Disclaimer: If I owned anything involving the show, I'd have Chloe and Lex together already! But I don't so they're not.

Summary: At a confusing point in both their lives, Lex and Chloe decide to become friends, with unexpected results.

Rating: PG

Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Ok, this is the last part to the fic. (Sorry I took so long in putting it out. Lots of computer problems.) So enjoy and thanks for reading my fic! Oh, * indicates thoughts. ;)

Part 6

Chloe unlocked the door and walked into her office, balancing a large stack of books in her arms. She walked over to her desk and quickly discarded of the books. She reached her hands up over her head and heard her shoulder crack, and she let out a contented sigh. She turned on her computer, getting straight to work. She heard footsteps behind her and prayed that it wasn't Lex or Charles, but knew that she wasn't that lucky.

"Why am I not surprised to see you here," she heard Lex say teasingly, and she continued her work, not even bothering to look up.

"Likewise," she replied, and winced when she heard the anger in her voice. He walked to the side of her and leaned against the desk, staring straight at her.

"Something wrong?"

She sighed and got up, searching for the book she needed. "No. Nothing's wrong," she said in her most convincing voice, but as always, Lex saw right through it.

"Yes, something's wrong, so tell me." She wouldn't look up at him, so he cupped her cheek with his hand and turned her face towards him. His face was so close to hers, so he leaned forward but she backed away.

"Don't."

"What? Why?" he asked, clearly confused and she didn't quite know what to say.

"Look, you don't have to be all sweet to me just because we kissed. I know it didn't mean anything and-"

He cut her off. "Wait.didn't mean anything?"

"Well.yea! I mean, we're just friends and I know you don't like me that way, so I'm willing to let it be forgotten if you are."

"Chloe, I-"

"No. Just go Lex. I'll talk to you later," she commanded and turned away from him, flipping through her book. He shook his head, left the room, and got back into his car. He didn't know why she was acting like this. He didn't want to let the whole kissing thing be forgotten. He really did like her, but he guessed she didn't feel the same way that he did. He started his car and drove away from the high school, giving her the time she needed to think things through.

Chloe had been staring at the same page for about 5 minutes before she heard footsteps again. She started to turn around. "Look Lex, I..." She stopped when she realized it wasn't Lex at the door.

"Hey Chloe. How's it going?" Charles asked, walking into the room and hugging her. He was going to act normal, see if she would tell him what had happened on her own accord.

"Ok I guess," she replied returning the hug. "Look, we need to talk."

"Okay."

"Look, last night after you left, Lex took me home and..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "We kissed."

"I know."

She raised her eyebrows in confusion. "You...know?"

"Yes. I went to your house last night to see if you got home safely and to see if I could get a rain check on that date, but instead, I saw you making out with Lex."

"I'm so sorry Charles. I-"

"Do you like him?"

"I..." she started to say, then stopped. She didn't know what to say. She decided to just go with the truth. "Yes," she whispered.

He looked down. "And me?"

"I like you too. Ugh, this is so confusing!" she huffed as she plopped down into her chair. He took a seat in the chair next to her. "I'm sorry Charles."

"I know you are. Look, I like you a lot. And if you like me too, then we can date. But I need to know that you want to date me too. Don't go out with me because you don't want to let me down or because Lex doesn't like you and I'm your last resort. Do you want to date me?"

She seemed to think over this for a minute before looking up and answering him. "I...I don't know. Um...Give me some time to think about everything, okay?"

"Okay," He said, getting up and walking out of the room. Soon after he left, the phone rang.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lex had driven home, still thinking about what Chloe had said. He wanted her to know that no matter what, he'd still be her friend. But that the kiss did mean something to him. He walked into his office and went through his messages. Nothing of importance there. He tried to preoccupy himself with work, but that didn't work. He picked up his phone and dialed the Torch's number. Chloe answered.

"Hey Chloe. It's Lex." He could picture her sitting there, already coming up with an excuse to hang up the phone.

"Lex, I'm kinda busy right now, so I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"No, this won't take long. Chloe, what happened last night did in fact mean something to me ok? I like you."

"I like you too Lex."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I like Charles too."

He sighed. "Well, I don't know what to say Chloe. I'm still your friend and that's never gonna change. Just think about it and...call me later. Okay?"

