Lex watched as Chloe left the school. She had obviously stayed after to do some work on the paper. He watched her get into her car, and sat puzzled when she didn't immediately drive away.

Finally, she pulled out of the parking lot, and headed for the Talon. Lex put his car in gear, and followed from a safe distance. Knowing where someone was headed helped when you were tailing them.

Lex watched as she repeated her performance in front of the Talon. She sat in her car for a good five minutes, before finally getting out, and going inside.

***

Chloe hadn't wanted to go home right away because she knew she'd be facing a Lana inquiry, and didn't feel like pretending to be excited about a fake secret admirer. She had to admit that Lana had her heart in the right place, trying to make her feel better as Valentine's day got closer, but she wasn't sucked in by the ruse, and didn't feel like pretending that she was.

Driving over to the Talon, Chloe parked her car outside, but didn't get out. Lana wasn't working just then, so she figured she'd be safe from prying questions. Deciding that coffee would make things better, she left her car and went inside.

There were only a few people there. One of which was Ginnie, Pete's new sweetie, and newly hired help at the Talon.

Ginnie grinned, and waved Chloe over to her. "So you want your free coffee?" She asked, then turned to pour Chloe's usual, assuming that her answer was yes.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked. "Do I get, like, frequent buyer points or something?"

Ginnie shook her head. "No. It's valentines." She pointed to the wall, where all the paper hearts were stuck, and sure enough, on the outside edge, was a paper heart with Chloe's name on it.

Ginnie handed Chloe the coffee, and then drew a little heart around Chloe's name on the paper. "It's so that we know who redeemed them." Ginnie explained to Chloe's unspoken question.

Chloe contemplated the wall. "Who bought the heart with my name?" Chloe asked, as Ginnie tidied up behind the counter for lack of something better to do.

Ginnie grinned. "You don't know?" Her eyes lit up at the thought of a secret admirer.

What was it about secrets? Chloe thought, that made everyone crazy.

"It was up when I got here right after school." Ginnie said. "Lana might know, but I doubt it. Maybe Kyla, she works during the day."

Chloe smiled, and made a mental note to check about the heart. She was fairly certain that it had been Lana. Why else would Ginnie have suggested asking her. She flopped down in a chair, and sipped her coffee.

By the time she was done with three cups, she figured she'd delayed enough and needed to get home. It wasn't like she was going to lie, and tell the person who had made this all up, that she had been out with some guy. She'd just tell Lana she'd gone for coffee, and had stayed too long.

Chloe was so occupied with her inner thoughts that she didn't notice that someone was coming into the Talon, just as she was walking out.

Walking right into them, Chloe fell backwards and hit the door jam. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She said, looking up. Upon seeing Lex Luthor, she wished she'd held onto the sorry, in exchange for a scathing remark.

"In a hurry are you?" He asked, as he steadied her on her feet.

She shrugged. "Actually, not really. I just wasn't looking where I was going."

Lex smiled. "Any particular reason?" He asked.

"My eyes were closed!" Chloe snapped. Then realizing how snarky she sounded she said, "I need to go."

Lex nodded, and held the door for her as she slipped by. "Have a nice night." He called after her." Then he turned and walked into the Talon. He smirked as he ordered his coffee, to go. He knew that Chloe was wondering about her secret admirer. And his next step would probably make her furious if she'd known about it.

As Lex watching Chloe pull away from the curb, he absently wiped grease off of his fingers. He figured you were bound to get a little dirty, when fiddling with cars. He leisurely finished half his coffee. When enough time had elapsed, that Lex thought Chloe would be willing to accept help from him, he got up to leave.

Smiling at the new waitress, he left the Talon, slid into his Porsche and drove away. He found Chloe where he expected her, a couple of blocks from the Talon, swearing and kicking her tires. The hood was up, and Chloe looked mad enough to spit nails.

Chloe has just decided to walk home, when she heard the somewhat familiar purr of a sports car. She turned and watched as Lex slowed to a stop beside her.

"Need a ride?" He asked her.

She nodded angrily, and yanked the passenger door open. "Thanks." She said simply, slipping into the car. "I really didn't want to walk all the way home."

"Glad I could be of assistance." Lex said, as he pulled away from the curb.

"Yeah." Chloe quipped. "My hero." She sat staring out the window, contemplating her own thoughts.

Lex smiled at her comment. "So I read your article in the paper. Seemed a little depressing to me."

"What?" She asked. "You were bashing Valentine's day too y'know. Some of those ideas were yours!"

Lex nodded. "I'd had a bad day. But completely giving up on the whole deal? Seems a little extreme. What if someone wanted to get to know you?"

Chloe scoffed. "They could do it some other way."

"Like what?" Lex asked. "You didn't leave much off your list."

"I left off chocolate." Chloe pointed out. "And coffee."

"So that's the way to your heart is it?" Lex asked with a quiet chuckle.

"I dunno. I guess." Chloe conceded. It was nice to talk to someone who at least had some idea about what was bugging her. "I'd like people to be original, y'know? I mean, maybe that's what's so lame about this. Everyone is doing the same stupid things."

Lex nodded. "I completely agree. Romance should be spontaneous and unplanned, and it really should not be dictated by food commercials and hallmark."

Chloe looked over at Lex, unsure of whether he was teasing her, or agreeing.

He caught the look. "I'm serious." He said.

Chloe shrugged. "I just never would have guessed you of all people, would put so much thought into it, is all."

"I can be very charming if I put my mind to it." Lex said with a smile, as he pulled up in front of Chloe's house. "There you are. All safe and sound."

Chloe smiled. "Thanks for the ride Lex. I'm sorry I was rude outside the Talon." She opened the door, and moved to get out, when Lex caught her wrist and held her inside.

"Don't give up on love completely." He said, quietly, before letting her go.

Chloe stood, bemused as Lex drove away. Then she turned and walked up to the house. Lana was sitting inside, waiting expectantly for Chloe.

"Was that Lex who just dropped you off?" Lana asked, surprised.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, what of it?" She flopped down on the couch beside Lana.

Lana shrugged. "I thought that you were going to be spending time with your secret admirer."

Chloe sighed. "If I was hanging out with him, he wouldn't be secret anymore. And I told you, I don't know who sent those flowers."

Lana nodded. "Well, then I guess we'll just have to figure it out! Starting tomorrow! Lana Laing goes into super-sleuth mode!"

Chloe smiled at the thought. "Thanks, but I think I might just want to let this one go. I'm going upstairs. See you tomorrow." She said.

Chloe was almost to the stairs when she remembered the coffee.

"Hey, Lana." She asked. "Do you know who bought me a free coffee at the Talon?"

Lana's eyes got wide. Chloe couldn't tell if it was surprise or guilt. "No, I don't know!" Lana said. "They did? The same person?"

Chloe shrugged. "It's not like they signed their name."

Lana looked thoughtful. "I'll try and find out tomorrow!" She grinned. "C'mon. Admit that it's fun that you have a secret admirer."

Chloe shrugged. "I guess." She said, before heading up to her room.

Now she was in doubt. Lana just wasn't the kind of person that could a hide a secret for very long, and if it wasn't Lana, Chloe didn't have a clue who it could be.

TBC...