Authors Notes: As usual, it takes me a month to update… my intentions were good, but gosh darn those midterms! Plus, I work full time too. Ah, 'tis a busy life I led, no time for the fanfic love… must be penciled in. And I'm sure you're all asking 'Is there any Lex in this chapter?' Yes! Banter sweet banter… and more chivalry!!
Disclaimer: you know the drill, they aren't mine… yet… muhuhaha!
Chapter Seven: "On the Rocks"
"I must be brave" Chloe said, inwardly drawing up all her strength.
"I don't know Chloe…" Pete rubbed his arm. "Is it really worth it?"
Chloe's eyes narrowed on her target. Her voice was strong, but tense. "Yes. It must be done" Chloe closed her eyes and quickly plunged her hand into the oversized bucket. The ice water instantly made her hand start to tingle, and she quickly retracted her hand, holding her goal; a can of Dr. pepper.
"Sweet damn that was cold" Chloe danced on her feet. "And of course there is nothing to dry my soon to be frostbitten hand on"
"Here, you look like you could use this" Lana came up behind the chilled reporter, and handed her a dishtowel. "I see you have found a much coveted Dr. Pepper"
Chloe finished drying off her hand, then popped the lid on her can. "Who says dreams don't come true?"
Pete let out a low whistle. "Oh, speaking of dreams coming true, I'm gonna go have a talk with Nancy. I'll see you two later" Pete said, not even taking his eyes off the female from across the yard. He scurried off, leaving Lana and Chloe alone.
"Some things never seem to change, no matter how long you are away" Chloe shook her head.
Lana turned to the blonde. "Yeah, it must have be so odd to be back after having the whole summer to wreak havoc in Metropolis"
"Oh, there was major wreak-ing" Chloe grinned wickedly. "And it was nice to get away from… stuff" she glanced quickly in the direction of Clark who was talking animatedly with a group of football players.
The look didn't go unnoticed by Lana. "Well, we are _all_ so glad to have you back. Especially Clark"
"I'm sure" Chloe smiled tightly. *Great. Like I really want to have this talk now* Chloe looked away from Clark and saw Alyson Gibbs walking in her and Lana's direction. *Perfect distraction* Chloe silently thanked whatever power was watching over her.
"Alyson, hi" Chloe smiled sweetly, as the brunette walked over to the tub of overly chilled beverages. "I was looking for you"
"Oh really" Alyson took her attention away from choosing the perfect canned soda. "What for?"
"Well" Chloe began "You're Smallville's swim champion, and as much as I try to steer my beloved torch away from all things overtly jock, I'd like to do a story on you"
"I'm overtly jock-y?" the other girl laughed.
"No, no, no. You're on your way to breaking school records in freestyle. I'd like to do a 'girl power' kind of thing to counteract all of the pigskin BS that I'll have to write later"
"Yeah, sure" Alyson shrugged. "When do you wanna get it over with?"
"Why don't I just come by after swim practice on the first day of school on Wednesday" Chloe mentally counted the days. "That would give me enough time to get it done for the next week's issue"
"OK" Alyson smiled. "Now to find a soda"
"Be careful" Lana cautioned. "It's a bit chilly"
Alyson reached in and pulled out a Sprite. "I'll catch you two later" she called over her shoulder, heading back to her crowd of friends.
"Shouldn't you be mingling?" Chloe turned to Lana. "I feel bad what with you standing here with me"
"It's not like the party was my idea anyway" Lana absently blew a stay hair off of her face. "Nell thought it would be a good way to, I don't know… Remind everyone that I'm still here despite the fact that Whitney is gone" a frown formed on her face, which Chloe returned.
They were jolted out of their moment by a loud greeting. "Here's my two favorite ladies!" Boomed a jovial voice. Suddenly both Chloe and Lana were swept up in a huge hug. Clark released the slightly frazzled girls and grinned broadly. "What are you two doing hanging over here?"
