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View Full Version : Smallville {G-R} *08 Jan 2006* S01E03



Blaire023
20th October 2005, 19:45
*listens to the collective groans and the "No, she didn't"'s.* Haha! Yes, I surely doodle did. And now you may all hate me as much as you love me. Tack this one on to the never ending list of fics I have going because NONE of them have been abandoned and while it may take me a while to update, please keep in mind that I do have a life. No...really!

Title: Smallville
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Chlex
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville (That belongs to those WB abusers), but if I did, it would go like this...
Rating: G - R
Author's Notes: This is based on Smallville. Not just the characters but the story lines also. This is not Chlexville. Chloe and Lex did not know each other prior to the Pilot episode although each episode will be rewritten with Chloe in place of Clark. So pretty much any interaction between Clark and Lex never happened. Oh, and the dialogue is very similar to each episode, but ya know, rewritten Chlex style :) Also, because I'm an ar-teest I get to do what I want and if I don't want to write in Lana or Helen or Victoria, I don't hafta. HAH!
A/N2: Also, in my little Smallville fantasy Chloe, Lex, Gabe, and Lionel are the main characters. Sorry all you Lana, Pete, and Clark lovers...(not really)
Feedback: I'd really like some, yes. If you have some to spare, that is ;)

"Leafy Little Hamlet" [aka Pilot]

She'd been so young when the meteors crashed down around her. So young when her mother had died in the field with her.

She barely remembered the small fluffy animal she'd chased into the corn fields and her mother following from a small distance behind.

The blow out resulting in a flat tire, which her father had dutifully stopped to fix. Her complaining of the heat in the car, her mother helping her out of the backseat, leading her off the road and toward the corn fields.

The small fluffy animal she'd named not five seconds after spotting it. And when it had bolted away with huge dark eyes, she'd gone off after it.

And just as she had reached it, she had felt the earth move beneath her tiny Keds. Her mother call out to her. The first rock landing barely a foot from her side.

Remembered falling to the ground, being covered by another body falling on top of her. Felt the tremors, heard the sky roar, peeked out from under blue linen to watch the rocks rain from the sky. Felt terror and cried out for her mother.

Only her mother was a lifeless shield, lying atop her only child, keeping her away from danger and chaos.

Only then did Chloe know what it was to love and lose. And as she grew to understand what her mother had done that day, she vowed never to let love rule over anything. Especially her head.


Chloe laughed as she watched Clark miss the bus once again and exchanged money with Pete. "I see Clark's punctuality hasn't changed much over the summer."

Pete shook his head and laughed and replied, "It's got to suck being late to class the first day."

Chloe looked up at the roof of the bus when she heard a strange thump on the top of it. "Pete, did you hear that?"

Pete looked over at her and then looked up at the bus' roof. "Hear what?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and leaned over to look out the windows on the opposite side, taking a mental note of the strange breeze only blowing across a few feet of corn. "Never mind."

Pete grinned and slung his arm over her shoulder. "Ya know, I was thinking, since neither of us have a date for the dance..."

Chloe arched a brow at him and tilted her head, "What?" She prodded him to continue.

"That we could go together."

Chloe smiled and leaned back, getting comfortable under the weight of his arm. "I'd like that."

Pete smiled openly and squeezed her to his side just as they pulled up in the bus loop outside of school. "So it's a date?"

Chloe grabbed her bag and nodded. "Sure." She walked towards the front of the bus, Pete following close behind. "What about Clark?"

Pete hesitated a moment and then shook his head. "Who cares?" He mumbled under his breath. Chloe looked back at him and he shrugged. "He can come with us."

Chloe nodded and checked her bag for her camera. "Well, I've got to get to work."

Pete smiled as he watched her walk away.

"Hey, where's Chloe going?" Clark asked as he trotted up to Pete.

"A reporter's work is never done, Clark."

They both watched her as she walked into the school, Clark's attention wavering as Lana Lang came into view. "Hey, Pete. I gotta go..."

Pete smacked Clark on the shoulder as he laughed. "Yeah, yeah."

***

Lex Luthor's life had just gone from quite comfortably living in a city where he was easily recognized and fit in perfectly to living in exile in the middle of Podunk, Nowhere.

Lex downshifted, bringing his car to a halt outside of the newest LuthorCorp plant. A fertilizer plant. A shit factory.

Lex huffed out a breath as he got out of his car and muttered to no one in particular, "Thanks, Dad."

He faced the plant, and heaved a sigh. Suck it up and deal with it, Lex. Looked like it was going to be easier said than done.

***

Chloe Sullivan's first day of high school had not gone all that well. On her way home she pulled over to the side of the road right before the bridge and got out of her compact car.

She'd occasionally come here to watch the sunset and just think. Just hope a little that she was normal like everyone else. That she hadn't been affected by the meteor shower and that she could be a regular girl. As she leaned against the rail of the bridge from the walking platform and stared out at the pink sky she let her imagination take her away, let herself think of all the possibilities that were out there.

She didn't hear the car careening out of control until she felt the pressure of the wind change. She turned to see what was happening when the hood of the flashy car smacked into her legs and for a split second her eyes collided with wide eyed blue ones, staring back at her in shock.

And then she was free falling from the weight of the car ramming into her and she was splashing into the water, her open mouth forming a scream even as she sucked in what felt like half of the lake.

She was amazed that she didn't black out, but when she resurfaced after kicking her way back up to the light of the setting sun she gobbled in a large breath and choked. It didn't take her long to realize that the person in the car hadn't come back up yet.

She untangled herself from her backpack and let it sink back into the water as she sucked in another deep breath and dove back under.

She followed the twin red beacons on the bumper and upon reaching the car, saw the man inside, unconscious.

Chloe grabbed the roof of the car and pulled with all of her meteor induced strength, shoving enough of the metal back to where she could reach in and pull out the young man.

She held him across his chest, under her arm, as she kicked her way back to the surface and then dragged him with what little strength she had left to a dry spot on the bank. She fell to her knees beside him, checked for a pulse, and silently wished for everything to be okay.

She leaned her head down, covering his lips with hers and followed what rusty CPR skills she had until he started sputtering water and choking in air.

She sat back in relief and let the hot tears stream down her cheeks as she smiled down at him and watched his blue eyes flutter into focus.

"Hi."

Lex opened his eyes from darkness, had literally felt the life leave his body and then return with a renewed force, and saw the face of an angel. When she spoke her voice was so crisp, so clear it sounded like heaven to his ears.

Then as he stared into those deep hazel eyes he remembered seeing them before.

"I could have sworn I hit you." His voice choked out.

Chloe smiled and stared down at him, pushing her wet hair away from her face. "If you did..." Her smile faltered as she thought about that and then she turned to look over her shoulder at the gaping section of guardrail missing. "If you did, I'd be dead." Her whispered words struck Lex like lightning and he let his head fall back to the ground.

Ten minutes passed and the place was swarming with cops and a waiting ambulance. Chloe, who had already been checked out and was sitting on the bank where she'd pulled Lex to, sat wrapped in a blanket, trying to keep the chill off her bones. Occasionally her eyes would dart back up to the bridge and thoughts would race through her mind. How was it possible? How had she survived that? They were questions she wanted answers to. Sure, she had known she was different since the meteor shower, but being hit by a car at 60 mph would have killed her. Should have killed her.

"Chloe!"

Chloe's head whipped around as he father came running down the incline.

When he reached her he fell down beside her and pulled her into his arms. "God, Chloe. Are you all right?" His hands worriedly ran over her arms then up to her head checking for any injuries.

"I'm fine, dad." Chloe laughed a little as she tried to stop her fathers roaming hands. "Dad, I'm fine." She finally caught his hands and held them in hers.

Gabe huffed out a breath and let his face flush with the anger he felt. He turned his head in the direction of the nearest officer. "Who was the maniac that was driving that car?"

"That would be me."

Gabe whipped his head around so fast, Chloe's shot back to avoid it hitting her.
Lex stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Lex Luthor."

Gabe looked down at the offered hand glared at the man. "Where'd you learn how to drive? The Mario Andretti School of Racing?"

Lex had the good graces to look away even as Chloe grinned. "It's okay, dad." Chloe patted his hand and started to stand up. Gabe caught her at her elbow and helped her to her feet.

Lex watched the display of affection with something akin to wonder. He cleared his throat and said, "If there's anything I can do to repay you..." His words trailed off as Gabe directed Chloe around him and led her up the small hill to where he was parked.

Gabe couldn't stand to let it go at that and threw the comment over his shoulder, "You could start by driving slower."

