Chapter Sixteen
Chloe threw her head back and laughed at Tom's, at least she thought it was Tom's, joke. Whichever one he was, his eyes were transfixed on her mirth filled features, just as they had been all night. This flirting thing was easy when you got the hang of it. She had always thought that she was quite good at it, but it was nice to have confirmation after the disasters that had been Clark and Lex. For once Chloe was in control, and she liked it.
The Talon had been closed for her private party – although how Lana had managed that as she no longer owned the place and had informed the actual owner that he was not to come, Chloe did not know. Lana Lang was a mystery, just when you thought that she was completely self-obsessed she did something like this. She also apparently knew many nice football players to bring to parties.
It seemed like the entire varsity team was at Chloe's table that night and she didn't think that she had exchanged more than a handful of words with the majority of them before. Everyone who had come through the door that night had come over, greeted her and congratulated her on her LuthorCorp scholarship – apparently Lana had told everyone about that rather than her Dad's promotion, a fact Chloe was grateful for as she didn't want people knowing what they had been through in the last year.
As she sipped another brightly coloured drink, Chloe decided that this was what she had been missing all of these years. She had been so busy worrying about: Meteor Freaks, cracking stories, Clark, finding the truth out about Lionel, her father, not to mention Lex that she had never really just been a frivolous teenager.
Well, that was it. From now on she was going to have more fun! She wasn't going to worry about anything else, at least not until tomorrow morning.
Even as she thought that, her eyes strayed over to the door again. No Clark. No Lex. At least she was sure that Clark was actually coming, no one knew about Lex.
"Who are you looking for, beautiful?" One of the football players asked, seeing her distraction.
"Oh no one, just a friend", she said.
"Clark?"
"Yes", she lied.
"I am sure that he will be along in a bit", Tom shifted closer to her and slipped a muscular arm around her shoulders. "You know that he is always late, and I can keep you more than occupied. Might even make you forget all about him".
"Yeah, that would be good", Chloe tried to inject her voice with some enthusiasm. She looked at Tom, he was handsome. Easily as tall as Clark, broad shoulders, sandy blonde hair with dark eyes. A girl could fall for him quite easily, so why was she finding it so hard? Maybe it was because he had never paid any attention to her because Lana had done her makeover, or because he was a nice guy who she could actually stand a chance with, or maybe it was just because he wasn't …
"Good evening Chloe", a voice broke through her thoughts.
She didn't have to look up to know who it was, his presence was overwhelming. Just hearing his voice sent shivers up her spine.
"Good evening Lex", she stood to greet him. He looked ridiculously handsome in a dark sports coat, crisp white shirt and jeans; he was even quite clearly freshly shaved – something Chloe always found appealing. She felt her knees growing weak.
He gave her a charming smile and held out a bouquet of flowers to her, "Congratulations, I understand that we are celebrating your scholarship".
"Um, yes, thank-you", she accepted the flowers and was shocked when he leant in to give her a peck on the cheek. She shouldn't have been surprised she supposed, it was a perfectly normal thing to do, just not for them. To distract herself from the scent of his aftershave that she couldn't help breathing in, she smelled the flowers.
"I love daisies", she gave him a smile.
"I guessed", he smiled back, "I am afraid that I don't have the wealth of information you do".
"Yeah, well", she blushed, "few people do".
"Am I to take it from the party that you have decided to accept the scholarship?" He inquired politely, trying to keep himself in check.
"Yeah", she said. God she felt like a hypocrite, she had made such a big deal of not accepting anything from him and here she was agreeing to take his money. "I mean, my Dad works for the company so I am eligible and I have checked the grades of the other students, mine are by far the highest".
Lex nodded, oddly pleased that she had checked. "I told you that you deserved it".
"I know".
"You didn't believe me?" He asked. His tone was kept deliberately soft but Chloe could see the glint of something else in his eyes.
"Honestly?"
"Honestly."
She shrugged. "I don't think that you are the vicious, power hungry monster that people make you out to be but I think that you are capable of lying and multiple other deceptions if it suits your purpose".
"And what purpose would that be?" It sounded like an honest answer, which he appreciated as well as the fact that she did not think him a monster, but it pained him that she didn't trust him.
"I don't know. You see the thing is Lex, that you are always playing some larger game. You could throw yourself in front of a speeding bullet, only just escape with your life and I still wouldn't be sure that it wasn't part of some bigger plan", Chloe explained, hating the hurt she saw in his eyes before the steel took hold.
"It sounds like you do think that I am evil", his voice was devoid of emotion.
"No", she shook her head. "I may doubt your methods but never your motives. I know that you think that you are doing the right thing, the problem with that is that you treat people like pets. You care, you want to look after them, but they have to do exactly what you say and when you say it and if they don't …"
"If they don't, what?"
