Harveston Hall

At Met U: Lex gives presents, Clark blossoms and gives in to his inner exhibitionist.

"Do you think you've got everything, honey?"

"Yeah, Mom, I think so. Um, where are my . . . oh, yeah, I see 'em."

Clark rummaged through the various boxes, bags, and pieces of luggage which were crammed in the back of his car. His car! A completely cherry, bright blue, 1968 Shelby Mustang that Lex had given him for his graduation, overriding his parents' protesting by pointing out that it was a used car. It wasn't as cute as the first vehicle Lex had tried to give him, but them, neither was Clark. Clark, at 19, was an imposing figure. Tall and heavily muscled, his perfectly proportioned body nevertheless fooled the eye, and kept him from looking ridiculous. Clark had also learned how to dress to downplay his physique when he chose.

It wasn't only his physical presence which had changed, though. His mind was sharper. There was a new assurance and grace in his movements. His blood seemed to run faster in his veins, making him feel potent and more alive than he'd ever been. He glowed, he shone, his very hair seemed to crackle with energy. Used to hiding under the guise of a bumbling geek, Clark was having to readjust his self-image and his strategy for remaining inconspicuous. He wasn't too worried, though. After all, he was going to college, able to start afresh and leave the posings of the past behind.

Clark extricated his head from the trunk of the car. "Okay, I think I'm ready. Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yes, son, we'll be right behind you," his father replied, as he adjusted the cords which held down additional boxes in the bed of their truck.

"If you can catch me!" Clark laughed. He hopped into the car and gunned the engine playfully.

His parents were going to follow him to help him get settled in his new dorm room. He was assigned a solo room in Harveston Hall, a student coop located just off the Met U campus on the east side, where all the cool student shops and clubs were. When he got his assignment in the packet of orientation material, his mom had gotten a strange look on her face.

"Harveston Hall! It's famous, Clark. It used to be one of the most luxurious mansions in Metropolis, but it fell into disrepair and was converted into a coop. It's got the most fantastic rooms - no two are alike. And its own pool! I used to know a boy there . . . " Martha trailed off, sneaking a fast glance at her husband where he was sitting at the end of the table. "Well, anyway, it's a good assignment. Since it's a coop, you'll have to contribute to the running of the house, but you're used to chores, so it shouldn't be any problem for you. And a solo room! I think you got lucky on that one."

"Yeah, if you call Luthor meddling lucky," grumbled his father.

"Now, honey, you don't know that Lex pulled strings for this. All he said was that he wanted to contribute a few things to Clark's dorm room to make things more comfortable for him. And even if he did, it's not really safe for him to share a room anyway."

"Yeah, Dad, too much chance of a roommate noticing something. And you agreed to let Lex help me set up the room as part of my graduation present, remember?

Now, four days before class was scheduled to start, Clark was primed to start on this next phase of his life. "Let's get this show on the road, folks!" he said.

Harveston Hall was a spawling, ornate structure set amid lush grounds, shaded with numerous trees. Clark looked around when they drove up to the front of the house via the semicircular driveway, and noticed lots of students on the front lawn, hanging out or playing Frisbee. He got out of his car and walked up the front stairs, to where a few people were sitting behind tables, apparently waiting to process the Hall's occupants as they arrived.

Clark walked up to a blond-haired man at the first table. Obviously a graduate student, the man gave Clark a surreptitious up and down look, and his eyes widened as he said, "Welcome to Harveston Hall, I'm Johnny, one of the Resident Assistants. Nice car."

"Thanks! I'm Clark Kent, and I'm assigned to, uh . . . ," he looked down at the paperwork in his hands, and continued, "Room 100." Shuffling through his paperwork to bring out the room assignment, Clark didn't notice Johnny's eyes widen even further at the mention of his room number and glance at the girl sitting at the next table, who was watching Clark with gleeful interest. Johnny looked down at his list, and checked something off.

"Yeah, you have Room 100. It's at the very top of the stairs on the left side of the Grand Hall. Here's a key to your room, and a copy of the house rules. You will have to choose a work rotation and a chore section, like yard work, KP, or clerical. The sign up sheets are in the lounge next to the dining room. Meals are served at 7 am, 12 noon, and 6 pm Monday through Thursday. The meals are on a different schedule on the weekends, you'll find it in your welcome packet."

"Okay, thanks!" Clark turned and went back to his car, where his parents stood near their own vehicle. "Come on, I'm at the top of the left stairs or something," Clark said as he began to heft bags out of the car.

"I'm sure we'll find it, honey," said Martha as she turned to help her husband get more of Clark's belongings out of the back of the truck.

The Hall was huge, and seemed to be laid out by a crazed rabbit. There was a confusion of fancy molding and other details; windows, corridors, staircases, big rooms, small rooms, and many numbered doors. "It's like Hogwarts, Mom!" said Clark, who wasn't ashamed of admitting to a fondness for Harry Potter. At least to his mom.

