Exhausted, Lex sat at his father's bedside in the hospital. He stared at the elder Luthor, his conflicting emotions wearing him down further. Unconscious, Lionel looked like any other man, vulnerable. The harsh glow from the fluorescent bulbs of the hospital lighting gave Lionel a pasty skin tone, and Lex felt his stomach turning as he stared at his father's face, relaxed and innocent, but shadows of guilt and lines of pain still visible; they were scars that only a son could see, and scars that only a son like Lex could know about.
Lex, his eyelids falling heavily, took his leave of the hospital, giving his cell number to the nurse on duty in case he was needed. Calling a taxi, Lex headed for the hotel and a soft bed to rest his aching head.
Arriving at the Holiday Inn Lex surveyed the room he was given; it was supposed to be a suite. Lex lightly snorted with reproach. There was a small kitchenette with a mini-fridge, a tiny microwave, a two-burner stove and a small sink next to a living area where there was a undersized couch ("…fold out bed included!" The desk clerk had exclaimed as if to impress Lex) and a tiny 20" inch television (chained to the wall, Lex noticed as he rolled his eyes). The bedroom was better equipped, including a king size bed and another 20" inch television; the adjoining bath contained a large, round, whirlpool tub and two sinks in the vanity.
Dropping his briefcase and travel bag on the bed, Lex entered the sterile, white-walled bathroom and removing his already loosened tie (and bloody Lex noticed with a slight wave of nausea) he splashed water on his face, rubbing the feel and the smell of the day off. He dropped the tie into the wastebasket and raised his head to look in the mirror. For a moment Lex was shocked at his appearance. He hadn't looked in a mirror since the accident, and the concussion he suffered (and which he noted was still throbbing dully at the base of his skull) had created large black circles under his eyes. His face was blotchy and he looked like the walking dead. Lex wondered with no real hope if this lovely hotel had any sort of room service. What he really wanted was a stiff drink and an icepack for his head.
Exiting the bathroom Lex flipped the lights and immediately was thrust into a grayish darkness. The glow from the parking lot lights outside provided enough illumination to maneuver the room and get around the few pieces of furniture that were outlined in black shadow. Lex slowly lowered his head to the pillow of the large bed, too tired to do much else. Closing his eyes to the world, Lex tried to sleep.
Several hours later, after much tossing and turning, Lex gave up on rest. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat with his head in his hands, his eyes burning with exhaustion but his body unable to succumb to sleep.
Lex found his mind racing with a million different thoughts; about the new plant, about his father, about his mother, about Smallville and how his life had led him to this point. The profound thoughts were adding to his returning headache so Lex popped the lid on the bottle of aspirin he had been given at the hospital and he swallowed the chalky pills dry, wincing at the sharp taste as they began dissolving on contact with his tongue.
Standing slowly and wincing at another dull stab of pain in his head, Lex went to the window. Throwing aside the thick curtains he stared at the dark and empty parking lot below and the dark windows of the fast food restaurants strategically placed around the perimeter of the hotel. There was no movement, no life. Glancing at the bedside clock, Lex grumbled. It was 12:58 am.
Sighing with resignation, Lex was about to retreat to the bed again when a moving vehicle caught his attention. Lex watched and saw a dark sedan pull into the lot of the hotel and the driver exit, crossing the lot to enter a small, dimly lit diner settled next to a darkened Taco John's.
Cherry's Diner was the name on the fluorescent sign and somehow Lex had overlooked it amongst the bright and familiar sights of the brand name fast food restaurants. Better than nothing, Lex though as he grabbed his suit jacket. Leaving the hotel, he wandered across the parking lot to the welcoming lights of Cherry's Diner.
It was a small diner built in the image of old movie-style diners with red vinyl booths and a long counter sporting red, vinyl-covered stools. The distinct smells of grease and fried foods when Lex entered caused his stomach to grumble at the smell. Lex didn't even realize how hungry he was. It had been close to 12 hours since he last ate anything.
