“ARGH!!!!!” Chloe screamed as the screen went black. 

“Dude – you’re kidding.  It ends there?” Pete was gripping his seat as he stared at the blank screen. “It can’t end like that, right?” 

Clark looked over at Lex, who shrugged.  “I guess it does end that way.  It’s the end of the tape and there’s nothing else.” 

“But you’re going to tell us what happened.  Right, Clark?” Chloe leveled a death glare at her friend. 

“I can’t Chloe.” 

“If you value our friendship, you’re going to tell me something,” Chloe said quietly.  “You can’t expect me to wait until next week.” 

Lex frowned at the tone and gave the young woman a glare of his own.  “That you would put Clark in such a position makes me wonder, Ms. Sullivan, do you value Clark’s friendship or do you value him as a source of information?” 

“I . . . but . . .” Chloe sputtered. 

“Exactly as I suspected,” Lex said with quiet fury.  “I suggest, Mr. Ross, that you escort Ms. Sullivan out of here immediately.  I will not be held responsible for my actions if she remains in my presence a moment longer.” 

Pete grabbed a protesting, struggling Chloe and dragged her out of the room.  He threw a helpless look over his shoulder at Clark, who nodded thoughtfully. 

Once Chloe and Pete had departed, Lex stalked over to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink.  Downed in one swallow, he started to pour another when Clark’s hand closed over the bottle halting its progress. 

“You know that Chloe didn’t mean that the way you took it, Lex,” Clark admonished. 

“You heard what she said.” 

“Yeah, I did, but she didn’t mean it.  She was really just teasing.” Clark wasn’t sure he could make Lex understand, but he was game to try.  “It’s just that she has a rather odd way of going about things.  She’s always saying something like that – if you value our friendship, you won’t go to class today.  Or – if you value our friendship, you won’t do better on this test than I do.  She doesn’t mean it; it’s just a thing she says.” 

“Be that as it may. . .” 

“I appreciate the defense, Lex.  Really, I do, but I can handle Chloe.  I promise.”  Clark gave Lex a big smile calculated to make him believe even if he didn’t want to. 

“Are you sure, Clark?” 

“I am.  It’s okay.”  Clark started to run a hand through his hair and then remembered that his hair wasn’t really his.  “So, um, I should be heading back to the dorm to try to patch things up with Chloe.” 

“Clark, you understand that you can’t put that wig on by yourself, right?” 

“Um, not really.”  Clark frowned as he tried to figure out how Lex had placed the wig.  “I’m sure I can do it myself.” 

“No one can place a full wig by themselves, Clark.  I just don’t think it’s possible.  You’d need to be a cross between an octopus and a spider.” 

“What?” 

“You know – eight hands and eyes that are multi-directional – I think that’s the only way to place a wig.” 

“So what am I supposed to do, wear a baseball cap all the time, except for special occasions when you have time to help me?” 

“You could just stay here and I could help you.” 

“Stay here?” Clark was confused. 

“Yes, you know, stay in the room that’s set aside for you and I’ll help you put the wig on in the mornings.” 

“But you have a job and you can’t always be here.” 

“I work downstairs, Clark.  It’s not like I have a huge commute back and forth.”  Lex tried not to let Clark see how important it was to him, inexplicably, to have Clark agree to stay. 

“Yeah, but won’t I be in the way?” 

“Have you really been paying attention, Clark?  There are three people here on a regular basis, and we just don’t take up that much space.  I have the room and I know Cook would be overjoyed to have you stay for a while.” 

Clark kept looking for ways out of this.  “But what about your fiancée, won’t she care?” 

“My – what?” Lex stared at Clark. 

“You know the woman you picked on the show?  I’m sure she’d prefer time with you, and she can’t have that if I’m here.” 

“I haven’t seen any woman from the show since the final taping, Clark.  You know that.”  Lex glared at Clark. “When would I have time?” 

“You don’t spend all of your time with me, Lex,” Clark began, reasonably. “You do spend some at work.” 

“Some?  The merger is taking almost every free moment I have.  I’m still not sure how I’m going to get away to go to the live show, but I’m contractually obligated.” 

Clark frowned as he was reminded of the contract that would, ultimately, take Lex away from him. 

“What’s wrong now?” Lex demanded when he saw the saddened expression on his friend’s face. 

“Nothing; it’s just going to be a lot to get used to.” Clark continued to frown as he thought of those changes. 

“Yes, well, none of it is happening tonight.” Lex stood up and waited patiently for Clark to make a move that would indicate his intentions. “Are you planning to stay this evening or not?” 

