Through some act of administrative fate, for good or for ill, he hadn't ended up in the lecture hall session.

Abnormal psych was a popular class, for Psych Majors and Minors alike, for the dabblers and the people who took classes for the fun of it. It was rumored to be populated with slackers, bored housewives, frat boys and sorority girls, the industrious, the un-industrious, and everyone else under the sun. It was almost always held in the massive lecture hall in Pitts, though there were a few smaller classes.

When Clark had asked his minor advisor to sign him up for it, he'd hoped to be in that nameless mass of faces in the lecture hall. That would have suited him nicely, and his self-imposed need for anonymity would have been catered to.

Fate must have taken a liking to spitting in his eye.

Clark decided, as he crammed himself into his seat as far toward the back of the class as possible, that someone must have an ironic sense of humor -- to have deliberately assigned what must be the largest group on that course to the smallest teaching room on campus. Just while getting there, and sitting down he'd had to apologize four times for squeezing past other students, dropped his notebook twice, and by the time he got himself even remotely situated, everyone else seemed to have settled down.

He was left with a vague unsettled feeling as he glanced around, feeling out of his depth. Hopefully there would be someone familiar to connect with. He mentally kicked himself for not having twisted Chloe's arm to take this minor with him. She might have done it. Or she might not... He was beginning to wonder if she shifted personality with the phases of the moon, or something equally ridiculous.

But then again, half of Smallville was that way. Shifting personalities. Everyone wanted to escape small-town life and for every person who did, twenty turned back and embraced it tightly. So, he had to be glad that he and Chloe had gotten past Smallville, excepting visits back home.

Thinking about it, probably the only reason she was minoring in Photography was so she could take her own crisp pictures when she went snooping. He might have followed her if it hadn't been for the fact that he hadn't worked out how to stop frying the insides of a camera if he squinted and concentrated too hard. It was a bit of a disadvantage to a would-be photographer.

"Hey, excuse me -- sorry, sorry, hey, thanks." The chair beside Clark's jostled, and a harried looking student dropped his book-bag on the fold-up 'desk top' when he swiveled it into place. And banged Clark's knee in the process. "Hey, sorry about that, man..."

Clark automatically made a show of rubbing his knee as he shifted sideways to give the other student a little more room. "No problem. I managed four on the way in," he said pleasantly, as he glanced at his new neighbor.

With that common instinct that seemed to spring from all new classes, he found himself striking up a conversation with a random stranger just because he needed a connection somewhere in this class. God, he hoped he hadn't landed himself with someone who he'd spend the rest of the year trying to shake.

"Four? That's pretty impressive," his new neighbor noted, pulling a lap-top out of his haphazard looking red messenger bag. The bag ended up slipped onto the floor between his feet and the seat in front of him, guaranteeing that anyone who tried to squeeze past them would end up tripping, too. "We should be lucky this class isn't in a room with desks, you know? I saw a guy trip and knock over five of them in my calc class." The guy had a pleasant, no, a casual, off the cuff voice. No-nonsense city kids talked like that, edges on all of their words.

The guy looked at Clark with a frat-boy style grin, mellow and too laid back. He had scruffy brown hair, eyes to match, and clothes like he'd been pulled out of an Abercrombie catalogue. Just a fraction too well put-together.

Clark gave a lopsided grin, and made sure to look disarmingly normal as he studied the other student. He noted his appearance, and looked for subtle clues as to what type of person and what other information he could glean from this first contact. 'Observation of incongruities'; that could have been tattooed on the forehead of his investigative journalism professor. The man was obsessed with the concept, and Chloe would frequently bet him how many times he was going to say the phrase to see who bought the coffee in their break after class. Still, it had seeped into him somewhere along the line, and his green eyes flickered over the other guy, as he replied, "If there were desks here, that'd probably be me. I'm not very coordinated." There was something just a little off about the appearance... as if, instead of living the person he was trying to be, the guy had studied the person he was being.

"Clark Kent by the way," he introduced himself belatedly.

"Leo Byrne," was the reply while he started to open his laptop. "Is this your major?"

"No... no, Journalism Major," Clark answered easily, looking a little enviously at the computer. "Yours?"

Laptops were so... shiny. Like toys, unlike the nice staid desktop that Clark had bought himself with excess from his scholarships. So that spark of envy was all right to feel. "This is my minor -- I'm a biochem major." He didn't look the type, but Clark had already noted that Leo's looks were somehow... off. "Taken many other psych classes? Maybe we can study sometime. Never ask one of the people majoring to study with you. They're in a world all their own, and usually start talking about the department and professor so and so's affair with the milkman... You know. Stuff like that."

"Yeah... yeah, that would be great... I need the help I think," Clark replied with enthusiasm, seeing a lifeline dangle in front of him to yank him away from a solitary existence in this group. Leo was right, those doing Majors weren't that interested in those doing minors in the same subjects. He guessed he was a bit like that with his own major come to think of it. "I've taken Physiological Psych so far," he confessed. "You?"

"Just a course back in high school." Leo opened up a word document, and was saving it as 'notesab1', adjusting his position ever so slightly to lean into Clark. Not on purpose, but he was leaning his left arm out while typing and trying to not elbow the girl to his left. "It's been a few years, but abnormal is the stuff you remember most vividly. Autism, Turetts, Tardicdyskenesia, sch--"

Leo trailed off into perfectly comfortable silence when he realized the teacher was calling the 'As' of the roll sheet.

Clark blinked a little, and hastily got his own pen and notepad out, rather hotly aware of the comparison between the laptop and his own outdated methods. He kept telling himself that it was that which was making the heat rise a little in his face, not the rather distracting proximity of his new found study partner. He was close enough to smell his... what... cologne? Aftershave. Nothing over-powering, indeed rather discrete and terribly distracting as it tugged gently on memory fragments. He could have moved away, leaned a little more to give Leo more space, but he didn't. Clark was so wrapped up in trying to chase those tattered recollections that he very nearly missed his name, and after that, shifting away didn't even occur to him as the class began.

Leo was better than having a frat boy sitting beside him. He was silent except for the depression of his keys, but every once in a while he'd glance over at Clark and smirk at something the teacher had said, or a joke that made most of the rest of the class laugh out loud. There wasn't really much to take notes on -- a syllabus passed out, the professor sternly telling everyone that it was a serious class for mature adults.

Professor Bullock wasn't really giving off the stern vibe very strongly. Sharp-tongued, maybe, but she seemed like a professor that Clark could deal with.

That was something which was a relief, and Clark found himself actually enjoying the class. He flicked through the syllabus, absently reading the whole thing with a mere glance -- a very useful skill he had acquired the night before his first midterms when he had been cramming. It had been a very strange sensation at the time, things seeming very fast -- and yet slow at the same time. Like driving fast while being able to perceive every dewdrop glistening on each blade of grass along the road.

Speed-reading taken to a whole new level.

The fifty-minute lecture passed like a blink, between the opening speech, passing out of papers, and going over the syllabus. Soon, everyone was zipping up their bags, and Clark decided that choosing Psychology as a minor had probably been one of his better decisions recently.

"Hey, you have a class after this?" Leo drawled, while he was leaning into his messenger bag to secure his laptop into it.

"No... I'm free for a couple of hours," Clark supplied readily, packing up his own notepad and pen with a wry expression -- at least it was easier to put his supplies away. He was still intrigued by this... Leo. He couldn't shake a sudden surge of interest in the other man's sense of a mystery. Not all of it could be 'new class desperation' after all. Could it? "You?"

"I've got about an hour -- want to go catch an early lunch, or a cup of coffee?" He stood up smoother than he'd sat down, but again accidentally slammed the edge of his desk into Clark's knee. "Clark, man, I'm sorry about that -- I'm all elbows some days."

Clark gave a mock stagger as he got up. "Man, it's just as well I don't have a sports scholarship to protect isn't it? Lunch or coffee sounds great... Leo." Why had he hesitated over saying his name? If anything the hesitation made things worse as the name had sounded, well, almost deliberately savored. Damn! Now he was going to blush again. All the superpowers he had and he hadn't yet worked out how to hide a simple blush! He resorted to his usual tactic of pretending to hitch up on something and turned away, fumbling a moment. "Sorry -- you're not the only one who's all elbows," he apologized.

"Come on -- are you into Starbucks, or do you like Mocha Joe's better?" Ah, the Met U. Battle over which sort of coffee was the best. Mainstream and chain-stored, the semi-mainstreamed, or obscure little holes in the wall -- places like the Talon -- that helped to give Metropolis it's odd clash of small and big businesses.

Leo, thankfully, wasn't commenting on Clark's blush. He was hitching his bag over his shoulder better, and waiting with a wide close-mouthed grin.

"Mocha Joe's is okay," Clark said, shouldering his own bag easily. "Plus, they do food there which is... um cheap." He grinned as he turned, showing he was ready to leave. "A main priority of the poor student of course."

"Well, if you call pastries and muffins food, yeah, they do food cheaper than Starbucks," Leo smirked. He navigated down the aisle in front of Clark, then started down the broader aisle that led towards the door, waiting for Clark to fall in beside him. "So you're, what, a Junior? Sophomore?"

"Junior," Clark admitted. "You?" It was hard to place Leo's age and he found himself staring a little. There was something too familiar about him. Maybe it was just that Leo reminded him of someone, or had the same sort of mannerisms.

After all, there was one of Chloe's friends of a friend that he'd seen at a party the year before, who'd had him wondering if he found Lana's long lost sister or something by accident. He considered that to be a very disturbing prospect, but she'd turned out to have had a similar background, and interests, and had hailed from the other side of the state.

"Junior, but I'm second semester. Three more semesters, and I'll be done at last." Leo shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, watching the steps as they made their way down them. "I sort of fucked things up for myself for a couple of years, but I'm back on track now."

"Yeah?" Clark looked at him, his curiosity piqued by that. "What happened?"

"Didn't study, partied, got high, got drunk... my dad made me get a job, and I've only just found time to get back to school." He tossed Clark a grin that narrowed his relaxed brown eyes, and took a sharp right turn once they were out of the classroom. "You're not into that stuff, are you?"

"Do I look like I am?" Clark smirked, with a touch of a self-depreciating smile. "Drugs and drink... nah, a friend of mine put me off them for life before I even got to thinking about it -- and I'd feel like I'd really let my parents down if I didn't study hard enough to warrant the money they put into me being here." He shrugged, aware that it probably wasn't the cool thing to admit. Once a geek, always a geek. "My friend Chloe always tells me to live a little. I get dragged out often enough to have something of a real life outside of studying, but wild parties aren't my thing."

"Good, then I'm not going to have to walk back that way," and Leo tossed a look over his shoulder, still smiling at Clark, "and find another study partner. I grew out of that, but... a lot of people here at Met U like the wild life. Big crowds, unbelievable actions... One on one always struck me as more fun."

Clark nodded, not catching the inference. "Yeah, crowds are not something I've ever been comfortable with. But then, I'm from a town in the back of beyond. I was pretty culture shocked when I first got here," he admitted, and smiled unconsciously back at Leo. "And I thought some of the stories I was told about this place were exaggeration to wind up the gullible farm-boy -- turns out they were just the tip of the iceberg."

"Metropolis is New York, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Paris all smashed together, the best and the worst parts of all of them. With a pretty good university." Leo was animated when he talked, gesturing freely with his right hand as he talked, left secured firmly under the strap of his messenger bag. "So, are you from Grandville or Smallville?"

"Smallville... is it that obvious?" Clark grinned raising an eyebrow at that deduction. "It's not like I go around with a great big S for Smallville on my chest is it?" No, he only came uncomfortably close to it with the scarred brand on his chest, now faint from exposure to sunlight.

"No, it's actually stuck to your forehead," Leo grinned, slapping Clark lightly on the back. Less of a slap and more of a pat and Clark decided he didn't mind that at all. "Well, you sound like you're from around here, but you said middle of nowhere, so... It's Grandville or Smallville, or some other town that's too damn tiny for me to know about."

"I'm surprised you've even heard of Smallville... most places smaller than it aren't even towns." Clark found himself returning the grin easily. "You sound like you're pretty familiar with Metropolis -- I wouldn't have put a place like Grandville or Smallville as your scene." There was at least partly a question hidden in the statement as Clark fished for information.

And Leo was a relaxed fish jumping right at Clark's bait. "Born and raised, and my dad wouldn't have it any other way. He's a small-time businessman in a city full of them. Investment banking. Very exciting stuff." Leo's smile slid towards tight and mocking as they walked outside and into the cloudy mid-day sky. There'd probably be a storm before the sun set.

"Sounds a little more high powered than farming," Clark replied as he mentally stored that information. "Shoveling shit in the most literal sense of the word."

"Wow, you did real farming?" Leo glanced over at him with a glint of admiration in his eyes, and then added slyly, "You must have some pretty impressive muscles."

Clark blinked a little at that, not sure entirely how to respond and opted for his 'simple country boy who can't read between the lines" act. "Well I'm pretty strong I guess, but not that impressive. It's not like I work out or anything. I can't believe that you think real farming is something interesting. Most people's eye's glaze over at the mere suggestion of crops or cattle."