"Just talking Clark" Chloe said. "Until the attack of the killer bear-hug that is"
"Would you like to dance?" Clark asked.
Chloe was about to respond with a 'not really', but luckily her brain registered the fact that Clark was staring at Lana as he asked the question. Chloe quickly closed her mouth.
"Um, well Chloe and I were talking" Lana looked from Clark to Chloe, not really sure of what to do.
"Oh, go dance" Chloe nudged her. "I sacrificed the feeling in my hand for this Dr. Pepper, I'm just going to stand here and enjoy it"
Lana couldn't even respond, before Clark and pulled her away, and into the crowd of kids already shaking their moneymakers.
"Cause I worked hard for this soda" Chloe continued, talking to herself. She took a sip. "The sweet taste of victory" she mumbled, as she watched Clark and Lana move against each other.
"Don't tell me that's the last Dr. Pepper" someone sighed.
"Well, you might be able to find another if you stick your head in and go bobbing, but I wouldn't recommend it" she smirked "It might ruin the suit" she said, turning to face Lex.
"However could you tell it was me?" Lex asked.
"You can't sneak up on my twice in as many days. I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid." Chloe rolled her eyes. "But I must question your IQ coming over to Lana's for a High School party. This makes two now… at least that I'm aware of." she smirked.
"I actually went over to Clark's, and Mrs. Kent informed me he was here" Lex looked over the crowd of noisy teens. "She failed to mention the entire population of Smallville was also over for a visit"
"A minor detail" Chloe said dryly.
Lex continued scanning the partygoers until his eyes landed on Clark, dancing rather closely to one Lana Lang. Lex noted that Chloe's eyes were also glancing in that direction, and he presumed Clark might not be the best topic of conversation right now.
Lex cleared his throat. "So, I'm glad that you and Pete made it back alright today"
Chloe shifted her eyes from Clark, back to Lex. *Oh God, I haven't even thanked him*. "Oh yeah, we're fine. Sorry I didn't thank you right away. I was thinking of… other things."
"I received your thank you note, from my driver" Lex reminded her. "I'm just glad that you both weren't injured in the accident"
"Oh piffle" Chloe sighed. "It was just a flat. Though I'm sure that at first thought Pete thought you were sabotaging our return to Smallville" she smirked.
"I could just as well assume that he sabotaged my limo" Lex returned her smirk
Chloe laughed. "Yeah, Pete's logic train isn't always on track for sure, but I think he'd at least wait until we got out of the limo"
"One would hope"
"You don't have to keep me occupied you know. If you want to go talk to Clark, you can" Chloe offered. "He's just over there, if you can pry him away from Lana."
"Sadly, I left the jaws of life in my other suit" Lex said. He then remembered that Chloe might be sensitive to the issue. He was inwardly relieved when Chloe let out an appreciative laugh.
"Yeah, and Clark's overly… odd today" Chloe took a sip of her Dr. Pepper. "He practically pounced on her when he asked her to dance. I thought maybe he'd club her and drag her out there if she said no"
"You'd be surprised how ill-effective that actually is"
Chloe raised her eyebrow. "I think perhaps there are some things that even I don't want to know about the famous Lex Luthor"
"Oh really?" Lex questioned. "I thought your inquisitive nature held no bounds, especially with interesting persons such as myself"
"You certainly seem to think very highly of yourself" Chloe smiled.
"Well someone has to" Lex's eyes iced over for a minute. "I need all the self esteem I can get living down my family's reputation"
"What I think" Chloe said, as she chucked her now empty soda into the trash, "Is that you need to think less about impressing people, and just do what you think is right. You'll never get everyone to agree with you, and you'll just make yourself miserable. And as charming as the 'misunderstood rich guy' thing is, it has the potential to turn annoying."
"Charming?" a small smile passed Lex's features, and his eyes lost their steely edge.
