Shanna
1st May 2005, 19:03
I wasn't sure where to post this, but since it's a one-shot (a 9-page one-shot, but a one-shot nonetheless) I'll put it here. If the mods think it would be better somewhere else, feel free to move it.
Title: Save the Last Dance For Me
Author: Shanna - shannalynn9064@msn.com (shannalynn9064@msn.com)
Rating: PG-13 for an itty bitty amount of language
Summary: Prom wasn’t all it was cracked up to be for Chloe. Can Lex help remedy that?
Disclaimer: I don’t own them. No way, no how. AlMiles and gang own them.
Pairing: Chlex of course
Don’t need nothing’
But a good time
How can I re-si-ist?
Chloe slurred the words and stumbled in her monster heels as she tried to drunkenly navigate the hard-packed dirt road that would take her out of the woods and back to the main road. Who came up with the brilliant idea to have the post-prom party in the woods, anyway? Oh yeah, it was organized by the basketball team’s captain, Joe-Joe Bunda, he who also came up with the equally brilliant idea to make it a theme party: Eighties’ Night.
“What a buf-hic-foon!” She muttered, straightening her crown for what seemed the thousandth time that evening. “Stupid jockstrap. If I heard Cinderella screech ‘Nobody’s Fool’ one more time, I swear I was gonna to puke.”
Stopping in her tracks, Chloe clutched at her stomach. Thinking about puking after downing way too many cheap cans of beer was not a good idea. Gulping soundly, she forced down her hard won tummy full of alcohol. “Still a buf…a buffa…still a doof.” Her head bounced firmly, acknowledging the correct labeling of poor Joe-Joe, and once again she fumbled to catch the glittering tiara before it tumbled to the ground.
Say I spend my money on women and wine,
But I couldn‘t tell ya how I spent last night.
I’m real sorry ‘bout the shape I’m in.
I just like my hic every now and then.
“Phooey!” Chloe whined when her prom gown tangled around her legs, and she lost her balance. Arms wind milled, her body teetered on ridiculous four inch heels, purchased specifically so she wouldn’t have to hem the darned gown in the first place, and down she went. “Ack!”
When she opened her eyes, Chloe thought she was seeing stars. Groping about her face, she found that it was, in fact, moonlight reflecting off the cheap rhinestones in the crown that created the strange phenomenon. It dangled precariously from her hair and into her face .
‘Huh! No UFOs here, just stupid weather balloons masquerading as alien spacecrafts.’ Dragging herself to her feet, Chloe looked down at her dusty gown in dismay. “Well, crap!” She leaned forward to brush off the lovely dried dirt and wound up stumbling three feet to the left to keep from taking another header onto the road.
“Maybe I should have laid off the hic beer after the first four.” She paused to mentally calculate the number of longing glances she’d endured between Lana and Clark at the prom. “Nah!”
In the distance, she heard a new song and let out a little squeal of delight. Chloe began walking down the road again, trying to keep time with the lively tune. She was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other and remembering the lyrics of the song (See, even drunk she could manage to multitask!) that she didn’t notice the bright lights headed her way.
*****************************************
Lex had received a report from his security team that there was a high school party on the piece of property he’d purchased adjacent to the fertilizer factory. Figuring it was some post-prom blow out, and not wanting to get any of the teens in trouble, he’d advised his detail to not contact the police. He would clear them out personally and make sure everyone got home safely. Lex pulled the BMW sedan, a car better suited for toting drunken teens home than his Porsche, to a halt. Approximately thirty feet before him staggered a female who looked like a stand in for the movie ‘Carrie’. He debated the safety of exiting his car to make sure the girl wasn’t in some sort of trouble. Smallville, woods, a nice supply of meteor rocks just over the next rise, he just didn’t know what to expect - until the Carrie wannabe lifted her head and his headlights caught a glimpse of her flushed face. He threw the car in park, and quickly exited the driver’s side.
“Chloe?” Lex called to the wobbly teen. He wondered exactly how much alcohol she’d indulged in that she was wandering alone on a dirt road in the middle of the night.
She still hadn’t noticed him, but Lex could see her head bobbing to some unknown rhythm. When Chloe stopped dead in her tracks, he was close enough at that point to catch a few mumbled words. She seemed to be listening to something, and Lex caught a very distant rumble that could have been either an echo of a bass or drums.
“Chloe? Are you hurt?” He was standing in front of her now, but she made a shushing motion by fluttering her fingers over his mouth.
She leaned forward and whispered, “Wait for it. Wait for it.” Her head bobbed a few more times before she threw it back and screeched at the top of her lungs, “Tiiiiiiiiiin roof! Rusted.”
Lex jumped back and watched Chloe cackle in a giddy fashion. “Chloe?”
Patting him on the shoulder, the newly crowned prom queen moseyed along once again, hips swaying with precision to the beat of the B-52‘s. “Love Shack! Baby, Love Shack!” She warbled softly, reaching up again to steady her falling crown.
