Secret Chlark Fanfic

Secret Chlark Exchange:  a fic for simplytoopretty  

Request/Prompt:
Three things you would like in a fic: high school sleuthing,"monster of the week" scenario, someone wearing a trench coat to ameeting in a car parking lot
Three things you wouldn't like in a fic: post-high school setting, aliensattacking, Lana (Chloe-Lois friendship is fine)




the first time she wore the coat





Chloe Sullivan sat indian style on the cold floor of a police station. She would have preferred a chair, but those were all taken. She shivered slightly, her bare shoulders raised with goosebumps.  Had she known she'd spend the majority of a Thursday night at the coldest substation in Metropolis, she might have dressed better. She did have a coat, but that was consfiscated at the door. Everything she had was taken and bagged as property: her shoes, phone, coat, purse, camera and laptop. Everything. Now all she had was a slinky, empiress dress, and a shade of lipstick.  Even the blanket of hot, hungry stares from the grodiest men on the planet didn't help. After avoiding the hundreth cat call, she sighed and shivered again.

She'd never thought a police station be so... wild on a Thursday. Thugs, headbangers, drunks, cross dressers, all chatting and whining within the cinderblock halls. She was set aside in the overflowing hallway of the holding area. Her, the entire city and well, Clark Kent.

She glanced over at Clark, his pitiful, worrisome face creating an ugly face of guilt of her own. His hair looked roughed up and roguish. It went with his eyes which had become strangely distant and defensive. Like a sad, scared puppy in a corner. Or big puppy. Clark was entirely out of place from his homegrown, honest roots. He was virtually harmless to her, yet all the men in the room were intimidated by his size alone. She liked that about him. What could she say, she was his biggest fan. 

"It's all my fault," Chloe pled to him from across the hall, with several handcuffed thugs crossing by. Chloe jiggled her own cuffs, loosely fastened to her small wrists, but she wasn't going to complain. Clark's handcuffs looked like they were about to burst off his bones, they were so tight. Yet he didn't complain, either.

"No, it's my fault," Clark said yet again. He did this everytime she tried to apologize to him. She wondered if he really did think it was his fault they were stuck here, or if he just wanted her to feel better and shut up about it. Because right now he wasn't looking at her, nor was he directly speaking to her. He kept looking at his boots, thinking of who knows what..

Well, she did know, or had a good idea atleast. Knowing Clark, he was probably worrying about what his parents would say, or think. Or worse, do.

She saw Clark clench his arms in the way that he often did. He was stressing, bad. "Clark, it's going to be ok. I'll take the heat, all of it. It's my fault completely."
He tried to smile, tried anyway. His sad expression resembled that of that sickly kid from Ferris Bueller. The best friend, the guy in the hockey jersey... what was his name?

"Clark Kent!"

They both jumped as the police sergeant called from the doorway. Clark jumped to his feet and walked over.

"Ok Mr. Kent, come with me. Time to call your folks."

"No, wait!" Chloe joined them on their feet and blocked Clark's path. The sergeant eyed her skeptically, looking at the little thing guarding the larger, bulky thing behind her. "Please, if I could just call first, you see Clark's family is in Smallville, over three hours away..." Chloe looked between herself, the sergeant, and Clark, "I could make a phone call and have a parental guardian here within twenty minutes."

The sergeant continued to eye her, then looked to Clark. "Smallville, huh?"

"Yes, sir." Clark answered respectfully.

Chloe looked hoplessly at the police sergeant, her open, bright eyes and flippy hair begging him to just give them this one favor. And he did, leading Chloe to a old, wooden chair that was next to a out of century desk phone.

"One phone call," the sergeant warned, "They need to bring a state ID, and signature for your court date."

Clark's head sunk.

Chloe's lifted, "Yes sir, thank you sir."

The sergeant closed the door, momentarily muffling the cacophony outside. It left  Chloe and Clark alone, if only for a moment.

"Who are you calling?" Clark asked immediately.

