Chapter 3: The Coldness Of Being
~~~
Clark laid down again, once his mother had left. He didn't really feel any better. He felt worse then when than when he was scare-crowed, at least then he had felt real pain. Right now, he felt cold and numb, empty. For the thousandth time in his life, he imagined what his life would be like were he just a normal teenage boy. He'd play football; maybe have a girlfriend, Lana even. He wouldn't shoulder the great burden that gnawed at him, making him give up his life for the greater good. He'd grow up, get himself a career, settle down and have kids. A world like that sure beat having to hide his true being, lying to everyone he cared about and always looking over his shoulder for the next Roger Nixon ready to expose him for what he was. His eyes began to close and his breath began to shallow. Once asleep, he dreamt of tears, pain, harsh glares, and bitter words from everyone he loved.
~~~
"Hey Pete, how come Clark didn't show up today?"
"I don't know, Chloe, it's not like him."
"I thought he was over his rebellious phase."
"I did too, maybe he had a relapse." Pete shrugged.
"I don't think so, not after what he did to Lana. I think that snapped him out of it. You think he's sick or something?"
"I don't know."
"You know what, come to think of it, I don't think Clark's ever been sick."
"What? That's - he must have been at one point or another. You probably just don't remember."
"I have a perfect memory. Listen, I got to go work on the Torch, why don't you go check up on Clark and tell me how he's doing?"
"That's a good idea, see you later."
"Bye."
As Pete and Chloe walked away from each other, Lana peeked her head from around the corner. With Chloe's words ringing in her mind, she made her way to the principal's office instead of the Talon as she usually did after school. Daisy, an administrative assistant was the only one inside.
"Hey Daisy, how are you?"
"Fine, Lana, what are you doing here?"
"Um, you know I think I saw your son behind the gym smoking, but I'm not really sure it was him..."
"Luke said he quit! I can't believe this. Could you be a sweetheart and man the desk while I go yell at him in front of his friends?"
"Sure, no problem. Um, remember you didn't hear it from me, okay?"
"Of course, see you in a few."
Lana grinned with glee as she left, realizing Daisy didn't log out of the administrative system. Chloe would be proud. Hopping into the seat, she pulled up the attendance records for one, Clark Kent. Just as Chloe had said, not a single absence due to illness except today - his mother called him in sick in the middle of the day. Transcripts from Smallville Elementary also showed no absences. The short pang of guilt Lana felt for snooping into Clark's records was quickly replaced by a deep uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Clark Kent never got sick.
~~~
"Hey, Mr. Kent. Is Clark around? He wasn't in school today."
"Martha called him in sick, he's fine though. Had a really rough day yesterday is all. Last I saw, he was in the loft."
"Thanks."
When Pete went up the ladder he noticed something was off. Clark had taken his telescope down. Odd, he thought, as he walked over to Clark, who was asleep on the couch.
"Hey Clark! Look alive!"
Clark didn't respond.
"Hey Clark, I saw Chloe and Lana making out!"
Still nothing. Pete became concerned and shook him with increasing worry without results. Feeling Clark's forehead, he found it cold, like steel. As far as Pete knew, Clark didn't get sick, period. This was bad. He ran out to the farm, looking for Clark's father.
~~~
As she approached the old barn, she heard pacing and worried whispers. While she was still mad at Clark and probably would forever be, she was also his friend. After going through his records at school, she felt the overwhelming need to make sure he was okay.
"Hello?" she asked as she made her way up the ladder.
Pete quickly covered up Clark with a large quilt and the three tried to block the view of Clark from the newest arrival.
"Lana! What are you doing here?" asked Mrs. Kent.
"I came to check up on Clark. Is he alright?"
"He's fine, just a little cold. He's up in his room, resting," replied Mr. Kent.
"Um, you do a horrible job of hiding him. He's 6'3" on a four-foot couch. I can see his feet sticking out your ass, Pete."
"Damn." Pete exclaimed.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He's fine, we'll take care of him," responded Mr. Kent.
"If he's fine, why are you hiding him?" asked Lana as he pushed them aside.
Lana found herself staring at Clark. His entire body laid motionless except for the rise and fall of his chest. He was wrapped in three blankets but his hands felt so cold, his face pale.
"Clark? Clark! Oh my God, what's wrong with him?"
She turned to both Pete and Mr. Kent but they simply took a deep breath and looked at each other, trying to come up with an answer.
"We need to get him to a hospital!"
"Well, we can't do that Lana!" exclaimed Mrs. Kent from behind them.
Lana glared at her, Mr. Kent, then at Pete. She noticed the anxiety in their eyes. Lana quickly realized this had something to do with Clark's secret. She had noticed Pete and Clark had gotten over their fight from the other day and were better friends then ever. She couldn't believe he told Pete his secret rather than her. Lana decided to play along.
