Granted (R)

[scifichick774]

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Title: Granted
Author: scifichick774
Rating: R to be safe
Category: Humor/Romance
Spoilers: Everything through the spoilers for the third season is fair game.
Summary: An uncovered Kryptonian relic from the first visitor’s trip has the ability to grant five wishes. What happens when Clark and his friends make wishes without knowing the relic’s ability?
Archive: Want, take, have. Just ask first.
Feedback: I would love it.
Disclaimer: Sadly, none of the characters from Smallville belong to me. I’m just screwing around with their imaginary lives for fun, not profit.
Author’s Note: I know, I know, another new fic when my others haven’t been completed. Here’s the deal: my muse needs a total humor fix. No angst, no smut (well, that hasn’t been completely decided yet), just the funny. That said, I just finished Lucky Charm and am almost done with The Curse, so cut me a break, okay?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“You say you got the idea to dig here from a newspaper article?”

Lex gave a lopsided grin to the man who was looking at him in disbelief.

“I wouldn’t think a man in your profession would be so closed-minded, Dr. Najib.”

Najib waved his hand a little in front of him in protest.

“No, no. Just surprised,” he said. “Especially since the information has proved so valuable. When you started me working on the caves, I had hoped that we might run into a site that had more physical evidence than just drawings.”

“And here you are.”

“And here we are,” Najib agreed, his eyes scanning the sight in front of him. The small archaeology team he had brought with him digging through what people in Smallville had assumed was an old mining shaft, and uncovering pieces of technology that they had never encountered before. “I am curious - what was the article about?”

“I believe the name of the article was ‘Smallville’s Secret History’, or something along those lines,” Lex answered and then tipped his head to the side to smirk at Dr. Najib. “I’m sure Chloe will hunt you down soon enough to interview you about what you’re doing here. You can ask her more about it then.”

“You know the reporter? And here I thought you were a man who shied away from the press.”

“Not at all. I may dislike the paparazzi who insist on giving the media a bad name, but the press in general can be a valuable tool for getting things accomplished,” Lex replied cryptically.

“Ah. And…Chloe?”

“My association with Miss Sullivan is a personal one, not professional.”

“I see…wait. Sullivan? The woman who writes the column for The Daily Planet?”

Lex’s eyes narrowed a little. He thought he had rid his father of most of his allies, but Najib was asking a lot of questions, and seemed entirely too familiar with the Chloe’s previous column for someone who lived in a different state.

“She used to,” Lex answered carefully.

Najib nodded.

“My wife is originally from Metropolis and *insists* on having a subscription to The Daily Planet even though she doesn’t live in Kansas anymore. I enjoyed Miss Sullivan’s insight. Which paper did she transfer to?”

“Dr. Najib!”

Both Lex and Najib turned toward the grad student causing the interruption.

“Look at this!”

The woman, who Lex placed in her late forties and therefore probably there as a second career, practically glowed with excitement. She held out a medallion approximately the size of a mini-disc, silver in color with a large purple gem in the middle, and Kryptonian words surrounding it.

Najib lifted his glasses back up to his eyes and examined the relic.

“It has similar markings to the ones in the caves, but they are not the same. A neighboring tribe perhaps?”

“Perhaps,” Lex said thoughtfully. Najib was an intelligent man and for him to think that the kind of technology they were coming across was formed by ancient native Americans was more than a little difficult to believe, only adding credence to the theory that he might be on Lionel’s payroll. Lex reached his hand forward to take the object from Najib’s outstretched hand.

“It’s a shame that Dr. Walden passed away and his notes somehow got misplaced. He was the best in his field. It would have been most insightful to see what he had to say about it.”

“Well,” Lex said, holding the medallion out in front of him as he examined it closely, “I know someone who can take a look at it. As far as I know, he was the only one besides Dr. Walden who was able to make any gains in translation.”

“Really? Do you think I might be able to speak with him?”

“His schedule’s pretty tight,” Lex lied, figuring that Clark would probably excuse himself out of any potential meeting with Najib with the excuse that he had chores. “And he may not be able to translate it. Let me find out first.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Talon seemed surprisingly empty given that it was a Friday, but Lex figured that school had just been released less than an hour ago and most of the shop’s clientele were still involved in their various extra-curricular activities.

Besides, as usual, Clark was sitting at the counter talking to Lana, and he was the only person that Lex had come to see.

Sadly, Lana noticed Lex first.

“Hi Lex,” she chirped with a smile from behind the counter. “Your usual?”

‘No, I’d like something close to what I actually want this time,’ he thought. Pushing back the urge to actually use the line, he forced the tiniest of grins onto his lips. “Nothing, thanks. I’m just here to see Clark.”

Clark gave him a somewhat surprised look combined with a smile that looked like he had been smoking marijuana only moments before.

“What’s up?”

Lex smirked and removed the medallion from his inner jacket pocket, promptly extending his hand so Clark could take the relic from him.

Clark’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the Kryptonian artifact that he took from Lex.

“Where did you get this?”

“Chloe wrote an article last month on some strange legends that circulated around the area a couple hundred years ago. I thought a couple of them were worth exploring, so I hired an archaeology team and…voila.”

Clark almost broke the relic with his super strength when he heard that Chloe was the one behind Lex looking for articles from *his* heritage.

He had been afraid that she might retaliate against him in some way after the way she confronted him in Metropolis, but he had no idea she’d stoop so low as to make details known so sneakily, making Lex think that he had figured it out for himself.

‘I wish she would just stop having feelings for me,’ Clark thought.

“Can you read it?” Lex asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Clark’s ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look was quickly replaced by a stern look of false confusion.

“Why would I be able to read it?” he asked.

Lex shrugged.

“You were the only one to spend so much time in those caves besides Dr. Walden. I thought he may have mentioned something.”

Clark frowned and had barely shaken his head when he finally took a good look at the writing around the disc and not just at the large purple gem that lay in its center. It sort of looked Kryptonian, but it sort of didn’t too. He surmised that it was probably an older dialect from the first alien who visited the area, but he honestly couldn’t read it.

“Sorry.”

Lana felt a pang in her heart when she saw Clark looking at the medallion. Those caves had been so important to him, just another one of the many secrets he never shared with her, and to see Lex renewing his interest in it with a new discovery, made her feel left out.

“Can I see it?” she asked, holding out her hand expectantly and looking at him through hooded eyelashes.

Clark handed the artifact over to her without a second thought. After all, it was Lana. She wasn’t suspicious about his origins beyond possibly being a meteor freak, and even if was, then she wouldn’t know where to begin looking for answers.

Lana turned the trinket around in her hands, unsure of what to think of it.

‘I wish Clark would just finally open up to me and spill all his real feelings and secrets,’ she thought. Pausing for a second, she raised her eyes and handed it to Lex. “It looks expensive,” she commented.

Lex gave her a curt nod of his head and took the medallion.

“Given the carbon dating of the other things my team is found, I’d say that’s a good bet,” he replied, inwardly groaning at the way Lana had been eyeing the piece. ‘Why can’t I find one woman who isn’t interested in my money? Someone who’s beautiful and intelligent but doesn’t want to kill me? God. I wish I could just find her and fall madly in love with her forever.’

The bell above the Talon’s front door chimed and Chloe and Pete stumbled through in hysterical laughter.

“Hey! You guys are never going to believe what Mr. Johansson was doing,” Pete said while clutching his stomach, his laughter tapering off when he saw Lex.

Sensing yet another showdown between Pete and Lex, Chloe stepped in.

“What’s that?” she asked, motioning to the medallion in Lex’s grasp.

“I think it’s jewelry,” Lana answered. “*Expensive* jewelry.”

Chloe and Lex shared a look.

“My people found it in one of those old mining shafts just outside of town,” he said, handing the relic to her.

“Really?” she asked with sudden genuine interest. “I wrote an article ---”

“I know,” Lex cut in. “That’s what gave me the idea.”

“Then Chloe should get a share of the profits,” Lana said. “Like a finder’s fee. Though, I don’t know if you’d really want to sell it. I mean, shouldn’t it go to a museum or something?”

Chloe ignored Lana the best she could and kept looking down at the amulet. She knew she had seen similar markings somewhere…

“Isn’t this the same language that ---”

“Similar, but not the same,” Lex said. “Or at least Dr. Najib doesn’t think so.”

Chloe’s eyes widened.

“Dr. Najib,” she said in disbelief. “Dr. Thomas Najib? You got him to conduct the dig?”

“I didn’t know you followed archaeology, Miss Sullivan?”

Chloe nodded absently.

“I’ve always thought that kind of stuff was…boring,” Lana said. “I mean, digging around in the dirt for broken pieces of pottery?”

‘Ugh! Shut up! Just shut up!’ Chloe inwardly shouted. ‘I wish Lana would just lose her voice for an entire day…or week.’ An evil smirk slid across Chloe’s lips at the thought.

She started to hand the medallion back to Lex when Pete unexpectedly snatched it away from her.

“So, what’s it do?” he asked.

“It’s jewelry, Pete,” Lana giggled. “It doesn’t *do* anything.”

“Doesn’t look like jewelry,” he commented offhandedly.

“Sure it does,” Lana protested, coming around the counter to argue her point.

The bell above the front door chimed again and Pete watched as both Chloe and Lana silently appraised the good-looking jocks who walked in.

‘Man. I wish I was buff *and* tall so I could get some of that attention,’ he thought.

Nobody was paying attention when the purple gem seemed to light up for a second and then fade away just as quickly.

Lex cleared his throat and held out his hand for Pete to give him back the artifact, causing Pete to roll his eyes.

“*I’m* not the thief in the room, Luthor,” he said pointedly, handing the medallion to Lex.

“I didn’t say you were, Mr. Ross,” Lex replied smoothly and placed the relic back in his inner jacket pocket. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have some paperwork I need to get to.” He gave an upward nod of his head to Clark. “Clark.” And a regular nod to Chloe and Lana. “Ladies.”

Pete gave him a tight grin and watched him leave before pulling Clark to the side and speaking to him in a whispered voice.

“So, what did it say?”

Clark shook his head.

“I don’t know. It must have been from the first guy who landed here – different dialect or something.”

“You serious?”

Clark nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Damn. I hope it’s nothing bad.”

Clark chuckled and lightly slapped his hand on Pete’s back.

“How can it be bad, Pete? Lana’s right. It’s probably just a piece of jewelry.”





TBC…

[tigerbaby]

OMG, I love it!!!

I can just imagine the mayhem that is going to enuse :biggrin:

just wondering


“Hi Lex,” she chirped with a smile from behind the counter. “Your usual?”

‘No, I’d like something close to what I actually want this time,’ he thought

this seems to be something that is pretty prevalent in fanfic. How did it come about that Lana was a terrible waitress. She can't be that bad, if the Talon is still in business could she?

[staysixkid]

THIS is brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Your collection of fics, and your vast imagination and amazing creativity astounds me. I’ll always be welcoming of your new creations :)

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: Yay!!! sounds fantastic already, and I wonder when Lex's wish it going to come true!! I mean, that was his 'Wish' wasn't it?

[drina]

i can't wait to see how the wishes play out! :yay: :yay:

[hfce]

Originally posted by tigerbaby@Sep 18 2003, 12:38 AM
OMG, I love it!!!

I can just imagine the mayhem that is going to enuse :biggrin:

just wondering


“Hi Lex,” she chirped with a smile from behind the counter. “Your usual?”

‘No, I’d like something close to what I actually want this time,’ he thought

this seems to be something that is pretty prevalent in fanfic. How did it come about that Lana was a terrible waitress. She can't be that bad, if the Talon is still in business could she?
Aimee its because several episodes of seaon 1 she never got their orders right. Hence bad waitress and she still cant get it right in season 2.


Kris another classic . :clap:


Hope :chlexsign2:

[Tandy]

:blinkkiss: Oooh, cool fic! Be mad at you? Your fics always rock why would we be mad at you?! :wub:

Tandy

[shailafter]

hahaha be careful what you wish for! this fic is going to be hilarious.. can't wait for more!

[Calliope]

I love it! :biggrin: I can't wait for Chloe's wish to come true. :devil: A mute Lana. What a wonderful world.

[Béatrice]

Lana without voice!!! GREAT!

Ican't wait for the continuation. :tongue:

[ghostwriter]

I already reviewed on ff.net but i thought i would review here too. I recon this is going to be such a great story. and completely hilarious :biggrin:

[sabby]

*snickers* Oh I can't wait for an update! This is gonna be soo good. I know it, now go get to it, I want more


hugs,
Sabby

[beautiful N' Bruised]

Smooth, very smooth.

No Lana speech - I can tell this is gonna be a great fic already ;)

[Czech Angel]

Already know I'm going to love this fic. :biggrin: I mean, a Lana with no voice, who could ever not love that?! Well, maybe Clark, but he's an idiot.
Anywhoo, UPDATE!

[sara_noele]

Hey, Kris, if your muse needs a little humor I'm okay with that. Just update soon.

[Susan S]

This is great! I can't wait for the wishes to start coming true. Clark is sooo self-centered, automatically assuming that Chloe wrote the article because of him. I can't wait to see how he feels when his wish comes true and she doesn't put up with his crap anymore.

Susan S

[scifichick774]

Pete began to awake early the next morning to a draft of cool air hitting his shins and feet, causing him to curl himself into a fetal position to warm himself and his eyes to shoot open wide open when he realized that there was much more of himself to warm.

“What the ---?” he trailed off, not completing his sentence as he leapt from the bed and almost went tumbling to the floor as he was unused to the size of his new body frame.

In shock and half-wondering if he was still dreaming, he carefully stepped over to the mirror hanging on the inside of his door, only to find that his reflection cut off far before he did.

A t-shirt and pair of sweatpants that had fit him well, if not a little loose, the night before, now clung tightly to his body. His shirt looked like a child’s shirt on him and the elastic leg cuffs of his pants now rested a little below his knees, uncomfortably tight and threatening to cut off his circulation if he didn’t shed the garment quickly.

“Oh man,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand down his face, pausing at his eyes to make sure he really was awake. “Oh, man!” he exclaimed giddily, a large smile lighting up his face.

He heard his brother Mark groan out a couple of exhausted curses from his bed in the room they shared and he rushed over to shake him.

“Mark! Hey Mark! Wake up!”

The older boy pulled away a little, his cursing growing louder until he started to open his eyes because of Pete’s actions.

“Would you knock it off?! You’re gonna leave bruises or something, man,” Mark commented, his eyes growing comically large when he saw his brother looming over him. “Whoa! What the fuck?!” he yelled, scrambling out of his bed and backing away from Pete. “I don’t know who you are, but my mom’s a judge and you’ll never get away with ---”

Pete looked at Mark like he was crazy.

“How much did you have to drink last night?” Pete asked. Mark shook his head.

“Nothing – I swear – honest,” he rambled.

“Uh-huh,” Pete said, unconvinced. “And that’s why you don’t recognize me.”

“I don’t recognize you because I don’t know you, *freak*,” Mark retorted, immediately wincing after making the statement and offering Pete an apologetic look. “Hey, no offense. Don’t kill me or anything, okay?”

“Yeah, cuz mom wouldn’t flip out if I did that,” Pete said sarcastically.

Mark furrowed his brow. The voice seemed so familiar and his face, though it wasn’t round and covered with baby fat, almost looked like…

“Pete?” Mark asked in disbelief.

Pete smirked, folded his arms across his chest, and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“Growth spurt,” he said proudly. “Pretty cool, huh?”

Mark shook his head to clear the image, but Pete was still there.

“Yeah, really cool,” Mark replied in a snide tone after he got a better look at his brother. “All you need to do is paint yourself green and you could pass for the Incredible Hulk.”

Pete frowned as he glanced down at his ill-fitting clothing.

Not only had he grown over a foot in height, but his muscles that had only been toned when he went to bed the previous night were now threatening to rip through the material of his shirt and pants.

He sheepishly looked back up at his brother.

“Think I can weasel some money out of mom and dad for new clothes?” he asked.

Mark snorted.

“You wish,” he said, climbing back into his bed and snuggling under the covers so he could ignore his brother.

Pete’s pouting look turned into an expression of realization.

“Oh man,” he half-whispered to himself. He shook his head lightly and walked toward the phone. “I have to call Chloe.”

He heard his brother snicker from underneath the blankets.

“Unless you grew *everywhere*, then she’s not gonna care, dude.”

Pete narrowed his eyes scathingly at his brother’s remark, but then he couldn’t help his curiosity over what Mark had just brought up.

Glancing to make sure that Mark was completely covered by the sheets on his bed, Pete slowly pulled the elastic waistband of his sweatpants out, the corners of his lips curling upward into an ecstatic smile when he saw what lay beneath the fabric.

~*~*~*~

Chloe groaned and slapped her hand out from underneath the blankets of her bed to grab the ringing phone that dared to interrupt her sleep on a Saturday morning.

“Hello?” she answered tiredly.

“Chloe! Chloe!” Pete said in loud excitement, causing Chloe to hold the phone away from her ear.

“Pete,” she croaked out. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“I know,” he said. “But you’re never going to believe what’s happened!”

Chloe closed her eyes and let another displeasured groan slip by her lips.

“Unless you finally lost your virginity to Erica Miles, then there’s no valid excuse for calling me and waking me up at five o’clock on a Saturday morning,” she said.

Pete rolled his eyes.

“Chloe!” he said again in aggravation. “Just listen to me!”

“Fine, fine – I’m listening,” she said, opening her eyes to stare at the ceiling so she wouldn’t fall asleep while talking to him. “What is it?”

“You know that thing Lex had in the Talon the other day?”

“Ye-ah,” Chloe strung out as she started to sit up, her interest now officially piqued.

“I know what it does,” Pete said.

“What?! How?!” she practically yelled, flopping her feet onto the floor to walk over to her computer and turn it on.

“Well, without going into too many details ---”

“Pete,” she cut in, “I’m a reporter. I *live* for details.”

Pete chuckled.

“Okay, okay. So, when I was holding the --- did we ever decide what it was?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just get to the point. What does it do?”

“It grants wishes,” he said in a hushed voice, his eyes darting over to his brother and smiling when he heard the gentle snoring coming from underneath the covers.

Chloe grumbled something under her breath and then rolled her eyes.

“What have I told you about playing practical jokes on me, Pete?”

“No – Chlo, I’m totally serious.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I am,” he said. “When I was holding it, I wished that I could be buff *and* tall and ta-da! Here I am.”

“There you are,” Chloe agreed. “What have you been smoking delusionary boy?” Pete made a whining sound and Chloe chuckled. “Okay, so – what? You grew a couple of inches? They’re called growth spurts, Pete and they’re completely normal at our age.”

“Try thirteen inches,” he said.

“What?”

“*Thirteen inches*,” he repeated. “I’m taller than Clark.”

“You’re sure you haven’t been smoking something?”

“Chloe ---”

“Fine. Okay, that’s great,” Chloe said. “But why are you calling me about it? Why not call Clark, who’s probably already up for chores?”

“I need you to go clothes shopping with me,” Pete admitted in embarrassment.

Chloe’s eyebrows rose. Pete *wanted* to go shopping? It seemed completely unfathomable unless…

“You grew thirteen inches?!”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Pete said. “And the buff part of the wish worked too. Mark didn’t even recognize me at first.” A broad smile beamed across his lips. “The coach is totally gonna put me on the starting list when he sees me.”

“Wow. That’s really…wow,” Chloe said.

“So, don’t suppose you wished for world peace or anything like that, did you?”

Chloe tried to recall her thoughts from the previous day, but her mind was still foggy from just getting up.

“I don’t remember,” she admitted.

“That’s cool. It’s not like there’s any way we could have known. You know?”

“Yeah.”

“So, what time do you want to get together?” Pete asked.

Chloe glanced over at her digital alarm clock, frowning when she realized that she was never going to be able to get back to sleep now.

“The factory outlet mall outside of town doesn’t open until ten, so how about I pick you up around nine-thirty?”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

Chloe hung up her phone and clicked on the mouse to open the documents she had scanned regarding the old mine shafts. If what Pete said was true, then she might finally have proof that all the weird things that happened in Smallville weren’t just part of her overactive imagination.

~*~*~*~

Hours later, Chloe found herself in a surprisingly chipper mood. It was if her conversation with Pete had magically wiped away any negative feelings that had been haunting her for the last year.

Opening the front door to leave, she almost ran directly into Clark, who was standing there with his finger raised to ring the doorbell.

“Lana! Clark’s here!” she yelled back toward the staircase.

Clark looked stunned and even a little hurt.

“Chloe?” he asked suspiciously, wondering if she was just giving him the cold treatment again.

“Don’t suppose you could move to the side so I can get past you?” she asked, motioning with her hand for him to step aside to give her room.

Clark narrowed his eyes at her.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, I have plans,” she said slowly, talking to him like he was a child. “And you’re in the way, preventing me from getting to said plans.”

“No, I meant ---”

‘What the hell does Lana see in this guy?’ she wondered, something clicking in her mind right after she thought it. ‘Oh…my…God…I don’t like him anymore!’

It was a strange sensation, recognizing the young man she had a crush on for several years, but having no feelings for him one way or another – besides annoyance for him taking up most of the space in the doorway.

“You meant?” she asked, inserting an expectant tone into her voice.

Clark opened and closed his mouth a few times and Chloe rolled her eyes, thankful for the fact that Lana finally started coming down the stairs and Clark’s attention was temporarily drawn away from her.

Clark unwittingly stepped into the house and Chloe was able to move past him.

“Bye Lana,” she said, turning around to wave at her. “I’ll be back later.”

Lana looked confused, but she grinned and nodded, offering Chloe a small wave of her own.

Opening her mouth to say hi to Clark, Lana was horrified to find that she had no voice whatsoever, not even a whisper.

Clark frowned, too wrapped up in his thoughts about how Chloe had treated him so aloofly to notice that Lana hadn’t said anything.

“What was that about?” he asked. “I thought Chloe liked me. Why would she just tell you I was here and then leave without even seeming upset about it? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Lana’s brow crinkled. Clark was talking openly about Chloe? He never talked about his feelings about Chloe – especially not to her. If he was going to start spilling his feelings, Lana wanted it to be about her - about *them*, not about Chloe.

A shiver went through her body when she remembered holding the relic and wishing that Clark would start to spill all his feelings and secrets to her.

‘Oh, my God,’ she thought. ‘That couldn’t be it, could it?’

Lana pouted, hoping that she was wrong and that Clark was just in some kind of weird mood. He’d undoubtedly get the point and move onto a different subject.

But instead, Clark just frowned down at her.

“Why do you do that?” he asked. “Sometimes I feel like you’re *trying* to make me feel bad. I have feelings too, you know?”

Lana’s gut clenched.

Clark Kent finally telling her *all* of his feelings, whether they were about her or not, and all of his secrets, and she had no way of commenting or defending herself.

This was bad. This was very bad.




TBC...

[tigerbaby]

OMG, can I just say how much I loved this chapter?


“Oh man,” he half-whispered to himself. He shook his head lightly and walked toward the phone. “I have to call Chloe.”

He heard his brother snicker from underneath the blankets.

“Unless you grew *everywhere*, then she’s not gonna care, dude.”

Glancing to make sure that Mark was completely covered by the sheets on his bed, Pete slowly pulled the elastic waistband of his sweatpants out, the corners of his lips curling upward into an ecstatic smile when he saw what lay beneath the fabric.

I just absolutely loved this bit. And can I say THANK GOD Chloe can put Clark behind her now.

And as for Lana, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. Mwahahahaha.

:blush: Sorry, I'm just imagining all the things Clark could say to her and she can't defend herself. hee hee.

[beautiful N' Bruised]

No actually, this is good, very good, excellent even.

Hehe, *all* of Clark&#39;s feelings. Hope your not planning to torture us, Kris. <bg>

Loved the new Clark-less Chloe, goes to show just how much of a burden Clark is on her.

As to Pete, I have a feeling he shouldn&#39;t be so quick to be happy about his new found size, especially after the freak reaction he got from his brother.

[asharnanae]

:pclol: oh fabulous&#33;&#33; just fantasic&#33;&#33;&#33; I cant wait for the next installment&#33;

[Susan S]

That was hysterical&#33; I loved Pete&#39;s reaction to his growth spurt. Clark&#39;s reaction to Chloe ignoring him was priceless--let&#39;s hope that he remembers how being ignored or treated as an inconvenience feels. Speechless Lana is great.

