Okay, so following on from Cy's offer to write fics based on the prompts of others (see Chlex By Request thread) I decided to take up her prompt to momdaegmorgan in the hopes I'd write something worth reading - you decide whether I did or not!
Of Boyfriends Past and Present
This was so not how Chloe thought her day was going to go.
Just like any other normal afternoon, she had plans to spend her time in the Torch office, finalising the latest issue, happy in her own company and the peace and quiet of an office empty but for herself, her trusty computer, and a double-mocha latte. Unfortunately, this guy had other plans.
He was perhaps the last person she expected to see when she walked into the office, certainly the last person she wanted to see sat on her desk, waving a cheery hello and saying ‘surprise!’.
Oh, Chloe was surprised alright. Like she could be anything else having walked into the school newspaper office to find a guy she hadn’t seen since Summer ‘01. A guy that she stupidly thought she liked enough to give up her virginity too in the heat of a jealous moment during her long and ridiculous crush on one Clark Kent.
“Jimmy Olsen?” she could hardly believe he was there and that must’ve showed on his face as the grin slipped from his own lips and he stood up.
“Um, is this not cool?” he checked, “I mean, I knew you’d be surprised but I kinda hoped... well, I thought it’d be the happy kind of suprised”
And there he stood with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, shifting from foot to foot like the awkward little boy he always seemed to be, despite being the same age as Chloe and her fellow Seniors. Sure, he was kinda cute, but seriously, the endearing smile and the whole wacky bow-tie really didn’t appeal in the cold light of two years later!
“Um, I honestly don’t know what to say” she said honestly, dropping her book bag down on the table behind her and staring across at a young man she had never expected to see again, perhaps she’d hoped she wouldn’t ever have to face him like this, “Don’t take this the wrong way but why are you here, Jimmy?” she asked him at which he smiled.
“I don’t know I was just passing by this way, visiting some friends” he explained, “I thought I’d drop by and see the famous Smallville you told me so much about” he told her, coming a little closer, “Plus I can’t deny the idea of seeing you again was kind of exciting...” he said, almost a little too close for comfort by now.
Even sitting down on the edge of the desk and pushing herself back some still left Jimmy in Chloe’s personal space. Oh, why had she let herelf believe she liked him enough to spend so much time with him, to sleep with him for God’s sake? She must’ve been so mad at Clark back then it drove her into genuine madness!
“Jimmy” she said, swallowing hard, “You should know that... that I have a boyfriend now” she rushed out, wondering where the lie had come from and how the hell she was going to continue if he started asking questions.
What Chloe did not know of course was that someone else who was a little better at on the spot tale spinning was waiting in the wings to help her out. Lex was passing nearby the school and the thought had occurred he and Chloe hadn’t talked in a while. They’d gotten pretty close over the Summer at the safe house, become what Lex could only describe as best friends, though those actual words had never been spoken. After too many weeks of barely even seeing each other, he figured he’d swing by so they could catch up, maybe even offer her the chance to come over to the mansion for dinner sometime. The last thing he had expected was to reach the door of the Torch office and hear Chloe talking to some guy named Jimmy.
Immediately he recalled the name, some kid the blonde had met the Summer she had her internship at the Daily Planet. From what she’d said he was a regret that she kept on regretting, though she never fully explained what had happened between them.
Now it seemed the boy wonder was here in Smallville looking to make some kind of move and Chloe was being much less than receptive. The lie that had just spilled from her lips about having a boyfriend made Lex double-take. It couldn’t be true. That kind of thing he would’ve got to hear about, he was certain. In which case she was definitely telling untruths to get away from this Jimmy guy. Of course, Chloe Sullivan was as honest as the day was long, and probably couldn’t maintain such a lie alone. In contrast, lying his ass off was pretty much Lex Luthor’s raisen d’etre.
“Chloe, I knew I’d find you here” he smiled as he strolled into the office, barely glancing Jimmy’s way as the boy backed up a step in surprise.
“Lex...” was all the blonde was permitted to say before she was lifted off the edge of the desk by the man in question as he kissed her long and hard on the lips.
It was not at all what Chloe had been expecting but that didn’t mean she was about to argue as Lex’s lips moved against her own, his hands at her waist feeling as if they were burning through her clothes and setting her on fire. Either that or it was the extremely hot kiss that had her feeling shaky, right now it was very hard to tell. Needless to say she completely forgot Jimmy was even in the room, her eyes having fallen shut and her mind completely wiped by the intensity and surprise of all this.
When Lex eventually let up his hold on her a little and allowed her to breathe, he moved to whisper in her ear.
