Mystery Girl
Summary: Clark shows up at Lex and Lana's wedding with a mystery girl as his plus one.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chloe is not having a fun day. First she gets locked up in Lex's wine cellar for an hour because the big dumb alien that is her best friend can't answer his damn phone. One of the catering staff ended up rescuing her. Then she has to put up with a salty Lana. Why Lana is salty on her own wedding day Chloe couldn't tell ya. The other not-fun part of the day; Being the maid of honor as Lana marries the increasingly psychopathic Lex. Not that Lana wants to hear any of it.
Because, sure, trying to create an army of super soldiers from studying the meteor infected is the act of a sane man.
And lets not even mention he had Chloe herself kidnapped and experimented on. Nope. Lets just move along.
As the time for the wedding draws near Chloe wonders if Clark will even show up. In all honesty she's barely seen him these last couple of weeks. It's like he wants to bury his head in the sand and pretend the love of his life is not marrying the man who has become a bitter rival.
So imagine her shock when not only does Clark appear, he appears with a date. A stunning, curvy blond with hazel-green eyes in a dark green, draped collar dress that exposes a lot of shapely leg and frankly puts all the bridesmaids to shame.
"Clark?" she queries his name as she walks over.
"Oh, hey Chloe."
"Who's your friend?"
"Chloe this is Lexi. Lexi, Chloe," he introduces them.
"So you're the infamous Chloe," Lexi says with a wide grin as she assess the woman.
"Infamous?" Chloe questions, arching an eyebrow.
"I may have told a few stories," Clark mumbles.
And Chloe really wants to know what stories they were. "How did you two meet?"
"That's a question I would like to know as well."
Clark knew this was coming so he just turns to face the source of that voice. "Hi mom," he greets her with a hug and a kiss on her cheek.
Martha eyes her son for a few moment before her gaze turns to the woman he brought with him. She was surprised he brought a date. In fact she's surprised he came at all. Though in regards to Clark's companion Martha has had her suspicions with the way Clark has kept disappearing lately but that is all they were; suspicions.
"Hi! I'm Lexi!" she introduces herself in peppy tones, offering her hand.
"Just Lexi?" Martha inquires as she takes the offered hand.
"Alexia Branson. You've raised a very fine son, Mrs Kent. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here today. He saved my life not too long ago."
"Yes. He has a habit of doing that," the red-haired woman says with pride. Though now that leaves her with all sorts of questions on who this woman is and how much she knows about her son. "So, how did you two meet?" she returns to that question.
"We first met almost 4 years ago," Lexi answers.
Martha looks puzzled. An expression Chloe shares.
Clark elaborates. "We met during my, uh, summer vacation in Metropolis," he answers, referring to the summer he ran away.
"Good times," Lexi remarks almost dreamily.
Four years ago…
Clark has to say that putting on the red kryptonite ring and ditching that little snore fest of a town was up there with his best decisions. He has dropped everything that was Clark Kent. Even to go as far as call himself by his real name of Kal.
He had no past. No future. He just lived for the present now.
And like any other teenager that meant clubs and bars and picking up women.
Since he had come to Metropolis he had found it crazily easy to get women to notice him which was a sharp contrast to the boring old farmboy's luck with the opposite sex. The one annoyance he had found is that so far few of them lasted more than a few hours before he discovered just how shallow and vapid they were and after that he lost interest. All pretty packaging. No substance.
But you know he hasn't given up so he stands at the bar in a new club he's trying, sipping on his drink when he spots her. Cute little blond thing on the dance floor, her eyes closed, lost in the moment. He could say he had seen prettier but there was something…extra about this one. It was intangible. She had this aura…magnetism. She danced with complete freedom as if at total ease with herself. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, watching every graceful movement of her body and experiencing an itch, urge to go over there and feel close up every one of those curves.
So like a moth to a flame he saunters his way over. She doesn't even notice, not until she bumps into him.
The blond opens her eyes and looks up, a smile forming on her face. "My, my, you're a big one," she says suggestively.
"You interested in finding out how big?" he asks back with the same suggestive tones.
"Depends," she says slowing dancing round him, sliding her body against his. She can hear him rumble deeply in response.
"On?"
"Meeting my standards," she answers as she comes face to face with him and wraps her arms around his neck.
"Like?"
"Tell me, how do you feel about Bon Jovi?"
"That feels like a trick question."
She pouts. "Aw, you only say that because you don't know me," she coos.
"I would like to," he says with real sincerity.
"You could start with a name," she suggests.
"Kal."
"Lexi. The pleasure will be all yours," she promises cheekily.
The present…
Martha's face grows pensive as she is forced to remember that summer from hell. First losing her baby, then losing Clark in a way as well. They have never really discussed in detail exactly what Clark got up to those 3 months he was in Metropolis. He only ever gave the 'highlights'.
"But I'm sure you must have heard all about it," Lexi assumes about that summer.
"No," Martha dashes the woman's expectations.
"No," Chloe joins in.
"No?" Lexi asks, aiming a hurt look at Clark.
Clark rubs the back of his neck. "I can explain. I promise," he says guiltily.
"It better be a really good explanation," the blond woman tells him in no uncertain terms.
"It is…but this is not the place for it," Clark thinks. It's too personal to talk about in such a public venue.
"I have to agree," Martha says in truth. "So, how about we stick to the here and now. How long have you and Clark been seeing each other?"
"A couple of weeks," Lexi answers.
"How did you meet up again?" Chloe asks.
"It started just over a couple of weeks ago," Clark begins. "I got tired of all the wedding talk and decided I needed a break before I snapped."
"Oh right you needed the break. Not the maid of honor here," Chloe mutters in disbelief. After all she was the one abducted and experimented on recently.
"Anyway," he says in slightly louder tones, giving Chloe the stink-eye. "I ended up in Virginia. In this town called Mystic Falls."
At this point he looks at Lexi who takes up the story. "And I was there visiting my best friend on his birthday."
"We bumped into each other, found out that we still really connect and started dating," Clark gives the oh too simple explanation that barely covers it. The truth is far more complicated and one he's not sure his mother is ready for.
Two weeks ago…
Clark was sick of it. The whole wedding circus and it was not to do with his feelings whatever they still were for Lana. It was the fact his friend, if he wants to just label her as that, was marrying a psychopath. Everyone knew it. No-one, seemingly, could stop it or get Lana to see it. Believe him he tried.
