Title: Smallville
Author: Veronica (or Stely)
Rating: R
Category: Big AU (well sort of), First Time, Romance
Pairing: Big Guess there. 
Summary: Adapt your favorite movie/play into CLexy goodness
Disclaimer: They're not mine, but oh how I wish they were.
Author's Note: My second attempt, hope you like. Barely finished so
I'll probably revise it and have it beta-ed again before I post it
anywhere else.
Feedback: Verob2002@msn.com

Thank you Cyndi for taking on this daunting attempt at betaing all this for me (it's more like a last minute rescue mission before everything gets blown to hell). I don't know if it'll be completely successful, but I appreciate the effort.

 "Hey, come on Clark if you moved any slower you'd be extinct."

Pete Ross jumped over his foster parent's couch and landed with plop on the soft, cushy, bluish-green fabric. Clark Kent took the time to walk around the couch and hand the black teenager beside him a huge bowl of popcorn. Pete clapped his hands together and rubbed them in anticipation. "Hey, Clark, t-minus 15 minutes and counting to the Smallville marathon. I can't wait."

Clark smirked, "I can tell."

Pete just rolled his eyes at Clark,"Excuse me, but I'm not the only excited about this and you know it."

Clark smiled sheepishly and relented, "Yeah, you're right."

The WB was going to show all 66 episodes from the last three seasons during the Fourth of July weekend. This included interviews with the cast and crew and an intermission with a live Fireworks display in Vancouver where the show was filmed.

"You're just excited that Michael Rosenbaum is making a guest appearance, aren't you?"

"Am not."

"Oh, come on, you're gonna tell me you're not looking forward to seeing the guy whose made you question your sexual orientation."

"Shut up, just because I confided in you that I read slash and that I thought it would be cool if Marc and Lex became a couple doesn't mean I'm gay or 'questioning my sexual orientation.'"

"Whatever man, you're the one in denial."

"Okay, I'll admit, I find Lex attractive, but he's the only guy I've ever thought about that way."

Pete paused and then looked at Clark in mock seriousness, "Wow, Clark I think we've made a breakthrough here. Oh, shit, get the blue notepad on the counter over there for me."

Clark was puzzled by the non sequitur comment."Why?"

"Duh, the Smallville sweepstakes questions. The next three are shown after the end of the third episode."

"Oh, yeah." Clark got up walked to the kitchen and brought back the phone and notepad.

Clark handed Pete the notepad, walked past Pete and plopped down on the armchair chair beside the couch. "Hey, Pete I'm gonna order the pizza already."

"Sure...hey, can you imagine it...a walk on role on Smallville?"

"I don't have to you're an encyclopedia when it comes to that show. I have no doubt you'll win."

"Aw, shucks Clark do' ya really think so?" Pete made a girly play of batting his eye lashes at Clark and leaning to one side with his hands cupped together in a winsome manner. Clark laughed at the display that reminded him of the Looney Toon's episodes where Bugs Bunny dressed up as a girl to evade and usually humiliate one Elmer Fudd.

"You are full of it Pete. You know that don't you?"

Pete pointed at the kitchen, "Just make the phone call."  After Clark had ordered the pizza, Clark came back into the living room and sat back down. Pete was scribbling something down. Clark sat there for a second, then chuckled to himself. Pete looked up at him with a puzzled look on his face, "What's so funny?"

"I was just remembering how Katie, Lauren, Cyndi, Jake, and the Schribners all left wearing bright purple shirts and caps and matching khakis." The Schribners were Pete and Clark's foster parents and the four other kids were also their foster children. They were all heading out to Grant Park to see the fireworks display over Lake Michigan.

The Schribners let them stay because they knew their two oldest were obsessed with Smallville and wouldn't have spoken to them for weeks if they had made Pete and Clark miss the show.

Pete and Clark had both been living with the Schribners close to three years. Clark moved in after his parent's died in a freak smelting accident, or at least that's what he told people...they had died in a car accident when he was fourteen. His only living relatives were his eighty year old great aunt and her husband. They weren't prepared or inclined to look after a precocious teenager ripe and ready to rebel against authority figures. However, the prophecy his great aunt made about him really didn't come to pass. He became introvert more than anything else. Devoted his time to hobbies and keeping to himself. Clark was lucky he ended up with the Scribners. They were decent people and encouraged his hobbies, but that didn't stop him from giving them a hard time when he first moved in.

Pete lived in Berwyn with his grandmother until she passed away. She had raised him and after she died, he had no where to go. Pete adored his grandmother and you could tell she'd raised him well. He was always polite to his foster parents, was never caught doing anything wrong, and the Scribner's never felt there was a problem he couldn't handle, but just because he never got caught doing anything wrong didn't mean he never did anything he wasn't suppose to...

Clark and Pete became fast friends. Their (Clark's parents/Pete's grandmother) caretakers raised them in a similar manner. They were both the same age, they had both attended the same junior high, and now the same high school, Jacqueline Vaughn High School in Jefferson Park. They both liked playing baseball, football, and had many of the same interest like comic books and astronomy, but their first shared interest was the show Smallville.

They had a blast watching the show together. They debated whether the show benefited from the 'no tights, no flights' rule the show's creators had imposed, discussed the show's ultimate destination, character strengths/flaws and miscellaneous stuff. They often made fun of the gay subtext and laughed their asses off when Lex would gaze intensely at Marc and say,'If you need me, I'm there.' They compared the show with the X-Files because sometimes it was just too funny that some people never stayed dead. Case in point, Whitney Fordman.

Mid-third season Whitney came back. His body was never found in Indonesia, but they made it seem so unlikely he survived that everyone just presumed he was dead. He was now nicknamed Cigarette Smoking Whit-Man by both teenagers.

