GONE || CHAPTER FOUR
A/N: I'm taking things a little bit slower with their relationship, but the plot is more important than getting the two of them into bed. Oh. Wait. I already did that. Heh. *composes self* Okay. This chapter may be a little shorter than the others--hell, that last one was a freak--but I wanted to update and it's been waaaay too long. Also, just to remind you: This is set in S2, after Prodigal. You'll note the references in the chapter.
* * *
"Chloe."
The clock ticked loudly in the dining room.
"Chloe."
Was someone speaking? She could hear nothing over the dull roar in her head.
"*Chloe.*" This time accompanied by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into Lex's cool eyes and felt the noise evaporate.
"What?" Her voice sounded flat, even to herself.
Lex, however, didn't seem surprised or offended. "We need to talk about this."
"So talk."
"I understand this isn't quite what you wanted to hear right now, but we have to at least focus on your schooling. Do you want some sort of instructor, or were you planning on doing it all yourself?"
"I don't care."
His brow rose in warning. "*Chloe*. . ."
Chloe stood up, meeting his gaze head on with dull looking eyes. "You know what, Lex? My father's dead. And now, the only other place I have *ever* felt safe has been destroyed. I can't think about something like school because everything I've ever cared about has been taken away and I can't get it back." She stared at him intently. "My dream's been tarnished by those *bastards* who left my office looking like a war site in the middle of World War Three."
Chloe raised a shaky hand to her head and ignored the dull throbbing that had returned after she'd broken their earlier contact. "And the best part? I give. I can't fight anyone, anymore--least of all you. So do whatever you think is best. You Luthors are good at that."
She was sure to slam the door on the way out.
Lex gripped the chair so hard he thought it would break.
She had picked up on a few things, a few of his traits, and that was to be expected.
But with that speech, she was in danger of becoming every inch a Luthor as he was.
And it wasn't in *her* blood.
* * *
It was probably a good thing she'd bypassed the makeup this morning, waking up well before Lex. Otherwise, she'd be seriously in danger of looking like a raccoon from all this crying.
Sleep had been pleasantly dreamless, for once, but she'd woken up as if in a fog. It took two cups of black coffee (truly a desperate measure, indeed) to get her mind up and running on the bare minimum it needed to get her from one place to another. She'd been in the process of staring at her breakfast when Lex had posed his question.
From what she could tell, he wasn't upset that she'd disappeared after waking, but then again, she didn't know everything about Lex Luthor. She did know, however, that he placed a very high value on knowledge. And up until very recently, she had too. So maybe she had lashed out because she was trying to inflict some of her pain on him.
Chloe sighed and cursed her instincts for being so stubborn. For once, she wished she could turn them off and ignore the voice in her head that was telling her that there was more to her father's death than met the eye. She crossed the room and sat at her table. Underneath, she'd fashioned a sort of secret compartment. From it, she withdrew a white notebook computer and couldn't help her smile.
There was no doubt in her mind that Lex had the computers in the house networked. Her computer in the wall was probably directly linked to his, and whatever she saw, she'd bet her month's allowance that he saw on a little window on his computer, even thought it was half a wing away.
So her big move, her big mission in Metropolis, had been to get another computer. One he didn't know about and couldn't track. She'd had a wireless internet card installed at the store and an untraceable base installed in her room, also underneath the table. Planting it there by herself had taken a little over an hour. The poor room had also been subjected to some language that would have made even the strongest sailor blush, but at least it wasn't visible to the human eye since it was so thin. And every time she thought of using it, a smile broke across her face because she had totally pulled one over on Lex.
She needed to immerse herself into this search, this obsessive need for the truth, to take her mind off everything else. Gabe Sullivan had worked at LuthorCorp since they'd arrived in Smallville and he knew how things worked, maybe even better than Lex himself. Her father hadn't died from a routine maintenance process.
She was sure of it.
* * *
After Lex had had breakfast alone and managed to swallow his pride long enough to look at things rationally, he realized that Chloe was perfectly justified in her outburst. In fact, after his mother had died, he hadn't wanted anything to do with the rest of the world, either. So maybe she needed a break. They could do that. She was more than intelligent, and could pick up what she'd missed in a heartbeat.