He needed a break before he had one. A psychotic one that is. So, he just picked a direction and ran until he came to a stop outside this small town called Mystic Falls. Seemed like as good a place as any to take stock so he looked for somewhere quiet to find something to eat and maybe even have a drink. Yes, he's aware he's underage. Shows you what kind of mood he is in.
He ends up at a restaurant/bar called the Mystic Grill. He's just standing at the bar, ordering when suddenly someone with great physical strength spins him round, grabs his face and kisses him deeply and passionately. Here's the thing; it's a very familiar kiss.
Not surprisingly it takes Clark a few moments to regain his senses and when he does he spots a familiar blond woman standing there. "Lexi?" he queries, shocked as if unable to believe his eyes.
"Hello Kal."
Alexia 'Lexi' Branson may look like a stunningly beautiful woman…which she is but she's also a 350year old vampire. She was in town for her annual jaunt to visit her best friend, Stefan Salvatore, on his birthday. His 162nd birthday to be exact.
She arrived to find him still in his broody, woe-is-me, 'I'm a monster' phase. Seriously she would have thought he would have gotten over this by now. Luckily she is here to snap him out of his funk. Plus help him with his relationship problems while she's at it. He's got a crush on a local girl here called Elena…something. The surname escapes her.
She will not even waste a thought on the fact Stefan's brother Damon is here as well. God, she hates that jerk.
In her quest to get Stefan out of his funk she had gotten him out of his house and coming out to a party here at the Mystic Grill. The two were just enjoying in a game of pool, chatting when her extra keen vampire senses practically screamed at her. Her eyes flickered to the door and in 'he' walked. "I don't believe it," she remarks, stunned.
"Don't believe what?" Stefan asks while he tries to see what is looking at.
"Here, hold this," she says, passing him her pool cue as she makes her way over to the bar. The closer she got the more she knew without doubt it was Kal. The guy she had met when she was in Metropolis 4 years ago. There had just been something about him that had peaked her interest initially and then she discovered there was way more to him than met the eye.
Admittedly Lexi never did get him to spill exactly what he was but she did know when someone was in pain. Deep emotional pain that they were trying to hide from and call it her inner do-gooder but she felt a need to help him move past it and enjoy life, like she does. Under his arrogance she had found there was actually quite a sweet, kind boy. In the end it had only lasted a few weeks but it had been a fun few weeks until her friend Bree had contacted her needing her help.
And that was that. Until right now Lexi had never seen Kal again and as she approaches a wicked smile comes to her lips as she knows just how to greet him. She grabs him, spins him round and gives him a little reminder of the fun they had.
"Lexi," Clark repeats her name in a shocked whisper. The name of the one bright spot that been that entire blighted summer. Spending time with her had been the only time he had felt something approaching happy. She just had this way about her that almost dragged Clark out even through the red kryptonite haze…and hadn't that been inconvenient.
He also knows she is not a mere human. He guessed she was meteor infected but had never cared to ask for details.
Then she had left to go help a friend. He understood…well the Clark part of him did and it was after she had gone that he really fell into the worse version of himself. Without Lexi's influence restraining him that was when he went on his rampage of stealing cars, robbing banks, smashing up ATMs etc etc.
"Is that all you have to say to me?" she wonders, pouting slightly.
Clark pulls her into a hug. "You look great. How have you been?"
Lexi had forgotten how large and warm Clark is as she returns the hug. "Oh, the same."
Clark pulls back. "Still 'embracing life to the full'?" he asks, using her own words to describe her lifestyle.
"Of course. Life is too long to not enjoy it."
"Short. Life is too short," he corrects her.
"You have your saying. I have mine."
Clark smiles against his will. Still the same Lexi.
"So, what are you doing here?" the two ask together before sharing a laugh.
"You go first," Clark tells her.
"I'm visiting my friend," she points at Stefan. "It's his birthday."
"I see."
"And you?" she turns the question round.
"It's a long story," Clark says with a weary sigh.
Lexi smiles slightly. "Well, luckily for you time is something I have a lot of." She then grabs his hand and starts to drag him. "Come on I'll introduce you to Stefan and then we can catch up."
Stefan Salvatore has known Lexi his entire vampiric life. When he was lost to the darkness within it was always her that pulled him back. His point being is that he knows many of her moods and as he watches her and this 'Kal' or Clark as the man himself insisted on being called interact he can tell she's infatuated. It's the way she smiles and laughs and gazes longingly.
She can claim all she wants that she and Clark merely had fun for a few weeks a few years back but he thinks it is more than that. At least on her part. She needs to be careful. Vampire emotions are very powerful, overwhelming at times. When they fall in love they fall without limit.
As for Clark all Stefan can say for certain is that he looks happy and at ease with his friend. Then again Lexi tends to make everyone feel like that. Except for his brother.
"How on Earth do you know a billionaire?" Lexi is asking as Clark explains his current wedding woes.
"Saved his life once. His dad had sent him to Smallville to run the Chemical Plant and he was driving too fast, hit a roll of wire that had fallen off a truck and went off a bridge into the river. I just happened to be standing there…"
"And you dived in and saved him," Lexi guesses.
"Yep. Afterwards he wanted to thank me and we became friends but lately that's soured."
"How come?"
How to phrase this. "Lately he's become much more the corrupt businessman and didn't appreciate my criticism."
"So why did he invite you to his wedding then?"
"To rub it in my face," Clark says bitterly.
Lexi is now ravenously curious. "What do you mean?"
"The girl he's marrying, Lana, was my first love."
Lexi winces. "Ooh, what a bastard," she remarks before turning to Stefan. "Sounds like something your brother would do," she smirks making her bestie roll his eyes.
"Huh?" Clark queries.
"Stefan's brother, Damon, is a complete and total jackass. I only tolerate him for Stefan's sake," she responds.
"Hey!" Stefan protests.
"You know it's true," she defends herself totally unapologetic. She turns back to Clark. She was not totally surprised to learn Kal was not his real name. He had more or less confessed he had run away from home back then, merely mentioning it as some place he wanted to forget when she asked. She also knows there is so much more to learn about him. So much more she is eager to discover. He's a mystery and for today at least she likes solving mysteries. "So are you going?" she asks about the wedding.
Clark reaches for his drink and swallows some down. "It's a lose-lose."
"How so?"
"I go, he makes me watch. I don't, he can point at the empty chair as if he's proven a point."
"So a clever, scheming bastard then," she remarks, almost admiring it. Almost.
'You have no idea,' Clark thinks sourly to himself. Lex has fallen so far it's hard to believe he's even the same man Clark first met.
