Title: Favoring Fire - Episode Two

Authors: Beth and Nomi

Email: bethandsam@earthlink.net, gnomi@world.std.com

Disclaimer: The characters of "Smallville" are owned by Tollin/Robbins, Millar Gough Ink, Warner Bros., and DC Comics, not by us.

Rating: G

Spoilers: None

Category: Pre-slash

Challenge: Last line: "It takes a lot of courage to admit you're wrong."

Summary: Can America help Lex find the perfect mate?

Notes: This is dedicated to Celli Lane, without whom we would not be writing in this fandom. Thanks also go to Celli for betaing this episode for us.

***

Lex eyed the tape that his secretary had just handed him with a certain amount of distaste. He wasn't looking forward to viewing this episode as much as he had the first. His father had taken him to task for letting two young women who would have proven to be excellent business contacts go the first night. Neither was precisely wealthy, but they worked in areas that Lionel was considering for expansion.

It had taken Lex the better part of an evening, even with Clark there to corroborate, to convince his father that these events were not happening currently but rather were taped. Even though he had attempted to involve his father in the process, somehow the cameras had not clued Lionel in to the fact that this was not one of his son's typical dates.

Quite unlike the old man, really, Lex thought cynically. But he had lost a step in the last year or so, thanks to the efforts of Bruce Wayne and of Lex himself.

When his office door popped open with no announcement from his secretary, Lex wasn't too surprised to see Clark coming through.

"Did it come yet?"

"A little less enthusiasm might be appropriate here," Lex commented dryly. "Especially given Miss Sullivan's remark last week."

Clark paled dramatically. "You said you didn't hear what she said."

"I didn't," Lex eyed the other man carefully. "And you've been remarkably tight-lipped about it." Lex tapped the envelope from the production company. "The tape has arrived -- I assume everyone will be gathering this evening."

"I think so," Clark replied as he tried, playfully, to grab the tape from Lex, who slammed a hand down quickly to prevent the younger man from stealing it.

"Ah ah, Clark. You have to wait until everyone gets here." Lex carefully placed the envelope in a drawer and leaned against the cabinet. "Don't you have a class or something?"

"No, actually, I don't, Dad, but thanks for asking," Clark grouched, rolling his eyes in disgust. "But I do need to go raid your library -- I'm working on a paper."

"Help yourself." Lex waved the other man away. "I'll be up in a few hours; let Enrique know we're expecting guests, would you?"

Clark waved a hand behind him in acknowledgement as he disappeared from the office almost as rapidly as he had arrived. Lex wondered if it had registered with Clark that he'd said "we" rather than "I," and then dismissed the thought. Clark generally didn't notice those sorts of things. Normally, Lex didn't either, but lately "normal" hadn't been in his vocabulary.

***

Lex found himself surrounded by Clark's friends when he entered the penthouse.

"Give up the tape, Luthor," Pete said with mock menace threading his voice.

Lex raised an eyebrow when Chloe reached toward him as if she might attempt to tickle him. "Don't even think about it, Miss Sullivan. And what have you done with Enrique and Clark?"

"Enrique's in the kitchen, and Clark is still holed up in the library. You may have to blast him out of there," Pete said.

"I imagine he'll be out shortly," Lex stated confidently as he crossed the room to the bar and began fixing himself a drink.

Within moments, he was rewarded with Clark's presence. It often seemed to Lex that Clark had some sort of homing device or sonar or something where Lex was concerned. He always appeared from wherever he might be -- first in the castle and now in the penthouse -- as soon as Lex started preparing his end of day cocktail.

"Spooky," Pete commented.

"What?" Clark looked mystified. "Huh?"

"Nothin'. So are we watching this thing or not?"

Lex was already putting the tape into the VCR as the others started settling into seats. This time, he turned his phone off and slipped it into his pocket. No need for his down time to be disturbed two weeks in a row by minor annoyances.