Chloe giggled and looked over her should at the Luthor heir. Her laughing eyes met his and he felt his lips start to curl at the corners. Chloe figured it was a start, but by the look on his face, he needed to learn how to smile more often. She turned back around and snuggled into her dad's side, letting him lead her to the car.

The next day Chloe walked home from the bus stop and came to an abrupt stop in her driveway. "Holy shit." Her words whispered in awe. She hurried past the cherry red car in her driveway and ran into the house, throwing her new book bag towards the wall of the hallway.

"Hey, dad!"

Gabe poked his head out of the kitchen and looked at his daughter. "Before you even ask, yes, it's yours."

Chloe's eyebrows rose as she grinned and leaned back far enough to look out of the front screen door to see her prize sitting in the driveway. "Is this one of those near death experience presents?"

Gabe laughed and shook his head. "Not from me."

Chloe bounced where she stood, "Well? Who's it from? Publisher's Clearing House make their rounds today?"

Gabe took a slice of apple and popped it into his mouth before nudging a purple envelop towards his daughter.

Chloe flipped open the envelop and pulled out the expensive look stationary inside it and read out loud,

"Dear Chloe,
Drive safely.
Always in your debt,
The maniac in the Porsche."

Chloe squealed and held the envelope to her chest and she jumped up and down. "I got a new car!"

Gabe smiled and shook his head. "You didn't even ask me if you could keep it."

Chloe stopped bouncing and her mouth fell open, staring at her dad incredulously. "You're kidding, right?" At his raised eyebrow she started laughing, "Oh, man. That was good; you had me for a split second."

She turned in a circle and snatched the keys out of her father's hand as he jangled them.

"I'm going for a spin."

"Chloe."

Chloe rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse from the counter. "Yes, dad. My first stop will be Lex's."

Gabe nodded and sipped at his iced tea.

While he didn't like the idea of letting Chloe accept such an extravagant present, he knew Lex Luthor was going to be his boss for the time being and there really wasn't any reason to start pissing off the big dogs. Besides, the look of adoration on Chloe's face after seeing that Bug had been priceless.

***

Chloe walked through the halls of the mansion on the sprawling grounds of Luthor estate.

"Hello?" She called out to what appeared to be an empty house. For such grand extravagance, and such priceless antiques lying around you'd think these people would have some security. True there weren't many kleptomaniac's around but even she was getting ideas as she walked past what she was sure was thousands of dollars of vases and knick knacks.

She wound her way around the halls until she came to the first open door she'd seen. Hesitantly she stepped in and looked around. "Hello?"

She heard the clashing of swords as two people came into view through another open door, sparring. Chloe watched in awe as the two people moved with such a fluid grace. Suddenly one of them pinned the other to the wall and then just as quickly she had a fencing sword flung at her like she was a dartboard.

Chloe froze and opened her mouth on a silent scream as the pointy end of the bigger than normal dart pierced the wall beside her head.

Lex sucked in a breath and pulled the mesh gear off of his head. "Chloe?" When she just moved her eyes to look over at the sword and then back over to him, Lex made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat and started toward her. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you."

Chloe let out a nervous giggle and said, "Well, I should hope not!"

At the blank stare she received from Lex as he pulled his sword out of the wall she cleared her throat. "I mean, I like myself the way I am, and no offense but if I ever get any body piercing I don't want anything that big being poked at me." Those last few words ran through her mind again and she flushed a nice pink color. Lex smirked as she thinned her lips together, clamping them shut. She was definitely cute in a down home kind of way. "Anyways, I rang but no one answered."

Lex lifted an eyebrow at her before he strolled back over to his fencing partner and setting down his gear. "How'd you get through the gate?"

"It was open."

Lex turned around and studied her for the first time. She was wearing a pair of low slung jeans and a relatively tight red shirt. With her flippy blonde hair and her pretty curved lips she didn't seem all that angelic. At least not as much as she did yesterday.

Lex started through the door and out into the hallway, motioning with his head for her to follow. As she did, the silence grew unbearable and she commented, "This is a really great place."

Lex laughed and looked down at her as he led her to the stairs, "Yeah, if you're dead and in the market for something to haunt."

Chloe backtracked and said, "I meant...it's roomy."

Lex stopped on one of the middle steps of the staircase and spread his arms wide, "It's the Luthor ancestral home. Or so my father claims."

Chloe nodded and followed him up the stairs, trying not to stare at his ass on the way. Really, that ass was worth more money than she'd make in her lifetime. Chloe felt behind her for her own ass and wondered what it would feel like to have such an expensive ass.

As the walked into a study Lex asked, "So, how's the new ride."

Chloe grinned as she watched him take a drink out of an expensive bottle of water. "Actually that's why I'm here." She held up the keys and jingled them.

"And?"

Her smile grew bigger and she walked over to him, then rose to her toes and gave him a solid hug. "It drives beautifully." She pulled back and laid a small kiss on his cheek. "I just wanted to thank you in person."

Lex watched her turn around and walk over to the wall, studying the various selections of art hung there. "I was afraid you were going to tell me you couldn't keep it."

Chloe turned back around to look at him, watched him through a towel over his shoulders. "What would possibly make you think that?"

Lex shrugged. "Not many people would accept a gift from a Luthor and not wonder about the strings attached."

Chloe grinned and dropped the keys into her purse. "I'm sure my dad wasn't ecstatic about it but he couldn't very well say no."

When Lex took another sip of water and raised his eyebrows for her to go on, she shifted from one foot to another.

"He's the plant manager for the LuthorCorp plant here."

"Gabe Sullivan?"

Chloe nodded.

"I knew that name sounded familiar."

She smiled and shrugged. "Just make sure all your other employees don't find out about it. They might want a heftier Christmas bonus when the time comes."

Lex smiled and leaned against the edge of the wet bar. They stared at each other for a moment before Chloe felt a blush rise to her face and she cleared her throat. "Well, I should be going." Lex rose from the edge of the bar and stood there, staring at her. "Thanks for the car."

He nodded and watched her walk out of the room.

Maybe being exiled to Smallville wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Chloe was on her way to the school for an afternoon session of putting her first Torch edition together when she spotted the large crowd formed outside of the local garage. With thoughts of a possible story in mind she put on the brakes, snatched up her camera and ran to the first familiar face she saw. "Pete."

"Chloe, check it out. It's the third accident like this in one week."

Chloe looked around, snapping pictures here and there. "Did you happen to notice that they're all former jocks?"

Pete narrowed his eyes and raised his head, indicating the man standing across from them, "Who's the weirdo."

Chloe shrugged and lifted her camera to take his picture. "I don't know, let's check him out."

Not even ten minutes later she was sitting on the edge of her seat in the Torch office and had uploaded the creepy onlooker’s photo and ran it through an image search.

"His name is Jeremy Creek."

Clark and Pete listened to her as she told them the whole story of Jeremy being the freshman scarecrow a decade ago and that he'd been found in the cornfields unconscious after the meteor's had struck. She went on to tell them about how a few days ago there had been a major power surge in the hospital he'd been staying in with a coma. And that when the lights had come back on, Jeremy had been declared missing.

"So what? You think he came back to pay revenge on all the jocks?"

Chloe tapped her bottom lip with her finger. "No, I think he's only going after the ones that did that to him."

Clark shook his head. "Okay. Say he is getting revenge. Who would he go after next?"

Pete handed Clark the article about Jeremy Creek. "I say we look for all the most popular jocks in his school that year."

***

Chloe had just ended a phone call with one of her contacts, trying to locate the next victim of one very pissed off meteor mutant, and let out a surprise squeak as she was grabbed from behind.

"Hey, what's going on?"

She heard Pete's yell as he ran up to her attackers and then she felt the ground leave her feet and felt the cold bite of metal as she landed in the bed of a truck.

"What the..." Her voice was cut off as she stared up into the face of Whitney Fordman and someone behind her tied a gag over her mouth.

"Maybe now you'll learn to butt out of everyone else's business, Sullivan."

Chloe struggled against the two guys holding her down and was only partially aware of a wet cloth being placed over her nose.

Then all she saw was darkness.

Chloe woke up to rope biting into her wrists and her waist. The cold air against the upper torso had her shivering.

She lifted her head enough to open her eyes and moaned around the dryness in her throat.

"It never stops."

Chloe rolled her head to the side so she could see the person standing at the edge of the corn. "Help me."

Jeremy shook his head and walked up to her, staring up at her lifeless body. She felt as if all her muscles had turned to jell-o.

"You're better off here."

As he started away, Chloe began to panic. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Homecoming dance," he answered, "I never made it to mine."

Chloe watched him walk away and choked back a sob as she tried to move her arms. They'd been in one place so long that it hurt to even shift just a little.

