There was something disturbing about seeing your own face with lipstick. It was different when it had been slicked on by your own hand, carefully and gently, over licked lips. It was different than having a girl smear her own against your mouth, leaving faint traces of color behind to prove that she'd been there.

He was learning the hard way to go ahead and buy the ten dollar lipstick. It came off less on clothing, on teeth, on made up faces. He wasn't liking it any more, of course, no more than he liked wearing dresses or the scarves he used to hide his Adam's apple, since his hair was so much shorter than Dave's or Doofer's.

But he was learning.

The fact that he hid so well was disturbing. The fact that he knew all of these goddamned girly things made him worry deeply about himself, especially when it came to Jimmy and certain overtures that had been made towards him.

'Who told you about skanks? It was me.'

Nobody really wanted to think about themselves that way, did they? Dave had said that he was pretty. Maybe Dave had lied. Okay, Dave had probably lied, because your best friend spent a lot of time trying to make you feel better when you had hit rock bottom, right?

And rock bottom was something that Adam had hit like an eighteen wheeler crossing the solid center line to meet another on its way down a mountain.

A size eight wasn't really that big, was it? Except his ass didn't fit into a six, and some eights were too close, too. If he had to go up to a ten, he thought he'd slit his goddamned wrists. Buying clothes was so much easier when you were a guy. You could grab a pair of sweats or a 32x32 and it fit. Sure, okay, maybe it was a little more snug over his butt than it should be, but girls liked that. Girls didn't talk about how fat his ass was, or laugh at his prowess in sports.

At least, they didn't when he was a guy.

Everything about being a girl was different, though. A different kind of look. A different kind of feel.

A funny kind of hurt.

Women were so backstabbing, all the fucking time. Even in the DOG house there were moments of it, and Adam considered them pretty much a haven for his ego. The KOK house was... well, he was there sometimes, often enough to keep up the game over there, but he spent most of his time with the DOGs.

Some of them were getting pretty good with football. And pretty much none of them commented on his... issues.

Severe issues.

He'd stopped pretending that he didn't have them. Stopped pretending that he wasn't avoiding Jimmy left and right, and that Dave leaving the KOK house wasn't killing him, and that maybe, just maybe, he didn't have to screw every available hole with legs and tits.

That was the part that bothered him the worst, because in retrospect, he was trying way too hard to prove something to himself.

So he'd sort of given up trying to reclaim his manhood, just like he'd encouraged the guys at the KOK house to act more human. That didn't mean no parties, it just meant that they didn't have to be perfect upstanding dickheads, just like the DOG girls didn't have to be man-hating feminazis.

There was a middle ground, and Adam was way too sure that he was probably the far left and the far right of it at the same fucked up time.

He lifted his mascara brush, blinked his eyes to check for clotting, then put it down. There was a party on Saturday, and Adina needed heels that weren't likely to kill her.

Him.

Whatever.

Of course, finding women's shoes in a men's size ten wasn't nearly as easy as it sounded. That translated roughly into a women's size twelve and a half, and how many women who wore a twelve and a half wanted a high heel?

The answer was not very damned many.

He'd tried normal shoe-shops, but the people there could take one look at his feet and tell him that there wasn't a thing in his size. Or if there was, it was hideous, something with fake neon blue lizard skin or fuzzy leopard print. So the choices he had and stores he could go to were pretty damn limited.

On occasion, they were limited and scary.

Well, okay. Not scary. After all, he'd been one of the primary buyers for the jellied-ball-bearing creations that flung themselves through the windows of the DOG house, smacking through the Delta Omicron Gamma sign and leaving very distinct holes more often than not. He'd been in places like that before. They were usually clean, and almost always neat, and very definitely interesting.

Adam had been required to find new shops for his shoes, though, or they'd have known right off-hand that he was he and not she at all, and he wasn't really sure if he could handle that. The DOG girls knew, and the KOK house kept quiet about it, but...

But.

But, there were a lot of buts in Adam's head. The store he was going to was a little more fetish oriented than he was really comfortable with, but there would be shoes, shoes and shoes, clunky ones, teetering ones, and those scary dominatrix ones that made him know he'd break a leg if he ever tried them on.

He checked his skirt, pulling down, made sure he was tucked, then readjusted his wig one last time.

And Adam made the less than smooth transition to Adina.

A faint knock on the door drew his attention away from the mirror. "Yes?" Husky, faintly sweet voice. Girl voice. Not Adam's voice anymore.

Patty's head poked inside. "Adina..." Her eyes always widened just a little when she saw him. It was probably because Big Johnson had tried to pull her hair off when Adam's had come loose. "Going somewhere? Ah, because I need some things..."

Meaning she was probably on the rag and needed somebody to pick up some super absorbent tampons.

Adina could deal with that, even if Adam couldn't.

"I'm going out for a little while," Adina agreed, giving the faintest of smiles. "Need something?"

It was a good guess that she'd made in her head, because Patty wanted those dry up the dead sea tampons, and some chocolate. It was easy to smile and agree, and say she'd get them on the way back, no problem.

Adam had problems with it, but the veil of mystery was already well shredded for him. Adina picked up her purse, checked one last time in the mirror, and smiled at Patty.

"Be back in a couple of hours," she promised, and headed downstairs past the tall girl and half of the other DOGs.

At least when she was here, no one looked at her with the faintly appalled gaze that screamed out that he couldn't possibly be one of 'them', a DOG amongst DOGs. The KOK house was always that way, if even the faintest shimmer of lipstick remained upon his mouth.

Even if he'd gotten it the natural way.

Adina wasn't going to think about that, though.

No.

Adina was going shoe shopping.

Right inside the door, she'd been assaulted by the sight of bondage gear. Not that she had anything against bondage, but even Adam hadn't been much for tying up his conquests.

Boy, they were creative looking. Everything in the store was pretty creative looking, so there was a gauntlet of things to distract her before she reached her goal of shoes.

Like that thing with the thousands of rubber tassels that felt like nothing more than a soft koosh ball. It probably didn't feel much like a koosh when it was smacking you, Adina decided, letting a little smirk slide across her lips. Maybe she ought to take one of those home, too. Just to try it out. There was a little extra money, after all, she only needed one good pair of lavender shoes.

The shoes first, and then she could see what there was to buy with that little extra money.

It was one huge, tempting aisle of shoes on display, which meant for sizes she'd have to ask an associate. Who hopefully wouldn't smirk or look too knowingly at her.

And if he did, she was going to tell him to suck her dick.

With the appropriate hand gestures, of course.

So many shoes, though, and strangely, women's shoes offered Adina a euphoria that men's shoes just didn't have. There were dozens of colors and styles, chunky heels and stiletto, flat and strappy, and they all made her heart tremble on the verge of happiness.

It was sort of stupid to let shoes make delight float up in your chest, but there it was; Adina felt it, and she wouldn't deny it.

Adam would have denied it.

Adam would have denied it with his dying breath, in fact, where Adina reached out and traced one lacquered nail across a particularly nice pair of two inch heels, frowning thoughtfully. Yes, those were available in lavender, it said so just beneath the display, and maybe they'd have them in her size?

She'd ask.

It wasn't the clerk standing near to her when she straightened, though. It was a man in sharp pants and a jacket, inspecting the riding crops with his back to her. The comfort level of being in that store fell almost immediately, even when she did spot the clerk, a girl who came over with a smile. "Hello, and how can I help you today, ma'am?"

Ma'am. It made a faint shiver of pleasure rise in her, her mouth curving upwards. "Yes," Adina asserted firmly. "I'd like to see these in a twelve and a half, lavender. If you have them."

"If the 12 1/2 isn't in, would you prefer I brought back a 12 or a 13?" the girl asked astutely.

"A twelve," Adina decided firmly. That way, she could walk in them, see if they would stretch comfortably or not. If she got the twelve, it would be easy to pull the trick that Katie had taught her with the hair dryer and double socks to fit them more precisely to her own feet.

Girls knew the oddest, neatest tricks.

"Okay." She could almost hear the smile in the girl's voice as she turned around.

And then there was that presence behind her, the bald man moving again. It was more than a little creepy. Adina wasn't sure what it was about him that made her feel that way. Maybe it was just the fact that they were in the kind of shop that they were in, even if she was just shopping for shoes.

Maybe it was the funny whirl in the pit of her belly.

But wait. He'd turn around and she'd get a good look at his face and it'd look like...

Like that wry twist of his lips was made to be there on his face, eyes cool as ice setting off the warm color of his mouth. He nodded a little, and really looked at Adina.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

It was HIM.

THE Expelled.

Alexander Joseph Luthor.

Adina seriously thought about falling to his feet and grovelling then and there, because nobody had managed anything so deliciously dangerous as he had, blowing up the chem lab and half the building with not so much as a hair singed on anybody's head.

Never mind his own. Obviously.

"Hi," she said a little shyly before her brain had caught up with her mouth. She could feel her entire face heating up from the ears to the tip of her nose, and she nearly turned away from him. Jesus. Just because she was dressed like a girl didn't mean...!

But then he spoke.

And maybe it did, after all.

"Hello." There was a smoothness to his voice, and his eyes darted over her shoulder for a moment to look at the shoes before they settled comfortably back on her face. "Shoe shopping? Must be for quite a well put together outfit."

What the hell kind of pick-up line was that? Adam could so have done better. Well, okay, maybe not. After all, the last one he had used hadn't gone over so well. But then, not every girl slapped a guy when he asked, 'So. Do you buy ball-bearing rabbit-eared vibrating dildos here often?'

"It's for a dance," she explained. "Senior year Delta Omicron Gamma." It was almost a dare for him to laugh.

When it came down to it, porn shops were a weird place to try pick-up lines.

Lex looked him briefly, rather subtly, up and down, then smiled. "I figured that since you weren't in pink, you couldn't have been a Tri Pi. When I was at Met U, the DOGs didn't have dances." When he looked over Adina again, it was as much for her benefit as his own. "They've certainly come up in the world."

After a moment's thought, Adina decided to take that as a compliment. "It's the sort of thing that happens when you aren't looking," she suggested a little coolly. "Once the KOK frat decided to stop being such assholes, things changed. Rapidly."

"I can only imagine. I was a KOK member myself when I was at Met U." Right up to his expulsion, which he didn't say; he seemed to know he'd been recognized at some level and didn't give Adina any extra information. "I'm Lex Luthor -- and your name is...?"

"Adina," she introduced herself simply enough, mouth trembling momentarily. He had been in KOK? They must have taken down all of the pictures, and it couldn't have been more than six months before Adam had joined KOK that The Expelled had left the university. They'd still been working on the new Chem building at the time. "I'm Adina. It's nice to meet you, Lex Luthor."

"Adina." Lex repeated that oddly, but then his mouth curled into a crooked smile as he nodded to her, and glanced sideways because the girl who'd helped Adina with the shoes was coming back with one large box in her hands.

"We had one twelve and a half, and for some reason the other shoe was in the wrong box -- but these are both twelve and a half in this box now," she smiled, holding the box out to Adina. "Oh, Mr. Luthor! I've got your order in the back -- hold on a minute. I didn't even notice you were here."

"That's all right -- take your time."

With a certain care, Adina settled herself onto a small padded bench, letting her knees splay momentarily as she pulled the shoes out of the box. Lovely, soft leather dyed a lavender that would just match the dress she had bought. It made her bite her lip with pleasure as she slipped off the low heeled shoes she'd worn to the shop and slipped on one of those instead.

Ah.

They were perfect.

It was easy enough to tuck her knees together again, to try on the other and stand in them. It made her a bit taller than the bald man, especially since she had hair, but height wasn't something that shamed Adina.

Not the way her ass did.

"They suit you very well," Lex told her, mouth almost a smile that halfway touched his eyes. For being The Expelled, and a KOK member, he didn't seem like the jackass Adina or even Adam would have expected. "When's this party? It would be a shame to see those shoes on you without seeing how your dress looks."

She couldn't help seeming a little startled. Who wouldn't be, with The Expelled right there, complimenting your choice in shoes? "Ah. This weekend," Adina managed to say, surprised. There was a mixer for the KOKs and the DOGs, and Adam hadn't made up his mind who he wanted to be there. Looked like there wasn't any question about it now, at least...

Well, but he wasn't LIKE that. Adam wasn't. He kept telling himself that he wasn't, and the morning after with Jimmy had been fucking awful.

But.

But there were circumstances involved with that, and he wasn't going to think about it, and the roofie, the walk, or the tape. And Adina wasn't going to think about it either.

"KOK or DOG house?" He leaned near the wall a little, still looking at her as she halfway modeled her shoes. God, it was obvious that he was interested, but Adina wasn't... Adina wasn't all there, even if she had stopped stuffing her bras with bagels and switched to conventional tit-shaped padding.

Maybe there were even parts of Adina that were too much there. But. God. He was The Expelled, and who told him no? Nobody in Metropolis, anyway. And it was Adam's last year, last semester, even, so maybe if he said yes just this once, to just this last dance, it would be okay.

Maybe.

"DOG house," she said softly. "It's Friday at nine." Two days away, two days to make Adina her prettiest, to let the girls spread the word and to let Dave and Doofer take care of the rest. Because Adam, Adam didn't know if Adam could. Not after the walk.

Adam or Adina, either one, wasn't about to say no to The Expelled, however. Not when he was smiling so slickly, so suavely at her. Adina wanted to let her heart flutter and faint, and Adam wanted to all but bounce up and down and ask how he'd done IT. The explosion. So there was definitely no way to say no, walk or not.

