The Killing Moon (NC-17)

[scifichick774]

Title: The Killing Moon
Author: scifichick774
Rating: NC-17
Category: Horror/Smut
Spoilers: Everything through the spoilers for season 3 at Kryptonsite.
Summary: Still halfway insane from his time on the island, Lex convinces himself that the only way to win Chloe’s affections is to offer her a sacrifice.
Disclaimer: Obviously not mine. I’m just playing with the imaginary characters’ lives for fun and not for profit.
Feedback: Yes please.
Archival: Sure – just let me know where.
Author’s Note: The title is from the song by Echo and the Bunnymen, but this is not a song fic. What else? Oh yeah. It’s kind of…graphic – and not just in the smut way. So, if you get squicked really easily, you might want to avoid this one. Just warning you ahead of time.

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

Dr. Claire Foster barely resisted taking off her thin-wire glasses and rubbing her eyes in frustration. Lex Luthor had been her patient for a good six months already, and though she knew that some cases took longer than others, she had thought that Lex would be the exception because of his quick wit and overall intelligence.

She was wrong.

“Tell me Doctor,” Lex started, snapping Claire out of her thoughts. “How much do you know about sacrificial killings?”

Claire had to hold back a flinch. Not only had she been wrong, but as of late, her conversations with the young man had been growing increasingly frightening. She was tempted to call the police, but Lex was smart enough to always speak in hypotheticals and never implicated himself along with the content of any of the questions he asked.

“Very little,” she finally admitted. Hoping he was finally opening up to her, she put on the determined, yet disinterested look she had practiced for so long and stared him straight in the eye. “Does this have to do with Helen?”

Doctor Helen Bryce. Despite her playing the grieving widow to perfection in front of the press, it was later discovered that she had planned to kill Lex all along; the confession of the missing pilot being the last nail in her coffin.

Or, almost the last nail.

The money she was paid to agree to an annulment of her and Lex’s marriage kept her financially well endowed enough to afford a penthouse in Metropolis. Unfortunately, she had been there little more than a month before she was out on bail and her body was found butchered in her lush living accommodations.

The police suspected that it was a ritualistic killing because of the way her organs were literally ripped from her body and arranged in a circle around her, and it was certainly easier to lump her death in with the similar ones that had been happening on every full moon for the last year, but they still had no suspects.

“Just…in general,” he said; one corner of his lips curling up ever so slightly as he leaned forward and rested his forearms against his thighs. “Do you think it works?”

Claire had to swallow down the panic that suddenly overwhelmed her. Her eyes darted to the phone, but she knew if her patient had any real intention to kill her that he would be able to before she even got the receiver off the hook. Remembering the metal detector at the entrance of the building, she let out a small inner breath of relief.

“Do you?” she retorted.

Lex arched a mocking eyebrow at her, unwilling to delve into the sinister motives that lay behind his question in the first place, and half-surprised that she thought such a basic tactic could work on him.

“I was just curious,” he said. “It seems strange that someone would go to such extremes if they didn’t fully believe that they would receive what they hoped to gain.”

“Many cultures believed it worked,” she said, surprised by the amount of levity her voice carried on such a serious topic. “Though, I’d like to believe that our civilization has progressed past the point of such beliefs, there are obviously still the occasional stragglers.”

Lex sat up straight and gave her a curt nod in acceptance of her answer as he hadn’t really expected her to give him her own opinion to the question anyway. She never did.

Claire’s watch made a beeping sound and it was all she could do not to jump out of her chair and escort Lex to the door.

“It looks like our time is up,” she said, her relieved tone not slipping by Lex’s notice.

He smirked as she frantically jaunted down some notes in her notebook.

“So it is,” he agreed, standing up and walking over to the door. “Next week then?”

Claire looked up at him, hoping that her eyes weren’t popping out of their sockets.

“Actually, I’m out of town all next week. Did the secretary not call you?”

“She may have. I haven’t had time to check all of my messages.”

“Dr. Lewis is covering for me if you’d like to set an appointment up with him.”

“Lewis,” Lex repeated, his mind flitting to the imaginary psychopath he had created in his mind while on the island. Appearing unaffected one way or the other, Lex gave her a bland expression. “I think I’ll pass.”

Claire nodded, having expected that Lex wouldn’t want to see anybody new when it had taken him so long to even start talking to her other than to accuse her of just wanting another celebrity patient.

No formal goodbyes were said as Lex simply walked out of the office and left the door open behind him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

He narrowed his eyes at her over the rim of his coffee cup; the action quite innocent in and of itself, but considerably darker if one knew his true intent.

Lana flipped her brunette hair back with her fingers, fluttering her eyelashes at Clark in what was clearly a much practiced attempt at minor seduction; a lesson Lex ventured she learned from the small amount of time that she had seen her aunt and his father together when she was younger.

Though, there was no way that Clark could have known that. And if he did, then he chose to gloss over it like everyone else in town did. Lionel and Nell had only been ‘friends’ in their eyes, and even if they had been more than that, then Lana, Smallville’s very own princess, would never think of following in her aunt’s flirtatiously manipulative ways.

Lex barely resisted rolling his eyes at the couple. A small part of his mind told him that they deserved each other; that they deserved to die together. But he couldn’t allow that. In order for his plan to work, Lana would have to be the only one to be sacrificed. Otherwise, the police might not write it off as Metropolis’s serial killer simply taking a trip.

And he needed that. He would need to rely on the police department’s inability to realize that the crimes committed in Metropolis were committed by a completely different killer so that he wouldn’t be a suspect, but he would still reap the rewards of the sacrificial killing. But, learning from his father that you could never completely rely on other people, Lex made sure he had an unbreakable alibi.

The bell above the Talon’s front door chimed, stirring him from his thoughts. The object of his affections strolled into the building.

Chloe Sullivan.

Unfortunately, she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was even in the same establishment, which was the problem at hand.

Although he had always admired her quick wit and spunk, he had never viewed her as anything more than one of Clark’s best friends until he saw her arguing with his father. Instead of the tantrum throwing that Helen had done, Chloe had used her intelligence rather than a raised voice and temper to put the elder Luthor in his place. It was one of the most spectacular events he had ever witnessed in his life.

Lex’s admiration of the young woman only grew with each fleeting moment he saw her; the way she distanced herself from Clark so she wouldn’t have to outright lie to Lionel, the way she carried her head high after Lana made biting, hypocritical remarks to and about her.

But admiration was not love.

And Lex knew the very instant he had fallen in love with her.

Metropolis. Despite her insistence that she had no desire to attend The Daily Planet’s annual charity ball, she had been forced to, and he had been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of her chatting with a colleague before he was cornered by an up and coming reporter hoping to make a name for herself.

Chloe wore a dark green dress in a silky fabric, the material clinging to her curves without being too tight and overly suggestive, but making him want her all the same. Lex felt his heart start to pound harder in his chest at the very sight of her and harder yet when she flashed him a knowing look and came to his rescue – swiftly reminding the reporter that the younger Luthor was off limits for an interview per their boss’s orders and that she might have better luck with his dad.

“I suppose I should thank you,” Lex said, giving her the most charming smile he could, the one that usually worked wonders with the women who flocked around him.

“I didn’t do it for you,” Chloe answered simply. “Reporters like that give us all a bad name.”

With that, she smiled and walked away from him.

Lex’s eyes stayed glued on Chloe as she ordered her drink in a to-go cup. It wasn’t a surprise seeing as how she rarely stayed in the coffee shop anymore to torture herself with the ongoing saga that was Clark and Lana, but he had been hoping for at least a smile, or a wave, or any sign of acknowledgement of his existence.

Love was not obsession.

Obsession had come later.

Two months later to be exact; when Lex realized that although Chloe treated him cordially enough, she only saw him as Lionel’s son and Clark’s friend; when he realized that she had no feelings for him whatsoever, not even feigned feelings of attraction to get at his money.

It drove him crazy and made him only want her more at the same time.

He sent her flowers and little gifts, some anonymously and some not, but they were always returned, and he couldn’t understand why. He knew she didn’t like Clark anymore, at least not more than as a one-time friend, and she didn’t like his dad personally or professionally – of that much he was completely certain. So, why hadn’t she responded to him if even just to tell him that she wasn’t interested and that he should move on?

It made little sense, but then, neither did the fact that he was sitting in a building that he half-owned, seriously plotting Lana Lang’s murder in order to not only get Chloe to notice him, but hopefully to reciprocate his feelings as well.

Obsession was not always insanity, but Lex had reached the breaking point.

He would make his sacrifice and Chloe Sullivan would be his.

One way or another.




TBC...

[petriebird18]

:huh: :ohmy: woah, that's...woah...
So when are you going to update? :biggrin:
~Deidre~

[tigerbaby]

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH :devil:

When I read the summary, I knew it, I JUST KNEW IT. *bounces up and down and dances in glee*

What?!?!? It's not wrong to want Lana dead. And I love me a crazy, twisted, obsessed Lex.

Bless your twisted little mind. I pay homage to your greatness :worship2: We are so not worthy.

[gravelgerdie]

Very Interesting, can't wait to read more

Suzanne

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: Wow! this is great, and a win win situation!! even if lex killing lana doesnt get chloe to notice him, Lana will still be dead as a doornail with her guts fluttering in the breaze!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHA!!!! You go lex, KILL KILL KILL!! :hammer:

Can't wait for the next installment!!

[tigerbaby]

Sorry, felt the need to add that all these homicidal tendencies have been greatly enhanced due to Hope's recap and the valiant but failed efforts of Gill Boy to do the job properly in the first place.

[happy bunny]

Loving this already. A dead Lana. *happy sigh* Just what the world needs.

I really can't wait for more. Your stories are always amazing. So get to it, update soon!

[autumngold]

Wow!! I'm hopelessly addicted to another one of your stories!! :yay2: This story sounds so promising! :biggrin: Why won't Chloe respond to Lex? :huh: I think she might be the insane one!! :eyebrows: Please update soon!! :chlexsign3:

[hfce]

Oh Lord lex is crazy. :lol: and Aimee :lol: I am glad I inspired your gleefulness. :lol:


Hope :chlexsign2:

[Summer]

(humming to the tune of 'Hi Ho')

bye hoe,bye hoe
he's off to kill that hoe :devil:


ahhh a crazy Lex and a dead Lana...your the best ever :worship2:


summer

[georgee5]

All that empty space up there was me being speechless.






There's some more. If I was Lex, I would dissect you for your brain so I could see how you come up with these awesome stories.

[Calliope]

Wait. Am I supposed to be upset that Lex wants to kill, I mean *sacrifice*, Lana. Yeah, I didn't think so. Carry on. :biggrin:

[Lulucifer]

:hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: I find this story hilarious....*look around nervously* please don't think i'm weird or anything, lol. Great story, i wonder what Chloe will think about all this...

[vardaquareien]

:worship2: :worship2: :worship2:

ILOVEYOU!ILOVEYOU!ILOVEYOU!ILOVEYOU!

Blinky the sacrifice...*eyes glaze over*...I'll even lend Lex my favourite sacrificial knife for such a special occasion...*happy sigh*

I didn't even know it was possible, but you've made me even more in love with Lexy! He's my hero!

...now if he can only keep Clunk from going to her rescue!!!

[Béatrice]

My dream will come true. Someone he's going to sacrifice Lana. And it's Lex who's going to do this!!!! That's why I love him so much. :wub:

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

[Blaire023]

*jumps at Kris and hugs*

wow...no really, look at us. We went all twisted and shit. Me doing the scary story in the general section and you going all insane lex.

i love it

no no, understatement

i don't just love it, but if i didn't have sab, i'd be all up on this fic.

you're terrifice dahling

B

[sanein]

Mmmm, me likes obsessedLex. I love it how he's become all insane because a chick doesn't reciprocate his feeling. It's so like him. Oh, and UPDATE

Aly.

[Gemkat5]

Ok, I read your warning and I thought: "Hmm, I gotta read this!" So I did. and then I thought: "Hmm, why is Lex really turning me on in this story?"

Could it be his cool calculated deviousness with a twisted obsession and justification to get what he wants in any way he deems necessary? Possibly. :devil:

To quote Claudia in 'An Interview with a Vampire', "I want more!"

Please save my sanity and update soon!!!! :yay:

~Kat~

[eurydices falling]

Kris, I love it when you start a new story. I'm always left so full of anticipation and excitement.

Ok, now I'm tired of that feeling and ready to move on to the satisfaction of an update. Obsessive Lex is always a dark treat.

[Blaire023]

Originally posted by Gemkat5@Oct 20 2003, 11:37 AM
...and then I thought: "Hmm, why is Lex really turning me on in this story?"

Good, it's not just me. ;)

~B

[sabby]

Wow, that seriously, I mean you told me it was dark but wow, I love it Especially with the explanation woven in how it came to his obsession and insanity. Now I can't wait to see what happens. Oh and I find it mildly disturbing that Chloe wouldn't confront him at all. Doesn't seem like her, except if she has a very good reason to do so. Update this soon, but Nightcap MUST come first

hugs,
sabby

[Summer]

I love dark crazed Lex. And I love the idea of him offing Lana. update soon. please.



summer

[SinnerSaint]

This is one of the darkest chlex I have ever read but I find myself really enjoying it and wanting more . I wonder if I should seek help ? ;)

[crazygirl]

I *love* crazy/obsessed Lex, especially since he plans to get rid of Lana once and for all. *cheers* Please update

[deessedelune]

I wonder..is it awful that I felt relief when he wasn't going to kill the therapist but never felt anything about the sacrifice being Lana?

Anyways, as always, you're one of the best, and it shows in this. More please!

[scifichick774]

A/N: My sincerest apologies for the lateness of this. Real life has just sucked lately.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Talon…the next day…

Chloe rolled her eyes as Clark and Lana began to do their mating dance again. Unfortunately she had little escape from it this time as her house was filled with her dad and some professional movers packing up things.

Despite her best efforts, she had been unable to convince her dad to withdraw his offer on the new house, and now she found herself in the midst of a hectic moving schedule along with the unsettling knowledge that Lana would be moving with them.

Chloe wondered why Lana couldn’t just stay in the apartment above the Talon, a place she never even knew existed until Clark’s parents had almost moved in there, but was given the expected excuses.

Too young…can’t afford it…not safe…

Naturally, they were all reasons that Chloe could easily come up with counters to.

If you’re old enough to co-own a business…you wouldn’t be paying rent, just utilities – and even then it would be added onto the Talon’s bill…hello? Clark? The boy would probably wet himself at the possibility of hanging around to protect you. And what about those martial arts lessons you took?

But, as expected, Lana promptly ignored them, sloughing the words off as if they hadn’t even come out of Chloe’s mouth.

Chloe frowned. She knew the real reason that Lana refused to live on her own and it had nothing to do with the quote unquote bond that they had.

Lana liked to be the center of attention and it was difficult to garner sympathy under false or outdated pretenses if she had no one to complain to on a continual basis; no one to lie about to her other friends – and, of course, everyone would believe her because of the very fact that she was Lana Lang.

Smallville’s very own fairy princess who could do no wrong regardless of all of the evidence to the contrary.

Chloe shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. She needed a table and fast – one as far away from the brunette couple as possible. Her gaze flit across the room and settled on an empty table in the far corner.

‘Perfect.’

She strode over to the small table, placing her cup and bag on it before sitting down in one of the two chairs that stood beside it.

A few minutes passed, and though her coffee kept her remarkably company than Clark and Lana ever did, she found herself bored and itching for something to occupy her time.

She set her bag on her lap and started to sift through it. She had already finished what little homework she had during the time she spent in the Torch office waiting for someone to turn in their article who never did, so that left very few options.

She could update her address book or write in her longhand journal – neither of which she thought was a particularly good idea given that she was in a public place. Or, she could…Chloe came across a sealed envelope with her name scrawled across the front and she groaned.

~*~*~

Lex was surprised at the sight he caught out of the corner of his eye when he came into the Talon. Chloe was sitting alone at a small table in the far corner of the main room, looking decidedly bored. He had only planned on getting a to-go cup of coffee and the books before leaving, but he recognized an opportunity when he saw it.

She didn’t notice him approach. She rarely did. Lex tried to pull back the twinge of hurt he felt that she didn’t immediately notice him, and instead responded to the groan she just let out.

“Something wrong, Chloe?” he asked, hoping that the use of her first name would spur her on to do the same for him.

Chloe glanced up at him and watched as he scooted the chair across from her out with his foot and sat down without asking if he could join her. It didn’t matter, really. Lex was a good conversationalist and therefore the answer to her time management dilemma, but it was still a little presumptuous of him not to even ask if the chair was available.

She didn’t mention it though. Instead, she gave a partial roll of her eyes and held the envelope up between her fingers, tipping it back and forth to draw Lex’s attention to it.

Lex took in the soft, almost shiny cream color of the envelope and the way Chloe’s first name was drawn across it in calligraphy. To him, it looked like a love letter; one that, if Chloe’s reaction was anything to go by, was unwelcome.

‘Good,’ he thought. He didn’t like the idea of having competition; not when he seemed to be getting nowhere himself. Still coherent enough not to voice what he really thought, he gave her a small smile. “Wedding or birthday invitation?”

“Neither,” Chloe replied.

“How do you know? You haven’t opened it,” Lex pointed out.

Chloe sighed and set the card down on the table.

“I don’t have to. It’s just like all the other ones I’ve gotten,” she said. After a brief, thoughtful pause she spoke again. “Well, not *all* - some were different – but most.”

Lex narrowed his eyes – not enough for Chloe to notice, but enough to appease his inner sense of suspicion.

“A secret admirer?” he asked. He was unable to keep the jealousy from appearing in his tone, but fortunately for him, Chloe didn’t notice.

“Yeah, if you call Lana pretending to be a stalker a secret admirer,” she retorted with sarcasm.

Lex blinked once in confusion.

“What?”

Chloe sighed again and then leaned toward him, her breasts lopping partway onto the table as if calling to Lex’s eyes. He blinked again and tried to maintain focus on her face. It would hardly suit his purposes if she caught him picturing her naked and got angry with him for slipping off into a daydream about making love to her while they were in the middle of a conversation.

“We were talking about guys and I *jokingly* said that as long as Lana never left Smallville that she’d never have to worry about getting a date, because practically every guy here is stalking her,” Chloe explained in one rambling breath. “Then, like two weeks after that, I started getting these cards – long, nonsensical professions of adoration. Then came flowers, and candy, and little trinkets. She even signed *your* name to a few of them. Now, you tell me she’s not behind it.”

So that was the reason that Chloe hadn’t accepted anything he sent her – she hadn’t believed that he was the one sending the items.

Lex frowned.

Though it was true that he had sent her flowers and small gifts, he wasn’t the one behind the love letters - and he had a bad feeling in his gut that Lana wasn’t either. Lana was…Lana, making Lex sincerely doubt that she could have ever concocted such an idea, let alone had the attention span to carry it out.

“What do they say?” he asked. If he was going to take credit for the other notes, then he wanted to make sure he knew what he was getting into.

“See for yourself,” Chloe said, motioning to the envelope with her head as she clutched her oversized coffee cup with both hands to warm herself.

Lex reached for the envelope and slid his finger under the corner to tear it open. Out came a card in the same color as the envelope, but with a heavy, expensive weave to it. He flipped it open to find the words scrawled out in dark red ink, but with same calligraphic style as Chloe’s name on the envelope.

A closer look determined that the lettering wasn’t red, but almost a brown color, and had seeped off into the paper at certain parts; indicating that the writer had either used an extremely poor quality of ink – which was doubtful given the price of the paper itself, or it wasn’t ink.

Lex’s gut began to twist into a knot. He wasn’t completely sure, but had a strong suspicion that if he took the card to be analyzed that they would confirm it was written in blood – which definitely ruled Lana out as a ‘pretend stalker’, as the girl had been so queasy from the very sight of blood at the high school blood drive she helped organize a couple of years before that she had passed out.

Even if the lab results came back saying that it was ink, the calligraphic scrawl appeared to be written by a man’s hand. Lex had learned enough about handwriting analysis to know that much and it made his heart sink and at the same caused a fiery anger to start pumping through his veins.

How dare someone else try to steal her away from him?! When, not if, he found out whom Chloe’s other suitor was, the full moon would bring two sacrifices instead of just one.

He forced himself to concentrate on the words rather than his emotions, reminding himself that Chloe didn’t even believe the other man existed.

My Dearest Chloe,

You’re the only one who understands. Why do you keep ignoring the things I’ve offered to you? I have sacrificed so much, and you still deny me. I know that our past was shaky, but I’ve looked death in the eye and come to realize what’s important to me - *who* is important to me. Please. I don’t want to hurt you. You’re the only one who knows what I’m going through, the only one who can help me.

‘Offerings…sacrifice…’ his thoughts appeared as pieces of a puzzle and once they connected, he didn’t like what he saw. “How long has this been going on?” he asked, now not only angry but concerned as well.

Chloe let out a small groan and cast her eyes over to where Lana was still talking to Clark for a second before looking back at Lex.

“Almost seven months now. Can you believe it?” she asked in a hushed voice. “I keep telling her that I know it’s her, but I think she gets some sort of perverse kick out of pretending that it isn’t. Like she’s being so sneaky,” Chloe said sarcastically.

‘Almost seven…shit. That asshole stole my idea,’ Lex thought. ‘Or I stole his…whatever. It doesn’t matter. He won’t have her. She’s mine.’

“What is it?” Chloe asked when it looked like Lex was wrapped up in his thoughts.

He frowned and then fixed her with a stern look.

“Seven months? Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“Why would I?”

Oh.

Lex adjusted his position in his seat, leaning forward a little to try and quell the imaginary stabbing pain he felt in his gut.

“Even if I didn’t know who it was, I’m capable of taking care of it on my own. I’m not some helpless little girl, you know.”

A lopsided grin began to lift one corner of Lex’s mouth. Chloe hadn’t gone to him for help, but it was out of sheer evasiveness of the problem and stubborn independence, not because she didn’t think of him as someone who could help her; who would do anything for her. Of course, she still didn’t think that, but the fact that she hadn’t come out and said as much gave Lex fuel for his delusions.

“I don’t suppose you’ve considered the possibility that Lana isn’t the one behind this? That you actually do have a stalker?” he asked.

Chloe let out a derisive huff of air through her nose.

“Good one.”

“Chloe ---” Lex said, trailing off from whatever he had been about to say and simply looking at her instead.

Chloe’s smile slowly slipped into a tiny frown.

“You’re not serious?”

“You could be in real danger, Chloe.”

“Please,” Chloe replied sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. She became slightly worried when Lex’s expression didn’t waver. “Lex ---”

His body hummed with the warmth of arousal when he heard his first name slip from Chloe’s lips, but he needed her to take the situation seriously. If she didn’t, then there was a very good chance that he could lose her – in a worse way than the other man simply stealing her away from him.

The ‘I don’t want to hurt you’ line from the card had made Lex more than a little uncomfortable and he had a feeling that if Chloe didn’t at least start acknowledging the ‘gifts’ by going to the police and reporting her stalker, that the man could become violent toward her quickly.




TBC...

[tigerbaby]

Kris!! What a twist!!

I love that Chloe thought it was Lana and I love that Lex now has competition!!! I know it's supposed to be dark, but why am I feeling the urge to cackle and loudly?

This my dear is definitely going to be another kick-ass fic.

[Impress]

Chica that was well worth the wait. again with the twists and turns. you're really good at that you know. Great work.
This my dear is definitely going to be another kick-ass fic. I agree.

[eurydices falling]

Kris your gift of plot twist continues to astound and amaze.

It's kinda cute how Lex is vexed over the stalker biting off his idea. Oh and kudos on Chloe being brutally honest in her internal monologue about Blanda's motivations for tagging along for some more mooching.


I know it's supposed to be dark, but why am I feeling the urge to cackle and loudly?

It must be the Halloween spirit Imp, cuz I feel like doing it too.

And I've been meaning to tell you how I adore your MR pic. He's just so dreamy.

[peepsRfun2eat]

loved how it opened with Lex going to kill Lana, it might actually improve my day. the letter written out in blood had my skin crawling though, also the idea that Lex is competeing with another stalker had me laughing. but for some reason i thought it was Lex who was the other stalker.
great story really want an update.

[hfce]

Wow great twist. Lex has competition in the stalker department. Nice... :lol:



Hope :)

[autumngold]

:worship2: This story is so great! :biggrin: Are there two stalkers, or is Lex not realizing that he's sending threatening letters to Chloe? :huh: I love this story! :wub: Thank you, thank you, thank you for updating!! :yay2: :yay2: You totally made my day!! :chlexsign4:

[SexInStilettos]

omg omg omg, please update!!!!

[Not An Addict]

w00t! Ok, this one slipped by me for a while since I was expecting an update on 'Granted', but yay, new chapter on this one! Ok, I have my suspicions as to what's going on . . . but since I'm almost always wrong, I'll just keep them to myself. More please! I can't wait to see what fantastic twist you're going to come up with next.

[staysixkid]

:ohmy: Damnnnnnn...i'm...i'm...speechless. This fic is hella freaky! Excellent work Kris. :biggrin:

[asharnanae]

:huh: why do I get the feeling that lex wrote the letters and just doesent relise it! fantastic stuff, keep it comeing!

[Blaire023]

So is this 'other' person really Lex's split personality? Jesus, I love that man, and you just have to make me like him even more for that sick ass mind of his.

~B

[happy bunny]

Another one thinking that the 'competition' is really Lex. And, might I add, Niiiiice! Love that little twist, it's sooo good.

Anyway, can't wait for more.

[vardaquareien]

Oh this is just so brilliant! I have to say, I've got the same suspicions as everyone else: Lex or one of his personalities, wrote the letters. I have to say I'm intrigued by the letter being written in blood...who's blood exactly? :huh: Very interesting (and completely gross!) This is one twisted ficcy chica, I can't wait for more!!!

[celticangel]

Great part! Update soon please. :yay: :yay:

[Charmingjen]

Whoo hoo...I like the darkness to the fic so far. The "mysterious" stalker that's behind the letter. I have a feeling that it may not be Lex himself but maybe a split personality...... You've got my brain working girl. Great update! Oh and my favorite line so far:

Obsession is not love.

That is so true and goes well with these two!

:blinkkiss: Jen

[Susie Q]

Chalk up another vote for the Lex=spooky letter-writer theory. Although I must admit, I'm not exactly turned off by the whole obsessive, crazy Lex thing. Hmmmm....nutty Lex.

Anyways. looking forward to the next update :chlexsign3:

[Sab_Luthor]

oh please man
you can't let us hanging like that
update soon
the sooner the better so please update

[Lady Candy]

That you actually do have a stalker?
Chloe is special ;) Poor Lex, has a competitor! Anyways write more soon!

[randa]

so its probly like Suave Lex meet Crazy Lex, right?
it doesnt really matter right at this moment but that just means i want an update!

randa

[Sunny]

I love this fic! It's very dark.... perfect! :chlexsign1:

[cnl2003]

OK...I want to start this with a disclaimer - I LOVE THIS FIC...LOVE...LOVE..LOVE - but, can I just point out one thing about the whole dual Lex theory...what are the odds the guy can't recognize his own handwriting? Hello...have you ever tried to disguise your own handwriting (bizarre class project, don't ask) you can still tell....

