Last chapter, on why me?, Lex and Chloe had a heated argument on the phone, ending in
goodnights and good-byes, as well as Lex waiting for Chloe to arrive.
Hope you like this one. Really, I do. I was on the computer last night typing this. For Three Hours Straight. my creative juices aren't exactly flowin' right now if you know what I mean. but, I wanted to get this out tomorrow, which is today, now.
Don't own show, or Smallville, or any meteorite rocks, especially the red ones, cause you know where that would lead to. And i don't own the charismatic, sarcastic, amazingly HOT lex luthor, or michael rosenbaum. but, hey, that's alright. i'm sure he's not as cute as he looks on tv, or magazines, or movies, or, oh man, he is cute, isn't he?

enjoy...

why me?

It was now 3:30, and Chloe was nowhere to be seen, at least by him. He was beginning to get impatient. Why did she always have to make him wait? Lex Luthor waited for no one. If someone didn't show, he was gone. But, alas, here he was. Waiting. Then...

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in," he granted, not bothering to turn around to see who had entered. All the staff had the day off, so he was preparing himself for a battle with his father. He heard footsteps coming towards him, and was about to turn around when a pair of small hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who," she whispered, Lex could feel her breath against his skin. He was about to say who, then decided to let the game continue.

"Um...Clark?" he asked.

Her hands tightened on his eyes. "Wrong answer, guess again," she demanded.

"Oh, okay, then how bout...Lana."

He felt her lightly kick him, and smiled, "Okay, wrong again, I'm guessing?"

"One more chance."

"Hmm, one more chance...Well, if it's not Clark, and it's not Lana...Then, oh, I got it," he said, smirking.

"Who?" she asked, leaning closer to hear his response.

"Father?"

At this, he felt a small prick on his neck. Reaching out, he grabbed Chloe's arm.

"Did you just bite me?" he asked, stunned. He was feeling the point of impact on his neck. Then, he brought his hand away. No blood, but it'd still kinda hurt. It definitely hadn't been a love bite.

"Hey, you called me your dad, that's a hell of a lot worse than me biting you," she declared, trying to get out of his grip.

"Uh huh, well, then you call me something so I can bite you."

"Are you insane? You're not gonna bite me," she stated, concentrating on prying his fingers apart.

Lex looked thoughtful for a minute, "Maybe you're right, I'm not going to *bite* you..." he trailed, then, grinning wickedly, and leaning over, whispered into her ear, "I have another idea."

And, at that, he released his grip, and began tickling her. Everywhere. She started laughing at once, trying to get away. She'd taken a step back, but Lex still had a hold of her, so they both fell down. Lex crawled over to her, and started tickling her again. He found the perfect spot on her waist, as well as behind her knee, so he concentrated on those parts.

Chloe was still laughing, but she'd given up on trying to get away, Lex was too strong. So...she joined in. Tickling Lex everywhere, well, almost everywhere. She soon found a spot on his side, and soon Lex was laughing so hard that it was hard to keep up with Chloe.

Then, Chloe's hand, whilst tickling, came in contact with Lex's chest, a part where it still had yet to fully recover. Lex gave a kind of yelp, and Chloe backed away quickly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking worried, then, after a moment, realization dawned, and she began to crawl back towards him. Lex was still breathing hard from there little...'session', and had still not moved from his original spot. He was kneeling over, gently holding the area on his chest.

"It's gotten better. Almost completely healed. But, there's still some..." he couldn't get everything out, so he just stayed silent. He'd have to change the bandages again. How could he be so stupid. The doctor had told him he was having a fast recovery, but there were still some tender spots that needed healing. He'd also told Lex to stay away from any strenuous activity, and he was pretty sure that getting into a tickling fight with Chloe would be considered on that list.

"Here, let me see," she implored, reaching towards him. Lex backed away.

"No, I'm fine. Let's just go now, okay?" he asked, or begged, would probably be the more appropriate term. He didn't want Chloe to think he was some weakling. He was fine. He'd change the bandages later. They'd be okay. Right?

"No, we're not going till I see," she ordered.

"I said I'm fine," he claimed, leveling his gaze with hers. They stayed like that for a minute, staring one another down, trying to get the other to back down. But, to no avail. Each was equally stubborn.

"You are going to let me see, or else we won't be going anywhere," she stated clearly. Lex stared at her for a moment, then, deciding that she probably wasn't bluffing, nodded.

She reached down, and lifted up his silk, gray shirt. She gently pulled the bandage off. There was a spot just below his heart that was slightly red. She reached over, and stroked it with the tip of her finger. Lex flinched slightly.

"I need to change the bandages," Lex informed, "So, I'll just be a minute."

"I can help," she offered, her eyes widening.

"That won't be necessary, I think I can handle it," he assured, getting to his feet, then, as he walked towards the bathroom, whispered, "I have been."

He opened the door, and stepped inside the overly spacious restroom. There was enough room in there to fit a, well, to fit a bedroom. It was much the same size as his room. He walked across the tile floor to the sinks on the other side. He opened the only cabinet on the wall, a white marble cabinet, and retrieved from it a bottle of medicine that the doctor had given him to put on his burns to reduce the pain. He then shut the cabinet, and placed the bottle on the counter next to the bandages that were lying next to sink.

He took off his shirt completely, then began to open the bottle. He heard footsteps behind him, and saw Chloe's reflection in the mirror. He smiled. She seemed to be checking out every square inch of the place. He was mildly surprised that she wasn't in his room, snooping around like good little reporters are supposed to do.