Susan S

[hfce]

That wa amazing. :lol:



Hope

[sabby]

Oh I love it. I can just envision it in my brain, the pwetty pwincess crying because she has to hear the complete truth for once *rubs hands gleefully* yes, definitely a great story. Now go on, I wanna see that shopping trip of the new and improved Pete and Chloe *g*

hugs,
Sabby

[Tandy]

Really terrrefic chapter&#33; Love that Lana can&#39;t talk and it&#39;s hilarious how Clark is finally saying what he think&#33; MOre soon please


Tandy

[ghostwriter]

:yay3: this is such a good chapter. Lana is finally going to have to realise that not everything is about her :biggrin: and Pete is finally going to get some attention rather than being the token black guy. Why can&#39;t it be like this in the show?&#33;?&#33; WHY :tease:

[vardaquareien]

Originally posted by scifichick774+Sep 21 2003, 05:10 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (scifichick774 &#064; Sep 21 2003, 05:10 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Clark Kent finally telling her *all* of his feelings, whether they were about her or not, and all of his secrets, and she had no way of commenting or defending herself.

This was bad. This was very bad. [/b]
As usual blana&#39;s got it wrong...this is good. This is VERY GOOD&#33;&#33;&#33; What an absolutely perfect situation&#33;&#33;&#33;

I think everyone in my house thinks I&#39;ve gone insane due to the extremely loud, extremely evil laugh I gave when Lana couldn&#39;t talk&#33; :hehe:

Absolutely loved Pete&#39;s growth spurt&#33;

<!--QuoteBegin-beautiful N&#39; Bruised@Sep 21 2003, 05:24 AM
Loved the new Clark-less Chloe, goes to show just how much of a burden Clark is on her.[/quote] I totally agree with B&B here&#33; He has always been a major burden on her and I love you for getting rid of it&#33;

I can&#39;t wait to see how Lex gets his wish&#33;

[sara_noele]

Clark telling all his feeelings? Oh god, I would run away as fast as I could.

Waiting for next chapter and Lex&#39;s wish. :biggrin:

[lunaluthor]

more more more more :yay: :yay: :yay:

[drina]

Glancing to make sure that Mark was completely covered by the sheets on his bed, Pete slowly pulled the elastic waistband of his sweatpants out, the corners of his lips curling upward into an ecstatic smile when he saw what lay beneath the fabric.


:pclol:

this just may the funniest scene ever&#33; i love it&#33;

[Val]

This fic is great&#33; And Clark-less Chloe, GO HER&#33; :yay:
I cant wait to read more.

[Robyn]

OMG I love this fic&#33; Wow. I can&#39;t wait for the next part&#33; This is absolutely hilarious. Oh man... can&#39;t wait til Lex&#39;s wish comes true. :eyebrows:

[Brittany]

:biggrin: That&#39;s so cool, where can I get one of those relics&#33; I loved that chapter it was great and I&#39;m in agreement with everybody. I can&#39;t wait to see what Lex wished for, so hurry up, I need an update&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; :worship2: :worship2:

[happy bunny]

Great job, Kris&#33; Mad at you for starting another fic? Are you insane?

Love the whole premise of this story. The scene where Pete checked himself out when he knew his brother wasn&#39;t looking was hilarious&#33; :biggrin: Love that Lana can&#39;t talk. Maybe now she&#39;ll be standable..

Can&#39;t wait to see what happens next. Hope you update soon.

[ColumbiaBlue]

This story is already fan-freaking-tastic&#33; You come up w/ the best stuff&#33; I know you&#39;re busy w/ other fics but update soon&#33; Please?&#33; :worship2: :worship2: :worship2: :worship2: :worship2:

[Lel]

Please update soon....
This is fab.

Lel

[Cheryl]

OMFG&#33; How the hell did you do it?? You took everything I wished for to happen in the Smallville Universe and put it in the most amazing fic ever&#33;&#33;

a) Chloe getting over Alien-boy
b) Lana Lang finally shutting up (too bad not forever)
c) Clark finally opening his mouth instead of just frowning stupidly (bloody idiot)
d) Lex beginning to realize that all he needs is a certain blonde reporter
e) Pete getting more attention and expanding his horizon (he&#39;s bigger now, so he sees more)

Already, I&#39;m in love with this fic. :love: And I could seriously use an update overe here. Hello? Kris? Update? Please? Pretty please? Beautiful please?


Cheryl :chlexsign3:

[scifichick774]

No sooner did Chloe pull up in the Ross’s driveway than Pete came running out to greet her. Chloe’s eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open in shock, gaping like a fish as she struggled for any part of her extensive vocabulary to make itself known.

A young man who looked like an older, taller, more muscled version of her friend was standing beside her car wearing a well-fitting t-shirt and a pair of khaki golfing shorts that she recognized as belonging to his dad.

“P-Pete?”

Pete chuckled and opened the passenger’s side door.

“You didn’t believe me, did you?” he asked. Chloe absently shook her head and Pete grimaced as he tried to squeeze into the tiny car. “Damn, girl&#33; You’re gonna have to get a new car if you’re gonna keep giving me rides.”

Suddenly snapping back to reality, Chloe raised an eyebrow at him.

“Or you could just stop mooching rides off me,” she countered with a wry grin, turning her head to look where she was going as she backed out of the driveway.

Pete found the lever to push the seat back and let out a pleasured, “Ahh,” as he was able to stretch his legs out. “Well, I think we both know *that’s* not gonna happen,” he said, shooting her a teasing smile.

“As I recall, your parents *were* letting you use their truck for a while…well, before the accident.”

“And therein lies the reason I no longer have a vehicle at my disposal,” Pete said.

“Except for mine,” Chloe grumbled good-naturedly and Pete smiled broadly.

“Glad you see it my way.”

“Conceding the fact that you’re only using me for my car is hardly seeing it your way, Pete.”

“Come on, Chlo. What else were you gonna do today?”

“I don’t know – *sleep*?”

“Sleep is overrated. Besides, you can’t tell me *this*,” he started, motioning down at his body, “wasn’t totally worth it.”

Chloe laughed, reveling in the feeling of her short wisps of hair blowing backward in the wind, completely oblivious to the fact that she and Pete were now being followed.

~*~*~*~

The morning had been filled with meetings, drawn out discussions with the archaeology team and the laboratory scientists who were working with their discoveries.

Despite the interesting subject matter, Lex found himself unable to concentrate and itching to get out of there as soon as possible. He had no plausible explanation for his current state of mind, but he knew he needed…something.

He just didn’t know what it was.

Gunning his car as the loud music pumped through his speakers, he felt none of the usual adrenaline that pumped through his veins as a result of the action. It was disheartening as the empty feeling that had started nagging at him while he slept last night only seemed to be growing with each minute that passed.

Slowing down for a stop sign, Lex caught a glimpse of Chloe’s red Volkswagen convertible in the almost otherwise empty parking lot of the factory outlet mall just outside of town.

He had wanted to ask her questions about her sources for the article she had written since he saw her the other day, but the opportunity to hadn’t presented itself as she had simply gotten her coffee in a to-go cup and left the Talon with Pete after taking a quick look at the relic he had brought in.

Though, he certainly couldn’t blame her. Even a stranger could see the hostile vibes bouncing back and forth between her and Clark and the likelihood was that the young man would be staying in the establishment until it was time for him to go home and finish up his chores.

Now, though…

She was just shopping. A simple run-in wouldn’t look too conspicuous and he could set up a time to talk to her at length later.

Smirking to himself, Lex turned into the parking lot and pulled his car alongside Chloe’s. He stepped out of the car and frowned when he finally took notice of the store that she had parked closest to.

To his knowledge, Chloe had no viable reason for shopping in Barkley’s – a clothing retailer who specialized in large and tall men’s apparel – so, thinking logically, he figured that she must have wanted some exercise and started walking toward one of the other stores.

~*~*~*~

Clark shook his head despairingly. He and Lana had moved to the living room to sit down, but unfortunately, there was little that could be done short of shoving Clark out the front door to ease Lana’s discomfort.

“I just can’t believe her&#33;” he said for what seemed like the zillionth time. “She does all this research for *Lex’s dad* and finds out I’m an alien, but says she was only trying to protect me and that she won’t tell anybody. Then, a couple months after he dies ---” Clark paused and snapped his fingers, “--- she writes an article on the caves. Probably *knowing* that Lex would figure it out. And then she has the nerve to act like she doesn’t even care&#33;”

Clark was so wrapped up in his rant that he didn’t notice Lana’s eyes grow frighteningly large or her mouth drop open as she listened to the words spew out of his mouth.

A very large part of her wanted to find a piece of poster board, left over from her days as cheerleader or when they were advertising various events at the Talon, and call him on the fact that he was an alien and to stay the hell away from her.

But, as it was, she would need to excuse herself from the room to be able to do that, and she had no way of doing so without it looking like she was simply walking out on him.

And, with the mood he was already in, who knew what he was capable of if she did that?

~*~*~*~

“Ooh, nice,” Pete said as he admired his reflection in the mirror.

Chloe looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“You don’t need another flannel shirt, Pete.”

“Yes I do,” he argued. “My other ones don’t fit me anymore.”

“O-kay,” she strung out. “Let me rephrase. *Nobody* in this town needs another flannel shirt.”

“Chlo-e,” Pete whined. “I wanna look good. That’s why I brought you with me.”

“Technically, I brought you with me since *I* drove,” she pointed out. “And trust me, flannel doesn’t work for you. It makes you look like a black lumberjack.”

“So?”

“A *gay* black lumberjack.”

Pete pouted, but started to remove the shirt.

“Fine.”

Chloe folded her arms across her chest and shook her head lightly as Pete stepped back into the dressing room and closed the door.

“Miss Sullivan?” Lex asked, feigning surprise, which turned out not to be too difficult to do considering he had already checked four other stores before finally coming into Barkley’s.

Chloe turned and raised her eyebrows at Lex, first in surprise and then in amusement.

“Mr. Luthor,” she replied.

“Lex,” he corrected as he made his way over to her. “So, what brings you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing seeing as how you’re neither big nor…okay, you’re sort of tall,” she said. “But you don’t generally do your shopping in the Smallville factory outlet mall.”

“You don’t know that.”

Chloe glared at him and he gave her an amused smile.

“Actually, I saw your car in the parking lot.”

Chloe furrowed her brow in confusion.

“You risked having the salesman wet himself at the very sight of your pocketbook just to talk to me? I’d be flattered if I weren’t so suspicious. What’s going on?”

“The article you wrote…”

“Which one?”

“The one about the caves.”

“Okay. What about it?”

“You mentioned something about the information coming from some old journals?”

Chloe nodded.

“Found a bunch of them at the Smallville Historical Preservation Society,” she said. “Really interesting reading if you skip over all the crop data and weather stuff.”

Lex blinked.

“Smallville has a historical preservation society?” he half-joked.

Chloe laughed and her bright smile seemed to mesmerize him for a second.

“You’d be surprised how anal farmers’ wives can be,” she answered. “So, what did you want to know about them?”

“The farmers’ wives?” Lex asked; still slightly transfixed by the way her face lit up when she smiled.

“The journals.”

“Oh,” Lex said, only partially snapping out of whatever trance-like state he was in. “I was wondering if you had copies. There might be something in them that could help my archaeology team decipher some of the writings.”

Chloe snickered.

“I really doubt it,” she said. “But yeah, I scanned them into my computer. I can send copies to work with my dad on Monday if you want.”

“Monday,” Lex said thoughtfully. “I don’t suppose I could get them sooner than that?” he asked, leaning a little closer to her. “Perhaps we could ---”

Pete cleared his throat and glared menacingly at Lex.

“I *know* you weren’t just trying to ask out my girl, Luthor,” he said.

Lex pulled back a little and eyed Pete warily. Something about the tall, burly man seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place him. Still, the inability to remember the man’s identity wasn’t the thing ringing in between Lex’s ears.

He said ‘my girl’, implying that Chloe was taken. Lex didn’t know why the thought of that suddenly bothered him so much, but it did.

“I’m sorry,” Lex said. “Have we met?”

Pete’s eyebrows rose, but then he remembered that his own brother had trouble recognizing him earlier that morning.

“Unfortunately,” he mumbled.

Chloe rolled her eyes at Pete.

“Would you stop it?” she said, the words coming out more as a demand than a request. “He wasn’t asking me out. He just wants copies of those old journals I told you about a couple of months ago.”

“But he ---”

“Do I look like one of the brunette floozies who *usually* date him?” she asked indignantly, hands on her hips as she glared at Pete. “No.”

Pete frowned apologetically.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry.”

Chloe relaxed and she let a lazy grin settle on her lips.

“I like that combination,” she said, looking over the clothing he now wore on his body. Pete smirked, not only at Chloe, but also at Lex. “Now go try on some more. You can’t just wear one outfit all the time.”

Pete went back into the dressing room and Chloe turned to face Lex.

“Sorry about that. So, I guess I might be able to make you copies later today, but I don’t know when I could get them to you.”

Lex frowned at the closed dressing room door.

“I suppose you’re busy tonight,” he said.

“Well…no,” Chloe admitted a little begrudgingly. “But ---”

“Your boyfriend’s not taking you out?”

‘Boyfriend?’ Chloe thought, her mind taking a second to process what Lex meant and her eyes widening with the realization. She let out a slightly unnerved chuckle. “No. Pete’s not taking me out tonight.”

Lex opened his mouth to speak, but closed it before any words came out. He looked back at the dressing room in disbelief.

“Pete?”

Chloe smiled.

“Growth spurt,” she offered.

“But --- that’s not possible,” he said. “Even if he did gain a foot in height ---”

“Thirteen inches,” Chloe corrected, causing Lex to shake his head and frown.

“It’s not possible. You don’t gain muscles like that because of a growth spurt.”

“Well, *I* don’t,” Chloe joked. Not getting her reference to the fact that he had been speaking in second person, Chloe gave him a sympathetic smile. “He thinks it has something to do with that amulet thing of yours. He made some sort of a wish when he was holding it yesterday and ---”

Lex tuned out the rest of what Chloe was saying. If the medallion truly did have the power to grant wishes, then he had come across the find of the century.




TBC...

[tigerbaby]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Sep 29 2003, 08:59 PM
“A *gay* black lumberjack.”



This chapter was just too funny. This line and this:


“You risked having the salesman wet himself at the very sight of your pocketbook just to talk to me? "

had me cracking up.

And the scene between Clark and Lana? Loved it. I can just see her reacting that way, especially since they had her admitting on the show that she&#39;d be freaked. There&#39;s no way that she can then turnaround and say &#39;cool&#39;.

[hfce]

Oh my God that was fantastic. :lol: I loved it. More please... :biggrin:


Hope ;)

[Val]

That was great&#33; :biggrin:
More soon, please? :blinkkiss:

[Brittany]

:biggrin: That was so cute, but I still don&#39;t know what Lex wished for. I liked when Chloe asked Pete if she looked like one of the brunette floozies Lex usually went out with, it was cute. Anyway please update soon&#33;&#33;&#33;

[Tandy]

:biggrin: That was so good&#33; Does Lex even remember what he wished for? Chloe is the woman for him&#33; :yay:


Tandy

[vardaquareien]

:pclol: I lurved Pete getting all jealous of Lex - what a classic&#33; Can&#39;t wait for more of this&#33;&#33;&#33;

[crazygirl]

Well, Lex wanted to finally get what he actually wanted. But does he even *know* what it is? Please update soon&#33;

[Cheryl]

“I *know* you weren’t just trying to ask out my girl, Luthor,” he said.

This line had me giggling, and for those who don&#39;t know already, I don&#39;t giggle. I never giggle. I am the anti-giggle&#33; :ohmy:

And yet.. I giggled. I was so surprised with myself, my hand flew to my mouth, but hit my nose instead. <touches nose carefully and winches> Ouch.

Anyways, enough about my stupidity, this fic is fantastic&#33;&#33; And amazingly enough, it just keeps getting better and better. Again, I am forced to beg you for another chapter, if only for my sanity&#39;s sake.

Now, off to look for some ice for my nose.... :unsure:

[sara_noele]

:lol: More, more... now&#33;&#33;&#33; :lol:

Pete being jealous because of Lex, this is so good&#33;&#33;

[happy bunny]

:hehe: This story is just too funny&#33; Loved it soo much. You&#39;re adding more soon, right?

[scifichick774]

Chloe rolled her eyes when she realized that Lex wasn’t listening to her, but had drifted off into his own thoughts with a glazed expression on his face. If Pete took as long admiring himself in the dressing room mirror as he had while trying on the other outfits, then she could have fun with Lex’s sudden inattention.

Reminding herself that Lex wasn’t Clark and hadn’t made a habit out of mentally trailing off while she was talking; she decided to cut him a small amount of slack.

She cleared her throat and let a bemused half-grin lift up one corner of her mouth.

“You know, it’s considered polite to *listen* to a person until they’re done answering your question. Or at least make up some lame excuse to cut them off.”

Her words cutting through the thoughts running rampant in his mind, he blinked and then inwardly cringed at what he had done.

It wasn’t as if zoning people out was new to him, but he was usually much better at hiding it – and to have Chloe catch him doing it to her was nothing short of mortifying, though he couldn’t explain why.

If it had been Clark then he would have pretended that it didn’t happen or said he had lots of things on his mind. But then, Clark had never been observant enough to actually catch him filtering out his endless prattle about his ongoing saga with Lana.

Instead of the pointed glare he was expecting to receive, Chloe merely shook her head a little and pretended that it didn’t really bother her.

“If Clark’s still at my house when I get back, then I’ll have him run the copies over to you,” she said, turning to ignore him as she walked over to the dressing room and knocked on the door. “Come on, Pete. Stop hogging the view of the new bod,” she said jokingly.

Lex’s face contorted in discontent. Sure, it had been rude of him to start thinking of the relic and the things that could happen if Pete’s theory was true - and God knew it certainly could be with all the strange things that went on in that town - but he hadn’t expected her to simply slough him off and head over to what would likely be Pete’s waiting arms.

What was worse is that he didn’t know why the action bothered him so much, because it wasn’t as if he was harboring secret feelings for her or anything.

His mind flit back to how she looked when she smiled earlier, how he didn’t seem to be able to avert his gaze from her face and his body’s almost inappropriate reaction to the banter that happened afterward.

Then he remembered the little he had heard Chloe say about Pete’s theory. Pete had made a wish while he was holding the medallion --- so had he.

And, unlike Chloe, he not only remembered his wish, but also the specific wording his thoughts had used.

‘Why can’t I find one woman who isn’t interested in my money? Someone who’s beautiful and intelligent but doesn’t want to kill me? God. I wish I could just find her and fall madly in love with her forever.’

Glancing over and feeling the distinctive pang of jealousy when he saw Chloe engaging in nothing more than strictly ‘friends-only’ based flirtation with Pete, he realized that his wish had come true as well – or at least was on the way to getting there as true love wasn’t something that happened overnight.

Unfortunately, he also realized that the wording of his wish had only been specific enough to make him fall in love with her and not necessarily have her return the emotion.

Either he needed to find a way to counteract his wish or he needed to do his best to woo Chloe and make her fall in love with him, not an easy feat when he considered that he was no longer necessarily in her good graces – if he ever had been to begin with.

Then there was the issue that he highly doubted that she would be impressed or won over by gifts of adoration. After all, he wished for someone who wasn’t interested in his money and he could only reason that it extended to the things he could buy with it as well.

When given a few more seconds of thought, he inwardly cursed himself for phrasing the wish he had as he had basically just condemned himself to falling madly in love with a woman who didn’t care about him one way or another and probably never would.

‘Shit.’

The only remedy he could think of was to go home and wish again, this time that his previous wish would be undone.

Chloe looked back to see that Lex was still standing there, seemingly lost in thought again. She didn’t know why, but it worried her.

If it had been as simple as him not wanting to hear her spout Pete’s ridiculous medallion theory, then she almost understood why he had started to ignore her, but clearly there was something weighing heavily on the young billionaire’s mind – and given her curious nature, she wanted to know what it was.

She motioned for Pete to try on the new garments that the surprisingly inattentive, bored-looking salesman brought over and then she made her way back over to Lex and tilted her head to the side, not wanting to break through his personal bubble by placing her hand on his arm as she would have normally done with anyone else.

“Are you okay?”

Her words lilted into his ears and Lex found giving her a blank stare as the sound of her voice triggered some long forgotten memory of his mother and the feeling that came with knowing that she loved him regardless of how poorly his father treated him or what else was going on.

His heart started pounding in his chest and his palms suddenly started to sweat. If the mere sound of Chloe’s voice could make him feel like that, could make him feel anything more than the compulsory attraction he felt toward most women for so long, then he found himself reluctant to give it up.

Even if he was never able to convince her to love him, just being around her might be enough.

“Lex?” she asked, putting aside the fact that she didn’t know him too well to reach out her hand and rest it on his arm when he didn’t answer the first question she asked. She frowned. “You don’t look so good. Maybe you should see a doctor.”

Lex managed a hint of a smile at her concern.

“I’ll be fine. I think the lack of sleep I’ve been getting is finally catching up to me though,” he lied.

“Okay,” Chloe said, giving him a smile even though she wasn’t entirely sure she believed him.

She turned around at the sound of the dressing room door opening to see Pete back in the tight t-shirt, khaki shorts combo that he had been wearing when she picked him up that morning, his arms full of the outfits that Chloe had deemed acceptable for him to wear.

She smirked when she saw that there wasn’t one flannel shirt among the garments and half wondered if the same comment she made to Pete would work on Clark. Somehow she doubted it, though she gave herself credit for not even picturing the rejection in her head this time.

‘God, I can’t believe I wasted so much time on him,’ she thought. She flashed a bright smile at Pete. “You didn’t even try to sneak a flannel shirt in there. I’m so proud of you,” she said teasingly.

“And have you make gay lumberjack jokes about me every time I wore it? No way,” Pete replied.

Lex’s eyes darted back and forth between the two as he looked for a possible explanation, but when neither of them paid him any mind, he let it slide and figured that it must be an inside joke.

“You going to check out?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah. And then I thought we could go look for shoes,” Pete said.

Chloe snickered.

“Your dad’s oversized gardening slippers aren’t doing it for you, huh?”

“Hey&#33;” Pete objected and then stuck one of his feet in the air to wiggle it. “I can make anything work.”

Chloe laughed and Pete smiled at her before turning and heading up to the counter with the new clothes.

Lex arched an eyebrow.

“Did the Ross family come into an inheritance I don’t know about?” he asked quietly, looking at Chloe with questioning expectance when she let out a small gurgle of laughter.

She leaned toward him to speak in a hushed tone.

“Well, besides the fact that your outfit cost more than all the clothes he picked out combined,” she said somewhat snidely, “Pete’s dad took one look at him this morning and freaked out. Basically gave him a big wad of cash and justified it by saying he’ll get it back when Pete joins the NFL.”

“Well, if that doesn’t work out, I could always get him a position with the Metropolis Sharks.”

Chloe snorted in amusement.

“Pete would *love* that,” she said, heavy sarcasm lining every note of her voice.

“What? It could be a small piece of retribution for my father destroying their creamed corn factory.”

Chloe smiled at him condescendingly and was about to make another snide remark when Pete came strolling over to them carrying three large bags in his hands. He gave Lex a mildly disguised look of repulsion.

“You’re still here?” he asked dryly and then looked at Chloe. “You’re *sure* he wasn’t asking you out?”

Lex couldn’t help but smirk over Pete’s jealousy. Despite the sudden increase in his physical attractiveness to women, the young man had apparently not gotten over the insecurities he carried from being a shorter male specimen for so long.

He was just about to make a comment about it, but Chloe beat him to it.

“Geez, Pete. Insecurity complex much?” she said teasingly. “Like I said before, he just wants copies of the journals.”

Lex mentally noted that it was better that Chloe spoke first. After all, he didn’t need to give Pete another reason for trying to keep him away from her. But, at the same time, his heart constricted with the knowledge that she really didn’t see him as anything more than a friendly acquaintance.

Pete rolled his eyes.

“So, what? Are you just gonna hang around us all day until she can make you copies?” Pete irritably asked Lex.

Lex smirked and Pete let a pout pass over his lips.

“Great,” Pete said sarcastically, shooting a pleading look at Chloe as if she could convince the man next to them otherwise, but she simply shrugged to indicate that she didn’t know why Lex was acting the way he was.

