A/N: Wow, I'm loving all the feedback I've been getting on the first chapter! This fic is so much fun to write, and you wouldn't believe how therapeutic it is to just write it down the way I wish it had happened.

The next couple of updates might come out really quickly, and you'll see why soon enough. :)

And thanks to Elena (Lolenax on twitter) for reading this for me! You make me smile.

Chapter 2:

6x02 - Sneeze

Getting ready for work had never seemed to take so long before. Then again, she didn't usually have a date coming for lunch. Chloe kept trying to tell herself that it was just Clark... she had known him for years, and he already knew her for what she was. But still, their relationship had changed. It was unclear about how much, they were going to talk about that at lunch, but it had undeniably changed.

Just as Chloe finished putting on her heels, her cousin came crashing through the door. "You'll never believe what just happened to me, Chlo'!"

She didn't know about that. Having lived in Smallville for the past six years, Chloe had come to believe that anything was possible. The last week had proven that more than anything. Clark had kissed her. To be fair, she had kissed Clark, then the world had almost ended, and then Clark had kissed her. But still...

"Try me," she said, truly curious as to what could possibly come out of Lois's mouth.

Lois nearly bursted with excitement as she started into her story. "Well, I was just out for a jog, completely zoning out the entire world, when a barn door literally falls out of the sky." Chloe's eyebrows raised. Definitely a strange occurrence, even for Smallville.

Chloe had about a million questions and was about to start in on them, but Lois interjected letting her know that the story was not over. "So I went to Clark's house," she continued. "It was nearby and I had to tell someone right away. But I got there, and Clark was sick, and I looked out the window, and guess what?"

"Wait," Chloe said, not paying attention to the open question in the air. "Clark was sick?"

"I so knew it!" Lois shrieked, confusing Chloe even more.

She looked to her cousin for answers, and Lois obliged. "I noticed something was different when I was at his house," she said. "Yeah, he was sick, but he was kind of in a more cheery mood. And then I come here and," she gestured to what Chloe was wearing. "Well, then I decided to throw in the little 'Clark is sick' to see how you reacted, and well, I'm not stupid."

Chloe glared at Lois. "Just for your information," she asserted. "I would've reacted the same way even if nothing was different. He's been my best friend forever."

"Uh huh," Lois said with disbelief.

It was true, though. Clark had superpowers. He didn't get sick. And the last time he had gotten sick, due to kryptonite powder... Chloe shuddered. Not only had he almost died, but he had proven to her that his feelings for Lana were stronger than his feelings for her. She couldn't have that association right now.

But Lois didn't know the real reason she was worried. For Clark's sake, she caved and just let Lois believe it was because she now thought of Clark in a different light.

Lois wrapped her arms around Chloe. "Chlo', I'm so happy for you!" Chloe couldn't help but smile as she thought that, for once, she herself was happy. Lois pulled away from the hug and searched Chloe's eyes. "So, I want details..."

The truth was, Chloe didn't really know the details. That was what was going to be sorted out at lunch. "Uh, what did you see when you looked out the window?" Chloe changed the subject back to Lois's story from earlier. She was curious, anyway.

"What?" Lois said, and then she realized what Chloe was talking about. "Oh, it was strangest thing. So, I look out the window, and I notice... his barn door was missing!"

Strange, indeed.

Clark made his way down the steps to the basement once again. This time they didn't seem like they took nearly as long. Despite the fact that his entire body felt exhausted after yet another night trying to help clean up Metropolis, there was a slight spring in his step. Chloe and him were going to talk about what had happened between them after Dark Thursday. It could go either way, but Clark wasn't sure either way it would be a bad thing. After having been friends with her for so long, it felt odd thinking about her romantically. He did kind of want to see what could come of it, but he was pretty sure he would be fine just remaining friends with Chloe. He really had nothing to lose, he just didn't want Chloe to get hurt. Again.