"Friday at nine. I think that I'll be there." He'd been about to say more to Adina, she could tell, but the woman was back with his 'special order'. What could a man like Lex Luthor be ordering at a porn shop? It was a pretty hefty looking bag, and he glanced into it briefly.

"Do you want to see if these are the right size, or..."

"No, I trust the work you people do that these are all fine," Lex drawled. "Here, put it on my card."

Curiosity was going to get the better of her. Adina couldn't help it. "Shoe shopping?" she teased, sitting to slide off the lavender heels and replace her own shorter ones on her feet. A quick shift of hands put the shoes back in the box and tugged her wallet from her purse.

Card or no card, she wasn't signing off as Adam. Not here, and not now. The card would still say Adam, but it wasn't as if the sales girl probably hadn't already guessed. Maybe she just had to start shopping with cash to keep embarrassment free.

"Pants," Lex told her with a smile as he picked up pen, left handed, to sign his name once the girl got back with his slip. "A person should never trust pleather."

Left handed. Interesting.

There was a shortage of left-handed people in the world.

"Goodness," Adina said breathily, licking her lips. "You, too. I was beginning to feel like the only lefty in the world lately." Oh, and the thoughts in her head would have appalled Adam, would have just made Adam want to fall down and die.

It was a damn good thing that Adam wasn't having a choice in the matter.

"There's always a few of us in the world," he assured as he took the slip from the girl and signed it quickly. Was she imagining that there was another layer of meaning to the words? Or had he actually meant it in a nudge nudge wink wink way? "You can usually tell by the ink smear."

Adina couldn't help the laughter that burst up from her chest, more giggles than anything else, and thank God Katie had shared some of the voice control tricks she'd learned with Adam. "Hm. Yes. There is that, of course." She held up a hand, nails short but functional, no matter which one she was. The faint smudges of ink on the left side told her tale easily enough. "It makes taking notes a pain. I've learned in some classes that taping is better. You can transcribe at your own speed later."

"I used to do that in my classes," Lex smiled as he tucked his credit card away in his wallet. "Well, it was great to meet you... Adina. I hope to see you around Metropolis in the future."

"I hope to see you, too." And in a weird way, she did.

Adam hoped that he never saw The Expelled again. That way, he really wouldn't have to look at himself up close.

Purple.

There was something about certain colors that Adam had always associated with girls. Pinks and blues and purples, mostly, reds on occasion. Given an option, he preferred them in pastel shades of neon, short skirts that showed off his legs (her legs) and thigh high hose. Garters were sexy, came in black and white and nude, and he was a little nervous about this mixer.

After all, it would only be the third party he'd attended as Adina, and not as Adam, and look how the first two had turned out.

Still. There was more to be said about his wardrobe this time, more to be done. Sandy blond wig curled with help from Patty, faint trembling silk violets placed here and there, accompanied by velcro-backed sparkling bright spots that gleamed amongst them and looked so pretty.

He'd been proud to find the dress, too, because it was perfect, so perfect; didn't show the lay of the land but clung faintly to hips and breasts and showed him off to a perfection that made Adina proud when she saw herself in the mirror. It had been an odd size, a seven, but it had fit, and it hadn't made his ass look like it was ten sizes bigger than the rest of him. Shades of violet twisted iridescent down the dress, from the nearly pastel to a rich shade of purple that made the violets a perfect match. The shoes were just as exquisite as they'd been when Adina bought him, and--

Adam's heart wasn't beating that way. It wasn't trying to escape from his chest. Whether from anticipation, or...

Or because Dave and Doofer were going to be there as themselves, and they knew, and the KOK's president and go-to guy wasn't going to be in attendance. But Adina was going to be there, in that gorgeous dress, when hours before Adam had been there setting the actual event up -- checking the food, and the music, and that the stereo system was all in working order.

It was hard to work around alter egos, particularly since he wasn't sure which one was the alternative one anymore.

Adam's hand shook faintly as he attempted to line Adina's lips, making him curse and take a deep breath. One way or the other, he wasn't just he anymore. Confused, maybe, but that was one thing of which he was certain. Adina was as much a part of who he was as Adam, and there wasn't any way to hide that anymore, so he just needed to suck it up. S.I.U.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed the lip liner on, something pretty in a shade called dark berry, carefully tracing around his mouth before beginning to fill in with the shade, delicate feathering motions of hand and wrist bringing them to life. His mouth didn't seem half so pretty, pouty, prominent, without that slick of color, and he shivered as he placed it there. Black raspberry lipstick followed, a color that complimented all of that purple, and the faint sparkles that crossed his brow and cheekbones. Maybe he was pretty.

Maybe Adina was pretty.

Not gorgeous. Not Tri Pi material, no, never, but...

The Expelled had looked at her. Him. And maybe Lex Luthor had only been making fun, but it still made it hard for Adam (Adina?) to breathe.

He'd seemed to be serious, but that would be known for sure or not when or if he showed his face. People like that just didn't attend mixers, whether they were alum or not. And the guy had never gone on a KOKtail cruise, which was a must even for alums who hadn't actually graduated.

But Adina couldn't help but hope that her lipstick looked good enough for him, that the whole ensemble would work the way she wanted it to.

"Adam? Leah said you were up here..." Dave didn't quite knock, just opened the door like he had every right to.

"Yeah," Adam answered, looking at Dave in the mirror. Dave did have a right, really. Doofer had it, too, though they didn't take it nearly as far as Adam. On the other hand, Doofer had been responsible for the goddamned rohypnol, and Dave had been a complete failure as his wingman. Adam had a right to be having issues, Adina had decided.

Maybe Dave would even say that she looked nice.

"You..." Dave closed the door behind him, looking at Adina's clothing. Dave always looked perfect, even when he was just rumpled and wearing a bad brightly colored shirt under a suit. Like he was then, a neon green thing under a nice looking black jacket and pants. Only Dave, because Adam would look like a freak if he dressed himself like that. "You've really learned how to... put things together. You look good tonight."

"Thanks." It didn't hurt to be polite, no matter how nervous Adina actually was as Adam pulled on her jewelry and turned to slide into her shoes. It had been hell finally learning to walk in heels. "I guess you're probably wondering why."

"Er, yeah." Dave moved to sit down on one of the other beds. "You were always telling us to repress this, and... Why tonight, Adam?"

"Repress and deny wasn't working so well," Adam admitted, shifting Adina's wig on carefully and... changing. Just like that. It wasn't just the clothes, it was also the attitude, and the faint scent that clung to her, not warm like Adam's cologne, but softer, a little more floral and just the slightest bit sweet. "In fact," Adina told him, "repress and deny was getting me nowhere, Dave."

There was Jimmy to face, every day, the occasional smarmy flash of his eyes, and God, how Adam hated him. Adam hated him, and Adina was a little afraid of him.

Maybe more than a little.

She still had flashes of memory from that night, the walk in particular. The soreness when she'd shifted and Doofer's remark about the sticky spot on her dress that had been easy to forget when there was 'Daisy' to deal with. Adina hadn't ever quite forgiven them for not being there for her, even if things had worked out mostly well.

And Jimmy, well, Jimmy knew and if he made one remark, one move onto Adina, he was going to be castrated by a very nice lavender shoe.

"And this... gets you somewhere?" It wasn't accusing; Dave tried to understand, really understand things. That was Dave, though, wasn't it? Always doing his best to be a friend, even if he did fuck up wildly on occasion.

"Yeah," Adina decided. "It gets me somewhere. A little peace, I guess. The girls are nicer, here, anyway. And when I'm Adina? There's a difference." People were always nice to Adam's face, but they were almost always truthfully bitchy to Adina. There was something to be appreciated in that. It let Adina know where she stood with people, and made Adam a little more wary of the people with whom he dealt. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

It was just one way of learning life's lessons, even if most people learned those lessons without going to the lengths Adam had. Maybe he was a slow learner. And the peace was nice, the feeling of that Adina part settling comfortably into what was going on. There had always been that strange flutter he'd tried to drive off, and it had never worked.

"I'll concede on that," Dave agreed. "But why tonight? Parties are for -- well, you know what parties are for, Ad- Adina."

"Getting laid?" The wry twist of lips was much more Adam than Adina. "Well. Yeah. I guess it is. But the more I think about it, the more I think maybe that's not what everything should be about." The more Adam thought about it, the more he remembered Adina's morning walk, mascara running down her cheeks from sleep-ridden tears, hair tangled, clothes a wreck.

No, parties weren't about getting laid anymore. Not for Adam, and probably never for Adina.

Well.

Maybe. Parties could certainly be for feeling good and relaxing and flirting successfully. Flirting wasn't sex per se, but it made him feel better -- plus, when something wasn't actually starting, there was no chance that it'd end badly.

"Maybe not everything," Dave agreed. "But parties... I mean, you look great. You certainly could, if uh..."

"Thanks." Shy gratitude, yes, especially after all the things Daisy had said to her that horrific morning after. Adina was a little more fragile than Adam, or maybe not, because Adam was the one who was having a hard time, wasn't he? Adina had this, and it was easy, and she felt pretty. She felt good.

She felt like she could hold herself together.

She moved closer to Dave and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting out a faint sigh. "You're the best friend a guy could have, Dave." Touchy feely, yeah, but they'd gotten like that. Maybe it was a girl thing, or a thing they'd picked up because they'd spent so much time pretending to be girls.

Dave patted her back very, very carefully. "I try. Now, are you going to come down and join the rest of us soon? It'll start really going soon. The KOKs are on their way."

"And that should probably scare me," Adina assured him, giving him a faint mockery of a smile that Adam never had been capable of twisting into existence. "I'll be down in just a little while. I just need to dust a little powder on one more time. To be sure." Fresh-shaved skin, and maybe he'd have it waxed. Or lasered. Adam had never liked shaving mornings anyway.

"To be sure." Dave sighed, and shook his head as he pulled back to let her do that. "Okay, A... Adina. We'll all be downstairs."

What it really was... was that if she came in once the party had started, it would be more unobtrusive. Easier for her to blend and fall into the swing of things.

Easier to go unnoticed, or at least easier for the others to pretend she was going unnoticed. That would be enough for Adina, she decided, leaning forward to lightly dust a puff into loose powder and bring herself closer to the mirror. She did look good. Her hair looked nice. Her ass didn't look too fat.

And the faint strip of gauzy material hid her throat from prying eyes.

Hell.

Maybe if she was lucky, The Expelled would come, and he wouldn't notice, and they'd have a nice time.

Maybe she could let Adam ask him how he did it.

And maybe if he didn't show up at all, Adam wouldn't let Adina cry later in the night.

Dave liked parties even if he was tied down in a relationship. He liked the ebb and flow of a group, the way that music made even the most uptight of people get with it. The idle conversation, and the less than idle conversation.

It was really going well, even if he hadn't spotted Adina yet. Maybe she'd found someone and was having the time of her life. He hoped.

Parties had unexpected moments, too -- like when the doorbell rang when he was near the door. So, since Dave was there anyway, he could answer it. Maybe a couple of Tri Pis trying to get in? Only it wasn't.

"Hey -- is this the KOK and DOG mixer?"

Alexander Joseph Luthor was definitely an unexpected moment of gigantic proportions, Dave decided. "Ah, yeah. I guess you don't really need a name tag, huh?" He smiled at the guy despite himself as cool eyes raked down to see his own, the one that declared him to be 'Daisy'. "But just for the sake of interest, why don't we get you one anyway? You can pick any name you want."

"All right, Daisy." There was a strange quirking of the man's mouth as he stepped in and past Dave a little. His eyes dragged over the people, some who were cautiously peeking over towards him. Definitely looking for someone, definitely not just there because it was a party.

People like that didn't drop into places without a reason.

"Right." Right. So obviously the guy was here for some agenda of his own because, wow. LEX LUTHOR. Dave didn't think he was the one to question it, though. "So, any notions for what you want on it, then?" If he couldn't ask questions, at least he could brandish the fine point black Sharpie. "I could always just draw you a flower. You know." A well-fertilized flower, because everybody knew that Lex Luthor had been in some god-forsaken place manufacturing manure, right?

"Do you happen to draw lilies... Daisy?" He'd slipped his hands into his pockets, watching Dave with seemingly good-natured amusement. "A friend told me that the DOGs and the KOKs have changed from how they were a few years ago -- do you know what happened? Because it seems to be a change for the better."

"New presidents, new social committees, different times. Better world, maybe." Dave leaned forward, beginning to doodle out a lily on the blue-bordered name tag. "The last year's been really different. The DOGs won the powder puff football game, went on the Cruise..." And how Lex Luthor knew anything at all about KOKs and DOGs, Dave wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Times are changing, I guess. Mostly, I'd say that the social community for the KOKhouse finally grew a taste for intelligent women as opposed to, ah...." There wasn't any polite phrase for skinny social-game obsessed sluts, was there? Nothing Dave could think of right off-hand, anyway. "Here you go. Lily as requested."

"The Tri-Pis?" Lex smiled easily as he took the tag and pressed it onto his shirt, just below his right collarbone. "I was part of the KOK frat before I was expelled from Met. U. I'm glad to see that it's changed with the times..." He seemed to trail off, watching the stairwell as if he saw something of particular interest.

Dave was really almost scared to turn around. On the other hand, he just couldn't help himself. Curiosity had always been difficult for Dave to resist.

He kind of wished that he had when he realized that it was Adam walking down the stairs. Adina. Whatever. She was prettier than ever, especially now that she (he?) finally had the heels under control. Careful steps, pretty dress that flared at mid-thigh and made her hips seem curvier and her ass less prominent. Adam was lucky to be so thin, Dave thought wistfully for a moment before he shook his head a little and looked back at Lex.