Most definitely drunk. Chloe Sullivan was drunk and walking down a back county road at - he checked his Rolex - three thirty in the morning. Lex ran after the teen and wrapped an arm around her waist, spinning them slightly.
“Whooooo! I thought the world wasn’t supposed to spin until I laid down.” Chloe giggled. She caught herself and stopped abruptly. Since when did she giggle? Lana giggled, cheerleaders giggled, freshmen and prom queens…oh! Her eyes widened in realization. “Oh, no! I‘ve been infected!” She wailed.
“Chloe! Chloe, what‘s wrong? What‘s infected you?” Lex immediately began to check her over for injuries or strange entry wounds created by unknown parasites.
“Damn giggles!” She griped. “It’s this stupid crown. I never giggled until I got this thing.” Chloe ripped of the rhinestone tiara and shook it out, as if it would release some hidden giggle faerie. It took her a moment to realize whose hands were wandering over her body, looking for what, she didn’t know.
“Lex! When’d you get here?” She blinked owlishly at him, and was attacked by another dose of faerie dust. Chloe let loose an inane giggle before she could stop herself. “Dammit!” She really had to stop that. What cured giggles? Holding your breath until you turned blue and then letting it out slowly? No, that was for hiccups.
“I’ve been here, Chloe.” Lex got a good whiff of her breath and leaned back a bit. Wherever she’d been, Chloe had not been sipping aged scotch, of that he was certain.
“So, are you here to kill me or grope me?” She looked pointedly at the hand resting against the deep V of her gown.
“What?” Realizing the placement of his hand, Lex drew it away. “What? Neither. I already apologized profusely for trying to kill you, and I was making sure you were okay.”
“I’m just hic ducky, and so are the girls.” She cupped her breasts lovingly and gave them a gentle squeeze. Lex’s eyes were drawn to ‘the girls’, and he had to fight every instinct to tear his gaze away.
“Well, that’s good to know. I was simply checking.”
“The girls appreciate the attention. They‘ve been lonely lately.” Chloe nodded solemnly. “So whatcha doing out here, on this old dirt road, all alone, in the middle of the hic night?” Maybe she should try that whole holding the breath thing soon, anyway.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Lex arched a brow and decided his patented superior look was wasted on a wasted Chloe.
“I was walking home, of course.” She made it sound like it was the most logical thing in the world.
“Chloe, you have to be over six miles away from your apartment. Why on earth are you walking home this late?” Lex was getting frustrated now. He’d forgotten how logic flies out the window when dealing with drunks, mostly because he’d been the drunk being dealt with in the past.
“Lex Luthor!” She pushed away from him and swayed dangerously before sinking her mega heels into the dirt road for temporary stability. “You don’t actually expect me to drive, do you? For your infirm…infoma…Just so you know, I’m drunk, and that would be wrong, not to mention illegal and dangerous!” Chloe tilted her head and regally looked down her nose at Lex.
“This coming from the girl who broke into a car, stole my employee’s card key, and broke into the plant, all in order to snoop around for a story.” Lex mumbled, growing more amused and exasperated by the girl standing before him.
“Hey! Hey! Get your facts straight, bucco! I didn’t break into the car. I’ll have you know it was unlicked, um, open.”
“Oh, I’m so terribly sorry for my misconception, Miss Sullivan.” He played the sarcasm very close to the vest. If he was going to get Chloe home safely, Lex didn’t really want to get her angry at him.
“And don’t call me that! I hate that, and you say it the same way he did.” Chloe looked miffed before adapting a facetious Lionel impersonation. “’Misssss Sssssullivan. How good to ssssssee you.’ Your father even talks like a snake. Did you ever notice that? Think he‘s related to Voldemort? Maybe he is Voldemort!”
Lex decided to forego sire bashing for the evening, and skipped right over Chloe’s observation.
“So if I’m not to call you Miss Sullivan, is there another name you would prefer, other than Chloe, of course?”
“Well, you can call me your majesty, or highness, I suppose.” She waggled the tiara at him, which still dangled from one hand.
“Where exactly did you get that particular accessory?” He grimaced at the cheap item and wondered if it would leave a green marks on her skin if worn long enough.
“You are looking at Smallville High’s very own hic prom queen. Her Royal Snoopiness, Queen Chloe. Don’t ask me how. One minute I’m dispirag, despriaging, uh, ripping on the whole outdated and useless custom and bam!” She slapped her hands together violently right before his face, causing Lex to blink. “There were posters of me hanging up, some obviously crazy people voted, and voila, here I am, totin’ around the crown.”
“Well, at least they chose a worthy candidate.” He smiled benignly at the teen.
“Clark tried to steal it.” Chloe’s lower lip stuck out a bit, unknowingly pouting.
Lex blinked several more times, trying to absorb her words. “Clark? Clark Kent tried to steal your crown? Why?”
