Chlark Fanfic: All The Way, Chapter 15
Jun. 23rd, 2013 01:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
babydee1Hi, All!
If this All The Way chapter looks familiar, it's because it is. I originally posted it on 11th May, but it's turned into a ghost post (along with a lot of the comments on it) that can't be edited or restored, and the LJ powers that be are pansies that have refused to address the matter further despite several stinker emails to the helpdesk.
So I'm posting it again, because I'm currently working on Chapter 16 and need to be able to link it back. So if you haven't enjoyed it already...enjoy. :-)
Awesome banner by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
summerstar882. Thanks again, Jen! :-)
Title: All The Way
Author: BabyDee1
Pairing: Chlark
Rating: PG13 (for now)
Warnings: None
Timeline: All Seasons. Works as a sequel to Daisychain.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Chlark: as they were, are and ever should be.
Feedback: …makes me squee. :)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 15
Fallout
It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be.
Chloe was silent for most of the journey back to Smallville. Her father gave her odd looks, probably assuming she was just reminiscing on her visit to Metropolis.
“Everything okay, Peanut?” he finally asked as they approached the Welcome to Smallville! sign.
She turned to face him with a wan smile. “I’m fine, Dad.”
“It was hard going back to Metropolis, wasn’t it?” he asked gently.
Her eyes widened in surprise. She’d been so wrapped up in solving the mystery of the newspapers that it hadn’t even occurred to her that it was her first time back in Metropolis since the move. Nor had she felt the yearning for the big city that she’d thought she would.
Huh. Life in Smallville wasn’t so bad after all. And she had her best friend Clark to thank for that.
I know what’ll cheer you up,” her father continued. “How about we stop by the Kent Farm on the way in? You can spend a few hours with young Clark, and I’ll pick you up later.”
Her face brightened considerably. “I’d love that, Dad. Thank you.”
They cruised along until the familiar yellow farmhouse and barn came into view, and her father dropped her off at the end of the driveway. She ran up the path and headed straight for the barn, knowing he’d be in the loft at this time.
“Clark?” she called.
His head appeared over the top railing, and his face broke out into a huge smile.
“Hey, you’re back!” he exclaimed. “Come on up. How was your trip?”
“It was good,” she replied. She got to the top of the stairs and flopped onto the couch. “Weird, though; I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would.”
Clark stared at her in delighted surprise. “Chloe Anne Sullivan, are you turning into a country girl right before my very eyes?”
“Hey, I wouldn’t go that far,” she warned. “Oh — and I brought you back a piece of the city.”
He brightened as she reached into her bag and brought out a paper-wrapped package. “You did?”
“Yep. Here you go,” she said with a smile. “With love from Pretzel Corner.”
***
Clark’s reaction was instantaneous. His smile disappeared, and he stared at the object in her hands as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Where did you get that?” he whispered.
“From a street vendor in Metropolis. Wanna try some?” she offered.
“Uh…yeah, sure.” He took the pretzel out of her hands and took a bite out of the corner, his expression shuttered.
“Don’t you like it?” she asked.
“Hmm? Oh, yes; yes, I do,” he replied, and immediately smiled. “Thanks for bringing this back for me, I appreciate it.”
“Have you ever had one of these before?” she asked, studying him carefully.
“I’ve eaten pretzels before, sure.”
“I mean, one of these ones,” she specified. “With maple syrup, and cinnamon and—”
“Is this an interview?” he asked curtly.
Busted. “No, I’m just…curious,” she replied. “But we can talk about something else, if you’d like.”
“I’d like.”
“Okay.” She twiddled her fingers nervously, and noticed that he seemed to me making a conscious effort not to meet her gaze.
“So, what did you do with yourself all day?” she asked.
He broke out into a silly grin, and his cheeks turned a bright shade of red. “I spent the day with Lana.”
“Lana?” she echoed, her eyes widening in shock.
“Yep. See, after you blew me off—”
“I didn’t blow you off!”
“…I was at a loose end, so I went into town, and she was minding the flower shop for her Aunt Nell,” he continued, ignoring her outburst. “I asked if she needed a hand, and we got to talking, and you know what? You were right. She really is quite nice.”
