"Truth and Consequences" by Sullivan Lane (katpicson )

"Who were you making out with at the Talon the other day?"

Clark lowered his mug slightly and inadvertently spit out some of his hot chocolate. Hot chocolate dribbled down his chin and he wiped it quickly with a napkin. He turned around at the waist to see Chloe standing behind him, hands on hips, brow furrowed.

"What are you talking about?" Clark asked, shifting uncomfortably and turning to face the table again. He was hiding out in the Beanery today; there was no way he'd be welcome at the Talon any time soon. Maybe he would be banned forever.

"Lana said she saw you making out with some girl, and I want to know who it is," Chloe demanded. "And don't tell me she was hallucinating, because apparently one of her waitresses saw you guys, too. I feel like I don't even know you anymore." She sat down across from him and signaled to a server that she wasn't ordering anything.

"Uh …"

"Clark, I know this is hard for you to believe, but Lana is not just my roommate, but my friend," Chloe said. "And I'm curious as to the explanation you've got for this one." She sat back, folding her arms across her chest. "I've got plenty of time on my hands."

"Chloe –"

"Yes?"

Clark leaned forward, weaving his fingers together. He let out a long, deep sigh. "It's complicated."

Chloe waved her hand at him, a gesture to start talking. "Like I said, plenty of time. Start from the beginning."

"I can't tell you," Clark said apologetically.

Chloe frowned. She bit her bottom lip and tilted her head thoughtfully before speaking. "You know, Clark, the inequity of secret-telling may work with Lana, but it doesn't work with me. This friendship is has been leaning toward one-sided lately, and honestly, though I fully appreciate your successful attempts to save my life on a weekly basis, let me give you a tip: You can't call me a friend based on that. Neither can you base it on our little cyber-adventures through the Internet and the coroner's computer system. So, unless you want to hang out and drink coffee and talk about school or something mundane on a Saturday afternoon, or challenge me to a game of gin rummy once in a while like we used to – delete me from your buddy list. I'm your editor at the Torch. I'm the girl who'll help you track down Wall of Weird material. And I might be a girl who occasionally needs saving." Pause, deep breath. "Not a friend." Chloe broke eye contact to stare at something just behind Clark, and he turned around to see what she was looking at. "You know, kind of like Zoe. Remember her?" Chloe slung her bag over her shoulder, stood up and walked out, waving a polite hello to the blonde waitress who passed.

"Chloe!" Clark called.

But she didn't turn around, didn't flinch, didn't hesitate. Clark contemplated going after her, but he knew her. He'd have to wait a little while, let her cry it out without his presence damaging her pride. Clark made up his mind to see her that night instead. She would be calmer then.

He thought about what she said. Since he told Pete his secret, it was so much easier to go to him with his problems and concerns. He could say exactly what was on his mind without having to speak in general terms or leaving out important details. And he had to admit, between helping to cover for his mother's absence on the farm, checking out the caves and hanging out at the Talon after delivering his mother's pies and muffins – Chloe had ranked pretty low on his list of things to do. And yes, she was right; most of their time together lately was spent on researching meteor mutants and other criminals.

Clark had a sinking, nauseous feeling in his stomach. He really had neglected Chloe, and he suspected it was because of the awkwardness after the Spring Formal debacle. Subconsciously he had put up a wall between them, ever since she decided she wanted to be just friends. And he had remembered feeling relieved.

He wondered why he felt that way, and he left his table at the Beanery, intending to head for home. He smiled at Zoe on the way out. Zoe, whose life he had saved last year, always gave him a free muffin or pastry on the few times that he came in, and occasionally they engaged in small talk when there weren't many customers (which was often, lately). Zoe attended the community college just out of town, and she had a fiancé named Lewis who went to Metropolis University.

Clark thought harder about what he knew about Zoe. She had been very close to her grandmother, who passed away a few years ago. She majored in English lit.

Beyond that, Clark didn't know Zoe at all. And lately, he didn't know Chloe very well either. It used to be that he'd go to Chloe for everything, especially things with Lana and the Wall of Weird. Now he went to Pete and Lana herself. He couldn't even remember a time when he and Chloe had hung out, just the two of them, since the Spring Formal, without a discussion of the Wall of Weird or anything meteor-related. She was right. He hadn't been a friend at all. In frustration, Clark kicked at a stone in the road, sending it fifty feet in the air and into the middle of the cornfield.

