A Summer in Love

Chapter Twenty-Seven:


He was seconds away from super speeding them out of there when he heard a familiar voice, one he really didn't want to hear at this particular moment.

"Where do you think you two are going?"

Clark groaned, inwardly, at the accusatory tone in her voice before slowly spinning around towards her, and gently lowered Lois back onto the ground. One part of him wondered if he could have escaped from seeing, let alone speaking to her if he would have suggested leaving earlier, but another part of him was kind of glad that this happened because maybe, just maybe she would finally understand that he wasn't interested in her, and that he was completely in love with the beautiful woman standing next to him.

Lois, on the other hand, was feeling all kinds of different emotions at the moment, but the most prominent one was pure confusion. Her hazel eyes stared straight at her, Lana, the woman she didn't take a liking to from the first moment they met, and noticed almost immediately that she seemed pissed off about something. What the hell was her problem?

She glanced up at Clark, noticing how tense he seemed, and there was a look in his eyes that revealed he wasn't particularly happy about seeing her. And that's when realization dawned on her. It was quite obvious to anyone who looked between them, that they had been an item at some point in their lives, and it seemed that Lana was still hanging onto that memory, unlike Clark or at least she hoped he wasn't. A small, minuscule part of her didn't feel the need to question him about his past relationships, but she couldn't help feeling a little insecure about the current situation, which wasn't like her at all. It only proved that her feelings—her love for Clark were making her feel this way, especially since she was terrified that he had indeed been with someone else in their time apart. She sure as hell hoped not.

The mere thought of Clark being with another woman, whether it be before they met or after they met, was something she never, ever wanted to think about, especially since it sent that familiar shiver of jealously through her body, and that was a feeling she hasn't felt in a very, very long time.

Out of it's on accord, her hand found Clark', and she intertwined her fingers with his, gingerly. It wasn't that she wanted to make a clear statement to Lana, that wasn't really her style, but she wanted to feel him—touch him, if only to prove that he was really here with her, and nobody else.

He was hers.

She was his.

They were back together, after all of this time, and nothing else mattered, no matter what happened.

He smiled, inwardly, as he felt Lois grab his hand, and intertwined their fingers together. He knew she did it because she wanted to feel his comfort—his love throughout this. He gently squeezed her hand, hoping that she'll understand that he wanted her comfort—her love all the same, and that no matter what happened he wasn't going to go anywhere.

"Well? Are you two going to say anything or do I need to repeat myself?"

He stared at Lana, a slight frown etched upon his features. "Lana, what are you doing out here?"

She took a small step towards them. "I could ask you the same thing, especially since we're all here to celebrate Lois' triumphant move to Smallville. So, I ask again, where do you two think you're going?"

"We're leaving."

"Why?"

"The why doesn't really matter, and quite frankly, it's none of your business, but if you must know, we wanted to get some fresh air, and I figured that I would show Lois around town."

She narrowed her eyes at him, dangerously. "Why would you do that? Isn't that Chloe' job? I mean, she is her cousin after all…"

"She isn't just Chloe' cousin."

That definitely piqued her interest, but she had a feeling that it wasn't something she wanted to hear. "Really? Last I checked, none of us had even met her until tonight so, why is it up to you to show her around town?"

He stared at her, completely annoyed, and was becoming very, very tired of this conversation. It wasn't her damn business, but she needed to understand one way or another. "Tonight's not the first time I've met her, actually, I've known her for quite a long time now."

"What are you talking about?"

He hesitated, not really sure what he should tell her since he wasn't too sure of that answer anyways. They hadn't really discussed what this all meant now that they were back in each other's lives, but deep inside he believed that the moment they concealed their love for each other was the moment that they made the decision to start right where they left off.

