Disclaimer: I own nothing.
AN: Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate knowing what you guys thought of this story thus far. So yeah, more of the devoted Chloe, a beating and an agreement...that sums up this chapter...on with the story...
Divided Devotions
Chapter 4
Clark was stealing occasional glances at the bleachers, making sure that his personal cheerleader was still there.
Once again Chloe was wearing her 'cheerleading' uniform. She asked if he received the fruit basket she sent him the day before and he mumbled a yes before racing to the field.
Coach Teague just told them to them to grab a drink before they started the scrimmage. Clark jogged towards the drinks table and saw none other than Lana Lang, looking beautiful in her black ensemble.
"Lana? What are you doing here?" Clark asked her as he took off his football helmet. He cast a sideways glance at Chloe, who was sitting idly on one of the bleachers, she had her cellphone out. Clark breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was Chloe marching up to him and Lana, causing a scene. She already reacted badly to Lois' presence the day before.
Lana gave him a weak smile, "I-I heard that Clark Kent was our new starting quarterback, and I had to see it for myself."
Clark tried to keep the confused look from his face. Lana hasn't exactly expressed any interest in him for the last few days; her words did not exactly ring true. "That means a lot I guess."
"Um yeah." she looked completely awkward. Her eyes kept darting behind him.
Clark grabbed a cup of the drink and smiled at her weakly. Still foremost in his mind was not giving Chloe any reason to come stomping over and screaming at Lana for talking to him.
"Hey Kent are you going to join us or what?" Coach Teague barked loudly from the field.
Clark felt himself redden. "I better go." he told her just as he took a drink from the cup. The pain that he felt was instantaneous. He forced himself to walk back to the field. His breathing became erratic and he could actually feel his knees buckle.
"Kent what's wrong with you?" Jason Teague glared at him.
"I'm not feeling very good, Coach. I think I better leave." Clark felt like someone was torturing the words out of him.
"You're gonna walk away because you don't feel well. You know, maybe I was wrong about you, Kent." Jason shook his head in disapproval as he started for the sidelines.
"Coach I-"
Jason turned around and faced him, "You know your team's waiting for you out there. Are you a leader or not?"
It took a great deal of effort in Clark's part to nod and submit himself to playing.
He called a break to their huddle. The play just began and he ran backwards, scanning for someone to throw the ball to. Before he could even raise his arm three guys tackled him viciously. And he felt completely jarred by the contact; he ended up lying on his back, unable to find the strength to get up.
"How's it taste?" his teammate looked at him snidely.
Clark blinked at the question. From a distance he could hear Chloe screaming at him to get up and shake it off. It took a supreme effort to do as she said. He glanced at the bleachers and saw her waving her sign enthusiastically. Coach Teague on the other hand had a self-satisfied smile on his face.
"Go Clark!! Let's hear it from our number one quarterback!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
Clark steeled himself for the next play. "Blue 37! Hike." he felt the ball in his hands but before he could even straighten up another player tackled him from behind. He landed flat on his face. And before he could even try to get up two other players threw himself at him.
"Clark!" he could hear the frantic note in Chloe's voice.
Clark was determined to grin and bear whatever the guys were trying to throw at him. He got to his feet after a few stumbles. He had an idea that they were trying to break him and they were doing it under the orders of Coach Teague. But he resigned himself to the torture; maybe if he hadn't been weakened by…it was the drink. There must have been some meteor rocks in the drink. He hit the side of his helmet in an attempt to clear his head.
He once again braced himself for another round of pain when he saw the rest of his teammates gawking openly at something. Clark blinked once or twice and looked at the direction that so enraptured the rest of the football team.
Obviously the display of testosterone did not please his personal cheerleader. Chloe somehow marched over to where Coach Teague was standing and was giving the older man an earful.
"Is that the way that you treat your quarterback? If it is then you are one lousy coach! Maybe you missed a few classes in football school. Because in some football teams they actually treat the quarterback like some kind of royalty. Or maybe you just don't have enough brain cells to fully comprehend the point of this game." she crossed her arms across her chest and gave him a measured look. "Clark plays an important role you dumb idiot! If it weren't for him your team would suck big time! Oh wait a minute it already does. Your only saving grace would be Clark Kent! And now you're just standing there as he gets his ass kicked!"
Jason simply looked at her and raised a brow at her tirade.
"You think you can get away with ignoring me?" she dropped her hands to her side and started poking his chest. "Maybe I should have a talk with our beloved principal; you know the one who's been craving the state championship for like, forever."
"Look, what's your name again? Never mind. This is football. I," he grabbed her hand that was poking him, "am the football coach. What I say goes? End of story."
Chloe wrenched her hand from his grasp. "No not end of story you stupid fool! I can have you fired from this job I'll have you know."
