PDA

View Full Version : Consequences (R)



scifichick774
19th April 2003, 14:40
Title: Consequences
Author: scifichick774
Rating: R
Category: Drama/Angst
Spoilers: Up to, but not including, Prodigal in season 2.
Summary: Upset that Clark and Lana have finally gotten together, Chloe unwittingly turns her sorrow into anger, and Lionel uses it to his advantage to try and bring her closer to ‘the dark side’. Will Lex be able to save her from his father and herself?
Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended, please don’t sue.
Feedback: YES!! REVIEW!!
Archival: I can’t imagine that you’ll want this one, but go ahead. Just let me know where.
Author’s Note: I’m not entirely sure where this idea came from, or why I’m working on so many fics at once, but not everything can be explained. Acknowledge, accept, and move on. That said, Chloe’s probably going to be a little OOC in this one, just because she’s finally taking a stand against becoming an emotional basket case over Clark.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Chloe felt her heart rip in half when she looked at the sight in front of her. Clark and Lana kissing in The Torch’s office. She balled her hands up into fists and quickly moved away from the door and down the hall. She surmised that they probably didn’t even know she was there, and that she shouldn’t be so upset over something that seemed inevitable. Unfortunately, that didn’t make it hurt any less. Chloe allowed the pools of water that had built up in her eyes to only dribble down her cheeks until she got to her car. When she made it to her car, she quickly opened it and slid inside, where she rested her head on the steering wheel and let the tears flow like a river. Her body shook with pain over the man she loved but knew she would never have; and over the girl who she had loathed, but who had become her friend, and she felt like betrayed her.

She wiped her tears on her sleeve and turned the key to start her car. Chloe was determined to put on a brave face. She wasn’t going to let this tear her apart. She told herself that she was better than that and began to drive toward The Beanery. She would never willingly frequent The Talon again. Chloe pulled her car up in front of the coffee shop that she used to be a regular at. She felt bad that she had allowed her ‘friendships’ with Clark and Lana to cloud her judgment as to where to get her caffeine fix. The Beanery, by far, had the superior coffee. She strolled into the establishment, and even though she hadn’t been in there in quite a while, the waitress knew the look on her face and what kind of coffee she would be ordering. Chloe smiled to herself as the waitress went to fetch what she would have ordered. She missed this. She missed people paying attention to the fact that she had feelings. She missed people actually acknowledging that she existed. Then the thought struck her.

‘I’ll just block them out,’ Chloe thought to herself. She gratefully accepted the mug of the steaming bitter liquid and brought it up to her mouth to sip it. Every sip she took was a step away from the sorrow and torment, and a step closer to anger and, in her mind, freedom. ‘They’ll no longer exist to me.’ It sounded like a simple enough plan, though a nagging part of her wondered if she could actually do it or not. After all, Lana did live in her house with her and her dad. Chloe shook her head and took another drink of her coffee. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Because from now on, Clark Kent and Lana Lang were no longer in her life. Period.

Chloe stood up and paid for her coffee. She was filled with a new sense of confidence, fueled by an underlying anger that she refused to recognize was there. But, as always, anger has ways of making itself known, and it was about to show itself. She began to walk toward her car when Lionel Luthor, accompanied by a few of his minions, got in her way. One of the men bumped into her, promptly spilling her to-go cup of coffee all over the sidewalk. He didn’t apologize. Hell, he didn’t even acknowledge her. But if he had known what was going to happen, he surely would have. The man tried to keep walking, but Chloe grabbed on to his jacket sleeve, pulling him back to her with a force no one would have thought possible from the petite girl. And then she started yelling at him.

“How dare you?! Do you even look where you’re walking or are you just a complete moron?!” Chloe screamed. The fire in her eyes was enough to make the man pale, and the tone in her voice caused Lionel and the rest of the group to pay attention to the scene in front of them. A long slew of insults and cursing was hurled at the man who bumped into her. The other men shot sympathetic looks at the victim of Chloe’s seemingly never ending string of verbal abuse, but quickly looked away in fear when she turned her head toward them.

Lionel, on the other hand, seemed to be quite amused with the situation. She noticed this and proceeded to march right up to him. This was a man that could instill the deepest fears into men with the slightest sneer, but Chloe wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t even thinking clearly, she was just working off of the adrenalin that her anger toward Clark and Lana provided her. “Next time keep your lackeys on a tighter leash Luthor,” she said angrily.

Chloe walked around him and made it to her car, where she proceeded to drive away after screeching her tires along the asphalt. Lionel seemed surprised that the young woman had dared to speak to him in that manner. He did a good job of pretending that he didn’t see her, of pretending that he was still blind, but he couldn’t hide the initial surprise or the resulting smirk that crossed his face.

“Thomas?” Lionel called out. One of the men stepped closer to Lionel and tried to hide his nervousness.

“Yes sir?” Thomas answered. Lionel grinned evilly.

“Find out everything you can about that woman,” Lionel ordered. Thomas scratched a few things down onto an electronic notepad.

“Yes Mr. Luthor,” Thomas said. Lionel stood there impatiently, knowing that the man hadn’t left yet. Thomas looked up at his boss when he saw Lionel tapping his cane impatiently against the sidewalk. “Now?” Thomas asked. Lionel barely bit back a groan and instead gave the man a curt nod.

“Yes. Now,” Lionel said through gritted teeth. Thomas scurried away and Lionel stiffened his posture. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the spitfire he had just witnessed. His instincts told him that he needed the young woman as an ally, and after years of experience, he knew that his instincts were rarely wrong.

That evening, Chloe had calmed down a little. Her denial of Clark and Lana’s existence was working very well surprisingly. Lana tried to talk to her while she was making dinner, but Chloe put on her headphones and completely ignored the other girl as if she weren’t even there. When Lana would try to catch Chloe’s eye, Chloe would stare right through her. It was remarkable. Chloe was getting to the point where she had almost convinced herself that Lana wasn’t in the room. A few more weeks, and she would have it perfected.

The doorbell rang and Chloe rose from her seat at the table to answer the door. Gabe and Lana stayed seated as they watched her leave the table. Chloe walked to the door and hummed a song that had been playing on an eclectic radio station earlier. It was a good song and she made a mental note to look it up later. She didn’t look to see who was at the door before answering, but she soon wished that she had. She was surprised to see the sheriff at her front door, but she plastered a smile on her face anyway.

“Can I help you?” She asked cheerfully. The poor man looked like he had been through the ringer and was fiddling with a manila envelope in his hands.

“I, uh,” he started and then took a deep breath and gave her a sad look. “There was an altercation between you and a Howard Billings early this afternoon.” Chloe shook her head and kept the smile on her face. She knew who he was talking about, since she hadn’t yelled at anyone else. Well, except for Lionel Luthor, but certainly that could be overlooked since everyone in town hated the man.

“Don’t know him,” she said. It was the truth; she didn’t actually know the man, so it came out smoothly off her tongue. The sheriff hesitantly held out the envelope.

“In front of The Beanery,” he explained. “There were witnesses.” Chloe shrugged as if it were nothing.

“Oh, that guy,” she said. “He bumped into me, spilled my coffee all over the place, and didn’t even acknowledge that I was there after he did it.” Her voice remained calm and even. “I lost my temper.” The sheriff arched a knowing eyebrow at her and the corner of his mouth turned up.

“Normally I’d say that everyone has a bad day, and that you were probably entitled since he’s one of Luthor’s people, but Mr. Luthor has pulled some strings to make an example out of you,” the sheriff said. Chloe’s eyes widened a little in surprise.

“Are you arresting me?” She asked. The sheriff chuckled and shook his head.

“It was recommended that you take anger management classes,” the sheriff replied. Chloe crossed her arms and snorted in amusement.

‘Like that’s gonna happen,’ she thought to herself.

“Well, you may as well arrest me now then, because I’m not doing that,” Chloe responded. The sheriff sighed.

“Mr. Luthor did offer another suggestion,” he said.

“He wants my first born child?” Chloe asked with a grin. The sheriff chuckled.

“Probably,” he said. “But no. He convinced the judge that you should spend some time with the person your anger affected, to get you to see how hurtful it was, and possibly get you to mend your ways.” Chloe started laughing. Gabe was curious now. Chloe had been gone from the table for a few minutes and now she was laughing loudly. He excused himself from the table and started toward the front door.

“And by ‘convinced’, you mean ‘paid off’?” Chloe finally asked. The sheriff chuckled again.

“That would be my guess,” he admitted. Chloe sighed.

“So I have to spend time with---” She paused when she didn’t remember the name of the man.

“Howard Billings,” the sheriff filled in for her. Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“How much time?” She asked. She had a bad feeling that her temper tantrum was going to lead to menial labor for the jackass who had bumped into her.

“Read through the paperwork,” the sheriff said. “But I believe it’s equivalent to how much time you would have had to spend in anger management class, which would be two nights a week.” Gabe furrowed his brow as he caught the end of the conversation.

“Anger management class?” Gabe asked. Chloe snatched the envelope away from the sheriff, who was still holding it out for her. She flashed her dad a bright smile and hoped that he wouldn’t get too angry.

“I sort of lost my temper earlier today,” she admitted, emphasizing the ‘sort of’ part of the explanation. Gabe looked at her questioningly. “He totally deserved it.” She smiled again and then touched his upper arm. “Don’t worry, it’s all been taken care of.” Gabe crossed his arms and Chloe looked back to the sheriff. “Tell Mr. Luthor that I’ll take his second recommendation.” The sheriff nodded and gave a grimace.

“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” he said. They exchanged goodbyes and Chloe walked back to the dining room as if nothing had happened. She placed the envelope on the counter and then cleared her place setting, all without offering any sort of further explanation to her dad or Lana. She began humming the song again as she loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. When she was done, she picked up the envelope again and kissed her dad on the cheek.

“Night,” she said. Chloe walked up the stairs to her room and smiled to herself. Spending time with a selfish moron like Billings might be tedious, but it also meant that she would have more opportunities to access private company documents that could be used for future articles. Things were looking up.

~*~*~
Ch. 2
~*~*~

Chloe woke up early the next morning and drove to the Luthor’s estate, where the papers the sheriff had given her said she was supposed to meet up with Billings. Any other occasion, she would have cursed vehemently at the mere idea of rising so early on a Saturday morning, but it was different this time. She knew that she needed to be there. Obviously not for the bogus reason that Lionel Luthor had come up with, because his whipping boy had deserved everything she had thrown at him and more, but because it was hard to ignore reality when it lived in the same house with you. She figured, if nothing else, she could give *Billings* hell again. Just the sound of his name in her brain made her want to roll her eyes. What a jerk.

She parked her car and took in the size of the castle on her way to the front door. Hopefully these visits wouldn’t end up with her being thrown out a window. Chloe stepped forward and rang the bell. She silently wondered why she was supposed to meet him here instead of at the plant, or one of the other Luthor business sites, but he probably just wanted to rub in the fact that his boss was willing to stick up for him. This time she did roll her eyes. The door opened and a tall man in a butler’s uniform stood in front of her.

‘That must suck,’ Chloe thought. ‘They can’t let him wear jeans like anyone else?’

“Can I help you?” The man asked. Despite the fact that he was a butler, his presence was rather imposing, and bordered on threatening. Chloe wasn’t even the teensiest bit intimidated, nor did she bother to put a fake smile on her face.

“I’m supposed to meet *Billings* here,” she said, rolling the man’s name off her tongue with contempt. The butler arched an eyebrow and she placed a hand on her hip in an irritated fashion. Chloe stared at him for a second and then shook her head. She reached into her oversized bag and brought out the manila envelope with the legal documents in it. Chloe shoved them at the man in front of her and then stepped passed him into the house. He looked at her in complete shock. She took a quick look around and then turned back to the butler. “If you have any questions about it, you can ask Mr. Luthor. He’s the one who forced me to come here.”

“On the contrary, you could have taken the option to attend anger management classes,” Lionel said. Chloe and the butler both turned their heads in the direction of his voice. Chloe grinned tightly and crossed her arms. Lionel tapped his cane and walked toward them. “How are you today Miss Sullivan?” He asked with a smirk on his face. Now she knew who Lex inherited that particular trait from.

“Dandy,” Chloe said sarcastically. “And you?” Lionel nodded once.

“Fine. Thank you for asking,” he replied. Chloe let out a small grunt as recognition of his statement. “Leave us,” Lionel said, and dismissed the butler with a wave of his hand.

“So where is my good friend Billings?” Chloe asked with a smile. The absurdity of the situation was making her border on laughter. Lionel arched an eyebrow.

“Your ‘good friend’?” Lionel repeated. “Do you even know the first name of the man whom you so ruthlessly assaulted the other day?” Chloe observed that his tone held no tinge of anger to it, and she smiled again.

“Do you?” She retorted. A grin spread across Lionel’s lips and he shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“I’m sure it’s on some paperwork somewhere,” he replied. Chloe chuckled.

“Okay,” she said. “So where is he? I was supposed to meet him here.” Lionel turned around and started to walk away from her, moving his cane in front of him before every step he took. Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“Come along,” he said when she didn’t immediately follow him. Chloe shook her head and began to follow him. “I’m afraid that Mr. Billings is no longer in my employ,” Lionel said when he knew that Chloe was close to him. Chloe smiled.

“Great,” she said. “So I guess that lets me off the hook with all this repentance stuff.” She started to turn around. “Bye.” Lionel laughed and Chloe turned to face him again.

“Don’t be absurd,” Lionel said. “You’ll be spending time with me now, until you’ve learned the error of your ways.” Chloe narrowed her eyes at him.

“Why?” She asked, her voice full of suspicion. Lionel put on a faux innocent face.

“Young lady, if you’ll remember correctly, you did unleash your anger on me as well,” he said. Chloe snorted.

“Please,” she said. “Telling you to reign in your incompetent lap dogs was hardly the worst thing that anyone’s ever yelled at you.” Lionel smiled.

“No, it’s not,” he admitted. Lionel paused as he stared in her general direction. “May I ask you a question?” Chloe nodded.

“Shoot,” she said, but immediately wondered why she replied the way she did. She was standing with the man who many considered the devil himself, and she didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable in his presence. She knew she should take that as a bad sign, but at this point she just didn’t care anymore.

“Why did you let them get to you?” Lionel asked seriously. Chloe stared at him. This couldn’t be a good development.

“Who would *they* be?” She asked. Lionel shot a disapproving look toward her.

“You know perfectly well who I’m speaking of Miss Sullivan,” Lionel said.

“Chloe,” she corrected. Lionel got a strange look on his face and she grinned. “Your son calls me Miss Sullivan every time I see him and he’s not exactly one of my favorite people right now, so I’d prefer it if you’d call me by my first name.” The corners of Lionel’s mouth quirked upward.

“Of course,” he said. “Please forgive me. I should have known that Alexander would remind you of the Kent boy and the Lang girl who’s currently residing in your home. He will not be mentioned again.” Chloe looked at him in disbelief.

“How did you know about that?” She asked him. He started walking again, and this time she followed his lead right away.

“I know many things,” Lionel responded cryptically.

“Uh huh,” Chloe said. “You do realize that there are stalking laws in this state?” That earned a loud chuckle out of Lionel. They reached a room that looked like a small library or den.

“Please sit down,” Lionel said and reached for the door to close it behind them. Chloe shook her head slightly and then chose a comfortable looking chair by a chess table. Lionel made his way to a decanter set and shakily poured himself a drink. Lionel took a sip of the liquor and then grinned at her. “No comment about how it’s too early for a drink?” He asked in mild surprise and amusement. Chloe grinned back at him and shrugged.

“Hey, if you want a liver transplant within the next couple of years so badly, then I’m not going to stop you,” she quipped. Lionel grinned and took another sip. Chloe looked at the board. “Do you play?” Lionel reached for the chair opposite hers and lowered himself into it.

“I used to,” he said. “However, not being able to see the board considerably hinders my strategic abilities.” Chloe didn’t even bother to look up at him.

“Well, seeing as how you’re not really blind, that shouldn’t be a problem,” she said. Lionel tried to act surprised, but Chloe continued. “I know many things as well.” Lionel pursed his lips.

“I see,” he said. “And what is it that you think you know exactly?” Chloe kept her eyes on the chess board and reached out to move one of the pieces on her side.

“I know that you’re not really blind,” Chloe said. “I know that the doctor who operated on you had a large sum of money transferred to his bank account from one of your shadow subsidiary companies after the operation so he would back up your story.” She waited, eyes still on the board, but he said nothing. “I know that you hired Mrs. Kent because she reminds you of your dead wife and you have a crush on her.” She paused again and then looked up at him. “Your turn.” He arched an eyebrow and she motioned to the chess board. One corner of his mouth grinned and he looked directly down at the board. He moved a piece and then looked back up at her.

“So where do we go from here?” Lionel asked carefully. “Are you going to print this newfound information in your high school paper?” Chloe cringed a little when her mind drifted to The Torch. A couple of days ago, it had still been the reason she lived and breathed, but now she couldn’t think of it without picturing Clark and Lana together inside the office. Chloe shook her head and moved another piece.

“I don’t think anyone would believe me if I did,” Chloe said. “You’ve put on a pretty convincing act.” Lionel smiled as he looked at her.

“You weren’t convinced,” he observed.

“I’m not a stupid hick like the rest of the people in this town,” she bit.

“Indeed,” Lionel agreed and moved another chess piece from his side.

“So to answer your question as to where we go from here, I’d say that’s up to you,” Chloe said. Lionel looked at her questioningly and she grinned at him. “Do you still think I have anger management issues?” Lionel chuckled.

“Obviously,” he said in a kidding tone. “Which means that you still have to do your court mandated community service. You can either keep spending time around me to see how much your outburst wounded my feelings---” Chloe snorted and Lionel smiled. “Or you can take anger management classes.” Chloe glared at him and Lionel smirked and put his fingertips together. “And seeing as how you’re trying to pretend that Lex and his two high school friends don’t exist, I would recommend the first option.” Chloe wondered briefly how he knew that she had decided that Clark and Lana would no longer exist to her, but decided to let it slide. She nodded and moved her piece.

“I agree,” she said. She smiled up at him. “Check.” Lionel smirked again at her and moved one last piece.

“Good,” he said in approval. “Checkmate.”

~*~*~
Ch. 3
~*~*~

By the time Lex walked into the house on his return from his date with Dr. Helen Bryce the previous night, Lionel and Chloe had already been talking for a good three hours. Lex mused to himself that Helen wasn’t like the other women he had dated, and that he could possibly even see a future with her. He asked the butler if his father was up yet, and wasn’t surprised to hear that he was. It did surprise him to hear that his father had company who wasn’t Martha Kent and it didn’t seem to be business related. Lex got a nagging curiosity and started off toward his father’s study. Lionel looked up at a monitor on the wall and frowned.

“Lex is home,” he said in a displeased voice. Chloe turned around to see Lex’s image walking down the corridor toward them. She grumbled and stood up.

“So he is,” she observed in a dry tone. Chloe walked over and closed the wood paneling that hid the monitor while Lionel put all of the chess pieces in their original positions. Lionel leaned back in his chair and smirked at her.

“My partner in crime,” he said playfully. Chloe’s laughter lilted through the room and carried into the hallway. “He was out with that dreadful Bryce woman again.” Chloe nodded and sat back down. “I swear, the poor boy has the worst taste in women. Do you know her?” Lionel asked with curiosity.

“I’ve met her once or twice,” Chloe responded. She got a coy smile on her face. “Or were you asking if I know *about* her?” Lionel raised his eyebrows in intrigue.

“You know something Chloe Sullivan,” he said with certainty.

“And you’d like to know what it is,” Chloe said with a wider smile. “Seeing as how your incompetent private detectives couldn’t come up with anything, other than the fact that she’s a doctor and who her family tree consists of.” Lionel grunted and then an evil smile crept across his mouth.

“Indeed,” he replied. Chloe leaned back in her chair and just smiled, at which point Lionel became impatient and tilted his head at her. “Come now, share with the rest of the class.” Chloe laughed again, even louder this time. Lex was close enough to the closed door to hear it and he furrowed his brow. The female sounded so familiar, but he couldn’t place it. He reached the closed door and lightly rapped on it before letting himself in. Lionel and Chloe both turned their heads as Lex walked into the room, although to Lionel’s credit, he only looked in the general direction of the sound of the door. Chloe barely held in a chuckle. Lex was in shock to see her there.

“Dad,” he said. He looked at Chloe. “Miss Sullivan.” Lionel let out a small snort and Chloe bit her tongue as she grinned at his reaction. Lex wasn’t pleased. “May I ask what you’re doing here? I would have remembered if I had an appointment with you.”

“Her appointment was with me,” Lionel interjected as he shakily stood up. A look of surprise crossed Lex’s face.

“Actually,” Chloe said as she stood up. “My appointment was with Billings, but seeing as how your father fired him ---”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Lionel said in a correcting tone and waved his finger. “I didn’t say I fired him, I said that he was no longer in my employ.” Chloe tilted her head.

“Same thing,” she argued. “Unless you actually expect me to believe that he quit.” Lionel grinned.

“Perhaps I had him disposed of,” he said in a half joking voice. Chloe appeared pensive.

“Good point,” she agreed. “I hadn’t thought of that.” Lex looked back and forth between the two as they bantered. He didn’t like what he was seeing or hearing. Lex couldn’t describe it, but it made him feel decidedly uncomfortable.

“Why did you have an appointment to see Howard Billings in the first place?” Lex asked with suspicion. Chloe and Lionel both smiled.

“So that was his first name,” Chloe said. Lionel nodded.

“I don’t think that we guessed that one,” Lionel said. Chloe shook her head.

“I don’t think we did,” she agreed. Lex cleared his throat and Chloe turned to face him. He looked at her expectantly and she shrugged. “Apparently *some* people think I have anger management issues,” she said snidely. Lionel smirked.

“Temper,” he kiddingly warned. Chloe grinned at him tightly and then shut down all emotion from her face when she looked at Lex again. She noticed the clock on the wall above him and frowned. She turned to Lionel.

“I have to go,” she said. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.” Lionel frowned.

“You couldn’t have been here for more than an hour,” he replied. Chloe shook her head.

“Three hours if that clock is right,” she said. Lionel made a discontented sound.

“But we were right in the middle of a discussion,” he protested. His head turned in Lex’s direction and he frowned at him. “And as always son, you have impeccable timing,” he said with heavy sarcasm. Chloe laughed.

“Well, we’ll have to continue it another time then, because I have to get going,” Chloe said.

“Will you be coming by tomorrow?” Lionel asked. Lex’s eyes grew wide. He needed to find out what was going on and he needed to find out now. Chloe seemed to think about it.

“I can in the afternoon, but like I said before, I have an evening appointment with Mr. Sark,” she said with a smile. Lionel gave her a knowing smile in return. Lex furrowed his brow as he wondered who Mr. Sark could be.

“Yes, I had almost forgotten about that,” he said. “Why not the morning again then?” Chloe crossed her arms.

“You’re entertaining company, but I don’t like waking up that early on the weekends for anybody,” Chloe said. The smile on Lionel’s face didn’t diminish, but the frown on Lex’s face became considerably more defined.

“You did for Billings,” Lionel observed. Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out so she shut it again. “May I take it from your lack of a retort, that you’ll be here in the morning?”

“No,” Chloe said. “Silence doesn’t equal acquiescence.” Lex grinned at her statement, but frowned again when he saw that his father had the same reaction he did.

‘Surely he can’t like her,’ Lex thought to himself. ‘She’s still in high school for God’s sake!’ Lionel sighed and then gave a curt nod.

“I see,” he said. “What time in the afternoon shall I expect you then?” Chloe smiled.

“Two?” She suggested. Lionel shook his head in disagreement.

“Nonsense,” he said. “Be here at noon and you can have lunch over here.”

“I’m not sure I want to,” Chloe said with a teasing grin. “You might put poison in it.” Lionel chuckled.

“Of course not dear,” he said, returning her joking tone. “I would never do something so menial myself. I would have one of the wait staff do it for me.” Chloe laughed.

“Is that an anger management lesson?” She asked.

“Certainly,” he said. “You wouldn’t want anyone to be able to connect you to your crimes of passion, now would you?” Chloe shook her head and smiled.

“Fine. I’ll be here at noon,” she finally agreed. “But only if you promise that you won’t have anyone poison the food.” Lionel nodded.

“I suppose,” he teased. “I’ll walk you to the door then.” Lex pursed his lips and stopped his father from tapping his cane all the way to the door.

“I’m sure that Miss Sullivan can remember how to get to the front door,” Lex said and gave Chloe a pointed look. Chloe kept a stoic look on her face and nodded.

“No problem,” she said and passed by Lex without giving him any eye contact. “Bye Mr. Luthor,” she threw over her shoulder at Lionel. Lex frowned. Chloe was usually so much friendlier than that with him. Lex shook the thought out of his mind. If he was thinking along those lines, then he would need to acknowledge that the uncomfortable feeling he had while being in the room with them might have been jealousy, and he wasn’t prepared to do that. Lionel turned away from his son after Chloe left the room and Lex shut the door.

“Was that really necessary?” Lionel asked in a disappointed tone. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were bred without any manners whatsoever.” Lex glared at him.

“You want to tell me what that was all about?” Lex asked in a calm yet obviously angry voice. Lionel grinned to himself, but didn’t turn around.

“What *what* was all about son?” Lionel asked.

“You know what I’m talking about Dad,” Lex said. “Why was Chloe Sullivan here, and spending time with you?” ‘And *enjoying* spending time with you?’ Lex thought. Lionel turned around.

“I believe she already explained that to you Lex,” Lionel said noncommittally. “She verbally accosted Billings and me when we were out the other day, and I merely suggested to the judge that it might be more beneficial for her to spend time around her victims to see how her anger hurt them, rather than taking those classes like you are.” Lex stared at him.

“Right,” Lex said. “Because I’m sure that you were irreparably wounded by a teenager yelling at you.” Lionel chuckled.

“She said the same thing, only with a touch more sarcasm,” Lionel said as he poured himself a drink with an unsteady hand. Lex sighed and ran his hand over the back of his neck.

“You can’t do this Dad,” Lex said. “She’s sixteen, and she’s a friend of Clark’s.” Lionel arched an eyebrow.

“Perhaps you need some more recent information,” Lionel said. “Currently she’s acting as though your friend Clark doesn’t exist, which is hardly something one would do if they were friends.” Lionel’s expression went stone-like as Lex looked at him with some confusion. Lionel turned his head away just slightly. “She’s been through enough pain Alexander. I recommend that you and your friends stay away from her while she heals.” Lex’s eyebrows creased in growing confusion. His father sounded genuinely concerned for Chloe’s emotions, but Lex hadn’t missed the underlying threat that lied behind Lionel’s words.

“And if we don’t?” Lex asked. One corner of Lionel’s mouth quirked upward.

“There are always consequences for the actions we take Lex,” Lionel said cryptically. He took a sip from his drink and then murmured to himself. “There are always consequences.”

scifichick774
19th April 2003, 14:43
~*~*~
Ch. 4
~*~*~

Lex rushed to The Talon impatiently. He knew Lana was working, and thereby in extension, that Clark would be there as well. He still held out a glimmer of hope that Chloe might be there, getting her caffeine fix as if nothing had happened, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that she wouldn’t be. Not if what his father told him was true, and from the way she had treated him while he was there, Lex could only ascertain that Lionel hadn’t been lying to him. He immediately spotted Clark at the counter chatting with Lana. Lana looked up and flashed him a friendly smile, followed by a similar expression from Clark.

“Hey Lex,” Clark greeted cheerfully.

“You want your usual?” Lana asked. Lex noticed that they both seemed so happy and upbeat, and surmised that they obviously hadn’t heard anything about Chloe’s situation yet.

‘No, of course not,” he thought to himself. ‘How could they? Chloe only found out herself this morning, and if she’s not speaking to Clark---” Lex’s thoughts trailed off and he shook his head slightly.

“No thanks Lana,” Lex said. “I actually just came to speak with Clark. Clark looked surprised. Lex motioned toward a table with his head and Clark got up from his stool at the counter, shooting Lana a mystified look.

Lana seemed a little miffed at being left out of the conversation, but she had other customers, so she figured Lex was just trying to subtly hint that she should be waiting on them. Lex and Clark sat down and Lex gave Clark a steady look. He was angry at his father, but knew that he could quickly take that emotion out on Clark or anybody else if he wasn’t careful. He noticed that Clark seemed to be almost brimming over with giddiness and Lex arched an eyebrow.

“Before you say anything Lex, I have something to tell you,” Clark said.