[tigroon]

cnl2003 - see here :
http://home.earthlink.net/~junepulliam/sch...reniaandmpd.htm (http://home.earthlink.net/~junepulliam/schizophreniaandmpd.htm)

scifichick I love the story, please update soon !!

[cnl2003]

OK...I'm actually familiar with the symptoms....but isn't he a little too together in the other aspects of his life for that to be real? I've done volunteer work with individuals and families coping with the affects of mental illness, and none of them were functioning at this level. I was thinking more of a disassociative disorder (I hope I'm using this term correctly, I'm not a doctor)...possibly brought on by his father's lifelong treatment of him and triggered by Helen's attempt on his life...in that case, he'd be aware of all his actions, just not empathise with the feelings of others...or be concerned about the affects of his actions as they relate to/affect others....just my thoughts...still love this fic. I was really hoping it would turn out to be some drug his father was using in order to have him committed....the ultimate triumph over Lex. Chloe could figure it out, and try to save Lex. Then, once it wore off, he would be too embarassed to confess his feelings to Chloe...and angst would follow...but that's just me....

[ladymichelle]

Loving this fic and normally I hate dark fic but this one has me hooked!
Update soon please.

Michelle

[autumngold]

I know I keep nagging you, but please update!! :biggrin: All you Chlex stories are just too good!! I'm addicted, please give me more!! ;) :biggrin: ;) :chlexsign2:

[scifichick774]

A/N: I'm kind of tempted to let you all keep thinking that Lex is the one with a split personality disorder, but that would just be mean - so, the only clue you get is that there is another killer/stalker.

~*~*~*~*~

Chloe sighed and slumped down into the hard wooden chair, her eyes darting over to the glass door that said ‘Lowell County Sheriff’s Office’ when you read it from the other side.

“Sorry for taking so long to get to you,” Sheriff Adams apologized, coming over to the desk and pursing her lips when she saw Lex standing almost protectively behind the chair that Chloe was seated in. “What can I do for you today, Miss Sullivan?”

“She’s being stalked,” Lex answered.

Chloe rolled her eyes and tilted her head back a little to glance at him.

“Is your name Miss Sullivan?” she asked.

Lex ignored her irritated tone and kept his focus on the policewoman in front of them.

“She’s being stalked,” he said again.

“I see,” Adams replied, rather perturbed that Lex was doing all the talking and Chloe looked like she didn’t even want to be there. “How long has this been going on?”

“Almost seven months,” Chloe said, straightening a little in her seat. “But Lex is overreacting. It’s just Lana playing a practical joke and ---”

“Show her the note,” Lex interrupted sternly.

Chloe sighed again.

“Lex ---”

“It’s not Lana’s handwriting, Chloe.”

“So, she knew I would recognize hers and got someone else to write it,” Chloe argued.

“All of them?” Lex asked.

“It’s not impossible – or even improbable.”

“Note?” Adams cut in.

Chloe frowned and took the envelope out of her purse, holding it out until Adams reached across the desk and clasped it with her fingers.

She pulled the card out of the envelope and frowned in disturbance when she saw the lettering inside.

“Is that blood?”

“What? No. Where?”

Adams looked up from the card at Chloe, the frown on her face now transformed into a worried scowl.

“You said this has been going on for seven months?”

“*Almost*,” Chloe corrected her. “But ---”

“May I ask why you didn’t come to me with this sooner?”

“Because it’s not real!” Chloe protested. “It’s just Lana playing a practical joke and Lex is overreacting.”

“What makes you think it’s Miss Lang who’s behind this?” Adams asked with more patience than she possessed.

Chloe went on to explain, telling the sheriff everything she had told Lex back at The Talon, and sighing a little when she reached the end.

Adams pursed her lips again.

“Young lady, this is no joke,” she said, holding up the card in her hand and motioning to it with a slight nod of her head. “If my suspicions are correct, then this was written in blood; and call me crazy, but I don’t see Miss Lang going that far just for a joke.”

“Well, like I said, she probably got someone else to write it for her,” Chloe said, folding her arms across her chest defensively.

“Do you have any other suspects *besides* Miss Lang?” Adams asked, looking at Lex instead of Chloe since the girl obviously wasn’t taking the situation seriously.

“No,” Lex said. “But I think it’s safe to say that Chloe’s in danger.”

“Yeah – from getting more letters and gifts,” Chloe interjected snidely. “Call out the National Guard.”

“Chloe ---”

“Lex – okay. If by some fluke, this person isn’t Lana – and that’s a *big* ‘if’ – then don’t you think they would have hurt me by now?”

“Not necessarily,” Adams said. “In fact, most cases of stalking and obsession can drag on for a good period of time before the person completely cracks and attacks the victim for not returning their affections.”

“Good. So, even if it’s not Lana, then I’m still safe,” Chloe said.

Adams and Lex shared a look and then Adams shot a warning glare at Chloe.

“I’d say that seven months is a considerable period of time, Miss Sullivan. And with the wording of this letter --- I have to agree with Mr. Luthor here. You could be in danger.”

Chloe frowned.

“What are you saying? That I’m just going to have to be looking over my shoulder all the time? Because it’s not like there’s anything you can do if I don’t know who it is.”

Adams gave her a stern, yet sympathetic look.

“First of all, I want you to start being around someone you trust at all times – no exceptions.”

“But ---”

“*And* I want you tell me the second you get another one of these ‘love letters’.”

“Or gifts,” Lex added for good measure, mentally noting not to send anything to Chloe until the issue was resolved.

Adams gave him a curt nod.

“I’m going to have this one sent to forensics,” she said, more to herself than to the two people across from her. “You should also tell your dad…since I’m guessing he doesn’t know,” she said, the end of her sentence pitching upward questioningly.

Chloe looked down and shook her head lightly in dismay.

“I don’t suppose we could just pretend this whole conversation never happened?” she asked.

“I don’t have a lot of extra men available right now, but I can have a unit drive by your house every few hours,” Adams said, completely ignoring Chloe’s utterance. “It might help scare your stalker away – at least for the time being.”

Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but Lex beat her to the punch.

“It might be better if she stayed at my place,” he said.

“Excuse me?” Chloe and Adams asked at the same time.

“The castle has the best security system available – and guards as backup in case someone actually manages to break through it,” Lex explained as he walked to Chloe’s side.

Chloe turned to give him an incredulous look.

“Let me get this straight. You want to keep me as a virtual prisoner because some guy who probably doesn’t even exist *might* hurt me? That’s the most…” she trailed off and shook her head. “It’s not gonna happen.”

“Chloe, be reasonable for once,” Lex said, regretting the words once he saw anger flicker in Chloe’s eyes.

“I *am* being reasonable!” she argued. “You want me to give up my privacy by forcing my friends to play babysitter – fine. But that’s where I draw the line. I’m not going to lock myself away and cower in fear when I have things to do.”

“What ‘things’ could be more important than staying alive?” Lex countered.

“Not more important – just – we’re in the middle of moving to the new house. You know that.”

Adams frowned deeply.

“You’re moving?” she asked for confirmation.

Chloe gave her a nod of her head as she turned back to face her.

“Over by the golf course.”

“Nice neighborhood,” Adams said pensively. “But, this could be just the opportunity that your stalker has been waiting for.”

“Because every weirdo waits until you’re living in a gated community to make his move,” Chloe sarcastically retorted.

“I meant the move itself,” Adams said. “You’ll be distracted with transferring everything over to the new house – you might not be paying as much attention to the things and people around you as you normally would.” Adams pulled back in her seat and narrowed her eyes a little at Chloe. “You don’t seem to be taking this very seriously, Miss Sullivan.”

“No, I’m not,” Chloe agreed. “Because I *know* it’s just Lana.”

“Then why did you bother to come here to report it?” Adams countered.

“Because Lex made me,” Chloe said honestly, without even a hint of petulance to her voice.

Adams sighed and brought her hands up to rub her temples.

“Well, at least you’ve got *someone* looking out for you, since you’re obviously not doing it yourself,” she said and then glanced up at Lex before Chloe had a chance to object to her comment. “But given your history with taking the law into your own hands, I must say that I’m a little surprised you made her come to me.”

“You don’t believe in a person turning over a new leaf?” Lex asked wryly.

“More like a leopard changing its spots,” Adams mumbled under her breath and then plastered a tight grin on her lips. “Since you’re being so cooperative though – think you can have one of your people keep an eye on her during the breaks between the drive-bys?”

“Of course.”

Chloe looked back and forth between them with a slightly open mouth.

“Hello? Am I the only one seeing the irony in what you two are suggesting?” she asked. At Lex and the sheriff’s blank stares, Chloe through her hands up in exasperation. “You’re going to have somebody stalk me to get rid of someone who’s already stalking me. It makes no sense whatsoever!”

She shook her head and pushed herself out of the wooden chair she had just spent a good twenty minutes in.

“Where are you going?” Lex asked. “You still need to fill out the paperwork.”

“I’m not doing anything. I shouldn’t have let you talk me into coming here in the first place.”

“Chloe ---”

She gave him a backward wave of her hand in the air and his sentence trailed off into a grumbling curse. He pursed his lips and watched her walk out the door. Things weren’t going as planned at all and he may have just screwed up whatever little chance he may have had with her – even after the sacrifice was completed.

“She’s quite a little spitfire,” Adams said, a twinge of admiration in her tone.

“She’s going to get herself killed,” Lex replied absently.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Adams said. “I have a feeling she’s not the only stubborn one in the room.” She arched a knowing eyebrow at Lex and he nodded once. “Go on. I’ll send the letter to forensics and see if they can come up with anything.”

Lex said nothing, but the look on his face confirmed Adams’s suspicion that he liked Chloe. Unfortunately, she had a niggling feeling that he almost seemed to like her too much.

‘Maybe a priority stamp on this for the forensics team is in order.’




TBC...

[Lulucifer]

Oh goody, update! :partyhat:
Hehehe....Lex wants Chloe to move into the castle.....Chloe really should give in, there's potential there....Chloe and Lex all alone...
It's good to know Lex isn't actually the stalker. Cause that would really put a damper on their relationship (or future relationship).
can't wait to read more.
:chlexsign4:

[happy bunny]

So Lex isn't the stalker? Then who is it? Intrigue...

Anyway, loving this and can't wait for more.

[autumngold]

I'm so glad that Lex is not the stalker!! I think Lex should stay with Chloe night and day to keep her safe!! :biggrin: If she won't move in with him, maybe he should move in with her!! It would give him easier access to kill Lana! :biggrin: I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed your update!! Thanks for writing Chlex stories!! :chlexsign4:

[Impress]

I so enjoyed this. can't wait for more. get to writing.

[Blaire023]

Well that's no fun. I'd kinda like for Lex to be all insane over Chloe and stuff.

~B

but I still loved the chapter :blinkkiss:

[Not An Addict]

You updated you updated you updated!! *hugs you some more* I love you Kris. ^_^ Ok, I'm still not going to reveal my suspicions, choosing instead to horde them like . . . um . . . a thing that hordes. Yeah, it's late and I have no way to finish that. Another update soon, pretty please! Hope real life's not being too hard on you.

[hfce]

I am sorry but Chloe is being a biatch. Is Lana that stupid to get someone to send the letter in blood. God how dumb can she be. :hammer:


Hope:)

[vardaquareien]

hmmmm....so it's not Lex....hmmmm...ok I have one idea but I refuse to share it in the fear of looking like an idiot!!! (well more of an idiot than usual :blush: )
I actually tend to agree with Hope a little bit here - why is Chloe still adamant about it being from Lana when she's found out it was written in blood? Why would Lana have it written in blood? *shakes head* silly girl, she'd in denial!

Can't wait for the next update!!!

[Sab_Luthor]

i love protective lex
it's too cute to see him so overprotective
more please

[Susie Q]

Okay, so Lex isn’t the spooky letter-writer. So is it someone we know? And why is Chloe being so damn stubborn. How can she still thinks it’s a prank? Besides the letter being written in blood does she really believe Lana could pull off a ‘prank’ that elaborate. I mean come on now. Anyway, the suspense is killing me. So how long until the next update? *bounces impatiently*

[scifichick774]

A/N: Shorter and horribly out of rotation, but my muse insisted.

~*~*~*~*~

Lex left the sheriff’s office in a daze. Chloe was either in severe denial over the situation or she really didn’t want his help – really didn’t want *him*. Lex held his head high stubbornly.

It wasn’t true.

She was just in a mood because of seeing Clark and Lana moon over each other at the Talon; or she was just obstinately independent and didn’t like the idea of having to give up her privacy.

No. It had nothing to do with him in particular, but the whole thing in general – and as long as he kept telling himself that, he assured the little voice inside his head that he would be fine.

Startled when he realized that Chloe was simply standing in front of him, her back to him and unmoving, and that he had almost run into her; he steadied himself for what he was sure would be another verbal lashing. After all, why else would she have waited?

“Chloe?”

Chloe let out the breath she had been holding in and slowly turned to face him.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, her head slightly bowed so she wouldn’t have to make eye contact. “You were just trying to help and I shouldn’t have yelled at you – at either of you. I guess I should go apologize to the sheriff as well.”

“It can wait,” Lex said. His eyes brushed over her, frowning at the way her eyes kept darting from side to side before looking down again; the way she was slightly shaking even though it wasn’t that cold outside. “You’re scared,” he observed.

Chloe nodded her head and then wrapped her arms around herself as she allowed her eyes to finally meet Lex’s.

“I just didn’t want to think that it could really be happening,” she admitted. “Although, when I say it out loud like that, it sounds kind of stupid.”

“No, it doesn’t. You were in denial and you had a right to be. I mean, it’s not as if a stalker is old hat for you. Plus, you like to be in control of your life. By admitting that it was real, you would be relinquishing a little bit of that control.”

Chloe shivered, the full realization that what was happening was indeed real striking her after Lex’s analysis passed through his lips. She hugged her arms a little tighter around her and Lex hesitantly stepped forward, unsure of whether his embrace would be welcomed or not.

Taking a chance, he reached around her side to place one hand on the small of her back, surprised and relieved when Chloe closed the remaining space between them and rested her body against his.

His other arm moved around her and held her close, shutting his eyes when he caught the warm scent wafting off of her hair.

“I’m not good at asking for help,” Chloe mumbled against him.

“I’ve noticed.”

Chloe shook her head almost imperceptibly and moved out of his arms.

“I don’t think I can do it,” she said. Lex furrowed his brow in confusion but Chloe didn’t notice, as she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts. “After everything we’ve been through, I just don’t think I can play the Lana role by walking up to Clark and saying, ‘hey – I’m being stalked – protect me?’”

Lex frowned. This was about Clark?

‘Isn’t it always?’ he thought grimly. ‘I’ll definitely have to get rid of him too. She’ll appreciate that.’

Oblivious to what Lex was thinking, Chloe shook her head again.

“And even if I did somehow manage to summon the ability to completely misplace my pride and ask him for help, I’m not sure I’d want to have him around all the time. I mean, it’s taken *how long* to get to the point where I can handle being alone in a room with him again for just a few minutes? And you know he’d tell Lana and then I’d be surrounded by ---”

Chloe’s rambling stopped short when Lex suddenly wrapped his arms around her again.

“You don’t have to tell Clark if you don’t want to,” he said comfortingly.

“But…Sheriff Adams said that I had to have a friend with me all the time and…no offense to Lana, but she’s a walking magnet for danger…and Pete…well…”

“You have other friends, Chloe.”

“No one close enough to ask to help me,” she said.

“There’s still the option that I offered you,” Lex said with a calm that he didn’t truly feel.

He knew he shouldn’t allow himself to get too excited at the possibility of Chloe staying with him under the same roof, but he couldn’t help it. Just the thought of her sleeping near him, *being* near him, sent the blood coursing faster through his veins.

“What? The bodyguard thing? Lex ---”

“Actually, I meant staying with me.”

“Oh,” Chloe said. “I don’t think ---”

“It’s the safest way, Chloe. And you’d only have to have a bodyguard – or me – with you when you went out.”

Chloe frowned.

“I can’t and won’t ask you to do that,” she said. “Even with the size of your house, it would be a huge imposition. Plus – my dad would never agree to it.”

“First of al, you’re not asking – I’m *offering*. All you have to do is accept,” Lex pointed out. “And I’m sure once you tell your dad what’s been going on ---” Chloe made a discomforted sound. “What?”

“Nothing. I’m just not looking forward to that conversation,” she said.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“Somehow I doubt that would help the situation,” Chloe said; the first hint of a grin showing up on her lips that Lex had seen since he had run into her at the Talon.

“Your dad loves you, Chloe,” Lex said, carefully sidestepping the fact that she had just turned down his…assistance. “He talks about you all the time. I’m sure he’ll want to keep you as safe as possible until your stalker is apprehended.”

“Stalker?”

Chloe and Lex turned to see Clark standing next to them, his face etched with concentrated worry.

“Is Lana being stalked again?” he asked.

“Chloe,” Lex corrected, squaring his jaw right before he spoke.

‘So much for not telling him,’ Chloe thought.

Clark’s eyebrows rose in surprise and he gawked at Chloe like she had grown a second head.

“Y-you?”

Chloe bit back a sigh at Clark’s obvious shock. In his world, only he and Lana mattered. It hadn’t always been that way, but the last couple of years had pretty much sealed what little of the outside world Clark saw and what he deemed important.

“Yeah,” Chloe said, her courage growing with every second that she thought about the still not-entirely-resolved issues that she had with Clark. “Not that there’s anything the police can do about it since they don’t know who it is, but whatever.”

“From his last letter, it looks like he might turn violent soon, so ---”

“*Last* letter?” Clark interrupted, earning a scowl from Lex, but ignoring it to look at Chloe. “How many of them have you gotten?”

“I have no idea,” she said.

“What?” Clark asked in confusion.

Chloe gave a half-roll of her eyes.

“I lost count, okay?” she responded tersely. “And even if I hadn’t, you’d have to factor in the flowers and gifts and stuff – and it’s not like I kept any of it, so I really couldn’t tell you.”

Clark’s mouth was hanging open, and though Lex was tempted to make a comment about drawing flies, he refrained. Chloe seemed to be handling herself and the situation with Clark much better than he or she had anticipated and he was smart enough not to steal her thunder with an unnecessary snide remark.

“How – what – how long has this been going on?” Clark finally got out.

“A while,” Chloe answered cryptically. She hadn’t wanted to tell Clark about it in the first place, partially because she suspected what his reaction would be if he knew all the details. Clark gave her a stern, warning look and Chloe mumbled something under her breath.

“What?” he asked, not catching her incoherent semi-whisper even with his super hearing.

“Almost seven months,” Chloe said louder and indignantly. “But ---”

“Seven months?!” Clark asked, his voice raised but not quite yelling – not yet. “And you’re just *now* telling me about it?!”

“It was none of your business, Clark,” Chloe countered evenly. “And it still isn’t, so I suggest you stay out of it.”



TBC...

[hfce]

Great update :clap:



Hope :chlexsign2:

[SinnerSaint]

Ooh... Chloe told Clark off !! That always gives me a happy !

[Sab_Luthor]

go chloe tell clark to go to hell
and accept lex's protection
thanks another update that's so nice of you
more please

[Impress]

hey if your muse insists on writing more of this, well I certainly won't complain. ok I won't complain much since it means we won't get NC or TCMMOMM. But hell, this is good so...more soon.

[Susie Q]

Woohoo, two updates! Tell your muse I have cookies if he/she is accepting bribes.

“Seven months?!” Clark asked, his voice raised but not quite yelling – not yet. “And you’re just *now* telling me about it?!”

“It was none of your business, Clark,” Chloe countered evenly. “And it still isn’t, so I suggest you stay out of it.”
That’s right. You tell him Chloe. Hear that Clunk? You can move it along now. Chloe and Lex can take it from here so be gone dimwit. So glad that Chloe is no longer in denial about the stalker situation. Still wondering if it’s someone we know. Ahhh…..I can’t take the suspense.http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/tearhair1.gif

[SexInStilettos]

great update...but u know what they say if you give a mouse a cookie...more please!!!! :biggrin:

[autumngold]

Go Chloe!! I hope Clark's presence will make her realize how much more she wants Lex! Clark is such a jerk, acting like it's so shocking that Chloe could have a stalker! Please let Gabe realize how important it is to have Chloe stay with Lex!! Your story is so wonderful!! I love this update!!! :wub: :chlexsign3: :wub:

[Lulucifer]

:biggrin: that was great, now Clark is out of the picture, i'm sure Lex can protect Chloe now, which will lead to more chlexy goodness.

[Not An Addict]

Whoo hoo! I loves me my kick-ass Chloe. Almost as much as I loves me my protective Lex. Ok, sure, he's kind of violently and dangerously insane, but still. You just know a hug like that would be of the good. ^_~ I'm so glad you broke your fic rotation to do another chapter on this! Hee. Dangerously obsessive Lex and Chloe alone in a house . . . wow, that would be a FUN dynamic. Can't wait to see if she accepts his offer!

[vardaquareien]

Great Update! I'm lovin' me the idea of Chloe going and staying at the mansion, please let Clark's overbearingness convince her! I loved Lex's thoughts throughout this, the way he sooo wanted to hug her but had to consider how she'd react, the way he sooo wants her to stay with him but has to let her make the descision. He's such a cute little psychopath! And his idea about killing Clunk as well as Blinky...pure heaven! :devil: Loved Chloe's verbal smack-down of Clunk!!! You go girl!!!

[happy bunny]

I love me this Lex, so what if he's a smidgen insane?

Loved Chloe telling Clark to butt out. Nothing more satisfying that some good ol' Clark bashing.

Can't wait to see what happens when (and I say when because she is going to accept his offer, right?) they're living under the same roof, so many possibilities...

[randa]

ooh, i loved the way she was pissed at him!! and she should definantly stay with lex.
(and clarks an idiot!!)

randa

[Kit Merlot]

I love Chloe telling off Clark--He is so stupid!! Like she has to tell him everything that is going on in her life! And I love overprotective Lex. He may be a little unhinged, but he still has his priorities straight--wooing Chloe and making her his :biggrin: YEAH!!

[S.Ann Smith]

Go Chloe! Go Chloe! yay for the update :D loving the story :)

[estrellalily]

ok, really creeepy story. i like the idea of Lex saving Chloe, bu ti'm not so sure about the whole Lex wiping out half of Smallvile's teens to show her. and LEx himself is only a step away from stalker. i dont know, we'll have to see how it plays out! :goof: :devil: :goof:

[cnl2003]

OK...I went back to the beginning...I love that you said that Lex wasn't the stalker....yayyyyy....however, this really messes with the first chapter, unless the Lex in the first chapter isn't really Lex, just someone (male or female) who thinks they're Lex.....the shrink never actually said it was Lex...just made references to what actually happened to Lex, and discussed how freaked she was...if she had a client who believed she/he was Lex, she would make the same observations...and why would the real Lex seek that form of help? IMHO real Lex would need to be court ordered...and when does that ever happen to the victim? What if the stalker has a Lex complex...and just realized what really mattered to Lex...Chloe...and just wanted to get there first to prove that they're the REAL Lex?

OK..call me crazy...and no, I'm not currently under the care of a psychologist/ therapy...just fan fic. Not nearly as expensive and much more effective...I'm wayyyy too busy looking for updates to have the time to be mental...unless you count posting...and I've read the posts on this board, I'm not alone!

[scifichick774]

You bring up some interesting points, but all I said was that Lex wasn't the stalker who was sending her the letters. I didn't say he wasn't stalking her period. ;)

[jem]

so.... wanna update and tell us what else is going on????

:biggrin: pleeeease????

oooh and PLEASE update the bachelor before christmas!! pLEase!!!!!

[Alie]

Update PLEASE
<insert my sister&#39;s cut puppy dog face>
I really wanna know what&#39;s goin on.
I&#39;m jumping up and down for your next update
:yay: :yay2: :yay:

[Val]

Oooh you sooo have too update this&#33;
I&#39;m loving it so far and can&#39;t wait for more&#33; Go Chloe for telling Clark to keep his kryptonian nose out of it&#33; Love over-protective (obsessive) Lex and can&#39;t wait to see how Chloe will handle everything, she&#39;ll end up in the mansion right??

[scifichick774]

Gabe stared in disbelief at Chloe. It was safe to say that when he had initially been called away from work to go to his boss’s office that he didn’t expect to hear that his only daughter was being stalked, and certainly not that Lex was taking the threat so seriously that he wanted her to move into the castle he lived in until the stalker was in police custody.

His mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he was finally able to form words with it.

“And this has been going on how long?”

“About seven months,” Chloe repeated for her father’s benefit. “But ---”

“And why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“Because it’s not ---”

“Don’t you even think about trying to tell me that this isn’t a big deal, Chloe,” Gabe interrupted. “Because if it’s a big enough deal for Lex to want to lock you up in that creepy house of his – no offense,” he said to Lex with an upward tip of his head to Lex.

“None taken,” Lex said.

“Anyway, if it’s at the point where Lex wants to lock you up for your safety, it’s a *big deal*,” Gabe continued.

“Dad ---”

“I mean, I’ve lost track of how many times your friend Lana has been stalked by some weirdo – had her life threatened even – and Lex never thought any of *those* incidents were important enough to ask *her* to stay with him.”

Chloe parted her lips to make a snide comment about how no one in their right mind would willingly ask Lana to stay with them, but quickly pressed them together when she realized that she had done just that a few years ago.

‘Well, I was clearly insane,’ she thought matter-of-factly. ‘In love with Clark, being nice to someone I hated up until that point…the list goes on and on.’

“God,” Gabe said more to himself than to Lex or Chloe, shaking Chloe from her thoughts. He stood up and shakily ran a hand through his thinning hair while he drew in an unsteady breath. Finally, he focused his eyes on Lex. “How bad is this? Is her life in danger?”

“I don’t know,” Lex said honestly. “But like I said before, the one letter I read was written in blood and ---”

“We don’t know that,” Chloe cut in.

“Yes we do,” Lex said confidently. “And even if had been written with regular ink, the phrasing was enough to make the sheriff tell you not to go *anywhere* unescorted.”

“*Recommended*,” Chloe argued. “She *recommended* that I not go anywhere unescorted. It’s not like she demanded it.”

Lex leaned his head a little to the side as he observed her body language. Her words suggested that she was just as flippant about the situation as she had been before they went to go see Sheriff Adams, but the way she was kneading her hands in her lap betray the nervousness that he assumed she didn’t want to worry her father with.

“I thought we already talked about this,” he said, hoping that she would recognize from his soothing tone that he wasn’t going to let whoever was after her hurt her, regardless of whether her father allowed her to stay at his house or not.

“We did. I just ---”

“Crap,” Gabe muttered under his breath, completely ignoring what Chloe and Lex just said to each other. “The security system at the new house won’t be up and running for another two weeks. What am I supposed to do?”

“I could stay with ---”

“I can’t just let you stay with your cousins in Metropolis, Chloe,” Gabe interrupted knowingly.

“Why not?” Chloe asked, causing Lex to frown because it meant that she had never intended on ending her previous statement with his name.

“Because you have free reign of the roost there. Your aunt and uncle don’t even keep an eye on you when you’re *not* in danger.”

“Because they had no reason to,” Chloe pointed out. “I’m sure that things will be different if they know what’s going on though.”

“Yeah. Different in that you’d be coming back to Smallville in a body bag instead of a new convertible,” Gabe returned sourly.

