Note: Sorry for the long wait! (again) I got writer's block, but hopefully it's gone now. Thank you for all your reviews! Things between Pete and Clark will be cleared up in this chap. And, for those of you who are thinking that Pete has a "thing" for Lana, he doesn't! So don't worry; no plana (Pete/Lana) in this fic—ever!

Smallville: Pete's car on the way to the Kent Farm

9:06 A.M.

Saturday, June 19th

"So, you want to talk about anything, Pete?" Clark twisted the knob on the car's stereo slightly to turn down the volume. He and Pete were on their way to Clark's childhood home for some spring cleaning for Martha. Clark had been surprised when she asked him to clean out the loft.

Flashback to the Talon

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Mom?" Clark asked his mom who was behind the counter of the Talon making an order for a regular customer.

"Oh, Clark; you're finally down here," his mother said, grinning at him.

Clark flashed her a smile complete with dimples. "Sorry…I guess Lana was taking longer than usual in the bathroom."

Martha Kent clucked her tongue and said, "Clark, Lana left about fifteen minutes ago with Chloe to Metropolis. Do you honestly think I would take that alibi?" She frowned at him for being so childish.

Clark chuckled and nodded his head. "Hey, weren't you the one who fell for the Kent charm many years back?"

Martha couldn't help but smile back at her only son. He definitely has that charm…like Jonathon. "Well, now that you're down here, I was going to ask you to clean out the loft for me."

Clark's smile was still on his face, but a quick look of confusion crossed his face. "The loft—you mean my loft?"

"Yes, the loft your father built for you so you could have solitude and privacy during your teen years," Martha said, having finished the orders and moving back toward the counter, closer to her son.

"But, why do I have to clean it?" Clark was still confused. "I mean, you said that I could put my stuff in there and my old room as long as I wanted─" realization suddenly dawned on him. "Wait—you're not kicking me out, are you?"

Now, it was Martha's turn to chuckle. "No, Clark, I am not kicking you out," she said, handing the tray of cappuccinos to one of the employees, Anne. "Table four, Honey."

Clark nodded to Anne when she smiled to him on her way to table four. "Then, why─"

Martha sighed impatiently. "Clark, can't you just do what your dear old mother tells you to do? And besides, you're not only cleaning out the loft—the loft is just where most of the junk is. You and Pete could clean out the whole house, starting with the loft."

If Clark was confused before, it was nothing compared to now. "Mom, why? Are you moving?" His visage was alarmed.

"No, Sweetie…I'm not moving. I just need to clean out the place, you know? Sweep away the old memories and start with new ones of you and Lana getting married," Martha said, her eyes glistening. "That place has needed a good cleaning; I just haven't found the time, that's all. I mean, Jonathon's things are still lying around…" Martha prayed that Clark would understand, and as usual, he did.

Clark nodded, finally understanding his mother's need to clear herself of his father's life and her grief. It had been nearly four years since Jonathon Kent passed away and he knew that his mother was still deeply upset by his death. "Sure, Mom; Pete and I will clean it up."

End Flashback

"Like what?" Pete asked, keeping his eyes on the road. He had volunteered to be driver for the day.

"Nothing…you know…stuff," Clark said pathetically. "Look…Pete…I know I haven't been around much lately…you know with the wedding and all…I just want make sure everything's okay between us," Clark said, fidgeting with a loose string on his blue jacket.

Pete glanced at his best friend sitting adjacent to him. "No…everything's cool between us, Clark."

Clark raised his eyebrow and tried to read his expression. Pete saw this and said, "No, really, Clark. We're cool. Unless something's bothering you?"

"No…no…everything's fine," Clark said quickly, hoping he hadn't given him the wrong impression. "It's just…this morning you seemed…cranky."

Pete gave a snort of laughter and Clark took it as his cue for it to be okay to laugh too. "Cranky? As in an old man?" Pete asked with a grin. He cocked his head sideways at Clark and said, "Are you sure that's not you, man?"

"Haha…nope…I'm pretty sure it's you," Clark said, glad that the ice between them was broken. "Seriously though, what's up?"

Pete's demeanor seemed to lower, but a slight smile was still on his face. "Look…I don't know what was with me this morning…I guess I was jealous of you and Lana."

"Jealous?" In all his years he and Pete had been friends, it had usually been Pete with the girl and Clark stuck with staring at Lana from a distance. Until, of course, senior year—the year the table was flipped and he became the most popular guy in school along with the most beautiful girl.

