He was twenty minutes late, and Chloe Sullivan wasn’t sure if she should be pissed off or scared. Clark always called when he knew he’d be late, he was very considerate that way, but if he didn’t call, it was because something was usually very, very wrong. There was no telling what kind of situation he could be in right now. He may be lying half-dead in a forest with green kryptonite glowing nearby, or being beaten to a pulp by some super strong alien with all of Clark's strengths but none of his weaknesses.
Chloe followed her cousin Lois’s gaze to where Jimmy Olsen, grinning like an idiot, was packing up the belongings of his desk into a box. He’d been promoted by their new boss, Perry White, to the fifteenth floor bullpen. Jimmy would now go out on assignments with seasoned reporters to do the photography—as well as fetch Perry’s coffee whenever he was in the office. Chloe felt a rush of pride for Jimmy.
“I’m proud of him.”
“I’m not,” Lois groused, half-jokingly, as she sat down at her keyboard. “I wanted to be first. And where’s Smallville? I thought he was picking you up for dinner.”
“He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. I hope nothing’s wrong.”
“Twenty minutes huh?” Lois said, looking away from her monitor. She gave Chloe a sympathetic look. “You might as well face it, cuz, you’ve been stood up.”
“No. There’s a good reason he’s late.”
“Yeah, and it’s named Lana Lang. Honestly, Chloe, I don’t know what you see in him. Ever since he and Lana started shacking up he’s been an absentee friend to you, just showing up when he needs you to do something for him. Have some self respect and forget about Clark Kent Clark ain’t one of ‘em.”
She turned back to her monitor and began tapping away on a story she’d been writing about mysteriously dying pigeons in Greenstone Park Clark had pretty much ruined anything she could build with Jimmy.
But Lois didn’t know Clark like she did. If he didn’t call, then there was something more important than dinner going on. The only problem was, her Yaris was in the shop, and she needed a ride back to Smallville. She’d been counting on Clark to pick her up.
Expensive aftershave came to her on a cool breeze. Looking over, she found Lex Luthor standing beside her on the curb. He gave her one glance and then stared straight ahead. To hear Perry White tell it, Lex Luthor was at least a tolerable boss, despite the enmity Perry and Lex had had between them in the past. Lex left the running of the Daily Planet strictly up to Perry, except where articles submitted by Lois or Chloe were concerned. Lex had to approve those himself, but other than that, he stayed out of Perry’s way, giving Perry no valid reason to complain-outside of having Lex for a boss period.
“Waiting for someone?” Lex asked.
Chloe considered ignoring him, but he was her boss, and that didn’t strike her as a good idea.
“Clark .”
“You keep checking your watch. He must be pretty late.”
Lex studied her, and she studied him in return. He was handsome. Unbelievably so. He exuded confidence and sex appeal, as well as danger. He was, she realized, attractive, and she could appreciate that even though she hated his guts for all he’d done to her and her family and friends.
“He’ll be here.”
A black stretch limousine pulled up in front of Lex. He opened the door but didn’t climb in. “I’m heading to Smallville. If you’re not sure Clark will be here to pick you up, you can ride into town with me.”
“That’s awfully nice of you,” Chloe said. She made no effort to hide her suspicion and surprise.
“I can be nice, Chloe.”
He stood back, and she gazed into the dark interior of the car. She half-hoped Clark would appear at that moment to save her, as he always did, but she doubted he’d show. He was a half-hour late. She could wait on Lois, but her cousin planned to write into the night, and she wanted to get away from the Planet early for a change.
“Thanks.”
She climbed in, dreading an hour and a half ride with Lex Luthor. What would they talk about? Would he stare at her? She sank into the plush seat, and Lex got in beside her. The car started off so smoothly and quietly it was almost as though they were floating down the street. She tried to imagine having the kind of money Lex had, to afford a ride like this, to be treated like royalty on a daily basis.
There was a bottle of champagne chilling on the bar. He offered her a flute, which she accepted, and he managed to pop the cork on the bottle without spilling any of it. The champagne was dry, but delicious.
