2.
Jessica got a phone call that night and was talked into a three-way conversation with Lana and Emily. She went out into the loft to take the call. Years ago, her father had built a loft up above the barn floor, for her to retreat to when she wanted privacy or quiet - which she wanted a lot. He jokingly called it her Fortress of Solitude. It was a humble place, smelling heavily of farm animals, consisting of a sofa, a coffee table, and a bunch of colored sheets and blankets hung in various arrays, held together by wooden planks. Her telescope was up there by the back window, among other things, so she could get a closer look at the stars.
Not that her Fortress of Solitude was very solitary tonight.
"You saved a billionaire's life?!" Emily screeched into the phone.
"Emily's a little excited," said Lana in amusement.
"How many people can say that?! That they saved a billionaire's life?! Was he hot?"
"Emily!" Jessica cried, embarrassed.
"Well, I'm just saying. It would be a plus. He's supposed to be some kind of rich playboy. He gets in the news a lot for drunken shenanigans and car wrecks and stuff like that."
"Did you just say 'shenanigans'?" Jessica asked disbelievingly.
"Also, the rumors are all true," said Lana. "When I was a kid, I went up to Metropolis once for a horseback riding competition. My aunt has sold real estate to Lex's father Lionel Luthor, so Lionel invited us to dinner at his mansion. I went to check out the indoor pool and found Lex skinny dipping with some model. It was pretty humiliating for both parties."
Jessica was listening curiously.
"... So?" Emily asked at last.
"So what?" Jessica said, confused.
"So, was he hot?!"
"Oh, for fuck's sake, Emily," said Jessica in exasperation. Lana was laughing. "Yes. Okay, there. Are you happy?"
"Did you have to give him mouth to mouth?" Emily asked eagerly.
"... I refuse to answer that," Jessica said.
"Oh my God, you did! You lucky little shit!" Emily was basically incoherent for the rest of the conversation.
"So what happened? Did you have to use your powers?" Lana asked worriedly.
"Yes, but it was only after he was unconscious. I had to peel the car apart to get at him and bring him up for air. Also, the car hit me and I should have died, but obviously I didn't. He was unconscious through all of it, but I don't know. He might suspect something." This made even the implacable Jessica a little nervous.
"I'm sure it's fine," Lana reassured her. "Just focus on the positive - you saved a man's life! I'm so proud of you! Oh, Whitney's just come out onto the porch and he wants to say something."
"Didn't know you had it in you, Kent!" Whitney shouted into the phone. "Great job!"
Jessica held back a smile. "Thanks, Whitney."
As soon as Lana and Emily hung up, Chloe was calling. "I have to get you for an interview with The Torch!"
Jessica's eyes widened. "It's really that big of a deal?"
"What, are you kidding me?! This is incredible! My friend saved somebody's life!"
Nothing ever happened in Smallville. Like, ever.
Jessica came home after work the next day and found a pure white Andalusian horse tied up to the house outside. The scene was picture perfect - a square yellow house with a wide front porch, laced with sunflowers and hanging pots and trellises, a white horse tied up outside.
Jessica came up to the horse and petted his nose; he pawed the ground and tossed his head a little. "Hello," she whispered, "who do you belong to?"
She walked into the kitchen and said, "Hey, Mom, whose horse?"
"Yours," said her mother. "It's a gift from Lex Luthor." She handed Jessica an envelope. Her name was hand written on the front. She opened it up to find a hand signed, personally monogrammed purple card.
Dear Jessica,
Sorry about your dinner. Hope this helps make up for it.
Forever in your debt,
The Maniac in the Porsche
"He ruined my dinner so his next logical step was let's buy her a horse?" Jessica asked disbelievingly, her voice unusually loud. Mom was staring. "Well, it's not like I'm complaining or anything," Jessica added. "It's just - wow."
"You're not keeping it," said her father bluntly, coming into the room after her mother. Mom winced and looked down.
The excitement faded out of Jessica, to be replaced by a stone cold statue. "... Please explain your reasoning," she said at last, stiffly.
"He's - Jessica, men don't just send teenage girls fancy gifts with pure intentions!" said Dad indignantly, waving a hand.
