Title: Consequences
Author: scifichick774
Rating: R
Category: Drama/Angst
Spoilers: Up to, but not including, Prodigal in season 2.
Summary: Upset that Clark and Lana have finally gotten together, Chloe unwittingly turns her sorrow into anger, and Lionel uses it to his advantage to try and bring her closer to ‘the dark side’. Will Lex be able to save her from his father and herself?
Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended, please don’t sue.
Feedback: YES!! REVIEW!!
Archival: I can’t imagine that you’ll want this one, but go ahead. Just let me know where.
Author’s Note: I’m not entirely sure where this idea came from, or why I’m working on so many fics at once, but not everything can be explained. Acknowledge, accept, and move on. That said, Chloe’s probably going to be a little OOC in this one, just because she’s finally taking a stand against becoming an emotional basket case over Clark.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Chloe felt her heart rip in half when she looked at the sight in front of her. Clark and Lana kissing in The Torch’s office. She balled her hands up into fists and quickly moved away from the door and down the hall. She surmised that they probably didn’t even know she was there, and that she shouldn’t be so upset over something that seemed inevitable. Unfortunately, that didn’t make it hurt any less. Chloe allowed the pools of water that had built up in her eyes to only dribble down her cheeks until she got to her car. When she made it to her car, she quickly opened it and slid inside, where she rested her head on the steering wheel and let the tears flow like a river. Her body shook with pain over the man she loved but knew she would never have; and over the girl who she had loathed, but who had become her friend, and she felt like betrayed her.
She wiped her tears on her sleeve and turned the key to start her car. Chloe was determined to put on a brave face. She wasn’t going to let this tear her apart. She told herself that she was better than that and began to drive toward The Beanery. She would never willingly frequent The Talon again. Chloe pulled her car up in front of the coffee shop that she used to be a regular at. She felt bad that she had allowed her ‘friendships’ with Clark and Lana to cloud her judgment as to where to get her caffeine fix. The Beanery, by far, had the superior coffee. She strolled into the establishment, and even though she hadn’t been in there in quite a while, the waitress knew the look on her face and what kind of coffee she would be ordering. Chloe smiled to herself as the waitress went to fetch what she would have ordered. She missed this. She missed people paying attention to the fact that she had feelings. She missed people actually acknowledging that she existed. Then the thought struck her.
‘I’ll just block them out,’ Chloe thought to herself. She gratefully accepted the mug of the steaming bitter liquid and brought it up to her mouth to sip it. Every sip she took was a step away from the sorrow and torment, and a step closer to anger and, in her mind, freedom. ‘They’ll no longer exist to me.’ It sounded like a simple enough plan, though a nagging part of her wondered if she could actually do it or not. After all, Lana did live in her house with her and her dad. Chloe shook her head and took another drink of her coffee. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Because from now on, Clark Kent and Lana Lang were no longer in her life. Period.
Chloe stood up and paid for her coffee. She was filled with a new sense of confidence, fueled by an underlying anger that she refused to recognize was there. But, as always, anger has ways of making itself known, and it was about to show itself. She began to walk toward her car when Lionel Luthor, accompanied by a few of his minions, got in her way. One of the men bumped into her, promptly spilling her to-go cup of coffee all over the sidewalk. He didn’t apologize. Hell, he didn’t even acknowledge her. But if he had known what was going to happen, he surely would have. The man tried to keep walking, but Chloe grabbed on to his jacket sleeve, pulling him back to her with a force no one would have thought possible from the petite girl. And then she started yelling at him.
“How dare you?! Do you even look where you’re walking or are you just a complete moron?!” Chloe screamed. The fire in her eyes was enough to make the man pale, and the tone in her voice caused Lionel and the rest of the group to pay attention to the scene in front of them. A long slew of insults and cursing was hurled at the man who bumped into her. The other men shot sympathetic looks at the victim of Chloe’s seemingly never ending string of verbal abuse, but quickly looked away in fear when she turned her head toward them.
