PDA

View Full Version : Uninvited - Pg13 (Completed)



tthjinni
25th May 2004, 07:38
Title: Uninvited
Author: Jinni (druscilla@cox.net)
Rated: Pg13
Pairing: Chlex
Disclaimer: All things Smallville belong to DC Comics, the WB, et al. The song “Uninvited” is performed by Alanis Morisette.
Distribution: The normal places.
Author's Note: For Laura, a member of my distribution list, on her birthday.
Dedicated: To Clannadlvr. I can't believe how awesome of a beta you are! Thank you a million times over for the corrections, suggestions, and encouragement.
Summary: She tried to fight it, but sometimes love is inevitable.

~*~*~

//Like anyone would be
I am flattered by your fascination with me
Like any hot-blooded woman
I have simply wanted an object to crave
But you, you're not allowed
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight//

~*~*~

I knew he was falling for me even before he did, I think. Treading carefully along the lines of ‘off limits’ when it came to our relationship, he most likely didn’t want to admit to himself that he had feelings that went beyond friendship. I wasn’t his ‘type’ in the looks department, that much was for sure and while I could hold my own in any conversation, I didn’t always hold my –tongue- when I should. Polished was never a word people used to describe anything about me. Not a socialite or a girl with aspirations to marry into a ‘nice, rich family’ – I shouldn’t even have been a blip on his radar.

Knowing that he wanted to get closer only made me take a step back – to try and distance myself from him. Friendship was all I wanted.

I needed to stop the feelings then and there – before it went any further.

You see, unlike most women in the world, I had no desire to be anything more than a close friend to Lex Luthor.

~*~*~

// Must be strangely exciting
To watch the stoic squirm
Must be somewhat hard telling
To watch them burn me shepherd
But you you're not allowed
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight //
~*~*~

It didn’t work, of course. The whole ‘distance’ thing just made him try to get that much closer. Especially since he hadn’t worked things through in his head yet. I may have realized that he wanted to be more than friends, that these little ‘friendly’ dates we were going on were just setting us up to fall for one another, but he hadn’t. When I distanced myself from him, he thought I no longer wanted to be his friend.

Which couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Let me tell you something right here and now, just so we’re clear –

I love Lex.

Truly. Madly. Deeply, as the song goes.

But love isn’t all there is. Not for me. I want to be famous, but not because of who I spend my nights with. Award winning investigative reporting is and always will be my dream.

If I had let him in, let him be that boyfriend that he wanted to be, no one would ever think that I earned anything I got in life. They’d assume, and wrongly so, that Lex had bought me whatever position I was given. The rumors would fly, my articles would be worthless.

Love wasn’t worth everything, I told myself back then when I said goodbye to him for that last time.

Dreams were worth something. And I would never be able to forgive him, or myself, if my dreams were broken.

~*~*~

//Like any uncharted territory
I must seem greatly intriguing
You speak of my love like
You have experienced love like mine before
But this is not allowed
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight //

~*~*~

I should have known that he’d be here tonight, of all nights. All the movers and shakers show up for these sorts of things and I finally ranked high enough on the reporter ladder to get to come for once. Two awards under my belt for investigative journalism and this was my assignment for the evening – a social event. It’s both a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Blessing because I’m actually having fun – a curse because I have to be in the same room with him.

Those who think that love dies off if you leave it be, ignore it, have obviously never experienced true love before. Being away from Lex over these last three years hasn’t made me love him less. If anything, I miss him every time I grab a cup of coffee, memories of those ‘innocent’ days in the Talon still fresh in my mind. Every time a potential interviewee tries to dodge a question, I think back to him and how he used to do the exact same thing. My heart is racing, just knowing that he’s wandering the room. So far I’ve managed to avoid him, but I’m not naïve enough to believe that I’ll be so lucky for the entire night.

I wonder if he even still thinks about me. About that girl that left him standing there, in front of her college dorm and ran off to embrace life head on.

Without him.

God, I feel so awful when I think about it like that. So selfish, even though my reasons made sense at the time.

And I can’t say that if I had it to do all over again I’d do anything differently. I’ve accomplished a lot in the last three years. Like I said, two awards.

My dreams came true.

Well, some of them anyway. I still dream about Lex at night and those will most likely never come true. He’s dated, you know. Tall brunettes, the ones that were more his ‘type’ than I could ever be. Just because I couldn’t be with him anymore didn’t mean that I stopped caring if he was all right. I have a stack of magazines and newspapers in a box in my closet, things about Lex that I’ve saved.

Having your dreams come true is damn lonely. Wish I’d known that before. I know I say I don’t regret anything, but sometimes, lying awake at night, I do. God help me, but I do.

I miss him.