The Expelled, even.

God alone knew what Adam/Adina had been up to when she managed to get him to the party.

"Ah, you look like you've met Adina," Dave said quietly.

"Yes. She's quite a... fascinating woman," Lex drawled, and if it was possible his smile ratcheted up a notch of brilliance when he caught Adina's eyes. "It's good to see you again, Adina."

Dave dropped his eyes, deciding that now was a great time to be elsewhere. Anywhere was a great place to be when, IF, The Expelled ever figured out that Adina was Adam, and that the pussy he probably thought he was chasing was a cock.

It didn't help that when he dropped his eyes, he realized the man was wearing black leather pants.

"Lex. I didn't think you were serious about coming," Adina greeted quietly, voice even as her chin tilted upwards slightly. She came to a full stop before him, the heels a lovely challenge. She didn't totter anymore, didn't have the difficulties she'd once possessed.

There were a lot of things she'd once possessed that she no longer seemed capable of controlling in full.

"I hope you'll find the party to your liking," she nearly purred, lashes fluttering down for a moment.

Sweet flirtation, blatant and simple. "I think I already have." Lex extended a hand to her, his smile falling a little easier. "Your dress really does look stunning on you -- I can see why you went to such trouble to find those shoes."

Adina allowed him to take her hand, press his mouth to the inner wrist. Luckily enough, no one seemed to notice, and that made the smile spread even further. "I'm glad. I figured you were the sort of man who could appreciate the search for a good shoe, somehow." The eye she had on his own shoes, not to mention the pants, made his mouth quirk upwards into a smile.

Dave finally cleared his throat, looking over towards them as Lex lowered Adina's hand. "Adina, would you like a name-tag?"

"'Daisy' here has a thing with flowers, but you probably already know that," Lex drawled as he looked away from Adina for just a moment to look sideways to Dave. The party itself seemed to be going well, people talking and music blending together seamlessly.

"Dave? Dave, where'd you go, you just walked off... Adina, wow that's a pretty dress -- who's he?"

"Leah," Adina said, turning slightly to smile. "This is Lex Luthor. He's a, uh, former KOK. And thanks. About the dress, I mean. You really think it's pretty?" The way that Adina turned, letting the hem flutter around her legs, said that she certainly thought so.

"It's great. I told you that earlier," Dave said simply, bringing his Sharpie back into use. Adina, Adam, president. So many options. He settled on a big A with a girly little face.

Lex watched his hands when Dave handed the sticker to Adina, and twisted a little, still standing quite clearly beside Adina. Leah had 'prez' on her sticker, which he seemed to note briefly. "You must be the DOG President -- it's a pleasure to meet you." But not an interest at all. He twisted a little to smile at Adina. "Now that you've come down, what will it take to convince you to actually join in the party, instead of staying on the fringes here?"

"Why not an invitation to dance?" Leah suggested. Dave could see the sparkle behind her eyes, one that only he, Adam or Doofer could ever hope to understand. After all, they'd been the ones fooling her before, and while it had hurt, it had also brought them both a form of happiness.

"Or," Dave suggested, "you could probably find something to eat in the kitchen. Dude. Try the caramel cake. Frederique spent all day making it, and she's got it hiding in the cabinet over the fridge. 'Cause, you know, Doofer already ate the one she made yesterday."

"Why not both?" Adina challenged, standing tall.

"Dance first," Lex murmured, still smiling that easy smile as he took her hand again and tugged, leading her away from Dave and Leah. "I'd really like a chance to get to know you."

"This is going to be bad," Dave muttered to Leah as they watched Adina and Lex move away. "Very bad."

"Or very good," Leah decided calmly enough. "After Jimmy, things have been kind of weird with Ad..ina."

"Kind of weird?" Dave was a friend, but even friendship didn't mean completely denying that your best friends had issues. "Kind of weird is understating it. Doofer and Frederique having 'shaving time' is kind of weird. This is a massive weird that has no definition."

"At least he's pretty?" Leah suggested with a little smile. "I guess you're right, though. 'Kind of weird' doesn't quite cover it, especially since..." Since Adam's pre-DOG reputation was certainly enough to make anyone's hair stand on end in reaction. It was a complete turn around from playboy to just-say-no boy, or more precisely, just-be-a-girl boy. "But maybe he's getting something he needs this way. Besides. Look at them."

Look at them. Dave looked, and looked a second time. The music was nice, something to move to without being deafening -- and they were moving. Like Lex Luthor didn't notice that Adina had manly shoulders and hard arms, like when he leaned in to say something to her, he didn't notice it was a wig. Blind to it by accident, or by choice?

"You're right. This is either going to end really great, or we'll be calling the cops and trying to find a body. C'mon -- let's break into that cake."

"So. When were you planning to mention it to me?"

It was a question that Adam had been waiting for all night, even if Adina hadn't. She startled a little, turning around and settling into the small swing the DOGhouse kept on the back porch before crossing her legs. "I don't suppose I had thought it was necessary. How many women do you know who wear a twelve and a half size heel?"

It made Lex smile a little, and he drawled, "How do you know I was asking that, Adina?"

"What else would you be asking me about?" Adam said firmly, his voice pitched in the same general region as Lex's. "I mean, I can't think of anything else right offhand that I should've mentioned." On the other hand, the three beers he'd drunk probably had something to do with that.

"That you're not only good company..." He was steady for what he'd drank, walking back towards her. Him. Adam. Adina. With that easy, almost sated smile still in place. Like he was experiencing a frankness that he hadn't in a long time, and definitely didn't want to punish Adina for it.

Lex sat down close beside her on the swing, undisturbed by the voice change. "But that you're the KOK president. That makes you very multi-talented."

"Hm." Yeah, multi-talented. That was Adam, all right. "I've only been president for the last couple of months. The old one tried to frame the social committee for embezzlement -- me, Dave and Doofer." Adina's voice slipped back in, natural as anything could be. "We had a choice about how to save our reputation, and there was only one way to get back into the house."

"Dress up like women?" Lex moved his arm, casual and not bothering with a cliched excuse when he slid it over Adina's shoulders. He wasn't discomfited by it -- Adina could tell when someone was faking comfort with her, because there was a hesitance.

Or a Jimmy-like gleam in their eyes.

"That's certainly daring, but I'd imagine you pulled it off in the end."

"With a little trouble." A little trouble being Jimmy and the roofies and getting caught at the KOKtail Cruise. "There was a minor disaster or two along the way, but we managed. I, ah, had a habit of setting motion detecting video to record some things in our room." Not the most subtle ways of telling The Expelled that he liked to watch himself fucking. "The camera caught the former president stealing the money from the safe by my bed."

"That's lucky," Lex murmured, peering at Adina and still smiling. "And either extremely paranoid of you... or extremely kinky." 'Kinky' didn't cause Lex to sound lascivious at all, which was nice for Adina; it was only fate that her little 'evening' with Jimmy hadn't been taped. The kid hadn't been smart enough to get the system to work, or hadn't realized that the tape had been removed. Either way, Adina was okay with that.

There were some things Adam didn't want to see.

"Before now, it wouldn't have been paranoia," Adina assured a little breathily, sliding closer. It felt nice. Nice just to be touched kindly, and she wondered momentarily if all of the girls he'd taken home had felt the same way.

God, she hoped not. He hoped not. They hoped not.

Hell.

"Mmm. I think everyone does things like that once or twice in their lifetime." Lex let her sidle closer, fingers gentle on the opposite shoulder, rubbing in tiny, idle circles. "Or maybe all of their lifetime. It doesn't really matter as long as it makes you happy."

"So what makes you happy, Alexander Luthor?" Adina couldn't help the faint smile spreading across her mouth or the way that her head dropped drowsily onto Lex's shoulder. That touch just seemed to make it a necessity, somehow, soothing and faintly sweet.

"What makes me happy." He drew a slow, deep breath. "I used to know, or think I knew. But it's been a hell of a couple of years. It's more of a moment to moment thing. I'm happy right now..."

"I've learned to settle for happy right now," Adina agreed, the rise and fall of Lex's chest pleasant beneath her head. "You're famous, you know. Here. I've been dying to ask how you did it."

His hand shifted a little, from her shoulder up to the side of her neck, tickling beneath the delicately arranged strands of her wig. He was being careful to not do something that would shift the wig, careful for Adina's sake. "Got expelled, you mean? I was lucky the Feds didn't get on me for that..."

"Well, there is that part," Adina admitted. It was nice. It was much nicer than being Adam, and maybe this would be worth giving Adam up altogether for a while. "But I was more interested in the whole explosion part. You're famous, you know. I mean, the Luthor thing, sure, but that's not the important part." And maybe that was insulting. Maybe she shouldn't have said that.

Or maybe it was the best thing for her to have said. Because he smiled like he'd just won first prize in something, and answered her question. "I was working on a reverse neutron bomb. And it worked. Simple as that."

"Wow." Wow, because that just sounded totally neat. Adam's grades weren't the best in the world, but he wasn't stupid by any means. Just... unmotivated. A lot of the time. "And that didn't excite anyone? I'd have been excited," Adina decided, shivering with pleasure as his thumb stroked behind her ear.

"I was excited," Lex murmured, "Only, there was a flaw. My notes went up with it. No one would have believed me if I told them that was what I'd done, so I just let them scratch their heads and wonder what happened." Stroked, such a gentle, gentle touch to her skin. It was better than indulgent, it was sensual. And he wasn't making a move to get her to go upstairs.

Maybe things just didn't get any better than this.

"Hm. And you never managed to repeat the process, huh?" Adam's voice again, sneaking through, low and husky and a little sleepy-drunk. It certainly wasn't a lie. "I bet you could, if you wanted to. You seem like you could."

"Haven't had the impetus until recently. Haven't done much of anything that accomplished anything, until recently." He sighed, less of a depressed noise than a contented one. His fingers were still moving languidly, roaming with their caresses. "If we sit out here all night, I think you'll freeze. Why don't I walk you up to your room?"

So the question was... was that a legitimate offer to walk him upstairs, or an offer to take advantage?

Probably the former, Adina decided, giving a lazy smile. After all, it wasn't as if The Expelled, Lex Luthor, was lacking in female companionship. Certain not enough so as to want to take advantage of somebody like Adam. "Sure," she said, closing her eyes for a moment. "Going to kiss me goodnight?"

"Absolutely," he murmured, turning towards her. He was smooth, smooth in a natural way and not the faked 'I'm SO good with women' smooth that a lot of the frat boys did. It was like the stroking he'd done with his fingers -- subtle as he leaned in, and then pressed a firm, hot kiss without having to push Adina back or pin her.

Wow.

Oh.

WOW.

This was everything Jimmy had wanted to be, everything Adam aspired to be, and something that seemed to come so naturally that it made Adam hard, made his heart start to pound. He didn't kiss like a girl, he was pretty sure, but Lex kissed him as if he was one, and maybe that made all the difference.

Was that his voice whimpering?

A minute more, and Lex drew back, breathing a little harder just like Adina was. He stayed close, looking at her eyes, her makeup. "I'd really enjoy seeing you again, however you want to be seen, Adina. Adam."

He'd definitely done his research. "Okay," Adam agreed, a little dizzy still from Lex's kiss. Somehow, wow just didn't seem like a big enough word to cover it. "I'd like that. Walk me upstairs?"

"Absolutely," he replied, and slipped to his feet, standing up from the swing easily. He hand slipped down to clasp Adina's, and there was definitely a spark of... something in his eyes. Fondness, maybe, or just enjoyment. Or she was just hallucinating that there was anything there at all.

But he was smiling at her, all for her. "I'm glad that we had the luck to bump into each other in that store."

"I don't know about you," Adina declared, standing up close to him, her front pressed close to his, "but I was due for some good luck as opposed to the other kind." Yes, because the sheer blissful godsend of having the tape show up at the right moment didn't counterbalance that night with Jimmy, or Adam's confusion since, or the horror of having the other KOK members see what was on the tape before Spence's little act of vengeance.

It wouldn't have been so horrible if he... she hadn't done the walk just like all of those girls had. It made it too real, too... sleazy. Skanky, and Adina was not a skank.

"Maybe we both were." Because there'd been an island incident, and other things, only Adina hadn't been paying close attention to any of it. After all, learning to appreciate a big butt and learning how to walk in heels had been challenge enough, Newspaper reading? Hah.

Lex pulled at her gently, and led her back into the house, where the party's aftermath -- most people crashed or gone, a few haphazardly trying to clean -- was taking place.

"This place is nicer than next door," Adina explained. "You know. The advantages of girls living somewhere instead of boys, in most cases." Because the boys at KOK never cleaned anything much. The room he shared with Dave and Doofer smelled like old socks and corn chips, which was just... disturbing after the faint floral scent of their room at DOG.

"I know. It was hard being the only neat freak in the frat when I was there," Lex assured. "If I could have gone elsewhere to sleep, I would have." He led her past Patty, who gave Adina a shocked and delighted grin, and towards the front and the stairs she'd come down hours and hours before.

"That's understandable. Climbing over drunk frat boys first thing in the morning has no up side," Adina assured, dimpling into a brilliant smile. Lex had her elbow and was helping her up the stairs as if he knew just how difficult heels could be.

And she wasn't in love.

Or at least, not yet.

Adam was going to keep telling her that, too. But in the end, her reassurances to herself and Adam's caution wasn't affecting the way her heart fluttered when he kissed her again, just outside of her bedroom door, and slid a hand down to her hip with almost a promise in the motion.