Lionel, on the other hand, seemed to be quite amused with the situation. She noticed this and proceeded to march right up to him. This was a man that could instill the deepest fears into men with the slightest sneer, but Chloe wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t even thinking clearly, she was just working off of the adrenalin that her anger toward Clark and Lana provided her. “Next time keep your lackeys on a tighter leash Luthor,” she said angrily.
Chloe walked around him and made it to her car, where she proceeded to drive away after screeching her tires along the asphalt. Lionel seemed surprised that the young woman had dared to speak to him in that manner. He did a good job of pretending that he didn’t see her, of pretending that he was still blind, but he couldn’t hide the initial surprise or the resulting smirk that crossed his face.
“Thomas?” Lionel called out. One of the men stepped closer to Lionel and tried to hide his nervousness.
“Yes sir?” Thomas answered. Lionel grinned evilly.
“Find out everything you can about that woman,” Lionel ordered. Thomas scratched a few things down onto an electronic notepad.
“Yes Mr. Luthor,” Thomas said. Lionel stood there impatiently, knowing that the man hadn’t left yet. Thomas looked up at his boss when he saw Lionel tapping his cane impatiently against the sidewalk. “Now?” Thomas asked. Lionel barely bit back a groan and instead gave the man a curt nod.
“Yes. Now,” Lionel said through gritted teeth. Thomas scurried away and Lionel stiffened his posture. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the spitfire he had just witnessed. His instincts told him that he needed the young woman as an ally, and after years of experience, he knew that his instincts were rarely wrong.
That evening, Chloe had calmed down a little. Her denial of Clark and Lana’s existence was working very well surprisingly. Lana tried to talk to her while she was making dinner, but Chloe put on her headphones and completely ignored the other girl as if she weren’t even there. When Lana would try to catch Chloe’s eye, Chloe would stare right through her. It was remarkable. Chloe was getting to the point where she had almost convinced herself that Lana wasn’t in the room. A few more weeks, and she would have it perfected.
The doorbell rang and Chloe rose from her seat at the table to answer the door. Gabe and Lana stayed seated as they watched her leave the table. Chloe walked to the door and hummed a song that had been playing on an eclectic radio station earlier. It was a good song and she made a mental note to look it up later. She didn’t look to see who was at the door before answering, but she soon wished that she had. She was surprised to see the sheriff at her front door, but she plastered a smile on her face anyway.
“Can I help you?” She asked cheerfully. The poor man looked like he had been through the ringer and was fiddling with a manila envelope in his hands.
“I, uh,” he started and then took a deep breath and gave her a sad look. “There was an altercation between you and a Howard Billings early this afternoon.” Chloe shook her head and kept the smile on her face. She knew who he was talking about, since she hadn’t yelled at anyone else. Well, except for Lionel Luthor, but certainly that could be overlooked since everyone in town hated the man.
“Don’t know him,” she said. It was the truth; she didn’t actually know the man, so it came out smoothly off her tongue. The sheriff hesitantly held out the envelope.
“In front of The Beanery,” he explained. “There were witnesses.” Chloe shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Oh, that guy,” she said. “He bumped into me, spilled my coffee all over the place, and didn’t even acknowledge that I was there after he did it.” Her voice remained calm and even. “I lost my temper.” The sheriff arched a knowing eyebrow at her and the corner of his mouth turned up.
“Normally I’d say that everyone has a bad day, and that you were probably entitled since he’s one of Luthor’s people, but Mr. Luthor has pulled some strings to make an example out of you,” the sheriff said. Chloe’s eyes widened a little in surprise.
“Are you arresting me?” She asked. The sheriff chuckled and shook his head.
“It was recommended that you take anger management classes,” the sheriff replied. Chloe crossed her arms and snorted in amusement.
‘Like that’s gonna happen,’ she thought to herself.
“Well, you may as well arrest me now then, because I’m not doing that,” Chloe responded. The sheriff sighed.
“Mr. Luthor did offer another suggestion,” he said.
