Disclaimer: I own nothing.
AN: As always thanks for the feedback. I totally appreciate it. So now we have an alliance in our hands, the question is how long it will last? Read on to find out...
Divided Devotions
Chapter 5
Lex was sitting in his office in contemplative silence.
It had been an hour since his conversation with Clark. It did not go the way he planned. He did not intend to give so much information away. But it felt like he and Clark were dancing around the topic. So before he could lose his temper he just decided to be upfront about everything, including the fact that he was the recipient of Chloe's devotion. He may have had a little fun while he did it, but that was the perks of discussing women with Clark Kent.
And now he was set to work with the farm boy. He was still unsure if it was the best decision. He had a feeling that the next day would present a lot of problems for him. The stubbornness of his young friend was enough to make him want to throttle him. But seeing the shocked expression on his face when he found out that Lex was also getting the Chloe-treatment was almost enough to make the newfound candidness worth it. Almost.
Lex inhaled deeply and decided that it was time to call it a night. He could tell that his alliance with Clark would not be an easy one. They would probably argue over everything and solve nothing.
He got up from the chair and proceeded to walk out of his office. He headed straight for his bedroom. It was way past ten already and normally he did not require much sleep to function well. But an alliance with Clark Kent just did not bode well for him. And he would rather try and turn off his brain, it felt like his mind was on overdrive; questions were plaguing him left and right.
He tried not to think of Chloe. And why she did not stop by his house. He tried not to think of her devotion to him. He tried not to think that her absence signified how much he meant to her, that he meant less to her, that Clark Kent would always be foremost in her mind and heart.
He took a fortifying breath. He should not get too attached to her affections anyway. If he and Clark were successful in their attempt to get the real Chloe back, then he would not have to deal with her surprise visits anymore. He nodded resolutely. It was better that way anyway.
Lex stopped in his tracks.
For the third night in a row Lex was looking at Chloe Sullivan. Lying on his bed, her entire form almost completely hidden from his view. Her hair was spread beautifully on one of his pillow, like a halo. Her eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted.
He walked towards the bed and stared at her. She shifted slightly. Lex didn't know if he wanted her to keep sleeping or if he wanted her to wake up. He sat at the edge of the four poster bed and just watched her.
Chloe looked completely peaceful. So completely different from how she was when awake.
And he actually thought that she forgot about him.
Only he did not expect her to be sleeping it off on his bed. He really should ask Enrique why he was letting Chloe take such liberties in his house. Knowing Chloe she must have some good blackmail material.
His silent observation of the blonde woman came to an end when her eyes fluttered open. She smiled lazily at him. But the moment that she sat up her expression changed entirely.
Her brows furrowed, as if she was trying to figure out where she was. Then she frowned. The frown was directed at him. "You made me wait." She said petulantly as she sat up, her voice slightly husky from sleep.
"I was not aware to you were going to be here." He countered defensively. He chose not to dwell on why he actually felt like he had to defend himself.
She looked at him suspiciously. "You knew I was coming." She insisted with the same petulance as before.
Lex remained quiet. He tried not to think about the way he waited, tried not to dwell on his eagerness to see her, tried not to dwell on the fact that he waited hours for her.
"You did know I was coming right?" She asked. Doubt was tainting her tone.
He nodded conciliatorily. "I thought you were. But you weren't here at your usual time."
She grinned sheepishly. "I was otherwise occupied."
He raised a brow at her reply. He knew that she not busy with Clark. So what exactly was keeping her occupied, if not him and not Clark, then who? He briefly wondered if she was devoted to someone else.
Chloe blushed noticeably. "It took me a while."
"What did?" He shot her an inquiring look.
She bit her lower lip. "Cooking, I made you dinner." She threw of the sheets off of her, revealing her body to him. She was wearing only his blue shirt, and nothing else.
He allowed his gaze to travel from her beautiful blonde hair down to her dainty feet. She was a vision, a vision that tempted his iron control.
"I was hoping we could have dinner in bed. People have breakfast in bed all the time, why not dinner in bed?" She looked at him uncertainly.
