Two days later Clark opened the door to the Kent house, stepping side. "Mom, I'm home!" Clark yelled out. "Hello?"
"I'm in here, sweetie."
Kent turn to see Martha in the kitchen reading her book. "They braught Lana to the hospital in Metropolis. Her condition hasn't changed."
"I'm sorry to hear that Clark." said Martha. "Do they know what caused it?"
"There are no signs of toxins, and no sign of a virus." said Clark. "So that rules out everything the doctors thought was wrong. The probably means that kryponite is involved. Oh, how is Alex?"
"I don't know. We havn't seen her since dinner."
"So, how did things go when I was left? I still have to apologize to her." commented Clark.
"Well," Martha started, "The thing is..."
"So, you and Clark looked pretty cozzy at the dance."
Alex sat down on Chloe's bed, watching Chloe at her desk typing up her article. "Clark is great guy." she responded.
Chloe bit her bottom lip. She knew that, more than Alexandra knew. "Yeah. You should be proud, I mean, you made Clark dance. In front of ipeople/i. In our school play, in grade eight, he was supposed to dance with Lana, but in front of everybody he just froze. It was the funniest thing you had ever seen." she said, laughing.
Alex laughed too. "I'm surprised he wasn't allready with someone."
"Clark isn't the most open person. Almost nobody knows Clark enough or can get close enough to ask him out, and he seemed perfectly fine in his lonesome." Chloe said, hiding pain. "I'm surprised he agreed to go the dance instead of making up some bad excuse."
"I don't know either. But he did... that I'm thankful for. At first when I saw him I was thinking 'wow, he's hot' so I tried. But then after the dance we talked for the longest time. Now it's more than just an attraction. Is that possible, Chloe? Can you start really loving someone in only a day?"
Chloe thought about it. "I think so, for the right people. What makes you feel more for him?"
"I don't know exactly... there's so much about him. And he was open to me, he trusted me after I trusted him."
Chloe stopped typing for just a second, in surprise. "Wow, you and Clark must be really hitting it off. He's one of the most concieling people I know. If I were to trust anyone with a secret it would be Clark. I just hate how he's so overprotective all of the time."
Alex nodded. "He probably gets it from his parents."
"Oh? You've met them?"
"Yeah." replied Alex, her voice trailing off. "Could've gone better. But that doesn't matter. So, what're you writing about?"
"Oh, nothing." said Chloe. "Just about a bunch of freightened people around Smallville."
Alex looked at the computer screen. "Oh?" she asked, her voice sounding worried.
"Some people around Smallville have been seeing things. Normally that wouldn't be of any interest but the doctors reviewed some of Lana's charts and the other victims, they all had heightened adrenaline levels. At first they thought this was from the heart attack, but it looks like the adrenaline was present before the heart attack."
"They were scared to death?" asked Alex.
Chloe laughed slightly. "I highly doubt that. The doctors, and me included, think that it's just a side effect of some toxin. After all if they were scared, then the comas are all coincidences."
"I guess you're right." said Alex, partially at ease. But that feeling was coming back. She would have to talk with grandpa... he would help her. If he could. Then again maybe this was all in her head.
"Dad, how could you do that?!" yelled Clark, walking outside with Martha trailing behind, trying to catch the son. She had just informed Clark of everything that happened.
Johnathan put the last hay-bail in the back of the truck, turning to his son. "Clark, she wasn't supposed to hear that."
"That doesn't matter! You said you would give her a chance, and then you start calling her a monster in front of her face as soon as I'm gone?"
"I didn't say it to her face, Clark."
"Oh, so everything's allright then." said Clark, sarcasticly. "Dad, why can't you just accept that she's inormal/i. Alex isn't going to suck the age out of you, what's left of it, she's not going to steal body heat from mom, and she isn't going to try and eat me alive!" he screamed.
"Clark I'm only trying to protect this family." he said, stepping closer to Clark. "Why can't you understand that?"
"iProtect from what?!/i So far the only person around here who has been hurting me is you! Dad, I'm not a little kid anymore. I know Alex, she doesn't want to hurt anybody." he said.
"I'm trying to look out for you!"
"You have!" Clark yelled. "I couldn't join football I might accidently hurt someone. I couldn't join the track team because in of the moment I could reveal my secret. I couldn't spend too much time with Lex because he might discover me. I had to beg you just to be let to go to Pete's house when I was a kid, because you weren't around and I could just splurt out what I really was and what I could do. Dad, you've been controlling my entire life trying to protect me, so I can have a normal life, I understand that. But now that I start having even the islightest/i bit of a normal life, like everyone else has, you try and drive it away."
His father was silent was silent.
"He's right, Johnathan." said Martha.
"Dad, just trust me."
Johnathan took a deep breath, thinking deeply. "Clark, she is not part of a normal life. She is dangerous, and I will be suspicious until I have proof. I apologized to Alex for saying those things in haste, she didn't accept it."
"Guilty until proven innocent?"
"When it comes to your safety yes."
Clark fumed, turning away. He saw Alex who had just appeared in her old beat-up car at the end of the driveway. Feeling a bit better, Clark ran over to her. "I'm sorry for disappearing. And I'm iso/i sorry for my dad. He had no right to act like that."
Alex nodded. "It's allright. I just came over and was wondeing if you wanted to come to the Talon with me. Chloe and Pete are making some stuff for Lana as a get-well present."
Clark smiled and said yes, sitting in the passenger side seat.
Meanwhile Johnathan watched Clark get in the car, heading down the road for town. He knew Clark was right... to an extent. But Clark really didn't know the girl. He had only known her for a few days, and thought he was in love with her. Maybe he was right, but Johnathan couldn't take that chance. Not with Clark. Ignoring the accusing stare at him, Johnathan walked back into the house.
