Diana walked into the kitchen and reached for a bowl, her bare damp feet quietly smacking against the wood floor. Clark glanced up at her; she was wearing only a bathrobe and her hair was still wet from taking a shower. This was the fourth or fifth time she'd done this. Clark sometimes wondered if she was trying to be provocative on purpose, or if she was just naive enough not to realize what she was doing.
Diana sat down across from Clark and poured herself a bowl of cereal. As far as Clark could tell, she was just oblivious. He thought about telling her she should, perhaps, wear a little more clothing, but that definitely wasn't a topic he wanted to delve into. He wished someone else were here to pull her aside and have that conversation, but who? Martha? Sure, Martha could—wait, no, bad idea, BAD idea. Don't need to have mom walking in and seeing a hot half-naked girl in the same room with her teenage son. Bad idea.
"Clark?" Diana said. Clark was relieved to have the one-way tension broken, though the look in Diana's bright blue eyes was a bit concerning. "Why are you being so nice to Lex?"
"...I think he can use a friend right now."
"I know, and I think that's great of you to try and be a friend for him, but... this is Lex we're talking about. Just last year, we were doing everything we could to stop him and his father. Bruce used to tell us stories about how twisted Lex was."
"Yes, but that was before he found out about Lionel's crime empire."
"That's what he says, but... Clark, I don't think we can trust him on that."
"What do you mean?"
"It's all over his face. He's a jumble of half-truths and lies. And now that his father's dead, I think he's lost. There's no telling what he'll do."
Clark shrugged. "All the more reason he needs a friend."
"I know, I'm just saying... be careful."
Clark was surprised. Diana didn't show this level of concern often, if ever.
"Are you worried about me? You know I'm bullet- and car-proof, right?"
Diana's voice softened. "No, you're not. Not if those meteors—"
"Kryptonite."
Diana sighed. "...Kryptonite... is nearby. You nearly died in that garden fighting one girl... And I couldn't help you either."
Clark smiled. "I guess we need to keep Chloe around to save the both of us."
"Clark, I'm serious. There's kryptonite all over this town, so if circumstances are wrong, Lex could be really dangerous."
Clark paused for a minute to think. "My dad says that doing the right thing is almost always hard, and that being a good friend can sometimes be the hardest thing in the world. But at least with friends, you don't have to go through it alone. Lex is going through about as hard a time as anyone can. If I can help, I want to. And as long as he's willing to let me, I'm going to."
A knock at the door jolted Lex awake. He glanced at the clock, saw it was 9:37 AM, and groaned. Who on earth would be bothering him this early in the morning? He looked out the window of his hotel room. A town full of early-to-rise farmers, that's who.
Lex walked to the door and opened it.
"Hey, Lex. Did I wake you?" Clark said.
Lex rubbed his eyes. "Just a little."
Clark shifted uncomfortably a little bit. Lex could tell he had something he wanted to say, but it was awkward saying it through a half-open door in a hotel.
Lex opened the door and stepped aside. "Come in, I guess. How'd you know where I was staying?"
"This is the nicest hotel in the city," Clark said as he walked inside. "And my dad knows the owner."
"Of course," Lex said with a mental eye-roll. Everyone here seemed to know each other, and Lex was a mysterious stranger to be poked and prodded with questions and obvious stares.
"So, Lex, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor."
Lex raised an eyebrow. "You finally thought of something you want so I can alleviate my guilt over nearly killing you?"
"Um... sort of. I work for the Smallville High newspaper, the Torch."
Lex nodded. "Right, yeah. You're a journalism student."
"Yeah. And I was wondering... could I come with you? When you go to the Luthorcorp plant?"
Lex snapped out of whatever weariness he still felt.
"Clark, these people are dangerous. Do you have a death wish?"
"Do you?"
"That doesn't matter. This is for me to do. It's my father's company—"
"And it was my girlfriend who died trying to bring him down. She'd want this seen through."
A long, silent moment passed.
Lex sighed, sitting down on his bed and hanging his head in mock-defeat. "Fine. You can come. There's basically no chance anything will happen anyway, though, so prepare to be bored."
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