"Right, I forgot. No hospitals."
Mr. Kent and Pete looked at each other in disbelief.
"He told you? I can't believe this!" exclaimed Mr. Kent.
"Well I kind of pieced it together on my own, and when he came to apologize to me yesterday, I pretty much got him to confess. I didn't really know how to respond then, I was kind of upset."
"We've been telling him since he was boy not to tell anyone. How could he - Lana, you've got to promise - "
"Of course Mr. Kent. I would never tell anyone."
"You're - you're okay with this?"
Lana paused for a moment, trying to think of a suitable thing to say seeing as she had no idea what he was talking about. She quietly prayed her gambit would work.
"Yeah. You know at first I wasn't but I came to realize, it doesn't matter that he kept it secret from me. No matter what, bottom line, he's always been and always will be Clark Kent. And that's no lie; it's who he is. What matters is that Clark Kent will be there when you need him, and would do anything for his friends."
She felt another pang of guilt as she realized the last few words she spoke were true. It didn't matter what Clark's secret was; he would always be there for her. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted.
"So, that's why he was so depressed today. Whatever you said really upset him," said Mrs. Kent.
"I'm sorry. I really am. But right now, we have to find a way to help him. What happened to him?"
"Nothing, he said he fell asleep in a field yesterday and when he came home, he was feeling so sad, he just stayed in the loft all day. Pete found him like a few minutes ago."
"Do you think it was meteor rocks?" asked Pete.
"I don't think so, they've never affected him like that. The green ones give him intense pain, and the red ones make uninhibited...you think there are some more varieties?" replied Mrs. Kent.
Lana's eyes focused back and forth between them as she tried to calm herself. Clark's world was revealing itself to her.
"There aren't any in the loft that's for sure. You think there might have been some in that field he fell asleep in?" asked Mr. Kent.
"Jonathan, we have to find someone that can help him!"
"Martha, what are we supposed to do, walk into Dr. Johnson's office and ask him to make a house call? He's an alien, Martha, how could we ever trust anyone else with his secret?"
Lana gasped inside as she heard this and quickly turned around to face Clark's angelic form once more. Placing one hand over her mouth and the other over his cheek, she couldn't believe it. It was impossible, she thought. Lana knew in her heart that he was no alien. There was no comparison - Clark Kent was more human than them all.
~~~
Clark laid down again, once his mother had left. He didn't really feel any better. He felt worse then when than when he was scare-crowed, at least then he had felt real pain. Right now, he felt cold and numb, empty. For the thousandth time in his life, he imagined what his life would be like were he just a normal teenage boy. He'd play football; maybe have a girlfriend, Lana even. He wouldn't shoulder the great burden that gnawed at him, making him give up his life for the greater good. He'd grow up, get himself a career, settle down and have kids. A world like that sure beat having to hide his true being, lying to everyone he cared about and always looking over his shoulder for the next Roger Nixon ready to expose him for what he was. His eyes began to close and his breath began to shallow. Once asleep, he dreamt of tears, pain, harsh glares, and bitter words from everyone he loved.
~~~
"Hey Pete, how come Clark didn't show up today?"
"I don't know, Chloe, it's not like him."
"I thought he was over his rebellious phase."
"I did too, maybe he had a relapse." Pete shrugged.
"I don't think so, not after what he did to Lana. I think that snapped him out of it. You think he's sick or something?"
"I don't know."
"You know what, come to think of it, I don't think Clark's ever been sick."
"What? That's - he must have been at one point or another. You probably just don't remember."
"I have a perfect memory. Listen, I got to go work on the Torch, why don't you go check up on Clark and tell me how he's doing?"
"That's a good idea, see you later."
"Bye."
As Pete and Chloe walked away from each other, Lana peeked her head from around the corner. With Chloe's words ringing in her mind, she made her way to the principal's office instead of the Talon as she usually did after school. Daisy, an administrative assistant was the only one inside.
"Hey Daisy, how are you?"
"Fine, Lana, what are you doing here?"
"Um, you know I think I saw your son behind the gym smoking, but I'm not really sure it was him..."
"Luke said he quit! I can't believe this. Could you be a sweetheart and man the desk while I go yell at him in front of his friends?"
"Sure, no problem. Um, remember you didn't hear it from me, okay?"
"Of course, see you in a few."
Lana grinned with glee as she left, realizing Daisy didn't log out of the administrative system. Chloe would be proud. Hopping into the seat, she pulled up the attendance records for one, Clark Kent. Just as Chloe had said, not a single absence due to illness except today - his mother called him in sick in the middle of the day. Transcripts from Smallville Elementary also showed no absences. The short pang of guilt Lana felt for snooping into Clark's records was quickly replaced by a deep uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Clark Kent never got sick.
