Exit, Stage Anywhere But Here

§§§

Saturday, March 15th

Matthews handed Isis her car coat. "Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss Ross?"

"Don't you go back to calling me by my proper name. Try me again when I'm older and more mature," she grumped good naturedly.

"And when does Miss think that will be?"

Isis turned and gave the butler a quick hug. "Oh, probably when I'm about 90 or something. And Ill be fine, Matthews. I mean, yeah, I'm finally getting my eyes checked by that specialist in Metropolis, but I get to go shopping before the appointment and if that isn't a bonus I don't know what is," she said as he held open the door. "Then I get to have a very dark, very slow dinner with my father who's in town, freak him out with my new eyes -- which by then should be all better from the dilation -- and then I get to come home."

Walking backward a few paces, she asked him, "What could be better?"

Matthews opened her car door and held it for Isis as she climbed in. "Be careful, Miss."

Isis scoffed. "As if anything interesting ever happens to me."

§§§

"Chloe, for the last time I am not into Pete!"

Clark rounded the corner into The Torch offices. "Who's into Pete?"

"Lana," Chloe said, pointing to the aggravated brunette sitting by the storyboard desk.

Clark felt his heart twist. "Really?" he asked, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

"No. Chloe is having delusions of being a matchmaker."

Chloe turned in her chair. "Lana, you all but asked my permission to date him."

"Did not!"

"Yeah, yah you did."

"No I did not!"

"Excuse me, what about that whole 'How do you feel about Pete,' thing a couple of weeks ago?"

"Chloe, it was just a question! I wasn't professing my undying love!"

"Then what were you getting at Lana?"

"Not that!"

Face burning with awkward embarrassment, Clark tried to excuse himself but couldn't be heard over the girls' near-shouting match. Backing up slowly, Clark said, "I think I'll go now," and slipped out of The Torch.

Outside he leaned against the cool wall and let out a long low breath. His head bumped against the yellow brick but it didn't hurt. "Never hurts… Too bad alien emotions aren't as impervious." Sighing, Clark pushed off the wall and left the school building.

§§§

The phone on his desk bleeped three times in quick succession before Mrs. Cauldhaumme came over the intercom. "Your father is holding on One for you. Would you like to be in a meeting, sir?"

Lex repressed a sigh. "No, it's all right, Mrs. Cauldhaumme. I'll take the call."

"Yes, sir."

"Mrs. Cauldhaumme—"

"Yes, Mr. Luthor."

"Please accept Miss Yomataro's invitation to tour Kumitsu Incorporated's labs in Tokyo on my behalf."

"The tour is scheduled for Monday morning, Japan time, sir. You'll have to take a Sunday flight."

"I am aware of that, Mrs. Cauldhaumme."

"Just a reminder, sir. And shall I also book a ticket for Miss Ross?"

"Isis has to be at the school on Monday. She won't be coming."

"Understood, sir." Lex got the impression that Mrs. Cauldhaumme's understanding went deeper than the face value of his words as she announced his father.

She clicked off. Lionel Luthor clicked on: "Lex!"

"Dad…you sound pleased to hear from me," he said, sitting back.

"You're my only child, why shouldn't I be happy to hear from you?"

And while his father's tone wasn't exactly false, Lex let the comment slide anyway. "What can I do for you, Dad?"

"I wanted to know when I could come over…take a tour of LexCorp."

Lex shifted in his seat. "You've seen the factory before. The only thing that's changed is the letter head."

"So I've noticed," his father said with noticeably less cheer. "Still its been quite some time since I've last seen you. When was it, Christmas? That's almost three months."

"We've gone longer," Lex reminded him.

"Son, I thought we were trying to put that ugly time behind us."

"If you say so Dad."

"And with that spirit, how about dinner Sunday night? You can even invite your little girlfriend."

In the privacy of his office, Lex was free to scowl. But he narrowed his eyes and thinned his lips instead. "Although she is staying at the house, Miss Ross is just a friend."

"That's not what the daily rags seem to believe."

"Which is exactly what they are, rags." Leaning back once more, Lex asked, "Since when do you believe everything you read, Dad? I think you were the one that said, 'Only ten percent of anything in print and in the media is true. The rest is lies and speculation.'"

"I'm touched that you remember my words so precisely, Lex."

"You seem to have forgotten it yourself."

Lionel sighed on the other side of the line. "Despite what you may believe, I didn't call to argue with you, Lex …So I'll see you Sunday night?"

"Can't Dad. I'll be in the air, on the way to visit investors in Tokyo."

"Saturday then."

"I'll be busy preparing for the meeting. You know how it is Dad."

"Indeed. Indeed I do. So…I suppose we'll have to reschedule."

"Looks that way."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out. Until next time, Lex."

"Sure Dad."

Lex hung up and sighed.

§§§

Pete watched Clark sink another impossible shot through the rim of the basketball hoop on the side of the Kents' barn. "So its official?" Pete asked.

"Looks that way." Clark bounced the ball to Pete.

"That sucks, man. I'm sorry."

Clark shrugged. "I guess I kinda always knew its just that…"

"The delivery," Pete supplied when Clark faltered.

"Yeah. And the finality of it." He watched Pete take another shot. "It's like you said, about it being official. Before there was hope. Now there's only—"

"Your stomped on heart."

