#the only time lex got the upper hand was when he got lionel arrested | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

woods2006gal · 3 years ago

Text

Chapter 02 - Here With Me

Austin Wells rarely made his way to Smallville. He preferred to spend his time in Metropolis. It was his home. His city. The only reason he had to make the trip to Smallville was because his best friend and former love, Max Carmichael. Austin had met Max in their freshman year at Harvard. Two peas in a pod, yet from vastly different worlds. Max from the upper echelons of money and social class while Austin was the bottom. An alcoholic father and emotionally abusive mother, Austin had managed to earn a full ride to Harvard.

It was at a welcome party for the freshman class where Austin had met Max. He had been enamored by the hotel heir and it hadn’t taken long for Austin to fall in love with him. Max had been just as enamored with Austin and they had quickly formed a deep friendship that had blossomed into a romantic relationship.

“Are you sure you don’t want to move to Star City,” Max softly asks. Their apartment had been packed up and loaded into a moving truck that was headed to Metropolis. Graduation had come and gone, with the power couple ranking at the top of their law class.

Austin sighs. “My mother needs me,” he whispers. Family loyalty was something he hated and loved at the same time.

Max smiles. He understood where Austin was coming him. They both knew this day was coming. He tightly embraces his boyfriend. “If you ever need anything, just call. I mean it, Austin. No matter what, you will always be my best friend.”

Austin runs a hand through his dirty blonde hair as he pulls up to the Luthor Mansion. His first visit with Nell Potter had been pleasant. The woman had been shocked to learn that Zoey was Max’s niece. He had been the one who helped Max come up with the story about Zoey attending boarding school in Europe. The whole world had seen the most tragic time for a family. Zoey sitting alone in the hospital waiting room with a small cut on her face had been on the front of page of every single news publication. The only image that had pushed it to back of the public’s mind was a year later when Bruce Wayne was pictured sitting in the Gotham police station after his parents’ brutal murder.

Austin shakes his head as he walks into his small studio apartment. “Max, there’s a dozen law firms in this city that would love to have your business,” he says. He had been surprised when his ex-boyfriend had showed up on his doorstep that morning. “Why me?”

“Because I trust you,” Max says. He runs a hand through his jet black hair. “Because Zoey trusts you.”

Austin sighs. “My boss is gonna love this. A second year associate brings in the biggest client in the city. Hell, not just the city but the state. Fuck, Max. Are you sure about this?”

“I am. Zoey trusts you, Austin. She’s doing fine now, but...” Max trails off.

“You’re worried that she’s gonna have a wild and crazy phase during her teenage years,” Austin finishes, with a soft smile. “From what I remember of Zoey, I don’t think she’ll run off and marry a drummer of a one hit wonder band.”

Max chuckles. His sister, Shannon, had done that when she was eighteen. “Yeah, I don’t think Zoey would do that. She’s ambitious. I think she would act more in line with what I did and what my father did.”

Austin smiles. “You think Zoey would start a company? In Smallville?”

Max shrugs. “Zoey’s ambitious.”

Max had been right about Zoey. She was ambitious. The youngest member of the Carmichael family was incredibly driven in school. She had gotten straight A’s since elementary school. In eighth grade, she was elected treasurer for student council. When Zoey had called him about being a partner in a coffee shop slash theater that was being renovated, Austin wasn’t surprised. The only thing he had been surprised about was that Lex Luthor was involved.

“I was surprised when I got a call from your office,” Lex greets when Austin walks into the mansion’s library.

“I’m here on the behalf of a client,” Austin replies, sitting down in one of the arm chairs in front Lex’s desk.

Lex frowns. Now it was his turn to be confused. And he didn't like to be confused. "I think you're mistaken, Mr. Wells. I would know if I was doing business with one of your clients.” Austin smirks. People rarely got the upper hand when it came to the Luthors. He pulls out the contract and places it in front of Lex. He watches as the younger man picks up the contract and reads over it. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m not in business with whoever Zoey York is. The only Zoey that I know of is Zoey Kent.”

Austin chuckles. “The Kents are Zoey’s godparents. Her last name is York. And her parents are Shannon Carmichael and Matthew York.”

Lex mentally curses himself. He had never paid much attention to the young blonde. He was more intrigued by Clark, given how they had met. The number of times he had interacted with Zoey was something he could count on one hand.

“Zoey’s good at blending in,” Austin says. He motions to the contract. “That essentially protects everyone involved in this business venture. You each get an equal share.”

