Title: Favoring Fire - Episode Three

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: "The good news is: they're not going to prosecute."

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 Julian Lee for betaing this episode for us and to Sonja for her comments that kick-started this episode.

***

"Pete!"

Pete turned to see what woman was shouting at him across the quad. He couldn't completely stifle the groan when he saw Chloe hurrying after him.

"Hey, Pete. Wait up!" Chloe called again.

Pete debated for a split second pretending he didn't hear her, but she managed to make eye contact with him and he didn't want to pay for walking away. He slowed down and waited - leaning against a tree - until Chloe caught up.

"What's up?"

"He spent the weekend studying," Chloe replied.

"Who?" Pete was clearly puzzled.

"Clark. Clark Kent. You remember him. Your best friend. The one we didn't see all weekend."

"Uh huh. And studying became a crime when, exactly?"

"Oh!" Chloe's frustration was apparent by the way she stretched out the single word into a sentence of its own. "It's too early in the semester to spend an entire weekend studying. Besides, why didn't he ask us to study with him?"

"Um, because he can get more done without us distracting him?" Pete offered. "Besides, doesn't he usually spend most of the weekend without us, anyway?"

"That's part of my point, Pete. He wasn't with Lex either," Chloe explained patiently.

"And you know this because . . ."

"He said he spent the weekend studying."

"And it's not like Clark has ever lied to anyone about his whereabouts before, right?" Pete asked somewhat sarcastically.

"I'd have noticed if he went anywhere," Chloe replied defensively.

"Were you staking him out, Chloe?"

"I might have been."

"'Cause that's what friends do - stake each other out." Pete rolled his eyes and then added, "You need to get a hobby - or a boyfriend. That's just creepy."

"I'm worried about him, Pete. He's acting weird, and as his friends, it's our responsibility to help him."

"No, as his friends, it's our responsibility to stay out of it unless he asks us for help." Pete turned to walk away, but Chloe grabbed his arm.

"You don't mean that, Pete."

"The hell I don't. If he needs help - any help - he knows he can ask me. But he also knows that I'll respect his *privacy* enough to not snoop or sneak around to try to find out what's going on. You should do the same thing, Chloe."

"But he's not telling us what's going on."

"You know, it's just possible that there's nothing going on, and he needed to study. He's a big boy, Chlo. Leave him alone."

"But I want to help."

"So help him by not going all investigative reporter on his ass." Pete watched Chloe's face crumple and relented. "Let's grab a snack before we go change and you can tell me all about your theories, okay?"

"Sure." Chloe brightened somewhat at the thought of getting to observe Clark more closely that evening and perhaps even enlisting Pete into her cause.

***

By the time Chloe and Pete hooked up with Clark, Pete's head was swimming. Chloe was absolutely convinced that *something* was going on with Clark, but she wasn't sure what. Pete was just sure that he didn't want any part of any scheme that Chloe cooked up to spy on Clark. Spying on Clark never went well, and frankly, the guy had enough secrets that Pete wasn't sure he wanted to know any more of them.

The plan, as previously determined by Lex, was to go out to dinner and then to hit a club or two. None of them were legal yet, but that had never stopped Lex before. What Lex Luthor wanted, Lex Luthor got. As far as Pete was concerned, so long it involved getting Pete into clubs he couldn't get into on his own, he was for Luthor privilege.

"Hey man," Pete called out to get Clark's attention. "Wait up, Clark."

Clark stopped in his tracks and started tapping his foot as he waited for Pete and Chloe to catch up.

"Were you leaving without us, Clark?" Chloe's tone was sharp enough that even Pete winced.

"Just heading out to the car, Chlo. Lex is waiting for us, and I didn't want him to get impatient and leave," Clark replied shortly. He picked up his pace again and moved toward the limo.

"See what I mean," Chloe hissed at Pete. "He's just being rude."

"He doesn't want Lex to wait by himself," Pete corrected quietly. "When has he *ever* wanted to leave Lex hanging, huh?"

"Yeah, but he never talks to us like that either."

"Yes, he does. The only person I think who escapes that tone from him is Lex."

"Whatever," Chloe replied irritably as she flounced into the limo.

"Bad day, Miss Sullivan?" Lex asked, peering over the edge of his laptop as he attempted to defend it from Clark.

"Clark, what are you doing?" Chloe asked.

"He's not supposed to be working. We're going out to have fun," Clark pouted.

"I was working while I waited for you. If you'll allow me to save my work, I'll put work aside until our evening activities are concluded." Lex glared at the large hand pressing on the top of his laptop.

Clark pulled his hand back and started tapping his fingers on the window. "Pete - hustle it up, man, or we're leaving without you."

Lex stared at Clark. He hadn't seen him impatient like this in a long time. He studied his friend carefully, looking for any other conspicuous changes in his behavior, but not noting any. He wondered if he had asked too much of Clark by asking him to join him on the show, but that damage was done now and he couldn't take it back.

"Is something wrong with what I'm wearing?" Clark asked, the edge still evident in his voice.

Lex snapped to attention and looked at him. Clark was wearing some of the clubbing clothes that Lex had bought for him when he started college. He'd called it a 'welcome to Metropolis' present. One that Clark's parents had not been in a position to refuse - in fact, Lex still wasn't sure that they even knew about it.

"No, why do you ask?"

"You're staring at me like you used to when I was dressed wrong," Clark said more sullenly.

"Do you not want to go tonight, Clark? Do you want to do something else?" Lex asked, concern coloring his voice.

"No, no. This is fine," Clark replied, coloring slightly. He knew that Lex was wondering why he hadn't called him back all weekend, but he was hopeful that it wouldn't come up in front of Chloe and Pete. They were already wondering about his loner tendencies for the past few days; if Lex mentioned that he hadn't seen or heard from Clark either, he was going to be in serious trouble. He noticed Chloe nudge Pete and resolved that he was going to have to do something different, or he was going to be fielding more questions from Chloe that he wouldn't know how to answer.

"If you're sure," Lex replied cautiously, watching as Clark seemed to mentally shake himself and start perking up.

"Yeah, Lex. I'm good. Sorry, it's been a rough week." Clark grinned, hoping that it was close to what Lex was used to seeing, or he'd be facing yet more questions from that quarter. And he didn't want those, either.

Lex leaned back in his seat and attempted to relax. Clark was looking a little more normal and there would, hopefully, be time for questions and a private discussion before they watched the tape the next night.

***

Dinner had been boring, Lex reflected as they rode to their next destination. Clark had been more upbeat and animated than he'd been when he got into the limousine. For that, Lex was glad, but his behavior still seemed off - almost manic in its attempt to demonstrate that he was okay, and that was disturbing Lex's attempts to remain calm and not focus on the fact that the current episode of 'Single Millionaire' had just started airing in Kansas.

As always happened when Lex decided to go to a club, his group got in easily. No waiting in line for Lex, and people just instantly evaporated from his path as he headed toward a suddenly available table. Lex vaguely heard the murmurs from the crowd, but forced himself to tune them down if not entirely out. He felt someone bump into him and turned to favor the individual with the infamous Luthor glare when he realized it was Clark.

"You okay, Clark?"

"Sorry, Lex," Clark said, staring at the floor. He wished he wouldn't feel the need to trip over his damned feet so much. He wasn't nearly as clumsy as he made himself out to be.

"It's nothing to apologize for, Clark. I'm concerned, not irritated."

"You *were* irritated though."

"Yes, when I thought it was some random stranger not paying attention to my personal space."

"Instead, it's a good friend not paying attention."

"The difference is, Clark, I don't care if you get into my personal space."

"Oh," Clark replied, flushing.