"Well, I'll admit it's a little eye-glaze worthy," Leo told him. He gave a roll of his shoulders, the gesture too smooth to be a shrug, and his mouth curled almost wickedly. "But I'm one of those guys who finds the grass at least greener on the other side -- or, more interesting."

"The grass is usually greener because some hardworking farm boy has well fertilized it," Clark replied dryly, unconsciously mirroring Leo's smile with one of his own. "Always want what you can't have huh? There's probably a whole section in Psych about that."

"I bet we'll find out." Leo winked, and veered comfortably towards the main street. Mocha Joe's was just a brisk walk away from Pitts, and usually had shorter lines than Starbucks; but it was also pretty new, so Leo must've had a job in the city somewhere to know where the coffee shop was. Or, he had the usual habits of a coffee addict, and liked to know where all the best places were. "Do you live on or off campus?"

"On campus. Got a single room though. Too used to my own company I guess." Clark followed him automatically. The real reason of course, was that superpowers and roommates were never going to work, and he'd had to get a loan to cover the extra required to secure comparative privacy. "I bet you live off campus though?"

"What was the tip-off?" Leo seemed to keep almost constant eye contact with Clark, or kept trying to make it, despite somehow checking for traffic and then hurrying a bit arrogantly across the street. It was that 'hit me and I'll sue you your family, and your fucking pets' walk that so many people had in Metropolis. That Lex had brought with him to Smallville.

There, that was it, that was the connection with the familiar that tugged at him, the comparisons falling into place. Leo reminded him of Lex. Well, aside from the hair, the eye color, complexion, facial expressions, the fact he was a student whilst Lex was over in Asia putting the corporate in LexCorp. Thinking about it, they weren't that similar in fundamental things but perhaps it was just the stamp of Metropolis that was recognizable.

Clark smiled. "You remind me of a good friend of mine, and I can't imagine him in a dorm. Man, he'd be more likely to have a penthouse." He smiled as he said it, wondering what Lex was doing just then. When had he last called?

Maybe a week ago. Then again, Lex was in Hong Kong that month, and he'd said something about not having wanted to bother Clark late at night while he was eating his own breakfast. There'd been a sketchy promise of more email, but... Lex was sporadic about that when he was doing his business deals.

Besides, Lex was an important man who had a lot of more important things to do than chat with a college kid.

"Penthouse? Not in this city, at what they cost," Leo snorted as they stepped onto the sidewalk. "I've got a nice shabby apartment off of Vine."

Shabby, and living off of Vine? Sure, maybe the brick duplexes were spray-painted at the sides, but it was still pretty upscale.

"Yeah right,." Clark smiled, as he deftly avoided bumping into other passerby's whilst maintaining the conversation. "I won't tell of your secret shame of living in that neighborhood," he commented, trying not to chuckle too obviously. "If the social stigma is too much you can always come to the terribly well appointed residence of Clark Kent." It didn't bother him, but he'd found a lot of his fellow students were surprisingly conscious of status. Leo didn't seem like that type. But then he hadn't really worked out what type he did seem like yet, aside from a city-bred.

"Hey, dorms have... a certain air to them," Leo drawled in defense against Clark's own teasing of himself. "You know, the feeling that you're really going to school, that you're really doing it. Living off of them just makes it feel like some job that you're doing. Hey, figure out what you want before you get there -- my treat."

"Only if I get them next time." Clark countered, mildly amazed that somewhere along the short route from campus to there he had somehow decided there most definitely would be a next time. He felt, well, strangely comfortable with Leo for all he knew very little about him -- and that, as he discovered over the years, was a very rare thing for an alien brought up in prime freak meteor mutant growing country.

Some people he just... clicked with. Others he smiled and kept at a distance, but Leo felt like a Click. He felt like Chloe would like him -- hell, she'd probably be proud that Clark had made a friend. "All right. But you still have to make up your mind on what you want. I'd recommend the mint mochas, but you've probably been here more often than I have."

"Mint mochas sounds good. I'm not usually that adventurous when it comes to coffee," Clark admitted. "Tend to stick to the same old, same old. Chloe's the one with the fetish for trying the weird."

Leo seemed to pause, despite that he was pulling open the door of the shop and making the bell on the inside jangle. "Girlfriend?"

"No. Well... no." Clark hesitated wanting to answer that question truthfully, but not entirely sure how to go about it. "I'm not sure what she is half the time to be honest, other than a good friend."

Leo's dark eyebrows went up, but his mouth was curling again as he held the door open for Clark. "Yeah, I've known girls like that. Guys like that, too. They play hell with your emotions, don't they?"

Guys huh? Well. That was a pretty clear signal and obviously deliberate. Still, he liked the way Leo had made it subtle yet painfully obvious. "Yeah. I kept hoping I would somehow work it all out as I got older. I think it just gets more complicated as you go along." He smiled and entered the shop, breathing in the coffee rich scent. "Thanks. I think right now I'm going with the young, free, and single category. Less complicated that way," he said absently, unaware for a moment how that might come across to his new friend.

"Live it up while you can -- I hear you." But if it had come across to him in the subtext of their words, Leo either didn't notice, or gracefully accepted it. "You wait, Clark -- you'll graduate, get a job, and the next thing you know, you've got office politics to deal with and all of the cute girls -- and their numerous psychosis -- to deal with." Leo moved into the line, and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Grab a table?"

"Sure." Clark nodded and moved over to find one as out of the way as possible, watching Leo continuously. He moved almost fluidly, and seemed to have a presence that had the people serving the coffee responding like they never did to ordinary students. He was staring again and he nearly embarrassed himself by realizing it, snatching his gaze away to look uselessly out of the window as Leo turned and made his way back over towards him.

Two large mocha mints, in requisite paper cups with insulating cardboard wraps, were set down on the table, and then Leo slid into the chair across from Clark's, taking his messenger bag off. "The Toffee nut is pretty good, too, but this is a little less of an acquired taste than that." And then he looked at Clark with almost predatory eyes, waiting for him to take a sip.

Clark tasted the mocha with the habitual pantomime of testing for heat that was so much a part of him there was a good chance he would do it if presented with iced tea. The taste was smooth and the flavor of mint added a refreshing tang to the coffee that he took the time to savor. "Hey...this is pretty good," he said with genuine surprise. "No wonder Mom buys her own flavors and calls us a bunch of hicks for preferring instant."

The predatory gleam seemed satisfied with Clark's response, before Leo's eyes mellowed substantially, still smiling, as he took his own hasty sip. "I bet there aren't any real coffee shops in Smallville."

"Well there was one. Still is actually. It's called the Talon. Another friend of mine ran it and I worked there for a bit..." Clark replied, taking another sip of his mocha. "Well... sort of worked there. Wasn't a terribly good employee really."

"Coffee is an art form, and I'm sure you were appreciated." Leo smirked a little, and was already taking less hasty sips of his mocha mint, leaning casually forwards towards Clark as he talked. "So what do Journalism Majors do?"

"What in general? Poke their nose into other people's business." Clark shifted forward in response to that evidence of attention. "Actually, learn how to poke their nose into other people's business properly. It has to be done properly otherwise you can't be a journalist. Just a sneak." His sense of humor seemed to be taking the same turn towards the dry as it did when he was around Lex. Maybe, Clark found himself deciding, he should get to know more Metropolis city-boys.

"Like cockroaches, my father says," Leo winked. "Have you done any internships anywhere interesting? Like the Inquisitor?"

"The Inquisitor? I think I'd be disowned..." Clark replied with mock horror. "I did last summer at the Daily Planet." He settled a little and allowed himself to look a touch smug. That was the intern spot everyone wanted from the Journalism course. He'd worked hard to get that spot because they had a good track record of employing their interns if they did well. And he had done well so he held out high hopes for a proper job there when he was done studying.

"You liked it?" Leo asked, nose wrinkling just a little. There were faint freckles over the wrinkles, and they seemed to add to his smile. "They're usually cutting edge on the news, but... I don't know. I suppose I like the trashiness of the Inquisitor."

"The Inquisitor has its own appeal I guess...If I don't get a job at the Planet or the Star I'll probably be begging on my knees for the Inquisitor to give me a place," Clark grinned. "Scruples tend to erode under the necessity to eat and live."

"Scruples eroding? I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that about my favorite paper," Leo grinned smoothly. "So, you're of a higher mind than that?"

"Well it's not so much that as... well, I know people who've had first hand experience with the sort of methods reporters from the Inquisitor have used and they pretty much broke every ethical rule we've been taught." Clark shrugged casually, not wanting to disagree violently but not willing to say something he didn't believe. "I'm just not. Well... comfortable with that. Who knows, maybe they've changed."

"Maybe not," Leo shrugged, mimicking his response. "After all, it's owned by one of the Luthors, isn't it?"

"That's not necessarily anything to do with the way the paper is run," Clark replied immediately and a little defensively. "Those sorts of decisions should be made by the individual reporters themselves."

Leo just never missed a beat with his smile and his almost sly sips of coffee. "But the owner could make a mass call on ethics, right?

"Yeah...well I guess. But that would kind of defeat the object. Having a morality imposed on you would kind of...well, it would make it a false empty gesture," Clark drawled, warming to his subject and waving his hand, complete with coffee cup rather eloquently.

"Do you think they could weed out the immoral ones? Like the Planet does?"

"I think there are going to be immoral reporters in every paper like it or not. I guess they could but... well..." Clark shrugged again "I think the owner is more interested in veto rights than actually running things. The Inquirer ran some pretty damaging stories about the Luthors before they were acquired." He looked into his coffee mug, remembering some of them and how much it had affected Lex, even if his friend had tried to brush it off. If he hadn't known him, he would have thought it really meant nothing, but he knew otherwise, and truth be told, that was probably the more genuine basis for his dislike of the Inquirer, as well as his own brushes with them.

"And now, of course, only the Planet runs those stories," Leo said with a wink, and a smooth smirk in his voice. Expressive, he was damned expressive -- there were nuances to every word, subtext probably lurking behind every 'hey' that Leo gave.

And mocha-colored froth on his upper lip.

Clark was about to make a comment in reply to that and spotted the froth, and just couldn't help the quirk of his mouth upwards into an amused smile. "Man, I've never seen someone get a moustache that quickly before. You must have to shave a dozen times a day growing hair at that speed." He couldn't help himself. Leo was so smooth, calm and sure of himself that seeing him sport the city version of a milk moustache gave him a desperate urge to laugh.

"Wha--" Leo licked his top lip, a quick dart of tongue, and then his cheeks tinged a faint red while he grabbed a napkin to swipe it off. "Yeah, and I've been told it tastes oddly like coffee." He dropped the napkin onto the table, and secured the lid onto his cup, chuckling quietly to himself all the while.

Clark allowed some of that laughter to escape as well. "Sorry," he said. "Thought you'd rather know than face your public like that." His eyes drifted to the napkin and he paused a moment, taking in the fact that there seemed to be a smear of something not unlike lipstick on it. Nothing outrageous, but a definite tinge of color. Still, it wasn't like Leo had been hiding his preferences, but... yes now he looked a little more closely, there were the signs he was wearing discrete makeup. Not that this was a big problem as such, there were worse on campus, but he had to make another reassessment of his new friend to accommodate that information.

It was just a little... odd. Not that Clark wasn't used to odd, but it seemed starkly out of place with the preppie frat-boy look that Leo had. "Clark, I think the world would come to an end if I had a 'public' to face. You now... Fresh-faced young journalist, I bet when they let you loose at the Planet, you'll be able to coax interviews like that." And he snapped his fingers on the word 'that', taking another sip of his coffee. "I could walk around the lab all day with a coffee fluff mustache and I'd be stylin'."

"In biochem... yeah, maybe. What're you working on in the lab? See, witness the fresh-faced young journalist coaxing an interview."

"Organometallic compounds -- specifically, Grignard's reagent, to make certain alcohols. It's kind of dull, but I like it," Leo told him blithely, toying with the coffee cup between the palms of his tidy hands.

"Mmmm is that what you are really interested in?" Clark asked studying those hands, and fingers absently. There were no calluses except for a pen callous on his left hand, and a few odd stains that had to be from chemicals. Perfectly manicured nails.

"Well, I've spent the last couple of years self-teaching myself while I was working. So, I know everything that's being taught, but I probably don't know the most conventional means of doing it, and... Well, of course it'd be nice to have that all-important sheet of paper to back up my knowledge. My father has his doctorate, and that leaves me feeling pretty dumb that I've never graduated from college." He took another sip and started to stand up. "Hey, you want a sandwich? You said you were hungry."

"Well yeah... but I should get this. You got the coffee -- sorry, the mint mocha's," Clark said, standing up hastily. "You want something?"

"Just a brownie," Leo said, and looked fleetingly sheepish. He sat down at Clark's hasty stand.

"A brownie it is," Clark nodded, and headed off to the counter. A brownie for Leo. He ought to taste some of the Kent family special brownies if he liked them, there was nothing like them sold anywhere in Metropolis and... And, he had to stop himself and look at what he was thinking. He had met this guy, what all of a couple of hours ago and here he was planning to get his mom to make him brownies; he just seemed very aware of him, his presence all the time. He hadn't had this sort of rapport with someone so swiftly since Lex, and that had occurred under a life or death circumstance. However exciting a psychology class was, it could not be described as life or death. Unless it was really dull of course.