Both Pete and Clark had been fans of the Superman comic books and movies, but what pre-teen adolescent boy wouldn't? Marc K. Jent, alien son of Jor El, last son of Krypton, super powered being that gets a wicked high from our yellow sun, mild-mannered reporter and savior of Metropolis to boot.

Pete was immersed in his notes, but took a second to look at the television screen to check if the marathon had started yet. Pete proceeded to immediately begin salivating over Kristin Kreuk's promotional commercial for Smallville, and growled silently when he saw her standing next to Thomas Biggs. He was the guy cast as Mark Jent and was looking smug and cocky holding Kristen in his arms. Pete had had a huge crush on Lana Lang since the beginning of the show, and he hated Thomas Biggs. On the show, he played the innocent Marc Jent, respectful to his parents, sweet, honest to a fault, and best friend to Lex Luther, but in real life the guy was an arrogant, womanizing, self-serving bastard. He often clashed with the cast if he thought some other actor was getting more air time than he was and didn't mind letting anyone know it either. Pete generally liked the character Marc Jent, and the actors that played him, but this actor just grated on his nerves. Pete mentally shook himself from this train of thought. The marathon was about to start.

Clark and Pete heard the tale-tell theme song and immediately put everything away out of sight and out of mind to give the television their full attention. Their hearts racing, blood rushing so fast through their bodies that their temples were throbbing, and their breathing becoming increasingly erratic...the boys were going through the change. The exact change they made every time they sat down to watch the show...The Hulk didn't have anything on them.

Speaking of the Hulk, here came Thomas Biggs. The preshow with the interviews of the cast and crew was kicking off, and Thomas was their first interviewee. He was brought out onto the large outdoor stage with hundreds of screaming fans all there to watch the preshow and then fireworks display. This guy was Lou Ferrigno big. He reminded Clark of the guys he saw weight lifting 250 in a g-string at the outdoor gyms on Lake Shore Drive. He was buff to say the least, a thick neck, massive biceps and thighs. The show exploited these attributes as much as possible by showing Thomas off in ripped shirts and pants a la Captain Kirk. This habit was explained away as an unforttunate consequence of Marc's frequent battles with the Smallville's latest mutant baddies. His lips looked soft, but something about them reminded Clark of stuffed sausages and his eyes were a pretty dark brown, but the actor's personality marred them giving them a beady appearance. He had a strong chin that jutted outward and cleft in it that made him look like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. With a full, oval face, primped up stylized hair, dark tan, and GQ apparel, Thomas was strutted his stuff as he approached the guest host, shook his hand, and took his seat in the first of ten empty chairs on stage.

The guy was a prima donna. He tended to opt for melodrama on the show so his performance was mediocre by actor's standards, but the guy was loved by hundreds upon thousands of screaming teenage girls that hung his poster on their bedroom walls.

"Clark, you know man, I really don't like that dude...I mean I love Lex, well not as much as you..." Pete chuckled" and dam I love Lana, and the show as a whole, and that is the only reason I would willingly watch any show with that butt head starring in it."

Clark responded lamely, "Yeah, I know what you mean. The guy's a jackass"

Pete and Clark willingly blocked most of what Thomas was saying, and stayed like that until they introduced Kristen Kreuk. Needless to say, both Pete and Pete Jr. stood at attention when she was introduced and nothing going on around him registered as he watched Kristen give her interview.

When it was time for Michael Rosenbaum's interview, Pete got out of his Kristen induced catatonia to realize that the pizza had gotten there quite a while ago now that it was lukewarm and have eaten.

Aw, there he was, the object of Clark's affection. Well, more specifically the maker of his object of affection, if that makes any sense. Even though Michael was the blueprint, he wasn't exactly Lex Luther. His dark, raven black hair was in a late Black Hawk down, early Jim Morrison stage of growth so he didn't set Clark's heart thunderously throbbing like it would've had he been completely bald. It wasn't like he couldn't distinguish between the actor or the character, after all, he wasn't going to go out and write his own version of "David Duchovney, why don't you love me?" by erasing Duchovney's name and inserting Michael Rosenbaum.

Lex's character fascinated Clark. He action's were ambiguous, but could be interpreted as evil, and yet, it was pretty easy to justify his actions like during the episode Ash. In online chats when he'd chat about the show and Luthor's presence on it, at first a lot of people he spoke with were angry he was even on it, but even these people began sympathizing with Lex and understanding the blurred gray existence he lived in and compare it with the Jent's black and white out look on life.

He turned to fanfiction to help him understand Lex or at least get into his psyche because Clark was confused. Clark's parents and the Scribners were caring, open minded individuals, but they also ingrained Clark and the rest of the kids with a strong sense of morality, civic duty, and patriotism. Clark couldn't reconcile why he liked Lex so much while still knowing that one day Lex would become Superman's deadliest nemesis.

Clark had first read fanfiction because he hated the second season of Witchblade and wanted to see if there were any stories written by fans that were better than the stuff he'd been watching. Steadily from there, Clark grew to love fanfiction in all it's forms. For the longest time, he steered clear of Slash because there was always an 'Eck' or 'Squick' factor there for him.

 However, the Het and gen stories were never any help. When Marc was paired up with Lana or with Chloe, all they seemed to do was speed up Lex's descent from grace and succumb to the dark side so that the young scion would rise to become the evil genius, mad scientist, corporate mogul so that he play to the foil the pair would fight against and triumph over.

They didn't help answer why Clark was so into Lex or in fact any of his question, but only served to irritate Clark more than anything else.

Het Lex pairings were worse. Lana...or Chloe through the lovey-dovey redeeming power of love turns the budding mogul into a honest, caring man that completely rejects his evil, dark side without further exploring Lex's struggle with his dark side...and that's about it. They made it sound like a switch that could just be turned on and off.