"Let's just get a drink and then dance some; that's what we're here for, right?" Lex raised an eyebrow at his three companions, who all nodded their agreement. Once they'd had a few minutes to scope out the scene, all four of them broke for the dance floor and started throwing themselves - at varying rates - into the music.

While swaying to the music, Lex watched Clark surreptitiously. The other man was clearly more comfortable in his own skin than he let on, and watching him dance only proved that fact for anyone who was paying attention. Lex scanned the rest of the crowd carefully when he realized that Chloe was paying more attention to him than he'd like.

Lex slowly felt himself becoming absorbed into the scene and found he was enjoying being able to let loose for a little while without having to worry about his Dad, the company, or much of anything else. When he felt arms sliding around his chest, he stiffened reflexively. He glanced down at the slender arms, and assumed as he started to turn around that it was Chloe.

"Miss Sull-" Lex stopped as he came face to face with the woman who was still wrapped around him as if she had ownership papers. "Veronica? What are you doing here?"

"I just happened to come here, and I saw you," Veronica replied as she continued to insinuate herself closer to Lex. She twined her arms around his neck and started dotting kisses all over his face. She zeroed in and planted a firm kiss on his unyielding lips before he managed to get a hold of her hands to begin to disengage her from his person.

"We are not supposed to be in contact until the show is over," Lex hissed at the woman as he tried, unsuccessfully, to pull away.

Veronica continued to twine herself around Lex making escape completely impossible. "But, Lex. I've missed you so much. You were here, and I was here. I just don't see the harm."

"The harm is that you're violating the contract that you signed. By extension, I'm now violating that same contract. And Clark . . ." Lex looked around wildly for his friend. Of the three of them, Clark could least afford to be the target of a lawsuit by the production company.

"Is right behind you, and probably now a target for a lawsuit, too," Clark inserted smoothly. Too smoothly, almost, for the Clark Lex was used to encountering.

"Veronica." Clark added with a nod. Clark gently untwined Veronica from Lex and scooted her away from Lex. Both men were surprised when she lunged back at Lex and kissed the surprised man thoroughly. She then ran a hand down his chest - lingering at his crotch for a second and then turned to walk away quickly wearing an utterly triumphant smile.

"Damn it," Lex ranted. "Can we get out of here?"

"Sure, Lex. Let me just chase down Chloe and Pete," Clark turned to find his friends only to see them at the front of a crowd staring at the two men left in the wake of the beautiful Veronica.

"So much for no one noticing," Lex growled as he spun around and stalked out of the club with the other three hot on his heels.

Once they were all safely ensconced in the limousine, Lex's heated glare did nothing to deter the other occupants from questioning him about the incident in the club.

"Was that the hot chick from the show?" Pete asked.

"How is that supposed to be a distinction, coming from you, Pete?" Chloe asked.

"He knows what I mean," Pete replied. "Clark? Lex? Is one of you going to answer me?"

Lex shared a glance with Clark and then said, "I can't confirm or deny, Mr. Ross. Terms of the contract."

"Clark? Buddy? Give me something here."

"I can't, Pete. I signed a contract too," Clark replied, frowning.

"Look, you saw her. All I want to know is if it's the hot chick from the show."

Lex rubbed his hand over his scalp while trying to decide what to do. Finally, he said, "If you were to offer a name, I suppose we could admit or not whether she was who you thought she was."

Clark stared at Lex. He nudged him and then leaned in to whisper quietly, "But won't that mean we've admitted contact? Couldn't we get in trouble?"

"I don't think Pete is going to rat us out, so I'm not worried," Lex murmured quietly.

"I think her name's Veronica. Was it her?" When Lex nodded in the affirmative, Pete let out an appreciative whistle. "Damn man. You picked her, didn't you?"

Lex's face immediately became shuttered. "We can't talk about that, Pete."

"But she was all over you, man. You had to have picked her. Otherwise she wouldn't have had the confidence to do that," Pete reasoned.

"Pete, leave it alone." Clark glared at his friend.

Chloe continued to switch her focus between each of the men. The part of her that was always interested in a good story wanted to see if she could get Clark or Lex break. But there was another part that was just hurt because her friends (supposed) were all keeping secrets from her and she didn't like it.

"It's not like we didn't already see her, Lex," Chloe commented.

"Cut it out, guys. I swear we're going to stop the car and find a cab if you don't leave it," Clark said menacingly, before Lex could say a word.

Chloe frowned at Clark and muttered, "You know, it used to be that you didn't leave us out of things."

"We signed a binding agreement, Miss Sullivan. I can, perhaps, afford to be sued, but Clark, I can assure you, cannot afford the damage suit that they would file against him. I understand that your desire to find the story is overwhelming you here, but your lack of understanding and loyalty is discouraging," Lex said in the quiet tone that all three of the others recognized as controlled lethalness.

"If it were about loyalty, why didn't you invite us to participate, too?"

Clark dove in to answer the question before Lex had the opportunity. "You had an internship in Gotham - remember? Would you have turned it down for seven weeks of being filmed for a television show?"

"Well, no," Chloe admitted.

"So whose fault is it that you don't know everything?" Clark responded.

"Fine." Chloe said with a pout. Clark had her with that, but she didn't have to like it. However, she had to admit that the secrecy this all required might be why Clark had been acting weird lately. He sucked at keeping secrets - maybe the strain was getting to him. She resolved to keep watching him closely, but she was also prepared to admit that there was a possibility that she was just being overly sensitive to Clark's lack of attentiveness to her.

"What?" Chloe asked, when she realized that all three men were staring at her.

"Lex asked if you wanted to go somewhere else, or if you'd had enough excitement for the night," Pete said.

"I'm done in," Chloe said with a grimace. "Even I can't handle much more excitement than this in one day."

"You? The meteor mutant chaser? The woman who kept a wall of weird all through high school is done in by a woman with an inappropriate sense of timing?" Lex arched an eyebrow at her.

Chloe frowned at her friends and said, "I have an early class."

Just as it appeared that Clark was going to weigh in with some words of wisdom of his own, the limousine came to a stop just outside Chloe and Pete's dorm. The driver opened the door and they piled out of the car. Clark hesitated and looked to Lex for guidance.

"We need to talk about this, Clark, but we can do it tomorrow if you'd rather."

"I'll come over early," Clark replied as he maneuvered his large body from the car.

"See you then," Lex replied as the door closed. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and then dialed the phone to contact his personal attorney. It was going to be a long night.

***

Clark checked his watch for the fifth time as he paced up and down in the living room of the penthouse. Lex had asked him to be early and early he was, but no Lex. Enrique had made subtle inquiries about dinner, working out, basically anything to get Clark to stop pacing.

Clark had finally settled in to play a video game when he heard the front door bang open.

"Clark?" Lex called as he strode down the hallway.

"Yeah?" Clark called back from the unofficial game room. Lex didn't keep his X-box out in the main living areas because he felt it didn't make the right impression on potential visitors to the penthouse.

"Where are you?"

"Game room."

Lex appeared at the doorway looking flustered. "Sorry, I'm so damned late. Lionel kept coming up with stupid tasks that a trained monkey could have accomplished. But no, I had to take care of them *personally*. It's like he has fucking radar."

"Why don't you take over? I think you need to kill things even more than I do right now." Clark held up the game control and offered it to Lex.

"I need to change before Chloe and Pete get here, but hold that thought. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"You? Change in a couple of minutes? You've got to be kidding," Clark teased and then laughed when Lex flipped him off as he turned to head to his room.

Not five minutes later, Lex reappeared in his version of casual clothing and sank down on the low couch next to Clark. "Talk or play? You call it."

