Title: Lovestruck
Author: scifichick774
Rating: NC-17 – Are you beginning to see a pattern for where I want to see this couple go?
Category: Romance/UST/Supernatural Chloe/Lex.
Spoilers: Anything up through Lineage is fair game, but I can’t think of any specific episodes that it refers to.
Summary: A cupid-like freak of the week has the ability to manipulate people’s romantic feelings and wreaks havoc with the lives of the Smallville crew. -- Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended, please don’t sue.
Feedback: YES!! REVIEW!!
Archival: Go ahead, just let me know where.
Author’s Note: Dedicated to the amazing Fiona, whose story “Under a Bewitching Spell” inspired the idea for this fic. For the purposes of this fic, Clark’s crush on Lana is marginal, completely unrequited, and she only likes him as a friend. Also, I was kind of upset that the show implies that the green kryptonite can affect humans, but they never say anything about the red kryptonite, so this story has the f.o.t.w. being affected by red kryptonite. It has nothing to do with the fact that I liked ‘bad Clark’ better – okay, well maybe a little, but the story goes with the traditional Superman legend that red kryptonite can kind of multi-task as far as screwing up Clark.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“Ah, another day, another disgusting cafeteria meal,” Pete mused. Lana picked some of the unidentifiable substance up on her fork, but quickly dropped it.
“I think it moved,” she said and made a face. Pete smiled and leaned toward her ever so slightly.
“Entirely possible,” Pete said. Clark wasn’t paying much attention to their conversation though. His eyes were fixed on Chloe and the boy she was talking to. She was smiling, and not just one of those fake polite smiles that she gave to most of the people at their school.
“Who’s that Chloe is talking to?” Clark asked. Lana and Pete both turned around to see Chloe talking to a tall and muscular young man who’s back was to them. Pete looked back at Clark and shrugged.
“Dunno,” Pete said. “Kind of hard to tell when you can’t see his face.” Clark smiled.
“Good point,” Clark said. Lana kept staring at the couple. “Lana?” Clark asked. Lana swung her head back around and looked a little flustered.
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I think it’s Chance.” Clark and Pete exchanged a look.
“How can you tell?” Clark asked. Lana blushed and Pete smiled and shook his head. Clark’s mouth dropped open slightly in understanding.
“Oh,” Clark said as a blush rose to his cheeks. “Changing the topic now.” Lana smiled and covered her face with her hands.
“Sorry,” she said. “It’s just…”
“Every chick in school is hot for the guy,” Pete finished for her. Lana gave a mock scowl.
“I’m not,” she argued. Pete grinned.
“Uh huh,” he said sarcastically. “This from the girl who could recognize the guy by his, ahem, backside.” Lana looked mortified and flopped her head down on the table. Pete chuckled and Clark smiled uneasily and shook his head. He looked up again and Chloe was on her way over to their table.
“Hey guys,” Chloe greeted cheerfully and took a seat next to Clark. She quickly took note of the expressions on their faces. “Okay, what’s going on?” Pete’s grin turned into a smile.
“We noticed you were talking to Chance,” he said with glee in his voice. It was the kind of glee that can only be described as a brother finding out something to endlessly tease his sister about. Chloe didn’t notice his excitement and she smiled.
“He’s thinking about joining the Torch. Isn’t that great?” She commented. Lana’s eyes lit up.
“Really?” Lana asked. Chloe laughed at Lana’s expression.
“Down girl,” Chloe joked. “Seriously though, it will be great if he decides to join up. He’s in my English class and he’s a really gifted writer.”
“Easy on the eyes too,” Lana chimed in. Chloe laughed and Pete grinned.
“Yeah, Lana was able to tell it was him you were talking to just by…” Lana covering his mouth with her hand cut off Pete’s words. Chloe raised an eyebrow and Clark looked over at her.
“You don’t want to know,” Clark said. Chloe nodded once.
“Okay,” she said, agreeing to blow off the subject. None of them noticed that they were being watched. Chance was leaning against a wall observing the group with curiosity and a hint of mischief. He had been developing…abilities…lately, and he decided he was going to start putting them to full use. ‘Starting with them,’ he thought.
Later that day, at the Talon, Chloe couldn’t stand it anymore. She had been running over different scenarios in her head about what Pete was going to say at lunch before Lana stopped him, and her investigative nature was getting the better of her. She decided to corner Lana and find out.
“So what was that whole thing with you and Pete earlier?” Chloe asked.
“What do you mean?” Lana answered. Chloe noticed that she avoided looking her in the eye and she grinned.
“I mean the whole teasing each other, banter thing,” Chloe explained, even though it wasn’t necessary. She paused and tilted her head at Lana. “Do you like him?” Lana’s eyes widened at the suspicious tone lining Chloe’s question.
“Of course I like him, he’s Pete, everybody likes him,” Lana rambled. Chloe chuckled.
“Uh huh,” Chloe said. Lana put her stubborn face on.
“Just because you talk to…”
“Banter,” Chloe interrupted. Lana rolled her eyes.
“Banter,” she repeated. “Just because you banter with a guy, it doesn’t mean you like him. You and Lex banter.” Chloe smiled.
“That’s different, and you’re changing the topic,” Chloe pointed out. Lana put her hands on her hips.
“How is that different?” She asked. Chloe shrugged.
“My banter with Lex is founded in our mutual dislike for each other’s positions in life,” Chloe said. “I’m a reporter, he’s a ruthless and immoral billionaire. We’re just always going to be at odds.” Lana looked at her in disbelief.
“I can’t believe you just said that with a straight face,” she said. Chloe smiled and sipped her coffee.
“I’m talented,” Chloe said. Lana chuckled.
“Yeah, well don’t look now, but your banter buddy just walked in,” Lana smiled and gave a little wave to Lex. Chloe groaned. Generally she was fine being in the same room with him, but lately it seemed like he was going out of his way to annoy her. She didn’t know how much more she could take before she just kneed him in the balls and walked away. “Hi Lex,” Lana greeted. Lex took nodded once and smiled at Lana, and then sat down next to Chloe.
“Lana, Chloe,” he said. Chloe grinned and took a drink of her coffee. “So what were you ladies just talking about?” The corners of Lana’s lips curled upward.
“You actually,” she said. Chloe started to choke on her coffee.
“Not true,” Chloe objected. “We were talking about you liking Pete and you changed the topic to Lex.” Lex looked back and forth between the two girls with amusement.
“That must have been an interesting segway,” he commented. “I’d love to hear it.”
“Well,” Lana started. “Chloe said that I liked Pete because we’ve been…bantering.” She gave Chloe a look and Chloe smiled. “And I said that just because you talk that way with a guy doesn’t mean that you like him. Then I gave the example of you and her.” Lex grinned at Chloe.
“So you’re not secretly pining away for me Chloe?” He teased. Chloe started laughing and Lana rolled her eyes.
“Fine, fine, I get it,” Lana said. “Make fun of me, I don’t care.” Chloe smiled and tilted her head at Lex.
“She’s actually giving us permission, I think that might ruin it,” she said. Lex chuckled. Chloe looked back at Lana and missed the gleam in Lex’s eye.
“I think you’re right,” Lex agreed. Lana’s eyes grew wider when she saw someone walk into the Talon.
