*Rated M now for language.

The sun beat down on the grounds, though the wind was chilly. Draco walked towards a clump of trees on the other side of the yard to avoid getting sunburns. He doesn't tan, and would probably get as red as a lobster if he stood under the sun too long.

There was a short black kid already there, smoking a cigarette. Draco did not like the smell of tobacco but accepted one when the boy offered.

"You look like you could use one," The kid had said simply.

Draco thanked him and put it to his lips, using the lighter the other boy offered him. He inhaled deeply of his cigarette and let it out in a sigh. The day had not gone very well so far. No one he met had been remotely interesting.

"I'm Pete by the way."

"I'm Draco Malfoy, nice to meet you." Draco offered his hand and they shook. They finish the rest of their cancer sticks in silence.

Pete left after awhile, sending him a slight nod. Draco sighed and let himself slide down the tree he was leaning on, sitting on the ground. He started pulling at the grass, removing thick chunks of it out of the earth.

"Feeling a little down are we?" It was Blaise, the dark boy he met earlier, the one with an identical tattoo.

"Oh sod off, Zabini." He paused, how'd he known the boy's last name? Blaise gave him a confused look, clearly having the same question in mind, but seemed to shrug it off.

"Easy, Malfoy. I just came to see if you were alright. You practically ran out the door."

"Why do you care?" Blaise just shrugged, not really knowing the answer to that question himself. He just stood there for the next few minutes, quietly waiting for Draco to speak up.

Sure enough, the blonde finally relented and sighed, letting the hostility dissipate into the air.

"I'm sorry about that. I just… didn't feel too comfortable showing this," he pointed to his tattoo, "to anyone. Blasted thing isn't exactly easy to hide either." He frowned and pursed his lips, remembering something unpleasant.

It was already late in the day when Draco awoke, eyes still closed. He had an unpleasant taste in his mouth and his head was throbbing, signs of yet another hangover.

He felt a dull pain on the skin of his left hand and began scratching at it, the pain increasing as he did, forcing him to open his eyes. They met with the image of an angry skull staring right back at him, a snake coming out of its wide open jaws. It seemed to dance in the sunlight streaming through the windows.

He screamed in shock.

Mother was by his bed in a heartbeat, looking completely worried. When she saw the thing on his hand though, her expression changed from worry to barely suppressed anger.

She had confiscated his cars for the next month.

"Why didn't you just get it removed then, if you hated it so much?" Blaise said this slowly, as if trying to catch the blonde's attention. Draco snapped out of his flashback and smiled apologetically before answering the dark boy's question.

"Oh believe me, I've tried. The woman at the tattoo-removal place said that the artist used some sort of completely permanent ink. Plus side is it will never stretch. Downside is it will never disappear." He grimaced, not wanting to think about how he would have to live with that stupid mistake for the rest of his life.

"Why'd you have yours?"

"Woke up one morning and it was just there. I wore a lot of long-sleeved shirts after. Stupid cronies thought it was a fashion trend." He laughed, a familiar laugh that had Draco feeling safe. It was weird, he'd just met him today and yet he was already spilling his stories. Very peculiar, he thought.

"How did your parents react when they found out?"

"They wouldn't talk to me for months. Thank god they didn't block my credit cards or bank accounts, or I would've starved." Blaise chuckled, "You?"

"I had to ride the taxi for months. It was not a pleasant experience." He shuddered. The taxis were disgusting. Some had age-old food wrappers strewn about the place, and others had questionable stains on the seats. He had started to bring plastic sheets everywhere he went to minimize contact between the seats and his perfect arse.

They headed back to class, Blaise running off saying he'd promised to meet Julian before class. A dreamy smile on his face and a quick wink told Draco that they were a little more than just friends.

Draco chuckled to himself at his new friend's boyish glee, and hurried towards his locker. The next class was about to start and he did not want to be late. Malfoys were punctual and reliable.

Halfway down the hall, he heard someone call out from behind.

"Oh look it's the faggot from across the pond." Draco's steps slowed and stopped, his expression cold as he turned around to face the owner of that hate-filled bellow.

"Well if it isn't the arsehole from first period."

The ash blonde haired jock had started to advance on him, but Draco stood his ground, unwilling to give him the pleasure. Inside though, Draco was terrified. He had no delusions about his own physical finesse. He would lose, and lose badly in a fight.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, fairy. I can make you life here a living hell. Go back to fairyland where you belong with the rest of them cock suckers." His sneer was hateful, and there was venom behind every word.