Lex was making his way back home from a long day on the job when he drove past the cornfield. He absently ran his hand over his bald head and glanced to the edge of the swaying corn.

He slammed on his brakes as a man stared back at him.

The same man from nearly a decade ago that he'd seen tied up in that exact cornfield when he'd been tied to a pole like a scarecrow.

Lex got out of his car and blinked, the image of the man disappearing. He shook his head and had just decided that maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him when he heard it.

"Help me."

The voice was so whispered, so strained. He grabbed a flashlight out of the emergency kit in the trunk of his car and started through the field.

"Hello?"

Chloe swallowed down a sob and repeated herself. "Help me, please."

Lex came to the clearing and just stared up at the sight before him.

Chloe Sullivan was tied to the post her shirt ripped open in the front, revealing a torn lace bra and a bright red "S" was painted on her skin, most of it dripping down into the waistband of her dirt caked jeans.

Finally looking into her eyes with his own terrified ones he whispered her name. "Chloe." He made a disgusted sound in his throat as she stared at him and whimpered his name. "God, who did this to you?"

As he untied her Chloe started to fall to the ground, her limbs weak from being in the same place so long. "A few people at school." She paused and was grateful that Lex hefted her body up into his arms, "thought it would be funny."

Lex narrowed his eyes as he carried her back to his car from the way he'd come.

"High school hazing?"

Though she didn't answer his question as he slid her into the passenger seat of his car he thought her heard her murmur under her breath.

"What?"

"The dance. We have to get to the dance."

Lex shook his head. "Chloe, we need to get you to a doctor."

Chloe rolled her head against the buttery soft leather of the seat and watched him get settled on the driver's side. "Later. Now...dance."

Lex opened his glove compartment and grabbed a stick of gum, hoping it would at the very least soothe her throat, her voice was so hoarse.

"Chloe..."

He started to argue but she put her hand over his on the gear shift between them. "The dance, Lex."

Lex clenched his jaw and nodded before taking off.

After she'd gotten the piece of gum unwrapped and in her mouth, she chewed slowly and started doing the buttons on her shirt with shaky hands.

She didn't miss the way the Lex's jaw worked. Left, then right. Left, then right. She was sure he wouldn't have any molars left when he was done grinding them.

"I'm okay, Lex."

Lex nodded sharply and continued to drive.

Chloe couldn't believe her eyes. When her and Lex arrived at the school and found their way into the gym they simply stood there and stared.

Everyone was fine. People were dancing and laughing and having a great time and no one appeared to be in any kind of danger.

Lex met her gaze and shrugged. "Maybe he had a change of heart."

Chloe glared at him before turning her head to look out in the crowd.

"Maybe." She said with a shrug.

"Chloe! I've been looking all over for you." Pete ran up to Chloe and gathered her into his arms, holding her close. He set her back and held her at an arm's length. "Jesus, you look like hell."

It was then he noticed a pair of eyes watching him curiously and he turned to look into the face of Lex Luthor.

Pete nodded, one of those ridiculous things men did, Chloe thought, and Lex returned his nod with one of his own.

"Well, since everything seems to be in order here, I'll just be going."

Chloe put her hand out to Lex, touching his arm with her fingertips. "Thanks."

Lex shook his head. "For what?"

Chloe licked her still dry lips and smiled softly. "For saving my life."

Lex laughed and squeezed her hand with one of his before letting go of it. "I guess we're even now?"

Chloe nodded with a smile that quickly turned into a frown. "But you can't have the car."

Lex grinned at her and turned around, walking out of the gym.

Pete slung an arm around her shoulder and watched him leave. "So, he's not what caused you to look like this, right?"

Chloe shook her head. "No, he really did save me."

Pete looked after the youngest Luthor and thought maybe after an apple fell from the tree it could roll quite a ways away if it had enough momentum.

"I'm going to guess you don't really want to dance?"

Chloe shook her head and leaned against Pete. "I just really want a shower."

"That an invitation?"

Chloe laughed and elbowed Pete in the ribs.

"Not in your lifetime, bud!"

TBC

Sandy
20th October 2005, 21:22
Hey that was really good. Please update again soon. I have a ton of questions running through my mind. :D

Blaire023
20th October 2005, 21:31
Hey that was really good. Please update again soon. I have a ton of questions running through my mind. :D

hey, i signed your guestbook. you have a really beautiful soul.

asharnanae
20th October 2005, 23:18
GD, IT!!!!! Blaire you've done it again, hooked me in with YET ANOTHER fantastic story!

MORE, please, when you get a chance, please, Ill send cookies, I will, just watch me!!

kimmie
21st October 2005, 01:33
Loved it, you really made the change from Clark to Chloe as the main character, work really well. I can't wait to read the next chapter!!!

kimmie

hfce
21st October 2005, 01:41
Blaire loved it :hug: more please. :)


Hope ;)

welshy
21st October 2005, 01:47
That was a lovely start, I hope there's going to be more soon :)

darkangel
21st October 2005, 03:03
Great Start. Continue soon.

deia
21st October 2005, 04:53
I like it a lot and though I fear for the sake of your other fics (even though you promised they won't be jeopardized) I think you should continue with it. It's interesting to see the take of all the different authors out here on how Smallville would turn out if it was Chlex centric. Please update

star del mar
21st October 2005, 06:54
I'm excited, a new story! I'll be waiting patiently for you to update (even if it does take a while :)) because I like the idea of inserting Chloe where Clark should have been. It switches things up nicely.

Steph*

Augustine86
21st October 2005, 15:44
I'm in love... with a fanfic. I don't care what society will think about it, I just love it with all of my heart. We will be sunned from society, and most likely frowned upon and all that, but I'm willing to stick by my fanfic's side.

Of course, you must update. If not all this love of mine will be in vain...

Gaia
21st October 2005, 16:44
You really have a thing for stories don't you? This one is again amazingly done.:D
Update soon!

Blaire023
25th October 2005, 15:40
A/N: I may have forgotten to mention this before...but...Clark is still super alien geek. So the storylines that end abruptly like the one before did when Chloe and Lex got to the dance and everyone was fine, is because Clark is behind the scenes taking action. Chloe is not the alien or super girl or whatever. She was, however, affected by the meteor shower with strength. She's just discovering this though so sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Her story will be told later, though. So just for you curious people, that's her big secret. Also, if you get a chance, go back and watch the pilot. The Lex from the pilot isn't even half as hot as the Lex we get to see in season 5. *Rawr*

"Bug Boy" [aka Metamorphosis]

Chloe stopped abruptly as she entered her bedroom. She slung the towel she was using to dry her hair onto her computer chair and eyed the little gold box sitting on her bed with apprehension. She kept her eyes on it as she moved toward her bed, dropping onto a corner of her mattress and tucking the edge of the towel wrapped around her body between her legs.

Warily, she pulled the little blue ribbon and opened the lid.

Chloe gasped with delight as dozens of blue and green butterflies fluttered out.

"Wow." She whispered into the empty room.

So beautiful. She laughed in delight as one landed daintily on her finger and she got up from her bed to open the window. Once open she let the butterflies free, watching them escape, all except the one perched on the tip of her index finger.

She smiled and studied its wings before it too flew away.

Chloe walked back over to her bed and peeked inside the box for a note.

There wasn't one.

"A car first and now this?" Chloe asked herself. No, this didn't seem like something Lex would do. Sure, she'd saved his life, but then, he'd saved hers too.

Pete was another possibility however unlikely since she'd been with him since the dance until he followed her home.

Chloe shrugged and put the box on her nightstand, then changed into the loose t-shirt and thick wool socks she'd grabbed from her dresser.

She was too tired to list all her possible admirers. She'd work on it tomorrow.

Chloe woke up the next morning to the loud pounding of a fist on her bedroom door.

"Wake up, honey. Farmer's Market in fifteen minutes. Get up and get ready."

Chloe groaned and rolled over, ignoring the sunlight streaming through her window. "I'm up!" She yelled over to the door.

Gabe pressed his forehead against his daughter's bedroom door. "But are you really up? Or are you just staring up at the ceiling?"

With a mumbled excuse Chloe rolled over and sat up on the edge of her bed. "Happy now?"

Gabe replied that he was indeed and she heard his footsteps traveling down the hallway.

As Chloe got dressed, her mind kept returning to the present the night before.

Fifteen minutes later she was filling a travel mug so she could wake up on the way there. When her dad walked into the kitchen she pushed her hair out of her face and looked up at him. "Hey dad, did you notice anything strange last night?"

Gabe raised his eyebrows as he took a sip from his own coffee mug. "What kind of strange?"