As the images began to cross the screen, Lex wasn't surprised to see that they used the same series of images that they'd used the previous week, though the voiceover was different - indicating that in this episode Lex would take groups of five women at a time on dates and that by the end of the episode he would eliminate another five women.

"Man, that sounds like heaven," Pete moaned.

"What does?"

"Dating five women at one time."

"It was not even remotely enjoyable," Lex replied, more irritated than he thought he would be. His eyes were on the screen. He was watching some of the women fawning over Clark as he brought the first invitation to them.

Clark shifted uncomfortably in the seat next to him. He was clearly not happy with the footage currently being shown. Lex cleared his throat to get Clark's attention and then whispered, "If you want, we can get them to change this."

"Let's see what else happens first. We can make a list," Clark muttered back. He was happy to see the images shift to Lex's first date - an event he'd only heard about.

***

Lex was waiting in the limousine when he was joined by his five attractive dates. The production company had indicated that the first date would simply be dinner and dancing at a local restaurant. Once Lex had discovered the location, he made a phone call and secured the premises for his exclusive use that evening. He knew that it would impress his dates, but his motivation was more about his own privacy and sense of comfort.

Lex exited the limousine first and then offered his hand to each woman in turn until all five women were ready to accompany him into the restaurant. He nodded a greeting to the maitre d' who was trying not to gape at the young Mr. Luthor and his multiple companions - clearly he had not been warned about the plans for the evening. "Jacob."

"Mr. Luthor." Jacob turned on his heel and led the way to a large table near the dance floor. "Your table, sir."

***

Jacob and Lex worked in tandem pulling out chairs to seat the women, and then Lex settled in. He was pleased with the table configuration - round so he could see each woman and with just enough space to prevent any one woman from feeling as if another was getting special attention.

"Does that look like fun to you, Mr. Ross?"

Pete blew out a breath as he watched five women jockeying for attention and preventing Lex from having more than a moment's conversation with any one person. "I see what you mean. They are beautiful, though."

"Yes, they are," Lex confirmed. He was struck silent, however, as he saw Clark heaving himself out of the pool on the screen. His eyebrows shot up as he turned to his friend. "When was this?"

"Oh, um, while you were out," Clark mumbled, blushing. "The girls talked me into playing volleyball in the pool. I was just trying to keep them entertained while they were waiting for their time with you."

Lex watched as two women competed to rub sun block on Clark -- who in Lex's estimation didn't need it in the first place -- with a raised eyebrow. "Looks to me like they wanted to entertain you."

Much to Lex's amusement, Clark blushed deep red as he attempted to divert the conversation back to the dates.

***

The second date was much less Luthor-like, and Lex's distaste for the activities was easily detected.

"How did they talk you into this, man?" Pete burst out laughing as Lex looked at the bowling shoes one enterprising young woman was offering him. He dipped into his own bag and extracted a pair of custom made bowling shoes designed for him by Armani. If he was bowling, at least he was going to wear decent footwear.

"Your shoes are just wonderful, Lexie," Stephanie simpered on the screen, while Chloe just rolled her eyes.

"I was given no choice in the matter, I assure you." Lex replied to Pete. He turned his glare on Clark, who was chuckling quietly as Lex rolled gutter ball after gutter ball. "Something funny there, Clarkbar?"

"Uh, no," Clark tried to smother his laughter, but Pete was not helping his cause. "Why didn't you tell them you don't know how to bowl?"

"First of all, they gave me no choice in the matter. Second of all, I didn't imagine it could possibly be that difficult."

"Ah," Clark nodded sagely and then broke into laughter again.

Stacy P. and Kylie, two of the women on the date, offered to help Lex with his form. His scowl frightened them off quickly.

"Geez, Lex," Clark choked out. "You're supposed to be dating them, not scaring them."

"I only scared off the ones I wanted to scare," Lex replied smugly. As if on cue, the images on the screen showed him allowing Delia -- a dark haired beauty who was studying classical languages -- to wrap her arms around him and show him how to smooth out his toss.

"I see that," Clark replied quietly.