He headed for the only place he knew she'd be and knocked on the door. There was no answer. "Chloe. C'mon, I know you're in there." Lex sighed and debated whether or not to use the key in his pocket. He'd already fitted it in the lock when he realized what he was doing. "Damn."
Lex re-pocketed the key and leaned a hand against the wall for support. "I'll be in my office. . . if you want to talk."
* * *
Chloe counted to 100 before she let herself breathe a sigh of relief. That had been close. Too close. What if Lex had used his key to get in and saw what she was doing? After all, it wasn't every day you hacked into LexCorp right under the CEO's nose.
She had a hunch that while her email was lost, her father's wouldn't be. It was hooked up to a network, a network backed by LexCorp--and Lex didn't tolerate failure. Which meant somewhere, on that server, floating in space, was her father's email account with all his documents. The computer was already gone, his office cleaned out for another person to take. But Gabe Sullivan had a knack for keeping things when they didn't necessarily need to be kept.
And she was his daughter.
Who better for the job?
It wasn't until she had the presence of mind to look at the clock at the top of her screen that she realized how much time had passed. She'd missed lunch and Lex hadn't even come to get her. She groaned and stretched her sore joints. She was stiff for sitting still so long.
Steeling herself to make a reentry into the real world, she mechanically put away her computer and made sure it was hidden before checking the room one last time and opening up the door.
Chloe almost tripped over the food tray. Suspiciously, she lifted the lid and saw grilled chicken over a salad. Great. The staff had mixed up her lunch again. She was to have to see Lex again after all.
* * *
Lex was so focused on his work that he didn't see the door open to his study, much less notice the person hadn't knocked beforehand and announced their presence when they came in. He didn't hear the slight clink of the silverware as it knocked the tray solidly and didn't see the intruder smile to herself.
What he did see, five minutes later, was Chloe Sullivan, sprawled on the floor in front of his desk.
Despite his best efforts, he felt his lips curving into a grin. "Can I help you, Chloe?"
She sat with her hands propping her up from behind. "I think I got your lunch." She nodded at the tray. "Because I don't eat stuff like that."
Lex closed down his work and stood up, watching her carefully. Sure enough, there was a lunch tray on his coffee table and he was actually hungry enough to eat it. Chloe remained where she was as he stepped over her to the couch to sit.
She laid back on the floor, glad she'd picked a spot with a rug. "Have you ever played psychologist with your friends, Lex?"
He chewed carefully and answered, "No, I can't say that I have."
"The game is different from the real experience, of course."
"Of course," he gravely agreed, curious to see where she was going with this.
"The thing is. even though you're the one sitting upright, I'm the one who gets to ask the questions. Think you can handle it?"
Lex barely repressed the urge to roll his eyes. So. This was a power play. "Sure, Chloe. Go ahead." He was gearing up for something stupid like, 'what is your favorite color' and why.
She linked her hands behind her head and stared at the pattern on the ceiling. "Why did you agree to this?"
Well, she sure didn't hold back her punches. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Just because it was in my Dad's will didn't mean you had to go along with it. You're Lex Luthor. You could have easily gotten out of it. I'm sure there were quite a few loopholes in the thing, after all. And it wouldn't have been too hard to create one, not if you really wanted out."
Lex sat back against the couch and studied the toes of his soft leather shoes. The Italians really knew leather, really knew shoes. He would have to see about getting her a couple pairs. Chloe was watching him, waiting for his answer. "I wanted to," he simply replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She sat back up. "Okay. Where's your dad?"
He blinked. "Don't I get to ask any questions?"
"No."
His brows rose. "You're a little demanding."
"Consider this my reward for the interview that was never finished."
Again with the blunt statements. Well, two could play this game. "Metropolis."
"Why?"
"Because he can see again."
Chloe seemed satisfied with this and was quiet for the next few moments. Finally she asked, "Why are you so intent on seeing my education through?"
He kept his eyes on her and replied, "Because you're too smart to let your whole world fall apart. People die, Chloe. And you move on."
Chloe looked as if he had physically struck her.
Sensing she was about to do something they'd both regret, he continued, "I'm not saying you should try and be someone you're not. But what a terrible waste it would be if you let the past decade of your life go down the drain because you couldn't cope. I can guarantee you will regret that later."