“Oh, he wanted it for himself. Ripped it right off of my head and slammed me into the wall. ‘The crown is mine, bitch!’ How rude.” Only Lex’s hand kept Chloe from toppling to the road once more as her swaying got out of control.
“Clark called you a bitch? And he hit you?” He was speaking slowly, hoping his words would penetrate her alcohol induced haze.
“Well, actually, it was the girl that possessed him. She tried to make me burn down the school. How am I s’posed to graduate when there wouldn’t be anything left of the school? What did she care? She’s dead. No gadiation for her. Huh-uh. Nope. No siree-bob.”
His head spun, and Lex wondered if he wasn’t the drunk one of the two. Chloe sounded like she knew what she was talking about, but it made no sense whatsoever to him.
“Meteor freak?” He asked and ran a hand over his smooth scalp in frustration.
“Think so. Dawn wrecked her car. The police found her body in a whole pit of meteors, so I guess she could have been.” Chloe shrugged and grinned up at him. “Nice talkin’ to ya, Lex. Thanks for not trying to kill me tonight. It’s already sucked enough as it is.”
She limped several feet before Lex realized she still intended to walk back to town. He chased after her again. “Chloe, let me drive you home. You can’t possibly walk home in this condition.” Lex glanced at her feet. “Or in those shoes.”
Hiking up her gown, Chloe peered down at the killer four inch black heels. “There’s nothing wrong with my shoes.” Dropping the dress, she plopped down in the middle of the road, her skirt belled out slightly around her. “It’s my feet that hurt.”
Lex watched as she began trying to work the straps loose, and had to stifle a smile when she cursed the tiny clasps roundly. Feeling benevolent, he crouched down before her. “Would you care for some help with that, your majesty?”
Chloe didn’t raise her face, but he heard a soft sniffle. “Yes, please.” She muttered, kicking her foot onto his proffered lap. Lex held his breath when the sharp point of her heel came dangerously close to turning him soprano. He also attempted to ignore the way her skirt slid to mid-thigh when she extended her leg for his assistance. Concentrate on something else, he told himself.
“Chloe, are you crying?” Lex ducked his head, trying to get a better look at her lowered face. His fingers gently worked the buckle of her left shoe open and massaged the tender flesh exposed.
“No.”
Her petulant reply didn’t assure him of her complete honesty, so he reached over and tilted her face up to the bright Kansas moonlight. Sure enough, there were some tears sparkling in her eyes, not to mention a tiny tremble in her lower lip. “What’s wrong?” Lex asked her gently.
“Nothing.”
“Chlo-eee.” He chided softly, trying to draw the truth out of her. It was a game they played over the summer. Chloe hadn’t wanted to talk about the worries that plagued her, and Lex had been determined to make her time in seclusion as easy as possible on those few occasions he’d actually been able to sneak away to her safe house. Eventually he almost always wrangled a confession from her.
“My feet hurt, that‘s all.” She sniffled and shrugged.
“Mmm-hmm. And?” Coaxing was always part of the game.
“I may have blisters from my shoes.” Her shoulders slumped as if the inflamed bubbles were the worst things in the world.
“I’ll be very careful with them, then.” Lex eased the strap from the back of her ankle, and sure enough, he could feel a slight protrusion there. He massaged gently around the area. “What else is wrong?”
The tears were still present, but the sadness in her eyes had transformed into irritability. “You just don’t give up, do you?”
“Which is why I always win.”
Chloe’s lips twitched at the cocky attitude of the billionaire massaging the arch of her foot. Ooh, nice.
“So, you were going to tell me what else is wrong.” She seemed to need severe prompting. Perhaps it was the alcohol she‘d consumed.
“No, I wasn’t.” Chin jutting forward in a stubborn manner, Chloe’s crown slipped again, dangling from her elegant upsweep to rest on her nose.
Lex reached out and replaced the crown in a more secure fashion, making sure the miniature combs on the sides caught in her hair. “Tell me anyway. I don’t feel like sitting out here all night, which is what I’ll do until you talk to me.”
“My feet hurt and I have blisters. Isn’t that enough?” Chloe waved her hands frantically in the general direction of her aching arches.
“For some young women, yes. For Chloe Sullivan? No. Now, if you’re done being evasive, tell me what’s wrong.”
He was so smug and so matter of a fact, it just irked her sometimes. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Lex Luthor, billionaire playboy and arrogant son of a bitch. He wanted the truth? She’d give him the truth, Chloe fumed, blood pumping in her ears, and alcohol surging through her veins. Combine the two and you wound up with a surprisingly coherent rant.
“Fine! I would like to know what hell I did to deserve the karmic backlash that’s hic been plaguing me the last few years. This was my last big shindig at school. All I wanted was to go with my friends and have a good time. Pete couldn’t make it because he had a final in his last class, and by the time he got here from Wichy…Wichita the dance would be over. Lana decided she didn’t want to go because it wouldn’t be seemly to show up with a former teacher. Clark was moping because he’d always pictured himself going to the prom with Lana. Where would that leave me? Friendless and dateless for my own prom where I actually wind up being crowned queen. However, my cousin decides to show up as Clark’s date, anyway.”
