Surprise!

AN: Thanks for your reviews! They really mean a lot...and they also really inspire me to write. No, I'm not hinting...ok, maybe a little. But really, thanks a lot to everyone who reviewed so far, namely Sonar, Smallvillegurl, Lishel Fracrium, orlandoandtom, Fire of the Dragons, WaffleNinja, Robyn6, and the Tribble Master. If I could I would make Lex give you all big hugs.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

o-o-o-o-

Clark went up to the teacher's desk. Lex had finished scrawling on the board, and turned to face Clark. Lex's eyebrows shot up as he looked Clark over.

"Clark. What a surprise," he said as he dusted off his hands.

o-o-o-o-

"Yeah, you could say that," Clark replied. Outside the classroom door, a small mob was forming. The news that Lex Luthor, in a blue dress shirt, designer pants, and $500 shoes, was teaching Chemistry II was traveling fast. Clark heard a girl squeal.

"What are you doing here?" Clark asked. Lex grinned deviously.

"I heard there was an opening," he said, leaning on the desk. "I thought I'd come by and see how you were doing."

Clark snorted. "Don't you have a multi-million dollar business to run in Metropolis?" he asked. Lex shook his head.

"Nope. Not this week, at least. My father decided to take over for a while." There was a glimmer of darkness in Lex's eyes. Clark decided to leave it at that.

"So you're qualified to teach science?" he asked. "I thought you had to have some sort of permit to teach high schoolers." Clark was having a foreboding feeling that he couldn't shake off.

"I'm qualified enough," Lex responded, with a mysterious little smile. Clark didn't really know how to respond to that, so he just nodded. Lex looked at him a moment longer, and then down at a list on the desk.

"So, which of these people should I give detentions?" he asked. Clark rolled his eyes.

"I don't know if you should be bullying people, Lex," he said. "You won't be my Chemistry teacher every day, and I think I'll get the blame for anything you do."

Lex sighed. "Ah, you're probably right. In that case, we probably shouldn't show that we're friends. Alright, student, take your seat." He smirked at Clark. Clark went to sit down just as the bell rang.

Lex closed the door amid the squeals of the mob outside in the hallway. The whispers in the classroom immediately died down.

"Alright, class," Lex said, flashing an amused smile. "Let's start with roll call."

Lex went through the roll, pausing once after Lana's name and once after Whitney's. Clark saw the look in his friend's eyes when he read off the jock's name, and couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Lex looked like he was plotting something.

Lex put aside the list of names, then addressed the class. "Hello. My name is Mr. Luthor." Whispers started around the room again. "I will be your substitute teacher for the rest of this week."

Lex waited for everyone to stop whispering. When it was completely silent again, Lex continued.

"Today, you are going to redo the experiments that were unfortunately destroyed yesterday." Lex's eyes scanned across Clark blandly. Some students snuck looks at him. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Now go and start your labs."

Clark paired with Chloe, since Pete was gone. Due to Chloe's general competence, they made it through the entire period without any explosions. Just towards the end of the hour, Lex came to their lab to talk to them.

"So do you think I'm doing alright so far?" he asked. Clark, who was feeling very relieved that nothing strange had happened around Lex, nodded.

"No complaints from us," Clark said. Chloe practically vibrated next to him. She had spent the entire hour pouring theories into Clark's ears about why exactly the Lex Luthor had taken time out of his extremely busy schedule to sub a high school class for a week. Clark had begged her not to poke and prod at him.

"Yes, you did a great job," Chloe said. "I guess that you're used to running things, being the head of Luthor Corp." Lex eyed Chloe and nodded. Chloe smiled a hundred-watt smile. "I'm sure there's so much involved with running a business. I bet I wouldn't even have time to eat or sleep, if I was you."

Clark nudged Chloe's leg underneath the lab table. She was prying, in her specialized, indirect way. She kicked him back.

Lex smiled. "Well, from what I hear from Clark, you're just as dedicated to the Torch."

Chloe blushed but continued. "Yeah. It feels like I'm always looking for a story. I know that I wouldn't be able to take time off." Clark kicked Chloe again, feeling irritated. That last comment was an obvious challenge.

Lex raised an eyebrow. "It seems you never do. I'll talk to you later, Clark." With that he went back up to the front of the room. The bell rang, signaling the end of Chemistry.

Chloe and Clark went into the hallways together. Chloe was triumphant.

"Did you see?" she said. "He left as soon as I brought up his workload. He doesn't want us to know the real reason he's here!"

Clark rolled his eyes at his friend. "There is no 'real reason' he's here, Chloe. He probably had the week off, heard about the explosion, and thought it would be funny to surprise me."

Chloe scoffed. "Yeah, right. I don't think he's that in love with you, Clark."

Clark blushed. "Shut up," he mumbled. He didn't know what else to add to that, so the two walked in silence for a while. He was extremely relieved. Nothing strange had happened today that would possibly tip Lex off about his secret.

"I'll see you at lunch," Chloe said finally. Clark nodded.

"Bye," he said, lost in thought.

o-o-o-

Chloe sighed to herself. Clark was so touchy sometimes. But other times, he would be the only person to look deeper. He had his faults, but...

...but he was obsessed with Lana. And don't forget, he only saw her as a friend. Chloe kicked the ground angrily.

Chloe missed Pete. She had called the Smallville Hospital the night before, and the receptionist had told her that he would be released tomorrow. She was definitely looking forward to being around someone who didn't make her so confused.

o-o-o-

Clark and Chloe met back up in front of the cafeteria. Clark gave her a small smile.

"What's for lunch today?" he said by way of greeting.

"Hmm...I think it's the mystery stew," Chloe replied. Clark groaned.

"Again? This'll be the eleventh time this month," he said. "I'm pretty sure there are laws against this sort of...treatment..."

Clark trailed off as he and Chloe entered the cafeteria and their jaws dropped. Long, white tables stretched across one entire wall of the spacious room. The tables were loaded with delicious looking food. There was even an entire table dedicated to desserts. The aroma of roast beef au jus hung in the air.

Chloe and Clark were still staring at everything in shock. Clark noticed a banner across one of the tables.

"LuthorCorp Catering," he read out loud. He exchanged a look with Chloe.

"Wow..." she said. The two were shoved aside by other students, who were less surprised and just ecstatic about the free food. Whitney shouldered past, elbowing Clark viciously in the side.

Clark froze for a moment, then his face broke into a huge grin. "This is great!" he yelled, ignoring Whitney completely. He had to consciously stop himself from using his superspeed to cut to the front of the line. Chloe was right after him.

The two took their platters of food out into the courtyard to eat. Chloe happily dug into some fried chicken.

"I don't care why Lex is here anymore," she announced in between bites. Clark, who was restraining himself from using superspeed again, nodded.

The first day had gone by without any disasters.

o-o-o-o-

AN: Hope you liked this chapter. I'll try to use some of you guys's suggestions next chapter...they really help me out, by the way. Please review!