Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

Chapter Fourteen:

Clark had powers.

She wasn't exactly sure what to do with this knowledge. On the one hand, there was someone she knew that was like her; He had powers and he clearly had the idea in mind that he could help people. On the other hand... He'd never told her.

Sure, it was spiteful and petty and childish, but some part of her couldn't help feeling betrayed by his lack of trust. She could acknowledge that it was hypocritical of her, particularly because she herself had done the exact same thing, yet despite that it still hurt a little, knowing that that's what he thought of her. That she was untrustworthy.

Chloe pasted on a smile as the person in question came into view, glancing at the numerous career-touting stalls. "Wow, you look nice." He smiled.

"Thanks," She sighed. "I was kinda going for professional. Did you know that the Daily Planet only takes four high school interns from the whole state?"

Beside the larger boy Pete grinned, waving her concerns away. "You're a shoe-in Chloe."

She smiled tightly in return. "Thanks, but tell him that," She gestured over to the representative from the Planet. "He says they received five hundred applicants last year! I doubt I'll even get an interview..."

"Well, there's always the Inquisitor. Didn't Lex offer to hook you up?" Clark queried, casually moving to look around.

"No," Chloe met his stride, following alongside the large teen. "I'm interning at the Planet. I don't care if it's delivering coffee to the classified department." She spoke determinedly.

"Why don't you just try again next Saturday when you're in Metropolis?" Pete raised an eyebrow, grinning teasingly.

"Why are you going to Metropolis?"

Chloe froze at the question, smile slipping as she watched him keep walking, pausing when he realized that she'd stopped, Pete hovering awkwardly between them. "We're going to Metropolis, Clark." He stared blankly back at her. "The student journalism conference?" She pressed.

Clark's eyes widened and she could see the moment comprehension struck, a sharp intake of breathe signifying his remembrance.

"...You were supposed to sign us up and I know you didn't forget because now it's too late to get in."

Clark grimaced and swallowed. "I'm really sorry. I've been at the Talon all week working with Lana on a history project." He tried to explain.

She shook her head, frowning at his cavalier attitude. "So naturally everything else becomes less important."

She desperately wanted to retort; to state that he'd had weeks, or that they'd hardly seen each other in the last few weeks anyway, however it hadn't been entirely his fault on that front. Between her prepping for her potential internship and her own struggles with her powers, as well as her fears of revenge due to what she'd done while drugged, the brunette hadn't had much time to get out, leaving her isolated.

With a deep sigh she shakily kept walking, ignoring his objections behind her.

Her thoughts raced as she walked, anger raging through her. Just once she'd have liked to spend some time with him, alone, but as always Clark Kent showed just how oblivious he really was. The only one who ever seemed to matter was Lana, and on occasion Lex. She'd noticed that Pete wasn't fairing much better on that end, frequently having to cope with Lex butting in.

Despite her dark mood she wasn't foolish enough to fully slam her locker, though the sharp way she closed it still left a small deft in the handle.

She huffed as she felt a hand settle itself onto her shoulder, frowning. "Clark, I don't care what you have to say right now, could you just... Justin?" She cut herself off, taking in the unexpected figure of Justin Gaines.

"Well, not the welcome I was quite expecting, but hi." He said awkwardly, shifting in place.

"Hey!" She laughed, sweeping in for a broad hug. "How are you? It's so good to see you! When did you get back?" She rapidly fired off. Guiltily she remembered that she hadn't messaged him in nearly a month. "I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you last month, my laptop got messed up." She partially lied, wincing at the memory of cracked fingerprint indentations in the deep plastic casing.

"Yesterday. It's fine, in fact I wanted to thank you; those e-mails really got me through a tough time."

"I'm sure lots of people kept in touch." She chuckled, brushing off his remarks.

Justin shook his head, smiling self-deprecatingly. "You'd be surprised. For most of my friends it was out of sight, out of mind."

She smiled half-heartedly, feeling a bond with him. "I know the feeling." She resisted the urge to ask him about his drawing: Before she might have been oblivious enough to query, but she could tell that the blue casts and metal supports on his hands and fingers weren't just for show.