She was smart enough to concede--at least mentally--that he had a point. She hadn't spent all those years in school to have it dissolve after she had a breakdown. Not to mention, her father--if he were still alive--would have never let her get away with it. He'd have been pissed that she even mentioned something along those lines. Bit by bit, she was beginning to recognize the little things that might have influenced her dad's final decision to leave her with the dysfunctional Luthor family.
Lex wasn't going to let her off the hook on this one.
She stood up. Lex continued to eat his lunch quietly, giving her room to decide. He was letting her know this was her choice.
"I want to do this myself."
His smooth expression didn't change. "Sounds reasonable enough. I can get a new course load laid out for you by the end of the week. We'll tailor it to your needs, your strengths and weaknesses, and you can work on them accordingly."
"Okay."
Lex rose from the couch to stand before her. "And if you should need any assistance, we'll have someone on call who can come here to help you understand and reinforce specific concepts. Of course, you can always ask me."
She nodded in agreement and was almost smiling at his last statement. "How do you manage to keep everything straight in that brain of yours, Lex, if you've still got eleventh grade algebra up there?"
"Sheer force of will, Chloe," he deadpanned, moving back to his desk to get things started. "And the occasional round of judo keeps me sharp."
This time, she did smile. "You might have to give me a few more weeks to get back in fighting form."
"Not at all. I thought you did quite well today."
Chloe bit her lip to keep from grinning. "It was a nice change, for a while, y'know? I didn't have to worry about what to say."
Lex stopped what he was doing to look at her and reply seriously, "You *never* have to worry about that with me."
"I know."
Satisfied that she was more or less the girl he'd come to know over the past few weeks, he let her leave the room without further conversation. It was time to set up that visit before she got too snarky to handle.
Lex reached for his phone. "Lucas? What are you doing in about 14 days from now?"
* * *
Okay, that's the end of that. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I think they resolved the major issues and Lex is seeing that she just needs a little nudge to get her moving in the right direction. What I would *love* is for everyone to grab a favorite line from this chapter--doesn't matter if it's dialogue, narrative, or whatever--and post it in their review. Because it's been so long since I've written this, I still want to know what works and what doesn't.
The next chapter will be fun. Enter Lucas, and one Pete Ross to a scary mansion. *grin* Heh.
A/N: I'm taking things a little bit slower with their relationship, but the plot is more important than getting the two of them into bed. Oh. Wait. I already did that. Heh. *composes self* Okay. This chapter may be a little shorter than the others--hell, that last one was a freak--but I wanted to update and it's been waaaay too long. Also, just to remind you: This is set in S2, after Prodigal. You'll note the references in the chapter.
* * *
"Chloe."
The clock ticked loudly in the dining room.
"Chloe."
Was someone speaking? She could hear nothing over the dull roar in her head.
"*Chloe.*" This time accompanied by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into Lex's cool eyes and felt the noise evaporate.
"What?" Her voice sounded flat, even to herself.
Lex, however, didn't seem surprised or offended. "We need to talk about this."
"So talk."
"I understand this isn't quite what you wanted to hear right now, but we have to at least focus on your schooling. Do you want some sort of instructor, or were you planning on doing it all yourself?"
"I don't care."
His brow rose in warning. "*Chloe*. . ."
Chloe stood up, meeting his gaze head on with dull looking eyes. "You know what, Lex? My father's dead. And now, the only other place I have *ever* felt safe has been destroyed. I can't think about something like school because everything I've ever cared about has been taken away and I can't get it back." She stared at him intently. "My dream's been tarnished by those *bastards* who left my office looking like a war site in the middle of World War Three."
Chloe raised a shaky hand to her head and ignored the dull throbbing that had returned after she'd broken their earlier contact. "And the best part? I give. I can't fight anyone, anymore--least of all you. So do whatever you think is best. You Luthors are good at that."
She was sure to slam the door on the way out.
Lex gripped the chair so hard he thought it would break.
She had picked up on a few things, a few of his traits, and that was to be expected.
But with that speech, she was in danger of becoming every inch a Luthor as he was.
And it wasn't in *her* blood.
* * *
It was probably a good thing she'd bypassed the makeup this morning, waking up well before Lex. Otherwise, she'd be seriously in danger of looking like a raccoon from all this crying.
