I apologize for straying away from this story. After being busy for so long, I thought continuing the story would be fruitless… I was satisfied with knowing myself how it would transpire. It was selfish of me especially after receiving some reviews asking me to continue. It was enough motivation to reopen this story. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Collide
5th Collision: Decadence in Water
Lana quietly crept to the bathroom and allowed the nausea within find its destination in the toilet. God, she felt ten times better. Only the thought of Lex, asleep on her sofa, shook her relief slightly. She quickly brushed her teeth and slowly made her way to her visitor who remained in his subconscious state.
"Lex," Lana whispered near his ear. "Lex… um, I think you should wa-"
"God! Lana," startled and surprised he sat up. "Geez, Lana this is not the time, nor the place to take advantage of me. What would the butler say?"
She sneered with a smirk, grabbing the pillow nearby and slapping his face with it. "Very funny, Lex."
"Well, serves you right for waking me up with that lovely song of puke." He smiled at her as she giggled, catching her mortified gaze for what seemed like eternity. Lana couldn't help but enjoy his humor and the softness in his eyes… but back to the matter at hand.
"Um," she cleared her throat. "So Lex… not that I mind you being here, but what ARE you doing here? And more importantly, what happened last night?"
Lex sighed, thinking to himself how exactly he could explain the events of yesterday. He felt guilty. He should have never opened the invitation to her; Club Zero was sometimes full of menacing figures and he hadn't even thought of taking better precautions for Lana who was totally new to the scene.
"Look Lana… I'm real sorry I let you down," he began. "Last night was a mistake. I should've never taken you there."
"Lex, just tell me what happened."
"You were drugged. Someone dropped a substance, much like a roofie, in your drink. Before you were completely knocked out, I found you and took you to a room where you were taken care of. Meanwhile, Clark tried to find out who committed foul play, but without much luck. He's still looking into it." Lex looked away, suddenly remembering the kiss, he hid his grin. He wouldn't mention it to her; it was enough that she had to take in the whole night's catastrophe. "So that brings us here. I brought you home and told your butler you had too much to drink. Sorry."
Lana's mouth fell ajar. "Who would want to drug me? I mean, I didn't see anyone I knew at the club. What the hell is going on? What kind of people would want to do that? And what am I gonna tell Albert? He's probably so disappointed in me."
"Lana calm down. Relax. I have some people on top of this," Lex reassured. "We'll figure out who did this to you. And… and Albert… who's Albert?"
"The butler."
"I'm sure he'll understand teenage angst."
--
He didn't. After Lex left, Lana had to bear an earful from Albert. He lectured her for about an hour and later sent her to her room with homework. She had to write a paper on the evils of alcohol. How could she argue? He was like a grandfather to her, not to mention he threatened to tell Aunt Nell if she didn't write it. After all, he was right. She was underage and shouldn't have even been allowed in Club Zero.
The only good that came out of the disastrous evening was realizing that she had finally found true friends. Lex and Clark had been there for her.
Lex and Clark.
Clark and Lex.
Hmmm… the pool of feelings was getting just a tad murky.
--
As soon as he saw Lana walk through Excelsior doors, Clark rushed to her side. "Morning Lana," he smiled nervously. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," she replied, noticing more than concern in his eyes. "What's wrong, Clark?"
He looked around suspiciously and took her by the arm to a nearby, empty classroom. "Julie. She did it. She was the one who drugged you." Clark had figured it out in his own way, of course. Leaving out a few of his superhuman investigative measures, he confirmed the accusation, leaving Lana a bit asunder. "I'd suggest we go to the authorities but Julie's family is well-connected with some very high officials in Metropolis. Even if Lex gets involved, things would just get dragged out and go nowhere."
Lana remained pensive, feeling her anger merge with her life's frustrations. She had had enough. "Clark… I'll handle it." She turned to the door and walked briskly outside.
Her friend followed suit, calling for her, "Lana, Lana… what are you going to do?"
She barely heard Clark's questioning; all that mattered right at that moment was finding Julie. Pushing the oak-heavy doors, her eyes zoomed into her target who sat by the school fountain. There she was, blonde and annoyingly happy, gossiping with her carrot-head twit of a friend.
"Hey Julie," she spit with fury as she closed the space between them.
"Well, look what the drunken-"
"I don't remember asking you to speak," Lana cut off the suddenly startled blonde. "Whatever your problem is with me, I could careless. You lost your chance to a civil resolution when you dropped the pill. You wanted a fight, well, now you got war. And trust me when I tell you that you've just made the biggest mistake of your pathetic life."