***

On the screen, Lex continued to be tutored by the pretty young woman, while on the couch, Lex studied his best friend. He knew that Clark had been uncomfortable around Delia while they were taping, but his young friend had never explained why. He made a mental note to watch the interactions between the two to see if he could pick out what had bothered Clark.

***

As the bowling date ended, much to Lex's relief, his on-screen counterpart was exchanging strained hugs with each of the young women he had escorted. Lex hit the pause button on the tape immediately and excused himself to check on dinner preparations with Enrique.

***

In truth, he simply needed a quick break from the amusement over his dates. He hadn't had as much control over the dating process as he had attempted to exert. The producers seemed determined to force him into situations that were uncomfortable and to make choices that didn't quite work for him.

***

Lex walked back into the living room followed by Enrique and one of the maids, who were carrying freshly prepared pizza. When Cook was in residence, she wouldn't hear of feeding Clark pizza from a chain; she was certain she knew how he liked it best.

"Dinner's here," Lex announced unnecessarily. The two other men pounced on the pizza, immediately making approving noises as they took rapid bites from their first slice. "Never fear, Chloe. Another pie is following for those of us with manners."

"We're starving college students, Lex. What do you want from us?" Clark whined.

Lex eased away from the group and attempted to subtly remove the tape from the VCR.

"Hey," Clark shouted around a mouthful of pizza. "Unhand that tape. We've got one date to go."

"Damn it." Pete stared at the pizza he'd dropped on Lex's carpet when Clark startled him. "Sorry, man."

"No problem," Lex replied, his fingers still itching to grab the tape and hide it. Even though he knew, realistically, that they would all see it when it aired the following Wednesday, he just wasn't sure he wanted to endure the ribbing he was sure to take for this one. However, his hand was now held in a firm grip as earnest green eyes searched his to see if Clark could figure out what Lex was uptight about.

Lex eased his hand out of Clark's and moved to sit stiffly on the couch. Clark watched the other man, concerned, but he knew that Lex had to sit through this now or he would be in even worse shape the following week. He knew that the women hadn't been impressed with this date, but no one would tell him precisely what had happened.

When the tape started, though, Clark suddenly recognized precisely where Lex had been convinced to go on a date.

"Oh my god," Clark whispered.

"Lex? You didn't," Pete said, incredulous.

"It's not like I had a choice. They didn't even tell me where we were going until we got there." Both on screen and in person it was clear that Lex had not been pleased with the choice of a water park as a location for a date. He clearly wasn't dressed for it. Lex's version of casual wear -- chinos and a long-sleeve rugby-style shirt paired with boat shoes -- was clearly not compatible with the activities that he would be enduring on this date.

It was also apparent that the girls had received better information than Lex had, because they all were stripping down to bathing suits while he stood rather awkwardly off to the side watching them.

"I'm sorry. I just assumed they'd told you," Clark said quietly as he placed a sympathetic hand on Lex's shoulder. Clark's eyes widened as he watched the women swarm around Lex and attempt to get him to "loosen up."

"Oh, Lex, come on. You have to at least do the lazy river ride with us," Caroline cajoled as she tugged none too gently at Lex's sleeve. She was clearly not intimidated by the frown crossing Lex's face or by the way he attempted to disengage himself from her clutches.

"I haven't had good experiences with water," Lex said. He pulled back carefully to not hurt the woman but not so carefully that the message wasn't received: only invade my space at my pleasure.

It appeared that the entire date was going to be a disaster until one enterprising young woman, Marnie, wandered over to Lex and stood next to him, not precisely in his space, but close enough that she could talk to him.

"You had no idea we were coming to a water park?" Marnie asked suspiciously.

"No, I didn't," Lex replied. "And if I had and couldn't prevent it, I assure you there would not be the crowds that are here now."

"So what do you want to do now?" she asked.

"Make the best of it," Lex replied with a shark-like grin. He proceeded into the fake surf shop and began searching through his apparel options, grimacing at the selections offered. He finally found a pair of board shorts that didn't completely offend his sense of style and went into a dressing room to slip them on.