Well, Lex/Marc pairings did the same thing except it never seemed as plausible as when it happened between Marc and Lex.

This again left Clark with more question than answers.

As last resort, Clark turned to Lex/Marc slash. That helped to explain why Lex was better known as "Sexy Lexy" to many fanfiction writers and why Clark was irresisibly attracted to Lex.

"Really, Pete, don't you think that maybe Marc and Lex really ought together?"

"Enough with the slash, Clark . I'm trying to watch the show here. " Pete lazily added, "Look, it's cool that you trust me enough to confide in me that your need to explore your sexuality, or lack of, seeing as how you haven't been on a date with a girl in over three months...even if I kind of made you tell me anyway...that's not the point. I also understand that you're curious about which way you swing since you seem to be inexplicably attracted to no other guy than the make believe character, Lex Luther, this may just be motivated my your ego trying to balance out the opposing forces between your id and your superego, but like I said, I'm trying to watch the show."

Clark quirked a smile, "Psychology's been good to you?"

Pete grinned, "Yeah, I sound a hell of a lot smarter than I actually am, huh?"

"Yeah," Clark's reply was breathy as he attempt to stifle a yawn.

"I've already got two study dated lined up ."

Clark was actually really surprised Pete took it as well as he did when he told Pete he was into slash. That was probably due the influence Pete's grandmother had over him. She believed in the "live and let live philosophy."

Pete was just mad that Clark was sneaking off to use the computer in the middle of the night, careful to erase his tracks, and then not telling Pete what he'd been up to when he'd caught him once.

Clark just slouched in his seat and sat goofily gazing at the sight of the steel, blue eyed beauty in front of him.

"Paprika, get off of me." Clark turned to see Pete struggling to get the Scribner's Jacks Russell Terrier off him and to quit licking his face. That dog was unhealthily affectionate towards Pete and Clark didn't mind teasing Pete about it either.

Scorned by Pete, Paprika jumped onto the table and started angrily yapping at Pete. Pete was attempting to sho her off, but her fangs made were their presence known as she started growling at Pete and snapping at his fingers. Pete saw her edging towards the two most precious things on that table, his notebook and the remote.

"Whoa, girl, just be a good girl and get off the table."

"Grrrl," was Paprika's response, she was a bitch that didn't take rejection well.

Pete decided to go for the remote and notepad. He leaned over the couch and then edged towards the wooden coffee table. Clark was just sitting there watching to see what would happen next. "Hey, Clark, are you gonna help me or not," Pete said softly whispering out of the corner of his mouth, but without taking his eyes off of Paprika.

The second Clark got up to help Pete, Paprika freaked. She was yapping frantically at both of them, jabbing the remote with her paws as she scurried around the coffee table, ripping up the notepad, and then in one panic induced action made off with the remote, towards the kitchen, and out the doggy door.

The television volume was now on it's highest setting and the dusky lighted room was a glow from the snow on the screen. The screeching "shee" sound that accompanied snow bombarded their ear drums.

"Clark, change it back." Pete yelled over the noise.

"I can't. This tv doesn't work without the remote." Clark screamed back.

This revelation had Clark and Pete scrambling out the door with murderous intent to find Paprika and gab the remote back. They found the Jacks Russell Terrier scurrying around the backyard weaving this way then zagging the other. When Paprika finally dropped the remote, they found it chewed to hell. Their night had been shot the same way too.

Defeated, Clark and Pete trudged back into the house and flopped down on the couch. When the snow and static could no longer be ignored, Clark lost two out of three games of rock, paper, scissors to decide who would be the one to get up on turn off the tv.

Clark moped back to the couch, "Pete, what are we gonna do now?"

"I guess have to find another remote or tv to watch."

"Where are we gonna find another remote?"

"You know I think the Scribner's got an old tv up in the attic somewhere."

Right when the boys were going to zoom to the attic, the door bell rang.

"Clark, you get the tv, I'll get the door."

As Clark was taking the stairs two and three at a time, he heard the voice of an old, kindly sounding man greet Pete. Clark couldn't hear what was being said, but stopped when he heard Pete enthusiastically call him back.

"Oh, man, you are God sent. How did you get here so quick, we didn't even call anyone?"

"Well, the cable company likes to keep on top of these things you know."

When Clark saw the old man, he was instantly reminded of Barney Fife, or that guy from Three's Company. He was wearing a cream colored jumpsuit and matching hat and a name tag that said ' Phil' on it.

"So what are you two lads watching on tv tonight?"

Clark answered as the three men walked into the living room,"We're watching the Smallville marathon on the WB."

"Oh, I love that show. Back in my day, I grew up reading the comic books, and watching the old Superman cartoons, but I always wondered what Marc Jent was like as a teenager. You know...whether he had as hard time picking up girls as I did. I think they're doin' a mighty fine job that show though. Gosh, I'm such a big fan of the show I love to test out my knowledge on others that like it as much as I do. Say, you wouldn't mind would you?"

Clark and Pete were getting pretty anxious to get a working remote, and getting kind of antsy, but something about the old man was charming almost so they looked at each other and both shrugged.

"Sure." They said in unison.

"Okay. Let's see in the first season, what was the name of the flower that infected Lana, Dave, and Jonathan Jent?"

Pete responded first, "Oh, that's easy, it the Nicodemus flower."

"That's right, okay...what song was playing at the end of 'Cool' after Lana visits Clark at the loft close to the end of the episode....And what concert did Lex give Clark tickets to go see in the same episode"

Clark replied instantly to this question, "'In my place' by Coldplay and Radiohead."