"My cousin," Chloe responded just as quickly, the number already dialed and ringing, "Damn, voice mail."

Clark sighed heavily, "let me just call my dad."

"No, trust me on this."

"Chloe!" He lifted up his wrists, "I'm in handcuffs! You're in handcuffs! Let's just call my parents and get this over with." He never should have let this happen, but it had happened so fast!   It was supposed to be like any ordinary night, an investigation into the many items of Chloe's growing Wall of Weird. They drove to Metropolis this time, following one of Chloe's 'hunches'. They were looking for a 'flash' or a 'blur' as he was described. A figure in the night with superstrength and 'freakish' eyes.

Well, in the mists of the stake out, Chloe had made some comment about something or other, he couldn't remember now. He only remembered that they ended up laughing, giggling, and that she ended up partially wrapped around him. After that, he couldn't remember anything except that Chloe was so close, so...

And then the cops showed up and the party was over. One moment he and Chloe were onto... something,  and the next, he had a flashlight in his face.

 If he were alone he would have sped away and left it at that. But he couldn't leave it at that, he couldn't leave Chloe to fend for herself. Nor could he do anything else but take the hit with her.

And thus, why they were here. Curfew violation. Even if it was a tiny charge, it was a big mark against Clark. He could see the disappointment on his dad's face now... 

"Clark, you know the moment your parents get here that will be the end of your summer. You'll be chained to the barn, mucking out horse poop and shoveling hay until you've graduated and I will never see you again! I can't let that happen. "

"I know but," Clark leaned against the desk, "my parents are going to find out eventually. I can't hide anything from them, especially being arrested."

"We're not arrested, Clark. We're juveniles, we're being 'detained'."

"Same difference."

"Big difference," Chloe looked at him, "it's only a ticket for curfew violation. Big whoop. We go to court, pay the fine and it get's wiped clean."

Another sigh from Clark, "I've just never been in trouble with the law before."

Chloe couldn't resist a small chuckle, "you're kinda cute, you know that?"

"Me?"

"'Cos!" Chloe strangled the phone, "Hey! Guess what?"

*

"Oh my god!" Chloe tore up the plastic baggy confining all her things, "I've never felt so in the dark before! It's like man discovering fire for the first time!" She turned on her cellphone and both of their faces beamed with fresh light.

They were released from custody once Lois Lane arrived, signed, and gave Chloe a 'stern talking to' in front of the desk sergeant. Fortunately, the sergeant turned out to be one of General Sam Lane's old war buddies. A few minutes of sharing battle scars and stories later, the sergeant happily tore the ticket and court dates up, laughed about it, and waved them goodbye as they walked out the door. 

Clark shook out his red jacket and moved them both out of the line at the property counter, "C'mon, before they change their mind. "

Clark heard a low whistle, one last cat call as Chloe crossed the floor. Protectively, Clark moved in between her and swooped her coat around her shoulders.  "Chloe, jeeze, would ya put this on  already?"

Lois smirked and hugged her cousin, " what's the matter, Big Guy? Jailhouse make you territorial?"

Clark eyed Lois, "No. Protective. Entirely different."

"Whatever," Lois rolled her eyes, and walked off, "I'm going to get the car."

The sidetalk was missed on the shorter, bouncy-haired one, her blonde head buried in her phone messages, "Please, please, I hope he's still willing to meet."

Clark then saw her fingers working vigorously over her phone, "Chloe, we're going home."

"No, the night's still young," Chloe persisted, "we can still do this. There's no sense going home now, not when we're so close!"

Clark palmed his forehead and rolled his eyes, hard. She didn't know when to quit. Even with a 'hiccup' like being arrested didn't shift her drive. In some way, Clark knew this being arrested business somehow lit her fire even brighter. He could see it now: 'Chloe Sullivan, junior reporter arrested while undercover.'

