Title: With A Little Help From My Friends

Author: MeLi

Feedback address: ringspells@hotmail.com

Fandom: Smallville

Pairing: Clark/Lex

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: None.

Warnings: Sappiness. Lots of.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. No profit made. Just for fun!!
Betareaders: AnaRae and Beloved. Thank you so much!! 
Remaining mistakes are my own.
NOTE: Part of the ClexFest at:

Summary/Challenge: Chloe and Lana are good friends in this scenario. They notice the vibes between Clark and Lex and decide to get them together. (Wicked Belle)

AN: *Poem is called Testimony of a Teenager, written by Jill Prentice. You can find it at

AN II: I know truth or dare is a too-used resource, but I had to start the thing somehow!

Dedication: To Paauliytah and Anna, for putting up with my obsession and wanting to read what I write. To my sister, Gaby, who understands and never judges me. And to the three of them for being there every time I need them.

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With a little help from my friends

By MeLi

August 2002

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It was after Clark's 17th birthday party, at the castle. Chloe, Pete, Lana, Clark and Lex were the only ones left. Playing truth or dare. The girls looked at each other. Nodded. And Lana began the pushing.

"OK Clark, I dare you to kiss Lex," she said with a smile. Chloe was grinning. Pete didn't seem surprised. Lex was… amused? Clark didn't like the grin on Chloe's face. And what was she thinking anyway? And Lana? Were they really expecting him to kiss Lex? His friend Lex. His very male friend Lex. His very male and unbelievably sexy fri – whoa! Where the hell did that come from?! 'You're not alone Clark, hold those thoughts till you're alone in the loft', and there's really no time for this now, 'cause they're all waiting for him to kiss Lex, those inviting lips with that irresistible little scar and – 'get a grip on yourself, Kent! Come on! It's a kiss, just a kiss like you'd give your mother!' And then he realized he wasn't dared to kiss Lex on the lips, but just to kiss him… And why on Earth was he feeling disappointed? But he knew the answer to that question; he had for a long time now. He tried to push those thoughts aside, and do what he'd been dared to do. Lex was looking at him intently, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind, and what he would do about the dare.

"OK." Clark leaned and kissed Lex softly… on the nose.

"Oh, come on! You call that a kiss?" Chloe said, more than a hint of exasperation on her voice.

"What? I did what I was dared to do," Clark said, trying hard not to laugh hysterically, because honestly, his body was more than just a little frustrated from how the kiss turned out.

"He's right, you know, there were no specifications for it to be something else," Lex said with a smirk, and maybe he shouldn't have said so because Chloe took it as some sort of challenge. Or maybe he was glad he did. And she wasn't kidding when she spoke.

"You want specifications? OK, I'll give you specifications. I dare you, Lex Luthor, to straddle Clark, hold his head and give him a wet, deep, rough, passion driven French kiss that lasts no less than 60 seconds," she turned to glare at Clark. "And you, Clark Kent, I dare you to kiss him back."

No one said anything. Pete looked at Chloe as though he couldn't believe she had said that. Clark held her gaze. Lana smiled. If Lex was feeling something, his face didn't show it. Moments passed, and when she was about to say something about the punishment for not accepting the dare, Lex moved. And before doing exactly as she had said, he told her: "You should start timing, Ms. Sullivan".

If he hadn't been ecstatic beyond reason, Clark would have been shocked. He knew he loved Lex, but he hadn't realized the depth of his feelings. Before tonight, he tried to stop himself from fantasizing about what he was sure he'd never have. He couldn't, though. He'd had more than a few dreams involving Lex and himself and lots of nudity and contact and, well, sex. But he'd tried his best not to think about it while the sun was out. But now, he let everything he felt come to the surface. He cherished kissing Lex from the instant their lips met. He never wanted to stop kissing him. Lex was on his lap, doing the most delightful things to his mouth. Clark licked the scar he'd been thinking about earlier, and so many times before. He moaned as Lex sucked on his tongue, knowing his friends were there, watching and listening, but not caring at all. Wanting this more than anything he'd ever wanted. He put his arms around Lex and pulled him closer. He was sucking on Lex's lower lip when he vaguely heard Chloe say 60 seconds had passed and, resignedly, let Lex pull away and climb off him to sit by his side on the couch. Breathing hard and fast, he didn't open his eyes, the taste of Lex's mouth still on his lips as he licked them.

"I hope that's satisfactory enough for you, Ms. Sullivan" Lex said.

"It was indeed," Chloe responded, and turned to Pete, "and I believe you owe us."

Pete didn't say anything as he handed Chloe two fives, one of which she passed to Lana.

Apparently, Clark had recovered from the kiss enough to look a little angry. "I can't believe you were betting on us taking that dare," he told the three of them. They'd been planning this?

"Actually, the bet was about you wanting that kiss," Clark's eyes widened at Lana's clarification, and he turned to look at Lex, aware that it might have been just a dare to his friend and afraid of what he'd think of this. But what he saw in those eyes warmed his heart. Lex looked happy. There was no other word for it. And as relief fell over him, Clark smiled.

"Come on, Clark, you should be thanking us," Chloe said, and he knew he should. She continued, "it was taking you forever to do this, so Lana and I decided to help things a little."

