On graduation day, Clark watched the setting sun from his loft for what would be the last time in a very long time. A trunk filled with his high school memories was pushed up against the window, and this was where he sat. He placed his mortar board on his knee and stared at it thoughtfully. He twirled the tassel with his finger, and reflected on the past four years. It was the end of an era. Pete was going east. Lana was staying in Smallville. Chloe was going west. And Clark was going way, way south to South America, armed with nothing but a backpack of belongings. Thanks to his new gift of flight, he would need no passport.

This past year had been a turning point for all of them. Pete was more involved in student council, and Lana was always busy at the Talon. It was only he and Chloe who kept on at the Torch all four years. It was Chloe who was constant, and it surprised him.

A lot of things about life surprised him. He had a lot to learn, which was why he was spending his summer break before college exploring the opposite end of the world. He was going to learn about life outside of Kansas. He hoped he could help people. Maybe there was something waiting for him at the other end of the world, something that would help him figure out what he was supposed to do with his life, his abilities. All he knew was that he could feel it out there, waiting to be discovered.

There was a car going up the way from the main road. He could usually hear them before anyone else. He thought it might be Lana’s; although she had moved away over two years ago, she came by quite often. But it wasn’t her car’s motor.

It was Chloe’s.

Clark sat up as she came out of her car. The top was down. She was still wearing her red and black graduation dress, but she was wearing her knee-high Doc Martens military boots instead of the dress shoes she had on earlier. Her red graduation gown was flung carelessly over the backseat. She was smiling.

Clark would always remember her that way, despite all that they had gone through.

She waved up to him and headed for the door. Clark met her at the top of the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

She gave him a playful but firm tap on the chest. "Nice to see you, too, Clark."

"Sorry."

But Chloe was still smiling as she dropped herself onto the couch. "I know what you mean. It’s a busy day, et cetera. But hey, aren’t you leaving tomorrow?" Clark nodded, and Chloe in response began to dig around in her bag. "I had some pictures from the graduation ceremony to give you."

"You could have e-mailed them to me –"

"You sure know how to make a guest feel welcome in your home, Clark."

"Sorry," Clark repeated.

Chloe waved away his apology. "I wanted to give this to you personally. Something that you might want to bring with you on your South American adventure." She took out a small, rectangular package wrapped in black paper and tied with red and yellow curly ribbon. It was about the size of a postcard, but thicker.

"You didn’t have to –"

Chloe nodded slowly. "Yes, I did." She shifted uncomfortably as Clark took the package from her outstretched hand. "Don’t start feeling special or anything, because I got them for Pete and Lana, too."

He grinned back at her expectant face as he opened it. It was a plain black wooden frame containing a photo of the four of them, Clark, Chloe, Pete and Lana, in front of the Smallville High sign, wearing their crimson caps and gowns in the Kansas sunshine right after graduation.

"This is perfect," Clark breathed. He looked at Chloe. "Thank you."

Chloe stood up. "I … I should go."

She turned toward the stairs, but something told Clark that he wanted her to stay. "Wait."

She turned back to look at him, the expectant look back on her face. "Can you … Can you stay a little longer and just … hang out with me?" he asked.

"Sure." Chloe sank back down into the couch. She picked at the blanket covering it absently, avoiding Clark’s eyes.

There was a silence before Clark said, "Sometimes I wonder why you’re friends with me."

Chloe’s head snapped up in surprise. "Why do you say that?"

Clark shrugged and avoided her gaze by looking out the window again. "I’m not that great a writer. I’m never around when you need me. And I only come around when I need help with something."

Chloe’s face relaxed as she stood up again. She sat down next to Clark and put a hand over his. "First of all, your writing has improved greatly over the past four years. How do you think you rose to the rank of assistant editor?"

"Because no one else wanted it?"

Chloe gave Clark a discerning look and continued. "I’m going to ignore that self-deprecating comment, Clark Kent, because you should be above that. Secondly, you’re always around when I need you. Otherwise I’d be dead by now. And third, you come around so that you can help save other people’s lives. If there’s anything you and I have done right, it’s team up with each other."

"Do you really think that’s true?"

"Of course I do."

More silence as the sun disappeared completely over the horizon. "I’m really going to miss you," Chloe whispered. Her hand gently tightened its grip on Clark’s.

He nodded.

"Do you need a ride to the airport tomorrow?" Chloe asked. "This might be the last time we’d see each other in a long time, you know."

Clark fidgeted. "No. Well, uh …"

Chloe withdrew her hand. "It’s OK, you don’t have to explain. I’m used to the mysterious ways of Clark Kent." She opened her mouth to say more, but then she quickly closed it.

"What?" Clark prompted.

She shook her head, her blonde hair swirling around her face.

"Just say it, Chloe."

She lowered her head, and when she raised it again, there were tears in her eyes. "It’s just that … we probably won’t see each other for a long time after tonight."

"Yeah, I know. I’m really going to miss this place … miss you. What’s wrong?"

