In Your Shoes (R) UPDATED:August 25th, 2010

[BlueSabby]

Disclaimer: We own nothing that is in any way affiliated with Smallville or the CW. We're just playing with the toys. So please, don't sue us.


Summary:A freak occurance in Smallville leads to Chloe, Lex, Pete, Lana and Clark knowing more about each other than they ever imagined. Or wanted to know.



A/N: Sabby: Okay, another one out of the lost and found. I don't even remember how this idea came up, but we ran with it and now you get to enjoy the crazy. Have fun.

A/N Blue: This one takes place a few years ago with what used to be the main characters. Fun and a little off the wall like you all like....hopefully. Enjoy.




While it had been storming all week, the weather seemed to be behaving itself for now. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the stars shone brightly overhead. It was one of those perfectly clear and cool evenings in which the moon looked impossibly huge and illuminated the ground below with an ethereal glow. It seemed as if Mother Nature herself didn’t dare to raise a thunderbolt or rain cloud against the Luthors. Lex had been planning the ‘little get-together’, as he called it, for weeks now. Or, more accurately, his planners had. When confronted with the weather forecast, he had shrugged it off. He had maintained that the night would turn out to be flawless. It irked Chloe to no end that he had been correct.

She passed through a stone archway that she didn’t remember from the numerous covert times she had skulked about the Luthor grounds. Lex had most likely had it brought in especially for the occasion. She rolled her eyes at the action. For all of the posturing that Lex went through about how he didn’t give a damn what the townsfolk thought of him, he always went above and beyond the call of duty when he threw a shindig.

Chloe tried to take in all of the wide expanse of lawn and the decorations that were festooned artfully around the cultivated, lush gardens as she passed them by. She had to admit that the place did look first-rate. His staff had obviously worked very hard for their master. She chuckled at the mental picture of Lex cracking a whip and screaming at his minions to work harder and make thing more purple.

Pete kicked at a marble, looking down the walkway that slithered in elegant swings through the wide garden. The sandy path was flanked with finely chiseled marble statues that he knew for a fact hadn't been there until last week. “Show-Off.” He muttered to himself as he kept walking in search of Chloe, Clark or Lana.

He hated that his mother had put him into that stupid suit and made him go to this party. “This party is a celebration of the plant’s achievement. The plant employs about 80 % of the working people in this town. I am the judge, so I have to go.” Pete huffed as he kicked at some more gravel.

When he looked up, a wide grin came over his face. He'd finally found one of his friends! Jogging up to her, he threw an arm around her shoulder to get her attention.

Chloe felt someone throw their arm around her shoulder and she tilted her head to see Pete looking quizzically at her. “If you tell me you’re laughing at Lex I’ll pledge my undying love and servitude to you.”

“Yeah, well partly. But for the most part, I'm just glad to see you. I was dying of boredom in there and my mom is schmoozing it up with some people from Metropolis, so...” He trailed off with a shrug, still keeping his arm around Chloe's shoulder.

She leaned into Pete, causing them to veer off onto a path that led them deeper into the gardens and away from the party. Pete looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Ross, it’s not like I’m leading you down here to jump you, so relax. I just thought you might want to get away from everyone else. Especially since I think I saw Lex coming our way. You know, playing the gracious host and all. But, if you’ve got a problem being back here..” she started to walk back in the direction they came from.

“No, that's quite alright.” He turned her right back around and away from the general direction of all things Luthor. “I have no intention of running into Mr. Bald is Beautiful and having to be nice just to avoid getting grounded by my mother.” He looked around, trying to find some nice secluded spot that would serve as a hiding place from the Armani-Plague.

She was about to respond when she caught some movement out of her peripheral vision. Chloe saw two figures lurking about ten feet away from them. When she made out who it was, she groaned a little. “How about Brunette is Beautiful?” She tilted her chin and gestured to the twosome that was now approaching them. Taking in their appearance she said, “Or Blushing is Beautiful?”

Pete swiveled his head around to see Clark and Lana approaching them from the left. “Eh, as long as they don't make all with the lovey dovey.” He shrugged again, turning Chloe and himself around to face their friends. “Yo, Clark! Lana,” he nodded. “Had fun in the sticks?” he teased as the pair came to a halt in front of them.

“Um…” Clark stumbled for words. Nothing had really happened. It had been close but a balloon had popped off in the distance, startling both Lana and himself. Now he had to deal with Pete grinning at him and Chloe’s expectant look. “Lana needed some help with…”

Chloe cut him off. “Something stuck in her throat?” Now that she was over Clark, it was fun mocking his progress, or lack thereof, with Lana.

Pete snickered at Chloe's pun and the couple's reaction to it. At the moment it seemed to be a competition who of the lovebirds could blush the hardest. “Yeah, good thing our Clark is so good with CPR, isn't it?” He added grinning.

Grinning over at Pete, Chloe said, “Yeah, we should ask Lex how Clark’s technique is. Being that he was Clark’s *first*.” She didn’t think it was possible but Clark’s face turned even redder. It was almost too easy.

”Eeww, man. So didn't need thatvisual.” Pete made a face. Sucking face with Luthor still number one on his top ten most disgusting list. “Speaking of the devil,” he turned back around to Lana and Clark. “If he's trying to use this party gig to convince people that he's something other than an arrogant stuck up bastard, he's not gonna be happy with the results.” He shook his head. “I mean marble statues? How Abercrombie can you get?” He motioned widely around, indicating the statues lining the small walkway somewhere behind.

“I'm sure Vitelli would be very disappointed to hear that his art is not appreciated for its beauty. But then, we can't all have an eye for the beauty of the inanimate variety, right Mr. Ross?” Lex stepped up to the group, shoving his hands into his pants pockets as he stepped up between Chloe and Clark.

He was glad to have found the circle of friends, because even though Peter Ross had a particular dislike towards him, at least here he didn't have to lay it on thick and kiss ass to be involved in a conversation. He could just trade some banter or give his own opinion to whatever was talked about. “Chloe, Clark, Lana.” He nodded to every one of them in turn. The girls had dressed up as far as their pocket money would allow and Clark was wearing the same tux he'd worn to the spring formal 3 years ago. “I take it the party is not too much to your liking?”

When Chloe saw that no one else was even close to thinking of a response to Lex, she decided to bite the bullet. “I think that any party that has an average age of at least twenty years above one’s own wouldn’t be too terribly enjoyable.” She kept her response even handed. She didn’t want to have to referee between Lex and Pete. It had gotten old months ago and she was sick of it. Sure, she made fun of Lex, but it wasn’t nearly as mean spirited or as full of vitriol as Pete’s comments usually were.

Lex nodded, understanding. “Yeah, I did invite more of the local youth, but it seems you and a few others are the only ones who actually came. On the upside, the old folks will probably leave early, so.” He nonchalantly shrugged a shoulder, “If you want to you can ask your parents if they'll let you stay over and we could make use of my entertainment system once they have left.”

Lana looked over at Clark. If the Manor cleared out, maybe she’d have more of an opportunity to be alone with him. He had barely been able to compliment her outfit at all so far. She had been seriously considering letting him kiss her. As if reading her mind, Clark said, “That sounds good, Lex. I’m sure our parents…”

Lana’s eyes started to tear. ‘I don’t have any parents.’ She felt a strong hand on the small of her back and looked up gratefully at Clark. He seemed to be the only one who understood how hard it was.
Chloe’s mouth gaped open and she shook her head, knowing what Lana was thinking.

Clark cleared his throat and started again. “I’m sure that we’ll all be able to stay, right guys?” He looked over at Pete and Chloe, hoping that they would understand that they should stay for Lana’s sake. Now that she was thinking about what happened to her, she’d need her friends there for support.

Pete glared at his friend. Great now he'd have to suffer the whole night in the company of Mr. Clean instead of just a few more hours. He was just about to say to hell with it and decline, when Clark started with the puppy eyes. 'Oh fuck no!' “Alright, alright, I'm sure mom will agree, after all she seemed to get along with Mr. ...” he received a hard elbow to the ribs and shot a sideways glance at Chloe before he continued. “Luthor here, so I don't think she'll have anything to say about it.” He sent a challenging look at the devil's offspring, daring him to say anything.

Lex smirked at the shorter boy, taking his hands out of his pockets and holding them up slightly to show he had no intention of giving any comment to that.

“Great, so I'll let you go to ask your parents to make sure and after the old folks have gone, I'll leave you free reign to decide what you want to do.” Thinking about his choice of words, he quickly added. “Within reason of course.”

At hearing the words free reign in conjunction with Lex’s place, Chloe had started to get all sorts of ideas. However, her hopes were dashed when Lex added his last few words. ‘Give a girl hope and then tear it down.’ She cursed under her breath and her eyes narrowed when she saw a small smile appear on Lex’s face.

Lex watched as Chloe's eyes narrowed to accompany the small pout on her lips and had a hard time keeping the grin that threatened to appear on his own face down to a smirk. “Any complaints, Chloe?”

‘Uh oh.’ Clark could see where this was going. He was able to check his sigh. Playing referee between Lex and Chloe was becoming tiring. He didn’t understand why they seemed to enjoy antagonizing each other. It was usually just a little bother, but now that Lana’s well being was on the line, he didn’t see why they couldn’t just get along for her sake. “Of course she doesn’t have any complaints.” He tried to catch Chloe’s gaze in order to plead with her to just stow the attitude for once.

Lex shot a sideways glance at Clark 'Spoil-sport' before he turned back to Chloe. “I'm sure I'll be able to entertain you. I could have Enrique set up a scavenger hunt to satisfy your investigative urges if need be,” he goaded her further.

The important decision Chloe needed to make was whose ass to kick first. While pounding Lex was tempting, he was just taking advantage of the situation that was presented to him. She had done the very same thing time and time again. So, it was down to Lana or Clark.

Clark’s brain was obviously being taken over by Lana, so Chloe decided that the other girl was the one who deserved a beating the most. But, when she looked over at the pathetic face that she was making and took in the fact that she was now sniffling, she stifled the violent urges. She wouldn’t be able to explain how Lana provoked her and she didn’t want to spend time behind bars or explaining herself to Sheriff Adams as Lana prattled on about how bad things kept happening to her.

“There’s no need to trouble poor Enrique.” She wasn’t going to rise to Lex’s bait. She linked arms with Pete. “I’m sure that Pete and I will find a way to entertain ourselves.”

Lex's eyebrows climbed high on his forehead as Pete pulled Chloe even closer and wrapped an arm around her waist “Sure, thing Chlo'. You know you can always count on me for entertainment.”

At Mr. Ross' rather double edged intonation of the word, Lex titled his head looking the couple over. “Oh, can it be I missed some town gossip? Not that I want to assume anything,” he trailed off as he kept giving them an assessing look.

Lana was getting bored, this had nothing to do with her. So she started thinking about how she could get she and Clark alone when the time came.

Clark’s head swiveled towards Pete and Chloe. He hadn’t heard anything about them going out and he thought that they might have mentioned something like that. And if they didn’t, he was certain he would have picked up on it, he was very observant.

Every now and again, Chloe was unsure about Lex’s motives behind a question or comment and now was one of those times. Was he making a dig at her? Pete? Or was he really just trying to see if they were together? Flummoxed, she answered, “Pete and I aren’t into definitions, are we Pete?”

Pete grinned widely. He was almost sure Luthor looked a little uncomfortable about not being in the know. “Nah, that's only for stuck ups. We're about fun and games.” For good measure, he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Lex wasn't sure how to take this, but one thing was for sure, he wouldn't have anything below the belt going on in his house. At least not as long as he wasn't involved in it. Which was not going to happen because they were teenagers after all. “Well as much as I myself enjoy fun and games at times, let's make one thing clear. There will be separate bedrooms for every one of you. I don't wanna be held responsible for leading Smallville's youth astray, after all.”

Chloe rolled her eyes at Lex’s attempt to lay down the law. “Lex, do you really think that after all of the time I’ve spent in your place after hours that I can’t find my way around in the dark? I’ve always been able to find the bedroom that I’ve been looking for.”

‘Well, that didn’t come out the way I wanted it to.’ She was referencing a time when she had tried to score an interview with Enrique. She had almost given the man a heart attack when she knocked at his door so late. He had, of course, declined the interview and then made sure she was in her car driving away before returning back to the Manor.

Lex merely smirked at Chloe's unfortunate choice of words and indulged in the various reactions of the others. Personally, he gave Pete the medal for most obvious.

“What? What the hell are you doing traipsing around the haunted house after dark?” His arm dropped from around Chloe's waist as he looked at her completely agape.

There couldn't be more going on between her and the maniac of the manor, could there? No, no way, there just couldn't be. That'd be just ...no.

Lana, Pete and Clark were all waiting for Chloe’s response while Lex was just watching the exchange with glee. She expected as much from Lex but the tone of Pete’s voice was far too much like Clark for her liking. Forgetting that Lex was the man under discussion she started to fume at the fact that Pete would ever look at her that way for dating someone. Her choices were her own, good, bad or stupid. She gave Pete a silencing look as she tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t come out as her screaming at Pete.

While the subject of Chloe wasn’t Lana’s favorite to discuss, the subject of someone they both knew *preferring* Chloe over her was something that needed to be addressed. “I’m sure that there’s some logical explanation for what Chloe meant.” There, that came out well. That way it would look like she was on Chloe’s side. She gave the blonde an encouraging smile, hoping that she would jump in to explain. Lex had always favored Lana and treated her like a princess when compared to Chloe, and she had no intention of that changing.

Lex recognized the jealousy in Lana's eyes and wondered what he'd ever done to encourage that kind of reaction from her. Shaking it off, he turned his attention back on Chloe but didn't get farther than taking a breath to answer when Clark piped up. “Yeah Chloe, I'd like to know too if there's something going on between the two of you.” It would explain the tension between Lex and Chloe that had been mounting ever since the trial of Lionel had been done and over with. They seemed to be unable to occupy the same space for five minutes without getting into a spat.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” It took Chloe a moment to realize that she had said that aloud. But, now that she had, there was no reason to stop the rant that was on the tip of her tongue.

“Where in the hell do you, of all people, get off demanding to know if I’m involved with Lex?” She looked full on at Clark and, after a moment in her gaze, he ducked his head. “You don’t tell me anything that’s going on in your life. Ever. Especially in the realm of where your tongue has been.” She gestured vaguely to Lana. “I don’t owe you anything, you jackass. If I want to mount Lex and ride him in every room,” she pointed up to the Manor, “that’s my business, his business,” she pointed at Lex, “and none of yours.” She hissed out the last word as she glared at Clark.

Lex's eyebrows once again returned to a place high on his forehead at Chloe's rant as very interesting and definitely X-Rated images flitted through his mind at her provocative words. 'In every room, eh?' Shaking his head slightly, he tried to ban that particular thought. 'Teenager, remember?' But damn, she was a hot little thing, there was no denying that. And if the passion she showed in arguments traversed into the bedroom as well 'Uhh, damn''

She could actually hear the crickets chirping after she stopped speaking. “Being that you all have come up with answers for yourselves to the question you asked me, I’ll just let you keep doing so. They’re much more interesting than the truth.” Chloe knew that she was stomping off like a child but she didn’t care. She was beyond enraged and it wouldn’t be very good for anyone involved if she stayed where she was.

Lex turned halfway to watch her walk away, still absorbed in his own thoughts as he regarded her retreating backside. 'Damn, if only she wasn't jailbait.' Then again, she was eighteen now, so not really jailbait. 'Hrm.' A small smirk formed on his face. He turned back to the group, just in time to bump shoulders with Pete who was rushing after Chloe.

”Hey, wait. Chloe I'm sorry!”

Lex turned fully to the two remaining teens, stifling the urge to heave a sigh. Great, now he was left with The Princess and her Knight in Shining Armor.

”I have to return to the manor and get something to drink then tend to my guests. I trust you two are going to be able to fare on your own?”

Lana looked over at Clark, waiting for him to tell Lex that they would be fine alone. It was good that Chloe had yelled like that. She got all red when that happened and boys didn’t like girls that did things like that. Finally, she noticed some movement from Clark.

Clark shuffled his feet uncomfortably on the floor. Damn he hated it when Chloe did things like that. He was still reeling from her outburst in his direction.

First, he couldn’t believe that she had said any of that to him. Sure, he hadn’t been honest with her in the past about his powers. Or when he and Lana got together. But, that still didn’t give Chloe the right to say all of that.

It wasn’t like he lied to her all the time. Plus he still hadn't gotten a real answer to the question that was nagging at his mind.

“Sure Lex, we'll be alright, but...” How to say that? He fixed his eyes at a spot between Lex's expensive shoes. “Uhm, you and Chloe, you're not really errr?” He stopped and dared a glance up at Lex from under his bangs. Neither of them had denied or verified it. He just had to know, though.

Lex bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Leave it to the farmboy to try and win a fight between innocence and curiosity and fail miserably at both ends. “Well Clark, you know me. Would I ever do something like that?” he asked bluntly before turning around and leaving the two teens guessing. “I'll see you later you two.” He shot back over his shoulder, laughing inwardly at their dumbfounded expressions. Ah life was good. Now he only wondered where Chloe had run off to.
~~~
After Pete had made a poor attempt to explain himself, Chloe had merely walked away from him. She needed some serious alone time. The gardens of the Manor were crawling with what seemed like the entire population of Smallville so that was out. In fact, Chloe decided that outside was a bad idea.

She had made her way inside the Manor and had headed for one of the lower floors. The champagne was flowing freely so she doubted that anyone would be coming down into the wine cellar anytime soon. She passed row upon row of expensive alcohol and then sat down gingerly on a chair, careful of her dress. She covered her face with her hands and let out a primal scream.

Clark and Lana had opted for strolling the gardens since they were finally alone once more. Clark loved any alone time he got with Lana, since it was a rare occasion between chores on the farm, saving people from meteor mutants, school, Lana's job at the Talon and other obligations that they hardly got away from.

Pulling her closer, he steered them to a small gazebo the likes of which had been set up all over the extensive garden grounds of the manor.

”Alone at last,” he grinned widely as they settled down on the cool stone.

Lana nodded as she flipped some of her hair off of her shoulders. She looked at Clark and smiled. “Though, I can’t believe Chloe’s nerve. Yelling at you like that.” She put a hand on Clark’s knee in what she hoped was not too bold a move. “I mean, it’s not like Lex would ever be interested in someone like her.” She realized that may have come out too harsh so she said, “Not that I don’t love her.”

Clark smiled benignly, even though he was a little offended by Lana's choice of words. “I know what you mean. But I'm not so sure. I mean, they do have this weird thing going on.” He made a vague hand motion not sure how to describe it. “Like when they are in a room together and I watch them getting started, I expect lighting to strike right in between them or something, you know what I mean?”

Though she didn’t like to do so because it might cause wrinkles, Lana’s brows furrowed. “No, I don’t know what you mean. I always thought that it was because Lex found Chloe really annoying.” She shrugged. “You know how she’s always harping on him. I assumed that he was trying to keep his temper under control. She can try someone’s patience.” She paused and then added, “If you don’t really know what she’s like.”

Clark's face scrunched up as he listened to Lana. Maybe she didn't mean it like it sounded, but still it came across as pretty unfair. Especially considering some of the things Chloe had done for her in the past and everything. “I dunno, my dad says that sometimes opposites attract and I guess that's what happens when... that happens. It just makes me a little uncomfortable because,” he shrugged, “Lex is older and he's got a lot more experience with stuff like that and I'm afraid Chloe might get in over her head if something between them happens.” Because being completely honest, he could see something happening. Chloe was at heart still a city child and she was very smart, so she tended to look for very bright guys, and Lex was nothing if not bright...and shiny. Clark grinned at his inhead joke before turning serious once more, waiting for Lana's answer.

She didn’t want to disagree with Clark, but she also wanted to be honest. “Clark, I don’t get the impression that Chloe would be a blushing virgin, do you? I mean, look at the way that she dresses.” Her perfect nose wrinkled thinking of the skin that Chloe showed off every now and again. It’s not as if she was a prude, it was just that she thought Chloe’s choice of clothing could be way over the line.

Clark's mouth dropped open. Lana couldn't really be meaning what she was suggesting. “What? What do you mean 'the way she's dressing'? What's wrong with Chloe's clothes?!” His voice had raised with every sentence.

Sure, Chloe was dressing pretty flippy, and the colors sometimes clashed a little, but the way Lana made it sound was really insulting and Chloe was still one of his best friends. Clark found himself getting angry with Lana for her insinuations, meant or not.

Lana whipped her head around to look at Clark. Was he actually yelling at her? No one yelled at her. “Well, Clark, if you like Chloe so much why don’t you go find her and sit out here with her!” Before Clark could answer, Lana walked off. Really, she didn’t need to subject herself to that. There were plenty of boys that would just nod along with whatever she said.

Clark was totally flabbergasted as he watched Lana stomp off in the direction of the manor. Usually he would have run after her, but this time she'd been the one totally out of line and there was no way he'd justify her behavior by chasing after her, no sir. Rolling his eyes, he got up and did the next best thing, walk aimlessly around the grounds. Lana would come back once she'd cooled off. Or he'd just find her later and they'd have a talk.
~~~~~
Pete had found his mom pretty fast after Chloe'd brushed him off and made sure he'd be allowed to stay over for the night. He was sure Chloe and him would talk things out once they were alone. Given he was able to get her to stay in once place long enough to talk her around, that was.

Shaking the thought off, he decided to take another walk. The atmosphere inside the mansion was still making him uncomfortable. Too many old people that only had one thing in mind when they got their hands on him. To pinch his cheeks and comment on how much he'd grown since they'd last seen him. Yeah, Smallville's community was like a big family. Pete hated family get togethers. He snatched a beer from the bar before anybody could see him and decided to find a nice little secluded spot outside where he could hide.
~~~~
Lex felt the light pounding in his temples and new he had a huge headache coming on. Excusing himself from his present company, he decided to take another break from the schmoozing and get some fresh air outside. If he was lucky he'd be able to disappear for an hour and only have to bid his guests farewell, thereby avoiding any further dull conversation about farming and crap.

Once he set foot outside of the large veranda doors, he took a deep cleansing breath and tried to forget about the pounding and twinging going on behind his eyes and in his temples.

He hadn't been able to find Chloe after coming back inside in and had a heavy feeling she was hiding somewhere inside the mansion in a room nobody would think to look for her. Considering he had locked his private rooms, that left another 82 possibilities. Great.

Giving up on that thought, he stepped further into the dark garden, letting the sounds of chatter and music slowly bleed away.
~~~~~~~
Chloe was still trying to get herself back in order when she heard the door to the wine cellar creak open. She suppressed a groan. She wasn’t up to seeing anyone else just yet so she didn’t want to be found down here. She held her breath and could hear the other person wandering around the rows of wine. She wasn’t sure if it was only her imagination or if the person really seemed to be getting closer.

Forgetting how close the chair was to the wall and how voluminous her skirt was, Chloe quickly stood up, preceded to trip a little on her dress, fell back into her chair, which made a horrible racket as it scraped against the stone wall of the cellar. Chloe knew that there was no way that whoever was in there didn’t hear the noise. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard footsteps fast approaching her location.

Her heart sank when she saw who it was. “Hi Enrique.”

The man scowled at her. Ever since her little visit to his bedroom, he had been a little less cordial to her. She wondered what Lex had done for the man to inspire such loyalty.

“Ms. Sullivan.” He nodded curtly to her. “I don’t think I need to tell you that this section is off limits for the duration of the party. I’m sure you can find your way out.” He gave her a pointed look and Chloe knew that arguing with him would be futile.

Nodding, she passed him and made her way up the stairs and back outside. She wasn’t about to hide out in another part of the Manor. Enrique would now be sweeping various parts of the house at regular intervals being that he had caught her hiding out.
~~~~
While Lana enjoyed attention from the other sex, it was very yucky to have much older men touching her. She didn’t like it one bit and no matter how much further she inched away from them, they didn’t seem to take the hint.

When one of her friend’s father got too close for comfort, she decided it was time to go and find Clark. She’d give him ample time to apologize to her and be very gracious in accepting his words and then moving on. She was too close to getting what she wanted to just let a little argument, about Chloe of all things, stand in her way.

Lana walked outside and scanned the area. She didn’t see anyone, but she didn’t doubt that there were at least a handful of people milling around outside.

~~~
Pete had finally found a smaller gazebo in the darker parts of the humongous grounds that was far enough from the house not to be seen by anyone. With a relieved sigh, he flopped down on the low bench, leaning back against the wall behind him and stared up at the night sky as he opened his beer.

The pitch black skies seemed to be grey in some places where clouds were slowly rolling in from behind the mansion. Maybe it would rain after all. Pete grinned at the thought.

'Deserves to get some rain on his parade, smug bastard.' he thought as he took a healthy swig of his beer, emptying a good quarter of the bottle in one pull.

He shook his head after he'd swallowed and released a loud belch. Now that felt more like it. He'd just hang out for a while and go back when the crowd was gone. He still had to find Chloe after all and try to talk things out with her. But not now.
~~~
Clark grabbed his head in pain when he heard the loud burp. After a moment, the pain went away, as did the super hearing. Every now and again, he had no control over it. He had no clue if what he had heard was five or fifty feet away. He just knew that he should get away from crowds. He didn’t know if he could act natural if his hearing acted up and he was in total agony.

He walked away from the house and the decorations became more sparse until there were none. He figured he was far enough away from everyone and plunked down on the grass. He knew his mother would complain about the way he had manhandled his suit, but he didn’t care at this point.

It was times like these that he questioned what sometimes went on in Lana’s head. ‘She really couldn’t have meant what she said,’ he reminded himself. Lana was far too nice to really think those things about Chloe. Besides, the two girls were really good friends now.
~~~~
The night had gotten cooler and Chloe wished she had brought some type of jacket with her. She hadn’t thought that she would be wandering around outside at this time of night, though. She could hear that the chatter was getting louder in the Manor. She reasoned that the party was in full swing by now, the drinks flowing and the like.

At least that meant that she wouldn’t run into too many people out here. She wasn’t in a conversational mood. More like a homicidal mood. She still couldn’t believe the gall of Pete and Clark. Then there was the look that Lana was giving her. Not that she gave a damn about what the girl thought of her. She put up with the girl just for the sake of her friends and her father. Mostly, though, she was avoiding Lex. She knew that he’d have some comment to make. No doubt about her imaging them together or some bullshit like that.

Chloe let out a growl and saw a small bench near some of the shrubbery. It looked like a good place to blend in so she made her way in its direction.
~~~~
Lex breathed another sigh of relief when he walked out of the backside of the maze, away from the castle. There were nights when he just hated to play the graceful host, no matter how beneficial to his reputation or company it might be.

Shoving his hands down his pants pockets to keep them warm, he wandered around the back areas of the enormous garden, trying to steer clear of any remaining people outside. Most of the guests should be in the house by now, filling up on drinks and dancing. Lex couldn't care less, as long as no one crossed his path for now.

His mind drifted back to the conversation he'd had with the teens earlier. Chloe definitely had it in her. Her blatant innuendo about the two of them had cleared up a question for him though. There was nothing going on between her and the Ross boy, he was sure of it.

But why had the thought of those two being a couple irked him so much? Because Chloe deserves better than that. Someone who was strong enough to hold their own against the hurricane that was Chloe Sullivan in motion. And Pete Ross can't? Well the boy did have a rather quick wit, but Lex wasn't sure that was enough were she was concerned. They did get along rather well, though. Ah, she'd steamroll all over him when it came to an actual argument. Think you'd do better? I know I would.

Shaking his head, Lex steered towards the lake. Why was he debating with himself over Chloe Sullivan and her potential significant others, anyway? Didn't matter, but he'd definitely have to have a talk with her about making wild insinuations where his sexlife was concerned. Tonight would be the best opportunity, if he was able to get her alone for a moment.
~~

Lana was totally and utterly lost. She had gone outside about ten minutes ago and had just walked. She hadn’t really paid any attention where she was walking to and now realized that that had been a huge mistake.

She could hear the party, she just couldn’t find it. The wind had picked up and made it difficult to determine in which direction the house was. But, she was definitely not on the right track.

The path that she was on had trees on either side of it that blotted out the light that the moon afforded. Lana was trying not to freak out but she could feel the panic setting in and knew that it wouldn’t be long before she started screaming for help. She peered through the trees and could make out what she thought was a lake on the right side of her, but she couldn’t see it clearly.

‘Ok, five more minutes and then you scream.’ She often made deals like that with herself. That way, when she was found, she could tell everyone how she had tried to first find her way back. People then always complimented her on her bravery.
~~

‘This is so not what I need.’ Chloe could see a drunken couple weaving their way in her direction. They were too engrossed with each other to notice that she was even there. ‘Story of my life. Oh, are we going to start feeling sorry for ourselves now?’ She had tried to cut back on those feelings, instead taking action to circumvent them from happening.

She got up from her bench and walked in the opposite direction of the couple. After a few minutes, she heard a splashing sound. It was only then that she remembered that there was actually a lake on the property. It was set far back from the Manor. Which meant that she was a long way from the house.

Sighing, she kept walking towards the lake. She had no desire to go back to the party. Plus, she figured that the longer she was out here, the less likely it would be that she’d have to deal with her friends when she returned. Maybe they would take the hint when she didn’t come back and just leave.
~~

Pete chucked his last swig of beer and dropped the bottle on the ground beside him. Surely Mr. Clean would have people coming over to clean everything up tomorrow. He giggled drunkenly at his own, rather bad joke and slowly got up from the bench to make his way back to the house. It had to be somewhere over there, or in that direction, anyway.

Shrugging, Pete started to walk straight, or as straight as he could, ahead. Maybe he shouldn't have downed the beer as fast as he had, but he was sure the long walk back to the castle would get rid of his buzz and nobody would be the wiser.

Looking around as he walked, he noticed that instead of thinning out, the trees around him became more and more. Weird, shouldn't there be more grass and less shrubbery? Ah well, whatever. He kept walking until his foot slipped away, sliding into something murky and cold with a loud splash. Damn.

Pulling his leg out of the sludge, he realized that he'd somehow ended up by the lake. So not where he wanted to go, but nothing he could do about it now. Maybe it'd be smarter to sit down for a while and get rid of the buzz before he tried making his way to the castle again. Yeah, good idea, he decided after his ass had already hit the ground. What could happen out here anyway?
~~

Lex turned in the direction from where he'd heard the splashing sound but didn't see anything. Probably just some loose earth falling into the water of the lake. He kept walking alongside the shore embankment, kicking at loose shrubbery and stones, never mind that Enrique would get homicidal when he'd find his shoes muddy and scratched the next morning.

He wondered where the group of friends had ended up after they'd split. Clark and Lana were probably stargazing somewhere, or making out under the pale glow of the moon or something equally 'romantic'. The Ross boy had probably found a way to entertain himself alone, since Lex couldn't see Chloe forgiving either of the boys for their acting any time soon.
~~

Lana had decided that getting to the lake seemed like the best idea. She kicked herself again for not having her cell phone in her purse. But, then she would have needed to get rid of her gloss, lip liner and eyeshadow. She didn’t think that anything would really happen at Lex’s party that would necessitate her needing her cell. Now, she could see how wrong she was.

She remembered that Chloe had once said that in Smallville everyone should have their own panic button. That way, the cops could find you, or your remains, very quickly. Lana had thought it was a silly idea at the time but now it didn’t seem so funny.

A twig snapped somewhere off in the distance and the wind picked up. Lana heard a small, high pitched whining sound and realized that it was her. Her body was tense and she tried to make herself relax. She stared at the thicket of bushes that the sound had come from and stayed still. Hoping that if something was in the bushes it would go on its merry way and leave her in one piece.
~~

Deciding to look for his friends in the Manor, Clark walked through the door. It had taken him awhile to find his way back being that he hadn’t used his superspeed. He had to be careful about who saw him doing what. He scanned the room for his friends but only saw the adults of the town milling about.

He thought that maybe Lex would be in the study so he started up the stairs, smiling and saying hello when it was necessary. Clark was still surprised by the sheer number of people that had attended the party. He was happy for Lex, he knew that the success of the party would please his friend.

Clark stopped dead halfway up the stairs when he heard moaning. His heart rate sped up, it sounded like someone was in pain. The moaning got louder. It didn’t hurt his head yet and he concentrated on seeking out the sound. That usually kept it from exploding in his brain.

He could hear some other shuffling sounds and heavy breathing. A grin broke out on his face when he realized what he was hearing. Maybe being from another planet wasn’t all bad.

“We…we should stop. Someone could…oh, Jonathan.”

Clark yelled and threw his hands over his ears. He tried singing aloud to drown out the sound, but he could still hear his parents making out in some corner of the Manor.
~~

Pete had at some point decided that lying was better than sitting and was now looking up through the trees, watching the stars and clouds and the occasional night bird flying by overhead. This was actually nice. Maybe a bit cold and his mom would kill him for ruining his suit, but he could always tell her he'd stumbled and fallen and it really wasn't his fault that Luthor hadn't taken care of the property and had roots and stuff lying around on the ground that could kill you if you didn't see them and fell over them and stuff.

Anyway, the sky looked actually pretty nice, even the dark grey clouds that were looming even closer now than before. Maybe he should try to do a rain dance. Then again, that'd involve getting up and actually moving and that was so not of the good. A rain song then, maybe? Hrmmm. What songs did involve rain again? Weather Girls? No way. Let it Rain? Nah, not the right thing either. He'd just make something up.

And who said it had to be a song anyway? Hrm. Let's see.

”Yo, big man! Up there? How about some rain down here. Would be cool to see Luthor's face when you open the gates and flood his party! Make you a deal, you send some rain and I go to church next Sunday, how's that?”

Pete listened into the woods, but expectedly, no answer came. All he could here were little critters running around in the undergrowth, the light splash of water somewhere close by and the occasional snapping twig.

”Yeah I get it, fine.”
~~

Lex thought he'd heard somebody shout his name, but when he listened closer to see if he was right, he didn't hear anything. Shrugging it off, he kept walking along the water's edge. He wasn't ready yet to go back. The party wasn't about to die down any time soon it seemed. When he'd left the house, not one of the guests had shown any intention of leaving so it could very well be another 3 hours before they decided to head off. His damn luck. He'd thought they'd be toddling along shortly after 11 being that they had to get up with the cows and everything. Apparently, a party at Luthor manor proved the exception to that rule.

It was great and a compliment in some way, but on the other hand, he just wanted to get all those people out of his house and call it a night. He'd gotten up at 6 this morning and worked non-stop until his guests had arrived.

Risking a glance at his watch, Lex groaned when he read the numbers. It was already going on midnight. He was definitely getting too old for this shit. And of course if Clark and his friends decided to stay over after all, they wouldn't want to head straight to bed, no matter what time it was. They'd want to have fun in the rich man's castle with the toys they couldn't afford in their own home. Sometimes being a Luthor sucked dick and not in the good way.
~~

And the sucking just kept going on. After wandering away from Romeo and Juliet things had gone from bad to worse. As she had gotten closer to the lake, she had discovered what had to be a new form of mud. Her shoe had barely touched it but had been sucked into the murky abyss.

Instantly, Chloe had shouted an expletive as loud as she could. She wanted to kick something but she knew that it wouldn’t do any good. She was able to retrieve her shoe but it was clear that it was totally ruined.

Not only had she been humiliated, she had now ruined her favorite pair of shoes. She now had a decision to make. Put the muddy shoe back on her foot or traipse around outside barefoot. Chloe half skipped away from the mud and peered in front of her. The ground seemed to be dry over there.

‘Maybe I’ll step on a nail, get tetanus and die,’ she thought as she took off her other shoe. Nope, that wouldn’t happen, she couldn’t get that lucky.

She had the childish urge to just chuck her shoes but she didn’t think she would be able to find her way back her in the light and didn’t want to litter Lex’s grounds with her cast asides. Now that she was a good three inches shorter, she had to pick up her dress a little so it didn’t drag on the ground.

‘Ok, enough nature, time to get the hell out of here.’ Course, that was easier said than done.
~~

That was the second time in the last few minutes that Lana had heard some sort of screaming near her. She just wished that Clark would pop out of nowhere as he usually did and take her away from this place.

This was not what was supposed to happen tonight. She was supposed to be having a good time, flirting with Clark and then having a magical moment with him under the stars. They’d come back to the Manor and everyone would be able to tell. Chloe, Pete and Lex would congratulate them and things would just fall right into place.

Instead of getting her kiss, she and Clark had had a fight over Chloe of all things and now she was getting dirty, ruining the new pink dress that she had bought.

Lana’s head shot up towards the sky when she heard the loud crack of thunder.

“No. No. No. It cannot rain. Not now.” She looked around helplessly, hoping that somehow she would now magically know the way back to the Manor. This was not happening. She was not about to get drenched in some downpour while civilization was less than a mile from where she stood.

As the rain began, Lana realized that that was exactly what was about to happen.
~~

Pete looked up at the sky as thunder finally boomed from above. When the rain started to pelt down, he couldn't help it. He laughed like a maniac, kicking his legs in the dirt.

”Whoo hoo hoo! You're great! I owe you one man! I swear I owe you one! See you next Sunday in church!”

Still, he didn't care too much for getting absolutely drenched, so he shuffled his legs under him and made to get up from the floor to find his way back to the castle. He wondered how many people were running for the same direction now, getting soaked just like he was.
~~

The path below Chloe’s naked feet began to get slippery and she almost wiped out, saving herself by grabbing onto a tree. When the thunder boomed again and the rain came in a torrential downpour, she had the strangest reaction.

She started laughing like a maniac. Chloe couldn’t believe that she was barefoot, lost on the Luthor grounds and was now hanging onto a tree for dear life. She realized that she was close to hysteria but that only made her laugh harder.

Chloe leaned against the tree and accepted defeat. She wasn’t about to wander around when she could just stay in one place and wait for the storm to pass.
~~

Lex looked up into the stormy grey sky and shook his head, very slowly. Water was running down his face and into his shirts and he knew that he was going to be soaked through in another few minutes. And wouldn't Enrique just love the result of that? He snickered to himself, thinking of his trusted butler having a silent and very reserved hysterical fit when he saw the ruined clothes trying to bite back any and all comments.

Shaking his head and wiping the water from his eyes, Lex decided he couldn't care less at the moment, even when another clap of thunder sounded, this time closer than before. He just kept walking, looking out over the water that was rolling and splashing with the force of the wind now.

Maybe near water wasn't the best place to be right now though, there was always the chance that if lightning struck it would most likely go down right....

He didn't have the time to finish his thought when another loud bang sounded straight next to him and the last thing he saw was a straight white line shooting into the surface of the lake. His world glowed bright green for an instant before everything went completely black and Lex's prone body hit the ground where it had stood.
~~

Chloe heard a loud crack and then saw the lightening dart towards the earth very close to where she was standing. In the few seconds before the wave of energy flowed through her body, Chloe tried to remember how exactly electricity traveled.

She hadn’t come up with an answer when her vision became impaired and bright green as she felt a jolt travel from her feet all the way up to her head. It hurt like a bitch and she thought she groaned. But, all other thoughts left her as she crumpled to the ground.

tbc

[westwingwolf]

Just the thought of Chloe trying to get an interview with Enrique had me laughing so hard. I believe they will each wake up in each other's bodies but who will be who?

[Kit Merlot]

This is a wonderful beginning, but I think I'm still in shock that Clark actually defended Chloe when Lana said such bitchy things about her;)

Can't wait to see what happens next!

[hfce]

Good start. Let me guess switching of bodies right? :D

[ChloeLovesLex]

Excellent start. This is going to be fun ladies :)

[Booksketeer]

Ha! This is so neat! I can't wait for the big reveal. If it's not everyone switched, is Chloe and Lex going to be upfront about what happened? And if it is everyone, is Pete and Lana going to be switched? If so, is it going to teach Lana to be less...well, her? Can't wait for the next part, especially if it's as long as the first. :drool2:

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: Nicely done to all of you who puzzled it out. Hope you enjoy the next installment.
A/N: Sabby: It gets a little...confusing from here on out. But that just means you get to sympathize/empathize with the poor characters.




“Fuuu—uuck,” Pete croaked out as he came to, still lying on the muddy ground. He could've sworn he'd gotten up at some point. At least whatever had hit him had sobered him up, but it also left him feeling like he'd been steamrollered by a truck.

”Shit,” he mumbled as he ran a hand down his face. 'Ugh, even my face feels weird.'

Bringing the hand away from his mouth and holding it out, his eyes flew open and Pete screamed like he'd seen the devil.
~~~~~
She didn’t know what happened. One minute she was darting in and out of the creepy trees that were surrounding her and the next she had hit the ground.

Lana’s head was pounding as she sat up. She opened her eyes but her vision was a little blurry so she closed them again. She let out a long, painful groan and her eyes flew open again.

She concentrated on getting her eyes to focus and she looked around. There had to be someone else here. A man. She whipped her head around and called out, “Hello.”

The moment after she spoke, her vision cleared up. She looked down at herself and started to scream.
~~~~~
'Son of a bitch'. Lex groaned as the world slowly swam back into focus. 'I should be dead' It was an awfully familiar thought. His body hurt like hell and somebody had obviously set up a construction crew in his brain that was using heavy machinery.

”Fuck,” he whispered as he slowly sat up.

His legs were getting cold, probably from lying on the cold ground, his feet felt weird, too. When he looked down on himself, he noticed why.

His feet definitely shouldn't be this tiny and he surely hadn't been going barefoot tonight. Much less worn a long flowing gown that was now rucked up over his knees. 'Nice legs,' he thought detachedly before he uttered a loud: “FUCK!” startled as he recognized the voice of the person it came from.
~~~~~
Chloe opened her eyes and stared up at the sky. The storm clouds rolled away as she attempted to sit up. She wasn’t strong enough and her head flopped back down to the ground. The pounding became infinitely worse as she hit it against the earth again.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and waited for the wave of nausea she felt to pass. Experimentally, she moved her feet, they appeared to be working.

Her brow furrowed as she realized that she was now wearing shoes. Gingerly, she raised her head again. She stared at her feet and then traveled further up her body.

Taking in what she saw, she said, “Why does god hate me?”
~~~~
Trudging back to the Manor was more trouble than it was worth. The shoes were killing Chloe’s feet and the clothing wasn’t easy to maneuver in, either. Thankfully, she was able to find her way back to the Manor with relative ease. Chloe wondered why that couldn’t have happened earlier. That way, she wouldn’t be in the predicament that she was now.

She had to come up with a plan for the next few days. The two of them would have to figure out how to get things back to normal without letting on to everyone that they knew that something was up. Sighing, she realized that this was not going to be easy.

As the Manor came into view, she saw a figure walking towards her. Her heart sank. Of all of the people she could run into, it was one of the four human beings that she didn’t want to see right about now. However, she couldn’t let that on.

“Hey Lex.” She kept her voice friendly, remembering that Lex would find it strange if the greeting was anything but.

Lex jerked his head around, looking behind him before he looked back at her. “Hello, Lana, you look a little...” he made an ominous pause before continuing. “Breathless. I take it your date with Clark turned out well?”

Chloe watched as something like a smirk came across Lex’s face. It looked forced and wrong. ‘Maybe he’s drunk.’ The possibility increased when he shoved his hands in his pockets but had trouble actually getting them inside the material of his pants. ‘He asked you a question.’

“Uh, yeah. It was super.” She paused. Chloe was Lana so she had to gush a whole lot more than that. Never mind that she had no idea what happened between Lana and Clark. “It was…” she looked off into the distance, pretending to remember some stupid moment between them, “magical.”

“Oh that's nice to hear,” Lex started shuffling his feet but stopped immediately. “Listen, Lana, I have to go. Some important business came up and I have to take care of it, right away, so if you could tell your friends that I'm taking a raincheck on the sleepover,” he reached out a hand and cuffed her in the shoulder, “That would be cool.” With that he stepped around her and strode away a little hurriedly.

Chloe watched Lex walk away. Something was definitely amiss with him. He had made personal contact. Something that he usually shied away from. Then there was the fact that he had actually used the word ‘cool.’

“Whatever, I don’t have time for Lex’s insanity,” she said as she continued on her way to the Manor. She had to find Lana. She was sure that the girl was flipping out in Chloe’s body. She’d find the other girl and drag her back home. There, she had step one in the plan to get her body back.

Pete breathed a sigh of relief when he stepped into the manor. Now all he had to do was find Lex, probably in his body and somehow figure out how to fix this. He had no intention of staying like this.

'Where the fuck is he?' Pete had almost outed himself back there with Lana and that was a big no-no. Nobody would Ever find out about this, if Pete had his way. This was bad enough as it was. He just hoped he didn't run into any of his other friends.

”Come on, egghead, where are you?” he muttered under his breath as he jogged up the stairwell to the second floor.

~~~
Lex cursed under his breath as he finally made it back onto the main path in the gardens that would lead him directly to the mansion. He was still barefoot, after he'd ditched the soiled high heeled shoes he'd found close by.

The fucking dress was grating on his nerves too, getting tangled in his legs while he tried to walk at a decent pace. His steps were a lot shorter, no matter what he did, so the walk back had taken him more than a half hour.

'Ok, Chloe, where are you?' He almost barreled someone over while his head was turning every which way. At least she'd pulled her hair up, keeping it out of his face.

“Watch it,” he muttered before he realized who it was, “M...Pete!” 'Well fuck, just what I needed now.'

“Hi,” 'Ok, how did she do that? Cheeky grin, arms crossed, challenging look, or maybe not, wouldn't want that boy to get any ideas. Bring it stare, there that works.’

It took Lana a second to realize that Chloe was talking to her. It was strange being this much taller than Chloe. She looked so small now. Instead of the way that Lana usually saw her as broad and much bigger than herself.

“Uhhh..Uhhh. Hi, Chloe.” Lana looked at Chloe and saw that she was in a terrible state. “What happened to your hair?” Oh, that was all wrong for Pete. Lana heard that his voice came out rather high pitched with some Valley girl thrown in. She cleared her throat and tried to deepen her voice.

“You ok?” There, that was masculine enough. Lana found it difficult to concentrate. She couldn’t find a comfortable position to stand in. Once she had realized that she was in Pete’s body, she had become aware of certain parts of Pete.

Lex frowned. Something was definitely wrong with the Ross boy. 'My hair?' The only man that had ever talked about hair in his vicinity was his father's coiffeur Pablo, and he was as flamboyantly gay as they came. Lex grinned widely. “Yeah, I'm....” 'Wait, I'm supposed to be mad at him.' “Fine, but that doesn't mean you're not still in trouble.” He took a firmer stance and gave the boy a withering stare.

‘Oh, right.’ Chloe was still pissed at Pete for some reason. Maybe Lana could fix that. She took another step towards Chloe. It was awkward cause she wasn’t used to the extra baggage between her legs. ‘How do boys do it?’

“Chlo,” she used the nickname that Pete called Chloe and patted herself on the back for remembering, “you have to see why I would be upset. Besides, you don’t really think that Pe…I thought something was going on between you and Lex?” Lana had tried to keep the incredulity out of her voice, but failed.

Lex was relieved to find out he could still arch a single brow. “And why exactly is that?” He'd wondered about the teens reactions before and maybe now he'd actually get a decent answer, seeing as he was not 'Lex' where they were concerned.

Lana was torn at how to answer the question. She knew what Pete’s reasons were. Even she thought that they were lame. However, if she gave Chloe the actual reasons why she and Lex were impossible, she might get Pete in trouble. And, she didn’t like having boys mad at her.

On the other hand, if the reasons came from Pete maybe Chloe would listen to them and not get all mad.

“Well,” Lana said. “Look at you.” That came out more harshly than Lana had actually meant so she explained, “Physically, he doesn’t like girls like you.” It was an excellent point. “Not that you’re not..” she was about to say ‘pretty’ but realized that would sound too girly. “Hot, smoking, in fact.” Lana had heard Pete use those terms in the past to describe Chloe.

Lex tried to make some sense of that steaming pile of bullshit. He wouldn't have expected Ross to give a reason like that. “And just how do you know what kind of woman is physically attractive to Lex Luthor?” The boy had balls, he had to give him that.

It was still a very odd thing to say for him. He'd have expected a statement like that to come from Lana Lang, not him.

Getting into Pete mode Lana said, “Oh, come on!” She had heard Pete use that unbelieving tone of voice on more than one occasion. “He likes brunettes with,” she gestured to Chloe’s chest and then realized that she wasn’t lacking in that department. “Ok, so you’ve got that but you’re too young for him, too. Oh, and you’re short.”

Lana remembered thinking that she didn’t understand why a man like Lex wanted Amazon women. Someone petite would look much cuter next to him.

'Too short?' Lex kept his facial expression neutral, until he remembered that Chloe would be more likely to fly of the handle when insulted like that. “What? Peter Ross, you are the most insensitive, cruel, judgmental and reasonably challenged person I've met in a long time!” 'There, that could have come from Chloe. Plus it felt good to be able to throw it at the boys face after all he'd had to listen to from him.

He turned on his heels and stomped off, leaving a stunned Pete Ross behind. The smirk felt even good on Chloe's lips.

Lana couldn’t believe that Chloe was being so irrational. But, she couldn’t focus on that now. Now, she needed to find Pete. Unfortunately, she saw a big obstacle to that coming her way. “Um, Hi Mom.” This was not going to be easy to get through.

Mrs. Ross stepped up to her son, her eyes widening as they fell on the ruined suit. “What the HELL did you do with your SUIT?” The boy looked like he'd gotten caught in a mudslide. “I told you once told you NINE times to take care of it. It's your only suit and you go and RUIN it! That's it, Peter Ross, you just wait until we get home. God, I can't let anybody see you like this.” She shook her head frantically, rubbing and brushing at the front of the suit. “You wait Right here and I will get our coats, we're leaving.” She gave her son another threatening glare before turning around and heading back inside to get her husband and the coats. “How many times, do I....” she muttered under her breath as she went.

Watching as Mrs. Ross stomped off, Lana was torn as what to do. She needed to find Pete but she was, frankly, scared of his mother. Plus, she didn’t know how to deal with parents. They were a foreign concept to her. She had no idea how to get her way from them. She didn’t have too many memories of her parents and they had given her whatever she wanted. This was a very different situation.

If she wandered off, she may make things worse than they already were. She tried to be logical about the situation. Pete could be anywhere in her body. She doubted that he would be happy about this situation, either. He would be looking for her. If she was nowhere to be found and his parents were gone, Lana was certain that he’d go to his house.

Once they switched back, he’d be upset if his mother was pissed at him. The best thing to do would be to stay where she was. All she could do was make things worse if she took any other action.
~~~~
This past half an hour had been very unproductive for Clark. Thankfully, his hearing had gone back to normal. If not, he might have had to go and find some Kryptonite. He still didn’t know how he’d act natural around his parents when he found them, but he’d worry about it later.

For now, he needed to find Lex. He wanted to tell him about what had happened with Lana outside. He also wanted to see what was up with him earlier. Why Lex had been so weird about the whole Chloe thing puzzled Clark. He had learned to go directly to Lex when he needed advice. Especially now that Chloe was mad at him.

Clark made his way upstairs again, ignoring the signs that informed the guests that the area was off limits. In polite, calligraphy letters, of course. He walked down the hallway and caught sight of Lex. The man tried to open a door and then kicked it when he found it locked. ‘Stress must be getting to him.’

The man turned around and started to make his way even further down the hall. “Lex, wait up!”

'Fuck,' Pete hissed through his teeth as he heard Clark calling out behind him. He turned around on his heel and shot a smile at his friend. That felt weird. Like he was using muscles that weren't supposed to be used.

”Clark, what gives?” Oh damn, would Luthor say something like that?

Upon hearing the words that Lex used, Clark stopped short. That was really odd, Lex was always very formal with him. Using words that Clark usually had to look up once he got home. ‘Definitely stressed out.’

“I just wanted to talk to you about Lana.” He paused. “And Chloe.” Clark sometimes felt bad for laying everything on Lex. But, that’s what friends were for. If Lex ever had a problem, Clark was sure that Lex would come to him, too. Clark ran a hand through his hair. “I just don’t know what to do about them.”

Pete nodded slowly, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. 'No wait, he does that pants pocket thing' He uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands into the pockets. 'Those things could be a little less tight for my taste'. “Oh, yeah it wasn't smart what w..you did back there, you should have been a little more sensitive with Chloe's feelings I guess,” he tried to look suave and mature, no idea if he was pulling it off or not.

Clark groaned. He knew that Lex would say something like that. Probably because he was right. Clark logically knew that he needed to accept that fact that Chloe would never be totally open with him because of the way that he was. There was just something about the visual that she painted that had bothered Clark. If he thought about it, he knew the reason why.

It wasn’t because of the outrageousness of what Chloe had said. It was because he thought that it could happen. Clark knew that Lex held Chloe in high esteem. That much was easy to see. Clark also knew that Chloe was intrigued by Lex. The thought of the two of them together didn’t sit well with Clark. He wasn’t sure why that was, either.

They were both his friends so shouldn’t he be happy if they got together? He looked at Lex, wondering if he could broach the subject again with him. Lex hadn’t given him a direct answer to his earlier question if anything was going on between him and Chloe.

“I know,” Clark admitted. “And I will apologize.” He paused. “If she ever talks to me again, that is.” Lex just nodded. A weird silence settled between them and Clark was pretty sure that Lex was waiting for him to leave.

“I’m sorry about asking you about it earlier. I just wanted to know, you know?” Clark hoped that Lex would now take this opportunity to clarify the situation.

Pete knew that look, but he had no intention to keep this conversation going any longer than it needed to. “Yeah, sure, that's ok,” He looked around, hoping to find Lana somewhere so she could distract his friend. No such luck. “Listen, Clark. I gotta go, uhm and I have to take a raincheck on the overnighting thing, ok? Business, you know. Maybe you should find Lana, she's downstairs, somewhere.” He made an awkward motion with his hand, then turned around to continue on his hunt for the lord of the manor.

Clark watched, in confusion, as Lex scurried away without waiting for an answer. He was acting totally strange. It looked like he would never get a straight answer from either Lex or Chloe as to what was going on with them.

He decided to take Lex’s advice and returned downstairs to find Lana. He caught sight of Pete, but his back was turned towards Clark. He could see Mrs. Ross hissing in his ear and Clark wondered what he had done this time. She shoved Pete’s jacket at him as the family left the Manor.

Scanning the room, the only familiar faces he saw were those of his parents. He smiled weakly at them and his dad waved him over.

“Son, I think we should call it a night.” His father was already helping his mother into her coat. Clark looked at them closely. They didn’t seem to be out of breath and their clothing was in place. He let out a sigh of relief.

“OK.” He took his jacket from his mother and slipped it on. He’d clear things up between Lana, Chloe and himself later.
~~~~
Chloe looked around the ballroom. It had started to empty out but she still couldn’t find herself anywhere. This sucked. She watched the rest of the guests and saw that they were milling about like cattle. They seemed pretty chill. So that meant that Lana hadn’t freaked the hell out when she came to as Chloe. If she had, they’d still be talking about it. She caught sight of her father and turned around quickly. She didn’t want to deal with him right now. She tried to make a quick getaway but she was blocked by a horde of factory workers waiting on line at the bar.

She heard Lana’s name being called and knew that she was trapped. Plastering on a smile, she turned around. “Hey, Gabe. Are you having fun?” She hoped that he was just checking in with her. She wanted to talk to Lana before they had to interact with anyone else as each other.

“Lana, good that I found you. Have you seen Chloe anywhere?” The girl looked a bit spooked and definitely ruffled. But knowing how sensitive she was, Gabe did his best to pretend that wasn't the case.

Chloe blinked a few times. Trying to get down that deer in the headlights look Lana so often had when someone asked her a simple question. “I haven’t seen her for an hour or so.” And, she didn’t even have to lie to her father, really. But, she knew what was coming and her heart sank. Her father wanted to leave. That meant that he’d be looking for Lana…her…whatever, too. She had to find Lana first.

“Hrm, well I was actually planning to leave. Ok, let's split up and find her. I have to get up early tomorrow. Lex caught me this morning with a few things he wants to go over as soon as possible.” He looked around, scanning the crowd for the telltale blonde head. “She can't be that far. She knows better than to go snooping around here. Lex would have her head.”

Chloe’s brow furrowed at what her father had said. Like Lex would do anything of the like. She wasn’t scared of Lex. But, this wasn’t the time or place and she wasn’t in a body that would allow her to have this conversation with her father. “Ok, Gabe,” she said, chirpily. She turned on her heel.

“Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap,” she murmured as she scanned the room. Ok, if I was Lana and I woke up as me, where in the hell would I go? Quickly, she tried to see if Clark was in the room but it was no use.

‘Upstairs?’ It was the only choice so Chloe made her way up the stairs.

Lex was sure Chloe was snooping around here, somewhere. She wouldn't be able to help it. What irked him was that in his body, she'd be able to access every room she chose to. Chloe was smart enough to talk her way out of the fact that he was supposed to be the only one with a key.

”Dammit, Chloe where the hell are you?” He made his way around the corner to the first floor balcony and looked down at the milling crowd, hoping against hope that she might have been held up downstairs. No such luck of course.

'Damn'. He turned around to leave when someone dropped a hand on his shoulder.

”Gotcha,”

A startled yelp came from his throat as Lex whirled around, prepared to punch his attacker when he realized it was Gabe.

”Sorry G...dad, you startled me.” He'd immediately dropped the fist to his chest, pretending he hadn't been about to bludgeon Chloe's father.

Gabe looked at his daughter. Even though she had tried to cover it up, she had been about to deck him. ‘Very odd.’ He usually didn’t question his daughter’s actions if they weren’t going to get her killed though. That was the deal they had made.

“Sorry, honey,” he said, slowly. He couldn’t imagine who his daughter would need to fight with in the Manor. Perhaps he would broach the subject once they were at home. “I think that we should leave. I need to get to the office pretty early. Plus, I don’t want to be one of those annoying guests that Lex has to throw out of his home. I don’t suppose that you’ve seen Lana?”

He sighed. This always seemed to happen. Whenever the three of them went out together, it always took him twenty minutes to nail down the whereabouts of both girls.

“Uhm, no actually, not since we were outside and that was a couple hours ago.” Great, now he'd have to deal with the airheaded teenage princess on top of everything else. Why did fate hate him so much? And he wasn't even a Luthor at the moment. Well, not physically anyway.

Totally frustrated, Chloe made her way back down the stairs. She hadn’t been able to find Lana anywhere. She looked around for her father and was very happy to see that he was talking to Lana as her. Lana did not look happy. Chloe’s brows drew together as she approached her father and Lana. Her body was a mess. Her shoes were gone, her hair looked crazy and Lana was holding her dress up way too high.
“Hey, Chloe,” she said, stressing the name. She wouldn’t put it past Lana to forget who was who in this situation.

“Lana,” Lex answered as pleasantly as possible. 'Please let her just shut up and be a pretty little silent doll. “Ok, dad, now that we're all accounted for,” The sooner they got this over with, the sooner he'd be able to lock himself in Chloe's room and try to figure out just how the hell this could have happened. “But, shouldn't we say goodbye to Lex first? He's the host after all.”

‘What the hell?’ Chloe didn’t understand why Lana would want to go and talk to Lex. Well, if she wanted to stay longer in Chloe’s body than was absolutely necessary, the princess had another thing coming. “I ran into him upstairs and already took care of it,” she replied sweetly. “He said he appreciated us coming.”

Lex shot daggers at the princess, but tried to smile sweetly anyway. “Great, ok then, let's get going.” 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, damn.' This was not good. And why the hell hadn't Chloe said anything to Lana? Well of course the little snoop would enjoy the whole experience and use it to her advantage. 'GOD DAMMIT!' Ok, there was nothing he could do about it now. He'd just go home with Gabe and Lana, then sneak back out of the house and get back to the mansion as soon as possible and get a hold on that sneaky little beast. He nodded to himself and started to lead the way towards the main entrance.

Chloe exchanged a glance with her father after Lana stomped off. She followed Lana’s path, very confused at the girl’s actions. She wove her way past people and didn’t move out of the path she was making. She bumped into people and glared at them. Her walk was also very off. It wasn’t the usual girly gait that Lana had. Maybe the strike had also affected Lana’s brain.

She started to worry. What if she got back into her body and she was crazy or something? When she and her father reached Lana, she already had their coats. Her father took his and handed the ticket to the valet. They waited in silence for the car.

When it arrived, Chloe decided that she and Lana should sit in the backseat. When Lana made a move to sit next to her father, Chloe grabbed her hand and tilted her head towards the backseat. As Lana climbed in, she almost tripped over her dress. ‘Really, what is up with her?’

Lex snatched his hand back from her as soon as possible. 'What the hell's she playing at?' That was definitely not Lana's typical behavior and the look she was shooting him was nothing like the typical doe-eyes either. “What?” he hissed through his teeth as the car started, Gabe completely ignoring the antics in the backseat.

Keeping her voice low she asked, “What is wrong with you? Don’t you want to get back to where you belong?” Chloe gestured to Lana’s body. “Why did you want to go and see Lex of all people?” She really didn’t get it. The only reason that Chloe was even looking for Lana was because….

Lex couldn't believe it. Lana had blatantly just insinuated that he belonged with... no wait a minute. He took a closer look at the princess and noticed that a couple things were off. Off being a nice way to put it. She held herself a lot less defensive and didn't have her ankles crossed demurely. One leg was pulled up under her so she could turn his way and she was definitely glaring at him in a way the Lana he knew could never pull off.

Her tone was acerbic to say the least and she was gesturing wildly with her hands while she spoke. There was only one person he knew that did that and it sure as hell wasn't Lana Lang. Which meant that, as incredible as it was, he was sitting next to Chloe Sullivan in the body of Lana Lang.

Chloe’s mouth opened and she looked at herself, really looked. There was no way in hell that Lana ever would have allowed her hair to look like that, no matter whose body she was in. The walk was off, Lana had an attitude that she had never displayed before and was now glaring at her in the way that Chloe had only ever seen one other person look when he was annoyed.

“Oh, god, Lex.” Chloe moaned. She buried her head in her hands. She couldn’t believe this. She raised her head abruptly again. “If you’re inside of me, where the hell is Lana?” This was not good. How had this happened? How would they fix this? There were far too many questions and, Chloe was certain, not nearly enough answers would present themselves any time soon.

Lex shrugged a shoulder as he looked back at her. “I have no idea. I was sure you'd ended up inside my body, I didn't think anyone else was affected. Obviously that's not the case.” Another horrible thought occurred to him at this. “You said you ran into me earlier, was that true?” If he was in Chloe and Chloe was in Lana, that had to mean that Lana was inside his body. Somehow that thought seemed even worse than Chloe being in his body.

Heaven knew what the fairy princess could get up to when left to her own devices. With Chloe he'd been sure she'd be too distracted by the professional possibilities to think of the other options she had with his body.

“No, it wasn’t. Well, not then, at least. I did see you when I was coming back to the Manor. You were acting really strange. I just thought you were drunk.” Chloe flopped against the back of the seat and spared a glance at her father. He was listening to the radio, singing along to The Eagles, so she didn’t think that they needed to worry about him. “I only said that to get us the hell out of there.” She started to worry her lower lip as she thought. “Ok, so you’re in me, I’m in Lana. That means that Lana is in someone else. Which also means that, theoretically, there is another switch that had to occur.”

Lex shook his head, “Not necessarily. She might have ended up in me.” This was going to get ugly. “If she screws around with my body, there's going to be hell to pay,” He muttered darkly.

Chloe raised her eyebrows at Lex. “And, what, exactly, do you think Lana would do with your body? I’d be more concerned about some other random person that doesn’t like you at all.” She quickly shut her mouth. It wasn’t productive and she knew she’d be freaking out if she didn’t know who was doing what with her body.

Lex merely arched an eyebrow at her. “Considering we have no idea if another person other than Lana was involved, I am not going to worry too much about that particular problem yet.” This was bad enough as it was, thank you very much. “But you do have an advantage, at least you know for sure who ended up in your body and where it is.” They still had to do something about this situation as soon as possible. “How long until we're there?”

She peered out the window and tried to place where they were. “About five minutes.” Lex had a definite point about knowing that he was inside her body. However, she felt decidedly worse knowing it was him and not Lana. There was something unsettling about Lex being in charge of her physical being. Her father caught her eyes in the rearview and Chloe gave him one of Lana’s huge smiles.

Scooting closer to Lex, “We can sneak out of the house about half an hour after he goes to bed. He sleeps like a corpse. We’ll go back to your place and see what, or who, we find.”

Lex nodded, shifting a little away from her. Intellectually, he knew this was Chloe, but that didn't help against Lana's obnoxious flowery perfume. “Good. But I'm only taking you with me because it might help to calm Lana down to see that her body is....” He gave the ruffled girl a once over. Well the princess had seen better days. “In one piece.” He looked down at himself and realized that Chloe's body didn't look much better. “We should get a shower first, though.” He'd be damned if he ran around filthy and drenched in a ball gown that wasn't practical by a long shot.

He was ‘only’ taking her with him? Oh no, he wasn’t going to take that sort of attitude with her. That was the only thing that they’d have to discuss. But, it could wait until they had both….. It was then that Chloe realized something. Her body was filthy. Lex was in her body. Her body needed a shower. Therefore….

How was she supposed to broach this topic without it sounding stupid? She could sense Lex staring at her. Chloe knew that he’d get a kick out of seeing her this uncomfortable. Did she even need to threaten him if he did anything weird with her body when it was out of her sight? She thought so. Just to get it out in the open.

“I agree,” Chloe said. And now. “But, I don’t think I need to tell you what will happen to you if you take certain liberties,” she gestured to her bodies, “while we’re in this situation.” Chloe knew that Lex probably hadn’t even considered that and would think that she was bring up silly points. But, it wasn’t his body in the hands of someone of the opposite sex. Well, that they knew of yet.

Lex's brow climbed up again at Chloe's threat. “Believe me, I have no intention of abusing your body in any way.” The idea hadn't even occurred to him until now. He'd just wanted to get the filthy feeling and wet clothes off his skin. “Trust me, Chloe. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you.”

She let out a deep breath. She hadn’t meant it in that way, but she was glad of Lex’s reaction. “Ok, thank you. Sorry…trust issues,” she muttered. And there was the awkward silence again that had happened after she had screamed at Clark. For some reason, she felt that she owed Lex an apology, an explanation…something.

“About, um, before..” Well, what was she supposed to say? ‘I’m sorry for implying that you and I have sex in every room in the Manor?’ Starting again, Chloe said, “I’m sorry that I had to bring you into the middle of an argument that had nothing to do with you. I lost it and I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.” She was sure to keep looking at Lex. She had a tendency to rush through things that needed to be said and avoid eye contact. Chloe was working on that. Though, it was strange to see herself staring back at her.

Lex smirked back at Chloe, amused that her habits carried on into a completely different body. “It's alright, Chloe. I wasn't uncomfortable at all, and I personally thought you were right to put them in their place.” Of course there was also the fact that he wouldn't mind if her insinuations actually came true. But she didn't need to know about that. In any case they had more important things to think about just now. But first things first, he desperately needed a shower.

Thankfully they were pulling into the Sullivan's driveway just at that moment.

~~~
tbc

[Kit Merlot]

A truly brilliant update!

Good for Chloe and Lex for figuring out their true identities so quickly, but this part:


It took Lana a second to realize that Chloe was talking to her. It was strange being this much taller than Chloe. She looked so small now. Instead of the way that Lana usually saw her as broad and much bigger than herself.

had me cracking up at what an utter and complete bitch Lana Lang truly is. And I wonder how long it will take Pete and Lana to realize who they switched with?

Excellent work on this fic:D

[somethingeasy]

I'm afraid I don't have time for much of a fic review today, but I'll give it my level best.

I just started reading this fic, and I'm REALLY enjoying the premise. It's really fun and funny. There are LOTS of fics that cover Chloe and Lex switching bodies with each other... or even with either Lex or Chloe switching bodies with another person altogether. But I've NEVER read a fic which has had such a chaotic accident of all different bodies being switched around in a random manner.

LOL! I have to admit, it was damned fun to see everyone running around like headless (or wrong headed?) chickens, not realizing how practically everyone that they were running into was suffering from the same problem. ROTFLMAO! Oh, that was hilarious!!

So... I'm going to try and get it straight...
Chloe is in Lana - Lana is in Pete - Pete is in Lex - Lex is in Chloe
Chloe => Lana => Pete => Lex => Chloe

Yep... that sounds deliciously right! ROTFLMAO!

I have to say that I have NO idea how you chose the random body movements, but it's the PERFECT switch for everyone. It seems like everyone went into exactly the body that they'd hate going into the most. Except possibly for Lex in Chloe's body... I'm sure he would have hated being Lana or Pete even more.

I'm not sure where you're going with this, BlueSabby, but it seems like you've been building up the Chlex in this fic from the first chapter. It's apparent that Lex does find Chloe somewhat attractive, even if everyone (including Chloe) seems oblivious to it.

hmmm. Now I'm worried about poor Lana's body. I wonder whether it counts as 'defilement' if Lex and Chloe use Lana's and Chloe's bodies to indulge in some heavy lesbian action without Lana's knowledge or permission. LOL!

This fic came off to a really fun start. I look forward to seeing where it goes in future chapters.

[hfce]

My head hurt trying to keep the body switch straight. :rofl: Lex is in Chloe, Chloe is in Blana and Pete is in Lex and Blana is in Pete. Did I get that right? :D Great and confusing update.

[Booksketeer]

Ha ha ha! This is too funny, and extremely entertaining. It's actually fun trying to keep up with who's in who. I'm glad that Lex and Chloe figured each other out quickly; can't wait for Lex to figure out who's inside his body! Very fun story!

[autumngold]

I can't believe I missed this fabulous story!! It's abselutely incredible!! I love the fact that Lex is in Chloe's body!! Isn't he going to have fun in the shower!! One of his biggest dreams must be coming true, he's going to be able to see Chloe nakled!! ;) I know, I know, shame on me for thinking it!! Of course, being the horrible person that I am, I can't help thinking about how Chloe could completely ruin Lana!! Lana deserves it too, with how horrible she's been to Chloe!! Chloe could make Lana run around town naked!! ;) Poor Pete!! I wouldn't trust Lana in my body!! She will probably molest the poor guy!! :) Can't wait for more!! Especially Gabe's meeting with "Lex"!! I think after this story is over Gabe is going to deserve a vacation!! ;) Thank you for the update!! I can't wait to find out what is going to happen next!! Please post again ASAP!!! :)

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: More sorting out and hysteria. Enjoy!
A/N: Sabby: Yepp, all of you who tried to get it straight who's in who got it right. But that doesn't mean the characters are any less confused right now. Have fun!!


Her father had turned in as soon as they got home. Chloe had taken a shower first at Lex’s insistence. He said he’d wait until she was done. She had been quick about it. Knowing that Lana would be none too pleased when she realized all of the odd situations they’d be put into with the switching occurring.

Chloe couldn’t believe the amount of shampoo and conditioner she had to use on Lana’s hair. She had dressed quickly and then found herself knocking on the door to her own room.

She heard her voice answer, “Come in.” Lex was sitting on her bed, looking decidedly bored. She saw him raise an eyebrow at her choice of clothing. It was so strange to see expressions of Lex’s on her face. “What, you didn’t think I was going to wear a pink dress, did you?” She had put on a pair of jeans, a plain t-shirt and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

Lex shook his head. “No, it's just odd seeing Lana like this.” He didn't comment further and instead got up from the bed on his way to the bathroom. “Anything I should know beforehand?” He turned around on the threshold to look at Chloe.

“You mean like if I’m a hermaphrodite or something?” She thought that keeping things on a less than serious level would help her immensely right about now. Lex was about to go and get naked with her body. She couldn’t help but still be a little nervous about it, no matter what he said.

It had little to do with him. Mostly about her own insecurities.

Lex grinned at Chloe, “I was actually thinking along the lines if you use a certain shampoo or shower gel. But I guess the answer to that is no.”

Chloe smiled over at him. “I think you’ll know my stuff when you see it. It’s in all of the nonpink bottles.” She looked over at the closet. “I’ll get you something to wear. You can just throw that,” she looked at her once beautiful dress wistfully, “in the hamper.”

Shaking his head, Lex turned around and left Chloe to rummage through her closet.

He stepped inside the bathroom and pulled the soggy dress off his body after he'd located the zipper in the back.

Reaching the hooks in the bra was a little more difficult, being that he now had to do it behind his own back, but he got it after one failed try.

Lex didn't look down on his body if it wasn't absolutely necessary, if he got to have fun with Chloe's body, it would be with her full knowledge and of course participation.

He slipped out of her panties and stepped into the shower, adjusting the water until it was to his liking. Just on this side of hot. It was a strange sensation to feel the water press down hair first instead of hitting his scalp directly.

He let the hot stream pelt down on him and wash all the filth away, relaxing completely for the first time that evening. In Lex's opinion, nothing beat a hot shower.

He pulled his head out of the water and opened his eyes to look around for the shower gel and shampoo and sure enough found two different sets on a board. One was bright pink with cherry and blossom scent and the other a light green.

He took the green bottle off the shelf and unscrewed the cap. Taking a tentative sniff, the scent of apple and cinnamon hit his nose. 'Not bad'. He squirted some onto his hand. 'Damn'. Compared to his own hands, Chloe's seemed tiny.

He shook his head and started methodically working the gel into his skin. Arms first, shoulders, neck, down under the arms, sides and back up. Over the chest.

'Woah, ok,'. It definitely felt different from this perspective, but when he thought about it, not different from stroking his own skin. Just softer and more flesh. He ran his hands down again. Flat stomach, but soft, unlike his.

He stepped back under the stream and washed the soap off before reaching for the bottle again, squirting some more gel into his hand. Lex admitted to taking his time with her legs, but he just couldn't help it, they'd been the first thing that caught his attention when he'd woken up and they were definitely a nice pair of legs.

Now came the difficult part. He couldn't clean Chloe completely without getting a little intimate. She'd just have to live with that, because Lex was not about to run around unclean just because of shyness issues.

He hoped that whoever had ended up in his body was going to think likewise, because Lex hated being dirty. One could go so far as to say it was a neurosis, but that would be exaggerating it. Just a little.

He squirted more gel onto his hand and reached down, mindful to keep his eyes on the tiles of the shower. 'Ooh' now that felt definitely interesting.

Shaking off the small spark of arousal at his own touch, Lex proceeded with cleaning Chloe's body, keeping his mind on matters as unpleasant as possible.

When he was finished, he rinsed the rest of the soap off and turned towards the shampoo. Thankfully he had some experience in that department. Some of his former liaisons had had quite interesting kinks.

He popped the cap from the shampoo bottle and gave it a sniff. Again, apple and cinnamon. Squirting some of it into his hand he ran his fingers into work it in.

He stepped back under the spray and rinsed the suds out until the hair squeaked between his fingers. When he was finally done, he stepped out of the shower, reaching for the towels that Chloe had left for him on the toilet seat.

He dried himself of perfunctorily then wrapped the big towel around his body while he threw the smaller one on top of his head.

Lex was still trying to rub his hair dry when he stepped back into Chloe's bedroom.

”Tell me you don't blowdry it.” He growled from under the now wet towel.

Her back had been to the door and Chloe jumped a little at her voice. She hadn’t expected him back so soon. Then again, with every passing second, she got a little more nervous. But, if they didn’t fix this tonight, she’d have to get used to Lex being in charge of her body. For a little while, at least.

“No. It’s too loud and I’m usually too lazy.” she said, throwing a shirt on the bed. She had put out her least provocative underwear. A white, cotton set of panties and a simple bra. At first, she had thrown an exact replica of the outfit that she was wearing on the bed. Noticing her mistake, she put a black shirt on the bed and a pair of track pants.

Lex threw the smaller towel onto the back of the deskchair next to him and closed the bedroom door behind him. “Good,” He combed the still wet strands out of his face and took a look at the bed. Plain underwear, shirt and pants. “At least I can trust you to have the right clothes for the occasion,” he smirked as he dropped the towel around his body and went straight for the pile of clothes.

Chloe had been on her way out of the room when Lex shut the door. She tried not to pull a face when he let the towel drop and wandered over to the clothes she had picked out. You didn’t often see yourself wandering around naked. Well, if not in the mirror, at the very least.

Lex was just pulling on the panties when he threw a look back over at Chloe to ask her something. Noticing the look on her face, another question pushed his initial one out of the brain. “What's that look for? This is your body.”

She looked like this was embarrassing her or at least like she was uncomfortable looking at her own naked body. Lex had thought she would be out of that stage of puberty already.

“I know that,” she replied. “It’s just not the normal thing to watch someone else in control of your naked body.” Plus, she was seeing certain angles of herself that she usually wasn’t privy to. All in all, she looked good. She took care of herself so she wasn’t surprised by it. But, it was still weird. Especially now that she might be checking herself out, too.

Lex nodded as he pulled on the bra and managed to get the hooks right at the first try. “True, but isn't it fascinating? You get to see yourself from a completely different angle. And it's nothing like looking in a mirror, because you see yourself like other people see you.” He shook out the pants and stepped in. “What about socks and shoes?”

Lex snapped the button shut and pulled up the zipper. “I'm not going barefoot again,” he smirked.

The pants were comfortable, not too tight, but not too lax either. It felt different in the crotch. No adjusting necessary and both panties and pants sat snug against the skin. 'But not unpleasant'.

He pulled the shirt over his head, sending his hair askew. Pulling it back out of his face. “Deodorant and a brush wouldn't be bad either,” he commented.

Chloe pointed to the head of the bed. Lex’s focus had either been on the clothes or her so he hadn’t noticed the small tube of deodorant or the brush. “Right there.” She had to admit that Lex made a lot of sense. She really couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight of Lex as her. She did wonder how other people saw her. Right about now, though, she mostly wondered how Lex saw her. Being that he had seen all of her.

She walked over to him. “I guess you’re right. Of course, it could just mean that I’m an egomaniac that likes looking at myself.” She dropped to her knees and fished her sneakers out from under her bed.

Handing them to Lex, she sat down on the bed and asked, “What about you? What is it like being a woman?” She pulled one of her knees up to her chest and bumped it into her chin. She forgot that, in Lana’s body, she’d be able to get her legs a whole lot closer to her body in that position.

Lex was surprised by that question. He hadn't thought that Chloe would want to get too specific about things like that. “Different, obviously, but not uncomfortable. The hair is annoying, though.” He applied the deodorant, then started yanking the brush through the hair, trying to get it to submit.

Chloe winced as she watched Lex practically rip her hair out by the roots. “Easy,” she said, checking the urge to wrestle the brush from his hands. “Just different? Nothing else?” She was surprised that Lex hadn’t elaborated.

‘Maybe he hates being in your body and he’s trying to be nice,’ her mind supplied. It was a distinct possibility. “And, be glad I’m not one of those girls that wears a ton of makeup.” Chloe grinned at the idea of Lex cursing at an eyeliner pencil.

Lex shot her an amused look and a smirk. “If you really had an elaborate file on me you would know that make up wouldn't be a problem.” He gave up on the brush and just combed his fingers through the resistant tresses a couple of times. “Got anything to keep this out of my face?” he asked.

Lex deliberately ignored Chloe's other question. Truth be told, he had some opinion on her body, but he wasn't going to tell her that. She would probably turn around and call him a pervert for complementing on the softness of her skin, her smooth, firm legs or the extreme sensitivity of her nipples. 'Oh no, no comment on that one, Miss Sullivan', he grinned inwardly as he waited for Chloe to give him something to tame her disobedient hair. Lex ignored the narrowing of brown eyes and petulant scowl on pouty lips completely. Lana's face looked ridiculous like this.

She decided to let the first comment slide. Actually, she did know about some of Lex’s past predilections, she was just making polite conversation. Besides, never let the other side know how much you know. Chloe walked over to her desk and searched for a hair elastic. She had about a thousand of them but could never find one when she needed it. This time was no different.

“I’m sure you looked hot with the eyeliner,” she murmured as she scanned the desk for the small object. When her eyes finally fastened on what she needed, she felt a small moment of triumph. She picked it up and turned back to Lex.

Lex turned around towards Chloe, both eyebrows flying up and disappearing under his hairline. “Have I uncovered a hidden kink?” If she had it in for that scenery, maybe it was time he got his old clubgear out of the closet and made himself a little more interesting again. Ah, maybe he'd wait until she was actually legal before he did that, though. Then again, who cared, she was a senior in high school and would be off to college by the end of the year, and why was he contemplating all this anyway.

Lex also noticed that he was becoming progressively horny. He definitely hadn't thought so directly about ending up in bed with Chloe when he'd still been in his own body.

She could see that she had honestly piqued Lex’s interest with that comment. Did he really see her as some innocent, young school girl. Well, why shouldn’t he see her that way? There was also something disconcerting with the voice he was using on her.

Chloe had no doubt that if he had pitched his voice a little lower and with that same tone that it would have come out sensually. However, it didn’t work as well with her voice. Maybe her voice wasn’t made for that or maybe Lex didn’t know how to use it just yet. Either way, the question was to her.

She shrugged one shoulder, walking over to him, extending her hand slightly to hand him the elastic. “I wouldn’t call it a kink, per se. More like a preference. Besides,” she fixed him with a look, “don’t you think it’s interesting to see people in ways that you usually don’t? Ways that go against the conventional wisdom about them? We all have things that we’ve said or done that our friends would be shocked to learn of. The question is, what would they do after they get over the initial shock.”

”True,” Lex agreed. He took the elastic and pulled Chloe's hair into a haphazard ponytail. At least it got the strands out of his face. He wondered what Chloe might have done that her friends would never expect of her. Then again, she was probably talking about her deal with Lionel a couple of years ago. Not even he had seen that one coming, but looking back it made sense that his father would get her while she was vulnerable and she'd grasp the proverbial straw. “So, want me to put on some eyeliner?” When he heard the lilt he was giving to Chloe's voice, he stopped dead. This wasn't right. He made a pact with himself to stop all flirting until he was back in his own body.

As Lex fixed her hair, Chloe had to suppress a grin. Firstly, he hadn’t gotten all of her hair and she knew that they would tickle the back of his neck later, no doubt causing him much annoyance. Secondly, he was coming onto her, sort of, in her body. That wasn’t going to work.

“I doubt it would have the same effect on me that it would if you were in your own body.” She winked at him and then sat down on the bed, slipping on the pair of Lana’s shoes she had brought into the room. Should she push things even further?

“Especially if you wore as much leather as you seemed during your younger years.” Chloe concentrated on tying her shoes.

Lex scratched the back of his neck, then bent down to pull on the socks and step into the sneakers. They were obviously worn down enough that he didn't even have to untie them before he could slip in. When he'd gotten his surprise back under control he looked up at Chloe. “Am I going to find compromising pictures in this room that I thought I had gotten rid of years ago?” She definitely knew a lot about him and if her little side remarks were anything to go by , she was obviously attracted to him. This would definitely work to his advantage, as soon as he was back inside his old self.

Pleased that, for once, it looked like she was on even ground with Lex, Chloe got up and walked over to the door. She took her favorite jacket off the back of her chair. She and Lana weren’t the same size, but it wasn’t too big on her. Putting on the jacket, she smiled over at Lex. “Like I’d keep them here,” she remarked. “God forbid she found them.” Chloe didn’t think she needed to explain who ‘she’ was to Lex.

“I have another jacket that you can grab out of the hall closet. You ready to go?” She looked over at Lex. He seemed to be taking all of this far too well. Maybe the present situation negated any yelling he would do about her snooping into his past.

Lex shrugged one shoulder as he followed Chloe out of the door. He silently closed the door behind them and waited for Chloe to lead the way, taking her hints which floorboards or steps to avoid.

He silently accepted the jacket, not trusting that Gabe wouldn't wake up if he heard Chloe's voice. He knew not to trust luck when he could take precautions. They made it out of the house without a hitch and walked around to Chloe's car.

Thankfully she parked it a little way down the street, so Gabe would definitely not hear the motor. Unfortunately, Chloe insisted on driving.

Lex hated sitting in the passenger’s seat. He liked to control the vehicle he was driving in and it didn't sit well with him that Chloe fiddled with the radio while taking the first few curves that led onto the street into downtown Smallville. He only hoped they'd be at the mansion soon.
~~~~~~
Chloe had ignored the fact that Lex had hit an imaginary brake on his side of the car. She supposed he wasn’t used to being out of control, so she let it slide without comment. Besides, he was taking this whole switcheroo thing much better than she thought he would, so she had no complaints.

They pulled up in the driveway and Chloe hopped out of the car. Before Lex could make a move, she opened the door to the Manor and held it open for him. “You coming?”

One thing was for sure, Chloe's stomach wasn't half as strong as his usually was. Lex smirked tightly at the annoyingly chipper girl and followed her up the steps of his own damn house.

He punched in the security code at the panel next to the front door and looked back tightly at her. “This isn't a church, the alarm would have been set off in 30 seconds,” he explained snidely.

Chloe raised an eyebrow at him. “As if I’m supposed to assume you finally got some security in this place?” She turned on her heel and started to walk up the stairs. “Only took you five years.” But, fighting wasn’t going to get them anywhere.

She saw that Lex was following her and asked, “Which way to your bedroom?” She thought that that was the most likely place for whomever was in Lex’s body. If, that was, the person was still on the premises.

Lex merely arched an eyebrow. “As if you didn't know exactly where my bedroom was after snooping around the premises every chance you got.” Lex was surprised about his own bitchiness, but ascribed it to female hormones. And the girl was slowly but surely grating on his last nerve with her bossy know-it-all attitude.

If she kept this up, he'd find a way to repay her, preferably with a very short new hairstyle that involved the use of razorblades. “And by the way, what would we want in my personal bedroom?” He smirked cynically. “Or do you just assume that everybody in town except you has seen it?”

Chloe just ignored Lex’s tone. Maybe he was cranky. “I would think that the person would want a quiet place where they could figure out what in the hell was going on with them. They may want to lie down comfortably while doing the aforementioned thinking.” She made her way down the hall, taking the appropriate turns that would lead them to the bedroom. She did know where it was, but had tried to be polite with Lex.

“I would also assume that the nicest bed in this place is yours. That is why I think we should try there. If we come up empty,” she shrugged, “we can look wherever you suggest.”

She stopped outside his bedroom door and looked over at Lex. Hopefully, he had chilled out a little. She tried to remind herself that jumping into the body of another sex might be something that took a little getting used to.

Chloe gestured towards the door, “Ladies first.”

Lex glared at Chloe, very well aware that she'd been avoiding an answer to his second question completely. 'Nice to know what she thinks of me.'

He threw the door open and let her take a quick look at the room. Motioning to the bed, he gave her a significant look. It was well made and completely empty.

”Any other brilliant ideas?”

Chloe took a few deep breaths before answering Lex. She saw that her first guess at where a person would be in the house was obviously the reason that he was so pissed off. She just honestly didn’t understand it. Making sure that her voice was even, she said, “We can split up and look around if you think that would be a good idea.” She leaned against the wall opposite the door that Lex had just shut. His point of not letting her in his bedroom didn’t slip past Chloe.

If they split up there wasn’t a chance of an actual catfight breaking out between them. Because, she wasn’t about to tear her own hair out. Plus, she thought that she was much stronger than Lana.

Lex thought about it. “I don't think there's too many possibilities where the person could be. The west wing is closed down and I don't think that if the person is a normal local that they'd venture too far from the rooms they know from the party. So we should probably check the ballroom first, then the den and maybe my study, it's where I see most visitors.” Lex went through other possible places. “Maybe the kitchen, too.” From the kitchen, his mind went to his staff and he clapped a hand on his forehead. 'We're being stupid.' He ran his hand down his face, then looked at Chloe. “How well do you get along with Enrique?”

Chloe shook her head. “If he sees me around here, he’ll call the cops, release the dogs and pepper spray me at the same time.” She almost always could see the poor man’s blood pressure increase every time that she came to the Manor. She also noticed that he kept a close eye on her when they were in the same room together. As if she was going to try and smuggle out some of the priceless art under her clothes. “He’s highly protective over you,” she murmured to herself.

She looked at Lex. “He threw me out of here earlier, so if we’re going that route, Lana would be a better bet.”

Lex couldn't imagine Enrique being anything other than professionally polite with anyone. Chloe must've done something to get the man's special attention and not in the good way. The only other person that Enrique had ever treated on the chilly side of polite had been Lionel. “Well I'm not sure, I don't think she's ever spoken more than two words with him.” He thought about it for a second. “Then there's also the fact that I don't want Enrique to get the wrong idea....” Now this was ridiculous, his butler knew him too well to ever think something like that. “You know what, never mind, I think it's a good idea.” He nodded to himself. “You go and ask him where I am, then we'll meet in my study, ok?”

