Michelle
26th May 2003, 16:56
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: In the spirit of the whole 'Challenge Me' thing and I getting nominated for it *modest laugh* I decided to give theory a makeover, betaed it and fixed it up, so have a read. :)
Chloe gripped the brass knob hesitantly, she wasn’t so sure she should be doing this. She had never gone so far to win a bet before (not including that incident with the squirrels, but that was another story altogether). Why should she have to prove herself to Lana? She was her own person, who had rights, had her way, had…put her money where her mouth was. It was stupid, really. They had got together as they usually did on a Saturday night and talked about the usual stuff; school, friends, family, wild meteor rock theories, dead things, and for some reason, their conversation drifted towards the boys.
That’s where things got a smidgen out of hand. She originally thought of Lana as a submissive, sweet, calm person, but when somebody tried to prove her wrong on a point that she felt strongly about, well, that’s what nightmares are made of. Then they made the bet, which she instantly regretted, but her stubbornness made her refuse to back down. It was too late now, she would be meeting her at the Talon and if she didn’t hold up her end of the bargain, she could kiss her pocket money goodbye.
Yeah, pocket money is for little kids, but she spent an hour washing and waxing her dad’s car and she earned that money. So she was going to do it, she was going to…completely humiliate herself, at least in ten years she could look back on this day and laugh, or cry, whatever.
Chloe looked down at the tight, flared, hipster jeans chosen specially for this occasion and smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles. Ah well, it’s now or never.
With a new resolution, she turned the handle and pulled the door open. Shivering as the relatively warm air caressed her bare stomach. She thanked god for the fine weather Smallville was experiencing, it only made her job a little easier, but it certainly helped that it wasn’t snowing thickly.
“Well, here goes everything,” she sighed to herself, stepping outside and closing the door quietly behind so as not to attract attention.
She tried to walk confidently down the driveway, but it was really hard. The area was pretty deserted, but she felt so vulnerable walking outside in only a bra and jeans. Oh yeah, that was the bet.
Chloe had said in a half-joking way that the guys hardly noticed her. Lana had said in a half-joking way that of course they did, then Chloe said in a serious way that they didn’t, then Lana said in a serious way that they did. This went back and fourth like a tennis ball until Chloe said the most stupid thing she could have said ever “I could walk in here without a shirt on and none of them would notice.” And the rest was history.
Now she was in this ridiculously embarrassing situation, walking down the street as casually as possible in her favourite bra. The red one, with the embroided pattern of roses covering the nipple area, the rest was a soft lace that was semi-translucent. She reached the crowded street on which the Talon was situated, she had already received enough catcalls and wolf-whistles to last her a lifetime, but she kept her held her head up high and fought any kind of skin discolouration.
She reached the familiar coffeehouse and let out a long breath of air. This was it. She pushed the door open and immediately saw Lana a.k.a minion of the anti-christ. The minion in question spotted her and her hand flew up to her mouth. She looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed, and ran over to her.
“I can’t believe you did it!” She whispered, “Excellent choice, by the way.”
“Shut up.” She said, her voice shaking a little.
“Now, let’s see how soon I’ll be getting my—“
“No way,” Chloe cut her off, “Nobody here has noticed yet, so why would they?” She motioned to the three males sitting around the table, talking rapidly.
“Because they know what you look like with a shirt on, now go.” She hissed, pushing her towards the group. Chloe straightened herself up and walked naturally over to them, and sat in a vacant seat.
“He guys, what’s up?” She said, her tone indistinguishable from her normal one.
“Nothing really.” Pete shrugged, sipping his drink.
“What would you like?” The waitress said, her trembling voice betraying her nervousness around a girl who was obviously deranged.
“Expresso please,” Chloe said sadly, “and make it a double.” The waitress nodded and hurried away. Chloe turned back to the table to see Lex smirking at her.
“There’s something different about you,” he said quietly so the others would not hear “New hair cut?” She blushed, secretly happy someone had finally noticed. “May I inquire why you are not wearing a shirt?” he asked when she didn’t reply, his eyes skimming appreciatively over her full breasts.
