Chapter 4

A Second Too Late

Lana had been wrestling with what to do about Whitney and Clark for some time. Miss Lonely Hearts' response to her letter had only brought her thoughts more tightly into focus. Unswerving loyalty was one of her greatest strengths. Once you made it inside to become one of Lana's friends, that loyalty belonged to you. In this case, it belonged to Whitney, who needed someone to hold onto right now. Clark had also made it inside, but had instead become the one she relied on. She liked both guys, but there was something more, something exciting and maybe even a little dangerous involved in being with Clark. But should she risk it?

Once you cross that line, Lana thought, there's no turning back.

She wrestled a nearly full plastic trash bag out of its can as she worked on shutting down the Talon for the evening.

I told that to Clark about Chloe, but it's also true for me when dealing with him. He's been such a good friend this year, he's always ready to listen and whenever I need help, he's the first one in line. Do I want to risk that by trying for something more? Something that I feel is there.

Lana tied the bag closed and set it by the alley door so it would be ready to go when she emptied the rest of the cans. She went back and forth inside her head all during closing, trying desperately to untangle her thoughts and desires and make a choice for herself.

In the end, that was what it came down to.

Whose feelings am I responsible for? Lana thought. It's not my job to make either Whitney or Clark happy. I have to make my decisions based on what makes me happy...and right now…that means Clark.

She thought back to the last conversation she had with Clark. He had as good as told her that he still had feelings for her…'Yeah,' Clark had said, 'I let that moment slip away and I don't think I'll ever get it back.' But he then had gone on to let her know that he wanted to go after Chloe, 'not wanting to let that moment slip away twice.' Now that he had saved Chloe from Justin Gaines, the former Torch cartoonist who had gained telekinetic powers, Clark's way was clear to do just that.

Lana realized that the first move between her and Clark was up to her. Once he had sent her back to Whitney, he would never ask her out or do anything to cause problems in her relationship with Whitney. Clark was the kind of guy that was going to respect her decision about who she wanted to be with, even if it killed him. She loved that he was such a gentleman, but her having to take the first step as a result of his morals was scary.

As for when and where, Lana felt that there was no time like the present, especially when Clark might ask Chloe out at any time. Since he had said that school work was keeping him busy these days, she would go to his loft straight from work, since that was where he usually did his homework. She would tell him that she was breaking up with Whitney, now that his dad was on the mend, and hopefully he'd give her some kind of sign, something to encourage her to declare her intentions.

At that moment, Clark's mind was filled to distraction. Earlier in the day, he had stopped Justin Gaines just in time to keep him from killing Chloe. Also, the staff at The Torch was still trying to piece together a memorial issue for Principal Kwan without Chloe's help, and he still hadn't resolved his feelings for Chloe.

Seems like everything in my life is revolving around Chloe right now, Clark thought. Strange, my life usually revolves around Lana. As far as Clark could tell Lana was going to be with Whitney forever. He felt something there, something strong, but Lana hadn't given him any reason to wait for her. And with Chloe, those unresolved feelings of his were just begging to be resolved now that Justin was out of the way. When he combined the two, he knew he wanted to try with Chloe. Lana was happy with Whitney, it was time for him to find some happiness of his own.

Chloe, however, was staying in the hospital overnight for observation after she had been diagnosed with a mild concussion. Clark had been worried that it was going to be something worse than a concussion once he realized Justin had hit her in the head with an iron horseshoe. After riding with her to the hospital in an ambulance, he had stayed with her until her dad arrived from the LuthorCorp plant, then he had left to let her get some rest.

Looking for something to get his mind off of Chloe lying hurt in the hospital, Clark took a seat in his loft as he sorted through the stack of letters he had picked up from Kwan's office earlier in the day. God, he thought, I hope there's not another one from Cinderella in here. I wouldn't know what to do. Giving advice to her about dealing with me and Lana was just unreal.

Clark had been unsure about how to pick up what he now privately referred to as 'his' letters, since Kwan was dead. He had hesitantly approached the principal's office, but he needn't have worried, because Kwan's secretary, Miss Simon, had had the letters ready for him. Apparently she knew everything about this situation, because as Clark made to leave the office, she had said quietly, "Keep up the good work, Mr. Kent. The last columnist just provided a shoulder to cry on. You're actually providing solid, positive advice. And your readers seem to be taking notice."

Already stopped dead in his tracks by the idea that someone else knew about his secret job, Clark turned back and said, "Huh?"

"That pile of letters is easily the biggest stack of the year," Miss Simon said. "In only two weeks, you've struck a chord with the girls of this school." Smiling warmly, she added, "You might even have a few letters from desperate guys by now."

As Clark had turned back to leave, Miss Simon had hit him with a parting shot that nearly buckled his knees. "If the girls of this school knew that the sensitive and practical Miss Lonely Hearts was actually a nice looking young man such as yourself, you'd have so many girls chasing you that you'd need to have Sheriff Ethan put you in protective custody at night just so you could get some sleep."

Just remembering that moment made Clark blush a fiery red. His absorption in that memory was so complete, that he didn't hear the sound of soft steps on the treads of the loft's wooden stairs until a small feminine voice called out from a few steps down, "Hi, Clark."

Clark looked up from the letters and saw that it was Lana. She was wearing a teal Henley and her trademark tight blue jeans. Her long, silky hair was pulled back in a pony tail. Clark didn't notice any of those details though, because he was too busy panicking. Oh my God, he thought. I can't let her see the folder or read the letters, or my goose is cooked.

