Leah gazed around the little coffee shop, searching for the one to be next. Everyone was in groups around here. Weren't there any loaners in this town? She propped her feet up on the table in front of her, knowing no one would care, no one would notice. No one noticed anything Leah did unless she allowed someone to. She always felt like she was on the outside looking in, or the inside looking out. Was there a difference? Leah could never let the world notice her as they might notice a normal person who looked like her. Willing their eyes away was the only way to hide her deadly white skin and hair from people that might start...*assuming* things.
A man, completely bald, though he wasn't old at all, sat in a chair that was near the couch Leah had been reclining on for the past ten minutes. He was dressed in a black suit, an expensive black suit by the looks of it. Leah hesitated. She tried to avoid rich people. People tended to notice them missing. But he was the only one there, and it seemed like he was the only one that would ever be there.
"You look like you're waiting for someone," Leah said, while willing the man's attention. She removed her feet from the table and leaned forward, acting as if she were bored.
The man blinked at her, as if he hadn't noticed she was there. "Yeah," he said, leaning forward to make conversation, "a friend of mine comes here every once and a while. I was hoping to run into him," he paused and glanced around the shop, "but it looks like he's not gonna show."
"I was waiting for someone to, but they haven't shown up either." Leah stood and sighed. "I might as well just go home." She then looked at the man out of the corner of her eye and Flashed him.
He immediately stood up. "Do you have a ride?" he asked coolly. "Because I could take you if you like."
"I was just going to walk..." She said, and then paused to make him think that she was thinking about her answer, "but all right."
The man smiled slightly and said, "Lets go then," and led Leah to the door. As they stepped out the exit, he said, "Oh, I'm Lex Luthor," as if he was just remembering his manners.
"Leah," she said in reply, and presented her hand, but regretted doing so as Lex shook it. Was a handshake too friendly in this situation? She would just have to make up for her mistake.
Lex led Leah out to what looked like a very nice car and helped her inside. She didn't know what kind of car it was. She didn't find it necessary to memorize those types of things. So when Lex got in the driver's side, she just commented, "Nice. You must be loaded," while rubbing the seat.
He looked at her sideways and asked, "You're not from around here, are you?" He pulled the car up to the exit and asked, "Which way?"
Leah glanced at the road and flicked her finger to the right and smiled wickedly. "That way," she said, and sighed. "No, I'm not from around here. I just moved here last month."
"Why's that?" Lex asked in a tone of voice that seemed to question Leah's judgment.
Leah laughed and said, "Oh, the name `Smallville' was just *so* appealing."
Lex laughed and made a left turn, but then caught himself. "Oh! Is this the right way? I didn't ask."
"It's okay. This is right," she reassured him. She glanced at him quickly and said, "Take this turn here," and flicked her finger to the right.
Leah noticed that Lex had a sort of smirk on his face but she couldn't tell whether it was out of habit or if he was smirking at something in particular.
"So," he said after a short while, "did you come here with family?"
"No, I'm all by myself. I'm sort of a nomad," Leah said in an innocent yet provocative voice. "Turn here," she added, flicking her finger vaguely to the left.
"Here?" Lex asked, pointing in a more specific direction.
"Yeah," Leah answered.
"Do you *have* any family?" Lex asked, trying to continue with the conversation.
"Nope. All dead." Leah scolded herself. That came out a little more casually than she meant it to.
Lex raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow. That's too bad."
Leah wasn't sure if he was being falsely sympathetic or if he truly felt sorry for her, but nonetheless she decided to try and let him know that she was over it. "Well, it happened a while ago," she said, "I don't really think about it all that much. Turn left."
"Really?" Lex asked, interested. "Did you not have a good relationship with them?"
"It was actually a very good relationship, as far as I remember, that is."
"You make it sound like it was a really long time ago. How old are you?"
"Guess."
Lex looked her over briefly, and then said, "You look about eighteen to me."
"That's about right," Leah answered, and rubbed her thigh with her palm. "But I quit keeping up with my exact age years ago."
"What?" Lex said, confused.
Leah suddenly realized they were passing their destination. She jumped and said, almost yelled, "Ooh! Stop here!"
The car came to a sudden halt. Leah took a quick look around to see where they were. They were sitting between a small patch of woods, which was perfect, and an enormous house made of stone. *Is that his house?* Leah thought. *He is loaded!* It reminded her of the castles she had seen in Scotland.
Lex was even more perplexed than before. "But this is *my* house."
"Really?" Leah said, acting as if she was surprised. "Wow...that's...wow." She then pointed towards the middle of the patch of woods. "But *I* live down there."
"There's nothing down there, though," he said, sounding a little concerned.
"Yeah, there is. An abandoned shack. I'm living there at the moment." Leah opened the door and started to get out of the car, but Lex grabbed her gently by the arm. Leah suppressed a wicked smile. She loved this part of the game. They try to help an innocent girl in from the cold, but then...
"I can't let you sleep down there," he said compassionately. "Come to my house and stay."
"I don't want to impose. Besides, I've stayed in much worse places than that." She motioned towards the woods.
"Still, if you don't come up it'll be on my mind all night."
It was all Leah could do to keep from giggling. She took a moment to regain herself, while Lex continued to hold onto her arm. After she was fairly sure that she wouldn't break out into a fit of laughter, Leah turned around and said, "All right then," and sat back in the seat.
They drove up to the great mansion in silence. Leah wanted to plan how she would go about things, but Lex seemed to have tagged himself as an authority figure, so she would just have to go with it. She could tell that he was used to being looked up to. He had a relaxed air about him.
Lex led Leah up to the door. He held it open for her, but she paused. "Go on in," Lex urged her, and she stepped inside and gazed around. They were in an extremely nice parlor. Leah found herself wondering what this man did for a living. "Wow," she said in awe. "Is anyone here?"
"No, Just us," he replied, and showed her to a couch in the middle of the room. After Leah had made herself comfortable, Lex asked, "Do you drink?"
"Yeah, sure," she said, feeling that she could stand a few drinks. "What do you have?"
"Well, I received a bottle of red wine as a gift from a client today."
"Oh, I would *love* some wine," Leah replied enthusiastically.
"Great."
Lex then turned and Leah heard cabinets opening and glass tinkling behind her. He returned with a bottle and two glasses. He poured a glass for Leah, then while handing the glass to her, he poured one for himself.
"Thanks," she said and held the glass to her lips, allowing the robust bouquet of the wine to fill her nostrils before taking a sip. The tart flavor filled her mouth and reminded her of long ago, when she used to drink wine like this almost every day. It was soothing. She took another sip, looked at Lex out of the corner of her eye and Flashed him another time.
He slid a little closer to Leah before perusing conversation once more. "So, how'd you end up moving around so much?"
Leah turned to face Lex and she answered him in a mournful tone of voice. "Well, after my family died, it seemed like the only think to do. I didn't have anywhere to go." It was just about time...
"How did they--"
Now. Leah Flashed Lex a final time and he grabbed her and kissed her passionately, as though he had been holding himself back for a long while. They held each other in a tight embrace, but suddenly Leah noticed something different. Something very, very different. The others never felt like this. This one felt--well, that didn't really matter. Different wasn't bad. Different was different. Leah allowed herself to kiss Lex for a second longer than she meant to, but then she realized she was enjoying it a little too much and forced herself to pull away from his mouth. She kissed his jaw, then his neck, again, again, and Lex did the same to her. Leah pulled up from his neck and stared at it for a moment, for some reason holding herself back from the inevitable. Fangs unsheathed behind her lips, but she hesitated a moment more. Finally, she sunk her fangs into Lex's neck, and he gasped, tensing up slightly. But he relaxed after a second, groaned with pleasure, and pulled Leah
closer to him. Leah slowly sucked out the thick, warm liquid that heated her entire body once it hit the throat. It was more soothing than wine. It was nourishing. It was bliss. It was...different. This was different than before, different than the others. She had a strange urge to pull away and stop before the job was done, and she did. She licked her lips and swallowed twice to clear the conspicuous taste from her mouth before kissing Lex's neck two more times. She kissed him on the mouth again. It took him a second or two for him to regain his senses and start kissing back. Leah felt an unfamiliar sensation in her chest that almost made her think that she was going to explode. She didn't know if she liked it or not. All she knew was that she didn't want it to stop, and that it wasn't normal. It wasn't right. She felt a tear fall from her eye and roll off her cheek. *This can't go on forever,* she thought, and she pulled away.
Leah looked down, glanced up at Lex once, then down again. "I, um, better leave," she said quietly.
"No," said Lex kindly, though it was more of a command than it was a question. He stroked her face softly and Leah couldn't keep herself from looking into his eyes. "You said you'd stay."
She looked down again. "Yeah, but--"
"You're going to stay. Nothing has to happen."
Leah looked up at him again. "Okay," she replied reluctantly.
Lex took her hand and led her out of the room and up a flight of stairs. This was not part of the game. The game should be over by now. This man should be lying on the couch right now, cold and lifeless, and Leah should be long gone, possibly with that bottle of wine in her hand, and whatever was in his pockets now in hers. But that chance had passed now. It was too late to make up for her vast mistake. *Never again. Never again.*
"You can choose from any bedroom you like," Lex said, apparently trying to make Leah feel more comfortable.
She stopped and opened a door and peered inside. The room inside was big and beautiful, but there was one problem. "Um, this may sound strange," Leah started nervously, "but do you have anything without windows? I'm...allergic to the sun." That was one of the stupidest lies Leah had ever told, but Lex had no reason not to believe her.
"Really? You can't even be in window light?" Lex asked.
"Nope. I'll get scorched."
He led Leah down a few more doors and opened one that led to a smaller, darker, and less kept-to room. "This is my unwanted-guest room," Lex said with a half smile, "but it's the only bedroom in the house with no windows. Is it alright?"
"It's great," said Leah, flipping on the lights.
"Do you want to take a bath or anything?" he offered.
Leah hadn't had a real bath in a long while. "Can I?"
"Sure. This way." Lex led her across the hall and into a large bathroom with mirrors covering one wall. Leah looked at her reflection. That myth was so ridiculous. But she was thankful it wasn't true, or she would never look this good. She ran a hand through her hair.
They stopped in front of a big black tub. "This thing is kind of complicated," Lex said, and started working some of the knobs. "This is how you work hot and cold. If you want to take a shower, you push this down, but if you want a bath you leave it up and turn this thing down here."
"Got it. I think I'll take a bath."
"Alright. Just call me if you need anything."
Lex walked out the door. But unknown to Leah, he lingered just behind the doorway with the door cracked. He watched her back in the mirrors while she turned on the faucets, and then as she pealed off her dark red tank top. Lex smiled gently, and then closed the door without a sound.
Leah climbed into the partially filled tub and scooped up some water in her cupped hands and poured it over her head. She tipped her head back, breathed in the steam and took in the luxury of it all. Leah sat there, serene, inhaling, exhaling, and trying to cleanse herself of her inappropriate feelings. She suddenly became very angry with herself and grabbed one of Lex's razor blades off the side of the bathtub. She whispered furiously to herself, "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" and slashed her arm three times. The bath was full now, and Leah turned off the water. She raised her arm over the still water and let her blood trickle into it. She watched as her wounds healed and as the dry blood flaked off into the water. She shook her hand in the water and the blood mingled with the water and was gone. She cupped more water in her hands and poured it over her head, this time tasting the slightest hint of a familiar flavor in it as it passed over her lips. She sat there with her head
back, whispering to herself, "I can't do this to myself. I can't start to have feelings for some little...weakling. Look out for number one. It's what you've done your entire life, Leah. No need to stop now." She paused and lowered her head slightly. "Why did I hesitate? Why did I *stop*?"
***
Lex Luthor watched a speed limit sign that read thirty-five pass by his car. He picked his speed up from fifty-five to seventy. He knew he should have learned better than to speed so much after his brush with death, but what were the odds of *that* happening again?
That girl last night, Leah, she was strange. Or, at least, she made Lex feel strange. He hadn't played the game right. He should have coaxed her upstairs and into his room and had his way with her, and then sent her packing. That's how he'd done it before, and he didn't see why it was suddenly different now. Maybe it was because Leah was different. Lex took a sip of bottled water. It would have been so simple to get her in bed. She was so timid in that moment right after they kissed, for some reason or another. And Lex could tell that Leah was...experienced. She was pure, yet she seemed to have just a little hint of wickedness in her nature. Not much, though. Lex could tell that she wouldn't hurt a fly. But until after they kissed she seemed like she would be capable of some pretty wild things. Leah had an eerie air about her, but it didn't bother Lex whatsoever. She had some sort of thrall over him, but he felt like he could break it if he wanted to, but he didn't want to.
He didn't know if he even liked her being with him or not, but he didn't want her to go away. But it felt as if she would leave any second, like she was the sort of person that couldn't possibly stay in one place for too long. She *had* said that she was like a nomad. He had even checked on her that morning to make sure she was still in bed. She was all tangled up in the sheets and had been wearing the clothes she had on the night on before: a red tank top and long black pants. He should have given her something to wear to bed.
Lex parked at the top of the Luthor Mansion driveway and tossed his keys to a servant he didn't remember ever seeing before. "Park that, will you?" he said absent-mindedly, and headed towards the castle.