"Yeah…I see you and Lana together and you guys just seem so…happy," Pete said, tapping the steering wheel in rhythm with the rock song on playing on the radio.

This was news to Clark. "Well, I mean, Lana and I have been together for a while, Pete. You can have that too—you just gotta work for it," Clark told him sincerely.

"Nah, man…I can't," Pete said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Of course you can," Clark said earnestly as Pete made the turn for Hickory Road.

"No…I'm telling you I can't."

"Why not?" Clark fixed his eyes on Pete who was trying to avoid his gaze by looking at the seemingly endless road.

"Let's just say I'm at the position you were once in with Lana and Whitney."

Clark's eyes were as wide as coins. "What? When did this happen? Who?" Although he already had an impression who it could be.

"Chloe. Ever since she came back," Pete said, miserably, turning into the Kent Farm driveway. "I thought those feelings were gone…but when she came back, they came out again."

Clark nodded, understanding. Lana had told him that her intention of running off to Paris was to put him behind and move on and it had worked—for a couple of days. She then told him that after a few days in the Eternal City, she was going crazy just thinking about him or seeing his picture. She had tried to control that craziness and drive away her feelings with Jason, but when she returned to Smallville, all those feelings came rushing back.

Pete pulled the car to a complete stopped beside a fenced off patched of dirt that once contained vegetables. "I was going to ask her out today…but when she came up to me in the Talon, she told me that she had a date last night with Paul."

"Paul? Who's Paul?" Clark asked as Pete turned off the engine.

"Some guy she's been on a few dates with," Pete explained, looking more miserable then before. "And I think she really likes him. He's trying to start an online newspaper in Metropolis and I think they're partners or something."

Another piece of information Clark didn't catch because of nuptial planning. "Wow…I really have missed a lot this past week."

"Yes, you have," Pete agreed and leaned back in his seat. Clark felt sorry for him; Pete was a great guy even if he did keep up a ridiculous macho act.

"Pete…I don't know what you're planning to do with Chloe…but I'm sure one day you'll find someone, if that's any condolence."

"Thanks, Clark," Pete said genuinely. "Now why don't we clean out that smelly, old, dusty loft of yours?"

Smallville: The Loft

4:12 P.M.

Saturday, June 19th

"Whoa, what's this?" Pete asked, rifling through a blue and red notebook with the subject 'history' printed in bold letters on the front. He and Clark were doing what they were sent to the farm to do: clean out the Kent Farm starting with the loft. So far, through the joking and playful banter, they hadn't managed to accomplish much. Clark had shrugged it off and figured he could come back here tomorrow or another day to finish. Right now, he just wanted to have fun some fun with his best friend.

"What's what?" Clark asked, stacking forgotten books into a cardboard box; one of the many of them that his mother had thoughtfully provided him and Pete for their cleaning escapade.

"This." Pete waved the notebook in the air. Then, he flipped it open to a random page and shoved it under Clark's nose. "What's with the hearts?"

Clark immediately blushed and snatched the notebook away from Pete. "It's just something for Ms. Gordon's history class a long time ago…."

"Righhtt…which is why there are little hearts on every page with Lana's name scribbled in them," Pete said with a knowing smile. "I thought girls did that."

If Clark could blush any harder, he would. "Shut up, man. It was high school…a lot of people did that."

"Sure…" Pete said, unconvinced. "So where does this go? Trash or keepsake of how much you sweated and breathed Lana?"

"Definitely trash," Clark said, nodding his head toward the pile of papers that had been labeled as trash. "If my mom finds it, she'll make it a keepsake and show it to Lana."

Pete flicked it like a frisbee over to the stack of papers, notebooks, and other junk Clark didn't want. "Well…all this cleaning has worked up an appetite. How 'bout we get some food?"

"Pete…you had a cappuccinos and two huge muffins this morning. Not to mention you ate an entire bag of chips and polished off a third of that pizza we ordered. How can you possibly be hungry?"

"Hey," Pete said with mock defensiveness. "Not everyone has super charged energy all the time like you, Mr. Alien."

Clark rolled his eyes and stood up. Stretching, he asked, "Talon or burgers?"

"Definitely burgers," Pete answered, getting up too. "I have to go pee first."

"Umm…too much info there, buddy," Clark said, watching Pete go down the loft stairs and walk toward the direction of the farm house. Clark sighed and smiled a bittersweet smile. There were so many memories in the loft including the time Lana had sneaked up on him with a birthday cake in her hand. That had been their official first kiss where both of them were just themselves and not under any kind of influence.

