Oh my goodness, sorry for the long wait! I went on vacation and then got caught up by another fic I'm working on. The next update shouldn't be so long of a wait! Thank you to those who are following and have left reviews!
I've been considering doing a Lex pov in the next chapter, so feel free to let me know if you'd like to see that!
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Peyton sat slumped in the armchair with her back against one armrest and her legs over the other. They'd been talking for a couple hours now and there was too much information swirling around in her head.
"Ok, so your dad's name is Lionel and he runs LuthorCorp, my family," she used air quotations around family, "runs a business called Woods Inc., and you and I have been going to the same prep school since first grade."
Lex nodded in affirmation and she sighed as her head knocked back against the chair. There was so much to know and too much to remember.
"The only good thing I have going for me is that I already know a lot of business management. Personal information though? Yeah. That's going to be harder to remember."
"If you ever get in a tight spot, all you have to do is smile pretty and change the subject. People hardly notice."
Peyton rolled her eyes. She was actually feeling a little drowsy as she sank further into the chair. The room must be too warm, and they had been talking for quite awhile.
"You rich people and your pretty smiles."
She grinned cheekily to let him know she was joking and he scoffed in mock offense. He'd seemed to relax the longer they'd talked and she hoped that his home life was better than that first introduction to his father had made it seem. Yawning, she shifted so that she was sitting up straighter in the chair and tried to shake her arms loose.
"What about you," she asked.
"What about me?"
"Well, if we've gone to the same school all this time, I should probably know something about you. I can promise you that lady out there is going to ask me a million questions about our supposed study time the first chance she gets. She kinda creeps me out, actually. I think she might be plotting corporate takeovers or something."
"Probably not far off," Lex muttered. Peyton chuckled. "What do you want to know?"
"How about you tell me some things I should know and we'll go from there."
Lex pondered while she yawned again. She understood the halt in the conversation. It was always difficult to find things to say about yourself when put on the spot, and she'd been in this sort of situation herself more than she really cared for.
"I like long walks on the beach, hol-"
"Yeah, ok. None of that. Come on."
"Fine. I graduate next year and then I'm getting sent off to learn more about how to run my father's company. My, uh, my mother… passed when I was young."
Peyton's expression flickered as her lips dropped and eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "That must have been difficult."
Lex shrugged.
"She was sick," was all he said.
Peyton didn't push the subject as she knew a closed off tone when she heard one.
It was then that one of the hired help poked their head into the room.
"Miss, your parents would like to know when you'll be completed with your project. They have retired to the drawing room for their evening drinks."
"Couldn't even come ask themselves," Peyton muttered under her breath. "Um, I guess now," she said to be heard.
She and Lex stood from their armchairs and headed for the door; the woman nodded and opened the door fully to let them through. Peyton escorted Lex back to the front entrance after thanking the messenger woman and informing her that she had it from here. It was dark outside, but the large driveway was lit by inlaid ground lighting. In all, the driveway alone was larger than her entire front yard. She snorted a bit at the extravagance and shook her head.
"It was nice seeing you again," she said as Lex loitered on the steps. "Even though you didn't have to come over, thank you for doing it. It helped to see a familiar face."
Lex shoved one hand into his pocket and fiddled with his keys with the other.
"Well, if you ever need me, you can just call. I gotta admit, I've never met someone from a parallel universe before."
Peyton snorted.
"This is a first for me too. But hopefully I'll be waking up any minute now. I really can't be late to work again."
Lex huffed quietly.
"Right."
"Anway," Peyton said as she ran a hand quickly through her hair, "I should let you get going. You shouldn't be driving in the dark."
"Yeah; definitely the most dangerous thing I've ever done."
With a admonishing scowl, Peyton playfully shoved Lex's shoulder to get him moving.
"I don't even want to know."
He loitered a moment longer, shifting from foot to foot before nodding and heading down the stairs.
"See you later," he tossed over his shoulder.
"Probably much later for you than me," Peyton commented quietly to herself.
She shuffled back into the mansion with a backwards wave when she saw headlights pop on. The poor, hired help was in the foyer, waiting or watching, Peyton didn't know which. She smiled at the woman as she headed for the stairs.
"Thank you for staying up just to keep an eye on us," she said. "If my, uh, parents are still up you could tell them I went to bed? And you should definitely relax or something. I don't know, have a cup of cocoa on me."
The woman only nodded in a stunned silence as Peyton patted her shoulder on her way up the stairs. She felt bad sending the woman on an errand for her, but she was tired, and really, she should be blinking awake any second now. It was a bit odd, actually, that she hadn't yet. But she wasn't going to freak out yet. Not yet.
Instead she dug through this foreign-world-Peyton's dresser until she found pajamas and brushed her teeth with the girl's toothbrush.