“You like dry wines?”
“I like strong drinks,” Chloe said, which was true. She preferred her coffee black and bitter, and enjoyed sour candies.
She waited for him to speak, but Lex said nothing else. It was an easy silence, one she was comfortable with, and it stretched on for almost an hour before he broke it.
“I’m surprised. I expected you to prattle,” said Lex, sneering a bit.
“Why would I?”
“You don’t strike me as the type to be comfortable with silence.”
“I guess you don’t know me as well as you thought you did.”
“More?”
“Three is my limit,” Chloe said, feeling a little tipsy from the flutes she’d drank. She’d probably end up going home and sleeping it off. Her phone rang, and she hurriedly picked it up, hoping it would be Clark . She wanted reassurance he was okay. It was Lois.
“Did Clark call, or come by?” Chloe asked.
“No, aren’t you with Clark ?”
“No.”
“Then where are you? Your car’s in the shop, you can't be on your way home.”
“I’m with Lex, he’s giving me a lift back to Smallville.”
Silence on the line. “You’re joking, right? Tell me you're joking.”
“No, I’m quite serious. I needed a ride home, and Lex offered to give me one. It's not like I'm in danger.”
Lex snorted beside her and shook his head as he sipped his fourth flute of champagne. Chloe briefly wondered if his bladder was as in as much distress as hers was.
“Well, be careful.”
“It’s only a ride home, Lois.”
“Still.”
“Okay,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes. She said her goodbyes and hung up. Clark hadn’t stopped by the Planet to see about her. Lex was watching her, and she schooled her face into a mask of indifference. She didn’t want him reading her, and reading people was something Lex Luthor was extremely good at.
“Stood up, huh? That has to sting.”
Chloe clamped her mouth shut.
“I can understand why. It’s easy to get caught up in Lana Lang. She consumes you, and while it’s happening, you love every second of it.”
Chloe studied him. Lex wasn’t over Lana, and Chloe briefly wondered what it was about her that men found so irresistible. Why were they drawn to her so utterly and completely? Why had she never made men like Clark and Lex feel that way about her?
Chloe kept her silence into town. It was well past dark when she stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the Talon. Lex’s limo pulled away, and she opened her phone, dialing Clark ’s number, almost hoping he wouldn’t answer and tell her he’d forgotten about their plans. She’d hardly seen him in a month, hardly spoken two words to him.
The answering machine picked up, and Chloe snapped her phone shut, heading inside. Almost as soon as she’d stepped in, she heard very familiar laughter coming from the corner. There was Clark and Lana, leaning into one another, staring into one another’s eyes, lost in each other. Lana said something that he laughed at, and then he kissed her. She saw a ring on his finger, a blue stone that glowed unnaturally. He said he’d located some blue Kryptonite, and that meant he could be with Lana in every way.
Slowly she walked away, hoping sudden movement wouldn’t draw their attention. She felt so much shock and hurt that it made it hard for her to breathe. He’d hardly left the farm all month, since he and Lana reconciled, and had come to see her only a few times when there was something he needed her to find that Lana hadn’t been able to. They were supposed to have gotten together that night, to catch up, just the two of them, to find their friendship again (not that Clark had admitted they were losing it).
She closed the door to the apartment behind her and sat down on the couch. He’d forgotten about her. Completely forgotten. She hadn’t crossed his mind, not even enough to call her. Unwanted images of Clark and Lana at home, making love, flitted through her mind, and Lex’s words played over the images.
It’s easy to get caught up in Lana Lang. She consumes you, and while it’s happening, you love every second of it…
Lana hadn’t been much of a friend to Chloe either, but Chloe hadn’t been surprised. They’d never been friends the way Chloe had been with Clark , and most of that was simply because Chloe hadn’t been in love with Lana Lang. But she’d loved Clark , heart and soul, and he never saw her. Now he didn’t even remember her, he didn’t think of her, even when he’d promised to be there for her.
Head throbbing with pain, Chloe finally gave in to the hurt tearing at her heart and collapsed on the couch, where she wept herself to sleep.
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