Thoughtfully, he got himself a sandwich and then the required chocolate brownie making his way back to the table. "There we go," he said, putting the plate down in front of him. "Metropolis's finest."

"Well, I know some places that'd argue that title, but they're fresh and warm. Almost like home-cooked, you know?" Leo took another nursing sip of his coffee, then started to break the brownie into bite-sized pieces. "So, assuming Prof. Bullock goes through a chapter a week... when would be the best times for you to get together for studying?"

"You want home cooked you should try my mom's," Clark said absently, watching Leo break the brownie apart. "Studying... yeah." Of course that had been the whole point of this coffee meeting, he had to remind himself of that fact. "Well, I don't have much in the way of anything that can't be shifted around. Wednesdays are my best day, but if that's a problem, I can manage pretty much any time."

"Mmm." Leo's brows drew together in thought, and then he popped a piece of brownie into his mouth. "Wednesday isn't really good for me. I've got lab first thing, and then two classes, and then I have a little time to get lunch and get to work."

"So... when's your best time?" Clark asked patiently. "I don't have to work like you do, so I'll work around your schedule."

"That's really great of you," Leo smiled, taking a sip of mocha again. "Fridays are usually good for me, except when I have to work late. Uh, Tuesdays are usually pretty steadily do-nothing days."

"I'm pretty much free from early afternoon on Tuesdays so... yeah, that would be fine," Clark replied, taking a bite of sandwich as he considered this arrangement. "You on campus at all day on Tuesdays? I mean... would it be better to come to mine, or me come round to yours -- or somewhere on campus or something?" He realized halfway through what he had been saying that he was babbling and covered it with another bite. The sandwich had met its match and was nearly gone already.

Leo didn't even laugh at his bumbling, just smiled and there was thought darting through warm brown eyes. "Depends -- when on Tuesday? I get off work around five."

"Well any time really. Straight after, early evening, late evening. Whatever's best for you?" Clark was dimly aware that he losing his semblance of anything remotely resembling casual interest. He sounded like he was trying to set up a date or something, for Gods sake. "Name the time and place and I'll be there," he said trying for casual.

"You have a roommate? If he's one of those loud obnoxious ones, I know a few places around campus we could go to study, but if he's not..."

"No... No, I have a single room," Clark replied "So no problems with a room mate. You want to come on over whenever is convenient?"

"Six or so, counting for traffic? Of course, there's nothing to study for tomorrow, except the advance reading." Leo polished off the brownie, pressing the crumbs into an absent ball of dough with his right hand. "Actually, I probably have to eat dinner with my father tomorrow, so that's a no go. Starting next Tuesday work for you?"

"Yeah... that would be great." Clark felt a pang of disappointment, but then he would see him in the classes the rest of that week. He got out a piece of paper from his notebook and ripped it off, hastily scribbling his room number on it, and contact details. "Here, if you can't make it you can get a message to me or something - and that's my room. It's not too hard to track down, though it's a bit out of the way."

"Thanks." Leo shifted in his seat, and pocketed the slip of paper immediately. Then he seemed to take in the scraps of food and almost finished drinks. Where others took that as a sign of time to pack it up and leave, he oddly enough settled back down, and leaned forwards towards Clark. "I'll make a point to pencil you in for Tuesdays."

"Into your busy schedule," Clark smiled, nodding in agreement. "Seriously, if you've got something on you can't get out of, you just let me know. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Studying, working... doesn't sound like you get to have a lot of time for yourself in there."

"Would you believe me if I said that studying is time for myself?"

"What about going out? With your friends?" Clark asked, his expression quizzical. "You can't spend all your free time studying... can you?"

Leo's good-natured smile faltered a little, even as he rested his chin on his hand and leaned into the wall a little. "I wouldn't call the people I know from work friends, and the people I knew from college are probably all dead by now, living the way they did. Or, let me say that they should be dead, but, drunk's luck, druggie's luck, it's all the same."

Clark's expression softened a little and became concerned. "I'm sorry Leo, I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything. It's not like I've got a massive group of friends myself and I don't have the commitments that you do." He felt a little awkward; part of him felt he should be offering to pull Leo into his group, and another part wanted to keep him as his friend. He smiled again, "And after introducing me to mint mocha you've got at least one new friend." He said it lightly, jokingly even but he was watching Leo's face as he said the words, looking for something, even if he didn't know what it was.

A tip of that smile, crooked but definitely there, and Leo seemed to roll back into motion. He sat back, and then started to stand, grabbing his messenger bag. "Yeah... Hey, I'll see you on Wednesday -- we could try Starbucks then, my treat."

"Yeah, that'll be great," Clark replied getting up as well. "I'll see you then Leo. Glad you bashed my knee this morning," he said grinning boyishly. "Twice in fact."

"You're in a world of trouble if you play sports, then -- I'll probably do it at least once a week." Leo gave Clark a brief wave as he shouldered his bag, and murmured 'See you' before heading for the door.

Clark watched him go and with his departure, a peculiar sensation of 'absence' unsettled him slightly. It was the sort of sensation that occurred after he had been so in tune with enjoying the moment that he hadn't actually realized how much easy enjoyment had resulted from the chance meeting.

It was only a coffee, he reminded himself shouldering his bag and leaving Mocha Joe's. After all, how well could you really know someone or want to know them just from having a solitary mint mocha with them.?

Except Leo seemed familiar and had done a little open flirting with him, and they'd talked about... really nothing at all. Just scraps and things here and there, but it was comfortable. The first steps people took when they were first getting to know each other.

It was definitely strange. And Chloe, of course, would have an opinion about it when he told her.

Clark generally tried not to contemplate anything meaningful when he was due to meet someone -- but Chloe was late meeting him for dinner. As he sat waiting, he found his mind roaming over a vast range of topics that seemed to run off at a tangent all over the place. Currently the main topic under discussion in his head, as he sat doodling some notes in his room, was how he felt about the fact that Leo had blatantly flirted with him. With the distance and objectivity provided by a gap of time, he was starting to realize that not only had Leo flirted, but also on some strange level he had responded. And quite possibly flirted back. Well, in his own stunted manner.

It was a bizarre realization. He might, under threat of torture with Kryptonite, have admitted there was the possibility that Clark Kent, one of Smallville's finest, might possibly be just a little bit... ga- bisexual. After all, he was definitely still attracted to women. Most definitely he was attracted to women, and the only reason why he might have admitted to being just a little on the bisexual side was because of Lex Luthor. There had been an attraction between them -- there was no denying it. It was just, well, THERE, lurking like a hidden mysterious secret in a certain set of caves. Nothing had ever happened, something that had been a source of constant mixed frustration and relief to Clark at least, and he had thought that was a unique experience. An aberration in his staunch heterosexuality.

But now there was Leo, and that same attraction was there again, only now...now he was old enough to actually do something about it if he dared.

If he dared.

And Lex was still, in his own distant way, around Metropolis. But phone calls and email wasn't the same as dropping off a load of vegetables and heading home four hours later after a history lesson cum rambling discussion and six or seven games of pool. Freshman year, Lex had been there to settle Clark into Met U, show him some sights, but... still not the same. Things were always a little strained by secrets that weren't really secret. A little strained by Lex's own internal strain.

And Chloe was really late. That meant there was enough time to check his mail and see if the other reason to question his sexuality had contacted hi--

"Knock, knock, Clark -- how were classes?"

Clark startled a moment, wondering how long Chloe had been standing there, as the door behind her swung closed and she made herself at home in his room. "Pretty good. I was just about to give up on you, Chloe. Get sidetracked?" he asked, trying to sound a little annoyed.

"Sort of. I almost got hit by a car this afternoon when I tried to cross to get to class, and that pissed me off pretty badly. The bastard kept on driving, too." She crossed her legs at the knee, leaning back on her hands from her spot on the edge of Clark's bed. "But other than that, it was a really good day. I got all of the good professors."

Clark's expression shifted into one of instant concern, feeling guilty suddenly. What if the car had hit Chloe? And he'd been off having coffee, not giving her a second thought. "You're okay, aren't you?" he asked sounding distinctly worried.

"Oh, yeah, I'm just fine. I just got a gravel shower and his license plate number. Not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I have it." Even shocked and angry, Chloe had been able to get that piece of information -- disgustingly Chloe-like, if the fact that it had happened hadn't scared Clark.

That was why he had so few friends. What if something happened to one of them, and he could've been there and hadn't been because he was chatting with someone else? He had found it hard enough to keep track of the people he knew in Smallville, let alone here in the big city.

He relaxed a little, having reassured himself she really was okay. "I'm glad Chlo. You reckon it was another student?"

"Pretty spiffy looking Honda, so probably. I was going to hunt down who owned it when, well, I remembered we were going to call out for a pizza and catch up." Catching up with Chloe meant a recap of the day's events, last year's events, reminiscing and pondering on the future. Or lack of one. Or the last book either of them read.

"If anyone can track them down it'll be you," Clark replied with a faint smile. "So. Good Professors, yeah? Who've you got?"

"Blake, Williams, Snyder, and Lipscomb. She is a great professor. The first thing out of her mouth was 'I am a lesbian -- if you're a bigot, get out of my class. I can grade subjectively, and I grade bigots of any type straight to a failing grade.'

"And two guys got up and left." Chloe was grinning, the pretty, sharp smile she almost always had for Clark when she was excited. She'd been a lot freer with that look since coming to Metropolis, or maybe it was leaving Lana in Smallville.

"Professor Bullock was nowhere near as exciting, but she seemed okay." Clark nodded smiling right back, "I can't believe they actually left because Lipscomb was a lesbian, though."

"Better that they walk out of that ethics class than stick around and do a lot of unethical lying."

"Well, yeah," Clark grinned, acknowledging the point. "Anyone you know in those classes?"

"Jennifer -- you remember her from non-print Media in print? We've already decided to do the big Ethics project together. I wish you had gotten into our section, Clark." Chloe was at ease in Clark's dorm, reaching past him for his phone. "Anyone in your psych class?"

"No one I know... but I got talking with this guy who was sitting next to me," Clark said, tilting his head casually. "Called Leo. Damn, I've forgotten his last name... anyway, we had coffee and we're going to be study partners with any luck."

"Leo, huh? Jenni's having a party next Friday -- maybe you should tell him? The more the merrier." Just like that party Clark had thrown when his parents had been out of town. Oh yeah, the more the merrier. Then her attention was on the phone, while she ordered a pizza that would be big enough to feed Clark and maybe spare her a slice or two.

That suggestion gave Clark a bit of a dilemma, though he wasn't entirely sure why he was reluctant to introduce his friends to each other. Leo had given him the definite impression that wild parties were not something he liked that much anymore. "Well... I'll ask but... I don't think he's into parties that much. He had some bad experiences apparently."

"But this is just some loud music, beer and sodas, Clark," Chloe laughed. But there was a spark in her eyes, and Clark knew he should've expected her next words. He should have, just from having known her for years and years. "You must be some weird magnet for guys with L names who used to be party-freaks."

"It's not like I make a habit of it. Two is a coincidence. Now three -- three I would call a conspiracy," he replied, settling back. "So they've got some things in common," he shrugged, to show it wasn't that unusual or a big deal. "Maybe that's why I got on with him. Already experienced in dealing with guys with L names who used to be party-freaks."

She looked at him with almost pity, and gave a little nod. Pity from Chloe was enough to make Clark want to forget he'd even mentioned Leo. "You miss him, don't you? Kind of like how I miss Lana. Sort of miss her." Like she'd miss a sucking leech -- not that Chloe said it, but it was there in her smirk.

Clark gave her a skeptical look. "Your sincerity does you credit," he commented dryly, "And yeah, Lex is my friend and yeah, I miss him. You can't play pool worth a damn after all."

"Well." Chloe sat upright, puffing up like a rooster in mock offense. "Maybe Leo can play pool with you instead of me."

"He probably doesn't even play. Anyway, that was something Lex and I did. I'll wait until he's back in town again. If he ever gets back into town again before I graduate at this rate."

"Clark... We've talked about this before. You two are friends, and I'll never be able to wrap my mind around why, but he's out there making his billions, Clark, and I don't think you're that high up on his priority list." She stretched back on his bed, arms reached out over her head. "I think the first thing is 'world conquest before thirty'."

The automatic denial that Clark usually responded with was a little sluggish to come to his lips. How long could you go without contact before you got the message that the other person wasn't interested in what you were doing? "I... just worry about him. You know how often he managed to get into trouble in Smallville. "

"Maybe, but has Metropolis been anything like Smallville was? Come on, Clark -- our 'hometown' is weird central. In Smallville you'd get a pizza delivery guy who'd been bitten by a meteor infected rat. In Metropolis, you get a college kid who wants a tip."

"Either one would take your hand off quick enough," Clark quipped and looked down a bit, fiddling absently with the pen he still had in his hand. "I'm sure Lex is just... busy or something. Like you said, I'm not high in the priority list." His expression was unguarded for only a brief moment, but it was long enough to glimpse the swift flicker wounded shadows, before he looked up and smiled as if it wasn't a problem. "So... what other news have you got for me?"