“Great,” she said stiffly. “Good to see you had fun.”
“I did.” He paused. “She asked if I could stop by again next week; I said I would.”
“Next Saturday?” she gaped. “Again?”
He shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”
“But we always do stuff on Saturday!” she complained. “How could you agree to something like that without clearing it with me first?”
“I don’t need your permission to see a friend!”
“But we had plans, Clark!”
“Gee, If I could get out of this, I would,” he mimicked sarcastically, throwing her own words back in her face. “But I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
She scowled at him, her hands clenching by her sides. He never said the exact words, but his meaning was clear. Now you know what it feels like.
“You know what? Don’t bother,” she said angrily, getting to her feet. “Have fun with your new best friend, flower boy!”
“Oh, I will!” he shouted at her retreating back. “And you can forget about your papers from now on!”
She stomped down the stairs and out of the barn, walking furiously along the road. Knowing that Clark had spent what was supposed to have been their afternoon with Lana felt curiously like a betrayal. Which was silly, because Clark was just her friend, and she knew he had a thing for Lana; had even encouraged him to talk to her. And Lana was nice enough, so she should be happy for him that she’d finally started to acknowledge him. She had, after all, even given Lana a none-too-subtle push in Clark’s direction.
So why did she feel positively heartbroken about his budding friendship with the pretty teenager?
A yearning stirred in her heart and she fiercely ignored it, forcing her brain instead into reporter mode as she mentally examined her findings with the proffered pretzel.
Clark had had a strong reaction to the sight of the tasty treat, and had immediately gone on the defensive. No way did she believe he was seeing Big Lou’s signature pretzel for the first time. But if her instincts were true, and he was getting her papers from Metropolis, how did he manage to do it every morning in the space of mere minutes?
She pondered all possibilities until she got home, surprising her father who was watching TV in the den.
“Hey, you’re early,” he remarked. “Clark not home?”
“He was, but he was kinda busy.” She leaned over him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll just head on upstairs and work on some…stuff.”
“Okay, then. Don’t forget to come down to dinner.” He returned his attention to the game, and she went up to her room and switched on her computer.
***
Several calculations, trajectories and scattered sheets of paper later, she was done.
Chloe leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers under her chin, frowning hard. Clark was getting her papers from Metropolis; of that she was pretty much sure. How he managed to do that in under ten minutes either way, she had no clue.
But she was determined to find out.
She pushed her chair back and got to her feet, unsettling several sheets of paper on her way up. Quickly she gathered them in her hands and started to shuffle them into a pile, but then stopped as her gaze zeroed in on a box of tacks on the edge of her writing desk.
She picked up both the tacks and her papers and carried them over to the wall on the far side, which was bare. Slowly and methodically, she stuck her pieces of paper up on the wall until they resembled a crude storyboard of events. Then she stood back and smiled.
The mystery of the papers might have her stumped at the moment, but she had every intention of solving that mystery. Until then, she’d be content with staring at her little wall of weird information until the case was well and truly cracked. It might be a good idea to set one up in the Torch as well, just in case there were more mysteries to be found in the town. After all, Clark’s father had said something about Smallville being weird and out of the ordinary. What had he said? There’s already enough strangeness in this town without fertiliser compounding the problems.
“Why would locally made fertiliser be a problem?” she wondered aloud.
“Dinner time, Peanut!” her father called.
“In a minute, Dad!” she yelled back. She ran back to her desk and picked up a pen, then scribbled a reminder on the corner of her book to check out the local fertiliser plant, and also get interviews from other farmers in the area.
Jonathan Kent may farm organic, but she was willing to bet that there were others who did not. She’d pay their farms a visit and see if their crops and livestock turned out any different from the ones grown and bred respectively on the Kent Farm.
“Chloe Anne Sullivan!” her father called sternly. “Dinner!”
She sighed and followed his voice downstairs. As she descended, a small part her felt a niggling sense of guilt that she was pursuing a lead that would likely cause her to break the promise she’d made to Clark, but she eventually shrugged it away and went to the kitchen to wash her hands.
She was determined to be a brilliant reporter one day. She’d be an idiot to ignore a lead that was right in front of her face.
