AN: I just wanted to say thanks to those of you who have reviewed this story so far. It means a lot to me.

Padfoot n' Moony - thanks for being the most loyal reviewer on this story. I really appreciate the feedback. The bit about Lana in the last chapter was added after I read your review about wanting to hear more of smallville's thoughts on lex luthor. I thought that would work better from Lana's point of view as I do think people wouldn't talk as much around clark about lex and I hope I changed jonathan enough for your liking.

nobodyreally - thank you for your very kind words. they are much appreciated. I actually did try the first chapter in third person and couldn't get it to my liking. I'm enjoying the story in first person much better.Hope you keep reading.

Clark's POV:

"Do you mind if I invite Lana?" I asked Pete over the telephone.

Pete had found out from Chloe that Lex had to cancel our plans for the next day. He and Chloe had been planning to rent a couple of movies and hang out at his house so he had called and invited me to join them. As I didn't have anything better to, I had accepted his invitation.

"Not a problem. The more the merrier," Pete told me. "Clark hold on a second," Pete told me and then the line was quiet for a few moments. "Clark I got to go. The twins made a mess in the kitchen and Mom wants some help cleaning it up. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"Okay, bye Peter," I told him.

I hung up the phone and then looked at the clock. It was only seven thirty. I didn't think Nel would mind if I stopped by to see Lana for a few minutes.

I told my Mom where I was going and then walked over to Lana's. Nel answered the door when I knocked.

"Hi is Lana home?" I asked her when she opened the door.

"Yeah, she up in her room," Nel said stepping to the side to let me into the house. "Just go up the steps and her room is the first door on the left," her aunt told me.

"Thanks," I said as I started up the steps. When I got to the door that Nel had said was Lana's I hesitated. I was trying to figure out why I had come over instead of calling her. Well, I was here now so I might as well just get it over with.

"Come in," Lana replied to my knock.

I turned the door knob and opened the door.

"Nel, what do you think abo . . ."Lana started saying as she turned toward the door. She was holding a full length gown up in front of her. "Clark," she said surprised. "I wasn't expecting in you."

"Your aunt let me in," I told her. "Nice dress."

"Thanks," she said blushing a little as she put the dress down on her bed. "So what brings you over here, Clark."

"Well, ah, Pete, Chloe and I were getting together tomorrow night to watch some movies. I was wondering if you wanted to join us."

"Sounds like fun, but I 'll have to pass," Lana told me sounding genuinely disappointed. "I'm going to Metropolis with my aunt tomorrow night."

"Oh," I said surprised. Lana usually mentioned things like that to me a couple of days before she went. "I didn't know."

"I didn't either until I got home from school this afternoon," Lana told me. "Seems Lionel Luthor decided at the last second to throw a birthday bash for his son tomorrow night. My aunt use to always go to them so when he called her about this one she changed her plans so that she could go and she asked me to go with her. I couldn't pass up a chance to spend a night in Metropolis. Clark is something wrong?" she asked me.

"He told me it was a business function," I said feeling betrayed by Lex. Why hadn't he just told me the truth about why he had to cancel our plans. I looked up to see Lana looking at me quizzically. "Lex and I were suppose to spend some time together tomorrow afternoon and when he cancelled on me this afternoon he said it was because his dad had sprung some business function on him not that his father had decided to throw some birthday bash for him."

"It doesn't surprise me. In a way this probably is business to the Luthors," Lana said sitting down on her bed next to her dress. "Don't get mad at Lex, Clark. To tell you the truth, he probably would much rather spend time with you than go to this party tomorrow afternoon."

"I don't get it," I told her more confused than before.

"The Luthor's use to throw a party for Lex's birthday every year. According to my aunt he hated them. After his mom's death Lex put an end to the parties much to his father's disappointment. With it being last minute like it is, this whole party idea is probably a reaction to the editorial that was printed in the Smallville Daily."

"Lionel Luthor's trying to show the people that he does care about his son," I said finally understanding it and feeling a little less betrayed. "Still he could have told me his birthday was coming up."

"Lex Luthor is the only person I know that hates birthday's more than I do," Lana told me.

"Lana, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your family's relationship to the Luthor's."

"Have a seat, Clark," Lana said indicating the spot beside her on the bed. I sat down and waited for her to continue.

"My grandfather on my Mom's side was a lawyer for LuthorCorp since the day he graduated from law school. When my Mom meet my Dad he was in law school. When he graduated Lionel Luthor had taken over LuthorCorp from his father and hired my father to take my grandfather's place. It was always more of a business friendship than anything else.

