Can't Keep My Eyes Off Of You

Clark/Chloe
Season 4, "Spirit"
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.
Based on a prompt by fehrplay: How about Chlark dance at prom?

I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

All of the things that I want to say
Just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping inwards
You got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here...
-Lifehouse, "You and Me"

He didn't like to see her cry.

Clark Kent frowned as Chloe Sullivan reappeared on the dance floor. She'd washed her face, but he didn't think he'd ever forget seeing her cheeks streaked with mascara and tears.

It hadn't even been her crying, not really. It had been Dawn Stiles, the prom queen wannabe who'd invaded Chloe's body.

Still, he thought, Chloe had every right to cry. She'd missed being crowned prom queen, because Dawn had taken her over at that point. And then her best friend-- him-- had slapped her across the basement boiler room.

Of course, he'd never slap a woman that way, not intentionally. It hadn't really been him. It had been Dawn, once again taking over an unwilling victim. But his father had filled him in on the details while Chloe had been in the bathroom, and now he felt terrible. Even if he hadn't been in control, even if he hadn't even been aware of what was going on, it had been his hand that had smacked Chloe clear into next week.

Besides, he thought glumly, it had been his idea to exorcise Dawn this way. He'd willingly given Dawn access to his superstrong body. If Chloe had been seriously injured or killed... it would have been all his fault.

He was damn lucky her head was still attached to her shoulders.

But she approached him now, her head firmly attached, a bright, affectionate smile on her face. He looked back at her, returning her smile, and remembered his own words: Remember all those regrets we were talking about? I think not seeing you with a crown on your head would be at the top of the list.

Chloe, he thought, looked great wearing a crown.

She looked great, period. For some reason he couldn't take his eyes off her. A distant memory flashed through his mind, the memory of her in a pink dress in their freshman year, smiling up at him, waiting for his kiss on the dance floor.

She'd been waiting for that kiss a long, long time.

So had he.

She looked even more beautiful than she had back then, he thought. She wore a beautiful gown of violet satin and velvet, and her golden hair was piled atop her head in a formal style. She was just as pretty as she'd been then, but there was a maturity and self-confidence in her bearing that she hadn't possessed back then.

Years had passed since their first dance, he thought, and they'd both grown up. And yet the two of them were just as important to each other as they'd ever been. Maybe more so.

Suddenly he wanted to relive that long-ago moment, to fix it, to finally make it perfect. He wanted to dance with her.

He wanted to kiss her.

He walked toward her. But as he did so, a movement at the gym door caught his eye. He glanced in that direction and saw Lana Lang glide in. She wore an ice pink gown, and she looked as flawlessly lovely as always. She came to a halt just inside the door and stared at him hopefully, waiting for him to come to her, just as she always did.

He wasn't surprised she expected him to walk right over to her. He'd been in love with Lana for years. At least he'd thought he was in love with her. But now, as he looked back and forth between Lana and Chloe, the truth hit him with the force of a freight train.

It wasn't Lana he wanted to dance with.

His choice made, he looked away from Lana and instead walked toward Chloe, offering her his arm.

Chloe looked up into his eyes and smiled. Her face was bright and happy, with no hint of tears, and he promised himself he'd never make her cry again. He loved the sight of her smile.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, echoing the words he'd asked her so long ago, at their freshman dance.

She put her hand on his arm. Her smile brightened until it was so radiant it almost hurt to look at it. But she was so beautiful that he couldn't possibly look away. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

"I thought you'd never ask," she said softly.

-The End-