***

"Oh man, Lex. How did you manage to wear those things?" Pete asked.

"It wasn't easy," Lex said. He shared a glance with Clark, who remembered how Lex had come back that evening walking stiffly and complaining about chafing. He'd had to soak in an oatmeal bath for almost an hour before he'd felt even slightly better. It had taken fully two days before he felt comfortable enough to dress completely again. He hadn't allowed the cameras into the bachelor mansion for those two days until he recovered.

***

The scene on screen shifted from Lex, who was clearly not in his element, to Clark, who seemed quite comfortable with ten women surrounding him, once again, in the pool.

"What is it with you and water, Kent?" Lex muttered.

"It's what the producers told me to do," Clark protested. "I didn't know they were going to show this much of me."

"It's all right, Clark," Lex replied, even though he felt himself tensing as he watched yet another woman, Sarah, rub lotion all over Clark.

***

Images of Lex on an inner tube floating down the lazy river with all five women vying for his attention flashed on the screen briefly before the scene shifted to the girls coercing Lex to go on one of the group rides.

"Lex, please?" Lauren batted her not inconsiderable lashes at him. "We want you to ride this with us."

Lex glanced up and up some more at the ride she indicated with a wave of her hand. It appeared to be a multi-person ride involving a float and a slide with blind turns, twists, and falling water. Lex steeled himself for the ride and nodded grimly. He did not, however, allow himself to be pulled along by the eager young women. He proceeded calmly toward the stairs and looked back at the others to see if they were planning to follow. He smiled confidently as he saw all five women trailing after him, some more reluctantly than others.

Lex's confidence faltered slightly as he rounded the second turn on the stairs and heard the first creak from the stair tower. Every level higher the creaking got worse. Lex comforted himself by calculating, rapidly, exactly how much he would get in a lawsuit if the tower should fall. Assuming he survived the fall, of course, but then he had survived a plane crash. This tower was only a few stories high; he'd be fine.

At the top, Lex eyed the rather large float that he was handed and asked the attendant, "How many people are supposed to fit on this?"

"Six adults can ride easily, sir," the attendant replied with a sly grin as he watched the women and the cameras crowded onto the platform. "But that camera can't go down this ride."

"That's fine," Lex replied calmly. He was grateful, in fact, that he wouldn't have to be seen while going down the slide.

"That's okay," the cameraman said. "We've got cameras strung up on all the rides already -- great action shots. We can't wait."

Lex's frown spelled doom to everyone around them, but he climbed into the raft and went down the ride without making a sound. It was clear that he wasn't enjoying himself and, in fact, he ended the date shortly after that ride.

***

"Do you think they meant to put the cameraman's voice in the final cut?" Chloe couldn't imagine why the production company would do that.

"I think it was the only way to explain why the date ended and why Lex was pissed," Pete suggested.

"That or they have piss-poor editors," Clark added, watching Lex carefully. He didn't like how stiff Lex had gotten while watching this third date or how unhappy he appeared to be. He lowered his voice considerably and said, "We can stop watching, if you want."

"What's the point - it's going to air on Wednesday, and they'll see it all then. Besides, the worst is over now." Lex grimaced again but turned his attention back to the screen, where he and Clark were staring at photographs and chatting.

***

"Do you have any gut feelings?" Lex asked seriously. After escaping the obligatory social hour on the lower level, the moment of reckoning was rapidly approaching.

"I've only seen them interact with you for a couple of minutes. I know who I wouldn't date, but that's not going to help you a whole lot," Clark said as he stared at the pictures, trying not to burn holes in any of them.

"You understand that the point of you being here is for you to help me decide which women I should pick."

Clark grinned. "I understand *that*, Lex, but it's not as easy as it sounds. I mean, I can't tell if they're homicidal when I only spend a couple of minutes with them."

Lex narrowed his eyes and glared at Clark. "Okay, I'm ready."

"What? You don't want my help now?" Clark asked playfully.