Many of the doors had obviously been painted by individual students. They passed a door with purple cows, one with "Death Metal" splashed across it with black paint, and another with a delicate rendering of vines and fairies. Some of the doors were plan, though, with just numbers on them.

As Martha and Jonathan climbed up from the last landing and rounded a corner, they stopped dead, and Clark, following behind, ran into them. "What?" asked Clark as he peered over their heads. There, at the end of the hall, was a plain door with 100 painted on it. What had stopped the Kents in their tracks, however, was the lavender envelope with Clark's name on it taped to the front.

"Well, it looks like Lex has already been here," Martha said dryly.

Clark set his bags down and plucked the envelope off the door. He read, "Clark, enjoy. And I don't care if your parents do have a fit - you can't return any of it." Oh, boy, Clark thought, and inserted the key into the lock with a feeling of anticipation and a bit of dread. The door swung open, and Clark entered the room with his parents close behind.

As Clark looked around, he felt his jaw drop. The room was large, far larger than he had expected. Tucked into a windowed alcove was a huge bed surrounded by gauzy white drapes and heavier dark blue drapes. There was a small couch and comfortable chair arranged in front of a - yes that was a fireplace. On the wall above the fireplace a flat-screen plasma TV gleamed. A desk and bookshelves were arranged along one wall. Clark noted there were numerous reference books already situated on the shelves. Turning around in a circle, Clark could only stare. French doors off the alcove led to what appeared to be a private, stone-walled balcony. There was a tiny kitchenette tucked into the corner, with a sink, refrigerator, microwave, and rangetop. He strode up to the frig and peaked inside. He laughed with delight when he saw it was already stocked with his favorite foods and sodas. He noticed a door to the right of the kitchen and stepped through it. "Oh my god, you guys, I have my own bathroom!"

Martha and Jonathan just looked at each other. "A few things to make his room more comfortable," Jon muttered.

"Well, it certainly looks comfortable," Martha conceded.

Clark came out of the bathroom and looked ruefully at his parents. "Yeah, looks like the room has been Lexified, all right." Clark shook his head. Lex was gonna get it when he talked to him.

"I don't like it," muttered Jonathan. "Why couldn't he have left well enough alone?"

Clark and his mother glanced at each other, reluctant to encourage a rant. But Martha said, "Take a look around you, why don't you? This room was made for Clark. Specifically for Clark. Lex obviously spent a lot of time and effort into making the room just right for Clark's personality and needs."

"Dad, look at it this way. Lex has all this money and the responsibilities to go with it. But he has no one to spend his money on, no one to spoil. He has no family, Dad, you know that. Nobody but Lionel, and well - Can't you see?" He pleaded for his friend with his eyes. "It gives him so much happiness to do these kinds of things for me. And he doesn't have a whole lot of happiness in his life, you know."

Jonathan's face softened as he looked at his son. Even he could see that Lex genuinely cared for him - even if it was in his own, Luthor, way.

Clark and his parents walked around for a while taking a look at the house. There was a large study hall and library with a variety of tables, chairs, and bookcases with task lighting for studying. They took a look at the dining hall, where it looked like people were setting up for dinner. In front of the dining hall was a large lounge area with a gigantic bulletin board along the wall. Clark could see people looking at the chore section sign-up sheets. A large porch or lanai ran the entire length of this part of the house, and a pathway led to the garden. There were fewer students in the yard at this time of day, but they walked along the pathway looking at the pool and the wonderfully landscaped garden.

Clark's mom commented, "The grounds here were laid out by a famous early landscape architect. Of course most of that is owned by the University now, but you can really see how beautiful and mature the plantings are." Martha had always loved horticulture. It was one of the things she used to survive her life as a farmer's wife. Her flower garden was famous throughout the county, and she never sold any of it. Her flowers were her pride, and she only gave them as gifts.

They came to an area to the side that was walled off and filled with raised garden beds. It looked like it was meant to serve as a kitchen garden. There were a couple of people working at the very back of the area close to a shed. Jonathan said, "Look at this. I bet the Hall grows its own vegetables. Clark, maybe the garden is one of the chore sections. It would be just like home."

"More chores before breakfast, yay. Maybe not!"

"Well, think about it, son. I would be something you could do."

Clark looked at his parents, solemnly. "I can do a lot of things, you know?"

The following Saturday Clark was sunbathing - in the nude - on his balcony. After a week of orientation, informal student mixers, getting his books, dealing with the U bureaucracy, and starting his classes, Clark was more than ready to relax a bit and take some time to reflect. He'd always loved laying in the sun. Although his skin never tanned, he always felt energized after sunbathing. He knew now that his powers derived from Earth's yellow sunlight, so he supposed it made sense. The privacy afforded by his walled-in balcony made nude sunbathing possible and a delicious treat.