She turned her head to Lex and looked at him quizzically.

“Are those papers really that important to you?”

“I know it sounds a bit…out there, but they could prove invaluable,” Lex said, his mind more on the relic than on a bunch of old journals.

Remembering that he had left it at the lab for them to study, he resolved to get back over there as soon as possible. Odds were that the scientists wouldn’t translate the writing in time to know what it did either and if there was any sort of limit on the number of wishes it granted, then he wanted the remaining wishes to be his.

A lazy grin slipped across his mouth. Instead of undoing the wish he made the previous day, he could wish for Chloe to fall in love with him too.

“Well, we only have the shoe store left,” Chloe told Pete consolingly.

“Yeah, but ---”

“I’ll pay,” Lex offered, earning a shocked, yet wary look off of Pete’s face. Lex smirked a little at him. “That would free up a considerable amount of the money your father gave you – so you could use it on…taking out your new female admirers, perhaps?”

A tiny smile twitched at the corners of Pete’s mouth.

“Cool.”

Chloe’s eyebrows rose in disbelief and Lex grinned at her.

“Never thought you’d see the day?” he asked.

She absently shook her head and Pete rolled his eyes.

“Hey, I’m just taking your money. It’s not like we’re friends or something,” he said.

“Of course not,” Lex agreed.

Transferring all the bags over to one hand, Pete slung his other arm around Chloe’s shoulders.

“So, what d’ya say for tonight? Movie, pizza?”

Chloe laughed as they started to walk out of the store, not noticing that Lex was following them, clenching his jaw jealously, and already thinking of the many wishes he could make so Pete would pay for touching the woman he was rapidly falling madly in love with.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“I’m back,” Chloe called out as she opened the front door to her house.

It was later than she expected, but because of Lex’s suspicious generosity, Pete had spent a small fortune on shoes while they were shopping.

“Sorry I’m a little late,” she said to no one in particular when she didn’t hear Lana’s voice chime through the house at her.

“Is anyone here?” Lex asked, peeking his head around the corner from the foyer to see if Lana and Clark were engaged in some physical activity that Chloe probably shouldn’t witness given her crush on the boy. He let out a breath of relief when he saw that the house seemed to be empty.

Chloe shrugged it off.

“Lana must have gone into work,” she said.

A slightly pleased, but apprehensive smile raised the corners of his lips.

“What about your dad?” he asked smoothly. It wouldn’t do to try and convince her to reciprocate his feelings if Gabe was at home to play defense.

“Metropolis,” Chloe answered nonchalantly. “If you want to watch TV or something while I print out the papers, then it’s in there,” she said, motioning with her head toward the living room.

“Actually,” he started, stepping toward her as she started to walk up the stairs. “I’ll just follow you - if you don’t mind?”

Chloe turned her head to look at him, giving him a bemused smile.

“I don’t mind – but don’t tell Pete. He’d kill you,” she said, only half-joking.

Lex nodded.

“He likes you.”

Chloe shot him a wry look as she came to the top of the stairs.

“It’s not like that,” she protested.

“Even with his new…physique?” Lex asked.

Chloe shook her head.

“I love him, but he’s like my brother. It doesn’t matter how good he looks now,” she said.

Lex grinned at her as she opened the door to her room. So, Pete wouldn’t be an issue after all – at least not coming from Chloe’s side – but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have to make use of the wish to hurt the boy for touching her earlier.






TBC…

[tigerbaby]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Oct 2 2003, 11:35 PM

‘Why can’t I find one woman who isn’t interested in my money? Someone who’s beautiful and intelligent but doesn’t want to kill me? God. I wish I could just find her and fall madly in love with her forever.’


Kris, I don&#39;t think I&#39;ve ever laughed so hard. I love how he realized that he&#39;s screwed and that he&#39;s got to work double time to make her notice him as more than just the bald guy with all the money.

This is just too good.

[drina]

Pete likes Chloe....really? Okay...getting the creeps here, like chloe. u know, i really can&#39;t see pete as being a hunk, coz he got such a baby face, but that&#39;s just me ;)

[vardaquareien]

*gives Lex a noogie* He&#39;s so adorable&#33;&#33;&#33; All jealous and possessive&#33; I love it&#33;&#33;&#33; Should be interesting to see whether the medallion will grant any more wishes or not&#33;

[Sunny]

It&#39;s a sweet story... not my favorite, but I like it... :chlexsign4:

[hfce]

Oh that was great :lol: more please....


Hope :chlexsign2:

[Val]

Lex is so cute&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;
That was great&#33; :biggrin:

[buffiy18]

I hate when Lex gets all stupid and possessive/jealous for nothing :tease: I hope he doesn&#39;t screw things up... I don&#39;t think Chloe would be to happy to find out Lex used a wish to make her fall for him... but then again this is a funny story, so the repercussions may be quite funny. Looking forward to seeing what happends next. :chlexsign3:

[scifichick774]

Originally posted by buffiy18@Oct 3 2003, 06:01 PM
I don&#39;t think Chloe would be to happy to find out Lex used a wish to make her fall for him...
Heh. Well, he can make all the wishes he wants, but they won&#39;t come true. The medallion only grants five wishes and they&#39;ve all been taken. :biggrin:

[happy bunny]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Oct 3 2003, 08:19 PM
Heh. Well, he can make all the wishes he wants, but they won&#39;t come true. The medallion only grants five wishes and they&#39;ve all been taken. :biggrin:
Niiiice So evil, I love it.

Poor little bugger, I hope he doesn&#39;t have to suffer too long.

Great job, Kris, can&#39;t wait for more&#33;

[deessedelune]

Wow. Great chapter. :worship2: :worship2:

Poor Lex; he&#39;ll have to work hard for this one. But hopefully it&#39;ll be all worth it in the end. :biggrin:

Can&#39;t wait for more&#33;

[Brittany]

:biggrin: That was such a cute chapter&#33; I&#39;m still shocked Pete let Lex buy him shoes. I wonder what Lex will do when he gets in Chloe&#39;s room ;) &#33;

[sara_noele]

Now, what is Lex going to do in her room? :biggrin:

[Sab_Luthor]

i adore this fic
and i&#39;am very impatient to see what&#39;s going to happen next
so come back the sooner with an update of course

[Tandy]

Oooh&#33; Lex is getting freaky&#33; Loving this fic&#33; Awesome job and can&#39;t wait for more.&#33;


Tandy

[Robyn]

oOOoOO I love it I love it I love it&#33;&#33;&#33; Great job. :D

Robyn :chlexsign3:

[lunaluthor]

two words

more soon

[buffiy18]

Heh. Well, he can make all the wishes he wants, but they won&#39;t come true. The medallion only grants five wishes and they&#39;ve all been taken.


Sorry, I thought only 4 wishes had been made, but after re-reading it I found the first wish by Clark... I guess I didn&#39;t pay attention. :goof:

[Blaire023]

*cuddles up next to Sab and smiles at kris*

Well look at this. I&#39;m hospitalized for like 3 days and you went all buck wild with the story.

Is he gonna put moves on her when he gets her in her bedroom? I could totally see Chloe&#39;s knee meeting his groin as his mouth covers hers and he lowers her onto the bed.

Lovin it, babe.

~B

[Sab_Luthor]

i hope that you&#39;ll recover quickly
and you come back to us in good health

oh yes i can&#39;t wait to see what will happen next

[jaded-swan]

Love it&#33; I love the fact that Lex feels helpless and realises that he&#39;s falling for Chloe while she isn&#39;t... feel a little angsy coming along... ;)

[Sab_Luthor]

he hello buddy
where are you
where is my update
give me a sequel please

[scifichick774]

Chloe grumbled under her breath, tapping her fingers against the desktop while she waited for the papers to print out.

“Is something wrong?” Lex asked, hypersensitive to the fact that Chloe no longer seemed to be in good spirits.

She rolled her eyes at him and then gave him a meager smile.

“Just…slow,” she answered, motioning to the printer with her head.

“Eager to be rid of me?” Lex asked teasingly.

“Well, obviously,” she jibed back with a bigger smile than the one she had given him before, but quickly turning her attention toward the computer once again.

“I could get you a new one.”

Chloe creased her brow and glanced at him through the corner of her eye as he came to stand next to her.

“What?”

“The printer,” he clarified. “I could get you a new one.”

“Wow. You’re feeling all kinds of generous today, aren’t you?” Chloe quipped wryly. “First you buy Pete new shoes – which I still can’t believe he actually let you do – and then you offer to buy me a new printer. Should I be worried that you’re under the spell of yet another meteor freak who wants to kill you for your money?”

Lex gave her a lopsided grin.

“Is that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?” he asked, skillfully evading her question.

“A ‘no’,” she replied. “My dad already promised to get me one for my birthday, but thanks anyway.”

Lex frowned. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Even if she didn’t want him for his money, that didn’t mean that she had to turn down the gifts he offered her.

“But if I get it for you now, then he can get you something you really want instead of just something that you need,” he finally said.

Chloe looked at him in bemusement, but ended up shaking her head and glancing at the printer with irritation.

“Come on already,” she grumbled.

Lex’s posture stiffened at Chloe’s impatient utterance. Either she hadn’t been joking as much as he thought she was when she told him that she wanted to get rid of him, he had overstepped his bounds by offering to buy her a new printer, or she was in a hurry to get somewhere else.

“I’m sorry. I hadn’t even thought about your schedule. Am I keeping you from something?” he asked.

“Not really – well, sort of,” Chloe said, shaking her head lightly in an apologetic fashion. “On the way to dropping Pete off, he decided that we should go to Metropolis tonight instead of the whole pizza and a movie thing. And, in true Pete fashion, he wants to leave early, giving me very little time to put together a possible outfit for tonight.”

Lex squared his jaw at the information. A friends-only date in Smallville, the most uninteresting place on earth was one thing; a trek down to Metropolis, with its romantic restaurants and city lights, was a something else entirely.

“Metropolis certainly makes for a much more impressive date,” he said with a touch of a bitter tone. “But, I thought you said it wasn’t like that.”

Chloe furrowed her brow in confusion until she realized what Lex meant and then started chuckling.

“It’s not,” she said. “I believe he said something about wanting to try out his new appearance on a larger female population than Smallville has to offer.” Lex opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe continued. “Of course, his new body’s not going to mean a thing once they see that he can’t dance worth crap when he’s been drinking.”

Lex stood there, unsure of whether to be stunned that Chloe had seen Pete trying to dance when he was drunk before, or upset because her statement implied that they would probably be going to a club where several men would be leering and hitting on her rather than just Pete.

Masking the frown that so desperately wanted to crawl across his lips, his thoughts were interrupted by Lana, who came running into the room and quickly slammed the door behind her. Breathing heavily, Lana quickly locked the door and then rested her back against it, before giving Chloe a pleading expression.

“Lana?” Chloe asked; no small amount of worry in her voice. After all, it seemed like her roommate was basically a homing beacon for half of Smallville’s psychopathic mutant population, and she could have been chased into the house. Her concern only grew when Lana didn’t say anything. Chloe rose from her seat and walked over to her, placing her hand on her shoulder. “Lana? Is everything alright?”

Lana shook her head and urgently pointed to her throat, using her other hand to brace herself against the door. Chloe and Lex shared a look.

“Are you choking on something?” Lex asked.

Lana scowled at him and Chloe snickered into her closed hand, earning a stern look from Lana as well.

“Sorry,” Chloe said, trying to push down the color that was rapidly rising to her cheeks. “You were looking at Lex and…my mind’s perpetually in the gutter,” she explained, mumbling the last part so that it was almost inaudible. She cleared her throat and grinned at Lana as she tried to keep a gurgle of laughter from spilling forth. “So, you were saying? Or…*not* saying as the case may be?”

Lana pursed her lips and stomped away from the door to walk over to Chloe’s computer. She opened up a new document and started typing in her ‘hunt and peck’ style. When she was done, she motioned to the monitor with exasperation.

Chloe read the words on the screen and then grinned at her friend.

“You lost your voice?”

Lana nodded emphatically and Chloe’s grin threatened to become a smile, only restraining it because it looked like Lana was completely serious about whatever was going on.

“O-kay, but that doesn’t explain why you just came rushing in here like someone was chasing you.”

Lana nodded and pointed at the door, quickly reaching over Chloe’s side again to type in the word ‘Clark’.

“Clark?” Chloe read with surprise.

“You’re running from Clark?” Lex asked in confusion.

Lana nodded again and the amusement Chloe had felt suddenly disappeared. She remembered the way he had been during his summer in Metropolis, and although she hadn’t been scared of him herself, she could easily see why Lana might be.

She rose from her seat and touched Lana’s arm, motioning to her large closet with her head.

“You hide in there and I’ll distract him or something,” she said.

Lana let out a sigh of gratitude and hastily made her way into the closet. She was about to let Chloe close the door when an observation finally struck her. She stopped the closing door with her hand and gave Chloe a questioning look.

“What?” Chloe asked.

Lana looked over at Lex and then looked back at Chloe, the implication asking why Lex was in Chloe’s room. Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Geez. And I thought *my* mind was in the gutter,” she said jokingly. “He just needed some printouts of those journal scans I made because of his medallion thing.”

Lana’s lips formed a perfect ‘o’ shape and then she smiled, stepping fully back into the closet to Chloe could close the door.

No sooner was Lana’s hiding place secured than a knock came at Chloe’s bedroom door. Chloe ran her hand over her face and made her way to open it, hand on her hip as she stared up at Clark.

“Yes?” she asked.

Clark frowned at Chloe’s disinterested tone.

“Have you seen Lana?” he asked. “One minute we were talking and the next she was running away from me for some reason.”

“And this is my problem because ---?”

“Chloe,” Clark whined.

“Don’t take it personally, Clark,” Lex said as he started to walk toward the open bedroom door as well. The sooner he could get Clark to go away, the sooner he could get Lana to go away, and that would leave him alone with Chloe again. “She’s just in a time crunch. You know how stressful that can be.”

“I guess,” Clark reluctantly agreed as he dipped his head to look at the floor. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at Chloe with a forlorn puppy dog expression that Lex had to restrain himself from groaning at. “So…you haven’t seen Lana?”

Lex gave Clark an incredulous stare that he missed because he was too busy looking at Chloe. He knew the younger man could be daft sometimes, but he thought that common sense would have dictated enough logic for him not to continue blathering on about Lana to a girl who harbored a crush on him.

The muscles in his jaw twitched. From what he had observed over the past several months, he thought that Chloe was over liking Clark as anything more than a friend, but her cool demeanor toward him at present was enough to make him suspicious about that assumption.

Chloe stepped to the side and motioned to the inside of her room with her arm.

“Do you see her, Clark?” she asked. “Because I don’t and we’ve been in here since we got back. So, unless she’s taken to stalking me from under my bed or inside my closet, then ---” she trailed off at Clark’s puzzled, yet suspicious look. “What?”

Similar to when the thought struck Lana’s mind, Clark looked back and forth between them, only his expression was considerably more accusing than the brunette girl’s had been. His eyes settled on Lex.

“What are you ---?”

“Oh for the love of ---” Chloe trailed off from her exasperated exclamation and threw her hands up in defeat. “Okay, you know what? I give up. Lex and I are secretly fuck buddies and were about ready to jump each other before you so rudely interrupted. So, if you wouldn’t mind leaving…”

Missing the sarcastic undercurrent in her voice, Clark stared at Chloe with wide eyes and an open mouth, while Lex simply raised an eyebrow and held back a snicker.

“W-what?”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Breathe, Clark – I was just kidding.”

“Oh.”

“But you really do need to leave,” she said. “I only have like an hour before Pete is coming to pick me up for Metropolis and I still need to pick out a couple of outfits, hit the ATM machine to get some spending cash from my savings, and call my cousin to try and convince her into letting me crash at her already crowded apartment since Pete will probably get lucky and just leave me there.”

Accustomed to Chloe’s long rambling without taking a breath, Clark shoved his hands in his pockets and gave her a sympathetic look.

“Pete would never do that,” he said. “Besides, the girls in Metropolis aren’t going to be as impressed at the fact that he’s on the varsity team as the girls in Smallville are.”

Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again, letting an amused smirk grace her lips.

“He didn’t call you to tell you the big news?” she asked.

“No-oo,” Clark strung out warily. “What big news?”

“He had a growth spurt courtesy of that relic I showed you yesterday,” Lex answered.

“We don’t know that it was because of that,” Chloe countered.

“Nobody grows thirteen inches in height and has that much muscle gain overnight, Chloe,” Lex said. “How else would you explain it?”

“Steroids?” Chloe offered cheekily.

“I don’t understand,” Clark interrupted. “Are you saying that Pete is…” he paused and swiftly did the calculation in his mind, “…taller than me? And what’s this about the amulet? How would that have anything to do with it?”

“Pete thinks it grants wishes,” Chloe explained with a humored smile.

Clark paled.

“Why does he think that?”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Apparently he made a wish when he was holding it yesterday – to be tall and buff,” she said. “If you ask me, it’s just coincidental, but ---”

“For someone who chases after the paranormal, I’d think you’d a little more open minded to the possibility,” Lex cut in.

“I *investigate* people who have had their DNA altered by the radiation that the meteor rocks give off,” she replied defensively. “It’s…scientific…and a far cry from believing that some ancient artifact can grant wishes.”

Clark’s mind ran through everything he thought when Lex had first presented him with the Kryptonian relic, an uneasy feeling settling in his gut when he realized that he too had made a wish that had come true.

“What about you, Clark?” Lex asked, shaking him from his thoughts.

“I…don’t know,” Clark said with his best fake grin, not wanting to appear too nervous as that would make Chloe and Lex suspicious. “I guess anything’s possible, right?”

Chloe’s printer stopped printing and she let out a breath of relief as she walked over to gather the papers that had collected in its bin. She picked them up and tapped the pile of papers against the desk to straighten them, her eyes falling upon the closet on her way back to where Clark and Lex were talking.

‘At least I didn’t have to tell her to keep quiet,’ she thought, the realization of the wish she had made and what had happened because of it striking immediately after the words went through her mind. ‘Oh my God.’




TBC...

[tigerbaby]

I absolutely loved this. I was cracking up the whole time. I’d quote my favourites but there are just too many. But heading the list are these two


“You were looking at Lex and…my mind’s perpetually in the gutter,” she explained

She even thinks like a Chlexer.


“Oh for the love of ---” Chloe trailed off from her exasperated exclamation and threw her hands up in defeat. “Okay, you know what? I give up. Lex and I are secretly fuck buddies and were about ready to jump each other before you so rudely interrupted. So, if you wouldn’t mind leaving…”

I love a tease and Clark&#39;s so dense he believed her :lol:

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: oh that was stella&#33;&#33;&#33; loved the mind in the gutter line, and the fuck buddys one, very very funny&#33; loved it&#33; :worship2:

[Val]

Oh that was great&#33; :lol:
Chloe&#39;s realization about her wish was great and I love it how both Lana and Clark were confused about Lex being on Chloe&#39;s room&#33; :devil:

[hfce]

Fuck buddies :lol: :hehe: loved it.


Hope :lol:

[happy bunny]

*snickers* Kudos for the fuck buddies line, that was just so damn funny.

Really loving this story. I can&#39;t wait for another update.

[Calliope]

Yay&#33; An update. Don&#39;t feel guilty, Chloe, for wishing Lana mute. You just wished what we were thinking. ;)

[jaded-swan]

Love it... thought it was a little slow that Chloe didn&#39;t realise that Lana lost her voice because of her wish before but now that she knows I wonder what will happen next... I can&#39;t wait&#33; :yay2:

[buffiy18]

An update&#33;&#33;&#33; This fic is so funny, and just keeps getting funnier. Now that everone has realized that their wish has come true I can&#39;t wait to find out how everyone reacts and if they come clean of their wish...

[Tandy]

MOre&#33; MOre&#33; MOre&#33; More&#33;&#33; Please&#33; :yay: :worship2: :worship2: Please?

[sara_noele]

:lol: Oh, I like jealous Lex and stupid Clark. More. Please&#33;

[eurydices falling]

:pclol:

i swear i&#39;ll review as soon as i can stop laughing.

[eurydices falling]

I&#39;m ready to review now.
It&#39;s as if the world is true right for the first time. Clark is a dumb ass (nuthin new there), Bleh-na is mute and trapped in a closet, Chloe is back in fine form and Lex knows how kick ass she really is. Aaaaah, sweet contentment. Gimme some smut packages to go and I&#39;ll be ready for the maker.

[Brittany]

:biggrin: Great chapter, although I was hoping Chlex would do a little more than talk while in her bedroom. I can&#39;t wait to see what happens soon, please put in the much anticipated Chlexc kissage ASAP&#33;&#33;&#33; More soon, please&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; ;)

[autumngold]

:yay2: :yay: I can&#39;t wait for you to update&#33;&#33; :yay: :yay2: This story is so awesome&#33; Will Lex follow Chloe to Metropolis? :biggrin: Hope to read more soon&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[scifichick774]

‘Shit&#33; I can’t believe Pete was right&#33;’ Chloe thought, her demeanor somewhere between panic and elation.

On one hand, if Lana ever found out that she had been the one to make the wish, then she could easily see the brunette making her life a living hell – even more than she already did.

On the other hand, Lana had no voice. None. Chloe wouldn’t have to listen to her incessant prattling on about Clark, or her wardrobe, or how she often felt so alone despite the fact that almost every guy in town was stalking her.

It was like a dream come true and Chloe allowed a delighted smile to slowly lift the corners of her mouth. She took a few quick steps toward Lex and handed him the papers, her tiny, delighted smile turning into a broad, bright one.

All she had to do was get Lex and Clark out of there now and then she could have some fun teasing Lana before she had to leave.

“There you go,” she said to Lex. “Hope it helps.”

Lex took the papers with conflicting emotions. He was hoping that it would take longer for them to print out so he could spend some more time with Chloe, but at the same time, this would give him the opportunity to drive to the lab and modify his wish so that she would return his feelings.

“I appreciate it. Thanks,” he finally replied. “Listen, if I can repay the favor, say by getting you and Pete into one of the clubs or something ---”

“Clubs?” Clark interrupted with concern in his voice. He took a step past Lex toward Chloe, earning a tiny scowl from the other man. “You’re going to Metropolis to go to clubs?&#33; You didn’t tell me that.”

“You didn’t ask,” Chloe said dismissively. “And besides, what else would we be going for?”

“Chloe, you don’t know what those places are like,” Clark said.

Lex let out a derisive huff of air through his nose.

“And you do?” he asked.

Chloe placed a fake smile on her lips.

“Clark did all sorts of things while he was away,” she said in a sing-song voice with a snide undertone.

Lex shot her a questioning look.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Clark said quickly. He turned his attention back to Chloe, his expression a mixture of scolding for her almost telling Lex about what she had discovered about him, and pleading for her to understand where he was coming from. “And that was different.”

“How do you figure?” Chloe asked, folding her arms across her chest defensively, daring him to explain how he had essentially become a criminal during his short red kryptonite-induced stint in Metropolis.

“Well, I mean…it’s just…I’m a guy,” Clark stammered lamely, ending his sentence by shoving his hands into his pockets and blushing.

Lex inwardly groaned. He didn’t want Chloe to go with Pete to the clubs either, but he wasn’t stupid enough to imply that she couldn’t take care of herself – and certainly not to her face.

It was a shame he couldn’t say the same for Clark, as Chloe looked like she was ready to throttle him.

“I see,” Chloe said tersely. “So, you think that just because I’m a female member of the species, that I can’t look out for my own safety?”

“Well…no…but…” Clark trailed off with a sigh. “You have to admit – you kind of have a habit of attracting bad…things.”

Chloe’s stare turned from angry to incredulous.

“I’m really hoping you’re smart enough to recognize the irony of that statement without me having to point it out to you,” she said.

Clark opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it shut with an uneasy grin.

“I just meant…you’re…little,” he said. “You might need protection.”

Chloe’s lips curved into a thin, sardonic smile.

“Covered. They have condom dispensers in the girls’ rooms too, Clark.”

Clark’s eyes widened comically and Lex merely frowned. He knew she was joking, but he didn’t like the idea of her even thinking about traipsing off with jackass who had the foresight to get her drunk so she’d go home with him.

‘No,’ Lex thought. ‘Her cousin. She said she was going to stay at her cousin’s apartment – or that she was going to *ask* to stay at her cousin’s apartment. Crap. I really need to get to the lab and make that wish.’