Jason smiled at her indulgently and made a shooing motion with his hand, "I find that hard to believe. Run along little girl." he turned his attention back on the field.
Clark would intervene if it weren't for the fact that he was still completely weak from his exertions. He heard his teammates guffaw as Chloe kicked Jason on the shin. Jason looked positively livid and seemed likely to do something unpredictable.
Clark was set to superspeed his way to where they were when he saw a man in a suit step in. The man grabbed a hold of Jason's hand which he was about to use to slap Chloe.
Chloe for the most part seemed completely oblivious to the danger of kicking someone who was bigger than her. The man whispered something to her ear and she just shook her head defiantly. The man backed off and took out a cellphone. If his powers were functioning properly he would have been able to eavesdrop on the phone call.
"What are you gawking at?" Coach Teague barked from the sidelines, "Get back to practice." he hollered at them.
"Go Clark!" Chloe shouted from where she was, still standing right next to Jason.
Clark winced inwardly. Chloe's heart may have been in the right place but he knew for a fact that it would only drive the rest of the team to come down harder on him. He prepared himself for the worst.
A couple of minutes have passed and he was still standing. Somehow it was like everyone backed off. Chloe was still waving her sign enthusiastically while Coach Teague had a scowl on his face.
"He did what!" Lex practically bellowed through the phone.
His morning had been uneventful. He opted to stay at the manor and manage his corporation from there. So far not one call from the plant, which was a welcome relief. He managed to muddle through the paperwork that had piled up.
And so it was turning out to be quite an uneventful day. He had a quiet lunch after which he went back to work. Signed a bunch of paperwork, made a number of calls to his business partners, secured deals from all over the world. All in all Lex was quite satisfied.
Until the security detail that had been tailing Chloe called to inform him that there was a scene at the high school that may interest him. So he was reduced to being a shouting maniac. What he heard did not just interest him; it flat out made him furious.
Someone dared to raise a hand to Chloe. As Lex listened to the details he couldn't help but became more agitated.
The night before Chloe once again proclaimed her devotion to him. And he did not fight any of her advances. If anything he welcomed it. He was trying to figure out if there was a line she would not cross, even if she was devoted to him.
Before anything could go beyond kissing her damn cellphone went off again. She scampered away, telling him that she would feed him the fruits at another time. He was about to ask if she was heading to Clark but she was gone before he could even blurt out the question. And so he was forced to endure another night filled with such vivid images of the blonde one. With no relief in sight. And she said she was trying to lessen his stress. All she was really doing was contributing to it.
Now he had to hear that the football coach almost slapped her. Apparently she did not like the fact that Clark was getting his ass kicked on the field. So she kicked the coach instead. Normally he would admire her moxie but the thought that someone dared to raise a hand on her. Well it was pushing him to the edge.
'Now I'll have to use my influence to get the bastard fired.' he thought to himself as his minion kept talking. "Make sure that Ms. Sullivan remains safe. Do you understand? If anyone even looks at her the wrong way…" he trailed off, assuming that his employee got the point.
"Yes sir Mr. Luthor." the short and succinct answer he was looking for.
He put the phone back on its cradle and got up from his chair. He headed for the bar, fully intent on getting a drink. And he actually thought that he was going to have an uneventful day.
Lex looked at his watch. It was five in the afternoon. Enrique informed him that Chloe typically made an appearance at six. He would just have to wait until she came. And as much as he would like to deny it, he couldn't help but wonder what she had in store for him.
He walked back to his chair and put his feet up on the desk, much like the position that Chloe was in, on the first night that she showed her 'devotion' to him.
The clock ticked by, so slowly. At least from his point of view it was slow. Soon it was six. He couldn't help the burst of expectation as the clock struck twelve. A minute passed and then another. No sign of Chloe.
He got up from his position and walked out of his office.
Lex debated the wisdom of waiting for her. Maybe he should head to the Talon, enjoy a cup of coffee. And if he happened to run into her, well all the better. After all he needed to observe any other symptoms of her…whatever it was that's making her act so oddly.
He went back to his office intent on getting his car keys. Just as he was about to leave his phone rang. He picked it up without so much as looking at the caller id. It was a bad decision picking up that phone. He ended up having a two hour long phone conference with his business associate in Japan.
When he finally hung up he couldn't help but feel a little worried. Through the course of his conversation, he half-expected Chloe to come barging in. Only she didn't. And he could admit that he was severely disappointed.
He picked up the phone, and then placed it back on the receiver. 'This is ridiculous!' he thought to himself. He picked up the phone again, after all he was just checking up on her. It wasn't like he missed her or anything. He just wanted to know where she was and that she was safe.
