Chapter Two

"So, are you doing anything interesting this weekend, Clark?" asked Martha, pouring out another glass of orange juice and handing it to her son. He took a mouthful before putting it down on the table and shrugging, filling his mouth with her home-made breakfast pancakes. "Are you seeing Chloe again?"

"Martha, leave the boy alone," scolded Jonathon, sipping at his coffee. It was still too hot to drink and he wondered why he bothered. She glanced at him and smiled; Clark ignored both of them and continued to eat his breakfast in silence. "Did you manage to fix the fences this morning?"

"Yep," smiled Clark. "I don't know where that storm came from though, we weren't forecast it, were we?" Martha shook her head, it had rained hard and long all night and come morning, half of the Kent Farm's fences had been torn down by the wind. "I'm outta here anyway; I'll be back later,"

"Are you home for dinner this time?" protested Martha, Clark simply shrugged and waltzed out of the back door. "I don't know if he's coming or going lately," Jonathon laughed and finally managed a mouthful of his coffee.

Clark had grabbed his jacket from the barn to fend off the icy winds that were still blowing; he wasn't cold but he knew it would look strange to not wear it. As he ran down the wooden staircase, he heard a voice call his name and was shocked to see that it wasn't Lana standing at the bottom of the stairs but a pale, blonde girl who he hadn't seen in seven months. She smiled as she saw him but seemed embarrassed to be there, Clark assumed she was insecure at the prospect of just showing up on his doorstep.

"Ashley, right?" he said, smiling broadly and hoping to make her feel a little more at ease. "Chloe told me you were out of hospital, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry for just coming over but I wanted to say thank you for saving me that day," smiled Ashley. "I think I would've died in that field if you hadn't got me to hospital. Anyway, I was wondering, can I buy you a cup of coffee to say thanks?" Clark put his jacket on in silence, he didn't know anything about this girl but he supposed a cup of coffee in the crowded Talon wasn't going to be a big deal.

"Yeah, that'd be great. I was heading out to the Talon anyway," he said, Ashley nodded and began to walk out of the barn with Clark at her side.

Clark and Ashley sat in the window talking and sipping coffee. Clark didn't really know why he had never spoken to her before as they had a lot in common, especially as they were both farm kids. He found himself telling her about his forays into journalism with the Torch and how thrilling it was to see his name on the front page, she told him about her love affair with painting and how she had almost failed a school year for painting more than studying. Clark was having such an interesting talk with Ashley that he didn't even notice when Chloe and Pete walked in. They got their drinks and headed towards the table, Ashley spied them from the corner of her eye and immediately halted her conversation with Clark, smiling at him and then looking up at his friends as they pulled up chairs.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything," grinned Pete, Ashley smiled at him and shook his head. "We haven't seen you out and about in a while, Ashley. How are you feeling?"

"I'm good, it was hard getting used to walking again but it's fine now," she smiled. "It's a bit weird to find out nothing's changed in seven months though,"

"Yeah, that is the depression of Smallville," laughed Chloe, Ashley nodded and joined in. "So, what about school and stuff? Are they making you re-sit the year or have they worked something out for you?"

"I'm trying to catch up at the moment; I don't really want to stay behind a year. It's hard work but as long as I pass the finals, I'm good to go," said Ashley. Clark watched her in amazement, she had seemed so unsure of herself in the barn earlier but now, here she was, laughing and joking with his friends as if they had known each other for years. It was comfortable and it was easy and it was a totally unexpected feeling. He glanced out of the window at the skies; the grey clouds were being blown away by the strong winds and the sun was beginning to shine. Maybe it was going to be a nice day after all.

"Has anyone seen Lana today? I thought she was working this morning," asked Chloe, looking around the room for their missing friend.

"No, I haven't seen her since yesterday," said Clark absent-mindedly, still staring out of the window. "I think she mentioned having a later shift today so she could do her project," Chloe flushed at the mention of the project, she still felt guilty for not doing her share but it was too late now. Ashley watched Chloe get flustered and suddenly felt terrible, she had been having so much fun with Clark that morning, she had forgotten the laughter of the night before. The laughter he had shared with Chloe and not her. She found herself idly touching the scar on her forehead, she knew it was hidden beneath her fringe but she wondered if Clark had seen it. Maybe he had only accepted a cup of coffee because he felt sorry for her; because he felt that she deserved it after everything she had been through. Without thinking, she stood up quickly and knocked her half-filled cup over, spilling coffee over the table.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," she muttered, clearing it up with tissues before running out of the Talon. Chloe and Pete watched with confused frowns as Clark stood up, excused himself and ran out after her. She was already half-way down the street but he called her name anyway, she ignored him and kept on walking. Clark began to run, oblivious of the raindrops as they began to fall faster and faster. Eventually, Ashley stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Ashley, what's wrong? Why were you running away from me?" he asked, her face was wet with the teardrops and raindrops mingling on her cheek. She sniffed and wiped her face with the sleeve of her jumper.