As if sharing the same thought, Chloe spoke.

“Now, if you don’t mind…” she said, stepping to the side of the door and motioning with her arm for Clark and Lex to leave.

Lex took the cue and walked out into the hallway, but Clark stalled and looked at Chloe apologetically.

“Maybe I should go with you guys,” he suggested. “To make sure you don’t get into any trouble.”

“What part of ‘taller and more muscular than you’ did you not get exactly?” Chloe retorted.

Clark blinked.

“He’s more muscular than me?”

Chloe’s eyes glazed over and Clark squirmed in front of her. He knew that look – he used to be on the receiving end of it. And it made him decidedly uncomfortable for Chloe to be thinking of their other best friend in that way; especially when she seemed completely neutral toward him one way or another at the present time.

Lex frowned as well. The sooner he got to the lab, the better. The additional wishes he could make now not only included getting Chloe to love his as well, but somehow making Pete die in some fiery explosion that he couldn’t possibly be blamed for.

“Oh, yeah,” Chloe finally answered. Seeing the unsettled look on Clark’s face, she gave into the laugh that sprung up from her lungs. “You can be such an idiot sometimes, you know that?” Clark frowned and Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yes, he has bigger muscles than you – no, I’m not attracted to him like that – *and* even if I was, it really wouldn’t be any of your business anyway. So, seeing as you’re still standing there looking dumbstruck, I’m guessing that I need to show you where the front door is.”

She brushed past him and walked into the hallway, furrowing her brow when she noticed that Lex was still there, appearing to be holding back a snicker at what had just transpired.

‘Maybe somebody wished for him to loosen up,’ she thought absently before beginning her descent down the stairs.

Lex followed her and Clark followed beside him, seemingly sulking as he took each step. Lex grinned to himself, but decided to reserve whatever comments he wanted to make until after they got outside.

It would hardly make Chloe think very highly of him if he were to launch into a speech about how Chloe’s rant had been stewing for some time and how he warned Clark that he might get burned if he didn’t settle things with her.

Chloe opened the front door and motioned outside with a wave of her hand.

“Bye Clark. I’ll tell Lana you were looking for her,” she said.

Clark absently nodded a couple of times, still in a stupor over why Lana ran away from him and then why Chloe was acting like she didn’t care about his feelings at all. He knew he had made the wish, but he hadn’t expected her to be cruel – just…not as nosey.

“Chloe,” Lex said with a grin, barely resisting the urge to just lean forward and kiss her.

“Lex,” she returned, anxious for both of the young men to leave so she could tease Lana while picking out a couple of outfits and calling her cousin.

She watched for a second as they started to walk to their vehicles and then closed the door; a bright, anticipatory smile lighting up her face as she looked up to the top of the stairs.

~*~*~*~

An hour later found Lana extremely thankful that Chloe had to leave to go to the ATM. The blonde girl said that Pete would probably arrive before her, but just to let him watch TV or something until she got back – and under no circumstances was Lana to show Pete the outfit that Chloe had picked out for dancing that night.

Lana was tempted to show it to Pete just to get back at Chloe. Since Clark and Lex left, Chloe had made zillions of comments that Lana was dying to respond to, but couldn’t – which, Lana reasoned, had been the entire point.

For a split second she thought that she might be reading too much into it, but then Chloe had brought up the possibility of her joining her and Pete in Metropolis, only to immediately shoot it down by saying that particular scenario hadn’t worked out well the last time she tried it with Clark and that she’d hate for Lana to feel uncomfortable.

Lana’s lips narrowed into one thin line. The second Pete knocked on that door, she was going to drag him upstairs and yank Chloe’s outfit out of the small bag that Chloe was taking with her.

For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why Chloe had chosen the outfit anyway – or even why she owned it in the first place.

The shimmering red halter top would give her no support whatsoever and the cut of the material left Chloe’s back almost completely bare. Companying that with a pair of black leather pants and it was practically like Chloe was asking for trouble.

The sound of the doorbell jarred her from her thoughts and she quickly moved to answer it, her eyes growing imperceptibly wide and her mouth dropping open at the sight in front of her.

She remembered what Chloe said about Pete looking different, but she had no idea…

Pete smiled down at her.

“Hey Lana,” he greeted in a friendly manner and then clapped his hands together. “So, where’s Chlo?”

Lana blinked. Her heart was pounding fast and hard against the inside of her ribs. Pete had always had a special cuteness to him, but he had always been like a brother, or a buddy – not an Adonis. Her jaw was still hanging open and though she struggled to close it, she never quite succeeded, leaving her doing an impression of gaping like a fish.

“Oh, that’s right – Chloe said you lost your voice,” Pete said. “Sorry.” Lana tried to smile, but the way the corners of her mouth naturally curved up came out looking shy and uneasy. “She here?”

Lana shook her head and stepped over to where she had placed a small tablet of paper and a pen. She scribbled down some letters and then held it up for him to read.

“ATM,” Pete said and then let out a mock sigh. “Well, guess it’s just you and me for a little while then.” He helped himself to walking inside and shutting the door, flashing a smile at the brunette before strolling over to the living room.

~*~*~*~

Lex shook the medallion in his hand.

Nothing.

Well, he didn’t know it was nothing, but he didn’t feel anything. The previous day, he had felt a kind of strange sensation sweep through him when he was holding it – particularly when he made a wish, though he hadn’t attributed it to the relic at that time. And now…nothing.

‘It must have a quota,’ he thought to himself, a scowl quickly crossing his face. “Damn,” he muttered under his breath.

He was going to have to woo Chloe the old fashioned way, and seeing as how she didn’t care anything about his money and he couldn’t use his friendship with Clark as an ‘in’, he couldn’t help thinking that he was basically screwed.

Then there was the fact that Chloe was probably on her way with Pete, a boy who clearly liked her as more than a friend, and despite what Chloe said, now had the physical presence to be a very real contender for her affections.

“So…anything?”

Lex whipped his head around and gave the scientist in front of him a hint of a grin.

“No,” Lex answered. “We’re all very lucky. I could have sworn I saw some of the hazardous mold on it that they’ve been finding on some of the newly uncovered pieces.”

The man in the lab coat let out a relieved sigh and nodded his head.

“Of course, we always take the strictest precautions when dealing with the specimens, but…”

“It’s always good to know for sure,” Lex finished for him. The man nodded again. “I agree.” He slipped the amulet back into its protective casing and then put it onto a shelf in the lab’s vault. “Well, I’d better let you get back to work.”

“Would you like us to contact you if progress is made on any of the other pieces?”

Lex appeared thoughtful, but in reality, he had already made up his mind.

“I’ll be in Metropolis this weekend and I might not have my cell phone turned on all of the time, but feel free to leave a voice message if you find something,” he said.

Nobody had more connections than he did and he had a feeling that he was going to have to use every one of them if he was going to track Chloe down in Metropolis and somehow keep her from going dancing with Pete.




TBC…

[vardaquareien]

I can&#39;t wait to see what happens when Lex tracks her down&#33; Can I just say how wonderful it is to have Blana unable to speak&#33;&#33;&#33; Now if only someone had wished Clunk to fall into a sleep from which he would never wake, all would be right with the world. As it is, I love Clunk being unsettled by Chloe&#39;s indifference - it&#39;s still more that the prick deserves&#33;

Wonderful update, I can&#39;t wait for the next chapter&#33;

[tigerbaby]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Oct 27 2003, 01:01 AM
“Well, I mean…it’s just…I’m a guy,” Clark stammered lamely, ending his sentence by shoving his hands into his pockets and blushing.

Lex inwardly groaned. He didn’t want Chloe to go with Pete to the clubs either, but he wasn’t stupid enough to imply that she couldn’t take care of herself – and certainly not to her face.

It was a shame he couldn’t say the same for Clark, as Chloe looked like she was ready to throttle him.

I absolutely adore this little bit. :wub:

It says everything that I want to say about the idiot and why Lex is the better choice.

[deessedelune]

:biggrin: Poor Lex. Can&#39;t help that he&#39;s completely enamored with Chloe.

I have no sympathy for Clark as he brought every thing to himself for saying dumb things.

Great chappy. More please&#33;

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: come on lex, get a wooing&#33; This story just gets better&#33;

[hfce]

This is so good. :hehe: I love it.



Hope :chlexsign2:

[happy bunny]

This is sooo awesome&#33; :biggrin: Can&#39;t wait to see Chloe&#39;s reaction to Lex tracking her down. (She&#39;s way too smart to fall for the "I just happened to be at the same club as you" excuse) Also can&#39;t wait to see Lex begin trying to woo her.

[Val]

That was great&#33; I can&#39;t wait til they get to the club and til Lex finds her on that outfit&#33; hhehehe

Oh and by Chloe&#39;s cousin, you mean Lois right? Will she make an appearance??

[zeppo2]

I love this&#33;

Especially Chloe teasing Lana about her current situation :biggrin:

And go Lex&#33;&#33;&#33;

[jaded-swan]

Hmm... Lex is taking charge... interesting... also I can&#39;t wait till he sees Chloe in the red halter outfit... :biggrin:

[randa]

lex+chloe+dancing=very sexy chlex&#33; :devil:
sorry, im jumping ahead of your story

i cant wait to see how chloe reacts to lex in metropolis
so go update...please :worship2:

[Brittany]

:biggrin: Wonderful as always&#33; Can&#39;t wait to see what happens at the clubs, so please update soon.

[sara_noele]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Oct 27 2003, 07:01 AM
Nobody had more connections than he did and he had a feeling that he was going to have to use every one of them if he was going to track Chloe down in Metropolis and somehow keep her from going dancing with Pete.


Track her down baby, track her down.

Hot moving bodies, hmmm...

Don&#39;t let us wait to long&#33;

[eurydices falling]

Oh yeah&#33; Chlexy Clubbin Craziness Comin Up&#33;

And I know it&#39;ll be kick ass since there won&#39;t be any "Kal/Clunk" to gum up the works. :dance:

[autumngold]

:worship2: I can&#39;t wait for the next chapter&#33;&#33; :biggrin: :love: Lex is going to be so jealous of Chloe&#39;s clubbing outfit&#33; Maybe Blana and Pete can go together&#33; ;) Then Pete could dump her at the nightclub&#33;&#33; :biggrin: Please update soon :applause:&#33; I really love this story&#33;&#33; :chlexsign3: :love:

[drina]

This is really so funny. Boy, u won&#39;t happen to have an image of the new and improved Pete, would you, so we can drool over him. ;)

[Sab_Luthor]

hello man
can you come back and update please

[scifichick774]

“Hey&#33; I’m back&#33;” Chloe called out as she walked into the house. She had seen Pete’s car in the driveway, and knowing her friend as well as she did, headed directly for the living room where she could hear the television blaring in the background. “Sorry it took so long, but there was this ---” Chloe trailed off as she stepped into the room and caught a sharp eyeful of Pete and Lana making out on the couch. “What the hell?&#33;”

Pete jerked away from Lana and shot Chloe an apologetic look as he stumbled to his feet.

“Chlo&#33; I didn’t hear you…I mean…”

Chloe placed her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow at him, daring him to continue. When he shrunk under the intensity of her stare instead of continuing his ill-thought out explanation, Chloe began to speak.

“You just mean *what*, Pete?” she asked, her tone surprisingly calm but seething with an underlying anger that both Pete and Lana cringed at.

“She kissed *me*&#33;” Pete exclaimed in his defense, earning a pointed look from Chloe and a blush from Lana. “What was I supposed to do?&#33;”

“So…what? Knowing how much it would hurt your best friend *Clark* if he found you macking on his pseudo girlfriend, you were just pushing her tongue back into her mouth for her?” Chloe asked with heavy sarcasm.

“Uh…”

Chloe absently shook her head and then rolled her eyes.

“Whatever.”

“Chlo-e,” Pete whined. “Don’t be like that.”

Chloe let out a scoffing huff of air through her nose and then shot him an incredulous look.

“It’s Lana, Pete. *Lana*&#33; You should know better,” Chloe said. Lana seemed offended by the comment, but merely scrunched her lips up into a tightly pursed line since she couldn’t say anything in response. “I mean, she’s a meteor freak magnet, for crying out loud&#33; And I don’t care how big your new muscles are – dating Lana *and* knowing Clark’s secret? You’ll be dead before morning.” She paused as a pensive look crept over her face. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything about Clark’s secret, huh?” She shrugged. “Oh, well.”

Pete and Lana gaped at her with wide eyes and open mouths, causing Chloe to hang her head and shake it lightly in dismay. They just didn’t get it. Perhaps this was her punishment for being so unkind to Clark and Lana earlier that day, some sort of karmic balance; but whatever it was, she had lost yet another friend to Lana’s superficial beauty, and for some reason it hurt more this time.

Pete had always proved impervious to Lana’s charms in the past, and to have him just betray that strength of character out of nowhere was more than a little unsettling. But then, maybe he had never been that strong, maybe he had secretly lusted after the brunette girl all that time and just didn’t think he had a chance with her until his new body emerged.

The thought made Chloe even sicker than she felt already and she turned to walk back to the front door, completely ignoring the words spilling from Pete’s mouth in protest of her leaving.

A small part of her vaguely recognized his presence behind her as she made her way to her car, but she steeled her emotions so she wouldn’t break down like she had when she found out about Clark and Lana being together and lying to her about it.

Just then, she was struck with an epiphany. She wasn’t upset or heartbroken that Pete was with Lana, that he had chosen physical pleasure over friendship – she was angry.

Like she told him in the house, he should have known better. But, he was clearly ruled by his dick like every other guy at their school and didn’t stop to realize what the consequences of his actions might be.

Well…it was time he found out.

Chloe turned the key to her car and started the engine, not sparing even a second of time to stop and glare at Pete as she shifted the car into gear and pressed her foot to the gas pedal.

Pete watched her drive away with an ache in his heart. He didn’t think that…he didn’t think. Lana had kissed him and his body had gone into auto pilot mode; purely acting on the physical sensations that arose within him rather than how much pain he would cause his friend.

‘Friends - plural,” he mentally corrected, cringing when he realized that Clark was going to find out as well and that he’d have to come up with some explanation for his actions that wouldn’t cause his friend to beat him to a bloody pulp. “Shit.”

~*~*~*~

The loud music blared from Lex’s expensive audio system as his speed slowed to drive through town on his way to the highway.

The slower speed brought nothing but irritation, as Lex figured that Chloe and Pete were undoubtedly already on their way to Metropolis. But, with any luck, their departure had been delayed a little if he sped the rest of the way, which he had planned to anyway; he might be able to catch up with them before they reached the city.

‘And do what?’ a snide voice inside his head asked. ‘Push them off the road? Risk hurting Chloe just so she won’t go dancing with someone she only sees as a friend?’

Lex frowned and tried to ignore the thoughts, concentrating on his driving instead. As it had earlier that morning, Chloe’s red Volkswagen seemed to call to him like a beacon and caught his eye.

A grin raised the corners of his mouth. She hadn’t left yet. She had stopped to get coffee at…the Beanery? Lex’s grin fell. To his knowledge, Lana had kept the Talon open during her incapacitation – simply allowing other staff to run the establishment until she got better.

‘Something’s going on,’ he thought as he pulled his car to the side of the road and parked it.

A few quick strides brought him to the inside of the building that he hadn’t stepped foot in since the Talon opened. Chloe was sitting at a table on the far end of the room, seemingly muttering something into her cup of coffee before sipping it.

Lex approached the table, his lips curving into a delighted smirk when he heard what Chloe was mumbling to herself.

“…Stupid Pete…” she paused and took another sip of coffee, not noticing that Lex was almost right next to her now.

“I thought you left for Metropolis?”

Completely taken off guard by the statement and the voice that had spoken it, Chloe choked on the small amount of hot liquid coursing down her throat and held her hand up to her mouth until the coughing cleared.

Lex handed her a napkin, the smirk on his face only seeming to grow and he motioned to the chair across from her with his head.

“May I?”

“Sure – but what are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Lex pointed out.

“No. I mean --- this isn’t exactly your turf.”

“I have a turf?” Lex asked jokingly.

“The Talon.”

“Ah. Do I have gang colors too?”

Chloe pursed her lips for a second gave him a slight glare because of his cheekiness.

“Violet and baby blue from what I’ve noticed,” she retorted with a smirk to match his own.

Lex was immediately thankful that he hadn’t ordered yet, because if he had been drinking coffee, it would have sprayed out of his mouth at her in surprise. Though part of him was pleased that Chloe had noticed what colors he usually wore, he knew that she hadn’t said or meant her statement in a flattering context.

“Perhaps we should get back to the topic at hand,” he suggested. Chloe glanced at him over the rim of her coffee cup. “I couldn’t help but overhear you say something about… ‘stupid Pete’, was it?”

Chloe groaned and set her coffee down on the table so she could start ranting, waving her hands in the air as she spoke.

“Remember how I told you the errands I had to run?” she asked. Lex nodded once. “Well, I come home from the ATM to find him *making out* with Lana on my couch.” Lex’s eyes grew a little wider. “I mean – don’t you think he should know better? It’s not just me, right?”

“I ---”

He was cut off by a waiter finally coming by to take his order and simply grinned at Chloe after placing it. With any luck, she would forget the question she had just asked him or it had been rhetorical to begin with.

“Metropolis was *his* idea,” Chloe continued, causing Lex to let out a small breath of relief. “And you should have seen the outfit I had picked out. Forget Pete - *I* could have gotten lucky with that outfit. Cute shiny red halter top that shows my whole back and my low-rise leather pants. And now - *now* - ugh. You know what? Screw it&#33; I’ve already made all the arrangements – I’ll just go by myself.”

‘The hell you will&#33;’ Lex screamed inside his head, but was smart enough not to voice the comment aloud – at least not in those words. “Your dad will let you go to the city without an escort?”

Chloe smiled impishly and then shrugged.

“Sure. Why not?”

“You haven’t told him,” Lex observed.

“Not true,” Chloe said. “I told him that Pete and I were going to Metropolis and that we’d probably crash at my cousin’s so we wouldn’t have to drive back at night.”

“But you won’t be going with Pete.”

The waiter came back with his order and placed it in front of him, flashing a smile at Chloe before turning around to go walk back to the counter. Lex pushed the slight twinge of jealousy he felt aside, as Chloe looked more irritated by the interruption to their discussion than anything else.

“You’re acting like I didn’t have to drive down there by myself every single week I was working for The Daily Planet,” she said.

“It’s a slightly different situation, Chloe. After all, you were going there to work, not to spend your nights trying to pass off your fake I.D. as a real one.”

“I was never even carded, but for your information – my I.D. could totally pass if I had been.”

‘Uh…’ Lex thought, inwardly cursing himself for not being able to come up with an immediate response to what she said. He lifted his lips into a forced and uneasy half-grin so he could change the subject without calling too much attention to the fact that he was doing so. “Whatever happened to your job at The Daily Planet anyway?”

An unreadable expression slipped over Chloe’s face.

“Death threats…pen name…long story,” she answered cryptically. Lex arched a questioning eyebrow but said nothing. He suspected that Chloe’s situation had something to do with his father, and that was a can of worms that was better left unopened. “So, what’d you wish for?”

The question caught Lex off guard and he was unable to conceal the surprise that took over his features. Fortunately for him, he was able to cover the panic that immediately followed.

“Sorry. I just naturally presumed that you’d be off to visit the medallion after I kicked you and Clark out of the house,” Chloe said.

Lex gave her a lopsided smirk.

“How very astute of you.”

Chloe smiled back at him and took a sip of her coffee.

“So?” she asked. “Should the citizens of Smallville be expecting it to rain gold coins from the sky tomorrow? Because, you know, that could be dangerous and you should warn them.”

‘Tomorrow?’ Lex thought.

His eyes widened ever so slightly as understanding struck him. It had taken all of the other wishes a decent amount of time before they went into effect. Lex smirked in delight. There might still be a chance that Chloe could fall in love with him; but he should lay the foundation for courting her anyway, in case the relic did indeed have some sort of wish limit to it.

The best way he could think of to get into her good graces was to get her talking about herself. Most of the women he knew loved to talk about themselves, but he had an inkling that Chloe wouldn’t be as easy to coerce.

“Is that what you would wish for?” he finally asked.

Chloe’s hands, cradling her coffee mug between them, stilled where they were and her eyes darted up from the remnants of the dark liquid to where Lex was waiting for an answer. She winced and looked back down at her drink, bringing it up to her mouth so she could murmur into the cup rather than speak the words to Lex directly.

“What was that? I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch it.”

Chloe sighed.

“I wished that Lana would lose her voice,” she admitted begrudgingly. “Just for a week though. And I actually thought ‘day’ first, so she might have it back tomorrow.” Lex chuckled and Chloe gave him a weak smile. “So, what about you? You never told me what *you* wished for.”




TBC...

[marrycherry]

yes Lex tell her what you wished for&#33;&#33;&#33; :eyebrows:

great chappy&#33;&#33;&#33; i want more :chlexsign1:

and for once i want a scene with Clunk where he founds out about Pete and Blana :popdevil: ok??

:chlexsign4:

[tigroon]

Reading fanfiction can get sooooooo frustrating :yay: .
Actually it is almost always a masochistic activity unless you
are very strong-willed and read only completed stories.

I loved the update and I&#39;m waiting for the next...

[Sab_Luthor]

no no no no no no
you can&#39;t finish like that
please please come back please
this part is so great
and the chlex part at the beanery was so interestibg
please more

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: Fantastic lovely&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; I loved that chappy so much, and pete and lana on the couch, what a thing to walk inon&#33; wonderful stuff.

[jaded-swan]

can&#39;t wait to hear lex&#39;s reply... please no more cliffhangers... it&#39;s so evil&#33;

[happy bunny]

Still loving this. Can&#39;t wait to see what Lex tells her and what her response to that is.

[tigerbaby]

Poor Pete&#33; I loved that Lana couldn&#39;t defend herself against Chloe&#39;s observations. This is just too funny. Can&#39;t to see how Lex responds.

[WolviesLover]

Yes&#33; One of my favorite stories updated&#33; I&#39;ve always admired your writing, though it was through fanfiction.net that I discovered it. And I&#39;ve been a huge fan ever since&#33; :blush: Actually, it was your link on your bio that brought me here&#33; Great chapter, I hope you&#39;ll be updating this again soon&#33; Not to mention my absolute favorite, Beloved&#33;

[Not An Addict]

*squeal* I&#39;m so glad that you updated&#33;&#33; And may I just say, I love the term "courting". Love it&#33; I can&#39;t wait for the next installment of . . . oh . . . just about anything. ^_~ More soon, pretty please&#33;

[hfce]

That was great. More please.....




Hope ;)

[ColumbiaBlue]

*whines* why&#39;d you stop it there? :crygreen: :crygreen: :crygreen: Sadness&#33; I love this story though&#33; SO funny&#33; I burst into a fit of giggles the second line of the story and didn&#39;t stop for the rest of it. Okay... so maybe that&#39;s an exageration... but this is hil-freaking-arious&#33; Update soon&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

Manda :sunny:

[drina]

Stupid Pete&#33; Him and his horomones...can&#39;t zip them in his oversized pants, is it?

Sigh...why must all guys succumb to the pink curse?

[Ranting Idiot]

“Ah. Do I have gang colors too?”

“Violet and baby blue from what I’ve noticed."

WEST SIDE&#33;

EAST SIDE&#33;

WEST SIDE&#33;

LEX SIDE&#33;

OK, you win.

Hehehehe, sorry, that was on my mind when I read that portion. Great addition&#33;

-Rant

[Susie Q]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Nov 6 2003, 09:39 AM
“She kissed *me*&#33;” Pete exclaimed in his defense, earning a pointed look from Chloe and a blush from Lana. “What was I supposed to do?&#33;”

“So…what? Knowing how much it would hurt your best friend *Clark* if he found you macking on his pseudo girlfriend, you were just pushing her tongue back into her mouth for her?” Chloe asked with heavy sarcasm.


Teehee :hehe: Great Update&#33;

[Impress]

“So…what? Knowing how much it would hurt your best friend *Clark* if he found you macking on his pseudo girlfriend, you were just pushing her tongue back into her mouth for her?” Chloe asked with heavy sarcasm.

See it&#39;s lines like that that make me enjoy your fics. Hell it&#39;s the way you write period that make me enjoy them. Good job. More soon.