"Nel, on the other hands had gotten to be good friends with Elizabeth Luthor, Lex's mother. According to Nel they spent a lot of time together. She told me one time that she was with Elizabeth the day Lex was born because Lionel Luthor was in a business meeting and couldn't get away. Nel, always wondered what Elizabeth saw in Lionel. I remember Lex's mom from the times I met her growing up. She was beautiful, and the sweetest person I had ever met and she loved her son. She use to talk about him all the time."

"When Elizabeth got sick, she made Nel promise to look after Lex when she died as she knew her husband wasn't the greatest father figure, being more concerned about business than family. Nel made that promise but it wasn't easy to keep."

"After, his mom's death, something inside Lex snapped. He kept pushing my aunt away, and was constantly getting into trouble. Nel, kept trying though because of the promise she had made. She just recently started getting through to him and then Lionel sent him here to Smallville to run the plant here."

I didn't know what to say. Lex's life had always seemed so perfect. Now it was starting to seem - lonely. I wanted to do something for him. Maybe finally give him a happy birthday like I had given Lana not long ago. I had an idea but I didn't know how good of an idea it was.

"Lana, I want your opinion on something and I want you to be honest with me. If it's a bad idea tell me," I told her looking at her. I saw her nod and I continued. "What do you think Lex would think of me throwing a small celebration for his birthday Saturday night. I was thinking just a dinner and a cake with a few people - like you and your aunt, Chloe and her parents and of course my folks."

"I think it's a great idea," Lana told me.

"Really? I mean its going to be a far cry from what he's use to," I said thinking that Lex might think the whole idea was silly.

"Which is why I think he'll like it. Lex's birthday isn't until Saturday anyway."

"I'll just have to see if my parents will go for it," I told her. I looked at a nearby clock and realized it was starting to get late. "I better go. If my parents go for the idea do you think you and Nel will be able to make it."

"I'm positive Nel, will make sure she can come over," Lana told me.

"Great. I'll let you know if my parents go for the idea tomorrow in school,"

"Okay Clark, see you then," Lana said as I stood up and walked toward the door.

"By Lana," I told her standing up and heading out of her room. I said good-bye to Nel as I walked by the kitchen to let myself out.

I started the walk from Lana's house to my house trying to figure out how to best tell my parents about my idea. I was pretty sure my mother would go for. My dad on the other hand I wasn't so sure about.

Chloe's POV:

"Hi Clark," I said without turning to see who it was that was sitting down at the table.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked which was a valid question as it could have easily been Pete too. However, one thing had told me it was Clark and not Pete.

"The conversation about Lex Luthor as the next table came to an abrupt stop," I told him. "You're the only one that can do that lately."

"Speaking of Lex," Clark said "his birthday is tomorrow and my parents and I were going to have small get together to celebrate it. Just dinner and a cake, nothing fancy. I was hoping you and your parents could come."

"Sounds more like your idea than your parents Clark," I told him looking over at him.

"Okay, so maybe it was. Do you think you can come?"

"Yeah, as far as I know nobody has plans tomorrow night. Besides, believe it or not my Dad actually likes Lex. He's said since Lex took over the plant the place is a better place to work."

"Great," Clark said.

"Who else are you inviting?"

"Just Lana and her Aunt. I thought about Pete but decided that might not be the best idea."

"Your probably right on that account I told him. I let you know for sure tonight, okay?"

"Fine," Clark said.

Pete joined us then and we changed the subject to what movies we were going to rent that night.

I was walking to Pete's later that afternoon when I heard a car coming up behind me. The car slowed as it approached me so I turned to see who it was. I knew immediately from the license plate who was behind the wheel of the car. The car came to a stop beside me and the passenger side window came down. Clark was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Want a ride the rest of the way?" Lex, dressed in a tuxedo, asked from the driver's seat. Although I would never admit it to anyone, the fact that he was bald still crept me out at times. It made him seem more intimidating.

Ever since I had first meet him, I had wondered about it. I didn't know Lex well enough to come right out and asked him though. The one time that I had asked Clark, Clark had quickly changed the subject. I got the feeling that he knew but wasn't about to tell me. Kind of like when Pete and I had been talking about Lex and his father on the bus. Both of us knew that Clark knew more but he kept it to himself.

Still Lex Luthor was a mystery. A mystery that the journalist in me found intriguing and wanted to figure out. At the same time Lex Luthor was the last person I wanted to alienate. Not only was he my father's boss but he had also offered to help me get a summer job with the Inquisitor. A job at the Inquisitor would look great on a college application.

"Sure," I said going to the back door and opening it up. "Thanks," I said as I climbed into the back seat."

"No problem," Lex said as he continued down the road toward Pete's house.

