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By the way, spell check hates most of your names. It's like a sea of little, red, squiggly lines. Oh, and big thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, even though I totally fished for it. Now, on with the show...
PDA
Chapter 14: In the Course of the Day, Things Happen.
"Hey Chlo!"
Chloe Sullivan turned around to see who was calling her. She immediately saw the lanky frame of Clark Kent trying to push it's way through the throng of students that were cluttering up this hallway of Smallville High School. Chloe smiled and then returned her attention to her locker. Clark came up behind Chloe and tapped on her shoulder. "Yes, Clark. What can I do for you?" she responded without turning around.
"Come for dinner."
"What?" Chloe asked as she gave a hard tug on her locker.
"Dinner. Tonight at my house. Mom's making fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy."
Chloe started spinning the lock again and said, "If I live to be a hundred, I will never understand how you don't weigh 300 pounds living in that house."
"Does that mean you'll come?"
"What's the occasion?"
"No reason, my mom just misses you. You haven't been coming over as often."
"Uh huh. And this would have nothing to do with my new living arrangements?" Chloe pulled on the door again, and when it didn't respond, she started spinning the dial again.
"No. Not really. She just wants to see you."
"Clark," said Chloe as she turned towards the boy. "You didn't tell your parents about Lex and me, did you?"
"About that fact that you two are dating? No. And I didn't even tell them about you moving over there. My dad heard it from this guy that knows this guy that knows the Luthor's gardener."
Chloe turned back to her stubborn combination lock. "Great."
"It won't be a big deal. I promise."
"Fine. I'll come. But only because Lex has this late business meeting tonight and I was just going to be by myself in that big place anyway. Now if- Aaarrghh!" Chloe broke off her sentence with a frustrated yell.
"Problem?" Clark said trying to hide his amusement at Chloe's reaction.
"No. Just that I've had this same locker for two years and the combination has always been 14-22-7 and today, for some reason, it's stuck."
"Let me try." Clark's deft fingers quickly spun the lock and then he gave the door a solid tug. The locker opened smoothly and revealed Chloe's messy organization. Clark grinned at the blonde and said, "Maybe it just needed-"
"If you say a man's touch, I swear to God I will sock you."
Clark Kent held up his hands in mock surrender. "A little elbow grease."
Chloe grabbed her biology book and slammed the traitorous locker door shut. "Pick me up at the Torch office after school and we'll catch the bus to your house, okay?"
"What? Lex didn't give you a fleet of limousines?"
Chloe smiled wryly. "Believe me, he tried," she said. "Or, at least, he offered to let me have one of his cars."
"You didn't take him up on it?"
"I just couldn't bring myself to drive a car that costs two hundred thousand dollars. Plus, I figured that taking the bus would invite a lot less unwanted speculation."
"I guess. So, I'll see you after school?"
"Yep. Bye, Clark."
Clark Kent smiled and said, "Bye, Chloe."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mom, I'm home!" Clark Kent said as he and Chloe walked through the kitchen door of the Kent household.
Martha came in from the living room and said, "Clark, there is no need to shout. We're indoors."
Clark grinned sheepishly and said, "Sorry, Mom." He walked over to a large pan full of frying chicken on the stove, and picked a little of the batter off one of the piece and popped it in his mouth.
Martha saw what he did and immediately swatted him on the hand. "That's for supper. Now go make yourself useful and tell you father that the food's about ready and he needs to wash up. He's out in the barn working on the tractor."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Clark turned and walked out of the kitchen. Chloe watched him gallop towards the barn through the large kitchen window. She turned to Martha and said, "Is there anything I can do?"
Martha looked around the kitchen and said, "Well, the chicken's about done. The mashed potatoes are done. I need to make the gravy. Oh, you can cut up the greens for the salad." Martha pointed to a head of lettuce, a tomato, and a couple of other vegetables laid out on the chopping board."
"No problem," Chloe said with a smile.
Chloe was almost finished putting the salad together when Clark and a grease stained Jonathan Kent entered the kitchen. "Mmm. Something smells good," said Jonathan. He came up behind his wife, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek."
"Don't touch me," said Martha. "You'll get my blouse all dirty."
Jonathan grinned and released his wife. "Okay. I'll go wash my hands."
Martha leaned over and kissed him quickly on the lips. "And change your shirt."
Jonathan sighed and left for the bathroom to get cleaned up. Clark observed the scene and asked, "What do you need me to do, Mom?"
Martha pointed at a kitchen cabinet and said, "Set the table."
Clark quickly got the table set as Chloe and Martha put the finishing touches on dinner. Martha gestured for the two teenagers to sit down. Just as the three of them got situated, Jonathan came out of his bedroom. He took his seat at the table and Chloe, Clark, Jonathan, and Martha all held hands in a circle around the table. Jonathan began, "Bless us, oh Lord..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wow. That was really good, Mrs. Kent."
Martha smiled. "Do you want another piece of pie, Chloe?" she asked, gesturing at the freshly baked apple pie sitting in the middle of the table.
"No, I think two's my limit. But thank you."
Martha stood and began gathering up everyone's plates. She turned to Chloe and asked, "Would you like to help me?"
"Yes, Mrs. Kent." Chloe got up and followed Martha into the kitchen.
Just as Clark stood up from the table, Martha called out from the kitchen, "You too, Clark."
"Yes, Mom."
Martha handed Chloe a blue and white stripped dish towel and said, "I'll wash and you dry." Chloe nodded her assent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After they had been washing the dinner dishes for awhile (and Clark had fled the kitchen protesting he still had chores to do before it got too dark) Martha brought up the subject Chloe had been fearing all evening. "Chloe, I heard you moved in with Lex."
"Yes, Mrs. Kent."