Before Lex had even walked in the door he heard the music. Soft, soulful music was being played on a distant piano somewhere in the house. There were three pianos in the house, and he couldn't tell which one the sound was coming from, so he followed it. Slowly, very slowly, while listening to see if he was moving in the right direction, he stepped through the front door. He followed the music up a flight of stairs and down a long corridor. He recognized the melody from somewhere. Mozart? Maybe Beethoven. It was quiet at times; sometimes so quiet Lex feared that the music had stopped. But at other times it grew loud and strong, yet still light and smooth. He walked into another door that led to yet another corridor. The music changed. It went from romantic and sweet to just and tiny bit eerie. A few notes were pounded, piercing the tranquility, but it soon slid gracefully back to a romantic and lovely feel. But then it was suddenly pounding again. Not eerie, but hard.
Lex silently creped into a room he hadn't visited in years. It was dark, windowless, and lonely. He was almost surprised that the room didn't smell at all damp or dusty, but he knew that, no matter if they were used or not, all the rooms in the Luthor Mansion were frequently and thoroughly cleaned.
Lex caught sight of a pale image in the back corner of the room. Leah. She was sitting at a Grand Piano, gently swaying to the music as she played. Lex walked across the room, as silently as possible as not to disturb Leah in her serenity, and stood behind her. Every once and a while her head would turn to the side, in harmony with the music, and he could see that she kept her eyes shut tightly with passion. There was no music in front of her. She knew it by heart--and by soul.
Finally, with her head turned slightly to the side, Leah pounded out the last few, sorrowful notes. Lex half expected her to have tears running down her face due to the melancholy finally, but instead she had an odd sort of smile. Lex decided that Leah must have some emotional attachment to the song that he wasn't picking up on.
"Incredible," Lex said without even realizing it.
Leah whipped her head around and stared at Lex with brief horror, then embarrassment. "Oh," she said quietly, "I didn't know you were there." She turned back to the piano and stroked its keys, regaining herself. "I love Beethoven. `The Moonlight Sonata' speaks to me in a way."
Lex stood behind her and caressed her shoulder with the tips of his fingers. She was cold. He sat down beside her and whispered softly in her ear, "What does it say?"
Leah looked Lex in the eyes. "It tells a story of a game I like to play. Each detail. Every move. Every step."
"Do you want to play?" he asked, assuming she was itching to.
"No," she answered to his surprise. "We've already played." Leah smiled a sly smile and then looked down at her hands. "Where were you today? I was starting to get nervous."
"Just different places. For business. I thought one of the maids would tell you." Lex suddenly felt guilty for leaving her there all day. What had she been doing this whole time?
"I, um, avoided the maids," Leah said nervously while wringing her hands. "They were always in groups, and more than one person talking to me at once makes me sort of...scared."
"Why's that?" Lex asked sympathetically.
Leah wrung her hands harder. "I've been ganged up on a few times.... It's no big deal," she replied, trying and failing to appear nonchalant. "Just a phobia."
Lex brushed his hand down Leah's back caringly. He almost asked her what exactly had happened, but he stopped himself because it had obviously been a traumatizing experience that shouldn't be pried at. But he suddenly remembered something.
"Uh, I invited some people over...some friends. I wanted to introduce them to you, but if you don't want to..." he paused, hoping she would be alright with the idea.
"Oh, well, that's okay, I guess." She sounded slightly nervous, though not at all hesitant. "As long as you're there."
Leah looked up at Lex and smiled gently. Beautiful. Lex pulled Leah close to him and kissed her. Leah sighed and pulled herself even closer into Lex's embrace, but then pulled away.
"I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't." Leah looked ashamed. Lex couldn't decide if she was ashamed because she wanted to commit a "sinful" act or because she wasn't allowing herself to follow her own desires.
"You didn't seem so reluctant last night," said Lex enticingly. He wanted Leah to be comfortable, but he also wanted something else. But the want that was in him now was somehow different than the want he had had before. It was stronger, yes, but there was something else there as well.
He brushed her hair back and kissed her neck tenderly. Her muscles contracted then relaxed. "It was different last night," she said finally. "I was getting--" but Leah stopped herself.
"What?" Lex asked.
"That doesn't matter," she said quickly, scratching the back of her head tensely.
Now Lex was just confused. What was she getting? "Well," he said, trying to avoid a direct question, "Well, if it doesn't matter, then why does it...matter?" *Did that even make sense?*
But whether it made sense or not, Leah laughed and said, "You know what? You're absolutely right."
She leaned in and kissed Lex softly, and he grabbed her and drove the kiss on to be more passionate and intense. He had never wanted--no, never *ached* for anything so much in his entire life. Yes, Leah was defiantly different.
***
Leah kept her eyes closed even though she was almost fully awake. She felt Lex's warm body beside her. The gentle pulsing was like a lullaby that almost made Leah want to fall back to sleep. But she wanted to savor this moment for as long as possible. Lex's warmth warmed Leah's body. She pulled closer to him, wanting to bask in his heat, but he shivered, and she pulled away again. She didn't want to wake him. But all the same, when she backed away she somehow got warmer. Her skin was hot, but it was the wrong kind of hot. It burned. Leah's eyes shot open and she threw herself out of bed and scooped up her clothes. As she ran across the room she caught a glimpse out of the picture window that faced Lex's bed. An orange sun was peeking over the horizon. Leah burst out of the room and sprinted down the hallway. Her body was stinging all over. The cool air that blew across her skin as she ran seemed to only make it all the more painful. Leah threw herself into her dark,
windowless room and slammed the door behind her. She let loose a great sigh of relief and collapsed on the bed.
*Stupid.*
***
"Dear god, this place is enormous," said Chloe, looking so far up that Clark thought she would fall backwards out of her chair. "Man, Clark. I've seen it packed full of people millions of times, but...it's unbelievable when it's empty."
"Huh," Clark said, and smiled, "I didn't think you'd be all that impressed. I figured you'd find something cynical to say about it."
"What? You think I'm cynical? I'm not cynical." She glanced at Clark's amused expression and laughed. "Okay. Maybe just a little bit. But you have to admit, I'm also right about people most of the time."
"You were wrong about Lana Lang."
"Yeah, well, maybe she's nice and isn't a airhead like the rest of the Pompom Brigade, but she is *so annoying.*
"She is not!" Clark said defensively. Lana was smart, pretty, nice, energetic--what was there not to like?
"Oh, come on. She like, impossibly perfect. She's so perfect she was complaining about people thinking she was so perfect. I know, I can see how that could be a bit aggravating, but all she has to do is go out some night and get drunk and pass out on her aunt's lawn and poof. Problem solved."
"Is that the only reason you hate her?"
"I don't hate her. I just...want to throw things at her every once and a while, that's all. And, no, that's not the only reason."
"What else then?"
"That voice...it drives me insane. I mean, it sounds alright when she's pissed off or something, but when she's trying to be sweet she has this...lisp thing." Chloe made a sort of growling noise. "Sometimes I just wanna...pop that pretty little head right off that pretty little neck."
"Wow, Chloe, you're gettin' a little sadistic there."
"Yeah, well, there's only so mush you can bottle up inside before it bursts out into a classroom massacre. Bitching about stuff is healthy." Chloe picked up a pen off of Lex Luthor's desk and began twirling it between her fingers. "Why do you like her, anyway?"
Clark had wondered about this many times before himself, but never really came to a conclusion. "I dunno. She's nice, and--"
"Hot?" Chloe interrupted.
"Well, yeah, but that has nothing to do with it." Clark fiddled with a button on his shirt. In reality, Lana's looks had almost everything to do with it.
The door to Lex's office opened abruptly and Lex stepped inside. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Clark," Lex greeted him, "--and Chloe," he added, seeing Clark's companion.
"It's O.K," replied Clark.
Chloe leaned back in her chair again. "I love this house. I want this house."
"Clark," said Lex, apparently wanting to get right to his business, "I've got a reservation for four at Chez Monique in Metropolis. I was wandering if you would like to come and bring a friend. Lana Lang, for example."
Clark blushed and glanced downward. "Sure," he said, but then realized something. "Is that all you called me here for? You could have told me that on the phone."
Lex sat down behind his desk and said, "Yeah, well, I like talking to people face to face. Also," he leaned forward and glanced out the door, "I wanted to introduce you to someone."
"And who would that be?" Chloe asked.
Lex leaned back in his chair. "This girl I offered to drive home the other night. Leah. I was about to drop her off, but when I saw where she was staying, I just took her up here. It was really strange." Lex seemed to drift off at this point. "Out of nowhere we started kissing. I'd been planning on that happening, but not that quickly. She...she did something to me...I'm not sure what it was...." Lex reached up to touch his neck, and when he did he moved his collar out of the way to reveal a yellow memory of a bruise.
"It's called a hickey," Chloe said, pulling Lex out of his daydream.
"Well, yeah, I know it *looks*like one," said Lex, rubbing his neck, "but what she did to me...it was different. Very different."
"How so?" Clark asked.
Lex was concentrating, trying to find the right words. "I don't know.... It made me feel...light headed. It was soothing, but there was a little twinge of pain." He paused, remembering. "The thing is, at the time I didn't know what she was doing, but I didn't know I didn't know. All I knew was that it felt amazing. It only hit me that I had no idea what she was doing to me after I went to bed."
"Oh, so you didn't--" Clark started.
"No, no," interrupted Lex. "Not then. I thought something was going to happen for a second, but she seemed like that's all she wanted to happen, so I didn't push." Lex stared up at the ceiling. "Oh, you've got to see her." He looked back at Clark. "She's stunning. Except..."
"What?" The way Lex had been describing Leah, Clark had been imagining a flawless beauty. What could be wrong with her?
"She's albino," Lex said, wearing sort of a half-smile.
"Hey," Chloe scolded Lex, "that's really awful. I mean, you make out with a girl, then you go around making fun of her looks--"
"I wasn't making fun. She's really albino."
"Oh." Chloe looked slightly embarrassed.
"At least she looks like it, anyway," Lex continued. "White skin, white hair; white everything except her lips have some red color." Lex looked at the ceiling again and said with great passion, "But it just adds to her...*mystery.*"
There was a pause. Chloe broke the silence. "Okay, I'm not listening to anything else about Lex's sex life."
They laughed, which was very relieving to Clark because he was beginning to fear that the silence was about to become an awkward one.
"So," Clark said, "where is she?"
"Still sleeping I think."
A voice came from the shadows beyond the doorway. "No, I'm up," it said.
Lex jumped up from his desk. "Leah! Hey," he greeted her. He walked to the door and leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear. But Clark could hear what Lex was saying. "You disappeared this morning."
Leah whispered an answer, though not as quiet as Lex had been. "That's because you have a great big picture window that faces east."
"Oh, yeah," Lex said, and crossed the room and closed all of the blinds. Clark knew albinos were sensitive to sunlight, but he didn't know they were *that* sensitive.
Leah stepped into the office where she could be seen more clearly. She was white as snow. She was eerie and majestic. But her eyes weren't pink, as Clark had expected them to be. They were an odd color that he couldn't place. Were they silver? Yellow? Gold? All the same, Clark had never seen anyone with eyes like hers. He couldn't stop himself from staring. Leah massaged her temples and sighed.
Lex came to her side and rubbed her back. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Didn't you sleep well?"
Leah ran her hand through her white hair. "Yes, I'm just a little--" she paused when she spotted Clark in his chair and gave a strange sort of half smile, "--hungry."
The way Leah was looking at Clark made him a little edgy. He shifted in his chair.
Lex glanced in Clark's direction, wondering what Leah was staring at. "Do you want me to get you something from the kitchen?" Lex asked.
"No. I can wait." She was still smiling.
Leah stared at Clark without blinking until she was led beside Lex's desk. Lex sat back down in his chair and Leah rested her thigh near Lex on the desk and glanced at Clark every once and a while. When Lex introduced Clark and Chloe to Leah, she just nodded in their direction.
"Hey, did you guys hear about those two bodies that were found with their blood drained?" Chloe stated out of nowhere.
"Two?" Lex asked. "I only heard about one."
"Yeah," Clark joined in, "they found another one on Parks Street two weeks ago."
"His throat was slashed and his blood was drained," Chloe said, seeming a little over-excited. "That's why I'm butting in here. Me and Clark are going over to the morgue in a minute to see what's up."
"Do you really think you should do that?" Leah said all of a sudden. "I mean, isn't it illegal or something?"
"Well, I don't think it's *illegal*, really," Chloe replied, "but I think it may be against the rules."
"Then why are you doing it?" Leah seemed a little nervous.
"To see if it has anything to do with the meteor shower," Chloe replied.
"Huh?"
"Oh, there was a meteor shower a while back," Lex said to Leah, seeing her confused expression. "Chloe thinks it might have something to do with some strange things that have happened in Smallville."
"Oh." Leah seemed to be comforted by this statement.
"But this doesn't seem all that strange," Lex said. "Are you sure it not just some sick bastard killing people?"
"Yeah, but how'd the blood get drained almost dry?" asked Chloe. "There wasn't *one drop* of blood around the body. Plus, there was no sign of a struggle or trauma to the body."
"Well, that's not entirely true," Clark interrupted her. "Remember? That article said that it appeared that two puncture wounds to the necks caused the death, then the throats were slashed after they were dead."
Clark glanced up at Leah, who looked scared out of her wits. *Jeez. What would she do if she actually saw a body?*
"I've got the article here somewhere." Chloe searched her pockets and finally pulled out a folded up newspaper clipping. "There's a...*interesting* picture here. I didn't know they were aloud to put stuff like this in here."
"Can I see?" Leah asked, who had seemingly calmed herself down.