Chloe shrugged as she grabbed her purse and made for the door. "When I got home last night there was a present sitting on my bed."

Gabe stopped in mid-stride and looked at his daughter. When she continued to stare back at him he huffed out a breath. "Well? What kind of a present?"

Chloe grinned as she walked out the door and over to her dad's car. "It was a gift wrapped box of butterflies."

Gabe locked the front door then followed Chloe down to the car. "I didn't let anyone in."

As he started the car, Chloe just looked out the window. "Well as far as I can think, it was either Lex Luthor or Pete."

Gabe smiled as he paid attention to the road in front of him. "Ahh, yes, well, who would you rather it be?"

Chloe elbowed her dad and continued her musings.

It wasn't long before they reached the Farmer's Market and once there Chloe hopped out of the passenger side of the car and waved goodbye to her dad.

Less than five minutes passed when she caught up with Pete. "Hey."

Pete slung an arm over her shoulders as he led her over to the Kent produce stand.

She caught the twinkling sound and saw the pretty bright colors out of the corner of her eye. She turned to where a butterfly wind charm was blowing softly in the breeze.

"Did you get me a present yesterday?" When Pete just stared down at her, Chloe sighed. "I didn't think so."

Pete raised a brow at Clark and shrugged, then got back to the conversation they were having about the football team.

Chloe made her way over to the wind chimes and gently touched the stained glass wing of a butterfly.

"Did you know that butterflies only live about 8 hours?"

Chloe jumped in surprise; turned towards the voice and came face to face with Lex Luthor.

"Is that right?" At the regal lift of his brows she smiled and sent a butterfly spinning. "So they're like the rock gods of the insect world?"

Lex laughed and touched a butterfly. "I suppose so."

Chloe bit at her bottom lip in indecision. "I really appreciated the present, Lex."

Lex looked at her in surprise. "Did you hit your head last night?" When she just looked at him in confusion he went on, "You already thanked me for the car."

Chloe shook her head, "Oh, no. Not the car." She stopped herself when Lex's expression turned to confusion.

"Then what present?"

Chloe waved her hand in the air to shoo away the topic. "Never mind. I just got a present from an anonymous person and I figured...well, you're really the only one I know who could pull something like that off."

Lex leaned forward, "What was it?"

"Excuse me." Chloe and Lex both leaned away from each other at the intruding voice. "Chloe?"

Chloe searched through her memory to place a face with a name. "Greg?" She asked cautiously. At his smile, she smiled in relief. "Sorry, I didn't recognize you without your glasses."

"I got contacts." His smile spread and she seemed to size him up.

"Well, they suit you." She grinned and looked from Lex to Greg and back again. "Oh! Greg, this is Lex. Lex...Greg. So," Chloe turned to Greg and tilted her head to the side, "what can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with my English paper."

Chloe hissed through her teeth. "Mr. White getting to you, huh?"

He nodded and laughed. "Yeah, and I thought you know, with you being a reporter, you'd have to have some basic writing skills."

Chloe laughed and missed the surprise on Lex's face at the admission. "I'd be happy to help you out."

"Cool. So, my house tonight? 7 o'clock?"

Chloe cleared her throat. "I think the library would be better."

Greg nodded, "Library tomorrow, then?"

Chloe smiled. "Sure. Sounds good."

He grinned and looked from Lex to Chloe, "It's a date then."

Chloe pursed her lips as she watched Greg walk away.

"So that's how high school boys do it these days?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and hit Lex lightly with the back of her hand before she turned to face him. "And how did you do it in high school, Mr. High and Mighty Luthor?"

Lex grinned as he leaned in close and whispered, "I did it in many different ways, Chloe."

Chloe shivered as he pulled back and caught his smile. She made a disgusted sound as she turned and started walking away, sure he was following her. "That was just mean, Luthor."

Lex laughed behind her and thought about the earlier comment the boy had made about her being a reporter. He'd have to follow up on that lead.

The next day Chloe hurried through the halls of school towards the Torch office. As she rounded the corner and started down the stairs her shoulder knocked into another body. Chloe mumbled an apology as she raced to her destination. "Chloe!"

Her head whipped around and she pasted on a smile. "Hey, Greg."

"I've been waiting for an hour; I thought you'd forgotten about me." His sheepish smile nearly made Chloe roll her eyes. And then she remembered.

"Oh, the library. I'm so sorry. I just have a billion things on my mind, is there any way we can get together after school?"

In her mind it wasn't a question. She really needed to finish the paper's layout before the end of her lunch period.

As she turned back around to start off to her destination a hand landed on her shoulder. "Hey. Are you blowing me off for your boyfriend?"

Chloe stared dumbstruck at the boy in front of her. "I...what?" Her brows knit together as she shook her head. "No, I'm not blowing you off. I have to finish up some stuff for the Torch's edition."

She saw the tick in his jaw as he nodded.

Chloe turned around and rolled her eyes thinking, 'boyfriend, what boyfriend?'

When she reached the Torch office two people were waiting for her. Both of whom she was surprised enough to see that she stopped mid-stride. Lana sat on the red vinyl couch in one corner, flipping through a fashion magazine; Lex on the other side of the room, hovering over her drawing board, flipping through pages of old articles.

Chloe cleared her throat and looked from Lana to Lex. "All right, if this is an intervention I want a clear pathway to the door."

Lex smirked and turned around, leaning against the layout board. He motioned with his hand for Lana to go first.

Lana smiled at Chloe and stood up, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "I actually wanted to talk to you about Saturday night." Chloe shook her head in confusion. "The uhm..." Lana cleared her throat and held her head up high, "With Whitney in the cornfield."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yes, well, it isn't you who should be apologizing." She walked over to her desk and swung her bag off her shoulder, letting it plop down onto her desk. "And he's lucky I didn't press charges."

Lana nodded solemnly before letting go of her hair. "I realize that, and I know he should be the one in here, but I just wanted you to know that I don't personally have a problem with you."

Chloe arched a brow and looked up from her keyboard where she was typing in her passwords. "O-kay."

Lana smiled and clasped her hands together. "So we're okay then? Friends?"

Chloe glanced away, over to Lex, silently pleading with him to save her. When he continued to smile and look away Chloe shrugged. "Ah, sure."

Lana rushed over to her and hugged her. "Good. I'm glad."

Chloe nodded and patted the other girl awkwardly. When Lana bid her farewells and rushed out of the room Chloe shuddered.

"It's not nice to just stand by while I get accosted."

"Are you claustrophobic around the color pink?" Lex questioned as he walked over to her desk.

"I wouldn't call it that." She opened a file and glanced up at him, grinning. "I'd call it nauseated."

Lex ruffled her already flippy hair before she could jerk away from him. "Next time I'll know to keep copious amounts of the color far from you."

Chloe smoothed her hair back down and shrugged out of her jacket.

"So, what did you want, Luthor?"

"Last name basis, Sullivan?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and started typing, talking to him all the while. "Only when you get cocky. Then I'm going to have to resort to using your last name. Oh, and did someone stop by here to see me?" Chloe asked off the top of her head.

Lex stared at her fingers as they flew over the keys. "Yeah. The "It's a date" guy from yesterday stopped by. What did you do, stand him up?"

Chloe looked up from her monitor and smiled. "Accidentally."

Lex rubbed at his chest where his heart was. "Ouch. That's got to be an ego killer."

Chloe laughed and flicked a piece of hair out of her eyes. "Actually I think when he saw you in here he came to the conclusion that you were my boyfriend." Chloe looked up at him to see the shocked expression on his face. She laughed again as she questioned, "How's that for your ego?"

After talking to Chloe about how she got into reporting and what not it was eventually time for him to take his leave.

As he drove the winding roads home from the high school his thoughts returned to her earlier comment about that Greg guy thinking he was her boyfriend. Which was absolutely preposterous. Lex shifted into next gear as he chuckled. She was what, 15 years old? Yeah, that probably wouldn't go over well with the residents of Smallville, people who already thought of him as a pariah.

Lex glanced down to switch the radio on when the car shook with the force of something landing on the roof of it.

Lex's hands jerked on the steering wheel and the car flipped and skidded to a stop.

It took him a few moments to gain his bearings, he was upside down, eternally thankful that he had been wearing his seatbelt once again. Lex groaned as he unbuckled himself and crawled out through the window. Once on his feet, he swayed a moment before righting himself and then he felt the air being pushed out of his lungs as someone tackled him from behind. After a few seconds of wrestling with the person he flipped them over and leaned one knee against their chest.

"Greg?"

He stared down into the boys face and yelled as the boy opened his mouth. He ducked out of the way right before a sticky web was shot at him. When he rolled back onto his feet and looked around, he was alone. And yet another one of his cars was wrecked.