And when he gave her his phone number, scrawled it hastily on the back of a business card, Adam all but had to shout at Adina that it wasn't love.

It was a shame that Adina wasn't listening.

"So. Did you enjoy your, uh, evening?"

That was a hard question to answer, really, coming from Dave when Adam had a bacon burger halfway in his mouth, unbrushed hair standing up on top of his head with ketchup dripping onto his Met U t-shirt.

Dave had timing.

"Umsh uh dun," Adam assured him, chewing steadily.

So Dave waited, because Adam wasn't getting off that easily. He always did that, waiting, waiting -- couldn't a man enjoy a damned burger without that sort of shit?

"Yeah, that made sense -- so, in English -- did you enjoy the mixer last night?"

Swallowing, Adam ducked his head faintly. "Yeah, actually. It was one of the better ones lately." Better because he hadn't needed to pretend to be anything but what he was by the end, and that was good for him. "He gave me his number."

And if Dave was really his friend, he wouldn't bat an eyelash.

Dave didn't. Dave didn't blink. Dave did look a little startled, as he looked at Adam while he took a bite of his own sandwich. "Owh. Whum." A pause, and he swallowed, taking a fast sip of coke. "Did you, I mean... did he catch on?"

"Complimented me on the KOK presidency, even, believe it or not," Adam replied, firmly chomping on his own burger. Mmm. Bacon and cheese. Good stuff. He chewed and swallowed. "And we talked about how it happened a little. He's..." Different. Suave. Good. "Impressive."

"Didn't have any, uh, issues with it?" Dave still wasn't batting an eyebrow, but he did sound impressed himself. "That's great!" Because Leah still quirked over it sometimes, but Adam knew that. They were best friends for a reason.

"Yeah. I mean, I never thought..." Never thought that would be the sort of thing that would turn him on. Adam had always been all about the girls.

Hugely about the girls. Except...

Except he'd also been the one who hurt them and humiliated them and used them. So did that necessarily make him all about the girls or did that make him a misogynistic transvestite? He wasn't sure. What he could be sure of was that he still had issues. Huge issues, because he'd never been about men before in any way shape or form.

"So, you, uh... you're actually going to call him? Again? And maybe you won't mope about being the single guy anymore?" Not that he'd done it in any overt form, no.

Dave just knew him better than anybody else.

"You think I should?" he asked, reaching for a fry and popping it into his mouth. "I mean, he was really nice. Walked me to my room and everything, and didn't. You know. Push. And he knows."

"I'm kind of surprised," Dave admitted, easy and offhanded about it. "But it's a good thing, you know? I'm glad for you. Leah knows, but it's different..."

"Because you don't do it anymore?" Adam asked him, pausing with his burger almost in his mouth again. "Yeah. Maybe it's different, but I'm not sure how much."

"Probably not much," Dave told him, as if that was really going to assure Adam. It was definitely what Adam wanted to hear. "You two were the center of the mixer, you know. Until everyone got drunk."

"They were that interested, huh?" The way Adam looked up at him from beneath his lashes was totally Adina, enough to make Dave shiver a little. "He is pretty hot," the KOK president sighed, reaching for another fry.

Dave kept smiling, but shook his head a little while he steadily worked down his lunch. Doofer had been supposed to meet them, but that had never meant that the man would actually show up. Even if he had gotten better about how he spent his time. Doof' had even claimed to attending a class or two. "Man. It wasn't that long ago that I would've freaked to hear you say something like that."

"You would've freaked?" Adam snickered. "I would have had a total heart attack. Um. Anyway, yeah. I'm going to call him," he decided firmly before grinning at Dave. "Wanna come be moral support?"

"Yeah. I'll make bald-jokes if he's changed his mind and decides to be a jackass," Dave grinned, wadding up his wrappers.

With his usual lack of timing, Doofer rounded the corner. "Hey, there you guys are! I was over there waiting..." He gestured vaguely before he jerked a chair out for himself and plopped down.

"Hey, Doofer. You wanna get a bacon burger to go?" Adam asked, raising both eyebrows. That was Doof' all over, though; bad habit of being totally oblivious. All those years of drugs and beer couldn't be good for a guy.

"Nah. I already ate," Doofer said, waiving his hand as if to wave Adam off of the idea. "Hey, wasn't that party great, last night? Frederique almost drank me under the table!"

"And when your girlfriend can do that, it's something special," Adam agreed with a smirk that reminded Dave a little too vividly of his friend's party companion.

It was probably good that Adam didn't know that. Or bad, because he might have taken it as a compliment, or a sign of coming luck, or something. "Hey, Leah can definitely drink me under the table," Dave half-defended.

"Dude, I saw Leah almost breathe in that beer last night," Doofer chuckled, leaning his elbows on the table and stretching forwards into both Adam and Dave's space. "Hey, so who was the dude you were with last night, Adam? Prince Mr. Clean?"

That was so Doofer. Like calling Spence Mister Puffy Head.

Okay, so Spence had been Mr. Puffy Head, but...

"He's The Expelled," Adam explained, stressing the words with delight. "And he knows about Adina and..." And, well, he was much cooler than Prince Mr. Clean. That was for sure. "And I'm gonna call him later." Because Doofer wouldn't care. Doofer wouldn't bat anything. Hell. Doofer had shaving time with his girl.

Doofer had no right to bat anything or care, because he had shaving time with his girl, and she'd almost out-drank him. Frederique was more man than Doofer some days.

"Wow. The Expelled? Hey, I think I went to school with him, or something." Doofer squinted, as if that would help his brain process through the though he was working on. "Yeah, I remember Mr. Clean. I think."

That was enough to get Adam's attention, and Dave's, too, it seemed. "You remember him, you think?" Dave prompted, leaning a little closer. "Nice guy?"

"Of course he's a nice guy," Adam told Dave, frowning slightly.

"Yeah... Dude, it feels like it was years ago. He had some of the best shit on campus, if you could get it out of his footlocker," Doofer reminisced. "All of this neat stuff in vials and little bottles."

"Ah, is this by any chance like my tape?" Adam asked with a sudden wide grin, pausing with a fry halfway to his mouth. "Doof'."

Doofer peered at Adam for a moment, and admitted, "Ma~aybe, man?"

"Doofer..." Dave groaned, and buried his face against his hand. "You were probably snorting or shooting up just regular chemicals. It's a wonder you have anything left in your skull."

"Considering he knows how to make things IMPLODE?" Adam laughed. "Damn, Doofer. That explains so much."

"Hey, man. It was good shit, I'm telling you! It made you see these colors..." His hands waved in front of his eyes for a minute before he turned to look at Adam. "You reckon he's got any more?"

"I, uh... I wouldn't know."

"Yeah, because the first thing everyone does on a first date is ask if they have any hallucinogenic chemicals," Dave scoffed as he polished off his very last fry. "Let's go, man -- you need to make that phone call before you lose your backbone."

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Adam agreed, grabbing his own fries to take with them. "See you later, Doof'."

"And, hey, maybe it's okay to ask on the second date?"

"...keep dreaming, Doofer."

Doofer, Adam knew, probably would keep dreaming. God knew what it was that he'd gotten into, but it was probably worth dreaming over for Doofer, even if all he'd done was snort something like baking powder.

Adina and Adam, now, had bigger dreams.

A secretary answered when Adam made the call, and it was damned near enough to startle him into hanging up.

~"Mr. Luthor's office, this is Britney."~

"Uh..." He paused, startled, before continuing in a businesslike tone. "Would you please tell Mr. Luthor that Adam Laettner from KOK is calling?"

~"Of course, sir. Mr. Luthor has been expecting your call."~

Expecting his call. Was that a good thing, that 'Mr. Luthor' had been expecting his call? It sounded like Lionel Luthor, all businesslike and impersonal, not the Lex he'd spent the mixer with.

Britney transferred him through, and for a bleary moment, the hold music droned in his ears.

And then the music clicked off, and there was an indistinct noise before he heard, ~"Adam, it's good to hear from you again."~

"Lex." Adam couldn't help the faint breath of relief that spilled from him. "Damn. Having to talk to your secretary first is kind of nervous making, don't you know?" He paused, shifting nervously from foot to foot. "How are you?"

~"I'm doing great, actually -- how are you?"~ The man's office was so quiet that Adam could swear he heard an echo. Maybe he was on the speaker phone?

"Since you left your card, I figured I'd give you a call." He didn't have to say that he was nervous. That went without saying, considering the faint tremor in his voiced. "Thought maybe I'd invite you to go out for coffee. There's a, ah, Mocha Joe's across the way, just a couple blocks down from the house, and I figured, if you weren't too busy..."

~"I'd really like that,"~ was the drawled answer. Lex seemed okay with his nervousness, too, just like Lex had been okay with Adina, better than 'Okay' with Adina. He understood. ~"What time's good for you, Adam?"~

That was enough to make Adam grin from ear to ear. Yes! "Hm, I've got a class at two, but then I'm free until tomorrow." Screw studying. He didn't have the best grades in the world, anyway. He was KOK, and that guaranteed him a job, thanks to Dave.

~"And I get off of work at... Would six or so be good?"~ It sounded like Lex was smiling into the phone, and from the slight echo, he was sure that he was on speaker phone. Very professional, having a 'when can we see each other again' conversation on speaker phone in one's office.

Well, or very arrogant about his position in his job.

"Six sounds good. I'll see you there, or you can stop by the KOK house. Either one's fine." The faint choked sound in the background could be shock or amusement. Obviously it would be good if Adam didn't sign off with a girly 'kiss-kiss' or anything.

Not that Adam would do that. Not that even Adina would do that on one of her bad days. ~"Oh, well... I'll drop by the KOK house, then -- around six?"~

There was a buzz of noise, and Adam could faintly hear ~"Mr. Luthor, Mr. Conner is here to see you.~

~"Tell him to wait."~

"Six is good. I'll see you there then," Adam said a little huskily. "And, ah. I'll introduce you to Doofer. The remaining social committee. You know."

~"I remember that stuff. Is... Doofer the Doofer from when I was there, or...?"~ It sounded like he was struck odd by the sheer coincidence.

"Uh, yeah. I'm pretty sure. I mean, there are pictures of him from nearly ten years back," Adam admitted on a chuckle. "We think he's gonna actually graduate this go 'round."

~"Damn. That's impressive, in a sad way. Well, we'll see if he has any long-term memory left, hmn? I'll see you at six, Adam. Looking forward to it."~

"Yeah, I'll see you then, man," Adam replied lightly, the way he would say it to any one of his friends.

Dave didn't make his heart beat faster, though.

And he only had six hours to decide how best to introduce Lex to Adam.

Lex murmured, "See you," and then hung up. That was the end of the call. That was it. Easy as that -- if only thinking of a way to get Adam out there. On a date. With another man.

"Sounds like it went good," Dave declared, giving Adam a thumbs up.

"Yep. There's just one problem," Adam declared, taking a deep breath.

Dave blinked. "What's that?"

"What on earth am I going to wear?"

'What on earth' turned out to be black jeans and a lightweight brown sweater borrowed from Dave with black Nikes and a well-scrubbed head. Dave had put tons of something in it, muttered words like 'bed-head' and then had sent him out to class.

Nearly four hours later, Adam was pretty sure his hair was stiffly stuck to his head and would wash off when he got it wet. But at least it wasn't standing up in random cowlicks and poofing inconveniently. It wouldn't do to wear a wig or a hat on his first date. Not when he was trying to give Lex a (slightly spiffed up) impression of what Adam was like.

He'd never been so nervous in his life. What if Lex liked Adina better than Adam?

Worse yet, what if he didn't like Adam at all?

Well, if he didn't like Adam, then he wasn't worthy of Adina, and the thought made him set his chin firmly as he stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of the house. There was no sign of Lex, so he tucked his hands into his pockets and looked around for a minute, considering the matter. He was a little early, maybe. Fifteen minutes at the most. He could go inside and wait or he could stand outside and look like an idiot.

Going back inside to wait seemed like the better option, even if the living room currently looked like shit. Lex had been in the house before, anyway. He had to know what it was like.

"Nervous?" Dave asked as he strode past Adam rather suspiciously, with a book that he was studying in his hands -- a prop, Adam guessed.

"Understatement of the year," Adam admitted, mouth twitching upward with a slight twitch before he shuddered, a motion that rippled through him from head to toe. "Considering how I used to date, nothing should make me nervous anymore, you know?"

"But see... you didn't date, Adam. You had sex." Dave gestured as he declared that, as if the two things were so far from each other on the spectrum that it was inconceivable for what Adam did to have been called 'dating'. "With a lot of women, tons of them! But you never saw the same girl more than twice, man."

"Oh." Well, yeah, that made sense, didn't it? Because a lot of the girls had done the Walk, and Adam damn sure wouldn't date somebody twice if they'd done that to him. And Dave was really right. It wasn't like he'd ever dated them. Just taken them out to eat or drink and come back to the room to fuck. It had never even crossed his mind that Dave or Doofer might see or be pissed.

"Yeah." Dave leaned against the back of the beaten up recliner, eyeing Adam. "So, uh... after 'coffee' should I just, you know, spend some time down here, or...?"

"Uh..." Well, that was a pretty straightforward sort of question. "I'm kind of hoping this won't be like that. Like before, I mean. Because of everything..."

Everything, the failed wingman knew well what 'everything' was. He winced a little and nodded. "Yeah. That's cool -- I mean, not... but that--"

"Adam, bro, I've been looking for you!" That was almost a howl, unquestionably delighted, from the stairwell before that too-familiar little freak raced down the stairs.