“From the smile on your face I’d say that it’s good news,” Lex responded. Clark nodded.

“Very good,” Clark confirmed. “Lana and I – we’re finally, you know, together.”

“Ah,” Lex mused aloud. “That explains it then.” Clark furrowed his brow.

“Explains what?” Clark asked in confusion.

“Have you spoken with Chloe about this latest development?” Lex asked, intentionally avoiding Clark’s question. Clark’s smile fell a little and he shook his head.

“I haven’t seen her since it happened,” Clark admitted. “And Lana said that she’d tell her when she got home, but---”

“But?” Lex prodded.

“But Lana said that Chloe’s been acting kind of weird,” Clark said in a hushed voice. “She’s completely ignoring Lana, like she’s not even there or something.”

“I see,” Lex said. “Clark, I think there’s something that you should know.” Lex proceeded to tell Clark everything that he had been able to find out about why Chloe was now being forced to spend time with his father. Clark’s eyebrows rose.

“And you think that finding out about me and Lana set her off?” Clark asked. Lex tilted his head at him.

“You don’t?” He asked seriously. Clark shook his head.

“I don’t see how she could even know about it,” Clark said. “Nobody even knows except for Pete, and we only told him this morning.” Lex squared his jaw. He cared for his friend, but dealing with him could be a real chore sometimes. “And besides, Chloe and I are only friends, and that was her decision.” Clark saw the look Lex was giving him, but Clark was oblivious as to the reason behind it. “What?”

“In my experience, feelings don’t generally go away that quickly,” Lex said carefully. Clark shrugged.

“We had a whole summer apart,” Clark said. “She said she met a guy at the Planet she thought was cute.” Lex frowned. Could that be the man she was referring to when she spoke to his father? He doubted it. If she had been seeing this man then she wouldn’t be so formal as to call him by his last name. Lex refused to acknowledge the fact that it bothered him so much, primarily because he couldn’t place a reason to why it bothered him so much. He knew he didn’t like seeing Chloe talking with his father earlier, and now, for some reason, he didn’t like the idea of her dating someone he didn’t know about. He didn’t like the idea of her dating anyone at all. Lex pushed his train of thought aside and focused on what he needed to say.

“Tell me something Clark,” Lex said. “Where were you and Lana when you decided to take the next step and become more than friends?” It wasn’t anger lining his voice now, but impatience. If he wanted to get Chloe away from his dad, then he needed to know everything that led up to her spending time with him in the first place. Clark got a far away look on his face and he smiled.

“The Torch office,” Clark said with a dream like sigh.

“The Torch office,” Lex repeated in disbelief. Clark nodded, not hearing Lex’s underlying angry tone.

“We were just talking about some articles and ---” Clark stopped talking and blushed a little. “Then it just happened.” Lex glared at him.

“The Torch office,” Lex said again. “The one place, other than The Talon, where Chloe spends the majority of her time?” Lex asked incredulously. Clark’s mouth opened to speak, but Lex cut him off. “And you don’t think that it was possible that she saw you? And left upset, without letting you give her any sort of an explanation as to what happened?” Clark’s face paled and his shoulders slumped down.

“I, I didn’t think of that,” Clark stammered. Lex gave him a curt nod and pushed his chair away from the table.

“I think you need to have a talk with Chloe Clark,” Lex said as he stood up. Clark nodded and Lex turned around to leave.

“Hey Lex?” Clark called. Lex turned around. “You don’t really think that your dad, you know---?” Clark trailed off into an uncomfortable silence. Lex hid his shudder well.

‘Now probably wouldn’t be the best time to mention that he called her ‘dear’ and she didn’t slap him for it,’ Lex thought. Lex gave Clark an unreadable look.

“I honestly can’t say what he’s thinking Clark,” Lex said. “If I were to guess, then I would say no and that he’s just using her as a pawn in one of his twisted games.” Lex paused. “But then, I’ve also learned that my father values intelligence in anyone he wants to keep around, and Chloe certainly fits into that category.” Clark felt sick to his stomach.

“Intelligent or someone he wants to keep around?” Clark choked out. Lex shook his head.

“The first definitely, and the second --- I’ll find out,” Lex said. “You go talk to Chloe. Try and make things right.” Clark just barely managed to nod. Lex pursed his lips. He thought about asking Clark if he knew who Mr. Sark was, but didn’t know if he should. He had put enough thoughts into the boy’s head for one day, but for an inexplicable reason, he *needed* to know. “Clark?” Clark looked back up at him. “Do you know if Chloe’s been working on a story? I overheard that she had an appointment with someone named Mr. Sark tomorrow night.” Clark looked baffled and shook his head.

“Sorry,” he said. “I don’t know anything about it.” Lex gave him a curt nod and they said their goodbyes. Lex left The Talon and got into his car. It was time to have some research done on his Miss Sullivan.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Chloe lay back on her bed. She needed a nap after getting up so early that morning, and now was the perfect time to do it since no one else was in the house. Just as she closed her eyes, her cell phone started to ring. Chloe groaned and ran a hand over her face.

“I can’t believe I forgot to turn it off,” she said aloud. She was thankful that she had caller id on it, but furrowed her brow when the name flashed across the screen. She picked up the phone. “What do you want?” She asked with an irritated sigh. She heard a chuckle on the other end of the phone and she smiled.

“I thought you left because you had something important to do,” Lionel said.

“Number one, sleep is very important to me. Number two, how did you get my cell phone number, or should I even ask?” Chloe said. Her tone wasn’t harsh though and Lionel could tell that she wasn’t really upset.

“Are you coming back over?” He asked.

“Tomorrow I am, today I’m going to take advantage of the fact that I have the house to myself and take a nap,” she said snarkily.

“He’s not here if that’s what you’re concerned about,” Lionel said.

“Who?”

“Lex. He’s not here. He went into town,” Lionel said.

“Bully for him,” Chloe replied. “The only reason you want me to come over is so I can tell you what I have on his girlfriend.”

“Now that you mention it---” Lionel trailed off and Chloe laughed.

“I think you can wait until tomorrow to find out,” she said. The doorbell rang and she cursed under her breath.

“Temper,” Lionel reminded her.

“Hold on, somebody’s at the door,” she said into the phone, ignoring Lionel’s comment. She walked down the stairs, and this time she made sure to look through the peephole. Clark. She groaned.

“I take it from your reaction that it’s somebody who’s less than desirable?” Lionel asked. Chloe turned away from the door without opening it.

“It’s nobody,” she said.

Clark saw her look through the peephole with his x-ray vision and his heart sank when she turned away without opening the door. It sank lower when he heard her with his special hearing saying that he was nobody. How would he be able to explain that he never meant to hurt her and that he really did value her as a friend if she wouldn’t talk to him? Maybe he could explain the situation to Lana and she could get through to her. After all, they did live under the same roof now. It was his only chance. He turned around and left and Chloe continued her conversation with Lionel.

“Damn nonexistent people,” Lionel kidded. Chloe chuckled. “Since you’re in such a good mood, why don’t you just tell me about Dr. Bryce early?”

“Because you’ll tell him and I won’t even get to see the look on his face,” Chloe said. Chloe heard a loud hearty laugh come over the line.

“It’s that good is it?” Lionel asked. “Interesting.”

“Uh huh,” Chloe said. “Well, like I said, sleep is important to me, so I’m going to go now.”

“Mm,” Lionel said. “Chloe? Before you hang up, I think you should know that my son was rather upset at our meeting this morning.”

“So?” Chloe asked indignantly. Lionel grinned.

“I know him. He’s not going to let this go. He thinks by getting you away from me that he’ll be defending your honor or some other such nonsense,” Lionel said seriously. Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“Funny,” she said. “I always pictured him as more of a dark knight rather than the white knight.”

“Given your propensity toward liking the villains on television shows that you told me about, that would suggest that you have a bit of a crush on him,” Lionel teased. Chloe pursed her lips.

“It’s not my fault they get better looking actors to play the bad guys,” Chloe protested. Lionel grinned.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he observed.

“You didn’t ask one,” she shot back.

“Are you attracted to my son?” Lionel asked. Chloe smiled and despite herself she let out a small giggle.

“You’re right. I didn’t answer you,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up her phone and went to lie down. Lionel hung up his end of the line and smiled to himself.

“This is working out better than I could have possibly planned,” he mused aloud.

~*~*~
Ch. 5
~*~*~

Chloe arose the next morning in the clothes she had been wearing the previous day. She rubbed her face as she got up and looked at her alarm clock. She couldn’t believe that she had literally slept away the previous day.

‘Well, talking to Lionel Luthor and then pretending two former friends don’t exist is hard work,’ she mused to herself. A small smile spread across her face at the thought. Sure Lionel was an asshole, but at least he admitted it. And he was interesting to talk to, not to mention persuasive. She hadn’t shared her crush on the villain Mr. Sark from Alias with anyone else, and she wondered what made her feel so at ease talking to him that she was able to share that piece of information with him.

She shook her head. ‘I’m just taking comfort in the fact that he doesn’t condemn me for actually having emotions,’ she thought. The banter had been similar to the conversations she had with Lex, except they hadn’t talked about anything related to Clark. It was nice, and even comforting in a really bizarre way. She took another quick glance at the clock. She just barely had time for a shower before she needed to leave for her next meeting with him. Chloe took a quick shower and then got dressed.

She was thrilled to find that Lana had already left for The Talon earlier that morning. It meant that she wouldn’t have to ignore her or pretend like she didn’t exist. That made things considerably easier for her. Her dad, on the other hand, was firmly placed on the couch going over the Sunday paper. She bit her lip. Chloe knew he wouldn’t be happy to learn that she was spending time with Lionel rather than Billings, since he hadn’t been happy about the entire situation to begin with, but she needed to tell him. If she hadn’t learned anything else from her experience, then she learned that hearing the truth first was much better than running into it like it was a brick wall. She walked down the stairs.

“Hey Dad,” she greeted. His eyes peeked up over the paper at her.

“Hey sweetheart,” he said. “You must have been really tired. You were out like a light.” Chloe smiled and nodded.

“I had a lot of sleep to catch up on,” she agreed. He grinned at her.

“So where are you off to?” Gabe asked. Chloe took a deeper breath than necessary and sat down on the edge of the coffee table.

“Well, you know how I kind of got sentenced to spending time with Billings?” She asked. He frowned and nodded.

“He’s making you meet with him on a Sunday?” Gabe asked in disbelief. “I don’t think he can do that.” Chloe shook her head.

“No,” she said. “Actually, and it’s kind of funny really---” She trailed off as her dad looked at her suspiciously.

“What’s going on that I don’t know about?” He asked. Chloe faked a grin.

‘I’ll just talk really fast and maybe he won’t catch it,’ she thought to herself.

“Billings doesn’t work for LuthorCorp anymore so I ended up having to spend time with Lionel Luthor, which was surprisingly not that bad, and I’m supposed to meet him for lunch today,” Chloe rushed out. Her dad gave her a blank stare and she smiled. ‘Good,’ she thought. ‘I told him so technically he can’t yell at me about it.’

“Lionel Luthor?” Gabe asked.

‘Crap,’ Chloe thought.

“You spent four hours with Lionel Luthor yesterday?” He asked in disbelief. Chloe grinned.

“Three hours plus travel time,” she corrected. “But like I said, it really wasn’t that bad.” Gabe shook his head.

“Chloe,” he said. The concern was evident in his voice. “I don’t think you should be doing this. You should call and cancel.” Chloe took another deep breath and then stood up.

“I can’t do that Dad,” she said. “I’m obligated to be there until I’ve resolved my anger management issues.” Gabe tilted his head at her.

“You could always take the classes, I’m sure that’s still an option,” he said. Chloe chuckled and shook her head as she got her stuff together.

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself,” she said. He set his paper down and crossed his arms.

“It’s taking care of yourself that got you into this mess in the first place,” Gabe reminded her. She let out a small laugh.

“Well, live and learn,” she replied. Chloe gave him a quick hug and then walked to the door.

“Chloe?” He said. She turned her head to look at him. “Try not to get sued.” Chloe smiled brightly.

“No promises,” she teased. She opened the door and left the house. Chloe hopped in her car and started toward the Luthor castle. She was feeling much better than she had been since the incident with the ‘nonexistent people’. She chuckled to herself when she remembered Lionel’s comment on the phone the previous day.

Although she would never admit it, she was looking forward to having lunch with him. It was nice to have someone to talk to. Chloe arrived at the manor and stepped out of her car. This time when the butler saw her at the door, he immediately let her in and said that he would announce her presence to Mr. Luthor. Chloe stood in the foyer for less than five minutes before she heard Lionel’s cane tapping along the floor. She resisted rolling her eyes and looked in his direction.

“Chloe,” Lionel greeted in a cheerful voice. He walked closer to her and extended his hand. Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“You want me to shake your hand?” She asked. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll break it off? I have unresolved anger issues you know.” Lionel chuckled.

“I’m fairly certain I can handle it,” he answered. She shook his hand and he extended his arm. “Lunch will be served in ten minutes. Shall we?” She took hold of his arm and began to walk with him. They walked down one of the corridors, but hadn’t reached the dining room when she decided to bring up what would no doubtedly be an interesting conversation piece.

“I told my dad,” she said. Lionel looked at her through the corner of his eye.

“You told your dad what?” He asked.

“That I was meeting with you instead of Billings,” she answered.

“Ah,” he replied and nodded once in acknowledgement. “And here I thought you might have opened up to him about what made you so angry in the first place.” Chloe let out a harsh half chuckle.

“Yeah right,” she said sarcastically.

“So what did your father have to say about it?” Lionel asked. Chloe kept her eyes focused on the long hallway in front of them.

“He wasn’t happy. I don’t think he likes you, I know he doesn’t trust you, and he doesn’t want me being around you,” Chloe answered. Lionel grinned.

“Smart man,” he mused. Chloe gave a genuine laugh that time and Lionel glanced at her in surprise. “You aren’t implying that you trust me?” Chloe shook her head.

“I don’t trust anybody,” she answered.

“Good girl,” he said. They reached the dining room and Chloe pretended to help Lionel to a seat at the end of the table. She took one of the chairs next to him and smiled. The food was already set out on the table and she began to spoon some pasta onto her plate.

“It’s killing you isn’t it?” She asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lionel lied.

“Okay,” she shrugged. Lionel grunted. He wanted to know what information Chloe had on Helen Bryce, but he wasn’t going to beg her for it. At least not yet. They didn’t get a chance to continue their conversation, because Lex and the doctor in question came walking into the room holding each other’s hands. Chloe grumbled almost inaudibly when she saw them walk in. She didn’t feel like being harassed today.

“Are we interrupting?” Lex asked. His eyes were focused on Chloe while he spoke.

“Of course not,” Lionel answered. “You’re welcome to join us if you haven’t eaten.” Chloe poked at the food on her plate so she wouldn’t have to talk to Lex. Lex pursed his lips when he saw that she was still being obstinate.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on Miss Sullivan’s brooding session,” Lex bit. Chloe’s head swung around to glare at him. Lex tilted his head to speak to his father. “And since you seem content to provide her with solace from the outside world, then I won’t get in your way.” Lionel was about to comment when Chloe lost her temper. She would be damned if she’d let this smug, self-righteous son of a bitch, get in the way of her brooding. She pushed herself away from the table and stood up to face him.

“What do you know about me?” Chloe started. Her voice was filled with anger, but she hadn’t raised her volume yet. “Nothing. Geez! You don’t know anything!” Now she was half yelling. Lex stood there and furrowed his brow at her. He hadn’t expected to be on the receiving end of a rant. “You don’t even know about the doctor you’re standing next to, even though you’ve been dating her for like two months now – which, by the way, I’m sure is a personal record for you.” Lionel tried to hide his amusement and Chloe continued. “Did you know that she’s only in Smallville on a *temporary* leave from Metropolis United Hospital? That’s right. Temporary. She goes back in another two and a half months. Do you even know why she came here? Of course not. Because you’re a guy, and like most guys you think with your dick.”

Lionel barely stifled a guffaw and couldn’t hide the smile on his face. He only wished that he could look at Lex to see his expression directly without making it obvious that he wasn’t really blind. Lex shook his head in disbelief, too shocked to speak, and Helen looked worried. Helen let go of Lex’s hand and crossed her arms. Obviously this girl in front of her knew something. Nobody else had found out about the temporary leave, she made sure of it.

“Well,” Chloe said. “I’ll tell you what Lex. For this one fleeting moment in time, I’m going to be your friend. Because *real* friends tell you the things that have an impact on your emotional well being.” Chloe motioned to Helen with her head as she spoke. “The woman beside you, you’re not her boyfriend. You’re the guy she’s cheating on her boyfriend with in hopes of getting private information about your company, because her real boyfriend is a rival of yours.” Lionel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and Lex turned to glance at Helen warily. “Does the name Sean Whitcomb ring any bells?” Lex’s expression was a cross between shock, hurt, and anger. “Yeah, I thought it might. I can’t tell you whether it was his idea or hers, but I *can* tell you that he knows about it and has been encouraging it.”

Lionel sat forward in his chair, desperately wanting to hear more. He was amazed that Chloe had been able to come up with all of this information, especially when his detectives had been unable to. Not to mention the fact that it seemed to be true because Helen wasn’t disputing it. He was gladder than ever that he went with his gut feeling to have her as an ally, because he now knew for certain that she would make a horrible enemy. Chloe turned to look at Helen.

“Too bad you’re evil, because I actually could have liked the idea of having another female in town who isn’t a brain dead space cadet,” Chloe finished. She took glared at Lex and then looked at Lionel. “If you’ll excuse me Mr. Luthor, I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.” She shook her head slightly and then walked passed Lex and Helen, not bothering to deal with the aftermath of her outburst. Lex was staring at Helen and Helen closed her eyes. She forced a small grin onto her face.

“If it makes you feel any better, I really do like you as a friend,” Helen said. Lex shook his head slightly.

“It doesn’t,” he replied. She nodded.

“I should be going,” Helen said. Lex squared his jaw and motioned to one of Lionel’s bodyguards who was standing nearby. The large man immediately came over and awaited his instructions.

“Have the driver take Dr. Bryce back to her *temporary* apartment, and make sure that guards have orders not to allow her on the property again,” Lex said coldly. The man nodded and grabbed Helen’s arm, proceeding to escort her out of the room. There was an uncomfortable silence as Lionel and Lex were left in the dining room alone. Lionel let out a small suffered sigh.

“Well,” Lionel finally said. “That was certainly – informative.” Lex closed his eyes for a second.

“Did you know?” Lex asked accusingly. Lionel shook his head.

“I’m afraid not,” Lionel admitted. “My detectives barely came up with anything. Chloe’s a treasure.” Lex glared at him.

“Is that why you’re forcing her to spend time with you?” Lex asked.

“As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not forcing her to do anything. She had the option of going to the same anger management classes that you attend or spending time with me, and she chose the latter,” Lionel explained.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Lex said. “Why wouldn’t she choose the classes?” Lionel smirked.

“Perhaps it’s because she doesn’t seem to be able to control her temper around you,” Lionel suggested. His tone then became somber. “Or perhaps it’s because she doesn’t want to be around a constant reminder of how her friends betrayed her.” Lionel picked up a fork and began to eat his food as if nothing had happened while Lex’s heart sank to his stomach. He closed his eyes again. He was more upset that Chloe would see him in such a negative light than he was about having Helen’s secret revealed. He opened his eyes and cast a glare at his father one more time before walking out of the room. He wasn’t going to let Lionel destroy her; not like he destroyed him.

~*~*~
Ch. 6
~*~*~

Chloe hadn’t even bothered to go to her car. She had every intention of leaving the house when she left the dining room, but she couldn’t go home like this. She sat down in the room that Lionel and she had their discussion in the previous day and buried her face in her hands. Chloe shook her head. She wasn’t going to let herself become an emotional wreck. She really hadn’t meant to be so cruel toward Lex, but for some reason she couldn’t help it.

When she saw him, with that brunette draping herself on his arm, it just made her mind flash to Clark and Lana, and she couldn’t handle it. Chloe took a deep breath. It was one thing to ignore them, or to even pretend that they didn’t exist, but it was another thing entirely to convince herself of it. She heard footsteps in the hallway near the door, but didn’t bother to turn around when it opened. She knew it wouldn’t be Lionel, because Lionel would have used his cane.

“Jennings said he saw you coming this way,” Lex said as he closed the door behind him. He walked over to the chair across from her and sat down as she said nothing. Chloe didn’t acknowledge him. She looked at the chess board as if it were the only thing in the room. “Chloe-”

“Don’t,” she warned in a quiet voice. Lex paused and took in her body language. She was more relaxed than she had been earlier, but still stiff and bordering on defensive. “I don’t want to fight with you,” she said, still not looking up at him. “I apologize for losing my temper.” Lex grinned.

“That seems to be happening a lot lately,” he observed. Chloe’s eyes traveled from the chess board to his eyes. She returned his grin, but just barely.

“Yeah, it does,” she agreed and then looked back down.

“Do you want to play or are you just trying to avoid talking to me?” Lex asked. Chloe looked at him and arched an eyebrow.

“If I said the latter, would you leave me alone?” She quipped.

“No,” Lex admitted. Chloe chuckled.

“Then why did you ask?” She retorted. Lex leaned forward in his chair.

“I’m worried about you,” he said. Chloe forced a neutral expression onto her face.

“Because I lost my temper with you?” She asked. “Or because I’m spending time with your dad?” Lex mimicked her emotionless expression.

“Both,” he replied. Despite not wanting to look at him earlier, Chloe now found that she couldn’t tear herself away from their strong eye contact. It had almost become a staring contest, or a battle of wills, and she wasn’t going to be the one to break first.

“Why do you care?” Chloe asked.

“Because I’m your friend Chloe,” Lex said sincerely. She shook her head.

“No you’re not,” she said. Lex furrowed his brow.

“You don’t consider us to be friends?” He asked.

“No,” Chloe said. “I don’t.” She paused for a second as she heard Lionel’s cane in the hallway. He opened up the door slightly and Chloe turned to watch him come in.

“Chloe?” Lionel called out as if he were actually blind. “The butler said you were in here.” She resisted smirking, but she did grin.

“Lex actually knows his name,” Chloe said to Lionel. Lex was surprised when Chloe used his first name, but definitely pleased. Lionel arched an eyebrow in amusement.

“Does he?” Lionel asked. “Well, good for you son.” Chloe started laughing and Lex sighed at his father’s response. Lionel tapped his cane over toward the decanter set. “And before you even start, yes. The butler mentioned that you had inquired as to Chloe’s whereabouts as well.”

“Ah,” Lex said casually. Lionel turned around after shakily pouring himself a small glass of bourbon.

“You drink way too much of that stuff you know,” Chloe commented. Lionel smirked after he took a sip.

“You weren’t concerned about my well being at all yesterday,” he pointed out. Chloe smiled.

“Well, you listened to me rattle on about Sark and such, so I kind of feel obligated now. By the way, if you ever repeat any of that---” Chloe stopped her warning when Lionel began to chuckle.

“My lips are sealed my dear,” Lionel responded. Chloe grinned and nodded as if that was an acceptable answer. Lex frowned deeply. His dad just called Chloe ‘dear’ for the second time in two days, and she still wasn’t trying to hurt him. Lex got that sinking feeling in his gut again and decided to do something about it. He looked at Chloe.

“He called you *dear*,” Lex said pointedly. Chloe stared at him blankly.

“It’s an expression Lex,” she answered nonchalantly. Lex’s frown didn’t lessen, even though she called him by his first name directly to his face.

“He called you *his* dear,” Lex said and then cast an angry glance at his father. Lionel sipped his drink and then smirked. Lex sounded like a jealous boyfriend. He wondered if Chloe noticed it too. Chloe shrugged.

“It’s *just* an expression,” she insisted. Lionel’s smirk turned into a steady grin. She noticed. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she noticed.

“Chloe,” Lionel said and turned his head in her direction. “I was thinking that it might do you some good to get out of Smallville for a little while. What do you think?” Lex’s eyes grew large with anger.

“You want to take her on a trip?!” He yelled and jumped out of his chair. “Gabe will never let you do that.” ‘And neither will I,’ Lex thought. Lionel, true to form, was completely unfazed by his son’s outburst.

“Not a trip per se,” Lionel said. “But Edward and Barbara are having their annual charity ball in Metropolis on Saturday, and I thought that Chloe might like to attend.” Chloe was taken completely aback by the invitation.

“No,” Lex stated vehemently and crossed his arms.

“Funny, you don’t sound like Chloe,” Lionel said dryly. Lex squared his jaw.

“You can’t take her to Metropolis Dad,” Lex said in a forced calm voice. “She’s sixteen. And even in *your* social circles, people will think you’re too old for her.” Lionel grinned with a fake innocence.

“I didn’t say she would be going with me,” Lionel pointed out. “I merely thought she might like to go.” He turned his head toward Chloe again. “Edward and Barbara have a son, Jack; he’s only a few years older than you and from what I’ve ascertained he doesn’t have a date for the event yet.” Lex’s jaw practically dropped open.

“Jack Montgomery?!” Lex yelled. “Have you lost your mind?!” Chloe looked between the two men with some amusement.

“What’s wrong with him?” Chloe asked. Lex turned to face her.

“You want a list?” Lex asked. Lionel rolled his eyes while Lex was facing Chloe and Chloe choked down her giggle.

“Nothing’s wrong with him,” Lionel protested. “He’s handsome, smart, wealthy ---”

“And completely evil,” Lex interjected. Chloe raised an eyebrow.

“Evil?” She asked. Lionel tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.

“He has a reputation for being somewhat mischievous, but I’m told that he’s always a complete gentleman around his parents, and given the fact that they are hosting the event, he shouldn’t be a problem. Certainly nothing that you can’t handle Chloe,” Lionel said. Chloe grinned.

“You’re not trying to set me up with him because of what we discussed the other day are you?” Chloe asked with a gleam in her eye. One corner of Lionel’s mouth lifted.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Lionel said, reminding her of her earlier warning. Chloe smiled.

“Okay,” she said. Chloe stood up and stretched her arms out slightly. “I have to get my dad’s permission, but it sounds like fun.” Lionel smiled smugly and Lex stared at her in disbelief. Lionel set his glass down and set out his cane.

“Wonderful,” he said. “I’ll set it up immediately. You don’t have a fear of heights do you?” Chloe looked at him warily.

“No-ooo. Why?” She asked suspiciously.

“We’ll be taking the helicopter,” Lionel stated as if there was no room for argument. “It’s much faster than being in a car for three hours, and we’ll still be able to get you home at an hour that your father will consider reasonable.” Chloe smiled and nodded.

“I’ll be sure to mention it when I ask if I can go,” she said. Lionel gave her a quick smile and then nodded his head in his son’s direction.

“Lex? Seeing as how I’m unfamiliar with Chloe’s appearance, would you be kind enough to escort her to the local dress shop and help her pick out something appropriate for the occasion?” Lionel asked, trying to hide the pleasure in his voice. Lex pursed his lips and then gave his dad a curt nod.

“Of course,” Lex answered tightly. Lionel gave them a small wave and then left the room. Chloe crossed her arms as she faced Lex.

“I’m perfectly capable of picking a dress on my own,” she argued. Lex grinned.

“But you’re not capable of paying for it,” Lex said. “And that’s what my father was implying.” Chloe frowned. Formal wear *was* expensive.

“Fine,” she said. “But if you think I’m going to let you pick it out, then you’re wrong. You’re *really* wrong.” Lex smirked.

“Yes dear,” he said. Chloe gave him a forced grin.

“*You* don’t get to call me that,” she said and turned on her heel to exit the room. Lex smiled and began to follow her.

“Oh, what? But my dad gets to?” Lex asked. Chloe smiled.

“Your dad talked to me for three hours yesterday,” she responded. “And invited me to have lunch today. He’s making an effort to try and be my friend.” The two kept walking down the hallway, both with somewhat friendly smiles on their faces.

“You never actually ate lunch though,” Lex reminded her. Chloe rolled her eyes.

“And whose fault was that?” She asked. Lex smirked.

“Technically yours,” he said. “You’re the one who walked out.” Chloe’s smile fell.

“Yelling at you made me lose my appetite,” she mumbled.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have yelled at me,” Lex offered in a quiet voice. She winced and then looked up at him as they reached the front door. The butler opened it for them and they stepped outside, the door closing behind them. Chloe stopped walking and looked up at him.

“Sorry about Dr. Bryce,” Chloe said, matching the volume level he had used. “Like I said, I really could have gotten used to the idea of not being the only woman in town who knows what the hell is going on.” Lex stared down into her eyes. He was struck with the overwhelming urge to kiss away the pain that was etched on her features. He even began to slowly lean toward her, but then she forced a smile onto her face and turned to start walking toward her car. “We should get going. They close early on Sundays.”

