Title: Ethics 101 Chapter One

Author: GothGirl gothgirl1@eol.ca

Fandom: Smallville

Sequel/Series: Chapter one. This has a life of its own and shows no sign of ending any time soon. There will be more for sure.

Pairing: Clark/Lex

Rating: R

Category: alternate universe, angst, first time.

Notes: CLFF wave 10. This time it is about university life. My challenge was class Registration. Thanks to Lola for her encouragement. I dedicate this to you, because you always make me believe that I can do this. A huge thank you to Lola and Alee for doing the beta, and a thank you to coffeejunkii for some advice on the academic things. I'd also like to thank my LJ friends list who answered my questions about schools in the states.

Feedback: Yes please, that would be very nice.

Disclaimer: DC Comics, Warner Brothers, Tollin/Robbins and Millar/Gough Ink own Smallville and its characters. I am just playing.

Summary: Clark needs one signature to get into the ethics class.

~

The ground beneath his feet was soaking wet. At least the rain had stopped. It seemed like every time he set foot on the campus it rained. Maybe he should have taken this as an omen and stayed in bed this morning. Granted this was only his third time here, and the rain had stopped, so maybe it wasn't an omen after all.

Clark walked across the student parking lot. He was sure the dorm room he'd been assigned was the farthest away from the front doors of the media building. Metropolis University was right in the heart of downtown. It felt like Clark had to walk a mile just to get across campus to see one professor. He needed this one last class to round out his curriculum. He was already signed up for this semester's other required courses, but this class was legendary. He really needed to get into this class. Everybody talked about Journalism: Media, Law and Ethics. It was a shot in the dark that Clark would even get in, but he had to try.

Just as he reached the heavy glass doors to the front entrance, a drop of rain splashed onto his cheek. Clark glanced up into the darkening sky and grabbed at the door handle, only to find it wasn't a door handle, it was an arm. Startled by the incongruity, he immediately released the person's arm and stepped away to make room for them.

"Sorry," Clark mumbled under his breath. The innocent bystander glared at him and pushed past Clark, cursing as soon as she saw that it had started to rain again. Clark shook his head and stepped into the building. It was almost six p.m. and he didn't want to be late for office hours. Today was the only day he could do this, since classes started next week. Clark needed the professor's signature to get into the class.

He walked swiftly down the hall. He'd memorized the layout of the building so he knew where he was going. The walls of the wide hallway were a light blue and the floors were tiled in a color a few shades paler than the walls. He knew he was in the right building when he saw the infamous mural Clark had read about. Four years before, a few students had gotten the idea to liven up the boring decor. From that had sprung the media mural. The school calendar had used it for its cover this year. Clark smiled and trailed a finger across the brightly colored images.

He was so preoccupied with the interwoven images of a camera, old fashion typewriter and a laptop (the infamous part was the supposed phallic image hidden in the typewriter) that when he rounded the corner to the media office he wasn't watching where he was going. Before he knew it he suddenly found himself in an unavoidable collision. Papers went flying and a coffee cup, still full, fell to the tiled floor. Coffee splashed all over the black dress shoes the other man wore and Clark's hiking boots.

"Man, I am so sorry." Clark immediately bent down to help pick up the scattered papers. Some of them had fallen into the coffee and he could see ink running in the brown liquid. Clark glanced down at his chest to see that the coffee had also spilled down the front of his red flannel shirt. His eyes went wide. That probably should have burned and Clark probably should have said something like 'Ouch!'

"You should be more careful. These corners can be deadly." His victim knelt down and gathered some of the scattered papers. He sighed as he attempted, without much luck, to stack them into a neat pile.

Clark stared at the man's hands as he concentrated on making a less messy stack out of the wet, crumpled papers. Then his eyes traveled up to the very distinctive bald head. Clark looked into stormy blue eyes and groaned. He finished handing the last of the scattered sheets to the man and they both stood up at the same time, almost knocking heads.

"Sorry," Clark said contritely as he hoped against hope that this wasn't who he thought it was.

"Don't worry about it," was the only response he got. The man stepped around him and continued on his way. Clark turned and watched him enter an office. He looked up at the name plate on the door as it slammed shut. Clark sighed. This was not his lucky day.

It took Clark almost a half hour to gather his courage enough to walk up to the door that had closed. He gently rapped on it. He could hear the curse followed by an invitation to enter on the other side. Clark cringed and turned the knob. He opened the door and smiled into the small room.

Professor Luthor sat behind a cluttered desk, the sodden papers off to one side. Clark glanced around the small room. It looked like all professors' office; cluttered and filled with bookshelves that were stuffed to the brim with books. A laptop sat on one corner of the desk, lid up and humming softly.

Eyes focused on him and the professor sighed. "You already apologized. Are you here to finish the job?"

Clark wanted to run. He'd heard stories about Professor Luthor and how uncompromising he was. "No! No. I just . . ." Clark sighed. "I'm here to talk to you about your class, Professor Luthor."

Professor Luthor's eyes traveled from Clark's eyes to his coffee-stained big grey Kodiak work boots. He smirked and leaned back in his swivel, low-backed office chair. Clark flinched.

"Take a seat," Professor Luthor said as he motioned to a dark brown chair that had been hidden by the door.

Clark quickly closed the door and moved to the chair, promptly knocking a stack of books over. He turned to face the professor, contrition in his eyes. "Sorry, Professor Luthor."

"Please, call me Lex," he said without acknowledging the tumbled books.

"Okay," Clark grinned. All was fine. He hadn't totally screwed things up.

Professor Luthor (because Clark couldn't think of him any other way even if he had insisted Clark call him by his first name) cleared his throat and stared at Clark expectantly.