"Though 'misunderstood Lex' is better then 'smarmy Lex'" Chloe smiled, and turned back to glance at the crowd of people. She once again caught sight of Clark and Lana. Her eyes looked briefly with Clarks and she smiled. Clark smiled and grabbing Lana's hand he started walking over toward Chloe and Lex.
"Here comes everyone's favorite farm boy" Chloe remarked. "With everyone's favorite ex-cheerleader in tow"
"Lex! What are you doing here!?" Clark gave Lex a manly punch on the arm, which caused Lex to wince slightly.
"I was looking for you actually, but I ran into Chloe" he nodded in her direction. "So, we were just having a friendly chat"
"What were you looking for me for?" Clark inquired. He plunged his hand into the cold soda bin, and without even acknowledging the chill pulled out a Coke. He popped the lid and started to chug the beverage.
Lex cleared his throat. "I was just wanting to stop bye, that's all"
Clark finished the beverage, and crushed the can in his hand, before tossing it at the trashcan. He let out a loud burp.
Lana scrunched up her face, and Chloe held back a laugh. "Very… suave Clark" she managed. She exchanged a looked with Lex, which Clark caught.
"Well, I'm sorry we can't all be as sophisticated as our resident billionaire" Clark grumbled.
"Clark…" Lana's eyes filled with concern, and disappointment.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know" Clark shot back. "What was your comment supposed to mean?"
Chloe looked slightly confused. Clark was really not being himself. "I just made a slightly snarky comment about your large belch. It's what I do. I make witty observations!" She sighed, slightly exasperated.
"Yeah, commenting on my belching is real witty" Clark rolled his eyes.
Chloe felt her face turning red, and she was sure it was going to spread all the way to toes. "Well, a lame body function deserves a lame commentary" she took a step closer to Clark.
Lana put her hand on Clark's arm. "Clark, really, Chloe didn't mean anything by it"
"Why is everyone being so uppity about this!" Chloe sighed.
"I don't know, maybe I'm just tired of you being so snippety" Clark's eyes blazed.
Lex took note of Chloe's hand twitching, and he was sure it was itching to hit Clark. Right now, he couldn't blame her, but Clark was obviously not being himself. Maybe he'd gotten into some contaminated party punch. Lex gently took Chloe's arm, and pulled her back from Clark. "OK, I think we all just need a little time out"
"I agree" Lana nodded, still with her hand on Clark's arm.
"Maybe, Lex, you should go stick your nose in someone else's business" Clark said, stepping closer to his friend. "Don't you have someone your own age to go bother, or is the only way you know how to make friends by running them over?"
Lex set his jaw and looked Clark in the eye. "I suppose I should seek the company of someone a bit more mature"
Chloe felt Lex's grip tighten on her arm, giving away that though his outward appearance was one of calm, he was equally as pissed as she was. She noticed that at this point everyone at the party was staring at the confrontation.
Pete rushed over to Chloe's side he mouthed the word's 'what's going on?', taking note of Lex holding her arm. Chloe just grimaced, and shrugged.
"Maybe you should leave" Clark took a step forward, and pushed on Lex's shoulders. Lex stood his ground, though he did release his grip from Chloe.
"Clark, I'll talk to you another time, when you're acting more like yourself" Lex turned to leave, just in time to avoid another shove by Clark. This shove instead made contact with Chloe, who went sprawling backwards into the tub of very chilly water and soda.
Lana, Pete, and Lex were immediately at her side, helping to pull the drenched girl out. Her outfit was completely drenched, and clinging to her body. Lex went to hastily remove his jacket to cover her, but Pete had his flannel off already, and was wrapping it around his friend.
Clark dissolved into laughter, and some of the gathered crowd did too.
Chloe narrowed her eyes at Clark. "I'm going to get my things from Clark's, and I'm going home"
"I'll take you" Pete offered, also looking over at the still hysterical Clark.
"I think, we'd better stay and talk to him" Lana said. "He's really not acting like himself… and I think I have this talk with him alone, he's going to get the Lana smack down"
Pete smiled at her comment, nodded, and looked at Chloe, "You be OK going back to the farm yourself?"
