Career Day. Just what every high school student wants to hear.

As Emmeline went around to various tables looking for places she could apply for a summer job, Chloe bounced up behind her.

"Hey! Find anything interesting?"

"I don't know," Emmeline answered. "What kind of job is there for a girl who's still afraid to speak?"

"Don't worry, you'll find something. Now come on, I'm gonna go sign up at the Daily Planet."

The two girls walked over to the big Daily Planet booth and Emmeline waited while Chloe signed up for a summer internship at her dream job. When she finished, they spotted Pete and Clark and walked over to them.

"Wow, you look nice," Clark commented about Chloe's apparel.

"Thanks," she said. "I was, uh, kind of going for professional. Did you know that the Daily Planet only takes four high school interns from the whole state?"

"Ah, you're a shoo-in, Chloe," Pete smiled.

"Tell him that. He said they received over 500 applicants last year. I doubt I'll even get an interview."

"Well, there's always the Inquisitor," Clark said as they all began walking away from the fair. "Didn't Lex offer to hook you up?"

"No, I'm interning at the Planet. I don't care if it's delivering coffee to the classified department."

"Why don't you just try again next Saturday when you're in Metropolis?" Pete asked.

"Why are you going to Metropolis?"

Chloe stopped walking at Clark's question and Emmeline pressed her mouth into a tight line as her eyes closed. This wasn't good.

"We're going to Metropolis, Clark," Chloe said with a sinking feeling. "The student journalism conference. You were supposed to sign us up and I know you didn't forget because now it's too late to get in."

Clark's eyes widened with realization. "I'm really sorry," Clark sighed. "I've been at the Talon all week with Lana working on a history project."

"So naturally everything else becomes less important." Chloe started storming away from him.

"Well, that's not true."

She furiously spun around. "Clark, how much time have we spent together in the last three weeks?"

"We see each other every day."

"It was 45 minutes when my car happened to break down outside the Talon and you gave me a ride home. I practically had to tear you away from Lana."

"Don't you think you're being just a little unfair?"

"No! Whenever Lex and Lana are around, it's like the rest of us don't exist."

"Wait, Chloe, why are you being so hypersensitive?"

"You know, most men are from Mars, Clark, but you're from some distant galaxy that I've never even heard of."

Finally, Chloe walked away and Emmeline released a breath. Poor Chloe.

Clark turned to look at his two friends. "Look, I know I screwed up, but why is Chloe having a breakdown?"

"You're not the most observant person in the world, are you?" Pete said as he began walking forward.

"What are you talking about?"

"She wanted to spend the day with you uninterrupted. No Lana and no Lex. She's planning on asking you to the Spring Formal."

"Yeah, but that'd be like…"

"A date? Clark, maybe if you took off your Lana blinders, you'd realize that Chloe likes you."

Pete walked away and Clark looked over at Emmeline. "Em, you're a girl. Isn't Chloe overreacting?"

Emmeline refused to meet his eyes. "It's not my place to say."

"Come on, tell me the truth."

"Clark…Chloe is absolutely right. I invited you and your parents over for dinner to return the favor for everything you've done for me. Well, my mom and I worked all day to make a nice meal only for you to be a no-show because you needed to help Lana, and I had to listen to all the adults talk about things I didn't understand or care about. And when we set a day for you to help me study for a test, my mom worked really hard to make some good snacks for us and get everything ready so we'd have a good place to work. Ten minutes before you're supposed to get there, you call and say that you can't make it because you're doing homework with Lana instead, and you never set another study session. You know I ended up getting a D on that test? You just…you spend so much time going after someone who's already taken. Maybe you should start going after someone who's actually available."

She walked away in a huff, leaving Clark dumbstruck.

She headed to the Torch office and found some guy in there with Chloe.

"Oh, hey, Em, this is Justin!" Chloe said with a bright smile. "He used to draw comic strips for the Torch before you started working here. Justin, this is Emmeline, our proofreader."

"It's nice to meet you," Justin said.

"Nice to meet you too." She looked at Chloe. "I just wanted to make sure that you were, you know, alright."

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine! Justin got tickets for the conference, so I'm just going to go with him!" she answered happily.

Emmeline slowly nodded. Something was up with her. She shouldn't have been this happy after what had just happened with Clark. Sure Justin was cute, but even still…

She had a strong feeling Chloe was attempting to make Clark feel jealous. Once Clark walked into the room, Emmeline quickly excused herself, unwilling to see the upcoming conversation.

The next day, Emmeline and Pete were walking together when Clark came up and joined them.

"Hey, either of you seen Chloe?"

"Not since English," Pete answered. "She's probably hanging out with Justin."

"What do you think about that guy?"

"He seems pretty cool. I never got to know him that well before. He was always buried in his sketch pad."

"Chloe seems to like him."

Pete and Emmeline smiled. "Careful, Clark. You almost sound a little jealous."

"I'm not jealous," Clark defended, his tone suggesting the exact opposite. "I'm…concerned."

"Why? Because Chloe's falling for a nice guy? It's got me worried too."

"Look." He showed the both of them a newspaper article. "Justin had it in his portfolio yesterday."

"'Going Down! Doctor Loses Hands in Freak Accident'," Pete read. "So?"

"That was Justin's doctor." When Pete scoffed, he added, "Don't you think it's a little weird he's carrying that around with him?"

"I liked the tragic irony." Everyone looked at each other awkwardly as they realized Justin had been listening to their conversation. "You always talk about people behind their backs, Clark?"

