Chapter 1: Patterns of Silence

Two dollars and sixty-three cents. That's exactly how much money Chloe Sullivan needed to buy a movie ticket on the first Saturday night of summer vacation. But spare money on weekends was rare in the Sullivan household, especially in the form of whole dollar bills. Not that she hadn't contemplated paying in dimes and nickels… But this in the company of a certain bald-headed billionaire (who'd probably have to break a hundred dollar bill to buy popcorn) simply wouldn't do. Why had Clark invited Lex to go with them? Oh, that's right, she reminded herself all too clearly, because he probably knows he'll be too infatuated with Lana to even look at me. Then again, perhaps the thought of Clark realizing his feelings for Lana was giving him too much credit. Way too much. After all, two years was a long time to harbor such a zealous attraction to someone. Actually, in her own experience, it wasn't that long at all. Chloe had had a crush on Clark since the day she'd met him, when she had allotted him the shocking experience of having his first kiss come from almost a complete stranger. But that was another story.

Underneath her bed was cluttered with books, papers, pens, missing socks, and other miscellaneous goodies she never seemed to be able to find places for. As she rummaged through the debris, searching for her wallet, the June heat was creating an uncomfortable stickiness on her skin that made her knees stick to the wooden floor. Just be thankful it's not leather, she told herself with a frown as she remembered summers in the past where she had come home from school totally wiped and had collapsed in her dad's leather recliner in the living room only to have to peel herself painfully from itminutes later. Wiping the sweat from her forehead with one hand and then pulling short blond bangs away from her eyes, she realized she was definitely going to need a shower. At least she had short hair, she thought to herself, although getting it to sit just right every day tended to be a painstaking task. She could hardly imagine what it must be like for someone like Lana Lang on these sweltering Kansas days, with her long, flowing, dark locks that trailed after her in the wind as though she were a movie star. In fact, sometimes Chloe wondered why Lana even bothered to keep it looking so nice when she could probably have gone without showering for days and still have been idolized for it more than anyone else in Smallville.

Wow, way to be jealous of one of your new best friends, not to mention the girl now sharing your house, she scolded herself, unsticking her palms from the floor as she stood up with a sigh. School had been a total pain that day, which probably accounted for at least some of her grumpiness. Also, she just plain hated being hot.
Way to live in Kansas, she added glumly.

It was now ten minutes after she had planned to go to the gas station to fill up her car in time to pick everyone up. At least Lex didn't need picking up. She smirked at the thought of any Luthor bumming a ride off of some highschoolers in a Volkswagon Beatle or an oversized pickup truck, although she didn't know which was funnier; Lionel or Lex. She'd never seen either one of them arrive anywhere in any vehicle other than a limo, helicopter, or ridiculously expensive car in loud colors as eccentric as the drivers. It was one thing to buy expensive cars simply because you had the money, but to buy vanity license plates adorned with the letters "LEX" on them she found entirely haughty. Honestly, could he make people hate him more? Probably not even if he shot the president. File that last comment under the category of delirium, she told herself.

Several lint covered quarters later, it was time to skip filling up the car with gas and go straight to the shower. At least she could have a few minutes of relaxation amidst the day's chaos. Not bothering to bring clothes in with her, she headed down the hall to the bathroom. Just then, she winced as the phone rang in her bedroom and downstairs. Remembering with a sigh that Lana was working at the Talon and Chloe's dad was in Metropolis until morning, she abandoned the bathroom door in search of the cordless phone in her room.

T-shirt, sandals, copy of the Torch, prom dress (ugh), pillows, notepad, … The room seemed suddenly quite cluttered.

Riiiiiiiiing!

"Come on, come on… talk to me, baby!" she said, urging the phone to show itself among the debris.

Riiiiiiiiing!

Then she spotted the red antennae (yes, it was seriously oldschool) sticking out from under her covers and remembered Clark had woken her up that morning with a friendly but oh-so-obnoxious good morning call. She dove onto the bed for it and nearly fell off in the rush to push the "talk" button.

"Hello?" she managed to say, struggling to cling to the edge of the mattress.

"Chloe? It's Lex," spoke the notoriously serene voice from the other end. One eyebrow went up in interest as she heard it.

"Oh, hey Lex, what's up?" she said as nonchalantly as possible.

"Clark just called me from the Talon," he answered casually.

"He told me he ended up swinging by the Talon, so it would be easier for him to give Lana a ride to the movies and…" He seemed to be contemplating this next part…

" Well, I could pick you up at your place and we could meet them up there, if you're up for it?"

Great, she thought dismally, now I have to pay for a ticket with change AND carpool with Lex. Not to mention how weird this could be…Yet there remained a certain intimation of a challenge in his word choice… "If you're up for it."

