Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Still don't obtain ownership of Smallville. Damn.

Author's Notes: I'm so sorryI'm like so freakin' slow at writing. It just that I have all these ideas in my head, but I have no idea how to get from point a to point b, you know? Anyway, I managed to get out this much, but alas, I'm still not at the Rogue point of the story. Lex may seem a little out of character, more of a softy, I suppose. Sorry about that, too.

Please, be kind and review. Negative, positive, whatever. Feedback is my vice. Thank you to the reviews I got for the last chapter: Ali, Kraven, and kryptongal. Much appreciated.

Anyway, back to the story:

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Slowly Nicola's eyes fluttered open. She startled at the feeling of an arm wrapped around her then took a second to remember where she was. She nestled into Lex's chest and felt his arms wrap around her tighter. She laid still in his arm for many minutes when she decided to check the clock to see what time it was. 5:35 AM. Even though she would rather stay in Lex's arm for another couple hours, she knew she should do the responsible thing and make her way to Chloe's. She whispered to Lex, but he wasn't waking up.

"Lex, wake up," she whispered again, shaking him slightly.

Lex's eyes slowly began to open.

"What is it?" Lex asked groggily.

"I have to go."

"Why?"

"Because I told Chloe that I'd be at her house before morning."

"But I need your body heat."

"Cute. Look, as much as I want to stay, I have to go."

She kissed him on the lips, but as she was going to back up to get off the bed, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in for another kiss.

"You're really making it really difficult to leave," Nicola said between kisses.

"That was the point."

Nicola squirmed out his arms, then hopped out of bed. She grabbed her shirt off the ground and pulled it over her head. As she finished putting on the shirt, then started to put on her shoes, Lex sluggishly sat up in bed.

"Let me walk you to your car."

"No, that's okay. You go back to sleep."

Nicola walked up to the bed where Lex was.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," smiled Nicola.

She leaned over the bed and kissed Lex quickly on the lips.

"I'll see you later?" said Nicola.

"Of course."

Nicola turned and walked towards the door as Lex lowered his head and drifted back to sleep. She walked through the dark, empty house and found her way to the front door. Soon she found herself next to her car and opened it. She started the car and drove off to Chloe's house.

Twenty minutes later she was pulling up in front of Chloe's house that was in the more suburban part of Smallville. She grabbed her backpack from the back seat, then made her way to the tree that gave her access to Chloe's window. She slung the backpack on her shoulders then pulled herself onto the lowest branch of the tree. After a couple of minutes she managed to make it to in front of Chloe's window. She used her telekinetic powers to open the window then she climbed through it.

In the dark, she saw Chloe curled up in her bed. On the floor she saw that Chloe had left out a pillow and sleeping bag for her to use. She unrolled the bag and tossed the pillow at the opening. After she changed into the pajamas she had packed into her bag, she climbed into the sleeping bag. It was probably going to be another three hours before Chloe would wake up, so Nicola knew she'd have to find some way to keep herself busy while not disturbing Chloe's slumber. After a few minutes of thinking of what she should do, Nicola decided dreamwalking was her best bet.

'But whose dream should I walk in on?' Nicola thought to herself.

Instantly Lex popped into her mind. She closed her eyes and concentrated on entering the dreamplane. Seconds later, Nicola found herself surrounded by dream spheres. She glanced around and whistled for Lex's sphere. She had summoned the sphere a few times in the last couple of days since her last visit with Lex. While she had no plans of going out in the real world to seek Lex out, she did stop by his dreamland. The sphere came to her and she held out her hands, letting the sphere expand. As the sphere became bigger, she peered through it.

She saw that the dream took place in a large kitchen. The first people she saw were a short, bald person and a woman with red hair. When the sphere became big enough for her to be able to step though, she was able to see that it was a boy and woman. She then realized it was a young Lex and his mother. It wasn't until she stepped through to take a better look when she discovered that a present day Lex was also in the dream, watching the scene unfold, too.

Young Lex was slouched over the counter on one of the stools. He looked about 9 or 10. His mother was at the stove, cooking something.

"So, how was your day Alexander?" asked Lex's mother.

"Horrible. The other kids made fun of me, AGAIN. You'd think after going to school with me for a year like this," Lex said, pointing at his bald head. "They'd realize that the bald jokes were getting old."

"Alexander. I'm so sorry you have to go through that."

"It's not your fault mom. I mean, you aren't the one who makes the kids act all dumb."

Lillian smiled at her son.

"I know sweetie, but I'm a mom, and I always feel responsible for my child's well being."

Nicola watched as Lex's mom spoon some Mac & Cheese into a bowl for young Lex and place it in front of him.

"Thanks mom."

"You're welcome."