“First of all, the car was a perfectly acceptable birthday present from them since they have way more money than us. And *you* said I could keep it.”

“And second?”

“And second, please don’t bury me in Smallville. The meteor rocks have totally wigged the soil and I don’t want to come back to life as a fluorescent green-eyed zombie.”

Gabe shot her a pointed glare and she gave him a whisp of a smile.

“Just trying to lighten the mood,” Chloe said not quite apologetically. “Besides, I want to be cremated. You know that.”

“You’ve discussed your death arrangements with your father?” Lex asked with surprised cynicism.

“Well, yeah. We live in Smallville,” Chloe answered.

Gabe cleared his throat.

“I think we’re straying away from the point here,” he said. “What about what Sheriff Adams told you? Have you talked to your friends about one of them being with you all the time? Maybe that will work.”

Chloe held up three fingers.

“Pete’s out of town for that football camp,” she said, bringing one finger down. “Lana’s *always* at the Talon; so even if she wasn’t a three M, then that would basically be telling the stalker where he could find me all the time,” she said, bringing down another finger.

“Three M?” Gabe asked.

“Meteor mutant magnet.”

“Should I be worried that you have a nickname for that…condition?”

“Dad ---”

“Well, what about Clark?” Gabe interrupted. “Granted, he doesn’t look very intimidating, but I’m sure he’s built up *some* muscles working on that farm.”

Chloe gave her father a cool glare.

“Hell will freeze over before I ask Clark Kent for help,” she said, venomously spitting out her ex-best friend’s name.

Gabe frowned.

“I thought you two patched things up?”

Chloe let out a long sigh.

“We did…sort of,” she said before shaking her head despairingly. “It’s a long story.”

“Chloe ---”

“Gabe, I understand your concern, but if this guy is who I think he is, then ---”

Chloe’s eyebrows rose.

“Wait a second. You know who it is?” she asked.

“Not…exactly,” Lex admitted. “But I suspect that it’s the serial killer who has been terrorizing Metropolis for roughly the same amount of time that you’ve been stalked.”

“Coincidence,” Chloe sloughed off.

“‘Why do you keep ignoring the things I’ve *offered* to you? I have *sacrificed* so much, and you still deny me. I know that our past was shaky, but I’ve* looked death in the eye* and come to realize what’s important to me - *who* is important to me,’” Lex recited from the letter they had just turned over to the sheriff not hours before, emphasizing the words and phrases that he felt were important to get his point across. “I could be wrong, but his wording certainly coincides with the killer’s actions.”

Gabe’s mouth dropped open and he was about to comment when Chloe beat him to it.

“What did you do? Memorize it?” she asked snidely. “And you’re wrong.” Lex arched a questioning eyebrow. “The Doctor, as The Daily Planet has so affectionately named him; which, by the way, is totally wrong, because it’s only going to spur him on; has been slaughtering people for almost a year now – in fact, if a body turns up tomorrow morning – seeing as how it’s the first night of the full moon tonight, then it’ll be a full year - *not* seven months.”

“*Almost* seven months,” Lex reminded her. “Did you ever think that the first few killings were simply to build up enough courage to send you the letters?”

“No,” Chloe said. “Because that’s stupid.”

“Chloe,” her dad said in a warning tone.

“Well, it is,” Chloe muttered half-under her breath. “Besides, the killings have only taken place in Metropolis.”

“Which you frequent on a fairly regular basis,” Lex argued.

“But I’ve been getting the letters and gifts *here*,” she pointed out. “If it was the same person, then why wouldn’t they just be killing the people in Smallville?”

~*~*~*~

That night…

Lana wearily made her way down the stairs and shuffled into the kitchen. She hadn’t laid her sleepy body to rest for more than a couple of hours before she had a bad dream and woke up to get herself a glass of filtered water. After all, if Chloe’s theories were right, then there was definitely something that she didn’t want to be drinking in the town’s water supply.

She poured the cool liquid from a pitcher that she retrieved from the refrigerator and then set the pitcher down as she brought the glass to her lips. She greedily drank from the clear glass, pushing the cold water down her throat to quell the lump of nervousness that had risen there because of her nightmare.

Clark had told her earlier that day about Chloe being stalked, about it being so serious that Lex had offered to let her roommate stay at his house. Lana was sure that’s where her nightmare had sprung from, although she was sure that she was overreacting. Chloe only seemed mildly worse for the wear about it, so she shouldn’t be too concerned, right?

An image from her dream flit into her mind; a shadowed man killing Chloe in front of her and then laughing evilly.

‘You’re *really* all alone now. No one loves you. Where will you go?’

‘It wasn’t real,’ Lana silently reminded herself. ‘It wasn’t.’

But real or imagined, the killer in her nightmare had struck a chord in her subconscious. As Chloe had pointed out before, she had several stalkers of her own over the past few years, many of whom had tried to kill her. She couldn’t help thinking that this might be another one of them, that they were going through her only real friend outside of Clark to get to her – to make her suffer.

She shakily set down the empty glass and put the pitcher of water back into the refrigerator. While she had been vehemently denying that Smallville’s meteor freak population revolved around her comings and goings, she had a bad inkling that Chloe may have been right all along, and that her blonde friend was going to get killed because of it.

Lana padded back toward the stairs and paused as she placed her hand on the rail and thought she heard a tiny sound behind her. She turned her head but could barely make out her surroundings; even the small shadows and outlines that she saw coming more from her memory of where the furniture and boxes that hadn’t been moved to the new house yet were.

“Chloe? Mr. Sullivan?” she called out quietly, hoping that it was one of them.

When no further sound came, she shook her head slightly and wrote the first noise off to her already jittery nerves. She turned again to climb the stairs, letting out a startled gasp of pain when something sharp stabbed into her lower back and she was pulled back so the weapon penetrated further.

“She won’t even talk to me because of you,” a husky, clearly psychotic whisper came against her ear. The undercurrent of the hushed voice sounded familiar, but not familiar enough for Lana to place it through the pain she was feeling. “Which means – you need to be disposed of.”

She struggled as best she could and opened her mouth to scream, but a large, gloved hand quickly covered her lips and the sound that released from her throat was muffled beyond the point where anybody more than a foot away could hear her cry for help.

Despite the sharp, stabbing pain in her back, she raised her hands up to grip the man’s wrist. She tugged and twisted, trying to use one of the martial arts moves that had proved successful for her in the past on the man, but it was to no avail.

Her attacker didn’t even budge an inch, and before she knew what was happening, she was swung around to face him. Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and her mouth dropped open to speak, but no words spilled forth before the swipe of the attacker’s blade slit across her throat.

Blood drenched her body and pooled onto the floor as the man lowered her body quietly, so as not to wake the object of his obsession. A smooth, swift stroke of his sharp knife opened her body from her chest down to her gut and the man placed the weapon to the side as he dug in through the blood and muscle and bone to tear her organs from her fresh corpse.

With quick, precise movements, the organs were arranged in a circle around her. The killer pushed himself up from his crouched position, making sure not to leave his knife behind.

He smirked as he loomed over Lana’s body in the darkness and then his eyes darted up the stairs.

‘She’ll have to love me now.’




TBC...

[tigerbaby]

Mwahahahahahaha&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Not even time for a scream&#33;&#33;

[Susie Q]

Eww Kris, graphic much? *lol* I guess her pink power moves just weren’t enough to save her this time. I’m surprised her lapdog Clunk didn’t magically appear to save his little damsel in distress. Ah well…and Lana rejoins her parents. On that note, Chloe should really reconsisder the whole ‘escort at all times’ recommendation and the moving into the castle deal. I get the feeling that her stalker is about ready to snap and is going to be ready to come after her soon. And not to profess his undying love either. :unsure: Anyways, this story is so exciting and suspenseful. :yay3: I hate having to wait so long for updates. *pouts childishly*

[autumngold]

Was it Lex that killed her, or is he going to be upset when he finds out that someone else killed his intended target? I really loved that chapter, and not only because of Lana&#39;s death&#33;&#33; Thank you for the update&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[happy bunny]

Kay, I&#39;m not entirely sure why, but from that last chapter I&#39;m getting the impression that the killer is Clunk. But *shrugs* I wouldn&#39;t listen to me, afterall, I&#39;m not all that bright and am probably wrong.

But anyway, totally loving this&#33; And seriously, I can&#39;t wait for more.

[Czech Angel]

I kinda got that impression too. Especially with this line:

“She won’t even talk to me because of you,” a husky, clearly psychotic whisper came against her ear. The undercurrent of the hushed voice sounded familiar
I know that it&#39;sprobably not Clark since he doesn&#39;t even have the brain capacity to think of a scheme like that. So I guess Scifichick you&#39;re just going have to update quick. Btw, great chappie.

[Val]

whoa, great chapter Kris&#33; *dances* the oink princess is dead, the pinlk princess is dead&#33; :biggrin: *ahem*

Anyways, I dont think its clunk cos of the "The undercurrent of the hushed voice sounded familiar, but not familiar enough for Lana to place it". She&#39;d probably be able to place it if it was clunk&#39;s, I think...
My guess is its someone Blana only met once or twice, someone probably older then Chloe, who has some connection with Metropolis. Perhaps one of Chloe&#39;s dates? I dont know... I just want nmore updates soon&#33; :blinkkiss:

[jem]

first reaction...

"HA HA"

*pointing the finger at lanas body*

(sounding SO much like that bully kid on the simpsons)

more&#33;

[vardaquareien]

Originally posted by happy bunny@Dec 27 2003, 08:20 AM
I&#39;m getting the impression that the killer is Clunk.
Yep me too&#33;&#33;&#33; As Czech Angel said I think the line about Chloe not talking to him was what tipped me off.
Her attacker didn’t even budge an inch This line also confirms it in my opinion. Surely the pink power ranger being so kickarse as she is *cough*bullshit&#33;*cough* would at least be able to put up a bit of a fight, however pathetic, against a normal person. Clunk on the otherhand...plus there&#39;s the fact that Clunk didn&#39;t rescue her, as we all know Clunk always rescues Blinky so the reason he didn&#39;t this time&#39;s coz he was the killer.
Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and her mouth dropped open to speak,Here&#39;s another reason I think it&#39;s him...Blinky is shocked when she sees that it&#39;s her darling Clunk.

Well that&#39;s my theory anyway. I guess if I&#39;m totally off base at least my reasoning will be a source of amusement for you Kris&#33; :biggrin: This wonderful and graphic murder of her pinkness was a wonderful Christmas present&#33; Thank you soo much, it&#39;s given me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside...is that a bad thing? :unsure:

[Susie Q]

Whoa…Clunk huh? I don’t think the theory is that off-base. After reading you all’s observations, I didn’t find it at all hard to imagine Clark or whatever screwed up alter-ego he’s working off of as ‘The Doctor.’ He would certainly be able to make it to Metropolis to murder and back to Smallville to leave his little gifts in record time. Good looking out guys. Now I really can’t wait to see how all this plays out. Hey Kris, any chance we could get you to break your rotation and give us another update on this? http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/flirt.gif

[Not An Addict]

MWAH&#33; Hee hee hee hee hee&#33;&#33;&#33; Oh god, it so has to be Clark. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease let it be Clark&#33; It all makes sense then&#33; He&#39;d be able to get to Metropolis and back with no problem--superspeed and all. The victims wouldn&#39;t be able to put up much of a fight--like Lana--because of the superstrength. He&#39;s upset about his obsession with Lana messing up the relationship he had with Chloe. It all fits&#33;&#33;&#33; I love you, love you, love you. And if you post the next chapter soon, I promise I won&#39;t even turn serial killer to get your attention. ^_~

[SinnerSaint]

I also am left with the impression that Clark is the whacko psycho serial killer and if this is the case I think that its an awesome twist &#33; If it is not the case , then hey .. way to keep all of us guessing &#33;&#33;&#33; I can barely wait for the next update &#33; I am so excited to see what happens next .

[Kit Merlot]

Okay, Kris I LOVE this story&#33;&#33; I smiled when Lana was trampled by the horse on the show, but I actually laughed when Lana got Jack the Rippered&#33; WELL DONE :biggrin:

I have so many guesses as to who the killer might be, among them Lionel, Lucas, and Mr. Kent. But it would be cool if it was Clark&#33;

Anyway, keep up the great work :chlexsign1:

[Lulucifer]

wow...Lana is actually killed off.
I&#39;m not sure i agree with the whole Clark is the killer theory. It is a possibility. I guess we&#39;ll have to wait and see.
Update soon please.

[SexInStilettos]

ok first, great update&#33;&#33; second, i think it is lex and he has a split personality so he doesn&#39;t remember..please update.....

[Shay]

MY GOD&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; THAT WAS GGRRREEEAAAATTTT&#33; My mouth hung open at Lana murder. I loved it&#33; ~snicker snicker~

More soon

Shay

[crazygirl]

UPDATE&#33; UPDATE&#33; *chants* :chlexsign3: please?

[scifichick774]

The next morning…

It seemed to be a morning like any other when Chloe arose wearily from her bed, her body sore from a restless night’s sleep. Over-abundant caffeine consumption and the disturbing discussions that had taken place the day before had ensured that she hadn’t gotten the rest that she needed, but at least her body felt heavy enough to keep her in bed, unlike the girl she had opened her home to.

She heard footsteps on the stairs in the middle of the night; and since the wooden steps had creaked, but not as loudly as they did when it was her father got up, she surmised that it must have been Lana who got up.

Ignoring the sound after the rationalization, because she didn’t believe it to be her newly sparked fears come to life, Chloe had turned onto her other side and lilted slowly off to sleep as if she hadn’t heard anything at all.

Or maybe she was just hoping; trying to convince herself that the murmured voices she couldn’t make out were only heard in her mind; as part of an incoherent dream that had taken shape yet.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, her fingers sliding over to her temples and then to the back of her neck as she tried to ward off the beginnings of a headache that hadn’t surfaced yet, but she knew was sure to come. If she was going to have any chance at facing the day with any kind of normalcy, then she would need to drag herself out of her room and down a couple of her dad’s prescription ibuprofen pills with a large cup of hot coffee.

The sound of sirens suddenly blaring from outside, far away but seemingly drawing nearer, jerked her from her reverie and set her nerves on end, tensing up the muscles that connected her neck to her shoulders.

She shook her head to clear the ridiculous thought that rose to her mind. No doubt the Johansson’s cat had gotten stuck up the telephone pole a couple of blocks away again and, because it was the only action the Smallville Fire Department got to see apart from car crashes and random acts of arson, they were rushing to the scene as if it was actually important.

Chloe scoffed and ran a lazy hand through her hair, walking over to where her robe hung on the back of her door. She slipped it on and tied it loosely, ignoring that the garment had seen better days and the once thick and plush terrycloth material was now practically thread-bare. Her father gave her money for new things, but when it came down to a choice between a new robe and the cute suede miniskirt that hung in her closet, it hadn’t been a difficult decision.

She reached out to open the door, pulling her hand back when she heard a light rapping on it from the hallway and the doorknob started to turn on its own.

“Chloe?”

Chloe let out a small breath of relief at the sound of her father’s half-whispered voice. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and she mentally cursed herself for being so high-strung over the remote possibility that it had been the stranger who had anonymously been sending her bizarre letters of adoration.

“Yeah,” she answered, a bemused grin curling up the corners of her mouth when her dad jumped a little from the sound of her voice behind the door he was already opening. “I was just about to come down,” she said, coming into his line of sight. “You leaving for work?”

“Uh…no,” he said with a careful frown. “Honey, why don’t you sit down? I need to talk to you about something.”

Chloe blinked in surprise, but rapidly pushed away her response and studied her dad’s expression.

“Am I in trouble?” she asked with slight confusion. She couldn’t think of anything she had done recently that would warrant a father/daughter talk, and the only other reason she could think prompted her father’s sudden urge to communicate was something that she was desperately trying to put out of her mind altogether.

“Just…sit,” Gabe said.

Chloe eyed him with nervous suspicion, but moved to sit in the chair by her computer. The sirens were growing louder, so loud that she could almost swear they were starting down her street.

Gabe frowned at the window and then walked over to Chloe’s bed to sit down. Resting his hands on his legs, he leaned forward to speak with his daughter.

“Something’s happened,” he said quietly. Bile started to rise into Chloe’s throat, preventing her from forming an inquisitive response. “Lana’s dead, sweetheart.”

Chloe’s eyes widened and if her lips weren’t so tightly sealed to keep the acidy liquid in her throat at bay, then her mouth would be hanging open in disbelief.

“W-what?” she finally managed to get out.

Gabe reached forward and covered his daughter’s hand with his in a comforting manner.

“She --- I found her this morning – just a little bit ago,” he continued. “I thought you should know before the authorities get here.”

Chloe barely shook her head, a feeling of panicked terror starting to crawl under every inch of her skin.

“I don’t understand,” she said. And she didn’t. Lana had been through a meteor shower, several homicidal attempts on her life, and numerous incidents of mind-control that served to put her and others in considerable peril, and had miraculously managed to survive them all. How could she possibly be dead? “What happened?”

The sirens grew closer still, until they came to a stop in front of her house; wailing loudly and waking Chloe up to the reality that had happened – that was happening.

“It’s…” Gabe paused and pulled his hand away from Chloe’s as he stood up. “It’s better that you don’t know.”

“What?&#33;”

“It’s not good, Chloe. Promise me you won’t go downstairs. Not until they have it cleaned up.”

Chloe’s eyes flashed with indignant stubbornness and she stood up.

“She was my friend, Dad. You won’t even tell me what happened to her and now you’re locking me in my room?&#33;”

“Just the upstairs,” Gabe tried to explain rationally, his hands defensively out in front of him. “And only until ---”

Chloe glared at him incredulously and when the doorbell rang, she made a dash for the open bedroom door before he could stop her. She rushed down the stairs, stopping abruptly in her tracks when she saw the scene laid out on the foyer’s floor.

“Chloe&#33;” Gabe yelled after her, cringing when he reached the top of the stairs to see her frozen in shock.

Lana’s bloody was sprawled out in a pool of sticky, drying blood, surrounded by organs that had been ripped from her body and delicately placed around her.

The doorbell rang again and Gabe frowned, walking down the stairs and lightly touching his daughter’s shoulder to reassure her that he was there for her as he made his way to answer the door.

He side-stepped the crime scene and opened the door, silently pressing his back to it as he moved out of the way to allow the sheriff and the others that had come with her to walk into his house.

Sheriff Nancy Adams stood in the doorway with the same horrified expression of shock on her face that Chloe was wearing.

“Dear Lord,” she finally muttered under her breath, swallowing to keep the contents of her stomach from resurfacing through her mouth.

Her deputies and the people from the coroner’s office seemed considerably less squeamish and gently pushed past her, gloves on and evidence bags in hand as they prepared to document the scene.

“Sheriff Adams?” a man asked without turning to face her from his crouched position by Lana’s body. He stood up and stretched his hand out to her, an ivory-colored envelope gripped between his plastic-protected fingers. “I think you should see this. It was under her tongue.”

“You mean in her mouth?” Adams asked, grimacing as she reached for the blood-stained paper.

“Uh…no,” the man replied, causing Adams to close her eyes and hope the nausea she felt would soon pass.

“Oh,” she finally said in disgust.

She slid her finger under the unsealed flap of the envelope and pulled out a card made from heavy paper stock that lay within. Her eyes scanned over the words, knowing immediately that they were dealing with the same individual who had been sending Chloe the anonymous love letters.

My Dearest Chloe,

Only lies spilled off her tongue,
For since I awoke, you’ve been the only one.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she frustratingly wondered aloud.

I know this offering will make everything better between us. I’ve proved my love for you, now won’t you do the same?

A loud thump drew her and Gabe’s attention away from the note and to the stairs where Chloe’s knees had given out and she had weakly fallen to a half-sitting, half-lying position on the wooden steps.

Gabe quickly moved to her side and sat down beside her, bringing his arms around her even though she was still too in shock to let any sort of emotion spill forth.

“Does she need to be here?” he asked the sheriff quietly.

Adams frowned.

“She’s probably safest here for the time being since we’re here, but she could go to her room or something,” she offered.

Gabe ran his hand soothingly up and down his daughter’s back.

“Honey?” he asked.

“I need to get out of here,” Chloe said abruptly, shakily rising to her feet and gripping tightly onto the guardrail when she caught sight of Lana’s body again. “I need some air, let me out,” she said in a panicked voice.

Adams’s expression showed her displeasure, but there wasn’t a lot that could be done now that Chloe had finally seen first hand how grave the situation was that she was wrapped up in. She let out a small sigh and motioned for one of her deputies.

“Why don’t you take Miss Sullivan to get a cup of coffee?” she begrudgingly suggested, visibly wincing when she remembered that Lana was co-owner of the only coffee shop in town.

“I don’t think that’s a good ---” Gabe started, only to be cut off by Chloe.

“Yes. Coffee’s good,” she rambled quickly and almost incoherently, her arms wrapped around herself as she made her way over to the front door.

She didn’t turn to see if the deputy was following her. She just knew that she needed to get out of there.



TBC...

[hfce]

Wow :ohmy: not to make light of things but isnt she in her pajamas and robe?



Hope :huh:

[Val]

Lana’s bloody was sprawled out in a pool of sticky, drying blood, surrounded by organs that had been ripped from her body and delicately placed around her.
Is it wrong that I smiled when I read that? :huh:

Poor Chloe, see now she just needs to go safely into higind at the Luthor mansion.
Update soon, please Kris&#33;

[Kit Merlot]

Kris,

This was a great update&#33; I still can&#39;t believe you killed off Lana--Great work, by the way :biggrin:

I love this story--Now. Chloe just needs to get "comfort" from Lex&#33; Update soon&#33;

[Not An Addict]

You know . . . I think you might be my hero.

This was FANTASTIC&#33; Just the right amount of blood and gore, spot-on characterization, the works. I could almost see Lana&#39;s body laid out on the floor, and the mood was set so well that I only giggled a little bit. ^_~ GREAT JOB&#33; I&#39;m so glad you updated this one. I love you&#33;&#33;

[Blaire023]

*applauds*

YAY, another Lana torturer. We must have a thing with cutting out her tongue, hmmm?

~B

[autumngold]

I really loved your update even though there wasn&#39;t any Chlex&#33;&#33; I&#39;m so curious to find out what Chloe thinks she heard&#33;&#33; Thank you for the new chapter, I can&#39;t wait to read what will happen next&#33;&#33; What will Lex&#39;s reaction be? :chlexsign3:

[xevaral]

Yes, Lana is DEAD&#33;&#33;&#33; :worship2: :worship2: :worship2:

Pleas update soon&#33;&#33;&#33;

[crazygirl]

You updated&#33; *hugs* I&#39;m so glad that you did, because, as much as I love all of your fics, I simply ADORE this one. Now, go and update again, I can&#39;t wait to see Lex&#39; reaction to the "news". (Sorry, but I&#39;m still hoping that he was the one to kill Lana. What, a girl can always dream, can&#39;t she?)

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: Yowzers&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; :yay: :worship2:

[Susie Q]

Loved the update, but I gotta tell ya Kris I’m feeling a little jipped here. That chapter was just waaay too short http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/nee006.gif. I’ve been waiting forever for this fic to get updated and still you insist on leaving me in suspense http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/eek13.gif. I’m doped up on cold medication right now and this can’t be good for me http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/nee004.gif. Do you really want to contribute to my ailing health? *sniffles miserably* I can’t help but think another update would do wonders. *gives a weak cough* Will you deny a sick girl this one request? *sneaks a peek to see if guilt-trip is having any effect*

[vardaquareien]

:hug: You killed Blana&#33;&#33;&#33; Gruesomely&#33;&#33;&#33; :hug: I think I love you Kris&#33;&#33;&#33;

[flower]

You killed Blana&#33;&#33;&#33; Gruesomely&#33;&#33;&#33; I think I love you Kris&#33;&#33;&#33;

Hehehe,
second that...

Great update :biggrin:
update soon

F

[Tandy]

*speechless

:huh: :ohmy: :ohmy: :huh:


Update soon please. Great fic&#33;

[katspell]

:ohmy: I think, I think... I&#39;m speachless. You killed Lana. I&#39;m not so sure Clark did it, but WOW..... Please more soon....

[Sab_Luthor]

blana is dead BLANA IS DEAD unbelievable
wow you made it i love you
more please

[Clannadlvr]

mwhahahaha&#33;&#33; Kris&#33; You killed Blana&#33;

*tackle hug*

I just started reading this fic and, since I think you know by now that I love Dark Lex, I&#39;m utterly hooked. I like how you&#39;re getting away from the idea of Lex being a killler- he&#39;s only just thinking about it for now- but don&#39;t redeem him TOO much.

*grins*

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

[BlushingRose]

Ummm...Kris??

I know you just updated "Granted"...for which we&#39;re all very, very grateful...

But we&#39;ve had dead Lana scattered all over the Sullivan living room...and Chloe out for coffee...for <checks calendar> two weeks now. Don&#39;t you think it might be a good idea to get Lana off the living room carpet and Chloe back from drinking coffee (not to mention out of her nightgown and into some other clothes)?? I know Chloe loves coffee, but I would think two weeks&#39; worth should keep her happy (and on a caffeine high) for a little while, at least.

RA

[ColumbiaBlue]

Holy shit... you killed Lana. I haven&#39;t really decided how I feel about that yet... The only thing that comes to mind is... DING DONG THE PINK IS GONE&#33;&#33;&#33; WOOT&#33; I have to admit, I stayed away from this fic for a while because I was a little aprehensive about the whole "sacrifice" thing, and now I&#39;m kicking myself for not reading it sooner.

It&#39;s excellent&#33; Addicting&#33; I *need* more&#33; Update soon&#33;

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[MagnusXXN]

Please&#33; Update&#33; I need to know who the killer is, and send him a &#39;thank you&#39; card for Lana&#33; :devil:






): )

[scifichick774]

Chapter 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The deputy cleared his throat.

“Don’t you wanna…you know…change…or something?” he stammered with embarrassment. His eyes nervously darted over to where the sheriff and Gabe were standing and he tried to push down a blush when he realized that he was the only one who had noticed that Chloe was still clothed in her pajamas and raggedy robe. “I mean…” he started, running a hand around the back of his neck. “…She’s still in her…”

Gabe frowned. He had been so wrapped up in the facts that Lana’s dead body was still sprawled out in his foyer, and that his daughter might be in considerable peril, that he hadn’t even taken note of what Chloe was wearing. What bothered him most though, was that Chloe hadn’t seemed to notice either.

No doubt losing a close friend, especially in the manner in which Lana died, was difficult for her; but it could be very dangerous if Chloe stopped paying attention to even the simplest things in her life.

In reality, Chloe had noticed. Her face pale, Chloe froze at the suggestion that she turn back and see the crime scene again just so she could get ‘suitably attired’. Fuck the snobby, morally-indignant hicks who lived in Smallville. Her roommate had just been brutally murdered. She should be able to go into town stark naked and not be called on it.

Of course, given that she was being stalked by an obsessive and clearly psychotic killer, somewhere in the back of her mind she reasoned that probably wasn’t the best idea.

She swallowed and turned pleading eyes upon the deputy.

“Please,” she said in little more than a whisper. “Please…?”

She didn’t continue, but the man looking back at her seemed to know what she was trying to say just the same. He frowned and then nodded once, extending his hand out to her to usher her toward him.