“I’m your boyfriend, go with it” he told her, before turning to face Jimmy, keeping one arm around Chloe’s waist for which she was grateful since her legs seemed to have given way at some point, “So, who’s this?” asked Lex, looking the younger man up and down with a certain amount of distaste.
“Er, Jimmy, this is Jimmy Olsen” said Chloe still feeling floaty in the head, “You remember me telling you how I met him on my internship, a few Summers back”
“Olsen?” echoed Lex before shaking his head, “Sorry, I don’t recall”
“This is your boyfriend?” asked Jimmy, looking equally unimpressed, “Lex Luthor?” he said in disbelief, knowing of course who the famous man was without having to be told.
“Yeah” said Chloe, smiling too much, “We’ve been together, oh, how long has it been, honey?” she asked Lex, smacking him across the arm, partly to look playful and cute, partly because she hated him just a little bit for helping her potentially make a fool of herself.
“Well, we’ve been friends for a few years now” Lex explained easily, “then one day last Summer, I just looked at her...” he said, glancing away from Jimmy and fixing his eyes on Chloe’s own, “and I realised I couldn’t stand it any longer, being that close to her and not touching her, not telling her how I really feel”
Chloe swallowed hard one more time as she took in what Lex was saying. Sure he was spinning a line to get her out of a jam, but hell if she couldn’t just believe every word he said. It was so tempting just to pretend it was real, let herself be in love with him like she so wished she could be. Instead she had been burying her feelings for too many months until they went away - they hadn’t yet, and this was only gong to make matters worse.
“Wow” said Jimmy, breaking the moment between the faux-couple, “I... I had no idea” he shook his head as Chloe and Lex both glanced his way.
“I’m sorry, Jimmy” she told him, “I had no idea you thought we were, well, that we were going to have a future or a destiny or something” she said, almost feeling bad for the guy, but not quite enough to stop talking, “If I have a destiny, it’s with Lex” she smiled, looking back at her best friend, “Wow, how corny am I right now?” she giggled girlishly, not sure by now how much she was faking and how much was real.
“You can be as corny as you want, sweetheart” Lex told her sweetly, planting a sweet kiss on her lips, “but I should go, I really only swung by to see if you were coming over tonight for dinner” he told her, “And you have company so...”
“No” Jimmy waved a hand in protest as he picked up his bag and turned to go, “Don’t leave on my account. I think me and Chloe are all caught up” he said sadly, moving towards the door.
He turned back at the last to look at the couple just as they faced each other with such a love in their eyes for each other, Jimmy knew this trip had been pointless. What a fool he had been to hold onto a precious memory and think he could build a future relationship out of it, he thought, as he finally walked away, leaving Lex and Chloe alone to reflect on what the hell had just happened.
“Well, I guess I should say thank you” said Chloe, very deliberately turning away from him, “but honestly, that was all a little too weird for words” she shook her head, “You are a scarily convincing liar, Lex Luthor” she laughed lightly, shuffling papers on the desk a moment, before turning back around and finding him right behind her.
“I’m sorry, was I supposed to be lying?” he asked her, just a hint of a smile curving his lips as he watched emotions cross her face, her mind clearly working a mile a minute to decipher his very obvious meaning which he ought to have known she would refuse to believe at first.
“Lex, please” she urged him, “He’s gone now, you can drop the act” she rolled her eyes before she noticed the intensity still present in his own, “Unless... you’re not serious?” she checked, almost unable to believe what he was telling her.
“Chloe, there were a hundred ways I could’ve saved you from Jimmy ‘the Joke’ Olsen” he explained, “I could’ve backed you up on the whole boyfriend thing by inventing one for you; I could’ve run in here and announced a family emergency to get you to leave with me; I was standing right next to a fire alarm for crying out loud!” he added, pointing out into the hallway, “I chose the way that worked for me. For once in my life I told something extremely close to the truth” he admitted, watching Chloe’s face and suddenly feeling very stupid.
Sure she’d responded to his kiss, melted into his arms all too easily, but that was just a gift he had with women. Yes, she’d been grateful for his help in getting rid of her annoying ex, but that was a normal reaction from a friend who had been in need. Could she really love a man like him? Probably not, he decided, when she made no move to tell him so.
With a sigh, Lex turned away from her and moved to go. He barely took one step when her fingers caught his sleeve, encouraging him to turn back around. Before Lex had a chance to process what was happening, her hands were at his head, pulling him down into a deep kiss that he was not about to argue with.
Jimmy Olsen stood outside the building, staring in through the window, torturing himself. He had no idea that he had been the only spectator to this couples first fake kiss and first real kiss, or that both Chloe and Lex were secretly thanking him for showing up today, believing it had been worth the awkward moment, if it brought them together at last.
The End
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Originally Posted by Ultra
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