Title: Consequences (1/?)
Author: RedDinah
Email: reddinah@hotmail.com
Summary: Futurefic; Just an exploration of how the rift developed between Clark and Lex. Chlex also.
Rating: PG for now, who knows where it will go
Category: Drama/Romance
Pairings: Chlex
Spoilers: None; you all watch the show anyways right?? Disclaimer: SMALLVILLE and its characters do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: All you have to do is ask.
Author's Notes: I don't know how I feel about this story; Getting the proper characterization of all those in my story is very important. Personally I find nothing worse than fics that make Lex into a sappy romantic for example. I mean the reason we write about these characters is because we admire them. So the least we can do is write words they would actually speak, and do things that they would actually do. So basically, I hope I get some feedback on this first chapter; please tell me how you feel and give suggestions. Feedback will certainly be one of the deciding factors of whether or not I continue this story
Consequences Prologue
Looking back, he couldn't regret anything that had happened. Those five years had been the fleeting brightness in his otherwise dark life. Although things would have been different, much less complicated and perhaps even better if she hadn't been in his life, he could never regret one moment of it.
All the hatred that had come from their all too short time together. perhaps it had been doomed from the beginning; it certainly seemed to him that most things in his life were. But it was a doom he embraced and would embrace over and over again, like a moth to a flame. It had been hot, passionate and brutal sometimes, but more than anything else, it had been real. The only real thing he could cling to in his life except for his mother. His whole life had been one of deceit and lies; she had been the exception to the rule. She had taught him that it wasn't all a waste, and for that, it was worth a thousand dooms.
Chapter One
Lex Luther didn't particularly enjoy giving university lectures. He didn't really have any problems with speaking in front of crowds; the class evaluations actually informed him that he had talent not only for speaking well, but maintaining a class's interest in the material. It was really just boring. Most people he met were boring. Half of them were only in school because their "daddy" had paid to get them out of the house and doing something constructive. He had been born into that same privilege, but god dammit if he was going to let his father carry him through life like a child. Most of the students really weren't that intelligent, or motivated enough to really amount to much. And of the poor students, taking out student loans to follow the dream of success? Most would never actually make it inside the boardrooms of which they dreamed. Because of course in corporate America the cliché ran loud and clear; it didn't matter what you knew, it was who you knew. It was a colossal waste of time he thought. University these days was nothing but a breeding ground for people who pretended to have intelligent opinions half the time and spent the rest of the time getting drunk and being childish. He knew; he'd been there to see it. Predictable and boring. Many people upon discovering this rather dim opinion he had of such a sacred and valued institution called him an elitist bastard who was probably the worse than the rest combined. Lex just shrugged it off; he was entitled to his opinion.
But of course most people did not know what Lex really felt about such things. Outwardly he was friendly to his students, he marked assignments fairly, and he told jokes in class. Most of them liked him even if they were a little in awe of him. The women more often than not were infatuated with him, and the men were infatuated with what he was; the embodiment of the kind of success they wanted for themselves.
Second day of term. He walked in and set up the computer for the PowerPoint presentation he had prepared. The class began to quiet down as the screen lit up and his microphone came on.
"Good afternoon," He said. "Just a few housekeeping things before we get started. If anyone doesn't have a syllabus, come and get one up at the front. And please make sure you're on the class list. This is Finance 412 Investment principles and this course examines securities and securities markets with emphasis on stocks and bonds so please make sure you're in the right place. I can't stress this enough, you don't want to get to writing your first midterm and then realize that you aren't even registered for this course. And although many of you may find it enough just to come here and listen to my sheer charm and wit without actually being registered, I'm sure most of your parents won't feel the same way." He paused allowing the low titter of laughter to subside. "Unfortunately, this class is far too large for me to get to know all of you personally so you'll be expected to do your own catching up. With 450 of you in here, it's all too easy to miss one."