“Uh oh,” Chloe said. “She’s got that look.” Chloe and Lex both turned around to see who Lana was ogling. “Hey Chance,” Chloe greeted. Lex tried to hide his frown. He didn’t recognize the boy, but he could see that he was good looking and was going to take Chloe’s attention away from him. Chance walked over with a big smile on his face. He held out a computer disk for her. “What’s this?”
“You said you wanted a writing sample,” he answered. Chloe laughed.
“I didn’t mean right away,” she said. “You could have gotten this to me any time.” Chance shrugged. Chloe took the disk and Chance took the opportunity to brush his fingers over hers. Lex’s frown turned into a scowl, but no one was paying attention. Chloe felt a strange tingle move through her when Chance touched her, but she brushed it off as nothing. Lex cleared his throat and Chloe and Chance looked over at him. ‘Wow!’ Chloe thought. She didn’t know why, but Lex seemed incredibly attractive all of a sudden, even more so than usual. She tried to push aside her somewhat newfound urge to jump him where he was. “Sorry,” Chloe mumbled. “Chance Young, this is Lex Luthor.”
The two shook hands and Lex felt the same tingle Chloe had felt. He looked over at her and felt his heart pounding in his chest. Their eyes locked and Lex swiftly moved to pull her into his arms. He leaned down and kissed her passionately. Chance smirked and nodded once at Lana, who stood there gawking at the couple with her mouth open in shock.
“They’re cute together, don’t you think?”
~*~*~*~
Ch. 2
~*~*~*~
“Guys!” Lana shouted in a panicked voice. She ran to the other side of the counter to see if she could break them up. Chloe and Lex ignored her. Lex pushed Chloe up against the counter and began running his fingers up under the base of her shirt. Lana’s eyes grew bigger than they already were. “Stop it!” Chloe and Lex kept kissing as the rest of the Talon’s clientele looked on in amusement. Lana blushed in embarrassment.
“What the hell?!” Pete’s voice snapped Lana out of her stupor and she looked over to see that Clark and Pete had just entered the building. Lana ran over to them.
“Do something,” she pleaded. “One minute they were normal, and the next they,” she motioned to the couple making out, “well, see?” Clark’s eyebrows rose when he noticed where Lex’s hand was. Pete charged over to them and grabbed Lex’s arm, trying to force him away from Chloe.
“Get away from her Luthor,” he said angrily. Lex swatted off his hand like it was nothing. Chloe tore her lips away from Lex’s mouth so she could breathe. “Chloe, what’s going on?” Pete asked. Chloe took in gulps of air and barely registered that someone was talking to her. “Chloe!” Pete repeated loudly. Chloe glanced over at him and furrowed his brow.
“Pete,” she said. “When did you get here?” Lex stood behind Chloe and wrapped his arms around her waist. He brought his mouth down to her neck and gently started to gently nibble at it. Chloe closed her eyes and let out a small moan as she leaned back against him. She brought her hand up around to the back of his head to try and keep him there.
“I love you Chloe,” he murmured against the soft skin of her neck. Chloe turned around, now completely oblivious to anyone else in the room, and kissed Lex again. Her friends looked on in horror.
“Something really weird is going on,” Clark commented. Pete briefly glanced at him.
“Clark Kent, master of the obvious,” he said sarcastically. “The question is: what do we do about it?” Lana was wringing her hands and frowned.
“They weren’t like this before,” she started to ramble. “They were completely normal, just talking, and then all of a sudden they just started to make out. I don’t get it.”
“What were they talking about before they started to…” Clark trailed off and he grimaced as he watched Lex and Chloe clearly doing battle with their tongues. “I mean, maybe something set them off.” Lana tried to remember what they had been talking about and then she started to blush.
“Uh, well, I don’t see how that could be it,” she stammered. Pete shook his head and thought about walking over to try and stop them again.
“Clark, you go, you’re stronger,” Pete mumbled. Clark raised an eyebrow at him and Pete gave him a knowing look and motioned to the couple with his head. “It’s Chloe,” he urged. “There’s no way she’d be doing that with Lex in public, or ‘anywhere’ if she wasn’t under the influence of something.” Pete looked thoughtful. “You think he drugged her?” Clark tilted his head at Pete to indicate that he didn’t believe it was a possibility. Clark was just about to step forward when he heard someone.
“I don’t know,” Chance said as he leaned up against the wall. “I think they’re kind of cute together.” Pete’s head whipped around at Chance’s comment.
“Cute?” Pete asked incredulously. “No way!” He observed Chance’s laid back body language and narrowed his eyes at him. “You had something to do with this,” Pete said in an accusatory voice. Chance crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
“I had something to do with what?” Chance asked in a faux innocent tone. Pete walked over to him and pointed to Chloe and Lex.
“What did you do and how did you do it?” Pete asked. Chance just smiled. Clark noted that he looked awfully smug for someone who was claiming he didn’t have anything to do with the situation. He wondered if Chance could be material for Chloe’s ‘wall of weird’.
“They seem to be doing things pretty well on their own,” Chance observed and tilted his head at the couple. “Is it legal to do that in public?” Pete, Clark, and Lana’s attention went back to Chloe and Lex. Lex was hiking up Chloe’s skirt with his hand and she was undoing his belt. Clark paled and Pete looked at him pleadingly. Clark nodded and walked over to Chloe and Lex. He pulled Lex away from Chloe with barely a tug. The couple breathed heavily and looked at each other through lust-laden eyes. Clark kept a firm grip on Lex’s arm to keep him from going back to kissing Chloe.
“Maybe you guys need a breather,” Clark said carefully. Lex turned his head to look at him. Clark winced when he saw the menacing look Lex was giving him and released his hold on his arm. Clark barely managed to put on a fake grin. “I mean, it’s time for Chloe to go home now anyway.” Clark looked at Chloe. “Your dad’s going to be worried.” Chloe stared at Clark with a blank expression and absently ran her fingers along Lex’s arm.
“He’s right,” she whimpered in a defeated tone. Lex pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. “Can you give me a ride home?” Lex grinned and nuzzled his face into her hair.
“Of course,” he answered. Clark frowned.
“I’ll give you a ride home Chlo,” Clark said. Lex shot him a warning glare, which he tried to ignore. “I live closer to her,” Clark explained. “You’d be going out of your way if you took her home.” Lex squared his jaw, but quickly let go of his defensive posture with Chloe’s next statement.
“But I don’t want you to take me home,” she said to Clark. “I want Lex to take me home.” Pete raised his eyebrows and turned to Lana.
“Chloe’s turning down a ride from Clark?” He asked in disbelief and promptly shook his head. Then he looked back over at Chance, who still seemed to be enjoying the entire scene in front of him. Pete glared at him. “I don’t know how you did it, but you need to fix it. Now!” Chance smirked.
“You need calm down Ross,” Chance said. “Take some anger management classes or something.” Pete continued to glare at him Lana noticed him clenching his hands into fists.
‘Great,’ she thought sarcastically. ‘First Chloe and Lex go off the deep end and now a fist fight.’ Chance pushed himself away from the wall. He placed his hands on Pete and Lana’s bare arms.