A crowd had surfaced around the girls, and Julie couldn't help but feel suffocated by their stares. Words, whatever retort possible couldn't materialize in her mind, little less a vocal response. She couldn't remember ever being confronted in public or for that matter ever being confronted period.
Lana, on the other hand, accepted the audience. She would use them to her advantage. "Now, everyone knows how petty you are, how you lowered yourself to drugging someone because you desperately wanted to get laid. Had to get me out of the way, right? Well, you did, the night was yours… and you still got nothing." Giggles, hisses, and "ooohs" sounded from the crowd of students.
"You must be sweating with frustration, Julie," Lana simpered with a gleam in her eyes, approaching her rival fearlessly. "Why don't you cool off?" And just like that, a small push involved, Julie went stumbling into the fountain.
Lex had watched the whole debacle and once the student body laughed and cheered, he knew it was time to give Lana some breathing room. He rushed to her side, "Lana, let's get out of here before Dean Reynolds finds out what's going on."
Lana felt vindicated. God, it felt good to finally let go and let it all out. She was relishing the moment so much that she didn't even pay attention to Lex or notice she was moving along his side through the crowd. The reality only came crashing down when Dean Reynolds suddenly stood in front of her.
"Earth to Miss Lang," he called for the third time in the midst of a dissolving crowd.
Lana's eyes widened, "Um, Dean Reynolds… there's a perfectly good reason-"
"I'm sure… now if you'll just follow me to my office while Mr. Luthor goes to class, we can talk about your actions this morning."
The victorious brunette nodded in silence and began walking behind the higher authority, only to inconspicuously turn her head slightly and smile proudly at Lex, mouthing inaudibly, "See you later."
--
Lex knew when and where "later" would be; he couldn't help but chortle as she walked into the Eatery with mop and broom in hand, rubber-gloved hand that is. "I'm guessing, Dean Reynolds, didn't see the 'good' in pushing Julie into the fountain."
"Oh he did. But, because my 'crime' was on school grounds, disciplinary consequences were inevitable." She placed the broom and mop down, sitting herself beside Lex. "One week of clean-up isn't even the end of it."
Lex's curiosity perked; he placed his fingers on chin, sarcastically admonishing, "Oh it isn't? Dear Miss Lang, whatever did you get yourself into?"
"Well, Mr. Luthor," Lana returned with equal mockery. "I have been sentenced to the Excelsior magazine club where I am not only to write, but proofread everyone's article. As Dean Reynolds put it, 'Perhaps this is the more appropriate outlet for your anger.'"
He laughed in response, finding Lana's predicament all too familiar. "Look at it this way, you'll be spending more time with your favorite Excelsior brat… and all thanks to Ms. Kingsley who didn't appreciate my humor this morning."
Lana softly chuckled; she was actually pretty glad that he would be joining her at the Eatery. His company always seemed to bring her some peace of mind. Even in the midst of madness he was always able to conjure up harmony. He made her talk, he made her laugh. She was away from the silence and depressing thoughts in her head. There was definitely more than met the eye when it came to the son of the shrewd Lionel Luthor. But just as she was hiding something, Lex also shielded truth. There was darkness to him that left her with curiosity and unease, the kind of unease that forced her to put distance between them.
As she looked at him now, while he joked about Julie's splash into the fountain, Lana realized why she felt so safe with Clark… there was no darkness in Clark. It was enough reason to leave behind any confusion and allow her relationship with the quarterback to flourish into something more.
At least that's what she told herself…
--
Friday came along quick. Lana had felt that the days had swirled around quickly thanks to the magazine's deadlines and the amusing afternoons at the Eatery. She was tired but even still felt full of adrenaline and most of all because her column, written just in time for the magazine's distribution, had made its debut… and it had garnered quite the response. She had dropped the bomb on Excelsior's snooty student body, and many of the unpopular and everyday victims of jocks and brats had congratulated her while Excelsior's royalty just sneered at her presence.
She could careless what snobs thought. Lana was happy and even happier to see Lex at the Eatery though a part of her was sad they wouldn't have these afternoons anymore after today. She found herself staring at him as he tried to converse with Mrs. P who could barely keep her eyes opened. He looked cute, almost adorable. It was another side of him that she enjoyed watching… though she had to admit that dark side she somewhat feared, she was now beginning to see its more appealing factor.
Lana walked over in time to hear what Lex was talking about, "So what do you say, Mrs. P? We all go home and call it a day?"
Mrs. P slightly opened one eye and called onto him with a nod. Lex neared his ear to her as she strained her neck and then whispered something inaudible. Lana didn't catch any of it, but Lex had and he simply had nodded as Mrs. P collapsed onto her chair.