He looked over at Lois, who was practically glaring daggers at Lana, and conceded that she was wondering what the hell her problem was. "Um, well, she's my…um, we're…I mean, I'm her…"

Lois wanted to chuckle, at his complete loss for words, knowing that he wasn't sure how to answer that question, especially since they haven't had the time to talk about it. But, in her eyes, the moment she saw him again was the moment that she decided to be with him again, not only to pick up where they left off, but to start this new, exciting life together.

She stared straight at Lana, who was directing all of her attention towards Clark. "We're together."

If he had, had doubts about where they stood, he sure as hell didn't now.

They turned towards each other, simultaneously, and smiled, knowing the truth behind her words. They were together, and that's all that mattered, to them at least.

Lana took a step back, at her words, not quite believing what she was hearing, at least not until she took into account the loving grins plastered on their faces, and the way their fingers were intertwined together. At first, she had felt confusion—surprise, but now, now all she felt was complete and utter anger.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Wow! You're together, huh? I find that incredibly hard to believe…"

Lois narrowed her eyes at her. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She chuckled, maliciously. "It means exactly what I said. Clark, here, has been obsessed over some summer love he encountered over one year ago. He refuses to let anyone in, including the girl that he used to love once upon a time. A girl, I might add, that is still in love with him."

A conversation that Lois had, had with Chloe over the phone before arriving in this small-town came back to her, and in that moment, she realized that she was talking about Clark and Lana. Lana was the girl who was dating another man, but was swooning over Clark at the same time, but Clark had moved on from her.

She couldn't help but smile, outwardly, at the thought that she was the one he had moved onto, and it just proved that they were meant to be together because neither of them have moved on from the other. She had a feeling that, that was something that would never happen. No matter what life threw at them, they would always be together—be one.

Clark' voice brought her out of her thoughts. "It wasn't a summer love."

She scoffed, and rolled her eyes. "Of course, it was Clark. You ran away, met a girl, and had some fun for a few months. That's all it was. It wasn't true love. What we had, that was true love, and this girl—this girl that you supposedly love so much is never coming back. She's gone. You're never going to see her again so, stop screwing with Lois' head, making her actually believe that she has a chance with you."

"You're wrong. She did come back, actually, this entire party was put together so, we could reunite, and you're looking at her." He looked down at Lois, lovingly, for a few seconds before glancing back at Lana. "Lana, I'd like you to be properly introduced to Lois…the woman I met all those months ago—the woman I fell completely and undeniably in love with—the woman who hasn't left my heart, even after all of this time."

Lana couldn't believe what she was hearing, and stared at them, completely gobsmacked, as his words sunk deep into her mind, soul and body.

This was the girl, Chloe's cousin, who he had claimed to love over and over again in the past year. A fear seeped deep into her bones. If this was true then that meant that she would never, ever have a chance with him, but she quickly pushed that thought aside. She wouldn't let this woman stop her from getting what she wanted…Clark.

She smirked, evilly. "If that's true then why were we in a jaw-dropping, passionate lip-lock while preparing for this little surprise party?"

All the color drained from Lois' face, at her words, and she could feel her heart pounding rapidly inside her chest before looking up at Clark, with a questioning gaze.

She whispered, which was only audible to his ears, and his alone. "What is she talking about, Clark?"

He felt Lois' entire body tense next to him, and heard the strain in her voice when she spoke softly to him. His aquamarine eyes glared at Lana, furiously, as everything inside of him wanted to set her straight—wanted to put her back in her place, but his immediate attention went to Lois. He wouldn't, under no circumstances, let her believe anything that Lana was saying.

He softly squeezed her hand, sliding his fingers across the top of her hand, and turned towards her, staring deeply into her confused hazel eyes. He mentally pleaded her to not believe anything that was coming out her mouth—pleading her to trust him—pleading her to believe in him—in them.

She felt a little reassured, at the sincerity in his eyes, and she knew that she could trust him—that she could believe in him—in them. She needed, no, wanted to hear the entire story before she did something stupid, like slapping the shit out of Lana or worse, saying something that could hurt Clark.

