Lana's welcome home party was a great success. The idea for it had come from Chloe.
"Well, you know. . . people have welcome home parties when they get out of prison, or come home from war, and Lana's sort of done both right?" She gave an excited look that was hard to refuse.
"I think it's a great idea," Clark agreed, with a broad smile on his face.
They both looked over at Lana, whose own big smile was fake. "Okay," Lana finally relented. Chloe clapped and rushed over to Lana, pulling her into a tight embrace. With her face hidden for a second, Lana let her smile relax, but pulled the grin back out when Chloe stepped away.
"We should have it here," Chloe said, looking around in the Kent kitchen. "The Talon would be bigger, but . . ."
"No this is better," Clark quickly interrupted. Lana looked over, catching his eyes and knew why the Talon was out- it was Lex's place. Here, Lex wouldn't be invited.
Chloe got on the phone and began ordering flowers and balloons, asking Lana for her preference each time. She answered yes to this, blue for those, and whatever you think is best for the rest, all the while wishing she didn't have to bother. Truth be told, she didn't want to face anyone, didn't want to answer questions about where she'd been. All she wanted was to stay here on the Kent Farm, alone, and hide away from the world.
By the time the party came, Lana was so tired of pretending to be happy she could just open her mouth and scream for hours. She clamped down on it and smiled instead. Smiled so much her face hurt.
"Having fun?" Clark asked, walking over. She smiled painfully again, and let him peck her on the forehead.
"Yeah, the party's great."
He smiled again, giving her arm a squeeze, and let his gaze drift over to where Chloe and Lois stood, both attempting to teach Shelby how to play dead. So far their attempts were unsuccessful, even when Lois got down on the ground in an effort to show the dog what to do. Clark laughed out loud, as did many people, and Lana supposed that she should be laughing too. The best she could manage at this stage was a weak grin.
"I need some air," Lana suddenly announced.
Clark turned to her with a concerned look on his face. "Need me to come with you?"
That one question, said innocently enough, made Lana grind her teeth. "No, I'll be fine," she answered sweetly, and turned on her heel, heading for the door. Once outside, she kept her smile firmly plastered over her face until she entered the barn, out of earshot of the party guests. A long exhale forced its way out of her body, and she closed her eyes, leaning against the wall for support.
"Still don't like parties huh?" a familiar voice said.
Lana didn't have to open her eyes to identify the man, never had. His voice was low and distinctive. There was no mistaking it.
"I didn't think you were invited," she answered, without moving a muscle. It was a relief that she didn't need to smile and pretend for Lex.
"I guess my invitation got lost in the mail," he quipped with humor in his voice.
Lana opened her eyes to see Lex leaning against the wall opposite her, nearly ten feet away. Even with the smell of the cows and hay heavy in the air, his cologne drifted across the distance and surrounded her. Unwanted memories swirled in her head.
Their eyes met intensely, and it irked Lana that his stare still moved her so much. His eyes watched hers, unblinking for several moments before moving downwards to look at the rest of her. She should have felt nervous under such scrutiny, but all she felt was familiarity.
Lana watched his face as he looked at her pale pink dress and caught the smallest of grins. It wasn't a "look how cute you are in pink" grin. It was an amused expression, and Lana couldn't say that she blamed him at all. Pink again. Really.
The dress felt tight, the barn was hot and all Lana wanted was freedom. She just wanted to be herself- pissed off, bitter, bitchy self. She had to fake it with Clark, but Lex didn't give a shit. She could set the barn on fire, and Lex would only laugh and then offer to pay for the cleanup.
It was funny really. She left Lex because he lied too much for Clark who finally told her the truth, and yet as it turned out, it was her that was the problem. She was the one who needed to tell the truth. To do what she really felt like doing, instead of holding it in. To finally be truly free.
Without realizing that she moved at all, Lana found herself walking up to Lex. His eyes snapped back to hers and smoldered. Like two magnets held next to each other, Lana felt herself being pulled towards him. His mouth opened slightly, as if to say something but he stayed silent, merely watching her approach.
Once she entered his space, heat exploded around her, propelling her arms up and out, wrapping themselves around his neck tightly. Like a glove, he wrapped snugly around her, their bodies leaving no space between them. Sighing audibly, she lifted her mouth up to his.
Neither wasted time on innocent pecks. Their open mouths sought each other greedily. Lana heard a moan as their tongues touched, but didn't know which one it actually came from. It had been such a long time since they'd kissed like this and the reunion was sweet.
Lana's hands moved from Lex's neck to his face to his shoulders, wanting to feel everything that they'd missed. His roamed freely over her back, the heat scorching her skin through the pink material of her dress. He pulled her even closer until her hips were flush against his pelvis, and Lana didn't think she had ever been so alive.
She never felt so much passion, never felt so warm as she did in this moment, and it saddened her suddenly that she wouldn't feel this with Clark.
Clark.
As soon as the name flashed through her mind, her body cooled like it'd been doused with a bucket of ice water. She blinked, and broke the kiss, removing her arms from his body. Lex felt the change, and leaned back away from her. They both stood there panting with the sounds of the party still going on nearby. She could feel his eyes on her, but kept hers trained on the ground in an attempt to steady herself.
She couldn't look at him again and be tempted by those eyes. She had almost . . .
Lex wiped his mouth and exhaled, obviously attempting to steady himself as well. "I guess you'd better get back to your party," he finally said, moving away from her.
Lana reached up and touched her lips, rubbing them roughly in a vain attempt at wiping his taste away. She felt dirty and cold and fake.
"Lana?" Lex called from the door.
She looked up at him and froze. Those eyes. "What?" she finally managed to squeak out.
"Welcome home," he said with a sad smile.
Indeed. Lana Lang has returned to Smallville, while Lana Luthor hides away inside.