“I didn’t bring anything with me to stay.” Clark knew he was grasping at straws, but he couldn’t help it.  He wasn’t sure, given his newly discovered feelings and the futility of them, if he could handle staying with Lex. 

“You have a closet full of clothes here, Clark.  If you don’t want to stay with me, stop bullshitting around and just say it.  I have a great deal of work to accomplish tomorrow and I would like to be well-rested.” 

“See – that’s why I shouldn’t stay,” Clark said. 

“What?” 

“You have work and I’d be a distraction.” 

“Yes, you would be a distraction – a welcome one.” Lex ran a hand over his scalp and tried to hide his mounting frustration.  “It will make things easier if you stay here, Clark.  Running back and forth to the U will take me much more time than having you stay here.” 

“Are you sure?” Clark asked, needing a bit more reassurance. 

“Have you ever known me to say something to you that I didn’t mean, Clark?” 

“No.” 

“Then trust me when I say that I want you to stay here with me.  I want you to be a distraction so that I don’t become completely obsessed with work or with the outcome of this ridiculous show.” 

Clark grinned hugely.  “I can do that.” 

“I just bet you can,” Lex muttered as he started out of the room. 

Clark stared after his friend and wondered what that was supposed to mean.  After letting his mind wander for a couple of minutes, he headed to his room to see if he could get the wig off without help. 

After removing his wig, Clark stared at his reflection in the mirror.  He didn’t look suave or sexy bald like Lex did.  He just looked like a bald, geeky alien.  He continued to rub the spirit gum remover on his scalp and hoped that he was creating a clean surface for Lex to work with in the morning.  He didn’t want to face a cranky Lex on top of everything else. 

Lex tapped gently on the door the next morning, hoping that Clark would already be awake.  When no sound emanated from the room, Lex opened the door carefully and peeked inside.  Lex tried, but knew he failed, not to gape at the sight before him. 

At some point during the night, Clark had kicked off his covers.  He was sleeping in boxer briefs that left very little to the imagination.  And Lex had quite a good imagination to begin with.  He had always thought that Clark was an attractive, if clueless, man.  Even when he was a boy, Lex had seen the man.  But now, he couldn’t believe how much more the boy had grown.  Everywhere! 

Clark was stretched over the custom-made mattress, and it was clear that he had filled out a bit more – even in the last few weeks since the taping had ended.  All his muscles were clearly defined and, Lex noted, his dick was massive.  He managed to control the brief shudder that it brought, but he couldn’t help but envy whoever finally ended up with Clark as a lover. 

Lex operated under no delusions that it would be him.  After all, he’d gone through with this farce of a show to appease his father and to find a woman that he could settle down with and let go of his deep-seated desire for Clark.  He didn’t know if he could ever really let go of it, but he knew that if he was married at least it wouldn’t sting so much when Clark finally found his “one.” 

“Wha time is it?” Clark asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

Lex had managed not to appear startled when he heard Clark’s voice.  “Early.” 

“I’ll get up.” Clark started to shift on the bed as Lex started backing toward the door. 

“No, no.  It’s okay.  Just call down when you’re ready and I’ll come back up.” 

Clark pushed the button to light the alarm clock and stared at the time.  “Lex, it’s not even five in the morning.  Why are you going to work so early?” 

“The work has to get done, Clark.  This merger is really important.” 

“But we didn’t go to bed until after midnight, Lex.  That’s like four hours sleep.” 

“Three and a half, but who’s counting?” Lex tried to grin at Clark but found that it was difficult with the other man glaring at him. “What?” 

“You can’t work every second between now and the live show, Lex.” 

“Watch me!” Lex growled as he turned to stalk out of the room. 

Clark, forgetting what he wasn’t wearing, powered out of the room to beat Lex to the front door. 

Lex tried not to stare and knew better than to actually ask questions, but he couldn’t believe that Clark was out of his room in his underwear. 

“What?” Clark asked, and then looked down.  He blushed deep red, but he didn’t back down. “It’s not like you’ve never seen underwear before, Lex.” 

“I’m aware of that, Clark.  But I’ve never seen you in yours in the hallway of my penthouse.  Forgive me for being startled.” 

Clark blushed a bit deeper. “Yeah, well, this is important.” 

“I thought your modesty was important.” 

“So did I. But that was before I saw all that footage of me in swim trunks.  I’ve pretty much given up on that idea.” Clark tried to act confident, but he was just shaking inside at the idea that he was wandering around Lex’s place in his shorts.  It smacked of being disrespectful, but he had to keep Lex from working non-stop. 

