Chapter 20-Promise Me

The clock read 3:03 A.M. In 3 hours and 57 minutes it'd be ringing Chloe's head off letting her know it was time to get up. Chloe stared at it as she lay on her side with Lex's arm wrapped around her. She just couldn't fall asleep after that visit from Lionel Luthor. It was still definitely creeping her out. She was glad Lex was sound asleep. If he were awake he'd be worried and see right through her. It'd only been 2 weeks but they already knew each other little quirks. She knew he'd see the tension of the previous day still bothering her.

She really wanted to get on her laptop but she didn't feel like going through the box that she packed it in to get it. So she just lay there awake. She let out a loud sigh. Lex moved slightly but didn't wake up. She moved her eyes to glance at him when she saw it across the room. The manila folder filled with pictures was sticking out of her backpack. She slowly used to her elbows to sit up. She stared at the folder.

She admitted to herself that the folder really tugged at her curiosity. She couldn't help it. It was the reporter in her. Problem is she hadn't done any journalistic work since she graduated high school and she was really suffering some withdraw. This folder across the room sticking out of her bag was like a drug. Just one won't hurt.

Chloe rubbed her forehead. This was really driving her nuts. She knew damn well that she couldn't do this. She knew herself and that meant she'd dive right in without thinking. But, then again that could be dangerous if she jumped into the aspect that had something to do with the death a few months ago.

She slowly and gently pushed Lex's arm off of her and climbed out of the bed. She tiptoed towards the bag and knelt down. Biting her bottom lip she slipped the folder out. God, I feel so sneaky, she thought to herself. Holding her breath she opened the folder. Her eyes widened as if some light had come from opening it.

"Poor girl," she whispered as she looked at the pictures of the dead girl. But, in all truth the death did not interest her at all. Sure, seeing as there were meteor rocks around her dead body, you could easily say they had an affect. Then again it could be purely coincidental. But, again Chloe knew investigating a death from months ago was useless.

What interested Chloe, peeked her interest, tugged at her curiosity, and literally had her thinking of this all night was the meteor rocks. She turned to the close up pictures of the meteor rocks. They were beautiful…too beautiful. She traced the pictured rocks with her fingertips. They could almost haunt you. Oh yeah, this is what definitely filled Chloe's mind. She wanted to know everything; their origin, what they were made of, their capabilities, and most of all why they had the affect they had.

She closed the manila folder. Taking in a deep breath and closing her eyes she held the manila folder to her chest. This was definitely a dangerous thing. But, it was so intriguing. Clark had said he had something that would satisfy the reporter appetite in her, but this only made her hurt with hunger. She opened her eyes again and looked at the manila folder. She knew she should burn it. But, then again burning pictures wouldn't do anything because she knew the meteor rocks were still out there.

When hearing Lex move around in bed she quickly slipped the manila folder back into her pack. She looked over at Lex; he was propped up on his elbows looking at her curiously. She gave him a smile.

"Do you realize it's 3:30 A.M.?" Lex asked her, he wasn't angry just curious.

Chloe glanced at the clock. "Actually, it's 3:37 A.M."

"She's tries to be funny," Lex commented.

"Is it working?" Chloe asked as she got on the bed and crawled to the spot next to Lex.

She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling. "So, would you care to tell me what's got you up at 3:38 A.M.?" Lex asked.

She turned her head to look at him. Shrugging she said, "Couldn't sleep."

He lay on his back next to her. They both stared at the ceiling. "The incident with my father is still bothering you."

"I won't lie. It still creeps me out."

Lex turned on his side. He kissed her forehead and put his arm across her stomach. "If it means anything…I'm here for you."

She placed a hand on his arm and looked at him. She smiled and said, "That means everything to me."

"What were you looking at?" Lex asked, his forehead against the side of her head as he took in her scent. It was a great spot, he decided.

"Something very dangerous," Chloe decided she wasn't going to keep this from Lex.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…meteor rocks. I was looking at pictures of meteor rocks," she said.

"Why is that dangerous?" Lex asked.

"Because…these are different. These are the ones from Smallville and I want to know everything about them," she said quietly. "They are so tempting it's dangerous."

This made Lex sit up. "Chloe…"

Chloe also sat up and looked over at him, watching his facial expression of mixed emotions. "I want to research them."

"You shouldn't…" Lex never wanted to tell her what or what not to do. He didn't want that kind of relationship with Chloe. But, he knew for a fact that these meteor rocks only brought trouble.

"There's no harm in researching them," Chloe said, not realizing how naïve she was about them.

"You don't know that," Lex said quietly.

Chloe stared at him for a few moments before saying, "Is there something you know that I don't."

He looked at Chloe and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Chloe, these rocks…they're dangerous. You know about all the weird things that happened in Smallville. Hell, you wrote about them. But, researching the meteor rock itself could be more dangerous than the events they caused."

Chloe wasn't sure she understood. "Why?"

"There are just things about these rocks…Chloe just please, don't do this," Lex asked, almost begged.

Lex didn't realize that what he had told Chloe in attempt to warn her only made her more interested in them. She looked at him sadly. She really wanted to research these rocks. But, he didn't want her to and it was almost like he was desperate for her not to go through with it. She looked away from Lex.

He lightly shook her to attention and said, "Chloe, promise me."

"Lex…" She managed to say. She really didn't want to have to lie to him.

"Chloe, please tell me you won't do this. Promise me," he said again. "I'm begging you," he added.

Chloe sighed. "I won't do it," she said, disappointment dripped in her voice.

"Promise me."

Chloe didn't reply.

"Chloe, promise me," he said again.

Chloe closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "I promise."

