Chapter 4- Don't Get On Chloe's Bad Side
Author's Note: The phrase Clark says about 'having a moment' is from the WB show Gilmore Girls, I did not write it. Lex calls Chloe 'Plucky', the word Plucky was in the Smallville episode Stray. That word belongs to the WB, also.
The next morning Clark and Lex were up before the girls.
"What do you say we go pick up some donuts for breakfast?" Lex asked Clark.
"Sounds good to me. I'll leave the girls a note in case they wake up," Clark said grabbing the notepad off the kitchen counter. He scribbled:
Girls,
Went to pick up breakfast. We'll be
back in a few minutes.
Clark/Lex
9:30
"I have two cars in the parking garage," Lex said as they made their way through the building. "There is one for each of us to use this week. I know there will be times when we will want to split up, so I knew we could use the extra vehicles."
"You're prepared! So what kind of cars are they?" Clark asked.
"Mine's a red Lamborghini, and yours is a silver Porsche."
"Ooh, driving in style," Clark said. "Sometimes I forget who I'm with."
"I want to talk to you about something," Lex said as he pulled the car onto the road.
"I love Lana with all my heart. I want her to be mine forever. I want to ask her to marry me," Lex said hesitantly. Lex and Clark had been friends for almost five years, but Lex still wasn't used to telling a best friend everything.
"Oh, Lex. That's great. I'm so happy for you."
"Do you already have a ring for Chloe?"
"I was hoping to find one in Metropolis," Clark replied.
"We don't have anything planned for after lunch, so why don't we go then?"
"What about the girls?"
"We'll give them a car and they can do whatever they want," Lex explained.
"Cool. It's a deal," Clark said.
When they got back to the apartment Chloe and Lana were already up.
"Hey, boys," Chloe said.
"We have donuts," Lex said putting the box on the kitchen counter. "Chlo, Clark insisted that I stop at this little coffee shop so he could get you a mochachino."
"That's because he loves me," Chloe said taking the coffee and kissing Clark on the cheek.
"Actually, he said something about your blood being made of coffee, and that he was afraid of you when you hadn't had your coffee in the morning…" Lex teased.
Chloe slapped him on the arm with the back of her hand. "I'll stay with my reason, thank you very much."
"Okay, our plans today require semi-formal attire. We need to leave here no later than eleven. That gives you about an hour to get ready," Clark said.
Lana and Chloe looked at each other and then Lana shrieked.
"What was that for?" Lex asked after controlling his laughter.
"Before you guys came in we were brainstorming where all we would go this week," Chloe explained.
"And now we'll find out," Lana said excited.
"Let's go get ready, Lana," Chloe said dragging Lana to their rooms.
"Okay, it was my day to pick the activities," Clark said after the girls were out of earshot. "We go to the art museum, then to the Italian place for late lunch early dinner."
"Great choices, Clark. I'm going to go take a shower, do you need in there before I do?"
"Nope, go right ahead."
* * * * * * * `* * * * * *
Lana and Chloe opened their doors to the bathroom at the same time. They took one look at each other and burst out laughing.
Chloe was wearing a low-cut, red, silk blouse. A black mini-skirt, and knee-high boots. Lana had on a bright red, spaghetti strap, mid-thigh length skirt that flared at the hips.
"I see we had the same idea," Chloe laughed.
They were both wearing the outfits they had worn for the first step in Lana's plan to win over Clark and Lex.
"I was going to ask if you would do my hair the same way you did," Lana said after she had stopped laughing.
"Me too. I'll do yours first. Do you have your barrel curling iron?" Chloe asked.
"Yep," Lana said plugging it in.
Chloe carefully pulled half of Lana's hair back into a loose ponytail. She left out one strand over each eye, then curled it all under. Lana put on her make-up while Chloe worked.
"Is your little curling iron on?" Lana asked when Chloe was finished.
"Yeah," Chloe said applying her make-up as Lana got to work.
Lana French braided Chloe's hair. She left out a few strands to frame Chloe's face, then curled the strands into pin curls. When they were ready they sized each other up.