"Update now." he practically barked at the person who picked up.
"Ms. Sullivan stayed at the football practice until the coach called it a day. She's at home right now sir." his underling informed his with such professionalism, despite his greeting.
"Good. Keep me informed." he hung up before the man could muster a reply.
Lex pinched the bridge of his nose. A part of him was screaming for the immediate cessation of his involvement in the Chloe-situation. But another part was really concerned with what was going on with her. And he was still curious as to what role Clark had in everything. Was Chloe actually playing the both of them? He frowned at the thought.
He picked up his keys and headed for the door. Maybe it was high time to have a friendly conversation with Clark about his favorite reporter.
Clark felt immediate relief as the ice pack rested against his ribs. He never knew what human pain felt like. Until now. After Chloe's confrontation with Coach Teague ended, the guys stopped trying to kill him. He was a little peeved that it took a five foot four blonde to make them stop. Not that he didn't appreciate her 'help', after all she managed to keep him from being kicked around, especially in his weakened state.
He heard someone enter the barn. He felt his heart skip a beat. "Chloe? Is that you?" he tried to get up from the couch. It took him two tries before his finally succeeded.
Instead of Chloe he found himself looking down at Coach Teague. His football coach was wearing a black jacket with a hood that hid his features.
"Hey Coach Teague." he greeted the other man quietly, still unsure why he was there.
"Clark we need to talk." Jason said as he marched up the stairs.
Clark placed the ice pack on the table and met him halfway. "About what?"
"You should've stayed away from my girlfriend." Jason looked at him menacingly.
Clark's brows furrowed at his remark. "What are you talking about?"
Before Clark could react Jason punched him right in the stomach. Clark doubled over at the contact. Still in his weakened condition, he felt the pain reverberate through his entire body. Jason then allowed his elbow to land hard on Clark's back, sending the younger man to his knees. Jason let his knee come in contact with Clark's nose.
Clark brought a hand to his nose and was actually surprised that he was bleeding. Jason then kicked him right in the gut, sending him tumbling down the stairs. He ended up beside the haystacks, whimpering in pain.
Jason stalked towards him threateningly and grabbed him by his shirt collar. He delivered three successive punches to Clark's face. He was about to land another one when someone hit the back of his head. He dropped Clark to his knees and faced his attacker.
Lex delivered a punch to Jason's face just before pushing him with such force that sent Jason flat on his back, hitting his head on the concrete. Lex then focused his attention on Clark, who was still laying stock still on the ground.
"Clark?" he could not mask his concern for the farm boy. Clark looked completely helpless.
Clark blinked twice, "Lex?"
He felt relieved when Clark managed to recognize him. He finally spared a glance at Clark's attacker and found the man gone. He turned back to Clark, "Are you okay? Who was that?"
Clark just looked at him blankly. Lex figured it was not the time to ask questions. He helped Clark to his feet and led him up the stairs.
"Are you sure you don't want me to call the police?" Lex asked for the second time as he helped Clark settle down on the couch. Clark finally became lucid.
"Yeah, it's not like either of us got a good look at him." Clark replied distractedly, holding a tissue to his nose.
Lex turned his back on Clark as he looked around for a first aid kit.
Clark touched his nose again and saw a green liquid drop to the floor. A second ago his nose felt like it was broken. Now it felt like there was nothing wrong with it. He opened his shirt and checked his bruises from the practice. He was back on tip top shape. He hastily buttoned up his shirt again when Lex faced him.
"That's odd." Lex gave him a curious look. "I could have sworn that you had a cut above your eye."
"Actually I'm feeling a whole lot better." Clark pretended to keep the tissue on his nose.
"Yeah well, I still think you should have a doctor take a look at you." Lex was still looking at him curiously.
"I guess I was lucky you were here." Clark replied as he got up from the couch and walked over to the table. He threw the tissue into the trash and faced Lex fully. "Why are you here by the way?" he folded his arms across his chest and gave Lex a measured look.
Lex raised a brow at his question. It was a valid question. He bet that Clark had no idea that he was there to discuss Chloe. He shrugged indifferently.
Clark just kept staring at him.
"I'm here to discuss Chloe." he finally said the point of his visit.
Clark stiffened the moment he said her name. He could feel a blush coming on. It was becoming quite a nuisance, his tendency to blush whenever he thought about Chloe, was in close proximity to Chloe. He wasn't supposed to react this way. Not when it was his best friend they were talking about. "What about Chloe?" he mustered enough strength to say her name without stuttering.
Lex observed Clark's reaction. The farm boy was blushing. It was definitely a bad sign in his book. "Has she been acting differently lately?" he figured keeping his questions as vague as possible would be better. For him.
