Author's note: Hey, sorry it took so long. I had a bit of writer's block. I hope you guys like it. If you don't, let me know what you don't. Believe me, criticism helps.

Chapter Ten

Chloe had left San Francisco without saying a word to Billie or the Halliwells. She left a note at the Halliwell manor letting them know that she'd gone home. She was still upset with Billie, but she'd written a short farewell to her somewhere among her lengthy goodbyes to the sisters.

She'd packed everything the night before, and she was prepared to check out early. She waited for Clark to get up; she'd told him of her plans the day before. Finally, he got up, and they were in Metropolis before they knew it.

"Chloe, we're here," he said. She nodded, and stayed there, clinging to him. She'd decided to tell him her secret. It was now or never. She kissed him passionately, and he gently put her down. She inhaled deeply, and prepared to tell him.

Just then, a car zoomed past them blasting loud music, followed by another car. Clark groaned. Lana. How could he have forgotten? He knew what would be happening next. Chloe was right on cue asking questions as three more cars sped past them.

Chloe spent the rest of her day reading through all of Lois' notes and research on the street racing ring in Metropolis, which Lois had left at Chloe's apartment. Clark had forgotten about Lana and the street racing while he was in California with Chloe.

"Lois may just be a better reporter than I am," Chloe said to no one in particular. "These are some good notes. I can't believe she wrote all of this from memory after every race." Chloe continued to read. She was a bit tired; Lois' recounts were very thorough and Chloe had been reading them for hours. She decided to skim through the rest of the information.

Then, something grabbed her attention. She thought she'd seen a name she recognized. She actively read the words on the page, and was stunned to see:

Elle is Lana Lang. I saw her face. Kent pulled me away; he didn't want to be seen. Lana did some freaky thing; (I think she's a meteor freak) She pushed Jax yards away from her, without touching him. Then, she took off all his clothes, without touching them; and she miniaturized his car; it fit in the palm of her hand.

Chloe paused for a minute; she focused and projected herself through time to that night, and saw that Lois' recap was correct, and that it really was Lana. Isobel must have taken control of Lana! Chloe realized that she couldn't print the story; Lana didn't have anything to do with it, and the story would ruin Lana's reputation. Chloe, a bit disappointed, put away the notes her cousin compiled for her and went to bed.

Lana smiled as Chloe approached her at the Talon in Smallville the next day.

"How was your trip? Where'd you end up?" Lana asked. The two engaged in conversation as Chloe told of her vacation.

"What about you?" Chloe asked. "What have you been doing for the past month?"

Lana smiled. "Nothing too exciting."

"Hey, what are you doing tonight?" Chloe asked. "I wanna go to this club in Metropolis..." Lana's smile faded. "I don't really like clubs," Lana replied, cutting her friend off.

"Oh, well, I'll ask Lois when she wakes up," Chloe said. "I'll see you later!"

Chloe walked out of the Talon, quickly, and right into Clark.

"Chloe," he started. "About yesterday..."

"You mean the kiss? Don't worry about it," she said. "I shouldn't ha--" Clark put a finger to her lips, leaned down, and kissed her.

Meanwhile, inside the cafe, Lois came down from her apartment.

"Ugh, they need to get a room," Lois commented, looking outside. Lana followed Lois' gaze and saw the couple kissing. "Wait, is that... Smallville.. kissing my cousin? Finally, he told her!" Lois stood there, watching, happy for them. However, he felt weird watching them, and walked away.

Lana couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Chloe knew everything about Clark; she could see it in the way he looked at Chloe. Then, she realized something. Clark went to Chloe for most things, even when he was with Lana. Could Chloe have planned this? Didn't Clark go to Chloe after he and Lana had a fight? Did Chloe cause their breakup so she could have Clark to herself?

"I'll bet Jimmy was part of it. She probably knew that you all were coming that morning." Isobel said.

Lana looked in the mirror, listening to every word. She eventually let her guard down as her ancestor manipulated her emotions, and Isobel took full control.

Clark and Chloe finally realized that they were in town, in plain view of people, so Clark took her in his arms and took her back to the Kent farm. They were on the couch in his loft and he continued to kiss her. She broke the kiss, and started to speak.

"Clark, as much as I'm enjoying this, we need to talk," she started. "What is this all about?"

"Chloe, I love you, and you know you love me too," he said. "I know you're with Jimmy, but.." He noticed her change in demeanor. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied. I just forgot about Jimmy, that's all. "We need to talk about this. Why do you think you love me?"

"Chlo', I know you're skeptical, but I really do."

"Do you love me because you saw me and Jimmy together? Are you jealous?"

Clark couldn't lie to her; he told her that he was indeed jealous. "But, that's not when I realized how I felt. When you told me you were leaving, it seemed like you were never coming back, and I couldn't bear losing you. That's when I realized how much I love you. I was going to tell you that morning, but then Jimmy came out of your room..."