"If they don't you try to make them. You expect them to give you everything, even their secrets but you never reciprocate. Your friendship with Clark didn't have to end. Our friendship didn't have to either …"
"Our friendship?" The words were like a punch to the gut. He had never quite been sure what he had had with Chloe but to hear that she had thought that it had been a friendship and that it was now over made him sick to his stomach. He wanted to sink to his knees and beg her not to leave him alone, but he was a Luthor so such conduct was out of the question.
Chloe blushed, misunderstanding his question. "Well okay friendship wasn't the correct word, our … whatever it was. You decided for whatever reason that you were not going to speak to me and that was it, I didn't get a say in the matter."
"Chloe, I …"
"I know, you tried to provide for me like you would for a puppy you stopped loving but wouldn't abandon. But I didn't see you Lex. Don't you understand that friendships aren't just about fixing things? You don't just turn up on a friend's doorstep because you need something or think that they do, you turn up because you want to spend time with them".
They realised at the same time that she was unwittingly describing his friendship with Clark.
"Whatever", she blew it off. "It doesn't matter. Thank-you for coming, it wouldn't seem right celebrating here without you. So, sit, meet everyone".
He managed a tight smile, "Chloe, one last thing". He reached out to hold her arm to stop her sitting back down. Before their moment together ended, he had to know. "You don't think that I would ever try to hurt you or forget about you, do you?"
"I never thought that you would try to hurt me, and I don't think that you forgot me anymore either. You proved what kind of man you could be last night", she said looking almost sad for a moment. Last night he had been brave and noble and listened to her, this morning he had shown that he didn't care and couldn't respect her.
He breathed a sigh of relief and removed his hand from her arm.
"But I'm not a toy you can pick up and put back down whenever your feel like it, whatever the reason", her stare bored into him, "and I am not a child or pet incapable of making my own decisions".
With that she sat down. The group of seniors around the table had been chatting amongst themselves while he and Chloe had been talking but now they swallowed her back in. It was with a pang that he realised that this was where she belonged, with people her own age. Clark would be along soon and would no doubt make his move on Chloe. He should leave. He was just about to when Chloe looked back up at him and asked, "Aren't you going to sit down, Lex?"
She looked almost disappointed at the thought of him leaving and so he sank into a seat and she introduced him to her new friends. They all seemed like nice enough jocks, although he couldn't imagine that any of them could keep up with her mentally, but maybe that wasn't what she wanted. She certainly seemed happy enough with them, especially with the attention that the blonde one was paying her.
The conversation stayed on rather safe topics of conversation, American Idol seemed to be the favourite and he was glad to see that Chloe did not appear to be a viewer either.
"Do you like to sing?" Lex asked Chloe without thinking.
She looked at him in some confusion, "Yes. Why do you ask? Do you?"
"No, I'm no singer. I can only play the piano. I just wondered, you just seem like the kind of girl who prefers to be involved in things rather than watching them", he explained. Was it really so odd that he wanted to know more about her?
She nodded, "I like to sing but only in my bedroom into my hairbrush".
Lex chuckled, "I heard that you and Lois did a rather lively rendition of several rock hits when The Talon held a karaoke night".
"Yes, we did", Chloe laughed. "Who needs talent when you have oomph?"
"Karaoke", one of the football players, David possibly, got over excited. "Lana said that she would be karaoke at some point tonight, go on Chloe it is your party. You have to sing".
Lex was about to tell him that Chloe did not have to do anything she didn't want to when she replied for herself, "Maybe later".
"Oh come on!" He complained.
"Tell you what, you show me yours I'll show you mine", she offered with a saucy smile.
"Yeah", he grinned back.
"She means, that if you go sing she will", Lex explained. How could Chloe like these boys?
"Oh okay", he loped off onto the stage. For the next few minutes they were treated to his rendition of some rap song that Lex didn't recognise. He looked over at Chloe to see if she was finding it as terrible as he was but saw that she was giggling as Tom whispered something in her ear. She swatted his arm playfully, "Tom, you're so bad; you can't say things like that".
Lex's jaw clenched, he was relieved when the other player stopped singing and said, "See Chloe, I sang. Now hold up your end of the deal". At least that would get her away from Tom.
"Oh, alright", Chloe said getting up, "Let me show you how it's done".
As she rose Lex was sure that he saw Tom pat her bottom, he was going to tear his head off. He got to his feet to do that but Chloe just brushed passed him, thinking that he had got up to let her get to the stage.
"Thanks", she mumbled as their bodies pressed together for a few seconds as she moved away from their table.
The contact distracted him from his mission for a few minutes as he watched her climb onto the stage admiring the swing of her hips in that dress. He groaned, how many other men had noticed that? He spared a glance back at the table and knew that they had all. That was it, there was going to be bloodshed.
"Lex, what are you doing?" Clark asked coming up behind him.
"Nothing", he said from between gritted teeth. He couldn't crack skulks together at Chloe's party. Now that Clark was here at least they would stop ogling her, they must know that she was very soon going to be Clark's girl.