"Can I help you?" he asked curtly, turning around.

"Actually, I was hoping to help you," she said innocently, smiling up at him. It was one of those, 'let me help you or I'll leave right now without you' smiles. So, he handed her the bottle.

"Good boy," she awarded, "So, what do I do with this?"

"You gently rub it on the damaged area," Lex memorized from what Dr. Raza had told him.

"O-kay..." Chloe strung out. She placed some of the liquid on some tissue paper, then did as he had said. But, the tissue kept falling apart, so she opted with her fingers. She glided the cold fluid over his skin, taking her time. She seemed to be enjoying the experience as much as he was, completely absorbed by the feel of his skin.

"Now you cover the area with bandages," he advised, once she'd finished, watching her every move.

She picked up the bandages, and a pair of scissors, then cut them to the necessary length. Once she was through, she seemed to be looking for something.

"The tape is in the cabinet," Lex opened the cabinet once more, then took out the tape, and replaced the ointment.

Chloe took the tape from him, and cut it into strips. After a few minutes, the changing of the bandages was done, and Chloe was smiling.

"All done," she said proudly, "See, now that wasn't so bad."

"I never said it would be," Lex teased. Chloe scowled, and shook her head. She placed the tape next to the bandages on the counter, and handed Lex his shirt. He dressed slowly, trying not to disturb Chloe's work. When he finished, he looked around and saw that Chloe was gone.

Walking back to his room, he saw her next to his bed. Grinning, he made his way towards her. Then, about a foot behind her, he stopped. She was holding a picture. A picture of his Mother. The picture he had told her about.

"She's beautiful," Chloe announced, turning around, picture still in hand.

Lex nodded. Chloe handed him the picture, her eyes glued to it. Lex took it, and examined it. Like he had so many times before. Every day. Every night. The picture was taken outside, during the winter. She was swinging, her hair flying behind her. And she was happy, because Lex had been pushing her, laughing. It had been the first time he had gone out since the meteor shower. His mother had had to talk him into it. It was one of the clearest memories he had of her. Most of the others were buried deep inside him, where his father couldn't take them away.

Chloe stayed silent, knowing what was going on. Knowing he was in a place that she'd gone to many times. A place where the ones that they love still exist. Still lived. Inside them. She watched him, though. To make sure he didn't go too far. She'd done that before. Gone too deep inside that it was hard to get out. Living in the past, and not wanting to come back. But, her dad had helped her. But, she wondered, who ever helped Lex.

Lex was still staring intently at the photo, stroking it. Living that day over in his head. Chloe reached out, and gingerly patted his arm.

"Lex, hey Lex," Chloe called, "Come on, let's go."

Coming to at the sound of Chloe's voice, Lex straightened up, and sat the picture back on the table.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean to..."

"Hey, " Chloe cut off, "It's fine. Okay?"

He nodded.

"Alright, then," Chloe beamed, "Let's go."

Lex smiled, "Where to?"

"It's a surprise!" Chloe scolded, though her tone threw the effect of scolding off.

"But..." Lex complained, but he was cut off when Chloe covered his mouth.

"We've been through this," Chloe said, giving him a look that told him to stop whining. She grabbed his arm, and lead him to the door. She proceeded to do so throughout the 'house'. He barely had the chance to get his jacket. Once to the front door, he pulled Chloe back, but she continued to lead him outside.

"Chloe! Wait!" Lex yelled, finally getting her attention, "I. Have. To. Lock. The. Door."

"Huh?" Chloe asked, obviously puzzled.

"I have to lock the door," he repeated.

"I got that part. What I want to know, is why. You've never had to lock it before."

"Well, there was always someone there to watch the place before," Lex stated.

"And there isn't now?"

"I let everyone have the day off."

"Really?" she asked, apparently not believing him.

"How do you think you got through the house without anyone seeing you?"

"Oh, well, why'd you let everyone have the day off?" she asked, sounding interested.

Lex just shrugged. He couldn't very well tell her he'd planned on having their date here. Alone.

"I guess you could say the idea just...came to me," Lex sort of lied.

"Oh, well, that's...sweet, I guess," Chloe praised, "I never knew you were so...empathetic."

"Neither did I," Lex said quietly, more to himself than to her, "So, we're taking *my* car, I presume?"

"Damn straight," Chloe grinned, then, seeing Lex's face, added, "Well, it would be faster, and I won't drive very fast, and my car still messed up, it won't make it to where we're going."

She said all this very fast, but Lex understood. And, he decided to give in. This time.

"Okay."

"Okay! Okay? Really? Thank you! Thank you!" Chloe was smiling one of her killer smiles at the moment, and Lex was now extremely happy. This date would be one for the ages, one he'd keep with him. You know, if he lived through it long enough to be able to remember.
***
So, how was it? I know, I know. I always ask this. The next chapter will be 'the date'. Just thought you'd want to know. Oh, oh. I really hadn't planned on putting any of Chloe's perspectives in this, well, any big one's. But...i just had to.
Sorry to anyone who didn't like it. tell me either way, you know, if you want to. No pressure. sorry, i *do* pressure, don't i? I'll try and stop. ok, there i go again. i swear, I've got a better chance of chloe and lex actually getting together on the show, than i do of stopping this whole ranting thing.
ok, next chapter, update date...um...soon...by the end of the weekend. it's just, with the big bad coming up(x-mas), it might be slightly difficult for me to update. plus, i have to finish writing it, too. but, i'll start that tomorrow, okay? good. thanks. bye all.