tthjinni
22nd October 2004, 07:36
Title: Samhain Seduction
Author: Jinni (jinni@tthfanfic.com)
Rated: Pg13
Pairing: Chlex
Disclaimer: All things Smallville belong to DC Comics, the WB, et al.
Distribution: The normal places.
Author’s Notes: Just a little ficlet with my favorite SV couple.
Spoilers: For current season through 10/20/04 episode.
Summary: Chloe decides enough is enough and vows to make a play for Lex at his Halloween party… as usual, things don’t go according to plan when one of Lex’s exes pulls out all the stops to try to get him into her bed again.
~*~*~
She preened in the mirror, turning to look at the way the delicate material hung over her frame. Nice, she thought to herself, though she would have denied it vehemently if someone asked her to admit it aloud. For tonight she was a princess, complete with regal looking gown from one of the best costumers in Metropolis. Green with silver trim, it made her eyes seem to sparkle and gave her skin a healthy glow. Even without makeup she thought she looked presentable; yet still she’d gone the extra mile and added a little color to her cheeks, lined her eyes with a dark pencil and brushed a faint smattering of gold powder on her eyelids.
Lana Lang she was not, but tonight she felt good about being Chloe Sullivan.
The fact that Lex was throwing a Halloween party was nothing shocking. He’d mentioned it to her during one of his trips to the safe house. Staying up late, they’d actually had a pretty long conversation regarding it, with her tossing out wild, random ideas.
“You could hire performers to hang from the ceiling – you know, like Cirque du Soleil,” had been but one of many off the wall suggestions she’d given him, laughing along with him at the ridiculousness of it all.
It was that night, in fact, that she’d known that she cared about Lex as more than just a friend. Her heart had finally found someone to latch onto other that Clark Kent and while it felt wonderful to finally feel free of that schoolgirl crush on one of her best friends, it didn’t make her feel any better to know that she now cared for someone that could never see her as anything other than a friend.
“Friend,” she whispered. “That’s why he’s still visiting, even now that you’re out of the safe house.”
That was what she clung to – the hope that maybe she was wrong. Maybe she could touch that spot inside of Lex that she was pretty sure no other woman had been able to get to.
His heart.
Silly. Childish. Naïve. There were probably hundreds of words to describe that little dream and its impossibility. She knew it was all of those things and much more.
So tonight she’d make a play for him. She’d flirt and be witty. She’d be herself, but a little more.
And if, in the end, he didn’t want that from her, then she would quietly fade into the background.
She picked up her small purse, sliding it into the artfully hidden deep inner pocket of the dress’ folds, before sliding the matching cape over her shoulders. She pulled up the hood, careful not to rest it too heavily on the faux-jeweled hairpins she’d used to pull her hair into a small bun.
Tonight she’d be Cinderella, minus those impossible glass slippers.
And she was in search of her Prince Charming.
Or a bald, sort of sneaky billionaire.
Whichever she found first, of course.
~*~*~
Terese Martin was not the kind of woman that a man put aside. She was pretty and a delight to be around. They all told her so. George, Ron, William…
But not Lex Luthor. Not the man she’d given her heart to, however unwittingly. While he may have thought her attractive and definitely enjoyed her body, he’d never so much as tried to make more than idle conversation with her, never seemed interested in anything she had to say.
There were no sparks he’d said when he called things off after only a couple weeks.
She’d felt the sparks so why hadn’t he?
Terese clutched at her date’s arm, letting him guide her through the halls of Luthor manor toward the ballroom. She’d never been here because Lex had never invited her to visit. Only in Metropolis had they had their dalliances; in his penthouse or a hotel suite. Never her tiny, cramped apartment. It was too low brow for him.
Tonight was going to change everything, though. Tonight she would win Lex back by force since her formidable charms hadn’t worked.
Imagine her surprise when she’d done a little digging on this picturesque little farm town and uncovered its deep dark secret. She was no rocket scientist, but it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together to figure out that the meteor rocks that had caused such devastation to the town had special properties of their own.
Inhuman properties. Beyond the realm of science.
Still, it was a scientist she went to. An old high school friend of hers working in a lab in Gotham. One meteor rock for him to play with on his own time and one for her purposes – she’d had both delivered with very simple instructions.
She wanted an aphrodisiac like no other. Something to make Lex fall head over heels for her.
And her friend had delivered in spectacular fashion, performing a live test on two unsuspecting restaurant patrons just last week. She’d nearly swooned with delight as she watched the two wholly unmatched individuals practically jump each other then and there.