"Chloe is about to sing", he informed Clark as he sat back down and fixed his eyes on Chloe. She was going through the list of songs she could choose from.
"Come on Chloe", the football player, who had just sang, teased her, "Get on with it".
"I can't find one that I like", she called back.
"Chicken".
"Fine, I'll do it acappella", she snapped before she could think better of it. Lex smiled, he loved that about her. She seemed to doubt herself after that but Lex knew that she wouldn't back down, she looked over at him and he gave her an encouraging smile.
Chloe shook her head as if asking herself why she was doing this, but she knew that if she just kept her focus on Lex that she could do it. This was what she had wanted after all, his attention so she could tell whether he did have any feelings for her or not. He was certainly jealous, so that was a start.
"Okay, I'm not sure what to sing so I will go with my Dad's favourite", she announced soundly almost nervous.
There was general clapping and supportive cheers.
Chloe looked down at her shoes, as she got her bearings, and began: "The very thought of you and I forget to do \ The little ordinary things that everyone ought to do". Everyone became completely silent as Chloe's beautiful voice filled The Talon.
It was easier now that the song washed over her, she closed her eyes, "I'm living in a kind of daydream \ I'm happy as a king \ And foolish though it may seem \ To me that's everything".
She paused to catch her breath, then she opened her eyes and stared directly at Lex. She didn't mean to but she was drawn to him. Her voice became more sultry as she continued, "The mere idea of you, the longing here for you".
Lex groaned. God, he would be locked up if anyone ever found out the thoughts that her voice put into his head.
"You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you", she began to move slightly to the imaginary music, "I see your face in every flower \ Your eyes in stars above \ It's just the thought of you".
Lex tried to control his now searing gaze, afraid that she would pick up on it and become nervous but the smile that touched her lips told him that she had noticed and it just seemed to make her bolder. She held eye contact with him as she finished, "The very thought of you, my love".
The place erupted into cheers and clapping, everyone was on their feet. There was even a call for an encore but Chloe just blushed a little before saying, "No, sorry only one performance per night. I will relinquish the stage to my good friend Lana who I know has been dying to show her Britney off", Chloe then scampered off the stage before Lana could get her revenge / consider throwing something at her.
Lex was at the edge of the stage holding his hand out to help her down before he knew what he was doing.
"You were amazing", he breathed.
"Thanks", she took his hand and let him help her down. "But you needn't sound so surprised".
She was trying to play it cool, she knew that she had just made her feelings for him far too obvious; she could only hope that he hadn't noticed. She didn't see any pity in his eyes, so she figured that he probably hadn't worked it out. She thought far too highly of Lex to believe that he would take pleasure in thwarting her hopes and dreams, he probably thought that the kiss yesterday had just been because she was scared that she was about to die.
"Yeah Chloe, that was great", Clark said as they approached the table, although he seemed a little more distracted by Lana who was now on stage and had started singing a Britney Spears medley.
"Thanks", she said again sitting back down next to her footballer and bathing in their rapture for a few minutes before Tom asked her. "Want to dance?"
"Sure", and with that they joined most of the student body on the dance floor.
"So what's going on?" He asked her.
"What do you mean?" She asked as she swayed to the rhythm.
"I mean you are clearly hung up on that guy and he is about ready to kill every male in the place who has seen you in that dress. You guys fighting or something?"
"It is that obvious that I like him?" She asked, dismayed.
"Yes, and that he feels the same way. And if you haven't worked it out then I guess that you aren't exactly fighting, more that you haven't got together yet?" He questioned.
"Basically, but I am not sure if we ever will. I am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression earlier", Chloe apologised.
"Don't worry about, I know that you wouldn't intentionally lead me on. But now that I know, what say we give him a little nudge?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"What did you have in mind?"
"Something like this", he wrapped his arm around her waist so that their hips ground together, then ran his other hand up her back as he moved to whisper in her ear, "Can you see his reaction?"
"He's turning red", Chloe reported with glee.
"Good", Tom grinned, he liked helping people and Chloe seemed like a nice girl.
Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck and saw Lex tremble slightly; he turned to talk to Clark. Chloe beamed delightedly. When he turned back to them, pointing to indicate something to Clark she span around in her dance partner's arms so that he was holding her hips and still moving together. She leant back against his body, her derriere pressing into him.
"He looks around ready to explode", she whispered.
"I'm not surprised", Tom smiled. "I reckon that he will be over here in five, four, three, two …"
"May I cut in", Lex asked as he grabbed Chloe and pulled her to him.
"One", Tom winked at her, gave Lex a mock salute and headed back to the table to ask Clark what Lex had said to him.
Tom was brave, Chloe had to give him that. She knew that Lex would never hurt her and even she was a little concerned by the look on his face. Luckily she felt her own anger rising to meet his, how dare he just interrupt her dance and order her around? She might have been enjoying herself.
"What do you think that you are doing?" They hissed at each other at the same time.