She walked over by Clark and glanced at him quickly. Suddenly, without warning, Clark found himself holding himself back from knocking Leah down and kissing her uncontrollably. He dug his fingernails in the cushioned chair and bit the side of his cheek. But then Leah made things a thousand times worse. She bent down over Clark to look at the news article. Clark caught a glance down Leah's shirt, but then he noticed Lex behind her. He was glaring at them both, eyes full of rage. Clark looked up at the ceiling. *Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad...*
"Oh," he heard Leah say, "that's scary. Who would do something like that to a person?"
"Dunno," Chloe said. "That's what we're trying to find out."
To Clark's great relief, Leah stood back up. "Wait," she said, "he was found two weeks ago, right?"
"Right," Chloe replied.
"So...shouldn't he be about six feet under by now?"
Chloe just stared up blankly at Leah for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "Fine. Ruin my fun."
"Why did you wait this long, anyway?" Lex asked.
"Well, it never really caught my attention until now. You yourself said it's probably just some crazed lunatic."
Clark watched Leah. He was still fighting an urge, but that urge was beginning to subside. Leah must have felt him looking at her, because she looked over at him. The urge came swarming back.
"Okay!" said Clark, jumping out of his chair. "I guess we better go home, then." He grabbed Chloe, said a quick "good bye" to Lex and Leah, and rushed out of the Luthor Mansion.
"Holy crap, Clark," Chloe said once they were on their way down the road. "What was that about?"
Clark looked at his feet as he walked. "D-did you happen to notice if Leah was...coming on to me at all?"
Chloe laughed. "Oh, please. Dream on. `Let's see. I'm a sexy *adult* woman who has a sexy bazillionaire practically clinging to me. Hmmm...I think I'll go try and score with this fifteen-year-old little minor who could be dirt poor for all I know.'" She rolled her eyes.
"I didn't *say* she was trying to score with me. I was just asking--"
"Yeah, yeah. Either way, my answer's no, she wasn't."
Clark kicked at the dirt. Not all of that could have been just his hormones, could it?
***
Leah sat quietly on her bed. Lex had offered over and over to take her somewhere, to set up something for her to do, even to give her a piano, but Leah had declined everything. She couldn't keep Lex from his work, and, moreover, Leah was weak. She had barely taken enough from Lex to make him weak. Her head ached with hunger. But, luckily the boy came along. He was pure and reeked of virginity. He didn't stand a chance. But, still, Leah had to somehow get alone with Clark. She couldn't kill him, of course. Killing Clark would upset Lex. Lex would also sharpen up the search for the murderer if a friend was killed. Leah massaged her temples. She would have to get to Clark soon. She usually only fed twice a month. She used to feed on one person all month long, but that got very boring. The most entertaining part about feeding was the hunt.
Leah heard far away voices. Lex. She picked up one of the black sheets off of her bed, wrapped it around herself and headed out into the hallway. She fallowed the voices to a main room of the house and crouched down in a flight of steps.
"But Mr. Luthor," said a stranger's voice, "this guy went straight to the editor. It's gone too far for me to handle."
"I don't accept excuses, Nixon. I except results," Lex said demandingly. There was arrogance in his tone. Leah wasn't sure if she liked that.
"But there's nothing I can do," Nixon pleaded, and fell at Lex's feet. "Please. I've buried everything I dug up. Club Zero doesn't exist as far as you're concerned. I've printed everything you've told me to. But I can't make this go away." Nixon hung his head and sobbed.
This entire time Lex had been staring down at Nixon with ruthlessness in his expression. But now he just sighed and said, "What exactly did this guy claim to see again?"
Nixon stood slowly. "You at that coffee shop on Wednesday."
"The Beanery?" Lex asked.
"Yeah. He said you left with a girl who seemed...'questionable.'"
*Kill him.*
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lex demanded.
"He claimed that you left with a prostitute."
Lex collapsed in a chair and laughed. "That's not even true. And why would a whore be at The Beanery? And why does this guy care if I--"
"Well, it doesn't matter if he cares, Mr. Luthor, but if it ends up in the papers then everyone will care."
"A whore in Smallville.... Who's going to believe that?"
"Someone will."
"Yeah, you're right. Look's like I'm gonna have to buy the editor off. Five grand should keep him quiet."
"I think it'll require more than that."
"No, I'm guessing he's already hesitating about printing the story. For all he knows it could be total bull. Then again, it may not even require money at all to shut him up. Just a tiny threat--or," Lex smiled at Nixon, "a *promise*, could straighten things out."
"But...*promising* him might just drive him to think the story's true."
"It doesn't *matter* what he thinks. It matters what he makes *other* people think."
Nixon seemed to be building up the courage to say something, and Lex was waiting patiently. "Uh, *did* you leave with someone?" he asked finally.
Lex laughed quietly. "If you mean did I leave with a prostitute, then no. A whore in Smallville. That still gets me..."
Leah tiptoed back upstairs. She had given up on the idea of killing Nixon. That wouldn't help, and if anything it would probably make things worse. This new side of Lex that was revealed to Leah was chilling. It made her a little angry at him for not showing his entire self to her in the beginning. Yet it was also, in a way, surprisingly appealing. Leah felt guilty for feeling this way. She felt as though she was betraying the Lex she had met in the coffee shop. But it *was* the same Lex, only a *business* Lex. Leah laughed out loud at herself. This was a confusing and idiotic mind game. Lex was Lex. That was all there was to it. But Leah *did* have to keep reminding herself that Lex didn't mean one thing to her.
"Not one thing."
A few minutes passed by and Leah just sat there. She had to reserve her strength. She wasn't *terribly* hungry, but there was no telling when she would see the boy again.
There was a knock on the door.
"Yeah?" Leah called.
Lex opened the door slowly and peeked inside. "Hey," he said. He came the rest of the way inside and Leah saw that he was carrying a large white box. "I've got something for you."
Before Leah had a chance to ask what it was, Lex opened the box and lifted out a dress. It was red, long, flowing and beautiful. Leah's heart melted. She hadn't worn anything that beautiful in years.
"You like it?" Lex asked, seeing Leah's stunned expression.
Leah got up off the bed and stared at the dress. "What's it for?" she asked timidly.
Lex handed the dress to Leah by the straps. "We're going out to eat tonight," he answered her, "with Clark. You know, the kid who was over here earlier."
Great. She had wasted the whole day preserving energy for nothing. "Oh." She held the dress against her body. "It's gorgeous," she said in aw.
"I thought you'd like it," he said in reply. "You wanna try it on?"
"Okay." Leah turned around and took off her shirt and slipped the dress on over her pants. She then slipped her pants off under the dress. She still didn't feel comfortable with him seeing her for some reason.
This time it was Lex's heart that seemed to melt. "You look...incredible."
Leah looked at herself in a dresser mirror. The dress was backless and had a low, scooping neckline and a short train. She felt delicate. "I love it," she said in almost a whisper. "So," she said after realizing that she needed to change the subject, "it's just Clark that's coming with us?"
"Yeah. Well, I told him to bring this girl named Lana that he likes, but according to him, she's busy tonight."
"Doing what?"
"Oh, something like she's going to see her boyfriend try out for another scholarship." Lex laughed and ran a hand across his head. "To tell the truth, I'm kind of glad she's not coming. That girl can be so annoying."
Leah laughed, and there was a long pause.
"What do you think about Clark?" Lex said, breaking the silence.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," he said coolly, "do you find him...attractive?"
Leah froze. Lex had noticed how she had played with Clark earlier. How could he have missed it? She forced herself to calm down. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, he's having a little trouble with Lana. I was wondering if you could give him a woman's insight."
A random thought passed through Leah's mind: *Yeah, I could incite him.* She quickly pushed that thought away, for some reason afraid that Lex knew what she was thinking.
"Um, he's...okay, I guess," Leah started, choosing her words carefully. "I mean, he's cute *for a kid.* I'd do something about that hair, though."
Lex laughed. "Uh, maybe you better not tell him that. He might take offence or something."
Leah laughed and then turned to look at herself again in the mirror. She couldn't believe she was wearing something so incredible. Lex came up beside her and touched her arm. Leah turned to face him. He was so close that she could fell the heat off his body. She shivered, not knowing whether it was because his heat made her realize how cold she really was or because he intimidated her. But if it was intimidation, it was a good intimidation. He made her feel safe, absolutely safe for the first time since she began living this cursed/blessed life. Leah wasn't sure which it was now. She used to be sure it was a blessed life, but now she had to hide all the time in so many more ways than one.
Lex pulled her body up against his. He leaned down and kissed her eyes gently. Leah felt her insides quiver, on the brink of tears. She felt her mouth opening to say...something, "I lo--"
She stopped. She wouldn't allow herself to that admit to anyone, not even herself.
***
This was the most uncomfortable experience Clark had ever been through. Every time he thought he was almost completely calmed down, a new wave of...something rushed over him. He thought the only thing he would have to worry about tonight was how to pronounce the appetizer and which fork to use when.
He looked warily across the table at Leah, who smiled sweetly back at him. He ripped his eyes away from her to look at Lex.
"So, Clark," said Lex, "has Chloe found anything else on those murders?"
"Um, no," Clark answered. "She decided that you were probably right. It's just some sick lunatic."
Leah sighed--or was it a laugh? She was eating her crab legs with some difficulty. Most of what she had dug out was lying on her plate. She reached inside one of the legs with the tiny fork and some kind of liquid squirted out onto her face. She screamed quietly and then laughed. When Lex looked at her he laughed as well, but for some reason Clark was afraid to let himself even crack a smile.
Lex took his napkin and raised it to Leah's face. "Here, let me get that for you."
"No, no," Leah said, holding up a hand while chuckling slightly. "I can get it." She reached across the table, eyes half closed, for her napkin, but elbowed Lex's drink. It teetered for about a split second, and then dumped over into Lex's lap. At the sound of this, Leah quickly wiped off her face so that she could see what she had done clearly. "Oh! Lex! I'm *so* sorry!"
Lex laughed, though this laughed seemed to come more from shock than amusement. "It's alright," he said. "Uh, I'll, um," he glanced around to see if anyone had seen what happened, "I'll be right back." He got up and moved toward the restrooms, leaving Clark and Leah alone.
Leah turned all the way around to watch Lex leave and didn't turn back around until he was around the corner. Once she was facing Clark, Leah sighed and said, "I thought he would never leave."
Clark responded with the only thought that crossed his mind: "Huh?"
In one motion, Leah was on Clark's side of the booth, so close that he could fell her icy breath when she spoke. "Come on. Like you don't know what I want." She leaned in closer to Clark and whispered in his ear, "And like you don't want the same thing."
She grabbed Clark's knee and he gasped, but was in too much shock to do anything about it. He tried to force himself to push Leah away, but he was frozen to the spot. She started sucking on his ear. She let her lips graze Clark's neck and found a spot on his neck and opened her mouth wide and bared her teeth down on his skin. Clark heard a snap, and Leah went suddenly rigid. She raised her head slowly and looked up at Clark, horrified. And when Clark looked into Leah's eyes, all the want was drained from him. He would have been totally relaxed if what had just happened hadn't happened. Leah backed slowly away, covering her mouth with one hand, and never took her eyes off Clark. She felt her way back to her side of the booth, and a few seconds later Lex returned.
When Leah saw Lex, something seemed to click inside her head. She nudged him out of her way and mumbled, "I'll be right back," and walked swiftly off to the restrooms, still covering her mouth.
Lex sat down in the booth. "What's wrong with her?" he asked as he watched her disappear behind the wall. "Is she sick?"
"No," Clark answered automatically, not knowing whether it was true or not.
"Maybe I should go check on her," Lex suggested, and looked back in the direction Leah had gone.
"No," said Clark. "What if she's throwing up or something? She might get embarrassed."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Clark turned things over in his mind. Should he tell Lex? Some things are better left unsaid. But he couldn't let his friend get into a serious relationship with a two-timer--or maybe even a con artist. But was the reason Leah ran away like that remorse? But what if it wasn't?
"Lex," Clark began, "there's something I gotta tell you."
***
The ride to the castle had been silent and cold, and on Leah's part, nervous. Normally, Lex sort of enjoyed people being nervous around him. It made him feel like he had control over them, and he did. But it was a different kind of nervousness. And this nervousness was still hanging in the air now.
*Look at her over there,* Lex thought. *Pretending that nothing even happened. She can't even look me in the eyes.* He wasn't sure whether it was jealousy or disgust that was making him sick in the stomach. All he knew was that he had to say something, or he would go mad.
But she spoke first. "Clark's...nice," she said a little timidly, and shifted on the couch. "He's really--"
"Shut up," Lex snapped at her, and she jumped.
"He tol--"
"Yeah, he told me." Now it was disgust. She expected to hide it from him? "What? You thought he wouldn't?"
Leah sighed and leaned back, rubbing her temples. "No. Yes. I don't know..." She squinted her eyes in either concentration or pain.
"You think *you've* got a headache?"
"I'm hungry," she said under her breath.
"Hungry? You just ate."
Leah laughed bitterly and stood to face Lex. "What happened isn't what you think it was. Or what Clark thinks it was, for that matter."
"Oh, yeah? Then what was it?"
Leah turned around and started massaging her head again. "It's hard to explain."
"Yah know what? I bet Clark was right. You're some kind of con artist."
"Con artist?" Leah said, insulted. "I would never hurt anyone that way. I would never ruin someone's life like that."
"Well, you're makin' *mine* pretty miserable," Lex scoffed.
"Yeah, well I'm not doin' too good either!" Leah shouted, looking Lex in the face again. "You think I'm happy? You think I'm having fun with this? My life has been a living hell *since the night I met you.*"
That was all Lex could take. Before he realized what he was doing, Lex raised his hand and backhanded Leah hard across the cheek.