There were also the bad memories. The time Lana had come to him after his temporary blindness and told him about how she had developed feelings for Adam Knight. And, the time that secrets were revealed and his and Lana's love was finally able to breathe without any withholdings. In a way, cleaning out the loft meant that Clark was moving on, leaving behind his high school days of lusting after Lana. With the wedding rapidly approaching, it seemed like the right thing to do. It was time to put the past behind him and move toward the future.

Clark bent to lift a box filled with books that he was planning to move into his and Lana's apartment, but was stopped by the sound of a small branch breaking. He spun around. "Pete? Is that you? I'm just gonna put this box in the car. We can leave the rest here," Clark said, continuing picking up the box and walking down the loft stairs. When Pete didn't answer, Clark called out again, "Pete? I know that's you. You haven't been able to sneak up on me since the 6th grade. What makes you think that's gonna happen now?"

Clark chuckled and continued down the stairs, when he got to the bottom, he stopped. Puzzled, he looked around, but saw no one there. Again, he called, "Pete? Are you in here?"

Another snap of a twig came from behind Clark and he whirled around. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Clark asked; having decided Pete was still in the house.

"Clark!" A voice came from outside that made Clark jump, something he didn't do very often. "I'm out here, man."

Clark started toward the entrance of the barn where Pete was standing. "What's with the box?"

"What do you mean? I told you I'm gonna bring it with me to the apartment," Clark said, annoyed that Pete hadn't been listening. Although, he was more annoyed at the fact that Pete had been able to make him uneasy earlier.

Pete raised an eyebrow and said, "Uh…no you didn't? I just got back."

"What do you mean?" Clark demanded. "I heard you."

"No…I swear I just got back. Why? Did you hear something? Someone else?" Pete asked, glancing around and into the barn behind Clark's figure. His expression was one of uneasiness.

"I don't know…" Clark said, walking toward Pete's car with the box in his arms. "Don't worry about it…maybe it was just the wind or my super hearing gone whack." He smiled to reassure Pete that he wasn't too worried about it.

Pete unlocked the trunk to allow Clark to put the box in. "I'm not too sure about that…I mean, after that account of how you saved Lex Luthor from that snake man. What if snake man's after you?"

Clark snorted and closed the door of the trunk. "I don't think so Pete. Why would he be after me for?"

"'Cause it seems like trouble always finds you," Pete said, getting into the car and unlocking the passenger seat for Clark. The two friends remained silent for a few moments. Finally, Pete started the engine, bringing the car to life.

"Burgers?"

"Burgers," Clark said, glad that the conversation about the 'snake man,' as Pete put it, was behind them.

Smallville: The Burger Joint

4:32 P.M.

Saturday, June 19th

The Burger Joint's original name was The Small's Burger Joint, opened by the very Smalls who founded Smallville. It was right across the street from the old movie theatre that, nowadays, served fresh baked muffins and the best coffee in Smallville. The Burger Joint used to stand sandwiched between the Beanery and Miss Levine's Dresses. Now, it stood where the Fordman's shop used to be. Things in Smallville had definitely changed; some for the better and some for the worst. In the Burger Joint's situation, it was neither better nor worse.

"Glad to see they haven't changed the old décor," Pete said sarcastically, waving at the blue and white checkered patterns on the walls and football trophies of Whitney Fordman's.

"I'd thought his mom would take that stuff with her when she moved to Metropolis," Clark commented, taking a bite out of his burger.

"Well, I guess she decided to keep them up to remind this town of how great her son was at scoring touchdowns," Pete said lightly, putting ketchup in his burger.

"Hey, I thought I was the one who resented Whitney," Clark joked. "Why are you being so harsh on him all of a sudden? I mean, I was quarterback for Smallville High once."

"Yeah, but you didn't go around stringing people up on poles, now did you?" Pete said, slowly chewing his burger. "I guess I'm just pissed at the fact that I actually wanted to be like him…you know the guy with all the babes around him and the glory."

"He wasn't that bad of a guy, Pete," Clark defended. "Okay, I know I didn't like him much 'cause he was Lana's boyfriend, but he had some guts to join the marines."

"I guess you're right…." Pete said, taking a sip of his large coke. "But, hey that's all in the past now. Right now, you're the lucky man with the babe."

"I guess I am," Clark said, trying not to sound too cocky. "Just imagine, in a few week's I'll be a married man." He glanced at Pete for his take on the whole marriage thing.