"Oh, just news. Hey, do you want to get a head start on the assignment that's in the syllabus for 420?"

And thus it began. The humdrum roll of the semester, that Clark was getting more than happily used to. Pizza arrived, and Chloe paid for it; books were pulled out and sprawled on the bed, along with limbs. Somewhere in there, between eating and reading and laughter, Chloe insinuated herself against Clark's side. Toying at him, tempting him to push the envelope a little farther each time.

Leo had said he'd known girls, and guys like that. Hot one minute, cold the next. Maybe it wasn't Chloe who had the problem of hot and cold, but Clark?

It was comfortable being that way with her. Warmth, companionship, and he had to admit it, there was a spark of something there. The main problem was that he had never, in all their long friendship and forays over the edges of the boundaries of friendship, been able to work out what the particular something was. But right now, there was a little bit of a reactionary element to his behavior. The attraction to Leo and the thoughts it stirred were prompting him to respond perhaps more positively than he normally did to Chloe's teasing. It was a mistake, it always was a mistake, but Kents were optimists at the core and tended to go ahead anyway in the face of good common sense.

A tease turned into a kiss, turned into Chloe pressing against him, and his rational mind screamed for the brakes while his body was screaming for the gas pedal. But he wasn't human, and had never had a chance to test how careful he needed to be with people, and Chloe was a ball of fire, and--

And the jangle of the phone cut through the haze of hormones, and Chloe pulled back, running a hand through her hair to hastily straighten herself out.

Clark swallowed and grabbed for the phone, very much aware of his flushed features and the attention of other parts of his anatomy "Uh... hi? Clark here." Even to himself his voice sounded a little ragged.

"If this is a bad time, I can call back, Clark." Lex, it was Lex and his smooth voice and a sly, almost knowing smile in his words. It was Lex, and if he was in China, it was what time in the morning there? Too damn early to hang up on Lex.

"Lex!" Clark sat up suddenly. "No, no it's okay, it must be early over there. You okay? I was starting to think you'd been abducted or something, but then Chloe reminded me you weren't in Smallville anymore."

"I'm doing just fine. I'm actually just up early to watch the first test run of a new work of engineering that I'm toying with. It starts in half an hour, but I realized that it's actually a decent hour in Metropolis, and it's the first day of a new semester for you. How've you been?" Clark could hear footfalls. It was easy to imagine Lex pacing at a comfortably slow pace over marble tiles.

"Pretty good. Signed up for Psychology as a minor," Clark replied. "Should be interesting. How's business going out there? Going to make it back here any time soon? You owe me a rematch."

"Hopefully when I come back for Christmas this year, it'll be for good. Business is expanding, of course. A few more months, and I'll have a strong hold in the Asian technology market." Lex laughed softly, a low purr of a chuckle. "Sony, meet LexCorp. I'll bring you back a prototype, Clark, and whip your ass in pool for Christmas if you do well this semester."

"Wow, man that sounds like really big stuff." Clark felt a little ashamed of his self-pitying sense of neglect by his friend. The fact that he was even bothering to call him at all was impressive enough when put into context against deals that could make Sony nervous. "Like I'd jeopardize my scholarship by not working, but that's not going to mean you get to beat me that easy." He grinned down the phone at his absent friend, totally oblivious to Chloe momentarily. "I'll look forward to catching up then. I... know you're busy Lex."

While he chatted, Chloe was composing herself, straightening her clothes, and building a little wall of books around her that declared that Clark's moment of optimism was a dead and worthless thing.

"I'm sorry about that. I really called to tell you my new Email address. Some shit in the company leaked my main one to the media, and it's been nothing but interview requests and spam for the past month. Do you have a pen so you can write it down?"

"Yeah... yeah, sure... go ahead." Clark grabbed a pen and scribbled, feeling a lightening of his concerns. At least that explained why he hadn't responded to his emails. If he accepted the explanation at face value. Not that anything Lex said could be accepted at face value, and that was most of the trouble between them. Lies and more lies all stacked and shuffled together, but somehow they managed to stay friends. If there weren't all of those lies, why...

"Napoleon2@lexcorp.co.jp. So, how's Chloe, and the rest of them?"

"Chloe's great." Clark glanced across at her, meaning the words, and smiling as he said them. "She's taking her teachers by storm and making me work hard to keep up. She had a pretty good internship at the Star. Sounded much more exciting than my deal at the Planet."

"Way more exciting," Chloe chimed in, leaning forwards so Lex could hear her through Clark's phone. "Drug bust reporting!"

"Tell her it's good to hear that. So, what did you think of the Planet?"

"It was great!" Clark replied -- knowing he sounded enthused, but it didn't matter, not with Lex. "They've got some really top rate journalists there. There was one, not sure when she started but she's already up there doing headliners... Lois Lane I think. Anyway, her articles are sharper than hell... real cutting edge stuff. Sort of like Chloe's but pumped up some." He grinned and ducked away from Chloe as he said that.

"Don't make me throw a book at you, Clark Kent."

"Lane, Lane... Sounds a little familiar," Lex mused. Mused on a cell phone that was probably hooked up to a satellite and cost who knew how much a minute. Well, Lex knew, but he'd never tell Clark anything like that. "She probably--" Silence for a moment, and a quirk spate of what Clark could only assume was Chinese from Lex. "Clark, I have to go -- mail me?"

"Yeah... yeah sure Lex. And thanks for calling," he said, feeling a bit deflated at the cut off. He had just begun to feel like they were swinging into one of their old conversations and it was over. "I'll mail you the rest of the news, and the Smallville gossip."

"I'd appreciate it, Clark. I've missed our talks. Keep up with your studies." And then Lex was gone, with little more than the beep of the phone disconnecting. It wasn't too different than Lex had ever been. He never liked to say 'goodbye'.

"Okay, remind me that if he ever dies I'm never to mention his name," Chloe said seriously.

Clark put the phone back. "What?" he asked looking at her.

"He's the topic d' jour, and he calls you out of the clear blue, Clark. Do you have any idea how... creepily coincidental that is?"

"It's just a coincidence, Chloe," Clark shrugged. To be honest it often happened with him and Lex. He would be talking about him, and he would call. He'd often wondered if it worked the other way around when he called him. "He was due to call or something anyway, it just happened to be now. What, you suggesting that he knew he was being discussed and then phoned just to freak us out?"

"Maybe I am." She seemed deathly serious, then wriggled her eyebrows. "He has horrible timing, Clark."

"Ah..." Clark blushed a little recalling exactly what they had been doing when the phone rang. Getting a little carried away actually and pleasantly, too. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he muttered a bit lamely, not knowing whether he should apologize or invite her to carry on or just pretend it didn't happen. "Uh, I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay." But it wasn't, and some of the spark was gone from Chloe's eyes as proof of that. Hot one minute, then cold, cold, cold, and confused, all for him. "I'm going to take off early, Clark. It's been a long day, and..."

"...the mood's gone," Clark apologized again. How did this happen? Every time, every time they got close to making that spark catch a flame, something just managed to quash the moment. It always came down to this, and always he let her go and things went back to their hot and cold, to and fro. Maybe... He was feeling a little reckless, still unsettled and the warmth of what they were doing before lingered long enough to prompt him to lean forward again and give her a soft kiss and murmured, "Thanks for coming over, Chlo."

"My pleasure..." And she blushed as she swayed closer for a moment, and sighed, "Clark. Are we... what are we, Clark?"

"I...don't know Chloe," Clark replied, looking at her as if trying to fathom the answer from her expression, from her eyes. "Always friends. And maybe, that's the problem. I've never wanted to lose that...Never wanted to risk going too deep just in case... well, y'know." In case he lost the friendship in screwing up a relationship that would have to be based on a lie.

"I know." Chloe looked so hurt, as she slipped her papers away into her bag. Hurt because of him, because he wanted to be friends with extras when she wanted more. She deserved more, too, he knew that but was just as afraid that denying her what she wanted would lead to the same result. "I'll see you in class tomorrow morning, Clark. 'Night."

"Night, Chloe." Clark said that helplessly as she turned to leave. God, he was completely hopeless when it came to anything remotely resembling a love life. She did deserve more, but he'd never been able to shed the nagging feeling that when she got what she wanted, she'd find it wasn't what she needed and he would have lost her completely, as a partner and as a friend. But he couldn't keep on hurting her like this, not forever. He'd have to eventually put his foot down, or let her have what she thought she wanted. But the wavering he was doing was going to drive a stake of unexplainable angst right between them.

It didn't help that she slammed the door on her way out.

It always came down to this. Sitting alone in his room at the end of a night. Smallville, Metropolis... same difference. Lana, Chloe, Lex... whoever always walked away at the last, and he, more to the point, let them. He could look at how he treated Chloe and he was ashamed of himself. Admittedly, it hadn't on the whole been deliberate, but it was almost as if fate had designed a specific template for him to rub in at every turn how much he had wanted Lana as opposed to her. She never seemed to see the other side, however hard he tried to explain it. That she was one of his best friends, and he hadn't walked away from that whereas he had walked away from Lana.

Girls. Some days it seemed like his mom was the only one he understood.

"Knock, knock -- anyone alive in here?" Seven o' clock on the dot, so there could be no one other than Leo could be the one knocking on his door on a Tuesday night.

Class had been going smoothly, but there was a 'minor' -- or so the professor dared to call it -- test on the first chapter on Wednesday. So the all-encompassing importance of studying that night was there, along with a chance to talk with Leo.

Leo had done 'lunch' with him after every class period, talking about anything that seemed to catch Clark's attention. Or anything at all. He flirted smoothly, but not as subtly as Lex ever had, gave a lot of slow, appreciative smiles, and was touchy without crowding Clark or making it uncomfortable.

And Clark was slightly discomfited to discover how much he enjoyed that simple attention. There were no complicated histories involved, no expectations or strange behavior to work around; just two guys who seemed to be getting on really well. Remarkably well considering the short period of time they had known each other.

Clark blurred rapidly around the room, giving it a split second cleaning and then opened the door. "Come on in Leo," he said smiling at his new friend. "You had a chance to eat yet? I can order something for while we're studying."

"I grabbed a coffee on my way over." Leo gestured with it, and immediately glanced around Clark's room. Coffee had already proven to be a sixth food group for Leo. "Damn, this place is really clean. How dare you have a clean dorm room, Clark. Where's the underwear that's supposed to be tossed over the headboard?"

"Stuffed hastily in a closet, if you must know. Surface impression, I'm not a neat freak or anything. Most definitely not."

"I've seen your book bag," Leo agreed, "so I guessed not. Can I just toss my bag down anywhere, or will that start an avalanche?" He closed the door behind him mindfully, smiling easily as he looked around the room again and, yes, seemed to be taking note of every damn little thing. Cataloguing it. Leo did that sometimes in class -- he blamed his scientific side.

"Anywhere you want. Sorry, the room's not that big. I tend to use the bed as my main study area." Clark decided to prove the point by sitting up at the top end, his back against the wall, leaving enough room for Leo if he wanted to sit there, but there was a chair and table available as well if he wanted to take that instead.

Leo set his bag on the floor, and knelt with it to unzip his ever-present laptop free. For all that he had a pen callus on his fingers, Clark had never seen him actually use a pen. "Are you going to introduce me to everyone?" he grinned a little, and gestured to the photographs on the wall.

"Yeah, sure." Clark was mildly surprised and a little self conscious as he leaned across and gestured to the pictures.

"This is my Mom and Dad on our farm. In the middle of nowhere even in Smallville," he smiled, fleetingly remembering he had to call them sometime this week. It was the picture of the three of them, taken by one of Pete's older brothers.

"This is Lana Lang and Pete, one of my best friends. Man, I had it bad for Lana most of the way through high school." He shrugged looking a little pained. "It didn't work out. I mean... seriously it really didn't work out... and Pete is at college way across country." Then he pointed at a more recent photo that had him in amongst a group of other students. "That's me with Chloe, my closest friend here... the blonde one, and her group of friends. And that's me with one of my other best friends, Lex." He smiled as he looked at it. It was one of the rare photos when his friend actually looked genuinely relaxed as they played pool. "That's the lot really."

"Cue-sticks -- very Freudian," Leo chuckled softly, standing up, but only after he'd plugged his laptop into Clark's wall socket. Then he did the same double-take that picture had been getting since Clark had hung it up on the wall, and the next words from his mouth were predictably, "Wait, Lex Luthor? Whoa."

"Well, yeah," Clark said, still getting a twinge of embarrassment. He could almost see the mental comparisons that people did when they saw the picture. Clark Kent, farm boy nobody, Lex Luthor, billionaire playboy. Yeah, let the imagination run riot. How well do they really know each other?. "He started off his own company in Smallville. I... kinda got to know him when he arrived."

"Wow. That's pretty cool." Leo twisted to look at Clark, his warm brown eyes looking appraising. "Pretty cool, too, that you don't use his name. Because in Metropolis, it's as good as waving gold in someone's face. You're really a great guy, Clark."