“He wants my first born child?” Chloe asked with a grin. The sheriff chuckled.
“Probably,” he said. “But no. He convinced the judge that you should spend some time with the person your anger affected, to get you to see how hurtful it was, and possibly get you to mend your ways.” Chloe started laughing. Gabe was curious now. Chloe had been gone from the table for a few minutes and now she was laughing loudly. He excused himself from the table and started toward the front door.
“And by ‘convinced’, you mean ‘paid off’?” Chloe finally asked. The sheriff chuckled again.
“That would be my guess,” he admitted. Chloe sighed.
“So I have to spend time with---” She paused when she didn’t remember the name of the man.
“Howard Billings,” the sheriff filled in for her. Chloe arched an eyebrow.
“How much time?” She asked. She had a bad feeling that her temper tantrum was going to lead to menial labor for the jackass who had bumped into her.
“Read through the paperwork,” the sheriff said. “But I believe it’s equivalent to how much time you would have had to spend in anger management class, which would be two nights a week.” Gabe furrowed his brow as he caught the end of the conversation.
“Anger management class?” Gabe asked. Chloe snatched the envelope away from the sheriff, who was still holding it out for her. She flashed her dad a bright smile and hoped that he wouldn’t get too angry.
“I sort of lost my temper earlier today,” she admitted, emphasizing the ‘sort of’ part of the explanation. Gabe looked at her questioningly. “He totally deserved it.” She smiled again and then touched his upper arm. “Don’t worry, it’s all been taken care of.” Gabe crossed his arms and Chloe looked back to the sheriff. “Tell Mr. Luthor that I’ll take his second recommendation.” The sheriff nodded and gave a grimace.
“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” he said. They exchanged goodbyes and Chloe walked back to the dining room as if nothing had happened. She placed the envelope on the counter and then cleared her place setting, all without offering any sort of further explanation to her dad or Lana. She began humming the song again as she loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. When she was done, she picked up the envelope again and kissed her dad on the cheek.
“Night,” she said. Chloe walked up the stairs to her room and smiled to herself. Spending time with a selfish moron like Billings might be tedious, but it also meant that she would have more opportunities to access private company documents that could be used for future articles. Things were looking up.
~*~*~
Ch. 2
~*~*~
Chloe woke up early the next morning and drove to the Luthor’s estate, where the papers the sheriff had given her said she was supposed to meet up with Billings. Any other occasion, she would have cursed vehemently at the mere idea of rising so early on a Saturday morning, but it was different this time. She knew that she needed to be there. Obviously not for the bogus reason that Lionel Luthor had come up with, because his whipping boy had deserved everything she had thrown at him and more, but because it was hard to ignore reality when it lived in the same house with you. She figured, if nothing else, she could give *Billings* hell again. Just the sound of his name in her brain made her want to roll her eyes. What a jerk.
She parked her car and took in the size of the castle on her way to the front door. Hopefully these visits wouldn’t end up with her being thrown out a window. Chloe stepped forward and rang the bell. She silently wondered why she was supposed to meet him here instead of at the plant, or one of the other Luthor business sites, but he probably just wanted to rub in the fact that his boss was willing to stick up for him. This time she did roll her eyes. The door opened and a tall man in a butler’s uniform stood in front of her.
‘That must suck,’ Chloe thought. ‘They can’t let him wear jeans like anyone else?’
“Can I help you?” The man asked. Despite the fact that he was a butler, his presence was rather imposing, and bordered on threatening. Chloe wasn’t even the teensiest bit intimidated, nor did she bother to put a fake smile on her face.
“I’m supposed to meet *Billings* here,” she said, rolling the man’s name off her tongue with contempt. The butler arched an eyebrow and she placed a hand on her hip in an irritated fashion. Chloe stared at him for a second and then shook her head. She reached into her oversized bag and brought out the manila envelope with the legal documents in it. Chloe shoved them at the man in front of her and then stepped passed him into the house. He looked at her in complete shock. She took a quick look around and then turned back to the butler. “If you have any questions about it, you can ask Mr. Luthor. He’s the one who forced me to come here.”