Nicola glanced away from little Lex and his mom, and looked at present day Lex who was smiling at his past. She contemplated for a second whether she should talk to him or not, but she figured it wouldn't be too weird for someone to dream about the person they saw a few hours before, so she walked over to Lex.

"Your mom really loved you," Nicola said to him.

Lex turned and looked a little startled that someone else was watching him and his mom. After a second, he realized who it was.

"Yeah," was all he replied, then he turned and watched his mom again.

After a couple minutes, he started to talk again.

"I really miss her."

"I know. I don't blame you. She seemed really nice."

"She was." Lex paused. "Sometimes I wished it was my father who had died instead of her. Then maybe my life would have turned out differently."

Nicola knew dream Lex would reveal more of what he felt than real Lex, so she knew it was would be wrong to dig for more information out of him.

"Well, I'm here for you Lex. Whenever you need me."

"I know and I'm glad."

Nicola gave Lex a long hug, then kissed him.

"I've gotta go."

"You're leaving me."

"For now. But I'll see you later."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Okay. I'll see you later then."

Nicola kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Nicola started to walk toward the edge of the dream, then turned to look at Lex again and saw that he was watching his dream again. She turned then walked out of the dream. She found herself in the dreamplane once more. She knew she still had a few more hours to kill, so she decided she might as well pop into someone else's dream.

I wonder what my buddy Clark is dreaming about?

She called for Clark's dream orb and seconds later it floated to her. She let the orb expand then stepped through it. She saw that she was standing in the bleachers at Smallville High. The bleachers were packed, but she found herself a seat in the front row. It appeared to be a football game that they were attending. She looked around to see if she could find Clark, but didn't see him.

"Here are your Smallville Crows!" Nicola hears the announcer, well announce.

She saw a bunch of the Smallville football players run out of the locker room area and through a paper banner the Smallville cheerleaders were holding.

"Man Clark, your dream kind of sucks," she said outloud to herself. "Something good better happen soon."

As if on cue, the announcer says, "And now, Smallville's new star quarterback, Clark Kent!!!!!"

The crowd around her stands up and starts cheering loudly for Clark. Nicola stands up with them and watches as Clark "the football star" jogs out of the locker room entrance and onto the field. Clark receives high fives from his fellow football players before stopping in front of a cheerleader. After taking a better look Nicola realizes the cheerleader is none other than the lustrous, once pom-pom princess Lana Lang.

While she couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, Nicola was sure it was something along the lines of:

"Good luck Clark. I know you'll be great."

"Thanks Lana."

Smiles, smiles.

Lana then stood on her tiptoes to give Clark a kiss on the cheek. Clark's mouth spread out into a large grin before he put his helmet on and ran off to the field to start the game.

"I'm sorry Clark, but this dreamwell it kind of blows."

With that, Nicola snapped her fingers, and the football stadium disappeared and changed into a tropical, sandy beach. In the middle of the deserted beach stood football star Clark Kent, looking pretty confused. Nicola realized her pajamas kind of clashed with the scenery, so she transformed them into a Hawaiian print, spaghetti-strapped dress and made herself have some thong sandals on. After conjuring a piña colada that was in a coconut shell cup (and had a colorful straw and one of those little paper umbrellas) into her hand, she walked the short distance between her and Clark. His back was turned to her.

"Hey there, Clarky boy, what's up?"
Clark spun around and blinked. He then rubbed his eyes to make sure the image in front of him was real.

"Nicola?" said Clark.

"In the flesh. Okay, maybe in your dreams would have been better, and accurate."

"In my dreams?"

"Yes Clark, your dreams."

"This is my dream?" asked a perplexed Clark

"Correct."

"So you're telling me that my being the football star at Smallville High"
"All a figment of your imagination," Nicola finished for him.

"And this?" asked Clark, motioning to the beach that surrounded him.

"That'd be my brilliant doing. Sorry for intervening in your dream, but I had the feeling that it was one of your recurring ones, so I figured a change of scenery would do you some good. Hence the tropical locale."

"Okay"

"UmmClark, your outfit, well, it doesn't really work with the beach vibe."

Clark glanced down at his football uniform.

"Well, I didn't bring a change of clothes."

"Clark. This is a dream, remember? Skip logic; go with imagination. You know that saying, I think, therefore I am'?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, think about what you want to wear, then your clothes will change."

Clark looked at Nicola skeptically.

"Trust me Clark, I am the dream master here."

"Fine"

Clark concentrated hard and imagined himself in some surfer shorts and a white wifebeater tank top, then right before his eyes his football uniform morphed into his desired attire. His eyes widened in surprised and then it affirmed in his mind that this indeed was a dream.

"Alright if this is a dream, are you a part of it, or did you decide to crash on it?"