Adam damned near ran out the front door in hopes of avoiding him. God. Another month, month and a half, and maybe he'd manage to avoid Jimmy for the rest of his life. Even if it meant never attending a KOKtail Cruise again, or helping out with anything related to the usual alumni stuff that KOK presidents went in for. Adam didn't really care.

"Uh. Yeah. What do you need?" He posed the question very carefully so that maybe he'd have the chance to say no to whatever it was, or to squirm out of it by putting things over to Dave. Dave owed him that much, surely?

Jimmy was grinning as he walked over to him, and took a minute to glance Adam over. A clear, undeniable once-over in typical KOK tradition. "Hey, you're going somewhere? Can I go with? I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out tonight."

Dave stared at Jimmy for a moment, before grinning and declaring, "Jimmy, he's all polished up for his date tonight."

"Date?" The word seemed like something foreign in Jimmy's mouth. Funny, because he'd damn sure taken Adina on a goddamn DATE. "Who's the broad?"

"He's a friend," Adam stressed firmly, frowning. No way he was even going to let on it was anything else, not to Jimmy. Not ever to Jimmy.

"He?" Jimmy stared, comically taken aback for a moment. "Whoa, is Dave joking, man, or are you so swinging you're going to the other side? 'Cause..."

The doorbell sounding was a godsend. It felt good to escape, moving away from Jimmy with an alacrity that certainly didn't hide how Adam felt about him. It would've been impossible to do that, he was pretty sure. Still, he'd never been so grateful to open the door and see Lex Luthor standing there.

Thank God for The Expelled.

"Lex," Adam almost sighed, feeling a little limp with relief. "I'm ready to go if you are." Never mind that he probably ought to invite the guy in. Not with Jimmy there. Just... No.

Lex looked like he'd gone home and changed at some point, because he wasn't dressed in a suit and tie. Just casual clothes, a sweater that had probably cost more than anything Adam owned (except his currently unused video camera system) and a smile that really kept Adam from giving more than a quick glance. "I'm ready. You look really good, do you know that?" He leaned in, almost as if unsure of Adam's reaction, to kiss him.

"I do now," Adam agreed, leaning forward to meet Lex. Fuck it. If Jimmy saw, Jimmy would also have to see that he was outclassed. That there were ways to treat a person that didn't make them feel like some kind of cheap whore.

It was a slow, nice kiss, not chaste, but slightly abbreviated because they had an audience. Jimmy gasped, and Adam half-heard Dave telling him something before Lex broke the kiss. "Mmmh. Just how I remembered, Adam -- let's go?"

"Yeah," Adam agreed, letting himself smile despite everything. Kissing Lex felt good. It didn't matter if he was Adam or Adina. He should have known that would be the case. "Sure."

Lex led the way away from the front of the frat house doors, but before they got to his Audi TT -- that stood out even among the cars of the scions of other rich families -- he asked, "So what's up with the little guy who was staring? I figured there was something wrong or you would have asked me in."

"He's my little brother. Or he was, anyway. It's a really complicated sort of story," Adam admitted, pulling open the door on the passenger side. "Ah. He sort of, took some advice that I gave him. About dating skanks." That hurt to say.

Because he'd told Jimmy how to get laid by setting his standards low, and chasing skanks. And Jimmy had set his eyes on Adina. And had gotten her. A skank, only Adina knew and Adam knew that she wasn't.

Lex paused for a moment, looking at Adam before he opened his own door and slid into the leather-covered comfort of the driver's seat. "You're going to have to forgive me if I'm not following you." He... he didn't get it? He didn't think of Adina as a skank? No, the way he'd acted at the Mixer, Adam knew that the thought couldn't have crossed Lex's mind.

Adam gave a faint laugh, low in his throat. "I told him at a meeting that if he wanted to get more girls, he had to lower his standards. And he did. He. He asked me out," Adam explained. "And I went because I needed to get the evidence on the current KOK president out of our room. They'd moved him into it. Things... Happened." There wasn't any better explanation, really.

"I see. Things you didn't like, am I right?" Lex slipped the key into the ignition, and buckled his seatbelt before gunning it to life. "He sounds like a cruel moron. Did you ever think of visiting a little payback on him?"

"I outed myself as a man at the KOKtail Cruise in the midst of his confession of love. Even if it was in hopes of getting laid, that's not exactly the worst revenge a guy could ever have," Adam decided, leaning back in his own seat. "Besides. He really is just a kid, and he really was just... following my advice." Even though it had hurt. Even though he'd had to do the Walk and face Doofer and Dave.

"That doesn't excuse it," Lex told him as he backed out of the parking space, twisting a little to make sure he didn't hit anything. "You ever talk to him about what happened?"

"Yeah. We talked. I asked him what happened, and he said nothing." And he lied, but Adam didn't say it. "We were, ah. It's complicated."

"I have a pretty good understanding of complicated," Lex seemed to confide. He glanced to Adam in the rear view mirror for a moment, coasting around the curves that would take them off of campus and to the coffee shop on the other side of the boulevard. "It's hard to move forwards until you've figured out your past."

"Well, no matter what he said, something did happen. I had the proof on my skirt when I got home, I just didn't remember any of it." And now wasn't the time to discuss date rape drugs with Lex, or he wouldn't drink his coffee, Adam figured.

Anyway, Lex was a smart man. He didn't need everything spelled out for him the way some people did. Another sideways glance at Adam, and he nodded. "And you didn't kill him for it?"

"Actually, I sort of felt like it was my fault." After all, he'd drugged Jimmy just as Jimmy had drugged him, so in a way, it really was Adam's fault.

"That's not an excuse." The cars on the main road were whizzing past, and Lex waited for a gap before pulling out across all those lanes of traffic to get to the place's parking lot. "But I can understand why you'd see it that way. Sometimes it's just easier to think that things are your fault."

"Like blowing up the chem lab?" Adam teased him, relaxed despite the terrifying spew of traffic. Driving with Dave wasn't quite so recklessly controlled, but close. Close enough that Adam felt safe, all the same.

And they were safe, because Lex was rather soon coasting into a parking spot. "Different category, but... hey, that really was my fault. The only regret I have is that it took my notes with it," Lex smirked over at Adam.

"Ever thought about trying to do it again?" Adam asked him, answering with a grin. He couldn't help it. Lex's smirks just naturally made him want to give one in answer, as if they were trouble waiting to happen, and it was all fun.

Adam hadn't felt like having fun in way too long.

The topic change was something Lex rolled with, because the man could take a hint, too. He smirked over at Adam as he put the parking break on, and popped his door open. "I'd try to do it again if I had some help..."

"My grades suck, but I'm a chem major with a taste for chaos," Adam admitted, laughing as he stood up from the car. God, it was like sitting on the ground, but it was better than sex because the car was just really incredible.

"Just because your grades suck doesn't mean you don't have the capacity. I know there were a couple of professors here who made it impossible to give a shit about anything." Lex was used to his low slung cars, because he got up without any trouble, and was ready to lock the door the moment that Adam was standing.

"I admit, some of the classes are easy to sleep through and still complete course requirements," Adam sighed, strolling towards Lex. He paused beside him, gave a look from the corner of his eyes, more Adina than Adam. "I've been able to pay more attention since Adina, though. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe you notice different things when you change yourself so much."

"Maybe you notice different things when you stop trying to hide parts of yourself so much," Lex offered, and there was a different sort of smile to go with the words. Not sly, not a smirk, but something of an understanding. Probably not on the same topic as Adam's, though. "Repression takes a hell of a lot of effort."

"So what is it that you've been repressing?" Adam asked him, moving forward to open the door and step into the quirky little coffee shop. "Aside from the urge for explosions."

"Me, actually. Not to the degree you were doing, by any means," Lex drawled as they stepped in. The menu above the registers was convoluted, and would have stalled Adam if he wasn't so familiar with it. "I went through a stage of thinking I needed to do the jet-setter equivalent of settling down in a house with a white picket fence, marrying, and having 2.1 children."

"Ahhh. So. How many wives did you go through?" Adam teased. "Sounds like something out of the National Enquirer..."

"Two, actually," Lex drawled, smirking at Adam again. "And it definitely could have been something out of the National Enquirer. They both tried to kill me, and I took some time off to realize I was trying to damn hard to be something I wasn't."

"So, Mr. Expelled. What are you?" Adam asked him, nodding to the girl behind the counter. "Grande double espresso mocha," he directed to her before looking at Lex. "Aside from devastatingly sexy and surprising. What'll you have?"

"Grande white mocha, extra shot," Lex told the girl behind the corner as he reached into his wallet. "Let me pay, Adam."

"Would you like a pastry with that?"

Fighting with Lex Luthor over a check seemed sort of silly. "Double chocolate muffin." He gave a faint shrug of the shoulders and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Patty loves 'em. Remind me to introduce you to her."

"Chocolate cheesecake muffin," Lex added, and watched the girl behind the counter move to grab them. "All right. Was she the tall girl at the Mixer?"

"Yeah, actually. She was really quiet when I met her, afraid to say boo to anybody." The girl handed over their muffins. "It took a little doing, but now she's a lot more outgoing. Doofer's responsibility more than mine, I guess. I never knew he had such a knack for women."

"I remember he was real easy-going, so I'd definitely believe it. The likable screw up sort of guy," Lex drawled as he leaned to grab a couple of napkins while the girl got him his change. Which he dropped into the tip jar the moment she put it in his hand.

"He remembers you, actually." Adam moved away from the register slightly, tipping his head back to look at the ceiling. It was the worst pose of innocence anyone could attempt. "He said you had the best stuff in your room. Dave and I figure that he probably got into your stuff for chem lab and it's a miracle he's got a brain left."

"It's entirely possible," Lex drawled, looking thoughtful as the girl behind the counter handed him two plates, and weirdly, forks to go with their muffins. "I used to... damn, I can't quite remember but I think I had a lot of magnesium go missing."

"That sounds like Doofer," Adam admitted wryly, taking one of the forks and poking it in the top of his muffin firmly. "And... that would certainly explain a lot. At least it wasn't mercury."

"I kept the mercury in a false bottom to my trunk, actually," Lex drawled as the girl handed over their coffee; Lex took them, balancing his plate at the same time, and turned away to find a table.

"So long as it wasn't locked, I'm sure it wasn't much of a temptation." Adam offered a hand to help, and was given his cup. "Doofer can't resist anything with a lock on it. You'd think he'd have smoked the curiosity out of his brain by now."

"You'd think. It must be a limitless resource for Doofer." Lex was smiling as he pulled a chair out with his elbow at a small table, and sat down gracefully. "Now I'm curious as to what he broke into of yours, since you know about his lock-opening habits so well."

Adam tumbled into the chair opposite him, giving him a wide grin. "Ah, you remember that little recording device? I had the vcr it was hooked to in a footlocker. With a padlock. Apparently, he found it 'just open'," Adam expanded. "Of course, the fact that there was a bullet hole in the closet floor tells another story..."

Lex whistled slightly as he took a sip of his own coffee. "Damn. Did someone take away his crowbar and replace it with a pistol?"

"Apparently the crow bar didn't quite manage to rip the lock off. Uh, I had double welded the closure, and the lock just didn't give fast enough, so he shot it off instead." Adam grinned.

Lex broke his muffin apart with the fork, shaking his head. "I don't know which should surprise me more -- that he'd shoot the lock off, or that you'd be paranoid enough to double-weld a closure. I thought only I did things like that..."

"There's a lot to be said for protecting your privacy," Adam admitted, peeling the paper off of the muffin and taking a bite. He chewed a moment before adding, "Especially in the middle of a whole lot of nosy frat brothers. I guess you'd have called me the go-to guy before."

"Which would make those less fortunate twice as likely to dig into your private affairs." Lex took a slow sip of his coffee, and for a moment seemed to look at Adam from underneath his eyelashes, surveying him. "How do you manage to keep anything private when you're the president?"

"Dave and Doofer run interference." Especially with Jimmy. "Plus, the girls at DOG help out a lot. They're in and out of the house, and I've got a room over there, too. They're a lot less likely to dig."

"Women don't have to dig -- they just infer things," Lex decided. "And they're usually right... but I'm impressed. You're definitely the most versatile president KOK has ever had." The edge of his mouth quirked slightly, and he added off-handedly, "And certainly one of the most attractive ones."

The grin Adam gave him was nearly feral with delight. "I'm glad you think so. Considering the source, I'll consider it one hell of a compliment." Oh, yes, and Adina loved it just as much. Funny that there were two parts of him so totally different.

"I don't see why the source should be considered at all," Lex declared in mock-offense, "Since I'm not all that different than you, Adam, in a lot of ways. Some things, sure. The money is useful, though, and the business contacts are too. But past that... I'm just another geek with ambition."

"Ahhh, but you're a connoisseur of... hmm, how to say it? You always seem to know what's pretty to the eye and where to find it," Adam said. It wasn't the smoothest thing he'd ever suggested, but it could have been worse. "There was some museum opening not long ago that I seem to remember, and the newspaper pictures were incredible."

"What were the pictures of?" Lex's eyebrow lifted ever so slightly as he asked that. Even though Adam hadn't been smooth, it seemed to have gone over well. Or Lex was incredibly tolerant.

"You were talking to this totally gorgeous woman in one of them, and a guy that most women would have paid you to own in another," Adam admitted with a grin. "I remember them just because I thought, 'Wow.'," he shrugged.