“They’re in love, let it go.” His brief, yet intended, contact with their arms sent the same strange tingle through them that Chloe and Lex had felt. Pete and Lana looked at each other and quickly began kissing. Chance smiled and took the opportunity to walk out the front door.
In the mean time, Clark had been trying to convince Chloe and Lex that they weren’t really in love and that whatever it was that was affecting them would wear off soon. He was unsuccessful. Clark sighed.
“I could use some help here guys,” Clark said over his shoulder. He turned around to face Pete and Lana. His eyes, almost cartoon-like, practically popped out of his head. “Guys?” ‘This isn’t happening,’ he thought as he watched Lana and Pete kiss. He felt his heart constricting and he tried to shake off the feeling of hopelessness that had suddenly overwhelmed him. He was stuck between Chloe and Lex, and his best friend with the girl he had a crush on. He cringed. Clark thought back to what Pete said earlier. He had been blaming Chance. Clark quickly looked around, but saw no sign of him. ‘I have to find him,’ Clark thought.
He looked at the two couples and ran a hand through his hair in hesitation. Clark didn’t want to just leave them there like that, but he figured that he wasn’t really doing any good being there anyway. He sped out of the Talon and went to search for Chance. It didn’t take long, even if he hadn’t been using his super speed. Clark spotted Chance’s car at a stoplight and ran over to it. He knocked on the driver’s side window and Chance glanced over at him in surprise. Clark motioned for him to pull over after the stoplight turned and Chance nodded in acquiescence. Clark walked over to the sidewalk and waited for Chance. Chance pulled over where Clark was standing and got out of the car.
“Kent right?” Chance asked. Clark nodded. “What’s up?” Clark took a deep breath and tried to think of how to phrase what he needed to say.
“I’m not sure where to start,” Clark admitted. Chance raised an eyebrow. “Did you have anything to do with Chloe and Lex and, ya know?” A sly grin spread across Chance’s lips.
“Are all of you paranoid? Or is it just you and Ross?” Chance quipped. Clark tilted his head at him and Chance shrugged. “What if I did? It’s not like there’s anything you can do about it. And besides, I didn’t hear them complaining.” A smirk rivaling one of Lex’s showed up on Chance’s face.
“You have to return them to normal,” Clark said in an authoritative voice that he hadn’t realized he possessed. “It’s the right thing to do.” Chance laughed.
“I don’t about that,” Chance said. “They seemed pretty happy. And who am I to get in the way of ‘true love’?” Clark didn’t laugh and the smile on Chance’s face slipped to a mere grin. “I don’t know if I can make it like it was or not,” he admitted. “Can’t say that I’ve ever tried.” Clark stared at him in disbelief.
“Well you’re going back there to try,” Clark ordered. His feelings had passed the point of embarrassment and despair, and were now based in complete anger. How could Chance have just screwed around with his friends’ lives like that? Not to mention the fact that the image of Lana and Pete kissing was a little more than he could rationally handle. Chance raised his eyebrows at Clark’s tone.
“Maybe later,” Chance said. “I have to go home right now.” He turned around to head back to his car and Clark grabbed his arm to stop him. The small amount of skin contact between Clark’s hand and Chance’s t-shirt clad arm was enough for Chance to use his newfound gift. Clark pulled his hand away like he had been stung and looked at it as the veins popped up red. He tried to hide it from Chance, but Chance seemed fascinated by Clark’s reaction. “Huh,” Chance said. “Never had that happen before.”
~*~*~*~
Ch. 3
~*~*~*~
“What’s up with you Kent?” Chance asked. He was suspicious at Clark’s reaction to his abilities. Clark looked up from his hand at him with a strange expression on his face.
“Nothing,” Clark said in a completely laid back manner. Chance creased his brow. Clark had gone from ‘about ready to kill him’ to ‘not a care in the world’ in a matter of seconds. He thought his abilities only extended to tampering with the romantic feelings of others. In fact, he had been trying to get Clark to act on the feelings he thought he had for Lana, because he knew it would get him off his case and back to the Talon right away.
“Nothing?” Chance repeated. Clark smiled dumbly and patted Chance on the back. Chance stumbled forward slightly at the impact and stared at Clark.
“I feel great,” Clark said. Chance watched Clark look around at the trees, flowers, buildings, and sky.
“Great,” Chance reiterated. He raised an eyebrow in surprise and amusement. To a casual observer, it would appear that Clark was on some mood-altering drug.
“Yeah,” Clark answered. “I think I’m gonna go for a walk,” Clark mused. A smile crept across Chance’s lips and he chuckled.
“Okay buddy,” Chance said. “Have a good day.” Clark smiled, but he was already wandering off and didn’t look back at Chance.
“You too,” Clark said and waved his hand in the air to the boy behind him. Chance shook his head.
‘Well, at least he won’t turn me in,’ he thought. ‘But there is definitely something going on with him.’
Meanwhile, back at the Talon, the other customers had gathered around to gawk at Chloe and Lex, and Lana and Pete. There were giggles, whistles, murmurs, and one uncouth boy from their school even loudly suggested that Pete should start undressing Lana right then and there. Lana finally got sick of it and pulled away from Pete, only to have him give her a heartbroken expression.
“That’s it!” Lana yelled. “Everybody out! We’re closing early!” She shooed the people out and turned around to see that Chloe and Lex were still there, completely unaware that anyone else had even been in the room. She put two fingers to her mouth and whistled. No response.
Lex lifted Chloe up and she wrapped her legs around him, hiking her skirt to the point where it may as well have not even been there. Their tongues dueled and Lex walked her back to a back room. He kicked the door closed. Lana was about to say something, but the feeling of Pete’s fingertips suddenly caressing her stomach under her shirt made her stop. She took in a sharp breath. Pete started sucking on her earlobe and her eyes closed.
“They took our spot,” she whined in a somewhat breathless voice. Pete grinned as he blew in her ear.
“We’ll find a different spot,” he murmured. He ran his hand up further and skimmed his palm along her breast. Lana felt like she was melting and she nodded. “Lock the door.” Lana did as he instructed and closed the blinds too, all the while having Pete follow her around like he was glued to her body.
Chloe and Lex seemed to be having no qualms about being so close to each other either. She was still on him, her legs around his waist, as he pushed her against a wall. She reached down and unzipped his pants. At the same time, Lex slid his hand up her thigh and tore her underwear off with little effort. Chloe made a mental note to ask him how he did that later. Lex nipped along her jaw and Chloe rested her head against the wall, reveling in the pleasure he was causing, and she mused that he wasn’t even inside her yet. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a warm, husky voice against her ear.
“Tell me you love me,” he half whispered. Chloe could feel his erection against her inner thigh and her eyes fluttered closed.
“I love you,” she said. Lex brought his mouth to hers and brushed their lips together. Chloe responded and ran her tongue along his bottom lip, at the same time raising her hips slightly to allow him entrance. She slowly lowered herself onto him. She winced at the pain, but the sensation quickly turned to pleasure and she let out a small moan. She gripped her hands onto his shoulders and allowed him to develop the rhythm.