"Alright."

They both hung up and she sighed, leaning back in her chair. She hated the way things had turned out. She had to pick a guy, and that was something Chloe had never had to do before.

*This is going to be tough.*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chloe lay on her stomach in bed, notebook in front of her, two names on either side of the paper. She decided that she was gonna decide the way Ross had in Friends. A pros and cons list. She started with the pros.

"*Ok, Lex is handsome.so is Charles. Ok.Lex is very sophisticated.but then again, ever since I've known Charles, he's been pretty mature also. Ok, smart? Both*"

She wanted to throw the notebook across the room and ask them if they'd mind her dating them both. She laughed aloud at the stupidity of her thoughts and decided to move on to the cons list.

"*Ok! Lex-father's boss. Five years older than me. Billionaire, with me being a reporter. All not good. Charles-um...what's wrong with Charles?*"

She couldn't think of anything, then realized that the bad things about Lex were things he couldn't control and that weren't his fault. When it all came down to it, both guys were equally great. There was no way she could choose. She thought about the absurdity of all this. Guys weren't supposed to make her choose. Guys weren't supposed to like her at all! Any male specimen was supposed to be programmed to like girls like Lana Lang, not Chloe Sullivan. She saw Lana walk past her bedroom door and called her back.

"Yes?" Lana watched as Chloe tore two small pieces of paper from her notebook and wrote something on both slips, crumpled them up in both hands, and held them out to Lana.

"Pick a hand."

"Are you feeling okay, Chloe?" Lana expressed her point by placing her hand on Chloe's forehead.

"I'm fine. Pick a hand." Chloe knew it was childish to pick a guy this way, but she didn't know what else to do.

"Okay." Lana pointed to Chloe's left hand and Chloe opened up the paper and smiled at the name. But, at the same time, she was internally frowning because half of her wanted Lana to have picked the right hand.

"So," Lana said excitedly. "What do I win?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He stepped out of his car and walked over to where Chloe stood. She smiled up at him and he took a seat beside her on the bench. They sat in silence for a while until he cleared his throat.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

She sighed and turned to him. "Yes. I've been thinking about all this and...I'm sorry. I think we should just stay friends."

He nodded and turned away from her. "Okay." He didn't say anything for a while and she didn't know what was going through his mind.

"Hey..." she spoke softly, placing her hand over his. "Are we okay? I mean...I know the 'friend' line is very overused and thought of as an easy out, but I really do want us to stay friends. I care about you a lot."

"I know you do, and I'm fine with your decision. But remember, whenever you break up with him, I'm still here."

She laughed. "And who said I'm gonna break up with him?"

"Eh, just a hunch. Oh look, here comes prince charming now." She looked behind her to see her other choice standing by her car, not looking their way.

"Well, you can be pretty sweet when you wanna be." He nodded and she pulled him into a hug. He returned it gratefully and when she pulled back, she placed a chaste kiss onto his lips. It didn't last but a second, but there was still a warm tingle that traveled through her body at the short contact. She briefly considered changing her mind and going with him, but pushed aside that thought. She pulled him into another quick hug and whispered "Thanks Lex."

He chuckled. "No problem. And remember what I said," he replied as he pulled away and winked at her. She laughed and pulled away from him, standing up.

"I will. And you remember this. I didn't choose him because he's better than you or because I like him more. There are many obstacles that would stand in the way of us being together, and I know that shouldn't matter, but-" He cut her off by placing his finger on her lips.

"Just go. We'll talk about it later."

"I'll see ya later, Lex."

"Looking forward to it, Chloe."

She flashed him one last smile and turned to walk over to her car. When she got there, she hugged Charles and started talking to him as they walked into the Talon together. Lex made his way to his own car, all the time watching Chloe leave with the other guy. He knew it wouldn't last, it couldn't. Chloe was too snarky and outgoing and he knew Charles would treat her good, but Chloe needed someone who could challenge her, keep her on her toes, value her for all she was. And when she was ready to push aside all the obstacles that would stand between them, he'd be waiting for her. Because he felt she was worth the wait.

The End

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Damn Charles, right? lol Okay... what did you think? I tried to keep them in character. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone. I ended it where I could write a sequel if I wanted to (big if lol). But.I kinda liked where I left it off. So tell me whatcha think! :)