Spoilers for Magnetic, Delete
Chapter Five
A few months later, they kissed. Well, more acurately Chloe kissed Clark on a sunny afternoon in a records room at the Smallville Medical Center. It was just to avoid getting in trouble. When the doctor came in, she pushed him aginst the file cabinets and began sucking face as if her life depended on it. Clark looked at her as if she'd sprouted antennae.
"Didn't mean to scare you, big guy," she said later. "But I figured two candy-stripers making out would get in a lot less trouble than two thiefs stealing records."
He laughed. "I guess you're right." But there was something about the way he furrowed his brow on the way back from the hospital. "You've never done that before," he said. But it sounded more like a question.
"Nope," she said, keeping her tone light. It was true. As far as she knew, she'd never really kissed Clark. Not even when he wasn't Clark. Kal's mouth had traversed her entire body, save one spot. And vice versa.
Later, after a trying day including a stolen hard drive and a very shady meeting with Lex, she sat in The Torch's office. She pondered that kiss, turning the ring over idly in her hand. It wasn't just to stay out of trouble. She'd been waiting for an opportunity like that. She stared at the ring, felt curiosity poking at the back of her mind. Clark and Lana. They weren't together. There was nothing wrong with just... seeing if...
No, she told herself, snapping the box shut and tossing it back in the file cabinet. She wouldn't. Clark was her friend, not an experiment in sexual behavior. She shut the file cabinet, wondering if she'd ever get the guts to destroy the ring for good.
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Chloe sat at her desk, staring at the top-of-the-line computer Lionel's guilt had bought her. She'd never been more exhausted. It wasn't every day your two best friends and one of said friends parents tried to kill you. But it had been worth it, in a way. Clark had forgiven her for working with Lionel. She guessed it was hard not to forgive a little subterfuge when one person tries to mow another down in a parking lot.
They were friends again, at least. She was grateful for that. She moved to the file cabinet, taking her notes for this week's issue from the top drawer.
"Hey."
She jumped and spun away from the cabinet. On a day like this, she could not take any more surprises. "Clark! Don't do that!"
"Sorry," he said, throwing his hands up.
"God!" She put a hand to her thumping heart. "I thought you were another assassin."
"No. Just a friend."
Like I need reminding, she thought, but kept it to herself. It was enough to have his friendship back, she didn't need to dwell on those other things that seemed so distant now. "So, what are you doing back?" She took her notes to the desk. No reason not to work and chat. "You were just here an hour ago."
He sauntered over to the file cabinet and leaned against it. "Just wanted to see if you wanted to catch a movie. I'm too wound up to sleep and..." He suddenly stopped and shook his head. He looked like he was in some kind of pain.
She stood up, letting her notes slide to the floor. "Clark, are you okay?" She rushed over, putting her hand to his forehead.
"I'm fine," he said. "Just a little dizzy."
"You sure?" She put her wrist to his forehead, making sure he wasn't too warm.
"Yeah. Fine, Chloe." He smiled, sliding his hand to her waist. "Great. Don't worry." He ran his hand back and forth for a moment before pulling it away, laughing awkwardly.
She stared at him for a moment, trying to laugh as well, but only managing a weak smile. "Okay. I won't." She turned around and bent to gather her fallen notes. "I'm fine with catching a flick. Just give me a minute to finish up here."
"Fine by me," she heard him say. "I like the view."
She froze and slowly stood up, about to ask what the hell had got into him. It sounded like he was talking about her... no. "Sure," she laughed. "Very flattering, big guy."
"Well, turn around," she heard him say silkily. "I like that view even better."
Her hand placed her notes on the desk, but she didn't remember telling it to. Nor did she remember telling her body to turn around. Was Clark seriously flirting with her? "Clark, what are you..." She trailed off at the look on his face. He was grinning at her in a way she could only describe as wolfish.
"Um... Let me just put these back," she said, fumbling behind her for her notes. She approached him warily and shoved the notes in the drawer. Before she could close it, he grasped her arm and pulled her to the side of the cabinet with him. "Clark!"
"They're back," he said shortly. "Now why don't you focus on me for a minute?"
She almost laughed. "What has gotten into you?"
He shrugged, sliding his hands around her waist. "Just been a tough week." She felt his thumbs slide into the waistband of her jeans. "I think we need to let off some steam."
It took all of her strength to keep her eyes from rolling to the back of her head and fluttering shut when his thumbs began to caress the small of her back. She should be thrilled right now, but something about this was off. "We should make it a horror movie, then." She cleared her throat and tried to move away.
He was too quick for her. She suddenly found their positions reversed. She was backed against the file cabinet and he was holding her there. "I know a better way," he whispered, hid hands sliding under her shirt. She looked from those hands to his eyes. She saw a flash of red.
"The ring," she breathed, angling her head to the side to look in the file drawer. It was there. In its box. Clark had been here time and again and he'd never been affected by it. She'd assumed he had to wear it. It didn't make sense. He'd leaned against this filing cabinet plenty of times. It had never made him like this... like Kal. "I bet you do know a better way," she said softly, gazing at him through lowered lashes. "Let me just close up the office and..."
"I thought you were smart," he said shaking his head as his hands skated further up her shirt. "Why waste a perfectly good, unsupervised room, Chloe?"
She gasped as his hands slipped under her bra and over her breasts. She could feel her nipples pebbling against his palms. "I see what you mean, but..." She gasped again as he pressed his hips aginst her belly. He was hard. Hard for her. And how was she supposed to override her body and his and get them out of that room before she found herself with Kal inside her again? They had to get away from the ring. His lips found her ear and her eyes closed as if by command. It only made this harder. She flailed an arm blindly to the side and grasped the end of the drawer. If she could shut it...
She heard the click and let out a shaky breath. But he hadn't stopped. His lips were still on her ear. And his teeth. God, his teeth! They were... stopping. "Clark?" she let out hesitantly.
He lifted his head and looked down at his hands, still under her shirt and wrapped around her breasts. His eyes widened. "Oh, God! Chloe! I'm so sorry!" He backed away, but his hands were still inside her bra and she stumbled forward with him. "So sorry." He released them quickly and put the desk between them. "I don't know what I was... I'm... I'm sor..."
"No, Clark," she said quickly. "It's not your fault. It's the ring. It's in the file cabinet. I've figured it out now. It turns you into..."
"Oh, God," he groaned, putting a hand to his head. "In Metropolis. You and I... We..."
"No, Clark," she yelled. "It never happened, okay? We're fine. That was just... It doesn't..."
"I remember some of the other things I did, but that..." He shook his head. "I thought it was a dream."
Chloe came around the desk. "That's exactly what it was, Clark." She grasped his shoulders. "It was a dream, okay? Just a dream." She took a deep, exaggerated breath, then another until he did the same. "Now you say it."
"Just a dream," he repeated.
"See? It's not so bad. Nobody has to know. It never happened."
"Never happened," he parroted, staring at her breasts. She noticed and stepped away, dropping her hands from his shoulders.
"If we want our friendship to be okay, we have to get past this."
He suddenly stepped forward, grasping her arms. She actually felt her feet leave the floor. He looked down at her and for a minute he was seeing her... Clark, not Kal, was seeing her as a woman. She could feel the bulge still at the front of his jeans. "Destroy it, Chloe," he said in a low voice. "You have to destroy it or we won't be okay." She stumbled slightly as he let her go, barely glancing back as he dashed out of the room.
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