Lexi takes a sip of her own drink and contemplates. "You know there is a solution."
"Really? What?"
"You take a date."
"I take a what?" he looks at her, completely perplexed.
"Date. You show up with a woman on your arm and demonstrate that whatever Luthor thinks he's accomplishing he isn't. You show that you've moved on and that Luthor has only got the consolation prize."
"It's in two weeks. Where on Earth would I find someone in that time?" he asks sarcastically, thinking this is a ludicrous idea.
Lexi shrugs. "I'm available."
"What?" Stefan asks, looking at her if she's just grown a second head.
Clark looks at her intensely, trying to judge if she's serious.
"Who turns down the prospect of attending a billionaire's wedding. I bet the hors d'oeuvre alone will be worth more than this place," she says, a gleam of excitement in her eye.
"You are crazy," her bestie says.
"How long have you known me again?"
"Too long."
"I'm hurt," she pouts. "By the way your teenage crush is here," she points out.
Stefan's eyes flicker round the bar and spots Elena. He is about to get up when Lexi stops him.
"Let me talk to her. I think she got the wrong impression about you and me when she stopped by your place earlier."
"Why would she get the wrong impression?" Clark wonders.
"I was just out of the shower and in nothing but a towel…but you've seen me in less than that haven't you, Kal," she laughs salaciously as she cheekily winks at him before she gets up and heads for the brown-haired teenager.
Clark blushes and finds himself getting a hard look from the man with light brown hair. What can he say?
"Let me guess, it's not how it sounds?" Stefan supposes.
"Uh…no. It's exactly as it sounds," Clark is forced to concede, his face going redder still. What follows is an awkward silence until the girl Lexi was talking to comes over and requests to speak to Stefan in private. That leaves Clark alone. He looks for Lexi, only to see her disappear outside with a man with dark brown hair. He frowns, his eyes flicker into x-ray vision as he follows their movements. They stop and start talking. He does not go quite as far as eavesdropping though he is tempted. He blinks and lets his vision return to normal. After all what is he doing? Acting like a jealous boyfriend or something?
He means he likes Lexi. He's liked her since the first time he met her. She's fun and lives up to her philosophy of embracing life. He wishes he could be more like her but he is always held back by what he feels is the weight of his responsibility. He can't feel as free as her because he always feels slightly disconnected due to his alien nature.
Clark glances back up. Lexi has been awhile. He switches back to x-ray vision just as the police show up with a girl who points at Lexi. Then the man she was talking to jabs a needle into Lexi's side. Clark is up in an instant and heading for the door. He gets outside just as Lexi is being dragged away…instead of being put in the back of the police car?
He doesn't need Chloe levels of journalistic instinct to realise something is wrong. He follows and he's not the only one as Stefan and Elena do too. He manages to keep out of sight of all of them.
Once they are out of sight of the bar Clark gets a big shock when Lexi's face morphs, fangs appear in her mouth and she roars in rage, flinging her captors away. The Sherriff shoots at her to no effect.
That's when Clark sees what no-one else apparently does. That dark brown haired man Lexi had gone outside with moving towards her with a wooden stake in his hand. Regardless of the craziness he has just seen he does what he always does. Moves to save people. Time slows down as Clark accelerates into superspeed but even as moving as fast as he does he can still see the wooden stake move slowly towards Lexi's heart.
Clark drives himself to move faster as the stake gets within millimetres of Lexi's skin. With literally no time to spare, for even him, he shoves her out the way and the stake impacts him instead. It shatters on impact but he feels it. Enough to momentarily drive the air out of his lungs.
It means he stops and slips back into normal time and the man is staring at him in shock. Clark, meanwhile, is pissed. This guy hurt him but more than that, tried to kill Lexi. He backhands him with enough force to shatter the jawbone. The guy flies through the air and lands in a heap before Clark moves to check on Lexi who is sitting on the ground staring at him wide-eyed. He bends down. "Are you alright?" he asks with concern.
"He tried to kill me," she says in shock. "He tried to kill me," she repeats as her shock turns into anger. "I am going to rip his head off," she says, enouncing every word with pure rage.
"Freeze!" the Sherriff shouts.
"Later," Clark decides as he picks Lexi up into his arms and speeds off.
The present…
Lana arrives in the chapel to give it a last look over before her wedding. She is in a huff. She thought today would be the day she would learn Clark's secret. She had set the perfect trap. Lock Chloe in the wine cellar and wait for Clark to show up to save her while she waited in hiding to see what it was he could do.
Except Clark never showed up. By the fact he's here it seems like maybe he knew it was a set up. Lana huffs more when she spots him here with a date. A blond woman in a dress that shows off far too much flesh. How utterly inappropriate for any wedding, let alone hers. Though Lana can almost spare an ounce of sympathy for the poor woman. By now Clark must be already lying to her just like he does everyone else. With yet another huff she heads off to get ready for her wedding.
"Did it just get cold in here?" Lexi asks out-loud.
Clark put an arm across her shoulders and rubs her arms for her. She leans in and lets out a contented sigh.
"So, son, what are your plans for after the wedding?" comes the question from Lionel Luthor.
Clark still can't get used to Lionel being a 'friend' now. He keeps expecting the knife shoved in his back. "Uh, I'm actually applying to go back to college," he replies.
"Really? First I've heard about it," Martha asks, scrutinising Clark.
"Well I did try and phone you, mom but I kept getting assistants," he defends himself.
"What are you taking?" Chloe asks, happy to hear that her friend is choosing to finish his education.
Clark pauses but for a moment as he imagines Chloe's reaction but he guesses he can't avoid it. "Journalism."
Chloe's arms shoot into the air. "Yes! I knew I got you hooked," she gloats smugly.
A reaction that makes Lexi chuckle. She thinks she's gonna like her fellow blond.
Clark just smiles and shakes his head at her reaction. "Yes. You got me hooked. Congratulations."
"By the way where were you this morning? I tried to phone you," Chloe raises her gripe.
Clark's cheeks flush slightly and he can't meet his BFF's gaze.
Lexi is the one who answers. "Yeah. That may have been my fault. I was distracting him."
"Doing what?"
Lexi's smile gets positively dangerous, almost predatory. "You really want to know?" she asks.
"Lexi," Clark pleads.
Chloe looks at her and at Clark who is now pulling at his shirt collar and she finally gets it. "Ah, no. I think not."
"Good choice," Clark mutters because his mother is right there!
