Author's Note: I know the beginning of this story isn't as great as the rest. It's mostly written to give the reader a foresight on Kristian. Just bear through it and enjoy the rest, it gets better!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the Kristian Shane character and such.

Reviews: If there's something you'd like to see in this story, just let me know.

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He needed to leave Atlanta because of the girl that broke his heart and he didn't want to go back to Granville because it reminded him of his parents. Today marked the six month anniversary of their accident, although he never thought it was an accident. The police had closed their investigation and he never said a word about the threats. All he knew was that he would move on no matter what. Lois had been ecstatic when he called and told her that he was transferring to Met U. He bought a fairly nice house, but it was nothing compared to the homes his father had built across the world. It was furnished, quiet, spacious, about five minutes from the Met U campus, and it had an indoor heated pool which sealed the deal. His brother, Andrew, had been left the majority of Shane Enterprises in their father's will and although he still inherited a large portion of the company's shares, he left Andrew to run the company. He'd sign them over to Andrew in the future, when the time was right. But for now, he was just concerned about building a new life. He and Lois had practically grown up together since their fathers were close friends. They hadn't spoken in months, though. He thought back on his visits to Smallville while pulling into the driveway of the Kent farm.

'Welcome to your new life,' he said to himself smiling while shifting his grey Range Rover into park and turning off the ignition. Lois practically ran out of the house, as she was anxious to meet her old friend.

She pulled him into a hug. "Welcome to Smallville, Granville," she said while pulling away. She noted that his appearance hadn't changed much and that his smile seemed genuine.

"Thanks, Lo', it's good to see that you haven't forgotten the nickname you gave me," he said, "and oh, I guess it's nice to see you, too."

"It's only been almost a year, Kristian," she stated while motioning Clark over from the barn.

"Hey now, it's not like we never talk."

"Right, not never, just not often," she replied with a smile.

Clark walked up and stuck out his hand. "Clark Kent...you must be Kristian, nice to meet you," he said while shaking Kristian's hand.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. I've always wanted to meet the best quarterback in Kansas," he said.

Clark just nodded and laughed. "I do believe we tied for that title," he replied.

"That may be so but you beat us in the championship game, and for that I'll give you the title."

"All right, but I still say we're tied," Clark responded.

"Okay boys, as much as I love talking about football, I'm meeting Chloe for lunch. Care to join Granville?" Lois asked.

"I'd love to. I haven't seen Chloe since I was like twelve," Kristian said. He thought back to when he first met Chloe. She was only twelve years old and she already knew that she was going to be a big shot reporter for the Daily Planet. Kristian hadn't even thought about journalism at that point. Things changed, though, and while transferring to Met U he also changed his major from business to journalism. He'd even been offered an internship at the Planet which was something he couldn't turn down.

On the drive to Metropolis, Lois and Kristian caught up on the past few months and just talked. Lois asked about Amanda and he told her what happened. He'd always known in the back of his mind that she wasn't loyal and that's why he could never really love her. It became all too real when he went to her house one day and saw his best friend's car in the driveway. He caught them in bed, and when his friend tried to explain, he punched him in the face and left. He left Atlanta a month later and that's what brought him here. He wasn't bitter or angry, just relieved that he had been given the chance to start over.

"You know, I like Atlanta but I'm a Kansas boy at heart. I'll always come back to this place," he said.

"I know what you mean," she agreed.

They pulled into the Planet's parking garage and headed for the building. They reached the second floor and Lois pushed open the double doors, hitting a staffer and knocking all of the portfolios they were carrying to the ground.

Lois and Kristian bent over to help the girl pick up her things.

"If you're trying to impress me, I think it worked," Kristian said laughing. Then, a hand reached past him and began helping them. Kristian followed the arm to the face he immediately recognized as Chloe's. He was blown away--she'd definitely matured and she'd only grown more beautiful. Lois noticed that he was frozen and staring at Chloe.

"You okay, Granville? You look like you can't breathe," Lois joked.

"I can't," Kristian choked out.

They all stood after finishing picking up the portfolios and Lois apologized excessively. Chloe and Kristian's eyes met and they just stood there for what seemed like a lifetime. Chloe had never seen a man so gorgeous---he had short sandy hair with greenish hazel eyes, a defined jaw line, and from what she could tell from his fitted t-shirt, a tanned and chiseled body. She was enamoured. He'd most definitely grown from the boy she'd met years ago to the man standing in front of her today.

He could say the same--her black suit accentuated her curves and her low cut blue top accentuated her...chest. She smiled and he forgot how to breathe, how to talk, how to think...all that went through his mind was that this was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. He smiled back and Chloe's stomach did backflips.