He again scanned the room for her pretty blonde hair and contagious smile. When he saw her, she wasn't smiling. She wasn't exactly frowning either, but ever since the kiss, he could only picture her smiling. He had always liked her smile, even when he was sure all they would ever be was friends. She just had one of those smiles you just couldn't ignore. And quite frankly, the possibility of seeing it more often made him even happier.

Chloe was too busy staring at her computer screen to notice that he had come in, and he considered speeding up to her and surprising her. He had done it to her a million times before, but all of a sudden it seemed like such a childish way to greet her. Instead, he casually strolled over to where she was sitting, delighting in every extra thought he had that he wouldn't have had if he had sped that ten steps instead. Yes, this was so much more grown up.

As he reached her desk, she looked up to him, smiling softly. There it was. That smile. Only, as soon as she looked into his eyes, her smile disappeared. Was it really that obvious that he wasn't feeling so hot?

"Are you ok?" she asked with genuine concern in her voice.

For this, he mustered up a smile of his own. "I'm fine," he said. "Really." Wanting to change the subject, he glanced at her computer. She had an article about tornadoes up. "What are you working on?"

She looked up at him. "Covering your ass," she said simply. "Yet again."

Clark furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, is there someone else in Smallville missing a barn door?" her smile had returned. Thank god for small favors.

"Oh," he said. "That."

"Yeah, that," she laughed. "So, what happened?"

Clark looked away, afraid to maintain eye contact. There was no way he could say this without completely embarrassing himself. "I, uh-" he started, but didn't exactly want to finish. She motioned for him to go one. He knew he was going to have to just come out and say it, though. "I sneezed."

Chloe looked up at him, obviously trying, and mostly failing, to stop herself from laughing. "You sneezed?" she asked, incredulously. She stared into his eyes. "And then?"

"And then the barn door flew off," he said sheepishly. It only made Chloe laugh more. He almost wished she weren't enjoying this so much, but then he wouldn't hear her laugh. "And now Lois is all over my case," he continued. "She's trying to write a story."

"Don't worry about Lois," she said. "That's what the tornadoes are for."

Clark wanted to ask, but he trusted her, so he didn't push the subject. Instead, he just stood there, kind of feeling like an idiot.

After a while of awkward silence, Chloe laughed again. "Are you sure lunch is still a good idea?" she asked, obviously teasing him. "You might sneeze me away."

"Don't worry, Chloe," he said. "If I have to sneeze, I'll turn the other way."

After they had ordered their food at the small, cozy restaurant, Clark knew the time for "the talk" had come. He didn't know how exactly to start it so, staring at the table, he said, "So..."

"So..." she echoed. She looked into his eyes. He had been feeling worse, he hadn't even been able to x-ray the menu, and he knew by the sobering look in Chloe's eyes that his own betrayed him. "Really, Clark... are you okay?"

"It's nothing," Clark said. It was half true. He had begun to worry a little himself, but it wasn't anything serious. Of that he was sure.

Chloe didn't look to convinced as she started to dig around in her bag. Wondering what she could possibly be looking for, Clark waited patiently.

She pulled out a crinkled envelope and he thought he could make out his name written on it. She looked at the envelope, and then at him. "I thought that... maybe... this might be relevant right now," she said quietly. Clark noticed there was a hint of nervousness in her voice. Whatever it was, he could tell she wanted it to be relevant. He suddenly became very curious to see what was inside of the envelope.

Chloe handed it across the table, and Clark tried to keep him eagerness in check. He casually took the envelope from her and pulled out a letter.

Unfolding the crinkled paper, Clark read aloud, "I want to let you in on a secret, Clark. I'm not who you think I am."

A glance in Chloe's direction revealed her insecurities over him reading this. "What is this?" he wondered aloud.

She looked down at the table and then back at him. He had a flashback of when they were freshmen, first trying to figure out their feelings for one another. The look on her face reminded him of how she looked back then; frightened and insecure. He had an urge to reach over the table and take her into his arms. Hardly appropriate when it was about him.

