Disclaimer: Supernatural and Smallville are not mine.

Summary: Smallville xover! When Sam meets an eighteen-year-old Lex Luthor at Stanford, normalcy and safety become a dream.

The challenge started simple and not really like a challenge at all…

The stress of classes and being friends with a boy committed to academic excellence eased the further Lex got from the main office. It allowed more trivial matters to come to mind. He stopped and cursed. "I forgot to lock the door."

Sam gave him an incredulous look. "We're almost off the campus. Leave it unlocked. Anyone with half a brain could get past it anyway."

"We have to go back," said Lex. Security was primary for Luthors. "As for a half-brained imbecile getting in, it's not the standard issue lock. I upgraded." Sam snorted. Lex turned and headed back the way they came. It was a long walk. Sam reluctantly followed. "As knowledgeable as I think you are in this - ."

"There is such a thing as too much sarcasm," Sam interrupted.

Lex continued, " – I have to agree with the locksmith."

But, indeed, it was a challenge and Sam couldn't help himself…

Lex had locked the door and was halfway down the hallway before he realized that Sam had been left behind. Lex turned. Sam looked at the knob, at Lex, and then pulled something out of his pocket. He bent down and fiddled with the knob. Lex came over just as the door clicked open.

He ordered another lock that day.

And Lex was such a stickler for security that it was kind of fun – or really funny.

Lex didn't hear anyone come in. It wasn't until he walked out of the bathroom in his dress pants and still fiddling with the buttons on his shirt that he realized something was off. He guessed he looked rather undignified when he jumped a foot in the air while letting out a string of curses. Sam definitely found it amusing.

Sam calmly finished pouring his coffee from Lex's pot before turning. He leaned against the shelf. "Your lock still sucks."

Lex confiscated the cup of coffee and kicked a laughing Sam out. Okay, this was getting serious.

So, by the time Sam was through with him, he should definitely have the Fort Knox of dorms at Stanford.

Lex came out of the bathroom fully dressed, shoes and all.

He paused at seeing Sam quite comfortable on his armchair with a cup of coffee. His face registered disappointment but not surprise. "How did you get in this time?"

"Window," said Sam, simply.

Lex strode over to the window and looked out. He frowned. Sam smiled his 'clueless smile'. He should think of patenting that thing. Lex doubted anyone else could make it quite as convincing. "The fire escape is not near my window." He glanced at his alarm. It was a recent addition. Lex had changed locks, knobs, and added trip wires to that door almost every day since their competition began. Sam got through every one of them. He had finally resorted to the alarm. "Does this mean my door is finally secure?"

Sam snorted. "No, it means my roommate has too many Spiderman comics. I got bored last night."

"Well, if a career as a lawyer doesn't work out for you, you could always become a professional thief," Lex muttered.

"Thank you," said Sam. Lex cracked a smile. He could definitely trust Sam to teach him the odd lesson.

The challenge that didn't quite start as a challenge was a learning experience, and not just for Lex…

Sam wasn't sure if Lex realized yet that he was locking himself in just as much as he was locking Sam out. Granted, the 'locking Sam out' part wasn't going quite as he planned but still…security was best if it enabled maneuverability. Maybe he should tell Lex that. Sam considered it for a moment. Nah, he'd let him learn his lesson.

Sam short-circuited the alarm.

He was pushing the door open and placing his equipment back in his bag when someone came around the corner. He hurriedly zipped the bag closed. The man is obviously not a student. He looks to be in his thirties with long hair curling around his ear and a neatly trimmed beard. He's dressed in a suit. A trench coat completes the ensemble.

He walked directly up to Sam and frowned at the open door. "Hmm, I could've sworn this was Lex's dorm."

"It is," said Sam. "Uh – I'm supposed to meet him here after he gets out of class."

"He didn't secure his room?" is his question. Sam isn't sure how to respond to that. He should recognize this person, he was sure of it. The man seemed to sense his floundering. "I'm being rude. My name is Lionel Luthor." He held out his hand. The tone was mild enough but there was a cold undercurrent to his voice that Lex didn't possess unless he was extremely ticked off.

Sam cursed internally. He'd hear rumors of this man and Lex said some pretty choice words when he was drunk. Nevertheless, he took the hand without hesitation. "I'm Sam Winchester." Was not locking the door or letting someone else in without your supervision a bigger offense in Lionel Luthor's view? Sam wasn't sure. If it was John Winchester, both would get you chewed out. "There was an electrical shortage this morning and the doors here don't really keep anything out," he made up.

"An electrical shortage?"

Another voice entered the conversation. "Yes, I went without my coffee this morning. It's been a very long day." Lex approached them in his usual outfit of slacks and a dress shirt. As Lionel scrutinized him, Sam wondered if he always dressed that way in case a surprise inspection came up. This certainly reminded him of an inspection, the kind the security guards always gave Sam and Dean. "Dad, I hadn't known you would come to visit."

"I had business in the area," said Lionel. He went from expecting Lex's clothes to his face and stopped at his eyes.

They were staring each other down. Sam didn't think he'd felt this uncomfortable before. In these situations, he's usually the one being inspected while a gruff man he not-so-affectionately refers to as Daddy General is on the other side. "Maybe I should come back later."

"You should."

Sam bristles at the dismissal. He keeps his mouth shut, though. He already had an ongoing problem with Marcus Grailley without adding another billionaire to the mix. "See you later, Lex." He catches Lex's apologetic glance as he says goodbye but he doesn't understand what he's apologizing for.

His dad is the ass.