Sheriff Adams frowned disapprovingly, but took no action to stop the Sullivan girl or her deputy. She had a crime scene to worry about and if Chloe didn’t care about how she was dressed, then why should she? And as far as the young woman’s safety was concerned…well, Donovan was a damn good shot. Not that she’d ever tell him that.

~*~*~*~

“So…” Donovan started uncomfortably, pulling the police car up in front of the Talon.

The ten minute drive into town would have gone by in complete silence if not for the dispatch radio going off every few seconds. He knew Smallville was a small department, primarily full of people who had grown up in the town or neighboring towns, but honestly, couldn’t they have enough common sense to use their cell phones instead of blurting out everything over the CBs? Especially with a case like this, where the murderer was undoubtedly smart enough to be monitoring police activity.

He pushed the thoughts aside and frowned over at Chloe.

“You’re sure you want to go in there like that? You could just stay in the car with the doors locked while I get the coffee to go.”

Chloe didn’t answer. She stayed in her seat staring straight ahead, as if she were in some kind of shell-shocked state and wasn’t seeing the real world as it existed around her.

Donovan sucked in a breath.

“O-kay,” he strung out. “I’ll lock the doors and be back in a flash.”

He left the car and hit a button on the inside of the driver’s side door to make sure no one could enter the vehicle until he got back – or until Chloe opened her door to them, but given her current condition, he didn’t even consider that a possibility.

A sharp rapping on her window only partially jolted Chloe from the images that filled her mind; images of the horrified expression that Lana had died with on her face, her own reflection taking Lana’s place with the realization that she should have taken the notes and gifts much more seriously before Lex had to point out what was actually happening to her.

Blinking a couple of times, Chloe turned to face the sound when it started again. She bit back a groan and glanced over at the empty driver’s seat. Where had the deputy gone? And why wasn’t he there when she actually needed him?

Not that Lionel Luthor would ever physically harm her – at least not personally. After all, he had henchmen on his payroll to do his dirty work for him. But the last twenty-four hours had been emotionally exhausting and she really didn’t feel that she had the energy for a round of mean-spirited verbal judo with a man she had truly come to loathe.

“Miss Sullivan,” Lionel said in an irritated voice, tapping on the glass again.

Chloe sighed. There was still no sign of the deputy. Apparently confrontation was unavoidable. She pressed a button on the door that rolled down the window just enough so she could speak with Lionel, but made no move to actually talk.

Lionel raised his eyebrows in surprise at her insolence.

“Miss Sullivan,” he said again, this time the words flowing from his mouth in a falsely sweet greeting. Chloe said nothing and Lionel pursed his lips in frustration. “*Stunning* outfit you have on,” he dug. “And in a police car, no less. Arrested for…disorderly conduct, perhaps?”

“What do you want?” Chloe asked tiredly, her throat parched and in desperate need of coffee.

Or maybe it was just that she was praying for the deputy to come out and shoot Lionel on the spot after she screamed at the top of her lungs. The thought brought a twitch of a grin to one corner of her mouth; an action that Lionel missed, as he was seemingly too focused on forming the words to answer her question and pausing longer than necessary to try and make Chloe squirm.

It didn’t work and Lionel pursed his lips as he changed his course of action.

“I understand that my son has offered up our family’s ancestral home to you – as a safe-house of sorts.”

Chloe again, remained silent.

“Given our…um…history…” Lionel paused with a tiny, menacing smirk. “I don’t think I need to tell you that he didn’t consult me first.”

Chloe gave him no response. Not even a glance.

“Miss Sullivan,” Lionel said, his tone now exhibiting some of the annoyance he felt. “I would appreciate it if you could at least *pretend* to pay attention to me while I’m speaking.”

“Hey&#33; What do you think you’re doing?&#33;”

Lionel turned ever so slightly to sneer at the approaching policeman.

“I would have thought that was obvious,” he replied.

Donovan stayed collected and set the cup carrier and small bag he was carrying on the hood of the car, his fingers lifting the gun out of its holster swiftly and aiming it at a startled Lionel.

“I’ll have to ask you to step away from the car, sir.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lionel scoffed. “You have no grounds to aim that thing at me. Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Luthor,” Donovan said. “Now, if you’ll please step away from the car before I’m forced to fire a warning shot at you.”

Lionel frowned and took a few steps away from the car.

“Happy?” he asked snidely. Donovan grunted and began to lower his weapon. “May I ask why you’re getting so…worked up…over a simple conversation I was having with an acquaintance?”

“Miss Sullivan is currently in protective custody,” Donovan lied easily. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you more than that.”

Lionel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Lex had informed him that Chloe was in trouble might be staying at the castle soon, and when she came, that he expected him to make himself scarce; but he hadn’t elaborated and Lionel hadn’t been able to prod anything else out of him. And now Chloe was in protective custody? Something was going on. Something big. Something possibly involving him.

Lionel’s nostrils flared a little. So that was it. The feisty reporter had gotten her hands on something other than his connection with the Summerholt Institute and was going to testify against him.

‘Well…we can’t have *that*, can we?’ he thought to himself, his eyes flitting over to a still unresponsive Chloe and noticing that she had taken advantage of his distraction and rolled up the crack in the car window. ‘Protective custody indeed. We’ll just see about that.’

“Of course,” he finally said smoothly.

He watched Donovan unlock the doors with a button on his key ring and hesitantly placed the coffee cup holder and small bag onto Chloe’s lap. A pensive frown lowered the corners of his mouth.

Chloe hadn’t gloated as she had done before, hadn’t spoken, or smiled, or anything – not even when the deputy had offered her coffee. Something was wrong here. Maybe he had been wrong in his initial assessment of the situation. Maybe this didn’t have anything to do with him at all.

If that was the case, then his curiosity was even more piqued than it had been before.

“If there’s anything I can do to help…” Lionel said, intentionally leaving off the end of his sentence and not really meaning a word of it anyway. If he did help, then it would only be out of sheer curiosity to know what could have put a normally highly-emotional girl into such a state.

Donovan pursed his lips and regarded him with heavy suspicion.

“What are you even doing here, Mr. Luthor?” he asked.

Lionel’s eyebrows rose for but a second at the deputy’s tone.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me,” Donovan said. “You rarely ever set foot in town. So, why are you suddenly outside a local coffee shop?”

Lionel practically rolled his eyes. This hick thought he could stand up to *him*? Instead of acting on the impulse to show his bored amusement, he forced a tight grin onto his lips.

“My son co-owns this…establishment,” he said, the last word rolling off his tongue with distaste. “I was merely checking in on his investment – or should I say tax write off? The place is virtually deserted.”

Donovan gritted his teeth and barely managed to stomp down his temper before it spoke for him. He let out a short ‘hmph’ in recognition that Lionel spoke and then turned to circle around to his side of the car, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw that the driver’s side door was wide open and Chloe was nowhere to be seen.

Well there went his theory that Lionel might possibly be the stalker/killer. *And* he had managed to lose Chloe, who had probably snapped out of her shock just long enough to flip out while he and Lionel were arguing and took off in her pajamas and bathrobe.

“Shit.”

Lionel glanced at the deputy and then into the car and back again, his eyes scanning the section of sidewalk in both directions and still seeing no sign that Chloe had ever even been there. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it again when he noticed that Donovan had his cell phone now pressed up to his ear.

“This is Donovan…yeah? Well, that’s kind of what I’m calling about…uh-huh…no…” Donovan said, obviously answering questions from whomever he was talking to. Lionel only wished he could hear the other side of the conversation. “She’s gone.”

~*~*~*~

“Okay – what’s going on?”

Chloe blinked and then shook her head. What she was seeing couldn’t possibly be right. She must be hallucinating out of stress or something.

“Funny,” she said. “I was just about to ask you the same question. One minute I was sitting in a police car and the next I’m on a dock by the lake.”

Clark ducked his head, his eyes darting back and forth across the ground as he tried to think of a way to phrase what he wanted to say without spilling his secret.

“I was going to drop off my mom’s pies at the Talon – and then I saw you in that police car and…you were still wearing your pajamas,” he rushed out. “I thought you were in some kind of trouble.”

Chloe’s face fell.

“I am,” she said quietly. “But not how you think.”

Clark furrowed his brow.

“What do you mean?”

Chloe frowned and then swallowed, trying to choke back the lump that was rising in her throat.

“You know that…stalker…thing…?” she stammered uncomfortably.

“Ye-ah?” Clark strung out warily.

Chloe slammed her eyes closed and a tear trickled down her cheek as her body started to rack with silent sobbing. Clark hesitantly took a step forward and reached out with one hand, startled when Chloe fell against his chest and started to openly weep. He brought his arms around her and held her close, still confused as to what was going on, but now more worried than ever.

“Chloe?” he asked softly after a few minutes. “Does this have something to do with Mr. Luthor? I saw him bugging you by the police car and it looked like you were trying to ignore him.”

Chloe stilled in his arms and dared not open her eyes to look at him. It was going to be hard enough to tell him what happened without seeing his reaction to it.

“L-Lana’s dead, Clark.”



TBC...

[Clannadlvr]

ummm....shit?&#33;

So...now the question is, will Clark immediately ignore Chloe to deal with his own grief or will he actually be a good friend?

Hmm....and is it bad that I&#39;m suspicious of the deputy?

More soon, please&#33;&#33;

[autumngold]

I love all of your stories, this one especially&#33;&#33; Was Clark really trying to save Chloe, or is he the bad guy? What will Lex do when he finds out that Chloe is missing and that his father was one of the last to see her? I&#39;m so excited to find out what is going to happen in the next chapter&#33;&#33; Please update again soon&#33;&#33; :chlexsign3:

[Shay]

Was Clark really trying to save Chloe, or is he the bad guy? Talk about a shocking plot twist. That would floor me.

Clark...what is there to say about that boy....uummm, nothing really.

More soon
Shay

[hfce]

More please...



Hope :blinkkiss:

[MagnusXXN]

Oh, [/I]poor Clark.

I feel for him, really. :devil: But I wonder how hes going to explain snatching Chloe like that.

Sorta hard to explain how he got her their like that.

But I don&#39;t think hes the guy. Clarks to much of a sissy to be a serial killer. And the eldest Luther is being too snide.

Not everything is about him. Despite what he may think. And the sooner he figures that out, the soon the better.

Can&#39;t wait to hear more.






): )

[gina]

Poor Chloe, all this has got to be so hard for her to deal with. I hope Lex will be there to comfort her. Speaking of, I wonder what his reaction will be to the news of Lana&#39;s death.

Lionel was so creepy and I really don&#39;t like his interest in Chloe. *shudder*


Was Clark really trying to save Chloe, or is he the bad guy?
I&#39;m not sure if he&#39;s the killer but I did think his "rescue" was suspicious.

This fic is great, please continue soon&#33; :)

[Val]

Originally posted by Clannadlvr@Feb 26 2004, 07:49 PM
So...now the question is, will Clark immediately ignore Chloe to deal with his own grief or will he actually be a good friend?

Kris is the author and considering her hate towards him, I&#39;m thinking the earlier...
That is, if he isn&#39;t the killer himself... :huh:

I think Lionel may actually be helpful on this fic, even if Lex warned her to stay away and even if he helps her for curiosity sakes, he is still very powerful and could come in handy....


Yes Kris, we all have question marks popping out of our heads, hope you&#39;re happy now&#33; :p Update this soon&#33;

[Not An Addict]

*cuddles you* You rock&#33;&#33;&#33; I love this story sooooo much. Mmm, graphic and gratuitous violence&#33; Yay&#33; At this point I&#39;m suspicious of . . . well, I can&#39;t really say, and I can&#39;t say why, because I&#39;ve received waaaaaay too much extra information on this story. ^_^ I can&#39;t wait for the next update&#33; I know, I know, other fics, blah blah blah. ^_~ But more soon, PLEASE&#33;

[Sab_Luthor]

damn you
i was happy after the death of lana and now you made me guilty and sad for clark damnit
ok now you have to update more i want to see how clark will react

[cnl2003]

OK....soooo, soooo, sooo loving this fic...really loving out of the loop Lionel&#33; Ha&#33; I hope the killer gets him next&#33; And Clannadlvr (hope I spelled that right..what does that mean by the way - sorry I&#39;m ignorant, it&#39;s just that when I first read it I thought Clark/Lana..just curious)...why worry about the Deputy? I see him as someone Chloe - in her intrepid reporter mode- has alreay made an ally? I mean, how many deputies could Smallville possibly have? Aside from random meteor freaks - who are &#39;taken care of&#39; by Clarkie - what is their major offence, cow tipping and people who don&#39;t wear plaid or pink? And our girl has to get on the good side of the law if just to save her wardrobe from the perils of plaid and pink...

[SexInStilettos]

ooohh, i am so falling for this fic.....great update...please update again, don&#39;t leave us hanging?????

[Clannadlvr]

*grins* Again, lovin&#39; this fic....


And Clannadlvr (hope I spelled that right..what does that mean by the way - sorry I&#39;m ignorant, it&#39;s just that when I first read it I thought Clark/Lana..just curious)...why worry about the Deputy?

in reply to cnl2003, yeah, my name sometimes causes confusion. Clannadlvr refers to my love of the Irish band Clannad. It&#39;s been my screen name on all things, aim, email, etc, for a good 10 years now so I never thought of it in an SV context till I came on this board. But no worries. It does not, I repeat, does not refer to any love of Clark/Lana. *shudders* Sorry for the confusion&#33;

Anyway, in response to my I&#39;m worried about the Deputy....ever new guy that we ever get introduced to who knows Chloe is often soul sucking, has telekenetic powers, or is just generally a meteor freak. Couldn&#39;t it be possible that the good "officer of the law" could be the same?

Hmm...we&#39;ll have to see how it plays out. With Kris and all her wacky reversals, etc, you never can guess ahead of time&#33; Can&#39;t wait to read more&#33;&#33;

[ColumbiaBlue]

ummm....shit?&#33;
Ditto. I am soooooo unbelievably hooked to this story&#33; OMG. I love it&#33; I think this is my favorite story of yours.

More soon&#33;&#33;

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[katspell]

:yay: you updated, I am so into this story. Lana is dead, Clark almost spilled his secreat, and Lional is a selfcentered little prick.

Can&#39;t wait for more.

[vardaquareien]

OK I still can&#39;t give up my niggling suspicions that Clunk is the killer. Here&#39;s one of the reasons

He brought his arms around her and held her close, still confused as to what was going on, but now more worried than ever.OK on first looks this sentence seems to indicate that Clunk doesn&#39;t know what&#39;s going on and therefore isn&#39;t the killer. The way I interperated this sentence however is that Clunk is confused as to Chloe&#39;s reaction to what he did. Remember the killer actually killed Blana as a sacrifice for Chloe...well if it was Clark and he believed this he would be confused about Chloe being upset by Blana&#39;s death. His worry in this sentence could be that he hadn&#39;t pleased her. Hmmmm I don&#39;t know if I&#39;m twisting the evidence here to suit my theory but that was my interpretation. Plus there&#39;s the whole idea of his rescue of her from the police car. If he was just regular Clunk he 1) wouldn&#39;t risk showing his powers especially with Lionel there and 2) as such a goody-two-shoes he wouldn&#39;t want to obstruct the path of justice - ie he didn&#39;t know why she was in the police car. This seems to me to be the act of a psycho, obsessive Clunk.

See what you&#39;re doing to me Kris? I&#39;m becoming obsessed and trying to go all detective&#33;&#33;&#33;

[Susie Q]

Originally posted by Clannadlvr@Feb 26 2004, 05:49 PM
ummm....shit?&#33; LMAO&#33; Couldn&#39;t have said it better myself :lol:.

*shakes head* Kris, Kris, Kris...you’re killing me here you know. No really, I can’t take the suspense anymore http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/tearhair1.gif. I’m so paranoid I’m starting to suspect any and everyone including the dog http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/busted.gif.
Pffft, it sucks waiting on updates. *goes off to pout childishly in the corner* http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/Yahoo_28.gif

[Kit Merlot]

Kris, is it wrong to hope that Clark will hear the news of Lana&#39;s death and start cheering? :biggrin:

But that would mean that Clark is the psycho stalker, and then Chloe will be in his clutches, and then badness will ensue :devil:


Please update soon--The suspense is killing me :chlexsign1:

[crazygirl]

I can&#39;t wait to see how Clark will react to the news. Please update soon.

[Lex]

Ohhh... interesting fic. So was it Lex who killed Lana or the other stalker? Intriguing, plus I&#39;m really curious as to who the other stalker is, it would be cool if it was Clark - could be fun to see him in an evil role, lol&#33; Anyway great work and I hope you update soon, Chloe really ought to be a Lex&#39;s... y&#39;know for safety... :chlexsign3:

[carebear72884]

*looks around* huh? why aren&#39;t there any more chapters??? I just found this fic, i don&#39;t know how i missed it before..its really good, but there seems to be no more chapters, i don&#39;t know if i can handle that....please update soon, i want to know what clarks reaction is to the death of his pinky, and the death of pinky, how great was that..even if it was a bit..um..graphic..it was very good....but who is the stalker?? and why isn&#39;t there more chlexy goodness in this fic?? why doesn&#39;t chloe just run to him?? i want my chlex and i want an update, the sooner the better.

[autumngold]

Please update soon&#33;&#33; :chlexsign1:

[crazygirl]

Yes, update&#33; Please? *begs* :worship2:

[hippiez]

:huh: It&#39;s been a while since I came here and now.... I found no updates&#33;&#33;&#33; :crygreen: Come back and update&#33;&#33;&#33; PLEASE&#33;&#33; :worship2: :worship2:

[Sab_Luthor]

yay please i beg you update or will be very angry and will make your life a hell :die:

[scifichick774]

Clark pulled away from her with a jerk, his face set in a solemn scowl when she looked at him through tear-blurred eyes.

“That’s not funny, Chloe. This is serious. You ---”

“I wasn’t joking,” she interrupted in a choked half-whisper. Clark’s eyes widened, as if he was finally putting his friend’s actions together with her words. “I’m so sorry, Clark. I didn’t know. I ---”

Clark stumbled backward as he shook his head in denial, cutting off Chloe’s apologetic rambling with one word.

“No.”

“Clark ---”

“No&#33;”

Chloe moved to step toward him, seeking the solace his arms had provided just moments before, but he was no longer standing there. In the blink of an eye, Clark had vanished. And Chloe found herself completely alone.

~*~*~*~

He could have easily lied to himself and said that he felt something draw him to Chloe’s house that morning; that he felt a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach, telling him that something had gone horribly wrong. He hadn’t….but he did now.

One and a half blocks away from Chloe’s house Lex’s heart started hammering hard in his chest. The swarm of police cars and other emergency vehicles was clearly visible and the closer he got, the more panic set in.

God.

How could he have been so stupid as to let her stay unprotected at her house on the night they knew her stalker would kill someone? Even if she had insisted on it – he should have ignored her protest, thrown her over his shoulder, and locked her in his bedroom until the danger had passed.

Of course, that idea had other merits as well…

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he pulled up alongside the curb. How he’d managed to let his mind slip from utter panic and into the gutter in a time span of five seconds was more than a little disconcerting. That voice in the very back of his head, the thing most people referred to as a conscience, had been right. He didn’t deserve her. And now…

Lex swallowed back the small ball of bile that rose in his throat. He didn’t doubt for a second that the killer had taken *someone’s* life – the throng of Smallville’s finest swarming outside the Sullivan home was testament to that. Nor did he doubt that the psychopath had gotten away yet again, because Adams’s track record for catching criminals would be much worse if Clark hadn’t interfered in ninety percent of her cases. So was it too much to hope that Chloe hadn’t been the one to die?

He took a breath and methodically placed one foot in front of the other as he walked toward Sheriff Adams.

She groaned when she saw him.

“Now how’d I know you were gonna be showing up?” she complained.

“What happened? Is Chloe alright?” Lex asked tightly, already looking past the policewoman to the house.

Adams narrowed her eyes, still not entirely convinced that Lex wasn’t the killer.

“Lana Lang was murdered.”

Lex visibly relaxed.

“Oh, thank God,” he said to himself, not realizing he had spoken the words aloud until the sheriff raised her eyebrows and looked at him accusingly.

“Excuse me?”

“I mean – I thought ---” he paused and forcefully contorted his face back into a concerned expression. He needed to steer the conversation away from Lana and his lack of sympathy for her, and the easiest way he could think to do that was to focus on the person he had really come there to see. “How is Chloe? She must be pretty upset.”

“You could say that,” Adams said shortly. “And you can stop looking at the house. She’s not in there. As a matter of fact, we don’t know where she is right now.”

Lex glared coolly at her. He didn’t like her tone one bit. How dare this formerly chain-smoking hag accuse Chloe – his Chloe – of any wrong doing?

“What?”

“She was in shock – totally freaked out,” Adams started. “So my deputy offered to take her to get coffee. She didn’t want to turn around and see Miss Lang’s body on the way back to her room to change out of her pajamas, so he locked her in the car after they got there. When he ---”

“Wait,” Lex interrupted angrily. “*He*? You let your *male* deputy take her away from the house in just her pajamas?&#33; When she’s got an obsessive psychopath after her?&#33; What were you thinking?&#33;”

“Mr. Luthor, I’ll have to ask you to lower your voice and lose the attitude or I’ll have you escorted from the premises,” Adams said. “And before you start pointing fingers at who’s to blame for her taking off, you should know that she was just sitting there in the car – as still as a board - until your dad showed up and started trying to talk to her.”

Lex gritted his teeth.

“What?”

“Don’t know what he said to her, but I can’t imagine she’d take off like a jackrabbit if it wasn’t something bad. Then there’s the whole issue of the letter I sent to forensics being stolen out of the lab – with absolutely no evidence being left behind. Only one person I can think of that can afford that sort of service, so you wanna explain that one to me?”

Lex shook his head, but just barely because the thoughts were whipping around in his mind at an alarming rate. Adams suspected his father of being Chloe’s stalker; of murdering several people?

“I didn’t know,” he said, pushing down the sick feeling that was rising from his stomach.

“Yeah, right,” Adams said disbelievingly. “Look, if your dad’s behind all this and you’re covering for him – that makes you an accessory to murder; and not just for the Lang girl’s death either, but for all of them. You’ll be lucky if you spend the rest of your life in jail. So what you’ve gotta ask yourself is: Is it worth it? Because if you turn state’s evidence against him now ---”

Lex shook his head again, but more vehemently this time; as if he were in denial of everything the sheriff had just stated. There was certainly no love lost between him and his father, but for the man to be a psychopath and have him not even know about it?

“He couldn’t have…it can’t be him...” he rambled almost incoherently. “…He has an alibi for when Helen was killed…”

Adams snorted.

“Yeah – and those are hard to come by when you’ve got money,” she snipped with heavy sarcasm. Seeing the disillusioned and somewhat horrified look on Lex’s face, she let out a sigh. “I don’t know if it’s him, because honestly right now everyone is a suspect; but I will say that his name his on my short list. Damned if I’ll get a warrant on the evidence I have though – especially not with his lawyers. So if you really wanna help your friend…maybe you should think about taking a walk through your house – see if you can find anything.”

Lex frowned thoughtfully.

“He wouldn’t keep anything that might incriminate him there; it would be too risky. He’d keep it at his place in Metropolis – or his office…” he stopped and let out a frustrated breath. “Or somewhere else entirely; someplace no one else knows about.” He fixed Adams with a sharp stare. “My father isn’t stupid, Sheriff. If he is Chloe’s stalker, if he did murder all those people…there’s a very real chance that you’ll never be able to convict him.”

Adams pursed her lips.

“Just look around your house,” she ordered, not knowing whether he’d actually follow it because she had no authority over his actions while he led his life within the boundaries of the law. “Sometimes these people become so obsessed that they get sloppy. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

~*~*~*~

If speeding helped Lex temporarily forget about his problems, then driving the speed limit without any music blaring from his stereo only helped him focus on them; which was unfortunately exactly what he needed to do.

Despite Lionel’s tumultuous history with Chloe, Lex had never even considered the possibility that his father was the girl’s stalker. Of course, it made perfect sense when he looked at it now; so much so that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before.

Hire people to provide solid alibis for him – or even perhaps to do the killing while he merely provided the means and the instructions; the terror it created in the Metropolis community served the dual purpose of fucking with Chloe’s mind and not so subtly nudging people toward investing in LuthorCorp’s new ‘highly advanced’ home and office security systems.

Truth be told, once one got past all of the moral dilemmas (which Lionel never seemed to have a problem with anyway); from a marketing standpoint the plan was genius. LuthorCorp’s revenues for the last two quarters had increased by several million dollars from selling the security systems alone.

Still, if his father was the one to be causing Chloe this much pain, had been the one to profess his love for Chloe…then he’d need to get rid of him. He didn’t think Lionel stood a chance with the object of his obsession, but he couldn’t take the chance either. No. Just like in business, any and all competition must be eliminated.

Lex was so busy seething in his newfound jealous anger that he almost missed the sight of someone slowly walking along the side of the road.

Almost.

Even viewing her from behind, with her messy hair and lack of normal attire, Lex had every curve of her body memorized and recognized her immediately. But how had she gotten all the way out by the lake on foot in such a short period of time? He quickly slowed his car down; pulling to a complete stop when he saw her turn to look at him.

“Chloe&#33;” he called out, leaving his car door open as he rushed from his vehicle to stand in front of her. Without giving himself any time to think about his actions, he reached out and placed his hands on her upper arms, carefully examining her face for any sign that she may have been injured. Her red, still puffy eyes betrayed the fact that she had been crying, but he couldn’t see anything else. “Are you okay?”

Chloe sniffled and shook her head.

“Lana’s dead,” she half-whispered out; getting straight to the point this time rather than stumbling across her words like she had with Clark. Given that Lex was the one who persuaded her to take the letters seriously in the first place, she had unsubstantiated faith that unlike Clark, Lex would actually believe her – and not leave her stranded out in the middle of nowhere.

“I know,” Lex said. Chloe looked at him questioningly, prompting him to explain. “I stopped by your house to check on you this morning and…what happened, Chloe? Everyone’s so worried because you ran away from the deputy.”

“I didn’t run away,” Chloe protested. “Clark ---” She couldn’t be sure, but she paused when she could have sworn she heard Lex growl. She drew in a breath and took a step closer to him, hoping that he wouldn’t push her away even though they weren’t the best of friends.

Inwardly, Lex was practically purring at her reaction. She had stopped talking the second she heard his growl and he thought for sure that he had lost whatever slight chance he may have had with her right then and there. But instead, she had moved closer to him; seeking the assurance and support that her other friend had apparently failed to provide.

He pulled her into his arms, making sure that the embrace was comforting enough for her not to be scared away. Again, she surprised him; relaxing against him and resting her head on his chest. Unfortunately, he could also feel her body lightly shake against his; the unmistakable movements of someone who had just started crying again – even if it was silently.

He held her tighter and reached up with one hand to soothingly stroke her hair. As she wept in his arms, it took every ounce of willpower he had not to lean down and nuzzle her with soft, loving kisses to make her feel better; though he suspected it would make him feel better rather than her.

Chloe sniffed against him, but didn’t pull away or raise her eyes to meet his.

“I don’t suppose that offer to stay at your house is still open?”

Lex’s breath hitched.