“What you mean is that this contract protects Zoey.”

“She is my client, Lex. But it protects everyone. Zoey insisted on it.”

Lex picks up a pen and signs the contract. It was out of character for him to sign a contract without having his lawyers pick through every detail. But given what he knew about Clark and the Kents, he was sure that Zoey was an honest person.

~*~

Austin stares at the window of the Metropolis skyline. Ever since Max had asked him to be Zoey’s attorney and to keep an eye on her when he couldn’t do it himself, Austin had quickly moved up in his law firm. His boss had been excited when he brought on Zoey as a client and had even tried to poach the young heiress, but Max had put a stop to that. After that, rich clients in the city had signed up with him so fast he was given his own office and a pay raise, something that didn’t endear him to the other second year associates.

Austin takes a sip of his whiskey. “Austin, I wasn’t expecting you,” Max greets over the phone.

“I thought you should know that Zoey is exactly how you predicted she would be,” Austin tells his former lover.

Max sighs. “I knew it would only be a matter of time.”

“She’s part owner of a new coffee shop slash bookstore in Smallville.”

“Who are the other owners?”

“Lana Lang, a girl Zoey goes to school with. And Lex Luthor.”

“What the fuck does Lex Luther have to do with Smallville?”

“Lionel Luthor made him head of the a fertilizer plant in town. Apparently, Lex is friends with Clark Kent.”

Max laughs. “So, Lex is in charge of a shit factory and somehow Zoey got him to be a partner in a cafe?”

“She’s ambitious.”

~*~

“So, who did you get in our class biography paper,” Zoey asks, sitting down next to Mike. She notices Shane and a few other football players watching them. Zoey rolls her eyes and turns to Mike. “I got you. So, it’ll be an easy A. We’ll just hang out and then I’ll write the paper later.” She notices the upset look on Mike’s face. “Is everything okay, Mike?”

“My mom got arrested last night,” Mike softly says. “She had two ounces of meth on her. So, she’ll be going to prison for a long time. My dad is driving out from Wichita today. I’m moving. This weekend.”

Zoey grabs his hand. “Is there anything I can do?”

Mike shakes his head. “No.” He holds out a piece of paper. “I got Pete Ross.”

Zoey grabs his paper and hands him her wrinkled up piece of paper. “There. Now, you have to write a paper on yourself.”

Mike lays his head on Zoey’s shoulder. “I hate packing.”

“Everyone hates packing. You just pick the things that are most important to you and that you absolutely need.” Zoey glances at her watch and sighs. “I need to go to the Talon. Do you want to come and see how Lana is doing with the contractors?”

Mike sits up and stares at his best friend. “I still can’t believe you’re going into business with Lana Lang. I mean, I can understand Lex, but I don’t get Lana.”

Zoey smiles as she stands up. “Believe me, I still can’t believe it either.”

~*~

Zoey and Mike walk up to the Talon where Clark and Lana were talking. Zoey and Mike had spent most of the afternoon packing up his mom’s house and getting his stuff ready for when his dad arrived from Wichita. “Lex,” Lana greets. Zoey and Mike turn to see Lex walking towards them on Main Street. “What are you doing here?”

“Contractor called, said he had an estimate. Wanted me to meet him here,” Lex replies. Zoey opens the door and the group walks into find a man sprawled out on the floor. “What the hell?”

Mike walks over to the man and kneels down next to him. “Sir, are you okay?”

The contractor groans. “Yeah,” he answers, as Mike helps him sit up. “I - I came in the back door and some guy jumped me and forced me to let him in, then bashed me over the head.”

“Did you see his face,” Clark questions.

“No.”

Zoey notices a box sitting on the counter. She walks over to it and opens it up to reveal a hand sitting inside. “Whoa.”

“That wasn’t there when I locked up,” Lana informs them. “I’ll go call the police.”

Zoey finds a name tag on the box’s lid. She turn to Lex and shows him the box lid. “Who the fuck did you piss off?” Mike glances in the box and frowns. He starts to reach into the box, but Zoey grabs his wrist. “Dude, don’t contaminate the crime scene.”

“There’s no blood,” Mike points out. “Cleanly severed. This was done post mortem. And there’s a pinkie ring.”

Zoey turns to Lex. “Know any one who wears a pinkie ring?”

Lex runs a hand over his face. “Zero consequences,” he mutters before walking around.