“A bet,” she said, leaning back lazily. She should have been disgusted by the way he was looking at her. Rights for women, sexual harassment and all that stuff, but truthfully she was flattered, and also a little turned on, though she would never admit that.
“A bet? Why sort of bet, may I ask?” He replied in an amused tone, sipping his coffee.
“Well, I bet Lana twenty dollars that if I walked in here without a shirt on, the guys wouldn’t notice.” She thanked the waiter who returned her double expresso, she could have sworn it was a waitress before.
“Thank you.” She said, smiling up at him.
“My pleasure,” he said sincerely, walking away and fanning himself with a piece of card.
“Mmmm,” she murmured, swallowing some of the bitter-strong liquid.
“Funny,” he said, shaking his head and setting his drink down, “I never had you pinned as a flirt.”
“Hm? What did you have me pinned as?” She asked, a trace of laughter in her voice.
He frowned “I don’t know, but not that.”
“Oh Lex, don’t let me discourage you,” she sighed softly, “You can pin me any time you want to.” Her eyes widened, she did not just say that out loud, did she?
“Did I say that out loud?” She said nervously, suddenly very aware of his dominating presence.
That got a genuine laugh out of him “What? The proposition that I could pin you any time I wanted to?”
She buried her face in her hands, “As if my day couldn’t get any worse,” she groaned.
“Don’t worry,” he said seriously “I plan to take you up on that offer as soon as this place isn’t so crowded.”
“Oh shut up,” she grumbled “This is no time to act all sexy and—“ She froze and hid further behind her hands, but not before she managed to see a smile play at his lips.
“I’m going,” she said abruptly, rising and tossing a couple of bills on the table. Chloe passed Lana “You owe me twenty bucks” she said grimly, Lana nodded, disappointed in Pete and Clark who continued to talk about god knows what.
Chloe stepped out and looked skyward, determined not to cry. Those boys were good to her but they could be such assholes sometimes. Before she could mope even more about her de-clothed state, she felt a warm jacket being slipped around her cool shoulders, and turned to see Lex Luthor, minus one jacket.
“Thanks” she said, not bothering to argue she slid her arms in the too-big sleeves. She didn’t realise how cold she was until she smelt equal parts of a spicy aftershave, expensive material, and just Lex smell. She hugged the large coat to her person and looked up at him gratefully.
“Don’t worry about them,” he said, waving his hand vaguely in their direction “They couldn’t appreciate a topless woman even if she began spewing blood all over them.”
“Uh, that’s sweet, I think.” Chloe said uncertainly, beginning the walk home. To her surprise, he began to walk astride her but she kept her mouth shut.
“Your bra is very nice,” he tried to comfort, “I have a sort of kinship with bras, I feel I’m connected to them.”
She frowned to stop from laughing, “That’s funny, I feel the same way with pointy sticks.”
They shared an awkward laugh and stopped quickly, then they laughed again at how stupid their fake laughs sounded, and then they laughed again at how they laughed at the same time.
“Listen, I—“ She began, but he cut her off.
“You’re here.”
She looked back at her house for a moment, then turned back to face him, “Do you want the jacket back?” She would never tell anyone, but she really wanted to keep it. It was comfy and it smelled so yummy, and she flinched at that, knowing that when she got inside she would be holding it to her face and inhaling deeply.
“Keep it.”
She blinked, “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll make it a congratulations present for getting that internship.”
“How did you know?” She asked, flattered to know he knew something about her, even though it was minor.
He shrugged, “What don’t I know?”
She laughed at his attempt at mystery. “Good point. I’ll be seeing you round?” Chloe added, somewhat hopefully. He surprised her by gently taking hold of her shoulders and kissing her softly on the forehead. He lingered for a moment, making her already prickling skin flush with warmth.
“What was that for?” She asked, flustered.
“Letting me see your bra,” he said solemnly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Then, with a nod of his head, he walked back in the opposite direction leaving a very confused, but very tingly, Chloe behind.