"It's my mouth," she told herself repeatedly. "It's my toothbrush, it's my-ugh! This is still really gross."
She made it to the bed and still hadn't blinked away yet. Her body felt heavy, her eyes burned, and her head felt a little cloudy, but she was still in this world. Maybe she just had to close her eyes. Maybe that would get her home. Right. Just like last time.
But she hadn't taken the cold medicine this time! She hadn't stayed so long when she slept undrugged. Her heart spiked at the thought that maybe she would end up staying longer and longer as she continued to find herself here.
No, no. She couldn't think like that.
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Peyton sighed with a tiny smile as she heard her alarm clock beeping irritatingly. She sat up and turned it off before stretching and rubbing at her eyes. Finally, she was beginning to- wait. Eight-thirty? She never set her alarm for that late!
The mansion bedroom still encased her, the large four poster bed a stark and unwelcomed sight.
"No, no, no-no. Not again!"
Peyton tried to take a few deep breaths, but her lungs felt tight.
A few minutes, she tried to tell herself, give it a few minutes. Like last time.
So she sat frozen on the airy bed, tangled in a too fluffy comforter as she waited. The clock read eight thirty-five and she hadn't moved. Light shine in through the window and a few birds were singing nearby. Eight fifty and she still saw the tall bed posts. Nine o'clock and her stomach really started to churn.
The cell phone on her nightstand chirped, and Peyton broke her comatose gaze to drag her eyes down to it. She flipped it open and a text flashed on screen. It was from Lex.
[Do we still need to do that project?]
He was testing the waters to see if she was still here. She wondered if he did that every time. Perhaps he was constantly tiptoeing around her, unsure of which Peyton was in this body at any given time. With a shaking hand she clenched the phone.
[I'm still here.]
Peyton dropped the phone and staggered out of the bed. The sheets pulling on one leg as if trying to convince her to stay. But she couldn't sit still any longer. She had to move, to do something. Her body buzzed as if it had finally gotten true sleep that she'd been denying it.
She showered and dressed, only coming back into the bedroom after drying her hair and dusting on some makeup just to try and calm herself with routine. It didn't help much.
She picked up her phone on her way out of the room, there was another text waiting her her.
[Be over as soon as I can.]
She huffed as she made her way down the the ground floor.
[Don't have to. I can figure this out.]
By the time she found the kitchen she got a reply.
[Still coming over.]
There were people working in the kitchen that paused their work to stare at her as she wandered in. Peyton stumbled to a stop as she awkwardly surveyed the space. She coughed to break the silence and waved timidly.
"Um, good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, Miss Woods. Anything I can help you with?"
Peyton shoved the flip phone in her pocket and gestured emptily.
"Just, uh, getting some breakfast?"
A woman making coffee shot her a skeptical look while the chef raised an eyebrow. Peyton realized, belatedly, that this probably wasn't normal behavior for the teen girl usually in this body. She gnawed on her lower lip briefly shrugged.
"Trying something new," she said by way of explanation.
She sidestepped the help and poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed a piece of toast off a tray. The kitchen was oddly quiet.
"Thanks!"
With one last nod, she skittered out of the room and darted out a side door.'
The side door actually led outside, and Peyton found her skin kissed by the cool, brisk morning air. It smelled like the cold and a strong breeze was blowing that cut right through her shirt. She almost turned right around and went back inside, but the thought of walking back through the kitchen was too humbling, so she decided to stick it out in the cold.
The grounds were vast and meticulously groomed. It was obviously cared for by a crew and much larger than the small yard that Clara and she shared. Still, the meticulous lawn and garden-esque trees did nothing to quell her nerves. This had to be the longest she'd ever been stuck in this world so far.
Finding a bench, Peyton sat with her stolen goods and sipped at the still hot coffee. The coffee was a smooth dark roast. She closed her eyes and let the hot liquid sit on her tongue a moment before swallowing it down.
"Oh, that's good," she said to no one.
Definitely imported.
Before long the toast and coffee were gone and the cool weather was beginning to become a little too much for her to bear. She darted back through the same door and hurried through the kitchen with a few waves and even less eye contact.
The main floor of the mansion was empty and quiet. Peyton wandered down various halls looking for signs of the people who were supposed to be her parents. After not finding anyone after several minutes, she finally stopped a woman passing with folded towels.
"Excuse me, do you know where my, uh, parents are?"
The woman paused and blinked once before responding.
"At work, miss. Like usual."
"Right. Of course. Thank you."
The woman blinked again and almost seemed like she was stammering as Peyton patted her on the shoulder and continued on. She explored a bit more of the house that way until her stomach churned painfully as the minutes turned into another hour and a half and she still hadn't returned to her own body. Caffeine probably hadn't been the best choice given the anxiety she was now facing.
She made her way to the front entrance and collapsed on the top step outside to let the cold bite into her some more. Perhaps it would wake her up.
