At lunch, Chloe sat down beside Lana, and across from Pete.
"So?" She asked. "Did you quiz the new kid?" She asked, as she bit into her sandwich.
Lana smiled. "Well, I talked to him. I didn't really quiz him. I just asked about where he was from and why he moved here..."
Clark sat down as Lana said the last. "And then she asked if he had a girlfriend."
Chloe looked sharply at her friend. "You asked that? What did he say."
Lana smiled weakly. "He asked me if I had a boyfriend or if I wanted one."
Chloe laughed. "See, I told you. That's what you get from not listening to me. You get indecent proposals. Although..." With a subtle glance at Clark, she asked. "So what'd you say?"
"No!" Lana said quickly, and then occupied herself with her food.
Pete grinned as he observed Clark's reaction to Chloe's dig. "So no new prospects then?" he asked.
Chloe smiled a little. "Maybe one." She said, watching Pete for a reaction. "He thinks he's all that, but he's not. He *could* be considered good looking. Thinks he has a way with the ladies, and I suppose that with some he does. But I dunno if it'll work on me."
Pete smiled. "Oh, you gonna tell us who he is? Or are you gonna make us figure it out for ourselves."
"You know?" Lana asked.
Chloe shook her head. "Nah. It's just a sneaking suspicion." Still trying to get a reaction out of Pete, she continued, "I swear, if I knew who it was, I'd laugh them out of the room."
"What do you mean?" Pete asked, his face a mask of interest as he took a gulp of chocolate milk.
"Well, after you all left, I found a poem that whoever it is wrote to me. It's the dumbest thing, and I just think I wouldn't be able to take anyone seriously if that's actually what they thought of me."
Lana's jaw dropped. "And you didn't tell me till now?" She jumped up. "I'm gonna go read it!"
Chloe shook her head, and bent her head to her food. She was a little surprised when both boys got up to follow Lana out. She hadn't figured them for the romantic type. Then deciding she didn't want them to laugh without her there to defend herself, she got up and followed them.
She entered the office, just as Lana finished reading the poem out loud for the two boys.
"... for my heart you took." She smiled, and looked over at Chloe as she entered the room. "What do you mean you don't like this! This is great!"
Pete laughed. "I'm sorry. But I have to side with Chloe on this. That is the lamest thing I've ever heard! Even I could write a better poem then that!"
Chloe looked up sharply, and pinned Pete with a stare. "You think you could write a better poem then that?"
He nodded, and then misinterpreting the intensity of her glare, he said, "Geez, don't get me wrong. I'm sure you'll be very happy with him!"
Chloe shook her head. "I just, I mean.." She stopped talking altogether and then, she admitted in one breath, "I thought that this whole thing was you."
Pete looked surprised. "Well, I guess it could have been pretty funny, but if I was gonna spend that kind of money on flowers, I'd send them to Ginnie, not you. No offence."
"No taken." Chloe muttered, as she sat down at her desk.
Lana tossed the poems down on top of the junk already on the desk, and perched on the corner. "Well, I still think we have a chance of finding out who it is by tomorrow."
"Why tomorrow?" Clark asked.
"Because it's Valentine's." She explained patiently.
Chloe was about to say something, when a thought flitted through her mind. Trying to get it back, she focused on her desk. Suddenly, as if a switch had been turned, the thought solidified.
She was staring at her desk. The roses were sitting in their coffee can. On her binder beside them was the note sighed S.W.A.K. And beside that was the poem that Lana had just put down.
"Lana, where's a copy of the last issue of the Torch?" Chloe demanded.
Lana quickly found one, and handed it to Chloe. "Why?" She asked.
Chloe flipped to the third page, to the article she had written under a pen name, and that no one had thus far figured out was her; or at least so she had thought.
"Look. This list in the paper." She pointed, and everyone bent over her shoulder to read it. "Roses, sealed with a kiss, and the poem." She gestured to the stuff on her desk. "All that's missing is the paper heart, and someone it copying their game plan right out of this paper!"
"They got the paper heart too!" Lana suddenly pointed out. "At the Talon! All the names are written onto little paper hearts!"