"... That is not a sufficient reason. I assume your real reason is better." Jessica was still soft, cold, and precise.
"Jessica..." Her father looked pained. "You don't know the Luthors like I do."
"And how," asked Jessica in monotone, "do you know them?"
Her parents exchanged looks. "Okay," said her Dad, "so, we had just found you and were driving home with you. Lionel Luthor runs out into the middle of the road - he had come to Smallville on a business trip with his son and was there for the meteor shower. We found Lex in a field, physically crippled from one of the blasts. I got him to the nearest hospital and saved his life.
"Lionel Luthor said that in exchange, he would do me a favor. So I asked him to forge some adoption papers for you." Dad shrugged. "The police were looking into it, what choice did I have? But Lionel used that - he held it over my head and forced me to make sure all of his business ventures in Smallville were successful, because I have so much say in town and my opinion's so respected. Every time I'd threaten to back down, he'd threaten in turn to reveal your adoption as a forgery and have you taken away.
"That's the kind of people the Luthors are, sweetheart. Do you remember Mr Guy? He used to send us pumpkins every Halloween? Lionel Luthor promised to cut him in on a deal. He sent him flashy gifts, a lot like this one - some nice cars, some new farm equipment, a few pretty things for his wife. Then once Mr Guy had sold him his land, Lionel Luthor turned his back on him and had him evicted from his own former property.
"That's completely ignoring all the shit their factory here spews out on a daily basis, destroying our beautiful land.
"The minute you buy into that, all that glamor and power, it's all over for you," her father warned her, pointing a finger at her. "I'm not letting that happen."
"... That's why you gave him that look when he told you his name," said Jessica in realization, her face twisted as he relayed his story. "But, Dad. How do we know Lex is like his father? We don't, do we? He's just the kid whose life you saved. I mean, I'm not saying he's a saint, or anything. I'm just saying we shouldn't automatically dismiss him as evil. He's maybe a little spoiled, but from all I've seen so far his heart seems to be in the right place."
"Well, he hit you with a car upon your first meeting. So far I'm not thrilled. But even assuming Lex is a good person," Jonathan admitted, and Jessica could tell it was a big admittance, a huge 'if', "his father's still the one in the driver's seat. His father's the one all the money comes from. I can't willfully condone putting my daughter into his debt in any way."
"... I understand," said Jessica softly. "I'll return the horse. Personally, so he doesn't think I'm just being rude."
Her father smiled and put a hand on her cheek. "Now there's the little girl I raised." Jessica put her cheek into his hand and smiled.
She saddled the horse and rode him over to the mansion to return him. His gait and stride were easy and graceful. She almost regretted having to give him up. She tied the horse up to the gates outside the mansion.
She gazed through the bars, her eyes widening.
'Mansion' didn't even do it justice. Vast, meticulously manicured gardens all led up to a medieval stone castle. The property had a fountain. A goddamn fountain. Greenhouses.
It looked, in short, like the property of someone who could casually give away an expensive Andalusian horse.
A little intimidated, Jessica clicked the buzzer - no answer. She glanced around to make sure there were no cameras. Then she pushed a little strength into her feet and jumped up and over the fencing. Simple.
She made it through the gardens and up to the front door, after a few minutes of being lost. She rang the doorbell, but no one answered. At last, she opened the front door tentatively, looking around at the grand wood-paneled entrance hall...
"Hey! What are you doing here?" A blonde teenage girl in a short black skirt with lots of dark eye makeup was standing there, hands on her hips.
"Uh." Okay, not what she'd expected. "I'm here to see Lex Luthor," she said, still caught off guard.
"Well, I'm sure he's far too busy to see you," said the girl rudely.
"Look, could you just tell him -? Wait. You can't be the maid. You're too young. Where's your Mom?"
Just then, a plump brunette woman bustled up behind them. "Amy! What are you doing, greeting guests? That's not your place!" She looked around with a warmer smile. "Yes?"
"You must be the maid, Mrs?"
"Palmer," said the woman kindly. "Mrs Palmer."
"Erm, right. Mrs Palmer. Well, I have something to return to Mr Luthor. Is he - is he around?" she asked tentatively. "He gave me something and I'd like to return it to him."
