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View Full Version : [Completed] The Tipping Point (R)



BlueSabby
8th May 2007, 19:06
A/N: Blue: Here's the big winner. Apparently you guys are ready for some drama. We hope you enjoy it!

A/N Sabby: Ironically enough, this was supposed to be a humorous piece, look what happened.

Chloe walked through the doors of Lex’s study and he looked up from whatever it was that he was doing at his desk. He seemed a little surprised but not as much as he should have been. Or as much as he would be in the next few minutes. And he’d get angry, too. And then the questions would start.

But Chloe had prepared herself for that. She’d mentally gone through all of the responses that the man could have. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t pull out something that she hadn’t prepared for. But that was the chance that she was taking with what she had come here to do.

It had to be done, though. For his own good.

He started to get up from his chair but she wasn’t going to let him do that. If he did, he’d be able to physically push her out of the door. If she hit him with her opening line while he was still in his chair, he might be shocked into not standing up.

“I think you should call the wedding off.”

Lex looked at her blankly, trying to figure out what kind of joke this was supposed to be. “Pardon?”

They'd been friends for a few years now, age difference not withstanding, and Chloe's honest and upfront attitude had always been something he'd admired, but she couldn't be serious with this. The wedding was in a week.

He'd done his research this time and knew the woman, Andrea, for more than a few months and he had made sure she wasn't out to kill him. This had to be a joke.

“Okay, what game are we playing now? Is this some early stag night hoax?”

On top of intelligent and straight forward, Chloe had proven to be devious and cunning, so Lex wouldn't put it past her to cook up a scheme to surprise him.

At least he wasn’t starting out mad. In fact, he looked downright relaxed at the moment. When she didn’t answer, he leaned back in his seat and a slow grin spread over his face. It used to be that that smile would make her nervous and do something weird to her insides. She’d become used to it by now.

“No, it’s not a joke or a game or anything else of the like, Lex.” Chloe needed to make sure that she was clear about everything. Now was not the time for misunderstandings.

When he saw that she was serious, the smile disappeared off of his face and he sat up straighter. His mouth was now set in a grim line.

In for a penny…

“She’s a harpy and she’s all wrong for you,” she said. It had taken her awhile to figure that out. She’d given Andrea a chance at first. But something had not sat well with Chloe and she knew better than to ignore her instincts.

Lex's eyes narrowed. “I happen to like the woman you call a harpy a great deal. We share a mutual respect, have a lot in common and happen to have mutual interests; she doesn't want to kill me and has plans for her future that are compatible to mine.”

Having laid out the basics, trying to remain calm, Lex moved on to the crux of the matter. “So since that pretty much negates your statement that she's 'wrong' for me, I would like to know what problem you have with me marrying her.”

This was the first he heard of it. Chloe seemed to be seriously crazy. There was no reason for her to believe that Andrea was anything but a suitable candidate for marriage. Sure he didn't 'love' her in that Soap-style that was expected for a couple about to get wed, but what the hell did that matter?

Even though she knew that Lex would kill her for thinking so, she almost felt sorry for him if that’s what he thought marriage was. Yes, there were couples that had it be some sort of business arrangement. But there were also couples that actually liked one another. He needed to get it out of his head that he could only be a member of the former kind.

“Putting aside the fact that you’ve just given clinical reasons for marrying her.” Chloe took another few steps forward. “And the fact that you’re obviously not in love with her. There is something else.”

Lex had asked her opinion of Andrea in his round about way. She’d told him, flat out, that she didn’t trust the woman or think that he should keep seeing her. He’d proposed a month later.

“She really is an unpleasant cunt, Lex.”

His jaw dropped before he could stop it. “What?”

He'd never heard Chloe speak in such a manner, she did cuss occasionally, especially when she had one of her klutzy moments, but he'd never heard her talk about another person that way.

What the hell was going on here? His friend was obviously not fully there. Couldn't be, if she talked like that. Maybe it was the meteors. Heaven knew the damn stones were involved with pretty much every weird thing happening in this bumfuck town.

“Where the hell do you get that? She's been nothing but polite and nice whenever you were around her and I haven't seen anything that would warrant you insulting her like that.”

“Of course you haven’t seen it,” she blurted out. Could he really be that dense? “She’s not an idiot, Lex. She knows that she can’t be herself in front of you.”

Chloe was fairly certain that the woman knew she was on to her. It was just a look that Andrea gave her every now and again. The look would always precede the woman draping her claws all over Lex.

“But I have. And I’m not the only one.” Yes, the woman didn’t really seem to care about what anyone else saw. Chloe had to hand it to her that she knew Lex well enough to know that he made his own decisions.

Half of the town had been subjected to the woman’s antics. Chloe knew that both Clark and Lana had said something to Lex, as she had, but he had shrugged it off. He usually told them that it was probably just a misunderstanding.

But Chloe now had a tally of the woman’s transgressions and Lex needed to hear all of them in one sitting.

“She talks down to everyone,” Chloe started. Lex may be rich but he treated people with respect. “She makes fun of people when they're not around. She actually refers to the people that work for you as 'the help' and she made Lana cry. I'm not Lana's biggest fan, mind you, but she was out for blood.”

The woman had wheedled Lana for about five minutes on where she had gotten her outfit. Chloe had tried to jump in but Andrea was relentless. Lana hadn’t cried in front of the woman, Chloe had been proud of her for that, but she knew that it had happened later.

“Plus, her tits are totally fake.” That might have been neither here nor there. But the woman prided herself on her looks and often said that she was just genetically blessed. Chloe had been able to dig up a variety of pictures of the woman from the past. She clearly had work done, and there was nothing wrong with that, but she wouldn’t admit it.

Chloe knew that that wouldn’t sway Lex so she went back to her complaints that had more substance to them. “She called Martha 'homely,'” Chloe knew how much Lex admired the matriarch of the Kent clan and that he wouldn’t take kindly to that remark.

“She threw Pete her car keys because she thought he was the valet. After she'd met him. Four times.” Pete wasn’t his favorite person but that was no excuse for her behavior, either. “She touches Clark for far too long and she's only really happy when you give her gifts.”

Somehow, Chloe had found herself in the chair facing Lex. “She's a gold digger.” The other things hadn’t really affected Lex that much. At least outwardly. So she’d get down to the business part of their arrangement. Being it was the only thing he was hanging this marriage on.

“Lex, I went through her finances, they're a mess.” His eyes had narrowed at that. Now she had his attention. She sat back a little in her chair, “Let me guess, the prenup is very generous to her.”

Lex had been waiting for the end of her rant to refute every single claim she made. Until the last part. He'd checked and double checked. And Chloe knew that. There was no reason she would bring up this last point. Unless she'd found something he hadn't.

“You're obsessed.”

It wasn't what he'd meant to say initially, but it was true none the less. She must have stalked Andrea and interrogated everyone she came in contact with to get all this information. Not to mention, she must have done a pretty thorough research, more thorough than his, for that last part.

“I went through her records. You know that. Her finances seemed absolutely fine to me.”

There hadn't been anything indicating that she was after his money. “What could you have found that I didn't? I checked both her maiden names.”

And then some, and there'd been nothing at all to prove or even suspect something was iffy.

When Lex spoke, Chloe knew that she had uncovered something that he had not. But it would have been easy to miss what she had found. Unless you were looking very closely, which she had been.

“Both her maiden names, you said? And all businesses associated with them.” Lex nodded at this. That was where he’d made his mistake.

“She’s been married three times, Lex.” His eyes widened slightly. This was news to him. She was sure that he would have asked her how many times she’d taken that fateful trip down the aisle. The number she had given him did not jibe with three.

“Andrea was all of 16 when she got married the first time, Lex.” Chloe didn’t relish telling him all of this but it really was to prevent further damage to him later. “The groom was 42.” It still disturbed Chloe that her parents would allow this. But they seemed to know, even that early, that Andrea was their meal ticket.

“If you or your people didn’t find that,” she said, “then they didn’t find the bank in the Netherlands that is tied to that name. And the numerous personal loans that are associated with that account.”

She didn’t want Lex to think that she was having fun with this. She wasn’t. She wished that the man could just open up his eyes and pick someone who deserved him, who loved him. She wished that he would see that she fit those criteria.

Her tone softened, “Lex, I’m sorry. But, I couldn’t let you marry someone like that.”

His eyes narrowed at the new information. He had indeed not been aware of a third name under which to look. It went without saying that he hadn't known about anything else that followed on the heel of that information either.

Then again, why should he believe anything without seeing proof? Chloe was desperate, which was easy to see in her face and stance as she sat across from him. In desperate situations, people were capable of a lot of things.

“Prove it.” He folded his hands as he leaned over the table. “Bring me the papers that have the evidence on them.”

“Lex,” she said, exasperated, “I don’t have them down my pants.” He just sat there. That’s when she realized something. “You don’t trust me.” The words came out in a shocked tone of voice.

After years of being friends, she still hadn’t earned that. They’d gotten close during the craziness with his father and they’d stayed close after that. He was willing to marry some woman he didn’t know, take her word on issues, but from her he wanted proof.

Chloe had been prepared for that, but it smarted, just the same. “Fine,” she said, her teeth clenched. She rose up out of her chair and rounded the desk. Lex’s chair was on wheels so she gave his shoulder a push and the chair moved away from the computer in front of him. Chloe didn’t look at him.

Instead, she picked up the phone and dialed quite a few numbers. Lex could afford the long distance charges. She could feel his eyes rooted to her movements but he didn’t speak.

“Hallo, Gerritt. Het Chloe.” She listened as the man expressed his delight at hearing from her. She made some idle conversation and then got down to it with him.

As she spoke on the phone, she took her flash card out of the pocket of her jeans. She put it in Lex’s computer and waited until Gerritt had confirmed her password. Now that that was done, the documents on the flash card would be decrypted.

“Dankzegging, Gerritt.” And now was the time that she had to explain to him that they lived half a world away so their love could never be.

Lex looked at her aghast as she spoke Dutch with only the slightest accent audible. “You speak Dutch?” To say he was bewildered would be an understatement.

From what he could glean of the conversation, and the remnants of Dutch left in his own brain, she'd just called somebody that had to do with the bank and asked for specific account information to be faxed. And now she was explaining something about love and impossibilities and a big amount of salty water?

Gerritt was still trying to get her on a plane. He was prattling on endearingly so she was able to answer Lex. “I picked up a little while I was looking into this,” she explained. She used her shoulder to cradle the phone to her ear as she clicked on a few windows on the screen.

Lex's brow rose skeptically. “And how long have you been 'looking into this'?”

One didn't learn Dutch in a few days, and with all the information she'd dumped in his lap... Lex still didn't want to believe, but the problem was that most of him already did. He wanted to hold on to the hope that this would all turn out a hoax after all. That he hadn't aimed in the wrong direction yet again. And he hadn't even let his feelings blind him this time around.

All Chloe said in answer to his question was, “Awhile,” which wasn't exactly specific and then she had the audacity to 'hush' him. Not just that, but she was actually taking charge of his computer and he cursed himself for having forgotten to turn it off when she entered. It should have been habit to do so. Damnit.

“OK,” she murmured to herself. “Just another second.” Sometimes the connection between the bank and the states wasn’t the best. Which was odd considering how much international business they did.

Once everything she needed was up on the screen, Chloe thanked Gerritt again and promised him a date if she was ever in the neighborhood.

She hung up the phone and then pushed Lex back in front of his computer screen. Then, she went back to the chair she’d been sitting in and waited for his reaction.

Lex looked at the screen blankly for a moment, stumped by the wordless quasi manhandling she'd just submitted him to. Then he turned his attention to the screen and read. And narrowed his eyes. And read a little further.

“That bitch!”

It was all true, all of Chloe's allegations in front of him as evidence in black and white. Andrea had more debts than a seasoned gambler and the damn prenup would have taken care of all of them.

Lex's face went stoic as he stared at the screen. His world didn't exactly crumble, but it was a hard hit to take. It was the third time that he'd taken up with the wrong woman. And he didn't even love her! What the hell was wrong with him?

He picked up the phone without looking and dialed the number for his lawyer. He waited until the man finally picked up and interrupted him before he could start his spiel. “Lex Luthor. Shred the prenup, it won't be needed.”

He hung up without saying a word and got up from his seat, then stalked towards the doors. He needed to get out. This was all just a little too much to ask of him right now. The wedding would have been in a week. Everything was arranged. The cake, the priest, the guests, the decorations, the party, the flowers. He'd had to take care of most of the goddamn things himself because Andrea had shown to be mostly inept. Not so surprising looking back and knowing her true motivations. What do you care which flowers are arranged for your wedding when all you want is the money you get out of the divorce.

“That fucking, money digging bitch!” Lex slammed the door shut behind him as he stalked towards the master bedroom.

And he'd made space in his closet for that. Had bought endless gifts and taken her out to dinner and done his best to be on his most perfect behavior and at his most charming.

He was so furious it felt like he was burning. No, scratch that. He felt like burning something and he knew just where to start. He'd have to have the locks changed as well before Andrea came back from her extended shopping trip.

“Fucking damnit!” He'd have to have her credit card cancelled as well.

Chloe watched him stalk out of the room and let him be. For as long as she could. She heard vague crashing sounds coming from another part of the Manor. She quickly got up out of her chair and followed the sounds.

They were coming from a part of the Manor that she’d never been in before. She assumed it was the few rooms that Lex actually lived in when he wasn’t entertaining guests.

She found him in what she assumed to be his bedroom. He was chucking clothes out of the window. Expensive, women’s clothes to be more exact.

“Lex, what are you doing?” Yes, the woman was the spawn of evil but it seemed such a shame to take it out on the clothes. They were gorgeous.

Priorities, Chloe, she reminded herself.

Her question was a stupid one but she thought it could be forgiven in this situation. He ignored her and went back into the closet. She quickly picked up some of the clothing that he had missed and placed it back on the bed.

“Lex, stop.” She took hold of his arms. Now what? “I appreciate the cathartic effect this has but it would burn her more to know that you donated her clothes to the underlings that she hates so much.”

He didn’t say anything, just yanked his arms back and hurled the clothing out of the window. This wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought.

Chloe waited until he was in the closet and then tried again. She grasped the hands that were reaching for another hanger. “Just stop it. She doesn’t deserve anymore of your attention.”

Lex’s body was so tense that Chloe thought he just might snap at any moment, but he needed to hear this. “Not your rage or your disgust. She’s nothing, Lex. She never deserved you.”

He pulled his hands out of her grip and glared at her. “How very dramatic. Did you read Shakespeare lately?”

Chloe didn't deserve the venom he was spewing, but damnit he was angry and he wanted to get rid of some of his anger by having a little bonfire down in the backyard. So what was it to her?

“If you want to give anything that belonged to the 'unpleasant cunt' as you so aptly called her to give it to the servants, you should hurry up or it will be gone.”

He grabbed another set of clothing and picked up the leftovers from the bed as he went towards the window.

This was very much unlike him. Well, unlike the him that he usually let people see. This was closer to what Chloe figured that Lex was actually like. He was a man who went through a great deal of emotions. He just never let them out and this was what happened when they were finally set loose.

“When you’re done with your tantrum,” his gait slowed down when she used that word, “I’ll be in your study if you want to talk.”

She watched as he picked up some more of her clothes. “As for any items of hers, I wouldn’t touch them. They might burn my skin off.”

Lex smirked coldly as he tossed the last set of clothing out the window. “Oh they will burn, no doubt about that.”

Maybe she was right. Maybe he was having a tantrum, but he didn't fucking care. He hadn't had a good tantrum in years and now was the perfect time. After all, his third attempt at a wedding had failed before he'd even gotten as far as the vows.

He had to get a little satisfaction where he could.

Lex stalked out of the room, not caring where Chloe went. He was going to make his way to the kitchen and get some gasoline and matches. And maybe marshmallows while he was at it. To add some flavor to the whole experience.

Chloe immediately got his intention. “Oh no you don’t,” she muttered as she ran after him. She watched as Lex purposely stalked down the hall and on the way to the stairs. “Lex, no burning. This is ridiculous.” Lex had ample reason to get upset but setting shit on fire was not going to make him feel any better. She had some personal experience with that and the clean up alone was more annoying than the actual relationship.

“Lex. Lex, wait. Lex, stop.” But he just kept on trucking.

“Oh, yes,” he replied, not looking back at her, “It’s my private proper….what the fuck? Get off me!”

Chloe had taken the opportunity to leap onto his back. If he wasn’t listening to her words, this was her only recourse.

In the next moment, Chloe felt her back thump against one of the walls. Lex was trying to dislodge her. She held tight with her arms and her thighs.

“No, I'm not going to let you burn this place down accidentally because of that little whore.” In the mood and state he was in, she doubted he’d be very careful with his placement of the fire.

“God fucking damnit, get off!” Lex kept cursing and turning, trying to get her off his fucking back but she was clinging like a fucking limpet.

When he got one of her arms loose, her legs tightened around his waist and vice versa. “Why the hell do you think I threw her damn things out the window?!” he yelled as he turned around again.

He was furious. Scratch that, he was beyond furious. A new word was needed for the state he was in. All he wanted was to burn a fucking pile of clothes and his supposed 'friend' wouldn't even let him do that. Instead she was fucking accosting him and clinging to his goddamn back. “I'm not going to burn my own fucking house down! Now, get. OFF!”

She knew that Lex was mad. Not mad. Furious. And now he wasn’t just mad at his former paramour, he was mad at her. But she knew just how destructive he could be when he wasn’t thinking. She had seen it far too many times to count. Hell, she’d been there the next morning in order to help him pick up the pieces, whether it was actual physical pieces of a plant or mental.

“No,” she said, “No setting fires. Say it.” Chloe didn’t really think she was going to win this one. She could already feel her grip slipping under Lex’s strong hands.

Before she could get her answer, she felt her body being shifted and then almost lifted. The next thing she knew, she was on the ground, staring up at an enraged Lex, her ass stinging from landing on it.

He snapped. “I will not be coerced by a bloody nuisance of a fledgling reporter!” he roared as he bent over and hauled her over his shoulder, finally dislodging her from his back and sending her to the ground where she landed on her ass.

Glaring down at her, he continued, “If I want to start a fucking bonfire in my backyard I'm going to goddamn do so and you,” he pointed at her, “Are not going to stop me.”

With a snarl, he started past her, stalking on, only to feel his feet being pulled from under him. With a roar of frustration, he landed on his arm, pain flaring up like lightning.

Chloe was now fairly certain that her own rage was at least almost matching Lex’s. That he had the audacity to say that. He had no idea how much time, energy and her own money had been spent to get the information that she had just given him. He wasn’t thinking about that now, but it didn’t matter. She was angry. And hurt. And now yelling.

“I am not a nuisance, I'm your goddamn friend you fucking asshole!” She yelled those words at a Lex that was down on the ground. She’d taken his feet out from under him when she’d seen the chance as she’d lain on her ass.

Seeing her opportunity, she got to her feet and ran down the stairs. Maybe if she could find whatever Lex was going to use to set the bonfire before he got there, she could stop him.

Lex got up from the floor, cradling the arm he'd landed on. He didn't think it was broken, but it hurt like a son of a bitch.

“A friend?!” he yelled in outrage as he started after her.

“A fucking friend would have been a lot more tactful! A friend would have come to me earlier than on the last fucking week before the wedding! A friend would not have jumped on my fucking back and almost broke my arm!”

The pain was still radiating all the way up to his shoulder and she was running ahead of him like a fucking headless chicken. The way she was going, she'd end up in the gym before she ever made it to where he was planning on going.

Lex stopped at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, trying to get a handle on his control before he went on towards the kitchen. He did want to set a bonfire, yes, but that didn't mean he was going to risk his own neck doing it.

Chloe yelled over her shoulder. “I tried tact. It didn’t work. I tried telling you I didn’t like her. That didn’t work. I left you clues and that didn’t work, either.” Lex wasn’t a whiner so she really must have hurt his arm. She’d apologize for that later. Right now, she was more concerned with finding the lighter fluid that he might be after.

There was silence behind her. For the first time, she took stock of where she was. Then she cursed. Because they’d come down a different staircase than the one she usually used. She was turned around. The kitchen was the other way.

When she made it there, it was clear that Lex had already come and gone. Chloe changed direction again and ran out onto the lawn where the clothes had ended up. She saw Lex cradling one of his arms and the bottle of lighter fluid in the other.

Without thinking, she sped up and got directly in the way of the spray. It burned like a son of a bitch. Being that Lex only had one good arm, it wasn’t that difficult to wrestle the slippery plastic bottle out of his hand.

By the time it was in her hands, they were both doused with the fluid. She saw that there was a box of matches at Lex’s feet. “I wouldn’t if I were you,” she panted out as she gestured to the matches, “we’ll both go up.”

Lex glared at her, chest heaving. He was doused in lighter fluid and she'd just effectively managed to take away his last joy of the day. “Great! Just marvelous!”

He threw away the matches, and started stalking off. “Do me a favor, just get the hell out and leave me alone.”

Chloe watched him go. She wanted to go after him but she knew better. Lex was good and pissed and wound up…and injured. She couldn’t forget that part of it, either. He should probably get some medical attention. It was more likely that he would do so without her around.

She waited until he slammed the door back into the Manor before beginning to clean up a little. She put the top back on the container of lighter fluid and then picked up the matches. The pile of clothes could stay for now.

Chloe trudged back to the Manor and was happy to find that Lex hadn’t locked her out. Enrique was there waiting for her. He silently handed her her jacket and bag. An order from Lex, no doubt.

She took them after placing the bottle of lighter fluid and matches on the floor. “Tell Mr. Luthor…tell Lex I’m sorry about his arm.”

Enrique thought for a moment and then nodded.

Chloe quickly exited Lex’s house and wondered when and if she’d be back. Yes, she’d saved him from his latest marriage but, in the process, she might have decimated their friendship.

Once her car was started and on the road, she made her way to Lana’s house. She’d promised to let her know how it had gone. She didn’t get very far. Once she saw Lana she started crying.



tbc...

lj715
8th May 2007, 19:51
Wow!! Excllent beginning. Can't wait for Andrea to get back & find out the wedding is off. More please.

Kit Merlot
8th May 2007, 20:10
Oh man, that was one hell of an emotional beginning!

I can understand Lex's anger, but he was wrong to take it out on Chloe. She saved him from making a huge mistake by marrying that worthless gold-digger, and this is how he thanks her?

And seeing as how this is in the Angst section, I'm going to guess that Lex is going to need more then a few days to get over his anger.

Can't wait for the next part:D

Nyx
8th May 2007, 21:02
Great fic!

In the beginning I thought that SHE was the one getting married with him!! And calling it off!

She saved him from making another mistake but it is understandable that Lex is hurt, poor baby always being used.

Why can't he see what is right in front of him???

Next update!!!!! When???

somethingeasy
8th May 2007, 23:41
A/N: Blue: Here's the big winner. Apparently you guys are ready for some drama. We hope you enjoy it!

A/N Sabby: Ironically enough, this was supposed to be a humorous piece, look what happened.

I am SO happy that this one won the poll. I’m not sure whether it’s because most people genuinely wanted drama, or whether it’s because I put in a plea to people to ‘vote for the angst’… but whatever the case, I am ECSTATIC that this one was the fic that you two started up next.

And Sabby, I was doubly excited when I heard that this was meant to me a fluff piece, but drama just happened to ‘sneak in’ in it. Those are the absolutely BEST kinds of dramas possible. The ones where the characters surprise the authors with the intensity of their reactions :D


Chloe walked through the doors of Lex’s study and he looked up from whatever it was that he was doing at his desk. He seemed a little surprised but not as much as he should have been. Or as much as he would be in the next few minutes. And he’d get angry, too. And then the questions would start.

But Chloe had prepared herself for that. She’d mentally gone through all of the responses that the man could have. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t pull out something that she hadn’t prepared for. But that was the chance that she was taking with what she had come here to do.

It had to be done, though. For his own good.

He started to get up from his chair but she wasn’t going to let him do that. If he did, he’d be able to physically push her out of the door. If she hit him with her opening line while he was still in his chair, he might be shocked into not standing up.

“I think you should call the wedding off.”

This was an excellent start to the review. And I can see what you meant when you said this was supposed to be a ‘humour piece’. It certainly sounds like that in the beginning.


He'd done his research this time and knew the woman, Andrea, for more than a few months and he had made sure she wasn't out to kill him. This had to be a joke.

LOL at all the ‘criteria’ that Lex made his latest fiancé satisfy before actually proposing to her. It actually sounds like he genuinely TRIED to find a marriage match that worked without ending in flames, bullets and crashing planes. Which probably explains his inevitable humiliation and subsequent anger and over-reaction upon finding out he was WRONG yet again.


“She’s a harpy and she’s all wrong for you,” she said. It had taken her awhile to figure that out. She’d given Andrea a chance at first. But something had not sat well with Chloe and she knew better than to ignore her instincts.

At this point, I had already noted that Chloe seemed to have a ‘certain’ amount of attraction for Lex (her ‘melting’ at the sight of his smile, for example)… And I was wondering whether her animosity towards Andreas was because of subconscious possessiveness or jealousy for Lex.


Lex's eyes narrowed. “I happen to like the woman you call a harpy a great deal. We share a mutual respect, have a lot in common and happen to have mutual interests; she doesn't want to kill me and has plans for her future that are compatible to mine.”

sheeyeah right! *rolls eyes*
typical Lex Luthor criteras for ‘wife selection’. I didn’t know whether to laugh hysterically or scoff in disbelief at the cold way he was selecting a bride.


This was the first he heard of it. Chloe seemed to be seriously crazy. There was no reason for her to believe that Andrea was anything but a suitable candidate for marriage. Sure he didn't 'love' her in that Soap-style that was expected for a couple about to get wed, but what the hell did that matter?

Even though she knew that Lex would kill her for thinking so, she almost felt sorry for him if that’s what he thought marriage was. Yes, there were couples that had it be some sort of business arrangement. But there were also couples that actually liked one another. He needed to get it out of his head that he could only be a member of the former kind.

I liked hearing both their points of view on this analytical way of selecting ‘Luthor wife no.3’. Lex felt perfectly justified, and probably even a sense of smug satisfaction at being able to setting his mind above his passions and sense of romance when selecting a life-partner.

And Chloe was just appalled that he had selected a woman that he didn’t even particularly LIKE to be his life-partner.


Lex had asked her opinion of Andrea in his round about way. She’d told him, flat out, that she didn’t trust the woman or think that he should keep seeing her. He’d proposed a month later.

hmph! Well if he wasn’t planning on heeding her advice, why did he ask her? Stupid, arrogant Luthor!


“She really is an unpleasant cunt, Lex.”

His jaw dropped before he could stop it. “What?”

He'd never heard Chloe speak in such a manner, she did cuss occasionally, especially when she had one of her klutzy moments, but he'd never heard her talk about another person that way.

What the hell was going on here? His friend was obviously not fully there. Couldn't be, if she talked like that. Maybe it was the meteors. Heaven knew the damn stones were involved with pretty much every weird thing happening in this bumfuck town.

Ouch! I was ALSO surprise at hearing such vulgar language from Chloe. She can exhibit quite a potty-mouth in fanon, but it always feels wrong whenever she uses such language to demean or diminish another person… especially behind their back.

But I can see she was using vulgarity as a means of making a point to Mr. Lex Luthor who has been IGNORING all her other ‘more gently phrased’ warning before now. Stupid jerk!


“But I have. And I’m not the only one.” Yes, the woman didn’t really seem to care about what anyone else saw. Chloe had to hand it to her that she knew Lex well enough to know that he made his own decisions.

I liked this part… It shows a little insight into Andrea’s personality as well as Lex’s. It seems like Andrea’s quite smart for a gold-digging tramp, as well as she had to be considering that she was able to pull the wool over Lex’s eyes so completely and effectively.

Are we ever going to ‘see’ Andrea? Find out a little more about her personality and past? Or is she gone and out of the fic just like her clothes?


“She talks down to everyone,” Chloe started. Lex may be rich but he treated people with respect. “She makes fun of people when they're not around. She actually refers to the people that work for you as 'the help' and she made Lana cry. I'm not Lana's biggest fan, mind you, but she was out for blood.”

The woman had wheedled Lana for about five minutes on where she had gotten her outfit. Chloe had tried to jump in but Andrea was relentless. Lana hadn’t cried in front of the woman, Chloe had been proud of her for that, but she knew that it had happened later.

It was at this point where I started disliking this woman. She sounds needlessly cruel, bullying, malevolent and power-hungry. Lana might be annoying, but the poor girl is really too self-centred and oblivious to be considered anything other than an innocent. Kind of like pigeons. The damned things are annoying and constantly in your way on the sidewalk, but you certainly don’t want to see someone grabbing one and pulling the wings off the poor thing.


“Plus, her tits are totally fake.” That might have been neither here nor there. But the woman prided herself on her looks and often said that she was just genetically blessed. Chloe had been able to dig up a variety of pictures of the woman from the past. She clearly had work done, and there was nothing wrong with that, but she wouldn’t admit it.

LOL at Chloe adding in this part… heh, as if it would make a difference to Lex.


Chloe knew that that wouldn’t sway Lex so she went back to her complaints that had more substance to them. “She called Martha 'homely,'” Chloe knew how much Lex admired the matriarch of the Kent clan and that he wouldn’t take kindly to that remark.

“She threw Pete her car keys because she thought he was the valet. After she'd met him. Four times.” Pete wasn’t his favorite person but that was no excuse for her behavior, either. “She touches Clark for far too long and she's only really happy when you give her gifts.”

Somehow, Chloe had found herself in the chair facing Lex. “She's a gold digger.” The other things hadn’t really affected Lex that much. At least outwardly. So she’d get down to the business part of their arrangement. Being it was the only thing he was hanging this marriage on.

So far, it seems like Chloe has listed out a VERY valid bunch of reasons on why this woman is NOT fit to be a companion to Lex. And I find it horrible that Lex would have married her ANYWAY if Chloe had not brought up the proof that Andrea was planning on screwing him over. The stupid dunce!!! Why was he so desperate for a wife anyway?


“Lex, I went through her finances, they're a mess.” His eyes had narrowed at that. Now she had his attention. She sat back a little in her chair, “Let me guess, the prenup is very generous to her.”

Lex had been waiting for the end of her rant to refute every single claim she made. Until the last part. He'd checked and double checked. And Chloe knew that. There was no reason she would bring up this last point. Unless she'd found something he hadn't.

“You're obsessed.”

It wasn't what he'd meant to say initially, but it was true none the less. She must have stalked Andrea and interrogated everyone she came in contact with to get all this information. Not to mention, she must have done a pretty thorough research, more thorough than his, for that last part.

Heh, Lex’s assessment of Chloe might not be pretty, but it sounds true. She IS obsessed! I wonder why she was so determined to find something wrong with Andrea.

Perhaps Chloe was just being… ‘Chloe’, and she was just stretching out her resources in protecting and covering ‘her friend, Lex’ just like she would have protected Clark or Pete from making a horrible life-altering mistake.

Or perhaps Chloe had an selfish and ulterior motive for wanting to keep Lex single? It ‘could’ just be subconsciously…?


“She’s been married three times, Lex.” His eyes widened slightly. This was news to him. She was sure that he would have asked her how many times she’d taken that fateful trip down the aisle. The number she had given him did not jibe with three.

“Andrea was all of 16 when she got married the first time, Lex.” Chloe didn’t relish telling him all of this but it really was to prevent further damage to him later. “The groom was 42.” It still disturbed Chloe that her parents would allow this. But they seemed to know, even that early, that Andrea was their meal ticket.

ewww! Now I’m feeling a little sorry for Andrea as well as significantly disgusted by her. It sounds like the girl has been pushed and raised by her own parents into believing that she’s completely worthless except as a high-stakes, con-woman prostitute.


She didn’t want Lex to think that she was having fun with this. She wasn’t. She wished that the man could just open up his eyes and pick someone who deserved him, who loved him. She wished that he would see that she fit those criteria.

Her tone softened, “Lex, I’m sorry. But, I couldn’t let you marry someone like that.”

Woah, WOAH! So it’s NOT just subconscious feelings, or a vague feeling of ‘aatraction’ that Chloe is aware of… She has actually acknowledged that she is completely in love with Lex Luthor??!! Incredible!

And it makes Lex’s choice of a ‘Marriage by Contract’ all the more unforgivable. He’s actually stupid enough to fall for the machinations of another gold-digger, when there is this LOVELY, intelligent, savvy, loyal woman underneath his nose just waiting for him to love her as she loves him??!! Stupid, blind ASS!


“Prove it.” He folded his hands as he leaned over the table. “Bring me the papers that have the evidence on them.”

“Lex,” she said, exasperated, “I don’t have them down my pants.” He just sat there. That’s when she realized something. “You don’t trust me.” The words came out in a shocked tone of voice.

After years of being friends, she still hadn’t earned that. They’d gotten close during the craziness with his father and they’d stayed close after that. He was willing to marry some woman he didn’t know, take her word on issues, but from her he wanted proof.

It was at this moment where I felt a VERY intense flash of outrage, anger and even hatred for Lex. Surely he KNOWS that Chloe wouldn’t LIE about such things? That she wouldn’t make such accusations unless she had irrefutable proof?!

It seems like he was allowing his arrogance and pride to overcome his sense of fairness and common-sense. It wasn’t a matter of defending Andrea, because I don’t think he ‘cared’ enough for her to defend her honour… I think Lex was just unwilling to admit that he had made a mistake like this AGAIN!

Damned, arrogant, stubborn, Luthor Bastard!


“Dankzegging, Gerritt.” And now was the time that she had to explain to him that they lived half a world away so their love could never be.

Lex looked at her aghast as she spoke Dutch with only the slightest accent audible. “You speak Dutch?” To say he was bewildered would be an understatement.

From what he could glean of the conversation, and the remnants of Dutch left in his own brain, she'd just called somebody that had to do with the bank and asked for specific account information to be faxed. And now she was explaining something about love and impossibilities and a big amount of salty water?

LOL! I also goggled in disbelief at the sight of Chloe speaking near-perfect Dutch. Where the hell did she pick it up from? And why? How many languages does has she gathered anyway?

Also, the whole interaction between Chloe and her infatuated Dutch hacker… verrrry cute :D


One didn't learn Dutch in a few days, and with all the information she'd dumped in his lap... Lex still didn't want to believe, but the problem was that most of him already did. He wanted to hold on to the hope that this would all turn out a hoax after all. That he hadn't aimed in the wrong direction yet again. And he hadn't even let his feelings blind him this time around.

*snort* What feelings? He’s acting as if he’s actually got some affection for his fiancé. *scoff*


All Chloe said in answer to his question was, “Awhile,” which wasn't exactly specific and then she had the audacity to 'hush' him. Not just that, but she was actually taking charge of his computer and he cursed himself for having forgotten to turn it off when she entered. It should have been habit to do so. Damnit.

I was also ROTFLMAO at the blasé and impudent way that Chloe just pushed Lex out of the way without so much as a ‘by your leave’ and took charge of his machine… undoubtedly filled with very sensitive material such a classified experiments, military secrets and his porn collection.


Lex looked at the screen blankly for a moment, stumped by the wordless quasi manhandling she'd just submitted him to. Then he turned his attention to the screen and read. And narrowed his eyes. And read a little further.

“That bitch!”

It was all true, all of Chloe's allegations in front of him as evidence in black and white. Andrea had more debts than a seasoned gambler and the damn prenup would have taken care of all of them.

Lex's face went stoic as he stared at the screen. His world didn't exactly crumble, but it was a hard hit to take. It was the third time that he'd taken up with the wrong woman. And he didn't even love her! What the hell was wrong with him?

Heh, is this a good moment for Chloe to start singing ‘I told you so’?
*sigh* Of course she’s not going to do that. No matter how tempting… or how much Lex deserves to hear those smug words.


He hung up without saying a word and got up from his seat, then stalked towards the doors. He needed to get out. This was all just a little too much to ask of him right now. The wedding would have been in a week. Everything was arranged. The cake, the priest, the guests, the decorations, the party, the flowers. He'd had to take care of most of the goddamn things himself because Andrea had shown to be mostly inept. Not so surprising looking back and knowing her true motivations. What do you care which flowers are arranged for your wedding when all you want is the money you get out of the divorce.

ouch! I finally understood the full extent of Lex’s humiliation over here. At least he’s going to have the dubious ‘saving grace’ of being the one to call off the wedding. Does he take ANY comfort in being the ‘dumper’ instead of ‘dumpee’?


And he'd made space in his closet for that. Had bought endless gifts and taken her out to dinner and done his best to be on his most perfect behavior and at his most charming.

And this part made it yet MORE clear on why Lex over-reacted the way he did. He might not have had his heart broken again, but he was still completely fooled, swindled, conned and tricked. It must have been mortifying for him to know that that, despite all the precautions he took this time, he was STILL made a fool of.


She found him in what she assumed to be his bedroom. He was chucking clothes out of the window. Expensive, women’s clothes to be more exact.

“Lex, what are you doing?” Yes, the woman was the spawn of evil but it seemed such a shame to take it out on the clothes. They were gorgeous.

Priorities, Chloe, she reminded herself.

Yes, let us discuss priorities… such as the question whether ANY of those dressed come in MY size… hmmm, probably not, ok, burn them!

And I simultaneously scared and amused by the power of Lex’s temper tantrum. So much of a reaction for a bit of hurt pride? I think it might have done him some good to have a dent made in his smugness and arrogance.


Chloe waited until he was in the closet and then tried again. She grasped the hands that were reaching for another hanger. “Just stop it. She doesn’t deserve anymore of your attention.”

Lex’s body was so tense that Chloe thought he just might snap at any moment, but he needed to hear this. “Not your rage or your disgust. She’s nothing, Lex. She never deserved you.”

There was actually a lovely, caring sentiment wrapped up in that lecture that Chloe was giving Lex. It’s too bad that Lex wasn’t in the best state of mind to appreciate undertones and subtleties in a conversation. He might actually have figured out WHY Chloe had saved him, and why she was ‘still’ trying so hard to save him from himself.


This was very much unlike him. Well, unlike the him that he usually let people see. This was closer to what Chloe figured that Lex was actually like. He was a man who went through a great deal of emotions. He just never let them out and this was what happened when they were finally set loose.

Apparently there’s a good reason why people shouldn’t bottle up their feeling and emotions in this ‘Luthor-like’ fashion. It tends to boil over and shoot out hitting innocents at the ‘least’ little bit of provocation. Stupid Luthor!

Heh, nice bit of insight into Lex’s nature here, BS!


She watched as he picked up some more of her clothes. “As for any items of hers, I wouldn’t touch them. They might burn my skin off.”

Lex smirked coldly as he tossed the last set of clothing out the window. “Oh they will burn, no doubt about that.”

Yeeep! It was here when I saw how far Lex was willing to take his temper outburst. He was planning to actually BURN the clothes?! He really had lost his mind. I’m grateful Andrea isn’t here right now, there’s no telling what Lex might have done to her.


Maybe she was right. Maybe he was having a tantrum, but he didn't fucking care. He hadn't had a good tantrum in years and now was the perfect time. After all, his third attempt at a wedding had failed before he'd even gotten as far as the vows.

He had to get a little satisfaction where he could.

Lex stalked out of the room, not caring where Chloe went. He was going to make his way to the kitchen and get some gasoline and matches. And maybe marshmallows while he was at it. To add some flavor to the whole experience.

Erm… again, I’m really, really scared… and extremely amused by Lex’s over-reaction. He was planning on roasting marshmallows on the bonfire of his ex-fiancé’s clothes? He’s really gone far beyond the edge of sanity, reason and rational thinking.


Chloe immediately got his intention. “Oh no you don’t,” she muttered as she ran after him. She watched as Lex purposely stalked down the hall and on the way to the stairs. “Lex, no burning. This is ridiculous.” Lex had ample reason to get upset but setting shit on fire was not going to make him feel any better. She had some personal experience with that and the clean up alone was more annoying than the actual relationship.

ROTFLMAO at Chloe’s wry (but apt) observation about how burning your ex-beloved’s stuff might seem like a very fine and satisfying thought at the time of burning only turns into a very charred mess that needs cleaning later.


“Oh, yes,” he replied, not looking back at her, “It’s my private proper….what the fuck? Get off me!”

Chloe had taken the opportunity to leap onto his back. If he wasn’t listening to her words, this was her only recourse.

In the next moment, Chloe felt her back thump against one of the walls. Lex was trying to dislodge her. She held tight with her arms and her thighs.

And then I was ROTFLMAO at the visual that accompanied Lex’s indignant words ‘what the fuck? Get off me!’. Chloe actually jumped on Lex Luthor? I never thought I’d see such a thing… at least I never thought I would see any of this kind of ‘jumping’ when completely removed from any sexual context. LOL!


He was furious. Scratch that, he was beyond furious. A new word was needed for the state he was in. All he wanted was to burn a fucking pile of clothes and his supposed 'friend' wouldn't even let him do that. Instead she was fucking accosting him and clinging to his goddamn back. “I'm not going to burn my own fucking house down! Now, get. OFF!”

She knew that Lex was mad. Not mad. Furious. And now he wasn’t just mad at his former paramour, he was mad at her. But she knew just how destructive he could be when he wasn’t thinking. She had seen it far too many times to count. Hell, she’d been there the next morning in order to help him pick up the pieces, whether it was actual physical pieces of a plant or mental.

I read these two paragraphs several times over. It was really intense seeing how powerful was Lex’s wrath, anger, hatred and loathing over here. It really helped me see why he would need to release all that emotion through something primal (albeit stupid and immature) like burning his ex’s stuff.

And I could ALSO understand why Chloe was so desperate to stop him… because she could SEE what he was doing was immature and stupid, and she knew that sometimes Lex’s anger, temper and passion got together with blindness and stupidity to make him do horrible things with horrible consequences.

She was not only trying to save Lex, but also any ‘innocent bystanders’ who might get hurt while he was blinded by his rage.


Before she could get her answer, she felt her body being shifted and then almost lifted. The next thing she knew, she was on the ground, staring up at an enraged Lex, her ass stinging from landing on it.

He snapped. “I will not be coerced by a bloody nuisance of a fledgling reporter!” he roared as he bent over and hauled her over his shoulder, finally dislodging her from his back and sending her to the ground where she landed on her ass.

Why that… *sputter*… no-good, horrible, callous, cruel, heartless, arrogant BASTARD!!!!

He THREW Chloe off him?! And then he actually called her all those horrible things? A bloody nuisance?! A fledgling reporter?! The bastard would have known that THESE terms would have clawed right through Chloe’s psyche. Those words would have hurt her immensely!

The stupid asshole doesn’t deserve the care and concern of someone like Chloe… LET the bastard burn his house down!

Heck, at this point, I would have happily set fire to some wing of his manor and blamed it on his rampage. He wouldn’t have known the difference.


Glaring down at her, he continued, “If I want to start a fucking bonfire in my backyard I'm going to goddamn do so and you,” he pointed at her, “Are not going to stop me.”

With a snarl, he started past her, stalking on, only to feel his feet being pulled from under him. With a roar of frustration, he landed on his arm, pain flaring up like lightning.

Chloe was now fairly certain that her own rage was at least almost matching Lex’s. That he had the audacity to say that. He had no idea how much time, energy and her own money had been spent to get the information that she had just given him. He wasn’t thinking about that now, but it didn’t matter. She was angry. And hurt. And now yelling.

“I am not a nuisance, I'm your goddamn friend you fucking asshole!” She yelled those words at a Lex that was down on the ground. She’d taken his feet out from under him when she’d seen the chance as she’d lain on her ass.

I’m glad to see Chloe returned the favour by felling Lex to the ground. AND that she stood up for herself and drilled into him for all those horrible things he just said about her. The bastard DID need to be reminded that Chloe just did him a favour by acting her part as the loyal friend in protecting him, and he actually had the nerve to throw her effort back in her face. Not only that, but he had the nerve to condemn her for her loyal and heroic actions.

All because his pride was hurt. Bastard!!!


“A fucking friend would have been a lot more tactful! A friend would have come to me earlier than on the last fucking week before the wedding! A friend would not have jumped on my fucking back and almost broke my arm!”