Lex closed his eyes for a moment while he took in what just happened. Was he developing feelings for Chloe Sullivan? He frowned. If he was then it was unlikely that she would return them. She had just gotten bad news about her long term crush on Clark and now she was going to attend one of the year’s biggest social events with Jack Montgomery. And despite what his dad said, mischievous didn’t even begin to describe him. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that was exactly what Chloe would be looking for. A guy who was the complete opposite of Clark Kent. He was snapped out of his thoughts by her voice.

“Are you coming or what?” She asked as she unlocked the driver’s side door of her car. He chuckled and started to walk toward one of his cars. She furrowed her brow. “Oh right, separate cars. Good idea,” she said. He shook his head and opened the passenger’s side door of his car for her.

“Just get in the car Chloe.”

scifichick774
19th April 2003, 14:47
~*~*~
Ch. 7
~*~*~

“Okay, how about this one?” Chloe asked and came out of the dressing room. She twirled around in front of Lex and he scowled at her. “What?” She asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance. It was the tenth dress she had modeled for him and he hadn’t liked any of them; or at least, he said he didn’t like any of them. “What could possibly be wrong with this one?” She asked and turned to look at herself in the triple sided mirror.

It was a beautiful dark red dress that hugged her curves without being too tight. True, the v-neck dipped a little lower than she would normally wear, but it wasn’t outlandish, and would still be considered safe compared to some of the dresses she’d seen in the society pages. The back of the dress was cut very low and left most of her skin on her back exposed, but she figured that compensated for the lack of skin that was showing (or rather not showing) on her legs. The dress was long and the train of it was longer. Even wearing higher heels than she would normally wear, the train was designed to almost have a wedding gown appearance and drag on the floor slightly. Lex frowned.

“You want to know what’s wrong with the dress?” Lex asked. She glared at him.

“That would be nice,” she said somewhat sarcastically. Lex stood up and circled around her as he eyed her form. The action made Chloe a little uncomfortable. “You couldn’t just tell me what was wrong with it while you were sitting down?” She asked. He stopped and smirked at her.

“*That’s* what’s wrong with it,” Lex said. Chloe creased her brow.

“What do you mean?” She asked. Lex kept a straight face while he explained.

“You don’t know Jack Montgomery,” he said. “If he sees you in that, then he’s going to be all over you the second his parents disappear from his sight.”

“Explain to me how that’s a bad thing,” She said. Chloe folded her arms across her chest. The motion pushed up her cleavage and Lex quickly diverted his eyes and went to sit down again.

“You want him pawing at you like a lovesick schoolboy?” Lex asked incredulously. Chloe got an impish smile on her face.

“Maybe,” she said. “What does he look like?” Lex glared at her and she chuckled. “I’m sure I can handle it Lex,” she finally said seriously. He was about to argue when The saleswoman who was helping them came over from talking on the phone. Lex bit back a groan when he saw the woman’s face light up at the sight of Chloe in the dress. The dresses were all around the same price, so he knew that wasn’t her motivation. Her reaction to seeing Chloe seemed genuine.

“My God! It’s like that dress was made for you,” the woman cooed. Chloe smirked at Lex.

“He doesn’t like it,” Chloe said and motioned to Lex with her head. The woman didn’t even look over at him.

“Then he’s blind,” the woman said simply. She shook her head as she smiled at Chloe. “I agree with him about the other dresses, but this one is just perfect.” Chloe’s smirk turned into a genuine smile.

“Thanks,” Chloe said. The saleswoman smiled back.

“Your party is on Saturday?” She asked. Chloe nodded. “Good. I can have it pressed and ready for you to pick up by Tuesday if you’d like.” Lex frowned and leaned forward.

“What part of ‘he doesn’t like it’ did you not understand?” He asked. He sounded like a spoiled child, but he couldn’t help his reaction. If he was suddenly thinking of taking Chloe to bed when he saw her in the dress, then he knew Jack’s reaction would be the same. Only Jack lacked the years of experience that Lex had of pushing down the hormones that prompted the reaction to begin with. The woman grinned evilly.

“I understood all of it,” she answered. “But I just got off the phone with your father and he said that he thought she’d look lovely in something this exact color, and it’s the only dress we have in stock that meets that requirement.” Lex ran a hand over his face.

“He can’t even see,” Lex mumbled to himself. “Why the hell does it matter what color she’s wearing?” Chloe smiled and looked over to the saleswoman.

“Do you have shoes to go with it?” Chloe asked. The woman happily nodded and brought some over for her to try on. Chloe found the pair she wanted with the first pair she tried on. “Great,” Chloe said to Lex. “Let me get changed and then we can leave.” She walked back to the dressing room and shut the door while Lex paid for the dress and shoes.

“You’re a very lucky man,” the woman behind the counter said. He arched an eyebrow at her.

“How do you figure?” He asked. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and then looked at the closed dressing room door.

“Your girlfriend,” she explained in a tone that said she thought he was an idiot for not getting what she meant before. “She’s beautiful, and she’s sure to turn a lot of heads at that party you’re going to.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Lex replied. The woman seemed surprised. ‘And that’s exactly what I’m worried is going to happen,’ he thought to himself.

“Oh,” she replied. “I’m sorry. I just assumed that since you were here, and your father called, and the way you kept looking at her---” Lex inwardly cringed. Had he been that obvious? He thought he had been fairly inconspicuous about looking at Chloe, but apparently that wasn’t the case if some small town dress store attendant could see it. There wasn’t much he could say to reply to her comment and that dismayed him. Luckily, fate intervened and Chloe came up to the counter.

“All ready?” Chloe asked. Lex nodded and then shot the saleswoman a warning look as he took the pickup slip. He handed it to Chloe and she smiled as she plucked it from his fingers. “Thanks Lex,” Chloe said. They walked out of the store and Lex opened her side of the car for her. “Hey Lex?” She asked before he closed the door. He held the door open and looked at her expectantly. “Do you think you might be able to speed just a little bit? We have to go to your house so I can pick up my car, and I might not make it home in time if you don’t.”

Lex looked at her questioningly, but shut her door and walked around the car to slip into the driver’s seat. He frowned and pulled away from the curb, his tires screeching as he did so. Neither of them noticed Clark and Lana coming out of The Talon as Lana closed it for the day. Clark and Lana exchanged a surprised expression.

“What was Chloe doing with Lex?” Lana asked. Clark shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Are you still going to try and talk to her tonight?” Lana frowned and nodded.

“I didn’t think she would be so upset by this Clark,” Lana said. “I mean, we haven’t even officially told her yet and she’s acting like we’re not in her life anymore.” Clark ran a hand through his hair.

“All we can do is try to still be her friends Lana,” Clark said. Lana smiled gently.

“When did you get so smart?” She teased. Clark blushed and Lana rose onto her tiptoes to kiss him. The atmosphere was quite different between Chloe and Lex in his car. She had been silent for a while and the fact that Lex still didn’t know about Sark was driving him crazy, and he knew that’s what she wanted to get home for. Still, it never hurt to ask.

“Get home in time for what?” Lex asked, breaking the silence that had surrounded them. He didn’t think Chloe would want to spend any time at home with Lana living there, so she would probably go home to get whatever she needed and then take off again. Chloe smiled.

“Sark,” she answered.
“Ah,” Lex said. He did as she previously requested, although he probably would have sped anyway. “And who is this Mr. Sark?” He finally asked. ‘May as well get it out in the open,’ he thought. She looked at him through the corner of her eye.

“You don’t know?” She asked. He copied the corner of the eye glance at her.

“I wouldn’t be asking if I knew,” he pointed out with some annoyance.

“Alias,” she said, like that explained everything. Lex furrowed his brow.

“Alias?” He questioned. She twisted her body in the chair so she could face him.

“Alias,” she repeated. “The show. Don’t you watch TV?” He arched an eyebrow.

“Not generally,” he said truthfully. Chloe stared at him in disbelief for a second and then went back to her previous position on the seat.

“That explains a lot,” she said to herself.

“So Alias,” he prodded. Chloe grinned.

“It’s a TV show,” she said. “Mr. Sark is one of the bad guys, well sort of, and it’s not like there are a lot of good guys on the show. All of them have good and bad qualities. It’s good though. It’s more like real life that way.”

“So when you said you had an appointment with him, you meant that you wanted to be home in time to watch it,” Lex clarified. Chloe smiled.

“Just now getting that huh?” She teased. Lex paused before speaking again.

“Does my dad know about this?” Lex asked. He pulled his car up into the driveway behind Chloe’s car.

“Of course,” Chloe said as she got out. He walked with her until she got to the driver’s side door of her own car.

“Why would you have an appointment with Sark then?” Lex asked in mild confusion. “Why not with one of the good guys?” Chloe blushed slightly, but managed to duck her head in time to hide it.

“Like I said, everybody on the show has good and bad qualities,” she said, trying to skirt his question. He leaned on the door so she couldn’t close it.

“So why him?” He asked again. Chloe shrugged.

“I like him,” she said.

“As a character,” Lex said. Chloe grinned.

“Not exactly what I meant,” she admitted. “But sure.” Lex stared blankly at her and moved away from the door in a daze over what she was telling him.

“Oh,” he finally said. “You *like* him.” Chloe smiled and shut the car door. She turned the key and started up her car.

“Bye Lex,” she said without confirming or denying the conclusion he had come to. She gave him a small wave and drove away. Lex shook his head to try and clear his confused thoughts. He thought that Chloe liked Clark. He walked into the house. It wasn’t that bad that she liked some actor or character on a TV show, it’s not like she was ever going to meet him or that he had anything to be jealous over. Lex was curious though. He went to his office and turned on the television. He primarily used it for presentation materials and such, but never had the time to watch the programming on it.

An advertisement for the show Chloe mentioned flashed on the screen and Lex’s stomach sank when he saw the character in question introduce himself to someone. He looked eerily similar to Jack Montgomery. Lex narrowed his eyes as bits and pieces of his father’s conversations with Chloe drifted through his head. There was no way that Lionel could know what the character looked like and coincidently set Chloe up with someone who could pass for his twin. All of the facts led to one conclusion. His father wasn’t blind.

Now the question arose as to what Lex should do about it. He paced his office weighing the different options, none of which seemed terribly appealing. He stopped dead in his tracks when one thought slipped in amongst the others. What if Chloe knew? She knew all of that information about Helen, not to mention many other things that their top detectives had trouble finding out. Certainly it wouldn’t have been difficult for someone with her keen insight to figure out that Lionel wasn’t blind. But if she did know, had she confronted Lionel about it already or was she keeping it to herself? Lex hoped it was the latter, because if it was the former, then she had no idea what she had gotten herself into.

~*~*~
Ch. 8
~*~*~

Gabe waited until Chloe was getting ready for bed that night to approach her. She finished brushing her teeth and had gone back to her bedroom when Gabe cleared his throat from the hallway to let her know that he was there. Chloe looked over at him and smiled brightly.

“Hey,” she greeted.

“Hey,” he repeated. He paused for a second as he observed her demeanor. Lana and Clark came to him earlier that day and explained what they thought was going on with her, but the attitude she was exuding now didn’t seem to mesh with what they told him. She seemed happy and confident and was humming to herself even though she knew he was in the room. “I haven’t gotten to see you much in the last couple of days,” Gabe finally said. Chloe nodded.

“I’ve been pretty busy,” she agreed. Gabe frowned.

“Busy meeting with Lionel Luthor?” He asked. She gave him a strange look.

“You already knew that,” she said. He nodded. She turned away from him and put some things away on her desk. “Did he call you yet?” Gabe raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“You knew he called me?” Gabe asked. Chloe smirked.

“I had a feeling he would,” she admitted. “So are you going to let me go?” Gabe frowned and put his hands in his pockets.

“From the way he said it, it doesn’t really sound like I have a choice,” he replied. Chloe chuckled and he grinned ever so slightly. “Besides, you already bought the dress.” Chloe laughter stopped but the smile remained fixed on her face.

“Did he tell you what color it was too?” She teased. He shook his head.

“Actually, Lana told me that she and Clark saw you coming out of a dress shop earlier today, and since they said you were with Lex---”

“You put one and one together,” she finished for him. He nodded. “I see.”

“Chloe, I can’t say that I’m entirely comfortable with this,” Gabe said carefully. She sat on her bed and pulled the covers up over her legs.

“With what?” She asked.

“You may not think that I’ve noticed, but I’ve seen what’s been going on,” Gabe said. Chloe braced herself for the oncoming lecture. “The way you’ve been acting around Lana, how you haven’t been taking any of Clark’s phone calls---” He grimaced and looked at her thoughtfully. “Are you seeing someone that you haven’t told me about?” Chloe’s eyes widened at the incorrect assumption.

“What?” She replied in surprise.

“You actually seemed happy after meeting with Lionel Luthor yesterday,” her father said hesitantly. “And then you go dress shopping with Lex---” He paused and shook his head. “Are you dating him Chloe?” Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“Am I dating *who*?” She asked, interested in what he was implying.

“I don’t know,” Gabe admitted. “Lex maybe, or Li--” Chloe’s laughter stopped him mid- sentence. “You can’t tell me that nothing is going on.” Chloe took a deep breath to steady herself, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she could feel the laughter threatening to erupt again.

“You don’t understand,” she finally replied. “It’s not like that.” Gabe frowned.

“Then what is it like?” He asked. Chloe sighed and tilted her head.

“Dad, I don’t know how it was when you were a teenager, but my life isn’t easy,” she said.

“No one’s life is easy Chloe,” he said. Chloe looked down.

“I know,” she said. “How can I explain this?” She paused for a second and then looked at her dad. “Have you ever felt like you were on the outside looking in?” Gabe furrowed his brow.

“What do you mean?” He asked. Chloe stared at him. She couldn’t be the only one who ever felt this way, she was sure of it. She took another breath.

“It’s complicated,” she said. “In a split second, people I think are my friends aren’t my friends anymore. And looking back, I wonder if they ever really were.” Gabe looked at her questioningly, but she turned her head.

“I didn’t think you were ever friends with the Luthors,” he said, although it came out as more of a question than a statement.

“I wasn’t talking about them,” she replied. “Mr. Luthor has been helping me get over the drama that has become my life. I know it sounds bizarre, but it’s really kind of – comforting – to know someone is there and accepts you for who you are.”

“It doesn’t sound strange at all,” Gabe said. “But you know you can always talk to me if you need to.” Chloe smiled.

“I wouldn’t want to put you in the middle of things Dad,” she said. “Lana is included in the group of people who used to be my friends, and she lives here too. Mr. Luthor is kind of like an impartial third party.” Gabe nodded in understanding.

“What about Lex? Where does he come in?” He asked. Chloe rolled her eyes and made a childish face.

“Lex is a pain in the---”

“Chloe,” her dad said warningly.

“Sorry,” she said in a completely unrepentant voice. “He only went to the store with me the other day because his dad was busy setting up my date with Jack Montgomery.” Gabe raised an eyebrow and Chloe smiled. “My date for the ball,” she explained.

“Oh thank God,” Gabe mumbled. Chloe looked bemused and Gabe let out a somewhat nervous chuckle. “Sorry, I just thought that---”

“You thought that I was going with Lex or Lionel,” she said. He nodded in embarrassment and Chloe shook her head. “Nope. Jack is only a few years older than me, and, if I may say – yum.” Gabe covered his face with his hand to hide the color that had risen to his cheeks. Chloe laughed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“It’s okay,” Gabe said. “How do you know this boy?”

“I don’t,” she said. “It’s kind of a blind date situation.”

“But you know what he looks like?”

“Well, yeah,” Chloe admitted. “I looked up his name on the Daily Planet’s website.” Gabe chuckled.

“I see,” he said. “So it’s only a blind date from his end of it.” Chloe smiled.

“Not my fault if he doesn’t know how to work a computer,” she responded. Gabe rolled his eyes. Chloe covered her mouth as she yawned. “Do you mind if we talk about this some other time? It’s late and I have school in the morning.” Gabe grinned compassionately and nodded.

“Sure,” he said. “Good night Chloe.” He walked to the door and gave her another grin before turning off the light and closing her door. Lana was waiting down the hallway, fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

“Well?” She asked in a hushed voice when Gabe walked over to her. He frowned.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “She’s going through something, but she wouldn’t give me any specifics.” Lana frowned. That wasn’t the answer she was hoping for.

“Do you think I should talk to her?” Lana asked. Gabe shook his head.

“I’d give her some time if I were you,” he said. “She mentioned something about you being in a group of people that she no longer considered to be her friends.” Lana’s heart sank and she visibly paled. Gabe grinned consolingly. “Just give her some time. She’ll come around.” Lana grinned tightly and nodded.

“Thanks,” she said. She knew Gabe was just trying to be nice, but she had a feeling that she knew Chloe better. Chloe could be incredibly stubborn when she wanted to be, and if she wasn’t considering Lana or the others her friends, then it wasn’t going to change any time soon.

~*~*~*~*~

Lionel was sitting in a chair listening to music when Lex approached him. Lionel pretended not to notice him, so Lex went over and turned off the stereo.

“Who’s there?” Lionel asked.

“Save it,” Lex said calmly. “I know you’re not blind. When did you regain your sight?” He circled around the chair like a vulture. “Or did you ever actually lose it?” Lionel kept his part up convincingly.

“May I ask what has warranted this accusation?” Lionel asked, still pretending to not be able to see. Lex leaned over the chair and got right in his face.

“You set Chloe up with Jack Montgomery, knowing that he looks almost identical to character on a TV show that she has a crush on,” he answered. One corner of Lionel’s mouth grinned.

“Does he?” He asked. “What a nice surprise. I’m sure she’ll be delighted when she finds out.” Lex scoffed.

“She’ll be suspicious,” Lex corrected and stood up straight again. He turned around so his back was facing his father. “Why risk it?” Lex asked. “Does she mean that much to you?” Lionel smirked.

“You’re sounding like a jealous boyfriend again,” Lionel observed. Lex swung his head around.

“Again?” Lex asked.

“Earlier today, you were outraged by the idea of me setting her up with Jack Montgomery,” Lionel reminded him, still not acknowledging the fact that he could see. Lex pursed his lips. “If you’re that upset about it, why not just come to the ball to keep an eye on her?”

“Because I hate those things,” Lex answered. Lionel shrugged.

“On occasion, sacrifices must be made,” he said cryptically. Lex glared at him and then crossed his arms.

“You still haven’t answered me,” Lex said.

“About what son?” Lionel asked. Lex squared his jaw.

“It’s a dangerous game you’re playing,” Lex answered and poured himself a drink. “With how you’ve been doting on her, Chloe will find out that you’re not really blind in no time.” He took a sip of the alcohol. “And then where will you be?” Lionel smiled.

“The same place I am now,” Lionel answered and rose from his seat. He shook his head and turned to the door without using his cane. “I’m surprised it took you so long to figure it out son. After all, you’re a Luthor, one would expect you to be a little quicker on the uptake.” Lex took another sip from his glass.

“Are you saying that Chloe already knows?” Lex asked. Lionel paused by the door.

“Chloe always knew,” he responded. “And she’s not even a Luthor---” He paused while he opened the door and set out his cane. He had to keep up appearances for the help. “--- Yet.” Lex’s glass crushed beneath his grip at Lionel’s words.

‘So that’s his plan,’ Lex thought. ‘Set her up with someone who could break her heart, yet again, so she’d become emotionally dependant on him for support.’ Lex ignored the blood dripping down from his hand and threw the remainder of the broken glass against the wall in frustration and anger. He walked away from it as if nothing had happened. “Looks like I’ll be making an appearance at the Montgomery’s Ball.”

~*~*~
Ch. 9
~*~*~

Chloe sat in the Torch office typing away at her computer. It was early, very early in the morning. It was the only time she knew that it would be safe to not run into Clark or Lana there. She supposed she couldn’t skip her classes for the day to avoid them, but the thought had crossed her mind. The footsteps in the hallway and the pause at the door alerted her that someone was there, but she didn’t stop typing.

“What do you want?” She asked harshly, and without even looking over to see who it was. She presumed it was Clark or Lana, but the voice that answered her snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Kind of a mean tone to greet a friend with, don’t you think?” Lex replied. Chloe stopped typing for a moment and turned her head to look at him.

“You’re not my friend,” she said dryly. Lex stepped into the office and closed the door behind him.

“I could be,” he said.

“What?”

“Your friend,” Lex said. Chloe squared her jaw and went back to typing.

“Pass,” she said. “What are you doing here?” She knew she sounded like a bitch, but at this point she didn’t care. Her anger about Clark and Lana had resurfaced when she overheard her dad talking to Lana the previous night. Even her own father was taking sides against her and Chloe felt more alone than ever.
Lex stepped closer to her.

“How long have you known about my father?” He asked. Chloe kept typing. She would need to hurry if she wanted to get her article done by the time Clark and Lana came to school.

“What about him?” She asked.

“That he’s regained his sight,” Lex said carefully. Chloe had an emotionless mask on her face.

“He never lost his sight,” she replied. “I’m surprised that he admitted it to you though.” Lex walked even closer to her and tried to stay calm.

“How did you find out?” He asked, forcing himself to quell his oncoming emotional reaction.

“I’m smart.”

“I know you are,” he said. “So why didn’t you say anything about it?”

“Who was I going to tell?” She asked. “He puts on a pretty convincing act if you hadn’t noticed already. Plus, I didn’t have substantial proof until he admitted it.”

“So is that what your article is about?” Lex asked. Chloe gave a self deprecating chuckle.

“No,” she replied. “Will the Crows be able to defeat the Bulldogs? Inside news on why we may lose yet again.” She rolled her eyes and typed her last sentence. Chloe clicked on her mouse to save the article and then shut the computer down.

“Are you going to write an article about it?” Lex pushed. Chloe turned around and looked at him in disbelief.

“I told him I wouldn’t,” she said, defending herself from the accusation. “And I wouldn’t do that anyway, not now.”

“Why not now?”

“Because,” Chloe said and then paused. “He’s the only friend I have right now.”

“He’s not your friend Chloe,” Lex said seriously. “He’s just using you.” Chloe crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.

“Yes, because a high school student plays a key part in whatever evil scheme he has going on,” she said sarcastically. She tried to step passed him but he blocked her.

“He’s been researching Clark,” Lex said in a somewhat concerned voice. It wasn’t a complete lie, and he really didn’t want to think about what his father had said the previous night. He doubted Chloe would believe him if he told her that Lionel intended to court her. “He knows that you’re a friend of Clark’s, maybe ---”

“Maybe what?!” Chloe interrupted angrily. “And for your information, he knows that I’m *not* a friend of Clark’s.” Lex reached out and touched her arm, but she yanked it away.

“You’re just saying that because you’re angry about him and Lana,” Lex said. “You’ll get over it and become friends again.” Chloe glared at him angrily and Lex could almost swear he saw fire burning in her eyes.

“Why does everyone find it so hard to believe that I could be friends with your dad?” She asked, purposefully steering the topic away from Clark and Lana. Lex opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe didn’t give him the chance. “I’m not saying that he’s compassionate or caring, but he’s smart and he accepts me for who I am. Hell, he actually pays attention to me when I’m in the same room with him.” Lex let out a suffered sigh and grabbed her upper arms.

“If you’re so smart, then why don’t you see what he’s doing?” Lex asked, letting his temper get the best of him. To her credit, Chloe was too upset to be intimidated.

“What is he doing Lex?! He’s taking time to talk to me and let me ramble on about things that mean nothing to him, he’s setting me up with a gorgeous guy who actually sounds interesting, he’s ---”

“You haven’t even seen him,” Lex interrupted. “What makes you think he’s gorgeous?” Chloe stopped her rant, surprised at Lex’s comment. A bemused smile fell upon her lips.

“Daily Planet website,” she replied. “They keep an archive of all the society pages.”

“Oh,” Lex said. Chloe looked down at his hands on her arms and he released them. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

“Look, I’m sorry for yelling at you. Believe it or not, I really don’t want to fight with you,” Chloe said. Lex’s expression softened.

“And yet that seems to be all we do,” he observed. Chloe nodded.

“Maybe it would be better if we just stayed away from each other then,” she said.

“So you can shut me out of your life like you’ve done with Clark and Lana?” Lex asked. He immediately regretted the quip when he saw the pain flash across Chloe’s face. He reached out for her again, but she moved out of the way.

“Exactly like that,” she replied while she looked at the floor. Lex smirked.

“You might find that more difficult since you’re developing a ‘friendship’ with my dad,” he said. “If you hadn’t noticed, we do live in the same house.” Chloe shrugged, but didn’t look up at him.

“Lana lives in my house and it hasn’t stopped me from ignoring her,” she pointed out.

“Chloe ---” Lex started, but stopped when she held up a hand.

“Just don’t,” she said quietly. “I’ve already got this lecture last night, and I really don’t feel like hearing it again.” Lex frowned.

“Your dad spoke with you?” He asked.

“It was an experience that I don’t care to relive, thank you very much,” she said. Lex’s frowned deepened. From the sound of it, Gabe had sided with Lana and Clark. Lex was never going to convince her not to see his dad on a social basis anymore if she thought that he was on Clark’s side, which she obviously did.

“I’m not on anyone’s side,” Lex said. Chloe looked up at him. “I understand that you’re hurting, and I can help you.” Chloe looked away.

“I think you’ve done enough,” she said bitterly.

“I didn’t get them together,” Lex protested.

“I’m sure you nudging them in that direction for the last year didn’t hurt,” Chloe observed. Lex was silent for a moment as he thought about what to say next.

“If I tried to help you get him back, would you believe that I want to be your friend?” He asked. Chloe scoffed.

“To ‘get him back’ implies that I had him in the first place,” Chloe said. “And I didn’t.”

“But you’d still like to,” Lex said. Chloe appeared pensive and Lex looked at her questioningly. She shook her head.

“No,” she said. “I don’t want to be second choice to anyone.” Lex nodded. He understood that feeling.

“So what can I do to convince you that I’m a neutral party and that you and I can become friends?” Lex asked. Chloe’s eyes sparkled and she smiled as she latched her arm onto his. He glanced down at the touch, wondering if she felt the same spark that shot through his body when she touched him.

“You can tell me more about Jack,” she said in a persuasive voice. “I heard you’re friends with one of his older brothers.” Lex inwardly groaned. Okay, apparently she hadn’t felt anything when she touched him – or she was ignoring it if she did. Lex found himself hoping for the latter.

“I don’t know how much I can tell you,” Lex said. “Ian and Jack don’t exactly run in the same circles.” Chloe shrugged.

“They’re brothers,” she protested. “He’s got to have told you something.”

“All I know is that he’s evil,” Lex said. Chloe swatted her free hand across belly and Lex smiled at her.

“He’s not evil,” she said.

“You asked,” Lex pointed out. Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Not for your opinion,” she said. “I wanted actual details.” Lex got a mischievous gleam in his eye when he thought about what to say.

“Okay,” Lex said. “Ian said that he heard Jack’s ex-girlfriend say that Jack isn’t good in bed.” Chloe laughed loudly. “Not the response I was expecting,” Lex admitted. Chloe smiled.

“Takes two to tango,” she said. “Maybe she just wasn’t vocal enough about what she wanted.” Lex raised an eyebrow at her and Chloe turned her face away to hide the blush that was rising to her cheeks. She unlatched her arm from his and cleared her throat. “Can you tell your dad that I’ll be by a little bit after school?”

“That would make it three days in a row. You’re only required to see him twice a week,” Lex said as he frowned.

“I know,” Chloe said. “But the dress shop called and they said that the dress was ready for pick up, so I thought I could come by and show it to him. Plus, I have something that I want to talk to him about.”

“Are you going to have him sick his guard dogs on me for talking to you?” Lex half joked. He had a feeling that Lionel would do it in a second if Chloe asked him to.

“Tempting, but no,” Chloe said. “I thought he and I could come up with a good lie for him to have miraculously regained his sight.” Lex raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. “What? You don’t think that he’d be the star of the ball if he ‘suddenly’ regained his sight?” Lex gave her a curt nod.

“I’ll tell him.”