Obviously she wasn't quite as good an actress as she thought as the injured boy caught her quick glimpse towards his crippled hands. "Unfortunately my drawing hands kind of shot," He tried to joke, though she could see the sorrow lurking just beneath the surface. "I'm kind of in the middle of re-evaluating my life choices."

Her smile became a little more genuinely at his words. "I can get that. I'm kind of in the middle of re-evaluating my life as well."

Caught up in her thoughts on all that had changed within the last year alone, Chloe didn't catch his hopeful look. "So, listen; Is there any chance that I could buy you a cup of coffee or... One of those non-fat, no foam lattes that you like?"

She saw the obvious flirt for what it was, and for a moment she spotted Clark and considered it, just out of principle. Then she remembered her front door, and her laptop and keyboard and the many, many things that she'd broken even more recently. "I-I'd love too, but right now I can't." She said apologetically. "I'm..." She trailed off, unwilling to just give excuses.

"It's cool, I understand." Justin shook slightly, and the assurance came out too quickly, but she wouldn't budge on her words, couldn't, even. "I just... As friends, sometime maybe?"

As much as she tried to ignore it, the look of hope in his eyes whittled her down. "Sure, sometime." Not for a while yet though: not until she had control and didn't risk pulling him in half.

"Great." He grinned brightly. "I'll see you later then."

As he walked away she got the sudden feeling that she might have misinterpreted what he'd meant once more, or given him false hope. Shaking her head, Chloe decided to focus on that later, like sometime when Clark wasn't directly in front of her.

"Chloe, I...-" "Save it, Clark." She cut across, brow furrowed. "We'll talk later, but right now I'd like some time alone."

She realized that she was being a little petty once more, but ruthlessly squashed the urge to give in to those big blue eyes.

"Chloe!" She closed her eyes in annoyance at the other teen's sheer obliviousness, but stood still as she reluctantly listened to what he had to say. "I'm sorry I've been so busy lately, and we haven't had a lot of time to hang out, but... I didn't realize..."

"Realize what, Clark?" She reluctantly voiced, frustrated.

"I didn't know that you felt like I was ignoring you. I swear I'll do better in the future, I'll hang out more with you." He promised, and she felt a twinge of aggravation.

"Great. Thanks, Clark." She pasted on a smile, yet despite her annoyance at him she couldn't help the feeling of anger slowly disappearing, replaced by a strange sense of apathy. "I'll talk to you later."

Walking around the massive hall Chloe was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people wondering around; People of all ages standing around talking about everything from current debates to their favourite John Wayne movies.

Despite the small twinge of irritation she still felt towards him she couldn't help admitting that despite reneging on his previous word Clark had actually, somehow, pulled through. Then again having a connection to certain people did sometimes prove useful.

Ruminating on the somewhat selfish sentiment she sneaked a glance at the beleaguered teen beside her. She couldn't help the small smirk that graced her face, watching as his eyes roamed across the hall. "Little bit scared, Clark?" She teased, shoulders shaking slightly as he turned a startled gaze to her face, quickly nodding in response. "I know how you are around crowds, Clark. Chill." She reassured him, though his posture remained tense.

"It's just a... Surprisingly big event." He shrugged helplessly, eyeing the buffet off to the side of the room with a curious glance.

Her lips quirked at the gesture and she pulled him through the surrounding throngs of people, dodging the distracted obstacles with quick, deft steps. "Relax, Clark. Try to mingle."

"That's easier said than done." He complained, shuffling in place as they came to a stop. "I just..." He absently reached out and grabbed something off the table, chewing and swallowing it in about five seconds before her bemused eyes. "...I'm not good around people I don't know." He defended.

She grinned at the adorable look he sent her and chuckled. "Well, that's just part of the whole experience of getting to know people." She pointed out snarkily, lightly pushing at his chest and smiling when he leaned straight back in. He would've been almost intimately close were it not for the vexed glance he sent behind him, another man's elbow digging into the back of his shirt. "Digging the whole casual-casual thing you've got going on by the way." She said dryly, flicking at his blue shirt and earning a sheepish grin.

