What They Don't Know
Part 3
1 week later
Lex came home from work to find Clark standing in the doorway of his bedroom just.staring. Frowning, Lex stood directly behind Clark on tiptoe, trying to see around Clark's shoulder. He said,
"What's wrong, Clark?"
Clark jumped, his shoulder hitting Lex's jaw. Lex yelped, stepped back holding his jaw. Clark whirled around, wincing when he saw Lex wiggle his jaw experimentally. He said,
"Lex, I'm so sorry! I just didn't know you were there and you scared me. Are you okay?"
Lex tried to smile, but thought better of it when pain shot through his jaw- region.
"I've survived worse."
Clark took a step forwards and said, sighing, his eyes melancholy,
"How was work?"
Lex ignored the question, took a step forwards, bringing him toe-to-toe with Clark. He said, placing a hand on Clark's shoulder,
"What's wrong, Clark?"
Clark merely shrugged, turned back towards his bedroom. Lex followed Clark into it, sat on the bed as he watched Clark walk around touching random things. Clark said after a moment,
"I'm all packed and ready for lift-off."
Lex 'ahh'-d in understanding. He said hesitantly,
"You know, Clark, you could always stay here."
Clark swiveled around to look at Lex. He smiled sadly,
"I know, Lex. The thing is, we already paid for the room, and if I didn't live on campus, I wouldn't be getting the full experience, you know?"
Lex nodded, looked down at his hands. He said,
"Well, come stay for weekends and holidays, at least."
Clark grinned now, joined Lex on the bed. He said,
"Of course I will. And you have to promise me you'll visit."
Lex grinned back,
"Clark, I'm helping you move. I took off work tomorrow."
"Great! Hey, I'm hungry. Let's go see what we can dredge up for dinner, okay?"
Smiling, Lex stood up and followed predictable Clark out of the room.
* * *
Lex grunted as he set the box down. He said, standing up and rubbing the small of his back with his fist,
"I think that's the last one. Jesus, Clark. I can't believe how much you brought. You pack like a girl."
Clark just grinned at Lex charmingly over the mountain of boxes and suitcases. He said giddily,
"Now, it's time to unpack!"
Lex groaned again and plopped down on the floor, glad he had worn jeans and a T-shirt today and not the typical suit.
Once the room was set up, boxes collapsed and set in a haphazard pile outside the door, Lex sat down on Clark's bed. He shook his head,
"I feel sorry for your roommate. He's not going to have any room!"
Clark grinned happily, looking around the room. The small, comfortable bed had his old, worn cotton sheets on it (plaid), the night-table graced with pictures of friends and family, the bulletin board above his desk covered with even more pictures, various miniature Smallville Crows banners, a special-edition of the first article he had ever written for the Torch, and several other random things. The desk was already a mess, Clark's sleek new laptop, a graduation present from his parents, barely visible underneath all the crap on the desk. A foil Lex had given him (again) was propped in the corner next to his bed. When Lex had stumbled upon it during the unpacking and question Clark about it, he had blushed and stammered some unintelligible reason for keeping it. He thought it had something to do with luck and taking classes, but he couldn't be too sure now. All Clark knew was that he was completely satisfied with how his room looked. He couldn't wait to meet his roommate, though he was a bit nervous.
When a knock sounded on the door and it swung open, Clark's expression turned confused. Standing in the doorway was a vision. A vision with streaky blonde hair and large, slightly tilted hazel eyes. Upon seeing Clark, the eyes, right now edging towards a deep blue, warmed and a smile blossomed, causing dimples to wink at the corners of a full, pouty mouth.
"So, which one of you two is my roomie?"
Clark couldn't prevent his jaw from dropping and turned to Lex, alarm apparent on his face. Turning back to the doorway, Clark stammered,
"R-roomie?"
A fisted hand rose to rest on a cocked hip and one pale eyebrow rose,
"You got a problem with that?"
Clark glanced at Lex again, rubbed suddenly sweaty palms on his faded jeans. He tried to speak, had to clear his throat a few times first.
"B-but you.you're."
The other eyebrow winged upwards in amusement. Clark's new roommate supplied,
"A girl?"
Clark nodded his head dumbly. She laughed, walking into the room, leaving the door gaping. She went over to her bed, dropping a little duffel on it, then sat down. She looked over at Clark and said,
"Is that a problem?"
