Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 21: Trust & Jealousy

“I just thought he was better than that,” Clark told her. “I have to go see him, find out what’s up.”

“Is that a good idea?” Chloe wanted to know. “Are you going to be okay seeing him? He did just break your heart.”

“I love him, Chloe,” Clark said honestly, “And it’s going to hurt like hell to see him. But I have no choice. Bart could be in danger and I have to make sure nothing fishy is going on. There are more important issues going on that take precedence over what I feel.”

“Good luck,” Chloe said encouragingly. “If he says anything or acts like an ass, you let me know and I’ll deal with him.”

“I don’t think it will come to that,” Clark said, with a smile, “But thanks for the offer. I’ll talk to you later.”

She nodded and he took off, heading to Oliver’s penthouse. Within minutes, he was in the elevator. He opened the door and found Oliver in the main room.

“Oliver.” He said, getting his attention.

“Look, Clark, whatever's got your tighty whities in a bunch, now is not the time.” Oliver said stiffly. His heart ached for a moment but he focused on his task.

“Where's Bart?” Clark demanded. “I saw his phone records. I know he's working for you.”

“Not for me,” Oliver clarified. “Working with me. There's a difference.”

“It's not going to matter when he ends up in jail or worse.” Clark said accusingly.

“Yeah, you don't know what you're talking about.” Oliver retorted.

“I know how much you hate Lex,” Clark said stiffly. “Is that why you recruited Bart? To help with your little vendetta?”

“No,” Oliver shot back. “To stop 33.1.”

His response caught Clark off guard. “You know about 33.1? Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?”

“Clark, do you check in with me every time you run off to save the world?” Oliver asked, anger creeping in his voice. “Oh, that's right. For a second there, I forgot. You like to wait for trouble to show up on your doorstep.”

'Why do you have to act like such a jerk, Ollie?' His sarcastic tone stung more than Clark would like to admit.

“That’s not true.” Clark said.

“Then why haven't you done anything to stop 33.1?” Oliver questioned.

“I was busy with another problem.” Clark said, remaining vague. He didn’t want to admit his lack of knowledge on 33.1. After the whole Seattle incident, Chloe had given him details but he hadn’t learned much.

“What could be more urgent than Lex Luthor developing an army of superfreaks, Clark?” Oliver asked. “That's what he's doing. He's starting a war.”

'Yeah, well you try fighting a group of super powered criminal aliens whose sole purpose in life is to kill you and see how much time you have left.'

But Clark didn’t say that aloud. He must’ve been crazy if he thought Oliver could be the one who would understand him. Because for all he trusted Oliver, he couldn’t tell him this, couldn’t burden him with his problems.