The Sun was up early that morning, its strong rays penetrating the curtains and waking the sleeping forms on the twin beds.
"Turn off the lights" Chloe mumbled as she grabbed her pillow and put it over her head. She groaned and turned on her stomach, trying to block the sun's probing rays.
Lana yawned and looked over at her roommate. She managed a small smile and dutifully got up from her bed. Last night had been great, but she wasn't going to make the same mistakes as before.
"Get up Chloe, I need to talk to you." She knew it was risky, for all she knew Chloe could hit her hard and good for even trying to break her renewing brain cell sleep, as she called it.
"Oh, what? Go away." She flung her arm out, as if pushing her off.
"No Chloe, please wake up, its important." She gently shook her to make her point.
That was more than she could take.
"What the hell do you think you are doing!!" she was full awake now and sat up on her bed. "don't you think you have done enough already? Leave me alone!!" she scrambled off her bed and headed towards the door. She could be so annoying sometimes she thought.
Lana swallowed hard. She should have known.
"Please, its about Clark." Her voice took a pleading look as her eyes matched the drama of her request.
Chloe stopped and slowly turned around. She took a deep breath and faced the brunette, not saying a word.
The night before had really torn her up emotionally, did everyone pity her? Or thought she was stupid? Her morale was so low that she had no strength to fight anymore.
Taking her silence as an acceptance to her conversation, Lana started talking, slowly, carefully thinking her words over.
She didn't want to hurt her.
"I have decided to give him a second chance." There was no way around it, she tried to give it as straight as she could. "It wasn't easy, you know better than anyone how much it hurt when he left, specially since you shared that feeling with me."
You are being too presumptuous. her pride took over for an instant, before it crashed and she admitted to herself that it was true.
Still she did not speak.
Lana fiddled with her long hair and let the silence fill the room for a couple more seconds.
"I don't know how much future we have, but some part of me wants this to start and end well, if it does end."
me, I, me, that is all this girl is capable spitting out of her mouth her thoughts grew bitter and her eyes darkened as a small flame of anger glistened in them.
"I just wanted, um," she was running out of things to say, she had played this conversation over in her head, but she hadn't expected to do all the talking.
Maybe I should just put her out of her misery she realized she wasn't giving much to the conversation, but she wanted it to be over.
"I miss you Chlo, and I really don't want this to deepen the gap between us. For all I know Clark will take off again," she rubbed her eyes before continuing. "I guess that what I am trying to say is that I value your friendship, or what is left of it above it all." She didn't know what else to say, but she had meant it. If Chloe told her not to take him back, she wouldn't. or maybe she was just trying to calm her conscience.
This is too much a bitter laugh threaten to come out of her mouth, but she swallowed it, burning on its way down.
"Look Lana, I don't care anymore, about you, or Clark or anyone who takes me for a fool." She had been quiet long enough. "But don't make me believe that its up to me if you enjoy this weird thing you have or think you have with Clark. Do whatever the hell pleases you, miss princess Lang" her last words laced with hatred, more towards herself than to the brunette. "Go and be happy, if he sticks around long enough." She knew that had been low, but she kept her face high as she turned on her heel and left the room.
Lana slowly sat on her bed as she fought with the feeling that were assaulting her. She felt like crying, like running after her, but she knew that it would only make things worse. No matter how good her intentions were, she was taken the wrong way. But intentions weren't enough. Chloe Sullivan had taught her that.
But she wasn't going to give up on changing her history with Clark Kent. At least she knows this time. That was enough to keep her going through this.
It had been a hell of a day, and it was barely 10 a.m. His father had decided to pay him another visit today. He hoped it would be shorter than his last one. They were in his office, discussing that ever old theme.
"I will not work with you. I have finally managed to get Lexcorp going again. And rest assured Father, I have my back well covered this time." He wasn't going to break him.
Not this time.
"Still competing with me? Lex, I will leave you this time, but you rest assured son, you will join me, sooner or later." It was true, he had covered his back better than last time, but there is always a flaw, and he would find it. He gave his son one last look before leaving.
Lex let himself fall on his chair as graceful as ever, hitting the desk hard on his way.
"You will not get to me father, I swear to you." His eyes turned stormy grey as he began to think of ways to get him off his back.
A knock at the door broke his thoughts.
"Come in." he growled, pulling himself straighter in his chair.
"Um, Mr. Lex? Um, you" a small man in his thirties who seemed at the edge of a nervous breakdown appeared behind the wooden door.
"Come on, Phil, get closer." His toned softened a bit, just a bit. He wasn't sure why he had hired him, but he had, and so far this bundle of nerves hadn't missed one yet, so he would stay, as long as he kept on track, besides his stupid loyalty would serve its purpose sooner or later.
"Um, sir you have an appointment," he made his way slowly to the big desk. "Well actually its not an appointment, more of an engagement, or maybe a date?" at his boss scowling look he cleared his throat. "Chloe Sullivan. Go to her school and apologize." He read off the Palm in his hands.
"Agh, right." He had wanted to go to the plant that morning to check the accounting books, now he remembered why he had no meetings scheduled. "Fine, thanks for the reminder Phil. You can go now."
"Flowers? Chocolate? It's a woman, sir" his smile grew cheeky, as if trying to share this moment with his boss. Lex tilted his head and looked at the man straight in the eye.
"Get out." He lifted an eyebrow to stress his point. The man immediately shrunk another two feet and walked backwards all the way to the door.
