleaning bag, blessed the fact that we didn't just use Dryel®, just before I slammed back onto the ceiling. I didn't worry too much about the state of my clothes as I ripped a hanger out of the bag and fashioned a hook with it. Thankfully, from that point on, it was an ultra-simple matter to haul my purse up.
I snagged my cell quickly and noticed my hands were shaking as I dialed Clark's number. "Kent residence," a feminine voice came from the other end.
"Mrs. Kent, is Clark home?" I tried to stay calm, but I wasn't sure how successful I was.
The answer to that unspoken question came fairly quickly. "Chloe, is everything all right?" My heart warmed with the concern in her voice. I always appreciated how Martha Kent showed that she cared for me as a person, not just Clark's friend.
"I'll be fine, Mrs. Kent." I could hear the smile in my voice and knew she could as well. "I just really need his help with something."
"Oh, I see," she said reassuringly. "Do you want to wait for him to come to the phone or just have me send him your way? I ask because he's helping Jonathan in the back 40."
I thought about it for a moment, setting aside my appreciation for her thoughtfulness. "Oh, if you could just tell him that I need him right away… that would be terrific."
"I'll let him know right away," Mrs. Kent said. "Is this anything that I can help with? What about your father?"
I tensed a little. I could only too clearly imagine Mrs. Kent's face if she saw me floating in the air… It didn't matter that she'd been dealing with Clark's special abilities for years. There had just been too many bad examples of people with super powers in Smallville. "Thanks, Mrs. Kent. But this is really a job for Clark…"
Mrs. Kent paused, but didn't leave me hanging for too long. "Okay, sweetie. I'll find Clark directly and send him your way."
The relief I felt was considerable. "Thanks, Mrs. Kent. I really appreciate it." We hung up together and I was left alone to pray that my father wouldn't check up on me.
Thirty minutes later, I heard the Kent truck barreling down the road. I was really surprised that Mrs. Kent was able to find Clark so quickly, but I suppose I shouldn't have been. She could have just stood on the porch, called his name, and waited for him to rush up. Having a super-powered teen for a son may have its drawbacks, but there were some definite perks.
A knock sounded on our front door and I waited breathlessly for Clark's footsteps to sound on the stairs. Instead, Dad started talking. "Hello, Clark. What can I do for you?"
"Hi, Mr. Sullivan. Is Chloe at home?" I had to smile at Clark's dissembling. All those years of hiding really enabled him to lie well sometimes… not to me, but still.
"Clark, it's 7:30 in the morning!" Dad exclaimed. I cursed my excuse of earlier. I should have told him Clark was coming over for a school project… and I'd shrieked because I was late in getting up… and he couldn't come in because I was in the middle of getting dressed. I had to roll my eyes at my lack of foresight.
"She didn't tell you I was coming over early?" Clark asked and I could just picture his expression of wounded innocence. "She asked me to come over early to work on a class project…" I was shocked. Had Clark read my mind?
"Sorry, Clark." Dad was sounding stubborn and I could have spit… I was so frustrated. "She sounded like she had a really rough night. Could you come back in at least an hour?"
Finally, I'd had enough. Discretion was all swell, well, and good, but it could be taken to extremes. "Dad, who's there?" I shouted downstairs. I had decided at the last moment to pretend I hadn't been eavesdropping with every fiber.
"It's Clark, honey. I didn't know you were supposed to be working on a project." It made me really happy that he never questioned me too closely.
"Sorry, Daddy! Would you mind sending him up?" I listened to the door shut and footsteps exactly where I wanted them. I moved as far away as I could from the door.
Clark's knock made me smile. He was always so mannerly. "Can I come in?"
"Get your butt in here!" I nearly shouted in exasperation. He knew I was waiting. I'd given him the perfect excuse to just come in… but he was pushing the manners card too far.
He walked slowly into my room. His eyes darted around and he looked very concerned. "Chloe, where are you?" he whispered.
"Up here, Clark." When his eyes met mine, they widened in shock. Then he surprised me by bursting into laughter and collapsing on my bed. I had to try really hard to rein in my temper. When it continued on and tears started streaming down his face, I reached the end of my rope. "Clark!" I hissed. "It's not that funny!"
He looked at me and I could tell he was really trying to get himself under control. He took a couple of deep breaths. "What happened?"
"I have no idea," I gritted. Apparently the situation was really getting under my skin. "I woke up like this. It scared the crap out of me and then I got to scare Dad."
"And you didn't just fall back down?" Clark's eyes looked thoughtful. "What were you dreaming about?"
I was a little embarrassed. Did I really want to confess that I'd spent the night between mooning over him and arguing with the PTB? I decided I didn't have to confess everything to Clark. "I was arguing with Trinity's higher power."
"You what?" Clark exclaimed, his mouth dropping open in shock.
"Did I stutter?" I snarked and rolled my eyes. "I talked with, and therefore argued with, the PTB."
"But why?" He looked concerned, but also very curious.
"Why?" I laughed, but my bitterness was apparent in the extreme. "Well, let's see, Clark…" I started ticking off my issues on my fingers. "They threw me into an impossible situation… They took away my teachers and support system… They expect me to do this all by myself… Need I go on?"