If they could get together so easily, being so unsuited to one another, then surely Lex would be caught even easier because he was definitely ‘for her’, even if he didn’t realize it yet.
“Are you alright?”
“Fine,” she murmured to her date, giving him a dazzling smile. “Tonight’s going to be fun.”
~*~*~
She felt like a princess as she stepped into the manor, handing her cloak to the unfortunate soul that had been chosen to man the door that night. Lex hadn’t made him dress up, at least. Then again, she couldn’t recall Lex’s butler ever wearing a tuxedo before…
Sweeping down the hall, past Smallville residents that were lingering about rather than enter the ballroom proper, Chloe held her head high and ignored the curious glances she was attracting.
After all, hadn’t she screamed at Clark in the cafeteria Friday that she wouldn’t be going and he could go by himself for all she cared? News like that traveled around a town this small like wildfire. She was sure even old Ms. Johnson at the very edge of town had heard before sunset came that evening.
And that was despite the fact that the woman was completely deaf.
Of course, she’d had no intention not to go when she said that to Clark. She just didn’t want to go with him and he had staunchly refused to believe that she actually wanted to go by herself.
Going by herself and leaving by herself were two entirely different things, though. If all went as she hoped (prayed and dreamed) then she wouldn’t be leaving the manor at all tonight. With her father away on business he’d never be the wiser. All she had to do was just…
… snare Lex.
She looked around for him as she entered the ballroom, her eyes sweeping coolly over the room. Motion overhead drew her attention and she looked up, laughing as she caught sight of the performers swinging above her.
“He actually did it,” she murmured to herself, eyes still fixed on the aerial acrobatics as she moved out of the doorway.
The rest of the room was decorated as she would imagine was typical for Halloween parties. Orange and black with spider webs strung up along every nook and cranny. Her gaze drifted over the room, leaving the performers overhead for the time being.
But nowhere did she see Lex.
At least, she didn’t think she was seeing him anywhere amongst the sea of merry makers. Those nearest her were children of some of the plant’s employees, just as she was. Otherwise she had to believe that they would never have been invited to the party. It wasn’t as if Lex had sent out an open invite to the entire high school.
Which she’d have to remember to thank him for.
There was Clark and… oh, God. Someone just shoot her now. Please? There was no way she wanted to admit to being friends with someone that came to the party dressed as… Batman.
She bit the inside of her cheek at the picture Clark presented. He’d taken his mask off, which was at least something. God only knew how stupid he looked with it on. But the rest of the costume was still there.
And he was turning… and he saw her…
“Clark,” she forced herself to smile as he joined her.
“Chloe.” He frowned. “I thought you weren’t going to come tonight.”
She shrugged. “Changed my mind? Great costume, by the way.”
Smooth, Sullivan. Smooth. Lie right to his face and change the topic entirely.
“Really? You think so?” He looked down at the ridiculous get up. “Thanks. Lex helped me pick it out.”
Probably because he knew you’d look like an idiot, Chloe thought acerbically, her smile never faltering. “Speaking of Lex – is he around?”
“Um – yeah… over there somewhere.” He waved in the general direction of the front of the ballroom. “He’s dressed as… huh… come to think of it… his costume sort of matches yours.”
Now that was interesting.
~*~*~
Sliding up next to Lex, Terese put on her most charming smile.
“Lexie,” she purred, placing a hand on his arm.
He stiffened under her touch, turning his ever cool gaze on her. “Terese. I don’t remember inviting you to this.”
The words stung and Terese fingered the tiny vial in her hand, trying to discreetly eye the drink in his hand. How best to get it in there? Once he had just the tiniest taste of this he’d be ready and willing for her, she just knew it.
“I came with Mark Thomas. From your Metropolis offices?” The defense was plausible, but she could almost see his brain start whirling, thinking of whether or not he’d even invited Mark. Flipping open the top on the vial, she leaned closer to the bald billionaire, fluttering her eyelashes coquettishly. “But he’s so boring, Lexie. Not like… aaaggh!”
She screeched as a passerby knocked into her, sending her stumbling to the side, the serum sliding from her fingers before she could stop it from falling into the punch bowl.
Suddenly nervous, Terese looked around to see if anyone had noticed the vial or where it had gone. But they, including Lex, were too busy checking to make sure she was all right.
Just great, she fumed. There was no way to tell anyone what had happened without giving herself away.
With no telling what would happen when everyone at the party got a glass of serum-laced punch, Terese knew it was time to get out of there before all hell potentially broke loose.
~*~*~
“Who was that?”
