Chapter 7
The Talon was unusually quiet for 6.30 on a Friday, and Clark was trying to think of excuses to put off his chores and continue standing at the counter with Lana. He'd even sunk so low as to mention her parents, in the hope that she would start talking about them, thus giving him the legitimate excuse that she'd needed someone to talk to. His parents were always really good about things like that. Infuriatingly, though, she'd refused to rise to the bait and insisted on chatting about everyday things as she busied herself with cleaning up.
"Are you going to Jeff's party tonight?" Lana asked as she dumped coffee grounds out of one of the big machines.
"No." Clark looked crestfallen and scraped the side of the counter with his thumbnail. "I wasn't invited. Are you going?"
"I don't think so. I'm pretty tired, actually. I might just curl up in front of the TV." Lana leant on the counter and brought her face close to his. She'd done this innumerable times in the hope that he'd finally get the hint and kiss her, but so far she'd been disappointed. And tonight was no exception.
"Um, I'd better go. I've got chores to do." Clark pulled away, embarrassed. He nearly kissed her that time, which would have upset her and ruined their friendship. Again.
"Fine." Lana spun on her heel and started clattering around with the cappuccino machine far more violently than was strictly necessary. "See you then."
"Yeah... um, see you." Clark trailed out of the door, head bowed in thought. He didn't notice the flashy black Lotus that was parked in front of the guesthouse across the street, nor the well dressed young men making their leisurely way towards the coffee house. As soon as he got clear of the edge of town, he ran the rest of the way to the farm at hyperspeed, still absorbed in thoughts of Lana.
The bell above the door of the Talon tinkled, and she looked up from frustrated tray wiping to see Lucas Luthor and a man she didn't recognise entering. Even as she sighed in annoyance that her ex-employer of two days standing was back in town, she noticed that his companion was very attractive. He was taller than Lucas and broad in the shoulders. Shiny brown hair framed his pale face, and a longish fringe seemed to be permanently flopping into his blue eyes and being brushed back. He was dressed entirely in black, contrasting with Lucas' slackerish jeans and white T-shirt. Lucas looked tanned and just as cocky as ever. Plastering on her best Colgate-white smile, Lana decided to be polite.
"Mr Luthor. Its good to see you back."
"Not quite the response I was expecting, Lana. Didn't you used to hate me?" Lucas quirked an eyebrow and gave her an arrogant look. Lana's smile faltered momentarily, but she pulled it back and met his gaze resiliently.
"Well, there's no point in dredging up the past. Maybe we just got off on the wrong foot." She looked pointedly at Lucas' friend, but neither of them made a move to introduce him.
"Perhaps." Lucas relented a little and gave her a small smile. "Can we have two lattes, please?" Just as he finished his order, the two men were pushed aside by a streak of blonde hair and sound. They looked down in surprise at the top of Chloe's out-of-breath and tousled head.
"Oh... my god! Lana... where's my Dad? Phew... Is he... totally mad?" Chloe finished at last, one hand pressed to her heaving chest.
"Um, I'll bring your order over in a minute, gentlemen." Lana shot Chloe a look and smiled at the two men. Lucas smirked and led Bruce to a nearby table. He could still hear the two girls talking, and had an excellent view of the shapely rear of the blonde.
"Your Dad called to say that he's snowed under at the plant, and he can't make it. With Lex out of town he's got a heap of paper work to do." Lana concentrated on making the two coffees, not wanting to give Lucas a chance to complain.
"Oh... poor Dad." Chloe was recovering from her mad dash to the Talon. After exhaustive tests at the hospital, she'd headed straight back to the Torch office to get some work done and totally forgotten about coffee with her Dad. "Can you do me a cappuccino please Lana, I'm desperate!" Lana loaded her tray up with Lucas' order and smiled at her friend.
"Sure, Chloe, no problem." She carried the tray over to Lucas, calling back over her shoulder, "I wouldn't want you to go into withdrawal or anything!" She set the coffees down on the table and went back to the counter, leaving an extremely interested Lucas in her wake. He leant over the table and said in a low voice,
"Bruce, what did I tell you about that girl Lex screwed last week?" His eyes were fixed on Chloe.
"Oh, I can't remember." Bruce leant back and sipped his coffee casually.
"Think about it, its important." Lucas tried to remember as much as he could.
"Hmm. She was young, a high school student, didn't you say?" Bruce coughed at the taste of the coffee and hastily replaced it in its saucer.