Chloe yelled over her shoulder. “I tried tact. It didn’t work. I tried telling you I didn’t like her. That didn’t work. I left you clues and that didn’t work, either.” Lex wasn’t a whiner so she really must have hurt his arm. She’d apologize for that later. Right now, she was more concerned with finding the lighter fluid that he might be after.

I am completely on Chloe’s side over here. Which is obviously because her side represents rational thought, reason and sense. But I get the feeling that Lex is NOT in a fair and rational state of mind… and he’s certainly nowhere near ready to admit that Chloe was right all along in her instincts about Andrea, that she was right in following up on her research on the woman AND that he owes her his most profound thanks for saving him.

Stubborn, arrogant, pride-filled bastard!


By the time it was in her hands, they were both doused with the fluid. She saw that there was a box of matches at Lex’s feet. “I wouldn’t if I were you,” she panted out as she gestured to the matches, “we’ll both go up.”

Lex glared at her, chest heaving. He was doused in lighter fluid and she'd just effectively managed to take away his last joy of the day. “Great! Just marvelous!”

I snorted with laughter at this part. Although I was a ‘little’ anxious about whether or not Lex was actually going to listen to even THIS bit of rational thinking. For a moment, I got horrible visions of angst coming from Chloe trying to heal from severe burns.


He threw away the matches, and started stalking off. “Do me a favor, just get the hell out and leave me alone.”

I felt equal parts relief, seeing Lex throwing away the matches… and also outraged indignation at seeing him DISMISS Chloe so callously and cruelly after she has actually saved him from another treacherous wife. Bastard!


Chloe watched him go. She wanted to go after him but she knew better. Lex was good and pissed and wound up…and injured. She couldn’t forget that part of it, either. He should probably get some medical attention. It was more likely that he would do so without her around.

I still say Chloe is being too nice and tactful. After all those horrible, hurtful things Lex said… she’s still willing to give him time and space?

*sigh* It’s the right thing to do. He IS feeling humiliated, and perhaps he WAS a little hurt about being betrayed… even if it WAS by a fiancé he cared nothing about. And he DOES need the time and space to recover properly before Chloe can talk to him again. Hopefully, once he recovers, he’ll be able to THANK Chloe for her efforts instead of shooting her for being the bearer of bad news.


Chloe quickly exited Lex’s house and wondered when and if she’d be back. Yes, she’d saved him from his latest marriage but, in the process, she might have decimated their friendship.

Once her car was started and on the road, she made her way to Lana’s house. She’d promised to let her know how it had gone. She didn’t get very far. Once she saw Lana she started crying.

Bastard! He made Chloe CRY???!! Oooooh! And I bet later, when he finally comes to his senses and apologizes, Chloe is NOT going to mention how much he hurt her. She’s going to forgive him immediately, and tell him that she wasn’t affected by his cruel comments and actions… not the least bit.

Lex most definitely doesn’t deserve a friend as loyal and true as Chloe Sullivan.

Hmmm, I JUST noticed that this fic is actually in the angst section. Which means that the conflict and drama is far from over. EXCELLENT!

Does this mean Lex is going to be an ass for a while longer? But HOW is he going to justify holding a grudge against Chloe for saving him??!!

Or perhaps, he’ll try to apologize, but Chloe will just not be able to trust him as a friend again…? That makes more sense. After all the things he said and did, I don’t think I’d want a fair-weather friend like Lex either. I can’t believe he didn’t believe Chloe right off the bat… and that he wanted PROOF before he took her word about his fiancé being less than completely trustworthy. Stupid, arrogant, bastard!

I look forward to seeing how this fic progresses. Once again, I am SO happy about the drama and angst factor in this one, and I bow down to this gift of a fic. Please update soon!

westwingwolf
9th May 2007, 01:43
I wanted angst, but I wasn't prepared for it to be so much that it ended up in the angst section. Oh well, I psyched myself up to read this and I can only hope that it will end on a somewhat sort of hopeful note after all the angst that we'll be put through. Or it will be angst through and through and I'll just live with it because of your excellent writing.

I can understand Lex's anger even though it shouldn't be pointed at Chloe. He got played yet again, and worse yet he did everything possible to make sure it wouldn't happen and still got fooled. That's got to leave him more pissed than ever and really upset with himself. I'd hope he wouldn't take it out on Chloe or he'd realize his mistake and try to rectify it. I'm not so sure if he's going to do that, he's probably too stubborn.

I get the feeling that it's going to take a while for Chloe and Lex to get their friendship back if ever. I do have another idea of how this plot might go but I think I'll sound stupid for saying it out loud if it doesn't go that way so I'll keep that to myself.

I'm just really glad this story didn't end up with the two of them going up in flames. So anything that's not that, should be okay by my standards.

xxasaxx
9th May 2007, 02:10
Lex should realize how lucky he is that Chloe saved him from yer another bad marriage...

he needs to appreciate:rules:

toryjhay
9th May 2007, 02:45
this was the one i voted for initially and i was not quite prepared for it to be an angsty one. but there were moments of humor. i love the part about gerrit and his long distance love for chloe. enrique giving chloe just made me sad. lex has to get over this, he didn't even love the woman, it was just some business arrangement. can't wait for more!!!!

malugargula
10th May 2007, 06:59
Wonderful start
:)
Lex will have to apologize hard after all those words
Please more soon

somethingeasy
10th May 2007, 10:47
I wanted angst, but I wasn't prepared for it to be so much that it ended up in the angst section. Oh well, I psyched myself up to read this and I can only hope that it will end on a somewhat sort of hopeful note after all the angst that we'll be put through. Or it will be angst through and through and I'll just live with it because of your excellent writing.

I get what westwingwolf is saying because I also share her hope that this fic will end on a happy (or at least hope-filled) note. I ADORE angst, conflict and drama in my fics, but I love it even more when the characters emerge all the stronger, healthier and with a new appreciation for life and happiness after all the trauma their puppet-master authors have put them through. Basically, I love it when angst and conflict is shown to be a character-building experience where the lead roles learn about the flaws in their own personalities, and take steps to fix the weakness in their natures. And then that's where the 'hope' of a happy ending comes from ;)


I can understand Lex's anger even though it shouldn't be pointed at Chloe. He got played yet again, and worse yet he did everything possible to make sure it wouldn't happen and still got fooled. That's got to leave him more pissed than ever and really upset with himself. I'd hope he wouldn't take it out on Chloe or he'd realize his mistake and try to rectify it. I'm not so sure if he's going to do that, he's probably too stubborn.

I get the feeling that it's going to take a while for Chloe and Lex to get their friendship back if ever. I do have another idea of how this plot might go but I think I'll sound stupid for saying it out loud if it doesn't go that way so I'll keep that to myself.

yep, Lex was an ass... but we do understand WHY he went about tearing into Chloe when she was actually his saviour from another disastrous marriage. He was hurt, humiliated and most probably filled with considerable amount of self-contempt and self-loathing... It was just very unfortunate that he chose to lash out with his grief against the person who pointed out what a fool he had been.

The saddest part is that, I get the impression that Chloe went into this meeting fully expecting to be flayed while performing her duty as the 'bearer of bad news'... but she went in anyway. Now THAT'S true courage and loyalty. I hope Lex is doubly ashamed when he realizes that he rewarded this courage and bravery with cruelty.

*sigh* or he might not get the chance... Like westwingwolf mentioned, there's a good chance that the Chlex will not be able to salvage this friendship after this incident. Even if Lex gets over himself long enough to want to apologize, Chloe might never view him as a trustworthy friend again.


I'm just really glad this story didn't end up with the two of them going up in flames. So anything that's not that, should be okay by my standards.

LOL! I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who was feeling slightly apprehensive at the moment when they were both doused in lighter fluid, and a crazed Lex was brandishing around a box of matches ;)

Soooo, when's the next chapter going up?

dagney
11th May 2007, 00:48
This fic has my heart pounding. Great job with action, how can Lex be so blind to Chloe's loyalty and love. Dagney

somethingeasy
15th May 2007, 12:04
Any chance of an update... I really don't know whether I want to see TP-Lex continuing his hysterical tantrum, or watch him acting like an ass to other innocents, or whether I want to see him groveling to Chloe to forgiveness. I just know I want MORE!!!

heh, I'm not a betting person. But I do know the third option (Lex getting over himself and asking for forgiveness) is one hell of a long-shot ;)

Please update this fic. I'm seriously missing it, and I'm desperate to know what happens next.

BlueSabby
16th May 2007, 14:42
A/N: Blue: Let the angst games begin! "Enjoy!"

A/N: Sabby: Tsk tsk. You people are seriously underestimating Lex. And Chloe. And our cruelty. Perhaps this chapter will enlighten you. Enjoy *G*



“How’s the arm?” Clark had no idea what he was doing there. Well, he had an idea. Lana told him to go over and see how and what Lex was doing. But she wasn’t the one who had to have the conversation with him.

He’d known about Chloe’s plan and had been waiting for a phone call. But not the one he got. Not Lana telling him that Chloe was crying. Not one that included Lana saying that Chloe wasn’t sure that Lex would ever speak to her again. Not that phone call. It wasn’t right.

So here he was in the lion’s den. The lion currently had a sling on his left arm. Wow, Chloe hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she thought she’d hurt Lex. That had been her major concern. His arm.

Lana had informed Clark, in no uncertain terms, that he was not to call her or show up at her doorstep unless he had some sort of news to report. He was thankful that she, along with Chloe and himself, had decided to come home this summer. He’d have a lot more explaining to do if he went to Lex’s and then showed up in Metropolis five minutes later.

“Sprained,” Lex answered neutrally as he assessed the situation.

Clark hadn't shown up on his doorstep in quite a while. Their friendship had been strained ever since the 'Lionel debacle' and Lex didn't delude himself into thinking Clark was there for any other reason than to play messenger.

“So do you want to tap dance around the issue for a while or would you prefer getting right to the point?”

He wasn't in the mood to pussy foot around. After Chloe had dropped the bombshell on him, Lex had spent the better part of his time brooding, cursing and trying to come to grips with the situation...while throwing things.

“Right to the point is fine,” Clark said. If only he knew the point. He knew what he was supposed to get out of Lex but wasn’t sure how to do it. Then again, he’d just said that he’d get right to the point.

“You told her to leave you alone,” he said. “For how long?”

He knew that Chloe was afraid that Lex never wanted to see her again. He still couldn’t believe that she’d sprained Lex’s arm. But he knew that Chloe could be very powerful when she needed to be. He wasn’t sure how she’d take the news of the injury, though.
Lex's brows furrowed. That was what he'd come to ask? Lex's lips thinned. His marriage just went down the drain. He had a million phone calls to look forward to where he would be calling off arrangements and explaining to people why he wasn't going to get married next Saturday. Not to forget there was the press to deal with. And Clark came here to ask how long Chloe was supposed to stay away?

Lex shook his head. “Is that all you have to ask?”

“Of course not,” Clark said. He shoved his hands in his pockets. “But I figured if I even ventured to ask how you were doing, if you needed any help or if you needed to talk you would consider that tap dancing.”

He walked over to the front of Lex’s desk. “We haven’t been close for a long time but that doesn’t mean that I’ve written you off.”

“But I know that you’ll just lock however you’re feeling inside of you, go on and pretend to be OK. It’s your way.” Clark had seen it too many times to count. “That doesn’t make it the right decision or mean that I agree with it. But Chloe isn’t like that. You’re sitting here rightfully feeling angry and hurt and confused, I’d guess but you’re not the one who’s…”

He stopped there. It wouldn’t do to tell Lex how Chloe was at the moment. He was fairly certain that Lex hadn’t yet figured out how Chloe felt about him.

He sighed. “What I’m saying is that I’d like to know how you are and if you’d like any help with the dozens of things you’d have to handle. But I didn’t think you’d volunteer any of that information or admit that you’d rather have someone who you might not consider a friend anymore aid you instead of one of the people you employ. So, I went with a question I thought you might answer.”

“Clark,” Lex paused, trying not to give in to the asshole inside. And failing. “That was possibly the gayest speech I've ever heard.”

The only thing missing was for Clark to be wearing a Joyce Brothers' tweed suit and take out a white cloth tissue, delicately dab his eyes and then offer him to talk about it over a couple of pink ladies.

That mental image was so disturbing that he had to go for a drink. He poured himself a double scotch and downed it, trying to shake the images from his mind.

“You can tell Chloe that I did not throw her out permanently,” he said as he looked down into his glass.

Anything else, he wouldn't use the farm boy fast messaging for. He'd lashed out at his friend and Lex didn't need to be a genius to know that she was probably crying right now. Trust him to be assigned the role of asshole while Clark got that of savior in fuzzy flannel.

Clark couldn’t really argue with Lex’s assessment of his speech. Even as he’d been talking, he’d been thinking about how he’d been hanging out with the two women in his life for far too long. But the gayest ever? He thought that award went to when he asked Lex to run away with him to Metropolis, so to speak, a few years ago.

“Ok, thanks,” he said. He paused for a moment. “Does that mean that you don’t want to tell me how you’re doing? Besides the arm, I mean?”

Lex looked over his shoulder, trying to figure out if the boy was serious. He was confronted with huge puppy eyes and a shuffling boot that ruined yet another increment of his expensive hardwood floor. During the years that Clark had come over more frequently, he'd had a very happy carpenter in his employ.

His gaze trailed up from the size twelve boot back to the hands shoved so far down the pockets of his pants that they should by all rights be slipping down from the pressure to leave him standing in his boxers. Up the never changing flannel shirt and right back to the puppy dog eyes. His hand itched for a rolled up newspaper.

“What do you think how I'm feeling, Clark?”

Clark tried to imagine the position that Lex was in. But he couldn’t. He had no idea what he would do if everything that had happened to Lex happened to him. Instead of making up something, which was his fall back position, he said, “I honestly have no idea.”

“I’d guess that you were pissed beyond belief. But after that statement you put out to the press, it wouldn’t be that difficult a guess.” The scathing statement had exposed Andrea for all that she was. She was going to have a hard time finding another rich man to marry her.

“But hurt, none the less. Angry at yourself for not seeing it. And then there’s the whole Chloe thing.” He shrugged. “So why don’t you tell me.” He paused and then added, “Instead of tap dancing.”

Lex rolled his shoulder and turned around. “Pissed, insulted, procrastinating like a madman,” he tried to sum up the general situation. “Wondering what I did to deserve this shit and trying to figure out what to do with six tons of white and yellow roses, about four hundred gallons of wine and champagne, not to mention a five level wedding cake and a Versace gown size 4.”

It was enough to make him want another drink. “Not to mention there's about twelve hundred guests who found out from the newspaper that the wedding is not going to happen and the phone would be ringing off the hook right now, if I hadn't been smart enough to unplug it. In fact, I think I don't even want to check my email or the regular mail cause nothing gets an RSVP as fast as a cancelled wedding.”

“Eh, fuck the guests, they’ll keep.” Clark waved a hand in Lex’s general direction. He saw one eyebrow rise on his skull. “Yes, I said fuck, it does happen.”

“Is all of that stuff paid for already?” Lex nodded. It was a dumb idea that would get shot down but he’d try it anyway.

“What about going through with it then?” Lex stopped as he was about to take another drink of the glass he had just refilled. “Not the wedding, of course, just a party. A gala or whatever you would call it. Seems like a waste. Celebrate the fact that the bigger mistake was avoided.”

Lex was still looking at him as if he’d grown another head or had told him that he was an alien from the planet Krypton and that Chloe was full on in love with him. “I know that you’re not in the partying mood. But,” he shrugged, “maybe it’ll do you good to get drunk. And not alone.”

“And the priest is going to cover the entertainment part of the evening I'm assuming?”

The idea was ludicrous. Who'd ever heard of a gala with a wedding theme? Not to mention that the guests surely wouldn't be attending to celebrate a 'non-wedding'. “You've read Lewis Carroll a few too many times, I think.”

If he wanted to make a gala out of it, he'd need a damn good cause. “And I can hardly serve a wedding cake at a gala event.”

And it was a shame about the cake. It was a lemon crème something something and then something in French. Lex hadn't listened to the rambling of the woman who'd made it but he'd tasted an example cake and it had been bliss. How long would it take to eat five levels alone? Was it even possible? He wondered if his metabolism could cope with that much sugar.

Uh huh. Clark thought that with a little prodding that Lex could be convinced to let the show go on. “No, but I’m sure whomever you’ve hired could do something in a week’s notice to make it a different kind of cake.”

This idea was sounding better to Clark. “You can throw a party for whatever charity you choose. I’m sure that the people would still come. Say any wedding gifts will be returned for cash and donated.”

The press had already started in with harping on Lex. “It would also be a chance to spin this in your favor. Show the bastards that it didn’t break you. And that bitch, too.”

Lex's brows furrowed as he thought about it. “An auction on the wedding gifts, donating everything to charity,” he trailed off as he looked at the farmboy in part shock and part astonishment.

“Clark, I believe you just had an actually useful idea.”

He could arrange it, somehow. All he had to do was make the phone calls, answer the emails and resend invitations, change reservations and get in touch with the chairmen of the charity foundation, convince them to show up for the good cause as well and then figure out how to make up for the loss of the 400 guests attending on behalf of the ex-bride. In short, he needed help.

His assistant would strangle him and then quit if he dumped this on her. Even the Luthor name wouldn't get him a coordinator with only a week to prepare for the event. He did not want to deal with the coordinator who'd 'helped' him arrange this wedding, ever again.

Looking up at Clark, he tried to keep his expression neutral. “Just how mad is Chloe with me right now?”

Clark was a little confused at the question. Yes, Chloe was pissed at Lex because she had only been trying to help him. But she was more concerned about him and about their relationship than anything else. Lex clearly did not understand her priorities. He was almost as dense as Clark was.

“Mad isn’t the word that I would use to describe it.” He had to tread lightly…even though he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. Had Chloe learned nothing from thinking she was in love with him? Yes, the timing was horrible but she should just tell Lex and be done with it.

He saw Lex’s face tighten and he realized he’d made a mistake. Again. “No, I don’t mean that she’s furious or enraged or anything,” he held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Lex, she’s…” he looked for a word.

‘In love with you,’ leaped to his brain. Well, maybe he could say that without saying it.

“She learned Dutch for you.” Lex looked at him blankly. “She never learned Dutch for me. But she learned it for you.”

“Clark, I hate to have to state the obvious, but there never was a reason for her to learn Dutch for you.”

He had no idea what the boy was trying to tell him with this comment. It came completely out of left field and didn't have anything to do with his question. “She learned Dutch, not for me, but to get at some information that she couldn't have gotten else, to prove her theory. She would have done the same if it had been anyone else involved.”

And why was he even discussing this when all he wanted to know was how he'd have to approach Chloe to get her to forgive and forget and help him to save what was left of the ill-fated wedding?

“You know what, I'm just going to go ask her myself.”

The farmboy had never been a source of useful information so Lex really should have thought better than to try and question him when he could get it from the horse's mouth.

“Can you at least tell me where she is right now?”

Clark actually rolled his eyes. He couldn’t tell Lex, Lana would kill him but he needed to know. Clark thought that there were far too many cat and mouse and cloak and dagger games going on at the moment.

“She’s at Lana’s right now.” Lex nodded and picked up his suit jacket. It wasn’t that Clark didn’t think that Lex should go and talk to her, Clark just wanted him to have all of the information he needed at his disposal.

“Lex,” the man stopped and looked at him. “She would not have done this for anyone but me, you and Pete. Not because we’re her pals but because she loves us.” Lex nodded as if to say, I know that, you dolt.

Fine. “But not equally,” he said. “She learned Dutch for. You. She stayed up nights doing this. Called in every favor that she had, ran up her credit cards and made us help by varying between threatening us and promising us things. She couldn’t watch you marry someone else.”

He waited for Lex to take that in. Clark walked over to him. It looked like the other shoe was dropping.

“Do you understand what it is that I have been told over and over not to tell you that I’m trying to tell you, Lex?”

Lex was a little dumbstruck. So dumbstruck that he wondered if Clark would get a drawing board and try to sketch it next if he didn't tell him he got it.

“This might be a problem,” he finally said.

How the hell was he supposed to work around the fact that Chloe had gone and fallen for him? What the hell did he do to cause that? The irony was killing, truly. The woman he planned to marry turned out to be yet again the wrong one, while the girl he'd chased away had gone and fallen in love with him.

Dead poets had to be rolling over in their graves at that. If in laughter or agony, depended on the individual author, he thought.

“I'll,” he trailed off, not willing to say 'work around it'. Chloe was his friend. She also was playing the same game she'd been through with the boy who stood in front of him, staring like he was waiting for a light of thought that wouldn't come. “We'll figure it out, somehow.”

Just one more thing to deal with. A regular week in The Life of Lex Luthor. He wondered how much money he could make if he turned it into an actual TV show.

Clark could see that Lex had been woefully unprepared to hear that. And that he didn’t feel the same way. His heart went out to Chloe.

“There’s nothing to figure out,” Clark said. He had lowered his voice. Lex needed to get this. It wasn’t some passing phase for Chloe. “She, um, she learned Dutch a while ago and she’s only become more fluent. I just thought you should know.”

Lex looked back at Clark and decoded the message, trying not to groan in frustration. Wonderful, not only had Chloe fallen in love with him, it was apparently something that had been there for a while and Clark thought it was there to stay.

”Well, I'm not sure how much she'll like to hear that my Dutch in general has gotten quite rusty and I have no idea if we're speaking the same dialect.”

He couldn't believe that he'd actually sunk to using the same metaphor as Clark. Then again, if he'd tried for something more fancy, the boy wouldn't have gotten it.

With everything going on, the last thing on his mind were his own personal feelings. First he had to take care of the big mess his ex-bride had caused, then he could try and sort out any kind of feelings he might be having aside from annoyance at the situation in general.

~~

Chloe was upstairs when there’d been a knock at the door. Lana looked at the ceiling to see if the blonde would come down the stairs to check on who it was. When a few seconds passed, Lana knew that she was staying put. Maybe she’d finally gotten some sleep.

Lana had stayed up last night, listening to what had happened between Chloe and Lex. Then, of course, she and Chloe had to analyze everything that had happened. They were women, it was what they did. Required by their genes or hormones or something.

When she opened the door, she looked at the man standing in front of her. He didn’t look mad. Which meant he was there to make things right. “It’s about frigging time.”

She turned around and then gestured for him to come in. She picked up her coat from the coat rack.

“She’s upstairs,” Lana told him as she put her coat on and cleared her hair from under the collar. “Second door on your right. She might be asleep so you may have to wait. Don’t,” she said, looking over at him, “wake her up. She hasn’t gotten much sleep.”

Lana picked up her purse and started to walk out the door. She stopped and turned back to Lex. “I know that I’m not scary and that you’re not threatened by me. You never will be. But I will say this, if you hurt her more, I will find a way to make you sorry for it. You’re not the devil or a bad guy but just keep that in mind.”

She paused for a second and thought about Clark and what he might have said to Lex. “I’m assuming that Clark told you about her feelings.” She’d expressly told him not to, had threatened him, so that meant that he had probably disregarded all of that.

By Lex’s reaction, she knew that she was right. “Let her down easy,” she said, softly. “She already knows you don’t love her but she still hoped…”

Lana shrugged her shoulders. “Please just be direct and don’t pity her.” Having said her piece, Lana walked out of the door.

Lex looked bemusedly at the closed door for a moment before shaking his head and turning to go upstairs. Who'd have thought Lana could be so direct? Of course she'd been right that he wasn't the 'devil' or the 'bad guy'. He was just the guy who got stuck in tight spots again and again without anyone giving him so much as a spoon to dig himself out of the hole that others had dumped him into. And he was getting his metaphors mixed up which was not a good sign for his mental state.

Taking the stairs two at a time he made his way up and to the room that Lana had mentioned. He knocked on the door as silently as possible and opened it a crack, looking inside to see if Chloe was indeed still sleeping.

He tried to make as little noise as possible as he stepped into the room. Chloe looked to be sleeping still so maybe he should have gone downstairs again and waited on the couch.

What he did though was walk over to the chair at the desk and settle down to look at her. 'Let her down gently' Lana had said. Easy to say. There was no such thing as doing it 'gently'. It was like saying 'Break her arm, but do it softly.'

Lex crossed his legs and perched his arm on the desk as he kept looking at Chloe. How the hell was he supposed to do this and then turn around and ask her for help to get a charity event together in less than a week?

Chloe had been in and out of consciousness since she’d decided to lie down. Or, well, until Lana had forced her to go to sleep. She kept tossing and turning and having weird dreams.

She rolled over again. She felt like there was someone else in the room. She sat up and looked around. She wasn’t sure he was real.

“Lex?”

“Yea, it's me.” Lex shifted his legs apart and leaned forward to brace on his knees. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

She'd looked rather fitful the few minutes he'd watched her sleep and Lex still had no idea how to let her down. It wasn't like a few years ago. That had been an accident and they'd both agreed it had been a stupid thing to do and to forget about it.

“Your knight in shining flannel showed up,” he said at her confused look. “On a mission to make me see the error of my ways.”

He hadn't meant to throw her out like he had. The problem was that he didn't deal well when someone made his card houses collapse and didn't like people around while he tried to pick up the cards and start again.

Chloe blinked a few times and tried to get her wits about her. So Clark had gone to talk to Lex. Did that mean he was only here to placate Clark? She shook her head at that thought. Lex wouldn’t do that.

“I didn’t ask him to do that,” she said. Things felt weird between them. Neither was good at apologizing. But that’s not all Chloe was worried about.

She had to tell him. He had to know. It wasn’t fair for Lex not to get why she’d been so crazy about the whole thing.

Chloe cleared her throat and looked back at him. That’s when she noticed his left arm. Her face fell.

“I did that?”

Lex looked where she was looking. He'd completely forgotten about the sling. His wrist didn't even hurt anymore and he had no clue why he was still wearing the constricting thing.

“I could've been a bit smarter going down,” he said as he took the sling off and placed it on the desk. His wrist was still wrapped, but that might not be a bad idea. Reminded him he healed fast, but shouldn't make too much of a show of it.

The last thing he wanted was for Chloe to beat herself up about a minor injury. Compared to all of the shit he'd gone through in this town, this was peanuts.

“It's nothing, really.” He held up his arm and turned it, waggling his fingers back and forth to prove there wasn't anything broken. “Just sprained.”

Bringing his hand back to his lap, he looked at her with as much sincerity as was possible to show on a Luthor face. “I came to apologize for throwing you out like I did. I wasn't thinking clearly at the time.”

Chloe shook her head. “You don’t need to do that.” She’d been thinking a lot about her actions and she realized how much of a nutcase she must have sounded like after they’d established that Andrea was up to no good.

“I know that I didn’t handle it in the best way that I could have.” She looked back up at him. “And I shouldn’t have jumped on you. Or kicked your legs. Or….” She trailed off.

“So, I’m sorry and you’re sorry about yesterday, ok?” Lex nodded slowly.

Silence stretched out between them. “And I’m sorry about Andrea, too. I know that you wanted things to work out between you two.”

It was now or never. “But I didn’t want it to work out,” she said, honestly. “I haven’t been a very good friend to you in a while, Lex. My own feelings have been getting in the way of that.”

“I’m in love with you, Lex.” She was able to look at him when she said that. She was proud of herself. Even in the dimness of the room, she could see his reaction. He looked, well, almost devastated.

She had expected his reaction to not be to her liking but it still hurt. Like a son of a bitch. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and she blinked them away. “You don’t have to say anything, I know you don’t feel that way. And maybe I’m selfish for telling you, but I had to take my shot, you know?”

Lex nodded mutely, trying to figure out what to say. For a moment he'd hoped to get away with his skin in tact. He hadn't thought she would bring it up, but she had and he'd been unable to cover up his reaction fast enough by the expression on her face.

“I'm sorry, Chloe.”

There was no way he could demand of her what he'd come to ask. She looked absolutely crestfallen at the confirmation that he didn't return her feelings and Lex had no clue how to deal with that. He liked women, a lot, but he'd never understood them or learned how to handle them when they were close. The cynic in him was wondering if that was the reason why some of them had tried to kill him. If they would have been nicer if he'd figured out what they wanted and given it to them.

Wow, this was worse than she’d thought. She prepared herself for it. But she hadn’t expected the huge lump in her throat or feeling like her stomach was trying to crawl up and out of her esophagus.

“Me too,” she said, softly. They both didn’t know what to say. It was a banner moment for them. If anyone else had been in the room they’d be surprised to see what could put both of them at a loss for words.

Chloe took a deep breath and let it out. They had two choices. They could let this get in the way of them being friends or they could just move on. She chose option B.

She took another breath and found that she was on the verge of tears. Damnit. She didn’t want to do this. She had promised herself that she would take it ok. She knew he didn’t love her so why was she reacting like this?

Ducking her head seemed like the best option at the moment. Her chest was constricting and she felt the telltale stinging in her eyes. Christ, how bad did the humiliation have to be?

Lex swallowed as he watched with a sense of dread. Her eyes had started to go all wet and he knew what was coming. Shit. No, no, no, “No, Chloe, please,” shit damn, there went the shoulders shaking.

He approached her with both hands held out, no clue what to do. “Don't, don't cry,” he heard the pleading in his voice but he was just a little too anxious to care.

Lex didn't know how to handle women at their best times, he had no fucking clue what to do with them at all when they started crying. Should he leave her alone? Should he try to comfort her or something? Hand her a tissue? Chocolate? His credit card? No, that wouldn't work.

“I'm not crying,” she said. But her voice was stalling around those hiccupping breaths that he knew meant she was about a second away from all out bawling and he still had no clue how to handle this situation.

Lex reached out hesitantly to pat her shoulder. It was awkward standing over her, bending down, so he slowly turned and sat down next to her on the mattress. This was bad, this was very, very bad and he had no clue how to make it less bad.

Worse, he still didn't know what to say. What did you say to a woman who was crying because you just broke her heart? And he hadn't even done anything. Which probably was the mistake. Lana really could have been a little more forthcoming on what he was supposed to do or say to 'let her down gently'.

Lex patted Chloe's shoulder again, wondering where he could find a tissue or something.

This was wrong. Lex shouldn’t be the one to comfort her. He was the reason that she was crying. But life sometimes didn’t make any sense and sucked at the same time. His presence calmed her down a little. She could hear the confusion and regret in his voice. Poor, broken Lex didn’t know what to do but he was trying for her.

It made her cry even harder. He cared. Just not enough. They never cared enough.

When she started to really lose it she felt Lex’s arm wrap around her shoulder. It was placed there lightly and he kept murmuring things like ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘Don’t cry.’

She turned slightly and cried into his shirt. Chloe felt his other arm wrap around her and he pulled her towards him.

It only took one hand to count the number of times she’d hugged Lex. And this was not the sort of circumstances she wanted it to happen under. But she couldn’t help it, she found herself plastered against him and holding on for dear life.

As if holding him tightly would make him forget what he’d just said and give in and lie and say he loved her.

She shouldn’t be doing this. Her grip relaxed and she used her forearm to push against his chest. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “No.”

She got off of the bed and tried to pull herself together. Her back was towards Lex, it was hard to look at him at the moment, as she wiped under her eyes. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror and decided that reflective surfaces were not her friend at this point.

Once her face was dry, she ran her hands through her hair. After a few more seconds, she turned back towards him.

But had no idea what to say.

Lex sat stiffly on the mattress, but he really wanted to get up and get the hell out. He had no idea what to say. 'I'm sorry' didn't really cut it in a situation like this. He wondered if he should offer her to stay out of her sight. Then again, that might make it worse too. But he wouldn't say the 'let's stay friends' thing. That one, he'd learned from the Clark and Chloe fiasco back in high school. But what the hell else was he supposed to say then? It didn't look like she knew what to say either.

All he knew was that he didn't like it that she looked at him so absolutely devastated, like he'd just killed her pet and then handed its dead and bloody remains to her with a smile and a shrug.

He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep his face impassive as he looked her over. “Is there anything I can do?”

Lex wanted to smack himself. No, scratch that, he wanted to kick himself down a long set of stairs and then throw his broken carcass to the wolves. Like there was anything he could do. Like it was a matter of buying something or arranging something or plain putting his signature on a piece of paper to pay whatever the hell price a broken heart had these days.

Chloe gave Lex a wan smile. “Unfortunately, no. But thank you for asking. I know that you’d do something if you could.” Some might find Lex cold and uncaring but those were people who didn’t know their ass from their elbow.

“I’m just going to have to deal with this my way.” She thought about how she was going to do that and realized she had no idea. “Whatever that is.”

Lex was looking up at her and he had the strangest expression on his face. It was a mix of so many emotions that it was overwhelming. “You’ll just have to excuse me if I act a little strange for a little while, that’s all.”

As she thought about the past few days, she remembered that she hadn’t asked Lex how he was faring. “What about you? Are you ok?”

“Me?” Lex was completely taken aback by the question.

What the hell did it matter how he felt right now? She was a mess and he'd caused that and she turned around and asked him how he was? He didn't even know how he was except maybe, confused and way out of his depths.

“Things could be better,” he said vaguely. For example, if she wasn't in love with him, and he didn't already see the end of their friendship coming at him like a big yellow End of Road sign.

Chloe nodded and then sat down in the chair he had vacated a few minutes ago. She took his sling off of the desk and started to nervously run it through her fingers. “I’d say that they couldn’t get any worse but I don’t want to tempt fate.”

She sat back in the chair and placed the sling back on the desk. “Listen, we’ve always been direct so I don’t see why that should change. My feelings make things horribly awkward and I’m aware of that. But,” she said, looking up at him, “I’d hate to think that I’ve ruined everything by telling you.”

“Maybe things won’t ever be the same and we won’t be friends again.” It was more than a distinct possibility. She knew how uncomfortable Lex was around real emotions. Which was why he dated the women he did. “But I’d like us to try. Does that sound like something you could do?”

“Is it something you can do?” he leveled the question right back at her.

As far as he was concerned, he was feeling responsible somehow for creating this mess and if she gave him a chance, he'd try ...well pretty much anything. He didn't have many friends and she was the only one of them who was actually around. Lex just wasn't sure that she'd be able to cope with being around him while those unreciprocated feelings stood in the room like a huge invisible elephant.

That was the real question. Right now, everything was so raw. But she knew that she’d heal. Eventually. But could she face Lex everyday still feeling like she did? She’d done it once but did she really want to put herself through that again?

“I honestly don’t know,” she said, quietly. “But I’d like to try. If it’s too much,” she looked away from him. “I’ll tell you.”

“Okay,” Lex agreed, trying to keep his tone neutral.

He really wanted to throw a tantrum. He wanted to throw things and rant about the unfairness of it all. He'd just been cheated out of his wedding and as if that wasn't enough, his best friend was in love with him and would now pull away because he couldn't return those feelings. It really wasn't fair, at all. His natural pessimism wouldn't allow him to even consider the option that things would turn out alright.

Life sucked.

Kit Merlot
16th May 2007, 15:49
This was a beautifully angsty chapter, and I liked your version of Clark and Lana. They were looking out for Chloe and trying to be a good friend to her. And they both treated Lex like he truly was--a well intentioned, if not troubled man, and not the devil.

The idea to auction off the wedding gifts was brilliant and I like the idea of having a party to show everyone that he isn't broken. Awesome.

But here is the big question: why do Clark and Lana assume that Lex won't return Chloe's feelings? True he wouldn't have been marrying another woman if he loved Chloe, but Clark and Lana are both acting like it's out of the realm of possibility for Lex to see Chloe in a romantic light.

And these two passages intrigued me:


She'd looked rather fitful the few minutes he'd watched her sleep and Lex still had no idea how to let her down. It wasn't like a few years ago. That had been an accident and they'd both agreed it had been a stupid thing to do and to forget about it.


That was the real question. Right now, everything was so raw. But she knew that she’d heal. Eventually. But could she face Lex everyday still feeling like she did? She’d done it once but did she really want to put herself through that again?

This hints at a deeper relationship then friendship. Did they sleep together and then decided that they were just going to be friends and that's when Chloe started to fall for him?

By the way, excellent work on this update, and I can't wait for more:D

westwingwolf
16th May 2007, 16:32
Remember I said I had a thought to where this was going but didn't want to say anything? Well, the thought was because Lex was so upset about having to cancel everything for the wedding that he would just go through with the wedding only to have Chloe as his bride as some sort of idea like she owed it to him to save face because of waiting to the last moment to inform him. Well, I think the auction/charity thing is a great idea but you know if you still got that priest hanging around and Lex is still feeling guilty about hurting Chloe's feelings, who knows what might happen.

Putting aside my crazy thoughts, this story is breaking my heart and I think it's only going to get worse as their friendship is in jeopardy. I hope they can work through this or find a way to make it better or Lex can realize that Chloe's right for him, but I think that'll be a while.

Good to see that Clark and Lana are not annoying me in this story. I look forward to more of them if they can behave themselves and be helpful towards the Chlex. The scene between Lex and Clark was fantastic from the advice to the whole Dutch metaphor.

jem
16th May 2007, 18:00
i actually like the stories where clark and lana arent as stupid or one dimensional as other ppl easily paint them as...

ha, i mean lex and chloe relationships are at best complicated enough already...

man i feel so bad for chloe, they really had a friendship tho
to talk about it and bring it up...

i think lex is being selfish tho, and i actually wish chloe
pulled away a little, find someone else, and then lets
see if lex cares for her any other way...

also, what happened between them a few years ago??

pleease update soon! thanks for updating! yesh very veyr
angsty...

toryjhay
17th May 2007, 18:39
life sucked. succint and says it all. wonderfully angsty. i can't believe that clark actually told lex and he was all sorts of surprising in this one. and lana, i just may be able to stand her in this story.

as for lex and chloe, i don't know...i really what to know what happened in the past, 'the accident', really curious about that one. and i actually like their friendship, they're very direct and at least they know where they stood. love this as always, more soon please!!!

somethingeasy
17th May 2007, 20:38
This was an AMAZING chapter. Truly! I didn’t think it was possible to create angst and cruelty out of something that was so subtle and understated. But THIS fic made me want to cry… perhaps because it’s such a classic scene that everyone can relate to… Being in love with someone who doesn’t mean to be cruel, but just doesn’t or CAN’T love you in return. There’s nothing worse than that.

Amazing chapter, incredibly heartbreaking development, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.


Lana had informed Clark, in no uncertain terms, that he was not to call her or show up at her doorstep unless he had some sort of news to report. He was thankful that she, along with Chloe and himself, had decided to come home this summer. He’d have a lot more explaining to do if he went to Lex’s and then showed up in Metropolis five minutes later.

heh, I thought it was pretty funny, but apt that Clark had been ‘sent’ to ‘assess’ the situation before reporting back to Lana. There’s a lot of drama that happened, and I cannot imagine either Lana or Clark were happy about not being ‘in the know’ about what happened.

Not to mention the fact that they were concerned about what was happening with the Chlex duo. Both Chloe and Lex are miserable, and I think it’s sweet that Clark and Lana genuinely wanted to help make things better ANY way they could.


Lex shook his head. “Is that all you have to ask?”

“Of course not,” Clark said. He shoved his hands in his pockets. “But I figured if I even ventured to ask how you were doing, if you needed any help or if you needed to talk you would consider that tap dancing.”

I really liked how Lex demanded that Clark should NOT waste time dancing around the subject (LOL! Even though it seemed like a case of the pot calling the kettle black), and just come out and say/ask whatever he came to the mansion for.

And I ADORED how Clark actually managed a witty retort to Lex that he HAD to dance around with his questions, because Lex didn’t like answering directly phrased questions. ROTFLMAO! I LOVE this savvy version of Clark.


He walked over to the front of Lex’s desk. “We haven’t been close for a long time but that doesn’t mean that I’ve written you off.”

“But I know that you’ll just lock however you’re feeling inside of you, go on and pretend to be OK. It’s your way.” Clark had seen it too many times to count. “That doesn’t make it the right decision or mean that I agree with it. But Chloe isn’t like that. You’re sitting here rightfully feeling angry and hurt and confused, I’d guess but you’re not the one who’s…”

I also LOVED this heartening look into Clark’s interaction with Lex. He has acknowledged that they don’t get along like they used to, but he still cares about Lex, and he’s making it clear that he’s there to genuinely help Lex out during his time of ‘emotional distress’.


“Clark,” Lex paused, trying not to give in to the asshole inside. And failing. “That was possibly the gayest speech I've ever heard.”

The only thing missing was for Clark to be wearing a Joyce Brothers' tweed suit and take out a white cloth tissue, delicately dab his eyes and then offer him to talk about it over a couple of pink ladies.

ROARING outrageously while I’m ROTFLMAO! This. Was. Brillaint! I loved how Clark built up a whole emotional scene with his heartfelt and earnest words… and then how Lex undercut the tension with his wry (and slightly horrified) observation. BRILLIANT! I’m going to be remembering that comment, and laughing for a VERY long time after this.

Not to mention the image of Clark wiping away his tears and offering to help him ‘talk through the pain’. ROTLFMAO!


Anything else, he wouldn't use the farm boy fast messaging for. He'd lashed out at his friend and Lex didn't need to be a genius to know that she was probably crying right now. Trust him to be assigned the role of asshole while Clark got that of savior in fuzzy flannel.

heh, I was VERY pleased to see that Lex had very quickly realized that he WAS being an ass, and that he had probably hurt Chloe quite badly through his lashing out.


Clark couldn’t really argue with Lex’s assessment of his speech. Even as he’d been talking, he’d been thinking about how he’d been hanging out with the two women in his life for far too long. But the gayest ever? He thought that award went to when he asked Lex to run away with him to Metropolis, so to speak, a few years ago.

ROTFLMAO at Clark’s astute (and amazing) sense of self-awareness and self-depreciation over here. Heh, hanging out with two women too long. LOL!

Reminds me of something Xander (from Buffy) said after making a semi-crude joke that no-one laughed at… about how he REALLY needed some guy friends.

Did he seriously ask Lex to ‘run away’ with him to Metropolis? Which episode was this??!! LOL!


Lex looked over his shoulder, trying to figure out if the boy was serious. He was confronted with huge puppy eyes and a shuffling boot that ruined yet another increment of his expensive hardwood floor. During the years that Clark had come over more frequently, he'd had a very happy carpenter in his employ.

LOL at this VERY interesting insight. It’s something I should have guessed on my own, but just didn’t realize or think about. I can imagine Clark would be oblivious to how his super-strong footmarks damage ‘delicate’ floorboards. LOL!


His gaze trailed up from the size twelve boot back to the hands shoved so far down the pockets of his pants that they should by all rights be slipping down from the pressure to leave him standing in his boxers. Up the never changing flannel shirt and right back to the puppy dog eyes. His hand itched for a rolled up newspaper.

ROTFLMAO at the image of Lex snapping a newspaper against Clark’s head. I NEVER would have thought of it that way, but it would be an apt response to Clark’s hang-dog expression. LOL!


“I’d guess that you were pissed beyond belief. But after that statement you put out to the press, it wouldn’t be that difficult a guess.” The scathing statement had exposed Andrea for all that she was. She was going to have a hard time finding another rich man to marry her.

“But hurt, none the less. Angry at yourself for not seeing it. And then there’s the whole Chloe thing.” He shrugged. “So why don’t you tell me.” He paused and then added, “Instead of tap dancing.”

I am seriously impressed by Clark. He’s showing tact, sensitivity, and a certain sense of adeptness with wordplay. I LIKE this Clark!


“Eh, fuck the guests, they’ll keep.” Clark waved a hand in Lex’s general direction. He saw one eyebrow rise on his skull. “Yes, I said fuck, it does happen.”

ROTFLMAO! Oh MY! Widdle Clark is all… grown up now. When did THAT happen?

I really liked how Lex was surprised by Clark’s cussing, and how Clark was bemused by Lex’s surprise.


And it was a shame about the cake. It was a lemon crème something something and then something in French. Lex hadn't listened to the rambling of the woman who'd made it but he'd tasted an example cake and it had been bliss. How long would it take to eat five levels alone? Was it even possible? He wondered if his metabolism could cope with that much sugar.

I have to admit, I swooned at Lex’s description of the wedding cake. It sounded delightful, and far too good to waste, throw out (or set on fire). I was SO glad to hear that it wasn’t going to be wasted after all. Although Lex’s thought of eating it himself made me giggle! I get the feeling the man doesn’t even LIKE cake that much.


Uh huh. Clark thought that with a little prodding that Lex could be convinced to let the show go on. “No, but I’m sure whomever you’ve hired could do something in a week’s notice to make it a different kind of cake.”

This idea was sounding better to Clark. “You can throw a party for whatever charity you choose. I’m sure that the people would still come. Say any wedding gifts will be returned for cash and donated.”

The press had already started in with harping on Lex. “It would also be a chance to spin this in your favor. Show the bastards that it didn’t break you. And that bitch, too.”

This was actually… a BRILLIANT idea! From Clark?! Who would have believed that the boy would have thought up such a savvy plan worthy of Lex’s finest team of PR-people. I really think Lex owes Clark some kind of monetary compensation for this kind of brilliant advice.


Lex's brows furrowed as he thought about it. “An auction on the wedding gifts, donating everything to charity,” he trailed off as he looked at the farmboy in part shock and part astonishment.

“Clark, I believe you just had an actually useful idea.”

I share Lex’s shock over the brilliance of the suggestion. Amazement at the suggestion itself, and amazement that this brilliant suggestion came from CLARK! LOL!

And it would be a really clever way to turn the tables on the fiasco of ‘Lex ‘almost’ getting fooled again’ from something that Lex is hiding from to something that Lex is celebrating.


He could arrange it, somehow. All he had to do was make the phone calls, answer the emails and resend invitations, change reservations and get in touch with the chairmen of the charity foundation, convince them to show up for the good cause as well and then figure out how to make up for the loss of the 400 guests attending on behalf of the ex-bride. In short, he needed help.

His assistant would strangle him and then quit if he dumped this on her. Even the Luthor name wouldn't get him a coordinator with only a week to prepare for the event. He did not want to deal with the coordinator who'd 'helped' him arrange this wedding, ever again.

Looking up at Clark, he tried to keep his expression neutral. “Just how mad is Chloe with me right now?”

THIS part confused me. Lex has considered the fact that a PAID PROFESSIONAL wouldn’t be able to pull off a job of re-coordinating a wedding into a charity gala within a week, so he wants an unpaid amateur to do it instead??!! I know Chloe is smart and all, but there are certain things that require skill and experience to handle… If a professional wouldn’t be able to handle such a job, why would Lex believe that Chloe could pull it off?

Oh well, I suppose he has a LOT of faith in Chloe, and he’s willing to take on a significant amount of the coordinating work on his own shoulders as well. Perhaps their combined determination and genius IQs would be able to make up for lack of skill, training and experience…?


“She learned Dutch for you.” Lex looked at him blankly. “She never learned Dutch for me. But she learned it for you.”

“Clark, I hate to have to state the obvious, but there never was a reason for her to learn Dutch for you.”

He had no idea what the boy was trying to tell him with this comment. It came completely out of left field and didn't have anything to do with his question. “She learned Dutch, not for me, but to get at some information that she couldn't have gotten else, to prove her theory. She would have done the same if it had been anyone else involved.”

And why was he even discussing this when all he wanted to know was how he'd have to approach Chloe to get her to forgive and forget and help him to save what was left of the ill-fated wedding?

LOL! I love how Clark broached the subject of Chloe’s feelings for Lex. It was a sneaky, tactful and indirect way of letting out information… SO sneaky that Lex didn’t even catch on without a LOT more hints. LOL!

I’m really enjoying the Clex interaction in this chapter.


“Lex,” the man stopped and looked at him. “She would not have done this for anyone but me, you and Pete. Not because we’re her pals but because she loves us.” Lex nodded as if to say, I know that, you dolt.

Fine. “But not equally,” he said. “She learned Dutch for. You. She stayed up nights doing this. Called in every favor that she had, ran up her credit cards and made us help by varying between threatening us and promising us things. She couldn’t watch you marry someone else.”

He waited for Lex to take that in. Clark walked over to him. It looked like the other shoe was dropping.

“Do you understand what it is that I have been told over and over not to tell you that I’m trying to tell you, Lex?”

Lex was a little dumbstruck. So dumbstruck that he wondered if Clark would get a drawing board and try to sketch it next if he didn't tell him he got it.

ROTFLMAO! Plenty of hints later, Lex ‘finally’ got it! And I found it hilarious that Lex actually got concerned that his ‘dumbstruck’ expression would induce Clark into sketching diagrams to get his point across. Who would have imagined the day would come when CLARK would need to spell things out (slowly and phonetically) for Lex’s benefit.

I also love that Clark told Lex about Chloe’s feelings. It was a HUGE secret, and it would have been frustrating as HELL to see Chloe dancing around her stifled emotions while Lex remained ignorant and idiotically oblivious.

Thank you for bringing it out into the open, BlueSabby!


“This might be a problem,” he finally said.

How the hell was he supposed to work around the fact that Chloe had gone and fallen for him? What the hell did he do to cause that? The irony was killing, truly. The woman he planned to marry turned out to be yet again the wrong one, while the girl he'd chased away had gone and fallen in love with him.

Dead poets had to be rolling over in their graves at that. If in laughter or agony, depended on the individual author, he thought.

LOL! I’m going to vote for ‘laughter’. But I can see why Lex would find this to be a tragic irony instead of a happy occasion. On one hand, this loyal, intelligent, passionate woman who happens to be his best friend is in love with him, which is great news. BUT he doesn’t return her feelings, which is awkward and TERRIBLE.


Just one more thing to deal with. A regular week in The Life of Lex Luthor. He wondered how much money he could make if he turned it into an actual TV show.

For an angsty fic filled with crying characters, this update has a LOT of humourous one-liners and observations in it. LOL!


Lex looked back at Clark and decoded the message, trying not to groan in frustration. Wonderful, not only had Chloe fallen in love with him, it was apparently something that had been there for a while and Clark thought it was there to stay.

”Well, I'm not sure how much she'll like to hear that my Dutch in general has gotten quite rusty and I have no idea if we're speaking the same dialect.”

He couldn't believe that he'd actually sunk to using the same metaphor as Clark. Then again, if he'd tried for something more fancy, the boy wouldn't have gotten it.

ROTFLAMO at the way Clark was carrying on using the same metaphor to CONTINUE explaining the whole picture to Lex. All because he doesn’t want to actually use the words ‘in love’. And I also giggled at the way Lex was feeling frustrated and irritated about carrying on with the same ‘code language’, but ALSO not willing to start using direct terms like ‘love’ and ‘devotion’.

The two of them are SUCH a pair of guys! Talking about feeling directly is a big no-no.. but referring to them in ridiculous analogies is just fine.


When she opened the door, she looked at the man standing in front of her. He didn’t look mad. Which meant he was there to make things right. “It’s about frigging time.”

heh, and it seems like Lana also had an actual spine, as well as an non-self-absorbed concern for her friends. Excellent!


Lana picked up her purse and started to walk out the door. She stopped and turned back to Lex. “I know that I’m not scary and that you’re not threatened by me. You never will be. But I will say this, if you hurt her more, I will find a way to make you sorry for it. You’re not the devil or a bad guy but just keep that in mind.”

She paused for a second and thought about Clark and what he might have said to Lex. “I’m assuming that Clark told you about her feelings.” She’d expressly told him not to, had threatened him, so that meant that he had probably disregarded all of that.

By Lex’s reaction, she knew that she was right. “Let her down easy,” she said, softly. “She already knows you don’t love her but she still hoped…”

Lana shrugged her shoulders. “Please just be direct and don’t pity her.” Having said her piece, Lana walked out of the door.

Woah! Lana is not only concerned about OTHER people, but she’s also quite observant and intuitive about what’s happening around her, AND the best way to go about handling it. She’s compassionate and smart. Who is this pod person… and how do we get her on the SV show? She might actually make the insipid triangle a ‘little’ more bearable.


Lex looked bemusedly at the closed door for a moment before shaking his head and turning to go upstairs. Who'd have thought Lana could be so direct? Of course she'd been right that he wasn't the 'devil' or the 'bad guy'. He was just the guy who got stuck in tight spots again and again without anyone giving him so much as a spoon to dig himself out of the hole that others had dumped him into. And he was getting his metaphors mixed up which was not a good sign for his mental state.

ROTFLMAO at Lex’s thought process. He really IS in a nasty, confused and befuddled place, isn’t he? LOL!

Heh! Trapped in a tight hole without a spoon to dig himself out. THAT is a mental image that’s going to keep me giggling for a while.


What he did though was walk over to the chair at the desk and settle down to look at her. 'Let her down gently' Lana had said. Easy to say. There was no such thing as doing it 'gently'. It was like saying 'Break her arm, but do it softly.'

And then, VERY suddenly (but naturally) the mood turned sombre. I’m glad to see that Lex realizes that anything he says over here is going to have traumatic and painful repercussions on Chloe, but he’s desperately searching for a way to minimize the hurt.

He really is a sweet guy… once you get past the tantrums and the tendency to marry women that he doesn’t love. WHAT the heck was he marrying Andrea for anyway? Surely he’s still a little too young to be needing a social wife and breeder of heirs?!


He hadn't meant to throw her out like he had. The problem was that he didn't deal well when someone made his card houses collapse and didn't like people around while he tried to pick up the cards and start again.

oh well, he’s being so sweet and repentant now, we forgive him for the silly temper-fit he pulled. AND he managed to keep from setting himself and Chloe on fire, which is a plus ;)


Chloe cleared her throat and looked back at him. That’s when she noticed his left arm. Her face fell.

“I did that?”

Lex looked where she was looking. He'd completely forgotten about the sling. His wrist didn't even hurt anymore and he had no clue why he was still wearing the constricting thing.

“I could've been a bit smarter going down,” he said as he took the sling off and placed it on the desk. His wrist was still wrapped, but that might not be a bad idea. Reminded him he healed fast, but shouldn't make too much of a show of it.

The last thing he wanted was for Chloe to beat herself up about a minor injury. Compared to all of the shit he'd gone through in this town, this was peanuts.

“It's nothing, really.” He held up his arm and turned it, waggling his fingers back and forth to prove there wasn't anything broken. “Just sprained.”

ouch! I imagined Lex wincing when he realized that he had thoughtlessly come to Chloe bearing physical evidence on the ‘pain and suffering’ she inflicted on him. I’m SO glad to see he was sensitive enough to realize that Chloe was in for enough pain within a few moments without having to deal with guilt as well. It was VERY sweet of him to reassure her by removing the sling, assuring her it was minor, and even wriggling a few fingers to prove everything was all right.

I have to say, it’s amazing the way BlueSabby gradually transitioned the mood from the hilarious and ridiculous Clex conversation to this cruel and angsty Chlex discussion. Amazing work, ladies!


Bringing his hand back to his lap, he looked at her with as much sincerity as was possible to show on a Luthor face. “I came to apologize for throwing you out like I did. I wasn't thinking clearly at the time.”

Chloe shook her head. “You don’t need to do that.” She’d been thinking a lot about her actions and she realized how much of a nutcase she must have sounded like after they’d established that Andrea was up to no good.

“I know that I didn’t handle it in the best way that I could have.” She looked back up at him. “And I shouldn’t have jumped on you. Or kicked your legs. Or….” She trailed off.

“So, I’m sorry and you’re sorry about yesterday, ok?” Lex nodded slowly.

This was REALLY good. They have managed to put apologize and put a close on all the issues from the last chapter before proceeding onto the REAL conflict and drama.


Silence stretched out between them. “And I’m sorry about Andrea, too. I know that you wanted things to work out between you two.”

It was now or never. “But I didn’t want it to work out,” she said, honestly. “I haven’t been a very good friend to you in a while, Lex. My own feelings have been getting in the way of that.”

“I’m in love with you, Lex.” She was able to look at him when she said that. She was proud of herself. Even in the dimness of the room, she could see his reaction. He looked, well, almost devastated.

This was incredible. Chloe came clean about her emotions, so they could have an open and honest discussion about it instead of getting distracted by tip-toeing around the subject, or Chloe wasting time by denying the truth OR getting angry at Clark for letting the cat out of the bag.

I thought it was SO incredibly brave of Chloe to bring it out like that. But I wanted to cry when I saw what Lex’s reaction to her bravery was. I think he broke her heart within a second of her confession.


She had expected his reaction to not be to her liking but it still hurt. Like a son of a bitch. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and she blinked them away. “You don’t have to say anything, I know you don’t feel that way. And maybe I’m selfish for telling you, but I had to take my shot, you know?”

Lex nodded mutely, trying to figure out what to say. For a moment he'd hoped to get away with his skin in tact. He hadn't thought she would bring it up, but she had and he'd been unable to cover up his reaction fast enough by the expression on her face.

“I'm sorry, Chloe.”

I mentioned before how this was so sad because it’s something that everyone can relate to…? I wanted to weep for poor Chloe, and the way her feelings were actually inspired PITY from Lex. That sad little line she said about ‘I figured I had to take my shot’… It sounded so hopeful, which must have made the rejection all the more devastating.

The words ‘I’m sorry’ are really so inadequate, but I honestly cannot think of anything better he might have said.


She took another breath and found that she was on the verge of tears. Damnit. She didn’t want to do this. She had promised herself that she would take it ok. She knew he didn’t love her so why was she reacting like this?

Ducking her head seemed like the best option at the moment. Her chest was constricting and she felt the telltale stinging in her eyes. Christ, how bad did the humiliation have to be?

Oh NO! I don’t blame her for crying, it’s a natural reaction to a moment as emotionally charged as this. But I can ALSO understand why she would be so humiliated about the tears coming out. Tears would only embarrass herself as well we Lex.


Lex swallowed as he watched with a sense of dread. Her eyes had started to go all wet and he knew what was coming. Shit. No, no, no, “No, Chloe, please,” shit damn, there went the shoulders shaking.

He approached her with both hands held out, no clue what to do. “Don't, don't cry,” he heard the pleading in his voice but he was just a little too anxious to care.

Lex didn't know how to handle women at their best times, he had no fucking clue what to do with them at all when they started crying. Should he leave her alone? Should he try to comfort her or something? Hand her a tissue? Chocolate? His credit card? No, that wouldn't work.

This was a really sad scene, but I still snorted in amusement at Lex’s desperate thoughts about how to ‘make the tears STOP’… offering her chocolate and a credit card? LOL!

But seriously, the poor guy might be desperately out of his depth here, but he’s being really sweet, kind, considerate and sensitive about how he’s handling the situation. I love how terribly awkward he felt, but he was doing his best to ‘brave his way through it’.

He’s such a sweetheart. No wonder Chloe fell hopelessly in love with him. It’s really not his fault he doesn’t return her feelings.


Worse, he still didn't know what to say. What did you say to a woman who was crying because you just broke her heart? And he hadn't even done anything. Which probably was the mistake. Lana really could have been a little more forthcoming on what he was supposed to do or say to 'let her down gently'.

Lex patted Chloe's shoulder again, wondering where he could find a tissue or something.

This was wrong. Lex shouldn’t be the one to comfort her. He was the reason that she was crying. But life sometimes didn’t make any sense and sucked at the same time. His presence calmed her down a little. She could hear the confusion and regret in his voice. Poor, broken Lex didn’t know what to do but he was trying for her.

Awww, Lex is being too hard on himself. He’s doing just FINE in letting Chloe down as gently as possible. I can’t think of anything he could do to make things gentler or easier for her.


It made her cry even harder. He cared. Just not enough. They never cared enough.

This part made my heart sting. Poor broken Chloe! ‘they never cared ENOUGH’… The poor sweet, loyal, loving girl deserves BETTER than to keep losing her heart and head over guys who can’t love her back.


It only took one hand to count the number of times she’d hugged Lex. And this was not the sort of circumstances she wanted it to happen under. But she couldn’t help it, she found herself plastered against him and holding on for dear life.

As if holding him tightly would make him forget what he’d just said and give in and lie and say he loved her.

This part also made me want to cry. Despite everything, she’s STILL holding onto some desperate tendril of hope that he’ll ‘suddenly’ change his mind. I don’t blame her for holding onto that hope… in fact, I can relate.


Lex sat stiffly on the mattress, but he really wanted to get up and get the hell out. He had no idea what to say. 'I'm sorry' didn't really cut it in a situation like this. He wondered if he should offer her to stay out of her sight. Then again, that might make it worse too. But he wouldn't say the 'let's stay friends' thing. That one, he'd learned from the Clark and Chloe fiasco back in high school. But what the hell else was he supposed to say then? It didn't look like she knew what to say either.

All he knew was that he didn't like it that she looked at him so absolutely devastated, like he'd just killed her pet and then handed its dead and bloody remains to her with a smile and a shrug.

He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep his face impassive as he looked her over. “Is there anything I can do?”

Lex wanted to smack himself. No, scratch that, he wanted to kick himself down a long set of stairs and then throw his broken carcass to the wolves. Like there was anything he could do. Like it was a matter of buying something or arranging something or plain putting his signature on a piece of paper to pay whatever the hell price a broken heart had these days.

I smiled again (a sad smile, but a real one nonetheless) at Lex floundering to find a way to ‘fix things’ in this impossible-to-fix situation. That is SUCH a Lex-response to handling emotional breakdowns.

I liked seeing how he’s trying to get a grip on himself by trying to figure out a way to fix the situation in the way that he’s accustomed to fixing things… like throwing enough inventiveness and money at the problem would be enough to alleviate Chloe’s pain.

He’s really such a sweet fellow… even if he IS out of practice (or experience)in handling an emotional crises, he bluffed his way through it remarkably well.


“I’m just going to have to deal with this my way.” She thought about how she was going to do that and realized she had no idea. “Whatever that is.”

Lex was looking up at her and he had the strangest expression on his face. It was a mix of so many emotions that it was overwhelming. “You’ll just have to excuse me if I act a little strange for a little while, that’s all.”

I was so impressed by Chloe. This was a lovely, wise and mature response from her. She might be able to get thorugh this after all. Given enough time.


“Things could be better,” he said vaguely. For example, if she wasn't in love with him, and he didn't already see the end of their friendship coming at him like a big yellow End of Road sign.

I liked this. Lex is not heart-broken like Chloe, but he ALSO has cause to fear and mourn in these circumstances. Lex cherishes and treasures his friendships, and losing a best friend would be a horrible prospect for him. Especially a friend as challenging, entertaining, loyal, loving and generous as Chloe.


He really wanted to throw a tantrum. He wanted to throw things and rant about the unfairness of it all. He'd just been cheated out of his wedding and as if that wasn't enough, his best friend was in love with him and would now pull away because he couldn't return those feelings. It really wasn't fair, at all. His natural pessimism wouldn't allow him to even consider the option that things would turn out alright.

Life sucked.

LOL! That was a brilliant ending statement to an angsty, twisting chapter. Chloe has had a bad couple of days, but Lex has ALSO suffered quite a lot from all kinds of humiliations and losses. The poor Chlex! I can’t wait to find out where they go from here.

Quite honestly though, I’m surprised that Lex didn’t at least ‘entertain’ the thought of marrying Chloe. After all, she’s his best friend, and she’s obviously hopelessly in love with him… what better qualities (love, loyalty, devotion) could he ask for in a wife. Granted he doesn’t love her… but he didn’t love his last wife either, and he was willing to go through with it.

Of course it’s obvious that it would be horribly cruel and unfair to ask Chloe to participate in a marriage where only SHE was the loving spouse, but Lex can be a bit of an emotional retard, and he would probably believe that all the money and conveniences in a Luthor Marriage would make up for the fact that she wasn’t ‘loved’ by her husband.

And it seems like Chloe has a severe complex about finding someone to love her. She’d probably be willing to ‘settle’ for ‘whatever she could get’ instead of waiting for ‘what she actually deserved’.

Heh, just a scary little possibility that came to mind. I’m sure BlueSabby will think of something better.

lj715
17th May 2007, 21:05
Great chapter.

dagney
18th May 2007, 02:21
I'm crying along with Chloe. Wonderfully moving the depth of feelings you've expressed. my heart aches for them both. Dagney

malugargula
18th May 2007, 04:37
Sad but really beautiful
I liked the idea of throwing a party very much. I hope Lex asks Chloe`s help so she can forget for a few moments, while busy with the details, about Lex`s rejection
Please more soon

Skye
18th May 2007, 04:54
Wow!! This is amazing! Love the angst and drama. Can't wait to read more soon??

somethingeasy
18th May 2007, 11:35
I liked the idea of throwing a party very much. I hope Lex asks Chloe`s help so she can forget for a few moments, while busy with the details, about Lex`s rejection

oh, that's an interesting perspective, and possibly the correct way of looking at the situation. Lex is not willing to bring Chloe in as his assistant coordinator because he think it would have been terribly callous and insensitive for him to ask for a favour after he (gently) broke her heart. And he might be right in assuming that Chloe might want some distance from him for a while.

BUT then again, perhaps busy-work is exactly what Chloe needs to get her mind off the pain of her heart-break... and working in close proximity with Lex, in a purely platonic sense, might help her in healing?

Please update soon. This chapter was surprising, delightful, funny and conflicted... I can't wait to see how BlueSabby twist their readers emotions in upcoming chapters. Please post soon.

Gaia
18th May 2007, 15:42
“Eh, fuck the guests, they’ll keep.” Clark waved a hand in Lex’s general direction. He saw one eyebrow rise on his skull. “Yes, I said fuck, it does happen.”



:lol: Go Clark. He has some brains finally.

Loved the update- and I think I would have loved it more if this had been in the Romance section, because then there would be a hope for a very happy ending. But seeing as it is here, we shall see what will happen.

somethingeasy
20th May 2007, 18:35
:lol: Go Clark. He has some brains finally.

Loved the update- and I think I would have loved it more if this had been in the Romance section, because then there would be a hope for a very happy ending. But seeing as it is here, we shall see what will happen.

heh, I also enjoyed this savvy, insightful and even tactful version of Clark. This character is a great deal closer to the Clark I have always imagined in canon-Superman. Someone good, decent, thoughtful, insightful and kind... but underneath all the super-powers and extreme niceness, still a clueless dork! Adorable dork, but a dork nonetheless.

and with regards to Gaia's concern about this fic having a tragic ending. Just because it's in the angst section doens't mean that it's going to have one of those tragic 'everyone dies alone and unloved' endings. Sabby's 'Too Little, Too Late' is ALSO in the angst section, and although the characters are confused and miserable right now, Sabby is trying to work them towards reconciliation and happy ending.

Although many people pigeon-hole an angst-genre-fic into a story where the readers is left crying in anguish, it's not always the case... The term and definition of an Angst-fic can refer to the journey, rather than the destination.

So hold onto hope, Gaia! There might be a Happy Chlexy smiley ending to this after all ;)

After lots and LOTS of drama, suffering and misery of course. Please update soon, BlueSabby! I'd love to see whether this fic is going to go the route of Classic Tragic Ending, or whether it's going to end with a kiss.

jem
20th May 2007, 18:43
Please update soon, BlueSabby! I'd love to see whether this fic is going to go the route of Classic Tragic Ending, or whether it's going to end with a kiss.

um, its an R fic, and knowing bluesabby, im really hoping we get more than a kiss.. teehee

PLEAse update soon! i want poor chloe to not be so heartbroken

somethingeasy
20th May 2007, 19:49
um, its an R fic, and knowing bluesabby, im really hoping we get more than a kiss.. teehee

ROTFLMAO! Oh yeah, good point! It made my mind wander down to a 'happy place' ;)
There might even be a chance of this fic's rating increasing from R to NC-17 *waggles eyebrows suggestively*

BlueSabby
20th May 2007, 22:04
A/N: Blue: Here's some more of the angst. I'd tell you to enjoy but....actually, you all do seem to be in to S & M cause you like the story. So, enjoy!

A/N Sabby: She's so witty. And I have nothing witty to say..uhm... Yeah, more of the actual likeable Clark for you. And no, this is not bizarro Clark. Just Clark as it should be.



Chloe’s life had been downright odd for the last few days. She and Lex had tried to find some sort of balance to their relationship. He’d called her, she’d called him, they’d met for coffee but something was off. That was to be expected. But Lex also seemed distracted by something or other.

The last time they’d met up, his cell phone had been going crazy. He’d look at the display and then slip it back inside of his pocket. He’d apologize for the interruption but he’d never gone on to explain who was on the other end of the line.

A part of her believed that he’d already started seeing someone else. But it was the irrational, fearful part of her and she knew that she was acting like a freak. So she hadn’t said anything.

Their conversations had been forced. Neither one of them wanting to say the wrong thing. Instead of them being them, they were being Lex and Chloe Version 2.0 that discussed safe, pedestrian things.

She hated it and couldn’t live like that.

Then there was Clark. He was acting odd. Very odd. Odder than usual odd. He’d also been really busy lately.

Things had finally fallen into place yesterday. She’d found out what he’d been so busy with. Which led to her little visit to Lex today.

Enrique had seemed happy to see her. It was the first time she’d been back at the Manor since she’d sprained Lex’s arm. He ushered her up to Lex’s office and the man himself strolled in a few minutes later.

“Clark? You asked Clark for help? Have you lost your mind?” He looked confused and then realization dawned brightly on Lex’s face. “He doesn’t know the first thing about stuff like this.”

She thought about his face when he was describing how he’d been helping Lex and smiled to herself at how panicked her friend had been. He had tons of things to do and didn’t know where to start. She had to admit that Clark had been doing admirably well but it was too much for him to handle.

Lex had kept her out of the whole thing. She knew why he’d done it. It was sweet, really, but Lex needed to learn when to ask for help. It was a positive step that he’d done so with Clark but Lex needed to know that Clark wasn’t the only one willing to pitch in.

“I know that you were just trying to be nice or chivalrous or whatever by not asking me, but that’s stupid.” She looked over at him and waited for him to say something.

“Stupid?”

Lex’s eyes narrowed as he stepped over to the bar. He’d just gotten off the phone with the most uncoordinated coordinator in history. He really wasn’t in any frame of mind to be dealing with insults.

Turning around with a double scotch in hand he glared at Chloe.

“Well, excuse me for trying to take your feelings into consideration. Like I could have just gone and said: ‘Hey I know I just broke your heart and everything, but could you forget about that and help me turn my wedding into a charity gala?’ Right.” Lex shook his head.

The last few days he’d been walking on eggshells around her. Juggling couldn’t be more difficult than running a corporation, being sensitive to your best friend’s feelings and all the while trying to get through arrangements that should take 2 months careful planning in less than a week. Asking Clark for help had been an action born from desperation.

“Clark was adept enough at handling the easier affairs.” Lex had to admit that much even though it rankled to have to do so. The farmboy had actually come through over the last week.

What rankled more though was that she’d basically accused him of being an idiot for trying not to be an asshole. “Women,” he groused and downed his scotch. “Doesn’t matter what you do, it’s wrong either way. Try to be honest, you’re an asshole. Try to be nice, you’re an idiot. Try to marry them? They’ll end up trying to kill you or steal all your money. It’s a miracle this species is still procreating at the rate it is.”

“Oh,” she said, “don’t go blaming our sex. We all aren’t crazy psychopaths who either want to kill you or steal your money. Or both.” Just because he was attracted to that type of woman didn’t mean they were all like that.

“And you could have asked me for help,” she said, walking over to him and grabbing the decanter of scotch out of his hand before he could pour another drink. He’d been drinking too much. Yes, he was allowed to wallow in his own misery, but there were better ways to do that.

“I’m still your friend, right?” Lex nodded once as he glared at her for taking away his alcohol. “Then act like it.”

“We’ve been so weird with one another lately.” He looked like he wanted to say something. “And don’t you try to deny it. Maybe if we both stopped being so careful with one another, we could go back to the way that things were between us.”

She knew that things would never be the same. She would always be the one who admitted she loved him and he would always be the one that shot her down. But they could be closer to what they had instead of this forced politeness.

Her voice softened. “I know why you did what you did and part of me gets it and appreciates it. And thanks you for it. But, you can’t protect me from everything. And you shouldn’t.”

Lex took the decanter back and put it down on the bar. He’d only needed one drink and he didn’t appreciate people getting all parenting about it when he was merely indulging every once in a while. Clark had gotten on his nerves to the point where Lex wanted to use the alcohol to douse him and set him on fire. Of course he hadn’t done so, but oh he’d fantasized about it.

“I’m not trying to protect you from everything,” he denied.

And he really wasn’t, that was a feat no one could accomplish, not even him. “If I tried that, you’d find your car out of commission every other day and there’d be people unobtrusively following you around whenever you feel the need to stick your nose in places where it might get cut off.”

You would think that Chloe had grown up to be smarter than that, but you’d think wrong. Lex had hoped her interest would start to drift to less dangerous fields of journalism, but as the years passed, he’d resigned to hoping that she didn’t take an interest in foreign politics or warfare.

There was something frustrating about getting semi-regular calls from Smallville Medical Center. But Lex wouldn’t deny that it came in handy to have a few nurses on his payroll so he’d at least be in the know. Then of course there were the two deputies and the new sheriff. He wondered if Chloe even suspected why she got away with breaking and entering nine out of ten times.

“And I’m surprised I haven’t,” she countered. There’d been a few times when things had happened that she knew Lex had a hand in. Leads that she’d followed just in time to see the police dragging the guy out in handcuffs. She hadn’t called Lex on these things, she knew that he was just trying to keep her alive. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t infuriate her.

She could take care of herself in those matters. If it were possible, she was actually more in danger of pain in her personal life. Which Lex was now trying to shield her from as well. She wouldn’t stand for it here, though.

This he didn’t get to control.

Her pain belonged to her and she would work through it. She had to, she couldn’t just push it under the carpet. Plus, Lex wasn’t making it any easier being the way he was.

“So are you going to ask me to help you or what?” If he didn’t, she’d take matters into her own hands. She could tamper with Clark’s phone line and route all of his calls to her line. Then, she’d call those who he thought he was calling.

“Why do you even want to help?” Lex was seriously confused about that. It had to be a female thing. “You don’t get to burn the wedding dress or anything. It’s going to be up for auction. There are just a few more arrangements to make to change the flower settings and send out the new engraved invitations.”

Of course there was also the rest of the guest list to check for ex-bride relation and then inquire about the food preferences of the guests that had been invited to replace those missing. Lex had the niggling feeling he forgot something. But of course, as with all things you forgot, the harder you thought about it the further it slipped.

He could really use the help.

His eyes bored into Chloe’s trying to judge if she was likely to have a breakdown if she was actually confronted with the reality of the wedding gone bad. The worst thing was that he couldn’t tell if she was just putting on her brave face, because right now, she was still wearing her pissed off face.

“Alright then, you can get on my laptop and check out the new guest list, see if you can catch their assistants to ask if they’re vegetarian or meat eaters.”

He had a few calls to make and needed to check up on Clark’s progress with the flower arrangements. Lex never thought he’d ever put Clark and flower arrangements in the same sentence, but he hadn’t had much choice. He only hoped Martha would help her son out or they’d end up with roses and forget-me-nots.

“And don’t snoop or I’ll chop off your pretty little fingers and feed them to the dogs, got me?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Chloe grumbled as she walked over to said laptop. Like Lex would ever keep anything important on hardware that she was in the same room with. When she opened the file in question, she whistled.

“You really did invite everyone in creation, didn’t you?” She reasoned that the guest list for the benefit had the same number of people that Lex and what’s her face had invited to their nuptials.

Lex started to walk out of the room but her voice stopped him. “Oh, and Lex, you don’t have any dogs.” She was looking at the screen but she could tell that he was glaring at her. She could feel it. “Don’t you have anything better to do than stare at my beautiful visage? I was under the impression that you were terribly busy.”

Lex glared at the woman behind his desk, then shook his head. It was useless to try and figure her out. If she thought she could handle this, then she probably could. And he realized that for the first time in a week, they’d spoken to each other like they did before. The last few days had been awkward. Much worse than that other time, he thought.

Maybe things would be okay if they just tried to act normal around each other. With that in mind, he made sure to speak loud enough to be heard as he left the room.

“Memo to self: Acquire big, rabid dogs that like to eat blondes for breakfast.”

~*~*~

Lex’s last comment had got Chloe thinking. Not about Lex getting dogs but about food. She’d worked for about an hour, leaving messages and talking to either the people invited or their people. She’d gotten through half of the list which she thought was pretty damn good.

Which was why she was on a snack break. Half of her body was inside of Lex’s hugeass fridge, rooting around for something that was edible. The man ate very healthy and she wasn’t looking for that at the moment. She wanted something bad for her.

It looked like she wasn’t going to get her wish though. Put out, she grabbed an apple out of the crisper and was making her way back upstairs when the doorbell rang.

She knew and had been told that Enrique was the one who answered the door but she was right there so she grabbed the doorknob and pulled.

Later, she wasn’t quite sure how it happened. It was a crew of people, all dressed in uniforms. They had huge boxes and they asked where it should be put. Lex had had everything from the wedding forwarded to the house.

When she was told it was a cake, it still hadn’t dawned on her that it was Lex’s wedding cake. She pointed towards the kitchen. They looked at the table in the kitchen and declared it too small. Chloe pointed towards the dining room and then ran off to get Lex.

Five minutes later they were both standing in front of an assembled six tiered wedding cake.

“I can’t believe I forgot about the cake.”

Lex stared at the arrangement in awe. It hadn’t looked that big when he’d seen it in the bakery. Or maybe he just hadn’t paid enough attention.

“I wanted to call them to call off the order. It totally slipped my mind.”

A grin slowly curled up his lips. “Are you hungry?”

They’d never be able to eat it all, but it was the best cake he’d ever had and he knew Chloe had a sweet tooth a mile wide. She’d love it. “I don’t remember what it’s called, but it’s got lemon, vanilla, cream and…” he trailed off as he went through the cabinets for plates and a large silver cake knife he knew had to be there somewhere. After all, there was nothing he didn’t have, as far as he was aware.

“Hah!” Lex brandished the large knife triumphantly and returned to the table with the cake. “I promise you’re going to love this.”

Chloe merely stared at the monstrosity that was Lex’s wedding cake. Or had been. She supposed without a wedding, it was just a cake.

It did look good but eating it made Chloe feel a little funny. She wasn’t sure why. Lex was already cutting into the cake but she didn’t feel hungry anymore. In fact, she felt almost sick.

Thus far, she hadn’t seen anything too weddingy. This definitely was. It unsettled her.

But she’d get past it. It wasn’t as if Lex would force her to eat it. “I’m not really all that hungry,” she said. “But,” she looked from him to the cake, “it is very beautiful and I’m sure it tastes amazing.”

She looked a little reluctant to try the cake. Sure it was a little high on the fat and sugar, but that was nothing she had to worry about. Lex tried to stifle his evil grin as he turned and broke off a piece of cake and enjoyed the taste of cake, and sweet revenge so close at hand.

He couldn’t count the number of times anymore that she’d made him ‘Just try’ this or ‘Give it a chance’ to that, shoving food in his mouth that had no business being there. She had even forced him into eating a Twinkies once.

“It does taste really good,” he commented as he stepped closer and broke off another piece.

“Try it,” he said with a smirk and popped the piece into her mouth just as she was about to protest.

His grin had to be enormous as he watched her stare at him with wide eyes, her mouth full of cake. “See, I told you it’s great.” It was the same line she always used when he ended up with something or other between his lips that he’d never thought of trying. “Don’t forget to chew.”

Ah, payback was a bitch, but she could be sweet.

Chloe hadn’t been aware of it but she had taken a few steps back from him. By now, her back was against the wall and Lex took advantage of that fact.

She knew what he was doing. He was getting revenge for the Twinkies and other stuff that she’d forced him to eat over the years. He didn’t mean to do what he was doing, didn’t get the significance of cramming a piece of wedding cake in a woman’s mouth. But it still got to her. She didn’t like it.

Especially because he was grinning and relaxed and enjoying himself. Just the way he would have been had he been getting married. But she would never be his bride. Or his date. Or someone that he thought of romantically.

Chloe mechanically swallowed the sweet treat so as not to choke on it. Lex was going for another piece and she knew what he intended to do. “Lex, no,” she said, turning her head. The cake ended up on her cheek.

He started at the tone of her voice. It sounded almost like she was hurt or something. The smear of cake on her cheek looked a little ridiculous, but she seemed so far away from amusement that he couldn’t even laugh about it. Lex was just confused.

“What’s wrong? It’s not really bad, is it?” He’d been sure that vanilla was one of her favorites.

Lex reached out and wiped the cake from her cheek. She was acting all odd again and he had no clue what he’d done. “Are you okay?”

Instead of getting an answer for her weird behavior, she stammered out something about leaving and before he knew it she’d twisted out and away under his arms and ran out of the room to the kitchen.

Lex heard the backdoor slam while he was still in the middle of the dining room with a confused frown on his face and a hand smeared in cake. He absently licked his fingers clean as he wondered what the hell had just happened to make her run like that.

~*~*~

The phone call had come as a surprise. Clark hadn’t expected to hear from Lex. Especially when he knew Chloe was at the Manor. He’d called her about two hours ago and she’d told him that she was helping Lex with the benefit.

He’d gotten a call from Lex about 20 minutes ago asking him to stop by.

He knew something was up the minute he was escorted by Enrique to the dining room. The man gave him a look and then left. Which was amazing in and of itself. The guy never had an expression on his face. And this one had bordered on annoyance when he’d looked at Lex.

Clark looked after Enrique’s retreating back and heard Lex speak. “You want some cake?”

Lex was sitting at his dining room table, his wedding cake in the center of it, a glass of scotch to his left as he shoved a forkful of the food into his mouth. Clark looked around the room.

“Where’s Chloe?” He wasn’t sure he wanted the answer. It looked like something had happened between them. Again.

“I don’t know. Where do women go when they run away for no reason?”

Lex was miffed. He’d tried calling Chloe first, but she hadn’t answered her cell. After another twenty minutes, he’d been at the point where he didn’t know what to do. He was alone, confused and had about 200 pounds of cake to eat. So he’d called Clark. Which really proved just how confused he was.

“Usually,” Clark said sitting down next to Lex, “the bathroom. But I’m assuming you’ve checked all of them already.”

Lex continued to eat his cake. “What happened right before she ran out?” Chloe was a fairly obvious person. If you thought about the last thing you said to her, you could generally figure out where you’d fucked up.

“We had cake. One minute, everything was fine, the next she’s got a cake smear on her face and runs out the backdoor like I set the house on fire.”

The cake was damn good, but it wasn’t any fun eating alone. Lex had hoped for some nice company and witty conversation with his best friend while they demolished as much of the sweet treat as physically possible. He wanted to see if he could get a sugar high. He wondered what Chloe was like on a sugar high.

Chloe had taught Clark a few things. Sometimes, she told him, people’s words didn’t always tell you everything you needed to know. You have to listen and then extrapolate. That’s what he was doing now.

She’d gotten cake smeared on her face. Chloe wasn’t a two year old, she knew how to use utensils. So she hadn’t been using utensils. He looked at the table. There were plenty of forks on it.

A thought struck Clark. A horrible one.

“Lex, you didn’t feed Chloe cake, did you?” He was already feeling for his cell phone in his pocket. He vaguely saw Enrique come back into the room. “Smash it into her mouth, right?”

He noticed that both he and the butler were now looking intently at Lex.

Lex frowned. He could feel Enrique’s gaze coming from the side like a laser beam and Clark was looking at him like he’d done something horrible beyond all humanity. “I didn’t smash it into her mouth. I just got my revenge for all the times she’d make me try something, so I fed her a bit of the cake.”

They stared at him in horror. “What? It’s not like I made her eat something disgusting! It’s damn good cake and I know she likes vanilla and cream.”

“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” Clark muttered as he found Chloe’s number and then dialed it. “Pick up,” it rang once, “pick up,” two rings, “pick up the phone, Chloe.”

Lex was asking him what was wrong but he ignored him. He had to focus on Chloe now.

Enrique could not believe his employer. He knew the man was not well versed in romantic traditions but did he not watch films. “It is customary,” he said, watching as Lex turned towards him, “for the groom to feed his new bride a piece of cake.” He watched as Lex’s eyes went wide.

“I’m sure that that was what made her so upset.” The ‘you fool’ went unsaid but Enrique made sure that it was apparent by his tone.

He was fond of Ms. Sullivan and had lost a great deal of respect over the past year for his boss and his treatment of her.

Clark listened as her cell went to voicemail again. He dialed her home number but got the machine. After leaving a message there as well, he hung up his phone and sat back in the chair.

Lex felt like an idiot. He had totally forgotten about that tradition. Truth be told, he’d forgotten most of the details of his previous two marriages and that bit about the cake had gone completely unnoticed. There it was again, solid proof that this friendship was going to be over sooner rather than later.

“Fuck, I didn’t even think about that,” he grumbled. “We were carrying on like we used to and I was just trying to get my revenge for the Twinkies.” Instead, he’d shoved the knife in deeper and turned it. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Apparently, his employer had done much to the young woman over the past year that he ‘didn’t mean.’ The man kept making excuses for his behavior towards Ms. Sullivan. Excuses that he directed at her, at himself and now at the outside world.

“But you did mean to kiss her at your birthday celebration last year, did you not?”

He’d walked in on it. Ms. Sullivan and his employer in what would have progressed to a most compromising situation, he was sure of it. He’d never regretted opening a door so much in his life. It had gone unsaid that he was not to speak of it. But he’d stayed quiet long enough, his job be damned.

And damned it was, he knew, when he saw Mr. Luthor’s face.

Clark was stunned. Chloe had never said anything about that. She hadn’t told anyone. Slowly, he looked at Lex. “You kissed her?” This changed things. It changed everything.

Lex slowly turned away from glaring at Enrique at Clark’s question. He was seething with anger for the man who’d just consciously and maliciously given away the secret that Lex and Chloe had kept for over a year now.

“It was an accident,” he told Clark as calmly as possible, “We decided never to mention it again.”

tbc...

lj715
20th May 2007, 22:47
Grreat update. Lex you are an idiot. Can;t wait to hear more about this bday kiss.

westwingwolf
20th May 2007, 23:11
And I was so hoping the awkwardness was going to be done with and okay now. Damn Lex! As soon as he went for that cake it was the proverbial train wreck and all I could think was 'Idiot! Idiot! Stop! Stop!'. I love Enrique for what he thinks and what he says. I hope that he and Clark take Lex down for his stupidity and then have Lex beg Chloe to forgive said stupidity and just make Lex suffer for not thinking at all.

somethingeasy
21st May 2007, 00:30
A/N: Blue: Here's some more of the angst. I'd tell you to enjoy but....actually, you all do seem to be in to S & M cause you like the story. So, enjoy!

heeee :D
We definitely like the drama, and I’m still thankful that this story got chosen out of the poll.


A/N Sabby: She's so witty. And I have nothing witty to say..uhm... Yeah, more of the actual likeable Clark for you. And no, this is not bizarro Clark. Just Clark as it should be.

I definitely like the Clark of this fic too. He’s such a dorky little dear.


A part of her believed that he’d already started seeing someone else. But it was the irrational, fearful part of her and she knew that she was acting like a freak. So she hadn’t said anything.

Most of this chapter was actually quite amusing, but it started (and ended) on a sad note. Poor Chloe, it’s only inevitable before Lex finds himself another greedy socialite bride… but it’s probably going to take him a while to get over the LAST one’s bartrayal… let’s give him three weeks, shall we? *snort* will Chloe get over her heartbreak in time to smile at Lex’s next wedding?


Their conversations had been forced. Neither one of them wanting to say the wrong thing. Instead of them being them, they were being Lex and Chloe Version 2.0 that discussed safe, pedestrian things.

She hated it and couldn’t live like that.

Again… sad. It’s bad enough that there’s no Chlex love, but it seems like this was the end of a happy Chlex relationship of ANY kind, even a pure platonic one. What a crying tragedy!


Enrique had seemed happy to see her. It was the first time she’d been back at the Manor since she’d sprained Lex’s arm. He ushered her up to Lex’s office and the man himself strolled in a few minutes later.

I giggled over this evidence of the paternal fondness Enrique has for Chloe. He must have been SO disappointed in Lex for not falling for her.