Lex pulled out his cell phone, which thankfully, hadn't been harmed in the crash. As he dialed his security he thought of something else. "Shit." He muttered as he thought of the fucking weirdo getting to Chloe. It was then he noticed another vehicle rumbling down the road.

Clark's eyes narrowed as he came upon the flipped car and pulled his truck to a stop behind it. He was out of the door and running to the car before he noticed the man standing off to the side, yelling into the cell phone.

"Hey." Clark said by way of greeting. "Do you need some help?"

Lex shook his head and came running over. "I need a ride back to the high school."

At Clark's blank look he tried to explain. "I need to warn someone about this guy." Clark invited him along and on the way to the school; Lex told him what he had seen.

Clark stared at him for a moment. "Are you sure you don't have a concussion."

Lex rolled his shoulders. "No. I think I'd know if I had one."

Clark shrugged. "So who are we off to save?"

"Chloe...Chloe Sullivan." Lex was currently on his phone, already having called a tow service and his security to get to the high school right away, he tried calling information to get the phone number of the school.

"Chloe's one of my best friends."

Lex raised his eyebrows and looked over at the boy beside him before flipping his phone shut. "Do you know her number?"

"Well, sure." Clark recited it and Lex called Chloe's cell, swearing in aggravation when he got her voicemail.

As soon as he hung up his phone rang. "Luthor."

"Sir, we've arrived at the school but there's no sign of her here."

Lex pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to think. "Did you check with the main office? See if maybe she's in a class right now?"

"Yes, sir. We've covered all the bases."

"All right. I'll be there shortly."

Lex hung up the phone and did a silent prayer. He'd just met the girl and already he was bending over backwards to help her. 'You're getting soft, Lex.' His inner voice decided to torture him. He knew why he was going to so much trouble instead of just letting his people handle it. Chloe Sullivan was a breath of fresh air, and she was his only friend in this crappy little town. It was pathetic, but it was the truth.

Once they reached the school Lex ran through the halls with Clark by his side to the Torch office. When they reached it Lex informed his security of who had her. He went to a shelf and pulled out a yearbook, flipping through the pages. He remembered Chloe saying that he'd once had glasses.

"Shit." He tossed the yearbook aside. "I can't find him."

"What's this guys name again?"

Lex growled low in his throat. "Greg something."

Clark thought about it and remembered seeing them talking to Greg Arkin at the Farmer's Market. "Greg Arkin?"

Lex nodded to his security people whose hands had immediately gone to the phones on their belts. "Do you know where he lives?"

Clark nodded and started out of the office, running down the hallway.

Once they got to the house and realized it was empty, Lex ran his hands over his head and took a moment to think. Clark was one step ahead of him and checking the windows.

"I don't think they're here."

Clark looked over his shoulder. "We should still go in and check."

For some reason Lex just didn't feel it in his gut that Chloe was in that house so he shook his head. "They aren't here. Is there any other place he might have taken her?"

Clark leaned against the window for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, when we were kids we used to play in Greg's tree house."

Lex ran to the back of the house and looked around at the wooded area. "Which way is it?"

"Straight down the path."

Lex started off at a dead run and Clark stared in awe for a moment. He knew who Lex Luthor was and he knew that Chloe had saved Lex's life but he didn't realize until that moment that somehow Chloe had forged a bond with one of Forbes richest men in the nation.

Using his super speed he got to the tree house way before Lex did.

Lex ignored his labored breathing as the tree house came into view. He let his adrenaline carry him up the wooden ladder and stopped at the entrance at the sight of Chloe.

Lex fell to his knees beside her and clawed at the web cocoon wrapped around her body. As soon as the web was cleared from her face he tilted her head back and started mouth to mouth.

Chloe gasped as air filled her lungs and she struggled to breath. She finally got her eyes to stop fluttering and opened them to look up into startling soft grey ones. "Lex?" Her voice was hoarse and she swallowed convulsively.

Lex held back the tears of relief that built behind his eyes. Instead he helped her struggle out of the rest of the web and gathered her into his arms, rocking her and holding onto her.

Chloe's arms went around his neck as she held on. She buried her face into the soft material of his shirt and sobbed, realizing how close she'd come close to actually dying.

"Lex." Chloe pulled back, letting the tears stream down her face. "Thank you."

Lex shook his head and laughed. "It's like a twisted game of tag, isn't it?"

Chloe laughed and leaned into him, leaning heavily on something that felt too incredible to be real.

welshy
25th October 2005, 15:52
That was such a great chapter, I hope there's going to be more soon :)

Louie
25th October 2005, 17:47
wonderful, can't wait till you do more

hfce
26th October 2005, 14:24
Yes Lex Luthor Super human. I loved it. I can't until more adventures. :clapclap:

Hope :)

kimmie
26th October 2005, 14:41
I adore this fic. Its how Smallville should be, if the powers that be weren't such Lana Lang freaks!!!

Kimmie

Augustine86
26th October 2005, 18:44
Oh, God, I'm more in love with Lex Luthro than I ever thought possible. This is the perfect Smallville, redone and corrected from scratch, all the chapters as we dreamed them. Thank you soooo much and don't forget to update soon!

ruafair
26th October 2005, 20:07
Blaire hun...this rocks.... please stick with this one LOL.

Fiona

Thessaly
26th October 2005, 23:09
Squeeeee! I love it. But I'm torn between this one and All That Was Forgotten. I'm in a quandary. Damn you, Blaire, damn your eyes!

Update soon. Pleeease?

Thessaly

darkangel
27th October 2005, 02:56
Great chapter.

Sandy
27th October 2005, 03:54
ppms :)

star del mar
27th October 2005, 05:52
I love this story. It totally rocks the way you're incorporating Chloe seeing as how she's more fun then anyone :) And it's good to see her and Lex being so chummy, it's nice change to the weird tension that always seems to be lingering around them. Great update!

Steph*

tiger04
29th October 2005, 06:54
Another wonderful story. I hope that you will have a chance to update with more soon. I really like the way you have developed their relationship.

AT

meeaz
30th October 2005, 18:51
Blaire hun...this rocks.... please stick with this one LOL.


yes, please do. it's really great and how smallville should be done.

lexchloe
31st October 2005, 00:45
Really liking the story so far and how the Chlex is the main friendship in this. More please.

starmoon
1st December 2005, 23:34
i like this story better then the show i am glad that chloe and lex are such good friends and are spending so much time together.

LaLa
2nd December 2005, 21:22
it's really good! so from now on, I will totally ignore the 'other' Sv and put this fic as the real smallville! *start singing and going back and forth *nooo this crap on tv isn't the real one, noooo'*

please, the next chapter!

PMD
3rd December 2005, 22:02
Blaire, sweetie, honey, you know you rock, right? :) You give a spin to something and just keep on going. You are my hero, sweetie. Can't wait for more, sweetie. :)

LEXNCHLOEROCK
28th December 2005, 21:37
Totally lovin this! Love Smallville your way! Loved the line [I]It's like a twisted game of tag, isn't it?[I] I can't wait to read more!

gecko
29th December 2005, 12:45
great work, can't wait for more, love this whole alternate universe with chloe and lex meeting first and not with clark and lex. loved at the end of the last one you did lex said 'this is like a twisted game of tag'

angelslady
29th December 2005, 14:33
Just caught up with this story, and i am hooked can't wait to read more :)

Blaire023
3rd January 2006, 20:36
no, no, it's not an update. but i need another name for the episode Hothead...anyone want to give me some ideas?

JosiCuervo
3rd January 2006, 20:40
Um. Firebrand. Rebel. Chaotic. Rabble-rouser. Scalawag. Shouldabeenspankedmoreasakid. Uh...that's all I got. ;)

Blaire023
3rd January 2006, 20:51
Shouldabeenspankedmoreasakid

LMAO! I like that one:)

Kikina
4th January 2006, 19:13
Well, guys, I don´t know if you realize is, but actually it´s very dangerous around here.So many good stories, I can´t bring myself to do my schoolwork. I just keep on reading and I don´t get anything done.Would have to stop visiting the boards during this week ;)

Blaire023
9th January 2006, 03:40
A/N: It's kind of hard to watch these and try to figure out where Lex and Chloe should come in but I'm trying my very best to work them into each and every episode as the main characters. Therefore, some chapters will be shorter than others. Not a whole lot shorter and I'm not going to purposely do it, but it's going to happen occasionally. Also, I'd like to thank everyone for reading and leaving feedback. The fact that everyone likes these turn of events makes me glad I decided to do this since I've been thinking about it for the past two years. I originally wrote half of the pilot during the second season.
A/N 2: Thanks to Erica [JosiCuervo] for the name of this episode.
A/N 3: So many special thankies to my terrific beta whom I could not have posted this one without, due to my many insecurities when it comes to dealing with commas, as you can tell, cuz I use a lot of commas, like, everywhere. Many virtual kisses to Debbie [dsapiro] my beta'er.

