A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

By Allegra

Sorry everyone that this next part has taken so long. My dad borrowed my computer, taking all my half finished chapters to work with him, but I've backed up all the copies now so hopefully it can't happen again! I hope you like it & please, please, please let me know what you think - what you'd like to see happen etc. It really keeps me going :)

See part one for disclaimers etc.

CHAPTER 6 : FRIENDLY CONVERSATIONS

Despite living only a mile away from the girl of his dreams, Clark didn't have many excuses to go over to Lana and Nell's house. In fact, he didn't really have a legitimate reason this time either. Usually, he could make up some excuse about his mom baking too many pies and would they like some? This time, there was no safety net. The mission was plain and simple, ask Lana to the bonfire party the next evening. There could be no pretences that he was just passing by and thought he'd drop in.

Even now, as he walked up the path to the porch door, Clark could barely believe he was going to ask Lana Lang on a date. Both of them wanted it, even Lana couldn't deny that, but Clark always seemed to find himself giving out mixed signals. He wanted her for himself but whenever her relationship with Whitney was in peril, Clark found himself giving a lending hand instead of taking advantage of a bitter situation. It would take two hands to count the number of times Lex had offered advice about grasping opportunities when they opened, looking out for number one. Still, Clark couldn't bring himself to use other people's misfortunes to better his own position, even if that person happened to have the one thing the teenager desired most.

Now, Clark was finally going to grab the bull by the horns. Ignoring his heart hammering in his chest, Clark knocked on the screen door. A moment later, any flight mechanism in his brain was out of his hands as Lana appeared. "Clark, hi!"

"Hi." His gaze drifted from her face to her paint-stained hands. "Painting?"

Lana rubbed her hands against the already stained denim of her jeans. "Art assignment for Mrs. Linley. I figured I'd better get it done before Whitney comes over."

She had pushed open the screen door and led Clark to the swinging bench seat in the shade of the porch where tea light flames flickered along the banisters. Clark tried to ignore how soft and romantic the setting had become; it only made him feel even more like he was coveting what shouldn't be his. "I thought Whitney was in Oklahoma this weekend?"

If Lana noticed the strained note in Clark's voice she didn't show it. Re-lighting a candle, she replied, "He is. He's leaving first thing tomorrow morning." She turned back to give him her full attention, pulling one leg under the other on the wooden seat. Clark could almost feel the heat of her body close to his and it was making him nervous. He hoped his recently acquired heat vision didn't choose to kick in now. "Clark, are you all right?"

Startled that she had noticed his discomfort, Clark stammered, "Yeah, fine. Why?"

Lana's eyes bore into him. "You just seem a bit...agitated."

"No, I'm fine. That is, I've just got something on my mind." Clark couldn't seem to stop the regurgitation of words tumbling out of his mouth. Lana's face was growing more concerned. "Do you want to share it with me?"

Clark was about to decline the offer but thought better of it. He knew what he wanted to say and there was no point in putting it off. "Actually, yes. I was just wondering if you were busy tomorrow evening? There's the bonfire party down in Marty's west field. Most of the year are going and I figured if Whitney was away..." He tailed off, suddenly aware of the implications of what he had just said. Admitting that he was moving in on her because Whitney wouldn't be there probably wasn't the best way in to winning a girl's heart.

Lana's face was a figure of confusion. He had clearly taken her unawares and she was having difficulty deciding exactly what Clark was implying. "Uh, Clark, that's a really nice offer but..."

Clark couldn't stand to watch her usual composure turn into floundering and blurted out, "Just as friends, a chaperone if you like." There it was. He'd blown it in under two seconds. Friends. How he hated that word. It symbolised all the problems in his life, not least of which involved Lana Lang. It was what made his secret so difficult to preserve, it was the one bar standing between him and his father over Lex Luthor, and now friendship tortured him in love as well.

Still, the only upside was that Lana's face cleared instantly and radiance replaced the vague worry. "Sure, I'd love to, Clark. Thanks for thinking of me."

Clark stood up, abruptly. "Great, I'll pick you up about eight?"

Lana looked up at him in surprise. "You're going? Can't I offer you a drink or something?"

Clark all but stumbled off the step as he backed away towards his exit. "No, thanks. You've got your painting to finish and...uh, I've got a ton of chores to do. I'll just, uh, see you tomorrow night."

Lana smiled, graciously. "Okay. Bye, Clark."

"Bye!" The words had no sooner left his lips than Clark found himself halfway down the path and almost to the gate. He could still feel Lana's eyes on his back but inside he was cursing himself for his foolishness. Lex was right. He'd never be happy if he didn't take a risk every once in a while. He had intended to take that risk tonight but, as usual, Clark had blown it with the promise that nothing would happen. He cursed himself under his breath once more. Clark wondered if Lana would even believe he still fancied her if he reassured her at every turn that there was no danger of it. Soon, their relationship would take that final turn down the friendship route once and for all, irreparable damage.

Cutting across the road into the cornfields, Clark started running. He needed to clear his mind and let off steam and sixty miles an hour was the only way to do it.

Saturday morning swung around all too quickly. What had appeared to be the first in a sequence of Lana-wooing events had rapidly deteriorated into something more depressing. Thanks to his big mouth, Clark had dashed any hopes of making a move on the girl. Marty's bonfire party was gradually seeming and increasingly depressing prospect. Clark knew he should be grateful that he was going to be spending some time alone with the girl of his dreams, but when that fantasy wasn't going anywhere, it was just torture.

Martha Kent had managed to ignore her son's sulking for the better part of the morning but by midday it was starting to get to her. He had flicked through all the channels on the television about fifty times and grunted nonchalantly whenever she mentioned the lovely day he was missing outside. Her teenage son had refused to talk about the cause of his foul mood but Martha had a fairly good idea. There was only ever one cause for Clark's crabbiness and it usually followed a trip across to Nell's house.