"No, Clark. I think I can manage." Lex grinned confidently as the host of the show, Mark Mitchell, came into the room to collect him.

"Are you ready, Lex?" Mark inquired as he held the door open. "Clark?"

Lex's head whipped around. "Clark?"

"Yes, we thought Clark should be included while you make your choices this evening," Mark said smoothly while Clark shifted awkwardly on the other side of the room.

"Do you want me to come, Lex?" Clark asked hesitantly.

"Do you want to?" Lex stared at his best friend. He knew that Clark had been reluctant to participate in this whole deal, so he was willing to irritate the producers to procure Clark's comfort instead.

"Sure, I mean, if it'll help." Clark did everything but scuff his shoes on the floor. He wanted to go, but he didn't want Lex to be unhappy with him, and he couldn't figure out what Lex wanted him to do.

"It'll help me, Clark," Lex smiled one of the few genuine smiles caught on camera during this episode. He grabbed Clark's arm and pulled him along, nudging him and grinning as they walked down the stairs to the waiting women.

"Ladies, tonight Lex will be narrowing the field to ten women. The choice, of course, remains with you -- if you don't feel a connection with Lex, or you don't want to go further, please feel free to turn down his gift." Mark moved to the side. "Lex, whenever you're ready."

"Ladies, I would first like to thank you for some wonderful dates. I can't say that they were all of my choosing, but I think we all had a good time, and these were not easy decisions for me to make. With that said, I'm sure you're all interested in the gift this evening." Lex gestured toward two butlers -- though not Enrique, who had refused categorically to be part of this process -- holding five wrapped boxes each.

Lex tried to get a glimpse of Clark's face to see if he could figure out which women Clark actually approved of and which he didn't, but Clark wasn't giving anything away. He kept the same half-smile on his face as Lex presented each box, and it didn't falter.

Even as Lex sat next to Clark watching the show, he couldn't tell which women Clark had actually liked.

"Well?" Lex asked as he stopped the tape and looked to his other two guests.

"I can't believe you let Lauren go, man. She was hot," Pete moaned.

"But she wasn't right for Lex," Chloe stated firmly as she started to collect her things. "Neither was Stacy with a P. God, Lex, she was annoying, how could you stand her enough to keep her the first time?"

"Neither of us had much of a chance to talk to her the first time, Chlo'," Clark put in, automatically defending Lex and his choices. He watched Chloe's eyebrow go up, but he shrugged it off.

Before he was even aware of it, Pete and Chloe were prepared to leave for the evening. "Same time next week, Lex?"

"Yeah, Chloe, we'll be here," Clark replied without even thinking.

Lex grinned at Clark's presumption and then quickly shifted it to a frown when he realized that Chloe was watching him to see his reaction.

Chloe lifted one eyebrow but made no comment. "Have a good night, guys," she said, shifting her bag onto her shoulder. "C'mon, Pete." Lex monitored their progress as Chloe effectively shepherded Pete out of the room and out of the penthouse, only releasing the breath he'd been holding when he heard the door shut behind the two college students.

"Well," Lex said.

"That...I can't believe they showed all that." Clark was blushing again.

"You seemed to be having a good time," Lex said mildly.

"'Seemed' being the operative word, Lex. What you saw there? That was bad enough. You wouldn't believe what they wanted me to do."

"'They,' the women, or 'they,' the producers?" Lex knew that Clark was uncomfortable with the topic, but it was easier than the inevitable post-mortem of Lex's dates would be. The longer that discussion could be postponed, the better.

"Both. The producers saw me in the pool by myself on the first day, and they decided that it was 'good television.' So when I went for my swim the day of your first group date, they had the women that were left behind come out and, y'know, splash around the pool with me." Clark sighed. "And after the first group of women told the five who had been out with you that night, well..."

"They all ganged up on you, both the producers and the women."

"Exactly." Clark sighed again. "And it wasn't any fun, no matter what Pete might think."

"Our Mr. Ross has an odd perspective on fun, it seems."