Lex didn’t smile as a new voice invaded his presence, though it was a near thing. He turned to her, nodding his head in greeting. “Miss Sullivan.”
“Mister Luthor.” She returned with a lift of her brows.
“An ex,” he answered her question. His gaze traveled discreetly over her person, over the dress that the Metropolis shopkeeper had assured him Chloe had chosen for this evening. One that just so happened to match the very costume that he had then, with that knowledge, picked out for himself. A coincidence, nothing more. Or so she would think. “A rather clumsy ex, it would seem.”
“Uh huh.” She nodded. “Nice threads.”
Prince to her Princess, the costume was anything but comfortable, but admitting that was not on his list of ‘things to do’ that evening.
However, Chloe, on the other hand …
She was everything that he’d always wanted. At least, he knew that now, after fearing for her life during that incident with his father. It was horrid to watch someone you cared about be placed in danger and know that what you were doing, while your best, still might not be good enough.
But he had to take things slowly. Tonight could be the night, or it could not be. He was not going to push things and ruin this one pure thing in his life. Just as in the boardroom, he had to take his time and plan his moves right or else risk the whole deal going down the drain.
~*~*~
He’d asked her to dance and Chloe couldn’t have been happier.
Well, except if he’d asked her out for an actual date…
…. Or maybe up to his room?
“Are you having fun?”
“Hmm?”
“Fun, Chloe. Are you having it?”
She blinked at Lex, momentarily confused by his question, too caught up in the haze of, well, having fun.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I’m having a great time. Thanks, Lex.” She tilted her head up to look at the acrobats still performing overhead. “You stole my idea.”
“Your idea?” He arched an eyebrow, following her gaze. A light smile played across his lips. “Stole is such a harsh word.”
Chloe snorted. “Borrowed?”
He nodded. “I could accept ‘borrowed’.”
She laughed, hitting him lightly on the shoulder, well aware of the hand that he held on her hip as they swayed gently to the music. He’d tried his best to teach her to waltz with pleadings for her to ‘just let him lead’, but to no avail. She was hopeless when it came to dancing.
Still, he didn’t seem to mind so much. Besides, everyone else was doing pretty much what they were doing, too. Just standing in place, swaying in time to the music. Like James and –
“James and Heather?” she whispered in astonishment, twisting to get a better view of the couple currently trying to check each other’s tonsils on the dance floor. She blinked. James was the son of her father’s assistant manager and was dating one of the more popular cheerleaders at the school. In fact, she’d seen said cheerleader, Stacy, earlier that night.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Chloe shook her head, looking around the room, trying to find Stacy.
And there she was… with Clark?
“Nothing except we’ve stepped into the twilight zone,” she amended, pointing out the two couples. Slowly she began to notice that, around the room, there were relatively few people that weren’t engaged in some form of kissing or necking or…
… all out groping.
“My eyes,” she muttered, clapping a hand over the offending orbs so as not to witness any further acts of senseless smooching. At least it had appeared that all the married men had stayed with their wives.
“Definitely odd.”
“Ever the master of the understatement, huh, Luthor?” Chloe snarked, removing her hands to give him a glare. “This is obviously just another case of weirdness brought on by the proximity of the townspeople to meteorites.” She began to look around the room more frantically. “You didn’t decorate with them, did you?”
“I’m not stupid, you know.”
“I know,” she nodded. “But there’s a first time for everything, stupidity included.”
~*~*~
Lex was going over the entire room just as Chloe was and he couldn’t find anything out of place. Nothing that glowed with that green glimmer of meteorite.
What a shame. For a moment there he’d entertained notions of getting the woman in his arms a good dose of whatever had gotten into the rest of his guests.
“I feel… uncomfortable… I mean, watching them…”
“We could join them.” Her startled gaze flew to him and he thought quickly, covering up his little slip of the tongue with a smirk. “It was a joke, Chloe.”
“Oh,” she smiled thinly, her eyes losing some of the sparkle they’d held previously. “What should we do?”
Lex shrugged, nonplussed by the sudden chill coming from her. “Leave them be. If it doesn’t wear off soon we’ll figure something out. In the meantime, they’re not hurting anyone.”
“But –“
“Would you have me pull them apart one by one?” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“Well, no - I could help.”
“Chloe –“
“Fine, fine.” She sighed. “Can we go somewhere else, though? I mean, don’t you have a security room where we can keep an eye on them or something?”
She was lightly flushed, her cheeks coloring a delicate pink as she tried to look anywhere but the couples that were making out all around them. Lex swallowed hard, nodding. Public displays of affection everywhere he turned. Getting out of the room suddenly seemed like a very good idea for his continued sanity considering he couldn’t join in on the… festivities.