“Thanks,” she said and grabbed some books. “I have to get to class before I risk running into anyone in the hallway.” She opened the door and let him step through. She locked it behind them and flashed him a bright smile before turning the other direction. “Bye!” Lex watched her walk down the hall before heading the opposite direction. Chloe was coming up with lies for his father? Lionel was definitely a negative influence on her. Lex needed to think of a way to get her away from his father, and more pressing, how to get her away from Jack Montgomery before he broke her heart and fell into Lionel’s waiting arms.

scifichick774
19th April 2003, 14:50
~*~*~
Ch. 10
~*~*~

Chloe managed to avoid her ‘previous friends’ for most of the day. Even during the classes she had with them, she lied to her teachers and told them that she needed a different seat because she was having trouble concentrating – a lie that the teachers more than willingly believed. Unfortunately, she knew that all good things must come to an end and Chloe braced herself when Clark cornered her by her locker after her last class. She tried to avoid making eye contact with him, but he placed his hands on the wall on both sides of her, effectively trapping her there. Chloe let out a suffered sigh and looked up at him. Instead of speaking to him, she shot him an annoyed and expectant look. Clark looked like she had just kicked him in the gut.

“Chloe, why are you acting like this? Why are you avoiding us?” Clark asked. His voice was hushed as to not draw attention to them. Rumors spread like wildfire in their school, and the last thing he needed was someone getting the wrong impression and having it get back to Lana. Chloe said nothing, but the pain and anger etched on her face spoke volumes. Clark’s expression softened. “We were going to tell you,” he said. Chloe pushed her emotions down and her face took on a blank expression that showed nothing of how she was actually feeling. Clark felt ill at the fact that Chloe had only been talking to Lionel for a few days and had already seemed to master such a very Luthor-like look.

“You don’t owe me any explanations,” Chloe said coldly. “But somehow I expected better of you. After all, we used to be friends.” Her words were clear when she stated that their friendship no longer existed. Clark paled at the implication.

“We’re still friends,” he said hopefully. Chloe shook her head, still no emotion on her face.

“No,” she said. “We’re not. We haven’t been friends for a long time; it just took me a while to realize it.” Clark’s arms dropped to his sides in shock and he looked severely pained at what she just told him. Chloe took advantage of the fact that she was no longer trapped there and started to walk away, but Clark grabbed her arm and spun her back around.

“We’re still friends Chloe,” he said insistently. Chloe knew she shouldn’t respond and tried to quell her temper, but she couldn’t force it down.

“No, we used to be friends,” she repeated. “I have become the person that you come to when you need something looked up or you need research that you’re too inept to find out for yourself. Those are the only times that you seem to deem me worthy to talk to anymore, and that Clark Kent, is not a friendship.” With that, she tugged her arm out of his loosened grip and turned on her heel to walk away. Clark stared at her retreating form in disbelief. He didn’t know what he was expecting when he decided to confront her, but that wasn’t it.

Chloe hurried to her car and took a deep breath to keep herself from crying. The confrontation with Clark could have gone worse, but it was still incredibly upsetting. Chloe pulled out of the parking lot and started driving toward the dress shop downtown. She really just wanted to be alone right now and was regretting the fact that she told Lex to tell his dad to expect her, because she knew he wouldn’t forgive her if she didn’t show up. She pulled in front of the dress shop and the cell phone in her bag started ringing. Chloe groaned. It was probably Clark, or Lana, or maybe even Pete, calling to tell her how she was overreacting and that she needed severe psychological help. Thankfully she had caller identification on it and she ran her hand through her hair as she picked up her phone.

“Hello?” Chloe asked in a raspy voice. She was on the edge of tears as it was and wasn’t sure she could hold it in for much longer.

“Where are you? Is something wrong?” Lionel asked. Chloe went into the dress store and gave a small wave to the sales associate with her free hand.

“I’m picking up my dress,” Chloe said.

“I see,” Lionel said. “And the answer to my second question?” Chloe paused. He was probably only willing to put up with so much, and she doubted that a full on emotional breakdown was part of it. Still, she may as well tell him the truth, because he was going to find out anyway.

“Clark and I had a confrontation after school today,” she said, trying to dull it down as much as possible.

“I thought you were ignoring him?”

“Kind of hard to ignore somebody when they have a death grip on your arm,” she replied. She rubbed the spot with her hand. “I hope I don’t get a bruise,” she murmured.

“Ruffian,” Lionel said under his breath. Chloe grinned. “He upset you, didn’t he?”

“You could say that,” Chloe said somewhat sarcastically. Her voice was shaky, but she was working on trying to calm it.

“No doubt you had the last word,” Lionel said. Chloe smiled.

“Of course,” she said. There was a slight pause as she took hold of the garment bag and shoe box. “I’ll be over in a little bit, give me about fifteen minutes.”

“Do you need me to send my driver for you?” Lionel asked. Chloe walked to her car and put the items in the trunk.

“No, I’ve got my car with me.”

“You shouldn’t be driving when you’re upset dear,” Lionel said seriously.

“I’ll be fine,” Chloe said as she slipped into the driver’s seat. “No big deal.” Lionel scoffed.

“Your car is barely safe under normal circumstances, let alone if you’re driving after an assault by the young Mr. Kent,” Lionel said. Chloe laughed.

“I’d hardly call it an assault,” she said.

“I’d still feel better if you allowed my driver to come and pick you up,” he said.

“Too late,” Chloe replied. “I’m already on the road.”

“God you’re stubborn,” he said. Chloe smiled.

“I’ll be there soon. Talk to you then,” she said. Chloe clicked off her phone and drove toward the Luthor estate. Her brief chat with Lionel had already calmed her nerves considerably. She was a little surprised that he hadn’t brought up what she discussed with Lex that morning, but she figured that he didn’t want to discuss it on the phone. Lionel Luthor had every right to be paranoid in his position. Chloe pulled up in front of the house and smiled to herself as she retrieved the items from the trunk of her car. When she had first visited the house, for her ill fated interview with Lex, she thought it was kind of pretentious, but it now felt oddly comforting. So comforting, in fact, that she almost opened the front door without ringing the bell first. Chloe caught herself and shuffled the dress and shoes to one arm while she rang the bell with her other hand. The butler opened the door and gave her the same staunch look that he gave her every other time she had been by.

“Mr. Luthor said to show you to his office the minute you arrived,” the man said. He turned and walked in the direction of the office, knowing that Chloe would follow him without having to resort to asking her to. They reached the door and the butler opened it for her. “Ms. Sullivan has arrived sir,” he said to Lionel. Chloe stepped into the room, but turned around to smile at the butler.

“Thanks,” she said. He nodded once and then left, closing the door behind him. Chloe smiled at Lionel and he returned the sentiment. Lex was in the room also and he frowned playfully at her.

“No greeting for me?” He asked with mock hurt.

“I’m glad to see you got here in one piece,” Lionel interrupted. Chloe rolled her eyes, but there was no animosity behind it.

“You wanna see the dress?” She asked happily. Lex frowned and this time it wasn’t fake.

“If you can call it that,” he said under his breath. She glared at him and then hung up the dress bag. She unzipped it and took it out enough just to show Lionel how it looked.

“It’s lovely,” Lionel commented. “I’m sure you’ll look striking in it.” Chloe smiled at his approval.

“Thanks,” she said. Lex grumbled something and Lionel looked over at him.

“Problem son?” He asked with a slight smirk on his face. Lex forced a grin onto his lips.

“He’ll be all over her,” Lex said through gritted teeth. “I told her that and she got the dress anyway.” Lionel arched an eyebrow at Chloe, who in return just grinned with an impish gleam in her eye.

“To be fair, he didn’t approve of any of the dresses,” Chloe said to Lionel. Lex cleared his throat.

“I don’t suppose we could get to the business at hand?” Lex asked. “I’m sure that Miss Sullivan has lots of things to do today.” Chloe took a seat in the chair next to Lionel’s and Lex frowned. She was already seeking his father’s approval, and what was worse is that she was getting it. Chloe turned in her chair so she could talk to Lionel.

“Okay, I’ve been thinking about this all day, and I’ve only been able to come up with a few things,” she said. Lionel listened intently while Lex poured himself a drink. It was a little early in the day, but if he had to stay in the same room with Chloe and his father – and he did have to stay because there was no chance in hell he was ever leaving her in a room alone with him again – then he needed something to keep his spirits up. “First, is the soap opera scenario.” Lionel grinned. “You could say that you fell down the stairs and your vision came back as a result.”

“Or I could push you,” Lex offered with a small smirk as he raised his glass to his lips. Lionel ignored him.

“Go on,” Lionel said.

“Second, you could say that you’ve been having your scientists experiment with different things, like the meteor rocks, that aren’t found outside of Smallville, and one of the formulas finally worked,” Chloe said. She frowned a little. “Unfortunately, you’d probably have to actually have them do some bogus research so you could back up your claim.”

“Hmm,” Lionel said as he seemed to think about it.

“And, the last thing that I was able to come up with, is that you could say someone tried to poison you,” Chloe said. Lex seemed to perk up at the idea. “Now, before you reject this one, you should know that I’ve done some research, and there actually have been cases where people regain lost senses due to foreign and toxic substances being introduced into their bloodstream. Of course, you’d have to pretend to figure out who would have access to kill you and all that.” Chloe took a deep breath and then continued. “Out of the ones that I came up with, I think the first is the most viable.”

“Not the second?” Lex asked in surprise. “You’re leaving your beloved meteor rocks out in the cold?” He teased. She shot him a quick glare and then returned her attention to Lionel.

“People will be familiar with the urban legend quality of regaining your sight, or memory, or whatever it is, after suffering a fall or a bump on the head. It will be the one that most people will readily accept, and you don’t need to get anyone to substantiate your story. All you have to do is say you fell during a time when nobody will be by the stairs,” Chloe explained. Lionel grinned at her. “So what do you think?” Lionel picked up her hand and gave it a chaste kiss. Lex squared his jaw.

“I think you’re a remarkable young woman,” Lionel said in a doting manner and didn’t release her hand. Chloe blushed ever so slightly. “If you believe that I should fake a fall down the stairs, then I agree.” Chloe smiled at him.

“Great!” She said. Chloe turned to Lex. “So what do you think?” Lex raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“You’re actually bothering to ask my opinion on it?” He asked. Chloe’s smile fell and she could feel her temper rising to the surface.

“I just thought you might have an opinion since he *is* your dad and everything,” she bit. Lionel gave her hand a small squeeze. “I know, I know,” she said. “Temper.” She half rolled her eyes and Lionel grinned.

“I have a surprise for you,” he said to her. Both Chloe and Lex looked at him. Lionel smiled inwardly at how both of them reacted. “I’ve managed to talk your young man into coming to Smallville this Friday.” Lex’s eyes grew wide with anger.

“What?” He asked. Lionel’s grin didn’t falter.

“He’ll spend the night here and then fly with us to the ball,” Lionel said. “That way you and he can spend some time getting to know each other before being pushed into such an awkward first date.” Chloe smiled and Lex glared at him.

“You’re joking,” Lex said. “I won’t have Jack Montgomery stay in my house!” Lionel sloughed off his son’s comment with a wave of his hand.

“It’s already been arranged,” Lionel said.

“Wow,” Chloe said. “That’s amazing! Thank you!” She got out of her chair quickly and gave Lionel a quick hug. It took him completely by surprise, but he patted her on the back and smirked at Lex when she pulled away.

“Now that we’ve come to an agreement on how to handle my situation, I think we should discuss yours,” Lionel said. Chloe looked at him with some confusion. “You can’t keep ignoring Mr. Kent and Ms. Lang,” Lionel said. “You’re going to keep running into them as long as you’re going to school with them.” Chloe frowned and absently rubbed her arm. Lionel frowned. “Did he leave a bruise?” He asked.

“I haven’t checked,” Chloe admitted. Lex furrowed his brow.

“Did *who* leave a bruise?” Lex asked. Lionel frowned at him.

“Clark grabbed her arm rather forcefully today at school,” Lionel answered. Lex seemed completely taken aback by the information. He had never known Clark to be a violent person. Lionel turned back to Chloe. “I think you should consider not going to that school anymore,” he said seriously. “There are a number of private tutors who could teach you ---”

“She doesn’t just go to school to be around her friends Dad,” Lex interrupted. “She’s the editor of The Torch as well.”

“If she went through private tutoring, then in all likelihood she would graduate early, and therefore start at any paper she desired to work for earlier,” Lionel summarized. Chloe smiled gently.

“Well, as nice as that thought is, I doubt my Dad would be able to pay for something like that,” she said. Lionel gave another wave of his hand as if it were nothing.

“It will be taken care of,” Lionel said. Chloe tilted her head at him.

“Even if I did get private schooling, I’d still be living with Lana,” Chloe said. “And even if my Dad did let me move out, I wouldn’t have anywhere to go.” She frowned. “There’s no escape,” she mumbled. Lionel grinned and touched his fingertips together.

“I’ve been thinking about that as well,” Lionel said. Lex narrowed his eyes at him.

‘I’ll bet you have,’ he thought.

“There’s more than enough room here,” Lionel said. Chloe smiled and shook her head.

“I would feel like I was imposing,” she said with an understanding look at Lex. The gesture didn’t escape Lionel’s attention and he grinned.

“Of course, how inconsiderate of me. I hadn’t taken the fact that Lex and Clark are friends into account,” Lionel said. He paused for a second, allowing time for his grin to turn into a smirk. “You’re welcome to stay at my penthouse in Metropolis. I think you’ll find it most accommodating.” It took all of Lex’s self control not to hit his father.

“She’s not moving to Metropolis Dad,” Lex said angrily through a clenched jaw.

“She would be closer to Jack if she did,” Lionel countered. He smiled at Chloe. “Assuming that you two hit it off, which I’m sure you will.” Lex made a noise that sounded remarkably like a growl and then stormed out of the room. There was no way he was going to let Lionel move Chloe into his apartment in Metropolis. No way. He’d make sure that Gabe would vehemently oppose it as well, and then Chloe wouldn’t have any choice but to stay in Smallville. Chloe and Lionel looked at each other after Lex left the room angrily. Lionel smirked and shrugged. “Apparently his anger management classes aren’t working as well as yours are.”

~*~*~
Ch. 11
~*~*~

“Chloe! Phone!” Gabe yelled from the other room. Chloe came in from the kitchen and smiled at her dad as she took the receiver from him.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Sullivan?” The woman on the other end of the line asked.

“Yes.” Chloe noticed her dad trying to be inconspicuous about watching her through the corner of his eye. He had been set on edge since the conversation he had with Lex the previous afternoon about Lionel asking her to move into his house or apartment. Chloe tried to explain to her dad that she turned him down, but he was still watching her much more closely than he had been before. In fact, the only reason he probably let her have the phone was because it was a woman who was speaking. He didn’t know that Lionel had her cell phone number.

“This is Marjorie Phillips at Smallville General,” the woman said. Chloe furrowed her brow, but then it struck her that Lionel must have faked his fall.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry to inform you that Lionel Luthor has been in accident and ---”

“Oh my God!” Chloe said in a worried voice. “What happened? Is he alright?” She patted herself on the back for acting so concerned when she knew what his plan was all along. Her dad seemed to buy it. She could see that him getting up from the couch to stand by her.

“He’s in with the doctors now,” Marjorie said. “He insisted that I call you even though your name isn’t on his next of kin list.” The woman’s voice didn’t hold back her displeasure of the situation. “Are you family?”

“Do you know if he’s alright? I’ll come down there right now. Tell him I’m on my way.” Chloe rushed the words out in a half panicked voice, purposefully leaving out the answer to the woman’s question.

“Ma’am,” Marjorie said in an irritated manner. “If you’re not family then the doctors won’t let you see him.”

“Then why did you call me?! What’s the matter with you?!” Chloe shouted back angrily. “You know what? Don’t answer that. I’m leaving right now, tell him that I’m on my way and tell the doctors that if they know what’s good for them then they won’t get in my way.” The woman was shocked by Chloe’s response. She was about to say something when she heard Chloe hang up her end of the line. Gabe gave Chloe an expectant look but she was already grabbing her things in a frantic rush to get out the door.

“Is something wrong? Where are you going?” He asked. Chloe barely looked at him, but Gabe saw the panic and worry etched in her features.

“Mr. Luthor was in an accident and he’s at the hospital,” she explained. Chloe even through in a small bit of having her hands shake to make the act believable. “They won’t tell me anything else and I need to see how he is.” She gave her dad a quick peck on the cheek and sprinted to the door. “Bye!” Gabe didn’t know how to react to the information. On one hand, he didn’t like to see anybody get hurt – but on the other hand, it *was* Lionel Luthor; the man most people referred to as the devil, and the same man who Chloe had formed an unlikely friendship with. At least Gabe hoped it was just friendship. Chloe kept reassuring him that it was, but her reaction to the news that he was in the hospital suggested that there was something more that lurked beneath the surface. Gabe groaned and ran a hand over his face.

Chloe drove quickly to the hospital. She knew if she got pulled over that she could explain the situation to the officer and probably even get a police escort instead of a speeding ticket. Lionel might be evil, but he had lots of money and lots of connections. Very few people in Smallville, especially those in law enforcement, would intentionally cross him. She briskly walked in through the hospital doors and went up to the nurse behind the desk. The nurse took in the fact that Chloe looked completely distraught and gave her a sympathetic grin.

“Can I help you?” She asked. Chloe nodded.

“They called. Someone from the hospital called,” Chloe clarified. “They said that he was in an accident, but they wouldn’t give me any details.” Chloe barely resisted smiling broadly at how well she was pulling this off. The nurse punched up something on her computer.

“It’s going to be okay honey. What’s his name?” She asked.

“Lionel Luthor,” Chloe answered. The nurse blinked her eyes rapidly in surprise at Chloe for a second before typing it in.

“He’s been moved to a private room, but they’re only allowing family in to see him,” she read. The nurse looked at Chloe again. “You said they called you?” Chloe nodded and the woman frowned when she reread the monitor in front of her. “I only have his son listed as a contact.”

‘Shit,’ Chloe thought. ‘Now I have to deal with all of these incompetent people getting in the way of my plan. Stupid Lionel. He just had to go to the hospital to have it verified didn’t he?’

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Chloe said in a confused tone. “I think the woman said her name was something Phillips. I kind of blanked it out after she told me he was hurt.” Chloe shook her head and ran a hand through her hair in mock despair.

“Marjorie Phillips?” The nurse asked. Chloe shrugged slightly.

“Maybe,” she offered. “I’m sorry I can’t help you more. I just – do you know if he’s okay?” ‘Good Sullivan, just keep the concern focused on him and not the accident. You’ll sound less like a reporter that way,’ she thought to herself. The nurse picked up a phone and dialed an extension number.

“Hi Marjorie, it’s Amy in the ER,” the nurse said. “I have a,” she paused and covered the speaker portion of the receiver. “I’m sorry sweetie; I didn’t catch your name.”

“Chloe Sullivan.”

“Chloe Sullivan,” Amy continued. “She’s saying that ---” Amy stopped talking as Marjorie spoke to her and she paled when she looked up at Chloe. “I see. Yes. I’ll get someone down here right away.” Amy hung up the phone and smiled nervously at Chloe. “You didn’t tell me you were his son’s fiancée,” Amy told her. “That’s still considered family. I’ll get someone down here to show you to the room right away.” Chloe tried very hard not to let the shock show on her face, but she was sure that it showed anyway. She looked like she was going to pass out and Amy moved quickly to the other side of the desk to help steady her. “Are you okay? You don’t look so well.” Chloe shook her head and turned around to find an empty chair when she heard a familiar voice call to her from behind.

“Chloe!” Lex called. He was coming out of one of the hospital’s hallways when Chloe turned around to face him. Just looking at his face, Chloe could tell that he was putting on a good act too. He immediately walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Chloe creased her brow and didn’t return the hug right away. Lex pulled back slightly, but still kept her in his embrace. “Are you alright?” Chloe saw the look in Lex’s eyes and matched it with one of her own.

“They called and said your dad was in an accident,” she responded in a choked voice that sounded like she was on the edge of spilling tears. Lex was surprised when Chloe placed her hands on his chest lovingly. “Is he okay? What happened?”

‘May as well take advantage of the situation,’ Lex thought to himself. “Shh,” he said and kissed her forehead as he brought her into a tighter hug again. One of his hands started to stroke the back of her hair and Chloe wondered what she had just gotten herself into. “He’s fine. He’s lucky.” Lex kissed the top of her head and Chloe tried to push him away, but Lex held her close. “He broke his arm, and he’s going to have some bad bruising, but he’s fine.” This time Chloe gathered the strength to push against him enough to make him loosen his embrace.

“He broke his arm?” She asked in surprise. Lex tried to hide his smirk, but it still came through in his eyes. Chloe frowned. There was obviously more to the story than what they had originally agreed upon. Lex noticed a few nurses and several people in the waiting area looking at them. He knew that the nurses would be expecting more of a show after hearing that the cover story that he and Chloe were engaged. He cupped her face with his hands gently and tried not to laugh at the questioning and concerned look in her eyes.

“The important thing is that he’s going to be okay,” Lex said. He leaned down and captured her mouth with his before she had a chance to react. Lex’s kiss was soft at first and then increased with intensity. Chloe responded to him, but she told herself it was only for the sake of the cover that she thought Lionel had set up for them. She didn’t know that Lex was the one who came up with the idea and his father only begrudgingly agreed after an hour of Lex convincing him that it was the most realistic scenario. Lex pulled away to see Chloe’s eyes half closed and her lips swollen from being kissed. He brushed his lips against hers again. “We should go see him,” he whispered as their mouths barely touched. “He’s been asking for you.” Chloe blinked and pulled away as she came back down to reality.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Let’s go.” She started to walk ahead of him toward the hallway, but he quickly caught up with her and placed his hand on the small of her back. After they turned a corner she glared at him. “What the hell was all that about?” She asked angrily, forcing herself to keep her voice down. Lex grinned.

“I had to make it look good,” he responded. Lex tilted his head toward her. “You’re supposed to be my fiancée you know.” Chloe rolled her eyes.

“I can’t believe your dad ambushed me with that story,” Chloe ranted. “And what’s more is that I can’t believe people actually believed it.” Lex eyed her with amusement.

“They have no reason not to believe it,” Lex said. They reached the elevators and Lex pushed the up arrow. Chloe shook her head.

“They should know just by looking at us that we don’t like each other,” she said as she stepped onto the elevator. Lex followed her and the doors closed. He leaned back against the railing after pressing the floor number.

“I suppose I should tell you, since you’ll find out anyway, that my dad isn’t the one who came up with the cover,” Lex said in an emotionless tone. Chloe narrowed her eyes at him and a small smirk appeared on his lips.

“What?” She asked in a displeased and accusatory tone.

“He actually suggested that he should play the role of your betrothed, but I convinced him that people wouldn’t believe it,” Lex said, his smirk growing a little larger. Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head a little in exasperation.

“God you’re an ass,” she said. Lex shrugged. “And how is this supposed to help me on my upcoming date with Jack?” The smirk fell from Lex’s face. “Or did you even think about that? People in small towns like to talk you know. By the time I go back home my dad will think that I’m actually engaged to you. And if I try to go anywhere with Jack on Friday, people are going to think I’m some sort of tramp.” Chloe half rolled her eyes in a pensive manner. “Of course, people here are used to you dating women like that, so they’ll probably think that anyway.”

“Hey!” Lex said. “I was trying to help you. You’re the one who came up with this ridiculous scheme in the first place.”

“For you dad to say that he regained his eyesight,” Chloe argued. “You didn’t need to make me come to the hospital at all. You could have completely left me out of it.” Lex took a few steps, closing the gap between them. He placed his hands on both sides of her, gripping the railing that she was leaning against.

“Just for the record – bringing you to the hospital wasn’t my idea. I believe my father wanted you to see the result of your handiwork.” His face got closer to hers and his tone softened. “I was trying to be your friend Chloe. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

“Destroying companies, killing people, starting wars in third world countries,” Chloe listed off in a nonchalant manner. “He’s evil. I get it, okay?” Lex ducked his head to look at the floor and then shook it as he looked back up at her.

“No you don’t,” Lex said. “Why do you think I took over the role of your fiancée?”

“I have no idea,” Chloe replied honestly.

“Because he wanted the role Chloe,” Lex said insistently. “Because he *wants* the role.” Chloe furrowed her brow and Lex stepped back a step. He ran his hand over the back of his neck in frustration. “The fact that he’s doting on you, and that he basically asked you to move in with him, and that he’s setting you up with Jack Montgomery because he knows that the kid will probably try to emotionally break you and you’ll rely even more on him – don’t any of these things add up for you?” Chloe stared at him in complete disbelief. The elevator doors opened and Chloe walked through first.

“You’ve lost your mind,” she said. “I knew that you and your dad didn’t get along, but I didn’t know that you misinterpret every action he makes.” Lex sighed.

“If you don’t believe me, then ask him,” Lex said and strode ahead of her by a few paces. “I doubt he’ll deny it.”

~*~*~
Ch. 12
~*~*~

Chloe followed Lex into Lionel’s hospital room. The sight in front of her was enough to make her gasp. Lionel looked more like he had been hit by a car than had fallen down stairs. He had bumps and bruises, scratches, stitches, bandages, and his arm was in a cast. She immediately rushed to his side, not even noticing that one of his nurses was also in the room.

“Oh my God! It’s worse than I thought! Are you alright?” Chloe rambled with genuine concern. Lionel was surprised by her reaction. He expected her to fake emotion in front of the hospital staff, but he mused that her response to seeing him wounded seemed authentic. He grinned slightly and she sat down in the chair next to him.

“I’m fine dear,” Lionel said. He shot a pointed look at Lex. “Did Alexander tell you the good news from this mishap?” Chloe took note that the older woman was in the room and she shook her head.

“Good news? How can there be any good news? You look terrible,” she said. Lionel chuckled.

“And you look lovely,” Lionel said and reached out to grab her hand. Chloe looked down at the contact and then back up into his eyes.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. Lionel was pleased with her act and he could tell that the nurse believed it as well. It wouldn’t be long before every paper and newscast across the country was announcing the story that he had regained his sight because of some freak accident at home. The nurse smiled at the scene in front of her. She had always heard Lionel referred to as a horrible human being, but his son’s fiancée obviously really cared for him and he for her. Someone who was marrying Lex for his money wouldn’t be overcome with emotion for his father’s well being, so Lionel must not be as bad as people said. The woman chose that moment to leave the room, closing the door behind her.

“I can see,” Lionel confirmed. Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again as if she was overcome with emotion. She practically jumped out of her chair and gave him a big hug. Lionel cringed when she accidentally touched his cast and she pulled back.

“Oh, oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Lex rolled his eyes.

“She’s gone now,” he said dryly. Chloe looked over at him with some confusion. “The nurse is gone, you can stop the act.”

“Good,” Chloe said. She turned back to face Lionel and scowled at him. “I said to *fake* a fall down the stairs, not actually *do* it. What were you thinking?” Lionel grinned at her.

“And for a moment there I thought you might actually be worried about me,” he mused. Chloe frowned and fidgeted with her hands.

“I was,” she admitted. “I didn’t expect you to break your arm and have all of these bruises.”

“Neither did I,” Lionel said and gave Lex a pointed glare. Chloe’s head whipped around to look at him.

“What did you do?” Her tone was accusatory and Lex smirked as he gave her a small shrug.

“I may have assisted,” Lex said cryptically. Chloe’s hands bunched into fists.

“You pushed him?”

“I wouldn’t say *pushed*,” Lex said, keeping his voice level. The smirk grew a little larger. “Nudged perhaps.” Chloe shook her head in disbelief.

“You’re unbelievable!” Chloe glared at him. “First you come up with that horrible cover story that we’re engaged, kiss me in front of the whole ER lobby, and then you push your own dad down the stairs?!”

“Technically, the last one came first,” Lex said thoughtfully. Chloe narrowed her eyes, but shook her head again to try and clear her anger.

“You kissed her?” Lionel asked Lex in surprise. One corner of Lex’s mouth curled upward.

“I didn’t think they’d believe that we were engaged otherwise,” Lex said. Chloe shot him a small glare and then went to sit next to Lionel again.

“When did your son lose his mind?” Chloe asked him in exasperation. Lionel arched an eyebrow at Lex and then grinned at Chloe.

“You can’t lose something you never had my dear,” he joked. Lex grunted in displeasure and they both looked over at him. Lex looked at Chloe expectantly.

“Ask him,” Lex reminded her. Chloe gave a small aggravated sigh, rolled her eyes, and then she looked at Lionel.

“Ask me what?” Lionel asked and reached for her hand. She grinned and took his hand, the action in and of itself making Lex want to throw up. He didn’t understand how such a smart woman could be so blind when it came to such an obviously evil person.

“Lex thinks that you want to marry me,” she said dryly. There was a gleam in Lionel’s eyes and a small grin twitched at the corners of his lips.