Clark shifted a little bit uncomfortably. "Well, it wouldn't be right. I mean, we're friends and..." Damn, but it was difficult to explain how he felt about the money thing with Lex. Early on, he'd half resented the fact that his parents had stopped him from accepting Lex's generosity, but now in some ways he was glad. It was almost like he had passed a test somewhere along the line. "Our friendship has never had anything to do with his money... and I'd kinda like to keep it that way." He felt a bit awkward spelling it out like that but he had found that there were some people who saw his connection to Lex as a potential funnel to unlimited wealth.

Leo just smiled, deflecting awkwardness like some of his mom's pans deflected crusty bits. "And that's really great, Clark -- I knew you were a clean-nosed sort of guy, and I was right. Okay. Have you had dinner yet?"

"Well, you know me. My capacity for food is legendary." Which was a polite and indirect way of saying no he hadn't. "Changed your mind about food?"

Leo shifted to sit at the end of Clark's bed, balancing his laptop on his lap as he settled cross-legged. "No? Maybe. What'd you like to have -- my treat."

"They do a pretty good pizza around here." Clark suggested getting the books out and picking up the phone. He smiled, they'd already settled into a pattern of give and take; if Leo bought this, Clark would pick up the tab next time they had lunch. He didn't even argue it now. "Want anything in particular?"

"Whatever you like on your pizza. I'll probably only have a slice or two." Leo was a light eater, and a heavy coffee drinker; it probably wasn't healthy, but he seemed healthy enough. A hum broke into the room, his laptop buzzing to life. "You know, your friend Chloe looks pretty familiar."

"Yeah?" Clark queried as he dialed the pizza place and ordered hastily. He barely had to tell them the order, after he'd given them the name and he looked a little sheepish as he put the phone down. "You know her? Or seen her around? She's pretty active on campus."

"Actually, I think I almost hit her with my car," Leo admitted, scuffing a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Probably wasn't her."

"Man...you didn't? Last week? She said she had a near miss just after we had coffee."

Leo's face blanched, a sure sign that he had. "Damn, yeah, that'd be me. Fuck. Was she okay?"

"Yeah, she was a little steamed about it though. Had your license and everything," Clark said relaxing a bit. "How'd you nearly hit her?"

Leo looked a little shaken talking about it, which was proof to Clark that it had been entirely an accident. Not that Clark hadn't been around maniacal drivers before. "I was coming around a corner -- I was a bit late to a meeting with my father, wasn't thinking. Can I get her number so I can apologize to her sometime? I feel really bad about this..."

"Well, she'll be okay. Actually, she sort of invited you to a party on Friday this week," Clark shrugged. "I told her I wasn't sure if it was your thing or not any more."

Leo looked thoughtful, but still nervously pale. He leaned back against the footboard of Clark's bed, and idly opened a couple of files on his laptop. "I'm not sure. Are you going to be there, Clark?"

"Well, I thought I might go for a bit," Clark replied. "But, like I said, I'm not a big party guy. I sort of do the... looming in corners thing quite well, so Chloe tells me."

"Wall flower. Sounds like fun." Leo shifted a little, and stretched one leg out in a comfortable stretch. "I'm not sure what I do at parties anymore, but if it's going to be a quiet one, I suppose we could find out...?"

"Well look, if you do come and you don't want to stay, I'll make it clear to Chloe that as I invited you, I'll leave with you okay? Jenni is her friend after all... so once I've made an appearance we don't have to stay." Clark realized that he actually wanted to see more of Leo, and the studying was great but they did actually have to work. He might be different when he wasn't being so serious and in a different atmosphere.

He might be more relaxed? Leo was relaxed, sure, but there was calm and easy going, and then there was relaxed. Clark still didn't know much about him -- he had a job, and it was pretty time-consuming, and he had a father, and had admitted that Leo was the nickname he'd taken on because his father had named him Napoleon.

For a week of pretty constant conversation, it wasn't much to know about a person.

"Okay, that'd work. So I'll meet you here on Friday?" Leo was shifting to sit by the headboard with Clark, so he could see the screen of his laptop.

"Yeah. Sure. About eight then. We better actually do some work here as we've got that test tomorrow. I don't want to flunk psych before I've even had chance to get off the ground."

"There's not a chance in hell I'll let you flunk psych, Clark." Leo settled beside him, shifting so his laptop was in his lap, and he was leg against leg with Clark. Touching, flirting with an open-handed offer that never got offended when Clark didn't take it. "Okay. So in the first part of chapter one..."

It became obvious to Clark as they studied together that Leo was very intelligent. Almost scarily so. He didn't need anyone to help him study, that was for sure. Clark knew he wasn't a slouch either, and his ability at speed-reading and increasing memory helped a great deal, but he did begin to wonder exactly why the studying was necessary for Leo. Not that he was going to say anything to jeopardize it, but it did the beg the question of what reason was there for him to be there? Eventually, after Leo breezed effortlessly through the section dealing with principle abnormal personality traits, he exhaled a mock sigh and said mournfully, "Man, you know this stuff already!"

"Maybe," Leo admitted, glancing to the side at Clark with oddly unreadable eyes. He looked like he hadn't expected anyone to call him on it. "It's all sitting in the back of my mind, pretty unused."

"Not that I'm objecting Leo, because there's plenty in it for me," Clark said meeting his eyes and holding the gaze with his own. "But what's in this for you? I mean, it's not like I'm able to help you much."

For a moment, Leo had that tightly studious look that Lex wore when he was dancing at the edge of a lie, dancing at it and deciding against it. The wheels of diplomacy creaking uneasily, weighing the moment. "I think you're great to talk to. And it does help me review the class."

"Well I'm glad to see I'm partially useful," Clark smiled a little. "Just try not to hit me too hard when I'm being dense about something okay?" He felt unaccountably warm. The guy had pretty much admitted he was doing this to see more of him, which would mean he was interested. Most of the time, it was all he could do to get Chloe to stay a few hours, or get a phone call per month out of a friend. He had to admit that was pretty flattering and certainly fuel for that endless internal debate that hadn't stopped since he had first met Leo.

"Hey, maybe I'm doing a scientific study on stupidity, too?" Leo laughed softly, edging against Clark with his shoulder. "Do you want that last slice of pizza?"

"You come to the right place for that then," Clark said all too easily. "No, go ahead have it. My Mom would be horrified anyway."

"Horrified why?" Leo asked as he reached past Clark, stretching over him, to grab the slice from where they'd tossed the box earlier.

"Total lack of healthy food," Clark replied looking at the empty pizza box, and then stole the crumbs out of the bottom. "Bad habits."

"Part of the college experience. Since I see no kitchen, and the cafeteria food is inedible, pizza ought to be a way of life." Leo leaned too close to Clark as he sat back and then he was beside Clark once more, neatly eating that last luke-warm slice.

"Yeah, well, Mom is the cooking queen," Clark smiled. Pulling away would be rude, it seemed. So he didn't and the contact was comforting. More than comforting. Downright stimulating, not to put to fine a point on it and receiving votes from his body that this was a good way to spend an evening. Inwardly of course there was a small Clark voice asking what the hell he was doing -- hadn't he been on this very bed kissing Chloe not that long ago?

But Leo wasn't giving off any of Chloe's vibes of expectancy -- expecting everything from a kiss to marriage years down the line. Leo was just a guy in a t-shirt and jeans who was eating pizza after a study session that he'd stopped in for on his way home from work.

Not that he looked like he'd been at work.

"Really? Stereotypical farm-cooking?"

"Well she's pretty adventurous, but Dad doesn't go in for anything too fancy." Clark relaxed a little, doodling on his notes randomly. "Got a favorite food aside from lukewarm pizza?" he asked at random, his thoughts straying from work now they were nearly done.

"Mmm. Let me see..." Leo closed his eyes, mouth tipped up in a smile as he paused in his eating. "Warm bread. When I was little, me and my parents used to stop in a bed and breakfast out in the country, and they had the best warm bread -- fresh and everything."

"Mom does good fresh bread. Except I practically eat the whole thing myself." Clark leant back, folding his arms behind his head and contemplating the ceiling. "You'll have to try it sometime; though I doubt Smallville would appeal to you, being a Met... what do you call someone who's born and bred in Metropolis anyway? Metropolite? Metropolitan?"

"Metropolian." It was hard to tell if he was joking or not. "Don't know. Hell, Smallville might've been the city we stopped in."

"Metropolian. Hmm, sounds like a flavor of ice-cream." Clark mused deciding he liked the sound of Leo laughing. "You have a secret hankering for plain farm produce?"

"Oh, I might. Grass being greener on the other side, all of that. I mean, you guys have got grass where you come from. We've got a couple of parks, but I've never seen anyone mow them. They're probably Astroturf." Leo closed his laptop, simultaneously polishing off the crust of the pizza.

"Grass, corn, animals... dirt. We've got dirt, lots of it," Clark reminisced, amused by his memories. "I used to do the deliveries for Mom and Dad. I'd end up at Lex's and be embarrassed to go in because I might track mud in everywhere."

"Bet he didn't care," Leo supplied easily. "It was probably fascinating to see real dirt."

"Hey, I'll have you know that Lex was pretty good at shoveling dirt," Clark protested. "He stayed for a while and my dad, well he's not that keen on the Luthor family, and he gave him every shitty job he could find. Mom was a bit annoyed with him actually for doing that, but in the end he had to admit even he was impressed."

Leo's smile grew to a grin, and he shifted to better face Clark, still grinning. "Really? I would've paid for pictures of that. Lex Luthor and I were in sort of the same party circles. I could never imagine him shoveling anything."

"You know Lex?" Clark turned and glanced at him and exhaled, thinking back to the all to brief phone conversation and the email he sent that was still waiting a reply. "Well, he's not what a lot of people think he is."

"Most people aren't, Clark," Leo said in a perfectly agreeable tone. He laid his laptop on the bed, and drew one leg comfortably up to his chest. "I don't know him any better than you knew anyone on the rich kids party-circuit. I probably had sex with him a couple of times, but..."

That startled him. Perhaps it should have occurred to him, but he hadn't even considered the possibility that they might have known each other like that. "Y-you had sex with him?" Clark turned to look at Leo more closely. He bit off the next part of what he was going to say, if only because it was ranging from questions such as, 'what was it like?' to the 'Was he good?' and all the variants in between.

Leo's eyebrows were quirked up, but his nod was serious. "Club Zero. It's closed now, but... Good memories, bad memories, all in one."

Clark nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm guessing that's what Lex would think, too." His eyes darkened, shrouded by the memories of a nearly too late rescue connected with Lex's past and that place. It terrified him. It was a thought that constantly haunted him that one day he would be too late to save him, or Chloe, or his parents; that Cassandra's vision of him alone in a graveyard of his loved ones was a prophecy waiting to be fulfilled if he slipped up. He belatedly realized that he must have looked unnaturally solemn for a moment and he forced a half smile. "Leo, uh, you mind if I ask something?"

"Sure, shoot."

Clark chewed his lip a moment, wondering whether he could really ask this, and then he considered the fact that who else could he ask? Chloe would fly off the handle, Mom - well she would probably be okay, but asking this sort of thing of your parents was hard. Chewing on a meteor rock would probably be more comfortable. Lex might see it as leading to something more complex, and he didn't know if he was ready for more complex, and Pete would get weird on him. No, Leo was at the right balance of openness and distant enough to ask without it getting too difficult. Even so. "What's it like?" he blurted out having screwed his curiosity up into a point, and then clarified, seeing Leo's quizzical expression at his vague question. "With a man?"

"Wow, right for the million dollar question," Leo chuckled. He stretched, then let his expressive hands settle folded in his lap. "It depends on the guy. It's like any sex in that aspect -- it can be really good, or it can be really shitty. But by default, most guys can suck cock better than a girl could hope to."

"Why? I... mean is there a reason for that?" Clark felt himself practically setting light to the furniture with the embarrassment flushing up his body, but he kept his voice level. God, he didn't want to sound like an idiot here, but it was practically going to happen however he played it so he might as well be honest about how ignorant he was of the whole thing. In earlier days, he probably would've caught Leo on fire with his heat vision. Thankfully someone was taking a moment to stop fiercely spiting his life.

"Well, you know how you like things, right? Who better to know a guy's anatomy than another guy?"

"That does make a strange sort of sense," Clark agreed, chewing over the thought with more than a hint of interest. "Is that...well is that the best thing?"

"Clark, you look kind of nervous. Would you prefer I tell you this from a chair, say, over there?" And Leo pointed towards the other side of the room, smiling only a little -- he was being dead serious.

"No, I think I'd be just as nervous wherever you are." Clark gave a short laugh at the understatement, already hearing his thoughts chasing each other. It was funny to be panicked by the mere act of discussing it with someone aside from his internal monologue. "I can't actually believe I'm asking it to be honest."

"It's all right -- everyone has a little curious streak to them." Leo seemed to relax at that, smirking at Clark a little. "Okay, yeah, I'm a blow-job man. Giving, getting, it's all great. Anal sex... I like giving and getting it, but it's got its own set of complications and most guys aren't too careful."

Clark frowned "How so?" he asked cautiously.

"How so what?"

"Guys not being careful?" That was one thing he did constantly worry about in any sex, that he would inadvertently hurt the other person. He couldn't bear the thought of that, and that natural reticence had limited his sexual experience to a minimum. What if he lost control during orgasm or something? What would that do to his partner? It would be very difficult to have sex with anyone without letting him or her in on his secret first if he was going to be fair to them.

