Summary: Lex contemplates his unhappy past and uncertain future when he is taken hostage in an act of revenge against the Luthors.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the lovely characters featured in Smallville—unfortunately!
I also do not own/have not written any of the lyrics or quotes which may appear as credited within this story; intended usage is merely to complement narrative and thematic elements of my original work.
A/N: This takes place somewhere in Season 1 (not very important to the story, just some minor details).
VII: Crestfallen
Sunday morning found Clark, Pete, and Chloe huddled around a table at the Talon. They stared out the window at the snow that had just begun to fall outside.
"I thought this was gonna start yesterday for sure," said Chloe. "Did you see how gray the sky looked?"
Pete glanced at Clark, who was watching silently as the flakes gently hit the sidewalk. "Hey, maybe we'll have off tomorrow," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "That'd be pretty sweet."
Still no response. Chloe leaned forward, folding her hands in front of her. "So Clark—" she began hesitantly, "You don't have to tell us about it if you don't want to, but I hear yesterday was pretty surreal."
Clark looked up and saw Lana across the room, taking orders from other tables. "Yeah, you know what can I say... Lana was pretty shaken up."
"It's just so crazy," Pete remarked. "I mean obviously I'm not Lex's biggest fan, but the fact somebody could actually do this is beyond me."
"Are the police looking into the phone records?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah, as far as I know. I mean we called them right after it happened and everything. I just feel so helpless, you know? The fact that so much of this has literally occurred in my backyard—and my guess is as good as anybody's."
"You can't blame yourself, Clark," Chloe assured him, wondering how many times he'd actually been told that.
Lana gave the three a flustered smile as she scurried past, bearing a laden tray.
Chloe looked at Pete and Clark. "Where's Whitney at this week, anyway?"
"Someone in his family's moving, I think," answered Pete. "He had to leave Smallville and didn't really know when he'd be back."
Lana swept by again, making her way to the other end of the Talon. Stopping to wipe up after some customers leaving their coffee table, Lana leant down and was promptly met with one of the newspapers bearing Lex's image. Unwanted flashbacks to yesterday's phone call made her falter, and she took a moment to regain her composure as she grabbed both the paper and her tray and hurried back to the main counter. Clumsily depositing the soiled cups and saucers into the sink, she turned around again only to see Lionel Luthor.
"Miss Lang, I presume?"
"Mr. Luthor!" she replied, startled.
"You know, I've passed by this place many times but never wandered in. Lex has told me about it, of course, but I must say, I'm quite impressed."
The mention of Lex's name tied a knot in Lana's stomach. "I'm sorry about your son, Mr. Luthor," she said awkwardly.
"Yes, thank you, Lana. We all are."
"Can I get you anything?"
"No, thank you, though. I came here because I understand you communicated with Lex directly yesterday."
Lana was taken aback. "I didn't think my identity had been made public knowledge yet."
"It hasn't," Lionel acknowledged. "You must realize, though, Miss Lang, that I'm in a special position to know as much of what's going on with my son as possible." Lana nodded gravely, and Lionel cast searching eyes on her. "What I came to ask you," he continued, "was what Lex may have said to you, if anything."
As Lana met his gaze, she felt an oddly defensive front rising. Her mind flashing to the image of Lex that lay by the sink just behind her, it was disturbing to think that Lex could probably just as easily look at his father with the same expression. Perhaps at one point in her life, Lana would have believed this man was coming to her out of genuine concern; at the moment, however, she couldn't help but feel it was simply a means to protect his image and the Luthor name.
"Honestly, it was such a shock, Mr. Luthor, I hardly even knew what was happening. The kidnapper took the phone back from him almost immediately."
"Yes, but could you make out anything Lex said? Perhaps he left some kind of clue regarding his whereabouts?"
Lana shook her head.
"How did he sound, Miss Lang—if you could tell me anything at all, I would greatly appreciate it."
Lana was suddenly struck with the image of Lex standing in the exact same spot, shaking his head over his father's egregious shortcomings. How many days had it actually been since then?
"He said he was fine," she answered. "That's all."
Lionel stared at her for a moment, and then he nodded and thanked her, bidding her good day. Lana couldn't tell whether he had bought it or not, but then again one could never really be sure of anything when it came to Lionel Luthor.
»»««
Night... 5? Lex decided it had to be night, in any event; everything was far too still, save for the mournful wind howling outside. His captors were nowhere to be seen, but that didn't mean they weren't in an adjacent room. Lex wasn't actually sure how big this place was in general, which was definitely not a good thing.