“On the contrary, you could have taken the option to attend anger management classes,” Lionel said. Chloe and the butler both turned their heads in the direction of his voice. Chloe grinned tightly and crossed her arms. Lionel tapped his cane and walked toward them. “How are you today Miss Sullivan?” He asked with a smirk on his face. Now she knew who Lex inherited that particular trait from.
“Dandy,” Chloe said sarcastically. “And you?” Lionel nodded once.
“Fine. Thank you for asking,” he replied. Chloe let out a small grunt as recognition of his statement. “Leave us,” Lionel said, and dismissed the butler with a wave of his hand.
“So where is my good friend Billings?” Chloe asked with a smile. The absurdity of the situation was making her border on laughter. Lionel arched an eyebrow.
“Your ‘good friend’?” Lionel repeated. “Do you even know the first name of the man whom you so ruthlessly assaulted the other day?” Chloe observed that his tone held no tinge of anger to it, and she smiled again.
“Do you?” She retorted. A grin spread across Lionel’s lips and he shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“I’m sure it’s on some paperwork somewhere,” he replied. Chloe chuckled.
“Okay,” she said. “So where is he? I was supposed to meet him here.” Lionel turned around and started to walk away from her, moving his cane in front of him before every step he took. Chloe arched an eyebrow.
“Come along,” he said when she didn’t immediately follow him. Chloe shook her head and began to follow him. “I’m afraid that Mr. Billings is no longer in my employ,” Lionel said when he knew that Chloe was close to him. Chloe smiled.
“Great,” she said. “So I guess that lets me off the hook with all this repentance stuff.” She started to turn around. “Bye.” Lionel laughed and Chloe turned to face him again.
“Don’t be absurd,” Lionel said. “You’ll be spending time with me now, until you’ve learned the error of your ways.” Chloe narrowed her eyes at him.
“Why?” She asked, her voice full of suspicion. Lionel put on a faux innocent face.
“Young lady, if you’ll remember correctly, you did unleash your anger on me as well,” he said. Chloe snorted.
“Please,” she said. “Telling you to reign in your incompetent lap dogs was hardly the worst thing that anyone’s ever yelled at you.” Lionel smiled.
“No, it’s not,” he admitted. Lionel paused as he stared in her general direction. “May I ask you a question?” Chloe nodded.
“Shoot,” she said, but immediately wondered why she replied the way she did. She was standing with the man who many considered the devil himself, and she didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable in his presence. She knew she should take that as a bad sign, but at this point she just didn’t care anymore.
“Why did you let them get to you?” Lionel asked seriously. Chloe stared at him. This couldn’t be a good development.
“Who would *they* be?” She asked. Lionel shot a disapproving look toward her.
“You know perfectly well who I’m speaking of Miss Sullivan,” Lionel said.
“Chloe,” she corrected. Lionel got a strange look on his face and she grinned. “Your son calls me Miss Sullivan every time I see him and he’s not exactly one of my favorite people right now, so I’d prefer it if you’d call me by my first name.” The corners of Lionel’s mouth quirked upward.
“Of course,” he said. “Please forgive me. I should have known that Alexander would remind you of the Kent boy and the Lang girl who’s currently residing in your home. He will not be mentioned again.” Chloe looked at him in disbelief.
“How did you know about that?” She asked him. He started walking again, and this time she followed his lead right away.
“I know many things,” Lionel responded cryptically.
“Uh huh,” Chloe said. “You do realize that there are stalking laws in this state?” That earned a loud chuckle out of Lionel. They reached a room that looked like a small library or den.
“Please sit down,” Lionel said and reached for the door to close it behind them. Chloe shook her head slightly and then chose a comfortable looking chair by a chess table. Lionel made his way to a decanter set and shakily poured himself a drink. Lionel took a sip of the liquor and then grinned at her. “No comment about how it’s too early for a drink?” He asked in mild surprise and amusement. Chloe grinned back at him and shrugged.