The ceremony was beautiful. Not the actual wedding. Just the ceremony but that is not a surprise considering the money Lex spent on it.
Outside the reception Clark, Lexi, Chloe and Jimmy are leaning up against the wall, nibbling on snacks and drinking. Jimmy is Chloe's plus one.
"Wow, you are really enjoying those," Chloe remarks at Lexi scoffing down the hors d'oeuvres.
"They're the only reason she's here," Clark quips.
"Not the only reason," she argues, shooting him a look. "I figured it was about time I met Clark's friends," she says to the other couple.
"Well it's nice to meet you," Jimmy says while he hides just how relieved he is that Clark has someone. He's been secretly worried that the second Clark saw Chloe for the amazing person she is he would lose her. "So what do you do when not single-handedly keeping the caterers in business?" the young photographer asks jokingly.
"My friends Bree, Lee and I run a bar in Atlanta," Lexi answers.
"Bree and Lee?"
Lexi sniggers. "I know, I know," she accepts the silliness of the rhyming names. "Believe me I've made every joke, every pun, every quip possible."
"Trust me she has," Clark confirms. "She introduced them to me last week and ran through most of them. I swear Bree was going to turn you into a toad…if she could," he tags on oddly.
"I was disappointed in her actually. She knows much better threats," Lexi makes light of it.
Clark smiles, shakes his head and then plants a kiss on her cheek which makes her grin softly in return. Both Jimmy and Chloe could see the two were actually really affectionate to each other.
"Clark," Martha says as she pops her head out. "Can I have a word?" she requests.
"Sure mom," he agrees easily.
As it turns out Martha was wanting to ask Clark more about Lexi and what she knows about him. The two sit alone in a corner and speak quietly.
"Everything," is his reply.
"Everything?" Martha queries, surprised.
"Well ok, not everything," Clark amends. "We've only been dating two weeks but the important stuff, yes."
"Important like how you're not from around here?"
Clark nods. "She already knew I was more than human from back in Metropolis. I wasn't exactly careful about using my powers and I wanted to show off to her."
"You must have liked her."
"She was…fun and interesting. Despite the, uh, ring I wasn't really happy but around her I was. She was the only bright spot of that whole summer."
"She must be special then," Martha picks up.
"She is," Clark confirms. She really is.
Two weeks ago…
Lexi is used to moving fast through the world but this was something else. The whole world blurred around her until suddenly she was being placed down on her feet upon sand. She looked around with her far superior vision and even in the dark saw she was standing on a beach. She could smell the sea air. "Are…are we at the coast?" she asks, a little disorientated.
"Yes."
"What are you?" the blond asks, scrutinising him closely.
"That was going to be my question for you," is his reply. "I saw what you did to those cops, Lexi. How your face changed and that guy…he was going to stake you…like…like…
"I was a vampire."
"Yeah."
"Well guess what, Clark. I am."
He looks at her like she's nuts. "Vampires aren't real, Lexi," he says in denial and no he's not counting Tri Psi sorority. That was just a meteor mutated virus.
"The 350 years I've been alive says otherwise. After all, how else do you explain what you saw?"
"I can think of a few explanations," he argues.
Lexi mutters inside her head. "You know I find it bizarre that someone who is clearly not human can't accept they are other non-human species that exist."
Clark is silent. Normally his default response is to deny, deny, deny but he can hardly do that in this case.
"Let me ask you something," Lexi raises. "That first night in Metropolis. Why did you come up to me?"
Clark starts wringing his hands. "It's hard to explain. I just saw you dancing and wanted to get to know you."
"You were drawn to me?"
"I guess."
"Why?"
"I don't know," he answers pathetically.
"Maybe you sensed on some level that I was different. Like you."
"You don't know what I am," he says with a slight undertone of self-loathing.
"Then tell me."
Clark starts pacing back and forth.
Lexi just stares at him hard. "Come on, Clark," she berates him. "Clearly you wanted to talk. That's why you dragged me here isn't it?"
Clark stops stock still, tension clear in his posture. "I dragged you here, as you put it, to save your life!" he snaps with more passion and emotion that he has displayed in ages.
"And I appreciate that, believe me," she says genuinely. She's not sure it has fully sunk in yet just how close she came to dying. Her right hand goes to her chest, over her heart and she rubs the spot. She looks at the tall, young man and realises something she missed earlier. Fear. She can smell it. He's afraid. "Clark. I won't judge you know. I've been alive a long time. I've seen things you would not believe. I know just how strange a place the world actually is underneath its surface."
Clark lets out a small, strange laugh. "Not underneath. Above. Far, far above," he says words that confuse the hell out of the blond vampire.
"Clark. Talk to me," she says in soft, compassionate tones. "I thought we were friends and I want to think we still are."
"I remember it being slightly more than just friends," he points out.
"Ok, friends with benefits," she concedes with a smile which elicits one from him in return. "By the way you still have that scar?" she wonders about the mark he had on his chest. The one his 'right bastard' of a father apparently placed there.
"No. My father removed it. He…it's a long story," he trails off, not sure where to even begin. His shoulders slump as the tension leaves his body.
Lexi walks over to him and takes his hands into hers. "Those benefits were pretty great, right?" she asks him, smirking.
"I see your ego remains intact," he dead-pans.
"Says Mr Arrogant," she retorts.
"That…that wasn't me. I was on…something."
Lexi can hear the shame in his voice. "Not anymore I hope."
Clark shakes his head. "No. I stopped. Lexi," he says, squeezing her hands. "I don't even know where to start," he admits honestly.
Well, that's a breakthrough. At least he wants to now. "Just start with the question I began with. What are you, Clark?"
His gaze can't quite meet hers. He's always so afraid of this. He's also really tired so just gives the simple, straightforward answer. "I'm an alien."
Lexi gazes at him for several moments. She can tell he's being truthful. Her lips then curve up into a child-like smile of wonder. "That's so cool!"
"Huh?" Clark asks, taken by surprise by her response.
"I'm 350years old, Clark. Do you know how rare it is for me to come across something new?"
Clark just looks at her with a mixture of emotions crossing his face. Relief that she hasn't instantly rejected him and puzzlement at her reaction.
"I think we have a lot to talk about," Lexi declares and Clark couldn't argue with her.
The present…
"Come on, Jimmy, I want a dance," Chloe decides, grabbing her boyfriend's hand and pulling him back inside.
Lexi follows them back inside but hangs near the door. She isn't there alone for long as the bride of the day walks up to her. Seriously this is Clark's first love? Lexi is not seeing what is so special about her.