"Let's play now. We can talk about the whole Veronica thing if anything comes of it," Clark reasoned as he dug out another control pad for Lex to use.

The two of them were getting into the game when Enrique appeared in the doorway. He cleared his throat and said, "Master Lex?"

"Yes?"

"You asked me to remind you - your other guests are due in approximately ten minutes. I've taken the liberty of having Cook prepare something for dinner. I hope that's all right."

"What are we having?" Clark asked.

"Cook is fixing hamburgers, shoestring potatoes, and coleslaw. I hope that will be to your liking, sirs," Enrique replied, smothering a smile as he anticipated his employer's response.

Lex sighed as Clark grinned widely.

"That's fine," Lex said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. His staff tended to cater to Clark's tastes rather than his when Clark was around. It was easier, Lex supposed, for him to eat a hamburger than it was for Clark to eat something exotic.

"What time shall I serve, sir?"

Lex glanced at his watch and then realized that it might not be a great deal of help in this particular situation. "Let's have the food about a half an hour after my other two guests arrive. I think that will stave off starvation for Clark."

"Very good, sir." Enrique disappeared from the room as quietly as he had appeared.

Clark turned his attention to Lex rather than back to the game. "Do you want to talk about what happened last night? I know you're worried."

"I'm worried because I don't want you to have to suffer repercussions just because she lacks self-preservation instincts."

"I doubt anything will happen."

"Thus speaks the farm boy." Lex sighed again. "Look. If anyone approaches you about this, or if anyone tries to contact you in any way, direct them to my lawyer or my publicity department. Don't go all stoic on me and try to handle it yourself - okay?"

"Okay, Lex. I promise," Clark replied seriously. Clark didn't want to make this situation worse for Lex, and refusing to do as he asked would certainly add stress to an already stressful situation.

"Now that we have that settled, let's get back to me kicking your ass," Lex grinned sharkily.

"In your dreams, Luthor."

"You do *not* want to go there," Lex replied as he started manipulating his player toward Clark's in an attempt to assassinate the other man.

The two men were laughing at their game antics when they heard the doorbell chime. They shut down the game and were just entering the room when Enrique escorted the other two members of their party into the living room. Clark immediately grabbed a choice spot on the couch and proclaimed the other seat to be Lex's.

Lex smiled fondly at the other man as he took the time to put the tape into the VCR and fix himself a drink. He paid little attention to the scuffle occurring behind him - assuming that Chloe and Pete were attempting to dislodge Clark from the prime viewing spot in the room. Not that there were really any bad seats, but sometimes it certainly seemed as if there were - when Clark was around.

Lex turned abruptly toward the group and said, "Let's get this show underway, shall we?"

Pete and Clark both dove for the remote, but Lex simply held out a hand and found that the remote ended up there regardless of which other man had managed to gain temporary control of it. He pressed the button and settled in next to Clark as the familiar theme music began to play.

***

"Tonight on 'Single Millionaire': two lucky ladies - chosen by the ladies themselves - will have an opportunity to go out with Lex on spectacular private dates. The remaining women will be divided into groups of four and go out on group dates with our bachelor. In the end, we'll have our most exciting selection party yet. Stay tuned for all the excitement as we watch Lex Luthor try to find his perfect match here on 'Single Millionaire."

The screenshot zoomed out to the house where the women were staying. As the shot narrowed back in, it became apparent that rather than Mark Mitchell, they had recruited Clark to go into the women's abode and announce the new twist in the contest.

***

"When did you do this?"

"Remember the cheap board shorts and the problems they caused?" Clark asked.

"Yes." Lex thought back to those two pain filled days and remembered that Clark had disappeared for about three hours on the second day. "Is this where you went?"

"Yup. Apparently, Mark was tired of doing this sort of thing, and they decided to let the friend play a more significant role in the filming of the show," Clark explained.

"A likely story." Lex smirked.

"They probably just wanted to put up available eye candy for the female viewers," Chloe suggested.

"What? The show's about Lex, not about me," Clark protested.

"Think about it Clark." Chloe wore her patented 'are you totally brain dead?' expression. "Lex won't be available once this show is over. You, on the other hand, will be utterly available. So, for the women who won't have a shot at Lex, they offer you - who will still be available when the show is over."

"I'm sure that's not what it was," Lex replied, more to assure a blushing Clark than to really disagree with Chloe. He would have admitted, privately, that he thought she was probably right, but Clark was clearly already embarrassed by the situation, and he didn't want to make it worse.

***

Clark cleared his throat as he found himself surrounded by the remaining ten women when he entered their residence.

"I, uh, I'm here to conduct a survey for the show, ladies," Clark stuttered. He frowned and shuffled the papers he held when he heard a soft chuckle from the group, but he couldn't quite figure out who had done it. "I have the questionnaire here for you to fill out. Based on these questionnaires, two of you will be selected for private dates with Lex."

"Is Lex going to see these?" demanded Delia.

"I, uh, don't know. They didn't tell me what they were going to do with them. Just that I needed to come in and conduct them."

"How is the selection going to be made?" Monica asked. She was one of the quieter contestants who Clark hadn't really gotten to know.

"I really don't know. They didn't tell me much - I wish I could be more help."

"That's okay, Clark," Marnie said soothingly. "We understand. Is there a time limit?"

"Yes!!" Clark pumped his fist. "A question I can answer - you have twenty minutes once I give these to you. And you'll find out the results in a couple of days - once Lex has recovered from the group dates."

"Is he okay?" Jennifer asked.

"The sun got to him a little bit. He's recovering nicely, though."

***

"The sun?" Lex snorted.

"Did you want me to say you were so chafed you couldn't even stand up without help? Problems with the sun make sense given how pale you are."

"Valid point," Lex admitted.

"Thank you," Clark replied. "I try to protect your virtue at all times, Mr. Luthor."

"That's a lost cause, Clark." Pete chuckled.

"Indeed," Lex agreed with a raised eyebrow.

***

Once Clark had collected the questionnaires, he tried to take his leave, only to find the women clamoring for his attention.

"Clark - can't you stay for a little bit? It's so boring over here," Jennifer pleaded.

"I have to get these back to the producers." Clark waved the sheaf of questionnaires in his hands. "And Lex is alone in his place. At least you guys have each other. All he has is me."

"Like that's any comfort," Jennifer muttered, loud enough to be picked up by her mike but not loud enough to be heard by her fellow contestants.

***

"Man, Clark. You should have stuck around. All those hot women," Pete moaned.

"Were there for Lex, not for me," Clark replied.

"Yeah, but the leftovers, man. The leftovers."

"At the time, I didn't know who Lex would pick and who he wouldn't." Clark blushed. "Besides, I don't think any of them were seriously interested in me, anyway."

"Then they'd be the ones missing out," Lex said, quietly as attention returned to the screen in front of them.

***

The first box arrived on what appeared to be the next morning. In actuality, though, it was several days later, once Lex could comfortably wear clothes without wincing.

Marnie carried the box into the house and called for all the girls to join her in the living room for the opening. Once everyone arrived, Marnie and Jennifer opened the box and pulled out an envelope.

"Oh, it's a private date, I think," squealed Jennifer. "And the card is for . . . Delia."

Delia reached her perfectly manicured hand out and accepted the card from Jennifer with cool indifference. She read the note silently and then turned the box to peruse its contents.

"Come on, Del. Tell us what it says," pleaded Lindsey.

"Delia," she corrected. "Lex is taking me to Monterey for the day. We'll be sailing, relaxing on the beach, and dining at an exclusive restaurant on the coast. He's enclosed the clothing I'll need for each part of our day. We're leaving in an hour and we'll be back late tonight."

