'Clark!' Chloe yelled and ran to hug him as he and Martha walked inside. Jonathan also spotted them and hugged Martha tightly.
'Chloe, you're okay!' Clark said happily.
'Yeah, I told you I could take care of myself…but ah that backfired, and Mr Kent was a good help' She said, a little embarrassed.
'I'm so sorry I brought this all upon everyone' Jonathan said as he continued to hug Martha.
'It's not your fault dad, really' Clark said as Chloe let him go. 'It's mine'
'Clark! This is not your fault' Martha told him. 'Honestly Jonathan, you two are as bad as each other' She sighed and noticed it was dark outside. 'I Guess I should be getting dinner on than'
'You just came back from something like that and your first thoughts are of feeding us?' Clark laughed.
'Well someone has to' She smiled.
'You going to stay again Chloe?' Clark asked her.
'No, I have a few huge boxes of old stuff from the torch to go through that I've been putting off for…well forever I guess' She sighed. 'Oh, and my transport kinda went up in flames'
'I'll be back later' Clark told his parents and followed Chloe outside.
'I could get used to this' Chloe smiled as Clark picked her up and sped towards her place.
'Don't get too used to it' He replied and put her down again. 'Would you like some help with the sorting?' Clark offered, as he was still a little worried someone would come after her and he would not be there to save her like he was with her car crash and when the armed guys were watching her at the hospital.
'Sure, I mean if you don't mind' she said and unlocked the door, going up to her room. 'This could take awhile'
'I don't mind' He replied and helped her carry boxes downstairs.
'Okay, I struggle with one box, and you come downstairs carrying three, show off' She teased and opened the nearest box. 'Wow, these bring back memories' She sighed, getting papers and other stuff from the box.
'Yeah' Clark agreed, picking up some papers of stories she had published at the torch and photos she had hoped to need.
After an hour or so, Chloe put down the files she was holding and turned to Clark. 'Can I get you something? Maybe a hot chocolate?' She asked.
'Sure, that'd be great' He smiled and she went to the kitchen while he picked up a scrunched up piece of paper that seemed to have been there for awhile, forgotten under amongst everything, which didn't seem to be hard as there was a lot of stuff.
'What's this?' He wondered and checked Chloe could not see him. Curiosity getting the better of him, he read it:
I want to let you in on a secret Clark. I am not who you think I am, in fact my disguise is so thin, I am surprised you haven't seen right through me.
I am the girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend
Sometimes I want to rip off this façade like I did at the spring formal, but I can't because you'll get scared and you'll run away again. So I decided it's better to live with a lie than expose my true feelings.
My dad told me there are two types of girls. The ones you grow out of and the ones you grow into. I really hope I'm the latter. I may not be the one you love today, but I'll let you go for now, hoping one day you will fly back to me because I think you're worth the wait.
'Wow' Clark sighed; he had no idea that Chloe had felt so deeply about him. He knew she had liked him in the past and now he wasn't sure if those feelings for him were really over, but he was rather flattered, and almost glad as his feelings for her had not laid to rest either.
'Wow what?' Chloe asked, giving him a cup of hot chocolate and noticing the letter in his hands. 'Oh…um, about that' her mind rushed to think of an excuse, but it was very unexpected as she could have sworn she had thrown that letter away years ago.
'Did you really write this?' Clark asked.
'Um yeah, ages ago…when you and your mum got sick' Chloe said, memories of Clark whispering "Lana" right after she had read it to him came floating back, bringing back her painful feelings that she had felt back then.
'And why didn't I know anything about it until now? I mean you wrote it for me, but why did I never get it?' He asked, knowing that back then she was sure to have given it to him at some point.
'You were sick, so I read it to you…but you obviously were too unconscious to have remembered, and with a certain someone on your mind' Chloe said, holding tears at bay.
'You read this to me?' He asked in surprise. 'And what do you mean "A certain someone on my mind" Are you talking about Lana?'
'Who else? Right after I read that, you had some nerve to be dreaming of her' Chloe said.
'How did you know I was dreaming of her' Clark asked, but it was starting to make some form of sense.
'You said "Lana" with a slight smile on your face…but it was ages ago, so I…I'm over it now' She sniffed, trying to hard to keep her feelings withstrained.