"I wrote it to you sophomore year of high school," she said. There was more to the thought. He could tell by her voice that there was more to it. He wanted to encourage her to tell him more, but he didn't want to push her. Whatever was going to happen had to happen naturally or they would never know if there was anything real, besides friendship, between them. He offered her a small smile, and she quietly added, "when you were sick."

A light bulb went off in Clark's head. Of course. That's why she had gotten so worried. The last time she had seen him sick, he had nearly died. Other than that, Clark had never been sick, and this had to be worrying for her.

Resisting the urge to hold her hand, Clark looked deep into her eyes. "Chloe," he said, almost whispering. "This is not like then. This is nothing." She didn't exactly look assured, so he continued. "Sure, my powers might be going a little wonky, but that seems to happen to me every other week. Other than that, there's not much wrong. Nothing's going happen to me."

He waited for a response from her for almost a minute. She seemed to just be processing.

But when she finally smiled, he knew it was okay. She exhaled, and then said, "I guess I'm just being stupid."

This made him laugh a little.

"What are you laughing at?" she said, laughing a little herself.

"Chloe, you could never be stupid."

Clark's words made her feel better. They always did. And as usual, Chloe was grateful for it. It seemed like she was forever worrying, and Clark being there for her made life easier.

After making sure she was alright, his attention returned to the letter. "In fact, my disguise is so thin, I'm surprised you haven't seen right through," he read aloud.

She almost wished she hadn't shown him the letter. Chloe was so young when she had written it, and now she almost felt embarrassed it. At least Clark had been asleep the first time she told him all of this. Now, he was wide awake, registering all of it. What was worse was that his emotions were impossible to read. At least when he had murmured Lana's name in his sleep, Chloe knew where she had stood in Clark's mind. This time, she didn't have that. The fact was there was a clear possibility Clark may have some kind of feelings for her, but she just didn't know. That was torture.

He read the rest in silence. At times, he almost looked as though the words were hurting him, and Chloe didn't know how exactly to feel about that.

Chloe kept her lips pressed tight as he finished and looked up at her. "Chloe," he said softly. "I had no idea your feelings were this strong. I'm so sorry I..." he trailed off.

"Clark, I wrote that forever ago," she said.

Clark looked into her eyes. "But still," he said. "It must've killed you seeing me with Lana, when you were secretly waiting for me to actually see you."

Chloe breathed deeply. She couldn't believe Clark now actually understood what she had been going through for years. He had nailed it so perfectly on the head, and that kind of scared her.

"You and I both know that you had to pursue your feelings for Lana," she said. "And I mean, let's face it, you still have feelings for her."

Clark's gaze dropped to his shoe. Chloe was convinced that if Clark's powers weren't off due to whatever was going on, there would be a huge hole in his shoe. "That's not where I thought this conversation was going to go," he said.

"Clark," Chloe almost pleaded. "Just tell me. I need to know."

"Yes," he looked up into her eyes. Time for honesty, she could tell. "I mean... I hate it that she's moving in with Lex. I can't stand it."

Chloe wanted to say something, but she feared her voice would give out on her if she tried.

Clark saw she was having difficulty and helped her out. "But then, I don't know, I think of you, and the possibilities, and things just don't feel so bad anymore," he said. Chloe never thought she could hear sweeter words.

"Maybe we could just go into this slowly," he continued. "Go in knowing I'm still working through other feelings, but working to see what feelings I might have for you.

"Chloe, I feel like such an ass for never doing this before. We know each other better than most people, and most of the time we're always together anyways. I've been taking you, and your feelings, for granted, and I don't want to do that anymore.

"I just want to be honest with you about it," he said. "How can we ever know what's real and not if I just pretend I'm over Lana, and we just jump into relationship status? I mean, in your letter you said you thought I was worth the wait. I know you've been waiting a long time, but what do you think? Is it worth it to wait a little longer?"

After Clark's speech, Chloe was almost in tears. Even since knowing Clark's secret, Clark had never been this open and honest with her. It gave her real hope for what might eventually come.

Chloe bit her lip. "Clark Kent, you are and always will be worth the wait."