"Gave you -?" Amy's eyes widened. "You're the girl who saved him." Her face twisted in helpless rage.
"Uh, do you have a problem with your Mom's boss? You look pretty unhappy that he's alive," Jessica couldn't help but point out.
"My Mom's boss! You - you don't deserve him!" she spat, pointing a finger into Jessica's chest.
Jessica grew very, very still. "Don't. Touch me."
"Or what -?" Amy Palmer asked acerbically.
"Amy! Get out of here!" Mrs Palmer looked highly embarrassed. "Mr Luthor just gave this girl a highly expensive reward for his life and I believe she'd like to talk to him about it. Just - go away."
Amy turned on her heel and flounced away.
"I'm sorry," said Mrs Palmer. "She's just a silly teenage girl with a crush on an older man -"
"I am also a teenage girl," Jessica pointed out stiffly.
"Yes - well - anyway, come right this way. I'm sure he'd be glad to meet with you. He's in his office right now -" She was led up a purple carpeted staircase, underneath a chandelier, and past some magnificently decorated rooms, before stopping outside a pair of stained glass wooden doors. Mrs Palmer paused and poked her head in. "Mr Luthor? There's a -"
Mrs Palmer turned around. "What's your name?" she whispered.
Jessica smiled. "Jessica Kent."
"There's a Miss Jessica Kent here to see you?" A voice responded, and Mrs Palmer smiled and ushered Jessica into the office.
Lex's decorating style was completely different from his father's, all silver and black leather chrome. There were bookcases, a pool table, and a bottle of scotch with some crystal tumblers sitting off to the side. The room smelled strongly of scotch and cologne. Lex was seated behind a vast computer desk, wearing a sleek black turtleneck that wouldn't have looked out of place at a formal dinner and probably cost more than her entire outfit.
"Jessica," he said, standing with a smile. "I - didn't expect to see you this soon."
"Yes, well..." Jessica turned around to find Mrs Palmer had left. "Er, well. See, the thing is. It's about the horse. It's a beautiful gift! But I can't keep it. It would be wrong, to accept a reward for saving someone's life." She'd rehearsed this reason on the way here, and thought it came out pretty good.
But Lex smirked wryly. "Your father doesn't like me, does he?"
"He's - my father's - Look, my father's a very... different, man from yours. He's all 'environmental, small business, let's all be friends and hug each other.' He can be pretty stubborn. And he's not... exactly crazy... about your family." She'd thought about telling Lex about the blackmail, but decided that could backfire in rather spectacular fashion. She just didn't know him well enough.
"You mean he doesn't like my father," Lex guessed flatly.
"Something like that," Jessica admitted, looking away. "It's - look, it's a beautiful gift, but I can't keep it. For lots of reasons."
Lex examined her for a moment. "Why don't you ever look at people when they talk to you?" he asked out of the blue.
Jessica looked up, her eyes widening. Her eyes were lovely, Lex reflected, she hid them too often. "Well - I don't know." She looked away again, hiding her face behind her long hair. Lex resisted the urge to reach out and brush it back so he could see her again.
"You should try wearing your hair up occasionally," he said instead, his tone purposefully light. "I think it would look nice."
Jessica remembered her father's indignation about flirting, and she blushed and stared pointedly at the floor. "Yes. Well."
Lex took her in for a moment, and then he smiled. "I feel so different around you," he marveled. Jessica looked up tentatively. "I mean, it's just - you saved me. You know? After I was knocked out - during the accident - I had this. I don't know what it was. Hallucination, vision? I was flying over Smallville. And for the first time, I didn't see a dead end. I saw a new beginning. And then I woke up, and... there you were. Thanks to you, I have a second chance."
"And so that's why you feel... different... around me?" Jessica asked tentatively.
"Maybe. You're just... you're not like most of the other people I know. It's a good thing!" he added quickly. "I hate most of the other people I know." He smiled, and for the first time, she smiled a little back. "I'd like for us to be friends."
"Well, I'd love to be friends and I'm flattered," she said, and during his elation, for a moment, her eyes were distinctly playful. "But I still have to return the gift."
"If you insist."
"Thank you," she said. Then, "By the way, this is an amazing place."
"Sure, it is. If you're dead and in the market for something to haunt."