Clark shrugged helplessly, staring at the girl. Realizing that Clark was not going to vocalize any time soon, Lex said, standing up,
"He's just shocked, is all. I'm Lex."
The girl smiled warmly at Lex and said, standing and reaching out to shake his hand,
"Wesley."
Lex raised an eyebrow but refrained from mentioning her odd name. She smiled, noted the almost concealed question on Lex's face.
"My dad was in denial. He really wanted a son. I consider myself lucky. I mean, I fared better than my sister. She got stuck with Iphigenia. My mom was going through her "Mythology phase" and decided Helen was too trite." Wesley didn't register Lex's wince at that comment. She continued to ramble, "Then there's Carmel, cities. And my brothers, oh boy. Listen to this: Kelly. She had just seen that movie with Leelee Sobiesky and Josh Hartnet and Chris Klein. You know the one?" At Lex's blank look, she shrugged and continued on. "Then we have my brother Loren. Let me tell you, she just loves Saturday Night Live. Adores it. You can't pry her away from the tube on Saturdays, you know, when they have all the reruns? Anyway, the last one is Aubrey. Don't worry, Aub's a girl. I don't think she'd torture one of her children that much. You'll meet Aub later. She's staying just across the hall. And hey, you'll just love her. I'm sorry, am I rambling? I kind of tend to do that, you know. Ramble on and on. I bet you can't guess what my major is."
Lex intoned,
"Theater."
Wesley grinned brightly,
"You got it! Anyway, I don't suppose that you're my roommate? I mean, I kind of figured from that guy's reaction that he's the one, but."
Lex shook his head.
"Negative. He's your guy." Lex jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "He's still kind of in shock. Just give him a couple minutes and he'll warm up."
Lex walked over to Clark and said,
"Clark, I'm going, okay? I'll see you tonight. Be ready around 7 and I'll be here at 7:30. See ya."
Patting him on the shoulder and waving to Wesley, Lex left. Wesley sat back down and said,
"So, Clark, is it?"
Clark nodded, clearing his throat. He smiled weakly and said,
"Clark Kent. I'm sorry. I just didn't realize."
Wesley grinned,
"That's okay. They must not have told you you'd be rooming with a girl."
Clark shook his head,
"No, they didn't. It was just, like Lex said, a huge shock. I guess it's okay, though."
"Well, gee. Thanks, I guess."
Clark's tentative smile faltered at Wesley's sarcastic tone and he swallowed nervously. He shifted on the bed, trying not to look too awkward. Wesley sighed,
"So. Where ya from, Kent?"
"Kansas. Smallville, Kansas."
Wesley tilted her head to the side,
"Never heard of it."
"It's a couple hours out of Metropolis. Where are you from?"
Wesley grinned. Goody, her favorite subject to talk about. Herself.
"San Diego, California." She noticed Clark's discomfort and, taking pity, "You know what, Clark? Why don't we go explore or something?"
Clark sighed with apparent relief, nodding. He didn't need to "explore", but it would get them out of the room and out of that awkward situation. They stood and left the room. Walking outside, Clark let himself relax and study Wesley. She was so unlike Chloe and Lana. She was tall, probably around 5'9". Her hair, strawberry blonde with hints of platinum, matching her perfectly arched eyebrows. Her eyes, changeable. At the moment they were an alluring azure. High cheekbones, naturally flushed, and her lips.Clark had to tamp down his sudden desire to swoop in and capture. He was suddenly feeling a little warm. Tugging at his collar, Clark once- overed Wesley's figure. Long. She was lanky and she was perfect. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her legs, revealed beneath her denim miniskirt. Clearing his throat, something he'd been doing a lot of lately, Clark shoved his hands in his pockets.
"So, Wesley-"
"Just call me Wes."
Clark nodded,
"Wes. Theater major?"
Wesley nodded, smiling,
"What about you?"
Clark shrugged,
"Kinda undecided, but I'm leaning towards journalism."
Wesley turned to Clark, eyebrows raised,
"Really? That's awesome. If I wasn't doing theater, I would have done journalism."
"Yeah?"
Clark grinned at Wesley. Maybe having a girl for a roommate wouldn't be so bad. Sure, he wouldn't be able to sleep in just boxers, or leave things lying around, but it could be cool. Genuinely pleased now, and acctually looking forward to the year, hopefully more, he'd spend with her, Clark turned all of his attention to the beautiful girl beside him.