Chloe pushed off from the wall and said, “Sounds good.” She took a few steps down the hall and then turned back. The Manor was huge and she was sure that Enrique was overseeing the cleanup of the party. However, that left the kitchen, the grounds and the whole downstairs as options to where he could be. She didn’t feel like wandering around forever if there was an easier way.

“Which part of the house would you suggest I check first for him?” If she found another servant, she could just ask that they point her in the right direction. But, she could see that turning into a wild goose chase rather quickly. She thought that Lex would know his patterns or had maybe stressed which part of the cleanup Enrique should oversee.

Lex scratched at the back of his neck 'Damn, I didn't remember hair itching so much.' as he thought. “He should be either still in the ballroom, or already in his quarters. But try the ballroom first.”

He still wasn't sure if Chloe could pull this off without falling into her usual characteristics and ticking his butler of, but he could only hope for the best. It would definitely go faster than searching the mansion, one way or another.

“Good luck,” he added.

“Thanks, I’ll need it.” She gave Lex a nod and then made her way down the hall. Chloe tried to think of any times that she had seen Lana and Enrique together. None came to mind. She couldn’t determine if that was a point in her favor or not.

Though, Enrique was always pleasant and helpful, so she saw no reason to believe that he would be anything but to Lana. ‘It’s not like he can see who you really are,’ she thought. If he could, she had no doubt that he would kindly escort her out.

Lex made his way directly to the study, making sure to take the shortest way possible. He was still a little irritated that Chloe knew her well around the mansion so well, but part of him had expected that. She had probably blueprints of the whole property lying around somewhere at 'The Torch' or at home.

Shaking his head, he entered his study and took a look around. His desk was still untouched, thankfully. He swiveled his head to the left and found the pool table.

Someone had started a game on it, but abandoned it halfway through. Lex's eyes narrowed. One cue was lying across the table. He went over to replace the cue in its rack on the wall.

A noise caught his attention as he slid the cue into its halter. It sounded like...a car engine? And it came from the den. Curious.

He slowly moved towards the den, trying to be as soundless as possible while the noise from that direction became steadily louder.

The sound of an explosion could be heard, just before...

”Awww, man! Dammit!” Lex's eyebrows hit hairline as he heard his own voice using those words.

He saw himself, sprawling on the couch, his shirt ruffled, suit jacket gone, feet up on the low table in front of the couch. The plasma screen was bursting with the colors of a car crash scene. Obviously the latest racecar game he'd gotten.

Lex's eyes narrowed even further as he slowly stepped around the couch to address whoever had ended up in his body. How to do this?

”Indulging in some bohemian entertainment?” he quipped.

The voice behind Pete had scared the crap out of him. He had told all of the servants that he had important business to attend to and he could not be bothered with seeing anyone so he hadn’t expected to be bothered. It had only taken him a few tries to find the state of the art entertainment system.

Whatever he thought about Luthor, he couldn’t deny the fact that he had damn good taste in gaming systems, televisions and, most importantly, sound systems. ‘Helps if you have more money than god,’ he reminded himself.

Pete got into character, putting that ‘I’m better than anyone else in the room’ face that Lex always seemed to have plastered on. He turned around and was pleasantly surprised to see Chloe standing behind him. She looked really pissed off for some reason.

Whoever the hell had ended up inside his body would have hell to pay. His shirt wasn't only rumpled, but also had grease stains and dirt on it. His suit jacket had landed crumpled on the floor and whoever the person was had definitely no idea how to work his facial muscles, because he or she made him look like a complete retard.

He knew that they were in a fight, but seeing a familiar face when everything was so fucked up made him temporarily forget about that. “Chlo’,” he grinned. He walked over to her and immediately embraced her. It was good to hold onto something familiar. “I am so glad to see you.” He was going to give her a call in the morning. He figured she’d put aside their fight if he gave her a good Wall of Weird story.

Then another thought occurred to him. “What are you doing here?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, though, if it had anything to do with her and Luthor swapping spit, or worse.

Lex was completely taken aback by the hug he was receiving from his own body. He wasn't used to hugging anyone, much less to being hugged by a tall guy like himself while he was stuck inside a body as tiny as Chloe's. It took him a moment to regain his composure.

First things first, judging by the reaction of the person, this couldn't be Lana and obviously had to be a friend of Chloe's 'Who thinks that I am Chloe'. Who was most likely? Lex's eyes widened as the pieces fell together. 'Oh fuck.'

”Well, I could ask the same of you, Pete,” he returned with a sure voice, trapping the boy in an unrelenting stare. He crossed his arms over Chloe's chest, then positioned them a little higher when he realized that the way he had them before was only putting emphasize on Chloe's already ample assets.

Pete sputtered a few times before actually formulating a sentence. “How did you know?” He thought he had been doing a fairly good job at being Lex…with other people. Sure, he might be a little rumpled, but for Chloe to figure it out immediately was still pretty impressive.

When Chloe just continued to stare at him Pete said, “Fine, I get it. It’s not important.” He walked over to the couch and flopped back down. “I honestly don’t know how it happened. You can’t possibly think that I did this,” he gestured to himself, “on purpose.”

“Kojak may have fancy toys, but I wouldn’t want to be bald before I was thirty. Even if I get Playstation 2 out of the deal.”

Chloe was still watching him carefully. When she didn’t say anything else, Pete broke their eye contact and looked down at Lex’s hands. Deciding that if Chloe was already pissed at him, he might as well press his luck. “Why are you here anyway?”

Lex uncrossed his arms and slid them down the pockets of his cargos. “I'm here so I could find out what's going on. Because obviously, you are not the only one in the wrong body. But I have to admit, you were not the one I expected to see here.” He didn't let on to the fact that he wasn't Chloe yet, having an advantage over the opponent was always favorable.

Pete hadn’t given a second thought to the fact that if he was in Lex’s body, Lex would have to be somewhere else. But, it still didn’t sit well with him that Chloe could tell almost immediately that he wasn’t Lex. It implied that she knew Lex well enough to know that it wasn’t him. If that made any sense…

The idea of Chloe with Luthor was a nightmare to Pete. The only thing worse would be his mother macking it with Clark’s friend. That was just wrong. But, Lex and Chloe would just be no good and then he’d have to kill the guy when he hurt Chloe. Not if, when.

“So, uh,” Pete said, trying not to ask another question about her and Luthor, “I guess that that means you know where, or who, Lex is?” Did the other man go running to Chloe for help or something? That would be very uncharacteristic of him. Unless they were having some sort of elicit affair. All of the sudden, it occurred to Pete that he could be sitting on a couch that Chloe and Luthor could have done stuff on.

As causal as was possible, Pete got off of the couch and tried to find some place to sit. The chairs were out as was the desk that was in the room. Pete decided that standing was the best option.

Lex smirked as he saw the uncomfortable look cross over the boy's features as some thought struck him. 'Interesting'. He watched silently but with growing humor as Pete practically jumped off the couch and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. “In fact I do, but what's more important at the moment is, do you know where your body is now?”

Because since the one in his body was Pete and he himself was inside Chloe's, while Chloe was stuck in Lana, that only left one conclusion to draw. Wherever she was, Lana was now walking around inside Pete's body. And Lex had a headache coming on.

Chloe made an excellent point. Pete had no clue where his own body was. What if someone was messing with it? What if it was broken in some way? What if it was having sex without him? The last point made him the most agitated.

“Chloe,” he said, desperately, “you’ve got to help me. Please.” Pete knew that he was begging but he could feel the panic starting to over take him. The more time that went on without his body being accounted for, the more likely that something bad could happen to it.


tbc

[autumngold]

What a fun update!! Lex was so sweet trying not to stare at Chloe's body, especially when he realized that was not the way he wanted to see it!! ;) I think it's cute though how he gets so annoyed with Chloe, thinking she's irritating, not even realizing he's the same way!! I can't wait to see how Chloe (Lana's) meeting with Enrique goes!! Hopefully she makes Enrique hate Lana more than he already hates Chloe!! Thanks for the update!! I'm having such fun reading this incredible story!! :)

[Kit Merlot]

This was an awesome update!

I like that Chloe and Lex are attracted to each other, but neither one is quite ready to admit it;)

And good for Lex for noticing that Chloe is a beautiful woman with a great figure--good man!

Now, when will Pete figure out that Chloe isn't really Chloe?!

Can't wait to see what happens next:D

[westwingwolf]

Well it's good that Lex & Chloe were the first to discover exactly how mixed up things were. I bet Lex will want to get Pete out of his body as soon as possible so that he won't purposely destroy his business. This is gonna be fun to see people have to deal with things they've never had to encounter before.

Lex was very reasonable about the shower, not going overboard and just being nice about making sure Chloe's body was clean. Thei conversion as he got dressed was hilarious. And Pete freaking out at the thought of Lex & Chloe together while trying to remain cool was priceless. I so hope that Lex informs Pete of who he is before Pete decides that Chloe & Lex are in a relationship and wants to take advantage of that to get a kiss. Lex would have to punch himself.

[hfce]

:rofl:This fic is too much. I love it. I can't wait to see how this turns out. :D

[malugargula]

Amazing and interesting
:)
Can`t wait to read more

[ChloeLovesLex]

Thanks for continuing the fun reading. This situation is such a mess and finding a way to undo the switch is going to be interesting.

[alexiel]

This story is so funny, thanks for posting it !

[somethingeasy]

Lex didn't look down on his body if it wasn't absolutely necessary, if he got to have fun with Chloe's body, it would be with her full knowledge and of course participation.

I wasn’t expecting Lex to be a pervert about the situation, but it will still reassuring to see him being so carefully respectful of Chloe’s body, even though it would have been ridiculously easy for him to have taken liberties without anyone being the wiser about it. It seems like Chloe’s body is in good hands.

Despite him having all these good intentions, he can’t really be blamed for noting the differences between this body and his regular body. It’s perfectly understandable and forgivable for him to explore some differences as long as he’s merely indulging his curiosity rather than his lust.

In a funny way I think Chloe would actually be flattered knowing how he noted the softness of her skin and her “nice pair of legs”.

He admired Chloe without crossing over a line, such as admiring her legs but not using her body as a masturbation tool, when it came time to start cleaning her intimate areas.


“I know that,” she replied. “It’s just not the normal thing to watch someone else in control of your naked body.” Plus, she was seeing certain angles of herself that she usually wasn’t privy to. All in all, she looked good. She took care of herself so she wasn’t surprised by it. But, it was still weird. Especially now that she might be checking herself out, too.

This was absolutely adorable. And it added on a certain layer of reality onto this unbelievable situation. It DOES make sense that a situation such as this would give one the opportunity to survey one’s body from an angle that would be impossible otherwise. I was glad to hear that Chloe generally liked what she saw.


Handing them to Lex, she sat down on the bed and asked, “What about you? What is it like being a woman?” She pulled one of her knees up to her chest and bumped it into her chin. She forgot that, in Lana’s body, she’d be able to get her legs a whole lot closer to her body in that position.

Lex was surprised by that question. He hadn't thought that Chloe would want to get too specific about things like that. “Different, obviously, but not uncomfortable. The hair is annoying, though.” He applied the deodorant, then started yanking the brush through the hair, trying to get it to submit.

I thought that was a very tactful answer from Lex. He certainly couldn’t have told her about how soft her breasts were and about how very sexy legs looked in the shower. And to be fair he has only been a girl for a couple of hours now, and that’s not nearly enough time to have ascertained the deeper differences between males and females.

I really liked how one difference was made clear when Lex tried to use his seductive voice on Chloe using Chloe’s voice no less, and failed abysmally. I especially liked how Chloe was actually amused by his efforts at sounding seductive with his new voice.

It was even funnier seeing Lex realize how very silly he sounded trying to give a flirtatious tone to Chloe’s voice, especially with Chloe as his audience.


Chloe shook her head. “If he sees me around here, he’ll call the cops, release the dogs and pepper spray me at the same time.” She almost always could see the poor man’s blood pressure increase every time that she came to the Manor. She also noticed that he kept a close eye on her when they were in the same room together. As if she was going to try and smuggle out some of the priceless art under her clothes. “He’s highly protective over you,” she murmured to herself.

It was a lot of fun seeing Chloe and Lex engaging in a bit of breaking and entering together. Especially since Lex was actually helping Chloe breaking into his own house, and he was focused on the mission as well as focused on keeping Chloe away from all the sensitive areas of the house.

The news about Enrique disliking Chloe was a surprise. I thought that she would have charmed him a long time ago. But I guess he views her as a security threat to the mansion, which would naturally send his blood pressure boiling.

But there’s still something rather wrong about Enrique preferring Lana’s presence to Chloe’s.


Whoever the hell had ended up inside his body would have hell to pay. His shirt wasn't only rumpled, but also had grease stains and dirt on it. His suit jacket had landed crumpled on the floor and whoever the person was had definitely no idea how to work his facial muscles, because he or she made him look like a complete retard.

I was rolling on the floor laughing out loud at Lex’s first sight of his body, and the person who was abusing it. I am quite certain that Lex knew that this was definitely NOT Lana, even if he hadn’t figured out who was inside there yet. I loved Lex’s indignation about finding his body in such a state. It was a huge offense to Lex’s elitist snobbery.

I really enjoyed out Pete had absolutely no idea that Chloe had also been body swapped. To be fair he would have no way of knowing that this body swapping incident wasn’t just limited to him and Lex. And I also liked how Lex did not give up his advantage, because he knew that Pete would immediately turn hostile if he knew that this was Lex Luthor in front of him rather than Chloe Sullivan. It’s best to keep the conversation on as civil a tone as possible for as long as possible.


Pete hadn’t given a second thought to the fact that if he was in Lex’s body, Lex would have to be somewhere else. But, it still didn’t sit well with him that Chloe could tell almost immediately that he wasn’t Lex. It implied that she knew Lex well enough to know that it wasn’t him. If that made any sense…

It was really funny seeing Pete indignant, confused as well as admiring about how quickly Chloe had recognized him as “not Lex”. And it was really interesting seeing his thoughts wandering into HOW Chloe would have recognized him as an imposter. His thoughts imply that he has noted some kind of chemistry between Lex and Chloe, and that he’s worried about something developing between the two.


Because since the one in his body was Pete and he himself was inside Chloe's, while Chloe was stuck in Lana, that only left one conclusion to draw. Wherever she was, Lana was now walking around inside Pete's body. And Lex had a headache coming on.

Lex is quite quick, isn’t he? He’s managed to figure out that Lana is wandering around in Pete’s body somewhere. Pete is still a little behind trying to adjust to the idea of merely two people body swapping. Not only that but he’s only just figuring out that something horrible could be happening to his body while it is out of his control and sight.

I wonder whether it would be a relief or a terror for Pete to know that it’s actually Lana in his body rather than Lex. And I wonder whether Lex will be ready to fess up about who this ‘Chloe-shaped person’ standing in front of Pete actually is.

I look forward to the next update.

[Scorch]

After being in agony since 4 this morning, I needed something to cheer me up and this worked spendidly! I've read the entire lot and my whingy gob hasn't stopped smiling once.

You need to continue this!

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: More talking, plotting and confusion. Enjoy!
A/N: Sabby: Also, some unwanted tension. Have fun!


After being told, in no uncertain terms, by Enrique that Lex was not seeing guests anymore, Chloe had made a hasty exit from the ballroom. She didn’t want Enrique to now be suspicious of Lana. Being that she had no idea how long she was going to be the girl.

She had wandered around, checking various rooms. Finally, she had heard her and Lex’s voice. Chloe had listened in for a little while. Enjoying the fact that Lex was making Pete squirm. It served him right.

Chloe only wished that she could get Lex’s attention in order to tell him to freak Pete out as much as was humanly possible.

Lex smirked cruelly at the younger man, stemming his hands in his hips. “And why should I?” He saw no reason to let Pete know that they shared the same agenda, at least not yet. The boy could suffer a little for his insolence and spiteful behavior. “Give me one good reason to help you after you've treated me the way you did.”

For the first time, Pete fully understood the phrase ‘his mind went blank.’ That was what happened to him. He couldn’t think of one reason and Chloe just kept staring at him.

Chloe made a little hrrmp noise when she saw that Pete couldn’t even come up with a good enough lie as to why he deserved help.

“Because we’re friends.” It was a statement but the way Pete said it, it sounded like a question. “And, because even though you’re mad at me right now, you always do the right thing.” This was good. If he made it more about Chloe, maybe he stood a chance.

‘Lex, use Lex.’ “Plus, I doubt that Luthor would want me being him for very long.” He walked closer to her and said, “There are all sorts of things that I could fuck up in his life without even meaning to.”

Lex's eyes narrowed dangerously at that possible threat. Truthfully though, the little git was right. He wanted to get back into his own body as soon as possible. Still, he wasn't ready to give in too fast. “I could always just tie you up and stuff you in one of the guestrooms,” he deadpanned “You can't fuck up if you can't move” he added with a smirk.

Hoping that Pete didn’t hear, Chloe snapped her hand over her mouth. It was the only way to keep from bursting out laughing. Both at Lex’s delivery of the line and Pete’s reaction to it.

It was quite amusing to see Lex’s face making the pathetic expressions she often saw on Pete. When he looked back at Lex, Chloe could see that a thought had occurred to him.

“I’m bigger than you.”

It was very simple. Yes, Chloe was scary and probably very strong for a girl. But, she was still a girl.

“While Luthor isn’t the Hulk, I don’t think you could take him.” He didn’t want to have to say these things, but Chloe was being impossible. He had already said please, what else did the chick want?

Lex narrowed his eyes as a Cheshire grin spread on his lips. “That may be the case, but believe me,” He slowly stepped closer to the boy, “I know this body better than anyone else,” he poked his own body in the chest to emphasize which one he was talking about. “Its strengths, its weaknesses.” He stared his own dumbfounded face down. 'Dumbfounded is not a good look on me' “I could have you on your back in no. Time. Flat.”

After a beat, Chloe closed her mouth. Her jaw had dropped open when Lex had gone there. The implication was clear in Lex’s statement. She could imagine that Pete was now thinking about Chloe having Lex on his back. Hence the look on his face. Unfortunately, it gave Chloe the very same visual and her reaction was much different. She didn’t want to analyze that right now, though.

Pete covered his face with his hands. Or Lex’s face. Whatever. He knew Chloe liked to push people’s buttons. And that might be what she was doing now. She could be lying, just trying to get him to flip out. Or, she could be telling the truth. His head was starting to hurt. He walked past her and then sat down on the desk that was behind her, trying to come up with any response to her statement.

He stared at her back. Pete couldn’t believe that she had the upper hand. He was physically stronger than she was. However, he had to admit that in the brains department, she usually had him beat. And this was one of those times. Whatever Chloe wanted, he’d have to give her. There was no other option.

Lex was quite pleased with himself to say the least. He could feel the wide grin threatening to split his face as his eyes followed Pete's movement. 1 : 0 for him. He almost felt sorry for the shell shocked boy. Almost being the operative word.

Lex turned around so he could keep his attention completely on the boy in his body. His eyes caught movement at the entrance of the den and he saw a swish of black ponytail and blue jeans disappear behind the corner. 'Ah, wonder how much she heard'.

“What do you want from me, Chloe?” He actually was interested in her answer.

He made a show of inspecting his nails. 'Oh, she needs to take care of those'. “Well, first, I expect you to treat Lex's body better than you're doing right now.” Seeing that he still got the boy's full attention despite the face he was pulling, he continued on. “Secondly, I expect that nothing of this gets out until the whole situation is reversed and everyone is back in their original body.” That point seemed to agree with Pete, but his agreeable face looked most disagreeable on Lex's features. “And most importantly, try to do a better job at imitating the man you happen to be inside of at the moment. Stop pulling faces, pay attention to your stance and for godssakes stop using expressions like 'aww' and 'man', especially following each other.” That should be the most important points for now. They could work on the intricacies later.

She wasn’t sure why, but when Lex turned around, Chloe got herself out of sight. She was fairly certain that Lex had seen her, but there was little she could do about it. She listened to the terms that Lex set up and thought that they were very fair. Chloe just hoped that Pete would see it that way. Not that he really had any choice.

Peering around the wall in front of her, Chloe watched the two of them. It was very weird, watching herself have an argument with someone else. She hoped that she really didn’t make those scary faces. But, thought that it was more likely that she actually did.

Pete didn’t see that he had much choice in agreeing to what Chloe said. He had expected it to be much worse so he couldn’t complain. He cleared his throat and stood up straight, trying to get into the stance that Lex usually took. “OK, Chloe. I agree.”

Lex scrutinized the stance and posture of his body. “Hrm, get your shoulders a little straighter and raise your chin, the rest is ok,” 'Ok, one obstacle down, a hundred to go' He thought about everything else they had yet to handle. Hopefully, he could get Chloe alone before she stormed into the room and blew his cover. 'Oh, apropos Chloe'

“Oh there's one more thing. You still owe me an apology,” he stated coolly. “Because you know quite well that any and all relationship that I have, be it with Lex or anyone else, is none of your business. I don't meddle in your trysts either, so you have no right to judge me on my decisions.”

Even though Pete was backed into a corner, he didn’t want to totally give in to Chloe. Well, at least not on the Lex part. He didn’t trust the guy as far as he, or Clark for that matter, could throw him. He paused and he could feel Chloe glaring at him. He didn’t want to lie to Chloe so he said, “I’m sorry about what I said.”

It was true. He didn’t like to upset Chloe with his actions that he later realized were boneheaded. She got enough of that from Clark. But, when it came to Luthor, he usually shot his mouth off first and thought later. It usually got him in trouble with Chloe but when Clark had chimed in…..

“I don’t like seeing you get upset like that, Chloe. Especially since I used to you know, well, you know…” The words hung in the air. Neither he nor Chloe usually referenced the time when he had feelings for her. It was just too weird. But, maybe that was part of it, too. If Chloe was going to choose someone over him, even though he knew that she didn’t think of him in that way, he wanted to actually like the guy.

Lex's eyebrows rose as the boy tried to stammer through his apology. Apparently there had been something between the two of them at some point in the past.

Interesting, but a little unsettling. It might cause even more problems if he actually decided to pursue something with Chloe.

Oh, this was not good. Pete was going to be very upset when he realized that he had just told Lex that he used to have feelings for her. She understood what Pete was saying but it still didn’t excuse his actions. She was her own woman and if he thought that he could control who she dated by pitching a hissy fit, he had another thing coming.

Pete cleared his, or Lex’s throat, and said, “Anyway, I know it doesn’t make it better but I was only an idiot cause I thought that if you two were,” he paused, trying not to use the words banging, fucking or screwing, he didn’t think that would help his situation. “In a relationship,” there, that was safe, “that it might end up hurting you.”

When he saw that she was about to continue to yell at him, he held up his hands. “I’m just trying to be honest. But, I do apologize for overreacting.”

Lex narrowed his eyes. He had to give it to the little bugger, he was making sense from his point of view and the original Chloe would most likely have forgiven him at that point, since his intentions where sincere, if more than a little biased. “Fine, but in the future, stay out of other people's private business. Especially mine.” With a haughty sniff he turned around and sashayed over to the bar to get a drink. He really deserved one now. And he wondered when Chloe would come out of her hiding place and if she'd immediately blow his cover. There was a way to prevent that. “You can come out now, Lana.”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed at her own backside as Lex walked over to the bar. How did he get her hips to move that way? But, a better question was why was Lex doing that. Just to throw it in Pete’s face? She couldn’t be bothered with that now. She walked across the room and said, “Hi, Pete,” before joining Lex at the bar.

He was pouring himself a huge tumbler of…something. That was way too much for her. She was, unfortunately, a lightweight when it came to alcohol. “Chloe,” she said, “that may be a little too much.”

Lex looked over his shoulder, arching an eyebrow at her. “I beg you pardon?” When she shot him another pointed look he immediately stopped pouring. 'Right, not my body. Well damn.' “I think I can decide for myself how much I want to drink, Lana,” he shot back but tried to convey his understanding with a look.

He was getting so used to walking around in Chloe's body that he'd almost forgotten it was so different from his own. Aside from the annoying itch of his hair in the back of his neck that was. He scratched once more, then turned around to face her fully, taking a delicate sip of his drink.

Glad that they had gotten that sorted out, Chloe turned back to Pete. He was watching them closely and looked like he was trying to puzzle out what was going on. He looked back and forth from Lex to her.

“Ok, I give up, what’s going on?” Though Chloe and Lana were always civil to one another, there was a different vibe going on. Then there was the fact that they had come to the Manor together. Which made little sense to him. He watched as Chloe leaned against the bar and seemed to study him.

He turned his gaze over to Lana. She said, “What do you mean by that?” Instead of it coming out in a whiney or pleading tone of voice it was matter of fact. When Pete didn’t answer, but kept looking at her, Lana crossed her arms over her chest.

That jarred something in Pete’s brain. It was like he was trying to place where he had seen that pose before. “You don’t like her,” he turned his attention back to Chloe, “so why are you two here together?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he turned back to Lana, waiting for her reaction.

When neither of them spoke, Pete turned his attention back to Chloe. She just continued to drink the liquor. She had finished her first glass and poured herself another as Pete watched. She stuck her free hand into her pocket.

Pete’s eyes narrowed. She was holding the glass with her left hand.

Chloe watched as Pete’s eyes shuttled between herself and Lex. She remained quiet, waiting to see if he would pick up on what was going on. He finally spoke, “Lana,” he said, “who designed the dress you were wearing tonight?”

Lex bit the inside of his cheek. They were as good as found out. Chloe would never know the answer to that question. Unless Lana had blathered on about it several times and in length, which she probably had, so maybe they were still safe after all. Taking another sip of his scotch he wondered if Pete had turned up the heat in the room, since he was starting to get uncomfortably warm in his black shirt.

‘Crap.’ Lana had mentioned it many times, but Chloe had just tuned her out. She turned her eyes downward, trying to stall for time as she thought.

‘She doesn’t know.’ It was impossible. Lana had told him no less than seven times. She could rattle off which line it came from and all of the features of the dress. But, Lana still hadn’t answered him. He stepped over to her and tilted her chin up and then stared down at her.

Chloe could feel Pete’s gaze on her. Why was she even trying to keep up the charade? It didn’t matter and he would find out eventually. Before she could out herself, Pete said, “Chloe?” His face looked certain but his voice didn’t.

“Hey, Pete,” she answered. His eyes widened and he took a step away. “If you’re in there,” he pointed at Lana’s body. “Then, who’s in….” he trailed off. He knew the answer, he just couldn’t believe it. “Luthor. Oh god, it’s Luthor.”

Chloe watched as Pete ran his hands over his face. When the tips of his finger reached where his hair should be, he quickly took them away. Obviously disturbed by what he didn’t find there. It would take them all some time to get used to the little differences between them, she supposed. “You ok, Pete?” She had no idea how she would take it if she woke up in Lex.

Lex started to giggle and immediately clamped his mouth shut as he realized what he was doing. 'Oh shit,' apparently, Chloe hadn't been lying about the alcohol. He should have known better but he hadn't been watching himself. 'Bad, bad'. But it felt nice, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been just tipsy, not all out drunk off his ass. He snorted at the horrified look on Pete's face and got himself together enough to drawl, “Congratulations, Mister Ross.”

“No, no, no, no, this cannot be happening.” Pete walked over to the couch and sat down. Maybe he’d wake up from this nightmare soon. But, it didn’t feel like a dream.

Chloe looked over at Lex. He was swaying slightly but she couldn’t worry about that now. She went down and sat next to Pete. She put her hand on his knee and spoke very gently to him. “It is happening. I don’t know how or why, but it is.” She looked over at the clock. It was well past midnight. “But, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Lana has to be in you. It makes the most sense. But, we can’t go barreling over to your house right now.”

Pete nodded. She was right. It all made sense. That didn’t make it any better though. “So, we just stay where we are for tonight.” He knew where she was going with her speech so he just cut to the chase.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah.” She looked over at Lex and saw that he had finished his second, third, whatever glass it was and decided that they needed to get home. “I think we better go now.” She leaned over and hugged him. It was strange hugging Pete, but feeling Lex against her. “We’ll figure it out,” she murmured.

Lex scrunched his face up as he watched his body hugging Lana's. It looked even more awkward than it had felt when he'd met up with her at the airport that one time when she'd decided she had to go to Paris to find herself or something.

Pete finally let her go. He knew he couldn’t hang on all night. “Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Chloe nodded and he smiled at her. “Good stuff.” He looked over at Lex and whispered, “If he tries anything, let me know.”

~~~~
Chloe groaned again as she closed the door to her bedroom. The past thirty minutes had been the longest of her life. She had determined on the way home that Lex was, in fact, very drunk. He hadn’t meant to do it on purpose, that much was sure. However, that gave her little comfort as she hefted her body up the stairs as Lex just giggled.

When she closed the door, Lex made a not so straight path to the bed and flopped down on it. Her hair fell over his face and she watched as Lex tried to blow them off.

“Have I told you that your hair is annoying? Pretty, yeah but very” he huffed, trying to blow the strands out of his eyes once more, “Annoying”

The scotch was still warming his insides and being drunk inside Chloe's body felt really good. Not his usual kind of drunk, more fun and less brooding. Come to think of it, Chloe's body felt really good, period.

He wiggled deeper into the soft bed stretching out as far as he could and still fit comfortably on the mattress. With a happy groan, he relaxed his muscles again and flopped down like a fish.

“Hrmm, your body is the perfect size for a bed,” he commented as he rolled over on his stomach.

Lex frowned as the angle for the pillow was not quite right and somehow his back was angled up. Flopping around until he was on his back once more, he tried to figure out the problem. “Oh, breasts, right I have breasts now.”

Chloe was able to check the urge to laugh at him, but just barely. Lex seemed amazed to realize that his new anatomy was the reason that he couldn’t get in just the right position. Watching a buzzed Lex Luthor in a chick’s body, even if it was her own, was highly amusing. She hopped up on her desk and just watched to see what his next move was.

Lex got absorbed by the newfound obstacle that this part of his body caused. “Hrm, also very pretty,” he murmured as he hooked his fingers into the collar of his shirt and peeked down at the pair he'd gotten himself. “But not very practical, are they?” he looked up at where Chloe was supposed to be but she was gone. Lex frowned and rolled his head around. 'Ah there,' his eyes finally landed on her. “I mean, you can't even lie on your stomach like a normal person, or is that just the bra?”

Deciding to find out himself, he contorted until he could get his hand behind his back and to the thrice damned hooks he knew were there.

“And why do those things have to be so complicated anyway?” he grumbled before he finally managed to unlatch them with a sigh.

Ok, now this was starting to get strange. She knew that Lex was drunk but she wasn’t really comfortable with him checking her out like this. Then again, it wasn’t like he wouldn’t have ample time to do that when she wasn’t around.

But, that didn’t mean that she wanted to watch him do it. She was glad when he distracted himself with the bra. It was fine that he was taking it off, he’d have to get undressed eventually so Chloe let the first part of his speech go.

“You get used to them,” she answered as Lex fished the bra out of his shirt. He got it caught on the sleeve of the shirt and then threw it across the room with a sigh of relief.

Lex flopped back onto the mattress, finally free of the stupid contraption. There was only one problem now. His chest had started itching a while ago and now that the bra was off it only got worse. He'd ignored it so far because the itching in the back of his neck had been more annoying but now... 'Well if you got an itch, you gotta scratch it.'

He shoved one hand up under his shirt and started scratching at the worst parts. “Hmm, that's good,” he purred as the itch slowly turned into a pleasant tingle that faded into just the normal feeling of his skin after a bit more scratching. “How can you get used to something that itches like a fucking mosquito bite all over your chest?” he asked Chloe grumpily as he shifted his hand to the other breast, working the itch out. When his fingers caught on something, he lifted the collar of his shirt again and stared down in fascination.

His nipples had gotten hard during the scratching. 'But I didn't do anything.' “Huh, that's odd. Your nipples get hard just from scratching yourself?” He let the collar fall down again as he resumed scratching between his breasts. “You're really sensitive there, huh? I already thought so in the shower earlier, when I was trying to get all that filth off you.” He nodded to himself as he contorted once more with a groan, to get to the itching parts on his back where the backstrap of the bra had been.

Chloe felt a blush instantly rise up on her face. She knew that Lex was just speaking without thinking. And, it was obvious that the whole thing was very strange to him, but the fact remained that it was embarrassing. Especially since he was still wriggling around on the bed. She didn’t even want to address his time in the shower. She just wanted to get out of there without things getting even more weird.

She tried to think of an appropriate response to anything that he had said. She would have to ignore the last question that he asked so she would just address the first. “Well,” she said and was pleased to hear that her voice sounded normal, “I don’t have much choice with the getting used to it. There isn’t another feasible option.”

Lex scrunched his face up as he waited for her to explain. After he'd finally gotten rid of the itch, he tried to turn onto his stomach once more. The angle wasn't exactly right, but it was a lot better than with the bra on. With a satisfied smile on his face he settled into the pillow. Hadn't he been waiting for something? Oh yeah, “Explain?”

“Well,” Chloe said slowly as she looked at him, “I can’t just go around without a bra on. Um, as you know by now…” God, why had she started this? She should have just distracted him with something shiny or faked a seizure. “I’m rather well-endowed.” Yes, that was a fairly bland way of saying that she had a big rack. “So, you kind of need to wear one if you don’t want people staring at you.”

Lex just blinked at her and she found herself continuing on. “Plus, this is Smallville, which means you often have to run for your life and it’s not very comfortable to run without some type of….support.”

‘Just shut up, Chloe.’ She couldn’t believe that she had to explain to Lex why bras were a necessary evil of being a woman.

Lex harrumphed as he punched his pillow into form before settling back down a little more sideways so he could look at Chloe. “Hrm I guess you're right, so... it hurts when you run?” That was odd. “So what other things are different that we never get to hear about?” he looked at her curiously, rolling over onto his side. His gaze was immediately drawn back to his breasts as they went the way of gravity.

“That explains why it would hurt when you run.” Lex thought of all the times he'd seen Baywatch and wondered just how masochistic a woman had to be to become a lifeguard with breasts anything bigger than size A.

He shoved the hand that wasn't supporting his head under his chest to support them a little and it immediately felt less odd. “I think I get the bra thing now,” he concluded.

Chloe really wished that he’d stop groping himself. It was making her uncomfortable that he seemed so comfortable touching her body. She knew that she should just get out of there. Instead, though, she heard herself asking, “What do you want to hear about?” Maybe she could get deeper inside of Lex’s head. See what he really wanted to know about women.

“Huh?” Lex had been so absorbed by his brand new set of breasts that it took him a moment to figure out that Chloe was asking a question to answer his question. When he remembered what he'd asked, which took another minute, he shrugged. “Nothing specific, just things I usually don't get clued into because I'm not a member of the exclusive club.”

She grinned as she said, “Well, first off, just because you’re close with a female friend, it doesn’t mean that you’ve made out with her. Sorry to burst that bubble.” She didn’t know what it was with the heterosexual male that made them froth at the mouth when two girls hugged one another.

Lex let the giggle consume him as he watched her impish smile as she delivered her comment. “Ok, what else?”

Lex was clearly still staring at her breasts so she said, “Secondly, breasts aren’t that big a deal to us.” She paused, thinking what else she wanted Lex to know. “Thirdly, if we’re upset because a guy has done something wrong, it usually has nothing to do with our time of the month.” That one always burned her. And, there was one other crucial thing. “Lastly, size does matter.”

Lex snorted at that last one. “Now that doesn't come as a surprise to me,” Thankfully, he had nothing to worry about in that department. Well, when he was in his own body at least. “But you can't deny that women do get really testy during that time of the month.” He fixed her in an unrelenting, if somewhat askew look to make his point. “Vicky even threw a vase at me when I suggested she should lay down and eat some chocolate. And I wasn't even being sarcastic!” he huffed indignantly. “I always got the feeling that chocolate worked what with the endorphins in the sugar and all that,” he tried to explain.

Crossing the room, Chloe sat down on the bed next to him and waited until he was looking at her. “I’m not saying that we don’t get in foul moods or act differently. I’m saying that to immediately jump to that conclusion is absurd.” She paused and then said, “Besides, using Vicky as an example isn’t helping your case any.”

Lex frowned at her, turning onto his back so he could look at her without having to crane his neck, he got distracted when his breasts seemed to collapse in on themselves and put a hand up to one of them to make sure they were still the same size before he turned his attention back to Chloe. “And why's that?”

At first, Chloe was distracted by Lex pawing at her chest, but she refocused so she could answer his question. How was she supposed to put this delicately? She shrugged, not bothering to phrase her response at all. “She seemed like a straight up bitch to me who wouldn’t be happy with anything that you did unless it involved buying her something horribly expensive.” She decided to not bring up the fact that there were rumors that she had been sleeping with his father.

“True,” Lex agreed. But it was still niggling at him, “So the chocolate and lying down thing was not necessarily the wrong thing to say?” Because when it came to honestly handling a woman, not just sweet talking her into bed or buying her nice things, Lex was sometimes as lost as the next man. How was he supposed to know what they wanted anyway? They never told you straight up only gave hints that were more confusing than French pantomime and sign language put together.

Sighing, Chloe ran a hand through her hair…and it got caught there. After freeing herself, she looked back at Lex. He was eagerly awaiting her answer. “No, that’s not the best thing to say to a woman, Lex. But, I’m sure it was exacerbated by the woman that you said it to. It’s best to just not mention it, ok?”

Thinking about Vicky now, Chloe said, aloud, “I’m surprised you’re this into my breasts after hers.” She looked down at him and smiled, “I’m sure she let you explore, shall we say, all you wanted. I know it’s different having them, but your reaction…..” She trailed off, not really knowing how to end the thought.

Lex stopped scratching his chest and looked up at Chloe, confused. “Huh?” He looked down at where his hand was and pulled it away. “I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. They're just really nice and,” he shrugged. “It feels good to touch them,” he answered honestly. “Vicky's chest isn't all that, believe me. I've known her back in boarding school and she was as flat as a board.” He stretched out one of his hands to emphasize his point. “Then one day after spring break, she came back and whoop,” he made another motion, this time with both hands over his chest. “Himalaya,” he shook his head, “You can bounce a penny of those things, you know that?” He grinned fondly as he remembered that particular moment, “Course she didn't react too friendly to that either,” he mumbled.

Chloe laughed long and hard at that one. The woman must have gone nuts. Especially if it was right after they shared a ‘special’ moment together. She really didn’t care, the shrew deserved every bad thing that came to her. “I would imagine so.” She shook her head, wondering what gave Lex the idea to even do that. “You’ll get used to them,” she said, switching topics. “I did. It’ll just take you a little time. Though, hopefully, you won’t have to get used to being inside of me.”

Lex relaxed back into the pillows. “Oh well it could be worse, I actually like being inside of you.” His eyes slanted over to her, wondering if she'd caught on to the innuendo she'd started. “You've got really soft skin and amazing legs. Has anyone ever told you that?” He looked at her curiously. “I never got a good look at your legs before because you always go for the long skirts,” he sulked. “And oh I like that cute little mole that you have right,” he turned around so he could point at the spot on her hip where she had a heart shaped mole but was immediately pulled back around by Chloe, who was looking at him oddly for some reason he couldn't fathom.

He shrugged “But the hair? that's still annoying,” he tried to blow away one of those stubborn strands that always ended up hanging over his eyes when he wasn't lying on his stomach. It refused to go away. “Really annoying,” he grumbled.

After Lex had gone off on the tangent about her body, she hadn’t really cared to discuss her hair anymore. Especially because of the way he had said the word ‘inside.’ She didn’t think he was aware of it, but his voice had lowered when he stressed the word. She didn’t need him disrobing, either, to show her something that she knew was there.

She knew that Lex was just telling her, straight out, what he thought of her body but it was still odd and she needed to put a stop to it. “Lex, thanks for the compliments. But, now that you’re aware of all of that, there’s no reason for you to keep exploring my body, right?” She was hoping that this was a line that Lex wouldn’t make her draw in big, bold letters.

Fixing him with her eyes, she saw her own staring back at her intently. She wouldn’t be the first to blink and she just held Lex’s gaze.

Lex blinked owlishly as he tried to figure out what Chloe was hinting to. He hadn't even started to explore her body per se, just picked up odd tidbits that caught his interest. But if that was what she wanted. “Okay, no more exploring until everyone is back in their own body,” he agreed as his eyes drifted shut, “But don't tell me you wouldn't be curious if you got the chance to be in a body of the opposite sex,” he stated, just before a yawn broke through.

‘If it was yours,’ quickly came the response in her head. Then, she focused on something else he had said. “Until we’re back in our own bodies?” Did that mean that he wanted to…. But, Lex had fallen asleep so that question would remain unanswered. At least for tonight.


tbc

[Booksketeer]

This chapter was just too funny! I loved it when Pete found out who was in whose body; and Lex getting drunk as Chloe was hilarious. Really enjoyed this installment; I assume next we hear from Lana's side? Can't wait for her reaction.

[malugargula]

This fic is so funny
:)
I like that Lex finds awkward his body hugging Lana`s.

[westwingwolf]

I love drunkLex in Chloe's body. That conversation was beyond hilarious, but I have to agree no 'exploring' until back in the right body's because while it's Chlex, it's also technically Chlana, and it's always best to leave Lana out of any circumstance whether it's her body or her personality.

[hfce]

That was a great update. Lex in Chloe body is priceless. I am glad he gave it to Pete to. :rofl:

[autumngold]

Lex's reactions to Chloe's boobs was funny!! I can't imagine how strange it would be to suddenly be in the body of a man? I can guarantee I wouldn't like it very much!! As much as I don't want to even think about Lana, I can't wait to find out how she is dealing with Pete's body!! Will prim and proper Lana look? What a fun update!! I love Lex's hints to Chloe about how he will wait to explore her body until he's back in his own!! Lex/Chloe is fun when drunk!! Hopefully Gabe won't find out!! Thanks for the post!! ;)

[Kit Merlot]

An excellent update!

It seemed to take Pete a damn long time to figure out that Chloe was actually Lex and Lana was actually Chloe.

And I love that Chloe knows exactly what Lex thinks about her body:grin3:

Continued wonderful work on this fic.

[somethingeasy]

It was really cute seeing Pete begging and cajoling Chloe for her help. It made me blink however, to see Pete turning to physical intimidation to procuring Chloe’s help. Did he really think that was going to work? Fortunately Chloe (Lex) set him straight on that misconception. Reminding Pete exactly how and why brains tops brawn every time was a great way to bring him back down to earth again.

Not to mention really funny. I thought I was going to die laughing at Pete nearly collapsing and swallowing his tongue all at the same time at Lex’s insinuations and verbal play.

And I really enjoyed Pete squirming, ripping out his hair and trying to tone down a panic attack was trying to figure out whether ‘Chloe’ was just playing mind games through lies, or through the truth.

It was a good deal that Lex struck with Pete in the end, about being a little more discrete about the whole switch by acting out the part of Lex Luthor to the best of his abilities. LOL! Oh, Pete is going to love that, isn’t he? ROTFL!

I was in stitched watching poor Pete getting instructions from ‘Chloe’ about how to act more like Lex in his body language, ROTFL! This is going to be damned fun to watch. Chloe, Pete and Lana are not really public figures, so they can afford to lie low for a few days until this whole matter is settles, but Pete in Lex’s body cannot afford any slip-ups because there’s almost always someone watching him for a slip-up at all times… just waiting for the chance to take advantage of any weak moment from Lex Luthor.

It was truly awesome seeing all three of them finally coming together into the room. Especially since it entailed ‘Chloe’ pouring herself a healthy dose of scotch while ‘Lana’ warned her to watch her limits, LOL!

I was really impressed and pleased by Pete realizing almost immediately something was ‘off’ when all three of them came together, and he got enough clues to realize that the body-switch was not simply limited to two bodies only. I LOVED how he set up a trap and caught Chloe! LOL! Well done, Pete!!! ROTFL! Lana’s dress designer indeed!

Oh dear heavens! Even AFTER Chloe gave him a warning, Lex still managed to get himself drunk from the scotch. *rolls eyes* good going, Lex!

But it was darned hilarious seeing Lex trying to deal with the surreal situation of being in a ‘drunken chick’s’ body. Especially the hilarious way that he was so astonished by the way that his new breasts were preventing him from getting into familiar sleeping positions, LOL! That was a great way to illustrate all the ‘tiny’ differences that Lex (and Lana) will have to get used to after trading genders.

I also enjoyed the ‘lessons’ that were given to Lex about the practicals of being a girl… or more specifically… being a girl of Chloe’s build. I imagine that most guys don’t consider that a bra is a very practical device that keeps breasts held firmly in a stationary position sometimes more for practical rather than aesthetic purposes.

Heh… not to mention the all important lesson about how it’s NOT considered remotely clever or insightful for any man to ask ‘are you on your period’ whenever he comes across a woman who doesn’t agree with his opinion.

Lex was especially cute in his state of being an ‘attentive pupil’ to Chloe’s lessons. He was asking with such adorable earnestness whether there’s anything insightful, essential or interesting he should know about being a female.

Don’t worry, Lex… it’s all going to come with time (and exploration/experience, LOL!)

LOL! Poor Chloe! I could sense her HUGE embarrassment watching a drunken Lex Luthor feeling herself up while he went after an ‘itch’ on his breasts. I think I would have ended up swatting him/her over the head until he/she just STOPPED doing that. LOL!

But, then again, he WAS giving her rather sweet compliments about such wonderful little things… such as the heart-shaped mole on her thighs, and her lovely legs. It’s rather hard to stay mad at a man who seems so enthralled with your body… in a eloquent manner. And it helps if he happens to be wearing your body at the time, LOL!

Hmmm, all of Chloe’s caustic comments about Vicky made me wonder how much of her hostility is caused from genuinely believing Vicky to be a bad person, and how much might be from jealousy…? It seems however that Lex himself doesn’t have that much respect or regard for Vicky. The man will always insist on getting into relationships that are doomed to fail! How about leaving the management of your life to a more sensible person, Lex?

LOL! I loved the revealing remark that Lex made to Chloe at the end of the chapter… AND how Chloe picked up on that slip… that Lex is most definitely interested in continuing exploration of each other’s bodies, after everyone has returned to where they belong. Excellent!

This was a really fun chapter. Now we have three people ‘in the know’ about the entirety of the situation. It’s going to be interesting to see how the situation progresses once Lana is brought into the loop. Please update soon!

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Sabby: For all you guys who wanted to see how Lana's doing... *g*

A/N: Blue: Yeah, what she said.

When Chloe woke up the next morning, she felt like there was something she should remember, but she just couldn’t remember what. Shrugging it off, she opened her eyes and peered over at her alarm clock. When she saw the pink Hello Kitty alarm clock, everything came back to her. She groaned and ran a hand over her face…which was now Lana’s face.

She had set her alarm extra early in order to see how Lex was doing. They would need to make sure he wasn’t too hung over to face his first Monday as a high school student…for the second time around.

After he had passed out, Chloe had taken off the rest of the clothing that he had left on. She had dressed her body in a simple tank top and shorts set and left some aspirin and a glass of water on her bedside table. Now that she was awake, Chloe had time to think…which was always a dangerous thing.

The conversation between herself and Lex last night had to be the most surreal experience of her life. Having to talk about what it was like being a woman with Lex was odd enough, doing it while he was a guest in her body added another level of strangeness to it. Especially when he started to compliment said body.

She convinced herself that it didn’t mean anything. Lex could probably find something complimentary to say to any woman. It was part of the whole playboy repertoire he had worked so hard to get down to a science. Sure, he was drunk and you would think that that would make it more likely that he meant what he said. But, Chloe was fairly certain that a drunk Lex was probably still more with it than most people they knew.

Lex groaned as his eyelids cracked open the first time. Someone had put a dead animal in his mouth and a construction crew had set up site in his head. Groaning once more he rolled over in the bed, trying to comb the annoying hair out of his face.

He found a glass of water and two aspirin on the night stand and reached out with one eye open, slamming his hand on his prize. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been that hungover.

Another five minutes later, he was finally able to roll out of bed and face the mirror over Chloe's vanity.

”I'll never let you drink alcohol again,” he growled seriously before shuffling into the bathroom.
~~
Though the sun had just barely come up, the occupant of the room had been awake for hours already. Sleep was impossible, as was ignoring the blind panic that was coursing through their system. However, another more pressing problem had made itself know in the last few minutes.

Lana had to pee. Badly. Normally, that wasn’t a problem. Normally, however, she wasn’t in someone else’s body when the problem presented itself. A male someone, at that. Pete, more specifically.

She was sitting in a chair by the window and her right leg started to bop up and down as she tried to ignore her bladder. It wasn’t working. This whole situation could have been avoided if she wasn’t grounded.

When they had gotten back last night, Mrs. Ross had laid into Pete. Saying that she had specifically told him not to wreck his suit. And, if he couldn’t be responsible for something so simple as that, he would not get certain other privileges.

Lana hadn’t really cared or listened to the lecture until Mrs. Ross confiscated the cell phone in Pete’s pocket and told him to go to his room. When Lana started to argue, she really needed to call Chloe, Chloe would know what to do, Pete’s mother had fixed her with a look that not even Lana dared to mess with.

She had shuffled upstairs and laid down on the bed. The suit was not comfortable, but she was not about to take any piece of clothing off. Pete’s bed was comfortable enough but Lana found it impossible to fall asleep. She paced around the room, thinking about how she would get back into her own body. Then, another thought struck her.

Was Pete in her body? And, was he doing stuff to it if he was? She needed to get out of his body and it needed to be soon. She didn’t care how it happened or who had done this, it needed to stop. She had a Spring dance to plan for godsake!

As she shifted her weight, a whimper broke from her throat. She needed to use the bathroom…but that would entail touching Pete’s…..his…..thingie. And, she just wasn’t that type of girl.

However, it appeared that she didn’t have much choice. Her decision made, she got up and slowly made her way to the bathroom. She didn’t know if it worked with guys but she kept her legs squeezed together as she walked to ensure that she didn’t have an accident.

When she was in the bathroom, she didn’t turn on the light. It was bad enough that she had to touch it, she didn’t want to see it. She undid the zipper of the pants and took them and Pete’s boxer shorts down. Maybe there was a way that she wouldn’t have to touch it. She placed her hands on the wall behind the toilet and leaned forward as far as was possible.

Lana peeked down and could see that she might be in an ok position. She closed her eyes, relief flooding her body, as she let her muscles go. Her eyes snapped open when she felt warm liquid, which was definitely not water, hitting her legs and thighs.

A pathetic noise reverberated against the tiles but Lana just kept peeing. She saw that she had made a mess, very little of the liquid making it into the bowl…but, that was better than the alternative. She flushed the toilet and then set about cleaning up herself and the bathroom.

After washing her hands, she decided, Mrs. Ross be damned, to sneak downstairs and call Chloe.
~~
In his groggy state, Lex had almost tried to use the toilet like he normally did, until his hand had encountered a decided lack of equipment inside his shorts. Grumbling, he'd sat down and reminded himself again that things were going to be different inside a female body.

He was just brushing his teeth when Chloe came into the bathroom, already dressed and ready to get going. He shot her a questioning look through the mirror.

Chloe rested against the doorframe and waited a moment before addressing Lex. He didn’t look that bad considering how much alcohol he had ingested. “I’m glad to see that you’re doing ok.” She walked over and twisted the cap back onto the toothpaste. Especially since we have to be at school in half an hour.”

She backed away and waited for the knowledge to seep into Lex’s brain. Chloe wasn’t sure if he realized all that was entailed with being in her body. School, a father that cared, friends that they would have to brief each other on…and then there was the small subject of Vlad. She’d wait till he was more awake for that one, though.

Lex cleaned the brush and put it aside. Turning around he crossed his arms in front of his chest, then under it, then over it again. “Ok, you got a lesson plan for me? Anything in particular that I should know?” He'd expected that with being in Chloe's body came with having to keep her regular schedule. It would be too hard to explain to Gabe why his seemingly healthy daughter couldn't go to school. Thankfully he could make himself call in sick however and force Pete Ross to keep a low profile, somehow.

Nodding, Chloe motioned for Lex to follow her back to her room. She rifled through the top drawer of her front desk and then came up with a crumpled piece of paper. Being that it was halfway through the school year, she had already committed her schedule to memory. She handed it to Lex and spoke as he looked it over.

“Shouldn’t be too hard for you to get through those. You’re basic senior schedule. AP English, AP History, Gym, Home Ec, Statistics, Government, French and a few free periods.” She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out a key. “This is the spare to the Torch, feel free to hide out in there.”

Chloe didn’t want to give Lex any more instructions. She was fairly sure that he wouldn’t take too kindly to her telling him how to act. Besides, she didn’t really think it was all that necessary. She was about to ask if he had any question s when the phone rang.

Without even thinking, Chloe walked over and answered the line. Before she had even gotten through her hello, she heard Pete’s voice on the other end of the line. At first, she couldn’t really make out many words. However, the hysteria confirmed Chloe’s suspicions about who was in Pete’s body.

“Lana. Lana. LANA!” She tried to keep her voice level, but the girl kept prattling on.

“You can't believe what I've gone through! I had to pee! Do you hear me? Pee in your body with your....Why are you yelling at me?” Lana could feel her eyes start to tear up. She was having the worst day of her life and now she had to listen to Pete, in her body yelling at her even though she'd done her very best to stay strong and she had even touched his body to clean it.

“I’m not yelling at you,” Chloe said softly, deciding not to work Lana up even more, “I had to yell over you. Secondly, this isn’t Pete so don’t lay into me about what you’ve had to do to his body cause I don’t think I really want to know. Just calm down, ok?”

Lana tried taking a few deep breaths, but then it hit her that whoever was in her body now was not Pete. “What do you mean NOT PETE?! Who ARE you!? Have you done ANYthing to my body? Please don't do anything to it, I have the Spring dance in just a few weeks and that is REALLY important,” she stressed her words by giving them more emphasis, catching herself almost biting Pete's nails before she remembered and let the hand fall down with a shudder. “Please, tell me you're not doing anything to my body,” she whimpered.

An evil grin came over Chloe’s face. It would so easy to mess with Lana’s head. Then again, she didn’t think that it would be right. Lana flew off the handle with everything, but, for once, she was warranted in flipping out this much. At least for another two minutes, after that, she had to snap out of it.

“Lana, it’s Chloe.” She paused, letting that seep into her brain. Hopefully, that would calm her down a little bit. “I haven’t done anything with your body other than clean it and put clothes on it for school today so you can calm down now.”

Lex had heard almost every word from Lana's end of the conversation and didn't even bother to smother his smirk at her hysterics. He was glad Chloe hadn't reacted that bad when she found out that someone else was inhabiting her body.

Apparently, Lana was having trouble dealing with the fact that she'd ended up in a male body. Lex had expected no less. He almost felt a twinge of sympathy for Pete, almost being the operative word.

“Coffee?” he mouthed to Chloe. If they had to suffer through this, he at least needed a coffeefix.

Lana started breathing a little easier again. At least it was Chloe, not some random person in her body, but still. “You're not going to do anything with my hair, are you?”

She picked up on Lana’s words as she nodded affirmatively to Lex. He walked out of the room and Chloe turned her attention back to Lana.

“Lana, I have no intention of being in your body for an extended period of time, so I don’t think me messing with your hair is a possibility.” Chloe laid down on her unmade bed and let out a sigh. Lana remained silent.

Rolling her eyes, Chloe said, “I promise not to touch even one hair on your head, ok? Now, are you almost ready for school? Once we get there maybe we can start to sort things out.” She thought that was best. If they could all meet maybe they could figure out what had triggered this. That would lead them to reversing this as quickly as possible.

While she used to be jealous of Lana, she now had no desire to be the girl whatsoever. Plus, if Lana was this tweaked, the longer they were like this, the worse it would be for everyone involved.

Lana looked down at herself. She'd managed to somehow get dressed without having to see too much. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough, “Yeah, I should be able to make it to school in 20 minutes.” She bit her lip, preparing to also tell the bad news. “But I won't be able to go anywhere after school, Pete's mom gave him house arrest,” she sighed. Why did life always have to be so unfair to her? No parents, whacky friends, a boyfriend who couldn't even agree with her. It sucked.

Chloe didn’t want to get into what had occurred that made Mrs. Ross react in that way. It was hard to guess if Pete had gotten himself in trouble or it happened after Lana had taken over. “That’s ok, Lana,” she said.

Lex walked into the room with two mugs of coffee and Chloe gestured to her closet. He was still in the pajamas and they needed to get a move on.

“When you get to school, meet us in the Torch office.” Lex handed her a mug and then put his down before standing in front of her closet. Chloe blew on the liquid, took a sip and then said, “Lex and I will meet you before class and we’ll see if we can sneak Pete onto school grounds somehow.” She spoke quickly, she didn’t want to get into who was who right now. “See you soon, Lana.” Chloe paused, thinking the girl might need some more encouragement. “You’ll do fine. Bye.”

Lana hung up the phone, staring at it incredulously. “Lex?” What did Lex have to do with anything? Chloe hadn't told him about what had happened, had she? Oh god that would be so embarrassing. Taking a deep breath, she tried to forget about that possibility for now. She put on one of her cheery smiles that she always used when people at the Talon were giving her stress and prepared to face Mrs. Ross.

Lex pulled a pair of jeans from the closet, then kept searching for something suitable to go with it. Most of Chloe's shirts were screamingly colorful, but he found a simple red one with a nice cleavage. Pulling it out, he turned around to ask Chloe for a bra, finding her sitting on the bed and shooting him an odd look. “What?”

He picked up his coffee mug and took a sip.

“I can’t help but be amused by you deciding what to wear.” She sat up and said, “You’re being such a girl.” She smiled widely at him and kept her voice light. This wasn’t something that she wanted to get into a fight with him about.

“It’s nice to see that you care what matches, though. At least I don’t have to worry about you putting me in something hideous.” She reached over and took another sip of coffee. “I’m just glad that Clark wasn’t involved. I’d be forced to watch myself decked out in flannel.” She shook her head, “It wouldn’t be pretty.”

Lex chuckled. “True. But why are you surprised I know how to match clothes? Just because I'm a man doesn't automatically mean I lack taste.” He decided to forgo asking and stepped in front of Chloe's dresser. Opening the top drawer, he found what he'd been looking for.

With a smirk he pulled out a matching set of black lace underwear. “I like those much better than the ones you gave me yesterday in any case.”

He dropped his sweat shorts and pulled the panties on then stepped into the jeans he'd picked out. “So we'll meet with Lana in the Torch, but we'll have to go back to the mansion this afternoon, because I'm not leaving Pete to his own device any longer than necessary in my body,” he commented as he put on the bra, then reached for the deodorant.

Chloe would never get used to seeing Lex in her body and changing her clothes. That was a plain fact. Especially when he was putting on what she considered her sexing set of unmentionables.

She was pleased to see that the scraps of lace looked as good on her as she had remembered. Coming back to the situation at hand, Chloe sat up and said, “I’ll call him and try to sneak him into the school. I’ll just tell the principal that I’ve got an interview set up with you. That way we can get all of us together to piece this thing together.”

Lex nodded as he pulled the shirt over his head. “Sounds good, you can write an article about the dinner party later to make it look real enough.”

The hair was falling in his face again and Lex blew it out of his eyes, glaring at his reflection in the mirror over the vanity. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Only if you stop looking at my face like that.” Chloe made her way over to Lex, pretty sure as to what he was going to ask her. She never considered that having hair would be so annoying and vexing to Lex.

She leaned against the vanity and looked down at him. “How may I serve you?” She did a little curtsey as she spoke.

Lex smirked as he picked up a brush and held it towards her. “It's not your face, it's your hair. Get it out of my face.” At Chloe's expectant look he added. “Please.”

Deciding not to make a comment about Lex using the word please, which Chloe couldn’t ever remember hearing from him, she murmured ok and then took the brush out of Lex’s hand. As gently as she could, she worked the brush through her hair. She didn’t want to hurt him as she worked out the tangles.

“I don’t suppose you have a preference as to the style,” she asked, jokingly. When Lex glared at her, she laughed and said, “Didn’t think so.” She grabbed a few pins, flipped her hair up and fixed it in place.

Lex breathed an actual sigh of relief when the annoying strands were finally out of his face. “Thanks,” he murmured, taking another sip of his coffee.

“You’re welcome. It annoys me sometimes so I can’t imagine how odd it is for you.” She was silent for a moment and then spotted something on the table. Unable to resist the urge, Chloe picked up the item and flipped it over to the hand of Lex’s that didn’t hold his mug. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

As she left the room, she called over her shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll come back to you.”

Lex looked down at his hand at the black pencil. Eyeliner. Shaking his head, he set the coffee cup down and got closer to the mirror. It had been a few years, but well, make up was like driving a car, once you knew how, you wouldn't forget.

Five minutes later he came down the stairs to find Chloe putting some last minute things into two backpacks.

“Ready?” he asked.

She looked up at him and laughed when she saw that he had actually applied the makeup. “Not bad,” she commented.

Chloe zipped up the two bags and said, “Yup, we’re all set for another thrilling day of learning. I called Pete and he said he’ll be there.” She handed Lex her bag and slipped the pink one onto her shoulders. “I put my class schedule in the front pocket and marked the ones that we don’t have together.” She grabbed two apples and threw one at him.

“I also made some notes about how you act in those classes.” She opened the door and Lex followed her out into the driveway. “The only class that concerns me is AP History.” Chloe paused and looked at the car keys that she had in her hands. Sighing, she passed them to Lex.

Lex took the keys with a short nod and unlocked the passenger door for her before jogging around to the drivers side. “History? What's your problem with it?”

He threw the backpack into the back and settled behind the wheel, turning to Chloe as he started the car.

Chloe put her bag between her feet and unrolled the window, resting her elbow on the door. “I don’t have a problem with History. Just the teacher. Perkins is an ass, he doesn’t appreciate anyone’s opinion but his own. He’s had it out for me ever since I suggested that the history we are taught isn’t realhistory. It’s written from totally biased perspective.”

She stopped talking before she went off on another one of her rants. She checked the speedometer and noted that Lex was actually going the speed limit. She tried to hide her smile by turning her head and looking out the window.

Lex frowned. “And he wouldn't budge? Well that might lead to problems, because I agree with you on that matter. History is written by the winners, so of course the history books in school are usually biased.” However, he also knew that sometimes you had to keep your own knowledge to yourself and tell people what they wanted to hear to get them to do what you wanted. Maybe he'd help Chloe get a better grade while he was stuck in her body.

He took the turn onto Main Street, heading for the high school. “What topic are you on right now?”

“The original colonization of the Americas.” Chloe saw that they had made it to school early enough that there weren’t that many people wandering around. “Christopher Columbus and all that crap. Perkins touts it as the greatest achievement known to mankind. He seems to forget the whole we gave the Native Americans blankets chock full of disease to kill them off.”

She looked over at Lex. “He didn’t take that comment too kindly. That was Friday so watch out for him today. After I made that point, a few other people piped up and agreed with me.” Chloe smiled at the memory. “I think he thought I was staging a coup.”

Lex chuckled, imagining a mini riot Smallville style in history class. With Chloe, anything was possible. “I'll keep it in mind. Any other riots I should know about?”

He pulled into the school parking lot finding a spot close to the building to park her car. “I don't want to be assaulted by anyone and have no idea why they're doing it.” He reached behind himself to get the backpack and growled in frustration when he found his arm was too short. Unbuckling his seatbelt he had to half crawl into the backseat to finally get a hold on the damn thing.

Eventually, Chloe would have to stop laughing at the small things that annoyed Lex. Eventually. For now, she was able to keep it at a small chuckle as he practically climbed into the back seat to get his backpack. He was really taking this much better than she had any right to hope for.

Chloe started to shake her head and then reconsidered. It wasn’t like someone would assault him, however, she did want to warn him about a new development that no one else knew about.

As Lex reached for the handle to his door, Chloe laid a hand on his arm. “But, um, yeah, I’ve sort of been seeing someone. He’s in your History and AP English class. Tall, blonde guy. Just wanted to warn you.” She streamed the words together quickly and then jumped out of the car.

Lex whipped around, looking after her, before jumping out of the car, jogging to catch up with Chloe, who was damn fast on Lana's slightly longer legs.

“Wait a minute!” He caught her arm and held tight as he turned her around. “What do you mean you're 'sort of' seeing someone? I'm not going in there with the possibility of being pulled into a dinky janitor room hanging over my head,” he pointed at the entrance to Smallville high before using both hands to hold on to Chloe's shoulders, marching her to one of the low benches in front of the main stairs. “So explain.”

Chloe knew that she wasn’t going to get away with the hit and run as Pete called it. But, she had hoped that she could maybe outrun Lex. She supposed the possibility of making out with a male high schooler had motivated him to move his ass. Or, hers, more aptly.

She turned towards Lex and took a deep breath before speaking. “It happened a few weeks ago,” she started. “He’s new and I was supposed to show him around.” She rolled her eyes as she said, “I know, I know, it’s trite and clichéd but we really seemed to click on some basic level.”

Lex arched a skeptical eyebrow. He did not like where this was going, at all. So she was having a fling with an unknown guy, keeping it a secret from her friends, just because she'd 'clicked' with the guy on a 'basic level'.

He barely suppressed a derisive snort. The boy had probably pulled the 'charmingly disoriented' number or something of that sort and pretended at hanging on every word Chloe said, to make her feel important.

Lex knew that number and all other variations of it by heart. This boy would have another thing coming when dealing with him. “What's his name?”

She could see the wheels in Lex’s brain spinning. No doubt, he thought that she was some stupid girl who had fallen for a line. Well, he could think whatever he wanted to. He’d be able to see for himself.

“His name is Vlad,” she replied. She steeled herself for the inevitable mocking that she was going to get for his name. But, first, she needed to keep going with what she had to say.

“We’ve been hanging out and we started seeing each other about a week ago. I haven’t told anyone because I don’t want to jump the gun and have to deal with the tons of questions that will come about. I just thought you should know because he’s going to flirt with you.” Chloe paused.

Here is where things were about to get sticky. She really liked Vlad and didn’t want anything messed up between them. She knew that she couldn’t ask Lex to make out with the guy, well she could but she was fairly certain as to what his answer would be, but she needed his help.

“And,” she said, drawing in a deep breath, “I’d like for you to be as nice and encouraging as you can be.” She looked over at him and waited for the explosion.

He barely kept the indignant 'WHAT?!' inside, instead pasting a smirk on his face, “Vlad, like Count Vlad Dracul?” Be nice to a guy from Romania that probably wouldn't even stay longer than a few months and play instigator to his teenage hormones, enabling him to make a move on Chloe? 'I think not,' “What exactly do you consider as being 'nice and encouraging?'” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking expectantly at Chloe.

“I mean don’t knee him in the balls when he tries to kiss you,” she shot back. She could tell that Lex was not reacting kindly to this development. She could understand, but she also didn’t want her social life fucked up because of what happened.

“Listen,” she said running a hand through her hair and then cursing when it got stuck. She was really going to have to remember that Lana’s hair was too long to do that with. “I’m not saying that you should screw him in the Torch office, just please try not to do anything that will make him go run screaming to the hills.”

Lex smirked at Chloe's choice of words, it left a lot of possibilities open, as long as he didn't make the boy scream or run, he could still give him a few subtle hints that would be impossible to blame him on that would make sure the boy didn't get any ideas.

Chloe deserved something better than some exchange student trying to get into a local girl's pants. He'd make sure that that wasn't going to happen. “Agreed, I won't resort to physical violence and won't send your friend 'run screaming to the hills' either,” he relaxed his arms and reached out his hand to shake on it.

“Thank you, Lex.” Chloe couldn’t keep the gratitude out of her voice. She genuinely liked Vlad and she knew it was still early, but she thought she had finally found someone who appreciated who she really was. And wasn’t secretly wishing that she was someone else.

She grasped his hand and shook on the agreement. “I promise that I’ll work on Pete for you, too. I know that you’ve got to be worried about him.” She took her hand away and saw another car pull into the parking lot. They should leave for their clandestine meeting soon. She had called Pete early in the morning and brow beaten him into coming to the school. They’d have to get moving soon, but she wanted to get this out of the way. Lex should know that she had no intention of not returning the favor.

“It may be easier than you think, though,” Chloe remarked. “I’ve been trying to explain reality to him and he seems to be listening.” She smiled over at him. “After three years.”

Lex chuckled, his body relaxing as they changed to a less irritating topic. He was worried about Pete inside his body, but he knew that controlling the boy wasn't going to be too hard. After all, since the Ross boy already saw him as the devil's son, he could always threaten him within an inch of his life and make him too afraid to set a toe out of line. “Remarkable,” he purposely used Chloe's snarky tone, “Then all we have to teach him is how to behave a little less like a jock and a little more like a respectable business man and we should be fine.”

They both turned towards the entrance and made their way up the stairs into the building.

[westwingwolf]

Oh my god this keeps getting better and better. Lana's freakout and absolute refusal to touch Pete's 'thingy' were hilarious moments. Oh and I so can't wait to see what Lex does to encourage Vlad that things won't work out for him and Chloe.

[Kit Merlot]

This was just lovely!

Lana's reactions to being in Pete's body were cracking me up--I think she is actually one step above a prude--if that's possible:D

Chloe and Lex continue to show why they are the smartest people in Smallville, and I like Lex's worry over Vlad. I have to admit that I'm a bit worried about him myself.

Continued excellent work on this fic:grin3:

[hfce]

:rofl:This story just ticles me. I love it. I can't wait to see Lex with Vlad. :D

[autumngold]

What a fun update! I can't wait to find out what Lex plans to do with Vlad! It's kind of sad that without even meeting him Lex can read him better than Chloe. Maybe it's a good thing for her that Lex is in her body. Lana as Pete is funny! I can't believe that she would rather pee on herself then just aim for the toilet. Is she afraid that if she touches Pete's penis she will become addicted to them? Of course this is Lana, with her that would be entirely possible. Please update again soon! This is such a great story! ;)

[malugargula]

Great update, funny fic
Can`t wait to see more
:)

[somethingeasy]

LOL! The chapter got off to a really amusing start, with Lex facing a hangover in Chloe’s body. At least now he knows better than to abuse Chloe’s ‘no-possessing super-healing-powers’ body. He’s REALLY going to miss his mutant super-healing abilities to drink as much as he wants and still be able to wake up fresh and early the next morning, isn’t he? LOL!

Let’s hope he manages to keep down his customary number of concussions and gun-shot wounds while he’s in Chloe’s body too.

LOL! And now we finally got a chance to see how Lana was faring in changing sexes.

ROTFL! It seems like the poor girl is suffering quite badly. First of all, I imagine it wasn’t very pleasant suddenly getting parents when said parents start yelling at and punishing you. Second, Lana is really not handling the idea of being in a boy’s body very well. The idea that she couldn’t even bring herself to look at much less touch Pete’s penis. Heck, she couldn’t even bring herself to call it a penis, not even in her own head… ‘thingie’ indeed! LOL!

Anyhow, she couldn’t bring herself to handle Pete’s penis even for the practical purpose of peeing?! *sigh* Lana had better get used to cleaning the bathroom an awful lot!

LOL! I really liked the comparative scene showing Lex being quite practical and blasé about peeing with Chloe’s ‘equipment’. Good thing he noticed in time that he can’t pee standing up anymore, otherwise he would have had a mess similar to Lana’s on his hands… and on his legs… and on the floor… well, you get the idea.

The phone conversation between Lana and Chloe was quite funny. It was rather grating seeing how irritating Lana can be, even over the damned phone! Granted, I can see why anyone might go a little into hysterics in a situation like this one, but I get the distinct impression that Lana was going into hysterics because a deeper part of her just believed that this was a situation that required melodramatics.

LOL! It was really funny seeing Lana going into a panic when she realized that it wasn’t Pete in her body, but someone else altogether. Do I really want to know what was going through Lana’s head when she pleaded with the stranger to ‘not do anything to her body’? What was she imagining?!? Tattoos? Erotic Asphyxiation? Eating tons of fatty, buttery foods?

LOL! It was truly amusing as well as pathetic seeing Lana suddenly having a breakdown about the possibility of Chloe doing things to… *gasp*… Lana’s hair!!! Actually, I imagine that Chloe would be sorely tempted to give Lana a quick cut with nail scissors after that conversation.

Heck… Chloe might even be tempted to play around with the ‘thrill’ of getting high off asphyxiation!

Heee! I just realized that I’m going to have a really fun time seeing Lex negotiating through high-school while wearing a girl’s body. Seeing him go back to high-school would have been fun enough, but seeing him making his way around as a female is going to be icing on the cake.

I look forward to finding out how Lex is going to effect Chloe’s grades… as well as her relationship with her teachers. I get the feeling that there’s going to be some drama between Lex and Chloe’s history teacher. I can’t wait! :D

LOL! And if high-school studies wasn’t enough… we’re ALSO going to have the fun of seeing Lex negotiating the high-school social/dating scene… as Chloe no less!!! Awesome! I loved that Chloe has someone that she’s being ‘seeing’ for a short time, AND that she asked Lex to play nice with this someone.

Heh… did Chloe really think that this budding relationship is going to survive past Lex’s encounter with her new romance-interest though? Granted, she hasn’t asked Lex to do anything impossible, other than just a basic ‘be polite, and please don’t hurt him’. But this is the stage of the relationship where a bit of flirting is needed to keep the relationship alive and thriving. Flirting is needed at this stage!! And you can bet that Lex is NOT going to flirt with Chloe’s love-interest.

*sigh* what a pity… and just when Chloe seemed to have found someone nice for herself.

Oh well… Lex is just going to have to ‘comfort’ her later when she’s alone and single again, right? He’s going to owe her one ;)

This was a fun chapter. I look forward to seeing what happens next. Good luck with future writings!

[Chica]

:clapclap: great fic

[BlueSabby]

A/N:Sabby: Yeah, updates aren't going to happen more than once a month, cause our RL schedules are...not very compatible anymore. Still, enjoy!

A/N:Blue: Here is the group trying to work together. Let's see how that goes, shall we?


Chloe looked at her watch for the third time in two minutes. She and Lex had been waiting for over five minutes and neither Lana nor Pete had shown up yet. She had called the Manor a few seconds ago and she had been informed that Lex had already left. So, she hoped that Pete was on his way. If not, she was fairly certain that Lex would kick his ass. No matter what body he was in.

Lex had settled against Chloe's desk, waiting patiently for the others to show up for their meeting. For him it didn't matter either way if he showed up to class late, since he'd easily get away with it. He could always use the school newspaper as an excuse and tell the teacher that 'Lana' had had to help him with it. What happened to Pete's body was none of his concern.

A timid knock on the door jerked him out of his contemplations and he looked expectantly up to see the aforementioned body hesitantly entering the office, walking overly careful and just this side of feminine.

He smirked at the awkward motions of the boy's body as 'he' turned around to close the door. “Hello, Lana.”

Lana let out a sigh of relief. Her morning had been very stressful and she had never been so glad to get to school. She had to deal with Mrs. Ross’s anger, which had not been pleasant. She found that the tricks she used in her body didn’t do much to dissuade the woman’s ire. In fact, Pete’s mother had asked him a few times if he had lost his mind. That was after she had been batting her eyelashes at her.

She had also forgotten that Pet e had a truck that had three pedals instead of the regular two. The truck had made some decidedly unhappy noises as she made her way to school. She hoped she had properly put the damn thing in park. There was way too much going on in the truck for her to keep track of.

When she saw Chloe, she smiled at her and threw her arms around her friend squeezing as hard as she could. “I am so glad to see you, Chloe.” Then, Lana remembered something that caused her to jump away from Chloe. Chloe wasn’t Chloe. Chloe was her. So, who the hell was this person she had just been hugging. “Who are you?”

Lex smothered the urge to roll his eyes, straightening out his shirt before he slipped his hands inside the pockets of his pants. “Lex,” he said shortly, before turning to Chloe. “So the only one missing would be Mr. Ross then we can start our little meeting.”

He'd barely spoken the words when loud screeching of tires could be heard through the open window. Lex was across the room in an instant, narrowing his eyes at the blue Jaguar that was now parked across the school parking lot. Pete 'That little shit...' was getting out of the car, wearing Lex's best suit, with the wrong tie, and donning a pair of black shades that made Lex look like a cheap FBI agent. 'I'll kill him.'

Growling he turned back to the two others and reclaimed his spot, leaning against Chloe's desk. “Of course we'll have to set some rules first,” he commented darkly.

Chloe rolled her eyes at Lex’s obvious displeasure at Pete. She had followed his line of vision and knew what he was thinking. Well, the lines of what he was thinking. Probably going through all of the places that he could hide Pete’s body…if only it wasn’t his body that the boy was currently in.

She understood that he was frustrated, but having him all pissy before they even got down to things wouldn’t help the meeting go well. Plus, Chloe didn’t feel like playing referee today. They needed to work together and the sooner that Pete and Lex understood that, the better.
Lana wouldn’t be a problem. The girl was so freaked out and obviously just waiting for someone to tell her what to do. “Lana,” Chloe said in a soothing voice, “why don’t you have a seat?” She pointed at one of the chairs. Usually, it drove Chloe insane when everyone coddled the girl. But, she would make an exception for now.

She walked over to Lex and then lowered her voice. “Can you please try to be the bigger man?” Maybe if she phrased it that way, Lex would try a little harder to not throttle Pete the moment he crossed the threshold of the door.

Lex pursed his lips and arched an eyebrow at Chloe, “I don't have to try to be that,” he sniped but then conceded. “But I will get him straight on the fact that he can't run around ruining my image, since it's not only my life he would be affecting with that.” His eyes shifted to Lana, sitting slumped in her chair, Pete's ankles neatly crossed under the seat and looking up at them with a doe eyed expression on the boy's face.

Chuckling low in his throat, he jerked his chin in Lana's direction. “And it seems he won't be the only one who has to be told just how to behave in their new body,” he added.

It was nice to see that even though Lex had money, power and influence that he wasn’t as unaffected by the twists of life as she thought he would be. She just couldn’t believe that he was being such a guy] about the whole thing. She resolved that she wouldn’t get involved until it was absolutely necessary.

Looking over at Lana, she couldn’t help but smile. Pete would hit the roof when he saw what outfit Lana had picked out. One of Pete’s exes had taken him out shopping. The girl was loaded and had bought him tons of ‘suitable’ articles of clothing. He had said that they made him look gay and refused to wear them. He had probably been too lazy to throw them out, Chloe surmised. Lana was wearing a pair of dark stone washed jeans and a silk shirt. Pete was in for a rude awakening.

Lex took Chloe's silence for agreement and turned around completely to Lana, smirking in satisfaction at what she'd done to the boys outfit. 'What goes around...'

As if on cue, he looked up at his own body entering through the door, the shit eating grin of his face falling into a completely poleaxed expression as Pete got the first good look at his body.

”Holy...” Lex winced at the outburst and decided to interrupt Pete before he could get started.

”Mr. Ross if you would close the door and take a seat so we can get started,” he stated bluntly.

Chloe held her breath, waiting to see if Pete would give Lex a smartass comment. She glared at him and then motioned to the chair next to Lana. She parked herself next to Lex on the desk. Pete nodded at her and then sat down, crossing one leg over the other in a fair approximation of how Lex usually did so. Their little chat last night still seemed to be sticking.

Pete narrowed his eyes at the man inside the blonde’s body, hating the condescending expression pasted on his best friend’s features.

“Don't look so smug, at least I'm not making your body run around in an embarrassing outfit!”

“That would be arguable,” Lex commented, receiving a swift elbow to the side from Chloe.

Before things denigrated even more, Chloe cut in. “Ok, I know how much you two would love to keep sniping at one another. But, I think we should use this time to, I don’t know, figure out how the hell we got like this and how we can get back.”

When neither Lex nor Pete blessedly said anything, Chloe went on. “The last thing that I remember is that a storm came.” She furrowed her brow and tried to dredge up anything that she might have forgotten. Truthfully, she hadn’t really thought about last night all that much. Which was really dumb when you thought about it.

She supposed she had other things on her mind at the time so it was excusable…but, she was still kicking herself for that. I mean, wasn’t this her forte?

The events of last night came back quickly and she looked up at everyone. “Anyone else happened to get struck by lightening?” That had to be it. I mean, how often did that happen to a person. Then again, what were the odds of it happening to all of them at the same time?

Lex's head snapped up from his internal resume of the evening at Chloe's last words. Looking around, he caught the surprised and shocked expressions on both Pete's and his own face. While the two others simply nodded, Pete murmuring an incredulous “Yeah.” Lex elaborated. “Yes, I was outside, walking along the lake, when the lightning struck the surface and spread through it. The last I remember is a green glow.” He looked at the faces around him for some sort of confirmation before he continued. “The next time I woke up, I was lying in the mud, stuck inside your body,” he turned to Chloe with his last words.

Pete nodded, uttering another “yeah.” He was shaking Lex's ankle on his knee in rapid pace, his face scrunched up into an impossible expression. Lex was surprised how many facial muscles he actually had.

“Damn, man, I just remember being dru... drowsy and walking outside to get some fresh air, then it started to rain and bam.” Those words just sounded wrong, coming out of Lex's mouth and making even his voice sound different. If Pete didn't watch himself, they'd never pull this off.

“Drunk,” came Pete's voice, as Lana used the boys chocolate brown eyes to glare daggers at Lex's chagrined face.

Lex himself turned around, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking on in amusement.

“You were drunk and you got your suit dirty and I got in trouble for it, and thanks to your stupidity I now have house arrest and your mother was yelling at me, Pete.”

“Lana,” Chloe snapped, “I don’t think that that is really important right about now. Wouldn’t you rather discuss how we can get Pete back in there,” she pointed at Pete’s body, “so he can be the one doing the time?”

A smug grin crossed Lana’s face and she nodded quickly. It was strange seeing Pete’s body making so many quick motions. Even when Lana wasn’t herself, she was still a big ball of energy. “Yes, that sounds like a plan to me.” She smiled at Chloe and then gasped as she looked at her. “Chloe, you’re wearing last season’s shoes!”

Lana got up and walked over to her. “You’re going to have to go home and change. I can’t be seen in those!”

Before Chloe could respond, Lex’s voice sounded from the corner. “I thought we were supposed to be focused on getting fixed, Lana.” He crossed his arms over his chest, thought better of it and tried to put his hands in his pockets. However, that didn’t work being that he was seated so he folded them in his lap. Which just looked weird.

God, would any of them be able to pull this off? Chloe’s head was beginning to pound and it wasn’t even eight in the morning yet, never a good sign.

Lex pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to remain composed as the teens were bantering around him. “Ok, listen, we won't get around establishing a few rules of behavior, since we have no idea yet what exactly happened.” He looked up at the others, catching their eyes one after the other as he continued. “And let's face it, it might take a while to find out how to reverse the situation, even if we all want nothing more than to be back in our own bodies, preferably right away.” He shoved his pants in his pockets and looked at Pete's hands, “Pete, the other way round, I'm lefthanded.”

Pete glared at him, but acquiesced and folded his hands the other way, looking a little more like Lex and a little less like a bumbling fool in Lex's body. “And try to keep your foot still,” He turned around to Lana, “Lana, I'm sure no one here in Smallville will really notice if Chloe happens to wear last season's shoes, never mind the fact that those” he pointed at the shoes Chloe had picked out that morning, “Are a cheap copy of the original Manolo Blahnik's you wanted to buy anyway,” he stated deadpan.

He interrupted Lana's gasping and stopped her outraged tirade before it could even start. “Chloe already gave me her schedule and mentioned the most important facts I have to know, it would be wise if you and Mr. Ross did the same.” Now came the hardest part, since he couldn't get threatening in front of the two usually female friends of the boy. “As for us, I'll make sure to get a delay on everything that isn't too important and have Gabe take care of everything that doesn't need to be done specifically by me, you won't get around a board meeting or two, but I'm sure we'll be able to prepare you for those.”

Pete looked up at him with a very sad impression of Lex's smug look on his face. “What if I don't want to go to some stuffy board meeting,” he asked snidely.

Lex smirked tightly, longing for a drink. “Then in the worst case, you will have to carry the loss of two thousand odd jobs and the downfall of Smallville's community on your shoulders.” When Pete swallowed uncomfortably, Lex considered his job done.

Lana was still very upset about the shoes. If Chloe was going to be her, she should take it seriously so no one suspected anything. Chloe thought that Lex had done a very good job at setting boundaries but both Pete and Lana could be stubborn about the worst things.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake Lana! Do you want me to take them off? Don’t you think it would be more strange to see you in no shoe’s whatsoever?” How could the girl really care about things like that right now?

“No, no,” Lana held up her hands. She could see that Chloe was getting very mad. And making faces that would later cause wrinkles so she decided to drop it. “I’ll go over there and get Pete’s schedule.”

Chloe let out a deep breath and watched as Lana and Pete exchanged schedules. Thinking of Lex’s earlier words, she said, “Big fan of shoes, are ya?” She kept her eyes on the pair in the corner as she spoke. It was very strange to see Lex and Pete sitting together in a corner, talking and getting along, no matter who inhabited the bodies.

Lex shook his head, turning away from the odd sight of himself talking to Pete Ross in such a friendly way. “No, I just happen to watch Sex And The City on occasion,” On occasion being every Wednesday, which he didn't say, “And well, after you go out with a few models, you can't really avoid getting in contact with their obsessions.”

He scratched his neck, remembering one particularly unpleasant incident involving a pair of red sandal's and a temper tantrum worthy of a five year old in one of New York's most renowned shoe stores.

She loved how nonchalant he sounded when he mentioned dating, if that was the word he was going to use for it, a few models. Lex really did live in a different world than the rest of them. Then again, he did watch television like a normal person so that was something.

Pete and Lana wrapped up their conversation and Lana said, “I need to stop by his locker, so I should get going. Oh, and he gave me some tips on how to be a better guy.” Though it looked like it killed her a little, Lana untucked the shirt and then balled some of the material up in her fists, wrinkling it.

Pete looked on and clapped. “Good job, Lang.” He stood up. “Now, if there isn’t anything else…” He picked up his sunglasses and started towards the door. There were numerous video games back at the manor that he hadn’t even heard of, much less had the chance to take a test run with. Some of them had naked chicks in them, too.

“Actually, Pete,” Chloe said, “I’d like to talk with you for a minute alone if you don’t mind.”

Before Chloe could go after Pete, Lex grabbed her sleeve and held her back, “If you're going to talk to him about his behavior, make sure to mention that you don't wear a red checkered tie with a black suit and dark shades, unless you want to look like a tasteless federal agent and that if he treats my shirt like that,” his eyes shot over to where Lana was still standing, “I'll have him disappear.”

“Your wardrobe worries you the most?” Lex had a certain image to protect, Chloe got that. But, of all of the things to focus on…… Chloe lowered her voice, “I’ll mention it.” She looked over at Lana. “Could you show Lex to his first class?”

The other girl nodded and she and Lex left the room.

Chloe knew that Lex had gone easy on Pete, but she wanted to clarify some of the rules. Just because Lex didn’t want to seem like an asshole in front of she and Lana didn’t mean that Chloe wouldn’t do it in private with her friend. Of all of them, she was the most worried about Pete.

She knew that it would be hard for him to try and not do something that would embarrass or ruin Lex. But, he needed to understand that it had to be business as usual or there would be dire consequences.

Time was running out so Chloe decided to be blunt. “I know you don’t like Lex and would love to use this opportunity to your advantage, but I’m asking you not to. What Lex does and how he is perceived affects not only him, but this town, of which he made you aware. I know that you’re not an idiot Pete, but I also know you have very strong feelings about Lex and his family.”

Pete clenched his jaw but sat down to listen, linking his fingers like Lex had showed him earlier, it really worked easier that way, but he still wasn't quite used to having to adjust certain other parts of his body the other way, too.

“I get it, Chloe. But can't I still have some fun while I'm stuck in this monkey suit?”

“That depends what you mean by fun, Pete.” This was the most crucial part of their conversation, as she saw it. She didn’t think Pete was evil or malicious, but it was just a logical conclusion that someone would want to take advantage of what it meant to be Lex Luthor. Especially an 18 year old boy.

“Take his cars out, play with his toys, whatever. However,” she jumped down from the desk and then stood in front of him. Deciding that it was better that she be able to see his face, she squatted down until their eyes were level. “In the next few days or weeks, however long it takes us to get this back to normal, at no time will you marry someone, knock someone up or do anything else that will have serious ramifications for Lex years down the line.”

She could see that Pete was pissed at what she was saying, but it needed to be done. “I know I’m being a bitch, but he would make sure that you paid for it dearly, too. So, this is as much for you as it is for him. And, before you go and think that I’m taking sides, I’ve given Lex a similar speech about being inside of me.”

Pete's face scrunched up at Chloe's last words, “Can you not say that again? Because it's seriously sick!”

Receiving only a stern glare that he'd never seen on Lana's face before, Pete sighed and looked up, clenching his jaw and jutting his chin out. “Listen, I'm not gonna marry and I'm not gonna screw up his board meetings, but if he thinks for one minute that I'm going to do be his slave, just because I'm stuck in his friggin body, he's got another thing comin, got me?”

He got up and paced. “You know this isn't all great for me either! I'm stuck in a scrawny white asshole and can't make a single step without some servant standing behind me and looking over my shoulder with a disapproving glare, that gets old fast, you know?” Pete huffed and pulled his tie loose and off over his head, throwing it on Chloe's desk.

It had been cutting off his air ever since he put it on. “Anyway, I'm gonna get going now. I'm sure Mr. Clean will call me when he needs something.”

It had gone as well as could be expected, she supposed. And, to be fair, she hadn’t really considered how difficult it would be for Pete to adjust to his new surroundings. Chloe stood up and walked over to Pete.

“It’s not being his slave, it’s maintaining the status quo. Lana’s not your slave for doing your chores at home, is she? But, you’re right, I didn’t think about how it’s affecting you and I’m sorry about that Pete.” Chloe sighed as she picked up the tie. “It’s just that I don’t want things between the two of you to get worse. You’re both my friends and….” She trailed off. This wasn’t the point.

“I’m glad to hear that you won’t do anything rash.” She ran the silk over her fingers and it reminded her of Lex’s request. “Also, if you wouldn’t mind, you may want to rethink the clashing colors and all.” She smiled at him and then balled the tie up, throwing it in her top drawer.

Pete looked down at himself, frowning, “I don't clash!” He'd found the suit as was inside the huge ass closet and just put on the first shirt his hand had latched onto, what was wrong with light blue? The shades had been the perfect thing, covered those slinky eyes and made the stuck up guy actually look some kind of approaching cool. “What's wrong with my outfit?”

Laughing, Chloe rounded her desk and put a hand on Pete’s shoulder. “Nothing, Pete. Well, nothing now. But, the tie should also match. Other than that, you look damn fine.” She almost groaned outloud when she realized her mistake. Maybe Pete wouldn’t notice. Maybe not, she thought when his eyes narrowed on her.

“Chloe,” he tried to keep his tone neutral, but that wasn't working too well considering the look she had given that body and her last comment. “I thought we had established that you don't have the hots for the bald guy and that I don't want to hear things like that.” He glared down at her, “Luthor is bad news, Chloe, you know that,” he added seriously.

She was touched that Pete was trying to protect her, she really was. And tried to keep that in mind so she didn’t bite his head off. As hokey as it was, she really did want the people that she cared about to get along. ‘Indicating that you care for Lex.’ But, she wouldn’t dwell on that, she’d just answer Pete.

“I know that you’re just looking out for me, Pete, and I’m not ungrateful for it.” Thinking that they may take awhile, Chloe decided to hop back onto the desk. “But, I disagree with you. I just don’t think of Lex in the way that you do. His father was bad news.” Chloe gave another silent thank you that Lionel was in his grave…and didn’t feel the least bit bad about it, either.

“I do agree with you on that. I just don’t think it’s fair to judge Lex on his father.” She heard the pleading tone enter her voice and made a concerted effort to get rid of it. “And,” she added, “we’ve established that I’m not sleeping with Lex. Not that I don’t have the hots for him.”

She couldn’t believe she had said that out loud, and to Pete of all people.

Pete's face scrunched up in disgust. “God Chloe, TMI, can't we just pretend you still have it hard for the farmboy and forget you ever said anything?” He tried to give her puppy eyes, knowing that it probably wouldn't work with the face of this guy, but at least it would make Luthor look stupid, “For me, please?”

Whether she was laughing harder at Pete’s words or the way that Lex’s face looked was very difficult to tell. But, it was a much better reaction than she had expected. She reached out and pulled Pete towards her so she could give him a hug. “Being that you’ve got so much to deal with, I’ll give you a reprieve on the topic for a little while.” While she was hugging him she added, “Just as long as you don’t operate under the delusion that I’m still infatuated with the Clarkbar.”

She pulled back a little and said, “Besides, I don’t think that it’s something you need to worry about.” Not with Vlad in the picture and the fact that Lex wasn’t interested.

“Well I should hope so, or I'm gonna kick his ass,” Pete was still scrunching his face, but returned the hug, feeling totally strange what with the angle being all wrong and Lana's body being so different from Chloe's. He pulled back to look down. “We really need to reverse this sitch as soon as possible,” he shook his head, “This was way awkward,” he said as he stepped further back and towards the door. “I'll let you get to class now and we'll see about fixing this later, kay?”

Chloe smiled as she imagined a fight between Lex and Pete. For some reason, the fight scene from Bridget Jones’s Diary was stuck in her head. She doubted either male would appreciate that very much. “Sounds good, Pete.” He nodded at her and disappeared out the door.

She picked up her bag and prepared for her first day as Lana Lang.


tbc

[westwingwolf]

Stuck in each other's bodies and three of them are worried about clothing choices, that's a laugh riot. Good to see Lex set Lana and Pete straight, as well as Chloe talking to Pete. Hope it works...who am I kidding? I can't wait to see all the mess this will cause.

[Kit Merlot]

This was just awesome!


He turned around to Lana, “Lana, I'm sure no one here in Smallville will really notice if Chloe happens to wear last season's shoes, never mind the fact that those” he pointed at the shoes Chloe had picked out that morning, “Are a cheap copy of the original Manolo Blahnik's you wanted to buy anyway,” he stated deadpan.

I love Lex's calling Lana out on her "designer" shoes:D And he probably doesn't realize that he put Lana in her place for trying to give Chloe a hard time--good man.

And Chloe's day as Lana ought to be hysterical--continued excellent work on this fic;)

[hfce]

:rofl:This story just keeps getting better. I love it.

[autumngold]

Thank you so much for the update! I really appreciate you taking the time, especially when RL is so busy for you both. I'm glad that everyone was able to get together and set up some ground rules. I just wonder how the rest of the school day will go, especially when Chloe (Lex) meets Vlad. Leave it to Lana to get upset about the shoes Chloe chooses to wear. Yeah, like that's the most important thing to worry about. Great chapter! Please post again when you get the chance! ;)

[somethingeasy]

This was a really FUN chapter. I’ve been waiting for the whole group of ‘transfers’ to get together, and try to figure out the best way to handle this bizarre situation. Up till now, they’ve been fully preoccupied with just getting used to working the new bodies, but now they’re thrown head-first into handling whole new lives, and I can’t wait to see the chaos and havoc that will follow.

LOL! Poor Lana! It was really amusing reading about she’s really NOT adapting well to being a boy. Was she seriously trying to bat Pete’s eyelashes to get herself out of trouble?! What was she thinking?! I can’t imagine how creepy and wrong that must have looked.

I can see Pete is going to get several ulcers (or give Lex some ulcers) watching Lana unsuccessfully trying to act less girlish was in his body. The poor boy is going to have to beat up some jocks the moment he gets back into his own skin in order to re-establish some male cred again.

LOL! But at least he seems to be having some amount of fun… Pete’s discovering that there are just a few perks to being Lex Luthor… such as all the sweeet cars at his disposal.

Heh, it was really funny seeing Lex practically frothing at the mouth seeing what Pete was doing to his body. It was especially amusing to see that both Lana and Lex shared the same concern for image, style and dress-sense when it came to giving instructions on what NOT to do with their bodies.

I also enjoyed seeing Chloe shaking her head in exasperation at Lex’s priorities about how Pete should conduct himself. There were practically no concerns about Pete handling meetings, or even dealing with Lionel… Lex’s attentions was focused completely on Pete’s choice in clothing. LOL!

Good thing Chloe was around to make sure Lex didn’t do something stupid like get into a fistfight with his own body (using Chloe’s body no less) over mismatched ties. Actually, it’s a really good thing that all four of them met up together in order to establish the first set of rules. This is really the kind of thing that is best not handled on a one-on-one basis, otherwise the discussion might turn really touchy, sensitive and personally offensive. All four of them together forces them to restrain themselves to some semblance of order and civility… even if they all ARE freaking out on the inside, LOL!

I also admired the way that Chloe was smart enough to pick up on the fact that Lex is restraining himself from reaming into Pete, as well as sensitive enough to know that Lex actually had some genuine issues that needed venting, even if he wasn’t allowing himself to vent. I was delighted to see Chloe approaching Pete on Lex’s behalf, and essentially asking him not to mess up Lex’s life in some horrible, irrevocable manner.

Lex had every right to ask Pete the same thing, but you KNOW that a discussion like that between them would have turned ugly. So, overall, it’s for the best that Chloe acted as the liaison between the two men.

Heeee! And I really liked the ending, suggesting heavily that Chloe is quite attracted to Lex, but not believing that a suave, sophisticated billionaire like him would be interested in a high-school student. Granted, the age difference IS a little squicky, but it’s Chlex fanfic, so we let it go ;)

Now we have a scene coming up between Vlad and Lex, don’t we? Oooh, I can’t wait to see how that goes. It’s a pity that your updates have slowed down, BlueSabby… but I CAN exercise patience for chapters that are worth the wait.

What?! I do SO have patience!!!! And I’ll prove it by not asking for another update, even though I really want one (tomorrow! Now!) soon.

[ChloeLovesLex]

...and the fun continues.

Poor Lex seems to be having the hardest time. His cars are getting abused. His clothing is a mess to him. He has board meetings to worry about with Pete possibly in attendance. Not fun at all....and now he has to go to class and make fake googly eyes at some guy Chloe *may* be interested in...and we know he hates that more than anything. Right? Right? I mean, he better hate that.

Chloe seems to be handling it the best. She's already in crisis mode and staying calm as she helps set the rules and begins to figure out what happened and how they are going to fix it. That's our girl.

[Booksketeer]

Hey, I can't believe I missed an update! This story is such great fun, and it's even funnier when they're all together and it's so confusing. I read them both a few times and I laughed every time. I'm really curious to see how they manage to get in thier proper bodies, not to mention how Clark's going to react if he finds out. And if he doesn't, how Lex is going to react to Clark flirting with Chloe-in-Lana. Poor Chloe about Vlad, though. I didn't quite understand why she didn't share with everyone else about her potential relationship, and I am curious to see how Lex inevitably wrecks that budding romance. Loved it!

[Kit Merlot]

This lovely fic also needs an update, so please come back and put us all out of our misery:D

[CrazyGirlWriter]

yes please update its been ages and this story is good

[cbrown80]

Please update this. I can't wait to read what happens next. This story has been very funny especially reading the reactions to each character being someone else and their interactions with each other. Pete and Lex are definitely the funniest so far. I'm also looking forward to Clark's reaction.

[BlueSabby]

Sabby: So by now most of you have probably given up hope of any of our stories being updated again. And that is half true. Blue and I are officially out of the business, and that's no joke this time around. Sorry. However, we are going to post what we have, which should wrap up everything currently on the board. So, we hope you enjoy/ed our stories and we thank you for the wonderful feedback we have received and all the support you've given us over the years.

Without further babble.... here we go.




Lex strode down the hallway, throwing a quick glance at the schedule Chloe had given him. The first class was AP History. Thankfully she'd also put the room number next to the subject, so Lex knew which classroom he had to find.

A few minutes later, he stood in front of the door and waited for a few minutes until most of the classmates were inside. When only two or three chairs in the back were free, he entered the room and settled down on the one closer to the window, hoping he'd chosen the right seat.

Crossing his legs, he placed Chloe's backpack on his lap, rummaging around for the book and a copybook.
A throat being cleared right next to him caught his attention and he slowly turned his head and looked up, coming face to face with a shirt. Shifting his gaze higher again, he finally was able to look the guy in the face.

A shaggy blonde mop of hair framed the guys face and he was at least as tall as Clark. Pasting a confident smirk on his face, Lex cocked his head to the side.

“Hi,” he said in a nonchalant manner.

“Hi, Chloe,” the boy said as he tucked his long frame into the chair beside Chloe. He waited for her to speak. Usually, she had a lot to tell him first thing in the morning. He found that listening to her account of what had happened in her life since they had last seen each other was the best way to wake up. It also didn’t hurt that she was very easy on the eyes.

When she remained silent and kept staring at him, he wondered if he had done something wrong. It went through his brain, thinking of anything and came up empty. Deciding to test the waters, he asked, “How was the party at Mr. Luthor’s.” Looking around them and seeing that no one was watching, he leaned over and whispered to her, “I bet you knocked them out in that dress.”

Lex's eyebrows went up at the boys words. He didn't have an accent or anything else distinguishing him as an exchange student, but judging by the way he behaved and his knowledge. This had to be Vlad.

“Thanks for the compliment,” he smiled at the younger man, leaning back in his chair to talk a little lower. “You're right, in fact I even got a compliment by the lord of the manor. He was incredibly attentive the whole evening. I even got an exclusive scoop for the Torch out of him. We'll probably meet to talk about it later.”

There that was subtle, but suggestive none the less. It'd be child’s play to get rid of this European wanna be Don Juan.

Vlad’s smile faltered a little at that. He knew that Chloe was just after an exclusive with the town’s resident billionaire, but he had heard stories about Lex Luthor. Stories that didn’t sit well with Vlad being that Chloe was going to be in a room alone with the man. Then again, if he tried anything, Vlad was fairly certain that Chloe would be able to handle it professionally. If not, Lex Luthor would be walking funny for a few hours.

“That’s great, Chloe,” he said. “I’m sure that’ll make your portfolio all the more impressive to the schools back East.” As surreptitiously as he could, Vlad moved his desk a little closer. He kept his voice level and sounded casual in case anyone decided to tune into their conversation at this point.

He wasn’t sure why Chloe hadn’t yet told her friends about them. All she would say was that it was complicated and she needed to do it at the right time. He suspected that it had to do with her friend Clark. The kid seemed to like being in charge of everyone.

“Speaking of the Torch, I’ll meet you there during fifth period and we can, um, talk about that piece again.” He smiled over at her. She was so paranoid about people finding out about them before she was ready that Chloe always made him talk this way about their clandestine meetings. He pointed out that it wasn’t a very good front, but that had gotten him whacked on the shoulder so he hadn’t mentioned it again.

Lex kept his face neutral at Vlad's last comment even though his mind was working over speed, trying to process all possible implications of the words 'back east'. Chloe couldn't possibly want to go overseas, just because of. Nonsense, the boy had probably been talking about the Universities on the east-coast.

“I'm not sure I'll be here then, Lex insisted that we have the interview at the mansion. God knows why. We didn't get far with that the last time I went over to do an interview with him,” he shrugged casually. “But if he insists, I won't let the chance go, just because he wants to call some shots,” he smiled consolingly, “Sorry Vlad, maybe another time?”

Vlad was a little confused by this turn of events. The way that Chloe spoke about the Manor was that it was in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t see how it was plausible that Chloe would be able to drive out there for her interview, get the interview done and then get back in time for her French class.

He knew that she didn’t like it when people tried to second guess her decisions or tell her what to do, so he tried staying away from making comments like that. However, he also knew that she was struggling with French. He had been helping her after school and during the free period they shared together. She had said that she’d be damned if her friend Lana would get a better grade than she did. The brunette seemed to bring out Chloe’s competitive streak to the ninth degree.

“Sure,” he said, pausing and wondering if he should point out that her travels might be detrimental to her academics. “Chloe, are you sure you’ll have enough time to go out there, get your interview and come back here to make it to French?”

After asking the question, his attention was drawn towards the front of the room. Mr. Perkins had just entered the classroom, so it didn’t appear that Chloe would have time to answer his question. The class knew that once their teacher arrived, all chatter must come to an end.

Vlad had been to numerous schools. Both in this country and Eastern Europe, but Mr. Perkins was, by far, the strictest teacher that he had ever come across. History was usually his favorite subject and he usually performed well in the class, especially in American schools, but his confidence had been shot by the teacher standing next to the chalkboard.

Mr. Perkins used to be in the military and he still looked as if he could kill a man with his pinky fingers. He was not to be trifled with. Yet, time and time again, Chloe did just that. He looked over at his sort of girlfriend and hoped that she would behave herself today. She’d been spending an awful lot of time in the Principal’s office as of late.

The arrival of the teacher spared Lex from having to make up another story to get rid of Chloe's annoying lap dog. Turning his eyes to the front, he gave the man in front of the blackboard a calculating once over, then leaned back in his chair and clicked his pen once, waiting for the lesson to start.

Lex had been in at least 8 different schools in his time. True, he'd been kicked out of each single one, but never because of lacking grades. History was one of his best subjects, aside from chemistry and politics. There was nothing this man could tell him that he didn't already know, and probably know better.

However, he knew that he'd have to tread carefully to ensure that he didn't cause Chloe more problems than she already had.

Mr. Perkins stepped closer to the board writing down the words The Columbian Exchange and underlining them with a screeching sound, sending half of the class into convulsions as they tried to cover their ears. Lex rolled his eyes but kept silent.

Turning towards the class, Clyde Perkins let them sweat it out a little before speaking. He got a kick out of making the kids squirm. The level of education in this country was slipping with every passing year, but not in his classroom. Ditto for the amount of respect that students often showed their teachers.

As that thought made its way across his mind, his eyes briefly landed on Ms. Sullivan. She was bright, that was not in dispute, however she had a real problem with authority and talking back that needed to be nipped in the bud. The sooner, the better. She looked back at him levelly, her pen hovering over her notebook, waiting for him to speak.

“Christopher Columbus had four major expeditions to what was referred to as the New World. During the first one, which was the most famous, he took the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. He stopped briefly on the Canary Islands and then headed west until changing course on October 7th. After quelling a small mutiny,” he looked over his class as he paused on that word, again fixing his gaze on Ms. Sullivan, “he arrived at the Bahamas on October 12th.”

He started to pace in front of the classroom, certain that all eyes were on him. He had already taught them this, but he found it was best to go over everything again and again until it stuck in their heads. “We’ve discussed his second, third and fourth expedition as well. Now, can anyone tell me what the Columbian Exchange was?”

Lex lowered his pen, sending a glance around the room, wondering if any of the students would dare speak up, even if they knew the answer to Perkins' question. Seeing most students sink low in their chairs, it seemed pretty obvious that there wouldn't be any volunteers. How surprising. When he heard Chloe's name being called harshly from the teacher, he turned around with a self assured smile. This would be interesting.

Taking a deep breath, Lex launched into a small lecture.

“The Columbian Exchange, named by historian Alfred Crosby was a broad mutual transfer of plants and animals, but also diseases, resulting directly from the European voyages of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. While Europeans brought larger animals like cattle and horses to the South Americas, instigating a change in their diet, the natives in turn introduced the settlers to new vegetation such as corn and potatoes. This caused the population to double over the next 300 years. However the diseases brought in by the Europeans caused the greater part of the native population to die within the first fifty years after Columbus arrival in 1492.” It was amusing to watch the teachers face during his little speech and Lex wasn't even finished yet.

“Though the demise of the natives was caused by varied illnesses, the most prominent were smallpox, carried over by the Europeans and spread by direct human contact. Typhus, measles and influenza also distributed widely. In the end, about 90 percent of the native population had been wiped out by those epidemics.”

Mr. Perkins said nothing after Ms. Sullivan was done. Her facts were correct and she had grasped the full context and historical perspectives that were at work. However, he wanted to know where she had learned that little tidbit from. When coming to this school, he had done some background research on the teachers that the students had had in the past. He went through their lesson plans and carefully checked to see what level of knowledge the students had. He would then attack their weakness in order to make their minds stronger.

None of his predecessors had mentioned the Columbian Exchange, it was why he had asked about it. That meant that Ms. Sullivan had known the fact on her own. While he didn’t doubt her brain power, he still found it rather preposterous that a high school girl would take to reading historical treatises on her off hours.

He found the whole problem rather irritating. “That’s correct, Ms. Sullivan. Would you care to share with the rest of the class where you learned that from? I’m sure that they’d all be interested to read up on the time period to the extent that you obviously have.”

Lex smirked coolly, trying to come up with an answer that would be a little more believable for Chloe than reading historical essays and working through novel length history books in her off hours. Remembering Chloe's cousin he thought it couldn't hurt to tell a little white lie. “It's pure coincidence, I'm afraid. My cousin is studying History and Literature in Met U and I had the joy,” he made sure to sound sarcastic on the last word, “To help her study for her first essay on the colonization of the Americas,” he shrugged, knowing it would come off somewhere between nonchalant and tortured.

Perkins nodded. That wasn’t out of the ordinary. Young people roping in others to help them accomplish their goals. He was just surprised that Ms. Sullivan had retained any of the information. It took some of the wind out of his sails, however. He had meant to pull this lecture out for the rest of the class time. Well, if she had created the problem….

“Ms. Sullivan, I was wondering if you would be so kind to lead this lecture, being that you are so well versed in the topic I’m certain that you can field any questions that your classmates may have.” He walked over to her desk and stood there, waiting for her response.

Lex's eyebrows rose high on his forehead in surprise. He wasn't sure which was the right way to react here. It wouldn't be a problem for him to lead a discussion about the topic, but on the other hand, what if this was a bait and the teacher would get brassed off about his cheek if he actually went through with it.

“I don't want to intrude on your territory, Mr. Perkins,” he started slowly, “After all, this is your class, and I am not sure if I'll be able to cover the vast font of information you have at hand.” Ok, this could be construed as sucking up, but if it got him out of trouble, everything was fair game.

As the exchange went on, Vlad tried to signal to Chloe as best he could. But, it was impossible being that Mr. Perkins’ body was blocking Chloe from his view. When Perkins told you to do something, you did it. Sure, sometimes it got you in even more trouble with him, but he didn’t take kindly to people questioning his orders.

Mr. Perkins extended his piece of chalk in Ms. Sullivan’s direction. “No, I insist.” His voice was tight but he wasn’t about to punish her for her response…..just yet. “If you get into any trouble, I’ll help you out of it.” He wanted to see how the young girl would handle herself. He knew that most students were terrified of public speaking.

Lex took the piece of chalk from the teacher’s hand and stood up straight. “Ok, then,” he sighed and went to the front of the class, prepared to hold a lecture about the beginnings of his country and not go overboard, keeping the illusion that he'd only learned as much as you could from helping somebody else with their studies. This was gonna be a long day.

After the long and exhausting history class, Lex had barely managed to evade Vlad and make it out of the room without having to talk to him beyond a simple 'see you later'. Thankfully, he didn't share any more classes with the boy.

He still hadn't seen Chloe or Lana, being that they only shared French and Home Economics. At least it was lunch break now and he could get a breather. Lex remembered that lunch had been the best part of the regular boarding school day. The food hadn't always been good, but it had its perks. One hour of gossip, selling and buying drugs and making dates for the night. Two of the three probably didn't apply here and Lex wasn't interested in small town gossip, but it still was free time and an opportunity to catch up with Chloe and ask her how she'd held up being the princess.

Seeing a free table in the middle of the room, Lex made his way over and settled down, keeping an eye on the entrance to make sure he didn't miss Chloe when she finally came in.

Amber had just gotten done with Casper…in every way possible and was feeling pretty damn good about herself. And the fact that the teachers never checked under the bleachers for errant students. Her hair was back in place and she was enjoying the post-romp feelings that coursed through her body. All of her good cheer drained from her system when she approached her lunch table and saw that someone was already sitting at it. It wasn’t just someone, it was that freak Sullivan girl.

What did the girl think that she was doing sitting there? She could usually be found in that hole of an office that she seemed to adore so much. As she passed a table, Amber picked up a cup full of OJ and made her way over to the table. She didn’t feel like having an actual conversation with the girl. Any contact between them that people saw could only hurt her reputation.

It wasn’t that Chloe was ugly, it was that she was just as weird as one could get. She spent all of her time telling anyone who would listen that Smallville was a stomping ground for weird things. No one needed or wanted to hear it but she kept publishing one dumb article after another. Amber could give two fucks about the football team, but she still thought that the girl’s attitude towards the school was out of order.

Then there was the fact that that girl’s best friend was highly fuckable yet she obviously hadn’t taken advantage of it. All in all, Chloe was as far down on the social scale as you could get. And she was sitting at her table right now.

As she approached, she said, “Chloe, you’re at the wrong table.” Without further warning, she dumped the OJ on the girl. She didn’t even bother making it look like an accident. “I think you should go wash up.” She threw the cup at the girl. “The sooner the better.”

As the cold liquid ran all over the front of his shirt, Lex jumped up from his seat with a resounding “Fuck.” Fixing his glare on the vapid red-head next to him, his hands balled to fists at his side. He'd never beat a woman, no matter what, but it wasn't easy to control the instinctive urge to lash out. “What the fuck do you think you're doing,” he asked in a low voice, barely holding himself back from strangling the insipidly grinning girl in front of him.

The smile slipped off of Amber’s face when she heard Chloe’s words. She didn’t want to draw attention to them, the cafeteria was still pretty empty, but if she needed to get into it with the girl, she would. Unlike most of the girls she knew, Amber wasn’t scared about fighting someone.

“What the fuck do I think I’m doing,” she hissed. “I’m not the one that’s wandered out of her loser quadrant.” She glared at Chloe, who didn’t shrink back from her. She had heard that Chloe wasn’t the type to back down, but neither was Amber. “I’m sure that you’re feeling pretty good after your little display in Perkins’ class but I wouldn’t get carried away, Chloe. I suggest you take your bad bottle job, freakish clothing and crush on a guy who wouldn’t fuck you if he had to choose between you and a dead body and get out of my face.”

Lex had a hard time keeping his facial muscles in check at the rant being thrown at him but didn't back away one inch. Instead, he stepped closer, invading the personal space of the scantily dressed girl and getting right in her over-painted face. “If I was you, I would not open my mouth that wide or people might just find evidence of your last encounter in the boys locker room.” Seeing the deer in headlights look fleetingly cross the other girl’s face, he knew his assumption had been spot on. “Furthermore, I wouldn't dare calling me on my choice of clothing, at least I can walk along the curb without people offering me five bucks for a blow job.” He stepped even closer, cutting the distance between them by half.

“And as for your last assumption, I don't need to waste my time on silly crushes. If I want it, I get it. I just have something you don't. Namely taste, which means that I don't spread my legs for just anyone, unlike some girls around here,” with that, he turned on his heels and stalked off, lest he lose it completely and actually hit the vapid girl. He needed to do something about his outfit first. Hopefully, Chloe would have a change of clothes in the Torch.

Amber had never been so pissed in her entire life. Her body was literally shaking with rage but had nothing to do with it. Chloe had already stomped off. No one talked to Amber like that. And that was a lesson that Chloe would learn. But, not now. Amber believed in the old Spanish proverb. Chloe wouldn’t know what hit her.

TBC

[BlueSabby]

Something was up, and Clark intended to find out what it was. Pete had been avoiding him all day. It was weird, he had seen him this morning and waved at him. He wanted to talk to him about what had happened last night. Clark was fairly certain that Lana was in the wrong, but it always felt good to have one of your boys back you up on that.

Instead of coming over to him, Pete had looked panicked and then had disappeared in the opposite direction. Clark hadn’t been able to corner him the whole day. But, he had a good idea of where his friend would be right now. He nodded at various people on his way there and hoped that Pete would tell him what was going on with him. He was even dressed strangely today, wearing the outfit that he told Clark belonged more in a gay bar than in his closet. Clark thought he was being a bit dramatic, but had held his tongue.

Clark opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks. He knew it was wrong and that he shouldn’t do it, but he couldn’t help it, he was a guy.

Chloe was standing in the middle of the Torch office, half naked. The black bra that she was wearing matched the panties that he could see peeking out from the top of her unbuttoned jeans. She whipped around and he tried not to blush or look too guilty, but he didn’t think that he was pulling it off.

Lex had instinctively jerked around when the door had opened behind him. Quickly pulling the shirt over his head and starting to button his jeans, he cursed himself for not locking the door before he'd changed his clothes.

“Clark,” he said coolly, taking in the deep blush and shuffling size fourteen boot in a quick once over. Seemed the boy had gotten a good look before he'd been able to cover up.

“What do you want here?” he asked when Clark finally managed to meet his eyes again.

Before Clark could answer, Pete walked into the room. He looked first at Chloe and then back at Clark. “How could you,” he hissed at Clark.

~~
Lex cursed under his breath. His shirt was still askew and he'd just finished with the last button on his jeans when Lana had come in, finding Clark looking guilty as hell beside him.

”It's not what you think,” Clark stammered eloquently as Lex groaned.

Lana couldn’t believe it. She had been looking for Chloe or Lex and figured that this was the best place to find them. Instead, she had found Chloe rebuttoning her jeans and a very flustered looking Clark. She stared to yell at Chloe when she realized that it wasn’t even Chloe that had just fooled around with Clark.

She turned her attention to Lex and repeated, “How could you?” She was even more confused than before. Did that mean that Lex liked Clark in that way? Or, maybe, he actually wanted to be a woman. She had seen a special on that on TV the other day. Still, it didn’t matter, if Lex wanted to do that, there was no reason to do it with Clark. Chloe was gonna be pissed, too.

“Pete,” Clark said, but he kept glaring at Chloe. If anything, he thought that Pete would be more upset with him than with Chloe. But, his friend kept staring daggers at Chloe. Clark repeated his name and he finally looked at him.

“I just walked in about two seconds before you did.” Pete clearly didn’t believe him. “I swear, ask Chloe. Besides, you know I’m with Lana.” He paused, “Sorta.”

Lex emitted a silent groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. Leave it to the farmboy to say the worst thing possible in an already unpleasant situation. “Pete!” he stressed the name before Lana could completely lose it in front of them. The last thing he needed was Clark knowing what was going on and trying to 'help'.

“I was just changing my shirt, because some stupid girl spilled orange juice all over me. I forgot to lock the door and Clark walked in when I was doing up my pants.” He tried to keep the girl's attention on him, hoping he could somehow keep this from turning into a catastrophe.

The scene before her was tense, but she still found it comical. “Cool, threesome,” Chloe said as she swept into the room. She had heard Lex’s last comment about doing up his pants.

Chloe watched at three heads swiveled in her direction, none of them looking particularly pleased at her joke. Lex looked like he wanted to give her a lecture, Lana looked like she wanted to kill her and Clark just looked shocked and appalled that those words had come from his precious Lana’s mouth.

At their reactions, Chloe said, “Ok, so I assume I actually didn’t just interrupt some girl on girl on guy action so someone care to explain what’s going on?”

Lex gritted his teeth, trying to make it look like a smile. “Sure Lana, it's nothing big. Your boyfriend just happened to forget his manners and walked in on me while I was changing my shirt. And Pete here seems to have forgotten that he's not my boyfriend,” he shot Lana another sharp look, making her squirm uncomfortably.

Chloe shook her head. She left Lex and Lana alone for a few hours and this was what happened. “Well, that explains everything, wouldn’t you say, Pete?” She turned towards Lana, who still looked livid. She touched her on the shoulder and said, “Chloe would never touch Clark, trust me.” The girl really needed to get that idea out of her head.

Clark’s brows pulled together when Lana said that. It wasn’t like he wanted Chloe or anything, but the conviction with which she said it.... He shook his head. It didn’t matter, he just didn’t want Pete mad at him. And now, he had made things worse with Chloe. He knew she couldn’t be pleased with him seeing her like that.

Lana searched Chloe's eyes for a moment, before she decided that she could believe her. That still didn't mean Clark was out of trouble though. He'd goggled at Chloe's body and on top of that had had the nerve to say that they were 'sorta' together. What the hell did that mean? Didn't she do enough? She'd given him so much of her time and devotion and she'd even let him kiss her, with tongue.

Turning around to face Clark, she gave him a thin glare before averting her gaze back to Lex. “I guess so,” she walked closer to him and gave him hug. “Sorry, Chloe.”

When the close contact started doing funny things to her, or rather to Pete's body, Lana pulled back abruptly, taking a few steps away and trying to will Pete's equipment to behave.

“I...think...I've gotta go,” she rushed out before turning around and speeding out of the room, leaving the other three behind.

Lex's eyebrow rose as he watched Lana flee from the Torch office. Sure, the situation had been a little awkward, but he couldn't fathom a reason why she'd be freaking out quite so much. Shaking his head, he turned towards the other two.

“Well, I guess he's just having a bad day,” he shrugged it off. “Oh by the way, I got some extra credit in history this time, seems I impressed Perkins enough to forget about our little ...incident the last time.” He smirked at Chloe, curious to see her reaction to that development.

Chloe seemed to be ignoring him. Clark guessed that she was still mad at him about last night. He watched as Lana’s mouth gaped open. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

While she was happy that Lex hadn’t gotten her ass thrown into detention, she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous that he had been able to do in one day that which she hadn’t been able to do all year. She had such trouble with the man, but Lex had impressed him in a day. Life just wasn’t fair. “That’s great.” She didn’t want Lex to think that she didn’t appreciate what he had done for her.

Both girls were paying no attention to him whatsoever. Well, he’d just try his luck with Pete. “So, I’ll, um, see you guys later.” He wanted to apologize to them both, but he figured it would be better to do it separately. He paused when neither of them spoke. ‘Yup, both still pissed.’ He’d have to do a patch job later. “Bye.” He got out of there and went in search of Pete.

Lex ignored Clark's less than spectacular exit and leaned casually against the desk, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “It wasn't too easy to get his approval. I had to hold a full class lecture about the Columbian Exchange.” He left out the part where he'd tried to answer the most dense questions without losing his nerve and almost breaking Chloe's nails on the edge of the desk every time he had to face Perkins' condescending smirk.

Chloe closed the door to the Torch and flopped down in a chair before addressing Lex. She knew that she should be grateful, but Lex succeeding where she had failed for so long had put her in a funk. It made her think of all of the times in the past when she had fallen short. And not just academically.

She wasn’t being fair and she could see that Lex was waiting to get some credit for what he had done. And she wanted to give it to him, but she was just stuck thinking about all of the things that she had fucked up. God, what was wrong with her? She never got this depressed. Then again, maybe it was Lana’s body. Could the girl be on medication that Chloe didn’t know about?

Lex frowned as he watched Chloe sulk. Her reaction hadn't been what he'd expected. Not at all. Lex didn't know how exactly she should have reacted, but definitely not by flopping down on a couch and pouting like someone had snatched her story away from under her nose. “Hey, what's wrong?” He sat down in Chloe's desk chair and rolled it closer to the couch.

In her head, Chloe went through the medicine cabinet at home, ignoring Lex’s concerned tone. There weren’t any hard drugs. However, when Chloe’s mind fastened on the circular, plastic disk in it, she realized what was going on. And what that would mean for both she and Lex.

“Oh god,” she groaned and put her head in her hands.

Scrunching his eyebrows he leaned over to place a hand on Chloe's knee. “Hey, what's wrong? I thought I was doing you a favor, dealing with Perkins. Or,” he trailed off. “It's not because of Clark, is it?” Lex had been sure that Chloe wasn't interested in the farmboy anymore, especially after her convincing act just now. But what if it had been just that? An act, and Chloe was still pining for Clark after all. That would be a little more difficult to deal with, especially since the boy and him were still friends, in a way.

Chloe’s head shot up. “What? Clark? No, god no. I could care less about him. It’s just that I figured out why I’m being mood swing Lana.” She took a deep breath. “I think she’s about to get her period.” She looked over at Lex. “Which means that I am, too.”

Lex wasn’t some idiot boy that would freak out over a discussion of this particular subject. However, alerting him to the fact that he was going to have to go through it first hand was another matter altogether.

Lex sat back in his chair, confused even more by Chloe's tirade. “So? I mean, it's nothing you haven't gone through before. What difference does it make if you get it in her body or....” That was when the coin dropped.

”Oh,” He'd read somewhere that women's cycles tended to adjust if they lived together for an extended period of time. Apparently, that was the case for Chloe and Lana, which meant in turn that if Chloe was getting her period, so was he.

“Oh,” he said again, deadpan.

Not exactly the freak out that she expected. But, she supposed this was as much as Lex freaked out. She could see him come upon the realization about what that meant for him. She thought it may help if she told him what he could expect to happen to him.

“You’re going to feel really bitchy towards everyone for the next two days or so.” Even though they were both adults, she found that she couldn’t look at Lex for too long as she explained things.

“I usually try to control it, but I’m thinking that you won’t be able to as well.” She rushed on, “Just because you’re not used to it.” She didn’t want Lex to think that he couldn’t handle this. Even if that was pretty close to the truth.

“You may get kinda achy and your,” god, she was really going to have to tell him these things, “your breasts are going to be even more sensitive.” That was the easy part, now came the hard part.

Lex held up a hand as he came out of the flatline the last thought had created in his brain. “Chloe, it's alright. You don't need to give me the rundown.” He stood up and started pacing the room.

He was clearly agitated and Chloe didn’t want to make it worse. Besides, maybe he wouldn’t be affected in the same way that she was. She decided to keep the last tidbit to herself.

“Believe me, I've had quite a few experiences with that phenomenon, remember Victoria?” This was not good. Lex was not looking forward to bleeding 'like a slaughtered pig' as one of his girlfriend's at school had described it to him once.

It wasn't like he didn't know what he'd have to do or was disgusted, but it still didn't sit well with him. None of the women he'd had to deal with under these circumstances had been remotely rational or close to controlled. Lex wasn't so sure he'd be able to deal with that part of the whole process.

But, there was nothing he could do about it, except hope that he didn't have to go through the motions more than this once. “How long do they usually last for you?”

Lex hoped that it wasn't more than four days. Vicky's had sometimes lasted a solid week or more. Then again, she was a bitch by nature, so Lex couldn't be sure she hadn't lied about it. Then again, with Helen, it had been almost the same, even though she'd been on the pill.

All of the pacing was starting to make Chloe dizzy. She focused on his question. “About three days,” she said. When she saw that Lex seemed relieved by this, she had to add, “But my flow is really heavy.” She couldn’t believe that she had to share this with Lex. As if him being inside her body wasn’t enough, he’d have to see and feel her at her worst.

Lex sighed heavily and flopped back into the desk chair. For the first time noticing his own actions, he groaned and let his head fall back taking a deep breath. It was already starting. Loss of control. “Is there anything that helps you deal with the side effects?” It was better to think of it as side effects than uncontrollable mood swings and hormone driven insanity. Could this get any worse? They had to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible. He didn't care what it took, as long as it got him back into his own, male body.

“I grovel at the feet of the gods that invented Midol.” She smiled up at him, hoping to lighten the mood. “You shouldn’t be in too much physical pain.” She knew that she had to stop allaying his fears but found it difficult to stop.

Lex nodded tightly, sitting back up in his chair. So no help with the moodswings. Great. “Ok,” He'd deal with this, somehow. Maybe meditation would help. At this rate, he'd try anything. “Well, if this is all, I think we should start planning how to get together with the others after school. We still have Home Economics and French, but...Shit!” He remembered what he'd told Vlad about his plans to get out of what was possibly planned as a clandestine nooner. “We have to start on the article about the dinner.” He got up from the chair and stepped behind it.

Chloe thought the mood swings had already started with the way that Lex was acting. “Um, ok,” she said, “but why is it so crucial that we do this now?” Lex was powering up her computer and gestured for her to go to the keyboard.

Lex was about to answer her when the thought occurred to him that it may not be a good idea to tell the truth. “It was the only way I could get out of a drawn out session in Government with Mrs. Bings,” he lied. “She would have kept me for ages if I hadn't told her that I had to write this article for tomorrow’s edition,” he lied. “Of course she insisted on seeing it before everyone else, after I told her it was going to have a political angle.”

It was plausible, she supposed. But Chloe still thought that Lex was definitely keeping something from her. She thought that he wasn’t too adept at lying in her body just yet. She’d let it lie for now. If it was anything that she needed to know, she was sure it would come to light sooner or later.

As she sat at the desk, she quickly typed out a list of questions that she intended to ask Lex. She didn’t think he would actually answer any of them, but a girl could hope.

[BlueSabby]

The interview, if you could even call it that, with Lex hadn’t lasted long. He had gotten annoyed with her questions and decided to write the interview himself. That was ok with Chloe, being that she was still trying to figure out what he was keeping from her.

She had to drag him out of the Torch in order to make him go to French class. He had informed her that he didn’t need any instruction on the subject. Chloe wasn’t having any of that, even though she knew that Lex wasn’t serious about skipping the class, she didn’t want to take a chance.

As they approached the classroom, she knew that Lex was in for a rude awakening. French class was pretty pointless. The teacher made no effort to actually teach anymore. She was on her way out of the school and it was nearly impossible to get her fired.

Keeping his ass in the seat would be all the more difficult once he realized that the only thing they were required to do was read their textbook silently. Which meant that everyone just did what they damn well pleased.

The classroom was like any other except there were random French words attached to some books on the book shelf, their desks, the ceiling, the window and various other objects in the room. The words were in French and were the only schooling that Mrs. Brackett had given them. Chloe sat down at her desk and nodded at the one next to her. Lex was taking in the room, staring at the word fromage that was plastered on a picture of a wheel of cheese.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Of course he hadn't expected the standard of education in foreign languages to be anywhere close to what he had gotten in several European private schools, but this was incredulous. The students were practically running amok and the teacher was simply sitting in behind her desk, drinking coffee and reading a book.

Turning to Chloe he arched an eyebrow in silent question. “This is Smallville High's French course? Did you ever actually even hear French?”

“Sure,” she answered quickly, smiling at the horrified tone of voice he used, “She brings in soft core French porn every now and again.” Chloe waved her hand in the direction of their teacher.

“Now, sit my cute ass down in your chaise and let’s see if we can formulate a plan for getting us all back to normal.” Lex continued to gawk for a moment, shook his head and then sat down.

This was just unfathomable. Sure the kids enjoyed their basically 'free' period now, but what about later? Everyone knew that advanced skills in foreign languages opened doors that otherwise were likely to stay closed. Sure, as a farmer, you wouldn't need French, but if they ever wanted to get out of this little cowtown, it might come in handy. He didn't even want to think about the truth in Chloe's 'soft porn' comment.

Shaking his head he made a mental note to do something about this problem at a later date, when he was back in his own body. Which was the problem at hand. Lex dove right in.

“So we know this all happened at the party when the lightning hit us. But I don't think simple electricity could have done the trick. That means something else must have been involved,” he offered.

He had a theory of his own what the other element could be, but wanted to hear Chloe's opinion first.

“Gee,” Chloe said, tapping her chin and pretending to ponder what could have happened, “I wonder what other substance could have been involved to make us all body jump. I mean, nothing weird ever happens in this town. So, it’s a first.”

Lex smirked as he watched Chloe's antics, now convinced she was thinking of the same thing he was.

“Are you thinking what I'm thinking Pinky?”

Chloe glared at Lex’s last comment, trying not to react to it. Right now, she wasn’t wearing one stitch of pink clothing and she had no intention of ever doing so. Chloe held her hand out, “Could you please hand me my sac?” She just hoped that the papers she needed were still shoved at the bottom of it. And that Lex wouldn’t throw a fit when he saw them.

Lex handed her the backpack with a charming smile. He wondered briefly if she actually carried a sample of meteor rock with her, but discarded the thought. She knew what those things could do, strange as it sounded.

After a few moments of going through the crap in her bag, she found what she was looking for. They were geologic schematics of the ground underneath Luthor Manor and the surrounding areas. Too many weird things had happened at Lex’s place and she had wondered if people were picking up on the vibes below the ground. She smoothed out the papers and motioned for Lex to pull his desk next to hers.

Lex pulled his desk over, leaning closer to her to get a better look at the papers on her desk. His gaze immediately flicked back to Chloe when he recognized what they were. “Where did you get those?” As far as he knew, there were no public records and definitely not geologic schematics. Which meant she must have gotten them from the same person he had employed to do a thorough check up on the grounds after two years of freaks and strange incidents connecting to the meteor rocks.

“That’s not really important right now, is it Lex?” She tried to brush off the question but Lex tilted her chin back up to face him and she could see that she wasn’t going to get off that easy. This wasn’t fair, she shouldn’t have to give up all of her secret ins.

“A friend of mine got them for me, ok?” Never mind that she had specifically sought out said friend when she found out that he was working on the project that Lex had commissioned. The fact that he was a stone cold fox had been a nice surprise.

Lex arched a brow. “You have friends in very interesting social circles then,” he commented dryly

However it may be, Chloe was right, they had more important things to deal with. If they had the time, they might as well get started.

“Did he get you the entire schematic set? We need the ones from the lake.”

If their theory proved right, they at least would know how it happened, which would bring them one step closer to figuring out how to reverse it.

Chloe quickly flipped through the pages. “He better have after what I did to him,” she muttered to herself. He had assured her that she had every scrap on information on the Manor that his company had collected.

Lex's brows disappeared under the hairline at Chloe's muttered comment. She wouldn't really sleep with somebody just to get some potentially useless information? Nah, there was no way. She was more likely to use another way. “What did you do? Break his nose?”

Distracted, Chloe answered, “I would never resort to violence, Lex. You catch more bees with sugar than with vinegar and all that crap.” She was getting down to the last piece of paper and felt her blood start to boil.

“Frigging bastard, I gave him a full body…ah, there it is.” She smiled triumphantly as she saw the plan for the lake. She fished it out from the bottom of the pile and put it on the desk.

Lex had a hard time keeping his facial expressions in check. “You exchanged sexual favors for potentially useless information?” He was disgusted. Arguably he had on occasion slept with a woman to get her to agree to a merger, but this was completely different. On top of all, Chloe was only what? Seventeen? It just wasn't right that she'd already resort to such measures when there was no real need to do it.

“What,” Chloe practically screamed as she jumped to her feet. “Do you really think that I would…” Lex pulled on her arm and she begrudgingly sat down. She hissed her next few words. “I did not perform sexual favors on anyone for christ’s sake.”

She couldn’t believe that Lex thought that of her. That he had such a low opinion of what she would do to get information that she needed. “The man had a few injuries from various sites and complained of muscles aches. I knew that he had made an appointment at a salon for a massage, so I took some online courses and told him I’d do it for just the information.”

“No one was naked,” she said as she glared at him, “and I assure you he didn’t get a happy ending. You get one of those, Lex.” Chloe held up her pointer finger. “The next time you assume that I’m a whore, I swear to all of the gods above that I will kick your ass, even if it’s in my body.”

Lex looked at her pointer finger, then back up in her face. “Well, I couldn't know that could I? Your mumblings were a tad too suggestive to make me think of something as innocent as that.” He shook his head, “I can't believe he'd sell out for something as cheap as a massage.” His eyes fell on his own, well rather Chloe's chest. 'Then again...'

“I didn't mean to insult you. Now let's get back to the plan.”

He turned his gaze back to the paper and studied the pictures and charts.

Chloe ignored Lex’s words. She hadn’t expected an apology from him, but she was still mad and upset. The look of loathing had been written clearly across his face and she wouldn’t forget it. It was one thing to have Clark jump to the wrong conclusion. For some reason, it irked her more that Lex would think that of her.

Thinking about her words, and about what she knew of Lex’s business dealings, she could see how he could make that assumption. But, she thought that he knew her a little better than that. She had been wrong.

She also wanted to inform him that it hadn’t been a cheap massage. Chloe was damn good at it and was positive that she could charge way more than those clowns at the local salon. But, that wouldn’t score her any points.

Lex was well aware of Chloe's dark look, but chose to ignore it in favor of the schematics. True, he'd misjudged her, but what had she expected? They hadn't been very close until this had happened and all he could judge her behavior on was the few times they'd talked. Of course there was also the fact that he thought her highly cunning and if things were different he might not even have been disturbed by those measures.

“Ok, this is the lake and surrounding area, nothing out of the ordinary ...” Lex's brows furrowed deeply and his jaw clenched in irritation. There were just the usual layers expected of a Kansas area. No signs of..

“Wait, this is showing the layers under and around the lake, but there's something on the surface level of the ground. What are those lines?” He started shuffling through the papers, trying to find a legend.

Chloe waited for Lex to peer at the concentric circles that were under the lake’s surface. She had been shit out of luck reading the schematics so she had done a little reading and contact her man at the company again for some tutoring.

He had tried to squeeze another rubdown out of her but she had refused. Begrudgingly, he had helped her to make sense of the wavy lines that seemed to have no rhyme or reason to her.

When Lex had started looking at the paper with the lake, her eyes had immediately fastened on the circles below the lake’s surface. She had seen them on a few of the charts and hadn’t been able to figure them out. By this time, her contact was sick of her so she didn’t have to pester him for an extended period of time before he folded.

Apparently, there were some ‘geologic aberrations’, as her contact called them, on Lex’s property. A substance that his company was now studying. Where they had found the substance, a green rock, they had made the strange lines.

Looking at the chart, Chloe could see that the area under and around the lake was chock full of meteor rocks.

Tracing the lines with Lana’s perfectly manicured nail, Chloe nodded and said, “These weird lines mean that there are meteor rocks in this area.” She looked over at Lex. “Though, I assume you already knew that.” Her last statement was more of a question. He had seemed perplexed by the lines, but she couldn’t imagine the company not telling Lex, unless…..

Lex shook his head slowly. “These lines weren't in the copies I was shown. And since I had cleared the grounds after the incident with that boy that froze my lake, I assumed that there would be no rocks left. I let them do these studies as a back up check.”

Lex's eyes narrowed dangerously. There was only one person that would have been interested in the meteors as much as himself and had the money to pull something like that.

But it made no sense. Lionel had been executed almost 3 months ago and Lex would have found evidence of a project like that while going through his personal files. Unless of course they had been deleted before he ever got to them.

“I'm pretty sure my father had something to do with this and that the project got dropped once he landed in jail,” he explained.

Chloe took in the information quietly and started to think aloud. “So, your father started the project. He most likely clued in some of the higher ups to what he was doing. Those doing tests on the rocks and looking specifically for them would have to know why they were looking for them and what to do with them once they found them.”

She leaned back in her desk and looked around, just making sure that no one was paying attention to them. Their teacher had moved onto reading a romance novel, there were a group of kids passing around a football and a couple making out in the corner. Satisfied that there were no eavesdroppers, Chloe continued.

“When he,” she paused, trying to be sensitive about this next part, “died, your father must have either left instructions to go on with the project or someone took it upon himself to do so. Maybe they found something too interesting, and by that I mean profitable, to cease the project.”

Lex contemplated Chloe's theory, trying to put the pieces together. “But that wouldn't explain why they didn't remove the meteor fragments yet. They could have done it at any given time while I was in Metropolis or elsewhere.”

Lex had completely overthrown and reinforced his security after the incident with Darius yet again but the lake wasn't the center of attention, since he was more likely to be in or close to the manor at any given time.

“If the meteor rocks are below the surface of the lake, they couldn’t do it surreptitiously. I think that you might have noticed backhoes plowing through your land.” Chloe picked up a pencil and started circling all of the spots where there were meteor rocks. “This would be a pretty big job to get done using stealth. I know that you’re out of town and in the hospital a lot Lex. But, even if you weren’t around Enrique would have definitely noticed something amiss.”

Lex nodded, conceding the point. “True, so I'll have to take care of them before we do anything else. If they remove the meteors from the lake, we might never figure out how exactly it happened, and that would mean...” he let his sentence trail off as his eyes once again moved to the schematics in front of him. There had to be some clue within these statistics that would help them to find a solution for their problem.

Chloe didn’t want to follow Lex down that road. She refused to even entertain the fact that she might be stuck as Lana for the rest of her days. Though, she definitely had it easier than either Lex or Lana. At least she was familiar with the equipment she had now.

“So, the combination of maybe the water, the lightening and the rocks did this?” Chloe shook her head. That was possible, but there was another problem. One that needed to be voiced. And, it was better if Lana and Pete weren’t around for it. She doubted that Lex would be able to answer it, but she needed to just say it. “What if we figure out how we got this way and we can’t get back?” She stared straight ahead, not wanting to look at Lex.

Lex winced as he thought of the possibility of spending the rest of his life in another body. True, the body itself was great and he wouldn't mind being close to it at every given opportunity, but it wasn't his and there was no way he could spend the rest of his life being Chloe.

“We'll find a way to reverse this. There's always something. Sometimes it just takes time to find it,” he was not going to worry about this now. “We'll cross that bridge once we actually get there,” he muttered more to himself.

In spite of being miffed with him, Chloe had to smile at the great Lex Luthor reduced to using clichés. Not that she had anything better. They both weren’t ready to face the truth. That if they couldn’t reverse whatever happened, they’d be trapped forever in the bodies they currently resided in.