The diner was empty except for the man Lex had seen enter, he was seated at the counter on a stool. There were a couple of teenagers cuddling in a booth near the far end of the diner where Lex noticed a few arcade games blinking their inviting screens, tempting those with quarters to spare to try and beat the best scores; faded memories caused Lex to reflect on happier childhood times as he saw one of the games was Pac-Man.
Moving to the side of the diner away from the teenagers and the arcade games, Lex sat in a booth, glancing at the tabletop jukebox. Ten songs for only ¢25, the handwritten sign advertised. Lex perused the song selection as heard Elvis's "Suspicious Minds" start playing from the speakers located overhead.
"This is a surprise," an amused female voice interrupted. Lex torn his eyes from the endless pages of the oldies (but goodies) on the jukebox and found himself face to face with Cassie, the nurse from the hospital.
"Uh, hi…" Lex stumbled as he looked her over. She was wearing a bright pink sweater and a full, pale blue skirt-a poodle skirt- Lex saw becoming slightly amused. Her feet were adorned with black and white saddle shoes and on her sweater was her nametag; "…you work here too?" Lex blurted before he could help himself, immediately feeling his face pink at his obviously rude comment.
Cassie appeared not to mind and just smiled as politely as ever. Lex returned the smile hesitantly, not used to such kindness in the face of his own snobby remarks.
"You should be resting, you know. You are recovering from a concussion," Cassie warned him, her face turning from that of a friendly waitress to that of a concerned nurse.
Lex nodded. "I tried, but I can't sleep. I thought I'd head over here-I can see the place from my hotel room," Lex babbled on, feeling strangely comfortable around this young waitress.
"Well, I guess if you are here I can at least keep an eye on you," Cassie smiled teasingly. "Have you looked over the menu?"
She indicated towards the jukebox and Lex saw menus stuck behind it. He grabbed one and perused its two pages, finding amusement in the names of the dishes served.
"Grill's on so you can order anything off the menu," Cassie smiled and leaned down closer.
Lex's breath caught as her brown eyes flashed, tiny specks of gold floated within their dark depths and Lex was again mesmerized by her.
"You're lucky," she continued as if telling Lex a secret, "Danny-he's the cook-he's a grump and usually won't keep the grill on past midnight. But tonight we were busy."
She straightened and looked at Lex expectantly, her hand poised over her notepad, ready to take his order.
"Uh-hunh, great, I feel lucky," Lex answered dumbly as he lowered his eyes back to the menu. He pondered a moment but finally his cravings for junk food won over.
"I'll just have an order of The Fab Four French Fries, and a chocolate Blue Moon Shake," Lex closed the menu and placed it back behind the jukebox.
"Livin' on the edge I see," Cassie winked, "I'll get this in for you," she walked away.
Lex followed her with his eyes as she walked behind the counter and passed his order over the window to the white-haired old man who had to be Danny, the cook.
Lex was intrigued by her. She was different from any woman he'd shown interest in before and she treated him with no pomp and circumstance, something that hadn't happened since his failed attempt at seducing Lana. The thought of that moment brought fresh pain to Lex's head and he shoved any memory of her back into the deep depths of his brain; locking the embarrassing memories behind walls of defenses. He didn't want to relive those few weeks ever again…
Tearing his gaze from Cassie, Lex let his eyes travel around the walls of the diner. He marveled at the memorabilia and the photographs covering every square inch. Above his own booth between the windows was an autographed picture of Cherry Naya (must be the namesake of the diner, Lex thought) with Little Richard.
"Your chocolate Blue Moon Shake, sir."
Lex turned as Cassie set a chocolate shake in front of him; it was topped with whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry.
"Thank you, Cassie," Lex, now that the shock of seeing her here had worn off, responded normally. He had regained some of his composure and propriety.
"You're welcome, Mr. Luthor," Cassie smiled as she turned to go.
