Chapter 2: Déjà Vu
~~~
Clark tried to get his bearings, realizing just how close Lana's necklace was.
"Um. Doesn't everybody?"
"Yeah, I guess so. So what are you? Man or superman?
"I haven't figured it out yet," replied, the eerie scene replaying itself.
"Lana there you are."
Lana turned to smile at Whitney. Clark watched as they kissed, feeling the familiar tug at his heartstrings. He started to pick up his books while struggling with the pain coursing through his veins.
"Hey, Clark," said Whitney briefly, before turning back to Lana.
"I was wondering if you could do me a humungous favour. Could you check over my English paper? I didn't finish it until two a.m."
Clark slung himself against the fence, trying to hold his ground.
"So, I'm not too sure about the ending," Whitney continued.
"I'm sure it's great," replied Lana.
"Dude, are you feeling all right? You look like you're about to hurl," asked Whitney, finally noticing Clark's discomfort.
"I'm fine," replied Clark noting that Lana didn't seem too concerned about him. With Lana leaving, the pain began to subside.
"You forgot one, Clark," stated Whitney, before throwing a book to him.
Clark moved to catch it, but stumbled, dropping his books back on the ground once more. The school bell rang. 'Of all the days to relieve,' he thought, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
"C'mon spaz, we got to get to class," said Pete, walking over to him after witnessing the humiliating scene.
"Yeah. Right, just give me a minute," he said, retrieving his books once more.
"Hey, what's that?" Pete asked motioning to the purple rock at Clark's feet.
Clark picked it up, a look of realization crossing his face.
"I guess this isn't a dream."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. This is just a geode I found," he replied before they headed into the school.
"Well it looks incredible. Are you sure it's not a ruby or something? I've never seen anything like it - maybe it's worth something. Hey, let's ask Mr. Wilcox, the geology teacher."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Pete."
"Why not, you could be a millionaire!"
"Just drop it, Pete."
"I don't see what the big deal is - hey is that Cindy?" he asked, staring at the buxom cheerleader as she passed them, walking in the opposite direction.
Clark shook his head and laughed.
~~~
The day seemed to drag on far too long for Clark's liking. Knowing what was going to happen made the school day incredibly boring, though he was able to ace the pop quiz his Math teacher sprung on them. However, hanging out with Chloe again as if she had risen from the dead was amazing. She was exactly as he remembered, so full of life and enthusiasm. He especially missed the twinkle in her eye every time she was working on a story and went off on one of her crazy theories. He was definitely going to save her this time around.
After Pete's football practice, he made sure to sit on the railing of the bridge, awaiting Lex's car to arrive. It came as expected but this time Clark jumped off the railing before the car hit, and was much more careful getting Lex out of the car, making sure to not go overkill with his powers. If he had a second chance to do things over again, he might as well do all the little things too.
Afterwards he headed off Jeremy before he went on his electrocution spree. Later, he tried to act upset as he did before when his parent's refused Lex's new truck and subsequently told him about his origins. It was actually pretty amusing how he reacted back then. A few years of growing up and experiencing the things he had experienced gave him a lot of perspective. He looked off into the distance from the loft with a smile as he played with the idea that if he did things carefully enough, he could make everything in his world perfect.
His gaze wandered over to Lana's house as he realized he had to get to the cemetery so they could share their first 'moment.' He was about to rush through the door when the meteorite he had stuffed in his pocket fell out onto the floor. Clark quickly picked it up but stopped in his tracks when he noticed something: it had shrunk to about three quarters of its original size.
~~~
He sat on his couch staring at the rock, then his watch, and then the rock again. The possibilities ran through his mind. Could it be that as long as he was in the past the rock would shrink? If he stayed too long, would it throw him back to his original time, or would he be stuck in here? If it threw him back into the future, he wouldn't be able to save Ryan or Chloe. Suddenly, his historic meeting with Lana didn't seem to matter much. He couldn't take that chance, but Clark didn't know how the meteorite worked.
He retraced his steps, trying to remember the moments before he passed out and woke up in the past. He was holding the meteorite on the couch with Lana, sleeping beside him. He looked over to Lana, trying to picture her necklace with a purple stone instead of the green one. That must have been it. The first thing he saw when he woke up was Lana and the necklace. So if he concentrated hard enough on something from the future, he'd be able to get there. in theory.
But if he had changed history, the future would be different. So how could he picture something from the future, if the future was uncertain? 'The meteor' he thought. The storm would be there no matter what Clark did in the past, and the meteor would hit the earth just as it had before. He grasped the rock with one hand and tried to picture finding the purple rock for the first time. He felt his spine tingle again, before his eyelids grew heavy.