"I decided to crash on it. Sorry Clark, I was bored, and besides, you're going to be up soon to start your morning chores, so you're only going to be missing out on like a half hour of dreams anyway. I know you farmers' saying, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a" okay I don't know the rest, but I think it ends with healthy and wise."

"RightSo why are you here?"

"Clark, I only need like two hours of sleep a night. I need something to keep me entertained for the other 6 hours of sleep most other people get."

"So you come and interrupt my dream?"

"Hey, this was a good intervention. I mean, how many times could you possible want to see yourself be the quarterback to Lana's head cheerleader."

A blush spread across Clark's cheeks.

"So, how was your date?" Clark asked, trying to change the subject.

"Jeez for the kagillionith time, it wasn't a date."

She took a sip of her piña colada before making two lounge chairs for her and Clark appear.

"Wanna a drink?" she asked him.

"Sure," said Clark hesitantly.

Between the two lounge chairs, Nicola made a small table that had the same drink she had materialize. After Nicola laid back on one of the lounge chairs, Clark followed in example and did the same on the other one. Clark grabbed the drink on the table and took a sip of it.

"Thanks. This is pretty good, you know, for a dream drink."

"Yeah, the mind does wonders."

"You do this a lot don't you?"

"Go into people's dreams? Yeah."

"It seems fun. Have you ever gone into a dream and wished you had just stayed out of it?"

"Too many times to count."

There was a pause before Clark decided to go back on a previous unanswered subject.

"So, back to your date."

"You mean my non-date?"

"Right, non-date," replied Clark, not believing it for a second. "Who was it?"

"My God, you and Chloe are two freaking peas in the proverbial pod," sighed Nicola. "It was just some guy, can we please leave it at that? I don't harass you about who you see, do I?"

"That's because I don't "see" anyone."

"That's beside the point. You know what I mean."

"Fine, no more questions about your mystery guy."

"Thank you. So how was the rest of the party?"

"Kind of boring. Nothing beat your assault on Darien."

"It wasn't an assault. It was pop. Besides, I'm sure he's over it by now."

"I hope you're right."

"I am."

"So, have you been in anyone else's dream tonight?"

"Yeah, someone from Metropolis I know," semi-lied Nicola.

"Really? Anything interesting?"

"Not really."

"Well, no wonder you came into my dream."

"Um, it's not like your dream was much better."

"Hey! I happen to like my dreams."

"Of course you do, Clark."

"So, now that I'm aware this is just a dream, I can alter it any way I want?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"So if I wanted Lana to appear?"

"Hi Clark. Nicola," they heard a familiar voice say from behind them.

They turn slightly and see a version of Lana Lang that was clad in a bikini top and some shorts.

"Lana," replied Clark, slightly startled it actually worked.

Nicola crouched over and whispered to Clark.

"Jeez Clark, next time could you keep your hormones in check?"

"II wasn't trying to get her wearing that."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say there Clark."

"What are you guys talking about?" Lana interrupted them.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," replied Nicola. "Hey Lana, the water looks nice out there. Why don't you take a swim? We'll be out there to join you in a second, okay?"

"Alright. But don't take too long guys."

"We won't," replied Clark.

With that, dream Lana ran out to the water and waded into the ocean.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you to the rest of your dream. Have fun with your dream girl. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Okay. See you later."

"Bye."

As Clark jogged down to the water to join Lana, Nicola downed the rest of her piña colada. Granted it was an imaginary drink, but it still tasted pretty damn good. When she drank the rest of her drink, she tossed it aside, then walked to the edge of the dream and exited Clark's dreamland. When she found herself on the dreamplane again, she contemplated if she should jump into someone else's dream or go back to the real world. After a little deliberation, she decided it was time to go back to the real world.

She slowly opened her eyes and found herself in Chloe's room. The sun was breaking through the partially cloudy sky and shown through the window. She glanced at the alarm clock next to Chloe's bed and saw that it was 7:23, which meant she spent almost an hour and a half in dreamland, although it hadn't seemed like it. She had a little over a half an hour before her mom expected her to come home. She looked over at Chloe and saw that she was still asleep in her bed.

She rolled the sleeping bag back up then placed it and the pillow on the couch chair that sat in the corner of the room. After she changed into another outfit, she walked over to the Chloe's bed and loomed over her sleeping form. She gently shook Chloe awake.

"Ah!" half-shouted Chloe.

Her eyes blinked open and then glared up at the person who dared to wake her up.

"Nicola? What time is it?"
"7:30."

"7:30?! Are you suicidal? Why are you waking me up at this un-Godly hour?"

"Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, but I just wanted to let you know before I left that, yes I did show up, and I wanted to thank you for remembering to leave the window unlocked, oh and for the sleeping bag and pillow."

"Not a problem. What time did you get in last night?"

"Let's just say, really late."
"Okay."

"Well, I better get going. My mom really needed the car this morning for some reason. I'll let you get back to your sleep."

"Thank you, I really need it since I was so rudely interrupted."

"I said I was I sorry."

"You're forgiven. But you better get out of here so I can sleep or I just might change my mind."

"All right. Talk to you later then."

"See ya."

With that, Nicola slung her back over her shoulders, then opened the window and climbed out. She slowly made her way down the tree, then hopped off the lowest branch to the ground. She walked to her car, got in, then headed for home. When she arrived home, she found her mom, brother, and sister in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Hey family."

"Good morning Nicola. How was Chloe's?"

"Fun. We had a Kevin Smith marathon."

"Kevin Smith?"

"You know, Kevin Smith? The director slash writer slash actor? As in Silent Bob? As in Jay and Silent Bob? As in two key characters in the movies Clerks, Chasing Amy, Mallrats, Dogma, and the most recent Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back?"
"Oh right, that Kevin Smith, how silly of me to not know who you were talking about."

"Anyway, it was all junk food and movies."

"That's nice."

"So, where's Brad?"

"He's out tending the horses. Contrary to belief, we still do have a ranch to run."

"Right."

"So, what are your plans for today? I was hoping you could come with us to the Edge City Mall to buy some winter coats."

"Winter coats?"

"Yes, I hear it's going to get pretty cold soon."

"Yeah, well, as much as I'd just love to join the family on a outing, I can't. I work at 12."
"Oh, that's too bad."

"I knowdarn."

"Well, while I take the kids to the mall, Brad was planning on taking a look at the junk yard in Edge City for a car for you to repair."

"Really? That's great."

"What's great?"

Brad had slipped through the back door and only heard what Nicola had said.

"That you're finding me a car to fix in Edge City," replied Nicola.

"Oh, that. So, any kind of a car in particular you want me to keep my eyes peeled for?"

"A 2002 Lexus Luxury Convertible?"

"Funny."
"Hey, a girl can dream. Actually, technically I could alter whatever car to the Lexus, but I suppose it would be suspicious to the DMV."

"Probably."

"I don't know. Jeeps are cool. You know, the kind you can put the top down."

"Don't you think you're buying into the Roswell alien thing a little too much?" Lindsay asked her older sister.

"Hey squirt," she glared at her sister. "Just because they had it in the book and show doesn't mean that's the reason I like Jeeps, thank you very much."

"Okay, so a Jeep," said Brad, breaking up their argument. "Back up choice?"

"Jetta."

"Okay. Well, I'm going to buy one and make sure it has every part that you need to manipulate, regardless of whether or not it works or what condition it is in, then I'll have it towed back later today."

"Won't it look suspicious if you have a wrecked car towed into town, then miraculously the next day I have a car?"

"I suppose you have a point."

"How about this; you tell the guy at the wreckage place to leave the car outside of the junk yard, then tonight, I'll orb there, fix up the car, then drive it home?"

"I don't know, won't he be suspicious if I ask him to leave it outside the yard?"

"Not if you tell him that you're having someone tow it later that night after they are closed."

"Well, that sounds plausible."

"Great. Then after I get home from work, you can tell me what time I can go there so it's safe, then I'll do the rest."
"Sounds good."

"Well, now that that's settled, I'm going to fix myself something to eat. What time are you guys leaving?"

"As soon as the little ones are ready."

"Hey, I'm not little. I'm 10," argued Lindsay.

"Fine. Then be a big girl and help Joey get ready for the car ride."

"Fine. Come on Joey, let's go upstairs," sighed Lindsay, grabbing Joey's hand, helping him down from his chair.

"I'm going to go wash up, then once the kids are ready, we can leave," Brad told Juliet.

"Alright."

While Brad started to follow the two kids upstairs, Nicola started make some new coffee in the coffee maker, then glanced through the cupboards and found some Cinnamon Toast Crunch to eat. After she began to eat her the bowl of cereal she made for herself, she remembered to bring up the topic of connecting with people.

"Hey mom. I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Now, this is totally random, but I was wondering about our power to connect with people."

"Yes, what about it?" asked Juliet, concerned.

"Well, is it possible for one to connect with another person without trying?"

"Not usually. In most instances one has to will it to happen. Why has it happened to you?"

"Yeah, a couple of times with some of my new friends. I kind of blacked out for a few seconds, according to them."

"Strange. Well, maybe it's another element to your powers that's different than everyone else."

"I suppose."

"If it happens again, let me know."
"Will do."

"We're ready mommy," they heard Joey say.

They turned to see that Joey and Lindsay were out of their PJs and were in a change of clothes.

"Great, now we just have to wait for your dad," Juliet told Joey.

"Okay."

"Lindsay, why don't you and Joey play outside until we're ready to go?"

"Alright." Lindsay grabbed Joey's hand again and started walking outside. "Come on Joey, we can play hide and seek. You can hide first."

"You know she's not going to look for him right away, right?" Nicola said to her mom who was pouring herself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Yeah, but it's not going to take Brad that long to get ready."

"Whatever you say. Oh, there's another thing I wanted to ask you about."

"What's that?"

"Well, see, Chloe, Pete, Clark, and I kind of wanted to go to Metropolis tomorrow for the day. Would that be okay?"

"I dunno, Metropolis is a pretty dangerous place, especially for four teenagers."

"Mom, you know perfectly well that we're responsible. Besides I grew up in Metropolis. So did Chloe. We know how to handle ourselves in the 'big city'."

" What time do you plan to leave?"
"About 9."

"And you'd be home?"

"Around 10."

"10? Don't you think that's a little late?"

"Mom, we will probably arrive in Metropolis at 12. To be back at 10, we have to leave around 7. That gives us approximately 7 hours to wreak havoc on Metropolis. That's not even half a day."

Her mom contemplated the thought for a minute.

"Alright, I suppose that'd be okay. Who would be driving, because you can't have the Exterra all day?"

"Lex Luthor's limo driver," she replied casually.

Her mom practically choked on the coffee she was drinking.

"Run that by me again? I think I heard you wrong because I thought you said Lex Luthor's limo driver."

"That's because that's what I did say."

"And had this come about?"

"Well, you know that Lex is friends with Clark. He happens to be going to Metropolis tomorrow morning for work anyway, so he offered to let us ride up and back with him in the limo. Anyway, is it all right if I go?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"Thanks."

Brad finally came back downstairs into the kitchen.

"Ready to go?" Brad asked Juliet.
"I've been ready to go, the question is, are you finally ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Well, Joey and Lindsay are outside playing hide and seek, so let's find Joey, then we can get a move on."

"Okay."

Brad walked out the back porch to start calling for Joey.

"We'll be back around 5, which means we'll probably be home before you will be. Are you going to get to work okay?"

"Yeah. Walking into town won't kill me. Hopefully."

"Well, if you need anything, we have the cell, okay?"

"Alright. See you later, then."

"Bye."

With that, her mom left the house in search for Joey so they could leave. Nicola cleaned out her bowl and placed it in the dishwasher, then took her bags downstairs. She then decided to go upstairs to take a shower. After taking the shower then changing in her room, she heard the muffled sound of her cell phone ringing. She walked over the purse having a feeling it was probably Chloe. She took the cell out of her purse and glanced at the screen, and sure enough her caller ID said that it was her.

"Hey Chloe," she said into the phone.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Well, it's almost 10, I knew you'd probably be up and remembered that I didn't really give you much info on my last night, so the call was inevitable. That and the invention called caller ID helped me out."

"Right, anyway, do you wanna meet at the Beanery have some coffee, and then you can give me all the yummy details of your night?"

"Negative. No car."

"Then I'll pick you up."

"Great."

"Okay, I'll be there in a few."

"Alright. See you."

Nicola hung up the phone and placed it back into her purse. She decided to put her work clothes in a bag to take with her so she could just drop it off in her locker at work if she decided to go somewhere before she had to work. After she got her stuff together, she grabbed the bag and walked up the stairs and went outside onto the front porch to wait for Chloe.

After about 10 minutes passed, Chloe's red Ford Falcon pulled up her driveway and she made her way down to it. She opened the door then climbed in.

"Hey," greeted Nicola.

"Hi," replied Chloe as she pulled away from the house and back onto the main road. "So are you going to start to spill the details now, or am I going to have to wait till we get our coffee?"

"I'm going to let the suspense kill you."

"Well, you're mean."

"I try," grinned Nicola.

"Fine, then if you're not going to talk about that, then we'll move on to our trip to Metropolis tomorrow."

"Yeah, about that, I won't be able to use the car tomorrow."'

"What? Well, I guess we could use my car."

"That could work," agreed Nicola, although she knew that Lex was probably going to give them a lift.

"So, did you come up with any places we could go?"

"I was thinking lunch at Pizza Mystique."

"Great idea, they have awesome pizza. Anything else?"

"The Great Divine has excellent coffee. We can get some upon arrival."

"Never heard of it."

"It's new. They opened last year."

"Oh. Well, sounds good."

"So how about you? Do you know any places in Metropolis we could go?"

"I have a few places in mind."

"Let me guess, The Daily Planet building? Maybe take a picture with Pete and Clark so you can see the globe way above them?" joked Nicola.

"Oh, you're funny."

"I try."

"No, I wasn't thinking of the Daily Planet building. Just because I want to be a reporter there some day doesn't mean I obsess about the place."

"I know, I know."

"Anyway, I was thinking we could see a movie a one of the cineplexes since they have some we can't see within a 50 mile radius of Smallville."

"Good idea. I miss not being able to see the independent films."

"Same here."

"If we need more ideas of places we could go, maybe Lex could throw in some suggestions," suggested Nicola, before she realized what she said. She really needed to get Lex off the brain.

Chloe looked at Nicola quizzically.

"What?" asked Nicola defensively.

"Nothing. It's just, what made you think of Lex?"

"Lex is from Metropolis, a fact many people know. We were talking about Metropolis, so Lex came to mind as someone who might know more about Metropolis than we do," Nicola quickly covered up with.

"It's interesting."

Nicola regarded Chloe strangely.

"What is?"

"The fact you can lie so easily, like a second nature."

"I'm not lying."

"See, there it is again."

"I'm not," replied Nicola as they pulled up nearby the Beanery and came to a stop after parking.

"Nicola, I'm a reporter. And I'm going to trust my instincts when I say, you're not telling the whole truth. In fact, you've been dancing around the truth for weeks now. We're friends, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Well, as your friend, you can trust me with whatever it is you've been hiding from everyone, although I think I already know what it is."

Nicola took a deep breath and contemplated the situation. She knew some was bound to find out about her and Lex's relationship, whatever that may be, sometime, so why not let Chloe be the first to know? Next to Clark, Chloe was one of her closest friends in Smallville, Nicola knew she could trust her. Anyway, she had been sort of wanting to tell someone about her thing with Lex, and she knew very well it couldn't be Clark, seeing as he was best friends with Lex, so word would eventually get back to him. So, Nicola decided whether or not should tell Chloe. She turned to face Chloe.

"Alright, before I tell you anything, you have to swear that this information will not leave this car. You can't tell anyone, especially Clark or Pete. And, even though I know you would never do it to me, you've got to promise that this bit of info won't be in the next addition of the Torch."

"I promise."

"Well, the guy I was with last nightIt was Lex."

Chloe's face went agape then she beamed a grin.

"I was right," she announced with self-satisfaction.

"Yeah, you were right."

"So, what did you guys do last night?" she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"We talked."

"Wait, you got an insight into the mind of the elusive Lex Luthor? Do tell."

"Sorry, that's personal."

Nicola opened her door quickly, climbed out of the car, and then started walking towards the Beanery, followed just as briskly as Chloe.

"Oh come on, give me a little something."

"Fine," sighed Nicola. "He likes Mac & Cheese."

"Mac & Cheese?"
"Yeah."

They reached the Beanery entrance and walked through the door.

"Macaroni & Cheese," Chloe said again.

"Yes."

"From scratch?"

"From the box."

Before Chloe could comment further, they found themselves at the counter. They placed their orders then found a table they could sit at and wait for their drinks.

"That's funny. I never would have taken him for the boxed Mac & Cheese type."

"Neither did I."

"So, what else did you do besides talk?"

"Stuff"

"Stuff? Care to elaborate? I mean did you, you know?" Chloe insinuated.

"No!" Nicola replied quickly. "But I'll admit, the thought did cross my mind. But, I would never"

"Right."

"I wouldn't."
"Have you everbeen to Café Creole in Metropolis?"

Nicola gave Chloe a strange look before answering, "Yeah, their coffee's okay"

"Hello ladies," Nicola heard a smooth, sophisticated, familiar behind her.

She then understood why Chloe diverted the conversation so quickly. Nicola turned around to face their visitor.

"Hello Mr. Luthor," said Chloe.

"Hi there Luthor," said Nicola.

"How are you two doing this morning?"

"Good."

"Great, thanks. How are you?"

"I'm pretty good, myself. Mind if I join you two?"
"Not at all," replied Chloe.

Lex pulled out the empty seat next to Nicola and sat down.

"I was talking to Clark this morning"

"Oh, so that's why you're in the good mood? Because you got your daily Clark fix?" joked Nicola.

"Actually, no. The reason I'm in a good mood has nothing to do with Clark's visit this morning," he replied, giving Nicola a knowing look that most people wouldn't have caught, but it didn't go unnoticed by Chloe.

"So back to your talk with Clark this morning" interrupted Chloe, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Right. Well, he mentioned to me that you guys were all going to Metropolis tomorrow."

"Yeah, if the guys get the 'ok' from their parents," said Nicola.

Before they could continue, one of the waitresses came with Nicola and Chloe's drinks. After receiving a small thank you from the two girls, the waitress then took Lex's "to go" order before leaving Nicola, Lex, and Chloe to their conversation again.

"Well, I told Clark that I would be willing to give you all a lift since I am headed there tomorrow morning anyway."

"Well, that's really sweet of you Lex, but I'm not sure if my parents would let you drive me anywhere, you know, considering your driving history," smirked Nicola with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Hey, I'm an excellent driver."

"Yeah, when you're not recklessly speeding."

"You wound me, Lively."

"I try."

Nicola smiled at Lex and gave him a small wink. Chloe just sat back and watched the two's exchanges with amusement.

"Well, don't worry Miss Lively, I will not be the one driving. My limo driver will be taking care of that."

"Wait, you're offering us a limo drive up to Metropolis?" Chloe asked Lex.

"Yes, that is what I was purposing."

"Wow, that's really nice of you, Mr. Luthor."

"Like I said, I'm going there anyway."

"Still."

"Okay, hypothetically speaking, let's say the boys do get permission from their parents and we do take you up on that limo ride. What time were you planning on leaving?" asked Nicola.

"I was thinking 9ish."

"That's what we were thinking too," said Chloe.

"Great."

"And, now this is hypothetical again, would we go to your castle for the ride, or is the limo going to come to each of our houses to pick us up?" asked Nicola.

"The limo will pick all of you up at your individual houses."

"Wonderful. Now, if Pete and Clark get the thumbs up from their parents, one of us will give you a call to sort out a few other details, how's that sound?" asked Chloe.

"Sounds great."

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I need to head off to the Kent farm to visit our favorite farm boy," Nicola informed her two companions, standing up just as Lex's coffee came to the table. Lex and Chloe stood up slowly next.

"Do you need a ride?" asked Chloe.

"Sure that would be great."

"I can give her a ride, Miss Sullivan. I was headed there anyway myself," said Lex.

"I thought you saw him this morning," said Nicola.

"I did, I just have an invitation I forgot to give him."

"Oh. Well, a ride would be wonderful, thanks."

"I should get going myself. It was nice to see you again, Mr. Luthor," said Chloe, extending her hand for Lex to shake, which he took. "Thanks again for the limo ride offer."

"It's not a problem. And Miss Sullivan?"

"Yes?"

"It's Lex."

"Then you call me Chloe."

"Alright, Chloe. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, most likely."

"Right. Bye Lex," she emphasized his name.

"Bye Chloe, I'll call you later when I get off of work so we can finish our conversation."

"Sure," grinned Chloe. "Tell Clark hi for me."

"Okay."

"Shall we?" said Lex, extending his elbow, which Nicola latched onto.

As Lex and Nicola walked towards the entrance doors, Chloe watched the couple. And as Lex opened the door for Nicola, Chloe shook her head with a smile on her face.

"God, could they be more obvious?" she thought before going to the counter to ordering herself another coffee.

In only a few seconds span, Nicola and Lex arrived next to his silver Vantage Volante. He unlocked then opened the passenger side door for her, helped her in, and then closed the door for her before going to driver's side of the car and getting in himself. He started the car, then they headed off.

"She knows, doesn't she?" asked Lex, nonchalantly.

"Yeah," admitted Nicola, deciding not to play dumb. "She figured it out somehow. She's going to make a damn good reporter someday."

"I don't doubt it."

"You aren't mad, are you?"

'That she knows? Of course not. I realize it would have been inevitable before someone found out."

Lex took one of his hands off the steering wheel and found its way to Nicola's. He intertwined his hand with hers, then brought her hand up to his lips to kiss. Nicola smiled as his lips touched her hand.

"So, how did you sleep last night?" asked Nicola.

"Pleasantly well. Although I missed your body heat."

"Ah, well I missed yours too."

"I had the most interesting dream last night."

Nicola shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I don't remember every detail, but I know I was watching the nine-year old version of myself with my mom. Then you appeared in the dream and talked to me."

"Really?" said Nicola, trying to appear surprised. "What did we talk about?"

"You told me you'd always be here for me. Do you share the same thoughts as your dream self?"

"Of course. Whenever you need me," she replied without hesitation, forgetting she said just that in the dream.

Lex's brow furrowed as if he was having a case a déjà vu, then remembered her saying that in dream.

"You said that in the dream."

Nicola mentally cursed herself, but then rationalized that he wouldn't know from uttering a couple things she said in the dream that she really was in his dream.

"Well then, it seems like your subconscious knows what I'll say before I say it."

"So it seems."

They drove in silence the rest of the short drive to Clark's house. When they pulled to a stop near the barn, Nicola was about to climb out when Lex told her to wait. She turned and faced him.

"What?"

Lex placed a hand on her check, then slowly leaned in and kissed her.

"I've been wanting to do that since I saw you in the Beanery."

"I share your sentiments."

"Now, why don't we go see our favorite farm boy?"

They climbed out of Lex's Volante and then together walked towards Clark's fortress of solitude.

"Five bucks says he's looking through his telescope. Another five says the view is fixed on Miss Lang's humble abode," Nicola whispered to Lex.

"As much as I love a good bet, I don't want bet ten dollars knowing I'll lose," he replied.

They quietly crept up the steps to the flat and soon Clark came into view. Sure enough, Clark was standing at his telescope peering through it.

"You know, when I bet ten dollars you were spying on Lana through your telescope, I was kind of hoping I would be wrong," Nicola said loudly to Clark, causing to startle to him.

"Jeez Nicola, give a guy a heart attack why don't you," Clark said turning around. He slightly froze when he saw Lex next to Nicola, chuckling no less. "Lex. What are you two doing here?"
"Nice to see you too, Clark," said Lex as they made their way closer to Clark.

"Is it so wrong that two people want to come see one of their favorite people during the middle of the day?" asked Nicola.

"No, well, it's justdid you two come here together?"

"No Clark, we just arrived at exactly the same time in the same exact car," Nicola said sarcastically.

"I saw Nicola at the Beanery with Chloe. She mentioned she was going to come over see you and, since she had no car, and the fact I was on my way here anyway, I offered to give her a ride," explained Lex.

"Oh."

"I have to make this visit quick since I have matters to attend to at the plant," said Lex as he took an envelope from the pocket that was inside of his coat jacket, which he then handed to Clark. "This is your formal invitation to the gala; it will get you inside the museum without a problem."

"Thanks."

"Well, I better get going. The meeting at the plant won't take too long, so if you need a ride home later, Nicola, I could swing back."

"No, that's okay. Clark can give me a ride, can't ya, Clark?"

"Yeah, it's no problem."

"Okay, then I'll see you two kids tomorrow morning."

With that, Lex turned and trotted down the stairs to his car.

"So what's up?" asked Clark as soon as Lex was down the last step.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see what you were up to before I go to work."

"Oh."

"Did your parents give you permission to go to Metropolis tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Reluctantly might I add, especially after I mentioned the gallery opening on Tuesday."

"Will they let you go to both?"

"Only because I've 'been doing so well with my grades and keeping up with my chores.'"

"Well, that's great. Now we only have Pete to worry about."

"Speaking of Pete and worrying; did Lex tell you he offered to give us a ride tomorrow?"

"He might have mentioned that in our conversation at the Beanery."

"I hope Pete can look past his hostility with the Luthor name for a couple of hours and accept a ride from Lex."

"Well, I'm sure Chloe can sweet talk him into going."

"Hopefully."

"Hey, Kent, don't underestimate the power of the Chloe Persuasion."

"Right. So, what have Chloe and you have planned for our little trip?'

"Well, nothing's set in stone as of yet, but we have a couple of ideas floating around here and there."

"Well, I'm sure whatever you guys plan we'll have fun."

"Oh, of course," replied Nicola, then had a short pause, a smirk forming across her face. "So, how did the rest of dream go last night?"

A blush spread across Clark's face.

"It was fine."

"Fine? Clark, please tell me that your dream went past a G-rating at least, otherwise your going to make me regret leaving you to make your own dream decisions."

"If I tell you it was at least a PG-13, but definitely not NC-17 material, would you leave me alone?"

"Sure," smiled Nicole, before adding a mutter of, "for now."

"So, are you going to go to the gallery opening?" asked Clark, diverting the subject back to previous topics.

"Yeah, it will be a nice change of pace from all things Smallville."

"Have you been back to Metropolis since moving out here yet?"

"Actually no, tomorrow will be my first time back since the day I left."

"Why haven't you gone back yet? I mean, with your powers it would only take you a couple of seconds to get there and back."

"It's just that before, I figured that if I orbed back, I'd just miss it even more than I already do."

"That makes sense."

"But going back tomorrow and Tuesday will be a nice, if not short, needed vacation from farm country."

"Smallville's not that bad."

Nicola gave Clark a look that suggested otherwise.

"So, what are you doing today?"

"Nothing much. Probably help my dad around the farm. Do what chores I would be doing tomorrow if I was around."

"Sounds like fun."

"What are you doing?"

"Well, if you were paying attention earlier, I have to work."

"Right."

Nicola glanced at her watch and realized she needed to get home so she could get ready for work.

"Well, CK, as much fun as this has been, I've got to fly."

"Okay. If I find time, I'll stop by the Beanery."
"Alright. Bye."

In a blink of an eye, Nicola orbed out of Clark's Fortress of Solitude to her house so she could get ready for work.

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TBC. Working on the next two chapters simultaneously as we speak. Hopefully, I can finish them soon. Any comments, suggestions, thoughts, wishes, etc. are welcome. If anyone wants/is willing to beta this story for me in the future, just e-mail me.