[for Chloe]

[hero_farmboy]

Clark is not nervous. Not at all. That pacing he's doing outside Chloe's apartment building? Totally not nerves. It's just a second date and the first one was the one he was nervous over. This one should be a breeze.

He just needs a minute.

Finally, after taking a quick look around to make sure no one's watching, he takes a deep breath and speeds up to her apartment, knocking lightly on the door.

It's hard to not just walk in.

Comments

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"That I totally need to see some day."

[hero_farmboy]

He chuckles. "We'll see. You might have to agree to a picnic for it, though."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"Hey, as long as you're still willing to go out with me, I'm game."

[hero_farmboy]

"Now why wouldn't I be willing to still go out with you?" He teases, squeezing her hand gently. "You're still in the 'touch fire to see if it burns' stage. You need someone to look out for you."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"Isn't this kind of weird for you?" Chloe squeezes his hand back as they walk along the edge of the canon. "I mean, I'm not exactly the Chloe you grew up with."

[hero_farmboy]

Clark takes a minute before answering that.

"You're not really all that different, to be honest. I mean, no, you don't have all the memories of stuff that we've done together that I have, but when you get right down to it, you're still Chloe Sullivan." He looks over and gives her a quick smile before looking straight ahead again. "And just that alone means a lot to me."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe nods. "She really meant a lot to you, didn't she?"

[hero_farmboy]

"Yeah, she did. I really don't know what I would have done without her." He smiles at her again. "And I'm glad I don't have to find out."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe beams back at him.

"So why didn't you two ever date? I know this is only our second one, and not to be presumptuous or anything, but I think this could be a pretty good thing in the long one."

[hero_farmboy]

"There was another girl. There were a couple of times I thought Chloe and I could give it a shot, but she pulled the friends card on me. I guess I can't really blame her."

Clark sighs. "The last time was fairly recently, too."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"I can't imagine that it would be fun competing with another girl. I wasn't ever exactly in that sort of situation," she muses, glancing up at him a few times as she talks. "But I think I get where she's coming from. Still, I'm kind of really glad you gave me a chance."

[hero_farmboy]

"I didn't have all that much of a choice. You surprise kissed me." Which really just made him think about the last time his Chloe surprise kissed him and how much he had been looking forward to seeing her again afterward.

Which also reminds him, "You work with a guy named Jimmy? Jimmy Olson?"

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"Hey, your the one that surprise kissed me back!" Chloe responds with a laugh.

She swings their hands a little before nodding. "He's a photographer. Not a bad one either. We're friends."

[hero_farmboy]

"I figured I should stop being stupid before I let another Chloe retreat under the guise of friendship."

He nods back. "Good. He's not a bad guy. Good friend." And only friend.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe smiles.

"Well, I'm very happy you came to your senses. Jimmy did try asking me out once or twice after Bart called it off, but I was too swamped with League and Planet to really bother. Anyway, I kind of prefer the sort of guys I can be honest with."

[hero_farmboy]

"Bart called it off?" Colour Clark surprised. "What for?"

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"Believe it or not, he wanted to get more serious about his schoolwork," Chloe answers with a laugh. "I think he kind of didn't want to be left behind when Victor and I continued on to college. I think responsibility with the League just got to him after a while."

[hero_farmboy]

"Huh." That's not exactly the Bart Clark knows, but then it is a different world. "So, you talk to the guys about me yet?"

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"I put in a communication to Ollie, but they're still too swamped with the cleanup. He said we'd discuss it when they return to Metropolis this week."

Chloe shrugs, smiling up at him with excitement. "I totally think he wants to meet you though."

[hero_farmboy]

"Yeah, I can't wait for another lecture from Oliver Queen about getting out there and doing things instead of waiting for it to drop on your doorstep," Clark snorts.

"He's not a bad guy, I guess."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"He also totally has a point, Clark."

[hero_farmboy]

"Yeah, yeah. Well, he doesn't have ice castles to build."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"Ice castles?"

[hero_farmboy]

"It's, uh, an alien thing. I need to sort of find these crystals and use them to build a giant ice castle thing in the arctic."

He steals a quick glance at her. "It's kind of important to me."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

She nods. Chloe isn't sure if she gets it, but she can definitely see that it's important to him.

"If you want, I can see what I can dig up about crystals. Just give me any information you have, okay?"