A car came screeching up the drive, shaking her from her daze. Lex stepped out from the driver's side and shoved his keys into his pocket as he approached her on the stairs. Peyton peeked up at the approaching teen through her fingers she she kept her face buried in her hands. Her insides were beginning to feel a bit numb.
"I'm still here," she croaked.
Lex shifted momentarily on the stairs before sitting next to her. The cold bit further into her skin. She felt when he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, it's going to be ok."
Peyton scoffed lightly and pulled her head out of her hands.
"Really? 'Cause I've never been here this long before. I should have woken up last night! What if Clara is trying to wake me up again? What if, I just- I just-"
She felt like she was starting to hyperventilate. It was hard to pull in breaths. She really shouldn't even be losing it like this in front of a kid. Warm hands gripped the sides of her face and forced her to look up. Lex looked intently down at her and Peyton was able to see the variation in his steely blue eyes.
"Listen to me, I promise you that as long as you're here, nothing will happen to you. I'll make sure of it."
There wasn't any joking in his tone or gaze. He really meant what he said and believed he could fulfill such a promise. Peyton remembered being that young. She let out a shaky giggle and pulled his hands from her face to hold them in her lap.
"Thank you," she said. "But you shouldn't have to worry about these kinds of things, and you don't owe me anything. I-"
"I want to." He insisted.
Even though he was only seventeen, there was still a mature way in which he held himself and a tone in his voice that quieted Peyton's protests. Something in his eyes flashed, but she didn't know quite what it was. Determination? Rebellion? As much as she told him he didn't really know her, she knew just as little about him. She simply nodded in concession for now; it wasn't worth it to argue about something like this. Not when he had a sharpness to his gaze that said he wouldn't let it go anyway.
Lex turned his hand over and laced his finger through hers, pulling her up to her feet before she could protest at the familiarity of the touch.
"How about we get you out of here for a bit? Maybe it'll help to get out of the house."
Peyton hesitated.
"I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing."
"You keep telling me you're actually an adult," Lex pointed out. "Are you really going to wait around for permission from people you don't even see as your parents?"
One of her brows ticked up as she suppressed an amused smile.
"Well, I guess when you put it that way."
She loitered by the passenger side door, recalling suddenly the screeching of tires only minutes before and debated on whether to demand the keys. But it was his car, she didn't know where she was, truly, and to top it off she wasn't even sure if this Peyton had a driver's license. A bit regretfully, she opened the door and slid into the seat.
"Just, uh, promise me you'll take it easy on the road, ok? No crazy teen driving, alright?"
Lex just grinned.
He drove like a true teen, with the devil on his heels, and by the time they'd entered city limits and were forced to slow down Peyton was sure she'd crushed the emergency handle. The city wasn't one she recognized, not that she'd exactly expected to, but it definitely wasn't New York or Chicago, or any she could identify from the West coast.
"What city is this," she asked. They passed a skyscraper with "LuthorCorp" stamped on the top and she swallowed a little. Definitely not just regular rich. Super rich.
"Metropolis," Lex answered. "Do you not have this city in your world?"
"If we do, I've never heard of it."
Lex pulled into what was probably a private parking garage and Peyton stumbled out onto solid ground with a bit of dramatics.
"Next time I drive," she insisted. "You're going to hit someone one day driving like that!"
"You and what license," Lex goaded. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're at a slight disadvantage here. You don't even know where you are."
Peyton scowled.
"Smart-aleck."
He led her out of the parking garage and out into the cool city streets. Peyton rubbed at her arms, realizing she'd forgotten a coat, and Lex noticed.
"Here."
He pulled off his leather jacket and set it over her shoulders leaving himself with only a long-sleeved sweater. She almost protested, but she was in a simple blouse and he'd probably insist anyway. For the moment she let him play the gentleman.
"Thank you."
The city reminded her of New York, in that it looked large and was teaming with people in a hurry to get where they were going. Along the store fronts hung various boughs of garland and twinkling Christmas lights. In one window a sign hung that warned there were only five days til Christmas. It wasn't anywhere near the holiday season back in her world, all that was still a few months off. But she supposed with such inconsistent gaps in their timelines, she couldn't expect anything to really match up. She kept up with Lex as she took in the sights and smells of the bustling city. It was clear they were in a more wealthy district, evidenced by the surrounding boutiques and the dress of the people passing them.
Ahead of them a tall tower gleamed brightly and was impossible to miss thanks to a giant golden globe that spin on the top of the building. Peyton tugged at Lex's sleeve and pointed up.
"What building is that?"
"That? That's the Daily Planet. The newspaper? Do you not that that either?"
