A/N - It's been awhile. I kind of actually forgot about this site until someone favorited this story, so I'm back. Here are the next two parts. Feedback is Lovely!

4th Down for the Game –

"The two teams are lined up at the line of scrimmage. The defense has settled into its usual 3-4 line. Lex Luthor is back in the game today after missing several practices," Chloe heard the announcer speak as she watched Clark count off the play.

"This is kind of exciting," Lana remarked as the first play went off. She took Chloe's hand and broke a half smile. "It's nice having you in the stands with us."

Chloe watched the first play of the game fall flat. Clark had eyed Lex through the first play and the wide receiver just dropped the ball to a loud, disappointed crowd. Lex had nothing to do with the play. Eyeing Clark, she rolled her eyes and stared at Lex.

"Chloe?"

Chloe turned and looked in Lana's direction. "It is nice. I guess I never felt like I belonged up here during the season you know with you sitting with the jock's wives club."

Lana somewhat giggled and shook her head. "I think Lex just earned his place in the jocks category after that last move." Lana pointed to the field as Chloe see Lex push himself up off the turf.

"I missed it."

Lana wrapped her fingers in Chloe's and smiled. "It was a smart play. Derek pulled up the middle and Lex jumped off his man and caught the flag before falling face first in the turf thanks to Mason's catch of his ankles. Lex is actually really good." Chloe glanced over at Lana and smiled.

"Yeah, he is."

Lana looked ay Chloe, covering her mouth knowing the double meaning in the statement. "I bet."

Lex pulled out of the huddle and nodded at John, the defensive lineman. "The next play is most certainly a end around. Clark always plays the RB around the 2nd down. Way predictable."

Lex watched as Clark eyed the lineman and called the play. Andre followed the same pattern that John had stated, which pushed him right past Lex. Turning quickly on his heel, Lex missed Andre by a few millimeters. Spinning, he picked up the pace and gave chase until Andre had already ended up in the endzone.

Lex stood with his hands on his hips panting. He rubbed his forehead as Drew slapped him on the back. "Better luck next time. You almost had him. Come on." Lex slowly followed Drew back over to the sidelines and sat down.

Andre walked over and sat down on the other side of Lex. "So when does the defense turn on me also?" Lex joked.

Andre and Drew looked at each other and laughed. "You really think we're going to beat the crap out of you? Lex, we know that Clark is really pissed at you for something, but that's his team that has it out for you. Besides, we're not about to hurt the man who employs both of our dads and is dating the girl voted 'Most Likely to Get out of Smallville.'"

Lex looked back and forth at the guys on both sides of him as he handed the water bottle back. "What are you talking about?"

Drew sat back against the bleacher, crossing his arms. "Yeah, rumor has it that a very distinguished Porsche has been in the Sullivan's driveway a couple of times. And the quarterback has lost his fallback plan."

Lex continued to look interested in the conversation direction. "Anyway, for the yearbook, I'm on the committee, they voted for senior Most Likely's last week while Chloe was out. And after the rumor of your car being at her place made the halls, everyone figured that she would be the first out of Smallville. Oh, and don't tell her that she also won Most Likely to Intimidate. She might not like that."

Lex leaned back and nodded in agreement, "What did that one mean?"

Andre turned around and looked up in the stands and smiled at Chloe. "I mean there are more than a few guys sitting on either side of the field that would have loved to be attached to Chloe Sullivan, but she always seemed so…unattainable. Like we either needed to have some meteor power or at least some talent. I admit I was one. But we settled for the pretties, like Clark did because it was easier not to feel intimidated by our own girlfriend, like it would have been with Chloe. She's a great match for you."

Andre patted Lex on the back as the referee called a time out for the end of the quarter. Lex turned around and watched Chloe wave. "Let's get back in there and beat the crap out of them. We can't let them run all over us."

Lex looked up at the scoreboard and saw that the offense had tied up the game while the boys were talking. Lining up, he smiled to himself thinking about Chloe being mad about her level of intimidation. She actually would probably be angrier about the lack of dates in high school was because boys thought she was too good for them.

Lex eyed Clark over the huddle and rolled his eyes. She had been his fallback plan, how sad. Hopefully Lana and he would make up because he had no plan now. Lex would make sure of that.

The ref blew the whistle and Lex eyed the offensive line and watched as Mason once again came around and dodged John on the line. Lex had missed Mason the last time in practice. He wouldn't miss this time. Cutting in front of him, Lex jumped deep in the air and pulled the ball down into his arms and took off.

