Chapter 2: "Give Me a Sign"

They had been meeting for coffee once a week in addition to studying for their class together, and Chris had yet to figure out if Clark was gay or not. He had learned a lot about Clark from their conversations, that he was adopted when he was young but his adoptive parents were amazing, that his father had passed a few years ago from a heart attack, and that his mom was a senator. He had met Clark's two roommates, Lois and Chloe, and neither of them were dating Clark, which they made very clear when Clark introduced them. And he was discovering that Clark was a really nice guy who liked to help people, but he couldn't bring himself to ask Clark out yet. He didn't want to ruin a friendship.

"Chris, what is going on?" Wyatt asked, startling Chris from his thoughts. Wyatt had watched Chris stare at the same page in the Book of Shadows for the last five minutes. The two of them were trying to find the demon that Melinda had encountered earlier in the day in the book.

"Wh-what?" Chris replied, forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.

Wyatt walked over and nudged Chris aside from the book. "You're supposed to be looking up the demon with horns that Melinda saw but instead you're off in your own head. Is it a girl?"

Chris shook his head. It was definitely not a girl. Thinking of Clark's strong arms and muscular torso…

"You're doing it again." Wyatt said, poking Chris in the chest. "Come on, out with it."

Chris sighed and stepped away from the book, sitting down on the nearby love seat. Placing his head in his hands, he mumbled "It's not a girl. It's a guy." Peeking through his hands, he watched to see his brother's reaction.

Wyatt laughed. "Well it's about time that you told me you were gay." He sat down next to Chris and placed his arm around his younger brother's shoulders.

"Wait, what, you knew? How did you know?" Chris stuttered, he thought he had done a good job of hiding it.

"I saw you and Ryan making out behind the bleachers at my football game," Wyatt said bluntly.

"That was four years ago and you never said anything?" Chris responded, blushing at the thought of Wyatt seeing him with Ryan.

"Well I figured you would tell me when you were ready," Wyatt replied. "Anyways, what is going on? You haven't been able to focus all day."

Chris caught Wyatt up to speed, that he had met this really nice guy but wasn't sure if he was gay or not and wasn't sure how to find out. After hearing everything that Chris had to say, Wyatt told him that he should just ask Clark out.

"Look Chris, you said this Clark guy is really nice and understanding," Wyatt reasoned. With Chris's nod, Wyatt continued "Then you should just ask him out. If he is as nice as you are making him out to be, then even if he isn't gay, it shouldn't ruin the friendship. Just be careful."

"I'll think about it," Chris replied, knowing that Wyatt was referring to his being a witch/whitelighter. With that settled the two of them turned back to the Book of Shadows to complete their demon research.

Little did Chris know that Clark was having a similar conversation with his roommates….

"Okay Smallville, out with it," Lois said, passing Clark a beer and sinking into the couch next to him and Chloe. "You have been moping around the apartment all weekend. Now spill."

"It's Chris Halliwell, isn't it Clark?" Chloe added, butting into the conversation. She knew that Clark and Chris were meeting for weekly coffee dates, even if Clark wasn't referring to them as dates.

Clark nodded, "Yeah, I keep planning on asking him out, but it's like the words get stuck in my throat. And what if he isn't interested?" He fiddled with the edge of his shirt.

"Well the worst thing that will happen is that he will say no, Smallville," Lois reasoned. "But I don't know why he would."

"Yeah Clark, you should just go for it." Chloe urged. She had a pretty good feeling that Chris was interested, just by the way he acted when he and Clark were together.

"I'll think about it," Clark promised, taking a long swig out of his beer. He had a study meeting scheduled with Chris tomorrow; maybe by then he could get up the courage to ask Chris out.

xxxxx

They had been studying a couple hours, as there was a mid-term coming up shortly. Clark glanced over at Chris, focusing intently on the textbook laid out in front of him. Taking a deep breath, Clark figured there was no time like the present. "Now I may be way off base here, but I am really enjoying the time that we spend together, and I was wondering if you would like to go out? Clark stammered out.

Chris looked up at Clark, not sure that he understood Clark's question. "You mean, as in a date?" Chris asked hopefully.

"Yeah, as in a date," Clark clarified. "Or you know, if you're not interested, I completely understand," Clark quickly added.

"No, I'm interested," Chris said with a grin. "I'm definitely interested."

"Great," Clark said, happy with Chris's response. He hadn't expected it to go this well. "Um, dinner and a movie, on Friday?"

"Sounds perfect," Chris said. The moment was interrupted by the ringing of Chris's cell. Glancing down at the caller id, Chris noticed that it was Wyatt calling. "Sorry Clark, I have to take this, I will be right back."

"Sure no problem," Clark replied, noticing that Chloe had also sent him a text that he should respond to.

Stepping outside of the library, Chris turned into the alley. "Wyatt!" He loudly whispered, waiting for his brother to orb in. The shimmering blue and white lights signaled his brother's arrival.

"Hey Chris," Wyatt greeted his brother, noticing that his brother seemed in a good mood. "Thanks for meeting me."

"Wyatt, can we hurry this up? Clark and I are studying," Chris said, annoyed that Wyatt was interrupting his study date. He folded his arms while tapping his foot impatiently.

"Judging by that grin on your face, I'm thinking you are doing more than studying," Wyatt teased, elbowing Chris on the shoulder. Chris just glared at him. "Okay, okay, Melinda and I need you to pop back home, say the incantation for the potion with us, and then you can get back to your 'studying'". Wyatt emphasized the word studying by making air quotations with his fingers.

"Fine, as long as we are quick," Chris replied, and the two brothers orbed back to the Halliwell Manor.

Meanwhile, Chloe had texted Clark that there was an armed robbery in progress at the Metropolis Central Bank and hostages had been taken. Clark quickly scribbled a note to Chris that he would be right back and ran to the bank. Using his x-ray vision, he was able to ascertain that there were only two armed robbers. With his speed, Clark dashed into the bank and quickly disarmed the robbers. He tied them up and deposited them outside where they were surrounded by the police and taken into custody. Brushing imaginary dirt from his hands, Clark sped back to the library, the whole incident only taking about five minutes to resolve.

Chris had orbed back a couple minutes later and walked back into the library, not realizing that Clark had made his own disappearance.

"Everything okay?" Clark asked, wondering where Chris had gotten to. He had done a quick scan of the library when he returned and didn't see the man.

"Yeah, just my brother calling and checking in. My family is still having trouble with me not being at home," Chris quickly made up on the spot. He didn't think that Clark was ready to hear that he had popped home to San Francisco to help his siblings with their demon hunting. Glancing down at the textbook, he noticed that Clark hadn't moved on from their current chapter. "Were you waiting for me to get back? You could have gone on ahead without me."

"Yeah, I just stepped out to stretch my legs," Clark lied. He didn't think that Chris was ready to hear that he used his alien heritage to stop an armed robbery. "But it's late, and I better be getting home or Chloe will be getting concerned." Standing up, he started to pack his books into his bag. Turning to Chris, Clark asked "So are we still good for dinner on Friday? Say around 7? I will text you the address and I guess we can meet there?"

Chris nodded, excited about the prospect of going out with Clark on an official date. Friday couldn't come soon enough.

xxxxx

Author's Notes: I will post the next chapter near the end of the week. Please leave a review!