He was remarkably good at this, Chloe Sullivan thought as she watched Lex captivate his audience. She wondered if it was all an act or if he actually enjoyed being up there. She had been here on Monday too, shocked to see that the Lex Luthor was the professor that her class list had read "to be announced." She hadn't seen him since she had graduated and they had all left Smallville. And somehow after he and Clark had stopped talking, she hadn't really given him a lot of thought since. At least not in the sense of someone she had known once. She followed news on LexCorp, with hunger and knew that someday she would meet him again to get that expose she had always sought after in high school. But now, seeing him like this was different. He seemed more human, not that picture of the cold businessman that she had created to replace the person. Now, seeing him up in front of her, winning the hearts of all the girls, or at least all the ones she was sitting next to, she began to think about Lex Luthor the man she had known for the first time in almost three years. They had never been friends, her and Lex. They were only brought together because of Clark, and to an extent after her dealings with his father had come out. Those last few months had been like living in hell. The truth was finally coming out about Lex's investigations of Clark, and the friendship that probably never should have been was replaced by anger and the pain of betrayal. Chloe had never admitted it to Clark, but she had secretly identified with Lex, and all his quests for the truth about the mysterious Clark Kent. Hadn't she of course done the same thing? Clark wouldn't see that he had betrayed Lex in a way as well; at least he had in Lex's mind. Clark probably never would see that. But Clark had never been good at trusting his friends, something she had never understood. She knew he was afraid for himself and at the same time had some sort of feeling that keeping secrets would protect his friends Personally, Chloe could think of far more incidences in which knowing Clark's secrets would have saved them all a lot of grief and pain, then she could of ones where it was better to not know. At least their friendship had survived. Things had been so rocky between them for so long that she was just grateful that she still had her best friend. Of course he didn't know that she knew his secret, it had been something she had had to figure out for herself, and had never told him that she knew the truth. Perhaps someday it would be useful to know. Chloe also honestly believed that Lex would never have used or exploited Clark in any way. Sure, Lex had some major issues, but he had a sense of loyalty that was staggering, even more so considering the string of people who had betrayed him; his father, Helen along with almost every other woman he had known. And being lied to for three years from someone he probably had considered his best friend? In Lex's eyes, and in the eyes of probably anyone in that situation, that was the worst betrayal of all.
She sighed to herself. It had all become so very complicated. The tragedy of it all was that no one was really right or wrong in the end. Clark and Lex needed to learn to understand each other's side of it. Both of them had to learn some empathy.
But now here she was sitting in a lecture theatre listening to a man who had used to be a major player in her life; a man she had never expected to see again in a social setting. Would she sit through the class for the whole term and never approach him? It could be done; as he had said himself, he would go the whole term without seeing her if that's what she wanted. But even if that's what she did want, it wasn't in Chloe's nature to back away from something like this. She was too curious to see what Lex was doing after all these years. Curious. and slightly nostalgic despite herself for what had been, before friendships failed and everyone grew up.
Chloe waited until class was over and walked down to the front and got into the line where many students were attempting to have their five minutes with Lex. He didn't even notice who she was until she was standing right in front of her
"Professor Luthor, I need some help with my homework and I was hoping you'd be able to give me some private tutoring."
Lex looked up, surprised at the voice and what it was saying. He looked at her. Lex had never really considered Chloe Sullivan. She was not much more to him other than an amusement of a high school girl's bold attempts to interview someone like him. Not that she wasn't bright; Lex could tell almost immediately after his first introduction to her that she would certainly outdo all of her contemporaries in Smallville. She was the shining star of that class; cynical and aware of the way life worked. She was nothing like the naive and idealistic Lana Lang. She was also quick, bright and had the looks that would get her exactly what she wanted in life. He knew of course of her dealings with his father, but held no grudge. As smart as she was, at the time she had still been a young girl that fell into the trap of a man who had been manipulating and playing the game since before she was born. It had been out of her power from the beginning. Lex only wished that she had come to him for help, but he knew she was far too independent to have done that.
Stubborn, attractive, cynical, brilliant. She had all that it took. All this he knew about Chloe. But it had all seemed rather obvious to him. Just another high school student with a bright future. And she had been much too young to have been of any value to him; Lex knew he could be ruthless, but he would never sink to the level of using a 16 year old girl for his own agenda as his father had done. For all of these reasons, Chloe was probably the first person he had forgotten when he had left Smallville.
Yet here she stood.
"Miss Sullivan," Lex replied. There was a silence
"When did you get your PhD?" She asked. No hello Lex how are you. She was too realistic for such phony pleasantries.
"I haven't yet actually," he answered. "I'm still under review. But it's really only a matter of time." His words weren't conceited. Lex wasn't stuck up, never had been. He just accepted the way things were and refused to show false modestly. Hardly a fault.
"So Chloe Sullivan, how have you been? Journalism major I assume?"
"Naturally," She grinned. Lex considered her. The smile jolted him back to Smallville, a place he had tried to put out of his mind for three years now.
"It's been a long time," He said, giving a small smile in return. "You're all grown up." Which was true as a matter of fact. Chloe's face had matured into a woman. The last of her baby fat was gone and her hair was darker, much more adult, though still short. She also retained her cutting sense of style. It all suited her. Actually, she was quite beautiful. Chloe looked behind her. Her classmates were giving her dirty looks, angry that she was taking so long and waiting their turn to get to know the professor. She turned back to Lex.
"What are you doing right now?" She asked him. He looked at her, always so calm and unfazed.
"Well why do you ask?"
"Well I don't have class, let's grab a coffee."
Lex actually had to suppress his instant suspicious reaction. It wasn't often that anyone asked Lex to do anything without wanting something from him. But Chloe didn't. It was a nice feeling. Lex smiled despite himself.