He smiled, softly down at her.

She was trusting him.

She was believing in him.

In them.

And, that's all he wanted.

Seems like nothing has really changed, he thought, happily before turning back towards Lana. "Are you being serious right now? We've went over this again and again. You kissed me, without my permission, not once but twice, and if that wasn't bad enough you did it knowing how I felt about Lois."

She would not back down. "I did it because I needed to prove to you that we belong together." She glanced over at Lois, glaring. "Not some girl you met over one year ago." She smirked, menacingly. "I bet she hasn't even given you a second thought in all that time."

A dark, deep, and raging anger dispersed throughout Lois' entire body, but she took a deep, deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Under no circumstances, would she let this woman get underneath her skin, no, she was going to go about this as calmly as possible. "Excuse me?"

Clark gulped, silently, at the calm tone of voice she was using, and knew that if Lana said the wrong thing than shit was definitely going to hit the fan. He really, really hoped it didn't come to that. It would only end badly.

Lana took a step towards her. "Chloe, Pete, and even myself know how much Clark claims to love you, but the question I keep asking myself is did you even think about him in all that time? I bet you didn't even give him a second thought, especially since I have no doubt that a woman of your beauty has been with hundreds of guys since your little summer extravaganza."

That was definitely not the right thing to say, Clark thought, miserably.

Lois couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth, and quickly dropped Clark' hand, ignoring his protests before striding over to her. She stood mere inches away from her, glaring, their faces nearly touching. "Are you insinuating what I think you're insinuating?"

Lana wouldn't back down, even though she felt slight fear spread throughout her body, especially with the way she was glaring at her like she wanted to murder her or something, but that would not deter her.

She stood taller, glaring right back. "You heard me loud and clear. You might be able to fool Clark, Chloe, and even Pete, but you can't fool me. I know what type of woman you really are…"

Clark quickly darted over to them, wanting to stop this argument from progressing any further because he knew that it wasn't going to be a pretty sight.

Lana had no idea what she was getting herself into, he thought, before placing a hand on Lois' shoulder, gently. "Lois, come on. Don't listen to her. Let's just go."

Lois turned towards him, glaring daggers, and quickly shook his hand off her shoulder. "No! I want to hear what she has to say!"

He took a step back, slightly terrified at the look in her eyes. It was pure venom—pure hate, and that's something he had never seen from her before.

This wasn't going to be good, he thought.

"So, Lana, what type of woman do you take me for then?"

She spoke with a confidence she didn't really feel at the moment, and hoped against all hope that her voice didn't crack. "You're the type of girl that tells men that you love them when in all actuality you don't. You probably forgot all about Clark the moment you left him, and I wouldn't be surprised if you shacked up with the first guy that gave you attention."

Lois clenched her fists together, trying to stop herself from doing something rash, not because she didn't want to put this girl in her place, but because she was terrified that Clark would look at her differently after this. He had never seen her this riled up before, and she hoped—prayed that Lana didn't say something that completely broke her resolve because she wasn't sure she could stop herself from strangling this woman.

Deep breaths, Lois. Deep breaths.

"How about you stop playing this little game, and say the word you've been dying to say all night. Say it. I dare you."

Lana glared, not backing down. "Fine! You want me to say it, then I will! You, Lois Lane, are nothing but a woman who plays with men's hearts and emotions. You've probably done this to lots of men before. You've played with their hearts. You've made them believe that you actually cared about them—that you actually loved them. But, the truth of the matter, is that you were only fooling them, making them believe that so, you could relish in the thought that you have them wrapped around your little fingers."

Lois stepped closer to her, trying to squelch down her anger, but it was becoming merely impossible to achieve. "Say it."

She stared directly in her eyes. "You, Lois Lane, are nothing but a dwindling, two-timing, whore."

And just like that, her entire resolve broke. She quickly reared her hand back, and slapped her across the face, as hard as she could, the sound so incredibly loud that she was sure people inside could hear it.