Clark's brow furrowed at his question. "Differently?" he echoed the term that Lex used. If by different he meant that his best friend was coming on to him so strong, then yes she has been behaving differently. And all while wearing clothes that were completely un-Chloe like.
Lex just nodded as Clark answered his question with a question.
Clark shrugged in return. He was not about to tell Lex what Chloe had been doing for the last three days. He frowned slightly, "Why are you so interested anyway?" he shot Lex a critical look.
It was Lex' turn to shrug.
The two of them just stood there.
"So you're not going to tell me why you're here?" Clark asked him impatiently.
"I told you, I'm here to discuss Chloe." Lex returned snidely. He wasn't getting anywhere. He hoped that Clark's concern over Chloe would overwhelm the distrust he felt for him.
"And I asked you why you're so interested in her?" Clark returned just as snidely.
Lex let out a long-suffering sigh. "I am concerned for her well-being."
"Why are you so concerned? It's not like you two are friends or anything." his frown deepened at the thought.
'Well Clark if you must know three days ago Chloe was in my house, dressed only in a pair of edible lingerie. And yesterday she prepared a special picnic for me and I proceeded to maul her, only her cell interrupted us before I actually got anywhere.' Lex could only imagine how that would go over with his innocent friend. "I spent the entire summer with her Clark. And lately she's been acting strange. I would think that you, as her best friend, would show more concern." he gave Clark a measured look.
"I show concern for her just fine; you on the other hand, have been ignoring her since school started. So pardon me for not believing that this concerned act of yours is real." Clark turned his back on him and looked out the window.
"Don't pretend to know everything about me Clark. You have no idea what my relationship with Chloe is like." Lex retorted coolly.
Clark whirled around at his words. "Relationship. Wasn't she just pawn in the games that you and your father play?"
Lex pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation. "Look I came here because Chloe has been acting strange. And if you haven't realized that then you're a worse friend that I thought."
Clark's eyes narrowed at his declaration. "I have noticed that Chloe hasn't been acting like herself. She quit the Torch for goodness sakes! I'm just surprised that you actually noticed."
This was news to Lex. If Chloe did quit the Torch then the situation was more dire than he thought. "What else has she been doing?"
"She's been acting really strange. She's been attending my football practice for the last few days. She's acting really jealous of any girl, who comes near me, she was actually jealous of Lois!" Clark deliberately left out the part when she took off her clothes and told him that she would help him de-stress.
Lex listened intently, comparing his encounters with Chloe inwardly. He felt like Clark was holding something back though. "There's more isn't there?"
Clark felt himself flush. He nodded. "Private stuff. I'd rather not say."
Lex smirked at the way that Clark blushed and had an idea on what caused the reaction. "Stop me if I'm wrong. But do they run along the lines of edible underwear? Fruits that she promised to feed you? Quick make out sessions that are interrupted by an alarm?"
Clark became alert as he listened to what Lex was saying. Why would Lex know what Chloe had been doing to him for him for the last three days? "How do you know about that? Have you been spying on me?" he glared at the thought.
"Don't flatter yourself Clark. You're not interesting enough to merit a twenty-four hour surveillance." was his amused response. "I'm merely stating all the ways that Chloe has expressed her devotion to me."
"Devotion to you? W-what? N-no. No way in hell. Ch- she doesn't think of you that way. S-she said she was devoted to me. You made out with Chloe!" Clark looked completely bewildered.
"I wasn't really sure about it at first. But from your expression you've been subjected to Chloe's version of devotion. I regret to inform you that you weren't the only one." Lex finished sardonically. So what he suspected was true. Chloe was dividing her devotion between him and Clark. He still had no idea how he felt about that fact.
"W-why would…Chloe isn't…you're lying." Clark looked at him accusingly.
Lex rolled his eyes, "You and I are not in the best of terms. You know that, I know that. But my concern for Chloe overwhelms whatever issues we have. That's why I'm here. I want to find out what's causing this. I want Chloe to go back to who she really is. Unless you actually like the attention that she's been giving you then we should set aside our differences and solve this mystery together." he waited for Clark's response expectantly.
Clark shook his head, "What makes you think I'm enjoying any of this?"
"Come on Clark, you've been blushing like mad every time I mention Chloe. And you also get this glazed look on your face. Any red-blooded American male would appreciate being the center of someone's universe." Lex allowed his amusement to show.
"Are you included in that category?" Clark countered with such disdain.
Lex just lifted a brow in response. "So what's it going to be Clark?
"Of course I want to know what's wrong with Chloe. And if I have to work with you…then so be it." Clark looked absolutely resolved in his decision.
"Good. I'll drop by the school tomorrow and we can retrace her steps from three days ago. That's when she started acting strange." Lex nodded resolutely.
TBC