Chloe gave Lana and Pete a smile. "Sure, I just want to get the heck out of here"
Up until now Lex had stood on the outskirts of the conversation, but he stepped in "I'll give you a ride over the farm"
"That would be great" Chloe smiled, already shivering from the chill.
Pete glared at him, but Lex was unperturbed "It's at least a mile, and she completely drenched, besides, I hardly think she needs your permission to get a ride"
"OK, let's go talk some sense into Clark" Pete sighed, as he and Lana turned toward their friend.
The crowd had pretty much died down, and returned to normal business, as Chloe and Lex left in silence. It was easy to pick out Lex's car from all the pickup trucks of the local kids and Chloe had to wonder why Lex had even bothered attempting to look for Clark in the crowd of people he must have know would be at the party. *You'd think the beer can pyramid would have been a warning*
Lex opened her door, and she stood outside the car. "Those are leather seats?" she asked.
"If you're worried about water damage, don't be" Lex assured her "It's not like this is my only car"
"OK" Chloe sat down, and Lex shut the door after her. She leaned over to undo his door, before buckling her seatbelt.
Lex slid into the car, and started the motor. "So.." he began.
"You're wondering what crawled up Clark's ass and hatched?" Chloe finished.
"Yeah" Lex started down the road. "Did he get into the punch or something?"
"I guess so" Chloe frowned. "I hope he gets the hang over from Hell, but knowing Clark he won't. He's impervious man" she started to giggle a bit, and Lex looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. Maybe the stress of the night was getting to her.
"Something funny?" he inquired.
"Nothing, really. It's just that every time I have a close encounter of the Lex kinds stuff happens"
"Close encounters of the Lex kind?" he repeated.
"Well yeah" Chloe explained. "My cousin stalks you, you loan me your limo, but it gets a flat, Clark's misguided attempt at asserting his manhood lands me in a tub of ice water, and yet again I'm in one of your cars… laughing my ass off"
"So, you're saying I'm a magnet for attracting weirdness into your life?"
"I didn't say I minded" Chloe smiled, as they pulled up in front of the Kent's house.
Disclaimer: you know the drill, they aren't mine… yet… muhuhaha!
Chapter Seven: "On the Rocks"
"I must be brave" Chloe said, inwardly drawing up all her strength.
"I don't know Chloe…" Pete rubbed his arm. "Is it really worth it?"
Chloe's eyes narrowed on her target. Her voice was strong, but tense. "Yes. It must be done" Chloe closed her eyes and quickly plunged her hand into the oversized bucket. The ice water instantly made her hand start to tingle, and she quickly retracted her hand, holding her goal; a can of Dr. pepper.
"Sweet damn that was cold" Chloe danced on her feet. "And of course there is nothing to dry my soon to be frostbitten hand on"
"Here, you look like you could use this" Lana came up behind the chilled reporter, and handed her a dishtowel. "I see you have found a much coveted Dr. Pepper"
Chloe finished drying off her hand, then popped the lid on her can. "Who says dreams don't come true?"
Pete let out a low whistle. "Oh, speaking of dreams coming true, I'm gonna go have a talk with Nancy. I'll see you two later" Pete said, not even taking his eyes off the female from across the yard. He scurried off, leaving Lana and Chloe alone.
"Some things never seem to change, no matter how long you are away" Chloe shook her head.
Lana turned to the blonde. "Yeah, it must have be so odd to be back after having the whole summer to wreak havoc in Metropolis"
"Oh, there was major wreak-ing" Chloe grinned wickedly. "And it was nice to get away from… stuff" she glanced quickly in the direction of Clark who was talking animatedly with a group of football players.
The look didn't go unnoticed by Lana. "Well, we are _all_ so glad to have you back. Especially Clark"
"I'm sure" Chloe smiled tightly. *Great. Like I really want to have this talk now* Chloe looked away from Clark and saw Alyson Gibbs walking in her and Lana's direction. *Perfect distraction* Chloe silently thanked whatever power was watching over her.