TBC.
Part 3
1 week later
Lex came home from work to find Clark standing in the doorway of his bedroom just.staring. Frowning, Lex stood directly behind Clark on tiptoe, trying to see around Clark's shoulder. He said,
"What's wrong, Clark?"
Clark jumped, his shoulder hitting Lex's jaw. Lex yelped, stepped back holding his jaw. Clark whirled around, wincing when he saw Lex wiggle his jaw experimentally. He said,
"Lex, I'm so sorry! I just didn't know you were there and you scared me. Are you okay?"
Lex tried to smile, but thought better of it when pain shot through his jaw- region.
"I've survived worse."
Clark took a step forwards and said, sighing, his eyes melancholy,
"How was work?"
Lex ignored the question, took a step forwards, bringing him toe-to-toe with Clark. He said, placing a hand on Clark's shoulder,
"What's wrong, Clark?"
Clark merely shrugged, turned back towards his bedroom. Lex followed Clark into it, sat on the bed as he watched Clark walk around touching random things. Clark said after a moment,
"I'm all packed and ready for lift-off."
Lex 'ahh'-d in understanding. He said hesitantly,
"You know, Clark, you could always stay here."
Clark swiveled around to look at Lex. He smiled sadly,
"I know, Lex. The thing is, we already paid for the room, and if I didn't live on campus, I wouldn't be getting the full experience, you know?"
Lex nodded, looked down at his hands. He said,
"Well, come stay for weekends and holidays, at least."
Clark grinned now, joined Lex on the bed. He said,
"Of course I will. And you have to promise me you'll visit."
Lex grinned back,
"Clark, I'm helping you move. I took off work tomorrow."
"Great! Hey, I'm hungry. Let's go see what we can dredge up for dinner, okay?"
Smiling, Lex stood up and followed predictable Clark out of the room.
* * *
Lex grunted as he set the box down. He said, standing up and rubbing the small of his back with his fist,
"I think that's the last one. Jesus, Clark. I can't believe how much you brought. You pack like a girl."
Clark just grinned at Lex charmingly over the mountain of boxes and suitcases. He said giddily,
"Now, it's time to unpack!"
Lex groaned again and plopped down on the floor, glad he had worn jeans and a T-shirt today and not the typical suit.
Once the room was set up, boxes collapsed and set in a haphazard pile outside the door, Lex sat down on Clark's bed. He shook his head,
"I feel sorry for your roommate. He's not going to have any room!"
Clark grinned happily, looking around the room. The small, comfortable bed had his old, worn cotton sheets on it (plaid), the night-table graced with pictures of friends and family, the bulletin board above his desk covered with even more pictures, various miniature Smallville Crows banners, a special-edition of the first article he had ever written for the Torch, and several other random things. The desk was already a mess, Clark's sleek new laptop, a graduation present from his parents, barely visible underneath all the crap on the desk. A foil Lex had given him (again) was propped in the corner next to his bed. When Lex had stumbled upon it during the unpacking and question Clark about it, he had blushed and stammered some unintelligible reason for keeping it. He thought it had something to do with luck and taking classes, but he couldn't be too sure now. All Clark knew was that he was completely satisfied with how his room looked. He couldn't wait to meet his roommate, though he was a bit nervous.
When a knock sounded on the door and it swung open, Clark's expression turned confused. Standing in the doorway was a vision. A vision with streaky blonde hair and large, slightly tilted hazel eyes. Upon seeing Clark, the eyes, right now edging towards a deep blue, warmed and a smile blossomed, causing dimples to wink at the corners of a full, pouty mouth.
"So, which one of you two is my roomie?"
Clark couldn't prevent his jaw from dropping and turned to Lex, alarm apparent on his face. Turning back to the doorway, Clark stammered,
"R-roomie?"
A fisted hand rose to rest on a cocked hip and one pale eyebrow rose,
"You got a problem with that?"
Clark glanced at Lex again, rubbed suddenly sweaty palms on his faded jeans. He tried to speak, had to clear his throat a few times first.
"B-but you.you're."
The other eyebrow winged upwards in amusement. Clark's new roommate supplied,
"A girl?"
Clark nodded his head dumbly. She laughed, walking into the room, leaving the door gaping. She went over to her bed, dropping a little duffel on it, then sat down. She looked over at Clark and said,
"Is that a problem?"
