TbF 26
Title: Touched by Fire
Authour: Beloved
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Note: This fic would never have been continued had it not been for RogueSpike, greensolven, dianehc, rose_etta, bonnysprite, & sussixer, all of whom encouraged me - and all of whom deserve credit for more or less anything good in this, because they have written chunks of it!
They are absolute stars and wonderful people, and I thank God that I know them.
*squishy hugs*
Warning: Angst and self-harm!
Oh! and I have this loverly cover and icon, made by danceswithgary that all must bow before!
Previous entry: http://ilovedoyle.livejournal.com/294529.html
Thank god for Fridays. Clark did not think that he could stand the effort of avoiding Lana for another day; he needed the break that the weekend would bring.
“Clark!” Would screaming be too disproportionate a reaction? Was there no escaping her?!
“Lana,” he only half turned to address her, “I thought you had class this period?” In fact he’d been sure to check, it was the reason why he’d bravely left the library during his own scheduled study period. They were approaching the end of the year; exams and SATS, so some of the more lenient teachers allowed for free periods for studying. Only a few were continuing with new lessons and chapter tests.
“I did, but Mr. Whital let me out early to help sort out some problems with the Prom.”
Looking at his watch he saw that they were only fifteen minutes into the period. Okaaay. He wouldn’t question. Not his place.
“So, uhh, what are you doing here?” Clark had been aiming for the Torch Office when Lana had called out for him.
“I thought I saw you leaving the library, and I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
She had been seeing him all day, despite all his efforts. “I was trying to catch you all day but I kept missing you.”
“Sorry.” Only thing he was sorry about was that she’d managed to catch him now.
“Oh, it’s okay, it’s not your fault. I’m sure you just didn’t see me in all the bodies.”
Yeah, okay. That worked for him.
“So shouldn’t you get to that Prom business, especially if it was urgent enough to get you out of class?” He hoped he didn’t sound like he was trying to get rid of her, even if that was the case.
“Yeah, but I wanted to first see how you were doing. Are you okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sick before.”
Now he was feeling guilty, she was just concerned, as any friend would be.
Softening his tone and stance, “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
She stepped up close and inspected his face before laying a hand to cup his cheek; it induced entirely different feelings from when Lex did it. Wanting to pull away but not wishing to hurt her feelings, Clark held himself in place.
“You know you can come to me if you need to talk, right? I mean, I lost my parents when I was small, Nell left me, Whitney left me, I know pain. So, who better to talk to about yours than me, right?”
He would like to think the offer was made out of genuine concern, but he had been around Lex too long not to be cautious when support was offered from unexpected corners.
“Lana, there you are. Mr. Whital said the office buzzed him to say the problem had sorted itself out and to have you head back. Clark, ditching study hall?”
Saved by the Chloe, he was going to have to get a job just to fund the coffee he was going to owe her and Pete for all the saves they were managing these past few days.
“No, just nothing left to study, so I got a pass to finish up some Torch stuff.”
Chloe raised an eyebrow, unless Clark was following a lead all of his own, there wasn’t any unfinished Torch stuff. But the clinging Lana explained that she supposed. More than glad to assist with that endeavour, Chloe walked right up to him, and looping her arm through his, dragged him in to the office.
“That’s right, Kent. You’ve been dragging your feet on your deadlines I expect it all to be done …”
Clark was beaming, he could kiss her he was so grateful. Nodding and murmuring yes’s and no’s to add to the authenticity of their conversation he allowed the manhandling. Chloe shoved him into a seat, randomly tapped a few keys on the nearest computer and whispered low, “You owe me, Kent. I’ll call you with my request later. Enjoy your peace for now.”
Then she was out of the office taking Lana with her. He was so going to do whatever she asked of him.
Looking at the screen it looked like Chloe hadn’t been tapping as randomly as he’d thought she had been.
‘Coming out of the closet.’ The article was from a MetU student’s perspective.
He was surprisingly entirely unaffected about Chloe’s insinuation at his sexuality, as long as she was able to keep it to herself - although he was unsure how he would react if she actually voiced it. He did not want his feelings for Lex to be spread around town before he got of the courage to talk to the man about it, if he ever got up the courage. He had not really thought about his feelings for Lex putting him into a new category of sexuality. He did not really think he would fit into any human categories of sexuality. He knew he would never be able to give himself to another, never love anyone the way he did Lex.
Clark closed down the article and opened the lunch menus, checking for spelling and that the fonts would fit into the slot Chloe had allotted them in the paper. He was trying not to allow the sadness those thoughts had brought on to overwhelm him. Part of him felt like it had been fighting back tears all day.
He was glad that his parents had given him permission to sleep at the castle tonight, and decided to focus on that instead of his sadness. He knew he should probably give Lex a call, knew it would help. But he did not want Chloe to walk in and overhear him. She was already too inquisitive about his illness, and she was way too smart not to figure out how strongly he felt for Lex if she found them talking on the phone in the middle of the day. Clark rubbed his palm across the bump on his thigh that the phone created, and then settled his hands back on the keyboard, ready to edit.
*****