She thought about his face when he was describing how he’d been helping Lex and smiled to herself at how panicked her friend had been. He had tons of things to do and didn’t know where to start. She had to admit that Clark had been doing admirably well but it was too much for him to handle.

LOL imagining the expression on Clark’s face as he desperately tries to cope with new and foreign concepts like flower arrangements, seating charts and planned menus. I can imagine him accepting all these jobs with a pained smile, saying ‘Not a problem, Lex!’… and then running home to cry to mom asking which flowers scream ‘give money to charity’.


“I know that you were just trying to be nice or chivalrous or whatever by not asking me, but that’s stupid.” She looked over at him and waited for him to say something.

awww, I’m glad to see that Chloe was able to see (and appreciate) the ‘niceness’ behind Lex keeping her ‘out of the loop’. And I was LOL about the strange mixture of emotions she was feeling by his gesture. She was both sincerely touched, and seriously pissed off. Poor Lex! Damned if he did, damned if he didn’t! LOL!


What rankled more though was that she’d basically accused him of being an idiot for trying not to be an asshole. “Women,” he groused and downed his scotch. “Doesn’t matter what you do, it’s wrong either way. Try to be honest, you’re an asshole. Try to be nice, you’re an idiot. Try to marry them? They’ll end up trying to kill you or steal all your money. It’s a miracle this species is still procreating at the rate it is.”

ROTFLMAO! He does raise ‘some’ good points. It would have been a real s**tty move for him to ask for her help fresh after breaking her heart… Chloe approaching him was really best way for her to get involved. She had to seriously WANT to help him before she started helping.

Try to be honest, you’re an asshole! Try to be nice, you’re an idiot! ROTFLMAO! I LOVE that, and I feel over laughing at the exasperated, irritated (and slightly bemused and confused) look on Lex’s face as he started ranting.


“Oh,” she said, “don’t go blaming our sex. We all aren’t crazy psychopaths who either want to kill you or steal your money. Or both.” Just because he was attracted to that type of woman didn’t mean they were all like that.

Also a good point. Women are NOT evil, Lex just has really, REALLY bad and superficial taste in prospective brides. But I’m glad to see CHloe didn’t carry on the argument with the point that he IGNORES all the good, decent and trustworthy women (aka, herself) and goes for greedy whores and bimbos.


“I’m still your friend, right?” Lex nodded once as he glared at her for taking away his alcohol. “Then act like it.”

“We’ve been so weird with one another lately.” He looked like he wanted to say something. “And don’t you try to deny it. Maybe if we both stopped being so careful with one another, we could go back to the way that things were between us.”

Oh, EXCELLENT! I got the impression that they have been avoiding ‘delicate’ topics and tiptoeing on eggshells around each other. It was great to see Lex finally bringing out these issues into the open where they would be resolved properly.


She knew that things would never be the same. She would always be the one who admitted she loved him and he would always be the one that shot her down. But they could be closer to what they had instead of this forced politeness.

Her voice softened. “I know why you did what you did and part of me gets it and appreciates it. And thanks you for it. But, you can’t protect me from everything. And you shouldn’t.”

Awwww, see! Issue resolved already. How about that? Talking about stuff that bothers you DOES help. Who would’ve thought?


Lex took the decanter back and put it down on the bar. He’d only needed one drink and he didn’t appreciate people getting all parenting about it when he was merely indulging every once in a while. Clark had gotten on his nerves to the point where Lex wanted to use the alcohol to douse him and set him on fire. Of course he hadn’t done so, but oh he’d fantasized about it.

LOL! Taking a page from Desiree’s book? I do think it’s cute that, even though he’s probably doing his best, and probably helping considerably, Clark still manages to irritate with his clueless dorkiness.


“I’m not trying to protect you from everything,” he denied.

And he really wasn’t, that was a feat no one could accomplish, not even him. “If I tried that, you’d find your car out of commission every other day and there’d be people unobtrusively following you around whenever you feel the need to stick your nose in places where it might get cut off.”

Heh, he’s put some serious thought into this. LOL!


You would think that Chloe had grown up to be smarter than that, but you’d think wrong. Lex had hoped her interest would start to drift to less dangerous fields of journalism, but as the years passed, he’d resigned to hoping that she didn’t take an interest in foreign politics or warfare.

He’s put some VERY serious thought into this! ROTFLOL!


There was something frustrating about getting semi-regular calls from Smallville Medical Center. But Lex wouldn’t deny that it came in handy to have a few nurses on his payroll so he’d at least be in the know. Then of course there were the two deputies and the new sheriff. He wondered if Chloe even suspected why she got away with breaking and entering nine out of ten times.

“And I’m surprised I haven’t,” she countered. There’d been a few times when things had happened that she knew Lex had a hand in. Leads that she’d followed just in time to see the police dragging the guy out in handcuffs. She hadn’t called Lex on these things, she knew that he was just trying to keep her alive. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t infuriate her.

ROTFLMAO, he’s also translated some of his paranoid thoughts into actions. He’s actually put people on his payroll for the express purpose of keeping Chloe out of jail? Talk about true-blue, above and beyond the call of duty friendship. No wonder Chloe fell in love with this obsessively thoughtful man.


She could take care of herself in those matters. If it were possible, she was actually more in danger of pain in her personal life. Which Lex was now trying to shield her from as well. She wouldn’t stand for it here, though.

This he didn’t get to control.

Her pain belonged to her and she would work through it. She had to, she couldn’t just push it under the carpet. Plus, Lex wasn’t making it any easier being the way he was.

And just as quickly, the laughter gets cut off to sobering thoughts. I’m quite impressed by Chloe’s independence and aversion to being controlled and ‘protected’ even to the extent that she will wholeheartedly accept tremendous emotional pain, because she believes it’s something that belongs to her.


Of course there was also the rest of the guest list to check for ex-bride relation and then inquire about the food preferences of the guests that had been invited to replace those missing. Lex had the niggling feeling he forgot something. But of course, as with all things you forgot, the harder you thought about it the further it slipped.

He could really use the help.

His eyes bored into Chloe’s trying to judge if she was likely to have a breakdown if she was actually confronted with the reality of the wedding gone bad. The worst thing was that he couldn’t tell if she was just putting on her brave face, because right now, she was still wearing her pissed off face.

Awww, poor Lex… and also, unbelievably sweet Lex. He’s desperate for help, but if he had the ‘slightest’ indication that Chloe was not wholeheartedly adamant about assisting him, he would have refused her offer. Who says the guy is selfish and self-serving??!!


“And don’t snoop or I’ll chop off your pretty little fingers and feed them to the dogs, got me?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Chloe grumbled as she walked over to said laptop. Like Lex would ever keep anything important on hardware that she was in the same room with. When she opened the file in question, she whistled.

*chuckles* It’s great to see that they seem to have gone back to their sharp, but friendly banter.


Lex glared at the woman behind his desk, then shook his head. It was useless to try and figure her out. If she thought she could handle this, then she probably could. And he realized that for the first time in a week, they’d spoken to each other like they did before. The last few days had been awkward. Much worse than that other time, he thought.

Maybe things would be okay if they just tried to act normal around each other. With that in mind, he made sure to speak loud enough to be heard as he left the room.

“Memo to self: Acquire big, rabid dogs that like to eat blondes for breakfast.”

ROTFLMAO! I thought it was lovely, cute and adorable that Lex channelled his hope for a reconciliation into a snarky statement about feeding a friend to the dogs. Only Chlex could find this kind of banter soothing, familiar and reassuring.


Five minutes later they were both standing in front of an assembled six tiered wedding cake.

“I can’t believe I forgot about the cake.”

Lex stared at the arrangement in awe. It hadn’t looked that big when he’d seen it in the bakery. Or maybe he just hadn’t paid enough attention.

LOL! I know it’s a Luthor wedding, but the size of that cake…??!! Mind boggling. I kept imagining Lex and Chloe as action figure sizes in contrast to the multi-tiered cake.


Chloe merely stared at the monstrosity that was Lex’s wedding cake. Or had been. She supposed without a wedding, it was just a cake.

It did look good but eating it made Chloe feel a little funny. She wasn’t sure why. Lex was already cutting into the cake but she didn’t feel hungry anymore. In fact, she felt almost sick.

Thus far, she hadn’t seen anything too weddingy. This definitely was. It unsettled her.

But she’d get past it. It wasn’t as if Lex would force her to eat it. “I’m not really all that hungry,” she said. “But,” she looked from him to the cake, “it is very beautiful and I’m sure it tastes amazing.”

Sheesh! BlueSabby are playing a heavy-handed game of yo-yo with my emotions. I was feeling bemused, and then this part sank my emotions down to angst again.

Poor Chloe! The worst part is that she (kind of) brought this torment on herself. Not only falling hopelessly (emphasis on the hopeless) in love with Lex, but now helping him rearrange his wedding into a ball? Did she really believe that she could avoid all wedding references and paraphernalia altogether?


She looked a little reluctant to try the cake. Sure it was a little high on the fat and sugar, but that was nothing she had to worry about. Lex tried to stifle his evil grin as he turned and broke off a piece of cake and enjoyed the taste of cake, and sweet revenge so close at hand.

oh NO! And now Lex has turned into a clueless dimwit. In a certain way, I don’t blame him. He just thinks of this as ‘cake’, and doesn’t seem to connect it as a symbol of his halted marital bliss. It’s rather eerie how he has completely disconnected himself from feeling any kind of sentimentality when handling tangible reminders of his interrupted wedding.

I guess a few days of desperately trying to re-coordinate and change the wedding into ‘charity auction’ helped sever the connection for him…?


He couldn’t count the number of times anymore that she’d made him ‘Just try’ this or ‘Give it a chance’ to that, shoving food in his mouth that had no business being there. She had even forced him into eating a Twinkies once.

“It does taste really good,” he commented as he stepped closer and broke off another piece.

“Try it,” he said with a smirk and popped the piece into her mouth just as she was about to protest.

His grin had to be enormous as he watched her stare at him with wide eyes, her mouth full of cake. “See, I told you it’s great.” It was the same line she always used when he ended up with something or other between his lips that he’d never thought of trying. “Don’t forget to chew.”

Ah, payback was a bitch, but she could be sweet.

Under normal circumstances, this would have been hilarious… especially the *snort* incongruous image of Lex being forced to ingest a Twinkie.

As it is now, it’s like watching a train-wreck happen on front of your eyes *wince*


She knew what he was doing. He was getting revenge for the Twinkies and other stuff that she’d forced him to eat over the years. He didn’t mean to do what he was doing, didn’t get the significance of cramming a piece of wedding cake in a woman’s mouth. But it still got to her. She didn’t like it.

Especially because he was grinning and relaxed and enjoying himself. Just the way he would have been had he been getting married. But she would never be his bride. Or his date. Or someone that he thought of romantically.

*sob* I’m actually feeling Chloe’s pain over here. Her hurt, bitterness and sense of loss is so palpable, it’s physically real enough to touch. She’s actually FEELING and experiencing what it ‘might’ have been like to have been beloved by Lex… to MARRY him, but she knows he’s just goofing around.

*wailing*

just… just gimme a minute here to r-recover, ok?


Chloe mechanically swallowed the sweet treat so as not to choke on it. Lex was going for another piece and she knew what he intended to do. “Lex, no,” she said, turning her head. The cake ended up on her cheek.

He started at the tone of her voice. It sounded almost like she was hurt or something. The smear of cake on her cheek looked a little ridiculous, but she seemed so far away from amusement that he couldn’t even laugh about it. Lex was just confused.

“What’s wrong? It’s not really bad, is it?” He’d been sure that vanilla was one of her favorites.

Lex reached out and wiped the cake from her cheek. She was acting all odd again and he had no clue what he’d done. “Are you okay?”

Oh NO! It wasn’t bad enough that he stuffed the wedding cake in her mouth. But he has to continue the motions of the ‘bridal tradition’ by playfully smearing it on her face, and THE gently wiping it away… while looking deep into her eyes no less.

The IDIOT!!! Clark has been overthrown; all hail the new King of Cluelessness.


Lex heard the backdoor slam while he was still in the middle of the dining room with a confused frown on his face and a hand smeared in cake. He absently licked his fingers clean as he wondered what the hell had just happened to make her run like that.

UGH! And he STILL didn’t get it!
*leaves to fetch a sledgehammer to pound some sense into the Luthor’s head*


“I don’t know. Where do women go when they run away for no reason?”

Lex was miffed. He’d tried calling Chloe first, but she hadn’t answered her cell. After another twenty minutes, he’d been at the point where he didn’t know what to do. He was alone, confused and had about 200 pounds of cake to eat. So he’d called Clark. Which really proved just how confused he was.

“Usually,” Clark said sitting down next to Lex, “the bathroom. But I’m assuming you’ve checked all of them already.”

*snort* I feel I should be offended by Clark’s statement, but it’s too cute. LOL!


Lex continued to eat his cake. “What happened right before she ran out?” Chloe was a fairly obvious person. If you thought about the last thing you said to her, you could generally figure out where you’d fucked up.

awww, I liked Clark’s observation about Chloe, and his reaction to Lex’s news. Clark didn’t fall into the clichéd ‘girls are unpredictable/weird’ mode of thinking… Instead he actually applied logic to the problem. Excellent.


The cake was damn good, but it wasn’t any fun eating alone. Lex had hoped for some nice company and witty conversation with his best friend while they demolished as much of the sweet treat as physically possible. He wanted to see if he could get a sugar high. He wondered what Chloe was like on a sugar high.

LOL at the thought of Lex and Chloe bouncing off the walls while on a sugar high at the same time. Sounds dangerous!

Heh, that reminds me of a fic where they had gotten a high of a different variety together. I wonder if the results would have been the same with THIS high…?


Chloe had taught Clark a few things. Sometimes, she told him, people’s words didn’t always tell you everything you needed to know. You have to listen and then extrapolate. That’s what he was doing now.

She’d gotten cake smeared on her face. Chloe wasn’t a two year old, she knew how to use utensils. So she hadn’t been using utensils. He looked at the table. There were plenty of forks on it.

A thought struck Clark. A horrible one.

I LOVED this part. Seriously one of my favourite bits from the update. I LOVED seeing the way in which Clark has truly matured and come into his own. He’s definitely not oblivious, self-centred, self-involved and self-obsessed anymore. AND he learned deductive lateral thinking from Chloe. Excellent!


“Lex, you didn’t feed Chloe cake, did you?” He was already feeling for his cell phone in his pocket. He vaguely saw Enrique come back into the room. “Smash it into her mouth, right?”

He noticed that both he and the butler were now looking intently at Lex.

Lex frowned. He could feel Enrique’s gaze coming from the side like a laser beam and Clark was looking at him like he’d done something horrible beyond all humanity. “I didn’t smash it into her mouth. I just got my revenge for all the times she’d make me try something, so I fed her a bit of the cake.”

They stared at him in horror. “What? It’s not like I made her eat something disgusting! It’s damn good cake and I know she likes vanilla and cream.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream in horror at Lex’s obtuseness. CLARK got the significance of what happened, Enrique got it during the tail end of the conversation. And neither one of THOSE men have the experience of two weddings under their belts. Lex has… no excuse!!!

It was satisfying to see Clark dumb-struck with horror, and Enrique giving a death-glare. It really helped drive in the impact of Lex’s stupidity.


“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” Clark muttered as he found Chloe’s number and then dialed it. “Pick up,” it rang once, “pick up,” two rings, “pick up the phone, Chloe.”

Lex was asking him what was wrong but he ignored him. He had to focus on Chloe now.

Awww, I really liked this hint about how much Clark has grown. He’s really desperate to offer Chloe a shoulder to cry on. It’s about time she got someone who cared about her as much as she cares for others.


Enrique could not believe his employer. He knew the man was not well versed in romantic traditions but did he not watch films. “It is customary,” he said, watching as Lex turned towards him, “for the groom to feed his new bride a piece of cake.” He watched as Lex’s eyes went wide.

“I’m sure that that was what made her so upset.” The ‘you fool’ went unsaid but Enrique made sure that it was apparent by his tone.

He was fond of Ms. Sullivan and had lost a great deal of respect over the past year for his boss and his treatment of her.

Double awwwww. Clark is not the only one who cares deeply for Chloe. Even Enrique is enraged and disgusted by how shabbily Lex has treated the lovely young woman.


Lex felt like an idiot. He had totally forgotten about that tradition. Truth be told, he’d forgotten most of the details of his previous two marriages and that bit about the cake had gone completely unnoticed. There it was again, solid proof that this friendship was going to be over sooner rather than later.

erm… can we focus on someone other that YOU, Lex? Sheesh! He finds out he trod (and jumped, skipped and grinded his feet) into the broken shards of Chloe’s shattered heart… and now he’s wondering about how HE has lost a friendship.


“Fuck, I didn’t even think about that,” he grumbled. “We were carrying on like we used to and I was just trying to get my revenge for the Twinkies.” Instead, he’d shoved the knife in deeper and turned it. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Apparently, his employer had done much to the young woman over the past year that he ‘didn’t mean.’ The man kept making excuses for his behavior towards Ms. Sullivan. Excuses that he directed at her, at himself and now at the outside world.

Once again, it was so SATISFYING to see Enrique conveying such disgust for his employer’s callous, thoughtless behaviour. I don’t blame Lex completely… it’s not HIS fault he’s emotionally retarded, but I can see why Enrique would have been so angry at seeing someone as lovely and endearing as Chloe being trampled over by Lex’s klutziness.


“But you did mean to kiss her at your birthday celebration last year, did you not?”

He’d walked in on it. Ms. Sullivan and his employer in what would have progressed to a most compromising situation, he was sure of it. He’d never regretted opening a door so much in his life. It had gone unsaid that he was not to speak of it. But he’d stayed quiet long enough, his job be damned.

And damned it was, he knew, when he saw Mr. Luthor’s face.

Holy CRAP! WYF??!!


Clark was stunned. Chloe had never said anything about that. She hadn’t told anyone. Slowly, he looked at Lex. “You kissed her?” This changed things. It changed everything.

Lex slowly turned away from glaring at Enrique at Clark’s question. He was seething with anger for the man who’d just consciously and maliciously given away the secret that Lex and Chloe had kept for over a year now.

“It was an accident,” he told Clark as calmly as possible, “We decided never to mention it again.”

*sputter* Never mention it again??!! Is he kidding???!! He kissed the girl who has an extremely painful case of unrequited love for him, and he thinks that’s just… irrelevant??!! What. A. Moron!!!

Now I suppose the big questions are… was Chloe in love with him when he kissed her? WHY did he kiss her? What kind of kiss? Was it a peck to the lips, or a full tongue-assault session? Did it end at a kiss??!!!

This was a horrible, HORRIBLE cliffhanger to leave us at, BlueSabby. You come right back here, young ladies, and FINISH what you started!!!

xxasaxx
21st May 2007, 02:29
i love the characters in this story...especially enrique and, dare i say it, Clark

oh man! update this soonish!!:grin3:

Kit Merlot
21st May 2007, 02:46
Gorgeous update!

Clark is turning out to be pretty awesome in this fic, and I loved his and Enrique's reaction to hearing about Lex's feeding Chloe a piece of his wedding cake.

And Enrique can see just how deeply Chloe feels for Lex, and what Lex has done to unintentionally hurt her.

Though from the sound of it, Enrique wants Chloe and Lex to get together.

So I think it goes without saying that we need to hear about his kissing Chloe a year ago, and how it was "an accident."

Update as soon as you can, 'kay?:D

jem
21st May 2007, 04:22
EVERYONE wants lex and chloe together.. i LOVE enrique, i have no idea where he originated from, but hes such a wonderful add-on to the fanfic cycles...

STUPID lex, i wish i could take my hammer and hit him on the head a few times...

he is being so cruel to chloe, not even thinking honestly, i still think it is selfish...

please update soon! the kiss!! we need to know about it...

awesome update!

malugargula
21st May 2007, 06:22
Well, I must say that I`m so wanting to eat this cake right now... man, will I be able to find something like that here in my city??? I hope so
:)
They kissed??? I want to know everything about it
LOL

Gaia
21st May 2007, 10:38
There was a kiss?!? And they decided to forget about it? They meaning Lex of course. Stupid!
More very, very quickly!

somethingeasy
21st May 2007, 11:02
There was a kiss?!? And they decided to forget about it? They meaning Lex of course.

I'll bet that's what happened. They kissed (perhaps something more?), and then the next moment (or the morning after), Lex came up with the brilliant 'this was a mistake, let's forget about the whole thing' speech. Chloe was probably too stunned to respond with immediate tears, and then too stubborn to show her hurt and heartbreak later.

Sledgehammer. Lex's cranium. NOW!

hmph! How do you kiss someone 'by accident' anyway. He tripped and she saved him from falling with her lips?

***added edit***
I'm still wondering whether Lex is going to come up with the 'bright idea' of asking Chloe to marry him... to make up for hurting her. From his point of view, the reasoning would be sound... he gets a wife who is completely loyal and devoted to him, and Chloe gets... well... HIM.

heh, of course it's obvious that it would be sensible for Chloe not to settle for anything less than her due, which is a husband who returns her love. But Chloe has never made sensible decisions when her feelings stared interfering with her intelligence and reasoning. She's desperately in love with Lex, AND she has a huge inferiority complex which has led her to believe that she will never find someone to love her, which means that she might consider herself lucky to get only part of what she really wants.

oh well, this is just ONE of the millions of things that could happen, and there are too many what ifs, ands and buts to make THIS scenario inevitable ;)

But I AM really, REALLY curious to know why Lex was willing to marry someone he didn't love. Why was he so desperate for a wife? Surely he's too young to start worrying about heirs...? And truly, is TP-Lex the kind of person who would want to start a 'contractual-based' family?

katieandjason
23rd May 2007, 22:42
Oh god, I gotta say, I find this story hilarious. I know! I know! Everyone else is appropriately conflicted, hurt, and rooting for Lex and Chloe, so obviously you are doing a fine job with the romantic angst.

Romantic angst just doesn't really trip me up I guess. I was laughing my head off over the physical combat that occurred in the hallway. I teared up over Lex and Clark's conversation, especially when Clark did his introspection about spending too much time with girls. And here with the cake and the Clark/Enrique situation, I am just too amused at Lex's dumbness to be sympathetic to Chloe's pain. Which, incidentally, I can't really get in to because I know that they are going to end up together, or at least good friends eventually.

So thank you for this excellent story! I love it. I will continue to read it. I'm sorry I fail at the compassionate angst I am supposed to feel. Chalk that up as a problem on my end. *muah*

gyhardin
24th May 2007, 04:46
Ah... so good. I'm not much into angst because it would always startup my waterworks. But this story, it's a beautiful story.

I'm glad to be back in circulation and got to reading my fave couple again.

Will eagerly wait for the next installment chapter.

toryjhay
24th May 2007, 07:22
i think i just might love enrique! i really do.

for a second i had to check to make sure that this story is still in the angst section, i was smiling as i read the beginning. but then lex had to feed chloe the cake, he cannot possibly be that obtuse! i particularly enjoyed the image of lex eating the cake sullenly, that visual was simply hilarious!!!!!

clark's so worried about chloe that i'm getting a little worried. and as i said before enrique, calling lex on his actions, simply awesome!!!! more soon pls!!!!!!!!!:D

somethingeasy
24th May 2007, 20:05
I'm sorry I fail at the compassionate angst I am supposed to feel. Chalk that up as a problem on my end. *muah*

LOL! That's all right, katieandjason. I'll feel the angst for the both of us. We're once again at the beginning with Lex going to grovel at Chloe's feet for forgiveness while trying to spare breaking her any more than is absolutely necessary/inevitable.

*snort* I honestly don't know who to feel more sorry for. Chloe is obviously miserable, but Lex is also trapped in a hoplessly awkward situation where he is waaay out of his depth... it's not as if he forced or tricked Chloe into loving him... erm, did he?

nahhh! he couldn't, wouldn't have... only... DID HE?

he did, didn't he? That bastard!!! Kissed the girl, led her on, and remained stupidly oblivious to the sexy-charisma he was oozing out of his pores.

somethingeasy
29th May 2007, 21:47
awwww, c'mon!!! please update! You left us at a horrible cliffhanger where we were just one the verge of finding out whether or not Lex was responsible for 'leading Chloe on' and therefore inadvertently (and clumsily) making her fall in love with him. Was she in love with him when they kissed at the birthday party? Did that kiss allow her to hope for a future where Lex would start to love her too?

Let's find out the full extent of Lex's thoughtless, clumsy handling of Ms. Sullivan and her currently miserable emotional state. Please update NOW!!!

BlueSabby
31st May 2007, 19:33
A/N: Blue: It's blast from the past time. Enjoy....yelling, that is.

A/N:Sabby: Watch out, peeps. We're doing the Time Warp! Enjoy.

One Year Ago


“Shhh, you’re going to have to be quiet or they’ll all notice that we’re gone.” She was stepping on her dress. She’d taken off the damn shoes so the material was now dragging on the floor. She held her dress in one hand. In the other she had an expensive bottle of champagne.

Lex looked behind them to check that nobody had followed then hastily closed the doors, shutting them away from the rest of the party. It was his birthday, yes, but he’d spent the last three hours schmoozing the high society. Now he deserved a private celebration with his real friends, well friend, singular, but still.

The scotch was mixing nicely with champagne and a few martinis in his blood. And Chloe had managed to sneak another large bottle, somehow. She kept a death grip on the neck of the bottle with one hand, while her other was fighting to keep the dress above her ankles.

“If you don’t remember where you left your shoes, I’m not going to help you find them.”

They’d ended up in one of the smaller ‘music rooms’. There was a grand piano and some furniture arranged neatly throughout the room in a half circle around it. Lex snorted. He could host a party for Mozart any time he decided to come back from the dead and give a little impromptu concert.

This room probably hadn’t been used since before Mozart died. But it was spotlessly clean.

“I’ve never even played on that one.” He pointed to the piano as he rounded in on Chloe, intent to get at the champagne. She couldn’t open bottles worth shit.

“No, s’mine,” she said as she turned around and shielded the bottle from Lex. It wasn’t a very good move, though, because his arms encircled her body as he fought to get the bottle out of her hands. “You’ve already had too much.”

She started to laugh as Lex kept trying to get the bottle away from her. “You’re a hog. I told you it’s. No, Lex, no, stop.”

One of his hands had gone for her side. It wasn’t fair and it was going to get the bottle broken. She felt Lex’s hot breath on her neck as he was half bent over her body.

Through her fit of giggles she said, “You can have it if you play for me. You play for the tramps but never for me.”

Lex tried for another few moments, but she was a quick little weasel and there was no way he could get at the damn bottle without risking to break it. Huffing out a breath he pulled back and straightened up.

“Fine, I play, you surrender the bottle, kay?”

He had no clue what to play in the first place. He didn’t really play for the tramps like she’d accused him of. Well maybe once or twice. It was a surefire way to get into a woman’s pants, who could blame him?

Walking over to the piano, he flipped the lid and stared at the keys. Lex folded his fingers and cracked his knuckles as he tried to remember how that damn sonata went. Not the moonlight one, that was too depressive. The playful one, with the tinkling cascades and the move that could twist his fingers into knots if he didn’t watch out. Maybe he was too drunk for that one.

Lex looked over at Chloe and the champagne bottle in her hands. Then again, if he did this, he’d impress the shit out of her while he was at it. He was aiming for the slack jawed, wide eyed, ‘Wow, you can really do that?’ face.

As Lex stared at the keys, Chloe hid a smile. Lex drunk was fun. He wasn’t so serious looking and acting. She liked it.
But if she had to surrender the bottle, she knew she wouldn’t get anything out of it. He was a big lush when he wanted to be. She hadn’t really agreed to his terms. He had just thought she had.

So, she sauntered over to the piano and then jumped on top of it. Once settled, she tried to open the bottle. Besides, if he played well her panties just might come off. She and Lex had been flirting pretty hard for the past two hours. Hands had wandered and looks had lingered as the drinks had gone down their throats. And she liked her panties where they were, thank you very much.

Yes, she’d thought about Lex that way but it didn’t mean anything.

Speaking of panties, Lex might have gotten a flash of hers as she was now using her dress as a buffer between her hand and the damn cork, it didn’t want to give. “You’re not playing,” she observed as she could feel the cork starting to give. The piano was her stalling tactic. But it wouldn’t work if Lex didn’t play.

“You’re not going to break the bottle trying to open it,” Lex stated with conviction. “Put the bottle down and keep your hands where I can see ‘em, else I won’t play.”

And he still had to think about how the damn sonata started. It always got easier once he was through the first part, but the start was like remembering the first line of a learned poem. You could think of the third one, and the fifth, and the twelfth but the first damn line just wouldn’t come to you.

Her antics with the bottle were really distracting, too. If she squeezed her thighs any tighter around the body, she might just break it before the cork ever moved a millimeter.

Lex annoyingly placed his hand on top of the piano, one hand on either side of her body. “Fine,” she grumbled. She placed the bottle off to the side and leaned back on her elbows. “Happy? Now play me something Rachmaninoff.”

Remembering that she was supposed to be a lady, she closed her legs.

Lex laughed at her pouting and the way it took her a full thirty seconds to realize she’d better close her legs.

“Afraid I’m not that good.” He said as he brought his fingers down to the keys, still waiting for those first few notes to come to mind. “Nice panties, by the way.” Ah, right. The first was a G minor accord.

He concentrated on his fingers as he started playing, but apparently they remembered everything his brain had forgotten and the melody came out fluent and playful, just like it was supposed to. His eyes went up to Chloe’s face, waiting for the first signs of ‘Wow’.

She looked cute. Leaned back on her hands with her legs dangling slightly, nodding along with the tune.

Chloe relaxed a little more once the music filled the room. “Thanks,” she murmured. “They’re new. Bought them in case I got lucky with one of your friends.” The dress was new, too. One couldn’t go to a Luthor affair in one’s old garments. It just wouldn’t do.

She leaned further back but lying that way wasn’t really comfortable. After about a minute of repositioning her body, she found herself on her stomach with her head resting on her folded hands. She closed her eyes and felt the reverberations of the music echoing through the bones in her body.

After another two minutes of playing, Lex stopped. She thought that it might have been a break in the movement but he didn’t start again. Chloe opened her eyes and looked over at him. “Why with the stopping?” She shook her head. “No stopping.”

Lex looked at the way she was sprawled all over the piano. The dress was a long, deep red affair with a slit up the side that revealed her leg up to almost her butt and her hair was done in one of those wavy 1920’s revival dos. All that was missing was a vodka glass in her one hand and a cigarette in the other, or dangling from blood red lips. Of course she’d chosen a more subtle lipstick than that.

“Someone strike your fancy?” There were a few good looking rich matches for her to be had out there. At least if gossip could be believed. Lex wouldn’t mind introducing her. Except that they’d have to go back to the party for that. “I could introduce you, I suppose.” He didn’t want to go back yet, though.

Looking down at the keys, he started playing again, trying to remember where he’d stopped in the tune.

His gaze came back up and he looked at her again, leaning up onto her elbows to look down at him, showing quite a bit of cleavage; very nice, ample cleavage. And she was cocking her head at him just so. If she had red hair, she’d be a perfect rip off of Jessica Rabbit. Lex chuckled to himself. He wondered if she could pull off the attitude, too. That would definitely help to get the men out there to notice.

Lex’s ‘I suppose’ sounded very put off. Well, he’d just have to suck it up. What was the point of having a hot, older, rich friend if they couldn’t introduce you to others like them? She watched as he concentrated on the keys that his hands were hitting.

This obviously didn’t come easy to Lex. People would be surprised to find that that was true of a lot of things for the man seated before her. Most others would never be privy to that, though.

She waited until he looked back up at her before speaking. “A few,” she said, vaguely. But she’d have to get specific if she wanted Lex to help her out. And she hoped he wouldn’t go on some spiel about what their net-worths were or something like that. She wasn’t looking for a long term love, just a little fun.

Lex had already had his. He’d been ‘dating,’ if you wanted to call it that, a lot lately. Some redhead had been on her way out when she, Lana and Clark had shown up for the party a few hours ago.

“Richard Meeks, Percy Ennis, Jackson Bloom, Malik Williams, Kenneth Driesden and Brent Casman.” She listed off the men that she’d been looking over for the past hour or so. Only the past hour cause she’d finally gotten drunk enough to start plotting to attack one of them.

Lex blinked as she rattled off the names. He hadn’t expected it to be that many. “This is worse than that one time where you roped me into going shoe shopping.” Thankfully, Lex had sworn her to secrecy on that one. For a guy with almost a decade of experience with women, he’d been completely blindsided by her. And ended up learning the difference between ‘sensible shoes’, ’business shoes’ and ‘party shoes’ completely against his will.

Shaking his head, he brought his mind back on the matter. He stopped playing again as he tried to remember the names she’d rattled off and the men who belonged to them.

“Okay, let me think,” he contemplated with a longing look towards the champagne bottle near her hip. “Richie is nice, but dull. Really dull.” So dull that Lex had been reduced to drinking an entire pot of coffee during a meeting so he didn’t fall asleep on the guy’s monotonous voice.

“Brent Casman.” He rolled the name on his tongue, trying to match it with a face. Or at least a headline to give him something to start with. “If he’s the blond one with the glasses and the long nose then you wanna stay away from, he’s had some psycho stalk him for a few months now, and they still haven’t put her behind bars.” No need to get Chloe into yet another life or death situation.

Speaking of which. “Kenneth Driesden was on your list? You can strike him out. He’s an asshole, trust me. While the rest of us grew up he just grew worse. You don’t wanna deal with that.”

“Bloom is thirty-six, I’m not hooking you up with someone almost twice your age.” Of course Jackson Bloom had that whole gentleman routine going, he’d be nice enough, Lex supposed and treat Chloe like she deserved on a date. But the man was thirty-six. Way too old.

“And Malik and Percy are an item.” Lex made a face of slight distaste, “At least I think they are. I caught them screwing in the bathroom about twenty minutes after you got here.”

Chloe listened as Lex went and dashed most to all of her hopes for a good evening against the proverbial rocks. “Why are all of the pretty ones gay,” she asked. When Lex remained silent she said, “No, really, I’m asking.”

He only started to grin at her. “Fine, be no help whatsoever.” She reached for the bottle next to her. Yes, Lex thought he was getting it but being that he had already gotten some of another kind and she was not getting any tonight it was only fair that she got to drown her sorrows.

Chloe sat up and quickly went to work on the cork. After very little fanfare, it popped off and she took a swig of the liquid. She thought about what Lex had told her. “Those middle two would be fine for just tonight. Introduce me.”

Lex stared at her. She’d obviously lost her mind. Or had had too much alcohol to think clearly. There was no way she was going out with either of the two potentially dangerous guys. “You’re crazy.”

He stood up and hooked his hand under her thigh to pull her around so she was facing him fully. Some stern talking to was necessary and he couldn’t do that while she looked down on him sideways.

Chloe squeaked in surprise and indignation as her feet landed on the keyboard with a discordant noise. Lex had planted himself firmly in front of her, hands braced beside her hips on the lid of the piano.

“I’m not going to give you a helping hand in finding trouble. I’d sooner let you go out with Bloom, at least he’d make sure to bring you back in one piece and without getting you into a car crash or cause you to end up with a stalker’s knife in your back.”

Lex wasn’t amused by a long shot. He was so far from amused at the idea that he was downright … whatever the most extreme opposite of amused was.

“You are not getting yourself into trouble while you’re under my watch, missy.”

Usually Chloe would be annoyed by Lex telling her what to do or what not to do. Usually she’d snap back at him with acid laced on her tongue. But she usually wasn’t this drunk in front of Lex.

Maybe if she wasn’t so drunk she’d appreciate what he was trying to do. Keep her safe and out of harm’s way and all that crap. She took another drink out of the bottle as he glared down at her.

Chloe was also trying her damnest not to laugh. He’d called her ‘missy’ for god’s sake. How was she supposed to keep a straight face?

The words that he’d thrown at her had also made her momentarily forget that he’d moved her around like a doll.

She looked up at his tense, angry, glaring face and found herself smiling. “Ok, Lex, that’ll be your birthday gift.” He didn’t look any happier. Well, maybe he would once he found the actual gift that she’d hidden in his office while he’d been getting dressed.

Chloe pouted a little when his face still looked all scrunched up. “And this.” She leaned forward and upwards and brushed her lips softly against his. She had not expected the bolt of something that accompanied the action. She ignored it.
Pulling back just a little, Chloe turned her eyes to meet Lex’s. “Happy Birthday, Lex.”

Lex was too stunned to respond. He’d been busy being annoyed and angry for the moment, so he hadn’t even realized she leaned in before her lips had been on his. He’d be a liar if he said he’d never thought of her in a more than friendly way, but he’d never expected anything to happen.

He licked his lips, tasting something fruity and champagne. Somehow, he’d still not pulled back and that fruity taste was interesting. His eyes were drawn to her lips again. And again he didn’t even notice the part where he leaned in, or she leaned in, or it might have been both of them.

But he did notice the soft lips and the subtle taste of fruit and champagne. He noticed the rough, smooth, slick texture of her tongue as it touched and tangled with his own. He was so busy noticing everything about the kiss, including that odd warm electric feeling that he didn’t notice his hands moving without permission to take hold of her ass and pull her closer.

Chloe wasn’t sure what was happening but she liked it. Maybe a little too much. One of them should probably put a stop to it. But they were both a little too busy letting their hands wander in places that they shouldn’t be.

It struck Chloe as odd that it wasn’t odd that Lex’s hands were on her ass and she was sliding first closer and then directly against Lex’s body. She came up for air briefly and gasped when she felt his teeth on her neck.

Her hands ran up and down his back and she wished that she could actually feel him. Lex was having all of the fun, getting to run one of his hands up and down her bare leg as the other rested on the small of her back. Though there was some fun to be had in the feelings said hand was creating.

He pulled back and then they somehow ended up on the piano bench with their mouths fused together again. She was sitting sideways on his lap with her arm wrapped around the back of his neck.

She’d never seen Lex do anything tentatively before. But it was the best word to describe the way in which his left hand came to rest on her upper thigh. Instead of slapping it away she moaned his name into his mouth. That caused all hesitation to disappear from his body.

Lex couldn’t believe what he was doing, but as little as he could believe it he could stop it even less. He couldn’t deny that it was really nice to have Chloe in his lap, cozying up against his chest while they shared a lazy kiss. It was a damn nice birthday gift, possibly one of the best he’d ever gotten. Definitely in the top ten.

The sound of the door opening and Enrique’s voice inquiring after him was enough to reinstate sanity.

Lex pulled away from the kiss immediately, feeling like a complete moron. What the hell was he doing making out with his best friend? It was a sure fire way to fuck things up spectacularly.

“Yes, Enrique,” he inquired as calmly as was possible while he shifted Chloe out of his lap and set her on her own two feet.

He kept his gaze on the butler, trying to ignore the momentary stumbling behind his left shoulder. His buzz was completely gone and there was nothing worse than realizing you’d just fucked up and were stone cold sober on top of it all.

Enrique had been looking for his employer for the better part of thirty minutes. The cake cutting ceremony was to commence exactly at ten, he’d been informed. Master Luthor wanted the ‘vultures’, his word, not Enrique’s, out of the house as soon as possible.
Which was why he’d been looking for his employer. Had he known what the man was up to, he wouldn’t have interrupted. It looked as if he and Ms. Sullivan were finally on the right track with one another. Instead of nature taking its course, Enrique had seen that he’d caused harm to the situation.

“Your cake is ready, sir,” he said and then left as soon as possible.

Chloe had tried to get herself together as quickly as possible. That shouldn’t have happened. It was nice. She’d enjoyed it. It had felt good and, well, almost natural but it shouldn’t have happened. They’d both been drinking and hadn’t known what they were doing.

Sure, neither of them was fall down drunk and they’d had enough motor function to get to the bench but that was beside the point. Enrique left the room.

She tried to say something but it was a little difficult what with still feeling Lex’s hands and mouth on her body. What was wrong with her? Lex certainly wasn’t the first man that she’d kissed who had known what he was doing. Then why was her body still hot and tingly? Maybe she was coming down with something.

Chloe leaned against the piano and looked down at Lex. “I’m sorry, I, uh, shouldn’t have done that.”

Lex turned around slowly, forcing himself to meet her eyes. This was going to be fucking awkward.

“It’s not just your fault.” Most of it was pretty much his fault for taking things too far that shouldn’t even have started.

His worst concern was that this could cost him her friendship. It wasn’t that he thought she hadn’t liked it. Hell, it wasn’t even that he hadn’t liked it. The fact of the matter was that it had been wrong and could only end up badly if they started down that way. Chloe was one of his closest friends and that was more important than his goddamn libido. “I think it would be best if we could forget it ever happened.”

Lex looked at her intently, trying to gauge her reaction as his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pants. “Can we do that?”

“Absolutely,” Chloe said instantaneously. She had no desire to talk about this one thing ad nauseum for god only knew how long.

They were both attractive people, they’d been drinking, were alone, it was bound to happen. Actually, it was surprising that it hadn’t happened before tonight.

“So,” she said, rubbing her hands together, “cake?”

[b]Today[/i]

Lex looked down at his cake. The sweet treat wasn’t as tasty anymore after he’d just had to regurgitate and relive that night a little over a year ago. Of course he’d given Clark the extremely abridged version.

Enrique was snorting and slamming something behind his back and Lex turned around to call him on it.

However, he didn’t get that far when Clark started in on him, now that he’d heard the ‘full’ story.

“You guys made out?” Clark knew that his voice had risen in both pitch and volume but he couldn’t help it. Lex had turned around to say something to Enrique, probably fire the guy for outing him, but he turned back when he heard Clark’s voice.

Lex didn’t get a chance to speak, though.

“Lana is going to freak the fuck out. I can’t believe Chloe kept this a secret.” Now Clark was mostly talking to himself. Both he and Lana had spoken to Chloe about Lex for hours on end. Not once had she even hinted that something like this had happened. And Lana would have mentioned groping on a piano bench to Clark had Chloe shared that with her.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself? I thought you said that you didn’t have any feelings for her.” He was interested to see how Lex rationalized it. If it was anyone else, Clark would accept the ‘I was drunk’ excuse. But this was Lex he was talking to. The man always knew what he was doing. Always.

Clark knew that he wasn’t being fair but Chloe was the one who was hurting in all of this. He’d be supportive of Lex later.

Lex opened his mouth but Clark cut in again. “And don’t give me the old song and dance about how she’s your best friend so of course you have feelings for her. I know that one. I used that one. I wrote that one. And let’s not forget that we were best friends and I never once ended up in your lap.”

Kit Merlot
31st May 2007, 19:59
This was a beautiful update!

This part:


His worst concern was that this could cost him her friendship. It wasn’t that he thought she hadn’t liked it. Hell, it wasn’t even that he hadn’t liked it. The fact of the matter was that it had been wrong and could only end up badly if they started down that way. Chloe was one of his closest friends and that was more important than his goddamn libido. “I think it would be best if we could forget it ever happened.”

is classic Lex Luthor Logic. It doesn't matter if he and Chloe could actually be happy together--he doesn't want to ruin a friendship.

I also enjoyed seeing him go into over-protective mode at the thought of Chloe's dating one of his friends. And of course that led to the gorgeous making out scene that was as wonderful as I knew it would be.

It's a shame that Enrique had to walk in on them, but their sleeping together when they were drunk might have ended their friendship completely.

So, I'm glad that Enrique outed Lex and Chloe's kiss, but I hope he doesn't lose his job because of it.

And how awesome is Clark in this fic?! He isn't going to let Lex off the hook with his "We were both drunk" excuse.

And I certainly hope Clark has never been in Lex's lap--if anything, Lex would be in Clark's arms:D

If I haven't said it before, I'll say it right now--THIS FIC ROCKS!!

