The light of a new day was just peeking through the heavy grey clouds when Lex finally reached the outskirts of Smallville, an exhausted Chloe still sleeping in the seat beside him.

A quick decision had him heading in the direction of the mansion. He was quite certain that Gabe Sullivan would not appreciate being woke up at six in the morning, especially to find his boss of questionable virtue manhandling his unconscious daughter when she should still have been in Metropolis, tucked safely away in her motel room.

If only he knew. Chloe hadn't spent a single night in her motel room, because she'd spent two (and a bit) of them in his bed. Strangely enough, he didn't think Gabe would be pleased to know about that little tidbit.

Lex pulled Chloe's car into the large drive and stepped out into the cold, morning air. Leaving her suitcase in the boot he lifted Chloe from the passengers seat and peered down at her, noticing that she was still out cold. Nothing would wake her now, even if threw her bodily over his shoulder and hefted her up the stairs to one of his many guestrooms.

Instead he held her unconscious form against him where her head rested against his chest, just below his chin. Wondering how she managed to weigh so little after digesting the snacks she had this weekend, he silently carried up the winding, marble staircase and to one of guestrooms just down from his own. He didn't want her waking up confused and disoriented, fighting her way through the numerous hallways and rooms of the large mansion. This way he'd be aware when she was awake and at the same time, she would gain the space she so obviously needed. It seemed that spending nearly three days with him had finally taken its toll.

He slipped her beneath the covers of the bed and he watched in amusement as she burrowed herself deep beneath them. Closing the curtains against the glaring sun, he left her to rest and headed for his own room.

---

That morning Lex was not in the least bit surprised to find that Chloe had already left. According to one of his staff, Miss. Sullivan had slipped out only a few hours after he had left the guestroom. It didn't surprise him. He knew she would have fled as soon as the opportunity presented itself, but what he hadn't counted on was sleeping so deeply that he hadn't hear her leave. Luthors never slept deeply or peacefully but here he was, only just arising to the mid-afternoon sun.

Strangely, Lex didn't feel well-rested. He felt unsettled, a little edgy, the way he always felt when he left certain things unresolved. The tension between himself and Chloe had not vanished. In fact, last night had only served to strengthen it and although the playboy had long since grown accustomed to such strain between himself and the people of Smallville, he wasn't sure he liked the riff that had pushed he and Chloe apart. He'd grown far too fond of her for his liking but he was resolved to the fact that he deserved at least one friend - apart from Clark - who was able to refresh his appetite for life.

He needed to see her. Despite her blatant refusal to discuss what had occurred last night, he knew things would never again be comfortable between them if they didn't sort this out. He knew why it had happened - he'd seen it happen a hundred times before - and he was well aware that Clark's obvious rejection of the young blonde had made her feel unwanted. She'd kissed him to prove to herself that she could, that she didn't need Clark despite her dedication to him, and in a way Lex had been impressed, almost proud of her. She'd taken the initiative, the first step in overcoming her infatuation with the farmboy and for that he had to admire her. But unfortunately she'd taken a step in the wrong direction and Lex knew that such a leap would only end in misery for both of them. And he wasn't willing to let that happen.

He slipped on his coat and grabbed the keys to his Porsche. They would settle this now, today, whether Chloe wanted to or not.

---

Lex was surprised to find that Chloe hadn't gone to school that day. Leaving behind the empty Torch office, the young Luthor sped to the one place he knew she would be.

The Talon.

Of course, Chloe had never been a predictable person and the playboy was left standing at the coffee bar of the Talon, scanning the small crowd for the young blonde he knew he wouldn't find. For the first time that day he wondered why he hadn't expected her sudden and inappropriate disappearance.

She wasn't at the Torch and she wasn't at the Talon and unfortunately for Lex, that didn't leave him very many options.

Maybe she was at home, hiding. Or maybe she had gone to school today and she was still stuck in class.

Either way Lex was not pleased. There weren't many places for Chloe to go in Smallville, yet she'd still managed to elude him. Damn her.

He left the Talon resigned, and just as he stepped out onto the sidewalk, he saw the familiar trio heading in his direction. Inwardly he smirked when he saw Chloe's eyes widen slightly at the sight of him but he quickly averted his gaze to a grinning Clark Kent who was greeting him enthusiastically.

"Lex."

"Hey Clark." He offered his own smile in return and nodded to Chloe and Pete, both of whom shot him a venomous scowl in return. He laughed inwardly.

"So how was Metropolis?" the young teen asked, pushing the door to the Talon open and peering back to look at Lex.

"It was... interesting," Lex replied, and grinned at Chloe who blushed furiously.

"Er, look guys, I think I'll take a raincheck on that coffee. I need to get ready for tonight," the young blonde suddenly said, already turning to head to her car before Lex had a chance to say anything.