‘God, yes,’ he thought, quickly followed by, ‘No – oh God no.’ How was he supposed to explain to her that his own father might be behind her torment? ‘Of course, there’s always another option,’ he mused. “Actually…”

Chloe started to pull away from him, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.

“It’s okay. I understand,” she interrupted. “I don’t know if I’d want a psycho magnet staying with me under the circumstances either.”

“Chloe, you’re not ---”

“No – really – it’s okay, Lex,” she said, shooting him an uneasy and already faltering grin. “Don’t suppose I could get a ride home at least? Clark just left me out by the lake when I told him about Lana and ---”

Lex clenched his jaw.

‘I’ll kill him,’ he thought right before sucking in a deep breath to steady his nerves. He couldn’t act crazy. Chloe needed someone…strong…and reliable…and if he wanted a chance at making her love him in return, then he needed to put that foot forward, not the one of the enraged, obsessive individual he had become. “If you’d let me finish…I was going to say it might be safer for you to stay at my place in Metropolis. The building and apartment’s security systems are top of the line…” ‘And not from LuthorCorp,’ he thought.

“Oh. Well, I don’t…”

“Chloe, it’s the safest way. I know you may not trust me, but ---”

“No…I do,” Chloe said. “I’m just worried that my dad won’t agree to it and I’ll end up having to go through this all over again with…” she closed her eyes and tried to push away the mental image of her father’s dead body sprawled out across the floor.

“I doubt he’ll put up much of an argument after what happened,” Lex pointed out.

Chloe let out a small breath of relief and nodded a couple of times in agreement.

“Okay.”




TBC…

[katspell]

OMG&#33;&#33;&#33; You updated&#33;&#33;&#33; Yipee thank you thank you thank you....

So, I have no clue who the killer is, I still don&#39;t think its Clark, if I&#39;m wrong I&#39;m going to enjoy being wrong.

I&#39;m worried about Chloe being alone with Lex though, the boy isn&#39;t well....

Stupid Clark running off and leaving Chloe by herself :tease:

[scifichick774]

Originally posted by katspell@Apr 12 2004, 04:08 PM
I&#39;m worried about Chloe being alone with Lex though, the boy isn&#39;t well....


You&#39;re worried about Chloe being alone with him? How am I supposed to finally put smut in this fic if they&#39;re not alone?

[katspell]

Originally posted by scifichick774+Apr 12 2004, 05:14 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (scifichick774 &#064; Apr 12 2004, 05:14 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-katspell@Apr 12 2004, 04:08 PM
I&#39;m worried about Chloe being alone with Lex though, the boy isn&#39;t well....


You&#39;re worried about Chloe being alone with him? How am I supposed to finally put smut in this fic if they&#39;re not alone?[/b][/quote]
umm, well, see uh, I was trying to think beyond smut, see? Yup that is it.

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: an update&#33;&#33;&#33; oh how much I love you&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; I&#39;m all for more time with lex, that way he can overcomehis obsession, (dont ask where the lodgic comes from&#33;)

[Not An Addict]

Wheeeeee&#33; Oh, this was lovely. ^_^ I, unlike others, have absolutely no faith that Lex will turn out to be anything but completely out of his mind.

Is it bad that I don&#39;t care?

Absolutely loved this update, and I can&#39;t WAIT for the next chapter. ^_~ More, please&#33; I&#39;ll just be listening to &#39;Virgin State of Mind&#39; while I wait . . .

[hfce]

Kris I want the smut ;)


Hope :blinkkiss:

[carebear72884]

yeah, she trust him, on a happy note at least.....I hope he makes her &#39;feel&#39; better soon, and i know just how he should &#39;do it&#39; (hint hint)....anyway, please don&#39;t take as long to update this time, i am really getting into this story.

[Clannadlvr]

Hon, I&#39;m so glad you updated&#33; And what an interesting chapter, too...

What I found intriguing about this chapter was that at the very beginning, I was reading the chapter and thinking how "normal&#33;Lex" lex was...in all honestly, I had forgotten his psychotic notions of the first chapter. But then you hit us upside the head with the following:


Still, if his father was the one to be causing Chloe this much pain, had been the one to profess his love for Chloe…then he’d need to get rid of him. He didn’t think Lionel stood a chance with the object of his obsession, but he couldn’t take the chance either. No. Just like in business, any and all competition must be eliminated.

*wham&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;* You hit us upside the head with this very obsessive Lex. Very cool. I love how methodical he is in his plots to elimiate his dad. You really write Lex quite well, Kris. It&#39;s always such a joy to read him in his many incarnations&#33;&#33;

[autumngold]

What a wonderful, fabulous, excellent update&#33;&#33; :yay2: I&#39;m so glad that Chloe is going to be alone with Lex&#33;&#33; I definitely think he should keep watch over her 24/7&#33;&#33; Clark was such a jerk, only thinking of himself like always&#33;&#33; Thank you for the update&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4: :yay2:

[SinnerSaint]

I truly admire Katspell&#39;s ambition to " think beyond the smut " . I myself however have no such ambition and think that Chloe and Lex should be locked in a room until they have lots and lots of sex . Lots. BRING ON THE SMUT.

[sylvia]

You&#39;re worried about Chloe being alone with him? How am I supposed to finally put smut in this fic if they&#39;re not alone?
Hehe.

Actually I thought the Chlex scene, with Lex restraining his neurotic/obsessive side and trying to be rational for Chloe&#39;s sake, was quite sweet.

But seriously, Lionel Luthor? Even if he&#39;s doing it out of vicious fun, and for the dual purpose of spreading fear to sell his alarm system thingies, there&#39;s no need to go all out into deranged sacrificial-killing karmic-circle-of-organs stalker mode. There must be someone, or something more sinister out there...

Anyway you got my curiosity piqued again, so I&#39;ll just be sitting here patiently waiting for the next update...

[Blackberry]

Ooh, glad that you updated. I really like this story... not because Lana got to die.. she actually doesn&#39;t annoy me... *looks around nervously for thrown objects to her direction*

I like the gradual crescendo of events. :)

Can&#39;t wait to see how everything turns out&#33;

BB

[scorpio]

:huh: I can´t belive that Lana is dead...finally&#33; You´re my hero cause you killed her off. :worship2:
This is absolutely fantastic...and not only because of Lana´s death. I like obsessive/protective Lex. :biggrin: I absolutely adore him. And I love the fact that Chloe is finally showing some faith in Lex. And now that they´re going to be all alone in Metropolis... :chlexsign1: .But for the life of me I can´t figure out who´s the killer.Hmm. *lol* Just don´t let Lex be the killer in the end...That wouldn´t be so nice. :goof:

[crazygirl]

[/QUOTE]

I agree :biggrin: Can&#39;t wait for the next update, I don&#39;t suppose you could do one, uh, now? Well, *sights heavily* I guess I&#39;ll have to wait. HURRY&#33; :biggrin:

[vardaquareien]

Originally posted by SinnerSaint@Apr 13 2004, 06:35 PM
I truly admire Katspell&#39;s ambition to " think beyond the smut " . I myself however have no such ambition and think that Chloe and Lex should be locked in a room until they have lots and lots of sex . Lots. BRING ON THE SMUT.
Sinner&#39;s rounded up my thoughts quite nicely - I have nothing more to add...except maybe to underline it and put it in bold&#33; BRING ON THE SMUT. :blinkkiss:

[Béatrice]

:biggrin: Great chapter&#33;&#33;&#33; There are so many reasons why I love this fic.
- Lana is finally dead. If only it could be the same in the show.
- A protective Lex is so cute. :wub:
- Chloe is going to move in with Lex i Metropolis, which may lead to a smutty scene.

I can&#39;t wait for more. :yay: Please update soon.

[scifichick774]

A/N: This chapter is for Adeylan. Happy Birthday&#33;

~*~*~*~*~*~

Four hours later…Metropolis…

Convincing Gabe to let Chloe go to Metropolis with him hadn’t been as easy Lex thought it would be. The man had thrown a fit over finally getting his ‘lost’ daughter back and wasn’t terribly anxious to see her part from his side again. But if Lex had learned anything in his years growing up as a Luthor, it was how to talk people into doing things that they might not agree to otherwise; and Chloe had gotten dressed and packed to go by the time her father finally gave in.

Lex gave her a small grin as they stepped off the elevator and into the small empty area that sat outside his apartment.

“Well, here we are,” he said. “Home, sweet home.”

He leaned forward so a small contraption above the security system’s keypad could take a retinal scan. When it was finished, a small green light lit up on the keypad and Lex punched in the combination. The sound of metal sliding against metal came from the other side of the door and he finally opened it, stepping aside to let Chloe walk in first.

“Wow,” Chloe stated with no enthusiasm whatsoever; unceremoniously dropping her oversized duffle bag on the floor beside her. “It’s so…sterile.”

Lex grinned as he reset the security system, making sure the locks were secure so no one could get inside.

“I rarely stay here anymore,” he replied. “Only when business demands it.”

“Still…” Chloe said, trailing off and wrapping her arms around herself.

Lex frowned.

“Cold?”

“A little, but I’ll be okay,” Chloe answered simply, not really wanting to explain that it was the bare, emotionless environment that sent a chill through her rather than the temperature in the apartment itself.

After all, Lex had been incredibly supportive and was even offering to let her stay with him despite the fact that a homicidal psychopath was stalking her. No. Now definitely wasn’t the time to comment that the apartment’s ambience – or lack thereof – left much to be desired.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that Lex now stood directly beside her with her duffle bag in hand.

“Come on, I’ll show you where you’re staying,” he said, shaking her from her reverie right before placing his free palm flat on the small of her back.

He hoped she didn’t notice how possessive the action was, but still made no move to discontinue the warm contact. He finally had a home field advantage and damned if he was going to bring a halt to his progress unless she specifically told him off or physically moved away from him.

She did neither; merely walking beside him as he showed her to the guest room. Unfortunately, he saw that she hugged her arms a little tighter around herself when he turned on the light and she peered into the large bedroom.

It was so different than the living room had been and under any other circumstances, she might have been thrilled at the prospect of having such a grand, ornately decorated bedroom all to herself; but now the walls seemed to close in on her, reminding her of how very alone she was going to be in there.

Realistically she knew that the killer wouldn’t be able to climb to the top floor of the building to creep in the window, but her heart still beat faster in panic. She inwardly chided herself for sounding like Lana on all those nights the other girls claimed to have a nightmare and asked if she could sleep in her room.

Then her teeth dug into her lower lip and unshed tears began to sting her eyes. Lana’s childish fears hadn’t been so unfounded after all, had they?

“Chloe?”

She blinked and turned her head to look at Lex. Had he been talking to her the whole time? Shit. He looked at her with a worried but expectant expression and she sniffed to try and keep the tears from spilling down onto her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I guess I missed whatever you just said.”

“I asked if you were okay,” Lex said. “Though I’m pretty sure I have my answer now.”

Chloe sniffed again and shook her head a little.

“I --- maybe I should just sleep on the couch,” she said. ‘Close to the nearest exit…’

At first, Lex’s reaction was somewhere between confusion and amusement.

“Why?” he asked, immediately regretting the question when he saw the skittish look on her face; her eyes darting back down the hallway. He knew right away what the problem was, though it took a voice in his head to put words to it.

‘Because she doesn’t even want to be in the room next to yours,’ the inner voice taunted cruelly. ‘She doesn’t love you. She doesn’t even like you. You’re not her knight in shining armor, you’re not her hero. You’re just another guy who’s gone off his rocker because you’re in love with her and can’t have her. Hell, you’re not even original when it comes to that, are you? You were gonna start killing people just like ---’

‘Shut up&#33;’

‘Aww…does the truth hurt?’ the voice asked with mockingly false pity.

‘I’m not like him,’ Lex protested, hoping that would put an end to it. ‘I’m protecting her. I’m not crazy&#33;’

‘Yeah. You just keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. But the look on Chloe’s face says otherwise.’

Fuck.

He had gotten so caught up in arguing with the voice in his head that he didn’t realize how much time had gone by where it just appeared that he was openly staring at Chloe without saying anything. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes.

“If you’re worried about privacy…”

Chloe cringed. That’s why he thought she was… God. Could she come across as more of an ungrateful bitch? He invited her into his home and now thought that she thought he was some kind of pervert she didn’t want to sleep in the room next to because she was too proud to just admit that she was scared.

“No,” she blurted out. “I --- if anything, it’s the opposite.” Lex’s eyebrows went up as he looked at her again. Chloe took a deep breath. “This is going to sound really stupid, but…I’m afraid. I don’t know if I can sleep in there alone without having nightmares.”

“You’re safe here, Chloe,” Lex reassured her. “And if you don’t want to sleep alone…” he trailed off with a light smirk and Chloe blushed.

“Okay, I deserve that since it came out totally wrong on my part,” she half-mumbled, covering her face with her hands.

Lex grinned sympathetically, but inside he was smiling giddily. He placed his hand on her back and rubbed it in a small circle.

“Maybe it would help to talk about it,” he suggested. “Confronting a fear head on is usually the first step in getting rid of it.”

Chloe gave him a wry look.

“Sounds like you’ve been to therapy,” she said.

“Guilty,” Lex admitted. “Which is all the reason you should need to know that I know what I’m talking about.”

Chloe let out a soft sigh and allowed Lex to lead her back to the living room.

“Okay, so what does Dr. Lex prescribe?” she joked.

Lex smirked back at her as he left her to sit on the couch while he walked over to the bar.

“Scotch, neat,” he replied, then pretending to be pensive. “Make that a double. It’ll help warm you up.”

“Wow. Why couldn’t the school’s psychologist be like you?” she asked with a quick laugh.

“Hmm…meteor freaks and alcohol,” he said. “Probably not the best combination.”

“No. You’re probably right,” she agreed. “Don’t suppose I could have brandy instead though? Scotch invokes…bad memories.”

Lex arched an eyebrow, but obediently drew out a large snifter for the drink Chloe requested; simply leaving the extra glass of scotch up at the bar when he walked back over to where she was sitting on the plush leather couch.

“You realize that you’re bringing up a whole host of questions for me to ask that have nothing to do with your current predicament, don’t you?” he asked, handing her the snifter.

Chloe brought the glass to her lips and tipped it toward her to take a sip.

“What kind of questions?”

“Being a reporter, I’d have thought you’d already know the answer to that.”

“My mind has been kind of preoccupied,” Chloe said sadly.

Lex nodded once in understanding.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not yet,” Chloe admitted, taking another sip of the expensive alcohol. “How about you ask me the other questions first?”

Lex grinned.

“Okay. You mentioned the school psychologist.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Mr. Kwan – our former principal ---”

“The one your ex-boyfriend killed,” Lex cut in.

“Was it really necessary to bring that up?”

“Sorry. I tend to associate things in my head that way,” he explained. “Please go on.”

Chloe huffed some air out of her nose.

“Anyway, he thought I had an attitude problem because I wasn’t ‘school spirit’ girl and preferred to expose the dangers of meteor rock radiation instead of devoting every front page to our crap-tacular sports teams.”

“So he sent you to see a shrink?”

“Yes.”

Lex bit back a smile at Chloe’s disgruntled tone, taking a drink of his scotch to cover his amusement.

“And your new principal?”

“Mr. Reynolds?” Chloe asked. Lex nodded. “He’s really cool actually. I know you didn’t have the best of experiences with him, but he’s been nothing but supportive of me and the stories I want to write. The only constructive criticism he’s given me was to throw in things that broadened my story base so I could appeal to readers outside of Smallville.”

“And it worked. You had a column in the Daily Planet.”

Chloe frowned.

“You know your dad set that up,” she said solemnly, taking a swig of the brandy.

Lex said nothing in response, instead just taking a drink from his own glass and hoping that the now uncomfortable silence would dissipate quickly. Chloe was already unnerved; anyone could see that. He wasn’t going to worry her more and give her a reason to flee his apartment by telling her about Sheriff Adams suspecting his father of being her stalker and good friend’s killer.

“I guess that brings us to the other question,” he finally said. Chloe gave him an apprehensive look. “Why does scotch bring up bad memories?”

Chloe visibly relaxed into the couch and smiled, grateful that he had dropped his father as a topic of conversation.

“Sixteenth birthday, Alias drinking game, drunk Clark groping me like he’s never seen boobs before,” she rattled off before taking another drink.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that it probably wasn’t a great idea to be drinking alcohol on an empty stomach, but Lex had definitely been right about it chasing the shivers from her body. All she felt now was a nice warm hum; sated and secure.

Lex winced at her words.

“Normally I’d ask you to elaborate, but…”

“Unwanted mental image?”

“Exactly.”

“Just think of how bad it was for me to be there,” Chloe said. “It’s cringe-worthy just to hear the tale, but it’s a whole other story when it happens to you.”

Lex grinned at Chloe’s lightened demeanor.

“How are you feeling now?”

She nodded once.

“Better. Thanks,” she said.

“Of course,” Lex replied. “So…”

“You want to know how I feel about Lana being killed,” Chloe guessed.

“I understand if you still don’t want to talk about it.”

“No. It’s just…it’s a lot to deal with all at once. My emotions are kind of on overload,” Chloe said. “I feel sad, scared, horrified, stupid for not seeing the letters for what they were sooner, grateful it wasn’t me or my dad, guilty for feeling grateful…”

She paused and drew in a deep breath. She was starting to tremble again and she shakily brought her glass to her lips to drink the last bit of brandy it contained so it wouldn’t spill.

“I’m – I’m not really sure how I feel. I feel numb and on edge at the same time and ---” she stopped when she choked out her last few words and Lex quickly took the empty glass from her, depositing both of their glasses onto the end table by the side of the couch.

He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and brought her to him; her face burrowed against his shoulder as she started to cry.

“Shh,” he whispered soothingly, stroking her hair and leaning down so he could nuzzle his cheek against the side of her head. “It’s going to be okay.”

“It’s not,” Chloe sniffed as she shook her head and pulled her face away from him, but didn’t completely remove herself from his embrace. “I ---” she trailed off and slammed her eyes closed.

Lex swept his thumb over both of her cheeks, brushing away the tears that were rolling down them. Seeing the state she was now in, he was thankful that he hadn’t carried through on his original plan and been the one to kill Lana. Chloe would have never forgiven him.

Caught up in the moment, he moved his lips forward and gently kissed her closed eyelids. Startled, Chloe opened her eyes and stared at him. He couldn’t have done what she just thought he did. She must have been imagining it. He was her friend…sort of. He didn’t see her like…

Lex softly pressed the hand that had been caressing her hair against the back of her head, leaning his mouth down to hers at the same time. Chloe didn’t respond immediately because she was surprised, but her hands soon tentatively found their way to his chest and shoulder and she began to kiss him back.

Smooth and silky, but hesitant at first, the kisses were delicate and sweet as they tested the waters. Instinctually, Lex pulled Chloe completely onto his lap with his free arm, holding her tight against him as their lips began to part wider for their tongues to meet.

A whimpered moan escaped from Chloe’s throat. Though they were just kissing, the electricity now pulsing through her body was unlike anything she had felt before. The hand on his chest crept up to the back of his head, relishing in the feeling of the small bump that lay there underneath his skin.

Lex let out a small gasp at the action. God. It was even better than he had fantasized. His entire body prickled with arousal at the sensation of kissing her and feeling her hand inadvertently massage the back of his head while trying to bring him closer to her.

He could have stayed there forever, content with simply kissing her, but then she adjusted her position to get more comfortable; straddling her legs over his and unintentionally hitting her clit against his straining hardness while doing so.

Chloe pulled away from the kiss with a strangled moan, breathing heavily as she stared at Lex in shock. He stared back for a moment; his heartbeat fast and erratic as he looked at her. Then, in one swift movement, his lips were on hers again; his tongue rocking into her open mouth, mimicking the thrusts that he wanted to be doing with their lower bodies.

Chloe started to slowly grind against him, moaning at the same time he did. Lex grabbed her hard, his fingers pressing into the skin left exposed by her shirt that was riding up, and then he stood up on shaky legs.

All coherent thought driven from her mind, Chloe wrapped her legs around his waist and continued to kiss him as he walked them back to his bedroom. At that moment, there were no more images of Lana’s dead body flashing behind her eyelids, no more Clark running away from her, no more psychotic killer who was obsessed with her; there was only the warmth of the consumed alcohol heating her body and the heady thrum of arousal pumping through her veins.

He set her feet down on the floor, moving his mouth to her neck while her slightly intoxicated hands ripped and pushed the dress shirt off of his body. Fevered tearing and tugging of various items of clothing alternated with brief kisses and panting breaths until something finally snapped in Chloe’s mind and she realized that she was totally naked in Lex Luthor’s bedroom.

A moment of panic overtook her, but Lex seemed to notice and gently cupped her face with his hands. He leaned down to kiss her, the soft brush of his lips melting away her insecurities and bringing the strange physical need for him back to the forefront.

Her hands once again rested on his chest and the more she felt of the smooth, muscled texture, the more she wanted. She pulled her mouth away from his and started to kiss her way down his throat…stopping to lavish his collarbone with nibbling bites that made him groan…and finally left a trail of wet peppering kisses down to his chest.

“Chloe,” Lex breathed, his hands tangling in her hair as her tongue moistened one of his nipples.

She pinched it with her teeth and his hips jerked forward. No – this wouldn’t do at all. He was supposed to be making her fall for him, not letting himself fall harder in love with her…if that was even possible. He pulled her face away and brought his own lips down to crash against hers again. Not breaking the passionate kiss, he backed her toward the bed; looming over her as he laid her down.

He wanted to tell her he loved her and murmur sweet nothings in her ear; wanted to tell her that he’d protect her from the other man that was vying so hard for her affections; wanted to say so many things, but the words lodged in his throat at the sight of her beneath him. If he told her his true feelings then he would undoubtedly scare her away; and since it had taken him so long to get her to see him as anything other than his father’s son or Clark’s friend, he was unwilling to risk it.

Chloe pulled her mouth away from his and moved it to his ear, nipping at the lobe right before she spoke.

“Condom,” she whispered hoarsely.

Lex nodded once and quickly scrambled away from where she lay. If she hadn’t remembered, then there was a chance he could have bonded her to him forever – or been utterly heartbroken when she decided to get rid of a possible pregnancy and never spoken to him again.

It was good that she remembered. There would be time enough later to win her affections through less nefarious means.

He reached into an end table’s drawer and pulled out a foil packet, hastily tore the top off with shaking hands that he hoped Chloe didn’t notice, and rolled the thin polyurethane coating onto his waiting shaft. Within seconds he was hovering over her again, kissing her somewhat sloppily as he adjusted himself on the bed.

Lex nudged open her legs and settled himself between them; propping himself up with one arm while his other hand slid up her leg and between her thighs, his fingers exploring her silky, damp lips. She gasped as his thumb slowly massaged her clit while one and then two fingers prepared her for something more. He struggled to keep his eyes open to watch her, barely controlling the lust that was quickly consuming him. Chloe started to move her hips in time with his hand and he almost lost it.

Swiftly positioning himself, he stilled when the tip of his cock hit her slick entrance; waiting for some sign that she was going to stop him and push him away.

None came.

He pushed into her slowly, groaning as her flesh spread to accommodate him. She was so tight…tighter than he had expected. He paused in surprise after breaking through her barrier. He hadn’t thought she was terribly experienced, but he at least thought that she had… God. She had let him be her first. The realization was overwhelming and Lex found his emotions swimming in a mixture of pride and disbelief.

He watched as the pained expression was forced from her face and then he sucked in a breath as he pulled back to begin a series of slow, deliberate thrusts. After a few pushes, Chloe tentatively moved her hips against his; earning moans from deep within both of their throats. Lex decided right then and there that even if she wasn’t experienced, she was definitely a natural, and almost laughed out loud at the fact that Clark had been foolish enough to reject her.

One of her hands climbed up and off of his back to pull his mouth down to hers; quelling whatever slight sidetrack of amusement his minimal thoughts had just taken. Their tongues and hips began to slide back and forth at the same tempo and every stroke of heated flesh against wet flesh drove Lex closer and closer to climax. But he couldn’t allow his body to find release; not until Chloe had or everything he’d worked so hard for would be lost.

Behind closed eyelids, Chloe’s vision narrowed to sparks of gold and white as the heavy tingle between her legs exploded and pushed fire through her veins. Every inch of skin, every nerve underneath, shook her body with a sensation so much stronger than she had ever experienced alone.

A feral cry erupted from her throat as the orgasm swept over her, her inner walls clenching around Lex’s cock as he continued to thrust into her. In no way could he have been considered inexperienced in his sex life, but the intensity of the feeling that Chloe’s climax brought him was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

A growl stuck in his throat, coming out as a loud gasp and then transforming into a drawn out moan as he spilled his release inside her. He collapsed and only rolled partially to the side, enough of his body remaining on and inside her so that she couldn’t get up and run if she immediately regretted her actions; though the way she was laying there with listless muscles, still trying to catch her breath, somehow told Lex that she wasn’t going to be going anywhere.



TBC...

[katspell]

*fans self* HOT&#33;&#33;&#33;

[carebear72884]

normally i am all for chlex smut, but lex is so creepy in this fic, i like it, but at the same time it scares me....hmmm....its just creepy, more soon please.

[asharnanae]

:biggrin: GAH........ :drool: fantastic chappy, buthot damn, you darn near exploaded my brain with that one&#33; :worship2: :yay: :worship2:

[campbti]

Very HOT&#33;&#33; :yay3: Great upate, can&#39;t wait to see where this goes, who is the killer, and how creepy does lex turn out to be... come back soon&#33;&#33;

[hfce]

WOW :drool:



Hope :blinkkiss:

[Impress]

more. more. more.

great update.

[crazygirl]

Sooo good .... :smut: I want more&#33; Please? :applause:

[Blackberry]

*reverts to speaking in Tagalog* Nako, ang init init&#33; hmm ano ang gagawin si Chloe ngayon....?


BB

(the above was supposed to say: Oh my, very hot&#33; hmm, what will Chloe do now...?... lets hope i got it right&#33;&#33; -_-;)

[autumngold]

:worship2: You are incredible&#33;&#33; :worship2: Thank you for having Chloe&#39;s first time be with Lex&#33;&#33; This chapter was so hot, yet beautiful at the same time&#33;&#33; I love how you show Lex&#39;s feelings for Chloe&#33;&#33; Please don&#39;t let her shut him out now&#33;&#33; I love this chapter&#33;&#33; Thank you for the update&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[Not An Addict]

HEE&#33; *TACKLE HUG* WONDERFUL birthday present. ^_^ Loved it, loved it, loved it. Absolutely wonderful. See, Lex isn&#39;t -completely- crazy . . . I mean, he still knows the difference between right and wrong . . . so . . . um . . . no, yeah, he&#39;s nuts. But I love it. ^_^ Fantastic smut, as always. Can&#39;t wait to see the aftermath. ^_~

[Clannadlvr]

woo hoo&#33; I reviewed this over on your site as well...but...

*fans self*


I love how Lex realized that it probably was a good idea that he didn&#39;t kill Lana- well, duh&#33;&#33;

nice to see that sane Lex is coming out to play (inner monologue argument aside)

Oh, and, ew?


“Sixteenth birthday, Alias drinking game, drunk Clark groping me like he’s never seen boobs before,” she rattled off before taking another drink.

ugh...I feel so unclean after reading that.

