Title: Welcome To My World
Author: scifichick774
Rating: NC-17
Category: Drama/Romance/Supernatural (sort of)
Spoilers: none really, but it’s the sequel to The Gatehouse, so you might want to read that one first.
Summary: Sequel to The Gatehouse. Chloe’s curiosity gets the better of her and she returns to the gatehouse to explore.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended, please don’t sue.
Feedback: Yes please.
Archival: Go ahead, just let me know where.
Author’s Note: Finally my muse returns to me, but does it inspire me to work on the fics I’ve already started? Noooo. Stupid muse. Also, this will probably be a long one; just warning you ahead of time in case that’s not your thing. This part takes place in December.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“No,” Lex stated vehemently. Chloe gave him her best impression of Clark’s puppy dog eyes and he crossed his arms. “No,” he said again. “Or do you not remember what happened the last time you went in there?” Chloe grinned.
“I slept with an alternate reality’s version of you,” she said.
“And what if that happens again Chloe?” He asked. Chloe grin grew wider.
“That’s a chance I’m willing to take,” she said in a teasing voice. Lex tilted his head at her.
“Funny,” he responded dryly. “But it’s not a chance that I’m willing to take, so you’re not going.”
“But I’ll have my digital camera with me this time,” Chloe pleaded. “I’ll be able to get actual evidence that other realities exist.” Lex opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe cut him off. “And we already know that I’ll make it home safely, just remember what happened last time.” Lex looked pensive and then shook his head.
“No,” he repeated. Chloe closed her hands into fists in frustration and Lex gave her a gentle smile. “Don’t you remember what Lana said? The timelines aren’t concurrent. Whatever reality you go into this time…” Lex sighed. “Even if you are only gone from here for a day, you could be stuck there for a long time.”
“A long time with someone else,” Chloe said, as if she were reading his mind. He nodded once and she touched his arm compassionately. She smiled mischievously. “You could always go with me,” she said in a playful tone. Lex arched an eyebrow.
“I have no desire to relive that experience, thank you,” he said curtly.
“But you wouldn’t be reliving it,” Chloe tried to explain. “We’ll go into another room, a different world, and…”
“Have you talked to Alison about this idea of yours?” Lex asked. “Because if you haven’t, we would be trespassing on private property.” Chloe smiled, only hearing the part of the sentence that she wanted to hear.
“We?” She asked hopefully. Lex groaned. “Come on Lex. Just think about it. If we can bring back evidence,” she trailed off as she got a gleam in her eye. Lex smirked.
“You’ll get your own by-line in The Daily Planet,” he said. She smiled and nodded. “Which will happen eventually anyway.” Chloe placed her hands on her hips in mock anger.
“If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to,” she said. “But I’m going.” She turned to start walking away from him and he grabbed her arm. She tilted her head to look at him as he turned her around. Lex brought her into his arms and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he said. Chloe smiled.
“I won’t,” she replied.
“You can’t promise that,” he said as he looked down into her eyes. “What if you end up in a worse place than the one you were in before? With worse people? Have you thought about that?” Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I can take care of myself,” she responded. Lex arched an eyebrow.
“Yes, and you did such a good job of it last time,” he said sarcastically. Chloe’s lips narrowed.
“I didn’t get pregnant,” she said.
“Luck,” he said dryly. “But from what you’ve told me…” He stopped talking and squared his jaw. “Chloe,” he started in a hushed and choked voice. “He raped you.” Lex turned his head so he could look at the wall instead of at Chloe.
“He thought I was his wife at the time,” she said softly. “I’m sure that he never would have if…”
“Are you?” Lex asked. “Are you sure? Because he slept with you again even after he knew his Chloe was dead.” Chloe bit her lip.
“Ok-ay,” she strung out. “That’s a valid point.” Chloe paused for a moment as she stepped away from him. “But if you went with me then anyone there would know for sure.” Lex closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
“You’re not going to let this go are you?” He asked. Chloe smiled.
“Nope.”
“Have you talked to your friends about this?” Lex asked. He doubted that Clark and Lana would agree to let her go through with such a foolhardy scheme, and he wasn’t above using them to get Chloe to stay with him.
“Well… no,” Chloe admitted. “But they don’t need to know. They would just try to stop me.” Lex stared at her blankly.
