Spoilers for Crusade, Gone.
Chapter Seven
It all seemed so normal.
Well, normal for Smallville.
Meteor freaks, Luthor drama, Chloe's apparent death, crazy relatives from out of state and Kryptonian rebirths aside, Clark and Chloe were normal.
They were friends. They needled each other and drove each other nuts either with him keeping secrets and her prying at them. But it was fine.
That all changed when Lana came back. She met him in the caves tonight. She babbled on about destiny and Lois and... all he wanted to do was shake her and tell her to forget this guy, whoever he was. He was the one who'd loved her for years. She was his.
But he couldn't. He still wanted to protect her. But he also wanted to forget. It was times like this he wished he could get drunk or high or...
And that was it. The thought that had him breaking into The Torch's office. He had to see if it was still there.
He was almost afraid as he approached the leaden file cabinet. Afraid it wasn't there. Afraid it was.
It was. She didn't destroy it. She didn't get rid of it. He opened the box, feeling a strange, but familiar electricity wash over him. "Chloe," he said shaking his head. "You naughty girl."
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Chloe slipped on her bathrobe before taking a towell to her wet hair. She was so tired, she might just sleep in it. Being dead sure took a lot out of a girl.
She sighed as she walked down the hall to her bedroom. Lana had called her just as she was about to get a long-awaited shower in her old house. She was back. And Chloe had invited her to come back to her house, but she'd be living above The Talon. She supposed she'd miss her being there. But a Lana that was back was better than no Lana at all. Besides, it would be kind of crowded. Lois was staying in Lana's old room, for now at least. She knocked on the door as she passed.
"Lois?" she called. When there was no answer, she cracked the door open. She chuckled at the soft snores that drifted back to her. Lois was always the first one out at their slumber parties growing up and the last to wake. She slept like the dead. That was fine by Chloe. She had to practically tiptoe around with Lana next door, who was a much lighter sleeper. In fact, she might just watch a movie tonight. Something fun, maybe.
She smiled as she walked towards her door. It was like Clark had said, hugging her to his side after he dropped her home. Things were back to normal.
She pushed at her door and groped for the lightswitch. But before she could reach it, she heard a noise. Wind, tree branches. That was odd. She didn't remember leaving her window open. As she walked toward it, she had another thought. She distinctly remembered closing it and cranking the AC as it was a hot, September night.
She heard another noise, this time behind her. She didn't turn. She groped in the dark in front of her window. Her bookshelf. She felt her hand rest on the heavy-duty flashlight she kept there. That would fix this guy. If Luthor was sending more henchmen for revenge, then she wouldn't take it lying down. She'd been through enough this summer. This lifetime, she amended.
She gripped it tightly and spun around, aiming at the large shadow in front of her doorway.
But he was too fast. He was behind her with an arm around both her own and a hand over her mouth before she could so much as blink. She squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the worst.
"Paranoid, Chloe?"
She sagged in relief and rolled her eyes. "Clark," she grumbled when his hand fell away from her mouth. "Let go, you stupid oaf!"
He chuckled and slid his hands away from her, but slowly. A little too slowly. He even accidentally grazed her breast. She decided not to remark on it and turned around to swat him on the shoulder instead. "I swear, I'm going to have a heart attack just shy of my eighteenth birthday." She paced away from him and flipped on the light, closing her door softly. She shuffled to her bed and sat down. "Mind telling me why you almost frightened me to death?"
He leaned against her door and grinned at her. "You tell me."
She ignored him and glanced at her window. "What did you do, climb my tree? That's five feet from the window, Clark? Do you have a death wish?"
He shrugged, still grinning at her, his eyes at half-mast.
"What?" She looked down at herself, then hurriedly jumped up. "Jesus, Clark! I'm in my robe! And Lois is sleeping right next door and my dad is down the hall and it's..." She glanced at her clock. "It's almost midnight. I will be so grounded and I do not need any more confinement right now, so..." She made a shooing gesture.
"What?" He asked, still grinning.
"Stop being an ass and go!" she hissed, smiling despite herself.
"I don't think so," he said, shrugging. "We need to talk."
"Yes," she agreed. "We have a lot to catch up on. But can't we do it in daylight when I'm fully dressed?"
"Aw. What's fun about that?" he asked, almost pouting.
"Okay," she giggled, trying to pull him away from the door. "Fun's over, big guy. Out!"
"Hey, not so rough," he said softly. "I might start to like it."
Chloe froze. There was something about that voice. It was too... smooth. She dropped her hands to her side and backed away.
He shook his head and held up his right hand. "You've been bad, Chloe."
The ring. "Oh, my God," she breathed, staring at his hand.
That same hand reached to the side and flipped to lock on her door. "No, just me," he purred, stalking toward her.
"Not again," she said, almost to herself. "Please."
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