The idea of sending his best friend, alone, to meet some 'stranger' in the city wasn't great to begin with. That's why he had agreed to being dragged along. Chloe had set herself up on this date to meet  who she suspected was a meteor infected teen inside Metropolis. She had followed reports of a kid zipping through the city, in speeds faster than a bullet. Literally. He had reportedly dodged several bullets when confronting a batch of robbers. And off the record, it was true. Clark had the bullet holes in his old jacket to prove it. But all that had been tucked safely away at home, and away from Chloe.

 Truth be told, he was partially relieved they'd been picked up and booked at MPD tonight. He thought that would be enough to deter her little undercover operation and send them home, safe. With his secret safe.

In fact, the idea of coming to the city tonight became worse and worse as time went on. Clark spied Chloe off to the side. Her eyes were all wired like she'd been fed some motivational crack. They were alive and hopeful, excited. Almost like a sugar-fed, hyper kid. It reminded him of that time he pulled his parent's refrigerator down to get to his Christmas presents that were 'hidden' ontop. He couldn't stand not knowing what was in the boxes, the mystery. He was four, and ripped them all apart on the kitchen floor in 3 seconds flat.

Clark swallowed, watching the ideas swirl in Chloe's eyes... Didn't she always say that he acted mysterious?   "Chloe! It makes all the sense in the world we should go home! We were just arrested! And you want to go back out there and hunt down this-- this--"

Chloe stopped, phone to her ear,  turned around and faced him square in the eye, "Clark, I can't believe you of all people would turn your back from this!"

He choked, well on the inside he choked. But she still saw him hesitate, only a little. It was obvious by now when Clark Kent was about to deviate from the truth. "Chloe, we're kids, ok? We should hand this over to police while we're here and step aside."

"You know any case involving meteor freaks are shoved aside by police," Chloe waved her hands in the air, something she did very rarely, but only when her passion overpowered her tiny exterior, "This could be a big break for us! Meteor infected, outside of Smallville! And in Metropolis of all places!  What bigger break could shed light on this?"

More quietly she added, "I thought you would support me on this."

"I do!" Clark said defensively, "I just don't support you chasing after this..." he avoided saying 'freak', "thing by yourself."

And then she gave the cutest fist bump to his shoulder and said, "That's why I've got you here."

"Me?" Clark said, choking again. She saw his eyes pouring over into pools of over thinking and teenage anxiety, "What am I supposed to do?"

Across the street, a telephone booth rang.

She smiled, "Just be you."

Clark paused, smiled, and then nodded. He breathed for once in the entire night, watching as his friend paced back and forth on the damp Metropolis cement. She looked covert in the dark trenchcoat she chose to wear, almost like a character from a detective story. He had never seen her wear it before, and he wondered if it were something she had saved for the special occassion.

 Here in the city, Chloe vaguely resembled the girl he knew in Smallville. She didn't look like ahighschool girl, she looked, grown up. Gone were the flashy colors and playful, chuny accessories. She wore subtle shades of grey and rose that seemed to accentuate her natural beauty. He watched as the lamp lights illuminated her golden, short hair as she stepped inside and out from its glow.  But her eyes, they stayed bright even in the twilight. They were alive, like his.

"He's not answering anymore." Chloe sighed, phone to her ear.
Clark very gently returned the fist bump to her shoulder, "well, night's still young right?"
She smiled, her eyes casually veering over to the ringing, red telephone booth. "Ha, what are the odds, right?"

Clark invisibly smiled. "Right."

After a several more long moments, Chloe's suspicions overgrew her doubts. Clark very calmly walked across the street, and picked up the receiver, held it to his ear.

In her ear, the ringing ceased, and then she heard Clark on the other end,

"Odds are good tonight."

It almost took her breath away. And then suddenly, she felt fooled like a child. "I can't believe this. Right across from the police station." She felt silly,  but in he smallest way, she felt she needed someone to answer her call. To see Clark across the street, looking at her through the lonely telephone booth which she imagine he would, comforted her some.