“Does he?” Lionel asked.

“And before you even say it, yes, I know that’s not a question,” Chloe said. “But he flipped out about it on the way up to your room and said that he doubted that you’d deny it if I asked you.” Lionel’s grin grew into a small smirk.

“I see,” he replied. Lex folded his arms across his chest and gave Chloe an ‘I told you so’ look.

“And you’ll notice that he has yet to deny it,” Lex said. Chloe simply shook her head.

“You’re delusional,” she said. Lex noticed that Chloe was still holding Lionel’s hand in a comforting manner and he squared his jaw.

“Tell her,” Lex said through gritted teeth to his father. Lionel smirked back at him, only increasing Lex’s rage. “Tell her!” Lex demanded. Lionel let out a mock sigh and turned his attention to Chloe.

“I believe he’s referring to a comment I made about you not being a Luthor,” Lionel told her. Chloe’s eyebrows rose and she released Lionel’s hand.

“Yet,” Lex corrected. “You said she wasn’t a Luthor *yet*.”

“And you took that to mean that he wanted to marry me?” Chloe asked. Lex tilted his head.

“How would you take it?” Lex asked incredulously. Chloe shrugged.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe because he’s been trying to help me control my temper and stuff; maybe he just wants me to develop a thick outer skin like a Luthor?” Chloe shot a questioning look at Lionel and he nodded his head.

“Precisely,” Lionel agreed. “I’m surprised you jumped to such a different conclusion Alexander.” Chloe caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall and frowned. She stood up and Lionel looked at her quizzically.

“I should get going,” Chloe said. She leaned down and gave Lionel a small hug, making sure not to bump into his wounded arm, and then a peck on the cheek. “Don’t give the nurses too hard of a time,” she teased with a smile. Her smile fell to a serious expression when she walked over to Lex. “Are we okay now that you know what your dad really meant?” Chloe asked in a hushed voice. He gave her a curt nod in response.

“Do you want me to walk you to your car?” Lex asked. Chloe smiled.

“I think I can handle it,” she said. Lex grinned at her tone.

“I don’t know,” he teased. “Now that people think we’re engaged ---” Chloe’s groan cut him off and he smiled.

“You’d better think of a way to clear that up and fast,” Chloe told him. Lex smirked at her.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied. Chloe gave Lionel one last small wave, said goodbye, and then left the room. Lex leaned his back against the closed door and looked at his dad, who appeared deep in thought. “You’ve been quiet,” Lex observed.

“Mmm,” Lionel agreed noncommittally. Lex took a few steps forward.

“You’re not going to lecture me about kissing Chloe?” Lex asked. Lionel partially snapped out of his thoughts and turned his eyes upon his son. The expression on his face was serious and thoughtful; more than enough to make Lex’s grin fall.

“Do you ever feel regret son?” Lionel asked. Lex arched an eyebrow and a smirk twitched at his lips.

“You want me to feel sorry about kissing her?” He quipped. Lionel sloughed off his comment with a wave of his good hand. “Alright,” Lex said. “Dare I ask what’s got you thinking about regrets then?” Lionel stared at the door that Chloe had passed through just moments before.

“She was worried about me,” Lionel stated. Lex nodded and took a step closer to the bed.

“She was,” Lex said in agreement as he sat down in the chair closest to the wall. “You should have seen the look on her face when I told her you broke your arm.” Lionel frowned. “Is that what you’re feeling regret about?” Lex asked hopefully, leaning forward in his chair as he did so. “About this whole mess that you’ve gotten her into?” Lionel shook his head and kept his eyes fixed on the door.

“Actually, I was regretting having set her up with Jack Montgomery,” Lionel admitted. Lex arched an eyebrow and waited for his father to continue. “I wonder if it’s too late to call and cancel.”

“And what brought on this sudden surge of remorse?” Lex questioned. There was a pause before Lionel responded; so much so that Lex wondered whether his father was going to give him an answer at all.

“She was worried about me son,” Lionel finally said.

“Yes, we’ve established that already,” Lex said dryly. Lionel sighed.

“If you were to fall ill or get in a horrible accident, how many people can you say would be genuinely concerned for your well being?” Lionel asked, giving his son a pointed look. Lex furrowed his brow and leaned back in his chair. “Two? Three?” Lex nodded. “Most people have several more than that,” Lionel said. “But being Luthor hasn’t afforded me the luxury of friendship.” Lex scoffed.

“You brought that upon yourself Dad,” Lex said. “The Luthor name had nothing to do with it.” Lionel shrugged.

“Perhaps,” he agreed. “The point is that I have someone who accepts me now, evil tendencies and all.” He said the last part with a small smirk aimed in Lex’s direction. Lex closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head.

“You don’t *have* her Dad,” Lex argued. “The only reason Chloe is spending time with you is because you took advantage of her situation with Clark and Lana.”

“The entire purpose to life is taking advantages of the opportunities that are handed to you,” Lionel quipped.

“Why am I not surprised that that’s your philosophy for life?” Lex asked sarcastically. Lionel grinned.

“You may not believe in it, but you certainly adhere to it,” Lionel observed. “Speaking of which, did you enjoy kissing Ms. Sullivan?” Lex’s eyes widened in surprise at his father’s comment and Lionel smirked. “There’s no need to deny it. I saw the look on your face when she was ranting at you about it.” Lex decided to take a page from Lionel’s book and take advantage of the situation.

“I wasn’t going to deny it,” Lex said. Lionel’s eyebrow rose as Lex got a faraway look on face, complimented by a small grin. “In fact, it was quite – memorable.” Lex noticed the look on his father’s face and he smirked. “You look jealous Dad,” he observed.

“Not at all,” Lionel said. ‘Just changing my strategy,’ he thought. Lex narrowed his eyes at him.

“She’ll never be yours you know. You’re deceiving yourself if you think otherwise,” Lex said. The corners of Lionel’s mouth curled upward.

“That sounded like a challenge son,” he said.

“Not a challenge – a warning,” Lex corrected. Lionel was amused and smiled broadly at Lex’s attempt to threaten him.

“And will you be issuing this *warning* to young Mr. Montgomery as well?” Lionel asked. Lex placed his tongue in the corner of his mouth thoughtfully and Lionel’s smile turned into a prominent smirk. “Well, things are about to get very interesting then aren’t they?”

scifichick774
19th April 2003, 14:55
~*~*~
Ch. 13
~*~*~

Knowing that Lana would be stuck at The Talon for another couple of hours, Chloe went straight home from the hospital. And although she knew that gossip traveled fast in her small town, she wasn’t prepared for exactly how fast. She opened the front door and started walking toward the stairs when she caught sight of her dad in the corner of her eye. He was leaning against the doorframe leading into the kitchen and he didn’t look happy. His arms were folded across his chest and his expression was a mixture of anger and sadness.

“Hi Dad,” she greeted. Her tone wasn’t upbeat, but she knew that he wouldn’t expect it to be after coming back from the hospital.

“I hear congratulations are in order,” Gabe said morosely. Chloe tried to hide her wince and it turned into a small sigh. She ran her hand through her hair and looked up from the ground at him.

“I wish I could say that I didn’t know what you meant by that,” she said. Gabe frowned as he stared at his daughter.

“Me too,” he said. There was a lapse in the conversation as they looked at each other.

“You do realize that I’m not really engaged to Lex and that he only told the hospital that so they’d let me see his dad?” Chloe asked. Gabe’s expression remained stone-like.

“I see,” Gabe said. Chloe looked at him in disbelief.

“Dad, do you honestly believe that I would marry Lex Luthor? Let alone get engaged when I’m sixteen?” She asked incredulously. Gabe opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe could tell from the look on his face that he wasn’t receptive to what she was saying. “You’re not going to believe me are you?” She asked. Her tone unmasked how disappointed and upset she was with the revelation. “No matter what I say, even if it’s the truth, you’re not going to believe me.” Chloe shook her head to try and calm herself down. “Unbelievable,” she mumbled. Chloe turned away from him and started back toward the stairs, but her father’s voice stopped her progress.

“You have to admit that you’ve been acting a little strange lately Chloe,” Gabe said. “For some reason you’re alienating your friends ---”

“They’re not my friends anymore and I’m not sure they ever really were. I already told you that,” she interrupted.

“You’re hanging out with Lionel Luthor ---”

“So?!” Chloe asked angrily. She spun around to face him again. “Even if I was sleeping with him,” she said and watched her father cringe. Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’m not. But even if I was, you should still take my side Dad. *I* should still be the one you believe, because *I* am the one who’s your daughter.” Chloe was on the verge of tears and was just barely able to keep the water clouding her vision from pouring down her cheeks. Gabe stepped closer to her.

“Normally I would sweetheart,” he said. “But ---” Chloe shook her head again.

“There’s the thing Dad – there is no *but*. Either you believe me or you don’t. Either you trust me or you don’t. Either you’re on my side or you’re not. There’s no middle ground,” Chloe ranted. Gabe shook his head and Chloe felt a sharp stab of pain when she saw the suffering etched on his features. Gabe looked down at the floor.

“Clark came to see me yesterday,” Gabe said.

‘Of course he did, Lana lives here,’ Chloe thought. She didn’t say anything though, so Gabe continued.

“He said that you blew up at him at school for no reason. He and Lana both say that you’ve been ignoring them, and that you’ve even gone so far as to have your seats in your classes changed so you wouldn’t have to sit next to them.” Gabe shook his head again in frustration. “I just don’t know what’s going on with you Chloe. It’s not like you to be like this.” Chloe closed her eyes and a few tears slipped out of them. They wove tiny trails on her face until she wiped them away with a couple of quick movements of her hand. She was going to have to approach this from a different angle if she was going to get her dad to sympathize with her even a little bit. Chloe felt a twinge of guilt before she did what she felt needed to be done, but she couldn’t let Lana and Clark ruin her life. She just couldn’t.

“Clark said that I blew up at him for no reason?” She asked through a choked voice. Gabe nodded. “Would you like to see what he did to me when I refused to continue our little *chat*?” Gabe furrowed his brow and Chloe took off her sweater, revealing the short sleeved t-shirt on underneath it. Chloe took the cuff of one of the arms and pulled it up. She turned to show her dad the giant bruise that had formed where Clark grabbed her the previous day. “I had a reason,” she said. Gabe’s eyes grew large and Chloe dropped the cuff and grabbed her sweater. “But right now I don’t really feel like explaining it to you.” Chloe shook her head at her dad. “I’ll talk to you later.” Her things in hand, she grabbed her coat as well and started toward the front door.

“Chloe, you can’t just leave,” Gabe said. Chloe paused with one hand already on the door knob. “Be logical. You live here. Where would you go?” Chloe gritted her teeth at the ‘be logical’ comment. As if it wasn’t bad enough already that her own father was taking Clark and Lana’s side against her, but now he was telling her that she was being illogical and perhaps even irrational?

‘Hell, no!’ Chloe thought. She didn’t look back at her dad, but she did answer him. “Does it matter?”

She walked out the door and got in her car. Only after a good hour and a half of driving along all the back country roads did Chloe begin to think that she may have been too hasty in her retreat from her house. The sky had turned dark, the temperature had cooled considerably, and snow began to drift down from the sky. Chloe sighed and kept driving with no destination in mind. She silently wondered if there was a motel nearby. Looking out at the vast farmland in front of her, she sincerely doubted it. Her car made a sputtering noise and then gradually pulled to a stop. Chloe looked at the gauges and groaned. How could she have forgotten to fill up the tank with gas?

“Well I guess that settles the question of where to spend the night,” Chloe mumbled to herself. Luckily, she always kept a warm blanket in the trunk of her car for emergencies. She got out of the car, retrieved the blanket, and then crawled into the back seat and locked the doors. She stretched out as much as she could, covering herself with the blanket. The warmth that lingered from when her car was on was almost gone and Chloe found herself shivering even though she was surrounded by an extra layer of heavy material. She thought about the last week and how disastrous her so-called plan had actually turned out. She had really only intended to shut Clark and Lana out of her life, not get in a fight with her dad or become friends with Lionel Luthor. Not to mention the fake engagement to Lex just so she could get in to see Lionel. Chloe smiled to herself. ‘He may be an ass, but he’s a great kisser,’ she thought. ‘Of course, I’ll never tell *him* that.’ Despite the now freezing temperature in the car, she slowly gave into her body’s need for sleep and let her eyes flutter closed.

~*~*~*~*~

“What do you mean she’s missing?” Lana asked. She and Clark waited expectantly for his answer as Gabe ran a hand over his face.

“We had a fight,” he explained. “She left and she hasn’t come back yet. Her cell phone is turned off and I’ve called everywhere I can think that she would go.” He cringed slightly. “I even called the Luthors’ place and the hospital.” Lana frowned and shot a worried look to Clark.

“I’ll go look for her,” Clark offered. Gabe shook his head.

“You can’t,” he said. “You’ve seen what the weather’s like out there. It’s freezing and nobody expected it to snow as much as it did. Your parents don’t even think it’s safe for you to drive home tonight Clark.”

“I have to try,” Clark said. His guilt over the situation overtook his body and Gabe looked at him sympathetically.

“This isn’t your fault Clark,” Gabe said. He held up his hand as Clark opened his mouth to speak again. “I know about the bruise and I’m sure that it was just an accident. I know that you would never hurt Chloe intentionally.” Clark’s heart sank and he wrapped his arms around his stomach to try and quell the uneasy feeling. He realized that he had hurt her, emotionally and physically, and even though neither was intentional, it didn’t make him feel any better about it.

“Well, it’s stopped snowing now,” Lana said and looked hopefully at Clark. “Maybe you could ask Lex to send out someone in his helicopter to look for her?” Clark’s eyes brightened.

“Good idea,” he agreed.

“Bad idea,” Gabe argued. The teenagers looked at him quizzically. “In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s pitch black outside.”

“I’m sure they have search lights or something,” Clark said. Gabe didn’t look convinced and Clark furrowed his brow. “Is there something else that you’re not telling us?” Gabe closed his eyes and let out a small sigh.

“Lex was part of the reason we were fighting,” Gabe said. He paused for a second in thought. “Well, sort of.” Clark and Lana exchanged a confused look and Gabe eyed them with understanding. “You didn’t hear apparently.”

“Hear what?” Lana asked.

“Lionel was in an accident and ---”

“Lex’s dad was in an accident?” Clark interrupted in surprise. His eyebrows rose up with his statement and Gabe couldn’t help the small grin that spread across his lips.

“You’re a little out of the loop, aren’t you?” Gabe asked. He took a breath and then continued. “Chloe says that Lex told the hospital staff that they were engaged so they would let her in to see his dad,” he paused and looked at the floor, “but to be honest, I just don’t know.” His eyes lifted to meet Clark and Lana’s expressions of shock. “It’s not every day you get phone calls congratulating you on your teenage daughter’s engagement.” He shook his head. “I overreacted and Chloe responded to it.” Gabe paused again and let his head drop. “I should have believed her. I should have told her I believed her. Then this whole thing wouldn’t have happened.” Clark reached out and sympathetically placed his hand on Gabe’s shoulder.

“We’ll find her,” Clark said reassuringly. “Let me call Lex.” Gabe pursed his lips and then nodded.

“Okay,” he reluctantly agreed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next afternoon, Chloe woke up warm and sweating. She furrowed her brow as she tried to take inventory of her surroundings. She knew she fell asleep in her car, so why was she now lying in a bed that was completely foreign to her? She tried to push herself up to a sitting position so she could get a better look at the room she was in, but her head started to spin and she lay back down. An older woman wearing a nurse’s uniform came into the large bedroom and smiled at her.

“You’re up,” the woman greeted. Chloe’s vision started to blur with her increased dizziness.

“Where am I?” Chloe asked. The nurse didn’t answer, but instead stuck a thermometer into Chloe’s mouth. It made a beeping noise and the woman frowned when she read it.

“Poor girl,” she said. “You had a rough night last night didn’t you? It doesn’t look like your fever is breaking, so I’m going to get you some water and some medicine to see if we can bring it down. Okay?” Chloe absently made a partial nodding motion with her head. “Would you like a cold compress as well dear?” Chloe closed her eyes. The ‘dear’ comment reminded her of the conversation she had with Lex about Lionel calling her dear. Her eyes jerked open again.

“Where am I?” Chloe asked again. The nurse frowned and wiped Chloe’s forehead with a damp cloth.

“Do you remember what happened? Your name?” The woman asked. Chloe felt so dizzy that she couldn’t even form a proper eye roll.

“Of course I ---” Chloe trailed off when she realized what the nurse was implying. The woman clearly expected her to recognize her surroundings, but because Chloe’s vision was hazy she couldn’t make anything out. “The room is spinning,” Chloe said. “I can’t make anything out. Can you please tell me where I am?” Chloe forced her voice to sound panicked and frightened rather than bitchy. The nurse opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t get a chance.

“How is she?”

Chloe recognized the masculine voice immediately and her head turned to try and focus on the figure coming toward her.

“Lex?” Chloe asked. Lex sat down on the edge of the bed and ran the back of his hand along her cheek.

“How are you feeling?” Lex asked. Chloe closed her eyes and unknowingly leant into his touch. It took him a little off guard, but he felt a small grin start to twitch at the corners of his mouth.

“Bad,” Chloe answered dryly. Lex chuckled. He glanced at the nurse and the woman caught the signal to leave them alone in the room. Lex turned his attention back to Chloe.

“Sleeping in the back of a car during the middle of a snowstorm will do that to you,” Lex quipped.

“Ha ha,” Chloe said sarcastically. Her eyes were still closed and Lex let his fingers drift away from her cheek. He absently started running them along her arm, trying to ignore how good the contact between them felt.

“Why didn’t you just come here?” Lex asked seriously. Chloe slowly opened her eyes. She was still dizzy, but the room wasn’t spinning as much. She had already surmised that she was in Lex’s home when she heard his voice, but the site in front of her confirmed it. She managed to focus on Lex’s concerned face.

“Why would I come here?” She asked with some confusion. Lex arched an eyebrow at her. He had assumed that she would seek refuge in the castle because she was friends with his father, and technically Lionel had asked her to move in there.

“No reason,” he lied. If she wouldn’t think to come there, then she wasn’t completely under whatever thrall Lionel had over her. And Lex wasn’t about to ruin that by talking about it. Chloe gave him a wary smile.

“So much concern from my faux fiancé,” she said somewhat sarcastically. Lex grinned at her. She may have been through hell, but she still had her snark. He swept some hair behind her ear and let his hand linger on her skin, brushing her cheekbone softly with his thumb. Chloe sighed and closed her eyes again. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” Lex leaned closer to her.

“Depends what you consider trouble,” he answered in a hushed voice. Chloe kept her eyes closed as she tried to relieve the remaining dizziness.

“You know, grounding, burning at the stake, that sort of th-” Lex brushed his lips against hers and Chloe’s eyes shot open in shock. “Wha-?” Lex’s mouth pressed against hers a little harder and soon she found herself reciprocating the kiss. Lex wove his hand into her hair as his body hovered above her. He slid his tongue between her lips and Chloe let out a small moan at the contact. The nurse came back to the room, water in one hand and medication in another, and cleared her throat to alert them to her presence. She gave Lex a scornful glare.

“She’s supposed to be *resting*,” the woman said. Lex glared at her, but the older woman placed one hand on her hip and returned the intimidating look. She shook her head at him. “She’s never going to be well enough to go to that fancy ball in Metropolis you’ve been talking about if you keep on like that,” she said. Chloe blushed. She hadn’t intended to kiss Lex, but once it started she found it difficult to tear herself away from him.

‘That can’t be a good sign,’ Chloe thought to herself. Not to mention the fact that she was supposed to be going to the ball with a different guy. Chloe groaned and Lex and the nurse immediately turned to face her, worry written on their faces. The nurse leaned over and felt her forehead. She grumbled something to herself and held out some medicine and a glass of water. Chloe frowned, but accepted them. The nurse glanced at Lex.

“Something to bring down the fever, and a sedative to help her sleep,” she said. Lex responded with a curt nod and the nurse eyed him impatiently. Lex gave her a tight grin and stood up. He turned back to face Chloe.

“I’ll be back to check on you later, okay?” He asked. Chloe nodded and then took a sip of the water to wash down the pills that the nurse had given her. She watched Lex leave the room and close the door behind him. The nurse shook her head in amusement. She smiled down at Chloe.

“No offense, but your fiancé is a pain in the ass,” she quipped. Chloe chuckled and was about to correct the woman about the truth of her relationship, or non-relationship as the case may be, with Lex but the nurse continued speaking. “But he sat with you all night and most of this morning.” Chloe couldn’t hide the surprise from reaching her face. The nurse smiled at her again. “At least you know he really loves you.”

~*~*~
Ch. 14

This part takes place on Friday morning.
~*~*~

Lionel’s car drove slowly down the snow covered country roads as he sat in the back seat complaining that they weren’t going any faster.

“It’s not safe Mr. Luthor,” the driver informed him. “You wouldn’t want to get in another accident after just being released from the hospital, would you?” Lionel pursed his lips and leaned back in his seat. Lex had obviously paid his chauffer well to make sure that he took as long as possible driving him home and Lionel wanted to know why. He paused for a moment before speaking.

“I’ll double it,” he finally said. The driver looked at him through the rearview mirror.

“Pardon, sir?”

“Whatever my son paid you to drive me home at this horrifically slow speed, I’ll double it if you go faster,” Lionel said.

“But he,” the driver stopped talking and thought about it. Lex hadn’t actually given him anything to drive at the speed he was going. He was just trying to be careful since there had been more snowfall the previous night. Of course, he didn’t have to tell Lionel that. And seeing as how Lex hadn’t given him any money, he could pretty much name his own price. ‘If the old guy has a death wish, far be it from me to deny it,’ he thought to himself. “Yes, sir,” he said and stepped on the gas pedal.

The car slid on the ice a few times, but they got there safely. The chauffer hopped out of the car and opened Lionel’s door for him. Lionel got out as quickly as he could, but winced in pain as his cast hit against the door when he got out.

“Would you like me to get the front door for you too, Mr. Luthor?” The younger man asked. Lionel barely resisted rolling his eyes. He hated suck-ups and always had. That was one of the reasons he had been drawn to Chloe. There were few people without personal vendettas against him that were unafraid to speak their minds in his presence.

“Yes, thank you,” Lionel said with a forced politeness. They briskly walked up to the front door and the driver opened it for him with a smile. ‘Nothing like money to promote good service,’ Lionel mused. He hadn’t taken two steps into the house before another car pulled up behind his. Lionel turned around when he heard the car approach. He arched an eyebrow and waited for the man to get out of his car. “Good morning, Mr. Sullivan,” he greeted. “What brings you here?” Gabe closed the distance between them and shot a scowl at Lionel.

“I think you know,” Gabe replied and pushed his way passed the chauffer and into the house. Lionel inwardly frowned, but managed to keep an emotionless mask on his face. He didn’t have time to deal with Chloe’s father rambling at him about spending time with her, and he was growing impatient to find out what Lex was trying to keep him from.

“Actually, I don’t,” Lionel replied in a neutral tone. “Why don’t you enlighten me?” Gabe narrowed his eyes at him.

“Where is she?”

“She?” Lionel asked. “May I presume you mean Chloe?” Gabe let out a breath of disbelief at Lionel’s gall. “How would I know where she is? As you may have noticed, I was just released from the hospital, and Lex has hardly kept me abreast of the local news.” Gabe crossed his arms.

“You want me to believe that my daughter is staying at your house and you know nothing about it?” He asked and arched an eyebrow. “I ---”

“Chloe’s staying here?” Lionel asked with surprise. “Well, that certainly explains why Lex was in no hurry to see me come home.” A bemused grin crept across his lips. “Besides for the fact that he hates me of course,” he joked.

“Of course,” Gabe agreed. “So where is she?”

“Mr. Sullivan, I assure you ---,”

“Gabe,” Lex interrupted as he walked into the room. He looked at Lionel with a stone-like expression. “Dad.”

“Son,” Lionel acknowledged. “Mr. Sullivan has just informed me that ---”

“Chloe’s staying here,” Lex confirmed. “It’s a long story, but I’m sure I can find time to fill you in as Gabe and Chloe talk.” He turned his attention to Gabe. “She’s in the solarium. I’ll have someone show you there.” Lex motioned for the butler to come over. “Will you take him to see Chloe please?” The man nodded and the two of them walked away, leaving Lex and Lionel standing in the foyer.

“Explain,” Lionel ordered. Lex ran hand over the back of his neck to try and relieve some of the tension that was building there.

“Chloe and Gabe got into a fight after she came home from seeing you at the hospital on Wednesday,” Lex said. Lionel smiled.

“And she came here?” He asked in a clearly pleased tone.

“No,” Lex answered. “She drove around and ended up running out of gas just as the snowstorm hit.” Lionel’s face went from cheerful to worried in a second flat.

“Is she alright?”

“Not really,” Lex said dryly. “I sent someone out to find her and chopper her back here, but by the time they located her ---” He trailed off and looked to the side of his father’s face in an attempt to escape Lionel’s intense gaze. “She’s lucky to be alive Dad,” he finally finished. Lex noticed that his dad looked uncharacteristically disturbed by the information. Lionel started to walk in the direction that Gabe and the butler had gone, but Lex grabbed his good arm and swung him back around. “Give them some time to talk,” he warned. Lionel looked down at Lex’s hand on his arm and Lex promptly released it.

“You want me to leave her alone in a room with the man who caused her to drive out into the middle of a blizzard and almost die because of it?” Lionel asked and shook his head. “I think not.”

“It wasn’t a blizzard,” Lex argued. Lionel sloughed off the comment.

“That’s not the point, is it?” He retorted. Lex let out a suffered sigh.

“Dad, you don’t know what she’s been through,” he said.

“No Alexander, *you* don’t know what she’s been through,” Lionel said. “Of course, once she finds out that you’ve taken her father’s side then you’ll have no chance with her whatsoever,” he mused. The smirk came to rest on his mouth again. “Well done, son.” He started to walk toward the solarium again, leaving a stunned Lex behind him. “Well done.”

~*~*~*~*~

Chloe peeked up from the book she was reading and followed Gabe with her eyes as he was shown into the room. Once the butler left and her dad sat down across from her, Chloe looked back down to the open pages of the book and said nothing. Gabe leaned forward in his seat and clasped his hands together.

“Chloe,” he started, but Chloe didn’t look up. “Chloe, look at me.” Chloe looked up at him with an indifferent expression and Gabe frowned. “We need to talk,” he said. “I want to apologize for not believing you. I’m sorry, you were right. I should have believed you. I should have trusted you.” Chloe’s face still showed no hint of what she was feeling.

“Yes, you should have,” she agreed. Gabe nodded, knowing that he deserved the cold words coming from his daughter’s mouth. She went back to reading her book and he cleared his throat. “Was there something else?” He grinned at her.

“We should get home,” Gabe said. “Before the snow starts up again.” Chloe stared blankly at him and he frowned. “You are coming home, right?”

“She most certainly is *not*,” Lionel’s voice bellowed from the doorway. Chloe turned her head and her lips curled upward when she saw him.

“You’re home,” she said cheerfully. Lionel returned her smile and Gabe’s frown deepened. He had heard that Lionel’s vision had returned, and he definitely didn’t like the way he was looking at his daughter. Chloe got up from the bench she was sitting on and gave Lionel a careful hug. “I can’t believe they released you so soon.”

“And I can’t believe what you went through while I was gone,” Lionel replied. Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be too upset,” she said. “I’m sure Lex exaggerated.”

“He told me you could have died,” Lionel said and placed his good hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Chloe shook her head.

“A high fever and some hallucinations,” she responded. “I was hardly at death’s door.” Lionel shook his head and looked at her seriously.

“It’s alright to be afraid Chloe,” he said.

“It’s just not okay to show it,” she said with a smile. Her smile was contagious and Lionel’s face lit up.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The doorbell rang and Lex looked down from the stairs as the butler answered it. Lex squared his jaw and continued down the stairs when he saw him. Jack stepped into the house and flashed a broad smile at Lex.

“Jack,” Lex said dryly.

“Lex,” Jack replied in a friendlier voice. “So I hear I’m taking your fiancée to the ball. That’s gotta hurt.” Lex forced a tight grin onto his lips and Jack laughed. “Don’t throw a fit,” he said. “I know you just told the hospital that so she could get in to see your dad.”

“We weren’t expecting you until later this afternoon,” Lex stated, changing the topic. Jack shrugged.

“Couldn’t let the opportunity to spend the entire day with Chloe get away,” he said casually. “So where is she?” Lex narrowed his eyes at him and they started walking down the hall.