Lex rubbed her neck and shoulders tenderly. "It's for the best. It's better this way."

Chloe didn't look at him.

"Chloe, I'm sorry I just don't want anything to happen to you," he told her honestly. He brought her chin up so she'd look at him. "If anything ever happened to you…I'd go crazy. I wouldn't be able to breathe."

"I understand. But, Lex…you won't even tell me what is it about these rocks that are dangerous that I can't just research them," she said, lightly pouting.

"You know they have power," he began.

She nodded.

"If information was discovered about them…research and it got in the wrong hands…well, let's just say these rocks are better left a mystery," he told her.

"Fine," she groaned.

Lex smiled at her. Though she was disappointed he still loved her fire for this. He admired her desire to know. He just hoped to God, she didn't let her curiosity get the best of her. He didn't know much about the rocks himself, but he did know that they only brought danger. "Get some sleep," he advised.

Lex lay back down and guided Chloe into putting her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. It wasn't long before Chloe was sound asleep. Lex followed soon after.

**

One week later…

"My God! It's like new," Chloe commented, mesmerized by her mother's wedding dress. She let her fingertips run over the dress.

"She looked so amazing in this dress," her father said. By the sound of his voice Chloe knew he was thinking back to that day.

"Mom always looked amazing," Chloe said, still staring at the dress.

"You will look just as beautiful as she was in this dress," her father assured her.

Chloe shook her head. "No. Never as beautiful as mom."

"She would have loved the idea of you wearing this on your wedding day," her father said with a smile.

"It was Lex's idea," she told him.

Her father set down the dress and they both moved to sit on the couch. "How come Lex isn't here?"

"He wanted to come, but he had some meetings. He was going to cancel them, but I told him to just be here for dinner," Chloe said.

"Do you love him?" Her father asked out of nowhere.

Chloe laughed, "Dad."

"What? I just want to make sure. After all, you used to be convinced Clark was the one for a while there," her father reminded her.

"I was 15," she said.

"So, do you love him?" Her father asked again.

Chloe waited a moment to answer. "I've never felt this way before, Dad. With him everything feels dangerous yet safe. Is that strange?"

Her father shook his head.

"He challenges me like no one else. He pushes me to be the best. Everything I see everyday, everything I hear, everything I experience, I just want to share it with him," Chloe told him.

Her dad smiled, "You love him."

Chloe nodded. "I do love him."

"You have what your mother and I had," he told her.

"Dad, there's something I should tell you," she said quietly.

"What is it, Chloe? You know you can tell me anything," her father assured her.

Chloe looked at her feet momentarily then to her father. "Lex and I…well…we dated a week before we got engaged. I know it's crazy Dad," Chloe started to ramble quickly. "It was so weird. It was like a breath of fresh air. It was so spontaneous. You know, then afterwards things got back to normal and I still loved him and wanted to be engaged to him."

Chloe's dad was smiling at her.

"Dad? Are you mad?" His silence drove her nuts.

He finally spoke. "I asked your mother to marry me on the first date."

"What?" Chloe said in disbelief.

He nodded. "She thought I was crazy. I asked her everyday, on every date, till finally 2 weeks later she said yes."

"Are you serious?"

"Very. It was love at first sight for me. Maybe not for her, but I knew. And I was determined to let her in on it…to convince her we were meant to be. Luckily, I finally got through to her," her father told her.

"I never knew."

"We weren't sure if our way was suitable for you," he said with a chuckle.

This made Chloe laugh. "I guess we know now it was."

"Have you and Lex decided on a date yet?"

"June 7th," she said.

"How did you pick that?"

"He likes the month of June and I liked the number 7," she explained.

"Are you going to live in Metropolis?" He asked.

"For a little while. We decided to just live in the Condo he has now. We'll buy a house later," she said to him as she looked out the window. She saw someone outside. At first, she thought it was Lex arriving early, but the guy had hair. She looked closer, it was Clark. "Hey, Dad. Excuse me for a minute," she said as she got up.

"Sure."

Chloe opened the door and stepped outside. "Clark!" She called.

Clark turned around.

Chloe walked up to him. "What are you doing in Smallville?"

"It's Saturday and I usually try to visit my parents on Saturday," he explained.

"Oh. But, what are you doing out here next to my house?" She asked.

"I saw your car and was coming over to say hi," he said.

"Cool. Is everything all right?" Chloe asked, she just wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, of course. So, what are you doing here?"

"Lex and I are having dinner with my dad," she said. "He's not here yet," answering the question she was sure was coming.

"I was just about to ask," Clark said.

Chloe smiled.

"So, how's everything?" Clark asked.

"Everything is good. Did you study for the Egyptian History Test on Monday?" Chloe asked.

Clark nodded.

"I like the history on the Egyptian gems. It's amazing all the superstitions that surrounded them," Chloe commented.

"Yeah, almost like those meteor rocks," Clark said.

"Yeah," Chloe said quietly.

Clark looked at her. "You know…they're beautiful yet they caused so much weird…well you know what I mean."

Chloe nodded. She really wanted to stop this conversation. It was bringing back that curiosity she had been able to subside a week ago.

"All those mutations," Clark said. "I feel so guilty," he added quietly.

Chloe heard him. "Why would you have to feel guilty?"

Clark looked away from her. He shrugged, "I don't know. I just feel bad."

"Clark, you always blame yourself. Even for stuff that is obviously not your fault," Chloe said.

"It's a bad habit."

"You should nix it. Brooding over everything doesn't make things better," she told him.

"I guess you're right," he said. "Those rocks are a mystery though."

"Yup." Under her breath she added, "They are."

To be continued…