He took Chloe by the hand, pulling her through the sea of guests. They sidestepped a couple that had sunk to their knees and, for the first time, Lex wondered if it was a good idea to leave them all in there, like that. He certainly didn’t want to be held responsible for anything that would happen when they were like this.
But as he’d told Chloe – what were they to do?
Through the dim and darkened halls they moved quickly, silently; her hand in his and the rustle of her skirts the only indication that she was still with him.
“Here’s the security room.”
The screens were already on, rolling their endless black and white footage of various corners of the house. He scanned them instinctually, looking for any clues as to what had happened to the guests. Nothing odd about the music, the decorations, or the guests themselves – except for Terese’s unexpected appearance earlier in the night.
Terese. She was the only thing out of place in the entire evening.
His eyes moved over one of the ballroom shots, taking in the details of what he saw as Chloe began to look around the room. He heard her moving about but didn’t think twice about it. There was nothing in here that she could get into trouble with. Nothing that could get him into trouble. And he had more important things to think about.
Like what had Terese done?
His gaze wandered over the drink table with its bowl of punch and rows of neatly arranged glasses. Or, glasses that had been neatly arranged until Terese fell into the table. She’d nearly landed…in…the…
“Did you drink some of the punch?” he asked Chloe as things snapped into place, his mind whirling with images of the scene earlier. Had there been enough time as she fell for her to slip something in the punch? Undoubtedly, which made it his number one suspect in this entire mess considering he hadn’t drank any of the vile fruity drink and had managed to avoid the snare of whatever had gripped the rest of his guests. And he’d thought he’d seen something in her hand as she fell – a something that she hadn’t had when she was being helped back to her feet.
“No. Why?”
“That must have been it.” Her answer only confirmed his suspicions.
“Someone spike the punch?”
Lex nodded. “We’ll have some sent to the lab to verify, of course, but it’s the only difference between us and them, I’m guessing.”
“Ah.” She smiled. “So you mean if we’d drank some of the punch we’d be down there with the rest of them?”
Her fingers trailed lightly over one of the security screens, as if caressing the couples that were shown on it.
“Down there acting like hormonal teenagers, you mean?” He snorted. “I would imagine so.”
Was there a way he could get some of it and convince her to drink it?
Would he really want to trick her into being with him, his conscious asked quite bluntly.
And ‘of course not’ was the only response that he could come up with.
“Well, at least they’re having fun.” She murmured softly, tearing her eyes from the sight with what appeared to be some difficulty.
“They’ll regret it in the morning.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “Maybe not. I think I’m jealous, though.”
~*~*~
She couldn’t believe she’d just said –that-.
To –him-!
It was only a small relief that she was already blushing from watching the increasingly passionate scene in the ballroom, otherwise Lex would surely have noticed her getting warm from that little comment. A comment she’d not meant to even think, let alone say aloud.
“Jealous?” Lex snapped. “Why?”
She licked her lips, looking anywhere but his face. “No reason.”
“You can go down there if you want, you know. I won’t stop you.”
Somehow she doubted that. Given that they didn’t know the ultimate outcome of whatever had been put in the punch, she couldn’t see him just letting her imbibe some of it. But instead of just saying ‘no’ she said the first thing that came to mind. “There’s no one left down there for me. Everyone’s taken.”
“You think I’d let you go alone?”
She snapped her head around to look at him so quickly that it sent a stab of pain through her neck. “Oh… well… I… heh…”
“The great Chloe Sullivan at a loss for words.” Lex laughed softly.
“Well what do you say to something like that?” Chloe shrugged, struggling to maintain her composure. “It’s not everyday a guy offers to get all drugged up and make out with me.”
“And which part of that disturbs you? Me? Or the punch?”
“The punch. I don’t need to be hopped up on Smallville’s version of Viagra to want you.”
~*~*~
Smallville’s version of Viagra?
God, he adored this woman.
The corner of his mouth tilted up in something that was almost a smile, almost a smirk, and Lex took a prowling step toward her.
“Good to know, Sullivan. I’d hate to waste time running back to the ballroom when we could be using it for… other things.”
Provided no one died or was injured because of this, Terese might actually get a thank you card, Lex thought as he pressed his lips to Chloe’s for the first time, savoring her taste as she slowly opened her mouth to his gentle ministrations.
Scratch that, he corrected himself with his last coherent thought of the night –
As long as neither he nor Chloe were injured, he’d buy Terese her own island as a thank you gift.