“You sound like you already know her,” he observed. Jack smiled.

“I feel like I do,” he said. “I read all of her articles and perused through the few pictures of her that I could find online.”

“Good for you,” Lex said sarcastically. Jack’s eyes sparkled and he smirked.

“You sound jealous,” he said. Jack didn’t wait for Lex to respond, because he saw the look that crossed his face, even if it had only been for a half second. “Gotta say Lex, I don’t see her going for a guy like you.” Lex stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face him. Jack’s teasing smile didn’t falter.

“Oh, and why is that?” Lex asked through gritted teeth. Jack was barely able to keep from laughing at the reaction he was getting out of Lex.

“Well, primarily because she’s not a skinny brunette, gold digging whore,” Jack said. Fire shot up in Lex’s eyes and Jack’s smile grew even larger. Jack heard voices coming from down the hallway and started walking again. Lex quickly caught up with him.

“And here I thought it was odd that you couldn’t find a date for the ball on your own,” Lex quipped. Jack shrugged.

“Forgive me for not lowering myself to your standards,” he replied. They got closer to the solarium, and Jack could hear the raised voices coming from inside. Lex stopped him before they got to the door and gave him a menacing look.

“If you hurt her in any way, I will ---”

“You’ll kill me, I know,” Jack completed as if it were nothing. “I already got this speech from your dad, but thanks for repeating it.” Lex walked over to the door, but didn’t open it.

Gabe pursed his lips and placed his hand on Chloe’s back.

“Well, now that everything is back to normal ---”

“You’re not taking her with you,” Lionel told him.

“I beg your pardon?” Gabe asked. Lionel shot him a cold glare.

“She’s still recovering Mr. Sullivan, and I won’t have her moved while her health is still an issue,” he said.

“No offense Mr. Luthor, but I don’t think that’s any of your concern,” Gabe bit back. Lex opened the door and walked into the room when he heard Gabe and Lionel start to argue. No one in the room took notice of him though.

“Stop it,” Chloe said quietly, yet with enough authority that the two of them looked over at her. Chloe crossed her arms. “What happened to ‘I should have trusted you’?” She asked her dad. He opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe cut him off. “I love you Dad, but Mr. Luthor is right,” she said sympathetically. “If I go with you now, then there’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to get back over here this afternoon when Jack comes into town. And, to be completely honest, I’m still not feeling my best.” Gabe frowned.

“Anything I can do to help?” Jack asked. Chloe’s head turned to see Jack leaning on the door frame with a smirk on his face. He was tall, maybe only an inch or two shorter than Clark, and had dark blonde hair, blue eyes, a lean muscular frame, and dimples that Chloe could see herself swooning over. “Hi Chloe.”

“Hi Jack,” she said with a bright smile. Jack walked into the room and over toward Chloe.

“So you’re not feeling good? What happened?” He asked as he came up right beside her.

“Snowstorm, fell asleep in my car, almost froze to death,” Chloe rattled off with a light laugh. Jack raised his eyebrows.

“A woman who can laugh at death – impressive,” he said. “You weren’t afraid?”

“Fear accompanies the possibility of death; calm shepherds its certainty,” she replied. Jack smiled broadly again and looked at her leeringly.

“And you can quote lines from Farscape,” he said. “I think I could be in love.” Lex clenched his hands into fists and released them. He glared at his dad.

“Well done Dad,” Lex said sarcastically, copying his father’s earlier sentiments about him. “Well done.”

~*~*~
Ch. 15
~*~*~

“Five questions?” Jack asked. Chloe wrinkled her brow.

“Pardon?”

“Do you want to play five questions?” He clarified. “Each person gets to ask the other five questions. It’s supposed to be very enlightening.” Chloe laughed. Gabe, Lionel, and Lex had reluctantly left her alone with Jack and they were now wandering aimlessly through the halls of the manor.

“Do I get to go first?” She asked. Jack rolled his eyes.

“I should have known better than to ask a reporter ---” he trailed off when Chloe playfully hit his arm. “Okay, shoot.”

“Are you really evil?” Chloe asked. Jack smiled brightly, showing off his dimples and the gleam in his eye.

“I don’t torture animals or anything like that, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said.

“But you were kicked out of several boarding schools before finally graduating,” she pointed out.

“You’ve done your research.”

“Always.”

“Okay, well then, yes, I’m evil,” Jack said. “Is that going to make you change your mind about going to the ball with me?” Chloe grinned.

“No,” she answered. Jack let out a half chuckle, but then his tone turned serious.

“My turn. Why are you on the outs with your dad?” He asked. Chloe groaned.

“I don’t suppose I can pass?”

“You wish,” he said. Chloe took a deep breath and then sighed.

“It’s a long story.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, I’m pretty much stuck here for the rest of the day and tonight,” he pointed out.

“Fine,” she said, figuring it wasn’t worth the struggle to keep the information from him. “I used to have this certain group of friends and,”

“Bad seeds?” Jack teased. Chloe shook her head.

“Good seeds,” she corrected. Jack scrunched up his face in disgust.

“Sorry to hear that,” he said. Chloe giggled.

“It’s okay. Anyway, I found out that these friends didn’t tell me something that was very important, and I kind of didn’t take it very well,” she said, trying to make it sound less than it actually was. Jack didn’t say anything, but tilted his head to signal her to continue. “I was in a bad mood and one of Mr. Luthor’s ---,”

“Lionel or Lex?”

“Lionel. One of his minions bumped into me and spilled my coffee all over the ground and didn’t even acknowledge that he had done it, so I sort of went off on him,” Chloe said. Jack started laughing.

“I would have loved to have seen that.”

“I’m sure it was pretty entertaining,” she said with a broad smile. “Anyway, long story short, Lionel forced me to spend time with whatever the lackey’s name was or go to anger management class, and I chose to spend time with the guy.”

“Too bad,” Jack said. “Anger management class can be lots of fun.” Chloe’s eyebrows raised.

“Really?”

“You have no idea the amount of delight I’ve taken in tormenting those poor instructors and other patients,” Jack said seriously and with a lopsided grin on his face. Chloe laughed.

“I can see that,” she said.

“So you had to spend time with someone whose name you can’t even remember? He must have left a poor impression.”

“Actually, when I came to spend time with him, Lionel had already fired him – or killed him,” Chloe said. “You know, he was never very specific on what happened to the guy.”

“Of course not. Specifics lead to police inquiries.”

“Good point,” Chloe said. “So I started spending time with Lionel instead, one thing led to another, and my dad ended up siding with my ex-friends.”

“Seems like you skipped over a good portion of the story there,” Jack said.

“It was enough to give you the general gist of why my dad and I aren’t getting along,” she countered.

“Okay, but I expect the long version some time in the near future,” he said.

“Uh-huh,” Chloe sloughed off his comment. “My turn.”

“Damn. I was hoping you wouldn’t remember that,” he said kiddingly. “Alright, ask your question.”

“You recognized the Farscape quote, so you obviously watch it. Who’s your favorite character?” Chloe asked. Jack stopped walking and gave her a strange look. Chloe chuckled. “Not the question you were expecting, huh?” He shook his head and then a small smile crept across his lips. They started walking again.

“Definitely not the question I was expecting,” he said. “But to answer your question, I’d have to say Scorpius.” This time Chloe stopped walking.

“You’re joking.”

“No,” Jack said. “He’s smart and he’s evil. What more is there to like about a character?” Chloe laughed heartily and then shook her head slightly. “Yours?”

“My what?”

“Favorite character from Farscape,” Jack said.

“Is that your question?” Chloe asked with a grin. Jack shrugged.

“Sure.”

“In that case, D’Argo,” Chloe said.

“Explain.”

“You want me to explain why I like D’Argo best?” Chloe asked incredulously. Jack nodded. “Okay, he’s strong, he’s loyal,” Chloe paused and offered Jack a small grin, “he likes to shoot things.” Jack laughed. “Not to mention the fact that he’s cute.” Jack stopped laughing and arched an eyebrow.

“You like redheads?’

“No, aliens,” Chloe clarified with a smile. Jack laughed again.

“Okay, okay,” he said while clutching his stomach. He stopped walking and Chloe turned around to face him. “My turn.” Chloe nodded once. “What’s going on with you and Lex?”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought it was a pretty self-explanatory question,” Jack teased. Chloe tucked some hair behind her ear and started walking again. Jack caught up with her within a couple of strides.

“Nothing,” she said.

“Yeah, right,” Jack said sarcastically. “And that’s why you looked totally guilty when I asked you.” Chloe sighed and turned to face him.

“Lex and I haven’t been getting along very well since the whole incident with my ex-friends, because as it turns out, one of them is his best friend,” Chloe said. Jack listened intently and Chloe decided to continue. “We’ve been trying to get along, but we usually end up fighting, and ---” Chloe shook her head. “Nothing’s going on.”

“Has he kissed you?” Jack asked. He thought he saw something cross over Chloe’s face, but she covered it well.

“It’s not your turn,” she said with a small smirk. Jack raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

“Okay, go ahead,” he said. Chloe seemed thoughtful and Jack frowned. This couldn’t be good.

“Why did you agree to be set up with a total stranger for what’s considered to be one of the most important social events of the year?” Chloe asked. Jack slowly looked her up and down.

“Guess,” he said. Chloe blushed, but forced it down.

“Uh-huh,” she said, sounding unconvinced. She crossed her arms. “So what’s the real reason?” Jack shrugged.

“If you must know, I don’t have a stellar dating history,” he said. “For some reason, being evil seems to turn most girls off.” Chloe laughed.

“But you have a good sense of humor, that’s got to make up for some of it,” she said.

“You’d think so, but no. Generally it’s only my money, or rather my parents’ money, that appeals to most women.”

“I’m sorry,” Chloe said seriously. The corners of Jack’s mouth lifted a little.

“My turn,” he said. Chloe rolled her eyes. “So has he kissed you?”

“You’re just not going to let that go, are you?” Chloe asked. Jack smiled.

“I don’t have to,” he pointed out. Chloe pursed her lips and then nodded.

“We were in the hospital lobby. He thought the nurses wouldn’t believe I was his fiancée unless ---”

“Smooth,” Jack said admirably. “Was that the only time?”

“Unless you count when I was hallucinating because of my fever,” she said. Jack tilted his head.

“He kissed you when you were on your death bed?”

“No,” Chloe said and shook her head. “I hallucinated that he did.” Jack had a feeling that it wasn’t a hallucination, but he didn’t want to upset her. Besides, it could make the situation fun to play with.

“I have a question.”

“It’s not your turn,” Chloe said. Jack squared his jaw and then his lips spread into a smile.

“I never should have started that game with you,” he said.

“Live and learn,” Chloe said unrepentantly.

“Okay, what’s your question?”

“It’s more of an observation actually,” Chloe admitted. She stopped walking. “You and I have no sexual chemistry at all, do we?” Jack took a deep breath and then released it, allowing his mouth to turn into a broad smile.

“None,” he agreed. “But we obviously have a lot in common.” Chloe nodded. “We could be great friends, and you know I’m not some good seed who will betray you and lie about it.” Chloe chuckled.

“True.”

“So will you still be going to the ball with me?”

“Hell yes,” Chloe said and placed her hand on his arm. “And you’ll love the dress I’m going to wear.” Jack laughed.

“I’m sure I will,” he said. “But before we get completely off the topic, I believe I have at least one question left.”

“If you must,” Chloe said.

“Are you in love with him?”

scifichick774
19th April 2003, 14:59
~*~*~
Ch. 16
~*~*~

Chloe stood there, starting at Jack in stunned silence.

“Are you going to answer me?” He asked. She furrowed her brow slightly.

“I’m still trying to figure out what you meant by that,” she said. Jack smirked.

“And here it *seemed* like a simple enough question,” he replied. Chloe shook her head.

“Am I in love with *who*?” She asked. The smirk on Jack’s face turned into a thoughtful grin.

“Denial. . . interesting,” he mused. Chloe crossed her arms and the smirk returned to Jack’s lips. Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t think of anything to say so she quickly closed it again. “I’ve left you speechless,” he boasted.

“You’re talking about Lex, aren’t you?” She asked with a sigh. She leaned her back tiredly against the wall and closed her eyes for a second. Jack stepped closer to her.

“Well, he is the only guy we’ve been talking about who isn’t a fictional character,” he said. Chloe rolled her eyes and Jack started laughing loudly. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face with his contagious laughter. Jack leaned his arm against the wall beside her. “So, do I get an answer?”

“If I tell you that you’re delusional, will you consider that an answer?”

“No,” Jack said with a smile. “Are you in love with him or not?” Chloe tilted her head at him.

“Apparently you didn’t understand what I was telling you earlier,” she started. “Lex and I don’t get along very well, even when we try, we just end up fighting.”

“I didn’t ask if you got along with him, I asked if you were in love with him. They’re completely different questions,” Jack argued.

“How do you figure? You don’t think that I would get along with him if I was in love with him?”

“Not necessarily,” Jack said. A smirk crept across his lips. “And now that I know you, I would say probably not.” Chloe narrowed her eyes at him and Jack started laughing again. Chloe shook her head and smiled.

“You’re impossible. You do realize that don’t you?”

“Of course,” Jack said with a shrug. “And *you* realize that you still haven’t answered my question?”

Lex heard the sound of laughter echoing through the hallways and he frowned. Chloe and Jack were obviously hitting it off, and from the sound of it, better than Lionel had originally thought they would. That brought an entirely new prospect into Lex’s head. If Chloe did end up going out with Jack, there might be a chance that he wouldn’t break her heart and she would remain with him for a while; which theoretically might not be such a bad thing. It would get her further and further away from Lionel’s influence and she might have a chance at a normal life. On the other hand, Lex had finally admitted to himself that he wanted to be with Chloe, and he wasn’t sure he had the patience to wait until her relationship with Jack was over. He heard Chloe and Jack laughing again and started walking toward the sound of their voices. It was safe to say that patience was not one of Lex’s virtues. He spotted them standing in one of the halls, Chloe’s back against the wall and Jack leaning over her. Lex cleared his throat loudly and watched as Chloe and Jack both turned to face him. Jack smiled broadly and pushed himself off the wall.

“Hey,” he greeted. “We were just talking about you.” Jack issued a challenging look at Chloe, making Lex furrow his brow in suspicion.

“Were you?” Lex asked dryly. Chloe narrowed her eyes at Jack again. If he thought she was going to back down, he was sorely mistaken. She turned to look at Lex and nodded.

“Jack thinks I’m in love with you,” she stated. Lex’s eyebrows rose in surprise and Jack shook his head.

“That’s not what I said,” he protested. “I simply *asked* if she was in love with you. A question to which she has yet to give an answer to, by the way.” Chloe crossed her arms. Jack saw her stubborn expression and looked at her sideways. “You have to answer it.”

“I don’t *have* to do anything,” she argued.

“It was my fifth question,” he pointed out. Lex looked back and forth between them as they bantered and frowned. Regardless of the topic they were discussing, which he was interested in hearing the answer to himself, he didn’t like the fact that Chloe and Jack were already engaged in verbal sparring. Lex purposefully looked over the fact that the he and Chloe had done the same dance so early after their first meeting.

“Fifth question?” Lex interrupted.

“Five questions,” Jack explained. “It’s a game – or sort of anyway.” Jack smiled playfully at Chloe. “And I answered the one about whether I was evil or not.” Lex arched an eyebrow at Chloe.

“You asked him if he was evil?” He couldn’t hide the hint of pride that came through in his question. It meant that Chloe, despite her many protests, had actually listened to him.

“Yes, and you were right if it’s any consolation,” Chloe said. Lex felt a grin tug at the corners of his mouth. “So, what did you want?” The expression on Lex’s face fell into confusion as Chloe looked at him expectantly. “You *so subtlety* cleared your throat at us. Remember?” Lex nodded once. He had only been acting on jealousy when he tracked them down; he hadn’t actually constructed a viable excuse as to why he should be there.

“The nurse wanted to see you. It’s time for her to check your stats or something like that,” Lex lied. Chloe frowned.

“I’m fine,” she said. Lex shrugged somewhat unsympathetically.

“You’re telling the wrong person,” he said. He felt bad about driving Chloe off to see the nurse, but his earlier warning to Jack had gone unheeded and he obviously needed to repeat himself. Lex doubted that Chloe would be pleased with him threatening Jack, so it was best if he did it when Chloe was indisposed elsewhere. Jack smiled a little too charmingly at Chloe.

“I’ll go with you,” he offered.

“Not necessary,” Chloe replied quickly. The scowl that was forming on Lex’s face from Jack’s comment dissipated with Chloe’s response. She turned toward Lex, who had hidden his reaction behind an emotionless mask. “Where is she?”

“Your room I think,” Lex said. Chloe arched an eyebrow at him and a smile twitched at his lips. “The room you’re staying in,” he corrected.

“Okay,” she said, starting to walk in that direction. She gave a little wave in the air without looking behind her. Jack and Lex both watched her turn the corner and then Jack sighed. Lex turned to look at him.

“I thought I warned you ---”

“You know, for someone who’s supposed to be so smart, you’re a real idiot,” Jack interrupted. Lex looked at him quizzically and Jack shook his head. “Your dad sent the nurse home an hour ago.” Lex narrowed his eyes at him. “And yes, Chloe knows. So, *who* do you think she actually went to see?” Jack circled around him as he spoke. “Because it would be my guess that she thought you were telling her some cryptic little message to go see your dad. Who, by the way, is your real competition, not me.”

“But ---”

“Lex, Chloe and I hit it off, but as friends. That’s it. We already talked about it,” Jack explained. Lex paused as he looked at him thoughtfully.

“Why did you ask Chloe if she was in love with me?” He finally asked. Jack ran a hand through his hair and shot a serious look at Lex.

“Like I said, she and I hit it off. I don’t have that many friends, certainly not close friends, if you hadn’t noticed,” Jack said.

“And badgering her about her love life is the way to get into her good graces?” Lex asked skeptically. Jack chuckled.

“She kind of threw me for a loop with that,” he said. “I had no idea that she would just admit it to you like that. I thought, hey, maybe if she likes the guy then we can act all lovey-dovey at the ball to make him jealous and make him pay attention to her.” Lex’s looked up.

“Not a bad plan,” he mused aloud. His eyes fell back upon Jack. “So, what makes you think that my father is my competition?” Lex already had that bad feeling in his gut from the first time he had seen Chloe with his dad, but it had only gotten worse since then. The issue now was how Jack knew about it, and Lex couldn’t escape the possibility that Chloe had perhaps mentioned something about Lionel to Jack. Jack tilted his head at Lex.

“You’re joking, right?”

“No,” Lex said. “I’m curious as to why you would think someone so much older than Chloe could be a contender for her affections.” Jack rolled his eyes.

“O-kay,” he drew out. “How do I put this? Well, first of all, I saw the way your dad was around her.” Lex stared blankly at him, trying not to reveal anything he might know. “Protective, possessive, concerned ---,”

“Those could all be father-like qualities,” Lex argued.

“From *your* dad?” Jack shook his head. “I think not.” Lex frowned. He had a point. “Plus, there was the way he was looking at her.”

“And how was he looking at her? Like a dirty old man?” Lex quipped with a half-smirk.

“No-oo,” Jack said. “More like a lovesick schoolboy.”

Meanwhile, Chloe had made her way down to Lionel’s study. She had indeed taken Lex’s message to mean that Lionel wanted to see her and she figured it would be nice to get away from the heavy atmosphere that had been forming around Jack and Lex anyway. She smiled at Lionel as she opened the door and he looked surprised.

“Hey,” she greeted and moved into the chair across from him. She arched an eyebrow as she looked down at the chessboard. “Playing chess by yourself?”

“Not nearly as much fun as playing against you, my dear,” he said. Her smile spread wider across her mouth and Lionel repositioned the pieces on the board. “You were able to tear yourself away from Mr. Montgomery?”

“Yeah,” she said. “He’s nice though and kind of funny too, but ---”

“But my attempt at matchmaking has gone sour?” He asked. Chloe laughed and tucked some hair behind her ear.

“Not exactly how I would have put it, but okay,” she said. “I think we’ll end up being pretty good friends though, and now I have a date for the ball, so it wasn’t a total loss.” Lionel glanced up at her briefly and then back down at the board as they played.

“You would have had a date regardless,” he said seriously. Chloe shook her head.

“I wouldn’t even be going to this thing if you hadn’t set me up with him,” she argued.

“Not true. I would have taken you if he had been unable to attend,” Lionel said. ‘Perhaps I can arrange some sort of accident for the lad while he’s staying here,’ he thought.

“Really?” Chloe asked with a smile. He returned it and she ducked her head, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable, although she couldn’t explain why.

“Of course,” he answered.

“So if something were to happen to him while he’s here overnight ---,” she was cut off by Lionel’s hearty laughter.

“Interesting, I was thinking the same thing,” he said. “But the question is, why were you thinking it?” Chloe groaned.

“He keeps asking me if I’m in love with Lex,” Chloe explained. “It’s. . . disturbing.” Lionel frowned.

“I imagine it’s only because of the false engagement,” Lionel said.

“Maybe,” Chloe agreed, sounding unconvinced. Lionel barely managed to hold back a growl with his displeasure at the situation, but then, an accident could always be arranged. . .and perhaps not just for young Mr. Montgomery. The corners of his lips curled upward with that thought.

“Check.”

~*~*~
Ch. 17

This part begins later Friday night and finally has some Chlexy goodness in it for you.
~*~*~

Lex walked down the long corridor quickly. He was still upset about what had happened at dinner. Lionel had all but insinuated that he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of his pursuit of Chloe, and that Lex and Jack should keep away from her unless they wanted something bad to happen to them. Chloe had rolled her eyes at him as if she thought he was just joking, and Lex was infuriated that she couldn’t see Lionel for what he really was. Evil. Lex made it to the room she was staying in and lightly knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He slowly opened the door and then closed it after letting himself in.

He saw the light on in the bathroom and began to head over there, entirely prepared to yell at her for being so foolish when it came to his father. When Lex reached the open bathroom door and saw Chloe in her sleepwear, all the thoughts about yelling at her completely fled from his mind. She was wearing burgundy silk pajama pants and a white spaghetti-strapped cami. From where he was standing, he could see the outline of her hard nipples under the shirt; although he imagined that was probably due to being cold and not due to being aroused. He could also see the large bruise that Clark had left on her arm and he frowned. Clark had claimed it was an accident, that he hadn’t meant to grab her that hard. It made Lex angry just to think about it, because he had a feeling that Clark was telling the truth from his point of view. He doubted that Clark knew his own strength sometimes, and wished he had been more careful when dealing with Chloe instead of letting his temper get the best of him. Lex watched her silently as she brushed her teeth and barely kept from laughing at the fact that she hadn’t noticed he was there yet.

Chloe finished brushing her teeth and spit into the sink in front of her. She had just taken a sip of water to rinse out her mouth when a voice came from the doorway.

“You never answered Jack’s question,” Lex said. The water blew out of Chloe’s mouth in surprise. She frowned and grabbed a hand towel to clean up the areas besides the sink that were sprayed. Lex chuckled. “We *do* have servants to take care of things like that.” Chloe turned to face him, placing her hands on her hips as she did so.

“You startled me,” she explained. Lex leaned against the door frame and openly looked her up and down. He gave her a little smirk when his eyes returned to hers and she was arching an eyebrow. “Something you wanted?”

“You didn’t answer Jack’s question,” Lex repeated and pushed himself off the door frame. He took a few steps toward her and she crossed her arms defensively. Unfortunately, this only served to push up her cleavage in the small cami top she was wearing and Lex’s smirk grew into an almost leering grin. The only way he was going to win the war against Lionel for Chloe would be to fight fire with fire. Even after seeing his expression change, Chloe didn’t move away from him, as she was determined to hold her ground against him.

“No, I didn’t,” she said simply, hoping that the nervousness she felt with the situation didn’t come through in her voice. Lex kept coming closer to her until they were only a few inches apart. This time Chloe did back up, wondering what could have possibly gotten into him. With only a few steps, her back hit the wall and she felt like a trapped animal. Lex placed his hand on the wall and leaned over her.

“Would it help if you knew the second kiss wasn’t a hallucination?” He whispered in her ear. Chloe’s eyes grew wide and she rapidly turned her head to look at him. Their faces were so close together and Chloe’s breath hitched before she spoke.

“What?” She asked in a hushed voice. Lex closed the space between them and his lips brushed against hers. Chloe stared at him wide-eyed for a split second before giving in and returning the kiss as his mouth became more persuasive. Her hands went hesitantly onto his chest and Lex’s hands fell to her hips. His tongue lined the space between her lips and she let out a small moan as she allowed him access. Her hands crept up to his shoulders and around the back of his neck, and Lex took the opportunity to let one of his hands slide up her body as well. He silkily ran it up under her shirt and cupped her breast. Chloe gasped as he started to tease her already hard nipple. “Lex.” It was supposed to come out as a warning, but instead came out as a whimper. Lex moved his mouth to her neck and began to drag his teeth along a particularly sensitive area of skin.

“Chloe,” he murmured against her.

“Don’t mark me,” she whispered. Lex frowned and removed his head from the crook in her neck. He looked at her questioningly and she looked at him apologetically. “Sorry,” she said. “But I’m already going to have to find a way to cover up the bruise on my arm, and ---” Lex nodded in understanding.

“It’s okay,” he said as he pulled away from her. He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “I ---” he stopped talking when he realized that he was about to apologize. He wasn’t sorry though, and if he showed any sign of weakness now, Lionel would have the upper hand. Chloe smiled placatingly at him.

“It’s late,” she said. “And I’m feeling a little worn out still ---” Lex pulled her to him and kissed her again, not bothering to start off hesitantly this time. This kiss was less loving and more territorial, but Lex couldn’t help himself. The primal part of himself that he so often kept buried deep was screaming at him to claim her as his own. Chloe pushed him away when she needed to breathe. He ran a hand through her hair and then kissed her quickly before resting his forehead against hers. “What’s happening here?” Chloe asked.

“What do you think is happening?”

“I don’t know,” she replied and shook her head. “I don’t understand why you’re acting like this. You’ve never shown any interest in me before and --- wait,” Chloe said, taking a step away from him. “This isn’t to convince me not to hang out with your dad, is it?” Lex let out a small growl at the mention of his father and Chloe took a few more steps away from him out of instinct. Lex noted that she looked almost afraid of him and he immediately felt regret for letting his baser emotions get the best of him. Chloe closed her eyes and sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. “I think you should leave.”

“Chloe ---”

“I mean it Lex. I want to be your friend, but you’re making it so hard. One minute we’re fighting and the next we’re ---”

“Kissing?” Lex filled in with a small smirk.

“But only because you don’t want me to be friends with your dad!” Chloe argued. “Not because you actually like me or anything. God! I can’t believe this. I have got to have the worst taste in guys ever,” she mumbled to herself as she walked by him. She turned off the bathroom light on her way out, as if Lex was no longer there at all. The bedroom was dark, but she was able to make her way to the bed with the moonlight pouring in through the window. “Maybe I discounted Jack too soon,” she mused aloud. “Maybe I need a guy who I have a lot in common with and who won’t use me for whatever ---” Chloe trailed off as she felt Lex’s arms wrap around her from behind. His warm breath caressed her ear and her eyes fluttered closed.

“Are you done?” He asked in a hushed voice.

“I thought you left.”

“Maybe I did and you’re hallucinating,” he teasingly suggested. Chloe turned around in his embrace, forcing his lips to run across her ear. He looked down at her with a serious expression. “I won’t pretend that your friendship with my dad doesn’t bother me, but it doesn’t have anything to do with how I feel about you.”

‘Bullshit,’ Chloe thought. ‘He never showed any interest in me before Lionel befriended me. He’s just doing this to get his own way.’ She thought more about her situation with Lex. She felt a little intimidated by his behavior, which she convinced herself was his intention all along – to throw her off so she would side with him, and eventually be back into the so-called friendships that she had with Clark and Lana. Chloe didn’t like feeling intimidated, and since talking about it with him obviously wasn’t working, the only thing she could think to do was to turn the tables on him. She took him by surprise by grabbing the back of his head and pressing their mouths together. She pulled away from him, leaving him with a stunned look on his face. ‘Good,’ she thought. “Goodnight Lex.” He furrowed his brow and then shook his head.

“What?”

“I said ‘goodnight’. It’s a widely accepted salutation when you’re saying goodbye for the evening,” she said snarkily. The tiny smirk on her lips left no doubt that she was pleased to be back on her game. Lex, however, was considerably thrown off. She had surprised him with the sudden passionate kiss and then pulled away from him just as he was about to initiate more. He nodded absently.