"Wait a minute, Chlo." Clark looked a little offended and I wondered what his problem was. "You're not alone. You have me."
I laughed and his offended look just deepened. "Clark, how would you know what I'm going through?"
He looked at me sternly and didn't say a thing… until I realized exactly what I'd said. I blushed hotly and he nodded wryly. "I've been in the same position you have… probably more times than you'd think. I'm probably even more qualified to help you cope than Trinity and the others would have been."
My blush grew hotter with each word. If I couldn't get my embarrassment under control, I'd probably burst into flames. "I didn't mean… It's just that…" I couldn't seem to finish a sentence, which was really annoying. It felt like I was accepting his criticism and I wasn't ready for that this morning. "Well, you've never found yourself floating over your bed…"
He chuckled. "Actually, it's happened a couple of times…"
"What?" I was shocked. How come I didn't know this? "How'd you get down?" I pleaded desperately.
He shrugged. "Every time it's happened to me, I dropped out of the air when I woke up…"
I sighed. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. "Well, get me down from here if you're such an expert!" I demanded imperiously.
Clark shrugged and I could tell he didn't think it would help. He reached out and grabbed my waist. I'm not exactly sure how he did it, but he managed to get my feet on the ground. I smiled in triumph, but once he let go, I shot back up to the ceiling. I would have bashed my head pretty good if Clark's reflexes weren't so good. He grabbed my hand and hauled me down to his eye level.
"What do you suggest I do now, Chloe?" Clark asked. His voice seemed a little wary.
I could feel the tears start to roll down my face as hopelessness took hold of my heart. "I don't know, Clark! Am I going to be like this forever?"
Clark frowned at me. "Stop it. You're getting hysterical and that's not going to help anything!" He started pacing and I felt like a balloon bouncing along behind him.
Finally, nausea forced me to say something. "Either let me go or stand still… If you don't, I'll decorate your head with yesterday's theater snacks."
He stopped as quickly as if Lana had needed to cross in front of him. I bobbed into his back with a squeal of protest. "Sorry, Chlo," he said with a blush. He looked at me curiously. "Don't you have any control of your movement?"
I thought about it. "I haven't really tried," I said slowly. It was a little embarrassing that I hadn't tried at all. But I was unwilling to admit that to Clark. A side thought floated in my brain that was surprised that I was willing to dissemble. Why would I have to tell him when I got super powers, but avoided stuff just when it was embarrassing?
Clark smiled. "Well, maybe that's the key… When I've had a new ability crop up, it always takes me a lot of conscious effort to control it at first."
I looked at him blankly. "What does that have to do with…?"
He smiled, which was nice, but it was slightly condescending, which wasn't. "You're going to have to 'think' yourself down."
It clicked in my head. "Mind over matter, huh?"
Clark shrugged. "For right now. And then it's all about practice."
I sighed. Could it really be that simple? "I didn't want to be up here," I stated thoughtfully. "Why didn't that cut the power out?"
"Maybe you were more focused on being stuck near the ceiling rather than your desire to be back on the ground." He grimaced. "Maybe that's why I always crash back down. When I wake up, my mind screams at me about how impossible the situation is, and then it suddenly is impossible."
It made sense… surprisingly so. It seemed so unusual that anything related to this situation could be logical. I closed my eyes and focused firmly on my desire to have my feet firmly planted on terra ferma. I felt like there were sensations of movement, but worried that it might just be my imagination. When I felt a pressure on my feet, I held my breath, afraid that it wasn't actually true.
"Chloe!" Clark crowed in triumph. "You did it!"
I opened my eyes and shrieked with joy. My excess of relief and excitement was almost too great. I leapt into Clark's arms. "Clark, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" With that, I drew his head down and kissed him.
A/N: Ah… Longer… I'm so happy!A/N: Ah… Longer… I'm so happy!
BabyC2003: I'm sorry I made you wait so long… so totally thanks for your patience! This "fast" update is your reward! ;D
iluvsmallville1: I am probably going to be working on it this weekend. Maybe I'll even do the one where I changed the lyrics (Who? Me?) so had to sing it. (Not my favorite sound quality, but it works… You can find my previous videos at the home page you can find under my profile... and it's under my "Fun Stuff" section. Right now, it's heavy into Harry Potter but I'm branching out soon…
I know that the last couple chapters have been short, but I think I'm getting better. At least this one was five pages in Word BEFORE I addressed everyone's reviews! ;D
Cherri202: I'm glad you like it… And did I misread or did you say that 70 of your group/guild have read this story? That's incredible! And I'm so humbled by that (if I'm not taking it the wrong way)! Thank you! (And Lana should be removed from the series and I'm totally serious about this. I don't understand why she's still there. She's a secondary character, even less important that Lois and that's really saying something for me and yet they still treat her like a main character! Oy!)
spaceboi's pixie: Obviously your wish is my command! ;D
markmark261: I'm so glad you found how to fix the plural of "crisis". It was totally kicking my can!