"You're so lucky, Delia," Valerie commented. "It sounds like a perfect date."

"That it does," Delia confirmed as she picked up the box and headed for the stairs to pack her stuff.

***

The clips from the date alternated with images from Clark's adventures with the other women. This time the producers had convinced the younger man to take the women on trip to someplace that would matter to Lex. Clark had chosen a local museum with an Alexander the Great exhibit currently on display.

Lex snorted as he watched the dismay play across several of the women's faces as they realized where they would be spending their afternoon with Clark.

"I don't think this was what they had in mind, Clark," Lex observed.

"They told me to take the women to something that matters to you. It was either this or the LexCorp offices, and *that* would have been boring."

"Really?" Lex frowned at Clark. "You realize that boring place pays for the food you're going to be eating, the video games you play, and the plasma screen you're watching right now, correct?"

Clark rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. "Can you imagine bringing nine women into your office? Your *private* office? I figured you'd kill me."

"And I would have. You selected well," Lex smiled.

Chloe stared at the screen and commented, "You really didn't spend much time with Delia, did you?"

"Actually, this is cut strangely, because we really did spend an entire day together. They seem to be giving you just enough to demonstrate that we were together in each of the three venues discussed, without actually giving you the substance of our interactions." Just as Lex responded, however, the music quieted so that the audience could overhear the conversation between Lex and Delia at dinner.

***

"So tell me more about what you do," Lex inquired of the beautiful woman in front of him as he reached for his glass to take a sip of wine.

"I've been studying classical languages for several years. I'm a few courses away from a PhD. I hope to teach when I finish my degree," Delia replied with a mild air of disinterest.

"I taught a couple of lab sections while I was at Princeton. Would you be planning to teach college level? Met U has a classics program, but it's not particularly strong."

"Ideally, I would teach at the university level, but I could be satisfied teaching at a prep school if that's where life leads me."

"And how would you decide?"

"The job market for Classics professors hasn't been, well, stellar, in the last few years, so that will probably dictate part of my decision. I'm also willing to take into account what my husband does or where he needs to be and make some adjustments if necessary."

"You've put a lot of time into your degree - you'd really walk away from it for a man?"

"Not just any man," Delia replied confidently as she reached for her own glass.

***

"Could she be more obvious?" Chloe demanded.

"What?" All three men looked at her with various levels of confusion.

"She's saying that if you pick her she'd do whatever you wanted, Lex. Do you really want a woman who'll give up everything for you?"

"I don't think she's saying that, Chlo," Clark replied, though he'd have admitted privately that he believed the same thing.

"Of course you wouldn't! You also couldn't tell when Lana liked you and when Lana didn't. You are totally clueless when it comes to women, Clark!"

"Women who are interested in me," Clark amended.

"And you, Lex!" Chloe continued ranting. "How could you fall for that?"

"I didn't think I was falling for anything. She seemed sincere."

"She was sincere. She wants to marry you and spend your money."

"That'd be an improvement," Lex muttered.

***

The scene switched to Clark and the other nine women returning from their outing to the museum. Waiting in the foyer of the women's house was another box. Lindsey grabbed the card and frowned. "It's a group date."

Clark looked around and asked, "Group date?"

"Didn't Lex tell you?" Jennifer asked as she brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes for the fifteenth time on camera.

"I guess not, dopey," Stacy replied caustically.

"I'm not dopey!" Jennifer shouted back.

"Whatever." Stacy S. turned toward Lindsey and dismissed the previous conversation. "Who's going?"

"Frances, Amy, Marnie, and Stacy," Lindsey replied. "Tough luck, ladies."

Frances held out a hand and received the card from Lindsey. She opened it and read in her southern drawl, "Frances, Amy, Marnie and Stacy, please do me the honor of attending a gala performance of the Metropolis Philharmonic tomorrow evening. Afterwards, we'll take in the sights at a local park and enjoy food from several of Metropolis' finest restaurants. You'll find a rack of dresses, in the appropriate sizes, in the main salon. I'll be by to pick you promptly at 7 pm. Lex."

All four women raced to the room they'd considered the book room and started rifling through the dresses Lex had provided. Stacy grabbed four of them to try on, which left Amy with no dress.

"Stacy, you can't hoard the dresses," Marnie remonstrated.

"If she wanted to pick a dress, she should have moved faster. It's not my fault she lacked motivation."

"It's not like you can wear four dresses, Stacy."

"That's true, Marnie. But I can pick one looks best on me, and then Amy can try on the other ones, and I'm sure one of them will suit her."

***

All four people watching the tape held their breath as Marnie calmly handed over the dress she'd selected to Amy.

"I would not have done that," Chloe admitted.

"I don't think many people would," Lex observed quietly. "But I think that's the dress she wore on the date."

They continued to watch as Amy slipped on the dress and realized that it didn't work for her, so she handed it back to Marnie and then waited to see which dresses Stacy discarded.

In the end, all the women were clad in glamorous dresses that suited them perfectly.

"You've got a good eye, Lex," Chloe commented.

"Actually, I didn't have much to do with it. I got the credit for it, but the show's stylist picked out all of the women's outfits. I don't have a great deal of practical knowledge when it comes to women's clothes."

"Did the stylist dress you, too, Clark?"

"Nope, Lex handled that." Clark grinned over at Lex, who was sitting smugly watching the tape continue to roll. The women were jockeying for position in front of the mirror, fixing their make up, checking their teeth, and all the other things that women did right before a date. Or at least, Lex assumed that these behaviors were normal.

"Chloe?"

"Yes, Lex?"

"Is that what women do before going on a date? Generally speaking, of course."

"There's a lot less shoving, of course. One of them is going to put an eye out if they keep that up."

"But it's normal?"

"Mostly, yeah. At least, I know I do it, and I know my roommate does, too. Lana was a serious primper before a date. This, though, is a bit excessive. On the other hand, Lex - women have to work harder to be as pretty as you are."

***

Lex didn't bother to get out of the limousine - all four women piled into it, and he greeted each one with a kiss on the hand and a general greeting. He wasn't holding out high hopes for this group date. Although he'd been given the opportunity to select where they were going, he didn't imagine that the women were going to be thrilled with a benefit performance or the amount of schmoozing he'd have to do while he was there. The good point of it being a group date is that they could keep themselves entertained while he attended to business.

***

The images began shifting again between Lex and the women at the benefit and Clark and the remaining women making pizza.

"What is this?" Lex asked, eyebrow raised.

"They convinced me to go over there. What did you want me to do? Sit around the mansion and wait for you to come back from your dates."

"Isn't that what you were *supposed* to do?" Chloe asked.

"Not according to the producers. They said this is all perfectly normal."

"It's not Clark. Really, it's not," Chloe said emphatically.

"And how would you know, Miss Sullivan?"

Chloe turned bright red and muttered, "I've watched this show before. Before you were on it."

"Ah ha," Clark crowed. "A closet dating show watcher."

"Whatever, Clark," Chloe snapped. "I can tell you, though, that this is not normal. The friend never spends this much time with the other guy's women. It's almost like they're trying to pair off two women instead of the usual one. Talk about a bonus."

"I'm a broke college student; how could I possibly be a good match for any of these women?"

Chloe's eyes met Lex's and they both rolled their eyes. Clark was just totally clueless about how good he looked, and nothing either of them said would correct that.