“Maybe that should tell you something,” he responded. Chloe shook her head.
“After comparing everyone’s experiences, mine was by far the worst,” she said. “And if ‘I’m’ willing to take the chance, then it should be ‘my’ chance to take.”
“Chloe,” Lex pleaded. “Have you even started on your Christmas shopping yet? It’s only a few weeks away. Wouldn’t you rather be doing that than going to a haunted house?”
“No Scully, I wouldn’t,” Chloe bit. Lex furrowed his brow and Chloe tried to explain. “You know, the Christmas episode of the X-Files, where Mulder drags Scully to a haunted house and they just barely get out of there alive?” Lex’s expression remained the same and Chloe shook her head. “Never mind.”
“You’re comparing this to an episode of the X-Files where the main characters almost die?” Lex asked in disbelief. “No offense, but if you’re trying to convince me to let you go, then you’re doing a horrible job.” Chloe couldn’t stifle the chuckle that came from her throat. Lex noticed and smiled. “You see my point then?”
“Yes, I see your point,” she said. “But I still want to go.” Lex glared at her.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” Chloe asked and raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. Lex grinned.
“You get Alison’s permission, along with Clark, Lana, and Pete’s approval, and I’ll go with you,” he said. Chloe smiled broadly and practically leapt at him, engulfing him in a giant hug. Lex started laughing. “You have to get all of them to agree though.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” Chloe said in a chipper voice. Chloe was sure she could convince her friends to approve, providing that she left out certain details; and Lex was just as sure that she would never be able to get their permission, even if he had to bribe them.
~*~*~
Ch. 2
~*~*~
“You’re kidding right?” Clark asked. Chloe crossed her arms and gave him a determined look. His eyes grew wider with the realization that she wasn’t joking. “Chloe, you can’t go back there,” he said. Lex grinned smugly at her.
“There’s your answer,” he told her. Chloe didn’t even look in Lex’s direction. She knew what his position was on going back to the house; what she needed to do was to concentrate her energy on the two people that might be more willing to cave into her idea.
“Clark,” she said and flashed him a small pout. Lex looked at her through the corner of his eye and inwardly groaned. She was going to get her way. There wasn’t a man on earth who could resist that look, let alone her best friend. “Please,” she begged. “Don’t you see what a giant thing this will be if I can prove it?” Clark looked at her hesitantly and then glanced at Lex.
“You told her ‘no’ right?” He asked his friend, to clarify the situation. Lex nodded once in confirmation. Chloe pursed her lips and was just about to start ranting when Lana pushed her way into the conversation.
“Well I think she should do it,” Lana said. Her voice seemed to possess a great deal more confidence than she did in speaking the words. Chloe looked at her in pleasant surprise and a smile spread across her lips.
“You do?” Chloe asked.
“You do?” Lex and Clark mimicked in a completely different tone. Lana nodded.
“You know that she’s going to find a way to go with or without your approval,” Lana said. “It would be better if you went with her to keep her safe,” she reasoned. Lex and Clark exchanged a look and Lex looked back to Chloe, whose expression now seemed more determined than ever.
“No,” he said, restating his previous objection. Chloe got a glint in her eye and one corner of her mouth curled upward.
“You know, I could,” she said, rolling the idea around in her head. “It’s not like anyone will know, I can just say that I have to go somewhere for a story. Dad won’t expect me back at a decent hour because of that, and if he does, I can always get someone to cover for me.” Lex could see that she wasn’t talking to anybody in particular, and that she was just thinking aloud.
“No,” he said a little louder. She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to face him.
“It could work,” she said. He sighed and brought her to him. He leaned down and kissed her softly before pulling his lips away.
“Under no circumstances are you to go there by yourself,” Lex warned. A smile spread across Chloe’s mouth and she wrapped her arms around him in a big hug.
“So you’ll go with me?” She asked in a hyper-excited manner. Lex frowned.
“You still haven’t gotten Alison’s permission,” he reminded her. Chloe’s smile faded, but quickly reappeared when Lana spoke.
“Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Lana said. “Ali’s so laid back.” Lex’s head swung around to glare at her. He shot a look to Clark too, who in response just groaned.