"Why would someone use this paper as the game plan?" Clark asked, reading it over, and looking at the items on Chloe's desk.
Chloe sighed. "I wrote that article." She admitted. "Someone must have figured it out."
"You wrote that?" Lana asked, surprised. "You think that Valentine's day should be outlawed?"
Chloe shook her head. "Not really Lana, it was just filler."
Lana looked relieved and Chloe left it at that.
"So logically..." Pete thought out loud. "All we have to do, is keep a good look out for someone trying to sneak a Bryan Adams tape into your car tape deck, and we'll nab the sweet heart!"
Chloe laughed. "Well, there are any number of places that they could play a tape or CD, but I think you've got a good point."
Lana smiled as it seemed that Chloe was finally getting into the secret admirer thing.
The truth was that Chloe was more then a little interested to find out who had thought it would be a good joke to do everything that she had clearly said she hated. They obviously *didn't* like her very much if that was their way of romancing her.
"Okay. Let's get all the bases covered." Lana said. "I can cover the house. So if anyone is in there trying to slip a tape in, I'll know. Pete you talk to Mitch. Make sure that if anyone asks him to play Bryan Adam's over the P.A. that he tells you who asked him to do it. Obviously Chloe, you can make sure that no one sneaks tapes into the office. Clark, you can just keep a general lookout, okay?"
Clark nodded, and Pete resigned himself to being part of the scheme.
Chloe was resigned as well. The more she found out, the less she wanted to meet this person. How serious could they be, if they were copying ideas out of the paper? She was little depressed by the situation. It wasn't a practical joke, and it wasn't a mutant, so far, but it still wasn't serious, and Chloe hated that a tiny little part of her had really wanted it to be real.
The rest of the day progressed uneventfully. Lana kept a sharp eye out for anyone wielding music in their vicinity, but the closest they came was one of the students trying to maneuver a tuba through the halls.
Chloe left school at the final bell. She didn't feel like sitting around at her desk faking work on an article. She figured her best bet was to go home and watch a movie. Maybe a comedy or an action flick. Just as long as it had nothing to do with love.
***
Lex watched from his Porsche a couple of cars down, as Chloe left the school parking lot amid a hundred other cars. He was glad he'd decided to get there early, or he would have missed her.
He flipped his phone open. "Listen, Jack. Can you play that for me now?" He paused. "Yeah. No names. Thanks."
His radio was tuned to a local music station. He smiled as the DJ came on the air.
"Hello folks. Today is a lovely day and speakin' of love, we got a special request for a special girl. Miss Chloe Sullivan, if you're out there, this one's for you!" Then the piano of Bryan Adam's 'Everything I Do' filtered out of the speakers.
Lex watched as three blocks away, Chloe's car braked suddenly and jerked to the side of the road.
Lex smiled. He was really beginning to know his way around Chloe's car. First under the hood, and then when he switched the radio station.
***
Chloe sat in her car as the music filtered through the speakers. She grabbed her cell phone, and called the station up.
After waiting for an agonizing period of time, she got through.
"Hello. Yes, my name is Chloe Sullivan. Yes. The song that's playing, that was dedicated to me! Can you tell me who asked that it be played?" She paused. "Hey! It *was* dedicated to me!" A longer pause. "No! Don't stonewall me! I want to know!"
She punched the off button violently when the radio station hung up on her. So much for Lana's best laid plans. The Valentine's Day Stalker, as Chloe had chosen to call him in her mind, had struck again and they were no closer to finding out who it was.
Chloe wasn't sure whether to laugh and give the whole thing up, hoping that once Valentine's Day was done the guy would go to earth, or to go into super reporter mode, sniff the guy out and then give him a piece of her mind.
Conflicted, she made her way across town to the Talon. She couldn't make a proper decision without coffee, she reasoned, as she parked in front and went in... not noticing the silver Porsche that had tailed her from school, parking outside as well.
TBC...
A/N: Feedback is always welcome. (That was a not so subtle hint) It feeds the creative juices you see... :) And all those in need of good dose of Chlexy goodness... just hang on to your horses!