"That's also right," Barney Fife drawled and smiled up at Clark. By this time, Phil had bent down on one knee, opened his faded, cherry red tool box, and was reaching for a new, slightly better remote than the one than the one Paprika destroyed ."Okay, last question...in the third season, how many times did Lana use the phrase 'Man of Steel'."

Pete responded promptly, "Five."

"Nope, four."

"No, five, first in 'Double Prints,' second in 'Whirlwind,' third in 'Brimstone,' fourth in 'Cane'...and fifth in 'Ziggy.'

"Now I don't remember she saying that in 'Ziggy'?"

"Yes, because in the episode Lana was pissed Marc had stood her up at the Farmer's Market, and while Ben Kweller was playing in the background, Lana says, 'What did I expect from Mr. Man of Steel here. I suppose Dorothy wants her heartless tin man back."

"You remember all that?"

"Yeah, anything to do with Lana, and I soak it up like a sponge."

"Hmm, that's interesting...hmm, I'm not sure, but I think you two might be interested in a very special remote I have here." Phil slide back the drawer holding the newer model remote he had been fingering earlier, dipped his hand into the bottom of the tool box to reveal a remote that had to be three times older than either Clark or Pete. It was oval shaped and had a grand total of five buttons on it.  "Aw, thanks." Clark finally spoke up after they'd watched with growing anticipation the old man's grand gestures and did their best to mask their disappointment when they finally saw the remote.

Barney Fife just smiled and replied,"No, thank you."

After Pete and Clark escorted Phil back to the door, Phil turned to the boys and said,"Have fun."

"Thanks," Clark replied, "Have a nice night, sir."

They scrambled into the living room. Pete turned on the tv, while Clark changed the channel back to the WB. The marathon's interview segment was wrapping up with a fireworks display accompanied by Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

"This is so great, man...Can you believe how fast we got a remote."

"No, I can't. It's insane how fast we got it, don't you think."

"Hey, Clark, don't go looking a gift horse in the eye...or something like that."

Clark sat pensively for a second, and the shook his head and smiled, "You know...I never got that saying."

Pete grinned, "Me either."

"Oh shit, Pete, Paprika's back."

Clark had placed the remote on the coffee table. Now Clark was sitting in the arm chair adjacent to the couch Pete was sitting in and both were eyeing the terrier snarling at them near the corner of the coffee table. Paprika resembled a bull ready to charge and she was going after the remote. Her paws were digging into the carpet,  her breathing was audibly heavy, and in a blink of an eye...she charged.

Pete and Clark moved the instant Paprika came running towards them. They butted heads as they both grabbed the remote.

Neither Clark nor Pete noticed that the first episodes of the marathon had started or that the remote's little red light had begun blinking slow at first, then increasingly faster until the blinking couldn't be detected any longer.

The second the two teen manhandled the remote, they felt as though they were on the merry-go-round moving faster and faster. They were moving in a vortex of light and sound that bombarded their senses. Faster and faster they continued to whirl and spin round and round, and just when it seemed they were gonna hurl everything they'd ate in the last month, the spinning slowed and the teens fell with a thud on the floor.

Clark wobbled to his feet first. He used the coffee table to help him up, but when he shifted his entire weight on to it, he cracked the corner end of the table off. 'This is too wierd,'Clark thought to himself and brought himself upright.

"Clark, seeing as how you recovered from whatever hell that was...mind helping a brother up here," groaned Pete who was staring straight up at Clark while lying supine on an aged, wooden floor.

"Sure, Pete." Clark bent down to help Pete up, but he helped him a little too much. Pete flew off the floor and straight towards the ceiling. He would've fallen on his face but Clark broke his fall.

Once again both on the floor, Pete looked at Clark, "What in the hell just happened?"

Clark just shook his head, "You are asking the wrong person."

When they were both standing, they looked around and took in their surroundings. They were a living room that was lit with natural light. The room was cozy, and felt lived in. It resembled the rooms designed by the guys at Southern Comfort magazine. For Pete's sake, there was even a handsome quilt draped on the back of the living room couch.

Clark and Pete turned toward the hall entrance when they heard footfalls approaching their position. "Marc, Dave...ah, here you are? What was that noise?" John Schneider was standing right in front of them and he was calling them what? 'Hello, we have just entered the Twilight Zone.'

Clark squeaked a response. Too bad it wasn't coherent to any of them.

"Hm...right." Jonathan turned to Pete, "Dave, didn't you say you needed to be home by five?" When Jonathan didn't receive an answer, he started looking at the teenagers suspiciously. Clark shoved Pete to get him to out of his stupor.

"Yes, sir." Pete gulped.

"Um...dad...can you give us a minute, please?" At this, Pete looked at Clark in disbelief, his expression so shocked that he'd might as well have said, 'Et tu, Clark.'

"Sure, son." At this, Pete gave a double take. 'What the hell was going on?'

They waited until they were sure Jonathon had left before speaking.

"Pete, you are going to think I'm insane, but hear me out, okay. I think we've been sucked into...the tv show..into Smallville."

Pete replied slightly dazed, "I believe you and I think you're right."

Clark looked like he'd been psyching himself up to defend his theory, but he wasn't prepared to have Pete agree with him "...huh?"

"Hello, we're both here aren't we, or I'm just as insane as you are."

"So what do we do?"

"Do just what you just did. We play along. You are Mark Jent and I am Dave Rows."

Jonathon came back. "Marc, you didn't finish your chores.

"Oh...uhm."

"He'll be right out, Mr. Jent."

When Jonathan was out of sight, Clark turned to Pete." Pete I never been on a farm. I don't know what kind of chores you do on a fucking farm." Clark was getting hysterical.

"Calm down. You'll think of something. Besides you got something else to worry about."

"Oh and what would that be mister smarty pants?"

"You're Marc Jent."