“You need to keep a tighter reign on your girlfriend Clark,” Lex warned. Clark and Lana both looked embarrassed and shook their heads.
“She’s not---” Clark started.
“We’re not---” Lana said at the same time. Chloe rolled her eyes and looked at Lex.
“Not this again,” she said. She turned her attention back to Clark and Lana. “It’s been over a month guys. You kissed. You never go out with anybody else. Well, except for Pete and he doesn’t count. You---”
“We’re just friends,” Clark interrupted. Lana grinned and nodded her head in agreement.
“And the kiss,” Lana added with a blush to her cheeks, “that was just being caught up in the moment.” Chloe and Lex shared an exasperated look.
“They’re your friends,” Lex said. Chloe gave him a playful glare.
“Yours too,” she reminded him. Lex frowned.
“Damn,” he jested. Chloe smiled and brought his head down so she could kiss him. Clark and Lana observed the passionate couple for a moment in uncomfortable silence. Lana shook her head slightly.
“Ahem,” she said, not even bothering to clear her throat.
“Guys,” Clark said in a louder voice. Chloe and Lex pulled apart from their kiss and smirked at each other. Clark rolled his eyes and Lana giggled.
“Not to be a spoil-sport, but you still have to ask Alison,” Lana reminded Chloe. Lex didn’t turn his head to acknowledge that Lana had said anything. He leaned down and brushed Chloe’s ear with his lips.
“Or we could come up with a better use for our time,” he suggested in a hopeful voice. Chloe smiled.
“We could,” she agreed. She kissed him again, but quickly ended it, flashing him a bright smile. “Right after we call Alison.” Lex rubbed his face with his hand. When Chloe got her mind set on something, there was no distracting her.
“Fine,” he grumbled. “But don’t get your hopes up. Remember that she avoided all of you at school for the week following what happened.” Chloe and Lana both frowned.
“I forgot about that,” Chloe said.
“Me too,” Lana said. Clark and Lex both grinned smugly. Clark shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on the balls of his feet.
“Guess you probably won’t be going then,” Clark said. Lex’s grin turned into a smile.
“Guess not,” he agreed. Chloe sloughed off their comments with a wave of her hand.
“You guys give up too easy,” she commented. Lana grinned and gave a curt nod. “Lana, do you have Alison’s number?” Lana looked thoughtful.
“No, but Pete will,” she replied. Lex grinned to himself.
“That’s right,” he said off-handedly. “You still have to get Pete’s permission as well.” He glanced at Clark. “And I don’t remember Clark ever saying that he agreed to it.” Chloe’s mouth dropped open slightly, but she quickly closed it. She gave Clark a pleading look and started to walk toward him.
“Clark?” She asked in a hopeful voice. “Please?” Clark looked very uncomfortable.
“I don’t know Chloe,” he replied. “Last time you had such a hard time with everything. I’d hate to see you go through that again.”
“But this time Lex will be with me. Well, you know, *my* Lex,” she explained. Lex arched an eyebrow.
“I don’t remember agreeing to that,” Lex said. Chloe raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.
“You said, and I quote, ‘if I could get all of them to agree to letting me go, then you would go with me’,” she said, paraphrasing the lines that had come out of his mouth earlier that day. Lex smirked.
“And so far you only have Lana’s permission,” he countered. “You still need Clark, Pete, and Alison to agree to this ridiculous scheme of yours.” Chloe was about to start tearing into him, but instead she just plastered a grin on her lips. Lex narrowed his eyes at her expression. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Think about what?” She asked in a faux-innocent tone.
“Chloe,” he warned. “I mean it.” Chloe’s grin grew larger, as did the mischievous twinkle in her eye.
“I’m sure you do,” she replied. Clark looked back and forth between them.
“What are they talking about?” He half whispered to Lana. Lana smiled moved her head closer to Clark’s.
“She’s thinking about just going by herself,” she answered. Clark furrowed his brow and straightened his spine.
“No Chloe,” Clark said. Chloe kept her eyes fixed on Lex, but pointed her finger at Clark.
“Stay out of it Clark,” she said. Unfortunately, it came out in a teasing tone and she started laughing.
“Chloe,” Lex said again in frustration. He ran a hand over his smooth head. Lana crossed her arms as she watched them with amusement. A gleam sprung up in her eyes as well.