***

"What's the coffee of the day?" Chloe asked Lana, dropping her book bag on the floor as she sat down at the counter at the Talon. It was moderately busy, and Lana had a full staff working. But she wiped her hands on her apron and put down what she was doing to attend to Chloe.

Lana frowned. "Bad day?"

Chloe nodded lethargically. "Yeah. Better make it a double."

Lana looked skeptical as she placed a large mug in front of Chloe and started pouring from a carafe. "The coffee's really strong today, Chloe," she warned. "Are you sure?"

Chloe shrugged as she poured milk into her coffee, stirring it with a spoon. "Doesn't matter. How's it going?"

Lana shrugged. "Business is good. Hired a new waitress the other day." She pointed to a curly-haired girl who was busing tables in the far corner. "She's working out pretty well, but she's got a bit of an attitude."

"Sounds like my kind of girl," Chloe said with a slight smile. But then she took a large swig of coffee and avoided her friend's eyes.

"Want to talk about it?" Lana asked, leaning on the counter toward her friend.

But before Chloe could open her mouth to explain, the new waitress approached Lana.

"Sorry to interrupt, Lana –"

"Oh, it's all right, Julia," Lana said, turning toward her. "What's up?"

"I've got some orders." Julia read off from her notepad. "Two large house coffees, a single low-foam cappuccino and a double vanilla latte." She glanced at Chloe briefly, then did a double take. "Wow," she muttered, picking up her tray and lowering her eyes.

Chloe sat up straight and frowned. "What?" she asked defensively.

Julia looked up. "Uh, nothing. Sorry. You just look really different without the guy attached to your face."

"WHAT?! What guy? What face? My face?" Chloe was confused. She hated being out of control, especially since she had been in the hospital overnight, and she hadn't a clue as to what happened to her.

"Chloe -" Lana stepped away from the espresso machine to place a gentle hand on Chloe's ball-up fist. "Calm down."

"I wasn't sucking face with any guy," Chloe told Julia. She looked up at Lana, who looked panicked. But the steam started to go out of control on the espresso machine, and she turned away quickly to turn it off.

Julia smirked. "Oh yeah? Do you have a twin? Because yesterday, you and the half-naked pie-and-muffin guy were on that couch practically doing the nasty. And I told you guys to leave. Remember? Or were you too drunk to notice or care?"

Chloe's eyes went wide and she turned to look at the couch in the corner. She couldn't remember anything. The pieces started to fall together in her head, the things everyone had told her since she woke up from surgery, and her face turned bright pink. But she still couldn't remember.

"Pie and muffin … The couch … Oh uh …" Chloe stammered. She looked at Lana, who placed two mugs on Julia's tray. She gave Chloe the once-over again before leaving to deliver the drinks. "Lana? What happened yesterday?" Chloe whispered.

Lana stared after Julia, making sure she was out of earshot before she spoke. She struggled to find the right words. "Don't apologize. I knew you were sick," she said shakily.

"The pie and muffin guy …is Clark?" Lana didn't respond. "So the girl that Clark was making out with … was me?"

"You were sick, Chloe," Lana repeated. "You didn't know what you were doing." She looked around the restaurant. "Come on, let's go in the back and talk."

Chloe hopped off her stool and followed Lana into the back office.

"Lana, I am so sorry," Chloe said as soon as she sat down. Lana sat in her office chair, the desk between them.

Lana shook her head. "I said don't apologize. It's OK."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two girls squirmed and avoided each other. "I know you probably don't want to conjure up the details again," Chloe said finally, "but … was he really kissing me back?" Lana nodded slowly.

"Are you sure? I mean, he likes you, Lana." Lana's nod slowly turned to shaking.

"I don't think so," Lana whispered as tears slipped down her cheeks.

Chloe folded her hands in her lap. "I don't know what to say."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Lana insisted.

Chloe leaned forward slightly and said, "There is nothing going on between Clark and me. I have no idea why he kissed me back … but please believe me. We had an understanding after the tornado, and he has stuck to that. We both have. He really cares about you, Lana."

"But I know you still like him a lot," Lana pointed out.

Chloe shrugged. "Doesn't matter. He doesn't want to be with me. He wants to be with you."

