i am *so* glad that you all like it. thankyou! thankyou! thankyou! here's ya another chapter, even earlier than i had intended.

enjoy.

why me?

It was Tuesday, and still no sign from his father. Thank God, Lex thought. He was currently in his office, going through some papers that were stacked precariously on his desk. He'd gotten somewhat behind in his work lately. Of course, that has nothing to do with a certain bouncy, blonde reporter.

Frustrated, Lex tossed the folder onto his desk, causing the rest of the papers to sway, and, then, before Lex could stop it, they fell to the ground. Cursing, Lex stood up. He was about to pick them up when there was a knock on the door.

Looking at the door expectantly, Lex's breath caught in his throat. But, that was before his brain started back up. His father never knocked.

"Yes?" Lex asked confidently, "Come in."

The door opened slowly, and in walked...Clark?

"Clark, what are you doing here?" Lex asked, trying hard to hide his confusion.

"Well, I...I'm sorry to bother you...But, I...I didn't think you'd mind..." Clark stuttered, shuffling his feet.

"Clark, relax, okay? What can I do for you?" Lex asked, smiling kindly at his friend.

Clark relaxed alittle. "Well, it's actually not about me," Clark began, he walked farther into the room, turned around, and closed the door, "It's actually about Chloe."

"Chloe?" Lex asked, worry filling his head, his body tensing up, "Is she okay? Did something happen to her?" his eyes lined with concern. What if his father *did* take action. If he hurt her...if he touched her...he'd kill him.

"Oh, no, she's fine," Clark assured. Lex immediately felt incredibly relieved. His entire body relaxed, and he walked around to his desk somewhat unsteadily, and sank into his chair. The thoughts that had gone through his head...She's okay, she's okay, was all he could think right now.

"Lex? Hey, Lex? Are you okay?" Clark asked, now it was his turn to be concerned. Lex turned his head towards him, and straightened up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just...Why don't you take a seat," Lex asked, gesturing towards a chair.

Clark accepted the offer, but still looked skeptical.

"So..." Lex prodded, why would Clark want to talk to Lex about Chloe? "What about Chloe?"

"Oh, yeah, well...It's just that I was wondering...you guys have been hanging out with each other and..."Clark obviously hadn't thought this through, but Lex already got the gist, "not that I'm not happy about that...it's just..."

"Odd," Lex offered.

"Yeah. Odd," Clark said, running his hand through his hair, "I mean, it's great that you guys are getting along." Lex laughed.

"Getting along? I wouldn't use that to describe...it's more like we're adjusting to one another's company."

"Oh, well, good, I'm glad, really," Clark said, honestly seeming happy that his friends were...getting along, "But, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure, ask away," Lex answered politely.

"Why?"

Lex sighed. How to answer that? He couldn't very well tell him that Chloe was repaying a debt, and that Lex was hoping that she would eventually come to her senses and fall in love with him, that probably wouldn't go over well with Clark, or Chloe, for that matter.

"Why? Well, I guess we just decided that it was time to put our feuding behind us, and move on."

"But, you guys still fight, she said so," Clark, kind of, argued, then realizing he let something slip, his eyes widened, and he shifted his gaze to focus on the carpet.

Wait, *she* said so. An idea came to mind. Whatever he said to Clark, may very well get back to Chloe, which wouldn't be such a bad idea...He could use this to his advantage.

"True, yes..." Lex thought for a minute, he had to do this right, "As you know, Chloe can sometimes be...difficult. But, she's also very interesting, and intriguing."

"I know," Clark said knowledgeably, he apparently thought that Lex hadn't noticed his earlier...mistake, "Sometimes it's hard to keep up with her."

"She does certainly have a mind of her own," Lex stated, sighing. Okay, here goes, "You know, Clark, I actually wanted to speak to you about Chloe, as well."

"Really? What about?" Clark asked, leaning in his chair.

"Well, it's just..." Lex forced a look of uncertainty on his face, "Oh, never mind. I'm probably just imagining it."

"Imagining what, Lex?" Clark asked, he was now, quite literally, on the edge of his seat.

"Oh, well, I just have this feeling that Chloe may see me as something more than...just a friend," Lex said, giving Clark a serious look, it was all he could do to stop himself from laughing.

"More than a friend?" Clark had to think for a minute before he began to process what Lex had just said, "Oh, you mean you think she likes you?" Clark asked, slightly in shock.

"Yes. And, not to say that I'm not flattered, she's cute, and smart, funny. Exactly what I look for in a...I just think she may be getting in over her head," Lex almost smiled, he could already see Chloe's reaction when Clark told her all this. He just needed to make sure Clark *did* tell her.

Clark looked as if he was still trying to digest all this information.

"Clark?" Lex asked. He just kept staring into space. Okay, that didn't work. Lex snapped his fingers.

Clark looked up quickly, "Oh, sorry, it's just...what makes you think she, you know, likes you."

"Oh, um," Lex had to think fast, "I guess you could say I just have a sixth sense about these things, trust me, Clark.

He just nodded, obviously still in a world of his own.

"So, if you could just talk to her about it for me, I would really appreciate it," Lex asked, standing up.

Clark looked at Lex, then stood up as well. Lex was to the door before him. He opened it, and smiled.

"I'm sure I'm only overreating. I simply want to get to the bottom of this," Lex said, giving Clark a sympathetic look. Man, he was really taking this hard. Maybe he liked her more than Lex had thought he did, or, at least, liked her in a different way he'd thought.

Clark was almost out the door, when Lex called out, "Clark, how do you feel about Chloe?" His voice sounded desperate, which was something he definitely hadn't counted on.

"How do *I* feel about Chloe?" Clark asked, slightly confused. Lex nodded.

"She's my friend."

"Do you...I mean, do you love her?" Lex asked, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

"Of course, I love her," Clark answered, smiling.

"As what?" Lex had to know. If he was going to try and accomplish the task of, well, Chloe, then he had to know if he had competition.

"What do you mean 'as what'?" Clark asked, confused once again.

Lex sighed. "I mean, do you love her as a friend, or as something more?"

Realization dawned on his face, "Oh, as a friend," Clark responded, "I mean, once I thought it was something else, but...I think I just confused that with friendship."

"Okay," Lex's heart felt considerably lighter now. Clark wouldn't lie about this, not to him, hopefully.

"You seem relieved, Lex," Clark said, "Something you'd like to tell me...or Chloe, maybe."

Lex's head snapped up. He'd had no idea that Clark could be so intuitive. He was about to lie and say he was insane, but, all of a sudden, he didn't see the point. He couldn't lie to Clark, at least not about this. So, instead, he decided the dodge the question for as long as possible.

"I'll see you later, Clark," Lex said, smiling.

Clark laughed, somewhat uneasily. "Yeah, I'll see ya later, Lex." And, with that, Clark made his way to, what was most likely, the exit.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Lex shut the door, and got back to work.
***
Man, I *so* hope everyone liked that. Really, really I do. And, thankyou for the reviews. all of you. they help so much. See, i wasn't going to right this today, i was going to wait till tomorrow, cause i was kinda busy. but, then i saw that i had reviews, and i decided that i'd do it today as a sort of reward. ok, next ch. will be out by...man, i'm clueless. i'm gonna say friday. there, maybe sooner. probably sooner. bye all.