"Well, I can understand, from his viewpoint, why the idea of dating five women at once would be appealing. But even he agreed, after watching you experience it, that it wouldn't be as fun as the idea of it was."

"In other circumstances, I think I might be quite adept at entertaining five women. Look at that first night -- dining, dancing, elegant atmosphere. But the others..." Lex shuddered dramatically and Clark laughed.

"You were very brave, following through even after they told you what the plan was."

"I didn't have much of a choice, Clark. The producers have sunk quite a bit of money into this, and I signed documents basically giving up my right to complain. It was enough of a rebellion that I contacted the restaurant ahead of time and reserved the whole place. Beyond that, there wasn't much I could do."

"So what do you want to do?" Clark asked.

"About what?"

"The show. Are you really going to let them broadcast it that way? Your father will have a fit!"

Lex smiled for the first time since they'd started watching the episode. "You know, Clark, that's enough of a reason for me not to complain about anything we saw tonight. Are you okay with what you saw tonight being broadcast?"

Clark thought for less than a minute. All told, he looked better in this episode than Lex did, so if Lex wasn't going to complain, how could Clark?

"I'll be fine with it. And I'll just make sure to warn my parents, just in case they get calls from people after it airs."

"Have there been problems, Clark?" Lex hoped that the fine people of Smallville would be open-minded enough to know that reality TV was not actually the Devil's work. But he didn't hold out much hope.

"Not really. There were a couple of people - Mrs. Flannery, old Mr. Pearson - who tut-tutted about how my parents could let me go away with 'that Luthor' -- but other than that, no one's said anything." Clark paused. "Of course, that first episode was pretty tame."

"Well, be sure to tell me if there is any trouble. I don't want your parents losing customers because of something they had no control over."

"I think people are smarter than to blame my parents for anything that happens on 'Single Millionaire,' Lex."

"I think you give people more credit than a lot of them deserve. But I hope you're right."

Clark got up from the sofa and walked toward the pool table.

"You want to play, Clark?" Lex asked, noting Clark's trajectory.

"Not really." Clark continued to wander around the room.

"Are you sure you're all right with the episode running as is? I can have them change it; it's in my contract with them."

"No, Lex. I'm just...this episode, it made it all seem more real somehow. I know we lived it, I know we played the game. But it all seemed unreal. Now, watching what happened on your dates, it feels more concrete."

"I know what you mean, Clark. Until I saw myself on screen, knowing that it would be shown to all of America, I could believe that perhaps it was all a meteor-rock-induced halluciation. But seeing it there on television, even on video tape, made it that much more real."

Clark continued to pace. "There's a lot...there's so much that I'm trying to figure out right now."

"You know you can talk to me about it, about anything, right?"

Clark shook his head. "I shouldn't bother you with it right now; I'm not even sure of enough of it to talk about it. But I appreciate your offer." There was a lot that Clark knew he couldn't talk to Lex about, despite the other man's words. "Look, I should be heading back to the dorm. I have an early class tomorrow morning." It was his usual 'I need to get away' line, and in using it this time he completely forgot that Lex knew he had no Friday classes.

Lex, however, let the lie slide. "Okay, Clark. Call me later if you want to talk." He watched Clark hurriedly collect his backpack and his jacket then walked casually behind Clark as the younger man made a beeline for the door.

"See you later, Lex. Have a good night." And almost before Lex could say goodbye, Clark was out of the penthouse.

***

Clark walked away from the penthouse until he felt comfortable that no one was nearby, and then he sped home. He needed to be alone, to think about everything he'd experienced while watching the episode and then during the not-completely-normal conversation with Lex afterward.

He slowed down as he reached the outskirts of Met U's campus, walking briskly but at a human pace until he reached his dorm room. There were messages on his answering machine, and he played them as he unpacked his backpack.

"Clark, it's mom. Just wanted to find out if you were planning to come home again this weekend."

He listened with half an ear, making a mental note to call her and remind her that he'd made plans with Lex for the weekend.

"Yo, Clark. It's Pete. Wanted to see if you'd already left for Lex's. Guess you have. Catch you later."

