Fic: "Scream" (Complete)

[Ruby Red]

Thanks Rumpuso.

(and i have PM'd a mod, hopefully it will be moved soon )

And it's about now that i have hit a crossroads with this fic. My gut instinct is telling me to wrap it up, for Clark to accept that Chloe knows and to believe that she will keep his secret or to take it in another direction though i have no idea where to take it at this moment

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions and that you took the time to read it

[rumpuso]

Your writing is always MY pleasure to read. Thank you!

[clarkoholic]

Great work as always!

Can't wait for more!

[Iowanmom]

WOW, YOU give it to him CHLOE!!!!!! BDA!!!! This story Rocks. I can't wait for the next update, Ruby!!!!

[Ruby Red]

I had to go digging back to find this, i'd forgotten it was here... But i have completed it and will post the rest.

Final Chapter:

Chloe watched him walk away from her. Her breath whooshed from her lungs, the first inclination she realised, that she’d been holding her breath in the first place. It had been a hunch about the necklace, and it had played perfectly. She dropped the necklace on the desk and walked towards him. She stood a little way behind him, close enough to touch him but far enough away to give him a little bit of space. His hands were shoved in the front pocket of his jeans and he was staring straight ahead, or at least she assumed that he was. But tension lined every single fibre of his body.

“The red meteor rocks do affect you in some way, don’t they?” she kept her voice low, quiet and non-accusatory. The last thing she wanted to do was provoke him but she wanted him to at least be a little more honest with her. Seconds ticked by. She opened her mouth to speak again.

“They make me someone else” he admitted, his voice so low that she almost missed it. She watched him slowly turn around and look at her. She saw the defeated expression in his eyes, the resignation.

“Like who?” she enquired curiously. He sighed.

“Someone I’m not, but who I’d like to be..sometimes.…someone else” he walked past her and headed for the beat up old sofa. She watched him slowly lower himself down into it. He hunched forwards and stared at his hands. She went over and sat down beside him, again keeping that safe distance.

“Actually, he’s a part of me that I keep firmly bolted down, but he’s always there and the red meteor rock brings him to life,”

“Like back in Metropolis?” he looked at her, startled that she’d remembered that time almost a couple of years ago and just nodded.

“Exactly like Metropolis” he confirmed. Something occurred to her.

“And when we got those class rings, you really went off the rails then also” Clark looked at her.

“That’s the effect it has on me. It strips everything down to the barest of essentials, no conscience, no guilt, nothing and the longer that I’m on it, the worse I can get,” She stared into his blue-green eyes.

“I remember Metropolis. I remember how you were with me. It all makes sense now. And also why you were so attached to that ring,” Then a thought occurred to her.

“If the red meteor rocks make you act out of character, what do the green rocks do?” She watched as Clark inhaled deeply and stared at his hands again.

“They make me sick, they hurt me, make me feel pain” he admitted and glanced at her again. She was wide-eyed as she digested this piece of information. He turned to look at her more fully.

“You can’t tell anyone that you know Chloe. Could you imagine what lengths some people would go to if they knew the truth about me? Or the fact that you know about it? I need to be able to trust you completely”

“You can. Always” she answered.

“That’s what Pete told me too” his voice was sad. Chloe reached over and put her hand on his wrist.

“With respect, I’m not Pete. When I said you could trust me, you can” his eyes scanned her face, and then he nodded.

“Okay.”

* * *

It didn’t make Clark feel any better that Chloe knew. There had been times in the past that he’d wanted to sit down with her and tell her the truth about himself, his origins and abilities but he’d always been unsure of how she would react. He also hated the fact that any decision to share his secret had been taken out of his hands. He didn’t doubt Chloe’s word, she protected press sources with equal loyalty but this was something entirely different. It could be life threatening to both of them.

The restlessness returned anew. A combination of stressing over Chloe knowing the truth about him and other possibilities had him pacing the length of his loft space. Chloe had left him a couple of hours ago, she’d also left behind the necklace, had dropped it back into its drawer and looked at him as if to tell him that she was trusting him to behave.

* * *
He lay the wildflowers down by the smooth grey marble tombstone and stared at the inscription announcing that it belonged to Alicia Baker, beloved daughter to all who looked at it. He sighed quietly. Today was the first time that he’d been able to look at it without wanting to smash it into powder. The pain was still there, somewhere but not as intense as it had been, not as strong. More like an ache. The cemetery was deserted, a faint breeze rustling through the branches above his head. He remained crouching down and then he reached out, touched the cold stone, his fingers briefly tracing over her name.

“I know that you told Chloe about me,” he felt faintly silly talking to the gravestone initially but that feeling soon left him. Lana talked to her parents often and they’d been gone a lot longer. He gave pause, looking around and listening intently. He looked back at the marker.

“You had no right to do that but you’d argue with me that you did but it’s okay now, I get why you did it, you didn’t want me to have to go through my life alone,” he half smiled but then it slipped away.

“I’m sorry Alicia. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you enough. I’m the one person you needed to believe you and I let you down and I’ll never forgive myself for that,” he slowly got to his feet. He felt calmer, more reflective now. Didn’t feel like screaming any more.

END

[wickedgirl23]

Great ending! I saw this story on another site but I gave up on it because I never saw any updates. Great Job! I'm glad you finished the story!

[jacques]

Good fic.