"Shouldn’t we be going out and doing something?” Clark demanded. 

“You have classes today, Clark.” 

“Yeah, but I can skip those.” 

“No, you can’t.  You should not be jeopardizing your academic standing to keep me company. Besides, I have to work today, and most likely all weekend, in order to take the days to do this live taping.” 

“I thought they were coming to Metropolis,” Clark said. 

“They are, but I still have to take time from my business in order to participate in all of the required activities.  In order to do that, I have to make up for that time somewhere else.” 

“But Lex . . .” 

“I don’t want to argue with you, Clark.  I have to go.” 

At least eat breakfast first.” Clark refused to move from in front of the door.  He knew that Lex couldn’t get around him and that Lex would, eventually, give in if Clark just stood there long enough. 

“I don’t eat breakfast, Clark.” 

“You should.” 

“I had a mother, Clark.  Contrary to what you, and Lionel, seem to think, I need neither a replacement nor a substitute.” Lex tried to glare Clark out of the way, but found the tactic unsuccessful.  He really needed to learn a way to combat Clark’s puppy dog eyes. 

Clark reached out a large hand and placed it gently on Lex’s shoulder. He started to turn the other man in the direction of the kitchen. 

“What are you doing, Clark?” Lex demanded as he found himself propelled, against his will, down the hallway. 

“Making sure you eat breakfast,” Clark replied with more self-assurance than he felt. He could either seriously piss Lex off, or he could get him to slow down long enough to at least eat something.  

“I don’t want to eat breakfast, Clark,” Lex said. “If I had wanted to eat breakfast I would’ve done it.” 

Clark continued propelling Lex down the hallway toward the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, Clark fixed a pot of coffee quickly, hoping to hold Lex’s interest. 

Lex raised an eyebrow at the coffee pot, but proceeded to pour himself a cup as he waited to see what Clark would do next. Clark reached into the refrigerator and pulled out an English muffin and some jam. 

“If I toast this will you eat it?” Clark asked innocently. 

“If you insist,” Lex said. 

“Obviously I do, or you wouldn’t be here,” Clark said, smirking. 

“Indeed.” 

Lex dutifully ate the muffin and then said, “I ate it; may I leave now?“ 

Clark grinned. “Of course. You don’t want to be late for work. “ 

“Of course not, “Lex said. He stalked back down the hallway and picked up his briefcase, slamming the door behind him as he left. 

“That went well. Not.” Clark frowned at the slam of the door and then turned to start his own day. 

When it got to be 10:00 PM, Clark began to wonder if Lex was ever coming home at all. He knew Lex was going to work long hours, but this was ridiculous. How was he supposed to influence the outcome of “Single Millionaire” if he never saw Lex? He didn’t want to be bald forever. 

Clark stayed in the entertainment room and played video games waiting, in vain, to hear the door open. When he realized it was already past midnight, he decided to go to Lex’s office and see if he could get him to come upstairs. 

It had been a while since Clark had been in Lex’s office. There wasn’t much need for him to go there because Lex usually came to him. Tonight, though, things would have to be done differently. Clark hoped that Lex’s secretary would be gone and his personal assistant as well because he never felt comfortable around them. As he rode the elevator down, he tried to think of a good excuse to get let’s go upstairs. He realized as he reached to rub his hair that he had the perfect one – he needed to have his wig removed so he could go to sleep. There was no way that Lex would deny him that. And once he got Lex upstairs, he could convince Lex to go to sleep too. 

Clark wasn’t too surprised to see Mitchell toiling away at his desk by Lex’s office. 

“I bet that you’re tired, man,” Clark said. He couldn’t help but grin at the tired nod that Mitchell gave him. “I’ll see if I can’t get him to go upstairs.” 

“I’m used to working hard, Clark, but he’s like a man possessed today.” 

“I think he’s worried about the show,” Clark said. “I’ll try to work it out of him before the next time you see him.” 

“You can go on in,” Mitchell said. 

“Thanks, Mitchell,” Clark said. 

Lex’s had popped up when his office door opened. “I said I didn’t want to be disturbed.” 

“No one thought you meant me,” Clark said. “Are you tired yet?” 

“I don’t get tired, Clark.” Lex frowned at his friend. “I have two more hours worth of work to do tonight.” 

“That’s great for you, but I need to go to bed,” Clark said plaintively. 

“I’m not stopping you,” Lex said. 