Lex smiled slightly. Only Chloe Sullivan could come up with such an idea.
"Only we can't do it anymore. Dinner's ruined. You weren't here." She pouted, adorably in his opinion.
"My apologies." He reached for her hand tentatively. It was unusual, his instigation of the contact. Normally Chloe was the one to reach for him first. But this time he actually took the initiative to touch her.
At that moment he finally acknowledged that he actually enjoyed the attention that she had bestowed upon him. Despite the fact that he had to share her with Clark, he liked being the center of her world, if only for a few hours a day.
At that moment he decided to enjoy it. Enjoy her attention while it lasted. His partnership with Clark would bring everything to an end. He would no longer have Chloe waiting for him at the mansion after he got off work. He would no longer enjoy the pleasure of her company, despite the fact that she virtually force-fed it to him.
She brightened up considerably. "It's okay. I know that you're a busy man. I understand, as long as you weren't with another woman. You weren't with anyone, were you?" Her eyes narrowed at the thought.
Lex shook his head. "I wasn't."
"Then you're forgiven." She crawled towards him and placed a chaste kiss on his closed mouth.
He secured his arm around her waist and closed the remaining distance between them, she ended up straddling his lap. He fully intended to deepen the kiss when Chloe pulled back, "Have you had dinner yet?"
Their lips were inches away and he had an insistent urge to kiss her. But it seemed that she had a different idea. He shook his head again and their lips brushed against each other. Chloe giggled and pulled back completely.
"I made lasagna. Enrique put it in the oven so it would keep. Let's eat." She wriggled off of his lap and landed on her feet with a quiet thud.
"I thought you said that dinner was ruined." He gave her a measured look.
"So I embellished a little. I had to make you feel a little guilty for making me wait. After all I slaved over the stove for three hours, just so I could make a perfect lasagna." She grinned at him impishly as she walked backwards to the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Lex raised a brow at her retreat.
"I'm going to get the food." She looked at him as if he was acting strange.
Lex stood up and captured her arm to stop her progress, "Not in that get up you're not. I'll get it." He declared with such authority.
"Yes sir." She said as she saluted him. "Don't worry Lex, no one sees the goods but you." She kissed him chastely and pranced her way back to the bed.
Lex watched her as she climbed back into his bed. 'No one else but me. And Clark.' He thought to himself as he walked out of the room.
Lois Lane sucked as reporter. She knew it. And she had no idea how Chloe did it.
She walked her way over to the cheerleaders. She hated cheerleaders. But since Chloe had gone bonkers on her, well she felt like it was her cousinly duty to find out what's wrong with her and to keep the Torch afloat in her absence.
"Well, Clark Kent's the new quarterback." Cheerleader 1 said animatedly.
"And he's hot." Cheerleader 2 piped in.
"No decisions. I'll scope him out." The cheerleader whose boyfriend was currently at the hospital said dismissively.
Lois tried to smile as she walked over towards the pompom girls. "Mandy, right? I'm Lois Lane. I'm doing an article for the Torch about what happened to your boyfriend."
"She doesn't want to talk about it." Cheerleader 1 interjected icily.
"I don't want to write the article either, but my cousin dumped it on me and I need the credit, so let's-"
"I wouldn't want to give that geek rag a quote if it were the last paper on earth." Mandy scathingly interrupted her.
"Darn and I thought you were going to be all profound." Lois shook her head in fake disappointment.
The unanimous response to her wit was a glare in her direction.
"Oh look, your valets are here." She quipped as she nodded in the direction of the football players. "Oh wait, you don't have one anymore, do you?" She turned a curious glance at Mandy.
"I could have a boyfriend like that." Mandy snapped her finger for emphasis.
Cheerleader 1 handed her boyfriend a folder, which the lug head promptly dropped. Lois picked up the piece of paper. "The Love Molecule? Really? Who would have thought? Cheerleader and chemist? You have a bright future ahead of you." She said in mock admiration to cheerleader 1.
