Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville.

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Dr. Maxwell had been administered to Belle Reeve, with a bracelet that nullified her powers. She'd awoken right as the cops had been arriving (Tina having apparently stayed outside to call them), and the authority had witnessed her using her powers. And Ginny Maxwell might have gotten away, too, since she created multiple versions of herself to try and escape. What the woman hadn't expected, of course, was the fact that Persephane could tell which was the real her...and Chloe guessed that no one would connect Lana's concentrated expression to Ginny's sudden, inexplicable clumsiness.

Needless to say, despite the near happy ending, Chloe and Tristan's relationship was now strained at best.

He turned the other way whenever he saw her.

It hurt, but she could understand it, and let him.

Still, it hurt because he'd been a good friend for a long time and she'd never been someone who had a lot of friends.

Then again...

"You're a big cheater Clark Kent!" Tina Greer shook her fist in the air, face red for having over exerted herself.

"I am not." Clark defended, that little tilt of his lips giving one doubt to the truth of his claims. "I'm just a little faster than you."

"I win all the races at school." Tina argued, bending over, gulping in breaths. "I'm the fastest in track. There's no way you could have beaten me fairly! You're on something! Steroids! Something!"

Tina had slowly but surely integrated herself more into things at school, joining the track and drama clubs, and while she was still mostly introverted she'd actually started making friends with others other than their little group.

It was doing the girl a helluva good.

She was becoming her own person, no longer choosing her wardrobe or hairstyle to match Lana's.

"You know, with speed like that, Kent should try out for the football team." Ricky Foster commented to Pete, the boy having gotten over the trauma of his abduction incredibly fast.

But that was probably because once the news got out all the girls in school crowded him to 'console' him for everything he'd gone through.

"I've been telling Clark that since forever!" Pete agreed, swallowing a sip of lemonade. "But the person we really have to convince is Mister Kent. For some reason he's really protective of Clark and doesn't want him joining up."

"Aw." Ricky snickered. "We wouldn't hurt Clark too much."

"You know, that probably isn't the best attitude to take if they're trying to convince Clark's dad to let him go." Lana laughed from where she wast curled up on the porch swing, next to Chloe.

"I agree." Chloe chuckled, shaking her head. "But I know that Clark has always really wanted to play football, so maybe with Pete and Ricky and Whitney pleading alongside him they can wear down Mr. Kent."

"Hopefully." Lana watched as Whitney threw a Frisbee, Persephane racing after it at full speed.

The dog jumped, catching the Frisbee in her mouth, before racing back to the blonde, tail wagging.

Chloe smiled, eyes on Whitney as he bent to take the Frisbee from Persephane, rubbing her head affectionately.

The dog licked his face happily.

Shaking her head, Chloe turned her attention to Lana, watching the girl gazing down at her nails. "So, what did Ricky's Grandmother predict about your future?"

There was more than a little disdain in the blonde's voice.

Considering that Cassandra Carver hadn't been able to predict her grandson's abduction Chloe didn't bank on the woman's words. She'd only gone along with Ricky, Tina, Lana and Whitney because the others had heard about Cassandra's predictions and had been psyched. Also, this was apparently the way the old woman wanted to thank the others for getting her son back safe and sound.

A secretive smile tilted Lana's lips as she gave Chloe a sideways glance before those hazel eyes looked elsewhere. "Nothing much. Just the usual, you know."

"Ah yes, the ever overused prediction." Chloe nodded in derision. "Tina said that she was told she'd find something in which she stood out and would excel in."

"Don't forget the part where she's going to meet a guy who will be different like her and be able to understand her unlike anyone else could or would." Lana reminded, eyeing Tina as the girl continued to argue with Clark, who was rolling his eyes at her despite the wide smile on his face.

"Right." Chloe eyed them as well. "Well, that's just generic."

"Of course." Lana agreed, though there was secret amusement in her tone. "Cassandra told Whitney that he'd join the Marines or something like that and be a great hero."

"Everyone knows that Mr. Fordman was in the Vietnam war and earned medals for honor and bravery in battle." Chloe made a face, not liking the thought of Whitney being in the war or anything like that.

"True." Lana nodded, sending the blonde jock a look. "Has Whit ever mentioned an interest in joining the Marines?"

"Of course not." Chloe was quick to clear. "He chuckled when he told me the prediction. It's stupid. Whitney would never join the Marines."

Lana sent her a small smile. "You're scared of the thought, huh?"

Chloe frowned, looking away. "No reason to be scared. The woman is obviously a fake."

Lana raised an eyebrow. "What did she say she saw when she touched you?"

Chloe pursed her lips, not really wanting to think about it. "Nothing, just that generic crap like you said."

"You called it crap, not me." Lana pointed out, before her phone ringing caused her to pull it from her pocket and smile at the caller I.D. "It's Lois."

Chloe looked at Lana, and gave her a small smile. "You know...if you and my cousin ever decide to...uh...I wouldn't mind at all." She grinned in amusement. "I don't think I can imagine it-I'd have to see you two together for everything to just click somehow-but you would both have my full support."