"May I ask why?"
"It's no big deal. My dad and I had a kinda huge fight and Lex offered me a place to stay while we worked things out. He probably just did it, because I'm so close to Clark and you know, any friend of...."
"What did you and Gabe fight about that was so bad?"
Chloe shrugged dismissively. "Just stuff. You know how little things get turned into big things. It's okay. It will all work out in the end."
"Chloe," Martha said in a serious tone. Chloe looked over at the older woman and found Martha Kent staring into her eyes. "Lex Luthor isn't forcing you to do anything you're uncomfortable with, is he?"
"What do you mean?" asked Chloe nervously.
"Um, nothing in particular. I want you to remember that we love you. If you ever need a place to stay, you're always welcome here."
"I know, Mrs. Kent. But I'm fine- really."
Just as Chloe said that, Clark came into the kitchen. He brushed an errant piece of straw out of his hair and said, "Ready for me to take you home, Chlo?"
Chloe finished drying the last serving bowl and set it on the counter beside the sink. Then she wiped her hands on her jeans. "Yeah, just a sec." She turned to Martha and said, "Thanks for everything Mrs. Kent. And don't worry about me." Chloe grabbed her bag from where she had set it beside the door. She turned to Clark and said, "Ready?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Martha and Jonathan waved goodbye as Clark drove away in the pick-up with Chloe. Jonathan wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and asked, "So what do you think?"
Martha shrugged and said, "I honestly don't know. But I believed Chloe when she told me that Lex wasn't forcing her to do anything against her will."
"So that means one of two things: either Lex isn't using Chloe to find out more about Clark, or he is and Chloe is purposely helping him."
"Jonathan, do you really think that Chloe would do that to Clark? Her best friend?"
Jonathan sighed. "I sure hope not. But all I know for sure is that we now have the town's only billionaire teamed up with an ambitious little girl with great instincts for ferreting out stories. Combine that with the fact that they both have a vested interest in Clark. I'm worried Martha."
"I know you are," she replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Chloe got back to the mansion, the first thing she did was get ready for bed. Chloe's personal philosophy was that one should only stay dressed as long as was necessary. That was why she always got into pajamas as soon as she knew that she would be leaving the house. And that was how Lex found her two hours later when he arrived home: sprawled out on one of the leather sofas in the TV lounge, wearing a pair of pink and gray flannel pajamas, and pouring over her biology notes. When he saw her he grinned, then stood- leaning against the doorway- and watched her.
Chloe could sense someone's eyes on her. She looked up and saw Lex hovering in the doorway to the room. "Hey, you."
"Hey, yourself," he replied. "What are you working on?"
"Studying for the stupid bio midterm tomorrow. The accident and the move kinda put me behind. And, oddly enough, I have a strong desire not to repeat this class. I wish I had a best friend who was really smart- at the schoolwork stuff. And not so lost in the pink haze of Lana that he can't see anything else."
Lex grinned and walked over to where Chloe lay. He sat down beside her and she adjusted her position so that she was sitting propped up against him. He wrapped an arm around her waist. Chloe dropped her biology book on the floor unnoticed. "I could help you study," Lex said. "I'm smart."
"That you are," agreed Chloe, "But are you sure that high school biology isn't beneath you?"
"I think I can make an exception for you. So, how was dinner at the Kent's?"
"Oh good. You got my message. It was great. Mrs. Kent made pie."
"Pie?"
"Apple. She sent a slice home with me for you."
"I'll have to thank her. So, they know you're living here."
"Yeah, but they were a lot cooler about it than I thought they would be."
"That's good." Lex reached up and loosened his tie.
"Yeah, but after dinner Martha cornered me and started asking some weird questions."
"Such as?"
"She wanted to know if you were pressuring me in any way."
"Like this..." said Lex as he kissed the top of Chloe's head. The arm around her waist began to stroke her thighs. Lex kissed his way down her head, then blew lightly in her ear. "Do you think she knows we're involved."
Chloe giggled at the sensation. "No, Mr. Suave. That's what I thought it was at first too, but I wasn't getting a teenage sex vibe off her at all. It was like we were having two different conversations."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait until later."
"Yeah. So, how was your meeting?" Even as she asked the question, Chloe could feel Lex tense beneath her.
"Let's just say it wasn't as pleasurable as your dinner."
"That bad, huh?"
"Did I tell you it was with my father?"
Chloe winced sympathetically. "No. I'm sorry, Hon. What'd he say?"
"Well, he knows you're living here."
"Does he know that we're a couple?"
Lex ran his fingers over is scalp in a movement Chloe had begun to recognize as meaning he was frustrated. "No. Not yet anyway. Mind you, it's one of his theories."
"Theories?"
"When my father finds something he can't explain, he comes up with as many theories as possible, then starts picking away to find out which one is closest to the truth. It's a very scientific way of meddling with people's lives."
"So, he doesn't know for sure about us?"
"No, but the scenario where I'm fucking you is topping his list. Though he thinks it's equally likely that I'm keeping you hostage, because your father is blackmailing me."
Chloe let out a peel of laughter at the thought of Lex keeping her prisoner in the luxury mansion. Lex smiled out the sound and said, "Now that's what I needed to hear. But you know what this means, don't you? No public displays of affections. Not even in the mansion until the staff has left for the day. I don't know who might secretly be on my father's payroll.
"Right," said Chloe in a mock serious voice. The her tone changed, became softer. "But everyone is gone now. No one here, but us chickens."
Lex nodded. "That's right."
"So I can be as affectionate as I want."
"That is also correct."
"Good. Then I'll trade you."
"Trade me what?"
"A kiss for every thing you teach me about cell division."
"Now there's a business arrangement I can definitely get behind."
To be continued.....