Lex paid careful attention to Clark's interactions, or lack thereof, with Delia. He noted that while Delia was polite, she wasn't overtly friendly with Clark and, in fact, seemed impatient with his presence, because it required her to be away from her studies in order to be filmed. At least, he assumed that was her motive. When they went to a confessional moment and she actually admitted it, Lex expected to see Clark relax where Delia was concerned, but close observation of his friend showed that Clark didn't relax in the show, nor did he relax as he sat next to Lex.

The philharmonic portion of Lex's group date ended pleasantly. Everyone applauded politely, and Lex escorted his dates out of the theatre and herded them toward the park. The producers had arranged an evening picnic in the park, and the plan was for Lex to take each woman off for some private time during the course of the picnic, according to the voice-over.

***

"Master Lex?" Enrique stood in the archway leading to the entertainment room.

"Yes?"

"Dinner is served, sir."

Predictably, Clark vaulted over the back of the couch and headed for the dining room, followed by Lex's laughter.

Once the four of them had fixed their burgers to their liking, they settled back in to watch the last little bit of the group date. Lex's conversations with Amy and Frances had been forgettable. While both women were pretty and clearly goodhearted, it was also painfully obvious that they couldn't keep up with his brilliant mind.

Stacy had brains, and she was clearly interested in Lex. She had just completed a master's degree in social work but had a wide range of interests that to some extent seemed to captivate Lex. Or at least interest him enough that he wasn't hustling her off to bring on the next woman.

The date came to an end without Lex having a private discussion with Marnie.

***

"Uh, Lex?"

"Yes, Clark?"

"Why didn't you talk with Marnie?"

"You'll see," Lex replied with a smirk.

***

When the limousine pulled up outside the women's house, Lex asked Marnie to stay back for a few minutes, since they hadn't had the opportunity to talk before they'd needed to head home. Marnie, like Stacy, was a smart woman - although her training was in a line that would work better with Lex's future. She held a Master's in Public Administration and had worked for several different politicians. She was currently working on an MBA and was interested in the philanthropic end of corporate relations. It was clear from the intense conversation that they shared that she was captivated by Lex and that Lex was interested in her.

***

The next date box was waiting on the doorstep of the women's house when they awoke the next morning. The squeals startled the less awake members of the household and earned the excited women glares of disapproval as other women headed for the kitchen and coffee before facing the latest invitation.

"Well?" Veronica asked, peering over her cup of coffee. "Who's it for?"

"It's a private date box, V."

"Who got the other private date?" Lindsey asked.

"Veronica."

Veronica perked up and reached out to take the box and attempted to spirit it away, but the other women insisted upon hearing the details of Veronica's upcoming date with Lex.

"What does it say?"

"Where are you going?"

"What will you be doing?"

Veronica perused the card and smiled silkily. "We'll be spending the day doing some of Lex's favorite things, and then we're going to go to dinner and then dancing."

***

Lex began drumming his fingers against the cushion on the couch. He could feel himself tensing up, and knowing what would be coming on this date, he wasn't looking forward to Clark's reaction. Clark snagged the remote from Lex and paused the tape.

"What's wrong, Lex?"

"Nothing," Lex growled. "We'll discuss it later."

Chloe watched the exchange wide-eyed. She fought against her nature to begin asking a ton of questions. She knew in her gut there was a story here, but she also knew that if she pressed, Lex wouldn't invite her to anymore of these pre-viewings.

"Is something wrong, Miss Sullivan?" Lex asked. His voice was quiet and deadly.

"Nothing, Lex," Chloe denied. "Can we get back to watching now?"

"We're only waiting on Clark," Lex replied in no less deadly a voice.

***

The scene on the screen shifted to Veronica's preparations for the date. She changed into an elegant yet casual outfit that showed off her excellent figure and then pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She adjusted her shirt a couple of times, smiled broadly into the mirror and sauntered down the stairs to wait for Lex and the limousine.

She was out the door before the limousine came to a complete stop. Although her actions could be interpreted as eagerness, the smug grin she threw over her shoulder toward the closed door suggested that she simply wanted to prevent the other women from getting an opportunity to see and talk with Lex.

"Hello, Lex," she purred as she slid into the seat next to him.

"Veronica," Lex replied. "So let's see if the other women are right or not."

***

"Right about what?" Pete asked.

"Keep watching," Lex commanded.

***

"I'm certain that they aren't. If they only knew why you had this date with me they'd be furious with themselves."

Lex raised a single eyebrow. "I admit, I was surprised when I discovered that they decided to have me go on a date with the woman considered least compatible with me."

"The other women are just jealous cows. They don't like me, and as a result they think you shouldn't either," Veronica replied with a toss of her ponytail.

"I suppose we'll see," Lex replied.

"So what are we doing first?"

"We're going shopping," Lex said with a sharkish grin.

***

The show then shifted between Lex and Veronica on their shopping trip and Clark and his adventures with the other women. This time Clark was leading the women through an automobile show. At least, that's what it appeared to be.

****

"Clark," Lex's eyebrow was raised as he looked over at his friend.

"Yes, Lex?" Clark replied with a smirk.

"How did you get a key to my garage?"

"You gave me one," Clark said as he attempted to look innocent.

"No, you see, I'd remember giving you a key to my personal garage," Lex replied. "In fact, I'd remember saying it was okay for them to film in the garage."

Lex's eyes bulged as he watched women climbing into his cars and messing with the seats, control panels, and so on. "CLARK!!"

"Whaaa?"

"Why did you let them in my cars?"

"The producers wanted me to show them something that means a lot to you. I'd already done the Alexander the Great exhibit at the museum. I wasn't stupid enough to break out the Warrior Angel collection or the GameCube, so . . . I went with the cars. It was that or LexCorp, and I knew you didn't want them trooping around in there."

"I care about other things, Clark."

"Of course you do, Lex. But most of them can't be shared with the general voting public," Chloe piped up.

"And what would you know of those pursuits, Miss Sullivan?" Lex asked, eyebrow arching once again.

"Nothing, Lex," Chloe quickly replied.

"Ahem." Pete cleared his throat. "I move that we go back to watching the video. Some of us have class in the morning."

Lex watched in horror as the women who were with Clark wheedled and pleaded with Clark for a ride in one of the cars. "Oh god, you didn't."

"Get over it, Lex. I played volleyball in a pool. I spent inordinate amounts of time touring exhibits in a museum you've dragged me through a million times. And, I took some of your ladies for a ride in the Hummer. I have keys to it. I'm allowed to drive it, so I did."

Pete, Chloe and Lex were all staring at Clark in varying degrees of shock.

"What?" Clark asked anger still clear in his voice. He saw Chloe elbow Pete, hard, in the ribs. "Do you have a problem, Chlo?"

She frowned at Clark but said nothing.

"Fine, then. Let's finish watching this thing, all right?"

Lex continued to study Clark but nodded his agreement and attempted to split his attention between the screen and his suddenly surly friend.

***

Lex's date with Veronica clearly hadn't gone the way that the producers had hoped, because they spent a lot of the time focused on what was happening with the women and Clark rather than what was happening on the date.

Although Veronica had led the others to believe that they would be shopping for her, Lex had been clear in his note that they would be spending a part of the day shopping for gifts for the wives of investors. Each time the camera focused back in on Lex and Veronica, they had more bags from the upscale shops that Lex preferred.

The camera settled on them, though, when they were dancing.

"God, Lex, could she get any closer?"

"Not and be a separate entity," Chloe replied.

"Oh my god." Clark's eyes bulged as they all watched Veronica grope Lex's ass and then everyone noticed the captioning click on.

Lex: What do you think you're doing?

Veronica: I'm letting you know I'm interested.

Lex: There are subtler ways. Kissing is usually the preferred starting point.

Veronica: I'm not the usual girl, Lex.

