Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that I didn't get this chapter up when I said I
would but my English teacher Mrs. Hufflepuff (it slipped out of my mouth
once and now it's a common nickname for Mrs. Hufman) had decided to annoy
the students and gave us all end of the year work! (*pants* that's a long
sentence!) Add to that, I was slightly too upset about the elections. I
lost. To Lawrence. I hate popularity contests. Mr. Smith did tell me that
even though Lawrence won, many of the teachers had been hoping for me to
win. *shrugs* oh well. Anywho, here's your new chappy. Enjoy!
~Set, Game, Match!~
***Realizations and a Different VJ Partner (3 of 4)***
{Sullivan House, Saturday, Noon}
|T-Minus Six Hours |
It was Saturday morning and Chloe was in a very good mood. She hadn't seen Lex since she had ran away from him after the 'picnic' on Thursday. However, according to Pete, who heard it from Clark, who was told by Lana, Lex hadn't come close in figuring out the riddle. He had about five and a half hours before the deadline was up and she had to meet him at the Talon.
She looked over her article for the Torch, making sure it was error free. Satisfied, she saved it to a disk and then shut down her computer. Glancing at the clock she silently swore. It was already twelve. /How did that happen?/ She was supposed to meet her father for lunch. Grabbing her purse, she ran downstairs but just as she was about to open the front door, the phone rang. She debated for a few minutes until the machine picked it up.
"'I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message..' 'Chloe!!' 'What?' BEEP!" she chuckled. /So dad still couldn't figure out how to change that huh?/ She was still chuckling when Lex' voice came on.
"Interesting message. Miss Sullivan, I'm calling to inform you I will be slightly late to our meeting this evening. Helen has decided she has to talk to me about something. I will be there by six. Thanks." Chloe smiled, bemused.
"Alrighty then!" with that, she walked out the house.
~~~*~~~ {The Talon}
|T-Minus Five Hours, Fifty Minutes|
"Hey Lana, do you have.Thank you!" Chloe finished in a hurry. Lana smiled.
"Late, huh?" Chloe gave her a sheepish look.
"I was working on the Torch and lost track of time." she admitted. A chuckle from behind her made her spin. She barely bit back a scowl.
"Again, your dedication to the Torch is admirable." Lionel Luthor smiled charmingly at her. Chloe narrowed her eyes.
"Mr. Luthor." She acknowledged him. He grinned slyly.
"Miss Sullivan, I heard you have made a bet with my son. You should probably know he will not hold you to the agreements." Chloe scowled.
"I don't know what your problem is, but I bet it's hard to pronounce." She snapped back. She glanced behind him and saw Clark, Lex, and Helen walk through the door. Lex immediately noticed Lionel facing off with Chloe and made to move to interfere but Clark stopped him. At Lex's look, Clark grinned and muttered something that looked suspiciously like 'watch.' Turning her attention back to Luthor senior, she smiled.
"Miss Sullivan, a piece of advice. You should be nice to your elders." She smirked.
"Mr. Luthor I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter." She told him. She saw Lex' eye twitch and inwardly grinned. Lionel's eyes turned slightly cold.
"I would think your mother would have taught you that it's impolite to be rude." That stung. Chloe glared, trying to hide the hurt his words had inflicted.
"I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant." She retorted. Lionel gave her a measured look.
"I believe we should desist before something is said that causes harm." He told her calmly. She smirked. She was so not letting this go.
"You sound reasonable.Time to up the medication." She quirked. She saw the barest hint of a scowl and mentally patted her back. /Good job, Chloe, good job./
"I would think you would have more respect for the person who reinstated your school paper." he said thinly. The threat was clear. Be nice or have your Torch taken away. She tilted her head.
"Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental." She shrugged. He gave her a look.
"Miss Sullivan, I came here simply to inform you not to trust my son and you have instigated a confrontation." She gave him a puzzled look.
"It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying." She glanced meaningfully at Lex and he smirked. Walking behind his father he spoke.
"I believe what my father is trying to say Miss Sullivan, is that he came here to warn you not to trust me and you involved him in a round of verbal judo." He broke in smoothly. Lionel glanced at his son when Chloe gave Lex an impish smile.
"Oh! So that's what he said! Ya know, it's hard to understand the language of Hell." She smirked. Lex's eyes twinkled with humor while Lionel's was anything but. Giving both looks, he bowed his head goodbye and swept out the door. She shook her head.