And did he really just think 'him or her'?

"Well, you know the back-end is pretty much a one way path, right?" Leo's cheeks colored a little, presumably at the topic they were discussing. "Sometimes the other guy doesn't take enough time to loosen it up, other times they do, but it doesn't matter since they go wild. Which can be good, sometimes."

"Yeah, but it could hurt the one receiving. Not so good," Clark replied thinking hard about it. He couldn't chance losing it like that with someone, it would have to be him on the receiving end if. He inhaled sharply, shocked by the fact that he had just actually given serious consideration to that as a possibility, and then quashed the thought hastily.

"Maybe, but..." Leo squinted at Clark for a moment, looking thoughtful. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah... yeah." Clark was trying very hard to hide the nervous tremor in his voice and cleared his throat. "No big deal right? Just curious. I mean, you... and Lex seem pretty happy with it so, I guess I wondered what all the fuss was about."

"Well, it's sex, and I think you understand the fuss about that," Leo winked. "But also... I don't know. I like women and men, but it always feels like I can get closer to guys than girls. I know how they think, and it's less 'the game of love' than being comfortable."

"Man, I could do without games," Clark agreed fervently. "I just feel... totally confused all the time. I do something I think is the right thing and then I'm told I'm being hurtful or something, as if I planned it. It's like being put in a room full of glass ornaments and there's no room to even breathe without upsetting one of them - and when you lunge to save one, somehow you upset another, so you try to catch that one, and another goes down... and it never seems to stop, you spend all your time running from one crisis to another but you know if you stop the one you miss will... shatter."

Leo only had a sympathetic nod. "Some relationships... some people are like that. Like they expect you to be able to read their mind and know what they want -- what they need. That's not really a gender specific thing. Some people are just high maintenance, even when you do love them..."

Clark laughed. "I expect most of my Smallville friends would say I was high maintenance. That I mess around with them, demand a lot of them."

"But do you? You seem pretty low-maintenance," Leo mused.

"I demand their trust," Clark replied with an audible sigh. He glanced at Leo and shrugged a little. "That's it. But it's a pretty big thing."

"Trust is a pretty big thing. But it's good to have. I mean, the last thing you need is someone prying at you when you only have the best intentio--"

A cell phone rang out, Ride of the Valkyries sounding in the room. Leo grinned, and slid to his feet, to retrieve it from his bag. "Sorry about this, Clark -- it's probably work."

Clark nodded, feeling a peculiar sense of resonance with the past as he watched Leo take the call. That always seemed to happen with Lex. Business called, friendship was secured firmly into the back seat. Thinking about it though, didn't he do something similar to Chloe? In one of their not so good moments, she'd yelled at him that he needed to get his priorities straight, that she was sick and tired of being second choice...

But there were people dying out there, and it was bad enough that he couldn't save them all. All he asked was that she trust him that she wasn't second choice, that first choice wasn't a choice at all.

"Saturday, right, inspection -- yes, yes, I'll be there. I'll be there." Leo cupped his free hand over his mouth as he spoke into the phone, as if that would somehow make it more polite.

Clark could tell the signs from experience. Leo was going to have to go now, business and success called and such things as hanging out with his friends became minor considerations. Clark halfheartedly packed up the books on the bed into tidy piles, just for something to do as the phone call continued. Things had been going so well, and here he was sliding into depression because the guy had other things to do than stay here him. Which was a stupid thing to think, as he had been the one to point out that Leo didn't actually need to study with him. He should just be grateful that he decided to have anything to do with him at all. Like the whole situation with Lex, where he had learnt to be grateful for what contact he might get as and when it came on Lex's terms. And then again, he was also aware that he seemed to spurn Chloe's offers of more.

God, he was a mess, and now the easy atmosphere that had allowed him to ask such controversial questions had soured.

Leo cut the call easily, and dropped the phone back into his bag. "Now, where were we-- oh, I guess we're done." He glanced at Clark's tidying job with a bit of a puzzled expression.

"Uh yeah. I mean, we've done the chapter right? And you've had a call...so." Clark shrugged a little as if it didn't matter to him.

A frown tugged at Leo's mouth, but he nodded and moved to put his laptop back in his bag. "Yeah, I guess so. It wasn't anything urgent, but..." But he could take the hint from the signals Clark was giving out -- time to go signals, even if that wasn't what Clark had meant. He'd just assumed that Leo would leave anyway. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah. Thanks for coming round Leo," Clark said, getting up to politely see his friend out. "And putting up with all my lame questions." He smiled a little at that -- the fact they had managed to discuss it without too much mutual embarrassment was a good sign. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Any time you want to ask me anything..." Leo stood up, shouldering his bag. He headed towards the door, too, and left after he said, "Just ask."

At least that was normal for Leo. He never said 'goodbye'.

Clark closed the door, sat and then lay back on the bed. It was a sign of how disturbed he was, that gravity slipped his leash and he floated a few inches above the surface as he closed his eyes.

Leo had left. It had produced a bittersweet taste to the evening, which was ridiculous.

Of course he was going to leave at some point, it wasn't like he would have stayed all night...and that really was a possibility he should not be thinking about. Those questions were just curiosity finding a source from that tiny part of attraction that he experienced for Lex. Okay, okay and a little bit for Leo as well, though it was easier to be more open with Leo. Less history, less trust issues, not expectations of pulling a miracle save out of the bag and then having that second guessed as well. In a strange way, he felt that the fact that he experienced something for Leo validated what he had been suppressing for Lex. Which was just typical considering the man wasn't even in the country.

He sighed as he opened his eyes and accidentally looked through the ceiling before he reined in his vision. Out of the options of exploring a totally new issue of whether he might be interested in guys or whether to go further with women. Wouldn't it just be easier to give Chloe what she wanted? What would that do to them if he did?

More games, and then he'd have to explain to her who... what he was.

And as funny as he was about trust issues, he just had an inkling of a twitch that he couldn't tell her. He'd known her too long now to tell her, and what if she ran cold on him one day and ran all the way to the government?

Man, he'd be her Holy Grail. The Wall of Weird would topple under the weight of revelation and he had a vision of Chloe sitting on the resulting pile of rubble typing the headlines of "Aliens Among Us". Perhaps that's what it came down to in the end. He knew Chloe. He knew that a story such as 'Clark Kent, He Came from Beyond Space!' in 32 point bold type would always win out over, 'Clark Kent, the Love of My Life' in small discrete and forever-secret font.

That pretty much said it all. There were some people he could trust with his secret -- Pete, his Mom, his Dad. He knew they'd die rather than give him away, and that made it worse. That meant that that was the standard everyone else had to live up to when it came to earning his trust. It was strange really, everyone was always so pissed off over his secretiveness that simple things like saving their lives were dismissed without a second thought. Even the bits that were acceptable, that could be remembered or admitted to were brushed off because Clark Kent wouldn't spill all his secrets.

That hurt, but it was a hurt he could never take anyone to task over because of those same damn secrets.

He dropped to the mattress again as he sat up, his thoughts racing, determined to exhaust themselves chasing around the inside of his head. There was no way that he'd be able to sleep that night, exam the next day or not. It seemed like a good day to sneak outside of the dorm and do a patrol over the area. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

The other people on his floor were used to Clark Kent's late night walks. Besides he was a student, and students didn't need a reason to be out late.

Patrol had successfully occupied his mind for a large portion of the night. He even got to bust up a fight and stop a potential attack, which had helped to settle his mind somewhat. Things like that were simple, dealing with right and wrong, black and white rather than tangled messes of emotion and speculation. However, when he did get back and get some sleep, his dreams were obviously not ready to let go of the subject he'd broached with Leo, leaving him with some serious business to take care of when he woke up, unaccountably warm and flustered.

Or very accountably flustered and aroused. He woke up with that falling sensation that meant he'd been floating, and was glad that the frame of the dorm's bed was steel.

That didn't solve the problem of his erection or his dreams. It was Leo's fault that he had the lingering image from that dream of Lex on a dance floor, Lex and then Leo on the dance floor, and positions that he'd only seen while surfing porn. Leo was easier to imagine dancing, fucking, anything, than Lex was. Lex was aloof, cool and suave. It was hard to imagine him as a wild teenager, at least o the frat sort.

Clark got up carefully, wondering if he had time to try and let it fade. A morning hard on for him could be a genuine problem, having the resilience to rip cloth or hammer in nails if it came down to it. A sharp turn at the wrong time, a rip in his pants and the world would be saying good morning to Clark's impressive erection in all its glory. These were things that he had unfortunately learnt from experience, even if it had left his Mom and Dad laughing hysterically in the kitchen as he hit the super speed upstairs to take care of the problem. That left him with two options: checking his mail and hoping it would fade, or jerking off now and then going to class.

But would he be able to go to his classes, and see Leo later, after having jerked off to thoughts of him?

His desktop, shiny and decently fast when turned on, beckoned to him.

Mail -- as opposed to male -- it would be then. He sat at the computer, listening to the hum and whir of the machine booting up, going through the start up login automatically. As he did so, he absently made bets with himself to see if Lex had responded to his mail telling him a bit about Chloe, and then about Leo as well. If not he could at least write and say that he thought that Leo might know him.

In the biblical sense of the word.

That really wasn't a thought that was helping his self-imposed mission. Of course, there was a large part of his mind telling him what an alluring picture that would make -- same part, he guessed, that had influenced his dream.

Geeks Gone Wild?

No, no, even though it might've been true...

Outlook dutifully reported that 10 new messages had arrived -- some automated messages from the campus, spam to extend his penis by real inches -- as opposed to fake inches? -- and one mail from Lex.

Awesome.

He found himself grinning as he clicked on the mail, absently noting it was a reasonable size, so maybe Lex had managed to catch up with his news all in one. It seemed an age since he'd seen him though, email couldn't make up for that.

Napoleon2@lexcorp.co.jp wrote:

It was good to talk to you on Tuesday (Monday night, your time); sometimes I forget what you sound like, and it's refreshing to hear a familiar voice like yours.

Business is going well, and you'll probably see LexCorp in some of the bigger electronics shows next month. The latest project will break ground in January, and I fully expect it to revolutionize the world.

But, tell me what you think about rodents -- Mice, or gerbils, Clark? (Don't make that face. This is a serious question.)

You really pick the girls, Clark. Lana Lang was a beautiful lady, and I remember that Chloe is a sharp reporter. But have you ever considered that maybe all of the trouble you've been having with them is a celestial sign that neither of them are right for you?

I'm probably not the man to come to for romance advice any longer. You know -- Desiree, Helen. I actively recommend brain-dead one-night stands right now, and you're certainly in the right city for it.

Tell Napoleon that I say 'hello' and to congratulate him for dodging prison and being employed. We used to bond over our fucked up father-son relationships, way back in college.

Sorry this is so short -- I have a meeting to get to. But write back, Clark.

LL

Clark grinned and clicked on reply, letting his fingers fly in a blurring rattle over the keyboard, almost too fast for the computer to keep up with;

Was beginning to think you'd done something drastic like lost your laptop Lex - thanks for the mail!

It was great to hear from you too, but I think I'm repeating myself there so I'll move on to more interesting things before you delete the mail out of boredom.

Glad to hear things are looking good with LexCorp. If I had money, I'd be investing in shares about now. Maybe I'll get to hear about what you are going to wow the electronics shows with sometime? Anything you've designed?

Gerbils or mice? Do I really want to know why you are asking that? Okay, okay I can practically see you smirking over there. Hamsters are my preference for nice rodents. I always wanted one after Pete got one when we were young but Dad had this tendency to regard rodents as vermin. I could never persuade him that they were any different than the rats in the barn.

Yeah, I know... the stuff with Lana is over. She made that really clear last time we spoke. Remind me to fill you in on the details of that one day. Lets just say, it wasn't that pleasant. I've written a couple of times to her and she's blanked me. I think that relationship died before it ever had a chance to live. As for Chloe... I still don't know. I mean, there is something there Lex, more than just being really good friends. Still confused about that and now there are other things coming into the mix.

Not sure if I'm the one-night-stand type Lex, but... right now I'm getting so screwed up over it all I might just go with that advice. See you are helping after all!

I'll tell Leo 'hi' from you - I've managed to persuade him to drop into a party with me for Jenni on Friday - Maybe I'll get some stories about you out of him, practice my journalistic ambition! He's a great guy -- you two have a lot in common, more than comparing parents and all. Maybe that's why I find him easy to get on with. I better get going; I have an exam in about 15 minutes for Psychology. If I hurry I can cram.

Write back when you can - but I know you're busy over there so don't stress over it

CK

He hit send, and made sure his outbox kicked it out to the server before starting to shut down the computer. He probably wouldn't hear from Lex for a couple more days, but he did have things to think over from Lex's letter.

The advice about one-night stands was probably a joke, and the thing about mice or gerbils was just insane. Or inane. Or Lex might've been perfectly serious. Out of the two...okay make that three, but only two of them were accessible, people he was interested in, a one night stand was vague potential with one of them. But that would be more than just casual sex, that would be lapsing into a whole new and terrifying area of sex completely, so it might just be best to stick with what he vaguely know. And...