At Lex’s raised brow, she explained. “She was possessed by Dawn at the time.”
He nodded his semi-understanding, and waited for the list of grievances to continue. “I get crowned and possessed all within a span of seconds. Dawn tried to burn down the school while in my body, which, try explaining that one to the police and not get carted off to Belle Rieve, no offense. Clark stopped me, became possessed himself, went all RuPaul-ish, stole my crown and knocked me down. Then Lana shows up to the prom flying solo, and she and Clark make cow eyes at each other for the rest of the night while they dance.” Heaving a sigh, Chloe shrugged and mumbled, “I didn’t even get to dance at my own prom. Some lousy queen I am.”
Lex slipped her other shoe off and remained silent while rubbing her cramped toes. “I see.”
“You see? What do you see? That I’m some stupid teenager who cares too much about some stupid dance. I’d agree with you, except said stupid teenager is me.”
She looked adorable. Drunk and disheveled, sulky and irritated, Chloe Sullivan was still one of the most interesting people he’d met in a very long time. Lex stood and offered her his hand. Chloe looked at it dubiously, but reached out to lock their fingers nonetheless, allowing him to pull her to her feet.
“Wait right here.” Lex commanded, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before leaving her standing barefoot in the middle of the road as he strode to his car.
Sliding into the buttery soft leather seat, Lex turned the key enough to power the radio, and not start the car. After scanning through several channels, he found one playing soft instrumentals, and turned the volume up to eight. Leaving the car door open so the music could escape, he jogged back to Chloe and executed a practiced bow.
“May I have this dance?” He murmured softly.
Chloe’s jaw dropped open. Lex wanted to dance with her? She took in their surroundings and squeaked, “Here?”
“Well, I suppose I could take you back to the mansion, but you run the risk of bumping into my father in one of the dark hallways. We could always return to the party you were leaving.”
“No! No, no, no. Here’s fine. No Voldemort, and no more eighties’ hair bands. Here’s fine; just don’t step on my toes. They still hurt.”
Stepping closer, Lex wrapped his arm around Chloe’s waist and settled his free hand around hers, pulling it close to rest on his chest. She shivered, and felt heat surge in her face, which wasn’t a result of the alcohol lingering in her system. The events of the evening and the beer were catching up to her, however, and Chloe let herself be pulled close to rest against Lex’s warm body. His long-sleeved cashmere pullover was heavenly against her cheek, and she closed her eyes with a satisfied little sigh.
Lex smiled indulgently at the young woman in his arms. Her skirt dragged through the dirt as they swayed to a sultry saxophone solo. Her face nuzzled against his chest, and Lex’s heart clenched beneath her cheek. Somewhere along the line, Chloe Sullivan came to mean more to him than a way to stop his father. He wasn’t sure what his feelings were for the drunken girl in his arms, be they mere friendship or something more, but a smile from the petite blonde could warm his heart. When he was around her, arguing, debating, whatever the conversation of the day may be, Lex didn’t feel so closed off or emotionally frozen. Chloe made him feel again, something he hadn‘t allowed himself to do since before he discovered Helen‘s betrayal.
“Lex?” Her voice was muffled against his chest as she snuggled even closer.
“Yes?” His hand stroked up and down her back encouragingly.
“Thank you.”
Lex pulled back to gaze at a sleepy looking Chloe. “For what?”
“For the dance.” She blinked slowly several times, and Lex felt her body become dead weight as Chloe Sullivan passed out in his arms.
He struggled to pick her up, his arm getting tangled in the overly long skirt, but finally he managed and carried her to the car. Lex fumbled once again, attempting to open the passenger side door as Chloe’s head lolled against his shoulder. Her tiara slipped once more to sit at a jaunty angle on her hair before he was able to successfully maneuver the door open. He eased her into the car and buckled the seatbelt, careful not to crush ‘the girls’ in the progress.
Lex closed the door and withdrew his cell, speed dialing the head of his security team.
“There’s been a change in plans. I’ll need several of your team over here to clear out the woods. Bring the SUVs, and drive home anyone who isn’t sober enough to do so themselves.”
He hung up and was about to enter the driver’s side door when he noticed the headlights of his car falling on Chloe’s abandoned shoes. Lex walked back to claim them, shaking his head as he strolled back to the sedan. He laid the heels on the floor next to her now dirty feet.
“Your slippers, Cinderella.” He murmured.
Lex started the car, preparing to drive the drunken girl home. Her head was tilted to the side, resting against her bare shoulder, and her mouth hung open slightly. If Lex wasn’t mistaken, she was also snoring softly, and a few random snuffles only added to her charm. With no one around to see, he let a true smile emerge, and he bent down to kiss her cheek softly.