***
Chapter 16…
If this All The Way chapter looks familiar, it's because it is. I originally posted it on 11th May, but it's turned into a ghost post (along with a lot of the comments on it) that can't be edited or restored, and the LJ powers that be are pansies that have refused to address the matter further despite several stinker emails to the helpdesk.
So I'm posting it again, because I'm currently working on Chapter 16 and need to be able to link it back. So if you haven't enjoyed it already...enjoy. :-)
Awesome banner by
summerstar882. Thanks again, Jen! :-)Title: All The Way
Author: BabyDee1
Pairing: Chlark
Rating: PG13 (for now)
Warnings: None
Timeline: All Seasons. Works as a sequel to Daisychain.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Chlark: as they were, are and ever should be.
Feedback: …makes me squee. :)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 15
Fallout
It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be.
Chloe was silent for most of the journey back to Smallville. Her father gave her odd looks, probably assuming she was just reminiscing on her visit to Metropolis.
“Everything okay, Peanut?” he finally asked as they approached the Welcome to Smallville! sign.
She turned to face him with a wan smile. “I’m fine, Dad.”
“It was hard going back to Metropolis, wasn’t it?” he asked gently.
Her eyes widened in surprise. She’d been so wrapped up in solving the mystery of the newspapers that it hadn’t even occurred to her that it was her first time back in Metropolis since the move. Nor had she felt the yearning for the big city that she’d thought she would.
Huh. Life in Smallville wasn’t so bad after all. And she had her best friend Clark to thank for that.
I know what’ll cheer you up,” her father continued. “How about we stop by the Kent Farm on the way in? You can spend a few hours with young Clark, and I’ll pick you up later.”
Her face brightened considerably. “I’d love that, Dad. Thank you.”
They cruised along until the familiar yellow farmhouse and barn came into view, and her father dropped her off at the end of the driveway. She ran up the path and headed straight for the barn, knowing he’d be in the loft at this time.
“Clark?” she called.
His head appeared over the top railing, and his face broke out into a huge smile.
“Hey, you’re back!” he exclaimed. “Come on up. How was your trip?”
“It was good,” she replied. She got to the top of the stairs and flopped onto the couch. “Weird, though; I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would.”
Clark stared at her in delighted surprise. “Chloe Anne Sullivan, are you turning into a country girl right before my very eyes?”
“Hey, I wouldn’t go that far,” she warned. “Oh — and I brought you back a piece of the city.”
He brightened as she reached into her bag and brought out a paper-wrapped package. “You did?”
“Yep. Here you go,” she said with a smile. “With love from Pretzel Corner.”
***
Clark’s reaction was instantaneous. His smile disappeared, and he stared at the object in her hands as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Where did you get that?” he whispered.
“From a street vendor in Metropolis. Wanna try some?” she offered.
“Uh…yeah, sure.” He took the pretzel out of her hands and took a bite out of the corner, his expression shuttered.
“Don’t you like it?” she asked.
“Hmm? Oh, yes; yes, I do,” he replied, and immediately smiled. “Thanks for bringing this back for me, I appreciate it.”
“Have you ever had one of these before?” she asked, studying him carefully.
“I’ve eaten pretzels before, sure.”
“I mean, one of these ones,” she specified. “With maple syrup, and cinnamon and—”
“Is this an interview?” he asked curtly.
Busted. “No, I’m just…curious,” she replied. “But we can talk about something else, if you’d like.”
“I’d like.”
“Okay.” She twiddled her fingers nervously, and noticed that he seemed to me making a conscious effort not to meet her gaze.
“So, what did you do with yourself all day?” she asked.
He broke out into a silly grin, and his cheeks turned a bright shade of red. “I spent the day with Lana.”
“Lana?” she echoed, her eyes widening in shock.
“Yep. See, after you blew me off—”
“I didn’t blow you off!”
“…I was at a loose end, so I went into town, and she was minding the flower shop for her Aunt Nell,” he continued, ignoring her outburst. “I asked if she needed a hand, and we got to talking, and you know what? You were right. She really is quite nice.”
“Great,” she said stiffly. “Good to see you had fun.”