“I’ll go with her,” Lana said. That got their attention. Clark and Lex both whipped their heads around to look at Lana.
“What?!” They both asked in astonishment. Chloe caught Lana’s grin and stance and she copied it, crossing her arms and grinning almost evilly herself
“What a great idea Lana.”
~*~*~
Ch. 3
~*~*~
“That’s not funny,” Pete said and crossed his arms.
“Really guys, you shouldn’t even joke about that,” Alison added. Pete nodded in agreement. Chloe was amazed that the two were still dating. True, they weren’t an exclusive couple, but neither one of them seemed to mind the arrangement. She shook her head to clear her thoughts as her friends’ words made their way into her head.
“But we know we can get back this time,” Chloe argued. Pete made a ‘hmph’ sound and shook his head.
“Yeah,” he said. “But you don’t know how long you’ll be there for. You could come back here at midnight our time and be an old woman.” Chloe glared at him and he shrugged slightly. “I’m just sayin’.”
Lex looked smug with Pete’s disapproval. He hadn’t needed to bribe any of them. He didn’t know what was going through Lana’s mind when she said she’d go with Chloe, but one friend giving her permission wasn’t enough according to the agreement they had made. Chloe was determined though, so she might not stick to the deal. He inwardly groaned. Of course she wouldn’t stick to the deal. And if Lana went with her, who knows what kind of trouble the two of them could get into? Lex folded his arms across his chest and looked at Chloe.
“I believe you needed Alison’s permission since it’s her parents’ property,” he reminded her. “And you don’t have it, so you would be trespassing.” The nagging voice inside his head kept telling him that no matter what he said, it wasn’t going to work.
“And I suppose you’d tell the police all about it?” Chloe bit. Lex smirked and nodded once.
“Absolutely,” he confirmed. Pete grinned. He still didn’t care for Lex, but at least the guy was looking out for Chloe. Unfortunately, the women in Smallville had a way of throwing the men for a loop. Alison smiled, bemused with their banter. Out of all of Pete’s friends, Chloe and Lex were by far the most entertaining to watch.
“I never said she couldn’t go,” Alison said in a sing-song voice. Chloe, Lex, and Pete all swung their heads around to look at her.
“Really?” Chloe chirped. Alison shrugged, the smile still on her face.
“I don’t mind if you go.” She paused and tilted her head. “I think you’ve lost your mind, but I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble for trespassing.” Lex glared at Alison and she shot him a look that was pure arrogance, like she was daring him to say something. He wondered when he had lost his touch for being able to scare people with a mere glance. Lex pumped his hands into fists and then out again.
“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. He looked at Chloe. “I’ll go with you, not Lana.” Chloe smiled broadly and engulfed him in a huge hug.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said, peppering his face with kisses. Lex started to chuckle and she pulled back. “You won’t regret this.” Lex arched an eyebrow.
“I already regret it,” he said. She playfully rolled her eyes and then turned to Alison.
“So when can we go?” Chloe asked. Alison shook her head a little in amusement.
“Whenever,” she answered. “Just as long as you promise not to sue if things get bad there.” Chloe sloughed off the comment.
“No problem,” Chloe said. “So tomorrow morning would be alright?” She asked cheerfully. Alison nodded. Lex eyed Chloe suspiciously.
“Tomorrow morning?” He asked. “Why not this afternoon, or tonight?” He couldn’t help wondering if she was going to try and ditch him to chase her story early. She got a gleam in her eye and stood on her tiptoes. She lightly brushed her lips against his and he grinned. “Oh.”
Alison observed the couple with a look of sweetness. She leaned toward Pete.
“Aren’t they just the cutest thing ever?” She whispered. Pete rolled his eyes.
“No,” he answered. He cleared his throat to get their attention and Chloe looked over at him. “You do realize that even if you go there that nobody is going to believe you? They’ll just think that you did something to manipulate the pictures.” Lex raised his eyebrows in surprise. Why hadn’t he thought of that argument? Chloe appeared pensive.
“You’re right,” she agreed. Lex grinned.
“So we’re not going?” He asked hopefully. Chloe smiled at him.
“No, we’re still going,” she clarified. “I’ll just have to bring my camcorder too.”