"Shouldabeenspankedmoreasakid" [aka Hothead]

There was something weird going on in Smallville. It didn't surprise Chloe in the least, except that the weirdness was taking place right in her own school.

She'd sat through the football game with her poncho covering her up, mostly to keep dry, and the camera she held in her hands recorded every minute of the game. For posterities sake, of course.

As the team fumbled a pass and the coach called them over for a pep talk Chloe focused in tight and held it, wishing she could get better sound on it. The miniscule headphones picked up almost nothing but the sound of the rain and the fans cheering behind her.

As the coach grabbed Whitney Fordman by the helmet and pulled him in close to yell something in his face, Chloe snapped the shot and sat back with a smile on her face.

She had her front page picture for Monday’s edition of the Torch.

***

"Football: Sport or Abuse?"

Chloe grinned back at Clark as he read her headline from the front page of the paper. "So what do you think?"

Clark folded up the paper as they continued to walk to the school early Monday morning. "I think you need to seriously decrease your cappuccino dependency."

Pete laughed at that and Chloe replied, "Pete thinks I'm being too hard on Coach Walt."

Pete shrugged and looked up at the school as they walked to the main doors. "The man coached my dad, all my brothers. He used to come over and watch the Super Bowl."

"And while I'm touched by that Hallmark moment, you don't get points in journalism for subtleties." She smiled over at Pete and Clark. "I've already started getting hate mail."

Clark shook his head, "You don't seem that upset by it. Why?"

"Because it means I'm hitting a nerve. Besides, considering the abysmal sentence structure and the overuse of profanities, I have a pretty good idea who's been sending me love letters."

Pete scoffed. "If you think my team mates have been reading the torch, you overestimate them."

Chloe laughed as they passed a group of football players and cheerleaders.

As the coach came up to the crowd, followed by another larger group of players Chloe nudged Pete with her elbow. "Ooh, ooh, Pete. I need a picture of the cheating jockstraps." It had been made public news that about a quarter of the team had cheated on one of their Math exams. As Pete raised the camera and started taking pictures, one of the football players turned around and spotted Chloe. "It's that snoopy bitch."

Chloe pretended to quake. "I'm so scared."

A second later a football came hurtling at her face and she caught it in one hand inches away from her nose.

Pete and Clark stared at her for a moment before Pete started laughing. "Nice catch!"

Chloe lowered the football to her side and turned to stare at Pete. "One of your teammates tries to assassinate me and all you can say is 'Nice catch'?"

Pete shrugged and Chloe narrowed her eyes at the asshole who'd thrown it at her. She placed her fingers on the laces like her father had shown her many times in her youth and pulled back, then let go with all her might. The jock went to catch it and it hit him in his gut, making him jump back a foot in order to keep his balance. Chloe then raised her right hand and extended her middle finger. "Sit and spin."

The football players and the coach all turned around and watched her walk away with Pete and Clark both at her sides.

***

Lex walked into his study after a particularly rough fencing lesson and was met with his father stooges. "I thought I called this meeting off."

Dominic, his father's right hand man, stepped forward and followed Lex to the wet bar. "Your father insisted we drive down here and keep this appointment."

Lex smiled as he took a sip of water. "And when he says jump you say how high."

At Dominic's less than friendly look Lex merely walked past him. "I wish I could say I'm sorry for wasting your time, but it is somewhat amusing watching you three do his bidding."

He went to a rack and pulled down a cue stick, chalking it up. "Now, if you'd like to play fetch for my father, there's an envelope on the coffee table," he motioned to where the leather couches were on the other side of the room. "You can take that back to Metropolis with you." As Dominic took the envelope and started to exit the room, Lex couldn't help but get in another dig. "Oh, and Dominic?" He waited for the other man to turn around and look at him. "Tell your sister I said 'Hi'." At Dominic's look, Lex let one corner of his mouth lift in amusement. "Meeting adjourned." He got up and racked the balls on the billiard table, ignoring his father's flunkies as they left.

Once gone, he passed a hand over his bald head and sighed irritably. First he was exiled and now babysat? Lex focused on the game of pool and blocked everything else out of his mind. It was time to unwind a little since he was sure his father, once he received the contents of the files in the envelope, would be paying a little visit.

***

Chloe rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands as she laid another edition of the Torch to rest. This week couldn't have gotten any longer. It simply wasn't possible to be able to just rest and close her eyes for five seconds. She'd been hoping to wrap everything up early and get home and in bed sometime before midnight. Chloe glanced at the wall clock hanging above the door. If she left now, she'd get home with enough spare time to maybe even soak in a nice, hot bath.

She gathered her stuff and slung her bag over her shoulder before locking the door to her office and heading out of the school.

She had just made it through the side doors where her car was parked when she heard the screams of help. She looked up from her bag where she was digging around for her keys and saw the car, flames lighting up the inside of it. Without thinking, she ran to help and once she was there, backed up a few steps from the intense heat coming from the car. Chloe threw her bag to the ground, ignoring the contents spilling out of the open zippered part and took off her coat, wrapping her hands with it. She grabbed a hold of the door handle and pulled, surprising herself with her strength when the door came off completely and made her stagger back a few feet.

She turned and threw the door away from her and stepped forward, grabbing the person out of the driver's seat and gripped him under his arms, much as she'd done with Lex, and pulled him, heels dragging the ground. She heard the hiss and knowing an explosion was not far off, she covered his body with her own. Sure enough, the car blew apart and up into the air before landing again with a loud thud. She stayed on the ground, covering the body beneath her as debris rained down from above.

When she was sure it was safe to look up, she watched the car being engulfed by flames, and stared in horror. It was only then that she thought to look down at the person she had pulled from the car. "Principal Kwan?" When a breath of air shuddered out of his lungs she felt around for his pulse, her fingers probing his neck. It was weak but solid. Chloe closed her eyes and leaned against him once more, breathing in a sigh of relief. She looked over to where her bag was now burned to a crisp and laughed hysterically. Two down and who knew how many to go.

She fished in her pocket for her cell phone and dialed 911.

Later, when she was safely at home and the grandfather clock in the hallway of her and her dad's townhouse struck midnight, she sat at the kitchen table in her pajamas, sipping a hot cup of coffee.

She eavesdropped as her father spoke with the hospital her principal had been taken to. When he hung up, he sighed and ran a hand across the back of his neck.

"What did they say?" Chloe asked tiredly. Now that she had taken a shower and had a chance to sit down, the adrenaline had left her body and was making her drowsier by the minute.

Gabe took a seat across from his daughter at the small breakfast nook tucked into the bay windows of their home. "They're going to keep him there over the weekend. He's doing good though, expected to make a full recovery." Chloe nodded and let her eyes drift shut as she placed her head on her folded arms. Gabe reached across the table and pat his daughter on the head. "He was lucky you were there, Chloe."

Chloe peeked up at her dad and nodded.

A knock on the door interrupted both of them and Gabe stood, brushing his hands off on his khaki slacks. "Who would that be at this time of night?"

Chloe shrugged and sat up, taking another fortifying drink of her coffee.

She heard Lex's muted voice from the front hallway and stood up from the table.

She went into the hall and stood there, staring at him. "Luthor."

Lex grinned and shrugged out of his coat, handing it to Gabe's offered hand. "Sullivan," he returned with a nod.

Chloe laughed and shook her head. "What's up with the late night visit?" They both started walking toward each other at the same time and Gabe stood back, watching with a small smile on his face.

"I heard on the news what had happened." When Chloe's brows came together in confusion Lex shook his head, "You do know this is a small town."

"Yeah, but they wouldn't have released my name."

Lex pulled her to him and hugged her lightly before dropping his arms back to his sides. "True, however, you're the only person I know who runs around saving people in this town."

Chloe laughed and turned around, leading Lex into the living room. "Can I get you anything?"

Lex shook his head. "Nah, I can't stay long. I'm expecting a surprise visit from my father shortly."

Chloe raised her eyebrows and retrieved her coffee from the kitchen. "How is it a surprise visit if you know he's coming?"

Lex shrugged and stared down at Chloe. He finally let out the breath he'd been holding. "God, I was so worried about you."

Chloe smiled up at him over the rim of her mug. "Well, as you can see I'm still in one piece." She thought of something. "Although my bag is not."

