The day looked promising: glimpses of sun peeked through white clouds and colors of summer blues plastered all across the sky. The wind picked up a little, sending a soft warm breeze across a young woman sitting underneath a large umbrella connected to a table. It was still early, the soft dew that clung to the morning green petals started to dry and the sound of soft conversation echoed all around the shoppe. People were already clustered in small groups, or alone such as one particular individual wearing a silk blouse and a pair of black pants. Her hair, the color of black and brown hung in a familiar fashion.
From a short distance, Clark Kent had just walked out of a hardware store, opposite from the coffee shoppe where Lana sat. He felt his heart skipped a beat; then relaxed immediately, Clark felt elated to finally bump into her and get straight to facing his problems. Small wonder that problems as huge as saving people from meter freaks and so forth would be a cinch, but something small such as love would be so complicated.He hadn't told her the truth for so long. Was this the day he would tell her, while she was now married to his arch enemy? Not one to be impulsive, Clark decided he would have to talk to her sooner or later. It was just that he was planning it on a less surprise attack as this would appear.
Lana Lang sat at the coffee shoppe waiting for Chloe; she sipped at the cup of coffee while reading the 'Daily Planet'; and was momentarily surprised at the presence that covered the sun from her reading.
Looking up, she half frowned, "Clark." Surprise was immediately replaced by a tempered half smile.
Clark half smiled; his boyish good loooks enhanced; he actually looked happy to see her. This surprised the girl he was looking at too. He hoped he didn't stumble on his words. He had been avoiding her for so long.
"Lana, I'm glad to have found you. Listen, we need to talk."
She just gaped at him. A mixture of happy feelings and anger all rolled in one. In all those years they've spent together, he had deliberately avoided her for an entire year since she was married. Clark hadn't returned her calls, avoided her when she thought she saw him down the street or in the same neighbourhood. Even Jimmy Olsen and Chloe Sullivan avoided talking about Clark Kent. Lana didn't know whether to get upset or feel elated. The first instinct was to scold him for ducking out on her like that. And perhaps, just perhaps, she'd let it out of her system. She bit her lip as Clark sat down.
"Oh, so now you want to talk?" Lana blinked. She looked up at the skies. "It IS such a beautiful day, I suppose I should be happy. And I am...but...first let me tell you a thing or two, Clark Kent." Leaning towards Clark, who had just sat at the vacated seat across her, she bit out, "Clark, you have some nerve. May I remind you, that you nearly ruined the wedding, and never apologized for it, and to top it off, you haven't even attempted to talk to me. You've deliberately avoided me. Not that I care anymore, it's just that I find it strange….and is this little meeting of yours because your mother was at the wedding? Was it because you felt that Chloe betrayed you for attending as well?"
Clark Kent remembered that day well. It was one of the hardest days of his life. His former first love marrying his enemy. It was just too much, and yet he couldn't stay away. What possessed him that day he couldn't understand until finding out from his mother that he had been under the influence of the silver kryptonite. It's been a long time since he was possessed by that meteorite, but only a slither of it was exposed to him. How? He had an idea that Lex was behind it; however, he couldn't know. And how would he explain that to Lana? That her husband whom she thought the world of, is a man that would use something against him.
Clark breathed in, hoping to get some word in; incidently, he knew that Lana would need to say her say first. "Lana, I stayed away because I knew I needed time." He looked down, and was suddenly interrupted by the waitress.
"Would you care for anything to drink?" the woman politely smiled.
"No, no thanks." Clark said, "I'm not staying long."
The waitress smiled prettily, asking Lana if she needed a refill. Lana shook her head and she left. Perhaps Lana's current anger stemmed from the fact that she hadnt seen Clark in so long, and perhaps that made her angry instead of happy. She should, by all rights be filled with joy to see her old friend. Instead, the rush of frustration flowed through her emotions.
"Chloe's on her way here."
"Lana please, if I may just say….I'm…" He was at loss for words again.
Lana looked into his eyes. Those eyes that she had loved for years and since childhood. Lana always knew deep down Clark was good, too good; although, he kept secrets from her that she didn't understand, it still hurt that he couldn't confide in whatever it is that plagued him. For so long she believed Clark was one of those 'meteor freaks'; yet, that didn't matter to her one bit. Her guard to be trusting seem go up in towers; perhaps, it was because she was married to a Luthor who had been in the past, never quite clean in their previous history with people.
She'd only been married a year, and already with a baby. Another reason why she as angry. Lana wanted to not only share the special moment of her new child into the world with the people she loved, but along that list was Clark. Even if he was long gone as her first love, he would still remain good friends with her; that was another reason she felt the second rush of empathic emotion, despite all that he had done.
Impulsively, she reached out, her tiny hand covered his larger one that was on the table. "Clark." An expression of concern was evident there, "Okay, don't mind me. It's been so long since you've actually attempted to talk to me. I.." her voice faltered, "I shouldn't get upset." Lana's dark head bowed in shame. "Please, stay, and…" she swallowed. "And please go on."
Clark felt the immediacy of his situation, never realizing how hard this was going to be. He had thought that with the long absence since he's been away that he'd be able to confront Lana easier. That seeing her wouldn't fill him with the usual pang of memories. He still loved her, true, but he wasn't going to pine over her that he had been for so long. Pining over a married woman and one that had given birth to his enemy's child wasn't exactly something he was going to knock his head over.
The tension between them crackled; it was partly due to the long absence, and what words would come next. Chloe had just arrived, her steps abated as soon as she saw Clark. Her eyes widened, and she swallowed, not sure what to do. "Clark?" She partly smiled, raising her hand to wave a greeting. "Wow, should I stay or am I interrupting?"
Lana looked up at her friend. "Hey Chloe. No, no, it's fine, Clark was just joining us." She turned to Clark. "Right?"
"I-I'd love to, but I'm not hungry." Clark didn't want to discuss something private in front of Chloe. Although she was one of his best friends, it didn't feel right to discuss something so personal that went between him and Lana.
"Well, so…" Chloe's face brightened, looked from one to the other, seeing her two friends actually speaking to eachother was a good sign. "How are you, Lana?"
"I'm doing great, thanks." Lana beamed at her friend. "You're looking very chipper today. You look good. What's the occasion?"
And Chloe did. She was wearing her golden hair prettily combed in a curly fashion, donning a summer dress appropriate for the weather, along with her large shoulder handbag which Lana and Clark suspiciously assumed would be her work or laptop.
"Don't you know….?" Chloe leaned in, appearing to show that she was conspiring some secret: "That today's Valentines day?" Then Chloe winked at her friends.
TBC:
