GONE CHAPTER SEVEN

Author's notes: Just to let everyone know, the formatting here (at doesn't work the best for me and it takes a while to code, so this is the last place that gets updated. This chapter was actually finished about a week and half ago, and it's been posted on my journal (the link can be found through my author page) and at the forums.

- - -

"Listen up, Sunshine."

"Sunshine?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Do you value your life?"

Lucas ignored her. "You've been pouting all morning--"

"I have not."

" -- and we already have one pouting member in this household."

Lex folded down the edge of his newspaper to glare at them. "I resent that."

"So you and I are going to Metropolis."

Chloe sighed loudly. "Another fun day in the city. Just what we need."

"See, that's where you're wrong. You haven't done the city with me. It's a different experience entirely."

She pursed her lips. "So will I need protection?"

Lex almost spat out his coffee. The two teenagers glanced at him.

"Far be it for me to interrupt," he said, coughing into his napkin.

"Why would you need protection?" Lucas asked warily.

Her lips twisted into a smirk. "In case you decide to body check me into a car this time."

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "I'm telling you, it wasn't me."

"Whatever." She rose from her seat and stopped at Lex's end of the table. Chloe leaned down to meet his eyes. "Hey, boy billionaire. You've been reading that same page for the last five minutes."

He lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I happen to find this page interesting."

"Lex. It's the classifieds. You have a job."

"Goodbye, Chloe." He said pointedly, returning to his paper. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of turning the page.

The smile was clear in her voice when she answered. "Bye, Lex."

She sailed out the door and left the two men in her wake.

"What was that?"

Lucas drained the last of his orange juice. "Looked like Chloe saying goodbye to me."

"Lucas."

He shrugged. "We're just going into the city, Lex. It's not healthy for her to stay cooped up in this place all day." He pushed away from the table. "You really should try to get out more often."

Lex winced at the heavy hand Lucas clapped on his shoulder in passing and stared at his coffee silently.

In all his 22 years, he could not recall acting quite so strangely.

Teenagers.

Had he really been one, once upon a time?

- - -

Lucas preferred to drive into Metropolis, for which Chloe was grateful. There were times when she just didn't want to take a limo everywhere. This was one of those occasions. Also, because of his presence, she didn't have security to deal with, which was another plus.

He liked his music loud, and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in time with the beat. He'd had a relatively normal life before finding out who he truly was. Which meant that he understood how it felt to be a teenager sometimes.

After a few more miles had passed, he finally lowered the volume. Without taking his eyes off the road, he asked, "So how are you doing with math? Seriously."

Chloe sighed and shifted down in her seat. The leather was warm and forgiving. The seat was heated and although it was a pleasant temperature in the car, she enjoyed the steady warmth at her back. "I'm managing."

His eyebrows lifted but he remained silent, eyes locked on the road ahead.

She took a deep breath and stared straight ahead. "My dad… used to help me with my math. I guess yesterday, I realized I wasn't ready to let anyone take his place. Not even Lex."

Lucas nodded, mock-seriously. "Yeah. It's bad enough you sleep with him."

She shut her eyes in embarrassment. "Should have known that was coming."

He grinned, pushing the car faster as they zoomed past a semi. "I don't think I really want to know."

"It's not like that."

For a heartbeat of a second, Lucas took his eyes off the road to look at her. "It's not?"

"No."

He nodded again, mulling it over. "Okay then. Should be another 20 minutes before we're there. If you refrain from any form of pop music, I suppose I could allow you to pick the next selection."

"That's it? You're not going to make a bigger deal out of this? C'mon, I'm 17 and I'm sleeping with your 22-year-old brother!"

"And you may want to keep that between us," Lucas said calmly. "I'm not entirely sure if that's legal."

Chloe looked amused at his comment. "Since when has that stopped anyone in this family?"

He tilted his head in consideration. She kinda had a point.

"Chloe, whatever happens with you and my brother stays with the two of you. As long as you don't pull me into your drama, I know when to leave things alone. And I believe you when you say that you're not going any further than sleeping with him." She relaxed further into her seat. "…yet."

"Nice." Chloe glared at him as she handed over the CD.

"Dave Matthews Band?" He complained, reluctantly sliding the CD into the player.