“I did.” He paused. “She asked if I could stop by again next week; I said I would.”
“Next Saturday?” she gaped. “Again?”
He shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”
“But we always do stuff on Saturday!” she complained. “How could you agree to something like that without clearing it with me first?”
“I don’t need your permission to see a friend!”
“But we had plans, Clark!”
“Gee, If I could get out of this, I would,” he mimicked sarcastically, throwing her own words back in her face. “But I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
She scowled at him, her hands clenching by her sides. He never said the exact words, but his meaning was clear. Now you know what it feels like.
“You know what? Don’t bother,” she said angrily, getting to her feet. “Have fun with your new best friend, flower boy!”
“Oh, I will!” he shouted at her retreating back. “And you can forget about your papers from now on!”
She stomped down the stairs and out of the barn, walking furiously along the road. Knowing that Clark had spent what was supposed to have been their afternoon with Lana felt curiously like a betrayal. Which was silly, because Clark was just her friend, and she knew he had a thing for Lana; had even encouraged him to talk to her. And Lana was nice enough, so she should be happy for him that she’d finally started to acknowledge him. She had, after all, even given Lana a none-too-subtle push in Clark’s direction.
So why did she feel positively heartbroken about his budding friendship with the pretty teenager?
A yearning stirred in her heart and she fiercely ignored it, forcing her brain instead into reporter mode as she mentally examined her findings with the proffered pretzel.
Clark had had a strong reaction to the sight of the tasty treat, and had immediately gone on the defensive. No way did she believe he was seeing Big Lou’s signature pretzel for the first time. But if her instincts were true, and he was getting her papers from Metropolis, how did he manage to do it every morning in the space of mere minutes?
She pondered all possibilities until she got home, surprising her father who was watching TV in the den.
“Hey, you’re early,” he remarked. “Clark not home?”
“He was, but he was kinda busy.” She leaned over him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll just head on upstairs and work on some…stuff.”
“Okay, then. Don’t forget to come down to dinner.” He returned his attention to the game, and she went up to her room and switched on her computer.
***
Several calculations, trajectories and scattered sheets of paper later, she was done.
Chloe leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers under her chin, frowning hard. Clark was getting her papers from Metropolis; of that she was pretty much sure. How he managed to do that in under ten minutes either way, she had no clue.
But she was determined to find out.
She pushed her chair back and got to her feet, unsettling several sheets of paper on her way up. Quickly she gathered them in her hands and started to shuffle them into a pile, but then stopped as her gaze zeroed in on a box of tacks on the edge of her writing desk.
She picked up both the tacks and her papers and carried them over to the wall on the far side, which was bare. Slowly and methodically, she stuck her pieces of paper up on the wall until they resembled a crude storyboard of events. Then she stood back and smiled.
The mystery of the papers might have her stumped at the moment, but she had every intention of solving that mystery. Until then, she’d be content with staring at her little wall of weird information until the case was well and truly cracked. It might be a good idea to set one up in the Torch as well, just in case there were more mysteries to be found in the town. After all, Clark’s father had said something about Smallville being weird and out of the ordinary. What had he said? There’s already enough strangeness in this town without fertiliser compounding the problems.
“Why would locally made fertiliser be a problem?” she wondered aloud.
“Dinner time, Peanut!” her father called.
“In a minute, Dad!” she yelled back. She ran back to her desk and picked up a pen, then scribbled a reminder on the corner of her book to check out the local fertiliser plant, and also get interviews from other farmers in the area.
Jonathan Kent may farm organic, but she was willing to bet that there were others who did not. She’d pay their farms a visit and see if their crops and livestock turned out any different from the ones grown and bred respectively on the Kent Farm.
“Chloe Anne Sullivan!” her father called sternly. “Dinner!”
She sighed and followed his voice downstairs. As she descended, a small part her felt a niggling sense of guilt that she was pursuing a lead that would likely cause her to break the promise she’d made to Clark, but she eventually shrugged it away and went to the kitchen to wash her hands.
She was determined to be a brilliant reporter one day. She’d be an idiot to ignore a lead that was right in front of her face.