Okay, that one he didn't have to do anything about. That was good.

"Hey, Clark. Just wanted to let you know I got back to my dorm safely. Pete dropped me off just about ten minutes ago. Give me a call when you get in, if you can. I just have some quick things to talk to you about."

Chloe probably wanted to bug him about writing some article or other. She kept trying, despite knowing that, between his classes and his internship at the Planet, he really didn't have any spare time for her right now.

The last message on the tape was just a hang up, and while he could've checked the caller ID, Clark figured that if whoever had called hadn't left a message, there was no reason to track down whoever it was and call them back. If it were important, they'd call back and leave an actual message.

***

Even after he'd gone to bed, Clark kept running the events of the evening through his head, trying to determine what, if anything, he could have or should have said or done differently. He wondered if it was too late to call Lex and ask for the episode to be changed, but then he decided he was making a big deal about nothing. He meant what he'd said - there would be no real fallout from the episode airing as-is, other than a little bit of personal embarrassment for him. And he'd gone into the show with open eyes. He knew what he was getting himself into, so it would be hypocritical for him to now say that it wasn't what he'd expected.

His discomfort with his own behavior was something he would have to deal with himself.

But he was determined not think about that right now. Because focusing on his behavior while they were filming "Single Millionaire" would, without a doubt, lead Clark to think about the reasons behind that behavior, and he was sure there was no way he could think about that right now.

His feelings about the show and how it all happened was just all so jumbled in his head, he couldn't keep it all straight anymore.

That was a laugh. He wasn't sure if he could keep anything straight right now. And it was beginning to cause him trouble with both school and work. His professors, the city editor at the Planet, his friends all noticed that Clark was preoccupied. Heck, even his parents noticed. Otherwise, there was no explanation for the odd, stilted conversation he'd had with his dad last week. His father asking about how he felt? That was more likely his mom's territory; his dad usually only talked about how Clark felt physically, whether any new abilities had appeared and, if so, if anyone was around when they'd first manifested. Emotions were much more his mom's issue.

Suddenly Clark realized just how much he wanted to be more like his father but how, in fact, he skewed much more toward his mother. He further realized that, above all else, it was how he'd gotten himself into this situation. He'd wanted Lex to feel right, to be confident in his decisions. And if that meant sacrificing his own sense of which -- if any -- of the women were right for Lex, so be it.

But his dad had been right -- not only would Lex have to live with the decision, in some way, so would Clark. Because Clark had no intention of being forced out of Lex's life, especially by someone who'd go on a dating reality show in order to find a husband.

Clark shifted on the bed, not as much uncomfortable physically as he was uncomfortable with where his thoughts were going. Because if he condemned the women for being on the show, would it be fair for him to not be critical of Lex's, and his own, participation in the same competition? He sighed as he reached over and switched off the desk lamp. It was too late at night to be having such deep thoughts. And even though he didn't have classes in the morning, he wanted to be alert enough to be able to spend the day with Lex without worrying about the places his mind might wander.

Clark finally got his thoughts to quiet enough so that he could sleep, but his sleep was restless, filled with dreams of confusing images he couldn't reconcile. He woke unrested, still not to face the coming day with Lex. He knew it was inevitable, though, so he dragged himself out of bed to begin his day.

Thankfully -- though he would never admit it to Lex -- he came back from the shower to a message on his answering machine.

"Clark? I hate to do this, but I'm going to have to cancel today's plans. My father has done something Lionel-like, and considering where we are right now in the MetroCorp deal, I think I'm going to have to do damage control for most of the day. I'll call you later to reschedule."

So now he had his day free. And he had a number of options, none of which particularly appealed to him: He could go home to the farm, which opened him up to those odd looks his parents would give him; he could call Pete or Chloe, but he'd just seen them the night before, and either or both of them might ask him questions he didn't want to deal with -- Pete would interrogate him about which women were dismissed in later episodes, which he was forbidden by the show's contract to discuss, and Chloe'd had this...look the previous night that said she had things she wanted to talk to Clark about, and that was never a good thing. Which left him with a completely empty day and no idea how to spend all this free time.

