Chlark Fanfic: Crisis, Chapter 14

[babydee1]

Hi everyone!

 

Crisis update, by popular demand. 

 

Enjoy. :-)

 

Title:              Crisis

Author:          BabyDee
Pairing:          Chlark/Kaloe

Rating:           NC-17 (this chapter PG-13)

Warnings:     None

Timeline:      Season 2-3 (Exodus – Exile; Clark’s RedK Summer)

Disclaimer:   All characters belong to the CW & DC comics. 

Summary:     A violent encounter between Chloe and Clark threatens to destroy their friendship forever.

Feedback:      …is love. J

 

Beautiful banner by doomedxdream.
 

Read previous chapter here.

Read story from the beginning here.

 

 

 

Chapter 14

 

 

Clark had never been more grateful to Pete’s grandmother than he was for her unscheduled visit to Smallville this afternoon.  Pete had been determined to track Chloe down and find out what had been bothering her, but his brothers had hauled him off to be the good grandson while they presumably got out of the way themselves.  As a result, Pete was out of commission for the rest of the day, which left Clark free to track Chloe down on his own. 

 

He walked slowly along Main Street, peering cautiously into the Talon to see if she was there.  All he saw was a sweetly smiling Lana heading towards one of the tables with a tray of lattes in her hand, and he quickly ducked out of sight. 

 

Ever since he’d gotten back he’d avoided Lana completely, his focus on Chloe one hundred percent.  He thought he’d loved Lana, but now he knew he didn’t, nor had he ever really.  It was a blessing in disguise that she was also pointedly ignoring him; according to Pete, she was probably waiting for him to come to her.

 

Well, that wasn’t going to happen.  And if and when he eventually did see her, it wasn’t going to be to beg her forgiveness as she hoped, but to call it a day and end things between them completely.  Lana just wasn’t his priority anymore. Chloe was. 

 

He trudged along, his brow furrowed in concern.  All day long he’d worried about the reasons for her doctor’s visit this afternoon.  If he’d gotten her pregnant following his attack, or somehow injured her internally…

 

“Clark!”

 

His head snapped up as the object of his thoughts called his name from over the road.  She was waving at him, and looking more relaxed than she had yesterday.  So presumably things had gone well at the hospital, especially if she was willing to see him.  He began to smile as she stepped out into the road and began to cross over to the other side.

 

And that’s when he saw it – the truck bearing down on her at full speed. 

 

***

 

It was still daunting for her, the prospect of approaching Clark.  Chloe’s heart hammered in fear as it had done every moment since his return, but this time she felt a twinge of hope, thanks to her conversation with his mother which had tied up a lot of loose ends in the sordid tale. 

 

She spotted him as soon as she got off the bus, walking despondently along Main Street.  “Clark!” she yelled. 

 

He looked up and saw her, and she quickly stepped out to make a quick dash across the street.  Suddenly she heard the harsh screech of brakes and the blare of a car horn and she froze, staring in horror as an enormous truck headed straight for her.

 

She was dead, no doubt about it.  In that split second, her final thought was that at least it would be quick and painless. At She certainly didn’t expect the world to suddenly move in a whizzy blur of lights which stopped spinning just as soon as they’d started; neither did she expect Heaven to look like the alley behind the Talon, or for Clark to be standing there about three feet away. 

 

What the hell had just happened?

 

From the other side of the building she could hear the truck screech to a stop, and the acrid smell of burning rubber filled the air.  

 

Chloe blinked and stared hard at Clark, who just stared back at her with a slightly guilty expression.  The sounds of a commotion from over the road began to filter through, and her heart pounded fiercely in her chest as she crept to the front of the alley and peeped out. 

 

She hadn’t been imagining things.  There were tyre tracks on the road at least six metres long, the air still smelled of rubber, and the truck driver had scrambled out of the vehicle and was frantically checking under his wheels.

 

“Can you see her?” he shouted to the gathering crowd.  “Can anyone see her?”

 

“See who, dude?” someone asked.

 

“The girl,” the driver replied, looking confused.  “Blonde; young, a teenager.  I thought…she was standing in the road, and…”

 

“There’s no-one there, man,” said a passer-by crouching to stare at the tyres.  “There’s nothing there, not even a hedgehog.” 

 

“But didn’t anyone see…?” the driver paused and scratched his head.  “I saw her; I could have sworn…”

 

“Hey, just be happy you didn’t hit anyone, dude,” said a third person.  “It’s your lucky day.”

 

There was a hum of agreement from the crowd as they slowly started to disperse. 

 

Chloe ducked back into the alley and stared at Clark, comprehension dawning. 

 

He’d saved her.  If he hadn’t been standing on the other side of the road when she’d stepped out, she’d be a mass of bloody pulp by now.  Granted, if he hadn’t been standing there, she wouldn’t have stepped out into the road at all, but…

 

Oh, what the hell, she thought with a shaky laugh.  Here she was, rationalising when she had come this close to getting pancaked.  She was alive, that was all that mattered.  And it was Clark that had saved her.  Which brought her full circle back to why she’d called out to him a few moments ago. 

 

The thoughts swirling around in her head must have shown on her face, because Clark took a small step towards her and spoke. 

