Clark returned to his room tired; it had been a long day. As he sat heavily on his bed he noticed a large brown envelope on the floor near the door. He stared at it, his eyes glazed over. He couldn't be bothered to stand up and walk over to get it; he was fed up and tired. He sighed heavily, knowing that, unlike messages slid under other teenagers' doors, this could be important: an actual 'matter of life and death.'

Deciding on ultimate laziness, he concentrated on the envelope for a second: he'd check with x-ray vision if it was important before bothering to move for it. What he saw inside the envelope made him gasp in disbelief. He tilted his head slightly trying to see the contents the right way up, to check if he'd seen right. As he moved his head, his vision snapped back to normal. He shook his vision clear quickly and rushed to the envelope at super speed, even though it was a barely two meters away. He picked it up hurriedly, his hands trembling slightly, and tore it open.

As he drew out the picture his heart pounded quickly against his chest.

Clark stared open-mouthed at the photograph. The almost A4 size monochrome showed a bare-chested Clark staring alluringly at the camera. That in itself was odd, but not what was really bothering him about the photo: what was really bothering him was that Lex Luthor stood close behind his photo-self, also topless and stared smoulderingly over his left shoulder. His arms were wrapped around Clark, one hand planted squarely on his right peck, the other skimming under the line of Clark's just visible boxers, which protruded an inch or two from his jeans.

As he stared unblinkingly, he began to feel self-conscious about looking at the photograph and tensed as he heard a sound from downstairs. He also became aware of small sounds from miles around as he worried about someone walking in on him staring at the photo. All of his ultra-sensory perception was straining with the fear of being caught. Then, as he stood transfixed, he thought he saw a movement to his left, out of the corner of his eye. He swung around quickly, photo gripped tightly in a sweaty hand, ready for confrontation. His body felt like it was filled with ice water as his adrenaline raced and dread surfaced. Nothing.

He felt stupid to see nobody there and sighed heavily, muttering under his breath "Get a grip, Clark"

He looked back at the photo; just stared at it for what seemed like endless minutes. They looked so intimate; their skin pressed close, lips almost brushing skin, their bodies-

"Clark! Phone!"

The shout made him jump so violently he felt like his erratic heart beat was making him buzz; but only after it stopped feeling like it would just burst. His cheeks flushed. He looked down to where the photo had landed on the floor, staring up at him accusingly. He picked it up quickly and pushed it into a drawer beneath his socks just in time, as his mother entered holding out the phone. She held a hand over the receiver and mouthed 'It's Lex' to him. Clark felt the blush put more pressure on his cheeks and his mother raised an eyebrow slightly as she handed him the phone and closed the door.

"Hi?" Clark said weakly in to the receiver.