[vardaquareien]

Great update &#39;cept for where you left it of course&#33;&#33;&#33; What&#39;s Lex gonna tell her I wonder? hmmm that should be interesting&#33;

I&#39;d love for Lex to offer to take her to Metropolis seeing as she won&#39;t be going with Pete. Pity for that outfit of hers to go to waste&#33; :biggrin:

[autumngold]

You are the most talented writer&#33;&#33; This chapter is just excellent&#33; Poor Pete having to mack on Lana. You should at least allowed him to wash out his mouth with soap&#33;&#33; Please, please, please update again soon&#33;&#33; You are just the best&#33;&#33; :chlexsign1:

[Val]

Oooh Lex BETTER &#39;escort&#39; her to Metropolis&#33; :devil:

[sara_noele]

Oh these cliffhangers, you are so evil&#33; Don&#39;t let us wait to long.

[randa]

LOVE IT&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;
so is lex gonna tell her?
and they need to go to Metropolis together and go to the clup so Chloe can wear that apsolutly amaing outfit that you had picked out for her...

randa

[buffiy18]

:chlexsign2: What will Lex tell Chloe... inquiring mines want to know. :chlexsign2:

[Lulucifer]

Hehehe....that was great. Lex should take Chloe to Metropolis and maybe show her a few of his moves, ;) lol. Wonder how Lex will answer Chloe&#39;s question....
:chlexsign3:

[autumngold]

I&#39;ll admit it, I&#39;m such a nag&#33;&#33; :biggrin: I just love this story and can&#39;t wait for you to update&#33;&#33; Please&#33;&#33; ;) Thanks for all of your stories&#33;&#33; :chlexsign3:

[nickielh]

I love this story and hope you update soon.

Nickie

[Sab_Luthor]

i love this story a lot
and i truly want an update very soon
so please do us a sequel

[Robyn]

Update soon&#33; Can&#39;t wait to see what he tells her and when she starts falling for him. hehe :chlexsign1:

[jaded-swan]

oh please update soon&#33;

[Sab_Luthor]

i love your sig robyn

[scifichick774]

Lex pulled back a little and gave her a wry grin.

“Off the record?” he asked.

Chloe rolled her eyes and let out a mock sigh.

“I suppose.”

Lex’s grin spread into a small smile and he raised his coffee up to his lips to take a sip of it before answering. He let the hot, bitter liquid slide down his throat, concentrating on the sensation as he decided whether or not to tell Chloe the truth.

Chloe arched an eyebrow at him.

“I get the feeling that you’re trying to avoid the question,” she said, the corners of her mouth lifting into a teasing smile.

“I wished to fall madly in love with a woman who didn’t want me for my money,” Lex said in one long, rushed breath.

Chloe blinked and then stared at him incredulously.

“What?”

“I ---”

“No, I heard you,” she interrupted. “But…Lex…you can’t be serious.”

“You know my history with women.”

“Well, yeah, but…” she trailed off and took a breath. “How do I say this? I’m not arguing with the logic behind the wish – just your phrasing.” Lex raised an eyebrow. “I mean, come on, Lex – you weren’t very specific. A woman who doesn’t want you for your money? That’s it? That could be *anyone*.”

“And again I refer you to my history with women,” Lex said dryly.

“Okay, but Lex, you could end up falling love with Mrs. Kent…or Lana,” she said, the second name leaving her mouth on a sour note.

“Talon,” Lex said dismissively.

“What?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the only reason Lana ever talks to me – other than to mope about her life or her problems with Clark – is when she wants something,” Lex explained.

“The Talon,” Chloe repeated, now with understanding.

“And the truth about her biological father, trying to get Perry White to leave town so she wouldn’t have to deal with him herself…shall I go on?”

Chloe absently shook her head, at first in minor disbelief, and then to clear her thoughts. Apparently not every man in Smallville was blinded to Lana’s actions because of her charms. It was…oddly endearing.

“What are you thinking?”

“Nothing,” Chloe lied. She glanced purposefully at the clock on the wall and flashed a smile at Lex before pushing her chair away from the table. “I should get going. If I sneak around the back of the house then I might be able to avoid Pete and Lana while I get my outfit for tonight.”

“About that,” Lex started, frowning and pushing his chair away from the table as well.

“You’re not going to try and talk me out of it again, are you?”

“Actually, I was going to offer to go with you.”

Chloe looked at Lex in surprise.

“Really?” she asked. Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Why? I thought you didn’t approve of ---”

“Of you going clubbing in Metropolis by yourself? No.”

“So, you’re going to take over Pete’s role as protector if any guy gets too grabby.”

“Better safe than sorry.”

“True,” Chloe conceded. “But Pete looks a lot more intimidating --- no offense.”

“None taken. Though I’ll have you know that I can be very intimidating when I want to be.”

Chloe grinned.

“Yeah – but your dad was better at it.”

“Now *that* I do take offense to,” Lex said. “You want to go to Metropolis or not?”

“I’m going either way,” Chloe informed him with an indignant chortle.

“I have your dad’s cell phone number on speed dial,” Lex retorted in a completely serious tone, smirking when the smugness fell from Chloe’s face.

“Well, I suppose you *could* get me into a better club than the one I was planning on going to…”

“Good,” Lex said as if the matter had been settled. A thought struck him and he stopped just outside of the Talon’s front door as they were walking to their cars. “Wait. What club were you going to go to?”

Chloe stopped and smiled guiltily at him.

“The Red Room,” she said. Lex’s face held no hint of humor at her admission and Chloe bit her lower lip nervously before explaining. “Only because I’ve been there before and I knew I could get in --- and I’m not making things any better for myself, am I?”

“No,” Lex answered. The Red Room was highly touted as a place where almost anything was fair game and the very idea of Chloe being in a place like that – being leered at, being groped…Lex let out what sounded like a low growl from deep in his throat. “Should I even ask how you got into that club? It’s pretty exclusive.”

“Have you been there?”

“No. I’ve heard enough stories to keep me at bay.”

“Ah.”

“Are you going to answer my question?”

Chloe smirked.

“I won’t go into specific details, but never underestimate the power of cleavage,” she said cheekily as she unlocked the driver’s side door to her car. She stood there waiting for some sort of response instead of sliding into the vehicle and Lex gave her a tight grin.

“Maybe I should just lock you up in the castle and let you drink yourself into a stupor there.”

“Yeah – because *that* sounds fun,” Chloe said with heavy sarcasm. “If it makes you feel any better, I only go to dance – not to drink.”

Lex leaned against her car and let the image of her dancing flit through his mind. Her hips swayed, her body gyrated, and he could almost hear the pulse of the non-existent music beating in his ears.

He barely kept himself from letting out an aroused groan. If he had that much of a reaction to a daydream, he could only imagine what the other male club-goers’ reactions would be to the real thing.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Chloe asked, snapping Lex from his thoughts.

“I was just thinking.”

“O-kay,” Chloe strung out questioningly.

“Are you going because you want to go or because you want to get even with Pete since it was his idea to go in the first place?”

Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but she quickly shut it again when no words came out.

“So?” she finally replied.

“So…there are better ways to get even with him than dancing with nameless strangers, Chloe.”

“They have names,” Chloe protested, albeit half-heartedly. “I wouldn’t be able to hear any of them because of the loud music, but they do have names.”

“You’re missing the point.”

“The point being?”

Lex gave her a lopsided smirk and moved closer to her.

“Think. What does Pete hate more than anything else in the world?”

“Besides clowns?” Chloe asked. Lex blinked. “He’s afraid of them,” she explained.

“Good to know for future reference,” Lex said, his previous smirk growing a little more. “But not what I was talking about.”

Chloe shook her head slowly a couple of times.

“Then ---”

Lex inwardly shook himself out of what he was going to say and do. Though kissing her right then and there was terribly tempting, he had a niggling doubt that she wouldn’t buy his excuse of doing it to upset Pete. He pulled back a little.

“We should go somewhere that the paparazzi frequents,” he said, earning a confused expression from Chloe.

“Why?” she asked. “I thought you’d want to avoid them like the plague.”

“They have their purpose,” Lex answered cryptically.

“And their purpose in this particular scenario being…?”

“Perhaps it’s merely my ego speaking, but I’d like to think that Mr. Ross hates me enough to be sufficiently rattled by a picture of you and I going into a club together.”

“He’d be more rattled if we were seen *leaving* a club together…of course, that would pretty much kill my chances of getting lucky,” Chloe said thoughtfully.

Lex smirked and leaned closer to her again.

“Not necessarily.”

Chloe snorted and a small gurgle of giggles poured from her mouth.

“Good one.”

‘I *really* should have been more specific with that wish,’ Lex thought. ‘But there’s still a chance that my second one could kick in tonight.’ He gave her a friendly grin. “What time should I pick you up?”

“Think, Lex. If I go with you, then I won’t have my own car to get home.”

“You don’t think I’ll give you a ride home?”

“That’s not why…” Chloe trailed off with a sigh. “What if you meet the woman that you’re going to fall in love with? Having to give me a ride home is going to kind of spoil the atmosphere, don’t you think?”

“You’re assuming that I haven’t fallen in love already,” Lex said, regretting the words as soon as he saw Chloe’s eyes widen a little.

“Oh,” she said, partially stunned from his statement. “You know I was joking about the whole Mrs. Kent thing, right?”

“I know.”

“Okay – so it’s not her?”

“Chloe ---”

“Just making sure,” Chloe said. “So, you’re in love. So, shouldn’t you be trying to…woo her or something instead of playing bodyguard for the night?” Lex moved closer to her again, the tiniest of smirks on his lips, causing Chloe to finally realize what he was inferring. “No,” she said in denial. “You’re joking…right?”

“Do you want me for my money?” Lex asked, his smirk broadening.

‘No – for your body,’ Chloe thought, quickly followed by, ‘Oh, fuck.’ “Lex --- I’m not really your type. You know – I’m short – and blonde – and have curves that aren’t made from silicone. It would never work out.”

Lex leaned toward her and covered her mouth with his own, darting his tongue past her already open lips and resting his hands on her waist to pull her closer to him. When he finally allowed her to pull away for breath, Chloe stared at him in panting disbelief and he grinned smugly at her.

“I’ll pick you up in an hour so we can get to Metropolis in time for a late lunch,” he said, leaving no room for argument.

Chloe watched him as he strolled away from her and over to his own car, shaking her head to try and jolt herself back to what had to be reality.

A flurry of thoughts ran through her head, the most prominent one being that she needed to find out more about the amulet and whether it had any sort of cap for number of wishes or if there was a time limit for how long the wishes lasted.

She looked down at her partially open car door.

An hour wouldn’t be nearly enough time.




TBC…

[Not An Addict]

You updated&#33;&#33;&#33; *tackle hug* And just in time for me to get a good Chlexy fix before going back home and dealing with the legions of people we have invading every Thanksgiving. ^_^ This was a great chapter, as always. And while I can&#39;t wait to see what club they end up going to, I have to admit that I&#39;m kind of intrigued by The Red Room. After all, there&#39;s nothing wrong with being groped so long as it&#39;s the right pair of hands. ^_~ More please&#33; And Happy Thanksgiving&#33;

[peepsRfun2eat]

:yay: :yay: you updated&#33; :yay: :yay:
doing my happy dance.

loved the chapter and chloe should just realize resistance is futile since it is lex and well it is lex.

can&#39;t wait to see another update.

[Sab_Luthor]

:huh: an update :huh: oh my god it&#39;s an update really :huh:
OH YAY YAY YAY :yay: :yay: YOU UPDATED :yay: :yay: I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU AND I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LOVED THIS PART
*sigh* they are so cute together i can&#39;t wait to see them swinging on the dance floor

[Val]

Go Lex&#33;&#33;&#33;
Loved it&#33; Chloe should just forget about the amulet (yeah right :p) and take advantage of Lex&#33; ;)

UPDATE SOON&#33;

[asharnanae]

Magnificent&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

that was a classically great update&#33;&#33;&#33; loved every word&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

[hfce]

Oh great update :clap:


Hope :)

[Impress]

great job hun. I so enjoyed that.

[happy bunny]

I love it&#33; I love it&#33; I love it&#33; I love it&#33;

So cute and funny&#33;&#33; Please add more as soon as you can, I can&#39;t wait to see what happens next.

[WolviesLover]

Yay&#33; Update&#33; I LOVE this fic, scifichick&#33; It&#39;s great&#33; I&#39;m glad that Chloe now knows he&#39;s in love with her. Mrr. Lucky girl. :newdevil:

[drina]

cool&#33; glad that u updated. finally chloe knoWs, can&#39;t Wait to see What she Will do.

[marrycherry]

FINALLY AN UPDATE&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; YEAH&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;


Great one by the way, i love the fact that Chloe finally knows she is the girl of Lex&#39;s wish, but she was already attracted to him to right?, i mean before the wish


please don&#39;t let us wating for the next update
:chlexsign4:

[autumngold]

Like everyone else, I just love your update&#33;&#33; Lex was so cool to admit to her what his wish really was then to tell her who he fell in love with&#33;&#33; Chloe is so lucky&#33;&#33; You are wonderful and your update rocks&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[nickielh]

What a GREAT update&#33; I am so glad that she knows about his wish and now I can&#39;t wait to see how Lex&#39;s woo&#39;s her.

Nickie

[carebear72884]

Great story, i espically like all the wishes, lana being quite, chloe getting over clark, people paying attention to pete, clark opeaning up, and of course, the best part, lex falling for chloe. I just love how this story fixes everything that is wrong with smallville, too bad you couldn&#39;t have made clark smart in the mix too. o well, we cant have everything. now get your butt to work and write some more chlex. :biggrin: :chlexsign3:

[sara_noele]

Finally, she knows how he feels&#33;&#33;&#33; I&#39;m so glad.



Just loved everything. :wub:

[Lulucifer]

Yay&#33;&#33; an update. Hehehe....Lex and Chloe sitting in a club, k-i-s-s-s-i-n-g..... :biggrin:
great story.

[Susie Q]

“Do you want me for my money?” Lex asked, his smirk broadening.

‘No – for your body,’ Chloe thought, quickly followed by, ‘Oh, fuck.’ “Lex --- I’m not really your type. You know – I’m short – and blonde – and have curves that aren’t made from silicone.
:hehe: Don’t you just love Chloe? Like everyone else I’m glad Chloe knows how Lex really feels about her. Maybe this will make the Chloe wooing go smoother . http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/Romeo.gif I can’t wait for the next update. :yay2:

[buffiy18]

:chlexsign2: Delicious
Wonderful chapter. I’m glad to see that Lex decidied to tell Chloe the truth… and the aftermath was PRICELESS.

[Clannadlvr]

*whimpers*

Update, please&#33;&#33;&#33; I love this story- It&#39;s so cute and it&#39;s FANTASTIC to see Alexander Luthor so tongue tied. *grins*

Ok, so she obviously finds him attractive...but will she fall for him??

I need to know&#33;

[scifichick774]

A/N: Warning: this chapter? Not so much with the happy. But it is needed for the little plot that exists. Sorry.

~*~*~*~

Chloe stopped at the base of the wooden stairs and sighed. She had thought a lot about her situation during the hurried drive over to the Kent farm, and she still couldn’t believe that she was actually going to ask Clark for help. But, as a deadline had been set, she had precious few options available to her.

‘And it is kind of his fault…in a really abstract way…damn. Stupid Clark.’

“Chloe?”

Chloe looked up from the spot on the steps where she had paused and gave Clark a baleful expression that he didn’t seem to notice.

“I thought you were going to Metropolis with Pete.”

“Change of plans,” Chloe informed him.

Clark let out a breath of relief. Even though Chloe was originally from the city, he sometimes thought that she didn’t know what she was getting herself into – like with the clubbing situation.

‘Although, she’d fit in a lot better than Lana did,’ a little voice piped in the back of his head. ‘No, no, no&#33; No…bad…thoughts about Chloe. Especially now that she doesn’t like me.’ He cleared his throat to try and clear his mind and then gave her a shy smile. “Good. I was…worried.”

“Uh-huh,” Chloe said dismissively as she began to climb the stairs. “I need your help.”

Clark’s eyebrows rose, but they quickly fell as he took in Chloe’s expression. He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side suspiciously.

“For what?”

Chloe walked past him and moved to sit on the blanket-covered couch. She sighed again and leaned forward, inadvertently giving him a good view of the cleavage peeking out of her deep v-neck blouse. Clark’s mouth went dry and he had to shake his head with a quick jerking motion to force himself to concentrate on what she was saying. That – and look away from her.

‘*Definitely* look away from her,’ he thought as his eyes darted back to her breasts of their volition.

He purposefully looked all around the rest of the barn, because the weathered wooden walls were much less distracting than Chloe was all of a sudden. He guessed what his mother had once gripingly told him was true – a part of everyone would always want what they couldn’t have. And he couldn’t have Chloe now; all because he had made that one wish, not thinking that it would ever come true – and not realizing the full implications if it did.

“What do you need help with?” he asked again, running a hand around the back of his neck.

“The relic ---”

“Chloe ---” Clark practically whined, suddenly remembering why he had made the wish in the first place.

“It grants wishes.”

“I know. You told me – remember?”

“I need you to tell me how to reverse it.”

“What? What makes you think ---”

Chloe glared at him.

“Now *really* isn’t the time to play ‘I’m just a big dumb alien’ with me, Clark.”

Clark’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

“Y-you ---?”

“Know your secret? Yeah. For a long time now - *and* not the point. I’m on a deadline here, Clark. How do you reverse somebody’s wish?”

“You know that I’m ---”

Chloe rolled her eyes and stood up.

“Yes, Clark. We’ve already covered this,” she said in frustrated irritation. “Now just tell me. You know – apart from just wishing that the wish was undone yourself, since I’m guessing there’s some stupid rule about that. I mean, if they had the capability to make something that grants wishes, then they’re smart enough to put in a loophole like that.”

Clark shoved his hands into his pockets, his mind still reeling over the fact that Chloe knew he was an alien; and that she had never said anything, not even to him.

“Chloe,” he started. “If you knew, then why didn’t you tell anybody? Why didn’t you write an article about it or something?”

Chloe shot him an incredulous look.

“Because we were friends, Clark. You don’t do that to friends.”

“Were?” Clark asked unsurely.

Chloe frowned.

“Well, it’s not exactly a secret that we haven’t been as close as we used to be,” she answered. “You’re more like a…friendly acquaintance to me now. And all I ever seem to be to you is a nuisance – at least that’s how you treat me.”

“Oh,” Clark said, shame lining his voice. He had been so focused on the external elements of their relationship that he had completely baled himself out of any blame for the true state it was in. “So, where does that leave us?”

“Hopefully with you telling me how to reverse a wish,” Chloe said. “Like I said – clock’s ticking.”

“I don’t know. It was in Kryptonian – but it was a dialect that I didn’t understand,” Clark admitted. “What did you wish for that you want to undo?”

“Not me – Lex.”

“Lex wants to undo your wish?”

“No – *I* want to undo *Lex’s* wish.”

“You know what Lex wished for?” Clark asked in surprise.

“Yeah. He told me.”

“And ---? Was it really bad or something? Why do you want to…un-wish it?”

Chloe sighed and glanced at the big red numbers on Clark’s alarm clock.

“I have to go. He’s picking me up in a half hour for Metropolis.”

“Lex? I thought you were going with Pete?”

“I was – until Pete decided to start making out with Lana,” Chloe said sourly.

“What?&#33;”

“Don’t ask.”

“But ---”

“I said, ‘don’t ask’,” Chloe cut in tersely. “It’s a mental image that I’m really trying to wipe from my mind and if I talk about it, then I’m afraid it’ll be stuck there forever.”

Clark shook his head in disbelief.

“Lana and…Pete? I just don’t get it.”

“Yeah, well, join the club. He’s always seemed like he was immune to whatever meteor freak pheromone she was giving off, but ---”

“Chloe,” Clark said in a warning voice while giving her a pointed look.

“What?” Chloe asked stubbornly. “It’s true. And you can’t say that you haven’t noticed that you haven’t exactly been her only stalker since eighth grade.” Clark opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe beat him to it. “I mean, how many psychos have you needed to save her from?”

“Well…”

Chloe gave a quick flip of her hand in the air.

“I’ve gotta go, Clark. If you come across anything on the relic though, give me a call on my cell.”

“Chloe?”

“Yeah?” Chloe asked and stopped a couple of steps down in her descent down the staircase.

“What did Lex wish for that’s got you so upset?”

Chloe flinched.

“That he’d fall madly in love with a woman who didn’t want him for his money.”

“Well…that’s not so bad. Why would you want to --- you don’t like him do you? I mean - *like* like? Because ---”

“He likes me,” Chloe corrected.

Clark blinked.

“What?”

“*He* likes *me*,” Chloe repeated. “Or loves me – or thinks he loves me – or whatever. I tried to convince him that he didn’t, but that relic must be pretty strong.”

“Wait a minute. You’re going to Metropolis with Lex when he thinks he’s in love with you? Chloe ---”

“It’s not like he gave me a choice, Clark. He pretty much vetoed my idea of going to Metropolis alone after I saw Pete and Lana together,” she said, pausing to let a small shudder pass through her body.

Clark folded his arms across his chest, not taken in by Chloe’s overly dramatic gesture.

“Since when is Lex Luthor get a say in what you do?” he asked with a mocking arched eyebrow.

“Since he told me flat out that he’d call my dad to tell him I was going clubbing instead of visiting my cousin like I told him.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. And when it comes down to either going clubbing with a guy who thinks he’s in love with me or staying home to play third wheel with Lana and the new, improved Pete? It’s not exactly a difficult decision. God, I’d rather kill myself than play backup girl for another guy who’s infatuated with her.”

Clark swallowed the lump of pain that suddenly settled in his throat. He knew that Chloe hadn’t taken his pseudo-relationship with Lana well, but he hadn’t realized the extent of how badly she felt he treated her. And now she didn’t care about him at all, *and* she knew his secret…

‘Oh God,’ he thought sickly. Hoping that Chloe hadn’t noticed how the blood drained from his face, he drew in a deep breath and tried to steer the topic away from Pete, Lana, and any possible revenge Chloe might be thinking of that would be directing toward him for breaking her heart in the first place. “But you can’t go with Lex. What if he…tries something?”

Chloe inwardly frowned. She hadn’t actually had the time to think that far ahead. She pushed a forced grin onto her lips and hoped the expression didn’t look too uneasy.

“I’ll think of something.”





TBC…

[hfce]

Great update but Chloe come on you know you want him. ;)


Hope :chlexsign2:

[katspell]

:ohmy: I&#39;m out of updates&#33;&#33; No please say it ain&#39;t so&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;
I&#39;m loving this, it is so funny&#33;&#33; A mute princess, a hunky Pete (I love that btw) and Lex in love&#33;&#33;

[Val]

Ooh great update&#33; Saved me from boredom too&#33; :biggrin:
Anyways, loved how Clark noticed Chloe, too late farmboy&#33; Now I can&#39;t wait to see her and Lexy in Met&#33; Update this soon&#33;

[carebear72884]

finally an update, i was wondering how long it would take. and Chloe, hun, Lex fu*king Luthor wants you, and you are going to try and turn him down, honestly, what are you thinking?

[Clannadlvr]

Dear Chloe,
Yes, it&#39;s true. Your life hasn&#39;t often been perfect. You were in love with a stupid farmboy who only saw pink, your best friend wasn&#39;t a good enough friend to tell you his deep dark secret, and any time you got the hook up with a hottie they tried to suck your life energy or what not. But, hey, things are looking up&#33;
I mean, REALLY. Not only is Lana mute, Clark is finally noticing you. But even if you still thought you had any room to complain, let me spell it out for you:

LEX FREAKIN&#39; LUTHOR IS IN LOVE WITH YOU&#33;&#33;&#33; ARE YOU CRAZY&#33;&#33;&#33; DON&#39;T THINK, JUST JUMP ON HIM&#33;&#33;

signed,

A Concerned Citizen

p.s. More of this fic please&#33;&#33;&#33;

[autumngold]

What a great update&#33;&#33; :yay2: :biggrin: :yay2: The only thing that would make it better is if it had included some Chlex&#33;&#33; Not that I&#39;m complaining&#33;&#33; I love the fact that Clark is realizing what he missed out on&#33;&#33; Now Chloe just needs to accept that Lex won&#39;t fall out of love with her and go for it&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[vardaquareien]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Dec 22 2003, 12:41 PM
“But you can’t go with Lex. What if he…tries something?”
http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/evilthoughts.gif oooooh believe me I&#39;m countin&#39; on it&#33;&#33;&#33; :satanwink:

Good filler chapter. I luv how blasé Chloe was about the fact that she knew Clunk was an alien&#33;&#33;&#33; I can just see her being like that&#33;&#33;&#33; :biggrin: Clunk was very in character too, even while realising how much he treated her like crap his thoughts automatically turned to himself and how she might want revenge on him....I swear if the thought of it didn&#39;t make me physically ill I&#39;d swear that Clunk and Blinky really were meant to be together, they&#39;re both able to turn every situation &#39;round so it&#39;s about them&#33;&#33;&#33;

Now hurry up and get the Chlex to Metrolpolis...I can&#39;t wait for the fun to begin&#33;&#33;&#33; :blinkkiss: ...oh yeah...PLEASE?