Lana grabbed her face, trying to hold her tears back from the unbearable pain that was stinging her cheek, and took several steps back from her, muttering, "Bitch."

She ignored that remark, not wanting to do something any rasher than what she's already done. "You want to know how I feel about Clark? You want to know what I've been through in the last year without him? I'll tell you."

She took a deep breath. "Over one year ago, I met this handsome, extraordinary man, who was unlike anyone I had ever met before. Our first meeting wasn't exactly ideal, but we had a connection from the very start, hell, I'm pretty sure that I fell in love with him the moment our eyes met. I tried fighting the connection—the feelings I felt, but I couldn't—I couldn't because it was too late. I had already fallen…hard for him, and somewhere along the line he did the same.

Those three months were the happiest of my damn life, as well as his. I didn't have to ask him, and he didn't have to ask me because it was in our expressions—in our eyes—in our love every single time we were together. We were in love, hell, were still in love, and let me make something absolutely clear to you…I didn't leave him. We were torn apart.

Over the past year, I have lived in complete and utter hell. I didn't sleep. I didn't eat. I didn't even spend time with my closest friends like I used to. Instead, I became a desolate, depressed, and heartbroken person. I shut everything out. My father. My friends. People who were dearest to me. I even shut out everything that used to make me happy.

I spent most of my time in the comfort of my own room, completely and utterly miserable because I wanted to be alone—because I knew the truth—I knew that I was never going to see him again. I would daydream about everything we shared together over and over again in my head. I would think about what our life would have been like if we were still together.

It took me a long, long time to start to get back to my old self, but that pain—that heartbreak was always there, and I knew it was never going to go away. I thought about him every single day and night. I dreamed about him constantly. I missed him more than I've ever missed anything in my god forsaken life. I refused to listen to my friends—my loved ones telling me that I should move on—that I should forget about him.

I made a decision to live in this pain, even though I knew that we would never be together again. I knew that I would never, ever love another, and no matter how many times a man flirted with me or tried to make a pass at me, I always turned them down. Because of him. Because of Clark.

So, the answer to your question is yes. Yes, I love Clark. I've loved him from the moment I saw him, and I've never, ever stopped. I'm never going to stop."

Lana took several staggering steps back, and stared at her, wide-eyed, completely and utterly speechless. She didn't know what to say to that, especially after all the emotions—the feelings—the love that she had uttered. She could concede that she had never felt that intensely about someone before, but she knew one thing for a complete fact. She was wrong about Lois Lane.

Clark, who had listened quite intently to Lois' long and heartbreaking speech, stood completely shell-shocked, mouth hanging wide open, and heart beating rapidly inside of his chest. She had shut herself off from her friends and family, just like him. She had been hurt—in pain—heartbroken, just like him. She had missed him, just as much as he had missed her. But, more importantly, she never stopped loving him, just like he never stopped loving her.

He slowly walked closer to her, and placed his hand on her shoulder, turning her towards him. "Lo, d-di-did you really feel like that? Did you love me—miss me that much?"

She refused to look at him, afraid of what she would see there, especially since she never, ever wanted him to know everything that she had felt—everything she had dealt with in their time away from each other. Everything she said was the complete truth, and she didn't regret saying it out loud, but a part of her wondered if he felt any of that—if he had missed her as much as she had missed him.

"Yes," she mumbled, her eyes trained on the ground.

He grinned, at her obvious nervousness. "Lois, baby, look at me."

She did…very, very slowly.

He placed his hand on the side of her face, his thumb softly caressing her skin. "Lo, I-I have felt everything that you have felt over this past year, hell, I started wondering if this was normal because I was in so, so much pain, but I realize now that I wasn't just feeling my pain. I was feeling yours. We're connected. We always have been, and even being apart I felt that connection. I felt you.

I felt so alone this past year. I felt empty. I felt like I would never, ever heal from what I lost—from losing you, the best thing that has ever happened to me, but then you came back to me—you came crashing back into my life.