"'Wow'." Lex shook his head a little. "That's from a couple of years ago, I think. Victoria Harcourt, and Clark Kent. Beautiful people with serious emotional problems. The kind that interferes in their ability not to make other people miserable."

"That's even better for me, then. I only seem to make women miserable," Adam joked, taking another bite of muffin. "Guys, I'm mostly okay with."

"Would I be amiss in guessing you had a misogynistic phase?" Lex was well-manneredly alternating muffin with coffee, with more muffin, eating slowly and casually. Sort of, because it was a little too-tidy. "I've been there, too. And I'm pretty sure most women go through a 'hate all men' point in their lives. Humans do strange things to each other in the pursuit of companionship."

"I guess you could call it that. I thought that sleeping with a lot of different women and humiliating them afterwards was the best way to be resident stud. And it worked," Adam admitted. "Only..." He shook his head. His hair didn't even move. Maybe Dave had used glue? Except for the fact that it smelled kind of like coconut... "Only, you know. The hard part is where you somehow land yourself in the middle of the same humiliation and realize what you've done."

"It might be the hard part..." Lex trailed off in some sort of thought, as if trying to phrase an opinion diplomatically. He didn't have to, not for Adam or Adina. "But can you say it wasn't good for you, long term? Reality checks hurt like hell, but sometimes you need one."

"I can't say it was bad," Adam confessed. "It's changed a lot. Not just me, but the KOK house, too. And that can only be good for them, all things considered."

"The house looked a little better. They finally got rid of the dildo launcher, I noticed..." Lex ate another tidy forkful of muffin, and leaned an elbow on the table. "Change is a great thing."

"It just didn't seem like a good idea to keep it." Adam's own muffin was gone, a massacre with only crumbs left as evidence. "Especially since I felt kinda responsible and ended up paying for the last six broken windows."

"I hope you did it with house funds," Lex half asked and half advised as he finished up his own muffin down to very few crumbs at all. He still had his coffee, though, nursing it even as it edged towards warm rather than scalding.

"Well, yeah," Adam admitted with a wide grin. "I mean, they broke the things. I wasn't personally responsible or anything. And after, uh, the great reveal at the KOKtail cruise... Um. That was where they figured out we were, you know. Not girls. But, anyway, after that, most of them were still a little wild-eyed when we looked at them, so I got to it without any kind of difficulty."

"Are they still that way? The 'great reveal' hasn't made life worse for you, has it?" Curiosity, not a poking prodding sort -- casual interest, as if Lex had half an understanding and wanted the other half.

Adam's eyes shot to the side as he considered the matter. "Aside from the occasional urge to split Jimmy down the middle with sharp objects? No. Come to think of it, I had that urge on occasion even before all of this..."

Lex tossed him a crooked smile, as if that idea warmed him. "That should have been a tip-off for the kind of person he is. But you'll be leaving Met U soon, right? Leaving him in your dust."

"And avoiding KOKtail cruises on the off-chance that he'll be there," Adam agreed. "Which makes me even more grateful to be part of DOG. The girls can be counted on to be there."

"In ways that your soon to be business colleagues can't ever be. The guys who go to the cruises are people like my father. One hand holding a badly made martini, the other holding a knife. Frat brothers are forever, and it's a great opportunity to make a target of yourself." Lex finished his coffee, but kept toying with the paper cup somewhat. "Mm. Just how did the DOG girls get onto the cruise?"

"We won the Powder Puff football game," Adam told him, still working on his own coffee. "Or, more specifically, the girls did. First thing the Tri Pis did was to take out me and Dave and Doofer." And humiliate the hell out of him, which maybe he deserved for hurting so many of them.

Maybe.

...nah.

"And then the KOKs took off with the Tri Pis on the cruise and left us standing on the dock anyway. Doofer stole a boat and got us on the yacht, though." A vicious smile crossed his mouth.

That made Lex smile, too. "That had to be the best Cruise ever -- women who weren't stick-thin and over-tanned, a little unexpected revelation... And you cleared your reputation." Lex rolled his cup in his hand, watching Adam with intent, mellow eyes. "I wish I had seen that football game. You like sports?"

"I love sports. Especially football, though basketball's okay, too." And baseball. Adam just had a general love of all things manly, really. He'd discovered it was a whole lot more fun to play as a girl, though; mostly because he was obsessed with winning, and beating girls just seemed easier.

"So can I assume Adina plays a lot of sports?" Lex asked, having caught onto it. "My basketball and football are pretty weak; I just fence."

"Mostly football and basketball. And she's finally decided to go for tennis shoes if she's going to be playing either one," Adam admitted with a grin. "Fencing, huh? That's sort of sexy, actually." Poking things with sharp objects. It appealed to Adam, especially after that dildo fight he and Dave had visited upon the DOGhouse.

"It's an art-form. The art of prodding people with a sharp blade. If you're really interested, I'd be willing to teach you some." Lex finally leaned both elbows on the table, looking at Adam. "In exchange for some football lessons."

"That sounds excellent. And while you're teaching me, I'll tell you all about the day I had a dildo-fight with Dave," Adam promised.

"A dildo fight? I demand to hear that story now..."

Adam was rather happy to tell it, even in the coffee shop's slightly noisy, chattery presence. Everything was so smooth and easy, and it was obvious to see that Lex liked Adam as much as Adina.

He'd never felt so lucky in his life.

There was absolutely no question in Adam's mind anymore. He didn't just feel lucky, he was lucky, and the pure boneless satiation that made it hard to hold his eyes open was absolute proof.

After Jimmy, he hadn't been sure he wanted to have sex of any variety again. Lex had proven him wrong. Very wrong.

Courteous, passionate, rough when it was good to do that, but not in a 'fuck, knock that off' way. And he'd been careful, and there'd been wordplay, and a lot of kissing, and. Lots of ands, because Adam's head was still in 'wow' space. Lex was awake, looking at him in the half-light with lazy eyes and a hand toying through Adam's hair.

"When can we do it again?" It was said with no small amount of lazy amusement, Adam shivering as Lex's fingers traced over an ear. It must be nice, he decided, touching somebody else's hair. He'd always liked tangling his fingers in hair, especially if a girl was going down. He wondered how different it would be with Lex.

No hair, but Lex had certainly liked having his head touched. Lex had liked being touched just as much as he'd unquestionably liked touching Adam. "Whenever you want to," Lex decided. He kissed the edge of Adam's forehead, and shifted languidly. The lack of hair thing was proving almost kinky; if Lex wanted to put on a dress, he wouldn't have even had to shave his legs.

Adam was deathly jealous. Any man who'd ever shaved his legs would be, he figured, especially after the first case of really bad razor burn. "Now?" he suggested facetiously, reaching down to rub his fingers over deliciously hairless skin. Mmm, Adam had always liked girls who shaved there, so it was no surprise that he liked Lex there, too.

The touch got him a slight intake of breath, and a thoughtful sigh. "Now, huh? I did say whenever you wanted to..." Not that Luthors were known for keeping their word, but Adam was giving Lex a reason to keep it. "Mm, do you know how handsome you are?" "Yes," Adam decided, stroking slowly. It just felt too good to stop. "I've been told, repeatedly, at least when I'm me. When I'm Adina, not so much. Fat ass," he noted, frowning.

"It's not fat," Lex drawled. He shifted a little, and a hand cupped one cheek of Adam's ass. Lex had nice hands, with suspiciously well-tended nails, and he'd already proven he knew how to stroke things. "It makes your dresses fit nicely."

"Hmmm." Oh, yeah, Lex was a keeper. He knew all of the right things to say. Adam was beyond pleased at those words. "Mind if I keep you?" he asked huskily, turning to kiss Lex in a way that was all about fighting for domination, but good.

Kissing came before the answer, and there was something prideful about making The Expelled breathless and red-mouthed from kissing and trying to regain control. "It'd be nice if someone decided to keep me; I wouldn't mind it at all."

"I can't imagine anybody not wanting to." And after weeks of seduction and dates and dancing around this very act, Adam knew that anybody who chose to leave Lex had to be crazy.

It wasn't as if he was perfect, no. Lex Luthor was anything but perfect; he did a lot of long hours for his business, and he had a temper, a tendency to obsess, and issues with his father. But Adam could handle all of that, because he'd given Lex a couple of reality checks and they'd come out the better for it.

"There's a town full of them about three hours away from here. The imagination cannot cope with Smallville." Lex leaned, kissing Adam's neck with an undercurrent of happiness in the motion. "Some people are simply... jerks."

"Going to talk about that anytime soon?" Not that Adam really cared if he did, so long as he kept doing that. An arm curved around Lex's waist and pulled him tight against Adam's body. "Or you don't have to. This is good, too."

"I'm fast becoming fond of this," Lex confirmed as he moved against Adam easily, let Adam close the few spaces between them. "Smallville must be seen and experienced for the stories to take on any sense of believability."

"So show me." His face nudged its way against Lex's throat, mouth taking in the faint taste of lingering sweat. "Show me. Graduation's in another couple weeks. I want to see a place people are that crazy."

"Conveniently, I have a mansion in Smallville. We can go there once you graduate, if..." Ah, the 'if' seemed that it had a weight behind it. Lex Luthor wanted something. "I'm invited to see your graduation."

"Oh, that." That. Indeed. Adam was actually excited. Good job waiting in Metropolis, no more class, good pay, and Lex. Adina was even happier about that last part. "Actually, your invitation's in my bag."

"Yeah? I bet your parents are proud of you," Lex murmured, and he gave Adam's ass a smooth stroking over with his hand. "I promise to be as good as gold when I attend."

"They're just glad I haven't spent seven years there, like Doof." The feel of Lex's hands on him was better than anything, and he couldn't help but feel himself growing again. That was all right, though. He didn't have class in the morning, so staying up all night fucking wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

Besides.

Adam had spent all night fucking when he had an 8 a.m lecture on more than one occasion. And for good sex? The kind of sex Lex participated in? He'd stay up a week.

"Besides, I already think you're better than gold. Better than platinum, even," he decided.

"Better than platinum? Now that's just flattery," Lex teased as he kept his hands moving. One on Adam's ass, one at the back of his neck, touching with slow motion. "I could rest just like this... for as long as you'd like."

"I think that would be okay." Okay and more than okay, because nuzzling up against Lex was a good thing. "And flattery or not, I still say it." After Jimmy, it was true.

"It's good to hear, I'll admit. Any chance that you'll let me flatter you, Adam...?"

"Maybe," Adam answered, voice lazy, fingers still stroking over Lex's legs and belly. "Adina, definitely."

"So I'll just have to flatter her twice as much. And..." Lex shifted one leg, stretching a little and spreading them. "That feels good. Very good..."

"Maybe you'd like me to do something else that feels very good...?" Adam offered. He had a feeling that was the sort of thing that was harder than it looked (literally), but he'd give it a shot. Adina wanted to try it.

Not that Lex had any idea what Adina or Adam were planning, but it was a sign that he trusted both of them when he gave his answer. "You've made me feel more than up to it..."

"Then close your eyes," Adam teased, "and I'll take you on a magic carpet ride."

Lex laughed a little, an easy sound as he stroked a hand in Adam's hair again. "If you sing a Disney tune now..."

"A spoonful of sugar..." Adam snickered, beginning to nibble his way down. Maybe that was the easy way to start. It certainly couldn't be all that bad. He'd eaten girls who tasted pretty bad, and at least with guys, there was just the bit at the end. He wondered how Lex would taste.

Lex had done it for him, but Lex was clearly skilled in the ways of consensual sex between men. He'd enjoyed doing it, and if Adam didn't like it, well, chances were Lex wouldn't ask him to do it again.

"Medicine is the worst euphemism I've ever heard for that," Lex hummed, fingers still in Adam's hair. "Christ, you have a good mouth."

"Maybe it'll get better with some practice." Obviously there were things that guys liked as much as girls, so Adam was going to try those. Besides, the perky bits were so fun to play with, and so different. Sucking Lex's nipples just felt good to Adam.

Lex shifted up to him, and made a short startled sucking in of air. "Jesus. If you get better..." Who knew what he'd be capable of doing if he got better? He could already feel Lex's eager cock jutting up against him, and hopefully it would just get even harder.

"Hey. Never done this before," Adam murmured against Lex's breastbone, nose nudging his way down towards Lex's navel. "Maybe I won't be any good at it." The way his tongue plunged into the well of Lex's belly told a different story.

"Somehow... I think you're wrong." It made Lex shift, a semi-dignified squirm as if he was ticklish there. If he was, Adam was certainly going to explore that a little more deeply, just...

Maybe not right at the moment. After all. There were better things to explore.

Like THAT thing. Right. There.

It was sort of like his own, in the way that they all got hard and stood up. Lex's had a slight curve, and whoever had circumcised him had been an artist with a knife, because there was hardly any proof or little jagged scar that showed anything had been done. It was faintly salty, lube long since wiped away, and silky the way the rest of Lex was. Adam decided that he could get used to all of that, even the feel of it against the roof of his mouth when he finally went there, sucking on it carefully.

"Hmmm."

"Uhhnn. That's perfect." Lex's fingers were loose in Adam's hair, a little unsteady as he half-stroked. His hips barely moved, just careful twitches in response to Adam's sucks.

Maybe not perfect. Maybe not yet. But it was easy enough to do, easier than eating pussy, even if it was a totally different dynamic.

Blowjobs, Adam decided, were just as good from the giving side as from the receiving. And the receiver seemed to be enjoying it, because he kept making noises, rich sounds of sheer enjoyment; his fingers clutched, his hips bucked a little. "Just like that, almost..."