The ride was quiet except for the music playing from the radio. Soon Lex was pulling into the Ross's driveway. Lex put the car in park and got out of the car which I wondered about as I reached for my purse that I had sat on the seat next to me. I went to open the door only to have the door open for me.

Surprised, I climbed out of the car. I wasn't use to having anyone open car doors for me and was even more surprised to find it was Lex and not Clark. I guess I knew why he had gotten out of the car now.

"Thank-you," I told him with a smile.

"Your welcome," he told me as he closed the door behind me.

"Now don't forget about dinner tomorrow night," Clark said to Lex as he and I started toward the house.

"Six-thirty, right?" Lex asked as he walked around to the driver's side of the car and opened the door.

"Right," Clark said. "Hope you have a good time tonight."

"Somehow, I don't see that happening," Lex told him. "See you tomorrow Clark," Lex said and then got into the car.

As Lex pulled out of the driveway Clark and I walked up the porch steps. I reached out and rang the doorbell.

"My parents and I can come tomorrow night," I told Clark as we waited.

"Great. I wanted it to be a surprise for Lex so he doesn't know what tomorrow night is about. I just asked him to come over tomorrow tonight seeing as we couldn't get together tonight. If you and your parents could be at my place by six fifteen that would be great."

"We'll be there," I told him as the door opened to reveal Mrs. Ross standing there.

"Clark, Chloe nice to see the two of you again," she said as she opened the door. "Pete's down in the rec room waiting for you."

"Hi Mrs. Ross," Clark said.

"Hi," I told her as we walked into the house. Clark and I headed downstairs to the rec room where Pete was just putting the tape into the VCR.

Lex's POV:

I was finally able to free myself from all of Dad's guests and all of their daughters who were trying to get close to me so their father's could get the upper hand on my father. While I wouldn't mind helping them get one over on my father I also knew that LuthorCorp would one day be mine and I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that future. That was the problem with the business world - you couldn't really have any friends because your so called friends would stab you in the back the second that it benefitted them. Just like I had told Jonathan Kent.

Stepping out onto the balcony, I walked over to the railing and placed my hands on the railing, looking out over Metropolis. Some say the sparkling lights of the city are a spectacular sight. I use to agree with them. I use to stand for hours out on this balcony looking at the lights. Mesmerized by them. But that was before I moved to Smallville. Before I saw real beauty.

My eyes drifted upwards to the black sky. The lights of the city masked the true beauty of the night. They masked the stars which I now knew to be there. Back in Metropolis, I could see how much I had changed since my father had exiled me to Smallville.

Exiled.

I smiled at that thought. It didn't seem appropriate anymore. Moving to Smallville had been the best thing that had happened to me. It had opened my eyes to knew things. Got me out from under my father's shadow. In Smallville I could do things my way, well after I found a way around my father.

But the best thing about Smallville had been driving my car off that bridge. It had given me a glimpse of mortality. Sure I might be the son of the billionaire and there were a lot of things, a lot of people, who couldn't touch me because of that but despite all the money, and all the corporations that didn't mean we were invincible. The near death experience had given me another outlook on life and a second chance. And it had brought Clark into my life.

There was something strange about Clark. Some secret he was keeping from me but he was still the only friend I had ever really had and lord only knows why he hung around. His father hated me. Half of Smallville hated me. Clark hadn't listened to them though. Despite all their warnings he had stayed my friend.

Sometimes I think Clark was the biggest reason for the changes in my life. He didn't see the person that my father thought I should be. The one that society thought I should be. He saw the person that I wanted to be. It was like he saw the change in me without really knowing that there had ever been a change. There were times when I wanted to tell him about my past. Lay all my secrets out to him. But something held me back. Maybe it was because if he knew all that then he would no longer be my friend.

I heard footsteps on the balcony behind me. Light footsteps so I knew it wasn't my father coming out to drag me back into the party. I pushed myself away from the railing and turned to see who had joined me out on the balcony.

"You're not hiding your getting some air," Lana Lang said as she walked toward me. The words brought a smile to my face. They were the same ones I had said to her when I found her hiding out on the balcony of my mansion back in Smallville during her own birthday party.

"No, I'm hiding," I told her as she came up to the balcony and stood beside me. She looked out over the city with a look of wonder on her face.

"The city at night is so beautiful, don't you think," Lana said quietly.

"I don't know," I told her returning to leaning against the railing. "I think the starlit sky of the country is much prettier."

When she didn't say anything right away I looked over at her. She was just staring at me.

"What?" I asked feeling a little uneasy.

"I was just trying to figure out if you were being serious or making fun of me," she told me.

"I'd never make fun of you Lana," I told her.

"You've changed Lex."