Mike leans close to Zoey. “Now, I’m even more upset that I’m moving. We got some interesting stuff going on around here now.”

~*~

Zoey looks up from her science textbook when she hears a buzzing. Her Blackberry was vibrating across her desk. Seeing the number on the screen, Zoey glances down the hallway before closing her bedroom door. She grabs her phone. “Ollie, I’m fine,” she says, not giving the caller a chance to greet her.

“Zo, you can not be going into business with Lex Luthor,” Oliver Queen tells her. Oliver was her oldest friend. She had known him her entire life. After his parents died in a plane crash, Oliver had lived with Zoey and her parents for a few years until her own parents died in a car accident after being hit by a drunk driver.

“Ollie, I’m not a little girl anymore,” Zoey argues. “I grew up while you were stranded on that island.”

Oliver had vanished three years ago, after taking his family’s yacht on a high school graduation trip. It was only the previous summer that he had been rescued from the island.

Zoey bites her lip as she slowly enters the hospital room. It had been nearly three years since she had seen Oliver. She didn’t know what to expect. She wondered if he remembered her or even cared about her. There were various tubes hooked up to her childhood friend. There were scars over his very tanned body. “Hi,” she quietly greets. Her grip on the plastic container of homemade oreos tightens.

Oliver smiles. “You know, Zo, I’m not going to bite.”

She lets out a relived breath and makes her way across the room. She sets the container on the nightstand and climbs on the bed to tightly embrace him. Zoey buries her face in his neck. “You’re not allowed to go on a boat ever again. Promise?”

Oliver wraps an arm around her back. “Promise.”

“I missed you.”

Oliver rests a cheek against the top of her head. “I missed you too, Zo.” He pulls back and lightly touches her glasses. “Since when do you wear glasses?”

Zoey rolls her eyes. “Since I have crappy eyesight.”

Oliver sighs. “I know, Zo. I just…I don’t want you to get pulled into something that you shouldn’t be apart of.”

“How did you find out in the first place?”

“Max was bragging about you following in the Carmichael footsteps at a dinner party.”

“Since when do you go to dinner parties?”

“Max insisted that I go. Said it was a good way to reintroduce me to Star City’s social scene. And that I needed to stop hiding in my house all day.”

Zoey bites her lip. “Are you going to the Wayne Foundation gala?”

“No way would I be caught there. Besides for being a teenage billionaire, Bruce is way to dark and brooding. Kid needs to lighten up.”

Zoey rolls her eyes. “I think after everything that Bruce has been through, he’s allowed to be a little dark and brooding.”

“He still needs to light up a little.”

~*~

Zoey walks through the crowd at the grand opening of the Talon. She finds Mike sitting in a corner with an unhappy look on his face. She takes a seat next to him, before glancing around to see if anyone was watching them. She pulls out a flask and pours some whiskey into the two coffee cups she had brought to the table. She hands Mike one. “I grabbed some of my uncle’s top shelf whiskey over the summer,” she whispers.

Mike takes a sip and coughs. “That is really good,” he tells her. “Way better than the stuff we’d sneak from my mom’s stash.”

“I think anything is better than your mom’s stash.”

“True.”

“My dad’s coming down in the morning with a moving truck. He has everything ready for me at his house. Monday, I start at a new school. Being the new kid sucks.”

“It does.”

“I came out to my dad last night. I was hoping that he wouldn’t want me to live with him. He’s very supportive.”

Zoey grabs his hand. “Mike, so many people would kill to have such a supportive dad. He just wants what’s best for you.”

“What’s best is for me to stay here.” Mike shakes his head and finishes his coffee in a couple of gulps. He stands up. “I’m gonna head home. I’ll see you…well, I don’t know when I’ll see you again, Zoey. Bye.”

Zoey watches as Mike walks out of the Talon. She finishes her coffee and observes the happy people in the Talon. A buzzing comes from her pocket and she pulls out her Blackberry. “Hello,” she answers without glancing at the screen.

“I already talked to Martha and Jonathan about it, but you’re coming with me to the Wayne Foundation Gala,” Max greets. “Get a weekend bag ready because I’ll meet you at the private airport in Metropolis in a few hours.”

Zoey blinks. “Uncle Max, I don’t have anything to wear.”

“We’ll get that taken care of in Gotham.”

Zoey sighs. “What time do I need to be at the airport?”

I won’t leave I can’t hide I cannot be Until you’re resting here with me

#smallville #series rewrite #original female character #original character

1 note · View note