“I can’t get the wig off by myself,” Clark said, hoping Lex wouldn’t remember that Clark had successfully removed the wig the previous evening. 

“Did you bring the stuff with you?” 

“No, I left it upstairs. The whole point of this was for people not to know I’m bald, remember?” 

“Fine. I’ll come up, help you get it off, and then come back down to finish my work.” Lex slammed a file down on his desk and stalked across the office to the door.  “Are you coming?” he demanded, his hand on the doorknob. 

“Sure am,” Clark said with a small grin as he followed Lex out the door.  He motioned to Mitchell discreetly to get the heck out of dodge.  He saw Mitchell nod, and hurried to catch the elevator with the impatient billionaire holding the door for him. 

“What was that all about?” Lex asked, as the elevator door slid closed. 

“What was what all about?” Clark asked, trying to project innocence. 

“Are you conspiring with my personal assistant now, too?” Lex frowned. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lex.  I just need my wig removed and you’re the one to do it.” 

“Didn’t you get it off yourself last night?” 

“I’m afraid I’m going to ruin it.  It wasn’t as easy to get off as I thought it would be,” Clark muttered.  He was being honest; he had almost ripped it because he couldn’t control his strength as well as he thought he could. 

Lex and Clark rode up to the penthouse in tense silence.  Clark knew Lex was pissed about being pulled away from his work, but there was nothing Clark could do.  There was no way he could allow Lex to work himself to death. 

“You’re plotting, Clark,” Lex said, his voice tight, as the elevator doors opened onto the penthouse lobby. 

“Plotting?  I am not.”  Clark turned what he hoped was his most innocent look toward Lex. 

“I can hear the gears moving in your head.”  Lex unlocked the penthouse door and stalked into the entryway.  

Clark followed Lex inside but then, instead of turning toward his bedroom and the removal of his wig, Clark turned toward the kitchen. 

“Where are you going?” 

“I need a snack; this could take a while, and I skipped dinner, hoping you’d come back and we could eat together.”

 “You?  Skipping a meal?”  Lex shot Clark an incredulous look. 

“OK, so I had a snack around 7 and another one around 10.  But that was hours ago, Lex.  Come on; what will it take, two minutes?  Your work can wait that long.” 

“I wish I was as sure as that as you are,” Lex mumbled under his breath, but he nevertheless followed Clark to the kitchen. 

“OK, let’s see what Cook left for you...” Clark said, his head and half his torso in the refrigerator.  He started pulling food out and placing it on the counter.  Lex couldn’t make any sense of the combination of foods that Clark was setting out, unless Clark was aiming to make the world’s strangest sandwich. 

“OK, that should do it.”  Clark stood up and walked to the cabinets for plates.  Once he had all the utensils he needed, Clark made two sandwiches, one heavy on the meats for Lex and another one, less likely to induce sleepiness, for himself. 

“OK, Lex, eat up, and then we’ll do the wig, and then you can go back to work.” 

Once Lex started to eat, he realized just how long it had been since his last real meal.  Much as he didn’t appreciate Clark’s tactics, he did appreciate the fact that Clark took the time to make sure he ate, and he told Clark that. 

“I’m happy to do it, Lex.”  Clark ate the last bite of his own sandwich and then put his plate in the sink. He’d wash the dishes in the morning before the staff came in. 

“OK,” Lex said.  “We’ve eaten.  Now can we do what we came up for, so I can get back to the office?” 

“Sure,” Clark said, leading the way into the bedroom. 

Although Clark knew exactly where he had put the spirit gum remover, he took his time getting it, as if he’d forgotten where he had left it the previous evening.  Lex paced Clark’s room impatiently until Clark returned, bottle in hand. 

“Here,” he said, handing Lex the bottle.  “Do your magic.” 

Slowly, so as not to damage anything, Lex started removing Clark’s wig.  Clark suppressed the urge to rub his scalp against Lex’s hands as the skin was bared; there was no point in Clark’s taking any pleasure from this act, since there was no future in any relationship between him and Lex. 

About half-way through the removal process, Lex began to yawn. 

“You OK, Lex?” Clark asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Lex said.  “It’s been a long day, as you well know.” 

“Are you going to get any sleep tonight?” Clark asked. 

“Unlikely.  I have a lot to get done before tomorrow’s teleconference at noon.”  Lex was glad that Clark couldn’t see his face when he said that.  While it was true that Lex had a lot to do, there really wasn’t much that was quite that urgent that was left after tonight’s marathon work session.  But it was easier to hide in his office, surrounded by things he did understand, than to be in the penthouse with Clark, surrounded by feelings he couldn’t make any sense of. 