Chloe’s face flashed a quick smile before turning serious again. "Clark, giving you that picture was an excuse. It was an excuse to get my cowardly butt over here to confront you with something – with a secret that I’ve been keeping for a long time." Chloe’s face was so earnest, even in the shadow of the dimming natural light. Clark thought, for a split second, of how beautiful she was and how he would miss seeing that face every day. But what she said threw all other thoughts out the window.

"I think maybe it’s time I told you something. Clark, I know about you."

Clark got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He hoped his face didn’t show the panic he felt whenever someone said something like that; it never got easier, despite the fact that most people were not talking about the fact that he was an alien and that he had super powers. But there was something different about this; Clark could sense it, though he couldn’t explain why. "Know about what?" he asked lightly.

"I know about your … powers. I know everything. Well, I know a lot. The enhanced hearing, the X-ray vision, the little spurts of energy that you can emit with your eyes …" Chloe waved her hands in front of her face.

"Heat vision," Clark answered automatically. There was no sense in hiding what she already knew. There was no sense in ever lying outright to Chloe Sullivan.

"Heat vision," Chloe repeated. "And I know that you get sick around meteor rocks."

"Did Pete tell you?" Clark asked, his voice rising to a higher pitch.

"Pete knows?" Chloe was incredulous.

"Oh, my God. How long have you known?"

Chloe took a deep breath. "Are you mad?"

Clark stared at Chloe. She looked him in the eye, and it was like he was seeing her for the first time, all over again. He remembered the first day they met, when the expression on her face when she had kissed him. He thought of all the times he had been so careful to hide things from her, because out of all his friends, she would have been the first to scream his secret from the rooftops.

Perhaps he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. And the realization made him disappointed in himself, not angry with Chloe.

"I’m not mad," he said. "In fact, I’m … surprised."

"Surprised that I figured it out? Or surprised that I haven’t said anything for three years?"

"Three years? That’s …" Pause. "I’m surprised that I didn’t notice that you had figured it out." Another pause. "You don’t have any pressing business right now, do you? Because we need to –"

"I know." Chloe played with her fingers nervously.

"Start from the beginning."

"Well, you know how curious I’ve always been."

"We can fast-forward that part. Get to the part where you found out about me."

"It started with Sean Kelvin, and when you saved me from the swimming pool. It escalated when you single-handedly pulled me out of a shallow grave and busted open a coffin that was welded shut." Chloe took a deep breath. "Clark, there’s a difference between my investigating you, and logic. I want you to know that I didn’t actively seek out information about your … uniqueness. In fact, I tried to ignore it."

Clark nodded. And this time, he understood. Usually, whenever Chloe would go on about her bizarre theories and speculations, he nodded to appease her. Today, perhaps for the first time, he was really understanding how her mind worked; she couldn’t help knowing. It was an intrinsic part of what made Chloe Sullivan tick.

"What really put it over the top, though," Chloe said, eyeing Clark carefully, "was the image burned into your barn. And what happened after I published the picture."

"Dr. Swann."

Chloe nodded. "He didn’t contact your parents; he contacted you. The rest of the pieces fell into place." Chloe pulled her hand away from Clark’s and turned so that he was staring at the back of her head.

"Lionel Luthor told me that it wasn’t any use to do favors for someone who wouldn’t do the same for me. And for a second I believed him. It almost cost me the best friend I ever had." She looked at Clark again, and by now her cheeks and nose were red, and the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Clark took Chloe’s arm and pulled her close to him. He cradled her head so that she was crying into his flannel shirt, so that his head was buried in her hair. He held her as tightly as he dared.

"Why are you telling me this, Chloe? Why now? Why ever?"

There was a choked chuckle as Chloe pulled away. She wiped her tears on her sleeve. "Clark, for every person you’ve saved, for every disaster you’ve averted, there’s been someone hacking into computers, poking around the Ledger offices and the police station, making sure certain details are left out or remained vague. I made lots of friends in the sheriff’s office and in the Smallville medical center – just to help you."

Clark was taken aback. He literally moved away from Chloe. "I don’t know what to say."

Chloe shrugged slightly. "So I came out here tonight to let you know, and not because I want credit or anything like that. I just want you to know that I did it because … well, because when you go out into the world by yourself, I won’t be able to be there for you. Not all the time."

Clark smiled. "Thank you for the warning." He said it dryly, but his eyes were sincere.

"Are you mocking me?"

"No, I’m really grateful."

"I mean, maybe you should wear a mask or a costume or something when you go out. I’m sure that speed comes in handy." Chloe was back to smiling again, and she stood up and sat back down on the couch. She placed her elbows on her knees, her chin in her hands. "I feel like such a weight is off my shoulders."

Clark joined her on the couch, and surprisingly put both arms around her. He kissed her shoulder and whispered, "Thank you so much. I would never have enough gratitude to repay all that you have done for me."

Chloe kissed his forehead and whispered back, "You’re very welcome. And you know, anytime you need someone to watch over you, drop me a line."

"Right back at you, Chloe. Right back at you."