“So tight,” Lex murmured against her hair. They began to kiss again and Chloe started to move with him. Soon he felt her body quivering around him. She screamed his name and he thrust into her once more before he reached his own climax. Lex carefully lowered her to the floor. Her legs felt so shaky that she clung to him for balance. “Are you alright?” He asked in a concerned voice. Chloe grinned and nodded.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. She frowned when she felt a sticky ooze running down her thighs. She looked down and saw blood. “Crap,” she muttered under her breath.
“What’s wrong?” Lex asked. Chloe blushed and searched for her underwear, intentionally avoiding eye contact with him.
“Nothing,” she lied. Chloe cursed under her breath when she found the ripped pair of panties. Lex frowned and noticed the blood. His eyes grew wide and he took her by surprise by wrapping his arms around her.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” he said. Chloe sighed.
“It’s not your fault.”
“You should have told me, we could have gone to my house, I could have made it special,” he rambled apologetically. Chloe smiled softly and moved her arms around him as she rested her head on his chest.
“It was special,” she replied. Lex kissed her forehead. They turned their heads when they heard a rapping on the door. Chloe and Lex pulled apart, as if waking up from a daze. Lana opened the door and glared at them angrily.
“Out!” She ordered. Lex looked at her questioningly and she put her hands on her hips. “I’m sure you two can find room to do stuff somewhere in your ‘castle’,” Lana said. Pete stood behind her with a determined look on his face. Lex surmised that Lana and Pete hadn’t been as lucky in securing a spot for their activities. Lex grinned and looked down at Chloe. Chloe nodded and patted his chest with her hand as she pushed away from him.
“Sounds good,” Chloe agreed. “Bye guys.” Lex followed Chloe out the door and heard it slam behind them. Lex wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled his face against her neck.
“My house?” He asked. She closed her eyes and sighed. There was nothing more she would love than to just stay in his arms, but for some reason a nagging thought crept up on her.
“My dad is expecting me to come home,” she responded sadly. Her eyes flew open and her breathing turned ragged when Lex licked along a vein in her neck.
“You could call him, tell him you got tied up,” he suggested. Chloe grinned.
“I don’t know, I’ve always pictured myself more as the dominatrix,” she replied. Lex arched an eyebrow. That hadn’t been what he meant, but that image flitted through his mind and he found himself only wanting her more. He groaned and pulled her backside against him. Lex found a spot on her neck and fastened his lips on it. He started to suck on the sensitive skin and Chloe bit her lip. She pushed his head against her and he took the hint to suck harder. Chloe let out a small moan and he let go, trying to catch his breath.
“You can call your dad on the way to my house, just tell him something came up,” Lex murmured. Chloe nodded, and smiled to herself at what probably wasn’t intended as a double entendre. They reached his car and Lex opened the door for her. She frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“You don’t think Clark would tell my dad do you?” She asked. Lex raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t want your dad to know about us?” He asked in a hurt voice. Chloe gave him a compensatory smile and shook her head.
“No, I want him to know,” she argued. “I just thought that we should be the ones to tell him.” Chloe slipped into the passenger’s seat and Lex closed the door. He climbed in the driver’s side and looked over at her.
“I understand,” he said as he started the car. “We’ll go to your house first.”
~*~*~*~
Ch. 4
~*~*~*~
“Stop overreacting,” Chloe said and kissed Lex on the cheek. The entire drive to her house he had been talking about how her father would disapprove and probably try to kill him for dating his daughter. They were now standing on the doorstep and Chloe had grown tired of having the same conversation for the last fifteen minutes. “He likes you, and it’s not like you don’t know him already. You see him almost every day at work.” Lex straightened his tie and gave her an exasperated look.
“It’s hardly the same thing,” he tried to explain to her yet again. The corners of her lips curled upward into a quirky grin.
“I guess you’re right,” she said with a mock sigh. “Maybe it would just be better if we didn’t see each other anymore. Lex narrowed his eyes at her and quickly wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her to him.
“That’s not funny,” he said. Chloe burst out laughing and he silenced her with a kiss. She smiled when she pulled away.
“Feeling better?” She asked. Lex grinned.
“A little,” he admitted. Chloe smiled.
“Good,” she said and kissed him again. “Because we’re just telling him that we’re seeing each other.” Lex wondered how she managed to pull off such a non-chalant tone of voice. “It’s not like you’re asking him for my hand in marriage or anything.” He smirked and placed his hands on the door on either side of her, effectively trapping her where she stood.
Chloe moved her hands up his chest and around his neck as he pushed her back up against the door. One of his hands slid to the side of her to keep his balance and he inadvertently pushed the doorbell, but in their lust, neither of them noticed. Lex was just sliding his tongue into her mouth when the door swung open and they fell forward. Gabe Sullivan stood over them with a confused expression on his face. He crossed his arms and creased his brow at Lex.
“I have a feeling that I’m going to regret asking this, but why are you on top of my daughter?” Gabe asked. Lex quickly pushed himself off of Chloe and offered her a hand up. She smiled nervously at her dad.
“You opened the door too fast,” she offered as an explanation. Unfortunately for her, it came out as more of a question than a statement. Gabe raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a stern look. Lex cleared his throat and placed a hand on the small of her back as non-verbal support.
“We came over here with the intention of—“
“I don’t want to know what your intentions were Mr. Luthor,” Gabe said in a serious voice. Chloe frowned at him and gripped Lex’s arm with her hands.
“Dad!” She protested. Chloe took a deep breath to steady herself. “We love each other.” Gabe’s eyes grew wide and angry.
“You’re joking right?” Gabe asked. “Please tell me you’re joking,” he pleaded. Lex gave the man a compensatory grin.
“I know this must come as a surprise to you,” Lex started. “But I’ll take care of her.” Gabe closed his eyes for a moment to try and settle himself.
“I think you should leave Mr. Luthor,” Gabe said in his calmest voice possible. “I don’t want to say something that I might regret later, but I’m having a difficult time seeing the two of you – touching,” he said the last part uncomfortably. Both Chloe and Lex frowned and turned to face each other. Chloe’s eyes began to well up with tears and Lex leaned down to kiss her. They ignored Gabe clearing his throat.
“Come with me,” Lex half whispered. Chloe gave him a quick peck on the lips and shook her head.
“I can’t,” she replied. He wiped a tear off her cheek with his thumb.
“He just doesn’t want to see us together, we can be at my house and he wouldn’t see us at all,” Lex insisted. Chloe grinned and kissed him again. Gabe watched the whole display with incredible uneasiness. He chuckled nervously, and it came out louder than he intended.
“Okay, I get it,” Gabe said. “This is like some big practical joke. Ha ha,” he said dryly. “You got me. You can stop it now.” Chloe and Lex kept their gazes intent on each other and Gabe looked like he was going to be ill. He walked over and pulled Chloe away from Lex. “Just leave,” he told Lex without looking him in the eye.
~*~*~*~*~
Clark strolled in through the back door of his house, greeted by the smell of his mother baking pies. He smiled broadly at her and came over to envelop her in a large hug. She looked up at him with confusion.
“Clark,” she started as she pulled away from him. “Are you okay? Your father and I have been worried about you. You were supposed to be home for chores over an hour ago.” Clark kept the dopy grin on his face and just shrugged as he went to sit down.
“I guess I forgot,” he offered with no real remorse. Martha Kent arched an eyebrow at him.