"Whatever kind of look he was going for, he missed." She stated at Lionel Luthor's retreating back. Lex chuckled.
"It seems my father has gotten to know the Chloe charm." She smirked.
"Seems so." She smiled up at Lex; totally missing Helen's hurt look. Clark and Lana however *did* notice and exchanged glances. Lex gave himself a slight shake and smiled charmingly down at Chloe.
"I will be seeing you at six then?" Chloe gave him a small, bashful smile and nodded. She glanced at the clock behind him and went pale.
"Shit! I'm late for lunch with my dad. I gotta go, later!" she waved hurriedly at everyone and dashed out of the Talon, barely remembering to get the food Lana had prepared for them.
~~~*~~~
{Luthor Estate, Lex Luthor's Study}
|T-Minus Thirty Minutes|
"Lex? I think we should talk." Helen said upon entering her fiancée's study. Lex looked up from a picture Clark had given him of Chloe and him at a party in the Talon. Chloe and he were having there, tenth, maybe eleventh, match of verbal judo.
"Yes, I think we should as well." Helen took a deep breath. Sitting down in one of the armchairs, she waited until Lex had gotten two glasses of brandy and he settled across from her.
"Lex, I've received an offer to work at New York General. It pays well, has great benefit basket, and it's a much respected clinic. It's the best offer I've ever had, job-wise. If I accept, I'll have to move to Manhattan." She bit her lip, waiting for his reaction. Lex smiled thinly. He knew all about the job offer; he had arranged it the day before when he realized he didn't particularly love Helen, he simply wanted a constant in his life. Like Chloe and verbal judo. Still, he had to play this through.
"Helen, you know I don't plan on leaving Smallville, let alone Kansas, anytime soon." He replied. She gave him a small smile, fumbling with her engagement ring.
"I know, that's why I don't think we should get married. Lex, I want to do so much before I settle down and I know you don't care about me in the same way I care about you. You probably haven't noticed, but Chloe has become a large piece of your life. You-you called me Chloe yesterday morning." she told him. Lex frowned. /What is she getting at here?/
"Lex, don't give me that look. It's obvious to me and I think to Lana. You-you love. You love Chloe." She finished, trying in vain to keep the tears at bay. Lex went still.
/I WHAT? What is she on? How could I love Chloe? She's sixteen years old! I barely know her!/
/Yes, but Chloe is quite attractive./ His inner voice replied.
/Oh shut up!/ he mentally slapped himself, annoyed. It wasn't often that he lost his cool like this. Maybe Helen has a valid point?
"Lex, trust me on this. I know it's for the best." With that she slipped off her ring and placed it in his palm. Closing his hand, she quickly stood up.
"I've already packed my things and a car is waiting. I do love you Lex, but it would have never worked. You can't return those feelings. Goodbye." With that, she left. Forever.
~~~*~~~
{The Talon}
|T-Minus One Minute}
The Talon was packed. Chloe couldn't see the door and she had a sneaking suspicion that everyone was there to see the finality of the bet between her and Lex. She also suspected that a certain best friend had blabbed it all over school after agreeing to testify. She scowled. She was going to kill Pete Ross.
Clark walked over to her. "Seems, Lex is late." Chloe shook her head.
"Clark, a Luthor is never late. They don't arrive early, and they don't arrive late. They arrive exactly when they mean to." She commented. At that moment a shout went up from the crowd.
"Luthor's here!"
"In a new car!" someone shouted back.
"Hot damn! It's a red Porsche convertible!" someone yelped.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Figures. He thinks that by coming with a new car it'll 'remind me what I could have had if I had been a little bit smarter.'" she said, imitating his voice. Clark chuckled.
"Yeah, that's the Lex we all know and love." Chloe grinned.
"Clark, you and I may love him, but the rest of the town? Yeah right! Besides, to him, you all have a PBS mind in a MTV world." she commented, walking through the crowd. It was eerie, people were moving away as she walked through. It brought to mind an image of Moses parting the Red Sea. If she would have looked back, she would have seen Clark frown at her comment. He held onto Lana's hand as they were pushed to the front. He glanced at the brunette.
"I think I've just been insulted." He stated. Lana patted his arm.
"Join the club." Clark smiled playfully.
"Can I be President?" Lana rolled her eyes.
"Lex. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public." Chloe commented flippantly, crossing her arms. She could feel the people's excitement behind her and shook her head.