Lex's heart felt like it had stopped beating, though he could hear his pulse banging in his head. Leah was crouched down, holding her face, and trembling.
"Oh, Leah--" Lex started, but Leah rose from the floor, her back still turned. She then spun around, screaming insanely, and struck Lex in the same way as he stuck her, except much, much harder. Lex spun and collapsed on the floor. That last image he saw was of the red-and-white blur that was Leah bolt out the door, and then all was black.
***
It felt good to get out of that suit that Lex had sent Clark. Clark was more of a t-shirt-and-jeans sort of guy than a suit guy. Even if the suit *was* Armani. He was very happy to get into his boxer shorts and out of those stuffy clothes.
Clark was about to turn the lights off and go to bed when there was a knock on his door. He opened it, expecting it to be his mom.
But it wasn't. It was Leah. Dress ripped and dirty, hair mussed with bits of grass stuck in it, and...her eyes. They were on fire with insanity and murderous fury. Clark was terrified, even though he knew she couldn't do anything to him.
Leah stood there for a while, glaring up at Clark. And just when he thought she was ready to pounce, she collapsed on the floor and sobbed. "You made me hit him," she declared between her teeth.
Clark relaxed, but now he felt guilty. And... "I made you do *what* to him?"
"Hit him." She looked up at Clark with hurt in her eyes. "Why did you tell him? It's not like I was doing anything wrong."
"Are you kidding?" Clark said, struggling to keep his voice down so that his parents wouldn't hear. "You were sucking on my ear."
Leah stood and leaned on the doorpost. "Yeah, but not in a bad way." She sounded frustrated.
But she didn't sound as frustrated as Clark was. "How did you get in here anyway?"
"Your mom invited me," she said simply. "You're adopted, aren't you?"
Clark was surprised by this random, and correct, comment. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
Leah walked over to Clark's dresser and picked up a photo of he, Pete and Chloe that was lying on it. "I pay attention to certain human characteristics. Your parents are really...*wholesome.* Scary wholesome. A quality only found in foster parents." Leah placed the photograph back on the dresser and walked over to Clark. "You know what's really terrible? Everything I knew to be true *is* true."
"And what's that?"
"Love makes you weak," she said bitterly, glaring at nothing in particular. "And I just thought it meant mentally." She turned from Clark and touched her fingers to her lips. "But now I know it means physically too." She touched her hip. There was something tucked away underneath her dress. "And now, because of you, I not only can't live a normal life, but I can't have the one thing that was holding me in this life. The thing that made me weak." She turned sharply to again face Clark, murder blazing in her eyes. "You took Lex from me." Leah whipped out what she had been hiding under her dress: a knife with a six-inch blade. Leah strode, almost glided, over to Clark and plunged the knife into his stomach. Clark doubled over from the force, though the knife didn't penetrate. But Leah thought it had. With the knife still in her hand, holding it in the same position, Leah gabbed Clark's hair and lifted his head so that his eyes met hers. Her eyes were opened wide as if saying,
"So this is what you get." Leah thrust the knife harder into Clark's stomach, trying to make his pain greater. But as she did, there was a muffled snap. When Leah heard this, a look of fear swept over her face. She slowly pushed Clark away, and as she did, half of the knife blade fell to the floor while Leah still held the handle in her hand. She bent down and picked up the blade and held it in front of her. "Oh," she said vaguely, and stumbled over to sit on Clark's bed. She dropped the broken knife to the floor, ran her hands through her hair and glared up at Clark. "I really do hate you, yah know that?" She let her arms drop to the bed and laid back.
Clark sighed. This girl gave off an odd impression. Even though she had just tried to murder him, Clark only pitied her. "Yeah," he said, "I kind of figured that."
"So...I'm not weak after all," Leah whispered, then sat up. "*You're* just a freak."
Clark was too confused to take offence to that statement. "Why did you think you were weak?"
"Because," Leah replied, "you broke my tooth."
"Huh?"
"Well, it regenerated, of course, but my tooth's never broken before and I wasn't sure if it *would* regenerate."
Clark had no idea of what Leah was talking about. "So...this whole thing was about your tooth?"
Leah rolled her eyes. "No. Don't you listen? It was about Lex. You told him. You shouldn't have told him. Everything would have been fine if you had just kept your damned mouth shut. But nooo, you had to go and tell him that I was a *con artist.* Are you stupid or something? I mean, *why* would you tell him? Everyone would have been much happier if you could have just shut up about it."
"Well, I wasn't going to let Lex go on with a--" Clark stopped himself before he could finish what sounded like in his head an overly cruel statement.
"A slut?" Leah finished for him.
"Well, yeah."
"You think I was attracted to *you*?"
Clark blinked. "What's *that* supposed to mean?"
Leah laughed. "I suppose you should think that. I never thought about what they thought afterwards. You know, `cause they're usually dead."
She kept saying mind-blowing things out of the blue like they were no big deal. "Wait. So you were going to kill me?"
Leah rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Well, I *would* on a normal occasion, but how would you expect me to explain things to Lex when he came back from the bathroom to find you lying there with your throat slashed."
It took a while for that last statement to sink in. "You're...*you're the slasher.*"
"Ooh, how long it take you to figure that one out?" Leah said mockingly. "And I'm not sick. I'm not cruel. It made me so mad when you kept saying things like that earlier. If I was, then I'd make their deaths slow and painful and torturous. I can make a person so fearful with just a look. No, I make it the most wonderful experience of their entire life."
Clark was almost dizzy with shock. "How...how do you *know* you're not hurting them?"
Leah looked up at the ceiling, concentrating. "The way they breath, the sounds they make, the way their skin gets so hot, the way they pull me closer...I could go on." She then looked back at Clark. "Or you could just ask Lex."
What did she mean by that? Clark thought back. *The thing is, at the time I didn't know what she was doing, but I didn't know I didn't know. All I knew was that it felt amazing.* She had done whatever she does to Lex. "But--but he's not dead."
"I will admit that killing isn't the kindest thing to do in the world, so, well, I just couldn't kill him. There's something different about him. I think..." she trailed off and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"You love him?" Clark finished for her.
Leah suddenly jumped up and started pacing. "No. No. No. Love is human. Humans are weak. I am *not* weak. I know that doesn't make since to you, just like you having break-proof skin doesn't really make since to me, but it doesn't matter that it doesn't make since. But you just gotta listen. Weakness is what people like me have been fighting against since the beginning. That's why I kill. Without killing I live, but all I am is a weak little pile of flesh and bones. I've seen it happen before. It's scary. And love makes you soft which keeps you from killing and killing keeps you from disappearing. I can't love. I can't. I can't. I'm sorry, but I just have to rant right now. You gotta let loose your problems every once and a while or it all gets built up inside and one day--" she stopped all of a sudden. She seemed shocked.
"It'll all come out as a killing spree?" Clark finished for her.
"No," Leah said quietly, and then fell into Clark's arms and buried her face in his chest. "You're such a good friend to Lex," She said in a muffled voice. "You told him about me because you thought it was the right thing to do. And I must of Flashed you fifteen times at dinner and you didn't even try to touch me once."
"Flashed me?" Clark would have defiantly noticed if Leah had flashed him.
"Flashing is a thing I do with my eyes. It makes you feel things that you wouldn't feel if I hadn't Flashed you. With Lex, I mixed lust with mystery. I hit you with lust, pure and simple. You're strong, Clark. I Flashed someone like that in a crowded room and he tackled me right in front of everyone. Lust works best on the pure, Clark, and you're as pure and innocent as they come."
But Clark remembered the cop who had framed his dad for murder. "I'm not innocent. I wanted to kill a man once. It just lasted for a few seconds, but I wanted to kill him so bad I could taste it. And I almost *did* kill him." Clark's muscles were tense and he felt a light sweat on his brow. Just looking back on how angry he had been was terrifying.
"The need to kill a particular person is hate," Leah said in a sage-like voice.
"Well, of course I hated him."
"Yes, but only for that second." She looked up into Clark's eyes. "You may think hate is just a strong dislike for someone, but it's not. Hate is to dislike someone so much that you not only want but *need* to kill them. You fear hate more than you actually hate. You *are* pure and you *are* innocent. You can control your hate. Most people can't. I can't. You're the first person I have ever hated, and I couldn't control the need to kill you. I didn't *want* to control it. Of course, you have a clearer vision of right and wrong than I do."
Those were the most comforting words Clark had heard, even compared to what his father had said. And to think they came from the mouth of a killer. "How could I be the only person you ever hated when you've killed so many people?"
"All the other times I've killed were because I had to keep strong. The only times I've gone after specific people were when they caught me in the act and I had to cover my ass. But I don't hate you anymore, Clark. You've shown me that I've been wrong about people. People are strong. You and Lex both are stronger than me." She laughed. "And I need people to keep going. They don't need me."
Leah let Clark go and walked over to the window. He was very relieved to be freed from the uncomfortable closeness. Leah looked out the window and asked, "You *are* adopted, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Clark replied, confused.
"So...no blood relation to your parents?"
"No, why?"
Leah turned to face Clark. "No reason." She headed towards the door and said, "I've got to go." She hugged Clark and kissed his cheek. "Thank you so much. For being my friend," she said and left.
Clark stood there for a moment, thought briefly about going to bed, but decided that he was now wide awake and went downstairs to the kitchen. There he found his mother working on some papers.
"Did you have the Biology notes that girl wanted?" she asked.
It took a second for Clark to realize what his mother was talking about. "Huh? Oh. No, I left them at school."
"I didn't think you were even taking Biology."
"Yeah, well...where's dad?"
"Oh, he went out to the barn to get something. Come to think of it, he should be back by now."
*That* was why Leah wanted to make sure Clark was adopted. So she wouldn't get another "break-proof-skinned" person. But before Clark could run out to save his father from certain death, his father burst through the door, his neck with two bloody puncture marks on it.
"Jonathan!" Clark heard his mother scream.
The expression on his face wasn't what Clark had expected it to be. His eyes were wide with wonder and amazement and his mouth was hanging open, almost smiling. "Martha, you will never believe what just happened."
***
Lex lay motionless on his bed. He didn't want to wake up. His head still ached from the blow he had taken last night. He squinted at the digital clock by his bed. It was six-thirty am and he was wide-awake and exhausted at the same time.
Leah had never come back. Lex might have been angry with her, but he never wanted her to leave like that. He hadn't wanted her to leave at all, ever, which was almost frightening.
Lex turned over and placed a hand just above his cheekbone where Leah had struck him. He had never expected her to try and hit back, much less render him unconscious. Of course, he never even thought about hitting *her.* When he hit Leah, it seemed to hurt more than when she hit him.
"You awake?" Lex heard a quiet and hopeful voice ask from out of the darkness.
Lex sat straight up in bed to see Leah sitting on the window seat that faced him. "Leah," he said. "When did you--" but a mixture of grogginess and not really caring stopped him from finishing that question.
"A few hours ago," Leah answered anyway. "I've been watching you." She sounded gentle, almost as if she was afraid of scaring Lex away.
Lex noticed that Leah's dress was now tattered. "Are you alright?" he asked while climbing out of bed. When his feet hit the floor, he swayed slightly.
"Am *I* alright?" she said in a worried tone. "Lex, please forgive me," she pleaded. Her voice was trembling and the stars outside were reflected in the tears in her eyes.
Lex crossed over to Leah and she stood to meet him, not looking him in the eye. She thought he was mad at her? *He* hit *her.* He was the man. *She* was just defending herself. But he had been mad, for a while, until he realized fully what he had done. It wasn't her fault that she happened to be better at defending herself than Lex was at being abusive. "There's nothing you have to be sorry for," he replied simply.
Leah sighed and laid her head on Lex's chest. "I assumed you would think that, but it's not true. I have more self-control than that. I knew how much I could hurt you, but I didn't care." Lex felt teardrops on his skin. "Just tell me that you forgive me. And later, if you understand things entirely, you can forgive me for real. I hope."
Lex tightened his arms around Leah and kissed her hair. "I forgive you," he whispered to her.
Leah let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said, and glanced nervously out the window at the pink-and-navy sky. "I went to see Clark," she said in a voice more confident than it had been before. "I blamed him for you being mad at me. But he made me realize something."
"What?"
"Love makes you strong."
Lex looked down at Leah. He hadn't even believed in love until recently. Love was just some sort of chemical reaction mixed with hormones and sometimes fondness of a person. But now he wasn't so sure.
"And you know what else I finally realized?" Leah said in a voice that was reverting back to its previous timidity.
"What?"
"People like me, their love won't last forever," Leah's voice was growing horse.
"What do you mean?" Lex asked, beginning to become worried.
"I mean," Leah continued, trembling, "you will move on, and I stay the same. Love is impossibility for me, and I can't handle drawing it out so long that it will hurt a million times more in the end."
Lex felt Leah's muscles contract with pain. "What are you talking about doing?" he asked, wanting her to look him in the eye, but she clung to him desperately as if afraid to let go.
"You're so lucky," Leah whispered. "You've got friends, people who care about you, people who look up to you. You can do whatever you want to do, be whoever you want to be. You're going to be something greater than you think. I know it. I can feel it. I don't know if it will be good or bad, but it will be great." Lex tried to speak, but he was silenced by Leah's kiss. "Shhh," she whispered, her lips grazing his, just be with me right now." She kissed Lex again. The kiss was long and passionate but Leah's entire body was tense. She pulled out of the kiss and whispered to Lex, "I love you." Lex tried to respond, but Leah quickly pulled him in again to kiss her. Suddenly, Leah's body jerked once and then relaxed. Lex opened his eyes to find nothing in his arms but Leah's worn and ripped gown. Lex's knees gave way and he fell to the floor, the wretched sun outside staring down at him. He wept into the rags in his hands, finally allowing those dreaded words to escape from his
mouth.