“You forgot,” she repeated. He smiled and nodded.
“The sun is shining and I felt like a walk,” he explained in a happy voice. Martha creased her brow in concern. She walked over to him and placed the back of her hand against his forehead to check for a temperature. He had never been sick a day in his life, but there could always be a first time.
‘His temp seems normal,’ she thought to herself. ‘Maybe he’s on something, or he’s being influenced by more meteor rocks.’ She grinned gently and carefully at him. “Son, you haven’t had any more exposure to class rings or anything like that, right?” Jonathan walked in as she was asking the question and he furrowed his brow at her.
“What’s going on?” He asked. Martha pulled him aside and spoke in a whispered voice.
“He’s acting really weird,” she said. “He came home late for chores and said it was because he wanted to go for a walk in the sunshine.” Jonathan arched an eyebrow and cast a glance over at his son. Clark was following some dust particles in the sunlight with his eyes, and he seemed to be highly amused by it. Both of Jonathan’s eyebrows raised and he looked back at his wife.
“So what are we thinking here?” He asked in the same hushed voice that they were speaking in before. “Meteor rocks?” Martha shrugged.
“That’s my best guess, but I’ve never seen them affect him this way before. He almost seems like he’s high on something,” she answered. Jonathan frowned and looked at Clark again. He walked over to him and had to wave a hand in front of his face to get his attention.
“Hi Clark,” Jonathan said uneasily. “How are you feeling?” Clark smiled and patted his dad on the arm as he rose from his seat. Jonathan flinched and rubbed the now sore spot that Clark unknowingly created.
“I’m feeling great Dad,” Clark answered honestly. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt better.” Jonathan nodded apprehensively.
“I see,” he said. “And what’s the cause for this,” Jonathan paused as he searched for the right term, “onset of happiness?” He slightly winced as the words came out of his mouth, but decided to ignore it. He wasn’t sure he could phrase it any better if he was given more time. What was he supposed to say? ‘Why are you acting all doped up?’ Clark walked over to the counter where the pies were laid out and opened a drawer to find a fork. When he found one, he held it up like it was a huge accomplishment.
“I don’t know,” Clark admitted. “One minute I was really upset about Chloe and Lana, and the next minute, it was like nothing was wrong in the universe.” Martha and Jonathan shared a look.
“What about Chloe and Lana?” Martha asked hesitantly. Clark shrugged and started digging into a hot pie with the fork he found moments earlier. Martha narrowed her eyes at him, but said nothing.
“Chloe and Lex,” Clark started to answer, but stopped so he could shovel some pie into his mouth. “They’re dating,” he finished, food still in his mouth. “And Lana was upset about it because they were making out in the Talon.” He took another bite and missed the surprised and almost horrified expressions on his parents’ faces.
“Chloe and Lex,” his mother repeated.
“They’re dating?” Jonathan finished. Clark nodded and strolled over to the refrigerator in search of some milk.
“And you’re okay with this?” Martha asked for clarification. Clark smiled.
“They seem happy,” he said. Jonathan ran a hand over the back of his neck.
“But Lana’s not happy about it?” He asked. ‘Thank God at least one of them still has a brain,’ he thought. Clark took another bite of pie and shrugged.
“I don’t think she’s thinking about it anymore,” Clark said.
“Why’s that?” Jonathan prodded. Clark shrugged again and gulped down his entire glass of milk. Martha frowned and crossed her arms at his behavior.
“Pete took her mind off it,” Clark answered non-chalantly. Martha’s eyes widened.
“Pete’s okay with Chloe and Lex seeing each other?” She asked with no small amount of surprise.
“He is now,” Clark answered. “He and Lana are going out now too.” Martha and Jonathan looked at each other. Martha tilted her head toward her husband.
“Maybe he’s just in shock,” she said in a hushed voice.
“Maybe,” Jonathan agreed, but he didn’t look convinced. He turned his attention back to Clark. “So what made you okay with all this?” Clark smiled and set the empty pie tin down on the counter.
“I had a talk with Chance,” he responded.
“Chance,” his mother repeated. “Like luck, fate?” Clark started laughing.
“No,” he said and shook his head. “Chance is a kid in our class.”
“Oh,” Martha replied. “And what did he say?”
“Well, at first I was really mad at him because I thought he had something to do with Chloe and Lana acting weird,” Clark said and then began to laugh. “And then he said that he didn’t know if he could fix it.” Clark frowned ever so slightly. “I grabbed his arm, I hope I didn’t hurt him,” he said in a manner indicating that he was clearly sidetracked from his original line of thinking. Jonathan cleared his throat and Clark looked over at him.
“And then?” Jonathan asked, giving him a look that said to continue. Clark thought for a moment and then smiled.
“Oh yeah,” Clark mused. “When I grabbed his arm, the veins in my hand looked really weird for a minute, but now I feel great.” Jonathan frowned and gave him a stern look as he crossed his arms.
“I see,” Jonathan said. He was about to suggest that they hunt down Clark’s classmate when the phone rang. Martha walked by Clark to answer it.
“Hello?” She greeted in a less than cheerful voice.
“Martha, it’s Gabe,” Gabe Sullivan said on the other end of the line. Martha ran a hand through her hair and sighed.
“I think I know why you called,” she said.
“I doubt that,” Gabe replied.
“Chloe and Lex are dating,” she said. Gabe paled.
“You knew?” He asked accusingly. Martha shook her head.
“Clark just told us,” she responded. “And he’s acting really strange too, as well as Pete and Lana.” Gabe raised his eyebrows.
“Oh,” he said.
“But we think we know who might be responsible,” Martha said quickly. “So don’t do anything rash.”
~*~*~*~
Ch. 5
~*~*~*~
Gabe listened to Martha explain her theory over the phone. It sounded ridiculous, but with everything that Chloe had run into in Smallville, he wasn’t going to rule anything out.
“So what’s the plan then?” Gabe asked. “We find this kid and make him fix everything?”
“Well, pretty much,” Martha said with a frown. “I guess I hadn’t thought it out that far. But he shouldn’t be too hard to find. We can get his address from the school if it’s not listed in the phone book.” She heard Gabe sigh.
“Alright,” he agreed. Martha paused for a minute in thoughtfulness.
“We should probably have someone look after the kids, you know, to make sure they don’t do anything,” Martha said hesitantly. Gabe grumbled.
“It’ll have to be one of you then,” he said. “I got my fill of watching Chloe and Mr. Luthor moon all over each other for a lifetime.” Martha bit her lip to keep from chuckling.
“I’ll do it,” she said. “I have a feeling that Chance will be more intimidated if you and Jonathan show up at his door.”
“Especially if Jonathan has his shotgun with him,” Gabe said with a smile. Martha laughed.
“Yeah,” she said in agreement. “Not that I encourage that sort of thing on a regular basis,” she quickly added.
“Special circumstances,” Gabe said.
“Exactly. Now we just have to round up the kids into one spot,” Martha said. “Is Lex still at your house?”
“No,” Gabe replied. “I couldn’t – I just couldn’t watch that.”
“It’s okay, I understand. How about we get them together at The Talon? It’s a nice neutral spot. Do you think you can get Lex there?” Martha asked. Gabe rolled his eyes.