Can't wait for more.

lj715
31st May 2007, 21:01
Excellent chapter. I'll say it again...Lex is being an idiot. I hope he can fix this. They should be together. More please.

toryjhay
31st May 2007, 21:18
loved the blast from the past! the kiss was priceless.

the fact that chloe was sober enough to mention all the men that interested her was amusing, the way that lex dismissed all of them, well it reminds me of a book i read before. and enrique interrupted them, i'm totally with him on the not appearing at all, i like that he thinks that chloe and lex belong together, love him more for calling lex out on his actions, not very many people would do that, i just hope it doesn't cost him his job.

and clark, funny clark! i certainly hope that he never landed on lex' lap, lex might end up paralyzed, clark's way bulkier than he is, it did give me a hilarious image though. loved the update, love this fic!!! more soon please!!!

somethingeasy
31st May 2007, 21:47
Lex looked behind them to check that nobody had followed then hastily closed the doors, shutting them away from the rest of the party. It was his birthday, yes, but he’d spent the last three hours schmoozing the high society. Now he deserved a private celebration with his real friends, well friend, singular, but still.

heh, ok, we’ve established that they are friends, who have snuck away from the main body of the party… they are drunk, and have plans to have even more alcohol. Already this does NOT bode well.


They’d ended up in one of the smaller ‘music rooms’. There was a grand piano and some furniture arranged neatly throughout the room in a half circle around it. Lex snorted. He could host a party for Mozart any time he decided to come back from the dead and give a little impromptu concert.

*giggle* I thought it was cute when Lex observed how incredibly pompous this music room was. How many people have a single music room, much less a whole bunch of them under the same roof.


One of his hands had gone for her side. It wasn’t fair and it was going to get the bottle broken. She felt Lex’s hot breath on her neck as he was half bent over her body.

I was holding my breath as I imagined them in this drunken embrace. Definitely not good! I’m already seeing warning signs of what’s going to happen later.


He had no clue what to play in the first place. He didn’t really play for the tramps like she’d accused him of. Well maybe once or twice. It was a surefire way to get into a woman’s pants, who could blame him?

*disdainful snort* Playboy pig! He probably drips ‘sex me’ without even thinking about it. Chloe never stood a chance :(


Walking over to the piano, he flipped the lid and stared at the keys. Lex folded his fingers and cracked his knuckles as he tried to remember how that damn sonata went. Not the moonlight one, that was too depressive. The playful one, with the tinkling cascades and the move that could twist his fingers into knots if he didn’t watch out. Maybe he was too drunk for that one.

Lex looked over at Chloe and the champagne bottle in her hands. Then again, if he did this, he’d impress the shit out of her while he was at it. He was aiming for the slack jawed, wide eyed, ‘Wow, you can really do that?’ face.

LOL! I loved how Lex wanted to impress Chloe with his piano skills, and I was impressed that he had enough working brain cells right now to be able to strategize the best music to be able to do so.


So, she sauntered over to the piano and then jumped on top of it. Once settled, she tried to open the bottle. Besides, if he played well her panties just might come off. She and Lex had been flirting pretty hard for the past two hours. Hands had wandered and looks had lingered as the drinks had gone down their throats. And she liked her panties where they were, thank you very much.

Yes, she’d thought about Lex that way but it didn’t mean anything.

This was interesting and VERY good to confirm. Now I know that, previous to their make-out session, Chloe didn’t really have any romantic feelings towards Lex… not consciously anyway.


And he still had to think about how the damn sonata started. It always got easier once he was through the first part, but the start was like remembering the first line of a learned poem. You could think of the third one, and the fifth, and the twelfth but the first damn line just wouldn’t come to you.

LOL! I loved this observation… ain’t it the truth? ;)


Lex annoyingly placed his hand on top of the piano, one hand on either side of her body. “Fine,” she grumbled. She placed the bottle off to the side and leaned back on her elbows. “Happy? Now play me something Rachmaninoff.”

*impressed with Chloe for her ability to come up with the word ‘Rachmaninoff’ in her drunken state.


She leaned further back but lying that way wasn’t really comfortable. After about a minute of repositioning her body, she found herself on her stomach with her head resting on her folded hands. She closed her eyes and felt the reverberations of the music echoing through the bones in her body.

After another two minutes of playing, Lex stopped. She thought that it might have been a break in the movement but he didn’t start again. Chloe opened her eyes and looked over at him. “Why with the stopping?” She shook her head. “No stopping.”

Lex looked at the way she was sprawled all over the piano. The dress was a long, deep red affair with a slit up the side that revealed her leg up to almost her butt and her hair was done in one of those wavy 1920’s revival dos. All that was missing was a vodka glass in her one hand and a cigarette in the other, or dangling from blood red lips. Of course she’d chosen a more subtle lipstick than that.

What the hell?! Is he GAY?! I was just visualizing what an incredibly, striking and sexy image Chloe made stretched out on the piano, and Lex was ‘admiring her aesthetics’ in the most cold, objective way possible… like she was a piece of modern art rather than a sexy, vibrant woman.

My only explanation is that he was SO determined not to see her as a ‘temptation’ that he completely and wilfully shut his mind away from Chloe’s sex appeal.


His gaze came back up and he looked at her again, leaning up onto her elbows to look down at him, showing quite a bit of cleavage; very nice, ample cleavage. And she was cocking her head at him just so. If she had red hair, she’d be a perfect rip off of Jessica Rabbit. Lex chuckled to himself. He wondered if she could pull off the attitude, too. That would definitely help to get the men out there to notice.

arrrgh! He’s gay! It’s final! Either that, or he’s blind! As if Chloe needed any kind of ‘improvement’ to be sexy!!! Red hair, indeed! *huffs*


Lex’s ‘I suppose’ sounded very put off. Well, he’d just have to suck it up. What was the point of having a hot, older, rich friend if they couldn’t introduce you to others like them? She watched as he concentrated on the keys that his hands were hitting.

ROTFLMAO! This was a VERY interesting perspective. And very true as well. I never considered this as one of the benefits to being friends with Lex Luthor, but I guess it WOULD be true that he ‘could’ introduce you to a whole range of exciting, rich playboys.


This obviously didn’t come easy to Lex. People would be surprised to find that that was true of a lot of things for the man seated before her. Most others would never be privy to that, though.

awww, I liked this glimpse into the affection Chloe holds for her ‘dear friend’, Lex. It’s nice that she sees the ‘human’ side of him, and likes him all the more for it. Is it really so surprising that the affection blossomed into something more? I think it was inevitable… probably would have happened even WITHOUT the makeout session.


“Richard Meeks, Percy Ennis, Jackson Bloom, Malik Williams, Kenneth Driesden and Brent Casman.” She listed off the men that she’d been looking over for the past hour or so. Only the past hour cause she’d finally gotten drunk enough to start plotting to attack one of them.

ROTFLOL! She actually made a list. Oh MY! LOL!


“Okay, let me think,” he contemplated with a longing look towards the champagne bottle near her hip. “Richie is nice, but dull. Really dull.” So dull that Lex had been reduced to drinking an entire pot of coffee during a meeting so he didn’t fall asleep on the guy’s monotonous voice.

“Brent Casman.” He rolled the name on his tongue, trying to match it with a face. Or at least a headline to give him something to start with. “If he’s the blond one with the glasses and the long nose then you wanna stay away from, he’s had some psycho stalk him for a few months now, and they still haven’t put her behind bars.” No need to get Chloe into yet another life or death situation.

Speaking of which. “Kenneth Driesden was on your list? You can strike him out. He’s an asshole, trust me. While the rest of us grew up he just grew worse. You don’t wanna deal with that.”

“Bloom is thirty-six, I’m not hooking you up with someone almost twice your age.” Of course Jackson Bloom had that whole gentleman routine going, he’d be nice enough, Lex supposed and treat Chloe like she deserved on a date. But the man was thirty-six. Way too old.

“And Malik and Percy are an item.” Lex made a face of slight distaste, “At least I think they are. I caught them screwing in the bathroom about twenty minutes after you got here.”

LOL! I thought it was adorable the way every single one of Chloe’s prospects were shot down. All for perfectly reasonable reasons, of course. I really didn’t sense that Lex was actively searching for a reason to throw up obstacles because he was feeling possessive or jealous. He probably would have accommodated Chloe quite amiably… IF any of her choices had been a viable option in his view.

Perhaps he should recommend someone?


He stood up and hooked his hand under her thigh to pull her around so she was facing him fully. Some stern talking to was necessary and he couldn’t do that while she looked down on him sideways.

Chloe squeaked in surprise and indignation as her feet landed on the keyboard with a discordant noise. Lex had planted himself firmly in front of her, hands braced beside her hips on the lid of the piano.

“I’m not going to give you a helping hand in finding trouble. I’d sooner let you go out with Bloom, at least he’d make sure to bring you back in one piece and without getting you into a car crash or cause you to end up with a stalker’s knife in your back.”

Lex wasn’t amused by a long shot. He was so far from amused at the idea that he was downright … whatever the most extreme opposite of amused was.

“You are not getting yourself into trouble while you’re under my watch, missy.”

heh, part of me was a little indignant by his presumptuous and condescending attitude towards his ‘helpless female companion’… but another part of me was touched by his concern for his friend.


Chloe was also trying her damnest not to laugh. He’d called her ‘missy’ for god’s sake. How was she supposed to keep a straight face?

The words that he’d thrown at her had also made her momentarily forget that he’d moved her around like a doll.

She looked up at his tense, angry, glaring face and found herself smiling. “Ok, Lex, that’ll be your birthday gift.” He didn’t look any happier. Well, maybe he would once he found the actual gift that she’d hidden in his office while he’d been getting dressed.

*giggle* I laughed to see that Chloe was generally good natured about Lex’s ‘ultimatum’ over here. She actually seemed amused by the ‘stern stance’ he was taking. LOL!


Chloe pouted a little when his face still looked all scrunched up. “And this.” She leaned forward and upwards and brushed her lips softly against his. She had not expected the bolt of something that accompanied the action. She ignored it.
Pulling back just a little, Chloe turned her eyes to meet Lex’s. “Happy Birthday, Lex.”

Hmmm, so this is how it started. I can see that Chloe ‘techinically’ initiated the kiss… but I can also see she meant it to be a simple friendly peck. Something that was supposed to be finished barely the moment after it was begun. Too bad it didn’t turn out like that.


Lex was too stunned to respond. He’d been busy being annoyed and angry for the moment, so he hadn’t even realized she leaned in before her lips had been on his. He’d be a liar if he said he’d never thought of her in a more than friendly way, but he’d never expected anything to happen.

hmmm, so Lex HAD entertained some lusty thoughts of Chloe before this night? HOW lusty are we talking here? Did he find himself picturing her naked once or twice (which is probably something bound to happen)… or did he entertain fantasies of her while he was alone (and erect) in his bed?


He licked his lips, tasting something fruity and champagne. Somehow, he’d still not pulled back and that fruity taste was interesting. His eyes were drawn to her lips again. And again he didn’t even notice the part where he leaned in, or she leaned in, or it might have been both of them.

But he did notice the soft lips and the subtle taste of fruit and champagne. He noticed the rough, smooth, slick texture of her tongue as it touched and tangled with his own. He was so busy noticing everything about the kiss, including that odd warm electric feeling that he didn’t notice his hands moving without permission to take hold of her ass and pull her closer.

Chloe wasn’t sure what was happening but she liked it. Maybe a little too much. One of them should probably put a stop to it. But they were both a little too busy letting their hands wander in places that they shouldn’t be.

Uh oh! So this is how and where the trouble started. *sigh* I was looking so forward to blaming it all on Lex, but the truth is that they were BOTH drunk and stupid and indulged in something that they both knew was a bad idea. I can see how the nasty combination of lust, passion and diminished thought led to this grope-session.


Her hands ran up and down his back and she wished that she could actually feel him. Lex was having all of the fun, getting to run one of his hands up and down her bare leg as the other rested on the small of her back. Though there was some fun to be had in the feelings said hand was creating.

He pulled back and then they somehow ended up on the piano bench with their mouths fused together again. She was sitting sideways on his lap with her arm wrapped around the back of his neck.

She’d never seen Lex do anything tentatively before. But it was the best word to describe the way in which his left hand came to rest on her upper thigh. Instead of slapping it away she moaned his name into his mouth. That caused all hesitation to disappear from his body.

Lex couldn’t believe what he was doing, but as little as he could believe it he could stop it even less. He couldn’t deny that it was really nice to have Chloe in his lap, cozying up against his chest while they shared a lazy kiss. It was a damn nice birthday gift, possibly one of the best he’d ever gotten. Definitely in the top ten.

*sigh* It WAS a lovely, sweet and sexy make-out session. It seemed to develop so naturally too. Hmmm, it seems like Lex was enjoying the sensations as much as Chloe… I wonder how it ended up with Lex agreeing that it should never happen again, and Chloe left wanting much, MUCH more.


Lex pulled away from the kiss immediately, feeling like a complete moron. What the hell was he doing making out with his best friend? It was a sure fire way to fuck things up spectacularly.

“Yes, Enrique,” he inquired as calmly as was possible while he shifted Chloe out of his lap and set her on her own two feet.

ahhhh, now I see. THIS was the moment where Lex completely shut away all alternative possibilities from the forefront of his mind. Chloe was strictly in the category of ‘friend’, and was therefore untouchable… therefore he COULDN’T be attracted to her. I can see him shifting gears into denial right this moment.


Enrique had been looking for his employer for the better part of thirty minutes. The cake cutting ceremony was to commence exactly at ten, he’d been informed. Master Luthor wanted the ‘vultures’, his word, not Enrique’s, out of the house as soon as possible.

Which was why he’d been looking for his employer. Had he known what the man was up to, he wouldn’t have interrupted. It looked as if he and Ms. Sullivan were finally on the right track with one another. Instead of nature taking its course, Enrique had seen that he’d caused harm to the situation.

LOL! I thought it was really funny that Enrique has been rooting for a ‘Chlex ending’ for well OVER a year now. I can’t imagine how frustrated he must have been to see Chloe and Lex stepping back into ‘just friends’ again. Not to mention how enraged he must have been when Lex got engaged to another gold-digger that HE DIDN’T EVEN LOVE!!!!

Honestly, this part still confuses me. WHY was Lex so desperate to get married, that he be willing to tie himself to woman that he didn’t love. Did he particularly even LIKE his ex-fiancé?


She tried to say something but it was a little difficult what with still feeling Lex’s hands and mouth on her body. What was wrong with her? Lex certainly wasn’t the first man that she’d kissed who had known what he was doing. Then why was her body still hot and tingly? Maybe she was coming down with something.

heh, I’d say she’s coming down with something, all right. I guess this marks the beginning of Chloe’s ‘falling in love’ with Lex Luthor? Or at least, the beginning of her consciously REALIZING that she was in love with Lex.


His worst concern was that this could cost him her friendship. It wasn’t that he thought she hadn’t liked it. Hell, it wasn’t even that he hadn’t liked it. The fact of the matter was that it had been wrong and could only end up badly if they started down that way. Chloe was one of his closest friends and that was more important than his goddamn libido. “I think it would be best if we could forget it ever happened.”

Lex looked at her intently, trying to gauge her reaction as his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pants. “Can we do that?”

“Absolutely,” Chloe said instantaneously. She had no desire to talk about this one thing ad nauseum for god only knew how long.

aaargh! Typical, panicked male reaction. Wanting to sweep everything, emotional repercussion and all under the rug as swiftly as possible. As if getting it over with ‘quickly’ is the best way to resolve the situation.

Chloe certainly didn’t help herself by agreeing to ‘forget the whole thing’. I guess she was in too much shock right now to realize what had happened… it was probably much later… some cold, lonely night… that she realized the full consequences of kissing Lex Luthor.


“Well, what do you have to say for yourself? I thought you said that you didn’t have any feelings for her.” He was interested to see how Lex rationalized it. If it was anyone else, Clark would accept the ‘I was drunk’ excuse. But this was Lex he was talking to. The man always knew what he was doing. Always.

Clark knew that he wasn’t being fair but Chloe was the one who was hurting in all of this. He’d be supportive of Lex later.

*squeeeee* I LOVE this Clark. He’s really NOT afraid of confrontation… especially on behalf of a friend.


Lex opened his mouth but Clark cut in again. “And don’t give me the old song and dance about how she’s your best friend so of course you have feelings for her. I know that one. I used that one. I wrote that one. And let’s not forget that we were best friends and I never once ended up in your lap.”

ROTFLMAO! Seriously, I was in HYSTERICS from this closing sentence. I was so glad to see that Clark is not going to settle for anything less than a direct answer and full disclosure from Lex. He’s going straight to the heart of the matter, and trying to find out about Lex’s ‘feelings’ towards Chloe…

Clark is undoubtedly hoping to unearth some hidden feelings for Chloe, but I don’t think he’s going to be successful… NOT because there are no feelings to find (because there ‘might’ be)… but because this is an ‘angst’ fic, and there is no way the characters have been put through enough torturous drama yet ;)

This was a fabulous update, BlueSabby! I loved it. There were a LOT of questions answered, and it really helped form a clearer picture about the how and why of Chloe falling in love with Lex when he didn’t return her feelings.

I look forward to story progress. Please update soon.

alexiel
31st May 2007, 22:31
I love this fic.
Please update soon.

westwingwolf
31st May 2007, 22:53
I do so love it when Lex and Chloe get drunk. They are so much fun. Lex had good excuses for all the guys he couldn't set Chloe up with except for the older man one, yes being half a guy's age may be too much but it's not a horrible reason. I think the better reason is that Lex just doesn't want to admit that he doesn't want Chloe with any other guy.

I have to agree with Enrique, I really wish he hadn't have opened that door. I do love that he's at the point where he no longer cares if Lex fires him. Someone has to be the one to out Lex or things will never get resolved.

Oh and I still love Clark because not only did he admit to his asshat ways, but he's also hilarious with the 'lap' line.

So once they get Lex to admit to his stupidity, how is he going to fix this?

xxasaxx
1st June 2007, 02:00
Lex opened his mouth but Clark cut in again. “And don’t give me the old song and dance about how she’s your best friend so of course you have feelings for her. I know that one. I used that one. I wrote that one. And let’s not forget that we were best friends and I never once ended up in your lap.”


:rofl:

Gaia
1st June 2007, 17:25
Lex opened his mouth but Clark cut in again. “And don’t give me the old song and dance about how she’s your best friend so of course you have feelings for her. I know that one. I used that one. I wrote that one. And let’s not forget that we were best friends and I never once ended up in your lap.”


Thank GOD for that! Smallville would have been an enirely different show!

Now to more serious matter- Chloe said to forget it? hmmm,......
this needs a quick update!

dagney
2nd June 2007, 00:51
i loved the flashback scene. The visual you created on the piano lovely. I like that Clark/Chloe lex are friends. Lana well ok she can be ok in a supportive friend kinda way LOL looking foward to much more. Maybe Chloe needs to start getting over her heartbreak by dating say someone like Oliver Queen to get Lex to realize his sexual feelings. Just a thought. Dagney

BlueSabby
7th June 2007, 20:21
A/N: Blue: More yelling...and a few admissions.

A/N: Sabby: More stuff gets revealed and things get sorted out...kinda. Enjoy! We still do crave that feedbacky goodness.



During Clark’s rant, Lex had only once tried to interrupt. Seeing his outraged reaction to the Cliff’s notes, he wondered how Clark would have reacted if he’d heard the full version. Clark had also effectively cut off his first protest and Lex felt cornered. So he lashed out.

“Of course not. You’re an oaf, not exactly my type and you wear flannel. Plaid flannel.”

Using the moment that Clark was too busy gawping and trying to figure out what Lex’s answer meant, beyond the insult, Lex soldiered on.

“Never mind that you’re totally not one to talk. I know for a fact you kissed her, too, without being in love with her. So you can get right off that high horse you’re riding on.”

Clark was a little distracted by the slamming and huffing that Enrique was partaking in at the moment.

His employer was being very difficult indeed. The man was acting a fool, something that was very out of character for him. Enrique ‘closed’ one of the doors on the cabinet and then looked up. To find his eyes locked with Mr. Luthor’s.

“I wonder, sir,” he said, “If Mr. Kent’s hand has ended up where yours was.” Perhaps Mr. Luthor claimed to not remember anything but Enrique clearly remembered just how high up the limb was on Ms. Sullivan’s body.

Enrique didn’t bother to look at Mr. Kent. His employer was livid. “Enrique, one more word and you're fired.”

“I was drunk, she was drunk, it was my birthday.” His employer used that as an excuse again.

The decision made, Enrique threw down a napkin and spoke. “Ass. There's a word.”

Clark watched as Lex turned around a little and then closed his eyes. He turned back to Enrique. “You're fired.”

“Well,” Enrique said as he buttoned up his vest, “at least I'm not a fool. Good day sir. Mr. Kent.” He nodded at the boy before leaving the room.

Clark’s jaw was practically on the floor. He couldn’t believe what he’d just seen. He tried to process what he and Lex had been discussing before Enrique sabotaged his career.

He cleared his throat. “You’re right about one thing.” Lex seemed a little distracted but that brought him back to the conversation. “She was my best friend and I kissed her. Numerous times.” He paused. “She do that thing with her tongue with you?”

The exclamation of his name was out of Lex’s throat before Clark even finished his sentence.

“I was just curious,” Clark said. He looked down at the table and rubbed at a scuff on the top of it. “Guess you didn’t have sex with her though, eh?”

Lex couldn’t believe what had just happened. His butler had pushed him so far that he had to actually fire the man for his insolence. He’d lost his best employee and now Clark was sitting there talking about kissing Chloe and if that wasn’t bad enough, about fucking her. The girl had had enough trouble getting over the farmboy and the whole damn thing between them and now this and Lex was going to lose his mind.

“You fucked her?” His eyes narrowed as he looked at the farmboy. “You’re fired, too.”

Clark’s gaze shifted from his face to the floor, discomfort written all over it. Lex knew he’d hit a spot.

The younger man’s tone had changed from his righteous ranting right into the hesitant ‘I’m going to lie to your face any minute now’ tone he used when someone brought up his mistakes or idiosyncrasies. He mumbled something about drunk and not counting and only once and Lex’s blood pressure was going to go through the roof if he got any angrier. Clark’s next words almost sufficed to do the trick. “I don’t think we should be talking about this.”

“Oh really.” His voice was on the edge of wavering from the effort not to shout. “Right, of course,” he snapped. “When I fuck up, everyone is on my goddamn heels brandishing the pitchforks and torches, but when you fuck up, we shouldn’t be talking about this.”

Lex sneered in disgust, fed up with this entire situation and the fact that he had to explain his actions to someone who had absolutely no right to judge.

“And that is exactly why we’re not friends anymore,” he accused Clark as he sat up straighter on the couch, letting off some of the steam that had been building for years now. “This fucking hypocrisy and double standard bullshit that you’ve been pulling on me since the first time you couldn’t explain your actions without lying.” Lex remembered that day well. You didn’t forget the days where someone held a gun to your head and then caused you to dangle over an abyss of about a hundred feet. “And I know it’s all about your stupid fucking secret. Which by the way, I’ve almost got figured out anyway.”

Lex had mulled over it long enough to narrow it down to three options. Of course he’d like to know which of them it was, but he was pretty sure it could only be three things. Alien, meta-human or meteor mutant. Whichever it was, he had no idea why it justified lying into the face of someone you called friend.

In any case, he was done letting the farmboy give him a guilty conscience and waited for Clark to see what he had to say for himself for a change.

The gloves were off now. And Clark, amazingly, felt great about it. There was so much shit between him and Lex at the moment, both stuff that only had to do with them and things that Chloe was entangled with that it felt good to just scream at Lex. Like he’d been doing to Clark.

“Stupid secret,” he yelled, finally letting himself go, “Stupid secret? Ok. I'm an alien, happy now?” He saw Lex recoil just slightly as he yelled that piece of information at Lex. “At least I don't go around kissing my best friends and then pretending that it doesn't mean anything.”

Clark paused. “Anymore, I don't do that anymore.”

“And no, Ok, I didn’t fuck Chloe.” Now he saw Lex relax slightly. “I was just trying to prove something to you.”

Lex was still glaring at Clark, but his posture wasn’t quite as stiff anymore. Which had to do both with the fact that Clark wasn’t screaming anymore, and the fact that he’d admitted he hadn’t really fucked Chloe. And the alien bit finally being out in the open helped a little as well.

“You know, that alien business would be so cool if I wasn’t busy hating you right now,” he admitted grudgingly.

His geekish side would love to lay in on Clark with all kinds of questions and possibly a few amusing tests and experiments, but he really was too busy being angry for that fucking stunt and Clark’s hypocrisy.

“What the hell were you trying to prove with telling me that you fucked Chloe when she had a hard enough time getting over you in the first place? That you’re a hypocrite asshole from outer space? Congratulations, it worked.”

This whole discussion was rapidly becoming pointless if he had to keep repeating himself on the other matter. “And just because I kissed her, and liked it, doesn’t mean I have to be in love with her or that it means something. It was an accident and a mistake.”

“Thanks, I'll show you my heat vision later,” Clark said sarcastically. Part of him knew that he wouldn’t get anywhere with Lex. He was almost as hard headed as Chloe was. Which made things incredibly frustrating.

“Riiight. The fact that you kissed her means nothing. The fact that you looked ready to come across the table at me when I led you to believe I fucked her?” Clark shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure that means nothing, too. Your reactions to her, both now and in the past, tell me all that I need to know, Lex, even if you’re not ready to admit it.”

Lex was actually getting red. Clark could see the small pinpoints of color start on his cheeks. “How do I react,” he asked, tightly.

Well, far be it from Clark to lie to Lex. Again.

“Like the thought of hurting her devastates you.” It was the most obvious. Then there was, “how you even fucking look at her.” It had always unsettled him. The intensity that Lex leveled in her direction. Chloe shrugged it off. It was just the way Lex was, she explained.

“Well of course I don’t want her to be hurt,” Lex defended himself. Devastated really was an exaggeration in his opinion. He didn’t do devastated. He did do pissed and offended, though. “And I don’t fucking look at her.” The way Clark had put emphasis on the word, he could only imagine what the farmboy associated with it.

He didn’t look at Chloe any differently than he did any of his other friends. He was sure he didn’t. So he looked her in the eyes and actually cared enough to show interest when she said something, whatever it was she happened to say. So what. That’s what one did with friends.

“She’s my best friend.” The statement came out with more conviction than anything else he’d said so far. “I care for her and of course I’d be ready to fucking strangle you if I thought you’d hurt her anymore than you already did. Not that I think strangling you would actually do any good.”

Clark leaned forward a little. “First off, yes, strangling me would do nothing but piss you off even more. You can also cross beating me to death, shooting me, dropping an anvil on my head, poisoning me with arsenic, stabbing me and setting me on fire off of your list. None would work.”

He sat back in his chair. “And you’re right about something else. You don’t look at her.” Clark cocked his head to the side, considering what a better word would be. “You gaze at her,” he said, nodding. “That’s a much better description of it.”

Now that he was talking, Clark realized the truth of his words. Lex might just have feelings for Chloe that he wasn’t aware of.

Lex’s words came out precise and tight. “I do not gaze at her.”

It made Clark grin.

“I’m lousy at dating,” Lex practically blurted out. “She’d hate me in a week flat and then where would I be?”

Oh, this was progress.

“So you now admit that you’ve thought about dating her? A woman who you claim to have only friendly feelings about?” Hanging around Chloe must have rubbed off on Clark. He felt like he was channeling her with all of the questions.

Lex felt like he was on trial and the goddamn opponent attorney had just fucked him over on a minor slip. There was only one thing left to do. Spin control.

“Of course I thought about dating her. She’s hot, smart, funny,” Lex rattled off her best attributes then turned the sword around. “You thought about dating her, too, and you were disgustingly in love with Lana all the while.”

That had been a while back, granted, and during the time Clark had played the on again off again game until Lana had exploded like a light bulb, but that didn’t mean it didn’t count.

“Why the hell can’t you just let this go, Clark? I’m not going to turn around, have a sudden epiphany and declare my undying love for Chloe, because this isn’t television and it’s just not the case.”

He liked Chloe, yes. She was his best friend and he wanted to have her in his life to snark and smile and help him through the worse days and share the good ones. However, that did not mean he was in love with her. Lex wasn’t in love with anyone. He’d bloody well know if he was in love with someone, wouldn’t he?

“When you start comparing yourself to me I think we can both agree that you are in a world of trouble.” Clark was able not to grin like an idiot. He saw that Lex was trying to figure something out on his own and he didn’t want to diminish that by making another jackassy comment.

Instead of laughing, he got a little more serious. “Lex, I do love Chloe and that’s why I am doing this. If you don’t love her, if you truly don’t,” he said, locking eyes with him, “that’s fine. She will get over you with enough time.”

Clark knew it was true. Yes, she would always feel something for Lex but it would fade. It just might take years instead of weeks.

“But,” he said, “If you’re not sure. If you doubt how you feel. You owe her at least a day of thinking that over. You owe her a whole lot more for saving you from that marriage. But I think she’d take a few hours of you thinking about what it is that you want from her.”

Lex often used people’s own words against them. It was his most annoying trait. “You admit that you care for her, don’t want to see her hurt, find her attractive and you say that she’s your best friend. What else do you need?”

His mind was working overtime now. “You’ve obviously thought about this already. You’ve come to this conclusion yourself and then gone in the opposite direction, I’d wager.” He had started dating Andrea rather abruptly. “Maybe right before you got involved with Andrea?”

Lex jerked slightly and his face changed. Clark didn’t know what it meant but it wasn’t important. He got to his feet. “I think I’ve said more than my fair share for the night. For the rest of the year maybe.”

He looked over at the cake. “I’ll call someone and have them come and get this.”

Clark walked through the doors and then popped his head back in. “We can talk about the fact that I can fly tomorrow. Night, Lex.”

Lex was too dumbstruck for a moment to say anything in return. Clark had just announced he’d be stealing his cake and offhandedly mentioned he could fly. And even worse he’d made Lex think.

“I really strongly dislike you right now, Clark Kent!” he yelled out into the hallway as soon as he was capable of forming a coherent sentence. “Fucking alien.”

And there was no way Clark was right about this. Lex didn’t believe in fairy tales or cinematographic conceptions of love, but surely he’d know it if he was in love with someone. He’d have to pick apart the pieces and see how they fit together because now he was dead set on disproving Clark’s theory.

Lex picked up his plate, added another piece of cake and settled down to think.

~~

Clark laughed as he heard Lex yelling after him. He felt good. He felt like Lex and Chloe might actually have a chance.

He opened the door of Luthor Manor and his smile slid off his face. Even though her back was to him, Clark knew it was Chloe in front of him.

“Chloe,” he said, softly. She jumped a little and then turned around. “Hi.” Her voice sounded soft and she looked very small.

“Clark,” she said, “do not look at me like that or you may find your crotch on the business end of my knee.”

“Got it,” he said. “He’s in the dining room.” He bent over and kissed her on the cheek before pulling her into a hug.

“Clark,” she said, and he heard the warning tone in her voice.

“I’m leaving,” he said, and then did so.

Chloe walked into the house and hung up her jacket. Strange that Enrique hadn’t come out to meet her once he heard that there was a new guest.

She was totally embarrassed about the way she’d acted. She toed off her shoes and then walked to the dining room.

Lex sat at the table, hunched over a piece of cake. She approached him silently. “It’s delicious,” she said.

His head jerked up from his contemplations at the sound of her voice and he couldn’t deny the double beat his heart had done there for a second.

Remembering the reason she’d run out earlier, which again he only knew thanks to Clark, Lex was out of his chair in a second, meeting her halfway. “I was an ass,” he apologized, wondering how he could fix this. “But I didn’t mean it.”

He looked her over carefully, trying to judge how bad he’d messed up. His jaw clenched involuntarily at the sight of her slightly red eyes. She’d obviously been crying. “You didn’t drive the whole time, did you?” It was a stupid thing to worry about when she was obviously in one piece in front of him but the question was out of his mouth before it had checked in with his brain for logic.

“Lex, you have to stop…”

Chloe couldn’t quite say what she meant. The obvious concern and worry and apologetic stance made her chest tight. It made her want him all the more.

She wasn’t sure that she could do this. Any of it.

She couldn’t tell him to stop caring about her but she couldn’t get him to care about her more.

After taking a shaky breath, she started again. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. I know that you didn’t know. And I didn’t exactly handle it in the best way.”

That’s what she’d been kicking herself about. She hadn’t calmly explained to Lex what he’d done wrong and told him to stop. Nope, she’d just turned tail and run.

She had a sinking feeling that that would happen more often than not for a while. The question that he’d posed to her, if she could really continue seeing him as his friend, came back to her.

Things between them had been better and then they’d just gotten even murkier.

When she looked up at him she could see how unsettled he was. It couldn’t just be about the cake thing, could it? Did he think that she wouldn’t come back? No, she knew that this couldn’t be all about her running off.

“Lex, what’s wrong?” She stared up at him, seeing if she could get anything from his face.

‘Uh oh’. Lex tried to smooth out his expression. There was no way he could tell her what Clark and he had been talking about without upsetting her. And the last thing he wanted was for her to run straight back out that door again.

“I think I had too much cake.” It was a lie, but a convincing one, considering he’d polished off almost the entire ground tier of the enormous thing.

He wished he could tell her about Enrique. It would be an even more convincing reason for him to be this unsettled, but there was no way he could explain about Enrique because of the reason he’d had to fire the man.

Lex sank back into his seat and looked up at her, trying to figure out what else to do or say. Clark’s advice was still muddling around in his brain and he hadn’t had time to properly think about anything before she’d popped up in front of him. But now that she was here, he didn’t want her to go. He wanted to put things to rights.

“No sugar high for me, though.” Maybe this would have been easier to deal with then.

Chloe thought he was holding something back. But she wouldn’t push him. Maybe it was something that she didn’t want or need to hear. She pulled up a chair and looked at the cake.

“You ate that by yourself,” she asked incredulously.

Lex was not an indulger. She could have eaten all of that and it would have been in character. But for him to have done that… “Your stomach must not be very happy with you.” Before she thought about it, her hand had been placed on the aforementioned body part. She gave it a pat.

After pulling her hand back, she leaned back in her chair and said, “Lex, I’m not so sure this is going to work.”

It was her worst fear but it was something she had to vocalize.

“I don’t know if I’m equipped to deal with this. Again.” She had to tell him this. Had to explain. “I can’t guarantee that I’m not going to run out on you like I did tonight every time things get rough. I don’t think that it’s fair for you to have to deal with that.”

She snuck a glance over at him. “You shouldn’t have to apologize every time I have a little breakdown. So, I think that…”

“No.”

The word came out firm and decisive before she could even finish that horrible sentence. She was not going to break up with him over this. “I’ll try to be better at this. And if you have to run off every once in a while I can live with that. It’s not your fault that this happened and I know you have that instinct to run off when it gets too much. That’s okay.” But only if she came back again. It was not okay, however, to break things off and just leave and not come back.

Of course he’d seen this coming. He’d known their friendship didn’t have a chance after she’d confessed her feelings for him. But now that the moment was here, Lex wasn’t willing to give up without a fight. There had to be a way to keep their friendship. He’d try his damnest not to trigger any uncomfortable shit and she could run off whenever he accidentally did. But he was not willing to let her go.

The one word he’d spoken at first was all she needed. Lex may not love her but he wasn’t about to give up on her. The vehemence and emotion in his voice told her that. It also made her tear up a little.

“OK, Lex,” she said.

They needed a subject change. It didn’t matter that it would be totally forced. Anything was better than this. “So,” she said, “what are you wearing to the party?” It was totally and utterly lame. Possibly the lamest thing that she could say. Which was why she was going with it.

It got a small smile out of Lex and her hand crept over to steal the plate of cake that he hadn’t yet finished. She listened as he explained the intricacies of a tuxedo. That reminded Chloe. She needed a dress.

Lex was relieved that she’d agreed with his decision. He didn’t delude himself into thinking all was right and that things would be like they used to be, but the important thing was that she hadn’t insisted on leaving him. She would try and keep this friendship alive and there was nothing that was more important than that.

jem
7th June 2007, 22:50
argH@ oh my god...

both of them need to be hit with anvils!!

obviously its not going to keep working if they keep not addressing the issues... and as much as lex is continually dependent on knowing that chloe comes back, maybe it
might be a GOOD thing, if she left for a while...

and then lex can eat his heart out with his emotions for chloe.... cause well, poor chloe tends to be doing that the most...

absolutely LOVED the angst... argh...its frustrating, but brings on only those good heart aches.. where (goddarnit there BETTER be a brighter ending!)

its the only thing keeping me at least a little bit above the emotional ride that we are reading about... (or else, the drama would just about kill me)...

ok, enough of my melodrama... PLEASE UPDATE when you can... the waits,
yes are worth it....

please remember we're dyiiiing here waiting

p.s LOVED clark and lex's confrontation about clark's alieness.... funny and
tragic at the same time...

lj715
7th June 2007, 23:15
Excellent chapter. I think Chloe really needs to leave Lex so he can get an idea of what his life would be without her. More please.

xxasaxx
8th June 2007, 00:28
Hanging around Chloe must have rubbed off on Clark. He felt like he was channeling her with all of the questions.

:rofl:

Brilliant, Brilliant chapter!:grin3:

Queen Of Tact
8th June 2007, 00:53
i'm with you on that one lj....

*hugs* Chloe, I know first hand how she feels... Loving someone who doesn't love you back sucks monkey balls, and it hurts alot too...


CC

westwingwolf
8th June 2007, 02:15
Hugs to Enrique, Clark, and of course the two of you. I don't think anything short of Lex admitting his feelings for Chloe are going to get Enrique working for him again.

I loved that Clark interspersed the details of his powers with telling Lex that he needs to examine his feelings for Chloe. Absolutely brilliant and now that is all out in the open. I loved how Lex took it too with his inner geek wanting to shine through. Pure genius trapping Lex into exposing his need to protect Chloe and his desire to date her.

It's great that Lex doesn't want to lose Chloe and will do anything to keep her, but why do I get the feeling that it's going to go downhill even more before it gets better. I think Chloe will be avoiding wearing white to the party, but I hope Lex is smart enough not to suggest it. But he is on a roll, so he's probably not.

toryjhay
8th June 2007, 07:13
She was not going to break up with him over this.

is that a slip of the...mind? breaking up is such is such a couply term!

sneaky, sneaky clark, can't believe that clark actually lied about sleeping with chloe. and he finally told lex the truth about his origins, never imagined that he would tell lex that way but it was truly hilarious! the way he just blurted it out and i especially loved lex' reaction. their friendship(?) simply funny:rofl: !!!!

and lex fired enrique! he better hire him back! chloe already noticed his absence. have i already said how much i loved enrique? he doesn't back down, not even to lex! that was just awesome.

i'm glad that clark somehow managed to break through lex...somewhat. i love the fact that chloe came back, despite the heartache she was still brave enough to come back! that girl is just awesome! more soon please!!!!!!

pipersmum
8th June 2007, 12:47
Great story I am loving the angst. The Clark and Lex relationship is fun too, I like how Clark is for once playing Lex at his own game and getting him to admit stuff that he would rather just ignore. But firing Enrique ouch that was harsh :P Lex needs him he is his only employee to stand up to him. My heart is breaking for Chloe and what she must be feeling but I am sure it won't be too long before Chloe is getting on with it and Lex is the one pining!! ;) PPMS.

Kit Merlot
8th June 2007, 13:30
Excellent update, but Lex fired Enrique?! WTF??!!! Enrique was just trying to get Lex to be honest with himself.

I found this line quite intriguing though:


He wondered how Clark would have reacted if he’d heard the full version.

Well Lex finally talk to Chloe about that fateful kissing/making out moment? I hope so:D

This needs to be repeated often: Clark is completely awesome in this fic--I love how he is casually telling Lex all about his being an alien, and his super powers--that is fabulous. And he is getting Lex to admit hidden romantic feelings for Chloe--like how he doesn't want to hurt her, or that he needs her in his life.

This is just a beautiful story--wonderfully done.

dagney
9th June 2007, 00:54
Your Lex/Clark interaction was terrific. I like the devious Clark. Your doing such a wonderful job with this tale. I'm still thinking (watch out thinking hurts) that maybe a new man to try and sweep chloe off her feet might make Lex very very nervous and wake up and smell his Chloe's coffee lol. dagney

somethingeasy
9th June 2007, 21:15
“Of course not. You’re an oaf, not exactly my type and you wear flannel. Plaid flannel.”

Using the moment that Clark was too busy gawping and trying to figure out what Lex’s answer meant, beyond the insult, Lex soldiered on.

ROTFLMAO at Lex’s reply to Clark’s snark (hey, that rhymes!). heh, so does this mean Lex might have reacted amorously to Red-K Clark, while he was sporting leather and a bad-ass attitude? :yeahbaby:


“I wonder, sir,” he said, “If Mr. Kent’s hand has ended up where yours was.” Perhaps Mr. Luthor claimed to not remember anything but Enrique clearly remembered just how high up the limb was on Ms. Sullivan’s body.

Enrique didn’t bother to look at Mr. Kent. His employer was livid. “Enrique, one more word and you're fired.”

“I was drunk, she was drunk, it was my birthday.” His employer used that as an excuse again.

The decision made, Enrique threw down a napkin and spoke. “Ass. There's a word.”

Clark watched as Lex turned around a little and then closed his eyes. He turned back to Enrique. “You're fired.”

“Well,” Enrique said as he buttoned up his vest, “at least I'm not a fool. Good day sir. Mr. Kent.” He nodded at the boy before leaving the room.

I really enjoyed this part. I ADORE Enrique, and the way he was so insistent on listing out all the details of all that had happened during the Chlex grope-fest. I love that his determination to reveal the full extent of Lex’s carelessness and negligence outweighed any fear from the wrath of his employer. Yayyy Enrique!!

‘I was drunk, it was my birthday’??!! Oh. My. GOD! WHAT the hell kind of rationalization is THAT??!! No wonder Enrique reacted in such utter disgust that he virtually quit right on the spot.


He cleared his throat. “You’re right about one thing.” Lex seemed a little distracted but that brought him back to the conversation. “She was my best friend and I kissed her. Numerous times.” He paused. “She do that thing with her tongue with you?”

The exclamation of his name was out of Lex’s throat before Clark even finished his sentence.

“I was just curious,” Clark said. He looked down at the table and rubbed at a scuff on the top of it. “Guess you didn’t have sex with her though, eh?”

Lex couldn’t believe what had just happened. His butler had pushed him so far that he had to actually fire the man for his insolence. He’d lost his best employee and now Clark was sitting there talking about kissing Chloe and if that wasn’t bad enough, about fucking her. The girl had had enough trouble getting over the farmboy and the whole damn thing between them and now this and Lex was going to lose his mind.

“You fucked her?” His eyes narrowed as he looked at the farmboy. “You’re fired, too.”

Oh NO! At this moment, I wanted to CRY for poor Chloe. I couldn’t imagine how horrible it must have been for her to have been used by TWO men that she loved deeply, but who only wanted her to satisfy a bit of temporary lust. The poor girls self-esteem must be completely in the gutter.

I don’t blame Lex for being so incredibly angry and outraged on Chloe’s behalf… but it would be nice if he could apply that same perspective onto himself too, instead of trying to explain, excuse and rationalize his thoughtlessness away.


“Oh really.” His voice was on the edge of wavering from the effort not to shout. “Right, of course,” he snapped. “When I fuck up, everyone is on my goddamn heels brandishing the pitchforks and torches, but when you fuck up, we shouldn’t be talking about this.”

Lex sneered in disgust, fed up with this entire situation and the fact that he had to explain his actions to someone who had absolutely no right to judge.

“And that is exactly why we’re not friends anymore,” he accused Clark as he sat up straighter on the couch, letting off some of the steam that had been building for years now. “This fucking hypocrisy and double standard bullshit that you’ve been pulling on me since the first time you couldn’t explain your actions without lying.” Lex remembered that day well. You didn’t forget the days where someone held a gun to your head and then caused you to dangle over an abyss of about a hundred feet. “And I know it’s all about your stupid fucking secret. Which by the way, I’ve almost got figured out anyway.”

heh, I can see that Lex is trying to deflect the attack away from himself by focusing on Clark’s faults, but he DOES have a point over here. I was so pleased to see him venting and ranting, and getting all these festering issues out into the open, FINALLY! It was so satisfying (probably for Lex as well as for BlueSabby’s readers).