"Let's go get 'em," Lana said and the girls laughed again.
Chloe and Lana walked into the living area where Lex and Clark were waiting. They twirled in a circle to show off their outfits. Clark and Lex looked at each other before walking over to kiss the girls.
Chloe looked at Lana, "Do you think they noticed the outfits?"
"Nah," Lana said with a smile.
"Our limousine awaits, ladies," Lex said as he and Clark offered the girls their arms.
In the limousine, Lana and Chloe sat together across from Clark and Lex.
"I can't wait to see where we're going!" Lana exclaimed.
"You're so cute," Clark said laughing at Lana's excitement.
"Hey, watch yourself," Chloe said.
"Aww. You're cute, too, Chlo," Lex replied.
"Hey," Lana piped up.
"I am having one of those moments right now," Clark said. "The kind where it is so perfect that it is almost sad because you know nothing else will be this perfect."
"It is pretty perfect, sweetheart," Chloe said
"Just think, we have a whole week to keep having these moments," Lana replied as the limousine stopped. "We're here!!"
"But where is here?" Chloe asked climbing out of the limousine.
"The art museum," Clark explained once they were all out of the limousine.
"I have an idea," Lex said. "Let's split up, but not in couples. I mean Chloe with me and Clark with Lana." After a moment Lex added, "Chlo, if looks could kill I'd have been dead years ago. Trust me."
Lana saw and understood Chloe's hesitation. She stepped up to Chloe and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry Chlo. This way we can see how they truly feel about us. Then, we'll have a gab fest tonight when they go to bed."
"Ok. Lex," Chloe said, still a little unsure. No matter how hard Chloe tried she still had it set in her mind that Lex always had ulterior motives.
"Let's go," Clark said a little confused.
When they entered the museum they paired off and went their separate ways.
"Tell me the story about you and Clark," Lex said.
Chloe started to think maybe he did have ulterior motives, but she decided to give Lex the benefit of the doubt. "What do you mean?"
"I want to know how you two came about from best friends to where you are now."
"I'm usually the one asking the questions, but alright. Where to start? I moved to Smallville in middle school. That's when I first met Clark. We instantly became best friends. We were inseparable, at each other's houses every day. By ninth grade I had really started to care for him. His friendship was very, very important to me. We were closer than I've ever been with anyone. Well, my feelings for him started to change. I realized that I wanted to be more than friends, Unfortunately, that's where Ms. Pom Pom came in," Chloe said.
"Lana always had great timing, huh?" Lex asked.
"Oh, yeah. Lana was perfect. She was head cheerleader. Lana was what every girl dreamed of being and every guy dreamed of dating. I was put on the back burner with Clark. One minute I was Clark's best friend and confidante, the next minute the only girl in the world was Lana Lang. I hated her for it! That went on for a few years. Last year I decided that I was done waiting. Clark was mine and I was going to fight for him. I wasn't going to let someone take him away from me," Chloe finished.
"So you fought, and you won," Lex stated the obvious.
"Well, first I had to make him notice that I was there. He had to notice that I wasn't just one of the guys," Chloe said.
"How did you do that?"
"Well, I won't go into details, but Lana was actually the one who accomplished that," Chloe replied.
"Lana? Wow, that twists things a little," Lex said amused.
"And that's how me and Lana are the best friends we are now," Chloe stated. "Your turn. Tell me about you and Lana."
"Well, it's definitely not as romantic as you and Clark," Lex said.
"Oh please, that was not romantic. That was an I'm-tired-of-waiting- I'm-gonna-take-what-is-rightfully-mine-or-someone's-going-to-get-it story," Chloe said.
"And who exactly would have 'gotten it'?" Lex asked.
"Your very own telescope girl, of course," Chloe replied dead serious.
"That would have been fun to see. Plucky reporter against unknowing head cheerleader. I would have paid good money to see that," Lex said with a laugh.
"That's still a painful subject, so let's move on," Chloe said trying to change the subject.