“Sure,” he said. “All I have to do is tell him that my daughter will be there.”
“Okay, we’ll bring Clark and try and find Lana and Pete,” Martha said. After a moment she added, “Don’t worry, everything is going to be back to normal soon.” Gabe and Martha said their goodbyes and ended the call. Gabe stared at the stairs and sighed before calling out for Chloe.
“Chloe!” Gabe yelled. No response. ‘She must still be mad at me,’ he thought. He started to climb the stairs. “Chloe,” he called out again. “Sweetheart, Mrs. Kent has an idea as to why you and Lex are acting this way.” Still no response. Gabe frowned. He thought he would get a reaction out of her for saying that. He reached her door and gently rapped on it. “Chloe, you need to come out now.” Gabe paused. “You can see Lex,” he said, and hoped that she didn’t hear the wince that came through in his voice.
He furrowed his brow. “Chloe?”
Gabe knocked on the door again, but no one answered. He tested the doorknob and it wasn’t locked. Gabe opened the door slowly to look for his daughter. He half expected her to be crying into her pillow with the theatrics she had put on about losing Lex earlier, but she wasn’t there. Chloe wasn’t anywhere in her room. Gabe cursed when he saw that the window was partially open, but at least he had a good idea of where she went. He went over to the phone in her room to call a number that he knew only too well. He listened to it ring four times before the voice mail picked it up.
“Please leave your numerical message at the tone,” the voice taunted. Gabe clenched his free hand into a fist and then released it. What made him think that Lex would be answering the phone when he had his daughter with him? He shook his head a little and punched in his cell phone number. Gabe wasn’t about to sit around the house and wait for a phone call that might never come. His next action was to call the Kents back.
“Hello,” Jonathan’s voice greeted in a gruff voice.
“She’s gone,” Gabe said. Jonathan frowned as he looked at his wife.
“Chloe?” Jonathan asked to verify. Gabe sighed.
“Yeah,” he confirmed.
“You think she’s with Luthor?” Jonathan asked in a menacing tone. Gabe let one corner of his mouth turn upward.
“Yes,” he said. The anger lining his voice wasn’t lost on Jonathan.
“It’s bad isn’t it?” He asked. Gabe rubbed his temple.
“Very bad,” Gabe confirmed. Jonathan pursed his lips and gave a curt nod.
“Right,” Jonathan said. “Well then, influence or no influence, I say we kill him.” Gabe could hear Martha protesting in the background and he grinned.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Gabe said.
“Do you know where they went?” Jonathan asked.
“I’m guessing his house,” Gabe said with a scoff that was mimicked by Jonathan’s own at the absurdity of calling Lex’s dwelling a house. “He’s not answering his cell phone. I left a message, but he hasn’t called me back.”
“Of course not,” Jonathan added.
“I was just about to go over there now,” Gabe said. Jonathan frowned and breathed deeply.
“I doubt that would do much good Gabe,” he said. “He’s got a lot of security around that place, and if he’s half as attached to Chloe as you and Clark say he is, I don’t think they’ll be letting you in to break their boss and his girlfriend up.”
“What do you suggest I do then?” Gabe asked and ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” He paused for a moment as a look of displeasure crossed his face. “God Jonathan, what if he’s, what if they’re, ya know?” Jonathan’s eyebrows shot up.
“You don’t think she would do you?” Jonathan asked. “I mean, even under this Chance kid’s influence, she’s got to still have some part of her brain in there.” He cringed as he watched Clark on the lawn. He was spinning around in circles with his arms out and then falling to the ground laughing giddily. ‘I’d better not tell him about that,’ Jonathan thought to himself. “I think the best thing we can do right now is find the boy responsible for all this. We’ll just take him around until he fixes everybody.”
“Good idea,” Gabe said. “Where do you want to meet?”
“Hold on a sec,” Jonathan said and motioned for Martha to give him the slip of paper she had written Chance’s address on. He gave him the address and told him he was on his way. Both of them hoped they could get to him in time. Gabe rushed to his car and began to drive toward Chance’s house. His cell phone started to ring and he picked it up.
“Sullivan,” he answered rapidly. It was such a habit to answer by his last name since most of the calls he received on his cell phone were about work.
“You called,” Lex responded. Gabe clenched his jaw to keep from yelling at Lex.
“Do you have my daughter?” Gabe asked in a calm of voice as he could muster. Lex glanced over at Chloe, who was now sitting comfortably on the couch next to him. She grinned and leaned her head against his shoulder. Lex wrapped his arm around her and kissed her hair.
“Please don’t be angry Gabe,” Lex said. “I have the utmost respect for you, but I love her. I couldn’t just leave her there.” Gabe grimaced.
“I see,” he managed to say. “What you’re feeling isn’t real,” Gabe said, getting directly to the point. “You should know that you’re both under someone else’s influence.” Gabe could practically hear Lex smirking over the phone.
“Do you know who this someone is? I’ll have to remember to thank them,” Lex said. Chloe gave him a kiss on the cheek and he turned his lips to meet hers. They peppered each other’s mouths with soft kisses before the longing became too much and Gabe could hear Lex starting to breath heavier.
“Lex?” Gabe questioned in a warning voice. Lex’s eyes grew wide as Chloe began to take off her shirt.
“I have to go now,” he said quickly.
“Lex, wait! I don’t suppose we could talk about this on neutral ground?” Gabe asked. “The Talon maybe?”
“I think that can be arranged,” Lex replied. “We can be there in a couple of hours.” He smiled at Chloe and started to take off his own shirt.
“One hour,” Gabe countered. Lex gave a curt nod, even though Gabe couldn’t see it.
“We’ll meet you there,” Lex said and clicked off his phone. He looked over at Chloe. “Your father wants to meet us at The Talon.” Chloe’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Something about neutral ground,” Lex said with a smirk. Chloe smiled brightly at him.
“Well,” she said and then slightly paused as she slid the rest of his shirt off of his arms, “what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Lex’s smirk turned into a smile. He leaned over and kissed her passionately.
“My thoughts exactly,” Lex said.
~*~*~*~*~
When Gabe arrived at Chance’s house, Jonathan was already waiting. They nodded to each other and made their way up to the front door. Jonathan rang the bell.
“I don’t suppose you brought your gun?” Gabe asked with a grin. Jonathan grinned back and crossed his arms.
“In the truck,” he replied. The door opened and Chance briefly looked at the two men before leaning against the door frame.
“Ah, the cavalry has arrived,” Chance said with a smile. Jonathan glared at him.
“I don’t know what you did to our kids, but you’re going to fix it young man,” he said sternly. Chance raised an eyebrow at his tone.
“Please?” He responded sarcastically. The two men kept their mean stares fixed on him and he rolled his eyes. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Try,” Gabe said. Chance smiled at him.
“Maybe you should give it a few days, see if it wears off,” he suggested. Chance wasn’t expecting what came next. Jonathan reached out and grabbed his shirt, causing him to trip and fall onto the sidewalk. “Ouch,” Chance said, standing up and rubbing his arm. “That wasn’t necessary.”
“Now!” Jonathan said angrily. Chance scowled at them.
“Fine,” he agreed.
“Good,” Jonathan said. “Get in the truck.”
“I have a car,” Chance protested.