~*~*~

// I don’t think you’re unworthy
I need a moment to deliberate //

~*~*~

I’m dancing with a city council member when it happens. The moment I knew would come.

“May I cut in?”

With my back to the speaker, I don’t even have a second of confusion over who could be interrupting what had been a lovely dance. It should be there, it just isn’t. I know immediately, just by his voice, who is breaking up my potential interview. Know by that timbre and tone I’d thought I’d never hear again. Know by the way that the councilman’s eyes go just a touch wider as he wonders to himself what That Man could want with me, of all the people in this room.

Councilman Davis relinquishes me without a word and I find myself turning to face the man that I haven’t spoken a single word to in three years.

“Lex,” I smile softly, gentling under his touch as he pulls me seamlessly back into the dance. My heart is breaking all over again, being so close to him and knowing what I’ve given up. I could have had him, my mind whispers without need.

“Chloe.” There’s a touch of a smile on his lips, sparkling in his eyes. He’s having a good night and I can only hope that dancing with me doesn’t ruin it for him. I remember how hard it was, back then, for Lex to capture one ‘good moment’ out of a day. Something that could make him smile. I was usually the cause for it, after all – that rare smile or laugh. When I left I worried that he might lose the ability entirely.

Standing here, in his arms, I’m glad to see that he hasn’t. I never wanted to hurt Lex.

Never.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmurs, pulling me closer. I am powerless to stop him, because damnit if I don’t want to just bask in his touch, in the cologne that has remained unchanged all these years. He still feels familiar to me. With my hands on his back, I can almost imagine one night so many years ago, after my sophomore year finals, when he took me out to a club. We danced that night for hours. Just him and me.

Almost like right now.

“I –“ The words catch in my throat and tears well up in the corners of my eyes. “I missed you, too.”

That makes him pull back to look down at me. If he is confused by the tears, he doesn’t say anything; and I’m grateful for that small blessing. I don’t want him to ask what’s wrong, because then the whole angsty mess might come tumbling from my mouth. How I’d broken all ties to keep from letting love get in the way of dreams I’d had since I was a child. I know he’d understand – just like he’d always understood my harebrained ideas in the past. But it was inconsequential at this point.

I’d made my choice and all that was left to do was live with it.

So that made the next thing out of his mouth that much more shocking.

“I know why you did it.”

I stumble, one foot tripping over the other. Luckily, he was ready for whatever form my shock was going to take, because he catches me easily, making the fumble look more like a tasteful dip than me falling on my ass.

“You. . .how?” I shake my head as he lifts me back into his arms. I’m trembling and I can’t say if it’s just because I’m near him or because he’s said the words that I never wanted to hear him say. He knows why I left. I never intended for him to know. It was best to leave things as they were, one friend saying goodbye to another, than explain the twisted workings of my mind.

“Clark and I can actually manage to have civil conversations where you are concerned, believe it or not.”

Ah, Clark. Friend of my soul. Your betrayal never stops, does it? An entire year since I last spoke with you and even now your sting is felt. Wonder if Lex knows about your alter ego? The one that runs around in tights to play superhero? The one that broke apart our friendship when I was forced to figure things out on my own?

I bet Lex would find that little tidbit about you almost as interesting as he probably found my reasons for leaving.

If not more so.

“I want you back in my life, Chloe.”

Thoughts of vengeance on Clark are thrust to the back burner as Lex’s words slide over my skin.

“Why now?” I whisper, confusion and thrill warring within me. My heart is skipping so many beats I’m sure I might fall down and make a fool of myself for real this time. Is it possible I already did fall? That this is just one big hallucination brought on by cracking my head open on the dance floor?

“You just won your second award last week.” He shrugs as if it where no big thing, as though the answer should have been obvious to me. “Seemed as good of a time as any. Or will you need a few more before you feel complete?”

I should be mad for the way he says it, the subtle mockery. But I’m not. I hurt him by doing this. I denied him what he wanted and I can’t help but feel lucky that he even wants to talk to me, much less –

“I figured we could start with a date tomorrow and have you move into my penthouse by the end of the week.”

Laughter pours from my lips. It really would be that simple for him, wouldn’t it? I nod, though as I play along, a part of me aware that Lex isn’t joking while the rest of me just doesn’t care.

“Why not tonight?”

He smiles wickedly, pulling my body flush to his. He still works out.

That’s good to know.

“I have other things planned for tonight.”

I laugh. It feels good. Pure and simple. Dating Lex won’t be any of those things. And if he thinks I’m moving in with him by the end of this week, he’s crazy. If we’re going to do this we’re going to do it –right-. Not some half-assed, totally in lust rush into things kind of scenario. He can woo me. I can woo him, for that matter. And we’ll see where it goes from there. No penthouse living for me.