"I love you too."
A man, completely bald, though he wasn't old at all, sat in a chair that was near the couch Leah had been reclining on for the past ten minutes. He was dressed in a black suit, an expensive black suit by the looks of it. Leah hesitated. She tried to avoid rich people. People tended to notice them missing. But he was the only one there, and it seemed like he was the only one that would ever be there.
"You look like you're waiting for someone," Leah said, while willing the man's attention. She removed her feet from the table and leaned forward, acting as if she were bored.
The man blinked at her, as if he hadn't noticed she was there. "Yeah," he said, leaning forward to make conversation, "a friend of mine comes here every once and a while. I was hoping to run into him," he paused and glanced around the shop, "but it looks like he's not gonna show."
"I was waiting for someone to, but they haven't shown up either." Leah stood and sighed. "I might as well just go home." She then looked at the man out of the corner of her eye and Flashed him.
He immediately stood up. "Do you have a ride?" he asked coolly. "Because I could take you if you like."
"I was just going to walk..." She said, and then paused to make him think that she was thinking about her answer, "but all right."
The man smiled slightly and said, "Lets go then," and led Leah to the door. As they stepped out the exit, he said, "Oh, I'm Lex Luthor," as if he was just remembering his manners.
"Leah," she said in reply, and presented her hand, but regretted doing so as Lex shook it. Was a handshake too friendly in this situation? She would just have to make up for her mistake.
Lex led Leah out to what looked like a very nice car and helped her inside. She didn't know what kind of car it was. She didn't find it necessary to memorize those types of things. So when Lex got in the driver's side, she just commented, "Nice. You must be loaded," while rubbing the seat.
He looked at her sideways and asked, "You're not from around here, are you?" He pulled the car up to the exit and asked, "Which way?"
Leah glanced at the road and flicked her finger to the right and smiled wickedly. "That way," she said, and sighed. "No, I'm not from around here. I just moved here last month."
"Why's that?" Lex asked in a tone of voice that seemed to question Leah's judgment.
Leah laughed and said, "Oh, the name `Smallville' was just *so* appealing."
Lex laughed and made a left turn, but then caught himself. "Oh! Is this the right way? I didn't ask."
"It's okay. This is right," she reassured him. She glanced at him quickly and said, "Take this turn here," and flicked her finger to the right.
Leah noticed that Lex had a sort of smirk on his face but she couldn't tell whether it was out of habit or if he was smirking at something in particular.
"So," he said after a short while, "did you come here with family?"
"No, I'm all by myself. I'm sort of a nomad," Leah said in an innocent yet provocative voice. "Turn here," she added, flicking her finger vaguely to the left.
"Here?" Lex asked, pointing in a more specific direction.
"Yeah," Leah answered.
"Do you *have* any family?" Lex asked, trying to continue with the conversation.
"Nope. All dead." Leah scolded herself. That came out a little more casually than she meant it to.
Lex raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow. That's too bad."
Leah wasn't sure if he was being falsely sympathetic or if he truly felt sorry for her, but nonetheless she decided to try and let him know that she was over it. "Well, it happened a while ago," she said, "I don't really think about it all that much. Turn left."
"Really?" Lex asked, interested. "Did you not have a good relationship with them?"
"It was actually a very good relationship, as far as I remember, that is."
"You make it sound like it was a really long time ago. How old are you?"
"Guess."
Lex looked her over briefly, and then said, "You look about eighteen to me."
"That's about right," Leah answered, and rubbed her thigh with her palm. "But I quit keeping up with my exact age years ago."
"What?" Lex said, confused.
Leah suddenly realized they were passing their destination. She jumped and said, almost yelled, "Ooh! Stop here!"
The car came to a sudden halt. Leah took a quick look around to see where they were. They were sitting between a small patch of woods, which was perfect, and an enormous house made of stone. *Is that his house?* Leah thought. *He is loaded!* It reminded her of the castles she had seen in Scotland.
Lex was even more perplexed than before. "But this is *my* house."
"Really?" Leah said, acting as if she was surprised. "Wow...that's...wow." She then pointed towards the middle of the patch of woods. "But *I* live down there."
"There's nothing down there, though," he said, sounding a little concerned.
"Yeah, there is. An abandoned shack. I'm living there at the moment." Leah opened the door and started to get out of the car, but Lex grabbed her gently by the arm. Leah suppressed a wicked smile. She loved this part of the game. They try to help an innocent girl in from the cold, but then...
"I can't let you sleep down there," he said compassionately. "Come to my house and stay."
"I don't want to impose. Besides, I've stayed in much worse places than that." She motioned towards the woods.
"Still, if you don't come up it'll be on my mind all night."
It was all Leah could do to keep from giggling. She took a moment to regain herself, while Lex continued to hold onto her arm. After she was fairly sure that she wouldn't break out into a fit of laughter, Leah turned around and said, "All right then," and sat back in the seat.
They drove up to the great mansion in silence. Leah wanted to plan how she would go about things, but Lex seemed to have tagged himself as an authority figure, so she would just have to go with it. She could tell that he was used to being looked up to. He had a relaxed air about him.
Lex led Leah up to the door. He held it open for her, but she paused. "Go on in," Lex urged her, and she stepped inside and gazed around. They were in an extremely nice parlor. Leah found herself wondering what this man did for a living. "Wow," she said in awe. "Is anyone here?"
"No, Just us," he replied, and showed her to a couch in the middle of the room. After Leah had made herself comfortable, Lex asked, "Do you drink?"
"Yeah, sure," she said, feeling that she could stand a few drinks. "What do you have?"
"Well, I received a bottle of red wine as a gift from a client today."
"Oh, I would *love* some wine," Leah replied enthusiastically.
"Great."
Lex then turned and Leah heard cabinets opening and glass tinkling behind her. He returned with a bottle and two glasses. He poured a glass for Leah, then while handing the glass to her, he poured one for himself.
"Thanks," she said and held the glass to her lips, allowing the robust bouquet of the wine to fill her nostrils before taking a sip. The tart flavor filled her mouth and reminded her of long ago, when she used to drink wine like this almost every day. It was soothing. She took another sip, looked at Lex out of the corner of her eye and Flashed him another time.
He slid a little closer to Leah before perusing conversation once more. "So, how'd you end up moving around so much?"
Leah turned to face Lex and she answered him in a mournful tone of voice. "Well, after my family died, it seemed like the only think to do. I didn't have anywhere to go." It was just about time...
"How did they--"
Now. Leah Flashed Lex a final time and he grabbed her and kissed her passionately, as though he had been holding himself back for a long while. They held each other in a tight embrace, but suddenly Leah noticed something different. Something very, very different. The others never felt like this. This one felt--well, that didn't really matter. Different wasn't bad. Different was different. Leah allowed herself to kiss Lex for a second longer than she meant to, but then she realized she was enjoying it a little too much and forced herself to pull away from his mouth. She kissed his jaw, then his neck, again, again, and Lex did the same to her. Leah pulled up from his neck and stared at it for a moment, for some reason holding herself back from the inevitable. Fangs unsheathed behind her lips, but she hesitated a moment more. Finally, she sunk her fangs into Lex's neck, and he gasped, tensing up slightly. But he relaxed after a second, groaned with pleasure, and pulled Leah
closer to him. Leah slowly sucked out the thick, warm liquid that heated her entire body once it hit the throat. It was more soothing than wine. It was nourishing. It was bliss. It was...different. This was different than before, different than the others. She had a strange urge to pull away and stop before the job was done, and she did. She licked her lips and swallowed twice to clear the conspicuous taste from her mouth before kissing Lex's neck two more times. She kissed him on the mouth again. It took him a second or two for him to regain his senses and start kissing back. Leah felt an unfamiliar sensation in her chest that almost made her think that she was going to explode. She didn't know if she liked it or not. All she knew was that she didn't want it to stop, and that it wasn't normal. It wasn't right. She felt a tear fall from her eye and roll off her cheek. *This can't go on forever,* she thought, and she pulled away.
Leah looked down, glanced up at Lex once, then down again. "I, um, better leave," she said quietly.
"No," said Lex kindly, though it was more of a command than it was a question. He stroked her face softly and Leah couldn't keep herself from looking into his eyes. "You said you'd stay."
She looked down again. "Yeah, but--"
"You're going to stay. Nothing has to happen."
Leah looked up at him again. "Okay," she replied reluctantly.
Lex took her hand and led her out of the room and up a flight of stairs. This was not part of the game. The game should be over by now. This man should be lying on the couch right now, cold and lifeless, and Leah should be long gone, possibly with that bottle of wine in her hand, and whatever was in his pockets now in hers. But that chance had passed now. It was too late to make up for her vast mistake. *Never again. Never again.*
"You can choose from any bedroom you like," Lex said, apparently trying to make Leah feel more comfortable.
She stopped and opened a door and peered inside. The room inside was big and beautiful, but there was one problem. "Um, this may sound strange," Leah started nervously, "but do you have anything without windows? I'm...allergic to the sun." That was one of the stupidest lies Leah had ever told, but Lex had no reason not to believe her.
"Really? You can't even be in window light?" Lex asked.
"Nope. I'll get scorched."
He led Leah down a few more doors and opened one that led to a smaller, darker, and less kept-to room. "This is my unwanted-guest room," Lex said with a half smile, "but it's the only bedroom in the house with no windows. Is it alright?"
"It's great," said Leah, flipping on the lights.
"Do you want to take a bath or anything?" he offered.
Leah hadn't had a real bath in a long while. "Can I?"
"Sure. This way." Lex led her across the hall and into a large bathroom with mirrors covering one wall. Leah looked at her reflection. That myth was so ridiculous. But she was thankful it wasn't true, or she would never look this good. She ran a hand through her hair.
They stopped in front of a big black tub. "This thing is kind of complicated," Lex said, and started working some of the knobs. "This is how you work hot and cold. If you want to take a shower, you push this down, but if you want a bath you leave it up and turn this thing down here."
"Got it. I think I'll take a bath."
"Alright. Just call me if you need anything."
Lex walked out the door. But unknown to Leah, he lingered just behind the doorway with the door cracked. He watched her back in the mirrors while she turned on the faucets, and then as she pealed off her dark red tank top. Lex smiled gently, and then closed the door without a sound.
Leah climbed into the partially filled tub and scooped up some water in her cupped hands and poured it over her head. She tipped her head back, breathed in the steam and took in the luxury of it all. Leah sat there, serene, inhaling, exhaling, and trying to cleanse herself of her inappropriate feelings. She suddenly became very angry with herself and grabbed one of Lex's razor blades off the side of the bathtub. She whispered furiously to herself, "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" and slashed her arm three times. The bath was full now, and Leah turned off the water. She raised her arm over the still water and let her blood trickle into it. She watched as her wounds healed and as the dry blood flaked off into the water. She shook her hand in the water and the blood mingled with the water and was gone. She cupped more water in her hands and poured it over her head, this time tasting the slightest hint of a familiar flavor in it as it passed over her lips. She sat there with her head
back, whispering to herself, "I can't do this to myself. I can't start to have feelings for some little...weakling. Look out for number one. It's what you've done your entire life, Leah. No need to stop now." She paused and lowered her head slightly. "Why did I hesitate? Why did I *stop*?"
***
Lex Luthor watched a speed limit sign that read thirty-five pass by his car. He picked his speed up from fifty-five to seventy. He knew he should have learned better than to speed so much after his brush with death, but what were the odds of *that* happening again?
That girl last night, Leah, she was strange. Or, at least, she made Lex feel strange. He hadn't played the game right. He should have coaxed her upstairs and into his room and had his way with her, and then sent her packing. That's how he'd done it before, and he didn't see why it was suddenly different now. Maybe it was because Leah was different. Lex took a sip of bottled water. It would have been so simple to get her in bed. She was so timid in that moment right after they kissed, for some reason or another. And Lex could tell that Leah was...experienced. She was pure, yet she seemed to have just a little hint of wickedness in her nature. Not much, though. Lex could tell that she wouldn't hurt a fly. But until after they kissed she seemed like she would be capable of some pretty wild things. Leah had an eerie air about her, but it didn't bother Lex whatsoever. She had some sort of thrall over him, but he felt like he could break it if he wanted to, but he didn't want to.
He didn't know if he even liked her being with him or not, but he didn't want her to go away. But it felt as if she would leave any second, like she was the sort of person that couldn't possibly stay in one place for too long. She *had* said that she was like a nomad. He had even checked on her that morning to make sure she was still in bed. She was all tangled up in the sheets and had been wearing the clothes she had on the night on before: a red tank top and long black pants. He should have given her something to wear to bed.
Lex parked at the top of the Luthor Mansion driveway and tossed his keys to a servant he didn't remember ever seeing before. "Park that, will you?" he said absent-mindedly, and headed towards the castle.
Before Lex had even walked in the door he heard the music. Soft, soulful music was being played on a distant piano somewhere in the house. There were three pianos in the house, and he couldn't tell which one the sound was coming from, so he followed it. Slowly, very slowly, while listening to see if he was moving in the right direction, he stepped through the front door. He followed the music up a flight of stairs and down a long corridor. He recognized the melody from somewhere. Mozart? Maybe Beethoven. It was quiet at times; sometimes so quiet Lex feared that the music had stopped. But at other times it grew loud and strong, yet still light and smooth. He walked into another door that led to yet another corridor. The music changed. It went from romantic and sweet to just and tiny bit eerie. A few notes were pounded, piercing the tranquility, but it soon slid gracefully back to a romantic and lovely feel. But then it was suddenly pounding again. Not eerie, but hard.