"Helloooo? Hey, can you guys snap out of it? I'm so hungry that I could eat that scrawny kid standing by the fax machine," she said while emphasizing with her hands.

"Uh, yeah, Lois...I was thinking we could go to that small cafe across the street, I'm extremely low on caffeine," Chloe stated.

Lois clapped her hands together and said, "sounds fantastic, now let's go. Now."

They all exited the Planet and headed across the street. Lunch went smoothly. They talked about everything from Met U's journalism program to why handicap toilets are better than regular ones. When Kristian got up to pay the bill, Lois leaned across the table.

"He's certainly grown up, hasn't he?" Lois stated.

"Oh, he sure has," Chloe said while looking over at him.

Lois smirked and said, "somehow I knew that this would happen. It was only a matter of time, cuz."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Chloe asked.

"That you'd see him in his true light. That you'd finally come to see how gorgeous he is, how funny he is, how smart he is, how inquisitive he is, and how much potential he has to make you forget about a certain plaid wearing farm boy," Lois answered.

Chloe finally noticed that she hadn't compared him to Clark, which was unusual because that's what she always did when she met a guy. "I don't know if you noticed but...I haven't seen or talked to him in seven years," Chloe responded.

"Oh, but I have a way of telling the future, you see," Lois said.

"Really? Then tell me how long this conversation will go until my foot finds your ass," Chloe joked, "because--wait, he's coming back."

She smoothed out her hair and then grabbed her purse while stepping out of the booth.

"You know what? Mrs. Kent asked me to help with dinner tonight. I should get going," Lois said.

"Really? Well, I guess we should be heading out then," Kristian said with a hint of disappointment.

"Yes, I should be going. I have an idea--I can take the Rover back to Smallville and you can stay with Chloe and have her show you around Met U. Then, you both can come back to the Kent's for dinner," Lois said slyly.

Kristian and Chloe looked at each other and nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he said while handing Lois his keys, "take care of my baby. No off-roading...you got that Lois?"

"Oh I'll take care of it, as long as you take care of my cousin," Lois replied.

"Hey now, we all know that I can take care of myself. But Lois, you really should be going," Chloe said in return.

"Don't be so anxious for me to leave, cuz," Lois said, "or I just might stay."

'Go, Lois,' Kristian thought, 'before I pick you up and put you in my car.'

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Chloe showed Kristian around the campus. They talked and laughed like it hadn't been seven years since they'd last seen each other. Chloe was comfortable around him. He always gave off a feeling of security and well-being and she liked that. He seemed to bring out a side of her that she'd been hiding ever since Clark first broke her heart. Kristian also felt comfortable around her. He had always had trust issues due to the amount of people who tried to use him to get to his father. He was tired of fake people and it felt amazing to meet someone who was truly genuine.

On the drive to the Kent farm, Chloe filled him in on all the weird things that have happened in Smallville. He was truly interested and Chloe relished in the way it made her feel. For once, she wasn't insecure about revealing her thoughts and theories to someone other than Clark. They reached the farm where dinner went well. Kristian immediately fit into the close group.

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Over the next few weeks, Kristian and Chloe became really close. Chloe opened up and told him all of the things that she kept hidden from Clark and he did the same. Clark and Kristian had also become good friends and Chloe joked that Clark needed more male friends, as she was starting to worry. Clark seemed to have loosened up. He didn't walk around looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders for once. Kristian and Lois reformed the bond that they once shared. Chloe felt as if he was the best thing to happen to them since their overall moods seemed to have brightened.

She and Kristian began spending everyday together and with each passing day, they fell more into each other. Kristian was sitting in their Chemistry class one day while scribbling on a note that they had been passing back when it hit him--he was in love with her. It grew more with the maturation of their friendship, he realized. He already trusted her more than he had anyone else. It led him up, made him look, made him think, and it made him a better person that he had ever been. She looked at him, waiting for the note. He smiled at her and just laughed when she returned the smile. No girl had ever done this to him, not even Amanda.

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They were sitting on his couch watching a Sharks game. Kristian kept moving as if he was uncomfortable and Chloe noticed.

"You all right, K?" Chloe asked. He had always hated when people called him that but cherished it every time Chloe did.

"You want to lay down? I need to stretch out," he said.

"Sure."

And with that Kristian shifted onto his back and Chloe rested her body on top of his. 'Think about Grandma and baseball. Grandma, baseball,' he repeated in his mind. He closed his eyes and just took her in. Her scent, her touch and the way her weight felt against his body. Chloe did the same. When he draped his arm across her back, she inhaled deeply and brought the moment in. A thousand thoughts raced through Kristian's mind and he tried to relax.