In the end, Clark decided to do something he'd been avoiding for the majority of the semester -- finishing the reading assignments for his non-journalism classes. This actually took him the majority of the weekend, and for once he felt actually prepared for all his classes on Monday morning. His choosing to spend the weekend studying had the added advantage of making his parents happy even if he didn't come home for the weekend.

On Monday, Clark tried as much as possible to avoid Chloe and Pete. This was hampered by the fact that he had classes with each of them -- Journalistic Ethics with Chloe at 10 AM and Photography with Pete at 2 PM -- but he kept their conversations strictly on the subject of classes and work, not allowing either of them to question him about his weekend or about Lex.

His avoidance continued on Tuesday, as Clark ensconced himself in the library whenever he wasn't either in class or at meals. At 9 PM on Tuesday, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, but he didn't pull it out, knowing it was most likely either his on-campus friends calling to check in on him or Lex, calling to confirm Wednesday night's dinner outing.

Finally, at 10, Clark gave up on hiding in the library -- which was closing anyway -- and headed back toward his dorm.

He was dismayed but not surprised when Chloe fell into step alongside him as he stepped off the library's front stairs.

"So, Clark," Chloe said, "You've been playing possum for a couple of days now. What's up?"

"Nothing, Chloe," Clark said, his tone harsher than he'd intended.

Chloe threw up her hands, feigning a defensive manner. "Sorry, Clark. It's just that -- well, except for that time you ran away to Metropolis -- I can't remember a time I've gone more than two days without hearing from you. Even at the worst point of our 'feud' in high school. And Pete didn't hear from you, either. So we figured you were sick or avoiding us. We were worried."

Clark felt the blush climbing up his neck, but he hoped it was too dark for Chloe to notice it. "I haven't been sick, Chloe. I didn't mean to worry you."

"So you have been avoiding us." Now Chloe sounded hurt, with a bit of anger mixed in.

"Not purposely, Chloe. Honest. I just had a lot of work to catch up on for classes, and I spent this weekend studying."

Clark hoped that Chloe hadn't realized he had been supposed to spend part of the weekend with Lex; he really didn't want to face the interrogation that would lead to.

"So you really spent the whole weekend studying? This early in the semester?"

"You wouldn't believe how far behind I fell. If I fail any course this semester, my dad's gonna blame it all on the fact that I spent the summer filming 'Single Millionaire,' and I'm never gonna be able to do anything fun over the summer ever again." That sounded plausible, right? Clark hoped so.

"OK," Chloe said, though her tone belied her skepticism. "But we're still on for tomorrow night, right? Dinner and clubbing with Lex and Pete was what I think we'd decided on."

"Right. I'll be there. Dinner and clubbing." Clark dreaded the evening, but he wasn't going to let his friends down by canceling on them at the last minute. It was his responsibility, his duty to be there. And so he would be.

"Oh, I'm going to have to go shopping tomorrow between classes. I have absolutely nothing to wear."

Clark laughed, finally relaxing for the first time in a couple of days. "Chloe, you have a closet full of clubbing clothing. I should know - I helped you move it all into the dorm."

"Yeah, but none of it's right for Metropolis clubs."

It felt right to be sparring with Chloe on the state of her wardrobe and her tendency to face every challenge from a clothing perspective. Maybe, Clark thought, he'd turn out to be wrong and the Wednesday night outing wouldn't be the disaster he was currently anticipating. As long as he kept his thoughts firmly fixed on the events of the moment, he'd be fine.

He had to be.

And if he wasn't, well, it takes a lot of courage to admit you're wrong.

Women selected for the next round: Amy, Delia, Frances, Jennifer, Lindsey, Marnie, Monica, Stacy S., Valerie, Veronica

Women eliminated this round: Lauren, Stacy P., Caroline, Kylie, Stephanie

Click here to go to episode 3.