“Goodnight,” he said. Chloe watched him walk to the door and let himself out. She shook her head lightly when he closed the door behind him.

‘He should have known better than to try and use me to win his stupid game against his dad,’ she thought. She turned down the covers on the bed and then climbed onto it, pulling the covers up around her body as she lay down. Chloe let out a small sigh. She didn’t want to believe that Lex was only interested in her because he thought his dad was, but she couldn’t come up with another explanation. He had acted strangely about her hanging out with Lionel from day one, and had payed her very little attention until that point. She eventually drifted off to sleep; completely unaware that someone was watching her.

Lionel’s eyes were fixed on the monitor in front of him when Lex walked into the room. Lex saw the image on the screen and clenched his hands into fists.

“How long have you been watching her?” Lex asked. Lionel turned his head part way to the side to glance at his son.

“Long enough to know that you’ve blown whatever chance you may have had with her,” he responded. “She thinks you’re questioning her loyalties.”

“She kissed me,” Lex pointed out.

“Indeed,” Lionel agreed. “And you were a complete adolescent about it.” A smirk played at the corners of Lionel’s mouth. “I was wrong when I set her up with Jack.”

“You think?” Lex asked sarcastically.

“She doesn’t need a boy, she needs a man.”

“I think she’d beg to differ. I’m certain that she’ll tell you she doesn’t need anyone,” Lex said. Lionel seemed thoughtful.

“A valid argument,” he conceded.

“Good,” Lex said. “So, you’ll let go of this obsession you’ve developed with her?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I’ll tell her that you’ve been spying on her, watching her every move with cameras,” Lex threatened. “I’m sure that will blow whatever chance that *you* would have had with her – if there ever was one, that is.” He said the last part with a smirk and Lionel sloughed off the comment with a wave of his hand. His eyes were still focused on Chloe’s sleeping form on the monitor, aided by night vision lenses in the cameras.

“Perhaps it escaped your attention, but she’s not an idiot like your former paramours Lex.” Lionel leaned back comfortably in his chair and shot a smug look at his son. “What makes you think she doesn’t already know that there are cameras around the castle?”

“I’m sure she knows that much,” Lex agreed. “But, I doubt she knows that there are cameras in her room, or that you’ve been stalking her with their aid.” Lionel pursed his lips, but Lex turned on his heel and left the room before he could let out a comeback.

“Damn that boy.”

~*~*~
Ch. 18
~*~*~

“Okay, tell me the truth,” Chloe said as she walked down the stairs in her gown. All three men turned to look at her and their eyes grew wide. Jack let out a whistle, which earned him scathing looks from both Lex and Lionel.

“You clean up nice Sullivan,” Jack said. Chloe smiled at him and took his arm when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Thanks. You too Montgomery,” she replied. Lionel frowned.

“You’re calling each other by your last names?” He asked disapprovingly. Jack resisted the urge to smirk, and shrugged instead.

“It’s just kind of a nickname thing,” he explained.

“Your parents won’t approve,” Lionel said. Jack smiled impishly.

“They rarely do,” he quipped, clearly proud of the fact that he was the black sheep of the family.

“Mmm,” Lionel said, the frown not leaving his face. He didn’t like the way Jack was looking at Chloe, especially since Chloe told him that she and Jack were only going to be friends. ‘Clearly young Mr. Montgomery has something else in mind,’ he thought. He looked at Chloe and gave her a wince of a grin. “The bruise covered up nicely,” he said. Chloe let out a suffered sigh.

“Yeah, and it only took forever to apply all the makeup,” she said. She glanced at Lex, but his expression was stone-like and very difficult to read. She grinned at him, but he seemed impervious to her attempt to reconcile with him. ‘Crap,’ she thought. She hadn’t expected him to be so sensitive about what had happened the night before. ‘Or maybe this is just another tactic. Be mean to me and see if I’ll come back to him. Not that I was ever with him to begin with,’ she quickly reminded herself.

“We’re going to be late,” Lex said dryly. He grabbed his coat from the waiting butler and the rest of them soon followed. They made their way to the waiting helicopter and climbed in. Although it wasn’t easy climbing into the helicopter with heels and a long dress on, it was definitely preferable to being stuck in a car for three hours – especially with the atmosphere that had encompassed the inside of the vehicle. Chloe sat next to Jack and across from them, Lionel sat next to Lex. There was no conversation, just pointed and accusatory looks. Chloe noticed the way that Lionel seemed to be leering at her. At first, she thought that he just wasn’t used to seeing her in a dress, but then the talks she had with Lex came wafting into her mind and she couldn’t clear them.

‘He can’t *like* me,’ Chloe thought, refusing to believe what was now looking like a very real possibility. Several looks later, and she had accepted that it might not only be a possibility, but a probability. The idea made her sick to her stomach. As strange as it seemed, she had really grown to care for Lionel as a person; but more as a surrogate father or a friend, nothing more. It only made her feel worse when she realized that Lex had been a real friend by trying to warn her about his father’s true intentions and she hadn’t listened to him. In fact, she had told him to his face that he was delusional. Chloe frowned and tried to force the horrible feeling in her stomach to go away. After a while, she fixed her gaze out at the night sky in a desperate attempt to pretend that she was alone in the helicopter.

Lex, on the other hand, immediately noticed Chloe’s reaction to Lionel staring at her. Lex tried to catch her eye, although he wasn’t sure how he was going to react if he caught it. Would he give her an ‘I told you so’ look or just be reassuring that everything would be alright. He could only control his body language so much, and he had a bad feeling that the gloater within him would triumph, so he too ended up looking out the window on the other side.

Lionel was displeased with the way that Chloe seemed uncomfortable around him, but was chalking it up to the fact that she was sitting next to Jack. Although it wasn’t true, he suspected that the two had hit it off more romantically earlier that day. Unfortunately, he couldn’t confirm it because all of the cameras in the house had gone offline for some reason.

‘Some reason,’ his inner voice scoffed. ‘You know very well who disabled those cameras.’

Jack watched the entire scene with incredible amusement. Uncomfortable Chloe, reassuring Lex, and evil Lionel. As far as he was concerned, everyone there was a source of entertainment for him. Other people only existing for his own amusement was pretty much Jack’s philosophy of life, which was why he had a tendency to get in so much trouble. He caught the threatening glare that Lionel was shooting at him and he arched an eyebrow. He had a suspicion that he would need to keep a lookout for the older man tonight.

They finally reached the top of the building where the ball was being held and Jack climbed out first and offered his hand to Chloe. They smiled at each other and Lex smirked at the small growl that came out of Lionel’s throat. It was going to prove to be a very interesting evening.

Chloe plastered a nervous and excited smile on her face as she and Jack entered the ballroom. Jack leaned toward her.

“You’re lucky they decided not to have it at the mansion this year,” Jack said. Chloe tilted her head toward him.

“Why?”

“Mom goes overboard when they have it at home,” he answered. Chloe raised an eyebrow and motioned to the large room overflowing in fine fabrics and expensive trinkets. Apart from the architectural beauty of the room, it had obviously cost a lot of money to put together the decorations.

“And *this* isn’t going overboard?” She asked. Jack chuckled.

“This is nothing,” he said. “You should have seen it last year, she ---”

“That’s enough Jackson,” his mother interrupted as she walked up to them. She smiled at Chloe and Jack and Jack smiled mischievously back at her.

“I was just getting to the best part though,” he said without missing a beat. Mrs. Montgomery looked pointedly at him. “Mom, this is Chloe Sullivan; Chloe, this is my mom, Barbara Montgomery.” The two women shook each other’s hands.

“Wonderful to finally meet you,” Barbara said. Chloe smiled genuinely back at her. Lionel and Lex had disappeared into the crowd and all she had to concentrate on now was her evening with Jack.

“You too,” Chloe said. Jack barely resisted rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said in a bored voice. “So, are you sure you don’t want to hear the best part of the party last year Sullivan?” His voice lilted and a wide smile grew on his mouth when his mother pursed her lips. He waggled his eyebrows a little at Chloe and Barbara shook her head.

“I’m sure Chloe doesn’t want to hear anything about your brother getting drunk and embarrassing the family,” she said in a warning voice. She looked back at Chloe and shook her head again. “I don’t know what possessed you to agree to come with him, young lady.”

“I think I should be offended,” Jack said with fake hurt. His mother gave him one last glare and poked her finger at him.

“You be nice to her,” she ordered. Jack chuckled.

“Yes ma’am,” he said mockingly. Barbara drifted off into the large crowd of people and Jack started laughing. “Oh, man! This is going to be great.” Jack took her hand and they started walking into the crowd themselves. Chloe couldn’t help but smile. The mood in the room was festive and vibrant, and the dress she chose was certainly getting attention. Jack snagged two flutes of champagne off of a waiter’s tray and handed one to Chloe.

“Oh, I don’t ---”

“It’s just for tonight,” Jack urged her. He took a sip of his drink. “Trust me, you’ll need it.” Chloe sighed and smiled at him.

“Fine,” she said, even though she had no intention of drinking it. ‘Can’t hurt to just carry it around,’ she mused. ‘I might need it to throw in some guy’s face.’ Lionel managed to find her and Jack in very little time and raised an eyebrow at the drink in her hand. “Don’t ask,” she said. He nodded once and began to listen in on Jack’s conversation with a man who was undoubtedly on the Montgomery payroll. Chloe’s eyes widened when she saw Lionel covertly drop something into Jack’s drink. The man he had been talking to started talking to Lionel and when they walked away Jack brought his glass up to his lips. Chloe grabbed his arm and he looked at her questioningly. Even though she was in heels, she rose to her tip toes to speak into his ear. “He put something in your drink,” she told him. Jack looked at the glass with surprise and then a small grin curled up the sides of his mouth.

“Interesting,” he said. “Here, give me yours.” Chloe handed over her glass and Jack poured enough champagne from hers into his to make it look like it hadn’t been drunken from. He wiped off the side of the glass and asked Chloe to get a fresh glass from the passing waiter. “And now, we have some fun,” he said to her. They found Lionel again and Jack held out the tainted glass of champagne to him. “Chloe pointed out that you were running low, and since you were kind enough to set me up with her, I thought I’d go out of character and be nice,” Jack said. Lionel’s eyebrows rose and he smiled a somewhat forced smile.

“How considerate,” he said and took the glass from Jack. He transferred the glass to the arm in a cast and looked at Chloe. He lifted her free hand with his and gently placed a kiss to the back of her hand. It took every ounce of effort in her body not to cringe. “And thank you for being so thoughtful, my dear.” Chloe wanted to throw up, but she forced herself to smile. Jack wrapped his arm around her back and motioned to one of his brothers with his head.

“You wanna meet Eddy?” He asked.

“Is he the one who got drunk at last year’s party?” Chloe asked with a bright smile. Jack’s smile lit up his face.

“The one and only,” he replied. “And the story is even better coming from him.” Before Lionel could protest, Jack drug Chloe off to meet his brother. Lionel stared after the couple for a split second and then turned to the small group he had been conversing with.

“What was I thinking when I set the two of them up?” He asked aloud, but primarily for himself. He transferred the glass back over to his good hand and took a sip from the ‘new’ champagne that Jack had handed to him.

“Well, they look awfully good together,” one of the women in the group answered. The man next to her nodded.

“Especially the girl,” he said with a small smirk. Lionel took a larger swig of the drink at the man’s words.

‘Perhaps I should have listened to Alexander when he said the dress would attract too much attention,’ he thought. He listened to a few members of the group yammer on about subjects that he didn’t care about and then politely excused himself. The second he started to walk away from them, his vision grew hazy and the room began to spin. He felt his chest constrict and his knees grew weak, and then Lionel collapsed to the floor.

scifichick774
19th April 2003, 15:05
~*~*~
Ch. 19
~*~*~

It was like something out of a horror movie. A woman’s high-pitched scream cut through the chatter of the room and a crowd gathered around to see what was wrong. They formed a circle around Lionel’s body, only one of them having the nerve to squat down to check for a pulse.

“He’s still got a pulse, but it’s weak,” the man announced. “Somebody call an ambulance.”

Chloe’s eyes grew wide at the sight in front of her, and Jack opened and closed his mouth a few times in disbelief. Chloe felt a hand on the small of her back and she turned to face its owner. Lex didn’t look at her. Instead, his eyes were fixed on his father’s body lying completely still in the middle of the floor.

“It’s my fault,” she whispered to herself. Lex’s head turned and tilted toward her as he waited for an explanation, but Chloe wrapped her arms around herself and looked like she was going into shock. Lex rubbed her back comfortingly.

“There’s no way you could have known,” his hushed voice spoke into her ear.

“I saw him put something in Jack’s glass and ---” she trailed off, causing Lex’s eyes to dart to Jack. Unfortunately, Jack seemed to be in shock as well. Lex’s reaction wasn’t anywhere near as strong. He was curious as to the specifics of what happened, but primarily he felt bad that he didn’t feel worse. The only thing going through his mind was what a monster he was for not feeling more emotion about his own father’s possible death; and then came the thoughts that concluded that whatever his father had done, he had only brought it upon himself. After what only seemed like only a few minutes, the paramedics rushed in and began to take him away; and a couple of police officers started to ask the guests questions. Lex’s arms embraced Chloe from behind, soothing her crossed arms with his touch.

“Come on, I’ll take you home,” Lex told her. He didn’t want Chloe getting involved with the police questioning, especially in her still self-accusatory condition.

“We should go to the hospital,” she said, still staring at the now bare piece of flooring. Lex squared his jaw, wondering how she could have any sympathy left for the man who was full of such pure evil. He grabbed her upper arms.

“Chloe, look at me,” he ordered. Chloe lifted her head and Lex started to turn her around in his arms. “You saw him put something in Jack’s drink?” Chloe nodded. “And then what happened?”

“I told Jack. I didn’t want him to get hurt, I ---”

“And?”

“And he switched glasses with him,” Chloe explained. “And now ---” she stopped talking and tried to turn around again, but Lex kept a tight grip on her arms. Chloe winced as his grip pushed into her still sore bruise. Lex jerked his hand away.

“I’m sorry. I forgot.”

“It’s okay.” She looked up from the floor at him with pained eyes that were threatening to start spilling the water forming there. “I’m so sorry Lex.” She took him by surprise by burying her face against his chest and starting to cry. “I should have listened to you. You were right, and you were just being friend, and I was so mean to you, and ---” her rambling was cut off by a choked sob. Lex pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

“He tried to kill Jack and it backfired on him,” he whispered against her hair. “The fault lies with him, not with you.”

“But I ---” she lifted her face a little to look at him and Lex lowered his mouth to hers. It wasn’t passionate, and neither of them took it for more than it was intended – just for comfort. Lex pulled his lips away from hers and motioned toward the door with his head.

“We should go,” he said. “Some guests were talking about the storm starting up again, and if we want to get back to Smallville tonight, then we should leave before the weather is too bad for the chopper fly in.” Chloe took a deep breath as she thought about it. She understood his reasoning, but she still felt guilty about Lionel’s situation, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to go anywhere but the hospital. Lex saw the hesitation on her face and lifted her chin so she would look at him again. “It’s not your fault Chloe.” Chloe released the breath and nodded.

“Okay.”

Fifteen minutes later, Chloe and Lex were on the helicopter headed toward Smallville. Chloe allowed Lex to wrap his arm around her and they snuggled against each other as the very sight of the snowfall outside made it feel colder inside the vehicle.

“Lex?” Chloe asked as she twisted in her seat to look at him. “I meant what I said.”

“I know.” They sat in an uncomfortable silence, or as silent as it can be in a helicopter, for a few minutes before Lex spoke again. “Why didn’t you ever answer Jack?” Chloe pushed her eyebrows together in a confused expression.

“What?” She asked. Lex turned to face her and Chloe felt his hand stroke down her hair to the back of her neck where he finally let it rest. Instead of repeating himself, he leaned toward her. Chloe met him halfway and their lips skimmed across each other’s in a light kiss. Lex pushed on the back of her neck to keep her there as the kiss grew with intensity. Lex’s hand trailed down her back and his mouth peppered her jaw with soft kisses until he got to her neck. He burrowed his face against the warmth of her soft skin and started to gently nibble and suck. Chloe’s breathing became labored and her hands ran over his arms, back, and the back of his neck and skull. “Lex, we shouldn’t be ---” she managed to rasp out. She didn’t continue because she was too surprised by what happened next. Her eyes widened when she felt one of his hands move around to the front and caress her breast through the material of her dress. “Oh, God,” she moaned, arching her back to give him better access.

Lex’s mouth trailed down to her collar bone and then he slowly leaned her back against the seat. Chloe felt his warm lips around her nipple and she gasped. She hadn’t even felt him pushing the dress down to bare her skin. Her eyes closed and she made a series of moans and whimpers that made Lex want to make love to her right where they were, safety to their well being be damned. He groaned and abruptly pulled away, helping her up to a sitting position again. She looked at him questioningly while she fixed her dress. She opened her mouth to speak, but Lex kissed her again. He moved his lips to her ear and kissed it gently before speaking.

“I want to, but I don’t want our first time to be our last time,” he explained and then blew his warm breath into her ear. Lex didn’t realize how telling his words would be. The storm outside was getting worse and right after he spoke to her, the helicopter hit a bad patch of sky and started to bump and shake violently. Lex wrapped his arm around Chloe and turned his head to look at the pilot for an explanation. “What’s going on?”

“The wind’s getting worse and the snowfall’s getting heavier. We need to look for a place to touch down,” the pilot answered.

“How far are we from Smallville?”

“Another forty to fifty minutes in good weather. Sorry Mr. Luthor, but it looks like you’ll have to get a hotel room somewhere for the night.” The pilot kept facing forward, scanning the ground as best he could for a possible area to land. Lex tried to give Chloe a comforting look, but she had her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around herself again.

“I guess we should have gone to the hospital after all,” she said simply. Lex shook his head slightly.

“I’d rather take my chances in a snowstorm any day,” he quipped. Chloe tilted her face at him.

“Do you really hate him that much?” She asked. Lex didn’t get a chance to answer. The helicopter felt like it slammed into something and both of them were jerked from their seats. Chloe didn’t know what they had hit, if anything, but she knew the familiar sensation that she was felling now – they were falling, and they were falling fast. Panicked, Chloe started to scream and Lex reached over to pull her closer to him; reasoning that he would have a better chance at getting her out of there after they landed if she was right next to him.

“Chloe, just stay next to me,” he yelled over the sound of the helicopter plummeting to the ground. The metal surrounding them twisted and crushed under the pressure of the vehicle crashing against the ground. Chloe managed to stay awake throughout the entire ordeal, but Lex’s head was thrown against the frame as they ‘landed’ and he was knocked unconscious. Chloe reached over and felt for a pulse, breathing a temporarily sigh of relief when she felt the blood pumping under his skin. She maneuvered into a position to look at the pilot, hoping that he could help her get Lex out of the helicopter. Despite the fact that the man was harnessed into his seat, blood poured from a large gaping wound at the side of his head and neck. Chloe felt sick at the overwhelming smell of copper mixed with gasoline and covered her mouth and nose with her hand.

“Lex,” she called out, turning her attention back to him. She shook his body with her hands. “Lex, you need to get up. We need to get out of here.” He didn’t wake up and Chloe muttered some expletives under her breath. She took off her high-heeled shoes and began kicking at the hot metal that used to be the door. The mangled window allowed the melting plexi-glass to come out with her actions and Chloe closed her eyes. “Thank you God.” Unfortunately, the opening wasn’t very large and Chloe had to bend and shape her body to get through it. She reached her arms back in and grabbed Lex’s torso under his arms. Chloe pulled as hard as she could and surprised herself by actually getting part of his body out of the small and contorted window. She changed her position to get the rest of him out when she noticed a spark out of the corner of her eye. “Shit.” Running on pure adrenalin, she ripped the rest of his body out of the helicopter and collapsed on top of him as the sheer force of the explosion threw them away from the site. The last thing she remembered before falling into unconsciousness was the heat of the area around her and the taste of the blood in her mouth.

~*~*~
Ch. 20
~*~*~

The blue light above the hospital room door started flashing as the nearby doctor and nurses ran into the room. The long beeping sound coming from the heart monitor only confirmed what the other sensors had detected. The doctor grabbed the shock paddles off of the cart and gave his instructions as to what voltage to charge them to.

“Clear!” The loud long beep on the monitor continued and the doctor ordered the paddles charged to a higher amount, but there was still no reaction from the man’s lifeless body. The doctor closed his eyes and let out a breath. “Time of death – 2:40am.”

~*~*~*~*~

“You’ve got to be the luckiest person alive, Sullivan,” Jack said as he stared over her unconscious form on her hospital bed. According to hospital policy, he wasn’t even supposed to be there; but it was amazing how much money could bend the rules. It pained him to see her with so many tubes running in and out of her body, and the fact that she had yet to wake up wasn’t very encouraging. He thanked God that the Luthor name carried a lot of weight when performing emergency rescues, otherwise she could have been left out there for a substantially longer period of time.

“I know you were complaining about the snow, but it helped you this time,” he continued. “It was snowing so hard; the doctors think that’s the reason why you survived the fire from the crash – because the snow buffered some of the explosion before it reached you.” He shook his head lightly. He knew the hospital staff told him to keep talking to her, that there was a chance she could still hear him despite the state she was in; but he felt like an idiot rambling on without having her snappy comebacks to keep him company.

“What else? Oh, yeah. I actually told the police the truth. Are you proud of me?” He looked at her expectantly even though she couldn’t see it. “It doesn’t sound like they’re going to press charges. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that my family is rich and has most of the judges in the state in their pocket.” He gave a self-deprecating smirk, hoping that she would wake up and say something in retort.

Chloe let out a small groan and Jack jumped to attention. He moved quickly into the hallway and told the first nurse he saw that Chloe was waking up. He paced her room impatiently as the nurse took her vital signs. The nurse shot him a warning glare, which he returned mockingly.

‘Stupid cow. Just hurry up and get her better,’ he thought. Under normal circumstances, he may have even voiced his thoughts aloud, but he wasn’t going to push things with the way the evening was going.

“Hello,” the nurse greeted Chloe with a not quite warm smile. “Do you know where you are?” Chloe furrowed her brow as her eyes darted around the room. There was a ringing in her ears that was making her head throb and her vision blurry. Finally, she shook her head and the nurse frowned. “Do you remember your name?”

“Chloe,” she replied in a raspy whisper. The nurse nodded once and shined a bright light into Chloe’s eyes. Chloe squinted and tried to block the light with her arm.

“Alright. It looks like you have a concussion, but I’ll get a doctor in here to check you out as soon as possible,” the woman said and briskly walked out of the room.

“So much for bedside manner,” Jack mumbled. The corners of Chloe’s mouth lifted into a partial grin and Jack went to sit in the chair next to her bed. “How are you doing there, sweet pea?” Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“Sweet pea?”

“You have no idea how long I’ve been here. I had to do something to pass the time – so I came up with a bunch of nifty nicknames for you.”

“Great,” Chloe said sarcastically. Jack grinned as he leaned forward, but then he looked serious.

“How much do you remember?” He asked. Chloe lightly shook her head.

“There was a loud boom; it still feels like it’s in my head,” she said. “I remember feeling afraid – and fire.”

“Your helicopter went down,” Jack confirmed.

“Helicopter?”

“What do you remember before the accident?” Jack asked. Chloe thought about it.

“Not a lot,” she admitted. “Flashes of faces – your face. I was wearing a long dress for some reason and holding onto your arm.”

“Do you remember my name?” Jack frowned when Chloe shook her head. “Jack.” She gave him a small grateful smile.

“Why was I wearing a long dress? It almost seems like ---”

“We went to the ball together,” Jack explained.

“Ball?” Chloe asked skeptically. “What am I? A princess?”

“You looked like one,” Jack said. Chloe was surprised and embarrassed by the sincere tone that Jack’s words came out in. She looked down after blushing slightly, refusing to meet his eyes in fear that the blush might deepen in color.

“So, are we ---?” Chloe trailed off and Jack smiled.

“No. As tempting as it is to lie and say that you’re my girlfriend; your affections already belonged to someone else by the time we met,” he said honestly, surprising even himself.

“Then why did you and I go to the ball together?” She asked. Jack drew in a deep breath.

“Long story,” he said. “But to sum things up – you and Lex are both incredibly stubborn and didn’t want to admit that you even like each other ---” Jack paused for a second and tried to hide the small frown he felt forming with his next words. “Love each other.”

“Oh,” Chloe said in response. “I don’t remember,” she said and sadly looked down again.

“Give it time, it will come back to you,” he said comfortingly.

“Who is he? *Where* is he?” Chloe asked, wondering why a young man who wasn’t her boyfriend was here in her hospital room with her when the man she was supposedly in love with was nowhere to be seen. Jack gave her a somber look before answering.

“He was in the helicopter with you when it went down,” he said.

“The explosion,” Chloe said thoughtfully. Jack nodded.

“I’m sorry,” he said in little more than a whisper. Chloe felt a tremendous tug at her heart and water began to well up in her eyes.

“Is – is he dead?”

“No. At least not the last time I checked,” Jack answered.

“When was that? Is he okay?” Chloe asked, trying to raise herself to a higher sitting up position. Her head throbbed in pain and she felt incredibly dizzy. Jack practically pushed her back down onto the bed.

“You need to lie down and take it easy. You’re lucky that your wounds weren’t a lot worse. Hell! You’re lucky to be alive,” he said. Chloe tried to struggle against him, but Jack wasn’t injured and was considerably stronger than her under normal circumstances, so she failed and allowed her body to collapse against the bed.

“You’re telling me that the man I’m in love with, who I can’t even remember, is ---”

Jack leaned forward and stroked her hair gently with his hand. He spoke in a soft tone so he wouldn’t aggravate her more.

“What’s the other main face you remember besides mine?” He asked. Chloe let her eyes close and a picture of Lex flashed beneath her lids. Jack could tell from the expression on her face that she remembered, but needed to make sure. “You remember?” Chloe gave him a hesitant nod and Jack continued. “He’s in ICU, just like you; he’s just down the hallway. But to be honest, I have no idea what kind of condition he’s in. I only saw him briefly as I was passing by his room on the way to yours and his injuries looked worse than yours do.”

“Can I see him?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea – not yet,” Jack said with a shake of his head. Chloe gave him a questioning look and Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “He’s not in good shape, Chloe. Neither are you.”

“I just – there’s so much I don’t remember,” she said. “And the stuff I do remember, it’s just in flashes. Do you have any idea how scary it is not to remember your own life? I just think that maybe if I saw him ---”

“You’d remember more,” Jack finished for her and then nodded. “It’s possible, but do me a favor and wait a few hours – maybe until the later hours of the morning. Get some sleep. I don’t even think he’s woken up yet, but I’ll go check on him if it will help you rest better.” Chloe nodded gratefully.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I’ll be right back.”

Jack walked out of Chloe’s room after flashing her a smile and started down the hallway to see Lex, cursing at himself the entire walk down.

“You had to remind her about Luthor, didn’t you Montgomery?” He chided himself. A couple of the nurses he passed gave him strange looks, but he ignored them. He pursed his lips before opening Lex’s door and walking in. “She’s not safe with you,” Jack told what he thought was Lex’s sleeping form, “so I’m not letting you have her.” Lex’s eyes flitted open and he shot a questioning look at Jack.

“Where’s Chloe?” He asked in the same raspy voice that Chloe had used earlier.

“You remember?” Jack asked him. Lex gave him a strange look and Jack started up again. “Because she doesn’t remember a lot, only bits and pieces of her life – and seemingly only the last twenty-four hours.”

“What did you tell her?” Lex asked accusingly.

“So tempting,” Jack said as he kept his spot, standing near the door. “She remembered being on my arm at the ball ---”

“What did you tell her?” Lex asked again, this time with more anger seeping into it.

“Let’s just say you owe me,” Jack said. Lex squared his jaw as Jack turned around to leave. “Your dad didn’t make it.” Lex blinked a couple of times in shock as Jack’s non-remorseful words hit him. Jack walked out of the room and Lex let the back of his head hit the pillow. Lex pondered Jack’s words over and over again.

Did he owe him for reminding Chloe of who he was – or did he owe him for killing his father?

~*~*~
Ch. 21
~*~*~

Lex closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep as a nurse entered his room, chatting about him and his situation with another nurse who was standing in the doorway.

“Despite how he looks, he seems to be doing pretty well,” the older woman in his room said. “I bet the doctor will have him moved pretty soon.”

The nurse in the doorway scoffed and crossed her arms.

