Chapter 7

A/N: This is a flashback that expounds on Kara's story as alluded to in the previous chapter. I've taken liberties with their age difference – Clark is only ssabout three years older than Kara.

"…I wish I could," Clark was saying, winding the white phone cord about his fingers, "but I have to stay here with Kara."

He listened to the other person's reply, and then sighed loudly. "I know. I love you, too. Bye." He raked stubborn jet black strands away from his face with another mournful sigh. He rested his head on the wall.

"Was that Lana?" A voice asked from behind him. He turned to see his younger cousin with half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in hand. Ordinarily he would have ordered her right back into the kitchen to get a plate but at the moment the sight of falling breadcrumbs was the least of his concerns.

"Yeah," he replied, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

"Was it about the party at the Old Miller Farm tonight?" she went on behind a mouthful of sandwich. Clark looked away after getting an eyeful of the mush she was chewing.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," he reminded her. "And yes, it's about the party."

Kara swallowed. "You should go." She dusted the corner of her mouth with her fingertips.

Clark rolled his eyes. He headed to the living room and plopped on the plaid couch. He jabbed at the remote, searching for something to watch.

"Yeah, right," he scoffed. "And what do you suggest, that I leave you here all alone?"

Kara followed her older cousin and sat at the edge of the coffee table, partially blocking his view of the TV. She leaned forward, a cunning glint in her eye.

"We should both go."

Clark stared at her, disbelief muting him temporarily. "Are you insane?" he sputtered. "There is no way on earth I'm taking you to that party!"

"Come on, Clark," she pleaded, "I know you want to go. I'm the only thing keeping you home on a Friday night. So let's go."

Clark shook his head. "Ma and Pa left me in charge this weekend. I can't take you to a party with alcohol. They would kill me."

"How would they know?" she pointed out, springing up. "They're in Oregon. Besides, I don't drink. I never have."

"That's because you're fourteen."

"Yeah, but I'm a really mature fourteen." She set her baby blues on full force and trained them on her cousin. "Please, Clark. I'll be no trouble at all. I'll stay where you can see me at all times, and I promise, I won't touch a drop of alcohol."

She could see him beginning to waver. He bit his lip pensively.

"No," he finally answered. "No way. Those parties can get out of control."

Kara laugh was short and derisive. "Out of control? Clark, this is Smallville. Out of control here is, what, letting chickens out of the coop before dawn? Yeah, really crazy."

The young man bit back a chuckle. His cousin certainly knew how to bring the melodrama. He watched bemusedly as she went on, her blonde ponytail swinging with every emphatic gesture.

"Besides, you'll be there to protect me, right? I promise, I'll be by your side all night if you tell me to."

Clark finally gave up pretending to watch TV and turned it off. He rose and started towards his room. "No."

"Please?" Kara trailed like a puppy gnawing at his heels.

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"I said no, Kara." She almost walked into Clark's door as it was slammed shut.

Clark took a single step forward then raised his eyes heavenward, cursing his spinelessness.

"Be ready in twenty minutes or I'm leaving without you!" he yelled.

He swore he could feel her grinning through the door.

Clark pulled up to the Miller Farm about an hour later. He parked right in front of the farmhouse with its boarded up windows. There were already dozens of cars there and even before he exited his truck he could hear the music pounding from the barn which was to the right of the house. Shards of light escaped into the night through the numerous holes in its walls. Kara jumped out, gazing at the disused wooden structure with its peeling dark red paint with the same awe one might afford the Taj Mahal. Her excitement was palpable. Lana rounded the front of the truck and slipped her hand into her boyfriend's. She had been pleasantly surprised when Clark had shown up to her house to ferry her to the party but she wasn't sure what to make of Clark bringing his cousin along. She was just a freshman and most of the kids here were seniors like them.

"Come on, you guys," Kara urged them, her blonde ringlets bobbing. Clark had no idea when she'd found the time to curl her hair. "Let's party."

Lana nudged Clark and they exchanged a look before following the younger girl.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" Clark whispered intimately as they walked.

His companion's face spread into a slow grin. She was clad in a purple minidress with patterned stockings and topped off with a burnished leather jacket with metal detailing. Her fire-engine red hair had been worn down, shiny and straight.

She flicked her bangs out of her eyes and smiled up at her man. "Sure, but you can tell me again."

They stepped into the barn and were immediately their senses were assaulted by two things: extreme heat and insane sound. Almost the entire population of Smallville High was there, not to mention the kids who'd come from neighbouring Briggsdale and Trentville. To say the place was packed wouldn't even begin to cover it but Kara didn't hesitate for a minute, expertly elbowing her way through the mass of bodies. Clark called to her before she was swallowed up by the crowd.

"Remember what we agreed."

"Sure, Clark," she yelled back over her shoulder. She shot him a grin, the kind Clark called her lightbulb smiles because they always brightened up a room. He smiled back fondly as she hugged a couple of sophomore girls that he recognized from school.

Clark and Lana started their rounds. Lana saw somebody she knew from Briggsdale High and went over to say hello. Clark joined his boisterous football buddies. He laughed at Lance, who was obviously a little tipsy. He himself opted for a Coke as he and Pete chatted above the tones of the King of Pop. A while later he was joined by his girlfriend, who after giving Pete a quick hug, pulled Clark out onto the dancefloor. Clark let her lead, at once inhaling beer, soap, perfume and sweat as they waded into the crowd. He was always a bit self-conscious about dancing in public. His girl, however, suffered no such qualms. She swung her head so that her hair fanned out into a cherry red halo. She raised her arms and shook her hips, an absolutely blissful expression on her face. Clark found himself forgetting to dance while he stared.