Lex had mulled over it long enough to narrow it down to three options. Of course he’d like to know which of them it was, but he was pretty sure it could only be three things. Alien, meta-human or meteor mutant. Whichever it was, he had no idea why it justified lying into the face of someone you called friend.

LOL! I love that Lex has actually figured out what the whole ‘secret’ is really about. I always thought SV Lex was portrayed as an IDIOT for not being able to deduce the truth. It’s good to see THIS Lex putting that high IQ and obsessive regard for investigating and details to work.


The gloves were off now. And Clark, amazingly, felt great about it. There was so much shit between him and Lex at the moment, both stuff that only had to do with them and things that Chloe was entangled with that it felt good to just scream at Lex. Like he’d been doing to Clark.

“Stupid secret,” he yelled, finally letting himself go, “Stupid secret? Ok. I'm an alien, happy now?” He saw Lex recoil just slightly as he yelled that piece of information at Lex. “At least I don't go around kissing my best friends and then pretending that it doesn't mean anything.”

ROTFLMAO! Oh. My. HEAVENS! He told! I cannot believe he actually TOLD! *rubs eyes and re-reads to make sure* yep, he finally told to truth. YES!!! :clapclap:

And I really loved the way he just blurted the truth out because he was just so annoyed, angry, irritated and insanely TIRED of keeping up the pretense. It must have felt really good to finally let go.


“You know, that alien business would be so cool if I wasn’t busy hating you right now,” he admitted grudgingly.

His geekish side would love to lay in on Clark with all kinds of questions and possibly a few amusing tests and experiments, but he really was too busy being angry for that fucking stunt and Clark’s hypocrisy.

Lovely! I really liked how having the secret out in the open cleared the air between the two friends. NOW they can start talking about important things without getting side-tracked by the tired old dancing recriminations filled with ‘secrets and lies’.

LOL at the way Lex was just itching to grab Clark and start some in-depth exploration of his Alien Powers. Hmmm, I most sincerely DO hope he was planning on asking Clark’s permission before strapping him onto a lab-table and starting some of his ‘amusing experiments’… :p


“Riiight. The fact that you kissed her means nothing. The fact that you looked ready to come across the table at me when I led you to believe I fucked her?” Clark shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure that means nothing, too. Your reactions to her, both now and in the past, tell me all that I need to know, Lex, even if you’re not ready to admit it.”

*phew* I was EXTREMELY relieved upon finding out that Clark was just messing with Lex with he inferred that he had slept with Chloe. Thank GOD! I was seriously worried about the girl’s psyche after considering that she had her heart carelessly broken by TWO friends that she was devoted to.

Thank Heavens, it was just a trick. Heh, and I’m seriously impressed with Clark for his manipulations. This is extraordinarily subtle work from the farm-boy. A very cunning and sneaky way to find out exactly how Lex feels about Chloe, and how he would react to the news of her sleeping with someone else.


“Like the thought of hurting her devastates you.” It was the most obvious. Then there was, “how you even fucking look at her.” It had always unsettled him. The intensity that Lex leveled in her direction. Chloe shrugged it off. It was just the way Lex was, she explained.

my, my! Not only is this Clark sneaky, but he’s also observant and insightful. He’s still the dorky farmboy, but I’m actually seeing signs of the stalwart and determined truthseeker reporter he’s eventually going to become. Excellent characterization of Clark, BlueSabby :D *sigh* You brought my Superman back to me.


“Well of course I don’t want her to be hurt,” Lex defended himself. Devastated really was an exaggeration in his opinion. He didn’t do devastated. He did do pissed and offended, though. “And I don’t fucking look at her.” The way Clark had put emphasis on the word, he could only imagine what the farmboy associated with it.

He didn’t look at Chloe any differently than he did any of his other friends. He was sure he didn’t. So he looked her in the eyes and actually cared enough to show interest when she said something, whatever it was she happened to say. So what. That’s what one did with friends.

“She’s my best friend.” The statement came out with more conviction than anything else he’d said so far. “I care for her and of course I’d be ready to fucking strangle you if I thought you’d hurt her anymore than you already did. Not that I think strangling you would actually do any good.”

*disdainful snort* And Lex is STILL making excuses. Pathetic… Clark has come clean… Lex should really follow the boy’s example and try to practice a little honesty too. Good thing Enrique left the room, otherwise Lex might have been the recipient on another concussion right about now.

I don’t suppose BlueSabby can make a chandelier fall on his head, can they?


Clark leaned forward a little. “First off, yes, strangling me would do nothing but piss you off even more. You can also cross beating me to death, shooting me, dropping an anvil on my head, poisoning me with arsenic, stabbing me and setting me on fire off of your list. None would work.”

ROTFLMAO! I loved the combination of smugness and exasperation bleeding through Clark’s tone as he listed out all the ‘nyah nyah, can’t kill me with that’ items. Hilarious! :rofl:


He sat back in his chair. “And you’re right about something else. You don’t look at her.” Clark cocked his head to the side, considering what a better word would be. “You gaze at her,” he said, nodding. “That’s a much better description of it.”

Wow! If CLARK had noticed some ‘gazing’ taking place, it MUST be true! Heh, I guess this is why Enrique was so incredibly frustrated by the way Lex was dragging his heels about the potential Chlex relationship. The poor man-servant must have been in ‘agony’ for all this time.


“I’m lousy at dating,” Lex practically blurted out. “She’d hate me in a week flat and then where would I be?”

Oh, this was progress.

“So you now admit that you’ve thought about dating her? A woman who you claim to have only friendly feelings about?” Hanging around Chloe must have rubbed off on Clark. He felt like he was channeling her with all of the questions.

woo hoo! Clark’s making amazing headway in getting to the truth of the matter. I loved the thought about how he must be ‘channeling Chloe’ ROTFLOL!


Lex felt like he was on trial and the goddamn opponent attorney had just fucked him over on a minor slip. There was only one thing left to do. Spin control.

“Of course I thought about dating her. She’s hot, smart, funny,” Lex rattled off her best attributes then turned the sword around. “You thought about dating her, too, and you were disgustingly in love with Lana all the while.”

That had been a while back, granted, and during the time Clark had played the on again off again game until Lana had exploded like a light bulb, but that didn’t mean it didn’t count.

Eeee :D
Lex is feeling trapped now. He’s beginning to acknowledge that there ‘might’ be some truth to everything Clark is saying, but he’s still trying to slip, slide and evade reality. You have to admire a guy who so damned determined to hang onto his delusions like this.


“But,” he said, “If you’re not sure. If you doubt how you feel. You owe her at least a day of thinking that over. You owe her a whole lot more for saving you from that marriage. But I think she’d take a few hours of you thinking about what it is that you want from her.”

I thought this was the smartest suggestion Clark could have possibly made. He’s basically using Lex’s love for brooding against him by giving him some ‘constructive’ to brood upon. LOL!


His mind was working overtime now. “You’ve obviously thought about this already. You’ve come to this conclusion yourself and then gone in the opposite direction, I’d wager.” He had started dating Andrea rather abruptly. “Maybe right before you got involved with Andrea?”

Lex jerked slightly and his face changed. Clark didn’t know what it meant but it wasn’t important. He got to his feet. “I think I’ve said more than my fair share for the night. For the rest of the year maybe.”

I am sincerely impressed by Clark. He left on the best note possible. Challenging Lex to ‘consider and think carefully’ afterwards is the BEST way Clark could ensure that Lex would at least ‘consider’ the possibility that he might be in denial. I am in awe of Tipping-Clark.


Clark walked through the doors and then popped his head back in. “We can talk about the fact that I can fly tomorrow. Night, Lex.”

Lex was too dumbstruck for a moment to say anything in return. Clark had just announced he’d be stealing his cake and offhandedly mentioned he could fly. And even worse he’d made Lex think.

“I really strongly dislike you right now, Clark Kent!” he yelled out into the hallway as soon as he was capable of forming a coherent sentence. “Fucking alien.”

ROTFLMAO! I love it… Clark left getting the better of Lex in a verbal battle. He actually left Lex momentarily speechless, AND then, the best rebuttal Lex could come up with was an immature crack ‘fucking alien’. LOL! This is a day to be marked on the calendar. I don’t think Lex is EVER going to get over the humiliation of being verbally beaten by the alien farm-boy.


“Chloe,” he said, softly. She jumped a little and then turned around. “Hi.” Her voice sounded soft and she looked very small.

“Clark,” she said, “do not look at me like that or you may find your crotch on the business end of my knee.”

“Got it,” he said. “He’s in the dining room.” He bent over and kissed her on the cheek before pulling her into a hug.

“Clark,” she said, and he heard the warning tone in her voice.

awww, I loved how Clark was being all sweet, sympathetic and supportive over here. True, Chloe interpreted it all as pity, and therefore felt obliged the reject the gesture, but I’m sure a good part of her appreciated it all the same.


Remembering the reason she’d run out earlier, which again he only knew thanks to Clark, Lex was out of his chair in a second, meeting her halfway. “I was an ass,” he apologized, wondering how he could fix this. “But I didn’t mean it.”

He looked her over carefully, trying to judge how bad he’d messed up. His jaw clenched involuntarily at the sight of her slightly red eyes. She’d obviously been crying. “You didn’t drive the whole time, did you?” It was a stupid thing to worry about when she was obviously in one piece in front of him but the question was out of his mouth before it had checked in with his brain for logic.

“Lex, you have to stop…”

Chloe couldn’t quite say what she meant. The obvious concern and worry and apologetic stance made her chest tight. It made her want him all the more.

*sigh* That was an immensely sweet apology from Lex… The urge to drop a chandelier on him has lessened a ‘little’ bit. But it was quite rough seeing how his sweetness only made things harder for Chloe, because it only illustrated how WONDERFULLY he acts around people he cares about… it certainly didn’t make it easier for Chloe to fall OUT of love with him.


She couldn’t tell him to stop caring about her but she couldn’t get him to care about her more.

This part struck me as the saddest sentence in the chapter. How Chloe is grateful that she’s regarded with ‘special regard’ by Lex, but at the same time, it’s torture because she wants more of that regard that what he offers. Poor Chloe.


“Lex, what’s wrong?” She stared up at him, seeing if she could get anything from his face.

‘Uh oh’. Lex tried to smooth out his expression. There was no way he could tell her what Clark and he had been talking about without upsetting her. And the last thing he wanted was for her to run straight back out that door again.

“I think I had too much cake.” It was a lie, but a convincing one, considering he’d polished off almost the entire ground tier of the enormous thing.

He wished he could tell her about Enrique. It would be an even more convincing reason for him to be this unsettled, but there was no way he could explain about Enrique because of the reason he’d had to fire the man.

Heh, I can see how this whole business must be frustrating the HELL out of Lex. He probably wants to scream, whine and complain about the difficult, stunning and confusing day he’s just had… but he can’t say a word because Chloe is at the centre of his difficulties.

Heh, it’s only a matter of time before Chloe finds out about… well, everything. Starting with the whole ‘Clark finally blurted out the secret’ to the news about Enrique effectively quitting because he was so disgusted with the way Lex had mishandled Chloe.

I can’t wait to see her reaction when she realizes Enrique got fired because he was (sort of) defending her honour. I’m sure she’s going to rave at Lex and tell him to hire back Enrique… and then she’s probably going rage at Enrique, telling him it was STUPID to get himself fired for ‘insignificant little her’.

Heh, Enrique is not going to listen though. LOL!


“I don’t know if I’m equipped to deal with this. Again.” She had to tell him this. Had to explain. “I can’t guarantee that I’m not going to run out on you like I did tonight every time things get rough. I don’t think that it’s fair for you to have to deal with that.”

She snuck a glance over at him. “You shouldn’t have to apologize every time I have a little breakdown. So, I think that…”

I felt a considerable amount of despair after reading this. I thought I was witnessing the end of a lovely friendship over here. It was heart-breaking.


“No.”

The word came out firm and decisive before she could even finish that horrible sentence. She was not going to break up with him over this. “I’ll try to be better at this. And if you have to run off every once in a while I can live with that. It’s not your fault that this happened and I know you have that instinct to run off when it gets too much. That’s okay.” But only if she came back again. It was not okay, however, to break things off and just leave and not come back.

Of course he’d seen this coming. He’d known their friendship didn’t have a chance after she’d confessed her feelings for him. But now that the moment was here, Lex wasn’t willing to give up without a fight. There had to be a way to keep their friendship. He’d try his damnest not to trigger any uncomfortable shit and she could run off whenever he accidentally did. But he was not willing to let her go.

Oh GOOD! I was just sinking into despair from Chloe’s words, but Lex’s determination perked my hoped right back up again. I loved how understanding he was being, and how he assured Chloe that he was more than willing to accommodate any ‘surprising, hysterical and unreasonable’ reactions from her. This was basically the best kind of response he could have given her… telling her that she can act as crazy as she wanted, and there would be minimum embarrassment for her because he wouldn’t judge her for the irrational behaviour.


They needed a subject change. It didn’t matter that it would be totally forced. Anything was better than this. “So,” she said, “what are you wearing to the party?” It was totally and utterly lame. Possibly the lamest thing that she could say. Which was why she was going with it.

It got a small smile out of Lex and her hand crept over to steal the plate of cake that he hadn’t yet finished. She listened as he explained the intricacies of a tuxedo. That reminded Chloe. She needed a dress.

LOL over the subject change. Did they really go into talking about clothes? ROTFLMAO!


Lex was relieved that she’d agreed with his decision. He didn’t delude himself into thinking all was right and that things would be like they used to be, but the important thing was that she hadn’t insisted on leaving him. She would try and keep this friendship alive and there was nothing that was more important than that.

Damn it! Now I don’t want to throw a chandelier at him AT ALL! His sweetness, consideration… and his determination to hang onto the Chlex friendship made me melt and instantly forgive him for being a deluded, denial-filled prat. No wonder Chloe fell in love with him… he might be an idiot, but he’s an irresistible idiot!

I look forward to the next update. Please post soon.

Kaimore
12th June 2007, 18:55
I love this fic. It has very humorus lines(mainly when Clark and Lex talk to each other).

manny
14th June 2007, 10:42
I was crying so much that I could hardly read. More soon. Please

SVfan1286
20th June 2007, 01:43
Bring on some more angst, can't wait till Lex realizes his feeling for Chloe.
Please update again soon!

xxasaxx
22nd June 2007, 00:03
update soonish??? :yeahbaby:

BlueSabby
22nd June 2007, 22:10
A/N: Blue: A partay and a date. Enjoy!

A/N:Sabby: We've got some progress going on...except not really.


The party was in full ‘swing’ and Lex was still busy making the rounds, shaking hands and chatting it up with the more important guests. He kept up the façade of charming host with a smile and readily explained to everyone who was tactless enough to bring it up the reason why this was a charity event instead of the wedding that had been supposed to happen.

“Imagine my surprise to find out that my ex-bride had ulterior motives,” he’d said that very same sentence with slight variations countless times already.

Lex waited calmly for the reaction about to follow. By now, it was predictable in the range from raucous laughter to a sympathetic clucking of the tongue.

Since he was speaking to a group of women at the moment, he turned his gaze into the crowd, not needing to hear the sympathetic words and cattish barbs at Andrea they had to offer. He let his gaze roam, looking for a savior. He’d even consider Lana to fall into that category under the circumstances.

All he needed was one of the three to get him out of the gaggle of people. Of course he couldn’t find either of them anywhere in the near vicinity. Lex resigned himself to the fact that he would have to suffer until one of them, preferably Chloe, found him. He really wanted to sneak off and just get away from all this, at least for a few minutes. Was that too much to ask?

Of course if Chloe found him first, it might not be a good idea. Not that he was drunk or that anything would happen. It wouldn’t. He didn’t make the same mistake twice.

“It’s really a shame that you haven’t found the right woman yet. This is the third time, isn’t it?”

Lex suppressed a wince at the woman’s blunt but kindly meant comment.

“He looks like he’d rather be going through Chinese water torture,” Chloe said. From her and Lana’s vantage point, they could see Lex clearly. They were looking down at him from the top of a staircase that looked out on the dance floor.

“You said hello yet,” Lana asked in her best impression of a casual voice.

“Nope,” Chloe said. She hadn’t been avoiding him exactly. Just keeping her distance and mingling with the rest of the guests. But she’d make her rounds and it was time to bite the bullet.

“Chloe, if you just want to…” Lana wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be doing to be a good friend in this situation. The whole thing was very confusing.

Chloe shook her head. “I’m good,” she finished her glass of champagne and handed it to Lana. “I’m going in.”

“Roger that,” Lana said as she watched Chloe descend the stairs. Clark had told her about a kiss between Chloe and Lex. She wished Chloe would bring it up. That would free Lana from pretending not to know about it.

She watched Chloe approach Lex and held her breath. Chloe looked amazing. Much better than anyone else there, in Lana’s opinion. She wanted to make sure she could see Lex’s face when he saw Chloe. When the man wasn’t thinking about how he should react, how he shouldn’t react and what his reactions meant, Lana was sure that what she saw would be telling.

Lex felt a hand touch his shoulder blade and automatically turned around to step back from whoever thought they were important enough to touch him.

His eyebrows flew up as he caught sight of Chloe in the probably most amazing dress he’d ever seen her wear. “Hey,” he said with a smile, then immediately caught himself.

What the hell was he supposed to say now and how was he supposed to say it so it didn’t come out wrong. “You look great. Where’ve you been hiding?” There, that was friendly enough without using any of the words that could form into a sling around his neck, right? Right.

“Thanks. I’ve been around mingling” she said, causally. “Watching Clark try to pick up the various ladies is highly amusing. Though, I think he did get a bite,” she said, pointing over to where Clark was talking to a rather attractive woman.

A man came into Chloe’s field of vision in front of Clark. He caught sight of her and waved. To be polite, she waved back. Kenneth Driesden. One of the men that Lex had warned her away from. He’d cornered her about half an hour ago. She quickly turned her attention back to Lex.

“What about you, any old woman try to set you up with her daughter or her granddaughter?” Lex looked very good himself. But was she supposed to say that or would it just make him more uncomfortable.

“God, could they look any more awkward?” Lana didn’t ask the question to anyone in particular. But she had seen Lex’s reaction to Chloe. Another little fact to be filed away for later.

Lex’s eyes narrowed at Driesden for a moment, but since the man had moved on and not tried to come over, it was okay. He looked back at Chloe and gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulder at her question.

“They’re too busy clucking over my bad luck and ripping Andrea to shreds.”

They’d moved away from the group of women he’d been talking to, so it was okay to speak openly. Lex looked over at Clark for a moment, not surprised to see him scuffing a hole in the non existent carpet. “I get the feeling Clark bit off more than he can chew, though.”

The woman in question that was looking amused at Clark’s antics was one of the daughters of a business partner. The name escaped him at the moment, but the millions belonged to MacPaltry.

“He’ll be fine,” Chloe said. “I think you underestimate how charming that whole country bumpkin thing can be to a woman. It’s all about the body language.”

As Chloe spoke the woman laughed and briefly touched Clark on the arm. “He’s so in,” she said, mischievously smiling up at Lex.

When Lex mentioned his ex, it struck Chloe that she hadn’t heard anything about the woman since everything had been called off. “Lex, have you spoken with Andrea since everything happened? Did she try to write the whole thing off?”

Lex looked down at his champagne glass. Should he have spoken to Andrea? It never even occurred to him to do so. “My lawyer took care of the necessities. There was nothing left for her to claim at the manor so…” He shrugged again, not really sure how to say it in a round about way. “No, I haven’t spoken to her since the day you showed me her true colors.”

It still left a bitter taste in his mouth, that day, and he tried to wash it down with the champagne in his hand. That goddamn bitch could have had it well. If she’d been honest with him about her financial problems, he might even have accepted them. He hadn’t planned to marry her out of love, after all. But if there was one thing he didn’t forgive it was deceit.

At that moment Clark managed to stumble over his own feet and Lex watched in horrific fascination as one of the big farmboy paws landed with impossible precision on the breast of the MacPaltry heiress. He winced and waited for the slap. Only it never happened.

“That boy has more luck than brains,” he said in awe as he watched the woman laugh it off and take Clark’s misplaced hand into hers.

Something occurred to Chloe. “What if it’s all an act?” She gestured over to Clark. “How amazing would it be if he were some evil mastermind who had us all fooled?”

Discussing Andrea didn’t appear to be a good idea. Lex got all moody and broody. Much like the man who had been approaching them but was intercepted by another man who shook his hand and smiled widely.
Chloe knew that Bruce Wayne was on his way over to see Lex. Which meant she should make herself scarce if she didn’t want to see some sort of juvenile pissing contest.

Unless Lex wanted her to run interference. “You want to be alone with Bruce Wayne or do you need backup?”

Lex bit the inside of his cheek. “How close is he?” After all he’d had to suffer in the way of society the last thing he needed right now was Bruce Wayne and his ‘I’m so much better than you’ attitude. Even as he asked, he started walking, not turning around to see how close the man in question was.

“I’m really not in the mood for a ‘mine’s bigger than yours’ discussion right now,” he explained in a low voice as he took Chloe’s arm and lead her in the direction of the next best exit.

Chloe snuck a glance over her shoulder. Mr. Wayne was still hung up with that other guy. But he was staring over at her and Lex. She turned away and rolled her eyes. Great, yet another person who would be told by Lex that she meant nothing to him. That they were just friends.

It appeared as if she wasn’t feeling sad about it tonight but bitter and angry. She took a deep breath and let it out. She needed to see a shrink or something. The advice she got from Clark and Lana was fine and good but they were both acting very strange lately. Like they were holding something back.

She’d been desperate about two days ago and unleashed everything. On her dad. Poor man hadn’t even known what to say.

“He’s still busy with that other guy,” she said as Lex led her through three doors. They came out, somehow, on the other end of the dance floor. “Nice move,” she said.

Lex leaned back against the wall and relaxed marginally, now that they were out of the line of fire. “Thanks,” he acknowledged Chloe’s compliment, even though it had sounded a bit sarcastic. “And thanks for the warning about Bruce. He’s gotten worse since he hooked up with that woman. The last thing I need now is his immature posturing.”

He looked Chloe over and allowed himself to appreciate her dress while she looked around the room. It was truly gorgeous and there was no doubt she’d caught quite a few eyes already. Some of the upper class heiresses had to be green with envy. Lex grinned.

The grin fell however, as he realized he didn’t know what to say to Chloe, now that they were alone. She’d pulled back from him ever since that incident with the cake. Not completely, but noticeably. And he spent all the time around her trying to steer clear of all things that might hurt her. Which made conversation that much more difficult.

He would love to ask her what she thought about the auction. Especially of the fact that the size four wedding gown had been sold to a size ten fifty year old woman who still pretended to be thirty. But bringing up anything that had to do with the wedding would only hurt her, so it wasn’t an option.

Thoughts that had been triggered by his conversation with Clark were also still running through his mind. Between organizing the last minute details of this event and trying to salvage his friendship with Chloe, he hadn’t had much time to properly think about it.

Last night he’d stooped low enough to pull out the dictionary. However the definition of love found in Webster’s was so clinical and vague; he’d thrown the heavy tome at the nearest wall with a frustrated growl. ‘Various forms of emotional and reciprocal attachments between humans’, indeed.

Chloe looked around the room and it was hard to miss the way that some of the men were looking at her. Lana had told her that it was required that she spoke to at least seven, Chloe had no idea why the number was seven, eligible bachelors. She’d already gotten three out of the way. And had also gotten a date out of it.

Life went on and she was forced to go along with it. She knew she should tell Lex. She didn’t know how she was going to do that or why she should, she just knew that it had to be done.

The decision was taken out of Chloe’s hands a few moments later. They’d gotten very far away from Bruce which had taken them closer to another man. Dexter Clarke. The man that Chloe had made a date with. Apparently, though, they’d forgotten to exchange numbers. She remembered that fact as he approached her.

“Lex, I...” was as far as she got before Dexter reached them. “Hi, Lex,” he said, looking around Chloe. “Sorry to interrupt.” He looked back down at Chloe. “I forgot to get your number.” He smiled in a disarmingly sweet way which clearly indicated that he thought himself a fool for forgetting that.

He took a small notebook out of his pocket along with a heavy, expensive pen. Chloe quickly scrawled her cell number on the notebook and handed it back to him. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll call you about Saturday.” It looked as if he was about to leave but then he quickly leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

Lex’s brow arched as he watched the exchange between Chloe and Dexter. Dexter Clarke, 25, handsome, only son of Charles and Bridget Clarke, following in his father’s footsteps to become a lawyer. Substantial net worth, no scandals that Lex was aware of, and he would be aware if there were any. Single, and apparently planning on a date with Chloe.

He didn’t know what to think of it. Surely, it was a good sign that Chloe was willing to get back on the horse of dating. If she fell in love with Dexter, they could return to the friendship they had before she fell in love with him. However, if the two hit it off just a little too well and she did fall in love with Dexter and this turned into something like a serious relationship… Dexter Clarke lived in Massachusetts. Maybe this date was not such a good idea, after all.

But Lex couldn’t say anything. He had no right to tell her who to date and who not to. But couldn’t she have picked someone who at least lived in Kansas? There were enough Metropolis high society boys around to pick from. Okay so most of them weren’t really what he wanted for her, either, but at least they weren’t from the East Coast.

Again, he had no right to judge or dictate her choices. But seriously, a lawyer? From Massachusetts?

His hands had ended up in the pockets of his tuxedo slacks and he knew his face had smoothed out into a blank mask. Small mercy to have a game face when he was mulling over things that he didn’t want others to be aware of.

“Dexter Clarke, hm? Not a bad pick,” he offered with a smirk.

The hands being shoved in the pockets was a dead giveaway. Lex wasn’t pleased with what was happening. She didn’t know why, but she knew that he wasn’t being honest with her. She wondered if she could push their already fragile relationship by asking for what he really thought.

“But not a good one, either,” she asked. Lex looked put off by the question. She took a step closer and leaned in as she whispered to him. “You may be able to fool everyone else with that non expressive face of yours, Lex,” she looked up at him, “but I know you better.”

“What is it this time?” She really needed to know because…“If he’s some crazy freak, or heavy into drugs or women or men I’d like to know before I go out with him.”

Lex shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. He’s a decent guy, from a good family. Uprising lawyer, intelligent. No scandals.” And Lex wished there was at least something shifty about the guy. He couldn’t very well tell Chloe that his major concern was the fact that the man didn’t sit well with him because he lived a handful of states away. It was ridiculous. But it was. “You’ll like him.” Just hopefully not too much, not enough to move to Massachusetts at least.

Chloe shook her head, she was starting to get angry. “What aren’t you telling me, Lex?” Something weird was going on. If there was a flaw to the man, Lex would usually have no problem telling her that. In great detail. But he was still holding something back.

And it pissed her off. Was he protecting her? Shielding her from something she needed to know. And that was when a fact that she didn’t want to face hit her. She didn’t trust Lex.

That had never been an issue until now. But here he was, hands in his pockets, not making eye contact with her and not telling her something that she thought she needed to know. He only clamed up like this when it was something important.

Lex remained silent. “Fine,” she nodded once and then started to storm off.

And there she went, running off again. He wasn’t going to run after her. There was no use in doing that when he couldn’t clear the air between them. It was just so fucked up. She’d go and let off some steam and he’d go and get himself a drink.

Cracking his neck once, he watched her storm off until she vanished into the crowd then made his way to the bar. ‘Fucking Dexter Clarke,’ he thought. The snarl he emitted unconsciously was enough to keep his path clear. “Double scotch, no ice.”

He stared into his drink before he downed it, wondering if it would have been better to mention why he didn’t like the idea of her dating Dexter. Of course with Chloe, chances were good that she would have stormed off either way. “Another.”

Why the hell did she have to go and fall in love with him? Why couldn’t things have stayed the same? Things had been good. Of course that should have been the biggest clue that an anvil was about to drop. Things around Lex always tended to blow up spectacularly in his face whenever he least expected it.

He downed his second drink and wished for this sad excuse of a party to be over already.

His thoughts turned dark around his fourth glass of scotch. So she wanted to date Dexter Clarke from Massachusetts? Fine, great. He’d go find himself some chick from Nebraska and see how she liked the thought of that. He should get back on the dating horse anyway. Not that he really felt the urge, but it would keep the hounds at bay.

~~

On his fifth scotch, Lex had discarded the idea of finding a woman from Nebraska, but was still browsing the attending females for candidates. The best thing to do in this currently fucked up situation was to find himself a date and move on.

There were more than enough available, but only a few that seemed suitable and out of those only a handful were brunette. Upon closer inspection, including small talk and the necessary compliments, that handful turned out to be incredibly shallow and annoying.

Dissatisfied with the results of his hunt, Lex returned to the bar for more scotch.

Lana downed her third glass of champagne and kept her eyes rooted to the bar. It seemed as if Lex didn’t think he’d had enough. He was wrong.

The man was clearly drunk. And if she could see it, so could everyone else. A few weeks ago she would have been inclined to help him. She wasn’t sure she was anymore. Especially after Chloe had dragged her into a corner and blown through what had happened between them. After the blow by blow, Chloe had left and Lana had gone looking for the bald idiot.

Her first instinct had been right. She’d watched as he’d hit on tall brunette after tall brunette. Each one more whorish than the next. After he smiled at a woman who was clearly a high priced hooker, Lana had had enough.

It wasn’t that she cared all that much about Lex. She cared about Chloe, Chloe cared about Lex and so by the law of syllogism….

“How’s the whore hunt going,” Lana asked, rather loudly so the woman with her hand on Lex’s arm could hear, as she approached the bar. She looked at the woman’s hand. “Wow, that’s a pretty big rock. Where, exactly, is your husband?”

She looked the woman up and down, taking in her garb. “Perhaps at the pharmacy, refilling your script for penicillin?”

Without waiting for an answer she grabbed Lex’s arm and jerked him away from the woman. “We need to talk.”

Lex had been talking to a woman, but then some dervish in a pretty dress had him by the arm and was pulling him somewhere else. It took him a second look to figure out that the dervish was Lana. He must have had too much to drink.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked the irate brunette as he removed his arm from her well manicured grip.

Then it hit him. If Lana had grabbed him and gone out of her way to drag him somewhere else to ‘talk’ something had to be wrong. This was still Smallville, after all.

“Shit, did something happen? Is Chloe alright?”

He could feel the alcohol receding from his system, fast. A crisis of the mutant kind was not something you could deal with when drunk. Lex had learned that the hard way.

Faced with such a nonspecific question, Lana decided she’d do what was best for Chloe. “Yes, something happened to Chloe and I’m not sure if she’s alright.”

She waited for Lex to have a reaction, it didn’t take all that long, and then she spoke again.

“You feel that? That sick feeling, your heart racing, the wondering if she’s ok,” Lana leaned in closer as she spoke, “hold onto that. It means that you care about her. More than any other person in this room or in the sorry excuse that passes for your life at this moment.”

Lana recognized the rage in his face. She was treading in very dangerous waters. “I told you not to hurt her. Why do you keep doing it? I know that you’re self destructive to a fault but it’s time to sack up and be a man. That means facing what you’re most afraid of.”

“So,” Lana stood up straight, “while you continue to find anyone to date you who isn’t Chloe maybe you should ask yourself why that’s the first reaction you have when you find out she has a date. Night, Lex.”

Lana let out a long breath as she made her way out of the party. Hopefully, Lex wouldn’t have her killed for what she’d just done.

He was completely sober now. Fury was slowly overcoming the terror he’d felt not a minute earlier. The terror Lana had induced with her idea of a “wake up call”. Only that she was way off in her assumptions about the reasons for his fear when he thought something had happened to Chloe.

Of course his heart had stopped and then summer-saulted back into motion when the worst case scenario of Chloe dead somewhere in or around the manor had seared through his brain. She’d been his best friend for years.

And the last words they had spoken to each other had been in anger.

Maybe he shouldn’t have let Chloe storm off after all.

But Lana was a nasty little bitch who’d taken advantage of his feelings towards Chloe for her own purposes.

Lex’s eyes narrowed. He would think of something to pay the conniving wench back for that.

And who was she to make presumptions about his feelings, anyway?

He’d had enough of this night. There was no suitable date to be found in this 21st century version of a decadent soiree. They could find their own way out at the end of the night and he’d played nice for long enough.

Straightening out his jacket, Lex made his way towards the doors with determination. He’d find someone tomorrow. The sooner both he and Chloe had someone else to focus on romantically, the better.

~~

As it turned out, fate must have taken a vacation day and spared Lex his daily dose of ‘things going to hell in a hand basket’. During a social call with a business acquaintance, Lex had acquired a date.

She was a shrink from California who needed a date for the opening of the new wing at the Historical Museum of Metropolis. He was a guy who needed a date, period. It had worked out for the best.

They’d spent the better part of the afternoon criticizing ancient art and pottery, followed by an invitation to dinner that she had happily accepted. The conversation so far had been pleasant and on an intellectual level Lex normally didn’t get to enjoy unless he was with Chloe.

Felicity had complimented him on his choice of wine and Lex returned the compliment on her choice of the main course, for both of them. He had no problem with emancipated women, as long as they didn’t read him the riot act when he opened the door for them or tried to help them into their coat.

“The crème caramel was a good choice for dessert. The last time I was here, Chloe made the mistake of ordering chocolate cake, thinking it was a safe choice. Let’s just say their interpretation of cake is unique.”

He shot a smirk at his conversation partner before bringing the spoon to his mouth. The crème really was excellent.

Another mention of the mysterious ‘Chloe.’ Earlier in the evening Felicity had excused herself and called her friend. She needed to know if Lex Luthor was going out with her in order to get back at some society woman. A picture of him in the gossip pages with her in order to incite some jealousy. Or maybe revenge.

Her friend had assured her that wasn’t the case. Then she’d asked if her friend knew who this Chloe was. That’s where things had gotten interesting.

One Chloe Sullivan. A female friend of Lex Luthor’s for years. A few years younger than the man who was sitting before her. By all accounts, nothing was going on between them. But Felicity had heard enough to draw up her own opinion.

She was a shrink, after all. And Lex Luthor needed her help on many levels. Hell, on every level but no more so than dealing with his unresolved feelings about Chloe.

Felicity wasn’t sure if he was obsessed with the woman, in love with her or a combination of both. But there was clearly something going on here. Which stood in the way of anything going on between them. She wasn’t interested in getting involved with another emotionally unavailable man.

“What did Chloe think of the cake,” she asked in a neutral tone. The answer would do a great deal in determining if Lex was hopelessly in love with the woman or if the authorities needed to be notified because he was a day away from keeping her head in a box for his very own.

Lex put his spoon away and folded his hands on the table. He couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth as he remembered that afternoon.

“Well, after her initial reaction of ‘What is that supposed to be’, and the waiter assuring her that it was indeed the chocolate cake she had ordered…” he trailed off with a small chuckle remembering the confused looks on the faces of both Chloe and the waiter.

“She told me to pay and the next thing I knew we were on our way to this small Jewish bakery halfway across town so we could get some <I>real</I> chocolate cake, instead of some ‘French Art Nouveau disguising as dessert’.”

The drive had been worth it though. Lex didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but that cake had been amazing, and Chloe’s antics and enthusing had amused him to no end. She had a tendency to go from serious to silly in no time flat, and silliness was something his life had been sorely lacking before Chloe came around.

“It was worth it. You see, she likes to make me try things just for the hell of it, or because I mention that I haven’t tried them before.” Lex thought of the infamous Twinkie-incident with a half smile. “It’s a hit and miss thing, but lucky for me there’ve been more hits, so far.”

He on the other hand, was mostly responsible for the misses. Another incident involving cake came to mind; and of course his overreaction last night. Lex still didn’t like the idea of Chloe dating Dexter, but he could admit that his imagination had run away with him. There was no reason to fear the worst, just because of one date that would probably lead nowhere, fast.

Felicity wished that she had her pad in order to take notes with. This was surprising indeed. The man didn’t have the look about him that she’d seen with other psychopaths who were convinced that, if given the chance, the woman of their dreams could and would be with them for all time.

Instead, he looked like a man recounting a favorite story of his in regards to one he held dear. However, she got the feeling Lex was not aware of this himself. That wasn’t all that unique in a man, though. They tended to lean towards idiocy.

He spoke fondly of this other woman. But also very carefully. There was something going on between the two of them. But not romantically.

She nodded. “It’s important to keep yourself open to new experiences.” That’s why she’d agreed to go on this date. She’d never gone out with a man worth so much money.

The date had been going relatively well. They’d fallen into companionable conversations. But there hadn’t been any spark and she felt as if Lex was holding himself back. Yes, that was his M.O. but she thought that Chloe had more to do with it. Even though she and Lex were sitting together alone, there were definitely three people on this date.

“Your friend sounds like a lot of fun,” she said, smiling. “I’m surprised you wouldn’t rather be out with her.”

“Why would I?” Lex was surprised by the question. Had he made a faux pas somewhere during this date? Not likely. He hadn’t pegged Felicity for the insecure type, though, either. “I happen to enjoy your company immensely; in fact I never would have thought that a blind-date could turn out so well.”

Of course there was also the fact that Chloe wasn’t speaking to him at the moment. He had tried calling her in between the meeting with his acquaintance and this date. He had even spoken on her voice mail. But his private cell phone hadn’t given a sign of life the entire day. So she hadn’t called back and was now probably enjoying herself on her own date. Peachy.

Overcompensation, a classic move. Felicity hadn’t meant to sound insulted or put off. She was actually very curious about his answer. “Thank you very much,” she said, smiling. “I’m having a fine time, too.” Too bad she hadn’t gotten here before this Chloe person. She and Lex might have been a good match.

She’d drop the whole inquisition for now. Usually when someone was this far in denial they had to pull themselves out of it before any headway could happen. Or have someone to help them and Lex didn’t strike her as the type that had people egging him on to not be a fool.

They would finish their date, she’d say goodnight and hope that he didn’t want to see her again. Or, if he did, she’d make it clear that they should be friends and no more. Of course, she might have to play some defense at the end of the date. Lex probably thought it was going well and would try something when he dropped her off. That ought to be interesting.

westwingwolf
22nd June 2007, 22:56
I know Lex doesn't notice that he's falling in love, if not already in love, with Chloe, but he's got to recognize it soon right? No, he'll probably continue to be an idiot for a long while.

Clark as a secret evil mastermind is a scary thought, but when Lana is the smartest in the bunch, then that is a sad state of affairs. I've never said this before, but I hope nothing bad happens to Lana.

I'm glad that Chloe is trying to move on. I hope it makes Lex suffer because that is the only way that he's going to pull his head out of his ass.

Are we done with Andrea or is there a chance that she's going to try and get revenge on Chloe?

xxasaxx
23rd June 2007, 00:14
Lex is a dumbass!:eek:

somethingeasy
23rd June 2007, 00:28
I just got home after a long, stressful day, and I was immediately re-vitalized by this amazing chapter of TP. It was an incredible read, BlueSabby… this fic keeps getting better with every new update.

I actually have time tonight to write a ‘semi-detailed’ review to show my appreciation for this lovely chapter too. Perfect timing!


“It’s really a shame that you haven’t found the right woman yet. This is the third time, isn’t it?”

Lex suppressed a wince at the woman’s blunt but kindly meant comment.

I was really quite impressed with the suave, smooth way Lex was handling the stupidly tactless questions about why the wedding was changed into a charity. He was handling it really well… LOL! Expecially considering that THIS was an example one of the ‘kindly meant’ questions directed towards him tonight.


“Roger that,” Lana said as she watched Chloe descend the stairs. Clark had told her about a kiss between Chloe and Lex. She wished Chloe would bring it up. That would free Lana from pretending not to know about it.

Can I mention how much PLEASURE I am getting from seeing Lana acting as an observant, sympathetic and considerate friend. It’s lovely seeing her behaving like a genuinely decent person instead of a pseudo demi-goddess.


Lex felt a hand touch his shoulder blade and automatically turned around to step back from whoever thought they were important enough to touch him.

ROTFLMAO! ‘whoever thought they were important enough to touch him’???? Oh DO have him say this out loud, JUST to check out Chloe’s outraged reaction to his pomposity. LOL!


“God, could they look any more awkward?” Lana didn’t ask the question to anyone in particular. But she had seen Lex’s reaction to Chloe. Another little fact to be filed away for later.

heeee, I noticed Lex’s reaction to Chloe in the dress, LANA noticed it… It must have been super-obvious to everyone except Chloe and Lex *resists urge to strangle them*


They’d moved away from the group of women he’d been talking to, so it was okay to speak openly. Lex looked over at Clark for a moment, not surprised to see him scuffing a hole in the non existent carpet. “I get the feeling Clark bit off more than he can chew, though.”

The woman in question that was looking amused at Clark’s antics was one of the daughters of a business partner. The name escaped him at the moment, but the millions belonged to MacPaltry.

“He’ll be fine,” Chloe said. “I think you underestimate how charming that whole country bumpkin thing can be to a woman. It’s all about the body language.”

As Chloe spoke the woman laughed and briefly touched Clark on the arm. “He’s so in,” she said, mischievously smiling up at Lex.

ROTFLMAO! I loved this bit if ‘side-drama’ showing off new and interesting aspects of Clark Kent. It IS fascinating to see him being utterly irresistible to women by being his normal, stuttering, bashful, blundering self. Hilarious too.


Lex looked down at his champagne glass. Should he have spoken to Andrea? It never even occurred to him to do so. “My lawyer took care of the necessities. There was nothing left for her to claim at the manor so…” He shrugged again, not really sure how to say it in a round about way. “No, I haven’t spoken to her since the day you showed me her true colors.”

It still left a bitter taste in his mouth, that day, and he tried to wash it down with the champagne in his hand. That goddamn bitch could have had it well. If she’d been honest with him about her financial problems, he might even have accepted them. He hadn’t planned to marry her out of love, after all. But if there was one thing he didn’t forgive it was deceit.

Chloe asked a good question over here. I was also wondering about what happened to Andrea, and whether she had the chance to explain her point of view before having her wedding dress sold off. I guess this answers all those questions. Although, it might have been interesting to have ‘personally’ met Andrea in this fic, rather than just ‘hearing’ about her.


At that moment Clark managed to stumble over his own feet and Lex watched in horrific fascination as one of the big farmboy paws landed with impossible precision on the breast of the MacPaltry heiress. He winced and waited for the slap. Only it never happened.

“That boy has more luck than brains,” he said in awe as he watched the woman laugh it off and take Clark’s misplaced hand into hers.

ROTFLMAO at this by-play. I could easily imagine such a scene too. And I can also imagine Clark’s utterly humiliated expression and him stuttering out apologies a mile a minute for his clumsiness… AND I can even imagine the most glacier cold society queen melting under his adorable entreaties for forgiveness. LOL!


Something occurred to Chloe. “What if it’s all an act?” She gestured over to Clark. “How amazing would it be if he were some evil mastermind who had us all fooled?”

I was howling as I was ROTFLMAO! This ‘could’ actually be a possibility. We’ll have to look into it later. LOL!


Unless Lex wanted her to run interference. “You want to be alone with Bruce Wayne or do you need backup?”

Lex bit the inside of his cheek. “How close is he?” After all he’d had to suffer in the way of society the last thing he needed right now was Bruce Wayne and his ‘I’m so much better than you’ attitude. Even as he asked, he started walking, not turning around to see how close the man in question was.

“I’m really not in the mood for a ‘mine’s bigger than yours’ discussion right now,” he explained in a low voice as he took Chloe’s arm and lead her in the direction of the next best exit.

LOL! Oh, poor Lex… is he really HIDING from a confrontation with Bruce Wayne? It would have been fun to have seen the Gotham Billionaire making all kinds of subtly snide remarks about Lex’s choice in women. It would have been even MORE fun to have seen him flirting with Chloe, and seen Lex bristling about the attention being paid to her.


It appeared as if she wasn’t feeling sad about it tonight but bitter and angry. She took a deep breath and let it out. She needed to see a shrink or something. The advice she got from Clark and Lana was fine and good but they were both acting very strange lately. Like they were holding something back.

well, gee, I wonder WHAT the two of them could have been hiding from Chloe. Heh, I take it that the Clana have not shared their suspicions about Lex’s TRUE feelings for Chloe with Chloe? It makes sense, it would have been incredibly cruel of them to raise her hopes based on nothing more than a suspicion… albeit a VERY strong suspicion.