"So?" She asked. "Did you quiz the new kid?" She asked, as she bit into her sandwich.
Lana smiled. "Well, I talked to him. I didn't really quiz him. I just asked about where he was from and why he moved here..."
Clark sat down as Lana said the last. "And then she asked if he had a girlfriend."
Chloe looked sharply at her friend. "You asked that? What did he say."
Lana smiled weakly. "He asked me if I had a boyfriend or if I wanted one."
Chloe laughed. "See, I told you. That's what you get from not listening to me. You get indecent proposals. Although..." With a subtle glance at Clark, she asked. "So what'd you say?"
"No!" Lana said quickly, and then occupied herself with her food.
Pete grinned as he observed Clark's reaction to Chloe's dig. "So no new prospects then?" he asked.
Chloe smiled a little. "Maybe one." She said, watching Pete for a reaction. "He thinks he's all that, but he's not. He *could* be considered good looking. Thinks he has a way with the ladies, and I suppose that with some he does. But I dunno if it'll work on me."
Pete smiled. "Oh, you gonna tell us who he is? Or are you gonna make us figure it out for ourselves."
"You know?" Lana asked.
Chloe shook her head. "Nah. It's just a sneaking suspicion." Still trying to get a reaction out of Pete, she continued, "I swear, if I knew who it was, I'd laugh them out of the room."
"What do you mean?" Pete asked, his face a mask of interest as he took a gulp of chocolate milk.
"Well, after you all left, I found a poem that whoever it is wrote to me. It's the dumbest thing, and I just think I wouldn't be able to take anyone seriously if that's actually what they thought of me."
Lana's jaw dropped. "And you didn't tell me till now?" She jumped up. "I'm gonna go read it!"
Chloe shook her head, and bent her head to her food. She was a little surprised when both boys got up to follow Lana out. She hadn't figured them for the romantic type. Then deciding she didn't want them to laugh without her there to defend herself, she got up and followed them.
She entered the office, just as Lana finished reading the poem out loud for the two boys.
"... for my heart you took." She smiled, and looked over at Chloe as she entered the room. "What do you mean you don't like this! This is great!"
Pete laughed. "I'm sorry. But I have to side with Chloe on this. That is the lamest thing I've ever heard! Even I could write a better poem then that!"
Chloe looked up sharply, and pinned Pete with a stare. "You think you could write a better poem then that?"
He nodded, and then misinterpreting the intensity of her glare, he said, "Geez, don't get me wrong. I'm sure you'll be very happy with him!"
Chloe shook her head. "I just, I mean.." She stopped talking altogether and then, she admitted in one breath, "I thought that this whole thing was you."
Pete looked surprised. "Well, I guess it could have been pretty funny, but if I was gonna spend that kind of money on flowers, I'd send them to Ginnie, not you. No offence."
"No taken." Chloe muttered, as she sat down at her desk.
Lana tossed the poems down on top of the junk already on the desk, and perched on the corner. "Well, I still think we have a chance of finding out who it is by tomorrow."
"Why tomorrow?" Clark asked.
"Because it's Valentine's." She explained patiently.
Chloe was about to say something, when a thought flitted through her mind. Trying to get it back, she focused on her desk. Suddenly, as if a switch had been turned, the thought solidified.
She was staring at her desk. The roses were sitting in their coffee can. On her binder beside them was the note sighed S.W.A.K. And beside that was the poem that Lana had just put down.
"Lana, where's a copy of the last issue of the Torch?" Chloe demanded.
Lana quickly found one, and handed it to Chloe. "Why?" She asked.
Chloe flipped to the third page, to the article she had written under a pen name, and that no one had thus far figured out was her; or at least so she had thought.
"Look. This list in the paper." She pointed, and everyone bent over her shoulder to read it. "Roses, sealed with a kiss, and the poem." She gestured to the stuff on her desk. "All that's missing is the paper heart, and someone it copying their game plan right out of this paper!"
"They got the paper heart too!" Lana suddenly pointed out. "At the Talon! All the names are written onto little paper hearts!"