Lex: I can see that. Why don't we back it up a step and see where that takes us?

The captioning clicked off as Lex moved in and began kissing the slender brunette.

***

"Whoa!" Pete whistled. "No wonder she thinks she owns you, man."

"No woman owns me." Lex bristled. He was concerned, too, that Clark seemed to be in a bit of shock. He reached over to get Clark's attention, only to have Clark pull away and move off the couch.

"Clark?"

"Not right now, Lex." Clark disappeared down the hallway with Lex in hot pursuit.

Pete picked up the remote. "Do you think we should stop the tape?"

Chloe, who was already trying to follow behind the other two men, nodded distractedly. "Come on, Pete. Maybe now we can find out what's going on with Clark."

Pete leaped off the couch and grabbed Chloe, tugging her back to the couch. "Don't do that."

"I want to know what's going on."

"Violating his privacy -- and Lex's -- is not the way to go about it."

"I just want to help."

"The way to help here is to back off. If Clark wants to talk, he'll come to us." Pete noticed activity in the hallway that Clark had disappeared down and cautioned, "I think they're coming back. Just sit here and be calm, okay?"

Chloe nodded and watched with wide eyes as Lex practically dragged Clark back into the living room.

Clark sat back down on the couch, but he was clearly no longer interested in being here. Lex was tense and seemed anxious to get finished watching the tape. He fingered the remote anxiously as if he could speed up the process somehow.

The final clips from the Veronica date showed him making out with her in the limousine as they pulled up to the women's house. Veronica ran a possessive hand down Lex's chest as she slid out of the car.

"See you later, Lex," she said in a husky voice. Lex nodded at her absently as she closed the car door. The final shot showed Lex reaching for a bottle of water and leaning back after a long swallow closing his eyes as if meditating.

The last image of Clark for that evening showed him pulling a basket out of the trunk of one of Lex's cars. He extended it to the ladies surrounding him, saying, "This is the last date basket. You're not to open it until you get back to the house. Good luck, ladies."

***

When the ladies entered the house, the four remaining women who hadn't had a date yet pounced on the basket to see what they would be doing with Lex.

"Shouldn't we wait for Veronica?" Lindsey asked.

"Why should we? She's on her date," Valerie replied, jealousy tinged her voice.

"We know whose going, so why not just tell us where we're going, huh, Lindsey?"

"All right, all right, Jenn. Keep your shirt on," Lindsey replied. "Here we go: Jennifer, Lindsey, Monica and Valerie - I would like to ask the four of you to accompany me on an adventure. I would be more specific but that would spoil the surprise. Please dress casually - and bring swimwear."

"What does he mean - dress casually?" Monica asked with a panicked voice.

"I suspect that's something less than an evening gown, but not your work out clothes," Amy offered sympathetically.

"I have no idea what to wear," Jenn moaned.

"Calm down, sweetie," Marnie counseled, "We'll help you."

Frances and Delia both raised an eyebrow at being volunteered for the dressing brigade but gave in gracefully at a stern look from Marnie. The women gathered in one of the bedrooms and the four going on dates modeled different casual outfits until each had received the approval of the other women. With outfits decided, the women settled in to watch some TV and wait for Veronica to come home.

When she arrived, she flounced past the other women and disappeared right upstairs. She didn't stop when someone asked her a question.

***

"She's very sure of herself," Pete observed.

"Why shouldn't she be?"

"What do you mean, Miss Sullivan?"

"She's the only one you've kissed so far, Lex. And I'm sure she knows that, so she feels like she's got this won and the audience probably does too," Chloe said. "Way to ruin the whole thing, Lex."

"There's a lot of show left. Watch and learn," Lex replied confidently.

***

The next group date began as a picnic in the park - much like the last group date had ended. This time, though, instead of desserts the ladies were treated to fried chicken, potato salad, and chocolate chip cookies along with ice cold lemonade. Lex realized that he was getting strange looks from several of the women and shrugged his shoulders casually.

"I'm afraid this is something of a business obligation. You see, LuthorCorp sponsors a picnic in the park event each year, and our date happened to coincide with it. As my spouse, my wife would be expected to attend such events with the same grace that she would attend a gala ball."

"What do we need swimwear for?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm hoping that we can take a boat out for part of the afternoon. I don't know if we'll be able to get away, but the possibility exists." Lex turned his attention to a gentleman who walked up and introduced himself to the ladies as the mayor of Metropolis. Lex walked away, leaving the women to eat the chicken by themselves.

***

"Show the women a good time, why don't you Lex?" Chloe scoffed.

"The producers wanted real activities that, as my wife, the women could expect to participate in. This is one of them. I have a number of obligations, and not all of them are fun for me - or fun for the people who are with me."

"You can say that again," Clark muttered.

"You didn't complain when I took you to the premiere of the Warrior Angel movie," Lex replied tartly.

"Yeah, but this picnic is a real bore, Lex. Even you don't like it."

"While that's true, there were no palatable alternatives. There are only so many corporate events in a year - I had a difficult time putting them together and getting the corporate drones going along with me having multiple dates to the events."

"There, there, Lex," Chloe said, patting the arm of the sofa closest to him.

"I know - poor, poor me." Lex rolled his eyes, but allowed a glance at Clark, who still seemed primed to spring out of his seat as soon as the tape was over.

***

Clark shifted uncomfortably in his seat as once again the scene moved to cover Clark and his interactions with the women. Notably absent from the group surrounding Clark were Delia and Veronica. Lex raised an eyebrow but refrained from comment when he noticed the dull flush coloring Clark's cheeks.

Clark and the remaining women were clearly out shopping. Although Clark was leading the group, it was clear that he wasn't actually in charge of the shopping expedition.

"Ohhh," moaned Amy as she stared at a beautiful blue dress in a store window. "Clark, let's go in here." She grabbed his arm and started pulling him toward the store of her choice. Clark stumbled after her and glanced back at the other women helplessly. Fortunately, they took pity on him and followed along.

Amy emerged from the dressing room a few minutes later and twirled in the dress she'd selected. "What do you think, Clark?"

"It's nice," Clark offered.

"Just nice? What will Lex think?"

Clark shrugged his shoulders glumly.

"Come on, Clark. Be a pal and help us out here," Frances begged, modeling her own sunny yellow selection. "We want to look good for Lex tomorrow night."

Clark sighed heavily. "I don't know what looks good on people. I can't even dress myself without help, according to Lex. I really don't think you want my advice."

"But Clark, you *are* a guy, and you know what works for you."

"Yes, but what works for me probably won't work for Lex." Clark sighed again and looked up. "I think you both look great."

Both women smiled at him as if he'd done something particularly clever and giggled on their way back to the dressing room.

***

"Amy is totally into you, dude."

"She was not, Pete," Clark bristled. "We've been over this. The women were there for Lex. Not for me. They weren't interested in me, and I didn't want them to be."

Lex watched Clark's face become increasingly stormy as Pete continued to tease him about Amy's interest in him. "I think that's enough, Pete. Don't you have an early class?"

Pete flushed and shut up at Lex's remark.

***

The images on the screen moved to Lex on a boat with his four dates. He was much more relaxed than he had been during the picnic portion of the date as he led each woman away from the group for some alone time. Once again it was easy to see that some of the women had very little chemistry with him. He chatted only briefly with Monica and Valerie, both of whom, in Clark's opinion, were too young for Lex and entirely too naïve.

When Lex settled down to talk with Jennifer, though, it was clear that some sort of a connection was being made. She was interested in history - had a Master's in Ancient Greek history, in fact. She also had worked several summers as an assistant to an archeological team and had proven to be something of a gifted artist. She was currently working for a museum classifying their new acquisitions. In some ways, she seemed to be quite a good fit with Lex and his interests.