And damn if he didn't get moving, super speed or not, he'd be late!

Thursday morning breakfast with Chloe was less relaxing than usual; she was giving off vibes of expectancy for some reason, all the while discussing everything but the reason for that. She'd chattered to him about the psych exam, their project for 420, her project with Jenni, and finally it swung towards the Party just around the time that they settled into a table at the student center.

"So, did you talk your mysterious Leo into going to the party?"

"Yeah, well at least for a drop in." Clark nodded and drank down his juice, grimacing at the fact that it was a little pulpy. "I promised if he came and he felt a bit weird I wouldn't leave him hanging out to dry. "

Chloe took a stab at her French toast, looking at him with something between a frown and a curious look. "Would you do that for me, Clark?"

"Well, yeah Chloe." Clark glanced up at her a little uncomfortably, knowing she was thinking of at least one occasion when he had appeared to ditch her. He was in a tornado at the time, which would have been a good excuse if he could have admitted to it. "Let it not be said that I don't learn from my mistakes."

"I sometimes wonder if you do, Clark." Chloe edged towards a smile, thoughtful as she ate her rubbery breakfast. That was one of the more interesting parts of meal plan food early in the morning. "But I'll let you off the hook about that. I know that I won't need rescuing from the party, not this one."

"Yeah? Know something I don't?" Clark asked, poking at a fried egg suspiciously to see if it was fake or not. He decided to eat it anyway, even if his testing hadn't been conclusive. It wasn't like it was going to kill him even if it was fake.

"Well, of course. It's Jenni's party," she said as if that explained it all. Maybe Chloe was bisexual, too. She seemed to talk about Jenni an awful lot... Or maybe that was just Clark's ever-hopeful head voice chiming that idea in. "Hey, think you can help me with some research after class?"

"Sure. What on?" Clark asked, still distracted enough by the mental image of Chloe and Jenni to respond without his normal caution. Normally he knew better than to agree to help Chloe just like that without finding out what it all about. Because wouldn't it be great if the research were Chloe and Jenni and--

"I tracked down the tags on that car. They belong to one 'Napoleon Byrne', aged 26. He had a Met U parking tag on his car, so I'd bet anything he's a student here -- help me track him down."

Clark paused, forkful of wobbly white plastic looking fried egg partway to his lips. Oh, man yes- Leo nearly running over Chloe, he'd forgotten about that!

"Uh... yeah. That'll be... Leo. Napoleon, is Leo," Clark replied, aware that he sounded as if he had been involved somehow. He could see Chloe's expression and realized that stopping there would be tantamount to admitting he was involved in some sort of 'accident near miss' cover-up conspiracy.

"He saw a picture of you in my room and said he'd had a near miss...and I told him about you nearly getting run over on the Monday and we realized it had been him probably. And, well he asked me to give him your number so he could apologize and I... well I used the fact he could apologize in person to get him to come to the party." He cleared his throat nervously, trying to hide from the urge to duck behind the table for protection.

"Oh, good. I can scream at him in person, then." Chloe was blinking at Clark, leaning towards him across the table. "Because your new friend can't drive for shit, and is there any reason why you didn't TELL me this?"

"I didn't find out until late Tuesday night, yesterday I had the Psych exam and that essay due in... I forgot, Chloe. There's no big conspiracy to uncover here. If you'd said something about researching this yesterday it would have jogged my memory then. Sorry, it slipped my mind."

It was nothing but the truth as well, although a lot of the distraction had been other thoughts about Chloe and Leo entirely. And his constant hesitant questioning of himself about what he really wanted.

"Oh." Chloe still managed to look thoughtful and offended in one fell swoop, but went back to eating her breakfast. "One more really weird coincidence, Clark..."

Clark surpassed a flicker of irritation as he swallowed down his next mouthful. Wasn't there anything he could do that was just normal? "So now it's Leo on the Wall of Weird is it?" he asked sounding as amused as he could.

"Maybe," Chloe admitted. "But come on. Napoleon? And he drives like a maniac."

"Yeah, I noticed Chloe," Clark replied patiently "They knew each other, and I think their parents moved in the same circles. Similar trends and all that." Mind you, it had been a thought that prickled at his awareness every now and then. He frowned slightly. What was Lex's new email address again? Napoleon2 which was a hell of a coincidence, but he'd always had a dictator fetish, and random numbers usually kept media from guessing his address.

It was still hard to forget the month that Clark had gotten mail from Stalin69@lexcorp.co.jp.

"Oh, they knew each other? Okay, that just moves Leo from the Wall of weird to the wall of wary."

Still, it was a bit of a coincidence, but it was just a coincidence. He sighed and put down his fork. "Okay, so the story is what this time? Leo's someone Lex has hired to keep tabs on me? He's ...uh...a robot sent to tutor me in psychology against my will?"

"Maybe," Chloe grinned, but she sounded half-serious. "You know the rumor mill is that LexCorp has made some major breakthrough on robots, right?"

"Well I didn't, but I do now," Clark said, interested despite his slight annoyance at Chloe's suspicion of anything remotely Lex connected. "Though it makes sense from what Lex has said."

"Wow, young billionaire spills corporate secrets to college student." Clark could hear the 72 point font in her voice, her lipstick coated lips framing a toothy, pretty grin when she said it. "What'd he say?"

"Nothing much. Just that LexCorp would be big at some electronics shows next month. I don't think that's news as such, not if you know about robotics breakthroughs," Clark replied , brushing off the importance of the information. "How do you know that anyway?"

"Because my father was bitching about Lex abandoning the plant in Smallville for his pet projects." She popped part of a biscuit into her mouth, and washed it down with a swig of coke.

Clark suppressed a snort and shook his head. "After how many years of just wanting the Luthors out of there, now they want him there with his finger on the pulse?"

"It is pretty funny, isn't it? I mean, the only reason that plant's still probably open is because it makes money." She shrugged her shoulders, then smiled at him -- a real smile. Cold to hot, in under five minutes, that was his Chloe. "But care to make a bet on your Leo friend?"

"Whenever I bet with you Chloe, I end up losing money." Clark protested but he found himself smiling in return. When she smiled like that at him, he did just want to be with her, even if she did confuse the hell out of him sometimes.

"So if I want to bet ten bucks that Leo is less than innocently connected to Lex...?" Chloe quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Define 'less than innocently'," Clark replied with an indulgent expression. Yeah, it was possible Leo might be passing information back to Lex - as an old time friend, but he wouldn't define that as weird. That was pretty normal - it happened all the time, meeting mutual acquaintances.

Nothing odd about that, no~o.

"Something worthy of the Wall of Weird," she defined for him, mouth quirking. "What other 'less than innocently' could there be?"

"There are sometimes perfectly sensible reasons for secrets," Clark said finishing his juice and draining the gritty remains. "Not everything is down to a meteor mutant weird level."

"But a lot of things come really close on the weirdness scale. I think I'll do a little research on this guy..." Chloe smirked a little, and then her ethical side -- and Clark was sure it was damn tiny -- added, "If you don't mind, that is."

Clark shrugged, "It doesn't really matter if I mind or not does it?"

"Well, come on. Wouldn't you want to know if he was some guy working for Lex?"

"As you keep telling me Chloe, Lex is a billionaire with a lot larger fish to fry that to keep tabs on one of his small town friends," Clark said carefully, looking down as he poked around the remains of his breakfast. "If it turned out he was, I think I'd be amazed."

"Does that mean you're willing to bet ten bucks against me?" she prodded, taking another sip of soda.

"Ten bucks it is then." Clark's tone was resigned to the bet. "That Leo has no Wall of Weird type intentions."

"Testing ground being the party?"

Clark looked up slightly alarmed at that tweak in the tail of their bet. "I'm not going to drive off one of my first new friends for the sake of a bet, Chloe. I don't want him feeling uncomfortable being there."

"Okay, okay," she acquiesced, but at least had the dignity to look sullen about it. "I won't do a thing. I'll just research -- from a distance."

"Thanks Chloe, I appreciate that," Clark replied, his smile much more genuine

He'd no doubt be told all of the gory details of anything she found out, and face insinuations until Chloe deemed Leo harmless.

"Great. Now that that's settled..." She fiddled with her soda can, smiling at him. "Any chance that you and I could, uh... you know, be a date at the party? I mean, just as friends..."

A date. Okay, a date was reasonably harmless and he might actually get to see a little more of the Chloe that actually made him want to put all his paranoia to one side and go for it. "Well, yeah....okay, as long as you don't mind about Leo? I did sort of promise him that I wouldn't ditch him."

"No, I'll just hold a grudge against him for wussing out on a bad music and beer party," she only half-teased, giving Clark another smile. "Great -- well, come on. Let's get to class, Mr. Punctuality."

"Just as well you're here to keep me in line huh?" Clark replied getting up, clearing up his mess hastily. "How many times today do you think on the 'Incongruity' phrase, or is one bet in a day too much for you?"

"Just one -- I like to make the bets I know I'm going to win, Mr. Kent. So, does your Bonaparte hold study sessions in the Ritz?" She swung her book bag over her shoulder, shoving trash neatly onto the tray to dump on the way out.

"He came to my room actually. Haven't been to his yet...somewhere off Vine I think," Clark frowned as he sorted his tray out. He'd written it down somewhere for reference. "Somewhere like that anyway."

"I bet he's a gadget person. All guys are, even you, but the rich ones can indulge in it," Chloe teased. "Like girls and makeup, you know."

"Well he's got a got a good laptop," Clark replied, conceding the point. "I feel a bit like one step up from a Neanderthal with my pen and paper next to him."

"My God, don't start me on people and their laptops. There was a guy over in the lounge Friday morning who was just typetypetyping. You know, with enough of a pause to really make it hard to ignore that he's typing? Pissed me off, and I was trying to read." Chloe led the way through sheer force of her personality, dragging Clark without a touch towards the trash where they dumped their trays.

"Ah, Leo's obviously has a stealth function," Clark chuckled a little. "You can hardly hear it."

"Interesting." Chloe's mouth quirked a little oddly, eyebrows drawing together -- but she obviously wasn't going to let Clark in on it. "Huh. Very interesting."

"Mmm, Chloe, I hate it when you do that." Clark tried to get her to meet his eyes. "What now?"

She kept walking, but glanced over her shoulder at him with a perfectly innocent expression. "Nothing."

"Chloe! Come on, give. You're just doing this to wind me up aren't you?"

"Absolutely. Come on, Clark -- you want to be a reporter some day? Figure things out for yourself." And with that, she wrapped a hand around Clark's hand, and tugged at him to head to class.

But she never did explain what she'd thought.

On Friday, all through the Psychology class, Clark was still trying to work out why Chloe thought the fact that Leo's laptop was quiet could be significant, which resulted in a lot of sideways looks at said laptop as the lecture went on. Or even if that was what she had been talking about at all. Maybe it was just the fact he had a laptop and used it a lot that was feeding into her Lex conspiracy scenario -- which she was taking such relish in developing to new and convoluted heights. He was actually starting to regret agreeing to go to the party as it had gone from a simple get together into a strange sort of challenge between them.

So much for uncomplicated. Still, he wanted to make sure that Leo was still on for that evening and he turned to look at him hopefully at the end of class as everyone was packing up to go. "Free now or have to rush off?"

"Nah, I'm free -- Starbucks?" Leo liked to make it clear that coffee was his addiction, and that he'd get whoever put up with it a cup for going along with him. Or at least that was how things worked for Clark. "I have to run by a pet store sometime before five, but I have the afternoon off."

"A... a pet store?" Clark couldn't help but query that. That was hard to imagine.

"Uh, for an experiment," Leo admitted after a moment of silence as he secured his laptop away in his bag. "They usually end up pets."

"Oh for biochem?" Clark filled in the missing details. "And yes, Starbucks would be great, only I've got a class at four... so..."

Leo laughed as he started down the aisle and towards the door, half-waiting for Clark. "I hope your next sentence was that you had homework to do, because there's no way in hell I'd spend almost five hours in a Starbucks."

"Well, yeah. I'd like to be able to go out tonight with a clear conscience," Clark said, though his grin made it clear he'd stay around as long as Leo did, homework or not. "That was what I wanted to ask actually. You still on for the party?"

"'Course I am. My only question is if I should just show up, or if I should meet you at your dorm?" Leo's brown eyes were glinting as he looked sideways at Clark.

"I've managed to complicate things a bit," Clark replied apologetically. "Chloe managed to persuade me that I should be her date for the evening." He looked at Leo ruefully, hoping this added news wouldn't put Leo off from coming at all.

"Really? She's your girl but not girl?" Leo looked thoughtful, with really no reaction to Clark's words. It was the antithesis of a reaction. "I definitely don't want to complicate that -- just tell me around when I should get there, and when we get to the Starbucks, give the address or directions."

"I will. But I did make it clear that if you felt uncomfortable, that I wasn't going to ditch you since I invited you," Clark said, and glanced at Leo uncertainly. "It was the best compromise I could find."

"You don't have to compromise on account of me," he promised. "Anyway, you don't seem like you're the sort to go to raves and clubs. I don't think you'd be going there if it was going to turn into a party that ends with the police coming in and everyone fighting to slip out the back door."