"GO! Shit, that hurt!" Chloe screamed from the stands as she watched Lex cut off the first offensive lineman. She kneaded her hands together in anticipation. Lex was up the side of the field and had his blockers. She glanced over at Lana, who noticed nothing out of the ordinary. She was just screaming for her boyfriend to catch the defensive play.

Chloe watched Clark carefully add bits of undetectable speed as he moved up behind Lex and then he lurched. Not falling to his knees, Clark edged back away from Lex and watched as Lex ran into the other endzone.

Hands on his knees, Clark looked up from the uneven panting that started to calm. Clark turned and headed back over to the sidelines. Lex walked up behind him and Clark grabbed his side and looked directly at Lex.

"Clark?"

Clark shooed Lex away, "Get away." Clark hunched over and fell into the bleachers with a thud. The other players stared at Lex as Andre pulled on Lex's shirt.

"Let it go man," Lex nodded and headed to the other side of the field. He watched as Clark regained his composure and kicked a water bottle into the stands. Clark may not be his friend, but this was just a game. Lex didn't want anyone else getting hurt and especially blaming him for the outcome.

He sat and stared into space for the remainder of the offensive series, occasionally looking in the stands and seeing Chloe smile brightly at him.

"Hey, are you sitting this round out?" Drew slapped Lex out of his daydreaming.

Lex looked around and jumped off the bleacher. He looked over the offensive line and nodded to the rest of the team. He had scored the touchdown to pull the ahead and the rest of the line seemed to trust his judgment now. He watched as the ball seemed to change hands in slow motion.

Clark passed the ball off to the tight end and then continued to run up the middle. Not thinking of it, he watched Clark ease through the large young men without a scratch. Eyeing over the crowd, the tight end turned quickly before John went headlong into him. The ball came down in Clark's arms on the other side of the line, and he was purposely running toward Lex.

Reaching out to grab the flag off the side of Clark's shorts, he watched Clark grip the ball harder and lurch again, as if in pain. But he was still pushing forward. Clark held his elbow out around the ball and ran into Lex, crushing him into the turf before falling himself.

"Oh God!" Lana pointed as Chloe noticed the collision. Taking a breath she secretly hoped the pop wouldn't hurt Lex but also wouldn't knock out the piece in his pocket.

"Wait," Chloe pulled Lana back down into the bleacher and held her hand. "Clark and Lex are going to be fine. They have to work this out for themselves." Lana squeezed her hand harder as she saw Clark barely roll over.

Back on the field, Lex rolled over and stretched his back out. Pulling himself up, he saw trainers heading in both their directions and waved them off. He watched as the ball rolled out of Clark's arms, and Clark continued to writhe in pain. Moving toward him, Clark became more erratic and tried to move.

"Be still. What the hell made you turn this into your own personal deathmatch? This is what you get for trying to use a football game to play one-upmanship against me." Lex sat up net Clark, who continued to look as if he was going to vomit.

"Get the fuck away from me." Lex stood up and stared at his once friend. He glanced at the stands and signaled for them to wait as the crowd stood up to see the sight better. "She told you, didn't she?"

"What are you talking about? I put out my hand to help you up and tell me to go away." Clark swallowed again as he took Lex's hand against his own judgment. Standing up, he leaned against Lex as Lex helped him across the field. "Damn," Lex said to himself as something scratched him in the leg. Clark's leg on the same side gave out at the same time.

Lex handed Clark off to his teammates and looked at Clark. Turning back to his side of the field, Clark spoke finding his voice again, "I can't believe you would stoop this low."

Lex looked at him and shook his head, "Once again, I have no idea what you are trying to accuse me of. You want to hear the truth – ok, again, I love her. There's no vendetta against you buried in that. I'm trying Clark. That's it." Lex backed away from the with his hands up as if to show his hand. Turning around, he walked slowly across the field, watching Chloe in the stands as she smiled and slumped back in her seat next to Lana.

Scratching at the side of his leg, he sat down and stuck his hand in his pocket. Pulling the little shard out of his pocket, he noticed the dull green color and turned around and looked at Chloe. He wrapped up in his hand and walked over to the watercooler and palmed the small cup in the same hand and let the cup and rock drop to the bottom of the garbage.

Sitting back down on the bleacher, he eyed Chloe again as she waved furiously. He then looked across as Clark started tossing the ball again. He was fine again. She told you, didn't she? Told me what? Clark is allergic to meteor rock?