When Clark decided to step outside for fear of passing out Lana volunteered to join him. He was grateful to finally be breathing untainted air. There were already a few other couples enjoying the night, making out and such. They walked hand in hand, embraced in the eerie shadows that the moon cast on them from above. They crossed the parking area and went on until they came upon a tree stump, close enough to the barn that they could still see it, but far enough away that they had some privacy. Clark took a seat and took Lana in his lap. She swung an arm around his neck.

"It's such a beautiful night," she sighed. She rested her temple against his forehead.

Clark glanced at the sky. The moon loomed large, bathing in them in pale white. The stars gleamed like crushed ice. The spring breeze gently fingered Lana's hair as it blew past.

"I'm sure they don't have nights like these in New York," she continued somewhat sadly. Clark stiffened. The subject of Lana's imminent departure was not one he enjoyed discussing. Fashion school had been her dream ever since he'd known her and though he was truly excited for her he couldn't help feeling a little depressed. He just…he didn't know how to be without her.

He nuzzled her cheek. She turned so that her emerald gaze met his.

"I'll miss you, too." She stroked his cheek and leaned in.

Clark's hands tightened around her waist as their lips met. There was so much emotion behind that one simple action that he felt it down to his faded red Chucks.

A burst of shrill screaming jolted them apart.

"What the—?"

"Sounds like they let the chickens out," Clark remarked. He had to laugh at Lana's bewildered expression. "Uh, never mind."

They were about to resume their prior activities when more shrieks split the air.

Lana stared at Clark in alarm. "That sounds serious."

Clark agreed. They stood up and headed towards the source of the noise. Lana appealed to Clark to slow his pace. He stared at her impossibly high shoes in annoyance, recalling that it was only earlier that night that he'd found them incredibly sexy.

They were surprised to see people running towards their cars.

One boy was standing near a brown Cheyenne. His face was ashen and expressionless and he tightly clutched an empty plastic cup in one hand.

"What's going on?" Clark demanded.

The redhead didn't snap out of his haze. "F-F-Fire. Fire."

Clark suddenly felt his limbs harden.

"How? What happened?" Lana asked, her voice taking on a terrified pitch.

The boy mumbled something about a cigarette but Clark didn't care. He grabbed the kid by his shoulders. "Listen to me," he said tersely. "Get help. You hear me? Go get help."

The glaze slipped from his eyes and he nodded firmly, dropped the cup and got into the Cheyenne, churning gravel as he sped away.

Clark continued towards the barn. "I have to find Kara!" he informed his girlfriend. He frantically searched the faces in the wave of humanity surging away from the barn, his heart already in his throat.

"Kara!" he yelled above the panicked din. He could see the fire now, on the south end of the barn. The flames had already risen to the roof and sparks were flying into the sky. Clark tried to focus his attention away from the building and back to the mass of suddenly sober teenagers. He valiantly tried to fight the tide of stampeding students but his progress was stilted. They pushed him back, some literally clawing at him to get out of their way.

"Kara!" He called again, now ploughing past people with a roughness brought on by sheer blinding fear.

He caught a glimpse of curly blonde hair on a petite frame and headed straight for it.

"Kara?" He grabbed the girl's upper arm and whirled her around but it wasn't her. He dropped her arm without an apology, his eyes already scanning the throng.

She could be anywhere, he thought helplessly. He felt close to tears. He could never forgive himself if something happened to her… no, he shouldn't think like that. She was probably fine, just lost in all the confusion.

He came across her sophomore friends and felt a tiny sliver of hope.

"Where's Kara?" he asked them. "Is she with you?"

They were all crying, blubbering unintelligibly.

"Where is she!" he screamed.

"She – we were all running," one girl narrated in a weepy staccato. She had only one shoe on. "She-she let go of my hand. I lost her."

"Where?"

The girl pointed a shaky finger. Something like ice began to spread across Clark's body. He turned slowly, almost mechanically to face the inferno. More than half the building had been consumed. Smoke rose thickly into the air. The flames reached high into the sky, casting a hellish glow. Fiery beams crashed to the ground in defeat. It was a loud, mocking fire: hissing, crackling, roaring. The chances of anyone getting out of there alive…

No.

"KARA!"

A strong pair of arms was the only thing that prevented him from running headlong into the blaze.

"You can't go in there, Clark," Pete told him. "It's too dangerous."

"I have to get her," he insisted, fighting blindly but his other teammates grabbed his arms and held him back. He struggled with the fury of trapped wolverine, sweat droplets flying from his face. "Let me go!"

"We can't," Pete replied. "You'll be killed."

"I can't leave her there!" he screamed. He wasn't afraid of dying. If that's what it took to save her then so be it. But she couldn't die. She was just fourteen. Fourteen. She had her whole life ahead of her. She couldn't die. He wouldn't let her.

"KARA!"

"Clark." Lana's voice was soft, distant. At the sound of her voice something snapped. He dropped to his knees, tears falling fast. His body was shuddering violently. Lana and Pete joined him on the ground, hugging him as he sobbed 'til his throat burned. His other friends backed away, keeping a respectful distance. If you asked Clark what happened after that, he would have no reply, having been too consumed by sorrow to remember the fire department, the police, the hospital or even getting home that night. The only thing he could see, awake or asleep, was his cousin's beautiful face shimmering behind the flames that had taken her away from him.