"What's so...oh."

Pete nodded, "Exactly."

"So what's the game plan...Is there a game plan?"

"Like we agreed. We play along and try not to mess this alternate universe or whatever it is up, and like the man said have fun."

"What...man?"

Pete answered exasperated, "Phil, the repairman."

"No, I mean, why not leave now. Use the remote to take us back."

"Are you telling me you'd rather be back home watching Smallville on the couch when you can be on it."

"But you're so worried about messing up things, why take a chance."

"Clark, look at the big picture here. Who is the one person on this show you would like to meet above anyone else?"

"Lex Luthor."

"Lex Luthor. We'll just hang around for a day or two. Take in the sites, do nothing to seriously interfere with the events of the show, and then, we'll go home."

"You're just trying to convince me so that you can stay and meet Lana."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Absolutely nothing. Okay, we'll stay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Pete left for the Rows's house, Clark went to find Jonathon in the barn.

"Um, dad, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure, son."

"Could you explain to me what my chores are as though I had never done them before?"

The next morning Clark finished his chores with minimal discomfort. That could not have been said for the day before. Clark explained that he been hit pretty hard on the head by the latest Smallville mutant, and that he'd been having trouble remembering things, but that he believed it was a temporary occurrence. It wasn't until Jonathon truly believed the veracity of Clark's story that Jonathon's annoyance changed into concern. Jonathon took Clark step by step. He instructed him on how to do various tasks starting with the simplest and working their way towards the more difficult stuff. Clark also learned how to keep his super strength and speed under control and how to implement it so that he could use it lift impossibly huge objects and complete tasks at warp speed.

Today, Clark did all the chores on the list Jonathon had given him, kissed Martha good bye and left to wait for bus. He would have run to school, but unlike Pete who so was such an encyclopedia and nitpicker when came to the show that he knew all the streets and how to get there, Clark just plain didn't know where it was.

Since Chloe and Pete both drove, Clark took the bus solo.

He was relieved when he found Pete standing at the entrance waiting for him.

"Hey Pe..ah..um..Dave."

"Hey man."

"Here I got you all set,"Pete began handing Clark pieces of paper one at a time,"This is your school schedule, your locker number, town map, home phone number and miscellaneous info...um, this is...uh I forgot what this is."

"Thanks and hey I was kind of getting worried."

"Don't worry. Tomorrow I'll pick you and today I'll take you around town, and hopefully visit the Talon. I would have picked you up, but I was finishing this stuff up."

"Thanks, I appreciate this Pete."

"No problem, besides were tourists here, we might as be prepared and anyway we don't want to irrevocably mess anything up here, do we...Do we?"

"Of course not."

 The information Pete gave him was a lifesaver, but it didn't save him when he failed to check whether or not Marc had any homework due the next day. In fifth period, he super speeded a question and answer worksheet by answering with bullshit answers on a subject he vaguely knew anything about. He'd done it before, but was delighted to have the aid of uber locomotion now.

During lunch, Chloe joined them to discuss the strange weather they'd been having. Hurricane winds had ravaged a house on Mill's Street where a guy by the name of Ernest Rauwolf resided. No other houses where touched, but the sunny weather they'd had that day disappeared one minute, then reappeared after the cyclonic weather had passed.

"Are we in that episode?" Pete said to no in particular with a hint of nostalgia.

Clark gave Pete a quick poke in the ribs.

Pete whispered fiercely at Clark,"Ow...man, wanna make me bleed internally?"

Clark grimaced and whispered back,"Oopps, sorry. I forg0t."

"Hi Marc." It was Lana.

On tv, Lana's sad sweetness was nothing in comparison to have it affect you in person. It reminded Clark of the song 'Milk' by Garage. It was melodic, magnetic, sensual, and a tad bit creepy.

Too bad he didn't go for that sort of thing.

Pete, however, was a different case all together.

He was...he...it was pitiful. He eyes were the size of saucers. Pete kept attempting to speak, but nothing would come out but a squeak here and a squeak there. Clark just hoped he fared better than Pete when he met Lex.

Lana detected something different about Marc. He seemed to lack interest in her so Lana tried to make Clark jealous by indulging Pete. She talked to him, and pretended not to notice Pete's asinine behavior. She smiled at him and he melted like Jell-o left out in the sun too long. Wobbled the exact same way too...on the way down. Clark laughed when he got a mental picture of Pete screaming, 'I'm melting I'm melting.'

During this lunch room display, Chloe was impressed that Marc didn't immediately succumb to Lana's will and dodged all her attempts to wrangle him in. Clark knew that in this episode Chloe was still spying for Lionel, and that he'd have to be extra careful around her, but he also knew that three episodes from now she'd break free from him and maybe...just maybe with Clark's help she can make the transition not as painful....even if he promised Pete he wouldn't interfere. Clark hoped he was doing the right changing things where Chloe was concerned among other things...

Clark had always liked Chloe. She was just a cool character all through the first season, even if she became a major bitch toward the end of the second. He loved the passion she had for journalism, for her being a city girl and seeker of truth in a town of ignorant plebs that wore blinders to the world around them. She just wore her heart to close to her sleeve when it came to her feelings for Marc.

That afternoon, Clark and Pete met Lana and Chloe at the Talon. Lana was now willfully ignoring Clark and speaking only to Pete and Chloe which was okay by Clark. 'Anyway the more for Pete,' Clark thought to himself. The kicker for Clark was that they weren't interfering with the events of this episode. Marc and Lana were in one of their off 'I angry at you because you don't understand the inner me' phases. She would later on try to hook up with Whitney again in this episode, but they would have a heart to heart and decide it was for the best just to remain friends.