~*~The End~*~
Author: Jinni (jinni@tthfanfic.com)
Rated: Pg13
Pairing: Chlex
Disclaimer: All things Smallville belong to DC Comics, the WB, et al.
Distribution: The normal places.
Author’s Notes: Just a little ficlet with my favorite SV couple.
Spoilers: For current season through 10/20/04 episode.
Summary: Chloe decides enough is enough and vows to make a play for Lex at his Halloween party… as usual, things don’t go according to plan when one of Lex’s exes pulls out all the stops to try to get him into her bed again.
~*~*~
She preened in the mirror, turning to look at the way the delicate material hung over her frame. Nice, she thought to herself, though she would have denied it vehemently if someone asked her to admit it aloud. For tonight she was a princess, complete with regal looking gown from one of the best costumers in Metropolis. Green with silver trim, it made her eyes seem to sparkle and gave her skin a healthy glow. Even without makeup she thought she looked presentable; yet still she’d gone the extra mile and added a little color to her cheeks, lined her eyes with a dark pencil and brushed a faint smattering of gold powder on her eyelids.
Lana Lang she was not, but tonight she felt good about being Chloe Sullivan.
The fact that Lex was throwing a Halloween party was nothing shocking. He’d mentioned it to her during one of his trips to the safe house. Staying up late, they’d actually had a pretty long conversation regarding it, with her tossing out wild, random ideas.
“You could hire performers to hang from the ceiling – you know, like Cirque du Soleil,” had been but one of many off the wall suggestions she’d given him, laughing along with him at the ridiculousness of it all.
It was that night, in fact, that she’d known that she cared about Lex as more than just a friend. Her heart had finally found someone to latch onto other that Clark Kent and while it felt wonderful to finally feel free of that schoolgirl crush on one of her best friends, it didn’t make her feel any better to know that she now cared for someone that could never see her as anything other than a friend.
“Friend,” she whispered. “That’s why he’s still visiting, even now that you’re out of the safe house.”
That was what she clung to – the hope that maybe she was wrong. Maybe she could touch that spot inside of Lex that she was pretty sure no other woman had been able to get to.
His heart.
Silly. Childish. Naïve. There were probably hundreds of words to describe that little dream and its impossibility. She knew it was all of those things and much more.
So tonight she’d make a play for him. She’d flirt and be witty. She’d be herself, but a little more.
And if, in the end, he didn’t want that from her, then she would quietly fade into the background.
She picked up her small purse, sliding it into the artfully hidden deep inner pocket of the dress’ folds, before sliding the matching cape over her shoulders. She pulled up the hood, careful not to rest it too heavily on the faux-jeweled hairpins she’d used to pull her hair into a small bun.
Tonight she’d be Cinderella, minus those impossible glass slippers.
And she was in search of her Prince Charming.
Or a bald, sort of sneaky billionaire.
Whichever she found first, of course.
~*~*~
Terese Martin was not the kind of woman that a man put aside. She was pretty and a delight to be around. They all told her so. George, Ron, William…
But not Lex Luthor. Not the man she’d given her heart to, however unwittingly. While he may have thought her attractive and definitely enjoyed her body, he’d never so much as tried to make more than idle conversation with her, never seemed interested in anything she had to say.
There were no sparks he’d said when he called things off after only a couple weeks.
She’d felt the sparks so why hadn’t he?
Terese clutched at her date’s arm, letting him guide her through the halls of Luthor manor toward the ballroom. She’d never been here because Lex had never invited her to visit. Only in Metropolis had they had their dalliances; in his penthouse or a hotel suite. Never her tiny, cramped apartment. It was too low brow for him.
Tonight was going to change everything, though. Tonight she would win Lex back by force since her formidable charms hadn’t worked.
Imagine her surprise when she’d done a little digging on this picturesque little farm town and uncovered its deep dark secret. She was no rocket scientist, but it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together to figure out that the meteor rocks that had caused such devastation to the town had special properties of their own.
Inhuman properties. Beyond the realm of science.
Still, it was a scientist she went to. An old high school friend of hers working in a lab in Gotham. One meteor rock for him to play with on his own time and one for her purposes – she’d had both delivered with very simple instructions.
She wanted an aphrodisiac like no other. Something to make Lex fall head over heels for her.
And her friend had delivered in spectacular fashion, performing a live test on two unsuspecting restaurant patrons just last week. She’d nearly swooned with delight as she watched the two wholly unmatched individuals practically jump each other then and there.