“Goodnight, your highness.” Lex murmured before starting the car to drive off into the night with his queen.
Title: Save the Last Dance For Me
Author: Shanna - shannalynn9064@msn.com (shannalynn9064@msn.com)
Rating: PG-13 for an itty bitty amount of language
Summary: Prom wasn’t all it was cracked up to be for Chloe. Can Lex help remedy that?
Disclaimer: I don’t own them. No way, no how. AlMiles and gang own them.
Pairing: Chlex of course
Don’t need nothing’
But a good time
How can I re-si-ist?
Chloe slurred the words and stumbled in her monster heels as she tried to drunkenly navigate the hard-packed dirt road that would take her out of the woods and back to the main road. Who came up with the brilliant idea to have the post-prom party in the woods, anyway? Oh yeah, it was organized by the basketball team’s captain, Joe-Joe Bunda, he who also came up with the equally brilliant idea to make it a theme party: Eighties’ Night.
“What a buf-hic-foon!” She muttered, straightening her crown for what seemed the thousandth time that evening. “Stupid jockstrap. If I heard Cinderella screech ‘Nobody’s Fool’ one more time, I swear I was gonna to puke.”
Stopping in her tracks, Chloe clutched at her stomach. Thinking about puking after downing way too many cheap cans of beer was not a good idea. Gulping soundly, she forced down her hard won tummy full of alcohol. “Still a buf…a buffa…still a doof.” Her head bounced firmly, acknowledging the correct labeling of poor Joe-Joe, and once again she fumbled to catch the glittering tiara before it tumbled to the ground.
Say I spend my money on women and wine,
But I couldn‘t tell ya how I spent last night.
I’m real sorry ‘bout the shape I’m in.
I just like my hic every now and then.
“Phooey!” Chloe whined when her prom gown tangled around her legs, and she lost her balance. Arms wind milled, her body teetered on ridiculous four inch heels, purchased specifically so she wouldn’t have to hem the darned gown in the first place, and down she went. “Ack!”
When she opened her eyes, Chloe thought she was seeing stars. Groping about her face, she found that it was, in fact, moonlight reflecting off the cheap rhinestones in the crown that created the strange phenomenon. It dangled precariously from her hair and into her face .
‘Huh! No UFOs here, just stupid weather balloons masquerading as alien spacecrafts.’ Dragging herself to her feet, Chloe looked down at her dusty gown in dismay. “Well, crap!” She leaned forward to brush off the lovely dried dirt and wound up stumbling three feet to the left to keep from taking another header onto the road.
“Maybe I should have laid off the hic beer after the first four.” She paused to mentally calculate the number of longing glances she’d endured between Lana and Clark at the prom. “Nah!”
In the distance, she heard a new song and let out a little squeal of delight. Chloe began walking down the road again, trying to keep time with the lively tune. She was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other and remembering the lyrics of the song (See, even drunk she could manage to multitask!) that she didn’t notice the bright lights headed her way.
*****************************************
Lex had received a report from his security team that there was a high school party on the piece of property he’d purchased adjacent to the fertilizer factory. Figuring it was some post-prom blow out, and not wanting to get any of the teens in trouble, he’d advised his detail to not contact the police. He would clear them out personally and make sure everyone got home safely. Lex pulled the BMW sedan, a car better suited for toting drunken teens home than his Porsche, to a halt. Approximately thirty feet before him staggered a female who looked like a stand in for the movie ‘Carrie’. He debated the safety of exiting his car to make sure the girl wasn’t in some sort of trouble. Smallville, woods, a nice supply of meteor rocks just over the next rise, he just didn’t know what to expect - until the Carrie wannabe lifted her head and his headlights caught a glimpse of her flushed face. He threw the car in park, and quickly exited the driver’s side.
“Chloe?” Lex called to the wobbly teen. He wondered exactly how much alcohol she’d indulged in that she was wandering alone on a dirt road in the middle of the night.
She still hadn’t noticed him, but Lex could see her head bobbing to some unknown rhythm. When Chloe stopped dead in her tracks, he was close enough at that point to catch a few mumbled words. She seemed to be listening to something, and Lex caught a very distant rumble that could have been either an echo of a bass or drums.
“Chloe? Are you hurt?” He was standing in front of her now, but she made a shushing motion by fluttering her fingers over his mouth.
She leaned forward and whispered, “Wait for it. Wait for it.” Her head bobbed a few more times before she threw it back and screeched at the top of her lungs, “Tiiiiiiiiiin roof! Rusted.”
Lex jumped back and watched Chloe cackle in a giddy fashion. “Chloe?”
Patting him on the shoulder, the newly crowned prom queen moseyed along once again, hips swaying with precision to the beat of the B-52‘s. “Love Shack! Baby, Love Shack!” She warbled softly, reaching up again to steady her falling crown.
