A few days had passed since the events at LuthorCorp and Claire was delivering the weekly produce to the Luthor manor. Entering through the kitchen Claire set the crates down on the counter just as Lex walked into the room.
Once Lex saw Claire enter he moved through the kitchen and came to stand directly in front of her just as she put down the crates. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her close to himself. "Goodmorning." He spoke while looking down at her.
"Goodmorning to you too." Spoke Claire as she smiled back up at him. Leaning down Lex placed his lips against hers and then proceeded to back her into the counter. After a few minutes of making out Claire pulled back. "Lex, I really need to get going, dad is expecting me back at the farm, you were the only delivery today."
"Where is your sense of adventure?" Lex whispered as he attempted to move back in for another kiss, only to be Claire quickly raise a hand to his lips.
"My sense of adventure is thwarted by the overly protective father with a shotgun." Claire spoke with a slight laugh as she moved out of Lex's grasp. Lex sighed and moved to take a step away from Claire. "Don't worry though, I will be over after class today for Chloe's interview."
"And I will waited with bated breath until that time." Said Lex. "You haven't told her anything about us, have you?"
Claire shook her head. "She is really trying however. She keeps trying to get the Metropolis trip details out of me, by sneakingly slipping questions in everyday conversations."
Lex moved forward to stand in front of Claire and took her chin in his fingers bringing her lips up to his. Giving her a quick kiss he then pulled away. "Well we should keep things low key until we can find the right time to tell him."
"I don't think that time will ever come. My father seems to have some major issue with your father, and he already takes it out on you enough."
"Claire, everyone has an issue with my father." Said Lex.
Claire then moved towards the door to leave, but not before taking one last look back at Lex. "I'll see you after class." Then she left, going back to the truck to go home.
Classes went by fairly quickly that day and before Claire knew it she was back at the Luthor manor this time with Chloe by her side.
Sitting at his desk Lex leaned back in his chair as he watched to the two young women.
"Are you ready now Claire?" Chloe spoke with a sigh as she looked to her friend.
Claire blushed lightly as she fiddled with the camera in front of her. "Yeah, sorry forgot to press the record button." Pushing the bright red button in front of her she backed up and looked to Lex with a smile.
"So, Mr. Luthor. Are there anymore secret construction projects going on at LuthorCorp like level three?" Chloe spoke as she leaned forward examining Luthor in front of her.
"Please, call me Lex." Lex said simply looking from Claire to Chloe.
"Okay, Lex. Are you going to answer my question?" Chloe asked again a little forcefully.
Claire could not believe her friend. "Chloe…"
"What?" Chloe questioned.
Lex laughed lightly. "It's okay Claire. Our critics are our friends. They show us our faults."
Chloe smiled at Lex before speaking. "Benjamin Franklin." Just then a man entered the room and quickly moved to stand in front of Lex's desk.
"Mr. Luthor, your father's on the phone." The man spoke as he looked from his employer to the two women in the room and then back again.
"I need to get this. I'll take it in the conservatory." Lex spoke as he stood from his desk and headed towards the door, pausing to look back at the two women. "I look forward to resuming our verbal judo." Then he left the room leaving Chloe and Claire alone.
As soon as Lex was gone from earshot Chloe stood up and began looking through his stuff. "Chloe? Chloe, you shouldn't be looking through that stuff." Chloe however just ignored Claire and made her way out of the room and down the hall as she began to look through random rooms. "Chloe, you can't just go snooping around someone's house."
"Claire, it's a mansion. It's designed for snooping." When Chloe exited another room without anything exciting in it she looked to Claire. "Okay, fine. We'll go wait in the library for Lex to officially blow us off."
The pair headed down the hall and back towards Lex's office. Once they entered the room, Chloe moved to pick up her bag and Claire began packing away the camera. When Claire moved to turn around to grab her camera bag when she found a man in a black suit standing in front of her.