Not yet, anyway.

But, as for tonight –

“What did you have in mind, Mr. Luthor?”

~*~End Fic~*~

tigroon
25th May 2004, 08:26
Now I remember why I steer away from the short pieces section usually.
I want the wooing !!

Nice job thhjinni.

LarkLuthor
25th May 2004, 09:36
Great ficlet! I love the subject matter, Chloe's ambitions getting in the way of their relationship. Beautiful.

Lark

autumngold
25th May 2004, 17:38
I was almost crying reading your story, but then you put in your fabulous ending that made the whole thing perfect!! I can so picture Chloe putting her career in front of her personal life!! Thank goodness for Lex understanding and giving her the time she needed!! Thank you for your excellent story!! Sequel?!! :biggrin: :chlexsign2:

sylvia
26th May 2004, 05:12
That was lovely. Great writing from Chloe's POV. And, sigh, Lex :wub:

buffiy18
26th May 2004, 06:09
Great fic. I normally don't read short stories, since I do not like seeing great stories end, but I'm glad I came across this one. You did an excellent job at writting Lex and Chloe's characters. Chloe was very much in character. I can see her saying no to love to accomplish her journalism dream. I also liked how she realizes that although she went for one dream she still left another dream unexplored... Lex.

gina
26th May 2004, 10:30
What a beautiful little fic! Your Chloe voice was great. I loved how Lex knew and understood why she broke it off before, I could definitely see her waiting to get involved with him until after she pursued her journalism career.

Good job! :)

hfce
27th May 2004, 00:45
Oh that was wonderful. I loved how he understood that she needed space. Great job.


Hope :chlexsign2:

campbti
27th May 2004, 08:22
That was so wonderful. Captured Chloe perfectly. She is so set on your "reporter" thing that she loses focus on what really seems to matter sometimes. The "truth" epi was a great show of that. I love how here you show her realizing, slowly, but still that when all is said an done work is still just work. Being lonely isn't worth any accomplishment, you have no one to share the joy with. People are what matter. Sorry for the going on, it's my birthday today and I am over emotional and over reflective. :sad:

But your great story has now cheered me up. Really beautifully written.... :worship2:

:chlexsign4:

Val
29th May 2004, 04:50
Originally posted by autumngold@May 25 2004, 11:38 AM
I was almost crying reading your story, but then you put in your fabulous ending that made the whole thing perfect!! I can so picture Chloe putting her career in front of her personal life!! Thank goodness for Lex understanding and giving her the time she needed!! Thank you for your excellent story!! Sequel?!! :biggrin: :chlexsign2:
I was gonna write a feedback post but it was done for me! She said it all!

Awesome fic! And the fact that you used an Alanis song just adds so much to it! Uninvited is amazing and the lyrics totally fit them! Great job!

ruafair
29th May 2004, 18:53
Excellent :clap: You captured Chloe's POV very well.... And the ending was just :cute:

And I think it's perfect as a one-off (ducks from the other Chlexrs throwing things at me :lol: )

Fiona

Gemkat5
1st June 2004, 17:44
That was beautiful! I love how you captured that moment while explaining the history at the same time. Then left it open for future possiblity. Very nicely done! :worship2:

~Kat~

Ainur
1st January 2005, 05:19
:chlexsign2: It was great. Chloe wnating to prove to herself that she could be succesful without anybody's help. Specially Lex. She was lucky that he understood that about her. Great job! :worship2:

AlabamaWorley
1st January 2005, 07:45
I don't know if it's my mood or what, but this story really got to me. It's very well done. It was especially interesting to see you make this song into a beautiful Chlex piece, because I've been toying with taking it a totally opposite direction in a fic about the forbidden ship. Great work!

buddyfozzy
1st January 2005, 19:59
This was so sweet, I almost started crying. :wub: Beautiful. :wub: Great choice in songs too, that's one of my favorites. :yay:

Reese
6th January 2005, 09:25
Oh, now that's what I'm talking about!

Chloe pursues what *she* wants out of life and still gets Lex in the end? Because he understands her, no less? And has basically been waiting for her?

Geez...my life sucks.

Great stuff...

Reese

starmoon
31st March 2005, 09:13
that was great and chloe is right they have to do thing right or everything will fall apart.

meg20
4th July 2005, 18:03
That was very beautiful and I'm glad they got what they wanted in the end!

darkangel
29th July 2005, 04:08
:D :grin3:

Nonhalema
16th June 2007, 19:09
Love it and moving on to the sequel

~*~Tasha~*~
14th September 2009, 00:24
Perfect pick me up

elementia
19th October 2009, 06:21
short and sweet!

Ami Rose
16th August 2012, 02:24
lol cute