A/N: In the spirit of the whole 'Challenge Me' thing and I getting nominated for it *modest laugh* I decided to give theory a makeover, betaed it and fixed it up, so have a read. :)
Chloe gripped the brass knob hesitantly, she wasn’t so sure she should be doing this. She had never gone so far to win a bet before (not including that incident with the squirrels, but that was another story altogether). Why should she have to prove herself to Lana? She was her own person, who had rights, had her way, had…put her money where her mouth was. It was stupid, really. They had got together as they usually did on a Saturday night and talked about the usual stuff; school, friends, family, wild meteor rock theories, dead things, and for some reason, their conversation drifted towards the boys.
That’s where things got a smidgen out of hand. She originally thought of Lana as a submissive, sweet, calm person, but when somebody tried to prove her wrong on a point that she felt strongly about, well, that’s what nightmares are made of. Then they made the bet, which she instantly regretted, but her stubbornness made her refuse to back down. It was too late now, she would be meeting her at the Talon and if she didn’t hold up her end of the bargain, she could kiss her pocket money goodbye.
Yeah, pocket money is for little kids, but she spent an hour washing and waxing her dad’s car and she earned that money. So she was going to do it, she was going to…completely humiliate herself, at least in ten years she could look back on this day and laugh, or cry, whatever.
Chloe looked down at the tight, flared, hipster jeans chosen specially for this occasion and smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles. Ah well, it’s now or never.
With a new resolution, she turned the handle and pulled the door open. Shivering as the relatively warm air caressed her bare stomach. She thanked god for the fine weather Smallville was experiencing, it only made her job a little easier, but it certainly helped that it wasn’t snowing thickly.
“Well, here goes everything,” she sighed to herself, stepping outside and closing the door quietly behind so as not to attract attention.
She tried to walk confidently down the driveway, but it was really hard. The area was pretty deserted, but she felt so vulnerable walking outside in only a bra and jeans. Oh yeah, that was the bet.
Chloe had said in a half-joking way that the guys hardly noticed her. Lana had said in a half-joking way that of course they did, then Chloe said in a serious way that they didn’t, then Lana said in a serious way that they did. This went back and fourth like a tennis ball until Chloe said the most stupid thing she could have said ever “I could walk in here without a shirt on and none of them would notice.” And the rest was history.
Now she was in this ridiculously embarrassing situation, walking down the street as casually as possible in her favourite bra. The red one, with the embroided pattern of roses covering the nipple area, the rest was a soft lace that was semi-translucent. She reached the crowded street on which the Talon was situated, she had already received enough catcalls and wolf-whistles to last her a lifetime, but she kept her held her head up high and fought any kind of skin discolouration.
She reached the familiar coffeehouse and let out a long breath of air. This was it. She pushed the door open and immediately saw Lana a.k.a minion of the anti-christ. The minion in question spotted her and her hand flew up to her mouth. She looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed, and ran over to her.
“I can’t believe you did it!” She whispered, “Excellent choice, by the way.”
“Shut up.” She said, her voice shaking a little.
“Now, let’s see how soon I’ll be getting my—“
“No way,” Chloe cut her off, “Nobody here has noticed yet, so why would they?” She motioned to the three males sitting around the table, talking rapidly.
“Because they know what you look like with a shirt on, now go.” She hissed, pushing her towards the group. Chloe straightened herself up and walked naturally over to them, and sat in a vacant seat.
“He guys, what’s up?” She said, her tone indistinguishable from her normal one.
“Nothing really.” Pete shrugged, sipping his drink.
“What would you like?” The waitress said, her trembling voice betraying her nervousness around a girl who was obviously deranged.
“Expresso please,” Chloe said sadly, “and make it a double.” The waitress nodded and hurried away. Chloe turned back to the table to see Lex smirking at her.
“There’s something different about you,” he said quietly so the others would not hear “New hair cut?” She blushed, secretly happy someone had finally noticed. “May I inquire why you are not wearing a shirt?” he asked when she didn’t reply, his eyes skimming appreciatively over her full breasts.