"Have you ever been drunk, Chlo'?" Kristian asked while running his hand over her hair.

Chloe brought her chin up to rest on his chest and met his gaze. "Can't say that I have, Granville," she replied, "why? What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we both don't have class tomorrow, so I figured we could cut loose for once," Kristian said laughing.

"Wait, you mean that ordering Chinese every night and staying up past midnight everyday doesn't count as cutting loose? I guess I am from a small town then," she joked.

"I guess so. I think we're becoming borderline losers. I mean, staying in on the weekends and always taking the late shifts at the Planet and all. My brother stocked up the fridge in the garage as a moving in present, you know," he said, "along with giving me the keys to a Charger identical to the one from the Dukes of Hazzard. I have no idea how he knew I wanted one."

"Which I haven't been in yet," Chloe said while poking him in the chest, "along with every other amazing vehicle sitting in your enormous garage and storage."

"Hey now, you've been in a few. You even drive my Range Rover all the time!"

"True, but still," she said while laying her head on his chest again. "So are we getting drunk or what?"

"Oh yeah. I'll go grab some--I'm just going to assume that you like girly drinks--Smirnoffs. Meet me in my bedroom," he said while Chloe climbed off of him.

"Oh? The bedroom, eh? Planning on taking advantage of me, Kristian Mark Shane?" Chloe jested.

He walked toward the kitchen and said, "you know it, Chlo'. No, I just think that the best time ever would be comprised of getting drunk in the place you're most comfortable in with the person you're most comfortable with."

He stopped and looked back at her. "Do you really mean that, Kristian?" Chloe asked.

"Of course I do," he said while shoving his hands into his pockets and staring at the floor. "I'll be right back."

"Don't keep me waiting, Granville!" Chloe said while bounding up the stairs toward his bedroom.

Chloe opened the door and stepped in. She was immediately greeted with his scent. She was surrounded by him. The walls were painted white with black stripes and his furniture was a deep mahogany. She walked along his desk and stopped to glance at the pictures. He already had a picture of him, Clark, Lois, and Chloe sitting in a booth at the talon. Lana had taken it. She smiled when she noticed that he was smiling broadly and wasn't paying the slightest attention to the camera--he was looking at her. She glanced at the other pictures. There was one of him and Andrew sitting in a black Lamborghini. The next one was him, Andrew, and a man and a woman that she assumed were his parents. Kristian had told her what had happened but he never went into detail. Chloe had read the Planet's front page article last summer, 'Shane Enterprises CEO/Owner and Wife Die in Car Accident over Weekend.' She felt terrible so she never brought it up. She kicked off her shoes and jumped onto his bed. The white sheets and blankets felt amazing against her exposed skin. She rested her head on one of his pillows and was once again greeted with his pleasant scent. She then grabbed a remote off of the nightstand and turned on the tv. Chloe wasn't surprised about the 52" plasma flat screen that hung on the wall across from his bed. They never talked about his inheritance or his trust fund but she knew that Kristian was quite reserved when it came to his finances. He never flaunted it like Lex. She knew that most of the flashy cars that he owned were once part of his father's prized collection and that they always sat covered in a garage or storage and he always wore a faded t-shirt or sweatshirt and jeans.

Chloe sat patiently while looking around the room. She'd been in there a few times but never long enough to take it all in. She paid no attention to the tv and didn't notice Kristian leaning against the door frame with bottles in his hands.

He cleared his throat and when Chloe saw him, he stepped in.

He opened the door to the mini fridge that Chloe would have never noticed, as it was covered in matching mahogany and said, "I grabbed a few extra because I know I won't feel like getting up."

He placed a few in there and gave one of the remaining two in his hands to her. "Way to think ahead," she said while taking it. Kristian walked to the other side of the bed, took off his shoes and then sat and leaned his back against the backboard and Chloe sat up and did the same.

"I do try," Kristian responded, noticing that she was struggling with the cap. "Here," he said while handing her his open bottle and taking hers.

"Why thank you," she said.

"Are you ready for this, Chlo'? I mean it's only fair that I be the one to first get you drunk," Kristian said while looking at the tv. He knew that she loved it when he called her Chlo'.

"And why is that?" She questioned.

"Because, you were the first one to show and tell me everything that I needed to know about Met U, the Planet and Smallville."

"Well, you know that I'm always down with helping the society impaired," she ridiculed.

She looked over at him. Kristian met her gaze and said, "thank you, Chloe. For everything. I'm not too sure I would have made it out alive. But really, thank you...for finally showing me how to live."

She looked into his eyes and whispered, "anytime."