She sighed. That had been embarrassing. She and Jimmy hadn't even done anything. She'd lost her nerve and they ended up lying there for hours, talking about everything and nothing until they finally fell asleep.

"What about Lana?" Chloe asked him. "What if she leaves Lex? What then? I know you still love her."

"I don't want to be with Lana. I still love her, of course." he said. "But, Chloe, I want to be with you. Lana's not going to come between us."

"Aww, what a sweet moment," a voice called from below. "So, Chloe, how'd you do it?" They looked down and faced Lana. "You said we'd always be friends and Clark wouldn't come between us, but you snaked your way between Clark and me. You're always there to keep his precious secrets. You've probably been encouraging him to keep them from me."

"Lana, that's not true," Clark said. Lana waved her hand at him and sent him flying backward. She looked at Chloe, who stood her ground.

"Hello, Isobel," Chloe said.

Lana tried to send Chloe backward. But, Chloe had braced herself for the attack so it didn't hurt as much.

"Don't you see, Chloe? I helped Lana become better than she was. We coexist as Elle."

"Well, it's not much of a surprise. Lex does tend to bring out the slutty side of women. In Lana's case, he brought you out," Chloe remarked. Lana was advancing on her. She could tell that the dark haired girl towering above her was going to attack her. Chloe stood up, and looked Lana in the eye.

"Lana, you can fight her. Take control," Chloe pleaded, her voice shaking. She didn't want to use her powers; she'd hurt Lana . "You're not coexisting now, she's controlling you. Take control Lana!"

Isobel knew that the young blond was afraid and savored the moment. This was going to be fun.

Lana ran toward her; Chloe projected herself to the farmhouse to find Mrs. Kent. Lana looked around, puzzled.

"Oh, Chloe--" Martha's smile faded when she noticed that Chloe had been hurt. "What happened?"

"I don't have time to explain," Chloe started. "Do you still have the black kryptonite that Dr. Swann sent you?"

"Oh, no. Did Kal-El do this to you?" Martha began to panic.

"No," Chloe tried to assure her. "Mrs. Kent, I don't have much time." She saw Lana approaching the house. "Please, I need to know where it is." The door flew open and she looked at Martha, fearing for the older woman's life.

"Hurry!" Martha obeyed, but looked back to see Lana attack Chloe; she willed herself to keep moving until she got to the barn, where she saw Clark sprawled on the ground.

"Clark!" she called out to him as she ran to him. She shook him, trying to get him to wake up. He opened his eyes, confused. Then, he recalled what happened. "Mom, where's Chloe?" he asked, worried.

"She's in the house. Lana's attacking her! I didn't want to leave her, but she told me to. She needs black kryptonite." Martha went to her husband's tool kit and rummaged through it until she found a small box; she opened it, revealing the stone. She closed it again, handing it to Clark. "Mom, it's not safe here. I think you should go to the storm cellar," he said, before running at superspeed toward the house. Lana and Chloe were nowhere to be found.

Chloe had taken the fight outside onto one of the fields. Clark finally saw them fighting. Lana was about to strike Chloe. Clark ran between them to protect Chloe. He fell to the ground, injured, dropping the box containing the black kryptonite. Chloe used her powers to get Clark to a safe distance away from Lana; she left the black rock where it was and kept fighting—well, letting Lana hit her.

"Were you warding me off until his strength returned?" Isobel asked. "That's so sweet of you. Didn't you know that his magics are no match for mine? Your pathetic little disappearing act is a nifty little meteor trick--"

"You know what? You're really starting to piss me off! You never shut up!" Chloe used her powers to grab Lana by the throat and lift her in the air. Lana looked shocked. "This ends now," Chloe said. Lana looked afraid as the black rock floated toward her and she flinched as it touched her. Chloe slowly put the other woman down.

Suddenly, there were two Lanas, and Chloe couldn't tell which one was the real Lana and which one was Isobel. They both came into consciousness, and one tried to attack her.

"Okay, that's definitely Isobel," Chloe said, dodging.

"Isobel, no!" Lana said, waving her hands; trying to stop Isobel. Her efforts were futile; she didn't have powers. Chloe quickly said a spell and Lana fell asleep.

Isobel charged again, Chloe conjured a large fireball.

"Do you really want to do that?" Chloe said. Isobel stopped in her tracks, afraid. Chloe began to recite a spell on the spot.

"Isobel, I banish you, and I strip your powers too. Return, through time and space, to the pyre, your rightful place," Chloe chanted. Isobel looked at her, angry. In a whirlwind, Isobel disappeared.

Chloe's focused her attention on her friends. Lana was sleeping, so she turned around to see about Clark. He was standing there, looking at her in disbelief. She took a step toward him, but he backed away.

"Clark?"

"Stay away," he warned. His tone was harsh, as if she were an enemy. Her eyes filled with tears as she undid her sleeping spell. As Lana began to stir, Chloe was gone.

Clark went to check on Lana, and looked around for Chloe, but she was nowhere to be found.

To be continued...

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