[Not An Addict]

*evil purr evil purr evil purr* Heh heh heh heh. Stupid Clark indeed. ^_^ Yay for updating&#33; *hugs*

[tigerbaby]

I have to jump on the stupid Clark bandwagon too&#33; How much dumber can you get?

I&#39;m beginning to notice that the BDA is just as self-centered as Lana. Your friend tells you her problem and all you can focus on is yourself and how it affects you. *Shakes head* BDA and Pinky are just perfect for each other. Now all we have to do is find an isolated planet far, far away with *zero* oxygen in the atmosphere....

[Susie Q]

:lol: at Heather&#33;

Yes Clark, the Chloe ship has sailed. So just suck it up, get over yourself, and try to stay focused here. As for Clark playing ‘I’m just a big dumb alien,’ well I’m pretty sure it’s only about 10% act. http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/whoosh.gif Sooo, now that we have that little interlude starring dumbass out of the way. How’s about some ‘Chlex in Metropolis’ action? http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/Wink2.gif

[sara_noele]

So we knew that Clarks is stupid,* thinks deeply* okay we didn&#39;t know that he was that stupid * shakes her head*&#33;

Loved Chloe attitude towards Clark. Now all she has to do is realize, that Lex is the men for her. Go girl&#33;&#33; :chlexsign2:

[buffiy18]

Poor Clark, with all that speed his was still too slow to get with Chloe. Great chapter. Looking for the next... :chlexsign3:

[Blaire023]

Okay, I&#39;m once again caught up with this. So yay&#33;

Lovin it, like I always do of course.

~B

[gina]

Great update. I loved that Clark finally realized what an awful friend he has been and that he had lost his chance with Chloe.

I&#39;m very excited for Chloe and Lex&#39;s Metropolis adventure&#33; Update soon please&#33; :)

[ElizabethV]

Wow&#33; I loved Lex&#39;s wish- and of course that he&#39;s now in love with Chloe. :) It&#39;s wonderful&#33; This story is terrific&#33; I can&#39;t wait to read more and find out what Lex has planned for Chloe in Metropolis. :) I hope you&#39;ll update soon&#33;

[Kit Merlot]

Kris, I love this story&#33; Lex inlove with Chloe, who could ask for anything more&#33; Well. besides an update :biggrin:

[Clannadlvr]

Hee hee...glad you liked my "open letter,:" Susie&#33;

Waiting patiently *cough cough nudge nudge* for another update&#33;&#33;

Yes, I know I&#39;m greedy, but I really am enjoying this&#33;

;)

[Sab_Luthor]

no update :ohmy: :ohmy: again
you know you have to update right
so what the hell do you do update damnit

[scifichick774]

Jonathan Kent folded his arms across his chest and fixed a stern glare upon his son.

“You wanna run that by me again? Because I could have sworn you said ---”

“I did,” Clark interrupted. “I need to know how you talked to my biological father.”

“Clark,” Jonathan warned in an exasperated tone.

“I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important,” Clark told him.

“You remember what happened the last time you started hearing his voice in your head,” Jonathan said. “Are you really telling me you want a repeat of that?”

“No --- no. But I need to talk to him; *really* talk to him. Lex has a team of archaeologists working at this site and ---”

“Why do I not like the sound of this?”

“Dad,” Clark half-whined. He was never going to get anywhere with his investigation if his father kept cutting in to make snide remarks; and the more time dragged on, the bigger the possibility was that the wishes would become permanent – at least that’s what he figured, though he had nothing to substantiate the suspicion with. He drew in a breath and then released it as a shaky sigh, shooting a wounded puppy dog look at his dad. “Lex has a team of archaeologists working outside Smallville’s city limits.”

“So?” Jonathan asked stubbornly.

“*So* - they’ve found some things.”

“Clark ---”

“Kryptonian things.”

“Oh,” Jonathan said, suddenly worried.

“And one thing in particular has…it’s already caused stuff to happen.”

“What kind of stuff?” Jonathan asked with narrowed eyes.

“Uh…” Clark started, running a hand around the back of his neck nervously. “Well…it sort of…grants wishes.” He mumbled the last part under his breath and Jonathan furrowed his brow.

“What was that?”

Clark let out a suffered sigh.

“It grants wishes – or it *granted* wishes anyway,” he said. “And now any time I’m around Lana I start rambling on about my feelings - *and* my secrets; Pete is tall and muscular, Lana’s all…goo-goo eyed over him but she’s completely lost her voice, Chloe knows my secret but doesn’t care anything about me – not even as a friend, and Lex thinks he’s in love with her.”

Jonathan blinked and then pulled back his head a little.

“What?”

“Dad,” Clark whined again.

Jonathan shook his head.

“You’re serious?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yeah.”

Jonathan’s face contorted into a stern, angry expression.

“Why don’t we start from the beginning? How exactly did this happen, son?”

Clark glowered and his eyes darted to the clock that was hanging on the wall. He only hoped he could get the information he needed from both of his fathers before Lex ended up doing something that he’d regret after whatever was affecting him wore off.

‘If it *does* wear off,’ he thought morbidly and inwardly groaned.

~*~*~*~

The caves…Two hours later…

The bright blue light engulfed him and Clark took a breath to pump up his courage. This would be the first time he had talked to his biological father since having the red kryptonite ring removed for good the year before.

“You seek my guidance?” a smooth, accented voice thundered around him.

“Uh…yeah,” Clark said uncomfortably.

“About?”

“A friend of mine found this medallion with writings on it. The markings look like Kryptonian, but I can’t read it, and…this is going to sound stupid, but we think it grants wishes.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s purple and has a thick silver ring around it,” Clark continued. “Do you know what it is?” he asked hopefully. “Or how to reverse the wishes?”

“Wishes were already made?”

Clark squirmed where he stood.

“Yeah,” he said, quickly adding, “But none of us knew what it did. It was just kind of a coincidence that ---”

“More than one individual made the wishes?” Jor-El cut in.

“Yes. There were five of us altogether.”

“Then the wishing stone has reached its limitations,” Jor-El said.

“Wishing stone?”

“It’s a device that elders would give to the young to teach them the lesson that immediate gratification of desires would only bring emptiness instead of the sense of fulfillment that they believed it would. As the markings are unrecognizable to you, the one you speak of was most likely sent down with my father or grandfather when they visited Earth for their trials.”

“Trials?”

“A period of time in which males are sent to worlds with yellow suns, to see if they can handle the responsibilities that their new abilities bring to them.”

“Oh.”

“Of course, by that age, most are aware that the wishing stone is not something to be used, as fleeting fancies are often just that – fleeting.”

Clark scowled. How was he supposed to know what the stupid wishing stone did when a) he hadn’t been raised on Krypton and b) he couldn’t read the older dialect of the writings? He opened his mouth to form a rebuttal, but it lodged in his throat at the last minute, and he found himself thinking about Lana making out with Pete, about Chloe trying to ward off Lex’s advances.

He didn’t have time to get into an argument with someone who wasn’t even there; not when it might cost him the knowledge of how to undo everything that was happening.

“How do I fix it?” he asked. “How do I get things back to normal?”

“You must hold the stone in your hands and counteract the wish, but you can only undo the wish which you yourself are responsible for,” Jor-El answered.

“But what about my friends?” Clark half-whined with frustration.

“Every person is accountable for their own choices, Kal-El.”

“So…what? You’re saying that everybody has to un-wish their wishes individually?”

“Precisely.”

Clark frowned. Convincing Pete to give up his new physique might be a bit of a hard sell.

“What if someone doesn’t want to?” he asked.

“Then it will remain forever,” Jor-El said calmly. “But it will not affect the status of the other wishes. Each wish represents an individual choice. They are not interactive.”

Clark let out a breath of relief.

‘Good,’ he thought. ‘At least I don’t have to try and talk Pete into becoming short again. But what about Lex?’ Clark cringed. The thought seemed to come out of nowhere since, for the most part, he had been focusing on Lana and Pete, and he found himself unable to come up with an answer on his own. “What if --- what if they don’t want to get rid of their wish, but they should?”

“As I previously stated – every person is accountable for their own choices. Unless their wish actively promotes harm to another, then the decision on whether or not it should be taken away rests with the individual.”

“Great,” Clark mumbled sarcastically. “Just great.”

“Your questions have been answered.”

The light surrounding Clark seemed to explode into nothingness and he shakily ran his hands through his hair.

So much for fatherly advice.

~*~*~*~

Metropolis…Later that evening…

Lex was certain that his jaw was touching the floor, however there was very little he could do about it. Chloe slowly spun around with her arms out and then flashed him a brilliant smile.

“Pretty good, huh?” she asked rhetorically. “So, does it get the ‘Lex Luthor Seal of Approval’?”

Lex swallowed hard, his eyes still raking over her body. The outfit looked exactly how she had described, but his imagination had been woefully inadequate when compared to how she actually looked in the garments.

“I ---”

“Have you decided where we’re going yet?” Chloe asked, cutting him off because she was feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way he was leering at her.

Lex’s mouth snapped shut.

“We’re not.”

Chloe creased her brow.

“What? I thought you ---”

“There’s no way I’m letting you go anywhere in that – let alone a club where some guy could slip something into your drink.”

“Lex ---”

“No.”

Chloe’s hands balled up into tiny fists at her sides and she closed her eyes as she focused on taking and releasing deep breaths. She doubted that Lex would have a problem with her attire if he wasn’t under the spell – or whatever the heck it was that the alien relic had cast on them – but that didn’t make dealing with his sudden spring of over-protectiveness any easier.

“Lex,” she finally sighed out, “Look – despite what I said before I knew about…you know…I really do just want to dance. I’m not going out to get drunk or hook up with some random guy. I mean, I’ve never ---” Chloe caught herself and abruptly shut her mouth, forcing a smile onto her lips that she hoped would placate him. If not, then she could possibly be facing a very embarrassing conversation.

One of Lex’s eyebrows seemed to rise in slow motion and he cocked his head to the side as he took a tentative step toward her.

“You’ve never…what?”

“Nothing,” Chloe lied. “Not important. So, I guess you’ll have to take me back to Smallville if you don’t like this outfit, because I didn’t bring another one and ---”

“You’re rambling,” Lex said in an observant tone, tilting his head the other direction and taking a step to the side as if he were going to start circling around her like a vulture. At least that’s what Chloe thought it felt like. “What were you going to say before?”

Chloe squared her jaw and summoned every ounce of patience she had left in her. With a huff of air, she blew her longer bangs away from her eyes and gave him a tight grin.

“Nothing. Now are you going to a club with me or not? Because I’m pretty sure I can still get into a few of them on my own if you don’t want to ---”

Lex growled and Chloe stopped talking, her eyes widening at the purely feral sound that had escaped Lex’s throat. She instinctually took a step back from him and then narrowed her eyes warily.

“Lex ---”

Lex sucked in a long breath and then returned the tight grin she had given him moments earlier. He was never going to get her to return his newly induced feelings for her if he kept up with allowing his basal self to control his actions.

‘God. If anything, I’ll scare her away,’ he thought, his grimace softening into an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head a little and looking away from her in hopes that not seeing her face directly in front of him would help slow the blood that was rushing faster through his veins. “Of course we can go. That’s why we came here, right?”

Chloe appeared unsure, but finally gave him a small nod of her head.

“Right.”

“Good,” Lex said, still not looking at her as he walked over to retrieve his keys from the table he had tossed them onto when they first came into his penthouse. He moved to the front door and opened it for her, surprising her and himself by bracing an arm across the doorframe right as she was about to pass by him. “You only dance with me.”

Chloe arched an eyebrow in a snide expression.

“Why don’t you just club me over the head and drag me back to the room?” she asked, her voice laced with half-amused irritation.

Lex gave her a dry smirk.

“Say – now there’s an idea,” he said with an edge to his tone.

“Ha ha,” Chloe said sarcastically, not noticing that Lex was moving and she was moving in response until her back hit the half-open door.

She blinked and then chuckled in somewhat embarrassed surprise, her nervous smile slowly falling as Lex positioned his arms on either side of her and tipped his head ever so slightly to the side as he looked at her. His eyes kept hers as his face moved closer, but they darted down to her lips just inches before he gave into the strong urge he had been having since he had kissed her earlier that day.

His warm, soft lips brushed against hers, pressing harder and opening when he realized her mouth was adorned with little more than flavored lip gloss. His hand moved from its position on the door to creep into her hair and circle to the back of her head to keep her from moving away and then his tongue slid out from between his lips to taste her.

Chloe was surprised to feel her knees literally go weak and moaned deep in her throat when Lex trailed his free hand up from her hip to her waist to forcefully pull her flush against him.

Lex’s lips slipped off of hers and he moved his mouth to her ear, panting in uneven breaths as he laid a tiny kiss against its shell.

“You only dance with me,” he said again, whispering with an almost threatening huskiness against her skin.

Chloe’s teeth grazed over her lower lip and then she nodded briefly in response. Maybe having Lex think he was in love with her wasn’t such a bad thing after all.




TBC…

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: Now thats what ya need after a damn horrid day at school&#33; I love ya, you know that right. this has to be one of my all time fave fic, but then all of your are so good. mahhh, look at me rambleing away, FANTASTICO&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; :worship2:

[Clannadlvr]

*sighs*

Ok, I&#39;m going to beg here. Please, please, please let Lex REALLY be in love with Chloe.

*whimpers*

Susie, thanks SOOOO much for updating&#33;

More, please, soon?

[S.Ann Smith]

Lex is such a spoil sport. :tease: Oh well I&#39;m sure Chloe will change his mind. if you know what I mean ;) ;) ;)

[Val]

Yay loved the chapter&#33;
Now I hope Lex thinks Clark is setting him up to make him get away from chloe cos her farmboy wants her to himself and so Lex kicks his ass&#33; :biggrin:
Just cos I like to see a posessive Lex and a beaten up farmboy... :devil:

[Kit Merlot]

The Chlex moments are the best, aren&#39;t they :biggrin:

I love this update--overprotective/jealous/possessive Lex is always treat&#33;

WELL DONE :chlexsign2:

[carebear72884]

:blinkkiss: great update, now i want to see what happens when chloe dances with only Lex.

[hfce]

I loved it. :clap:



Hope :chlexsign2:

[autumngold]

I don&#39;t think that Lex should ever unwish his wish&#33; Lex and Chloe are just so good together&#33;&#33; Thank you so very, very much for the update&#33;&#33; I love your new chapter with the very jealous Lex&#33;&#33; :chlexsign3:

[Béatrice]

Yes&#33; You updated this fabulous fic. :biggrin:
I want more Chlex scenes. :chlexsign1: Please update soon.

[Not An Addict]

No. I would have to say that having Lex Luthor in love with me would most definitely not be a bad thing. I don&#39;t know if you meant to do this or not, but Clark is actually . . . almost interesting in this. He&#39;s still fairly obnoxious, what with the whining and the self-righteous attitude, but he&#39;s interesting as well. I actually wouldn&#39;t mind another scene with him in it. ^_^

And it&#39;s NOT just because he got glasses in &#39;Whisper&#39;&#33; It&#39;s NOT&#33;

Great chapter. ^_^

[sara_noele]

Gah, loved it, want more. NEED MORE&#33; NOW&#33;

[Blaire023]

Nope, not bad at all.

~B :blinkkiss:

[ElizabethV]

Ah&#33; That was great&#33; :) Lex being possessive- and then Chloe thinking maybe his being in love w/ her isn&#39;t a bad thing. *Sigh* If only I could be in her shoes.

[gina]

Ooh, so wonderful&#33; And yeah, I&#39;m sure Chloe doesn&#39;t mind having Lex think he&#39;s in love with her, hehe. I&#39;m hoping that when Clark took off from the caves he wasn&#39;t going to ruin the Chlex night of clubbing.

Please update soon&#33;

[scifichick774]

A/N: My sincerest apologies for the lack of any Chlex interaction in this chapter. The story required a Clark/Pete confrontation and rather than just allude to it like I was really tempted to do, I felt it made for a better story to include it. On the other hand, there are some good lines, so you might not want to skip it entirely. *smile*

~*~*~*~

Clark hesitated as he held his finger out to press the doorbell on the Sullivan home. Retrieving the ‘wishing stone’ from the lab had been relatively easy; he just hoped that Lex wouldn’t be too upset with a couple of broken doors and a melted security system.

He also hoped that Chloe’s dad wouldn’t yell at him for coming to the house so late at night, but an imaginary image of Lana and Pete making out flit into his mind and was all he needed to bolster the confidence to face Mr. Sullivan’s wrath.

He pushed on the doorbell and his eyes threatened to pop out of his head when he saw the young black man who answered the door.

“P-Pete?”

Pete raised his hand for a tiny, guilty wave. He hadn’t doubted that Chloe would tell Clark about him and Lana, but he was moderately surprised that she had taken so long to do it.

“Hey,” he said, keeping his voice just slightly below his normal speaking level.

Clark’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times in shock.

“Chloe told me, but ---”

“Ye-ah,” Pete strung out. “About that ---”

“I bet your dad was happy.”

Pete blinked and then nodded when he finally realized what Clark was talking about.

“Yeah – you should have seen him,” he declared with a proud smile.

“Wow,” Clark said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Pete said again, this time almost blandly as the corners of his mouth were already turning down with the realization that he was going to have to bring up the inevitable subject of what he had done with Lana. “Listen…Clark…”

Clark frowned. The image he had in his mind of Pete and Lana together would need to be altered to an even more unsettling one. Lana making out with Pete was one thing; Lana making out with a considerably taller and more muscular Pete was another.

It was disturbing and Clark suddenly felt a rush of emotions flow through him; the primary ones being jealousy and insecurity.

“So…” he started, shoving his hands into his pockets and glancing down at the ground as he tried to summon the words he wanted to say. Everything that immediately sprang to mind would be too harsh and he couldn’t risk Pete slamming the door closed in his face. “Oh&#33; I found out how to reverse the wishes,” he said, desperately hoping that he could talk both Pete and Lana into negating their wishes now.

If Lana was indeed attracted to Pete’s new body, then she would likely stay attracted after everyone else’s wishes were undone. He himself had already taken back his wish about Chloe having no feelings for him whatsoever, and was anxious to get his encounter with Pete and Lana out of the way so he could get to Metropolis and find out whether it had already worked or not.

He realized that though he had been lost in his thoughts, Pete had yet to speak. He looked over from where his gaze had been darting around to see his friend staring at him with a blank expression on his face.

“Why would I want to reverse my wish?” Pete asked incredulously.

“Uh…well…I was actually thinking more about Lana,” Clark partially lied. “I think she wished that I’d tell her all my secrets, because ---”

“Oh, man. You didn’t.”

“Er…yeah.”

Pete groaned.

“How could you do that, Clark? Are you trying to make the government come after you?”

“No, but I ---”

“Dang. No wonder Lana was trying to look up the FBI’s website.”

Clark paled.

“What?” he croaked out.

“You’re just lucky she’s completely inept with computers – and that she lost her voice so she couldn’t just call them.”

Clark glared at him.

“Nice way to talk about someone you were making out with earlier today,” he bit.

“Hey&#33; I’m not the one who told her what you really are,” Pete shot back.

“You don’t understand Pete. It was like I couldn’t control what I was saying around her. I didn’t have a choice&#33;” Clark snapped.

“And I *did*?” Pete asked.

“Uh…ye-ah,” Clark strung out bitterly.

“No way. She practically attacked me she was throwing herself at me so hard.”

“Yeah, and it’s not like you’re three times her size or anything, so there was no way you could have possibly fought her off,” Clark said, his voice laced with heavy sarcasm.

“Whatever.”

Silence descended upon them and Clark shuffled his feet.

“So, I guess I can’t talk you into unwishing what you wished for.”

Pete scoffed.

“No,” he answered with a humored grin.

Clark sighed knowingly.

“Well…then can you go get Lana so she can reverse hers? If she’s as freaked out as you say, then she shouldn’t have a problem with it.”

“Dude – she’s asleep already.”

Clark blinked and then stared at his friend in confusion.

“Then why are you still here?”

Pete frowned.

“I’m waiting up for Chloe. She walked in on --- I guess she already told you since you knew about me and Lana.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, well, Chloe was *pissed* and just left,” Pete said. “Lana and I tried looking for her when she didn’t come home after about an hour – you know, to give her some cooling off time first – but we couldn’t find her.” Clark frowned deeply and panic began to well in Pete’s throat. “Uh-oh. What’s going on? She wasn’t hurt or anything, was she? Damn. I can’t believe this. I don’t even *like* Lana and now Chloe’s hurt because ---”

“She’s in Metropolis,” Clark cut in.

“Oh,” Pete said, pausing only a second before grimacing. “Damn it&#33; She’s gonna be in an even worse mood if she spends the night with her cousin. Have you met her? That girl is *seriously* disturbed.”

“She’s with Lex.”

It was Pete turn to blink.

“What?”

“Chloe’s with Lex. He’s in lo---” Clark paused and took a breath. “His wish was that he’d find and fall in love with one woman who didn’t want him for his money, and ---”

Pete snorted.

“Yeah, cuz’ *that’ll* happen,” he said with amused sarcasm.

Clark gave him a tight grin.

“It’s *already* happened.”

Pete furrowed his brow, but then his eyebrows shot up to his scalp as the realization of what Clark was saying dawned on him.

“He’s in love with Chloe?&#33;” he yelled.

“Shh,” Clark said, his eyes darting up to the staircase in fear that Pete had woken up Lana or Chloe’s dad.

Pete didn’t seem concerned about it, as his entire angry focus was on what Clark had just told him.

“Let me get this straight. Luthor’s in love with Chloe?” he asked, his nostrils flaring at the thought.

“Ye-s,” Clark strung out carefully. “But it’s not like she likes him back.”

“Then what’s she doing in Metropolis with him?” Pete countered.

“Uh…well…” Clark said, running a hand around the back of his neck. He had been wondering the same thing himself, and therefore didn’t have an answer to the question. Luckily he ended up not needing one, as Pete continued with his rant.

“And what are *you* doing *here*, bugging me about changing *my* wish, when Chloe’s in trouble?”

Clark opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it with an embarrassed smile.

“You were closer?” he offered lamely.

Pete glared at him.

“You were jealous,” he said pointedly. “Chloe told you about me and Lana and because you’re obsessed with her – for reasons I *still* can’t figure out – that’s all you could think about.” He stopped and shook his head. “No offense, Clark, but you need help. The psychiatric kind.”

“Pete ---”

“Chloe is your *friend*, Clark. Your friend who, unlike Lana, would probably be totally cool with finding out you’re an alien. And you ---”

“She knows,” Clark interrupted, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to even notice that Pete was going to continue speaking. Seeing Pete’s arched eyebrow, Clark cast his eyes to the ground once again. “Chloe knows I’m an alien. She told me earlier.”

“Did she freak out?”

“No. She seemed really…like she didn’t even care. She said she had known for a long time and hadn’t told anyone because that’s what friends do,” Clark said guiltily.

“And you repay that friendship by letting Lex Luthor take her to Metropolis,” Pete scolded.

“No ---” Clark paused and took a breath. “I already unwished my wish, Pete. It might take a little while to go into effect, but --- it’s not like Lex would do anything. She’s totally safe.”

Pete folded his arms across his chest.

“What was your wish?” he asked, still unconvinced that Chloe wasn’t in any danger.

“That Chloe wouldn’t have any feelings for me anymore,” Clark answered, his voice lined with a modicum of shame.

“And you unwishing that is going to help…how exactly?”

“Because…you know…she won’t do anything with him,” Clark said. Pete arched an eyebrow. “Because she likes me,” Clark clarified.