'And so was Lana and I…I broke up with her about a month ago…remember?' He said, noticing her hurt feelings in her voice and eyes. 'Chloe, I didn't know; if you had told me I-'
'You'd what? I think it was obvious that you had feelings for only her Clark, even if I had told you last month when you two broke up…what difference would it make? I think that more than anyone, I would be one of the few who are aware that you have no feelings like that for me and that Lana always comes first, so can we just forget about it and move on?' She asked, a little louder than intended.
'That's not true' Clark said without thinking.
'What's not true? That Lana always comes first in your mind?'
'That too, but I mean that it's not true about you saying I … saying I have no feelings like that for you. Chloe I care a lot about you, I thought you already knew that'
'How could I know? And I mean more than friends kind of feelings' She said, not sure where this was going as he certainly wasn't denying having feelings for her.
'I know what you mean, but this letter is very nicely written, just like everything else you write… and the part where you say "you'll get scared and you'll run away again" I wouldn't disagree to that, I really don't want to lose you Chloe, that's why I think we are better off as friends…well until I read this letter…that was my plan' He said and looked at the ground, slightly embarrassed as this is not what he expected to be saying during sorting through boxes and drinking hot chocolate.
Chloe just sat there in shock, taking a few moments to recover. 'I agree that our friendship has been nothing as it has been the last year or so…but is burying these feelings deep down forever really going to solve anything? Or are we just too scared to act upon them at risk of what we already have?' She asked, wiping her dry tears away with a renewed hope.
Clark looked at her, thinking if it was really a good idea or not. They both cared as much for their friendship as they did for each other. And he remembered what he had heard Lex say once "There's nothing worst than a missed opportunity"
Chloe looked at him, trying to work out what he was thinking, but he face showed no emotion, leaving that quest seemingly impossible.
Clark took a deep breath and thought of what to say and how to explain what he had decided.
'Chloe…after all these years that is has hurt you more than it has myself, to take that away would be a relief, but are you sure it's what we should be doing?' He had to leave this for her to decide, as she could have told him at any time, but chose to wait; there must be a reason for it all.
'Putting our friendship at risk for a chance of something even more special? I think we can deal with it Clark, after all we have been through, I really think we can make it through and you won't have to hide your secret from me' She said with such determination that he believed her. 'But if you don't want to…' She let her words hang there, he knew she was unsure of what he was trying to say, but he was trying to work out what he was thinking.
'I have to go' he said, hating himself for doing what she would see as running away.
'Clark please-'
'I need time to think about this, Chloe I promise I am not running from you this time…I just need to clear my head' he said, putting the cup down and getting to his feet, Chloe did the same.
'Come and see me tomorrow, then I swear I will give you answers' He said and she nodded, a little disappointed, but relived he did not just leave without a reason.
'Okay, I will be there at 10' She sighed.
Clark knew what she must have been thinking, but his own mind was racing and he could not keep up, he really needed to be alone for a while to allow his mind to be clear.
'Goodnight' He said and kissed her cheek, with that he left in a blink of an eye.
'Damnit!' He cursed and hit his cupboard, causing the door to break in half and fall onto the floor, waking his parents up with a start.
'How could I have not noticed something like this?' He asked himself and threw his alarm clock as it went off, which was now a complete wreck in the corner of his room.
'Clark? What is going on son?' Jonathan asked as he and Martha came running in to see why Clark was causing disaster in his own bedroom.
'Nothing' He said and sat on his bed in utmost frustration.
'This doesn't look like nothing to me' Jonathan said, noticing half of his stuff was broken and there was a large crack in his wall.
'Are you okay?' Martha asked and sat next to him.
'Chloe still likes me' He said after a few minutes of silence. 'And I didn't notice, even after all this time' He said and Jonathan stopped him from breaking his bed as well.
'Do you feel the same way?' Martha asked.
'That's not the point!' Clark nearly yelled. 'She poured her heart out to me when I was sick, and I never knew until tonight when I found the letter she had read out to me when I was asleep'
'You were very sick son, who would you have known?' Jonathan asked him as Martha rubbed his back in effort to calm him down.
'I don't know, but I feel so guilty for having no clue that she still felt that way' He sighed angrily.