Lana, who had a young lifetime of experience handling boys with crushes on her, was helping Pete work through his shyness and catatonic like state. Pete's crush on her appeared suddenly, but she liked it. It reminded her of how Marc used to act around her.

Clark was glancing around the room, looking at nothing in particular, when He arrived.

'LexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLexLex, my God there he is.'

He was even more beautiful in real life than he ever imagined. Lex's fair skin, the way it seemed to glow. Lex's steel blue eyes. His calculating gaze, the scar on his lips, his affinitely for the color purple, the elegance and grace in which he carried himself. Everything he loved about Lex was hitting him all at once.

Clark remained in his Lex induced reverie, taking in everything about Lex and committing it to memory when Pete kicked him under the table. Clark deduced that he'd probably been staring for some time now, especially since everyone was staring out at him now, and not in a good way.

'Ooo, that must of hurt,' Clark thought judging from the way Pete was wincing.

"Clark, is everything all right."

"Yeah, yeah...yup, everything is ah fine," Clark was trying to be nonchalant as possible, but inside his stomach was running the hundred meters race with a limp over scalding charcoals.

"Sure?"

"Yeah."

"Here sit with us." Clark asked bringing a chair from another table.

Within ten minutes Lana, Chloe, and Pete scattered off in different directions. Lana insisted that Pete have a study date with her while casually glancing at Clark to look for a response. To her great disappointment, she didn't get any. Pete readily accepted and walked off to a corner of the room to study quietly. Chloe begged off joining Lex and Clark for a cup of coffee. She claimed she had some work at the Torch, but Clark knew that in actuality she was rushing off to meet Lionel to turn in her latest report.

Lex ordered a cup of cappuccino, and ran his hand across his scalp. He looked tired.

"How was your day?" Clark remember at the last second not to interject some moronic endearment like 'dear, pookie, shukums, honey- pie.'

"It was long, but not too bad. I met a business associate from New York today. The meetings ran right on from 10 am until 6 pm."

"Sounds like a real bitch."

Lex, who had been looking down while he was rubbing his head, suddenly looked up. His eyebrows shot up. His eyes glowing with enhantment, and smilingly beautifully at Clark.

"You know coming from you, why that's the nicest thing anyone's said to me all day."

Clark beamed, "It's my pleasure, Mr. Luthor. We do aim to please."

"Ah, well of course. So what did you do today?"

"Went to class. BS-ed on question and answers worksheet in English.  Ate something that was bearly recognizable as food during lunch, and that's pretty much. "

"I'm sorry I can't relate. I've never had the privilege to dine in the cafeteria of a public school before."  "Yeah, I'd say you were deprived. It builds character and survival skills. If you can eat that food, you can eat anything. So in the unlikely event I'm cast away on a deserted island in the Pacific Northwest, eating night crawlers and dune beetles."

"Clark, I'm no expert, but I don't believe there are any dune beetles in the Pacific Northwest."

Clark shrugged, "Pota-ta pota-toe. Canada. Cairo. Both start with a C. "

"Yes, I see that makes all the difference. Clark, I never realized in all the time I've known you that you're smart ass at heart. I feel privileged to see this side of your personality."

"All for you Lex. And Pete. Lana too. Can't forget Chloe. I guess I could fit Whitney in too."

"Smart ass."

"Thank you."

They continued to discuss the merits of government cheese and what really was in mystery meat for sometime further.

 Lex paused to check his watch.

"My God, it's 11.

Clark yawned uncontrollably, "Tempus Fugit."

"What time do you have to home by?" Lex asked.

Clark had no idea. "Um, I guess I should be going."

"Here let me give you a ride home."

As they walked toward the door, Clark pointed to Lana asleep at the counter. She had probably decided it was best not to kick the boss out of his own establishment just because she usually closed the Talon at 10. Clark shouted a 'good bye' to Lana on their way out which promptly woke her up.

As they walked toward Lex's Porsche, Lex was the first to speak.

"So what's up with you and Lana?"

"Nothing, why?"

"You just seemed not interested in her. Let me guess, you're trying to make her jealous."

"No, just indifferent."

Apparently this was the last thing Lex expected Clark to say because now Lex was looking at Clark like he was a total stranger. "Marc, in all the time we've been friends, I was certain of two things,"Lex held out two fingers up,"One, you're head over heels in love with Lana Lang, " one finger down," and two, you're head over heels in love with Lana Lang," Lex grinned.

"It does seem like I had one track mind, huh?"

"A little. Do you know this is the first time in months that we'd sat down and just talked. We talk all the time don't get me wrong. But this is the first time in a while that neither one of us has had to rush off or give each other quick bits of advice before an up coming battle so to speak"

"Yeah, I've noticed too."

"I enjoyed it."

"Me too."

Lex drove them home. No one spoke, but it was a comfortable silence. When Lex pulled up, Lex touched Clark's hand to keep him from leaving the car right away. Clark shivered at Lex's touch. 'Damn, what would it feel like to have him touch me somewhere else?'

"Clark would you like to go to Metropolis with me Friday, maybe see the Shark's game or take in the sights?"

Clark gave Lex a thousand watt smile, "I'd like that."

As Clark got out of the car, he noticed that his 'dad' was scowling at him, but more so at Lex. Clark turned to get one last glimpse at Lex before he left, but he was surprised Lex wasn't all ready driving away. He was just watching Clark...maybe catching a last glimpse of him as well. Their eyes met and held each other's gaze before Jonathon called out for Clark to come in. Lex inclined his head and turned the car around to leave.

Clark trudged up to the porch and he smiled when he heard Lex yell, "Good night, Mr. Jent."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clark found out he was surprisingly good liar when he felt inspired to.