~~~
"Hey, Mr. Kent. Is Clark around? He wasn't in school today."
"Martha called him in sick, he's fine though. Had a really rough day yesterday is all. Last I saw, he was in the loft."
"Thanks."
When Pete went up the ladder he noticed something was off. Clark had taken his telescope down. Odd, he thought, as he walked over to Clark, who was asleep on the couch.
"Hey Clark! Look alive!"
Clark didn't respond.
"Hey Clark, I saw Chloe and Lana making out!"
Still nothing. Pete became concerned and shook him with increasing worry without results. Feeling Clark's forehead, he found it cold, like steel. As far as Pete knew, Clark didn't get sick, period. This was bad. He ran out to the farm, looking for Clark's father.
~~~
As she approached the old barn, she heard pacing and worried whispers. While she was still mad at Clark and probably would forever be, she was also his friend. After going through his records at school, she felt the overwhelming need to make sure he was okay.
"Hello?" she asked as she made her way up the ladder.
Pete quickly covered up Clark with a large quilt and the three tried to block the view of Clark from the newest arrival.
"Lana! What are you doing here?" asked Mrs. Kent.
"I came to check up on Clark. Is he alright?"
"He's fine, just a little cold. He's up in his room, resting," replied Mr. Kent.
"Um, you do a horrible job of hiding him. He's 6'3" on a four-foot couch. I can see his feet sticking out your ass, Pete."
"Damn." Pete exclaimed.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He's fine, we'll take care of him," responded Mr. Kent.
"If he's fine, why are you hiding him?" asked Lana as he pushed them aside.
Lana found herself staring at Clark. His entire body laid motionless except for the rise and fall of his chest. He was wrapped in three blankets but his hands felt so cold, his face pale.
"Clark? Clark! Oh my God, what's wrong with him?"
She turned to both Pete and Mr. Kent but they simply took a deep breath and looked at each other, trying to come up with an answer.
"We need to get him to a hospital!"
"Well, we can't do that Lana!" exclaimed Mrs. Kent from behind them.
Lana glared at her, Mr. Kent, then at Pete. She noticed the anxiety in their eyes. Lana quickly realized this had something to do with Clark's secret. She had noticed Pete and Clark had gotten over their fight from the other day and were better friends then ever. She couldn't believe he told Pete his secret rather than her. Lana decided to play along.
"Right, I forgot. No hospitals."
Mr. Kent and Pete looked at each other in disbelief.
"He told you? I can't believe this!" exclaimed Mr. Kent.
"Well I kind of pieced it together on my own, and when he came to apologize to me yesterday, I pretty much got him to confess. I didn't really know how to respond then, I was kind of upset."
"We've been telling him since he was boy not to tell anyone. How could he - Lana, you've got to promise - "
"Of course Mr. Kent. I would never tell anyone."
"You're - you're okay with this?"
Lana paused for a moment, trying to think of a suitable thing to say seeing as she had no idea what he was talking about. She quietly prayed her gambit would work.
"Yeah. You know at first I wasn't but I came to realize, it doesn't matter that he kept it secret from me. No matter what, bottom line, he's always been and always will be Clark Kent. And that's no lie; it's who he is. What matters is that Clark Kent will be there when you need him, and would do anything for his friends."
She felt another pang of guilt as she realized the last few words she spoke were true. It didn't matter what Clark's secret was; he would always be there for her. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted.
"So, that's why he was so depressed today. Whatever you said really upset him," said Mrs. Kent.
"I'm sorry. I really am. But right now, we have to find a way to help him. What happened to him?"
"Nothing, he said he fell asleep in a field yesterday and when he came home, he was feeling so sad, he just stayed in the loft all day. Pete found him like a few minutes ago."
"Do you think it was meteor rocks?" asked Pete.
"I don't think so, they've never affected him like that. The green ones give him intense pain, and the red ones make uninhibited...you think there are some more varieties?" replied Mrs. Kent.
Lana's eyes focused back and forth between them as she tried to calm herself. Clark's world was revealing itself to her.
"There aren't any in the loft that's for sure. You think there might have been some in that field he fell asleep in?" asked Mr. Kent.
"Jonathan, we have to find someone that can help him!"
"Martha, what are we supposed to do, walk into Dr. Johnson's office and ask him to make a house call? He's an alien, Martha, how could we ever trust anyone else with his secret?"
Lana gasped inside as she heard this and quickly turned around to face Clark's angelic form once more. Placing one hand over her mouth and the other over his cheek, she couldn't believe it. It was impossible, she thought. Lana knew in her heart that he was no alien. There was no comparison - Clark Kent was more human than them all.