I've been having doubts—doubts about whether you still loved me—if you missed me—if you thought about me as much as I thought about you, and now I know that you felt the exact same things I was feeling. Pain. Hurt. Heartbreak. Loneliness. Emptiness. I've been absolutely miserable without you, almost dead since the moment we were forced to say goodbye to each other, but now, now I feel alive—even more alive than I felt all those months ago when I fell in love with you."

She stared up at him, with tears pooling in her eyes. "You really mean that?"

He leaned his forehead against hers, and stared deeply into her hazel pools. "Yes. I've loved you from the moment our eyes met, and I've never stopped. I love you so damn much, Lois Lane."

She smiled, widely, a few tears of joy escaping down her cheeks. "I love you too, Clark Kent. I never stopped, and I never will."

They smiled at each other, feeling nothing but complete and utter happiness, and were about to kiss, but Lana, who they had completely forgotten was even there, spoke before they could. "You really love each other, don't you?"

They looked over at her, speaking, simultaneously, "Yes."

She took a step back from them, tears running down her cheeks. "I-I'm so sorry. Clark, I'm sorry for everything I've done this past year, and Lois, I'm sorry for insinuating things that were obviously not true. I'm just so, so sorry. I hope you'll find it in your hearts to forgive me for everything I've done."

They just nodded at her before looking back at each other, and smiled, like Cheshire cats, feeling more complete—more alive that they have ever felt in their entire lives.

Lana quickly walked away from them, heading back inside of the Talon, out of sight of the two lovebirds' outside.

As soon as Lana was out of sight, Clark placed both of his hands on the sides of her face, his fingers curling into her beautiful, long, blonde locks. "Are you okay?"

She smiled up at him, stepping closer to him, and placed her hands on his chest, clenching his shirt into her fists. She knew he was referring to the confrontation with Lana, but that was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment, especially after the revelations they both received tonight. "I'm better than okay, Clark."

He grinned down at her. "Are you ready to get out of here?"

She nodded, enthusiastically. "I'm more than ready."

He quickly swooped her up into his arms, making her giggle, and super sped them far, far away from prying eyes and ears.


Lana was completely lost in thought, as she walked through the many crowds inside the Talon, and headed straight for the stairs, intending to get up to her apartment as soon as possible.

It was over.

Clark didn't love her anymore, hell, he hasn't in over one year.

He was completely and irrevocably in love with Chloe' cousin.

Lois was completely and indefinitely in love with Clark.

It really was truly over.

Deep inside, she knew that this was going to inevitably happen, especially with the way Clark has kept blowing her off and telling her, repeatedly, that he wasn't in love with her anymore. But of course, over the past year she kept pushing and pushing until he literally started distancing himself from her, and quite honestly, she'd be surprised if he ever wanted to be friends with her again.

She had made a complete fool of herself, and not only did she know that, but so did Clark, Chloe, Pete, hell, even Lois knew it.

As much as she hated it, it was time she moved on from the past, and moved onto the future. Clark was her past, and Lois was his future. It would remain that way…forever. She needed to except that, and move on with her life.

She needed to find herself again.

One part of her would always love Clark, but he has moved on, whether she liked it or not, and it was about time she did the same.

She was so lost in her never-ending thoughts, that she wasn't exactly paying attention to where she was walking, and bumped into two familiar people.

Chloe and Pete.

"Whoa! Lana, where are you off to in such a hurry?"

She looked up at Chloe, one of her closest friends, and shook her head from side to side, not wanting to get into details, especially not with Lois' cousin. "It's not important."

Chloe was not having that. "I'm not buying that. Something is definitely bothering you. What is it?"

Pete stared at the girl, who had driven him completely crazy this past year, and frowned, prominently, when he noticed how depressed and forlorn she seemed to be. "Chloe' right, Lana. You don't look so good. Are you okay?"

