A/N – A huge thanks to Hippie-Killer for her support while I've been away – feel free to bug me any time you like, darling!! I don't think I've ever excited someone so much with one fic! Actually, huge thanks to everyone who's been reading, especially those who keep coming back for every chapter… Huge hugs for you all!!

Chapter Eight

Clark reached the Robbins farm within seconds once he was certain there was nobody around to see him accelerate. The lights were all out, he knocked loudly on the front door but there was no answer from within. He pushed it lightly and it swung open easily, he called Ashley's name but there was no reply at all. He stepped inside and switched the lights on, walking slowly through each room and then running up to Ashley's bedroom. It was empty, her paintings were still screwed up on the floor and shards of mirror were caught in the fabric of her carpet. Clark turned around and ran back down the stairs and into the yard; the torrential rain had slowed down but was becoming harder and heavier until Clark realised the rain had become hailstones within a matter of seconds. He didn't know where to turn; the only other person who would know what was going on was Chloe and so he headed across town and towards the school. Leaving a trail of water behind him, he ran into the Torch office to find Chloe hunched over the computer.

"Clark," she said as she looked up, standing up from her chair and pulling him towards her. She pushed him down into the chair she was just occupying and pointed at the screen. "Look at this, I got the picture from one of the weather satellites; that swirl is a huge storm and it's sitting right over Smallville. It appeared from nowhere, the meteorologists are stumped. They don't know how to explain it," Clark stared at the growing swirl that was moving over Smallville on the map on-screen.

"I've already checked her house, she wasn't there,"

"What did you say to her to set her off?" asked Chloe, closing the windows against the strengthening winds and sudden chill.

"Nothing, I wasn't even with her. I was at Lana's," he sighed, Chloe looked over at him. "You don't think she followed me there or something?"

"Clark, Ashley is infatuated with you. I don't think I would be surprised by anything that girl did to be near you and she clearly has problems with your friendship with Lana," Clark's face was a blank until suddenly, a wave of memory washed over him. "What is it?"

"Saturday night, I thought she'd just come over but she showed up just as Lana was leaving, it was like she knew or something," he sighed; Chloe sat down on the sofa and sighed deeply. "She must have been waiting for Lana to leave. Oh God, Chloe, I was telling Lana about everything tonight,"

"What did you say? What did you actually say that could've upset her?" asked Chloe, the seriousness of the situation etched into every one of her words.

"I told Lana that I felt like Ashley was keeping something from me and then…" Clark drifted off mid-sentence but a quick glare from Chloe brought him back to life. "Then I kissed her," Chloe's face fell immediately.

"Clark, I cannot believe you. You tell Ashley that you love her, you sleep with her and then you're back in Lana's arms a day later. What is wrong with you?"

"But I didn't even mean it," he sighed, putting a hand to his head in disbelief that this was actually happening. "It was a stupid mistake and Lana knows that, I'm crazy about Ashley. You know how I feel about her, I was just confused, I just wanted to be sure," Chloe stood up and patted Clark on the back, ignoring how wet his clothes were.

"It doesn't matter now, you need to find her and explain yourself to her, she needs to know that it was a mistake or her temper could kill us all," said Chloe, Clark smiled up at her. Only Chloe could make the little things sounds like the end of the world. "Where else would she go? Did you two have a special place or anything? Would she be at the barn?" Clark nodded and ran from the office, she ran to the door after him but he was already gone. She looked around in confusion and sighed, closing the office door behind her, she wasn't going anywhere tonight.

Clark raced back across to the Robbins Farm but there was still no sign of life, he rushed past the buildings and out across the fields. By the time he reached Ashley's secret garden, he was frantic with concern for her. He thought back to three days before when Ashley had laid in his arms right here and was racked with guilt, how could he have kissed Lana knowing how much it would hurt Ashley? If he was having difficulty sorting through his emotions, he should've been honest with her instead of cheating on her. Her berated himself for being so selfish but now he had to find Ashley and talk to her, make her understand that he was confused but now, all he wanted was her. Chloe had mentioned the barn and although he was unsure whether Ashley would go there, it was the only place left to look.

The house was quiet when he arrived and his first instinct was to check in on his parents; they were quietly reading in the living room to his relief and he quickly asked if they had seen Ashley before racing up to the loft of the barn. She wasn't there either; he didn't know where else to look and he was becoming more and more sick with worry. The hailstones had slowed down and were becoming more like rain again so Clark could only assume that she had calmed down slightly. He collapsed onto the sofa and pressed his hands to his head, wishing he could just reach out and find her there. He wished he could turn back time, stop himself from ever hurting her like this, stop himself from ever reaching that position. He felt guilty over Ashley and guilty over Lana.

Lana.

The thought hit him like a mach truck; Ashley would have gone to Lana. She would never have blamed Clark for what happened; she would have blamed Lana immediately. He leapt down the barn staircase and rushed back to Lana's house, banging on the door and frowning when there was no reply. He gently pushed on the door and it swung open with ease; Lana always kept it shut tight, especially in bad weather. He stepped inside, half expecting to find both of them sitting together on the sofa waiting for him but there was nobody there. There was nothing, Lana was gone and her surface belongings were strewn about the floor. Ashley must have been here and she had obviously had one of her manic fits of temper. Clark felt lost; he didn't know where to look next. He had no idea how to get out of this mess he had created for himself. He thought back to conversations he'd had with Ashley, pondered every word she had ever said about Lana but there was nothing that could tell him where she was or what she wanted with Lana.

Ashley had felt threatened by Lana, she had told Clark one night how she felt ugly in comparison and Clark had shaken off her insecurities and showered her with kisses to make her feel beautiful but it wasn't enough and she had remained quiet for the rest of the night. A new thought came to him; what if she had planned to make Lana as ugly as she felt? What if she had planned to put Lana through everything she had gone through? She would have taken her out to the field where Clark had first set eyes on her and with the weather the way it was, how long would it be before Ashley called down the lightning that had hurt her so much seven months before only this time, Lana would be its victim.