Clark shrugged helplessly, staring at the girl. Realizing that Clark was not going to vocalize any time soon, Lex said, standing up,
"He's just shocked, is all. I'm Lex."
The girl smiled warmly at Lex and said, standing and reaching out to shake his hand,
"Wesley."
Lex raised an eyebrow but refrained from mentioning her odd name. She smiled, noted the almost concealed question on Lex's face.
"My dad was in denial. He really wanted a son. I consider myself lucky. I mean, I fared better than my sister. She got stuck with Iphigenia. My mom was going through her "Mythology phase" and decided Helen was too trite." Wesley didn't register Lex's wince at that comment. She continued to ramble, "Then there's Carmel, cities. And my brothers, oh boy. Listen to this: Kelly. She had just seen that movie with Leelee Sobiesky and Josh Hartnet and Chris Klein. You know the one?" At Lex's blank look, she shrugged and continued on. "Then we have my brother Loren. Let me tell you, she just loves Saturday Night Live. Adores it. You can't pry her away from the tube on Saturdays, you know, when they have all the reruns? Anyway, the last one is Aubrey. Don't worry, Aub's a girl. I don't think she'd torture one of her children that much. You'll meet Aub later. She's staying just across the hall. And hey, you'll just love her. I'm sorry, am I rambling? I kind of tend to do that, you know. Ramble on and on. I bet you can't guess what my major is."
Lex intoned,
"Theater."
Wesley grinned brightly,
"You got it! Anyway, I don't suppose that you're my roommate? I mean, I kind of figured from that guy's reaction that he's the one, but."
Lex shook his head.
"Negative. He's your guy." Lex jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "He's still kind of in shock. Just give him a couple minutes and he'll warm up."
Lex walked over to Clark and said,
"Clark, I'm going, okay? I'll see you tonight. Be ready around 7 and I'll be here at 7:30. See ya."
Patting him on the shoulder and waving to Wesley, Lex left. Wesley sat back down and said,
"So, Clark, is it?"
Clark nodded, clearing his throat. He smiled weakly and said,
"Clark Kent. I'm sorry. I just didn't realize."
Wesley grinned,
"That's okay. They must not have told you you'd be rooming with a girl."
Clark shook his head,
"No, they didn't. It was just, like Lex said, a huge shock. I guess it's okay, though."
"Well, gee. Thanks, I guess."
Clark's tentative smile faltered at Wesley's sarcastic tone and he swallowed nervously. He shifted on the bed, trying not to look too awkward. Wesley sighed,
"So. Where ya from, Kent?"
"Kansas. Smallville, Kansas."
Wesley tilted her head to the side,
"Never heard of it."
"It's a couple hours out of Metropolis. Where are you from?"
Wesley grinned. Goody, her favorite subject to talk about. Herself.
"San Diego, California." She noticed Clark's discomfort and, taking pity, "You know what, Clark? Why don't we go explore or something?"
Clark sighed with apparent relief, nodding. He didn't need to "explore", but it would get them out of the room and out of that awkward situation. They stood and left the room. Walking outside, Clark let himself relax and study Wesley. She was so unlike Chloe and Lana. She was tall, probably around 5'9". Her hair, strawberry blonde with hints of platinum, matching her perfectly arched eyebrows. Her eyes, changeable. At the moment they were an alluring azure. High cheekbones, naturally flushed, and her lips.Clark had to tamp down his sudden desire to swoop in and capture. He was suddenly feeling a little warm. Tugging at his collar, Clark once- overed Wesley's figure. Long. She was lanky and she was perfect. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her legs, revealed beneath her denim miniskirt. Clearing his throat, something he'd been doing a lot of lately, Clark shoved his hands in his pockets.
"So, Wesley-"
"Just call me Wes."
Clark nodded,
"Wes. Theater major?"
Wesley nodded, smiling,
"What about you?"
Clark shrugged,
"Kinda undecided, but I'm leaning towards journalism."
Wesley turned to Clark, eyebrows raised,
"Really? That's awesome. If I wasn't doing theater, I would have done journalism."
"Yeah?"
Clark grinned at Wesley. Maybe having a girl for a roommate wouldn't be so bad. Sure, he wouldn't be able to sleep in just boxers, or leave things lying around, but it could be cool. Genuinely pleased now, and acctually looking forward to the year, hopefully more, he'd spend with her, Clark turned all of his attention to the beautiful girl beside him.
TBC.