"Alyson, hi" Chloe smiled sweetly, as the brunette walked over to the tub of overly chilled beverages. "I was looking for you"
"Oh really" Alyson took her attention away from choosing the perfect canned soda. "What for?"
"Well" Chloe began "You're Smallville's swim champion, and as much as I try to steer my beloved torch away from all things overtly jock, I'd like to do a story on you"
"I'm overtly jock-y?" the other girl laughed.
"No, no, no. You're on your way to breaking school records in freestyle. I'd like to do a 'girl power' kind of thing to counteract all of the pigskin BS that I'll have to write later"
"Yeah, sure" Alyson shrugged. "When do you wanna get it over with?"
"Why don't I just come by after swim practice on the first day of school on Wednesday" Chloe mentally counted the days. "That would give me enough time to get it done for the next week's issue"
"OK" Alyson smiled. "Now to find a soda"
"Be careful" Lana cautioned. "It's a bit chilly"
Alyson reached in and pulled out a Sprite. "I'll catch you two later" she called over her shoulder, heading back to her crowd of friends.
"Shouldn't you be mingling?" Chloe turned to Lana. "I feel bad what with you standing here with me"
"It's not like the party was my idea anyway" Lana absently blew a stay hair off of her face. "Nell thought it would be a good way to, I don't know… Remind everyone that I'm still here despite the fact that Whitney is gone" a frown formed on her face, which Chloe returned.
They were jolted out of their moment by a loud greeting. "Here's my two favorite ladies!" Boomed a jovial voice. Suddenly both Chloe and Lana were swept up in a huge hug. Clark released the slightly frazzled girls and grinned broadly. "What are you two doing hanging over here?"
"Just talking Clark" Chloe said. "Until the attack of the killer bear-hug that is"
"Would you like to dance?" Clark asked.
Chloe was about to respond with a 'not really', but luckily her brain registered the fact that Clark was staring at Lana as he asked the question. Chloe quickly closed her mouth.
"Um, well Chloe and I were talking" Lana looked from Clark to Chloe, not really sure of what to do.
"Oh, go dance" Chloe nudged her. "I sacrificed the feeling in my hand for this Dr. Pepper, I'm just going to stand here and enjoy it"
Lana couldn't even respond, before Clark and pulled her away, and into the crowd of kids already shaking their moneymakers.
"Cause I worked hard for this soda" Chloe continued, talking to herself. She took a sip. "The sweet taste of victory" she mumbled, as she watched Clark and Lana move against each other.
"Don't tell me that's the last Dr. Pepper" someone sighed.
"Well, you might be able to find another if you stick your head in and go bobbing, but I wouldn't recommend it" she smirked "It might ruin the suit" she said, turning to face Lex.
"However could you tell it was me?" Lex asked.
"You can't sneak up on my twice in as many days. I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid." Chloe rolled her eyes. "But I must question your IQ coming over to Lana's for a High School party. This makes two now… at least that I'm aware of." she smirked.
"I actually went over to Clark's, and Mrs. Kent informed me he was here" Lex looked over the crowd of noisy teens. "She failed to mention the entire population of Smallville was also over for a visit"
"A minor detail" Chloe said dryly.
Lex continued scanning the partygoers until his eyes landed on Clark, dancing rather closely to one Lana Lang. Lex noted that Chloe's eyes were also glancing in that direction, and he presumed Clark might not be the best topic of conversation right now.
Lex cleared his throat. "So, I'm glad that you and Pete made it back alright today"
Chloe shifted her eyes from Clark, back to Lex. *Oh God, I haven't even thanked him*. "Oh yeah, we're fine. Sorry I didn't thank you right away. I was thinking of… other things."
"I received your thank you note, from my driver" Lex reminded her. "I'm just glad that you both weren't injured in the accident"
"Oh piffle" Chloe sighed. "It was just a flat. Though I'm sure that at first thought Pete thought you were sabotaging our return to Smallville" she smirked.