"Well, it makes sense. He probably takes the crooks to this station, calls you with the info and then speeds away, "Clark offered, very reasonably at that.

Chloe closed her phone, and thus their converstation.

Across the street, Clark dug in his pocket for change and dialed.

Her phone rang, "Hello?"

"Chloe, you tried."

"Clark," she turned back around, "stop it. Lois will be back any moment." She watched as several cars passed by, waiting for Clark to give up, but he wouldn't. Now it was his turn to be stubborn.

"Why is meeting this guy so important to you anyway?"

Chloe frowned, "What do you mean?"

She could hear the smile in his voice, "Well, you made this big deal tonight to come into the city to meet him. You got dressed up, dragged me with you--"

"Dressed up? What am I supposed to wear, jeans and a Smallville High t-shirt?"

 Did it show that bad? she wondered. It was funny how a different set of clothes could change you, how it impowered you. Chloe wore the dress and trenchcoat to go for the whole undercover feel. It made her feel more adult, more feminine. Confident. Sexy even.

"You're avoiding the question."

Chloe stood silently for a moment, her thoughts collecting, her seemingly aimless paces becoming faster and suddenly more deliberate. "Ok, fine. I thought he would be different, you know? All these stories I've pasted to the Wall of Weird, not one of them had a happy ending. This guy, he's different. He's not some freak that we're used to. He does good with his meteor abilites. I wanted to know, why?"

"Why... he does good?"

Chloe sighed, "why he does anything at all when the rest of the world is so ready to turn their backs away? I guess, I just wanted to know if he was  real."

His voice was deeper over fuzz of the telephone, "He is real."

On the other end of the phone, Clark heard her soft sigh again, "Then why did he chose me? Why does he--"

"Trust you?" Clark offered, "Maybe..." he looked through the small glass window, her form backlit by the same lamp light, "maybe, because he knows he can?"

Chloe hugged her phone tighter as Clark whispered, "Maybe he's read your articles at the Torch. Maybe he's a big fan of yours... Maybe he wants you to know that not all of them, are bad."

There were a few quiet moments on the line..

"A fan, huh?"

Clark smiled, "Yeah, maybe."

Somewhere deep down from her memory, Chloe laughed and said, "You know, in a way he reminds me of you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Chloe thoughtfully said, "you help people all the time, Clark. Readily and selflessly. Only difference is that he has superpowers and you don't."

"Yeah, well," Clark said quietly, "I just do what's right, that's all."

"Yeah, you do." Chloe smiled, and then closed her phone for the second time... 'C'mon Clark," she shouted across the street, "let's go home?"

Clark smiled, and placed the phone back on his hook. It seemed that he too, was off the hook, for now.  He walked over and naturally placed his arm over Chloe's shoulders and escorted her down the street where they spotted the tail light's of Lois' car.

"So," Clark said, his spirit lifted after the eventful night, "I guess technicially I don't have to tell my parents about this little run in with the police, right? Luckily Lois saved us back there, I guess I owe her one."

"Yeah," Chloe said, and then thoughtfully added, "although there is the part about them towing your truck..."

Clark winced, and then palmed his face for the second time that night. "Dad's truck!"

Together, they strolled down the sidewalk,  Chloe tucked underneath Clark's arm and with her head towards the sky. In the distance, she saw a vision of what the future might be.  A feeling  that the future was happening to her, right now. The curve of time where everything in the present reflected what was to be. That it was meant to be. 

She looked up at Clark, the silohuette of his face cutting shapes across Metropolis.  Behind him was the Planet.

"What?" Clark asked as he looked over at his grinning partner in crime.

"I was just thinking," Chloe said, the smile overcoming her, "I could get used to this."

Clark smirked, "Hopefully, you don't mean being arrested."

"Oh, I dont know..." Chloe joked, "if this journalism thing doesn't pan out..."

"Should I just call you Bonnie from now on?"

"Only if I can call you Clyde."

*






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