"With all due respect, Chloe, I just can't believe that right now," Lana said. She stood up. "I have to get back to work. I'll see you tonight at home."

Lana went back outside, but Chloe didn't move. She thought hard and tried to force her brain to remember what had happened while the worm was inside her. She knew that the worm affected her adrenal gland, and that explained the overactive sex drive. She had automatically assumed that she had just gone into a coma shortly thereafter, that Clark had broken his date with Lana to bring her and Pete to the hospital. But there was more. There was making out, and in the Talon for the whole wide world to see. Every time she pictured it, Chloe felt her cheeks get hot. She had kissed Clark once before without remembering the details, either. Did the worms have the same persuasive effect? And what had Pete done?

There were too many questions whirling around in her head, and the endless possibilities of answers were giving Chloe a headache. She thought back to a half-hour ago, when she told off Clark. She felt awful for it now, especially since he was trying to spare her feelings. Wasn't he? That still didn't explain the fact that he kissed her back. And that apparently, he was half-naked in the Talon with her.

Chloe looked around uncomfortably, and her eyes fell upon a wad of blue cloth stuffed under a shelf. Curiously, Chloe stood up to look at it more closely. She took it off the shelf and shook it out. A red stone fell to the floor, and Chloe recognized it as the shirt Clark wore yesterday when they were in the caves.

Chloe stooped to pick the red stone off the floor. She stared at it for a moment, rolling it between her thumb and forefinger. It reminded her of their class rings. She stared at it for a long while before putting it in her pocket. She threw the shirt back on the shelf and left the office, the red stone practically burning a hole in her pocket.

***

Chloe pulled up to her house to see Clark sitting on the stoop. She sighed as he stood up. She pulled the red rock out of her pocket and dropped it into her car's ashtray compartment before getting out. No sense letting Pete or Clark take this specimen away from her.

"I came to apologize," Clark said. Then he held up a black nylon case. "And to offer up a game of Travel Scrabble, if you're interested. And Pete's coming over with his PlayStation. I'm just not in the mood for any card games, if that's OK." Clark shifted uncomfortably.

Chloe smiled. "I'm sorry, too," she said. "I just found out who you were making out with."

Clark raised his eyebrows. "You did? Lana …"

"No," Chloe said, sitting down on the porch. Clark sat back down next to her. "Julia, the new PDA police at the Talon, apparently saw us."

"Oh, yeah." Silence. "Is this weird? Us being friends after ... everything?" Clark asked.

Chloe shook her head. "I hope not. I just … miss you, is all, I guess. Lately it's been you and Pete, Lana and me. I just want to hang out like we did last year. And if you feel uncomfortable, tell me. I'll stay out of your way. I just don't like not knowing."

"I guess I felt uncomfortable thinking you might be uncomfortable with talking about it," Clark admitted.

"Hey, you know, you used to tell me everything. I can handle it."

"Yeah." Clark looked at Chloe sideways, as if he were trying to read her mind.

"You're wondering why I'm not asking about the fact that you were kissing me back," Chloe guessed.

"Uh. Yeah."

"I don't think I want to know," Chloe said, shrugging. "If we're just going to decide to be friends, then let's just be friends. Leave all the baggage" - Chloe waved a hand behind her - "in the past. If that's OK."

"OK."

Clark and Chloe heard the whir of a small motor, and they turned their eyes toward the street, where they saw Pete riding what looked like a motorized Razor scooter and wearing a helmet and full protective gear, his PlayStation under his arm and a backpack slung over his shoulder, presumably filled with games.

Clark and Chloe looked at each other and started to laugh. "What's with the elementary-school transportation and the football gear?" Chloe asked, putting a hand to her mouth, still trying not to giggle.

Pete hopped off his scooter and turned off the engine, giving Chloe the stink-eye. "Shut up, missy. My parents have decided that since the first car pretty much blew up, and the other car …" Pete glanced at Clark quickly. "Well, the Trans Am has a big dent in the front, so I'm grounded off any four-wheeled vehicles for the next month."

Chloe's glance went from Pete to Clark, then back to Pete. "OK, fine. What games have you got?" She led the way into the house.

"Gran Turismo 3, baby!" Pete yelled as he and Clark followed Chloe into the house.

"What's that?" Chloe asked.

"A driving game!" Clark answered gleefully.

- Fin - 02.08.03