Dream Girl: Chapter 22 - Stranger
Three weeks later, the cool days of March were giving way to mild, sunny days of April. One of these mild April days found Chloe in the loft, clicking away on her laptop. She reached over and took a sip from the mug of coffee she brought up with her. Currently she was working on a paper on the different writing styles used in journalism. Her article on her abduction had been a big success, earning her an 'A' in her class and possibly the semester, along with her second by-line in the DP. Only this time it had been on page 47 in the middle instead of 73 at the bottom.
"Shelby!" Chloe continued working, ignoring Clark's manly yell.
"Shelby!" Clark yelled again. Chloe saved her paper and then slid the computer to the other cushion. Wandering over to the open window, Chloe leaned against the barn wall and looked out upon the scene below her. Shelby came bounding from the west and toppled a kneeling Clark to the ground. The two wrestled for a little bit until Clark held up a dirty yellow tennis ball and chucked it about three hundred feet away. With a happy bark Shelby took off after the ball. Chloe smiled softly.
It had been three weeks since Clark tried to kiss her down by the tank and a week since Clark cornered her in the dining room. Chloe counted that as the sixth time Clark had brought up the subject of 'them', making it the sixth time Chloe shot him down.
Chloe was still in disbelief Clark had taken his denial this far; still running from his problems with Lana by trying to put the moves on his best friend. Chloe pointed that out to him last week only to have her theory ignored. The truth was with Chloe, Clark was never just a friend. There would always be a part if her that wanted more. But her thoughts remained the same. She would not be caught between Lana and Clark in a lover's quarrel. And if Clark really wanted her, after all this time, why hadn't he done anything about Lana? Until then, Chloe would stick to her game plan: avoid any romantic talk, alone time with Clark, and talk all she could about Lana, Lana, Lana.
After about five minutes, Shelby came trotting back, head held high with the ball. Only Shelby went right past Clark and headed into the barn.
"Where you going, Shelby?" Clark asked. He turned around and spotted Chloe leaning out of the barn. Startled at having Clark catch her checking him out Chloe stepped quickly back from the window. Yeah, encourage him some more, Chloe, she thought with a grimace. She heard footfalls on the stairs and saw Shelby jump the last few, followed closely by Clark. The dog padded over to her and dropped the ball by her feet. Shelby sat back and looked up Chloe with baleful eyes. When Chloe made no move to pick up the ball, Shelby whined quietly.
"Ok, Shelby. I got the hint," Chloe told the dog as she picked up the ball and tossed it across the small space of the loft.
"What are you working on?" Clark asked when she saw her laptop.
"Just a paper for school." At Clark's wary expression, Chloe explained, "It's about writing styles. Nothing dangerous, Clark."
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. A little tired," Chloe answered. All the bruises were gone and the cuts were mostly healed. Her skin, thanks many hours in the sun and nights of uninterrupted sleep, returned to its pretty natural glow. She still had a nightmare every once in a while, but none that woke her up screaming Clark's name.
"Hey, you wanna go grab a cup at the Talon?" Clark suggested. Chloe hadn't been off the farm since she arrived. Clark thought it might be good for her to get out and see other people beside him and Pete, who Clark ran down last weekend and the one before that. Oh, and Lana who drove out to catch Chloe up on her classes. Clark always made a special effort to be on an errand or out of commission when Lana came by. He still didn't know what to say to her. How could he tell her about Chloe and him if there was no Chloe and him?
"Sure," Chloe artfully pushed the mug to the side where Clark wouldn't see. She would hate to for anything change his mind. "It would be nice to see civilization again. Let me grab some things and I'll meet you down by the truck."
The drive to the Talon was quiet. Clark rehearsed the speech he was going to make to Chloe in his head while she read through some notes she'd brought along with her. Her laptop sat securely in a waterproof bag by her feet. Chloe planned to work but Clark had other ideas.
Clark parked behind the Talon and the two entered through the rear.
"Hey Chloe!" Lois called out when Clark and Chloe reached the public area. Clark cringed when he saw the tall girl. Just what he needed.
"Hey Smallville! Ass still intact?" Lois called out over the slight noise of the coffee shop.
"Play nice," Chloe whispered as she stepped up to the counter to place their orders.
"Yeah, thanks for asking," Clark replied, trying to be civil for Chloe's sake. Lois was her cousin after all. And best friends with Chloe and Lana.