Almost. And Adam was just doing things he liked, and felt sort of clumsy about it. Lips caressing the shaft, tongue pressed to the underside, special attention paid to the head. His hand was tugging below his mouth, caressing what he couldn't take any deeper.

He couldn't quite top the thing that Lex had done with his throat, but blowjobs weren't a competitive sport. Yet. And what he was doing seemed to be more than enjoyable for Lex, because he made a low gasping noise and eked out, "Uhn, Adam, that, fuck, I'm going to come..."

And Adam was going to swallow. It couldn't be that bad? Plus, he always liked it when girls did it for him, and Lex had done it for him, so... The statement just made him suck a little more deeply, a little more carefully. He wanted it to be good, even if it wasn't the best.

Yet. Adam could definitely see himself becoming the best with Lex, because the sex was so, so very --

There were just a last few hard breaths, and Lex's hips twitched up and up and up in a way that made Adam glad he had his hand wrapped around the base. And then he had a load of come in his mouth to swallow, almost startlingly.

It tasted salty and thick and maybe just a little like milk that had gotten too warm. It was enough of a surprise that he choked slightly before managing to swallow, pulling back and catching the last spurt on a cheek in wide-eyed amazement.

That hadn't been so bad, had it? It was different than girls who washed and douched and feminine-producted away every trace of scent or taste.

Lex's eyes were half-closed, and he looked like he was lolling on the bed when he shifted a thumb to swipe through the spurt on Adam's cheek. "That... was amazing..."

"Could have done worse," Adam decided, enjoying that touch. "Adina wants to do better." Much, much better, wanted to suck cock like a Tri Pi did, just to prove that she, he, they could. "Fuck, Lex."

Lex's fingers stroked again, and Lex murmured, "Come up here so I can kiss you." He didn't remark on 'Adina wants to do better' -- he just smiled, and Adam could tell that he'd go for that idea.

Adam could tell that Lex would go for a lot. He slid his way up Lex and kissed him, this one a little different, languid and slow and fuck it was good. It made him shiver and rock faintly against Lex, a hand pressed to the top of the other man's thigh. "God," he managed, pulling back until his mouth was barely pressed to Lex's, just a faint whisper of lip against lip. "You're so fucking everything." Everything, the best of everything, and how the hell had Adam gotten that lucky?

"You, too," Lex purred, mouth twisting into a smile that Adam could feel against his own mouth. "It would take all day to enumerate everything... But I'm a hell of a lucky man."

"I'm glad you came back to Metropolis." Glad and beyond glad, his dick stroking slowly against Lex's thigh. That felt good enough, and he wasn't in any hurry. It could wait.

It could wait because they had all night, and Lex was definitely worth all night sex. He shifted his thigh slowly, counter motion to Adam's gentle rocking. Lex turned his head a fraction, kissed at Adam's mouth again. Slow, pleased kisses, sated exchanges instead of the fight for dominance kissing they'd done before.

"Metropolis was worth coming back to, if just for this."

Calculus was killing him.

Okay, maybe not really. Clark could do the math in half a second and never once make a single mistake. It was the effort it took to keep from being perfect at the math that was effectively killing him. Or at least making him suffer a lot.

Darn it.

It all required too much thought, and made him desperately want a diversion. Once upon a time, that distraction would have been easy to get -- he'd just go to the castle out in the countryside, breeze into Lex's study, and there distraction itself lived and breathed.

Things weren't quite like that these days, though, a thought that made Clark grimace. Lex had tucked himself into a ball better than any turtle with a shell, and he only peeked out every now and then in regards to trusting other human beings these days. Not that Clark could really blame him after all the mess of the last few years, but... Damn.

"That's a horrible face."

Chloe was just settling into a chair beside him when she declared that. "What's wrong now, Clark? Did you just remember that article you owe me?"

Clark looked up, a little startled. "Oh, no. I was just thinking about calculus. It's killing me," he joked, shaking his head. "I was thinking about finding a way to distract myself and pretend it doesn't exist. Writing an article seems like a good idea for that."

"That's a great coincidence, because I was thinking I'd have to kidnap you to get it done." She grinned at him, and set her bookbag down at her feet, finally comfortable beside him. "Since you can't pester your calculus help partner with him out of town..."

"Exactly," Clark admitted dryly. "Lex being out of town is murder on my math grades." And an irritation in and of itself, because it felt like Lex was avoiding him. Lex probably was avoiding him -- or else he was dating again, and hadn't told Clark yet. Lex always drew back when he was dating, but Clark knew most people did that.

"Mmm. Well, it's almost summer, so you'll probably see him more. Now... do you even remember what your story was, Clark?"

A brilliant smile crossed his face as he heard the faint hum of an engine in the distance, something no one else would be able to hear or differentiate from that distance. "No," he admitted.

Chloe sighed. "God, Clark. You'll never manage as an actual reporter... The principal's award? Does that ring a bell?" The sound of a familiar engine revving into town rang more of a bell.

"Oh!" Oh, definitely oh, because Clark had actually already written it. The whole thing had just slipped his mind. "Here. I've got it in my bag, actually, just a minute.."

"Clark -- you're too bright to be an airhead," Chloe mourned. But she perked up a little at the sight of Lana coming over towards them. Even if there was still that tension between Clark and Lana, things were better. As long as Clark wasn't dating either of them

"Hey," Clark protested. "Calculus. That's enough to distract anybody, right?" Never mind the roaring purr that was making its way through town, sending happy thrills up his spine.

Maybe Lex would go somewhere with him. They could have movie night, or something. It didn't matter, as long as Lex was all right and Clark was somewhere in the vicinity. "I guess so. I know there's a reason why I stopped at Pre-calc. It's called my GPA."

Clark laughed, shaking his head. "I'm not doing that bad," he protested. "It's just a lot more difficult without Lex, that's all."

"Oh, c'mon, Clark. You're pretty good with Math things. It can't be that hard for you... Anyway, you're almost done." She smirked that at him, and reached for her coffee from Lana.

"And here's yours, Clark..."

"It's not that it's hard," Clark protested. "Thanks, Lana. Want to have a seat for a minute?" he asked before continuing to Chloe. "Just sometimes I need a distraction or it starts to boggle my mind."

"And Lex is your distraction? Wow, Clark, just aim for the stars," she scoffed. "I'd expect any Luthor to be insulted at the idea of being your distraction..."

"I wish he'd come and distract me. I feel weird about running this place without him to call me up to look over an expense sheet every once in a while," Lana said as she did temporarily sit down.

"Maybe he'll show up today," Clark suggested. "I mean, we can all hope, right? Not," he coughed, "that, uh, I'm hoping any whole lot. Or anything."

"Yeah, right, Clark," Chloe snickered.

"What's he been doing in Metropolis? I know he's working for his father, still, but... He used to be here a lot more than this." Lana studied Clark's expression for a moment, but her head jerked up when there was a familiar squealing of tires, and the sound of a roaring engine stopping.

"What's that old saying?" Chloe asked. "Wish in one hand, sh..."

"CHLOE!"

"...sugar in the other and see which one fills up first?" she finished. "Looks like the sugar's come back to town."

Lana groaned a little as she craned her head to look out of the window in curiosity. "I think I know why he's been gone. There's someone in the car with him..."

Clark gave a heavy sigh. So much for distractions from math. "You know, I think Lex is suicidal," he said seriously. "He keeps marrying scary dangerous women. You don't think he's gotten married again, do you?"

"I think you would've been tapped to be best man again," Chloe drawled as she leaned to do the same thing Lana was doing. They could see Lex getting out of his car, walking around the nose of the low slung vehicle, and opening the passenger side door.

"Not after I missed the last one," Clark said a little mournfully, watching as incredible legs appeared. "Wow." Wow, definitely nice legs, and then they saw the rest of her.

Chloe gasped, and Clark half-heard Lana mutter, "It's like that country song! The cocktail waitress in a Dolly Parton wig..."

But his eyes were on the figure... creature... woman that Lex was helping out of the low-slung car. She was... eye-catching, and not entirely in a good way. Striking would have been a kind word. The filmy knee-length skirt, tight red blouse, and scarf around her neck drew the eyes a little too much. There was funky the way Chloe dressed, and then...

Then there was just what Lana said.

"Oh, god. Electroshock is bad," Chloe murmured as she picked up Clark's paper. She seemed ready to flee the scene. "I hope that's his cousin..."

"I'm afraid it's not," Lana admitted, her mouth half-open in shock. "What. Whatever happened to elegance and, and..." And beauty and femininity, and maybe they were all wondering that a little.

Clark shivered, absurdly attracted to the... woman in a way that Desiree sure hadn't done for him. "Uh....""

"This one has to have a heart of gold," Chloe countered, "to have caught a person like Lex, so maybe she isn't a gold-digger..."

Lana shook her head, and got up. "I'm going to make him his usual. God..."

The woman straightened her skirt, and Lex gentlemanly took her arm to walk with her into the Talon, talking to her all the while.

It was just wrong. It was just very wrong. WHY did Lex keep bringing women home for Clark to meet like this? It made him cranky and jealous of Lex's time.

"...Used to be a theater, and my current business partner convinced me to let her make it into a cafe. Clark gave her the idea of asking me. I really think you'll like the place, it has more atmosphere than most places in Metropolis." It was cheating to listen in before Lex even opened the door, but he fell quiet for a moment when he pulled it open for her. "This, Adina, is the Talon."

"Lex!" Lana feigned surprise, and grinned. "It's been a long time!"

Adina. Just the sound made Clark's mouth fall, jealousy rising up in his belly in a way that probably would have disturbed most people. He couldn't help it, though. There were some people that just made him feel that way if all of their attention wasn't on him.

Lana.

Chloe.

Lex.

"Introduce us to your friend," Chloe asked, giving Lex a cheeky smile. "It's nice to see you, and with someone new, even!"

"Chloe -- and Clark, hello," Lex greeted smoothly to them both. "I want you to meet Adina. Adina, this is Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan."

"It's nice to meet you," Adina offered with a smile that made Clark want to smack her, despite the fact that she seemed nice. "I've heard so much about you!"

"Wow, well -- we haven't heard anything about you, but Lex has been pretty scarce in these parts," Chloe grinned with a nervous sort of smile for Adina. "Hey, Clark? I'm going to go input your story for the Torch -- that's our school newspaper." That last was tossed for Adina.

"Sure thing, Chloe. You don't need any help, do you?" Clark asked, looking at her in a way that told her he wasn't going anywhere. Not with Lex present with a new woman..

"Nah." Chloe grinned at Lex this time, then waved as she stood up. "I'll see you around, Lex..."

"I'm sure you will," Lex agreed as he half-watched her leave. "Why don't you sit down for a second, Adina? I'll go retrieve coffee from Lana. I can tell she's making something, over there..."

Life, or Lex, was a cruel bitch to leave Clark alone with Adina.

"So. I guess that leaves you and me," Clark offered, looking over at the woman Lex had brought home with him. She wasn't pretty, exactly, not beautiful the way that Lex's women usually were. She was striking, though that could be the color of the dress.

"I guess so." Adina smiled a little nervously, and smoothed her skirt down as she situated herself. "Well, Clark. Lex has told me a lot about you. You're a senior this year, aren't you?"

"Ah, yeah," Clark agreed, watching her with a certain amount of distrust. "I've known Lex for three years. He's a really great guy. How did you meet him?"

"Shoe shopping." There was a little quirk of her lipstick coated lips -- the color matched her shirt -- that said there was more to the story than that. "We started to talk, and he knew people from, uhm, my sorority. At Met U."

"So you're in college?" Clark asked, eyes dropping slightly to her chest before they jerked upwards again, color flushing wildly over his cheeks. "Um. Must be a really interesting sorority, then," he decided. "Lex only knows interesting things."

It seems like looking at her chest was the no-no action, because the smiling mouth fell into a horrible frown almost immediately. "Yes, he does." Adina leaned forwards a little towards Clark, and whispered, "Hey, Clark? I'd really like to like you, but my face is above my chin."

"Um." Um seemed to be the best answer, because Clark was pretty sure that his face was crimson with mortification. "Sorry. Just. I, ah, I mean, I'm sorry." Very sorry. Because, well. Those were nice. And he'd noticed her butt, too. It was at least as good as Chloe's, and... Now he was lucky that he didn't glow in the dark, Clark reckoned.

"Good." She cleared her throat, and sat back after that hard, sharp word. "I actually just graduated Met U last week, and in a few weeks I'll be starting a job in Metropolis with a few friends of mine. Are you planning on attending University, Clark?"

"I guess," Clark answered, biting his lower lip. He was mortified to have been caught peeking, especially when the memory of Desiree swelled forward in his mind. "I mean, I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I'd sort of like to travel for a while..."

"It's better to do that, take a year off before you start, than do what some people do. I know this one guy. He's uhm, the boyfriend of one of my sisters, and he's been there seven years. It took him that long to finish, because he just--"

"Smoked everything in sight. He could have taken a year off somewhere in there, and saved everyone trouble," Lex drawled as he sat down with two coffee mugs in hand. "I think Lana has finally figured out how to make a good latte."

"Well, after you bought her that giant new machine, it did take a while to get it right," Clark pointed out with a shy little smile. Lex looked happy, really happy, not the way he had with Victoria or Desiree or Helen. A little crimp of jealousy crushed parts of his insides uncomfortably.

"Mmmmm." Adina made a throaty sound that had Clark shifting slightly in his seat. "That's so good."

"It's only taken Lana a year," Lex drawled. But from his smile, Clark knew that he was teasing, which was also weird in a way. "I know, Clark, I know -- it is a complicated machine. How's life been for you? I'm sorry I disappeared for so long."