He bounded up off of the couch before Lana could begin the last three steps and rushed over to meet her, leaving the letters in a neat stack on the couch right next to the pink folder, which Clark had laid face down so the red hearts weren't showing.

"Hi, Lana," Clark said nervously. "What's up?"

Lana was fighting nerves of her own and thus didn't notice the quaver in Clark's voice as she replied, "Nothing much Clark. I just came by to see you." While she didn't notice Clark's nerves, she did notice he was standing still at the top of the stairs which kept her from coming up onto the top level of the loft.

"Umm…Clark? Are you going to let me come up?"

"Uh…nope."

At first Lana thought he was joking, but when he made no attempt at moving, she asked, "Why not?"

"Well…I'm working on something secret right now." Boy am I ever!

Feeling somewhat skeptical, Lana leaned to the right to peek around him, but the only things she saw that were different before Clark ushered her back down the stairs were two things: a bright pink folder and a stack of previously folded papers. She was halfway to the barn floor before it hit her, a pink folder? For Clark?

"What's with the pink folder, Clark?" Lana asked. "That's a great color for me, but it doesn't quite fit you."

Clark was already sweating figuratively, and if Lana kept up her questions, he would start sweating for real. "Umm…it was the only one available to me when I went and got it." Yeah, that's definitely all Kwan had in his hands.

"And the crinkled papers?"

Before he thought, he blurted out the truth, by saying, "Letters." Mistake! Cover it, Fool! "Umm…people write me letters and, umm, I answer them."

Lana found her interest was piqued by Clark's letters so she asked, "Like pen pals? That sounds cool, Clark."

"Yeah, you could think of it that way." Please do, it will save me a lot of grief.

Hands in her back pockets, Lana asked, "Could I read some of your letters?"

Clark's level of panic reached a new high and he said hurriedly, "No! Umm, I mean, those are private. I'm sure the people writing them expect me to keep them to myself. Sorry, Lana." Yeah, I doubt all those girls want you to know their love secrets…and I definitely don't want you knowing who they think they're writing to.

Lana thought something was going on with the letters, but she hadn't come by to talk about Clark's correspondence. She had come to get things started between them. She took a brief second to admire his appearance. He was still wearing the white shirt with the blue and red plaid pattern that he had worn earlier today. His hair was perfectly tousled, and his baggy jeans clung to him just enough to stoke any girl's interest.

That pause for eye candy was fatal to her hopes.

While she was admiring, Clark had marshaled his courage and then said, "Lana? I think now that Justin's out of the way, I need to take my shot with Chloe. What do you think?"

The blood drained from Lana's face. Noooooooo! she thought, I came out here to talk about us, not Chloe. Lana knew she had been a second too late. Now she had to be for Clark, what he had always been for her: a friend, someone to lean on during his romantic trials. She knew already that she was going to hate this!

It was nearly a miracle that she didn't faint on the spot, and it was all she could do to plaster a sickly smile on her face as she said, "That sounds great, Clark." Just stick a knife in my heart while you're at it. "I'm sure Chloe will say yes." Who am I kidding? Chloe will be turning friggin' backflips! "You two will be great together." Is this what it's been for like for Clark as he has had to be my boy friend instead of my boyfriend? I've only been doing it for ten seconds and it's already Hell.

During the longest five minutes of her freshman year, Lana helped Clark plan his strategy for asking Chloe out. He was already scheduled to help Mr. Sullivan pick Chloe up from the hospital so that Mr. Sullivan could return to LuthorCorp immediately after signing her out.

Where they would go on their date was easy once Clark mentioned the journalism convention and the fact that he had tickets already and Chloe didn't. Where to ask her had been a bit sticky. Lana almost puked when Clark finally suggested bringing Chloe by the Talon for a cup of coffee and asking her there. Lana already knew she had the afternoon shift tomorrow, and would thus have a front row seat to watch the guy she wanted ask out someone else.

Once Lana drove off, Clark headed back to the loft to get some work done on his Miss Lonely Hearts duties. Picking the two best letters to respond to was becoming harder with the increase in the number of letters he had to read through. One letter though caught his eye instantly. It was handwritten and rather short, both of which were highly unusual. The letter read:

Dear Miss Lonely Hearts,

I'm a just a lonely farm boy who has got two of the hottest girls in my class both trying to get my attention, but I'm single-handedly screwing up my chances with both of them.

Could you help me mess things up any faster?

Sincerely yours,

Stu Pidaso

By the time he completed reading the letter, he knew why the letter was so short: it was a prank. And from the handwriting, he was sure it was written by none other than Pete Ross. Clark was just about rolling on the floor after reading that letter. The best part was the pen-name he used, Stu Pidaso. That was brilliant! Still, Clark wondered where he got the material for his letter. Is there some guy out there actually screwing things up like that? Whoever he is, I hope he doesn't write in. I don't think I can help him.

When Lana got home, she ran up to her room before Nell could even get a word out. Lana flopped down on her bed and screamed. When Nell came up to see what was the matter, Lana begged her to just go away. Once she had released her pent up frustrations, she settled down to think.

Who can I talk to about this? Lana wondered. Nell wouldn't understand, she thinks Whitney's my ideal guy. Same for my girlfriends at school. Clark, who I normally turn to for things like this, is off limits for obvious reasons. Ditto for Chloe. Pete's a nice enough guy, but he doesn't seem to even understand the concept of a relationship.

With no one else left to turn to, Lana walked over to her desk, pulled out a piece of paper and started to write.

Dear Miss Lonely Hearts…