expect the unexpected...

Author: lisa j.
Rating: PG-13 (to be safe)
Category: romance
Disclaimer: they don't belong to me.
Feedback: i would love it!
Spoilers: "Kinetic"
Authors notes: this is my first smallville fanfiction. i just hope that i didn't write hit, ya know?

Chapter 1 : Happy Birthday to Me...

Friday, March 18th, 2002

Chloe Sullivan looked around her. Today was her 16th birthday. Big whoop. Today was suppose to be one of the best days of her teen years, but instead was becoming one of the worst. Chloe had walked into the school with the sight of Clark kissing Lana to greet her. Not a great start to say the least.

Turns out the cheerleader had dumped the football boy she was dating. So guess who was there to comfort the great Lana Lang? Three guesses and the first two don't count people. You got it, Clark Kent. The boy she had loved ever sense she had moved to this God forsaken town. She should have seen this coming, who was she kidding? She DID see this coming. But why did it have to be on her birthday?

*Oh god they spotted me!* Chloe thought as they pulled apart from their smooch-fest and looked her way. She smiled at them as they walked over.

"Hey Chloe," Clark said as he came over and hugged her. "Happy Birthday!"

She pulled back from Clark and smiled as best as she could under the circumstances. "Thanks Clark," She looked over at Lana and smiled. "Hey Lana."

Lana smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Chloe, I didn't know it was your birthday! Sixteen right?" Chloe pulled back from her.

"Yep, the big 1-6. So, how have you guys been?"

Lana and Clark looked at each other and smiled. "Well..." *Here we go...*

Later That Night

"Chloe, sweetheart, what do you want your birthday cake to say?" Martha Kent asked with the blue frosting in hand hovering over the cake.

Chloe smiled at Mrs. Kent. "Just the usual, Happy Birthday Chloe." The Kent's had offered to have her party at their house to save her father the trouble. Mrs. Kent nodded and began to write.

Chloe sighed and looked around at the party. The house was packed with teenage kids, half of whom Chloe had never talked to. She scanned the living room looking for Pete or Clark to talk to and her eyes fell on Clark, who was talking to Lana. *I guess I will just stay over here then.* Truth be told she was a little pissed at Clark. All day long he had been up Lana's butt so to speak. She knew that he finally got the girl and all but he didn't have to ignore one of his best friends on the process.

She looked out the window into the night sky and decided she need some air. She looked around the room making sure no one saw her and slipped out the front door. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she sat on the Kent's porch steps. She brought her knees up to her chest and put her arms around her legs, put her head in her arms and closed her eyes.

And that's how Lex Luthor found her when he came strolling up the walkway to the Kent household. Clark had informed him of Chloe's birthday party the day before when he had delivered the produce to the Luthor mansion. The girl intrigued him like no other had. Although they had only talked a handful of times, each time she surprised him in a new way.

So when he found her like that on the steps of the Kent house he surprised him once again. He thought for a minute before going closer to her. He didn't want to bother her, but at the same time he wanted to know what had upset the girl so much on her birthday.

"Could you please do something other than stand there and look at me?" Chloe said as she lifted her eyes to Lex. He nodded and took a seat next to her.

"So, Ms. Sullivan why is it that you are outside all alone at your birthday party?" She looked at Lex and then back down at her hands. "It's Chloe and I needed some-"

"Air," Lex finished for her and smiled. She looked up at him and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I needed some air." He nodded and gave her the large box in his hands. She looked up at him in surprise and took the box. "You didn't have to get me anything Mr. Luthor."

"It's Lex, I thought we had already been through this," He said grinning at her. "Besides I wanted to get a birthday present for my favorite reporter." She blushed and grinned back at him.

"Thank you, at least someone is paying attention to me today..." Chloe said as she started to open the box in front of her. Lex looked at her confused. "Chloe, who hasn't been paying attention to you today?"

Chloe looked up from opening her present and rolled her eyes. "Oh, well Clark and pom-pom girl are dating now that dimwhit is out of the picture so he has had other things on his mind today if you know what I mean. They are finally together. I am happy for him, but I just wish that this could be my day ya know? Not the "lets see how happy I can make Lana" day."

Lex nodded in understanding. "Well I am sorry Chloe. You shouldn't be put on the back burner on your birthday, your sixteenth no less. That's suppose to be the best birthday for a person. So I hope after hearing that, my present to you makes up for the crappy day you have been having, now open it up before I do."

She smiled and proceeded to open the box completely. She grinned when she found out what was in it. Inside the box was a certificate to the Beanery for a life times worth of free coffee, a few computer programs she had her eye on to get for the paper *Clark must have told him about those.*, a beautiful set of earrings and a necklace, and at the bottom a paper. She picked it up and read it. It said that she should go to CompUSA and pick up a brand new IMAC, complete with a top of the line printer, scanner and digital camera for the paper.

When she put everything back into the box she turned to Lex and hugged him. At first he was surprised that she would just hug him, but as the moments went on he liked the feel of her in his arms more and more. Neither one knew how long the hug lasted but when it was done Chloe pulled back and smiled at Lex with one of those smiles that could melt his heart and make him blush at the same time, which he rarely did these days.

"Thank you so much, Lex. I love it all. This is defiantly making up for my bad day." She smiled at him again and he thought he might just pull her to him and kiss him then and there.

And to her surprise, that's just what he did.