"That's right. And she was blonde, wasn't she?" Lucas couldn't tear his eyes away from the girl at the counter, who was currently trying to fix her hair in a hand mirror, gulp down a cappuccino at lightening speed, and carry on a loud conversation about a party at the same time.
"Yes. Blonde and voluptuous. Daughter of an employee, no?" Bruce was becoming interested in the conversation, as Lucas' excitement began to infect him, too.
"Yes, and great in the sack. And her name was..."
"Chloe!" Lana protested, as her roommate tried to twist her arm into going to Jeff's party with her.
"Come on, Lana. I need another story for the Torch and something interesting always happens at those jock parties! Please?" Chloe tried to replicate Clark's puppy dog look with little success.
"I'm tired, Chlo. I want to go home and relax." Lana became increasingly whiny when cornered, and Chloe wasn't sure how long she could hold out against that. "Besides, shouldn't you be resting or something?"
Lucas had practically jumped out of his seat at the mention of Chloe's name. He grabbed Bruce's arm and pulled the older man closer.
"That's her! That's Miss Forget-me-not!" Bruce looked around nonchalantly and surveyed the girl behind him.
"Are you sure? She doesn't look particularly special." His tone unimpressed, he pulled his arm back from Lucas and risked another taste of his coffee.
"As near as I can be! Can't you see it, though? She's got potential. And she doesn't remember a thing!" Bruce wrinkled his aquiline nose and tried adding sugar to the latte.
"Well, why don't you ask her out yourself?" He tried the coffee again with the same result.
"I promised Lex I'd keep away. Besides, he's still all caught up on her, even though he kids on that he's not. I had him on the phone for three hours the other night, drunk out of his mind, talking crap about nobody liking him, everyone using him for money, yada yada. Its best not to bite the hand that feeds you, know what I mean?"
"Well, if you won't, then I might as well." Bruce abandoned his coffee and stood up before Lucas could stop him. Sweeping his hair out of his eyes, he approached the two girls, who were still arguing about the party.
"No, Chloe. I'm tired." Lana was at full whine pitch now. Soon only bats and particularly sensitive breeds of dog would be able to hear her.
"Come on!" Chloe was at the end of her patience with this conversation, but gave it one last shot anyway. "I need to get to that party. I'll buy you anything pink that you want!" Bruce slipped an arm between Chloe and the counter, effectively blocking the argument from continuing.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance."
The Talon was unusually quiet for 6.30 on a Friday, and Clark was trying to think of excuses to put off his chores and continue standing at the counter with Lana. He'd even sunk so low as to mention her parents, in the hope that she would start talking about them, thus giving him the legitimate excuse that she'd needed someone to talk to. His parents were always really good about things like that. Infuriatingly, though, she'd refused to rise to the bait and insisted on chatting about everyday things as she busied herself with cleaning up.
"Are you going to Jeff's party tonight?" Lana asked as she dumped coffee grounds out of one of the big machines.
"No." Clark looked crestfallen and scraped the side of the counter with his thumbnail. "I wasn't invited. Are you going?"
"I don't think so. I'm pretty tired, actually. I might just curl up in front of the TV." Lana leant on the counter and brought her face close to his. She'd done this innumerable times in the hope that he'd finally get the hint and kiss her, but so far she'd been disappointed. And tonight was no exception.
"Um, I'd better go. I've got chores to do." Clark pulled away, embarrassed. He nearly kissed her that time, which would have upset her and ruined their friendship. Again.
"Fine." Lana spun on her heel and started clattering around with the cappuccino machine far more violently than was strictly necessary. "See you then."
"Yeah... um, see you." Clark trailed out of the door, head bowed in thought. He didn't notice the flashy black Lotus that was parked in front of the guesthouse across the street, nor the well dressed young men making their leisurely way towards the coffee house. As soon as he got clear of the edge of town, he ran the rest of the way to the farm at hyperspeed, still absorbed in thoughts of Lana.
The bell above the door of the Talon tinkled, and she looked up from frustrated tray wiping to see Lucas Luthor and a man she didn't recognise entering. Even as she sighed in annoyance that her ex-employer of two days standing was back in town, she noticed that his companion was very attractive. He was taller than Lucas and broad in the shoulders. Shiny brown hair framed his pale face, and a longish fringe seemed to be permanently flopping into his blue eyes and being brushed back. He was dressed entirely in black, contrasting with Lucas' slackerish jeans and white T-shirt. Lucas looked tanned and just as cocky as ever. Plastering on her best Colgate-white smile, Lana decided to be polite.
"Mr Luthor. Its good to see you back."