"Well I would, but I wouldn't want to disappoint your girlfriend. I bet she'd cry for days—." Malfoy was about to say more, never being able to quite shut up even in these situations, but was cut off by a fist in his left eye.

He stumbled backwards, clutching the spot where the jock had hit him. The room had begun to swirl around him, and the floor seemed to rise up around him. He fell with a thud, barely managing to keep his head from bouncing right off the ceramic tiles of the floor.

The aforementioned arsehole and his friends snickered, "You're all talk and no action. You can't even lift a finger to save yourself."

Draco felt a pang of fear, and closed his eyes as the boy began to walk closer to him, knowing that he was about to get the beating of a lifetime. He thought he heard a pair of hurried footsteps running this way, but that was far from important at the moment.

"Whitney! Stop it." The blonde-haired sledgehammer paused in his tracks, turning to face the newcomer.

"Fuck off Clark this isn't any of your business."

"How do you think Lana would react if she knew what you're doing?"

"Keep my girlfriend out of this you stupid farm boy! And I swear to you, Kent, if you ever say anything to her about any of this I will make your life a living hell."

"Empty threats won't make a difference to me Whitney. Now I suggest you leave before one of the teachers sees us."

Whitney as his name apparently was, grunted a few more times, before waving his hand in the air, guiding his cronies away. As much as he hated it, the Kent boy was right.

Draco lay on the ground for a few more seconds, getting his bearings. The world had stopped spinning in the middle of the newcomer's conversation with the bloody git, but he couldn't decide whether to thank the brunette or run away. He had been totally, utterly humiliated.

He decided to go with the first option. His father had always said to take defeat in stride, to avoid shaming himself even further.

The tall brunette walked over to him, offering his hand. After a moment's hesitation, Draco took it and pulled himself up off the floor. He dusted himself off before taking a clear look at the much taller boy.

If there was any one word to describe him, it was this: gorgeous. The boy had all the perfect features. His eyes were a bright green in color, surrounded by a thick veil of eyelashes. The kid's cheekbones were so high and prominent Draco swears it could cut glass; but balanced by lips that seemed so delicate and soft they looked like they would bleed if stretched even a little. Draco had never before in his life, seen anyone quite so bloody gorgeous.

Of course, being a Malfoy and all, none of his awe showed on his face. Instead he smiled politely, one of his charming politician's smiles.

"Thanks." The other boy smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth with prominent canines that added to the sincerity of the smile. It was dazzling, to be the recipient of it.

"No problem. I'm Clark, by the way. You must be the new kid."

"Yes, I am. Draco Malfoy, nice to meet you." They shook.

"I don't know what you did to piss him off so much though. Whitney's a jerk but he doesn't usually go after random people."

"Oh, I think his girlfriend fancies me. The bloody git reckons that's my fault. Though I suppose you can't blame her either. I am quite easy on the eyes, not to mention the pockets." He grinned, which was returned with Clark's own.

"You aren't very modest are you?"

"Any reason I need to be? Besides, it doesn't matter whether or not that Lana girl fancies me. The tosser's got one thing right, I really am queer. And even if I wasn't I'd opt for a girl with higher class, one who didn't look quite so slutty and stupid."

"I had the biggest crush on Lana for years." Draco's eyes widened. Here he was talking to the most gorgeous boy he'd ever seen, one who saved him from bullies nonetheless, and practically the first thing that came out of his mouth was an insult to him. The gods surely do hate him.

After a few seconds though, Clark started laughing. Draco looked affronted.

"It's not funny you know."

"It is."

"Well then excuse me, but I've got to go to class." Draco finally walks to his locker and takes out the books he needs for next class.

"Hey I was just joking. Oh and listen, don't worry about Whitney and his gang. I'll make sure they don't mess with you further. I've known them since grade school I'm sure I can make them stop."

Draco looked surprised, why would anyone do this for him. They've just met mere minutes ago!

"Why?" This time it was Clark's turn to look perplexed. He had just offered to help the boy, and he was asking why? He didn't answer for a few minutes, baffled at the question. Draco finally got the hint and moved on, delegating the question to the back of his mind to ponder over at a more opportune time.

"Well then I'll see you later. Thanks again." With a final grateful look, he headed towards the boy's lavatories. He was sure to look a mess after that fall, and was going to develop an extremely unattractive black eye the next morning. He needed to look at least a little presentable though, at least for the next class.

He ended up taking much longer than he should, getting to his next class almost half an hour late.

Detention. On his first day. Mother was not going to be pleased.