"That Chloe, would be very nice."
Email: reddinah@hotmail.com
Summary: Futurefic; Just an exploration of how the rift developed between Clark and Lex. Chlex also.
Rating: PG for now, who knows where it will go
Category: Drama/Romance
Pairings: Chlex
Spoilers: None; you all watch the show anyways right?? Disclaimer: SMALLVILLE and its characters do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: All you have to do is ask.
Author's Notes: I don't know how I feel about this story; Getting the proper characterization of all those in my story is very important. Personally I find nothing worse than fics that make Lex into a sappy romantic for example. I mean the reason we write about these characters is because we admire them. So the least we can do is write words they would actually speak, and do things that they would actually do. So basically, I hope I get some feedback on this first chapter; please tell me how you feel and give suggestions. Feedback will certainly be one of the deciding factors of whether or not I continue this story
Consequences Prologue
Looking back, he couldn't regret anything that had happened. Those five years had been the fleeting brightness in his otherwise dark life. Although things would have been different, much less complicated and perhaps even better if she hadn't been in his life, he could never regret one moment of it.
All the hatred that had come from their all too short time together. perhaps it had been doomed from the beginning; it certainly seemed to him that most things in his life were. But it was a doom he embraced and would embrace over and over again, like a moth to a flame. It had been hot, passionate and brutal sometimes, but more than anything else, it had been real. The only real thing he could cling to in his life except for his mother. His whole life had been one of deceit and lies; she had been the exception to the rule. She had taught him that it wasn't all a waste, and for that, it was worth a thousand dooms.
Chapter One
Lex Luther didn't particularly enjoy giving university lectures. He didn't really have any problems with speaking in front of crowds; the class evaluations actually informed him that he had talent not only for speaking well, but maintaining a class's interest in the material. It was really just boring. Most people he met were boring. Half of them were only in school because their "daddy" had paid to get them out of the house and doing something constructive. He had been born into that same privilege, but god dammit if he was going to let his father carry him through life like a child. Most of the students really weren't that intelligent, or motivated enough to really amount to much. And of the poor students, taking out student loans to follow the dream of success? Most would never actually make it inside the boardrooms of which they dreamed. Because of course in corporate America the cliché ran loud and clear; it didn't matter what you knew, it was who you knew. It was a colossal waste of time he thought. University these days was nothing but a breeding ground for people who pretended to have intelligent opinions half the time and spent the rest of the time getting drunk and being childish. He knew; he'd been there to see it. Predictable and boring. Many people upon discovering this rather dim opinion he had of such a sacred and valued institution called him an elitist bastard who was probably the worse than the rest combined. Lex just shrugged it off; he was entitled to his opinion.
But of course most people did not know what Lex really felt about such things. Outwardly he was friendly to his students, he marked assignments fairly, and he told jokes in class. Most of them liked him even if they were a little in awe of him. The women more often than not were infatuated with him, and the men were infatuated with what he was; the embodiment of the kind of success they wanted for themselves.
Second day of term. He walked in and set up the computer for the PowerPoint presentation he had prepared. The class began to quiet down as the screen lit up and his microphone came on.
"Good afternoon," He said. "Just a few housekeeping things before we get started. If anyone doesn't have a syllabus, come and get one up at the front. And please make sure you're on the class list. This is Finance 412 Investment principles and this course examines securities and securities markets with emphasis on stocks and bonds so please make sure you're in the right place. I can't stress this enough, you don't want to get to writing your first midterm and then realize that you aren't even registered for this course. And although many of you may find it enough just to come here and listen to my sheer charm and wit without actually being registered, I'm sure most of your parents won't feel the same way." He paused allowing the low titter of laughter to subside. "Unfortunately, this class is far too large for me to get to know all of you personally so you'll be expected to do your own catching up. With 450 of you in here, it's all too easy to miss one."