"Miss Sullivan, I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you." he retorted dryly. She smirked, slightly confused. Seeing her confusion, he motioned to the car.
"I have a basket on the driver's seat for you." Giving him a wary look, she walked over and opened the door of the car. She smiled, impressed and slightly envious. What she would do to have this car. /Don't go there Chloe, don't go there./ She picked up the basket and sat down, much to the amusement of Pete, Lex, Clark, and Lana. She picked up a white envelope with her name in neat, loopy scrawl. She opened it and a set of keys fell out. She picked up the keys and saw a keychain attached. Her jaw dropped. She closed her eyes but when she opened it, it was still there. A small, gold nameplate with three simple words.
"Congratulations. You won." Swallowing, she unfolded a piece of paper from the basket and nearly fainted. It was the deed to the car. In her name! The Porsche was hers! She closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes.
She poked around in the basket and found several more legal documents for the car with a couple roses thrown in for good measure. Setting the basket down in the passenger's seat, she stepped out. Her face was flushed from excitement and she grinned impishly at the smiling Lex Luthor. She walked up to her four friends and stood in front of Lex. Looking up into his face, she grinned.
"I won, huh?" The crowd gasped. Lex Luthor had admitted he lost? Inconceivable! Lex gave a sardonic smile.
"Don't let it go to your head, Chloe." Her eyes twinkled at the use of her first name. She poked his chest, forgetting there were about fifty odd people watching them. It was an odd sight. Tiny Chloe Sullivan poking powerful and taller Lex Luthor; people would be talking about that one for years.
"Why shouldn't I? A Luthor admitted he was wrong. The four horsemen of the apocalypse should be riding up any time now." the crowd laughed. He smiled down at her.
"Yes, they should." With that, he swept down and kissed her. Many jaws dropped in the crowd, while some pretended to vomit. Lana elbowed the stunned Clark and then hit Pete upside the head to get him to stop. Gabe Sullivan simply sighed.
"Why do they have to realize there mutual attraction in such a public place?" he muttered to no one in particular. Why indeed.
***Author Notes***
Hey everyone! Hope you liked this chapter. So who knew Chloe was going to win? If you did, raise your hand. *raises hand* Also, who liked the Chloe/Lionel confrontation? *raises hand* I had so much fun writing that! I said this thing was only going to be four chapters and I'm actually *gasp* sticking to my decision! The answer to the riddle will be in the last chapter which is the next one. After that, expect a tankies update! Catch ya on the flipside! Always me, BashfulC!
~Set, Game, Match!~
***Realizations and a Different VJ Partner (3 of 4)***
{Sullivan House, Saturday, Noon}
|T-Minus Six Hours |
It was Saturday morning and Chloe was in a very good mood. She hadn't seen Lex since she had ran away from him after the 'picnic' on Thursday. However, according to Pete, who heard it from Clark, who was told by Lana, Lex hadn't come close in figuring out the riddle. He had about five and a half hours before the deadline was up and she had to meet him at the Talon.
She looked over her article for the Torch, making sure it was error free. Satisfied, she saved it to a disk and then shut down her computer. Glancing at the clock she silently swore. It was already twelve. /How did that happen?/ She was supposed to meet her father for lunch. Grabbing her purse, she ran downstairs but just as she was about to open the front door, the phone rang. She debated for a few minutes until the machine picked it up.
"'I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message..' 'Chloe!!' 'What?' BEEP!" she chuckled. /So dad still couldn't figure out how to change that huh?/ She was still chuckling when Lex' voice came on.
"Interesting message. Miss Sullivan, I'm calling to inform you I will be slightly late to our meeting this evening. Helen has decided she has to talk to me about something. I will be there by six. Thanks." Chloe smiled, bemused.
"Alrighty then!" with that, she walked out the house.
~~~*~~~ {The Talon}
|T-Minus Five Hours, Fifty Minutes|
"Hey Lana, do you have.Thank you!" Chloe finished in a hurry. Lana smiled.
"Late, huh?" Chloe gave her a sheepish look.
"I was working on the Torch and lost track of time." she admitted. A chuckle from behind her made her spin. She barely bit back a scowl.
"Again, your dedication to the Torch is admirable." Lionel Luthor smiled charmingly at her. Chloe narrowed her eyes.
"Mr. Luthor." She acknowledged him. He grinned slyly.
"Miss Sullivan, I heard you have made a bet with my son. You should probably know he will not hold you to the agreements." Chloe scowled.