 

“Are you alright?” he asked gently. 

 

She nodded.  “I’m…I’m fine.” 

 

He gave a small nod and turned to go.

 

“Hey!” she called, and he stopped.   

 

She took a deep breath.  “Listen, um…I need to talk to you,” she said hesitantly.  “Could you walk with me?”

 

Clark’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly nodded.  “Okay.” 

 

***

 

They walked in silence along the path towards Crater Lake, a road that they’d taken several times before.  Back in happier times, she’d have linked her arm in his, and talked his ear off before they’d even gotten halfway to the lake.  Or if she’d been in a quiet mood – unlikely but not impossible – they’d just walk along in comfortable silence, their arms around each other in silent friendship. 

 

Not this time.  Now there was an unspoken but obligatory three feet of distance between them, and he could see her hand tightly gripping the lead box in her pocket. 

 

Clark sighed.  She still didn’t trust him which he fully understood; but for whatever reason, she was at least willing to talk to him.  He was more than thankful for that. 

 

“Miss Roberts said you’d been to the hospital,” he said, finally breaking the awful silence after about twenty minutes.  “Is everything okay?” 

 

She nodded.  “I’m fine.”   

 

He swallowed.  “What about…?” he paused.  “I thought maybe…after what I…you might-”

 

“I’m not pregnant,” she said flatly.  “I hadn’t slept all night, and my Dad was convinced I was ill.”

 

He nodded, relieved for both their sakes that she was spared the added trauma of an unexpected pregnancy. 

 

“Are you having trouble sleeping?” he asked, but she shook her head.

 

“It’s not that; I was thinking about everything you’d told me, and doing some research.”

 

So she’d made her decision.  “Whatever you decide Chloe, I’ll go along with,” he said quietly.

 

They walked along in silence for a few more minutes.  Then…

 

“I ran into your Mom whilst I was there,” she said. 

 

He frowned.  “Mom?”

 

“She had a doctor’s appointment today.” 

 

“Oh, that’s right, yeah.” 

 

They walked on.  Soon they got to a clearing, a sweet little spot down by the water’s edge where they’d picnicked several times before.   

 

Chloe cleared her throat.  “She told me all about red kryptonite, and…and that your mind was controlled by a sentient computer manifestation.  Is it true?” 

 

He swallowed again, and stopped in his tracks.  “Well…yes, but-” 

 

“Then why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?” she asked, stopping beside him.  “If I’d known something was controlling you, it would have made all the difference.  I mean, it can never take away what you did to me, but it means we can genuinely try to make our way back to being friends again.”

 

“Chloe-”

 

“I should have known you could never do something like… like that, and it wouldn’t be fair of me to hold you responsible for something you didn’t really do.”

 

“Chloe,” he said unsteadily, “I…I didn’t tell you because-”

 

“Clark, it’s all okay now, I understand,” she went on, taking a step towards him.  “You weren’t yourself, you were forced to do something against your will.  You never meant to hurt me, right?”

 

Clark had difficulty swallowing past the sudden dryness in his throat.  It would be so easy to just agree with her.  So easy…

 

“Right?” she pressed, stepping even closer.  “You never meant to hurt me, did you?” 

 

He didn’t answer.  He couldn’t.  Because he didn’t think he was strong enough not to answer with a lie. 

 

“You didn’t mean to hurt me,” she repeated, sounding desperately like she was trying to convince herself as well as him.  “I know you didn’t.”

 

Her blind faith in him was tragically touching, yet at the same time it was killing him inside, because he knew the truth.  His heart beat so hard within his chest it physically hurt, and his throat tightened up as she came to stand right in front of him. 

 

“Clark?” she pleaded, and took his hand.  “Clark, please…just tell me.  Tell me you didn’t mean to hurt me, and I’ll believe you.  Please…”

 

His resolve almost broke right then and there, the moment she touched him.  Tears welled up in his eyes as her small hand clung to his, desperate for his validation. 

 

He wanted to lie.  He really, really wanted to lie to her not just to protect himself, but also her.  There was look of hope in her eyes, the first time he’d seen it since the start of this whole ugly episode, and he wanted to keep it there.  If he told her the truth, that look would disappear, and it’d be gone forever.  She’d be scarred for life.

 

“Clark?  Clark, talk to me; please,” she begged.  “You didn’t deliberately hurt me, did you?  It was that voice, I know it was, because you’d never, ever hurt me, would you?” 

 

There was a scale in his head, balancing the words Yes and No.  All that was needed was a slight tip to take it in either direction. 

 

She took his other hand and clasped them both tightly.  “You need to answer me now, Clark,” she said, her voice trembling.  “Just tell me the truth.  Did you hurt me on purpose, or not?”

 

Without a doubt this was the hardest, most painful, most difficult decision of his life.  But it had to be done. 

 

Sadly, he lifted his gaze and looked into her pleading eyes.

 

“I did.” 

 

***

 

Chapter 15…

PS: I've been reading and appreciating all your lovely comments.  The reason I haven't replied is because I'm working hard on getting the next chapter out, hopefully in the next couple of days tonight (see link to Chapter 15).  Thanks for all the love, people!  Every comment means the world to me. :-)