Finally, she had thrown a box down in front of him. "Clark, if you're not going to be cheerful, the least you can do is be helpful. Take these provisions over to the Luthor mansion."

Clark looked distastefully at the wooden box. "You just think Lex will cheer me up."

Martha sighed, "Well, it wouldn't hurt."

Clark stood up and deftly lifted the heavy box from the coffee table. "Fine, I'll take the stuff, but I'm not hanging around to talk to Lex. He can't help me, in fact he'll only make me feel worse." Mumbling something unintelligible that Martha was grateful not to have caught, Clark headed out to the truck.

Lex had arranged for the garden furniture to be set up under the trees in the extensive gardens behind the mansion. With his back to the overpowering building, for a moment or two he could forget about the ties that bound him - work, his father, the Luthor name. It was just him, the newspaper and nature in full bloom. Life could be pretty damn beautiful sometimes, if he just found the time to lift his head from the books long enough to see it.

He winced inwardly as his reached for the glass of iced tea. Lex's arm wasn't feeling any better than it had yesterday. In fact, if anything, it was starting to feel worse. That was one side of Mother Nature he regretted getting so acquainted with. What had begun as an innocent scrape was now starting to inflame rapidly, swelling his arm and creating curiously itchy patches on his skin. Maybe it was something worth running by the doctor after all. He'd try and remember to ring him this afternoon, just as long as everything stayed under wraps. There was nothing worse than snooping journalists hovering over the Luthors, ready to pounce on an embarrassing story. It always boiled down to the same thing, the hope of bribing Lex for money to keep the story quiet.

Thumbing through the obituaries to see if there were any flowers he should be sending, Lex started to notice the throbbing starting in his arm again. He could almost feel the blood pumping steadily through his arteries, pulsating to the beat of his heart. At the same time it was both fascinating and revulsing so Lex tentatively unbuttoned his shirt cuff and rolled the sleeve up to his elbow. The skin was an angry crimson colour but now Lex could see tiny black dots peppering the skin and, as he looked closer, it was clear that they were embedding themselves in the tender flesh. Pressing one thumb against the skin of his forearm, Lex dug at one of the fragments with his finger, trying to extract it from beneath his epidermis. Frowning, he leaned closer and examined the tiny black seed now lying in the palm of his hand. If he wasn't mistaken, it looked like some kind of spore.

"Hi, Lex!"

Lex barely needed to turn in his chair to verify the owner of that voice. Regardless of the teenager's mood, Lex could always identify Clark Kent. There was a generous overtone of naïve interest coupled with a note of optimism. Although, today that second factor was somewhat diminished. There was definitely something on the kid's mind. Quickly pulling his shirt sleeve back down, he made an attempt at casual. "Clark. Take a seat."

Clark appeared in front of Lex, digging his hands further into his pockets. "I just came to drop some supplies off. I didn't really want to bother you, just say hi."

Lex gestured to the spare chair he had set out in anticipation of a visitor. If there was one thing a millionaire could guarantee it was that money could buy all the luxuries in the world but it could never buy peace and quiet. "I was just enjoying a rare moment of serenity out here. It's amazing how easily one forgets some of the beauty that surrounds us."

Clark gave him an unconvinced smile of acknowledgement but remained hovering over his friend. Lex looked him steadily in the eye. "What's the matter, Clark? You look like you're about to bolt."

"No, I just...I just wouldn't want to disturb you."

Lex chuckled, "Clark, believe me, you'd know if you were disturbing me. Come on, tell me what's going on in the real world of Smallville?"

Clark finally sat down in the wicker chair. "You know all that advice you kept giving me about dealing with Lana? Well, I'd just like to say for the record that it's a lot easier said than done."

Lex nodded, knowingly. This was going to be a big brother conversation. "Did she turn you down?"

"Not exactly."

"What does that mean? Either she did or she didn't, Clark. There's no in between."

Clark gave him a lopsided smile. "Oh, there is when you're me." He sighed before launching into the complete recount of last night's conversation with Ms. Lang. Lex waited until he had finished before saying a word.

"Well, Clark, it sounds to me like Lana's morals are as admirable as yours. You don't want to muscle in on the quarterback's girl behind his back and she doesn't want to cheat on him behind his back either. It sounds to me like both of you would be together if it weren't for you and Lana's concern for Whitney."

Clark's brow furrowed. "So you think I should just go for it? Ask Lana out straight."

Lex folded the newspaper purposefully and laid it on the table beside him. "Well, you know me, I always take the bull by the horns, regardless of the consequences. But it sounds to me like the ball's in Lana's court now. She's the only one who can push Whitney out of the picture. You've made a play for her, she knows it even if she won't admit it yet. Lana is a good girl, she wouldn't respect you for playing rough. I think she likes a man with manners and a heart of gold. You've got that Clark. I guess now the question is how much does she want it?"

Clark nodded, solemnly. "Great. I feel better already. Thanks, Lex." His voice dripped with sarcasm and Lex couldn't help laughing at his young friend's adolescent love problems. How the pair had become friends still seemed a mystery sometimes. If Clark were handed the Luthor empire, he'd lose every penny in a bid to retain every man's good will. "Just give it time, Clark. Your moment will come, and when it does, you'll know."

END OF CHAPTER 6

Hope you liked it. I promise I'll speed things along soon. I'm notorious for setting situations up & trying to keep things flowing with all the characters, but I hope you'll hang in there for the good stuff! I promise it WILL come!!

Please, please, please review or I'll hit Lex over the head in the next chapter.