Lex leaned back against the wall and relaxed marginally, now that they were out of the line of fire. “Thanks,” he acknowledged Chloe’s compliment, even though it had sounded a bit sarcastic. “And thanks for the warning about Bruce. He’s gotten worse since he hooked up with that woman. The last thing I need now is his immature posturing.”

rats! It seems like Wayne’s spoken for. Darn! There goes the possibility of Chruce romance to drive Lex insane.


Last night he’d stooped low enough to pull out the dictionary. However the definition of love found in Webster’s was so clinical and vague; he’d thrown the heavy tome at the nearest wall with a frustrated growl. ‘Various forms of emotional and reciprocal attachments between humans’, indeed.

ROTFLMAO! That is SUCH a ‘lex thing’ to do… to try and make up for a lack of emotional development by trying t compensate with ‘book learning’… only to find it to be completely inadequate.

I also had a giggle at the image of a desperate size-10 lady buying a size-4 wedding dress. Heh, hope springs eternal, huh?

And I gave a sigh of mingled frustration and regret at seeing the awkwardness between the two of them. This lovely friendship is not faring very well under the current circumstances… Let’s hope ONE of them manages to move past the emotional block.



Chloe looked around the room and it was hard to miss the way that some of the men were looking at her. Lana had told her that it was required that she spoke to at least seven, Chloe had no idea why the number was seven, eligible bachelors. She’d already gotten three out of the way. And had also gotten a date out of it.

LOL! I loved the suggestion (order?) that Lana gave to CHloe about talking to at least seven eligible men at this party. It was actually GOOD, insightful and clever advice. Can I say how strange (but still wonderful) it is to see the Clex being the clever, insightful manipulators in the gang, while Chloe and Lex are the complete dullard dupes who can’t see past their noses?

And Chloe got a date out of Lana’s advice too! Excellent!!!!!


“But not a good one, either,” she asked. Lex looked put off by the question. She took a step closer and leaned in as she whispered to him. “You may be able to fool everyone else with that non expressive face of yours, Lex,” she looked up at him, “but I know you better.”

heeeee :D LOVED this! I loved that Lex was not able to hide his disapproval from Chloe. And how she totally called him on it.


Lex shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. He’s a decent guy, from a good family. Uprising lawyer, intelligent. No scandals.” And Lex wished there was at least something shifty about the guy. He couldn’t very well tell Chloe that his major concern was the fact that the man didn’t sit well with him because he lived a handful of states away. It was ridiculous. But it was. “You’ll like him.” Just hopefully not too much, not enough to move to Massachusetts at least.

heh, it’s rather fun (in a frustrating kind of way) to see Lex being so stubborn about denying his own feelings. He feels jealous about another man going out with Chloe, and he’s afraid to lose her to another guy… and yet he’s STILL nowhere near ready to admit that his possessiveness lies beyond ‘friendship status’.


Cracking his neck once, he watched her storm off until she vanished into the crowd then made his way to the bar. ‘Fucking Dexter Clarke,’ he thought. The snarl he emitted unconsciously was enough to keep his path clear. “Double scotch, no ice.”

I LOL and got a lovely thrill from seeing Lex’s jealousy push itself to the fore like this.


His thoughts turned dark around his fourth glass of scotch. So she wanted to date Dexter Clarke from Massachusetts? Fine, great. He’d go find himself some chick from Nebraska and see how she liked the thought of that. He should get back on the dating horse anyway. Not that he really felt the urge, but it would keep the hounds at bay.

oh NO! And he doesn’t see how fundamentally WRONG it is that he’s suddenly decided to start drinking and scoring himself a ‘fuck-partner’ in direct response to hearing about Chloe’s date? How STUPID is he??!!!! How can he not see that it’s jealousy that is driving him on this self-destructive tantrum?


There were more than enough available, but only a few that seemed suitable and out of those only a handful were brunette. Upon closer inspection, including small talk and the necessary compliments, that handful turned out to be incredibly shallow and annoying.

*derisive snort* I would probably feel a lot more sorry for Lex’s lack of luck in finding intelligent women if I didn’t know that he was IGNORING the beautiful, intelligent and much loved woman in his life because he was too scared to pursue something substantial with her.

Heh, it was actually satisfying seeing him strike out in finding a date for the evening.


The man was clearly drunk. And if she could see it, so could everyone else. A few weeks ago she would have been inclined to help him. She wasn’t sure she was anymore. Especially after Chloe had dragged her into a corner and blown through what had happened between them. After the blow by blow, Chloe had left and Lana had gone looking for the bald idiot.

Her first instinct had been right. She’d watched as he’d hit on tall brunette after tall brunette. Each one more whorish than the next. After he smiled at a woman who was clearly a high priced hooker, Lana had had enough.

Wow! I thought Lex’s reaction was extreme after hearing about it from his side… but seeing his behaviour from Lana’s perspective really brought it home how HOPELESSLY besotted he is with Chloe. He’s actually in some desperate form of despair after finding out about Chloe’s impending date, and he’s trying to fill the void with extremely excessive amounts of boozing and whoring. Rather sad and pathetic really.


“How’s the whore hunt going,” Lana asked, rather loudly so the woman with her hand on Lex’s arm could hear, as she approached the bar. She looked at the woman’s hand. “Wow, that’s a pretty big rock. Where, exactly, is your husband?”

She looked the woman up and down, taking in her garb. “Perhaps at the pharmacy, refilling your script for penicillin?”

ROTFLMAO! Oh.My. Heavens! Lana’s got Snark?! And it’s good snark too! I am so incredibly impressed and HAPPY by this revelation.


Faced with such a nonspecific question, Lana decided she’d do what was best for Chloe. “Yes, something happened to Chloe and I’m not sure if she’s alright.”

She waited for Lex to have a reaction, it didn’t take all that long, and then she spoke again.

“You feel that? That sick feeling, your heart racing, the wondering if she’s ok,” Lana leaned in closer as she spoke, “hold onto that. It means that you care about her. More than any other person in this room or in the sorry excuse that passes for your life at this moment.”

oh WOW! That was just… BRILLIANT! Well done! Well-played! This is manipulation and word play of the highest calibre… worthy of Lionel Luthor himself.


“So,” Lana stood up straight, “while you continue to find anyone to date you who isn’t Chloe maybe you should ask yourself why that’s the first reaction you have when you find out she has a date. Night, Lex.”

I was so sure that Lex wouldn’t be able to deny the truth coming forth from Lana. It was so insightfully dead on the mark, and so obvious… I didn’t imagine he could continue to deny the truth staring at him in the face.


He was completely sober now. Fury was slowly overcoming the terror he’d felt not a minute earlier. The terror Lana had induced with her idea of a “wake up call”. Only that she was way off in her assumptions about the reasons for his fear when he thought something had happened to Chloe.

Of course his heart had stopped and then summer-saulted back into motion when the worst case scenario of Chloe dead somewhere in or around the manor had seared through his brain. She’d been his best friend for years.

AAAAAaaaaargh!!! I officially Give. Up! If Lana’s brilliant words of truth, reason and sense cannot knock sense in Lex, NOTHING will. His sense of denial is greater and stronger than any amount of lectures, sermons, interventions and wake-up calls being offered by any number of his closest friends.


Straightening out his jacket, Lex made his way towards the doors with determination. He’d find someone tomorrow. The sooner both he and Chloe had someone else to focus on romantically, the better.

*sigh* If he doesn’t realize that he’s just repeating his ‘Andrea mistake’ all over again… I remember Clark mentioning that Lex started dating Andrea ONLY as a panicked response to his making out with Chloe… now once again, he’s rushing into another relationship, just to distract himself from his obsession with Chloe.


They’d spent the better part of the afternoon criticizing ancient art and pottery, followed by an invitation to dinner that she had happily accepted. The conversation so far had been pleasant and on an intellectual level Lex normally didn’t get to enjoy unless he was with Chloe.

heh, I noticed (as early as this part) how Lex was comparing the lovely, intelligent woman he was dining to Chloe. And he wasn’t even aware of making the comparision.


“The crème caramel was a good choice for dessert. The last time I was here, Chloe made the mistake of ordering chocolate cake, thinking it was a safe choice. Let’s just say their interpretation of cake is unique.”

I raised an eyebrow at this direct mention of Chloe during the dinner. Entertaining private thoughts about her during the course of the dinner is one thing… but actually bringing up her name and memories of her during a first date with another woman??!!! Doesn’t he realize what a social blunder that is??!!


Another mention of the mysterious ‘Chloe.’ Earlier in the evening Felicity had excused herself and called her friend. She needed to know if Lex Luthor was going out with her in order to get back at some society woman. A picture of him in the gossip pages with her in order to incite some jealousy. Or maybe revenge.

And I sputtered at this part. Apparently this is only the LATEST in a long line of casual mentions about Chloe. It actually got so bad that Felicity had to call up a friend to find out what was the deal with the Chlex? And Lex doesn’t even seem to realize that he keeps bringing her into the conversation at random and intermittent moments… he didn’t realize how obsessed he was acting.


She was a shrink, after all. And Lex Luthor needed her help on many levels. Hell, on every level but no more so than dealing with his unresolved feelings about Chloe.

Felicity wasn’t sure if he was obsessed with the woman, in love with her or a combination of both. But there was clearly something going on here. Which stood in the way of anything going on between them. She wasn’t interested in getting involved with another emotionally unavailable man.

ROTFLMAO at this BRILLIANT twist in the date. This was excellent plotting and writing, BlueSabby. I LOVED the twist about Felicity’s ‘professional instincts’ overpowering any sense of jealousy and resentment that might have come up. She just went straight in to figure out what she judged to be an intensely fascinating puzzle. I LOVE this new character, and I desperately hope that we see more of her in future chapters (pretty please?)


“What did Chloe think of the cake,” she asked in a neutral tone. The answer would do a great deal in determining if Lex was hopelessly in love with the woman or if the authorities needed to be notified because he was a day away from keeping her head in a box for his very own.

LOL at the subtle way Felicity went into her ‘psychiatrist mode’. Brilliant! And she’s quite smooth at it too.


The drive had been worth it though. Lex didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but that cake had been amazing, and Chloe’s antics and enthusing had amused him to no end. She had a tendency to go from serious to silly in no time flat, and silliness was something his life had been sorely lacking before Chloe came around.

“It was worth it. You see, she likes to make me try things just for the hell of it, or because I mention that I haven’t tried them before.” Lex thought of the infamous Twinkie-incident with a half smile. “It’s a hit and miss thing, but lucky for me there’ve been more hits, so far.”

awwww at the sweetness of Lex’s fond recollection. It’s really lovely seeing him reminisce about Chloe’s antics with such affection.


Felicity wished that she had her pad in order to take notes with. This was surprising indeed. The man didn’t have the look about him that she’d seen with other psychopaths who were convinced that, if given the chance, the woman of their dreams could and would be with them for all time.

Instead, he looked like a man recounting a favorite story of his in regards to one he held dear. However, she got the feeling Lex was not aware of this himself. That wasn’t all that unique in a man, though. They tended to lean towards idiocy.

He spoke fondly of this other woman. But also very carefully. There was something going on between the two of them. But not romantically.

I’m SO enjoying seeing Felicity in full psychiatric mode. It’s really fun seeing just ‘itching’ to start pulling some books about denial disorders. Not to mention that her analysis sounds really intriguing and interesting. From her perspective, the love Lex has for Chloe is SO obvious… he’s talking about her like any man would talk about a beloved life partner. Someone’s who is a real, cherished, exasperating, important and integral part of one’s life.


She nodded. “It’s important to keep yourself open to new experiences.” That’s why she’d agreed to go on this date. She’d never gone out with a man worth so much money.

The date had been going relatively well. They’d fallen into companionable conversations. But there hadn’t been any spark and she felt as if Lex was holding himself back. Yes, that was his M.O. but she thought that Chloe had more to do with it. Even though she and Lex were sitting together alone, there were definitely three people on this date.

ROTFLOL at the last line of Felicity’s observation. And it’s really good to see that she harbours NO resentment whatsoever towards the ‘third wheel’ on her date.


“Your friend sounds like a lot of fun,” she said, smiling. “I’m surprised you wouldn’t rather be out with her.”

“Why would I?” Lex was surprised by the question. Had he made a faux pas somewhere during this date? Not likely. He hadn’t pegged Felicity for the insecure type, though, either. “I happen to enjoy your company immensely; in fact I never would have thought that a blind-date could turn out so well.”

heh, Felicity pushed a little too far, and made Lex ‘semi-aware’ on how MUCH he had been talking about Chloe… although the idiot still doesn’t realize how abnormally much it was.


Overcompensation, a classic move. Felicity hadn’t meant to sound insulted or put off. She was actually very curious about his answer. “Thank you very much,” she said, smiling. “I’m having a fine time, too.” Too bad she hadn’t gotten here before this Chloe person. She and Lex might have been a good match.

Still LOL at Felicity’s continued analysis and prognosis of Lex Luthor. He really should have known better than to have gone out with a psychiatrist. LOL!

And I also sighed a little at the ‘slightly’ bitter-sweet thought Felicity had over there about ‘if only I had gotten there first’. Still it seems like she’s not going to get hung up about it, which is EXCELLENT, because this means there’s a chance she can still make more appearances later in the fic.


She’d drop the whole inquisition for now. Usually when someone was this far in denial they had to pull themselves out of it before any headway could happen. Or have someone to help them and Lex didn’t strike her as the type that had people egging him on to not be a fool.

ROTFLMAO! Oh the ironies of Felicity’s belief. If only she knew how many people had been proverbially smacking Lex upside the head telling him ‘you’re in love with Chloe, STOP denying it’. Which reminds me… I wonder what happened to Enrique?


They would finish their date, she’d say goodnight and hope that he didn’t want to see her again. Or, if he did, she’d make it clear that they should be friends and no more. Of course, she might have to play some defense at the end of the date. Lex probably thought it was going well and would try something when he dropped her off. That ought to be interesting.

ROTFLMAO! Is Felicity going to become the latest in a long line of people telling Lex that he’s in denial about his love for Chloe? That would be a surefire way of avoiding an unwanted good night kiss.

I can’t wait to see what happens next. Please update soon.

dagney
23rd June 2007, 02:09
I'm squealing with dee-light. I liked lex being selfish about Chloe. I loved how you've written Lana. She has a backbone and a mouth. Hurrah. Clark with the fumble and grope LOL. Terrific chapter.

Dagney

Kit Merlot
23rd June 2007, 16:55
I think I'm still stunned that you've made not only Clark awesome, but Lana is totally cool as well. I love how protective she is of Chloe and her feelings--now this would be a version of Lana I'd love to see on Smallville.

And how interesting that Chloe and Lex have both met nice people that they could actually be involved with? How adorable that Lex keeps talking about Chloe to Felicity. And Felicity is extremely perceptive, and I think she's right--if Lex hadn't already had feelings for Chloe, they probably would have made a good match.

I wonder how Chloe's date is going?

Please let us know soon.

And as always, you are doing a beautiful job with this story--keep up the excellent work:grin3:

Pufkinz
23rd June 2007, 20:07
So I just found this wonderful story.... and have totally fallen in love with it and have been laughing so hard :rofl: ... it was great!!!!

Lex is .... a dolt, yes, yes thats the word... the man is in love and he doesn't even know it... he planned the wedding with Chloe in mine... the vanilla cake... and doesn't even realise it :bang: ... lol poor sap.

I Love Enrique... Love him... can we get him back... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!:wub: :wub:

I have to tell you I am in total accord with Kit Merlot... amazed at the Lana and Clark in this fic and totally enjoying them to boot... :rofl:
I laugh so much at Clarks revelation to Lex, that convo was classic, but nothing, NOTHING tops Enrique, LOVE HIM, LOVE HIM!!!!! :grin: :grin2:

I wonder if Felicity will meet up with the others to get those two together and who knows she maybe a great match for Dexter herself so it'll be an all out win!!!

:clapclap::clapclap: Looking forward to more

katieandjason
23rd June 2007, 20:19
Once again I had tears in my eyes. Tears of laughter. I KNOW IT'S ANGST! Don't hate me for finding it hilarious. This is yet another wonderful story. I love it. Honestly, I've started checking for updates on this one before any of your others.

Aaaah, Lex. As soon as he realized that Chloe might have an interest in Dex he ran the file in his head. PERFECT! That paragraph was one of my favorite parts of the story! Well, that and Lana's rant. Lovely. Felicity is an interesting character as well. How apropos that she is a psychologist; coincindence is a funny thing. ;)

PS: I wish I could sober up as quickly as Lex does.

skauble
24th June 2007, 00:12
This story is so wonderful on so many levels.

I love the Chlex friendship, even as awkward as it is at the moment. And I really love that Chloe went so far to save Lex from yet another disastrous relationship.

I don't know if I'm in the minority here (I often am :) ), but as much as I long for Lex and Chloe to get together, and as much as I hate to see Chloe hurting, I kind of hope that they don't get together for a while yet. I'd really like to see Chloe finding out that Lex is dating again and deciding that she can't do the waiting around thing like she did so long with Clark. I'd love to see Chloe genuinely move on before Lex realizes how much he loves her. I want him to be where Chloe is now - wanting something that he knows he can't have. And more, I want him to finally understand what a beautiful gift it was that Chloe gave him her heart and that he threw it away because he was scared to take a chance.

I want it all. And believe me, I feel like a total bitch wanting that much suffering. I guess I took the angst warning to heart, huh? lol




Felicity wasn’t sure if he was obsessed with the woman, in love with her or a combination of both. But there was clearly something going on here. Which stood in the way of anything going on between them. She wasn’t interested in getting involved with another emotionally unavailable man.

“What did Chloe think of the cake,” she asked in a neutral tone. The answer would do a great deal in determining if Lex was hopelessly in love with the woman or if the authorities needed to be notified because he was a day away from keeping her head in a box for his very own.


Okay, I absolutely *adored* this part.

I love Felicity because she's not a money grubbing bitch, and she seems to have figured out in an evening what Lex hasn't managed to grasp in years.

And "keeping her head in a box for his very own"??? :rofl:

Of course, knowing how obsessive Lex can be she's probably right to worry. lol

Such a wonderful story, and I just can't wait to watch all the drama unfold as Lex begins to realize his feelings...slowly (the only speed at which Lex can go with *real* feelings).

And kudos on your portrayals of Clark and Lana. Just because SV makes them unbearable doesn't mean that they need to be so all the time. Just most of the time. ;)

~Sarah~

crimsonredmagic
27th June 2007, 22:46
Just finished reading whats written so far and am utterly addicted to the story now.

The whole things amazing.

I adore Chlex...and am probably one of the few people who kind of like Lana and the Chloe/Lana friendship (although if Lana was more like how she's written here on the show I'd like her a hell of a lot more).

Clark is awesome too.

I kind of want to slap Lex around for awhile for being in such deep denial but I'm guessing I'm not alone in those feelings at the moment.

Cant wait to read more.

somethingeasy
27th June 2007, 23:45
I don't know if I'm in the minority here (I often am :) ), but as much as I long for Lex and Chloe to get together, and as much as I hate to see Chloe hurting, I kind of hope that they don't get together for a while yet. I'd really like to see Chloe finding out that Lex is dating again and deciding that she can't do the waiting around thing like she did so long with Clark. I'd love to see Chloe genuinely move on before Lex realizes how much he loves her. I want him to be where Chloe is now - wanting something that he knows he can't have. And more, I want him to finally understand what a beautiful gift it was that Chloe gave him her heart and that he threw it away because he was scared to take a chance.

I want it all. And believe me, I feel like a total bitch wanting that much suffering. I guess I took the angst warning to heart, huh? lol

I ALSO wanted this possibility to occur. Not because I want angst and drama.

...

ok, not ONLY because I want angst and drama, but I also think it would do Lex some serious good to be able to experience the soul-wrenching heart-break that Chloe is experiencing right now. She was brave, honest and courageously open about her feelings for him, and he still couldn't admit that he loved her too. Instead, the coward let his fears overrule all decency and common sense, and he kept telling himself that it was 'better in the long run' to keep breaking and re-breaking Chloe's heart, rather than take a chance with his own.

And I don't care that he doesn't consciously realize what he's doing. Deep down, he knows exactly what he feels, he's made an analysis and accounting, and he's made a decision to protect himself at all costs.

I want him to suffer for it... for what this brand of cowardice did to Chloe. I want him to experience the SAME kind of heart-break, and finally realize what kind of hell he put Chloe through.

heh, just my personal opinion. What do you think?

lj715
30th June 2007, 11:25
This was an excellent chapter. Usually, I hate any of Lex's dates (other than Chloe)but this time I kinda felt sorry for her. I liked that Lex just kept talking & talking about Chloe. Lex needs to get swacked on the head with a 2x4 to make him realize his love for Chloe. Can't wait for more.

somethingeasy
30th June 2007, 12:19
This was an excellent chapter. Usually, I hate any of Lex's dates (other than Chloe)but this time I kinda felt sorry for her. I liked that Lex just kept talking & talking about Chloe.

LOL! I don't think there was any need to feel sorry for Felicity. I got the feeling she was quite amused (and partially alarmed) from the obsessive way Lex kept talking about Chloe. AND she got a chance to psycho-analyze Lex without him even considering to put up those emotional barriers. It's quite fascinating actually. I wonder if Lex's former fiance ALSO noticed Lex's fixation on Chloe... Taking his behaviour from this date into account, I can't imagine him being capable of hiding his feelings.

heh, wouldn't it be funny if both Felicity and Lex's former fiance happened to call up Lex and ALSO join the line of people telling him to 'get over your cowardly sense of denial and DO something about your obsession with the girl!'.

You think that might work is making him realize that perhaps, just PERHAPS, there's something more than friendship over there?

ggdoll18
4th August 2007, 22:03
great story!!! a very interesting read

SVfan1286
19th August 2007, 04:39
I absolutely loved this fic. Stupid Lex hiding behind, "were just friends" he started to sound like Clark...and that never is a good thing.LOL
I felt so bad for Chloe, falling in love with another best friend who doesn't return the feelings. I loved your Lana and Clark, and you can't forget about Enrique.*hugs*
Wonderful ending to a truly amazing story...I just love happy endings!
Fantastic fic ladies, romance, humor and a whole bunch of angst, what more could a girl ask for?

juuicebox
22nd August 2007, 21:00
amazing short story. great job you two

ryuu-chan
26th August 2007, 23:57
I've been catching up on and rereading Chlex-fanfiction during the last week and all the time I've wished for a story where the characters are not one-dimensional. I wanted a story with emotional depth. Where the obstacles to Chloe and Lex happiness were not from the outside but from the inside. It's easier to overcome problems like irate parents, death threats, annoying friends etc. when you have the person you love by your side. But having to deal with your feelings, especially love, is hard. Confusing. Hurting. Real.

So, thanks. It was the perfect story to end the day. Goodnight and sweet dreams.

Kathrin

persephone47
12th October 2007, 14:01
Great job, and such a cute ending.

Pieper
14th October 2007, 22:17
Fantastic Story.

lilinny
20th October 2007, 19:13
What a fantastic story!!! I loved it!!

bklyangel
2nd July 2008, 00:05
I can't believe it took me so long to find this fic.
I love it, but I can't help but wonder if Lex ever re-hired Enrique.

blackheart_me
17th July 2008, 06:19
OMG!! THAT WAS SUCH A CUTE ENDING!! When it first started I actually started to tear up because I honestly thought that you were going to end this with Chloe leaving Lex. That was horrible :(. This was pretty angsty but the ride was so worth it. I love how you guys wrote Lana and Clark here to, smart and the friends that they should be. I especially love how you guys write Chloe and Lex; their dynamic is just wonderfu. LOVED THE FIC!

zal80
18th March 2009, 02:06
I have been thinking about this fic and couldn't remember the name. I was so glad when I did. You did such an amazing job with it.

MagnusXXN
21st March 2009, 19:43
Ahhhhhh, thats so sweet. And wow, Clark and Lana were funny as hell. Clark "I'm an Alien!" Lana "trying not to gag!" Sweet.

A really good story.



): )

JinxAlmighty
22nd April 2009, 04:11
I never get tired of reading this story. It's just fabulous. I especially ADORE the part where Clark says: "And don't give me the old song and dance that she's your best friend and so of course you have feelings for her.... And lets not forget that we were once best friends and I never once ended up in your lap." So freakin' wonderful.

starmoon
3rd May 2009, 09:06
i love this story it is very sad but sexy and i am just glad that it ended well for chloe and lex.

jkar
9th May 2009, 15:44
Insightful Clark and supportive Lana were fabulous.

The scene between Lex and Clark after the wedding cake fiasco was absolutely fantastic. I love that Clark blurted the truth out and kept kind of taunting Lex with snippets from then on. I'm also glad that it didn't develop into a major issue as, while it could have worked, it would have detracted from the Chloe and Lex focus.

Another stupendous offering on the Chlex altar.

Thank you.

Julia

autumngold
15th May 2009, 06:18
I tried to be so good when I came back to this forum. I know that my reviews must get so annoying to you wonderful authors, so I promised myself that I wouldn't comment after everything I read. I honestly started out so good, I read this wonderful story the first time and didn't respond!! But, I'm sorry, after reading it the second time I find that I can't not review!! Maybe it's some kind of addiction I have?!! Something that makes me think, hope, and pray that hopefully I'm not as awful as I know I am by leaving so many reviews!! This story is fabulous and I love how much you understand the way Lex's mind works!! Of course he can't love Chloe, he likes her too much for that!! ;) I really, really enjoyed reading this story; so please forgive me for yet another boring review!! And, just in case I was wrong and wasn't strong enough not to review the first time I read this incredible story I'm really very, very sorry!!

~*~Tasha~*~
10th September 2009, 03:10
A good one

Tanschana
13th September 2009, 22:48
Awwwwww!
Love the story!

jstarr713
14th April 2010, 18:03
I just love this story. It's one of my favorites. Lex was so freaking stubborn though.

Lel
15th April 2010, 17:04
I have to admit to never normally liking the "chloe loves lex but he has to figure it out" thing... But I loved this, it was witty and funny and sad and so very well written and I loved it a lot.
Thanks
Lel x

crazychlexer
26th April 2010, 04:27
I'm such a big fan of Sabby & Blue stories !!!!!!!!!!!!!!amazing job!

Rachet
26th April 2010, 17:12
As always another great story from you two.

asarstar
3rd May 2010, 04:40
Just read this for the first time...sooo cute!! V. glad you went with the direction you did, it's the right parts angsty and fluffy all around. :)

randa
27th November 2010, 23:20
i had so much fun going back and re-reading this. fantastic story and i'll be back again

darkwhisper
1st December 2010, 20:05
I really liked this! Great job guys!

Tarentum
3rd December 2010, 15:01
This is one of the best sories.

SinnerSaint
5th January 2011, 09:54
Wow, that was really good! I usually don't like angst, but it all rang so true. Great story, great job.

redk-is-sexy
8th January 2011, 02:42
wow this is some amazing writing it had my emotions being yanked back and forth so much, i love that the characters are just a bit more intelligent in this story :)

humblebee
17th January 2011, 21:07
I really enjoyed this. Your Lana and Clark are way better here then on the show.

Shane77
13th November 2012, 04:39
Wow! This is really one of my favourite!^^ Loved all the emotions Chloe goes through. Must say I wanted to punch Lex at the beginning lol Thanks for another great fic!

lovelyfishbones
13th November 2012, 15:22
I seem to be stuck at page 11...

daria_103
15th November 2012, 00:36
Just re-reading this wonderful fic and it seems to stick on page 11, won't let me go any further?

lovelyfishbones
15th November 2012, 01:40
Just re-reading this wonderful fic and it seems to stick on page 11, won't let me go any further?

Nope, you got us to page 12! But that does not seem to do us much good. I think it's time we call for help.

jstarr713
15th November 2012, 10:07
yeah it won't let me past either

Emch
17th November 2012, 14:55
Always a pleasure to reread one of your fics, Love it

mama_kat
17th November 2012, 17:56
just love this story!

Julie
21st November 2012, 09:39
MISSING CHAPTERS. These were written by the original thread author, I am just re-posting them since they were missing :)

Lex helped Felicity out of the car and followed her up the steps that led into the apartment building. They’d reached the end of their date and he spared a moment to think about what to do next. It was the classic moment of decision between “coming up for coffee” and “I’ll give you a call, good night” with the matching kiss for whichever path you chose.

He’d very rarely ended a date the latter way.

When Felicity looked at Lex she knew that he wasn’t going to go quietly into that dark night….or whatever the saying was, without at least a kiss. She took out her keys and when she looked back up at him, he was leaning in.

She placed one of her hands on his shoulder as he softly kissed her once. And then again. And then again a little more aggressively.

Her brows drew together as he wrapped an arm around her body. He couldn’t think that this was a good idea. Hell, the kiss wasn’t even all that enjoyable. Once he stepped it up again, she pushed away.

“Ok, no. Not going to happen.” He looked at her a little confused. “Come on, you can’t pretend like you’re even remotely turned on at this moment.”

Lex pulled back and shook his head once, to clear it. What the hell was wrong here? Felicity was an attractive woman. Not the model type, but the type you’d wake up next to in the morning and still think she looked great. The initial kiss had been lacking a little fire, so he’d stepped it up. But there’d still been nothing.

And her caustic comment had been right on the mark. Physically, he wasn’t even remotely turned on.
“Well, that’s never happened.”

Lex wasn’t the type to be insecure. Not anymore. But it irked him to be faced with a conundrum that seemed to be without a plausible reason, or solution. The date had gone well. They’d had pleasant conversation, seemed to be of the same mind on important subjects, and as far as physical appearance went, everyone would have agreed that Felicity was Lex’s type.

Since he was on a date with a certified shrink, she probably had an answer to the question that was going through his mind now.

“What went wrong here?”

Lex’s tone had changed a little. He was demanding an answer. And she was inclined to give it to him but she got the distinct impression that he didn’t want to hear it.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Lex nodded once. “Ok, fine, but please remember that I asked you.” It seemed a little strange to be having this conversation on her front stoop but so be it.

“You’re clearly enamored with this Chloe person.” Lex actually recoiled and shook his head a few times.

This was ridiculous. Lex couldn’t believe she’d just said that. She didn’t even know Chloe. How could she say that he was in love with her? Why did everybody insist that his feelings were of a nature they most certainly weren’t?

It seemed that, since Chloe had admitted she was in love with him, naturally, he had to be in love with her, too. And everyone was in on it. Even Felicity, who didn’t even know Chloe.

“And how did you come to that conclusion?” Because that leap of logic most certainly escaped him.

Felicity sighed. She knew that he wasn’t just going to take her answer, thank her and then toddle off into the night. “Because you can’t stop talking about her, because of the look on your face when you do, because of the tone of your voice, your body language and because of how defensive you’re getting.”

He started to talk but she wasn’t having any of that. “Look, if it was so ludicrous, you wouldn’t even have asked me that question. You would have laughed and called me insane. Instead you’re asking what it is that I see that makes me draw that conclusion.”

She paused. “Which leads me to believe that others have said the same thing. Am I right?”

Lex shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Of course he could lie to her face now and deny that anyone had ever brought it up. Unfortunately, Felicity hadn’t made her degree at some little hick town university and Lex had a feeling she’d be able to call him on his lie.

“A few of our common friends have made the same misinterpretation of my feelings towards Chloe.”

Clark and Lana had called a few of the same things Felicity just had. It was still just misconceptions. So he mentioned her in conversations, and maybe he smiled more when he talked about Chloe, but that was simply because she was a lot of fun to be around: and Lex usually didn’t smile much, so it stood out when he did.

“A few, huh,” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Or all of them? Lex, this bullshit and dancing around a question may work with the people around you who are worried about upsetting you but it’s not going to work with me.”

This was a waste of her time. She couldn’t convince Lex that she was right. She just was and he needed to deal with it.

He’d become stiller and stiller. She knew that she was hitting him close to home.

“I’d even bet that you’ve lost friends over this. One of them perhaps not backing down, hmmm?” Lex’s jaw clenched and he looked away.

“Listen, I’m tired and I want to go to bed so excuse my abruptness. I didn’t think that I’d have to work tonight. I’m only telling you this to save you time.”

Lex was now leaning against the railing of her stairs. He hadn’t stomped off yet so she took it as a good sign. “Every date will go the same way. Sure, you might be able to strike up enough interest to fuck your way through half the town before you realize this on your own but that seems so stupid to do. This Chloe means something to you. Don’t fight it. Go and get her before it’s too late.”

She made a shooing motion. “Like now.”

Lex didn’t move. “Ok, I’m done here. Goodnight.”

Lex watched in parts confusion and parts morbid fascination as Felicity turned the key, stepped into the building and closed the door.

If she treated her patients like this, he was surprised that she was still in business.

Then again, at least she’d not used the run of the mill psycho babble that most therapists liked to apply.

And she’d been right on the mark about the reaction of his friends.

But still, wouldn’t he know if he was in love with Chloe? He would, he was sure.

It wasn’t that he didn’t love Chloe.

She was his best friend. She could make him laugh like no other.

Lex slowly walked down the steps and got back into his car.

True, if given the choice, he’d rather spend his time with Chloe than pretty much anyone else he knew.

He turned the key in the ignition and pulled out onto the street, not really with a direction in mind. It was only eleven and he had nowhere to be.

Lex thought about the fact that the kiss with Felicity had done nothing for him. There had to be a more feasible reason than ‘You’re in love with Chloe’.

Scientifically, it was all about chemistry. Maybe that was all it was. There had been no chemistry between Andrea and him either. So, what he had to do was try to find someone who he did have that chemistry with.

Unbidden, a memory came back: discordant notes on a piano, warm lips and a quicksilver tongue.

Lex blew a red light, missing a crossing car by no more than a couple inches and the memory was gone with the shock.

“Fuck.”

He slowed down and paid more attention to traffic.

So, he needed to find someone he had chemistry with.

That shouldn’t be too hard. He could hook up with any woman he set his mind on.

‘Fuck yourself through half the town before you realize…’

“That’s just ridiculous.”

Lex would know if he was in love with Chloe. If he was, he wouldn’t put her through all this misery.

“Except the misery can’t be that great when she’s dating pocket protector Dexter.”

Since he was on the right hand lane anyway, he took a random right. Metropolis was set up on a grid and he was going in the opposite direction of Suicide Slums, so it didn’t matter.

He wondered where Chloe had gone on her date. Dexter had probably taken her to some upscale restaurant and a play somewhere up in the art district.

Lex remembered that one horrible avant-garde play they’d seen, a few months ago. They’d ended up going to a late night movie special of Star Wars to make up for it.

His cell phone still hadn’t buzzed. She was probably having too much fun with Dexter.

Lex sneered and took a left. A quick look at the signs told him he was heading towards the interstate.

He’d just have to find a date that he had chemistry with. Some woman that wouldn’t leave him feeling absolutely nothing when they kissed.

Lex shifted into fifth as he hit the road out of Metropolis and towards Smallville. There was no reason to keep going around the city when he had a two hour drive home ahead of him.

~~

A half hour outside Smallville and he was still trying to work out how it was possible that everyone thought he was in love with Chloe when he was sure that he really wasn’t.

And he wasn’t much closer to finding the perfect lab rat for his little theory on chemistry. Every woman he’d thought of so far had resulted in an instant “no” from some part of him.

There needed to be a fail-safe way to get his answer once and for all and prove that they were all wrong and he was right.

Lex was still surprised about the absolute lack of chemistry with Felicity. He knew what people said about him, and some narcissistic part of him wasn’t above agreeing: Usually, he had chemistry with everything, including inanimate objects.

Going on that, it must have been Felicity.

Of course to prove that theory, he still needed a girl to kiss.

Unfortunately, Smallville wasn’t known for its red-light district.

Which left one option.

Lex winced as he looked at his wrist watch, but there was really nothing for it.

He pulled onto Mainstreet and took a left from there heading towards the community of town houses.

~~

The incessant banging on the door was really getting annoying. And a little scary. It didn’t appear as if whoever was at the door was about to go away so she went down to answer it. However, she also brought a baseball bat with her. Could never be too careful in Smallville.

She flicked on the light and then peered through the peephole. She was confused at what she saw. Bat still loosely in one hand she threw open the door.

“Lex, what are you doing here? It’s almost one in the morning.”

The bat stayed in her hand when she saw Lex. The last time she’d seen him hadn’t been pleasant but it didn’t compare to now. He looked harried and freaked out and just plain not himself.

Which was why she doubted the two words that fell from his mouth. Maybe that parasite thing from a few years ago was sucking on his brain stem at the moment.

Lex took in her confused expression and the way her hand tightened on the baseball bat she was holding.

“It’s not meteor related, so you can put that bat away.”

When Lana still didn’t move, he tried to explain. “I’ve been confronted with a quasi-chemical problem by the shrink I went on a date with tonight and I am trying to solve it analytically, so would you please put that bat away and kiss me?”

He needed to know and he couldn’t possibly wait until he’d arranged and gone through another date to find out. It was too much to ask for in terms of time and effort to get the answer to his question. Lana wasn’t exactly the perfect test subject, but she’d have to do. She was a standard model American female in the age group between 21 and 26, straight and as far as he knew Democrat, which didn’t exactly figure into it but was good to know for future purposes.

And she still hadn’t answered him, or moved to oblige for that matter.

“No way in hell,” Lana said, recoiling and backing into her house. Lex was holding on to sanity by a thin thread, she could see that but she still wasn’t going to make out with him because of a bad date.

Lex had followed her into her house and closed the door behind him. He looked all business and Lana knew that he was serious about the whole thing. She could also see that the man was desperate. It hung around him like a cloud.

She placed the bat on the couch and stood her ground. “Why don’t you go and kiss Chloe? From what I hear it wouldn’t be the first time.”

That hit Lex like a smack in the face. “You know…Clark. Of course you know.”

Wonderful. Did anyone not know? Felicity probably would have known, too, if she’d stayed on her front steps for another five minutes instead of closing the door in his face.

Lex shook his head, trying to stay on track. “Look, what happened between Chloe and me that night was a one time thing, a mistake, we both agreed on that.”

He started pacing the length of Lana’s living room as he wrapped things up into an easily understandable summary for the girl on the couch. “The issue at hand is that I am trying to disprove this whole ‘The kiss with the shrink didn’t do it, therefore you must be in love with Chloe’ theory. Just because I didn’t have chemistry with Felicity, doesn’t mean it was my fault, or that I’m in love with Chloe.”

He turned around and looked directly at Lana. “Never mind that kissing Chloe would be the worst thing I could do, considering she’s in love with me and would inevitably get the wrong message, don’t you think?”

Lex couldn’t believe he was actually forced to state the obvious. Lana was usually a little smarter than that.

God, this was terribly, tragically funny. “No, because I don’t think it would go that way. I think that once you kissed her that you’d stop being an idiot. You don’t want to kiss me, Lex. And I doubt that you wanted to kiss whomever it was that you were out with tonight.”

Sure, Lex might think that he wanted to kiss that woman or any other random woman but he was wrong. It wouldn’t work out. Because now Chloe was in his head and Lex was nothing if not obsessive.

“Course,” Lana muttered as she sat down on the couch, “Chloe’s lips might be otherwise engaged.”

Lex sneered and turned for another round of pacing in front of the couch. “No need to remind me of Dexter. Not that I don’t think it’s not good that she’s on a date.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “But seriously, this isn’t a movie, I’m not going to go over there, kiss her and suddenly realize I’ve been in love with her all along or whatever the going cliché is.”

He exhaled a long breath. Things like that didn’t happen in real life. If he was in love with Chloe, he’d have known. They would have dated, he would have proposed and things would have inevitably downward spiraled right into disaster. That was how life worked.

“You’re right,” Lana said, wearily. “You’re not going to go over there and do anything. Instead, you’re going to torpedo the relationship that you have with her now. Rationalizing that you’re no good anyway so she’s better off without you.”

“So, fine, you want to make out with me so you have one more thing to beat yourself up about, saddle up, cowboy.”

Lana looked over at him and then patted the space next to her.

Suddenly, it felt a lot like he was the test subject in this analysis.

But Lex would not be deterred by her standoffish attitude and her insufficient attempts at being patronizing and mocking. He’d been ridiculed a great many times in his life and this was nothing.

“If you could refrain from using heartland American phrases, it would be greatly appreciated.”

He settled down next to her on the couch and leaned in.

Lana reflexively leaned back and he was tempted to roll his eyes. Instead he reached out a hand, slowly and placed it around the back of her neck.

The kiss was careful, at first. The baseball bat was still between them on the couch, and he didn’t want to spook her into using it.

He tried to get that reaction that was supposed to come with a good kiss. That pleasant warm feeling that promised arousal.

All he got was a wet tongue that hesitantly stubbed against his own.

Lana was doing her best not to gag. She supposed Lex was good at this but them kissing was wrong on so many levels. And upsetting and stupid and she didn’t see why Lex wasn’t getting any of that. She kept her eyes open and just waited for it to be over.

Lex’s hand tightened around her neck and he leaned in a little more. His tongue in her mouth, his body beside her and his very presence seemed overwhelming to her.

She only kissed him back a little so he couldn’t say that she didn’t try. All in all it was the worst kiss of her entire life and she almost breathed a sigh of relief when Lex pulled away from her. The look on his face was priceless.

“I can see that I rocked your world about as much as you did mine. Listen, Mrs. Frank is probably still up next door, she loves infomercials, tell her I said ‘hi’ before you jam your tongue down her throat.” Lana had a sinking feeling that Lex wasn’t going to stop this insanity until he got the desired results. He’d go door to door if he had to.

He was about to respond when their attention was drawn to the kitchen. Lana’s cell phone was ringing. She knew by the tone that it was Chloe. “It’s her. Do you want to get it or should I?”

Lex was still trying to cope with the fact that it hadn’t worked. He’d been absolutely sure that it was just Felicity. Right up to the point where he’d kissed Lana and felt nothing. Zero. Not even the slightest stir of anything other than a great gaping nothing. He might as well have kissed the morning paper.

Being that he wasn’t answering her question, or moving for that matter, Lana decided that she had to answer the phone. She crossed to the kitchen and hit the green button before it went to voicemail.

“Hey,” she said. Lana paused as she listened to Chloe’s question. “Yeah, I couldn’t exactly sleep,” she said, looking over at Lex. He was just sitting there, blinking and breathing but not doing much else.

“How was the date?” Lana ignored Lex, she wanted to hear what Chloe had to say but moved a little further away from Lex. It was pretty quiet in the house and Lex could probably hear what Chloe was saying…if he wasn’t too busy totally spacing out.

As the question penetrated his brain, he came back to himself.

It hadn’t worked. Kissing Lana hadn’t worked. And Lana was the supposed focus group; which meant that if it hadn’t worked, she wasn’t the right focus group anymore. But it was impossible. This whole fucking situation was impossible and had just now become intolerable.

He could go about this the illogical way and try to find other women, but the crux of the matter was excluding one woman so it would be completely ridiculous to go through all others first. He just had to prove now that he was right.

As of yesterday, well, the day before yesterday technically speaking, Chloe hated him anyway so he didn’t have much to lose.

Lex got up from the couch and straightened his jacket. “Tell her I’m coming over.”

On his way to the door he added, “And that Dexter had better be gone when I get there.”

Lex was not in the mood to deal with a wannabe big shot lawyer while he was trying to prove a point. Especially not if that point proved to be the final moments of a friendship.

Lana gaped at her front door as it shut. She heard Chloe’s voice on the other end of the line, questioning what was going on, was there a guy there and that Lana had better dish what she had.

“Um, Chloe, I have a few things to tell you and you’re not going to like any of them so please save your screaming until the end of the call.” With that, Lana sat down at her kitchen table and proceeded to explain what had happened in the past ten minutes.
Lex parked his car at the sidewalk and headed straight for the front door. As luck would have it, the old guy from the third floor was just coming out with his dachshund, so Lex was able to get right in and up to Chloe’s apartment door. He rang the bell twice and waited for her to answer.