"I think I'd remember a building so ostentatious. Sometimes I don't know how to take this place, you know? There are flip phones and clunky computers still, but then you guys have things like news making meteor showers and gravity defying planets on top of skyscrapers. I can't tell if this is supposed to be the same earth or not."
"Have you ever thought that maybe you're the proof scientists have needed for things like String Theory and parallel universes? Maybe there were some different choices made that formed this universe."
She hadn't quite thought of it that way before. Still, it made just as much sense as waking up in someone else's body did. She hummed a little to acknowledge he spoke and shoved her hands into the pockets of Lex's jacket.
They continued on down the crowded sidewalks without any real destination in mind, it seemed. Lex would point out certain buildings as they passed and explain what they were or tell her about a popular city park as they walked through. After a while Peyton forgot that she was supposed to be waking up and became more engaged in the conversation and learning the history of Metropolis.
When their skin chilled a little too much, Peyton pulled Lex into the next passing eatery to sit and warm up. A waitress came by and dropped a couple menus in front of them, and Lex actually picked on up and began perusing it. Peyton glanced at the pictures and sipped at her glass of water.
"Aren't you going to get anything?"
"I'll just wait until I get back to the mansion," she said. "I didn't exactly bring a wallet."
Lex rolled his eyes and shoved the menu closer to her.
"I did. Just eat something."
Peyton huffed and fiddled with the menu, about to speak when Lex peered over the top of his own.
"If you don't, I'll just order for you."
The gaze she shot him was droll.
"You're a pushy teen, you know that?"
"And you're a stubborn adult. I guess we're even."
She couldn't exactly tell him he was wrong.
When they were finished eating and felt like they'd decently thawed they headed back out. They had only made it half a block when Peyton found herself blinded by the flashing of camera lights.
"What the heck?"
There were at least five people hovering around then, their cameras clicking and voices calling out rapidfire questions.
"Look over here!"
"Is this a date?"
"How long have you been keeping this relationship secret?"
A hand slipped into her and Peyton felt a tug.
"Come on," Lex's said into her ear. "We better get out of here."
They ran with Lex still tugging her along as she glanced back now and then in confusion.
"Was-was that paparazzi?"
"Yes, the rats."
They lost the men a few blocks away, but Lex still led her back to the parking garage.
"I can't believe I just got hounded by paparazzi," she said a bit breathlessly. She laughed lightly and stared up at Lex. "Can you believe that? Where did they even come from?"
"My theory is that they use the sewers."
Peyton didn't even think about his previous driving as she plopped down in the passenger's seat and caught her breath. She gripped the emergency handle again as Lex lurched out of the parking spot and shot back out onto the city streets. The city blurred by again and Peyton shed her borrowed jacket as the car warmed. She was still unfamiliar with the city, so she didn't realize that he wasn't driving back to drop her off at the mansion until the city had turned into sprawling grasslands. The house she'd woken in had been on a private acreage, but not quite as remote as they were now.
"Where are we going? This doesn't look familiar."
"I thought it'd be a good idea to lay low for a little while," Lex said. "Your parents are probably going to have a strong reaction when they see the new tabloids. Besides, it seems only fair that you get to see the Luthor mansion after I saw your estate."
"Not mine," Peyton corrected quietly. "And where is this place? I see farmland and an obvious lack of any sort of mountain range, so I'm guessing we're somewhere in the Midwest."
"Kansas," Lex confirmed. "Which makes this mansion one of the most out of place structures this state has."
"How's that?"
"Well, it was literally imported over from Scotland."
A disbelieving smile crept up Peyton's face as she churned the information over.
"Are you telling me you live in a castle?"
"Well, it's one of the places I live."
It did not disappoint when he pulled into the drive. The mansion was old stone with ivy creeping up the sides. Gorgeous. A large fountain decorated the drive and Peyton gaped as she stared up in wonder. Stained glass was set in some of the more prominent windows and a large, heavy wooden door barred intruders from entering. Peyton traced the grooves in the wood.
"Holy crap, you weren't kidding."
Most of the furniture inside of the home, if it could be called that, was covered with thick white sheets. It lent an eerie atmosphere to the space that Peyton grinned at. It was all extravagance and she let herself be swept up by the beauty of it instead of wondering about the cost. Lex trailed along somewhere behind her, allowing her to wander the halls as she saw fit. A pair of double doors opened to a large office. There was a fireplace on one wall and several large pieces of furniture, probably sofas and tables, covered and waiting to be used again.
"It's all beautiful," she said while turning around. "It's hard to imagine Kansas as a hub for anything, but man. Kind of a shame that it's not even lived in."
"It is off and on," Lex said. He stopped walking as he came level with her left side and she gave him a cheeky look as she felt his gaze linger. He smirked when she didn't shy away.
"Come on," he continued. "I'll show you the gardens."
Peyton followed, only remembering when she was hit by the bitter cold that she still hadn't woken in her own world.