“Hey, if you want a liver transplant within the next couple of years so badly, then I’m not going to stop you,” she quipped. Lionel grinned and took another sip. Chloe looked at the board. “Do you play?” Lionel reached for the chair opposite hers and lowered himself into it.
“I used to,” he said. “However, not being able to see the board considerably hinders my strategic abilities.” Chloe didn’t even bother to look up at him.
“Well, seeing as how you’re not really blind, that shouldn’t be a problem,” she said. Lionel tried to act surprised, but Chloe continued. “I know many things as well.” Lionel pursed his lips.
“I see,” he said. “And what is it that you think you know exactly?” Chloe kept her eyes on the chess board and reached out to move one of the pieces on her side.
“I know that you’re not really blind,” Chloe said. “I know that the doctor who operated on you had a large sum of money transferred to his bank account from one of your shadow subsidiary companies after the operation so he would back up your story.” She waited, eyes still on the board, but he said nothing. “I know that you hired Mrs. Kent because she reminds you of your dead wife and you have a crush on her.” She paused again and then looked up at him. “Your turn.” He arched an eyebrow and she motioned to the chess board. One corner of his mouth grinned and he looked directly down at the board. He moved a piece and then looked back up at her.
“So where do we go from here?” Lionel asked carefully. “Are you going to print this newfound information in your high school paper?” Chloe cringed a little when her mind drifted to The Torch. A couple of days ago, it had still been the reason she lived and breathed, but now she couldn’t think of it without picturing Clark and Lana together inside the office. Chloe shook her head and moved another piece.
“I don’t think anyone would believe me if I did,” Chloe said. “You’ve put on a pretty convincing act.” Lionel smiled as he looked at her.
“You weren’t convinced,” he observed.
“I’m not a stupid hick like the rest of the people in this town,” she bit.
“Indeed,” Lionel agreed and moved another chess piece from his side.
“So to answer your question as to where we go from here, I’d say that’s up to you,” Chloe said. Lionel looked at her questioningly and she grinned at him. “Do you still think I have anger management issues?” Lionel chuckled.
“Obviously,” he said in a kidding tone. “Which means that you still have to do your court mandated community service. You can either keep spending time around me to see how much your outburst wounded my feelings---” Chloe snorted and Lionel smiled. “Or you can take anger management classes.” Chloe glared at him and Lionel smirked and put his fingertips together. “And seeing as how you’re trying to pretend that Lex and his two high school friends don’t exist, I would recommend the first option.” Chloe wondered briefly how he knew that she had decided that Clark and Lana would no longer exist to her, but decided to let it slide. She nodded and moved her piece.
“I agree,” she said. She smiled up at him. “Check.” Lionel smirked again at her and moved one last piece.
“Good,” he said in approval. “Checkmate.”
~*~*~
Ch. 3
~*~*~
By the time Lex walked into the house on his return from his date with Dr. Helen Bryce the previous night, Lionel and Chloe had already been talking for a good three hours. Lex mused to himself that Helen wasn’t like the other women he had dated, and that he could possibly even see a future with her. He asked the butler if his father was up yet, and wasn’t surprised to hear that he was. It did surprise him to hear that his father had company who wasn’t Martha Kent and it didn’t seem to be business related. Lex got a nagging curiosity and started off toward his father’s study. Lionel looked up at a monitor on the wall and frowned.
“Lex is home,” he said in a displeased voice. Chloe turned around to see Lex’s image walking down the corridor toward them. She grumbled and stood up.
“So he is,” she observed in a dry tone. Chloe walked over and closed the wood paneling that hid the monitor while Lionel put all of the chess pieces in their original positions. Lionel leaned back in his chair and smirked at her.
“My partner in crime,” he said playfully. Chloe’s laughter lilted through the room and carried into the hallway. “He was out with that dreadful Bryce woman again.” Chloe nodded and sat back down. “I swear, the poor boy has the worst taste in women. Do you know her?” Lionel asked with curiosity.