Clark stretched his body out like a cat in the sunshine. What should I paint on my door, he wondered. Corn stalks and a barn? Maybe a spaceship and little green men? Hah! Way to hide in plain site, he thought. He'd found out that "Paint Day" was coming up next week. It seems that the Hall students had a tradition of painting their dorm room doors. It was rumored to be followed by a raucous party. Clark grinned to himself, thinking of the people he'd met and his new-found social life. He'd already had two dates this week. And he had another date - with a guy! - that night.

In the past few months Clark found himself perpetually aware of people in a sexual way. Not an unheard of situation for a teenage guy, but Clark knew there was something a bit different about him. He felt like such a sexual being, far beyond that of a typical horny guy. For one thing, his sexual appetite seemed enormous. For another, Clark now seemed to be able to control his erections to a degree other guys couldn't, apparently. If he didn't want to get an erection, well, he just didn't. He used to suffer embarrassing unwanted erections all the time in high school. But now, it just came in handy; another facet of his lifelong mission to be in control himself. Also, his senses were sharper now. Clark found that he could discern subtle shifts in body language, smell a person's arousal, fear, and receive other cues forming a powerful gestalt enabling him to be certain about someone's mood.

However, some of the issues he had with his invulnerability to pain, strength, and other legacies of his alien nature led him to have some very strange and powerful fantasies. The things he was thinking about! Clark was unsettled and a bit scared about the things his brain was suggesting to him. He'd known since puberty he could be attracted to both sexes. There was his attraction to Lex, after all, which he tried not to think about, and that guy in eighth grade he couldn't help peek at in the locker room. But the rest - in his dreams, sleeping and waking, appeared a bizarre and powerful of hot, dirty sex; of bondage, leather, toys, multiple partners, anonymous sex . . . Clark was beginning to suspect he was seriously kinked. He wanted those things; even though he really didn't know anything about them, and knew his fantasies were incomplete. Where does an inexperienced virgin from the sticks go to learn about such things, anyway? Lex, his brain whispered at him. Lex would know.

Clark sighed. He wished he could talk about such things with Lex. He and Lex assiduously avoided talking about anything related to sex, because it could so easily bring up what was between them, and they didn't want that. Yet. It was an unspoken agreement. The sexual tension between them simmered in the air whenever they were together, acknowledged only with their eyes. Clark knew in his heart that they would be together - that way - someday, but he wasn't ready for a serious relationship, and anything with Lex was serious. It was one of the reasons (besides knowing his parents would never give their approval) that he decided to live in the dorms at the U instead of taking Lex up on his offer to stay in the penthouse. Serious friendship was enough for them, for now. After all, he really wanted to so some of those things he was thinking about, and he didn't see how they could fit into a normal, monogamous relationship. Normal, Clark snorted to himself. Yeah.

He thought about the dates he'd had already. Maybe "dates" was a misnomer, though. Clark had made private vow to himself to keep all his romantic contacts light, until it felt right. Very carefully, he walled off that part of his mind that told him it wouldn't be right until he was with Lex.

The first girl he was with was in his English class; a long-limbed brunette with an amazing body. He had invited her for a smoothie after class, and they walked around the campus for a while after that. A bit later, after a lot of suggestive teasing and touching, he'd asked her if he could kiss her. Quite a bit later after that, Clark had her writhing on his couch as he brought her off with his speedy mouth and hand as he stroked himself to his own orgasm. The next day, he made sure to call the girl and thank her, and he sent her a funny and sweet email. The next "date" had gone similarly. Clark was careful to ask permission for every step and touch. And he told them at the outset what he was going to do and explained that there would be no pressure for intercourse. The girls seemed to like that, and they certainly liked his skill. Clark knew that the guy he was meeting up with tonight would be amenable to something similar, though with a different flavor.

Mmmm. Clark started to run his hands over his chest as he lay in the sun. All these sexy thoughts were getting to him, as usual. Clark began to take deep breaths and ran his fingernails along his belly and flanks. Smiling, he lazily took himself in hand. Once in a while, he would do this at home on top of the barn on a lazy hot afternoon when no one was around for miles. It always gave him a thrill to be outside naked like this. A lot of the shyness and modesty of the past was protective coloring, with only a little bit of normal teenage self-consciousness.

Oh, yeah, he thought as he sped his hand up. What shall I think about his time? He extended his senses to check if anyone was near while rifling through his rather extensive mental stack of fantasies. He could hear some of the other students going about their business. He thought - what if they could see me? What if they could all see me, all the girls in the dorm, all the hot guys - what if they could see me naked lying here and they all wanted me. And they all started touching themselves. Ooh, ooh, yeah, that's hot. I'm showing off for them. Clark began to pant heavily as he pinched his nipples and stroked himself, hard, harder, imagining his whole dorm watching him jerk off. Unggg. Unnn, oh . . oh . . . oh!

Clark exhaled deeply as he shook the spunk off his hand. Jeez, conceited much, boy? Oh, well, it was his fantasy. He could do whatever he wanted, right? As Clark rolled over on his stomach and stretched out on the towel, he thought, as he drifted off to sleep, at least this time it wasn't about Lex . . .