On what should have been the happiest day of her life, Lana Lang was actually extremely annoyed. First, she hadn't been able to discover Clark's secret and then he turns up with a date. An actual friggin date. And seriously the woman was too showy in that dress. Teasing people with her curves. She thought Clark was not as shallow as that. "I'm Lana Lang," she introduces herself, holding out her hand.
"Lexi Branson," she replies, choosing to be polite for the moment but when she takes the offered hand she makes sure to squeeze a little too hard.
Lana tries not to let it show just how much that grip hurt. "So, you and Clark known each other long?" she asks, making polite small talk.
"We've known each other for nearing 4 years but only started dating a couple of weeks ago," she gives the reply he and she worked out if anyone asked.
"Really? He's never mentioned you?"
Yes and Lexi has not forgotten to ask him about that. She just hasn't had a chance yet but she's not going to give this girl the advantage of knowing that. "Well I guess he likes to keep me his little secret," she puts a spin on it.
"Be warned. He likes his secrets."
"That so?"
"Clark lies. He doesn't trust anyone," Lana says shortly.
"He trusts me."
"I see he has already pulled the wool over your eyes."
Lexi just laughs mockingly. "Wow. You know for the supposed happy bride you have a bad case of bitter ex syndrome."
"Just trying to offer some friendly advice."
"In that case let me offer mine. You've already inflicted more than enough emotional harm on Clark. Keep trying to sink your claws back into him and I will not be held responsible for what happens next," the blond says plainly.
"You threatening me?"
"No. I only make threats to people who actually matter," Lexi dismisses the brunette out of hand.
Lana glared but she no idea who or what she is dealing with as Lexi glares back and Lana finds herself powerless in front of those eyes.
"Now why don't you go back to your husband and leave me and Clark alone," an all-powerful commanding voice instructs her. Compels her to be exactly accurate.
Lana nods and wordlessly heads off to find Lex.
Lexi snorts her disdain.
"Thank you."
Lex turns her head to see Clark is back. "For what?"
"Not eating her," he says in a serious voice but his lips are curved up into a lopsided grin.
"She'd probably give me indigestion."
Clark chuckles and gives his 'undead' girlfriend a hug.
The blond vampire sinks into his embrace. "You know, I think you really disappointed her today."
"Who?"
"Lana."
"In what way?"
"You know when the priest got to that part about anyone objecting?"
"Yeah?"
"She looked right at you like she expected you to stand up."
"I…what?!" he splutters. "That's crazy," he thinks.
"Is it?"
"Yes," he insists. "Look, I admit part of me will always care for her but she made her choice. I tried to dissuade her. I told her I'd support her as a friend if she called it off but nothing I said made a blind bit of difference. Tried telling her about Lex's off the book human experimentation and all I got is accusations of me being bitter and jealous. She refuses to see Lex as he is now. That's part of the reason why I needed to get away for a bit."
"Well I won't complain about that last part since it brought you back into my life," Lexi says affectionately. "So, what was your mother wanting?" she moves the topic on.
"To know who you are."
"What did you say?"
"I skirted around it for now but we are going to have to tell her soon," he informs her.
"You don't like lying to her, do you."
"No."
"It's your choice, Clark. If you think she can handle it I'll show her if necessary."
"Yeah. That'll be some day," he says with some slight dread over what will happen.
Lexi lets loose a deep throated laugh. "I promise to be gentle," she assures him.
"That'll be a first," he quips.
Lexi looks up and sees ever so briefly the 'bad boy' she remembers from Metropolis. "Ah, there you are, Kal," she whispers as she pulls his lips to hers for a kiss. With him there's no need for her to be gentle. Much more fun that way. Though it does take some self-restraint on her part not to give in to her more carnal side right here and now. That's because vampire emotions are much stronger than a human's. They feel much more deeply. Which is why she is so glad Clark decided to give this…them a chance.
Two weeks ago…
Clark had scoured the beach and constructed a little campfire and now he and Lexi sat at right angles to each other on 2 logs. When he lit the fire with his heat vision he had noticed the child-like wonderment in her eyes and it took a mental slap to remind himself of what she was and not what he remembered his friend from 4 years ago to be.
He listens to Lexi give a brief history of the vampire race. Of their creation through a magic spell a thousand years ago transforming one single family into the first vampires. The Originals are they referred to and how they subsequently discovered that they could pass their 'gift' on, thus spawning the vampire race.
Though Lexi herself admits she only knows myths and legends about it.
"Every vampire alive today is descended from one of those original six." Lexi is explaining. "Though their blood has become diluted so none of us are as powerful as them."
"Why the spell? What were they trying to achieve?"
"They wanted to live forever according to the stories I've heard."
"So why vampires? "
"Huh?"
"I mean why were they transformed into that particular form?"
Lexi scratches her head. "Not sure. Never met an Original to ask. I'm not sure anyone has in centuries. Most of what I know is myth and legend passed down through the centuries."
"Are they still alive?"
"Legend says they can't be killed like the rest of us. If that is true then they should still be alive somewhere. In that case I guess it could be that I have met one and never knew it if they choose to remain hidden amongst the rest of us."
"How did you become one?"
Lexi adopts a small smile and a far-off stare. "It was 1680. I had just turned 21. My parents were dead. The plague. I was left to look after my little brother when I started to get sick. Then one day a man showed up. In modern terms he was the local doctor. He couldn't do anything except one thing. Turn me."
"He was a vampire," Clark gets.
"You have to understand Clark. My brother was everything to me. The only family I had left. I needed to take care of him and if the only way I could do it was to become a vampire then that is what I would do so I agreed to be turned," she explains her choice passionately.
"Is it painful?"
"You have to die first so you can be reborn so it depends on how you die and when you awaken you're hungry…and I don't mean like craving a double cheeseburger. The hunger for blood is all consuming, maddening. You can become feral, like a wild animal, consumed with the need to hunt and feed but that's only if you don't feed regularly. As long as you do the urges are easy enough to keep in check."
"Do you? Feed regularly?"
"Of course I do. I must or I die…so to speak."
"So to speak?"
"We desiccate…mummify if we're starved of blood but that's not the question you want to ask is it?" she has an inkling. "Go ahead. Ask it. You know you want to," she tells him.
"Do you kill people?"
"No because it's not necessary."
Clark looks at her puzzled, his brow drawn down.