“I’ve met her once or twice,” Chloe responded. She got a coy smile on her face. “Or were you asking if I know *about* her?” Lionel raised his eyebrows in intrigue.
“You know something Chloe Sullivan,” he said with certainty.
“And you’d like to know what it is,” Chloe said with a wider smile. “Seeing as how your incompetent private detectives couldn’t come up with anything, other than the fact that she’s a doctor and who her family tree consists of.” Lionel grunted and then an evil smile crept across his mouth.
“Indeed,” he replied. Chloe leaned back in her chair and just smiled, at which point Lionel became impatient and tilted his head at her. “Come now, share with the rest of the class.” Chloe laughed again, even louder this time. Lex was close enough to the closed door to hear it and he furrowed his brow. The female sounded so familiar, but he couldn’t place it. He reached the closed door and lightly rapped on it before letting himself in. Lionel and Chloe both turned their heads as Lex walked into the room, although to Lionel’s credit, he only looked in the general direction of the sound of the door. Chloe barely held in a chuckle. Lex was in shock to see her there.
“Dad,” he said. He looked at Chloe. “Miss Sullivan.” Lionel let out a small snort and Chloe bit her tongue as she grinned at his reaction. Lex wasn’t pleased. “May I ask what you’re doing here? I would have remembered if I had an appointment with you.”
“Her appointment was with me,” Lionel interjected as he shakily stood up. A look of surprise crossed Lex’s face.
“Actually,” Chloe said as she stood up. “My appointment was with Billings, but seeing as how your father fired him ---”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Lionel said in a correcting tone and waved his finger. “I didn’t say I fired him, I said that he was no longer in my employ.” Chloe tilted her head.
“Same thing,” she argued. “Unless you actually expect me to believe that he quit.” Lionel grinned.
“Perhaps I had him disposed of,” he said in a half joking voice. Chloe appeared pensive.
“Good point,” she agreed. “I hadn’t thought of that.” Lex looked back and forth between the two as they bantered. He didn’t like what he was seeing or hearing. Lex couldn’t describe it, but it made him feel decidedly uncomfortable.
“Why did you have an appointment to see Howard Billings in the first place?” Lex asked with suspicion. Chloe and Lionel both smiled.
“So that was his first name,” Chloe said. Lionel nodded.
“I don’t think that we guessed that one,” Lionel said. Chloe shook her head.
“I don’t think we did,” she agreed. Lex cleared his throat and Chloe turned to face him. He looked at her expectantly and she shrugged. “Apparently *some* people think I have anger management issues,” she said snidely. Lionel smirked.
“Temper,” he kiddingly warned. Chloe grinned at him tightly and then shut down all emotion from her face when she looked at Lex again. She noticed the clock on the wall above him and frowned. She turned to Lionel.
“I have to go,” she said. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.” Lionel frowned.
“You couldn’t have been here for more than an hour,” he replied. Chloe shook her head.
“Three hours if that clock is right,” she said. Lionel made a discontented sound.
“But we were right in the middle of a discussion,” he protested. His head turned in Lex’s direction and he frowned at him. “And as always son, you have impeccable timing,” he said with heavy sarcasm. Chloe laughed.
“Well, we’ll have to continue it another time then, because I have to get going,” Chloe said.
“Will you be coming by tomorrow?” Lionel asked. Lex’s eyes grew wide. He needed to find out what was going on and he needed to find out now. Chloe seemed to think about it.
“I can in the afternoon, but like I said before, I have an evening appointment with Mr. Sark,” she said with a smile. Lionel gave her a knowing smile in return. Lex furrowed his brow as he wondered who Mr. Sark could be.
“Yes, I had almost forgotten about that,” he said. “Why not the morning again then?” Chloe crossed her arms.
“You’re entertaining company, but I don’t like waking up that early on the weekends for anybody,” Chloe said. The smile on Lionel’s face didn’t diminish, but the frown on Lex’s face became considerably more defined.