She gave him an exasperated look. "Lex, you live in a mansion. You could at least act a little appreciative."
Lex laughed despite himself. "There are better mansions," he said. "Trust me. But this place - I don't even know. My Dad calls it the Luthor Ancestral Home. He had it shipped over from Scotland stone by stone."
"I remember. The trucks rolled through town for weeks, but no one ever moved in," Jessica noted curiously.
"Oh, my father had no intention of living here. I doubt he's ever stepped through the front door."
"Then why'd he ship it over?"
"Because he could."
Jessica's lips thinned significantly. "... I see," she said at last.
"I should take a picture of your face and send it to my father. I think it could make even him feel at least a little disappointed in himself."
Jessica smiled in amusement. Then, of all things, she looked away again, and left him wanting more. "Well, if that's all," she said, turning away, "I should lea -"
"What do you like to do for fun?" he asked before he could stop himself. She turned to look at him in surprise. "Well, I mean, geez -" He waved to the mansion at large. "I have the largest movie collection in Kansas, the largest comic book collection in Kansas -" Jessica was laughing. "We're supposed to be friends! What do you want to do?! I've never been friends with a girl before. This is new territory for me."
Jessica was disbelieving. "You've never had a girl friend?"
"I've had a girlfriend," said Lex.
"But - just a friend who happens to be female -?"
"Never," Lex swore solemnly. Then he smiled. "So I have a lot to learn. What do you want to do?" Lex hadn't tried to be someone's friend in a long time, and it left him feeling kind of excited.
Jessica smiled mischievously. "I bet I can name one thing you don't have."
A challenge, then? "Try me."
"A catadioptric Maksutov telescope."
He paused. "... My God," he said in an awed kind of disbelief. "You did it."
Jessica laughed. "I'm just teasing you. I was trying to name something really obscure. I'm happy with my telescope at home. My Dad got it from his Dad, so it has sentimental value. Lucky for you, I also play the guitar, read philosophy, and play video games."
Lex raised an eyebrow. "You play video games...? I have an advanced gaming console system." He waved a hand. "Step right this way."
They ended up playing for close to two hours. They competed against each other madly on the leather couch in front of the wide screen TV, and it was actually... fun. Just fun. For the hell of it. And Jessica was actually a really good player.
At last, Jessica checked the time and stood, swearing. "Shit -! I'm supposed to meet Lana!"
"Lana?" Lex raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"A friend of mine. Look, I'm sorry - This has been great, but -" She was already grabbing her sweater and heading toward the door.
"Wait!" He ran over to walk alongside her. "I'll walk you out. When can I see you again?" He sounded desperate, he decided, but Jessica didn't seem to notice.
"Well, I have a job waitressing at The Beanery. My next shift's Tuesday at 4. Come by then, okay?" Everything about her was calm and sweet, right down to her smile. Then she'd turned around, and left through the front door, patting the horse on the way out.
Lex stared after her as she walked out, still trying to puzzle out how much... better, he suddenly felt.
Lana and Jessica had a ritual. On one night every month, they would go to the local graveyard, where Lana's parents were buried.
Jessica had once apologized for causing the meteor shower that led to Lana's parents' deaths, but Lana had waved her off. "You were too young to control what was going on," she'd said. "If anything, it's the fault of whoever sent you here." So neither girl felt weird about Jessica "meeting" Lana's parents.
There in the graveyard, after setting down their hand-picked wildflowers, in front of the stone graves covered in ivy, they would sit and talk - about anything, or about nothing at all. Lana said it was nice, the feeling that her parents were watching over her. Jessica had wondered privately a couple of times what that felt like.
"Lex Luthor sent me a thank you gift for saving his life," Jessica said on this particular night.
Lana's eyes widened. "Really? And did you - did you accept it?" This last part was tentative.
"Nah." Jessica told Lana her father's story. "What could I do? I said I'd give it back. The sad part is, I think Lex was really trying. We had a conversation when I took it back, and just the way I heard him talk - I don't know. I don't feel like he's ever had a chance at a normal life. He's spoiled, he doesn't have friends, and he doesn't like most of the people he knows.
"It just... it made me glad, in a way, for everything I have."