Lana rushed around the Talon, expertly navigating the tables. She was busy today. But not too busy to keep her mind off Clark. She had seen Lex that afternoon, thanking him endlessly for closing up the small coffee shop for her. He had shrugged off her gratitude, saying she was a "friend in need." Lana had a hard time believing that…but maybe Lex Luthor had done something kind. Just as Lana was starting to relax and forget about him, who else but Clark walked through the doors. Lana quickly asked the new waitress, Mahra, to cover for her and rushed into the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes a few times, trying to hold back tears. Why had he come? Why had he walked in just as she was starting to forget? Bracing herself, Lana walked back out of the kitchen. She'd have to face Clark sometime. Better sooner than later. Clark looked up as she walked past, purposely ignoring him. Maybe if she didn't look at him…if she pretended he wasn't there…he might leave. She had no such luck.
Clark sighed unhappily. Lana was obviously still upset. She wouldn't even look at him. Why was he so stupid? Hanging around was a surefire was to make things worse. It was pretty clear that he was the last person she wanted to see. Still, the Talon closed in a few minutes. Maybe he could try to talk to her. Waiting as people slowly left, Clark didn't stand until only he and Lana remained. "Lana, I…" he began, but she interrupted him.
"We're closing. You have to leave." Clark tried to speak, failed, and turned to leave. Pausing for a moment at the soft sob he heard behind him, Clark resisted the urge to comfort her, pushed open the door and walked home.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The next week passed with a painful sluggishness for both Lana and Clark. Clark could only focus on his guilt, feeling that nothing else was more important than finding a way to win forgiveness. If only he could tell Lana his secret. She would understand, and everything would be fine again. There would be nothing left to hide from her, nothing to keep locked away. He practically growled in frustration, earning himself several strange looks. He didn't care what they thought. Slamming his locker door, Clark went home and straight to his loft. He tried to do his homework, but couldn't concentrate. Before he knew what he was doing, Clark went to the storm cellar and laid a hand on the space ship. He looked at it wistfully for a moment, as if it would tell him what to do. A voice startled him out of his thoughts.
"Clark?" It sounded like Lana. But what would she be doing talking to him? Clark reacted a second too late. Lana walked down the stairs and saw the ship. She gasped. "Clark…that's a…"
"Lana…if I told you a secret, would you keep it? No matter how bizarre it was, no matter how angry you were, would you keep it a secret?" Lana forgot all her pain and sadness for a moment. Clark Kent, man of many secrets, wanted to tell the truth.
"Of course I would." She replied.
"Lana, please understand, I've wanted to tell you this for so long. If you tell anyone…the results could be disastrous. I…I came to Earth in this ship during the meteor shower. I'm an alien."
"Clark, you're crazy. How could you be an alien? You…you're…" Lana's eyes narrowed. "You lied to me. All those times when things happened that I couldn't explain. You were lying to me."
"Lana, listen to me. This is exactly why I never told you. Because I was afraid you would act like this. Look, I'm still just Clark."
"How could you?" Lana hissed. She stormed away, angry tears falling from her cheeks."
"Lana!" Clark called. His voice was distant…tinny. He fell down a hole…everything was black…and Clark Kent woke up on the floor of his loft, breathing heavily. His half-finished homework was lying on the floor beside him, just where he had left it before he fell asleep. It was all a dream…going to the storm cellar…telling Lana his secret. It was just a dream. But that meant Lana was still hurt. It meant that he still had to lie, to pretend. Not for the first time, Clark wished he didn't have super powers. He wished he was another normal guy, and that some other person had gotten stuck with all this crap. Oh, how he wished to be free of his secret…but that would never happen. He was still Clark Kent…a superhuman pretender.