"I don't know what your problem is, but I bet it's hard to pronounce." She snapped back. She glanced behind him and saw Clark, Lex, and Helen walk through the door. Lex immediately noticed Lionel facing off with Chloe and made to move to interfere but Clark stopped him. At Lex's look, Clark grinned and muttered something that looked suspiciously like 'watch.' Turning her attention back to Luthor senior, she smiled.
"Miss Sullivan, a piece of advice. You should be nice to your elders." She smirked.
"Mr. Luthor I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter." She told him. She saw Lex' eye twitch and inwardly grinned. Lionel's eyes turned slightly cold.
"I would think your mother would have taught you that it's impolite to be rude." That stung. Chloe glared, trying to hide the hurt his words had inflicted.
"I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant." She retorted. Lionel gave her a measured look.
"I believe we should desist before something is said that causes harm." He told her calmly. She smirked. She was so not letting this go.
"You sound reasonable.Time to up the medication." She quirked. She saw the barest hint of a scowl and mentally patted her back. /Good job, Chloe, good job./
"I would think you would have more respect for the person who reinstated your school paper." he said thinly. The threat was clear. Be nice or have your Torch taken away. She tilted her head.
"Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental." She shrugged. He gave her a look.
"Miss Sullivan, I came here simply to inform you not to trust my son and you have instigated a confrontation." She gave him a puzzled look.
"It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying." She glanced meaningfully at Lex and he smirked. Walking behind his father he spoke.
"I believe what my father is trying to say Miss Sullivan, is that he came here to warn you not to trust me and you involved him in a round of verbal judo." He broke in smoothly. Lionel glanced at his son when Chloe gave Lex an impish smile.
"Oh! So that's what he said! Ya know, it's hard to understand the language of Hell." She smirked. Lex's eyes twinkled with humor while Lionel's was anything but. Giving both looks, he bowed his head goodbye and swept out the door. She shook her head.
"Whatever kind of look he was going for, he missed." She stated at Lionel Luthor's retreating back. Lex chuckled.
"It seems my father has gotten to know the Chloe charm." She smirked.
"Seems so." She smiled up at Lex; totally missing Helen's hurt look. Clark and Lana however *did* notice and exchanged glances. Lex gave himself a slight shake and smiled charmingly down at Chloe.
"I will be seeing you at six then?" Chloe gave him a small, bashful smile and nodded. She glanced at the clock behind him and went pale.
"Shit! I'm late for lunch with my dad. I gotta go, later!" she waved hurriedly at everyone and dashed out of the Talon, barely remembering to get the food Lana had prepared for them.
~~~*~~~
{Luthor Estate, Lex Luthor's Study}
|T-Minus Thirty Minutes|
"Lex? I think we should talk." Helen said upon entering her fiancée's study. Lex looked up from a picture Clark had given him of Chloe and him at a party in the Talon. Chloe and he were having there, tenth, maybe eleventh, match of verbal judo.
"Yes, I think we should as well." Helen took a deep breath. Sitting down in one of the armchairs, she waited until Lex had gotten two glasses of brandy and he settled across from her.
"Lex, I've received an offer to work at New York General. It pays well, has great benefit basket, and it's a much respected clinic. It's the best offer I've ever had, job-wise. If I accept, I'll have to move to Manhattan." She bit her lip, waiting for his reaction. Lex smiled thinly. He knew all about the job offer; he had arranged it the day before when he realized he didn't particularly love Helen, he simply wanted a constant in his life. Like Chloe and verbal judo. Still, he had to play this through.
"Helen, you know I don't plan on leaving Smallville, let alone Kansas, anytime soon." He replied. She gave him a small smile, fumbling with her engagement ring.
"I know, that's why I don't think we should get married. Lex, I want to do so much before I settle down and I know you don't care about me in the same way I care about you. You probably haven't noticed, but Chloe has become a large piece of your life. You-you called me Chloe yesterday morning." she told him. Lex frowned. /What is she getting at here?/
"Lex, don't give me that look. It's obvious to me and I think to Lana. You-you love. You love Chloe." She finished, trying in vain to keep the tears at bay. Lex went still.
/I WHAT? What is she on? How could I love Chloe? She's sixteen years old! I barely know her!/
/Yes, but Chloe is quite attractive./ His inner voice replied.
/Oh shut up!/ he mentally slapped himself, annoyed. It wasn't often that he lost his cool like this. Maybe Helen has a valid point?