It wasn't some huge secret that she and Lex had never really been close, but talking on the phone and driving places together just seemed to amplify the void. She knew it was selfish, but today she just wasn't up for the rainbow of aphorisms that was Lex Luthor. Sometimes he reminded her of a fortune cookie with all his politic sayings from obscure references that he had somehow memorized throughout his life span of only 22 years. He did provide an interesting contrast with Clark however, whose wisdom seemed completely unrehearsed and also strangely unexplained and unjustified. By all means, you would think that an erudite billionaire in his twenties would be able to recite more meaningful words of advice than an 18 year old farm boy/former quarterback. Then again, why look for logical explanations in Smallville of all places?

"…Chloe?" She hadn't realized… Had he been talking this whole time?

"Uhh… Yeah, that's fine, I guess. So… around what time—" there was a slight pause followed by the muffled thump of Chloe losing the battle with the mattress and hitting the rug beside the bed—

"Are you alright?" Lex asked in a tone that was partially concern but mostly genuine amusement.

She silently thanked God that Lex couldn't see her blushing over the phone, as she rubbed her bottom in pain where it had collided with the floor.

"Yeah, I just… was… Doing some laundry." Yeah, that should do it. There was another painful silence. He seemed to enjoy those.

"Okay… Well, I can be at your house in about… fifteen minutes?"

Fifteen minutes? He obviously hadn't spent much time around teenage girls. There wasn't enough time, but the shower could not be skipped. She climbed to her feet and gathered up her wardrobe. The longer she kept him on the phone, the later he would get there, she thought… assuming he had actually meant that he would be driving.

"Hmm…. Make it 17 minutes and I'll consider it," she joked, surprised at her own playfulness. Apparently he was a little surprised too, because another of his adored silences followed. Talking to him was like talking to someone in space through a satellite, she thought.

"Sixteen," he answered, and she heard the willingness in his voice to play along.

"Sixteen and a half," she corrected, now abandoning her wardrobe completely to listen to him. He didn't laugh, but she just knew he was wearing that "how-adorably-highschool-is-this?" smirk on his face right then.

"Alright," he agreed suspiciously, "but that's as high as I'll go." Chloe made a show out of a lengthy sigh.

"You're tough, but fair. I'll take it."

She smirked at her own totally odd sense of humor. Why was this so funny to her? Was it because of just who she was joking with? And there was that beloved silence again.

"Good. I'll be at your door in exactly 16 and a half minutes."

"Wow, you're coming up to the door? Next thing I know, you'll be giving me your pin and your letterman jacket." Unfortunately, her awesomely snide remark went unnoticed.

"That reminds me, is your dad okay with me giving you a ride?"

Chloe paused to consider this. Why wouldn't her dad be okay with it? Sure, Lex was notorious for driving fast, but he wasn't exactly supposed to be their chaperone.

"Well, he's still in Metropolis for that meeting or whatever it is, I don't know… You're his boss, you tell me."

"Right. I forgot."

Awkward pause.

"I'm sure it's fine," she finally said, just to break the pattern of silence they seemed to have fallen into.

"If you can't trust a Luthor, who can you trust?" she said, the phrase dripping with sarcasm, and she guessed he could probably hear her stifle a chuckle. This time, he was the one to sigh.

"Any of the local community would probably be more reputable," he answered smoothly, not even hinting at whether or not he had meant to make it sound so obvious. Chloe shifted the phone to her other hand and rushed into the bathroom, almost slamming the door behind her as she realized the time.

I wish I had a waterproof phone, she thought.

"Yeah," she stalled, "Except maybe the reporters."

"Chloe, are you suggesting that anyone could be less reliable than a Luthor?"

Of course not!

"I'm just saying, never underestimate the lengths to which an investigative reporter will go to get a story." When he didn't immediately respond, she added a footnote:

"Any good reporter has to be sneaky sometimes, Lex."

"You know what they say about reporters, Chloe…" he interjected, letting the question hang rhetorically in the air. After a small break in the conversation, she cursed herself for having actually expected him to answer it.

"No," she said irritably, "what do they say?" This should be good.

"Nothing," he replied knowingly, allowing her a few seconds of bewilderment, "Because a good reporter always gets the last word."

Oh, he's tricky, she thought in admiration, but he certainly knows the reporters' mantra.

"Do save some of that fortune cookie knowledge for the interview with Letterman, Mr. Luthor," she poked eagerly at his patience, turning the water on for her shower and taking off her socks first.

"I had no idea you were planning on watching. What a supporter… I can see why Clark keeps you around."

Fortune cookie reading son of a bitch! she screamed in her head. Response, she needed a response. Okay, don't say the first thing that pops into your head…

"Yeah well… He makes good use of my other talents too."

NO! She'd meant her reporter's intuition, but without actually having said that, the whole thing just sounded dirty. Much to her dismay, she heard Lex actually laugh on the other end. So this was the bitter taste of defeat mixed with embarrassment.

"I mean… I didn't mean I…. I'll see you soon," she muttered just before hanging up without awaiting his response. She didn't need to know how much of an idiot she sounded like just now. She imagined a lit-up scoreboard with a giant 1 lighting up under Lex and a gigantic 0 under Chloe. Was it possible to beat him at his own game?