Lex silently creped into a room he hadn't visited in years. It was dark, windowless, and lonely. He was almost surprised that the room didn't smell at all damp or dusty, but he knew that, no matter if they were used or not, all the rooms in the Luthor Mansion were frequently and thoroughly cleaned.
Lex caught sight of a pale image in the back corner of the room. Leah. She was sitting at a Grand Piano, gently swaying to the music as she played. Lex walked across the room, as silently as possible as not to disturb Leah in her serenity, and stood behind her. Every once and a while her head would turn to the side, in harmony with the music, and he could see that she kept her eyes shut tightly with passion. There was no music in front of her. She knew it by heart--and by soul.
Finally, with her head turned slightly to the side, Leah pounded out the last few, sorrowful notes. Lex half expected her to have tears running down her face due to the melancholy finally, but instead she had an odd sort of smile. Lex decided that Leah must have some emotional attachment to the song that he wasn't picking up on.
"Incredible," Lex said without even realizing it.
Leah whipped her head around and stared at Lex with brief horror, then embarrassment. "Oh," she said quietly, "I didn't know you were there." She turned back to the piano and stroked its keys, regaining herself. "I love Beethoven. `The Moonlight Sonata' speaks to me in a way."
Lex stood behind her and caressed her shoulder with the tips of his fingers. She was cold. He sat down beside her and whispered softly in her ear, "What does it say?"
Leah looked Lex in the eyes. "It tells a story of a game I like to play. Each detail. Every move. Every step."
"Do you want to play?" he asked, assuming she was itching to.
"No," she answered to his surprise. "We've already played." Leah smiled a sly smile and then looked down at her hands. "Where were you today? I was starting to get nervous."
"Just different places. For business. I thought one of the maids would tell you." Lex suddenly felt guilty for leaving her there all day. What had she been doing this whole time?
"I, um, avoided the maids," Leah said nervously while wringing her hands. "They were always in groups, and more than one person talking to me at once makes me sort of...scared."
"Why's that?" Lex asked sympathetically.
Leah wrung her hands harder. "I've been ganged up on a few times.... It's no big deal," she replied, trying and failing to appear nonchalant. "Just a phobia."
Lex brushed his hand down Leah's back caringly. He almost asked her what exactly had happened, but he stopped himself because it had obviously been a traumatizing experience that shouldn't be pried at. But he suddenly remembered something.
"Uh, I invited some people over...some friends. I wanted to introduce them to you, but if you don't want to..." he paused, hoping she would be alright with the idea.
"Oh, well, that's okay, I guess." She sounded slightly nervous, though not at all hesitant. "As long as you're there."
Leah looked up at Lex and smiled gently. Beautiful. Lex pulled Leah close to him and kissed her. Leah sighed and pulled herself even closer into Lex's embrace, but then pulled away.
"I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't." Leah looked ashamed. Lex couldn't decide if she was ashamed because she wanted to commit a "sinful" act or because she wasn't allowing herself to follow her own desires.
"You didn't seem so reluctant last night," said Lex enticingly. He wanted Leah to be comfortable, but he also wanted something else. But the want that was in him now was somehow different than the want he had had before. It was stronger, yes, but there was something else there as well.
He brushed her hair back and kissed her neck tenderly. Her muscles contracted then relaxed. "It was different last night," she said finally. "I was getting--" but Leah stopped herself.
"What?" Lex asked.
"That doesn't matter," she said quickly, scratching the back of her head tensely.
Now Lex was just confused. What was she getting? "Well," he said, trying to avoid a direct question, "Well, if it doesn't matter, then why does it...matter?" *Did that even make sense?*
But whether it made sense or not, Leah laughed and said, "You know what? You're absolutely right."
She leaned in and kissed Lex softly, and he grabbed her and drove the kiss on to be more passionate and intense. He had never wanted--no, never *ached* for anything so much in his entire life. Yes, Leah was defiantly different.
***
Leah kept her eyes closed even though she was almost fully awake. She felt Lex's warm body beside her. The gentle pulsing was like a lullaby that almost made Leah want to fall back to sleep. But she wanted to savor this moment for as long as possible. Lex's warmth warmed Leah's body. She pulled closer to him, wanting to bask in his heat, but he shivered, and she pulled away again. She didn't want to wake him. But all the same, when she backed away she somehow got warmer. Her skin was hot, but it was the wrong kind of hot. It burned. Leah's eyes shot open and she threw herself out of bed and scooped up her clothes. As she ran across the room she caught a glimpse out of the picture window that faced Lex's bed. An orange sun was peeking over the horizon. Leah burst out of the room and sprinted down the hallway. Her body was stinging all over. The cool air that blew across her skin as she ran seemed to only make it all the more painful. Leah threw herself into her dark,
windowless room and slammed the door behind her. She let loose a great sigh of relief and collapsed on the bed.
*Stupid.*
***
"Dear god, this place is enormous," said Chloe, looking so far up that Clark thought she would fall backwards out of her chair. "Man, Clark. I've seen it packed full of people millions of times, but...it's unbelievable when it's empty."
"Huh," Clark said, and smiled, "I didn't think you'd be all that impressed. I figured you'd find something cynical to say about it."
"What? You think I'm cynical? I'm not cynical." She glanced at Clark's amused expression and laughed. "Okay. Maybe just a little bit. But you have to admit, I'm also right about people most of the time."
"You were wrong about Lana Lang."
"Yeah, well, maybe she's nice and isn't a airhead like the rest of the Pompom Brigade, but she is *so annoying.*
"She is not!" Clark said defensively. Lana was smart, pretty, nice, energetic--what was there not to like?
"Oh, come on. She like, impossibly perfect. She's so perfect she was complaining about people thinking she was so perfect. I know, I can see how that could be a bit aggravating, but all she has to do is go out some night and get drunk and pass out on her aunt's lawn and poof. Problem solved."
"Is that the only reason you hate her?"
"I don't hate her. I just...want to throw things at her every once and a while, that's all. And, no, that's not the only reason."
"What else then?"
"That voice...it drives me insane. I mean, it sounds alright when she's pissed off or something, but when she's trying to be sweet she has this...lisp thing." Chloe made a sort of growling noise. "Sometimes I just wanna...pop that pretty little head right off that pretty little neck."
"Wow, Chloe, you're gettin' a little sadistic there."
"Yeah, well, there's only so mush you can bottle up inside before it bursts out into a classroom massacre. Bitching about stuff is healthy." Chloe picked up a pen off of Lex Luthor's desk and began twirling it between her fingers. "Why do you like her, anyway?"
Clark had wondered about this many times before himself, but never really came to a conclusion. "I dunno. She's nice, and--"
"Hot?" Chloe interrupted.
"Well, yeah, but that has nothing to do with it." Clark fiddled with a button on his shirt. In reality, Lana's looks had almost everything to do with it.
The door to Lex's office opened abruptly and Lex stepped inside. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Clark," Lex greeted him, "--and Chloe," he added, seeing Clark's companion.
"It's O.K," replied Clark.
Chloe leaned back in her chair again. "I love this house. I want this house."
"Clark," said Lex, apparently wanting to get right to his business, "I've got a reservation for four at Chez Monique in Metropolis. I was wandering if you would like to come and bring a friend. Lana Lang, for example."
Clark blushed and glanced downward. "Sure," he said, but then realized something. "Is that all you called me here for? You could have told me that on the phone."
Lex sat down behind his desk and said, "Yeah, well, I like talking to people face to face. Also," he leaned forward and glanced out the door, "I wanted to introduce you to someone."
"And who would that be?" Chloe asked.
Lex leaned back in his chair. "This girl I offered to drive home the other night. Leah. I was about to drop her off, but when I saw where she was staying, I just took her up here. It was really strange." Lex seemed to drift off at this point. "Out of nowhere we started kissing. I'd been planning on that happening, but not that quickly. She...she did something to me...I'm not sure what it was...." Lex reached up to touch his neck, and when he did he moved his collar out of the way to reveal a yellow memory of a bruise.
"It's called a hickey," Chloe said, pulling Lex out of his daydream.
"Well, yeah, I know it *looks*like one," said Lex, rubbing his neck, "but what she did to me...it was different. Very different."
"How so?" Clark asked.
Lex was concentrating, trying to find the right words. "I don't know.... It made me feel...light headed. It was soothing, but there was a little twinge of pain." He paused, remembering. "The thing is, at the time I didn't know what she was doing, but I didn't know I didn't know. All I knew was that it felt amazing. It only hit me that I had no idea what she was doing to me after I went to bed."
"Oh, so you didn't--" Clark started.
"No, no," interrupted Lex. "Not then. I thought something was going to happen for a second, but she seemed like that's all she wanted to happen, so I didn't push." Lex stared up at the ceiling. "Oh, you've got to see her." He looked back at Clark. "She's stunning. Except..."
"What?" The way Lex had been describing Leah, Clark had been imagining a flawless beauty. What could be wrong with her?
"She's albino," Lex said, wearing sort of a half-smile.
"Hey," Chloe scolded Lex, "that's really awful. I mean, you make out with a girl, then you go around making fun of her looks--"
"I wasn't making fun. She's really albino."
"Oh." Chloe looked slightly embarrassed.
"At least she looks like it, anyway," Lex continued. "White skin, white hair; white everything except her lips have some red color." Lex looked at the ceiling again and said with great passion, "But it just adds to her...*mystery.*"
There was a pause. Chloe broke the silence. "Okay, I'm not listening to anything else about Lex's sex life."
They laughed, which was very relieving to Clark because he was beginning to fear that the silence was about to become an awkward one.
"So," Clark said, "where is she?"
"Still sleeping I think."
A voice came from the shadows beyond the doorway. "No, I'm up," it said.
Lex jumped up from his desk. "Leah! Hey," he greeted her. He walked to the door and leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear. But Clark could hear what Lex was saying. "You disappeared this morning."
Leah whispered an answer, though not as quiet as Lex had been. "That's because you have a great big picture window that faces east."
"Oh, yeah," Lex said, and crossed the room and closed all of the blinds. Clark knew albinos were sensitive to sunlight, but he didn't know they were *that* sensitive.
Leah stepped into the office where she could be seen more clearly. She was white as snow. She was eerie and majestic. But her eyes weren't pink, as Clark had expected them to be. They were an odd color that he couldn't place. Were they silver? Yellow? Gold? All the same, Clark had never seen anyone with eyes like hers. He couldn't stop himself from staring. Leah massaged her temples and sighed.
Lex came to her side and rubbed her back. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Didn't you sleep well?"
Leah ran her hand through her white hair. "Yes, I'm just a little--" she paused when she spotted Clark in his chair and gave a strange sort of half smile, "--hungry."
The way Leah was looking at Clark made him a little edgy. He shifted in his chair.
Lex glanced in Clark's direction, wondering what Leah was staring at. "Do you want me to get you something from the kitchen?" Lex asked.
"No. I can wait." She was still smiling.
Leah stared at Clark without blinking until she was led beside Lex's desk. Lex sat back down in his chair and Leah rested her thigh near Lex on the desk and glanced at Clark every once and a while. When Lex introduced Clark and Chloe to Leah, she just nodded in their direction.
"Hey, did you guys hear about those two bodies that were found with their blood drained?" Chloe stated out of nowhere.
"Two?" Lex asked. "I only heard about one."
"Yeah," Clark joined in, "they found another one on Parks Street two weeks ago."
"His throat was slashed and his blood was drained," Chloe said, seeming a little over-excited. "That's why I'm butting in here. Me and Clark are going over to the morgue in a minute to see what's up."
"Do you really think you should do that?" Leah said all of a sudden. "I mean, isn't it illegal or something?"
"Well, I don't think it's *illegal*, really," Chloe replied, "but I think it may be against the rules."
"Then why are you doing it?" Leah seemed a little nervous.
"To see if it has anything to do with the meteor shower," Chloe replied.
"Huh?"
"Oh, there was a meteor shower a while back," Lex said to Leah, seeing her confused expression. "Chloe thinks it might have something to do with some strange things that have happened in Smallville."
"Oh." Leah seemed to be comforted by this statement.
"But this doesn't seem all that strange," Lex said. "Are you sure it not just some sick bastard killing people?"
"Yeah, but how'd the blood get drained almost dry?" asked Chloe. "There wasn't *one drop* of blood around the body. Plus, there was no sign of a struggle or trauma to the body."
"Well, that's not entirely true," Clark interrupted her. "Remember? That article said that it appeared that two puncture wounds to the necks caused the death, then the throats were slashed after they were dead."
Clark glanced up at Leah, who looked scared out of her wits. *Jeez. What would she do if she actually saw a body?*
"I've got the article here somewhere." Chloe searched her pockets and finally pulled out a folded up newspaper clipping. "There's a...*interesting* picture here. I didn't know they were aloud to put stuff like this in here."
"Can I see?" Leah asked, who had seemingly calmed herself down.
She walked over by Clark and glanced at him quickly. Suddenly, without warning, Clark found himself holding himself back from knocking Leah down and kissing her uncontrollably. He dug his fingernails in the cushioned chair and bit the side of his cheek. But then Leah made things a thousand times worse. She bent down over Clark to look at the news article. Clark caught a glance down Leah's shirt, but then he noticed Lex behind her. He was glaring at them both, eyes full of rage. Clark looked up at the ceiling. *Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad...*
"Oh," he heard Leah say, "that's scary. Who would do something like that to a person?"