"Um, I was hoping to get into your Ethics class," Clark said, suddenly nervous. He fiddled with the hem of his red flannel shirt, wishing he'd dressed more sophisticatedly or at least with a bit more care. He knew he screamed 'hick farmer just in from milking the cows'. So far he had yet to see another student or anybody for that matter dressed in flannel and denim on campus. Clark needed some new clothes. Better still, he needed money for those new clothes. He regretted, for the first time since he'd moved his things into his dorm room, not packing his Kal wardrobe. As soon as he had the chance he would correct that oversight.

Professor Luthor quirked his lips, stood, and turned around to retrieve a binder from the shelves behind him. He sat back down in his chair and swiveled it to face the desk. Clark leaned forward as Professor Luthor opened the binder. The list was long.

Professor Luthor's eyes trailed over the student enrolment and he blindly reached out with his hand. "Give me your request form."

Without hesitation, Clark yanked his course list and the request form stapled to it out of his pocket and unfolded them, handing them over. The professor looked up at him. Clark could have sworn the man sneered, but it was over so fast he wasn't a hundred percent sure.

Mr. Luthor set the paper down and smoothed it out with one elegant hand. Clark couldn't help but stare at the pale skin and the perfectly manicured nails. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying desperately to ignore the fact that his still unpredictable alien sense of smell had just kicked in. It did that at the oddest times and inevitably it always had the worse timing.

He could smell that Mr. Luthor had showered with lavender soap, though the strong aroma of coffee almost overpowered the clean scent of water and soap. He could detect the coppery tang of blood. It was so faint Clark wasn't sure where it was coming from. He also detected the distinct aroma of arousal, though that one could be him.

Clark looked up into a confused stare. Had Clark sniffed? He did that sometimes without even thinking. His mom usually smacked him in the shoulder to remind him how rude it looked, not to mention how odd. He was sure he hadn't sniffed, but the way Mr. Luthor was staring at him, Clark wasn't totally positive he'd managed to rein it in.

Clark smiled, hoping he looked innocent.

Professor Luthor looked back down at the paper. As Clark waited patiently the scent of arousal grew stronger. No matter how hard Clark concentrated, he couldn't turn off his smell ability. Speaking of hard . . . Clark groaned.

"Are you alright?"

Clark's eyes went wide and he gulped. He nodded vigorously hoping against hope that he didn't look too guilty. "I'm fine." He continued to nod and begged in his mind for this to be over faster. Maybe taking this class was not such a great idea after all. Professor Luthor smelled so damn good.

"I can fit you into the class. I see that you've taken all the extra curricular courses that I always recommend journalism students take if they really want to be a true journalist."

Clark just smiled, too afraid of what he might say.

Professor Luthor smiled back. He had a really nice smile, and Clark knew he was doomed. The last time he'd noticed somebody's nice smile things had ended badly.

Professor Luthor picked up a pen and signed Clark's request form.

~

The first class of Ethics 101, Clark was forced to sit in the front row. The lecture hall was packed and every seat but a few in the front had been taken. Clark walked down the steps and moved to the front row, choosing an aisle seat. He sat down, pulled his notebook and pen out of his book bag and set them in his lap. When he looked up Professor Luthor had entered the class from the doorway to the left of the front of the auditorium.

Clark noted that the once chattering students fell silent, only a few hushed whispers could be heard in the far back.

Professor Luthor walked to the large wooden desk and set his black briefcase down on one corner. He was dressed in a lavender dress shirt with a black blazer. Clark couldn't stop himself from looking down at the snug fitting blue jeans as Professor Luthor walked around the desk and sat down on the edge of it staring up at the eager, ready-to-learn faces.

Clark gulped. It was going to be a long semester.

"My name is Professor Luthor and this. . ." He held up a piece of paper. ". . . is my enrolment list. If your name isn't on this list please see me after class."

The slam of a door at the back of the lecture hall echoed through the silent room. Clark looked away when Professor Luthor glared at the interruption.

"Sorry. I couldn't find a parking spot and then I had a fight with this guy who tried to take the spot I tried to back into." a female voice said, anxiously.

Clark groaned and sunk low in his seat. This couldn't be happening.

"Please take a seat, Miss . . ." the teacher called out.

"Lane, Lois Lane."

Clark did not turn around. There was no way this was happening. This was a freshman course. Why would she be here?

"Miss Lane, please, join us. There's a seat right up front."

Clark glanced up long enough to see that Professor Luthor had pointed to the seat right beside Clark. He was going to be sick.

"Beside Mr. Kent."

Clark looked up. Lex (for this Clark could call him Lex) had remembered his name. He'd remembered Clark's name. The light flutter in the pit of his stomach took his mind off the fact that Lois was flopping into the seat beside him. Clark turned away from her in the hopes that she wouldn't notice him. The chance that she wouldn't remember him was slim, but Clark could hope.

"As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted by Miss Lane's sad tale. . ." Professor Luthor called attendance and took down the names of students that were not on his list.

"This is the syllabus for the first half of my course which will run for the first semester." Professor Luthor handed a stack of papers to each student in the front row. When he handed a stack to Clark, he smiled down at him. Clark smiled back, turned to hand the papers to the guy behind him, and came face to face with Lois' smug smile. The guy behind him took the stack from Clark, and Clark turned to face forward, pointedly ignoring Lois.

"We will meet here in this lecture hall three times a week. Each class will be one hour in length." Professor Luthor finished handing out the syllabus and walked across the room. "We have a lot to cover for this first class," he said as he walked to the blackboard.

Clark kept his eyes on him, pointedly not looking at Lois. His eyes traveled down to stare at Professor Luthor's ass. The teacher picked up a piece of chalk and reached up to write something on the board. This made his jacket hike up, exposing his cute tight ass. Those jeans had to be illegal. Clark stared as Lex (if Clark was going to stare at his ass he could call him Lex in his mind. Besides, Lex had given Clark permission to call him by his first name) wrote. He watched as Lex's ass cheeks clenched and unclenched. No wonder he was so popular with the students. Clark shook himself out of his trance to find Lois still staring at him.