"Call me Lex," he called after her. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. As she walked to the other end of the diner Lex noticed the man at the counter staring at him. Ignoring the man Lex turned to his shake, trying to remember the last time he'd had a milkshake. Since before I moved to Smallville, Lex thought, certain it had been with his mother.
"You Lex Luthor?"
The man who had been at the counter was now standing at Lex's booth staring down at him, both hands in tight fists.
"Yes, I am Lex Luthor. Do I know you?" Lex responded, any happy memories of milkshakes with his mother blown away by the heavy dank breath of the stranger in front of him.
The man moved quickly and sat, uninvited, across from Lex. He kept his hands folded tightly on the tabletop.
"Tell your father that it would be a mistake for him to build his plant here," the man leered at Lex, evidently trying to intimidate with his bulky arms and gravelly voice.
Lex found himself extremely amused. The man was so obviously an amateur, some local businessman's henchman more than likely, and he clearly had no idea what power was behind the Luthor name. Lex's amusement was short lived, however, as his defense of the Luthor name took over.
Lex offered a condescending smile and gently slid the chocolate shake to the side. Leaning forward Lex spoke clearly, concisely, and felt a kind of perverse pleasure as the color drained from the henchman's face.
"You tell whoever sent you here that where Luthorcorp choses to build their next project will not be influenced by a greasy, stinky man with alcohol on his breath and dirt under his fingernails. The power behind Luthorcorp is enough to buy this entire pointless, miniscule town and level it to the ground. Luthorcorp, my father, and myself, do not give in to threats, but we certainly act upon them. You tell that to your boss," Lex smiled as he leaned back and waved the man away as if he were a minor annoyance, a fly buzzing around his head.
The man sat in place for a moment, speechless and obviously unsure of what to do. Lex felt a moments pity for him, but it disappeared almost before it took hold. Slowly the man stood, and moments later he disappeared out the door.
Lex pulled the milkshake he'd ordered back towards him, intent on enjoying it.
"Wow," Cassie spoke from just over Lex's back shoulder causing the younger Luthor to start with surprise. He turned to her and saw her standing there, a plate of French fries in her hand. She was looking at Lex with a new expression, one he didn't particularly like seeing on her pretty face.
"How long have you been standing there?" Lex asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.
"Long enough to hear you threaten Mr. Hughes," Cassie responded as she dropped the plate of fries in front of Lex, the plate landing so hard that several fries bounced off and landed in Lex's lap.
Lex didn't immediately respond as he removed the hot fries from his lap, grease stains already appearing from the short time they were in contact with his pants. Lex tossed the fries to the table, his appetite gone.
"It was business. I don't suppose you heard him threaten my father and I, did you," Lex pushed the plate of fries to the far side of the table. Cassie stared at him, a hardened expression on her face.
"Yeah, I heard, if you can call what he said a threat. I have no stomach for the kind of business you apparently do," Cassie spoke, her voice deflating and she slouched as if defeated. "That kind of business ruined my life," she whispered, staring out the window into the early morning darkness.
Lex stared at her, unsure of what to say. Her face was so sad, her eyes, which had flashed with light and life at him moments earlier, were now dull and traumatized.
The jingle of a bell brought them both back to the present.
"Excuse me," Cassie forced a smile as she moved to the cash register where the teenagers who had been cuddled in the back where waiting to pay.
Lex stared at the plate of fries and the milkshake, now so far melted it was almost liquid. Sighing with disgust Lex didn't wait for Cassie to bring him his check. He dropped a $100 bill on the table and scribbled a note on his napkin.
I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Thank you for your service both here and at the hospital.
Lex Luthor
"Money's on the table," Lex called over the heads of the teenagers as he moved towards the exit.
Cassie's met his gaze as he opened the door and Lex paused. He fought the urge to lose himself again in the open and innocent depths of her eyes. Finally, Lex broke the gaze and left the diner, retreating to his hotel where he laid awake until the first rays of dawn lit the morning sky.