The rest of the day had not gone any better. He'd had to stay at school until almost 5 pm because of detention, which consisted of sitting around in an abandoned classroom doing homework. It wasn't torturous and he had to do them eventually anyway but he would very much rather do it in the comfort of his own room, on his plush leather office chair instead of these cheap plastic ones that were setting his arse-cheeks to sleep. He would also rather not be surrounded by a group of kids who looked as if they belonged in juvie. They keep leering at him, a few looking at him with a hungry look that said "fresh meat". It was really quite unnerving.

Stepping out of the building, he walked towards the car park where his car sat under the shade of a tree. He heard a gasp as he clicked on the keys.

There was a petite blond girl sitting on the hood of his car. His car. Draco swore under his breath and ran over to the bitch. His expression was cold, she better not have damaged anything with that fat arse of hers.

"Kindly remove your filthy cunt from the hood of my car." The girl jumped up, her apologetic look quickly turning sour and angry.

"Well you didn't have to be such a fucking asshole about it, did you? Just because your clothes cost more than mine does not give you the right to talk to me like that." Her face showed a hostile expression, and she stood her ground. On any other day Draco would give her a silent salute, but it had been a long day. He was about to mouth a retort when he heard her companion speak up.

"Draco." It was Clark. He dropped his head into his hands. Could the situation get any worse? Here was the only boy he wanted to impress, and he had acted like such a total jerk to his friend.

"I'm sorry. Horrible first day. I've just gotten out of detention, and there was this girl—at least I think it was a girl—that kept looking at me like she was having me for dinner." He had started rubbing his eyes with his fingers, and ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated.

The blonde girl's face softened.

"That would be Lae Jensen. She can be a little creepy, but she's one of the better ones once you get to know her." Draco shot her a skeptical look.

"If that thing's one of the better ones, I'm beginning to really doubt I'd last the rest of the school year." Clark and Chloe both chuckled at this.

"I'm Chloe by the way, and I was just admiring your car." She stuck out her hand, and Draco shook it.

Just then Pete came running out of the school building, towards the three surrounding the magnificent car. He came to an abrupt stop approximately ten feet from them. He opened his mouth, as if to say something. Then closed it again, only to open it a second later. This went on a few more times before he finally spoke up. Draco felt like he'd just gone through a moment of déjà vu.

"Dude. Dude! That's a Brabus Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren roadster! That thing costs more than a million USDs! Oh. My. Fucking. Fuck." He grabbed his almost nonexistent hair. "I never thought I'd ever actually see it! Who's is it?" He looked around, his eyes falling on Draco, eyes going wide.

"Fuck, I thought Lex was the only one in town who harbored this sort of dough. Can I touch it?"

Chloe and Clark were in fits of laughter throughout Pete's rant. The kid was so excited he looked barely over 12 years old. It was fun to watch, and they couldn't stop laughing. Draco just smirked at the boy, repressing his own laughter. He didn't think they were well enough acquainted for him to be allowed to laugh aloud. So far he had actually liked the unlikely trio, and didn't want to ruin what looked to be a possible alternative to hanging around the wannabe socialites.

"Sure." He smiled. At least someone appreciates his fine taste in cars. The upgraded SLR was a shiny black color, with red leather seating and interior. The doors flipped up and out as he pulled.

"Anyone want a ride?" Pete scrambled into the seat next to him, just before Chloe followed suit, sitting on Pete's lap. No matter how hard the boy bucked, she wouldn't budge. Draco laughed. Americans sure were friendly. He looked at Clark who only smiled at his two best friends.

"Well. Seeing as there is no more room for a third—fourth party, I'll just take my own truck home."

"Well. Let me show you what this baby can do, eh?"

The ride was a bumpy one, and Pete was getting more and more uncomfortable. They were going really fast, and Chloe was a little skinny. Her bones kept jabbing into him at weird angles. None of the discomfort really bothered him all that much though; he was riding an upgraded version of the Mercedes SLR! As if the original version weren't already that awesome. His pants were also beginning to get a little 'tight' in the downstairs region, what with Chloe practically rubbing against him. He hoped with all his little heart she wouldn't notice.

Luckily, she didn't. And they reached their respective homes without too much awkward.

*I apologize for the badly disguised rant on the hotness of Tom Welling as Clark Kent. Imagine him in Season One. –Drool- And the rant on the car. I want that car so damn badly it hurts. Google it. Really.

**I Keep having a nagging feeling at the back of my mind saying "Hmm I need to finish reading that fic about a sexy rich Draco in a high school it's pretty interesting" before realizing I was writing it and there wouldn't be any more until I wrote the next chapter. Damn.

***Review if you don't think I should abandon this story. =/ And I'll be your best friend forever =D