He glared and leaned in closer to her. "What the hell are you doing here? This is a first year course," Clark whispered.

Lois smirked even harder, if that was possible. With her, anything was possible. She leaned toward Clark and her hair almost touching his forehead. "I skipped it first year and I need it for my degree."

"Can't you take it next year?" Clark bit out more sharply than he'd intended.

"No, I can't," she retorted, slamming her binder down on the tiny desk in front of her. "Relax, Smallville. It's only one course. I promise to stay out of your hair." Lois trailed her eyes down to rest them on Clark's chest. She smirked.

"That's one course too many," Clark hissed. "Next time make sure you sit somewhere else." Clark glared at Lois' knowing stare. He turned back and concentrated on Professor Luthor's lecture.

"I know what you look like naked," Lois taunted in a barely whispered voice.

Clark turned to glare at her. He had to remind himself that incinerating Lois right here on the spot was not an ethical use of his abilities; besides, there would be way too many witnesses. Maybe he could plead temporary insanity.

"I know what you look like dressed like a skanky ho," Clark retorted smugly.

Clark jumped at the sound of Professor Luthor clearing his throat. When he looked up, the professor was standing directly in front of him, staring down at Clark with quizzical blue eyes. He quirked his lips and his eyes traveled from Clark to Lois.

"Could you please take your lover's quarrel outside the class?"

It was going to be a very long semester.

~

Clark was so glad he'd been assigned a single room. There really wasn't any other option what with the possible 'floating in the middle of the night', and waking up half the time to a crushed alarm clock. At first his mother had been concerned that Clark would be lonely, but they had all agreed that the best way to go was no roommate.

Clark lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. So far things had gone well, but it was only the first week, and the prospect of having to see Lois three times a week wasn't exactly an exciting one. At least Clark had been on time for all his classes and that had been a very good start.

He could put up with a little annoyance from what he'd come to refer to as the pain in his ass: Lois. He wanted this to work. The scholarship didn't cover all his expenses, so his parents had to make up the rest. Clark was not going to let them down, no matter what.

Clark flipped onto his left side and groaned when he saw that it was already three AM. He had an eight AM meeting with the student advisor about his scholarship. There was one way to ensure a quick end to his insomnia.

His cock twitched delightedly when he remembered the shape of Lex's ass in those snug-fitting jeans. Clark sighed and rolled onto his back. He tossed the covers aside and tugged open his boxer shorts with one hand and reached down to grab hold of his already hardening cock. Clark stroked himself, savoring the feel of his cool palm on his hot erection.

He could jerk off just so he could drift off, but he was not going to think about his professor. There was some kind of law against that or something wasn't there? Instead he thought about random chests and random images from porn surfing. He pictured two random guys doing it up against a wall. He stroked his dick harder and faster, anxious to get it over with, but he was far from ready to come.

The sense memory hit him like a freight train. As Lex, and surely he could call him Lex in his head, had walked back and forth during his lecture this morning, Clark had catalogued every scent in his head. He catalogued everything from the light scent of cologne to the tang of orange juice. He could tell that Lex had been near somebody who smoked, because the hint of cigarette smoke clung to his jacket. Whoever it was they had rubbed up against Lex.

Clark's cock jumped in his hand as he thought about the most overpowering scent of all. Lex, his professor, had for sure had some kind of sexual encounter that morning. Clark could smell the sharp aroma of sex on him, and it had grown stronger every time Lex had walked past Clark's desk.

Clark had gotten hard at least ten times during the class. He yanked on his cock viciously, imagining pushing Lex up against a wall. He pictured Lex standing there silently, legs spread wide as he gladly took Clark's cock up his ass. Clark imagined that Lex was tight and warm and inviting.

It was more than enough. With a loud grunt Clark shot all over his fist and his belly. He fell back, sweat beading on his upper lip, and wiped his come-stained hand on the bed sheets. "Fuck."

There was only one way to handle this. Clark would have to drop Professor Luthor's class.

~

Two days later, Clark quickly walked down the hall toward Professor Luthor's class. He was determined to make it to class before it started. Today was the last day to drop the course without penalty. When he saw Lois approaching from the opposite direction, he turned the first corner, hoping she hadn't spotted him, but today was not his lucky day. She called out to him even as she chatted with somebody on her ever present cell phone. That girl was married to the thing.

He needed to talk to Professor Luthor before class started. He needed to get away from Lois.

"Clark!" she yelled louder.

Clark stopped and spun to face her. "You don't have to shout," he said coldly, glaring down at her.

Lois grinned up at him as she snapped her cell phone shut. As usual she wore a smug expression. Seeing Clark naked was always going to give her an advantage no matter how many years had passed.

"So, my cousin told me you'd be taking classes here," Lois said as though she were proud of this knowledge.

Clark narrowed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders at the non sequitur. There was no getting around how much Lois bugged Clark. Everything about her bothered him. Especially the way she always managed to get in Clark's face whenever he needed to get somewhere fast.

Clark sighed and walked around her.

Lois spun on her heels and followed him. Luckily her cell phone rang and Lois stopped to answer it. Out of politeness and because his mother had taught him it never pays to be rude, Clark stopped with her.

"Chloe! We were just talking about you." Lois smiled smugly up at Clark.

Clark rolled his eyes and glanced at his watch. Class had already started. Now he wasn't going to be able to get the professor to sign his withdrawal form. He'd have to wait until the end of the class. He showed Lois his watch and motioned with hand signals that he was going to class. Lois barely acknowledged him and kept talking to Chloe on the other end of the line.

Clark marched into class and walked down the steps to take his seat at the front. Almost all the students were already in their seats, and Professor Luthor was writing something on the blackboard. Clark couldn't help but stare at the perfect ass. Lex was wearing faded hip hugging blue jeans with a dark belt this time, and he'd removed his jacket. Clark noted that it sat folded neatly on top of the desk. His white dress shirt was tucked into his jeans. Today he wasn't wearing a tie.

