David J. Duncan
Conclusion
[Smallville High-The next day]
As classes started the next day, the senior class buzzed with anticipation as Clark and Lana finally made their reappearance at school after a week and a half of travel and shrouded mystery. Despite the fact that the duo rushed to get their stuff out of their lockers and hustle off for the sanctuary of English class, their friends and even some people they hardly knew peppered them with queries about what had really happened behind the scenes out in Tucson.
****
After a hectic day of classes, they walked into The Torch holding hands and looking around. It felt good to be back in the newsroom again.
Their manner of entrance didn't escape Chloe who frowned. C'mon. You know what's going on. It stinks and it hurts, but they're an item. Besides, there are other fish in the sea. One could always look around. There's Lex...yeah right...like he'd ever look at me seriously anyway. Composing herself, she asked, "Hey, guys! Feeling better?"
"Yes. We are. Thanks, Chloe," Lana replied warmly.
"No hard feelings about yesterday, Clark?" the blonde editor wondered sheepishly.
"You wouldn't be you if you weren't looking out for your friends, Chloe," he assured her, rubbing her shoulder. "That what makes you special. Believe me, I understand."
"Thanks, Clark," Chloe expressed, allowing a wistful smile to linger a bit before turning to her other friend, "Now, Lana, about that piece?"
The brunette nodded and sat down at the computer. I was working on Nell's computer last night and typed out something. I was wondering what you would think of it." Pressing a few buttons, she brought up the document on the screen and sent it to the printer for a hard copy. "HC's on the way."
"I read it over and it sounds great to me, but I'm biased," Clark cracked good-naturedly.
Chloe observed his tone and the Kent smile accompanying it. He's really happy and seems to have let down his guard a bit. Whatever you're doing, Lana, keep it up. Just don't hurt him. Please. She read the piece over, observing every detail surrounding Alicia Fallone's story and the aftermath of her death. While Lana had always been a good writer, this piece utilized superb word choice, an eye for detail, and had a solid punch at the end. Twice more she read it. Each time, she was impressed again. What happened out there?
"Well?" Lana wondered anxiously.
"This is awesome! I hope the college visitation piece will be as good," the editor-in-chief praised.
"It will be. I'll get to work on it after dinner tonight," he promised. "Meantime, I need to get home to get chores done. Lana, meet you at the Talon later?"
"You bet. Lex has assured me that the fax machine will be ready and waiting for us. Chloe, you want to come and celebrate with us?" Lana invited.
"No thanks. I...have a big piece to work on for tomorrow's edition. You guys have fun, okay?"
"If you're sure," Clark tried to interject to change her mind.
"Go on. It'll be okay," she insisted.
"Take care. If you change your mind, the invite's there, Chloe," Lana reminded her as they left.
After they were gone, Chloe stared at the door and shook her head before returning to her piece. Cornell's waiting for me anyhow. I'll fax the letter in the morning.
****
[The Talon-Later that night]
The party bustled well after hours inside of the converted theatre. Thanks to Lex's generosity, the coffee flowed well into the night and food was provided for all.
Before things got started however, the owners set up the machine and called everyone together.
"Okay, everyone! It's time to commit to our choices," Lana announced to everyone. "Pete, you want to go first?"
"Sure. Thanks. Well, I can't wait to razz you guys come football and basketball seasons. You both know that the door's open for you in Westwood," their friend assured them, sending the acceptance letter through. "That's it. I'm officially a Bruin now," Pete said humorously before rejoining Erica in the audience.
"Clark?" Lana asked. "Want to go next?"
"Sure," he agreed. Here's to our future. With that, he placed the letter in the machine, dialed the number, and hit the button, sending it to Tucson. "Now I can say the same for you in the desert, Pete. Lana?"
She smiled and flushed a bit as she looked around the shop. So many memories from so much time spent here. It's time to move on. Having thought that, she sent her fax through as well. "There. Now, I can say the same. Shall we move on to the coffee?"
Lex disagreed. "I see one other person waiting to fax her letter in. Miss Sullivan, do you want to join us?"
"That's okay. I'll do it in the morning," she replied.
Clark walked over and shook his head. "No sense in being a spoil sport, Chloe. C'mon. We're friends, right?"
"Right. I guess," she sighed.
What's with her? "Then can you join us? Just fax your letter through to Ithaca and celebrate. All right?"
"Okay," she relented, managing a smile for all concerned. Placing her acceptance in the fax, she punched the numbers out and fired her letter off to Cornell.
"Thank you. Now that wasn't so painful, was it?" Lex cracked, the smug grin on his face.
"No. It wasn't," she replied. What's his angle?
"Relax. Have a good time," he assured her, watching as the others talked and enjoyed themselves. After a lot of hard work, it was truly a night for celebration and for friendship. Those things definitely needed to be embraced no matter how close or how far people were from each other.
As the music piped over the loud speaker, Clark and Lana stood on the balcony overlooking everything and stared into each other's eyes, admiring the sparkle of what they saw there. Their mutual feelings had survived the crisis in Tucson and had become stronger because of it. No matter what new challenges their future held, they would face it together. With trust in each other and their love, they would succeed.
In the end, that's all that would matter.
THE END
(**Okay, I hope you all enjoyed this one! Now that we all understand how Clark and Lana worked through the issues before "Under Siege", we're up to date on everything. Take another look at "Under Siege". Now, everything should be a little clearer. g> Of course, that one and my other stories are at my "Dubois Chronicles" site http://dante6.fanspace.com/dubois/dubois.html and at my DuboisChronicleUpdates group.**)
Thanks for reading! Comments and feedback are greatly appreciated!