“I don’t care if you have a god damned airplane,” Jonathan said. “Get in the truck!” Chance frowned, but started to walk to the truck.
“Take him to see Clark first,” Gabe said. Jonathan was surprised.
“You sure?” He asked.
“Yeah,” Gabe said. “I’ll meet you at The Talon.” Jonathan nodded and closed the truck door after Chance climbed inside. Jonathan climbed into the driver’s side and Chance motioned to the rifle hanging from the back window of the cab.
“Were you going to shoot me?” Chance asked in a teasing voice.
“Only if I had to,” Jonathan replied in a completely serious tone. Chance’s eyes grew a little larger and he sat back against the seat stiffly.
“Oh.”
~*~*~*~
Ch. 6
~*~*~*~
Gabe drove to The Talon to wait for Chloe and Lex. He parked his car and walked up to the front door, furrowing his brow when he saw the ‘we’re closed’ sign hanging in the window. He glanced at his watch and then back to the door. They should be open. He could hear voices from inside and he decided to knock on the door. There was no answer. Gabe sighed and knocked again. This seemed entirely too familiar. He saw someone peek at him through the blinds and then he heard the locks starting to open. Lana opened the door and gave him a feeble attempt at a smile. She was blushing furiously and her clothes were disheveled as if she had just thrown them on.
“Hi Mr. Sullivan,” she greeted, the embarrassment even coming through in her voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Why are you closed?” He responded as he raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed again.
“Um,” she started. Lana shook her head and quickly turned around to glance at Pete. “I’m not sure you’d believe me,” she said. “Something really weird happened.” Gabe rolled his eyes.
“You’re in love with Pete,” he finished for her. Lana’s eyes grew wide. “I heard.”
“No!” She protested a little too quickly. A look of confusion crossed Gabe’s face. “I mean, I thought I was, but,” she shook her head again in disbelief at the situation. “It’s just weird. It’s like I was completely infatuated with him.”
“Was? As in past tense?” Gabe asked hopefully. Lana nodded. Gabe let out a breath that he didn’t realize he had been holding in. “Thank God,” he mumbled. Lana creased her brow.
“Why?” She asked. Gabe sighed and rubbed his eyes.
“Chloe,” he said, hoping he wouldn’t have to go into any details. Lana’s eyes widened again.
“Chloe! I forgot about Chloe!” She screamed. “Oh no! Is she okay?”
“As okay as she can be given the circumstances,” he said with a grimace. Lana frowned and realized that they were still standing in the doorway.
“I’m sorry, come on in,” she said. She opened the door wider and he walked in.
“Thanks,” he said. “I should call Martha and Jonathan. We’ve all been very worried about you kids.” Lana nodded absently and tried to avoid eye contact. Gabe took out his cell phone and dialed the Kents’ number. He looked around The Talon while the phone was ringing. The first thing Gabe saw was Pete Ross, who looked just as embarrassed as Lana did. He gave the boy a small grin, but said nothing as a greeting as the other line picked up.
“Hello?” Martha answered.
“Martha, it’s Gabe,” he said. “I’m at The Talon. How’s Clark doing?” Martha looked over at her son.
“About the same. Why?” She asked.
“Lana and Pete,” Gabe responded. “Whatever was affecting them seems to have gone now.” He heard Martha let go a sigh of relief.
“Oh, thank God,” she said. “Well, I just talked to Jonathan and he should be here any minute.”
“Good,” Gabe said. “Let him know, will you?”
“I will,” Martha said. “Thanks for letting me know.” The call ended and Gabe put his cell phone away. He glanced over at Lana and Pete, who seemed to be trying to stand as far away from each other as possible and he noticed that they were avoiding eye contact. He grinned.
“I hope things didn’t get out of hand with you two,” Gabe teased. He noted that it was amazing how much his mood had lightened with the knowledge that whatever Chance had done had worn off, or was going to wear off. Lana and Pete exchanged a look that was a mixture of panic and embarrassment. Gabe narrowed his eyes at them and crossed his arms when he saw their reaction. “It did’t, did it?” Lana opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She swiftly looked over at Pete, hoping that he would be able to say something, but he shut his mouth too. Lana hesitantly glanced back over at Gabe and plastered a nervous smile on her lips.
“You must have come here for some coffee,” she said, rushing her words out. “I’ll go get you some.” She quickly moved away from him and went behind the counter. Gabe frowned. This couldn’t be good.
~*~*~*~*~
Jonathan pulled up next to the house and shot Chance a look that told him to get out of the truck. Chance and Jonathan both climbed out of the truck and walked toward the back door of the house. Martha opened the door, smiling at her husband. He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Something I should know about?” He asked as he walked past her into the house.
“Gabe called,” she said. “Pete and Lana are back to normal.” Jonathan looked like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he sat down. Chance smiled and tucked his hands into his pockets.
“See? I told you that you should just wait it out,” he said a little too smugly. Both Jonathan and Martha glared at him and his smile faded.
“Unfortunately, Clark’s still,” Martha paused, “loopy.” Jonathan ran a hand over his face and then he looked at Chance expectantly. Chance was about to roll his eyes when Clark came walking into the kitchen.
“Hey Chance,” Clark said with a beaming smile.
“Clark,” Chance acknowledged. ‘Okay, so he does seem a little off,’ Chance thought to himself. Jonathan cleared his throat and Chance sighed. “So how have you been feeling?”
“Great,” Clark said.
“Good,” Chance said. “I was a little worried about you when the veins in your hand wigged out earlier.” Clark nodded, but was still smiling.
“Yeah, that was kind of strange,” he agreed.
“Your hand’s okay now though, right?” Chance asked. Clark held out his hand for Chance to take a look at it. Chance barely touched it on the pretense of ‘examining it’ and the veins bulged out again with a distinctive red hue. Chance pulled his hand away as he saw Clark struggling with the affects. Clark looked up from his hand after it returned to normal. Chance took a couple of steps back, not wanting to take any chances if his abilities had caused Clark to act a different way instead of returning him to how he once was. Clark looked at his mom.
“You said that Lana and Pete are back to normal?” He asked hopefully. She smiled broadly in relief and nodded.
“And you?” She asked. Clark shook his head a little.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he said. Jonathan buried his face in his hands for a moment and then got up from his chair to hug his son.
“Good to have you back,” he said and patted Clark on the back as he hugged him. Clark grinned.
“Thanks,” he said. Clark looked at his mom again with a nervous expression etched on his features. “What about Chloe and Lex?”
“Gabe didn’t say,” Martha admitted. Quickly adding, “I’m sure they’ll be fine though.” Clark, Martha, and Jonathan all turned their heads toward Chance when they heard him snort. Chance smiled and shrugged.
“Sorry,” he said. “But those two,” he paused when he felt the weight of their stares on him. “They didn’t need much of a push, if you know what I mean.” Jonathan crossed his arms and gave him a look of disbelief.
“You’re saying that you think they were in love before you worked your little mojo thing on them?” Jonathan asked. He guffawed at the thought. Chance was offended.
“I’m a good judge of people’s emotions Mr. Kent,” he said. “And no, I don’t think they were in love yet, but they were well on their way.” Clark raised his eyebrows and looked at his dad, who simply shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Martha said, stepping in as the peace keeper. Jonathan nodded once.