*grins*

[drina]

I didn&#39;t read this fic at first because it involves a character death, and I usually don&#39;t like that. But since this is written is the irrepressible Kris, I overcome that fact, and I definitely don&#39;t regret reading this at all&#33;


This is so great, when I first read it, I&#39;m so chilled by the fact that Lex can be so coolingly logical in his planned murder of Lana, and how he doesn&#39;t see it as a being wrong at all, in all his obsession to have Chloe.

Yet his softer side can also be seen in his treatment of Chloe, and this part...

He collapsed and only rolled partially to the side, enough of his body remaining on and inside her so that she couldn’t get up and run if she immediately regretted her actions; though the way she was laying there with listless muscles, still trying to catch her breath, somehow told Lex that she wasn’t going to be going anywhere.


It just strikes me as so beautiful, and so Lex...

[Val]

Ok, Lex is kinda freaky in this fic but... he is a sweet, sexy hot kinda freak so I dont mind at all&#33; Is it wrong that I think it&#39;s ok if he is the murder? Because if he is, well, his alter-ego is anyways, now that he has Chloe, he wont need to murder anyone anymore so... all is well&#33; :p Especially cos Blana is dead&#33; :biggrin:

[Sab_Luthor]

oh my god i loved it more please

[xxasaxx]

Love it&#33;

[Blaire023]

I&#39;m caught up now. And can I just say...that chapter was utterly FUCKTASTIC&#33;

loved it.

B

[Lex]

Wow&#33; That last chapter was definitely hot&#33; :drool: But will Chloe regret it the next morning, I hope not... Plus there are now endless suspects for her stalker, with what seems to be equal reasons to want her, that its impossible to tell who it is... Anyway great chapters and I hope you update soon&#33; :chlexsign3:

[Susie Q]

Originally posted by scifichick774@ Apr 12 2004, 05:45 PM
“Lana Lang was murdered.”

Lex visibly relaxed.

“Oh, thank God,” he said to himself, not realizing he had spoken the words aloud until the sheriff raised her eyebrows and looked at him accusingly.

“Excuse me?”

“I mean – I thought ---” he paused and forcefully contorted his face back into a concerned expression. :hehe: :hehe:

I think it says something about my vested interest in this murder mystery that I was only slightly distracted by the Chlex smut http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/winky1.gif. And now you’ve gone and thrown the MB into the mix as well. Arggh...I’m nearly bald from all the hair pulling. Oh when, oh when will the nutcase/stalker/murderer be revealed? At this point I’m not ruling out anyone including that shifty-eyed dog hanging around the fire hydrant http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/eyebrow.gif.

[scorpio]

Wow.
That was *hot* and oh so good. :biggrin:
I´m a fan of this story. I know I don´t review as much as I probably should but....I love this fic. :worship2: And I´m a fan of your writing in general.
So, please continue to write this fantastic fic and many, many stories. :worship2:

[sydsvaughn]

Finally got to catch up on this and what a treat&#33; I&#39;m doing a happy dance (evil though I know it is) at Lana&#39;s demise and loving the Chlex smut&#33;

I&#39;m so intrigued by this story and can&#39;t wait for more&#33;

SaraC

[crazygirl]

*Knock knock* *Who&#39;s there?* *The big bad fanfic fiend who&#39;ll come and get you if you don&#39;t upate, grrr*


So, when can we expect your next update? It&#39;s about high time, you know.

[kezz]

AAAHHHH&#33; Please don&#39;t let Lex be the killer, how would you manage smut with him wearing an orange jump suit and sharing a cell with some guy named Bubba? Actually don&#39;t answer that, it&#39;s just too awful to think about, let alone articulate.

Jeez that was hot, just don&#39;t let her panic and run off when she realises what she&#39;s done okay.

Update soon please, I can&#39;t wait to see what happens next.

Kezz........x.x.x.

[dreamingincolor]

Have to admit i&#39;ve been suspecting lex or one of his multiple personalities was the killer all along but now im thinking maybe its the new principle. Although its probably not, im a terrible guesser. Anyways please update soon :)

[Shay]

That was amazing. I was grinning like a fool as I read...re-read and read it again.

Bring on more murders...which will lead to more comfort sex&#33;&#33;&#33; CHLEX 4EVA&#33;

Shay

[crazygirl]

*starts chanting* Update, update, I demand an update&#33; *Is is working?*

[scifichick774]

Sheriff Nancy Adams was not a patient person. Stubborn, suspicious, short-tempered, and quick to accuse, yes; but not patient. And it was that defining attribute of her character alone that had her standing at the front door to the Luthor castle at six o’clock in the morning, regardless of the fact that there was nary a warrant in sight, let alone in her possession.

Lana Lang’s brutal murder was her case and damned if she was going to wait around for the FBI to push their way into town and completely take over. No. She was going to get all the answers she could before she had to deal with those arrogant pricks and if that meant waking spoiled rich people up early, then so be it.

She pursed her lips in aggravation and reached out to ring the doorbell for a second time.

“You’d think with all the money they have, they could afford to hire someone to answer the door,” she mumbled to herself.

Another couple of minutes passed and her gaze nervously darted from side to side. The grounds were disturbingly quiet and although she hadn’t entirely expected the Luthors to be up and about at such an early hour, she hadn’t expected to be completely ignored either.

There was something else though; something…off…about the scene surrounding her. And though she couldn’t quite place what it was, it hovered on the fray of her already tense nerves and prickled goosebumps up on the back of her neck, forcing the fine hairs that lay there to stand on end.

She was scared. And if there was one thing Adams hated, it was being scared. That’s why she went into law enforcement in the first place; to help others feel protected, to help herself feel safe. Being the one with the gun who got to ask all the questions did a lot to aid in that feeling.

She drew in a shaky breath and then fingered the gun that sat in the holster on her hip. With the flick of a metal snap, she was pulling the piece from its leather encasement and lifting it so it was level with her chest. She rang the doorbell a third time and waited a mere few seconds before using her own voice to call out into the silence.

“Mr. Luthor?&#33; Hello?&#33;” Adams yelled.

Yet again, there was no response, and she decided to take a chance. She took one of her hands off of the weapon she had been desperately clutching with both of them. Tentatively, she reached out and grasped the doorknob, surprised and wary when it turned easily under her touch.

“Is anyone home?&#33;” she asked as she crossed the threshold. She wasn’t four steps into the home when a familiar, unwelcome smell assaulted her nostrils.

Blood – and a lot of it judging from the way the nausea-inducing metallic scent permeated every inch of air around her. Her stomach lurched and her steps wavered as a queasy feeling rolled through her body. Something bad had happened there and it had happened recently.

It wasn’t often that she was truly scared, and even less often that she admitted it. But she saw her hands trembling before she felt it, and with that brief acknowledgement, the quivering sensation swept from her fingertips through the rest of her body.

Fear has a funny way of distorting a person’s inclinations. Less than ten minutes before, Adams had been so focused in finding the answers she was looking for, and now…now she wasn’t sure she wanted to know anymore. She just wanted to get out of there without losing what little breakfast she’d had that morning.

Still, she pressed ahead. There was no point in calling for backup until she found the origin of the smell that was violently turning her stomach.

“Mr. Luthor? It’s Sheriff Adams,” she called out into the dreadful silence once again, physically forcing herself to move further and further into the unnaturally warm and sticky air that closed in around her. “Sir? I need to speak with you. It’s impor---” The word died in her mouth as she tripped and almost fell over something she hadn’t seen lying in the dark hallway. Or, rather, someone.

The gag reflux in her throat clenched tight and she stumbled a few steps backward as she tried to regain her ability to breathe.

“Holy Mary, Mother of…” she half whispered, trailing off and swallowing the saliva that had pooled in her mouth and throat while she couldn’t breathe.

Before her laid the body of a man she presumed to be a servant while he was alive. His uniform was soaked with his own blood, but from the quick once-over she gave him, it looked like the gooey red substance that he was drowned in was already starting to dry. The blood was fading to a worn-brown color rather than the rich crimson it had probably been just hours before…if not sooner.

Adams swallowed again, this time to push down the bubble of bile that rose in throat at seeing the man’s remains. And remains were all that was left, she thought morbidly. There was a bloody, gaping hole where his chest and abdomen used to be, but his organs weren’t methodically arranged around his body like the other victims’ had been, nor did his face seem to be mutilated in any way at all.

Instead, Adams noted sickly, his eyes and tongue were still intact, and the organs were lying on the floor by the opposite wall; those that had survived the apparent impact, that is. For directly above the mess on the floor was a misshapen series of brownish-red blobs that came together to make a very big stain.

Her stomach rolled and coiled again as she noticed that parts of the stain had texture from where pieces of the servant’s innards had glued themselves to the wall with his blood.

One of the things they teach cadets in the police academy is how to deal with gruesome, horrific situations. Step one was to take a few slow, deep breaths. The oxygen would help to calm down frazzled nerves while fueling the brain for the onslaught of questions that needed to be asked and answered.

As far as Adams was concerned, ‘step one’ was out. She was having a hard enough time not retching out the contents of her stomach with the short, shallow breaths she was taking; there was no way in hell she was going to take a long, deep whiff of the stench the body was giving off.

Fuck.

What had she been thinking going to a possible suspect’s house on her own? For all she knew, he could have reached his breaking point, killed all of his servants, and then waited around for the police to inevitably show up so he could get rid of them too.

Fuck, fuck, *fuck*&#33;

How stupid could she be? She should have put her impatience and temper aside and just let the feds come in to investigate. She thought this strictly, scolding herself for wanting to keep the case for herself; all the while, clutching her gun tighter in her hands, and not noticing that her feet were working of their own accord, carrying her past the man’s corpse and further down the hallway.

~*~*~

Sleep brought on by true fatigue – be it physical, mental, or emotional – can last longer than what a person might normally get. Add in an outside influence such as drugs or alcohol and it can cause severe disorientation when said individual finally does wake up.

The first thing Chloe noticed when her slumber began to wane was that she was slightly dizzy. It wasn’t that the sheets she lay on were so much softer than the ones she was used to, or that she seemed to be in a tangle of limbs with another person when she only ever slept alone; it was that she felt like she was spinning and she hadn’t even opened her eyes yet.

It was the sensation she used to get when she was a little girl, after she’d turned round and round with her arms out to her sides and collapsed to the ground in a fit of exhausted giggles. Somehow this didn’t have quite the same exuberant quality to it though. No. This was closer to how she felt the morning after getting into her father’s liquor cabinet with Clark and Pete. Cotton-tongue and all.

A grumbling moan escaped her throat and slipped past her lips. Damn it. She was hung over.

‘Or…sort of anyway,’ she amended, surprised that the bright sunlight filtering in through the unfamiliar window didn’t cause the sharp pain in her eyes that she’d gotten the last time she’d been foolish enough to imbibe more than one drink on an empty stomach. Then it struck her.

Unfamiliar window.

Shit.

Where was she and what had she done?

That’s when she noticed the tangle of limbs and the physically toned male body twisting so it – so he – could get a better hold on her.

‘Okay,’ she thought, trying to keep the voice in her head as calm and collected as possible so she didn’t start outwardly freaking out. ‘It’s okay. Everything’s okay. I just…drank too much and lost my virginity to a *complete stranger*&#33; Oh God, oh God, Oh God…’

“Morning,” came a muffled greeting against the hollow of her neck, rapidly followed by a nuzzle of the mystery man’s nose and lips.

‘Ooh. That feels…nice,’ Chloe thought, her eyelids threatening to flutter closed before she caught herself and croaked out a raspy, “Good morning” in return. She felt his lips kiss her neck again before pulling away enough to speak.

“How are you feeling?”

Wow. He was being nice and actually sounded concerned. Definitely not how she’d pictured any possible one night stand ever ending.

It’s strange, the things that will refresh a memory that was previously sedated with alcohol. In this case, it was Chloe’s realization that she recognized the voice of the man beside her. A blur of rushed images and memories sped through her mind and Chloe winced.

So that’s where the headache she’d expected to come with the sunlight had been hiding. Damn. She really could have done without finding it.

She moaned briefly and brought a hand up to cover her already tightly closed eyes. She’d slept with Lex. Lex Luthor. Clark’s best friend, Lex Luthor. Fuck. She was so totally screwed.

She supposed she could blame it on the circumstances if Clark confronted her about it. Good friend murdered, finding out a homicidal psycho was obsessed with her, Lex being the only one there to comfort her because he ran away and left her out in the middle of nowhere like an ass…

She heard a mocking voice in her head let out a tiny snort. ‘Or you could just tell Clark that it’s none of his damn business who you sleep with after all the crap he’s put you through.’

‘That one’s better,’ she agreed with an inward nod.

“Chloe?”

Chloe flinched and then cleared her dry throat, embarrassingly hoping that Lex would think she was still just tired rather than zoning off into a conversation with a voice in her head.

“I’ve been better,” she admitted. “But it’s nothing that a couple of Advil and a cup of coffee won’t take care of.”

Lex’s body relaxed with a silent chuckle. “Breakfast of champions,” he quipped. “But you should have some food with it. I’m guessing you didn’t eat a lot yesterday.”

Chloe winced again, this time as though she’d been struck. Because, in a way, she had. She didn’t need reminders of her friend’s terrifying death, didn’t need to be told that in a roundabout way she was to blame because she hadn’t figured out that the notes weren’t a joke sooner.

Lex felt Chloe’s body tense, but instead of relinquishing his hold on her, he tightened their embrace; saying nothing as she fought the urge to cry again. There were no words to make the kind of pain she was going through go away.

Chloe sucked in a breath to steel herself. She wasn’t going to fall to pieces again. She just wasn’t. She needed to stay strong and keep her wits about her; now more than ever since her murderous stalker was still out there trying to prove his love for her. She repressed a shudder by nodding her head the best she could in her still-lying-down position.

“Yeah. Food would be good.”

[scifichick774]

When backup finally arrived, Adams was sitting on the front steps; fragile and shaking as she no longer tried to keep up the façade of being in control of the situation. The further she got into the house, the worse the carnage had gotten, and now the images she’d seen wouldn’t go away even when she closed her eyes.

“Sheriff?”

Good old Donovan. Bit of a city boy, but he was loyal and damn steady with a gun, and that’s what really mattered when it came down to it.

“Ma’am?”

Don’t let him go in the house.

Adams quivered violently when she heard the voice in her head and turned her body so her face was aimed away from the deputy as she began to dry-heave, the only thing her stomach having left in it was a negligent amount of its own acid.

“D-don’t go in,” she stammered as she shivered. Her body felt cold but it had nothing to do with the temperature outside. “Call the FBI,” she finally said after taking a moment to contain her emotions.

She may not have recognized the small, frightened voice that came from her mouth, but at the moment she didn’t care. Fuck keeping the case and hunting down the psychopath who did this; she’d be lucky to escape this ordeal with her sanity intact, let alone her life.

She’d already made up her mind by the time she reached the fourth body. She didn’t want to die like that. If the FBI wanted to put their lives on the line, then the more power to them, but she just wanted to go home and hop into a scalding hot shower to wash away everything she’d seen.

“No need, ma’am,” Donovan replied, momentarily snapping Adams out of her morbid thoughts. “They called us. That’s why I’m here.”

Oh. Well, that made sense – seeing as how she didn’t remember ever actually calling for backup.

“They got a tip from a Dr. Claire Foster who claims to be Lex Luthor’s psychiatrist. She said that he recently brought up the topic of ritual sacrifice in a session; that at first she thought it was just because of how his wife died but the more she thought on it, the more scared she got – and with the latest murder happening in Smallville, she thought they should know.”

“So they called us,” Adams said blankly, her mind still trying to process everything without going over the edge.

“Courtesy call only,” Donovan said. “You know how it is. They’re on their way here now; just wanted some local backup when they took him in for questioning.”

He stopped talking and cocked his head to the side, a concerned frown taking residence on his lips as he looked Adams - *really* looked at her. Her skin was deathly pale, but tinged with a very light greenish-grey color; her eyes were hollow, staring off at some unseen image that was only in her mind; and her arms were wrapped around the knees she had curled against her chest as she rocked in place on the concrete stoop.

“Sheriff, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?”

“Following up on a lead,” Adams answered absently, as if she wasn’t even aware that she was speaking. “The Sullivan girl and Lionel Luthor have some sort of history and he has the money to have evidence mysteriously disappear from a lab. I thought…” A spark of realization flamed in her eyes and for the first time since he’d arrived, she made eye contact with her deputy. “What did you say?”

“Ma’am?” Donovan asked with a furrowed brow.

“About Lex Luthor?”

“Oh. That his psychiatrist called the FBI and ---”

“Shit&#33;” Adams jumped up from where she sat, a new surge of fear and anger-fueled adrenaline racing through her veins.

“Sheriff? What’s wrong?”

“She’s with him now.”

“Pardon?”

“Chloe Sullivan. She went to Metropolis with Lex Luthor so he could protect her from her stalker. But you know, it wouldn’t be a long drive with the way he speeds. He could have easily given her something to knock her out, made his way here to tie up loose ends…” Adams shuddered. “…And still gotten back in time for her to be none the wiser that he was actually the guy stalking her and killing all those people to get her attention.”

Donovan didn’t know what the hell she was talking about, but he figured out enough to know better than to interrupt her when she was on a roll, so he wisely kept his mouth shut as he walked hurriedly with her toward her car.

“Fuck. I can’t believe I was so stupid. That bastard played me and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”

“Sheriff ---”

“Call the FBI back. Tell them they need to send their best forensics team here now…on second thought, make that two. It’s one hell of a mess in there.”

“O-kay,” Donovan strung out warily.

“And tell them if they want to bring Luthor in for questioning, that he’s at his apartment in Metropolis, not here. At least, he was,” Adams said with a frown. “God help her if he’s taken her somewhere else.”

~*~*~*~

Chloe picked at the omelet on the plate in front of her with her fork. Food seemed like a good idea – or a good distraction anyway – an hour ago, but now…not so much. Her stomach seemed to be repulsed by the very idea of food and the most she had been able to get down so far was a few bites of toast and a couple sips of ice water. She didn’t think she could stomach the orange juice sitting on the other side of her plate yet.

Certainly, the knowledge that one of her good friends was dead and it was, in some way, her fault, was weighing heavily on her; but the problem that seemed to currently plague her mind was something far less sinister and strangely more complicated. She’d slept with Lex. She’d slept with a man who, although she considered him a friend – or at the very least a friendly acquaintance, she wasn’t in a relationship with and most likely never would be.

She could accept that to an extent. After all, few people’s ‘first times’ went as planned or dreamed of, so why should she be an exception? But she was. From skimming Lana’s trashy, incredibly unbelievable romance novels to overhearing the girls at school, she had expected something more painful and much clumsier. It hadn’t been either. Yes, she experienced some pain when Lex initially thrust into her, and some residual soreness throughout the act that lingered until the present time, but really, it had been a wonderful experience…in the physical anesthesia sort of way.

The alcohol had warmed her and the sex had worn her out. It was a hell of a night considering everything that had come before it. And that was the problem. Chloe was, in most respects, a communicative individual. She liked to talk, she liked to write, she liked to ask questions and have questions asked of her. She did not like sitting across from a table at an expensive restaurant with a man while pretending that the rather large event (at least in her mind) that had happened the night before hadn’t happened at all.

“You’re not eating.”

Chloe looked up and gave Lex a weak grin. It was a little unnerving to know that he had been watching her and she hadn’t even noticed, but at the same time, it was oddly reassuring. If she’d gone to stay with anyone else, she could only imagine that they would have left her behind to do their normal daily activities by now.

“Guess I’m not as hungry as I thought,” she offered.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment. This was stupid. If she wanted a reason for why he slept with her, then she should just suck up her pride and ask him. Unfortunately, her dignity was just as important to her as her stubbornness was at this point and she needed to decide whether or not to lay her emotions out on the table again.

Oh, what the hell. It wasn’t as if she had deluded herself into thinking she was in love with him like she had with Clark. She shuddered. She could only imagine what a nightmare it would have been if she’d slept with him. She would have been distraught after he inevitably left her for Lana and possibly closed herself off to any future relationships.

No. This way was better. Lex may not love her, but at least she knew it ahead of time. She sighed and set her fork down on the plate. Here went nothing.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” Lex replied, not bothering to add the usual, humored perfunctory comment about whatever he said being off the record. Chloe obviously didn’t want an interview and if he wanted to earn her trust – her love – then he would need to stay away from the ill-timed teasing that her imbecilic friends seemed so fond of.

“Why?”

Lex’s brow creased ever so slightly. “Why?”

“I understand you needing a way to keep my mind off of things, but I’m pretty sure the alcohol would have done that eventually. I guess it sounds stupid for me to be fixated on this after everything that’s happened, but I haven’t been able to figure it out and it’s really bugging me.”

Lex looked at her blankly. Was she serious? She wanted to know why he slept with her?

Because I love you…because I’m obsessed with you…because I would kill for you…

‘Hmm…better not tell her the truth. It might scare her away,’ he thought. He grinned warmly and reached across the small table to lay his hand over hers and forcibly turn it over so their hands were locked in a soft embrace. “You think I slept with you to distract you?” he asked in a purposefully amused tone.

“Well…”

“I hate to break it to you, Chloe, but my motives were considerably more selfish than that.” His grin slid into a small smile when he saw genuine surprise flicker over her features. “As embarrassing as this is for me to admit, I was actually trying to work up the courage to ask you out before all of this happened.”

“Why would you need courage to ask me out?”

“Believe it or not, but having the last two women I was involved with try to kill me made me a little gun-shy.”

“Oh.”

“And…you’re beautiful, you’re intelligent…you befriended me without showing any interest in my money whatsoever,” Lex continued. “Honestly, I thought there was a good chance that you’d turn me down.”

Chloe blinked and then shook her head quickly to clear it; and possibly to reassure herself that she wasn’t simply imagining the entire conversation.

“Wow. I’m…not sure what to say,” she admitted.

“As long as we’re talking about this, I should probably tell you that some of the flowers and gifts you were sent were from me – only the ones that were signed though,” he lied smoothly. “Because as charming as the anonymous notes written in blood are, I’ve found you rarely get credit for giving the gift when you don’t say who it’s from.”

Chloe frowned. “You didn’t get credit this time anyway,” she said. “I’m sorry, Lex. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. Given the circumstances, I can certainly understand why you wouldn’t.”

Chloe shook her head and gave him an apologetic look. “I’m not sure I would have believed they were from you anyway,” she said. “I mean, you’ve never shown any sort of interest in me other than as a friend – with the exception of last night of course,” she explained with a blush.

“What would you have done if you’d known? Would you have still returned them?”

“I don’t know. I’d like to say no, but my history with guys is about as good as yours is with women. I think I would have been suspicious that you were under the influence of something meteor rock related.” She said the last part with a smile and was thankful when it was returned to her.

“I’m not if that makes you feel any better,” Lex said, enjoying the way that Chloe’s blush only seemed to deepen and she lifted a hand to cover her face because of it. “So, what about now?” he asked with trepidation. That one question was what it all came down to, after all. Had he lost what little chance he may have had with her by pushing things the previous night? Or had the incident caused her to see him in a different light? “If I sent you flowers, would you return them?”

Chloe refused to make eye contact with him as she spoke. Her cheeks were already a deep pink hue and if she looked directly at him, then she was sure the color would spread to the rest of her face and body as well.

“No. I wouldn’t,” she said quietly.

Lex’s grin threatened to split his face and he gave her hand a soft squeeze to let her know that he was pleased with her response without being overly dramatic about it. Even if they didn’t jump into a relationship, she wasn’t averse to the idea of one eventually. Lex hadn’t felt that happy in a long time.

Unfortunately, the moment was broken by a loud raucous that suddenly ensued near the entrance to the restaurant. Lex and Chloe both looked down from the balcony where they were seated to see a few men in worn suits that did dispel the aura of authority they kept around them. Of course, that image was helped by the fact that they were accompanied by a small SWAT team, armed to the gills with weapons that most civilians were fortunate enough never to come in contact with.

Chloe turned and looked at Lex with a questioning, worried expression and wasn’t comforted by the wrinkles that marred the area between his eyes, showing that he wasn’t aware of what was going on either. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the maitre’d pointing up to the balcony and straight to their table.

This can’t be good…

She frowned and rubbed a weary hand over her face, thankful that she hadn’t applied anything more than mascara and lip gloss to her features that morning as it certainly would have come off in a goopy mess on her palm and fingers. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but instinctually she knew that anytime someone pointed strangers with guns directly to your table, it wasn’t a good thing.

She tried to make sense of it in her mind, and under normal circumstances probably would have been able to put the pieces together quickly and easily; jumping to the forgone conclusion that they were there for her or Lex or both because Lionel Luthor had exerted his power once again and was going to make sure that neither one of them left the snug space beneath his thumb. These were not normal circumstances.

Her blood sugar had gotten dangerously low and combined with her already emotionally unstable state to make her thoughts start to blur and her vision start to spin. She wobbled in her seat, and though she felt a strong arm curl around her back to keep her steady and upright. The end result was that she wasn’t completely cognoscente when the men with worn suits appeared next to their table and flashed their FBI badges in her and Lex’s faces.

“Alexander Luthor?”

“Yes?”

“Taylor, Robbins, Murdoch,” the man speaking rattled off, apparently introducing himself and his two associates. “FBI.” He paused, cocking an eyebrow at Chloe. “Chloe Sullivan?” Chloe managed to nod, but wished she hadn’t. She really should have shoved aside the fact that she wasn’t feeling particularly hungry in favor of the small detail of needing food to live. “We’ll have to ask you to step away from her, Mr. Luthor.”

Lex’s eyebrow rose in surprise, but didn’t move from his position in the chair he had moved directly next to Chloe’s. Chloe gripped harder at the small amount of his shirt that she clutched in his hand, silently begging him not to leave her there. Not like that. Not surrounded by people with guns who may or may not mean her any small amount of harm when she was already incapable of putting up much of a fight.

“No,” she half-whispered, her voice coming out far too raspy even to her own ears. It was enough to make her gather up her stubborn will and force it into a lengthier statement. “If you have questions to ask either one of us about…you know…then you can just grab a chair and sit down. I haven’t had anything to eat in twenty-four hours and you are not taking me away from my breakfast.”

The men looked stunned, but the one with a lanky frame that Taylor had referred to as Robbins, overcame it first and approached her with a cautious step forward. “We can give you something to eat at headquarters. We only came here to arr---”

“Sit&#33;”

The loud command resonated off of the restaurant’s walls and, like a puppy who has been punished enough times so that he knows the particular tone of when his owner is angry enough to hurt him, each of the FBI agents obeyed in a quick motion of grabbing the chairs nearest them and sitting down with wide eyes fixed on Chloe.

Chloe winced and then sighed. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I tend to lose my temper when my blood sugar gets low.”

None of the agents dared to say a thing, settling for a nod here and there and a quick look over to where a couple of the SWAT team members had positioned themselves in case Lex tried to take Chloe hostage or defended himself in some other way that would endanger someone else’s life.

Chloe resumed eating. Her question about Lex had been answered and being dizzy was a sufficient motivator for regaining her appetite. Lex, on the other hand, kept one arm draped around Chloe’s back and regarded the agents with all the warmth of a walk-in freezer.

“I assume this has something to do with Chloe’s stalker,” he started. “Even with Lana’s death, I hardly think armed escorts are the way to go. Not when Chloe didn’t even want her friends tailing her every move.”