~~~~~~
As they pulled up to the Manor, Chloe steeled herself for another annoying conversation. Lana had to go directly home, so she wouldn’t be there. However, she was certain that Pete and Lex would be enough to send her already delicate sanity skating over the edge.

Lex reached for the door but Chloe grabbed his hand and then rang the bell. “Remember, I’m on thin ice where Enrique is concerned. We don’t want to give him even more reasons to pay attention to me.”

Fuck' Lex had completely forgotten about the rather delicate situation with Chloe and his butler. This was getting more complicated by the minute. He'd just have to get Pete to talk to Enrique and have him make it clear that she was welcome whenever she chose to visit. At least until further notice.

When the man opened the door his eyes glanced briefly over Chloe, then immediately shifted onto him, narrowing just slightly. The rest of Enrique’s face stayed completely nonchalant.

“Good afternoon, Miss Lang, Miss Sullivan. How can I help you?”

He stepped aside to allow them into the hallway, but kept his gaze firmly on Lex the entire time. It was rather annoying.

“We're here to see Lex, I am sure he's expecting us already,” he answered smoothly.

Internally, Chloe groaned. She had learned that it was best to defer to Enrique and ask for his permission to see Lex. Otherwise, he got this subtle look on his face that….well, that was on his face right now.

‘Ok, time to channel my inner Lana.’

“Chloe,” she hissed, just loud enough for Enrique to hear and with enough embarrassment to show him that she certainly was aghast at her friend’s conduct. She stepped in front of Lex and said, “What Chloe means is that Lex invited us over and we were wondering if he was available to meet with us.”

She refused to bat her eye lashes but she made sure to look innocent and helpless.

Lex glared at Chloe's back in front of him but kept silent, deciding to address this little issue later, when they were alone. If Chloe thought she could run around cutting him off and making him seem ridiculous, she was sorely mistaken.

Enrique nodded politely. “He has just returned to his study, if you would follow me,” he answered before turning around.

As they followed Enrique, Chloe turned back around to Lex and was unprepared for the ugly face he was making. Sighing, she ignored him and started to climb the steps. She knew that he didn’t like being relegated to the background and ignored, but that’s the way it had to be if he was her. Well, at least where Enrique was concerned.

But, she wasn’t about to start yet another fight by telling him so. She didn’t think it would get them anywhere.

When Enrique showed them into the study, however, Chloe saw that though she may be avoiding a fight with Lex, she felt one between he and Pete coming on full force. She thought that Lex wouldn’t take too kindly to the scantily clad women that were parading around the room. While the look of total and complete surprise on Lex’s face was priceless, Chloe doubted that she would be able to enjoy it for very long.

Lex was about two inches away from having a conniption fit. There were at least five models parading around his office and he was pretty sure he'd had something with at least two of them. He was going to kill Pete. Slowly and painfully, but in an unbloody way. The goo was poison on the hardwood floors.

“OUT! NOW!” He bellowed in the direction of the scantily clad women, heading straight for the couch were Pete had reclined lazily and was now sitting up straight with an 'Oh Shit!' expression on his face.

“And you...” He had to get himself under control to stop yelling as a wave of heat seemed to flare through his system and accelerate his rage exponentially.

Chloe watched as the women merely looked at Lex, losing his cool. They were the type that only listened to a man. Especially if he was the one paying you. They looked at Pete for instructions, which only seemed to incense Lex more.

She doubted that Lex would harm his own body, but right now she wasn’t sure that he was thinking straight so she quickly put herself between Lex and Pete. “Lex,” she hissed at Pete, “I think you should ask your guests to leave.” She took in their attire and shook her head. Did men still really like the whole school girl thing?

Even though she was also livid with Pete, she had to maintain her temper so the two men didn’t come to blows. Her mouth dropped open when one of the brunettes kissed Pete deeply and said, “It was good seeing you again, Lex. I missed you.”

Chloe’s head whipped around to look at Lex. She had assumed that Pete had called a random escort service. However, she appeared to be mistaken.

Lex's eyes narrowed and something inside just snapped. Before he could stop himself, he was at the woman's side and had her grabbed by the hair, pulling her off his body.

“I said GET THE FUCK OUT!” He yelled, shoving her back towards the other girls before he rounded on Pete. “You are going to give me an explanation for this and if it's not extremely good I'll make sure you'll pay dearly, have I made myself clear?”

It didn't matter that he'd just put a damper on his own reputation if Pete actually did what he said, all he wanted at the moment was those women out of his house and to forget about the look on Chloe's face as she had watched the model kiss him, well his body.

Chloe saw that the woman glared at her and she waited to see if she was going to start a catfight….as if Pete hadn’t gotten he jollies off enough already. But, one of her ‘friends’ touched her elbow and the escort, if that was what she was, turned on her heel and then stalked out of the room.

Pete couldn’t believe his luck. He really didn’t think that they’d have to deal with Luthor again today. So, when he had invited some of the chicks from the book he had found tucked away in the desk in Lex’s bedroom, he hadn’t given a second thought to calling some of the numbers. Especially when he saw the notes that Lex had made next to the names. He was only human, what did Lex expect?

Though, based on the homicidal look on Chloe’s, he shook his head, amending his thought, Lex’s face, he doubted he could explain it away like that.

But, he didn’t have anything better so he decided to go with the truth. “I promised Chloe that I wouldn’t marry someone, give you an heir or fuck things up for you. And, I take that very seriously. But, I found your book, read what you wrote,” he gave Lex a look, “and I couldn’t help but call them.”

Chloe’s rage was becoming worse with every passing word of Pete’s. But, she was now becoming more angry with Lex. She had no right to be, his life was his own. But, she couldn’t help but wonder what those notes had said. And, how many women Lex had been with…and how many of them were brunettes like the ones that were just prancing around the room.

Even though he logically knew that he was Lex, it was still a shock when they showed up, especially looking like they did. He had been amazed that he had any self-restraint. However, a feeling of guilt had soon appeared. He blamed it on Chloe. While this was not technically against the rules, he knew that both she and Luthor would kill him if they found out. He hadn’t even been able to enjoy it that much because of that, dammit.

“But when they got here, well, they’re crazy,” he said, amazement clear in his voice. “They were talking about stuff that I’ve never even heard of.” He shook his head and then went on.

Chloe’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Stuff he had never even heard of? She knew that Pete had an extensive porn collection, she had found it accidentally one day. So, she couldn’t even imagine what these women had proposed.

Clearing his throat, he looked everywhere but at Lex and Chloe. “Um, they were a little too much for me, so I was going to ask them to leave.” Realizing he sound a little like a wuss, Pete said, “I mean, one or two, no problem, but five’s a little much.”

Lex was very close to snapping once more, the only thing holding him back from strangling Pete, was that he would be strangling his own body. His hands were actually shaking with fury and he couldn't bring himself to shove them in his pockets.

“You invited women into my house, without asking,” his voice was low and just a bit shaky. “Not only that, you went through my personal belongings to get their numbers in the first place. You had the balls to do that after we had a definite agreement to keep a low profile and try to not harm or potentially ruin the life of the person we momentarily reside in and now you have the fucking BALLS to sit here and tell me, you couldn't HELP IT!?!”

There it was again. Snap! Like a tiny thread being torn. He launched himself at his own body, but didn't get far before he felt arms closing around his waistline holding him back and pressing hard into his stomach.

“Let go of me, I swear I'll kill him!” he snarled, fighting against Chloe's hold on him, trying to get to the bastard who'd managed to ruin his reputation and make him look bad in front of Chloe all in one single day.

Before he thought about the fact that he outweighed Chloe and that Luthor was no slouch physically, Pete found himself bounding off of the couch in order to hide behind it. Not his most manly moment, he’d admit, but he liked breathing.

Chloe could see what was coming and grabbed at Lex before he could get to Pete. She hadn’t realized how strong she was before. But, now that she was trying to hold onto her own body, using Lana’s muscles to hold it in place, she had to admit that the strength training was definitely working out.

Pete went over what Lex had screamed at him and said, “I wasn’t trying to ruin your life, I was just trying to have a little fun.” He held up his hands, “I swear I didn’t mean anything by it.” Luthor was going absolutely nuclear so he decided he had better apologize. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again. If it does, you can murder me when I’m back in my own body so you don’t fuck your own up.” Pete thought that it was a pretty good gesture of good will.

He also ignored the fact that the pseudo girl on girl action in front of him was pretty hot. All the two of them needed was some mud and bikinis and he’d be set. Especially since Lex wasn’t letting up on trying to get loose. Then again, that wasn’t a good thing for Pete right about now.

Chloe could feel Lana’s arm muscles straining and she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold onto him for much longer. “See,” she panted out, “he’s sorry and he’ll let you kick his ass. Plus, I doubt those girls will go running to the press if they haven’t done so in the past. I’m assuming you’ve got that base covered so please, Lex, just stop.”

Lex ceased his struggles a little, realizing that he might hurt Chloe seriously if he didn't. He was still seething with anger and wanted nothing more than to rip Pete limb from limb and make a nice necklace from his guts. 'PMS really is a bitch' a detached part of his mind piped up.

“There's a good reason that fucking book was in the bottom drawer of my nightstand for the last two years! I don't even remember half those women and you could have gotten my body seriously injured with this shit!” Not to mention that one of them might have held a grudge that went beyond wanting to cause physical harm.

He finally relaxed completely trying to fight the new surge of emotion that seemed to well up inside him. He was not going to cry, he was still Lex Luthor, no matter in which body and he was not going to go completely hysterical, dammit.

“You stupid fuck you invited women that I slept with back in college!”

Pete supposed that that made sense. There was a ton of crap on top of the book. But, if Lex hadn’t planned on using it again, why was it still there? That wasn’t the point. His lame response that there weren’t years next to their names wouldn’t defuse the situation. He noted that some of the fight had died out of Lex, but he didn’t doubt that the man was still ready to attack him. Especially since he was in Chloe’s body. Pete knew that it would be very difficult to fight back knowing it was Chloe’s body that he would harm. The only thing he could do was repeat himself.

“I’m sorry,” he said, a little more emphatically. “But, nothing physical happened. And, even if it had, I don’t hate you enough to try to kill you by doing something stupid.” Pete realized that that was the truth and decided to analyze those feelings later.

Chloe kept her hold on Lex, unsure as to what his next move was going to be. She could also hear, in the way that her voice was, that he was getting emotional. The hormones were probably working full force right about now.

She was surprised when Pete walked around from the couch and stood in front of Lex.

He decided that this was the only way to get this done and over with. “I swear that I will not do anything like that again. I am not trying to ruin your life. I was stupid and I apologize.” He took a deep breath. “And, if you feel the need to still do this after Chloe lets you go, well, I think you know what the outcome will be. Even though you’re in there,” he gestured to Chloe’s body, “and I know that, I can’t hit a girl. So…”

Lex growled low in his throat. He really wanted to hit Pete, but there were more important things they had to deal with and those bloody hormones were slowly but surely driving him to distraction, causing his mood to swing from raging to depressed and into exhausted within a minute.

Also there was the little problem that if he caused any injuries to his body while Pete was in it, the boy would definitely find out about things that were better kept secret.

“You can let go now, Chloe,” he deadpanned. “I won't hurt him.” Throwing a sharp look at his own body, he added. “This time.”

She hesitated for a moment before letting go. Chloe locked eyes with Pete, alerting him to the fact that Lex was not the only one who was livid with him. She also noticed his body tensing, preparing for an attack, just in case.

Lex stepped away from Chloe, running a hand through his hair. He really needed to get a grip on those hormones, and soon.

“Fine, let's get to the actual reason for our visit now. Or have you done anything else I should be aware of?” He sneered in Pete's direction

Pete let out a breath he had been holding and held up his hands. “No, nothing else, I swear.” He looked over at Chloe, deciding that even though she was pissed, he’d get further with her. “So, you guys found out something, I’m assuming?”

In a clipped voice, Chloe said, “Meteor rocks are in the lake and in the ground right around the lake. Adding lightening to the mix might explain how this happened. We don’t know how to get back, but it’s a place to start. As is the company, Geomatics, that did the surveying. We think that they may still be researching the rocks.”

Pete nodded along with Chloe. What she said made sense. “So, what’s our next move?”

Lex walked around to the wet bar, reaching out for the scotch bottle before he remembered that Chloe's body didn't take too kindly to alcohol. He put the bottle back with a displeased scowl and settled for a bottle of Ty Nant instead.

“We'll have to contact the company and find out what they know. If worse comes to worst, I'll have to bribe them into working for me. Which means you will have to bribe them into working for me.” He pointed at Pete with the water bottle still in hand.

“While we're discussing that, we might as well go over your schedule for the week. I'll make sure to cut it down as much as possible and do the important work from my laptop at Chloe's, but there are still some things I have to attend to 'in person'. So you'll have to learn to be more like me and less like....” Receiving a glare from Chloe's side, he decided to change the end of his sentence before he spoke. “You.”

Nodding, Pete said, “Sounds like a good plan.” Sure, he was kissing Luthor’s ass a little bit, but it was payback for him not kicking Pete’s. “I’ll go and get your schedule for the week.” Enrique had given it to him and Pete had already looked it over, freaking out totally. He didn’t see how it was physically possible for him to do everything that Lex had planned.

Before leaving the room, he gave Chloe a look that he hoped communicated how sorry he was. She tilted her chin at him, acknowledging it but he knew that that wasn’t the end of the issue.

Once Pete was gone, Chloe asked, “You ok?” Lex might resent the question, but she was concerned about him so she had to ask.

Lex slinked over to the couch and sunk down into the leather with an almost inaudible groan. “Great,” he answered monotonously.

She recognized that Lex was now in the throes of the ‘surly Chloe’ she became right before Mother Nature hit her full force. Chloe also knew that when she felt like that, she found any type of conversation annoying, so she remained silent.

The silence was broken by her cell phone, or Lana’s actually, merrily chirping away in her bag. Chloe found the phone and checked the display. It said ‘Pete’ which meant that…she put the phone to her ear. “Hey, Lana, what’s up?”

As the girl chattered away full speed, Chloe found it difficult to make out some of the words. When she got the gist of what the girl was saying, Chloe turned away from Lex and said, “Lana, that is not going to happen.” She paused. “No, I won’t.” Her mouth opened and she said, “It has nothing to do with that.”

Chloe could tell that Lana wasn’t going to give in and she looked at her watch and then back at Lex. This needed to be dealt with in person but she wasn’t sure if she could leave Lex and Pete alone.

Lex had listened to Chloe's part of the conversation and whatever Lana had demanded on the other end, it couldn't be good.

His brows furrowed in confusion as he silently mouthed 'what' just before Chloe had turned her back on him. Lex found himself getting irritated by that behavior for no good reason. 'Fine, if she doesn't wanna tell me'.

He crossed his arms over his chest and sunk deeper into the cushioning, pulling up his knees as his lower abdomen twinged uncomfortably. Great, it was already starting.

“I am not being unreasonable, you’re insane,” Chloe hissed. She listened to Lana again, trying not to get short with the girl, but she was being stupid so it was hard not to. “It will not help the situation, it may make things worse.” Lana prattled on and Chloe interrupted. “Listen, I’m coming over there and we can discuss it ok? Bye, Lana.”

She violently hit the end button and turned back to Lex, who looked like he had been told that he couldn’t have his favorite toy. Chloe knew that she had mood swings, but she was at least better at controlling them. “I have to go and see Lana.”

Lex uncurled himself from the couch, getting up to walk around a bit. “Ok, I'll see you later then. I'll just go over my schedule with Pete and tell him what to do and more importantly, what [I]not[/].”

He wasn't going to ask for the information, since it probably was something stupid anyway. It was Lana, what world moving problems could she be having? A broken nail?

Lex paced the room a few times, unconsciously rubbing his stomach, trying to get it to drop the uncomfortable twinging and cramping. He really needed to get back into his own body as soon as possible.

Ignoring the fact that Lex was pacing like an animal, Chloe picked up her bag, and then cursed. “Um, Lex, I need to borrow one of your cars.”

Lex stopped dead in his tracks to stare at Chloe. She'd obviously lost her mind. “You're joking, right?”

The only person he'd ever borrowed one of his cars to was Clark, and the boy had been seriously out of it and possibly dangerous at that point. There was no way he was going to give this girl free reign over one of his priced possessions.

“I need to get to Lana’s and we only brought one car.” Lex started to talk but she went on. “I know, why don’t I just take mine and you can take one of yours home? But, do you really think Enrique wouldn’t think it odd that you gave me a car? It’s more plausible that you would let Lana borrow one than me.” Her own PMS started to kick in when she realized the truth in the statement. Lex was usually more accommodating to the brunette than to her.

Lex shook his head disbelievingly. “You think I'd give that ditz one of my priced possessions?” The hormones had sent him into another fit of anger it seemed. He'd never openly showed his dislike for the more annoying side of Lana Lang before. “Don't you remember what happened the last time she drove a car of mine? The entire bottom was ruined when they pulled it out of Baker's field.”

Yes, he could hold a grudge. No he had never openly admitted to the fact that the only reason he hadn't throttled Lana for that little prank had been his once best friend.

“Well, you did once before,” Chloe said, annoyed. She wasn’t trying to take one of his cars on a joyride, she just needed some form of transportation to get her to Pete’s. “But, if you’re going to be difficult about it, I’ll find some other way to get there.” Oh, yeah, the PMS was definitely taking a hold of Lana’s body.

She started for the door, “I’ll just call a cab or walk so I don’t ruin one of your precious pieces of metal.” God, he was so weird about his cars. It wasn’t as if she was going to pop wheelies with it.

He'd seen the expression on her face when she accused him of having 'given' his car to Lana once. She obviously had gotten it wrong and thought he'd allowed Lana to take it. “Hey, wait!” he called out before Chloe could storm out of the room completely.

“Lex,” Chloe said, testily, “I don’t have time for this.” She had to go over to Pete’s and convince Lana that she had gone crazy and make it back to her place in time for dinner. She couldn’t waste her time on a bitch fight with Lex. She turned around and faced him.

Lex walked up to her and shoved his hands in his pockets. “She stole it. I didn't give it to her.” He took a deep breath, gearing up for the hardest part. “You can take the Jag, but please, be careful.” He looked her straight in the eyes, waiting for her answer.

“I will be. Trust me, I don’t want to take your car over there, but it needs to be done. I’ll see you back at home soon.” She gave him a nod and then walked out of the room in search of Enrique.

And, if Lana gave her some speech about friendship, Chloe would be sure to tell Lana that friends didn’t steal each other’s cars. Later, she’d ask Lex about that, but for now she had another mission.

[BlueSabby]

Lana was pacing in Pete's room, waiting for Chloe to finally get there. She'd finally gotten used to walking with the extra equipment between her legs and hadn't stopped pacing ever since. Thing had gone from bad to worse in the few hours that she'd spent as Pete. It seemed that Clark was losing interest and the scene at the Torch had nagged at her greatly.

Consciously, she knew that Lex wouldn't do anything to hurt her. They were friends, and former business partners! He wouldn't go and try something, and definitely not in Chloe's body. But that Clark had reacted like that to Chloe, that was more than distracting. He was supposed to look at her[/] that way.

After making nice with the Rosses and promising them that she wasn’t bringing Pete any contraband, Chloe made her way up to his room. She knocked on the door and then went in, finding Lana pacing back and forth. Once the door was closed, Chloe said, “No. In no uncertain terms. No, I will not make out with Clark for you.”

Chloe needed to get that idea out of Lana’s head quickly. The girl really couldn’t think that she would just go and shove her tongue down Clark’s throat. Especially after what had happened at Lex’s party.

Lana broke out of her pacing and went straight for Chloe, wrapping the girl in an awkward hug, before pulling back and chewing nervously on her lip. “But Chloe, you have to! He's already losing interest in me and I can't lose him! He's all I've got.”

She felt like crying inside, but Pete's eyes stayed dry. None the less, she looked down at Chloe hopefully. “Please, Chloe. You're my best friend, you have to do this for me. I can't lose him. We're soulmates.”

Clark was perfect for her in every way. He was sweet and kind and listened to her and did everything she asked. True he still hadn't told her his secret, but Lana had decided that wasn't an issue as long as he paid attention to her when she needed him.

“Soul mates,” Chloe spat out, not really believing her ears. “You two can’t even get your shit together enough to define what your relationship is and now you’re soul mates?”

She put some space between herself and Lana and sat down on the bed. “Lana, you have to understand how crazy this sounds to me. You two still don’t know what’s going on and you want me to attack him out of nowhere? Don’t you think that that may confuse him?”

Keeping this about Lana and Clark was Chloe’s best bet. If Lana thought that she was doing this for her, she was less likely to put up a fight.

Lana was hurt by Chloe's outburst, but she couldn't start a fight with the obtuse girl now. It was important that she got her to do what she wanted. “Chloe, Clark and I are together. And we're very happy. It's just that I think I might have not given back enough, and if I don't do it soon, I'll loose him! Please, don't let this situation take away the thing that matters most in my life!”

Now maybe that was exaggerating just a little, but if it got Chloe to see the point, it was worth it. She just had to keep Clark interested in her. After all that had happened, she'd finally gotten him and he was everything she ever wanted and she would [I]not going to lose that just because of some stupid weird mess that had put her into the body of a boy.

“Please, Chloe. Do me that one little favor. You don't have to attack him. Just when you're together the next time, give him a little something. One kiss! It'll be enough, I swear!”

Lana was not going to win this fight. Chloe had no intention of spending anytime alone with Clark before things were put right. Basically, for this exact reason. She didn’t want to deal with the way that he and Lana were. The very thought of touching Clark wasn’t appealing to her. At least if it didn’t involve throttling him.

“Lana, I will do everything I can. But, I cannot make out with him. You know that he and I are in a fight. I understand that you feel very deeply about him,” she managed to not roll her eyes, “but you have to understand how I feel as well. If Clark wants to talk about you two, I will act accordingly.” Lana’s face was pinched together. Oddly enough, she had seen the very same look on Pete’s face so it didn’t seem out of place.

“If I was dating someone, do you really think that I would expect Lex to just go along with it?” Yes, that was good, keep Lana thinking.

Lana could feel her bottom lip start to quiver. It just wasn't fair.

“Chloe that's just not fair! It's not my fault we ended up in this situation and now I am supposed to lose my boyfriend because of it? Haven't I lost enough?” She started pacing again, venting out her frustration at the entire world.

“I lost my parents before I ever really got to know them. I lost Whitney to the marines and then when I find out that my real father is somebody else I get to know him only to lose him, too! I can't take this anymore! I don't even have my body left and if we don't find out how to reverse this I will have to spend the rest of my life as a BOY!”

It seemed her emotions were finally overriding Pete's male body and she could feel the tears of frustration welling in her eyes. “You can't make me lose this, Chloe, please!”

‘Oh, good god, shut up!’ It was the only thing that Chloe could think. Whenever Lana went on her whinefest about what she lost, Chloe usually zoned out. But, now she had to at least pretend that she was listening.

As Lana went on and on….and on….Chloe realized that the girl wasn’t going to let this drop. She was like a dog with a bone. And she would slowly drive Chloe insane with the demand. Lana was nothing if not determined about getting her own way and making people feel sorry for her. She would medal in it if it were an Olympic sport.

Taking a sideways glance at her watch, Chloe realized that she didn’t have any more time to waste on Lana. And, if she didn’t want to hear about it until the end of time, she knew she’d have to agree. Well, in her own way, she would.

“Fine,” she spat out. “God, if it comes up, if we’re alone, if it seems like it’ll help the situation, I’ll do it.” She stopped Lana from speaking when the girls’ mouth popped open. “But, only under those circumstances.” Which Chloe would do her damnest to prevent.

Lana launched herself at Chloe, forgetting momentarily that she wasn't in her own body. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” The hug became awkward again as she felt her chest come in contact with what usually were her breasts and she pulled back quickly.

“I promise I won't forget this, Chloe. I owe you one!” She gave her friend a blinding smile, jumping excitedly on her feet. “You're the best!”

“Yup, that’s me. The best,” Chloe muttered this to herself. She couldn’t believe that she had agreed. Not that it would ever come to her acting on her word. Jeez, when Lex heard about this….

Then again, she didn’t want him to know that she had caved to Lana. Chloe thought that his respect for her might take a hit with that new information. And, for some reason, that bothered her more than the thought of kissing Clark. Besides, she supposed that Lex didn’t need to know about this. It didn’t affect him in the slightest.

Deciding that not telling Lex was the best course of action, Chloe shook her head and came back to her current situation. “If I have to go through with this,” Chloe said, ‘not bloody likely’, “I hope you know that you will owe me numerous favors, Lana. And, I’m not talking about throwing me free coffee every now and again, either.”

Lana blinked, confused. “O-okay. Uhm, sure!” She nodded avidly, ready to agree to whatever it was as long as her relationship with Clark was secured. It was vital that she kept him as a boyfriend. This was senior year, she had plans and he was possibly the right one to keep forever. There could not be anything coming between them. “So, uhm...” She tried to think of something to change the topic. “What about our problem? Did you find out anything yet?”

The sooner this whole situation got reversed, the better. She did not want to stay in Pete's body for long. It just wasn't right and his 'thingie' had given her more trouble than she'd ever thought possible already.

It seemed all that boys ever thought about was sex. Well all their bodies thought about that was. And they reacted to just about anything. It was horrifying, truly.

“Yeah,” Chloe said absently as she picked up her bag. She noticed Lana scowl at it, no doubt thinking that it didn’t match perfectly with her outfit. “Lex and I are working on it.” The specifics would just confuse Lana so she left it at that. “We’ll keep you updated if there are any changes.”

She looked Lana up and down, “So, how you like being a guy?” Before she left, she just had to ask.

Lana flopped down onto the bed and gave a pitiful sigh. “It's horrible! The worst thing that ever happened to me.” The only thing coming close was maybe when Adam had tried to touch her in her secret place and put her hand...she was not going to go there. “Did you know that boys always get these,” she made vague motions with her hands, “Urges. And they walk the way they do because of...well you know. And god I hate mornings!” She let herself fall back until she was lying down, grabbed a pillow from her side and threw it over her face. It wasn't the first time today she'd done this. She screamed into the pillow.

Chloe didn’t even bother to hide her laughter. At least Lana was being tormented by this, that was something. She felt a small tingle of guilt at that thought, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Then, the devil on her shoulder started to give her some ideas…the angel on the other shoulder quickly piped up, telling her to behave.

Lana continued to flop around on the bed dramatically before looking back up at Chloe, no doubt wanting some sympathy. It was the puppy dogs eyes that pushed her over the edge. Sure, Lana was suffering, but she wasn’t the only one and messing with her would definitely cheer Chloe up after what she had just agreed to.

“You mentioned urges,” Chloe said as she toyed with the top button of her shirt. She watched as Lana’s eyes widened comically and then her head whipped down to Pete’s lap. Yes, it was fucked up what she was doing….Lana was now sort of coming onto herself, but how many times would thisopportunity present itself.

Seeing that her plan was working, Chloe started to unbutton her shirt. She said, “Lana, I really like this bra,” she opened the shirt, giving Pete’s body a clear, full on view of Lana’s breasts encased in a black bra.

Lana whimpered before she threw the pillow over her face once more, pressing her thighs together to punish the evil thing between her legs. Men did indeed think with the other head nine out of ten times it seemed. “Chloe, please stop it! This is not funny,” she begged.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. She tried to think of ugly things, like Bonnie's outfit last week in gym class. Then disgusting things, like the mess she'd made in the bathroom just this morning. Thankfully, it worked and the 'Evil' in her pants submitted.

“Just leave me alone! And don't undress in front of anyone!”

As she buttoned up her shirt, Chloe said, “I beg to differ, that was very funny. I promise I won’t undress in front of anyone.” After leaving the room, she threw her last two words over her shoulder, “Except Clark.”

Pete took a few breaths before coming back into the study. He had heard the raised voice of Lana and Chloe, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. If Lex and Chloe had gotten into a fight right before Chloe left, Pete knew that Lex would be even more difficult to deal with. He decided his best course of action would be to just go in there, sit down, shut up and ‘yes’ Lex to death. After the man left, he’d practice his nonfacial expressions in the mirror.

For some reason, he felt the need to knock. There was a moment of silence before he heard Chloe’s voice bark out a terse, “Come in.” Yeah, Lex was in a peachy mood, this was going to be bad.

When Pete entered the room, it looked as if Lex was finishing up with pacing and talking to himself. Something he had never heard Chloe or Clark mention to him as something the man did. Chloe, on the other hand…..he wondered if they would start taking up the mannerisms of whomever’s body they were in. Pete couldn’t imagine shoving his hands in his pockets every thirty seconds.

He cleared his throat and said, “Here’s your…my,” he started again, “Here’s the schedule for the week. Let me know what you think I should and should not do.” Pete put the leather bound folder on the coffee table and sat down on the couch, waiting for Lex to join him.

Lex shot the boy an irritated look, pointing silently to the widespread knees and loose hanging arms. He picked up the schedule without a word and went for his desk, grabbing for the red marker. When his hand came up empty, his eyes narrowed. Where the hell had this little imbecile put his...? With an annoyed snort he picked the pen up from a stack of doodle papers.

“Alright, I'll strike out as many of those things as possible and transfer key responsibilities to Gabe for this week.” He started flipping through the pages, making little red marks next to the entries that he planned to transfer to his plantmanager’s schedule.

A scowl crossed his features as he came upon an important board meeting that he did have to attend personally. “This one on Friday? You'll have to have your role down by then, I can't miss it.”

Pete leaned back on the couch and crossed one of his legs over the other the way he had seen Lex do in the Talon numerous times. As long as he had enough prep time, he could pull this off. If for no other reason than to save his own ass.

He knew that Lex would help him as much as possible, but Pete was decidedly uncomfortable with the man, especially because of his current mood. He didn’t understand why Lex was so testy. He usually showed no emotion whatsoever but he was clearly annoyed right now.

“I’ll be ok by Friday,” Pete said, succinctly. No need to tell Lex that he’d grovel and beg for Chloe’s help if need be in order to have the perfect Lex imitation down.

“What is the meeting about? Cause, I’m assuming that the subject matter is over my head,” Lex looked up from his schedule and smirked at him. The look was totally out of place on Chloe’s face, however, it was a look that she usually reserved for Lana and Clark. “You’re going to have to give me a crash course so I don’t say anything too out of order. Or, is the plan for me to say nothing?”

Pete was beginning to think that being Lex wasn’t all that he thought it was cracked up to be. All he wanted to do was play the man’s video games, drive his cars, order his servants around, spend his money and get it on with his honeys. This whole work thing was going to both suck and blow.

Lex tried to find the simplest words to sum up the meeting. “You're going in place of CEO, which means you have to lead the meeting, discuss a few of the issues that come up, but don't worry they're all on the DOP, so you should be able to prepare sufficiently, the VP might ask you some out of line questions, he's an incompetent prick who tries to suck up to me at every opportunity.” He kept marking several more entries during his explanation, noting with an inward sigh that the meeting would be the only thing that week that he couldn't shift to Gabe or one of his lackeys.

Nodding, Pete knew that he’d have to bother Lex later for a more in depth explanation about what was expected of him and how often he could tell one of the other men in the meeting to shut up and sit down. But, he’d leave that for another time. A time in which he wasn’t practically stabbing his desk with a pen under the pretense of taking notes. Pete wasn’t sure if his next move was a good one or something that would blow up in his face but he couldn’t help his curiosity.

“Are you ok, Lex?” The tentative way he spoke the words sounded very strange in Luthor’s voice. The other man’s head snapped up and he glared at Pete. He held his hands up. “I’m just asking cause Chloe can be a bit much sometimes and I’m usually the one that pisses her off so I’m also the expert on getting out of the doghouse….until I fuck up, again, that is.”

Lex pursed his lips in thought. It wouldn't be a smart move to show his hand, especially since this boy would probably use every opportunity to get him into deeper trouble with Chloe. Lex couldn't blame him for wanting to protect a friend, but the unwarranted hatred towards him surely was a reason to be suspicious.

“I appreciate the offer, but we merely had a little disagreement, don't worry about it.”

Pete gave a very Lex like chuckle of which he was proud of before stating, “Little disagreement. No disagreement with Chloe is little.” He was sure to use a voice that wasn’t laced with an accusation. Pete was more picking on Chloe than he was on Lex. “Girl can get a little,” he stopped speaking and made a swirling motion with his pointer finger, being sure to use his left hand, at his temple.

The smile which was on his face dropped when he thought of something. “You’re not going to tell her I just said that, are you?” Damn, he was trying to bond or something with Lex for the sake of Chloe, but Lex didn’t know that. So, he could use what Pete had just said against him. It would be just like a Luthor to do that.

He let his most devilish smirk grace Chloe's features as he slowly looked up fully from his filofax. His eyebrow arched in question at Pete's obvious inference. He'd let the boy sweat a little. It seemed that he'd only realized the possible consequences of his statement after the fact. A shrewd, scheming mind he was not. Lex doubted this would work out in his favor when it came to business.

“I will not mention it in any way, if you manage to make my board members believe they are dealing with me. Which also involves thinking thrice about every sentence, before you speak. And of course less bourgeoisie gestures.” Sensing that he might have come off as a little too arrogant, he decided to throw the boy a bone. “Points for using the correct hand, though.”

Pete nodded. “Of course I’ll clean up the gestures and my vernacular,” he decided to put some of his SAT words to good use, “for the meeting.” He paused and thought about the position both he and Lex were now in. He didn’t like the guy, but he had promised to Chloe not to mess up Luthor’s life. And, it was a promise he intended to keep.

“Lex,” he said, making sure that he had the man’s attention, “that’s not why I would help you out with this. While avoiding a swift beating at Chloe’s hands is always a good thing…” Pete trailed off. He didn’t want this to get too After School specially or anything. “Not to sound all…..whatever or anything, but I gave my word.” He looked away from Lex. “Thanks for it, though. And, I swear not to use the word whatever at the meeting.”

Lex put his filofax aside completely and turned around to lean against his desk, considering Pete's words carefully. The expression on his face was absolutely open and honest, a look that threw Lex off a little, since he hadn't seen it on his face before. He knew for a fact that it didn't look like his usual 'sincere' expression, and the few moments in his life when he'd been absolutely sincere about something, there had been no mirrors.

Shaking that thought aside, he raised his head slowly, deciding to trust the boy with his word, if not with the actual capability yet. “Alright, we'll start on your crash course in Business tomorrow afternoon.” He pushed off the edge of his desk and started to make his way to the doors. “And Pete?”

A weight of some sort was lifted from Pete when he saw that Lex accepted what he said. However, his suspicions were raised slightly when the man, and he had now begun to look at Chloe and see Lex which was something that would probably scar him emotionally at a later date, turned back to look at him. However, Chloe’s facial expression was a genial one so he tried not to immediately think something bad was coming. Hopefully, it would be a habit with Lex that he could try and make happen during this whole ordeal.

Pete got up, making sure to do it in one fluid motion and smoothly walked over to where Lex was standing. “Yes, Lex.” He decided not to mention the fact that it was odd that he was now taller than Lex. These little weird thoughts were better left inside his mind, rather than out.

Lex turned around to face the boy, hating the fact that he had to look up to do so.

“Suppose you'd said something brash, reacted in the heat of the moment.” He smoothed his fingers over his left eyebrow and brushed one of those annoying strands of hair out of his face while he was at it. “How would you make it up to her?”

“Aw, man,” he said, and could hear his own voice coming through a little, “trust me, if I knew that one, I’d be in the doghouse for much shorter periods of time.” He looked at Lex and smiled a little, “And I’d be sure to share the information.” Pete paused for a second. “Well, with you, but not Clark. Boy needs to learn about keeping those sizes 14s out of his mouth on his own.”

Pete pulled himself up straight and shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to be helpful to Lex. Which should have been against his genetic code. “Don’t apologize unless you can clearly communicate, in detail, how and why you were wrong. Chloe hates it when people apologize just to do it.” He had learned that the hard way. “Though, if anything, I’ve learned that if she’s into you it’s easier for….”

He didn’t even bother trying to cover what he had just said. He saw Lex’s eyes narrow and there was no way that he had missed that little tidbit of information. Pete ran his left hand over his face and groaned. “Not that she wants to marry you or anything.”

‘Shut up, Ross!’

But, he couldn’t stop. He knew that by trying to ‘fix’ this, he was only making things worse.