And had it been that obvious that he wanted this? The whole flirting thing, he guessed, even when he himself had thought that Lex flirting with him was just Lex being friendly. Subconsciously hoping otherwise. Consciously hoping otherwise. And now knowing otherwise. Thanks to his friends. He really should be thanking them. But as his gaze happily locked with Lex's, the rest of the world became thoroughly negligible.

"I can't believe we got five bucks on top of helping you," Lana said cheerfully, getting a not-so-friendly look from Pete.

"Yeah, Pete, you should've seen that one coming," Chloe said as she poked him in the shoulder.

"I was sure Clark was, well… straight," Pete said for defense. And he might have told a great joke, since Chloe and Lana were laughing. Hard.

"Come on, Pete, you saw the way he looks at Lex," Chloe managed to say between snorts of laughter.

"Yeah, but I thought it was hero-worship or something. Why did you think I was jealous of their friendship?" Pete said, not enjoying being laughed at, especially right after losing ten dollars.

Clark - whose sexuality was being discussed as if it were the weather and couldn't bring himself to care – was still lost in those beautiful blue eyes. He looked then at Lex's lips, and as they curved in an honest smile, he leaned in for another kiss. A kiss as sweet as the previous one had been rough. Lex's hands were in his hair, thumbs gently stroking his temples. Clark put his arms around Lex's waist, caressing his back through his shirt.

Lex felt three pairs of eyes on them as the room fell silent again. Clark must've felt it too, because all too soon his lips weren't on Lex's anymore. His arms were still around his waist, though. Lex opened his eyes, and as he did Clark turned to look at his friends.

"Thank you," Clark told them, and for response he got two smiles and a pair of raised eyebrows, followed by another smile. He hadn't expected Pete to smile at all, but was grateful he did. Clark smiled at them as well. "Thank you," he repeated, and turned to Lex again, who was looking at him, beaming.

"You said that, already," Chloe said, determined not to get all sentimental. "It's getting late, we should be going. Want a ride?"

"Yeah," Pete said. Lana just nodded.

"Okay, I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Clark," Chloe said as she got up to leave.

"Yeah, I'll see ya," Clark said, who obviously wasn't going to get up and see their friends to the door. He wouldn't let Lex get up either, who didn't intend to anyway.

"Don't bother, guys, we can see ourselves out," Lana kidded as she followed Chloe and Pete out the door.

Lex and Clark spent a few moments in silence, just holding and staring at each other.

"You've been really silent since the dare," Clark said, looking straight into Lex's eyes.

"I've been enjoying the happiest moment of my life," Lex answered as his fingers played with Clark's hair, surprised at how easily the words came out of his mouth, especially since it was the truth.

"It's mine, too, you know," Clark whispered, and kissed Lex softly again.

"I still didn't give you your birthday present," Lex said when they broke the kiss for air.

"You didn't have to-"

"I know, but I want to give you something," Lex said as he got up and held out a hand, which Clark took before standing as well. Lex guided Clark upstairs, towards his bedroom, and motioned for him to sit on the bed as he went into the walk-in closet. He came back out holding a big golden bag. He handed it to Clark, and sat down beside him as he carefully opened it. His eyes grew wide as he looked at the bag's contents.

"Now you'll be able to capture forever the images you see through the telescope," Lex said happily.

"Lex, I… this is too much. How much did this cost?" Clark asked, his eyes gleaming as he took the boxes of the CCD camera and the IBM ThinkPad Notebook from the bag.

"You know I'm not telling you," Lex said, sighing before adding, "I wanted to give you something special. Please tell me you'll keep them." Clark's eyes were full of tears.

"Anything you gave me would have been special, because it came from you. Of course I'll keep them," Clark said as he hugged Lex tightly. Lex hugged him back.

"There's something else I want to give you. I didn't think I'd have the courage, but I'm a little more confident about it after the way things turned out," Lex said, moving to get something from the nightstand's drawer. A sealed envelope. He gave it to Clark. Clark opened it carefully and took out a card. He read the poem in the front:

Life is hard,
I can't explain why.
No one knows how hard I try.

When things are tough,
When life is bad,
I just pretend that I am not sad.

I don't know how to let you know,
The pain I feel,
The hurt I don't show.

Life is hard,
Not just for me,
Things that happen are meant to be.

I can't be happy everyday,
But that doesn't mean
That things aren't ok.

I don't crave attention,
I thrive by myself,
I am not always in need of your help.

Life is hard,
But things will be alright.
Now I can sleep through the night.

My life is on track,
The pieces are in place,
But I need my own time, I need my own space.

I am different now,
I need you to see.
I am not anyone else, I am just me.*

As Clark opened the card, Lex was afraid what his reaction might be. He'd never confessed his love to someone; he hadn't been in love before. He was tempted to take the card from Clark before he could read what he'd written.

I love you, Clark. Lex.

The inside of the card was blank except for a few words in Lex's neat handwriting. Just five words that overwhelmed Clark with feelings. He felt tears run down his cheeks. This was the best present Lex could have given him. Everything he needed.

"I love you, too, Lex," Clark said, and poured all he was feeling in a warm, deep kiss. When they parted, Clark saw Lex was crying, too. He hadn't expected that.

"Lex, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Better than fine. I was so afraid you'd run away… But have you return my feelings is more than I could've ever hoped for. I love you, Clark."

And Clark realized how different reading the words was from hearing them. He kissed Lex again. He'd been wrong before, this was the happiest moment in his life. Knowing that he was in love with Lex, and that Lex loved him back.

End

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