She glanced between them, uneasily, not really sure what to say to either of them. Their concern was appreciated, but she couldn't help feeling guilty, especially for the way she acted, not only tonight, but this past year. She had probably driven them just as crazy as she had Clark, and she needed to make up for it in some way.

Had to start somewhere, she thought.

"I'm sorry."

Chloe and Pete looked at each other, concern etched on their features before glancing back at her, speaking, simultaneously, "What?"

She took a deep, deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for everything I've done tonight, and this past year. I've been a terrible friend to both of you, but especially Clark, and I'm pretty sure Lois hates me right about now."

Chloe frowned, at her words. "Lana, what are you talking about? Why would my cousin hate you?"

"I, um, I might have confronted Clark and Lois when they were leaving…"

"Clark and Lois left? When was this?"

Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "Not really important right now, Pete." She glanced at Lana, and noticed the guilty expression plastered on her face, and immediately became defensive. "What did you do?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure you guys know about what happened earlier between me and Clark…"

"You mean, when you kissed him…" Pete interjected.

"You what?" This was the first she was hearing about it. "Why didn't you tell me about that?"

Pete stared at her like it should have been completely obvious. "Um, you know, we were kind of busy with the whole…thing." He didn't want to say too much in front of Lana, not sure how she would take knowing that Clark had truly moved on from her.

Lana smiled at them. "You don't have to be evasive about it. I know what you did."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at her. "You know what exactly?"

"I know why you wanted to throw Lois a surprise party."

"You do?"

"Yeah. You wanted to reunite Lois and Clark. I know she's the woman that Clark fell in love with all those months ago, actually, I kind of just found out."

Pete wasn't too sure what to say to her, not knowing whether she was super pissed about this revelation or pretending like it wasn't bothering her. He was hoping it was the latter.

Chloe, on the other hand, had figured that she would find out about that sooner or later, and she could care less about that, no, her main concern was her cousin and best friend. "You said that you confronted them, and that Lois might hate you. What did you say to them?"

She looked towards the ground, completely embarrassed and ashamed, but they needed to know. How else was she supposed to make up for everything she's done? As much as she hated to admit it, it was obvious that Clark and Lois were happy together, and she needed to accept that as soon as possible in order to move on with her life.

"Well, um, earlier I noticed them talking to the Kent's, and they seemed to be really, really cozy with each other, and then I watched them dancing. I couldn't help feeling jealous over the fact that Clark would feel so comfortable with her after only knowing her a few hours, especially knowing how he had continuously turned me down. So, after they left, I, um, I followed them outside, and questioned them."

"That's how you found out about them," Pete assumed out loud.

Chloe ignored his commentary. It wasn't what was concerning her the most. "Lana, why do you think my cousin hates you? If all you did was question them about their relationship then I don't see how that could make her hate you…unless you said something you shouldn't have, especially to Lois." She was getting a very, very bad feeling about this. "Lana, what did you say to her?"

She gulped, silently, and refused to look into Chloe's eyes. "I-I might—I might have called her a whore…"

Pete was completely and utterly speechless.

Chloe about fainted, at those words. How the hell was she still alive at this point? How did she survive the Lane wrath after saying something like that? How did she escape her grip unscathed?

"Lana, you didn't…"

She looked up at Chloe, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I really am. I-I wasn't thinking. I thought that if I could prove that Lois wasn't the woman he fell in love with, then he would realize that we were meant to be together, but, I, um, I soon realized that, that wasn't the case…"

Pete frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that Lois made me realize that what I feel for Clark is nothing compared to what she feels for him."

"We know that."

She looked at Chloe, shaking her head from side to side, and smiled, softly. "No. No, you really don't. After she slapped the living shit out of me for what I said, she, um, she literally laid her heart out on the line, not only to me, but to Clark as well. I love Clark, both of you know that, but I've never felt that much passion—that much love for him. She loves him more than life itself, and so does he. They belong together. I don't think I could ever give him the love he wants—the love he deserves, but Lois can."

