CHAPTER 8

Chloe stepped gingerly out of the shower and reached for a towel. The hot water had cleared her mind and focused her anger. She felt clean and fresh and ready to take action. She was tired of pining in puppy dog-desperation for Clark to suddenly notice or appreciate her. If he didn't need research information or goddamn sex advice, she was completely off the Clark Kent radar. She was simply amazed that it had taken so long to finally come to her senses. A tentative knock on the door and a soft "Chloe?" meant she had company. She wrapped herself tightly in the towel and pressed herself up against the side wall.

"Occupied" her nervous, sing-song voice reached Lex outside the bathroom. He chuckled and stuck his hand awkwardly through the crack in the doorframe.

"I thought you might like some clothing." Chloe grabbed the bundle from his hand and looked the one piece of clothing over.

"This looks a little casual for usual Lex Luthor attire. An old sweatshirt?" She held it up to her body and examined the article in question. "At least it's long. I mean, really, this is all you could pull up?"

"Unless you would like to wear a silk business shirt, I believe this is your only option." He smirked as he heard Chloe grumble in discontent. Lex stared at the space created by the hardly opened door and giving in to his troublesome curiosity, he moved his head in closer to peek through the gap. Before he was able to see anything, the door slammed shut in his face.

"Nice try, Luthor." Chloe responded, her voice unreadable through the heavy wooden door. "You'll have to wait until I'm clothed before you can further enjoy my delightful company."

Lex smiled, but furrowed his brow at the resentment, and slight guilt, of being caught in the act. He walked into his entertainment room to turn on the television, flipping on the 11 o'clock news. As soon as he was seated on the smooth black leather couch, Chloe ambled in casually. Dressed in the worn blue sweatshirt he had handed her, she looked as if she lived there. Lex glanced over her bare legs, his mind drifting dangerously once again toward the unattainable. Chloe noticed the focus of his eyes and sat down on the other side of the large couch, hiding her legs by curling them up beneath her. A few moments passed by without either one of them saying a word. Lex turned back to the television, feigning interest, while Chloe stared at her hands folded politely in her lap. Finally, she spoke.

"Thanks again for this Lex. It's above and beyond, really." She held his gaze when Lex turned his head to face her.

"Chloe, I don't need to remind you exactly how in your debt I am. You sacrificed your safety in order to put my father behind bars, albeit temporarily. All I've sacrificed this evening is a guest room that wasn't being used anyway and an old sweatshirt." Lex looked muted and solemn, making Chloe feel more than a little uncomfortable. She remembered the flash of anger in Lex's eyes after he had found her on the side of the road, and found it still residing in the depths of his face.

"It…it's not fun to be on the wrong side of rejection, is it?" She asked softly, placing a hand lightly on his knee. Lex stared at the intrusion. He grabbed her wrist tightly, still focused intently on the small wrist squirming in his hand. "Lex, that hurts. Cut it out!" She tried to pull her hand forcefully out of his grip.

"You have no idea how I feel, Miss Sullivan." His eyes darkened as he leaned in close to Chloe. "So while it has been a pleasure 'saving you' this evening, maybe you should worry about your own romantic life before you get involved in mine." He released her wrist and stood up abruptly from the couch.

Chloe grabbed her hand back and rubbed the red marks circling her wrist. The helpless anger she had been so relieved to expel was back again in all its glory, building in her center like lava. "Jesus, Lex, what the hell is wrong with you? Do you think I'm going to write an article about this? Think I'll sell you out to your satanic father or something?"

"Friendship hasn't stopped you before." Lex spat coldly. Chloe just looked at him, wide-eyed and wounded. Her weakest moment called out in a below the belt hit.

"I've…I've served my penance for that." Chloe's voice wavered as she held back tears, a feeling that was becoming all too familiar as of late. "That has nothing to do with what's going on here. Me, trying to show a little empathy. You, biting my head off."

"You," he shouted, trailing off as she watched him with a challenging look of expectation on her face. "You," he restarted, but fell silent again. "You're not intimidated by me at all, are you?" he asked quietly.

Chloe figured it was probably best to answer this honestly. "Sometimes I am. For example, I didn't especially like it when you grabbed my wrist." She glared at Lex, pleased to have the upper hand for once. She reveled in the power of it, feeling the compulsion to continue even though she knew she had made her point. "But right now, you're not. You're emotionally hurt, you're fumbling. You're like a little boy who's had a toy taken away. Hardly a force to be reckoned with."

Lex's jaw dropped slightly as Chloe continued her attack full force, slowly, deliberately rising from the couch and smoothly covering the space between them. "You think you're in love with Lana. That she's everything pure and good that can save you from becoming what you think it's your destiny to become. There's no such thing as destiny, Lex." She spoke calmly, bitterly. "It's nothing. Things happen, and there's no higher reason, no higher power to give a shit. Take some responsibility for your own actions."

Lex clenched his jaw, barely restraining his fury. "You're certainly a well of knowledge, aren't you, a little girl whose friends have left her all alone. A little girl whose daddy is dying as we speak. Sounds more like the rants of an angry schoolgirl than the jaded wisdom of an intelligent woman."

Chloe felt tears streaming down her cheeks. She refused to cave. She refused to lose. "And you, Lex. You know all about death. If your mother could see what you've become…she'd be glad she died."

They froze, facing each other, faces flushed and fists clenched. Both aware they had crossed a line. Both aware there was no going back, pretending the last few minutes hadn't happened. Lex, grabbed the back of Chloe's head and pulled her in for a bruising kiss, quieting her and hurting her in the only way he knew how.

Pulling his mouth away from hers but staying as close as possible, he spoke directly onto her lips. "So what am I foolish enough to believe it's my destiny to become."

Chloe's tears continue to fall onto her cheeks as she said what she knew he expected.

"Your father."

Lex paused for a moment, his head giving a quick nod before violently reclaiming her mouth with his own.