"Which means no more late nights out in clubs dancing away with a scantily-clad chick," Pete said shoving the last piece of his burger in his mouth. When he was done chewing he continued, "Oh wait…I must have you mistaken with someone else. The only chick Clark Kent has rubbed bodies with is the Lana Lang."

Clark rolled his eyes as Pete carried on his 'you have got to get out more' speech. "Clark, you're about to be married. You should take advantage of your time left as a single, handsome guy and get out there. I mean, I'm sure Lana would understand."

"Ladies and gentleman, my friend who insists that you cheat on your fiancé, Pete Ross," Clark said, throwing a fry at Pete. "C'mon on, man, you do not seriously mean that, do you?"

"Look, all I'm saying is you've spent your entire life breathing Lana Lang. You've never dated anyone else and if you did, you were still sweating Lana," Pete said seriously.

Clark frowned, thinking about what was said. In a way, Pete was right; he had spent most of his life chasing after Lana. What if all that chasing and running around had caused him to miss something? No, you haven't missed out on anything, Clark scolded himself. It's just Pete's male chauvinism getting to you and pre-wedding jitters.

"Pete, I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Clark said firmly.

"What? The burger you ordered?" Pete asked, not catching on.

"No…of marrying Lana," Clark told him. "I've been in love with her ever since I was five…it'd be wrong to love someone else."

Pete nodded, understanding where this was coming from. "Yeah, I've already heard the story from your mom; I don't need to here it again. Sorry if I planted any doubts in that Lana-crazed mind of yours."

"It's okay Pete," Clark said, patting him on the back.

Pete sighed. "Clark…you know I didn't mean any of those things that I said. You and Lana were made for each other and I'm glad that you two are finally together. It's just…" He trailed off.

"What?" Clark prompted.

"You getting married means you and I…aren't going to be best friends anymore," Pete said and quickly going on, "No, I mean I know we'll still be friends and you'll say that we are still best friends…but it's not the same. Lana's going to be the one you turn to now. She's always going to be there."

"Pete…" Clark didn't really know what to say. Now he understood why Pete had criticized his and Lana's relationship. "Things may change after Lana and I are married…but it doesn't mean you and I won't be friends."

Pete nodded, his expression was of glum. Then, he brightened up. "Clark, have you planned out your bachelor party yet?"

"No," Clark replied, crumbling up his burger wrapper. "I don't think I'm going to have one."

Pete laughed. "That's where you're wrong, man," Pete said, slapping Clark on the back, almost making him choke on his drink. "When's Lana having her bridal shower?"

"I think Chloe's planning on having it on the third of July. She mentioned something to me about it, but she hasn't told Lana yet," Clark recalled. "Why? What are you planning?"

"Don't worry about it, Clark. Just be free on the third." Pete said, smiling. He stood up slightly and pulled out his wallet.

Clark, realizing Pete was going to pay for their meal, intervened. "Nah, it's okay. I'll pay."

"What? No, you're not," Pete said, pulling out a twenty dollar bill. "No offense, man, but like you said, you and Lana aren't exactly raking in the cash. Your wedding's a month away and let me tell you, caterers and dress makers don't like being rushed."

Clark ignored him and reached for his wallet in his back pocket, but found none. "Pete, I think I left my wallet back at the apartment. I'm going to head back and get it."

"Okay…I guess I'll walk over and wait for you."

"Nah, just wait in the car, I'll be right back," Clark said, striding purposely toward the door.

-

Clark turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open to the apartment. He stepped over the threshold and glanced around for his wallet. It wasn't on the kitchen counter like he thought it would be.

Maybe the bedroom then. He was right; it was on the bedside table along with his watch that he had forgotten to put on that morning. Clark shoved his wallet in his pocket and snapped the watch on his wrist. He was about to leave when something on the floor caught his eye.

Bending down, he picked up a shattered picture frame. It was a picture of him and Lana that had been taken that year on Valentine's Day. Clark smiled at the memory of Lana stepping into her dorm room and finding a table set for two and rose petals scattered around the place. It had taken begging and pleading for her roommate, Jane to finally agree to help him set it up and to stay out of the dorm on that night.

But, what had happened to the frame? Clark put it back on the bedside table and a frown replaced his smile. It didn't take very long for Clark's bemusement to be interrupted by the ringing of the phone on the kitchen countertop.

"Hello?" Clark answered, still puzzled by the frame's state.

"Clark? Thank God you're there," the voice over the phone said.

"Chloe? What's wrong?" Clark didn't like where the conversation was going. Judging from the panic and fear in her voice, something had gone wrong.

"Clark…it's Lana…"