"Oh bite me!" Cheerleader 1 replied.
"No thanks." Lois smiled brightly as she walked away from the vapid cheerleaders. She just got a lead.
Clark had hoped that he would bump into Coach Teague. He wanted to find out if the drink he had from the day before caused the man to become extremely violent. But so far he hadn't had any luck; he still hadn't seen the man.
He sighed as he decided that he would have to wait until football practice. He arranged to meet Lex at the Torch. And from the looks of it he only had a few minutes to spare.
"Hey Smallville! Any more Chloe weirdness?" Lois stopped right in front of him and gave him a piercing stare.
'You mean aside from the fact that I'm not the only one who has been at the receiving end of her devotion? Oh and did I mention that Lex Luthor has been the getting the Chloe-brand of attention?' He thought to himself. Outwardly he just shook his head.
Lois' eyes narrowed at his silent response. "Make sure that you don't take advantage of her condition. After all, despite the way you were raised, you still are a hot blooded male." She punched his shoulder good-naturedly and then walked away from him.
Clark breathed a sigh of relief. If Lois knew half of what Chloe had done during the past few days, well he was sure that she would pound him. Good thing he was indestructible.
He hoped he didn't blush, Lex pointed out the night before that he blushed whenever Chloe was mentioned. And no one could blame him. He'd seen more of his best friend than ever before. And as much as he tried to deny it, he felt a spark of interest. All the non-platonic emotions he'd had for her before was flourishing again.
When they find out what was happening to her, Chloe could very well not remember everything that she'd done. He was certain that Chloe was under the influence of the meteor rocks. And whenever someone was under the spell of the meteors, they tend to get some form of memory loss.
So he was stuck. He would remember everything and she would remember nothing.
At that moment he realized the he wanted her to remember. He did enjoy her attention. And he didn't want it to end. He liked her. Liked her, liked her. Maybe it took her complete devotion for that realization to fully register in his mind.
At that moment he decided to enjoy it while it lasted. And maybe when she was all better, maybe they could try. For real. Maybe he would have the full senior year experience. And maybe he could do it with Chloe at his side.
Clark smiled to himself. But then he remembered a slight problem. Lex, his quasi-friend was also at the receiving end of Chloe's devotion. He had no idea why she would choose to devote herself to Lex. He could understand why she picked him, but Lex? He was still mystified by the idea.
Maybe Lex and Chloe shared such an intense experience during the summer. The concern that Lex had expressed for Chloe, the night before, was alarming. For him at least. Lex was not the type to show outward emotion without a lot of prodding. And he could not deny that he felt a twinge of jealousy at the thought that Chloe was devoting her time to someone else. Someone who wasn't him.
He sighed again. Maybe Chloe's devotion to Lex was a fluke. He had to find out what triggered the reaction and of course the 'cure' for her 'affliction'. Maybe he should get a sample of the drink, since Lex was involved; maybe he could get his scientists to research the drink.
Clark shook his head and decided that maybe trying to protect Coach Teague was pointless. Besides he could tell Lex that his coach was just under the influence of the meteor rocks, therefore not entirely responsible for his actions. It had been done before.
He would just have to see if his dubious alliance with Lex would actually work. He still did not trust Lex. But for Chloe he was willing to do anything at this point.
Lex walked into the high school and paid no mind to the stares of the students. He was accustomed to getting the wide eyed stares. Besides he was on a mission. He agreed to meet Clark during his lunch period. And since Chloe had been neglecting her Torch duties, they agreed to meet at the office, where they could confer further.
He had a great night. Better than the other two nights before. He did have to rifle through the kitchen, in search of the dish that Chloe made herself. Then he had to search through the cupboards looking for plates and utensils. It took him awhile get back to Chloe.
The first night they were interrupted by her phone. The second night they launched in full make-out mode and then they were interrupted by the phone. But last night was different.
It reminded him of the days when she was in 'captivity', at least that was how she called it. They had more than their fair share of meaningful conversations; sure it was mostly about general topics. They just didn't talk about personal things. But if someone asked him on her opinions on abortion, the current president and anything along those lines, well he would be able to answer it without second thought.