"Okay. Me and Lana…"
* * * * * * * * * * * *` *
"So Clark," Lana said taking him by the arm.
"So Lana," Clark said with a laugh. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Since you poured out your soul to me about Chlo, you deserve to be able to ask me anything," Lana replied.
"How did you become interested in Lex?" As Clark said it he realized it sounded like he was asking why she hadn't liked him. "I didn't mean it like it sounded."
"It sounded like an innocent question to me," Lana said with a reassuring smile. "Lex has always seemed untouchable. I mean, he was Lex Luthor, powerful businessman and millionaire's son. No one got close to Lex Luthor. I think it was a façade. Sort of a wall he put up so he wouldn't get hurt. I don't think he had anyone who truly cared for him. I know Lionel didn't, and still doesn't for that matter. I wanted to know who he really was. I wanted to be the one take down his wall brick by brick," Lana explained.
"And?"
"And so I told him exactly how I felt. That I wanted to get to know him and be someone who cared for him," Lana finished.
"No wonder Lex is so taken with you. You were right, he really needed someone to love. I wanted to help, but I knew it wasn't my place," Clark said.
"There's Chloe and Lex," Lana said seeing their friends across the large room.
"Uh-oh. This doesn't look good," Clark said. Chloe and Lex were obviously arguing and from the looks of it Lex was getting an earful! Without noticing them Chloe folded her arms defiantly and turned her back to Lex. Lex saw Clark and Lana and walked over to them.
"Lex, what happened?"
"Let's just say that there are some bottled up emotions that are better left bottled up," Lex said cryptically.
"I better go talk to her," Clark said.
"The limousine leaves in 15 minutes," Lex said.
"Ok, Clark said jogging to Chloe.
Lana watched as Clark put his arm on Chloe's shoulder and said something. Chloe knocked his hand off and started to gesture wildly at Lex. Lana could tell she was very upset.
"Wow, you really set her off if she's being aggressive with Clark," Lana said guiding Lex out of the room.
"Chlo, don't be mad," Clark said putting his hand on her shoulder.
She knocked his hand off. "Don't tell me not to be mad. He had no right to say what he did! No right," Chloe growled.
"What did he say, Chlo?"
"We were talking about me and you and Lana in high school. I told him it was a painful subject and I wanted to move on. So, he did. We talked about him and Lana. Then he started talking about you and Lana again. He was talking about your telescope how much you were in love with her," Chloe said pacing.
"Yeah, that would set you off," Clark agreed.
"What did he think he was doing? How dare he talk about you and Lana? He had no right." Chloe started to cry. "All I could think about was that you were with Lana that very moment."
"Tell me, Chloe. Tell me about me and you and Lana," Clark said. He and Chloe had never discussed that aspect of their lives.
"You know damn well about us," Chloe shouted.
"I want to hear it from you, Chloe," Clark said watching helplessly as Chloe cried.
For the next ten minutes Chloe told Clark all about herself, him, and Ms. Pom Pom. She went into more detail than she had with Lex.
"Tell me why Chloe's so angry," Lana told Lex after they were a safe distance away from the other two.
"I made the mistake of talking about you and Clark pre-Chloe," Lex admitted.
"What?!? Why would you think that was a good idea?" Lana asked amazed that Lex would do that.
"I was trying to explain Clark to her, and it took a bad turn."
"Poor Chloe. That was a horrible time for her. I know you meant well, but Chloe is still in a lot of pain over that subject," Lana said.
"I feel rotten. I need to apologize," Lex sighed.
"That's a good idea, babe," Lana agreed. "Just be ready for her to cut you down again."
"It's time to go. Let's go wait for the limousine," Lex said taking Lana's hand.
Chloe took the whole ten minutes to tell her story. By the time she was done it was time to leave. Clark put his arm around her and they walked to the limousine. When they saw Lex Clark felt Chloe tense up.
"Chloe," Lex started taking her arm.
She jerked away from him. "I'm not ready for you to touch me, Luthor!"