This was just getting ridiculous, Sam decided. The man didn't have one partly polite bone in his body unless you had more green-printed paper to your name than was healthy. Sam was far from that status. The Grailley's weren't though. Lionel talked to Marcus with an entirely fake smile. He asked about his parents, the business, and the boy's plans for the future. It wasn't that Sam was jealous. Listening to a man spout out fake sincerity was not his idea of having a good time but Lionel was dragging Lex with him, which left Sam with Mickey, his roommate…

"So, then, he gave us a fifteen-page essay! I wasn't even the one who started throwing it at him! He's probably possessed –."

'Possessed' struck a bad chord with him. "What!"

Mickey shrugged, "If you stayed in our dorm enough, you would've heard." His face lit up. "One of our teachers is being haunted. It all started about a month ago with flickering lights and things just kept appearing and – ."

"Who?"

"Who what?"

"Who is being haunted, Mickey?"

"Oh, I don't know."

Sam stared at him. "Then how do you know it's one of the teachers or anyone at all." Mickey was silent. "Never mind, I just remembered my own history report. I have to go to the library. I want to hear about this later though." See, he could do some fake sincerity himself. It sounded like nothing but a stupid rumor anyway.

"Okay, see you Sam!" Mickey called out as Sam left.

Marcus heard. Fake smiles were exchanged all around. This was hell. "Hello Sam."

"Hey, Marcus, how's your nose?" Sam asked. He was concerned. He really was. At least, that was the message he tried to convey. Lex smirked and Marcus' smile turned frosty. "Trina, Jon, Donald…" he greeted each of them in turn. The other three were nice enough, if condescending but he expected nothing more.

"It's Sam Winchester, isn't it?" Lionel asked, as if something he learned an hour ago was just as easily forgotten.

"Yes, sir."

"My son tells me the two of you are good friends. I've been anxious to meet you." His cursory glance over Sam's secondhand clothes and messy hair showed that he didn't approve. "It's most fortunate I came and had this chance, isn't it?" He looked at Lex. Sam recognized that look. It was the 'we'll talk later' look.

Sam held his tongue even as he felt the muscles in his face tighten. "Yes, sir."

"Alright, then, I really must go." He was addressing the others. He had even turned to face them and had his back to Sam. He had dismissed Sam, again. Lex was glaring at his father. They both kept their mouths shut.

Sam was almost asleep when Mickey got in. He never went to the library but he doubted Mickey knew, and if he did, he would excuse it. He still believed Trina just heard the news wrong on her tour. Sam heard him stop at the foot of his bed. He was tapping something, probably his leg. Oh great, he wanted to talk. He was probably debating on whether or not to wake Sam up. 'If he does, I can deck him and call it a natural reaction. I wasn't fully awake yet.' Sam immediately felt guilty. Mickey hadn't actually done anything but annoy him.

That didn't stop Sam from cringing when he heard, "Sam! Come on, I got to tell you something!"

Sam slowly opened his eyes. "What is it, Mickey?"

"I asked around, because, like you said, how do you know if someone's being haunted if you don't know, you know? Anyway, I talked to Zach. He heard it from his sister that it was the second year counselor. Her husband died. After he died, she started hearing things. Then things started getting thrown at anyone who visited. Then, she started see him. She went real crazy and hasn't been to work in days. So, do you think she's really haunted? Sam?"

Sam had rolled off his bed and pulled on his jacket. He pulled his duffel from the top of his closet. Four sacks of rock salt were transferred to his pockets. "Do we have salt?" he asked, suddenly.

"I don't think so," Mickey said, suddenly uncertain.

Sam checked for himself. "Do you know where the husband was buried?"

"A graveyard?"

'Okay, I got to go," said Sam. Sam slammed the door behind him. He jogged down the stairs and across the campus. He resolved to get a bike soon. He really did.

"Mr. Winchester! Can I have a word?"

Sam saw the speaker and the answer came out before he could stop himself. "No." Lionel Luthor was in front of his limo looking shocked. It wasn't a good look on him. Sam let out a small laugh. He was stressed and in a hurry. Not to mention, you could keep your mouth shut for only so long and this man pressed all the wrong buttons. "Mr. Luthor, you've been overlooking me since you arrived. You haven't given me the time of day so, no, I can't you give any of my time. Things that demand my respect are damn scary or exceptionally talented. You're neither. So, if you want some respect from me, you need to bring your game up to a whole new level."

He didn't wait for a response.

It was an unhappy marriage. Ghosts that got angry so soon after their death had a reason. He had dealt with this kind of haunting with Dean and dad before. By the time they got to that one, the wife was already dead as well and both of the ghosts were taking potshots at each other, leaving everyone else to be caught in the crossfire. It had turned out to be violent marital fights. Sam quickly got the facts from the very much closed local library..

Thankfully, the wife hadn't joined the land of the incorporeal until after Sam had finished toasting the husband, who had booted Sam right into his own grave. It was after scrambling out of the grave while spitting out salt that he happily got rid of that one.

The wife was easy. One, nobody had found her, so he had no cops to contend with and he didn't have to dig. Two, she was on good terms with him for 'killing' her husband. She even let him stay there for the night before frying her in the morning, so he didn't have to pay for a motel room. She was a nice woman, really.

Sam got back late the next day, still smelling vaguely of salt and ash.

"My father wants you to come over Christmas break," whispered Lex.

Sam almost dropped his flashlight. "What?" he said, loudly.

"Shhh!"

They looked at Marcus, who remained passed out on his bed. His locks were even worse than Lex's. "Why would he want me over?"

"He says he liked you."

Sam shook his head in disbelief. He would think about this later. "You take the walls. We'll do Marcus last." Lex nodded and pulled out one of the bottles of spray paint. Sam moved into the bathroom. He pulled out a bottle of Nair and unscrewed the cap of Marcus' shampoo.

An hour later…

"Sam."

"Huh?"

"Why are you taking his salt?"

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