Chapter Six:
Now

So he felt the same as her.  That was the good news.  The bad news?

It was just about someone else.
 

"You're perfect, Lex.  We fit."
 

She sighed.  He felt the same, but he sometimes had better words.

"You make this warm spot in my stomach," she whispered.  "You fill my voids and you make me feel human.  Alive."

Yeah, she knew what that was all about.  She should be happy that Clark did too, but-

But what?  He's your best friend.

"It's Lex Luthor.  He isn't right for-"

She shut herself up, knowing that after what she saw between Clark and Lex, she'd never be able to question Lex's intentions for his relationship with Clark again.  And she'd have to stick up for the two of them if it ever came to that.

She didn't doubt that it eventually might.

She breathed in and looked to the stars.  They always gave her a sense of comfort, reminding her of Clark-

Him and that damned telescope.

-and his presence in her life.  He was always making sure she was never alone.

Alone.  Like before.

Metropolis had been her city, her life.  But she hated her home there.  Her mother was emotionally abusive and liked to slam things into walls, preferably glass things and close enough to someone to possibly do some damage.  Her father had been an alcoholic.  He'd never, ever raised a hand to either his wife or daughter, but times when he was wasted he'd just sit there and let Diane just rant and rave, on and on.

Sometimes they'd have screaming matches.  Chloe would go to sleep at nights with the opera of their fighting, have restless dreams, wake up to their arguments, go to school and come back to the same damned problems.

Then her father got promoted.  Level one assistant manager.  Had to relocate in two months.  Wanted to clean up his act.  Tried.  But Diane wasn't having it.  So he decided to leave her.  Gave Chloe the decision for herself, knew she could handle it.  After all, at thirteen she was wiser than most people ten years her senior.
 

"It's your choice, Chloster, honey.  Pack up and move with me to this quaint little down just southwest of here.  Smallville.  Daddy's got a new job as an assistant manager.  We'll try a knew lifestyle there, whaddya say?  No fighting.  No screaming.  No booze.  Or stay with your mother and come and see me whenever you want, honey.  But you gotta make this decision before Thursay, because Daddy's gotta go."
 

Thursday was three days away.  She knew the moment he asked.  She'd go with him.

And it had worked.  Pete hit on her there her very first day of school and she accidentally slammed a locker right into his face.  Instead of acting like any Metropolis-born child, he made a bunch of jokes along the lines of 'Well, that's a new one' and 'Guess I deserved it' .

He then stuck by her when he could.  Yelled out 'Watch out for the locker chick!' when he saw her passing in the halls.  He found her during lunch, commented that it was fate that they both had Lunch A and then introduced his best friend of, at that point, nine years.

Chloe fell in love instantly and couldn't believe her luck when she found the three of them had the same bus route and lived within two miles of each other.  Pete offered for her to sit on his lap, they all laughed and it just seemed to cement everything good about Smallville.

And to think I feared being the outsider here.

Clark would never allow that.  Not now.  It had taken almost a full month for the kid to say more than three sentences to her, but it eventually happened and they'd never looked back.

Everything was still going pretty well.  She had a great bedroom, clothes and friends she loved.  The Torch was her outlet, her sanity in the craziness that was her adopted hometown.  Her father was three years AA, due for another promotion and still trying to be Mr. Dad, the perfect man.

The only things wrong were: her writing was sucking a major fifth cow leg, Pete's sudden aversion to all things Chloe, and Clark finding his true love far from the depths of her heart.

So her world was falling apart.

She sighed.  It's not really falling apart, she thought and knew she was right.  She was just overreacting.  The only problem was…  Her friends were usually the ones to point this out.  She was having to do it herself and it just wasn't working out at all.