Chp 7: We all have our little psychoses!
TheDay of the Accident
Lex Luthor sat at his study, a feeling of cheerful expectation and guilt overtaking him at the same time. On the one hand, he was ecstatic that he had finally succeeded in taking out the man who had deceived him, backstabbed him, made it a point to screw him over. Did he? Clark was my best friend, my only friend. Maybe his secrets were too much for me to handle, like he said. . .that's why he always kept me at arms length. . .No, he and his family never accepted me, and friends are ALWAYS truthful with each other. He softened me, made me believe that he actually enjoyed my company, that we were best friends. I told him things about myself that I've never told ANYBODY, but Clark. . . CLARK couldn't trust me enough to return the favor. He thought so little of me. . .that I was the bratty little rich kid next door, that I'd rat him out, that I'd use whatever he was hiding against him. The phone rang. Goddamn that phone!
He answered the call. "WHAAAT!" Lex shouted into the receiver. The man on the other end was not startled; he was used to agitated employers. But the news he was about to deliver made him worry about Lex's volatile state.
"Yeah boss, I got up the skyscraper just like you said. I was gonna take 'em both out, I really was, boss!" the hit man said in a deep baritone, a thick southern accent making the words slide off his lips like molasses, and making Lex all the more impatient.
"Well, then?" Lex responded, his face flushing a deep red.
"I went to take out the gal he was with first, I had a clear shot and ev'rything, but next thing I knew, the guy was runnin' off with 'er! Boss, he was faster than anythin' I've ever seen before! Ran off like a goddamn bullet, he did! I ain't never seen nuthin' like it, sir."
Lex rubbed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "So they're still out there?"
"I s'pose so, Boss."
"You have a family, Mister. . .?"
"Johnson, sir"
"Mr. Johnson, do you have a family?"
"Yessir, back home in Oklahoma. 3 girls and a boy on the way."
"Not for long," Lex said with a grunt, hanging up the receiver.
He paced the halls of his mansion, desperately thinking of a plan-B to take out the elusive Clark Kent. But for now, he needed to destroy any hint of a "motive" that could be used against him, incase that bastard Johnson decided to squeal on him before he could permanently get rid of him. He knew exactly what he had to do. He had to act as though nothing had ever changed between he and Clark. He decided to make pay a visit to his old friend.
A WEEK LATER
A week had passed since the shooting at LuthorCorp Tower. Chloe was recovering fast, and in relatively good spirits, considering the throbbing bullet wound in her abdomen. Frequent visits from her friends and family kept her occupied during the hours she was not sedated into a deep slumber. The Kents would always drop by after the farmwork was done and all chores taken care of. Lana was doing another internship in France, but had sent her a card with her best wishes.
But even though her senses were considerably numbed by the hours of bed rest and regular doses of painkiller, Chloe found herself laughing inside during the nighttime vigil that were being kept by Lois and Clark at the present time. This was because, even in her sleepy state, she could see them holding hands as they sat side by side. After a few minutes, they jerked away from each other and, with looks of disgust, resumed their habit of exchanging snarky comments. They are SO in denial, Chloe thought, as Lois made a comment about Clark's sweaty palms.
Chloe soon grew bored of her feigned slumber, and decided to interrupt the silence by announcing her return from her sedative-induced world of pink elephants and men in tights.
"Good evening, lovebirds!" She piped up.
A look of embarrassment flashed across Lois' face, but was quickly replaced with one of composure. Clark maintained the "big dumb alien" visage that signaled a guilty conscience. Both of them chose to ignore this greeting and attempted to change the subject.
"Feel better, Chloe?" Clark asked
"A bit caffeine deprived, go get me a latte," Chloe ordered.
"Are you sure you can have that, Chloe, I mean-"
"What are you, Super-Healthcare professional-man? That's an order, Clarky boy" Chloe snapped." Without another word, Clark stepped out of the room. "You, Miss Lane, have another task at hand!"
"Your wish is my command, 'Chloe the Most High,'" Lois said, smiling through gritted teeth.
"God, I could get used to this." She said with a smile, that clearly hid an ulterior motive. "OK, Lo, I'm gonna be straight with you. Just because I am in a drug induced stupor doesn't mean I'm blind, so admit it. You have got the hots for Kansas' most eligible farm boy!"
Lois blushed. "Of course not."
"Admit it."
"NO!"
"I'll give you a cookie!"
"Shut up."
"Say it"
"No. . ."
"Say it"
"I LIKE CLARK!"
The room was silent. Suddenly, Lois continued. "I really like Clark. 'Like him' like him." I don't know how it happened, I was just going about my daily business, when BAM, it hits me like an anvil that I'm falling for that stupid, arrogant, Kansas hick farm boy! I tried to stop thinking about him, I really did! It's just that he makes me so. . .confused! I mean, my GOD Chloe! Nobody, and you've known me as far back as you can probably remember, has EVER managed to reduce me to such a nervous wreck! I'm a LANE! We're supposed to be cool, calm, and collected, not to mention ready to kick some serious ass at ALL times, but when I'm around Clark lately, I feel like all my defenses are down. . .like I can't say anything or that I'll trip up, and, quite frankly, the way he does this to me. . .It's really hot."
Lois turned beet red. She had just layed all her cards out on the table, and felt completely naked in front of her ever-vigilant cousin. She quickly tried to cover her tactical mistake. "It's just a phase, Chloe," she said quickly. "No biggie. I'm taking absolutely no stock in this whatsoever. Consider Clark just the annoying dude I'm forced to reside with. Nothing more."
Chloe cocked her eyebrow and wore a look on of disbelief and humor on her face, seeing the ineffectiveness of Lois' pathetic cover-up. "Lois, I'm gonna be completely straight with you, because I'm your cousin and I love you. But I think that you are a complete idiot."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. I know you better than you know yourself. You love Clark, but you're gonna sit back and ignore your feelings, because you're scared." Chloe said in a reprimanding tone. Lois simply stared as Chloe continued. "You're afraid of getting hurt by Clark. You care for him so much that you're scared of opening your heart up, making yourself vulnerable, because you don't wanna get your heart ripped to pieces. But I'm gonna give you a piece of advice from someone who has made their fare share of relationship mistakes, several of them with our own resident Boy Scout. Never let your feelings go unheard, because if you do, you may just be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. So tell him. Tell him everything. Because, even if he rejects you, you will know that you did everything you could to make this relationship happen, and won't have any regrets about it."
Lois stared down into her lap, knowing full well that everything Chloe said was spot-on. She finally responded, "Hey, Chloe, think you could've gone a bit easier on the Freud act? You sound like a psychologist."
"Zat eez zee point, my leetle nut job!" Chloe laughed, with a poorly imitated accent. "I possess the right to spew out a little advice now and then, considering that I'm the mature one in this relationship."
"I'm a year and a half older than you!"
"Who said anything about age?"
"Point taken. But seriously, Chloe, I don't know if I'm ready to spill out my feelings just yet. Maybe I should just wait for the right time." Lois states.
"Don't take too long, Lois. Because you never know when it'll be too late.