Murdoch, a man with a stalkier, muscular build, leaned forward in his seat and returned Lex’s stare. “This morning, Sheriff Nancy Adams of Smallville, Kansas, entered your residence there to find that a massacre occurred there. Your father and every member of the staff on duty at the time was brutally murdered. We’re here to arrest you for those murders.”

Chloe began to choke on the bite of omelet she was in the process of swallowing when Murdoch ended his statement, but was able to force the food down with a quick drink from the previously untouched orange juice.

“You can’t be serious,” she said. “Lex would never ---” She stopped herself and took a breath to calm her temper – or at least steady it as much as possible before she decided to forget her fluctuating waves of dizziness and jump up to openly deck the man who had just spoken. “He would never do something like that. Why would you even think he would?”

“The forensics teams have estimated the times of deaths to be between midnight and three a.m. this morning. The drive to between Smallville and Metropolis can take as little as two and a half hours with minimal traffic and even shorter if someone doesn’t obey the speed limit,” Murdoch said, pointing a steely glare at Lex. “That would have given Mr. Luthor ample time to drive back to clean up loose ends and then get back to you before you woke up and found him missing.”

Chloe gaped at the man. They couldn’t honestly think that Lex was her stalker and the serial killer that had been haunting Metropolis’s citizens for the better part of the last year could they?

Idiots.

“I see,” she finally said. “And it didn’t occur to you to…gee, I don’t know…ask him if he had an alibi or not?”

“We already know that he’ll say he spent the night in his apartment here in town,” Taylor answered. “He’s smart and has managed to set up alibis for himself for all of the killings. We checked.”

“And you didn’t think that maybe that meant that he wasn’t the killer?” Chloe asked incredulously before turning her attention back to Murdoch, the man who was currently at the top of her ‘severe contempt for’ list.

Sure, it was Taylor who answered her question about Lex having an alibi, but as far as she could tell, they seemed to work as a group. Hell, for all she knew, they might be incapable of working separately; like some sort of warped out FBI version of go-bots that fit together to form something larger. Okay…that was a bit of a stretch. Shaking her head lightly, she acknowledged that she shouldn’t make analogies when she was physically and mentally exhausted.

“And as for Lex being at his apartment, he was. All night. I can testify to it,” she continued. In the back of her mind, she wondered whether Lex was going to be angry with her for taking the lead so to speak in dealing with the authorities, but a lecture would be a small price to pay for getting rid of idiocy currently surrounding her. “Was there anything else?”

“Uh…” Robbins started, glancing at the others to see what they should or shouldn’t do and confirming Chloe’s theory about them not being able to work individually. “We’re supposed to bring you into protective custody, Miss Sullivan.”

[AlabamaWorley]

I can&#39;t remember what my previous comment was, but I suspect it had something to do with Johnny Castle being in his room all night, and Baby knowing because she was with him :D

[hfce]

More please..


Hope :)

[gyhardin]

Wow...so glad you reposted. Lex&#39;s psychiatrist should have her license revoked&#33; What happened to patient-doctor confidentiality? Just because he thought it out loud to his shrink didn&#39;t mean that he did it...even if he confided to actually doing those things in details to each murder (which he didn&#39;t), still wrong of her to divulge such information unless warrants have been issued to get those specific confidential data&#33;

Aaargh&#33; And to top it off, she called the FBI and implicated Lex&#33; &#33;&#33;OFF WITH HER HEAD&#33;&#33; :rage: :die:

Oh but I love how sissified the agents were when Chloe issued a doggy command at them. :hehe:

Can hardly wait for the next chap. Great story as usual&#33; :clap:

[Val]

This fic makes my head twist into very complicated knots. Seriously&#33; I can&#39;t be Lex, but at the same time? It really can&#33; Check his car, something there has to give you enough evidence if he drove it to smallville and back the previous night&#33;

Also? Why bother arresting thie serial killer? I mean it killed Lana AND Lionel&#33; Something any of us would do, if given the chance. Sure he murdered innocent people on the way, but honestly, Lana AND Lionel&#33; Totally worth it. I&#39;m sure the people who died would agree with me here. Oh and yay for the serial killer once more, he gave us Chlex smut&#33; *nod* I&#39;m a fan of his already&#33; :devil:

[Dark Topaz]

THis is very good can&#39;t wait to see where you are going to go with this. ;)

[tiger04]

Can&#39;t wait for an update please please please. So who is the killer? any hints.
AT

[Kit Merlot]

I&#39;m glad you reposted. I adore this fic, and I love that you had Chloe helping Lex by giving him his alibi.

Personally, I think it was Clark who killed Lionel and all of Lex&#39;s servants. My reasoning? He went to Lex&#39;s house to get Chloe back, found her gone, and went on a murderous rampage.

I&#39;m actually enjoying the thought of the Farmboy as a psycho killer :devil:

WELL DONE&#33;&#33;

[tiger04]

are you going to come back and give us an update. i hope you are. i really like this story, and I am dying to know who is doing all the killing.
AT

[scifichick774]

He’d never wanted to kill someone so much in his whole life – which was kind of ironic considering what he was being questioned for. Three and a half hours had passed according to his watch. Three and a half hours since the time he and Chloe had been ‘escorted’ to the closest police precinct and began answering the same questions over and over again for the apparently inept FBI agents.

“I believe we’ve already gone over this,” he said, rapidly losing his patience and his temper.

They’d separated him from Chloe when they first came in and refused to tell him anything about where in the building she was or if she was alright; and yet, they expected him to cooperate to the full extent of the law without allowing his attorneys into the room. Technically, he wasn’t under arrest; he was just being held for questioning; but he knew his rights and knew he had the right to legal council being present. What they were doing was illegal and he would make sure they’d pay for it if he ever got out of there.

“Humor me,” Robbins said.

Lex glared at him. “I already told you,” he started slowly, his incredible irritation that he had to repeat ‘his version of events’ for the last twenty-four hours again coming through in his tone. “Yesterday morning I drove over to Chloe’s house to make sure she was okay ---”

“Because you found out she was being stalked,” Taylor interrupted.

“Yes.”

“By someone who wrote his love letters to her in blood.”

“Yes,” Lex gritted out.

“If you were so worried about her well-being, why did you let her stay the night at home when you knew the security system wasn’t working?”

Lex sighed. He wasn’t even going to ask how they knew about that. “I didn’t want her to stay the night there, but…she’s stubborn. She still wasn’t taking the threat against her seriously. She still kind of thought that the whole thing was an elaborate practical joke.”

“So you killed Miss Lang to make her take the threat seriously.”

“No,” Lex growled. He was getting really sick of their pathetic attempts to make him slip up – especially since he was innocent. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers and then resumed glaring at Taylor. That specific agent had become the thorn in his side and he wasn’t going to pull out any stops in letting the man know exactly who it was he had managed to piss off. “I didn’t kill Lana. I didn’t kill my father or any of the staff who work at my house – or any of the people in Metropolis for that matter. I haven’t killed anyone.”

“We’ll see,” Taylor said, completely unfazed. “The case has been earmarked as a priority, so the preliminary lab results should be back soon.”

“Good,” Lex stated confidently. “Then you’ll know that you’ve been wasting your time talking to me instead of doing your jobs and finding out whoever really is after Chloe.”

“Uh-huh,” Robbins said, sloughing off Lex’s remark. “Let’s go back to yesterday. You said that Sheriff Adams told you that Miss Lang had been murdered.”

“Yes.”

“She says you didn’t seem too upset about it.”

Lex clenched his jaw muscles. “I was worried about Chloe. I drove up, I saw the police cars and the coroner’s van out front…I assumed the worst. So when she told me that Chloe wasn’t the one who was hurt – yes, I was relieved. The same way I’m sure you would be if you went home to find a scene like that outside your house and were told that someone killed the babysitter but your kid was fine.”

“So you think of Miss Sullivan as…what? A little sister?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But your analogy ---”

“Your wife instead of your kid then,” Lex snapped. “An annoying neighbor instead of a babysitter. It doesn’t matter. The point was that you’d be relieved when the police initially told you that the person you loved and were concerned about was alright.”

The two agents shared a look, but decided to let that part of the line of questioning drop. Even if he hadn’t let the word ‘love’ slip out, they had already guessed how Lex felt about Chloe. Numerous photos were found of her on his computers and in a few locked rooms at the manor in Smallville – photos she obviously hadn’t been aware were being taken. It stuck with their theory that he was her stalker and had murdered people because of it.

Motive, means, and opportunity.

As far as they were concerned, they’d found the man they were looking for.

~*~*~*~

Chloe paced the length of the small room the FBI had put her in. Her body was still sore from a desperate sugar low and losing her virginity the night before, but the minimal exercise she was putting in seemed to help. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was completely focused on something else.

She wanted so desperately to believe that Lex was innocent, but the more the agents presented her with the evidence, the more niggling doubts she started to have. Technically, he could have driven back to Smallville while she was asleep and gotten back before she woke up.

Chloe shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t even want to think about it. No. For all she knew, Lex might have – and probably had - ordered hits on business associates before, but she knew in her heart that he wasn’t capable of the sheer brutality that these killings required.

The door opened and she snapped out of her thoughts, swinging around to see who was there. If it was another one of the FBI agents telling her that she had to stay there for her own protection, they were going to get an earful – and possibly a punch in the face if they got too close.

She was relieved and grateful when she saw that it was her dad who stepped into the room, and she closed the space between them to hug him.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you alive,” Gabe countered.

Chloe pulled away from the embrace and shook her head in frustration. “They think Lex is the killer.”

“I know. They told me.”

“He’s not, Dad.”

“Chloe…” Gabe sighed out, running a hand around the back of his neck to try and soothe some of the tense muscles that lay underneath the skin. He’d spent the last hour listening to a ‘brief’ overview of why they thought Lex was guilty and the evidence they thought they had against him, and as much as he liked the man, he had to admit that it didn’t look good.

“He’s not. You know him&#33; How can you even think that he could do something like that?”

Gabe sighed again. “You seem to be pretty sure of his innocence.”

“He’s my friend…sort of.”

“Chloe…maybe you should sit down.”

“Dad…”

“Sit.”

Chloe didn’t flinch, but she knew that tone. It was the tone her father used when he just couldn’t be reasoned with, no matter how much logic she incorporated into what she said. In other words, there was no point in arguing with him.

“Okay, okay, I’m sitting,” she said, moving to lower herself into one of the four uncomfortable wooden chairs that were placed around a small rectangular table in the center of the room.

Gabe sat down across from her, running his hands over his face and then through his thinning hair in a stressed, but defeated gesture. “From what they’ve told me, they have a pretty strong case against him – even without the lab results being back yet.”

“Like what?” Chloe asked incredulously. “That he had a motive for killing his father? So did a zillion other people.”

“Nooo,” Gabe strung out. “Like they found a room at the mansion filled with pictures of you.”

Chloe furrowed her brow. “What? What are you talking about?”

“They found pictures – a whole room full of pictures that looked like you didn’t know they were being taken. The ones the FBI showed me looked like the kind of pictures that a private detective would shoot with a telescopic lens.”

Although she was curious, Chloe wasn’t about to ask how her dad might know what those kinds of photographs looked like; not when she suspected the answer would have something to do with the mother who abandoned her – in which case, she didn’t want or need to hear it.

She let out a breath and tiredly rubbed her eyes. “It was probably just leftover stuff from when I first went to him for help in getting out of working for his dad,” she said reasonably. “After all the times Lex has been lied to and screwed over, I can’t blame him for being cautious. Can you?”

“If it was just the pictures, I might agree with you, but…it wasn’t.”

A wary feeling started to grow in Chloe’s gut, spreading out to her skin until her arms prickled with goosebumps. She frowned and looked down at the table. Lex had already admitted to sending her some of the flowers and gifts – maybe they had just found receipts or…she swallowed. What if it was something else? Something…bad?

“What else?” she asked, her voice coming out as little more than a whisper.

If it was all a bunch of circumstantial evidence that she or Lex could easily explain away, then it would be better to know now so she could get the situation cleared up. If it wasn’t, then…well, she’d cross that bridge if and when she came to it.

“Jewelry, clothes…poetry,” Gabe said. “Well, books of other people’s poetry, but still…”

Chloe laughed in relief. She couldn’t believe she had actually doubted that Lex wasn’t the killer there for a second. “Dad, come on. You know how he is, how many women he’s been out with. What makes you think those things have anything to do with me?”

Besides the fact that he admitted to liking me and I sort of ended up sleeping with him last night…

She ignored the twinge of jealousy that came with examining her own statement. She had no claim on Lex and what she’d said about his reputation was true. He probably kept several gifts on hand so he could hand them out as he saw fit instead of having to go shopping along the way. It hurt, but it was the most realistic explanation.

“Because they were in gift-boxes addressed to you. Because they were things he saw you looking at in the pictures while you were shopping in Metropolis. Because he offered to take you into his home after he ‘found out’ you were being stalked.”

Chloe cringed, but still refused to believe that Lex had viciously murdered all of those people. He might very possibly be her mysterious stalker, but there was no way he killed so many people just to get her attention.

Even if he *was* the one to come up with the theory out of nowhere in the first place.

Shit.

~*~*~

He smirked to himself, pleased with the incorrect conclusions the FBI had obviously drawn about the case. They honestly thought Lex Luthor was to blame for everything he’d done. He couldn’t have planned it better if he’d tried.

There wasn’t even the small worry of the FBI convincing Chloe that Lex was really the one who loved her enough to kill for her. He knew his Chloe would know the truth. She’d never been one to believe the ‘official’ reports and he knew she’d know better.

He also knew that the time had come for them to finally be together. He’d finally gathered enough courage to tell her what he was sure she’d figured out long ago.

He couldn’t wait until she came home.




TBC

[kitten]

:biggrin:

YAY&#33;

It&#39;s been so long&#33; I love this story, maybe because of my enjoyment of gore provided it doesn&#39;t hurt Lex or Chloe. I think they should have gone on the run together though, I wouldn&#39;t want to waste the time in FBI custody if I had Lex.

[Clannadlvr]

Hmmm...I&#39;ve got my theories...but....

Don&#39;t keep us in suspense for too long&#33;

[je_m'adore]

hmmm... intriguing...

is clark a possibility?

or maybe Mrs.Kent has lost it?

[campbti]

so interesting. i know who i hope it is, and what i hope you do to them. judging from this fic I have no doubt you can dole out some serious punishment. so please clear lex and bring on the big-bad for the real chloe stalker.

SOoooooo glad you are still working on this.

:chlexsign2:

[Impress]

woo hoo an update. and a really good one too. can&#39;t wait for more.

[tiger04]

I am SO happy that you updated. I love this story. I am sorry that they think that lex is the one doing all of this. I hope it is cleared up soon.

more soon please

AT

[ColumbiaBlue]

Gah&#33;&#33;&#33; I love, love, LOVE this story&#33;&#33;&#33; Oh man&#33; I gotta know who HE is. Oh man. Please don&#39;t leave us in suspense for too long&#33;&#33;&#33;

~Manda :blinkkiss:

[hfce]

Hmm interesting....



Hope :chlexsign2:

[autumngold]

Chloe, you just have to be smarter than this&#33;&#33; Please don&#39;t doubt Lex&#39;s love or innocence&#33;&#33; Lex had better call for his lawyers and get out of there&#33;&#33; Thank you so much for updating this story&#33;&#33; I love it so much&#33;&#33; Please post again soon&#33;&#33; :wub: :chlexsign4: :wub:

[Kit Merlot]

Superb update&#33; Is it wrong to like that Lex is squirming a little bit? It just makes him even edgier :biggrin:

Also, how much do I want Clark to be the psycho killer obsessed with Chloe? I want this alot, but I am afraid for Chloe.

Please update soon :biggrin:

[AlabamaWorley]

Yay&#33; I love this fic, I&#39;m so glad to see an update. I&#39;m all kinds of more intrigued now, if that was even a possibility. I can&#39;t wait to find out who it is. I really liked the conflict you gave Chloe, it makes it more interesting if she&#39;s really thinking instead of just "Ooh, but Lex loves me, he&#39;d never do that." Great stuff&#33;

[sylvia]

Chloe, you just have to be smarter than this&#33;&#33; Please don&#39;t doubt Lex&#39;s love or innocence&#33;&#33; Lex had better call for his lawyers and get out of there&#33;&#33;

Yeah, I&#39;m definitely looking forward to Lex kicking the idiot fibbies&#39; asses, and out-smarting and out-smirking them. Come on, this is Lex Luthor, a non-wimp if there ever was one (ignoring the whole season 4, that is -__-). Don&#39;t let him get pushed around by some idiot cops&#33;&#33;

And geez, who&#39;s the freaky Chloe Loverboy?

Update soon&#33;

[eurydices falling]

GAAAAH&#33;&#33;&#33;

Kris you get back here and get me off of this cliff you left me on. I gotta know who it is. I just gotta&#33; :yay:

Now I&#39;m forced to reread and look for clues. Devilwoman&#33; :devil:

[dreamingincolor]

Okay color me curious, I NEED&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; to know who it is. One of lex&#39;s multiple personalities, whitney, Errr i just don&#39;t know. PLEASE UPDATE SOON and this time don&#39;t keep me in suspense, Pretty please with cherries on top, or if you don&#39;t like cherries there is always fudge, sprinkles, carmel, whipcream, etc. You get the picture :biggrin:

[Val]

Kriiis&#33; You lied to me&#33; You said this chapter was the one where you&#39;d reveal the killer&#33; I&#39;m cuuurious&#33;

Also, someone came to mind... Pete? We all know he was in love with Chloe. Damn if only I could remember the theories I had about this... Am really glad it&#39;s not Lex though.

[hateSmallvilleLoveChlex]

It&#39;s Ricky the butler&#33;&#33; ;)

I really want to know&#33; Please update soon as you can.

[Béatrice]

Yeah Who&#39;s that creep.y stalker? I have to say that he has to be rewarded for what he did to Blana :p
I&#39;m a bit sad that she has doubts concerning Lex. He&#39;ll be hurt if he knows that. :chlexsign3:

[randa]

so i just totally read the entire story in the past hour or so and i cant believe all the stuff thats going on since i last left this story.

very interesting.....


randa

[crazygirl]

Update? Please? I can only go &#39;without&#39; for so long, so please feed my addiction. *falls on her knees and begs*

[tiger04]

Please update soon. I NEED to know what is going on.

PLEASE

PLEASE

AT

[scifichick774]

A/N: I&#39;m reasonably certain that most of you have figured out who Chloe&#39;s admirer is, but in case you haven&#39;t, I&#39;m providing you with two chapters this time instead of just one.

~*~*~*~

Late that Afternoon…

Returning to Smallville turned out to be less than comforting. Not that she’d expected any differently. After all, her personal safety hadn’t been the only reason she’d agreed to go to Lex’s apartment in Metropolis. Location had a lot to do with which thoughts surfaced in her mind and for a short time, she’d been able to temporarily push aside the mental images of Lana’s maimed and bloodied corpse simply because she wasn’t surrounded by the everyday things that reminded her of now-deceased friend.

Unfortunately, the first farm they passed on the car ride home made the pictures in her head come back with a vengeance and the red haze of horrific memories seemed to be practically the only things she could see, regardless of whether her eyes were open or not.

Her father must have noticed, because he pulled the car to a stop along the side of the road. Chloe hastily opened the passenger side door and unbuckled her seatbelt so she could exit the vehicle, barely making it to where the pavement met the weeds that led into farmland before emptying the semi-digested contents of her stomach.

“You okay?” Gabe asked, having gotten out of the car to rub consolingly soft circles on her back.

Chloe shook her head; a frantic and jerky movement that only made her need to throw up again. “I don’t want to go back there.”

She chided herself for the scared cracking that took the place of her normal voice. She was not weak. She was not pathetic. She was a survivor, damn it&#33; Except for the fact that she might not have been had she stayed at the Luthor family castle the night before; that she might not be for much longer since instinctually she knew that Lex wasn’t the killer and that meant a homicidal stalker was still out there – in Smallville – and after her.

She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. If this was any other case, she would be stoked to investigate it, regardless of the consequences. So why was this time any different? Why was she letting the fear she usually worked off of get to her? Why did she feel an eerie sense of foreboding that she couldn’t shrug off for some reason?

She didn’t know. And for the first time ever, she acknowledged that she didn’t want to know. She just wanted to flee.

Gabe sighed and hugged his daughter so she was held loosely against his chest. “You really don’t think it was Lex, do you?” he asked.

Chloe was oddly relieved by his question. She’d almost expected statements that would serve to try and placate her rather than take her situation and opinion seriously, but no amount of reassuring but useless comments like: ‘It’ll be okay – you’ll see,’ was going to make her feel any better and she was thankful that her father had the foresight to realize that.

“It’s not his style,” she finally said. Admittedly, she’d given it more thought than she probably should have since he was her friend, but she wanted to know that she wasn’t misplacing her trust. Not again. “Yes, he had issues with his dad, but if he wanted him dead he would have hired someone to make it look like an accident while he was as far away as humanly possible. A three hour drive to Metropolis doesn’t exactly qualify.”

Gabe grinned and patted her back before releasing her from the comforting embrace. “Leave it to you to come up with a more convincing argument than the FBI.”

Chloe let out a derisive half-snort. “Because that’s so hard to do,” she drawled with heavy sarcasm. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in Smallville, it’s that stupidity is contagious and most of the population isn’t immune. I don’t know what Sheriff Adams was thinking, jumping to conclusions like that.”

Gabe frowned and Chloe watched as his entire demeanor stiffened and went back to being completely serious. “They showed me some of the pictures – the ones they said weren’t too graphic, but…they were bad enough, Chloe. And she was the first one on the scene. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”

“So, you’re pleading temporary insanity for you client, Mr. Sullivan?” Chloe quipped with a wry grin. True, joking around may not have been entirely appropriate under the circumstances, but if it took her mind off what had happened and what might happen still, then she’d say it was well worth the slip in decorum.

Her dad apparently thought otherwise.

“I’m saying that Nancy was just trying to help you,” he said.

Chloe drew in a breath to steady her shaky nerves. It wasn’t like her dad not to take any and every opportunity to lighten an atmosphere, which only meant he was just as on edge as she was. One freaked out Sullivan was more than enough; two was practically reason to declare a national state of emergency.

“Chloe, this is serious,” Gabe continued. “If Lex isn’t the killer ---”

“He’s not.”

“If he’s not, then you’re in a lot of danger.”

“I know that,” Chloe snapped. She couldn’t believe that Lex’s innocence was still being questioned – and by her own dad, no less. “And wouldn’t I be in a lot of danger either way? I mean, I’ve met some of Lex’s lawyers and they’re the best that money can buy. There’s no way they’re going to let the FBI keep him in custody much longer. For all we know, they may have gotten him out already.”

Gabe winced at being on the receiving end of one of Chloe’s rants. They didn’t come in his direction often, but he definitely should have known better than to upset her when she was already having trouble dealing with a bad situation.

“I’m sorry. You’re right,” he apologized softly. I didn’t mean to…Look, let’s just get back in the car and go home. The Kents have agreed to let you stay at their place for the next couple of days while the security company is putting a rush on installing the system at the new house.”

“And where will you be staying?” Chloe asked, desperately hoping that her dad calling the sheriff by her first name earlier didn’t imply anything. She had no problem with him dating, but really – eww. He could do way better than Nancy Adams.

“The MacLean’s bed and breakfast,” Gabe said, quietly adding, “Just in case.”

Chloe nodded in understanding. “Maybe I should stay there too. I don’t want the Kents to get hurt.”

“They’re the only other ones who know you’re going to be staying there. We thought it would be better not to let it get out this time since we don’t know who we can trust. After all, anyone at…the crime scene…could have overheard Lex asking to let you stay at his place.”

“Anyone before that too,” Chloe said thoughtfully.

“Pardon?”

“He first brought up the idea in the police station after convincing me to tell them about the letters.”

“Oh?” Gabe asked suspiciously.

Chloe shot a quick glare at him. “It’s not him, Dad.”

“Alright,” Gabe said, though it didn’t sound at all like he meant it. “Assuming it’s not him, who else was around?”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention,” Chloe admitted. “A deputy or two maybe, a couple of people who were there for whatever reason. Honestly, at the time I was too perturbed that Lex dragged me down there to report something I thought was a practical joke to notice who else might have been listening in.”

Gabe sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It had already been a long day and the pain medication he’d taken earlier for his headache was starting to wear off. “Okay,” he said. It wasn’t as if either one of them could go back and change the past, and for some reason, he understood Chloe’s reasoning. He wasn’t sure that he would have been paying that much attention to the people around him at the time either. “Well, if you think of something…”

‘If I think of something, then it’ll probably be too late,’ Chloe thought, wrapping her arms around herself once again. She didn’t bother to voice the concern to her father. It would only make him worry more.

~*~*~*~

She hadn’t imagined that actually arriving at their location could be any worse than the journey there, but as her dad pulled the car to a stop in front of the Kents’ barn, Chloe felt her stomach flip around torturously.

Clark. She was staying with Clark.

Yes, her dad had told her, but the full impact of his words hadn’t hit her at the time, and now that it had, she wasn’t dealing with the news very well.

Clark Kent. The boy who’d repeatedly broken her heart. The boy who, just yesterday, pulled her out of a police car, took her out to the middle of nowhere (she was still processing how he managed to pull that off without a car), and then just left her there.

Left her.

Alone.

When he *knew* that a homicidal stalker was after her.

Asshole.

What was she supposed to say to him? Don’t worry about leaving me out by the lake in my pajamas, Clark. It all worked out, right? I mean, you got to go…do whatever it is you did, and I slept with the guy that the FBI thinks killed your pseudo-girlfriend.

Or to his parents for that matter? Thanks for letting me stay here, sorry that you might die gruesome deaths because of it.

She sighed and brought her fingers up to massage her temples. “I can’t stay here, Dad.”

“It’s already been arranged, sweetheart,” Gabe said sympathetically.

“Then un-arrange it. I can’t stay here. Even if ‘the doctor’ doesn’t show up and kill us all, I don’t think I can handle being around Clark for more than a couple of minutes – and even that’s iffy.”

Gabe took a breath and then slowly released it before speaking. He knew only too well how his daughter was once she got worked up about something and the best he could hope to do was calm her down to the point where she wouldn’t cause more of a threat than the man she was hiding from.

“Chloe, look, I know you and Clark have some…history…but ---”

Before Chloe could interrupt, which he was sure she was planning to, he was cut off by a rapping sound on his daughter’s window. Both he and Chloe turned and Martha gave them a small wave and grin from outside the car.

“Just try to make the most of it, okay?” Gabe continued in a hushed voice. “Hopefully the security system will be finished soon and you won’t have to stay here for long.”

Chloe bit her tongue. She didn’t think Martha would be able to hear her if she whispered her sour reply, but with Smallville having a strange effect on some people (genetically speaking), she wasn’t about to take any chances. Martha Kent didn’t deserve her wrath. If she felt the need to explode, she’d save that for Clark.

She couldn’t muster the same endearment Martha had given her though; she was too tired, too frustrated, and ashamedly too frightened to be able to grin back at the red-haired woman. She pushed the button that unlocked the car doors and then began to open her passenger-side door so slowly that for a second Gabe held his breath as to whether she’d slam it closed again and yell at him to drive away.

She didn’t.