"Hey, you're the one who said no pop music. It's not my fault you listen to crap."

"Nirvana is not crap, Chloe."

She turned the volume up and drowned out his voice, preferring instead to listen to a man who sang of girls with broken dreams and bleak futures.

- - -

"I can't believe you talked me into this."

Lucas was too distracted by the game in front of them. "Here, hold this."

Chloe barely had enough time to jam the cotton candy in her mouth before Lucas dumped his jacket, soda -- which she hastily grasped lest it spill all over her -- and popcorn in her arms.

"Uh, note the girl who is currently being buried under your stuff --"

"C'mon," he said, tugging her along. "I want to try this one."

She stumbled after him. "Sure, I'll be your coat rack, thanks for asking."

When they had walked through a particular cluster of people, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Okay, wait here."

Chloe raised a brow and settled in to watch. Ordinarily, anyone telling her what to do -- especially a male, and a Luthor at that -- would be grounds for some serious verbal abuse. But she was too caught up in watching the purely unselfconscious way Lucas walked over to the stand -- no, that definitely a strut -- and eased his way between the crowd to take a seat at the counter.

She sipped absently at his soda and slung his jacket over her shoulders. The interesting thing with Lucas was that while he was a Luthor, and aware of the power his name carried, he didn't use it the way some his age might have.

Chloe hadn't seen Lex when he'd been Lucas's age, but she had heard the rumors. Needless to say, he made Lucas -- at least in everyday interaction with the public -- look like Clark Kent.

Whether or not that had to do with the fact that Lionel Luthor hadn't been raising him was another thing entirely. Although, rumor had it that Rachel Dunleavy was crazy, so…

Drawing her attention back to the present was the crowd shouting at the carnival booth. The crowd had converged on the attendant and she couldn't really see what was happening.

Lucas came walking out of the crowd holding something long and silvery. As he came closer, Chloe thought she detected the faintest hint of music under the carnival noise.

"For you," he said, presenting the object to her with a flourish.

"Thanks," she said uncertainly, exchanging the soda and popcorn for the gift. "What is it?"

He smiled ever so slightly and put his arm around her. "Chimes."

"And I need these because?"

"How else are you going to drown out Lex's nagging?"

Lucas held her close as she began laughing again.

- - -

They stumbled back into the mansion well after dark. The day had more than tired them out and they'd pretty much walked the entire city of Metropolis. Chloe found that she was exhausted, but in a good way; in a way she hadn't been since before her father died.

"Wanna go back tomorrow?"

"Are you nuts?"

Lucas grinned lopsidedly. "Maybe just a little." He reached for her and slung his arm around her shoulders companionably. "What did I tell you, sunshine? You've never done the city until you've done it with me."

"--Please don't tell me I walked into a proposition." Lex deadpanned from where he was leaning against the doorframe.

"I should be so fortunate." Chloe muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Has it escaped your notice that guys don't even look at me nowadays? I'm thinking it has something to do with the fact that I'm starting to belong to this crazy family."

"Of course you belong," Lex put in smoothly, while Lucas stared at her, an idea forming in the back of his mind.

Lucas's sudden silence began to worry her. "What?" Chloe asked, slugging him in the shoulder none too gently.

He shook his head as if to clear it. "Oh, nothing."

Chloe glanced at Lex as if to push it further, but something in his eyes told her not to. "Well, I'll leave you guys to it. Go do man things or whatever." She blew them each a kiss over her shoulder and headed up to Lex's room to get some sleep.

Once out of view, Lex turned to his brother. "What are you thinking?"

He grinned much like the big Christmas tree in Metropolis decorated with thousands of lights. "Just this."

- - -

The next day, Lex took the afternoon off from work and told Chloe and Lucas that he would meet them at the Talon around noon for some things that he wanted to discuss with both of them.

"Sounds ominous," she remarked to Lucas as they walked down Main Street.

"No more cryptic than usual, I'd say," he grabbed her arm as she started to wander away. "Look, that new book you want is here."

They went into the bookstore and walked out about fifteen minutes later, arms laden with packages.

"You know, woman, I just don't understand how you can spend such a small amount of time in there and yet walk away having nearly bought out the store."