“She just has the hots for you.” Lex had crossed his arms over his chest and merely looked up at Pete. “Please shoot me now,” Pete said in a conversational tone before walking back over to the couch. He was careful to not flop down on it and he waited for Lex’s reaction.

Lex took the information in with a pleased smirk and a very satisfied expression. He was convinced that Pete told the truth about things as he saw them. However, there was still the little issue of Vlad, that no one else knew about and needed to be taken care of. In any case it was good to know that he definitely had a stone in with Chloe if he played his cards right. “Well, I think it's time I get going. Thanks, Pete. I'll see you tomorrow.”

He left the boy sprawled on his couch and made his way out of his office and the mansion, already formulating plans in his mind as he bypassed Enrique in the hallway, giving him an acknowledging nod on his way out.

[BlueSabby]

Chloe stopped just short of slamming the front door closed. She didn’t want to risk waking her father up. Not that a marching band traipsing through the living room could do that but it would be just her luck right about now. On the way back from Lana’s she had seriously started to doubt her sanity. Why and how had she agreed to necking with Clark? Not that she would allow herself to get into that situation, but that was hardly the point.

She had driven Lex’s precious car back to the Manor at an acceptable speed and had left the keys with Enrique. He had been cordial and warm to her. To Lana, that was. And, even though it was stupid and petty, it annoyed her that even Enrique seemed to prefer the brunette over her.

Chloe just hoped that Lex wasn’t awake. She didn’t want to have to deal with his incessant, nattering questions. Plus, he was PMSing so his temper would be even shorter. She couldn’t suppress a groan when she walked into the kitchen and saw her body standing in front of the fridge.

“Your car is safely tucked away at your house. Thanks for letting me use it.” Chloe didn’t bother to fake any gratitude. She just said the words so she wouldn’t get a lecture about being rude.

Lex removed his upper body from the fridge, pulling out a carton of vanilla ice cream from the icebox on top. He didn't know why, but after about an hour of watching Sex and the City, he'd gotten an enormous craving for ice cream and a very confusing fit of female hormones that made him want to kill everything male within a five mile radius.

It had made him decide to change his tactic when dealing with pms'ing women in the future and go raid the fridge.

He turned around to face Chloe, shooting her a half smirk. “You're welcome. So what did Lana have to say? She sounded distressed on the phone,” and if that wasn't the understatement of the year Lex was going to change his Masarati for a Toyota quatro.

“She’s always distressed,” Chloe said noncommittally. Lex may be an idiot, but he had the right idea. She walked over to the counter and fished a spoon out of a drawer. Ice cream might fix her foul mood. “She needed a favor as usual.” Time to change the topic of conversation. “Did you and Pete play nice?”

Chloe sneaked a glance at Lex. He looked no worse for the wear so there hadn’t been a physical altercation. However, that didn’t mean that Pete wasn’t locked up some place for attempted murder.

Lex's brow arched at Chloe's not so smooth change of topic. “We got along quite well after the initial misunderstandings were cleared. So what did she ask of you?” If he had to, he'd play verbal pingpong until he got his answer.

It still didn't sit right with him that she had brushed him off earlier when he'd asked and he didn't like it one bit that she was obviously still trying to do the same.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she said before taking a last helping of ice cream. She could sense Lex’s gaze following her. He didn’t want to let this drop and it irritated her even more. God, he got under her skin like no one else. Why couldn’t he just take a hint and leave it the hell alone?

She turned towards the sink and rinsed off the spoon and said, “Just girl stuff is all.” There, she hadn’t ignored his question. She hadn’t answered it either, but he could just piss off.

Lex squared his jaw and jammed the lid back onto the carton. He'd lost his appetite. Why the hell couldn't she just answer his question? It wasn't like the matter could be that important. It was Lana. But still, her steadfast refusal to answer his question openly made him suspicious and raised his hackles to no end.

“Girl stuff? A little absurd, considering her current predicament, isn't it?” he put the container back into the fridge and slammed the door closed. “Why aren't you telling me?” he asked straight forward, folding his arms under his chest.

Chloe threw the spoon in the drying rack before turning around to face Lex. “How about because I don’t want to? Or, that it doesn’t concern you? Or, that it’s none of your business?” Just because he was used to everyone around him kowtowing and servicing his every whim and thought did not mean that she was about to do so.

“There is nothing in my conversation with Lana that concerns you, Lex. It has nothing to do with our current predicament or how we can get out of it so just let it go.” When he continued to look at her she said, “You can stop pouting any time now.” She knew that the situation was spiraling out of control, but she didn’t care. Lex needed to see that she wasn’t just going to lay down and obey him.

Lex couldn't believe she was making that big a deal of telling him what Lana had asked of her. If it really didn't have anything to do with their situation, why would Lana need Chloe's help at all? It all just didn't add up, especially taking into consideration the stubbornness with which Chloe defended herself. Unless...

“I think it does. If it wasn't important, you wouldn't be so hell bent on keeping it a secret. If it didn't have to do with our current predicament, she would not have asked you, since she could have demanded the favor of everyone if it didn't make a difference in the situation and therefore would have run to Clark.” He walked closer to Chloe, purposely crowding her personal space. “I think that you don't want to tell me, because Lana asked something completely ridiculous and you caved to her and now you don't have the guts to admit it.”

Chloe was sure not to react to Lex’s last statement. Putting aside the fact that he was right, Chloe was still angry at him. “You know you can’t intimidate me with my own body, don’t you?” She stood up straighter, yet was sure not to lay a hand on him. She wasn’t sure how he would react to that. “It may work when you’re a good eight inches taller than someone, but it’s not really making me shake in my boots right about now.”

“I also think by now that you know that I would never tell you what we discussed.” She tilted her chin up, defiantly. “You’ve pissed me off so I’m not in a sharing mood.”

Lex snorted derisively. “How convenient. On a second thought, I don't know why I'm making the effort to ask you for a straight answer. You're just too obstinate for your own good.” He held his hands up, signaling that this discussion was over for him. “If you're looking for me, I'll be upstairs, on the phone.” He shot over his shoulder, making his way towards the stairs leading from the kitchen to the second level.

Chloe held her tongue as he left the room. She didn’t want to make things worse than they already were. She expelled a long breath and decided to stay downstairs for awhile. She didn’t want to run the risk of running into Lex again. Her blood pressure couldn’t take it.

Lex barely squashed the childish urge to slam the door shut behind him and strode straight for the phone. He was going to find out what the hell was going on one way or another. Of course he would have liked it better if Chloe had told him than having to play nice with Lana, but if it had to be that way, fine.

He picked up the phone and was about to punch in the first digit on instinct, when he remembered that it was the wrong one. He'd have called Lana's usual number, which would have ended up making the downstairs phone ring.

Exhaling an annoyed breath, he dialed 411 instead, and asked to be connected to Judge Ross' home phone.

Lex waited not so patiently as the monotone beep sounded once, twice, thrice. Click. Finally.

Abigail Ross was at the end of her rope. If her son did one more stupid thing this week, she would soon be appearing before one of her coworkers for attempted murder. First, he wrecked his suit. And, just a few minutes ago, he had flooded the bathroom. He claimed to have not remembered that taking a bath would do that, but how could he not? They’d been through this same plumbing order two months ago. She’d really have to look into seeing if he was on something. And then, she’d have to get some for herself.

She took a deep breath before answering the phone. “Hello?” She hoped it wasn’t anything work related, she still had to clean up the bathroom and talk to her husband about their problematic son.

“Judge Ross, this is...Chloe, can I speak to Pete for a minute? It's really important.” Lex didn't waste any time with pleasantries. His mood was fast approaching pissed and he didn't want to blow his cover of concerned friend by ripping Lana's head off if she wasn't forthcoming with information on the spot.

“Hello, Chloe,” Abigail said. Well, at least it wasn’t for her. However, there was no way she would allow Pete his phone privileges after what he had done. “I’m sure it’s important, however, I can’t let you speak with Pete. In addition to not being allowed out of the house, he’s now not allowed on the phone.” As she spoke, she wiped down the kitchen counter.

'WHAT?' Lex took a calming breath, trying to switch tactics. “Mrs. Ross I'm sure that whatever Pete has done requires that punishment, but it's actually about school. I think we're having a pop quiz tomorrow and I would really need his help,” his hand latched onto a ballpoint pen close by and he started turning it between his fingers, hoping that the woman would let him talk to 'her son' on the pretense of an educational purpose.

“Well, Chloe, you’re going to have to call one of your other friends for help, I’m afraid.” Abigail really did like Chloe and didn’t want to turn her away, but she also surmised that it was Chloe who would be helping Pete and she was just being a good friend. “And, if Pete is not up to date enough to do well on the quiz than he’ll just have to suffer the consequences.”

'Fuck' Lex had the urge to bury the tip of the pen an inch deep in the wooden surface of the desk, but kept his smile in place non the less. “Mrs. Ross, it won't take longer than five minutes, I swear. Pete is the only one I really know that shares the class with me and I don't wanna call someone else and look completely stupid for taking the wrong notes...”

She was always impressed with how smooth a talker Chloe was, but Abigail wasn’t about to budge. This would also teach Pete that his actions sometimes had repercussions for other people as well. “Honey, I’m sorry to have to do this to you, but I can’t allow Pete to come to the phone.” She looked at her watch and realized that she was behind schedule. “And, now, I must apologize again for hanging up on you but there is some laundry that needs my immediate attention. I hope you get ahold of one of your classmates, sweetie, I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

Lex grit his teeth and mentally threw his hands up in the air. “I don't think so, but if you say, I'll have to live with the bad grade then...and my dad's reaction,” he sighed. This was his last ditch effort. He really hated being in this position. If it had been Lex Luthor calling instead of Chloe Sullivan, he was sure that he'd have been put through without question.

If it had been anyone else, she may have relented and let her son come to the phone. However, she knew Chloe too well to actually believe that Pete was the only one that could help her and that she had no one else to call. Besides, if Gabe ever put his foot down where the girl was concerned, she had never seen it.

“I’ll have Pete find you before school,” she said. “Goodnight, Chloe. Good luck.” She put the phone on the cradle and stared at it. That one was slippery and would make a damn fine wife one day. If any man could handle her, that was.

Lex put the phone back down and glared at the wall in front of him. Incredible. She'd just brushed him off and hung up. Impossible. He threw the pen down and started pacing the room. Obviously, the universe was having a fun time at his expense.

Chloe would probably be rancid and short with him for heaven only knew how long, he wouldn't be able to coax the secret out of Lana until he got her alone the next time, some imbecile was residing inside his body and would have a very important board meeting in only five days time, his hormones were going haywire on him and the fucking cramps hadn't stopped and gotten worse instead with every hour that passed.

He stopped pacing right in front of the bed and flopped listlessly onto the mattress. He was not going to cry dammit!

Instead he balled up, stuffing a pillow against his stomach and hoping that this situation was reversed to normal as soon as fucking possible.

~~~~
The car ride to school had been silent. They had both put on a front for Gabe, pretending nothing was amiss between them, and Lex appeared to be able to fool her father quite well. When they had left the house, however, the false smiles had dropped off of their faces and they hadn’t said a word to one another.

Chloe knew that Lex was in a bad mood, but she also thought it had to do with the fact that her womanly cycle had made its appearance and he now had to deal with it first hand. ‘Serves him right,’ she thought as she shut her car door and walked into the school with Lex at her side.

Instead of leaving, the cramps had gotten worse over the night and in addition, Lex was now bleeding like a slaughtered animal. All in all, this day sucked and it didn't look like it would be better any time soon. Like he had expected Chloe was playing the roll of ice-queen, gearing for her first Academy Award.

He had no idea how he had pulled off a smiling face and perky attitude in front of Gabe until they'd walked out the door, but it had cracked the moment the front door had closed behind him.

He turned his gaze out the window, deciding to ignore Chloe for now and just get through the school day so he could get back to the mansion and his beloved painkillers. Of course there was also the matter of training Pete to be a passable business man. He did not look forward to that.

They had almost made it to class when Chloe heard Clark’s voice behind them. He was calling for Lana, then paused and included her name in his booming voice. Did he think that they were deaf? Lex kept on walking and Chloe said, “If we don’t stop he’s libel to tackle us.”

Lex didn’t verbally respond but he did stop and lean against the nearest wall. Clark approached both of them and it was odd to have him smiling that much in her direction. Chloe put on her best Lana demure smile and chirped. “Hey, Clark. How’s it going?”

Clark was glad to see that Lana seemed to have forgiven him. But, Chloe was still looking rather surly (he had just learned that word with one of those word a day calendars), so he just gave her a small sheepish smile and responded to Lana. “Pretty good,” he said as he shifted his books in his arms. He wanted to ask her to come by to the barn later, but he wasn’t sure if Chloe would have something to say about that.

Lex watched Clark ignore him completely, looking at 'Lana' with his usual puppy dog expression and scuffing one of his huge boots in the dirt. Pathetic, really. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he raised his head and arched an eyebrow curiously, waiting for Chloe to throw the boy a bone.

Chloe waited for Clark to speak, he seemed to be working up the courage to ask her something. ‘Oh, no.’ That could only mean one thing. He was going to come up with some farcical reason for why Lana and he should hang out alone. Which meant that he might try something with her, which meant….

“Great,” she said, enthusiastically, “Glad to hear it. But, we have to get to class so I’ll see you later.” Chloe turned on her heel before either of them could speak and started down towards their first class. She’d just have to avoid Clark for the rest of the day.

Lex sped up his step to follow Chloe's rather hurried pace, wondering why she was avoiding Clark more than usual, even for her habit. His mind was still trying to work out that puzzle piece when he heard a voice calling out her name behind him. Lex froze.

“Chloe, wait up!”

Shit, Vlad. Lex scanned the surrounding area, looking frantically for the girls’ bathroom or any other convenient place that he could disappear into where the boy wouldn't be able to follow. However, he hadn't been the only one reacting to the call. Chloe was also turning around, looking at him expectantly.

With a glare on his face, he pasted a smirk on his lips and turned around to acknowledge the boys presence.

“Vlad, hi! How are you?”

He was already working through possible escape options that wouldn't go against the promise he'd given Chloe.

“Hey, I'm good.” Vlad cast a look behind Chloe to see her brunette friend watching their conversation avidly and obviously listening to every word.

Crunching his brows together, he took Chloe by the sleeve and tried to pull her a little further away so they could speak in private. He was surprised when Chloe immediately moved her eyes to the place he was touching her and removed her arm from his grip.

“So...” He was a bit confused by her behavior, but soldiered on none the less. “How did the interview with Mr. Luthor go?”

‘Interview with Mr. Luthor?’ Chloe supposed that it was possible that Lex had told Vlad about their interview for the Torch yesterday. However, there seemed to be some sort of under riding current between the two of them that she couldn’t put her finger on.

It was almost imperceptible, but Lex had turned his eyes towards her an infinitesimal amount. He was trying to gauge her reaction to the news. So, it meant that this conversation was something that Lex was worried about in regards to her. The important question was why.

Lex focused his mind back on Vlad and tried to keep the conversation as vague as possible. He cursed himself inwardly for having cut a glance at Chloe at the loaded question.

“It was good, the usual you know. Business function being a good PR and the likes, a fun filled afternoon.” His voice was laced with sarcasm, but he made sure his body language conveyed a different message entirely, running his hand up his stomach and looking off into the distance.

However, he swiftly changed the topic, hoping to distract not only Vlad's but also Chloe's attention.

“Anyway, I think I should get going. Math first period and I haven't taken a single look at the book last night. See you later?”

Even though Lex’s tone and words to Vlad weren’t anything inflammatory, the look on her kinda boyfriend’s face was as if he had just eaten a slice of roadkill. Chloe watched as Vlad merely nodded at Lex before he walked off in the direction of his first class.

She sincerely doubted that Lex was going to be forthcoming with any pertinent information so after he left, she approached a still frozen in place Vlad. He was looking after Lex, watching him closely.

“Everything ok, Vlad?” She hoped that her voice conveyed concern but wasn’t too annoying. She realized her mistake when his head whipped in her direction and he glared at her. Of course he wouldn’t like Lana after everything she had told him.

With a terse, “It’s fine, Lana,” Vlad stalked off to class.

Chloe’s rage came to her full force. This was retribution for what had happened last night and she didn’t appreciate it one bit. Lex had given his word that he wouldn’t fuck this up for her and it appeared that he had gone back on it. What was worse was that she didn’t have any proof that he was doing that.

She’d have to redouble her research efforts to ensure that they got back to their own bodies before things got worse between her and Vlad. As she walked to her other class, Chloe wondered why it was that Lex didn’t want to see her happy.

He had somehow survived math and history without getting into trouble, ignoring the outside world as much as possible while still appearing to pay attention.

“You've got to be kidding,” slipped unbidden from his mouth as he looked at the next class on his schedule.

Physical Education. There was just no way in hell he'd be doing anything even approaching strenuous feeling like a stuffed turkey and bleeding like a slaughtered swine.

He walked up to the teacher before class officially started and tried to set his case.

“Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to actively attend today.”

Coach Lampos looked at her grade book. “That’s fine, Sullivan. Just bear in mind that this incomplete gym period will push you over the allowed limit. Thereby affecting your grade.” She didn’t have any tolerance for kids that thought that a little physical activity was beneath them just because they were smart.

'Fuck' He mentally cursed Chloe and switched tactics. “Coach, I'm really not feeling well. I got my period today and I can barely walk straight, let alone balance on anything or jump over obstacles.”

Ah, the old standby excuse. If she had a nickel for every time she heard that one, she’d have been able to retire years ago. “I understand and sympathize with that, Sullivan. But the rules of this class were explained to you the first day. I can’t bend them just for you. Now, either suit up or go and join the rest of the people not participating today.” Coach Lampos pointed over to the bleachers were various other students were sitting and milling about.

Gritting his teeth, Lex turned around and walked back to the locker rooms. Chloe was going to owe him for this, and he'd make sure she paid in full.

Switching into the bright yellow and red shirt and shorts, he sneered in disgust at the hideous outfit. He didn't even look at anyone else the entire time and stepped up into the line without removing his eyes from the floor, trying to focus on suppressing the physical discomfort. 'Oh yeah, you owe me, big time'.

Clark had been waiting for Chloe outside of the girls’ locker room for about ten minutes now. Usually, she was one of the first out of there. Loudly complaining about how doing fifty pushups a day was not physical education. Now, however, he was fairly certain that the locker room was empty. Taking a cursive look around, he used his x-ray vision and picked out one last skeleton lacing up her sneakers.

When she came out of the locker room, Clark pushed off from the wall he had been leaning against and said, “Ready for another day of improving our bodies?” His voice was laced with sarcasm. That was what she always called it. Clark hoped that they could talk about what had happened, or that Chloe would just forget about it. He didn’t want her mad at him forever.

Before she could answer, he cut in front of her and faced her. “Chloe, I’m sorry.” When she just stared at him, he went on. “Even though we’re friends, I know that it’s only my business who you’re, um, involved with if you make it so. I shouldn’t have gotten that crazy. I apologize. And, um, as for the Torch….” He didn’t know how to go on. “I should have knocked.”

Lex simply didn't have the energy to deal with an apologetic Clark at the moment. The boy could get way over board when it came to getting people to forgive him and the last thing Lex wanted was to drag this out any longer than necessary. “Just don't do it again and keep your nose out of other people’s business,” he growled.

Ignoring Clark for now, he positioned himself somewhere off the congealed crowd where he could still catch everything the coach would say but maybe keep active participation to a minimum.

Clark walked after Chloe, feeling much better now that she had forgiven him. All he had to do was talk to Lana now and things would be ok. Then again, there was Lex, too. He got the impression that the man hadn’t been pleased with the way he had handled the situation at the party, either. He sighed, realizing that he still had a lot of work to do.

He zoned out as the Coach explained what they were supposed to do today. It was just rope climbing. They did it every few weeks and were timed to see if they improved throughout the semester. Clark made sure to not overdo it and make slow progress.

The look on Chloe’s face said it all. But, she always looked like that when they had to do this particular exercise. Her upper body strength was something less than desired and it usually frustrated her a great deal.

She always got that cute, determined look on her face that made him laugh. ‘Cute?’ Clark decided to ignore that thought.

Lex's jaw clenched harder as he heard the verdict. Ropeclimbing. It wasn't an easy feat for his usual body and considering his current predicament, he didn't even want to imagine the repercussions. It was a good thing he knew the right technique, so he hoped he'd be able to do it without too much pain and then just hang back for the rest of class.

Cutting a glance at the farmboy, he caught sight of a doofy smile and a very peculiar look that he did not like at all. He turned away with a sneer, wondering why he had the sudden urge to deck Clark, simply for existing. Sure their friendship had been strained for a while now, and it wasn't made better by the foot in mouth disease that Clark seemed to have a chronic case of, but he never had really felt the need for physical violence before.

The teacher called Chloe's name and Lex stepped up to the rope with a glare.

Wrapping his hands firmly around the rope, held on and jumped up. Excruciating pain raced through his midsection, but he tried to will it away and focused on placing his feet in the right position. His left leg wrapped around the rope, his right one supporting it from underneath and acting as a stopper. Taking a deep breath he tried to shift his weight to his arms and lift his feet. Instead, his hands lost grip and slid down the rough hemp robe, slicing his skin in the process and sending him falling backwards on his ass with a painful yell.

“GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!”

When Clark saw what was going to happen, he knew that he couldn’t chance anything but grabbing Chloe before she hit the ground. Afterwards, however, was a different story. As she continued to curse a blue streak while looking at her hands, Clark gently drew her to her feet. He tried to get a look at her hands but when he reached for them, she pulled away from him.

“Sullivan,” Coach Lampos said as she approached the girl and her friend, “let me see them.” Her tone brooked no argument.

She looked at the girl’s hands, all the while with Sullivan glaring and muttering under her breath, not that she had expected anything different, and said, “Change and go to the Nurse.” She saw Kent start to open his mouth. “She can handle it alone, Kent. And, Sullivan, I had better not hear that kind of language again.”

Lex glared at the coach and nodded silently, leaving the gym without touching anything. 'Get changed' He couldn't believe it. He kicked open the door to the locker room and stormed in. “How the fuck am I supposed to get FUCKING changed with my hands sliced up like raw fucking meat!?”

He toed off his sneaker and tried to shimmy out of his shorts without using his hands too much, which wasn't necessarily an easy feat. Somehow he got his pants back on, giving an angry, pained yelp when he had to close the button and pull up the zipper.

“Fuck this shit!” He stormed out the other side of the locker rooms and into the hallway, still wearing his bright sport shirt.

Scanning the room for the first convenient victim, he tried to keep his hands away from his body.

“Hey you!” The Freshman in question turned around, eyes wide. “Where the hell is the Nurse's office?”

Kayley turned around when she heard someone practically barking at her. There was a blonde, half dressed normally with bleeding hands staring expectantly. She answered the question quickly. “Down the hall on your left. Second door from the end.” The blonde nodded and stalked away in the direction she had designated.

[BlueSabby]

He was pacing the small confines of the Torch office, glaring at Chloe's hands. Now that the burning pain was down to an uncomfortable twinge, he was once again fascinated by the difference between them and his own, much larger hands. 'More like paws if you put them in comparison.'

The Band-Aids were covering the skin almost entirely. There was one around every fingerpad, one on the inside of each palm and another one covering the side opposite the thumbs. It was scary how easily Chloe seemed to get injured. If it had been his own skin, there'd probably have been hardly a scratch. Never mind the fact that with his own body, he wouldn't have slipped off the rope in the first place.

Lex was so focused on the extremities in front of his face that he didn't even hear the knock on the door, or the steps of the person coming up behind him.

Chloe had run into Clark in the hallway. She was surprised when instead of trying to set up a date with Lana, he had asked her if she had seen ‘Chloe.’ When she had heard why, she had quickly given Clark the slip and gone to the one place where she thought he’d be hiding out.

She saw that Lex was staring at his hands, maybe willing them to heal or cursing them for how useless they were. Chloe couldn’t hazard a guess, but he was so engrossed in it that he didn’t hear her approaching.

Looking down at his, her, hands, she saw that Lex had managed to do a pretty good job at cutting them up. Her anger for him took a back seat to her concern for how he was feeling.

“You ok,” she asked.

Lex's head jerked up in surprise, immediately turning to face whoever had sneaked up on him. Realizing that it was just Chloe, he relaxed once more.

“Yeah, but I'm afraid that your hands won't be very useful for a while.” He showed her the injured appendages trying to gauge her reaction to the damage he'd done.

”Your coach made me climb up one of those ropes. I had no idea you couldn't hold your bodyweight on your arms and ended up slicing you to shreds.”

He thought she'd like to have an explanation for why her hands looked like they'd met the business end of a wood chipper. “And what is it with that attendance system? If I say I'm unfit to do sports, I mean it. There shouldn't be a rule that makes it impossible to sit out, especially for a female.”

Chloe didn’t want to point out that Lex was in the throes of what sounded exactly like one of her rants. She thought that it might add insult to injury. “Because some teenagers are raging liars who will do anything to get out of gym class. Especially when it comes to rope climbing.”

Taking a hold of one of her hands, she inspected it, being sure to stay away from the wounds. “Looks like you did a pretty good job, Lex. “That particular activity is sprung on us every now and again so people don’t purposely ditch when we have it. Had I known that you would have to do that, I would have warned you that I’m a weakling.”

She let go of her hand and sat down behind her desk, watching Lex sulk as he continued to look at the damage that was done. “They’ll heal, Lex.”

'Not as fast as they would if they were mine,' Lex thought, but didn't comment on it. “I'd rather they hadn't been injured in the first place. I'm losing enough blood as it is,” he said dryly.

It didn't matter though, because what was done was done and he couldn't change it. “So, how was your day thus far?”

As long as they were on speaking terms, he'd use it to get back in her good graces. Of course there was also the little fact that he still wanted to find out what the hell was going on between Chloe and Lana, but that could take a backseat for now.

Chloe shrugged. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to make nice with Lex, it was just that her day had been incredible boring. “It was fine. But, I’m really going to have to talk to Lana about her choice in,” she made little airquotes with her hands, “friends. Because if I have to listen to one more conversation about whether some chick should, as they put it, go all the way, with her boyfriend, I may be forced to vomit.”

She opened her top right hand draw, looking for her notes for History. “I mean, it’s just too stereotypical. That, and, well, they make fun of her to her face and I think that she hadn’t understood that.” An evil smile graced her face. “Though, they’ve gotten the point now.” She had relished the look on Kirsten’s face when she had told her that her boyfriend had already bragged out his conquest of her to the whole school so she didn’t see why the girl was stressing about doing him again.

“We’re going to have to tap Pete very soon to get the ball rolling on the damn freak scientists that may be able to help us.” She looked up at Lex as she leaned back in her chair. “I really don’t know how much longer I can take being Lana.” And, it didn’t even have to do with the fact that Clark was hot on her heels. Well, not too much, at least.

Lex nodded in agreement and joined Chloe at her desk, perching himself at the corner. It was interesting that she brought the topic of Lana back up, even though she knew it had been the reason for their blow out last night. He chose to ignore it in favor of the momentary peace. “I'm going over there this afternoon, to start his training for the conference. If you want to join us, we could make the call to the scientist as soon as he's got the basics down.”

That sounded like a good plan to her. Being with them would keep her away from Clark. “Sounds good.” She looked up at Lex. “I’m glad that you two are able to get along.” It was amazing, really, that Lex hadn’t strangled Pete after what he had pulled the other day. Now, if only she and Lex could come to some sort of understanding as well. She wanted to ask him about Vlad but knew that it would only make things worse.

The compatible silence between them was broken as Lana swept into the room. She closed the door behind her and let out a sigh of relief. “I am so glad to see you two.” For once, she wasn’t just being polite. Being Pete and keeping up with his Cro-Magnon friends was very difficult. As was the fact that she had no freedom at the Ross house.

She looked over at Chloe and said, “I heard that you called. Sorry that his mom wouldn’t let me talk to you. I kinda flooded the bathroom.”

Chloe’s brows drew together, she hadn’t called….. She looked sharply over at Lex, while explaining to Lana, “If Pete’s mom said that I called it means that Lex actually wanted to talk to you about something.” She couldn’t even really act surprised by that move. Of course Lex would go and try to pry information out of Lana when she didn’t give it to him.

Lex didn't even bother to be chagrined about this. He'd basically told Chloe that he was going to talk to Lana and get the information from her. Who else would he be calling in his current predicament?

Reverting his attention back to Lana, he decided to go for it openly. “I was trying to reach you last night, hoping that you would clear up a situation that wasn't coming to a reasonable conclusion.” At Lana's confused look at his choice of words he sighed and put it more simply. “I wanted to know why you asked Chloe away yesterday and why she didn't seem too happy when she came back from your meeting.”

Lana looked between Chloe and Lex and caught the glares that were being traded back and forth. She didn’t want to get in the middle of it, but that seemed impossible. She thought about which one of them she was more scared of before answering the implied questions.

Sure, Lex was all powerful and might just have more money than God. However, she found that he always helped her out for no discernable reason so he was fairly easy to get around. Chloe, on the other hand, well, she had to live with her once this thing was all over. And, Lana was a pretty deep sleeper. She didn’t want to think about what the other girl could do to her if she so chose to.

Plus there was the fact that Chloe had just agreed to help her with Clark. And, while she didn’t see what the big deal about that was, she sensed that Chloe didn’t want Lex to know about it.

Her decision made, she said, “I needed Chloe’s help on something personal.” At least she didn’t have to lie when answering Lex, she knew he’d be able to pick up on that. “I asked her for a big favor and she agreed. It took some convincing, so I’m guessing that’s why she wasn’t in the best mood.”

Lana looked at Lex evenly, before glancing at Chloe. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Chloe didn’t look as if she was ready to kill her.

Lex pushed his tongue up against his teeth, trying to keep his temper in check. Lana wasn't telling him anything new and he was slowly losing his patience. However, she had stressed the word personal and he did not want to seem like an asshole for pushing, if in the end 'personal' was something referring to the female cycle and all its nasty side-effects. Giving Lana a scrutinizing look, he decided to drop the subject, for now.

“Alright,” However, he shot Chloe a look that signaled clearly that this wasn't over yet. “So, what happened yesterday that you lost Pete's phone privileges on top of getting him grounded?”

The boy would not like those news and Lex was already now debating if they should keep that piece of information from him, at least until further notice.

Chloe looked over and saw that Lana started to look uncomfortable and thought that she was blushing. This would be good.

Lana sighed. “It’s not my fault.” When she caught identical ‘oh really’ looks coming from Lex and Chloe she amended, “Ok, it’s totally my fault, but there is an explanation for it.”

She walked over to the side of the desk that Lex wasn’t perched on and sat down on it. Getting settled was a little difficult with the new equipment she was carrying and she muttered, “I don’t know how you people do this,” at Lex before beginning her story.

“Apparently,” she said, “the upstairs bathroom in Pete’s house floods if someone takes a bath. Now, they figured this out a few months ago and just kept forgetting to have a plumber come out and fix it. The whole family knew and everyone just took showers.”

“But,” Chloe said, “You didn’t know and proceeded to take a bath.” She shook her head, imaging how mad Pete’s mother would have been and the way that Lana would have tried to get out of trouble.

“Yeah,” Lana said, sheepishly. “So, um, should I tell Pete what I did or do one of you want to do it?” She looked hopefully between Lex and Chloe.

Lex jumped in before Chloe could answer the question. “Don't worry about it, Lana. We'll take care of it. Just, try to be more careful in the future, ok?”

He couldn't believe that the girl was just going through the world with huge blinders on. But if anything, this proved that it could have been worse than Pete Ross in his body. It could have been Lana Lang.

Lex suppressed the cold creeps running up his spine at that thought and turned his attention back to the Chloe. “We're going to have to see him later anyway, so that shouldn't be too big a problem.” 'As long as I'm the one presenting the news at the right moment in the right way.'

“Thank you, Lex,” Lana said. Well, she could admit that it was more of a squeal but she was too happy to care. She leaned across the desk and embraced Chloe’s body. She made sure not to squeeze too hard cause Pete was ripped. Not as much as Clark, but still.

'Squicked out' was the only decent description for the way he felt when Pete Ross body enveloped him in a crushing hug and a strangely sweet scent that didn't fit at all.

“It's alright,” he patted the boy's back awkwardly, remind himself that this was Lana, but somehow that didn't help. He slowly backed away and got up from his spot on the desk. “Ok, I guess we should get going, because,” he spared a quick glance on his watch. “According to your schedule,” he looked at Chloe, “We have home ec in ten minutes. Even though I have no idea how I'm supposed to cook without using my hands.”

~~~~~
Lex’s new disabled status ended up directly affecting Chloe. The class’s assignment was to make an apple pie from scratch with a partner. Lex looked over at her and sweetly smiled. Chloe groaned, realizing that she was going to have to do all of the slicing, dicing, stirring and cooking while Lex read the instructions. But, she had no doubt that he’d make them seem like orders.

She slid off of her stool and walked over to where all of the ingredients for the various assignments were kept. She had to wait about a minute before the rest of her classmates got out of her way. She grabbed the flour, butter, lemons and cinnamon. She’d be forced to go back for the two different kinds of sugar that she needed along with the apples. Chloe wasn’t Vishnu and couldn’t possibly carry all of it in one trip.

Thankfully, one of the numerous donations that Lex had made to the school had gone to making a state of the art home ec room. There were numerous refrigerators, ovens and various electric cooking utensils. That way, they wouldn’t have to share with any other students.

Lex watched Chloe place the ingredients on the table and started going through the contents of the book, noting that the recipe wasn't too difficult.

“Ok, you got the eggs, butter, flour, where's the salt?”

He pushed the measuring cup towards her with the back of his hand, reading the instructions for the next step already.

"2 cups of the flour and half a teaspoon of the salt first, then add half a stick butter. Stir until it's creamy.”

Without speaking, Chloe followed Lex’s instructions. She looked around the room at the various pairs of people that were working. If there was a guy and a girl, she noticed that the women were doing the cooking while their boyfriends or partners told them what to do. Maybe she’d get some sort of article out of that.

Chloe added the water, making sure that it was ice cold and watched until the dough pulled together. Then, she stuck it in the fridge as she moved onto making the filling for the pie.

She picked out the sharpest knife that she could, hoping that it would aid in the fact that she’d have to do all of the slicing herself. She started to cut up the apples as Lex watched her.

Lex watched her starting to slice the apples in jerky movements, pulling the knife towards her body instead of away. If she kept going like this, Lana's fingers would soon look the same as her own.

“If you cut the apples in half, then make several long slices in the skin, you can peel it off easier....without risking to chop off your finger in the process,” he commented helpfully.

She knew that Lex was just trying to be helpful and make sure she didn’t lose any of her fingers, but it still annoyed her for some reason. Adjusting to Lana’s moodswings was not going to be easy as she originally thought. She didn’t comment, but she started cutting in the way that Lex suggested. It wasn’t worth getting into a fight over.

After washing her hands of the sticky apple juice that had formed on her hands, Chloe picked up one of the sauté pans and swirled the butter around in it until it browned. She added about a quarter of the sliced apples, realizing that she’d have to do this three more times and waited for them to soften.

Lex went to retrieve the lemons and the different colored sugar, trying to balance everything on his forearm, instead of his hands. Dropping the ingredients, he cursed as he had to catch one before it fell of the end of the table.

“Fuck!” He pulled his hand back, glaring at the offending fruit. “You have to press the lemons and mix the juice with the sugar and cinnamon.”

While he'd been at the ingredient cupboard, he'd valiantly looked for a bottle of Southern Comfort. “It's a shame they won't let you add the Comfort, it really spices up the taste.”

Lex wasn’t pouting about the lack of alcohol, exactly. Chloe would more place the look on his face as being crestfallen. He hadn’t had the best day either and she had to admit that that would add some spice to their pie.

In some of her investigating she had stumbled across scandals that she didn’t feel needed to be exposed to the public. One of these things was the fact that the teacher’s lounge was chock full of alcohol. It was hidden quite well, but it was still there. Chloe knew that she’d need a drink to deal with the kids everyday, so she had let it slip.

“I’ll be right back,” she murmured, and then quietly walked out of the room.

Lex's eyebrows rose in question as Chloe slipped out of the room, leaving him standing alone at their table. Seeing that the teacher was making her rounds and already throwing a suspicious look in his direction, he grit his teeth and slowly picked up the dark sugar, spilling it into the measuring cup. After he'd poured the sugar into the mixing bowl, he repeated the action with the white one. However, he drew the line at pressing out the lemons.

He wondered just what the hell Chloe was up to, now, just when she reentered the classroom, a suspicious bulge under her shirt.

Silently and without fanfare, Chloe pulled the bottle out of her shirt and poured out the correct amount in a measuring cup before adding it to the mixture. She was glad to see that Lex had steered clear of the lemons. She almost expected his stubbornness to overrule his good sense.

Exiting the room as quickly as she had entered it, she walked back to the teacher’s lounge and replaced the bottle. When she got back, she squeezed the lemon juice out of the lemons and then added that to the cinnamon, alcohol and sugars. She dipped her finger in for a taste. Uncertain if it was good or bad, she repeated the action, letting the taste permeate her mouth.

Lex watched her dispassionately taste the concoction, until she did it a second time around, this time, leaving the finger in her mouth and starting to suck on it. He wasn't sure, but to him it seemed like a deliberate tease and his mind and body were firing on two different synapses. Knowing that this was Chloe, his mind started to come up with a barrage of wicked ideas, replacing the brunette girl next to him with the blonde spitfire that should be standing there. That caused a nervous smile to twitch at his lips as his mind created the most intriguing fantasies in colorful mental pictures.

On the same page, his body seemed to be completely unaffected by the teasing and the silent moan Chloe gave as the taste of the liquid seemed to hit. This diachronism between his mind and body was a little disconcerting and definitely annoying.

“If you're done fellating your finger, we can add the egg and move on to caramelizing the apples.”

Lex’s comment drew stares from the two soccer players that were standing behind him at the time he spoke. They looked from her, to Lex, and then back again before one whispered something to his friend. The two started to laugh and she glared at Lex.

“Can you please not let your mind wander into the gutter right now?” Chloe grabbed the apples off of the counter and added them to the pan. She couldn’t believe Lex’s reaction to what she had done. Especially since he was in her body. She didn’t want to think about that right now. It was just too weird.

She worked silently as she went between the four different pans of caramelizing the apples. Chloe did her best to ignore Lex. It was difficult being that he was standing right at her elbow. “Can you please make yourself useful? Go get me the dough, ok?”

Lex left her standing at the stove and went to get the dough from the fridge. Paying attention to not touch the bowl with the inside of his hands too much, he balanced it carefully on his forearm once more and turned around to go back to their table.

Instead he barraged full on into someone who'd just come from the opposite direction. The first thing he became aware of where to large warm hands, holding him firmly by his upper arms, then a pleasant, musky smell invading his nose.

“Hey, careful Sullivan,” the deep voice sent shivers down his spine and made something inside his body twinge in a very familiar, but strange way. 'Oh no,'

“You alright?” The arousal got worse and it wasn't helping at all that the smell was still there, even as the boy in front of him took a step back to look down at him, rubbing Chloe's arms, but not releasing them.

Lex was pissed. Chloe's body was only reacting to the stimulus, he knew that, but it was him inside this body and that had to mean something, damnit!

“I'm alright, let me through!” He passed the boy and strode back to the table, slamming the bowl with the dough back on the table. His mood was officially spoiled, even if his body to decided to stay horny against his commands.

He was a Luthor, he was in control and this body was not going to dictate his behavior. There was also the niggling sense of doubt. He'd been close to his own body only yesterday and even though it was currently not himself residing in there, shouldn't there have been a reaction if Chloe was really attracted to him like Pete said?

Then again, they'd stayed at a regular distance, and Pete hadn't behaved anywhere near the way Lex usually did, so that could be an explanation. And on another thought, Lex did not really plan on cozying up to the boy just to prove a theory.

Chloe was leaning against the counter and watching Lex snap at Wade while she shook her head. She was really going to have to do some damage control once they were switched back. Wade watched her body walk off, confusion clearly written on his face.

As Chloe put the helping of apples into the dough, she asked, “Do I even want to know what that was about?”

Lex just sneered and shook his head. “Ok, preheat the oven to 375, then you can put the first half of the dough into the tin. Oh and put a little butter into the tin first, that makes it less sticky later.”

She dropped the topic of conversation, realizing that Lex was in no mood to discuss anything. They worked silently for the rest of the period. What sucked most was that you couldn’t even eat what you had made, the class period wasn’t long enough. So, they’d have to come by after school to get their pie. Well, at least Lex would have something to give Pete when he told him that he was pretty much going to be a prisoner in his own home indefinitely when they got switched back.
~~~~

The way over to the Manor had been rather silent. Chloe was able to reason with Lex to let her drive the car, but he was definitely in a mood. And, she could tell he was thinking on something as well. The two coupled together made for a distinctly unchatty Lex. Though, she thought it could also have to do with the fact that they were now on their way to see Pete.

Chloe had been able to avoid Clark for the rest of the day, which was a plus. However, she was still unsettled by Lex’s conversation with Vlad. Something was up and she would damn well find out what it was.

When Enrique shepherded them into Lex’s office, Chloe couldn’t help but smile at the sight that greeted her. Pete was really trying. She could see the mountains of papers that were on his desk with notes in the margins, post-its stuck to them and what she assumed was a dictionary so he could decipher the words that he didn’t recognize.

Currently, he was muttering under his breath about something. He had nodded curtly at Enrique as Lex always did, but as soon as the man was out of sight, he went back to the papers. “Just one more minute,” he said, looking up at Chloe and Lex.

Lex's eyebrow arched high and a slight smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth. This was definitely the best impersonation of himself Pete had managed so far. Obviously the boy had taken his word to heart. Of course there was the slight fact that Lex still had something on him that Pete thought he could use at any time.

Letting the boy take his time, he walked over to the couch and got comfortable. When he saw Chloe trying to venture closer to Pete he made eye contact and shook his head. If they wanted to get this right, the reactions in between each other would have to be fitting, too. Chloe might have been able to invade Pete's personal space any time she liked, but she knew better than to do that with him, so she'd have to learn to treat Pete in his body the same way.

Understanding Lex’s point, Chloe backed away from Pete and cleared one of the chairs off before sitting down on it. The huge books were on tax laws and, for the first time, she felt bad for Pete. Being Lex for the next few days was not going to be easy. Pete often got stressed out when there was something that he felt he couldn’t handle. Studying his face, Chloe didn’t see any of the tell tale signs.

‘Interesting,’ she thought. Maybe it was because Pete didn’t have a choice in this. He needed to pull this off or else. Then again, it could be that being a Luthor upped your confidence inherently. Pete finished scribbling something down, ran a hand over his face and then addressed Lex.

“I can now say, having evaluated all of this crap,” he swung his arm around to indicate the papers on his desk, “that being you is not as advantageous as I originally imagined.”

Lex chuckled wryly and got up to approach Pete at his desk. “Well, unlike you, I had years to get used to it. You got it dumped in your lap over night, so I'm surprised you handle it as well as you do.”

He leaned over the desktop to glance over the various notes and papers scattered on the surface. The chaos had system and it obviously worked for Pete, so he was willing to turn a blind eye on the tohuwabohu that was his desk.

“Anything in particular that you have a problem with?”

Pete looked over his desk and tried to prioritize what he needed the most help with. He knew most of the material, after spending hours going through the papers and rewriting them in actual English.

The biggest concern he had were the other men in the room. Sure, he had looked up their bios and memorized them, but you couldn’t get the information that usually came in handy off of the net.

“I’d like to know more about your board. The interplay that happens at these meetings. Who you consider an ally, if anyone? And how I should keep the VP in his chair and in his place would also be helpful. Things like that.” The actual itinerary for the meeting was straight forward, the wild cards were the men in the room and Pete wanted as much ammunition as was possible.

Lex nodded and grabbed for a paper. “Ok, let start simple. You probably got their names on the internet and a bit of basic information.” He picked up a pen and sketched a rough long square onto it while he waited for confirmation from Pete.

Pete nodded. “Name, rank, serial number.” He shuffled some of the papers around and found the folder with all of the info, including pictures, that he had been able to find. “Where they were educated, how long they’ve been on the board, where they’ve worked previously, stuff like that.”

Lex was impressed. The boy had definitely done his homework. It would make things easier. “Good. They all have their assigned places at the table, so it's going to make it a little easier for you to keep them sorted out.” He started scribbling down the names, making a simple X on the right short side of the square to indicate his, or rather Pete's place. Nine members where sitting to his right, nine to his left. “Ok now the first to your right is Bill Carter. I told you before that he's the guy you have to watch out for.” He underlined Bill's name, then wrote down the next. “If he starts getting out of line, just remind him that the position of VP is an honor, not a birthright. Make it sound like a joke, but he'll get it.”

Chloe watched as Pete looked at the piece of paper. She was sure that he was unaware that his eyes had narrowed as he stared at Bill Carter’s name. He was really beginning to imitate Lex. It was kind of scary.

A Lexlike chuckle resonated in the room as Lex wrote the next name. “Calvin Hobbes?” Pete looked up at Lex. “Poor schmuck.”

Lex couldn't help the grin. “Yeah, but try not to laugh if it comes up. His parents were flower children, he's kind of touchy about the whole thing.” Lex scribbled down the next few names. “Now the next one, you'll never have a problem with. Arlene Hutchins. Head of the financial department, smiles a lot and in general a very reasonable person. If she says something goes, it goes, if she says it doesn't, don't object.”

By now, Pete had all of the files on the board members out on the table. He took notes on what Lex was saying. ‘No comic jokes,’ was scrawled across Hobbes’s face and ‘Cool chick’ was on Hutchins’s.

While she was amazed at the new level of amicability between the two men, Chloe was quickly wondering why she had wasted her time coming over here. Then again, being in a room with other people meant not getting cornered by Clark. She just hoped that they’d wrap this up soon. Or, maybe she’d just sneak out and take a tour of the Manor.

“Ok, next is Earl Perry, rarely opens his mouth and likes to nod along. He's a yes man and always agrees with my opinion. I'm thinking of having him removed.” He went right on with the list. “Georgette Pencie, PR. She's worth her weight in gold. Just don't let her book you for anything in the next few weeks, no matter what it is. Say you have to go through your personal schedule first and that she should send you an email if it's anything important.”

He watched Chloe out of the corner of his eyes, noticing that she was already picking Lana's nails and suppressing a yawn. She didn't realize that he'd need her help later when it came to practical training.

“Mario Gonzales, Winston Clippare, Edward Greene and Norton Francis, they're privately good friends and if you have one of them, you got them all, if you loose one, you loose them all. Just try to leave them alone and if they want anything, tell them to put their suggestions on your table and you'll get back to them personally. That'll smooth all ruffled feathers and make them feel important.”

Pete added a big ‘Yes’ to Perry’s face, drew a heart around Pencie’s name and then stapled the four pieces of paper together that represented the rest of that side of the table. He’d remember their names, but didn’t think anything else was important about them.

“Got it,” he said and then added. “Go on, I’m up to speed.”

One side of the table down, one to go. Lex started on the bottom from left to right. “Ok, Sharon Gorman, she's a bit of a tricky case, because she's had a thing for me ever since she started at Luthor Corp. Try to not acknowledge her too much, but don't pay too little attention either. Play it smooth.” He looked at Pete, hoping to see understanding on the boys face as to what he meant. He really had no idea how to explain the workings of his charm in detail.

Frankly, he was surprised that Lex would have someone on his board that had any personal feelings for him. He seemed to want to keep the spheres of his life as clear cut as possible. Lex was waiting for an answer and he said, “Be polite and friendly but not overly so. Don’t ignore her but don’t encourage her. She makes a good point, acknowledge it but be sure not to spend too much time on her.” Pete could do smooth…theoretically speaking.

“Why am I not surprised that you’ve got some woman who has the hots for you on your board?” Chloe had meant to mutter the words, but they came out much louder than intended. But, really, it would be so like Lex to have to have some damn imbecile there to fawn all over him.

For some reason that he couldn’t explain, Pete found himself defending Lex. “Chloe, I’m sure it’s not his fault that the woman likes him or that he put her on the board for that reason. If anything, it would make it more difficult to work with her. Not wanting to encourage her while still being fair about her ideas.”

Lex was still trying to get to grips with the fact that he'd just been defended by Peter Ross. The same boy who'd been the first to speak against his case whenever the possibility arose, when his attention was snatched again by Chloe's snide retort.

“You are defending him?” Chloe really couldn’t believe it. Of all of the times for Pete to take his head out of his ass, he was going to choose now? “I’m sorry,” she said, “did hell just freeze over?”

“If it bothers you so much, I can assure you that I did not put her on the board because of her interest in me. She's head of the research department, has enough titles in front of her name to blow any margin and doesn't insist on being referred to by any of them. She was widely responsible for the new organically enhanced fertilizer that is saving millions in production and getting better results than the chemical product of our competition. That is the only reason I put her in the position she's in now, if you don't believe me, feel free to do some research yourself,” he responded coolly, keeping his gaze locked on Chloe's.

This was not good. Pete could clearly see that neither of them was going to back down. While he would usually be overjoyed at Chloe being mad at Luthor, he needed the man now. Besides, even though he would be hard pressed to admit it out loud, he was on Lex’s side in this one. His hand quickly made its way to the intercom. What he was about to do would get him deeper into trouble with Chloe, and while he loved some girl on girl catfight action as much as the next guy, they didn’t have time for this.

“Enrique, please come to the study.” Pete knew to instruct the man to do so, not to ask. He saw both Chloe and Lex turn to him, with questioning and threatening looks on their faces. Chloe’s would only get worse when she saw what she was in for.

Enrique had been expecting the call already. Something had been off ever since the morning after the festivities and Master Lex had been behaving very oddly indeed. It didn't surprise him that Miss Sullivan would have caught onto that fact as well and was now bothering his employer with incessant questions. The girl could be so nice if she only learned to leave the journalist at the doorstep when entering the house.

He opened the study doors to find the woman in question leaning over the desk next to his employer glaring at a very irritated Miss Lang sitting on a chair close by.

“Sir?”

‘Best to get this over with quickly,’ Pete thought. “Enrique, Ms. Lang,” Pete nodded over at where Chloe was now shooting him daggers, “mentioned that she is now ready for the tour of the tapestries that the two of you have discussed at length in the past.”

He didn’t bother to look over at Chloe. Lex wouldn’t, he would just dismiss Lana as he saw fit. “I think that now would be the optimal time to do so as I finish up here with Ms. Sullivan.” Pete let some annoyance, amusement and a hint of teasing enter his voice as he used Chloe’s last name. He didn’t even know if Lex was aware of the strange tone he used when addressing Chloe in this manner.

The only reason that Chloe didn’t start to pummel Pete was because she knew that Enrique would have her thrown out and then barred from ever returning to the Manor. Otherwise she’d be on him like white on rice. ‘Fucking tapestries?’ Chloe wasn’t surprised that Lana found something so inane fascinating, but she had no intention of being bored into a coma just because Pete didn’t want her and Lex to have it out. And, she’d analyze that little tidbit later.

“I can wait here until you two finish up. I don’t mind,” she seethed out the words and knew that she sounded very unLanalike but really couldn’t have cared less.

Enrique's face stayed impassive, but he was surprised at Miss Lang's reaction. Very odd, indeed. He would have expected that kind of answer from Chloe Sullivan, but this was completely out of character for Lana Lang. She would never pass up the opportunity to do something she was interested in when she was obviously not involved somewhere to begin with.
“If you allow, I am certain that you will enjoy the tour much more. It seems Mr. Luthor and Miss Sullivan have important business to attend to that will only steal from time that could be much better spent.”

He walked up to Lana, placing himself between her and the couple at the desk, gesturing towards the doors. “If you will follow me, it will be a pleasure to show you the hidden treasures of this quite historical place.”

Chloe’s hands were fisted at her side and she felt Lana’s nails painfully dig into her flesh. But, she didn’t care. She was too busy planning Pete’s untimely and very painful death. But, she’d wait until they were all safely tucked back into their own bodies. That way she could make it look like a murder/suicide and kill Lex, too.

She had to fight the strong urge to bat Enrique’s hand away from her as she was led out of the room. Chloe almost lost it completely when she saw Lex and Pete smirking at one another. ‘Fuck this, fuck tapestries and fuck them.’

Lex watched Chloe's furious stomp, that somehow looked very ridiculous in Lana's body. He turned back to Pete as soon as the door closed and smirked. “You realize you just got yourself deeper into trouble?”

He'd dropped the pen for the moment and was shaking out his hands, gritting his teeth against the pain that had started to blossom as soon as he'd started writing onto the paper. As long as he hadn't touched anything, his hands had been fine and with everything else going on, he'd completely forgotten about his injuries. That was taking its toll now.

Pete focused on Lex’s hands and noticed that they were tightly bandaged. He wondered how it had happened but instead answered Lex’s question, “I’m sure that I have but I didn’t want things between the two of you to go from bad to worse.” Pete picked up the pen, hoping that Lex wouldn’t make a big deal out of it and asked, “So, who’s next?”

Lex's eyebrow rose slowly at Pete's action, but he decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth, or two, or three. The guy seemed to be getting soft towards him.

“Jacob Muncie,” he answered slowly, giving Pete time to write down the name. “He's the silent type. Only speaks when spoken too, but he's a brilliant brain. This meeting isn't about a prospective take over, so you don't need to put your focus on him.”

Lex wanted to finish this up quickly, so they could get to the actual training, before Chloe was too pissed off by the fact that she'd had to watch tapestries while the guys were talking business. He only hoped Enrique and her wouldn't kill each other first.

”Ok Andy Miller and Susan Hertz, they've been a couple for several years now and it's pretty much the same situation like the four friends on the other side of the table.” The next one made him smirk.

“Are they out as a couple or secretly dating?” Pete didn’t see how that could possibly play into a board meeting but he wanted to be prepared. He also didn’t want to make assumptions about anyone sitting at the table. Making a comment about their relationship to either of them without technically knowing they were involved might cause problems for Lex later on down the line.

Besides, if Hertz was hot in that older lady sort of way and dating one of the other board members, he’d be sure to give her a wide berth when compared to the single women. He wasn’t about to flirt with any of them, but if the Miller guy even thought Lex was looking her way…

Lex snorted at the question, even though it was viable from Pete's point of view. Still, for Lex it seemed weird that the boy would think he would give him this information if it was something a risk having him know. Then again Pete was offering the same trust back by making sure that he wouldn't say anything that might get Lex in trouble. “They've been open about it from the start. The only reason they're not married is because Miller's divorce isn't through yet. Don't mention that by the way.”

“Not with a ten foot pole,” Pete muttered while scribbling down some more notes. He had been rather proud of himself for not asking about why Lex and Chloe were fighting, but he could feel his resolve weakening. He didn’t want to pry into Lex’s life, mostly because the man could have him disappeared once things got back to normal. Not to mention the fact that he now could get Pete further into trouble with Chloe. But, he knew that he’d cave and ask….so he might as well get it over with sooner rather than later.

“Speaking of…” Well, damn, he couldn’t say couples cause Lex and Chloe weren’t one. Or, if they were, he didn’t really want to know that. So, he tried another tactic. Total and utter bluntness. “Why are you and Chloe fighting?”

Lex straightened up, scrutinizing Pete who looked up at him through his own eyes with a completely serious face. Lex was still trying to get used to that. “What makes you think we're fighting?”

“I know Chloe pretty well,” Pete said as he leaned slightly back in his chair. “And, I can read her fairly accurately. Even though she’s in Lana’s body, I could still see the telltale Chloe signs that she was ready to throttle someone. The clenched fists, the tone of her voice.”

He looked up at Lex, keeping his face impassive as he spoke. Something that he thought was at the crux of being Lex. “And, while I did do something that would cause her to be angry, she was already like that before I even spoke. You two were already going at it before you got here, right?” Before Lex could make some smartass comment about his last words he said, “You know what I mean.”

Lex smirked slightly and leaned back against his desk, keeping his hands outside his pockets to avoid another shock of pain. “Well, let's say I never quite made it out of the dog house with her. She insists on keeping secrets and I don't deal with that very well,” he answered vaguely.

“Secrets, huh?” Pete thought this over. He could tell that Lex was being vague for a reason, most likely because he didn’t completely trust Pete. And, he could respect that. However, Lex needed to fully understand how stubborn Chloe was. If not, he would only slip further and further down, or up as the case may be, on her shit list. And, it would be a shame to have Clark give up his top spot after such an impressive run.

“You can take what I have to say with a grain of salt, but,” Lex looked down at him, waiting for Pete to continue, “if Chloe’s dug her heels in on this one, I wouldn’t try to hard to get to the bottom of it.” He paused and started to twirl the pen in his left hand. Not very Lexlike, he knew that, but he was trying to get used to using his nondominant hand.

“At least not directly where Chloe can see you doing it.” He smirked up at Lex and then went back to the schematic of the board room they were drawing. Off hand, he said, “Besides, I think this last argument had more to do with the green-eyed monster.”

God, why did he have to keep talking?

The eyebrows shot up to Chloe's hairline and a small grin quirked the red lips. “Really, what makes you think that?”

He'd thought it had just been a venomous reaction to the fact that Lex might use sexual interest as a means to an end. Added to that she was still furious with him about the whole thing with Lana.

Pete shook his head once and then ran a hand over his face. “I don’t suppose that you’ll let me plead the fifth on this one, will you?” When Lex merely stared at him, waiting for Pete to explain his statement, he was reminded eerily of Chloe. Now that they had all done the lighting swap, he saw just how similar his friend and his arch nemesis, ok former arch nemesis, were.

“Fine,” he said, laying the pen down on the table, “but could you at least sit down? You’re freaking me out hovering over me like that.”

Lex sighed and rounded his desk to pick up one of the chairs. Pulling it around next to Pete's, he sat down. He wasn't going to say or do anything else though, until Pete told him what he knew and not just threw him a bone here and there.

Seeing that there was no way around the conversation, Pete bit the bullet. Maybe Lex would buy him a car later if he was able to help him out with Chloe. “A few key pieces of evidence lead me to believe that she was jealous. One,” he ticked off the first point on his index finger, “she told me that she has the hots for you, as I previously, foolishly told you.”

“Two,” he decided not to hold up his middle finger, instead placing his hands on the desk in front of him, “she only went off when there was mention of another woman who was interested in you. And, three, her continued fighting with you over said woman.”

Pondering Chloe’s responses to and about Lex in the past, Pete could see that this wasn’t a new occurrence, either. He nodded to himself before concluding, “Girl’s brewing up for a catfight.”

“Which,” he said, looking at Lex, “is bad news for you.”

Lex took in the information with a little skepticism, but he had to admit from what he knew of Chloe's muscles, there was no way he'd be able to fight and not lose against her as long as she was in Lana's body. Lana had taken to kickboxing with a vengeance and would damage Chloe's body severely if Chloe decided to use that talent against him. And that train of thought got a little confusing.

“Alright, I'll see how I can get her to calm down later,” he ended that conversation. “Now let's get finished here. Troy Vanguard,” he dictated, trying to see if a picture of the man was lying around somewhere on the desk.

“Woah. What, that’s it? I share with you and you don’t give me anything back?” Pete grumbled as he fished out what he thought Lex was looking for from the bottom of his pile. “Man, that suck and blows.” He was hoping that Lex would give him something about what he thought of Chloe, or how he would make things right. Instead, he’d have to go back to discussing some guy who, based on his name, was the whitest man on the face of the planet.

He had seen Lex’s face when he mentioned Vanguard and something was definitely up with that one.

“Troy Vanguard. He's about as gay as they come, but still convinced he's the only one who knows. The problem with that? He's got the Sharon syndrome.”

Pete wrote a quick upside down triangle and made a mental note to find a pink highlighter later before throwing his pen down on the table. “So, what you’re telling me is that I may have to fend off not one, but two, deluded people who want my ass? Or, your ass?” He paused. “I’ve said ass one too many times, haven’t I?”

Lex couldn't stifle the laughter at the look on his own face, even though it was highly undignified. “It's alright, just as long as you try to not use it too often in public. And yes, you're right, but it also means you have to watch out not to put yourself between the two and cause trouble.”

He had no idea why he was putting up with his own board members sometimes. But then, they brought in extraordinary results and put his Corporation in the top 20 on Forbes and he forgot minor trouble like this.

“Are you actually telling me that these two people, people who are both highly educated and intelligent, may have some sort of subtle, subversive fight over me during a professional board meeting?” If this was true, Pete knew he could handle the meeting. It wouldn’t be any different than lunch in the cafeteria.

Lex sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “In one word. Yes.” It was best not to even think about this right now. “Ok, the last four. First, Isaac Sommerfeld. He won't give you any trouble, but might lose his temper because of Carter. The two can't stand each other. If you deal with Carter, Sommerfeld will be happy. Jeffrey Abrham, is pretty much of the same type as Perry, so you can vastly ignore him. Katherine Henry, best friend of Susan Hertz, they're generally of the same opinion, unless it comes to men, which won't come up in the meeting. And last but not least. Maurice Foucault. Tends to speak French when he gets agitated, so again, you have to watch out for Carter and handle Foucault with care when it comes to financing his funds. But Arlene will usually deal with that.” Lex looked at the list, watching as Pete scribbled furiously for a few more seconds before he threw the pen away and rubbed his wrist.

“Ok, that was the theoretical part, now comes the practical application.”

“Lex,” Pete said while looking over his copious notes, “I think that we both know the most practical thing to do is pray for a miracle. Or, I could just fire everyone, thereby postponing any meetings.” He smirked at Lex. “But, being that it’s not an option, I’m all ears.” Pete didn’t want to seem like he couldn’t handle this, but he also wanted to be realistic.

Lex got up from his chair and started to pace. “Unfortunately, being all ears is not all there is to being me. You need to work more on your appearance, the way you walk, act, gesticulate. Most of all,” he turned around facing Pete dead on. “You need to work on my facial expressions.”

That made sense. In order to act like Lex, he would have to get the window dressings of the man down pat. He wasn’t blind to the fact that many people just deferred to the man because of the way he carried himself and exuded confidence. It was usually annoying to Pete and at the same time, he wondered how long it had taken Lex to get that way.

Yes, people were born with money and power. But learning how to wield and, more importantly, display that power to the outside world was another matter. “So, when do you start training me on that one?”

Thinking for another moment, he realized that Lex probably didn’t know exactly what his face looked like at all times. It’s not as if the man constantly had a mirror in his face. That meant that they’d need help from someone. Someone who knew Lex’s facial expressions. Someone who knew about their current situation. Someone who was by now no doubt furious at both of them. “Do you want to ask her or you want me to do it?”

Lex exhaled a slow breath, weighing their options. No matter which of them went to get her now, any plead would likely fall on deaf ears after Chloe had spent the last thirty minutes walking around the mansion looking at nothing but tapestries.

“I think...”

Before he could finish his sentence, a knock sounded at the door.

Pete narrowed his eyes at the door. He hadn’t summoned any of his various minions and had given them explicit instructions that he was not to be disturbed unless it was of the utmost urgency so it had better be good.

“Come in,” he stated, gruffly. When he saw Enrique enter the room and the perplexed look on his face, Pete got to his feet, stuck his hands in his pockets and asked, “Where is Ms. Lang?”

Enrique kept his face impassive, belying the fact that he was highly disturbed by the behavior the young lady had just shown.

“Miss Lang has left, asking me to inform you verbatim that she couldn't wait for Miss Sullivan since she had more important matters to attend to and didn't wish to waste time that could be much better spent,” he said matter-of-factly.

The way the young woman had behaved had been odd from the very beginning. She had been fidgety, clipped and not at all interested in the tapestries that Enrique had tried to show her. All in all, it seemed to him that Miss Lang had spent too much time in the company of Miss Sullivan and picked up quite a few of her less impressive traits.

“Perfection,” Pete said. “Thank you, Enrique, that will be all.” The man nodded at Pete and then left the room.

He rounded the desk and joined Lex where he was now standing, also looking after the door. “Poor Enrique doesn’t know what’s gotten into Ms. Lang.” He tried to imagine how the man had reacted to ‘Lana’s’ erratic behavior.

When he looked over at Lex, he didn’t envy Chloe. He was livid with her but covered it quickly. “I’d give you a car to take home but I don’t think that you and driving would mix right now with your hands the way they are.”


Lex unclenched his jaw and ripped his gaze away from the door to turn it onto Pete. “I'll deal. If you'd,” he caught himself almost asking Pete Ross to be allowed to drive one of his own cars. “You're getting better as me,” he commented dryly. “I'll take the Benz. It will serve her right if her stupidity causes her hands lasting damage.”

Ok, it was time to be even more Lex than he was already being. “That’s ridiculous. You can barely hold a pen without wincing in pain. Do you think that I’m going to hand over the keys to a stickshift so you can kill yourself trying to prove that you don’t need help?” He paused, leveling a stern gaze down at Lex. He’d seen him do it to Chloe a million times and it was almost as if his body did it instinctively.

“I realize that you will want to argue with me. However, you know that I’m right. Getting yourself hospitalized will only make things worse. You’ll be laid up and you’d have ruined a car that had done you no harm. I’ll give you a ride.”

Pete could see that Lex was still deciding whether to listen to reason or not. He decided to use something that he knew would push Lex over the edge. “Plus, you’d never hear the end of it from Chloe.”

Lex snorted slightly, then nodded his head. “You're really getting into the role.” In reality, he didn't think he'd ruin the car or any such thing, but the pain in his hands would only get worse and he had enough to deal with as it was. On top of that, it would only have raised more suspicions in his butler if he'd allowed Chloe to drive one of his cars. “Ok, then let's go.”

Pete nodded and then looked at the chair that Lex had been sitting in. He might as well get as far into character as possible. He picked up Chloe’s jacket and held it out for Lex. “Let’s both never speak of this again.” Lex put on the jacket and Pete then grabbed his own from his chair. As he held the door for Lex, he asked, “What did you do to your hands, anyway?”

[BlueSabby]

Chloe had no idea how long she had gone through the torture of the history of tapestries before informing Ricky that she was leaving. She could see that he was shocked but didn’t give a damn. She had been, basically, kicked out of a meeting. Not only that, but Pete had turned on her. Sure, she wanted him to get along with Lex, but not that well.

Upon returning home, she had taken a quick shower and then changed into her most comfortable lay around the house doing absolutely nothing pajamas. She knew that when Lex got home, he’d confront her, but she found that she couldn’t muster the energy to care at this point.

She flipped on the TV and watched a woman in jeopardy movie, every now and again telling the woman that going down to the basement in the dark wasn’t maybe the best idea ever.

Lex had kept silent during the drive back to the Sullivan's house, looking at his bandaged fingers and cursing himself for not being able to drive. To his credit, Pete was an excellent driver and hadn't pushed the limit when it came to testing out the car. He'd ground his teeth hard a couple of times, well every time he thought about Chloe just up and leaving because she wasn't the center of their attention. It seemed residing in Lana's body had obviously transferred a few of the girl's traits into Chloe's character. They'd have a talk about that.

Pete pulled into the driveway of the Sullivan house and shut down the motor, getting out of the car and jogging around the hood to open the door for him. Lex smirked at that and gave the boy an appreciative nod as he got out himself and led the way towards the front door in an angry pace. He hadn't even thought to bring keys, since he'd left the house with Chloe and planned on getting back with her as well.

Glaring at the closed door, he raised one of his bootclad feet and drummed it against the lower part of the door several times, with feeling.

“Maybe you should use the bell?” Pete suggested, earning himself a glare that rivaled the one he'd thrown at the door. “I'm just saying,” The boy raised his arms in a defensive gesture, “Hurting your foot won't make things better.”

Lex growled low in his throat then raised his hands with a sarcastic grin, holding them out towards his own face. The sneer and eyeroll appearing on his features actually fit there. Maybe the boy would learn in time after all.

Pete leaned across him and pushed the doorbell. It was then that Lex caught a whiff of his own cologne and the reaction it caused was anything other than expected. He felt his eyes droop shut and Chloe's body sway slightly towards his.

He caught himself before anything too embarrassing could happen and his glare intensified. How could this body dare go against his mind and just...On the other hand, at least that answered his question if Chloe was actually attracted to him.

But that didn't change anything. She'd been immature and acted out of spite and they were going to have words about this. Right now. As soon as she opened that goddamn door.

Chloe had heard Lex and Pete returning loud and clear, and the subsequent murmuring they were doing at the door, followed by the hammering. Out of spite, she almost didn’t answer the door when the bell began to ring. But, she decided that having Lex freeze to death in her body wasn’t really an option.

She walked over to the door, flicked the lock and opened the door about an inch before walking away from it and back into the living room. She heard Lex and Pete exchange words and then the door being kicked shut.

Unconcerned, Chloe picked up the remote and increased the volume on the TV. She couldn’t hear the dumb blonde pleading for her life with all of the racket that Lex was making.

Lex had banged the door shut with his foot before Pete could reach for it and stalked into the living room, throwing his coat aside and cursing as pain flared in his hands once more.

“Just what the FUCK did you think you were doing?” he snarled, looking at the raven-haired body he knew held an infuriating blonde inside, who refused to even acknowledge him, instead staring at the TV screen.

He shrugged off Pete's motion towards him and stalked across to the TV, shutting it off with a knuckle, trying to spare his bleeding fingertips.

Staring down at Chloe, he waited for an explanation for her childish behavior.

Chloe looked up at Lex and saw that he was absolutely livid with her. But, she didn’t really care. Yes, she could admit that she had been a little childish before, but that didn’t give either of them the right to, in effect, throw her out of the room. If she had done the same to Lex, she didn’t doubt that he would have taken the same action.

“It was clear that my presence was no longer necessary and if I had to listen to Ricky for one more moment, I could not be held accountable for my actions.” Chloe said the words evenly while looking up at Lex. She could see that the wounds on his hands had opened again and she had to stamp down the urge to ask him if he was ok.

With that, she got up off the couch. She was hungry and hadn’t thought to bring any snacks into the living room, so she’d have to forage around in the kitchen.

Lex's mouth snapped shut and he ground his teeth even harder as he stalked after Chloe, trying to not scream his head off in case Gabe was home already. “I don't believe this! How old are you, five? You're not the center of attention for five minutes, you get snappy, you accuse me of choosing my employees in exchange for sexual favors and then you have the guts to storm off, leaving me at the mansion, knowing full well that I neither am capable of driving, nor have the keys to this house.”

The final straw had broken the camels back and Lex knew he was losing it but it didn't matter. “You make your friend take time out of a schedule from hell, trying to deal with being stuck in a situation that is way over his head and then you have the audacity to act like it's no big deal!”

He shook his head staying at the door towards the kitchen instead of following her inside.

“You're beginning to become more and more like the person whose body you've ended up in. And it's disgusting.”

With that, he turned around and stalked back into the living room. “Pete, I apologize that you had to hear all this and for the inconvenience of having to drive me. Go back to the mansion, and try to forget this happened. If you want to, have some scotch. My body can handle about half....” He stopped himself and amended his statement, supposing that telling the boy to down half a bottle of scotch was more than just corrupting a minor. “Of what is left in the bottle on top of the wet bar without having to face any drawbacks. I'll come by tomorrow and we'll try to work on your appearance and attitude alone, since Chloe is obviously not interested in being supportive to the cause and would rather remain in her own little world.”

Pete could hear Chloe slamming things around in the kitchen and saw the look in Lex’s eyes. He honestly didn’t want to be around for the blowout that was obviously very close to the surface. He knew that Chloe would have something to say about the comparison to Lana and didn’t want to stick around to watch her try and kill Lex. Then there was the fact that he didn’t know whose side he was on. “OK, Lex, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Pete just hoped that both Lex and Chloe would be in one piece come tomorrow.

Chloe listened as Pete left and tried to get her anger under control. It wasn’t going to be an easy task. For now, she tried to put the knife down that she was holding in her hand. She had decided to make herself a sandwich in the midst of Lex’s rant at her and was now gripping the handle of it tightly. Lex was just lucky that it was a butter knife.

She threw it in the sink and then stalked into the living room.

“Think what you want of my motivations for leaving tonight, Lex. I really don’t give a damn anymore. But, don’t stand there and lecture me about friendship, because you have no idea what the word entails. Besides, you have no idea why I left. You’re just coming up with theories that fit into your little picture of how I am and why I do things. You think that I go crazy for no reason, and I can even admit that that happens from time to time, but don’t accuse me of leaving just because I had a little hissy fit.”

“I went over there,” she pointed at the front door, in the general direction of Luthor Manor, “trying to make sure that you and Pete wouldn’t strangle each other after what happened earlier. I spoke with him before, telling him not to fuck with your life and I’ve been helping you for the past few days as well. I guess that that doesn’t count as friendship.”

She walked towards him. “Just so we’re clear, I didn’t start snapping at the two of you because I wasn’t the center of attention and that sure as shit wasn’t why I left. You and Pete cannot just throw me out of a room and except me to stand idly by and just take it. I have been working my ass off, just like you, to figure out what the fuck is going on because, just like you, I want things to get back to normal as quickly as possible.”

“So,” she crossed her arms over her chest, “when I am dismissed without so much as a second thought, I do not react kindly after what I have been trying to do for the past few days. And, if you think that Lana and I are becoming more similar, well, being that you think so low of me, you should be happy by that turn of events.”

Chloe was breathing heavily by now. When she had realized that both Lex and Pete had just pawned her off on Ricky, she had been enraged. It was as if they thought that she needed to be babysat while they actually talked about important things. Chloe knew that she had been getting snappish with Lex, but she really believed that that didn’t give them the right to excuse her from the discussion.

Even though Chloe stood by her actions, she did see that they had ramifications that she hadn’t thought about. “Having said all that, I’m not blind enough to not realize that my leaving caused you more physical pain. I’m sorry for that. I will call Pete in the morning and apologize, not for leaving, but for screwing up his opportunity to get a better handle on what he has to do to be you.”

“I’m done talking to you right now.” With that, Chloe started for the stairs.

Lex had let her rant at him without interrupting and refrained from pushing his hands into his pockets, being that they refused to stop throbbing. When she decided to stalk off in her righteous anger he didn't even bother to demand she stop, he just watched her go, shaking his head. “How convenient,” he muttered dryly and made his way into the kitchen to remove the sodden bandages and replace them with new ones. If she wanted to blame him for her childish behavior, why not? She obviously wasn't mature enough to realize that she had been the one to act imprudently and stop them from getting anywhere while he'd tried to teach Pete something that affected his life a great deal.

“All I have is business, and she gets snappy for no reason and manages to turn it around on me.” He muttered to himself as he stood over the sink, ripping off the bandaids and gritting his teeth against the pain.

Her comment about him not knowing anything about friendship had stung, deeply. Of course he didn't know much about friendship. “How the hell am I supposed to know about fucking friendship when the only friend I had kept lying to me and practically banned me from his life when...” He hissed in pain as he let cold water run over his hands. “FUCK!”

Lex slammed his lower arm down onto the faucet and shut off the water, then carefully picked up a clean towel, wrapping it around his left hand. Tears were stinging in his eyes, but he fought them off. Enough was enough. He was still Lex Luthor and he'd be damned to cry because of some discomfort or a stupid fight with an obviously immature girl. A girl he thought was his friend, but apparently, her interest had been more on the surface level.

Even though she had resolved that she was done with Lex for the evening, she could hear his curses wafting up to her room. She rolled over on her side and tried to ignore it, but she found it impossible. Cursing the way that her father raised her, she left Lana’s room and made a pit stop before going back down the stairs.

She found Lex sitting at the kitchen table with a dishtowel wrapped around one of his wet hands. His head was down, no doubt glaring at his injuries, so Chloe couldn’t gauge what his mood was like now. But, she could hazard a guess. Not bothering to say anything, she put the bandaids and hydrogen peroxide down on the table and then pulled up a chair.

Focusing on getting the bandages out of the box, she said, “Give me your hands.”

Lex didn't even look up at her, still trying to fight his rampant emotions and get this damn body back under control. He squared his jaw and slowly unwrapped the towel from his left hand, laying both arms flat on the table, palms up and stretched towards Chloe.

He had no idea why she'd come back down, or why she was now cleaning his hands and helping him with the bandages for that matter. Probably just trying to rub it in how much better a person she was. Then again, it might just be the fact that it were her hands after all, if he'd been in her position, he'd have made sure his body didn't take away any lasting injuries, as well.

Lex resolved to keep their contact at a minimum from now on and forget about any chance of friendship or more between them after they were back in their own bodies. It had been a stupid idea anyway. She was too young and obviously they didn't live in the same world. He just hoped that the issue could be solved soon, so he could get on with his original plan of moving to Metropolis.

Chloe quickly inspected his hands before cleaning them. The wounds didn’t look any wider than they had earlier, so he hadn’t done anymore damage. Or, more accurately, she hadn’t caused any more damage by leaving him at the Manor. But, that was neither here nor there.

She took a few of the cotton balls and put some hydrogen peroxide on them before dabbing at the wounds. When Lex’s hands jumped slightly in hers, she murmured a “sorry,” before even thinking about it.

Lex probably hadn’t even considered his hands as he had gotten angry at her. It was just like him to forget about practical things when his anger took over. She knew that from her own experiences with her temper taking over control of her logical mind.

The silence between them stretched on as Chloe made slow, methodical work of his hands. She wasn’t about to blow through it just because it was uncomfortable for her. If she didn’t do this properly, Lex’s hand could become infected and he’d be in even more pain than he was now. And, though she loathed him at the moment, it didn’t mean that she wanted him to suffer. He might not believe it, but she wasn’t some selfish monster.

The pile of used cotton balls grew as she attended to each finger, carefully wrapping it in a bandaid after she was done. After sticking a bandage to his palm, Chloe went over to the sink to wash her hands. Lex stayed at the table, not saying a word.

Lex used the time he had to run the back of his hand over his eyes and get rid off the evidence of his embarrassing behavior before Chloe had entered the kitchen. He sniffed quickly then got up from the chair, still keeping his back towards Chloe.

Looking at the mess of cotton balls on the table, he picked them up wordlessly and slowly scooped them up and threw them into the trashcan. Standing next to the door, he considered his options. Either leave and go to bed or sit back down and wait for Chloe to say something.

She could feel Lex’s gaze on her. Chloe didn’t know how or why she was always able to sense when he was looking at her, but she found that her intuition was always right on the money when it came to that. Sure that she didn’t have any blood or peroxide left on her hands, she turned around. And, sure enough, Lex was standing in the doorway looking at her.

Chloe leaned against the counter and stared back at him. She didn’t know what he wanted, or expected, from her. Did he want to talk, did he want her to leave first, did he expect her to apologize again? She was getting tired of having to figure out what was going on in his head instead of him just telling her.

Obviously, Chloe was in no mood to talk. Her whole body was locked in a defensive position and it would only lead to another fight, no matter what he said now. He shook his head and slowly turned around to leave the room, deciding to just leave it at that and try to stay out of Chloe's hair from now on.

She didn’t know what to say but could see that Lex was actually disappointed or, well, something that she hadn’t opened her mouth.

“You don’t have anything to say about,” she gestured to the living room when she had screamed at him, “earlier?” She figured that that was a safe way of putting it.

Lex turned his head towards her, pursing his lips. “What do you expect me to say?” Really, she'd put her opinion out there and he knew if he tried to explain to her how the whole incident had seemed to him, she'd only blow up in his face again and they'd be right back to square one.

Taking a breath, he turned around to face her completely and shrugged a shoulder. “Obviously, you are convinced that Pete and I shunned you without reason and that we are being the bad guys in this.” He shrugged. “What you apparently didn't consider is the fact that you were about to start an argument with me at the most inopportune time and without cause. That you accused me, at least in implication, of being an incapable business man and then left me in the mansion, knowing quite well that it would raise even more suspicion in Enrique and putting me in a most inconvenient place,” he explained calmly,

Keeping his eyes level with hers as he went on. “And why? From my side it looked like you did it out of spite, because we sent you out of the room before an argument could start. I couldn't leave the room, seeing as I was trying to teach Pete how to deal with people that will notice immediately if anything is wrong and may even use it to their advantage, which means against me.”

Chloe could see all of his points, but it still felt like he was schooling her on how he was right and she was wrong. It was a common practice that everyone took up. But, Lex never seemed to pause and consider what the other person felt like. It was the way he was and he wouldn’t change, but that didn’t make it sit any easier with her.

Plus of which, she kept thinking back to how he had said she was becoming more and more like Lana. It was the worst insult that anyone could hurl in her direction, and she was quite sure that Lex knew that. And, she was even more sure that he had meant it. His speech told her all she needed to know. Lex truly did believe that she was selfish and that stung more than it should have.

Then there was the fact that Lex was only thinking about his business. She couldn’t really fault him for that. He had single handedly built up his company and reputation and didn’t want to see either or both of them fall apart because of a freak of nature. She supposed that left little time to consider her feelings as he was doing his work. Again, Chloe understood all of that. It didn’t mean that she agreed with it, but she could see how Lex would be upset by her actions using that as a lens.

Looking over at him, she said, “I didn’t leave out of spite. I didn’t do it to hurt your company or to make you look bad in front of Ricky. I did it because I had to.” She shook her head, knowing that he wouldn’t understand that. That it would just reinforce the picture of the immature and irrational girl that he, apparently, saw her as.

He had no idea how he was supposed to explain to Chloe why he was being so angry at her. Truth be told, he wouldn't have blown up if he'd been in his own body. It was just the damn female hormones bringing everything closer to the surface and making him more vulnerable, especially when it came to the things he cared for.

She seemed to be having an internal discussion with herself, her eyes still fixed firmly on him but not really seeing him it seemed.

”I don't understand it, Chloe. Please explain to me why you felt the need to leave. Because from my perspective it makes no sense. I mean, I know that looking at tapestries is not something you would enjoy, and I understand completely that you were irked, but you just up and left.”

Looking at it from a logical angle, Lex shouldn't have cared less. He'd been in control of the situation at every point and there was enough video material to work off of with the visual appearance. But the disappointment and anger remained.

”We'd actually been counting on you to help us after we had the basics down. Instead Enrique informed me that you had something better to do with your time and took the car back home.”

Chloe didn’t want to answer Lex. She didn’t like exposing her weakness and vulnerabilities to people. Especially when said person didn’t seem to have any of them himself. Aside from that, she didn’t think that telling him would help matters anyway.

“I left because there were so many other times that I didn’t leave.” When she could see that Lex had no idea what she was talking about, she went on.

“You can’t know how many times I’ve been brushed aside or treated badly and just hung around, waiting for it to happen again. I know that you haven’t had much opportunity to do it to me so it’s not exactly fair that it comes back to bite you in the ass, but that’s why I left. I decided that I wasn’t going to take being treated like that anymore. I would stand up for myself and not take anyone’s shit.” Her voice had become louder, but not in anger, more in confidence.

“So, when you and Pete engineered a way for me to not be around until you two were ready for it,” she shrugged. “I didn’t see a real reason for me to stick around. Even if I had and then you had asked for my help,” she shook her head imagining that scene. “Well, we would have had this fight anyway.”

“I’ve decided that people can’t just keep me around when it’s convenient or good for them. That’s why I left.” It was the best way that she could describe her actions.

Lex stepped back to the table and sank down into the chair Chloe had previously occupied without a word. It seemed he wasn't the only person with issues around here. He had no clue how to explain to Chloe the difference between what he had done and what Clark had obviously botched up in the years before.

“Do you honestly think I sent you away simply because you were inconvenient?” He looked up at her questioningly and waited for her to sit down as well, or at least come closer.

When she didn't move, nor speak, he went on. “If I sent you away or ignored you every time you were being a distraction or an inconvenience, I wouldn't have bothered to even listen to you when you told me to play nice with Vlad. I wouldn't have given a damn that whatever Lana wanted of you obviously didn't sit well with you and still doesn't. And I sure wouldn't have been busting my ass on your behalf, trying to keep your grades on the straight and narrow.”

The problem with Lex was that he lied as well as he told the truth. Chloe had seen him do it time and time again to the press, Clark, Lana. Not that it wasn’t warranted, but she had to make a decision if he was being straight with her right now.

She sat back down at the table and stared at the wood surface. He wasn’t Clark or any of the other dolts that she knew. Chloe had to keep reminding herself of that crucial fact. But, she couldn’t just go ahead and blindly trust what Lex was telling her, it had gotten her into trouble too many times in the past.

For every point Lex had, Chloe had some counterpoint. Mostly that he had agreed to get her to shut up and not because he really cared about doing them. But, her saying that wouldn’t get them anywhere.

Chloe nodded and said, “Fine. Even though I’m an inconvenience and distracting, you still help me. That doesn’t mean that I want to be shoved out of the room or that you see that I am trying to help you.” They were just talking in circles now.

“I know you're trying to help me in general, but it wasn't helping any when you accused me of being a failure in the one thing I consider myself actually worthy in. Put yourself in my shoes, for one second. What would you have done if I told you that the only reason your articles are so well received is because you slept with the entire football team and keep giving them praising headlines whenever possible? How would you have reacted?”

Seeing that the analogy was just raising her hackles again instead of getting through to her he threw his hands up and got to the point. “Chloe, I didn't agree to Pete throwing you out because you were inconvenient, I let Enrique remove you because you had just insulted me, hit me where it hurt and then refused to let go of the topic.”

“I don’t call being taken out of the room after one comment refusing to let go of the topic.” She didn’t mention that she probably wouldn’t have let it drop. “Lex,” she looked up at him, “you can’t really believe that I think that you got where you were by banging people and then putting them on your board?” Now that she was thinking rationally about it, it did make little to no sense. She chuckled, “Besides, why do you care what I think, anyway?”

Lex leaned back in his chair, shrugging a shoulder. “I don't have many friends and I considered you one of them. You judged me without missing a beat after I commented on Sharon and that put me on the defensive.”

He was simply too tired to play wordgames or beat around the bush anymore. It seemed that this whole fight had only started because of misunderstandings and personal issues and they had far more important things to deal with than that at the moment.

“Considered,” Chloe muttered the past tense word under her breath. But, she couldn’t focus on the fact that Lex now probably lumped her in the same category as Clark and Lana. Right about now, he probably thought Pete was more of his friend than she was.

“OK,” she said, looking up at Lex. She wanted this discussion to end so she cut to the chase. “I was wrong, you were wrong, I’m sorry, you’re sorry. That about take care of it?” Plus, by just stating the apologies, neither of them would be forced to actually, really say them. Something that she thought would be next to impossible.

Lex nodded slowly. “About, yeah.” He got up from the table again and waited for Chloe to join him. Maybe she'd even come around and believe him that he was not like the farmboy. If he decided to hang around that was.

Chloe followed Lex’s lead and they silently made their way up the stairs. For the first time she realized her father was home. And had slept through the whole thing. As Lex started to go into his room, Chloe remembered something Lex had said.

“Hey, Lex,” she didn’t bother to whisper because if the screaming hadn’t woken her father up, her regular voice certainly wouldn’t.

“Um,” she started, eloquently. Along with the decision to not be kicked around, Chloe had also tried to be more forthcoming with what she thought and how she felt about people. It was a bitch, but she was trying.

Lex turned around from the door to look at her, waiting for whatever it was she had up her sleeve now.

“I just wanted to let you know that I get that you don’t consider me a friend.” Chloe opened her door and continued on before she lost her nerve. “But, the feeling’s not mutual.” She held his gaze before ducking into her room.

Lex stood there for a moment, completely dumbfounded, before he realized what she was talking about. Sighing heavily he made his way back to her door and knocked before entering.

“We really need to work on our communication, it seems,” he started as he stepped into the room. It was really annoying that habit she had of just walking away whenever things got a little too rough. “And if you'd work on staying around, it would help matters, too.”

He shook his head as his gaze wandered over her cluttered desk. “I talked in the past tense, not because I have changed my mind. It was the fact that in our argument it sounded like you didn't think of me as a friend and that I am of the belief that friendship isn't something that can be onesided,” at Chloe's slightly confused expression he tried to put it into less vague terms. “What I'm trying to say is, I am still your friend.”

“Um, oh, ok.” Chloe really didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t everyday that you had a heart to heart with Lex Luthor about being his friend. She knew that it was a word that he didn’t throw around lightly, and it meant a lot that he had taken the time to come in and correct her wrong assumption. She realized that he was still looking at her and said, “If you give me another second, I might be able to come up with some words that have more than two letters.”

When he had come in, Chloe had been getting changed. She still had her jeans on, but Lex was getting a free show of Lana’s pink, frilly bra. It was the only type the girl appeared to own. Remembering her promise to Lana, she put her shirt back on. Off of Lex’s look, she said, “Lana’s very particular about who sees what.”

“I don’t think friendship can be onesided, either Lex. But, you’ve got to see that when you compared me to Lana, well, how I could see that as you not having the best opinion of me. And, I could be wrong on this, but I get the feeling that for you to consider someone a friend, there has to be some respect there.” Chloe felt a little guilty at slamming the girl when she was guest inside of her body, but it didn’t make it any less true.

Lex leaned against the doorway, watching as Chloe went about turning the blankets down and preparing for bed. “I know that comparing you to Lana wasn't particularly nice of me, considering your relationship with her. I won't say I didn't mean it in this moment, but it was harsh none the less, and I could have chosen my words better.”

He didn't know how to explain to Chloe how his mind worked when he felt attacked. It was simply that he knew the weakest spot in a person and when he was in a situation where he felt threatened, or attacked, he instinctively used that weakness against them. “I do respect you, Chloe. But in my book, that doesn't mean that I have to turn a blind eye on things that anger me and just silently swallow it.”

He hoped she'd be able to understand this without turning it into another fight.

Chloe looked over at Lex. She knew that he was talking about her relationship with Clark but chose not to address that issue. It was late, and discussing that facet of her life would take a few hours, at least. So, she didn’t address that part of what he had said.

“We all have our flaws,” and she smiled remembering her first interview with Lex and their exchange during it. “I can handle it if you think I’m self-centered sometimes.” She flopped down into the bed and took off her jeans, throwing them in the general vicinity of the hamper. “Just as long as it’s ok that I think you’re a pompous ass every now and again.”

Blonde brows disappeared behind a messy hairline as Lex took in the implication of her comment. So she thought he was a pompous ass? Granted, she'd said every now and again, but still. Oh well. “I'm sure I'll be able to live with that,” he flashed a small grin before turning around to leave. “Goodnight, Chloe.”

Chloe decided not to contemplate just how weird her life had gotten lately. She was tired and if she went down that path, she didn’t think that she would get much sleep at all. She scrunched down in Lana’s bed again, trying to get a comfortable position. The mattress had way too much give for her liking. Before falling asleep, she looked over at Lana’s open closet. She’d have to convince the girl to rethink some of her ‘fashion’ sense if they were going to be like this for much longer. The pink was driving her nuts.

[BlueSabby]

“No, no, no, NO! Are you even listening to me anymore? He does not make that face, he never makes that face! You cannot ever look like that!”

Yelling at Lex was a weird feeling, one that Chloe was not used to. Well, yelling at Lex’s body, more accurately.

After school, she and Lex had come over to work with Pete on the way that he acted like Lex. It was slow going, two steps forward and three steps back. Lex was pretending to be various board members and Pete was doing his best to handle the questions and comments that Lex threw at him.

He was doing well, for the most part. His answers were fine but his body language was another matter all together. Right now, Lex’s face had a look of confusion on it. Which was unacceptable.

“Pete,” she said, standing next to him at the end of a conference table that Lex, for some reason, had set up in the Manor, “even if you have no clue as to what these people are saying, you have got to fake it. Instead of that,” she gestured to his face, “pretend to be pondering their words and then come up with some bullshit response.”

Lex had been trying to smother a grin for the last ten minutes. It wasn't that he didn't dread the minute Pete stepped into the real conference room to play him, or that he didn't care about the fact that the boy still hadn't gotten his body language down after hours of training, but the fact that Chloe seemed to get more agitated about it than he did. Added to that, seeing the usually mousy Lana Lang flay her hands around and go through five different facial expressions within the span of two minutes was a view to behold.

He'd initially been surprised that Chloe knew him that well and was able to describe down to the most minute detail how he looked or moved in a certain situation. After getting over that shock, he'd allowed himself to find amusement in the downright obsessed way Chloe went about getting Pete to act like him. Talk about gallows humor.

He jerked out of his internal laughing fit as the word 'bullshit' fell.

“Now wait a moment, I do not simply pretend to understand or spout bullshit. I told you what you are supposed to do when you don't know the answer to any question.”

He looked sharply at Pete, waiting to see if the boy remembered what the right course of action was in the aforementioned situation.

The boy nodded curtly, then looked sharply up at Chloe, imitating his expression fairly well. “Miss Sullivan, I do not make it a habit of 'coming up with some bullshit', as you like to put it. If the situation requires it, I will have to look into the issue that was addressed and get back to the board member personally,” he answered calmly, keeping his gaze fixed on Chloe.

Lex was not prepared for the reaction of his body. Even though the boy hadn't been looking at him, the cadence and intensity of his own voice sent a shiver down his spine and caused him to shift uncomfortably in his seat as he felt his panties growing damp under the skirt he'd chosen to wear that day.

He crossed his legs as inconspicuously as possible and sent a withering glare at Chloe before he managed to get the urges of her body back in control. As soon as he'd calmed down his wayward urge to jump his own body, Lex found himself looking at Chloe in a different way altogether. It wasn't the first time that her body had reacted to his in a sexual way.

A devious smirk slowly spread on Chloe's face as he looked at the girl standing across from him at the table. 'Oh yes, she definitely has the hots for me.' For a moment, he had the rather childish urge to steeple his fingers in front of him and cackle evilly.

“Much better,” Chloe said, studying Lex’s face. “But, you’ve still got way too much expression going on there, Skipper.” She watched as Pete relaxed Lex’s facial muscles. Nodding, she said, “Yes, that’s more like it. The whole, I have no expression and that is an expression in and of itself.”

Now that Pete was focused on his face, Chloe took in the stance of his body. It was ok, but…… “You need to stand up straighter.” She reached up and squared his shoulders, her body brushing up against his in the process.

‘Down girl,’ she muttered to Lana’s body. Lana was more moody than horny, that was a plus, but Chloe didn’t have time for reactions such as these. “Oh, and whenever you can, make some off the cuff comment and then shove your hands in your pockets while slowly assessing the person you just spoke to. It’s trademark Lex. You do that, you’ll be golden.”

Chloe tried to think of other things that he needed to do. They didn’t want to fool just the board, the other members of the company would have to buy it as well. “Oh, and be sure to check Lex’s calendar at work and see who’s birthday it is on Friday. If it’s a female, he usually sends them flowers and then stops by to wish them a happy day, personally.”

She said the last word with a smile and a shake of her head. Chloe had only seen Lex’s performance twice on occasions such as these. She wasn’t laughing at the way he handled them, she was laughing at the women’s responses. One had been younger and the other had to be a grandmother, but they had both gotten rather giggly.

“Be nice, personable and a little flirty. You can kick up the charm a notch if it’s an older woman but rein it in if she’s young.” The way that Pete was nodding at her was good. He didn’t look as if he was paying attention too much to her. Another Lex trait, look interested, but not too much.

“You don’t need any misunderstandings in that regard, but Margaret,” Chloe didn’t need to explain that that was Lex’s secretary, “will go along with you and pull you away if anything untoward begins to develop. She’s good like that.”

Lex's brows had went up the moment Chloe started giving a run down of his inter-personal behavior. “And how do you know about that? I've seen you around the office at the plant maybe twice,” he stated coolly, looking her dead in the face. “Not counting the one time you snooped around the grounds and got affected by the serum.”

It was quite unsettling to hear all those things thrown back at him that he thought wouldn't leave the office. Added to that, it irked him for some reason that he might come off like a player. That was not why he liked to charm the ladies. He simply lived by the rule that you caught more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Chloe looked at Lex evenly, “Just because you’ve only seen me twice, doesn’t mean I haven’t been there more than that. You were otherwise engaged at the time, busy making nice with the birthday girl and all.” She knew that it bothered him that he didn’t remember her being there.

“Lex,” she said, just slightly exasperated, “are you under the impression that I know this because I’ve been stalking you? Because, we really don’t have time to go through this right now unless you think I’m going to cook a bunny on the stove when we get home.”

Lex chuckled at the reference to 'Fatal Attraction', shaking his head. “I didn't mean to insinuate that, but you have to admit, someone with my past can never be careful enough,” he shot back.

Hearing a subtle clearing of throat from his left, he turned back to face Pete. “She's right on all accounts by the way. Trust Margaret to get you out of any sticky situations. She'll remind you of the birthdays, too. If she asks why you're putting most of your schedule on Gabe, tell her you're trying to make some free time for yourself. She'll get that concerned look on her face, but she won't say anything about it.”

Margaret knew him well enough to know that something wasn't right when he took time off, but not to speak about it because she wouldn't get an answer anyway. She was loyal, dependable and Lex wondered when the last time was that he'd given the woman a raise.

Pete had been looking back and forth between Chloe and Lex, half afraid that another argument was about to start when the man had reacted a bit peevishly about Chloe's rather intimate knowledge of his habits. It surprised Pete that Luthor still hadn't clued in on the fact that that was a sure sign she'd developed an interest in him not just yesterday.

“Ok, so I'll try to make nice with the ladies, but keep the charm down to a reasonable level and trust Margaret to pull my...correction your ass out of the fire if I run into trouble,” he confirmed for both.

This whole 'no facial expression is a facial expression' thing was still hard for him, but he tried his best. He wasn't used to closing himself down so completely for everyone around him. No wonder people had a hard time liking someone who couldn't even crack a smile unless you pumped him full with laughing gas.

Interesting thing was, that he'd caught the guy smiling more than once since he'd taken over Chloe's body. Of course it didn't escape his notice that the only person he actually smiled at was Chloe. Maybe there really was something going on between....and he was not going to follow that train of thought, no sir.

“So anything else?”

Chloe was certain that there was something that she might be forgetting. But, nothing came to mind right about now. Deciding to change tracks, she circled Lex’s body. Making sure that Pete had the lines of his suit right.

She saw that Pete had chosen a deep red shirt to go with the Armani he was currently wearing. Obviously Lex owned the shirt, so it wasn’t a real problem, but it still needed to be addressed. Better safe than sorry.

“This color,” she said, putting her hand on his chest, “is a good look for you. However, don’t go crazy mixing it up. People will start to notice if Lex begins branching out on the color wheel too much.”

Looking a little more closely at the suit, Chloe’s brows furrowed. She reached out and laid her hand on his arm, running her fingers over the material. Even though she would never have the money for such high end clothes didn’t mean that she didn’t know a thing or two about them.

“This suit is too nice for everyday wear.” She watched as Pete gave her a very good Lexlook and she went on. “It’s one of your business suits, you need to be able to tell the difference. He would never dress in a casual suit at work or vice versa.”

Lex bit the inside of his cheek as he watched Lana's hand running over his arm and Pete just let the touch happen, frowning at the suit, then at Chloe but nodding in acceptance. It just was wrong. Not to mention that her obsession had just gone from amusing to seriously unsettling. It was one thing to know his habits, but quite another to be watching his clothes down to the fiber they were made of. That she was indeed right didn't matter.

“I keep my business suits on the right hand side of my closet, while the casual wear is on the left,” he commented dryly.

When Pete nodded he went on. “And another thing,” he paused with a lasting glare at Lana's hand on his body. “Make sure that people don't touch you. I don't allow physical contact, unless I initiate it. You won't meet many people that try to cross that boundary, but it seems that some just can't resist.”

Knowing that it would irk him even more, Chloe started running both of her hands up and down Lex’s arms. “You know you love it,” she said, dropping Lana’s voice an octave. She was so intent on watching Lex’s reaction that she had forgotten that Pete was trying his best to be Lex.

Pete didn’t mind the touch. The exact opposite, in fact. He felt Lex’s body react to Chloe’s touch. So, was it reacting because a) it was Chloe, b) it was Lana or c) it was a woman? Pete really didn’t care either way. Well, yes, he cared if it was a, but he couldn’t think about that now.

He grabbed Chloe’s wrists and pulled them away from his body, “I think that’s enough Ms. Sullivan.” He made sure that his face betrayed none of the arousal or confusion that he felt. Pete had the urge to look over at Lex and see his reaction, but he kept his gaze trained on Chloe’s face.

Chloe was surprised by Pete’s reaction. He never minded when she played with him. He was getting into character. Too much. There was a sharp pain in her wrists that she tried to ignore. “You need to also remember Lex’s strength, you seem to have underestimated him.” When Pete still didn’t react, she said, “You’re hurting me.”

Lex cursed internally. He'd applauded Pete's accurate reaction to the teasing, but hadn't counted on the fact that the boy would underestimate his strength. At least it would teach Chloe to back off, though. They'd have to have a talk about her attitude if she kept going like she was.

He was about to open his mouth when Pete released Chloe's wrists. The boy didn't step back though, which was good and he didn't apologize. Lex smirked as he awarded another credit for accuracy.

“You should remember to play by the rules, Chloe. It won't do any good if you teach them, just to break them every chance you get,” his voice was smooth and the facial expression held just a hint of threat.

Excellently spoken. As far as Lex was concerned anyway. The girl was getting too cocky for her own good and it wouldn't do if she kept trespassing boundaries.

Chloe had to physically bite down on her lip to keep herself from saying anything that she might regret. Such as pointing out that without her help, Pete would be pretty much screwed. Because it would only go downhill from there.

She turned away from both Pete and Lex as she started to rub her wrists. They were still a little sore but at least Pete had stopped manhandling her. An apology would be nice, but he was a Luthor and they didn’t do those when they were up on their high horses.

They had covered how to handle businessmen, acquaintances and Chloe thought about who else Pete, as Lex, might run into. She groaned when Clark came to mind. Turning back to the men, she kept her voice businesslike, so as not to cross any lines, “I assume you know how to handle Clark?”

Lex couldn't help the wince at that. He'd purposely avoided that topic, since they were still on shaky terms and handling Clark was about the most difficult thing in his private life at the moment. It wasn't like he hadn't made an effort to rebuild the crumbling friendship, but with Clark's continuing lies and poor evasion tactics, it put a considerable strain on everything.

He was about to open his mouth when Pete turned around, his own eyes looking at him with curiosity and an arched eyebrow. It made him want to smack himself.

“Actually, I'm a bit confused. He hasn't been going on about you for quite some time now, and you seem to have lost that whole buddy buddy thing. At least I got that impression at the party.”

Lex cleared his throat and gave a nonchalant shrug. “You could say that we had a couple differences and we're still trying to sort them out. I don't think he's going to come by unless he needs something or,” With his next sentence he shot a pointed look in Chloe's direction, “There's something wrong between him and Lana.”

That said, he waited for the gloating on Pete's part to commence.

Pete nodded. It was exactly like Clark to be mad at someone and then go to them if he needed help on something. Usually he would give them a cursory apology before telling them what he needed. It had only happened to Pete a handful of times, but he attributed it to the fact that Clark probably couldn’t get all that much from him.

When Pete looked over at Chloe due to Lex mentioning the body that his friend currently inhabited, he said, “I understand. He’s still taking what he considers the high road after your fight at the party. No doubt congratulating himself on being so adult about the whole thing.”

“I don’t think that we can just assume that he’s going to stay away.” Chloe wasn’t trying to keep on a conversation that wasn’t necessary, she just thought that they should cover all of the bases. “He’s already apologized to me,” she said, nodding over at Lex. He had told her about the awkward apology on the way over. “So, you,” she looked up at Pete, “may not be too far behind. Lex always forgives him so after that, you will be forced to deal with him.”

Lex looked up from his spot, shaking his head. “I don't think so. He doesn't feel the need to apologize to me, like he does to you. Like I said, he won't show up unless you give him trouble. As long as everything is smooth sailing he'll keep his distance.”

He tried to keep his tone casual, but wasn't sure if he'd pulled it off. The topic of Clark was still a touchy subject and he didn't like talking about it.

Pete nodded once in his direction. “So can I assume that if he shows up for one of the two reasons, I'll just go along with it and give him what he wants?”

Man that had to suck. Clark had told him back in the days time and time again that he was Lex's only friend. At the time, Pete had rolled his eyes and shrugged it off, but since he'd come to spend some time in the man's body, he knew that it hadn't been a joke.

Sure, Lex had acquaintances and bunnies at his beck and call, but each of them would as soon smile at him as ram a knife in his back. Now the only guy he considered his friend had taken to using him as a handy 'fits all sizes' solution for his problems. Pete had no doubt that the issues that Lex had talked about where Clark's heritage and his constant bad lying about it.

Lex nodded curtly, not looking at Chloe and not quite meeting his eyes either. Pete felt a twinge of conscience nagging at him, but tried to move on past that. He wouldn't get soft for Luthor just because the man didn't have an easy lot.

“Alright then, do we have everything about covered?”

Chloe saw that Lex didn’t want to deal with the Clark situation. She thought it was foolish, but if he thought that they didn’t need a plan for Clark, that was his prerogative. “I think so,” she said. “You ok for the rest of the night here?”

She knew that Pete was a social creature and felt bad for leaving him alone in the Manor. It wasn’t as if he could bug Enrique into a game of pool. It would be very out of character.

“I could stay and we could….” She paused, rethinking her idea. “Then again, Lex and I don’t really hang out together after dark.” Chloe tried to think of a way that Pete wouldn’t go out of his mind at the place. “Maybe you could…”

Pete grinned at his friend, shaking his head at her ramblings, but decided to interrupt her before she got her brain in a twist. “Don't worry, Chloe. The man has more video games than you can begin to count, and if worse comes to worst, I can always challenge Ricky on a game of pool.” He turned around throwing a respectful look at Lex. “You could have told me you have your own private pool shark that comes with the desk. The man plays a mean game.”

Lex chuckled and gave a nonchalant shrug of the shoulder. “It must have escaped my mind what with everything going on. I hope you're not losing too terribly, because he'd get suspicious very fast.”

“Nah, I beat him twice, but it was a very close call both times.”

Lex had to admit that the grin on his face looked strange, but somehow it fit. He just couldn't imagine himself grinning that openly. Ever. “That's alright,” he smirked. “You didn't call him Ricky though, did you?”

His butler was very peevish about that nickname. He'd gone so far out of his way to address his dislike of it during one of their games after Chloe had used it the first time.

“I value my life too much to do that.”

She knew the reaction she would get and still found herself unable to stop from talking. Lex and Pete were looking at each other with grins on both of their faces as they bantered. “You guys are so cute.”

The smiles fell off of their faces and they both turned to glare at her. However, it did nothing to dampen her spirits. If anything, it made it worse to see identical looks on their faces. She started to laugh. “I know, I know. I’m wrong. You’re both big, tough, manly men who could kill a cougar with your bare hands.”

Their frowns both deepened in the same exact manner and Chloe could feel herself starting to laugh even more. She tried to get ahold of herself and was interrupted by Ricky coming into the room. “Sir,” he addressed Pete while looking at Chloe as if she had lost her mind, “dinner is served.”

Pete was still busy glaring at Chloe when he answered Enrique. “Thank you, I'll be down in a minute.”

He turned to Lex arching a brow in question, “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

Lex shook his head slowly, already planning his gruesome revenge on Chloe. She was having too much fun on his costs and he'd make sure to change that. “No thank you, we'll be having dinner at home. There's a chick waiting to be skinned.” He looked over at Chloe meaningfully.

He got up from his chair and nodded towards Pete, then circled around the shorter end of the desk to grab a still laughing Chloe by the elbow. “Let's get going, funny girl,” he commented shortly as he walked them towards the exit doors.

“Enrique, if you would show the ladies out, that would be all.” He heard his own voice from behind him as he passed his butler on the way out.

“Of course, sir.”