"Hey what's going on?" Claire spoke as the man reached forward to grab her. Once his hand gripped around her wrist she felt herself become ill. "Chloe, run!"
Then after that everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Claire watched as Chloe was pushed out the window, and she was unable to stop it, to save her friend. "Chloe!"
Before Claire could even comprehend what had happened she was sitting in the hospital on a chair with a cup of coffee in her hands. Lex sat beside her rubbing his hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her. "Claire, don't worry. I brought in the best doctors from Metropolis."
Claire turned to look at Lex, the tears in her eyes slightly blurring her vision of him. "I's she gonna be allright?"
"The doctors aren't sure. The fall was pretty bad. She broke her left arm and has a concussion. They want to make sure there's no brain swelling."
"I should have gotten to her." Claire spoke a tear rolling down her cheek.
Lex looked at her quizzically. "I don't mean to state the obvious Claire, but this isn't your fault."
"I just don't know what happened. One minute the room is empty and then they appear out of thin air." Claire reached up a hand and brushed away the fallen tear and sniffled. "Do the police have any leads?"
Sighing Lex leaned back in his chair and looked out across the waiting room. "They don't think I'm the first one that's been hit. There have been over a dozen of these robberies all over the country. This gang somehow gets in and out without busting a single lock. They even tried to hit the Smallville Savings and Loan."
"I didn't hear about that." Claire spoke sobering slightly.
"Banks don't publicize attempted robberies Claire. It's bad for their image." Said Lex.
"And the stuff they stole from you, can the police trace it?" Claire questioned trying to keep her mind busy on anything other than her injured friend.
Lex ran a hand across his head and turned to look at Claire. "I didn't report anything stolen Claire."
"Why not? I saw them walk out with two bags." Claire declared.
"I don't care about that. I just want to find the people who did this to Chloe and when I do, I promise you they will be dealt with accordingly." Lex spoke reaching over and placing his hand on Claire's forearm.
"What does that mean?" Claire spoke not liking the thoughts that ran through her brain on what Lex would do to whomever it was that injured Chloe.
Squeezing Claire's arm gently Lex sighed. "It means you should let me worry about it. Now, why don't you go home and get some rest."
Claire just nodded her head and without out much thought. Before she knew it she was back at the farm and was chopping wood in the barn as she tried to let off some steam.
"Hi, Claire. What are you doing?" Martha questioned as she and Jonathan entered the barn.
"Trying to make myself useful." Claire spoke as she disintegrated another block of wood.
Jonathan laughed lightly as he watched his daughter. "Hey, kiddo, we need firewood, not toothpicks."
Claire huffed and threw the piece of wood she was holding to the ground. "I know what you guys are gonna say. It's not my fault. Lex already told me. So did Chloe's dad."
"They're right Claire. You did your best." Martha spoke moving to stand in front of her only daughter.
"Chloe could've died mom." Claire's breath hitched as she spoke. The image of Chloe laying in the grass after she fell through the window popping back into her head.
"Claire, becoming an adult means learning a lot of difficult lessons. One of which is you can't save everybody, no matter who you are." Jonathan spoke as he too moved to his daughter. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders and gave her a light squeeze.
"You said you could feel the effects of the meteor rocks?" Martha questioned her daughter.
"Yeah, I just don't know where it was coming from. Sometimes I just wish I could leave this town and get away from the meteor rocks." Claire whispered the last part more to herself then to her parents.
Jonathon squeeze his daughter again in comfort. "I'm sure that you will. You'll get that chance, but running away is not gonna solve anything."
Claire spent the rest of the day wandering around town, looking for any kind of lead that would help her find Chloe's attackers. By the end of the day what she found though ended up leading her to a warehouse where she found Lex with a gun to his head. Acting quickly Claire took out one of the men and the others quickly took off vanishing through a wall.
"Lex, what were you doing here, with those guys?" Claire questioned as she ran to his side, checking him for injuries.