“Not if he has anything to say about it,” she replied. “He asks to see her every minute he’s awake, you know?”

“I know,” the first woman said in agreement and jotted something down in his chart. “But you know there’s no way her boyfriend is going to let him see her.”

“I heard she was engaged to this one first,” the nurse in the doorway said in a hushed, gossipy tone. The older woman swung around and looked at her in surprise.

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not,” she protested, shaking her head. “I heard it from Cecily over in Smallville. That’s where both of them normally live, you know?”

“Poor guy. He was probably just trying to get her back,” the older woman said.

“According to what I’ve heard, he ushered her out of that ball pretty quickly.”

“Can you blame him? His dad was dying on the floor. It must have been a circus!”

“Ooh, you’ll never believe what else I heard,” the woman from the doorway said. Both nurses left the room and Lex heard their voices trailing off into the distance as one of them shut the door behind them.

It had taken a great deal of control for Lex not to correct them on their misinformation, but doing so would have proved that he was awake and prompted the doctor to transfer him to another floor sooner. He couldn’t risk that. If he feigned to be in worse condition than he was, and God knows he looked the part so he could pull it off well enough, then he could stay on the same floor as Chloe. They were reluctant to transfer her because of her memory loss, and from what he had gathered, Jack was keeping a tight reign on who was being allowed to see her. The hospital hadn’t even let Gabe up to see her even though he was her father.

‘The Montgomery’s must have donated enough money for a new wing or something,’ Lex mused. He was surprised when he heard the door to his room click open again so soon.

“I know you’re up,” Jack said as he closed the door quietly behind him. Lex opened his eyes and glared at the young man.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your *girlfriend*?” Lex asked somewhat bitterly. After overhearing the nurses’ conversation, Lex had no doubt in his mind that Jack had used Chloe’s scattered memory in his favor.

“She’s sleeping,” Jack answered and sat down in a chair that was leaned against the wall. “But I told her I’d check on you; let her know how you were doing.”

“I could show her for myself if you’d let me see her,” Lex said. Jack tightly grinned.

“I think we both know that’s not going to happen.”

Lex gave Jack a serious look and then frowned at him.

“Why are you doing this? She doesn’t belong to you.”

“She doesn’t *belong* to you either,” Jack said. He stood up and began to casually pace around the room, making sure to stay far enough away from Lex’s bed so that he couldn’t hurt him without getting up. “And I doubt that she’d appreciate being referred to as property.” Lex let out a humorless chuckle and lightly shook his head.

“You’re such an unbelievable bastard. First you kill my father ---”

“Self defense,” Jack interrupted. “And if anything, I thought you’d be pleased with the information. You have your company back, and I’m guessing your father’s company will come along with that; although they’re waiting to read the will until after the memorial service.” Jack turned and smiled at Lex as something he found amusing came to him. “How many people do you think will show up to that, by the way? One?” Despite his anger with Jack over the situation with Chloe, Lex did find what Jack had said somewhat humorous. Damned if he would admit it though. He quickly shoved down the emotion so it wouldn’t show on his face.

“Two,” he answered casually.

“I’m not letting Chloe anywhere near that man; I don’t care if he’s dead or not.”

“Your relationship with her is that unstable?” Lex taunted. He watched Jack’s hands clench into fists and partially rolled his eyes. “Calm down. I was talking about my brother.”

“You don’t have a brother.”

“I had to put him into hiding after dear old dad tried to kill him,” Lex said.

“Nice,” Jack said sarcastically. “Why were you letting Chloe even be in the same town with him again?”

“It’s a long story,” Lex said. “And you didn’t know her before.” Jack could see the almost dazed look cross over Lex’s eyes and he frowned as Lex began to reminisce. “She was --- spirited. Happy.”

“And then she started hanging out with your dad,” Jack said. Lex shook his head.

“No. Then she had her heart broken and felt betrayed by two of her friends,” Lex said. “*Then* she started hanging out with my dad.”

“Why didn’t you stop her? Warn her?” Jack asked, tilting his head to the side. Lex turned his head to glare at Jack.

“You don’t think I tried?!” He glanced at the door and then back to Jack, lowering his voice. “Do you have any idea how stubborn she is?”

“Yes,” he spat. Jack made a grumbling sound low in his throat and turned so he wouldn’t have to face Lex with what he was about to say. “She keeps asking for you. She barely remembers you, but I made the mistake of telling her the truth, and now she thinks if she sees you she’ll get her memories back. I knew I should have never brought you up.” He said the last part under his breath, but Lex heard it. He was shocked to hear the words coming from Jack’s mouth, and even more surprised by what they implied.

“You haven’t told her she’s your girlfriend,” Lex observed quietly. Jack rubbed his forehead and eyes with his hand.

“No,” he admitted. “Just the staff and they wouldn’t have believed otherwise anyway after seeing the picture of us at the ball.”

They both stayed silent for a moment as they considered what was going to happen next. Finally, Lex looked at Jack.

“Are you going to let me see her?”

“I wasn’t planning to,” Jack said, lifting one corner of his mouth in a small smirk.

“It’s the right thing to do.” Lex paused while he thought about what he just said and grinned at Jack. “But that never has a bearing on your decisions, does it?”

“Rarely,” Jack agreed with a curt nod and the smirk still in place.

“So ---”

Jack sighed and looked at Lex almost pleadingly.

“She’s not safe around you. After everything that’s happened, wouldn’t you rather she be well taken care of? Protected? Loved?”

“I would prefer that *I* be the one to provide those things,” Lex said dryly. “*Not* you.”

“I’m sure you would.”

“Now that my father’s gone ---”

Jack held up his hand to keep Lex from continuing. He already knew the argument well; it was the same one they had been discussing since the accident. The problem was that Jack had become rather attached to Chloe, even more so since he had been talking to her in the hospital, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to ‘just be friends’ anymore. He also couldn’t deny the reality that it very well might not be up to him.

“I’ll think about it,” Jack said somberly. Lex arched an eyebrow. “If she’s feeling well enough to leave her bed later today --- I’ll think about it.”

Lex nodded once in acquiescence, knowing that was about as far as Jack was going to give where Chloe was concerned at this point.

“When she wakes up, how should I tell her you’re feeling?” Jack asked.

“Tell her the truth.”

“What? That you’re acting like a possessive lovesick puppy dog that can’t bear to be without his mistress?” Jack smirked.

“I can see why you two hit it off so well,” Lex said. Jack chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“What do you really want me to tell her?” He asked seriously.

“Just tell her I miss her,” Lex said. “And that once I see her again, I’ll do everything in my power to help her remember me.”

“You’re sure? Because that could really work to my advantage.”

“How do you figure?” Lex asked. Jack started walking toward the door and opened it slightly before looking back at Lex.

“As I remember it, the two of you didn’t actually get along too well,” he answered with another smirk.

“Funny,” Lex said dryly. His eyes widened when he saw Chloe standing in the hallway outside his door. Jack followed his gaze and quickly tried to usher her out further into the hallway away from Lex’s room, but she wouldn’t budge.

“Chloe! You’re not supposed to be up. Don’t you remember what the doctor said?” Jack asked. She sloughed off his worry with a wave of her hand.

“Doctors are stupid,” she said and then gave him a pleading look. “And I *need* to talk to him. Please?”

scifichick774
19th April 2003, 15:08
~*~*~
Ch. 22
~*~*~

Jack squared his jaw, but the pleading look on Chloe’s bruised face wore him down. He begrudgingly gave in and nodded once at her. Chloe smiled and let her hand drop from the pole holding her IV bag. She wrapped her arms around him and Jack hugged her back gently, making sure not to tangled one of his arms up in her IV cord.

“If you need anything - *anything* - just scream or something, okay?”

Chloe laughed at Jack’s over-protective behavior and patted his arm almost condescendingly.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said. Jack glanced back at Lex warningly before letting Chloe step into the room, dragging the IV pole beside her. He didn’t want to, but he closed the door behind him, giving Chloe and Lex their privacy.

Lex took in Chloe’s appearance and tried to keep from cringing. She was bruised and cut up pretty badly, but had no discernable burns that he could see.

‘Of course, those could be under the bandages,’ he thought to himself.

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s not like you look wonderful either,” Chloe said as she made her way to the chair beside his bed. Lex grinned and arched an eyebrow.

“And here I was afraid that this might be uncomfortable,” he quipped. Chloe gave him a small smile and then sat down in the chair.

“So,” she started, avoiding any possible eye contact with him, “Jack tells me that you and I were supposedly in love with each other.”

“Right to the point,” Lex said admirably.

“Were we?”

“Jack’s a smart guy,” Lex said, partially dodging the question.

“Yeah, he is,” she agreed. Lex pursed his lips while he thought about how to ask what he wanted to ask without sounding like an asshole.

“Do you like him?”

“I do,” Chloe said with a nod of her head. “He’s funny and he’s been here every day since I woke up.”

‘Great,’ Lex thought sarcastically. “He likes you too – I can tell,” he said, trying to get past the lump building in his throat. Chloe gave him a strange look before speaking.

“You meant *like* like,” she said observantly.

“Yes. What did you think I meant?” Lex asked a little too hopefully. Chloe shrugged, but then winced when the pain hit her ribs from the motion.

“Like - *friend* like,” she explained. She paused and sucked in a deep breath. “Look, I’m not going to pretend that I remember anything more about you than how you look in a suit, because I don’t. But I do know that the second Jack told me about you, I felt like someone was squeezing my heart.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “All I’ve wanted to do is talk to you so I could maybe try and remember anything – everything – about me, you --- us.”

Lex held out his hand toward her and motioned for her to come closer to him. Chloe stood up hesitantly and then moved to sit on the side of his bed. Lex reached over from his sitting position and cupped the side of her face softly, drawing her closer to kiss her. Their lips met and although Chloe halfway wanted to pull away, she let his gentle lips persuade her into sinking into the kiss. Flashes of her and Lex raced through her mind and she suddenly pulled away, surprising him.

“Oh, my God! Jack at the party and your dad --- is he okay?”

“That’s the first thing that came to your mind when I kissed you?” He asked with an arched eyebrow. “I think I should be offended.”

“Is he okay?” She repeated worriedly.

“He died.”

Chloe felt the blood rush from her face and the room started to spin. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Kissing Lex had miraculously given her memory back to her, only to have the bad news of Lionel’s thrust upon her. Lex saw the play of emotions on her face and reached for the plastic kidney-shaped bowl for her to throw up into if she needed to. She just stared at it and one corner of Lex’s mouth slightly curled upward.

“The hospital must expect you to have really good aim,” he said tongue-in-cheek. Despite feeling ill, Chloe chuckled once and then sniffled. Lex stroked her hair lightly. “You remember.” It was an observation, not a question. Chloe nodded and Lex was quiet for a few seconds before speaking again. “Can you forgive me?” Chloe looked at him quizzically. “It’s my fault for rushing you out of the party, and we could have stayed at my apartment in Metropolis or a hotel or something,” he rambled. Chloe smiled. It wasn’t often she saw Lex Luthor apologizing, and he obviously wasn’t used to it.

“Well, this is just as good,” she joked. Lex let out a humorless chuckle and they fell quiet again. Chloe looked up from the blankets at him and they caught each other’s eye.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a voice so hushed that it was almost a whisper. “I should have believed you about him. You warned me. You were just trying to be a good friend and I ---”

“No, I wasn’t,” Lex admitted. He took a breath before continuing. “I wasn’t trying to be a good friend. I was jealous and it was killing me to see you with him, even if you didn’t return his feelings.”

“Oh.”

“I ---”

“I didn’t,” she interrupted.

“I know.”

His fingers brushed the side of her cheek and they leaned toward each other again. Lex captured her mouth in as hard of a kiss as he though she could handle. His hand wrapped into her hair, desperately clinging to her, not wanting to let her go now that he had her back. Now that he had her period. They pulled apart to breathe and Lex grinned at her as they both practically gasped for air.

“You know, the hospital staff is going to have a field day with this,” he said. Chloe furrowed her brow.

“Why?”

“I believe the current gossip going around has Jack as your boyfriend and me as your ex-fiancé,” he said. Chloe laughed.

“I knew I was never going to live that down. Fake engagements are nothing but trouble.”

“Not true,” Lex said, the grin falling from his lips. He leaned toward her again. They kissed again and when they pulled away from each other, Chloe gave him a small smile and stood up.

“I should be getting back to my room.”

“Have they told you when they might be sending you home yet?” Lex asked. Chloe closed her eyes, willing the tears that were forming to go away. Lex knew exactly what was going through her mind. “You’ll come to forgive them in time,” he said.

“I know. I think so too, but ---”

“And until you do, you know you’re welcome to stay with me.” Chloe barely grinned and then she nodded.

“Thanks.”

Chloe turned and left the room, dragging her IV pole beside her. Lex let out a sigh after she left and leaned back slowly, letting his head hit his pillow. A second later, he reached for the phone and dialed a familiar number.

“Hello?”

“Gabe? It’s Lex.”

“Lex,” Gabe greeted almost coolly.

“I think you should come and see your daughter.”

“I already tried that, they wouldn’t let us in.”

“Well, Jack Montgomery’s not in charge of her visitors anymore, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” Lex said.

“I see. Thank you for telling me Lex.”

“Yeah. Gabe?”

“Hmm?”

“I need to talk to you as well.”

“About Chloe?”

“Yes.”

Gabe sighed and paused before speaking again.

“I already know, Lex.”

“I don’t think you ---”

“You love her,” Gabe interrupted. Lex felt his heart constrict. It was what he was going to say, but the man on the other end of line basically held any future he might have with Chloe in his hands.

“Yes.”

“I’ll drive down tonight.”

~*~*~
Ch. 23 - The End
~*~*~

Clark leaned his back against the outside wall of the Talon that was facing the alley. He and Lana hadn’t even been going out that long, and there were already arguing over the little things he thought they had put behind them. He thought since she finally agreed to go out with him that she had forgiven him for his tendency to take off – after all, it wasn’t like he could tell her the truth; which was most of the problem. His super hearing caught voices from inside and he was surprised. He had been waiting there for Lana since the Talon closed. He didn’t know anyone else was in there. Clark tilted his head and listened in to see if he could make out who the other voice belonged to.

Lana sighed as she wiped down the counter.

“I don’t know, Pete. This big idea of mine seems to have backfired.”

“You just need to give him some time, Lana.”

Clark frowned. It was Pete and he and Lana were obviously talking about him.

“Time isn’t the issue – trust is. I thought if we finally starting going out, that he could see that he can trust me with all of those secrets he has.”

Clark furrowed his brow. Lana had only started going out with him because she wanted to know what he was hiding from her? Clark shook his head lightly, refusing to believe it.

“But instead --- Pete, it’s almost like he’s become more guarded. I just don’t understand why everyone in my life pulls away from me.”

“It’s not like that, Lana,” Pete insisted. Clark faintly smiled when he heard his friend standing up for him. Pete couldn’t tell her the truth either, but at least he could side-step her questions without making Clark out to be some insensitive jerk.

“It’s *exactly* like that, Pete.” Lana blew some stray hairs out of her face in frustration. “My parents died. Whitney became distant when his dad was sick. My biological father is too busy for me. Chloe – who has pretty much been my only *real* girl friend – refuses to acknowledge my existence; not to mention the fact that she almost died and is in a hospital in Metropolis not taking visitors. And then there’s Clark. He’s always just taking off to who knows where to do who knows what, and he never even bothers to give me a good lie. He just leaves.” Lana motioned wildly with her arms and then shook her head. “Am I *so* repulsive that no one can stand to be around me?”

“Of course not,” Pete quickly argued. “And it’s not like that with Clark either. So, the guy’s got secrets – who doesn’t? And you like each other. Isn’t that enough until he ---”

“Until he *what*, Pete?” Finally pulls his act together to see what’s right in front of his face?”

Clark didn’t need to use his x-ray vision to know that she was on the verge of tears – he could hear it in her voice. He quickly wiped away the wetness that was forming in his own eyes and kept listening to the conversation that was causing both of them so much pain.

Lana sighed and gave Pete an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to just dump all that on you.”

“No problem. You know I’m always here for you, Lana.”

Lana tilted her head as she gave him an observant and thoughtful look.

“Yeah. You always are.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Two weeks later, it was the day of Lionel’s memorial service. He had requested to be cremated in his will, and a large ornate urn was placed at the front of the church on top of a pedestal. People slowly drifted into the cathedral; most of them being business associates, as Lionel had never had any real friends. Lucas motioned toward Chloe and Jack with his head as he spoke to his brother.

“You’re not worried about that?” Lucas asked. Lex glanced over at them and then back to his brother.

“They’re just friends,” Lex with a calm that he truly didn’t possess.

“He likes her.”

“He won’t act on it.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“He knows better.”

Chloe’s eyes grew wider when she saw the next small group of people to come in through the doors. Her dad, the Kents – Jonathan too, which surprised the hell out of her until she realized that Martha probably forced him to come, Pete, and Lana. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from them.

“Your ex-friends?” Jack asked. Chloe nodded absently.

“And my dad,” she answered, finally turning her attention back to him.

“Just because they’re here, it doesn’t mean you have to talk to them,” Jack said comfortingly as he rubbed his hand on the small of her back in a circular motion.

“Yes, I do,” she said sadly. “It’s strange though. I don’t feel how I thought I would.”

“How did you think you’d feel?”

“I don’t know; not like this. I still feel hurt, but I’m not angry anymore,” she answered. “Everything that happened with them just seems so trivial compared to everything else that’s happened since then.” Jack nodded once.

“You’re moving onto the acceptance stage of grief,” he said. She looked at him quizzically. “When you lose a friendship, it can have the same effects as losing someone to death,” he explained. “You may not go through all the stages with the friendship thing, but I’d say you definitely hit on denial, anger, and now acceptance.”

“When was I in denial?” She asked, folding her arms across her chest.

“From what you’ve told me, it was before they started going out,” Jack said. Chloe’s face fell and she nodded.

“Yeah.”

“So, do you need me to come along for moral support?” Jack asked, stealing a quick look at the people who were still just standing in the back of the church without taking their seats.

“No. I need to do this on my own,” she said. Jack nodded once and Chloe took a hesitant step forward. “But stay close in case I change my mind.”

Lex watched her start to walk toward the group and he walked over to talk to Jack.

“I thought she said he was tall?” Jack half-asked as Lex came up beside him.

“Who?”

“Clark.”

“He is,” Lex said. “He’s the tall one with the dark hair, standing next to her dad and his parents.” Jack arched an eyebrow.

“And the girl?”

“Lana.”

“But she’s supposed to be going out with Clark. That’s what started this whole thing, isn’t it?” Jack asked. Lex gave him a curt nod. “Then tell me, why is she holding the other boy’s hand?”

Chloe approached her father and her former friends slowly but surely, holding her shoulders back with perfect posture to convey confidence that she didn’t really feel. If Lionel had taught her anything, it was that appearances could be deceiving. She braced herself as she got close enough to speak to them.

‘I can do this,’ she reminded herself. Chloe took a few more steps forward and gave her dad a small hug. He was surprised, but he quickly returned the embrace. Chloe pulled back and nodded once as a greeting to the others in the group. “Thanks for coming,” she said, hiding away any emotion that she felt over seeing them again.

“Chloe,” Clark said and stepped forward as if he was going to give her a hug, but Lex appeared out of nowhere and placed his hand on the small of her back. He leaned his head down a little to speak close to her ear.

“The service is about to start, we need to take our seats,” he said in a hushed voice. She turned her head and smiled at him, grateful that he had chosen that exact moment to come over. In time, she might be able to make small talk with the people in front of her again, but she hadn’t reached that point yet. Lex looked at Gabe. “If you’ll excuse us.” It wasn’t phrased as a question, nor was it meant to be.

Gabe watched as Chloe and Lex walked down the aisle to the front of the church together and inwardly sighed. Only two weeks before, he had gone to see them in the hospital. Lex’s words still rung inside his head.

‘I love her. I’m not sure how she feels, but I’m not going to let her go. Not after everything we’ve been through. Not ever.’

Staring at the couple as they took their seats, Gabe was faced with the truth of what Lex had told him; and he had no doubt that Chloe returned the young man’s feelings. Their wounds were healing now and their bruises had started to fade, but the emotional wounds would take longer. Gabe knew that there was still a long road ahead of him when it came to repairing his relationship with his daughter.

The priest began to talk after everyone had been seated, but Lex was barely paying attention. He leaned his head toward Chloe.

“Did you see that it wasn’t Clark’s hand that Lana was holding?” He whispered. Chloe scoffed.

“She probably just got sick of waiting for him to finally tell her all of his deep, dark secrets,” she whispered back. “That’s part of the reason I was so surprised to see them together in the first place. She has really big trust issues.”

“That – and you were jealous,” Lex said with a half-teasing grin. Chloe eyed him and then coughed into her hand.

“The priest is calling you,” she said in a hushed voice. Lex glanced over, and sure enough, the priest was looking at him expectantly.

“Oops,” he said under his breath as he made his way to the podium. He cleared his throat into the microphone and stared out at the sea of people, most of which he barely knew. The majority of them were there for their own purposes – the most prevalent one being the media exposure they would receive as they exited the building. “Thank you all for coming here today. I wish I could stand up here and tell you stories about what a wonderful and caring human being my father was, but the truth is that he wasn’t.”

A few gasps and murmured whispers shot through the audience and Lex did his very best not to smirk when he saw Lucas snickering.

“From the moment I was born, he tried to mold me into the man he thought I should be; feeding me lines that once poured from the lips of conquerors; hoping that one day it would all sink in and I would follow in his footsteps with no moral quibbles to stand in my way.” Lex paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “In the end, the quote that I will always carry with me, came from him. Be it *bad*,” Lex turned and glanced at the urn that held his father’s ashes, silently affirming that Lionel was to be associated with the ‘bad’ part of his statement. “Or good,” he said and looked at Chloe with a small grin, which she quickly returned. “There are always consequences for the actions we take.” His eyes scanned over the people until he found the person he was looking for. The person he was about to warn. He stared directly at Clark. “There are *always* consequences.”




The End

starmoon
23rd February 2005, 07:08
This story is good and I like how Linonal reacted to Chloe carring about him until her became obbcesed with her. I am glad she rembered Lex because they belong together. Jack was interesting and I am glad Chloe got a real friend. Clark and Lana make me sick and deserve to have a friend like Chloe :bang: I loved it when Lex would kiss Chloe it was just perfect. :love2: I wanted to hurt Clark that loser for giving Chloe a bruse on her arm. :kill: He should of knowen better. Chloe's father should of been on her side the whole time and yelled at Lana and Clark for hurting and betraying Chloe, and for using her all the time. That is what a real father would do. :tantrum: Chlex forerver. :wub: :smoke:

Kit Merlot
31st March 2005, 17:22
This was a very inspired fic!

The image of Lionel Luthor acting like a lovesick, yet still murderous puppy actually makes me smile--WELL DONE :D

autumngold
31st March 2005, 19:38
This is such an excellent story!! I even found myself liking Lionel, until he became so jealous!! The Chlex scenes were excellent, and I'm so glad that Chloe found a friend in Jack!! Thank you so very, very much for this wonderful story!!!!

red turtle
23rd April 2005, 04:21
I love to read this story. It's one you can read again and agian without getting boring.

MB Corp
6th June 2005, 18:10
Oooh I love this story! I especially liked lovesick (yet evil) Lionel. And the Chlex was of course perfect.:D

tammybela
8th June 2005, 05:06
i loved how this story wont let go of you once you start it. I was so enjoyable observing the way you let the characters interact with eachother. The dialog was amazing. I have read this story twice now and i was entranced in it just as much as the first time.

micah_luther
18th June 2005, 09:03
I liked this story. It was different and really showed Lana and Clark for what they are, selfish. You put Lionel in an interesting light, or darkness, more appropriatly worded. It seemed like something he would actually do. I love the entire Chlexiness of it all. Their interactions with each other were great, and I could visualize that. It was amazing. I also liked the character Jack. He was interesting. You did a great job.

darkangel
30th July 2005, 04:53
I loved this. I wish that Clark had died also.

txalb
12th December 2005, 06:46
There is something about this fic that just gets me every time. The idea of Chloe skirting the edge, not to mention the marathon bouts of shouting that go on between her and Lex.

The opening scene has to be one of my favorite parts. I love that you gave her character the opportunity to let loose like that. It really set the tone for the rest of the story. I also loved when she let Lex have it and told him about Helen Bryce. So perfect!

I really love the way you write Chloe. She is a strong character every time you write her. I like that she has that presence in the story and I like that she isn’t some simpering school girl. You show that she is intelligent and it’s reflected in your fic. You can't have a girl who is so good about fact finding on the show and write them off as stupid when writing them. And I’m so happy you don’t. Plus, that was just a wonderful scene when she was revealing to Lionel that she knew he wasn’t blind. Perfect!

Another beautiful fic. Please keep writing, I love reading it. And thanks for writing.

txalb

starmoon
12th December 2005, 21:09
~*~*~


“From the moment I was born, he tried to mold me into the man he thought I should be; feeding me lines that once poured from the lips of conquerors; hoping that one day it would all sink in and I would follow in his footsteps with no moral quibbles to stand in my way.” Lex paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “In the end, the quote that I will always carry with me, came from him. Be it *bad*,” Lex turned and glanced at the urn that held his father’s ashes, silently affirming that Lionel was to be associated with the ‘bad’ part of his statement. “Or good,” he said and looked at Chloe with a small grin, which she quickly returned. “There are always consequences for the actions we take.” His eyes scanned over the people until he found the person he was looking for. The person he was about to warn. He stared directly at Clark. “There are *always* consequences.”




The End

lex is right there is always consequences to everything we do. clark is learning this the hard way for he lost chloe and now lana to pete which is stupid since clark seems ok with it so now he must see lana was never right for him but lost his chance with chloe a long time ago. clark is stupid and doean't deserve to be with chloe who has moved on to a better person for her. i think lex and chloe are soul mates. can't wait for you next story i just love to come bsck and read this one over and over again. :love:

spaceboi's pixie
14th December 2005, 02:49
beautiful story

Caliope
30th July 2006, 19:51
Absolutly amazing story, what else is there to say?:grin3:

chloedreamer
1st September 2006, 17:22
This was good I was so scared it was going to be Lex that dead.

BellaMR
8th August 2007, 10:10
Up until Lionel tried to poison Jack, I was sure he was leering at Chloe just to make Lex jealous. His insinuation that Chloe wasn't a Luther "yet" I saw as his plans for Lex and Chloe.

Excellant work on this fic. It's just brillantly written.

juuicebox
4th September 2007, 21:37
loved it

malugargula
9th September 2007, 01:41
This fic is amazing
And totally true... there are consequences all the time
:)

Tanschana
9th June 2008, 08:13
Very nice story, eventhough I liked it better when I thought that Lionel was trying to set up Chloe and Lex.
But still, I really liked the story!

SouthernChlex
22nd January 2011, 05:36
I can't even begin to describe how much I enjoyed this story. From Lionel's slow decent into a sick and twisted obsession to Chloe's 'anger management lessons'. I loved the whole thing. And I know there was a definite angsty feel to the story, but I could also see this appearing under the humor category, as well. Hilarious. :respect:

redk-is-sexy
2nd April 2011, 11:28
I loved it! I like Lionel til it turned out all the stuff I thought he was doing to get chloe with lex turned out to be way creepy with his attraction to her. Lex was the best in this, plus i love how chloe had a little bit more attitude than i have seen before.

malugargula
19th February 2013, 02:30
amazing fic!!!
Too bad Lionel's feelings became obsession, otherwise they could've been good friends :)
Loved Jack and loved the Chlexiness
And Gabe: shame on you

RevDorothyL
7th December 2013, 07:06
Consequences, indeed! You captured both the real charm of Lionel and the poison at his core, and made Chloe's friendship with the elder Luthor all the more tragic, in that his own flaws and history compelled him to take it much too far, to alienate her and attempt to murder a kid who wasn't even a real rival. But at least the threat of Lionel's interest in Chloe was enough to spur Lex to action, and i can't be other than happy to see them together at last -- allies, friends, and lovers.

Ami Rose
11th February 2015, 00:51
That was amazing! I couldn't stop reading it! Loved every bit of it!

layell
11th April 2015, 22:56
Great story. The twist in Lionel's scheme was creepy. I really enjoyed reading this.

Priscilla Waggoner
11th June 2015, 15:57
From the beginning you start to think, "hey Lionel's changing", and then you get to the end and your like "that sick bastard"
I think this is one of the best characterizations of him based on the fact that he can even manipulate the reader