A/N: This story is inspired by 6x5, Reunion. It centers around Lex's friendship with Duncan Allenmeyer. At some point there will be a transition to AU, because I'm not really about the plot contrivance where Duncan was randomly hit by a car right after Lex fought with him.

I'm writing this for Comfortember 2021, but I'll be following the prompts all out of order.

Chapter 1 - Confession

It was only the fourth week of school. Lex could swear it had been months.

So far today, he'd managed to piss off his history teacher by correcting him in the middle of a lesson, fail a math test by not showing enough work, get shut down by his science instructor for asking too many questions, and get tripped twice in PE by one of Oliver's thugs. He'd also received a letter from his father that he was going to have to come back to Excelsior the day after Christmas instead of staying home for the full break, thanks to LuthorCorp conference scheduling, though it was hard to say whether that was good news or bad news.

And the kid who sat next to him in rhetoric wouldn't shut up.

"I hope Mrs. Ryken doesn't go over the bell. I have to leave right at the end of class," he was saying. Duncan, Lex was pretty sure his name was. "My parents are coming to visit. They can't stay for very long, you know, and they can't afford to come out here very often. And it's my first year, I guess I'm more homesick than I was expecting to be. I really miss them."

Lex clenched his teeth. He'd felt the same way about his mother when he'd first started coming here in sixth grade, but right now, he really, really didn't want to hear it. "Word of advice, since you're new?"

"Yeah?" Duncan perked up.

"No one cares. Keep it to yourself."

Lex watched the boy beside him deflate, his face falling. Lex might have felt bad about it, but it did the trick. The guy shut up.

Mrs. Ryken began the lesson. Lex mostly tuned her out—he'd take the highest score in the class one way or another—and let himself become distracted by Oliver, who was flinging rubber bands across the room at other students whenever Mrs. Ryken's back was turned. Of his obnoxious habits, this one was really one of the least insidious, even if three of the rubber bands hit Lex square in the scalp over the course of the hour.

Mrs. Ryken didn't even notice until one of the rubber bands hit her, only a moment before the bell rang.

She whirled around to face the students. "Who threw that?"

Lex almost snickered at the venom in her voice. If she figured out it was Oliver, he was definitely getting the ruler. Not that that was a huge deal—it hurt and everything, but nowhere near as bad as anything Lex's father did—but it was satisfying to picture Oliver getting a taste of his own medicine, even a small one.

But Mrs. Ryken didn't seem to suspect Oliver at all. The bell rang, and she barked out, "No one move."

A few students had gone to pick up their backpacks and book bags, but at this, the room went silent.

Mrs. Ryken came around to the front of her desk and crossed her arms. "No one leaves this room until I get a confession."

Lex resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She had a reputation for keeping students in her classroom for up to an hour after school. It was all the same to Lex; he didn't really have anywhere to be.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Duncan trembling.

He kind of felt for the guy. Lex couldn't relate to having a family that couldn't afford to travel—apparently, Duncan was a scholarship kid, which he really shouldn't have been announcing so openly—but Lex could relate to missing his family members and longing for visits.

Well, that was a privilege Lex didn't have any more. He didn't have to care about Duncan. Or anyone. This school wasn't about making friends; it was about survival.

"I'm waiting," Mrs. Ryken said. "I can wait all afternoon, if that's what you want."

Lex looked down at his desk. Then he made the mistake of looking over at Duncan.

His eyes were watering.

Lex held back a groan. He was really going to do this.

He raised his hand. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Ryken, I really wasn't trying to hit you."

Her glaring eyes turned on him. "Class," she said, "you're dismissed."

Lex took a deep breath. He was careful not to give Duncan another look as the other students filed out of the classroom. God forbid the guy should be smiling.