“OK, well, when you’re done with that, I’m going to catch some sleep.  I’ve got study group at 10 tomorrow, and if I don’t want to be falling asleep during it, I should get at least a couple hours in.” 

“You shouldn’t have waited up for me, Clark,” Lex said. 

“Well, I didn’t want to fall asleep in the wig.  No telling what a night of sleep would do to it.” 

“Never sleep in the wig, Clark.” 

“Which is why I came and got you.” 

A couple more minutes passed as Lex worked on freeing Clark from the wig, and then Lex said, “OK, that’s it” and pulled the wig completely off Clark’s head.  He set the wig on its stand and then walked back to where Clark was sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Anything else, Clark?” 

“No, I think I’m good from here.  Good night, Lex, and thanks for coming up to help me.” 

“You’re welcome, Clark.  But next time, call me and I’ll come up and take care of it.” 

“I will, Lex.  Thank you again.”  Clark rubbed his hands over his head, then stood up.  “I’m going to take a quick shower, and then I’m off to sleep.  I’ll see you tomorrow some time.” 

“Sleep well, Clark,” Lex said, heading out of Clark’s room.  He paused in the hallway until he heard the water start in Clark’s bathroom, and then Lex walked into the penthouse’s study.  There was a file he could have sworn was in his office downstairs, but neither he nor Mitchell had been able to locate it. 

Ah – Lex spotted the header of a document from the file he needed buried under the most recent issue of Business Week and extricated it without disrupting the rest of the pile of papers.  He opened the file and started to skim the top page as he walked around his desk to sit in the desk chair.  Why not read it up here and then go downstairs?  He’d just be bringing the file back up here, anyway. 

Lex settled in the chair to read the file, but within just a couple of minutes, he’d dozed off. 

Clark shut off the shower and did a pass through the penthouse with his enhanced hearing.  It had been a while since the last break-in incident in the penthouse, but it never hurt to be cautious.  A wide smile broke out on Clark’s face when he heard the soft snufflings from Lex’s office.  He was sure that Lex would be pissed in the morning, but at least he’d be rested and pissed. 

Clark’s last thought before falling asleep was that he hoped Lex would appreciate Clark’s intent, even if he didn’t appreciate Clark’s methods. 

When Clark woke up, Lex was already gone.  After Clark showered and dressed, he padded out to the kitchen for breakfast.  There was a plate of food set out by Cook and a note, which Clark picked up and read. 

“Clark – Never do that again.  Whatever it was you did.  And thank you.  Lex.” 

Given the tenor of the note, there was no way that Clark was going to interrupt Lex this morning for help with the wig.  And, anyway, his study group in this case was Chloe and Pete, so Clark just jammed the baseball cap onto his head and left. 

When Clark returned from meeting with his study group, the penthouse was silent.  There were signs, however, that Lex had been back in the interim.  It was likely Mitchell’s doing, but however it happened, Clark was happy that Lex was at least taking a bit of time away from the office. 

Lex again hadn’t returned by 10 PM, but Clark knew it would be pushing his luck to try to get Lex to come back to the penthouse.  Before going to sleep, he left Lex a note. 

“Lex – Please don’t bury yourself completely in work.  I’ll need your help with the wig tomorrow morning and then again tomorrow night.  See you then if not before.  Clark.” 

Clark extended his hearing down to the level where Lex’s office was and could hear Lex and Mitchell discussing things that Clark just could not comprehend.  He was unhappy with the current situation, but if ten or twenty minutes twice a day was all the time he was going to be able to get with Lex, he wasn’t going to squander it.  Fighting about Lex’s schedule was counter-productive, especially because his time alone with Lex was not going to last much longer. 

In the morning, Lex entered the penthouse just as Clark was finishing breakfast.  “Good morning, Clark.” 

“Good morning, Lex,” Clark responded as he got up from the table and started moving toward the bedroom. 

Clark sat on the edge of the bed while Lex quickly and efficiently settled the wig into place.  The more often they did this, the more smoothly it went, which both pleased and annoyed Clark. He didn’t want to be a burden, but he did appreciate being the focus of Lex’s attention for the length of time it took to apply the wig. 

“OK, you’re set.  I’ll be sure to be back around 11 tonight to help you out of it, OK?”  Lex was already headed back toward the door before Clark had answered. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

“OK, then. See you later.”  And Lex was out the door again. 

