The next part in our story...

Clark stared at the coffee pot. He had been staring at it for about an hour now. He knew he shouldn't really be there, but there wasn't anywhere else to go. He had tried to hide out in his room, but Martha tried to confront him. He moved out to his fortress, but his father found him there. Clark loved his family, but when your family's the problem, you need somewhere where you can escape—even if it's just for a little while. That's why he was at the Talon. Martha had left early, and by this time the coffeehouse had closed. Lana wasn't even there. He was probably breaking the law simply by sitting in the chair after hours, but he didn't care. Clark had this weird feeling—

"It is an interesting pot."

Clark turned around in surprise. He hadn't even realized Lex had come into the room. That scared him. "What are you doing here?"

Lex stared at Clark, curious. "I could ask you the same thing."

Clark looked down. He was the one breaking the law, of course. "I just needed to get away."

Lex still wasn't satisfied. "I can see where this would be your first choice."

Clark stood up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here."

"Wait, Clark…"

Clark looked back.

"You know you can stay here for as long as you need to."

Clark just stood there for a moment. He didn't really want to be at the Talon, trying to explain anything to Lex, but he didn't really know where he wanted to be. "Thanks," he finally said. Lex stared at him for another moment, trying to read his expression. Clark decided to break the silence. He always was uncomfortable when Lex had that look on his face. "I haven't seen you at the Talon in a while."

Lex's concentration broke. He didn't say anything for a while—finally he nodded. "I've been busy."

Keep him talking, Clark. "Doing anything… exciting?"

Lex walked towards the cash registers. "Nothing as exciting as what I've seen in the past." He looked up at Clark. "You don't drop by as often."

Clark tried to find words to say. Finally he gave in. "I guess I've been busy, too."

Lex pushed the cash register in and locked it. He didn't look convinced. "Yeah—lots to do in Smallville."

Clark just looked away. Lex finally rolled his eyes. He was too tired to play games tonight. "Clark, is anything wrong?" Clark gave him a questioning look. He didn't mean to, yet he had done it so many times in self-defense… Lex tried again. "Is anything wrong? As in… wrong?"

Clark wasn't really sure why he was trying to keep this a secret from Lex. It had nothing to do with the past Clark was trying to hide; yet he couldn't bring himself to tell Lex the truth. "Have you ever felt like you were balancing pieces of your life?"

Lex snorted a little at that. "Who doesn't, Clark?"

Clark leaned against the counter. "It's like I've been given things to balance, and my whole life—ever since I could remember, I always knew that someday I wouldn't be able to balance them." Lex looked up at Clark questioningly. "It's like I could see into my future, and everything would come crashing down—and no matter how hard I fight it, I know that someday I'll loose, and then everything I worked for will be over."

Lex just looked at the counter top. He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Then it will be over." Clark looked up. "If you believe it's inevitable, Clark, then it will be."

Clark didn't really want to hear that then. He wanted someone to agree with him, someone to tell him he was right. "We can't control everything, Lex."

Lex shrugged. "We can control some things."

They stood in silence for a while before Lex knew it was time to step in. "Consider yourself officially kicked out for the night." Clark looked at him confused. Lex shoved Clark's jacket into his arms and pushed him toward the door. "Go home, Clark. Talk to your family, who I'm assuming you're not talking to, for whatever the reason. Talk to them so your family doesn't become like mine." Clark knew Lex was right, but he still didn't want him to be. Lex tried again. "Leave now, or I'll call the police." Clark gave him a "would you really" look, and he realized Lex would.

So he did leave, but not before a thought crossed his mind. Something wasn't right. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was majorly not right. It didn't have anything to do with Clark's grandfather, but he couldn't believe he hadn't spotted it before. Clark turned around. "Lex—I think I'm going to need your help."

Lex looked at him puzzled. The police were forgotten.