~~~~
Lex had been quiet on the way home and Chloe knew that he was just waiting for the privacy of their house before starting in on her. So, as soon as the front door closed, she turned around and said, “It’s not my fault that you two were being adorable so don’t start in on me.” Her voice was still full of mirth because she was now imaging both Pete and Lex strolling through a field of daises together for some reason.

Lex clenched his jaw and strode up the steps without saying a word. He was about one step away from exploding, no doubt added by the hormones cursing through his body. Strangling Chloe sounded like a really good idea at the moment, so he kept his hands at his sides, reminding himself that they weren't healed yet and putting his hands around her throat too tightly would just open the wounds.

“You’re behaving quite immature again. Just because I actually managed to have a decent conversation with a person I thought could only talk about me, it's no reason to act like I'm a toddler finding his first friend.”

Cute, adorable! What the fuck was going on in her brain. “What is with you bloody women anyway? One moment, you throw around words like macho and cave man, calling us insensitive and the next, we're cute or adorable.” He turned around on Chloe with a snarl on his face.

“Make up your damn mind! You expect of us to take you as you are and not see you in a stereotypes even if you practically throw them at our face. It would only be fair if we could expect the same in return.”

With another three steps he had finally reached Chloe's room and with great satisfaction threw the door shut, flicking the lock before she could come in after him. He had no intention of talking about this more than they already had.

‘Okkaaaaay.’ Chloe wasn’t sure why Lex was going so crazy at being called cute, but she made a mental note not to do it again. She jumped when he slammed the door and then made her way to the kitchen. Letting Lex cool down was the best idea right about now. More proof of that presented itself when she heard Lex slamming things around in her room.

If her body influenced him in any way, he was probably also muttering to himself, as well. Yes, giving Lex a wide berth was definitely the way to go right about now.

She opened the fridge and didn’t see anything that called to her there. Chloe looked at the closed freezer and remembered what lay within. She took out the box containing a chocolate cake and a container of vanilla ice cream.

Knowing that that particular ‘meal’ wouldn’t be complete without milk and that she did not have enough arms in which to carry everything, Chloe bent down and took out a serving tray from one of the cupboards. She washed it off and then took out two plates. Cutting two generous portions of the cake, she topped them both off with two scoops of ice cream. Having poured two glasses of milk, Chloe made her way up the stairs very slowly. She was banking on the fact that Lex would have the same cravings as she did.

Once she reached the door to Lex’s room, she realized she didn’t have a free arm with which to knock. Sighing, she bumped her head against the door twice.

Lex heard the bumping on the door just as he was changing into one of Chloe's humongous night shirts. The thing was large enough to swallow her from neck to knees, but it was cotton and it felt damn good on his sensitive skin.

Ever since this torture called 'period' had started, his skin had been hyper sensitive. Lex had barely been able to wash himself without causing Chloe's body to go into overdrive. It was an interesting fact to remember, but quite annoying in his current situation, especially taking into consideration that the same sensitivity caused almost every material to feel uncomfortable.

He considered ignoring the bumping at the door, but had calmed down enough to give Chloe a chance. As long as she didn't say anything stupid, again.

He shuffled over to the door and flicked the lock open. When nothing happened, he opened the door to find Chloe standing behind it, holding a tray in his face. If she thought she could just bribe him with food,

“Is that double chocolate with vanilla ice-cream?”

Lana’s damn hair was causing a problem, yet again. Chloe tried to shake it out of her face and then proceeded to blow it out of her eyes. “Actually, it’s chocolate cake with chocolate chips in it.” When Lex made no move to either invite her in or kick her out of his doorway, she asked, “Want some?” She needed an answer soon. Lana’s twig arms weren’t going to hold the massive load for much longer using the small handles on the serving tray.

Lex looked at the tray, then back at Chloe and at the tray again. His logical mind was screaming at him to tell Chloe to shove her bribery cake up where it hurt, but his hormones were screaming 'Want, now!' even louder. Stifling a sigh he took the tray from her hands and strode back into the room, throwing over his shoulder.

“Bribery isn't going to make me forgive you.”

Seriously, how could she have been like that? Calling him cute and making obvious insinuations just because he happened to get along with Pete Ross. It wasn't something he'd expected either and to be ridiculed for it had hurt. Damn hormones had made him throw a hissy fit though, where as he'd usually have brushed her down with an effective sentence or two. Now he was still looking ridiculous for his reaction to her once again immature behavior.

Well, at least the cake seemed to pacify him for now. Chloe felt as if she was working with an animal that had a tendency to bite you without warning. Lex had gone further into her room, placing the tray on the hope chest at the foot of her bed. He hadn’t, however, invited her in. So, she continued to stand in the doorway. Chloe knew that her body, in its current state, was totally capable of eating the cake by itself and she didn’t know if Lex had that intention or not.

For once, she got a feel of what it must be like to deal with her when she got like that. Whenever Pete would apologize, she’d ask him what he was sorry for. He usually didn’t have an answer, just explained to her that he thought it was the best course of action. But, it wasn’t as if she had kneed Lex in the balls when he was in his own body, she had just called him cute.

Lex got settled on the bed, then looked up to find Chloe still hovering in the door way, looking at him like he was some strange sort of animal. He ran a hand through the unruly mop that was Chloe's hair when he took care of it on his own and looked up at her in annoyance.

“What are you waiting for? Engraved invitation card? The ice cream is melting.”

Not wanting to pick another fight, Chloe made her way into the room and shut the door. She briefly toyed with the idea of suggesting some Midol to Lex but then reconsidered. She sat down on the bed and waited until Lex had taken his piece before picking up the other plate.

She didn’t know how to ask why he had gone berserk without getting the same reaction again so she just ate her chocolaty goodness in silence. Ok, so Lex didn’t like being called cute. That, she got. But the explosion that it caused was really something. She hadn’t meant anything bad by it.

‘No man likes to be called cute.’ That was the sticking point. Lex probably thought that she was laughing at him, not at the situation of him and Pete getting along.

Lex took a spoonful of cake, dipping it into the gooey part of the ice-cream before bringing it to his mouth. The taste exploded on his tongue and a moan slipped out before he could help himself. Endorphins in the female body had to be of a completely different make up because he swore he'd never felt like he'd just taken a bite out of heaven just by swallowing a mouthful of chocolate cake and vanilla ice-cream.

He licked the spoon meticulously clean before bringing it down for another piece of chocolate heaven. Throwing a sideways glance at Chloe, he could see that she was enjoying the treat as well, but not putting near as much fervor into consuming it.

“You know, it was pretty insensitive of you to make fun of me for getting along with Pete,” he mumbled, completely out of character for him. He just didn't know how to better address this subject.

Chloe looked over at the spectacle that was Lex eating his cake. It was as if the man had never had any before if you went by the look on his face. She paused in her mastication when he addressed her without a preamble. Well, at least they wouldn’t have to bullshit with each other.

“You do understand that I wasn’t trying to be insensitive or to make fun of either of you, right?” She really was curious about his response. Not everything that came out of her mouth in regards to him was a dig.

Lex snorted, then took another bite of cake before he answered. “People generally don't try to be insensitive, it just happens.” Scooting backwards, he leaned against the headboard, closing his eyes. It had been a long day and he could already feel his eyes falling shut.

Avoiding Vlad, getting through tiresome lessons, then spending most of the afternoon training Pete, the fight with Chloe. “It just sounded like you were ridiculing me for getting along with him and I can't stand when people do that. Put me down when I behave different from the way they're expecting.”

Taking a spoonful of the gooey ice cream, he drizzled it over the cake, then picked it up and squished the mixture in his mouth, enjoying the flavor until there was nothing left.

“Granted, usually I don't resort to yelling and slamming doors. But my situation is not exactly normal at the moment.”

Chloe considered all that Lex was saying. She saw his point, but it just wasn’t what she was doing. “I wasn’t ridiculing you. I was just happy that you and Pete were finally getting along and I got carried away.”

She shifted around on the bed, reaching for her glass of milk before speaking again. “I know that you’re not yourself and you have no idea how to handle what my body is throwing your way, but I don’t react well to being screamed at. I just scream back.” She paused, “Which you don’t react well to.”

She tried to think of a way she could appease Lex. Chloe was sorry that he had taken it so personally, but she didn’t think she should apologize. Maybe Lex just needed some clarification of what she usually thought of the word cute and him going together.

“And, just to clarify things,” Chloe looked up at Lex, “I don’t find you cute.”

“You’re far too,” Chloe put her plate down and gestured to him, “well, you to be cute. Dangerous, strong, imposing, handsome, intimidating, genius, smartassed. All of those things, yes. And, most of them directly cancel out your cuteness quotient.”

If he got upset over what she had just said, Chloe was done. She didn’t know else how to get him to stop being so irrational because of one ill chosen word.

Lex listened to her ticking off the points on her fingers, his brows raising in interest as his mind snagged on the handsome and genius parts. It wasn't like he hadn't heard those attributes awarded to him before, but coming from Chloe, it somehow held more meaning. Especially since it wasn't just a list of good things.

Imposing, smartassed? Well in a way, he knew he was. It was just his attitude and he couldn't change it. Growing up having to defend yourself at any turn, you learned to go out there the aggressor, to prevent any incriminations from even starting.

“Ok, point conceded. It was just, well let's just say, we really need to work on our communication,” he finished simply, instead of starting the whole discussion over again.

Taking his last spoonful of cake, he suckled on the spoon until the last bit of taste had vanished, then cut another glance at Chloe from the side. “So, you think I'm a handsome genius, hm?”

Chloe saw the look in his eyes and knew that she could be in trouble. She rolled her eyes, trying to lighten the mood. She carefully placed her plate back on the tray along with Lex’s plate and glass before putting it on the floor.

“I was just speaking objectively. From an outside perspective, you’re considered a handsome man. I can admit that.” His eyebrows rose at that comment. “And, technically, your IQ is in the genius range. So, both of those adjectives were appropriate to the discussion.”

Looking behind her to make sure she wouldn’t lie on her hair, Chloe leaned back on her elbows and put her feet up on the bed, careful not to jostle Lex or get them too close to his pillows.

Lex accepted that answer, but only because he knew that Chloe just wouldn't admit that she was attracted to him. He didn't want to put all his money on Pete, but the reaction of Chloe's body when she was near his had been a dead ringer. An evil idea crossed his mind, as he thought about payback.

“So you personally don't find me attractive?” he fished for an answer.

Chloe shrugged one shoulder, “I hadn’t thought about it that much.” Sort of a lie. She didn’t think about it that much because she had long ago recognized the fact that she found Lex totally and utterly attractive. Therefore, it didn’t need much mulling over.

Lex's brow arched at her evasion, because he was sure that's what it was. “I'm just wondering, because if you don't feel attracted, it is a little worrisome to find that you cream your panties every time my body gets close to you or I use a certain tone of voice to speak to you.” he finished blandly with a smirk.

Chloe’s mouth gaped open and she didn’t have any words coming out any time soon. She was far too embarrassed to speak. She felt herself turning bright red and couldn’t look at Lex. God, did he have to bring that up? How was she supposed to live with him after this?

“Oh, god,” she muttered. Chloe was starting to feel very nauseous. Never in her life had she wanted to crawl into a hole and bury herself as much as she wanted to now.

She quickly drew her body into a ball, her hands covering her face as she repeated the phrase, “Oh god,” over and over again. Usually, she would just leave. But, Lex had expressly pointed out the fact that they would never get anywhere with their friendship if she continued to do it.

However, she still had the urge. Especially now. This was a new level of humiliation. It was worse than Clark knowing she had liked him. Lex knew how her body reacted to his voice for godsake. If his plan had been to get back at her for the cute comment, he had achieved it. Problem was, she didn’t know how she could look at him after this.

“Did you really have to do that?” Her voice was muffled by her hands and sounded strange to her own ears. She realized that it was shaking. Lana’s body was kicking into gear and she realized that she was close to tears. She took a deep breath and curbed the urge.

Lex had watched her gleefully for the first few seconds, enjoying the abject discomfort and humiliation as she buried her face in her hands mumbling 'oh god' over and again. It was too funny. That was, until she slowly raised her head to ask him the question and he could see that she was obviously fighting back tears.

It seems he'd taken it too far with his payback. But he hadn't expected her to be that thoroughly mortified by something he considered a normal, if slightly embarrassing physical reaction.

“Hey, come on, it's not that horrible to be attracted to me is it?” he asked softly, scooting closer to Chloe.

He'd meant to get back at her and now he was feeling like an ass for it. Obviously this attraction was meant to be her secret or she wouldn't have been so riled up about it.

Chloe looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Could he really not get where her humiliation was coming from? “It’s not horrible for me to be attracted to you, it’s horrible for you to know it, though.” Lex reached out to put a hand on her arm but Chloe flinched back and his hand fell to the mattress.

“God, you must think I’m a fool.” She looked away from him and regretted ever coming into the room to get things sorted out between them. “To go from liking Clark to wanting you.” She snorted. “I didn’t want for you to see me as a silly school girl with a crush on you that you had to be careful with.”

At least her heart seemed to have settled down once she started talking. She might just not have a heart attack tonight. Then she remembered his crass words. He knew that she had an inappropriate, very physical, very sexual reaction to him. She groaned and buried her head in her hands again.

She tried to mentally shake it off. Lex obviously didn’t think it was a big deal so she should just suck it up and get the hell out of here while she still had some of her pride intact.

Lex watched her pull back and into herself again, not sure how to tell her that it was ok. She'd curled up into a tight ball of human girl and looked like she was willing the bed to swallow her, preferably now. Lex found himself biting his lower lip, trying to decide what to do, then immediately released it when he noticed what he was doing.

“Chloe, it's ok. Really. I'm not going to treat you differently because you're attracted to me.”

Ok, well that was a lie, because what she didn't know yet and better didn't find out for the time being was that the feeling was mutual. What he actually meant to say was. “You're not a case like Sharon, it's not a problem really.”

When Chloe still didn't move, he thought 'Fuck this' and shifted even closer, slowly wrapping his arm around Lana's small frame to pull the girl inside into a hug. He really was no good at this, but at least he should give it a try.

This whole comforting thing didn't come natural to him and he was by no means an expert on genuine embraces, but he thought he did fairly well, even though it did feel highly awkward and increasingly weird with two pairs of breasts involved when there should actually only be one.

“I'm sorry I mentioned it, I mean, it's not something you need to be embarrassed about, but I can understand that it might be a bit unfortunate. Especially considering our current predicament.” And the fact that he couldn't just act on his own attraction to her until they were all sorted out and back in the bodies they belonged in.

Chloe held her body perfectly still. She could hear the contrition in Lex’s voice and didn’t doubt that he was sorry for what he had done. But, it didn’t change the fact that it was she who would have to deal with the fallout.

When they got back into their own bodies, she knew that she’d have to stay away from him. Because, he now knew what happed to her when she was near him. And, even if he never thought about it again, she would constantly be thinking about it.

She appreciated the hug, but found that she was physically unable to return it. “It’s a problem for me.” And, it had been for a long time now. Chloe couldn’t talk to anyone about it and it just got stronger every day. And, now this.

“Promise me you won’t ever mention it again. Not when we’re like this.” She looked at him briefly as she gestured to their current states. “Or when we get back into our bodies.” Chloe meant it. She wouldn’t talk about it again.

Lex fell silent as he tried to find the right answer. If he promised her never to mention it again, he'd cut off all options to address it in the future and get what he wanted. He had to find a way to put his words delicately enough to leave himself a backdoor open. “I promise I won't tell anybody and I'll never use it against you.”

Closing his eyes and holding Chloe a little tighter, he hoped she'd let that one get past and not demand a more detailed promise.

Having her answer, Chloe gently pushed her elbow against Lex, trying to get out of the embrace. She felt like she was suffocating and she had to get out now. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she might get sick and didn’t want to do it in front of Lex. “Ok. I’m going to bed now.”

“Ok,” Lex watched her leave the room, calling a soft “Goodnight,” after her, but she didn't even answer.

Shaking his head he got up to turn out the lights, then settled down in bed, staring at the ceiling. This night had definitely not been what he'd expected. So now he knew for sure that Chloe was attracted to him, but she thought she didn't have a chance. What on earth made her think that? Well, probably his behavior towards her and the fact that he'd sent her off, still not knowing that the attraction was mutual.

But it was better this way, for now. At least until everyone got settled into their own bodies. Then he'd definitely make sure she was his. 'Make sure she's yours?' Lex groaned at his own archaic thinking. Oh well, didn't matter how he called it. He'd have her. And that was that.

In the mean time, he'd have to try and repair the serious dent he'd just caused in their friendship with any means possible. And then there was Vlad to be taken care of. He'd deal with that tomorrow though.
~~~
Lana looked over at the clock again. It hadn’t even been a minute since the last time. But, she couldn’t help it. She wondered how much longer she was going to have to deal with this pain. It was different than anything else she had ever had to deal with. She had hoped that it would just go away. But, it had been twenty minutes and the throbbing was still there.

Something had to be done about this. And soon. She considered calling Chloe. But, being that it was a problem with Pete’s body, she thought it was better that she deal with him. She dialed the number and got a busy signal. Groaning, she realized she had instinctively dialed Pete’s number instead of Lex’s.

After dialing the right number, she started to mumble, “Pick up,” when the phone rang and rang. “Luthor.” Lana paused. It sounded exactly like Lex. “Um, Pete?”
Pete smirked. 'Score'. “Yes, what can I do for you, Lana?” He was really getting the hang of this thing now. He'd even been able to fool Lex's secretary when they had talked to confirm his change of schedule and she hadn't even batted a lash.

If he could fool her, he was pretty sure that he could fool everyone. He'd also taken Chloe's advice on the dressing. It galled him to admit it, but Luthor had a nicely trained body and made even a boring suit look good. Plus it didn't even feel like he was wearing a cage. 'Must be because they're tailor made.'

“Um…” She didn’t really want to tell Pete what was happening. But, she didn’t know how to solve the problem. Well, she did, but she wondered if there was anything else that could be done…other than that. “There’s something wrong with your body,” she blurted out.

There had to be, there was no reason that this should be happening. She cast a glance down in her lap, hoping it had gone away. Nope, it was still there. Lana shifted in her seat and couldn’t suppress a groan.

Pete immediately leaned forward in his chair in alert, stiffening up as he heard Lana groan on the other end of the line.

“What's wrong? Lana what happened? Is it serious, do you need an ambulance?” So God help him, if she'd managed to get his body seriously injured he....didn't know what he'd do.

On top of that, whatever happened while Lana was in his body would also affect her and that would not be a good thing.

“NO!” Lana couldn’t help but scream the word. If Pete called an ambulance for this…god, she’d never live it down. Or, he wouldn’t, actually. And then, he’d kill her. She had no doubt about that. “It’s nothing like that. It’s just that.” She didn’t know how to properly phrase what she needed to tell him.

“I was watching TV and it just happened and it won’t go away and I don’t know what I should do and I don’t want to do what I have to do but because I’m in your body I actually do want to do it because I have to make it stop but it’s wrong and you’ve got to help me.” Lana briefly considered that she had been around Chloe far too much is she was talking like that.

He sunk back in his chair, exhaling a relieved breath. “Lana, you need to consider your choice of words better. Especially in the circumstances.” Picking up a pen from the desk, he started practicing on his left handed twiddling. “Now, how can I help you?”

Lana took the phone away from her ear at stared at it a moment. She had expected Pete to yell and demand to know what was going on. How and why was he being so calm? But, she wasn’t about to complain because it actually helped her to calm down.

Fine, if he was going to be all calm. She could do it, too. She would just have to remain totally still, though. “I have an erection. It’s been like this for twenty minutes.” Lana heard herself whining, but didn’t care. Why did this have to happen to her? It wasn’t fair.

Pete froze, blinked a couple of times, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. Lana was calling him, because his body had an erection. He was having a boner while Lana was in his body? Mortification, old friend, haven't seen you in a while.

Pete sunk low in the chair and closed his eyes. This just couldn't be happening. It was all kinds of wrong and really, really bad. Sometimes he hated being a teenager. Really, Luthor didn't seem to have this problem. 'Why me?' he thought miserably.

“Uhm, well, it's a completely natural reaction for a young man and I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it, except take care of it, or wait until it subsides,” he practically recited his sex education teacher by verbatim. The one they'd had after Desiree Atkins that was.

“I have been waiting,” Lana said, tersely. “Do you really think that I would call you as soon as it happened?” She would have done anything to avoid this conversation. But, she wasn’t sure that it was normal for this to be happening after so long a time. “It kinda hurts, is it supposed to be doing that?”

He couldn't suppress the wince at that. If it hurt, that meant she'd be running around with a hard on for a while and probably hadn't even thought of adjusting. “Adjust yourself, then try thinking of my mother,” he stated coolly. That always helped in his case.

Deciding not to point out to Pete that that statement was all sorts of fucked up, Lana instead followed instructions. She tried to adjust herself, but instead found her hips thrusting upwards of their own volition. When her hand brushed against it, she registered how good it felt. Thinking hard (excuse the author’s pun) about Pete’s mother seemed to do nothing.

She cleared her throat. “That’s not working. It may have made it worse.” She had to do her best to keep her hips where they were.

“WHAT?!” He exclaimed before he thought of regaining his composure. He had to be Luthor, calm, controlled, Not yelling at the top of his lungs. And boy that had been loud.

“Ok, ok. Well, I'm sorry, but you'll have to get rid of it the old fashioned way. Either you have to take an icecold shower, or, well take care of it.”

He was impressed that Luthor's body seemed incapable of blushing even through the worst mortification. This was really the worst situation he'd been in since finding himself hard as a damn rock during trig class.

Lana made some sort of weird sound in the back of her throat. It was sort of like a whinny of a horse. This was far more trouble then it was worth. “What will a cold shower feel like on it?”

She glared down at her erection. She didn’t think that the frigid water pounding down on her would be a pleasant sensation. Lana was already not a big fan of the cold.

Pete winced, remembering the last time he'd had to resort to that treatment. “You know what it feels like when you sting yourself on a needle?”

“Yes.” Lana drew the word out. This did not sound encouraging in the least. She wasn’t about to add more pain and torment to her already sensitive body. At least the conversation had distracted her slightly from what was going on below her belt.

He sighed and closed his eyes. At least he wasn't in his body this time. “Well, it won't be 'one' needle, if you get my drift,” he said slowly.

The mortification had somehow receded a little, maybe in the face of the fact that Lana was at least as uncomfortable about the whole thing as he was. Of course that he didn't have to look her in the face while he was talking about it did help also.

“So,” Lana said slowly. She knew that taking a shower was not an option. Not if it got rid of the problem through pain. She wasn’t big on pain.

Taking a deep breath she said, “Um, I don’t want to take a shower.” She hoped that Pete realized that she didn’t want to do the other thing, either. But, it seemed like the best choice right about now.

When she heard silence from the other end of the line, she kept talking. “How am I supposed to, you know, so, um, I don’t hurt you?” This was possibly the worst conversation that she had ever had with someone else.

Pete blinked again, utterly dumbfounded. Lana was asking him how to give a handjob? “You've never given Whitney a handjob? Or Clark?”

That thought led to mental pictures, which ACK! so he rushed to halt Lana before she could say anything. “Never mind. Don't answer that question. I don't wanna know.”

Shaking his head he wondered how he was supposed to teach Lana the 101 on handjobs over the phone. “It's not that complicated, really. You just,” and this is where it got tricky, because the mental pictures started up again and he got a vision of Lana, bending over him, looking up with her big doe eyes and asking him how to give him pleasure.

Pete licked his lips, getting lost in the image despite himself. She had such delicate hands and he knew they'd be warm, her grip maybe a little too soft because she was afraid of hurting him. Her nails maybe accidentally grazing the skin of his hard shaft.

He tried to shake his mind off the scenario, since he most definitely did not want to end up being in the same situation as Lana. That's when he noticed. There was nothing. No reaction whatsoever. Lex's pants sat as comfortable as ever and there wasn't even the slightest sign of physical arousal.

“Huh, weird,” he mumbled.

Seemed that someone had a problem getting it up. Pete grinned. Interesting.

“Sorry, Lana. I was distracted,” he spoke into the phone, hoping that Lana wouldn't ask him for more information on the how to's of giving a handjob.

Lana didn’t say anything for a moment. Pete obviously thought that she was an ice princess. But, she didn’t care what he thought. Just because she didn’t stick her hands down the pants of every guy she went out with did not make her cold.

Even when Whitney had begged before being shipped off. Nope, she just thought that there were some things that ladies did and other things that, well, not ladies did. She knew that Pete wouldn’t understand that. Mostly, because, sometimes she didn’t either.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be like that with her boyfriends. It just seemed wrong and dirty for her to do that. Besides, she didn’t like guys all sweaty and grunting and such. It was just too unseemly.

“I know it’s not complicated, Peter,” she stressed his full name. “I just don’t want to cause damage to you that can’t be fixed. Though, if you’re going to continue to have that tone with me….” She trailed off, knowing that Pete would jump in to ensure that he got his penis back in the same shape as when he had left it.

Pete instantly sat up in his chair. Use of the full name was never a good thing. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, well, I,” he stopped and took a deep breath. “Just take it out, stroke it and do what feels good.” That sounded about right. “Oh and there's a box of tissues in my night stand. Make sure you have one ready.”

God this was getting mortifying again. Please let it stop before it gets worse. As long as he didn't have to talk her through it, it'd be ok.

Maybe if she could look at this as a job, forget that, task that she needed to get through step by step it would make things less hard…easier. Lana got up from the chair and made sure that the bedroom door was closed. At least Pete’s parents slept on another floor.

“Ok.” She paused and said, “I’m hanging up now. I think that we’ve both been humiliated for long enough tonight. Bye.”

She quickly disrobed, trying not to let her eyes, or hands, linger anywhere for too long. She couldn’t decide whether to sit up on the bed or lie down. She decided that the clean up would be easier if she sat up.

Biting her lip, she gently took Pete’s penis in her hand and squeezed gently. “Oh.” Her hips rose up off the mattress and pleasure started to worm its way through her body. Lana started to move her hand up and down, setting up a rhythm that seemed right and natural.

Her eyes closed and she heard herself panting. Her mouth had opened at some point and she made a mental note to close it. She didn’t want Pete’s parents to burst in, wondering why their son was screaming.

Lana felt dampness on her hand and her eyes widened as she realized that his penis had started to leak. God, she knew why men were obsessed with this part of their anatomy now. As her hands moved over the shaft, the pleasure traveled throughout her body.

She applied more pressure. “Oh, that’s good.” And it was. She sped up the motion of her hand and it just got better. Lana felt a tingle run down her spine. He eyes widened. She could feel Pete’s…his…his dick getting even bigger in her hand.

Lana decided that she could be bad just once and took a good look at what she held in her hands. Even though she didn’t have a basis for comparison, she was rather impressed. She imagined what it would feel like to have it in her real hands…and then in another spot of her body. When she ran her thumb over the tip, she felt her hips jerk again.

“Yes.” She hissed the word out as she felt Pete’s come stream over her hands. She continued pumping her hips and his dick until she couldn’t anymore. She flopped down on his bed. She had forgotten the tissue but she’d clean it up soon enough. Lana wanted to enjoy the warm feeling of contentment that was in her body. She felt really tired, though. She hadn’t expected that.

After a few moments, Lana sat back up. “Ew.” Now that she was looking at what she had done, she cursed herself for not taking Pete’s suggestion. She went about the task of cleaning herself up, all the while thinking about how she would ever face Pete again.

Lex had slept like the dead, something that wasn't the ordinary thing for him. And he'd almost smashed the alarm clock when it had pulled him out of a dream he only vaguely remembered. It had something to do with chocolate cake and other recreational uses for it.

He'd somehow dragged himself through classes, cramping and nauseated, avoided any and all members of the same sex, well the opposite sex now that he was in Chloe's body and just gotten home when the phone rang.

Pete wanted him to come to the mansion, to go over some last minute things before the meeting tomorrow. Lex was nervous about it, but he didn't let it show, too much.

So now he was being led to his own damn study, by his own damn butler, through the hallways of his damn mansion. This was getting quite annoying, especially since Enrique had been looking at him funny. He knew he should have asked Chloe to help with the hair. It was all over the place again.

“Sir, Chloe Sullivan has arrived,” Enrique announced after they'd entered the study through the double doors.

Pete nodded crisply. “Thank you Enrique. That will be all for now.” He waited until the butler had left before saying. “You may want to try some mousse, Ms. Sullivan.” Pete couldn’t believe that Chloe had let Lex out of the house looking like that.

Lex snarled then ran a hand through the disheveled hair, but ignored the comment otherwise. “So where do you want to start? How about I ask you a couple of questions and we'll see how much you remember of the people you're going to face tomorrow,” he suggested instead.

Pete nodded. He could see that Lex was in a mood and didn’t want to piss the man off anymore than was necessary. He gestured to the couch and said, “Have a seat.” Lex sat down and Pete sat next to him.

Some papers were spread out on the table and he began to rifle through them. He felt Lex shift on the couch next to him and noticed that Chloe’s body was wearing a rather short skirt. He had always thought that Chloe’s legs were the stuff of very good pornos and he could actually feel that Lex agreed.

Lex leaned over to get a better look on the papers as well, brushing against the arm of his own body in the process. Pete had overdone it a little on his aftershave, but damn if it didn't have an affect on Chloe's body.

He willed, or tried to will the rampant hormones under control and cleared his throat. “Allright, who are the three most important people in the room, and which of them could get dangerous for you and why?”

The question was a good one. It was important that Pete be able to identify the worst threats to him. However, he found that he couldn’t concentrate worth a damn with Lex that close. Or, more accurately, Chloe’s body that close. He felt the unmistakable pull of lust deep in his gut and looked over at Lex.

Last night, he had thought that Lex had a small problem in that area of his life. After, however, he had remembered how his body had reacted to Chloe in Lana’s a few days ago. He had started thinking about that, but had just dropped it. Not really wanting to analyze what that meant. But now, he understood why his body hadn’t reacted to the thought of Lana. His body didn’t want Lana. It wanted Chloe. When Lex licked his lips and glared at him when Pete didn’t respond, his body had an even greater reaction.

Chloe’s anger seemed to turn Lex on. His eyes flitted to her chest as Lex crossed his arms over her breasts. That was all it took for Lex’s body to become fully erect. Briefly, Pete wondered how Lex was ever in Chloe’s presence without embarrassing himself.

Then again, he didn’t think that the two of them were alone that often. It occurred to him that it probably wasn’t an accident on Lex’s part. This hadn’t happened when Chloe was here with them the other day.

Lex had obviously cut off any alone time they had together for this very reason. Plus, he was probably used to getting this reaction when around her and was able to control it. Pete, having no warning that this might happen, hadn’t had that luxury.

He glared at Lex. He was mad. Firstly, because he hadn’t given him this important information. What if this had happened around other people? It had only taken a few moments alone with Chloe to bring him to this state. So, if there had been a third person around that had popped out and come back in, well, it would not be a good situation. He couldn’t very well explain an erection away very convincingly.

Secondly, Lex wanting Chloe this badly didn’t sit right with him. He didn’t want to kill Lex for it, but still. And, the fact that he wasn’t feeling homicidal towards Luthor because of it was a problem in and of itself.

“Lex,” he said, “care to tell me how you feel about Chloe?” He figured that that was a nice non accusatory way of asking why he was hard and ready around her in a matter of seconds.

Lex had been getting increasingly irritated when the boy hadn't answered and instead stared at him like a moon-calf. When Pete had started to glare at him with his own eyes, the reaction that caused was not something he'd had expected.

Chloe's body had started heating up, her skin almost itching to be touched and he'd had to clench her legs together for fear of leaking.

Then Pete had uttered his blunt question. He got up and took a step back and regarded the boy coolly.

“I thought we'd covered that already,” he answered calmly.

Pete sat back on the couch and draped an arm over the back of it, looking up at Lex. “Me telling you that Chloe had the hots for you is not considered covering it.” He could feel the obstinate face that his muscles had pulled into. He would have a discussion about this or refuse to continue on with the practice.

Not out of spite, he felt very prepared and had every intention of kicking the meetings ass. He just wanted to know what was going on with Lex and Chloe. Well, at least from the other man’s perspective.

Lex ground his teeth and met Pete's obstinacy, and the very uncharacteristic expression on his face, head on. Wasn't this what fell under the 'keeping out of other people's business' category?

“What makes you ask all of a sudden,” he tried to divert the topic somewhat. “Are you interested in Chloe yourself?”

This was the perfect opportunity to find out if there might be something going on between the two friends after all, or at least if Pete would be an obstacle in the future. He wasn't worried that the younger man would be anything remotely resembling competition, since they weren't playing in the same league by a long shot.

Pete arched an eyebrow at Lex before speaking. He recognized the tapdancing that Lex was doing because he did it often himself. His suspicions doubled when Lex tried to shift the focus of the conversation to his relationship with Chloe.

“I’ll answer that question when you answer mine.” For some reason, being in Lex’s body had done something to his confidence. He didn’t shirk away from challenging situations anymore. He met them head on. Pete found that he liked this new way of doing things.

Lex narrowed his eyes, then smirked coldly. “Very well, I consider her an attractive, intelligent, headstrong young woman,” he stated blandly.

That would be the truth, without having to reveal everything. More importantly, it would be all the boy was going to get. It was more than he'd have revealed if he'd been in his own body, but he noticed that his body had betrayed him already, when Pete shifted once more in his seat and crossed one leg over the other.

Dammit, he'd hoped that it wouldn't come to this. He was usually quite good at controlling his baser urges, but it seemed his body had taken advantage of being free of his restricting mind.

Pete considered telling Lex that he was looking for a little more as to how Lex felt about Chloe but realized that it was not what he had asked. Nodding to himself, he looked up at Lex.

“Fine. Thank you, I appreciate your candor.” He tried to get more comfortable and now knew how Lana had felt last night, sort of. “To answer your questions, no, I am not interested in Chloe in that way.”

He tackled the first question that Lex had asked. “I asked so suddenly because your body’s reaction to hers,” he gestured up to Lex, “was fairly quick and very strong. I was curious as to why it was happening.”

Lex smirked and slowly crossed to the wet bar, getting himself a bottle of water, before he returned to the couch, sitting down a little further away from Pete than he had before.

“I can assure you that I am usually not that easily excited, but considering who's in control at the moment, I'm not surprised,” he answered, then took a sip of his drink.

Pete chuckled at the way that Lex was again, making this about him. If last night hadn’t happened, he would have had to agree with Lex’s point. But, now, he knew it not to be true. If Pete had really been totally in control of Lex’s body, Lana’s problem of last night and the images it brought up would have affected him.

Pete looked at his hands and decided he’d have to get another manicure before the meeting. Lex needed to look his best. As he inspected the short nails he said, “That’s a good cover. But,” he fixed Lex with a stern look, “it’s a load of bullshit.”

He looked over at Lex. Studying his face, Pete said, “I will freely admit that I am usually a hormonal teenage boy that has some control issues in that area.”

Pete watched as Lex smirked at him. “However, situations have presented themselves over the past few days. Situations that I sure as hell would have reacted to if I were in my own body.” He put his hands in his lap, glad that his erection had dissipated a little. “But you didn’t react. And, I think I now know why. I think we both do.”

Lex's jaw clenched as he watched his own face express smug satisfaction. There was really no credible excuse he could use then, if Pete had already found out that they didn't have complete control over the reactions over their host bodies. Damnit.

“I already told you I consider her attractive, and I really do think that not being in control of my own body is the reason it reacted so enthusiastically,” he admitted grudgingly.

“However, this topic is not up for discussion any further. We have an important meeting to prepare for and only a few short hours left, so again, who are the three most important people in this meeting, which of them could get dangerous for you and why?”

If Pete insisted on defying him in this, he'd really learn what a man like Lex could do under the influence of the hormones of a woman like Chloe. He wouldn't like it at all, that much was granted. Taking another swig from his water bottle, Lex leaned back, waiting for Pete's reaction.

Pete glared at Lex. He understood the man not wanting to spill his guts about his feelings for Chloe. He just wanted some type of assurance from the man that he wasn’t just dogging her.

“Don’t blame me for your body’s reaction, Lex. It’s not my fault that you want to touch Chloe. I get your point that it is not any of my business how you feel. However, Chloe is my business.”

He leveled Lex with his most serious look. “I’m sick of her getting played with. Clark worked her over and I will not allow someone else to do it again.” He paused, letting his words sink in.

Pete cleared his throat. Now, onto business. “Bill Carter is the biggest problem. He wants to make trouble for you. I am assuming that you are putting Sharon Gorman and Troy Vanguard in the trouble department because of their feelings towards you.”

Lex regarded Pete coolly, his respect for the boy going up another notch. It seemed this wasn't about him being a Luthor, or anything of that variety, it was purely Pete's concern for a friend.

He could understand now why the question had been important for the younger man and why he'd gone so far as to put himself out there, admitting something that was probably embarrassing for him.

Maybe he'd let Pete know of his intentions at some point, but for the moment, there were more important things to deal with and since it seemed the situation concerning their bodies wasn't about to change back for the time being, nothing untoward would happen anyway.

[BlueSabby]

Chloe looked over the desk at the man who was studying her dubiously. She really couldn’t blame him, her story wasn’t one that she would have swallowed easily. At least she hadn’t been kicked out of his office.

While Lex had gone over to see Pete, Chloe had driven over to Geomatics. She had told the woman at the main front desk that she had been sent by Lex Luthor and demanded to see the man that was in charge of a certain project associated with the Luthor name.

Less than a minute later, a blonde man in his mid-forties had seemingly popped out of nowhere and moved her into his office. He was looking Chloe up and down and she was glad that Lana did have items of clothing that were not pink. It would have made this job even harder if she had been dressed like some sort of fairy.

“I can tell what you’re thinking,” she said. They hadn’t even introduced themselves but Chloe wanted to get right to the point. “Who is this girl who comes in here talking nonsense about the Luthors? The thing is, we both know it’s not nonsense. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have scurried out of your office so damn fast.” She gave the man a pointed look and then sat down in the chair on the opposite side of his desk from where he was currently seated. “So, what do you say we just cut to the chase? The younger Mr. Luthor would like to know about the project that his father was working on in regards to the lake behind the Manor.”

Manfred Parker regarded the girl in front of him closely, trying to figure out how much she knew. It was obvious that she had some information, otherwise she wouldn't have approached him directly, but how could she know anything about the project. “I'm afraid that details about the older Mr. Luthor's projects are under strict closure. If Mr. Luthor junior is so interested in them, why didn't he approach me himself?”

An excellent question, Chloe thought. But, she had an answer for him. “He didn’t want any record of him ever being here. We both know that the project is very top secret. And, we both know that people have a tendency to talk.”

Chloe leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. She watched as the man sitting across from her checked out her legs. She fought the urge to shudder and roll her eyes at the same time.

“If Mr. Luthor had strolled into your office, demanding a meeting, don’t you think that people would have heard about it?” She gave the man a significant look. “I’m sure the government would be interested to know what type of work you’re doing for Lionel Luthor.”

When the suit began to speak, Chloe continued on. “I realize that Lionel Luthor is dead. But, Lex Luthor believes that the work is still ongoing. And, from the nervous, twitchy way that you’re acting, that has been confirmed.”

She leaned over the desk and pushed the phone towards the man as she took a business card out of her pocket. Pete had scrawled the number for Lex’s private line on it. “If you’d like to speak to Mr. Luthor himself, feel free.”

Settling back into her chair, Chloe tried not to grin. She knew that she had this guy cold and, what’s more, he knew it too.

Heaving a sigh, Parker knew he was caught. “We found fragments of meteorite in the lake, some as small as a regular pebble, some up to the size of a volley ball. Lionel Luthor instructed us to remove those that could be used for research and leave the rest where they are. We were hired to research the properties and subsequent use of the meteorites and report back to him. When he ended up in jail, the project slowed down and at this point, we're doing everything on our own money. If you want details, you'll have to ask Dr. Madison, he's the head of the research group.”

With a disgruntled expression, Parker jotted the number down on a piece of paper and pushed it over to the brunette, hoping he hadn't just sealed his own death verdict.

Chloe looked at the piece of paper that the man had passed over to her. “Dr. Madison…Dr. Humphrey Madison.” That name sounded familiar. Humphrey wasn’t a name one forgot all that easily. But, Chloe didn’t know why she knew it.

But, she’d figure it out soon enough. “Thank you, Mr…..” she looked at the man’s nameplate on his desk, “Parker. Mr. Luthor would appreciate it if you’d let Dr. Madison know that he or one of his team members will be contacting him very soon.”

Tucking the name and number into her purse, Chloe got up and said, “No need to see me out.” She smiled at the man and made her way slowly out of his office. Finally, a lead about the rocks. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t be trapped in Lana Lang till the day she died.
~~~~~~
Lex took another look at the assembled group and asked himself once more how much fate must be laughing her ass off right about this moment. Him and Chloe were on the mend as far as their spat a few days ago was concerned. Pete had survived the board meeting without major incident. Lana was...Lana.

On one hand, it was amusing to watch everyone trying to cope in their own way with the situation, but there was a sense of awkwardness in the room that made things highly frustrating.

“So you, Pete, will have to talk to Madison tomorrow, I'll give you a list of questions, but I trust you'll second guess anything that will sound odd and make sure to keep a close eye on him for any clues,” he rounded up the things they had so far discussed. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start and Lex was glad Chloe had gotten as much out of the guy at Geomatics as she had.

Pete nodded, leaning forward in his seat on the low couch to pick up his glass and have a sip from his water. “Sounds good. Maybe I should take Chloe with me though, just in case,” he suggested.

Lex shook his head in the negative, opening his mouth to explain why he couldn't accompany Pete, before he realized that the boy meant Chloe, not him. He was getting so used to be seen as the quirky blonde that it had become instinctual to react to her name.

He turned to the original blonde. “Do you think you can make time, I'd have to agree with Pete that it would be better to have you there, even though it's going to be a blow to my ego if you have to correct me when I overlook something you pick up on.”

Chloe nodded. Going to the meeting with Pete was fine and dandy with her. Any time spent away from Lex was good. He had been really careful with her and nice to her for the past few days. Things were still strained between them, the whole ‘I want your body thing’ wasn’t just going to go away with the snap of her fingers. Especially now that Lex knew.

She was happy that he hadn’t been insensitive to her but she had to admit that she missed the way that he didn’t let her get away with anything. She supposed that they’d be able to return to normal some time soon. Until then, she felt very odd around Lex. As if there was something that he either wanted to say or was up to. Usually, she’d be all over finding out what, but this time she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know.

“I can go along with him. If it looks as if there’s something that he’s not getting,” she looked over at Pete and smiled a little, trying to show him that she wasn’t digging at him, “I’ll slip him a piece of paper or something. That way, it can appear as if he already had notes on it.”

Lana tried to follow the conversation. She knew that what everyone was discussing was important to them getting back to their old selves. Chloe had explained that much before the meeting started, but Lana didn’t have much to do and found that her mind was wandering.

Everyone was acting totally weird. Not outwardly, but something was definitely going on. She knew why she and Pete were avoiding talking too much. But, the rest of them were acting off with each other as well.

Lex and Chloe were being almost nice and polite to each other. It was rather unnerving and Lana liked watching them fight so it was also a little disappointing. They weren’t standing as close as they usually did and Chloe had even made her way over to a chair as soon as the meeting had started. Lana had seen the brief frown on Lex’s face and made a promise to talk to Chloe just to see if she was ok….and to ask what was going on.

Pete and Lex were also acting very strange. They were getting along much better than usual, which in itself was newsworthy. However, she caught Pete watching Lex watching Chloe. The whole thing was far more than she wanted to think about just now.

“Is there anything that I can do?” Lana knew the answer was probably in the negative but she felt useless. More so than usual, in fact.

Lex turned from Chloe, who was still keeping distance between them, back to Lana. He could see that the girl inside the boy's body was having difficulty catching up with the situation and feeling a bit left out. But honestly, there was nothing she could do. Lex bit down on the urge to tell her to go and fetch them some coffee and pastries.

“At the moment, you've got the easiest part, unless there's some project Pete didn't tell us about that you need to work on,” he commented vaguely, then turned to the boy in question arching his brow.

“No, not that I can think off. You could try to get me out of the dog house with my mother though, that should be hard enough.”

The smirk that showed up on his own face made Lex oddly proud. The boy had really gotten his air down in the last few days. Seemed he'd also gotten a lesson to the downside of being Lex Luthor.

Lex thanked which ever deities might be that they wouldn't have to deal with Lionel. That would have made things a whole lot more complicated. And that was an understatement. If Lionel had so much as suspected anything odd, they would have had hell to deal with.

Casting another glance at Chloe, he wondered how long it would take before she finally got over her embarrassment. Maybe it would help to let her know that he wasn't averse to the idea of something between them, but as long as the situation was as it was, and as long as there still was Vlad to deal with, he didn't see a sense in it.

Lana nodded. Pete’s mom was rather scary, but she’d just have to suck it up and make things better for Pete. He was already pulling his weight in this and it wouldn’t be fair if he jumped back into his body only to be grounded until he turned 21.

“OK, I will make it impossible for her to continue to be mad at you.” She looked over at Lex. A plan was hatching in her head and she’d need his help in getting it done. Well, actually, just some of his money, not the actual man.

But, she figured that he’d be ok with what she had planned. If not, well, she’d come up with something else. Lana felt a whole lot better now that she had something to do.

Chloe looked over at Lana and saw determination cross the girl’s face. It was a little scary and Chloe didn’t even want to imagine what Lana was thinking now. Then again, the girl was very good at getting people to forgive her without even an apology or a good reason for it.

“So, do you guys think that we’re done here?” She looked around the room and then stood up. “Pete, I’ll stay so we can go over some questions and stuff like that.” She looked over at Lana and Lex. “You two can go if you’d like, I think that Pete and I have got everything covered.”
Lex blinked at Chloe's abrupt change in pace, then smirked up at her, sinking deeper into his seat on the couch opposite from Pete's.

“Are you trying to throw me out of my own house?”

He couldn't suppress the chuckle as Chloe's eyes widened for an instant before she got herself under control. “Honestly, one would think you were trying to get rid of us to be alone with,” he paused for a fraction of a second, casting a glance at his own body across from him. “Pete.”

Ok, so did Chloe like Pete? Lana was trying to figure out what was going on between everyone. Pete had quirked one eyebrow up at Chloe and Lana again marveled at how well her friend had gotten down Lex’s little quirks.

Chloe looked down at Lex, trying to puzzle out what he had meant by his last statement. Was he implying that she wanted to be alone with Pete….or just with his own body? The former was something that she could handle. But, the latter was not. If he was going to start making off handed comments about that once they got switched back…… Besides, he had promised her.

She could feel that everyone was looking at her and so she decided that speaking would be a good move. “You and Lana are more than welcome to stay if you want. I just thought that it wasn’t necessary.” She looked down at Lex. “But, if you think that Pete and I need to be chaperoned, be our guest.” Chloe could feel her annoyance at Lex starting to bubble to the surface. Well, at least that was coming back. Maybe things would return to normal sooner rather than later.

With that, she walked over to where Pete was now seated at Lex’s desk and pulled up a chair, ignoring Lex and Lana for the moment.

Lex shook his head, getting up from the couch. It made no sense trying to argue if Chloe was hell bent on ignoring him. Maybe they weren't on the mend after all. It was truly a mystery to him why admitting physical attraction was such a big deal to the girl.

“Come on, Lana, I'll drive you home. I guess the two of them can deal with this for now and I have some business to attend to. Pete may have learned a lot this last week, but that doesn't mean I can take a vacation and leave running my business to him.”

He waited for Lana to get up of the couch and follow him out of the room. “I'll see you later, Pete,” and after a pause, “Chloe.”

Pete was thoroughly confused. He had no idea what was going on between Chloe and Lex but there was definitely something odd. He hadn't thought that Lex was still in the doghouse, but apparently, there was something ill at easy between the two of them. Chloe didn't even look at Lex if she didn't have to and she'd made a remarkable job at keeping a physical distance of at least 5 feet between them at any given point.

He didn't want to be reamed for sticking his nose in Chloe's business again, but he definitely needed to say something, because as much as he still didn't like the idea of Lex and Chloe, it wasn't really a good thing to watch the temperature drop to sub zero degrees when the two were in the same room either.

“Bye Lex, Lana,” he echoed in a less cold tone than the other man had. God it was really disconcerting what Lex was able to do even with a girl's voice.

“Bye,” Lana said before scurrying out of the room. She was anxious to get out of the Manor. Especially since she saw that Pete was looking at Chloe as if the girl had something wrong with her. She knew that Pete was going to ask for an explanation and that Chloe may or may not attack him verbally and/or physically. She thought it best to be as far away as possible when that happened.

Even with Chloe’s significantly shorter legs than he was accustomed to, Lex was still far ahead of her and Lana had to jog in order to catch up. She reflected briefly that it was nice to be taller before speaking to Lex.

“Lex, do you think you could help me a little with Pete’s mom?” He didn’t say anything so she just went on. “I know that I said that I could handle it but I just don’t have certain resources that I think will help with that.”

Lex suppressed a long suffering sigh and turned sideways to look at Lana with a smirk on his face. “Of course, just let me know what you'll need and I'll arrange it,” he commented blandly, his voice friendly enough not to seem aggrieved by Lana's predictable behavior.

His mind was still very much in the study they had just left, wondering what it would take for Chloe to stop acting like he was the enemy and go back to the quasi friendship they had formed before the girl had started acting so aggressively.

“You'll have to give me directions, I'm afraid I don't know exactly where the Ross' house is,” he added as they both got into Chloe's beetle. It wasn't his Porsche, but it would have to do while he was stuck in her body.

“Thanks, Lex.” That was a weight off of her shoulders. “You want to go as if you’re going to Chloe’s place for a little while. I’ll let you know when you need to deviate and start going in a different direction.”

Lex nodded and then started driving towards the center of town. The silence that descended on the car was comfortable enough but Lana wanted to discuss what had just happened. Sort of.

“Do you think that Chloe likes Pete? Is that why you think Chloe wanted them to be alone?”

She was curious of Lex’s answer but also curious as to why he had even brought up the point in the study. She wouldn’t question him about his motives, though. She knew that he probably had dozens of places in Smallville that he could bury a body without anyone ever finding it.

Lana saw Lex’s knuckles flex on the steering wheel, but pressed on. “I mean, it would be weird but they wouldn’t make the worst couple, you know? Besides, it would be nice for Chloe to get some action.”

Ok, maybe that last sentence should have remained unsaid. But Chloe could be so high strung sometimes.

Lex's eyes flashed over to see a very female expression on the face of Pete Ross. Lana hadn't really made an effort to make the boy look less effeminate. That she'd have the gall to ask him all these questions was quite surprising, but then, Lana had a way of not noticing when she stepped over certain boundaries.

Choosing to ignore the last comment, he quirked his lip in a smirk and answered blandly.

“I was just pulling her leg about it. I don't think Chloe really has a thing for Pete. The two are best friends and that's all there is to it.”

The tone of Lex’s voice clearly said that the discussion was over. But, Lana thought that things were still open for debate. Getting more comfortable in her seat she said, “Yeah, but don’t people say that friends make the best lovers?”

Thinking even harder about it, Lana said, “Besides, Chloe’s cute. And, she got this whole weird thing going on for her. Then there’s the fact that Pete used to love her. I’m sure that there’s still got to be some sort of feelings there.”

The more Lana thought about it, the more sense it made. Here was yet another way that she could help Pete.

Lex's grip tightened on the steering wheel for a moment as the urge to throttle Lana became a little stronger before it waned again. Clearly the girl had picked up some tendencies from Chloe somewhere down the line, or she was just too plain stupid to realize when a discussion had been ended.

“Do I want to make a left or a right here?” he asked.

“Oh,” Lana said, sitting up straight. “You want to go left here. Sorry.” For the next few minutes she directed Lex to Pete’s house. Once there, she unbuckled her belt and looked over to Lex.

“Thanks for the ride. I’ll give you a call and let you know of my plan. I appreciate your help. Night, Lex.”

Lana used the keys to get into the house and then went into the kitchen to get the phone book out. It was too late to start things now, but she’d be prepared in the morning.

Lex turned around to make his drive back to the Sullivan house. Part of him was still on edge from the afternoon at the mansion, the way Chloe had acted, and then of course the rather one sided conversation with Lana on the drive to Pete's house. 'The gall...'. He sneered to himself as he took a sharp turn back onto main street.

Lana sure didn't have a lot of perspective. Her view of the world was as narrow as one of Paris' one way streets and she didn't even pretend to want to look at things from another angle. It was highly annoying. There was such a thing as an attractive naivety, but she was taking it quite a bit too far.

Chloe and Pete the perfect couple? That was like saying that Tom and Jerry were meant to be together forever. Lex shook his head, taking another turn. The two were friends, not more, not less.

What concerned him was that Lana had obviously gotten it into her head that the two would make for a great couple and that Chloe needed to be fixed up or something. He could only hope Lana wouldn't try such a stupid thing. It would put a damper on his plans. For one insane moment, he wished he'd have told her about the guy Chloe was actually dating at the moment, but that wouldn't have done any good.

In any case, he would have to warn Chloe when she got home that Lana had apparently found herself a new past time. If Chloe would even listen to him, that was.
~~~~
Chloe violently flipped another page in the leather bound notebook. She and Pete had been going over the questions for Dr. Madison for the last few minutes and she could feel his eyeballs staring at her.

Pete wasn’t dumb, so he had to have picked up on the mini tiff that had occurred within the past few minutes. “I think we need to focus on getting stuff he may not want to admit out of him. I did a little research on him after I left Parkers’s office.”

She looked up at Pete. “Dr. Madison was dismissed from numerous universities in the past few years. He was disgraced. But, he’s brilliant.” Chloe shuffled some papers around and took out the man’s CV. “He went to all of the top universities for his education and had a promising career. Then, there was some time of his that’s unaccounted for.” Chloe frowned at the piece of paper.

“The whole thing is very fishy.” She placed the paper back on the desk. “He did his work for another 10 years before he started getting fired left and right. He was finally hired by Lionel.”

Pete listened to Chloe's explanations and tried to remember the important information. He'd gotten a lot better at that after he'd had to work on 'being Lex Luthor'. Still, while he processed her rant and watched her shuffle through papers and jot things down, he couldn't help but see that she was also avoiding his gaze and keeping a distance between them. It was time to bite the bullet.

“Chloe,: he started carefully.

When she ignored him in favor of another stack of papers and muttering to herself, he reached out and covered the shuffling hand with his own. “Chloe, would you stop for a second?”

Chloe snatched her hand back from Pete. She decided that no matter what body she was in, she would not allow contact with Lex. Either his body or him in anyone else’s. “I’m stopping. See.” She dropped the papers and looked at Pete.

He stared back at her evenly and she groaned. “Can you drop the Lex act for now, please?”

Chloe saw Pete’s face change a little and knew that that was as far as she would get with Pete looking like himself.

Pete frowned at Chloe's obvious distress and tried again, making an effort to sound less like the man he'd been conditioned to play and more like the guy he actually was. Surprisingly, it wasn't that easy.

“Why does it suddenly bother you?”

He knew of course that the reason she was upset was Lex, but that didn't tell him what had happened.

“Did he do something to make you upset,” he asked quietly, his eyes narrowing a little at the thought that the older man might have tried to overstep his boundaries, never mind that he wasn't in his own body.

“Yes,” Chloe said, running a hand through Lana’s hair. Again, she thought wistfully of scissors. “He exists and sits there and looks smug even when he’s not in his body and he….he…..”

Chloe looked over at Pete and saw that he looked as if he was waiting for the last words so he could go and beat Lex. “Pete, jeez, no nothing like that.” She took a deep breath. If she was going to be totally humiliated by Lex, she could share it with Pete, as well.

Maybe some of the indignant anger he always displayed towards Lex would actually help her deal with it. At least she wouldn’t be the only peeved in the room.

“Apparently, my body reacts in certain ways when it’s around his.” She gave Pete a moment to read into what she was saying. When realization dawned on his face she said, “Yeah, that kind of thing. So, he mentioned it to me and….”

Chloe got up out of her chair. “I mean, is there anything more embarrassing than that? Then he promised not to mention it to anyone or even me. Then when he made the crack about me wanting to be alone with you. Well….”

Pete was at this point trying hard not to crack a smile. He'd been furious with Lex at the first part of Chloe's rant, expecting to hear something he did not want to know and would want to castrate the older man for, but instead it turned out that it wasn't something Lex had done, more something Chloe had done that Lex had found out about. Thanks to him. He winced. Ok not so hard to fight the smile of a sudden.

“Chloe, uhm, you might wanna not get all mad at him about that. I mean, did you really expect him not to realize that you've got the hots for him?”

At Chloe's incredulous look he rushed on before she could come down on him like one of the seven plagues. “And on top of that, I don't think he would have mentioned it if he didn't like it and well, if it makes you feel better, he's not really averse to your body either, you know?”

After he'd blabbed that out, he winced once more then did something he'd not thought Lex Luthor's body to be capable of. He blushed all the way up to the crown of his head. God he really hadn't meant to say that. Now instead of Chloe, it would probably be Lex who was going to kill him. 'Damn'. “Forget I said that, would you?” He looked hopefully up at his best friend, trying to pull off the puppy eyes, even though he had no idea if that would work with Lex Luthor's facial muscles.

Chloe had stopped short in her pacing of the room when Pete had said that Lex wasn’t ‘averse’ to her body. Did that mean what she thought it did? And, if it did, what was that all about anyway? She knew that Lex wouldn’t flat out tell her that he wanted to make the beast with two backs with her, but she thought that she would have picked up on something. ‘Not unless you’ve been ignoring it because it’s too big and scary.’

She turned back to Pete and saw a pleading look on his face. She almost felt bad for him. Almost. She needed information and he had it so she was not about to go easy on him. Once she had what she needed, she’d make a promise not to let Lex know that she knew what she did. Before then, though, she wasn’t about to give her word on anything.

Pulling up a chair so she was right next to Pete, she said, “Pete, does Lex’s body have certain reactions to mine?” She briefly considered putting her hand on his leg, but she was in Lana’s body so it wouldn’t prove anything. Well, anything that she really wanted to think about that was.

Pete clenched his teeth and looked away. He knew that Chloe wouldn't let this go now. 'Great, I'm a dead man,' Taking a deep breath he looked back at Chloe, determined to get this over with as fast and clean as possible.

“Yes, it does and no I won't give any details. He's attracted to you, that's for sure and can we let this rest now?”

They really had more important things to worry about than the fact that Lex Luthor got a boner in his silk boxers whenever Chloe Sullivan's body got in touching range. Far more important and by far less embarrassing things.

Chloe raised an eyebrow at Pete. Not at his admission. Just that he refused to go into greater detail. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Pete, do you actually like Lex now?”

Good, that would divert him while she did a happy dance in her head. Lex was attracted to her. Strange how he had left that little tidbit out of their conversation the other night. She couldn’t imagine why ever he would do that……

Seriously, though, this changed this a little. Well, actually not that much, she supposed. She had told Lex that she was attracted to him. She hadn’t mentioned the stupid feelings that she thought she had for him. The feelings that made her feel a little guilty whenever she was with Vlad.

Vlad. She’d have to make sure that Lex called him. He had called this morning and Chloe had to cut him off to get here on time.

But, Chloe was comforted to know that she wasn’t the only one in this whole fucked up situation that wanted someone else inappropriately.

When Pete still hadn’t answered her, Chloe leaned forward a little. “You don’t hate him anymore. And, yes, while you’re afraid he may kill you with his bare hands if he found out that you told me, it’s something more right?” She leaned back and threw her hands up. “I can’t believe that you are protecting him now.”

Pete's hackles raised at Chloe's tone of voice and her accusations. “I'm not protecting him!”

This was ridiculous, if there's one guy on the planet who didn't need protection, it was Lex Luthor. Aside from meteor mutants and ex-honeys that was. Pete made a mental note to ask Lex about the woman that had left a message earlier in the day, she'd sounded a bit miffed and he really didn't want to risk being in serious trouble while he was still inside Lex's body.

“And anyway, what's your problem? I thought you wanted us to get along! So the guy isn't quite as much a bastard as I thought and actually capable to temporarily remove the stick from up his ass! And have you seen his game collection?! No evil man would have the entire Final Fantasy series.”

Ok so he might be reaching a little, but still, it irked him that Chloe would make a big deal out of the fact that he didn't quite hate Luthor like he used to. She should be thanking him dammit, because he'd obviously given her a reason not to be upset anymore, and instead she turned it around and behaved like that. “If you want, I can go right back to hating Lex, and if it makes you happy, go tell him. I hope you have fun at my funeral!”

Chloe could see that she had pushed Pete too far. That he probably hadn’t really thought about the fact that he considered Lex a friend. And, what’s more, what that meant for Pete. He had always blamed Lex for ruining his family and demonized the man. So, it would be hard for Pete to admit he liked Lex. It would be like betraying his family.

“Pete, I’m sorry. Please, calm down.” She didn’t want to now be in a fight with Pete, especially because it would have been due to her own insensitivity. “You’re right. I do want you two to get along. I’m just surprised that it happened and along with the other information you just gave me…” she trailed off, not wanting to discuss that right now. This was about Pete, not Lex anymore.

“I don’t want you to go back to hating Lex, you know that. I’m glad that you like him now, I just think that you should be able to admit that you do without feeling so bad about it.” When Pete glared at her, she held up her hands. “But, that’s up to you when that happens so I won’t push it.” She paused. “We ok?”

She couldn’t alienate the one true friend that she could still talk to. If they needed to work through this further, Chloe would do it.

Pete grumbled to himself, but decided to let it slide. “Yeah, we are, as long as you keep your mouth shut about what I told you and stop making these comments like you did last time, got it?” He looked at her challengingly, raising a finger in her face to make his point even more clear.

“I have no problem with that. Just as long as you don’t order me to do so like you just did.” Chloe knew that he was pissed, so she’d write off his tone and words to that. “Trust me, I’m not going to make trouble for any of us.” She turned her attention back to the papers. “So, anything else you can think of asking the good Doctor?”

[BlueSabby]

When Chloe finally got home, she was exhausted. Pete and she had gone over every conceivable question for Dr. Madison when they met with him. Between school, trying to find out what was going on with them, trying not to kill Lana and everything with Lex, Chloe was beat.

The new information about Lex was rather interesting. She reminded herself that he just found her hot, that he didn’t have any real feelings for her. And, it didn’t matter because she was with Vlad. Speaking of which….

Chloe found a post-it note on the kitchen counter informing her that Vlad had called. It was in her Dad’s handwriting and she saw a check mark at the bottom of the note. She surmised that Lex had called him back. She smiled as she imagined Lex trying to deal with someone telling him that he was beautiful and that he wanted to see him.

When things got back to normal she vowed to treat her boyfriend better. At the very least, she’d tell her friends about him. But things were a little too complicated to do it now.

Lex walked into the kitchen in her pajamas and nodded at her, acknowledging her presence. “I think that Pete and I have everything taken care of.” She fished a piece of paper out of her bag.

“Here’s a list of the questions and then follow up questions that we intend to ask. Go over them and let us know if you think that we’ve missed anything.” She handed the paper over to Lex and watched as he scanned it.

After he'd arrived back at the Sullivan's, Lex had gotten comfortable to mull over the afternoon and make plans how to get Chloe to stop acting like an ice-queen towards him. Needless to say he hadn't come up with much and the fact that he was still rankled by Lana's comments wasn't helping.

Then there had been the chat with Vlad. Lex suppressed a shudder. The boy was laying it on way too thick and Lex got the feeling he was dealing with an obsessive stalker. There were only so many times he could hear things like 'I missed you' 'Are you sure you're not trying to evade me' and 'You know how much you mean to me' before it got creepy.

When he made his way down the stairs towards the kitchen to get a coffee, he heard the backdoor open and close and assumed that Chloe was coming home. Gabe had fleetingly told him he was meeting with 'the guys' and would be home late.

Lex had no idea who the guys where, but an image of men sitting around a table, drinking beer and playing poker had entered his mind as he nodded at the older man and wished him fun. At least it meant he didn't have to act the part when Gabe wasn't around. It was one thing playing Chloe Sullivan, high school senior for people who didn't know her much. Convincing a loving father who at times seemed a bit over-protective with his daughter, was a different scenario entirely.

He stepped into the kitchen and nodded at Chloe, not willing to make the opening gambit this time. She immediately started talking, rummaging around in her bag. Funny enough, her tone was quite different than it had been the last time they'd spoken. Arching a brow, he took the pages she handed him.

“Alright, let's have a look at it,” he said as he settled down at the kitchen table, coffee momentarily forgotten. “Vlad and I talked, he misses you, you mean a lot to him and he wants to spend more time with you,” he reported dead pan.

Not that he'd do any such thing as long as he was in Chloe's body.

“Thanks for the message,” she replied. She sat down at the table and considered Lex’s words. “I hope he said it in a less stalkerish tone than I’m imagining, though.” She gave him a small smile and he looked at her a moment too long before glancing back down at the page.

Chloe knew that he was trying to figure out what was going on in her head. The last time they had seen each other, just two hours ago, she’d been chilly and defensive. And now, she was being friendly and glib. For a moment, she pitied Lex for getting stuck with her. She could be a conundrum sometimes. But, that’s what kept things fun.

As Lex continued to read the questions, she said, “If he keeps pressing you to see him, just tell him that your friends are getting suspicious or something.” She paused, realizing that it sounded like she wanted to dodge her own boyfriend. “I’ll fix things with him once stuff gets back to normal.”

Lex didn't look up from the page, but his mind didn't even process the words as his thought snagged on Chloe's last comment. That sounded a great deal different from what she'd expected of him just a few days ago. He wondered just what had been going on after he'd left the mansion that she'd done a one-eighty.

Lana's voice piped up in his head, chirping sweetly that Pete and Chloe would be good for each other, but he pushed that thought away. There was no chance, Pete wasn't even Pete at the moment. Which would make it so much more likely since she was attracted to Lex's body.

He clamped down on all thoughts that led in that direction, forcing his concentration back onto the text before him. The questions were thought out and precise and as far as he could see, nothing had been forgotten. That meant that Pete and Chloe had definitely spent time and concentration on the topic. Good.

“This'll work,” he said as he looked up from the papers. “I don't think anything is missing, and I'm sure you'll be able to add anything that'll come up during the questioning.”

The vote of confidence from Lex made Chloe feel better. She wasn’t worried about Pete acting like him or her ability to bully the Doctor into telling them what they needed to know. She was more worried about what the Doctor had to tell them.

All of their questions were well and good. But, if he couldn’t get them back, well, there was no other question to ask after he divulged that information. Neither she nor Pete had voiced that concern. They had probably been too afraid to even broach that topic. It was just not a possibility that could be faced.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure if he’s trying to hide something that I’ll be able to tell.” She picked up a few grapes from the fruit bowl and then a thought occurred to her. “Where’s my Dad?”

Lex smirked as he got up to get his coffee, amused that Chloe only now had noticed her father's absence. “I believe his exact words were 'Out with the boys, don't stay up, see you tomorrow, sweetheart'. He does that a lot, doesn't he?”

It was downright weird how little time father and daughter seemed to spend together and still be able to know so much about what's going on in the other’s life.

Taking a few more grapes and popping them into her mouth, Chloe spoke. Trying to enunciate properly and not be too much of an undignified lady as she did so. “He’s got a bunch of guys that he likes to hang out with. I think living with two girls makes him worry about his testosterone levels.”

She watched Lex pour some coffee and look over to her. “Nope, I’m about to pass out and I like it that way.” Going back to her father, she said, “I’m glad he’s got some friends around here. I just wish that some of them were women.”

Seeing that the only thing left of the grapes were the stems, she picked up the skeleton like object and tossed it into the garbage. “Three points!”

Lex had returned to the table and was looking at her curiously. “What? I’m not a kid who grew up wishing that their parents would get remarried. My father has raised a child by himself. He deserves to have some fun now.”

Taking a sip of his coffee, he contemplated the thought for a moment. True, he hadn't seen Gabe dating anyone in the whole time the man had worked for him. There'd never been a mention of any woman and when it came to information on the one marriage he had had, there wasn't much to find, except that the former Mrs. Sullivan had apparently ended up in a mental institution. And that was not somewhere he wanted to go with his thoughts.

“Well, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Not everyone needs a relationship to be happy,” he shrugged.

As far as he was concerned, he'd always been happier without a relationship. Granted, maybe that was because his relationships tended to end up rather messy, and most times with attempted homicide, but still.

Chloe leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head. The damn long hair got caught between her back and the chair and she winced before pulling it free. “I totally agree. Finding someone doesn’t make you whole, it doesn’t make you a better person, sometimes you’re worse off afterwards.” Her tone wasn’t bitter or angry, she was just telling it like she saw it.

“However,” she said, fixing Lex with a look, “I know my Dad. I also know that he worries about me much more than he should and that he thinks his free time should be spent with me.” She picked up an apple and rolled it from one hand to the other.

“He tells me that he doesn’t want to be involved with anyone. I just don’t believe him.” She put the apple back in the bowl before looking back at Lex.

Lex shrugged a shoulder taking another sip of his coffee before he answered. “He's a grown man, so it's his decision,” he commented. Once again he thought of Lana's comment on the drive back to Pete's house, “And you definitely shouldn't try to meddle, because nothing good can ever come of that.”

This conversation was becoming a bit odd, considering that Chloe should technically still be acting like a freezer towards him, and even though he should just take it as he saw it for the moment, Lex found himself asking anyway.

“So what's with your sudden change in attitude towards me?”

Chloe was surprised at the direct question. It wasn’t that Lex was coy usually. He just usually didn’t talk candidly about anything close to emotions. Even if they were hers.

Shrugging, Chloe knew that she couldn’t be totally honest with her answer. She wasn’t about to go back on what she told Pete. So, in order to keep her word, she’d have to lie to Lex. Or, more accurately, not give him specifics.

“I decided that I was overreacting about the whole thing.” It was true in a way. “And, it’s not your fault that my body reacts that way around you.” She looked up at him, “So it’s not fair that I take it out on you. Plus, I guess it’s not the end of the world that you know I think you’re hot.”

Even though she didn’t think that Lex would admit anything about his own hot related feelings about her, she still watched him carefully for his reaction.

Lex's eyebrow went up at that. In the span of a few hours, she'd gone from completely freaking out on him to thinking it was 'not the end of the world', acting as if it was no big deal. He knew it couldn't be mood-swings brought on by pms, because they'd just passed that more than annoying time of the month. So what the hell had changed her mind like that?

From the way she was looking at him, he could tell he wouldn't be getting anything more out of her, so he decided to let it drop, for now. Not that he wouldn't talk to one Peter Ross to find out if he'd had something to do with the change of mind.

“That's good,” he said as he got up from the chair, taking his empty mug to the sink and rinsing it out. “So tomorrow, we're gonna find out what that doctor knows, and let's hope he has an idea how to get things back to the way they should be.”

He didn't think about it constantly anymore, but that didn't mean it wasn't bothering him to be trapped in the body of a female. On top of that, it wasn't just any female, but one he wanted to get a little more intimately acquainted with. Of course if he wanted to, he could do just that without Chloe ever being the wiser, but it wasn't quite the same. Especially since his body was in no way involved.

Which again was a good thing for the moment, considering who was currently residing in his body. So yes, it would definitely be beneficial for all of them to get back into their respective bodies asap.

Chloe got up out of the chair and pushed it back into the table. “Yes, I think that Pete and I will be able to get everything pertinent out of Dr. Madison.” She leaned against the counter, facing Lex. She rolled her head from side to side, enjoying the little snaps and pops that she heard. As she massaged the back of her neck she said, “And it had better be soon. If not, Lana might just have to cave on the whole hair cut thing.”

She smiled over at Lex. “If the guy holds out on us, I’m sure that Pete’ll be able to bend his arm, shall we say. He’s gotten quite good at being you. It’s a little unsettling really.” She said the last part almost to herself.

Chuckling at Chloe's comment, he went back to the table, leaning back against the chair she had vacated. It was true, Pete had changed a lot and since the meeting, it was hard to tell the difference for someone who didn't know Lex well enough.

“Well, the better he acts, the better for me. It'd cause a lot of damage if this ever got out, that's why I'll have to make sure the doctor keeps his mouth shut about everything.”

He'd deal with that as soon as everybody was back in their own body, though. No need to scare the kids. “A hefty sum will probably be enough.” The part he didn't want to talk about was the possibility that it wasn't.

For now, he'd just spend the rest of the evening working on the things that Pete couldn't take care of and deal with the other problems as they arose. “Anyway, I've got a few things to work on so I'll see you tomorrow, ok?”

“Sure thing,” Chloe said as she started to open some of the cabinets, looking for something to munch on. She addressed Lex over her shoulder. “And, don’t worry about Dr. Madison keeping his mouth shut, I’ll have Pete lay the groundwork on that tomorrow.”

After finding a box of crackers, Chloe walked with Lex out of the kitchen. “Besides,” she said, mounting the steps, “I can be rather intimidating too, you know?” She grinned over at him once they reached the top.

Lex snagged a cracker from the box, smirking up at Chloe from a step below her. “There's no doubt in my mind,” he said smoothly, then finished the cracker with one bite.

Why didn't they make those crackers bigger? It took an entire box to feed yourself. Maybe he'd look into that and see if it'd be worth spreading another branch from LuthorCorp.

Leaving Chloe at the door to Lana's room he continued into his own, throwing over his shoulder, “Night, Chloe.”