“You did for Billings,” Lionel observed. Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out so she shut it again. “May I take it from your lack of a retort, that you’ll be here in the morning?”
“No,” Chloe said. “Silence doesn’t equal acquiescence.” Lex grinned at her statement, but frowned again when he saw that his father had the same reaction he did.
‘Surely he can’t like her,’ Lex thought to himself. ‘She’s still in high school for God’s sake!’ Lionel sighed and then gave a curt nod.
“I see,” he said. “What time in the afternoon shall I expect you then?” Chloe smiled.
“Two?” She suggested. Lionel shook his head in disagreement.
“Nonsense,” he said. “Be here at noon and you can have lunch over here.”
“I’m not sure I want to,” Chloe said with a teasing grin. “You might put poison in it.” Lionel chuckled.
“Of course not dear,” he said, returning her joking tone. “I would never do something so menial myself. I would have one of the wait staff do it for me.” Chloe laughed.
“Is that an anger management lesson?” She asked.
“Certainly,” he said. “You wouldn’t want anyone to be able to connect you to your crimes of passion, now would you?” Chloe shook her head and smiled.
“Fine. I’ll be here at noon,” she finally agreed. “But only if you promise that you won’t have anyone poison the food.” Lionel nodded.
“I suppose,” he teased. “I’ll walk you to the door then.” Lex pursed his lips and stopped his father from tapping his cane all the way to the door.
“I’m sure that Miss Sullivan can remember how to get to the front door,” Lex said and gave Chloe a pointed look. Chloe kept a stoic look on her face and nodded.
“No problem,” she said and passed by Lex without giving him any eye contact. “Bye Mr. Luthor,” she threw over her shoulder at Lionel. Lex frowned. Chloe was usually so much friendlier than that with him. Lex shook the thought out of his mind. If he was thinking along those lines, then he would need to acknowledge that the uncomfortable feeling he had while being in the room with them might have been jealousy, and he wasn’t prepared to do that. Lionel turned away from his son after Chloe left the room and Lex shut the door.
“Was that really necessary?” Lionel asked in a disappointed tone. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were bred without any manners whatsoever.” Lex glared at him.
“You want to tell me what that was all about?” Lex asked in a calm yet obviously angry voice. Lionel grinned to himself, but didn’t turn around.
“What *what* was all about son?” Lionel asked.
“You know what I’m talking about Dad,” Lex said. “Why was Chloe Sullivan here, and spending time with you?” ‘And *enjoying* spending time with you?’ Lex thought. Lionel turned around.
“I believe she already explained that to you Lex,” Lionel said noncommittally. “She verbally accosted Billings and me when we were out the other day, and I merely suggested to the judge that it might be more beneficial for her to spend time around her victims to see how her anger hurt them, rather than taking those classes like you are.” Lex stared at him.
“Right,” Lex said. “Because I’m sure that you were irreparably wounded by a teenager yelling at you.” Lionel chuckled.
“She said the same thing, only with a touch more sarcasm,” Lionel said as he poured himself a drink with an unsteady hand. Lex sighed and ran his hand over the back of his neck.
“You can’t do this Dad,” Lex said. “She’s sixteen, and she’s a friend of Clark’s.” Lionel arched an eyebrow.
“Perhaps you need some more recent information,” Lionel said. “Currently she’s acting as though your friend Clark doesn’t exist, which is hardly something one would do if they were friends.” Lionel’s expression went stone-like as Lex looked at him with some confusion. Lionel turned his head away just slightly. “She’s been through enough pain Alexander. I recommend that you and your friends stay away from her while she heals.” Lex’s eyebrows creased in growing confusion. His father sounded genuinely concerned for Chloe’s emotions, but Lex hadn’t missed the underlying threat that lied behind Lionel’s words.
“And if we don’t?” Lex asked. One corner of Lionel’s mouth quirked upward.
“There are always consequences for the actions we take Lex,” Lionel said cryptically. He took a sip from his drink and then murmured to himself. “There are always consequences.”
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