They stared at her, dumbstruck by her words, and were at a loss for words themselves at that moment.

Pete was the first to speak. "Are you saying what I think you're saying? Are you really going to move on from Clark?"

She sighed, heavily. "As much as I don't want to—as much as I want to be with Clark again, I know that it's only going to put a wedge between all of us. Not only Clark, but with the two of you, and I really don't want to lose your friendship over my obsession with Clark."

"Your serious, aren't you?"

"I am. I've been living in the past for way too long. Clark has already moved on, hell, he moved on the moment he met her. It's time that I moved on as well."

Pete grinned at her, slightly surprised at her new confidence. "I'm proud of you, Lana."

She smiled at him. "Um, are we okay? I mean, you guys don't hate me, right?"

Pete hugged her. "I don't hate you, Lana, but to be honest you were driving me absolutely crazy."

She chuckled, as she pulled away from him. "I know, and I'm sorry about that."

Chloe watched her friend, intently, looking for any signs of mistrust, but found none. She was being sincere. She really was going to try and accept Clark and Lois' relationship. She really was going to try to move on with her life. "Lana, you could never lose my friendship, but I have to warn you that my cousin comes before all of you, and I might not always agree with her, but I will always be on her side."

"I know that, Chloe." She stared at her for several seconds. "Um, Chloe, how long does your cousin hold grudges?"

She laughed. "You're joking, right?"

"I'm being serious. I feel really, really bad for what I said to her, and I want to make it up to her somehow."

Chloe sobered, immediately. "Don't do that."

Pete and Lana gave her puzzling looks.

"Look, I understand that you want to make amends to her for everything, but, it will only make matters worse. Lois is a very caring person, but she can also hold a grudge like no other. My advice for you is to just give her some space. Lots and lots of space. You will probably never be the best of friends, but one day she'll be able to understand where you were coming from."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but if I were you, I wouldn't try to force the reconciliation. She'll come around sooner or later."

She quickly hugged them both. "Thank you. Both of you. I really appreciate it."

"It wasn't a problem."

"As long as you keep your promise. Clark has moved on, and it's time you do the same."

She smiled, tightly. "I promise."

They watched her walk away, both feeling completely surprised by this change of heart from their friend, but had a feeling that it was the best thing for everyone involved.

"Well, that happened."

Chloe shook her head at him. "I want to believe her, I really do. I hope she keeps her word, and stays away from Clark and Lois' relationship. They're happy, and I don't want anything or anyone ruining that."

"It will be fine," he reassured her before frowning, immensely, "Speaking of Clark and Lois, where do you think they went?"

She grinned, mischievously. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

"Well, are you going to tell me?"

"Let me ask you this. If you were finally reunited with the love of your life, and found the chance to be alone, where would you go?"

He stared at her, completely confused, and like a blast of fireworks it dawned on him. "Oh."

She chuckled. "You know, you can be more inept than Clark sometimes."

"Hey! That's not fair! I am the one that ended up making sure this plan of yours worked to perfection."

"Yes. Yes, you did."

He wrapped his arm around her. "We make a pretty good team."

She copied his movements. "Well, teammate, how about we enjoy what's left of this party since our guests of honor have abandoned us."

They both laughed, good-heartedly, with their arms wrapped around each other, and started walking towards the many, many crowds, intending on making the most of what was left of this night. It was their idea after all.


This was a difficult chapter to write. I wanted a full-blown confrontation between Lois and Lana, but I also didn't want it to be too much at the same time. That scene was mainly intended for Lana to actually notice what everyone else knows to be the truth. It might have seemed like I was rushing her acceptance of the situation, but that' not exactly what's happening. It will take quite a long time before she completely moves on from Clark, but like I've mentioned a few times before, I have plans for her in the future.

I hope you enjoyed chapter twenty-seven!