~~~~
As Chloe and Pete made their way to Dr. Madison’s office she wondered what the good doctor had been up to recently. It wasn’t just that his lab was in the basement, though that didn’t help, she also noticed that there wasn’t another human being wandering around the floor.

It appeared as if the man had scared off every other scientist that was employed here. If his colleagues weren’t comfortable around him it didn’t bode well for the conversation that she and Pete were going to have with him.

Pete had Lex’s gait down to a science and whenever they were in public he treated Chloe in the same indifferent and cold way that Lex did. It was unsettling on numerous levels.

Dr Madison’s office was, apparently, the last door down the long hallway and as they approached it, Chloe could hear a steady hum permeating the corridor.

Pete had prepared for the meeting. He'd gone over the questions several times and gone so far as practicing the 'Evil Glare' in front of the mirror in Lex's bedroom. After all, better safe than sorry. If money didn't grease the wheels, fear would have to be the means to achieve the wanted end.

They were approaching the door to the doctor's office. Pete became aware of a sound that was similar to the electric hum of an old fridge. His step didn't falter, which he prided himself on, but he did take a careful look at the surroundings, trying to figure out where the noise originated.

Chloe had kept casting weird looks at him for some reason, which was slightly unsettling. Pete checked his outfit over once again, but nothing was amiss. He'd have to ask her about this later, but for now. “Stop looking at me like that.” They had to keep up appearances and if Chloe kept giving him the weird look at all odds and ends it wouldn't be helpful.

“Sorry,” Chloe said, taking her eyes off of him, “it’s just weird to know that it’s you in there.” She continued to look straight ahead. “Just think about how odd it would be if I did a perfect impression of Lana whenever I was around you.”

Still making sure not to look at Pete she added, “Maybe I’ll start that from now on even when we’re alone.” Chloe flipped her hair over shoulder and added some whine to her voice before speaking again. “Lex, Clark keeps pulling away and I don’t know why. It’s like my parents leaving all over again.”

Pete looked at Chloe a little askance. “She's not that bad,” he shot back.

She really wasn't. Lana had simply been through a lot of unfortunate incidents in her life and had no problem showing it when she was upset instead of bottling everything up and playing the 'strong one' like somebody else he knew. Sometimes he wondered why he'd been so strongly attracted to Chloe. She wasn't exactly the girl you could protect and take care of. In fact, Pete had a sneaking suspicion she'd deck him for even suggesting such a thing.

“Anyway, let's get this over with.”

He swung the door to the lab open and strode in as if he owned the place. Sometimes it was still a little eerie how naturally Luthor's body did that, if he let it. The humming was strong and before he could get a word out they were already assaulted by a flurry of white lab coat and frantic middle aged white man.

Dr. Madison had been warned that outsiders were coming to his lab. Were coming to his lab this morning. Were coming to his lab this morning to ask him some questions. Questions were not what he had time for. He had time for very little. And what very little time he had were not for questions.

He was just recalibrating his instruments when the two uninvited guests walked into his lab. No warning, no knocking. He had been told that they would be here at a specific time but he couldn’t remember when. And, he didn’t have any clocks. They told him what he already knew. There wasn’t enough time.

Reaching over the girl for a beaker that he needed, he said, “Ask your questions. My work is being deterred by this inquisition so be quick about it.”

Without waiting for a response he said, “You won’t understand the answers much less the questions.”

Pete's brow furrowed at the doctor who had an uncanny resemblance to the rabbit from Alice in wonderland, in attitude if not in appearance. He would have laughed if the situation wasn't so dire.

“Dr. Madison, I'm Lex Luthor and this is my assistant, Lana Lang. If you could take a few minutes out of your schedule, we'd be most thankful. You might also be interested to know that we're planning on contributing to your research if we can come to a mutually beneficial conclusion.”

One thing he'd learned in his short time as Lex Luthor was that it never hurt to wave around with possible cash. He waited for the doctor's reaction, sure he'd gotten him, but added for good measure. “I understand that this project is under a bit of pressure as far as financing is concerned.”

Dr. Madison took in the suit. The suit whose name bore a striking resemblance to a dead man. A wealthy dead man. He needed money. The rocks were harder and harder to come by. His personal digs weren’t getting him anywhere and he needed more animals, as well.

“Pressure. Pressure isn’t the answer,” he said. Pressure would only make things worse. It wouldn’t help anything. This manboy was wasting his time. “But, ask your questions.”

The girl opened her mouth and he said, “Your hair is shiny. You must give me the formula.”

Pete didn't let himself get deterred by the man's rambling and focused on what they came here to get. “You've been researching the meteor rocks, we want to know what specific experiments you've made and if they might have any use that could be beneficial for my company.”

He'd keep their own situation out of it, until they could at least say if the doctor would be useful. So far, it didn't look like this man was useful for something other than comedic relief. Then again, there was a slim line between genius and madman. The question was, had this man already overstepped it?

Chloe stayed out of the conversation for now. Pete was handling things quite well. Instead, she looked around the lab for any sign of what Dr. Madison was working on. He seemed to be focused on whatever he was doing so it was easy for her to walk around the lab bench and flip through his notebook.

Loads of it was nonsense but Chloe saw one particular drawing that made her heart go a little faster. She stepped away from the notebook just as Dr. Madison was turning back around to face them.

The girl was standing far too close for his liking. He stared at her for over a minute before answering the question. “I have a variety of experiments. Mostly just to advance the field of science.” He glanced back over at the man.

“I don’t see how any of them would work for corporate espionage.” Thinking of his grant that would be running out in a few months he said, “What sort of things would you be interested in for your company?”

There were quite a few under the table projects that the bald man might be interested in. He just had to pinpoint which of them he could give the man. He’d give up some information on the failures just to string him along. That way he could continue on his real passion.

The notebook had been crammed with formulas, stained with soot and had a peculiar smell to it. The drawing that had made Chloe pause was one of a dog and a cat. A two way arrow was between them. On the bottom of the page there were a few equations, the words ‘more current’ underlined twice and the words ‘meteor rocks’ were in bold.

Pete cocked his head to the side, pondering how to phrase his question without giving away their situation. “We're interested to know what effect those meteor fragments can have on the human body, especially when combined with other elements.”

That should stir at least some reaction. Noticing that Chloe had managed to make herself scarce, Pete cast a glance out of the corner of his eye to see what she might be up to. It seemed she'd busied herself with the various paperwork lying around the desks and pinned to boards. Hopefully there'd be something to help them there.

The little upstart was looking at him expectantly. “Mr. Luthor,” and it was odd that he had to say that name again. He thought he was rid of it. “I know that you must know that experimenting on humans is strictly forbidden by every board in this and every country.”

He should know. No one wanted to go out on a limb if even one human life, no matter how inconsequential or useless it was, could be harmed.

Chloe could see this going on for hours. And, she really didn’t have the patience for it at this juncture. “How about body switching, Dr. Madison?” Chloe kept her voice even, almost disinterested. She nodded over at his notebook. “It appears as if you’ve been dabbling in that. Any luck?”

Pete turned on his heel, arching a brow at Chloe. He'd rather have went over there and strangled her on the spot. She'd just given away their situation without trying anything else first. There was no way someone would ask about something that weird out of thin air. Damnit.

He turned back to make up some excuse for the Doctor, but cut himself short as the expression on the man's face changed completely into something much more interested. Maybe Chloe's blunt approach had its benefits, after all.

Why, that girl had looked at his notebook. She had snooped, she had. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried to keep his voice even but it didn’t work. It was so hard to keep something so big a secret. And he was making real strides. There was no one to discuss it with. More importantly, when he was successful no one would know. What was the point of changing the world if no one knew you had done so?

That was a bald face lie and everyone in the room knew it. Chloe picked up the notebook and then walked it over to the doctor. She slapped it down on the table and pointed to the drawing. “Your notes would imply otherwise. Now, let’s try this again.” She pulled up a chair and sat down at the lab table. “Have you had any luck with this?”

The crazy doctor was dying to tell her. Chloe could see that. This project was his baby and the fact that he couldn’t tell anyone about it was killing him. His file indicated that in addition to being brilliant, he was also an ego maniac. Or, had been until he had started on the downward spiral to insanity. She hoped that some of that was still in him.

When he remained silent she said, “Probably not. You don’t look like the type of man that would be able to do something so,” she fixed her gaze on Dr. Madison, “complex. And worth so much money to those interested.” Still looking at the doctor she said, “Mr. Luthor, how much do you think a successful switch would be worth to a company?”

Pete kept his face smooth, pausing a second as he pretended to think it over. “On the basis of a single switch, we'd be talking in a category of millions. On a grander basis, let's be honest, the scale is open at the top,” he shrugged nonchalantly.

In his short time as CEO, he'd gotten used to big numbers pretty damn fast. Before breakfast, he'd signed a contract worth over 150 billion dollars. Then he'd retired to the bedroom to eat scrambled eggs with ketchup and toast. It was hard to keep thinking 'Woah' when you were confronted with 9 digit numbers basically every five minutes.

Chloe had watched Dr. Madison’s eyes when Pete had dropped the numbers. Predictably, they had widened. But she wanted to sweeten the deal. “Not to mention how valuable the man who could pull off something like that would be considered in certain circles.”

She stood up and walked away from the bench closing the notebook on her way. “The most powerful men in the world would beg to have such technology at their disposal.” She rejoined Pete where he was standing and said, “So, Dr. Madison, I repeat, have you had any luck?”

She almost felt like holding her breath. They had played this one well but that didn’t mean that it still couldn’t backfire. Especially when you took the good doctor’s mental state into account. Chloe could see him looking back and forth between Pete and her and then back at his notebook.
Pete cast an obvious look around the laboratory, before he returned his gaze to the doctor. “Now, Miss Lang, I wouldn't expect too much, if anything. I mean, taking into consideration the working conditions, it would take the mind of a genius to achieve something, let alone something as extraordinary and outstanding as body switching. I mean we all have heard of your success in certain fields...”

He let the sentence dangle, hoping that the doctor would finally take the bait and spill the beans. He was getting tired of blowing sugar up a madman's ass in the hopes of getting some information. If the good doctor didn't talk soon, he'd have to get a little nasty.

“I’ll have you know that the only reason I was relegated to such a position as this,” Dr. Madison gestured to the lab, “was because I asked to be put down here. I couldn’t have just anyone come waltzing in during the crucial moment.”

He took some keys off of his belt and started for the door. “If you two would like to follow me I will show you something both extraordinary and genius.” He wouldn’t have some snot nosed trust fund baby talk to him in such a manner. Especially when he was wrong.

Pete shared a glance with Chloe, then followed the doctor's scurry in a determined stride. They were getting somewhere. This could be good. He made a mental note that the first thing to offer Dr. Madison if the man actually could help them was his own, private, state of the art laboratory.

They followed the doctor out through the office door and down the hallway past several doors. Pete couldn't fight the tiny flutter of hope. Maybe they'd get back to their own bodies soon. As much as he liked Lana, having her run around in his body was just wrong on so many levels. And being a Luthor was surely not all it was cracked up to be, either.

Both Chloe and Pete remained silent as they followed the doctor through numerous hallways. The man was muttering to himself and Chloe didn’t know if that was a good or a bad sign.

Finally he stopped and put a key in a door, after unlocking it he opened and gestured for Chloe and Pete to go inside. She hesitated for only a moment before entering the room. It smelled terrible and she tried to school her face back into a mask of indifference.

The sounds of the two animals calmed Dr. Madison down. He hadn’t been in here since yesterday, he couldn’t chance someone watching him and then snooping around, and was glad to see that the two test subjects were still alive.

He looked over at the gruesome twosome that had followed him here and then gestured to the cages. “They’re not human but I assure that the principle holds the same.” He rooted around in his lab coat for the catnip that he knew was there. As he brought it out and Watson smelled it, he began to go crazy as usual.

However, when Watson usually wanted something he would purr out of control and start to rub up against the doctor. Now, he was barking at the doctor.

Holmes, in his new body, was currently chasing his tail. The small tabby looked very odd indeed doing that, but he was quiet and content so Dr. Madison couldn’t complain.

Pete watched the animals' weird behavior. Narrowing his eyes, he wasn't sure if he should believe the doctor if it was actually true, but the hopeful part of him was all too willing to take the statement at face value.

“How did you bring about the change,” he asked.

If the doctor knew how exactly it had happened, they were one step closer to their ultimate goal. He'd ask the more important question as soon as he'd gotten the answer to this one. It was so hard to stand still, now that it seemed that there was really, truly hope. He cast a glance at Chloe, flashing her a broad grin while the doctor had his back turned towards them.

The smile looked good on Lex’s face. A little out of place but good nonetheless. The doctor turned back towards them. He seemed reluctant to answer the question. “If you’d rather we attend our next meeting instead of talking to us, I’m sure the next doctor we’re scheduled to meet with would be more than happy to show us the progress that he’s made on this very project,” Chloe said.

Bluffing with these types usually worked.

“That won’t be necessary,” Dr. Madison said, quickly. He couldn’t let his meal ticket walk out of the door like that. “After a few permutations, I was able to switch their cognitive states into another physical body using mined meteor rocks and a current of electricity.”

He didn’t think that there was a reason to mention that it had been purely accidental. That wouldn’t give them much faith in him. He just wished that he hadn’t been half asleep when it occurred. He blamed that for the problems he was having now.

Bingo! That involved the answers they were looking for, but it was still a bit too vague for Pete's taste. “How exactly did you go about it? Does it take a certain amount of electricity or meteor rock? You mentioned permutations, were those brought on by the meteor rock as well, or did you cause them in another way?”

They needed to know as much as they could. Any information was more than they had at the moment. He was getting antsy and he wished he could just beat whatever info they needed out of the doctor. Taking another glance at the animals in the cage, he wondered how long they'd been living in the wrong body. They looked comparatively happy for being stuck inside something they were not.

The look on the doctor’s face spoke more than any words that would come out of his mouth. Chloe knew that things were not as well as they seemed. The doctor faltered a little before talking and he seemed less confident than he had a moment ago. Pete’s questions had done something to him.

He couldn’t answer. He wanted to but he didn’t know the answers to the questions. He had been working around the clock, not sleeping much and had lost twenty pounds somehow. He had copious notes about what didn’t[i] work but nothing about what had been the magic combination that had switched Watson and Holmes. That was what he was busy working with now. Mr. Luthor and his insipid assistant were looking at him expectantly so he had to come up with something.

“There were a number of variables that had to be altered. The quality of meteor rock used, the quantity and density of the rocks. The correct amount of current was also important.” Those things were all true. The more pure and dense the rocks, the better. He’d had small success with them. They came from a particular location in Smallville that he had been unable to return to…but that problem appeared to be solved now.

“I haven’t been able to make much progress as of late because my source to get to those particular rocks dried up,” Dr. Madison explained. “They were on your property, Mr. Luthor.”

He had used up the last batch trying to get the other test subjects back to normal. It had not gone well. And it had taken him hours to clean up the lab. The smell of burnt flesh still permeated it and that’s why he had moved further down the hall.

Pete slid his hands into his jacket pockets, regarding the man suspiciously. He wasn't nearly as confident as he'd been before. Still, Pete didn't want to give up hope, yet.

“I can assure you, if we come to an agreement, resources won't be your problem,” he commented coldly, then continued, “What about the reversal? Is it achieved the same way?”

Because that was the crux of the matter. Figuring out how to achieve the switch was just half way there. They needed to know how to switch back.

“The reversal,” Dr. Madison said under his breath. And, Chloe didn’t like the sound of it. He sounded almost defeated. And there was definite frustration there as well. Two emotions that neither she nor Pete wanted to hear.

“The reversal,” he said again, “has been far more complicated. I attempted it once with a weaker strain of rocks when my supply was cut off.” He paused, trying to eradicate what had happened from his mind but it didn’t work.

“It was unsuccessful.” That was an understatement if ever there was one.

Pete's eyes narrowed. “So you've managed several successful attempts at switching animals, but not [i]once managed to switch them back efficiently,” he didn't even register his own tone of voice anymore.

His brain got stuck on the fact that there was no solution, no easy fix. Even this mad genius professor had not found a way to reverse the effect and he'd be stuck in a skinny white rich boy for the rest of his life. To say he was reaching the end of his patience would be an understatement.

Chloe wished that she hadn’t heard this. She wished that she was silly Lana with her one stupid problem of how this would affect her relationship with Clark. But wishing wasn’t going to get them anywhere.

When the doctor nodded, Chloe asked, “How many times have you tried switching the animals back?”

Dr. Madison mentally went through how many of the labs were no longer fit for working in because of the stench. “Five times.” When both of them pulled a face at the number he went on, “You have to realize that that is without the equipment that I need. Some of it has burned out and I have had to replace it with lesser versions of it.” He needed this money and would do anything to ensure that the duo wouldn’t turn away from him now.

“If I have the proper lab conditions, the right instruments and the meteor rocks I’m certain that I will be successful.” His voice had gotten stronger. The schedule that he had been keeping here had certainly gotten in the way of his true work.

“You must also keep in mind that this project is not exactly sanctioned by this company any more. Any work that I’ve been able to do has been under cover of darkness, shall we say?” He focused on the young man. “After your father expired, the project was officially terminated.”

That day was a dark one for Dr. Madison. Lionel Luthor was powerful, blood thirsty and perhaps actually evil but he had been his biggest allay in this fight. After he had died things had gone downhill.

“If I were working on this full time…” he trailed off, letting the sentence dangle in the air.

Pete had heard enough. The man was confident he could do it and he was at the moment, their only hope. He'd at least gotten as far as switching the animals one way and given the resources and money, both of which Lex had in spades, there was a chance the crazy genius would be able to get them back into the bodies they belonged.

“You have two days to get together all your material. A laboratory, equipment and resources will be provided. My assistant will call you tomorrow with details.”

There was no sense beating around the bush, and he could see from the look in the doctor's eyes that the man was gagging for what he offered. “Provided that you manage to achieve a success within two weeks time. I won't waste my money on a project without future, have I made myself clear?”

Chloe let Pete barrel ahead with the plan. For now, she was too thrown by the fact that there wasn’t a solution to their problem. They still had to tell both Lana and Lex about that. Those were two conversations that she didn’t relish having either.

Two weeks and it would all be over. In theory, at least. Even though the doctor looked and sounded confident that he could switch the animals back, it didn’t make Chloe feel any better. For the first time, the real thought that they would have to stay like this lodged itself in her brain.

Usually it was a fleeting thought. Not anymore. She looked over at the animals. The cat that was now a dog was rubbing itself over the bars of the cage where the doctor had spread the catnip. The dog that was a cat was batting around a tennis ball.

What would she do if she had to live her life as Lana? Chloe began to feel decidedly not so good.

Dr. Madison nodded. This was perfect. With the Luthor money he would be back on track and in the game in no time. “Crystal,” he replied. “You won’t regret this decision. Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I have work to do.”

As he left, he gave his new boss and his assistant a true smile. Things were looking up.

[BlueSabby]

Chloe calmly sat behind her desk at the Torch. Now that what she and Pete had learned at the doctor’s lab was out in the open, she awaited Lana and Lex’s reaction. She would let Pete handle whatever freakout they would have. But, she knew that the ‘they’ she was referring to was really Lana.

Even if Lex was freaked out, which he was bound to be by the less than positive news, he wouldn’t show it in the same way that Lana would. Unless he had also lost about a quarter of his brain between now and the last time she had seen him.

It was a selfish reaction but Chloe couldn’t really deal with either of their concerns right now. She was too focused on the fact that she might have to live the rest of her days on the Earth as Lana. Yes, she was grateful that she was still in a body that was her correct sex. But, it was Lana’s.

Chloe winced a little when she heard Lana’s scared, whiney tone. “But, but he has,” her voice went up at least two octaves on the last word, “to be able to figure it out. I cannot live with your mother for much longer.” She glared over at Pete.

His mother was used to him helping out around the house. She was still not allowed to go out so it just meant all the more chores for her to do. She knew that some part of her actually enjoyed helping, was shocked by it, but the manual labor was far too taxing for her.

Lex pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to fight the oncoming headache. Hearing the voice of Pete Ross whine wasn't helpful. “Ok, he wasn't able to figure out what exactly he did or how to reverse it, but he was able to switch two test subjects successfully. I'll help you set up the lab and material you promised him. We'll get one with enough amenities so that he'll be able to live there as well.”

Pete had made the right decision in hiring the man. They had somewhere to start. It didn't look too positive, and he didn't even want to think about the long term consequences should Dr. Madison be incapable of reversing the process. But all hope was not lost. “I sure as hell won't spend the rest of my life as a 5 foot 2 blonde reporter,” he muttered to himself.

Pete nodded towards Lex. Thankfully you could trust Mr. Moneypants to come through on the promises he had made. “Ok, we can do that this afternoon, I need you to sign a few contracts anyway.” Seeing that Lana was still close to mental breakdown and also not coping well with being ignored, he walked over and reached out to touch her arm. “And you don't worry too much, ok? I'm sure the doctor will figure this out and we'll be back to normal in no time,” he lowered his voice, “And as for mom. All you gotta do is give her a hint were to find my brother's porn collection and she'll be off your case in no time.”

Lana felt like she should be blushing. But at the mention of a way to get out of the doghouse with Pete’s mother all of her other instincts faded away. “And where, exactly, would that be?” She didn’t even feel the least bit guilty about ratting out a guy who seemed to treat Pete decently…..most of the time anyway. Thankfully Pete’s body was quicker than his brother’s.

Maybe Chloe would feel better if she was taking some sort of action with the doctor. She just couldn’t summon the energy to do so. The news had taken most of the wind out of her sails. For now she decided that she wanted to be the mopey and negative one. She slumped further down in her chair as Pete detailed to Lana where his brother, Parker, kept his mother load of porn.

Lex averted his gaze from the scenario in front of him. Watching himself throw an arm around Pete Ross' shoulders was just too far out of the concept of thinkable to stand for longer than a second. His gaze fell on Chloe who'd slumped another couple inches further down in her seat from where he'd seen her a second ago. Lana's body was literally flouncing in the chair, arms crossed over the small chest, lower lip jutting out in a pout and big doe eyes staring into nothing.

Shaking his head, Lex uncrossed his own arms and stepped over to Chloe. He leaned back against the desk beside her, then bent over to speak in her ear in a low tone. “You know, Lana looks horrible when you do that.”

A reaction of any kind was what Lex was looking for. A smartass remark or a glare would have been acceptable. Instead Chloe just shrugged and then sat up straight. If she was going to be stuck in this body forever giving it a hunchback didn’t make much sense.

She could feel his eyes still watching her, waiting for her to look back up at him. Instead she just stared straight ahead at the door. She didn’t feel like discussing anything with him now. Especially since he was the one that got to be in her body now.

The day got progressively worse when Clark’s hulking form walked into the office. Now they would be forced to deal with him, as well. She saw him look at what everyone was doing and total confusion came across his face. From his perspective he saw Lex with his arm around Pete and Chloe whispering in Lana’s ear. Someone else could come up with a cover story. Chloe was far too busy having a pity party.

Living in Smallville had taught Clark to try and figure out the unexpected when he was presented with such things. But this scene was a little too strange for even him. He saw Lex smoothly take his arm off of Pete’s shoulder and Lana straighten back up. “What’s going on, guys,” he asked, slowly.

Lex cocked his head to the side and stepped up to Clark with a Cheshire cat grin, “What do you mean? Pete and Lex? Weird, huh? They figured out they got something in common and now look at them. Scary, isn't it?”

Talking like Chloe felt downright weird. Most times, he could pull it off quite well, but with Clark the case was a little more difficult. Still, he figured it should have worked, if Pete picked up the ball and new how to talk to Clark like he would.

“Clark,” Pete nodded. So far so good. “I understand your surprise, believe me. If someone had told me a week ago that Pete here and I are capable of getting along, I would have had them sent straight to Belle Reve,” he continued, adding a believable cynical half smirk. That should do it, and do it quite nicely, as long as Lana was able to bag her problems for a second and do her job.

“Yeah, man,” Lana chimed in, sure to sound just as gruff as Pete usually did, “I’m still half expecting the guys with coats to come out of nowhere and see if we’re alright.” She grinned over at Clark, who still looked stupefied as to what was happening in the room. “Come on, man, give Luthor and I a little credit. We’re both adults and crap.”

She hoped that Clark would just buy what they were trying to sell and move on. She didn’t know that she could give a clear reason as to why she and ‘Lex’ were now getting along. Being casual about it, she looked over at Chloe. She had hoped the girl would jump in and help but she remained motionless.

Even though she would deny it, Lana knew that Clark would ask how high if Lana told him to jump. That power could come in handy. Right now, actually.

While his friends kept looking at him Clark turned towards Lana. All thoughts of what was going on between Lex and Pete left his mind. Lana looked very off right now. He strode over to her and asked, “What’s wrong, Lana?”

He hunkered down so he was level with her eyes. If there was something wrong with Lana he wanted to know. He knew that he could help. At the very least he could be there for her. Maybe if she opened up to him they could continue on the road to where he thought they were going.

Of all of the damn things to do…..Chloe’s silence had sealed her fate. She could see the error of her actions now. There was no way that Clark was just going to leave a moping Lana alone. It was probably encoded somewhere in his DNA to make everything better for her.

Chloe had to suppress a groan before she spoke. Clark was the last thing that she needed today. She smiled over at him, hoping that he would buy the act, but not thinking he would. Lana too often told Clark that things were fine with her when they weren’t. Fishing for sympathy and all.

“Nothing. I was just in my own world.” As usual, her brain pointed out. She could see that Clark clearly didn’t believe her. Her last shot was to try and get out of the office. Clark would probably follow after like the dutiful puppy he was but she had to try it. “I have to get to my next class.”

She stood up and grabbed Lana’s bag, it was now second hand to do so. At first, she kept trying to pick up hers but after numerous times of Lex pointing out the slip up she had been cured of it. “See you guys later,” she chirped at Lex and Lana before nodding at Pete.

Chloe almost out the door when she heard Clark say, “Wait up, I’ll walk with you.”

No escape. She waited for Clark and then prepared herself for the inquisition that would take place down the hallway.

Lex looked after the pair and shook his head. The last thing Chloe needed in a mood like that would be Clark's bumbling attempts at helping her. She was a far cry from a damsel in distress and if anything, it was like pulling teeth getting her to accept help, much less ask for it.

“I think I should go, too. Pete, we'll see each other later to get the contracts ready.” He turned to the still dreadful looking body of Pete Ross and tried for a smile. It didn't really work. “Lana, just hang in there, ok? I'm sure things will turn out fine,” he said in as soothing a tone as he managed.

Leaving the two teenagers behind, he grabbed his backpack and headed towards the next class. French. Great. At least the teacher had believed the cock and bull story that Chloe had gotten herself a tutor. Of course that meant he'd have to start tutoring her for real soon, or there would be a bad surprise when the real Chloe turned up again.
~~~~
Home had never seemed so welcome to Chloe as it did this afternoon. She knew that Lana would pitch some kind of fit when she found out that Chloe had actually ditched her last class, marring the girl’s perfect attendance record, but she didn’t care.

The only thought on Chloe’s mind was to change into her pajamas and crawl into her bed. She barely glanced at the door to Lana’s room as she opened her own. There was nothing wrong with Lana’s room, per se. It just wasn’t hers.

After changing into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt she turned on some mopey girl music to complete the scene. Chloe was all flopped out and comfortable on the bed, had actually almost fallen asleep, when she heard the front door open and close. She had hoped it was her father and listened for his usual greeting. When she didn’t hear it, she sighed, knowing that it was Lex that had come home.

Lex jogged up the stairs, intending to get a quick shower and call it a night. Arranging everything for Dr. Madison's needs and going through the contracts had taken up pretty much his whole afternoon and the rest was spent doing homework of all things. He'd almost forgotten how school could be hard work in its own right.

When he opened the door what he considered his room, he stopped in his tracks at what he found on the bed. Finding Chloe moping under a cover of blankets didn't look good. Hearing whiney white woman music blaring from the stereo across the room was not a good sign either. So if he wanted to sleep in a room that wasn't pink, something had to be done.

“Hey,” he said softly as he stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him. “Rough day?”

Chloe remained silent for as long as she could, hoping that Lex would take the hint and just go away. But she could feel him staring at her so she knew that her tactic wouldn’t work. Besides, she really didn’t want to take out her mood on Lex. It wouldn’t be fair.

Sighing, she sat up a little until her back was supported by the headboard. She shrugged noncommittally and said, “I just can’t deal with thinking that I might be stuck in here,” she gestured to Lana’s body, “for the rest of my life.”

Looking up at Lex she continued, “I realize that I wouldn’t be the worst off of all of us if we were stuck like this.” She shook her head before saying, “But to be Lana forever….”

Lex sat down at the edge of the mattress. This would take a while, it seemed. “Believe it or not, I understand. We're all pretty upset about this, but like I told Lana, you don't have to give up hope yet.”

He threw a glance at the duckie jammies she was wearing, suppressing a smirk. Lana would probably kill her if that ever got out. Pushing that thought out of his mind and getting back on track he continued. “Look, we all know that it doesn't look too good at the moment, and that we're probably going to be stuck in the wrong body for a while, but Dr. Madison isn't only a nut-case, he's also a brilliant scientist. He's managed to force a change before, and Pete and I spent the afternoon supplying his new lab with all the equipment money can buy.”

They just had to keep faith that the doctor would be able to switch them back. Lex had taken a few minutes to devise a back up plan should that not happen. Suffice it to say, he didn't ever want to have to fall back on that plan. “I'm sure he'll be able to figure it out. We'll be ok.”

He really didn't know what to say anymore, the only thing coming to mind a really bad joke. Deciding that more damage couldn't be done, he voiced it. “And well if worse comes to worst, I'll pay for the plastic surgery.”

Chloe laughed as much as she could in her current mood. The fact that Lex could even get her to laugh surprised her. “As if Lana would ever allow any of us to desecrate the temple that is her body.”

Running a hand through her hair she said, “I know that you’re right. That we all have to keep a positive attitude and believe that it’ll all work out in the end. I’m just….”

She didn’t want to admit to Lex, of all people, that she was scared of what could happen if they didn’t get back into their bodies. It was just too humiliating. He already knew that she liked him so she couldn’t show him another weakness.

“I guess everything just crept up on me at once is all.”

Lex could see it on her face, what she'd been about to say before she brushed it off. “You're scared shitless,” he deadpanned.

It wasn't that hard to read and understand, when he had the same problem, only on a different scale. The thought of spending the rest of his life in Chloe's body was not only scaring, but wrong. Because he'd inevitably have to make adjustments and most of them would probably not be something Chloe would want. She'd hit the nail on the spot when she'd commented on his joke about plastic surgery.

Chloe drew her knees up a little so she could wrap her arms around them. “So what if I am?” She looked over at him. “Shouldn’t we all be at this point? I know that no one wants to bring up any of these thoughts but we’re all going to have to discuss it at some time.”

She turned more towards Lex so she could look him in the eye. “What if something is wrong with all of us on the inside? We could all have ticking time bombs inside of us and be none the wiser. We have no fucking clue what has happened to us or if we’re just not going to wake up one day because of it.”

Throwing off the covers of her bed, Chloe stood up. She felt like she couldn’t breathe so she walked over to her window and opened it and then sat down on the windowsill. “That’s the worse case scenario. But the best case scenario isn’t all that better. We’d have to face living our lives as someone else.”

Lex turned to face her, taking in her comment. He hadn't considered the possibility that they could be in danger at any given point. Thinking about it now, it still seemed to be unlikely. “I think it's unlikely that this switch will kill us. This is just a new kind of mutation caused by the meteor rocks. You know almost as much about them as Dr. Hamilton did, the mutations kill in the rarest of cases, and if they do, they do it quickly. So since we've been living like this for weeks now and all of us are still alive, I'd wager it's a safe bet that we're going to stay that way.”

Of course the second option didn't look that much better. “And the best case scenario is not living our lives as someone else. The best case scenario is that Dr. Madison will figure out how he caused the switch, then logically backtrack from there and figure out how to reverse the affect.”

Lex was being lovely and logical. But that wasn’t what Chloe wanted right now. She was freaking out and Lex being all supportive and crap was just making things worse. She wanted this time to mope about the fact that she would either be killed by this or forced to live out her days as Lana.

“Forgive me if I don’t have as much faith in the good doctor as you do,” Chloe murmured as she looked out the window. She had more on her mind than Lex knew about. Lana had spoken to her again about her treatment of Clark. She wanted Chloe to go and see him sometime soon.

When Dr. Madison had informed them that it would take time to get them back to normal Chloe had known that she would have to go through with her promise to Lana.

“Lex,” she said, standing up again, “I know that you’re trying to help and you’re being very logical about the whole thing and I appreciate it.” She sat down on the bed and then put her hand on his shoulder. “But,” she shrugged, “I don’t think that anything you say will help me right now. I’m in a mood and nothing is going to get me out of it.”

She smiled weakly over at him, “I’m sure that I’ll feel better in the morning. I just need some sleep is all.”

Lex looked at the hand on his shoulder, then back at Chloe. Ok, he'd tried being helpful and it somehow hadn't worked, at all. Thinking about it, it wasn't so surprising. However, there was no way he was going to sleep in Lana's room. “Well, then I guess 'Lana' is going to sleep over here tonight,” he decided.

Getting up from the bed, he went over to the bureau and pulled out a fresh change of clothes. Sharing the bed would probably get uncomfortable, but there wasn't much he could do, since Chloe had made herself at home in the bed and he wouldn't sleep in 'A dream in Pink'.

After all of the nice stuff that Lex had done for her after the switch she wasn’t about to basically kick him out of his room. Chloe got up off of the bed and walked over to him. “No, you’ve already done enough. I’m not going to make you sleep in the Pink Palace. It’s too cruel.”

She gave him a small smile, “I know that you don’t want to hear this, but you can really be quite sweet when you want to be.” It was weird on numerous levels but Chloe didn’t care. She kissed Lex on the cheek and then left the room, giving him a ‘good night’ over her shoulder.

Lex was a bit surprised she'd surrender the field so fast, but shrugged it off. However, the kiss on the cheek had been a bit weird. “Sweet,” he grumbled under his breath. Definitely weird. He closed the bureau drawer with a little more oomph than necessary.

Walking across the hallway to the bathroom, he scratched his cheek, wondering if it was normal that it was tingling like that. A long hot shower, and a good night's sleep. Tomorrow the doctor would start working on their case and they'd be back to normal in no time. If not, Lex didn't want to think about the 'if not'. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to pass.

~~~~
After a good night’s sleep Chloe felt much better. She awoke the next morning with renewed hope that Dr. Madison, while as crazy as a shithouse rat, would be able to fix all of them. She would only have to be Lana for two weeks, tops. She could handle that.

She had told Lex as much at breakfast and he had taken the news without comment. Maybe he was figuring out how to smuggle a straightjacket over to the Sullivan place in case he needed it the future. She was being rather crazy.

The drive to school had been uneventful and she and Lex had parted ways. It was after that that things had gone downhill. Chloe had run into Lana.

Apparently, Clark had called ‘Pete’ the night before. Pete had been allowed to talk to his good friend Clark again because Mrs. Ross was now more concerned about Parker’s predilection for porn. Lana had become alarmed during the conversation. Clark said that he was losing hope about his relationship with Lana. He said that her behavior had been downright cold and strange for awhile now.

It was then that Lana called Chloe on her promise.

“Chloe, please,” Lana said. Well, it was more like begging. But, not the usual kind that Lana did. She was desperate that she would lose Clark for good. Chloe actually felt sorry for her. “I’ll do anything for you once we get switched back. I’ll paint my room a different color, I’ll do all of the chores at home. Just, please, you have got to do what you promised.”

By this point in the conversation Lana had clutched at Chloe’s arm. It was strange to see Pete’s body looking so agitated and his eyes pleading with her. “Listen, I know that I’m a bad friend. I know what I did by getting together with Clark was wrong and that I’m a horrible person because of it.”

Lana wasn’t saying this because it was what Chloe wanted to hear. She had thought long and hard about all of it last night after her conversation with Clark and had come to these conclusions. She had gone back on her word with Chloe and now was expecting Chloe to do the opposite of that.

“But, somehow you were able to forgive us. And, I know that I have no right to ask you to do this…I just…I just..” Lana could feel herself tearing up and hoped that she wouldn’t actually start crying. She didn’t want to manipulate Chloe into doing this, she used that tactic far too often.

Once she had gotten started thinking about how she acted in starting her relationship with Clark she had looked at her behavior, in general. And had been appalled by it. Maybe it was the meteor rocks affecting her but Lana had found out some core truths about herself and didn’t like what she saw.

Taking a deep breath she said, “I don’t know what to do if I don’t have Clark.” It was weak but it was true.

Lana was having some sort of meltdown in front of Chloe. It made Chloe feel better in some twisted way. At least it seemed as if the Pink Princess was finally realizing that her actions affected other people and not all of them were as honorable as she would like to think.

Lana had been right when she had told Chloe that she was over the line in asking her to do that. But she was also right when she said that Chloe had given her word. Though Chloe didn’t want to do what Lana was asking her, she had promised. Like it or not she wouldn’t go back on her word.

“Ok, Lana,” Chloe said and recognized the deep relief in Lana’s eyes. Eyes that were filled with tears but still the other girl hadn’t cried. Chloe knew that it was too much to hope that she was totally changing but it was a step in the right direction.

After letting go of Chloe’s arm, Lana took a moment to get herself back under some semblance of control. “He said that he would be in the Torch office in the morning to work on the story that you, or Lex, had given him.”

Chloe nodded. “I’ll go and talk to him.” She turned around and shucked her bag up on her shoulder before she heard Lana speak behind her again.

“Thank you, Chloe.” She didn’t know what else to say but it still seemed a little feeble.

Chloe turned back to Lana a little bit. She could see how grateful the girl was but didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “You’re welcome, Lana.”

As she walked down the hallway, Chloe tried to think of how she was going to deal with this. She was no longer attracted to Clark in any way. She didn’t even find him physically attractive anymore. He was far too big and bulky.

If he sensed hesitation or anything off about the way Lana responded to him it would do more damage than she had already inflicted. Sighing, she made her way into the Torch office.

~~~~
Lex had been in a pretty good mood for the most part of the day. Classes had gone smoothly and Pete had informed him that the doctor had set up shop in his new laboratory with great glee and started working on the project right away. Pete had also mentioned that he had been talking to the animals and made some 'scary cackling sounds' while sorting through the equipment, but that was beside the point.

He was just on the way back from physical education, which he'd actually survived without injury this time, when he caught a familiar voice wafting over from behind the bleachers (clichè baby!). Lex's first instinct was to get away as fast as possible and avoid a run in with Vlad at any cost. However, when the familiar voice was joined by a high falsetto giggle, Lex's brow went up while his mouth set in a grim line.

Rounding the corner, he caught sight of Vlad, cornering a girl against the wall, who obviously had no problem with being in that position. Her perfectly manicured right hand was trailing up and down Vlad's shirt and was looking up at the boy with big overly make up clad eyes, her not quite pouty alarm red lips curling in what was obviously supposed to be a seductive smile. Lex's eyes narrowed.

When Vlad leaned in to whisper into the girl's ear and then turned to slobber all over her neck, Lex decided this was the moment to step in. “Exchange student in intimate relations with the local cheerleader team. A spectacular headline, wouldn't you agree?”

Vlad closed his eyes, praying that his mind had been playing tricks on him. It couldn’t be who he thought it was behind him. It just wouldn’t be fair. But when he saw Felicity’s eyes widen and pull back from him, he knew that Chloe was indeed behind them.

His girlfriend’s reputation for rage was widespread. It seemed that Felicity wanted nothing to do with it. Vlad watched as the girl shimmed away from him and then started walking briskly back to the school grounds.

This was not going to be pretty. He turned towards Chloe and said, “I don’t suppose that you’ll give me the chance to explain?”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Lex regarded him casually. “Oh I'm sure I would love to hear your explanation. Explain to me, and please, give it your best shot, why you were slobbering on Barbie's neck just now when not a week ago, I had a heartbreakingly sincere and overly romantic message on my answering machine declaring your undying love to me several times over.”

Not that Lex actually gave a flying fuck about what the 'explanation' was going to be. He'd dump that boy on his ass in the most painful way possible, no matter what he said or did, but damn if he wasn't going to make him suffer first.

He took in Chloe’s defensive stance and knew that he was in trouble. However, he’d been caught cheating by numerous girlfriends in the past and was always able to get out of it. Even though Chloe looked livid, he liked his chances this time, too.

“I meant everything that I said, Chloe,” Vlad explained as he took a step towards her. Chloe was unpredictable and a little scary so he was sure to keep moving slowly. “But, you have to admit that you’ve been acting strange lately. We haven’t even kissed in weeks. I missed the physical part of our relationship.”

He looked down, making sure that there was a contrite expression on his face. “I think that I was just desperate to have anyone be that way with me.” He looked back up at her. “You know that it’s you I want. But you’ve been off lately, Chloe. And you won’t tell me what’s going on.”

Chloe was letting him say his piece so he went on. “I know that you still haven’t told your friends about us but that still isn’t an excuse for why you refuse to see me. To be close to me.”

Lex barked out a laugh, shaking his head. This boy was full of shit and he obviously expected to get away with it to.

“So what you're saying is, you love me, but only as long as I put out and, if I don't put out, you have to get your kicks with Barbie until I do?” Letting his arms fall to his side, he stepped a little closer, instinctively using his old tactics. “Are you sure that you want to stick with that as an explanation,” he lowered his voice and fixed the boy in a cold gaze while sliding his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

This was not going as planned. He knew that Chloe had issues with herself. He had heard the story of the Lana-Clark-Chloe thing and had thought that placing the blame on her would work. But, if he went back on his story he thought that things might get worse. Chloe looked ready to kill. But he was loathe to give up on her. He was sure that once he got her in bed it would be worth it.

“Chloe,” he softened his voice, “I’m not talking about putting out. Nothing that extreme. How do you think it makes me feel when you don’t call me back? When you won’t tell your friends about me? When you spend your time with Lex Luthor? When I can’t even get you to kiss me? It’s not fair that you say you want to be in a relationship and then you do all of these things.”

“Of course,” Lex dropped back on his heel, blinking ferociously and opening his mouth in awe. “How could I not see that! How could I be so blind as to not put my entire world in an orbit around you? How could I think it was a good idea to keep this relationship between ourselves, that it would be beneficial to both of us to not have my friends try to usurp it and undermine it for their own selfish reasons,” he shook his head, pulling his hands out of his pockets and resting it over Chloe's ample chest. “I was so blind, of course I need to fill the daily quota of kisses and returned calls for this relationships to be stable. And I was being so unfair, so absolutely cruel and heartless for having my own life, independent from yours.”

Lex reached out a hand, swallowing exaggeratedly and placing his hand on Vlad's bicep, digging Chloe's nails in as far as they would go. “I hope you can forgive me. Forgive me that you cheated on me behind my back. Forgive me for having my own life, and most of all, forgive me for this,” the last word was spoken in a low hiss while he put what little power Chloe's leg could provide into a vicious kick into Vlad's family jewels.

He never thought, as a fellow guy, that he could do this, but it actually felt damn good to see Vlad go down and to know how much it hurt. 'Not nearly enough'.

“Stay away from me asshole, if you know what's good for you.”

The pain that radiated through Vlad’s body was incomparable to anything else that he had ever felt in his life. He cradled his crotch in his hands and found that he could barely breathe. After a few minutes he tried to move again but it was a mistake. He felt a clenching in his gut. Unable to really move, Vlad puked all over himself.

Lex was still caught between indignant fuming and righteous elation. He'd have to break the news gently to Chloe, though. He knew, she'd be feeling a hell of a lot worse about this, because Vlad had been her boyfriend. 'Fuck'. Lex wondered if they still had chocolate ice-cream in the house. Maybe he'd swing by the Talon first, before going home and get some pastries or something. He'd read somewhere that brownies were good comfort food.

At least school was over for today, so he wouldn't have to skirt the issue between classes. His mind was steadfastly developing his game plan when he stopped dead yet again. This time on the main stairs in front of Smallville High, with a panoramic view of the parking lot. However, his gaze was very much zoned in on two people, who were standing next to a red truck. The Kent's truck. Chloe and Clark were standing in view of everyone, next to the Kent's old beaten up truck. Kissing.

“What the fuck!”

Lex closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned around. Opening his eyes, he descended the stairs, made his way to Chloe's car and got in. “Bitch!” He slammed Chloe's hand onto the steering wheel, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm.

The sophomore girl was barely able to jump out of the way as he pulled out of the space with screeching tires, then zoomed out of the parking lot with anything but walking speed. He couldn't believe he'd just ditched Vlad, because the boy had cheated, only to turn around and find Chloe doing the exact fucking same thing!

She'd calmly stood there and kissed Clark, Lana's boyfriend, in the middle of the fucking parking lot. Lex snorted derisively. “Lying little bitch,” he muttered.

Not twenty four hours prior, she'd had a full blown pity party about the fact that she was stuck in the brunette's body and he'd tried to be supportive he'd offered her to share the damn bed for crying out loud. Lex had never been good at being the supporting and comforting guy. He was the one who bought shit to make things better.

And now this. She'd fucking used Lana's body to her advantage to get what she's always wanted. Clark. “Worst case scenario, yeah right. Whore.” That's what she was, a lying, cheating, conceited little whore who used other people like every damn other woman he'd ever known.

Lex's eyes narrowed even further. “Whore,” he repeated under his breath. Seeing the sign for the exit towards Metropolis, a cold smile curled up on his lips. “Well, if she wants to play that way, at least her body should be dressed accordingly.” He pulled onto the highway. It was time for a little shopping trip.

[BlueSabby]

It was rather late when Chloe got home that night. Clark had insisted that she go home with him and have dinner with his family. It was hard to sit through dinner and smile when all she wanted to do was take a shower and get the feeling, smell and taste of Clark off of her.

But, even after she was done at the Kents’ she couldn’t go home. She went over to Pete’s house and spoke with Lana. She had told her everything that had happened in gruesome detail. Twice.

She didn’t understand why Lana needed to know every small thing that had happened. She had spoken with Clark, she had made out with Clark, she had told Clark that he had nothing to worry about and fixed things. End of story.

So when she had gotten home and all of the lights were out in the house she hadn’t paid it very much mind. When she got up in the morning she noticed that something was off, though. Lex wasn’t there.

They usually, no always, went to school together but he was no where to be found. She looked out the window and saw that he had taken the car, too. After throwing on some clothes she rushed downstairs and looked for anything that would clue her into what was happening.

There wasn’t a note and Chloe became more concerned. She didn’t have time to dwell on it, however, she was going to have to run full speed in order to catch the bus that picked up the students three blocks away. Then she was going to have to kick Lex’s ass once she got to school.
~~~
Chloe had barely made it to her first class so there wasn’t any time to find Lex and kill him. During her class things got even odder.

“Hey, Lana.” Instinctively, Chloe turned around and looked at Cooper. He passed her something and said, “Give it to Chloe when you see her, ok?” He winked at her and then slumped back in his seat.

Being that it really was for her, Chloe didn’t feel too badly about opening the note and reading it. It was his phone number with his name scrawled beneath it. Chloe’s brows drew together. Why would Cooper give her his phone number?

Class went by excruciatingly slow that day. When the bell finally rang, Chloe was the first one out the door. She needed to find Lex.

As she walked down the hall, she was busy shoving her books in her bag. Books that ended up careening to the ground when she saw Lex.

Her mouth dropped open and she couldn’t even move.

Lex had one of his feet in the locker, propped up on the shelf that was about a foot off of the ground. It appeared as if he was trying to tie the laces of the red boot because it had come undone. The only problem was that it caused the skirt, if it could be called that, that he was wearing to ride up even more. The red, lacy underwear that he was wearing could clearly be seen by any and all that cared to look. And, right now, that included most of the student body.

Once Lex straightened up, Chloe’s attention was drawn to her breasts. She supposed that that was the point of the fabric that was intended to cover the top half of her body. It was black, like the short skirt that Chloe could now see was at least six inches above the knee, and bared her midriff. It had some type of push up action going on and it appeared that if Lex took a deep breath, her breasts would spill out.

While Lex was wearing panties, Chloe could clearly see that he didn’t have a bra on. Her nipples were prominently poking up through the material.

Lex’s skill with makeup was on display as well. Her eyes were lined with kohl and a dark shade of shadow covered both of her lids. Her lips were plump and it looked like they were covered with Hooker Ruby 112.

As Chloe, and the rest of the world, watched Lex ran a hand through the hair that was slightly wavy. The hand went through her hair, down her neck, over one breast and then came to rest on her lower belly.

Aghast, Chloe started in Lex’s direction. The bell rang and Chloe got swallowed up into the throng of students that seemingly came out of nowhere. Cooper’s actions made perfect sense now. But, Lex’s didn’t.

What in the fuck had gotten into him? This wasn’t a joke…it didn’t even approach being funny. Chloe felt her rage take over. Once she got ahold of Lex she knew that the only thing that would keep her from killing him was the fact that he was in her body.
~~~
Lex had picked up the outfit on purpose and it had had the desired effect. The boots were actually quite comfortable, but the damn top had been preventing him from taking a full breath from the moment he'd tried that at home. She was a whore, yes, but even whores didn't put their goods on display for free.

The looks he'd been getting from the student body hadn't affected him too much. He'd grown up with that kind of attention and it felt more normal than being ignored like he'd been for the most part, ever since he'd taken over Chloe's body. Giving Principle Reynolds a near heart attack after such long time had been downright refreshing. The old coot had almost had a stroke on top of it, when Lex told him exactly why he wouldn't be changing his outfit, reciting the appropriate paragraph of the school's legislation paper by verbatim.

However, the continued catcalls and shredder bins worth of papers with telephone numbers that had jammed up his locker before lunch break had been a bit annoying. Garnering the boys’ interest had not been part of his plan. The purpose was to show the world Chloe Sullivan as what she was. It was incredulous how shallow teenage boys in Smalltowns could be. He wouldn't pick her up in that look if she paid him. Except for the boots, it was downright tasteless.

But he didn't care if she looked tasteless or not, because he wouldn't start anything with her either way. She was nothing but a whore and Lex had had enough of those in his life, thank you very much. It was disappointing, though. He'd thought better of her. And for Clark! Hells Bells she should at least show better taste than that! The boy was nice, yes. In terms of morals always on the straight and narrow. Unless you happened to scratch at the perfect surface, then what you would get was lies, and bad ones at that, deceit and secrets aplenty.

Slamming the refrigerator door shut, finding nothing of interest, Lex climbed the stairs and went up into his room. First point on his agenda: change the damn shirt. He was barely out of the constricting thing and slipping into a more comfortable spaghetti strap top, when he heard the front door slam shut with a resounding bang. 'Ah the lady of the manor is home,' he quick grin flashed over his face as he calmly settled on the bed, legs crossed.

Lex listened to the clomping on the stairs as Chloe stormed up the steps, probably three at a time, and waited for her to make the mistake of confronting him. He had a piece of his mind to share and she would not be pleased about it. This was about to become interesting. As if on cue, the door banged open and the body of Lana Lang stood in the door, shaking with rage and face contorted in an ugly sneer. The random thought flashed through his mind that he'd never seen the brunette looking quite like that.

“What the fuck do you think that you’re doing you fucking asshole?” Chloe screamed the words at the top of her lungs. She wished she could be more eloquent and that she didn’t sound like a shrew but she couldn’t control herself.

All throughout the day she had heard the vicious rumors about herself start. How she had given the whole varsity lacrosse squad blow jobs in the locker room. That she had been caught at least three times having sex on her desk at the Torch…with three different guys.

Then she had to take the bus home and listen to more vile and disgusting things. People didn’t even bother to lower their voices even though they had to know that she and Lana were friends. Chloe hadn’t bothered to say anything. She was saving all of her rage for Lex.

When Lex merely looked up at her and didn’t make a sound Chloe looked over her body again. Even here he was dressed provocatively. The skirt was gone but he was wearing a pair of baby blue short shorts. The kind that actually clung to the swell of your ass. This time, she could see that he was going without panties. The top was marginally better but still showed off inches of her stomach.

“You make me look like a fucking whore!”

Lex inspected the brightly colored nails on his left hand, then calmly looked back up at Chloe. “If the stiletto fits,” he shrugged a shoulder elegantly, waiting for her to catch on. She couldn't be that stupid. Her mind would have to take her right back to yesterday afternoon and what she did.

He was still tremendously pissed. After what he'd done for her, everything he'd done for her since he'd ended up in her body. On top of that, she'd made this whole big deal about the fact that she was attracted to him. How he hadn't seen that as a blatant lie, he wasn't sure, but he did berate himself for being that naive. Of course she'd played him then, too. Had counted on the fact that he would find it attractive and be drawn in by her supposed innocence. Well, fool me once, shame on you...

Chloe advanced until she was at the foot of the bed. She was so mad that she was actually shaking. Under the anger, she also felt totally confused. Why would Lex do this after trying to make her feel better in this very room less than forty-eight hours ago? It didn’t fit in. But that wasn’t her concern right now.

She had to get Lex to understand that she would not tolerate him dressing like that. It was unacceptable.

“If you wear any outfit like the one you did today you will be sorry. I may not be able to hurt you physically but there are other ways.” She glared at him as she wrapped her hands around the iron footboard of her bed. “I’m sure that Pete will be all too happy to help me in the business area of your life.”

Lex barked out a laugh. “Are you trying to threaten me now,” he asked, little impressed.

Leaning back on his elbows he regarded Chloe coolly. “I hardly think he's going to do anything to help you in this case, Chloe. Not if he knows the real reason you're so afraid of showing your true colors. I'd rather think you'd find yourself in a very uncomfortable position, should you try and approach him about this.”

Pete was Clark's best friend, first and foremost. And Lex wasn't convinced that the boy didn't still harbor a small crush on Chloe. Hearing first hand that the woman he'd once considered a romantic interest was using Lana's body to her own ends and using a hapless Clark to enact her scheme in the process would hardly send him up in arms for Chloe's dignity or virtue, or what little virtue there was to speak of, in any case.

Having no idea what Lex was talking about, or really caring at this point, Chloe decided that she would have to take action instead of trying to talk to Lex. He was clearly past the point where she could reason with him. The proof was the fact that he thought that Pete would ever take his side over hers.

She spun around and opened her closet door. Even though she had seen what Lex was wearing she couldn’t believe what she found behind the door. There was red and black and lots of leather. Things that she didn’t even understand how to put on. Things that she would never be caught dead in.

Lex might be able to replace the clothes very quickly but she could at least try to get rid of them. Luckily her desk was in arms length and she was able to grab the scissors out of the desk organizer without too much trouble. She started to cut at the clothing. With each snip she felt a little better.

Lex watched her cut a few clothes to slices for a moment, then decided to get up and interrupt her little 'mad woman' act. “You know that I will wear those anyway, the gashes are just going to make nice addendums to the gear,” he commented dryly.

When Chloe kept viciously cutting at the material, which proved to be quite resistant in the case of the leather skirts, he went on. “And I don't understand why you're trying to deny it. We both know that this is the exact outfit someone like you should be parading around in. Quit playing the affronted. I don't buy your innocent act anymore, and I'm sure nobody else will by the end of this week.”

By nature, Chloe didn’t think that she was a violent person. However, Lex pushed buttons that she didn’t even know that she had. She threw the scissors across the room and then pushed Lex. Hard. The thought of him ruining whatever was left of her reputation made her do it again.

The third time she tried it, complete with the phrase, ‘fucking asshole,’ he saw it coming and grabbed her arms. He jerked her towards him and they both lost their balance. Chloe was on top of him and had an epiphany.

Lex was a bit distracted by the fact that she'd actually managed to push him that far, added to that he couldn't believe the audacity that she actually even tried to push him. Before he got his wind back, he felt cold steel closing around his wrist. He started fighting back, trying to push the smaller, and lighter body of Lana off him, but Chloe was furious enough to overpower him in his unfortunate position. A few moments later, he found himself cuffed to the fucking headboard with both hands stretched behind his head.

“Oh, so you're the kinky type as well,” he asked snidely, “I should have figured,” and after a short pause deadpanned, “Now get them off me.”

Chloe ignored Lex’s first comment. She knew by now that he was going out of his way to hurt her. That had to be what this whole thing was about. She just didn’t know why he was doing this. And Lex was not going to get out of those cuffs until he told her.

“How long you stay in that uncomfortable position is totally up to you, Lex.” Chloe sat down on the bed and stayed outside of Lex’s kicking range. She propped a pillow against the baseboard and said. “I’ll give you the key as soon as you tell me why you did this. It’s that simple.”

Lex fought against the cuffs for a moment, but the fuckers seemed to be real. He didn't even want to think about where she would have gotten her hands on real police cuffs or how for that matter.

“You know fucking well why I did this. I'm merely showing the world what you have been hiding until yesterday,” he seethed. “Did it feel good? Going behind your friend’s back. Usingher body and his ignorance to get what you want? Did it give you a power trip?”

Chloe felt like she had been punched in the gut. Understanding didn’t dawn on her, it slammed into her. Lex had seen her with Clark. She hadn’t gotten around to telling him about the promise she had made with Lana. It had to do with the fact that she didn’t want him to think that she was a pushover that could be manipulated by the girl….like everyone else that she knew.

She also knew that Lex would have had an opinion about it and she didn’t want to hear it from him. Especially if it was contrary to what she had decided to do. Plus, she was embarrassed by the whole thing and she didn’t want to rehash what had happened with Clark once it was over.

Lex continued to glare at her but Chloe didn’t say anything. Another thought had struck her. Lex thought that she would do that to Lana. He really and truly believed that she would be so low, underhanded and vile as to take advantage of both Lana and Clark. When she looked at him again, she finally really saw the way that he was looking at her.

He was disgusted by her. And that hurt worst of all. It should have made her mad, it should have made her want to claw his eyes out and knee him in the balls, if he had any currently, but instead it made her sick.

Of all of the people that could believe that about her….

“You saw us,” she said, softly.

“Surprised,” Lex answered back just as lowly, “Yeah, I know that feeling. How could you?”

It still made no sense. He wasn't just incredibly fucking angry about it, he was disappointed and, Lex realized, unfathomably hurt. “Everyone else, I would have expected it from,” he shook his head. “But you,” he closed his eyes, turning his face away from her, for lack of a better option. “You can really congratulate yourself. You had me completely fooled.” Taking a breath, he turned his face back and looked back at her, shoving the emotions that were trying to come through on the backburner. “Now let me go.”

Chloe wordlessly plucked the key out of her pocket where she had stowed it. His words cut her more deeply than she thought was possible. She felt physically ill by now and knew that she had to get out of the house. She needed to get away from Lex and his accusations.

She undid one of his cuffs and said, “I did that because Lana asked me to. I haven't been fawning over Clark, he was getting suspicious and she didn't want me fucking up her relationship. She begged me and I,” she looked away from him, “I caved. I can assure you that I didn’t enjoy it.” Chloe closed her eyes briefly, remembering how wrong it felt to touch and be touched by Clark in that manner.

Placing the cold key in Lex’s freed hand she said, “Wear whatever you want.”

The room was too small and she couldn’t breathe in here. Without so much as another word from or to Lex, Chloe quickly left the room and continued down the stairs. When she opened the front door she had no idea where she was going to go. But, the night breeze felt good so she decided to walk to wherever it was that she was headed.

Lex sat up on the bed, rubbing his sore wrists. He didn't know what to think. Chloe had looked honestly hurt and after her brief 'explanation' left the room and by the sound of the front door banging shut, the house, without another word. Not knowing what to think, or what to believe for that matter, he closed his eyes and fell back on the mattress.

It would make sense, in a very twisted, illogical, teenager way of thinking. But why would Lana ever want Chloe to kiss Clark? Shouldn't that have shot the illogical logic straight to hell? Lana had always been afraid of Chloe, or at least, that's how it came across to Lex when he remembered which tone and descriptions she used to speak about her supposed friend.

The one-sided conversation in the car came back to him and it didn't make any sense that the same person who wouldn't give Chloe credit for anything, would ask her to kiss Clark. He didn't have a problem with the concept that Lana would do something to secure her relationship with the farmboy, but this was complete and utter bull. Or was it?

Logically, it didn't make sense for Chloe to agree with such a deal either, taking into consideration that she supposedly had no romantic or sexually orientated feelings towards Clark. Unless she had been lying the entire time. But why, Lex asked himself, would she put up this gigantic ruse then about being attracted to him going so far as to start a major fight about the entire issue, when all she was after from the beginning, was Clark? That didn't make any sense, either.

There was only one way to get the truth. And of course it involved delicate handling and careful approach. Great. With a groan, Lex sat up once more and grabbed the phone from the nightstand. Taking a deep breath, he went through the memory menu and found the number he was looking for. He hit three route and listened to the dial tone, waiting for the other person to pick up.

“Hello, Mrs. Ross, it's me, Chloe. Could I speak to Pete for a moment, it's really important.”

Lana was up in her room, hiding from a very irate Parker, when she heard Pete’s mom call his name. As she went down the stairs, constantly on the lookout for Pete’s brother blindsiding and killing her as she descended, she heard Mrs. Ross tell her that Chloe was on the phone.

“Thanks, Mom,” she said, gruffly. When she put the receiver to her ear she said, “What can I do for you, gorgeous?” She hoped that it wasn’t anything too serious. If it was she was going to have to make some excuse for why she needed to take the call in her room.

Lex breathed a sigh of relief, at least she wasn't irate. That would have made the matter much more difficult. “Hey, I was just wondering how you were holding up? Since Chloe didn't take the news too well, and I didn't get the chance to talk to you yesterday...” he trailed off, hoping that Lana in her unique way of turning subject matters onto herself would make it easy for him to get to the point he really cared about.

Lana knew that she couldn’t be too chipper or wordy as long as Mrs. Ross was around. The woman would definitely know that something was up if Pete didn’t use as many grunts and ‘yeah’s as he usually did.

“I’m fine,” she said, finding it hard not to elaborate on what she was saying. Thankfully, Mr. Ross called out to his wife and Pete’s mother left the kitchen. Lana waited another couple of seconds before saying, “Sorry, Mrs. Ross was just here.”

She sat down at the kitchen table and thought about the best way to handle this conversation. It was nice that Lex was calling to see how she was doing but she was thoroughly confused at what he was up to.

Before she had seen Lex today, she had heard about him. Or, at least about what Chloe wasn’t wearing to school. Something had happened between him and Chloe, that was certain but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

Deciding to start with a neutral topic, Lana said, “I refuse to be discouraged by what the crazy doctor told Pete and Chloe. I’ve decided that optimism is the way to go.” She took an apple out of the bowl of fruit that was sitting on the table and took a huge bite out of it.

“As long as we’re able to keep fooling the people around us, everything should be fine.” And, as long as you and Chloe don’t kill each other. She couldn’t believe that the other girl hadn’t beaten Lex to a bloody pulp yet. His behavior in her body had created quite a stir at school.

Damn, when had Lana turned into an optimist? Whoever was responsible for that change of heart should be strangled. It was not what Lex needed right now. But she'd given him at least something to work with. “Yeah, let's hope that the good people of Smallville will keep doing what they're best at and turn a blind eye. I'm just a bit concerned that the people closer to us. After what happened with Clark the other day, do you think he might have figured something out?”

This was going a little more in his direction. As soon as they were firmly on the topic of Clark, he would find out if Chloe had told him the truth or not. The craziest thing was that part of him really hoped he'd simply been wrong and it was all just a crazy, teenaged plan, not a jaded, backstabbing scheme on Chloe's part. Even when that meant he'd made a complete ass out of himself and hurt Chloe for no reason. If that was the case, he'd make it up to her. Somehow.

Well, if Lex was worried about that, Lana could put his mind at ease. Maybe then she’d be able to ask him why he had made Chloe out to be the town bicycle. If they were going to find out how to get out of this situation, they all needed to work together.

After what Chloe had done for her, Lana found that she was quite upset with Lex over what he had done. She might not be able to get to his motivations but she could tell him what she thought about his behavior. And she would.

“I don’t think so. Chloe took care of that the other day so we don’t have to worry about Clark anymore.” Lana kept it vague because she wasn’t sure how much Chloe had told Lex about their agreement. And she was learning that it was better to say too little than too much.

“Though, I think that your little stunt today might have turned some attention on Chloe that we frankly didn’t need.” Her voice took on a harder edge then she intended. It was then that Lana realized that she was very pissed at Lex. Because Chloe didn’t deserve what he had done to her. So, it turned out that Lana really did like Chloe. Who knew?

It also struck her that she had some apologizing of her own to do.

Lex ignored the comment on his outfit in favor of Lana's previous comment. “Excuse me, what do you mean 'she took care of it'? I thought I was the only one with resources to have someone disappear.”

A cold feeling started to slide down his throat and into his stomach and Lex had the suspicion it just might be guilt. And, depending on Lana's answer to his question, he had a feeling it could be only the tip of the iceberg.

Lana laughed. “If Chloe is going to kill anyone, I would wager that it would be you.” She knew that Lex would not talk to her about what was going on but she still had to make her feelings known. She wondered if she knew that he also had Pete to worry about. Once he found out, and he would somehow, what Lex had done, she had a feeling that the little amnesty fest that had been going on would cease.

“She just had to act like me for a few minutes and she said it was enough to get him off her back. She even went to dinner at his place last night.” Lana kept chomping on the apple. However, she didn’t think it would be enough to fill her up. Pete’s body was always hungry and it usually wanted some type of cow, pig, chicken or buffalo product.

The cold feeling started to solidify. Lex didn't like it one bit. “Lana,” he said in a cold voice, “Specify 'act like me'.”

Fuck subtlety and a careful approach, he had to know and he had to know now. If he'd made a complete ass out of himself and hurt Chloe over nothing, he'd not only have to do damage control, he'd have to make it up big time. And with Chloe, money or expensive gifts wouldn't cut it.

Lana recognized the ‘fuck with me and your dog will end up hanging from your kitchen ceiling fan’ tone of Lex’s voice. She wasn’t about to beat around the bush. “She kissed Clark at my behest.” Behest? Since when did she use such words? Since when did she know such words? Then she remembered cramming for the SATs with Chloe.

Things had been going so well. They had found the doctor, they were all getting along, Chloe had kissed Clark, fixing their relationship, and then Lex had to go and be nuts….. Chloe had kissed Clark and then Lex had gone nuts. Surely, the two couldn’t be unrelated. A thought began to form in Lana’s brain but Lex’s voice cut off her thought process.

“Fuck!” Lex didn't even bother saying good bye, simply pushed the disconnect button and threw the phone on the bed.

He was up off the bed in a second and rearing around for the closet to grab a long coat, his mind going 80 miles an hour. He had to find Chloe, he had to apologize. He had to... be the biggest asshole in God's creation.

“FUCK!”

His fist smashed into the closet door to slam it shut, as he rushed out of the room and down the stairs at break neck speed. If she hadn't taken the car, he would be faster than her and should be able to find her. He had to apologize. Where the fuck could she have went? Not Lana, definitely not Clark. Pete? Oh fuck, please not Pete. The boy would kill him.

Lex found the beetle in the driveway, got in and grabbed the spare set of keys from the glove compartment. Jamming them into the ignition, he gunned the engine and tore out of the driveway. He'd see if she'd gone down town first, then if she wasn't there, he'd have to face the possibility that she was at the mansion.

“Shit,” how could he ever make this up to her?

Pete would probably not even get the chance to kill him, because Chloe would do it first. He'd called her a whore, he'd run around in school in her body, dressed like a whore. Maybe he could plead temporary insanity. But Lex didn't think that even that would be a reason to make her forgive him.
~~~
It wasn’t fair that to try and work through her feelings about Lex she had to go to his house. She hadn’t even realized that that was the direction she was headed in. Hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings until a car pulled alongside of her.

When she saw Lex’s face peering at her she had stepped away from the car. His voice had sounded concerned when he had said her name and Chloe found herself close to tears. She had turned away to compose herself and the next thing that she knew, she was crying in his arms.

It wasn’t Lex but it still felt and smelled like him and Chloe let Pete hold her as the worst of her breakdown subsided. He hadn’t pressed her for an explanation, had just shepherded her into the car. On the way to the mansion, Pete had told her that he had just left the doctor and that things were going well.

Only when they were safely ensconced in Lex’s study did Chloe finally tell Pete what was going on. Even though he was calm throughout the whole thing she could tell that he was enraged. A vein stood out prominently on his forehead and he kept muttering under his breath.

He then informed Chloe that Lex had numerous guns in the mansion and he would be more than happy to make use of them. Putting aside the logical problems it would cause, Chloe had told Pete that she wanted to handle Lex. That Pete was to do nothing. Her friend had agreed, begrudgingly.

He had offered to take her back to her house but Chloe had him drop her off in the town. She still wanted to clear her head and she would be able to walk home and think some more.

It was another two hours before she made it back home. Her father’s car was in the driveway and she assumed that Lex had made up some story as to where ‘Lana’ was. However, she noticed that there were a great deal of lights on in the house. Lex was still up, she was sure of it.

Lex was sitting at the kitchen table, staring straight ahead at nothing. The last two hours, he had tried to find Chloe, to no avail. He'd searched the entire Main Street up and down first, making sure to keep his coat closed to avoid any further recriminations. She had been nowhere to be found. After about half an hour, he'd given up and convinced himself to drive to the mansion.

He'd never felt less safe in his own home. Pete had been enraged and not very far from throttling him, but for some reason he'd held back. Lex didn't remember exactly how it had happened, but he'd somehow managed to sum up the entire story in a few sentences, swallow his pride, admit that he was the worst asshole and asked Pete to call him should Chloe show up at the mansion so he could apologize. The younger man had looked at him as if he had grown a second head and Lex had left with no further comment.

Sheer out of options, he'd even made a stop by the Kent farm, but as expected, 'Lana' had not been there since the dinner the other night. Lex had given a believable excuse and left without even seeing Clark. He didn't have the mind to deal with the boy at the moment. Instead he'd driven back to the Sullivan's house, where he'd spent the last 35 minutes or so, sitting at the kitchen table, staring at nothing.

Chloe didn’t bother to fish her keys out of her pocket. She knew Lex well enough to know that he would have left the door unlocked. She didn’t, however, know what to expect. It all depended on whether Lex believed her or not. He could be laying in wait to throw more accusations at her or he could be waiting to apologize to her.

She looked at her watch and realized that it was past midnight. Her father would be fast asleep by now. That would be handy if Lex was going to call her a whore again. This time, she thought she might have some choice words for Lex about that. And they wouldn’t be quiet ones.

After opening the door and hanging her jacket up, a shadow crossed against her path. Making sure that her face was as blank as she could make it, she turned around.

As soon as he heard the lock turn in the front door, he got up and out of the kitchen. However, once he actually stood in front of Chloe in the open space between hallway and living room, words failed him. He'd been trying to think of the right words to apologize, the right thing to do to make this up to her, but there simply wasn't anything.

When she turned around from the coat rack to look at him, he could see that she'd been crying. The cold 'thing' inside his stomach that he now knew was guilt balled up and seemed to grow three sizes. 'Biggest fucking asshole alive,' he thought, and still he didn't know what to say. However, he had to start somewhere.

“I've been looking for you,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Things had been awkward between her and Lex numerous times. There was the fact that he saw her body naked, that he found out that she was attracted to him and a variety of others things. The silence that was between them now wasn’t awkward though. She would have classified it as heavy. As if there was an actual physical barrier between them that hadn’t been there before.

“Oh,” she said, without much inflection in her voice. If Lex was having trouble speaking to her that wasn’t her problem. He wasn’t her problem anymore, for that matter.

If he thought so little of her then it wouldn’t be all that difficult to excise him from her life. They would figure out how to get switched back. And after that, well, she could live out the rest of her days never speaking to Lex again.

Lex hadn't expected her to have much of a reaction. At this point, he would be glad for anything he got out of her that wasn't screaming or physical violence. Taking a breath, he continued.

“After you were gone, I...” He paused, unsure if telling the truth would dig him in deeper, but at this point, he wasn't really sure that there actually was a deeper anymore. “Called Lana.”

He waited for the implications of his statement to sink in, hoping that Chloe would at least hear him out now. Not that he actually had any right to ask her to listen. By all means, she should have slapped him across the face and ordered him to stay out of her sight until they were back in their own bodies, then after that go to hell.

Chloe nodded and then laughed bitterly. Of course he would have done that. He couldn’t possibly trust a whore’s word on anything. Lex needed all of the details before he could really believe what she had to tell him. She shook her head and then turned back to Lex.

“That must have been an interesting conversation,” she said, flatly. She could just imagine Lex trying to wring information out of Lana without being too obvious. “Did you get what you needed out of her?”

He deserved it. Her backhanded comment stung, but he deserved it for the assumptions he'd made. And for his actions towards her ever since.

“She told me that you kissed Clark on her behest,” he confirmed.

This was not going in a good direction. He didn't just want to bleat out the words 'I'm sorry'. Lex knew that Chloe had heard those words too often under similar circumstances. He'd witnessed it himself not 3 weeks ago with Clark and Pete. All he could do was try to explain and show her that he meant it, that he was sorry.

“When I saw you with Clark in the parking lot, I reacted. I didn't think clearly and jumped to the wrong conclusions,” he said, trying his best to be completely honest, but already failing. He couldn't tell her now that he'd just come back from dumping her boyfriend for cheating on her.

“I got angry, not only with you, but with myself and then I just,” he shook his head, “Snapped.”

Chloe was warring with herself. Part of her wanted to strike out at Lex, both physically and verbally. She knew where to hit her body to make it hurt and she knew how to wound Lex with her words. The other part of her wanted to try and understand why Lex had done this.

“You didn’t even bother to try and talk to me about it.” She knew that that was the very definition of snapping but she had to say her piece. She shook her head and then sat down on the stairs. Apparently, she had made her decision. She and Lex were going to get this sorted out and it was going to be now.

“No one has ever hurt me as much as you did. Clark broke my heart more times than I can count, he left me at a school dance and my two alleged best friends lied to my face but nothing can even begin to compare with the way you made me feel.” Chloe started to feel less mopey and more angry.

“Besides, what the hell right do you have to judge what I do?” She could act however she wanted, Lex wasn’t her keeper for god’s sake.

Chloe stood up and made her way down the few stairs that separated she and Lex. “And the best that you can come up with is you snapped! No apology, no real explanation, just an ‘I snapped’ and I’m supposed to accept that shitass excuse for an apology!”

“And why in the fuck were you mad at yourself? Because whatever virginal picture you had of me was wrong and you took it as me lying to you? Where in the fuck do you get off? You’ve had more women than the rest of the men in the state of Kansas put together but me kissing Clark offended your delicate sensibilities?” She had finally moved past the hurt and all that was left was the Sullivan anger.

It felt damn good.

Lex had tried to be calm about it, had tried to tell himself to take whatever Chloe was dishing out, but he just didn't do complete submission.

“It's not about the fact that you kissed someone it's about the fact that I watched you, in Lana's body, kissing Lana's boyfriend in front of the whole goddamn school! What was I supposed to think?” Lex's hands flew out of his pockets and out at his sides. He wasn't capable of standing still any longer.

'Don't mention her boyfriend, do not mention her boyfriend,' he had to force himself to remember.

“I didn't delude myself into thinking you were as pure as the driven snow, but I did think you weren't as jaded and backstabbing as the women I usually deal with and then one fine day, I step out into the goddamn high school parking lot to see you all over the boyfriend of another girl whose body you are inhabiting. And on top of that, we're talking about the boy that you had been in love with for years.”

Lex was making no sense whatsoever. “Do you even hear what you’re saying? God, if I was doing something that was wrong and underhanded, that I didn’t want everyone to see or to get back to Lana, why the fuck would I be doing it, as you put it, ‘in front of the whole goddamn school’? Doesn’t that seem like a bad way to be all stealthy?”

“But you did get one thing right which is a damn miracle at this point. Had been in love with. Past tense.” By now Chloe was almost screaming at the top of her lungs. But she didn’t even bother to lower her voice. Her dad could sleep through a tornado and yelling just felt too damn good. She paused for a second.

Lex was really upset by this. And he didn’t even really like Lana. So this couldn’t be about her stabbing Lana in the back. It had to be about something else. When you boiled it down to it what made Lex snap was her kissing Clark. She narrowed her eyes and looked at him.

“Why do you care so much? This isn’t about Lana and Clark at all. This is about me.”

“Of course it's about you!” And that was definitely not what he'd meant to say. Time to back track. “It's about the fact that I expected better from you than what I saw,” he finished.

And it was. Mostly. That and the fact that he'd witnessed her boyfriend cheating on her not five minutes before he'd found her presumably doing the same. And maybe, looking back, there had also been a part who just couldn't believe she'd choose Clark over him. Not that he'd given her any indication he'd been interested, but it had stung, none the less.

Chloe didn’t buy the crap that he was trying to sell her for even one iota of a second. There was something that Lex was holding back, surprise surprise, and Chloe wanted to know what it was. She deserved that after the psychological torment that he had just put her through.

“If you say, so, Lex.” She gave him her most condescending voice. Chloe modeled it on the way that she had heard his dad talk to him. She wanted to get as far under her skin as she could.

Lex knew that tone. He hated that tone. It was the same damn tone of voice that his father - may he rot in hell, eaten by maggots and tormented for all eternity - had used with him. In part, it was creepy to hear Lana's voice use that tone, but he knew the vicious mind behind it and the motivation. He would not rise to the bait.

“Well, what do you expect? I was getting to know you, I started to trust you and then you go and do something like this.” His hands went back in his pockets as his chin lifted defiantly, he would not go into details.

Chloe shrugged one shoulder at Lex’s explanation and then moved even closer to him. “That’s one explanation, sure. But, I don’t think that that’s why you snapped.”

She couldn’t very well tell Lex that she knew that he was attracted to her without outing Pete, which she had no intention of doing. Making sure to stand strong and that her voice didn’t waiver she said, “I think that you were jealous.”

Lex could feel his face smoothing out completely as he raised the barriers out of instinct. “And I think you're following the clues to the wrong conclusion.”

He had not been jealous. He'd been furious, disappointed, and maybe a bit hurt. But jealousy? No, that wasn't his style. If only he could tell her why he'd been so furious in the first place, but he didn't want to add that onto the list of issues they had already going. She'd just blow up again and think that he ruined her relationship on purpose. She probably wouldn't even believe that Lex had caught Vlad cheating.

Chloe had been a little surprised that he didn’t flat out deny it. It wasn’t a huge clue but Chloe thought that she had to be exactly on the right track. "I think it's a very logical conclusion to draw from your strange, irrational behavior. But, if you're not ready to admit it," she shrugged and took a step back from Lex, "I won't push you."

She knew that she would be pushing all sorts of buttons with her last statement. To even imply that Lex couldn’t handle his own feelings would drive him mad.

Lex's jaw clenched involuntarily. Why couldn't that woman ever let anything drop? Especially when it was for her own damn good? “There is nothing to admit, Chloe,” he stated slowly, “Except for the fact that I obviously drew the wrong conclusions.” He took a deep breath, met her eyes and held the gaze. “I gave you my explanation and I hope you can accept my apology for the things I did and said, if you can't, I will understand and stay out of your sight as much as I can until this entire situation is resolved and we're all back to normal.”

It wasn't what he really wanted to do, but at the moment, it seemed the only viable option, at least for a while. He didn't want to fight with Chloe and he hoped that they could get back on at least friendly terms, then he could tell her, gently and in a supportive way, that he'd dumped her boyfriend because he'd caught him cheating with a damn cheerleader behind the bleachers. Talk about a cliché.

Chloe still didn’t buy it. But she knew Lex would never, ever admit to being jealous. Of anyone. She wasn’t surprised by him denying it but it was a little fun to watch Lex do his version of squirming. She knew that he was, however, tiring of the conversation. His tone had become clipped and official.

However, he had apologized. Chloe ran a hand through her hair…and it got caught for the umpteenth time since the switch. She really would have to talk to Lana about a trim. The question now was did she want to forgive Lex for what he had done.

Having explained his thoughts and actions, Chloe could see why Lex did what he did. A regular person would have reacted differently, but Lex was far from regular. His logic often didn’t follow the pattern of normal humans.

She didn’t doubt his sincerity and she didn’t relish not talking to Lex for the next two weeks or so, either.

“I don’t think it’s necessary for you to avoid me. That’s a bit much. I mean, close quarters and all.” She took another step towards Lex and studied him, briefly.

Being that he had run amok with her body for the past few hours she had a question for him. “You told me a few weeks ago that you liked one of my birthmarks.” She paused to let him remember both the conversation and the birthmark itself. “Have you found the one that looks a little like a heart yet?” The one that she was talking about now was on her inner thigh. So if Lex had decided to do a little exploring she figured he would have found it.

Lex's expression stayed as nonchalant as possible, even though the swift change of topic had put him a bit off center. It was downright disconcerting sometimes how Chloe's mind could go from spot A to spot Z without any stops in between. Of course he remembered the birthmark he'd first found and he knew very well which one she was referring to now. But there was no sense in letting her know that.

This was probably a test how far he'd gone in treating her body like that of a whore. Lex could honestly say, during this whole episode, his mind hadn't even so much as touched that area. “No,” he answered out loud. Seeing Chloe's expression change into something that he couldn't quite place he added. “Why, do you want me to look for it?” That should make her back off from this subject.

Oh, so that was the game that Lex wanted to play? The challenge was clear in the tone of his voice and the set of his facial muscles. He thought that the comment would be enough to make her back down. On any other day it might have been, too. But, she was just so damn drained from the past few hours that her rational mind had already bid the rest of her body adieu.

Plus there was something to say about knowing that Lex, for all of his implications to the contrary, wanted to touch her body.

Chloe shrugged and said, “I’m surprised that you’ve gone this long without seeing it, actually.” Lex was still watching her carefully, probably waiting for the moment where he could see that he had won this round.

“Even after our talks, I thought that you might have explored your new surroundings thoroughly.” Hell, he was a man in a woman’s body and had to be curious about certain things.

Lex's brow went up and he cocked his head to the side, not believing he was really hearing these words come out of Chloe's mouth. “I was under the impression that you were highly uncomfortable with that idea,” he reminded her, “So I tried to respect your boundaries.”

Noticing that she didn't even react to his words in an outright manner, he tried one last time to get her to back off. “But if it's all the same to you,” he said suggestively, leaving the rest of his statement unspoken, but clear between them.

She would back off now, there just was no other possibility. Hell, she'd made a huge deal about the fact that she was attracted to him, there was no way she'd give him carte blanche. Especially not after the last twenty-four hours and what had happened.

A pretty big decision had to be made. It was a decision that could backfire on her in a number of ways. But she first had to make it. If she backed down Lex wasn’t likely to do a victory dance or think less of her. She did know, though, that that little self-satisfied smile would make an appearance on her lips. She had always thought that it looked infuriating on Lex but when she saw her own face making it she found new levels of annoyance for it.

Besides, just because Lex could do whatever he wanted to her body didn’t mean that…oh, who in the hell was she kidding? If she gave him permission, Lex would do anything and everything to her body. So, did she want him to? The answer was a definite yes….if she were currently in it, that was.

Lex waited patiently, hands still in his pants pockets. He was kind of glad he hadn't really crossed the line into inappropriate yet, because it would be that much easier on his conscience with actual permission.

Fuck it, who cares? Well, she probably would in the harsh light of day but for now the thought of Lex touching her body didn’t unsettle her in the slightest. Maybe if he got used to it, it would be easier for him to admit that he wanted to touch her when she was in her body, too.

Careful to keep their gazes locked, Chloe said, “If you want to know what it's like for us, Lex, permission granted.”

Now, she wanted to see his reaction. If he would even give her a verbal response or just accept what she had said with a nod of his head.

Lex chin tilted down a bit as he looked at her. That was all his expression betrayed of the disbelief he was currently feeling. “You're serious?” He couldn't believe she actually had the nerve to go through with it.

It was impossible to comprehend that and how the situation had taken such a spin into the surreal. She'd been ready to kill him before and now she was offering him her body for experimentation purposes and didn't even bat an eyelash about it? Lex thought, he should definitely apologize more often.

Hell, if anyone was going to be in her body and touching it in that way, it might as well be Lex. Besides, it would be fun to see him the next day...processing what he had done and how it had felt. "If you want to," she shrugged one shoulder, "I don't mind."

She left out the part where she would prefer that she was in her body when he went to town on it. Chloe thought that that would definitely scare Lex off. It was one thing to admit to being attracted to him but quite another to admit that she wanted something with him. Even if it was just physical.

Of course he wouldn’t take her up on her offer tonight. No, he’d wait a little while before doing it. She wondered if she’d be able to figure out when he crossed the line. And how she would feel afterwards.