Sleep had been pleasantly dreamless, for once, but she'd woken up as if in a fog. It took two cups of black coffee (truly a desperate measure, indeed) to get her mind up and running on the bare minimum it needed to get her from one place to another. She'd been in the process of staring at her breakfast when Lex had posed his question.
From what she could tell, he wasn't upset that she'd disappeared after waking, but then again, she didn't know everything about Lex Luthor. She did know, however, that he placed a very high value on knowledge. And up until very recently, she had too. So maybe she had lashed out because she was trying to inflict some of her pain on him.
Chloe sighed and cursed her instincts for being so stubborn. For once, she wished she could turn them off and ignore the voice in her head that was telling her that there was more to her father's death than met the eye. She crossed the room and sat at her table. Underneath, she'd fashioned a sort of secret compartment. From it, she withdrew a white notebook computer and couldn't help her smile.
There was no doubt in her mind that Lex had the computers in the house networked. Her computer in the wall was probably directly linked to his, and whatever she saw, she'd bet her month's allowance that he saw on a little window on his computer, even thought it was half a wing away.
So her big move, her big mission in Metropolis, had been to get another computer. One he didn't know about and couldn't track. She'd had a wireless internet card installed at the store and an untraceable base installed in her room, also underneath the table. Planting it there by herself had taken a little over an hour. The poor room had also been subjected to some language that would have made even the strongest sailor blush, but at least it wasn't visible to the human eye since it was so thin. And every time she thought of using it, a smile broke across her face because she had totally pulled one over on Lex.
She needed to immerse herself into this search, this obsessive need for the truth, to take her mind off everything else. Gabe Sullivan had worked at LuthorCorp since they'd arrived in Smallville and he knew how things worked, maybe even better than Lex himself. Her father hadn't died from a routine maintenance process.
She was sure of it.
* * *
After Lex had had breakfast alone and managed to swallow his pride long enough to look at things rationally, he realized that Chloe was perfectly justified in her outburst. In fact, after his mother had died, he hadn't wanted anything to do with the rest of the world, either. So maybe she needed a break. They could do that. She was more than intelligent, and could pick up what she'd missed in a heartbeat.
He headed for the only place he knew she'd be and knocked on the door. There was no answer. "Chloe. C'mon, I know you're in there." Lex sighed and debated whether or not to use the key in his pocket. He'd already fitted it in the lock when he realized what he was doing. "Damn."
Lex re-pocketed the key and leaned a hand against the wall for support. "I'll be in my office. . . if you want to talk."
* * *
Chloe counted to 100 before she let herself breathe a sigh of relief. That had been close. Too close. What if Lex had used his key to get in and saw what she was doing? After all, it wasn't every day you hacked into LexCorp right under the CEO's nose.
She had a hunch that while her email was lost, her father's wouldn't be. It was hooked up to a network, a network backed by LexCorp--and Lex didn't tolerate failure. Which meant somewhere, on that server, floating in space, was her father's email account with all his documents. The computer was already gone, his office cleaned out for another person to take. But Gabe Sullivan had a knack for keeping things when they didn't necessarily need to be kept.
And she was his daughter.
Who better for the job?
It wasn't until she had the presence of mind to look at the clock at the top of her screen that she realized how much time had passed. She'd missed lunch and Lex hadn't even come to get her. She groaned and stretched her sore joints. She was stiff for sitting still so long.
Steeling herself to make a reentry into the real world, she mechanically put away her computer and made sure it was hidden before checking the room one last time and opening up the door.
Chloe almost tripped over the food tray. Suspiciously, she lifted the lid and saw grilled chicken over a salad. Great. The staff had mixed up her lunch again. She was to have to see Lex again after all.
* * *
Lex was so focused on his work that he didn't see the door open to his study, much less notice the person hadn't knocked beforehand and announced their presence when they came in. He didn't hear the slight clink of the silverware as it knocked the tray solidly and didn't see the intruder smile to herself.
What he did see, five minutes later, was Chloe Sullivan, sprawled on the floor in front of his desk.
Despite his best efforts, he felt his lips curving into a grin. "Can I help you, Chloe?"
She sat with her hands propping her up from behind. "I think I got your lunch." She nodded at the tray. "Because I don't eat stuff like that."
Lex closed down his work and stood up, watching her carefully. Sure enough, there was a lunch tray on his coffee table and he was actually hungry enough to eat it. Chloe remained where she was as he stepped over her to the couch to sit.