Lex sat and stared into the distance and realized that he knew the secret now. The one that Clark tried to protect – the times he wouldn't go into labs with Lex. The moments of weakness that possessed him in the middle of nowhere. It all made sense.

The rest of the game went on as Lex stretched out on the bench. Even in his lessened state, Clark still put him on the ground with a direct and painful blow. His back ached but the game was in the fourth quarter now and was tied. "Dude, we kind of need you if you're not in too much pain."

He watched as Andre handed him the flag belt and waited. Lex stretched again and stood up. "I'm game." He followed the rest of the defense out to the field and eyed Clark from across the field. Pointing in his direction, he motioned that he was watching him, this time without an advantage.

Clark headed up the inside of the line and passed the ball as Lex pulled the flag off the receiver. Batting the ball with the other hand, he watched Drew catch the ball and head in the direction of Clark. Taking up the last little bit of energy he had, he followed Drew and caught up with Clark, catching him by the laces.

He watched Clark barrel into the turf and offered his hand to him. "I won't tell. I wish you could have just trusted me enough to tell me but I get it now. "

Clark stood up and looked at Lex. "But why take her advice and play the game like that. Not digging into my personal family life enough for you?"

"Chloe didn't tell me Clark. But 'it' was in the pocket of my shorts. It's at the bottom of the wastebasket now. I think who you need to talk to is Chloe." Clark and Lex stared at each other and then up in the stands. They were gone.

Looking back at each other, they both said it, "Chloe." Running in the direction of the stands, Clark noticed the ambulance had not moved.

"Where do you think?" Clark noticed the other cheerleaders pointing in the direction of the school. "Come on." Lex and Clark signaled for the game to keep going and disappeared into the locker room.

"Chloe?" Lex called coming around the edge of the girl's showers. He saw two pairs of legs under the stall. "Clark, over here." Lex walked around the corner and saw Lana holding Chloe's head. "I'll take it from here. Go find Clark and get him back to the game."

Lana turned and handed the cloth to Lex and walked around the corner and saw Clark. "Come on, we'll let her take some time. Now you have to go win a game."

"No, game' over. Gold team won." Clark could hear the cussing from the field but only worried about Chloe. He watched as Lana and he sat on the bench outside of the bathroom. Lana had no idea what he stared at; she could just assume he was staring into space.

He watched Lex hold Chloe's head and whisper to her. "Chloe, breathe baby. Slow down." He sat back against one side of the bathroom stalls while Chloe tried to compose herself. "What happened?"

"I got overheated and the meds made me sick. I don't think I'm supposed to be in the sun while taking them. I'm sorry." Lex wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. He felt Chloe feel for his sides and pushed her back away.

"I threw it out. It was sticking me in the side and frankly was causing the game to be a little one-sided. Why Chloe?" In another room, Clark turned to hear the conversation as Lana discussed the game with other girls in the locker room now.

Chloe turned stark white and started panting in frustration. "I…I didn't want him…" Chloe collapsed into his arms and cried. "You hate me?"

Lex grabbed Chloe by both arms and pushed her back where he could see her. "No, disappointed. Disappointed in everyone involved. Clark for never feeling he could trust me to keep his secret. I haven't figured it all out yet, but it's not for anyone else to know. Disappointed that you would use me to get back at Clark even if it would keep me out of harm's way. Disappointed in myself for ever giving anyone in this town, including you and Clark, the impression that I was that kind of manipulative jerk." Stopping, he looked at Chloe's face and her panting through her tears. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

Standing up, he exited the stall and looked at her as she continued to cry. "Make up with Clark. You mean a lot more to him than you think." Walking out of the bathroom, he tapped Lana on the shoulder. "She needs you."

Clark caught up with him and tapped him on the shoulder as he exited the back of the gym. "Thanks. For not saying anything to anyone."

"How do you know?" Lex shrugged. Clark wasn't there during the conversation with Chloe.

Clark pointed and pulled on his ear, "I have some other … talents."

Lex stopped and turned and looked at Clark, "You should use that 'talent' for something good someday."

"What about Chloe?"

"You were right, everyone gets hurt with me around, even if it isn't my fault." Lex nodded and turned away, walking toward his car.

"She needs you," Clark hollered.

"She needs you more, make up with her," Lex whispered but he knew that Clark could hear him.

TBC