Most definitely drunk. Chloe Sullivan was drunk and walking down a back county road at - he checked his Rolex - three thirty in the morning. Lex ran after the teen and wrapped an arm around her waist, spinning them slightly.
“Whooooo! I thought the world wasn’t supposed to spin until I laid down.” Chloe giggled. She caught herself and stopped abruptly. Since when did she giggle? Lana giggled, cheerleaders giggled, freshmen and prom queens…oh! Her eyes widened in realization. “Oh, no! I‘ve been infected!” She wailed.
“Chloe! Chloe, what‘s wrong? What‘s infected you?” Lex immediately began to check her over for injuries or strange entry wounds created by unknown parasites.
“Damn giggles!” She griped. “It’s this stupid crown. I never giggled until I got this thing.” Chloe ripped of the rhinestone tiara and shook it out, as if it would release some hidden giggle faerie. It took her a moment to realize whose hands were wandering over her body, looking for what, she didn’t know.
“Lex! When’d you get here?” She blinked owlishly at him, and was attacked by another dose of faerie dust. Chloe let loose an inane giggle before she could stop herself. “Dammit!” She really had to stop that. What cured giggles? Holding your breath until you turned blue and then letting it out slowly? No, that was for hiccups.
“I’ve been here, Chloe.” Lex got a good whiff of her breath and leaned back a bit. Wherever she’d been, Chloe had not been sipping aged scotch, of that he was certain.
“So, are you here to kill me or grope me?” She looked pointedly at the hand resting against the deep V of her gown.
“What?” Realizing the placement of his hand, Lex drew it away. “What? Neither. I already apologized profusely for trying to kill you, and I was making sure you were okay.”
“I’m just hic ducky, and so are the girls.” She cupped her breasts lovingly and gave them a gentle squeeze. Lex’s eyes were drawn to ‘the girls’, and he had to fight every instinct to tear his gaze away.
“Well, that’s good to know. I was simply checking.”
“The girls appreciate the attention. They‘ve been lonely lately.” Chloe nodded solemnly. “So whatcha doing out here, on this old dirt road, all alone, in the middle of the hic night?” Maybe she should try that whole holding the breath thing soon, anyway.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Lex arched a brow and decided his patented superior look was wasted on a wasted Chloe.
“I was walking home, of course.” She made it sound like it was the most logical thing in the world.
“Chloe, you have to be over six miles away from your apartment. Why on earth are you walking home this late?” Lex was getting frustrated now. He’d forgotten how logic flies out the window when dealing with drunks, mostly because he’d been the drunk being dealt with in the past.
“Lex Luthor!” She pushed away from him and swayed dangerously before sinking her mega heels into the dirt road for temporary stability. “You don’t actually expect me to drive, do you? For your infirm…infoma…Just so you know, I’m drunk, and that would be wrong, not to mention illegal and dangerous!” Chloe tilted her head and regally looked down her nose at Lex.
“This coming from the girl who broke into a car, stole my employee’s card key, and broke into the plant, all in order to snoop around for a story.” Lex mumbled, growing more amused and exasperated by the girl standing before him.
“Hey! Hey! Get your facts straight, bucco! I didn’t break into the car. I’ll have you know it was unlicked, um, open.”
“Oh, I’m so terribly sorry for my misconception, Miss Sullivan.” He played the sarcasm very close to the vest. If he was going to get Chloe home safely, Lex didn’t really want to get her angry at him.
“And don’t call me that! I hate that, and you say it the same way he did.” Chloe looked miffed before adapting a facetious Lionel impersonation. “’Misssss Sssssullivan. How good to ssssssee you.’ Your father even talks like a snake. Did you ever notice that? Think he‘s related to Voldemort? Maybe he is Voldemort!”
Lex decided to forego sire bashing for the evening, and skipped right over Chloe’s observation.
“So if I’m not to call you Miss Sullivan, is there another name you would prefer, other than Chloe, of course?”
“Well, you can call me your majesty, or highness, I suppose.” She waggled the tiara at him, which still dangled from one hand.
“Where exactly did you get that particular accessory?” He grimaced at the cheap item and wondered if it would leave a green marks on her skin if worn long enough.
“You are looking at Smallville High’s very own hic prom queen. Her Royal Snoopiness, Queen Chloe. Don’t ask me how. One minute I’m dispirag, despriaging, uh, ripping on the whole outdated and useless custom and bam!” She slapped her hands together violently right before his face, causing Lex to blink. “There were posters of me hanging up, some obviously crazy people voted, and voila, here I am, totin’ around the crown.”
“Well, at least they chose a worthy candidate.” He smiled benignly at the teen.
“Clark tried to steal it.” Chloe’s lower lip stuck out a bit, unknowingly pouting.
Lex blinked several more times, trying to absorb her words. “Clark? Clark Kent tried to steal your crown? Why?”
“Oh, he wanted it for himself. Ripped it right off of my head and slammed me into the wall. ‘The crown is mine, bitch!’ How rude.” Only Lex’s hand kept Chloe from toppling to the road once more as her swaying got out of control.