She stepped out of the car and allowed herself to be pulled into Martha’s warm, if not somewhat crushing embrace. “I’m so sorry, sweetie,” Martha said. “But don’t you worry. Nobody knows you’re here, so you’re safe now, okay?”

No. Not okay. Most definitely NOT okay.

But Chloe bit back her thoughts again and offered the woman a meager nod in their place. Mrs. Kent didn’t need to know that she had every inclination of leaving at the first sign of Clark being a jerk. She’d never been a very ‘outdoorsy’ sort of girl, but she knew the area well enough, and if it came down to it, she could always run away and go hide in Lana’s aunt’s old house, which was currently unoccupied.

“I’ve already cleaned up Clark’s room for you, so let’s go get you settled in,” Martha continued.

“Thanks again for this, Martha,” Gabe said.

Chloe glanced over at her dad, who had gotten out of the car and was currently taking her bag out of the trunk. The bag sparked her memory of going into Lex’s Metropolis apartment, but she highly doubted that the experience of walking into the Kents’ household would be the same.

No. The Kents’ house was warm and inviting and she would feel completely out of place there because it provided such a contrast to the emotions she was feeling.

“Hey.”

Chloe snapped out of her thoughts to see Clark standing beside her. He’d taken the bag from her dad and was apparently planning on carrying it inside for her. Added to the fact that she knew he was being forced to take the makeshift bedroom that the barn’s loft provided so she could stay in his room and Chloe felt the tiniest twinge of something akin to guilt.

Lovely. He had to pick now to be a gentleman.

Chloe wanted to hit him.

[scifichick774]

“Fuck&#33;” FBI agent Thomas Murdoch hissed as an antiseptic liquid was applied to the cuts and gashes on his knuckles. “That hurts. Can’t you use something else?”

“It’s not my fault you lost your temper and punched a wall,” the nurse replied in a perfectly calm voice. She’d witnessed the results of Murdoch’s altercations with both living and inanimate objects many times before and therefore, had no sympathy left for the man.

Murdoch shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

“Let me guess. The evidence didn’t line up with the suspect you brought in,” the nurse said dryly.

“I just hate it when…ugh&#33;” Murdoch seethed through gritted teeth. “He shouldn’t be able to get away with brutally killing all those people just because he’s smart and rich. It’s wrong.”

“Maybe he didn’t do it,” the woman suggested, now bandaging up his hand. There wasn’t a lot she could do, because the little band-aid stitches would only hold if the agent calmed down and didn’t keep flexing his hand into a fist, but she was duty bound to do her best.

“He did. I know he did.”

“Here.” The nurse handed him a small Dixie cup full of water and another tiny white cup with a couple of pills in it. “This should help with the pain.”

Murdoch grunted and tipped the pill cup back first, following it with the water to wash the medicine down.

‘Pain killer…sedative – whatever,’ the nurse thought dismissively. Even if the suspect Murdoch was pissed about releasing from custody was guilty, there wasn’t anything they could do without the evidence to back it up, and the agent she was treating was obviously in dire need of some down-time.

~*~*~*~

“So…”

“So,” Chloe parroted her eyes on the comforter of the bed she was sitting on rather than on Clark.

So.

Well, weren’t they just the masters of conversation when they were with each other? No wonder their friendship had faded from heartbreaking to practically nonexistent.

“I’m sorry,” Clark said.

Chloe looked up in surprise. She didn’t think she’d ever heard Clark apologize for anything in all the time she’d known him. Or maybe she’d just misinterpreted his tone and he was trying to empathize with her. She couldn’t tell for sure because he was looking down at the floor rather than at her, but if she were to be realistic about the situation, then she would guess it was the latter.

“I didn’t mean to just take off on you the other day,” Clark continued after an uncomfortable pause.

Wow. So he *was* apologizing. It was a miracle.

“I was just…”

“I know, Clark,” Chloe interrupted. “You don’t have to explain. This hasn’t been easy for anyone.”

Clark nodded and came to sit next to her on the bed, the mattress squishing her closer to him as it dipped down with his weight. Her initial reaction was to try and scoot away when their thighs brushed against each other, but she stamped it down, unsure of where it had come from in the first place.

“I felt really bad when I heard you were going to stay with Lex,” Clark said quietly, nervously folding his hands on his lap.

Chloe blinked. “Why?”

“You know…”

“No. I don’t know. Why would you feel bad about me staying with Lex?”

“You know,” Clark said again, causing Chloe to unconsciously curl one hand into a fist in frustration. If he always resorted to talking like a valley girl from the 1980s when he tried to apologize, then she could see why he didn’t do it very often. “Because I’m the one who’s your friend; I should have been there for you and I wasn’t.”

“Lex is my friend too – sort of – and like I said, this hasn’t been easy for anyone. I understand why you needed some time to yourself.”

It was true in a way; which was why her sentence came out sounding so genuine, she supposed. Even if she didn’t necessarily like or approve of what he’d done, she did understand why he’d done it.

“I guess it’s good that you didn’t stay at his house, huh?”

Chloe swallowed the bubble of nausea that was rising to her throat. So much for Clark being sensitive to what she was feeling. “Yeah.”

“So where did you go?”

“His apartment in Metropolis,” she answered without even thinking about why Clark wanted to know. “He thought his dad might be…involved…in what was going on and the security system in that building wasn’t manufactured by LuthorCorp.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Did he at least take the couch?” Clark asked, twisting a little to shoot a light but uneasy grin down at her.

Chloe grinned back. “No. He slept in his bed.” And so did I. Hmm…better not add *that* part. “The apartment has a guest room.”

“Ah,” Clark said in understanding, the grin on his lips growing until it looked kind of goofy. “Kind of like here.”

“No. This is your room, not a guest room,” Chloe said, the grin still on her lips as well.

“Yes, but I’m not the one staying in here…”

Thank God, Chloe thought.

“…Henceforth, guest room.”

“Did you really just say ‘henceforth’?”

“I’m broadening my vocabulary?” Clark suggested as an excuse.

“Then you should start with some words from this century.”

“Hey now – I’m letting you sleep in my bed,” Clark said, blushing and ducking his head as he saw Chloe’s eyes widen and color start to spread over her cheeks. “And that totally came out wrong.”

Chloe let out a choked half-laugh and nodded. “Yeah it did, but I know what you meant.”

Clark looked up from underneath his lashes at her, the corners of his mouth starting to fall as his initial glance turned into a stare and he began to slowly lean toward her.

Thankfully (at least from Chloe’s perspective), her cell phone chirped from her jacket which was slung over a nearby chair. It gave her a reason to end her awkward moment with Clark, who only narrowed his eyes and glowered suspiciously as she practically leapt off the bed to retrieve the small silver ringing box from one of her jacket’s oversized outer pockets.

“Maybe you shouldn’t answer that,” he said.

“It could be my dad,” she argued.

She hadn’t had a chance to look at the caller ID display panel yet and she wouldn’t know who it was until she did, and she definitely didn’t like the tone of Clark’s voice. The authoritative, ‘I’m always right, so do what I say’ tone. Even if the caller ID window specifically said ‘your stalker’ with his number underneath, she was tempted to answer just because of Clark’s tone. Jackass.

Clark frowned and stood up, moving to look over Chloe’s shoulder to see what the display actually said. He could have just used his x-ray vision, but then Chloe would have asked how he’d known who was on the phone, and it was easier to just show her that he was being protective than to field questions about who and what he was.

“Lex?&#33;” he proclaimed incredulously, ripping the phone out of Chloe’s hand right as she was about to hit the button to answer the call.

“Clark&#33; Give me my phone back&#33;”

Damn him and his freakishly tall frame, she thought, struggling to try and get her phone back, but realizing that she had absolutely no chance if Clark truly wanted to keep it from her. He held it out of her reach and fixed her with a stern, strangely ferocious stare.

“No&#33;” he said. He wondered if she would think it was an average everyday human ability to be able to crush said phone in his hand. Probably not. “Chloe&#33; You know they think he’s the killer&#33; No way am I going to let you ---”

“He’s not the killer&#33; Now just give me my phone back before he…” The ringing stopped and Chloe closed her eyes, allowing her posture to relax in defeat. “…hangs up.”

~*~*~*~

Lex pulled his cell phone away from his ear with a disconcerted look. It was ringing, but there was no answer, and her voice mail didn’t even kick in before the line suddenly went dead. Under any other circumstances, he would have thought that she just forgot to charge her battery, but with everything that had happened recently, he couldn’t make that assumption.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK&#33;

Lex hit his car’s steering wheel and pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal. He’d just have to take the chance of someone trying to pull him over for speeding.

He’d just have to hope that he got there in time.

~*~*~*~

Chloe shook her head dejectedly. “I needed to talk to him.”

“Why?” Clark asked indignantly, tempted to take advantage of the fact that Chloe wasn’t looking at him to drop the now-crushed cellular phone behind his dresser, but ultimately deciding not to.

Chloe sighed. “Because he’s my friend, Clark. Because the FBI was questioning us all morning long. Because I wanted to find out what the hell is going on. Can’t you understand that?”

Clark frowned and had the grace to look abashed for overreacting. “Sorry. I guess I just…I’ve been worried about you since…” He trailed off, unable to meld his jumbled thoughts into one coherent sentence. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, Chloe.”

Not like Lana was.

Okay, so he hadn’t said the last part, but Chloe could see where he was getting his line of thinking. He’d lost his favorite crush and didn’t want to lose the only other female who’d ever shown any kind of more-than-friendly interest in him. At least that’s what Chloe thought; it certainly made the most sense when she considered how he’d always treated her in the past.

She was his back-up girl.

Was being the operative word.

“I’m sorry you’re worried, but you get the same short answer as I gave my dad – I can take care of myself,” she said curtly. “Now,” she paused and held out her hand, palm up, “my phone?”

Clark eyes widened like and a rosy hue spread over his cheeks. “Uh…”

“Clark?”

“I think it…broke,” he said, sheepishly handing the crushed piece of plastic and microchips over to her.

Chloe’s mouth dropped open. “How did…?”

Clark took a step closer to her. “I’ll get you a new one.”

“You can’t afford it, Clark. Don’t worry about it. It’s just one of those things…I guess.”

“I’ll get you a new one,” Clark repeated, but this time his voice came out less apologetically and considerably huskier.

Chloe looked up from the remains of her cell phone to find Clark standing directly in front of her with one hand reaching out to rest on her waist. She furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes in wary suspicion.

How had he broken her phone in the space of a couple of minutes while just holding it? Why wasn’t he going on about Lana’s death or his feelings about it? And why the hell was he looking at her like that? And touching her?

“Clark?”

Clark’s grip on her waist tightened as he felt her try to take a step back. “Kal,” he corrected, bringing his other hand up to lightly caress her cheek with his thumb. “My name…” he stopped and grinned, “…is Kal.”




TBC

[Impress]

:yay: :applause:

I adore you. That was great. both chapters. I had a feeling it was Clark but the Kal twist was a nice touch. I hope Lex makes it in time. I so need the next part soon.

[tiger04]

Lex better make it in time. Nice with the Kal; got us to think it was clark. :worship2: :worship2:

I know that you just posted two wonderful chapters but i hope that you will update more soon.

AT

[asharnanae]

:ohmy: ACKKKKK&#33;&#33; KAL&#33; NOOOOOOOO&#33; get the green rocks quick&#33;

And go lex go&#33;

fantastic chappy&#33; :worship2:

[dreamingincolor]

Oh my god that was so great. I must admit I never pictured Kal coming into the equation. This story just keeps getting better and better :) Write more and fast, PLEASE&#33; :biggrin:

[Clannadlvr]

Gah&#33;&#33;&#33; It&#39;s the red&#33;kryptonian&#33;freak&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

good god, woman&#33;&#33; Tell us what happens next&#33;&#33;

[Gina41283]

lol what i wanna know is how is kal even around unless.... does clark have any of the red kryptonite on him&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;? lol i mean how is this possible?&#33;?&#33;&#33;&#33;?

[hfce]

OH NO&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Lex get there quickly&#33;&#33;&#33; EEK&#33;&#33;&#33; :ohmy:



Hope :ohmy:

[sydsvaughn]

Lex, put that pedal to the metal and get your butt out there to save Chloe&#33;

Very nice touch with the Kal ... very nice&#33;


SaraC

[SinnerSaint]

:yay: I demand an update &#33;&#33;&#33; Now &#33;&#33; Pretty please ? Please ? Okay ...how bout now ? Can I have an update now ? Um....how about now ?

[Béatrice]

Noooooooooo Kal &#33;&#33;&#33; Hurry up Lex&#33; Go rescue Chloe&#33;

[Kit Merlot]

Kris, I think I might love you :biggrin:

Yes, Red Clark aka Kal, is the psycho killer--AWESOME&#33;

Now, all we need is for Chloe to get the hell away from him (preferably by smashing a green rock in his face) and she can be back in Lex&#39;s arms and I will be happy :chlexsign2:

Excellent update&#33;

[crazygirl]

*tackle hugs* TWO updates&#33;&#33;&#33; Thank you so much. Now all Lex has to do is pocket a few green stones and get rid of Kal. Then he and Chloe can work out their relationship and everything will be fine. *nods to herself* Well, what are you waiting for?

[autumngold]

:worship2: You are the absolute queen of the cliffhangers&#33;&#33; :worship2: I can&#39;t wait to find out what is going to happen next&#33;&#33; :yay: Chloe has just got to get away&#33;&#33; :yay2: Please, please, please update soon&#33;&#33; :wub: :chlexsign4: :wub:

[Shay]

That was great. Man oh man, now Lex has to race to save his love. Stupid FBI. Makes me wonder how they will defeat Kal.

More soon

[randa]

oh. my. god, woman.

that was insane&#33;&#33;&#33;

randa

[zelda]

OOOOOOH&#33; I just read this whole thing all at once. I thought it was Clark, then I wondered about Kal, that would be a great Disassociative disorder. When Kal first came out as a separate personality, I thought about what would happen if he loved someone other than Lana. Great idea&#33;

But still, in the beginning, Lex was a little psycho with the stalking too.

[sylvia]

Oh goody. So it was Clark after all. Sort of, anyway. So he&#39;s going to be arrested somehow, or die a horrible death some time very soon, right? Good.

[dreamingincolor]

wow I have to say I like the bad clark, nice work, i dont think that kal came to my mind. How is lex going to save chloe though when he doesnt know about the rocks? Well hope you update soon :)

[crazygirl]

update? please *tries puppy dog look, doesn&#39;t work* oh well. But still, can we get another update soon?

[SinnerSaint]

C&#39;mon , update please &#33;&#33; I wanna see psycho Clark get his ass kicked by Lex and a bunch of pretty green rocks&#33;

[crazygirl]

I know I&#39;m annoying, but can we PLEASE get an update? I&#39;ve been waiting forever, and I&#39;m about to get in touch with my inner Lana. And that&#39;s a big no no. :nono:

[scifichick774]

With a rough tug, Kal pulled Chloe flush against him and then leaned down to nuzzle the side of his face against hers. He could hear the ferocious pounding of her heartbeat from the vein in her neck and he groaned in pleasure, brushing his lips over the shell of her ear.

“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this?” he murmured in little more than a whisper, running a palm over Chloe’s back to keep her from trying to get away from him again. “How long I’ve had to pretend that I was back to being good old Clark?”

His tongue darted out of his mouth and trailed across the crook of her neck, making tiny goosebumps spring up across the surface of Chloe’s skin. It was a defining moment.

Normally, she considered epiphanies to be good things; treasured times when everything fell into place to answer a question she’d been persistently asking for so long. This was not one of those times.

Though the clarity was there and her puzzle had enough pieces put together to make out the image on its face, she felt very far away from the wonderful buzz of accomplishment she usually felt when a moment like this struck her. Instead, she felt sick, dizzied, and nauseous from the answers spinning around in her brain.

It was painfully apparent now that Clark had never come back to them. His segue way into an alternate personality had been permanent rather than temporary and even if there was a small part of her friend’s old self left in there somewhere, it was obvious who was calling the shots.

Kal.

Well, fuck.

Quickly, her mind clamored for what little information she’d retained on him, which wasn’t a lot considering she’d done her best to forget all about her run-ins with him. She remembered that he drank a lot, he liked to dance, he whored around every chance he got, and that he always acted on his temper.

Great. Not like any of that was going to help her get out of this with her head still attached to her body.

She sucked in a breath of air through her teeth as she felt one of his hands crawl up her body, sliding under her shirt to caress her breast through the thin fabric of her bra. His thumb began to rub lazy circles over her nipple and she inwardly cursed her traitorous body’s reaction as the sensitive darkened skin puckered into a tight nub and her breathing began to come faster and shallower.

No.

NO&#33;

She wasn’t going to let him have his way with her. Maybe if it was Clark and they were both back in time before any of the betrayal with Lana ever happened, but not now. She’d just have to go with her last thought and hope he didn’t prolong her agony as he was killing her. She summoned up every bit of strength in her body and pushed at his chest. He barely moved at all, but the action got his attention.

“Kal,” she repeated indignantly, spitting his name off her tongue. “As in the same Kal who was a complete asshole to me last summer? The same Kal who totally ruined my night out clubbing with a friend because you thought I was following you?&#33; That Kal?&#33;”

Her voice steadily increased in volume and in temper and before she knew it, she was no longer putting on an act, but finally ridding herself of all the feelings she’d kept bottled up and to herself for so long now. And if her yelling just happened to draw Clark’s concerned parental units to the room, then who was she to complain?

“Chlo-e…”

Now *that* sounded like Clark, she thought. Whiney petulance combined with a tone that only wounded puppy dogs should be allowed to use. Maybe her friend really was still buried deep somewhere in there. Or maybe Kal had adopted Clark’s more annoying personality traits. Either was a viable possibility and neither really mattered anymore. She was mad at both of them. And if she was going to be killed, then damned if she wasn’t going to go out fighting.

“No,” she said sternly. “No ‘get out of the doghouse free’ card this time. You made my life hell because of what you did. Did you know that? And then you came back here and pretended that everything was back to normal without so much as a, ‘Sorry, Chloe.’”

She was breathing heavily and paused for a second before continuing, but thankfully her lack of air was now due to inner fury than to Kal’s ministrations. “Do you know how many times I had to listen to Lana blubber on about you leaving her? How everyone in town managed to totally blame me for not telling them where you were? How every single guy at the Daily Planet went out of their way to avoid me after you broke Tim’s jaw and dragged me out of the Inferno like a jealous boyfriend, only to start cussing me out for ‘following you’ after we were outside?&#33;”

Louder and louder…were the Kents losing their hearing or something? Where the hell were they?&#33;

“And now…what? You expect me to forgive you and fall into your arms because you killed people as sacrifices to me and sent me really bad poetry? Just how crazy are you?&#33;”

The slap would be coming any second now, she was sure of it. But it would be well worth it after finally getting that rant out. Plus, if he used the same amount of force on her that he used on her friend Tim, then she would wind up flying across the room. If she didn’t break something vital in the attack, then she could make a run for it.

But no slap came. No hit, no punch, no physical action at all besides the feeling of his fingers weaving through her hair to the back of her skull and then a punishing push forward as he once again leaned his mouth down, this time to capture her own.

The kiss was unexpected, but in retrospect, it shouldn’t have been. Drinking, dancing, whoring, punching, robbing, killing…Kal’s personality thrived on the darker lure that violence had to offer. It only stood to reason that be sexually turned on by it as well. And since she’d been rather gruff toward him as of late, it helped to explain his increasing obsession with her.

Okay then. With the new revelation in mind, it was clearly time for a change in strategy. The only problem was, where Clark was bashful almost to the point of being bumbling, Kal was wicked and clever and didn’t bother to hide it; which meant there was a very good chance that he’d see through any of the few shoddy plans she was haphazardly going over in her mind.

“Cl- Kal,” Chloe corrected herself. “I ---”

While she had cursed intrusions of time alone with Clark in the past, her heartbeat tripled in anxious relief when she heard the knock on the door and the slight creak of its hinges as it opened.

“Am I interrupting something?” Jonathan Kent asked with a suspicious look and an arched eyebrow.

Kal bit back a growl, but his displeasure shown through just the same. Not moving from his position where he had Chloe trapped against the wall, he barely twisted his head to look over his shoulder in acknowledgement that his father had spoken. “Did you need something?”

Jonathan folded his arms across his chest, stubbornly holding his ground. “Your mom said to ask Chloe if she’d like to help out in the kitchen.”

Oh, thank you, thank you, *thank you*, Mrs. Kent, Chloe thought.

But the spurt of hope diminished as quickly as it came. She was dealing with a psychotic man with homicidal tendencies. If she pissed him off – really pissed him off, not just aroused him – then there was no telling what he might do. And as much as she liked the idea of getting away from him, she knew it wouldn’t serve the purpose of preserving her or Mr. and Mrs. Kents’ lives if she did so.

She let out a forced half-chuckle. “She’s obviously forgotten about the last time she tried to teach me to cook. I almost torched your kitchen.”

Kal grinned at the memory. It hadn’t been Chloe’s fault at all, since the fire had been started by Clark’s still ill-controlled at the time heat vision. She’d been bending over to get something out of the oven and he had been overwhelmed by heat that had nothing to do with the cooking going on. But perhaps now wasn’t the best moment to mention that, considering it would only give Chloe more reason to leave him.

“I think she thought a little busywork might help keep your mind off recent events,” Jonathan said.

“Oh,” Chloe replied in a hollow voice.

“Why don’t you go ahead, Chloe? Looks like Clark and I need to have a little conversation anyway.”

Kal pushed himself off the wall with his hand and turned around to glare at his adoptive father. Chloe swallowed. The fact that her friend had an alternate personality was frightening in and of itself, but the murderous rage in his eyes was ten times worse. She knew what she needed to do; the only question was whether she was emotionally capable of being unselfish enough at this point to do it or not.

She closed her eyes and tried not to whimper. “We were just talking, Mr. Kent,” she said quietly. “Really.”

At least that’s what she’d been doing. That and thinking about all they ways she could possibly escape virtually unharmed. It was a small list and didn’t offer much hope when looked at in a realistic light, but it kept her from thinking about the very painful death that she’d most likely soon be experiencing.

“I’m sure you were,” Jonathan said.

Liar.

“But I think Martha would be happier seeing for herself that you’re feeling up to helping her. If you don’t mind, of course.”

“No, I…of course not.”

She eased away from the wall, stealing a tentative glance at Kal as she did so. She hoped he realized that there was nothing she could do. Jonathan voiced his suggestion as an order and she was in no position to disobey him – even if following his command meant that she was signing his death warrant.

She slipped past Jonathan and out the door, trying to shield her ears without covering them so she wouldn’t hear the sounds she was sure would come.

~*~*~*~

He was twenty minutes outside of Smallville city limits when he caught a glimpse of Gabe’s car in the parking lot of a Bed and Breakfast off the interstate. He slammed on his brakes and spun around; pulling onto the road that led there at a speed that would have gotten him pulled over if there had been any police patrolling that particular stretch of highway at the time.

It was destiny…fate…*intervention*.

Halfway home he’d realized that he had no idea where to go, no clue as to where Gabe would undoubtedly hide his daughter. And now, here he was – or at least, here his car was. It was a start if nothing else, and Lex needed every lead he could get.

Storming out of his car and up the stairs to the building, the bell that hung above the door almost came off with the heavy force he used to enter the inn. It wasn’t relief that flooded through him at the sight of Gabe conversing with a couple of people he didn’t recognize in the lobby, but pure and unadulterated anger. He had taken her away from him; had believed the lies the local sheriff and the FBI gave him as if they were verified truths and used them as a justification to remove the one thing in life he desired from his grasp.

Admiration was not love.

Love was not obsession.

Lex had no delusions about where his feelings for Chloe Sullivan stood. And no laws could keep him from her.

A few long strides covered the space of the floor to where Gabe was standing, but his fury was consuming and even if he recognized the expression on the other man’s face as surprised fear, he had no mercy left within him.

There was no perfunctory greeting or any stammering response in return. There were only the cold words that slipped past his lips, promising a grizzly end indeed should Gabe not give him a truthful answer.

“Where is she?”

Gabe’s face paled and he unwittingly took a step back, but his lips thinned soon after and he shook his head in a weak, but stubborn motion. “She’s not here.”

Lex’s eyes narrowed and changed color from their normally darker blue to the color of glacial ice in the span of a millisecond. He took another step forward to close the gap that Gabe had left and was seriously considering beating the answer out of him when his cell phone rang.

His glare was still fixed on Chloe’s dad as he reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve his phone, flipping it open to answer it without so much as blinking. Real rage was a very scary thing to witness indeed and Gabe could feel his heart start to pump faster and harder while his body entered into fight or flight mode. Fortunately for him, his slow-to-decide mind was given a reprieve by the person on the other end of Lex’s line.

“Luthor,” Lex snapped into the small piece of plastic and microchips.

“Lex…”

The almost-whisper trailed off and a horrifying scream of agony could be heard coming from somewhere close to the caller, quickly followed by the familiar sound of Martha Kent’s voice asking what on earth was going on.

“Chloe?” he asked, suddenly at attention.

“Lex, it’s Clark,” Chloe continued, her voice hushed and palpably frightened. “You have to…fuck. Please tell me you’re close and have some meteor rocks with you.”

“Where are you?”

“Oh, no. Oh, sh--”

*click*

Lex’s eyes widened. “Chloe? Chloe?&#33; Are you there?&#33;”

She wasn’t and he knew it. He pushed aside his denial, markedly helped by the fact that a dial tone beeped onto the line, and pulled the phone away from his ear.

…Martha Kent’s voice…‘It’s Clark…meteor rocks…’

She was at the farm.

She was at the farm with a man who was just as obsessed as he was if not more.

…meteor rocks…

He still had some refined bars of it that he’d stolen from his father’s experimentation hidden in his car’s trunk, but the Kent farm was still another ten minute drive away even if he ignored the speed limit.

It didn’t matter. He’d get there in time. He had to.




TBC

[kitten]

:yay:

An amazing update, so much so that I don&#39;t even mind the cliffhanger. I know Lex will come through. Sexy, indomitable will and all that.

Thank you, more soon please.

[asharnanae]

:devil: ohhhhhh&#33; now thats an update&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; YAY&#33;&#33;&#33; I LOVE this story. but I have gotta wonder who the scream of agony was from&#33; :worship2:

[tiger04]

Go Lex Go. Thanks for the update. Can&#39;t wait for more

AT

[AlabamaWorley]

Can&#39;t they get tothe trusty rocks in the hall closet? Or don&#39;t they have some, like, in the freezer or the toilet tank? :tongue:

As much as I dig the Chlex and all, I am actually most interested to see what will happen if and when they get Clark back to normal.

[autumngold]

Your update is beyond excellent&#33;&#33; :worship2: Wow&#33;&#33; :worship2: I hope that Lex sticks one of those meteor bars so far up Clark&#39;s butt that it&#39;ll never come out&#33;&#33; I&#39;m so glad that Chloe was able to tell Lex where she is&#33;&#33; Please, please let Lex get there in time&#33;&#33; Can&#39;t wait for more&#33;&#33; Update soon please&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; :yay2: :chlexsign4: :yay2:

[hfce]

Go Lex&#33; Go Lex Go&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Please get there in time.




Hope :chlexsign2:

[zelda]

Gah&#33; Leave me hanging why don&#39;t you&#33;