"They were blackmailing me Claire. I came here to make a drop." Lex watched as Claire gave him a look that she did not believe everything he was saying. "Now you're wondering if your father's been right about me all along?" Lex stared Claire in the eye before looking back to the wall the mysterious men had traveled through. "They stole a computer disk that contains confidential information."
"What was on it?" Claire questioned while still watching Lex.
Lex sighed and ran a hand over his head. "Nothing illegal, but it's not something I want in the public domain. I told you I'd handle it. The question is, what were you doing here?"
Claire turned to look at anything but Lex. Not sure how many lies she could tell anymore. "I was following a hunch."
"Is this because of Chloe? Claire, you can't save the world. All you'll end up with is a Messiah complex and a lot of enemies." Lex moved to stand in front of Claire and wrapped a finger under chin.
"I saved you didn't I? That turned out alright. So what's your next move?" Claire questioned as she looked into Lex's eyes.
"They're gonna learn that it doesn't pay to rob Lex Luthor."
After that Lex drove Claire back to the farm, being sure to drop her off a little ways from the bright yellow house. "Thanks for the ride Lex. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Claire then exited the car and Lex watched as she made her way towards her home. Quickly rolling down the window he yelled out to her. "Get some sleep Claire. This mess will still all be here tomorrow."
Giving Lex a light wave Claire made her way upstairs and straight to bed. Waking up the next morning to her mother yelling her name, Claire quickly got out of bed and made her way down to the kitchen. "Claire!"
Claire made her way to her mother. "What's going on."
Martha hung up the phone she had in her hands and looked to her daughter with a smile. "Chloe woke up."
"That's great mom!" Claire spoke happily. Moving quickly she grabbed her things and made her way to the door. "I'm gonna visit her before classes, I will see you later." Then before her mother could get out a word Claire had vanished from sight.
After visiting Chloe and attending classes, Claire had every intention of going back to home but found herself following one of the leads Chloe had given her to an old warehouse. Entering the building she x-rayed her surroundings and found people in the building. Just as she was about to enter she heard a vehicle pull up and turned to see Lex had arrived.
"Claire!" Lex called as he got out of his car and rushed towards her. "Lana called and told me about the information Chloe had given you. Claire, you should have called me first."
"Lex, I'm sorry, I didn't know they would be here." Then with that Claire began to head for the building.
Lex pulled out his cell phone and looked at Claire. "Claire, wait. I'm calling the police." Lex looked down to dial and when he looked back up found Claire had vanished.
Claire was able to subdue the men just as the police rushed in, Lex trailing behind them. Once Lex saw Claire sitting on the ground leaning against a wall he rushed towards her. "Claire, are you okay?"
"I'm fine Lex." Claire spoke as she felt the effects of the meteor rocks wearing off. "What did you tell the police?" She watched as the officers took the men into custody.
Lex moved to help Claire up off the ground and once she was on her feet he inspected her for damage. "The truth. Those guys broke into my house and that you figured it out, tried to be a hero, and got in over your head."
"But what about the-" Claire began.
"Walking through walls part? I don't think the cops could handle that much truth." Lex placed his arm around Claire's waist and began to lead her towards the exit of the building.
Just as they reached the vehicle Claire remembered Lex's disk. "Sorry, your disk. It was destroyed."
Lex placed his hands on Claire's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "I didn't come out here for that, Claire. I came because my friend was in trouble."
Standing on her tip toes Claire brought her lips up to his and kissed him lightly, before pulling back. "Thank you."
A few days later, morning came and Claire found herself helping Chloe into the coffee shop. "Ah, the sweet smell of freedom." Chloe spoke with a smile as she sat herself down at one of the tables, careful to not bump her cast.
"Chloe, you were in the hospital, not Alcatraz." Claire laughed lightly as she said this and proceeded to sit down across from her friend. Quickly a waitress came over and took their orders, before leaving.