They talked, and laughed and ate the wonderful meal that she cooked herself.
She did look a little nervous as he took a bite. But Lex decided beforehand to fake approval even if the food was completely inedible. He'd heard from Gabe that Chloe was awful in the kitchen.
The food was good though. He told her as much. Sure, he would never suggest lasagna as the food for 'dinner in bed', after all they were eating in bed. But it was good. Great even.
So good food, combined with good company, it was enough to make him regret his decision the night before. He almost did not want Chloe to go back to normal. Almost.
They weren't interrupted by any form of alarm. In fact he slept fitfully, with her beside him. Only when he woke up she was already gone. They were going to have a discussion about her frequent disappearing acts.
He allowed himself the luxury to admit that maybe he really wanted her for himself. He wanted her even before the summer ended. He tried to deny it and he even decided to consciously shut her out of his life once she got back to her 'normal life'. He didn't think he could stick to his decision though, not after seeing a completely different side to her. He used to think that Clark would always be foremost in her life, well second to becoming the top reporter at the Planet, but being the other object of her devotion made him doubt that fact. Maybe somehow he managed to worm his way into her life.
"Lex?" a puzzled voice interrupted his thoughts.
There, right in front of him, was the subject of his conflicting emotions. She smiled at him quizzically; she was wearing what he dubbed as her 'Clark outfit'. It annoyed him slightly, but he knew that during school hours she was 'devoted' to Clark. Still he felt affronted to actually see her wearing blue and red. Purple looked better on her.
"Chloe." He nodded in acknowledgement; he was not sure what her reaction was going to be. After all, most of their encounters were in private.
Her smile brightened considerably. She walked over to where he was and placed a hand on his arm. "What are you doing here?"
Lex cleared his throat. "I'm here to see Clark actually."
"You are? So you're not here to see me?" she looked slightly put out.
"I was hoping that I would run into you while I'm here." It wouldn't do to upset her. He took the hand that was resting on his arm and held it in his grasp.
"You did? Well it's great that you did. Last night was great" She stood on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his cheek. She took her hand from him and straightened his tie.
He nodded in agreement. "It was." Her gesture felt oddly natural.
"So are you up for a surprise? I arranged something for us tonight." She smiled up at him shyly.
He once again captured her hand and looked at her keenly. "Surprise?"
"Yup. So be ready by seven. Okay?" She grinned at him.
Before Lex could respond someone cleared their throat loudly. Clark Kent. Of course. He stopped himself from rolling his eyes.
"Hey Clark!" Chloe greeted the interloper cheerily.
Clark smiled at her and then nodded in his direction. "Hiya Chlo. Lex." The way that Clark said his name, ice would have been warmer.
He nodded in return. Clark shot a meaningful look at their hands. Lex refused to end the contact just because Clark did not like it.
"Lex came here to see you." Chloe beamed at the farm boy.
"Did he now?" Clark grinned at her but shot him an icy glare.
She nodded. "Yeah, so I'll leave you two guys alone. See you in a few?"
Lex and Clark exchanged looks. He had no idea who she meant, if she was directing her words to him or to Clark.
"Of course Chloe." Clark answered. Apparently his young friend forgot that they were on a case.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but what we have to discuss would take more than a few minutes." Lex took it upon himself to remind Clark of what they had to do.
"Come to think of it, what we have to talk about can wait. We can talk later. Chloe made lunch for me." Clark ignored the glare that Lex fixed in his direction. He beamed at Chloe who smiled in return.
"I have a prior engagement." Lex replied curtly.
"Yeah sorry." Chloe smiled apologetically at Clark.
"You have plans with him?" Clark looked appalled.
"Yeah so take your time today. I'll wait for you at the cafeteria. I made your favorite sandwich. If you're too busy then you can eat it later. I'll just see you at football practice." She took her hand from Lex and kissed his cheek. Then she walked over to where Clark was standing and kissed him as well.
