Title: Calm After the Storm

Fandom: Smallville

Pairing: Chlionel

Prompt: #70 Storm

Word Count: 1600

Rating: G

Author's Notes: Season 1 spoilers. Up to and including the finale.

 

 

 

 

 

God she was stupid.  So, so stupid. 

 

To believe that with Lana out of the way for one evening she could maybe, possibly turn Clark's head.  Hah!  As if!  No, she had realized tonight, the only direction Clark's head was ever turned in was Lana's.

 

So there she stood in her stupid pink dress.  A dress she'd picked out and worn for some stupid farm boy. 

 

After looking around the gymnasium where their spring formal was being thrown, Chloe sighed and came face to face with the cold, harsh reality of her life.

 

She'd always be the second runner up.

 

And so instead of waiting out the storm like any sane person would, she dug through her purse for her car keys and went out into the cold, dirty air.  She fought against the wind to get her car door opened and with the debris in the air; her eyes began to water, blurring her vision in the process. 

 

When she was finally tucked inside the warmth of her car, she turned the key in the ignition, looked ahead of her at the school and its peppy sign announcing the Dance, and shoved the gear into reverse.  With one arm over the passenger seat, she watched behind her as she pulled out of the parking spot, and with another brutal shove of the gear shift into drive, she was escaping her peers.  Her freshman dream.  What she'd believed at one time to be the perfect night.

 

Clark had redeemable qualities, some of which she'd seen tonight.  But even if she finally got him, he'd never really be hers.  He'd always be rushing off to save some unsuspecting helpless citizen.  She may be selfish but at the moment she thought she deserved it. 

 

Her thoughts had gone wayside, thinking of the time and money and herself she'd put into this night.  Remembering the fake smile her own father had plastered on his face for her benefit.  She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize that her foot was almost pressed all the way down on the accelerator even thought the speedometer claimed she was only going 45 miles per hour. 

 

It was then Chloe heard the wind howling against the windows.

 

And when she glanced into her rearview mirror, she saw the funnel clouds. 

 

Her foot all the way down on the gas pedal, she crossed over a deserted intersection without bothering to stop.  Afraid if she did, she wouldn't be able to get moving again. 

 

Her heart pounded relentlessly inside her chest, her palms itchy with sweat. 

 

She knew she couldn't outrun the storm.  When she finally got her bearings back she realized where she was and turned a hard right, heading straight for the only place out here she could think of.  As she came to the wrought iron gates that enclosed the property ahead of her, she saw one half of it swinging in the wind.  Chloe held her breath, gripped the steering wheel as hard as she could and when she was close enough, she closed her eyes and drove through the gates. 

 

She heard the scraping of metal on metal, felt the vibrations of her window as the gate slid against it, felt her stomach hollow out when she finally opened her eyes to drive the rest of the way up the aggregated path. 

 

Her mouth opened in a silent gasp at the damage already done to the Luthor estate.  When she pulled up close enough to the front doors, she slid over to the passenger side and out of the door to escape the wind and flying debris.  She didn't bother knocking, sure no one would hear her over the howling wind, and instead shoved open the doors calling out for Lex.

 

She'd never actually been on a tour of the mansion, as she was sure Clark had.  God, even the thought of his name left a bitter taste in her mouth. 

 

"Lex," she called out as she cupped her hands around her mouth.  She remembered the hole in the roof of the mansion and the windows that had been blown out.  If he was up there...

 

Chloe turned around and headed up the stairs, holding onto the banister as strong gusts of wind blew into the house from the open foyer doors.  When she rounded the first landing she immediately headed to where she knew his study was.

 

The sight there had her crying out as Lex stood above his father who was trapped under a fallen pillar.  Without thinking of her father losing his job and whose fault it might be, since she was sure it was the elder Luthor's shoulders to cast the blame upon, she ran to Lex and grabbed hold of his arm. 

 

"We need to help him."

 

Lex stood staring down at Lionel, lips parted softly, eyes blinking away the blood that was trailing down the right side of his face from a nasty gash near where his hairline should be. 

 

"Lex!"  This time she used his name as she shook his arm with brute force.  He finally looked at her, his eyes running down to her bare toes, having left her shoes in the car so as not to slow her down, all the way back up to her eyes. 

 

When he continued to stare at her, Chloe screamed in frustration, pushing him out of the way, and crouched down to where Lionel was trapped under the pillar.  His eyes darted around the room as he yelled out his son's name and Chloe closed her eyes, knowing she couldn't help him in any way.  If she moved the weight of the fallen object off of him it could cause him even more damage. 

 

She needed an ambulance and she was pretty sure it would take them hours to get out here.

 

So she knelt down beside Lionel and placed her hand in his much larger one.  She squeezed him palm to hers and ran her other hand through his hair, trying to soothe the wild beast.  She could tell he was frightened and most likely not used to showing such fear.  She leaned her head down beside him to let him know he wasn't alone and whispered nonsensical things in his ear, trying to calm him further. 

 

When Lex grabbed her shoulder roughly from behind she threw a glare at him and wrestled her body from his hands, shaking him off. 

 

"Damn it, Chloe!"

 

"You can't just stand there and watch him die, Lex.  Either help me or go help yourself!"  She had to scream the words above all the noise outside, filtering through the shattered window.  She didn't bother watching him to find out what he'd do. 

 

Lex may not have been on the same side of his father, may have been plotting against him as she'd hoped he would when learning of the plant closing, but he loved his father.  Any child who would walk away from their parent in such a crisis was cold hearted.  In the past year, she'd learned many facets of Lex Luthor.  Being a cold hearted human wasn't one of them. 

 

When he knelt down on the other side of Lionel and took hold of his other hand she finally looked up at his weary face.  His piercing blue eyes, the color made even starker against the red of his blood, stared back at her in wonder and awe.

 

***

 

A week later

 

***

 

Chloe smiled to the construction crew that was working hard to being the Luthor estate back to its fully functional self.  They returned her smile and got back to work as she climbed the stairs to the second story study where only seven days ago she'd held one of the most powerful men on the Earth's hand.  And what did she have to show for it?

 

Flowers.

 

For the past week she'd gotten a bouquet every afternoon as soon as she arrived home from school.  Yesterday being the last day of her freshman year, she'd decided she'd have to celebrate sometime this weekend.  And while Clark had been the hero once again and was shacking up with his undying love for Lana he was on her shit list.

 

And Pete who defended Clark and probably would until the cows came home was receiving the silent treatment from her, too.

 

And Lana who she couldn't look at without seeing all her own faults was being ignored as much as possible. 

 

But there were still two people she wanted to share her excitement with. 

 

She entered the study on light feet, hoping to surprise the Luthor currently lying on the couch in front of the fire.

 

"Miss Sullivan."

 

Chloe cursed softly and smiled.  "How do you always know it's me?  It could have been anyone."

 

Lionel sat up slowly, taking care not to twist around and bruise his broken ribs.  "You have a presence about you Chloe."

 

Chloe's eyebrows rose playfully as she plopped down unceremoniously on the edge of a leather ottoman.  "A presence, huh?"

 

Lionel chuckled softly as he settled himself up against a pillow.  "How was your last day?"

 

Chloe smiled at him and settled into the easy chatter they'd come to a few days ago when he'd been released from the hospital. 

 

It may not be the best friendship a teenage girl such as herself could have entered into but it was nice and comfortable to be able to talk to someone who didn't judge her. 

 

Good to have family to lean on in the calm after the storm.

 

The End