If they could get together so easily, being so unsuited to one another, then surely Lex would be caught even easier because he was definitely ‘for her’, even if he didn’t realize it yet.
“Are you alright?”
“Fine,” she murmured to her date, giving him a dazzling smile. “Tonight’s going to be fun.”
~*~*~
She felt like a princess as she stepped into the manor, handing her cloak to the unfortunate soul that had been chosen to man the door that night. Lex hadn’t made him dress up, at least. Then again, she couldn’t recall Lex’s butler ever wearing a tuxedo before…
Sweeping down the hall, past Smallville residents that were lingering about rather than enter the ballroom proper, Chloe held her head high and ignored the curious glances she was attracting.
After all, hadn’t she screamed at Clark in the cafeteria Friday that she wouldn’t be going and he could go by himself for all she cared? News like that traveled around a town this small like wildfire. She was sure even old Ms. Johnson at the very edge of town had heard before sunset came that evening.
And that was despite the fact that the woman was completely deaf.
Of course, she’d had no intention not to go when she said that to Clark. She just didn’t want to go with him and he had staunchly refused to believe that she actually wanted to go by herself.
Going by herself and leaving by herself were two entirely different things, though. If all went as she hoped (prayed and dreamed) then she wouldn’t be leaving the manor at all tonight. With her father away on business he’d never be the wiser. All she had to do was just…
… snare Lex.
She looked around for him as she entered the ballroom, her eyes sweeping coolly over the room. Motion overhead drew her attention and she looked up, laughing as she caught sight of the performers swinging above her.
“He actually did it,” she murmured to herself, eyes still fixed on the aerial acrobatics as she moved out of the doorway.
The rest of the room was decorated as she would imagine was typical for Halloween parties. Orange and black with spider webs strung up along every nook and cranny. Her gaze drifted over the room, leaving the performers overhead for the time being.
But nowhere did she see Lex.
At least, she didn’t think she was seeing him anywhere amongst the sea of merry makers. Those nearest her were children of some of the plant’s employees, just as she was. Otherwise she had to believe that they would never have been invited to the party. It wasn’t as if Lex had sent out an open invite to the entire high school.
Which she’d have to remember to thank him for.
There was Clark and… oh, God. Someone just shoot her now. Please? There was no way she wanted to admit to being friends with someone that came to the party dressed as… Batman.
She bit the inside of her cheek at the picture Clark presented. He’d taken his mask off, which was at least something. God only knew how stupid he looked with it on. But the rest of the costume was still there.
And he was turning… and he saw her…
“Clark,” she forced herself to smile as he joined her.
“Chloe.” He frowned. “I thought you weren’t going to come tonight.”
She shrugged. “Changed my mind? Great costume, by the way.”
Smooth, Sullivan. Smooth. Lie right to his face and change the topic entirely.
“Really? You think so?” He looked down at the ridiculous get up. “Thanks. Lex helped me pick it out.”
Probably because he knew you’d look like an idiot, Chloe thought acerbically, her smile never faltering. “Speaking of Lex – is he around?”
“Um – yeah… over there somewhere.” He waved in the general direction of the front of the ballroom. “He’s dressed as… huh… come to think of it… his costume sort of matches yours.”
Now that was interesting.
~*~*~
Sliding up next to Lex, Terese put on her most charming smile.
“Lexie,” she purred, placing a hand on his arm.
He stiffened under her touch, turning his ever cool gaze on her. “Terese. I don’t remember inviting you to this.”
The words stung and Terese fingered the tiny vial in her hand, trying to discreetly eye the drink in his hand. How best to get it in there? Once he had just the tiniest taste of this he’d be ready and willing for her, she just knew it.
“I came with Mark Thomas. From your Metropolis offices?” The defense was plausible, but she could almost see his brain start whirling, thinking of whether or not he’d even invited Mark. Flipping open the top on the vial, she leaned closer to the bald billionaire, fluttering her eyelashes coquettishly. “But he’s so boring, Lexie. Not like… aaaggh!”
She screeched as a passerby knocked into her, sending her stumbling to the side, the serum sliding from her fingers before she could stop it from falling into the punch bowl.
Suddenly nervous, Terese looked around to see if anyone had noticed the vial or where it had gone. But they, including Lex, were too busy checking to make sure she was all right.
Just great, she fumed. There was no way to tell anyone what had happened without giving herself away.
With no telling what would happen when everyone at the party got a glass of serum-laced punch, Terese knew it was time to get out of there before all hell potentially broke loose.
~*~*~
“Who was that?”
Lex didn’t smile as a new voice invaded his presence, though it was a near thing. He turned to her, nodding his head in greeting. “Miss Sullivan.”