Lex and Clark watched her as she walked away from them. Before she was completely out of their view Clark shouted her name.
She turned back and smiled at them.
"Wait up." Clark smiled her. If Lex could spend time with Chloe then why can't he? After all didn't he hear them talk about last night? Lex was with her the night before. He was at least entitled to a lunch with her.
He jogged towards her, not even bothering to say anything to Lex. He reached Chloe and placed an arm around her shoulders. He turned back and shot Lex a look that said 'ha, I get to touch her too!'
Lex would laugh if he weren't so incensed. They went from working together to working against each other, all in the span of twenty-four hours.
"Clark," he called after them, "a word please."
Clark frowned. He didn't want to talk to Lex, not when he found a real competitor in him. Lex was acting like he actually enjoyed spending time with Chloe. Add his genuine concern for Chloe; the man just might come after her once she was back to normal.
Chloe was looking at him expectantly. He sighed in annoyance and walked back to where Lex was standing.
"What?" He hissed at Lex.
"I thought we were working together. Don't you want Chloe to go back to normal?" Lex retorted coolly.
"Do you? Obviously you're enjoying this Chloe. So why can't I?" Clark countered, just as coolly.
"Listen Clark, you don't want her this way. Wouldn't you like her to actually make the decision to spend time with you?" Lex insisted forcefully.
"I don't see you avoiding her like a plague. In fact I'm just doing what you're doing." Clark countered glacially.
"And what exactly am I doing?" Lex gave him a measured look.
"You are taking advantage of what little time we have with her. Admit it Lex, once she reverts back to normal, she wouldn't be this way. I'm thinking that you're trying to enjoy this while it lasts." Clark replied with such arrogance.
"Is everything okay?" Chloe asked from across the hall.
Lex and Clark nodded and smiled in her direction then they faced each other again.
"If anything you owe me. I deserve more time with her. You were with her last night and you're going to be with her tonight. I deserve to spend time with her too. She's devoted to me too." Clark muttered stubbornly.
"For God's sake Clark, get your head out of your ass! This is not about who's spending more time with Chloe-"
"You're only saying that because you're winning." Clark retorted heatedly
Lex ran a hand over his head in agitation. So Clark was partially right. He was trying to keep him from spending time with Chloe. But at the end of the day, he wanted Chloe to make the decision to spend time with him of her own volition.
"Clark?" she called out again.
"Look I have to go." Clark said impatiently.
"Listen Kent, if you go now then consider our agreement to be null and void." If Clark was willing to put his interest before Chloe's then why shouldn't he?
"Um…guys? Everything okay?" Chloe had walked back to where they were. She put a hand on Clark's arm and on Lex'.
Their demeanor changed entirely.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Clark nodded immediately; he looked at Lex and waited for him to agree.
"Actually I'm a little hungry." Lex smirked at Clark and smiled at Chloe as he took her hand in his.
Chloe's brows furrowed. "You have eaten yet?" concern was tainting her tone.
Lex shook his head in exaggerated sadness. "I haven't had the time to grab a bite."
"Well since we're not going to have that meeting you can go grab a bite at some fancy restaurant." Clark interjected.
"That's true. I have a meeting in an hour; I suppose I can spare some time to eat." Lex nodded, as if he were truly considering the option.
"Oh no, you won't mister! You'll eat with us, you'll probably forget and you won't eat at all. I made more than enough food. Come on, you're eating with us." She tugged at Lex' hand and linked her arm with Clark's.
"I'm sure Lex would much rather eat something else." Clark glowered at Lex and put on a fake smile for Chloe.
"I'd be honored to join the two of you." Lex smiled at her charmingly, he ignored Clark completely.
"Well that's settled then. Let's go to lunch." Chloe was beaming vibrantly. She let go of Lex' hand and hooked her arm through his and proceeded to walk with the two men.
Clark and Lex were exchanging glares over her head, while Chloe remained completely oblivious to the growing tension between them. It was going to be a long lunch.
TBC