It wasn't fair. Was a teacher allowed to dress so casually and look so damn hot?

Clark pulled out his notebook and started to copy what the professor wrote. It was the definition of Ethics.

Lois chose that moment to come barreling down steps and flop into her seat, elbowing Clark as she jockeyed for a comfortable position in the wooden chair.

"Chloe says hi," Lois almost shouted.

Clark turned and glared, knowing perfectly well that it was a futile gesture. Lois shrugged and pulled her notebook out of her bag.

"Can anybody tell me what the concept of "ethics" means to them?"

Clark turned his attention back to the teacher and vaguely noticed that Lois seemed to be searching for something. She was muttering under her breath, but Clark tuned her out. His eyes followed the teacher as he walked around the desk and stopped right in front of Clark to bend down and pick up a pen that had rolled across the floor.

The strong aroma of coffee and sweat assaulted Clark as he stared at the crouched form in front of him. Clark tried hard not to notice how the jeans Professor Luthor was wearing stretched tightly across his crotch.

"I think this is what you're looking for, Miss Lane." Lex stood and stepped to the left, handing Lois the pen he'd retrieved. He smiled down at her. "It looks like another crisis has been averted." His low voice thrummed through Clark. Professor Luthor was flirting with Lois. This couldn't be happening.

This was totally unfair. Clark could not wait to drop the class.

~

It was so unfair. How could this happen to him?

Clark stood to the side as he waited for Professor Luthor to finish talking to another student. Luckily Clark's next class wasn't for another hour. Although he was really beginning to wish that he hadn't even bothered to stay.

Just as Clark was about to give up, the girl who'd monopolized almost a half hour of the teacher's time finally left. Clark approached Professor Luthor and pulled out the withdrawal sheet.

"What's this?" he asked as he slipped his jacket on. He turned to face Clark and took the form from him. Professor Luthor read the paper and placed his finger on his lip, tapping at it thoughtfully. Clark tried not to stare at the scar that stood out starkly as Professor Luthor pursed his lips.

"I decided to take the course next fall. It clashes with this other thing I have," Clark said as explanation.

Professor Luthor looked up at him and for a second Clark could have sworn he saw astonishment in his expression. Professor Luthor sighed. "No," he said bluntly and handed the paper back to Clark.

Clark was too surprised to do anything but take the sheet back, but he regained his voice quickly. "Wait. You can't refuse to allow me to drop the class."

"If you drop the class now you won't get your money refunded. This course has a no refund policy and you're on a scholarship which means you can't afford to drop . . ."

"Cherry pie," Clark interrupted without thinking. His stupid wacky sense of smell had kicked in. Why did it have to distract him now? Clark concentrated hard and tried to turn it off without any success. Instead the smells grew stronger and his cock hardened. Right in front of his teacher, Clark was getting hard. Professor Luthor smelled like coffee and freshly baked cherry pie. Cherries reminded Clark of home. That was perfect. Think of home and mom and pie and mowing the lawn. Anything but how amazing Professor Luthor smelled, and how this could only lead to bad things.

"Excuse me?" Professor Luthor stared up at Clark with a mixture of confusion and a touch of anger at being interrupted.

"I was thinking we could talk about this over cherry pie," Clark blurted without thinking, and had he actually just asked his teacher out on a date? He hadn't meant to do that. He'd only meant to try to explain his verbal accident. Maybe he could claim sudden loss of control over his own mouth. It happened in Smallville all the time.

Clark cringed and hoped that somebody, anybody would interrupt them right now. He would even welcome an interruption from Lois, who always seemed to be everywhere except now when Clark needed her big mouth most. Even a fire would do. Then Clark could rush off to save somebody in need of saving and not have to explain himself.

"There's nothing to talk about. You can't drop my course. Besides you need it if you want the journalism degree." Lex was eyeing Clark suspiciously as he spoke. Clark couldn't blame him. Even after years of practice he still couldn't tell a convincing lie to cover his own ass.

Clark watched as Professor Luthor walked away from him. He crumpled up the sheet and tossed it in the trash bin. This was going to suck in a major way.

"How did you know I'm on a scholarship?" Clark called out just as Professor Luthor was about to leave the room.

Professor Luthor turned and smiled. "I'm an investigator, Mr. Kent. Maybe you should try it. You'd be amazed at what you can discover." He paused as Clark pondered this. "I make it a point to look at all my new students' files." Lex shrugged and how was it possible for him to look so hot when all he did was shrug? "Besides, I have nothing better to do on a Saturday night." With those parting words Lex exited the room.

Clark watched him disappear. He scratched his head. Had Professor Luthor just flirted with him? Had he just told Clark that he was single and available? It wasn't possible. During that one class, Clark distinctly remembered the lingering scent of sex wafting from his teacher.

Unless Professor Luthor got his sex the same way Clark got sex. Clark groaned. Why did his mind have to go there?

~

That weekend Clark went home to visit his parents. He hadn't seen them in over two weeks and he was overdue for a visit. Besides he needed to bring a few things back to Metropolis with him. He was happy to escape from the noise and pollution of the city, even if it was for only a few days. Clark had only lived in Metropolis a few months, and although he enjoyed the convenience of being able to walk down the street for just about anything he could want, he still hadn't gotten used to the noise or the smells.

It was Friday night and Clark walked across campus headed for the Fiddler, an off campus pub. He'd had a great day already. Things couldn't have gone better. Lois hadn't been in class and Professor Luthor (Clark was trying to train himself to call him that even in his head for fear that he would suddenly address his teacher by his first name in the middle of a class. Just the other day, Clark had almost called him Lex and even though he hadn't actually said Lex, Clark had still blushed) had worn this long-sleeved dark blue dress shirt that Clark had imagined was very soft. He'd resisted x-raying through the shirt to get a quick sneak peek at his professor's hidden assets.