"I think I'm going to get some air." Stepping away from both her and the table, Clark turned to make his way to the large double doors at the other end of the hall.

Chloe snuck a glance at her watch, noting that they had twenty minutes before the presentation started and making her way after the other teen. "I'll join you for a few minutes. We've got the time." She smiled convincingly, earning an awkward return from him.

As they stepped into the brisk evening air Chloe couldn't help the relieved sigh that escaped her lips. As much as she would have denied it, it was nice to be away from the loud, pushing crowd that clogged up the room.

"So, are you enjoying yourself even slightly?" She queried as he leaned against one of the stairs railings, head inclined at an angle as he stared into space.

"It's... Interesting. I'm learning a lot more about it than I thought I would." He confessed, returning his gaze to the petite girl. "I just didn't expect there to be so many people." He admitted.

Chloe inclined her head in acknowledgement. "Yeah, well, it is the Daily Planet. What else could you expect?"

Clark hemmed in response, looking over the entranceway with a keen eye. For a moment she almost got the feeling that he could see through the walls, but she shook her head bemusedly at the thought, narrowly resisting the urge to roll her eyes when she suddenly realized that it was actually probable.

"Chloe?" She shot a look towards the entrance way, surprised to find none other than Justin Gaines directly in front of her, a friendly though suspicious smile on his face. "Hey, I didn't expect to see you here. Well... I probably should have, but still..." He shrugged lackadaisically.

Said girl grinned at him, reaching out for a hug and completely missing the surprised expression on his face and the pinched expression on Clark's. "Hey! What're you doing here?"

The question was casual and light yet she still found herself genuinely curious as to the answer.

"Well, now that my drawing's going to be nearly impossible to pursue I thought maybe I could find a career in journalism. It always seemed fun for you, right?" He shifted awkwardly.

"That's great. Oh! Justin, this is Clark, Clark, vice-versa." She beamed, looking between the two as they stepped towards one another.

"Yeah, I've seen him before." Clark pasted a smile on his face, a duplicate of the expression gracing Justin's. "It's good to see you."

"Same." The shorter boy's smile would have seemed almost genuine itself were it not for the fact that Clark knew what he was looking for. As is, only Chloe didn't see the enmity that buzzed beneath the surface.

Chloe clapped her hands together to gain their attention. "Clark, the presentation starts in ten minutes. Let's get a move on."

"Right. It was great seeing you again Justin." Clark nodded at the other boy.

"Same. Hope you enjoy the presentation." He returned hollowly, watching the two teens leave with narrow eyes.

Chloe stared off into the distance, eyes bright as she stared off into the distance.

Metropolis may not be perfect, but when the night came about the sheer size of the city was revealed in all of it's glory. Even from the ground staring up she found herself awed by the splendor of it all.

The tall buildings blurred past as they drove toward the city lines, heading back to Smallville. After the loud chatter and close-quarters of the filled-to-the-brim event even the comfortable silence of the red pick-up was a relief.

As they finally passed the cities edge and started driving past rural fields and farmland she glanced at the tall youth beside her, leaning back in her seat.

As far as presentations went even she had to admit that it hadn't exactly been exciting. Still, the fact that he'd fixed things and gotten them in, even if at the last minute...

"Thanks for the evening, Clark." She spoke up, smiling. "I'll admit, I had my doubts when you forgot, but you really managed to pull it all together."

"Thanks." He returned with a smile of his own.

The two returned to their comfortable silence, nearing her home within minutes.

As they reached the mildly unkempt lawn outside her house Chloe unbuckled her seat-belt, leaning over and pushing the door open as they came to a halt.

She paused, legs dangling outside the truck. "Seriously, Clark. It was nice hanging out with you." On impulse she leaned over, wrapping him in a surprise hug and grinning. "Try to stay in touch this time, okay?"

Clark chuckled, shrugging bashfully. "I'll try." He assured her.

As she walked to her front door she glanced back, watching as the red pick-up pulled out of the driveway.

Even if she hadn't already been watching the truck she still would have heard the sound of screeching metal that occurred as another car seemed to come out of nowhere, careening downhill and smashing into the side of his.

"Clark!"