"Not quite the response I was expecting, Lana. Didn't you used to hate me?" Lucas quirked an eyebrow and gave her an arrogant look. Lana's smile faltered momentarily, but she pulled it back and met his gaze resiliently.
"Well, there's no point in dredging up the past. Maybe we just got off on the wrong foot." She looked pointedly at Lucas' friend, but neither of them made a move to introduce him.
"Perhaps." Lucas relented a little and gave her a small smile. "Can we have two lattes, please?" Just as he finished his order, the two men were pushed aside by a streak of blonde hair and sound. They looked down in surprise at the top of Chloe's out-of-breath and tousled head.
"Oh... my god! Lana... where's my Dad? Phew... Is he... totally mad?" Chloe finished at last, one hand pressed to her heaving chest.
"Um, I'll bring your order over in a minute, gentlemen." Lana shot Chloe a look and smiled at the two men. Lucas smirked and led Bruce to a nearby table. He could still hear the two girls talking, and had an excellent view of the shapely rear of the blonde.
"Your Dad called to say that he's snowed under at the plant, and he can't make it. With Lex out of town he's got a heap of paper work to do." Lana concentrated on making the two coffees, not wanting to give Lucas a chance to complain.
"Oh... poor Dad." Chloe was recovering from her mad dash to the Talon. After exhaustive tests at the hospital, she'd headed straight back to the Torch office to get some work done and totally forgotten about coffee with her Dad. "Can you do me a cappuccino please Lana, I'm desperate!" Lana loaded her tray up with Lucas' order and smiled at her friend.
"Sure, Chloe, no problem." She carried the tray over to Lucas, calling back over her shoulder, "I wouldn't want you to go into withdrawal or anything!" She set the coffees down on the table and went back to the counter, leaving an extremely interested Lucas in her wake. He leant over the table and said in a low voice,
"Bruce, what did I tell you about that girl Lex screwed last week?" His eyes were fixed on Chloe.
"Oh, I can't remember." Bruce leant back and sipped his coffee casually.
"Think about it, its important." Lucas tried to remember as much as he could.
"Hmm. She was young, a high school student, didn't you say?" Bruce coughed at the taste of the coffee and hastily replaced it in its saucer.
"That's right. And she was blonde, wasn't she?" Lucas couldn't tear his eyes away from the girl at the counter, who was currently trying to fix her hair in a hand mirror, gulp down a cappuccino at lightening speed, and carry on a loud conversation about a party at the same time.
"Yes. Blonde and voluptuous. Daughter of an employee, no?" Bruce was becoming interested in the conversation, as Lucas' excitement began to infect him, too.
"Yes, and great in the sack. And her name was..."
"Chloe!" Lana protested, as her roommate tried to twist her arm into going to Jeff's party with her.
"Come on, Lana. I need another story for the Torch and something interesting always happens at those jock parties! Please?" Chloe tried to replicate Clark's puppy dog look with little success.
"I'm tired, Chlo. I want to go home and relax." Lana became increasingly whiny when cornered, and Chloe wasn't sure how long she could hold out against that. "Besides, shouldn't you be resting or something?"
Lucas had practically jumped out of his seat at the mention of Chloe's name. He grabbed Bruce's arm and pulled the older man closer.
"That's her! That's Miss Forget-me-not!" Bruce looked around nonchalantly and surveyed the girl behind him.
"Are you sure? She doesn't look particularly special." His tone unimpressed, he pulled his arm back from Lucas and risked another taste of his coffee.
"As near as I can be! Can't you see it, though? She's got potential. And she doesn't remember a thing!" Bruce wrinkled his aquiline nose and tried adding sugar to the latte.
"Well, why don't you ask her out yourself?" He tried the coffee again with the same result.
"I promised Lex I'd keep away. Besides, he's still all caught up on her, even though he kids on that he's not. I had him on the phone for three hours the other night, drunk out of his mind, talking crap about nobody liking him, everyone using him for money, yada yada. Its best not to bite the hand that feeds you, know what I mean?"
"Well, if you won't, then I might as well." Bruce abandoned his coffee and stood up before Lucas could stop him. Sweeping his hair out of his eyes, he approached the two girls, who were still arguing about the party.
"No, Chloe. I'm tired." Lana was at full whine pitch now. Soon only bats and particularly sensitive breeds of dog would be able to hear her.
"Come on!" Chloe was at the end of her patience with this conversation, but gave it one last shot anyway. "I need to get to that party. I'll buy you anything pink that you want!" Bruce slipped an arm between Chloe and the counter, effectively blocking the argument from continuing.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance."