It was reassuring for Clark to see his father working on the tractor as he returned home. While a lot of people his age were currently relishing leaving home to begin a new stage of their life at college or in a new job, he was glad still be around his folks. It felt to him at times like these days would never end… and then he realised that they would. Of course they would. That was the whole reason why he was still here now. His father was ill, and deep down Clark knew his life was nearer the end than they beginning. Everyone in The Kent household knew it, though it was never really talked about these days.
"Hey, son. Don't tell me you're finished for the day already? It's only one in the afternoon. Some of us are just getting started!" said Jonathan, who had in fact been up since the early hours. He somehow managed a smile at Clark while never removing his attention from his work. "I guess that's the life of a college kid."
Clark beamed at the pride in his father's voice.
"Well, I'm not quite done yet. I still have a couple of assignments to work on, but I can do that from here. I got plenty to do round the farm too, so don't think I'll be taking it easy."
"Oh, I can take care of most of that. The farm stuff, I mean. You managed to get a hold of Chloe yet? Maybe you could meet up with her this evening."
Clark's smile froze. If this were his mother talking, he'd think she was playing matchmaker. His dad most certainly would not do such a thing… but he might step in if he thought a friendship was in trouble.
"I don't know," said Clark. "I've been trying to get a hold of her, but she doesn't return a lot of my messages. And when she does, she always seems to be busy."
"She does have a lot on her plate right now, Clark. That young girl has a bright future ahead of her, but she's going to have to work hard to get it. Not many people her age get opportunities at the Daily Planet, and for all my cracks about college students, some of them have to work pretty hard."
"But not me, right?" said Clark, rolling his eyes.
"Well, it's true not everyone can read a textbook as fast as you can… but no-ones ever accused a Kent of slacking a day in their lives, and they're certainly not going to start with you."
"So you're saying I should back off, give her some space?" said Clark doubtfully. He'd hardly seen her at all the past few weeks. He'd begun to realise just how much he'd taken her for granted over the past year or so. She'd been there every time he needed her. She'd been very caring… but he supposed it must not always have been much fun for her. Especially the number of times he'd talked to her about Lana, he thought, recalling how much he used to hate Lana talking about Whitney.
Jonathan patted the tractor and took a step back, turning to his son. For an absurd moment Clark had a clear image of his father telling him 'You know son, a girl is just like a tractor…'
"Have you considered that Chloe might be seeing someone?" he said instead, removing his well-worn brown gloves.
"She hasn't said anything. She's not really the…" Clark stopped mid-sentence, realising he'd almost said 'She's not really the dating type'. It was true Chloe hadn't had a boyfriend in some time, but it wasn't like she wasn't interested in guys. "I just never really thought about it."
"Not many people go through college alone, you know. I mean…damn, I'm sorry Clark. I wasn't thinking, after all that happened between you and Lana."
"No, dad, it's fine. You're right, she shouldn't be alone. Chloe's a great person. Who wouldn't want to be with her?" he said. He mumbled the last part as if he were almost speaking to himself. A few weeks before Chloe dropped out of sight, she'd kissed him. They'd just been goofing around one night at her apartment, she'd had a little too much to drink (to which he had pointed out a polite objection and left it at that) and then they'd kissed. Chloe had initiated it, but he hadn't exactly put a stop to it. He realised he should have done so at once. He'd just been feeling lonely. It was a great kiss, but he couldn't mistake his friendship for Chloe for something more again. He couldn't keep hurting her like that any more than he could have kept hurting Lana by protecting his secret.
"You know I'm happy to talk about this any time, but this is one of those things a father and son talk isn't going to solve. Ask her to dinner. See if you can't work this thing out."
Clark nodded; his father was right, of course. He was probably getting this thing all out of proportion anyway. He'd take Chloe out to dinner, let her know how much she meant to him, and let her know he understood if she needed some space. Jonathan leant against the wall, looking off into the horizon while Clark called Chloe on her cell phone.
"Clark? Hi!" chirped Chloe as she picked up. Clark couldn't help but notice something forced about her enthusiasm, but he put it to one side.
"Good to hear your voice again Chloe," he said.
"Yeah… yours too. Uh, I can't talk for long though. I'm just heading back from lunch."
"Oh, that's okay. I really just wanted to ask you to dinner tonight. I can run right over to Metropolis anytime that suits you. Your choice where we go."
"I'd like to Clark, really, but actually I've already made plans for tonight. I'm going out with this guy from the Planet. Not on a date or anything, you understand."
"All right," said Clark, trying to hide the disappointment from his voice. "I just wanted to spend some time with you is all. Are things all right between us?"
"Of course they are. But, um, now I really got to go. We'll meet up soon, I promise."
Clark tried to protest, but wasn't fast enough to stop her from hanging up. He supposed he could have dashed all the way over to Metropolis and physically stopped her, but that seemed a little extreme. Jonathan was trying to look disinterested.
"Yeah, she can't make it. Again," said Clark, before realising he was sulking. It was time he grew out of that sort of thing. He forced a smile, but his father seemed sympathetic.
"You know son, just because you can go anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye doesn't mean they'll always be someone waiting for you at the other end," he said quietly.
It was going to be a long night, Chloe reasoned as she turned her attention back to her laptop. Sean was still talking with some guys at the bar. The conversation was mostly sports-related, largely excluding her from taking part. They hadn't seemed to appreciate her smart-assed remarks all that much either. She never should have let Sean talk her into coming here. "I feel I need to get to know you better, as a colleague," he'd told her. So far that had involved clumsily flirting with her followed by ignoring her completely after she failed to respond. Her phone lay next to her on the table. She looked at it longingly, hoping Clark might call if she just willed it to happen. Hey Chloe, I just wanted to see if you changed your mind about dinner. Well, just fancy Clark, turns out I'm available after all!
She'd only agreed to this thing in the first place because she was scared of how withdrawn she'd become. Now she was out in a place crowded with people feeling just as alone as before. Sean had proven as reliable as Clark… but as least Clark always had a good reason for leaving her. And now he was doing exactly the opposite, reaching out to her, wanting to see her.
Clark only reaches out to people who need saving Chloe, came a voice in her head. Sighing, she locked the screen on her laptop so no-one could access it then walked over to Sean.
"Could you watch my laptop for a moment? I need to go to the bathroom," she said. Sean nodded, seemingly embarrassed.
The mirror in the bathroom told a story she did not care to investigate, even if it could have made the front page of the Daily Planet. The girl looking at her was too thin, the skin on her face hanging just a little slack. The skin around her eyes was puffy and swollen. Her mouth looked miserable, and when she attempted a smile that would surely win even Clark Kent over, it completely failed to reach her eyes. It was a story about a girl who no longer took care of herself and no longer knew how to try.
When she returned to her table, she noticed immediately that the screensaver had come onto her laptop. Which was fine in itself, but it wasn't the screensaver she had set. Instead a line of text scrolled across the screen, red letters against a black background.
THE WALL OF WEIRD IS GONE, CHLOE.
She looked up at Sean, expecting him to be grinning at her, but his back was still to her. Then the text disappeared before being replaced with another line.
I KNOW HIS SECRET.
And another.
THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING.
YOU ARE AS CLOSE TO ME AS YOU EVER WANT TO GET.