Still pinioned to his good friend the pole, the cold crept mercilessly into his bones. Where the fuck was that jacket he had been wearing back in the barn, anyway? They had just decided to hide it from him or something? And after Sherman's unnecessary booting a day and a half ago, Lex was fairly sure one of his lower ribs was either cracked or broken—if there was even a difference, that is. Lex suddenly wished he had given med school a shot. God knows how many times it would have helped him out this year.
Out of the frosty silence came the sound of footsteps approaching. The muscles in Lex's chest tightened as he tried to brace himself for whatever he might have to endure this time. The sight that actually appeared across the room was unexpected, to say the least: the small yet significant figure of Grace Sherman hesitated in the doorway.
"Hi," she said tentatively, making her way towards him.
"Hi there—" Lex replied anxiously as he peered around her to the room's entrance. "Does your father know you're here? Or..."
"No, he and Buddy went to go do something—I heard them say it would take about twenty minutes."
Buddy. Priceless. His heart still racing, Lex affected his calmest demeanor and smiled. "You're Grace, right?"
"Yeah."
"That's a very pretty name."
"Thanks. What's yours?"
"Lex."
"That's a funny name."
"You think so?"
"It doesn't sound like a boy's name."
"It's short for Alexander."
"Oh, OK."
Lex watched as her eyes traced the outline of his head. "What happened to your hair?"
It occurred to Lex that he hadn't actually spoken to many young children... well, ever. Of course he had when he was their age, but that was pretty much it. So to be faced with this young girl and her blunt questioning was refreshingly amusing.
"I lost it in the meteor shower when I was young," he answered her.
"Oh yeah, my daddy told me about that a little bit. It happened before I was born."
Lex squinted slightly. "Did you follow your father here?"
"Yeah."
"Where's your mother?"
"I don't have one," she said, averting her eyes to the floor.
Lex's lips formed a brief, empathetic smile. "I don't think you should be here, Grace," he said softly.
She looked at him again and reached inside her coat. "I came to give you this," she said, stepping forward and producing a shiny red apple. "Go ahead and have some if you want," she said, holding it out for him in her small, outstretched hand.
Lex eyed the apple more than a little longingly, though he would have preferred to have his hands to himself for once. The urge to appease his hunger greatly outweighed any semblance of pride he had left, however—Beggars can't be choosers, he told himself—and so, feeling more than a little odd, he leaned forward and slowly bit into the extended fruit. The action brought on whole new worlds of pain to his aching jaw, but this was a repercussion Lex was currently willing to bear. He closed his eyes thankfully as the sweet juices began to saturate his mouth.
"Have as much as you want," Grace said, rotating it for him. "And don't worry, I'll take the core with me when I leave."
Fighting the urge to ask the girl how old she was for real, Lex resolved to be grateful that at least one of them was still thinking logically. After a minute or two, he leaned back to signal he had had enough. He noticed Grace staring at his face and wondered how bad it might actually look. Grace, unfortunately, wasn't giving too many clues one way or the other.
"Did you do something to my daddy?" she asked rather unexpectedly.
Lex looked at her and shook his head. "No, sweetheart."
"Then why is he hurting you?"
"Because he blames me for something my father did to him."
Grace didn't say anything at first, and Lex reflected on how nice it was simply having someone to talk to. It swiftly dawned on him that if he really wanted to get out of this place, he had to take advantage of the situation now.
"Listen to me, Grace," Lex began, gently but firmly. "I know you love your daddy. But he's going to hurt me very badly if I don't get out of here."
Grace returned his gaze with a somewhat torn expression, then shook her head. "No, I'm sorry... I really want to help you—but I can't. I can't..."
"Grace—"
"I'm sorry!" She turned and ran, leaving Lex where he sat on the floor.
Crestfallen, Lex watched her go. Feeling tears of desperation spark his eyes, he smiled miserably and laid his head back against the pole, staring up at a sky that wasn't there.
END 7/11
I'm so lonely, God won't know me
I can hardly get up
I sold my halo back in April
Now I can't hold my head up
Someone see me, feel me breathing
Someone get me home soon
If I see sunrise and screw up my eyes
I don't feel so lonesome
God knows why I'm watching the sky
Getting so blue...
So ring out the bell
I'll fly where there's someone to tell
My shoulders are colder since I fell
~ travis, "ring out the bell"