"Well some of Chloe's friends can be a bit wild, but nothing to upset the local law enforcement about," Clark said looking a bit anxious as they made their way across the road towards Starbucks. "I just want you to have a good time."

"That's really... damn good of you." Leo's mouth was quirking into a crooked smile that definitely belonged on a frat boy. "How come?"

Clark shrugged, relieved that Leo still seemed intent of going to the party. "I invited you and ... lets just say that after a few incidents of being accused of bailing out on various people at parties and events I try to take that seriously. Besides, you're a friend of mine." He shrugged again feeling a bit lame talking about it, but he felt he was responsible for the evening somehow and for all the expectations that seemed to be wound up in it. Already he was getting a headache thinking how he was going to try and keep both Leo and Chloe happy- so much for a simple night out. But that was the world of Clark Kent. Nothing was ever as simple as it should have been.

"But still, friend or not..." Leo gave a rolling shrug, mouth thinning a little. "I can honestly entertain myself, so you don't have to worry about bailing on me, Clark."

Clark gave a half-smile in response. "Habit I guess. I have a tendency to feel responsible for things. I know you can, but... well just... don't want you to have a bad impression, I guess."

Dark eyebrows rose as pulled open the door to the store that was little more than an over-sized Kiosk. "Do you want to hear some horror stories about bad impressions?"

"Sure." Clark's mood had lost some of its anxious edge. "If it's likely to make me think, well it won't be THAT bad."

"A bad impression is throwing up on someone after jet lag. A bad impression is having your first meeting with someone be thanks to a car accident -- like Chloe. Is she a screamer, by the way?" Leo glanced at the Menu on the wall out of habit, but moved unerringly towards the cashier to place his order.

"She goes for sarcasm usually," Clark admitted. "Slice and dice rather than loud."

"Good," Leo said with some relief, before turning to the cashier and ordered two 'grande' cappuccinos. He paid with almost exact change as always, and barely paused in his conversation with Clark, as if it were all important. "I can handle slice and dice."

"I sort of thought you might. Though I warn you, she's the curious type," Clark said hesitantly, trying to subtly give Leo a heads up on Chloe's agenda without scaring him off. "She's certainly curious about you."

"Really? Should I be flattered or pissed off?" Leo headed for the red light to await the order, smirking at Clark in that same slow way that Lex had sometimes smirked. Flirtatious, but quiet about it.

"I should wait until tonight before you decide." Clark followed automatically, still continuing the conversation. "But to be honest, it's her best friend Jenni's party. The odds are that she be occupied after the first obligatory grilling session. That's what usually happens." He couldn't really say he minded, even when it did hurt him, but it would be hypocritical to make a fuss considering what he did the night of the Twisters. He'd never lived that one down. He'd probably be paying for that until the day he died one way or another.

It was always that way -- little things came back to bite at him. Leo had a sympathetic look on his handsome, relaxed face, and nodded. "Well, if she ditches you, I'll be around. You can consider me back up company."

"You're never back up company," Clark replied immediately, and then blinked having startled himself with that observation "I mean, I don't want to you to think that.....aw hell, you know...."

"It's okay, Clark -- I get what you're saying," Leo chipped in softly. He took a moment to thank the woman behind the counter, taking the two cappuccinos. "Go on, grab a seat."

Clark obediently slid into a seat nearby, folding his long legs under the table carefully all the while trying to work out what he had been trying to say to Leo, or at the very least what Leo had understood from something he wasn't sure of himself. There was always the chance that Leo just hadn't wanted to hear him babble on any longer. But he was still smiling as he slid down into the chair across from Clark, and passed him his drink.

"Okay, I either need this girl's address or directions, and a time to arrive there."

Clark hastily got out a piece of paper and scribbled Jenni's address down. "I don't think it's too far from where you live," he said passing it over. "You probably won't have to drive."

"Hey, it's on Vine," Leo grinned once he'd glanced over it, and then pocketed it. "That's great -- I'll just walk, and I won't have to worry about your girlfriend sneaking out to pour something into my gas tank."

"Girlfriend might be a little premature," Clark said dryly "But that's great. Chloe and I will be getting there for around 8. Well actually, I'm meant to be picking her up around 7 but I know Chloe. We'll be there around 8 if we're lucky."

"I'll wander up there around 8. Uhm..." Leo closed his eyes, taking that first, all important sip of coffee. "Casual?"

Who the hell asked if a party was casual? Obviously the sort of person who presumably attended business parties as well as less formal ones. If Leo had a job working for his father or something, then he would have to attend those soiree's that all people in business seemed to despise but felt compelled to attend.

"Yeah, student casual. Well, I won't be wearing flannel on pain of extended torture tonight, I think." Clark quirked a grin. "So smart student casual."

"Dunno, you look pretty good in varying shades of plaid." Leo sat back in his chair, and for once the effervescent grin seemed to sink away to a more tired smile. But he was still smiling at Clark, as he toyed with too-hot coffee. "So what we were talking about on Tuesday -- why're you curious about that?"

"What? Oh -" Clark was taken aback, unprepared for that topic to raise itself again. "Uh." His mind momentarily went blank of any sensible thing to say. "Well." He took a deep breath. It was a bit late to deny that there was some implied interest there in Leo after having asked how sex was with another man. In his more lucid moments he had begun to wonder if he'd been under the influence of something.

Lust probably.

"It's just...something I've wondered about. For a while," he answered hesitantly, but truthfully. He was trying to avoid lying to Leo as much as possible.

"Due to, ah, certain friends?" Circumspect words, as if Leo were being particularly respectful of Clark's privacy.

There was a long, long pause as Clark struggled to come up with an answer to that. He could lie. Which would be pointless and something he didn't want to do. He could run. Which wouldn't solve the problem either. Fuck.

It was only words.

Or even just one word. Yes. One simple word. How hard was it to open your mouth and say a word? Cop out then Kent, forget words and just nod.

Clark finally heeded his internal monologue and nodded just a little, watching Leo desperately for some sort of reaction. Disappointment maybe? Amusement? What?

It was disappointing to get a nod, and to see Leo's eyes narrow in comprehension. "Trying to better understand him, or... Or maybe I should stop asking?" And his cheeks tinged a little with something like embarrassment.

"Well that and.." Clark coughed to clear his throat, plunging forward recklessly before his rational mind could catch up with him. "Um. We're good friends, have been a long time and... I'm pretty sure he's been interested in me -- though I don't know why....and..."

Dammit he just couldn't quite say it!. Well, Leo, I have these dreams, and ever since I met you, I've been having dreams about you AND him, and I think it's going quite some way beyond the realms of casual curiosity now...and, man you should see the problem I have in the morning now...

That was probably a good example of why he couldn't say anything, but Leo was looking at him closely and seemed to be reading the thoughts as if scrolling across the back of his head.

"You're interested in him," Leo murmured for him, his tone one almost of mild surprise. "Think he knows that?"

"Probably not." Clark looked into the swirls of his cappuccino, studying them intently. The flecks of froth were particularly interesting today compared to looking up and actually admitting what he was saying was real. "You know those sections on repression and denial? I'm surprised the text books don't have a picture of me next to them."

"At least you're not doing it on a grand scale where it ripples through your daily life." Leo sounded wistfully thoughtful, but that might've been Clark projecting his own impressions over Leo's actions. "It's never too late to tell someone, you know. As long as you're honest."

"It's not that I've lied about it," Clark said trying not to sound as desperate as he felt. "It's more... that I've never even really considered it as a possibility until I met you and you.. uh...sort of reinforced the evidence."

"Really?" Leo grinned, and took a sip of his coffee. "How did I reinforce it?"

It was just as well that one of Clark's superpowers didn't involve amplified heat from his skin when he blushed otherwise Leo would be microwaved by now. "Lex and I have this...thing, a bond maybe. Least I feel we do, I don't know about him. It's complicated but it wasn't until I met you that I realized that at least part of it was attraction and that it wasn't an isolated... um... incident."

The implication of that phrase was very clear, if only by the way Clark was acting; trying to remain calm and discuss this like an adult and yet inside feeling like a teenager dancing around the edges of discussing a forbidden subject.

Leo was at least being sympathetically gentle about reacting to things. "I'm, uh, flattered that I helped you realize that." His friend looked oddly on the verge of laughter, but his eyebrows were drawn down and together in thought. "Hell, you might as well tell him when the chance comes up."

"It's not as simple as that Leo," Clark said with a barely audible sigh. Nothing ever was. "It's... well, this whole thing is scaring the shit out of me to be honest. There's still everything with Chloe and the chance may never come up with him. " He shrugged disconsolately, pushing his hair back from his forehead absently. "I don't have anything to offer that he can't already get a hundred times over and better. Hell, I'm just glad when he finds time to write or call, but realistically...I know where I rate in the grand scheme of things."

"Do you?" Leo challenged lightly. "Have you ever thought that you have yourself to offer him? You're a pretty one-of-a-kind guy. That's the whole concept behind dating, you know -- finding a person you like."

Clark went silent a moment. "I don't know what to do anymore, Leo." He fiddled with one of the spoons on the table as if it was vitally important it be placed just so. "And I'm being unfair to you, too. Using you as a sounding board like this."

"How's it unfair?" Leo challenged him, leaning forwards a little and taking another sip of coffee. "I'm not protesting, am I? It's been a while since anyone asked my opinion on things like this; I've sort of missed doing it. Of course, that was advising someone how to get the girl of their dreams, not the aloof and slightly eccentric guy of their dreams."

X-rated dreams at that, graphic, vivid and leaving him with fantasies that nudged at him throughout the day. Clark drank some coffee, belatedly remembering the cup was in his hand. "Only that I can't help feeling I might be doing what I did with Lana and Chloe, but on the other side of the fence."

"Other side of the fence? How so?"

"On the male side, not the female." Clark looked anxious. Oh God, maybe he had misjudged Leo's interest in him after all. "Forever focused on the unobtainable and missing... the obvious."

"Ah, I thought you meant the unobtainable, but highly stalked after," Leo chuckled. "We're mixing metaphors. Maybe he thought you were untouchable, and maybe he still does, Clark -- would that make you really on the other side of the fence?"

"I guess... not," Clark frowned. Why would Lex think he was unobtainable? His friend was used to getting whatever he wanted, they joked about it often enough. He had always assumed that if Lex had been really interested he would have made more of a move. Been a little more like... well, Leo was.

But where had Leo gotten by making moves? Sounding board of the year.

"Well, think about it -- maybe you were giving him mixed messages. And maybe he holds your friendship in high enough esteem that he didn't want to chance being wrong? Happens all the time."

"Well, yeah... I guess." Clark looked very thoughtful at that, though there was doubt evident in his expression. "I'm still not even sure about this whole... sexuality thing anyway."

"You're going to throw your coffee at me if I offer to help with that, aren't you?" Leo chuckled softly, faking a backwards wince.

"I... no." Clark shook his head and tried to suppress a subtle quiver of excitement and interest at that joking suggestion. "But it wouldn't be right Leo, that would be using you."

"I suppose in the most moral and Smallvillian definition of the idea, you're right." It didn't help that Leo had a wicked smirk on his mouth. "Just think about it. Here in Metropolis, fuck-buddies can sometimes be a way of life."

"Well... Let me think about it," Clark temporized, retreating from the tempting suggestion for the very fact that it was tempting. "I-it's a very generous offer... but I don't want to screw up us being friends."

"Sometimes the best lovers are friends. I mean, do you have that outlook towards Lex? And Chloe? And... Whoever that other chick you mentioned is?" Leo asked seriously. "Or do you only sleep with people that you don't know well enough to feel like you're screwing something up with them?"

Clark gave a short laugh. "Like I've ever even really got to that stage to worry about it," he admitted, beyond embarrassment now and far into the realms of helpless openness. "Which might be part of the problem. Things always get complicated before anything happens."

"Complicated?" Leo quirked an eyebrow a little. "How?"

"Just... man, Smallville is the center of weirdness you know? Something as ordinary as dating becomes fraught and dangerous. The thing with Lana and Chloe -- a case in point," Clark said, his hands emphasizing how he felt with wide sweeps. "If it had just been a case of me having an unrequited crush on Lana and Chloe being jealous I could probably have worked through that. But no, there was a fianc, and then other men and when I tried to look out for both of them, they thought I was being jealous. Every time I tried to help them do something, I was considered to be jealous, or interfering. If anything progressed on one of them, some disaster would strike the other, and I'd end up trying to bail them out and lose whatever ground I'd made with the other." The words tumbled out somewhat incoherently, but that was pretty much how he felt. Turmoil was a good word for it, emotional confusions and turmoil

"So getting to sleep with anyone was pretty much not an option."

"But how about here?" Leo didn't even question Smallville weirdness, probably assuming Clark to be exaggerating. "In Metropolis. Chloe's going here, right? The way is paved and clear..."

"And filled with hidden pitfalls and traps," Clark replied with utter certainty in his voice. That's what it felt like. Say one thing one time and get a smile, say it again another time and get a 'you're SO stupid, Kent' glare. Presumably there was a difference in what he did, but he'd be damned if he could