"I deserve that. I'm very sorry. I knew I was hitting a nerve, but I persisted despite the fact. It was wrong of me," Lex tried to apologize. Apologies weren't in his nature as a Luthor.
"Yes it was. See that it doesn't happen again," Chloe said, her tone a little softer now. She knew that Lex was sincerely sorry.
"It won't," Lex replied relieved that he was somewhat forgiven.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
At the restaurant Chloe sat between Clark and Lana. Her argument with Lex had put her on the defensive, and she wasn't going to let her guard down again. After they ordered Clark put a reassuring hand on Chloe's knee.
"I'm sorry I've turned this day into anything less than perfect for you, Chlo," Lex said sincerely.
"I know Lex. I shouldn't have blown it out of proportion. You didn't know I felt so strongly about that particular subject," Chloe said.
"You had every right to get mad. I should of thought before I spoke," Lex said.
"Apology accepted," Chloe said with a small smile.
"Good. I'll let lark tell everyone our plans for the rest of the evening."
"Alright, by the time we finish here and get back to the apartment it will be about five or five thirty. Me and Lex have a few errands to run, so you girls have the night to yourselves," Clark explained.
"I old Clark earlier that I have two cars here. There is a red Lamborghini, and a Porsche. Te Porsche is for Clark and Chloe, or when you girls need a car. The Lamborghini is for me and Lana, or when me and Clark need a car," Lex said handing a set of keys to the other three. "On each key ring are three keys. One to the Lamborghini, one to the Porsche, and one to the apartment."
"What about the limousine?" Lana asked.
"The limousine is for when we go out as a group. But, when we pair off or go off by ourselves we'll use the cars," Lex said.
"You trust me to drive a Porsche? I knew there was something wrong with you," Chloe teased.
"If you wreck it, I'll just use dear old dad's money to buy another," Lex said matter of fact.
"He's not kidding," Lana said leaning against Lex.
"Here comes out food. I'm starved," Clark said.
"You're always hungry," Chloe said patting his stomache. "Yet you still manage to keep these abs."
Clark smiled at her and she realized what she had said. Clark didn't have to work to get his muscles.
Author's Note: The phrase Clark says about 'having a moment' is from the WB show Gilmore Girls, I did not write it. Lex calls Chloe 'Plucky', the word Plucky was in the Smallville episode Stray. That word belongs to the WB, also.
The next morning Clark and Lex were up before the girls.
"What do you say we go pick up some donuts for breakfast?" Lex asked Clark.
"Sounds good to me. I'll leave the girls a note in case they wake up," Clark said grabbing the notepad off the kitchen counter. He scribbled:
Girls,
Went to pick up breakfast. We'll be
back in a few minutes.
Clark/Lex
9:30
"I have two cars in the parking garage," Lex said as they made their way through the building. "There is one for each of us to use this week. I know there will be times when we will want to split up, so I knew we could use the extra vehicles."
"You're prepared! So what kind of cars are they?" Clark asked.
"Mine's a red Lamborghini, and yours is a silver Porsche."
"Ooh, driving in style," Clark said. "Sometimes I forget who I'm with."
"I want to talk to you about something," Lex said as he pulled the car onto the road.
"I love Lana with all my heart. I want her to be mine forever. I want to ask her to marry me," Lex said hesitantly. Lex and Clark had been friends for almost five years, but Lex still wasn't used to telling a best friend everything.
"Oh, Lex. That's great. I'm so happy for you."
"Do you already have a ring for Chloe?"
"I was hoping to find one in Metropolis," Clark replied.
"We don't have anything planned for after lunch, so why don't we go then?"
"What about the girls?"
"We'll give them a car and they can do whatever they want," Lex explained.
"Cool. It's a deal," Clark said.
When they got back to the apartment Chloe and Lana were already up.
"Hey, boys," Chloe said.
"We have donuts," Lex said putting the box on the kitchen counter. "Chlo, Clark insisted that I stop at this little coffee shop so he could get you a mochachino."
"That's because he loves me," Chloe said taking the coffee and kissing Clark on the cheek.