Lindsey, on the other hand, was an up and coming lawyer. She had entered a prestigious Boston firm upon her graduation from Harvard Law and was already moving up the ranks. She worked, primarily, in corporate law and made several suggestions about the failings of LuthorCorp's recently failed takeover attempt. Lex nodded thoughtfully during the discussion with her and offered a few sage observations of his own when she confessed who one of her clients was.

Shortly after Lex finished talking with Lindsey, the boat docked back in the harbor and they disembarked. He escorted the ladies back to their house and wished them well until he saw them the next evening.

***

There was a shift from the end of that date to the next night's elimination party. Clark looked uncomfortable in the dark suit Lex had picked out for him. He stood off to the side and watched as women jockeyed for a moment with Lex before he headed upstairs to make his decisions. None of the women approached Clark - probably assuming that he had little to do with the actual decisions.

Lex looked calm, though Clark could tell that he was tenser than he appeared. He didn't like the close proximity of so many people. Even though he knew that all of them were interested in him, he found it a bit unnerving to have this many people this interested in him and this close to him. His personal space was in shreds. The only calm he really found was in looking over at Clark and seeing him grin. Unfortunately, Clark wasn't grinning as much as Lex needed him to in this situation.

It came as a relief for both men when Mark Mitchell called them upstairs for the decision making process.

***

"Tonight, Lex, you will need to eliminate four women. The twist this evening comes in two parts. First, as you know, your private dates were with the two women selected by the other women to be least or most compatible with you. Second, Clark, you will have a veto tonight. If you disagree with one of Lex's choices you may override his decision and select a different woman for elimination. Do you both understand?"

When both men nodded, Mark left the room. He descended the stairs and gathered the women in the main hall. He beckoned to his left and out came the butlers carrying elaborately wrapped gifts. These were larger than the previous gifts and created a low hum of curiosity as the women eyed the boxes.

"Ladies - tonight, Lex will select six of you to remain with us through the next round of dates. In a twist tonight, Clark will have the opportunity to veto one of Lex's selections and replace that woman with a woman of his own choosing. Given the close friendship between these two men, I would not be surprised if that did occur. As always, if you don't feel a connection with Lex or feel that you are unable to continue with this process, please refuse Lex's offer to remain. I'll go get Lex and Clark."

What seemed like a second later, Mark returned to the stairs with Lex and Clark trailing behind him. As they entered the room, Lex took his position in front of the group of waiting women, while Clark leaned against a pillar to watch the proceedings.

Once Lex had made his choices, everyone turned expectantly toward Clark.

"Do you have anything to say about Lex's choices, Clark?" Mark prompted.

"Seemed fine to me," Clark replied.

With that, four women stalked out of the mansion, leaving the remaining six to share glasses of champagne with Lex and Clark. As the show faded to the credits, the women could be seen opening their gifts. In each box was a custom blended perfume with a note explaining why Lex had selected the fragrance he had for each woman.

***

"Now that's confidence, Lex." Chloe grinned.

"What?"

"Having perfume made. How did you know that Clark wouldn't veto one of your choices and what would you have done if he had?"

"I'd had perfumes created for all ten women - it would have been a simple matter of retrieving the correct box."

As Chloe, Pete and Lex began discussing Lex's choices, Clark started shifting around in increasing agitation. Finally, he pushed off the sofa and started toward the door.

"Clark?" Lex called after him.

"Yeah?"

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I don't know, Lex. I'm kind of busy," Clark replied as he grabbed his jacket out of the closet by the door. He turned to find Lex right behind him.

"We need to talk about the episode. Is there anything you want changed?"

"It's fine, Lex. Just leave it." Clark shoved his arms through his jacket sleeves barely avoiding ripping it in his haste. He pulled the door open quickly and dashed out before Lex could stop him. He only stopped running when he was outside the building.

***

The three friends remaining in the penthouse looked at each other, stunned. Lex and Chloe reacted almost simultaneously, and Pete had to hustle to rein in both of them.

"Pete," Chloe whined.

"Mr. Ross," Lex said menacingly.

"No," Pete said, giving both of his companions a sharp look. "Give Clark a break. He doesn't need you following him. Either of you."

"But..."

It figured that Chloe would be the one to protest. Pete turned to face her, hoping Lex would take what he was about to say to heart, as well.

"It's none of your business. If Clark has something he wants to share, he'll say so, OK? It's not going to help him at all for you to harass him constantly, for you to try to constantly be figuring out what is going on with him, what he's thinking, where he is, what he's doing. He's an adult; his parents trust him. Why won't you?"

"You're right," Lex said. "He is an adult. Which is why his childish behavior is so disturbing."

"How about this," Pete asked. "I'll give him tonight to get over whatever it is that's making him freak out, and then tomorrow I'll go and talk to him."

Lex nodded. "I can agree to that."

When nothing else was forthcoming, Pete turned to Chloe. "How about it, Chlo'?"

"But..." Chloe's whole face showed her disagreement.

"No, Chloe. Either we do this my way or you run the risk of losing Clark as a friend. I know - or, at least, I hope - you don't want that."

Chloe turned to Lex. "Isn't there something you can do?"

"About what?" Lex asked. "I don't even know what Clark's problem is. What am I supposed to do? Pete sounds like he has a plan that will work. And going with a concrete plan is always better than going off half-cocked."

"Thus speaks the great businessman, who made his reputation by going off half-cocked," Chloe spit back at Lex.

"Chloe, stop," Pete said. "Now either we do it my way, or it doesn't get done. Clark's not gonna be opening up any time soon. You know that. And stalking him and hounding him is just gonna piss him off further. So, that ends the discussion. And I'm going back to the dorms. Either you can come with me, or you can take the bus back." Pete walked to the coat closet and pulled out both his and Chloe's coats, holding out Chloe's toward her.

In response, Chloe sighed, dragged her feet as she walked toward Pete, and then finally took her coat. She sighed again as she put on her coat and collected her purse.

"Sighing isn't going to make me change my mind, Chloe. That might have worked when we were back in high school, but not any more." Pete turned back toward Lex. "Thanks for having us, Lex. I'll remind Clark to call you when I see him tomorrow."

"Thanks, Pete," Lex said. He watched as Pete ushered Chloe out the door and then headed toward his home office. If there were going to be some sort of fallout from the previous night's encounter with Victoria, Lex knew it would be in his best interest to have all the information at hand.

***

Clark's anger and indignation carried him, even at human speed, back to his dorm in record time. If people along his route had heard any of his mutterings, they would not have been able to make any sense of them. Not that Clark was making much sense to himself, anyway. He knew he was upset, but he couldn't completely put his finger on what was fueling that anger.

As he walked into the building and up the stairs to his room, Clark realized the pointlessness of his outburst. While he could ask Lex to request changes to the episode before it was shown, it didn't change the fact that what bothered him - the kiss that Lex and Veronica shared - had happened. Whether or not it was shown on national TV, it couldn't be undone. That did explain, however, why Veronica had come on to Lex so strongly in the club on Wednesday night.

Clark double-checked that his cell phone was off and turned the ringer off on his room phone. He wasn't going to talk to anyone tonight; he couldn't explain his reaction to himself, so how would he explain it to anyone else? He knew without a doubt that he'd have to answer for his actions; neither Chloe nor Lex would let his outburst this evening go unmentioned. But not tonight.

Secure in the belief that he had effectively cut himself off from the outside world for the evening, Clark went to bed. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide for long, but for tonight, he would have some self-imposed solitude.