"Blood donors," she says, seemingly randomly. "They give what? A pint of their blood with no ill effects. The same applies to vampires. We can take some of a person's blood with no long-term effects. We can live off animal blood but it's not as nutritious. We were created to be the predators of humans. Human blood is what our bodies were meant to feed off."
"And you're ok with this?"
"I accept what I am if that is what you're asking. If you're looking for some sort of brooding, remorseful, conflicted figure from a film or tv show you're looking at the wrong vampire. That's more Stefan than me."
"If you could, would you go back to being human?"
"No," she states simply.
"I need to think," Clark says as he gets to his feet.
"Where are you going?" the blond vampire asks, a fission of pain in her voice.
"For a walk. I'll be back. I promise. I just need to think alone," he tells her as he walks away.
Lexi watches him go until even her enhanced vision can no longer see him and then she turns to staring into the fire. Is she genuinely surprised by his reaction? Probably not. Almost anyone she has told or discovered the truth has needed some time to come to terms with it…or they try and kill her as an 'inhuman monster'.
She rubs her stomach. There are butterflies present. She's really worried that Clark will not be able to accept her. It's a horrid feeling. One she has not had in a long time. Not since…
Oh no! Does…does she like Clark? In the more than friends sort of like? That would seem crazy for someone she hasn't seen in 4 years. It's not something she can answer easily even as she stares into the fire and contemplates.
"Can I see it?"
Lexi's brow furrows slightly as she cricks her neck round to see Clark has returned. "See?" she asks, not understanding.
Clark strides forward and sits down next to her. "Your…other face," he clarifies. He finds Lexi looking into him intently. "Please," he requests.
Lexi closes her eyes momentarily as she pulls the vampire within out with an animalistic growl. Her eyes turn red and blood-shot with protruding veins and her canines elongate into fangs. She then watches Clark studying her.
Clark had only seen the transformation at a distance before. While he was off walking he was basically trying to reconcile the friend he remembered from Metropolis with what she actually is. What she kept hidden from him…which he realised was what was actually bothering him. After awhile a voice played off in his head in who is he to judge? He kept himself hidden from her.
In the end what won out was the long-buried feelings of warmth for her. Feelings that may be beyond friendship. He's not sure but there was only one way to find out, wasn't there so he came back.
Clark's hands reach up and he gently traces his fingers along the veins around her eyes and down her cheeks to the tip of her chin, where he then tips her face upward as he leans in and kisses at first the corner of her mouth gently before moving over and kissing her fully.
With a growl of want and desire Lexi grabs Clark by his jacket and pulls him in close, deepening the kiss until her need to breath overwhelms her desire to keep going.
"I missed you," Clark says with taut emotion a little breathless himself. "Once you left I went off the cliff. You were the only thing left restraining me."
Lexi actually chuckles at that as her face returns to its human visage. Her fingers dance over his face. "Ironic. Me being a restraining influence."
Clark smiles as he gets it. "Once I was back to myself I still missed you but I didn't know where you had gone so I just had to get on with my life."
Lexi looks remorseful. "I'm sorry about that. My friend needed me."
"You don't need to apologise, Lexi," Clark assures her. He kisses her on the forehead. "This…this is still going to take me a little time to absorb," he cautions her.
"It usually does," she reflects. "Though if it makes it easier I wasn't being a hundred percent honest earlier."
"About?"
"I do drink human blood but not from people any more…unless I have no choice. I have a friend who works in a blood bank who passes me on the excess that would otherwise be thrown out."
Clark sighs. "Yep. That's going to take some getting used to," he says as he pulls her into him in a hug.
Lexi leans in and enjoys his warmth. "So, ok, now we're done playing with my emotions," she teases, "I think it's time you share Mr Being from Another World."
She's correct. It is time. Now where to start?
The present…
"So, what do you think of Clark's date?" Chloe asks Jimmy during a slow dance.
"She seems nice."
"Hmm."
"Has old eyes, though."
Chloe's brow furrows. "What?"
"I'm a photographer, Chloe and as one you gain this ability to read people from their frozen faces. Clark's friend looks young but her eyes are of someone old, who has seen a lot."
Chloe looks at her boyfriend as if gaining a new revelation. She's learning something new and impressive about him.
"You know in my 350years of life this may be the saddest wedding I've ever been to," Lexi comments. She and Clark had drifted back outside the reception and were looking back in. "And I come from an age when women were married off like property," she points out.
Clark couldn't argue. Chloe had been a miserable maid of honor just going along with it out of an obligation to Lana. Only Jimmy being here kept his friend sane. Lionel disapproved of the whole thing, knowing just how much this wedding was about Lex rubbing it in Clark's face rather than Lex actually caring for Lana. "You want to go? I mean you've swiped most of the hors d'oeuvres by now I think," he teases her.
Yeah. Lexi has had her fun. This was more about helping Clark give Luthor the middle finger than anything. "Yeah. Lets go. By the way you still owe me an explanation for why you never mentioned me to your mother and Chloe," she reminds him.
"I know," Clark accepts with a heavy burden in his voice.
So the couple are just about to abscond off when a voice interrupts.
"Getting some fresh air are we, Clark?"
Clark's whole body goes tense but he tries to plaster on a façade of civility. "Hello, Lex. Lovely wedding," he says in a monotone.
"Thank you," Lex says back in the exact same tone of false civility. "Didn't expect you to bring a date," he remarks, eyeing up the blonde woman. He's telling the truth. Not only had he not expected Clark to bring a date he had expected today to be the day he demonstrated his complete victory over his old friend only for Clark to show up with this blonde beauty instead.
"And yet you had me down for two when I swore I RSVP'd only for myself," Clark mentions something Chloe had told him.
"An administrative error, I'm sure."
"Oh no doubt," Clark comments sarcastically.
"You haven't introduced us yet, Clark," Lex points out in reference to Lexi, imply Clark is being the rude one.
"Lex Luthor, Alexis Branson."
Lex takes her hand and kisses the back of it. "Alexis. The female version of Alexander. How interesting," he remarks.
Clark rolls his eyes at what Lex is implying. "Despite what paranoid delusions you've fallen into recently Lex, coincidences do happen."
"I'm not the one with paranoid delusions recently, Clark," Lex retorts. "You seem to think I've become something akin to the Devil."
"Hardly," Clark scoffs.
"He has more hair," Lexi quips.
Clark bursts into a laugh.
"Yes, very amusing Ms Branson," Lex dead-pans in such a way to indicate he means the exact opposite.