"Calculus is killing me without you. Remind me why I decided to take this class again?" Clark requested, smiling in spite of himself.

"Because that way you won't have to take it later," Adina said. "Better to get it out of the way and test out of it. Take basket weaving instead."

"Or an elective in whatever major you settle on," Lex countered. "If you're an art major, take basket weaving. But since I know people who actually tried that class and failed it..." He coughed, looking sideways at Adina.

"I swear, Doof always did his best. Just because he kept trying to smoke the vines..." Adina's smile was huge and bright, her head tilted to the side.

Clark wanted very badly to hate her. But he was finding it hard to even dislike her, because she just seemed... right, somehow. And strangely appealing, even though she wasn't pretty or gorgeous.

Maybe she was another Desiree!

"That's a sad excuse." Lex shook his head for a moment, then offered to Clark, "Hey, do you want to come up to the mansion sometime this weekend and shoot some pool?"

"Sure. Think I can get you to squeeze in some help with the calculus?" Clark asked him. If he went, then he'd have time to investigate Adina some.

"I think so. Except for checking up on the Talon, this isn't a business visit. For whatever reason, Adina chose coming here with me over a cruise in celebration of her graduation." That seemed to be some inside joke, because Lex's quirky smile was infectious for Adina.

"Well, Smallville has certain attractions that cruises don't," Adina teased. "For example, getting to know your friends, even though we'll have to be back in Metropolis next week."

Heading back there already? And he wasn't even going to get a full weekend with Lex because Adina was there. She probably couldn't play pool, either. "That reminds me -- Clark, I have a couple of new email addresses you can contact me through."

"Oh, great," Clark said a little quietly. "Um. Because your LuthorCorp mail's not going through so well. It keeps bouncing."

Lex actually looked sorry, which was good to see. "Yeah, I know. We're going through a... an internal rough spot with LuthorCorp right now." Which translated into 'my father is fucking with me' in Lex terms, as far as Clark knew. Lionel had probably been horrified to meet Adina, or to even learn she existed through spying.

If she was actually human instead of Lex's usual bitch-type choice, it was probably a miracle the man's hair hadn't fallen out and left him as bald as his son.

"So!" Clark said brightly. "How long have you guys been dating?"

"Shy of three months," Lex replied with smooth ease. "Which is why I haven't been in town so much between my working days. Can I assume that Smallville has been admirably maintaining the status quo?"

"Aside from the occasional homicidal outburst, I'd say we're doing just fine." And that wasn't a recrimination for Lex not being there, no, it wasn't.

Okay, maybe it was.

"You have homicidal outbursts here often?" Adina asked, her brows rising in surprise.

"It's part of Smallville's... charm." Lex seemed to decide on that concept at a whim, because there wasn't much about Smallville that was charming. "There's something about the area that produces unstable individuals."

"Lex and Lana are usually their first choice of victim," Clark added, giving Lex a tiny smile.

"And Clark's our usual savior," Lana said with a smile, stopping behind him to hand over his own coffee. "He has a habit of being in the right place at the right time. The sheriff hates him."

"Not that I could ever understand why." Lex caught Clark's tiny smile, returned it somewhat. "He does more to deal with crime in this area than she does, even if it's all accidental. People who want to do good in the world shouldn't be curbed."

"Coming from the second member of the Scooby gang..." Lana teased.

"Ohhh," Adina cooed. "You, too, Lex? I can just see you with a little scarf around your neck..." It was obvious that she was teasing, her fingers reaching up to twirl her own. "I'll be the Daphne to your Fred anytime."

"But without all the tying up?" Clark started to blush the moment the words came out of his mouth.

"I've never liked the tying up part. Or the 'give Luthor a concussion' part," Lex drawled, smirking a little at Adina. "And Lana, well... the staff at Smallville Medical center are on first name terms with her, from her run-ins in this town."

"What can I say? I guess we're just terminally attractive," Lana declared blithely, patting Clark's hand gently as if it let him know that it was all right.

Clark gave a little smile. "At least that's something everybody can agree on, I guess."

"I hope you mean you and Clark, because I'm not terminally anything," Lex denied as he leaned back in his chair. "So, what're your plans for after Smallville High, Lana?"

"Business classes over at Granville Community College," Lana answered easily. "After all, you won't always be here to help me with spreadsheets, so I guess I'll have to start doing them myself."

Lex hadn't asked Clark that same question, so he'd probably eavesdropped on Clark's conversation with Adina; it was something for Clark to think about.

"I don't think you'll have much trouble, Lana. You already have more experience running a business than most of your classmates will." Lex's mouth twitched a little as he looked back to Clark, but it was impossible to tell what he thought was so funny. He looked really happy and mellow just having Adina there. Life... wasn't fair towards Clark.

"So, are you two...?" Adina gestured between Clark and Lana, sitting so close to each other.

"No!" they both insisted loudly, simultaneously. Clark glanced away when Lana gave a pained little smile.

"No," she said. "We tried that, it just. Didn't work out so well. We're much better friends than anything else."

"Yeah," Clark agreed with a little sigh and a smile. "We are."

"Well, I know how that goes..." And with Adina's remark -- and the promise of more conversation along the easy, meandering path -- they settled in with their coffee for catching up and vague getting-to-know Adina.

Clark suspected it would be impossible to ever know her.

The reason it would be impossible to know Adina was, Clark discovered, because just finding her was hell after the yearling. He'd looked into the registrar's lists at Met U. He'd looked everywhere trying to find the faintest sign of an Adina Laettner, and he was losing confidence. Chloe might be able to find her, but then she'd know Clark was looking into her, and he felt a little weird about that idea.

Especially when he'd discovered an Adam Laettner that had just graduated from Met U.

Maybe they were cousins. Or twins. Or some relation, because further searches had brought up the K.O.K fraternity's homepage, and the picture of their most recent president -- Adam Laettner, a man with a broad grin and scruffy stick-in-every-direction dark brown hair.

Clark was glad he hadn't asked Chloe to poke around for him, because she could almost imagine what she'd be saying just then. "They've got to be kin, Clark," he mimicked aloud. "And he looks just like Lex. And come to think of it..." His mimicry stopped. "So does she." That made him frown.

Had Lex given up entirely on humans and just started to date clones? Of himself? There had to be another explanation. Something... more normal, less sinister. Or maybe even more sinister!

Maybe LIONEL had created Lex-clones and manipulated them into adults. Maybe he'd put them into college, a girl and a boy, and maybe he was getting Lex to date one!

...And maybe that was a little far out even for him.

But what could be going on? Adam looked a lot like Lex, and so had Adina. Maybe he could ask while they were playing pool if either of them knew Adam. Guys named Adam... always had something impossibly fucked up going on with them, Clark decided as he flipped through pages again. There was a mention of an Adina at the D.O.G website. Not a mention so much as a picture.

"Hey, Clark. What're you researching?"

He damned near jumped out of his chair. "Uh... Chloe! Hi!" Click, click, click, awaaaay, don't let Chloe see, no, no...

Too late. He was so caught.

"Hey, who's the..." Chloe leaned past Clark a little, hand on his shoulder. "Guy who looks frighteningly like Lex?"

"His name's Adam Laettner. I was actually doing research on Adina, because... well, after the last two..."

"Like you research all of Lana's boyfriends?" Chloe snickered as she pulled a chair up to Clark and his computer. "So... you found an Adam instead of an Adina?"

"Well, there's mention of an Adina at the DOG house. The problem is that there's no registration for an Adina. So how could she have graduated?" Clark asked, bringing the pages up again.

"Well, maybe her real name is something else?" Chloe leaned to bring up another window and start typing. "Have any theories?"

"Only a couple so far out they couldn't possibly be true," Clark admitted with a quirk of his mouth. "I'm getting a whole lot of nowhere."

"I can see that." Chloe sat back and gave Clark a little breathing space before she said. "Maybe Adam's really a girl, or Adina is really a guy? So it's just the one person? Which really doesn't explain the freakish resemblance to Lex, but..."

"But no matter how many crazy theories I come up with about Lionel breeding Lex-clones and trying to manipulate Lex with them, I just can't see that as being the truth," Clark sighed. "So. They're just one. The question is... WHICH one?"

"Hopefully it's not a creepy thing like Ian," Chloe muttered, biting her bottom lip. "I can't really tell. He... it looks a hell of a lot like Lex, though, so I want to say male. Which means that Lex has hooked up with a transvestite? Or a drag queen?"

"Don't say things like that," Clark sighed petulantly. "It makes me nervous, Chloe."

"What, the possible Wall of Weird status, or the drag queen thing?" Chloe asked, eyeing him.

"Both," Clark decided. "I mean, Lex is just meant for women, you know? The gorgeous elegant kind."

"Uh-huh. Well, no matter what gender Adina was... she certainly wasn't gorgeous or elegant. Find me the DOG page again? That's..." Chloe snickered. "A really apt sorority name."

"Hey, who's the feminist in this room again?" Clark asked, both black brows rising sharply. "'cause last I checked..."

"I am," she smirked as she waved his hand towards the keyboard. "But you started it -- I was just agreeing."

"I didn't say Adina was a dog," Clark disagreed. "I just meant... you know. She's not up to Lex's usual standards."

"Which is a slinky super model woman? Clark, just bring up the picture. I didn't really pay much attention yesterday, because... yeah, kind of a shocker."

With a click of the round Mac mouse, the picture pulled up -- Adina, vaguely pretty and smiling brilliantly at some sort of party. "A serious shocker, yeah."

"'The Girls ham it up for photos at the Spring mixer'..." Chloe trailed off as she studied the rest of the picture. "Hey, look at the group of guys standing in the back of the picture. Tell me what you see."

"Besides the girl towering over everybody else?" It was a bad joke. "Um..." Clark looked more closely, leaning close to the screen. "Hey! It's Lex!"

"With a domestic beer in his hand," Chloe added. "So, haul out those twilight zone theories, Clark, because it must be some intense love or fascination or something to get a Luthor to drink domestic beer."

"The best I've got is that Adam-Adina-whatever they are have gotta be Lexclones." Clark moped faintly. "I can't believe he's even drinking beer."

"Lexclones?" Chloe didn't disregard the idea, or at least didn't do it fast enough to soothe Clark's nerves. "Hmn. Why don't we see what kind of history we can find on 'Adam'?"

A brilliant grin crossed Clark's mouth. "Sure thing," he said. "You're the best partner in crime a guy could have, Chloe."

"Yeah yeah -- hand over the keyboard, Woodward," she winked, and scooted her chair over so he'd have no choice but to take a back seat to her doing the research.

"All yours, Bernstein," he agreed, and they shared a smile. That was just the way things were, Clark and Chloe, and in a way, he hoped they'd always be that way.

"Okay, since I skipped out on the coffee shop, tell me what I missed while I hunt."

"We talked about college. Uh, they've been dating three months, she knows a guy named Doof? Something like that? Who took basket weaving and tried to smoke the vines. Says that he's dating one of her sorority sisters." Clark paused to think about it. "She suggested that I go ahead and take a year off if I'm feeling itchy to travel, since going on to college might end up a disaster until I've scratched that."

"Which would conveniently keep you away from Metropolis for at least another year, even if I think it's a good idea, too." Chloe kept typing, but she could touch-type -- and proved it by looking very pointedly at Clark.

"Because you think she's going to do something bad to Lex, like the other ones," Clark clarified. "And he'll need me to save him."

Again, he didn't say.

"Well, maybe it isn't that sinister," Chloe breached. "I mean... she he could be perfectly normal past that... uh, few discrepancies. Everyone else seemed unquestionable until it was too late, right?"

"I guess." Well, no, because Desiree had seemed like trouble from the start, and Helen was just altogether too much. "I don't know, Chloe. I mean, really, there were signs right from the start. We just weren't looking so hard then."

"Oh yeah?" She cocked an eyebrow at Clark. "Be honest now. Desiree was a little creepy, but didn't seem like more than the average money grubber who'd end in a bitter divorce in a year's time. And Helen had the same temper that Lex has."

"Desiree was a lot creepy," Clark corrected. "She kept coming on to me and tried to frame me for blowing up her car," he reminded Chloe. "And, well, Helen. Okay, so maybe you're right about that, but maybe we'd have found inconsistencies if we'd done a little research, you know?"

"Just looking at Adina set off alarm bells for me, no research needed." Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, and sat back. "Mmm, well. Adam Laettner seems to exist -- I managed to find records of his parents."

"Yeah?" Clark leaned forward, gnawing at his bottom lip. "Let's look into them, too, then. Just to be sure." Because no matter how far out the possibility of Adam or Adina being Lexclones was, it needed exploring.

"Right. Let's see how deep this history runs, faked or not," Chloe muttered, and put fingers to keyboard again. "Seriously. Maybe Lex just found a sort of cute guy who likes to dress up like a girl."

That thought seemed to be one that made Clark balk a little. "I just don't see Lex as the kind of guy who'd do that," he frowned.

"Okay. What other reasons can you come up with other than insidious Lex Clones?" She was typing, bringing up pages in different windows to probably compare and eventually show to Clark.

"That's about it," Clark admitted with a sigh. "So I reckon he found a sort of cute guy who likes to dress up like a girl." He shook his head and said, sorrowfully, "You think he... She... You think it can play pool?"

"Why? Did she challenge you to a game?" Chloe asked, pushing her chair back to let Lex look at the screen. "Here, look at what I found. Not a too-deep search, but."

"Huh." Clark paused, biting at the insid