Clark smiled confidently and straightened his black short-sleeved dress shirt. The last time he'd worn it was right after that summer of Kal. The first of two summers where Clark had spent time trapped in what he'd come to call his dark side.

He'd managed to sneak all his Kal clothes back to the city without his parents noticing. His mother would never have stood for Clark bringing those clothes with him let alone wearing them in public, although he had worn the black jeans throughout his last year of high school. They'd cost way too much to tuck away in the back of a closet. Now they were all stretched out and they hugged Clark's ass in all the right places. He'd had to take his leather belt in a few notches. Somehow, in the last year he'd lost weight.

Clark entered the pub and smiled at the smell of greasy pub fare. That was one smell he never got tired of. He was supposed to meet Chloe tonight and play catch-up. Clark had managed to dodge her for the last month. Just before school had started she'd asked him again if he felt that way about her and again he'd had to say that he didn't share her feelings. He hadn't even realized that years later she still held strong emotions for him. It seemed as though this was one thing that was never going to change. He only wished there was something he could do or something he could say to help her move on.

He'd told her that Lana was not the reason at all why he didn't share Chloe's feelings. Chloe had pouted and looked up at Clark with that cute little way she had, and sighed with a shake of her head. No matter how hard Clark had insisted that Lana was not the object of his affection, Chloe refused to believe it. Clark had gone to the airport to see Lana off when she'd left for Paris a few years ago, wanting nothing more than to wish her well. But Chloe still refused to believe that he'd put Lana behind him.

Clark stopped at the sign that read "please wait to be seated". He'd already been to this pub a few times, thanks to Pete's insistence that they needed to scope out all possible babe hangouts. Pete had been right about the babe hangout part. There he was, Clark's own personal babe: head lowered, face in a book, sitting at a corner table, alone. The sleeves of his dark maroon shirt were rolled at the cuffs to expose Professor Luthor's slender but well-muscled lower arms. His long black denim-clad legs were crossed. Soft lighting fell across his delicate facial features. He looked beyond hot, and Clark was going to have wet dreams on the spot if he didn't look away.

Clark snapped his jaw shut and glanced around the dimly lit main area. To his left, two students sat at the bar, shouting at the television screen, which was tuned to a football game. On the right patrons filled tables and booths, mostly in pairs.

Clark spotted Chloe sitting in one of the booths near the back of the room and waved just as the waitress approached him. He smiled at the pretty dark-haired girl and motioned that he would join his friend. Clark gulped as he walked over to where Chloe sat, his eyes on Professor Luthor, begging him in his mind to look up and smile. Of course he didn't, and when Clark turned to smile at Chloe he stopped and sighed with exasperation. He should have known.

"Hi!" a very cheerful and enthusiastic Lois waved up at him. She was sitting across from Chloe and Clark been too distracted to notice her at first. He stepped over to where Chloe sat and slid in the booth beside her. He could either sit beside Lois and get elbowed every five seconds, or sit across from her and have to look at Lois. At least if he sat beside Chloe he wouldn't have to worry about bruising anybody.

Unfortunately, from where Clark sat, he couldn't see Professor Luthor.

Chloe slid over, giving Clark more room. She was so much more accommodating than her cousin.

"Hi," Clark grumbled. He slouched in his seat and placed his elbows on the table. The booth was not made for six foot three aliens with extra long arms and legs. Clark felt crowded, but he slouched anyway just because he knew it would annoy Lois.

Lois smirked and lifted her arm to flag down the waiter.

"We already ordered," Chloe explained as she held up her ice tea. Lois smiled and sipped her coffee.

Clark glanced up at their server, who smiled down at him with pen and pad in hand.

"What can I do you for?" he asked happily.

Clark flinched when somebody's foot connected with his shin. He glared across the table at Lois, who smiled sweetly.

"You need more time? I can come back in a few," the waiter was saying.

Clark looked back up at him. "I'll just have a large coke and a basket of fries." He didn't have much cash on him tonight. The waiter scribbled furiously and rushed off in the opposite direction. Clark spun around and watched him leave. As soon as the waiter was out of sight, Clark could see Professor Luthor just ten feet away from them. He hadn't realized how close his table was.

Professor Luthor still had his head lowered. With one hand he stroked his bottom lip thoughtfully as he read, and with the other he reached across the table to the half eaten basket of fries. They'd ordered the same thing. Clark's heart skipped a beat.

"Look who it is, Clark." Lois yelled and pointed right at Professor Luthor. "It's Professor Luthor."

Professor Luthor looked up and glanced around the room and his eyes locked on Clark. Heart pounding in his chest at having been caught staring, Clark could only smile and wave. Professor Luthor quirked his perfect lips and lowered his head but not his eyes. His eyes were firmly locked on Clark.

Clark spun around and cleared his throat, not even bothering to glare at Lois.

Both Chloe and Lois were still staring at Clark when the waiter set two plates down. Lois had ordered nachos with salsa and Chloe had ordered a salad with fried mozzarella sticks. He set a coke down in front of Clark and rushed off.

Clark slid the drink across the table and sucked on the straw. He glanced up just as Lois shoved a handful of nachos into her mouth. Lois had no manners whatsoever.

"God! I am starved," she said, as if the way she was wolfing down her meal didn't already speak volumes.

Chloe laughed and popped a mozzarella stick into his own mouth.

"As I was saying before," Lois said, licking her fingers, "there's this guy in Mr. Grant's class who. . ."

Clark knew it was rude, but he did it anyway. He tuned Lois out. Instead of paying attention to her banter, he leaned back in his seat and tuned his hearing to the table ten feet away. He concentrated on Professor Luthor's heart, and then on his breathing. Clark shifted in his seat when his cock twitched in his pants. He knew what he was jerking off to tonight.

When his order arrived, he turned his attention back to his friends. To his surprise he actually enjoyed himself as they ate and discussed the merits of student parking. Lois had been fighting with another student for a week now over a spot. Every morning she parked in the same spot and every morning the same student, some guy named David, would ask her to move her car. So far Lois had not given in once.