"So. . ." Lois came over to stand by Clark, both of them watching Chloe. "She's really special, isn't she Clark?"
Clark looked at Lois as if she grew three antlers in a matter of seconds.
"What?" Lois asked defensively. "I'm just saying almost losing her puts things in perspective, doesn't it?"
"Am I supposed to be taking anything away from this, Lois?" Clark asked, knowing what she was thinking.
"No," Lois answered lightly.
"Lois, Chloe and I have a-"
"Oh, save it for someone who doesn't have a brain, Clark. Anyone can see-"
"Lois, do you know something?" Clark asked her in annoyance.
"All I know, Clark, is that I will make good on my promise of breaking your legs if you break her heart. She sheds one more tear over your sorry Kansas Farmer Boy Ass, I'll make that last meteor shower look like heaven on earth for you. Got it?" Lois whipped around to face him, her nose almost level with his.
"Everything okay, you two?" Chloe appeared beside them, two cups of steaming coffee in her hands, her eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, come on." Clark took one cup and then Chloe's arm, leading her away from Lois.
Chloe looked over her shoulder. "What did you do?" She mouthed.
Lois shook her head as she watched the couple pick a remote spot over to the side. She understood what Chloe saw in Clark. His innate goodness, his farm boy charm, his odd clumsiness. Hell, she would even admit he was hot. And she knew that Clark genuinely cared for Chloe, but what she'd love to do to make him pay for all the tears he'd caused Chloe over the years. It made her blood boil to even think about it.
She continued to watch them as Clark pulled a chair out for Chloe. Clark leaned down said something in her ear and Chloe looked up at him with a reproaching smirk. For a moment, Lois saw what they could be if only Clark would open his eyes. Chloe loved him for all he was worth, which in Lois' opinion, was close to negative fifteen. But her practical brain told her that was her heart talking. Chloe would be one lucky chick-a-dee if she grabbed Clark. Lois only hoped that Clark made the right decision. From what Lois had gleaned from the handful of times she'd met Clark and Chloe's other best friend, Pete, it had always seemed to be a choice of Chloe or Lana for Clark. Lana was her friend, but Chloe was blood. And Lanes were not anything if not loyal.
Clark sat across from Chloe. He stopped her when she began to unpack her computer.
"Chloe, I brought you here because I want to talk to you," he told her.
Chloe eyed him carefully. "What about, Clark?"
"About us."
"Clark, I've already told you, there is no 'us'. Well there is, but not the way you're implying. You know who you really need to talk to? Lana," Chloe replied hastily, trying to head this off.
"And I will. But not until I know what we're going to do. I can't just keep stringing her along," Clark said, taking Chloe's hand.
"Then stop stringing her along, Clark," Chloe responded angrily, yanking her hand from his. "If you don't want to be with Lana anymore, then don't be. But don't use me as an excuse."
"Chloe, you're not an excuse," Clark exclaimed.
"Oh, right. You just magically decide that we need to be together? You finally have the girl of your dreams after being in love with her for years and you're willing to throw that all away for me?" Chloe asked him skeptically. "It's not me, Clark, that you want to be with. You're just saying that because you're scared. Because you're scared that Lana won't accept you for who you are!" Chloe screamed at him.
"Chloe," Clark said calmly. Why was this not going the way he planned it? Chloe was supposed to cry and then melt into his arms as they kiss with the sun setting. That's how it happened in the movies. "I'm not scared. It's just in these past few weeks, I've realized what we have is so easy-"
"Easy?" Chloe cut him off. "What we have is easy? So, you're saying, the reason you want to jump ship with Lana is because it's gotten hard? Because you have to work to make it with her?" Chloe stood, knocking the cup off the table. It landed with a loud shatter, drawing anyone's attention who wasn't already embroiled in the drama to the couple in the corner. Clark scrambled after Chloe as she stormed toward the entrance.
"Chloe! That's not what I meant! Let me explain!" Clark reached out and grabbed Chloe by the shoulders and turned her to face him. His heart stopped. Chloe's face was awash with fat tears and the pain in her eyes was worse than Kryptonite.
"Save it, Clark," Chloe told him, shrugging off his hands. "I know how this song ends." And she walked out, leaving Clark standing in the middle of the coffee shop covered in scalding mocha latte he'd been splattered with, watching her walk away from him.
"I thought she'd never leave," a seductive voice said from behind him.
To read Ch. 23, click here.