"Actually, he said something about your blood being made of coffee, and that he was afraid of you when you hadn't had your coffee in the morning…" Lex teased.
Chloe slapped him on the arm with the back of her hand. "I'll stay with my reason, thank you very much."
"Okay, our plans today require semi-formal attire. We need to leave here no later than eleven. That gives you about an hour to get ready," Clark said.
Lana and Chloe looked at each other and then Lana shrieked.
"What was that for?" Lex asked after controlling his laughter.
"Before you guys came in we were brainstorming where all we would go this week," Chloe explained.
"And now we'll find out," Lana said excited.
"Let's go get ready, Lana," Chloe said dragging Lana to their rooms.
"Okay, it was my day to pick the activities," Clark said after the girls were out of earshot. "We go to the art museum, then to the Italian place for late lunch early dinner."
"Great choices, Clark. I'm going to go take a shower, do you need in there before I do?"
"Nope, go right ahead."
* * * * * * * `* * * * * *
Lana and Chloe opened their doors to the bathroom at the same time. They took one look at each other and burst out laughing.
Chloe was wearing a low-cut, red, silk blouse. A black mini-skirt, and knee-high boots. Lana had on a bright red, spaghetti strap, mid-thigh length skirt that flared at the hips.
"I see we had the same idea," Chloe laughed.
They were both wearing the outfits they had worn for the first step in Lana's plan to win over Clark and Lex.
"I was going to ask if you would do my hair the same way you did," Lana said after she had stopped laughing.
"Me too. I'll do yours first. Do you have your barrel curling iron?" Chloe asked.
"Yep," Lana said plugging it in.
Chloe carefully pulled half of Lana's hair back into a loose ponytail. She left out one strand over each eye, then curled it all under. Lana put on her make-up while Chloe worked.
"Is your little curling iron on?" Lana asked when Chloe was finished.
"Yeah," Chloe said applying her make-up as Lana got to work.
Lana French braided Chloe's hair. She left out a few strands to frame Chloe's face, then curled the strands into pin curls. When they were ready they sized each other up.
"Let's go get 'em," Lana said and the girls laughed again.
Chloe and Lana walked into the living area where Lex and Clark were waiting. They twirled in a circle to show off their outfits. Clark and Lex looked at each other before walking over to kiss the girls.
Chloe looked at Lana, "Do you think they noticed the outfits?"
"Nah," Lana said with a smile.
"Our limousine awaits, ladies," Lex said as he and Clark offered the girls their arms.
In the limousine, Lana and Chloe sat together across from Clark and Lex.
"I can't wait to see where we're going!" Lana exclaimed.
"You're so cute," Clark said laughing at Lana's excitement.
"Hey, watch yourself," Chloe said.
"Aww. You're cute, too, Chlo," Lex replied.
"Hey," Lana piped up.
"I am having one of those moments right now," Clark said. "The kind where it is so perfect that it is almost sad because you know nothing else will be this perfect."
"It is pretty perfect, sweetheart," Chloe said
"Just think, we have a whole week to keep having these moments," Lana replied as the limousine stopped. "We're here!!"
"But where is here?" Chloe asked climbing out of the limousine.
"The art museum," Clark explained once they were all out of the limousine.
"I have an idea," Lex said. "Let's split up, but not in couples. I mean Chloe with me and Clark with Lana." After a moment Lex added, "Chlo, if looks could kill I'd have been dead years ago. Trust me."
Lana saw and understood Chloe's hesitation. She stepped up to Chloe and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry Chlo. This way we can see how they truly feel about us. Then, we'll have a gab fest tonight when they go to bed."
"Ok. Lex," Chloe said, still a little unsure. No matter how hard Chloe tried she still had it set in her mind that Lex always had ulterior motives.
"Let's go," Clark said a little confused.
When they entered the museum they paired off and went their separate ways.
"Tell me the story about you and Clark," Lex said.
Chloe started to think maybe he did have ulterior motives, but she decided to give Lex the benefit of the doubt. "What do you mean?"
"I want to know how you two came about from best friends to where you are now."