“Why do I get the feeling that I’m going to be the one lugging all of this stuff around for you?” Lex asked dryly. Chloe smiled sweetly.
“Because you’re just so smart,” she replied and gave his cheek a little pinch. He glared at her playfully.
“And?” He asked. She smiled again and brought his head down to kiss him.
“And you’re the best boyfriend in the world?” It was an obvious attempt to butter him up. Lex smirked.
“Just remember that when some other guy tries to hit on you there,” he said. “Even if it’s another me.”
~*~*~*~*~
It was cold and dark. The sun hadn’t risen and the dew on the grass was still in a frozen state. At least it hadn’t snowed. If there had been snow on the roads, Gabe Sullivan would have never let his daughter leave the house to go on a story hunt. She had omitted certain details when telling him about it, making it sound much safer and saner than it actually was. Chloe rubbed her gloved hands together as she looked at the house. It was still creepy and she suppressed the shudder that went through her body at the site of it. Lex wrapped his arm around her back and rested his hand on her hip.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” He asked. She nodded, keeping her stare fixed on the house.
“I’m sure,” she said. Her warm breath formed a cloud of steam as she spoke. “Do we have everything?” Lex chuckled.
“How many times have you checked?” He asked. She turned her head and gave him a mock glare and smiled.
“There’s nothing wrong with being prepared,” Chloe said. The familiar sound of a truck driving down the dirt lane to the house made Chloe smile. She and Lex both turned to see Clark pulling his truck over. Chloe went over to the passenger side as Lana stepped out.
“So we’re actually doing this?” Lana asked in an excited voice that covered her nervousness. She gave Chloe a hug. Chloe nodded.
“Yep,” she confirmed.
“So what’s the plan?” Clark asked as he walked over to Lex.
“I’m going with Chloe, you’re going with Lana,” Lex answered. He saw Clark’s hesitation and gave him a serious look. “You two don’t have to do this Clark. I’m sure Chloe wouldn’t want either of you to get hurt.” Clark shrugged.
“Lana’s set on it,” he answered. “And I don’t want her going in alone.”
“Of course not,” Lex said. He furrowed his brow as another car, one he didn’t recognize, came driving down the road. It pulled beside the Kents’ truck, but he couldn’t see who was inside because of the dark tinted windows. He smirked when he saw Pete step out of the passenger side of the vehicle. “Mr. Ross,” Lex greeted. Alison got out of her car and walked over to Chloe and Lana. Pete grumbled as he headed toward Lex and Clark.
“What are you doing here Pete?” Clark asked in surprise. Pete frowned.
“Ali said she was feeling left out,” he answered. “So here we are.” Lex sniggered and Pete glared at him. “Not funny Luthor.”
“I apologize,” Lex said dryly. “I’m a little surprised that you gave in when you were so against Chloe coming though.” Pete let out a resigned sigh and brought his hands up to his mouth to blow warm air on them.
“Yeah, well,” Pete mumbled. Clark smiled broadly and chuckled.
“She has you wrapped around her finger doesn’t she?” Clark asked. Pete glared at his friend and gave him a bitter grin.
“You’re here too,” Pete pointed out and made the sound of a whip snapping. Clark rolled his eyes and was about to retort when Chloe’s voice wafted through his ears.
“You guys ready?” She asked. Clark inwardly frowned. He hadn’t even noticed the girls walk over to them because he was so wrapped up in his conversation with Pete. He was going to need to keep his guard up better than that if he was going to protect Lana. Pete grumbled again and Alison gave him a peck on the cheek that seemed to placate him.
Chloe didn’t wait for them to answer as to whether they were ready or not. She grabbed her bag with her camera and small camcorder in it and started toward the front door of the house. Lex watched her and shook his head. He took one last look at the house before following her.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” he mumbled to himself. Lex caught up with Chloe and wrapped a possessive arm around her back. She looked over at smiled at him. He could see the nervousness etched on her face as they entered the house. Lex bent his head down as they began to ascend the stairs and kissed Chloe on the top of her head in a reassuring manner. “It’s not too late to turn back,” he said in a half whisper.
Although he would never admit it, the house was giving Lex the chills too. It was dark, cold, and the wood floor squeaked as they walked on it. It wasn’t just that though. The house had an indefinable quality, one that made it entirely uninviting. They all reached the top of the staircase and Chloe looked down both hallways. She turned around to face the others and grinned shakily.
