A really good one, too, he thinks. It's hard to be sure, though; usually he'd ask his parents for their advice, or Lex, but the first is impossible under the circumstances, and the second kind of misses the point.

He wouldn't be able to ask Lex for advice anyway, because Lex is out of town. Lex is in Metropolis, has been for the last ten days. Will be for at least another week.

This was disappointing at first, of course. Three weeks is a long time, especially when Chloe and Pete and Lana are all so busy, too, with their exciting summer jobs. All Clark's been doing is chores, and lounging around the house.

And thinking. Lots of thinking.

Plus, there was the holiday, too. Clark had kind of been looking forward to the Fourth of July with Lex. The Fourth of July is a *good* holiday: it's summer, and there are barbeques and picnics and parades and fireworks -- and those last remind Clark of Lex anyway, ever since the party.

Lex doesn't like Independence Day, though. Clark can remember Lex mentioning it once, a couple of months ago.

"Every Fourth of July, my father throws a huge party, one of the biggest ones of the year. All of Metropolis -- every vain, overstuffed blowhard in the city -- shows up to see and be seen. It ends out by the lake, with a huge fireworks display," Lex had told Clark. "I was always dragged back from the summer cottage to look impressive. My mother hated the entire thing."

That's not right at all. Lex should have a good holiday. He should be in Smallville, helping Clark fire off the rockets -- the illegal, extra-cool ones -- and sit out in the fields behind the barn, watching them go off.

There is possibly, Clark realizes, a wealth of metaphorical imagery in the fact that he wants Lex to help him shoot his rocket.

That's where the plan comes in.

The plan is this:

In a week or two, Lex will come back from Metropolis. Clark will go and visit him, and they will talk, and stand very close, and Clark will smile like an idiot and make stupid jokes, and Lex will quirk his mouth and say something that sounds much more helpful than it is and say something else that doesn't sound important at all till Clark thinks it through later. Then they will play pool, or Lex will work some more on teaching Clark how to fence, or maybe they'll just hang out in some corner of the castle and be jerks.

Then, when it gets darker, Clark will suggest they go outside. Lex will agree, and they'll sprawl out on the comfy green lawn. Clark knows all the constellations, and they'll lie with their faces very close together, so Clark can point them out to Lex. Lex probably knows the myths behind every one, and he'll tell Clark each in a quiet voice, almost a whisper, just a few inches from Clark's ear. And at some point, Clark will be looking at Lex instead of the sky, and Lex will be looking back. And then -- and this is the crux of Clark's plan, really -- Clark will lean over the little space and kiss him.

That is the plan. It's a little vague around a few of the edges, but that's part of its charm, maybe. As far as Clark can tell, it's strong on the *essentials*, and that's what counts.

He's not worried about the plan at all. It's what comes after the plan that's a little unclear, and that pretty much depends on what Lex decides to do.

Clark is keeping his fingers crossed that Lex's plan will include more kissing. And then sex type stuff. And then ... *more*.

There's not too long left till he finds out.

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