"I'm usually the one asking the questions, but alright. Where to start? I moved to Smallville in middle school. That's when I first met Clark. We instantly became best friends. We were inseparable, at each other's houses every day. By ninth grade I had really started to care for him. His friendship was very, very important to me. We were closer than I've ever been with anyone. Well, my feelings for him started to change. I realized that I wanted to be more than friends, Unfortunately, that's where Ms. Pom Pom came in," Chloe said.
"Lana always had great timing, huh?" Lex asked.
"Oh, yeah. Lana was perfect. She was head cheerleader. Lana was what every girl dreamed of being and every guy dreamed of dating. I was put on the back burner with Clark. One minute I was Clark's best friend and confidante, the next minute the only girl in the world was Lana Lang. I hated her for it! That went on for a few years. Last year I decided that I was done waiting. Clark was mine and I was going to fight for him. I wasn't going to let someone take him away from me," Chloe finished.
"So you fought, and you won," Lex stated the obvious.
"Well, first I had to make him notice that I was there. He had to notice that I wasn't just one of the guys," Chloe said.
"How did you do that?"
"Well, I won't go into details, but Lana was actually the one who accomplished that," Chloe replied.
"Lana? Wow, that twists things a little," Lex said amused.
"And that's how me and Lana are the best friends we are now," Chloe stated. "Your turn. Tell me about you and Lana."
"Well, it's definitely not as romantic as you and Clark," Lex said.
"Oh please, that was not romantic. That was an I'm-tired-of-waiting- I'm-gonna-take-what-is-rightfully-mine-or-someone's-going-to-get-it story," Chloe said.
"And who exactly would have 'gotten it'?" Lex asked.
"Your very own telescope girl, of course," Chloe replied dead serious.
"That would have been fun to see. Plucky reporter against unknowing head cheerleader. I would have paid good money to see that," Lex said with a laugh.
"That's still a painful subject, so let's move on," Chloe said trying to change the subject.
"Okay. Me and Lana…"
* * * * * * * * * * * *` *
"So Clark," Lana said taking him by the arm.
"So Lana," Clark said with a laugh. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Since you poured out your soul to me about Chlo, you deserve to be able to ask me anything," Lana replied.
"How did you become interested in Lex?" As Clark said it he realized it sounded like he was asking why she hadn't liked him. "I didn't mean it like it sounded."
"It sounded like an innocent question to me," Lana said with a reassuring smile. "Lex has always seemed untouchable. I mean, he was Lex Luthor, powerful businessman and millionaire's son. No one got close to Lex Luthor. I think it was a façade. Sort of a wall he put up so he wouldn't get hurt. I don't think he had anyone who truly cared for him. I know Lionel didn't, and still doesn't for that matter. I wanted to know who he really was. I wanted to be the one take down his wall brick by brick," Lana explained.
"And?"
"And so I told him exactly how I felt. That I wanted to get to know him and be someone who cared for him," Lana finished.
"No wonder Lex is so taken with you. You were right, he really needed someone to love. I wanted to help, but I knew it wasn't my place," Clark said.
"There's Chloe and Lex," Lana said seeing their friends across the large room.
"Uh-oh. This doesn't look good," Clark said. Chloe and Lex were obviously arguing and from the looks of it Lex was getting an earful! Without noticing them Chloe folded her arms defiantly and turned her back to Lex. Lex saw Clark and Lana and walked over to them.
"Lex, what happened?"
"Let's just say that there are some bottled up emotions that are better left bottled up," Lex said cryptically.
"I better go talk to her," Clark said.
"The limousine leaves in 15 minutes," Lex said.
"Ok, Clark said jogging to Chloe.
Lana watched as Clark put his arm on Chloe's shoulder and said something. Chloe knocked his hand off and started to gesture wildly at Lex. Lana could tell she was very upset.
"Wow, you really set her off if she's being aggressive with Clark," Lana said guiding Lex out of the room.
"Chlo, don't be mad," Clark said putting his hand on her shoulder.
