Authors note: Once again I just wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews, and please, please, let me know what you think of this part, it helps so much to keep going when you get feedback!  Oh, and just one thing, I was thinking about carrying on with the story, but from Lex's point of view, would you be interested in that or would you prefer me to just leave it here? please let me know

Chapter 3

One Friday night a month or so later, Lana was again working in the Talon. This time however, instead of the busy, crowded atmosphere associated with the place on Friday nights it was almost empty. A couple of old ladies slowly drank their cups of coffee, but aside from this the place was deserted.  Everyone was at the Winter Formal, the Christmas dance being held at school, the sort of event where the Lana of last year would be living it up with Whitney, being crowned the queen, the princess or whatever stupid title they'd dreamed up. This time though, Lana hadn't wanted to go to the dance. No, wait that was a lie, she would have loved to have gone to the dance, but only if a certain someone had been accompanying her to it.

She didn't feel bad about not being there, I mean a couple of guys had asked her, but she'd thought to herself, what was the point of going with anyone else but him, she would only have ruined her dates night by closing her eyes and imagining herself to be dancing with Lex, for his arms to be wrapped round her in an embrace, for her head to be resting slightly on his shoulder. Quite frankly, she could be working at the talon and imagining how it would feel to be with Lex, she didn't need to blow loads of money on a dress and to dance with some guy she had no interest in order to do it.

She could have asked Lex to go with her, she thought to herself, but she couldn't really imagine Lex Luthor wanting to get down and jiggy with a bunch of high school kids. Plus she would have had to face that probing look he would get in his eyes sometimes, as if he was searching for a hidden meaning, he would want to know why Lana wanted him to go, and Lana really didn't think she was ready to tell him that just yet.

As if he could read her mind and knew that she was thinking about him, the doors of the Talon suddenly opened and in strolled Lex. Ignoring the now familiar feeling of butterflies in her stomach, she forced herself to smile at him, god just this glimpse of him is worth missing the damn dance for she thought to herself.

Instead of smiling back however he looked at her questioningly, "Clark told me it's the Winter Formal tonight Lana, why aren't you there?" he moved towards her, his gaze never faltering, his eyes always questioning, and Lana gulped, his intense gaze making her nervous.

"Well, erm, you know how it is at these things Lex, a bunch of jocks fool around and get drunk, it kinda takes the fun out of it for everyone else"

Lex raised an eyebrow "So you're not going because of a bunch of jocks?" he looked amused at this, and Lana could sense he knew there was another reason that she hadn't gone. Oh god, she suddenly thought, what if he knows, what if he realises the reason that I'm not there is because I wanted to go with him. But how could he know, I've never given him any indication, no matter how much I've wanted to that we could be more than just friends. He's just being curious, its how Lex is, he's concerned about why I haven't gone, probably why I haven't mentioned it to him, that's all, he's just looking out for a friend.

"Yeah well, that and I don't have a date." she told him, smiling wryly.

"Lana Lang, dateless, what is wrong with this town these days?" he asked her "I can't believe not one guy at that little school of yours hasn't got their head screwed on enough to want to go with someone as beautiful as you"

Oh my God, she was screaming inwardly to herself, Lex called me beautiful, Lex called me beautiful! Resisting the urge to grin inanely, she simply told him "Well I did get a couple of offers, but you know…" she trailed off, a spark of impulsiveness in her suddenly urged her to tell him the truth, to tell him that the reason she hadn't gone was that the thought of dancing with anybody but him was unbearable. But did she dare? Could she risk ruining the friendship she'd built with him, for her inward desires? She glanced around the Talon quickly, the two old ladies had left, her and Lex remained the only two people in there. She smiled inwardly to herself, if she was going to humiliate herself, now was as good a time as any; at least there was nobody else around to laugh at her inevitable humiliation.

She looked up at Lex, his eyes were still boring into her, and he took a step closer, they were now standing barely a foot apart "but why Lana? Why didn't you go?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper, and Lana took a deep breath. It was now or never she thought, and something about the way his eyes were penetrating deep into her, never faltering, never moving, gave her a little bit of hope, maybe there was a chance, however slight, that he wouldn't be shocked, appalled, or horrified, maybe, just maybe he would feel the same way.

"Maybe I didn't want to settle for second best Lex. " he raised his eyebrow again, as if urging her to continue "Maybe, if I'm going to dance, I want it to be with the one person who knows the real me, the one person who makes me feel alive" Lana stared straight back at Lex, whose gaze was still on her, she refused to look away despite the fact that she was shaking all over, wondering if he'd understood the subtext of what she's said, wondering if he knew she was talking about him, that she wanted to be with him.

In response, Lex turned away from her, and silently walked off. Lana could feel her heart breaking into a thousand pieces and she turned away, unable to watch the sight of him retreating. Suddenly though, she heard the first notes of a song drift towards her, and she turned round again to see Lex standing at the jukebox, facing her. "Lana Lang, would you like to dance?" she nodded silently at him, unable to speak for fear of what she might say, and slowly, he walked towards her, that half smile on his face.

 He gently put his hands on her hips, and Lana gasped slightly, warmth rippling through her instantly at his touch. Unsure at first of where to put her hands, she finally decided to wrap them lightly round his neck, bringing her in closer to him than ever before. She rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed gently to the music, "Truly, Madly, Deeply" Lana had managed to note it as being before she lost herself in the intoxication that was Lex Luthor. Everything about him was even more breathtaking than she'd imagined. She could feel the rippling muscles of his chest pressed against the soft, silky shirt he was wearing, his hands were on her hips and they felt so gentle, yet were at the same time, so strong, so powerful, so safe; and his scent, a cross between cologne and wine, filled her every sense with desire. She was so contented here in his arms, yet at the same time so scared. The song would end any moment, what would happen when it was over? Would he walk away, act as though it had never happened, would she be forced into trying to figure out if this had been real or just a fleeting fantasy? As if sensing her thoughts she felt Lex gently kissing her hair, reassuring her somehow, making her feel safe.

She held onto him tighter, not wanting to let go, not wanting the song to end, but knowing, deep down, that it would, that soon it would be over. As the last few notes of the song gently faded away she clung onto Lex, her head buried deep in his shoulder, too scared to look up, too scared of what this might bring.

"Lana…" he whispered to her, breaking her thoughts "Lana…"

She took a deep breath, savouring every part of him as she unwrapped her arms from round him and slowly looked up. Lex gazed straight into her eyes, and Lana desperately tried to read the expression in them, as he moved his hands from off her hips and instead gently took her hands, placing them in his. He smiled at her as they intertwined their fingers, and in that instant Lana stopped being scared.

"Thank you for the dance" she whispered in his ear, her lips almost touching him as she spoke, and slowly she moved her lips away from his ear, towards his mouth. She glanced up at him, and noticed that for the first time that night; his eyes were not staring into hers, but were slowly closing, his mouth moving slowly towards hers. Lana shut her eyes as she felt their lips meet, it was soft, so soft at first, as though he was scared he might break her, then as their mouths parted and she felt his tongue gently slipping inside her it became firmer, more passionate, yet still incredibly gentle. She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms round his neck again, pulling him close to her, and he responded by running his arms lightly up and down her back, exploring her, savouring her. She couldn't explain the feeling she had inside of her, she felt as though every part of her had come alive, that with every kiss she was falling deeper, and deeper into him, that she had found her place in the world. She belonged here, in this moment, wrapped in the magic that was Lex Luthor.