"Why would someone use this paper as the game plan?" Clark asked, reading it over, and looking at the items on Chloe's desk.
Chloe sighed. "I wrote that article." She admitted. "Someone must have figured it out."
"You wrote that?" Lana asked, surprised. "You think that Valentine's day should be outlawed?"
Chloe shook her head. "Not really Lana, it was just filler."
Lana looked relieved and Chloe left it at that.
"So logically..." Pete thought out loud. "All we have to do, is keep a good look out for someone trying to sneak a Bryan Adams tape into your car tape deck, and we'll nab the sweet heart!"
Chloe laughed. "Well, there are any number of places that they could play a tape or CD, but I think you've got a good point."
Lana smiled as it seemed that Chloe was finally getting into the secret admirer thing.
The truth was that Chloe was more then a little interested to find out who had thought it would be a good joke to do everything that she had clearly said she hated. They obviously *didn't* like her very much if that was their way of romancing her.
"Okay. Let's get all the bases covered." Lana said. "I can cover the house. So if anyone is in there trying to slip a tape in, I'll know. Pete you talk to Mitch. Make sure that if anyone asks him to play Bryan Adam's over the P.A. that he tells you who asked him to do it. Obviously Chloe, you can make sure that no one sneaks tapes into the office. Clark, you can just keep a general lookout, okay?"
Clark nodded, and Pete resigned himself to being part of the scheme.
Chloe was resigned as well. The more she found out, the less she wanted to meet this person. How serious could they be, if they were copying ideas out of the paper? She was little depressed by the situation. It wasn't a practical joke, and it wasn't a mutant, so far, but it still wasn't serious, and Chloe hated that a tiny little part of her had really wanted it to be real.
The rest of the day progressed uneventfully. Lana kept a sharp eye out for anyone wielding music in their vicinity, but the closest they came was one of the students trying to maneuver a tuba through the halls.
Chloe left school at the final bell. She didn't feel like sitting around at her desk faking work on an article. She figured her best bet was to go home and watch a movie. Maybe a comedy or an action flick. Just as long as it had nothing to do with love.
***
Lex watched from his Porsche a couple of cars down, as Chloe left the school parking lot amid a hundred other cars. He was glad he'd decided to get there early, or he would have missed her.
He flipped his phone open. "Listen, Jack. Can you play that for me now?" He paused. "Yeah. No names. Thanks."
His radio was tuned to a local music station. He smiled as the DJ came on the air.
"Hello folks. Today is a lovely day and speakin' of love, we got a special request for a special girl. Miss Chloe Sullivan, if you're out there, this one's for you!" Then the piano of Bryan Adam's 'Everything I Do' filtered out of the speakers.
Lex watched as three blocks away, Chloe's car braked suddenly and jerked to the side of the road.
Lex smiled. He was really beginning to know his way around Chloe's car. First under the hood, and then when he switched the radio station.
***
Chloe sat in her car as the music filtered through the speakers. She grabbed her cell phone, and called the station up.
After waiting for an agonizing period of time, she got through.
"Hello. Yes, my name is Chloe Sullivan. Yes. The song that's playing, that was dedicated to me! Can you tell me who asked that it be played?" She paused. "Hey! It *was* dedicated to me!" A longer pause. "No! Don't stonewall me! I want to know!"
She punched the off button violently when the radio station hung up on her. So much for Lana's best laid plans. The Valentine's Day Stalker, as Chloe had chosen to call him in her mind, had struck again and they were no closer to finding out who it was.
Chloe wasn't sure whether to laugh and give the whole thing up, hoping that once Valentine's Day was done the guy would go to earth, or to go into super reporter mode, sniff the guy out and then give him a piece of her mind.
Conflicted, she made her way across town to the Talon. She couldn't make a proper decision without coffee, she reasoned, as she parked in front and went in... not noticing the silver Porsche that had tailed her from school, parking outside as well.
TBC...
A/N: Feedback is always welcome. (That was a not so subtle hint) It feeds the creative juices you see... :) And all those in need of good dose of Chlexy goodness... just hang on to your horses!