She knocked his hand off. "Don't tell me not to be mad. He had no right to say what he did! No right," Chloe growled.
"What did he say, Chlo?"
"We were talking about me and you and Lana in high school. I told him it was a painful subject and I wanted to move on. So, he did. We talked about him and Lana. Then he started talking about you and Lana again. He was talking about your telescope how much you were in love with her," Chloe said pacing.
"Yeah, that would set you off," Clark agreed.
"What did he think he was doing? How dare he talk about you and Lana? He had no right." Chloe started to cry. "All I could think about was that you were with Lana that very moment."
"Tell me, Chloe. Tell me about me and you and Lana," Clark said. He and Chloe had never discussed that aspect of their lives.
"You know damn well about us," Chloe shouted.
"I want to hear it from you, Chloe," Clark said watching helplessly as Chloe cried.
For the next ten minutes Chloe told Clark all about herself, him, and Ms. Pom Pom. She went into more detail than she had with Lex.
"Tell me why Chloe's so angry," Lana told Lex after they were a safe distance away from the other two.
"I made the mistake of talking about you and Clark pre-Chloe," Lex admitted.
"What?!? Why would you think that was a good idea?" Lana asked amazed that Lex would do that.
"I was trying to explain Clark to her, and it took a bad turn."
"Poor Chloe. That was a horrible time for her. I know you meant well, but Chloe is still in a lot of pain over that subject," Lana said.
"I feel rotten. I need to apologize," Lex sighed.
"That's a good idea, babe," Lana agreed. "Just be ready for her to cut you down again."
"It's time to go. Let's go wait for the limousine," Lex said taking Lana's hand.
Chloe took the whole ten minutes to tell her story. By the time she was done it was time to leave. Clark put his arm around her and they walked to the limousine. When they saw Lex Clark felt Chloe tense up.
"Chloe," Lex started taking her arm.
She jerked away from him. "I'm not ready for you to touch me, Luthor!"
"I deserve that. I'm very sorry. I knew I was hitting a nerve, but I persisted despite the fact. It was wrong of me," Lex tried to apologize. Apologies weren't in his nature as a Luthor.
"Yes it was. See that it doesn't happen again," Chloe said, her tone a little softer now. She knew that Lex was sincerely sorry.
"It won't," Lex replied relieved that he was somewhat forgiven.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
At the restaurant Chloe sat between Clark and Lana. Her argument with Lex had put her on the defensive, and she wasn't going to let her guard down again. After they ordered Clark put a reassuring hand on Chloe's knee.
"I'm sorry I've turned this day into anything less than perfect for you, Chlo," Lex said sincerely.
"I know Lex. I shouldn't have blown it out of proportion. You didn't know I felt so strongly about that particular subject," Chloe said.
"You had every right to get mad. I should of thought before I spoke," Lex said.
"Apology accepted," Chloe said with a small smile.
"Good. I'll let lark tell everyone our plans for the rest of the evening."
"Alright, by the time we finish here and get back to the apartment it will be about five or five thirty. Me and Lex have a few errands to run, so you girls have the night to yourselves," Clark explained.
"I old Clark earlier that I have two cars here. There is a red Lamborghini, and a Porsche. Te Porsche is for Clark and Chloe, or when you girls need a car. The Lamborghini is for me and Lana, or when me and Clark need a car," Lex said handing a set of keys to the other three. "On each key ring are three keys. One to the Lamborghini, one to the Porsche, and one to the apartment."
"What about the limousine?" Lana asked.
"The limousine is for when we go out as a group. But, when we pair off or go off by ourselves we'll use the cars," Lex said.
"You trust me to drive a Porsche? I knew there was something wrong with you," Chloe teased.
"If you wreck it, I'll just use dear old dad's money to buy another," Lex said matter of fact.
"He's not kidding," Lana said leaning against Lex.
"Here comes out food. I'm starved," Clark said.
"You're always hungry," Chloe said patting his stomache. "Yet you still manage to keep these abs."
Clark smiled at her and she realized what she had said. Clark didn't have to work to get his muscles.