"Lex, I'm tired of arguing with you. Of fighting with you. I came to your wedding. I hope you and Lana are very happy together. Now if you'll excuse us we're going to see my mother. Have a good rest of the night, Lex," Clark says as he takes Lexi by the hand and heads inside. While not quite what he and Lexi were intending it'll give him a moment to tell his mother that they're leaving.
Two weeks ago…
In truth Clark's origin isn't very long in telling. His home planet blew up. His parents sent him to Earth. The Kents found him and raised him and here he is. It's everything in-between that landing and now that is complicated. And, oh, he gets his powers from the sun.
"So let me get this straight. The great fiery ball in the sky that fries me to a crisp grants you your abilities?" Lexi asks.
"Yes."
"That is so unfair," she pouts.
"Though I guess that does explain how I only ever saw you at night in Metropolis," Clark surmises.
"Ah, not really," she errs.
"Huh?"
She holds up her right arm and points at the bracelet upon it. "See the stone in the centre?"
Clark nods.
"A lapis lazuli gemstone. It generates a mystical aura that protects us from sunlight."
"Magic?"
She nods.
"I hate magic," he mutters.
"And that, I can tell, is clearly a story," she can pick up from his tone.
"A long one. Come to think of it a lot of my stories are long ones."
"Well, you know I do believe the purpose of dating is for two people to get to know each other."
Clark looks at her…shy smile? Since when has Lexi ever been shy? "Are you asking me out on a date?"
"And if I am?"
"Then I'm saying yes. I would love to go on a date with you."
Lexi's mouth curves up into a huge grin. "Great!"
"Yeah, well, not to be a downer but what the hell happened back there at the bar?" he returns to.
"Oh that," Lexi's mood shifts quickly. "I'm not sure beyond I think that Damon may have planned to kill me from the moment I got into town."
"Damon? As in your friend's brother?"
Lexi nods. "He's an asshole. He's always been an asshole but he's Stefan's brother so I tolerate him but earlier in the day, when I asked him what he was up to, because he clearly was up to something, all I got was some vague crap about a 'dastardly plan'."
"What was it he jabbed you with?"
"Vervain. It's a herb with mystical properties. It messes up the internal magic that animates our bodies and weakens us."
"Didn't last long on you," Clark comments.
"I'm old. We get more powerful the longer we live." Lexi's face puckers up as she tries to hold back the rising tide of anger. "I don't understand any of this. Drugging me. Allowing those cops to try and drag me away."
"Yeah, drag you away round back. Not arrest you," Clark recalls.
"It's almost like…"
"Like?"
"It's what a hunter would do. Drug me. Drag me round back and stake me."
"A vampire hunter?"
"They exist. They think we're all inhuman monsters who have to be destroyed."
"But Damon working with them?"
"You're right. It doesn't make sense. What I need to do is get back to Mystic Falls and beat the crap out of him until he tells me the truth."
"Is that wise?"
"You want and try and stop me Clark?" she dares him. "You still have a lot to learn about vampires. For example our emotions are a lot stronger than from when we were human. We feel things much more deeply so when we get angry we can be like the emotional equivalent of Mount St Helens. I've going to see Damon. You can either help or get out of my way," she warns him.
This was a different side to the irreverent party girl he knew. "I'll help. I'm not letting you face alone the guy who tried to kill you."
Lexi smiles and kisses him on the cheek. "You're just a sweet, old-fashioned gentleman aren't you."
"Nah. I'm just a corn fed farmboy from Kansas."
"Come on corn fed. Pick me and lets get going."
"You're as bad as my friend, Chloe. She just sees me as a taxi service too," he gripes.
"Uh huh and as soon as I'm done castrating Damon I will love to hear all about your life and your friends."
Clark picks her up in his arms and whooshes off.
Back in Mystic Falls Stefan and Damon were in a brutal fight in their house. The fact that his best friend almost died had pushed Stefan nearly over the edge with rage and he was going to wring the reason why out of his brother.
In the midst of all the punching, suddenly, without warning, both find themselves gripped painfully tight around the throat, shoved up against the wall with their feet dangling off the ground by one small blond woman with barely controlled bloodlust in her eyes.
"Hello boys," Lexi says in a dangerously low tone.
"Lexi," Stefan chokes out as happily as he can considering she's crushing his windpipe.
Lexi releases her friend and focusses all her ire on Damon. "Didn't I warn you, Damon that if you ruined my time with Stefan I would hurt you. It seems you're either a poor listener or don't take me seriously." She then throws the male vampire across the room, until he smashes into the opposite wall head first.
Lexi blurs over in an instant and grabs the man by the back of his neck, digging her nails in, drawing blood. "Do you take me seriously now?" she asks. "Or do I need to start breaking bones?"
"I had to do it," he says unapologetically.
"Oh, I see, you had to do it," she says, her voice dripping venom. "Clark, pass me the stake will you," she requests.
"Lexi," the previously unseen dark-haired man pleads lightly with her. In his hand is a sharpened wooden stick she had insisted upon.
"Pass me the stake," she demands, shooting him a hard glare.
This is against his better nature. Then again he was pretty pissed by how close he came to losing Lexi so he hands it over.
Lexi throws the dark brown-haired vampire up against the wall and slams the stake into his stomach and twists it around in there making him cry out in pain. "Now, Damon, explain to me exactly what your grand 'diabolical plan' was and please try not to lie to me," she warns him forcefully.
"I was protecting my brother and I," he groans through the pain.
"In what way?!" Stefan wants to know. How does killing Lexi protect them?
"The council…the town council there are hunters amongst their numbers but I didn't know who."
"You're trying to infiltrate them," Clark jumps to.
Lexi looks at her…boyfriend she guesses.
"He was trying to gain their trust by throwing you to them." Clark looks at Damon. "That about right?"
"Until you ruined it," Damon spits out angrily, glaring at whatever this definitely not human was.
"And how long do you really think you could pretend to be one of them, Damon?" Lexi asks in derisory tones.
"Long enough," he coughs out.
"You disgust me," she snarls in hate. She yanks the stake out of his stomach and aims it for his heart.
"Lexi! No!" Stefan shouts.
Lexi smashes the piece of wood into Damon's chest…just to the left of his heart. "The only reason you live is because Stefan wants it," she growls into his face. She then tosses him off to the side and takes a deep cleansing breath. "Well, now that the town Sheriff knows I'm a vampire I'm going to have to avoid this place for at least a generation," she declares. "Thanks a whole bunch Damon," she adds on sarcastically before turning to her bestie. "I guess we'll have to meet up somewhere else for your next birthday. Maybe you could come see me in Atlanta," she suggests to Stefan.
