A/N: Wow. I am really the worst person ever. First I tell you I'm not going to make you wait, and then I make you wait, and then the update you do get is crappy. I'm really sorry. Things will get more interesting soon, though, I promise. I have a few things up my sleeve for the next couple of updates. For now, you can just read this, lol.

Also, since I've totally ruined anything resembling canon, I will no longer be going by episodes.

Chapter 9

Chloe's head was pounding as she stepped out of the elevator and into the basement of the Daily Planet. The weekend had come and went without sleep as she dealt with yet another bout of Smallville memory loss, this time complete with the knowledge of a betrayal on a whole new level.

She had always been afraid of Clark hurting her like this; that was why she pulled away from him after the spring formal. This, however, hurt more than anything she could've imagined. After all these years, she finally got Clark's attention, only to find out she was sharing it with not only Lana, but Lois as well. It may have been the red kryptonite acting, but Chloe knew only too well that its influences only went so far. Clark was only acting on feelings he actually had, whether he'd previously buried them or not.

Was she not good enough to be the only one on his mind? Clark was a hero; maybe he deserved more leeway in these matters. Still, Chloe knew she had to stay away from him to keep herself from exploding. That was why she ignored all of his phone calls and e-mails, and even had Lois keep him away from the apartment. Lois was all too happy to keep "that bastard that hurt my cousin" at bay. At least Chloe would always have her.

As she started walking toward her desk, she noticed a male figure waiting for her. Her breath caught as she feared maybe Clark had showed up at her workplace, but she soon realized the man sitting there wasn't nearly big enough to be Clark. She breathed a sigh of relief and even smiled a little when she got close enough to see who it was.

"Hey Jimmy," she said.

As Jimmy turned around to face her, she saw that there was a bag and a cup holder with two coffee cups on her desk. "Now that I know you work here…" he started. "Well, I thought you could use coffee and donuts."

"That is so thoughtful," Chloe said, her smile widening.

"It's been a long weekend for both of us, I guess," Jimmy said, and Chloe could hear a twinge of sadness in his words.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Well, it seems like Clark got one thing right," he sighed. Chloe had no idea what he was talking about and urged him to go on with his eyes. Getting the message, he turned his gaze to the floor, and then said, "Lois is not over Oliver Queen in the slightest. I was just a rebound."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy," Chloe said. She felt bad for him. Maybe she hadn't seen him in years, but even now he seemed so sweet. He probably wouldn't have survived being Lois Lane's boyfriend anyways. "I would say that it was her loss, but it feels really weird saying that about my cousin."

Jimmy laughed in response. "I don't blame you," he said. "She's your family, and I'm just some guy you had a fling with once who never called you back."

"Considering most of the guys I've ever been interested in either tried to kill me or betrayed me, you not calling me pretty much makes you the sweetest guy I've ever fallen for."

"Wow," Jimmy laughed. "Then… donuts?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

/

As his call once again went to the voicemail box, Clark shut his phone.

"Maybe you just stop calling her." He turned around and saw Lois at the top of the stairs to his loft.

He looked from her to the floor. "I just wanted to apologize. Everything happened so fast, and I never really got the opportunity "

"Clark, just shut up," Lois snapped. On some level, this surprised Clark. Sure, she'd always been straight forward, but this was a whole new level of Lois's temper that he'd never seen before. He should've been expecting it, though, as Lois had always been protective of Chloe, and what Clark did had obviously affected her more than anything he'd ever done to her before.

"I know that you're sorry," she said. "Whatever was going on, it wasn't you." Now this was unexpected, but based on Lois's tone, she wasn't stopping here, and Clark wasn't going to like what came next. "But that doesn't really matter.

"What matters is that Chloe finally put herself out there and you had to go and fuck everything up. You told her you were ready for a relationship with her and then you pulled the rug out from under her. You can try to tell me that you had no control over what you did, but you and I both know that's not true."

"If I could just explain," Clark started, and then shut up when he realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Lois right now. She came her to tell him what she had to tell him, not to hear him out in any way.

"Clark," Lois said, almost sounding sympathetic now. "What Chloe needs right now is not an explanation; it's time. You hurt her, and she needs to find her own way of coping. Then, once you've both thought about it for awhile, you can decide together whether it's worth it or not."

Clark nodded, realizing Lois was right about this. "I know," he said. "I finally had something in my life that was one hundred percent genuine, and I know I ruined it, but I don't want to give it up just yet."

"I know," Lois whispered. She walked up to him and hugged him. "If it's meant to be, it will find its own way."

/

There was a small hint of a smile on Chloe's face as she walked with Jimmy up the stairs to her apartment. "I guess this is where I leave you," she said as they reached the top.

"Yeah, I don't really feel like living this awkward moment just yet," he said, referring to the fact that in all likelihood Lois was just beyond the door.

"Well, I had a great time today," she said. "Thanks for being a great distraction."

"You're too good of a woman to be upset about Clark," Jimmy said, catching her off guard.

The truth was she wasn't. It was a realization that hit her all at once. Chloe had watched him blossom from the kindhearted, if naïve, boy into a superhero. Clark was the greatest guy she had ever met. That didn't change the fact that every time she thought of him, she could only picture him with Lana, and it broke her heart. Clark wasn't the only one to blame for these feelings of insecurity, but Chloe just didn't know how she could deal with going back to the girl in Lana Lang's shadow, never mind whatever feelings he may have had for Lois.

"Thanks," was all she said, though.

There was a look in his eyes that she didn't quite know how to read. "You know," he said, "just because we didn't work out romantically, that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Chloe smiled. "I'd like that."

"Me, too," Jimmy said, before turning around and leaving.

Walking into the apartment, Chloe found that it was eerily clean. Also, there were cookies.

"Don't worry," Lois called out from her room. "They're store bought."

"Lois, you didn't have to do this," Chloe said.

"I figured you could use some quiet time," Lois replied, walking out into the living room. "I also rented some DVDs."

"What did I do to deserve the best cousin in the world?"

"There's more," Lois said.

"More?"

"I talked to Clark."

Chloe froze, a thousand possibilities of the conversation they could have had running through her head. A small part of her didn't even want to know. That part was tiny, though. "And?"

"I think he's going to give you some space," she smiled.

Just like that, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of Chloe's shoulder. She didn't have to wonder about what to say to him when she saw him if she wasn't going to see him.

"Thank you so much," was all she could say before pulling her cousin into a hug.