Ch 10

The mood between Chloe and Lex relaxed after she told him about his role in the escape. They were both still tense with the each other, but he genuinely wanted to help her, and she trusted him to get her and her mom out of Fox River.

It wasn't a truce exactly, but more of a meeting of the minds.

But as much as they would have liked to have pretended otherwise, the old resentments that had separated them and ruined their friendship were still there.

When they had been friends, Chloe had surprised Lex with how easily she could read him, but now that they had drifted apart, she was at a loss.

She wished things could have been different, but once she had learned Clark's secret, she knew that she had to sever all ties to her billionaire friend.

Many times during that summer she had been in hiding, their conversations had drifted towards their mysterious friend, and Chloe was only too aware of Lex's desire to uncover whatever it was Clark wanted to keep secret.

She understood that desire, because she shared it.

More that once, Chloe had picked up the phone so that she could share with Lex everything that she had learned. To let him know that one of his many speculations had been correct. Lex had once surmised that Clark seemed to fall ill at the oddest times, and Chloe yearned to tell him that it was all due to the influence of the meteor rocks.

But, then reality would come crashing in, and Chloe would realize that it was not her secret to tell.

It was right around the time that Chloe started to take down her Wall of Weird. Clark, like many of the people in Smallville, was as much a victim of the meteor shower as Lana Lang and her pancaked parents could ever be.

So, she decided to protect Clark and his secret, and unfortunately, she had to lose Lex's friendship along the way.

Chloe hadn't realized how deep in her thoughts she had been until she was startled by Lex's deep voice. "We used to be friends."

She blinked in surprise, but then smiled grimly. Lex always seemed to know what she was thinking about, and their past friendship seemed to be weighing on his mind that day, as well.

She also couldn't help but notice his tone of voice, and she was strangely relieved that he hadn't sounded like he was accusing her of anything.

In fact, his tone of voice had sounded almost sorrowful.

Chloe took a deep breath and gazed back at him with an even expression. "A long time ago," she answered back.

He snorted derisively and abruptly stood up. "Not that long," he shot back. "Or have you forgotten already?"

Chloe could feel her anger start to rise, and she also stood up "I haven't forgotten anything. I remember when we were friends, but circumstances have changed."

Lex didn't even try to hide the contempt he felt for Chloe's answer. "Circumstances changed?!" he bitterly mimicked. "It wasn't the circumstances that changed Chloe. It was you."

It took all of Chloe's self control not to roll her eyes at him. "Ah yes. I'm the one completely to blame for our friendship ending. Your obsession with a certain farmboy didn't distort your viewpoint at all, right?"

Any pretense that Lex had at trying to be civilized vanished into thin air. "Remember the day of the second meteor shower? You lied to me, Chloe. Lied right to my face. I put up with Clark doing that for four years. I wasn't about to take that from you."

"So, you just grabbed me and forced me to go with you to the caves? That seemed like a better option?" Chloe shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry to say this to you, but your behavior that day just strengthened my resolve that I had made the right choice."

At hearing those words, all of Lex's anger seemed to go out of him. "I kind of figured that out after you checked me into the wall. But when I came to, you weren't there."

He knew that he would regret what he was about to do, but he couldn't resist needling her one more time. He eyed Chloe speculatively, and he asked her, half-jokingly, "Just how did you wind up in the Arctic?"

As soon as he said the words, he wished he could have taken them back, and unfortunately for him, Chloe didn't even look partially amused.

"That is why we had to stop being friends," Chloe quietly said. "You can't let anything go. For as long as I've known you, you never seemed to know when to quit. That is usually a trait I admire, but when your need to know starts screwing with people's lives, that's when you become dangerous."

She took another deep breath, before she spoke again. "And I should know, because I'm just like you."

Lex had to look away at seeing the sudden pain in her eyes. He nodded his head slowly, aware that they had both spoken the truth.

He knew she was right about his obsessive nature, and she knew that he was right about her lying to him.

Chloe realized that the room had grown much quieter. She quickly glanced around to see if their argument had drawn any attention. There was another prisoner at the other end of the room, but she was too deeply involved in a conversation with her family to pay Chloe and Lex any mind.

But she could feel her heart start to sink when she saw that T-Bag was hanging around the visitor's room. He appeared to be keeping an eye on the inmates but he seemed to be only looking at Chloe.

When he saw that he had been spotted, he started to make his way over to them.

Chloe saw this and immediately turned her back on the orderly. "Shit, T-Bag's coming this way. Just follow my lead, okay?"

Lex's eyes widened when he heard the orderly's name. "Whoa, wait minute. T-Bag's an actual person?"

At Chloe's distracted nod, Lex leaned forward until he was whispering into her ear. "Chloe, there's something I've got to tell you."

But before he had a chance to say anything, T-Bag had crossed the room and was standing in front of the pair. "I hate to break up the festivities, but visiting time is over. That means you have to leave, pronto. You got me?"

Chloe smiled tightly, grabbed Lex by the hand, and pulled him towards the door. "Understood. My friend was just leaving."

But T-Bag wasn't done. He had seen the pretty little fish's interaction with the bald young man, and he couldn't resist stirring up the proverbial pot, because there was noting more amusing than riling up an overprotective man. "Now, don't go trying to slink on out of here. I'd miss my pretty little fish. And you wouldn't want to leave me on my lonesome, now would you?"

Chloe didn't even bother commenting, because it took all of her strength to keep moving Lex to the door. At hearing T-Bag's words, Lex had tensed up, but Chloe quickly whispered, "Let it go. He's just taunting you."

Lex silently nodded, and allowed Chloe to move him to the exit. But before she could push him out, he turned and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll be back tomorrow, stay safe."

And with those words, and one last glare in T-Bag's direction, he was gone.