Clark sighed. Well, there wasn’t any point in sitting around and sulking.  He might as well go out.  But he was running out of things he enjoyed doing on his own, and he was still self-conscious about how the wig looked close-up.  And while he could run home and help out on the farm, his parents would probably ask questions that he didn’t have any answers to.  So he ended up going out and wandering around Metropolis, finding corners of the city he hadn’t ever explored before. 

When the penthouse door opened precisely at 11 PM, Clark was playing video games for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

“Clark?  You here?” Lex called. 

“In the game room,” Clark called back. 

“I’ve got about ten minutes; let’s get this done.” 

“Yes, Lex,” Clark said.  It took him a couple of minutes to pause the game and stand up, and when he walked out to the hallway, he didn’t see Lex there.   He listened for a minute and then headed to Lex’s study. 

“You all set?” Lex asked without looking up from the file he was holding. 

“Yeah.”  Clark walked more fully into the room.  “Are you ever going to be doing something other than work?” 

“Not likely between now and the live show.” 

“Does that mean I’m never going to spend time with you again?” 

“What are you talking about, Clark?  As soon as this deal is done, and the live show is taken care of, my time will be yours again.” 

“You don’t understand, Lex, things are going to change.” 

“Everyone keeps telling me that, but I don’t believe it has to be that way.” 

Clark stared at Lex puzzled. “How do you envision things being after this Wednesday?” 

“I don’t see anything changing,” Lex said optimistically. 

“You understand that you’re proposing to a woman on live television in front of the entire world, right?” Clark stared at his friend, unable to believe that Lex didn’t understand how things would change. 

“Of course, Clark.  That’s part of the contract.” 

“It is, Lex, but do you understand that things have to change once you have a fiancée?” 

“It doesn’t have to change, Clark.  It only changes because you want to see it change.” 

“I DON’T WANT TO SEE THINGS CHANGE!!!!” 

“Then why do you keep insisting that things have to change?  I like things the way they are.  The only thing I’m doing is adding a woman to the mix.  It’s going to work out just fine.” 

“How do you envision this working, exactly?” 

“We’ll still do everything that we always do.” 

“I can’t see it, Lex.  Explain it to me.” Clark studied his hands for a minute and then continued, “Right now, I have a keycard and I pretty much come and go as I please.” 

“That’s not going to change.” 

“Don’t you think your new wife is going to want some privacy in her own place, Lex?” 

“You’re not company, Clark.” 

“I’m not her husband, Lex.  And no woman is going to want their husband’s best friend around all the time.  No woman exists like that.” 

“She’ll get used to it.” 

“I see.  And what do you see us doing in the evenings when I come over, Lex?” 

“What we always do.” 

“Uh huh. We watch movies and play video games. Don’t you think that your new wife is going to expect you to do things that she’s interested in?” 

“Why wouldn’t she want to do things that I’m interested in?” 

“You aren’t serious, are you?” When Clark saw the honestly confused look on Lex’s face, he realized that Lex really might not understand how a marriage was supposed to work. “Compromise is part of marriage, Lex. You have to do things that she’s interested in and she’ll do some things you’re interested in.” 

“Your mother moved to Smallville.  You can’t tell me she wanted to do that.” 

“I don’t know, Lex.  I’ve never asked her.” 

“No one would want to move there, Clark,” Lex said with assurance. 

“So she might have done it because she loves my father.  That’s what people in love do.” 

“I see,” Lex said. “And that’s the whole thing, Clark, I’m not in love.” 

“Then what are you doing?” 

“I’m finding a suitable woman to marry. I’ll grow to love her,” Lex said. 

“Well, that can’t happen if I’m always here.” 

“If you would rather not spend time with me, Clark, all you have to do is say so.  You don’t have to go through this elaborate and painful conversation to make me understand that you are no longer comfortable being my best friend.” 

Lex could move quickly when he wanted to. He was out of the room and his door slammed before Clark could get another word out.  Clark heard the lock snick and knew that the conversation was over for the evening. 

Clark was now much more confused than he was before he and Lex talked. He ran his hands through his wig and resigned himself to a night of no sleep. He couldn’t get the wig off; Lex wasn’t speaking to him; and basically his life sucked. Instead of encouraging Lex to choose a woman, he’d managed to convince Lex that he didn’t want to be friends anymore.  Could his life get any worse? 

Clark then realized that something wasn’t quite right with this whole scenario. If Lex wasn’t in love with one of the two women, then how was he supposed to choose his correct mate? Could the AI be wrong?

TBC . . .