"I could just as well assume that he sabotaged my limo" Lex returned her smirk
Chloe laughed. "Yeah, Pete's logic train isn't always on track for sure, but I think he'd at least wait until we got out of the limo"
"One would hope"
"You don't have to keep me occupied you know. If you want to go talk to Clark, you can" Chloe offered. "He's just over there, if you can pry him away from Lana."
"Sadly, I left the jaws of life in my other suit" Lex said. He then remembered that Chloe might be sensitive to the issue. He was inwardly relieved when Chloe let out an appreciative laugh.
"Yeah, and Clark's overly… odd today" Chloe took a sip of her Dr. Pepper. "He practically pounced on her when he asked her to dance. I thought maybe he'd club her and drag her out there if she said no"
"You'd be surprised how ill-effective that actually is"
Chloe raised her eyebrow. "I think perhaps there are some things that even I don't want to know about the famous Lex Luthor"
"Oh really?" Lex questioned. "I thought your inquisitive nature held no bounds, especially with interesting persons such as myself"
"You certainly seem to think very highly of yourself" Chloe smiled.
"Well someone has to" Lex's eyes iced over for a minute. "I need all the self esteem I can get living down my family's reputation"
"What I think" Chloe said, as she chucked her now empty soda into the trash, "Is that you need to think less about impressing people, and just do what you think is right. You'll never get everyone to agree with you, and you'll just make yourself miserable. And as charming as the 'misunderstood rich guy' thing is, it has the potential to turn annoying."
"Charming?" a small smile passed Lex's features, and his eyes lost their steely edge.
"Though 'misunderstood Lex' is better then 'smarmy Lex'" Chloe smiled, and turned back to glance at the crowd of people. She once again caught sight of Clark and Lana. Her eyes looked briefly with Clarks and she smiled. Clark smiled and grabbing Lana's hand he started walking over toward Chloe and Lex.
"Here comes everyone's favorite farm boy" Chloe remarked. "With everyone's favorite ex-cheerleader in tow"
"Lex! What are you doing here!?" Clark gave Lex a manly punch on the arm, which caused Lex to wince slightly.
"I was looking for you actually, but I ran into Chloe" he nodded in her direction. "So, we were just having a friendly chat"
"What were you looking for me for?" Clark inquired. He plunged his hand into the cold soda bin, and without even acknowledging the chill pulled out a Coke. He popped the lid and started to chug the beverage.
Lex cleared his throat. "I was just wanting to stop bye, that's all"
Clark finished the beverage, and crushed the can in his hand, before tossing it at the trashcan. He let out a loud burp.
Lana scrunched up her face, and Chloe held back a laugh. "Very… suave Clark" she managed. She exchanged a looked with Lex, which Clark caught.
"Well, I'm sorry we can't all be as sophisticated as our resident billionaire" Clark grumbled.
"Clark…" Lana's eyes filled with concern, and disappointment.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know" Clark shot back. "What was your comment supposed to mean?"
Chloe looked slightly confused. Clark was really not being himself. "I just made a slightly snarky comment about your large belch. It's what I do. I make witty observations!" She sighed, slightly exasperated.
"Yeah, commenting on my belching is real witty" Clark rolled his eyes.
Chloe felt her face turning red, and she was sure it was going to spread all the way to toes. "Well, a lame body function deserves a lame commentary" she took a step closer to Clark.
Lana put her hand on Clark's arm. "Clark, really, Chloe didn't mean anything by it"
"Why is everyone being so uppity about this!" Chloe sighed.
"I don't know, maybe I'm just tired of you being so snippety" Clark's eyes blazed.
Lex took note of Chloe's hand twitching, and he was sure it was itching to hit Clark. Right now, he couldn't blame her, but Clark was obviously not being himself. Maybe he'd gotten into some contaminated party punch. Lex gently took Chloe's arm, and pulled her back from Clark. "OK, I think we all just need a little time out"
"I agree" Lana nodded, still with her hand on Clark's arm.