Clark's brow furrowed and Pete shook his head as they both stepped into the Talon and headed for the coffee bar, the young Luthor in tow.

"What is with her today?" Pete questioned curiously. "She's been edgy all day."

"You know Chloe," Clark replied, "she's probably just psyched that she finally has a new case to work on."

"A new case?" Lex inquired.

Clark nodded. "Yeah, something to do with the cemetery. Apparently someone saw a corpse that shouldn't have been there."

"And let me guess, Miss. Sullivan has taken it upon herself to solve this mystery."

"Of course she has," Clark replied with a smile. "Although I'm not sure I like the thought of her traipsing around the cemetery on her own." The teens smile dissolved into a worried frown before Pete slapped him heartily on the back.

"Don't worry, Clark. Chloe can look after herself, remember? And if this case she's working was dangerous we would have heard about it by now, right?"

The young farmboy offered his best friend a sceptical look. "I guess, but maybe I should go with her, just incase--"

"--do you honestly think Chloe wants you playing the hero? I got the impression she wasn't in the mood for your protective tendencies today, Clark," Pete reasoned, offering his friend a somewhat sympathetic look.

Lex smirked at that comment as he leant lazily against the coffee bar. "She'll be fine, Clark. Like Pete said, if she was involved in anything dangerous you would have heard about it by now."

Clark stared at him intently and then finally, reluctantly, he nodded. "You're right, she'll be fine."

Lex nodded. This was perfect. Not only would he find Chloe alone but there was no possible way she would be able to avoid him in the middle of a cemetery. It looked like the young blonde would have no choice but to talk to him and sort this out.

He smiled to himself. Chloe Sullivan would not elude him this time.

---

Several hours had passed since the sun had set on the leafy little hamlet that was Chloe Sullivan's home. It was almost eleven when she finally ventured out to the local cemetery, her trusty camera cradled between her glove-encased hands, supported by a thick, black strap around her scarf-clad neck.

For the third time in less than ten minutes she wondered what had possessed her to take up this case. There was no danger involved (the very element that made investigative reporting fun) and as far as she knew, it wasn't meteor-related. Just a plain ol' ordinary case of body snatching.

Well, not literally of course. News had gotten around school about a body that had been unearthed the day before. A local had been visiting the cemetery just after dusk and had been horrified to find an exposed grave, the decaying limbs of a corpse protruding from the wet soil. There had been no signs of digging - as far as anyone could tell - and Chloe guessed that it had been the harsh winter rain that had worn the soil down to expose the horrid sight.

Okay, so nothing weird about that, except for two things. One, why had the body been so close to the surface? Rain, no matter how heavy, would not have been enough to disposition six feet of soil, and had in fact only removed a small amount from the grave. But the body had still been visible, albeit only barely, and that was definitely not normal. Neither was the fact that the body hadn't been in a coffin. This led Chloe to two conclusions: either the body had been dumped there intentionally to cover a murder, or the Smallville Funeral Parlor were seriously slacking when it came to routine procedures.

Chloe's investigative intuition pointed to the latter, because if the body had in fact been dumped there purposely, why had it been in the late stages of decomposition? It was highly doubtful that the body had been dumped there months ago, because Chloe had no doubt that it would have been unearthed long before now.

So her final conclusion, that the Funeral Parlor were in fact cutting costs, had led her to this particular moment in time, where she was stood shivering at the entrance of the cemetery, the Parlor to her far right a little down the road. She was debating whether to visit the crime scene first to take a few pictures, despite the fact that she already knew the finer details, or try the Funeral Parlor instead. She doubted anyone would still be working at this time - if there was, more the better for her - so she figured she could do a little snooping and a little snapping to see if she could unearth more than just a corpse.

First though, the cemetery.

She released her grip on her camera so it fell naturally against her chest, and pushed against one of the gates of the cemetery. She squeezed through the small gap, leaving it open behind her, and ventured silently into the yard.

Straight ahead, turn left, left again, straight up, turn right, should be directly to your right... bingo.

Chloe knelt down at the grave, ignoring the rain-soaked mud that covered her knees. She snapped a couple of pictures, nodding to herself as she went.

She'd been right. The Authorities had already taken it upon themselves to dig the grave out in order to see whether a body had simply been dumped in an old grave, or if the actual occupant hadn't been lain to rest as they should have been. No coffin had been unearthed - this was obvious by the fact that they hadn't refilled the grave - which only meant one thing: the Smallville Funeral Parlor were cutting their costs when it came to packaging.

Chloe shook her head. This was unbelievable. Not only had they been stupid enough to cut corners but they didn't even have the intelligence to bury the body a little deeper below the surface.