She laid back on the floor, glad she'd picked a spot with a rug. "Have you ever played psychologist with your friends, Lex?"
He chewed carefully and answered, "No, I can't say that I have."
"The game is different from the real experience, of course."
"Of course," he gravely agreed, curious to see where she was going with this.
"The thing is. even though you're the one sitting upright, I'm the one who gets to ask the questions. Think you can handle it?"
Lex barely repressed the urge to roll his eyes. So. This was a power play. "Sure, Chloe. Go ahead." He was gearing up for something stupid like, 'what is your favorite color' and why.
She linked her hands behind her head and stared at the pattern on the ceiling. "Why did you agree to this?"
Well, she sure didn't hold back her punches. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Just because it was in my Dad's will didn't mean you had to go along with it. You're Lex Luthor. You could have easily gotten out of it. I'm sure there were quite a few loopholes in the thing, after all. And it wouldn't have been too hard to create one, not if you really wanted out."
Lex sat back against the couch and studied the toes of his soft leather shoes. The Italians really knew leather, really knew shoes. He would have to see about getting her a couple pairs. Chloe was watching him, waiting for his answer. "I wanted to," he simply replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She sat back up. "Okay. Where's your dad?"
He blinked. "Don't I get to ask any questions?"
"No."
His brows rose. "You're a little demanding."
"Consider this my reward for the interview that was never finished."
Again with the blunt statements. Well, two could play this game. "Metropolis."
"Why?"
"Because he can see again."
Chloe seemed satisfied with this and was quiet for the next few moments. Finally she asked, "Why are you so intent on seeing my education through?"
He kept his eyes on her and replied, "Because you're too smart to let your whole world fall apart. People die, Chloe. And you move on."
Chloe looked as if he had physically struck her.
Sensing she was about to do something they'd both regret, he continued, "I'm not saying you should try and be someone you're not. But what a terrible waste it would be if you let the past decade of your life go down the drain because you couldn't cope. I can guarantee you will regret that later."
She was smart enough to concede--at least mentally--that he had a point. She hadn't spent all those years in school to have it dissolve after she had a breakdown. Not to mention, her father--if he were still alive--would have never let her get away with it. He'd have been pissed that she even mentioned something along those lines. Bit by bit, she was beginning to recognize the little things that might have influenced her dad's final decision to leave her with the dysfunctional Luthor family.
Lex wasn't going to let her off the hook on this one.
She stood up. Lex continued to eat his lunch quietly, giving her room to decide. He was letting her know this was her choice.
"I want to do this myself."
His smooth expression didn't change. "Sounds reasonable enough. I can get a new course load laid out for you by the end of the week. We'll tailor it to your needs, your strengths and weaknesses, and you can work on them accordingly."
"Okay."
Lex rose from the couch to stand before her. "And if you should need any assistance, we'll have someone on call who can come here to help you understand and reinforce specific concepts. Of course, you can always ask me."
She nodded in agreement and was almost smiling at his last statement. "How do you manage to keep everything straight in that brain of yours, Lex, if you've still got eleventh grade algebra up there?"
"Sheer force of will, Chloe," he deadpanned, moving back to his desk to get things started. "And the occasional round of judo keeps me sharp."
This time, she did smile. "You might have to give me a few more weeks to get back in fighting form."
"Not at all. I thought you did quite well today."
Chloe bit her lip to keep from grinning. "It was a nice change, for a while, y'know? I didn't have to worry about what to say."
Lex stopped what he was doing to look at her and reply seriously, "You *never* have to worry about that with me."
"I know."
Satisfied that she was more or less the girl he'd come to know over the past few weeks, he let her leave the room without further conversation. It was time to set up that visit before she got too snarky to handle.
Lex reached for his phone. "Lucas? What are you doing in about 14 days from now?"
* * *
Okay, that's the end of that. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I think they resolved the major issues and Lex is seeing that she just needs a little nudge to get her moving in the right direction. What I would *love* is for everyone to grab a favorite line from this chapter--doesn't matter if it's dialogue, narrative, or whatever--and post it in their review. Because it's been so long since I've written this, I still want to know what works and what doesn't.
The next chapter will be fun. Enter Lucas, and one Pete Ross to a scary mansion. *grin* Heh.