Pete and Emmeline exited the Talon and began walking down the sidewalk.

"So, are you going to Lex's wedding?" Emmeline asked him.

"No, you know me and the Luthors have never really been on the best of terms. Besides, I wasn't invited."

"It's okay. I wasn't either. Probably for the best. I find weddings so boring."

"What if it was your own?"

"That's different and you know it."

"If you say so."

Emmeline nervously played with the end of her shirt sleeves. "I should, uh, get going. I'm meeting with Chloe."

"Okay. It was nice getting coffee again."

"Yeah…"

Emmeline took off to her car and let out a sigh. She wished things with Pete were like they were before.


Emmeline stopped by Chloe's house as they prepared to head out. She went up the stairs and saw Chloe in front of Lana's door. The two girls peeked in and saw Lana admiring the dress she was going to wear to Lex's wedding.

"I'm sure you'll render Clark speechless," Chloe said.

Lana quickly turned around and put the dress away. "Chloe, Em, hi."

The two girls walked into the room. "Be careful you two don't upstage the bride and groom."

"What do you mean?"

"You two are going together, I assume."

Lana's eyes widened a little. "Yeah, yeah. As friends."

Chloe paused for a second, knowing how much of a lie that was. "Right. Friends."

"Have either of you seen Clark? He's been looking for you two."

"No. Uh, we've been trying to track him down all day, but his parents said that he was mired in best man duties. Uh, when did you see him last?"

Lana stared at them for a second as her eyes continued to stay wide. She always did that when she lied. "Oh, um, I ran into him at the Talon. He, uh, wanted to talk to you two, said it was important."

"Well, I guess it couldn't be as important as you thought. Have fun tomorrow."

Chloe and Emmeline left the room and Chloe sighed heavily as she shook her head. Emmeline didn't know what to do for her best friend. For the most part, she couldn't even understand how she felt at the moment. After all, it had been a while since her crush on Clark had disappeared.


Chloe and Emmeline pulled up to Clark's house and saw him about to enter the loft.

"Hey, Clark, I'm glad we caught you before the wedding," Chloe said as the two girls hopped out of the car.

"Chloe, Em, what are you doing here?" he asked nervously.

"Is everything okay? I mean, we heard you were looking for us."

"Yeah, um, I was, but…" He started pushing the two of them back towards her car. "I can't talk to you two right now."

"What are you doing?"

"Look, I promise I'll find you both later."

"Clark, I—"

"Don't worry. I'll find you both, okay?"

Chloe looked after him hardly. "So how'd you decide? Rock-paper-scissors, coin toss, or did you just happen to draw the short straw?"

"Decide?"

She and Emmeline angrily started walking over to him. "Who was gonna tell us that you and Lana are together."

Clark grimaced. "You both know?"

"Yeah. We came over to the barn the other night to warn you about something."

"About what?"

"You know, it doesn't matter now. The point is we saw you and Lana in a major lip-lock."

"I-I didn't mean—"

"Didn't what, Clark? Newsflash. You've always been in love with Lana. I tried to deny it, thinking that maybe we could work something out, but it's like fate, Clark. Inevitable, but always surprising when it actually happens."

"I was gonna tell you both."

"Really? Because obviously it was on the top of your 'To Do List'. You know, I can deal with the fact that you guys are together. It hurts, but I was prepared for it. But we just made a promise to be honest with each other, and you didn't have the guts to keep you word!"

"Chloe—"

"Or was it just that it was too much fun making a fool of me that you couldn't reveal your secret?" She spun around and angrily stormed back to the car. "Have a nice life, Clark."

Clark looked over at Emmeline in shock. She just gave him an apologetic look and shrugged her shoulders helplessly.


Emmeline was sitting in her house when the lights suddenly cut off and she could make out a quiet boom in the distance.

"Mom!" she called heading down the stairs. "What happened to the power?"

"I think we just had too much plugged in at once. Your father's going to check the breaker."

"But did you hear that noise?"

"What noise?"

"I'm sure it was nothing."

But it was clear Chloe had rubbed off on her. Emmeline couldn't get her mind off the noise she had heard. She drove to Clark's house since it had from that direction.

When she pulled up, she saw that Lana had come too. They found Clark out in the field standing in a crater.

"Clark, what happened?" Lana asked. "Looks like a bomb went off. Where are your parents?"

Clark didn't turn around. "Hospital. They're fine. My mom lost the baby."

Emmeline gasped quietly.

"The baby?" Lana said as she took a step closer.

"Clark, I am so, so sorry," Emmeline told him.

"This is all my fault," Clark said numbly. "I did this."

"How could you do this?" Lana asked.

"The same way I always do. I bring pain and suffering to everyone's lives."

"Clark, that's not true."

"Yes, Lana, it is."

"No, it isn't," Emmeline said firmly. "Without you, so many of us would be dead now. You've saved our lives on more than one occasion."

"I've kept so much from you," Clark told them. "Both of you. If you knew the truth, neither of you would ever talk to me again."

"I don't believe that," Lana said.

Clark's eyes filled with tears. "I tried to cover up my past and push it away. I-I couldn't. He said if I didn't go, everyone I love would be hurt. He was right."

Lana went over to him. "Clark, you're in shock. You're not making any—"

When she touched him, he quickly spun around and backed away from them. "No, Lana, stay from me. Stay away from me before I hurt you too."

Clark took off. Lana and Emmeline shared a sad look, neither of them knowing what to say.


"Emmeline!" Lana said urgently into her phone. "Clark's gone!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"He got on his motorcycle and just left! I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to me! He's left Smallville!"

Emmeline felt all the air leave her lungs. Clark was gone? How could he just be gone? What would they do now? How were his parents going to feel?

She numbly drove over to a place she hadn't been for months.

"Em?" Pete said concerned as he answered the door. "What's wrong?"

"Clark's gone!" she said tearfully. "Lana just called me. He just left us!"

"He did what?"

"Pete, I am sorry. You have been nothing but nice to me and I have just pushed you away. I didn't mean to be so horrible. It wasn't you who hit me. I know that. I've always known that."

"It's okay, Em. Really."

"I feel like there's something wrong with me. Everyone's leaving me. First my parents didn't want me, then Ryan, then everything with Mom, and now Clark!"

Pete came out onto his porch and hugged her tightly. Emmeline cried in his arms as his hand rubbed the back of her hair.

"I'm still here," he said gently. "I'm not leaving."


With that, I FINALLY wrap up Season 2! I've got some big plans for Season 3, so super stoked to start writing that :)