He let out a frustrated sigh as he stood besides the window and his thoughts drifted to last night. After giving it some thought he had finally understood what had happened, and thus decided that any kind of gift would only worsen the situation. Maybe he had misread her. But this thought instead of getting him off the curious hunt he had been on only turned it up more.
He wanted to find out her weak points.
And he would.
Music was blaring in the Sullivan living room. Everyone had left early, but Chloe only got as far as her driveway before she remembered something she had heard once.
"Sometimes you feel so bad that all you need is a good drink."
Of course she had never drunk before, but one glass wouldn't hurt, she knew where her father kept his brandy.
She was dancing in the living room. She had moved all the furniture to create her own dance floor. The music only added to the effect the alcohol was having on her.
"oh yeah," she mumbled along to the songs, one after the other, until she got tired of trying to remember the lyrics and concentrated on dancing. She had been dancing for almost an hour when the door bell rang.
Lex had looked for her at school, where Lana told him that she hadn't made it to school. He called to check if she had gone to the castle, after they had said that she wasn't there, he headed for her home.
As he reached the house he heard the music first, then saw her car parked in the driveway.
He reached the door in a couple long steps and rang the doorbell, twice, until he realized the music wasn't letting anyone who was in there hear it.
The door opened easily when he touched it, it hadn't even been closed, much less locked.
The blaring sound of the music greeted him first, then the sight of Chloe dancing in the middle of the room.
She moved knowingly to the rhythm of the music, her hips moving one side to the other, her head back, as if in some ritual dance, her eyes closed, her hands up in the air. The song stopped and she slowly opened her eyes, not noticing she had company, until Lex cleared his throat.
"I just came.." he was interrupted as the keys of a new song blared from the stereo, but he had gotten her attention.
"Lex? Ugh, go away Mr. Lexi" she turned her back on him and continued dancing, but not before letting out a drunk giggle. "Mr. Lexi, jejejeje, that's funny."
"Please, turn that off, we need to talk Chl." he wasn't getting through, and his patience for the day had just about run out since his father had walked out of his office. In two steps he was behind her.
"Ms. Sullivan, turn that off now." His tone low and demanding. Her eyes fluttered, somewhere in her clouded mind she had realized what had happened, then decided to ignore it.
"No, no Mr. Lexi." A laugh erupted from her mouth at the sound of her own voice.
She's drunk, that's enough he reached his long arm to the stereo and turned it off. Silence filled the room abruptly, Chloe had been in the middle of a twirl, and fell to the floor at the sudden silence.
"Much better." He straightened his jacket and looked down at the blond on the floor. "When did you start drinking?" he offered his hand to help her up, only to find it empty, her face was buried in her hands and her shoulders shook as small sobs covered her body. For the second time around her he felt uncomfortable, this was one situation he did not know how to handle.
"You murderer!" Chloe drawled as she looked at him in hatred.
"What?" how was she able to take him so off guard?
"You music killer you." Her mouth turned into a pout and pushed herself up, trying to push away Lex's hand, but ended up supporting against them. "You killed my music, it was nice music too, you should have met it before killing it!" she started pounding her fists against his chest. Relief washed over him as the support became an embrace, she was barely able to stand up.
Now this he knew how to handle. Her watery eyes looked up at him with a lost look about them.
Or maybe not. He swallowed hard as she leaned farther into him and her hand found its way up to his head.
"Baldy baldy lexi," despite her drunk behaviour, she grew serious as she examined his head, sending a shiver up his spine.
No one had done that to him before.
"You have a nice head." She licked her lips as her hands slid down to his neck.
He finally reacted.
"Chloe, you have to stop." He reached up to get a hold of her arms and pushed her away.
"Oh, I feel sick." She fell completely from his embrace and hit the floor hard as darkness engulfed her senses.
"Great." He said putting a hand to his neck.
"I talked to Chloe, about us." Lana started when she met Clark for lunch.
"And? How did it go?" he had found a table and set down both their trays.
"Not very well, she was very, I don't know how to put it." She sighed as she sat besides Clark. "but at least she knows now. I don't want us to hide, ever again."
"We won't, I promise." He reached for her and placed a kiss on her head. Her thoughts now far away, deep in his secrets and inner demons.
"Anyway, I was thinking about a surprise for you today." She chirped up a tone at the change of subject.
"Like what?" he tried to play along.
"Just meet me at my aunt Nell's house this afternoon, at 7 o'clock."
"The house is still alone?, I thought she had sold it by now."
"She is selling it, but no buyer has come up yet, and since I'm the one showing the house, I have a key." A bit of mischief escaped her voice.
"Okay, 7 it is." He smiled sweetly at her and she couldn't help but give him a light kiss in the mouth, taking him by surprise. His smile grew wider.
His people were leaving the Sullivan house after they had left everything clean and orderly.
He had placed her in what he guessed was her bed, in the room where the twin beds were, one was done and the other wasn't, he took his chances on the undone bed.
Once she was settled in, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a letter he had just written downstairs, and placed it on her night stand. He took one last look at her sleeping form, she looked so calm and even sweet, if it weren't for the paleness about her face.
"Well Mr. Lexi will leave now," he smirked at the nickname she had given him in her drunken drawl. "nothing happened here."
He turned on his heel and left the room.
Sorry there isn't much plot yet, but this is all just a prelude to the real thing. Please don't forget to review!!!
Next Chapter: Summer Shower