“This is it,” she announced. She eyed Lex. Chloe couldn’t see him well in the almost black surroundings, but he was close enough for her to make out his form. “Which way do you want to go?”
~*~*~
Ch. 4
~*~*~
Chloe took a step in one direction, her bag hitting her side as she carried it over her shoulder. She held out her hand for Lex and he took it, giving it a little squeeze to reassure himself that he wasn’t going to lose her on this outing. They walked toward a door and Lana suddenly yelled out.
“No!” Lana screamed. They swung their heads around to look at her. The beginnings of light started to show through the old windows and they could see her shape a little better now.
“What’s wrong?” Chloe asked.
“That’s the door Lana went in last time,” Clark explained. Chloe made an ‘o’ shape with her mouth and nodded in understanding.
“Right,” Chloe said. “Smelly medieval times with King Whitney.” Lana giggled. “Pass. Thanks for the warning.” Alison furrowed her brow.
“Well I want to go,” Alison said stubbornly, dragging Pete by the hand to the door. “I’ve always wanted to be a princess.”
“Ali, that’s not the way it---” Clark started to explain, but Alison had already pulled Pete into the room and the door had shut behind them. “---Works,” he finished. Lana smiled at him unsurely.
“Oops,” she said. Clark took a deep breath and then released it.
“Yeah,” he agreed. Lex cleared his throat and Clark looked over.
“So which room did you go in Clark?” Lex asked. Clark narrowed his eyes at him.
“Why?” He asked suspiciously. Lex grinned.
“You said it had a red sun,” Lex said. “I think I’d like to see that.” Chloe let go of his hand and placed her hands on her hips.
“Since when do you get to choose which door we go in?” She asked in a half teasing voice. Lex smirked and tilted his head toward her.
“Since you drug me along on this foolhardy expedition,” he answered. She arched an eyebrow at him and he kissed her on her forehead. “Besides, if our counterparts are still there, at least I know that they’re married, or soon will be, and I won’t have to worry about him hitting on you.” Chloe laughed.
“Well I’m glad to see you’re being so grown up about this,” she said sarcastically. Clark paled.
“Uh, yeah,” Clark said hesitantly. “But you might have to worry about my double.” Lex eyed him carefully.
“You said that she was going to marry me, I mean,” Lex paused, “you know what I mean.” Clark nodded.
“Right,” Clark said. “But I don’t know how, you know, the other me, reacted to that news.” He rubbed his hand around the back of his neck nervously. “I think he was out of town or something.” Chloe and Lana stared at him blankly.
“So you just messed up somebody else’s life?” Lana asked. “How could you do that Clark?” His eyes grew wide.
“Hey, you were going to marry Whitney,” Clark said in rebuttal. Lana had her hands on her hips.
“Only because I was stuck there and the other me didn’t want to,” Lana said. Clark opened and closed his mouth quickly.
“Oh, and that makes it so much better,” Clark said sarcastically. Chloe and Lex looked at each other, a somewhat bemused expression on both of their faces. Lana glanced at them and noticed.
“What?” Lana snapped. Chloe held back a chuckle, but couldn’t stifle the smile that spread across her lips.
“Nothing,” Chloe answered. “I mean, are you sure you two aren’t going out?” Lana’s mouth dropped open slightly and her face colored. She quickly composed herself and raised an eyebrow at Chloe and Lex.
“Weren’t you two supposed to be picking a door?” She asked. Lex rolled his eyes and Chloe smiled.
“You had to bring that up again,” Lex mumbled. Chloe rose on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her, lowering his head to kiss her properly. After a few seconds, Lana rolled her eyes at Clark, who was openly gaping at the couple. She tugged on Clark’s arm.
“Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s give them some privacy.” Clark had the grace to blush when he realized that he had been staring at them. He grinned dopily and nodded at Lana. They started walking in the other direction until Lana stopped and turned to face him. “You wanna pick the room?” She asked. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Nah, your choice,” Clark said. Lana grinned at him and her breath hitched.
“Clark,” she started carefully. “No matter what happens, we’re still going to be friends right?” He looked surprised.
“Of course Lana,” he answered. She gave a curt nod.
