Over the Edge: Chapter 1

I was sprawled out on cushions in front of the fire, having a quiet drink, and generally enduring the first evening of a one week grounding sentence. How did this happen? How did I get grounded by a woman I had known for such a short time?

Further to that, why had I accepted it, when the whole fiasco was really completely Clark's fault. Or at least, mostly. Somewhat. All right, I knew why I accepted it. Since I now had plenty of time to think about it, I reviewed the events in my mind, trying to figure out how I got to this point.

My last oblivious thought the day before had been that I needed to stock up on clothing suitable for hanging out innocently with young Kansas farm boys in their natural habitat. Clark wanted to show me a place with water of some sort, and idyllic nature all around. Since the outdoors agrees neither with my skin nor with my temperament, there was nothing in my closet certified for casual outdoor use.

Which was painfully clear from my reflection in the mirror. I had managed to scrounge together a grey t-shirt, some ancient black jeans, and white canvas Sebagos, no socks. The hooded sweatshirt waiting on the bed was something that I wouldn't normally set foot outside a gym wearing, but it was clean.

The jeans were left over from earlier days, when I was a scrawny club kid, subsisting mostly on inventions of my own that were one atom shy of being controlled substances. Healthful small town living had added a couple of pounds to my frame. The jeans were inappropriately tight for a friendly picnic in the wholesome wilderness.

Not that Clark wasn't hot. Very hot. But I didn't want him in that way. I was simply grateful to the kid for saving my life. I thought that by getting to know him, I could find some way of helping him in return. A sweet, openhearted kid like that was worth helping. If I'd had another pair of jeans, really, I would have worn them.

I picked up the sweatshirt and went downstairs. As I hit the first landing, the front door closed. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Clark was waiting in the front hall, holding a huge picnic basket and a blanket.

He looked exactly the way he always did, all baggy flannel and denim. What I wouldn't give to get the boy into something that fit. Me, for instance. God, did I just think that? Well, he was hot, so it was only natural that I should notice. It didn't mean anything. I concentrated on thinking wholesome thoughts.

"Hi, Clark."

"Hi, Lex."

"That smells delicious, even from here."

"My mom went overboard on the cooking."

"I can't wait to try it. You ready to go?"

"Lead on."

"Can I help?"

"I've got it, Lex."

"This way, then."

"Soko." He was reading the discreet black text on my t-shirt as we walked out to the garage.

"That's San Francisco, in Japanese."

He laughed. "The stuff I learn from you, Lex, I never learn in school."

"Obviously, Clark. Had you learned it in school, you couldn't learn it from me." I was just being a smart-ass to avoid dwelling on the kinds of things I could teach him.

He gave me an exasperated look. "I mean, you teach me things that none of my teachers ever thought of teaching me."

"Don't get me started on public education, Clark. If I can broaden your horizons in any way, I'm happy to do it."

"And I'm happy to learn."

Time for a change of subject. "Where are you taking me, anyway?"

"It's about twenty miles out of town. A beautiful place, but nobody goes there. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will. Pick a car."

There was almost not enough room in the car for the picnic basket, but we managed. Clark gave me the eye as we left the garage. "Lex, you look...different."

"Yeah, like a complete mess."

"No, no. You look...good. Really."

I laughed in response. "It was either this or a suit."

"I would've thought you'd have mountains of clothes."

"I do. In Metropolis."

"There's a story here," he said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me.

"When my father told me he was sending me to manage a crap shop in a one-off-ramp town south of the ninth circle of hell, I wanted to believe that he would soon change his mind. I only took about two weeks worth of clothes."

"Is that really what he called it?"

"Every word came up during our...discussion."

"Is that what you think of Smallville?"

"No, it's no further than the second circle of hell."

Clark punched me in the arm, fortunately not the one I was steering with. "You'll feel differently after you see where we're going."

"I admit, it's becoming home." And I wish I could have looked in his eyes when I said it. Maybe there's something to be said for a slower speed. I could have done it at 50.

"So, anyway, you've got all these clothes in Metropolis."

"True."

"Don't you drive there all the time?"

"Quite often, yes."

"Then, help me out here, Lex."

"It's all your fault, Clark."

"What did I do?"

"You brought me back from the dead."

"Oh, God, please, Lex, don't tell me you came back wrong."

"No," I laughed. "I came back better."

"Better?"

"Yeah. Wider perspective, slightly nobler aspirations, that sort of thing."

"Well, that's good, right?"

"Absolutely. I like my new self. I don't want to lose it."

"Who could make you?"

"Ah. The man I used to be, back in Metropolis."

"The one with all the clothes?"

"That's the bastard."

"You're avoiding your stuff in Metropolis because it reminds you of how you used to be?"

"That's it."

"So you have nothing to wear."

That's the practical upshot of my identity crisis."

"You know, we do have stores in Smallville."

"Burn my silk ties and chum it with the locals in flannel and plaid?"

Clark laughed.

"You see, Clark? Even you think it's ridiculous. It's no good. I'll never fit in here."

"Not as a home town boy, Lex, no. But look at Chloe."

"Chloe?"

"Yeah. She was born in Metropolis. And she's made a place for herself here."

"That's certainly true."

"And then there's my mom."

"Another Metropolis girl."

"Yeah. She moved here when she married my dad."

Lured by the charms of a Smallville boy. Understandable, though I can honestly say that the one she chose didn't do a thing for me. "It seems your mom and I have something in common."

"You should talk to her about it. You know, what it's like to move here from the big city."

"Maybe I will, Clark."

"And...maybe you could talk to me about Metropolis, too."

"What about it?"

"Um, what's it like?"

"Well, You've been there, right?"

"No, Lex, I haven't."

"What?! Never?"

"No."

"Do your parents ever go?"

"Occasionally. They're talking about spending the weekend there for their anniversary."

"And they've never taken you."

"No."

"I'm boggled," I said, shaking my head. "We'll have to go. I'll take you. We'll catch a show or something."

"I'd like that, Lex."

Continued