“Mister Luthor.” She returned with a lift of her brows.
“An ex,” he answered her question. His gaze traveled discreetly over her person, over the dress that the Metropolis shopkeeper had assured him Chloe had chosen for this evening. One that just so happened to match the very costume that he had then, with that knowledge, picked out for himself. A coincidence, nothing more. Or so she would think. “A rather clumsy ex, it would seem.”
“Uh huh.” She nodded. “Nice threads.”
Prince to her Princess, the costume was anything but comfortable, but admitting that was not on his list of ‘things to do’ that evening.
However, Chloe, on the other hand …
She was everything that he’d always wanted. At least, he knew that now, after fearing for her life during that incident with his father. It was horrid to watch someone you cared about be placed in danger and know that what you were doing, while your best, still might not be good enough.
But he had to take things slowly. Tonight could be the night, or it could not be. He was not going to push things and ruin this one pure thing in his life. Just as in the boardroom, he had to take his time and plan his moves right or else risk the whole deal going down the drain.
~*~*~
He’d asked her to dance and Chloe couldn’t have been happier.
Well, except if he’d asked her out for an actual date…
…. Or maybe up to his room?
“Are you having fun?”
“Hmm?”
“Fun, Chloe. Are you having it?”
She blinked at Lex, momentarily confused by his question, too caught up in the haze of, well, having fun.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I’m having a great time. Thanks, Lex.” She tilted her head up to look at the acrobats still performing overhead. “You stole my idea.”
“Your idea?” He arched an eyebrow, following her gaze. A light smile played across his lips. “Stole is such a harsh word.”
Chloe snorted. “Borrowed?”
He nodded. “I could accept ‘borrowed’.”
She laughed, hitting him lightly on the shoulder, well aware of the hand that he held on her hip as they swayed gently to the music. He’d tried his best to teach her to waltz with pleadings for her to ‘just let him lead’, but to no avail. She was hopeless when it came to dancing.
Still, he didn’t seem to mind so much. Besides, everyone else was doing pretty much what they were doing, too. Just standing in place, swaying in time to the music. Like James and –
“James and Heather?” she whispered in astonishment, twisting to get a better view of the couple currently trying to check each other’s tonsils on the dance floor. She blinked. James was the son of her father’s assistant manager and was dating one of the more popular cheerleaders at the school. In fact, she’d seen said cheerleader, Stacy, earlier that night.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Chloe shook her head, looking around the room, trying to find Stacy.
And there she was… with Clark?
“Nothing except we’ve stepped into the twilight zone,” she amended, pointing out the two couples. Slowly she began to notice that, around the room, there were relatively few people that weren’t engaged in some form of kissing or necking or…
… all out groping.
“My eyes,” she muttered, clapping a hand over the offending orbs so as not to witness any further acts of senseless smooching. At least it had appeared that all the married men had stayed with their wives.
“Definitely odd.”
“Ever the master of the understatement, huh, Luthor?” Chloe snarked, removing her hands to give him a glare. “This is obviously just another case of weirdness brought on by the proximity of the townspeople to meteorites.” She began to look around the room more frantically. “You didn’t decorate with them, did you?”
“I’m not stupid, you know.”
“I know,” she nodded. “But there’s a first time for everything, stupidity included.”
~*~*~
Lex was going over the entire room just as Chloe was and he couldn’t find anything out of place. Nothing that glowed with that green glimmer of meteorite.
What a shame. For a moment there he’d entertained notions of getting the woman in his arms a good dose of whatever had gotten into the rest of his guests.
“I feel… uncomfortable… I mean, watching them…”
“We could join them.” Her startled gaze flew to him and he thought quickly, covering up his little slip of the tongue with a smirk. “It was a joke, Chloe.”
“Oh,” she smiled thinly, her eyes losing some of the sparkle they’d held previously. “What should we do?”
Lex shrugged, nonplussed by the sudden chill coming from her. “Leave them be. If it doesn’t wear off soon we’ll figure something out. In the meantime, they’re not hurting anyone.”
“But –“
“Would you have me pull them apart one by one?” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“Well, no - I could help.”
“Chloe –“
“Fine, fine.” She sighed. “Can we go somewhere else, though? I mean, don’t you have a security room where we can keep an eye on them or something?”
She was lightly flushed, her cheeks coloring a delicate pink as she tried to look anywhere but the couples that were making out all around them. Lex swallowed hard, nodding. Public displays of affection everywhere he turned. Getting out of the room suddenly seemed like a very good idea for his continued sanity considering he couldn’t join in on the… festivities.