Lying 101:

~Lots of details...He made up a story about studying with Pete at the Talon until late. He describes the pastries they ate and the types of coffee they drank, and an incident in which Pete snorted coffee out his nose.

 ~An alibi. Someone that can willingly or unwillingly collaborate your story, which in this case was Pete.

Clark then explained that Lex passed by to pick up an expresso when he ran into Clark and then offered him a ride home.

Jonathon was livid and ranted on about how disappointed in Clark that he'd neglected to do his chores, but Clark could tell he was really  pissed that Lex had been the one to drive him home.

On his way to second period, Clark ran into Pete.

"Man is this great or what?"

"Great man."

"What's wrong?"

"Jonathon got mad that Lex drove me home."

"What time did you get home?"

"Mmm...eleven."

"Eleven! Didn't you check your research...my research. You're are supposed to be home at promptly 10:30 every night. Well, except when mutants attack. No wonder Jonathon's mad."

"No, he was just mad Lex drove me home."

"Come on, Jonathon likes Lex now. He was nice at Lex's wedding and Jonathon's been acting pretty decent around Lex during the third season too. "

"Don't you remember, 'Borders' mid third season. He told Martha that no matter Lex does to prove he's a decent guy, he'll never trust him."

"Yeah, forgot that. Well, we both knew the guy is over protective about his son. Besides, Lex does go the Darth Vader route eventually."

"Well...it's no wonder. Look at how John-boy treated Lex in the first season. If anything, it's guys like John-boy that make Lex feel that's really who he is and make him into what he becomes."

"I don't think Jonathon gives Sociology much thought, but one thing he does believe is that the apple doesn't far from the tree."

"Well what if Marc and Lex get together maybe that'll keep Lex from going bad. It happens tons of times in fanfic."

"What makes you think the show isn't headed that way already. We make fun of the gay subtext all the time. Maybe they have falling out and Lex goes but ten times worse than his father. That happens in fanfic too, you've told me about it."

"Um, Pete when does Marc fight Ernest in this ep?"

"Friday, why?"

"I have something to do on Friday so do you think you can help take him down on Thursday... What?"

"I thought we'd agreed we wouldn't interfere."

"We're not. We're just tweaking the timeline at little."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Okay. We both know how this episode ends, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"We speed up to the part where I fight the villain. I figured that since we know how to defeat Ernie already lets not waste time tracking him down or figuring out how to get rid him. If we do it now, we have extra time to do whatever we want, right?"

Pete nodded his head.

"So I'll stop him before he terrorizes the O'Leary's cows and you make sure that the O'Leary's get to the hospital."

"Don't those cows die."

"Yeah, but what's the big deal if we save the herd of cows. Besides we all know when and where to act. I'll take down Ernest, the O'Leary's will be safe, and we're done."

"Sounds good, but I don't know."

"What's worst that can happen?"

"Oh, I don't know..that's the cows'll eat meteor rocks and start terrorizing the good citizens of Townsville."

"Smallville."

"You know what I mean."

"But I'm Bubbles, just so you know.... You can be Blossom," Clark added with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The plan went exactly as planned...sort of. Clark scared off Ernest before he could finish terrorizing his old boss and his family, but didn't stay to take them to the emergency room. Their condition wasn't serious so it didn't matter that they got to the hospital ten minutes later than they would have arrived originally.

Clark had practiced using his super powers by blowing up things with his laser vision, he looking through the girl's bathroom to hone his X-Ray vision, running back and forth from Metropolis, and bench pressing the family tractor, but it was still a struggle getting  Ernest all the way to the Osage burial grounds.

This had been where Ernie first received his powers and where he would finally lose them. Ernie, a small fella about 5'4 with mousy brown hair, and bad breathe, summoned all of his awesome power to slam Clark into every tree from O'Leary's to the buried ground.

The burial ground was a large mound with large boulders surrounding the base. The rocks were five feet in diameter and two feet tall. They were probably much larger once, however, the rocks shows evidence of major sedimentary erosion.

Clark struggled to get Ernie on the mound. The guy kept hurling Clark to and fro with cyclonic winds. It was a parody of Sumo wrestling trying to get Ernie into to in the circle. Clark finally had to just ram Ernie and whatever vortex those rocks created until it sucked Ernie into it. When Clark dusted the dirt off his jeans and started making his way back to modern civilization, he could have sworn he heard the rocks burp.

The incident wasn't weird enough that people willfully ignored it like they usually did. This was a violent world were office violence commonly occurence and happened even in the real world outside the bubble of Smallville weirdness. So people talked about Ernie without straying outside the box they preceived the world from, which most likely was there to preserve their sanity. To them, Ernest Rauwolf was a disgruntled ex-employee that had tried to hurt his former boss.

When the family members regained consciousness in the hospital, they all remembered that a teenager had scared off Rauwolf and saved their precious cows.

Pete was now a town hero.

He was given free oranges at the grocery store, free lattes at the Talon, got a story in the Torch and a month's discount at Fordman's hardware store.

For Dave Rows, life was good.

On the way home he ran into Lana holding a plate of cookies.

"Hi Lana."

"Hey Dave. I wanted to thank you for saving the O'Leary's cows."

"What?"

"It's gonna sound strange, I know, but when I was younger I used to play at the O'Leary's farm. Well, they let me name one of the newborn calves and she's been like a to pet to me ever since. They keep her as a dairy cow and promised me that they would never sell her. It's nice of them to promise that because I like to go visit her every so often. "

"Here I want you to have these. They are a little burnt, but not too bad I hope."

"But you give these to Whitney."

"No, I'm giving them to you."

"No, their Whitney's."

"They're yours, Dave."

"Oh...uh..amp..thank you."

"I was wondering if you would like to go with me to visit the O'Leary's farm, maybe take a picnic along with us."

"Sure. I'd like that."