Gabe huffed out a breath as he came into the room. "Another one?"

Lex looked from father to daughter. "Another one?"

Chloe plopped down onto the couch and drew her flannel clad legs up underneath her. "Book bags. The first one ended up drowning in the lake when I dove under for you and the second one is a pile of cinders sitting in the school parking lot."

Lex laughed and stood up from the chair he had been occupying. "Sorry to hear that." He looked up at the clock above the television. "I've got to get going."

Chloe stood up and followed him to the door, retrieving his coat from the rack hanging behind it. As she handed it to him she said, "So will you be able to sleep better knowing I'm okay."

Lex shrugged into his coat and then reached for her, pulling her into the circle of his arms and holding on a little longer than he should have. "I'm glad your okay."

Chloe inhaled his warm scent and then let go of him, aware of her father watching his boss' interaction with his daughter.

"You should stop by the Torch sometime, that's where I end up after school most of the time."

"I thought it looked a little homey for being part of the school."

Chloe smiled in response. She glanced out the front door and saw another new car. "How many of those do you have, anyway?"

He glanced behind him and smiled. "Actually, that one I'm taking for a test drive. I totaled one on the bridge and then Bug Boy killed my other one."

Chloe gasped and then laughed softly. "Me with my bags and you with your cars. We make a great team, don't we."

Lex's smile softened as he stroked the backs of his fingers against her cheek. "That we do."

Chloe stared up at him, eyes wide at the motion. Lex leaned down and placed a chaste kiss against her forehead. "See you tomorrow?"

Chloe smiled and nodded, watched him walk out. As she shut and locked the door behind him she turned to see her father leaning against the wall. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't say it."

Gabe held his hands out in front of him.

Chloe started to the stairs. As she passed him she said, "Not one word, dad."

Gabe turned around and watched her go upstairs, when she was halfway up he grinned and opened his mouth to comment. Chloe held up a hand and said, "Don't do it."

As she continued up the stairs Gabe laughed and headed back into the kitchen to start cleaning up their mugs and so forth.

***

The next morning Lex sat in his study, he reclined in the chair behind his desk with his feet propped up on the glass top, a folder open on his lap.

His father burst through the doors, just as Lex imagined he would, and walked up to the desk, tossing a newspaper down. "Congratulations, Lex." Lex picked up the paper and read the headline. "You made the business page for once."

Lex rolled his eyes, "I told Dominic I was doing this days ago."

"Yes, and my drone dutifully reported it to me."

Lex tossed the newspaper down on his desk.

Lionel paced for a moment before heading over to the billiard table and picked up a fencing sword. "It seems we're at an impasse so here's what I suggest. We fence for the contract. I win and you recall those worker's and do what I originally told you. If you win, you keep the contracts and extra helpers and I stop telling you how to run your business."

Lex looked up at his dad and caught the sword his father tossed to him. "What are you afraid of Lex."

Within five minutes Lex had been beaten, Lionel had the point of his sword to Lex's neck. "This is where your faults lie, Lex. You let your emotions rule you." He smirked devilishly and dropped the sword to his side. "Have those contracts forwarded to my office in Metropolis." With those last words spoken he walked out of the room. Lex sunk to the oriental rug and stared into the fire in the great hearth. He'd find a loophole, certainly, but he should have just saved face. It didn't help that the people of Smallville would never accept him or the business he brought with him.

After all, it was his fault that they were going to be laid off.

***

That night Chloe excepted the invitation to go out with Pete and Clark to the Beanery. It was the hot spot for any caffeine lover and it was a sure fire way for Chloe to relax and just have a good time.

As they walked down the street Pete asked, "So, you're sure you're feeling fine?"

Chloe grinned and punched him softly in the arm. "I'm good, Pete." She breathed in the night air and sighed.

Clark walked beside her, keeping his pace slower than normal. "So what did the police say about the car fire?"

"They said it was faulty wiring."

Pete looked over at her as they neared the entrance to the coffee house. "You don't sound so convinced."

Chloe shrugged, "If they say so, then fine. I mean, car's don't just spontaneously combust, right?"

As they got their orders and found a table, Clark hung back to talk to Lana who had dropped the cheerleading team in a fit of moral timing and decided to get a job.

As Pete and Chloe sat down and started getting into a conversation a football player came up to the table beside theirs and leaned down to talk to the other jocks. In unison they stood and started leaving. Chloe looked over at them and arched her brows. "What's up with your fallen brethren?" She asked as the jocks filed out single order.

Pete shrugged. "I don't know."

Chloe nodded and then stood up slipping her purse over her shoulder. "I'll see you later."

Chloe arrived at the football field where she'd followed the players to and stopped behind the bleachers, watching as the coach decided to have a little pep talk with the boys. Obviously one of them had leaked information to the Principal and Chloe heard him say nothing was going to stand between him and his legacy before the sprinklers on the field switched from spraying water to great arcs of fire. Chloe gasped and raised her camera to take a few pictures. As the coach ended his tirade, the flames died down and she crouched beneath the bleachers, waiting for the field to clear out.

Later that night the pep rally ran in full swing from the football field as Chloe sat at her desk in the Torch offices, uploaded the photos from earlier.

As she pasted a picture to the layout of the front page her mouse caught on fire. Chloe jerked her hand back and watched the monitor of her computer catch fire, too.

Lex had decided to take Chloe up on her offer and visit the Torch after he'd called her house and Gabe had informed him of where she'd be. He was on his way up the stairs to the second level of the school when he heard her screams.

"Help!" Chloe took off her jacket and put it over her head to keep from catching on fire. She tried to get to the doors but as soon as she got close to one flames would get higher, burn brighter and hotter, and she'd back away. Her eyes started to burn and tear up from the smoke and she yelled again. "Help me!"

She turned to go to the window to yell out for help and saw the flames already racing along the wall. Just as she was about to pick up her chair and toss it through the window when the side door of the office flew open and Lex came barging through.

"Chloe?"

"Lex!"

Chloe watched as the flames grew taller between them.

"Come to me, Chloe."

Chloe took a shallow breath so as not to inhale too much smoke and ducked with her coat over her head. She ran through the fire to Lex and smacked into his body with her own, knocking them both to the floor. Lex struggled to his feet and wrapped his arms around Chloe as he backed them out of the room. In an instance all of the fire died down and nothing was left but a charred mess.

Chloe put a hand to her mouth as she choked down sob after sob. Lex stared into the room, saw the mess, but could think of nothing but when Chloe had been on the other side and he'd thought for sure she wouldn't survive. He'd been consumed by panic, thinking she'd die and he'd never see her again.

Now he held her close to him and tightened his grip.

Hours later after the fire department had come and made sure it was safe to reenter the room, Chloe and Lex stared down at the burned mess of her computer and desk. "The Torch, torched." Chloe shot a glare at Lex and he grabbed a hold of her, hugging her to his side. "I know, not funny."

Chloe leaned into him for a moment. "I think I know who did it."

Lex looked down at her, eyebrows raised.

Once again, later that night, Chloe and Lex sat in The Beanery. Chloe sat across from him on a booth seat, her legs curled up under her. Lex leaned forward, his arms propped on the table.

He was currently studying a folder with papers of worker's bio's spread out in front of him. Chloe watched him closely and then her curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask.

"How often do you have to shave you head to never have a five o clock shadow?"

Lex's eyes wandered from his papers up to her face. "I don't have to shave it." He passed his hand over his skull and at Chloe's confused look he explained, "When I was nine I was out in the cornfield when the meteor shower struck here in Smallville. While my dad was busy signing contracts to put more people out of business in hopes of furthering his own career, I wandered off into the field. When I woke up in the hospital I was bald."

Chloe's eyes searched his and then dipped down to the table top where his lap was hidden.

Lex laughed and gave her a smirk. "That's information I'm not going to give you. That is one thing you'll have to do a little investigating about and find out on your own."

Chloe felt the heat travel up her neck and settle in her cheeks. She resisted the urge to fan herself and then decided since he had so willingly divulged information about himself, she could share something of her with him, too.

Chloe sat forward and folded her hands in her lap. "You know how you said I'm the only one that runs around saving people?"

Lex nodded and though his interest was piqued he cautiously took a sip of coffee.

Chloe bit her bottom lip and then forged on. "When I was three I was in those same cornfields. We were traveling through Smallville and got a flat tire. My mom followed me into the field. I was chasing after a bunny or some other small animal I'd seen out of the corner of my eye. Anyways, I ran after it and she ran after me. Next thing I knew there was an explosion and my mom landed on top of me. When I woke up in the hospital I was showing signs of increased strength."