"I guess I could."
"Great. Then it's a date. Don't let me down now."
"Not if I value my health."
Lexi pinches his cheek. "Aw, we'll get you trained yet."
"Lexi," Stefan groans, embarrassed.
The blond vampire grins unabashed. "Now if you'll excuse us, Clark and I have a billionaire's wedding to gate-crash."
"It's not for two weeks yet," the powerful alien protests.
"That's fine. I need to go shopping for a new dress anyway."
"Also we're not gate-crashing. You're my plus one."
"Whatever you say Clark," she humours him making him pinch the bridge of his nose.
"I had forgotten what a pain in the ass you could be," he mumbles.
"I heard that!" she snaps.
"Lexi," Stefan says her name with emphasis while nodding his head in the direction of the tall dark-haired man, his eyes asking the unspoken question. Namely, what is he?
She waves her bestie off. "It's fine. Clark's harmless."
"Yeah, no I'm not," he argues.
"I'll be the judge of that. Also I expect you at 7 precisely for our date," she instructs him as she strides off.
Clark and Stefan share a look. "Has she always been…?" the alien begins to ask the vampire.
"Yes," the vampire confirms.
"How doomed I am?"
"On a scale of 1 to 10, about 11."
"I was afraid of that," Clark grumbles. "By the way will he…?" he asks, pointing at Damon.
"He'll be fine. He just needs some blood to help him heal."
Clark shakes his head as she strides off after Lexi. "When did I become Alice?" he asks the aether.
The present…
Clark and Lexi had finally managed to escape the wedding even if it took some of the blond vampire's compulsion abilities to do it. Lexi is sitting on the porch swing at the Kent homestead. It was still quite warm, even if it was dark now.
Clark appears with two cups in hand. He hands one over and Lexi almost purrs as she savours the viscous red liquid within. It means something to her that, despite his obvious squeamishness at her needing blood, not only does he bring it for her, he uses his heat vision to warm it up to body temperature. Feels so much better sliding down her throat when its warm.
Clark sits down beside her and she curls up next to him as he wraps an around her body.
Her hunger satiated for the moment the beautiful blond returns to a question from earlier in the day. "So, you want to share why you were too ashamed to mention me?"
Clark can hear the hurt in her voice. "It wasn't you. It was never you. It was myself I was ashamed of."
Lexi looks up into his face and watches the strain of deep emotions play out on his face as he explains how he ended up in Metropolis that summer. The loss of his mother's baby which he clearly still blames himself. Doping himself up on red kryptonite as he calls it to numb the pain which sounds not entirely dissimilar to when a vampire turns their humanity off.
"After my dad saved me I didn't know where to even begin to explain what I spent the summer doing so I ended up saying nothing very much but the truth is you were the only bright spot of that entire summer. Being with you was the only time I was happy and like I said on the beach once you were gone I just gave in to my darkness."
Lexi reaches up and plays with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I knew you were covering up some sort of pain. I'm too old not to notice things like that but I chose not to push too hard. I figured the best thing I could do was get you to have fun. In retrospect that may have been short-sighted of me."
"I did have fun," Clark says. There is no point in denying it.
"Well, that's not a surprise considering you got to share my bed for those few weeks," she teases boastfully with a salacious laugh.
Yeah. Clark absolutely never mentioned that to his parents…or anyone else. He leans his head against hers.
"It was an accident Clark. Take it from someone far older than yourself, allowing yourself to be held back by what you fear you might do is no way to live."
"I admire you…and I envy you."
"Explain."
"You're so…comfortable in your own skin. You accept what you are even when you are different from most of the people around you. You know who you want to be."
"And you're still struggling with that," Lexi gets. "Ok, here's a life lesson, Clark. Most 20-year-old humans have no idea who they are or what they want to be. That is not unique to you being an alien."
"Most don't have some ghost of their biological father pushing them to be what, I don't know because he won't tell me."
Lexi closes her eyes and holds in an annoyed growl. That 'ghost' as Clark called is a great deal responsible for Clark's inner turmoil. He's torn between what it wants and what values his human parents taught him. He needs guidance, yes but more importantly support. Her support.
There is so much…potential there. Maybe that is what attracts her to him. She can see what he can be and does not want to see him waste it.
"I wish…" he starts and then stops.
"Wish what?"
"That you didn't almost have to die for me to remember just how much I liked you. The red kryptonite dulled the sensation but I honestly think now I was falling for you that summer."
"Well, duh. Have you met me?" she says, making Clark laugh.
"Were you always this egotistical or is it a side-effect of the zombification process?"
She smacks him for that one. "Not a zombie!" she protests at what has become a little running joke he plays at her expense because she is, technically speaking, a magically reanimated corpse…like a 'zombie'. "You know we never really got a chance to dance," she mentions. "And I happen to know you have an old record player up in your loft," she says, making the proposal.
"It's Bon Jovi, isn't it?" he realises since she is a huge Bon Jovi fan.
"You see. You know me so well," she grins as she pulls him to his feet.
"You're 350years old. I doubt that."
"Plenty of time to learn," she says as they reach the loft and she puts on a Bon Jovi song before she beckons him to dance with her.
Clark sighs but they link up and dance slowly around the loft. "I hope I'm not as crazy as you when I'm your age."
"What do you mean 'when you're my age'?"
Clark's brow crinkles. "Have I not mentioned?"
She looks at him lost.
"I'm immortal Lexi."
"Really?" she seeks him to confirm.
"Really," he does so.
Lexi cannot tell you whether this relationship will last. All she can say is right at this moment she doesn't mind the idea of spending an eternity with Clark. She leans her head into his chest and for now savours the moment. Just the two of them. A vampire and an alien…there's probably a joke somewhere in there.
The End.
Author's Note: So this idea came from the notion that from what little we see of Lexi in Vampire Diaries she is someone who accepts what she is and is comfortable in her own skin…which, bar maybe even just the finale, Clark in Smallville never is. Thought that would make her attractive and appealing to him and she is someone who can probably help him come to terms with himself. Obviously had to demote Lee from hubby to friend(sorry Lee). Also saved her from what, frankly, was a mostly pointless death. Clark never going back to college is one of my biggest gripes about the show. From when Jonathan dies to when Clark joins the Daily Planet in season 8 he basically just sits around the farm for two and a half years doing very little. Thanks to everyone who has previously written reviews.