"Oh, it's not that bad." Chloe twirled a small bag at her wrist. "Besides, I haven't been in there in months. Do you even know how much catching up I have to do?"

He shot her a dark glance out of the corner of his eye and she bit her lip to keep from smiling at his expression. "Bestsellers, I can understand. But can't you go online for stuff like that and have it sent to the house?"

Not if you were buying books and switching around the covers because you didn't want Lex to know what you were actually reading.

"It's the experience that matters, Lucas. C'mon, embrace it!"

"Kinda hard to embrace anything with all these bags in my hands." Lucas grumbled from behind her, struggling with the many handles and packages he carried. "I'm telling Lex you've really lost your mind this time."

She clapped her hands once in agreement. "You're in luck then, because it looks like he just pulled up in front of the Talon."

"Coffee?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

He sighed heavily and adjusted his grip on the bags. "Lead on, addicted one."

- - -

She sat in the back of the Talon against a bunch of pillows while Lucas ordered their coffee. It was the perfect spot to watch people as they entered the coffee shop and she got to make snap observations in her little quiet spot without anyone making fun of her. She saw Lex walk in and head directly for Lucas.

Lucas rolled his eyes and grudgingly told the girl behind the counter what Chloe guessed was Lex's order. Lex spoke to Lucas and before she knew it, they had both turned in her direction. Lex spotted her immediately and she waved half-heartedly, clearing a space for him. The wolfish grin on Lucas's face came and went so fast she thought she'd imagined it, but before she had time to analyze it, Lex was sitting down next to her.

"Lucas said you didn't do half bad at the bookstore."

She smiled widely. "I cleaned up, Lex. I think half of their merchandise is gone."

He shook his head, smiling back. "As long as it makes you happy -- I just don't know when you're going to have time to read all the books. I mean, if Lucas keeps you as busy as he did yesterday…"

Chloe sat back against the pillows with a heavy sigh. "Please. The only person I spend time with these days is Lucas. Not that I'm ungrateful for the companionship, because no one knows better than Lucas how to have fun, but I just wish there was someone out there who spent time with me because they seriously wanted to get to know me better."

"Like on a date?"

She laughed at the dark look on his face. "Yes! That's what normal girls do my age, Lex. They date. On Friday nights they go to the movies and eat popcorn and hold hands with their boyfriends. And if they're really lucky, they go to Crater Lake and --" She stopped suddenly and noticed his deep frown. "Um, well, look at the stars."

Lex murmured something noncommittally and looked up as Lucas sat down with them.

"Okay, I've got a black coffee for Lex, which is pretty gross, by the way, a caramel mocha for Chloe and a peppermint mocha for me." He set the drinks down gently and dusted his hands off, looking pretty proud of himself.

"That's quite an accomplishment, Lucas. Keep it up and you might be able to get a job here."

"You couldn't afford me." Lucas tried to kick him under the table and Chloe laughed as Lex just barely dodged the hit.

They sipped their drinks quietly, taking a moment to unwind and relax. Once every had what she deemed a fair amount of sustenance, Chloe put her drink down firmly, drawing their attention.

"So what was so important that you had to take the afternoon off from work and intrude on our plans?" She teasingly inquired, dripping a biscotti into her mocha.

"Well, since it involves both of you, I wanted --"

"-- Excuse me." A guy about Chloe's age with dark hair and eyes stood at their table.

"Yeah?" Lucas asked, stretching his legs out lazily.

"You're Chloe, right?"

Chloe blinked and looked at Lex for confirmation. He shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. I'm not the one with the sudden identity crisis."

She sighed under her breath and treated the boy to a smile. "Yes. What can I do for you?"

He grinned back. "Would you like to go with me on the hayride this Thursday night?"

Chloe blinked again. This was surreal. "Um. Sure." Then she shook her head. "I don't even know your name."

"Oh, it's Michael."

Her bravado completely shot the hell at this point, Chloe could do nothing but nod and give him her address when he asked to pick her up. Lex watched Michael as he walked away.

"Well, that was weird." Chloe shook her head and refocused on Lex. "You were saying?"

"Right. Since you've been spending a lot time together, it has come to my attention that --"

"Hi."

Lex glared at him in annoyance. "Can I help you?"