“Clark called you a bitch? And he hit you?” He was speaking slowly, hoping his words would penetrate her alcohol induced haze.
“Well, actually, it was the girl that possessed him. She tried to make me burn down the school. How am I s’posed to graduate when there wouldn’t be anything left of the school? What did she care? She’s dead. No gadiation for her. Huh-uh. Nope. No siree-bob.”
His head spun, and Lex wondered if he wasn’t the drunk one of the two. Chloe sounded like she knew what she was talking about, but it made no sense whatsoever to him.
“Meteor freak?” He asked and ran a hand over his smooth scalp in frustration.
“Think so. Dawn wrecked her car. The police found her body in a whole pit of meteors, so I guess she could have been.” Chloe shrugged and grinned up at him. “Nice talkin’ to ya, Lex. Thanks for not trying to kill me tonight. It’s already sucked enough as it is.”
She limped several feet before Lex realized she still intended to walk back to town. He chased after her again. “Chloe, let me drive you home. You can’t possibly walk home in this condition.” Lex glanced at her feet. “Or in those shoes.”
Hiking up her gown, Chloe peered down at the killer four inch black heels. “There’s nothing wrong with my shoes.” Dropping the dress, she plopped down in the middle of the road, her skirt belled out slightly around her. “It’s my feet that hurt.”
Lex watched as she began trying to work the straps loose, and had to stifle a smile when she cursed the tiny clasps roundly. Feeling benevolent, he crouched down before her. “Would you care for some help with that, your majesty?”
Chloe didn’t raise her face, but he heard a soft sniffle. “Yes, please.” She muttered, kicking her foot onto his proffered lap. Lex held his breath when the sharp point of her heel came dangerously close to turning him soprano. He also attempted to ignore the way her skirt slid to mid-thigh when she extended her leg for his assistance. Concentrate on something else, he told himself.
“Chloe, are you crying?” Lex ducked his head, trying to get a better look at her lowered face. His fingers gently worked the buckle of her left shoe open and massaged the tender flesh exposed.
“No.”
Her petulant reply didn’t assure him of her complete honesty, so he reached over and tilted her face up to the bright Kansas moonlight. Sure enough, there were some tears sparkling in her eyes, not to mention a tiny tremble in her lower lip. “What’s wrong?” Lex asked her gently.
“Nothing.”
“Chlo-eee.” He chided softly, trying to draw the truth out of her. It was a game they played over the summer. Chloe hadn’t wanted to talk about the worries that plagued her, and Lex had been determined to make her time in seclusion as easy as possible on those few occasions he’d actually been able to sneak away to her safe house. Eventually he almost always wrangled a confession from her.
“My feet hurt, that‘s all.” She sniffled and shrugged.
“Mmm-hmm. And?” Coaxing was always part of the game.
“I may have blisters from my shoes.” Her shoulders slumped as if the inflamed bubbles were the worst things in the world.
“I’ll be very careful with them, then.” Lex eased the strap from the back of her ankle, and sure enough, he could feel a slight protrusion there. He massaged gently around the area. “What else is wrong?”
The tears were still present, but the sadness in her eyes had transformed into irritability. “You just don’t give up, do you?”
“Which is why I always win.”
Chloe’s lips twitched at the cocky attitude of the billionaire massaging the arch of her foot. Ooh, nice.
“So, you were going to tell me what else is wrong.” She seemed to need severe prompting. Perhaps it was the alcohol she‘d consumed.
“No, I wasn’t.” Chin jutting forward in a stubborn manner, Chloe’s crown slipped again, dangling from her elegant upsweep to rest on her nose.
Lex reached out and replaced the crown in a more secure fashion, making sure the miniature combs on the sides caught in her hair. “Tell me anyway. I don’t feel like sitting out here all night, which is what I’ll do until you talk to me.”
“My feet hurt and I have blisters. Isn’t that enough?” Chloe waved her hands frantically in the general direction of her aching arches.
“For some young women, yes. For Chloe Sullivan? No. Now, if you’re done being evasive, tell me what’s wrong.”
He was so smug and so matter of a fact, it just irked her sometimes. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Lex Luthor, billionaire playboy and arrogant son of a bitch. He wanted the truth? She’d give him the truth, Chloe fumed, blood pumping in her ears, and alcohol surging through her veins. Combine the two and you wound up with a surprisingly coherent rant.
“Fine! I would like to know what hell I did to deserve the karmic backlash that’s hic been plaguing me the last few years. This was my last big shindig at school. All I wanted was to go with my friends and have a good time. Pete couldn’t make it because he had a final in his last class, and by the time he got here from Wichy…Wichita the dance would be over. Lana decided she didn’t want to go because it wouldn’t be seemly to show up with a former teacher. Clark was moping because he’d always pictured himself going to the prom with Lana. Where would that leave me? Friendless and dateless for my own prom where I actually wind up being crowned queen. However, my cousin decides to show up as Clark’s date, anyway.”