The young blonde mouthed 'botch job' and rose from the muddy ground, ignoring her stained trousers. She peered around the cemetery curiously and strolled lazily between the headstones, wondering if maybe this wasn't the only cost-cutting project in the yard. Maybe other graves had been exposed and no one had noticed. Maybe she could catch a grave digger in the process of dis--

--smack. She collided with something hard and warm and a small yelp escaped her. She jumped back a step and peered up with wild eyes to see a smug Lex Luthor stood with his hands buried in the pockets of his coat.

"Miss. Sullivan," he greeted politely, a mockery of the formality they had not long since shared.

After the initial shock wore off she narrowed her eyes and hissed, "what the hell are you doing here?"

Angrily, she stepped around him and started back towards the entrance. She wasn't in the mood for this right now. Another Luthor lecture was not top on her to-do list tonight and all she wanted to do was stop at the Parlor, get her evidence, and then go home to a nice, warm, cushiony bed. What she didn't need was Mr. I'm-a-rich-bitch-so-all-ye-lowly-beings-should-bow-before-my-worldy-wisdom Luthor attempting to belittle her in the middle of a freezing cold cemetery. Strangely, it wasn't her idea of fun. Who'd of thunk it?

Obviously Lex couldn't take the hint and she seethed silently as he walked beside her.

"I think you know why I'm here," he answered blankly.

She stilled and whirled around sharply to face him."What is this?" she questioned fiercely. "Do you get your kicks out of tormenting teenagers, or do you just enjoy watching me squirm?"

"Chloe, you know that's not--"

"--save it, Lex. I'm tired of hearing it," she cut him off, carrying on down the gravelled path of the cemetery. "Do you really think I want to listen to you telling me what a mistake I've made? How I'm just a confused little teenager looking to prove a point? No Lex, I don't want to hear it, because I've heard it all before. So why don't you just go home and save us both a lot of time and patience."

He was silent for a second and the only sound that echoed in the dark cemetery was their soft footsteps.

Chloe spotted the front gates up ahead and sighed with relief, picking up her pace in an effort to escape Lex Luthor as soon and as quickly as possible.

"I came here for a reason, Chloe," the young Luthor finally confessed. "I came here to talk this out, because I didn't want this to ruin our friendship."

Chloe scoffed as she slipped through the gates, Lex following close behind. "Look, Lex, I know I messed up when I kissed you, but it was you that jumped to the wrong conclusions. I'm prepared to let this go if you just accept the fact that this had nothing to do with Clark."

She spotted Lex's Porsche parked a little way up the street and rolled her eyes. Didn't this guy know the meaning of inconspicuous?

She turned towards him and added, "can you do that?"

Lex was silent, his head bowed beneath her gaze. She glared angrily and spun on her heels, heading towards the Funeral Parlor. She heard the sound of his expensive shoes hitting the pavement behind her and just as she was passing his car, she felt him grab her elbow, pulling her around so she was almost leant against the silver exterior of his Porsche.

He stared down at her, his eyes sharp and strangely angry. "Why did you kiss me?" he demanded tersely.

Chloe ignored the hand that still gripped her elbow and stared back with the same intensity. "Because I wanted to," she answered simply, fiercely.

"You wanted to?" Lex repeated blankly.

"Yes, I wanted to. Is that so hard to believe?"

Lex just shook his head, dropping his hand from her elbow and pinching the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "You're a fool, Chloe Sullivan," he whispered softly, almost as if he was talking to himself.

Chloe's reaction was sudden. Her body tensed and her fists clenched at her side. Jaw tight and eyes narrowed, she questioned in a dark, controlled hiss, "I'm a fool?! I'm a fool? You're the one taking this so seriously, Lex! I only kissed you, for God's sake! I didn't get down on one knee and declare my undying love for you! I kissed you... that's all. Is that so fuckin' bad?!"

He looked at her with flat, pitying eyes which only served to fuel her anger further. Quietly, softly, she said, "I haven't fallen madly in love with you, Lex, if that's what you're worried about. I'm attracted to you, okay? I'm sorry if it bothers you, but--"

"--Chloe, don't. Don't complicate things."

"Why? I'm not expecting you to feel the same way. I just wanted you t--"

--suddenly and without warning, he gripped her forearms and pushed her forcefully against the car. Before Chloe could say anything he was kissing her, lips pressed hard against her own to muffle her cries of protest. The kiss was bruising and merciless in its onslaught, his mouth cold and harsh as his lips slid without passion along her own.

If someone else could see them now they'd think this little scene romantic, but Chloe knew differently. Chloe knew the reason for his harsh, calculating kiss; knew that he only wished to scare her, to force her to back off and let go of whatever feelings she might have had for him. Unfortunately for him Chloe also knew that her attraction could not be simply switched off at his whim, despite his efforts.

He pulled away from her then, but his grip on her arms never loosened. He gazed at her with fierce, fiery eyes and in a controlled, icy voice he asked, "is this what you wanted? Is this what you were expecting when you kissed me, Chloe?"