"I'm in here, sweetie."
Kent turn to see Martha in the kitchen reading her book. "They braught Lana to the hospital in Metropolis. Her condition hasn't changed."
"I'm sorry to hear that Clark." said Martha. "Do they know what caused it?"
"There are no signs of toxins, and no sign of a virus." said Clark. "So that rules out everything the doctors thought was wrong. The probably means that kryponite is involved. Oh, how is Alex?"
"I don't know. We havn't seen her since dinner."
"So, how did things go when I was left? I still have to apologize to her." commented Clark.
"Well," Martha started, "The thing is..."
"So, you and Clark looked pretty cozzy at the dance."
Alex sat down on Chloe's bed, watching Chloe at her desk typing up her article. "Clark is great guy." she responded.
Chloe bit her bottom lip. She knew that, more than Alexandra knew. "Yeah. You should be proud, I mean, you made Clark dance. In front of ipeople/i. In our school play, in grade eight, he was supposed to dance with Lana, but in front of everybody he just froze. It was the funniest thing you had ever seen." she said, laughing.
Alex laughed too. "I'm surprised he wasn't allready with someone."
"Clark isn't the most open person. Almost nobody knows Clark enough or can get close enough to ask him out, and he seemed perfectly fine in his lonesome." Chloe said, hiding pain. "I'm surprised he agreed to go the dance instead of making up some bad excuse."
"I don't know either. But he did... that I'm thankful for. At first when I saw him I was thinking 'wow, he's hot' so I tried. But then after the dance we talked for the longest time. Now it's more than just an attraction. Is that possible, Chloe? Can you start really loving someone in only a day?"
Chloe thought about it. "I think so, for the right people. What makes you feel more for him?"
"I don't know exactly... there's so much about him. And he was open to me, he trusted me after I trusted him."
Chloe stopped typing for just a second, in surprise. "Wow, you and Clark must be really hitting it off. He's one of the most concieling people I know. If I were to trust anyone with a secret it would be Clark. I just hate how he's so overprotective all of the time."
Alex nodded. "He probably gets it from his parents."
"Oh? You've met them?"
"Yeah." replied Alex, her voice trailing off. "Could've gone better. But that doesn't matter. So, what're you writing about?"
"Oh, nothing." said Chloe. "Just about a bunch of freightened people around Smallville."
Alex looked at the computer screen. "Oh?" she asked, her voice sounding worried.
"Some people around Smallville have been seeing things. Normally that wouldn't be of any interest but the doctors reviewed some of Lana's charts and the other victims, they all had heightened adrenaline levels. At first they thought this was from the heart attack, but it looks like the adrenaline was present before the heart attack."
"They were scared to death?" asked Alex.
Chloe laughed slightly. "I highly doubt that. The doctors, and me included, think that it's just a side effect of some toxin. After all if they were scared, then the comas are all coincidences."
"I guess you're right." said Alex, partially at ease. But that feeling was coming back. She would have to talk with grandpa... he would help her. If he could. Then again maybe this was all in her head.
"Dad, how could you do that?!" yelled Clark, walking outside with Martha trailing behind, trying to catch the son. She had just informed Clark of everything that happened.
Johnathan put the last hay-bail in the back of the truck, turning to his son. "Clark, she wasn't supposed to hear that."
"That doesn't matter! You said you would give her a chance, and then you start calling her a monster in front of her face as soon as I'm gone?"
"I didn't say it to her face, Clark."
"Oh, so everything's allright then." said Clark, sarcasticly. "Dad, why can't you just accept that she's inormal/i. Alex isn't going to suck the age out of you, what's left of it, she's not going to steal body heat from mom, and she isn't going to try and eat me alive!" he screamed.
"Clark I'm only trying to protect this family." he said, stepping closer to Clark. "Why can't you understand that?"
"iProtect from what?!/i So far the only person around here who has been hurting me is you! Dad, I'm not a little kid anymore. I know Alex, she doesn't want to hurt anybody." he said.
"I'm trying to look out for you!"
"You have!" Clark yelled. "I couldn't join football I might accidently hurt someone. I couldn't join the track team because in of the moment I could reveal my secret. I couldn't spend too much time with Lex because he might discover me. I had to beg you just to be let to go to Pete's house when I was a kid, because you weren't around and I could just splurt out what I really was and what I could do. Dad, you've been controlling my entire life trying to protect me, so I can have a normal life, I understand that. But now that I start having even the islightest/i bit of a normal life, like everyone else has, you try and drive it away."
His father was silent was silent.
"He's right, Johnathan." said Martha.
"Dad, just trust me."
Johnathan took a deep breath, thinking deeply. "Clark, she is not part of a normal life. She is dangerous, and I will be suspicious until I have proof. I apologized to Alex for saying those things in haste, she didn't accept it."
"Guilty until proven innocent?"
"When it comes to your safety yes."
Clark fumed, turning away. He saw Alex who had just appeared in her old beat-up car at the end of the driveway. Feeling a bit better, Clark ran over to her. "I'm sorry for disappearing. And I'm iso/i sorry for my dad. He had no right to act like that."
Alex nodded. "It's allright. I just came over and was wondeing if you wanted to come to the Talon with me. Chloe and Pete are making some stuff for Lana as a get-well present."
Clark smiled and said yes, sitting in the passenger side seat.
Meanwhile Johnathan watched Clark get in the car, heading down the road for town. He knew Clark was right... to an extent. But Clark really didn't know the girl. He had only known her for a few days, and thought he was in love with her. Maybe he was right, but Johnathan couldn't take that chance. Not with Clark. Ignoring the accusing stare at him, Johnathan walked back into the house.