The next few days passed without incident. Clark had grown tired of sandwiches and used some of the money Lex gave him to buy a hotplate, so he could graduate to canned food and hotdogs. Twice a week, he treated himself to a full burger and fries meal and the local diner. He considered changing locations; finding another diner. It wasn't good that the waitresses greeted

him with smiles of recognition as he entered each time, but it was the closest thing he had to a home, and it would be too hard to give it up; besides, people in this neighborhood minded their own business.

He glanced around the diner at the patrons. Many he saw there every time he came. Occasionally, some unfamiliar face would allow him to engage them in brief conversation. The talk was always guarded, never venturing beyond the sort of small talk you found in places where there was little hope and a lotof bitterness, however resigned and almost cheerful people seemed to be about their circumstances. There stood some unwritten rule not to ask any personal questions. Everyone had a past or present they wanted to hide, so Clark's reluctance to not say too much, stood out to no oneOne of the man reasons he felt almost safe there. But temptation to relieve suffering when he could was great, and he managed it in small ways when he thought attention wouldn't be drawn, but as much as it pained him, he couldn't do it too often, or people would start to talk about him.

Clark tried his best to make his meal last. The small dingy room that had become his home was nothing to rush back to. For a boy used to being so active, hours of idleness were almost torture. He recognized a few faces in the diner, but no one he knew well enough to speak to. He imagined most people were there on their lunch break. They rarely talked to each other, only the staff of the diner. Clark wished desperately someone would talk to him; anyone, even the slightly drunk guy sipping coffee at the counter. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, a frequent habit lately.

Exhausting all ways of extending his meal, Clark finally called for his check and prepared to leave. He pulled out his money, and counted carefully, resisting the urge to see exactly how much he had left.

He smiled appreciatively at the waitress and left a ten dollar bill on the table. He glanced towards the front door and something caught his eye. A young girl shifted uneasily outside the diner window. He realized now he'd been looking at her dark purple coat outside the window during most of his meal. She looked agitated and a little scared. Clark opened the door, hesitating, weighing his options. He wanted to make sure he wasn't just making up an excuse to go talk to her because his solitude wore heavily on him now. He stopped just outside the restaurant, pretending to look for something in his pockets. He glanced cautiously toward the girl, never lifting his head. He caught her eye briefly but she quickly looked away. There was no point in resisting anymore. She looked harmless, and he didn't think he could walk away and leave her alone on that street. Looking as casual as he could muster. He walked over to her. "Excuse me. Um..you seem a little lost. Is there anything I can do to help?"

The girl looked at him uneasily, obviously on the defensive-and who could blame her. Clark held her eyes and he saw her look soften a little and a slight smile formed on her lips. "I hope I'm not making some huge mistake..but I could use a little help. But I'd like to see if my friend comes through first"

Clark stepped a little closer, keeping a comfortable distance between them.

"Is that what you're waiting for, your friend to show up?"

She nodded. She looked directly up at him now, and Clark felt an unfamiliar stir somewhere in his abdomen; her eyes were very green. He smiled and toldhimself to stay focused.

"Yeah..well friend would be exaggerating things a little, but I'm waiting for someone.who." She sighed, glancing down the street. "..is obviously not going to show up."

Clark waited patiently, letting her make her decision.

"Ok..I'm a kind of stranded here..I'd rather not go into details, but basically, I can't go home, and the person I was meeting said he'd help..but obviously, that's not going to happen.so I'm not really sure what to do now, and this doesn't look like the best place to just wander around.."

Clark looked at her..not sure what to say. Could he invite her to stay in his tiny hotel room? Somehow he didn't think even the most desperate girl would accept an invitation like that. He supposed he could offer to get her a room of her own, at least for the night. He saw her shiver slightly in her purple coat that up close looked a little thin. Obviously the temperature must be dropping, but the change of weather had no affect on him, so he usually didn't notice if it suddenly became cold. She suddenly shook her head, pulling him away from his silent debate. "You know..I'm not sure what I'm thinking.Listen, thanks for stopping and everything, but I'll figure something out."

Clark's brows furrowed with concern "You seem like you really could use a break right now. I know I'm a complete stranger..but if I can do anything I will." I pushed his hands further inside his jacket pockets, unconsciously trying to appear less imposing.

"I'm not in a much better position than you, but I do have a place to stay. It's a hotel..not the best hotel in the world, but its clean. Its not too expensive, so if you didn't want to stay in my room, I'm pretty sure I can get you a room of your own.."

She smiled a little, fighting to control her gratitude, determined to be firm, and find strength somewhere to refuse his offer. "No..you're very sweet. I know I should be a little more suspicious, and maybe I'm completely wrong, but you just don't look dangerous to me..but I couldn't ask you to dothat."

Clark looked down at her "I'm sorry..but there's no way I can just walk away and pretend this didn't happen. Please let me help, I'll never get any peace if you don't." He smiled a little.

She glanced around the street. The winter sky was turning dark blue early, and the idea of walking around, trying to figure out who to call, knowing full well, there was no one, made her sick to her stomach. She didn't know if this guy-this ridiculously tall guy with the kindest face she'd ever seen was secretly a serial killer, but right now, she felt like she didn't have a lot of choices.

"Ok..I'll go to the hotel with you.I'll have a look at it anyway, and then we'll go from there. I'm Charlotte by the way..or Lotti..in a past life, people called me Lotti..so call me Charlotte."

Clark extended his hand. "I'm Clark. Its nice to meet you" He picked up her

large backpack from the sidewalk. "Its only a couple of blocks from here." She walked quickly to keep up with his long strides.