“You’re right,” he said, agreeing with Martha. He turned his attention back to Chance. “What matters now is what we’re going to do with you.” Chance furrowed his brow.
“What do you mean?” He asked nervously.
“Well, we can’t very well keep having you disrupt people’s lives like this,” Jonathan explained. Clark frowned.
“He’s not crazy though Dad,” Clark said. “I mean, some of the other people we’ve run into who have been affected by the meteor rocks have turned into complete psychos.” Chance nodded in agreement.
“Chloe’s wall of weird,” he said. “But I was just trying to spread a little love. Can’t fault a guy for that.” Jonathan glared at him and he looked away. “Or maybe you can,” he mumbled. Jonathan glanced back at Clark and Martha.
“I think the best thing we can do is to let the authorities deal with this,” he said. Chance was unable to keep his chuckle from escaping his mouth. Jonathan raised an eyebrow at him and the chuckle turned into a full blown laugh.
“I’m sorry,” Chance said as he was laughing. “But what are you going to tell them?” He asked. “This guy has the power to make people fall in love?” Chance laughed again. “They’ll never believe you.” Jonathan frowned and Clark grimaced.
“He’s right Dad,” Clark said. Jonathan sighed and then glared at Chance menacingly.
“I still have my gun,” he said. Chance paled and Martha rolled her eyes and came over to slap Jonathan’s arm.
“Stop scaring the boy,” she said. Chance looked at her like she was his savior. “But no more, you know,” she said pointedly to Chance. He nodded.
“Yes ma’am,” he agreed, only too happy to comply as long as it kept him alive. Jonathan looked at his watch and silently cursed to himself. Martha looked at him and he tilted his head at her.
“I’m supposed to meet Gabe at The Talon in ten,” he explained. Martha nodded.
“Go,” she said. She looked at Chance again. “And you behave.” He smiled at her and left through the door with Jonathan. Clark looked at his mom.
“You don’t really think what he said was true do you?” He asked. She smiled at him.
“What’s that sweetie?” Martha asked. Clark shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the floor for a minute.
“You know, about Chloe and Lex,” he said hesitantly. Martha chuckled and shook her head. She reached out and ran her hand up and down Clark’s arm comfortingly.
“Of course not Clark,” she said. “Chloe would never be interested in Lex.”
~*~*~*~*~
Lex pulled his car into an empty spot along the street. He felt the change in his body immediately when Chance’s power had worn off, but it didn’t change what he had been feeling toward Chloe for a while. He could only hope she felt the same. He grinned at her and went to open her door for her. Chloe accepted his hand to help her out of the car and nervously smiled at him.
“So,” she said. He noticed that she was having a hard time looking into his eyes. “I guess we should talk.”
~*~*~
Ch. 7
~*~*~
Lex’s breath hitched slightly, but Chloe didn’t notice it. He put on a cool exterior and grinned at her.
“Talking’s good, but right now we have to meet your dad,” he said. She looked at him questioningly and he leaned down to kiss her. Chloe suddenly wondered if he was still feeling whatever it was that she had been feeling earlier. She found herself returning his kiss and running her hands up his chest to get closer to him. Lex’s hands rested on her waist and her arms wrapped around his neck.
‘I shouldn’t be doing this,’ she thought to herself. His tongue darted out and ran along her lips begging for entrance. Chloe opened her mouth slightly to deepen the kiss and then they heard someone clearing their throat rather loudly. Chloe and Lex pulled away from the kiss and turned their heads to see a rather perturbed-looking Jonathan Kent standing there with Chance. Jonathan crossed his arms and then tilted his head at Chance.
“Go on,” Jonathan said. Chance smiled at Chloe and Lex, already sensing that they were acting under their own volition now. As if Chloe could read Chance’s mind, she blushed and looked away. Lex grinned and kept one hand on the small of Chloe’s back. Jonathan motioned to Chance again. “Well?”
“Well what?” Chance asked as his smile grew larger. He was about to tell Jonathan that they were already back to normal, but then the older man gave him a ferocious glare.
“Fix them,” Jonathan responded in an irritated voice. Chance got a devilish grin on his face and shrugged.
“Okay, but no promises,” he said. Chance took a few steps toward them and Lex moved in front of Chloe to block him.
“Stay away from her,” Lex growled. He figured as long as he was acting as if he was still under Chance’s influence, that it was something he should do. That, and he didn’t really want Chance to touch Chloe. Chance grinned and held up his hands in mock surrender.
“Easy,” he said to placate Lex. “I just wanted to say hi to her. She is my friend you know?” Lex glared at him, and kept his position in front of Chloe. Chance grinned and held out his hand. “Truce?” Lex raised an eyebrow at him, but then he noticed Chance’s impish smile and the gleam in his eye. He looked at him quizzically and Chance motioned to his hand. Lex’s lips curled into an understanding and conspiratorial smirk.
“Truce,” Lex agreed and shook Chance’s hand. He felt the affects immediately and wanted nothing more than to be alone with Chloe. Chance smiled at Chloe and she grinned at him nervously. She was about to say how sorry she was for Lex’s behavior, but Chance reached out and palmed her cheek. Lex pushed Chance’s hand away. Lex barely noticed that he pushed him with such force that he stumbled backward toward Jonathan. Chance caught his footing and smiled at the site in front of him. Lex kissed Chloe with a demanding mouth. Both men on the sidelines could see the couple’s tongues gliding against each other; and Chance smirked, but Jonathan looked upon the scene with horror.
“I told you to fix them,” he said angrily. Chance turned to look at him and shrugged.
“And I told you no promises,” he reminded him. “I tried,” he lied smoothly. “Don’t worry; I’m sure it will wear off, just like it did with the others.” Jonathan was fuming, but he couldn’t do anything about it. To his eyes, Chance was right. He had seen him try. Jonathan grumbled some profanities under his breath and then looked at Chance again.
“Alright, well, you’re going to be the one to break the news to her father,” Jonathan said. He motioned to The Talon with his head. “He’s in there.” Chance kept looking at Lex and Chloe. They were being very ‘hands on’, so to speak, for a couple he guessed would rarely be public with their affections in the future. He couldn’t help feeling a little like a voyeur when Lex backed Chloe up against his car and started to run his hand under her shirt. He was startled out of his thoughts by Jonathan’s next words. “Knock that off!” Chance grimaced and glanced at the older man. Jonathan motioned to The Talon again and Chance took the hint. He began to walk toward the coffee shop, but turned around when he realized that Jonathan wasn’t following him.
“You’re not coming with me?” Chance asked in surprise. Jonathan snorted.
“I doubt he’ll want witnesses,” he mumbled.
“What?” Chance asked, not being sure of what he heard. Jonathan grinned to himself and crossed his arms again.
“I need to keep an eye on them, make sure he doesn’t drag her off somewhere,” Jonathan said. Chance nodded and proceeded to walk to The Talon’s front door. It still had the ‘we’re closed’ sign in the window, but the door was slightly ajar. He pushed it open and gave a meek grin and wave to Gabe.
“Hey,” Chance greeted. Gabe glanced at the clock on the wall and then looked back at Chance.
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