A blonde haired jock was staring directly at Chloe. She shook her head in disbelief. "Me?"

"You wanna catch a movie tomorrow night?"

It was all she could do to keep her jaw from dropping open in shock. "Uh, sure."

"I'm Brett. I'm on the football team," he helpfully supplied.

"Yeah, we got that, Jock Boy," Lucas said, mocking his letterman jacket.

"So I'll meet you here at seven?"

"Sure."

Brett waltzed away, high with success and nearly tripped over a girl in chair with her book. Chloe watched as he apologized and headed out the door.

"Does this seem bizarre to anyone else besides me?"

They looked at her blankly.

"Weren't you just saying that this was what girls your age did?" Lex asked, sipping at his coffee.

"Well, yeah, but… still. This is weird. I wonder if something is in the water."

After the fourth guy had come up, Lucas could barely hold back his laughter and the smirk on Lex's face was threatening to turn into a genuine smile. Chloe looked up from her drink, beet red and took in their reactions. "Okay, you two. Spill. What's going on?"

"What makes you think that we have anything to do with this?" Lex had the innocent tone down pat, but Chloe knew him well enough by now to see that he was obviously lying through his teeth.

She turned her sharp gaze on Lucas, who finally lost the fight and all but exploded with laughter. Lex couldn't help chuckling himself, and even Chloe had to crack a smile. When Lucas had finally composed himself he managed to get out, "You said last night that you couldn't get a date anymore. We were just trying to show you otherwise."

"I had no idea our plan would be so successful," Lex added, finished with his coffee and sitting with a smirk on his face.

The absurdity of the situation was not lost on Chloe and she realized that she would need to be more careful with what she wished for in the future. These two had an absolutely scary way of making it come true.

- - -

"This is a nice change."

Lex looked at his brother briefly and answered Chloe, "We're getting to spend too much time at home. I thought we could use a night out."

Chloe looked around, taking in the quiet restaurant they were in; indulging a bit in the modern décor and not feeling at all guilty for ordering two desserts. "Well, whatever the reason for it, I'm not complaining."

Lex's mouth quirked up. "Well, I figured if we wanted to spend a night with you this week, we'd have to do it tonight."

She looked puzzled and Lucas jumped in, "Yeah. Since you're Suzy Dates A Lot now."

"You guys. Stop."

Lucas grinned openly and Lex wiped his mouth with a napkin to cover his own smile.

"So what was so important that you had to tell us today?"

"Today?"

Chloe grimaced. "Before the date-athon began."

Lucas snickered and she flicked a few crumbs his way.

"Oh." His face was impassive, leaving no clue as to what he was thinking about.

"You said it involved both of us," Lucas prodded, trying to jog his memory and still stay on Chloe's good side for the rest of the night.

"Right." He set his napkin aside and looked at both of them with a fairly stern impression. "What it basically comes down to is this: you've been spending a lot of time together -- and that's fine -- what's not fine is that you're riding a motorcycle everywhere."

Chloe thought guiltily of the helmet stashed in her room and bit back a smile. "What's wrong with it?"

"For one, it's dangerous." They stared at him blankly. "It is," he insisted.

Not taking his eyes off Lex, Lucas nudged Chloe slightly as if telling her to go with it.

She coughed to cover her surprise. "So what do you propose we do about it? Lucas won't drive in my car."

"That's because it's a hippie, flower power, wanna-go-feed-the-animals-till-the -sun-goes-down, chick car. I'd lose my rep if I was caught riding around in that thing."

"Hence the motorcycle," Chloe finished, sitting back in the booth and resting her shoulder against Lucas in an unconscious show of solidarity.

"Then I guess there is no other option."

"There's not?" She looked very confused.

Lex shook his head. "You'll just have to get another car."

Her jaw dropped open.

Lucas signaled their server. "Check, please?"

- - -

And hoooooooly crap. It's done. Thank god. That thing was a BEAST.

Note: There is another Chlex story up at and at my journal called Harder to Breathe. It's about Chloe and Lex and their struggle during S3, esp. after Shattered.

Quick poll: Would anyone be interested in reading a Chlucas story? because I have one of those ready, but I wasn't sure if it was worth the effort to post here or to keep it as a journal-exclusive thing. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the update!