"Maybe, Lex, you should go stick your nose in someone else's business" Clark said, stepping closer to his friend. "Don't you have someone your own age to go bother, or is the only way you know how to make friends by running them over?"
Lex set his jaw and looked Clark in the eye. "I suppose I should seek the company of someone a bit more mature"
Chloe felt Lex's grip tighten on her arm, giving away that though his outward appearance was one of calm, he was equally as pissed as she was. She noticed that at this point everyone at the party was staring at the confrontation.
Pete rushed over to Chloe's side he mouthed the word's 'what's going on?', taking note of Lex holding her arm. Chloe just grimaced, and shrugged.
"Maybe you should leave" Clark took a step forward, and pushed on Lex's shoulders. Lex stood his ground, though he did release his grip from Chloe.
"Clark, I'll talk to you another time, when you're acting more like yourself" Lex turned to leave, just in time to avoid another shove by Clark. This shove instead made contact with Chloe, who went sprawling backwards into the tub of very chilly water and soda.
Lana, Pete, and Lex were immediately at her side, helping to pull the drenched girl out. Her outfit was completely drenched, and clinging to her body. Lex went to hastily remove his jacket to cover her, but Pete had his flannel off already, and was wrapping it around his friend.
Clark dissolved into laughter, and some of the gathered crowd did too.
Chloe narrowed her eyes at Clark. "I'm going to get my things from Clark's, and I'm going home"
"I'll take you" Pete offered, also looking over at the still hysterical Clark.
"I think, we'd better stay and talk to him" Lana said. "He's really not acting like himself… and I think I have this talk with him alone, he's going to get the Lana smack down"
Pete smiled at her comment, nodded, and looked at Chloe, "You be OK going back to the farm yourself?"
Chloe gave Lana and Pete a smile. "Sure, I just want to get the heck out of here"
Up until now Lex had stood on the outskirts of the conversation, but he stepped in "I'll give you a ride over the farm"
"That would be great" Chloe smiled, already shivering from the chill.
Pete glared at him, but Lex was unperturbed "It's at least a mile, and she completely drenched, besides, I hardly think she needs your permission to get a ride"
"OK, let's go talk some sense into Clark" Pete sighed, as he and Lana turned toward their friend.
The crowd had pretty much died down, and returned to normal business, as Chloe and Lex left in silence. It was easy to pick out Lex's car from all the pickup trucks of the local kids and Chloe had to wonder why Lex had even bothered attempting to look for Clark in the crowd of people he must have know would be at the party. *You'd think the beer can pyramid would have been a warning*
Lex opened her door, and she stood outside the car. "Those are leather seats?" she asked.
"If you're worried about water damage, don't be" Lex assured her "It's not like this is my only car"
"OK" Chloe sat down, and Lex shut the door after her. She leaned over to undo his door, before buckling her seatbelt.
Lex slid into the car, and started the motor. "So.." he began.
"You're wondering what crawled up Clark's ass and hatched?" Chloe finished.
"Yeah" Lex started down the road. "Did he get into the punch or something?"
"I guess so" Chloe frowned. "I hope he gets the hang over from Hell, but knowing Clark he won't. He's impervious man" she started to giggle a bit, and Lex looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. Maybe the stress of the night was getting to her.
"Something funny?" he inquired.
"Nothing, really. It's just that every time I have a close encounter of the Lex kinds stuff happens"
"Close encounters of the Lex kind?" he repeated.
"Well yeah" Chloe explained. "My cousin stalks you, you loan me your limo, but it gets a flat, Clark's misguided attempt at asserting his manhood lands me in a tub of ice water, and yet again I'm in one of your cars… laughing my ass off"
"So, you're saying I'm a magnet for attracting weirdness into your life?"
"I didn't say I minded" Chloe smiled, as they pulled up in front of the Kent's house.