She gazed at him intensely for a brief second, her eyes glazed with unshed tears. And then she turned and fled down the street, leaving behind a slightly aghast Lex Luthor.

---

It was nearly one in the morning when Lex reluctantly headed home after spending almost two hours in the silence of an empty Talon.

He had decided against following Chloe, well aware that it wouldn't have been the best choice to make. That, and he wasn't sure he could have handled seeing the look of disgust and disappointment decorating her youthful features.

Feeling fatigued and edgy, Lex slipped into the mansion without a sound and headed straight for his study, hanging his coat up on the way. He entered the small, homely room and almost tripped over his jaw when he saw Chloe napping quietly on his leather couch.

The young Luthor could safely say that he hadn't expected to see the blonde here, in his home, nevermind sleeping on his couch.

He leaned over to nudge her gently on the shoulder, and whispered softly, "Chloe. Chloe, wake up."

She groaned quietly and then her eyelids fluttered open to reveal sleepy-green eyes that stared up at him in mild surprise.

"You're home," she stated, sitting up and rubbing tiredly at her eyes. "I was beginning to think the grave digger had mistaken you for a corpse."

He shook his head in bemusement and sat down in the chair opposite her. "What are you doing here, Chloe?"

That had come out harsher than intended and he winced inwardly at the flash of pain that crossed her face.

"It's nearly one in the morning. Your father is probably going apeshit."

"I'm a big girl, Lex," she replied defiantly, rising from the couch to pace restlessly across the room. "And I came here to talk to you. God knows why. Whenever we talk it never seems to end well."

"Look Chloe," he cut in, standing up to meet her pacing form, his hands characteristically buried in his pockets. "We're both tired. Why don't you head home and we'll talk about this another day."

"No," was her stern answer and she paused to stare at him, arms folded over her chest. "I heard you out tonight, now you hear me out. It's only fair."

Lex gazed at her intently. A part of him admired her for the obvious stubborn streak she possessed. He knew Chloe Sullivan wasn't a girl that easily backed down and this time he knew he wouldn't win. Chloe had something to say and he was going to hear it, whether he liked it or not.

He nodded warily. "Okay, Chloe, lets hear it."

"Okay," she breathed, and stepped around him, her hands making small, dramatic gestures in an obvious sign of agitation. She paced for a few seconds and then, satisfied with the comfortable distance that lay between them, she stilled and peered up at him uncertainly. "I know you think this whole," she wagged her hands about, "kissing thing had something to do with my infatuation with Clark, but I can promise you it didn't. And I know you don't like hearing it, but I am attracted to you, Lex. I can't just pretend I'm not just to satisfy you and as tonight's little showdown proved, you can't use tasteless tactics to put me off."

She paused for a split second to take a deep breath and then continued, not giving him the time to cut in with a witty retort or a heavy dose of wisdom. "Now, if you'd be gentleman enough to just stand there and accept the fact that I, Chloe Sullivan, am attracted to you, then I can get to the next part of this damn speech."

She stared up at him expectantly, waiting with baited breath so she could continue with the conversation she'd been rehearsing since the maid had left her in the study to await the young Luthors return.

Lex didn't say anything. A minute passed, then another, and Chloe began to wring her hands impatiently.

Finally the playboy gave in. "Okay, fine. I accept that you're attracted to me."

"Good!" she exhaled, grinning broadly before quickly recomposing herself so she could finish what she'd started. "Okay. So we've established that this whole attraction thing has nothing to do with Clark. It's purely a chemical thing, see? So anyway, I've been thinking about something for a while now. In fact, I've been thinking about it since Metropolis and I, personally, think it's a great idea. Now I know you might not feel the same way, but you have to hear me out first. I really think th--"

"--Chloe," Lex cut in with an exasperated breath, "just spit it out."

"Lex! Stop being so impatient! This is a very... very delicate matter, and I can't just blurt it out because you're getting antsy." She glared at him with narrowed eyes. "So! Before I tell you what this something is, you have to promise me you'll hear me out first before you blow your lid. Deal?"

Reluctantly he nodded. "I promise."

"Okay, great. Now I've put a lot of thought into this. This wasn't in any way a rash decision. I'm a responsible adult, as you already know, and I have more intelligence in my pinky finger than most of my classmates put together. So please believe me when I say that I've thought this through thoroughly and the good far outweighs the bad in this particular scenario. In fact--"

"--Chloe!"

"Okay, fine!" she burst out. "Don't get sassy!"

He remained silent, his patience fast wearing thin as he waited. He noted the apprehensive look on her face and the uneasy shuffling of her body and probed in a low, tentative voice, "Chloe?"

She laughed nervously and offered him a shaky smile. "See, Lex--"

"--what is it?"

He heard her draw in a sharp breath and he looked across to see her staring at him with steady, determined eyes.