"Great. How about Saturday."

"Yeah that'd be great. Hey, Lana, what's the name of your cow?"

Lana grinned meekly like she knew Pete was gonna laugh,"Her name's Bessie."  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yessssssssss, yes, yes, yes, yes, yesssssssssssssssssss," Pete was pumping his arm in the air like he just didn't care. He ran through the hall on the his way to the stairs, and started up the stairs taking two and three steps at a time.

"Pssst! Hey Pete! Pssst, hey Pete, come over here."

"What?" Pete looked around. The hall was empty, turned around and realized the voice was coming from the living room.

"Pete," Phil was on the tv and he looked mad," What do you think you are doing? I'm watching re-runs of Smallville, and did you know what I saw? Lana giving you Whitney's cookies. What been going on?"

"I know those were Whitney's cookies and I'm sorry, but it wasn't intentional,"

"That's okay. All we have to do is bring you and Clark back, and we'll set things right."

"Umm..I can't cause you see...the remote's at Clark's house, and as you can see I'm not there, and I have lots of homework I have to get to work on it. You know how it is. High school, all they make you do is work, work, work."

"Pete, I'm serious. Ya'll have to come back now."

"Ahaalll..Philp..I'm sorry...I think you're breaking up. I can barely see you," Pete was slowly approaching the tv.

"Pete. Pete, are you listening to me."

"I'm sorry I can't make out a word you're saying. We'll talk next time when the reception's better, okay...bye!" and with that Pete turned the tv off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clark stood in front of the mirror in his boxers interrogating the mirror. It was strange to think how different he looked like just a few days ago. Clark was a strong seventeen year old, but of the thin and lanky variety. His muscles had had very little definition and what little he did have was usually covered up in baggy pants and t- shirt. His skin had been less than perfect with stray pimples scattered across his face.

It was a trip now to look in the mirror and have Arnold's body staring back at him. His chest was broader now with huge pectoral muscles. A little lower his sinewy abs were tightly packed together with muscles that felt they'd been cut out of marble. He neat quadrilateral polygons buckled and rippled as he clenched and unclenched his stomach muscles. His back was defined and cut with rivets of strength that rippled down and wrapped around his shoulders, biceps, triceps and forearms. His hips were slim, but powerful that cascaded down into strong, bulging thighs and calves.

As he examined himself in the bathroom mirror, he stood in a spot where rays of sun light coming through the window were most concentrated. Clark threw his head back and closed his eyes. He thoroughly enjoyed feeling the sun on his bare skin. It almost as if his skin felt ecstasy by it's sheer presence. The power of the sun's rays flowed through out his body, and it radiated power to the core of his body and outward to his extremities.

 His skin glowed with a natural tan minus blemishes that magically disappeared upon arrival. He stood there examining his arms and hands, then at his reflection in the mirror, ' Damn, I would kill for to have this tan in Chicago during winter.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That day Pete headed over to the Jent's to hang out with Clark in the loft. The knocked on the screen door and waited for a response. The door was open so he let himself in.

"Clark, you here man?"

He heard rustling upstairs. Then heavy footfalls walking to and fro and then come bounding down stairs.

Clark slowed as he neared the bottom of the stairs fooling around with something in his red backpack.

"Hey man, I knocked. Nobody answered."

Clark looked up at Pete wide-eyed.

"I thought we'd hang around today. You know since we have an off day of crime fighting," Pete noticed that Clark making wasn't eye contact. He asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice, "What are you up to?"

"Mm going to Metropolis for the day...with Lex."

"What?"

Clark looked like he was carefully deciding what words to use next, "Well, Lex asked me Monday if I wanted to go to Metropolis this Friday, and I said yes," Clark finished the comment by what could only be described as a smart ass grin.

"I thought we decided we weren't going to make any major changes in the episodes."

"Well, you should talk. You got Whitney's cookies."

"How do you...?"

Clark cut him off, "This town is called 'Small'-ville, duh."

"Clark, you are not leaving this house, do you hear me?"

A car pulled up and honked, "BEEP, BEEP!"

"What's that?"

"Lex."

"Oh. Wait, where do you think you're going?"

Clark was walking out the door with his backpack over his shoulder.

"With Lex. Bye Pete."

".....ah.."

"Oh, before I forget, have fun tomorrow."

The trip to Metropolis was a blast. Lex pick the radio station, and they listened to a Q101-like radio station that played alt-rock such as Queens of the Stone Age, Coldplay, Linkin Park, 311, and Foo Fighters.

Apparently, Marc had the same preference for music, because Lex didn't bat an eye lash. But Lex did find it curious that Marc had trouble finding the station.

"So Marc, what do want to do?"

"Anything as long as I get to hang out with you." Clark couldn't believe he'd said something so sappy...well out loud. The good thing was that Lex quirked a smile. Ah, Clark's heart started going a pitter patter, and smiled right back.

"Is there anything in particular you want to do?"

"No, not really."

It was barely noticeable, but Lex visibly hesitated before asking his next question, "How about we head over to the concert festival in Hamilton Square? They have a fireworks display at eight."

"Sure."

At this, Lex pulled over to the side of the road and examined Clark up and down. Clark felt like bug held under a magnifying glass.

"Marc, tell me something. When you saved my life on that that day on the bridge, did I run you over?"

"What?"

"Did I run you over?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Because to me you, you look like that guy, but somethings different. What's different Marc?"

Strike that. A bug being dissected. A gross, big gooey one. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, and I know this isn't you on something again. I can tell. Much as I hate to admit it, that Marc usually bruises my ego and you don't. "Lex quirked a smile and starting shaking his head, "I don't like that other Marc very much."

Clark agreed by shaking his head and cracking a timid smile, "Me neither.