He was remarkably good at this, Chloe Sullivan thought as she watched Lex captivate his audience. She wondered if it was all an act or if he actually enjoyed being up there. She had been here on Monday too, shocked to see that the Lex Luthor was the professor that her class list had read "to be announced." She hadn't seen him since she had graduated and they had all left Smallville. And somehow after he and Clark had stopped talking, she hadn't really given him a lot of thought since. At least not in the sense of someone she had known once. She followed news on LexCorp, with hunger and knew that someday she would meet him again to get that expose she had always sought after in high school. But now, seeing him like this was different. He seemed more human, not that picture of the cold businessman that she had created to replace the person. Now, seeing him up in front of her, winning the hearts of all the girls, or at least all the ones she was sitting next to, she began to think about Lex Luthor the man she had known for the first time in almost three years. They had never been friends, her and Lex. They were only brought together because of Clark, and to an extent after her dealings with his father had come out. Those last few months had been like living in hell. The truth was finally coming out about Lex's investigations of Clark, and the friendship that probably never should have been was replaced by anger and the pain of betrayal. Chloe had never admitted it to Clark, but she had secretly identified with Lex, and all his quests for the truth about the mysterious Clark Kent. Hadn't she of course done the same thing? Clark wouldn't see that he had betrayed Lex in a way as well; at least he had in Lex's mind. Clark probably never would see that. But Clark had never been good at trusting his friends, something she had never understood. She knew he was afraid for himself and at the same time had some sort of feeling that keeping secrets would protect his friends Personally, Chloe could think of far more incidences in which knowing Clark's secrets would have saved them all a lot of grief and pain, then she could of ones where it was better to not know. At least their friendship had survived. Things had been so rocky between them for so long that she was just grateful that she still had her best friend. Of course he didn't know that she knew his secret, it had been something she had had to figure out for herself, and had never told him that she knew the truth. Perhaps someday it would be useful to know. Chloe also honestly believed that Lex would never have used or exploited Clark in any way. Sure, Lex had some major issues, but he had a sense of loyalty that was staggering, even more so considering the string of people who had betrayed him; his father, Helen along with almost every other woman he had known. And being lied to for three years from someone he probably had considered his best friend? In Lex's eyes, and in the eyes of probably anyone in that situation, that was the worst betrayal of all.
She sighed to herself. It had all become so very complicated. The tragedy of it all was that no one was really right or wrong in the end. Clark and Lex needed to learn to understand each other's side of it. Both of them had to learn some empathy.
But now here she was sitting in a lecture theatre listening to a man who had used to be a major player in her life; a man she had never expected to see again in a social setting. Would she sit through the class for the whole term and never approach him? It could be done; as he had said himself, he would go the whole term without seeing her if that's what she wanted. But even if that's what she did want, it wasn't in Chloe's nature to back away from something like this. She was too curious to see what Lex was doing after all these years. Curious. and slightly nostalgic despite herself for what had been, before friendships failed and everyone grew up.
Chloe waited until class was over and walked down to the front and got into the line where many students were attempting to have their five minutes with Lex. He didn't even notice who she was until she was standing right in front of her
"Professor Luthor, I need some help with my homework and I was hoping you'd be able to give me some private tutoring."
Lex looked up, surprised at the voice and what it was saying. He looked at her. Lex had never really considered Chloe Sullivan. She was not much more to him other than an amusement of a high school girl's bold attempts to interview someone like him. Not that she wasn't bright; Lex could tell almost immediately after his first introduction to her that she would certainly outdo all of her contemporaries in Smallville. She was the shining star of that class; cynical and aware of the way life worked. She was nothing like the naive and idealistic Lana Lang. She was also quick, bright and had the looks that would get her exactly what she wanted in life. He knew of course of her dealings with his father, but held no grudge. As smart as she was, at the time she had still been a young girl that fell into the trap of a man who had been manipulating and playing the game since before she was born. It had been out of her power from the beginning. Lex only wished that she had come to him for help, but he knew she was far too independent to have done that.
Stubborn, attractive, cynical, brilliant. She had all that it took. All this he knew about Chloe. But it had all seemed rather obvious to him. Just another high school student with a bright future. And she had been much too young to have been of any value to him; Lex knew he could be ruthless, but he would never sink to the level of using a 16 year old girl for his own agenda as his father had done. For all of these reasons, Chloe was probably the first person he had forgotten when he had left Smallville.
Yet here she stood.
"Miss Sullivan," Lex replied. There was a silence
"When did you get your PhD?" She asked. No hello Lex how are you. She was too realistic for such phony pleasantries.
"I haven't yet actually," he answered. "I'm still under review. But it's really only a matter of time." His words weren't conceited. Lex wasn't stuck up, never had been. He just accepted the way things were and refused to show false modestly. Hardly a fault.
"So Chloe Sullivan, how have you been? Journalism major I assume?"
"Naturally," She grinned. Lex considered her. The smile jolted him back to Smallville, a place he had tried to put out of his mind for three years now.
"It's been a long time," He said, giving a small smile in return. "You're all grown up." Which was true as a matter of fact. Chloe's face had matured into a woman. The last of her baby fat was gone and her hair was darker, much more adult, though still short. She also retained her cutting sense of style. It all suited her. Actually, she was quite beautiful. Chloe looked behind her. Her classmates were giving her dirty looks, angry that she was taking so long and waiting their turn to get to know the professor. She turned back to Lex.
"What are you doing right now?" She asked him. He looked at her, always so calm and unfazed.
"Well why do you ask?"
"Well I don't have class, let's grab a coffee."
Lex actually had to suppress his instant suspicious reaction. It wasn't often that anyone asked Lex to do anything without wanting something from him. But Chloe didn't. It was a nice feeling. Lex smiled despite himself.
"That Chloe, would be very nice."