He suddenly turned to his fellow troublemaker with a smirk, "C'mon let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her lightly. "Onward now, Miss Lang."
Laughing, she walked quickly alongside heading towards the school's parking lot. "What did Mrs. P say to you just now?"
"She said you should get in my car and restrain yourself from asking questions until we get to our destination." He opened the passenger door to his black Porsche and waited for her to decide, hoping she'd get in without refusal.
"She did not say that," Lana said as she got in and sat down. Lex smiled and rushed to the driver's side, starting the car immediately. "C'mon, Lex, tell me what she said."
As he pulled out, leaving behind Excelsior, he simply replied, "Ask me again the next time you get into trouble. But you have to promise me that when you do get into trouble, it has to be well worth it."
She curiously looked at him, wondering why he would make such a request. Rather than asking him, she just promised.
After an hour's long ride with witty exchanges, they had finally arrived. "Welcome to my humble abode."
Lana huffed, "Yeah it's really a humble castle." She stepped out of the car and looked in amazement at the beautiful structure standing before her. "Not that I mind feeling like a queen for a day, but what are we doing here?"
"Well, I just thought we might celebrate your triumphant week," he exalted, taking her hand and leading her inside the Luthor castle. "Not only did you humiliate Excelsior's wicked bitch, but you also managed to expose the decadence and evils of the rich. A woman's fury hasn't caused this much damage since Medea. Now before you match her fate…"
Lex opened a door and led her into a dark room, "Give me a second." An instant later, she stood in front of an Olympic size pool, dimly lit in Luthor fashion. Situated in the far corner was an expensive oak table sustaining a bottle of wine, alongside there were two cups.
Lana was surprised, to say the least. She wasn't expecting anything like this. Now that she thought about it, why hadn't she thought twice about getting into Lex's car? Did this mean Lex was interested in being more than just friends? She hadn't even answered that question yet. "Ummm-"
"Lana, before you say anything," Lex interrupted. "I don't want you to think there's more to this than what it actually is… which is merely an act of friendship. I've noticed… I've noticed the stress, your fear, your constant drive. I see you and see a friend who just needs a respite."
She couldn't help but smile. It was a very kind gesture. Lana decided she wouldn't second guess this, any of it. She would simply accept his "act of friendship." She wanted to anyway… she needed it. After all, she had gotten this far without even thinking twice… why start now? "Well then, where are your trunks, Mr. Luthor?"
Lex smirked and handed her an oversized black t-shirt. "Sorry, the one detail I left behind."
Ten minutes later they were swimming and playing in the water while reminiscing old adventures that had occurred in the Eatery. Lex found himself having more fun than he ever imagined. It had been so many years since he actually felt this happy. He couldn't even believe he was using the word "happy." And it was all because of her.
"Would Miss Lang like a glass of wine?" He pulled himself out of the pool and poured each of them a glass. He handed one to her and sat next to her on the ledge of the pool.
"If Albert saw me now, he would have me arrested," Lana took a sip of her drink.
"And yet, the underage lady by my side just gorged her wine," he teased.
Lana feigned insult and tried to nudge Lex into the water, but instead missed and fell face first into the pool. Her friend couldn't help but snort with laughter. But he stopped short when he realized she still remained facing down. "Lana! Lana!" His heart palpitated faster; fearing the worse, he jumped into the pool and grabbed her. He lifted her above surface, holding her against him as he grabbed her face gently, "Lana, Lana are you okay?"
She slowly opened her eyes, mumbling, "Lex."
"Lana…"
Her eyes weakly looked at him, "Lex," her voice shivered. "You so fell for it." She instantly gleamed and giggled at his shocked face.
He really didn't think she had it in her. Lex shook his head, smiling at how much fun she was having at his expense. He brought her closer to him, "Alright prankster, I think too much of me has rubbed off on you."
Lana tapered her laughter, suddenly realizing the lack of distance between them. She faced him, allowing her eyes to gaze into his. She wrapped her thin arm around his neck while still looking at him intently. "Who says that's a bad thing?"
The question sounded so sultry; it made it harder to breathe. Lex remained silent; his thoughts ran rampant, pondering what his next move should be. He had already risked it by holding her so tightly against him. He didn't want to make a mistake.
Nor did she. But it felt so right. Lana liked how his arms embraced her. She wasn't going to think twice about it. Besides she had already said she wouldn't.
Closer and closer her lips inched towards Lex. He could feel her breath, mingled with wine and mint. Lex closed his eyes and waited…
To be continued…