He sat staring out of his loft, his gaze steady yet unseeing. In the distance he could see her house. He never paid attention to how close they lived to each other; he was always centered on Lana's house. I love you, she had said. At the time, those three words had meant nothing to him but as soon as he had thought about it, Clark knew the significance of those words. Chloe had temporarily let down that tough façade fade, leaving her vulnerable and open to him. It was a few days after their argument in the cemetery and with each passing moment, Clark saw his errors and wondered how he could make things right with Chloe again. He had hurled accusations at Chloe when he should have directed them at himself; he had rubbed salt in an already gaping wound. Now, he sat not knowing how to fix the mess that he had created but knowing that lazing about wasn't going to solve anything.
I love you. He never expected those three words to come from Chloe, he had waited for Lana to whisper them to him but Chloe's murmured declaration sent a warm tingle through him. Sitting alone in his loft letting the day slip into night, Clark realized that he loved Chloe. He never noticed it before because he had hidden it behind a thin veil of friendship. Lana had been the dream; she was out of his reach so he had wanted her, craved her. All the while, Chloe had been right there, waiting and loving him. He laid the dream of Lana to rest where she should have been from the get go because it would have never worked because Clark's obsession with Lana had stemmed from his guilt, the guilt that he felt because he robbed her of her parents. Tomorrow, I will straighten this out, I wont lose Chloe." He never got that feeling of dread in his stomach as he had when Lana was in trouble because Clark just knew that things were going to work out. He left the Fortress of Solitude with an added bounce in his step. All would be right in his world or so he thought.
Lana watched from her perch in the clouds. " Now, Clark, go to Chloe now." She knew that he could not hear her; it was hopeless. She felt the waves of despair and depression that radiated from Chloe. " She wont make it up here," said Lana sadly as she gazed into the future," This is how it is to be, Clark, I hope you can find happiness." You could have found it with me, said Lana wistfully, that will never happen because I'm dead but I can still wish. " Lana." They were calling her, her parents, so she pasted on a smile for them to cover the sad thoughts in her head but Clark did not fade from her mind; he never did.
