A/N- I can't believe I'm updating again so soon, but the words won't stop flowing. And I know that if I wait to write it down later, it won't be as good as when it's fresh in my mind. Hope you enjoy Lex and Chloe's little excursion. And, please, if you do, let me know. Reviews make me glad I'm writing this. Well, on with the story...

Chloe glanced over at her passenger for what was probably the sixtieth time in the last five minutes. They were almost to the house, and Chloe wished they were already there. Lex hadn't said anything when he got into her car, just smiled and buckled up. But the electricity that followed him in had been shouting at her ever since.

She'd seen him sneak glances at her, too. They both seemed to be waiting for the other to say something. But Chloe had no intention whatsoever of crossing that rickety old bridge first.

"You're making me nervous," Lex told her, turning in his seat to face her. He was wearing a pair of the slacks she had brought over from the mansion, but the shirt looked like something Martha had gotten him.

"Why do you say that?" Chloe asked, sneaking another look at him.

"Stop that!" Lex nearly yelled, "Watch the road. I'll tell you if I do anything interesting."

Making sure the road was clear, she deliberately turned her head in his direction and blew him a kiss. Lex growled.

"Pull over, I'm driving," he ordered, pointing to the side of the road.

"We're almost there, chill out," Chloe said, winking at him and returning her full attention to the road just to calm him down. He seemed to be nervous, more so than normal.

Lex just shook his head, and pointed again, "Now."

"No, I will not," Chloe enunciated each word, "Besides, I'm not sure you even have permission to drive right now in your current condition." She tried to hide a snicker, but failed.

"Chloe-" but he finished speaking when she cut him off by informing him they'd made it to the turnoff. Really it was just a dirt road that snaked off to the right. Chloe followed it for another minute, suddenly feeling slightly claustrophobic. Both sides of the road were lined with a thick line of trees. Chloe was tempted to turn on her headlights.

"Sure you don't want me to take over?" Lex threw at her when he noticed how tense she was.

Chloe just huffed out a breath of air; she knew the house was just up ahead. And, she was right. It wasn't really anything spectacular. A single story house that had seen far better days. There wasn't a glass pane in the house that wasn't shattered or missing. The front door had fallen off the hinges long ago, and you could no longer tell what color the house had been originally.

"This is it?" Lex asked skeptically. He was out of the car before her, unbuckling himself even before she'd put the car in park. He seemed to be keeping an eye on everything at once, peering into the windows and around the perimeter.

"Get back here," Chloe snapped. He glanced over his shoulder at her, grinning, then came back to her side. It was hard enough trying to keep control of herself around him, let alone worry about Lex inadvertently becoming infected by the same thing as Thomas had been, especially if mind reading was the ability he'd acquired.

God help her if Lex could actually read her mind. Within the first five seconds of hearing what she thought about him, he'd probably have her pushed up against the side of the house, or pinned on the ground. Chloe kept imagining different scenarios before Lex reached out and shook her none too gently.

"Chloe!" he yelled at her, trying to get her attention. He was giving her a strange look, probably wondering what the look in her own eyes meant. Before he could jump to conclusions, especially the right conclusions, she started walking, leading him around the house.

"What is it we're looking for exactly?" Lex asked, trailing behind her much too closely.

"Um..." Chloe hesitated, her brain working overtime. She hated excluding him, but she couldn't very well tell him they were looking for shiny green rocks that could alter the personality of anyone who came in contact with them. The main reason for this was that she didn't want to jog his memory in that particular direction. "Just anything that looks out of place, which shouldn't be too hard seeing as to how nobody's used this place in forever."

"So, you have no idea what you're looking for, do you?" Lex asked, pulling even with her as she reached the back yard. "You know, I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't just some ruse to get me all alone out in the middle of nowhere," he paused, giving her a sideways look, "I'll take that back if it was too insinuating. Unless that's what you had in mind. In which case, I do believe I saw a small room through the window that still has some flooring on it."

He raised one eyebrow, and smirked openly. Chloe swallowed, the same scenarios as earlier replaying in her mind. Feeling the all too familiar heat sear her cheeks, she could feel his gaze on her. Ignoring this, she said, "If you'll remember correctly, we were all alone back at the farm, and you were wearing far less than what you are now."

"Yes, but we could have been interrupted there. And at the hospital," he explained, reaching out and linking his fingers through hers, pulling her back to him before she could move away. "We don't have to worry about that here," he whispered, looking at her meaningfully.

"Lex, do me a favor," Chloe whispered back seductively, she could feel the heat off of him as Lex drew her closer, "Don't become friends with Lana or Lois, because your definition of the word is a hell of a lot different than everyone else's." He looked like a balloon deflated. She started walking off again, but kept their hands linked together.

They pretty much stayed that way for the rest of their excursion. For the next hour, they visually swept the place. They started outside, walking around the perimeter of the house, and a few feet into the woods that surrounded it. They eventually ventured into the house, only to find that the floors were too unstable to hold even Chloe's weight. No way could Thomas have gotten in there.

By the time they were done, Chloe was frustrated. Partly because she knew Thomas was up to something, and couldn't find anything to prove it. But mostly because she was sure she could have found something if she hadn't had Lex distracting her the whole time, pulling her attention away every few seconds, telling her about all that had happened since he'd moved in with the Kent's.

He told her that Clark still hadn't 'thawed out.' But Lex wrote Clark's behavior off as being that of an only child who didn't want to share his parents, which Lex could understand. He'd seen his own father a couple of times since he left the hospital, but he wouldn't go into details over what was said. And Chloe didn't push it.

He cracked her up when he told her how he'd effectively hidden from Lana all week. "She's there all the time," he complained to her as she led him back to the front of the house. "She's trying to get Clark to make me come out and talk to her, but luckily for me he isn't any more eager for that to happen than I am. It would help if you were around, maybe then she'd ease up on trying to keep me company."

"Well, now that we've gotten things reasonably settled between us, I don't see why that would be a problem anymore," Chloe said, smiling at him. "How bout I stop by tonight? I've missed Mrs. Kent's cooking like you wouldn't believe."

Lex grinned, looking pleased. "You could just stay with me the rest of the day." He looked at her hopefully.

"I don't think that would turn out well," Chloe sighed, stopping in front of her car. This whole trip had been a complete waste. She hoped Lex didn't think this was how all her exploits ended. She turned around to find him right behind her, leaning down as if to whisper in her ear. She'd caught him by surprise, though. So, instead of murmuring some smartass remark, his lips grazed her cheek. He held himself there for a moment before laughing softly and straightening up.

"I was about to ask why it wouldn't turn out well," Lex said unevenly, licking his lips discreetly, "but I think I just answered my own question."

Chloe only nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. Her skinned burned where his lips had touched her. She spun away from him, and headed to her door. "Let's go, there's nothing here." She got in, shut the door as quietly as possible, then tried to act natural. It wasn't going so well. She began drumming her fingers on the wheel as she watched Lex slowly shake his head before heading to his side of the car.

"Are you still coming by tonight?" Lex asked hesitantly, looking at her sideways as she started the engine. Before putting it in reverse, she spared him a glance. He quickly forced himself to stare straight ahead. Chloe smiled.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she assured him, watching him visibly relax. While she was backing up to turn around she added, "But I wouldn't try anything like that with Mrs. Kent around, she might sic Lana on you herself if she thinks you're getting too fresh with me."