"Pretty much."

"Guess being super doesn't make your emotions super too, huh?"

Clark caught Pete's bounce-pass of the basketball. "That's pretty much the conclusion I came to."

§§§

"How are your eyes, sweetheart?" Malcolm Ross asked his daughter once the host had shown them to their dark corner of the low-lit restaurant.

Isis smiled. Here eyes had already been dilated and examined by the specialist at Metropolis General when her father had come. The doctor had put the wraparound sunglasses on her himself before allowing her to leave his darkened office. Isis touched the glasses tentatively. They were doing more than protecting her sensitive eyes.

"A little better, Daddy."

"Ready to take them off?"

She shook her head gently. "Not yet."

§§§

Chloe knocked on Lana's open door. "Can I come in."

"Sure." Lana kept reading her novel.

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier."

Lana didn't respond.

"I know I stuck my foot in it—"

"Which you do a lot."

"Hey I—"

I know you're just trying to be a friend," Lana said, sitting up, "but sometimes you go diving straight from friendly concern to a reporter doggedly following a lead."

"But that's what I am Lana!" Chloe said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Which is all well and good when your on a story, but not so much when you're supposed to be helping out a friend. Aren't those instincts of your supposed to let you know when to back off?"

Chloe made a face as she admitted that that particular instinct wasn't always at its best.

"No time like the present to work on it."

"So you're not still mad at me."

"Nah. We're fine. Now get out of here," Lana said, making shooing motions. "Antonio was just about to awake Sierra's burgeoning passion."

"You read that?"

"Chloe you lent it to me."

"Oh. Right."

§§§

"…And would you like to review your travel itinerary, sir?" Mrs. Cauldhaumme asked, closing her notebook computer.

"I trust everything is in order, thank you," Lex said, perfunctorily. In his mind he had already moved on.

"My pleasure, sir." Mrs. Cauldhaumme rose and left the office.

Their waiter set their cappuccino and coffee in front of Isis and her father. I'll bring your desserts right out."

Malcolm Ross thanked him as Isis swirled her sugar encrusted stirrer in her drink. True to his word the waiter was back in moments with Isis' raspberry torte and her father's tiramisu.

"You're going to go into a sugar overdose, sweetheart," Malcolm joked. He began preparing his coffee.

"Daddy."

Malcolm frowned. "The waiter brought me milk and not cream for my coffee." He turned, searching for the young man.

"Daddy." Isis slipped off the wraparound sunglasses.

He was still looking. "Just one second, sweetheart."

"Daddy."

"Isis what's…" Their eyes had long adjusted to the low-light gloom of the restaurant. Isis' eyes flashed tsavorite green against the warm cocoa of her skin. "Baby, what happened to your eyes?"

§§§

"Good evening, Miss Isis."

"I'm wearing you down, Michaels."

"How did it go?"

She exhaled sharply through her nose. "He didn't make a scene."

"Well that's good, Miss."

"Yup. Is Lex in his study?"

"Yes, Miss, but he doesn't wish to be disturbed."

"If he really didn't want to be disturbed he would have divorced himself," she said, smiling. "Goodnight, Michaels."

"Goodnight, Miss Isis."

One warning knock on the study door and Isis slipped inside.

"I said I didn't wish to be disturbed," Lex snapped.

"Good thing I wasn't around to hear that particular ultimatum."

Lex looked up from his work. "Isis."

"One and the same." She glided toward the desk.

"How was the optometrist?"

"Fine. He's convinced the pigmentation is temporary, but no word on how long it will last." She perched on the edge of his desk.

"And dinner with your father?"

"Also fine. At least until dessert."

"Dessert?"

"Yes. That was when I finally took off my sunglasses and showed him these," she said gesturing to green eyes.

Lex turned back to his work. "Didn't take it well."

"He demanded that I go home to Gotham with him."

"Are you?"

"Lex, you don't understand. Dad didn't mean 'Pack your things, I've come to take you home.' He was talking about right then, right there. Do no pass Go. Do not kiss your boyfr—" She stopped herself. "Well…you know."

Lex caught her eye. She thought she could see him pulling away as she watched. "Anyway," she went on, "I told Daddy that he was crazy, that I'm a target anywhere I go, blah blah blah. Needless to say, thought, you're no longer on his Christmas list."

A grunt was all the acknowledgment she got.

"Right. So." Isis slid off the desk. "We're still on for dinner tomorrow, right?"

"I'm going to Tokyo tomorrow."

"Tokyo? You're going on that tour?"

"Yes."

"So I won't see you until…"

"Tuesday."

"Tuesday. Right." She stood beside him, waiting. Waiting. "Goodnight, Lex."

"Night."

Lex kept his eyes focused on his twin monitors. It had helped over the past month when not touching Isis had become an ache he could no longer ignore.

§§§

A/N: i know it's been forever and two days since i've updated. and i'm sorry to say that this is a really short chapter for all that you've waited (but you knew that already). i've been working on the follow-up chapter for a third age but between the posting of the previous chapter and now i've been doing that "grown up" thing that seems like fun when you're a kid. ha! anywho, i am working on the new chappie. i will finish this fic. Smallville will likely be long gone by then, but it will be done. so there.