The Valentine
copyright@2006
Chloe sat at her desk at the Daily Planet contemplating the different and numerous ways to kill some of her overly-cutesy-oh-my-god-look-what-my-boyfriend-got-me-for-Valentine's-Day co-workers. She hated them with a passion that she usually reserved just for the holiday.
And it wasn't, as Lois pointed out, because she was single without a prospect in the world. (Her cousin always managing to cheer her up in the most wonderful ways.) It wasn't even because of how commercial the whole thing was and the only people who were ever truly happy on Valentine's Day were masochists and Hallmark. It was because she saw how horrible the day affected her father the first few years after her mother disappeared. It was as though this one holiday sucked the life out of him and left him with only the reminder that he was alone.
And he wasn't alone. He always had Chloe. But it was the damn day's mojo at work - if there was no significant other, well, life was meaningless. Chloe would never forgive Valentine's Day for that. Never. Not even if she had ten Clarks of her very own declare their love to her with sonnets and flowers.
Chloe jumped up, alert, in her seat at the sound of a voice clearing behind her. She expected to get another lecture from her boss on daydreaming on the job when there were phones to be answered, but couldn't hide the smile that formed at the sight of Clark before her.
"Hey you," Chloe said. She studied the grim look on his face and said, "Oh no. What happened now?"
"Nothing. Well, not yet."
Chloe stood up and looked Clark over. He had that pained expression on his face, the one that usually screamed "Woe is Lana" but it didn't fit with the awkward silence. Usually, Chloe couldn't shut him up on the Lana topic, but right then Clark wasn't offering up anything, not even his favorite "I'm doomed to a lifetime alone" tirade.
"So what can I do for you?"
"You already do a lot for me, Chloe."
Chloe was getting the distinct impression she was about to Punk'd or something. She glanced around the area, but saw no signs of dastardly jokers amongst the newspaper's hustle and bustle. "Okay..." she offered. She folded her arms and said, "Really, what's going on, Clark? You look like someone killed your puppy."
"I'm trying to...it's Valentine's Day and it's made me realize..."
So it was about Lana. Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had made a promise to herself awhile ago, to be the good friend. That good friends end up meaning a hell of a lot more than high school romances. "It's only natural to miss Lana on a day like this. It's why I hate the holiday so much - it's like the flashing neon light that reminds people of broken hearts or lonely nights."
"That's a little bitter," Clark replied with a small smile.
"I find that being bitter is better than being mopey all day," Chloe countered. Her eyes darted to her feet. She took a deep breath and continued, "But if you're missing her this much, maybe you need to reconsider things, Clark. Maybe you should tell Lana the truth and then the two of you can have your happily ever after."
"This isn't about Lana."
"Right. Your face says otherwise."
"My face doesn't say otherwise."
"Yes it does. You've got the Lana-left-me face and I can barely stand it," Chloe replied.
"No, I have the my-best-friend-doesn't-know-how-to-shut-up face."
Chloe glanced at him. Clark hadn't been like this with her in a long time. It reminded her of how much she missed it, but it also made her a bit suspicious of what he was up to. And for the first time since he arrived, she noticed he had his hands hidden behind his back.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked.
Clark looked at her innocently and dammit if her resolve and everything else didn't melt away as his eyes got wider and his lips tightened into a nervous smile. He held out a heart made of construction paper and said, "I wanted to give you this."
Chloe took the heart-shaped card from Clark's hand. She repeated to herself over and over again that she would not cry, that crying was such a girly thing, and that she was totally over all her non-friend feelings for Clark Kent.
She sniffled and said, "Did you make this yourself?"
Clark arched an eyebrow and said, "Sort of. I knew if I came bearing a Hallmark card all it would do is launch you off onto a rant about the evils of commercialism. I wanted to avoid rants today and just let you know that I love you and appreciate everything you do for me. I couldn't survive without you, Chloe."
Okay, so the not crying thing was out. She brushed at the few tears that had fallen and, unable to find the right words, she threw her arms around his neck. She said, "I'll always be here for you, Clark. I love you too."
"Does that mean you'll accept my Valentine offering despite your dislike of the holiday?" She nodded and he asked, "What about dinner? Nothing fancy, just a pizza, of course, but-"
"I'd love to," she said. She stared at the work on her desk and said, "I can finish this stuff up later."
"You're sure?"
"Positive," she said, allowing him to lead her out of the Daily Planet offices. Valentine's Day may suck for lovers, she decided, but it was a pretty good thing between friends.
{Fin}