Clark saw it as cosmic revenge, then, that instead of falling asleep quickly, he was plagued by his own thoughts and confusion and was awake until the thinnest slivers of dawn were peeking through his window. He finally slept, fitfully, for a couple of hours, until he was awoken by knocking at his door.

Who was knocking at his door at -- he checked his bedside clock quickly -- 8:45 in the morning, Clark wondered. But his question was answered almost immediately as a voice called out as the knocking ceased.

"Clark, man, I know you're in there. I have to talk to you, and I can't afford to be late to class. Open the damn door."

Clark considered ignoring Pete's presence, but he decided that it was too risky for him to tempt the wrath of his fellow dorm-dwellers. He got out of bed and dragged himself to his door, which he opened just enough so that he could see Pete's face.

"Go away, Pete."

"Would love to, Clark-my-man. If I could avoid this, I would. But it's gotta happen, and it's gotta happen now."

"What's up?" Clark stood back a bit to allow Pete to enter and then closed the door again.

"I've been trying to reach you - both on your cell and on your phone here."

Clark blushed. "I turned the ringer off last night. And I turned my cell off, too. What's the problem?"

"I can't do this anymore." Pete sighed and sank onto the edge of Clark's bed.

"Do what?"

"Cover for you. Keep Chloe from going all investigative reporter on your ass," Pete said, echoing his words to Chloe from the day before.

"What's Chloe's problem?"

"You, Clark. You're acting even more odd than usual, and she's bound and determined to find out why. And, on top of that, after your little outburst last night, Lex is now all up in arms about what's up with you. I keep one of your secrets, but I can't be asked to keep ones I don't know about."

"It's...uh..." Clark stammered, trying to formulate in his own head what was going on so that he'd have a fighting chance of explaining it to Pete.

"No, I don't want to know," Pete said, waving his hands, palms out, in front of his chest. "The more secrets I know, the worse my life gets. So, Clark, you can just keep your damn secrets. Just take this piece of advice - if you don't want people, especially your friends, prying into your life, don't act like a complete freak."

"That's harsh, Pete," Clark said.

"I know it's hard for you to hear, but your behavior is what's causing Chloe to go cloak-and-dagger, not the other way around. If you stop acting like you've got something to hide, she'll stop looking for whatever it is you're hiding." Clark looked as if he were about to speak, but Pete held up a hand. "No! I don't want to know. I only came by to tell you that people were beginning to really ask questions about what's going on with you. Do with the information what you want. Meanwhile, I've gotta get to class."

Pete looked at Clark, who remained standing almost exactly where he'd been when Pete entered the room, sighed, and shook his head. "And, Clark? Don't go MIA like that again. Pitch a nutty, if you have to, but do it locally or tell someone where you're going. Take my word on this." He stood up from his perch on the bed and walked to the door. "It's for your own good. Really." With a last shake of his head, Pete left, closing the door behind him and leaving Clark alone again to consider what Pete said.

Truth was, Clark wanted anything *but* to think about the lecture he'd just gotten from Pete. Because if he did, he'd have to think about his actions from the previous night and the reasons behind those actions. And *that*, Clark knew, he wasn't ready to face.

He wasn't sure why he'd "pitched a nutty," as Pete put it. It had been more than just last night, watching the show play out, that had set him on edge. If he was honest, it had been building at least since Wednesday, when they had run into Victoria at the club. But it was even before that.

Clark gave his head a quick shake, as if to dislodge all the thoughts he didn't want to deal with. Instead, he had to face something else he didn't want to deal with.

After turning the ringer on his room phone back on, Clark picked up his cell phone. With one last, fleeting thought of running as fast as he could as far away as he could, Clark turned on his phone. It immediately beeped to inform him that there were messages on his voicemail. No surprise there. But instead of listening to them, he hit a key combination for speed dial.

"Lex Luthor."

"Lex, it's me." Clark steeled himself for whatever Lex's reaction would be to his outburst of the previous evening.

"Clark. How can I help you?"

That was it. No mention of Clark's running out in the middle of the viewing; nothing regarding his sudden departure from the penthouse; no accusations of childish behavior. And Clark didn't know how to respond.

In the ensuing silence, Lex repeated, "Clark? How can I help you?"

"Uh..." Clark struggled to collect his thoughts. "We've got to figure out what we're going to do about Veronica."

"I've already started getting calls," Lex said. "As I might have guessed, there were tabloid photographers at the club on Wednesday night."

"Oh, no." Clark knew that was a weak response at best, but it was all that was running through his head.

"And now that they've identified me as the person that Victoria was...accosting," Lex continued, "they're trying to get as much money from me as they can. I will not be bullied to the thugs of journalism, but I have put a call in to the producers of 'Single Millionaire' to find out what our next move can or must be. The assistant I spoke to promised to have someone from their Legal department call me back within the hour. If you can be here when they call, I believe this can be taken care of without any more hassle than it has already caused."

"I'll be there," Clark said. If he had to use his super-speed to do it, he would. But he wouldn't let Lex down yet again.

***

It was close, but within 45 minutes, Clark was in the elevator up to Lex's penthouse. Enrique met him at the door.

"Mr. Luthor says you should go right to the office."

Clark followed Enrique's instructions and found Lex in the office, phone to his ear.

"I would've let you in myself, but as soon as I hung up with security telling me you'd arrived, 'Single Millionaire' called back. Right now, I'm on hold, waiting for their in-house counsel to pull up the contracts we signed. You'd think she would've had them in front of him before calling, but that's neither here nor there." Lex smirked. "That's probably why he's working for the producers of 'Single Millionaire' and not for another, more legitimate firm."

Clark wasn't sure how to respond, or if a response was even desired, but he didn't even have a chance to start because Lex held up a hand. "Yes," Lex said into the phone. "I'm still here."

Clark fought his desire to listen in on the conversation, knowing that Lex would share any relevant information.

Lex picked up a sheaf of papers from his desk and flipped to the third sheet. "OK, now in section four, subsection two, paragraph seven. It seems clear to me that if we were not the ones who initiated contact, we cannot be held responsible." He nodded in response to something said on the phone, then said, "Yes, we have two independent witnesses who are not signatories to any 'Single Millionaire' contracts. Yes, they are both of age." He shot a look at Clark, seeking confirmation of his assertion.

"Yeah," Clark said, rolling his eyes. "They're both over 18."

"Yes," Lex said to the lawyer. "That is acceptable. Yes. Fine. You can expect a call from my attorney first thing Monday morning. Yes. OK. Goodbye."

He hung up the phone and turned to Clark.

"Well," he said, "There's bad news and good news."

Clark steeled himself and said, "What's the bad news?"

"You want the bad news first?" Lex said, surprised.

"Gets it out of the way sooner."

"I can't argue with that logic. OK. The bad news is, Veronica's lawyers are claiming that we lured her to the club and that I came on to her. And because of that claim, the producers are threatening each of us with a $100,000 fine."

"All three of us, right? Veronica should have to pay; she's the one who started it!"

"No, Clark," Lex said. "Only the two of us. The producers aren't holding her liable - Veronica's witnesses assert that she was at the club before we arrived and that we deliberately approached her. But don't worry - if they insist on the fine, I'll take care of it for both of us."

"That's total bullshit!" Clark could hear his mother's voice in his head saying, "Clark - language," but he couldn't restrain himself.

"I know it is. Veronica is up to something, I'm sure, though I don't know exactly what."

"So what's the good news?" Clark asked warily.

"The good news is: they're not going to prosecute."

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

Women eliminated this round: Amy, Frances, Monica, Valerie

Episode 4: Coming soon