"Dunno," Chloe said. "That's what we're trying to find out."
To Clark's great relief, Leah stood back up. "Wait," she said, "he was found two weeks ago, right?"
"Right," Chloe replied.
"So...shouldn't he be about six feet under by now?"
Chloe just stared up blankly at Leah for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "Fine. Ruin my fun."
"Why did you wait this long, anyway?" Lex asked.
"Well, it never really caught my attention until now. You yourself said it's probably just some crazed lunatic."
Clark watched Leah. He was still fighting an urge, but that urge was beginning to subside. Leah must have felt him looking at her, because she looked over at him. The urge came swarming back.
"Okay!" said Clark, jumping out of his chair. "I guess we better go home, then." He grabbed Chloe, said a quick "good bye" to Lex and Leah, and rushed out of the Luthor Mansion.
"Holy crap, Clark," Chloe said once they were on their way down the road. "What was that about?"
Clark looked at his feet as he walked. "D-did you happen to notice if Leah was...coming on to me at all?"
Chloe laughed. "Oh, please. Dream on. `Let's see. I'm a sexy *adult* woman who has a sexy bazillionaire practically clinging to me. Hmmm...I think I'll go try and score with this fifteen-year-old little minor who could be dirt poor for all I know.'" She rolled her eyes.
"I didn't *say* she was trying to score with me. I was just asking--"
"Yeah, yeah. Either way, my answer's no, she wasn't."
Clark kicked at the dirt. Not all of that could have been just his hormones, could it?
***
Leah sat quietly on her bed. Lex had offered over and over to take her somewhere, to set up something for her to do, even to give her a piano, but Leah had declined everything. She couldn't keep Lex from his work, and, moreover, Leah was weak. She had barely taken enough from Lex to make him weak. Her head ached with hunger. But, luckily the boy came along. He was pure and reeked of virginity. He didn't stand a chance. But, still, Leah had to somehow get alone with Clark. She couldn't kill him, of course. Killing Clark would upset Lex. Lex would also sharpen up the search for the murderer if a friend was killed. Leah massaged her temples. She would have to get to Clark soon. She usually only fed twice a month. She used to feed on one person all month long, but that got very boring. The most entertaining part about feeding was the hunt.
Leah heard far away voices. Lex. She picked up one of the black sheets off of her bed, wrapped it around herself and headed out into the hallway. She fallowed the voices to a main room of the house and crouched down in a flight of steps.
"But Mr. Luthor," said a stranger's voice, "this guy went straight to the editor. It's gone too far for me to handle."
"I don't accept excuses, Nixon. I except results," Lex said demandingly. There was arrogance in his tone. Leah wasn't sure if she liked that.
"But there's nothing I can do," Nixon pleaded, and fell at Lex's feet. "Please. I've buried everything I dug up. Club Zero doesn't exist as far as you're concerned. I've printed everything you've told me to. But I can't make this go away." Nixon hung his head and sobbed.
This entire time Lex had been staring down at Nixon with ruthlessness in his expression. But now he just sighed and said, "What exactly did this guy claim to see again?"
Nixon stood slowly. "You at that coffee shop on Wednesday."
"The Beanery?" Lex asked.
"Yeah. He said you left with a girl who seemed...'questionable.'"
*Kill him.*
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lex demanded.
"He claimed that you left with a prostitute."
Lex collapsed in a chair and laughed. "That's not even true. And why would a whore be at The Beanery? And why does this guy care if I--"
"Well, it doesn't matter if he cares, Mr. Luthor, but if it ends up in the papers then everyone will care."
"A whore in Smallville.... Who's going to believe that?"
"Someone will."
"Yeah, you're right. Look's like I'm gonna have to buy the editor off. Five grand should keep him quiet."
"I think it'll require more than that."
"No, I'm guessing he's already hesitating about printing the story. For all he knows it could be total bull. Then again, it may not even require money at all to shut him up. Just a tiny threat--or," Lex smiled at Nixon, "a *promise*, could straighten things out."
"But...*promising* him might just drive him to think the story's true."
"It doesn't *matter* what he thinks. It matters what he makes *other* people think."
Nixon seemed to be building up the courage to say something, and Lex was waiting patiently. "Uh, *did* you leave with someone?" he asked finally.
Lex laughed quietly. "If you mean did I leave with a prostitute, then no. A whore in Smallville. That still gets me..."
Leah tiptoed back upstairs. She had given up on the idea of killing Nixon. That wouldn't help, and if anything it would probably make things worse. This new side of Lex that was revealed to Leah was chilling. It made her a little angry at him for not showing his entire self to her in the beginning. Yet it was also, in a way, surprisingly appealing. Leah felt guilty for feeling this way. She felt as though she was betraying the Lex she had met in the coffee shop. But it *was* the same Lex, only a *business* Lex. Leah laughed out loud at herself. This was a confusing and idiotic mind game. Lex was Lex. That was all there was to it. But Leah *did* have to keep reminding herself that Lex didn't mean one thing to her.
"Not one thing."
A few minutes passed by and Leah just sat there. She had to reserve her strength. She wasn't *terribly* hungry, but there was no telling when she would see the boy again.
There was a knock on the door.
"Yeah?" Leah called.
Lex opened the door slowly and peeked inside. "Hey," he said. He came the rest of the way inside and Leah saw that he was carrying a large white box. "I've got something for you."
Before Leah had a chance to ask what it was, Lex opened the box and lifted out a dress. It was red, long, flowing and beautiful. Leah's heart melted. She hadn't worn anything that beautiful in years.
"You like it?" Lex asked, seeing Leah's stunned expression.
Leah got up off the bed and stared at the dress. "What's it for?" she asked timidly.
Lex handed the dress to Leah by the straps. "We're going out to eat tonight," he answered her, "with Clark. You know, the kid who was over here earlier."
Great. She had wasted the whole day preserving energy for nothing. "Oh." She held the dress against her body. "It's gorgeous," she said in aw.
"I thought you'd like it," he said in reply. "You wanna try it on?"
"Okay." Leah turned around and took off her shirt and slipped the dress on over her pants. She then slipped her pants off under the dress. She still didn't feel comfortable with him seeing her for some reason.
This time it was Lex's heart that seemed to melt. "You look...incredible."
Leah looked at herself in a dresser mirror. The dress was backless and had a low, scooping neckline and a short train. She felt delicate. "I love it," she said in almost a whisper. "So," she said after realizing that she needed to change the subject, "it's just Clark that's coming with us?"
"Yeah. Well, I told him to bring this girl named Lana that he likes, but according to him, she's busy tonight."
"Doing what?"
"Oh, something like she's going to see her boyfriend try out for another scholarship." Lex laughed and ran a hand across his head. "To tell the truth, I'm kind of glad she's not coming. That girl can be so annoying."
Leah laughed, and there was a long pause.
"What do you think about Clark?" Lex said, breaking the silence.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," he said coolly, "do you find him...attractive?"
Leah froze. Lex had noticed how she had played with Clark earlier. How could he have missed it? She forced herself to calm down. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, he's having a little trouble with Lana. I was wondering if you could give him a woman's insight."
A random thought passed through Leah's mind: *Yeah, I could incite him.* She quickly pushed that thought away, for some reason afraid that Lex knew what she was thinking.
"Um, he's...okay, I guess," Leah started, choosing her words carefully. "I mean, he's cute *for a kid.* I'd do something about that hair, though."
Lex laughed. "Uh, maybe you better not tell him that. He might take offence or something."
Leah laughed and then turned to look at herself again in the mirror. She couldn't believe she was wearing something so incredible. Lex came up beside her and touched her arm. Leah turned to face him. He was so close that she could fell the heat off his body. She shivered, not knowing whether it was because his heat made her realize how cold she really was or because he intimidated her. But if it was intimidation, it was a good intimidation. He made her feel safe, absolutely safe for the first time since she began living this cursed/blessed life. Leah wasn't sure which it was now. She used to be sure it was a blessed life, but now she had to hide all the time in so many more ways than one.
Lex pulled her body up against his. He leaned down and kissed her eyes gently. Leah felt her insides quiver, on the brink of tears. She felt her mouth opening to say...something, "I lo--"
She stopped. She wouldn't allow herself to that admit to anyone, not even herself.
***
This was the most uncomfortable experience Clark had ever been through. Every time he thought he was almost completely calmed down, a new wave of...something rushed over him. He thought the only thing he would have to worry about tonight was how to pronounce the appetizer and which fork to use when.
He looked warily across the table at Leah, who smiled sweetly back at him. He ripped his eyes away from her to look at Lex.
"So, Clark," said Lex, "has Chloe found anything else on those murders?"
"Um, no," Clark answered. "She decided that you were probably right. It's just some sick lunatic."
Leah sighed--or was it a laugh? She was eating her crab legs with some difficulty. Most of what she had dug out was lying on her plate. She reached inside one of the legs with the tiny fork and some kind of liquid squirted out onto her face. She screamed quietly and then laughed. When Lex looked at her he laughed as well, but for some reason Clark was afraid to let himself even crack a smile.
Lex took his napkin and raised it to Leah's face. "Here, let me get that for you."
"No, no," Leah said, holding up a hand while chuckling slightly. "I can get it." She reached across the table, eyes half closed, for her napkin, but elbowed Lex's drink. It teetered for about a split second, and then dumped over into Lex's lap. At the sound of this, Leah quickly wiped off her face so that she could see what she had done clearly. "Oh! Lex! I'm *so* sorry!"
Lex laughed, though this laughed seemed to come more from shock than amusement. "It's alright," he said. "Uh, I'll, um," he glanced around to see if anyone had seen what happened, "I'll be right back." He got up and moved toward the restrooms, leaving Clark and Leah alone.
Leah turned all the way around to watch Lex leave and didn't turn back around until he was around the corner. Once she was facing Clark, Leah sighed and said, "I thought he would never leave."
Clark responded with the only thought that crossed his mind: "Huh?"
In one motion, Leah was on Clark's side of the booth, so close that he could fell her icy breath when she spoke. "Come on. Like you don't know what I want." She leaned in closer to Clark and whispered in his ear, "And like you don't want the same thing."
She grabbed Clark's knee and he gasped, but was in too much shock to do anything about it. He tried to force himself to push Leah away, but he was frozen to the spot. She started sucking on his ear. She let her lips graze Clark's neck and found a spot on his neck and opened her mouth wide and bared her teeth down on his skin. Clark heard a snap, and Leah went suddenly rigid. She raised her head slowly and looked up at Clark, horrified. And when Clark looked into Leah's eyes, all the want was drained from him. He would have been totally relaxed if what had just happened hadn't happened. Leah backed slowly away, covering her mouth with one hand, and never took her eyes off Clark. She felt her way back to her side of the booth, and a few seconds later Lex returned.
When Leah saw Lex, something seemed to click inside her head. She nudged him out of her way and mumbled, "I'll be right back," and walked swiftly off to the restrooms, still covering her mouth.
Lex sat down in the booth. "What's wrong with her?" he asked as he watched her disappear behind the wall. "Is she sick?"
"No," Clark answered automatically, not knowing whether it was true or not.
"Maybe I should go check on her," Lex suggested, and looked back in the direction Leah had gone.
"No," said Clark. "What if she's throwing up or something? She might get embarrassed."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Clark turned things over in his mind. Should he tell Lex? Some things are better left unsaid. But he couldn't let his friend get into a serious relationship with a two-timer--or maybe even a con artist. But was the reason Leah ran away like that remorse? But what if it wasn't?
"Lex," Clark began, "there's something I gotta tell you."
***
The ride to the castle had been silent and cold, and on Leah's part, nervous. Normally, Lex sort of enjoyed people being nervous around him. It made him feel like he had control over them, and he did. But it was a different kind of nervousness. And this nervousness was still hanging in the air now.
*Look at her over there,* Lex thought. *Pretending that nothing even happened. She can't even look me in the eyes.* He wasn't sure whether it was jealousy or disgust that was making him sick in the stomach. All he knew was that he had to say something, or he would go mad.
But she spoke first. "Clark's...nice," she said a little timidly, and shifted on the couch. "He's really--"
"Shut up," Lex snapped at her, and she jumped.
"He tol--"
"Yeah, he told me." Now it was disgust. She expected to hide it from him? "What? You thought he wouldn't?"
Leah sighed and leaned back, rubbing her temples. "No. Yes. I don't know..." She squinted her eyes in either concentration or pain.
"You think *you've* got a headache?"
"I'm hungry," she said under her breath.
"Hungry? You just ate."
Leah laughed bitterly and stood to face Lex. "What happened isn't what you think it was. Or what Clark thinks it was, for that matter."
"Oh, yeah? Then what was it?"
Leah turned around and started massaging her head again. "It's hard to explain."
"Yah know what? I bet Clark was right. You're some kind of con artist."
"Con artist?" Leah said, insulted. "I would never hurt anyone that way. I would never ruin someone's life like that."
"Well, you're makin' *mine* pretty miserable," Lex scoffed.
"Yeah, well I'm not doin' too good either!" Leah shouted, looking Lex in the face again. "You think I'm happy? You think I'm having fun with this? My life has been a living hell *since the night I met you.*"
That was all Lex could take. Before he realized what he was doing, Lex raised his hand and backhanded Leah hard across the cheek.
Lex's heart felt like it had stopped beating, though he could hear his pulse banging in his head. Leah was crouched down, holding her face, and trembling.