Lex's eyebrows hinted at his curiosity. "Increased strength?"

Chloe laughed and sat back, resting against the comfortable padding of the booth. "Yeah. The nurse brought me some pudding and when I took the spoon from her I bent it in half." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I didn't know if you'd dig into my past or anything after you had your car towed away and figured out what happened to the roof of your car."

"I was wondering about that."

Chloe nodded and sipped at her drink. "I kinda tore it off."

Lex stared at her in what she hoped was a good kind of awe. "Tore it off?"

Chloe shrugged. "It seems like the older I get the stronger I become. I'm going to venture to guess it's all about the meteor rocks and the effects they have on people. I've seen a lot of crazy shit here in Smallville."

Lex thought back on her story and then asked, "What happened to your mom?"

Chloe looked away for a moment, startled at the question. When she looked back Lex could tell she'd collected herself enough to hold the tears in her eyes at bay. She had to clear her throat before she could speak. "She died protecting me."

Lex didn't think twice about how it would look to the patrons of the coffee house, he just reached over and covered her hand with his. "I'm sorry for your loss, Chloe."

Chloe forced a shaky smile and then squeezed Lex's hand with her own in a silent show of gratitude for his sincerity and then she pulled her hand away. She motioned to the papers on the table between them. "So what are you going to do about this mess?"

Lex sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm supposed to be cutting back 20 percent of the work force."

Chloe made a strangled noise in the back of her throat.

Lex agreed.

Together they put their heads together and tried to think of another way out of the mess he'd gotten himself and hundreds of other people in to.

Later that night, Lex leaned over the pool table in his study and lined up an easy shot. The open and shut of the door of his study signaled the arrival of his father. "Two times in one week, Dad. Trying to set a new record?"

Lionel tossed the folder with the proposal down in front of Lex on the purple felt of the pool table. "What is this?"

Chloe got up from her place on the couch where she'd gone unnoticed. "I believe it's a proposal, Mr. Luthor."

Lionel's gaze shifted over to the petite blonde and he laughed as he looked back at his son. He tsked for a moment and watched as the girl, who couldn't have been more than a teenager, paused beside Lex and took his cue stick, leaning down to match a more difficult shot and putting some weight behind it. "Mixing business with pleasure, son. Not a wise move."

Chloe raised a questioning brow. Lex hadn't failed to notice the way his father's eyes had gobbled up his guest.

Lex took the cue stick back from Chloe after she finished her shot and leaned against the pool table. "I learned from the best." He put down the cue and picked up the folder that the proposal was in. "Now what part of this proposal did you not understand?"

Lionel bit back a smile, a clear sign of his impatience. "Careful, Lex. Empires aren't built on clever bookkeeping."

Lex grinned, leaned back against the table beside Chloe and reclined, stretching his arms out, his hands on the edge. His body language signaled that Chloe had not only been his co-conspirator in the new proposal, but to also warn Lionel to back off. "Dad," He said as tilted his head to the side, the grin still firmly in place, "you have no idea what I'm capable of."

Lionel raised his head a fraction in acknowledgement before turning and leaving the study in silence.

Chloe stared after him for a moment and then let out a whoop of laughter. She turned and wound her arms around Lex and hugged him. "That was great. I was waiting for the bloodshed to begin but you were so cool and collected." She pulled back and smiled at him. "That was awesome."

Lex laughed and stood up, away from the pool table. "And you were a great help, Chloe."

Chloe grinned and rubbed his head playfully. "Yeah, well, you're not so bad yourself, Luthor."

Lex laughed in return and headed over to the his desk. "Unfortunately, that's not the last I'll see of him."

Chloe smiled softly and reclaimed her seat on the couch in front of the fireplace. "Can't I just revel in the win? Don't pop the bubble for me just yet, okay?"

Lex poured each of them a drink, hers nonalcoholic, and sat down beside her. He handed her the glass and clinked the crystal of his to hers. "To a productive day."

Chloe agreed and smiled; took a sip of sparkling water. She leaned back and sighed. "You saved the town, Lex."

Lex murmured his agreement, raised his arm to rest on the back of the couch behind Chloe's head and they watched the fire crackle behind the screen.

lj715
9th January 2006, 04:37
Blaire, you did a great job with this. Would've liked the actual episode with this as part of it, of course. You really did justice to the Lex /Chloe relationship in this story . I hope I'm making sense ( been with the mother-in-law all afternoon & the brain is a bit fried).

meeaz
9th January 2006, 04:39
Chloe's eyes searched his and then dipped down to the table top where his lap was hidden.

Lex laughed and gave her a smirk. "That's information I'm not going to give you. That is one thing you'll have to do a little investigating about and find out on your own."


hehe that was cute. promise of things to come?

glad you updated!

star del mar
9th January 2006, 05:53
Great update! I was glad to see Chloe and Lex actually sharing with each other and now Lex knows about her powers which is a major bonus! Not only does she not have to hide around him but hopefully that fact that there are less lies being thrown around will increase their chances of remaining friends...or more...whatever :) They're already plotting together, a very good sign. Loved it.

Steph*

hfce
9th January 2006, 07:19
Oh that was so sweet. I love for once someone trust Lex enough to tell him the truth. I am surprised she told him so quickly. I was not expecting that at all. Now he doesnt have to waste time trying to figure her out. He can protect her and make excuses for her. Great chapter. :clapclap:


Hope :)

PMD
9th January 2006, 08:07
Blaire, well, what can I say about this storyline so far but Bravo---my friend. And can't wait to read more. :)

chril1
9th January 2006, 10:11
is it just me or have loads of episodes been deleted or something?

lea
xxx

Gaia
9th January 2006, 11:01
Well this is much better than the original. Now Lex knows about her powers and that means that they won't be having any troubles with that in the future.
Plus-Great update. Next one please!

welshy
9th January 2006, 11:36
That was a great update, I hope there's going to be more soon :)

Blaire023
9th January 2006, 15:43
is it just me or have loads of episodes been deleted or something?

lea
xxx


by have loads of episodes been deleted, do you mean that the characters are moving fast? or what? cuz you lost me in this comment. :)

also, i suppose to some it would seem that lex and chloe are becoming friends quite fast, and i think to some extent if clark and the kents and lana weren't there to intercept their friendship that chloe and lex could have become friends...or more. you have to remember that chloe is taking clark's place in being friends with clark. but you also have to remember that she's a girl.

as for the episodes moving along...i think it's called "flow" something that my writing has more of than the people who actually write smallville. but i am following the episodes. sometimes i switch the way the scenes go in order, just for my own personal fun, but for the scene in the beenery where they're reading the stuff, lex actually does that with clark somewhere in the middle of the eppie...i just plopped chloe down with him instead. because clark's stupid and boring.

Skye
9th January 2006, 16:42
I just found this and I am very glad I did. I love this and you've done an awesome job with this story!!

sinecure
15th April 2006, 07:41
Would definitely love to see more of this. Oh, if only this was how it all went on the show. ;)

rockadaisy
16th June 2006, 12:14
i might cry if you don't continue updating. seriously, do you want that hanging over your head? don't think so.

please?

BellaMR
6th July 2006, 00:41
:beg: Please post more of this fantastic fic. I love what you've done to the episodes.

Nyx
5th November 2006, 03:56
I expect you to post soon. I love the way you recreate the events of the show.

starmoon
13th November 2006, 05:16
please update soon i can't wait to see what happens next.

Tanschana
12th August 2008, 05:29
Jepp, I definitly like your version of Smallville WAAAAAYYYYY better!

~*~Tasha~*~
2nd October 2009, 21:08
All three of your rewrites for the show are great so far. I hope the muse strikes you again in the future to pop another one in. {Smiles} Nicely done all around.

cbrown80
4th April 2010, 08:37
Please update soon. You have such a great start so far. I love seeing Smallville with a Chlex perspective.

Azera
24th January 2011, 03:57
Wow, what a cool idea for a story, please don't leave it there!

Lynzie914
21st March 2011, 06:04
I love the concept for this, the Chloe/Lex interaction you wrote was just amazing! Fit the storylines but altered wonderfully to make it very them. I'm sad its only the three episodes, but they were so awesomely written that I can't be too sad about it because at least I got them. XD

falllovessummer
24th April 2012, 20:55
I have been looking and looking for this fic for awhile now. If only the show had followed this format. I know your writing Chloe/Supernatural crossovers now ( which rock by the way ) but if you ever come back to your old smallville fics I hope that you are able to update this one.

TrinityR
24th June 2012, 17:21
please, continue this!!

Ami Rose
17th July 2012, 05:40
Loved i! Would love to also see ot continued!