~~~
~~~
Clark tried to get his bearings, realizing just how close Lana's necklace was.
"Um. Doesn't everybody?"
"Yeah, I guess so. So what are you? Man or superman?
"I haven't figured it out yet," replied, the eerie scene replaying itself.
"Lana there you are."
Lana turned to smile at Whitney. Clark watched as they kissed, feeling the familiar tug at his heartstrings. He started to pick up his books while struggling with the pain coursing through his veins.
"Hey, Clark," said Whitney briefly, before turning back to Lana.
"I was wondering if you could do me a humungous favour. Could you check over my English paper? I didn't finish it until two a.m."
Clark slung himself against the fence, trying to hold his ground.
"So, I'm not too sure about the ending," Whitney continued.
"I'm sure it's great," replied Lana.
"Dude, are you feeling all right? You look like you're about to hurl," asked Whitney, finally noticing Clark's discomfort.
"I'm fine," replied Clark noting that Lana didn't seem too concerned about him. With Lana leaving, the pain began to subside.
"You forgot one, Clark," stated Whitney, before throwing a book to him.
Clark moved to catch it, but stumbled, dropping his books back on the ground once more. The school bell rang. 'Of all the days to relieve,' he thought, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
"C'mon spaz, we got to get to class," said Pete, walking over to him after witnessing the humiliating scene.
"Yeah. Right, just give me a minute," he said, retrieving his books once more.
"Hey, what's that?" Pete asked motioning to the purple rock at Clark's feet.
Clark picked it up, a look of realization crossing his face.
"I guess this isn't a dream."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. This is just a geode I found," he replied before they headed into the school.
"Well it looks incredible. Are you sure it's not a ruby or something? I've never seen anything like it - maybe it's worth something. Hey, let's ask Mr. Wilcox, the geology teacher."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Pete."
"Why not, you could be a millionaire!"
"Just drop it, Pete."
"I don't see what the big deal is - hey is that Cindy?" he asked, staring at the buxom cheerleader as she passed them, walking in the opposite direction.
Clark shook his head and laughed.
~~~
The day seemed to drag on far too long for Clark's liking. Knowing what was going to happen made the school day incredibly boring, though he was able to ace the pop quiz his Math teacher sprung on them. However, hanging out with Chloe again as if she had risen from the dead was amazing. She was exactly as he remembered, so full of life and enthusiasm. He especially missed the twinkle in her eye every time she was working on a story and went off on one of her crazy theories. He was definitely going to save her this time around.
After Pete's football practice, he made sure to sit on the railing of the bridge, awaiting Lex's car to arrive. It came as expected but this time Clark jumped off the railing before the car hit, and was much more careful getting Lex out of the car, making sure to not go overkill with his powers. If he had a second chance to do things over again, he might as well do all the little things too.
Afterwards he headed off Jeremy before he went on his electrocution spree. Later, he tried to act upset as he did before when his parent's refused Lex's new truck and subsequently told him about his origins. It was actually pretty amusing how he reacted back then. A few years of growing up and experiencing the things he had experienced gave him a lot of perspective. He looked off into the distance from the loft with a smile as he played with the idea that if he did things carefully enough, he could make everything in his world perfect.
His gaze wandered over to Lana's house as he realized he had to get to the cemetery so they could share their first 'moment.' He was about to rush through the door when the meteorite he had stuffed in his pocket fell out onto the floor. Clark quickly picked it up but stopped in his tracks when he noticed something: it had shrunk to about three quarters of its original size.
~~~
He sat on his couch staring at the rock, then his watch, and then the rock again. The possibilities ran through his mind. Could it be that as long as he was in the past the rock would shrink? If he stayed too long, would it throw him back to his original time, or would he be stuck in here? If it threw him back into the future, he wouldn't be able to save Ryan or Chloe. Suddenly, his historic meeting with Lana didn't seem to matter much. He couldn't take that chance, but Clark didn't know how the meteorite worked.
He retraced his steps, trying to remember the moments before he passed out and woke up in the past. He was holding the meteorite on the couch with Lana, sleeping beside him. He looked over to Lana, trying to picture her necklace with a purple stone instead of the green one. That must have been it. The first thing he saw when he woke up was Lana and the necklace. So if he concentrated hard enough on something from the future, he'd be able to get there. in theory.
But if he had changed history, the future would be different. So how could he picture something from the future, if the future was uncertain? 'The meteor' he thought. The storm would be there no matter what Clark did in the past, and the meteor would hit the earth just as it had before. He grasped the rock with one hand and tried to picture finding the purple rock for the first time. He felt his spine tingle again, before his eyelids grew heavy.
~~~