"Oh, Leah--" Lex started, but Leah rose from the floor, her back still turned. She then spun around, screaming insanely, and struck Lex in the same way as he stuck her, except much, much harder. Lex spun and collapsed on the floor. That last image he saw was of the red-and-white blur that was Leah bolt out the door, and then all was black.
***
It felt good to get out of that suit that Lex had sent Clark. Clark was more of a t-shirt-and-jeans sort of guy than a suit guy. Even if the suit *was* Armani. He was very happy to get into his boxer shorts and out of those stuffy clothes.
Clark was about to turn the lights off and go to bed when there was a knock on his door. He opened it, expecting it to be his mom.
But it wasn't. It was Leah. Dress ripped and dirty, hair mussed with bits of grass stuck in it, and...her eyes. They were on fire with insanity and murderous fury. Clark was terrified, even though he knew she couldn't do anything to him.
Leah stood there for a while, glaring up at Clark. And just when he thought she was ready to pounce, she collapsed on the floor and sobbed. "You made me hit him," she declared between her teeth.
Clark relaxed, but now he felt guilty. And... "I made you do *what* to him?"
"Hit him." She looked up at Clark with hurt in her eyes. "Why did you tell him? It's not like I was doing anything wrong."
"Are you kidding?" Clark said, struggling to keep his voice down so that his parents wouldn't hear. "You were sucking on my ear."
Leah stood and leaned on the doorpost. "Yeah, but not in a bad way." She sounded frustrated.
But she didn't sound as frustrated as Clark was. "How did you get in here anyway?"
"Your mom invited me," she said simply. "You're adopted, aren't you?"
Clark was surprised by this random, and correct, comment. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
Leah walked over to Clark's dresser and picked up a photo of he, Pete and Chloe that was lying on it. "I pay attention to certain human characteristics. Your parents are really...*wholesome.* Scary wholesome. A quality only found in foster parents." Leah placed the photograph back on the dresser and walked over to Clark. "You know what's really terrible? Everything I knew to be true *is* true."
"And what's that?"
"Love makes you weak," she said bitterly, glaring at nothing in particular. "And I just thought it meant mentally." She turned from Clark and touched her fingers to her lips. "But now I know it means physically too." She touched her hip. There was something tucked away underneath her dress. "And now, because of you, I not only can't live a normal life, but I can't have the one thing that was holding me in this life. The thing that made me weak." She turned sharply to again face Clark, murder blazing in her eyes. "You took Lex from me." Leah whipped out what she had been hiding under her dress: a knife with a six-inch blade. Leah strode, almost glided, over to Clark and plunged the knife into his stomach. Clark doubled over from the force, though the knife didn't penetrate. But Leah thought it had. With the knife still in her hand, holding it in the same position, Leah gabbed Clark's hair and lifted his head so that his eyes met hers. Her eyes were opened wide as if saying,
"So this is what you get." Leah thrust the knife harder into Clark's stomach, trying to make his pain greater. But as she did, there was a muffled snap. When Leah heard this, a look of fear swept over her face. She slowly pushed Clark away, and as she did, half of the knife blade fell to the floor while Leah still held the handle in her hand. She bent down and picked up the blade and held it in front of her. "Oh," she said vaguely, and stumbled over to sit on Clark's bed. She dropped the broken knife to the floor, ran her hands through her hair and glared up at Clark. "I really do hate you, yah know that?" She let her arms drop to the bed and laid back.
Clark sighed. This girl gave off an odd impression. Even though she had just tried to murder him, Clark only pitied her. "Yeah," he said, "I kind of figured that."
"So...I'm not weak after all," Leah whispered, then sat up. "*You're* just a freak."
Clark was too confused to take offence to that statement. "Why did you think you were weak?"
"Because," Leah replied, "you broke my tooth."
"Huh?"
"Well, it regenerated, of course, but my tooth's never broken before and I wasn't sure if it *would* regenerate."
Clark had no idea of what Leah was talking about. "So...this whole thing was about your tooth?"
Leah rolled her eyes. "No. Don't you listen? It was about Lex. You told him. You shouldn't have told him. Everything would have been fine if you had just kept your damned mouth shut. But nooo, you had to go and tell him that I was a *con artist.* Are you stupid or something? I mean, *why* would you tell him? Everyone would have been much happier if you could have just shut up about it."
"Well, I wasn't going to let Lex go on with a--" Clark stopped himself before he could finish what sounded like in his head an overly cruel statement.
"A slut?" Leah finished for him.
"Well, yeah."
"You think I was attracted to *you*?"
Clark blinked. "What's *that* supposed to mean?"
Leah laughed. "I suppose you should think that. I never thought about what they thought afterwards. You know, `cause they're usually dead."
She kept saying mind-blowing things out of the blue like they were no big deal. "Wait. So you were going to kill me?"
Leah rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Well, I *would* on a normal occasion, but how would you expect me to explain things to Lex when he came back from the bathroom to find you lying there with your throat slashed."
It took a while for that last statement to sink in. "You're...*you're the slasher.*"
"Ooh, how long it take you to figure that one out?" Leah said mockingly. "And I'm not sick. I'm not cruel. It made me so mad when you kept saying things like that earlier. If I was, then I'd make their deaths slow and painful and torturous. I can make a person so fearful with just a look. No, I make it the most wonderful experience of their entire life."
Clark was almost dizzy with shock. "How...how do you *know* you're not hurting them?"
Leah looked up at the ceiling, concentrating. "The way they breath, the sounds they make, the way their skin gets so hot, the way they pull me closer...I could go on." She then looked back at Clark. "Or you could just ask Lex."
What did she mean by that? Clark thought back. *The thing is, at the time I didn't know what she was doing, but I didn't know I didn't know. All I knew was that it felt amazing.* She had done whatever she does to Lex. "But--but he's not dead."
"I will admit that killing isn't the kindest thing to do in the world, so, well, I just couldn't kill him. There's something different about him. I think..." she trailed off and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"You love him?" Clark finished for her.
Leah suddenly jumped up and started pacing. "No. No. No. Love is human. Humans are weak. I am *not* weak. I know that doesn't make since to you, just like you having break-proof skin doesn't really make since to me, but it doesn't matter that it doesn't make since. But you just gotta listen. Weakness is what people like me have been fighting against since the beginning. That's why I kill. Without killing I live, but all I am is a weak little pile of flesh and bones. I've seen it happen before. It's scary. And love makes you soft which keeps you from killing and killing keeps you from disappearing. I can't love. I can't. I can't. I'm sorry, but I just have to rant right now. You gotta let loose your problems every once and a while or it all gets built up inside and one day--" she stopped all of a sudden. She seemed shocked.
"It'll all come out as a killing spree?" Clark finished for her.
"No," Leah said quietly, and then fell into Clark's arms and buried her face in his chest. "You're such a good friend to Lex," She said in a muffled voice. "You told him about me because you thought it was the right thing to do. And I must of Flashed you fifteen times at dinner and you didn't even try to touch me once."
"Flashed me?" Clark would have defiantly noticed if Leah had flashed him.
"Flashing is a thing I do with my eyes. It makes you feel things that you wouldn't feel if I hadn't Flashed you. With Lex, I mixed lust with mystery. I hit you with lust, pure and simple. You're strong, Clark. I Flashed someone like that in a crowded room and he tackled me right in front of everyone. Lust works best on the pure, Clark, and you're as pure and innocent as they come."
But Clark remembered the cop who had framed his dad for murder. "I'm not innocent. I wanted to kill a man once. It just lasted for a few seconds, but I wanted to kill him so bad I could taste it. And I almost *did* kill him." Clark's muscles were tense and he felt a light sweat on his brow. Just looking back on how angry he had been was terrifying.
"The need to kill a particular person is hate," Leah said in a sage-like voice.
"Well, of course I hated him."
"Yes, but only for that second." She looked up into Clark's eyes. "You may think hate is just a strong dislike for someone, but it's not. Hate is to dislike someone so much that you not only want but *need* to kill them. You fear hate more than you actually hate. You *are* pure and you *are* innocent. You can control your hate. Most people can't. I can't. You're the first person I have ever hated, and I couldn't control the need to kill you. I didn't *want* to control it. Of course, you have a clearer vision of right and wrong than I do."
Those were the most comforting words Clark had heard, even compared to what his father had said. And to think they came from the mouth of a killer. "How could I be the only person you ever hated when you've killed so many people?"
"All the other times I've killed were because I had to keep strong. The only times I've gone after specific people were when they caught me in the act and I had to cover my ass. But I don't hate you anymore, Clark. You've shown me that I've been wrong about people. People are strong. You and Lex both are stronger than me." She laughed. "And I need people to keep going. They don't need me."
Leah let Clark go and walked over to the window. He was very relieved to be freed from the uncomfortable closeness. Leah looked out the window and asked, "You *are* adopted, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Clark replied, confused.
"So...no blood relation to your parents?"
"No, why?"
Leah turned to face Clark. "No reason." She headed towards the door and said, "I've got to go." She hugged Clark and kissed his cheek. "Thank you so much. For being my friend," she said and left.
Clark stood there for a moment, thought briefly about going to bed, but decided that he was now wide awake and went downstairs to the kitchen. There he found his mother working on some papers.
"Did you have the Biology notes that girl wanted?" she asked.
It took a second for Clark to realize what his mother was talking about. "Huh? Oh. No, I left them at school."
"I didn't think you were even taking Biology."
"Yeah, well...where's dad?"
"Oh, he went out to the barn to get something. Come to think of it, he should be back by now."
*That* was why Leah wanted to make sure Clark was adopted. So she wouldn't get another "break-proof-skinned" person. But before Clark could run out to save his father from certain death, his father burst through the door, his neck with two bloody puncture marks on it.
"Jonathan!" Clark heard his mother scream.
The expression on his face wasn't what Clark had expected it to be. His eyes were wide with wonder and amazement and his mouth was hanging open, almost smiling. "Martha, you will never believe what just happened."
***
Lex lay motionless on his bed. He didn't want to wake up. His head still ached from the blow he had taken last night. He squinted at the digital clock by his bed. It was six-thirty am and he was wide-awake and exhausted at the same time.
Leah had never come back. Lex might have been angry with her, but he never wanted her to leave like that. He hadn't wanted her to leave at all, ever, which was almost frightening.
Lex turned over and placed a hand just above his cheekbone where Leah had struck him. He had never expected her to try and hit back, much less render him unconscious. Of course, he never even thought about hitting *her.* When he hit Leah, it seemed to hurt more than when she hit him.
"You awake?" Lex heard a quiet and hopeful voice ask from out of the darkness.
Lex sat straight up in bed to see Leah sitting on the window seat that faced him. "Leah," he said. "When did you--" but a mixture of grogginess and not really caring stopped him from finishing that question.
"A few hours ago," Leah answered anyway. "I've been watching you." She sounded gentle, almost as if she was afraid of scaring Lex away.
Lex noticed that Leah's dress was now tattered. "Are you alright?" he asked while climbing out of bed. When his feet hit the floor, he swayed slightly.
"Am *I* alright?" she said in a worried tone. "Lex, please forgive me," she pleaded. Her voice was trembling and the stars outside were reflected in the tears in her eyes.
Lex crossed over to Leah and she stood to meet him, not looking him in the eye. She thought he was mad at her? *He* hit *her.* He was the man. *She* was just defending herself. But he had been mad, for a while, until he realized fully what he had done. It wasn't her fault that she happened to be better at defending herself than Lex was at being abusive. "There's nothing you have to be sorry for," he replied simply.
Leah sighed and laid her head on Lex's chest. "I assumed you would think that, but it's not true. I have more self-control than that. I knew how much I could hurt you, but I didn't care." Lex felt teardrops on his skin. "Just tell me that you forgive me. And later, if you understand things entirely, you can forgive me for real. I hope."
Lex tightened his arms around Leah and kissed her hair. "I forgive you," he whispered to her.
Leah let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said, and glanced nervously out the window at the pink-and-navy sky. "I went to see Clark," she said in a voice more confident than it had been before. "I blamed him for you being mad at me. But he made me realize something."
"What?"
"Love makes you strong."
Lex looked down at Leah. He hadn't even believed in love until recently. Love was just some sort of chemical reaction mixed with hormones and sometimes fondness of a person. But now he wasn't so sure.
"And you know what else I finally realized?" Leah said in a voice that was reverting back to its previous timidity.
"What?"
"People like me, their love won't last forever," Leah's voice was growing horse.
"What do you mean?" Lex asked, beginning to become worried.
"I mean," Leah continued, trembling, "you will move on, and I stay the same. Love is impossibility for me, and I can't handle drawing it out so long that it will hurt a million times more in the end."
Lex felt Leah's muscles contract with pain. "What are you talking about doing?" he asked, wanting her to look him in the eye, but she clung to him desperately as if afraid to let go.
"You're so lucky," Leah whispered. "You've got friends, people who care about you, people who look up to you. You can do whatever you want to do, be whoever you want to be. You're going to be something greater than you think. I know it. I can feel it. I don't know if it will be good or bad, but it will be great." Lex tried to speak, but he was silenced by Leah's kiss. "Shhh," she whispered, her lips grazing his, just be with me right now." She kissed Lex again. The kiss was long and passionate but Leah's entire body was tense. She pulled out of the kiss and whispered to Lex, "I love you." Lex tried to respond, but Leah quickly pulled him in again to kiss her. Suddenly, Leah's body jerked once and then relaxed. Lex opened his eyes to find nothing in his arms but Leah's worn and ripped gown. Lex's knees gave way and he fell to the floor, the wretched sun outside staring down at him. He wept into the rags in his hands, finally allowing those dreaded words to escape from his
mouth.
"I love you too."