"I'm sorry, Clark. It was a stupid idea," she said, shaking her head as she spoke. "You didn't have to come out with me, I just thought it would be nice," Clark frowned and took her hand gently.

"Ashley, I thought we were having a good time. It was nice," he said soothingly. "What's wrong?" Ashley stared up at him and apologised again before running off, Clark watched her go with a look of concern and confusion etched on his face. He turned around and headed back to the Talon to rejoin Pete and Chloe.

"What was that all about?" asked Chloe as Clark sat down, his hair dripping water down his face.

"I don't know but I think the storm's picking up again," he said, looking out of the window at the darkening sky. "Do you think she was just upset about the coma and everything? She's only been out of the house for a couple of days; maybe it was all too much for her to be with people and stuff,"

"I don't know, Ashley's never really been one to upset easily," said Pete. "I remember her being quite tough,"

"People change, Pete," said Chloe, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I'm sure she'll be okay, she's got a lot of adjusting to do, that's all. Don't worry, Clark, I'm sure it was nothing you said," Clark nodded and finished off the rest of his coffee, despite it being lukewarm. "Right then, what shall we do for the rest of the day, we can't hang around in here,"

"I can't really do much, I still haven't finished the project," said Pete, Chloe laughed a little louder than she meant to. "Shut up, Sullivan. I know Clark did most of yours," She turned to face Clark who attempted to look as innocent as possible but failed miserably.

"Fine, Mr Snitch. Do you want to go into Metropolis with me? We could do a bit of shopping or something; you said you needed some new school supplies,"

"Yeah but I don't need to go to Metropolis to buy a new pen, Chloe," laughed Clark.

"Fine, you are both so boring," she sighed, Clark smiled and gave in immediately.

"Okay, okay, I'll come to Metropolis with you. Anything to stop you pouting like a baby," he laughed, Chloe slapped him lightly across the top of his arm and stood up, swinging her jacket on. "Right now?"

"I want to get going, Metropolis is a long drive for my little car," she grinned, Clark sighed and put his jacket on. "See you later, Pete. If you see Lana, tell her to call me tonight," Pete nodded and waved the two of them off from his seat.

It was almost eight o'clock when Clark opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen, both of his parents stood waiting for him under the pretence of making a cup of coffee. Clark wondered how long they had been waiting for him to return home. He could feel a lecture coming on already and he wondered if he said sorry now, would it save him the ear-bashing.

"I'm really sorry, Mom," he started. "Chloe wanted to go to Metropolis and once we were there, she just kept shopping for hours. I don't know how she did it," Martha just nodded and continued to make her cup of coffee and talk to Jonathon. "Are you mad at me for being late?"

"Clark, it's a Saturday night. I knew you'd be with Chloe so I wasn't worried about you," she said with a smile. "Besides, I like you spending time with Chloe; she's a nice girl,"

"Martha, stop it," warned Jonathon, he turned to face Clark. "It would've been nice to have a phone-call but it's too late now,"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be out this late," he smiled at his mother. "I don't suppose you saved me any dinner, did you?" Martha smiled and nodded, grabbing a plate from the fridge and putting it into the microwave. "Thanks, Mom,"

After he had eaten his warmed dinner, Clark headed up to the barn. He was a little tired and knew he could have easily slept but something was keeping him awake and he knew exactly what that something was. He reached the top step of the old wooden staircase and stopped, Ashley was sitting on his sofa with a rolled up tube in her hand. She stood up the second he came into sight, she was still soaked through from the day of rain and Clark wondered if she had even gone home.

"I just wanted to say sorry for this morning, I was just really overwhelmed and I needed to be on my own," she explained, Clark didn't know how much of her confession was genuine and how much was an excuse but he accepted it none-the-less.

"Don't be stupid, you didn't have to apologise," he smiled; she stepped forward and handed him the paper tube. "What's this?" He began to unroll it.

"It's the painting I did on the day you rescued me. I don't really want it anymore and I wanted to give you something a little more than a cup of coffee," she smiled as he pulled it open and smiled at the picture. It was stunning and he could barely believe that it was painted, it looked like a photograph. "Do you like it?"

"Ashley, it's beautiful, thank you," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. She drew back quickly and walked to the window. "At least the rain's stopping; I can head home without being soaked through,"

"You can stay for a little while if you like," said Clark without thinking. He didn't really know why he wanted Ashley to stay longer but he did want to get to know her a little better, something about her intrigued him. "We had such a good talk this morning; it'd be a shame to end it there,"

Ashley smiled and nodded, sitting back down on Clark's sofa and totally forgetting about Chloe, Lana and her scars.