Fuck if she wasn't serious. He locked their eyes as he slowly stepped closer. “Well then, thanks.” He paused, before adding, “I'll keep it in mind.”

He still couldn't believe she had just given him permission to make her body his playground. And that thought brought with it a very interesting effect. He felt the arousal build up inside him, but it wasn't as specific as it would have been in his own body, more diffused. The feeling roused something else as well. His curiosity. He'd been aroused inside Chloe's body before, but that had been different. It had been a purely physical reaction. And heaven knew it had been just that, since Lex himself didn't go for long-faced teenage boys.

He would have to think further on that, later. For now, he just wanted to go to bed and fall asleep, knowing that Chloe didn't hate him or want to kill him. Tomorrow, he'd have to find a way to restore her good reputation. But that wasn't too difficult in Smallville, since all he would have to do is pretend he had no idea what people were talking about, and they in turn would start developing a blind spot the size of the hole in the ozone layer, thinking it had something to do with the weird things that tended to happen in this town.

“Now, it's late. Why don't we call it a night and go to bed. I don't know about Lana, but I know that this body,” he pointed at himself while saying that, “Needs an incredible amount of sleep or it's incapable of functioning properly in the morning.”

Lex had made the mistake once, in the beginning of this whole debacle, to assume that Chloe's body could handle working on 3 hours of sleep. He'd been trapped in a zombie like state for 3 hours, until he'd gotten enough coffee into his system to wake the dead, or un-dead as the case may be. Never again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chloe said, haughtily. “I function perfectly well on two or three hours of sleep. It must be your weak constitution in my younger, more vibrant body causing that effect.”

It was just like Lex to totally blow by what had just happened. She could probably tell him that she loved him, wanted to have his bald headed babies and then spend all day and night waiting on him hand and foot and he would just tell her that that was acceptable to him.

Thinking about her body brought her back to what had happened today. Lex would start dressing normally again but the damage was already done. It was Smallville so they could just not address the issue but Chloe had another idea. As she walked towards the stairs, Lex matched her stride for stride. “Do you think you could squeeze an article out of what you did today? Some crap about people’s outsides or how people react to an unexpected stimuli or something?”

Lex was about to say something along the lines of 'Not on your life', but then he remembered that he did still owe Chloe for what he'd done and that this was probably her way of making him pay. So much for understanding where he was coming from. “I'll work it into my schedule, somewhere,” he answered flatly.

When Chloe entered her room she let out a breath that she had been holding. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, crap, shit, fuck." those were the only words that she was capable of uttering right about now. She had just given Lex Luthor, the stereotype of a womanizer, permission to do whatever he wanted to her body. 'Yeah, but you get a kick knowing that he wants to do it, or you, don't you?' She couldn't deny that. Plus, there was the added bonus that she had so effectively put him off balance. Whether he admitted it or not, he wanted her. The only question was how long it would be before he took her. And, who's body would he be in?

[BlueSabby]

Chloe woke up the next morning and groaned when she remembered her last conversation with Lex. She couldn’t very well take back what she had said but she didn’t want to dwell on it, either. If Lex did decide to take her up on her offer she just hoped that she never knew about it. Then again, the curiosity about it would kill her. Either way she was screwed.

She threw the covers off of her bed and stomped to the bathroom. She had woken up much earlier than usual and decided that a long, hot shower would help to clear her head.

When she came out of the bathroom in her robe she almost crashed into her father. “Sorry, Gabe.”

“That’s ok, Lana. I didn’t see you there.” Actually, he hadn’t seen much of either Lana or Chloe for the better part of the past few weeks. And when he did, they both didn’t say much at all. There was something going on but he couldn’t place his finger on it.

When he had asked Chloe if things were ok between the two of them she had assured him that she hadn’t been fighting with Lana. Then she had left the room directly after making her statement.

And they had both been acting strangely. Chloe had cut down on her intake of coffee and Gabe noticed that Lana wasn’t wearing as much pink as usual. The girls’ attitudes seemed to be off as well. He supposed it could be attributed to maturing but he didn’t think that was it.

Chloe knew that her father had picked up on some of the weirdness that was floating around the house. She didn’t think it was a problem but she would have to bring it up with Lex. Eventually. They had bigger things to deal with these days.

They were interrupted by Lex coming out of her room. He had already gotten ready for school. Upon seeing her he stopped and said hello, nodded and then continued downstairs.

She saw her father watching the exchange and then said, “I’ve got to get ready for school.”

After Lana left him alone Gabe turned in the direction that Chloe had departed in. He had had a reoccurring thought for the past few weeks. She had picked up slight, little tics that had trigged a sense of déjà vu in him. He could remember seeing them before but couldn’t remember who he had seen doing them.

He had finally remembered yesterday. Chloe was acting like Lex. He could only think of one reason why that had happened. Gabe now believed that something was going on between the two of them. Specifically that they were dating and she had picked up his little nuances because of the time they were spending together.

It would account for Chloe’s reluctance to be in a room with him for anything longer than five minutes and maybe even Lana’s awkwardness with Gabe if she knew the truth.

He would speak to Chloe tonight about it.
~~~~~

Lex had spent the first two lessons of the day trying to think of a good way to break the news to Chloe. So far he had decided to do it somewhere private and without using the choice words that sprung to mind when he thought of Vlad and what the boy had done. Other than that, he didn't know exactly how he would tell her.

Lunch break was rolling around, but he didn't think Vlad would be a problem, since he'd specifically told the cheating little shit to stay away and usually, they spent lunch break in the Torch office, unless they were trying to avoid each other. Thankfully that wasn't the case anymore.

He remembered the argument from the night before that had somehow led to a quite incredible offer from Chloe's side. Lex hadn't made use of it, so far. It just didn't feel right for some reason, even though the diffuse feeling of arousal had been quite interesting. However in light of other problems, he'd spent the night rolling around in bed, trying to think of a way how to tell Chloe the news that her boyfriend was a lying, cheating, worthless piece of shit and therefore now her ex-boyfriend. The bell rang and Lex slammed his folder shut, leaving to head towards the Torch.

By the time Lex walked into the Torch office Chloe was done with the piece that she had discussed with Lex last night. She found that it hadn’t been all that difficult to imagine what Lex had gone through yesterday and had been working on the article during her last class. She smiled up at him as she saved everything.

They usually ate in the office but she wanted to go and find Vlad. She could only imagine what he had thought of Lex’s behavior yesterday. It was strange that she hadn’t thought of that until the middle of her first class but the important thing was to speak to him sooner rather than later.

“Listen,” she said, “I was thinking we should eat in the cafeteria today.”

'Damn'. Why couldn't Fortuna be on his side, for once? Was it too much to ask? “Okay, I actually was going to work on that article that you asked me to do, I thought you wanted it out as soon as possible,” he answered.

Hopefully she'd take that excuse and agree to stay here. The last thing he needed was to actively place them in an environment where they might run into Vlad.

Her smile grew a little wider. “I actually already finished that for you. I didn’t think it would be too hard to imagine how the pigs around here would have reacted to your outfit.” She clicked off the monitor on the computer. “In fact, I saw some of it for myself,” she commented.

She picked up her bag and walked over to Lex. “I still can’t believe that skirt you wore. So, let’s get out of here. I’ve been here for the past half an hour and am starving.” She started for the door and added, “My dad was in the kitchen this morning so I didn’t get a chance to make lunch.”

Unfortunately, the article had been the only excuse he'd had and Chloe was already halfway through the door. Lex resigned himself to the fact that he'd have to overthrow his plans and deal with whatever happened on the fly.

“All right, I could probably use something to eat,” he said, following Chloe down the hallway and to the cafeteria. “Even though I don't think that the stuff they serve here can be considered food in anything but the fact that it won't kill you, if you eat it.” He'd had the dubious pleasure to eat in Smallville High's cafeteria once. It had been more than enough.

Chloe laughed good naturedly at Lex’s tone of voice. “Does the mystery meat offend your delicate palate?” In actuality, Chloe usually avoided anything that the cafeteria had to offer her, as well. But, poking a little fun at Lex never hurt anyone. As long as she didn’t cross the line.

The cafeteria was swarming with people and she scanned the crowd for one in particular. Vlad was sitting at his usual table with his friends. He looked more drained than usual and kept shooting glances around the room as if he was looking for someone.

Chloe gently grabbed Lex’s arm and said, “Lex, while I’m getting something to eat do you think you could go and talk to Vlad?” She knew that he hated dealing with that part of her life but she didn’t want her boyfriend to get the wrong impression about yesterday.

“I know that you don’t like him,” he hadn’t exactly kept his opinion to himself with the way he spoke about the boy, “but he is my boyfriend and I think that he deserves an explanation of my behavior from yesterday.”

He'd seen it coming the moment they'd stepped into the damn place. Of course Chloe had immediately started searching the room for her boyfriend and now he was in the uncomfortable position to have to explain.

“I don't think this is such a good idea,” he commented in a low voice, his eyes scanning for a table that would provide at least some[I] privacy.

“Why not,” Chloe asked. Lex was acting a little strange. A thought occurred to her. “Oh, god, did something happen yesterday when you were dressed like a hooker?” She groaned and put her hands over her face.

Of course Vlad would have cornered her and asked her what she was doing, it would have only been natural. She just hoped that Lex didn’t say anything that couldn’t be taken back. “Was it bad? Did you eviscerate him? Lex, tell me.”

Lex took a deep breath in preparation, grabbed Chloe's arm and pulled her aside behind a pillar. “No, nothing happened yesterday. But,” he just didn't know how to phrase this, because truthfully, there was no way of saying this without causing hurt.

Turning so he could take hold of both her arms and look directly into her eyes. “Chloe, the day that I caught you and Clark making out in the parking lot. Something happened before that. I just got back from physical education and on my way out, I caught Vlad,” he uttered every word clearly and with as much sympathy as he could, “Making out with a cheerleader.”

When Chloe heard the words she started to shake her head. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be happening again. She had thought that her luck with men was changing. Vlad was totally devoted to her. She blinked a few times and tried not to vomit on her shoes.

“No,” she whispered. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Lex. She knew from the look on his face that he took no pleasure in telling her this. But, it was the only thing that she could think of to say. Well, that and, “Why?”

She pulled away from Lex’s touch and took a few deep breaths before leaning against the nearest wall. Setting her jaw and not allowing herself to cry she asked, “What happened after you caught him?”

Lex could see that the news had hit her hard, so he tried to phrase things in a way that would make it clear it wasn't her fault. “I demanded an explanation and he tried to blame it on me. He basically said that he had to get his jollies somewhere else because I wouldn't put out. Can you believe that? I told you that boy isn't good enough for you. And well, when he actually expected me to apologize for 'making him' cheat and having a life of my own,” he remembered the moment clearly, still taking pleasure in the pain he'd caused. “I kicked him in the balls hard enough to make him vomit and told him to stay away if he knew what's good for him.”

Taking a step closer, he put his hand on Chloe's shoulder once more, trying to get some contact. “Chloe, it wasn't your fault. He's just an asshole who can't tell the difference between what's good for him and what's good for his dick.”

Lex had never been in league with feminists and he wasn't a sensitive guy. He'd surprised himself most with his little impromptu speech right now and he could only hope that Chloe would believe him, considering that he also wasn't known for having long lasting relationships with women he actually cared for. His track record didn't exactly speak to his advantage there.

God, she’d been such a fool. She had really thought that Vlad and she would have been a good couple if this hadn’t happened. But she didn’t know if that was even true. She also wondered if he had cheated on her before yesterday.

“It’s just so clichéd. I wouldn’t fuck him so he found someone else who would?” She looked up at Lex and heard some of the anger that she was feeling creep into her voice. “It’s not as if I wouldn’t touch him at all. He had nothing to complain about for god’s sake, trust me.” She remembered all that they had done. She had gone a little nuts when they first got together but had stopped it before they had sex. She was glad of that now.

She had heard what Lex said about her but wasn’t sure she believed it. So the problem was that she was too good for the men that she went after and that’s why [i]they dumped her. It didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

“And he said it was my fault?” She felt her anger coming on much stronger. “That fucker can’t keep it in his pants and I’m the one to blame. Fuck him. I’m going to fucking tear his dick off.” Chloe turned to go and do just that when she felt Lex grab her arm.

“Not that I'm generally opposed to that idea, but I don't think it would be wise to do so right now.”

He kept hold of her arm, trying to explain what he meant before she went off and did it anyway. “I already gave him a hard time about it and believe me, he'll regret what he did for a very long time.” For the rest of his life, without even knowing about it, once Lex was back in his own body.

“But, I did it in private so no one will know what happened, except me and him and the cheerleader who surely isn't going to announce that she got caught slumming it with the exchange student.” At least not if social rules were the same here as they'd been back in the days in prep school.

“If you go over there now, however, you'll be causing a scene in the middle of the cafeteria, with all eyes on you and everyone will know that Chloe Sullivan was cheated on by the exchange student.” Or worse she might make the mistake to go over there as Chloe Sullivan in Lana Lang's body and cause the suspicion of the entire student body. “I thought among other things, this was one reason you didn't want the relationship to be public knowledge,” he pressed on.

Chloe didn’t know what she wanted to do anymore. She wanted to hurt Vlad, that was for damn sure. But Lex was making all sorts of good points. She knew that Lex, as her, had already hurt him but she wanted the opportunity to do the same thing. No matter whose body she was in.

“I…I…” she ran a hand over her face and then shook her head, “I can’t just do nothing, Lex. I realize that you already took care of him as me but…” Chloe trailed off. It wasn’t fair on so many levels.

Wasn’t fair that her boyfriend had shoved his tongue down someone else’s throat. Wasn’t fair that she had to be humiliated by Lex finding it out. And certainly wasn’t fair that she wouldn’t get to wreck her own revenge on him.

“Maybe I’ll start a rumor that he’s impotent,” she sulked. “He did have some sort of problem one time, but it wasn’t that,” she muttered to herself. But that wouldn’t solve anything, he’d still be breathing.

She glared over at his table one more time and then picked up her bag. “I need some time alone.” She looked over at Lex and laid a hand on his arm. “Thanks for sticking up for me. I’ll see you later.” Chloe didn’t know where she was going, but she needed some time to think.

Lex held her up once more, not wanting to let her go off in a mood like that. “Wait!”

When she stopped and turned around to look at him, he took his chance. “I didn't say you can't do anything, I just said you can't do anything right now.” While he was talking, he slowly stepped up to her.

A plan to get her to feel better already forming in his mind. Chloe wanted revenge and if there was one thing he was good at, it was payback. In spades. “So, why don't you and I go to the Torch now,” he put a hand on the small of her back and started leading her towards the swinging doors. “Order some real food,” he paused to cast a disgusted glance at the brown glob that was wobbling on the plate of a girl that passed them.

“Make some excuses for the remaining lessons and see what we can do to make him regret the day he was born? And I assure you, you have my full support in anything you wish to do.” The shark smile on his face still came naturally, which was quite a relief.

Chloe had a decision to make. She could either go off on her own and mope or join Lex and plot Vlad’s demise. One was definitely healthier. And fun. “OK, sounds good.” They started walking down the hall and Chloe said, “Hey, I’m sure Dr. Madison could come up with something.”

Lex smirked, pretending to ponder the option for a moment. “Well, if all else fails, I'm sure he'd be delighted to have a new test subject.” And if worse came to worse, Vlad would be the first he would think of as a 'volunteer' for whatever the good doctor wanted to try to switch them back.

It was good to see Chloe's mood come back from the serious nose dive that it had just undertaken, Lana really didn't look all that pretty when her face was all screwed up like that. Another part of himself was giving him ‘the look', trying to remind him that that hadn't been the reason Lex had been sending his brain into overdrive to change Chloe's mood, but he pushed it aside. They had something else to focus on for the moment.

~~~~
During the few hours that the two of them had been holed up in the Torch office eating Chinese food, Lex had come up with one over the top scheme after another to get back at Vlad. When she had found out about the betrayal, she hadn’t thought that she would be laughing so hard so soon. But Lex’s dead pan delivery of his plan, along with schematic drawings had been too much.

Her personal favorite involved leg wax. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t still hurt, wasn’t still angry and might not cry later that night in the privacy of Lana’s room, it just meant that she wasn’t feeling as homicidal as she thought she should be.

It was also a strange thing to watch Lex be so careful with anyone. He had been attentive the whole time…bordering on fussy. She had let him drive home and, after assuring him that she would be ok by herself, she had set about getting Lana’s homework out of the way.

Plus, she knew that her father would be home tonight. All night. That filled her with a sense of dread. She knew that he would want the three of them to eat dinner together. Since the accident, the three of them hadn’t been in a room together for too long a period of time. But, Chloe didn’t think they’d be able to get around that tonight.

She shut down Lana’s computer, the girl’s paper about the invasion of Normandy had been safely tucked away in the hard drive, and made her way downstairs to start cooking.

Lex hadn't been so amused in a long time. Coming up with schemes that were more than slightly on the vindictive side had been fun, and much less complicated without the risk of damaging consequences. His mind had kept coming up with plans that ranged from downright evil to completely nuts, but it had been worth it to see the smile on Chloe's face and hear her laughing outright at some of his stick figure schemes and color coded charts. He'd kept the top three, in case Chloe did change her mind at some point.

When they'd gotten home, she had looked a lot better than when he'd broken the news to her. It had done something funny to him. For the first time in ages, Lex had felt useful. Really useful, on a personal basis. Because it had been him that had helped, not his money, or his name or his endless resources. Just himself.

Looking at his wrist watch, he noticed that it was a little past six. Maybe he should go and make himself useful some more. They'd be having dinner in less than one hour. Dinner with Chloe's father. This wouldn't be easy. So far they'd managed to skirt the issue, making themselves scarce and not spending more time with Gabe than was absolutely necessary in either case and if possible, only one at a time.

Lex had gotten used to the minor quirks that came with being Gabe Sullivan's daughter, but that still didn't mean he didn't avoid them at all costs. The first time Gabe had addressed him with 'sweetheart' Lex had outright ignored him. How the hell was he supposed to know Gabe meant him? They hadn't discussed the pet name thing at all. Thankfully, he'd talked himself out of that little mess up by pretending he'd been too deep in thought at the time.

Taking a deep breath and preparing himself to convince Gabe that nothing was amiss, he put on Chloe's favorite clothes and went down to the kitchen.

The first thing that Gabe noticed when he entered the kitchen was the silence that descended between his daughter and Lana. That seemed to happen more often than not these days. It only deepened his suspicion that something was going on with his daughter. Something she wasn’t ready to share. But ready or not, she would do so tonight.

“Hey, sweetie,” he said and then leaned down to kiss her cheek. Chloe sneezed and ducked out of his way. That was another thing, she hadn’t hugged him or watched a movie with him or done any of the usual father-daughter things that was their custom. Avoidance was a classic sign of guilt. He looked at her and said, “I hope you’re not coming down with something.” No need to let her know that he knew something was up. He put the back of his hand on her forehead and noted the odd look on her face. “You feel fine.”

Leaning to the side, he said, “Hello, Lana.” His eyes narrowed at what the girl was doing. Chopping the salad. But….Lana was afraid of sharp objects. Chloe always did that.

He saw Lana follow his gaze and she said, “Chloe is helping me overcome my irrational fears.” She gave him a small smile and turned back to the cutting board. He watched as she cut everything very gingerly. However, there was a heap of vegetables piled on the board. If that had been Lana’s work she would have had to be down here for at least an hour doing that.

“I’m going to go wash up,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen.

Lex let go of a small breath as soon as Gabe was out of the kitchen. He cursed himself for his instinctive reaction, but when Gabe had tried to kiss him on the cheek he'd just flinched. Hopefully, the sneeze he'd covered it with had distracted the older man enough not to suspect anything. Lex had stoically taken the hand to his forehead and waited it out.

Walking over to Chloe, he picked up the tomatoes, starting to wash them. “That didn't go so well,” he muttered.

Obviously, they'd both already made mistakes. Better sort out everything now, before Gabe came back. “If there is anything you haven't mentioned yet, you better do it now, because I don't think we can afford another mistake.”

There were tons of things Chloe had left out. When she and Lex had discussed things that he should know, there was no way to tell him every story from her childhood. She had tried to cover the major bases but if her father brought up the time that she had tried to take apart her swing set in order to reconstruct it as a castle, they would be shit out of luck.

Chloe looked towards the stairs before saying, “Lex, there is no way that I’ve covered everything that my father may talk about. We’ll just have to try and change the subject as best as we can.” She paused and thought of other ways to get out of a spot like that. “Worse comes to worse, I’ll fake a seizure.”

Lex was just making her more nervous by being concerned about it. But, Chloe would just have to be the calm one. If things started to go awry, she would find a way to fix it. Feeling a little better, she started to finish fixing the salad as Lex began to set the table.

Lex set the table quickly and efficiently, or on autopilot as the case may be. If prep school education was good for something, it told you how to set a table right. They'd get through this, somehow. As long as they could keep Gabe from bringing up childhood stories or asking anything that only Chloe could answer, they'd be ok. He could wing it, act, lie, talk his way around it, and if worse came to worse, well he could hope Chloe was a convincing actress.

God, he longed for a drink now. Shoving his hands in his pockets to stop himself from fidgeting, he leaned back against the counter, facing Chloe. Some small talk would hopefully help him get that involuntary stiffness out of his shoulders. He was about to open his mouth, when he closed it again. Even small talk was complicated now, because he'd have to do smalltalk as if he was Chloe talking to Lana, being that Gabe could be back any second.

Both of the girls’ backs had been turned when Gabe came back down the stairs. He had been fixing the cuff on his shirt when he noticed the precise way that Chloe was setting the table. It was enough to stop him in his tracks. Feeling halfway between an idiot and a paranoid freak, he stepped back into the darkness that the hallway afforded him.

His Chloe was a number of wonderful things that he would expound to anyone that listened. But, she could never set a table worth a damn. The forks and knives were never where they should be. One place setting would have them in the correct spot while they would be wrong around the rest of the table.

The napkins were never neatly folded and were sometimes found helpfully under your plate. The almost military like precision that he saw her displaying now unsettled him a great deal..again because it reminded him of Lex. But, even if she was seeing the man, it wouldn’t explain why she had picked up that habit from him.

His gaze turned back to Lana and he watched as she flipped her hair out of her face. Chloe had long hair when she was a child. It had driven her crazy. Lana growled slightly when the hair went back into her face and she pulled it out of the way again. Using the same motion that Chloe always had.

Gabe felt his heart pick up speed while he felt as if he wasn’t getting enough oxygen into his lungs. Looking back at Chloe, he saw her lean against the counter and shove her hands into her pockets.

He was going insane, that was the only explanation for the thought that was taking shape in his mind. What was worse, he was going to follow his insane logic and do something very stupid.

Taking a few more steps towards the kitchen, Gabe shouted out one word. “Lex!” He inflected the right amount of urgency into it so that he could not be ignored.

When Chloe’s head instantly whipped around, her body tensing as if at the ready, Gabe felt more than a little faint.

'Damnit!' Lex cursed himself instantaneously after he realized his mistake. When he'd heard his name shouted in a way that usually proclaimed 'The plant's on fire' or 'You're going to lose fifty million dollars if you don't do something right now!' he'd just reacted.

Of course by the time he realized his mistake, there was nothing he could do to save it, because there was no reason why he should whip his head around to look directly at Gabe, instead of towards the door, or any place really, which would be logical for 'Lex' to appear at.

Gabe was pale as a sheet and staring straight back at him. He let his gaze travel to Chloe who looked about as shell shocked as it got. Raising his eyebrows at her in question, he waited to see if she wanted to speak first.

Well, that was that. There was no way to play off what had just happened. The only thing that Chloe could hope to do was make sure that her father’s head didn’t explode. “Hi, Daddy,” she said, giving him a small wave, “Like my new look?”

The joke was not appropriate, but the level of tension in the room was unbearable. Quickly, Chloe made her way past Lex, giving him an encouraging smile, and walked over to her father. He was still frozen in his spot.

She gently took him by the arm and said, “I think that you should sit down.” Her father went with her without much of a fight and she could see his eyes crawling all over her face.

Once he was seated, Gabe found that he was able to talk again. The whole thing was just too fantastic. When Chloe had turned towards him, no when Lex had turned towards him, he hadn’t really been able to process what was going on.

Now, he looked at Lana and said, tentatively, “Sweetheart?”

Chloe smiled at him. “Yes, it’s me. I guess that Lex and I aren’t the best of actors, huh?” She felt her father take her hands in his before he looked back up at her, “What happened?” She saw Lex come into the living room and he turned on one of the lights.

Her father looked over at him and said, “How is this even possible?” He looked her body up and down. She could see his mind working and thought it best to not let him think too much about the ramifications about Lex being in her body.

“Meteor rocks,” Chloe said, simply. There was no reason to get into things too deeply now. Her father would have a million questions and she would answer all of them, but not tonight.

Gabe nodded. He should have known. He had too many questions. His brain was overloading and he couldn’t pick one to focus on. One question came to the forefront of his mind. “Are you two…” he paused, not wanting to ask the question, “stuck like this?”

Lex moved closer, but still kept a bit of a distance, sitting down on the other side of the coffee table. That was exactly the question they didn't have an answer to, yet, and which he didn't want to have to answer at any rate.
“We have a professional scientist working on the reversal as we speak,” he said vaguely. Best to get off that question and onto the ones he could answer.

“We're sorry that we had to lie to you, Gabe, but we thought it best to keep this under wraps. I'm sure you can imagine the consequences, should people find out about this situation. And frankly, we didn't want anyone else to be worried.”

The man was obviously in shock. Who wouldn't be if they found out that their daughter was now stuck in the body of her house mate, while their ex-boss inhabited the body of their daughter? Lex wondered if the implications of that had sunk in yet. Lex himself craved for a drink.

What Lex was saying made logical sense. As much logic as one could expect in this situation, that was. He felt Chloe squeeze his hands and he looked up to see a concerned look in Lana’s eyes. It was the body of another girl, but Gabe could clearly see his daughter looking out from the strange eyes.

He nodded and then released Chloe’s hands. “I need to lie down.” A truer statement had never been spoken. He looked between Chloe and Lex. “I’m not pleased that you lied to me but I can see why you did it.”

Reaching over, he touched Lana’s hair and shook his head. “This must be driving you crazy.”

That comment made Chloe think that her dad would be ok once he got some rest. She rolled her eyes and said, “You have no idea. I’ll fill you in on everything tomorrow. Let me get you to bed.”

Chloe stood up and kept a hold of her father’s arm. “Chloe, I’m not a child,” Gabe said good-naturedly. He understood her concern but he wasn’t about to let his daughter tuck him under the sheets.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, extracting his arm from her grip. “In the morning,” he added. He had some pills that would do just the trick to make sure that he would be unconscious for at least eight hours.

He stepped past his daughter and said, “Lex,” as he passed the other…..man…..this was just too odd.

Hands back in his pockets, Lex got up and nodded at the older man, understanding how weird it must seem for anyone not actively involved in the whole mess. “Good night, Gabe,” he answered.

Leaving Chloe to put her father to bed, he returned to the couch and flopped down in a sprawl. Blowing an errand strand of hair out of his face he looked up at the ceiling. So Gabe knew now. How long before someone else uncovered their secret? Dr. Madison better fucking put this to rights, soon.

[westwingwolf]

Sadness that you guys will no longer write new stories, but happiness that you'll finish what you have. Thanks for all the wonderful stories you've written.

I think it is safe to say, after this time as each other, the people involved have more respect for their counterparts. I like seeing Lex and Pete get along, and I think it's good that Chloe knows Lex's reaction to her body since he obviously knows hers to his. I wanted to kick Lex's ass for going way over the line when reacting out of jealousy at seeing her kiss Clark, though he did do her a good turn before all of that went down. Still, I think she needs to make him pay when things get back to normal. In the meantime, I love laughing at all the struggles each person has to deal with in their new bodies.

[somethingeasy]

Sabby: So by now most of you have probably given up hope of any of our stories being updated again. And that is half true. Blue and I are officially out of the business, and that's no joke this time around. Sorry. However, we are going to post what we have, which should wrap up everything currently on the board. So, we hope you enjoy/ed our stories and we thank you for the wonderful feedback we have received and all the support you've given us over the years.

I’ve had the nasty, sneaking suspicion that you and Blue were getting out of Chlex-writing. It’s hard news to take in, but I so appreciate you telling your readers what was going on. And I especially appreciate your promise to finish up all your current stories before you leave the board for good. You’re going to be badly, sorely missed, BlueSabby. For now, I’m going to relish whatever chapters your post up to finish up existing work.


“Hi, Chloe,” the boy said as he tucked his long frame into the chair beside Chloe. He waited for her to speak. Usually, she had a lot to tell him first thing in the morning. He found that listening to her account of what had happened in her life since they had last seen each other was the best way to wake up. It also didn’t hurt that she was very easy on the eyes.

I have to admit that I rather liked Vlad right from the beginning. He not only sounds like an attractive fellow, but it ALSO seems like he appreciates Chloe’s vivacious personality; her intelligence AND her good looks. This appreciation in itself speaks well of his intelligence and good taste ;) It’s good to know that Chloe got herself an admirer who is actually worth her attention.


“Thanks for the compliment,” he smiled at the younger man, leaning back in his chair to talk a little lower. “You're right, in fact I even got a compliment by the lord of the manor. He was incredibly attentive the whole evening. I even got an exclusive scoop for the Torch out of him. We'll probably meet to talk about it later.”

There that was subtle, but suggestive none the less. It'd be child’s play to get rid of this European wanna be Don Juan.

I didn’t know whether to be appalled and rage at Lex for sabotaging this burgeoning relationship… or laugh in amusement at Lex’s possessive jealousy. Lex himself probably doesn’t see that he’s acting as a jealous boyfriend, sending Vlad ‘back off, she’s taken’ vibes at Vlad. It’s probably very confusing for Vlad, considering that these possessive ‘back off, she’s mine!’ signals are coming from Chloe’s body, LOL!

I was very impressed to see that Vlad picked up on Lex’s not very subtle hints, and figured out what that ‘extra attention’ from Lex at the party might actually mean for Chloe. As far as he knows, he and Chloe are getting along very well together, so he would see Chloe’s information as a slightly naïve observer who noticed Lex paying extra attention, but not fully appreciating what it might mean.

And I was very, VERY pleased by the way that Vlad was man enough to let Chloe take care of any ‘unwanted attention’ from Lex. He knows that Chloe is strong and able enough to take care of herself, and HE doesn’t have to go rushing over to Luthor manor and demanding that the filthy Luthor keep his hands off Vlad’s girlfriend.

It was a bit of a shame to discover that Chloe has been keeping her budding relationship with Vlad as a dirty little secret. That’s not a good way to start a relationship. But, I can see why Chloe is doing it, considering all the nosey, interfering friends that she has around her all the time… especially ONE hulking busybody who views Chloe as his personal back-up girl, side-kick, search engine that is NOT to be shared out with anyone else.


Turning towards the class, Clyde Perkins let them sweat it out a little before speaking. He got a kick out of making the kids squirm. The level of education in this country was slipping with every passing year, but not in his classroom. Ditto for the amount of respect that students often showed their teachers.

As that thought made its way across his mind, his eyes briefly landed on Ms. Sullivan. She was bright, that was not in dispute, however she had a real problem with authority and talking back that needed to be nipped in the bud. The sooner, the better. She looked back at him levelly, her pen hovering over her notebook, waiting for him to speak.

Just like I liked Vlad from the very beginning, I knew that I was going to intensely dislike Perkins from his first appearance. The fact that he considers students to sub-standard and inferior to his own towering intellect is an ominous sign. The fact that he obviously relishes the idea of exacting disciplinary action also shows that he’s not a particularly nice person. But the thing that really convinced me that he was despicable was the fact that he targets Chloe Sullivan, not because she’s lazy, incompetent, stupid, disruptive or any of these other reasons that most teachers don’t like students… but because she’s too challenging for him to handle. She’s very smart and competent, but she doesn’t ‘submit to his authority’, whatever that means.


Mr. Perkins said nothing after Ms. Sullivan was done. Her facts were correct and she had grasped the full context and historical perspectives that were at work. However, he wanted to know where she had learned that little tidbit from. When coming to this school, he had done some background research on the teachers that the students had had in the past. He went through their lesson plans and carefully checked to see what level of knowledge the students had. He would then attack their weakness in order to make their minds stronger.

I was growing more furious by the second by Perkin’s attitude and behaviour as a teacher. He’s actually displeased because one of his students displayed a stunning amount of knowledge on the subject matter. He’s actually angry that she answered his question correctly?! What kind of a petty person is this?!? It’s pathetic. And it’s even more pathetic considering that he phrased his question planning to make his student/s flounder and feel stupid. It’s outrageous that he specifically targeted Chloe to make her feel small, stupid and weak.

I was really angry to see that Perkins then had the nerve to ask Chloe where she got her knowledge from. As if asking how she got smart enough to answer his question. What a small, petty, pathetic individual. I was actually slightly surprised to see that Lex didn’t pick up that Perkins was trying to humiliate Chloe. But perhaps Lex was just knocked off balance trying to come up with a n explanation as to how he was able to answer Perkin’s impossible question.


Mr. Perkins extended his piece of chalk in Ms. Sullivan’s direction. “No, I insist.” His voice was tight but he wasn’t about to punish her for her response…..just yet. “If you get into any trouble, I’ll help you out of it.” He wanted to see how the young girl would handle herself. He knew that most students were terrified of public speaking.

aaargh! The man wasn’t able to embarrass Chloe through his earlier attempt, so he then gives her an even more difficult task, relishing her imminent failure. This is an educator?!? I really hope that Lex catches on, relatively quickly, that Perkins was targeting Chloe for humiliation with absolutely no just cause. I look forward to seeing Lex making life for Perkins VERY difficult sometime soon. Perhaps Lex will choose to exact his revenge while he’s still in Chloe’s body, OR perhaps he’ll choose to bide his time until he’s back in Lex Luthor’s shoes again. In either case, it’s going to be VERY satisfying to see Perkins have his comeuppance soon.


It wasn’t that Chloe was ugly, it was that she was just as weird as one could get. She spent all of her time telling anyone who would listen that Smallville was a stomping ground for weird things. No one needed or wanted to hear it but she kept publishing one dumb article after another. Amber could give two fucks about the football team, but she still thought that the girl’s attitude towards the school was out of order.

Then there was the fact that that girl’s best friend was highly fuckable yet she obviously hadn’t taken advantage of it. All in all, Chloe was as far down on the social scale as you could get. And she was sitting at her table right now.

It was actually quite intriguing to see how Chloe is viewed by the Queen Bees of her high school. I suspected that a lot of Chloe’s lack of popularity with the ‘in-crowd’ came from badly hidden fear, intimidation and jealousy of her ambitions, intelligence and drive. Now it’s confirmed that Chloe IS indeed a target for school bullies (students and teachers) because she’s considered too boldly and scarily intelligent and ambitious for everyone.

I was enraged by Amber’s attitude towards Chloe, but also pleased to see that Chloe makes such an impression on people that she barely notices. This level of loathing and hatred is very strong and powerful, and obviously only happens because Chloe has such a strong presence and forceful personality. People just can’t help but react to her, whether it’s in a positive manner or a negative.


Lex had a hard time keeping his facial muscles in check at the rant being thrown at him but didn't back away one inch. Instead, he stepped closer, invading the personal space of the scantily dressed girl and getting right in her over-painted face. “If I was you, I would not open my mouth that wide or people might just find evidence of your last encounter in the boys locker room.” Seeing the deer in headlights look fleetingly cross the other girl’s face, he knew his assumption had been spot on. “Furthermore, I wouldn't dare calling me on my choice of clothing, at least I can walk along the curb without people offering me five bucks for a blow job.” He stepped even closer, cutting the distance between them by half.

“And as for your last assumption, I don't need to waste my time on silly crushes. If I want it, I get it. I just have something you don't. Namely taste, which means that I don't spread my legs for just anyone, unlike some girls around here,” with that, he turned on his heels and stalked off, lest he lose it completely and actually hit the vapid girl. He needed to do something about his outfit first. Hopefully, Chloe would have a change of clothes in the Torch.

Oh now that was good! That was intensely satisfying! I have to say that I’m loving the way that Lex is experiencing Chloe’s life, and fighting her battles for her. Granted, Lex is fighting on his own enraged behalf, but I do note that he IS making references to Chloe, and the myriad of ways that Chloe’s so much superior to this horrible, malevolent, power-abusing Queen Bee.

I also wonder whether Lex is going to be having some flashbacks anytime soon to his OWN high school and college days, when HE was abused and bullied for being a freak. It’s going to be very interesting to see Lex working out his issues of being underappreciated during his high-school days by taking vengeance on Chloe’s behalf. I think it would actually be good for him... an healthy way of gaining closure.


Amber had never been so pissed in her entire life. Her body was literally shaking with rage but had nothing to do with it. Chloe had already stomped off. No one talked to Amber like that. And that was a lesson that Chloe would learn. But, not now. Amber believed in the old Spanish proverb. Chloe wouldn’t know what hit her.

Ouch! Of course, it wouldn’t be of much use if Lex worked out HIS high school issues, leaving Chloe to mop up the mess that he’s made of her life. Let’s hope that Lex manages to resolve both the Perkins and the Amber issues before Chloe comes back, completely unknowing and unprepared, back into her own shoes.

Thanks for the update, BlueSabby! It was an excellent chapter, and I look forward to more postings.

[Kit Merlot]

Man, when you guys update your fic, you really update!

There were a couple of parts I loved: Lex telling off that Amber chick for throwing orange juice on him/Chloe's body, Lex's telling off of Vlad for cheating on Chloe, Lex showing off his vast history knowledge and putting that horrible histort teacher in his place, Lex and Pete actually getting along, and Lana's realizing that Chloe really is a good friend to her.

And even though the Chlex argument was painful, I did like seeing Lex's jealousy over Chloe's kissing Clark--even if she was in Lana's body while doing it.

I can't wait to see how you get them all back in their correct bodies:grin3:

Thanks for always writing such damn intricate and clever stories--I shall miss them but I understand the need to move on from the SV/Chlex fandom.

[hfce]

My goodness that was long update. :rofl: I finally finished it. It was a great one as usual. I will miss you guys once you are done with your Chlex stories. You are the best writers on here. ;)

[Rachet]

SO Sad that there will not be any more new stories from the two of you. Thankyou for finishing the WIP that you have here though. When they are finished your writing will be greatly missed. We will just have to keep rereading the old ones when we need our BlueSabby fix.

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Sabby: And here is the rest of this story.


Her father had tried to fight her the whole way but Chloe wanted to make sure that he would be ok. She had given him a few minutes and then knocked on his door. He was already in his pajamas and she had caught him downing some pills.

“Oh, good, I was going to suggest heavy tranquilizers, too,” she had said, sitting down on the bed. He had given her a face and then shooed her out of the room.

She found Lex on the couch, arms and legs everywhere. She made a detour into the kitchen and poured him some of her father’s scotch. If ever there was a time for a drink, it was now.

Taking her place next to Lex, she handed the glass to him wordlessly. After a moment of silence she said, “That went well.”

Lex took a sip of his drink, putting his body somewhat back in order, before he turned to look at her. “About as well as could be expected,” he said.

Somehow, he had a feeling that things would not look that much better in the morning. He took another, larger sip of his drink and then without thinking held the glass out for Chloe. If ever there was an occasion to drink, it was this one. Also, he remembered that his tolerance in Chloe's body wasn't exactly what it should be.

“At least now he won't try to kiss me again, or call me sweetheart,” he dead-panned.

Chloe actually giggled at Lex’s words as she took the glass from him. Lana would probably frown on this but she didn’t give a damn about that. She took a small sip of the liquid and coughed a little as it burned a path down her throat.

“Oh, come on,” she said, turning towards him, “you got off easy. May I remind you that I had to kiss Clark.” Chloe shuddered and made disgusted noises and then took another sip of the drink before handing it back to Lex. “I most definitely win.”

Lex arched a brow in Chloe's general direction and took the drink back from her, downing the rest in one go. He wanted to shoot back 'I had to watch it.' but that would lead to too much explaining.

“Got off easy,” he scoffed, none the less, “I don't think so.” Putting the glass aside he turned to face Chloe completely, supporting his head on the arm resting on the back of the couch. “Need I remind you that being you is no joyride, either? And I'm not just talking about PMS and rope climbing.”

It was amazing how much had happened already in the short span he'd been inside Chloe's body. Some of the things, he'd pay to forget they ever happened, but others he'd probably look back on grinning, once he was back in his own body.

Grinning, Chloe said, “I realize that physical pain and discomfort is not something to be scoffed at. However, I am now psychologically scarred for life. Not only did I have to do that. I had to pretend like I enjoyed it and then go and have dinner with the Kents. Martha was fine but Mr. Kent was on a roll about the crazy shoes kids were wearing these days. All the while ignoring the moon eyes that Clark was throwing my way. I had to duck out of his hulking arms in order to not be subjected to his tongue again.”

She leaned over and picked up the glass again. It would need to be refilled soon. “Then, I had to go through it, second by second, in excruciating detail with Lana.”

Putting the glass down on the table, Chloe finished, “Over the counter medication can take care of cramps, Band-Aids fix wounds..what, besides a forgetting spell, will fix me?”

Lex winced. Okay, she had a point there, but he still wanted to say 'I had to watch it'. The alcohol was already making its way through his bloodstream and towards his brain it seemed. His eyes followed Chloe's movements while the rest of his body went pretty much slack.

“There's this fascinating mechanism that the psyche has, it's called 'suppression', you can shove an uncomfortable incident so far back into your sub-conscious that, if you're lucky, you won't remember it ever happened, unless someone or something triggers the memory. Then, you'll need therapy.”

And he didn't speak from experience. Nope, there was nothing he'd ever suppressed, definitely not the fact that he'd caught his father with the secretary when he was twelve or that he'd been physically aroused by a pimple faced boy not two weeks ago in home economics or any such thing.

“Get me a refill,” he asked, “Please,” politely even. Huh.

If Lex wanted to get drunk, Chloe wasn’t about to stop him. She might have to help him up to her room and out of his clothes…but she wouldn’t mention that now. They both deserved a chance to relax.

After refilling the glass almost all the way, Chloe made her way back into the living room. She took a gulp of the alcohol before giving it back to Lex. “I see your point. But suppression is something that the brain does automatically. I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to forget it. Unfortunately.”

She hadn’t expected Clark to be a Don Juan or anything but he had been far too aggressive and inconsiderate when he was kissing her. She’d have to have a talk with Lana about that. Every girl deserved better than feeling like she was getting a tonsillectomy when her boyfriend kissed her.

“And at least you’re in a body that you can actually do things with.” She leaned back on the couch and said, “I can’t do anything that Lana wouldn’t. Which rules out karaoke, dancing like a fiend…..all work and no play..that is Lana.”

Lex took another swig of his drink, looking at Chloe over the rim of his glasses, “Come on, you're not going to tell me Lana doesn't dance? I'm sure you're exaggerating,” he drawled.

Sure, the girl was a bit up-tight, but he couldn't imagine that she'd not do anything to have fun. Even though it was probably a good thing there was one less karaoke fan out there. Talk about psychological scarring. He'd given Lana kick boxing lessons himself once upon a time, and she had a horse. Had had a horse? Anyway there had been riding going on. “You could go riding, it'd at least get you out a bit,” he suggested.

“True, I could do that…if I knew how. Not all of us were princesses who got a pony.” She didn’t say the words with any malice, there was more amusement in her voice than anything else.

“And, yes, Lana does dance.” Chloe remembered the few times she had seen the girl on the dance floor. “But, unless it’s a waltz, she has no idea what to do with her body. She’s got zero hip gyration going on. Her lower body doesn’t move at all.” Her next words she blamed on the alcohol. “Clark’s gonna be mighty disappointed with that some day.”

Lex stifled a snort behind a cough, shaking his head at the ridiculous mental image. “Well, Lana might not know how to move her hips, but if you do, why not go and dance anyway? It's small enough a thing that people will write it off. She could have gotten dancing lessons, or gotten laid by someone who knows what he's doing,” he shrugged.

Noticing what he'd just said, he closed his eyes. Yeah, the alcohol had definitely taken charge of his system. Damn, but Chloe's body really couldn't handle liquor. Maybe it was time to shut up before he said things he'd regret later. Reflexively, he took another sip of his drink as he contemplated his next step of action.

Chloe started to laugh at the mental image of her shaking her groove thang and Lana watching on in horror. Plus, her brain had just caught up to her ears and had heard what Lex had said. “Yeah, cause Lana screwing someone good is totally plausible.” She leaned over and took the drink out of Lex’s hands.

“Besides, I would need someone to go with,” she said, innocently looking over at Lex.

Lex watched her take a drink, “Is that an offer I'm not supposed to refuse,” he asked.

It had been a while since he'd been dancing and now there was also the minor issue of him not being a Luthor anymore, which narrowed down the opportunities in terms of places. In and off itself, the idea wasn't too bad though, they could just take Pete along, which would solve the minor issue. Keeping Lana out of it shouldn't be too big of a problem, they simply wouldn't tell her.

“I suppose it could be arranged,” he mused.

Chloe spun around quickly….and realized that it was a bad idea a little too later. She lost her balance and then fell almost on top of Lex. She ended up with her forehead resting on his left leg. Deciding to ignore the issue that she had just made a fool of herself, Chloe blew her hair out of her face and said, “When?”

Right now going dancing seemed like the best idea possible. In the morning, who knew? But it was nice to think about going out and having fun in the midst of all of the insanity.

Lex looked down, past the breasts onto the mass of black hair fanned over his lap. Lana's body was sprawled half on top of Chloe's and he knew, if Clark could see them right now, teenage hormones would send him running for the nearest bathroom to relieve some pressure. Lex grinned and reached a hand down to comb the hair out of Chloe's face. Obviously he wasn't the only one who got annoyed by too much hair.

Remembering that she'd asked him a question, he wracked his brain for the right answer. “This weekend, maybe? We could stay at the penthouse in Metropolis, go out, have dinner, then go dancing. I may even let Pete find a date,” he mused. At the thought of Pete using his body for sex the idea was nixed on the spot. “On second thought, no date for Pete.” He couldn't have his reputation ruined by an inexperienced boy.

Chloe flipped over and situated herself so her neck was supported by Lex’s leg and her hair was out of her face. She giggled at the thought of Pete in Lex’s body trying to act suave with a woman who was more than he could handle.

“Oh, what, you don’t trust Pete to be all smooth in your body? Putting the moves on some dark haired hottie and rocking her world would be good for him. We’ve all been under way too much stress lately.”

Carding his fingers back into Chloe's hair he combed it absently. “Not really, after all, I do have a reputation to loose, and if I'm not mistaken Pete Ross is very much a virgin.” He shook his head, then pushed a strand of blonde hair back behind his ears. “That wouldn't do at all.”

He was getting comfy and the slow buzz of the alcohol felt good. In his own body, he went from cold sober to completely smashed, no stages in between. This was nice.

“We'll just have to hang all over him. That'll keep my reputation in tact and should be enough to make him happy,” even though he shuddered at the thought of having to literally hang on Pete's arm and play the bunny of the night. “Or maybe, you should hang all over him and I'll just play the cool, aloof blonde,” that'd be easier to pull off for him anyway.

Chloe closed her eyes as Lex’s hand worked its way through Lana’s hair. It felt nice and comforting. But, his plan didn’t. “But if I’m hanging all over Pete, I can’t get any hotties of my own. This is a very bad plan. Come up with another one.” She wasn’t about to get some freedom just to spend her night next to a glowering Pete.

He wouldn’t be happy on the woman embargo that Lex would set up. “And, by the way, from what I hear Pete isn’t as innocent as he claims to be.” She hadn’t told anyone else that but she had heard quite a lot from various sources so she actually believed it. It was highly disturbing and she didn’t like to think about it but it was what it was.

The thought of Chloe going off after some hotties wasn't amusing, not by a long shot. “Hmm, maybe going out wasn't such a great idea after all,” his hand stilled. “We can't have you going on the prowl and defiling Lana's body now, can we?”

Fuck Lana's body, but the important thing was, well he didn't know what the important thing was, but Chloe would not get laid by some random stranger in a club. Not going to happen.

Chloe took Lex’s hand and put it back to where it had been. She liked it and it was mean that he had stopped. “No, it’s a very good idea. I can defile her body all I want because she won’t be there and you and Pete won’t tell.”

The room was starting to get very hot and Chloe was beginning to feel sleepy, too. “I should get to have some fun after the Clark and his tongue incident.” She made a face, “You should talk to him about the proper way to kiss a girl.”

She looked up at Lex and started to laugh at the sour look on his face, “Especially now. Cause you could give him some pointers while in a girl’s body.” Lex’s look darkened again and Chloe laughed even more.

He wanted to growl in frustration. She obviously was already planning to get fucked and she thought it was an oh so fun idea, which it was not because.... His mind didn't get past that on first try, but when he heard her laugh in a way that was so much like Chloe it was like the damn brick wall around the thought process came down and the thought rushed out. Because he wanted to be the one doing the fucking damnit.

“Want me to give lessons in kissing, hm,” he muttered darkly, his hand tightening in her hair.

Chloe knew that she was making him mad. His body had tensed and he was glaring at her, all the while the hand in her hair had clenched. But, she couldn’t stop it. She blamed the alcohol. “Yes, he needs it. Especially if I’m going to have to keep kissing him.” She made a face and her stomach literally turned at the idea.

He slowly pulled his leg up, bringing Chloe in closer range all the while glaring down at her. “Oh really, and who's to say it's him that needs the lessons,” he muttered darkly, their faces mere inches apart.

Lex was slowly but surely having enough of this conversation. He'd teach that little minx to challenge him like that. Those big doe eyes couldn't fool him, he knew exactly what was behind them and the oh so innocent expression didn't cut it, either.

If Chloe wasn’t so drunk she might have been unsettled by the weird situation. But, she was too focused on Lex’s words. “I know that you’re not insinuating that I’m a bad kisser.” She tilted her head to the side, pretending to think about something. “Though, I guess you can’t take my word for it. I’ll lay one on Pete and he can be my reference. Will that do?”

Glaring down at her, his eyes narrowed even more. “No,” he growled, his mind made up and leaned down to close the last few inches between their lips. Situation be damned, he'd show her who the hell she was messing with.

In her drunken state, Chloe easily made her own face that was leaning towards her Lex’s. The cadence of his voice and its tone was unmistakably Lex, as was the peeved way he was reacting to her words so it wasn’t too hard. Her eyes closed of their own volition.

She had accepted that her first kiss with Lex would somehow involve two girls when a more urgent situation made itself known. As she felt his breath puff on her lips, her stomach turned again. She felt the bile rising up in her throat and quickly pushed away from Lex.

Not bothering to explain, Chloe took the steps two at a time. When she reached the bathroom, she flipped the cover of the toilet seat up just in time for her stomach contents to be emptied into the bowl. God, Lana was even more of a lightweight than she was. She retched a few more times and felt a thousand times better.

Chloe raised herself up from the floor and rinsed out her mouth with water and then brushed her teeth. She ran a damp towel over her face and felt human enough again to face Lex. The implications of what had almost happened could wait until tomorrow.

She came out of the bathroom and noticed that all of the lights had been turned off downstairs. The light from Lana’s room illuminated the hallway through the open door. Chloe walked into the room and found Lex standing by the bed. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” he returned.

The moment had been officially ruined. Lex couldn't remember the last time a woman had actually ran from the room to puke when he'd tried to kiss her. It was safe to assume that it had never happened.

By the time his body had caught up with his brains and he'd made his way upstairs, Chloe was already brushing her teeth, so he let her finish her ablutions and waited in Lana's room. Maybe they should have a talk about this.

“Feeling better now,” he asked. Lana's face still looked a little green around the gills.

Embarrassment was definitely a big part of her emotions. But it surprisingly wasn’t the main emotion she was feeling. That could be pinpointed as disappointment. Lex was going to kiss her and she had gone and done the vilest thing possible. Maybe embarrassment would win out in the end.

“Much,” Chloe said simply as she took off her shirt. It felt stuffy and dirty to her. She didn’t think twice about disrobing in front of Lex anymore. She threw the shirt in her hamper and said, “Sorry about that.”

She wondered if Lex wanted to talk about what had almost happened or just let it go. He looked a little strange. There was a definite tension in his body but Chloe couldn’t really place it.

Lex slowly raised a hand, fending off her apology. “It's quite alright, it wasn't your fault,” he said.

Truthfully, he didn't want to talk about it really. And he also had no desire of watching Lana running around topless, so he reached a hand towards the night shirt on the bed and handed it over to Chloe.

“You should try and get some sleep,” he stated as he walked past her, already on his way outside the room. “See you tomorrow, Chloe.”

“Night,” Chloe said to Lex’s retreating back. Was he mad at her? Regretting that he had done what he had? She wished, for the umpteenth time, that he was easier to read. Yes, it made the instances where she figured out what was going on in his head all the more rewarding but it was very annoying in situations like this.

Especially since Chloe felt that the opportunity to discuss this huge, and hugely weird event, had just passed her by. In the harsh light of day, things would be different and she knew that Lex would be staunchly opposed to doing anything except writing it off to drunken exploits.

Sighing, Chloe unhooked her bra and put her shirt on. She was totally exhausted and flopped down on the bed. From her prone position, she undid her jeans and shimmied them and her panties down her legs. Thankfully, there was a water bottle on her night stand so she wouldn’t have to move again. After drinking about half of it, Chloe turned off the light on her night stand and got under the covers. She wondered what sort of strange dreams she would have during the night.

But, she didn’t dream. Unconsciousness overtook her after only a few minutes. She slept like the dead, unaware of anything going on around her.

[BlueSabby]

Lex waited until the light in Lana's bedroom went out, then grabbed a fresh night shirt from the dresser. 'Winnie the Pooh'. He sighed. Maybe now that Gabe knew what was going on he could get a few decent pajamas. It was disturbing just how many Disney characters had a home in Chloe's sock and night wear drawer.

Shaking his head, he made his way into the shower, trying not to think about what just almost happened and especially not think of what actually had happened. Letting the water run down his face and plaster the annoying blonde tresses that always got in his way to his head, things felt at least a little better.

Clean and a little less annoyed... 'disappointed'... irritated... 'wistful'... put off!...'Upset!'. Lex gave up warring with his conscience about just what he was feeling and went to bed.

Staring at the dark ceiling, hands folded behind his head, his mind went inevitably right back to the incident. What could have happened if things had gone smoothly? How would she have reacted to the kiss?

Lex tried to imagine it, Chloe's head in his lap, their lips crushed together. He'd have pushed for more, for everything. How would she have reacted to having his tongue invading her mouth, exploring her palate, the inside of her cheeks, the sharp rows of teeth?

She was a passionate person in general, so he discarded the idea that she'd be shy about it, imagining her reacting fervently to his kiss, her hand reaching up to lock behind his neck, keeping him in place. It wouldn't take much to coax her tongue to respond and she'd try to take control of the kiss, prove that she can give as good as she gets.

Lex unconsciously licked his lips, imagining that kind of hot, fervent kiss that could have him hard inside his pants in no time flat. He was surprised when he found that one of his hands was now holding on to the back of his neck, wrapped in Chloe's hair while the other was already running down the middle of her chest, due south.

Heh, yeah that wouldn't work. Lost in his fantasy and undeniably turned on by it, his body had reacted on auto pilot, trying to reach for his cock to relieve some stress. Unfortunately it had completely ignored that fact that said cock was at the moment halfway across town and nowhere near in the reach of the hands running down this body.

A clear image of Chloe's hand closing around his cock and slowly running up the length of it settled in his brain and Lex bit down hard on his bottom lip to stifle a groan.

“Fuck,” now he'd done it.

He was horny as all hell and incredibly, he could feel the same diffuse arousal he'd felt a few nights before in the kitchen slowly building inside Chloe's body. Remembering what had caused that feeling, a slow grin started to twitch at his lips.

No, he couldn't. He stilled the hand on his stomach. But she'd given him permission. The hand slowly started to trail further south. But after what had happened tonight. And stilled again. But she would have kissed him if...

The fantasy of the kiss returned and coupled with the image of Chloe's hand on his cock, stroking slowly but with a steady grip. Biting the inside of his cheek to stifle another groan, Lex made his decision.

'Fuck it.' He needed to get off and he'd been given permission to explore, so he damn well wouldn't get an attack of conscience about it.

Closing his eyes, he focused his concentration on his hands, keeping the hand behind his head tangled in Chloe's hair. It felt good. Soft strands wrapped around and through his fingers. But he could also feel it from the other side, holding his head captive, restricting his capability to move. Lex loosened his grip just a little. Better.

His other hand rested heavily on his stomach above that ridiculous night shirt. He felt cotton and the rough texture of the printed cartoon character, but he also felt warmth and pressure on his stomach. Slowly, he moved his hand up towards his chest feeling the softness become harder as his palm made its way over the ribcage and up to the ridge of a collar bone.

In his minds eyes he was leaning over Chloe, his hips cradled between her legs, the arm behind her head supporting his weight while he explored the curves and crevices of her body with the other. He imagined the feel of her legs wrapped around him and the heat of her body pressing into his groin.

But he definitely felt the pressure of fingertips running along his collarbone and to the hollow of his throat, then down the middle of his chest, palm flat against his skin, warm pressure making him arch into the touch.

The shirt was in the way. Lex wanted to feel skin under his fingers, his mind still conjuring up the image of himself between Chloe's legs. He released the hand from her hair and slowly trailed it down her side. But it felt somehow backwards and wrong because in his fantasy, his hands where pointing up, while in reality they were pointing down and he could feel the pressure on his chest and sides more intense than the sensation of fabric under his hands.

Adjusting his fantasy, he imagined sitting back, watching Chloe as she took off her shirt. He sat up and pulled the shirt up and over his head, feeling the fabric rasp against his nipples and getting caught on his chin, snagging his hair as it went over his head. Not letting himself be too irritated by that, he flopped back onto the mattress, determined to keep the fantasy alive.

His right hand went back behind his head and into Chloe's hair, 'Would be the left.' In his fantasy it was his left and he moved on, running the fingertips of his free hand along her jawline and down her throat, feeling the tingling sensation on his own face and the pressure of his fingertips on the pulse point, a strong, steady beat under his fingertips.

Chloe's eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open as she took in panting breaths. Lex imagined grinding his hips down into her, while his hand went to her chest massaging his, her left breast and tweaking a nipple, wondering what kind of noise she would make at the sensation. He almost jumped out of his own skin when he heard a high keening noise followed by a low moan from his own throat.

'Nice,' he thought, once he'd recuperated from the shock.

Closing his eyes again, he shot a quick thank you to whichever deity that both Gabe and Chloe were deep sleepers. Now that he'd heard that first sound, he wanted to know what other ones she could make and decided not to stifle them from now on out.

Smiling to himself, he returned the hand that had flown to his mouth to Chloe's breast and cupped it gently, feeling the weight of the smooth flesh in his hand and the warm hold of fingers on his skin. He closed his thumb and forefinger around the small nipple, rolling it gently between them and gasped at the feeling that seemed to zoom straight down to his groin.

“Damn,” he breathed out, watching Chloe arch into his touch in his fantasy, while his own body arched slightly up of the bed.

In his mind, Lex pushed down against her, his cock sliding along the heat and wetness of her pussy. A wetness he could feel between his own legs as he rubbed his thighs together. His hand kept kneading the supple flesh, while his other let go of the hair between his fingers. Gliding his index and middle finger down his own jawline, he imagined Chloe's eyes opening to look up at him as he brought the fingers to her mouth and pushed them past her lips.

He could feel the weight of his fingers on his tongue, tasting slightly salty, smelling of the soap he'd used in the shower. In his fantasy, Chloe was coyly looking up at him, her legs hooked behind his ass now. She sucked the fingers deeper into her mouth and fluttered the tip of her tongue against them, tracing the length of both digits.

Lex groaned around the fingers in his mouth, feeling the wet heat around his digits and the rasp of his tongue against the pads, just as he felt the weight and texture of the skin and bone pushing down his tongue and moving slowly in and out of his mouth.

Pulling the wet fingers from between her lips he trailed them down her throat and over her chest, pinching the nipple of her other breast. A sharp gasp wrung from his throat, but in his fantasy it was Chloe, before him. He ignored the fact that he'd not relinquished his hold on the other breast, which in reality he'd have had to do to brace his weight somewhere.

In his fantasy, he leaned back now, kneeling up between Chloe's legs to look down on her. His hands ran down from her breasts over her belly and lower to her hips, taking hold of them. He imagined pulling her up by that grip, grinding his length into her. God he wanted to fuck her.

Lex groaned, his hands wandering from his hips towards the middle and down, framing the rough curls between Chloe's legs. He could feel the dampness on his fingers as he combed them through her pubic hair and his fingers slipped between her folds, slicking over soft, wet skin. A whimper caught in his throat at the spark of sensation shooting through his body at the touch and his hips bucked up, demanding more.

“Holy Shit,” he gasped as his finger found the little nub of flesh on top of the inner lips of her pussy. That was. He ran his middle finger slowly down to her opening and dipped it just inside then back up and circled it around her clit. Different. He barely heard the throaty moan coming from his throat, too caught up with the feelings running through his system.

All pretense of fantasy was forgotten for the moment as his second hand trailed south to spread the soft flesh around the opening. His fingers circled around her clit once more, then glided back down. Pushing two fingers inside Lex bucked up into his own hand, needing them deeper.

“Oh,” he croaked out. Curiosity had him crooking his fingers up, pressing them against the slightly rough patch of skin there and, “Oh wow!”

He bit his bottom lip sharply, vowing mindlessly to thank Chloe appropriately for allowing him to experiment with her body. Pulling his fingers back out, he slid them up to her clit, rubbing it in tiny circles, feeling tension coiling low inside his belly, his breath coming in harsh gasps.

He could feel his entire body straining for it now, needing just that little bit more to crash over the edge. Frustrated, he slid his hand back down, thrusting two fingers inside as far as they would go, grinding up into the heel of his hand as he crooked his fingers up and pressed them against that marvelous spot again.

“Oh God!”

He didn't even hear himself groaning the word out as if it had seven syllables, as the tension exploded inside him, the muscles of Chloe's cunt clamping down and spasming around his fingers and for a moment all he could hear was the rush of blood through his veins and all he could see was a flash past his eyes before everything seemed to let go and he flopped back onto the mattress, arms and legs akimbo and heaving in gulps of breath.

“Wow,” he muttered to himself, staring up at the ceiling without really registering what he was looking at.

That had been a most interesting experience indeed. A grin slowly formed on his lips and he was disturbed to hear Chloe's giggle softly fill the room. Getting himself back under control, he sat up and grabbed the edge of the comforter, pulling it up and over himself as he got comfortable once more.

“And no wet spot, or cleaning up necessary, either,” he mused.

He could still feel the wetness between his legs, but it wasn't disturbing like a puddle of semen on your stomach that would dry and flake off sooner rather than later. Looking at Chloe's fingers resting scant inches from his face, he could see that they were still glistening with her juices. On an impulse, he brought them to his lips and sucked the digits into his mouth.

The taste spread on his tongue and he moaned appreciatively. Oh yes, he'd have her. There were some things he really wanted to do that were impossible as long as he was still in her body, but as soon as they were back to normal, all bets were off.

[BlueSabby]

Chloe was glad that she didn’t have to deal with school today. Lana’s body totally sucked at recuperating from ingesting alcohol. She had a slight hangover and her muscles ached. Both her father and Lex were still asleep.

She had expected it with her dad, being that he had been drugged up, but it was strange that Lex had still yet to make an appearance. He was usually up at the crack of dawn. But it was past ten and there was still no sign of him.

Maybe he was avoiding her after what had happened last night. If she hadn’t gotten sick, she knew that she would have kissed Lex. While he was in her body and she was in Lana’s. Which would have been…odd. Last night, though, it hadn’t seemed so strange.

She knew that Lex had been trying to prove a point to her and must have been affected by the alcohol in order to have let things go that far.

However, Chloe did know that Lex’s body had more than a passing interest in her so maybe there was a little bit more to the situation. She wondered if he’d be up for talking about it. She didn’t even know if she wanted to talk about it. But it was a moot point being that Lex was still sleeping.

Grumbling, she wandered out into the living room and flopped down on the couch, the scene of the almost crime from last night. Lying down and breathing took about as much energy as she was willing to expound at this juncture.

Lex stretched luxuriously under the covers as he slowly drifted into consciousness. He could safely say that he'd never slept this good before. Every bone in his body seemed to be slightly liquid and lethargic, but there was no hangover to complain about, 'Thank Goodness,' and he actually felt a twinge of hunger settling in his belly.

Last night's experience definitely had been a complete success. Maybe he'd repeat it sooner rather than later. Lex didn't even feel guilty about it anymore. There was no reason to feel guilty about something that felt so damn good. A small smile curved on his lips as he thought about the fact that now he knew for certain which buttons he had to push to make Chloe go wild.

He rolled over onto his stomach and pressed his nose into the pillow, inhaled deeply and exhaled with a sigh. Chloe apparently also smelled good. It was a damn shame they weren't in their own bodies. With a grumble, he finally forced himself to get out of the bed.

The alarm clock flashed 10:45 am at him and his eyebrows rose in surprise. Damn, he'd never slept that long, either. Unless heavy drugs where involved, that was. It was a good thing it was Saturday.

“Coffee,” he decided sternly as he threw on an old t-shirt that fell halfway to his thigh.

Ambling down the stairs, he found Chloe vegetating on the couch, staring at the ceiling and apparently brooding over something. It was still off to be looking at a stick thin brunette, when it was a curvaceous blonde that should be lying there. The momentary package also didn't fit the spitfire personality that resided with in it.

“Morning,” he offered lazily as he slowly made his way to the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Chloe returned as she craned her neck to see Lex. He had bypassed the living room and was making his way into the kitchen. If the way the fates were playing with them were anything to go by he probably felt fine and dandy this morning.

She’d already brewed some coffee but Lana’s body wasn’t ready to ingest anything right now. Chloe heaved herself up and out of the couch and walked into the kitchen. Lex was leaning against the counter, coffee mug in one hand and the paper in the other.

He looked no worse for the wear after their night and downright relaxed. Which was not something that Chloe was used to seeing. His attire was also a little different, as well. He usually came downstairs once he was fully dressed but now he appeared to only have one of her night shirts on. And an old one at that so her nipples were prominently on display.

“Sleep well,” she asked, levelly. Chloe sat down at the table and glared at the basket of muffins that sat there. She knew that they were delectable but also knew that she couldn’t eat them in her current state.

“Hmm, better than ever, thanks,” he answered absently while he read through the business section.

Nothing dramatic revealed itself, so he cast the newspaper aside and took a first good look at Chloe. She looked like shit. “I take it you didn't,” he asked.

Maybe the little incident between them last night had affected Chloe more than he thought it would. Lex brows furrowed as he stepped up and settled down at the table across from Chloe. They obviously needed to have a talk. Thankfully, he was just satisfied and relaxed enough to sail smoothly through whatever came next. He was prepared for the run of the mill morning after sentences.

Chloe nodded and watched Lex carefully. Something was off with him. She just couldn’t place what. She watched as he took a seat across from her and realized that he was moving differently. More like a woman or something to that effect. He didn’t look stilted and awkward as he settled down next to her.

“Not really,” she answered. “I passed out almost immediately, but,” she trailed off, trying to remember if she had awoken at some point. “You know when you’re totally passed out but you think you woke up for something but don’t know if it was just a dream?”

Lex nodded at her. “Well, I think,” her brow furrowed, “that I heard moaning or something last night. I thought it might be my dad but couldn’t get out of the bed.” She shook her head. “Then I woke up feeling achy and nauseous.” Studying Lex she asked, “How does my body feel?”

Lex hid his face behind the mug as she mentioned the moaning. He hadn't thought he was that loud. Apparently the walls in the Sullivan house were paper thin. Well, there was nothing for it now.

“Actually,” he shrugged, “I feel pretty good.”

That orgasm had been something and the solid nine hours of sleep did their own thing for making him as relaxed as he'd ever been. Not even any residual soreness. Just a pleasant, boneless lethargy that made him move a little more sluggish than he liked and sprawl in the chair he was occupying. But Lex couldn't be bothered to straighten his posture.

“Never slept that deeply before,” he continued off of Chloe's look. “And for some miraculous reason,” read: jerking off, “I was spared a hangover as well.”

“You suck,” Chloe groused. She couldn’t believe that after last night Lex looked and felt better than he had in the weeks that they had been switched. It just wasn’t fair and she decided that she’d be in a bad mood about it.

“I wish that your reason wasn’t so miraculous,” she pouted. “That way I could use it, too.” There was only usually one thing that made her feel that relaxed in the morning and…..

Lex barely managed not to spew into his coffee as he'd just been about to take a swig. He cleared his throat and shook his head, trying to bat away the mental images that did nothing for his libido. On the contrary, they made him feel like some dirty pedophile. Lana really wasn't well developed for her age.

“You could try taking a hot bath,” he suggested.

“I could,” she said, noncommittally. She was watching Lex carefully now. He was practically sprawled out in the chair. His limbs were haphazardly placed instead of being carefully arranged. Her heart beat started to pick up as she remembered what she had given Lex permission to do a few days ago.

She kept staring at him, looking for some sort of sign if he had crossed that non-line. Because of what had almost happened between them last night, it would make sense.

Lex realized that Chloe was looking at him oddly and straightened a little bit in his seat. He had the impression she might just be catching on to the fact that there was a very specific reason he was so relaxed. It would only be natural, since he wasn't usually that careless about his posture.

Damn, he really hoped this wouldn't lead to a fight. Sure, she'd given him permission the other night, but she probably hadn't counted on the fact that he would actually go through with it. 'Well fuck,' he cursed inwardly.

“I could draw you one,” he offered before taking another swig from his coffee. “You use that peach scented bubble bath oil, right?”

“Uh huh,” Chloe said. She wasn’t really paying attention to the question, though. Just the fact that Lex had asked it. It wasn’t that he didn’t offer to do things for her out of the goodness of his heart, but she knew that he was doing it as a distraction. Which meant that there was something that he didn’t want her to know.

Being that they were talking about his good ‘sleep’ last night when he had tried to turn to conversation back to her, it made her think that there was more to his peaceful night than just luck.

Trying to keep her voice light she said, “So you didn’t hear any moaning last night?”

Lex arched a brow in question and shrugged a shoulder. “No, not really, what time did you hear the noise?”

Whatever it took to keep a fight from happening, he'd do it. Lex was far too relaxed and in a good mood to let anything happen that would change that.

Usually, he would have crudely confronted whoever it was that had been so naive to make a bargain with him and then be upset about the outcome. But he had no intention of embarrassing Chloe or making her angry.

“Couldn’t tell you,” Chloe said, honestly. She’d been in such a weird state last night that she wasn’t even sure if they were real. It hadn’t even occurred to her at the time that it could have been Lex that was moaning.

She could see that she wasn’t going to get Lex to admit anything that he wasn’t being asked directly. Which only left her with one option.

“Lex, I’m sure you remember when I told you it was ok for you to explore your surroundings,” she started, looking over at him. “Have you?”

Lex was taken aback by the fact that she actually asked him so directly. He gave an internal sigh. Obviously, there would be no getting past this subject. Well, so much for his good mood.

He straightened up fully in his chair, once more fully aware of his posture and the aura he exuded. Tilting his head slightly to the side he met Chloe's gaze directly and returned a question of his own.

“Would it bother you if I had?”

Laughing a little, Chloe said, “It’s so like you to answer a question with a question. I have half a mind to not let you get away with it this time.” She took a muffin out of the basket and grabbed a napkin, too.

“I don’t think it would bother me,” she said, honestly. “But, I’d be curious about it.” She could tell that her reaction was important to Lex. And she was fairly certain now that he’d taken her up on the offer. Maybe not last night but it was a definite possibility.

Lex's eyes narrowed at that answer. It was not what he had expected. Anger, embarrassment that would have been the reactions he'd thought she would show, not this.

“Why curious,” he asked. “Or are you telling me you haven't explored your own body already?”

Of course he knew that that was not the curiosity she was talking about. Since she honestly didn't seem angry or repulsed by the possibility, he had a fairly good idea what her questions would be. Did he like it? Did he like her body? Did it the orgasm feel any different? Something along those lines. She would have made a good research scientist, if she wasn't so much into journalism.

“You really are an expert at deflecting questions from yourself, aren’t you Lex?” She could see how a true interview with him would make her want to wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze. It was probably also why most papers ended up with very little content when they spoke to him about an issue that he didn’t want to discuss.

“This is the last one you get for free before you start answering mine,” she said. She started to unwrap the muffin, glad that it seemed as if she was getting somewhat of an appetite. “I’ve explored the hell out of my body, Lex. That’s not what I’m curious about but I think that you know that.”

Lex chuckled at Chloe's growing irritation. True he didn't want to make her angry, but seeing her feathers ruffled did give him a certain kick. He was tempted for a moment to keep going the same way he had so far. See if she had the guts to actually ask him what she wanted to know.

Since she hadn't asked a question, technically, he gave in to temptation and remained silent, finishing his coffee before he got up and poured himself another cup.

Lex chuckled at Chloe's growing irritation. True he didn't want to make her angry, but seeing her feathers ruffled did give him a certain kick. He was tempted for a moment to keep going the same way he had so far. But since Chloe was obviously nearing the end of her patience, he resisted.

Finishing his coffee he got up to pour himself a second cup. He had a feeling, once he answered her initial question, there'd be more forthcoming.

“Yes, I did,” he deadpanned as he added milk and stirred the liquid to a nice shade of caramel.

“Oh,” Chloe said, stupidly. It was one thing to suspect that it had happened but quite another to have confirmation of it. She looked over at him and asked, “So that was you last night?” Lex looked at her and nodded without any expression on her face. For some reason she felt herself start to blush.

Did that mean that Lex was loud or that she was? Whenever she was by herself or with someone else, she had tried to be quiet. Mostly for obvious reasons of various parents being in the house when she was fooling around with her exes.

“Had you done it before?” She didn’t think that he had, but she wanted to be sure. Plus, she knew that her asking questions would keep Lex from asking some of his own. Maybe.

“No,” he answered flatly.

It seemed that, now that she had confirmation, Chloe had after all gotten around to being embarrassed. Her eyes had gone round as saucers as she looked at him and Lex wondered what was going on in that mind of hers.

“Does it bother you after all,” he asked slowly. “You look like you don't really want to talk about this.”

Chloe took her time answering Lex. “It doesn’t bother me, it’s just a little strange, is all.” She gave him a small smile. “It’s just an odd topic of conversation but I do want to talk about it. You’re not going to get off that easily.”

“Then again, I guess you already did,” she muttered.

Lex grinned amusedly as he prepared a second coffee cup before he returned to the table, setting the cups down between them. “Remember, anything you say about me at the moment, you are saying about yourself,” he retorted.

“It certainly was an educational experience, though,” he admitted with a smirk.

The idea of being able to push all the right buttons on Chloe's body, once he was back in his own, definitely was a turn on for him. The sooner they got back to being themselves, the better. He'd call the doctor later and ask about any progress during the last few days.

Chloe waited until he was seated at the table before pouncing on him with questions. It was very hard for her to do. She was very interested to know how it had gone for him.

“You mean to see how it was for a woman,” she asked. She couldn’t imagine how strange it must be to now know how both sexes experience that particular feeling. “Was it very different? Better? Worse? Just weird?”

She knew that she was leaning forward eagerly and sounded like a loon but who else would she ever get to talk to about this. Well, Lana. Maybe. But she doubted the girl touched herself.

Taking a sip of her coffee she added, “And no being all vague, I want details.”

Lex chuckled lightly, then took a swig of his coffee. There was the enthusiastic Chloe he'd gotten to know. However, he wasn't sure how she'd deal with the answers. Maybe it was time to step up the seduction a little.

“Well, it certainly was different to be feeling your body from both sides, so to speak,” he started. “I could feel your skin under my palms at the same time that I felt the hands touching me.:

He thought back to the night before and the strange feelings that had built his arousal higher. “In my mind, it was more like actually having sex with somebody, than simply jerking off,” he explained.

His eyes narrowed as he tried to explain the difference between simply getting off and getting off inside a body of the opposite sex. “Both sides were familiar and strange at the same time, I was running my hands over your body, exploring the curves and hollows, like I would do with a woman I have sex with for the first time.”

Hearing a slight noise from Chloe, he looked up and caught her gaze, stopping in his explanations to see how she was actually reacting to them.

The sound that had come out of her throat was wholly unplanned. Chloe hadn’t been careful enough in distancing herself from the whole thing and looking at it from a scientific angle. But when Lex had spoken about touching her body, well, something inside of her had shifted.

The problem was that she had started to imagine what it would feel like to have Lex touching her body like he had last night. When they were both in their proper skins, that was. She could see in her mind’s eye the way that he would run his hands over her flesh, exploring it and categorizing it for future reference.

She cleared her throat, “Sorry, I’m fine, go on.” Chloe waved a hand at Lex, hoping that he would just go on and not question her.

Lex's brow arched at the slightly strained tone in Lana's voice. Chloe must be very flustered, because the only time he'd heard that tone before had been when he'd made some rather innuendo laden suggestions about Lana and Clark, when the body in front of him had still been occupied by its rightful owner.

“Like I said,” he drawled slowly, “I was experiencing things from both sides and it made me curious enough to draw things out a little,” he continued, this time keeping his gaze locked with Chloe's.

“You're very responsive, which made things that much more interesting. I was surprised to find out how low your voice can drop when properly motivated.”

His finger started trailing around the rim of his coffee cup as he got involved in his tale once again. “It was peculiar, feeling my fingers slipping into you from both ends. You were pretty tight at first,” he interrupted his elaborations to ask: “How long has it been since you slept with a man, Chloe?”

Lex must have had her in some type of trance. It really wasn’t any of his business how long it had been but she found herself answering, “A little over two years.” She leaned back in her chair and tried to get herself back to normal. It wasn’t easy with Lex’s eyes boring into her.

For some reason, she found herself still talking. “It was during my summer internship. He was nice and innocuous and so we had sex. It wasn’t pleasant,” she finished, making a face. She knew that it was due to the fact that neither of them were very relaxed or experienced. But, she hadn’t been with anyone since Jimmy.

“But, my body responded ok,” she asked nervously. After her first experience she was worried that there was something wrong with her that had made it that bad. “I wasn’t, I don’t know, mechanical?”

She’d fooled around with other people since Jimmy but things had sometimes felt off with her when the guys were touching her. They’d been able to get her off, thankfully she didn’t have that problem, but she always felt as if she were reacting in the way that she thought she should be instead of doing what felt natural.

Lex's brows furrowed at Chloe's first statement. She'd been sixteen during the time of that internship. Judging by the fact that Chloe just wasn't the type for starting early, that meant it had to have been her first time. And since then, she'd not slept with anybody else.

Her question threw him a little. Why would she doubt her own reactions in this way? Obviously, there was more behind her two year hiatus in sexual trysts than a lack of interest or available candidates.

“No, not at all,” he answered. “Why would you think that?”

He couldn't imagine Chloe being so jaded as to react mechanical to anything. Her body had been far too responsive for that last night. It seemed to him more that, if someone knew what to do, Chloe could gain pleasure from the simplest of touches.

This was embarrassing. But if anyone would tell her the truth it was Lex. He had first hand knowledge of the way that she reacted.

“When I’ve been with men, I’ve sometimes felt that I didn’t know how I should be reacting.” She knew that it was a female response to worry about either being too cold or too into it but that didn’t stop her from falling into the trap.

“I mean it’s a no brainer to say that I should just act naturally but it’s easier said then done sometimes. I think that I just think too much about it,” she mumbled the last

Lex nodded silently, listening to Chloe's explanation. There was a very simple reason at the bottom of this, and Lex had a feeling he knew exactly what the reason was.

“You simply have to stop hooking up with the wrong guys, then,” he answered nonchalantly.

Before Chloe could interrupt him, he ventured on, trying to explain his statement a little more in depth. “If you're still able to think about what you're doing and how you're supposed to react while you're with someone, they're obviously not very good at what they're doing and you don't really feel attracted to them on a physical level.”

It was simple as that. Reminded him of how it had been to sleep with Victoria, actually. Not that it hadn't had a certain physical gratification, but it was about as satisfying as a perfunctory wank in the shower to relieve some pressure.

No spark there and he'd been working on his plan pretty much the entire time while she'd made noises that would have belonged in a cheap porn movie rather than his private bedroom. Not to say he didn't like it when a woman vocally showed their appreciation, but it had been a tad too much 'When Harry met Sally' for him to believe that she was enjoying herself much more than he was.

“Yeah, I know,” Chloe grumbled, taking another sip of her coffee. She logically knew that she shouldn’t be thinking at a certain point, just feeling and touching and stuff like that. But her mind just kept whirling along with her last few boyfriends.

“I mean, it’s pretty obvious that something is off when….” Chloe trailed off. She’d been thinking aloud, almost forgetting that Lex was there. When she looked over at him, he merely looked back at her, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

“When you react a certain way when you’re alone but can barely come when you’re with someone else,” she finished, now staring at her coffee mug. She couldn’t believe that she was telling all of this to Lex as if he were her personal sex therapist.

Lex nodded once more, taking her statement in but not letting the silence progress to become awkward. He had a feeling it was harder for Chloe to talk about such things than it was for him. Maybe he'd become just a little bit too jaded. For him talking about sex had about the same effect as talking about the weather.

“Like I said, you just need to find someone who can make you stop thinking,” he said, then took a swig of his coffee. “And I suggest you look for someone older,” he added dryly. “Teenage boys are prone to nervous fumbling which is not exactly helpful when you're trying to get into a certain mood.”

He'd been one of those teenage boys what felt like ages ago. Lex supposed he didn't nearly thank whichever higher power there might be often enough for the fact that he'd gotten over it. Remembering his first tryst with a woman still made him wince in embarrassment.

“So, do you have any other questions,” he asked after he'd finished the last swig of his coffee.

“Just one,” she said. “Did you,” she started smiling. “Well, you know,” her grin widened.

For some reason, the idea of Lex in her room getting himself off with her body like, well, like a teenager was amusing.

Lex arched a brow, waiting for Chloe to finish the question in a decent manner. He deliberately relaxed back into the sprawl he'd been sporting earlier and cocked his head slightly to the side.

His posture should have told her enough actually, or the fact that he'd been boneless up until the point their conversation had started. Unfortunately, most of the relaxation and lethargy had vanished now. He blamed it on the tension at the beginning of their discussion and the coffee he'd imbibed so far.

Rolling her eyes when she realized what Lex was waiting for, she said, “Did you come? Did you orgasm? Did you feel what the French refer to as le petit mort?” Feeling a little evil, she leaned slightly forward and asked, “Did you feel my muscles clamp down on your fingers hard as your hips kept pumping up?”

Lex barked out a laugh at Chloe's attempt at being provocative, which simply looked silly with Lana's body and face. The big doe eyes really didn't do anything for a mischievous look. Shaking his head, he licked his bottom lip and clamped his teeth down on his tongue for a moment as he looked back at Chloe, before he answered.

“Well, at the moment, I was actually a little too preoccupied to notice the sensation of my fingers. But I have to say, I've learned to envy women their orgasm.”

Chloe laughed as she stood up and placed her cup in the sink. She was feeling more human and that meant that she needed a shower. “And don’t forget that we can have more than one in a short amount of time.”

She walked over to where Lex was sitting and looked down at him. “Maybe you’ll get to envy that too before this whole ordeal is over.” She thought that this was the best way to let him know that she trusted him in her body. “Anyway,” she said, stringing the word out. “I’m off to take a long shower.” She patted him on the shoulder and then left the room.

Lex shuddered at the mental image. Chloe was still wearing Lana's body and there was absolutely nothing alluring about that.

“There was no need to make that sound so suggestive!” he yelled up the empty staircase after her, sure Chloe would be able to hear it.

Repulsing, really. It was high time something was done to put this situation to rights. If he had to live with this situation much longer, there was no accounting for what he would do. The first thing would probably be to help Chloe make Lana's body gain some weight, then some corrective surgery and definitely a new wardrobe.

Shaking those rather ridiculous ideas aside, he opted to take the simpler way and go call the doctor to see if some progress had been made. After all was said and done, even corrective surgery wouldn't be good enough to turn Lana Lang into Chloe Sullivan.

[BlueSabby]

Lex squared his shoulders and shoved his hair out of his face for the hundredth time. He'd forgotten to ask Chloe to fix it for him earlier. He checked over his clothes again. Sensible skirt, knee high boots, crew cut shirt.

He didn't even know why he was nervous about this confrontation. It was only Pete Ross on the other side of the door and the boy couldn't do anything to harm him, really, as long as he was in Chloe's body. Of course Pete was still in Lex's body, so that meant he could do all the damage he wanted to his reputation and his business. Which explained why he was just a tad nervous about this meeting.

But he was a Luthor, body notwithstanding and he would not be cowed by some boy that was angry with him. Even if he was angry for a good reason.

Lex opened the door and stepped into the study, seeking out Pete who was sitting behind his desk, looking every part of the malicious Luthor heir that Lex was supposed to be.

People knocked before entering Lex’s office. All of them. So when the door just swung open, Pete looked up. He didn’t even have to remember to affix a glare to his face. He did it naturally now.

He was trying to keep up with all of the meetings and various shit that Lex had to do. He’d been reading non stop and doing research to make sure that he didn’t look like an idiot when he spoke. He didn’t have time for…..

Lex. In Chloe’s body.

His right hand, he had not been able to do anything with his left other than stuff for show, tightened on the pen he was holding. The man had a great deal of nerve.

The last time he’d seen Chloe, the real Chloe, she’d been sobbing. He’d wanted to snap Lex’s neck at the time but their situation made that impossible. He then seriously considered getting some tattoos or piercings for Lex’s body. Yes, it would be slightly painful but it would have been worth it to see the look on the man’s face when he had seen what Pete had done.

Chloe had told him not to do that. For her.

Even though the man had been an asshole of the 1st degree, Chloe had still protected him.

He threw the pen down on his desk as he sat back in his chair, “What in the fuck do you want?” His voice was low and threatening. If Lex said even one wrong word, Pete would take action. Chloe’s warnings be damned. He’d scar the bastard right in front of his face.

Lex kept advancing, despite the threatening tone. Ross might sound dangerous with his voice, but he was still just Pete Ross. A lot of anger and resentment but he wouldn’t do anything rash. Except for that one time where he’d been drugged up on a plant and tried to shoot him.

“I came to explain,” Lex said slowly, keeping his movements steady and holding his hands out at his sides.

He had no clue how to explain that he’d been a complete moron and that his actions had been borne out of anger that Chloe had, ultimately, not deserved, but he had to try. “I was sure Chloe would tell you what happened, she and I, we talked it out. Now I’m here to explain to you what happened.”

“Do you really think I care why you decided to dress Chloe up like a whore for the whole school to see?” He was so mad he didn’t even know what to do with himself. The only reason why he was even talking to the man was because of Chloe.

Lex had been out of high school for far too long. Maybe he’d forgotten what it was like. “It doesn’t matter what you do now, people are always going to remember what she looked like. She’ll have to deal with the scum of the Earth hitting on her in this town for quite a long time.”

It didn’t matter that Chloe could try to chalk it up to meteor rocks. It didn’t change anything. “I was in the Talon this morning,” Pete said. “While there, I listened to two of my fine classmates discuss how hard her nipples were and how tight her ass was. They both wondered how they could ‘climb aboard that train.’”

“Needless to say I was a little clumsy and they both got scalded with my coffee.” That had been very satisfying.

“I don’t care why you did it. I always thought you were an asshole and then I started to doubt myself. Never should have done that.” Pete shook his head.

However, Chloe had called him this morning. They’d fought. Over Lex.

“Chloe thought that you might come over here to explain and begged me to hear you out. I gave her my word so,” he waved a hand in Lex’s direction, “knock yourself out.”

Pete picked up his pen and tried to find the line that he’d just been reading and taking notes on.

Lex felt sick. When he’d done this stupid thing, he hadn’t counted on the fact that it would have long lasting after effects. And what was worse, he hadn’t cared.

“You’re right, I’m an asshole for what I did.”

Lightning should have struck at the fact that a Luthor caved to a Ross, but it didn’t so Lex pushed on. “I was extremely angry that day, because of some shit that really didn’t matter when I look back on it now. And then I ran into a situation that I managed to misinterpret completely.”
Anger still flared up when he thought of the kiss between Clark and Chloe. “I’d just gotten through kicking her ex-boyfriend in the balls for cheating on her and then I saw her. I thought she was abusing our current situation to get her shot at Clark. I flipped.”

