It was pretty cold outside so it seemed like half of the student body was in the Metropolis University Coffee Shop getting hot chocolate or coffee. Clark Kent was one of these students, even though he wasn't getting the chocolate because he was cold. It was just another little thing he did around the college to disguise his secret, make it look like he was cold. His invulnerability acted as a winter coat of sorts for him, which made it all the more annoying that he had to wear a regular winter coat that made him sweat so that no one would suspect anything. He knew, though, that it was in the spirit of keeping his secret in an environment full of professors that would study him in a second if they knew he was an alien. He was actually very excited that day because it was his second to last day of classes before he went back to Smallville for Christmas break. Despite this, something was bothering him, and he didn't feel like it would go away anytime soon.

It was right when he was starting to gather his thoughts at the small table in the middle of the shop that someone covered his eyes from behind him.

"Hey Chloe," Clark said with a smile on his face.

"How DID you know," Chloe said sarcastically as she swung around and took a seat at the table Clark was sitting at.

"A guess," Clark laughed. Clark had noticed that ever since Chloe had come to Met. U she was much more cheerful than she had been in Smallville. He guessed that it was the appeal of the big city that made her different. He was just happy that her wit hadn't changed.

"So Chloe, now that your dad's moved to Metropolis, are you gonna stay here for Christmas?"

"Yeah," Chloe said, a little confused. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," Clark said. "Just wondering if you would like to go back to Smallville for a few days, you know just for nostalgia."

"Clark, it takes you like a millisecond for you to go to Smallville, but for me it's a three hour drive. I don't want to go there for no reason."

"Not even to investigate the caves with me?"

Chloe was a little taken aback by Clark's statement. Ever since she found out Clark's secret, she was very curious about everything Clark, but he had never asked her for help like this. "I thought you said that Swann, Crosby, and Jor-el had told you enough about your origins to satisfy you. When I pushed it, you said that you were scared about finding out other unpleasant things."

Clark began to speak in a whisper, even though the commotion in the room was enough for him to speak regular to his friend. "Well…I changed my mind. I still don't know exactly what happened to Krypton. I don't know why Kryptonite can hurt me. I don't know what the sun has to do with my powers."

"Clark, what's the sudden interest in needing to know the minutest detail about yourself."

Clark hung his head a little and said. "It's just a curiosity."

By now Chloe could tell that Clark was being less than truthful. "I'm sure you have had this curiosity for a while Clark, I just want to know why all of a sudden you want to go back to the caves even after all that you said happened with Jor-el. And I'm also curious why you want me to go to. So I'm gonna ask you again. Why the sudden interest?"

After a brief silence, Clark opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a huge scream over by the coffee counter. Everyone in the shop turned to look at the kid in all black on the floor attempting to back away from something that was apparently scaring the living daylights out of him. Clark stood up to take a look and noticed that he was backing away from some girl sitting at the counter. He couldn't see her face, but he noticed that she was wearing a black business suit and she had her blonde hair in a bun. Clark then saw her stand up and go toward the boy right before some bulky jocks got in his line of vision. He could tell she was saying something to the kid, but several conversations around him drowned it out.

"What's going on Clark?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." He then focused his super-hearing on the girl and the Goth kid.

"Why won't you let me help you?" the girl said.

"Stop harassing me!" the kid shouted.

"Mark, you were the one who came up to me and told me that you were stronger than I was. You and your brood think you can defeat me and mine, but you can't." The statement, along with everything else she said, came out in such a soothing way, that Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Stop pretending to want to help me!"

"I do want to help you. This isn't you talking, Mark. I can help you come back."

"NOOOOO!" Mark's scream blew Clark's ear a little bit and made him step back. When he got composure he saw Mark running out the door into the cold.

"What did you hear?" Chloe asked.

"There's something about that girl," Clark said as he sat back down.

"I figured that," Chloe said.

When the people began to filter away from the group that formed in front of him, Clark could finally see the girl clearly. She had sat back down in her chair and was talking to a few guys with ulterior motives asking if she was ok. When they finally left her alone, she looked very pained, as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Clark knew how she felt. For some reason Clark just kept looking at her as she was on the brink of tears. She then looked up, and then turned and looked right at him. Clark was a little embarrassed wanted to turn away, but he just kept looking at her. She looked at him too, in an analytical sort of way. She squinted her eyes and then mouthed something that Clark couldn't make out. Clark had a feeling she was trying to communicate with him silently, so he raised his eyebrows as if to say "what?". She got the message and mouthed it much clearer.

"Kal-el"

Clark tried to convince himself that it could be a lot of different things she was mouthing, but he couldn't think of a word that could be mouthed like his Kryptonian name. This made him visibly nervous. Clark then saw her act like she just realized something as she tucked her small wooden necklace she had on into her shirt.

"Hey Smallville," Clark snapped out of his trance, turned around and saw Chloe's cousin Lois Lane standing right behind where Chloe was sitting. "What is so interesting about that girl that you're hypnotized by?"

"Yeah Clark, what?" Chloe said, thankfully not in a jealous way.

"Nothing," Clark said rubbing his eyes trying to calm down.

"Well, Smallville, that girl's way out of your league so don't go thinking the 'Kent charm' will impress her."

"Why," Chloe asked. "Is she an old friend of yours?"

"I wish," Lois replied. She then looked at the both of them a little surprised. "You honestly don't know who that is? I expected this from Clark but not you Chloe."

Clark wanted to think of a snide remark, but something inside him prompted him to keep his mouth shut. He just sighed and surrendered.

"Remember Dr. Virgil Swann?"

Clark immediately perked up at the sound of that name.

"That's his niece Ebony," Lois continued. "She was like all over the papers in New York last year because she inherited like half of her uncle's fortune after he died. No one had ever heard of her before that, so everyone was a little shocked. Apparently she's child prodigy and is going to Harvard even though she's only 15. I honestly don't know why she's here at good ol' Met U."

"Oh yeah," Chloe said. "I knew who she was, I just didn't know what she looked like." Chloe then looked over at Clark to see his reaction and saw him a little wide-eyed.

"Hey, Smallville, are you okay?"

Clark quickly got up and turned around to see if Ebony was still there, but she was gone.

"Farmboy!" Lois persisted. "What's up with the mime game?"

Clark gulped and grabbed his backpack. "I have to find her." He then pushed through the crowd and jogged out the door of the shop.

"Clark wait! How do you know she knows anything! Clark!" Chloe shouted as she hurriedly grabbed her stuff and ran after him.

Lois was left alone speechless and confused as she plopped down into Chloe's seat and began to finish Clark's hot chocolate.