"Changed from what, the sixteen year-old kid you walk in on skinny dipping. I'd still do that if the opportunity arose."

"I'll keep that in mind and steer clear of any indoor pools owned by the Luthors." Lana told me with an amused look on her face. "But that wasn't what I met. I mean I didn't really know you before but my Aunt always talked about you so I felt like I knew you but since you've moved to Smallville you seem like a different person. Even Nel has said so."

I found it strange that Lana was saying the same things I had been thinking about only minutes ago.

"What can I say, I got a second chance at life when Clark pulled me from that car my first day in Smallville. If you go through something like that and you don't change then nothing is ever going to change you."

"You've changed Clark too," Lana said.

"Yeah, well that might not be a good thing," I said thinking about my friend. I'd never want to see Clark go through the things I did. "I know his father definitely wishes the two of us had never met."

"Don't be so hard on yourself Lex. You've been good for Clark."

I looked at her total disbelief.

"Really," she said looking back at me. "You've opened his eyes. He isn't so innocent and naive, which is a good thing if he ever leaves Smallville. And if it hadn't been for you who knows would have happened to Clark out in that field that night. The two of you might be as different as night and day but that only means you can both learn a lot from one another."

I didn't say anything. I wasn't sure what to say to that. It wasn't hard to see what Clark saw in Lana. Somehow, I had to find a way to get them together. If only the quarterback wasn't in the picture.

"Oh, I love that song, according to Nel it was my mom's favorite," Lana said cocking her head to hear the music drifting through the door better.

"Then how about a dance," I told her.

"I thought you were hiding?"

"If I hide much longer my father is going to come looking for me and drag me back inside anyway so what do you say. May I have the honor of a dance, Miss Lang?" I asked her holding at an arm to her.

"You may," Lana said her smile lighting up her face. She laced her arm through mine and the two of us heading back inside and onto the dance floor.

Lana's POV:

"Can we get something to drink?" I asked as the waltz came to an end. I really didn't know that much about ballroom dancing except what we had been forced to learn in gym class but Lex did. Even though I had stepped on his feet a few times no one was laughing at us which I took as a good sign. I was really having fun dancing with him, more fun than I've had in awhile, but I needed a drink.

"Of course," he said leading me off the dance floor and over to the punch table.

"Lana," I heard Nel say as she approached us. I took the glass that Lex held out to me and turned in her direction. "Lana, if you don't mind I'd like to get going," Nel told me.

I was disappointed. I had finally started to enjoy this party and really didn't want to leave. Besides since we had come in from the balcony Lex actually looked like he was somewhat enjoying himself. When I had seen him walk out onto the balcony he had looked so miserable. That had been why I had gone outside.

"Can we please stay for a little while longer?" I asked her trying not to sound to desperate. I could see my Aunt was going to say no. However, before she had the chance Lex stepped up beside me.

"Miss Potter, I could make sure she gets home when she's ready to leave if you'd like to go," Lex told my aunt.

"Are you sure?" Nel asked him. "I wouldn't want to make you make the drive to Smallville tonight just because you had to bring Lana home."

"It's not a problem. I wasn't planning on staying in the city tonight anyway," Lex told told.

"Then I guess its alright. Enjoy yourself dear," she told me giving me a hug.

"Thanks Nel," I told her hugging her back.

She let me go and then turned to Lex. I was a little surprised when she put her arms around Lex and gave him a hug. Lex was taken by surprise by it too. She said something to him which I couldn't quite hear before letting him go.

"Keep an eye on her for me Lex," Nel told him, "and drive slowly tongiht."

"I will," he told her.

"You sure you don't mind taking me home?" I asked him as my aunt made her way over to Lionel Luthor to say her good-byes.

"Not at all. Besides it will keep my father from roping me into hanging around here longer than I want to. To tell you the truth I'm surprised you wanted to stay."

"What can I say, I'm enjoying the company I'm with," I told him looking up at him.

"Can't say I've heard that too often," he told me.

Before anything else could be said a very, thin, gorgeous blonde approached us.

"Where have you been hiding all night, Lex" the blonde said draping her arm around his shoulders and resting her head on his upper arm.

I looked down at the floor feeling out of place.

"I've been around," he told her evenly.

"How about a dance?" she cooed into his ear.

"Sorry but I can't," he told her. I looked up to see him indicating me beside him.

The blonde looked over at me as if she was just seeing me for the first time. It felt like her eyes were burning through me.

"Too bad," she whispered into his ear and then walked off.

"You could have danced with her," I told him once we were alone again.

"Nonsense I told your Aunt I'd look out for you," he told me. "Besides I enjoy your company much more than hers," he told me. I smiled up at him. If only everyone could see this side of him.