"You spend a week in there, and you'd feel like a prisoner too. I mean, come on. Eating bad food, lights out by nine, and no cable? I'm thinking about doing an expose." Said Chloe with a huff. Just then Lana came into the shop and moved to stand next to Claire as she examined Chloe.
"How are you feeling Chloe?" Lana asked.
Chloe smiled lightly and looked between her two friends. "Good, and as soon as I get this thing off I will be even better. Then I can go down to the police station and do a little checking. Apparently none of the tattoo ink was found at the loft and Scott and Derek aren't saying anything to anyone, so I smell a cover up."
"It's good to have you back Chloe." Claire smiled as she looked at her friend, then her smile widened as she noticed Lex enter the coffee shop. Quickly he moved towards the group coming to rest by Chloe.
"Thanks for coming." Lana spoke as she looked at Lex.
Claire looked towards Lana, then to Lex. "What's going on?" Questioned Claire as she assessed her friends.
Sticking his hands in his jacket pocket Lex just smiled. "I got in touch with Lana here about a potential business arrangement."
Reaching into the box bag she had draped around her shoulder she pulled out a large folder filled with papers and handed them to Lex. "Here is my proposal. Small towns across the country have revived their old downtowns, returning them to the social centers they once were. They didn't do this by building cookie-cutter malls or parking garages. They did it by restoring the great old buildings that were already there, turning them into cafes, bookstores and restaurants."
Lex opened the folder he had been given and riffled through the papers. "You want to turn the Talon into a cafe-bookstore? Who's gonna manage it?" Closing the folder Lex watched Lana carefully, reading more off her body language than her actually words.
"Nell said she'd be interested and I can train with her after school, try running it myself in the summers." Lana spoke proudly and confidently.
"You've definitely impressed me." Lex spoke as he held the folder in the air for emphasis.
"So it's a deal?" Lana questioned hopefully.
Lex smiled. "I need to look over everything, but yeah. It's a deal."
"Really?" Lana questioned as she smiled widely and placed her hand on Claire's shoulder, as she tried to contain herself.
"Really. I think this could be the start of a very interesting partnership." Lex then gave a quick glance to Claire and excused himself, heading for the door and making his way out to the street.
"Hey would you guys be okay if I caught up with you tomorrow?" Claire spoke quickly standing and rushing out of the coffee shop without waiting for an answer. Heading out side Claire quickly looked around to see Lex just opening his car door. "Lex!"
Running towards him Claire stopped once she reached his side. "What is it Claire?" Lex questioned as he leaned against his car door and looked at the young woman.
"I just wanted to say thank you, for giving Lana a chance." Said Claire as she stuck her hands in the back pockets of her daisy dukes. Her normal red flannel was untucked and hanging to just revel the hem of her shorts.
"Claire, Lana did that all on her own. I told her if she could give me a good proper business plan then I would consider backing her." Said Lex in response.
"I know she won't let you down Lex." Claire said with a smile.
Pushing up off the door Lex fingered the keys in his hand. "I was planning on just going back to the mansion and shooting some pool by myself, it would be far more enjoyable I think if you were to accompany me?" Lex watched as Claire smiled brightly at him, and he could not help as he felt his heart swell slightly at the sight of her.
"I think that sounds much better than doing my chores." Spoke Claire as she skipped her way to the other side of the car.
"Your parents aren't going to come looking for you, are they?" Lex questioned as both he and Claire sat down in the car and closing the doors behind them.
"Oh, don't worry. It takes me no time at all to finish my chores. They won't miss me at all." Said Claire as she looked across the cab to Lex.
Lex smirked lightly and turned to see Claire watching him. "Good." He said as he leaned across to bring his lips to her ear. "Because I don't know what your father would do if he caught me fucking his daughter on the pool table." Lex felt the heat on Claire before he ever saw the blush on her cheeks, and he let out a slight chuckle at his ability to turn her red in an instant.