Clark occasionally glanced over at Professor Luthor's table. He used almost every excuse he could think of to look over in his direction. A few times Chloe frowned at him but then she was laughing at another one of Lois' lame jokes.

Inevitably, after the third coke, Clark had to use the bathroom and the path on the way there took him right past his teacher's table.

Clark excused himself and slowly walked past the table. He stopped, unsure of whether to say hello now or on the way back from the toilet. But it was too late. Professor Luthor had already looked up from his book.

"Clark, hello," he said in a deep, sexy, melt-your-knees voice.

Clark almost choked but managed to smile. "Hi, Professor Luthor."

He smiled up at Clark. "Please, Clark, call me Lex."

"Lex," Clark smiled and nodded. He stood, staring, unsure of what to say next. "Um, I really enjoyed your lecture this week," Clark said, sounding totally lame and totally kissing ass. Clark mentally kicked himself.

"Thank you," Lex smiled, and Clark glanced down at the book that had taken up all of Lex's attention. He could ask about the book. Maybe it was something Clark should be reading. Clark could get a copy and read it and then they would have something to talk about.

Lex held the book up for Clark to see. It was a hardcover of Aristotle's poetics. Clark smiled politely. He hated poetry.

"Well, I better go," Clark said. His brain told his legs to move but his legs were rebelling.

"See you in class, Clark," Lex said even as he turned his attention back to his book.

Clark continued on his way, making a quick exit from that disastrous moment. If there was a show about Clark Kent's top ten crash and burns of all time, this moment would be right up there. In fact it might even make it to number one.

He rushed to the bathroom and quickly took care of business. He needed to get out of this place and he needed to get out fast. Lex was definitely not interested in Clark. The little smiles in class and what Clark had thought were flirtatious glances were all in Clark's stupid alien brain imagination.

"Idiot, lame ass," Clark cursed under his breath as he walked back to his table. "Next time get real," he muttered.

"Truer words were never spoke," Lois piped up. She was gathering her coat, scarf and bag. Chloe was standing as well ready to leave.

"We need to run, Clark," Chloe said with a quick glance up at him. "I already paid the bill, including yours." She slung her long dark pink knit scarf around her throat, hitting Clark in the face. Clark frowned when he noticed that Chloe looked almost angry. What had he done wrong this time?

"Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a night for us to hang," Clark called out as Chloe walked past Lois and headed for the exit.

Lois glared at Clark. "You are so clueless." She shook her head and spun on her heels, following Chloe out into the night.

Clark sighed with exasperation. No matter how hard he tried, he would never figure Chloe or Lois out.

~

The next two weeks were hell. Clark had four major assignments. One of them was for his ethics class. It was only supposed to be a rough draft, but he'd gotten carried away and written more than a rough draft. Luckily he didn't need as much sleep as other people. He'd already pulled three all-nighters in a row. Spots had danced before his eyes this morning when he'd stood up too fast. He'd been way too busy to do or think of anything else but school for the last week. His late nights were threatening to become twenty-four hour days without any sleep at all. It was amazing how all his teachers picked the same day for assignments to be due.

Clark had woken this morning after only five hours sleep. He'd barely run a hand through his hair before heading out the door for his editing class. That class had been extremely boring. For the first time in a long time Clark thought he actually may have fallen asleep sitting up and with his eyes open. He barely remembered what the teacher had said. Chloe had been right; Mr. Brinks had a droning voice.

Now he was on his way to Professor Luthor's office with his paper, and inevitably Clark ran into Lois. This seemed to be happening with more and more frequency and it seemed as though Lois always caught him when he was not at his best. Today was no exception. She jumped out from behind a vending machine and slammed him in the chest with her text book. Clark did not stifle his groan of displease at the ambush. They were two feet away from Professor Luthor's office door, which Clark could see was open. Light spilled out into the hallway from inside. The professor was holding office hours, but they would end soon. Clark leaned against the wall and cringed. Why now? Why did Lois have to pick now?

For the last few weeks Clark had smiled and done almost anything to get his professor's attention. He'd even overtly flirted with him one day last week when the rest of the class had shuffled out to their next subject. Clark thought for sure that he was transmitting on a signal Lex could hear loud and clear, only so far Lex had not given any sign that he was receiving.

Last week Clark must have jerked off at least three times a night. It was starting to get beyond the point of frustration. He hadn't had sex in so long; Clark couldn't even remember the name of the last guy he'd slept with.

"Lois! What the hell!" he exclaimed, stepping back to make sure to deflect some of the blow.

"You are the biggest jerk in the history of jerks," Lois railed, as she wagged a finger in Clark's face.

Clark gripped Lois' shoulders and pulled her away from the nearby doorway. Hopefully Lex hadn't heard the noise. Of course Clark could also hope that it would never snow again and get just about the same results.

"Keep it down," he said, trying to inject as much urgency in his tone as he could so that she might actually listen to him.

"What?" Lois crinkled her brow and made that 'I am totally annoyed with you' face she always seemed to make only when she was in Clark's presence. "It's not like this is a library, Smallville." Lois smirked when she looked in the direction of Professor Luthor's office. "Is your boyfriend waiting for you?"

Clark couldn't have stopped his shocked reaction if he tried. Wide-eyed, he looked to make sure nobody had come out into the hallway to investigate the commotion.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he denied. Denial was easy for Clark now. It was like an old friend.

Lois placed one hand on her tilted hips and glared up at Clark. "Please, you are so transparent." Lois barked. "Well, at least you are now," she added with a mutter. "I should have known you were gay, Clark. It's so obvious. The way you pushed every girl away who ever tried to touch you. The way you could never get it together enough to actually date Lana or Chloe." Lois grew thoughtful and she lifted a finger to her lips, tapping them. "Come to think of it, Chloe told me that almost every time you two kissed she noticed you were never actually into it. I remember one time when she was visiting me in the city, back when she lived in Hicksville, she told me that . . ."