Pete listened to Lex as he tried to explain his actions. There were quite a few things that did not make any sense. The first of which being Lex admitting his mistake. The second was the talk of the boyfriend. The third was Chloe taking a shot at Clark.

He put his pen down. “Chloe’s boyfriend?” Lex just nodded. It appeared as if Pete was going to have to have another conversation with Chloe. Soon.

“How did you think Chloe was abusing our situation with Clark? I don’t….” Then it hit him. Chloe in Lana’s body. Clark. Lex had just gotten done with whatever clown Chloe was secretly dating and he’d seen Chloe doing something that made him mad. Lex’s body was attuned to Chloe’s.

Pete started to laugh.

Lex stared at his own body quaking as Pete laughed his ass off. He couldn’t remember that he’d ever laughed like that. It looked highly weird. But that was beside the point.

“It wasn’t funny from where I was standing,” he growled. “Trust me, she was crawling all over him and…”

He paused as he realized something else. “Shit.” Nobody was supposed to know about Vlad and he’d just opened his big mouth and let it slip. That never happened to him. Ever. He had more secrets then anybody else in this cowtown and none of them had ever just slipped out.

Lex gritted his teeth. He was never going to explain himself to anybody again. His anger was back as well as he thought about that kiss, even though he now knew she’d just been acting the part of Lana Lang to keep Clark from getting suspicious.

Pete had heard about Chloe kissing Clark. She’d mentioned something about it vaguely. She’d said it was horrible and she’d gotten it over as soon as possible. Yet Lex had used the phrase ‘crawling all over him’ to describe it. His suspicion was confirmed.

It really wasn’t funny that Lex was into Chloe. Not at all. It was more scary than anything but to think of Lex in a full on jealous hissy fit over this was amusing.

Getting serious, Pete said, “I’m prepared to let this go being that you’ve admitted that you acted like an asshole under one condition.” He leaned forward a little and said. “Admit that the reason you did this, the only reason, as I see it, was that you were jealous of Clark.”

He saw Chloe’s face set itself. He couldn’t resist. “Jealous of Clark touching her, kissing her, getting to know what it felt like to have her pull him closer…”

The hands at Chloe’s side fisted. Yes, this really was too much fun.

Lex’s jaw clenched as he looked back at his own face. “That’s ridiculous, Pete.”

Yes, he wanted Chloe and yes, he would get her, somehow, as soon as their situation was resolved. But that didn’t mean he was staking any…Oh who the hell was he kidding, the idea that some random guy could just walk up and swoop in, be it Clark or anyone else, made him furious.

Pete figured that now was not the time to put all of his energy into pretending to be Lex. Now was the time to put all of his energy into making fun of Lex. “Oh, ok, I totally believe you.”

“So, you don’t mind if I go for her?” He slipped back into Lex mode. “We both know that she finds this body attractive,” he drawled, “and it’s not like it would count because she’s in Lana’s body.”

“Don’t you dare,” Lex rounded in on his own body, prepared to grab Pete by the lapels and shake him, physical injuries be damned. “You won’t do anything of the like or I swear I’ll find a way to make you pay.”

Rational thought had nothing to do with it anymore. He was done playing kid games and being threatened by some teenager who thought he had the upper hand on him just because he happened to invade his body. The thin thread of patience left in him had officially snapped.

“This ass,“ he pointed at Chloe’s rear, “is mine. You got that Ross?”

Pete looked up at a psychotic Chloe. He slowly rose out of his chair, not leaving much space between them. He towered over the blonde head. He didn’t, for a second, think that he was intimidating Lex. He just wanted to make his point.

“In reality or in your head?” Chloe hadn’t said one word about her and Lex being together. He thought she would have mentioned something like that. Besides, Lex’s behavior struck him as that of a man who wasn’t sure of his own footing.

Lex was a bit blindsided by the physical effect that his body’s proximity was having on Chloe’s body. He stood his ground anyway, glaring right back at the boy who thought he could pull off his own intimidation tactics. “Both,” he said firmly as he got into his own face. “And I’ll prove it one I get back into my own body.”

It was highly annoying that he had to stand on the tip of his toes to reach higher than chest level. Chloe’s body was really not very helpful when it came to exuding threatening power. But he’d work around that. “She’s mine, Ross,” he said calmly and clearly, making sure they kept eye contact despite the damning effect it had on Chloe’s body. Part of him was pleased to know how easy it would be to get her once things were back to normal. “So you better back off or I’ll make sure you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

He might not be in his own body for the time being, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still pull some strings. There were a lot of things possible these days if you had the amount of money it took to pay for them.

“I don’t think you’re in any position to threaten me at this time, Lex, so I’d treat lightly. The only reason you don’t have the word ‘Dad’ tattooed on your arm at the moment is because of Chloe.” Lex’s behavior was still shocking. The man usually didn’t get this emotional. Must be all of the estrogen coursing through his veins.

“And I think if she was really yours, as you put it which I’m also sure Chloe wouldn’t appreciate it, you wouldn’t need to threaten me.” He grinned down at Lex. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

With that, he sat back down in his chair.

Lex’s eyes narrowed at the words, planning to take his revenge on Pete Ross as soon as the boy was back in his own body. Maybe even before that if he could find a way to get Lana drunk enough to agree. “If she wasn’t mine, do you think she would have let me get her off?”

Delivering that semi truth, Lex turned on the heel of his boot and stalked towards the exit. “Clark might have gotten a kiss, but I had her writhing and coming hard in my bed.”

Technically, anyway. And Ross could make of this what he wanted. “Have a good day.” He threw over his shoulder before he closed the door behind him. That would teach the little brat.

~~~

Lex stormed into the Sullivan residence, barely remembering to close the door without slamming it. On his way back from the mansion, he’d convinced himself that Pete wouldn’t be deterred by his parting shot. Probably, it would also cause the other boy to make a move faster. Not to mention that Ross would be just the type to use Lex’s words against him where he could. Which left only one action for him to take. He had to get to Chloe first and set the record straight right away.

He knew she was attracted to him. Well his body in any case and if that moment they’d had on the couch a few days back was any indication then it wasn’t just his physical assets she took an interest in. It couldn’t hurt to get confirmation first, though, he mused as he jogged up the stairs upon finding the living room empty.

“Chloe?” he called out as he strode down the hallway, past Lana’s room and right on to Chloe’s.

He gave a perfunctory knock as he already opened the door and stepped into the room. She was lying on her bed with a book perched on her lap, looking up at him as he entered. Lex decided on the direct approach.

“You’re attracted to me,” he said, more a statement than a question, “You want my body, correct?”

Seeing her half-nod before she stopped herself Lex smirked triumphantly. “Good.” Now came the hard part; time to fess up to his misdeeds, so to speak. “Because I told Pete that I got you off and that your ass is mine and if he comes here to put the moves on you, you have my permission to punch him in my face.” As he thought about the stories he’d heard of her right cross he added, “Just don't break anything.”

Chloe blinked at Lex first. She wondered if this was the next stage in what was going on with all of them. Complete and utter insanity. She felt ok. And she’d just spoken with Lana on the phone. She’d been bitching about all of the chores she had to do but had been of sound mind.

She looked at Lex for a moment, waiting for him to tell her it was some type of joke or to explain himself. He just stared at her, a challenging look on his face.

The book on her lap was closed and put on her bedside table. Chloe tried to think of how she was supposed to start this conversation.

Lex had told Pete things that he had no business talking about. God, Pete knew that Lex had gotten off in her body. Or, had Lex told Pete merely that he’d gotten her off? Did that mean that Pete thought it had happened before the switch or while they were like this? Cause then she’d have to call Lana if Pete didn’t keep his mouth shut.

Most of her effort was being spent to not yell and scream at Lex. Why had he told Pete all of that? And why was he bringing up her inappropriate feelings about him again?

“I think that I’d rather punch you right about now,” she said, levelly. “Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing, Lex?”

She heard her voice getting louder and she took a few deep breaths before speaking again. “Are you feeling ok?”

Lex cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. He couldn’t be sure with Lana’s face, but something told him that Chloe was angry. It just didn’t show as well with Lana’s limited range of facial expression. That frown was used for anything from upset to worry, to naïve ignorance.

“I’m feeling fine. I just thought you should know, being that I don’t trust Ross to not use my body to make a move on you.”

That would be just like that little shit to use her physical attraction to his body against her. That thought stopped him for a moment, as he remembered that it was Chloe’s body that reacted physically to his body’s proximity and Chloe was at the moment very much not in her body so who was to say that the body she was in, namely Lana’s, reacted in the same way to physical proximity to his body which Pete was in. It was awfully frightening that all this was starting to make sense in his head, too.

“Is Lana’s body even reacting to mine?” he couldn’t remember if they’d talked about that before.

Chloe held up her hands, hoping to bring this conversation to a logical conclusion. She didn’t really think that it was possible but she was going to try. They were getting way off topic. What was Lex even hoping to accomplish with this line of questioning?

“Lex, that is neither here nor there.” Ok, he was feeling fine. Which meant that he had told Pete those ridiculous things fully while he knew what he was doing. Yes, one was true but that didn’t make this whole thing any less ridiculous. Or her any less angry.

“Why would you say those things to Pete, Lex?” She shook her head. “What were you hoping would happen when you told him about the,” she waved her hand in the general direction of her waist, “and that other stuff you told him?”

It was clear to her that Pete and Lex were in some sort of pissing contest. She had no desire to get in the middle of it. “If you want to make Pete mad, please leave me out of it. I cannot believe you told him what you did to my body.”

Lex looked at her, confused. “I wasn’t trying to make him mad. Well, not entirely,” he admitted.

Maybe he should have thought this out a little more before acting. “He was basically laying out his intentions to use my body to get in your pants and I was not going to let him get away with that. If anyone is going to use my body to get in your pants that would be me.”

“So I used a little white lie, not really a lie come to think about it, just a convenient version of the truth to make him back off.” Lex nodded to himself, still convinced it had been the right thing to do. Sure had wiped that superior smirk off his face. Which looked all wrong the way Pete Ross did it, anyway.

“Do you mean that Pete wants to sleep with me or with Lana?” This whole body switch thing made conversations that much more difficult. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, getting up off of the bed.

“Pete doesn’t want to sleep with me. He used to but he doesn’t anymore. And you sure as hell don’t want to sleep with me, either. So, let me guess you two got into a fight and you used that as ammunition for him to back off from whatever it is that he was saying.”

That had taken some of the wind out of Lex’s sails. “Perhaps you threw it over your soldier as you stalked or sauntered or whatever the hell it was that you did out of his office.” A little line formed between Lex’s eyebrows. “Stop that, you’ll give me early onset wrinkles.”

“Bottom line, you told Pete something that you knew would mortify me if he knew.” She was starting to pick up steam. “You did it to prove a point, not considering, for even a second, how mad and embarrassed it would make me feel.”

“Then,” she said, pointing a finger in his direction, “You come in here to tell me that Pete wants to sleep with me. Fine, using your logic, it’s ok to do stupidass things when you’re mad. I’ll be waiting for that pass of his, and I think I know exactly how to respond.”

Lex’s eyes widened, then narrowed as he stepped right into the accusing finger. “You wouldn’t.”

She couldn’t seriously contemplate letting Pete have her way with him. That was not acceptable. “You’d sleep with him just to spite me?” Impossible. “Look, I know it wasn’t exactly tactful of me to say what I said, but goddamnit he was serious about taking a shot at you and not only that, he said it wouldn’t count because you’re in Lana’s body.” Which, considering all things, really did take the cake, because it wasn’t the body that mattered but the person who was currently stuck inside said body.

“I can’t believe you’re making me the bad guy in this when all I was trying was to stop him from trying to take advantage of our current situation. I tried threatening him first, but that really doesn’t do much when Lana is in his body and he’s threatening to get a ‘Dad’ tattoo on my ass which I have no chance of preventing while being in your body.” This whole business really had to be taken care of as soon as possible, because it was grating on his nerves. Having to brush a hand through his hair, yet again, to remove an annoying strand that kept falling into his face all the time, was just a case in point.

“And what do you mean I don’t want to sleep with you?” That little tidbit of her rant just came back to him as he ticked off the points she’d made and deliberated how to refute them.

Chloe paid no mind to his last question. “Lex, I don’t need you protecting me from Pete.” The thought of them talking about her as if she was some pawn in a chess game between them was infuriating. “Even with Pete in your body, he could never get me to do anything that I didn’t want to do.”

So Lex really thought she was that stupid to fall for something like that. Good to know.

Being that Lex had brought up the whole tattoo thing, she now knew that the boys’ conversation had been about one upping one another. So, Pete had threatened a tattoo and Lex had told him that he’d used her body. Nice, really nice.

“Oh, and that invite to do whatever you want with that,” she said, pointing at her body. “Consider it revoked! For now and for any and all future use. You’re both such assholes.”

Lex stared at her, trying to kick his brain into gear so he’d understand why this conversation had gone so horribly wrong. He’d come in here with the set purpose to make sure Chloe knew what was going on and so she’d be aware of what was going on when Pete suddenly tried to make a move on her. And of course to inform her that the attraction between them was mutual, which he thought was pretty self-evident by now.

Instead she’d basically ripped his head off and now she forbade him to touch her body, now or ever, which really was not acceptable under any circumstances. This entire mess was entirely Pete Ross’ fault. If the boy hadn’t gone and tried to encroach on his territory, he wouldn’t have this problem now.

“I couldn’t stand the thought that he might even try, okay? It’s not that I think you’d fall for it or anything, but the thought of him even trying to make a pass at you, serious or not,” he growled the words in frustration.

Why couldn’t it be as easy as in the movies? In the good ones, he wouldn’t have to explain himself. He’d just have to throw out a decent macho line, throw her up against the wall and show her who she was supposed to be falling for. But of course, life never went like the movies and instead he was looking down at angry brown doe eyes that should be hazel and small puckered doll lips that should be wider and more coral than pink.

Realization was starting to dawn. But was it a correct assumption. They’d discussed this before and Lex wasn’t really interested in her. He’d told her on a previous occasion that he hadn’t been jealous of Clark.

But here he was again, acting like he was. “Lex, do you want to kiss me?” It was a random enough question to throw him off and get an honest answer. At least, she hoped so.

“Fuck, yes,” he huffed in annoyance.

And then he did.

Wrong bodies be damned, with his eyes closed he could imagine it was wide coral lips and that the small frame inside his arms belonged to the blonde firecracker with the sharp tongue.

Her mouth was warm and soft under his lips and opened as he pushed his tongue against the seam of her lips. She tasted like coffee and chocolate and Lex pulled her closer as one of his hands wandered south.

And that’s when it started to feel all wrong. There were breasts in the mix that shouldn’t be there, and hers felt too small against his bigger ones. Way wrong, and the ass he cupped with his palm wasn’t nearly as cushioned as it should be, in fact, it was rather boney and as their lower bodies pressed together it just felt plain odd.

Lex closed his eyes tighter as he tried to ignore it.

Chloe was thinking way too much to enjoy what was going on. And, really, if she was thinking way too much it was because she wasn’t really enjoying what they were doing.

She’d thought about kissing Lex dozens of time. Ok, maybe hundreds. And it hadn’t gone like this. There hadn’t been two sets of breasts and she’d been able to hold onto his hard, tall, strong body.

Instead, her hands found soft, giving flesh. Chloe tried to concentrate on his tongue and what it was doing.

Then realized it was her tongue.

She was kissing herself.

Chloe easily pushed away from Lex as she said, “No, I can’t.”

Her body felt heated but not aroused. She turned away from Lex as she tried to get her head on straight.

Lex sunk back against the wall behind him and bumped his head softly against it a couple of times. It hadn’t worked, alright. He could only ignore the feeling of wrong for so long and his body, or rather Chloe’s, was sending about a thousand messages, but none of them was arousal. He closed his eyes in defeat. Lex really missed his cock. Well, his entire body, rather.

“This needs to be fixed as soon as possible,” he stated firmly.

He wanted Chloe, there was no mistaking that. All he had to do was close his eyes and imagine any of the luxurious scenarios he could arrange to know that without a doubt. However, Chloe’s body didn’t want Lana’s body and vice versa and he honestly didn’t think he’d ever be capable of surmounting that particular obstacle. Especially since his mind very much didn’t want Lana’s body either. And Chloe wasn’t the least bit narcissistic.

“And as soon as we’re back in our own bodies, you better think of a good explanation for why you need to spend the weekend at the mansion.”

Chloe got as much hair out of Lana’s face as was possible before turning back towards Lex. “You think that I’m that easy?”

He grinned at her. “I don’t think you’re easy.” He paused. “I’m praying that you are.”

She laughed and thought about what Lex was proposing. He hadn’t specifically mentioned sex as to the reason she’d spend the weekend at the manor but she was certain that that’s what he was thinking about.
Chloe that she wanted to sleep with Lex, she’d wanted it for quite awhile. But she wasn’t sure she should do it. What if his feelings were some sort of side effect of being stuck inside of her?

This whole situation was so fucked up. But it was her life and it was her mistake to make. “Ok,” she said, her decision made. “And you had better be worth it. That kiss was…” she made a face. “Upsetting.”

Lex smirked as he pushed off from the wall and approached her. “It was godawful,” he agreed, “The whole time I was so focused on ignoring the circumstances that I couldn’t even get into it properly.” He looked at Lana’s body and shook his head. “Does that girl ever eat anything?”

Realizing that he really didn’t care, he waved off his own question and flopped down on Chloe’s bed, trying to ignore his tits jiggling with the move. Hair was back in his face again and he blew at the strands in annoyance. “Can you please do something to fix this? It’s been driving me mad all day.” He motioned at the recalcitrant tresses.

“Didn’t your clubgoing friends teach you about hair at all,” she asked. Realizing who she was talking to, she said, “Forget I said anything.”

She opened one of her drawers and shot an elastic hair tie at him. It landed between his/her breasts. “They are what’s really a girl’s best friend.”

Flopping down on her stomach next to Lex, she looked down at him and said, “She does eat. It’s just mostly rabbit food. And she’s already gained five pounds. Just nowhere you seem to like.” Chloe craned her head back to look at Lana’s butt.

Lex fought with the hair for a moment before he managed to tuck it all into the band some how and fix it at the back of his head. He never thought he’d be glad to go back to being bald if he ever had hair. Once he was all sorted out in that department, he looked over Lana’s thin frame.

“If I wanted to date a bag of bones, I’d hang out around the cemetery.” He shrugged. It had never been a secret that he liked women curvy. Lex liked tits and ass and there was just not enough of that on Lana Lang.

Now, Chloe was a different matter. Lex checked the urge to look into a mirror. She was soft and curvy in all the right places and he was pretty sure he could spend quite a few hours stroking and kissing every inch of her pale skin, indulging himself in all that supple flesh.

His eyes had drifted closed and he swallowed as he felt a slight tingle of arousal spread through his body. Taking a deep breath, he willed away those thoughts. It was better to put those things on hold until they were back in their own bodies and could actually do something about it.

“At least I’m not going to suffer from blue balls,” he muttered under his breath.

“You are such a whore,” she said, amused at what she’d just seen. Lex had looked her over in the mirror and turned himself on. Her nipples were now hard and she couldn’t help but notice that her hips were squirming a little on the mattress.

Chloe looked over at the clock. She was exhausted. “What do you say you let me go to sleep and you go take care of that, eh?”

It was amazing to see just how turned on Lex was by her body. She’d save some crack about him lasting for more than a minute for another day. They’d already had a fight and she had no desire to make it two.

Lex’s eyes flashed back to her and narrowed at the first comment, then widened a little at the second. She’d just given him tacit permission to touch her body again. Which was about the only pleasure he would get until things were sorted out. A thought occurred to him, but then again, knowing she wasn’t narcissistic, he discarded it immediately.

“I’ll make it good for both of us,” he promised with a leer as he jumped off her bed.

It was odd that he still wanted to kiss her. Despite the fact that everything about that first kiss had been horribly bad and wrong and unpleasant. When she was talking like that, all Chloe snark and mischief, he wanted to kiss her. God, this sucks canal water, Lex thought, referring to a Clarkism because there just wasn’t any better way to describe it.

Against his better judgment, Lex bent back down over the mattress, took the back of her neck in a light grip and pressed a very quick, very innocent peck to her mouth. Not completely disgusting but nothing to get happy about either. Lex stepped back and shrugged a shoulder.

“We’re going to set some fire under Madison’s ass tomorrow,” he vowed before he went for the door.

“Goodnight, Chloe.”

[BlueSabby]

The air between Pete and Lex was still a thick as a knife, but they put it aside for the greater cause. This time, they were going in as a trio. Lex, Pete and Chloe. The picture they made must have been something out of a bond movie. The secret agent with two lovely women flanking him, one on each side.

Lex still got the creeps from the fact that Pete Ross pulled off his part so well. If you didn’t know, you were absolutely incapable of telling the difference between the real Lex Luthor and this copy by now.

“This needs to end before I go insane,” he commented to Chloe as they approached the door to the doctor’s labs.

Pete must have over heard because a smirk popped up on his lips. “Still scared I’m going to tattoo your ass?”

Luthor might have had the better parting shot during their last face to face, but Pete wouldn’t be deterred by that.

“How did your conversation last night go, by the way?” he asked, sure that the answer would give reason for a good laugh.

“We made up and made out, if you’re so interested.” Lex shot back as he flipped a strand of blonde from his eyes. Chloe had forgotten to fix his hair this morning.

Pete’s eyes narrowed at that and he looked at Chloe for confirmation. He got it in the form of a hissed, “Lex!”

Lex felt like he was on top of the game again and couldn’t resist another dig at Pete. “I told you she’s mine.”

“Alexander Joseph Luthor!”

He winced at the sharp tone of the usually sugary voice that was all Chloe.

Thankfully, he was saved by Doctor Madison before the situation could get out of hand.

He’d heard the footfalls coming towards his lab and he knew who it was. It could only be one person. Well, it was actually three but it was the one in the middle of the three that held the most interest to him. Luthor had brought the brunette again and a blonde. The blonde’s hair wasn’t as shiny, though, so he quickly looked away from her.

“Mr. Luthor, welcome back.” Actually, the man hadn’t been to the lab just yet but Madison figured he was being polite. Before anyone could speak, Madison said, “I believe you’ll be very happy with what you see here.”

Chloe tried not to be too hopeful, for all she knew the mad bat could be talking about some crazy cool beaker that he’d bought with Lex’s money. She looked up at Pete and saw that his expression didn’t change one iota. She saw Lex noticed that, too. It must be freaky but the ass deserved it for kissing and telling.

The damn doctor was flat out ignoring him. It had been hard enough to curb the knee-jerk reaction of responding to his name, and now he had to deal with being seen as the ditzy blonde without merit. Lex’s mood swung from amused to irritated in two seconds. Then he blanched. He’d forgotten to check how close to the end of the cycle Chloe’s body was. If he had to deal with that again…

Pete wanted to strangle the doctor for interrupting their argument, but even more he wanted to shake the man to demand a concrete answer.

“Well, doctor, time is always of the essence, so why don’t you show me what you’ve found?”

That should do it. He remembered Madison’s Alice in Wonderland bunny act from their last visit, so reminding the good doctor of the time they were wasting, standing around in the hallway to the labs, could only be beneficial.

Madison didn’t need to be asked twice. He scampered off and made sure the three people were following him. His gaze snagged on the blonde. “Your shirt is too small for your chest.” What were young people these days thinking?

He made a few quick turns and was back in his lab. He breathed a sigh of relief. He felt much better near the things he truly loved. He looked over at Watson and Holmes. Watson was now happily batting around his toy full of catnip while Holmes had a tennis ball in his mouth.

“Success,” he said, with a flourish.

Chloe had been a little distracted staring at her own chest. But then she’d heard the word she’d been waiting for and gave the doctor her full attention. She looked over at the animals. They were definitely the same ones she’d seen the last time. The cat was now a cat again and the same for the dog.

She felt a smile creep on her face. “Oh, thank god. How did you do it?” She knew that ‘Lex’ should be asking the questions but she could give a crap. Now that this was getting sorted out it didn’t matter who said what.

He looked at shiny brunette and said, “It was quite easy, really.” He saw the glare that Mr. Luthor was giving him and quickly amended his statement. “As soon as I figured out my crucial error, that is.”

Lex had stared down at the t-shirt he’d chosen to wear and wrote the doctor off as a complete nutcase where fashion was concerned. The shirt sat snug, but it was in no way to small. There wasn’t even a flash of belly when he moved.

His attention moved back to the doctor, and over his shoulder to the animals. They seemed to be perfectly healthy and unharmed by the procedure of switching and switching back.

“What was the crucial error?”

Lex’s head snapped around to Pete at hearing his own voice speaking in that particular tone. He’d never noticed just how threatening it could sound, especially when combined with that bug on a dissection-table look in his eyes.

God, I’m creepy, Lex thought.

“And more importantly, what exactly is the run of procedure, now that you’ve figured it out.”

Pete was running out of patience fast. This guy knew how to fix them and he was taking his own sweet time about getting to the point. That didn’t do at all, especially since he still had some Luthor ass to kick and would like to get to it sooner rather than later.

A smirk crawled onto his lips as he noticed that Luthor was staring at him completely creeped out. Chloe’s face had never been good at hiding emotions.

Madison stared at the younger Luthor. He was more threatening than his father. If that was possible. He knew that low tone of voice. The man was ready to do some damage. Holmes got like that when you took his bone away.

“It’s all about the placement of the animals.” He was near the cages and Watson came over and rubbed up against him. “Not now, Daddy’ll play with you later.”

He heard a growl which he assumed had come from Holmes but instead had come from Mr. Luthor.

Oh, my. Chloe bit down on her lip and tried not to turn into a puddle of woman. That had been a very good sound that Pete made.

Lex’s mind reeled as he felt Chloe’s body react to the sound. He squeezed his legs together, uncomfortable with the sudden stab of heat and the moisture starting to pool in his panties. His gaze went around to Chloe, half amused and half uncomfortable as he tried to take back control. Mind over matter, he thought fiercely.

“I had to take them back to where I had done the initial switch,” Madison sputtered out. Watson was now meowing, clearly not understanding that they were both about to be killed. “The environment has to be the same. Once I had the proper rocks, thanks to you Mr. Luthor, and got them back to where they’d been in the first place,” he snapped, “it was no problem.”

Mr. Luthor was still looking at him while the blonde was looking around Mr. Luthor to look at the brunette. The brunette looked a little flushed. “Are you alright?”

“She’s fine,” Mr. Luthor spat out. Pete couldn’t believe that he’d managed to turn Chloe on now. He was going to have to have a talk with her, as well.

“Could you do it again,” Mr. Luthor asked.

Madison nodded. “I’m quite confident I could.”

“With humans,” Chloe asked. They hadn’t talked about it much. How they were going to get Madison to help them, that was. But this was no time to be tiptoeing around the issue. Not with her standing date of a weekend with Lex.

Lex was already thinking about the implications of the doctor’s statement. Place was crucial, which meant that they had to get all of them in the places where they had been when the switch had initially occurred. Not only that, but they had no idea if the switch would work with more than two participants involved.

“And a larger group of test subjects involved,” he added on to Chloe’s question.

Pete looked back and forth between Chloe and Lex. It would figure that even though he was the one inhabiting the guy in charge, the two wouldn’t shut up to let him do his job. Really, he was only a stand up prop to make things look more natural. It was irritating. He almost growled again, but refrained in light of the effect it had on Chloe.

“We have a specific group already in mind, as you can probably tell by my assistants’ questions.”

He was not just going to stand back and shut up. If they were cutting to the chase already, then he’d be right in the middle of things.

The doctor was looking back and forth between the three of them speculatively and Pete wondered if the man already had a clue as to what was going on.

“If you trust your results, we would like to assign you with the project.”

Something was clearly afoot. He looked over the three people standing in front of them. They were very quick with their questions and he smelled something. Desperation. That made him smell something else. Money.

“For a price,” he said. Luthor did the growly thing again.

“Which you’ve already paid,” he said, quickly.

The brunette hissed, “Stop doing that.” The blonde simply glared at Mr. Luthor.

He was sick of these people. “I can switch any number of people as long as they are in the same place…”

Things began to make more sense.

“Oh,” he said, looking between them. “Fascinating.”

He tried to figure out who was who. Luthor was clearly himself. He looked over at the blonde. “Of course, only a man would wear such a shirt.”

Chloe had bought that shirt herself. “Shut the fuck up. Be at Luthor Manor tomorrow at noon and don’t forget your rocks and beaker and whatever the hell else you need.” She took a step forward. “And if you mess this up, you can say goodbye to your precious kitty.”

She didn’t care if Lex or Pete were following her as she left the room.

Lex and Pete looked over their shoulders to watch Chloe storm off, then back at the doctor.

The ruse was obviously up and she’d already put the ultimatum out there. There was nothing much left to say.

“Dr. Madison, even you should know that it is never a good idea to insult a woman’s fashion taste,” Lex commented blandly.

Pete shook his head at the doctor and almost pitied the man. Chloe hadn’t been kidding about the kitty. “Yeah, man. Not cool, not cool at all. She’s gonna make your life hell now.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow then, at noon.” Lex said before he turned around to go after Chloe.

“And be on time,” Pete added with a pointed finger to the face of Lex’s Rolex.

~*~*~*~

The ride back to the house hadn’t been very enjoyable. Lex and Pete were at each other’s throats. What peace they’d managed to find with each other had been blown apart by Lex crowing about kissing her. She’d finally told them both to shut up. Lex had stormed into the house when they’d gotten there and Chloe had spent another 20 minutes in the car with Pete trying to calm him down.
When she’d gone back in the house, she’d called Lana. She told her what was going to happen and then asked her if she could release some of her tension. Lana had squeaked and told her ‘no’ in no uncertain terms.

She’d started asking Lana how she would feel if she was turned on and couldn’t do anything about that. Which lead her to another question, hadn’t Pete gotten hard the whole time she’d been in there. Silence.

Another fight when Lana had admitted that he had and Pete had given her permission to take care of it.

Chloe had slammed the phone down. She needed to do something.

So she’d gone on a jog. A long one. She’d made one stop and was now letting herself back in the house.

Lex sat at the kitchen table, eating more ice cream. The man was going to make her gain even more weight. Her father was at another card game, thankfully. She dumped the contents of her bag on the table.

“I assumed you already had some but I wanted to be safe.”

He looked down at half a dozen large boxes of condoms that had landed in front of his ice cream pot.

“Just how much sex do you think we’re going to be having in one weekend?”

He picked up one of the boxes and examined it. Assortment of ribbed, knobbed and flavored. Lex raised a brow, but didn’t comment. The other boxes held more variety in terms of color, flavor and texture.

Lex calmly spooned his ice cream. He didn’t allow himself to think of sex with Chloe in specifics. Even though he could take care of his frustration when the need arose, he’d had about enough of sex being a one man show.

It also occurred to him that Lana Lang’s reputation was now forever ruined in the town. Chloe must be extremely ticked off about something the brunette had done to do that to her.

“And what did Lana do to deserve this unusually cruel punishment?” he asked with a quirk of his lips.

“Oh, trust me, it’s warranted.” Chloe grabbed a spoon from the drawer and sat down at the table. She ate some ice cream and then said, “At least you can do something about feeling horny. She’s all,” she made her voice go back to its natural state, “Chloe, you can’t do that, I’m not comfortable with it. And all the while she’s been wanking off as Pete!”

Lex had put his spoon down and was watching her now. This was going to get them in so much trouble but Chloe couldn’t stop herself. “We’re meeting Madison at noon so I expect you to be naked and servicing me by five after twelve. I can’t wait to feel your hands, finally.”

She felt herself getting turned on again. “Fucking Lana!”

Lex swallowed as he tried to suppress the images that Chloe’s rant evoked in his mind. The disgust at Lana wanking off as Pete was fighting over dominance with the arousal that shot through him at imagining just what his hands would be doing to Chloe five minutes after twelve tomorrow.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed both images aside and focused on the irritation part of Chloe’s rant.

“Well, she’d never have to find out,” he drawled suggestively. “I’m surprised you even asked.”

He wouldn’t have in her place.

“It seemed wrong not to,” she said. She was kicking herself for even caring to get Lana’s permission. “And you asked me,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, but that’s because it was you.” Lex shrugged. “You’re not really friends with her, you don’t care much about her.”

There was really no reason why Chloe should respect Lana’s privacy when there were so many times that the brunette had disrespected hers.

“On top of that, she doesn’t have that sixth sense that you have,” Lex mused. “You would have noticed somehow and tried to rip a pound of flesh out of me if I’d done anything without your permission.”

It would serve Lana right if Chloe went ahead and used her body for some self gratification. After all, the girl was being extremely selfish in getting her own pleasure and denying it to her supposed friend.

“So I say, go for it.” He meant to stop there, he really did, but then he didn’t and it slipped out. “I can even lend you a hand, if you want.”

“You’re not playing fair,” Chloe panted out. She noticed that her lower body was already squirming on the chair. Lex made a lot of excellent points. It wasn’t as if Lana would ever know. And Lana got to get off so it was only fair that she did.

But Chloe wouldn’t have to wait too long to actually get everything she wanted. Just about 16 hours. But she was horny now. She knew it was because Lana was a few days away from her period. So it wasn’t even really her fault. It was hormonal.

Then there was Lex’s offer. They could barely kiss one another without one of them wanting to vomit. Would him getting her off in Lana’s body with her own hands really work? Well, Chloe wanted to try, at the very least.

She quickly picked up the plastic bag and threw the condoms into it. She put the top back on the ice cream and chucked their spoons into the sink. Lex had stood up, the chair scraping on the kitchen tile loudly because of the speed with which he did it. Chloe briefly kissed him on the mouth and grabbed his hand.

“I hope this works,” she said as she dragged him up the stairs.

~*~*~*~

Lex looked over at Chloe as she slammed around the kitchen, banging pots and pans for no other reason than to bang something.

Their little experiment last night had gone horribly awry. The problem was that it just didn’t work while they were stuck in the wrong bodies. Chloe had no desire to fondle her own body and Lex didn’t get turned on in the least by Lana’s spindly frame.

So, the whole idea had died a quick and painful death when they’d noticed that there was no sense in taking off their clothes, they couldn’t kiss, touching each other seemed just plain wrong and all arousal came strictly from their minds and would stay unsatisfied in the physical realm.

Well, at least, it would remain unsatisfied for Chloe until they were back in their own bodies, roughly three hours from now.

After retreating to his room, Lex had gotten himself off quickly and perfunctory. It took care of the edge, but not much else.

Lex opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe cut him off before he could even get the first word out.

“Where the fuck is my fucking mug?” She slammed another cabinet shut. It was all she could do to not throw something. Last night had been even worse than when they’d tried to kiss one another. And at least Lex could have had the decency to not get off.

“And even though I know there’s not going to be a next time,” she said, whirling around, “you could have at least attempted to be quiet last night.”

She crossed the room and shoved the bag full of condoms into her messenger bag. She was pissed, yes, but not pissed enough to hold off from having sex with Lex the moment that the opportunity presented itself.

“So, you ready, or what?”

Lex thought it smart to keep his comments to a minimum. Getting up from his chair, he motioned for Chloe to go ahead out the door. “I’ll drive.”

There was no way he’d let her behind the wheel in that kind of mental state. With their luck, she’d get them into an accident and then Chloe’s body would be incapacitated for weeks on end, or worse, they’d end up dead.

~*~

[BlueSabby]

The drive over to the mansion had been a tense one, and Lex had tried to remember the whole time where exactly he’d been when lightning struck. They had all been around the lake that night, but where exactly was hard to remember, weeks after the fact.

He only hoped that things wouldn’t go completely wrong. Horror visions of ending up in the body of a squirrel or as a splat of burned flesh on the ground were trying to push their way into his mind. Lex shoved them aside forcefully.

They entered the house and made their way straight to the study. Pete and Lana were already waiting for them, chit chatting on the couch. They both looked a little nervous, but that wasn’t Lex’s concern at the moment.

“Now, we’ve got twenty minutes before Madison shows up,” Lex started as he settled against the billiards table. “Do any of you remember where exactly you stood when the switch happened?”

For his part, he still couldn’t remember more than standing ankle deep in water and blinding light.

Lana looked over at Lex. “I remember being able to see the lake from where I was,” she said. She remembered getting lost and being scared that she’d die out there in her expensive dress. Her body eaten by wolves or something.

“Me too,” Pete said looking over at Lana. “I remember sitting under a tree.” He was fairly certain he’d be able to find it again.

“So the lake appears to be the key,” she said. “I was by it, too. I think I’ll need some time to find exactly where I was, though. So, I’ll see you all out there. If you need anything,” she took her cell phone out of her pocket and waved it around in the air.

Lex watched Chloe go and shook his head. At least her mood would improve when things were back to normal.

“Alright then, I suggest we all go find our spots before the doctor shows up.”

And then cross their fingers that things would go as smoothly as Madison had promised. Because if there were more outside circumstances that had to be accounted for, like the torrential downpour of rain from that night, they were pretty much screwed until the weather granted them another storm.

~*~

Chloe trudged through another thicket of trees. She knew that she had been in a clearing of some sort. It was just a matter of finding it. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she was mistaken. Nothing good, she was sure of it.

She’d run into the mad scientist and he’d told her that everything was ready for their experiment. Their experiment was how he’d put it. As if it didn’t affect the rest of the course of her life.

Ok, this looked like it probably was it. Now she tried to think of where, exactly, she was.

Pete was sitting under a tree. He was looking up at it, assessing the limbs and the tilt of it. He didn’t want to make a mistake. They hadn’t discussed what would happen if they were even a little off. He didn’t think that that was coincidence.

It was as if none of them wanted to think of that possibility.

Lex moved along the shore until he found the spot he’d been standing on. Or at least, he thought that it was the spot. There was a shallow indent and the ground was more earth than stone which made for muddy ankles whenever it rained.

He thought he remembered the old fallen log in the middle distance to his left.

“Alright, everybody in place?” Lex yelled into the thicket.

Lana looked in the direction of the shout, pretty sure she’d found the spot on the pathway she’d stood on that night, when lightning hit. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be hit by lighting again, but then, it was the only way to get back into her own body and out of the grounding she’d suffered in Pete’s stead.

“I think I’ve got it!” she called in the general direction of the lake.

“Yea, I got it, too.” Lex’s voice gave away Pete’s general direction.

“Same here!” Chloe.

It was so strange to hear your own voice calling at you from somewhere in the woods. Creepy.

Now that he knew the subjects, people, he reminded himself, people, were in place he could begin. The land was rich with the dense meteor rocks he needed so that was in place. He could simulate the lightening strike he was told was needed.

“OK,” he yelled. “We’re beginning now.” He realized that he should say something to make them all feel better. “I’m sure you won’t explode. On the count of three.”

He then pushed the button. No need to wait for them to be ready. It would only drag out the inevitable.

Chloe saw a bright light and then a tug that seemed to come from her belly button. When she opened her eyes, she was on the ground. And she was black.

“Fuck!”

Pete heard his own voice and couldn’t agree more. He had breasts now. Nice, full breasts but breasts none the less. And blonde hair that was in his face because he’d fallen.

The cursing had a tone that he recognized. He grinned when he realized that Luthor was trapped in Lana, most likely.

Lex closed his eyes against the embarrassment of hearing his own voice scream like a girl. It couldn’t have gone more wrong.

He was trapped inside a near anorexic, whiny brunette girl. He cursed a blue streak once more, shuddering at the high pitched voice he was now forced to speak with.

Lex lowered the voice as much as Lana’s vocal chords would allow. “IT DIDN’T WORK!”

Lana was traumatized. She’d been forced to be inside not only one, but two men’s bodies. And this one was Lex Luthor’s. She felt all wrong and misplaced and my goodness how did that man feel comfortable in these pants with his bits…She cut herself off violently.

“Somebody, do something!” she shouted on the edge of hysteria.

Chloe couldn’t help it. She laughed. Yes, it was slightly hysterical and out of control because she was afraid that it wasn’t going to work and they’d end up stuck inside someone wrong. But it was just too much to hear Lex’s voice like that.

He heard the threats, curses and panic all around him. Ok, so that hadn’t worked. “Perhaps if you all moved either slightly to the left or right it might help?” Maybe they were all a little off. He hit the button again.

The jerk sent Chloe tumbling forward. Her shirt was wet now. And she was Lex. Jesus, was this ever going to go right?

“Madison, I swear that I will wring your fucking chicken neck when I find you.” On the positive side…she ran her hands over Lex’s chest. She was good and didn’t check below the belt…..yet.

Pete was able to keep his footing and was now pressed up against the tree. The breasts had gone down but hadn’t disappeared. Lana. He felt her ass while he had the chance. “Ok, still not in the right body, dude!”

Lana looked down at the huge breasts that popped out from her chest and lifted the flippy strands of blonde hair. This was a slight improvement, just a slight one though. If things didn’t go back to the way they should be, at least she could work with Chloe’s body. But she wanted her own back very, very badly.

Lex pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ignore that he was inhabiting the body of the guy who hated his guts. Something was missing, some piece in the puzzle wasn’t in place. And it had nothing to do with shimmying to the right or sashaying to the left. There was something he had to be missing. Something crucial.

They had the right ingredients to make a switch, they’d all gotten into their proper positions…

“Oh for FUCKS SAKE!” he bellowed and was glad to hear it come out at least in a male voice.

Of course, they’d gotten into the right position, but they had been all wrong none the less, because instead of putting the bodies in the right positions, they put their minds there.

“Everybody, get over here! I figured it out.”

As he looked into the woods, he could see that Chloe was already making her way over. He wasn’t sure if it was on purpose, but she was giving his hips a definite swivel. “Chloe, stop sashaying with my ass, okay?” It was more than a little disturbing.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said, approaching him. “Does the phrase your ass is mine ring any bells?” She then started doing the Cabbage Patch until Lex physically restrained her from moving. Wow, Pete was pretty strong.

Pete turned the corner and saw his body tussling with Lex’s. Lana came up next to him. “You’re really short, you know that?” It was strange seeing everything a few inches lower than usual. “Five bucks on Chloe.”

“Guys, stop,” Lana yelled.

“Jeez, Lana,” Chloe said. “I didn’t know my voice could go that high.” She swatted Lex’s hand off of her body and said, “We’re all a bunch of morons.”

Lex gave her a last glare, slightly annoyed by the fact that he had to look up to do so, before turning to the other two. Lana held Chloe’s body all wrong.

Shaking off that unnecessary observation, Lex elaborated Chloe’s statement. “What she’s trying to say is that our minds got the better of us. We stood in the wrong positions.”

Pete furrowed Lana’s finely shaped brows and started to protest. “Dude, I don’t know about you but I-”

Lex cut him off, “You were standing in the position that Lana should have been in. While Lana was standing where Chloe was supposed to be. I stood where you should have been and Chloe was in the place that I should have stood.”

When he was getting a confused look from Lana, Pete seemed to be getting it.

“The bodies count, not our minds,” he said.

Lana finally seemed to be catching on, too. “Oh, so I was supposed to be….where again?”

Lex deferred to Chloe, he really couldn’t think of a simpler way to put it than he already had.

“Being that you’re in my body now, you should be where I was standing. I’ll show you.” This was going to take some time but Chloe thought that they had finally figured out what they were doing wrong.

The doctor watched as his subjects dragged each other over the lake area. He waited until someone gave him some sort of signal.

Chloe started to breathe deeply. If this didn’t work, she didn’t know what would. She was standing where Lex said he’d been.

“OK,” she heard Pete’s voice say, “now!”

Madison pushed the button and waited for them to yell at him again.

Chloe had never been so happy to see her breasts in her life. Or her legs. Or her hands that were now patting her down. “It worked,” she screamed and then ran towards Pete’s voice who was screaming, “Fuck, yeah!”

She found him and raced into his outstretched arms. He picked her off of the ground and twirled her around. Once he placed her on the floor, he said, “I like that look on you.”

Chloe reached up and kissed him. “Thanks for the compliment.” She turned around and saw Lana and Lex standing about ten feet away from them. “Everyone ok?”

Lex raised a brow at her in question. Aside from the fact that she was hugging and kissing the wrong guy? He was just fine. Back in the body he belonged in and a three piece suit had never felt this good. No more annoying hair in his face, tight t-shirts or skirts, ever again.

His gaze went over to Lana who was combing through her hair and fixing her clothes, generally being self absorbed.

Lex shoved his hands in his pockets and titled his head towards the place where Madison had parked himself and his equipment.

“Madison, it worked.”

Madison had to physically grab one hand with the other so he didn’t push the button. He was sure that he’d be yelled at again. “Excellent. Went off without a hitch just as I predicted.” He started to pack up his belongings. Luthor had told him to get out immediately after his job was done. He’d contact him later.

Pete’s arm was still around her and she could see just how pleased Lex was about that. Insecure, much? Like she wasn’t about two seconds away from tearing off his clothes. Maybe he needed a little reminder about it, though.

“Hey, Lana,” she said, patting the girl on the arm before walking up to Lex. She didn’t wait for him take make some stupid comment. Instead she grabbed him by the front of his damp shirt and kissed him soundly on the mouth. She slid her tongue past his lips, not really caring about preliminary kisses.

She vaguely heard Pete say something about going blind but then Lex’s arm was around her waist and his other hand tangled in her hair. They were pretty much mauling one another. It felt great. It felt right. And if what she felt against her body was any indication, they were going to have to take it inside very soon.

Now that was more like it. Lex would have grinned had his mouth not been otherwise occupied. The body grinding up against his was finally right and only one pair of breasts was involved. And such lovely breasts, they were. Full and round rubbing against his chest and…

They really needed to get rid of the other two so they could take this inside.

Lex pulled back from the kiss and looked over Chloe’s shoulder at Pete and Lana.

“Pete, I’m sure you won’t mind giving Lana a ride home.”

Without waiting for a response from the younger man, who was still busy fake retching at their display, he continued right on. “Great then, see you around.”

He gave Chloe’s waist a squeeze before taking her hand and starting up the path that would eventually lead to the mansion.

~*~

The look on Enrique’s face had been priceless. She’d been glad she’d seen it. That was mostly thanks to Lex, though. Being that he’d had her pinned against one of the walls in the main hall of the manor as he attacked her neck, it had been easy to see the servant enter the room and his eyes bug out.

Chloe had chuckled as she watched the man scurry from the room. After that, she just continued with moaning Lex’s name as he seemed stuck on massaging her breasts. Her hands were busy pulling his shirt out of the waist of his pants. She really should have told Pete to wear something that gave her easy access for later like a sweater or something.

She grabbed at Lex’s head and brought him back up to her so she could kiss him while she unbuttoned the shirt. Between kisses she said, “Should get to the bedroom.”

When Lex simply placed her back against the wall and continued to kiss her, Chloe knew that she’d have to be the one to move this little party.

“How about whoever gets there first gets to be on top? The first time, that is.”

Lex couldn’t believe she was going to waste time by running up three stories and clear across the span of the main building to get to his bedroom. What was wrong with the nice, solid, right here, wall?

“You know…” He started to argue with her about it, but then he realized that arguing was going to take even longer than running. “Alright,” he ceased the point with a grin and dropped his hands from her hips.

Being gentlemanly, he even motioned for her to get a little of a head-start.

“Don’t worry,” she said, quickly unbuttoning and taking off his shirt, “you can fuck me up against the wall later. I promise.” Chloe then got a little distracted by Lex’s chest.

It was nice that she actually got to touch him finally. “I know that it’s what’s inside that counts and all of the crap. But, I just want to say that I do really love your body.”

Lex grabbed her hands when they got near his belt….again. “Right, right. Upstairs.”

He released her wrists and, after a smile and quick kiss, Chloe took off. She knew she wasn’t going to win but that was beside the point. The point was to get to the nearest bed.

Lex allowed himself another second to watch her ass run down the hallway before he was hot on her heels. His body hadn’t done any exercise in the weeks Pete had run it, obviously, but he was still fit enough. Plus, he had longer legs. Lex used them to his advantage as he took the stairs three at a time and caught up with Chloe just at the top.

As he passed her, he gave her ass a friendly slap. “Don’t make me wait.”

He cut the corners and hauled himself through the door to his bedroom, taking a few seconds to think about the insanity of actually racing, before he flopped back onto the mattress of his bed and assumed a casual pose.

Chloe burst through the door another few seconds later, flushed and a little sweaty and sexy as hell with that look on her face.

She burst out laughing when she saw that Lex was lying on the bed, his head propped up on one of his hands. He was trying to look like he didn’t have a care in the world and as if he was relaxing in his bedroom.

But his chest was still rising and falling pretty rapidly. “Congratulations,” she said. Without further ado she took her shirt off and then dropped it on the floor. She caught sight of her chest as she looked down to kick the shirt out of her way.

“What the hell?”

She was wearing a very lacy, very sexy most definitely she hadn’t bought bra. She looked over at Lex and his grin widened. “I had better not be wearing a thong, Mister.”


But if she were, she would have noticed it by now. She kicked off her shoes and ripped her socks off. Anxious to check out what was going on beneath her jeans.

She realized how much of an evil genius Lex was. She’d stripped in record time. Her panties were cut in the fashion of boy shorts. They were black and lacy like her bra. Obviously a matching set.

Lex was still lounging on the bed. “Nice choice,” she said, as she climbed up onto the bed and then Lex.

She sat on his middle and asked, “How can I entice you to get naked, too?” She realized she’d have to dismount for that but she liked watching Lex try to concentrate on her face when her breasts were prominently displayed at the moment.

He licked his lips, imagining, then focused on answering the question for the moment. “Well,” he pretended to ponder his next step. “How about like this?” Lex bucked his hips unexpectedly and hard enough to make Chloe topple over, gifting him with a face full of her lovely lace-covered breasts.

He grinned into the skin and sucked on as he slung his arms around her and rolled them over.

Now that she was under him, he got a little distracted exploring her body, finally from the right perspective. It did help though that he remembered all the spots that got an especially nice reaction when he stroked them just right.

He found out that kissing, nibbling, nipping and licking also worked quite well in those spots and got even more distracted. Until his hips humped against the mattress and his belt buckle cut into his stomach. Pants, right. Hardons and constrictive clothing didn’t really get along anyway.

Lex moved back and up onto his knees toeing off his loafers that landed on the floor with a soft thud. He got as far as pulling the zipper down before Chloe’s hands joined his at the waistband of his pants to ‘help’.

Chloe wasn’t going to wait for Lex to get his pants off. She was more proactive than that. So, she went for his belt as Lex’s hands went for the button of his pants. Being that she didn’t want to waste a golden opportunity, she also started to kiss him. He was distracted and grunted in surprise. She smiled against his lips as she tried to get the belt off.

Lex was pulling in one direction and she seemed to be pulling in the other. That’s why they went crashing to mattress.

She ended up on top of Lex and, giggling, placed one hand on his chest and said, “Stay.” She worked her way down his torso, slowly, leaving a trail of wet nips and kisses along the way.

Now that there was only one pair of hands in the mix, the task was much easier. She undid his button and then took off his belt. Lex’s pants soon joined hers on the floor. Then his boxers.

Lex bit down on the inside of his cheek as he saw the hungry look on her face. She was staring unabashedly at his cock and by the way her tongue slid out to lick over her lips he was pretty sure she liked what she saw.

“Nice,” she purred.

Definitely liked what she saw. He hissed in a breath as her warm hand curled around his length and gave it a few strokes. If she kept doing that and looking at his cock like it was made of coffee caramel ice cream….

Lex grabbed the hand on his cock and used it pulled her up into another kiss. Before she could go off exploring again, he rolled them over and slithered down her length to get rid of the panties.

“We can do nice and slow later,” he promised as he kissed his way back up to her mouth and went for her bra.

He’d been denied this for weeks and his taste for delayed gratification went only so far. For now, he wanted to be inside of her asap. Lex wanted to finally know how it felt to really fuck her, not just fuck himself in her body.

Her voice sounded breathless when she responded. “I just wanted to play a little.” But she really had no problem with hard and fast at this point. Being in her own skin again felt great. And it would feel even better when Lex was inside of it, too. “You owe me.”

Lex had opened her bra and she shrugged out of the material. They were both naked, sweaty and panting. Hands were in places that they’d wanted to be for weeks. Their bodies were primed and ready, finally coupled with the right minds.

Her hands fisted in the sheets as she moved against his fingers again. “Enough, Lex.” He brushed his thumb against her clit and she shook her head before catching his gaze. “I want you inside.”

Lex nodded and let go of her. He dove outside the mattress and lunged for her pants. No need to let the condoms she’d bought go to waste. Lex had picked out a few of his favorites and stuck them in the pocket of her jeans before she’d gotten up this morning. Her backpack was of course nowhere to be seen and Lex gave himself a mental pat on the back for his foresight.

He grabbed one of the square foil packages at random and backed up onto the mattress. Ripping open the foil, he held the rubber ring out to her. “You wanna do the honors?”

Chloe got up on her knees and took the condom out of Lex’s hands. She kissed him deeply before turning to her appointed task. She slowly rolled it on, making sure it was secure. They didn’t need any accidents. Plus, she got to hear that groan from Lex that she hoped to hear a lot more.

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his shoulder. “Being that you won our little race, you get to be on top. Unless you want something else? You decide.” Her hands were on his thighs now, letting her nails run over the skin.

Lex sincerely didn’t care who the fuck was on top. All he cared about was getting inside.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up and closer until she was straddling his lap. “How about we forget about the specifics and do it whichever way it happens?”

The question was accompanied by a slow swivel of his hips and then he was pushing up and inside and…

Damn, had it ever felt that good?

Lex couldn’t remember, didn’t give a shit either.

One hand on her waist, his other slid up to take hold of her hair and pulled her into a ravenous kiss as his hips started pumping.

Chloe moaned into his mouth and his thrusts sped up. He shot a quick ‘thank you’ in the general direction of heaven and used his hold around her waist to grind their lower bodies together. Man, he’d missed fucking.

Lex buried his head in her neck and started nipping and kissing his way around the sensitive skin. Chloe’s nails dug into the skin of his back where she held on, levering herself so she could move into his thrusts. He groaned into the flesh under his mouth as she latched on to his ear, sucking the lobe between her teeth.

Rutting like animals did have its advantages. You didn’t have to have much finesse and the outcome was still the same. She nipped at the flesh in her mouth and Lex thrust up against her, hard.

Chloe heard some strange noise coming out of her mouth. She could be embarrassed later. For now, she just wanted them to come. That way, they could recoup and have much more sex.

“So good,” she murmured, as she grabbed Lex’s shoulders. She wanted to see his face when he came. She’d been denied really seeing Lex for a long time.

She wrapped one arm around his shoulders and leaned back a little. She angled her hips so her clit got some friction. She felt herself getting very close to coming.

A few more thrusts and she would be there. Lex raised his face to look down at her as she started to chant his name. Every successive ‘Lex’ getting higher pitched and louder.

Lex moved one of his arms up her back, supporting her, while the other was wrapped around her waist. His pumps were getting more erratic and his face was tightening.

Chloe felt Lex’s climax and watched as his face changed. First looking like he was in great pain and then in immense relief.

She still moved her hips against his and then felt his fingers at her clit. He barely had to touch her before she followed him into oblivion, her cunt twitching and body flailing slightly.

~*~*~

Her legs were clamped around his ears, and Lex reflexively humped the mattress as he felt her nails scraping lightly over his scalp.

She tasted sweet and tart, her juices spreading over his mouth and chin as he licked, sucked, and fucked her with his tongue.

He tried to hold her hips down, but it was a relatively useless effort, so he reached further up, to massage her breasts and tease the ripe little nipples that poked into his palms. Death by suffocation wasn’t so bad.

Lex grinned against the wet flesh and latched his lips onto her clit, sucking hard.

For the first time in her life, Chloe’s mind was a complete and utter blank. The only thing she did was move her hips up into the feelings that were traveling through her body.

Oh, and beg Lex to use his fingers. Once he did that it was game over, sayonara and the curtain closing. She came long and hard and couldn’t wait to do it again.

~~

Lex’s hand was tangled in her hair as Chloe sucked him down her throat.

They were in his office and he was sitting naked in his chair as Chloe tended to him.

He was already bucking up and Chloe relaxed her throat. She couldn’t get all of him yet but that would come with practice.

She was wet again but Lex would see to that as soon as he could.

For now, she swallowed him down and planned to never leave the Manor.

~~

“Again?”

It was a question that both of them had asked numerous times over the weekend.

Along with “You ready?” “Like that?” and “Harder?”

Chloe bit down on her lip and nodded enthusiastically. She rolled over onto her side in Lex’s bed and waited to feel his cock slip in from behind her.

They’d already had the important discussions. They were going to be exclusive. She was on the pill but they both would get tested. They’d talk to her father. So that was all out of the way.

She sighed when Lex started to rock against her gently, wrapping his arms around her.

They weren’t in love with one another….yet, but that was fine.

For now, Chloe was quite content with this. With amazing sex, sparkling conversation and, perhaps, the promise of more.

~*~

Epilogue:

Clark didn’t understand the world anymore. Not that he’d ever really understood it to begin with. The last few weeks had been …weird. For Smallville standards. Until a week ago, his friends had all acted majorly odd.

Pete had been decidedly too cosey, giving him the creeps, while Chloe had been distanced and even avoiding him at all costs. Lex had been pretty buddy buddy the two or three times he’d swung by the mansion, but had brushed him off as soon as a phonecall came in.

And Lana had acted completely out of character, even when they’d kissed that one time in the parking-lot.

But things had gotten even weirder about a week ago. Suddenly, Pete had dropped the cozy act and Lex had gone back to being distant, Chloe was her usual snarky best friend self again, and Lana….

Lana had broken up with him. Out of the blue. The craziest thing was that the break up had nothing to do with his secrets. She’d flat out told him that she’d found someone else and fallen in love with him.

Clark’s jaw had hit the floor when he found her arm in arm with Pete the next day, playing footsie under the cafeteria table.

He’d barely picked his jaw up of the floor again when the next absolutely incredulous news hit.

Chloe and Lex were dating. If you could call the rabid fucking he’d almost caught them several times at could be considered dating.

Clark shuddered. He had his x-ray vision and super hearing to thank for the fact that he hadn’t actually seen them yet. What he had caught of the whole gruesome thing was traumatizing enough.

The world had gone crazy around Clark. His friends had all lost it and he was completely out of the loop.

Worst of it, there was nothing he could do about it, except to wait for the next big Smallville disaster and hope to catch it in time to fix it.

[Rachet]

Thankyou both so much for this great, funny fic. Loved Clarks utter bewilderment at his world.

[westwingwolf]

Thank you for that hilarious wrap up. I'd have to agree that Lex and Chloe's kiss in the other bodies was majorly awkward, and that was just the thought of it. I'm glad they had the chance to make up for that when they got their bodies back. Glad to see they had a lot of fun. Regardless of what Clark thinks, I think the world seems pretty good.

[somethingeasy]

It took me an embarrassingly long while to see that there was more than just a single chapter update on this thread, and then it took me an additional two days to go through all the new chapters. It was a delight getting so MUCH plot and character evolution at my disposal, all in one go. Thanks for the massive update, BlueSabby!! They were a great collection of chapters, and they made for an amazing read.

It started off so well. I was ROTFL at all the misunderstandings taking place due to the confusing logistics of body and gender swaps. Most of these confusions and misunderstandings seemed to revolve around Clark in particular, the poor confused, ignorant lad. I wonder just how much it would have blown his mind to realize that the object of his stalking, obsessive worship was inhabiting the body of his male best friend, LOL! Lana alone seemed to be having massive problems in adjustment, and I noticed that most of HER difficulty seemed to involve dealing with Clark as well.

This was very nicely illustrated by the very first incident, where Lana walks in on ‘Chloe’ and Clark, looking as if they’ve been playing ‘doctor’. I loved the moment of mind-boggling confusion the girl went through as she first considered the possibility of Clark being attracted to Chloe, and then the idea of Lex making the moves on Clark, LOL! Chloe was definitely having too much fun with the situation that she walked in on when she entered the scene, LOL!

And speaking of dealing with gender swaps, I was ROTFLMAO when Chloe delivered the dire warning to Lex that she was about to get her period. I think Lex handled it quite well, all things considered, but I also think that most of his deadpan ‘lack of hysteria reaction’ came from him being too shocked to knowing how to deal with it. LOL! Poor Lex. It was fascinating that Lex was a lot more disturbed and unnerved about the idea of mood swings rather than the physical cramps and pains. Apparently he doesn’t mind dealing with physical pain, but the idea of losing control over his hormones, emotions and behavioral responses really upsets him.

It was also fascinating seeing the mature and long-term outlook that Lex brought into his experience as a students at a small-town highschool. I was actually pleased and gratified to see him so indignant on behalf of the students to see the appalling state of the foreign language classes being taught at the school. He was genuinely outraged that the students were being stinted and short-changed on their educational development. I love seeing these signs of Lex exhibiting how much he cares for the public at large, even for a bunch of immature, snotty-nosed, uninteresting high school kids.

Or perhaps Lex’s care and concern for the high-school kids is merely an extension of his inordinate amount of concern for a certain group of high school kids. He might find Clark, Lana, Pete and even Chloe annoying and exasperating sometimes, but he genuinely likes them, and wishes them well.

Although he has a decidedly funny way of showing his care and concern for Chloe above all the other members of her gang. He seems to bristle with jealousy and irrationality at the slightest provocation when it comes to her. I was amused, and then outraged to see Lex first concerned, and then utterly convinced that Chloe had traded sexual favours in order to get a hold of geological schematics to Smallville. The bastard seriously thinks that Chloe would think of herself as low enough to open up her body to strangers in order to get material goods?!

I was glad to see Chloe nearly bite his nose off at his remarks. Unfortunately, this was NOT the last time that Lex jumped to ridiculous conclusions like this one. It seems it takes more than one scolding to really teach Lex a lesson. I think the fact that Lex did NOT apologize the first time for his irrational conclusions was a sign that he didn’t learn his lesson actually.

Still, all things considered, I think Lex actually took very good care of Chloe overall. He put some serious effort into earning her points in history from an unfair, prejudiced and vindictive teacher, AND he even put his level best into putting Chloe’s body through rope-climbing in order to get her marks in PE. It wasn’t Lex’s fault that he misjudged Chloe’s limits and capabilities and cut his her their the hands whole climbing. ouch! Overall, I’d say Lx treated Chloe’s body very well… Except when he was being a vengeful, vindictive assh*le, but we’ll discuss that in more detail later.

It was great to find out that Lionel Luthor was involved in this fic as well. Granted, it was indirect involvement only, but he can still be blamed (kind of) for what had happened to our gang of foursome today. heeee, and we discovered these crucial facts from Chloe and Lex putting their heads together to find the solution to their problems. Excellent! It’s so satisfying to see the leaps and bounds that their deductive and strategic thinking takes when the two of them are working together. I wonder how much time before they figure out that, if they continue this kind of an alliance, they can rule the world together.

erm… this is provided that Lex’s staff learn to like Chloe a little more of course, lol! It was quite hilarious seeing Lex being given the suspicious cold, hard stare of death from Enrique. I think it’s becoming quite apparent to Lex how Chloe gets treated whenever she visits the mansion. Perhaps he’ll ask Enrique to be a little nicer to Chloe when he gets back into his own body? I doubt it would make much of a difference actually, since Enrique’s behavior towards Chloe seems to come from a personal dislike and distrust for the girl rather than a wish to ‘protect Lex’ from her. What a pity. Even Enrique seems to prefer Lana to Chloe *hangs head in despair at the unfairness of it all*

I’m still not entirely certain exactly what it was that Enrique preferred about Lana as compared to Chloe. But in any case, it was very satisfying to see Enrique getting some form of comeuppance at the end of the story when he realized that Chloe had become his employer’s lover. Not only that, but Chloe had become a lover that Lex was very emotionally attached to as well as drawn to sexually. Excellent! HAH! Take that, Enrique! Now you have to be civil to Chloe, and let her come and go from the mansion whenever she pleases :D

The scene involving Pete taking liberties with Lex’s ‘little black book’ was hilarious! I was shocked and aghast with horror when I first read about Chloe and Lex entering Lex’s study to see five scantily clad models parading around the office. It was a horrific scene to imagine. It was horrific and outrageous to imagine Pete having the sheet nerve and audacity to use Lex’s resources and Lex’s body to get laid. I know Lex used to be a bit of a slut, but I think he’s worked hard to overcome that image and reputation, and it was horribly irresponsible of Pete to jeopardize Lex’s image like that.

But, besides being outraged, I couldn’t help but also feel highly amused. Poor Lex nearly had a seizure from rage. In fact, I’m highly impressed that he managed to stop himself from leaping on Pete to tear his face off. I think it’s only the knowledge that it was his own face that stopped Lex from doing bodily harm to Pete. Well, that and Chloe holding him back, AND Pete apologizing most profusely for his stupid, STUPID error in judgment, lol!

Besides being a memorable scene in the fic, I can also see, in view of the larger picture, how this was a momentous turning point between Lex and Pete. I think THIS was the moment where Pete began to understand that being Lex Luthor doesn’t mean that you can act like a rich assh*le. Which means that this is the moment where Pete realized that Lex Luthor actually DOES have to answer for his mistakes and his behavior when he does wrong; being rich and powerful does NOT give Lex carte blanche to do whatever the heck he wants.

For this reason alone, I was so happy and gratified to get several chapters in one go, because it allowed me a chance to check out the evolution of character relationships over a period of time during the course of two days of reading.

I think it was also good for Pete to lose his sense of ‘moral self-righteous high-ground’ over Lex Luthor. All this time, Pete has been treating Lex like a really powerful cockroach… but having Lex’s moral outrage directed against Pete… I think that threw Pete, and made him realize that sitting back and judging Lex would be the worst kind of hypocrisy.

So, overall, besides being a hilarious and intense scene, it was also an important event because it marked the beginning of Pete and Lex bonding and relating to each other on a friendly, trusting basis. Pete actually started putting some effort into acting more responsible as Lex Luthor, and Lex began to appreciate what a hard, dedicated and sharp worker Pete can be when he puts his mind to doing something right.

And Pete WAS darned impressive, the way that he researched and studied up on all the board members to the best of his ability, compiling together a fact-sheet on each of them. In fact, one of my favourite scenes was watching Lex and Pete having an in-depth discussion where Lex filled in all the blanks in Pete’s fact-sheet and provided the psychoanalytical profile on all of the people, as well as their basic attitude towards Lex.

In many ways, this scene showed me a LOT about both Pete and Lex. It showed me how Lex has to keep on analyzing and thinking about the people around him all the time without giving himself a real break. Lex isn’t just a powerful, influential person because he was born into it, but because he knows how to wield his existing wealth, power and intellect in order to maintain and gain more power and influence. He has to be able to fairly accurately predict how a person would react given any number of factors, and how make that person respond in a way that would give Lex the best advantage. Besides which, I loved the way that Lex was able to provide a quick, simple, easy summary of the characters of all the board-members… making it clear for even Pete to be able to handle them in an emergency. It was stunning seeing Pete getting a quick training course in some of the lessons that Lex has been receiving and honing his skills on throughout his entire life. I think I sensed Pete building up some sympathy for Lex and the kind of ‘childhood’ that the man’s had, and the way that Lex’s whole life revolved around this kind of non-stop training.

Most of all, I think Pete is impressed as to how hard he has to work just to mimic Lex Luthor’s skills… and he doesn’t even have Lionel to deal with. Imagine how much tougher it was for Lex, training like this as a hormonal, rebellious teenaged with a psychotic father making him jump through hoops to prove his ‘worthiness’ every step of the way. Scary!

And besides which, all of Lex’s summations on these people was darned funny to read… especially the bit where Lex confessed that he has two people on the board who are waiting for a chance to seduce him, and one of them was a man, ROTFL!

Pete impressed me further because he was not only able to follow all of Lex’s explanations, but also draw quick deductions of his own on how best to deal with them. The boy’s pretty smart and astute, and shows tremendous talent at handling people himself… provided he learns how to be a little more discrete and smooth in his interactions with other human beings.

Overall, it was excellent seeing Pete and Lex bonding in a working relationship like this. It sounds like a GREAT basis for a trusting friendship.

On top of improving their ‘working relationship’, Pete and Lex have even started bonding over girl trouble, LOL! How delightful! I loved seeing Lex approaching and asking advice from Pete on the best way to treat Chloe, to ask forgiveness from her when he messes up, and how best to get her cooperation when she’s being stubborn. Pete has quite a lot of experience in dealing with Chloe, and it was good to see Pete being consulted as the ‘expert’ during this new friendship on this one thing at least.

heh, and I have to admit, that it helps matters tremendously that Pete doesn’t have an ounce of discretion in him. He simply cannot stop to think before speaking to Lex and/or Chloe, which means that he ends up spilling the most delicious, juicy secrets about the two to each other… such as the fact of their mutual attraction to each other, LOL! Nicely done, Pete. I think he saved about ten chapters worth of misunderstandings and misdirection because of in ‘foot in mouth’ disorder, LOL!

But, besides being a source of advice for Lex, I also liked the way that Lex started to tentatively see Pete as a friend as the fic developed. And Pete too started to see Lex in a new light. I especially approved of the way that Pete started appreciating how isolated and possibly lonely Lex might be. Pete’s shocked observation about how a dubious ‘friend’ like Clark WAS indeed Lex’s only fair-weather friend was another turning point in itself. It was made clear that Pete had begun to think that Clark wasn’t the friend who was worthy of Lex, rather than the other way around. It was only a tiny step beyond to start thinking of himself as Lex’s friend, if for no other reason then because Lex seriously needed a good friend.

I’m still trying to decide how the Lana/Chloe relationship is coming along. On one hand, it appears that Lana IS growing as a person since this ‘catastrophe’ occurred. However, it seems like she still regards Chloe as her ‘sidekick’ who would be willing to go to ridiculous lengths to help her out whenever Lana asks sweetly enough.

To be fair, I can see why Lana would consider asking Chloe to kiss Clark to be not that big a deal. Clark is certainly not repulsive, especially not from Lana’s point of view, so of course she wouldn’t understand why Chloe would find the idea of merely kissing the boy to be loathsome. However, I can’t say I approve of the way Lana essentially nagged, whined, demanded and guilt-tripped Chloe into following her ‘request’. Lana simply cannot take ‘no’ for an answer, can she?

Yes, I know Lana’s ‘request’ came from a place of desperation, but it was still annoying, and I don’t blame Chloe for being peeved off about it. Actually, I think it might be interesting to see Lana examine exactly WHY she was so desperate to keep Clark as a boyfriend, and WHY she thought that the only way to keep Clark interested was to give him regular physical favours. A kiss might be something small and innocent, but Lana was begging Chloe to give one to Clark as if in payment for him to stay interested. As if, if Lana doesn’t kiss Clark, he would leave her for someone else. That doesn’t speak highly of Clark, Lana OR the Clana relationship.

It doesn’t sound like Lana does much better with her group of high-school ‘friends’ either. I loved the scene where Chloe recounted how she snapped at one of Lana’s friends because the group was making subtle jibes at Lana right to her face. Talk about adding insult to injury, eh? I wonder whether Chloe is ever going to tell Lana that she has lousy choice in friends, and they essentially make insulting backbiting remarks right in front of Lana, with the poor girl completely oblivious about it.

Seeing Lana’s eyes from ‘within her shoes’ has been a fascinating experience. I didn’t think I would find it so interesting to find out the internal working and details about Lana’s life as well as Pete’s, Chloe’s and Lex’s, but I find myself enjoying seeing life from Lana’s world as well. Great job in characterization and plotting, BlueSabby!!

I actually found myself growing fond of Lana as the fic progressed. She changed from a whiny, annoying, demanding, entitled princess to a person who was a little more considerate of other people as well as self-aware of her own faults. I was very pleased to see that a good part of her character growth came with a growing acknowledgement of her trust, friendship and eventually attraction towards Pete.

Pete was a rock for Lana. He was a complete gentleman, and I can see how and why he would be suited to partnering with the eternal ‘damsel’. I think Pete likes being able to protect and take care of people, so having Lana depending on him for support, comfort and solace… it only made sense that a strong, stable relationship developed from that. It was surprisingly, absurdly heartwarming to see Pete helping Lana through some of the basics in ‘guy anatomy’ as well as how to deal with erections, LOL! It was embarrassing as heck for both of them, but Pete dealt with it in a calm, mature fashion, and Lana responded by ALSO being calm and mature about it. I think this set the tone for the kind of couple that they’re going to make together.

BUT, coming back to the favour that Lana asked from Chloe… Lana ended up causing no end of major problems for Chloe and Lex because of this ‘favour’. I noticed how Lex’s hackles were raised the moment he sensed that Chloe was hiding something pretty major from him, labeling it under ‘girl talk’. I think that was the beginning of the tension and suspicion between the two of them that resulted in such a HUGE spectacular misunderstanding later, when Lex caught Chloe kissing Lana’s boyfriend.



But more on that later… right now, I want to get onto the Lex, Vlad and Chloe triangle. I remember the first chapter where I properly met Vlad, and I was happy and delighted to see that he seemed like a sweet, sensitive, intelligent young man. Overall, he struck me as someone who was actually worthy of Chloe’s interests and affections. I was actually pleased to see that Lex had some genuine competition in his way, because he was going to have to out-do this sweet, nice person in order to win over Chloe’s affections and deeper interests for himself.

Only, it turns out that Vlad is yet another disappointing scum-bag in a long line of unworthy boyfriends that Chloe has managed to accumulate for herself. It was such a friggen shame to discover that, not only was Vlad unfaithful, but he was also a player who was used to dangling two or more girls on a string while enjoying whatever favours he could smooth-talk his way out of them. I can’t believe the jerk actually had the sheer audacity to try and shift the blame for HIS cheating onto Chloe… as if it was only natural that a guy would cheat if he feels ‘physically unsatisfied’ in a relationship. What a piece of scum!

I was especially furious with Vlad because it was apparent that he knew enough about Chloe’s past experience with dealing with heartbreak and rejection to know how to exploit it for his own ends. The idea that he was counting on Chloe to have a sense of low self-worth made me shudder with rage, and cry for his balls to be torn off.

The only thing that made this situation a little tolerable was the fact that it was Lex who was present to confront and deal with Vlad rather than Chloe herself. I’m quite certain that Chloe wouldn’t have fallen for any of Vlad’s attempts at shifting the blame, nor would she have accepted his feeble explanations, but she WOULD have been devastated and perhaps too much in shock, grief and anguish to be able to deal with it properly, with a cool head, like Lex was able to. And Lex dealt with Vlad in a VERY satisfactory way. It actually made me cheer to see Vlad downed, with his balls swelling in injury, puking all over himself. aaaah, now that is sweet justice!!

*sigh* and then of COURSE he has to completely mess it all up when he saw Chloe kissing Clark, and turned completely petty, vindictive and malevolent against Chloe. Lex is a great person to have on your side, BUT I have to say; considering how fast he jumps to conclusions and turns against people in a flash, without warning no less; with a friend like Lex, who needs enemies?!? He was a complete and utter bastard in what he did to Chloe, and I was so, SO disappointed in his behaviour!

All things considered, I think Chloe was far too easy on him, forgiving him far too quickly. I know that they had to continue working together in order to find a solution to this problem, BUT I still think that Chloe took him back into her complete confidence, offering him trust and friendship again far too easily and quickly. Lex just seemed to turn so damned quickly against Chloe, wreaking horrible damage and havoc in her life using her body… and he did it for no rational reason. Chloe made a very good point that Lex reacted in an irrational manner where he had the nerve to judge and punish her for not living up to his image of her as ‘pure’. That was a hypocritical judgment to the extreme, and I was amazed that Chloe didn’t tell him that he was reacting like Clark at his most self-righteous worst. He hurt Chloe because he felt jealous, irrationally possessive of her… and he wasn’t anywhere near ready to admit to the true feelings that motivated his vindictiveness.

But, then again, forgiveness isn’t something that can be earned, not really… it’s something that can either be generously granted, or not. I guess Chloe just happens to be a far more generous soul than me. And I think it helped Chloe that she was able to take support from Pete in Lex’s body. I think, emotionally and psychologically, that went a long way to helping Chloe to forgive Lex, after taking comfort from what smelled and felt like his body, even if it contained Pete’s mind at the time.

That’s the only explanation I can come up with to explain how Chloe not only forgave Lex, but didn’t push him too far into admitting the true feelings (of irrationally jealousy) that were behind his vinidictive actions, AND gave him permission to masturbate using her body… all with the space of one discussion?!? Chloe is a much, MUCH bigger and more generous person than I am. Lex should have been on his knees in gratitude over Chloe’s forgiveness and generosity… instead he acted like the same old entitled tool that he always does. aaaargh!!! It was enough to make me seriously wonder whether Lex was yet another in a long time of unworthy guys that Chloe decided to get into a relationship with.

I spent some time trying to objectively analyze the growing Chlex relationship after this incident. Lex and Chloe have obviously been getting closer ever since they started living together and working together finding a solution to this problem. They’ve had several major heart-to-heart discussions about their vulnerabilities, emotional hot-spots, hopes and desires. I think the earliest discussing took place after Chloe walked out on Lex and Pete during their first bonding session, and she later confessed that she couldn’t stand the thought and sensation of feeling like a ‘third wheel’ in the company. So, rather than continue clinging to the company that was subtly shunning her, she chose to walk out without telling them.

I think this set the tone for their future arguments and discussions, because from that point onwards they both seemed determined to understand each other, deeply, emotionally and psychologically. I’d say that this marked the beginning of a deeper relationship between the two of them. Lex was a great deal more reticent about his emotional issues as compared to Chloe, but it was satisfying to see her pulling some emotional nuggets from him from time to time… even if it was like pulling teeth from a live tiger sometimes, lol!

At least it was gratifying to see that Chloe and Lex acknowledged their mutual attraction towards each other fairly early into the story. Granted, it took Pete’s blundered, clumsy, blunt and non-discrete comments to make them both realize it, but it was GOOD to see them both acknowledge it out in the open. Even if I DO firmly think that Lex was an ass for taunting Chloe about being attracted to him without admitting that he returned her feelings. Hopefully Chloe will be able to train Lex to open up on demand, rather than only admit to his feelings and urges when Chloe has him backed into a tight corner.

But it’s good to see that Lex is able to open up and offer emotional support and a companionable connection when Chloe really needs him to. Such as the time when Chloe went through a state of despair after their first meeting with the doctor who told them that the mind-swapping was possibly irreversible. Chloe really needed someone to cheer her up, and offer her some hopeful perspective on the situation. It’s rather odd to imagine Lex offering hope and cheer to anyone, but he rose quite well to the occasion.

AND I liked the way that he gently and carefully broke the news to Chloe about Vlad cheating on her. I was especially pleased to see Lex having the thoughtful consideration to warn Chloe not to make a scene and therefore embarrassing herself in front of the school. It might have been satisfying for Chloe to deliver her own well-placed kick to Vlad’s privates, but Lex is right that the best revenge Chloe can take now is to pretend that Vlad was never ever a part of her life at all… pretending that he was so far beneath her notice that ONE kick to the ball was revenge enough, and after that he stopped existing for her. heh, sometimes it’s scary to see how Lex can read the crowds, and know exactly the right move to make to hurt others psychologically as well as physically. Too bad he applied that same knowledge against Chloe, but at least his talents are firmly on her side now… at least until the next time he jumps to irrational, judgmental conclusions about her ‘betraying him’.

Yesp, I’ll admit it, I still don’t completely trust him, and I don’t think Chloe should either!

Soooo, I guess we can see that Lex has great potential to be a trustworthy and satisfying partner… although he has a lot to learn about treating Chloe and other people as human beings instead of potential enemies and/or subordinates.

I guess this brings us onto the Chlex sex in this fic, eh? The unique depiction of sex in this fic was both fascinating and enthralling. I LOVED the heavy in-depth description of Lex learning to masturbate using Chloe’s body and responses. First of all, I liked the idea of Lex appreciating how sensitive Chloe was, and exactly what kind of touches got her body wild with sensation overload. Second, I liked the multi-layering of the sexual description, where the reader could see into Lex’s internal fantasy as he was turning himself on, as well as the actual placement of his hands as they ran up and down his own body. I LOVED the interesting and original way that this masturbation was described very nearly as sex between two consenting, enthusiastic individuals, rather than a girl giving herself a good time with her own hand.

I especially found it interesting to see Lex noting the differences in arousal between a male and a female body. How a female body feels arousal in a more ‘diffused and overall’ sense, where a male body tends to focus all feelings of desire mostly into one body part. Poor guys! I have to say that female arousal sounds significantly more fun and satisfying than male arousal… females are a lot more complicated to arouse and get to orgasm, but damn it’s worth it, isn’t it? LOL!

The amount of detail given during Lex’s self-exploration was much appreciated, BlueSabby! It made for a great read. Most of all I loved that moment where Lex touched Chloe’s clit, and nearly went blank with amazement at the sensations that arose from the touch. And I was also amused to see Lex relieved by the fact that female orgasms are a great deal less messy than male orgasms. There’s some clean-up required, but not like the clean-up required after spouted sperm.

I also appreciated how the details continues when Lex met up with Chloe the following morning, and she had some direct and candid questions to ask about what it felt like to get an orgasm in Chloe’s body. Thanks for that, BlueSabby!

I also loved how Lex viewed his forays of exploration on Chloe’s body as an educational experience. Not just because he was learning about the female body in general, but also because he was learning about Chloe’s specific turn-ons, the noises that she makes and how best to elicit those noises from her. It was apparent that Lex was getting turned on as much from the thought of f*cking Chloe (later when she was back in her own body), as well as f*cking Chloe’s body, without her mind in the mix… if that makes sense…? Anyhow, it was very satisfying to read! It shows that Lex actually has some genuine regard and affection for Chloe as well as lust for her lush, responsive body. He might be in denial about that, but I think he’s already half-way to being in love with her.

Besides the fun of seeing Lex learning to enjoy sex in his new body, it was ALSO highly interesting and hilarious seeing Lex getting used to the fact that he cannot actually enjoy sex with others while in this body. Obviously having sex with another man does not turn Lex on, and his own darned breasts get in the way when he tries going after Chloe. ROTFL! It was so much fun seeing how awkward and unsatisfying and even repulsive it was for Lex and Chloe to have sex while stuck in the wrong bodies. I think Lex’s first attempt at seducing a drunk Chloe set the tone perfectly for future attempts, when she ended up running to the bathroom to puke after seeing Lana’s face looming towards hers for a kiss, ROTFL!

I think this was all fantastic foreplay for the main event that came up at the end of the story, where Chloe and Lex were finally in their correct bodies, and able to consummate their desire for each other in the ‘traditional’ way. It was a highly satisfying climax ;) and all the more satisfying because of the delayed gratification.

Besides all the major themes and evolutions that I mentioned, I loved most of the ‘little moments’ through this fic. For example, the ‘bonding’ that Chloe and Lex go through when they’re making a pie for cooking class together. I was especially pleased to see Chloe impress Lex with her stealthy skills when she stole a bottle of Southern Comfort from the teacher’s lounge, AND managed to return it without anyone noticing that it was missing, LOL!

Lex trying to adjust to living life as a ‘handicapped’ person, while waiting for his hands to heal. That was hilarious. I loved seeing Lex so peeved over how ‘delicate’ Chloe’s body was, and how damned LONG it took to heal itself as compared to his own. Hmmm, I wonder whether Lex is going to remember this when he’s assigning about twenty extra guards to follow Chloe around everywhere in order to protect her from everything and everyone, lol!

I even laughed when Lex discovered, much to his gratified ego and amusement, that Chloe had paid such close attention to him that she was able to tell Pete exactly what kind of facial expression, body-language AND clothing style and preferences was suitable for Lex, and what was NOT. Even if Pete had not spilled the beans by that point that Chloe was highly attracted to Lex, then this would definitely have tipped Lex off to that fact, lol! And besides which, it was hilarious seeing Chloe yelling like a drill sergeant at Pete, lol!

And let’s not forget Pete reaming into Lex for humiliating Chloe in front of the entire school, telling Lex he was a major assh*le, and forcing Lex to apologize for his despicable behavior. Now that was a highly satisfying scene to watch. Lex really needs to be humbled from time to time, just to remember that other people, besides himself, have feeling that can be hurt and devastated if he acts like a bastard. I really liked Pete’s threat to have ‘Dad’ tattooed on Lex’s ass, ROTFL! Now that would have been justice as well as darned FUN to watch!

*sigh* it was unfortunate that Pete’s threat drove Lex back to the old standby of acting like an assh*le, where he essentially told Pete that Chloe was ‘his property’, and should be marked and noted as such. What a jerk! And even THEN he wasn’t willing to admit that he had romantic feelings towards Chloe as well as the simple feelings of desire and lust that he’s willing to admit to.

aaargh! I seriously cannot wait to see the day when Lex is forced to admit to himself that he’s head over heels in love with Chloe, but is not sure that she feels anything more than simple lust and desire. Now THAT would be poetic justice… after all this time of not being willing to admit to feelings of a romantic nature, Lex becomes desperate to check whether Chloe reciprocates his feelings. The fact that Lex started this Chlex affair insisting that he only felt lust for Chloe would come back to bite him in the ass when he panics thinking that Chloe would never be able to feel anything more than an amiable rush of desire for Lex’s body.

The ending was fantastic. I loved the simple solution that Dr. Madison came up with to solve their problem, and I REALLY enjoyed seeing the disjointed quartet fumble their way into their correct bodies. I thought I was going to die with laughter seeing Lana’s hysterical reaction in Lex’s body. I think he must have taken a moment to thank heavens that she was ONLY in his body for a few minutes, and that Lex had the ‘good fortune’ of getting Pete in his body rather than Lana.

LOL! And the epilogue made me laugh as well as sigh in exasperated pity for poor Clark. The poor boy remained utterly and completely clueless throughout all these weeks of something weird happening. It was darned fun seeing Clark so confused about how all four of his closest friends abruptly changed in their behavior and attitude towards him, and then changed AGAIN into completely inexplicable new roles. It did strike me as a little sad to see Clark essentially left out as the fifth wheel in this equation. He knew that something had happened to make the four of his friends closer to each other, leaving him behind as an outsider, but he could never guess what. Poor Clark.

Oh well… *shrugs* he’ll recover ;)

Thank you for the amazing, fantastic fic, BlueSabby. Thank you for finishing it off. It was highly enjoyable, and I really don’t think I did complete justice to it in my review. I know there’s no chance of a sequel to this… although I’d LOVE to see the Chlex relationship develop from an affair into a romantic, loving relationship. I can see it’s inevitable… especially since Lex in particular seems more than half in love with Chloe already… but I want to see him admit it, dammit! erm… preferably without making an ass of himself…? I know that’s not very likely, but perhaps he would have grown and matured enough to respond to emotional confusion better now…? LOL! I know, I know… seriously not very likely!

Thanks again for the posts, BlueSabby! We’re really going to miss you at the forum.

[Nox]

Thank you for finishing!

[hfce]

What a great and fascinating story. I loved it. Lex as Chloe was priceless!! :rofl:I will never get over that. The smut was amazing as usual. I am so sad you guys won't be writing for Chlex anymore. You are one of the few writers who ever got them. It makes me sad that neither of you will be writing for them ever again. :( But I understand all good things must come to an end. :blinkkiss

[Kit Merlot]

This was a fabulous ending to an awesome and inventive fic!

The Chlex smut was just excellent and I loved this moment when Lex was talking ro Pete:


“This ass,“ he pointed at Chloe’s rear, “is mine. You got that Ross?”

How much do I love a possessive Lex Luthor??!!:grin3:

I think it is also very telling that Gabe was the only one who figured out any of the switches because he actually pays attention--he noticed that his daughter was acting way too much like Lex and that Lana had Chloe's hand gestures. Good man!

Excellent work.

[emms14]

Woah, what a fantastic fic! I loved the strange idea behind this story and how all the characters had to learn to deal with each other. The way the chlex bodily reactions were handled was hysterical! I adored the epilogue and how Clark was utterly clueless the entire time. Great job, I was so glad to see that this story was finished. Too many great things end up in the Graveyard. :(

-emms14

[ryuuko]

Great story =)

[SouthernChlex]

Amazing Freaking Story. I loved every single line. It was hilarious, and that last part was totally hot! One of my favorites. Definitely.

[malugargula]

Great fic Thanks for finishing it

[Ami Rose]

lmao That was amazing and soooooo funny loved it

[jstarr713]

great fic. Very funny

[joywang]

hilarious

[HotCrossedBunny]

Great story, very funny and cute. Oops, Lex doesn't like the c word, does he? It was extremely masculine and caveman-ish. I wanted to hug all of the characters, even Lana.