***
Chapter 16…
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-06-23 01:01 am (UTC)Oh dear, Chloe just doesn't know when to stop, does she? I love her but her investigative curiosity can be a bit off-putting.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-23 10:53 am (UTC)Thanks, Jen. I lost two posts that I know of, both fanfic posts. So annoying.
"Oh dear, Chloe just doesn't know when to stop, does she? I love her but her investigative curiosity can be a bit off-putting."
Well, she's about to learn a harsh lesson in learning when to go after a story, and when to leave well enough alone!
Glad you like, and thanks for commenting again. *huggles*
no subject
Date: 2013-06-23 03:43 am (UTC)It sucks that Chloe and Clark have had their first fight, but that is Chloe for you. When she is on the trail of a story or what she thinks could be a story, she is like a dog with a bone. However that is the Chloe we all know and love.
I'm looking forward to chapter sixteen.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-23 10:55 am (UTC)Thank you, thank you, thank you! *huggles* :-D
"It sucks that Chloe and Clark have had their first fight, but that is Chloe for you. When she is on the trail of a story or what she thinks could be a story, she is like a dog with a bone. However that is the Chloe we all know and love."
Very true. :-) However, she will eventually learn that some stories are best left untold, and that she can still be an excellent reporter nonetheless...also the Chloe we know and love. :-)
"I'm looking forward to chapter sixteen."
Working on it, hope to post it some time this week. Thanks again for the re-comment! :-D
no subject
Date: 2013-06-23 11:19 am (UTC)*Cuddles You/Shows You Lurve*
no subject
Date: 2013-06-23 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-24 02:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-20 11:33 pm (UTC)Thanks for the comments, and my apologies for the late reply. :-)
no subject
Date: 2013-07-03 12:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-22 07:20 am (UTC)I hate when that happens! Worry not, dear. Your mind wasn't playing tricks on you. :-)
"Chloe just can't leave well enough along when she is on the hunt for a story and I have a feeling those two are going to have a few rough patches while she is on the hunt."
Yeah, it's gonna be stink-eye central for a while. :-/
"And boo to Clark hanging out with Lana-never did like her on the show."
Aww, sorry hun. If it makes you feel any better, I plan on having her wear her awful necklace as often as possible! ;-)
"Awesome job as usual!!"
Glad you like, and thanks as always for all your lovely comments! :-D
no subject
Date: 2013-07-07 05:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-02 12:24 am (UTC)So glad you like, and my apologies for the late reply to your awesome comments. Much appreciated! :-)
no subject
Date: 2013-07-20 07:50 pm (UTC)So Chloe is determined to dig in into this "case" ;-) Thanks for this chapter...
no subject
Date: 2013-07-20 11:35 pm (UTC)Yep, Chloe 's on the warpath. Cark, beware! :-)
no subject
Date: 2013-08-02 07:32 am (UTC)When I read that LJ lost this chapter from your May posting, I checked my emails and still had the email showing you had updated and when I click on the link, it comes up with your original posting and comments that had been posted...
trying to copy and paste the email I got on May 10th:
Hi mari2anne, babydee1 has posted a new entry titled "Chlark Fanfic: All The Way, Chapter 15". The entry is tagged "chloe, clark, rated:pg, alltheway, smallville, series:destinyseries, fanfic, chlark" You can: •View the entry
•Read babydee1's recent entries
Read the latest LiveJournal news at http://news.livejournal.com/
Don't know if the 'View the entry' link will work. If not and you'd like me to forward the email, just pm me an email address and I will send it...
☺
no subject
Date: 2013-08-03 12:31 am (UTC)When I read that LJ lost this chapter from your May posting, I checked my emails and still had the email showing you had updated and when I click on the link, it comes up with your original posting and comments that had been posted..."
Oh my gosh, it's BACK!!! :-O How and when did that happen?? They could have at least had the decency to let me know. Incompetent twazzers!!! *fumes*
I'm so glad I have you on my f-list, or I'd never have known. Thanks, Mari!
PS: I can now see and edit the post, and all the comments can be viewed. So weird. I'm now stuck with deciding which of the Chapter 14's to link back to in ensuing and previous chapters...sticking with the second one for now in case it decides to disappear again!