“Yeah – as a *friend*.”

“*More* than a friend,” Clark protested.

Pete shook his head.

“No, man. She hasn’t liked you as more than a friend for a long time now. Not since you decided to let Kal take over that one summer.”

Clark appeared crestfallen.

“She hasn’t?” he asked in disbelief.

“No.”

“But ---”

“No.”

“Oh,” Clark said. “Well, I still don’t think Lex would hurt her. He may have his bad points, but he’s not like that.”

“Hurt her? No. Seduce her…”

Clark’s stomach twisted.

“I…have to go.”




TBC...

[Not An Addict]

*pounces*

Hee hee&#33; This was great. I especially enjoyed the


“She hasn’t?” he asked in disbelief.

“No.”

“But ---”

“No.”
part. ^_^ Tres funny. Bravo&#33; Ok, now I have to make an intensely difficult decision. I feel like Sophie.

[Clannadlvr]

YAY&#33; *dances* Ok, we&#39;ll forgive you for the Clark Pete scene as it does fill in some important areas of the fic. That being said...

..take us to Metropolis to see Chloe and Lex&#33;&#33;

*grins*

[happy bunny]

Woohoo&#33; An update&#33; And a great one, at that. I can definitely forgive the lack of Chlex in this chappy, just because of how good the Clark/Pete interaction was.

Can&#39;t wait to see what&#39;s going on with Chloe and Lex in Metropolis, and I swear, if Clunk interrupts Lex&#39;s seduction of Chloe I&#39;m going to be very upset. *mutters something about stupid farmboys and bad timing*

[ColumbiaBlue]

Can I just reiterate how much I:heart:Pete? He&#39;s such a cutie&#33; Why can&#39;t he be like this on the show? So there wasn&#39;t any Chlex interaction in this chapter, our little Petey more than made up for it&#33; :hug: Not saying that we don&#39;t want Chlex in the next chapter, mind you.

And as for Clark...:nobad: WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COW POOP LITTLE MAN&#33;&#33;&#33; You ditched Chloe at the dance, treated her like your own personal Google, and then go *APESHIT* on her in Metropolis... and you *really* think she&#39;s still gonna like you? Pete&#39;s right. You need psychological help. We&#39;re talking *serious* therapy here.

This keeps getting better and better&#33; Can&#39;t wait for your next update&#33;&#33;&#33; :dance:

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[BlushingRose]

Yay&#33; You updated&#33; :yay:

And I&#39;m impressed, Kris...knowing how you feel about Clark, you managed to write him in a way that didn&#39;t portray him as a total idiot, LOL.

Did anyone *really* think that Pete would reverse his wish? As for Lana...what&#39;s the point? Does reversing it mean she&#39;ll forget what Clark has already told her? I don&#39;t think there are any secrets left for him to reveal. Chloe...well, a week of silent Lana is probably the best week she&#39;s had since the Pink Princess moved into her guest bedroom. And Lex...duh&#33; Fall in love with a woman who doesn&#39;t want anything from you except your sexy bod? <snort> That&#39;s a no-brainer if I ever heard one.

So, the only thing I see coming out of this is that Clark and Chloe regain their friendship (hopefully Chloe won&#39;t let him use her as a doormat any more :rolleyes: ). For the rest, there&#39;s no way they&#39;ll want to reverse their wishes, or reversing them really isn&#39;t going to make a lot of difference in what comes next...

Kris, I love this story...well, I love just about everything you&#39;ve written <smile>. I know your muse has been on hiatus, and I hope this is a good sign that he/she has returned??

RA

[carebear72884]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Feb 13 2004, 08:25 AM
“Hurt her? No. Seduce her…”


Hehe, he better seduce her, and she better fall for it, and then he can take his wish back and find out he is still in love and so is she...that would be the best, now get back to the chlex&#33;&#33; :chlexsign2:

[Lilith The First]

what can I say...

I

Love

It.


how can I write a contructive critic when I don&#39;t have any critics to make?

[sara_noele]

An update, an update&#33; * sings and dances around in circles* You see, I&#39;m happy&#33;

Even without Chlex, still great and funny&#33; :biggrin:

[hfce]

:clap: :applause: :blinkkiss:




Hope :cool:

[Tandy]

Stupid clunk&#33;

Grrr&#33; He&#39;s going to interrupt Chloe and Lex&#33; :crygreen: Update as soon as you can please. :D

Tandy

[autumngold]

Only you could write such an excellent update in which Clark realizes what an idiot he is and Pete talks about how annoying Lana is&#33;&#33; I can&#39;t wait for the next chapter&#33;&#33; Lex and Chloe in Metropolis? Anything could happen&#33;&#33; :biggrin: Clark better not interrupt them&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[ElizabethV]

“Because she likes me,” Clark clarified.

“Yeah – as a *friend*.”

“*More* than a friend,” Clark protested.

Pete shook his head.

“No, man. She hasn’t liked you as more than a friend for a long time now. Not since you decided to let Kal take over that one summer.”

Clark appeared crestfallen.

He he&#33; I&#39;m loving this&#33; :) The Lana bashing was great- there should really be more of it- or rather, some of it, on the show. And I like that Pete is still worried about Chloe- he&#39;s a great friend, unlike some other people. Can&#39;t wait to see what Lex and Chloe are up to&#33;

[gina]

That was great. I&#39;m glad to see that Pete got it through Clark&#39;s thick head that Chloe doesn&#39;t like him like *that* anymore. And I loved how he showed Clark what a horrible friend he has been to her and how screwed up his priorities are.

Can&#39;t wait to see how Chloe and Lex are getting along in Metropolis&#33; :)

[smllvllchic703]

This is an awesome story, I loved the pete/clark interaction and the fact that clark actually thought he could convince pete to take back his wish...I&#39;m curious as to what they&#39;ll find when they track down Lex and Chloe in Metropolis though...

-Cheri

[Sab_Luthor]

you know you want to
so why don&#39;t just do it ;)

UPDATE OF COURSE

[Kit Merlot]

THis is a wonderful update&#33; Could Clark be a bigger jerk?

I am also looking forward to how Lex and Chloe are surviving in Metropolis&#33;

GREAT JOB :biggrin:

[Elviriel]

Love it &#33; I love Pete he&#39;s so cute ....
Update soon &#33; :chlexsign2:

[tigroon]

What they said. When do you update ? *pouts*

[katspell]

I am totaly into this. Does Clark really think that he&#39;s going to be able to talk Lex out of his wish? I don&#39;t think so. Chloe might have a chance, that whole &#39;I don&#39;t know if you love me because you&#39;re under the influence so unwish it and we&#39;ll give it a try&#39; I can totaly see Chloe being that honest.

so, anyway, update with the Chlexy goodness&#33;

[newbatgirl]

Ummmm, more Chlex? Soon?

[scifichick774]

Slick, hot, passionate, craving…Lex and Chloe’s lips and tongues moved together in a frenzied embrace as his limo slowly wove its way through Metropolis’s weekend traffic. Normally, Lex would have driven his date to their location in one of his sports cars to try and impress her, but he already knew that Chloe didn’t care about his money or possessions and a limousine was much more conducive to…other activities.

Their hands crawled over each other’s bodies and when Lex began to caress one of her breasts over the thin fabric of her skimpy shirt, Chloe thought she might never get enough of being with him.

The thought correlated with a wanton moan that slipped from her throat and Lex’s subconscious took the cue to let things progress to the next level. He started to lean her back on the seat, blinking in confusion when she pushed him away and turned her eyes away from him.

“I --- I can’t do this, Lex,” she half-whispered shakily through labored breaths.

Lex frowned. He could have sworn she was enjoying their foreplay as much as he was.

“Chloe,” he said, reaching out for her and reluctantly pulling back when she held a hand in front of her to stop him. Suddenly he was reminded of what she said – or rather, *didn’t* say – in his apartment.

“I’m not going out to get drunk or hook up with some random guy. I mean, I’ve never ---”

“You’ve never…what?”

“Nothing…not important…”

Shit. Could he be any more of a bastard? The woman he professed to be in love with had all but almost admitted that she was a virgin and he had been prepared to let her first time be in the back of a limousine because his hormones had apparently taken on a life of their own. Or maybe that wasn’t the problem at all – or not entirely anyway.

Maybe she just didn’t want to sleep with him period. Considering the fact that she wasn’t under the effects of the ancient alien relic, Lex begrudgingly admitted that it was a distinct possibility, and that she had only been kissing him to ease his discomfort over not returning his feelings.

“Chloe,” he repeated, sucking in a breath and hoping it wasn’t audible. He didn’t want his latter thought to be true and needed to eliminate the first before he even considered it as a possibility. “You know I’d never force you to go further than ---”

“It’s not that,” Chloe interrupted. Turning her eyes to him, she looked at him with an apologetic expression. “It’s just…” she paused and Lex feared the worst.

God. He should have found a way to keep her back at the apartment, where at least he wouldn’t end up having competition for her attention for the evening.

“…I don’t want to take advantage of you,” Chloe continued.

Lex blinked.

“What?”

Chloe shook her head as she began to explain.

“You think you’re in love with me ---”

“I am.”

“You’re not,” Chloe corrected. “You think you are because of that medallion thing. And when Clark finds a way to make everything the way it was, then you won’t ---”

“Clark?” Lex cut in, his voice suddenly suspicious and accusatory. “Why would he ---”

“Because I asked him to,” Chloe admitted, wincing after she said it. If Lex didn’t know Clark’s secret, then this could get messy. “Actually, ordered would be a more appropriate word,” she continued, hoping that the slight veer off course wouldn’t be noticed. “Guess I’ll have to apologize for that,” she told herself absently, her eyes widening with a sharp jolt when a thought sprung into her head. “I care about him again.”

Lex closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the plush seat.

“Great,” he mumbled sarcastically.

“No – not like that,” Chloe quickly clarified. “Just as a friend. Ever since the wishing stuff happened, I haven’t felt *anything* for him – like he was…nothing…non-existent.” She stopped and rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure that was his wish…loser.”

One corner of Lex’s mouth twitched upward at her comment and he cracked open an eye to look at her.

“Why would he wish that?” he asked, suspecting he knew the reason, but his tone conveying one of disbelief than that of actual questioning.

Chloe shrugged and unconsciously scooted a little closer to him.

“Because he’s an idiot,” she answered nonchalantly. “For some reason he thinks that once someone has a crush on him it lasts forever. Hopefully the thing with Lana and Pete will teach him otherwise. Anyway,” she said, twisting in her seat to face him head on, “You’re not seeing the big picture. If Clark’s wish is undone, then ---”

“He either found a cure or the wishes wear off,” Lex finished for her.

“Exactly,” Chloe said with a smile that seemed entirely too bright to Lex, given the circumstances.

He had no desire for his wish to be ‘cured’ or ‘wear off’. In fact, a small part of him was still holding out hope that his second wish, for Chloe to fall in love with him as well, would come true when she woke up the next morning. He pouted and Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“What’s with the look? I thought you’d be happy,” she said. Her mouth dropped open in what she believed to be sudden understanding. “You’re worried because you’re still affected.” She frowned at her own words. There wasn’t a lot she could say to alleviate his fears since she didn’t know exactly what Clark had done, or if he had done anything at all. Shooting him a sheepish smile, she reached her arm out and sympathetically placed her hand on his shoulder. “Maybe it just takes time. Don’t worry about it yet, okay?”

Lex nodded once but then quickly shook his head.

“No,” he said.

“No?”

He turned his head to make eye contact with her.

“Why don’t you like me?”

Chloe’s eyebrows rose practically to her hairline.

“I do,” she protested. “Lex, if I didn’t like you, then I wouldn’t care about how you’re going to feel after all of this is over. I’d just be using you for your body and enjoying it while it lasted.”

Lex arched an eyebrow at her and she blushed.

“Good to know, but I actually meant why you don’t like me?”

Chloe pulled pack as she straightened her posture in surprise.

“Oh,” she said. She risked a glance at Lex, who was looking at her expectantly. It wasn’t rhetorical; he really did want an answer. She barely resisted frowning, knowing that if she did, it would only make the situation more uncomfortable. “Um…to be honest, I don’t know. I’ve just never really thought of you like that.”

“But we get along,” Lex argued. “We’re both smart, attractive, have great banter…”

Chloe smiled.

“You make it sound like we should have gotten together a long time ago,” she observed.

Lex appeared thoughtful, giving her a distinctly unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach. Finally, he nodded a couple of times in agreement with her offhanded statement.

“Yes.”

He mentally reprimanded himself for not going after her before, but quickly excused it with the same reason he gave himself when he first got to know her. She was in love with Clark and she wouldn’t have given him the time of day as something other than a friend.

“Lex ---” Chloe trailed off from whatever she had been about to say as the limo pulled to a stop in front of the club.

Lex flashed a confident half-smile at her. If the wish wore off or was somehow repealed, then he was now certain that he’d still have to pursue her. Their kisses and rather heated make-out session were enough to convince him that Chloe could love him eventually – he’d just need to woo her into it.

“Ready?” he asked.

Chloe took a breath and then faked a smile as she nodded once.

“Let’s go.”

~*~*~*~

Chloe rolled her eyes. She and Lex had only been ushered into the club less than ten minutes before and already a beautiful brunette woman had set her sights on Lex and was on her way over to them.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ she tried to tell herself. ‘You don’t like him like that anyway, remember?’

Chloe frowned. Pete’s ‘betrayal’ with Lana was still fresh in her mind and she didn’t relish the thought of being deserted again, especially not by someone who thought he was in love with her – at least for the time being. As far as she knew, the wish could wear off right when the woman came over to them and flaunted her expensive plastic boobs in his face.

Lex placed his hand on the small of her back and she crooked her neck to smile gratefully up at him. She had long known that he was a keen observer of the people and things that were important to him, but she had been so wrapped up her own thoughts that she had temporarily forgotten that she was now included in that category.

The brunette stepped in front of them and smirked at Chloe.

“Hi,” she greeted; her voice snide and sultry, and barely heard over the blare of the loud music.

“Not interested,” Lex gruffly informed her and proceeded to slide his hand across Chloe’s back to rest on her waist.

The brunette glared at him.

“Was I talking to you? No,” she said. Chloe’s eyes widened but she managed to plaster a nervous, fake smile on her face by the time the woman looked back at her. “So, you wanna dance?” she asked, ignoring the growl that emanated from Lex’s throat over the thrumming pulse of the music that seemed to be shaking the walls.

“Sorry, I’m taken,” Chloe replied, a falsely apologetic smile on her lips as she raised her hand to sit on Lex’s chest and hastily curled her body up against him.

The woman shrugged.

“Okay, hon. Come find me when you get bored with your boy-toy.”

Chloe watched with a stunned expression as the brunette left, only vaguely registering the fact that Lex had moved to stand directly behind her and was wrapping his arms around her waist in a loving, yet entirely possessive gesture.

“Well…that was…surreal,” she commented, primarily to herself.

Lex dipped his head and kissed her neck.

“You’re taken?” he teased, his warm breath caressing the moist spot of skin that his lips just left.

“You did say I could only dance with you,” she reminded him, her tone as light as the one he just used. Then a thought occurred to her and she twisted around in his arms to look at him. “Please tell me you didn’t bring me to a gay club so you wouldn’t have competition.”

Lex smiled.

“I didn’t – but I wish I had thought of that.”

Chloe couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from within her and she smiled up at him.

“So…” she said, pausing as she ran her hands up his chest and looped them loosely around the back of his neck. “I believe something was said about dancing?”

Lex grinned down at her and began to slowly lower his mouth toward hers, almost brushing their lips together when someone slapped him hard on the back. The action caused him to stumble and scrape his teeth against Chloe’s mouth, cutting her lower lip and drawing a swift yelp of pain from the depths of her throat.

He swiveled around to threaten the person who slapped him, his menacing glare transforming into a deep scowl when he saw and recognized the offender.

“Hey&#33; I’m glad I found you guys,” Clark said excitedly, oblivious to the fact that Lex was trying to drill a hole through his head with his eyes and Chloe was touching her split lip with her fingers in an effort to keep any blood from dripping down onto the rest of her.

Lex’s hands clenched into fists and he drew in a deep breath to steady himself. He knew if he got into a physical fight with Clark that he would lose, leaving him with the only advantage he had – intelligence.

“Clark,” he greeted dryly. “What brings you here?”

“I ---” Clark started, only to stop and have his eyes grow large when he took in Chloe’s appearance. Form-fitting black leather pants that rode low on her hips, a red halter top that bared entirely too much skin for the slimy guys who were starting at her to be seeing, and…his eyes narrowed at her bloody mouth. “What happened to your lip?” he asked, glancing accusingly over at Lex.

“You bumped into us,” Chloe said with a glare.

“Oh,” Clark said. “I --- sorry.”

Chloe sighed and wiped a smear of blood off onto the back of her hand.

“You found a way to reverse the wishes,” she said knowingly.

Clark looked startled.

“Yeah. How did you know?” he asked.

She threw him a knowing look, one that though still filled with irritation for the pain he inadvertently caused to her lip, was laced with the undertone of friendship that he hadn’t seen in her eyes since the wishes had first been granted. He gave her a meek smile and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“So, do they wear off or do we need to do something?” Chloe asked.

Clark cringed. This was the part that he knew wasn’t going to go well. He didn’t know what Chloe had wished for, but convincing Lex to give up finally being in love with a woman who cared nothing about his money or societal position was going to be more than a little bit difficult.

“You…uh…have to hold the wishing stone and unwish your wish,” he finally said.

Chloe looked at him incredulously.

“You’re joking.”

“No.”

“But that makes no sense,” Chloe argued. “Why would they create something that could grant wishes if people can just undo them by saying so?”

Lex’s eyes darted back and forth between the two friends, their words swimming in his mind.

“Wishing stone?” he asked Clark.

“The amulet,” Clark clarified.

“I gathered. How did you know the name of it?” Lex asked before turning to Chloe. “And who is ‘they’?”




TBC...

[carebear72884]

Hmmm...who is they chloe?? does she know or suspect something?? hm.... update soon, please the suspence is killing me.

[Clannadlvr]

Hee hee hee.....will Lex unwish his wish? I can&#39;t wait to see what happens&#33;&#33;

Oh, and having the woman come on to Chloe instead of Lex? And having Lex assume she was going for him?

Priceless&#33;

[newbatgirl]

Yay, you updated&#33; I guess you know that I LOVE this fic. I loved the update, please don&#39;t make us wait too long for another,

[hfce]

Yeah an update. Lex has a new weapon. :lol:


Hope :chlexsign2:

[Val]

Originally posted by Clannadlvr@Feb 28 2004, 09:01 PM
Oh, and having the woman come on to Chloe instead of Lex? And having Lex assume she was going for him?

Priceless&#33;
Hee ditto&#33;

And well Lex won&#39;t want to unwish his wish, unless Chloe talks him into it&#33;?
More&#33; :biggrin:

[autumngold]

Does Clark always have to show up at the wrong time? If I was Lex, I would kill him&#33;&#33; Excellent update&#33;&#33; The brunette at the club was hilarious&#33;&#33; :worship2: More soon please, I can&#39;t wait for the next chapter&#33;&#33; Hopefully there will be more Chlex fluff?&#33;&#33; :chlexsign3: :worship2:

[gina]

Wonderful update. I had a feeling Clark was going to interrupt them, but at least there was lots of Chlexy goodness before he got there.


‘It doesn’t matter,’ she tried to tell herself. ‘You don’t like him like that anyway, remember?’
Hee&#33; Chloe so likes him like that&#33;

Now I wonder how in the world Chloe and Clark are going to convince Lex to unwish his wish though. Please update soon&#33; :)

[Tandy]

Stupid Clark.


can&#39;t wait to see what happens with the Chlex after the unwishing. I have a feeling that&#39;s lex wish love turned into real love. :biggrin:

Update soon&#33;

[Béatrice]

:yay: PLEASE UPDATE SOON&#33;&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[ColumbiaBlue]

Clunk... GAH&#33; :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: Always having to ruin *everything* good. Ass.

Yaaaay for the update&#33; Loved it&#33; More soon&#33;

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[katspell]

:yay: Love the updates.

I think Chloe is going to make Lex take back his wish.

I want to see Chloe wiggle her way out of explaining to Lex about Clark.

So come on, gimme more&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

[Not An Addict]

Oh . . . my god. That was hilarious. When the woman started coming on to Chloe . . . *dies* That&#39;s really one of those moments you wish would happen on the actual show, if for no other reason than that actually seeing the look on her face would be priceless. I loved this update&#33;&#33; The making out, the club, Clark . . . the making out. ^_~ All wonderful&#33; Can&#39;t wait to see how Clark tries to talk his way out of Lex figuring everything out.

[ElizabethV]

I definitely enjoyed when the brunette approached them- and came onto Chloe instead of Lex. :biggrin: That was hilarious&#33; Chloe smiling all nervous and telling her she was taken. I also loved the way things were progressing, until Clark showed up and made Lex cut Chloe&#39;s lip&#33; :tease: I can&#39;t wait to see what&#39;ll happen next- and how Chloe and Clark explain to Lex who "they" are.

[vardaquareien]

Wonderful chappy&#33;&#33;&#33; I loved the way Lex tried to brush of another admirer but it turned out that she was actually after Chloe&#33;&#33;&#33; :hehe: The way he got all posessive of Chloe when the woman asked her to dance was so adorable&#33;&#33;&#33; I love jealous/posessive&#33;Lex. I can&#39;t wait to see how long it takes for them to convince Lex to unwish his wish&#33;&#33;&#33;

[sara_noele]

So what is he going to do? Take back his wish or not? Don&#39;t let us wait to long.

Oh, and I loved the new chapter, of course. But stupid Clark, argh&#33; He always just comes at the wrong moment.

[Kit Merlot]

Kris, great update, but I want to kick Clark&#39;s ass for interrupting the kiss&#33;&#33;&#33;

This is an excellent story :biggrin:

[Sab_Luthor]

i so love possessive lex he is so cute
and this dear stupid farmboy doesn&#39;t he have chores to do and let them alone
more please i loved this update :yay:
:chlexsign4:

[lunaluthor]

update update update (she is chanting like a mad woman)

[asharnanae]

:devil: I have to agree&#33;&#33;&#33; dont make me bring out the puppys&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

[katspell]

*Joins the chant*

[autumngold]

Originally posted by katspell@Apr 29 2004, 09:30 PM
*Joins the chant*
Me too&#33;&#33; Please post more&#33;&#33; :biggrin:

[scifichick774]

Crap.

Leave it to Lex to hear a somewhat private conversation over the loud music and throngs of club-goers. That thought spurred on another one. He could just ignore Lex’s questions, pretending he hadn’t heard them. Of course, he’d still have to answer Chloe’s, because she knew better.

“Uh…” Clark started, glancing over at Chloe to see if she might have any suggestions for getting him out of the predicament – or if she’d even care.

After all, she hadn’t exactly been fighting Lex off when he found them. Unfortunately, his pleading look lost its focus and his eyes drifted down to Chloe’s scant halter top, his face taking on a dazed expression.

Since when had Chloe looked like that?

Lex cleared his throat angrily and only because of his super hearing did Clark shake his head quickly to snap back to the situation at hand.

“Clark?” Lex growled expectantly.

“I – uh – right…the medallion,” Clark said; lifting his shirt a little and drawing the relic out from where he had it tucked between the waistband of his jeans and his perfectly-toned abdominal muscles. Rather than risk looking at Lex, he held it out to Chloe and looked at it expectantly. “You just have to hold it and un-wish your wish. It doesn’t have to be out loud.”

“Fine,” Chloe snapped, yanking the medallion from Clark’s loose grasp. “But if I get back to Smallville tomorrow to find out that Pete’s still tall, dark, and handsome and you’re still spilling every one of your emotions and secrets to Lana, then I’m going to hunt you down and hurt you. Understand?”

Clark swallowed hard and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Chloe knew about him, which probably meant she knew his weaknesses as well. From the way Lex’s nostrils were flaring and the fact that his hands had clenched into fists, Clark was thankful that Chloe hadn’t mentioned details, but all the same, this wasn’t going to end well.

Especially not when she did get home the next day to see the situations she had just described.

‘Wait,’ Clark thought. “Tomorrow? Why aren’t you just going home tonight?”

‘And why are you complaining about it?’ another voice in his head popped up. ‘Shut up already&#33; It’ll give you time to get Lana and Pete back to normal.’

