Chapter 6: Tear Flavored Coffee.
Chloe had gotten a couple of really good quotes from Mr. Conrad and the Principle and already had most of the article written in her head. It would be good to talk it out with Clark first though because she always seemed to write better after discussing whatever she was writing with him. She walked into the Talon at precisely 8pm. She was trying to come up with an eye popping headline that didn't seem overly graphic. Things like Rabbit Slaughtered in Science lab or Innocent Bunny Butchered seemed more along the lines of something you would see on the front page of the Inquisitor. Although she was considering a follow up article about the history and folly of the lucky rabbits foot.
She pushed open the door to the Talon and looked around. She didn't really expect to see Clark yet. He was perpetually 10 minutes late so when she saw him standing at the counter talking to Lana Lang she was a little bit surprised. She observed them for a moment. As the moment passed Clark leaned in and said something to Lana that caused her to giggle. Clark stepped back and looked over his shoulder. Seeing her, he waved and pointed to a table and the two drinks he was carrying. Chloe nodded and walked over to the table and sat down. In that instant her resolve hardened. All her doubts about breaking up with Clark and being just friends were pushed aside by the fear and jealousy that Lana Lang created within her. If that part of her mind had been capable of rationale thought she would have realized that Clark laughing with a friend he had had for over 10years was not something she really needed to worry about. But the fear had taken over and she decided that this was as good a time as any.
Clark brought the two drinks over to the table along with a notepad and some kind of package. He set one of the Talon's newest additions down in front of her. It was a Colombia Nariño Supremo, it was a new flavor that she had fallen in love with ever since they started offering it. The coffee was hot with just a wisp of steam coming off it, the sharp aroma of coffee beans and walnuts drifting off its surface. She stared at it for a few seconds.
"So did you get any good quotes from the Principle or Mr. Conrad?" Clark said taking a sip of his drink, which was unvaryingly hot chocolate. She knew this because thats what Clark always got. He looked at her for a few seconds. "You Ok Chloe?" He asked.
"Yeah...listen Clark. You know I've been thinking. This whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing I don't think it's really a good idea. It...it probably won't work out in the end and will just ruin our friendship anyway. I mean, why should we try and mess up the good thing we have going for us with some kind of romantic entanglement?"
Clark was stunned. He sat there staring at her, holding the hot chocolate half way to his lips. He didn't know what to say. He was totally unprepared for this.
"Clark?" Chloe said a worried look on her face. Maybe this had been the wrong thing to do. "Are you Ok?"
He snapped out of his surprise and the safety measures that he had so meticulously built over the years fell into place.
"What? No..no I'm fine. You know, yeah your exactly right. Why bother ruining our friendship. It probably wouldn't have worked out anyway." The words came out in a flustered stammer. He put the drink down on the table. He looked down at his watch and then to the package on the floor.
"You know what Chloe I'm sorry but I'm going to have cut the brain storming session short." His mind was a jumble of emotions. The room was getting smaller and if he didn't get out quickly he didn't know what would happen.
"No Clark , wait a minute.." She tried to get the words out but he interrupted her.
"No really I have to go, my dad needs me for...something." It was a terrible thing to say but he couldn't think of anything complicated at the moment.
As he got up he looked at the package in his hands and was able to make at least one right decision.
"Well seeing as we were going out at the time I think you deserve this." He handed Chloe the package. "I really am sorry that I left you hanging at the dance Chloe. I hope you can forgive me."
He looked her in the eyes, said goodbye and was gone.
Chloe sat there stunned. This was not the reaction she had expected. She had expected Clark to agree with her yes, but not be this upset about it. She sat there and waited for a while. After a few minutes and when nothing happened she looked down at the package in her lap. She picked it up and started to unwrap it. She peeled back the tissue paper and layed what she found on the table. Inside the wrappings were three silk tulips, a red one, a yellow one and a blue one. She looked back at the door that Clark had just left through.
"What have I done?" She whispered as her eyes filled with tears. She picked up the flowers and held them to her nose, even being silk they are still scented. They smell like fresh tulips after a spring rain. She lays them back on the table covers her face with her hands and starts to cry. The tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping into her coffee.