CHAPTER 2

Clark had his eyes closed, taking in deep breaths.

"Feeling ok?" Lex asked, a crease forming between his brows. Clark nodded silently.

"Just feeling a little claustrophobic," he said. He had never felt that way before, so he just tried not to think about it, taking deep breaths. Then... he swore he felt Lex's fingers brush his hair, just above his ear. Shivers went up and down his skin, and he tried not to show any discomfort on his face and pretend it didn't happen. Several minutes later, he chanced opening his eyes. Lex looked deep in thought. Clark decided to try to be casual. Maybe something else brushed him, or he had something in his hair, or he imagined it.

He sighed kind of audibly and said, "Well, I'm feeling a little better," and smiled.

Lex smiled, "That's good." It was silent for a while. One part of Clark was comfortable, sitting in this cozy space with plenty of food, talking to his friend, who just happened to be sitting very close to him. Another part of him wanted to leap up, burst through the door, and run as fast as he could... which would get him home in around 30 seconds.

"So how's business?"

Lex scoffed, "God, are we that desperate for conversation already?" Clark laughed, feeling a little more comfortable. There was a long silence in which Lex tapped his fingers and Clark started looked through the house with his x-ray vision.

Lex raised an eyebrow at him, "Deep in thought about the food?" He asked querkily.

Clark shook his head, thinking of an explanation, "I was counting."

"First business now... counting. What's next? Poisonous koolaide?" Clark laughed. Lex seemed to make up his mind.

He took a deep breath and said, "I like you, Clark." Lex was determined not to lose eye contact. Clark smiled nervously, braving a shaky chuckle.

"Ok," he said, trying to blow off the awqwardness.

Lex narrowed his eyes, "I don't think you understand." He leaned in closer to Clark who promptly froze and couldn't manage to make eye contact.

"Remember when you pulled me out of the car and had to give me mouth-to-mouth?" Clark felt a little nervous twitch in his stomach.

"Er..." then it hit him. His eyes flew to Lex's intent blues. "Wait, how did you know that?" He never told him to keep out any awqwardness; and it worked really well, apparently.

Lex's gaze bore into Clark's. "I woke up just before. I wasn't sure what was going on, but later I looked back on it..."

He leaned in even closer until his lips were an inch from Clark's ear and his warm, soft breath sent a shiver all the way down Clark's spine as he whispered, "I liked it."

Before Clark knew what was happening, Lex's lips were connected with his and he was kissing him back. Lex eased away and Clark realized that somewhere in the last 10 seconds he had stopped breathing.

"Well," Clark said, breaking the silence, "It didn't go quite like that."

"I'm sorry," Lex said defeatedly, sitting back down and trying not to invade Clark's space, which was hard in the small pantry. He ran his hand over his head, feeling uncomfortable. He hoped he didn't just completely terrify his friend.

Clark creased his brows. He liked the kiss but... what did that mean? His head wouldn't work right. What he wanted to do was figure out if he could be with Lex, or if that was what he wanted, but he couldn't get past the question. He couldn't weigh his feelings or his options, he could only think about the kiss. Lex seemed nervous, as if he did something wrong, and Clark had to be honest or Lex would get the wrong idea.

"I liked the kiss," Clark admitted, his face suddenly feeling very hot. Lex turned his head sharply. He nodded slowly and looked away again. He still felt a little rash.

"But, I'm confused," Clark said, his brows furrowed curiously, "You always tried to get me to go out with Lana."

Lex smiled a little and shrugged casually, "I wanted you to be happy. That's what friends do."

Clark looked at Lex in a new light. He already admired and respected him, but the fact that Lex respected him enough not to persue him was very charming. He smiled, and Lex caught site of him.

"What?" he asked, smiling suspiciously.

Clark wasn't sure how to describe his feelings.

"I liked the kiss."