Lana just smiled softly at her and leaned over, pressing a kiss to her cheek, before standing and answering the phone, walking away for some privacy.

Chloe watched her until she disappeared around the house.

"Did Lana just make a pass at you?" Whitney bounded up the steps, Persephane hot on his trail, as he sat down where Lana had just vacated.

"What do you think about Lana and Lois?" Chloe asked instead, shuffling closer to Whitney and leaning her head against his chest, smiling as his arm went around her. "Can you imagine it?"

"Hmmmm." Whitney hummed, smiling down at Persephane as she pushed up on her hind legs so that she was resting her front paws on his knees, shoving the Frisbee into his face. "Is there development in that direction?"

"Lois calls her more than she does me." Chloe shrugged, taking the Frisbee and throwing it out onto the lawn, Persephane racing away. "So I'm thinking yes."

"How do you feel about it?" Whitney asked, caressing her arm with his thumb.

"Weird." Chloe admitted. "But mostly curious." She grinned up at him. "I'd really like to see the two of them in the same room, you know, physically. I think they'd look good together though."

"Me too." Whitney admitted, grinning down at her.

Their smiles grew less amused and more aware as they gazed into each other's eyes.

They had yet to talk about what was happening between them, to give it a name, a definition, but for now this was more than enough.

Whitney pressed a kiss to her forehead, and Chloe closed her eyes, melting into the tenderness of the act.

"You really don't have any desire to join the Marines, right?" She whispered, face lifted, eyes still closed.

"I don't." He whispered against her forehead before pulling away, and she could taste the peppermint in his breath on her lips as he spoke. "I'm more than content right here."

And then his hand was cupping the back of her head and his lips capturing hers in a slow, adoring kiss that curled her toes and caused her heart to flutter wildly.

Chloe's hand rose to cup his cheek as she leaned in closer, opening her mouth to the kiss, enjoying the sound he made when her tongue met his.

Finally pulling away when they received teasing hoots from Ricky and Pete, Chloe and Whitney shared blushing smiles before she settled against his chest once more, enjoying his arm around her.

Pressing another kiss to the crown of her head, Whitney then leaned his cheek against it as they rocked slowly on the porch swing. "Mrs. Carver's prediction really shook you up, huh?"

"I don't believe in her premonitions." Chloe mumbled against his shirt, closing her eyes, breathing in his scent.

"The whole school seems to. She's a legend." Whitney admitted. "Ricky always gets hell from the boys, they always want her to try and predict lottery numbers of the outcomes of games or something. It annoys him to death, so the fact that he actually brought us to her means a lot."

"I guess." Chloe caressed Whitney's chest over his shirt, her fingers hesitating over the steady beating of his heart. "I should just be grateful for the show of friendship and try downplay my reluctance to believe any of it."

Whitney chuckled. "What I don't get is why you're being reluctant, I mean, you're Chloe Sullivan. Your name is practically a synonym of weird and unexplained. It's what you thrive on. Why all of a sudden are you a skeptic?"

"We don't use the S word in this household." Chloe leaned up and pressed her fingertips to his lips.

The lips under those fingers quirked in a smile.

"I'm not a doubter of psychics on a whole, only of her." Chloe explained, removing her fingers. "If she had known about Ricky's abduction I would have taken her more seriously, given her reasonable doubt, but she didn't so I don't."

"That's fair." Whitney decided, gaze going to where Pete, Clark, Ricky and Tina had apparently decided to play touch football together, Tina and Ricky against Clark and Pete.

Currently Clark had grabbed Tina from behind and swung the girl who was holding the pigskin around, causing her to shriek in laughter.

"What did Mrs. Carver predict for you?" Whitney asked, finally tearing his gaze from those playing, eyes on her face. "I think you're the only one I never heard about."

Chloe frowned, looking away. "She said that someone I love was going to die."

Whitney's eyes widened in horror. "Did she say who?"

"No." Chloe shook her head, finally looking at him. "But since I don't believe in her, I'm not worried."

"Right." Whitney looked at her, eyes sketching over her every feature, before he pulled her closer to him, encircling her in his arms as he kissed her temple. "She's obviously a little senile anyway."

Chloe smiled softly, knowing what he was doing, and falling a little more in love with him than she'd been before.

As the blondes cuddled on the porch, laughter all around them, Chloe resolved not to let an old woman's words bring a dark cloud to such a beautiful, sunny day.

Instead she just smiled up into Whitney's face, cupped his cheek, and rose slightly to meet his lips in a slow kiss in which she placed all the emotions they had yet to put into words, and yet knew about anyway.

Whitney kissed her back just as slowly, just as tenderly, his feelings being communicated just as clearly as hers.

Chloe smiled into the kiss, thanking everything holy for evil eyes and stubborn jocks who stormed snarky reporter's offices and demanded help.

"Stop thinking." Whitney whispered against her lips.

With a gasp of laughter, Chloe kissed harder, her hands burying themselves in his hair as he drew her closer, and wiped all thoughts from her mind.

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Oh my. This is finally finished!

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