“Okay,” she said. Lana looked around at the doors surrounding them. “Eenie, meenie, miney, moe?” She asked with a giggle. Clark chuckled.
“We don’t have to do this at all if you don’t want to,” he said. Lana got a stubborn look on her face.
“Oh no,” she said in a determined voice. “If Alison can just jump right in, so can I.” She set her sights on a door and took Clark’s hand. “That one.” She opened the door and the two walked in. The door closed loudly behind them, the sound reverberating through the house. Chloe and Lex pulled apart. She shook her head as she panted for breath.
“Dang it,” Chloe said. “It was *my* idea to come here, and they’ve all gone ahead of us.” Lex laughed.
“Somehow I think you’ll survive. It’s not as if they’re going to ‘scoop’ you,” Lex said. “After all, you’re the one who brought all the equipment.” Chloe’s lips curled up into a grin.
“Good point,” she said. Lex chuckled and looked around the hallway. It was a lighter than it had been when they first arrived.
“So which door are we going through?” He asked. Chloe’s face lit up.
“You’re going to let me choose?” She asked hopefully. He rolled his eyes.
“You knew I would,” he answered. She smiled.
“True, but it was nice to hear it,” Chloe said. She looked around in thought and then started walking toward the end of the hallway. She stopped at the very last door. Lex placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned around.
“Promise me---” he started. Chloe nodded.
“I won’t flirt or sleep with anyone else but you,” she said and gave a roll of her eyes. “The same goes for you buster.” She poked her finger at his chest and he smiled.
“I’m not the one who slept with the other me,” he replied. Chloe smirked.
“I should certainly hope not,” she said snarkily.
“Funny,” he said dryly. “You know what I meant,” he said. She nodded.
“I know. So do we have a deal?”
“Deal,” he said. She smiled and reached out for his hand as she opened the door with her free hand. They walked through the door into the black room and the door closed behind them. Suddenly, they were in what looked like one of the hallways in the Luthor castle. Chloe’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“We’re in your house?” She asked. Lex looked around.
“So it would seem,” he agreed. “Interesting.” Chloe set the bag down and Lex arched an eyebrow at her. “I thought you wanted to explore?”
“I do,” she confirmed. He noticed that she was rotating her shoulder. He smirked when he realized that the bag had just gotten too heavy. Lex quickly picked it up and draped it over his shoulder. Chloe smiled at him.
“Shall we?” He asked as he offered her his free hand. She nodded and they started walking down the hallway. There was a flickering blue light coming from one of the rooms and Chloe and Lex could hear the sound of a television. Chloe smiled.
“At least we know we’re not in the twenties,” she said happily. Lex chuckled. She slowly pushed the door open to look inside and motioned to Lex to get the camera out. He stayed behind in the hallway to get her gear out of the bag as she took a few tentative steps into the room. “Anyone here?” She asked hesitantly. There was a bristling of clothing against upholstery and the Lex of that world stood up. She noticed that this one had hair that was much in the same style as the previous Lex she had met. She smiled uneasily and gave a small wave. “Hi.” His eyes grew wide.
“Chlo – Miss Sullivan,” the man said, sputtering over his words. “What, what are you doing here?” Chloe noticed that he seemed almost nervous.
“Before we get into this,” she started. “I should explain that I’m not the Chloe you know.”
“Excuse me?” He asked. She smiled and started fidgeting with her fingers.
“This may be kind of hard to believe, but I’m from a different reality,” she said. He looked at her like she was crazy. Lex came walking in through the door with her camcorder in hand.
“So where do you want this?” He asked. The Lex of that world’s eyes almost buldged out of his head and he turned to Chloe.
“You weren’t kidding?” He asked. She shook her head. He nodded once and found a seat quickly before he passed out from the shock.
“Listen, Lex, I know this might be hard to understand,” Chloe said to the man. He looked up from his seat at her Lex.
“You go by Lex?” He asked. Lex stared at him. He had hair. Life just wasn’t fair sometimes.
“You don’t?” He retorted. The man in front of him shook his head.
“Alex,” he answered. Chloe smiled.
“Well that should make things easier,” she said. It could have gotten messy if she kept saying Lex and had two guys responding to her. Lex and Alex both looked at her. “Shouldn’t it?”
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