"Lois!" Clark grabbed her shoulders again and resisted the urge to shake her until her teeth fell out or until she shut up completely.

"What?" Lois snapped back to reality and smiled up at Clark. She looked so smug and Clark just wanted her gone for good. He glanced over to see that the door to Professor Luthor's office had closed. Clark cursed under his breath.

"This is not the best time," Clark started to say. He wasn't even going to bother denying anything at this point. He glanced back down at her and shifted his notebook from one hand to the other then looked at his watch and cursed again.

"Whoa, Smallville, take a chill pill. It's not like he's not going to be there tomorrow." Lois smiled. "Besides you are totally barking up the wrong tree. I checked our professor out. He keeps to himself and he's only ever dated girls."

Clark was sure Lois had resisted the urge to stick out her tongue. In fact he was so sure that she was going to stick out her tongue in triumph that he stared down at her, waiting for the moment. It never happened, but the way she spun on her heels and waltz away with a sway of her hips, she might as well have stuck out her tongue.

Clark watched her leave and sighed. He would have to return later in the week to hand in his paper. It wasn't that big a deal, since technically it wasn't due until Friday, but Clark didn't have Ethics class today and this was his own chance to see Lex.

~

The rest of the week went by so fast Clark wasn't sure what he'd done. By Friday he had handed in all his assignments except the one for Professor Luthor's class. He'd left that one for last. Clark resisted the urge to super speed to Professor Luthor's office in order to avoid another Lois confrontation. After that tête-à-tête in the hallway, he had gotten odd stares from Chloe the next time he'd seen her. Every meeting since then she seemed to be waiting for something. Lois had probably told Chloe what she suspected. There was no way she'd keep her big mouth shut.

Clark walked past the small campus coffee shop and stopped when he saw a familiar figure inside. Lex was at the condiments rack, stirring a cup of coffee. He had his black leather satchel tucked under one arm and wore in-ear headphones. He was also in a dark suit. This was the first time Clark had ever seen Lex in anything but casual wear. He glanced up and down the length of Lex's body. Lex looked good no matter what he wore.

Clark stood just outside the entrance only a few feet away Lex, since the shop was so tiny. It only had a few tables inside. Most of the seating was out in the student common area.

Clark debated whether to go in and pretend an accidental meeting when Lex suddenly turned around, coffee in hand. All of his concentration was on his coffee and if Clark didn't do something fast they were going to have a repeat of their first meeting.

Clark looked around quickly and reached out to grasp Lex's arms to prevent a collision. He couldn't avoid stepping right into Lex's personal space and the scent of coffee and soap wafted up to Clark's nose. This time Clark wanted his special sense of smell to work. He turned it on and inhaled every scent that Lex had to offer. Clark was hard instantly. Luckily he had worn his long red flannel shirt. It covered up any sin or transgression. This was one transgression that Clark was more than willing to repeat over and over again.

Lex stopped in his path with a startled jerk and looked up into Clark's eyes. This time his coffee had survived and not a drop had spilled. Lex tugged the headphone out of his left ear as Clark released his arms. Clark stood his ground, forcing Lex to look up at him. This close, Clark could see the flecks of blue and gray in Lex's eyes.

"Thanks. I didn't see you there," Lex said.

Clark grinned. He was sure he looked like a fool but he didn't care. "No problem," was all Clark's addled brain could come up with. He stood like a dork, waiting for Lex to say something but really what could he say to that response?

"Well, I have to get to office hours," Lex finally replied after a long pause. He gestured with one hand as Clark stood grinning down at him, caught in the depths of Lex's gaze. Lex had to feel what Clark was feeling. The sensation was so strong, Clark was sure visible sparks danced around them.

"Oh," Clark snapped back to the real world, realizing that Lex couldn't get past him since he was blocking the narrow entrance. "Sorry, sir," he added as he stepped aside.

Lex walked past him, but then turned back to face Clark. "See you around," Lex said as he tugged the other earphone out. The headphones hung around his neck. Clark stared down at them, fleetingly envious that they got to touch Lex. For Clark, touching Lex's jacket covered arms didn't count. He wanted to touch skin and he was sure that Lex's skin was soft. So many nights Clark had jerked off to thoughts of touching Lex.

"This is a coincidence because I was just on my way to your office," Clark smiled and fell in beside Lex, ready to follow. "If you have some time maybe you could look it over now." Clark was ready to follow Lex anywhere.

Lex stared at him for what seemed like an eternity, and then he finally shook his head. "Sure." He smiled and Clark's knees almost gave out right there on the spot, but somehow he managed not to faint. "Didn't you want to get a coffee?"

Clark adjusted his shoulder bag. "Not really," Clark said with a bright grin. Lex was so picking up his signals.

~

Lex closed the office door behind them and removed his suit jacket, hanging it on the hook on the back of the door. Clark sat down in the seat in front of the desk and set his shoulder bag down by his feet. He retrieved his paper and sat up straight, waiting for Lex to take his seat. He resisted the urge to turn and look. Lex would be sitting down soon enough and Clark would see him up close and personal. The room was so small and intimate. The only thing that killed the intimacy was the bright fluorescent lights. It wasn't exactly romantic lighting.

Clark glanced up at the light fixture, and wondered if Lex would get suspicious if the lights suddenly went out.

He smiled at Lex as he sat down behind his desk. His pale blue dress shirt was perfectly pressed and the black tie begged to be used for other things. Clark imagined Lex's pale bare arms above his head, the tie firmly wrapped around Lex's wrists. His mouth went dry and he gulped and cleared his throat. For some reason Clark just knew that Lex would look incredible naked and spread out on the white cotton sheets of his bed.

Lex reached out and took Clark's paper from him. Clark stared as he caught a glimpse of Lex's wrist. The watch Lex wore flashed in the glare of the lights.