"Lex, trust me on this. I know it's for the best." With that she slipped off her ring and placed it in his palm. Closing his hand, she quickly stood up.
"I've already packed my things and a car is waiting. I do love you Lex, but it would have never worked. You can't return those feelings. Goodbye." With that, she left. Forever.
~~~*~~~
{The Talon}
|T-Minus One Minute}
The Talon was packed. Chloe couldn't see the door and she had a sneaking suspicion that everyone was there to see the finality of the bet between her and Lex. She also suspected that a certain best friend had blabbed it all over school after agreeing to testify. She scowled. She was going to kill Pete Ross.
Clark walked over to her. "Seems, Lex is late." Chloe shook her head.
"Clark, a Luthor is never late. They don't arrive early, and they don't arrive late. They arrive exactly when they mean to." She commented. At that moment a shout went up from the crowd.
"Luthor's here!"
"In a new car!" someone shouted back.
"Hot damn! It's a red Porsche convertible!" someone yelped.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Figures. He thinks that by coming with a new car it'll 'remind me what I could have had if I had been a little bit smarter.'" she said, imitating his voice. Clark chuckled.
"Yeah, that's the Lex we all know and love." Chloe grinned.
"Clark, you and I may love him, but the rest of the town? Yeah right! Besides, to him, you all have a PBS mind in a MTV world." she commented, walking through the crowd. It was eerie, people were moving away as she walked through. It brought to mind an image of Moses parting the Red Sea. If she would have looked back, she would have seen Clark frown at her comment. He held onto Lana's hand as they were pushed to the front. He glanced at the brunette.
"I think I've just been insulted." He stated. Lana patted his arm.
"Join the club." Clark smiled playfully.
"Can I be President?" Lana rolled her eyes.
"Lex. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public." Chloe commented flippantly, crossing her arms. She could feel the people's excitement behind her and shook her head.
"Miss Sullivan, I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you." he retorted dryly. She smirked, slightly confused. Seeing her confusion, he motioned to the car.
"I have a basket on the driver's seat for you." Giving him a wary look, she walked over and opened the door of the car. She smiled, impressed and slightly envious. What she would do to have this car. /Don't go there Chloe, don't go there./ She picked up the basket and sat down, much to the amusement of Pete, Lex, Clark, and Lana. She picked up a white envelope with her name in neat, loopy scrawl. She opened it and a set of keys fell out. She picked up the keys and saw a keychain attached. Her jaw dropped. She closed her eyes but when she opened it, it was still there. A small, gold nameplate with three simple words.
"Congratulations. You won." Swallowing, she unfolded a piece of paper from the basket and nearly fainted. It was the deed to the car. In her name! The Porsche was hers! She closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes.
She poked around in the basket and found several more legal documents for the car with a couple roses thrown in for good measure. Setting the basket down in the passenger's seat, she stepped out. Her face was flushed from excitement and she grinned impishly at the smiling Lex Luthor. She walked up to her four friends and stood in front of Lex. Looking up into his face, she grinned.
"I won, huh?" The crowd gasped. Lex Luthor had admitted he lost? Inconceivable! Lex gave a sardonic smile.
"Don't let it go to your head, Chloe." Her eyes twinkled at the use of her first name. She poked his chest, forgetting there were about fifty odd people watching them. It was an odd sight. Tiny Chloe Sullivan poking powerful and taller Lex Luthor; people would be talking about that one for years.
"Why shouldn't I? A Luthor admitted he was wrong. The four horsemen of the apocalypse should be riding up any time now." the crowd laughed. He smiled down at her.
"Yes, they should." With that, he swept down and kissed her. Many jaws dropped in the crowd, while some pretended to vomit. Lana elbowed the stunned Clark and then hit Pete upside the head to get him to stop. Gabe Sullivan simply sighed.
"Why do they have to realize there mutual attraction in such a public place?" he muttered to no one in particular. Why indeed.
***Author Notes***
Hey everyone! Hope you liked this chapter. So who knew Chloe was going to win? If you did, raise your hand. *raises hand* Also, who liked the Chloe/Lionel confrontation? *raises hand* I had so much fun writing that! I said this thing was only going to be four chapters and I'm actually *gasp* sticking to my decision! The answer to the riddle will be in the last chapter which is the next one. After that, expect a tankies update! Catch ya on the flipside! Always me, BashfulC!