‘Pete will never take back his wish,’ Clark argued with himself. ‘And Lana’s asleep – and from the way Pete was talking, I don’t think she’d be really happy to see me if I broke into her room in the middle of the night to ask her to take back her wish.’

‘No, but there’s always tomorrow morning – before Chloe gets home.’

‘But Pete said that Chloe would be in a horrible mood if she had to stay the night with her cousin…which means that she probably wouldn’t stay there by choice…which means…oh God.’

Chloe glared at him. He could be so stupid sometimes. Well…most of the time really. Finally her glare tapered off into a resigned look accompanied by a sigh when she saw the moment that everything finally clicked for him.

“You’re staying with Lex?&#33;”

“Well, where’d you think I was going to stay, Clark?” Chloe asked with a roll of her eyes.

One corner of Lex’s lips curled into a smirk with Chloe’s words, but neither Clark nor Chloe saw it as his face was tilted down, his eyes upon the amulet that Chloe had just passed to him without a second thought. He turned it over a couple of times, one thing going around in his mind as he did so.

‘I wonder if it’s reusable…’

His thought was cut off by the sound of Clark’s voice, filled with jealous venom. He hadn’t ever heard Clark use that tone before and he didn’t like it – especially not when Chloe was the one the boy was directing the comment to.

“With your cousin - like Pete said,” Clark shot back with considerably more anger than his previous statement had contained.

He’d come there to help her – at her request, he added mentally – and she had been planning to stay the night with Lex, *knowing* that he thought he was in love with her. The very idea was enough to make him want to throw her over his shoulder and leave the club without a glance back in Lex’s direction.

“Pete’s been wrong about a lot of things lately, hasn’t he?” Chloe replied, knowing that her words would cut Clark twofold. Sure, he may be her friend again, but just because she cared about him didn’t mean she needed to let him treat her like he was.

This time Clark’s nostrils flared and Chloe wondered for a moment if she had taken the verbal sparring too far. At least with Lex, when he wasn’t influenced by the amulet that was, she knew that there were broad boundaries; but Clark had a habit of steamrolling over others, not giving them a chance to get a quip in. And on the rare occasion that someone did, the remark was never taken well.

“No,” Clark finally said after coming to grips with his fluctuating thoughts and emotions.

“No?” Chloe asked in confusion. He couldn’t be saying what she thought he was. That wouldn’t make any sense. After all, Pete had been wrong about her staying with her cousin, and she thought for sure that Clark would think his best friend hooking up with his dream girl was toward the end of the wrong side of the scale.

“No. You’re not staying with Lex,” Clark clarified.

Lex clenched his jaw at Clark’s gall. He had remained silent out of consideration for Chloe’s temper, but he’d be damned if he was going to let anyone or anything stand in between him and something that he wanted.

“I didn’t realize that was your decision, Clark,” he said. His voice was steely but he managed to keep his anger in check for the time being. He needed answers from Clark and he wasn’t going to get them if he hurled insults at him. “Besides…” he paused and held up the medallion. “I believe we still have some things we need to talk about.”

~*~*~*~

Chloe climbed into the back of Lex’s limousine, immediately finding a seat and leaning her body back against it. The plush leather interior cradled her head and she found her eyes closing despite the fact that she wasn’t tired. Well, not physically anyway.

The day hadn’t gone anything like she initially planned and her mind was still trying to come to grips with whether that was a good thing or not.

Pete hooking up with Lana…she was still slightly miffed about that, but the more she thought about it throughout the day, the better the idea seemed. Firstly, she wouldn’t have the guilt of Pete liking her but her not liking him back as anything more than a friend looming over her anymore. And then there was the additional bonus of Lana’s complaints about pseudo-relationships being taken away in one fell swoop. Clark was cute, but Pete was Pete, and he’d always be there for her. Yes. It wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

A tiny frown graced Chloe’s lips. She’d owe Pete an apology when she got back to Smallville.

*If* she got back to Smallville.

She had to admit; it was looking like a rather dim prospect at the moment; since Clark had apparently climbed into the limousine immediately after her and proceeded to drape his arm around her shoulders when he sat down. His cologne – though it smelled much more expensive than she would have guessed (probably a remnant from his summer sowing wild oats in Metropolis, she thought) – was strong enough to make her want to vomit. Wasn’t cologne supposed to attract the opposite sex?

She inwardly sighed. It wasn’t the cologne’s fault that Clark was being such a jerk. Chloe figured he was just trying to make up for the wish he made by overcompensating; paying her more attention – mostly of the jealous, possessive kind – than he had in all the years she had known him. It was a completely ridiculous idea, which of course meant that she was probably right.

Her eyes still closed, she heard Lex growl when he got into the back of the car with them. The door shut and she tiredly opened her eyes to see Lex all but snarling at Clark’s possessive gesture of her. She rolled her eyes and lifted one of her hands to forcefully remove Clark’s arm from her shoulders. He gave her a startled look, but her no-nonsense glare made him squirm enough that he obeyed her unspoken request to not touch her. The car started up and she closed her eyes once more, letting out a sigh after she did so.

“Why don’t you just tell him, Clark?”

She didn’t need to open her eyes to know that Clark was gaping at her, his gaze nervously flickering from her to Lex and back again.

“Wh-what are you talking about, Chloe?”

Chloe rolled her eyes under her lids.

“Just tell him,” she urged impatiently. “You told Pete and Lana, and I figured it out for myself like a zillion years ago. Just tell him and get it over with. What are you so scared of? He’s your friend. It’s not like he’s going to sell you to the government to experiment on or something.”

“But…”

“Clark ---” Chloe said sharply and then paused as she sucked in a breath. “Just do it. Because if you don’t, I will.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Chloe opened her eyes and glared at him.

“You came to Metropolis, hunted down which club Lex and I had just gotten to, I didn’t even get a chance to dance, or have a drink, or anything. So yes Clark, I sure as hell would. It doesn’t mean I’m not your friend, it just means I’m sick of your bull---” Chloe stopped and took another couple of breaths to steady herself. “I’m sick of you telling everyone else how they should live their lives when you can’t even run yours. I’m sick of you not letting me forget that I used to have a crush on you by bringing it up every time I start to see a guy. I’m sick of ---”

“Okay, okay,” Clark said, holding his hands up in front of him. “I get it.”

“Do you?” Chloe asked skeptically.

Clark hung his head a little in shame.

“Yeah. I do.”

“Good,” Chloe said. “Now stop treating one of your best friends like he’s the enemy and just tell him the truth already.”

Clark frowned, but his eyes darted over to Lex. His friend seemed to be warring with his own emotions, but thankfully for Clark, they seemed to settle gratefulness and love toward Chloe for sticking up for him instead of loathing toward Clark for sitting next to the woman that he thought he was in love with.

“I ---” Clark started, stopping directly after and grimacing. There was no easy way to tell someone that you weren’t from their planet. There just wasn’t. “I ---” he started again, only to be cut off by Lex’s voice.

“You’re an alien.”

Clark blinked in surprise.

“You…you knew?” he stammered.

“I suspected, but Dr. Walden confirmed it shortly before he died.”

Clark paled.

“Oh.”

Chloe grinned and then nudged Clark.

“See? You had nothing to worry about. You were just freaking out because your dad made you think that people were going to want to cut you up ala ‘Alien Autopsy’.”

“Well…sort of,” Clark admitted with a small blush rising to his cheeks. He looked back over at Lex. “So…”

“So,” Lex repeated.

“Are you going to un-wish your wish?” Clark asked after a moment. He knew he couldn’t demand Lex to do it, not after hearing Chloe tell him off like that and saying that he understood, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t pester his friend about it at every opportunity until he finally gave in.

The smirk that crossed Lex’s lips told him everything he needed to know.

Lex wasn’t going to un-wish his wish; not now, not ever. He wasn’t going to give up the feeling of being in love with a woman who didn’t want him for his money or power. He wasn’t going to give up Chloe…even if he didn’t really have her.

‘At least not yet,’ Clark mentally corrected, frowning at the thought.

He had seen first hand how obsessed and single-minded Lex could be when it came to something he cared about. And if he turned the full weight of that behavior upon Chloe, then Clark feared that his blonde friend didn’t have a chance. She would end up with Lex whether she wanted to be with him or not. End of story.

With a simple flick of his wrist, Lex tossed the amulet to him and though Clark caught it, he did so apprehensively.

“Lex --- don’t you want some time to think about this? I mean, you only love her because of the wish and I wouldn’t want you to do something you’ll regret…”

“Gee – thanks, Clark,” Chloe said, her words laced with heavy sarcasm. “You really know how to flatter a girl.”

Lex snickered and then leaned forward, reaching his hand out to Chloe. She furrowed her brow a little in confusion but gave him her hand; her eyebrows rising and a smile curling her lips when he brushed his lips over her knuckles.

“It’s Chloe’s choice,” he said to Clark even though he was still keeping eye contact with Chloe. Then he addressed her. “What do you want me to do?”





TBC…

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: wonderful chappy, and OMG would I be sooo pissed if someonw pulled me out of a club when I was on a night out&#33;&#33;&#33; :devil:

[Clannadlvr]

Oh, awesome&#33; Lex leaving it up to Chloe...but I think Clark&#39;s right: he&#39;s not going to let go of something he wants, even if Chloe doesn&#39;t return the sentiment.

I&#39;m so glad you&#39;re continuing this&#33;

[LarkLuthor]

Great update&#33; What took you so long? I loved it that Lex lets Chloe decide and Clark&#39;s reaction to her appearence.

The Lark

[newbatgirl]

I almost could not leave FB because I was too busy doing a happy dance over the fact that you updated.

And what an update&#33;&#33;&#33; I love Chloe&#39;s rant at Clark in the limo. More soon please.

[Not An Addict]

Oh, man, Chloe . . . what should you do? Tough decision. You have a gorgeous, loaded, thoughtful (if slightly evil) man waiting to shower you with attention and affection. Should you accept it or not?

Take the opportunity, woman&#33; Because dammit, Lex&#39;s wish wasn&#39;t all -that- specific, and -I- don&#39;t want him for his money or power; if you don&#39;t jump him, I sure as hell will. ^_~

[autumngold]

You are the most beautiful, wonderful person in the world&#33;&#33; Thank you so very, very much for the update&#33;&#33; I think I know what Chloe is going to choose, but I hope I&#39;m wrong&#33;&#33; Come back soon and post your next chapter&#33;&#33; I really, really love this story&#33;&#33; :yay2: :chlexsign4: :yay2:

[Impress]

woo hoo an update&#33;

great work. I think Chloe should have him unwish his wish. not that having Lex be in love with her is a bad thing. I just don&#39;t see her being really happy always wondering if it was just the wish or if it was real. but I&#39;m cool either way. more soon.

[ColumbiaBlue]

Finally&#33; I was beginning to think you&#39;d abandoned this fic... Not that I&#39;d blame you or anything. With the way stuff&#39;s been going on the show it&#39;s getting harder and harder to get inspired.

But...

That just means we&#39;ll all have to work extra hard at not letting the icky, yucky, unspeakable ship bring us down, right?

Loved this chapter. But if I were Chloe, I&#39;d smack Lex for suggestion that I make the decision. Although it was kinda sweet... :)

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[sara_noele]

:yay: and again :yay: an update&#33;

What will you do Chloe? Think wisely&#33;

[hfce]

Well if i where Chloe. I would tell lex to unwish it but leave it open for dating. They can get to know eachother and then see where it goes.


Hope :)

[carebear72884]

ahhhhhhh&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; I can&#39;t belive you left it there, come back and update now missy&#33;&#33;

[buffiy18]

Great Update&#33; What is Chloe to do? &#33; ? &#33; I think she should have him undo it, so they can start their real relationship... I think Lex just needed a nudge in the right direction.

[Val]

Aaah I love it&#33;
Love it how Lex is letting Chloe chose&#33; Hoever I think they should talk, privately *glares at clark* before agreeing on anything&#33;

And pleeeeease update this really soon???

[Kit Merlot]

Great update&#33; Lex should unwish his wish, otherwise, Chloe might feel as though Lex is only with her because of the amulet.

But, we know she likes him already, without the amulet&#39;s influence.

Lets see if Lex still loves her in the morning :biggrin:

[kezz]

Where the hell are you, get back here and update&#33;

I love this fic, please write more soon.

Kezz.....x.x.x

[sara_noele]

Oh Kris, its been to long. Please, please update soon&#33;

[autumngold]

I love this story&#33;&#33; :heart: :love: :heart: But what a difficult decision Chloe has to make&#33;&#33; You know, having Lex in love with you forever wouldn&#39;t be bad&#33;&#33; :eyebrows: Please update soon&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[scifichick774]

One Week Later…

Eight fucking days. One hundred eighty six miserable hours. Lex pushed his laptop aside in frustration. Rationally, he understood Chloe’s decision to ask him to unwish his wish, but emotionally…it was a completely different story.

She may not love him, but she liked him well enough as a friend to not want him to be trapped in another relationship where the feelings he had weren’t returned. Sadly enough, that explanation alone made him feel more loved than he ever had before.

He sighed. Since negating his wish, he felt like there was a gaping hole within him where the temporary love used to be, and it was steadily growing larger and more aggravating with each minute that passed. Only irritating, repetitious questions filled the void and Lex found it harder and harder to concentrate on anything else but answering them.

Chloe seemed to like spending time with him before Clark came to Metropolis and ruined everything; so why was she avoiding him like the plague now? Not that he had made an active effort to seek her out…No. Despite his urge to the contrary, he’d been good and given her the space and privacy he assumed she’d want after the ordeal.

Besides, he was sure Clark had occupied the position of lavishing attention on her. He wasn’t blind. Chloe may have claimed that she only liked the farmboy as a friend now, but Lex had seen the way Clark was looking at her at the club, and was sure that the handsome brunette would have no trouble at all weaseling his way back into her heart.

And then, as always, came the next bothersome question – the one he hadn’t found an answer or concocted an explanation for. He had reluctantly done as Chloe requested and unwished his wish, so why did he feel heartbroken and pathetically jealous when no one else affected by the reversal of a wish felt ill side-effects?

Clark was no longer spewing his secrets to Lana and seemed nothing but pleased about it. Lana seemed happy with the situation as well; regaining her voice only to yammer on about how she’d had the strangest dream. Lex wasn’t sure how she’d managed to keep that belief since she was often ogling the still tall and muscular Pete, but seeing as how Chloe had once commented that Lana was the queen of delusion and denial, he accepted the dark-haired girl’s behavior as well as anyone else.

Then there was Chloe. From how he’d seen her react when Clark unwished his wish…well, she seemed to be back to normal from how she’d been the rest of the day. Normal snarky, caring, adventurous, beautiful Chloe.

Lex felt a physical pang at the base of his throat at the thought of her. Certainly he’d been hurt before; many times in fact. But Chloe was different. She hadn’t sought him out because of his money. She hadn’t sought him out at all. Still, despite all of her protests that they weren’t compatible, she had responded to his kisses and his touch as he only could have dreamed of.

He had been slightly frightened when his own body seemed to react to hers on a chemical rather than physical level, but had quickly written it off to truly being in love and succumbed to the intense sensations that felt like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

Another sigh slipped from his mouth. He should have stuck to his original instinct and not let her out of his apartment to go to the club. He should have locked her away in his room until he convinced her to love him.

A frown pushed down the corners of his mouth.

‘No,’ he told himself, trying to shake off the petulant emotion that overcame him. He couldn’t let himself get back on that line of thinking – not again.

He knew that it would ultimately do him no good. Admitting that he hurt so much because he knew what it felt like to really be in love – in love with Chloe – and didn’t have it anymore would only lead to the fantasies he’d been harboring, making his hand sore and at the same time causing the empty space the wish left behind that much larger.

He inwardly groaned and slid his chair away from the desk and stood up. He wasn’t going to get any paperwork done today. He wasn’t going to get anything done today. He needed something to distract him; something mind-numbing that required minimal effort on his part.

Not thinking about where he was going or what he was going to do, he walked out of his office and ran smack dab into something hard yet soft, tripping a little before catching himself and the decidedly female object he’d run into.

His eyes widened for a flicker of a second and then he schooled his face into a mask of what he hoped would look like he didn’t care one way or the other. Hoped, because he couldn’t be sure he could pull it off around her. Not anymore.

“Hey.”

“Chloe,” Lex greeted with a slight inclination of his head.

“Lex,” Chloe returned.

An awkward stab of silence settled between them as Lex made sure his eyes were looking everywhere but into her green orbs. He was sure that if he spoke that his voice would be shaky and choked with the emotion that he’d been trying to avoid. Finally, he cleared his throat and stole a glance at her.

“I presume you’re here to see your father, so I won’t keep you.”

“My dad’s office isn’t anywhere near yours.”

Oh.

‘Right. And I’d have thought of that if I wasn’t so distracted by your close proximity and the smell of your perfume,’ Lex thought. “I ---”

“Look – no offense, Lex, but I’m nervous enough without you talking. Any kind of banter’s just going to make it worse,” Chloe cut in, twisting a ring around her finger again and again.

Lex arched an eyebrow, but let it fall quickly when he realized why she would be agitated in his presence.

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable around me, Chloe.”

“I’m not&#33;” Chloe blurted out. “I mean ---” she trailed off, trying to control the slightest blush that rose to her cheeks and sighing when she felt the color start to fade. “I came here to apologize to you.”

Lex crinkled his brow in confusion. Why would Chloe need to apologize to him? If anything, he owed her several apologies for his behavior while under the effects of his wish – and more in the future if he wasn’t able to tamper down the persistent remaining inclination that they should be together.

“For what?” he asked.

“For…everything. After you told me about your wish and that for some reason your subconscious chose me…well, I wasn’t in the best of moods that day already anyway and I overreacted. I didn’t mean to take my anger out on you and I hope that how bitchy I was being while you were under the effects of your wish doesn’t have a negative impact on our…semi-friendship thing.”

A grin quirked at one corner of Lex’s mouth.

“Breathe, Chloe,” he ordered teasingly.

Chloe expelled a breath, but no anger was in her expression as she smiled up at him.

“So…you forgive me?” she asked.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Lex answered seriously. “I think, given the circumstances surrounding the earlier part of that day, that your attitude was completely justified. And as far as you taking it out on me…” he paused and gave her a purposeful smirk. “…You seemed to get over it.”

Chloe blushed again, cursing a little under her breath as she kept her eyes on the floor.

“About that ---”

“Chloe --- do you remember what we talked about on the drive to the club?”

He sucked in a deep breath as he awaited her reply. He could hardly believe that he’d spoken the words, that he’d brought up the topic of their time together at all, when there was a very real possibility that it would only incense her, but apparently his mind was no longer in charge of his mouth and the question was already out there.

Chloe closed her eyes for a moment, her blush only growing deeper as she thought about the limo ride to the club they had only ended up spending minutes in. Before she knew it, her lips were opening to respond to him, her mouth snarkily spouting out an answer before she had a chance to think about what she was going to say.

“I don’t remember doing a lot of talking,” she said. “And oh my God, I can’t believe I just said that.”

Lex’s nervous grin split into a full smile and he barely restrained himself from chuckling. That, he knew, would upset her. Besides, it appeared that she wasn’t as unaffected by their short time together as he thought she was, and that gave him a strange rush of hope for the future. And he wasn’t about to screw that up by giving into the giddy chortle that was threatening to reverberate from within him.

“You said that I made it sound like we should have gotten together a long time ago,” he reminded her.

“And you said yes,” Chloe said. “Though I’m sure that was because you thought you were in love with me at the time,” she continued with a light smile.

“It wasn’t.”

Chloe blinked.

“What?”

“It wasn’t,” Lex repeated, with his heart in his throat. Hadn’t he learned his lesson from putting his emotions on the line like this in the past? What was he thinking?

‘Chloe doesn’t want you for your money, but she cares enough about you to not want you to get hurt,’ a quick voice in the back of his head chimed.

Despite his apprehension, he forced himself to make eye contact with her.

“I may have been under some kind of strange alien influence, but everything I told you…how well we get along, how we’re both intelligent and attractive…it was something I’ve thought for a while now. I just didn’t want to risk harming our semi-friendship by pursuing you when you were in love with someone else.”

Chloe was gaping like a fish now. She was sure of it.

‘Close your mouth, Sullivan,’ a voice in her head piped. ‘Or at least use it to say something useful instead of just looking like a slack-jawed idiot.’

“Oh,” she finally said.

‘Oh, that was brilliant,’ the voice snapped sarcastically.

Chloe ignored it and trudged ahead. “I ---”

“You don’t have to say anything. I just…thought you had a right to know.”

“Lex ---”

“I should go. Paperwork to take care of and such,” he interrupted again, not wanting to hear the words he was certain would come out of her mouth. “It was good to see you again, Chloe. Take care.”

“Lex ---” Chloe started again.

Lex began to turn, only to be pulled back to face her by a sudden grasp and tug on his arm. Wow. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

Okay, simple words obviously weren’t going to work anymore, she thought. It was time for action. She pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and cupped his face with his hands, bringing his mouth down to hers in one surprisingly flawless movement.

Her lips pressed against his and she took fast advantage of the surprised gasp that escaped his mouth, opening it to her own. Her tongue gently snaked past his teeth and began to glide against his own, urging him to respond to her seemingly out of nowhere advances.

It didn’t take much prodding.

Lex moaned into her mouth and clutched her hips to bring her closer to him, pressing his hands against her back to keep her from pulling away once she was flush against him. They kissed for what seemed like forever, until Chloe let her lips slide away from Lex’s and she rested her forehead against his chest, panting for air.

“So…” he finally started, breathing heavily and unable to resist the urge to brush his lips over the top of her head.

“So…” Chloe repeated. He could feel her wrinkle her brow against him and held her tighter to him. He’d be damned if he was going to let her have second thoughts after a kiss like that – one that she initiated no less. “Did you really unwish your wish like you said?”

Lex grinned and leaned further down so he could nuzzle his nose into her hair.

“I did,” he said. “This last week has been hell because of it.”

Chloe laughed and pulled away slightly so she could look at him.

“Well, maybe I can make it up to you.”

Lex smirked and gave her a short, sweet kiss.

“So long as you don’t ask me to forget about it afterward.”

Chloe smiled and kissed him.

“You sure? I’m sure Clark could help find some other alien artifact to wipe your memory clean if you really wanted,” she teased.

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Lex said, weaving a hand into her hair and bringing her mouth closer to his. “Besides, I rather like the idea of you liking me back.”

“You should have been more specific and just wished for that in the first place.”

“If I’d have known what the relic did at the time, then I would have.”

Chloe grinned.

“I suppose it’s better this way anyway - knowing that there aren’t outside influences.”

“Agreed.”

~*~*~

Clark sighed and shook his head, turning and leaning his back against the outside of the building. He held up the wishing stone in his hand and then flipped it in the air, catching it and then pocketing it as a sad grin spread across his lips.

It took a big man to admit his mistakes; and a bigger one to try and correct them. It hardly mattered that he wasn’t human. It still took every ounce of guilt in his body to make him seek out his biological father again to see if there was anything he could do.

He was able to find and use the regenerator Jor-El told him about for good purposes – namely getting his two friends out of their respective slumps after he realized that they liked each other without the stone’s influence – but he knew he couldn’t guarantee that anyone else who found it would use it for as reasons as harmless as his.

He’d have to find someplace safe to bury it. Someplace no one would ever be able to find it again.

He patted his pocket and super-sped away from the LuthorCorp plant. If there was a place on earth where the wishing stone would be safe from being interfered with again, he would find it.

And still make it home in time for dinner.




The End


A/N: If you’ve read this far, please review. Thanks.

[hfce]

Oh that was a sweet ending. I loved this story from begining to end. I am sad to see it go. Great job :clap:


Hope :chlexsign2:

[Impress]

Originally posted by hfce@Jul 7 2004, 12:21 PM
Oh that was a sweet ending. I loved this story from begining to end. I am sad to see it go. Great job :clap:


Hope :chlexsign2:
I think Hope pretty much covered it. Great work hun.

[ruafair]

As always Kris, superb Chlex writing from you. This was a very enjoyable fic and although sad to see it go, it was a wonderful finish. Take a bow hun... :biggrin:

Fiona

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: FANTASTICO&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; that was just amazeing&#33;&#33; but I am sad to see such a great fic go. :worship2: