Wow, thanks for the reviews guys! I need to set the whole plot first before
I get to the shipperness, but I *am* going to get there;)
Chapter 2: First Dayz
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lex's sneakers squeaked to a halt outside the large grey building. There were so many other things he could be doing now, but instead he was *here* at Smallville High. He'd been awake since 5 am that morning, playing dress up with a team of specialists and from what he could tell, he didn't look anything like the suave, poised Lex Luthor anymore.
After an intense session of arguing, they'd finally settled on a rusty coloured wig, with a slight tint of red for him to wear. It was just the right length, almost curly... enough to make him look like a teenager, without sacrificing too much of his dignity. Clothes had been a monumental issue... apparently the elegant casual suite was not 'in' at the moment, especially not in Smallville. The loose fitting pair of jeans, red shirt and denim jacket were all he had to work with.
Lex shifted the backpack over his shoulder, pulled on a baseball cap and with a determined growl strode through the doors of the school, making a direct line for the office. He earned more than a few stares, whispers and giggles from a group of girls, but he ignored them. He was on a mission and nothing was going to stop him.
"Is that him?" Lana asked, tugging on Clark's sleeve impatiently.
"After standing here for an hour, all the guys that walk through that door are starting to look the same," Clark said yawning. "I guess I better find out if that's the new guy before Chloe injures me,"
Clark side stepped his way through the crowd to catch up to the other boy.
"Excuse me? Are you..." he glanced down at his piece of paper. "Raymond?"
Lex's stride immediately halted as he quickly diverted his eyes. "Yes... I am." he admitted. He couldn't believe his luck... he'd been in the school for all of twenty seven seconds and who was the first person he was cornered by? Clark Kent.
"Hi, I'm Clark. I work for the Torch-"
"That's the school newspaper," Lana cut in smiling at the new student. "I'm Lana."
Lex looked to the ground, edging back slowly in hopes of escape.
Clark took a step forwards, "I'm supposed to do an article on the new students from Metropolis, and I'd really like to ask you a few-"
"Sure, definitely," Lex nodded, pulling his baseball cap down further, "I just have to register at the office and maybe I'll catch up with you later, okay? It was great meeting you two, I'll see you around."
Lex swiftly disappeared back into the flow of the people. He did *not* intend on seeing either of them any time soon. At least the disguise had worked, even though the hair made him look like part of a third rate boy band. He quickly stepped into the main office, and looked around.
"Hi there," the cheery lady said, putting on her glasses, "How can I help you."
"I'm Raymond Shoeland." Lex stated almost wincing at the sound of the name.
"Shoeland... Oh yes! Our new student from Metropolis, we've got quite a few other students from there, what with all the new jobs popping up around the plant. Those Luthors really-"
"I'm sure this conversation could last a while, but I'd really like to pick up my time table and get to class," Lex interrupted bluntly. The woman's high pitched voice was giving him a headache.
"Well of course, you must be excited for your first day! Don't worry, you'll make new friends quickly," she babbled on merrily while typing on her computer.
"Here we are, Raymond," the woman said as she handed him the printout. "Now remember if anyone bullies you or peer pressures you into drinking-"
"What is this?!" Lex snapped at the woman while staring at the paper. "I refuse to do gym!" It was bad enough that he had to drive around in a pick up truck and look eighteen year old farm kid... he wasn't going to add gym to the hell that was his life.
"You really must control your temper Mr Shoeland," the woman stated, looking over the top of her glasses at Lex as she typed away.
Lex bit back a remark and regained his smoothness, "I apologize, but there seems to be a mistake. Couldn't you switch gym with something else?"
"Hm... well, there's an English Literature class that-"
"Perfect. I speak English, it should be a breeze." Lex stated. Anything was better than running around a gym like a headless chicken for an hour. Right now he had to sort out what he was really there for...
"Could you tell me where they keep the student records? I'd like to see if anyone I know from Metropolis is around here." Lex asked, his words dripping with insincere politeness.
"I think they were taken to the Torch Office, you could check there. So I guess you're all set then." the woman grinned at him, "Your locker number is 146B and your first class begins in fifteen minutes, I suggest you hurry along young man."
Lex gave the woman a forced smile, "Of course... I wouldn't want to be late for my first day."
Swinging his backpack over a shoulder he stepped out of the office and into the bustling hallway of Smallville high. The teens were wrapped up in high pitched sequels of delight as they were reunited with friends they hadn't seen in weeks. Lex reminded himself that as soon as he did his job, he could get the hell out of there. His eyes scanned over the hallway... jock... nerd... Miss high school spirit... nope, no hard core drug dealers yet.
At least the Torch was where he remembered. Slowly he cracked the door open and turned on the lights, making his way to the cluttered desk. It was obvious that the room hadn't been used in a whole summer. Before he had a chance to finger through the files, he heard two female voices down the hallway. He could *not* be caught in here.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Chloe? I'd hate to see you get hurt... at least let Clark in on it." Lana sighed following her friend.
"Relax, Lana. I'm fine," Chloe groaned, heading into her office. "The last thing I need is Clark telling me it's too dangerous. Besides, I'm so close, I can feel it."
Lana shrugged, settling into a seat, "Nobody else is concerned about it."
"Smallville High might be too scared to speak out about the drugs, but I'm not. I'm going to get this story if it's the last thing I do, and if I happen to hurt people's feelings along the way I'll apologize... later." Chloe compensated. "This is too important."
Neither girl noticed the young man crammed uncomfortably beneath the desk in hiding. He'd had no idea his elbow could twist at that angle and *still* remain attached to his body. One thing was certain though, he couldn't be caught going through files, especially not here.
"The only way to get the evidence I need is to pretend to be their friends... everyone knows that Kevin and his little drug-scout club are behind all of this. I'm so close to being a part of them. Don't screw this up for me, Lana. Kent can't find out about this one." Chloe insisted.
Lana shook her head, "Do what you want Chloe, but there are only so many people Clark can save at once... he might not be around when you need help, and you *will* need help."
"I'll be careful." Chloe gave in, "You could help too if you wanted?"
"I'd rather not," Lana admitted.
"You wouldn't have to do what I'm doing... you could uh... do research and stuff?" Chloe suggested sitting on top of her desk.
"You're only doing this so that I won't tell Clark and Pete." Lana stated, folding her arms accusingly.
"Is it working?" Chloe hopefully asked.
Lana smiled, "Fine, I'll help... but the second things get out of hand, I'm telling."
"Don't worry, I've got everything under control. Nothing bad is going to happen," Chloe reassured her.
"Whatever you say... So, did you see the new guy?" Lana smiled. "Clark cornered him this morning."
"No I didn't, but I hope Clark got his bio, because I need the article by the end of today. Why?" Chloe asked.
"Only because *every* girl in school is talking about how hot he is!" Lana said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I think it's the hair, he's got really nice hair..."
"School hasn't even started yet, how could news about him get around so fast?" Chloe groaned. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be focussing on your tormented love for Clark?"
Lana sighed, "That's a whole other story... anyway, we should get going, class is starting soon." Lana said, heading out the door, "You coming?"
"You go ahead, I'm working on the Bad Chloe. If she shows up late to class then Kevin might think I'm a terrible person and maybe he'll invite me to one of his little druggie gatherings." Chloe explained, then paused when she saw the other girl roll her eyes.
"I'm going to do whatever it takes!" she called as Lana left the room.
Lex was still motionless beneath the table in an awkward position. Hadn't the situation been crappy enough? Now he had to worry about Chloe and Lana getting hurt. Why couldn't they report on the annoyance of overfriendly office staff instead?
Chloe sat still on the desk, pondering the situation before giving the wood a sharp knock.
"You can come out now!"
Lex jumped at the sound of her voice, colliding his knee against the edge of the desk, inducing his colourful use of profanities. With as much dignity as he could muster he crawled from beneath the table and rose from the floor. She'd known he was there.
"How did you..." Lex trailed away as he dusted him self off.
Chloe was a little startled when she saw the tall form appear before her. She'd figured the intruder had just been some freshman who'd come into her office to hide away from the terror of High School... *not* whoever was standing in front of her right now.
"I guess the backpack lying on my floor gave me a hint, but the biggest clue was your huge sneaker sticking out from under my desk," Chloe's voice rose a little higher with annoyance.
"You think I have big feet?" Lex asked insulted.
"What are you doing in here?" she snapped, ignoring his question.
"Uh... I was looking for the bathroom," he said innocently.
"Does this look like a bathroom?" Chloe asked patronisingly slow.
"Well is doesn't look like any office I've ever been in," Lex matched her tone. He looked the small girl straight in the eyes, not worrying about being recognized. If Lana or Clark hadn't noticed, then the snarky blonde definitely wouldn't-
"Do I know you from somewhere?" Chloe asked bluntly. There was something about the way he stood... with such a condescending air about him. like he had something shoved up-
"That's a pretty bad pick up line," Lex covered with a sneer, grabbing his back pack from the floor.
"Oh... I remember you now." Chloe said snapping her fingers, "Aren't you the guy from the impotency add on tv?" she asked curiously. Whoever he was, one thing was for certain. She didn't like him.
Lex tossed her a withering glare before brushing past her. He didn't have time to deal with sarcastic reporters.
"You know you're in way over your head with this drug situation," he said, glancing behind him one more time at the furious girl. "Go write an teen advice column or something and leave this thing alone."
He slipped out the office before the girl could shoot back a retort. As soon as he did, the shrill bell rang out across the school, and within seconds the hallway was empty.
"Perfect," he mumbled. The whole plan was totally messed up now... and on top of everything else.... he was late for biology.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Please Review! Sorry it took so long to put this up. I was trapped in the third dimension of hell, also known as band camp.
Chapter 2: First Dayz
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lex's sneakers squeaked to a halt outside the large grey building. There were so many other things he could be doing now, but instead he was *here* at Smallville High. He'd been awake since 5 am that morning, playing dress up with a team of specialists and from what he could tell, he didn't look anything like the suave, poised Lex Luthor anymore.
After an intense session of arguing, they'd finally settled on a rusty coloured wig, with a slight tint of red for him to wear. It was just the right length, almost curly... enough to make him look like a teenager, without sacrificing too much of his dignity. Clothes had been a monumental issue... apparently the elegant casual suite was not 'in' at the moment, especially not in Smallville. The loose fitting pair of jeans, red shirt and denim jacket were all he had to work with.
Lex shifted the backpack over his shoulder, pulled on a baseball cap and with a determined growl strode through the doors of the school, making a direct line for the office. He earned more than a few stares, whispers and giggles from a group of girls, but he ignored them. He was on a mission and nothing was going to stop him.
"Is that him?" Lana asked, tugging on Clark's sleeve impatiently.
"After standing here for an hour, all the guys that walk through that door are starting to look the same," Clark said yawning. "I guess I better find out if that's the new guy before Chloe injures me,"
Clark side stepped his way through the crowd to catch up to the other boy.
"Excuse me? Are you..." he glanced down at his piece of paper. "Raymond?"
Lex's stride immediately halted as he quickly diverted his eyes. "Yes... I am." he admitted. He couldn't believe his luck... he'd been in the school for all of twenty seven seconds and who was the first person he was cornered by? Clark Kent.
"Hi, I'm Clark. I work for the Torch-"
"That's the school newspaper," Lana cut in smiling at the new student. "I'm Lana."
Lex looked to the ground, edging back slowly in hopes of escape.
Clark took a step forwards, "I'm supposed to do an article on the new students from Metropolis, and I'd really like to ask you a few-"
"Sure, definitely," Lex nodded, pulling his baseball cap down further, "I just have to register at the office and maybe I'll catch up with you later, okay? It was great meeting you two, I'll see you around."
Lex swiftly disappeared back into the flow of the people. He did *not* intend on seeing either of them any time soon. At least the disguise had worked, even though the hair made him look like part of a third rate boy band. He quickly stepped into the main office, and looked around.
"Hi there," the cheery lady said, putting on her glasses, "How can I help you."
"I'm Raymond Shoeland." Lex stated almost wincing at the sound of the name.
"Shoeland... Oh yes! Our new student from Metropolis, we've got quite a few other students from there, what with all the new jobs popping up around the plant. Those Luthors really-"
"I'm sure this conversation could last a while, but I'd really like to pick up my time table and get to class," Lex interrupted bluntly. The woman's high pitched voice was giving him a headache.
"Well of course, you must be excited for your first day! Don't worry, you'll make new friends quickly," she babbled on merrily while typing on her computer.
"Here we are, Raymond," the woman said as she handed him the printout. "Now remember if anyone bullies you or peer pressures you into drinking-"
"What is this?!" Lex snapped at the woman while staring at the paper. "I refuse to do gym!" It was bad enough that he had to drive around in a pick up truck and look eighteen year old farm kid... he wasn't going to add gym to the hell that was his life.
"You really must control your temper Mr Shoeland," the woman stated, looking over the top of her glasses at Lex as she typed away.
Lex bit back a remark and regained his smoothness, "I apologize, but there seems to be a mistake. Couldn't you switch gym with something else?"
"Hm... well, there's an English Literature class that-"
"Perfect. I speak English, it should be a breeze." Lex stated. Anything was better than running around a gym like a headless chicken for an hour. Right now he had to sort out what he was really there for...
"Could you tell me where they keep the student records? I'd like to see if anyone I know from Metropolis is around here." Lex asked, his words dripping with insincere politeness.
"I think they were taken to the Torch Office, you could check there. So I guess you're all set then." the woman grinned at him, "Your locker number is 146B and your first class begins in fifteen minutes, I suggest you hurry along young man."
Lex gave the woman a forced smile, "Of course... I wouldn't want to be late for my first day."
Swinging his backpack over a shoulder he stepped out of the office and into the bustling hallway of Smallville high. The teens were wrapped up in high pitched sequels of delight as they were reunited with friends they hadn't seen in weeks. Lex reminded himself that as soon as he did his job, he could get the hell out of there. His eyes scanned over the hallway... jock... nerd... Miss high school spirit... nope, no hard core drug dealers yet.
At least the Torch was where he remembered. Slowly he cracked the door open and turned on the lights, making his way to the cluttered desk. It was obvious that the room hadn't been used in a whole summer. Before he had a chance to finger through the files, he heard two female voices down the hallway. He could *not* be caught in here.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Chloe? I'd hate to see you get hurt... at least let Clark in on it." Lana sighed following her friend.
"Relax, Lana. I'm fine," Chloe groaned, heading into her office. "The last thing I need is Clark telling me it's too dangerous. Besides, I'm so close, I can feel it."
Lana shrugged, settling into a seat, "Nobody else is concerned about it."
"Smallville High might be too scared to speak out about the drugs, but I'm not. I'm going to get this story if it's the last thing I do, and if I happen to hurt people's feelings along the way I'll apologize... later." Chloe compensated. "This is too important."
Neither girl noticed the young man crammed uncomfortably beneath the desk in hiding. He'd had no idea his elbow could twist at that angle and *still* remain attached to his body. One thing was certain though, he couldn't be caught going through files, especially not here.
"The only way to get the evidence I need is to pretend to be their friends... everyone knows that Kevin and his little drug-scout club are behind all of this. I'm so close to being a part of them. Don't screw this up for me, Lana. Kent can't find out about this one." Chloe insisted.
Lana shook her head, "Do what you want Chloe, but there are only so many people Clark can save at once... he might not be around when you need help, and you *will* need help."
"I'll be careful." Chloe gave in, "You could help too if you wanted?"
"I'd rather not," Lana admitted.
"You wouldn't have to do what I'm doing... you could uh... do research and stuff?" Chloe suggested sitting on top of her desk.
"You're only doing this so that I won't tell Clark and Pete." Lana stated, folding her arms accusingly.
"Is it working?" Chloe hopefully asked.
Lana smiled, "Fine, I'll help... but the second things get out of hand, I'm telling."
"Don't worry, I've got everything under control. Nothing bad is going to happen," Chloe reassured her.
"Whatever you say... So, did you see the new guy?" Lana smiled. "Clark cornered him this morning."
"No I didn't, but I hope Clark got his bio, because I need the article by the end of today. Why?" Chloe asked.
"Only because *every* girl in school is talking about how hot he is!" Lana said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I think it's the hair, he's got really nice hair..."
"School hasn't even started yet, how could news about him get around so fast?" Chloe groaned. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be focussing on your tormented love for Clark?"
Lana sighed, "That's a whole other story... anyway, we should get going, class is starting soon." Lana said, heading out the door, "You coming?"
"You go ahead, I'm working on the Bad Chloe. If she shows up late to class then Kevin might think I'm a terrible person and maybe he'll invite me to one of his little druggie gatherings." Chloe explained, then paused when she saw the other girl roll her eyes.
"I'm going to do whatever it takes!" she called as Lana left the room.
Lex was still motionless beneath the table in an awkward position. Hadn't the situation been crappy enough? Now he had to worry about Chloe and Lana getting hurt. Why couldn't they report on the annoyance of overfriendly office staff instead?
Chloe sat still on the desk, pondering the situation before giving the wood a sharp knock.
"You can come out now!"
Lex jumped at the sound of her voice, colliding his knee against the edge of the desk, inducing his colourful use of profanities. With as much dignity as he could muster he crawled from beneath the table and rose from the floor. She'd known he was there.
"How did you..." Lex trailed away as he dusted him self off.
Chloe was a little startled when she saw the tall form appear before her. She'd figured the intruder had just been some freshman who'd come into her office to hide away from the terror of High School... *not* whoever was standing in front of her right now.
"I guess the backpack lying on my floor gave me a hint, but the biggest clue was your huge sneaker sticking out from under my desk," Chloe's voice rose a little higher with annoyance.
"You think I have big feet?" Lex asked insulted.
"What are you doing in here?" she snapped, ignoring his question.
"Uh... I was looking for the bathroom," he said innocently.
"Does this look like a bathroom?" Chloe asked patronisingly slow.
"Well is doesn't look like any office I've ever been in," Lex matched her tone. He looked the small girl straight in the eyes, not worrying about being recognized. If Lana or Clark hadn't noticed, then the snarky blonde definitely wouldn't-
"Do I know you from somewhere?" Chloe asked bluntly. There was something about the way he stood... with such a condescending air about him. like he had something shoved up-
"That's a pretty bad pick up line," Lex covered with a sneer, grabbing his back pack from the floor.
"Oh... I remember you now." Chloe said snapping her fingers, "Aren't you the guy from the impotency add on tv?" she asked curiously. Whoever he was, one thing was for certain. She didn't like him.
Lex tossed her a withering glare before brushing past her. He didn't have time to deal with sarcastic reporters.
"You know you're in way over your head with this drug situation," he said, glancing behind him one more time at the furious girl. "Go write an teen advice column or something and leave this thing alone."
He slipped out the office before the girl could shoot back a retort. As soon as he did, the shrill bell rang out across the school, and within seconds the hallway was empty.
"Perfect," he mumbled. The whole plan was totally messed up now... and on top of everything else.... he was late for biology.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Please Review! Sorry it took so long to put this up. I was trapped in the third dimension of hell, also known as band camp.