"Look, Justin, I didn't mean—"

"Yes, you did. So, what, so I start spending a little time with Chloe, suddenly you realize she exists and want me out of the picture?"

"Chloe and I are just friends."

"You had your chance with her. Now you let me have mine."

Justin walked away and Emmeline looked after him. "You know, the best friend's approval is the most important part of a relationship. So far…I don't approve."

"See?" Clark said to Pete.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna need more proof first."

During free period, Emmeline headed to the Torch office and when she walked inside, she found Justin and Chloe in total lip-lock!

Chloe jumped at the sound of the door opening. "Oh, uh, hey, Em!"

"Sorry," Emmeline said quietly. "I…didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"No, uh, Justin was just leaving."

"I'll see you later," Justin said as he gave Chloe a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door.

Emmeline looked at Chloe. "Chloe, are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am. I've been emailing him for months on end, and right now, it's a great escape from dealing with Clark."

"You're sure you're not doing it just to make him jealous?"

"What is with the both of you? My world does not revolve around Clark, and I don't need him to be happy!"

"Okay, I get it," Emmeline said quickly. "Sorry."

Chloe sighed. "I'm sorry, Em. I didn't mean to yell. I've kind of just been having a really weird day, and I guess I'm not in the best mood."

"I understand. Guys can do that to you. Especially a farmboy with the initials C.K."

"Very funny. Despite all that, I actually do have feelings for Justin."

"I don't know, Chloe. There's just something about him that feels…off to me."

"You don't know him like I do. Trust me, he's a really great guy."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"That's why we're best friends."


That same night, the school got the horrible news that Principal Kwan had been killed in a car accident…

Emmeline walked into the Torch office to find Pete and Chloe going around trying to make the next issue.

Not long after, Clark joined them as well. "Hey, guys. How are you holding up?"

"I still can't believe this happened," Chloe answered, trying very hard to fight back tears. She rushed all around the room throwing things together at a speed that made it obvious she was falling apart. "I'm putting together a memorial issue, but of course when you're looking for pictures of someone, you can never find them. Um, Pete, can you check the library files again? One more time?"

"Sure," Pete said as he left the office.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"I read Kwan's police report," Chloe explained to Clark and Emmeline with her back to them. "Apparently his car was still on. It must have slipped into gear."

"Chloe, are you okay?" Clark asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She came back over to her computer and they both noticed her watery eyes. "I just can't find anything in this office."

"Let me help."

"No thank you."

Clark and Emmeline looked at each other sadly then back at Chloe. Clark looked at her computer screen. "Chloe, look at this. The first three numbers of Kwan's license plate match Justin's hit-and-run driver."

"What are you getting at, Clark?"

"Well, I'm saying there's a lot of weird accidents that happen around this guy."

"Clark, you are seriously barking up the wrong tree here."

"Did you get a response from the DMV yesterday?"

"No, it never came through."

Clark looked at her fax machine. "Yes, you did. 4:43 yesterday afternoon. That's right around the time you were here with Justin."

"He couldn't have done it," Chloe insisted.

"Why, because you like him?"

"No, because I know him and I know he wouldn't hurt anyone." She turned back around and continued looking through files and pictures.

"I hope you're right," Clark said before leaving the office.

Emmeline went over to Chloe as she furiously searched through her various folders and continued to hold back tears. "Chloe, hey, stop," she said gently but firmly. "Take a deep breath, okay?"

Chloe faced her and it broke her heart to see her best friend so upset. "As you can see, I don't exactly handle this kind of thing very well."

"It's okay, I know it's a lot to take in. But…Chloe, look. I know you like Justin and I couldn't be happier that he likes you back, but the facts aren't really in his favor right now."

"You too? This isn't the time, Em."

"Alright, fine. In that case, I'll just help you with this issue. Just tell me what you want."


Emmeline was doing some homework in the afternoon, though her mind was really on Chloe and Justin.

"Emmeline!" her mother called. "Chloe's on the phone!"

Emmeline picked up the house phone in her room. "Hey, Chloe, what's up?"

"Em? You and Clark were right. Justin is behind everything. I should've listened to you."

"What? Where are you?"

"I'm on my way to Clark's barn to see if he's there. I've been trying to reach the house, but no one's answering."

"Alright, I'm on my way!" Emmeline bolted downstairs. "Mom, I need the car. It's an emergency. Chloe needs my help."

"Sure, take mine. Be careful!"

"I will!"

She raced outside and drove as fast as she could to Clark's house. Her mind took her on a thousand different scenarios, all of them ending with Chloe getting seriously hurt. This was just what she had feared.

When she ran inside Clark's barn, Justin was covered in broken and splintered wood and a sobbing Chloe was hugging Clark.

"What happened?!" she exclaimed.

"Clark saved the day again," Chloe mustered out.

Emmeline ran up to her friend and hugged her tightly. She looked at the cut on her head. "I'm so sorry…"

Chloe said nothing, but they just stayed in their tight embrace, neither daring to let go.


"Em, I am so sorry I didn't trust you," Chloe said to her friend. "What kind of best friend am I?"

"I know how you feel. When someone likes you like that, it's just…such a rush. There's nothing quite like it. Can't say I've ever experienced it myself, but…"

"Well, Clark and I are going to the convention together. Just the two of us."

"That's great! I'm happy for you! You deserve it."

"You're being so cooperative about all this."

"Well, hey, we made a deal. And I'm going to keep it."

"You're the best, Em. What did I do to deserve a friend like you?"

"I ask myself that same thing about you all the time."