Lana had probably told her everything that had happened, so he knew she wouldn’t be happy, but he had to put an end to this insanity.

Chloe had been sitting on her couch trying to figure out what in the hell was going on in Lex’s head when she heard someone banging on her door. She let out a sigh and padded across her small apartment to open it.

Unsurprisingly it was the man of the hour. “Listen, I don’t know what you’re here for but before you come in I think we should both agree on the fact that your tongue stays in your mouth.” Chloe was still trying to deal with the fact that Lex had kissed Lana for some reason.

She wasn’t mad but that’s because she was fairly certain that she was in shock.

Lex let the barb roll off his back. He wasn’t even surprised that she was blocking his entry.

“Look, I know Lana probably made it sound like I’ve gone completely mad.” He cocked his head to the side and leaned in a little further so he could lower his voice. “Or possibly she blamed it on meteorite related issues, but I’m really just here to sort this thing out once and for all.”

He paused, waiting for Chloe to let him into the apartment. She didn’t move an inch.

“So, can I come in please?”

She didn’t disguise the fact that she was surprised by his use of the word ‘please.’ It was a word that Lex often had a problem with. The phrase ‘thank you’ was even harder for him.

But that wasn’t what made Chloe let him in. Getting this sorted out once and for all sounded pretty good to her at this point.

Her date with Dexter had been nice and she was inclined to see him again. But her fight with Lex had been niggling her for the past few days. It was this omnipresent cloud over her life. So, if they could get that, and all of their other issues laid to rest it would be worth it.

Unfortunately, she didn’t think that Lex wanted to hear about which way she was leaning. The way they were now wasn’t healthy for either of them.

“Sure,” she said and stepped aside to let him in. As usual, she could tell that he didn’t approve of where she lived and her tiny living space. But she wasn’t made of money as was the man in the Armani suit who now seated himself on her used couch.

“So,” she said after a moment of silence, “how do we go about sorting this out?”

Lex ignored the way the couch was trying to swallow him and focused on how to get to the crux of the matter as fast as possible.

“Are you aware that, ever since you made your feelings for me known, Clark and Lana have been trying to convince me that I return those feelings?”

It was best to get all the crucial data out there, so she knew where he was coming from before she agreed to be a test subject, or ripped his head off.

“In addition to that, I had a date tonight. With a shrink. She also insisted that I am in love with you but deeply in denial. Her diagnosis was based on the fact that I talk about you, apparently in a certain manner unusual for friends. I also, in her opinion, exert a different body language and expression while I talk about you. The last checkmark on her mental tally was when I kissed her, and nothing happened.”

Looked at it from this point of view the diagnosis seemed shaky at best, ludicrous at worst. That was the reason Lex was here right now, trying to disprove it with the simplest methods possible.

“Considering my history, the idea is preposterous. Therefore I tried to disprove it with Lana. Surprisingly, the results weren’t as I had expected.”

He looked over to see if Chloe was still following his explanations or needed clarification on any part of it.

Chloe shook her head. Even though Lex had given it up years ago, he was still a scientist at heart. But he didn’t get that he could kiss as many women as he wanted, her included, and that wasn’t going to give him an answer.

“Just because you don’t physically feel anything when you kiss another woman doesn’t mean anything, Lex.” She leaned back in her chair. “I’m not going to help you out by kissing you, either.” She looked over at him.

“It’s not about what it feels like when you kiss me. It’s about what you feel when you kiss me.” She sounded like one of those touchy feely shrinks on TV.

“And that, you’ve assured me, is nothing. So,” she spread her hands out for a moment, “I don’t think we have anything left to talk about, do we?”

Chloe felt beaten down, tired and was getting increasingly upset by the decision she had to make. She didn’t want to do it but she wasn’t going to put herself through drama and angst again. “I can’t be friends with you,” she said in a hushed tone. “At least, not now. I do love you Lex, but I need to do what’s best for me for a change.”

And just like that the world dropped out from underneath Lex Luthor’s feet and he plummeted into empty space.

This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. It just wasn’t possible that she’d just said those words.

“You don’t mean that.”

Denial.

They’d been friends for so long now and he had tried like a madman from day one to ‘not fuck up’. He’d even stopped one or two projects that he’d liked that would have led to major fights because of Chloe’s ethics, that he didn’t exactly share, but respected enough to heed them, because she was his best friend.

His hands balled into fists inside his coat pockets. It wasn’t his fault she’d gone and fallen in love with him and that he didn’t return those feelings to his knowledge. It wasn’t his fault that people kept pushing the situation in his face to the point that he couldn’t take it anymore and needed a solution to this irritating problem.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this.” He turned sharply to face her and look her straight in the eyes. “You said we could work through this and still be friends.” His tone was deathly calm. “Excuse me, you said we could try. Did you already know you were going to change your mind then and there?”

Anger.

He was pissed as hell. For the last couple of weeks he had done everything to try and make things easier on her. Granted, he’d slipped up and fucked up once or twice, but goddamnit it wasn’t every day your best friend decided to be in love with you. There was no handbook, no code of behavior, nothing to even remotely guide you through that situation. Lex hated winging it.

His molars ground together as he thought. He hated winging it, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do it. He should have seen this coming. Wait, he had seen this coming. He’d seen it coming all the way, even before he’d sat in Chloe’s room and talked about it. But Lex wasn’t the type to take things lying down.

“Look,” he said as calmly as possible. “I know that we’re in a shitty situation with this issue between us.” And shitty was putting it mildly. “And I know it’s not going to go away on its own; that it’s going to be uncomfortable. But, if anyone is capable of working through this, wouldn’t it be us?”

Lex pulled his hands out of his pockets, after forcefully unclenching them and leaned forward. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

Bargaining.

He used to be better at this, but the problem in this situation was that he had nothing to bargain with. There was nothing he could offer her to make it easier for her to deal with her feelings. Nothing he could say or do to make them go away at the drop of a hat. He was one of the richest fucking bastards in the United States, but he was entirely powerless to salvage this.

“I can’t lose you, Chloe."

Depression.

He’d felt like the earth had been pulled out from underneath his feet a few times before. But it had never been like this. The thought that he could lose her, when she’d told him she was in love with him, had been terrifying. Lex had turned away from it faster than the eye could blink and tried to convince himself that things could be okay. The actual fact that she was right here, right now, telling him it was over…. Lex imagined this was what it felt like when you were told you are going to die, no cure, no miracles, no last minute recovery.

It was over. She didn’t want him in her life anymore. There was nothing he could say or do to make her change her mind. Chloe’s face was set on resolve and Lex knew from experience, there was no messing with that.

Acceptance…

Was not going to happen.

“I can’t lose you,” he said it again, this time a lot firmer than the first. “I won’t just let you go.”

Lex reached out and took hold of her hand. “Chloe, you’re my best friend.”

Shit, he was no good at emotional speeches. Money, power, progress, new horizons, he could talk with the best of them when it came to these things. Love, need, fear, caring, compassion? He had no fucking clue where to even start.

“I need you in my life.”

When Chloe tried to pull her hand away, he held on tighter. He was trying to work his way through this speech, the worst he’d ever given, in small sentences.

“You help me take life less serious, keep me grounded.”

His gaze shifted from her face to her fingers, and he really knew better than to cut eye contact when you’re trying to convince someone of your point. But if he kept looking at her resolve face he’d never be able to say anything.

“You’re the only person I can trust with everything. No need to close my laptop when you come in, no need to explain my every move because it might be taken the wrong way. You get me.”

And there were so many things about him that nobody seemed to be able to remotely understand. Chloe took them all with a shrug and a ‘That’s Lex for ya’. Everyone else was spooked when they entered the mansion and had cameras following their every move. She picked out the next best one, cut a face at it, waved and smiled. Security loved her. Lex kept footage of it on his laptop and pulled it up whenever he needed a laugh.

“Getting to spend time with you is my equivalent of a vacation.”

Other people needed palm trees, beaches and three weeks of undisturbed sunshine and drinks at the pool. Lex needed a couple of hours with Chloe, including her seemingly endless supply of things he hadn’t tried yet.

“You’re an addiction. You got under my skin, you snooped through my life. You know more about me than anyone, including the Inquisitor. You made yourself at home in a place that others treat like a museum. You’re the biggest part of my life aside from work.”

He’d never had a large social circle after moving to Smallville, business associates and flavors of the week didn’t count. Aside from Chloe, there was only Lana and Clark who he saw on a semi regular basis. And that was because Smallville was just that, small.

The long and short of it was that he didn’t even know how things would go on if she wasn’t there. What would he do when there was no more work to get done? What had he done before Chloe and he became friends? He couldn’t remember even if he tried. He couldn’t imagine finding something to do.

“You can’t leave me. I don’t think I’d function right without you.”

Lex was being so honest and earnest and she could tell that he was sincere about everything he said but it didn’t change anything. The definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. She couldn’t remain best friends with a man she was in love with and not expect to get hurt.

And she was sick of that. She deserved some happiness in her life and wasn’t going to allow herself to do this with Lex.

She shook her head and didn’t look at him. She was already crying a little and looking at Lex would make things worse. She’d been strong for awhile but once he started telling her what she meant to him, how she fit into his life, it had been hard to remain stoic. “I can’t,” she whispered. “I just can’t, Lex. Please, please understand.”

Then she did look up at him. She squeezed his hand. Knew that she was now hurting him and did her best to not care about it. She had to be selfish, had to be a bastard and had to get out of this situation before things got any worse. Even though his words kept playing through her mind she had to ignore it.

Had to ignore that she was maybe the one thing that kept Lex from going over the edge. She was standing at her own precipice at the moment. She had to think of that. Had to be the ruthless, unfeeling one. It would have been easier if she weren’t crying at the moment but life was a bitch and never fair and all of the rest of that bullshit.

“If you care about me at all, you’ll let this be it. You’ll let me go.” She knew that Lex was obsessive by nature and that he wouldn’t take this lying down. But she needed him to. If he continued after her with his usual fervor she knew that she’d eventually cave.

Lex’s face didn’t change. He was stubborn and that was working against her. But her knowledge about him that she’d garnered over the years would help her win.

“You can’t make me happy. You’ll only make me miserable.” She hated doing this but it was the only way. She knew that Lex did care about her, just not in the way that she needed. If he thought it would hurt her, he might walk away.

“Lex, I’m glad that you get all of that from me and you should take that as a sign that I’m not the only one who can do that for you.” She wanted him to get everything he deserved and that did include a woman who could understand and put up with him. It just wouldn’t be her.

“But, what do I get from you?” It was harsh and they both knew it. “It’s not a fair trade and I can’t keep putting myself second. Being around you like this hurts too much.”

“I tried it but I’m not strong enough,” she shook her head.

She blinked and felt twin tear streaks appearing on her face. “You’re my best friend, too. You have to know that I didn’t make this decision lightly or easily. But one of us had to.” She looked back up at him and almost looked away from what she saw.

Real emotion on his face. She’d seen it before but nothing this deep. She couldn’t be sure which one of them was hurting more at this point. Lex had opened himself up more in the last three minutes than he had over the past 25 plus years of his life and this was what he got for it. Chloe didn’t want that to be the lesson he learned but she couldn’t help this. She couldn’t stop this now.

“You told me that I’m under your skin. Well, Lex, you’re, you’re,” Chloe searched for a way to explain it to him without it sounding dumb but she was failing. “You’re in every part of me.” Their hands were still grasped and she brought them up to her body. She placed the back of Lex’s hand on the skin that was exposed by her tank top just over her heart. “I feel like I can’t breathe sometimes when you’re around.”

“You think that you’re obsessive. You have no idea.”

She locked eyes with him. “You’re the only person in my life who truly understands me. I love you. But I cannot do this anymore. I can’t.”

This was killing him. Seeing her like this, knowing he was the reason for it. He was making her miserable. Lex felt like shit.

Chloe had lost her fight against the tears and all Lex wanted to do was to fix this, make it all better, at least hold her until she calmed down and stopped crying. So he did.

Without saying a word he pulled her over and into his lap. She didn’t even fight it. He tightened his hold anyway.

It hit him that this was the last time he’d get to hold her like this. The last time he was allowed to touch her and have her close. The last time she would let him see her like she was, without distance or affected politeness. The next time they inevitably crossed paths there would be awkward silence and she would walk away. He’d never be given the chance again to just reach out and pull her in. He could smell that peculiar shampoo she’d been using since high school, for the first time he was close enough to actually identify the scent as a mixture of cinnamon and vanilla.

“Should have done this earlier.”

They’d been close friends for so long, but other than the occasional hug or the casual touches they shared whenever they talked, there was only one time when he’d had her this close.

The night of the party, when things had gotten out of control; the night that had started the downward spiral that led to this moment.

“I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice, “forgive me.”

He’d really gone and fucked it all up and now he was losing the best thing that had happened to him in his life. There was nothing he could do and it killed him. Chloe was still crying and he sucked at doing this. He still couldn’t even imagine letting go and moving away. Because if he did that, it would really be over and there was just a great gaping nothing after that.

And Lex was afraid of what came after the nothing. Or with it.

“I love you. Forgive me.”

He wasn’t even sure anymore what he was asking forgiveness for. Maybe for everything: what he’d done to get them to this point and all the things that would happen from here on out, maybe even for the fact that he couldn’t let go like she’d asked him to.

Chloe heard him but didn’t believe what he was saying. She didn’t believe that he loved her but she didn’t care at this exact moment in time. At this moment she was hurting and so was Lex and it felt good that he was holding her and she couldn’t be expected to react logically or with any type of thought.

Lex sounded on the verge of some type of breakdown. Chloe was already there. He moved slightly and she felt him kiss the top of her head.

Her hands fisted on the material of his shirt and jacket that she respectively held in her hands. She craned her head to look up at him. He looked horrible. Maybe only a little better than she probably looked.

Gently and slowly, almost as if he thought she was going to bolt, he used the jacket of his very expensive suit to wipe her face clean.

She loved him and he didn’t love her. But Chloe didn’t care. They needed each other right now. Tomorrow would be worse than today and it would be her fault, too, but she didn’t care.

Chloe stood up and Lex moved with her, almost as if he were ready to snatch her back to his body. She fumbled for a moment but then her hands captured his as she used her leverage to encourage him off the couch.

If Lex was immature, he’d dig his heels in and not budge an inch. And he did resist a little as she pulled him away from the couch. He couldn’t believe that she was actually making him leave.

Surprise hit as she pulled him in the opposite direction of the front door towards her bedroom.

Lex followed her wordlessly. He was confused, conflicted, he had no idea what was going on but at the moment what mattered most was the fact that she hadn’t made him leave. He was still here and Chloe was keeping hold of his hand as she went into the bedroom and steered them towards the bed.
There was no mistaking what was going to happen. And there was no part of Lex that was protesting it. He didn’t care that it was wrong, or that it wouldn’t accomplish anything, or that things would only be harder in the morning.

He leaned in for a kiss before she could think better of it. At the same time, she leaned up and in the same direction.

Their noses collided and then bumped again when both of them leaned in the other direction.

Lex let go of her hands and gently took hold of her head to keep her still.

Third time was the charm.

Warm lips. A rough, smooth, slick tongue, flicking out like quicksilver. And the odd warm, electric feeling was right there. The one that he’d missed whenever he’d kissed Andrea, or tonight when he’d tried with Felicity and Lana. It was coursing through his body like…The best comparison his brain could come up with was hot chocolate spiked with rum.

The fumbling awkwardness quickly disappeared once their mouths met. This kiss was different from their first. Instead of tasting like champagne and scallops Lex tasted like Scotch and whatever dessert he’d had during his date. Instead of hesitation it was laced with desperation.

And instead of praying for no one to come in and ruin the mood, Chloe prayed that one of them wouldn’t come to their senses.

She wasn’t wearing her shoes so she was close to a foot shorter than Lex. Her neck and toes arched up so she could maintain as much contact as was possible. Lex had one arm wrapped around her waist as the other cradled the back of her head, holding her in place.

Their bodies were crushed together and she could already feel him getting aroused. It was just as she’d told him before…she could barely breathe.

But it had more to do with the fact that her mouth wouldn’t release Lex’s in order to breathe. It was better than she’d remembered. Maybe because they both had use of all of their facilities or maybe because they were both so damn needy that neither of them worried about technique.

After another moment of kissing, her tongue was now running over the roof of his mouth and working its way along his teeth again, Lex pulled back.

But he didn’t have anything to say about what they were doing. Instead he bent down even more and started nipping at her neck. He knew it was a sensitive area on her body, she’d told him that once. Years ago.

As he used his teeth on her skin, marking her, there was no question about it and she didn’t ask him to stop, Chloe’s hands made their way to his shoulders. She started to slip the jacket off of him and he dropped his arms away from her body for a moment in order to help her.

Chloe was panting and moaning and practically grinding against him by this point in time. She tried to get his $900 hunter green cashmere sweater over his head but now he wouldn’t release his hold on her body. He’d found her ass and his hands were squeezing it as he pulled her closer to his body. His hips were making small pushes against her belly.

Undeterred, Chloe wormed her hands between their bodies and got them under the sweater. She ran them up and down the smooth skin, which was already hot, as much as she could.

She cried out his name in the next moment, forgetting what she was doing, when she felt his hand cover her breast under her tank top. She’d lost track of his hands and had paid the price.

Lex stifled a moan against her neck. Her skin was warming up under his touch, sharp little nipple poking the palm of his hand. His own skin felt almost too hot wherever her fingers strayed. Rearing back for a moment, he pulled off his sweater as quickly as possible and tossed it into the next corner.

The next second, she’d pulled him back into another kiss and things got fuzzy again. Cotton friction against his skin, naked warm flesh shifting against his palms. The cotton had to go, right now.

Removing her shirt proved difficult with her arms slung around his neck like vines and his mouth clinging to the spot on her neck where he’d already left a mark. Forced himself to release the skin long enough to pull the tank top over her head and make a mess of her hair.

Crushing their lips together again, bending low to reach and they weren’t near close enough like this. Hot hands sliding down his back and he mimicked the action, slid under the elastic of her pajamas to take hold of her ass and just pull her up, in, closer.

Matching groans as their hips collided and friction hit just the right place. Her tongue flicked against the roof of his mouth again and then there was suction that made his fingers clench on her butt, because wow.

Lex stumbled towards the bed that he knew had to be there, somewhere. Found it on collision and somehow managed to uncling Chloe enough to keep from landing on top of her as they fell.

Gravity had taken care of getting them on the bed with a little help from Lex. She knew she should feel a little self conscious. She had a ballpark figure of how many women he had been with, most of them with more impressive measurements than hers, but she was more concerned with getting comfy on the bed, touching more of Lex and urging them along to the inevitable.

Once their bodies stopped bouncing on the mattress, Lex was on top of her again. One arm braced on the mattress while the other traveled down her body. She held him in place at her mouth with her fingertips on the nape of his neck. Her other arm kept bumping into his as she went for his belt.

They were never going to get anywhere this way. Chloe moved both of her hands to Lex’s collarbones and gently pushed him away from her. “I’ll get a condom and you get naked.”

Maybe separating for a few seconds would help them to regroup. And regrow certain parts of their brains that would be necessary to coordinate their movement. Lex nodded once, kissed her again and then rolled away from her.

Chloe moved a little on the mattress and reached for her bedside table. She heard the clicking of Lex’s belt, the unzipping of his pants, the clumping of his shoes on her carpet and the shuffling of material.

She listened to this as she moved a few things out of her way before finding the box she was looking for. She felt Lex’s fingers at the waistband of her pants. She moved her hips as he guided them down her legs. She kicked them off once they reached her feet.

When Lex’s lips brushed against random places on her skin as he traveled back up her body, Chloe closed her eyes and concentrated on not dropping the packet in her fingers.

Lex was taking care of the covers and after some strategic rolling and moving, they were both placed under them. All Chloe could think about as he looked over her body hungrily was the fact that she hadn’t shaved her legs. And she also wasn’t waxed in a specific geographical region on her body.

Then she came to her senses and started to check out Lex’s body. Neither of them had flicked out the lights so even though he was under the blankets, she could still see all of the good parts. And there were a lot of them.

She felt Lex take the packet out of her hands as she blatantly stared at his body.

After some disagreement with the “tear here” line, Lex managed to get the package open and took out the transparent blue rubber. He ground his teeth as he rolled it on and gave his cock a couple strokes to relieve the tension.

Looking up he found her eyes roaming over him, face tilted down and totally absorbed in checking him out. His gaze slid down from her face as he returned the favor and promptly got stuck on her breasts. Soft white mounds that came closer and moved away with her breaths. Dusky rose colored nipples that beckoned to be nipped. Yeah, he loved breasts.

He hooked his arms under her shoulders and dove in. Warm, spicy smell and pliable skin he could indulge himself for hours. Flicked his tongue over the closest nipple and mapped his favorite spots with kisses.

Lex arched into the touches that skated all over his back and humped the mattress when surprisingly strong legs closed over his hips and pressed together.

“Chloe.” Her name slipped out on a groan.

He needed to get inside, now. Craved to bury himself all the way and fuck her until both of them passed out.

His hand slid down the length of her body and between her legs, fingers stroking through rough curls to her lips and finding her slippery, hot, ready.

Pushing two fingers inside with a moan and rearing into a messy kiss as he pumped them in and out of the tight channel.

Chloe’s head lolled back as her hips started to move. She could now see her headboard behind her. Her hands tightened on Lex’s shoulders as his fingers started to work her over. But she didn’t need that. She just wanted him to get on with it and get inside. All of this was far from necessary. She was about two minutes away from coming already.

She reached down between them and was finally able to get to what she wanted. Her hand encircled his cock and she ran it up and down the hard flesh twice before starting to guide him where she needed him.

Repositioning her legs slightly, she jumped a little when she felt him at her entrance. With one last squeeze, she let go of his cock and then looked back up at him, waiting. She was the one who was in love with him and who would pay the price in the morning so she needed him to do this.

Chloe gently kissed him once and then shifted her hips restlessly.

The gentle peck on his mouth had him dumbstruck for moment, but then she shifted her hips and his eyes went wide as he slipped inside. Lex exhaled a shuddering breath as tight hot velvet sucked him in and he couldn’t remember if it had ever felt this good before.

Couldn’t tear his gaze away from her face, couldn’t get his hands unglued from where they clawed into the mattress next to her shoulders; and fuck he never wanted to leave this place that was better than being high, way more heady than being drunk.

Then she shifted again and his body took over, hips moving to pull back and push in again, muscles working to keep his weight balanced. But his brain didn’t have anything to do with that, because it was stuck on the fact that he loved this.

He’d never forget that look on her face, the way her eyes went wide with every thrust and her mouth half open, tiny noises escaping with every breath. He loved this. Forced his eyes to stay open as her muscles contracted around his cock. Never wanted to look away.

Lex was looking at her so intensely, like she was one of his experiments or spreadsheets or a meteor freak, that she had to close her eyes. Though maybe it was the physical sensations that she was experiencing that made her close her eyes. Or maybe it was both.
He was grunting rhythmically above her but that only added to, did not distract from, the pleasure that was coursing through her body.

She knew that Lex would be good at this, she’d read enough and heard enough first hand to know that the man could fuck. But hearing about it and experiencing it were two different things.

Chloe focused on his cock, his voice, the weight on top of her. Not the fact that this was Lex. Her Lex. That she was getting what she’d wanted on so many levels for so long but not in any real, lasting way. If she did think about that, the tears would return. While Lex seemed to be enjoying himself at the moment she doubted he’d react kindly to her crying during the act so she forced all of that down.

Instead, she clung to his shoulders as she moved her hips to meet his hard, deliberate thrusts. Lex dropped his head to rest on her shoulder and she tightened her internal muscles as she moved her hips in a circle. Lex cursed and she gasped.

Her legs hooked themselves more securely around his middle and she arched her hips up a little more, pulling him deeper into her body. This time she cursed…at the top of her lungs.

She was clawing at his back by now, her nails marking him but turnabout was fair play. She was babbling almost incoherently. Her lips right by his ear she was fairly certain that he could make out at least some of the words. A mixture of curses, begging, telling him how amazing he was and other things she didn’t want to focus on.

He heard words spilling into his ear, along with hot breath that sent shivers down his spine, but they made no sense. There was no sense in anything, just sensation that pulled him in and pulled him under. Into heat and skin and the smell of sweat and sex, taste of salt in his mouth and sounds of pleasure ringing through his ears, warm red space behind his closed lids, flaring bright with every scratch to his back.

Arousal coiling sharply at the base of his spine, he was so close to coming it hurt. Fighting to push it back, longing to let it go and let it take him. Hands sliding over slick skin to find purchase on her shoulders, teeth scraping down her neck to kiss and lick, taking a nip at one nipple then the other, he felt her muscles squeeze around him, inside and out. So fucking close.

Their voices had risen in both pitch and volume, their hips slamming more urgently into one another, the rhythm that they’d found was starting to deteriorate from the blind need Chloe knew that they were both feeling. Lex was holding out for her. Wanting her to come first. She knew it.

Even if she stubbornly wanted him to come first it wasn’t going to happen. She was too close and this whole situation was too much for her to handle. She moved her hands from Lex’s back as she moved her legs. She was able to grab onto her knees after two attempts and she pulled them up to her body.

On Lex’s next thrust Chloe’s world exploded. Distantly, she realized that Lex had moved his body so he could hook his arms under her knees and keep her opened up to him. She screamed her release, unashamed of what he was doing to her body.

Her muscles gripped him tighter, then loosened, tight again, loosening. She jerked her hips along with the rest of her body, making it last, as some of her hair flew into her mouth. She arched up and clawed at Lex’s lower back. His hips pumped brutally into hers and she felt, heard, saw him come.

He viciously, primally and instinctually fucked her for a few seconds as he rode out his orgasm. She could feel him through the latex and she groaned at the look on his face. His mouth fell open and she used the opportunity to lean up and give him a sloppy kiss.

Her lower body never stopped moving. Lex opened his eyes and looked down at her. Watching as she bit down on her lower lip and milked his cock. Lex was panting above her, staring at her as he moved the locks of hair out of her mouth that still hadn’t dislodged even after their kiss.

Genesis 1.3. And God said ‘Let there be light’ and there was light. And Lex had definitely seen the light. Crashed into it head on, more like it.

He couldn’t stop looking at her. It was like someone had pulled off the blinders, smacked him in the head and pointed his nose at something he should have seen ages ago, because it was right there.

There in the way her legs stayed twined around him, keeping him inside her. In the way his own body refused to move more than necessary to slide his hands back under her shoulders and hold on. He lowered his face and kissed her gently on the lips.

What could he say? He was possibly the greatest fool on this green earth and had ruined everything because he’d been too blindly focused on the wrong things. And now it was too late.

Lex moved down to rest his head on her chest and closed his eyes. The rhythmic beating of her heart slowed down against his ear as he cursed himself for being himself. All he had left was the time between now and when she decided to kick him out.

This had to be his personal hell. Fucking up the best thing in his world without any outside help.

There was nothing he could say right now. Nothing he could do except hold on and wait for Chloe to speak first. And he knew what she would say. Something along the lines of: ‘I think you should go’ and ‘This doesn’t change anything.’

Except that it had. And for the first time he wished that things had gone different that night in the drawing room. He wished that Enrique hadn’t interrupted them and that things had gone the way they would have. Because if that had happened, he would have known. Lex would have known and spared both of them the situation they were in now.

The looks that Lex had given her were very confusing. Chloe kept her mouth shut, not asking what was going on in his head. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to know. Now that they were done with the amazing sex portion of the evening, her mind was starting to work again.

But before it sprung fully to life, she closed her eyes and tried to commit everything that had happened between them to memory. If she didn’t know Lex as well as she did, she would have sworn that he was looking at her with love in his eyes or heart or some other bullshit in those romance novels that she did not read and were certainly not hidden in her bedside table.

Lex’s breathing was returning to normal and one of her hands stroked over the base of his skull while the other was busy trying to soothe the marks on his back. He was probably trying to figure out the best way to extricate himself out of the situation.

She didn’t want him to leave. That was the long and short of it. Because once he was gone, he was gone. Yes, it would be her own doing, Lex just following her wishes but when she thought about the first few days without him…well, her brain could only come up with a picture of herself alternating between eating everything in her fridge and not eating at all.

Lana would come over and stay with her. Lois would look up how to castrate a man on the internet. Clark would be his usual ineffectual self while he tried to help her through it. Just those people around her. No Lex. Not ever again.

She cleared her throat and opened her eyes. “I know that it’s, um, weird that I’m asking you this after what I just said before. But,” she hated the way her voice sounded. “Can you stay tonight?”

Chloe was weak and stupid and just making things worse but she decided to go with it for the moment.

Lex jerked at the initial words, expecting to be thrown out, before their message became clear. She’d asked him to stay. For tonight. He didn’t know what that would mean come morning but for now it meant that he didn’t have to let go. That he was given more time.

Taking a deep breath, he didn’t move from his position on her chest as he spoke, “I can stay.”

~~

The sausages sizzled in the pan and the eggs were almost ready, there were ready made biscuits in the oven and Lex didn’t know he had it in him.

He’d woken up about an hour ago, clinging to a warm body with his nose buried in thick blonde hair. Both of which turned out to belong to Chloe. Then his brain had decided to give him a fast forward repeat of the night before and he’d reluctantly pulled away and gotten up. He’d intended to leave before she made him go, not wanting any kind of scene.

He’d gotten as far as Bob’s Hardwarez at the corner of her street. Then his brain had stopped functioning correctly and made him do something that he would never have a sound explanation for. After that, he’d returned to Chloe’s apartment, apparently still temporarily insane, and followed the instructions to install the bolt lock on the door. Once he was done locking up the apartment, he’d entered the kitchen, opened the fridge and started to pull a Martha Kent.

Breakfast was almost ready, and he still didn’t have a clue what to say when Chloe got up and found him in her kitchen instead of out of her life.

When Chloe woke up and found herself alone in the bed she took a moment to think about the ramifications of what she’d asked of Lex. Honestly, after his words last night she was shocked that he was gone. It was what she wanted but it still hurt like…was that bacon?

As she padded across her bedroom the smell became stronger and she heard noises coming from the kitchen/living room area. That had better be Lex. Of course, she didn’t think many burglars were in the habit of making breakfast for their victims.

Chloe felt sweaty and sticky but she didn’t think she should put off what she needed to do for a shower. Besides, Lex had seen her look much worse. There was the time she’d gotten food poisoning from the shrimp she insisted on eating from a roadside stand the time they’d been coming back from the opera in Metropolis.

The slight ache between her legs reminded her that he’d seen her in other compromising positions as well. Quickly throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt she decided it was time to join Lex in the living room.

He was in the small kitchen obviously making breakfast. His back was to her so she just watched him for a moment. Why couldn’t the stupid bastard just love her the fuck back? Was that so fucking hard? Moron.

Well, he’d just have to live the rest of his life without the amazing sex they’d had the night before. That ought to fix him. Chloe had just decided that she was going to be angry instead of upset. That was much better and constructive.

Her eyes alighted on a piece of plastic that sat on her coffee table. She picked it up and then her head whipped around to the front door. Her heart sped up when she saw what was now on her door.

Lex had bolted both of them inside of her apartment. He wasn’t giving up. Christ, she wasn’t strong enough to take this. It was the ultimate fucked up, obsessive yet not romantic at all gesture she’d ever seen. God, she loved him.

She threw the plastic back on the coffee table and approached the kitchen. “I hope you saved the receipt for that,” she said, softly.

He didn’t look up from the pan, caught the jerk of his hand before it was too visible and straightened up.

“No reason to do so.”

His brain was still not coming up with the right words and he was again winging it. And he still hated it. There should be some convenient speech at the top of his head that resolved all issues. This was where Hollywood movies were ultimately wrong. When the guy showed up and had all the right words to say and knew how to say them and after about 3 minutes of grand speech he had the girl where he wanted her. Yeah, that so didn’t happen in real life.

For his part, he was only sure about one thing. There would be no leaving unless she managed to physically break the bolt lock and shove him out the door. The rest was completely unclear.

The tension in his body was clear. He didn’t look up at her when she spoke. This was going to be another one of those marathon discussions that drained her of the will to live. She could just tell. It was like that time that Lex tried to convince her that the first Godfather was better than the second.

“What are you doing, Lex?” She really wanted to know. What did he hope to accomplish? They’d said their goodbyes last night. She’d given him much more than the hug she’d planned on. “And don’t say making breakfast. Do you think that by locking me in here you’ll convince me that I don’t love you and that we can just keep going like we’ve been?”

Lex checked on the biscuits and turned off the oven. Of course she’d not given him the option to evade verbally. He hadn’t been able to use verbal evasions since that one discussion a couple years ago when she’d asked him for the real story of his days at Excelsior. It made keeping things a secret exceptionally difficult.

“I won’t try to convince you that you don’t love me,” he said, stalling for time.

As it was, he was still trying to come up with a way to convince her that he was, after all, in love with her. Not the usual kind that came with butterflies in the stomach and rose colored glasses. If it was anything like that, he would have recognized it a lot sooner. But Lex had never been the butterflies and glasses type, so of course he hadn’t recognized it and played himself so far into a corner that there was possibly no way out of it.

He bent down, took the biscuits out of the oven and set the tray on the rinse next to the sink. He turned off the burners and took two plates and an additional mug from the cupboard.

“Do you remember why I hate tissue movies?” he asked without thinking as he started piling the food on the plates.

Chloe noted the fact that he wasn’t going to try to talk her out of being in love with him. That was a plus. She didn’t know where he was going with the question but knew he wouldn’t be asking it if it wasn’t important, in some way.

“Because they’re trite and clichéd and don’t correctly represent the way that the real world works,” she responded. She’d heard the criticism more times than she could remember.

Chloe took the offered plates and put them down on the tiny table that was in her kitchen. She retrieved some forks, knives, napkins and salt and then sat down, waiting for Lex to speak.

He poured both of them coffee, then sat down and stared at his plate. He hadn’t even known he was going to ask her that question. And it was really not a good idea to just come straight out and say it, because her reaction would be explosive.

“They are, in most ways. The characters always know what to say, when and how to say it. And there’s nothing they could fuck up that doesn’t get fixed.”

While in real life, he was sitting here and wished he could remember the appropriate movie so he could steal the lead character’s lines and get the desired result. Of course, his memory wasn’t being cooperative.

“Like Jerry Maguire. You remember that one?”

In his opinion, one of the worst movies Tom had ever done. Including War of the Worlds. The worst part of it had been the end.

“He comes in with his grand speech at the end and everything is forgiven and forgotten.”

“Yeah, I remember,” she said. They’d had this discussion. It was her firm belief that he didn’t actually love the other character. He felt bad and he liked her and he liked her kid and he didn’t want to be alone.

Lex hadn’t touched his food and neither had she. “Lex, I know that you’re trying to make a point but I’m just not seeing it. Little help?”

He was struggling with his words which was something she wasn’t used to. He obviously needed to tell her something but things were just not…

It was almost audible. The click in her head. Her heart sank but she waited for Lex to go and lie to her.

Lex looked up from his plate to meet her eyes. She looked like she was preparing for a punch in the face. And that was exactly why he hated this and didn’t know how to do it.

“See, I didn’t buy it. And I know you wouldn’t buy it. That’s why I can’t take this road and don’t know how to do this. Because you won’t believe me.”

It had come to him about a second after his realization, the knowledge that she’d sooner believe he’d turned to communism than even entertain the thought that he loved her back.

There simply was no way to just say the words and have her believe them.

“Sex isn’t love.” She looked down at her plate. “You of all people should know that,” she muttered. She closed her eyes and shook her head once. This wasn’t her. She looked back up at Lex. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

She sat back in her chair. “You’ve told me that you don’t love me numerous times. Lex, how can I believe you now?”

Chloe wouldn’t let herself think it was true for a moment. She couldn’t. Because if she did, if she did and he was lying. Well, she’d kill him. With her bare hands. And then set fire to his carcass.

He needed to go. Now. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t have the same conversation with him again. Chloe looked over at the door. From here it looked like Lex had done a pretty good job installing the thing and she was fairly certain that he’d then probably hidden her toolbox.

“What do you want from me,” she asked. Trying another tactic. Maybe if he could be clear about what he expected then they could work from there.

It was his last shot, and he knew it. If he didn’t have something to convince her now, she’d make him leave and never let him back in.

“Give me a chance.”

When her face fell in disbelief, he tried to plead his case. “You believe that I care for you, right?”

She nodded, then opened her mouth, and he just knew she’d start the sentence with a ‘but’ if he didn’t cut her off, so he hurried on.

“You believe that I love spending time with you and that you’re my best friend.”

“Yes, but…”

He cut her off again, “And the sex last night was incredible, right?”

She actually blushed at that before she answered with a ‘yeah.’

“Then can’t we start there? Give me a chance, Chloe.”

Lex reached out and took hold of her hand, willing her to listen to him and give him the chance he was asking for. “In a few weeks, you can make your decision.” Even though he had no clue how more time was going to help him ‘prove’ that he loved her. But he’d worry about that after she agreed. “Only a few weeks and if you think I’m bullshitting you,” he paused before he could force himself to spit out the worst part. “I’ll leave and you won’t have to see me again.”

Lex was holding on to her with a death grip. Like last night. Chloe was a big believer in words and while they were convincing, it was the way he held on to her that gave her pause. Like she was his life jacket. But she didn’t want to be something that Lex used to save himself.

The real question was whether she trusted Lex. And whether she trusted herself at this point to make such an important decision. She knew the answer to the first question but wasn’t too sure about the second.

What Lex was saying made perfect sense. Had he said this, oh, two weeks ago it would be an easy answer but it wasn’t two weeks ago.

Chloe looked up at her best friend. Her decision made. When she saw his face, she changed her mind again. After all of their years together, she could give him a few weeks. She didn’t dare to hope that he actually loved her like he was now claiming to but by doing this she could convince both of them that she’d tried her best.

“OK,” she said clearly. She nodded. “We’ll date,” the word sounded very odd to her at the moment, “for a few weeks.”

A moronic part of him was pushing to ask ‘really?’, but he wasn’t going to give her the opportunity to change her mind. She’d agreed and despite everything that had gone wrong, she’d given him the chance to make things right. There was no risking that.

“Thank you.”

He had to get this right. If it was the last thing he did, Lex would take the time he was granted and convince her that she could believe him. Whatever terms she set for the dates, he’d work with them to make those upcoming weeks make up for all the misery he’d put her through. And he knew there would be terms, and terms with clauses attached to them. That was how Chloe worked. But he also knew there were ways around them. He’d had years of training in finding those.

~~

Six weeks later Chloe was late for a lunch date with Lana. She knew that the girl was probably eating her hair by now. It was time for Chloe to make her decision. Chloe prided herself on being on time but she’d been distracted. By Lex.

A grin lit up her face as she remembered what he’d done to try and convince her that they should keep on dating. It had been rather creative…and orgasm inducing. Hence the glow and the lateness.

She caught sight of her friend and sat down in the chair opposite of her. “Sorry I’m late.” She looked over at Lana, who was grinning. “What?” She said nothing. Chloe glared at her as her grin grew wider. “Shut up.”

Lana hadn’t minded waiting too much. Ok, she was ready to eat a horse by now and if it wasn’t for the fact that she knew who Chloe had been with before coming here, she would have pitched a fit. But she knew just where her friend came from, so irritation took a backseat to curiosity.

“So?” she asked as she picked up her drink, waiting for her answer.

Chloe had told her all about Lex’s plan and kept her up to snuff, but today was the deadline and until now, the blonde had stubbornly refused to make her decision known. Even though Lana was sure she’d put her money on the right horse, judging by the way her friend had been grinning wide enough to make a crest commercial envious for the last three weeks.

Said friend was now sporting that aforementioned grin and didn’t say anything except. “And?”

Lana couldn’t take it anymore. She placed her coke on the table with a huff and burst out, “Oh, come on! Spill already, what’s your decision?”

Chloe’s decision hadn’t been too long in the making. She’d known for the last month or so what she was going to do. Lex had never said the words but she knew that the man did, in fact, love her.

Part of the problem was that Lex, as horribly clichéd as it sounded, really didn’t know what love was. She couldn’t blame the man based on his past experiences with those that claimed to care about him.

The first two weeks had been strange what with the man trying to lavish her with gifts in his own way. Nothing that he knew she would send back and nothing to buy her affections but she did tell him if he gave her one more flower he’d be picking the thorns out of his ass. The only real gift that she’d gotten was that he’d hired Enrique back. She still couldn’t believe that Lex had fired him in the first place.

They’d gone on quite a few dates before figuring out how best to work what they had. Actually, she loved the way they were before she’d admitted her feelings and they’d quickly gotten back into that pattern.

The only thing that had changed between them was the sex. And she wasn’t complaining in that department. She hadn’t told Lex that she wouldn’t sleep with him again during the course of the six week trial but she thought that he had assumed that it was part of the deal.

He’d been gentlemanly on all of their dates and never pushy. When he’d left her at her place after a particularly good date that left her all tingly she’d waited 20 minutes and then driven to the Manor. He’d looked surprised to see her but he hadn’t gotten much of a chance to ask what she was doing there. He’d been too distracted by her hands on his belt.

But it wasn’t the sex that made up her mind. It was everything that surrounded it. Lex knew her in every sense of the word. He made her laugh, she could tell him anything, be herself and he wouldn’t judge her and then there was the fact that he was clearly devoted to making her happy. But that didn’t mean that he put up with her shit. They’d still fought over the past few weeks. It had almost been a relief to see that he wasn’t going to cave on any and all respects.

All in all, everything a girl could ask for.

“Please,” Chloe said, putting her napkin in her lap, “as if you don’t already know.” Lana’s grin widened. “Lex does love me.” Lana let out a sort of squeak and started to clap happily.

“I’ve really just been seeing how far I can push him in the bedroom for the past week as a sort of experiment while biding my time before telling him.”

“Chloe!” Lana exclaimed halfway between laughter and indignation.

She couldn’t believe that her friend had made Lex Luthor dangle before…oh who was she kidding, of course Chloe would let him dangle and it served the bastard right for what he put her through before he finally saw the light.

They both shared a giggle and as soon as she could breathe again, Lana wanted details.

Things had turned out to everyone’s satisfaction. Lex and Chloe were together, both of them were happy and basically inseparable. The universe was back in balance and Lana could finally order her lunch.

In short: Happy End.

~~

Chloe returned from her lunch with Lana full, happy and just a little drunk. Unsurprisingly, Lex was at her apartment. He looked up at her expectantly…as he’d done all day.

She giggled a little as she flicked off her shoes. She worked her way under her skirt and shucked her panties off. “I know that you love me,” she said as she walked towards her bedroom backwards, “now get over here and prove it,” she held out her hands towards him.

Lex’s face broke out into an honest to god grin. He had planned, schemed, fought, fucked and lost sleep for this. Those first six words out of her mouth were worth it.

He closed the distance between them and lifted her up around the waist and into a kiss. Spinning her around for the hell of it, Lex managed to remember the direction of the nearest bedroom. He’d prove it to her, alright. Over and over again, and with pleasure.

The End

Shane77
22nd November 2012, 02:19
Thanks Julie! Even if I already read it, I wanted to read it again and was stuck as every one^^
Love this one!

reyeslu
22nd November 2012, 06:08
thanks for reposting the ending Julie

And Blue and Sabby Thanks for this fun story

daria_103
23rd November 2012, 22:16
Such a wonderful story, thanks Bluesabby and thank you Julie for posting the rest of the chapters!

malugargula
24th November 2012, 01:35
That's an amazing fic
Thanks Julie for reposting it

jstarr713
3rd December 2012, 06:28
thanks for the repost

mama_kat
3rd December 2012, 07:38
Thanks for the repost, Julie :)

jstarr713
9th March 2014, 08:53
Rereading for the hundredth time

Ami Rose
13th April 2020, 03:42
Loved it... ummm yah! Awesome! LOVED IT!

letia84
20th May 2022, 01:16
Great, littl fic. Leave to Lex to not know his own feelings. Refreshing take on Lana to. A friend and instead of a fri enemy.