"Thank you, Clark," Lex said. He looked it over briefly. "This seems much more in depth than a rough draft." Lex set the paper down on a stack of other papers and stared at Clark expectantly. "I'll look it over on the weekend."

Clark could only stare back dumbly unsure what was supposed to happen next. He knew what he wanted to have happen next. Clark ran every scenario in his mind a thousand times. Maybe Lois was right. Maybe Lex wasn't at all into guys. The way Lex stared at Clark right now said nothing at all beyond 'why are you still here?'

Clark cleared his throat and stood up, the chair almost tipping over. He managed to catch it in time before the backrest hit the stack of books Lex must have restacked since the last time Clark had bumbled his way through his office.

"I guess I better go," Clark said, sudden nervous apprehension filled him with a panicked feeling that he was in way over his head and that this would only ever be a one-sided love affair. That was fine with Clark. He was used to one-sided relationships. After all, that was what he'd carried on with Lana for years before he'd finally come to the realization that Lana didn't at all reciprocate his feelings. Lana had only wanted somebody to worship her, and Clark had been convenient.

"I'll see you in class," Lex said with a smile. Nothing in his tone or his body language said he wanted Clark to stick around.

Clark stalled and slowly bent to pick up his shoulder bag. He looked away from Lex and tried desperately not to pout as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Lois was totally right and he hated her right now more than he had ever hated anybody else in his life.

Lex stood and walked around his desk just as Clark was about to open the door. Clark's heart pounded in his chest as Lex swung his hips in that beyond sexy way that had captivated him all semester. Many times in class Clark had been unable to take his eyes off of those hips. He'd gone back to his dorm room immediately after those classes and jerked off violently, biting on his fist to stop himself from crying out Lex's name.

Lex was going to stop Clark from leaving and confess his undying love right here in this office. Clark suddenly loved this office, and if something happened right now he'd apply to the Historic Preservation Society to have the room declared a historical landmark.

Lex tucked one hand in his pants pocket. The fabric of his dress pants stretched across his groin. Clark's eyes couldn't focus on anything else and Lex was still walking toward him. Lex was reaching out to grab Clark and he was going to pull Clark into a kiss to end all kisses.

Clark leaned forward and grabbed at Lex's shirt, pulling him in before Lex could finish his motion. He sealed his lips around Lex's open mouth and plunged his tongue deep into the hotness. Their bodies collided and Clark wrapped his free arm around Lex's waist to steady them. He pulled Lex in close, pushing his leg between Lex's thighs. Lex was hot, burning with lust and desire. Their tongues danced and Lex moaned, his hands gripping Clark's shoulders, pulling Clark in closer.

Only Lex wasn't pulling Clark in. One of his hands smacked at Clark's left shoulder and Lex twisted their mouths apart.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lex cried out in shock. Clark looked down at the red, kiss-bruised mouth. The scar on Lex's upper lip stood out angry and dark. It looked almost like it was bleeding.

Wide-eyed Clark almost jumped away, releasing Lex from his grip. Lex stumbled back before regaining his footing. "I thought . . ." Clark gulped and stared stunned as Lex swiped a hand over his own mouth. Was that disgust in Lex's eyes?

Clark started to shake, all words escaped him. He was sure Lex had been reaching out to grab him. He was sure of it.

"Please leave my office right now," Lex said coldly. Clark felt sick. It was the same feeling he got when he was near kryptonite only worse.

"I'm . . . I thought . . ."

"I was reaching for the doorknob," Lex said bluntly. A heavy silence fell between them.

Clark nodded stupidly. Of course he was. What the hell had Clark been thinking? There was no way in hell somebody as sophisticated as Lex would ever want somebody like Clark.

"I won't say anything to anybody about this incident," Lex said breaking the uncomfortable silence. Lex's eyes softened and Clark looked away, unable to take the piteous stare.

Clark nodded again staring down at his own boots. There was no way he could look Lex in the eyes again. There was just no way.

"You have to know that our relationship can only ever remain as student and teacher," Lex was saying. Clark's body went numb. Our relationship? Did Lex just say our relationship?

Then before Clark could say a word Lex was opening the door to the office, standing silently, and waiting.

Clark rushed out without looking up, too ashamed, embarrassed and humiliated to even lift his head. As soon as he cleared the doorway it slammed shut behind him. Clark stopped with his back to the door. Finally he lifted his head and looked around at an empty hallway.

Lex had practically thrown him out of his office, but at least he wasn't going to tell anybody about how much of a fool Clark had made of himself.

Lex had told Clark that their relationship had to remain as teacher and student, but before he'd pushed Clark away he'd kissed Clark back. His mouth had moved against Clark's mouth and Lex's tongue had danced with Clark's tongue. Clark reached up and touched his lips. They still tingled from the contact and he could taste the coffee Lex had drunk. Clark reached down and rubbed the spot on his thigh where Lex's matching hard-on had pushed up against Clark's leg.

Clark's cock was hardening again at the thought of that searing kiss. Even if nothing happened between them ever again, Clark had jerk-off fantasies to last at least another semester.

The best part was that Lex wasn't going to tell anybody about what had happened, and Clark wouldn't have to explain to his parents why he'd been brought before the ethics committee . . . for making a pass at his Ethics teacher. The irony was not lost on him. Clark breathed a sigh of relief as he exited the building.

Outside it looked like rain, and as Clark walked across the busy parking lot, students rushing to get to their own destinations, the first drop hit Clark on the cheek.

Clark turned his face up to the sky and smiled wistfully as rain started to fall. He caught a glimpse of something to his left and up high. When he turned to look, Clark saw him in a third story window. Lex stood, staring out, one hand held the curtain aside. Their eyes locked for a brief second and, though Lex was so far away, Clark swore he saw longing in Lex's gaze. Just as the curtain fell back into place, Clark smiled. Maybe he was totally wrong and this one-sided affair wasn't as one-sided as Clark thought.

End