At Lex’s raised brow, she explained. “She was possessed by Dawn at the time.”
He nodded his semi-understanding, and waited for the list of grievances to continue. “I get crowned and possessed all within a span of seconds. Dawn tried to burn down the school while in my body, which, try explaining that one to the police and not get carted off to Belle Rieve, no offense. Clark stopped me, became possessed himself, went all RuPaul-ish, stole my crown and knocked me down. Then Lana shows up to the prom flying solo, and she and Clark make cow eyes at each other for the rest of the night while they dance.” Heaving a sigh, Chloe shrugged and mumbled, “I didn’t even get to dance at my own prom. Some lousy queen I am.”
Lex slipped her other shoe off and remained silent while rubbing her cramped toes. “I see.”
“You see? What do you see? That I’m some stupid teenager who cares too much about some stupid dance. I’d agree with you, except said stupid teenager is me.”
She looked adorable. Drunk and disheveled, sulky and irritated, Chloe Sullivan was still one of the most interesting people he’d met in a very long time. Lex stood and offered her his hand. Chloe looked at it dubiously, but reached out to lock their fingers nonetheless, allowing him to pull her to her feet.
“Wait right here.” Lex commanded, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before leaving her standing barefoot in the middle of the road as he strode to his car.
Sliding into the buttery soft leather seat, Lex turned the key enough to power the radio, and not start the car. After scanning through several channels, he found one playing soft instrumentals, and turned the volume up to eight. Leaving the car door open so the music could escape, he jogged back to Chloe and executed a practiced bow.
“May I have this dance?” He murmured softly.
Chloe’s jaw dropped open. Lex wanted to dance with her? She took in their surroundings and squeaked, “Here?”
“Well, I suppose I could take you back to the mansion, but you run the risk of bumping into my father in one of the dark hallways. We could always return to the party you were leaving.”
“No! No, no, no. Here’s fine. No Voldemort, and no more eighties’ hair bands. Here’s fine; just don’t step on my toes. They still hurt.”
Stepping closer, Lex wrapped his arm around Chloe’s waist and settled his free hand around hers, pulling it close to rest on his chest. She shivered, and felt heat surge in her face, which wasn’t a result of the alcohol lingering in her system. The events of the evening and the beer were catching up to her, however, and Chloe let herself be pulled close to rest against Lex’s warm body. His long-sleeved cashmere pullover was heavenly against her cheek, and she closed her eyes with a satisfied little sigh.
Lex smiled indulgently at the young woman in his arms. Her skirt dragged through the dirt as they swayed to a sultry saxophone solo. Her face nuzzled against his chest, and Lex’s heart clenched beneath her cheek. Somewhere along the line, Chloe Sullivan came to mean more to him than a way to stop his father. He wasn’t sure what his feelings were for the drunken girl in his arms, be they mere friendship or something more, but a smile from the petite blonde could warm his heart. When he was around her, arguing, debating, whatever the conversation of the day may be, Lex didn’t feel so closed off or emotionally frozen. Chloe made him feel again, something he hadn‘t allowed himself to do since before he discovered Helen‘s betrayal.
“Lex?” Her voice was muffled against his chest as she snuggled even closer.
“Yes?” His hand stroked up and down her back encouragingly.
“Thank you.”
Lex pulled back to gaze at a sleepy looking Chloe. “For what?”
“For the dance.” She blinked slowly several times, and Lex felt her body become dead weight as Chloe Sullivan passed out in his arms.
He struggled to pick her up, his arm getting tangled in the overly long skirt, but finally he managed and carried her to the car. Lex fumbled once again, attempting to open the passenger side door as Chloe’s head lolled against his shoulder. Her tiara slipped once more to sit at a jaunty angle on her hair before he was able to successfully maneuver the door open. He eased her into the car and buckled the seatbelt, careful not to crush ‘the girls’ in the progress.
Lex closed the door and withdrew his cell, speed dialing the head of his security team.
“There’s been a change in plans. I’ll need several of your team over here to clear out the woods. Bring the SUVs, and drive home anyone who isn’t sober enough to do so themselves.”
He hung up and was about to enter the driver’s side door when he noticed the headlights of his car falling on Chloe’s abandoned shoes. Lex walked back to claim them, shaking his head as he strolled back to the sedan. He laid the heels on the floor next to her now dirty feet.
“Your slippers, Cinderella.” He murmured.
Lex started the car, preparing to drive the drunken girl home. Her head was tilted to the side, resting against her bare shoulder, and her mouth hung open slightly. If Lex wasn’t mistaken, she was also snoring softly, and a few random snuffles only added to her charm. With no one around to see, he let a true smile emerge, and he bent down to kiss her cheek softly.
“Goodnight, your highness.” Lex murmured before starting the car to drive off into the night with his queen.