“A bet,” she said, leaning back lazily. She should have been disgusted by the way he was looking at her. Rights for women, sexual harassment and all that stuff, but truthfully she was flattered, and also a little turned on, though she would never admit that.
“A bet? Why sort of bet, may I ask?” He replied in an amused tone, sipping his coffee.
“Well, I bet Lana twenty dollars that if I walked in here without a shirt on, the guys wouldn’t notice.” She thanked the waiter who returned her double expresso, she could have sworn it was a waitress before.
“Thank you.” She said, smiling up at him.
“My pleasure,” he said sincerely, walking away and fanning himself with a piece of card.
“Mmmm,” she murmured, swallowing some of the bitter-strong liquid.
“Funny,” he said, shaking his head and setting his drink down, “I never had you pinned as a flirt.”
“Hm? What did you have me pinned as?” She asked, a trace of laughter in her voice.
He frowned “I don’t know, but not that.”
“Oh Lex, don’t let me discourage you,” she sighed softly, “You can pin me any time you want to.” Her eyes widened, she did not just say that out loud, did she?
“Did I say that out loud?” She said nervously, suddenly very aware of his dominating presence.
That got a genuine laugh out of him “What? The proposition that I could pin you any time I wanted to?”
She buried her face in her hands, “As if my day couldn’t get any worse,” she groaned.
“Don’t worry,” he said seriously “I plan to take you up on that offer as soon as this place isn’t so crowded.”
“Oh shut up,” she grumbled “This is no time to act all sexy and—“ She froze and hid further behind her hands, but not before she managed to see a smile play at his lips.
“I’m going,” she said abruptly, rising and tossing a couple of bills on the table. Chloe passed Lana “You owe me twenty bucks” she said grimly, Lana nodded, disappointed in Pete and Clark who continued to talk about god knows what.
Chloe stepped out and looked skyward, determined not to cry. Those boys were good to her but they could be such assholes sometimes. Before she could mope even more about her de-clothed state, she felt a warm jacket being slipped around her cool shoulders, and turned to see Lex Luthor, minus one jacket.
“Thanks” she said, not bothering to argue she slid her arms in the too-big sleeves. She didn’t realise how cold she was until she smelt equal parts of a spicy aftershave, expensive material, and just Lex smell. She hugged the large coat to her person and looked up at him gratefully.
“Don’t worry about them,” he said, waving his hand vaguely in their direction “They couldn’t appreciate a topless woman even if she began spewing blood all over them.”
“Uh, that’s sweet, I think.” Chloe said uncertainly, beginning the walk home. To her surprise, he began to walk astride her but she kept her mouth shut.
“Your bra is very nice,” he tried to comfort, “I have a sort of kinship with bras, I feel I’m connected to them.”
She frowned to stop from laughing, “That’s funny, I feel the same way with pointy sticks.”
They shared an awkward laugh and stopped quickly, then they laughed again at how stupid their fake laughs sounded, and then they laughed again at how they laughed at the same time.
“Listen, I—“ She began, but he cut her off.
“You’re here.”
She looked back at her house for a moment, then turned back to face him, “Do you want the jacket back?” She would never tell anyone, but she really wanted to keep it. It was comfy and it smelled so yummy, and she flinched at that, knowing that when she got inside she would be holding it to her face and inhaling deeply.
“Keep it.”
She blinked, “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll make it a congratulations present for getting that internship.”
“How did you know?” She asked, flattered to know he knew something about her, even though it was minor.
He shrugged, “What don’t I know?”
She laughed at his attempt at mystery. “Good point. I’ll be seeing you round?” Chloe added, somewhat hopefully. He surprised her by gently taking hold of her shoulders and kissing her softly on the forehead. He lingered for a moment, making her already prickling skin flush with warmth.
“What was that for?” She asked, flustered.
“Letting me see your bra,” he said solemnly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Then, with a nod of his head, he walked back in the opposite direction leaving a very confused, but very tingly, Chloe behind.