Spoilers for Spirit, Blank, Mortal.
Chapter Fifteen
Chloe slumped in her torn and sooty dress. Everyone around her was dancing, but the prom queen was alone. It just figured.
And prom queen? She had to admit, she was flattered, but it wasn't all they built it up to be in every high school movie ever. It was just a phony tiara and a bunch of flowers. It didn't really matter. There were more important things.
She gazed over at Clark. Clark gazed over at Lana. Lana looked perfect, as usual.
It just figured.
Lois sat down next to her. Chloe wondered when she got there. Probably during the great, spoiled bitch black-out. Sometimes, she wished she'd never moved here. Everything would be simpler without meteor freaks, Lana, Clark... Kal.
Lois slipped an arm around her. "Hey. You know, a year from now, this is all gonna seem like a lifetime ago."
Chloe stared at the table in front of her. "That’s funny because it feels like just yesterday when he deserted that nervous freshman on the dance floor." And for Lana. It was always for Lana. She didn't want to feel this petty resentment toward Lana, but it was always there. How could she resent someone and love someone at the same time?
"You’re headed for Metropolis," Lois went on briskly. "You are destined to be a big shot reporter at the Daily Planet. Do you really picture Clark Kent being able to keep up with you?"
Chloe thought about that. Yes. He'd kept up with her on the job in this freaky town. Metropolis would be a breeze. They had simple things like robbery, murder, riots. It would be cake. "You know, Lois, I think Clark might have a lot more to offer than you realize."
"I wouldn’t bet on it." Lois embraced her as she watched Clark dance with Lana. Her shoulders trembled. "No," Lois said abruptly. "None of that." She got up and spun around, facing Chloe with a raised eyebrow. "Your highness?" Chloe refused to smile. "Would you do me the honor of this dance?"
Chloe pursed her lips and shook her head. "I'm not in a dancing mood."
Lois shrugged. "Fine. Then I wanna dance with Lana, too."
This time, Chloe did give a watery laugh. "Not you, too?"
Lois giggled and pulled her up. "Not really." Chloe squeaked in surprise as Lois dipped her. "I like 'em blonde... and feisty!"
"Let me up, dorkface! You're not strong enough to dip me."
Lois righted them and twirled her around. "See, that's what I mean. Feisty!"
Chloe smiled and laid her head on Lois' shoulder. "I love you."
"Love you, too."
Good. Somebody had to.
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She squeezed her eyes shut and turned over in bed. She could not get comfortable. She groped in front of her for the other pillow... Or she would have. If some big stupid male wasn't blocking her.
"Go away," she grumbled, not opening her eyes.
"Oh, come on, Majesty. Give a guy a break."
She cracked an eye open. "Why should I? I'm a prom queen who didn't get to dance at all... except with Lois."
"Mmmmm. Really?"
She opened the other one. "Get your pervo mind out of the gutter. She's family and you know it."
"Got it." His hand slipped beneath her covers.
She slapped it away. "No."
"Chloe," he groaned. "You can't blame me for what he..."
"Well, it's hard not to," she broke in. "You look so much alike."
"We don't think so much alike," he said, cajoling her. "I'm not into skinny princess types. I prefer queens. You know me. I like 'em blonde."
She snorted. "That's what Lois said."
He laughed. "Is there something you're not telling me about your family?"
"Except she added feisty," she went on, ignoring him.
"Mmm, that's true. You are feisty," he said, grinning. "And sexy. And curvy. And soft. And..."
She pulled the covers over him. "Oh, get in here. But be quiet. My dad's home, you know. And Lois is in the next room. So keep it down."
"And bossy," he whispered into her neck. "And pissy. And sassy. And..."
She stifled a laugh. "Stop it," she hissed.
"Snippy. And pushy. And... mmmmph."
*******************************************************
“Summerholt Memory Lane Shut Down,” she said to herself, putting the paper to bed. She was glad these last few days were over. Not only did her mind almost get wiped clean, but she'd had to spend days babysitting a Clark that was even more oblivious than usual.
She sank to her chair. The worst part was that even this amnesiac Clark fell for Lana. She should be used to it, but it still hurt.
On the bright side, this Clark actually trusted her. He had to. Who else was going to keep him from tearing doors to shreds and burning Smallville to the ground? Good, old, faithful Chloe.
"Are you Chloe?"
She turned to see Clark lingering in the doorway. Not again! He smiled. Big, dumb jerk. "That’s funny. It’s not hilarious, but it’s funny."
"My parents told me that you Clark-sat," he said ambling in. "And you called them home from Metropolis. I wanted to say thanks."
She stood up. "Well, you could still use some help with your comedy routine, but it’s not like I taught you to eat solid foods again." She just taught him everything else.
"Still..."
"You’re welcome," she said, a little exasperated with him.
"So it must’ve been kind of strange to have a zombie best friend walking around."
Was he kidding? That was just par for the course. "Yeah," she lied. "I mean, you know, I never really realized how complicated that zombie’s life was."
"Complicated?" He looked petrified. "Did I do something unusual?"
"You had a clean slate to start all over with, and you made all the same choices… except for one."
Clark laughed nervously. "Chloe, I need you to be completely honest with me."
And now he was talking about honesty. "Honest, huh?"
"What’d I do?"
She waited until he was almost squirming. "You trusted me," she finally said.