He took Chloe by the hand, pulling her through the sea of guests. They sidestepped a couple that had sunk to their knees and, for the first time, Lex wondered if it was a good idea to leave them all in there, like that. He certainly didn’t want to be held responsible for anything that would happen when they were like this.
But as he’d told Chloe – what were they to do?
Through the dim and darkened halls they moved quickly, silently; her hand in his and the rustle of her skirts the only indication that she was still with him.
“Here’s the security room.”
The screens were already on, rolling their endless black and white footage of various corners of the house. He scanned them instinctually, looking for any clues as to what had happened to the guests. Nothing odd about the music, the decorations, or the guests themselves – except for Terese’s unexpected appearance earlier in the night.
Terese. She was the only thing out of place in the entire evening.
His eyes moved over one of the ballroom shots, taking in the details of what he saw as Chloe began to look around the room. He heard her moving about but didn’t think twice about it. There was nothing in here that she could get into trouble with. Nothing that could get him into trouble. And he had more important things to think about.
Like what had Terese done?
His gaze wandered over the drink table with its bowl of punch and rows of neatly arranged glasses. Or, glasses that had been neatly arranged until Terese fell into the table. She’d nearly landed…in…the…
“Did you drink some of the punch?” he asked Chloe as things snapped into place, his mind whirling with images of the scene earlier. Had there been enough time as she fell for her to slip something in the punch? Undoubtedly, which made it his number one suspect in this entire mess considering he hadn’t drank any of the vile fruity drink and had managed to avoid the snare of whatever had gripped the rest of his guests. And he’d thought he’d seen something in her hand as she fell – a something that she hadn’t had when she was being helped back to her feet.
“No. Why?”
“That must have been it.” Her answer only confirmed his suspicions.
“Someone spike the punch?”
Lex nodded. “We’ll have some sent to the lab to verify, of course, but it’s the only difference between us and them, I’m guessing.”
“Ah.” She smiled. “So you mean if we’d drank some of the punch we’d be down there with the rest of them?”
Her fingers trailed lightly over one of the security screens, as if caressing the couples that were shown on it.
“Down there acting like hormonal teenagers, you mean?” He snorted. “I would imagine so.”
Was there a way he could get some of it and convince her to drink it?
Would he really want to trick her into being with him, his conscious asked quite bluntly.
And ‘of course not’ was the only response that he could come up with.
“Well, at least they’re having fun.” She murmured softly, tearing her eyes from the sight with what appeared to be some difficulty.
“They’ll regret it in the morning.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “Maybe not. I think I’m jealous, though.”
~*~*~
She couldn’t believe she’d just said –that-.
To –him-!
It was only a small relief that she was already blushing from watching the increasingly passionate scene in the ballroom, otherwise Lex would surely have noticed her getting warm from that little comment. A comment she’d not meant to even think, let alone say aloud.
“Jealous?” Lex snapped. “Why?”
She licked her lips, looking anywhere but his face. “No reason.”
“You can go down there if you want, you know. I won’t stop you.”
Somehow she doubted that. Given that they didn’t know the ultimate outcome of whatever had been put in the punch, she couldn’t see him just letting her imbibe some of it. But instead of just saying ‘no’ she said the first thing that came to mind. “There’s no one left down there for me. Everyone’s taken.”
“You think I’d let you go alone?”
She snapped her head around to look at him so quickly that it sent a stab of pain through her neck. “Oh… well… I… heh…”
“The great Chloe Sullivan at a loss for words.” Lex laughed softly.
“Well what do you say to something like that?” Chloe shrugged, struggling to maintain her composure. “It’s not everyday a guy offers to get all drugged up and make out with me.”
“And which part of that disturbs you? Me? Or the punch?”
“The punch. I don’t need to be hopped up on Smallville’s version of Viagra to want you.”
~*~*~
Smallville’s version of Viagra?
God, he adored this woman.
The corner of his mouth tilted up in something that was almost a smile, almost a smirk, and Lex took a prowling step toward her.
“Good to know, Sullivan. I’d hate to waste time running back to the ballroom when we could be using it for… other things.”
Provided no one died or was injured because of this, Terese might actually get a thank you card, Lex thought as he pressed his lips to Chloe’s for the first time, savoring her taste as she slowly opened her mouth to his gentle ministrations.
Scratch that, he corrected himself with his last coherent thought of the night –
As long as neither he nor Chloe were injured, he’d buy Terese her own island as a thank you gift.
~*~The End~*~