'It's not your fault, so put that behind you… what is done is done' Jonathan told him.
'Where are you going to go from here?' Martha asked Clark.
'Chloe's coming over tomorrow morning at 10… I promised to tell her if we are going to act on our feelings at risk of our friendship or not' Clark replied; now wishing he had not told Chloe that.
'Not everything has to be a sacrifice son, but it could be the start of something better than a friendship' Jonathan yawned.
'You will still be best friends Clark, but you'll just have…um, several more…' She looked at Jonathan to help her explain what she meant.
'It's okay, I get it' Clark said and left the room to have breakfast.
'Do you think he will be okay?' Martha asked.
'He'll be fine' Jonathan smiled at Martha and they headed downstairs too, not wanting to go back to bed in case Clark decided to cause another disaster.
Clark went up to the loft at 7am to try and think straight.
'If I had red kryptonite, I would go all for it, forget the consequences…but I have to work this out properly' He said to himself.
He wrote down ideas of things to say, among other things for 3 hours until it was time to face Chloe at 10.
He waited, but then came 10:30 and then 11.
'I guess she has changed her mind' He frowned and was about to leave when he heard a car pulling up outside. He peeked and realised it was non other than Chloe's car.
'Or not' He sighed and waited for her to find him while his nerves went into overdrive.
'You're late' Clark said when he heard Chloe approaching.
'Yeah I got really held up at the Daily Planet, I'm so sorry' Chloe said and stopped at the top of the stairs.
'I'm not mad' He said and turned to face her.
'So ah…have you been doing some serious thinking?' She asked, not liking the silence.
'Actually…no' Clark said and looked at the floor.
'And is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?' Chloe asked, hating how her voice was trembling with uncertainty almost as much as she was.
Clark looked at her, gulping and trying not to forget all the words he had planned to say.
'I didn't need to' He finally told her. ' If there is one thing I have learnt from you, it is that following your instincts gets you a lot further then your mind … okay, I just forgot what I had planned to say, but it's not about if I think our friendship will last or about how anyone else will see it as, but all I had to do was to ask myself if I wanted to be with you so much that it is worth the risk' He said, fearing he was not making much sense now.
'And do you Clark?' Chloe spoke in an almost whisper as she took a small step closer to him. 'Is this what you really want?'
'To be completely honest? I don't know, but I care about you Chloe… shouldn't that be enough?'
Chloe looked away upon hearing that. 'It's enough Clark…for friends' She said and turned to leave but Clark sped in front of her before she took another step.
'Do you remember in eighth grade, when you told me that you always wished you could fly over Metropolis with not a single care in the world?' He smiled and picked her up.
'Wow!' Chloe gasped as he flew them over the countryside and all the way to Metropolis.
'Yeah' He agreed. 'Chloe?'
'Yep' She asked and took her eyes of the scenery to look at him.
'Did I ever tell you that I love you?'
'Um…' Chloe said in shock. 'Well, no Clark… I ah, I believe you left that part out'
Clark smiled at her and landed on the top of a building, the thought that someone might have seen them just came to his mind, causing a slight panic as he had forgotten that there are a lot of people in a city.
'Help! Someone help me!' A woman's cry reached his ears.
'Clark? What is it?'
'A woman, she needs help'
'Then go… I'll wait for you' Chloe told him, afraid what would happen if they were seen, but did not want to ignore a woman in need of a hero like Clark.
'Chloe I don't know, what if I am seen?' He asked.
'Use the door over there and go down the building'
'That is a long way down' He said, realising their level of hight.
'Please, help me!' The woman yelled again.
'Alright, I'll be back' He said and ran to the door leading to the building they were on.
'Of course' Chloe sighed and stood there, feeling the breeze on her face.
She walked to the edge of the building to see if she could see Clark, but wherever he was, it was not below her.
'Oh well' She said and looked at the sky in amazement. She really was high up and the feeling was starting to be quite scary.
'Hey! How did you get up here?' A man yelled as he came through the door.
Chloe was startled from being caught off guard, and being as close to the edge as she was, well she was not at the edge anymore, she looked upwards and saw the sky getting further and further away as the wind blew her hair like a hurricane, realisation hit her like a brick… she was falling…