*****************************************
Chloe seethed as she fairly crawled behind a little old lady in a blue sedan. "Come on, Grandma," she growled. She was about to give in to road rage and pass the darling, little thing when the shrill ring of her phone cut in.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Chloe," an excited voice squealed.
"Hey, Lana." What was with her? Did Old Navy discover a new shade of pink? She shook her head, guilty at the way her thoughts were these days. As far as Lana knew, Chloe had no more feelings for Clark. Which made them both oblivious. "What's up?"
"Okay. Are you sitting down?"
She honked at the car in front. "Basically."
"Chloe, I... I don't know where to start, but... he kissed me."
"He who?" she asked, craning her neck to the side. It was just her and the old lady. She could pass easily.
"He Clark," Lana said.
Chloe slammed on the brakes.
*****************************************
Here she was again, soaking her stupid pillow and crying her stupid tears and all over the same stupid guy.
But she wasn't stupid. She could see the writing on the wall. Lana was in the picture and she was out. Completely out this time. Clark would have no reason to use the necklace anymore. He had the girl of his dreams. What did he need her for? Not even sex, she supposed.
Her stomach churned at the thought of Lana kissing him, touching him, putting her hands on the secret places that belonged to Chloe.
She wiped her eyes hard and got up, making her way to the mirror. She forced a smile. "Oh, Clark, that's wonderful," she tried. She held the smile. "Finally! It's about time you two stopped screwing around and..." She broke off, sobbing.
"No," she growled. "Get it together, Sullivan." She pasted on another smile, as toothy as she could get it. "Clark, what can I say? I'm so happy for the two of you!" She went on, trying to see which one sounded the least like a lie.
Inside, she screamed. Clark going after Lana... That she was used to. But Kal. Gone again.
She hadn't been able to say goodbye.
And it was hell.
***************************************
It was nice, seeing the whole town pitching in for the Kents. Soon the farm would be as good as new. Yup. As good and as new as she and Clark.
She wiped her brow and, concentrated on the level again. These stupid things just never worked. Now she remembered why she'd hated any class that ended with "shop." She waited for the blob of liquid to conform to her idea of what was level. She gave up and tossed it.
She saw Clark pounding a nail into a beam. A week ago, he could have done that with one press of his finger. Now, he was just like any of them. He finally tells her the truth and the reason for secrecy is just gone. It was so unfair. Now she had nothing left that was only for them.
Still, he'd told her. He'd told her everything. Down came baby, spaceship and all. It was fascinating stuff, all the more so because it was true. And he'd told her. It mollified her, after everything she'd lost. One little grain of truth to make up for all the lies.
She narrowed her eyes at him and started across the field. She really wanted to hate him. If he'd just stop saving her life, she could. Of course, then she'd be dead. So she was out of options. Love Clark, love Lana, love Lana and Clark together... or try really hard. It was all she could do.
"Ah! The joys of manual labor," Chloe said, strolling up to him as he continued nailing. And badly, too. He might be worse at this than she was.
"It's not so bad. I kinda like being sore. It makes me feel like I've actually accomplished something. No pain, no gain, right?" He hammered his thumb. "Aaah!"
She took his hand. "Yeah, well, being a mere mortal does have it's drawbacks," she let her hand linger on his palm a moment before snatching it away. "You alright?"
"Ow!"
She rolled her eyes heavenward. This was baby stuff to Chloe's almost daily injuries. But she supposed somrone who'd never felt the sting of the hammer... "Are you sure this is what you really want?"
"It's what I always wanted." Clark gazed off in the distance, where Lana was working with some power tools.
Great. Lana got power tools and Chloe got a glorified ruler. She mentally tipped her hat.
"I was talking about you, Clark. Not your feelings for Lana. I mean, one day I find out my best friend's an alien, then the next day, presto change-o, he's just your average Kansas farm boy. Excuse me if I'm finding this a little hard to accept."
"Well, you're going to have to just get used to it. It's who I am now."
"Clark, with all that you are able to do, I can't help thinking that your destiny is more than just milking cows and raising barns."
"Destiny's just another word for not having a choice."
She looked down. Fate. Destiny. Clark railed against both. He was so stubborn. Sometimes, you had to just give in. Sometimes you had to just accept that you're not just some smalltown boy mooning over a smalltown girl and you have something else in store and you just have to let go and accept that your destiny is right in front of you and you have to just reach out and... Why couldn't she say this to Clark? "Okay," she said instead. "What about Alien Ken and Barbie? They tore apart Smallville looking for you."
"They were looking for Kal-El. They're gone and so is he. Just let it go, Chloe." She watched him walk away. Walk to Lana.
"Kal-el," she whispered. The name filled her senses, somehow. It wasn't just the Kal part. El brought with it a sense of a family, reaching back for ages. It was almost regal. And it was his name, whether he accepted it or not.
Acceptance. That was the whole problem. Clark chose to run in this hamster wheel of a town when he was truly destined for greatness. When would he embrace his destiny instead of just ignoring it?
The thought shook her. She'd weaved a very complex thought process to squeeze all this into her mind. All along, She'd told herself that Kal was a disorder, a small, raw, manipulative part of Clark that manifested itself around the red meteor... kryptonite, she corrected, filing it firmly under Kent, Clark: weaknesses. Kal was just the things that Clark kept hidden.
But it wasn't that simple. Clark wasn't all good and Kal wasn't all bad. And, after learning his Kryptonian name, simplicity was a thing of the past. Which was the real him?
Clark wanted Lana. Kal wanted Chloe. And which one was telling the truth?
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