~*~(2)~(2)~*~

I paused…watching the tear puddle in the middle of my hand before smearing it on the tops of my sheets, then proceeded to stand up.  As I stood up, I stopped, raising my hands above my head, reaching up to the sky.  The muscles in my arms and legs tightened, then loosened; a wave of relief swept through my body as I continued to stretch; my mouth fell down and a ball of sleep congregated in the pit of my stomach, bubbling up to my spine and forcing its way out my mouth, resulting in a yawn. 

I then stopped, bringing my arms down by my side and, sitting back down on the edge of my bed, I felt the soft delicate fibers of the blankets clothing my mattress caress my bare skin.  My hand felt the smooth roundness of my baldhead as I ran my palm over it, watching myself in the mirror.  I wore a white shirt and pale faded blue boxers, the only thing I had on up under my suit that was worn beneath my jousting suit.  After practice I nearly dragged myself along my staircase to drop myself off in the bed.  After I had lain there a while and probably drifted off to sleep during the time, I found the energy to pry the business attire off my body that I'm known for wearing and tossed it aside on the floor, never giving it a second thought as I tugged the sheets over my frail body and collapsed into the soft fabric of my pillow.

Pressing my lips together, I re-lifted myself off my bed, turning around to smooth out the lumps and bumps, remaking my bed as it had been ready for me last night.

After that small task had been completed, I trudged into my bathroom languidly and stood in front of the white marble sink; the crushed Tiffany diamonds glinting up at me through their milky white surface.  My face in the solid gold faucets reflected back to me in a tortuous manner, gleaming in my eye as I twisted the cold handle and watched the water explode out the tiny top, splashing onto the sides of the sink.

I wet my hands with the chilling water then threw the cool refreshing liquid on my face, the cold tap water stinging my pores.

After talking to Clark last night I hinted at some things I'd been thinking about after the storm and the way I felt about everything with the onslaught of this whole event, but he was so concerned about Lana that I let my true intentions of our conversation slip and eventually just gave it up altogether.  He insisted that I didn't look to well and tried to get me to talk about what was troubling me, but I was adamant in my decision to not talk so he left it alone, telling me that I should go to a Metropolis convention and, to use his words, 'have fun'…unplug…relax, and sort my thoughts out.

I splashed another handful of cold water onto my face then paused, staring into the mirror as I watched the water slide down my cheeks.  Grabbing a face towel off the water tank behind the toilet I spread it out over my face and proceeded to dab the liquid off, never taking my eyes off my face.

The thought of going to Metropolis to relax was good, I'd have to thank Clark for suggesting that when I get back; and the fact that I could cover up my real plan with a convention was great…I'd go there, visit the convention then go back to my hotel room and sleep…relax, get away from my work and just…think about my life for a change…not that I never did it before, there was never a second in my life that I didn't find myself thinking about it, but this time there'd be nothing keeping me from finishing my thoughts…nothing distracting me from truly trying to figure myself out.

I tossed the dampened towel on the water tank and reached for my toothbrush and the toothpaste.

----

"I know…wonderful idea," I said, tucking in my white undershirt to my black suit pants, the crease in them being so straight and crisp.

"So your gonna do it?" Came Clark's voice from my speaker cell phone resting atop my nightstand. 

I pressed the button on my tie stand and watched the ties rotate around slowly.  "Yeah…I've given it some thought and I figured leaving Smallville could in fact be just was I need…to release myself …" I grabbed a black tie with silver lines crisscrossing down the front and placed the tie around my next, the thick end being on my left and the thin on my right. 

"Well…that's good, I'm glad you finally see it my way," Clark said from the other end of the line.  I turned around, facing the phone as I lapped the two ends of the tie over each other then wrapping the thick end around the thin one, I brought the end of the thick strand through the loop previously made.

"Yeah…I'm glad I see it your way too…now that I'm thinking about it, it seems like an excellent idea, I almost can't wait till I get there."  I pulled the thick end through the loop and began to tighten it, adjusting the tie to how I felt fit; then I reached for my suit top, taking a moment to wipe away any invisible dust that decided to collect itself on my top. 

"Who knows, maybe you'll even meet somebody while you're down there."  I laughed at this remark.

"Of course I'll meet someone while I'm down there, happens all the time, the trick is finding out why there were hired by my father."  I slipped my arms through my top sleeves and straightened the coat around me, smoothing down the flaps as I did so.  Clark was silent for a moment, almost as if he was pondering something.  "Clark?" I asked, sitting down on the bed while I pulled my shoes over to me, "You still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here."  I nodded, and then began to push my clothed feet into my shoes, loosening up the strings as I did so.  "Just thinking about something." 

"Oh," I chuckled, "Lana?"

"Actually…no…" I stopped, putting down my right foot after I had slipped it into the shoe and tied it.

"What?" I slowly reached for my next shoe, my eyes on the phone waiting on his next words.

"You and your father, why you two never get along…." I sighed, slipping my left foot into the shoe.

"Clark, we've been over this before, way to many times…" I began to tie the laces together.

"I know…" Clark paused, "It's just that I still don't understand…my parents will never think about hiring somebody to follow me around to make sure I'm doing things right-."

"That's because your parents love you Clark," I said the statement with anger, standing up suddenly to reach for the phone.

"I know but-."

"Listen Clark, I'm running late, sorry but I gotta go, I'll call you when I get to the hotel in Metropolis." Clark was silent, knowing me to well by now to know that I'd never let myself be late to anything.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's all you had to say," Clark said softly.  I paused in my reach for the phone, standing erect.

"Your right…sorry…but I do have to go and pack my clothes, otherwise I will be late…and I will call your from my hotel…better yet, on the road…to keep myself busy," I said this as I glanced over my shoulder to the closet.

"Ok, but the road thing isn't so good…I was gonna take a stroll over to the Shop and see Lana," I laughed again, shaking my head slightly as I looked over myself in the mirror, then glanced at my watch, it read 12: 49, just barely ahead of schedule.

"Tell me Clark, are you ever going to actually go for Lana?" I spied my suitcase leaning against the outside of my walk in closet and moved to retrieve it.

"Yes…eventually, when she's ready for a new relationship, I'll consider it."

"Consider it?" I turned around from my position of grabbing the case, stopped by my surprise.

"Yes…I don't want to move to fast…she needs to be ready to accept it." I found myself laughing again as I turned around to grab the case, then walked back to the bed to lie it there.

"Well…as long as it works for you; listen, it's about that time so…I guess this is it?"  I reached for the phone, ready to turn it off.

"Yeah, this is it, hope you have a nice time, Lex."

"Me too, bye Clark." I pressed the button, tossing the phone back on my pillow, then stopped staring around my room.