Lana's POV
Clark leans over once more and gives me a kiss on my cheek, making me melt inside. Instead of letting him know the effects he has on me, I smile and thank him for the wonderful night and morning. I hop out and skip away before I can run back to his red truck and shower his face with kisses. I'll do that when he asks me to be his steady. As I practically float through the Talon's double doors, I quickly scan the counter for any sign of Mrs. Kent. I let out a breath of air when I see none. Today must be my lucky day, I conclude.
I notice some of the regular Saturday caffeine-addicts staring at me oddly, but I ignore them. I know that I must look like a mess. My hair is still wet from my morning dip with Clark. I try to ring some of the water out, but all it does is call more attention to me. I bite my lip and decide to head upstairs for a nice warm bubble bath. I only wish that Clark was upstairs in the tub waiting for me.
A devilish grin replaces my innocent one and I try to suppress it. No such luck. I head for the shelter of my comfy apartment, hidden away from the curious eyes of the on-lookers. Surprisingly, I begin to hum to an out-of-tune beat. Wow. I must be really happy today. So happy that I mindlessly trip on one of the stairs. Instead of cursing, I giggle. What is up with me today?
"That's what I'd like to know too," a voice behind me says amusingly.
Opps, I must have said that out loud. I whip around and come face to face with Cindy Adams.
"Cindy! Hi!"
"Hey, Lana," she greets, eyeing my wet hair and my disheveled appearance. She doesn't say anything though.
"What's up?" I ask, glancing around the coffee shop for Mrs. Kent.
Cindy notices this, but again keeps shut. That's what I like about her. She can stress you out to the point of yelling sometimes, but she always had a knack for knowing whether or not to pursue a certain topic. Kind of reminds me of a familiar farm boy. Gah. I'm thinking about him yet again.
"Oh, well, Chloe stopped by for you. She said something about the two of you having a shopping date today in Metropolis."
Shoot. I can't believe I forgot! I'm surprised that Chloe would even show up, considering our last conversation. I'm about to run upstairs and call Chloe now, but I realize that Cindy is still awaiting my reply.
"Thanks, Cindy. How long was she waiting?"
Her eyes glance up as she tries to remember. "About…an hour. She said she had to run to The Torch to finish up an article, but she'd be back at lunch to see if you were back from wherever you were." Cindy pauses and looks at me, probably wondering what I was doing this morning. Thankfully, her 'sense' kicks in and doesn't question me.
"Okay…well, I'm going to run up and take a quick shower." I guess that bubble bath will have to wait. Maybe I can persuade Clark to join me. Ugh! Stop thinking about him! "If Chloe shows up, tell her I'll be down soon."
Cindy nods and I run up the stairs and into my apartment, locking the door behind me. I hastily shed my dirty clothes from my body and grab some fresh ones and underwear on my way to the bathroom.
I run the water in the shower, warming it up and decide to brush my teeth. Hmm… I wonder if my breath stank this morning. After I'm done giving my teeth a good scrub, I hop into the shower, letting the water rain down on my body, enjoying the sensation. A smile crosses my features as I think back to an hour ago. Clark and me naked in Crater Lake. The smile on my face grows bigger as I imagine Clark's hands on my body, caressing me. Things were heating up too. Luckily, we both came to our senses before we did anything rash.
The truth is that I always pictured my first time to be with Clark. Call it a fantasy or whatever, but I will never love anyone else as much as I love Clark Kent. He makes me feel safe and loved. He's been there for me through the good and the bad. Although we've both tried to push each other away more times than I can count, we always found our back to each other.
Despite his secrets, I find myself falling more and more in love with him every second I spend with him. It's weird. I thought going to Paris would help me get over him, but it just got worst. Instead of thinking about him during the day, I thought about him day andnight. I would wonder what he was doing and if he missed me.
It saddens me that his future is destined to be greater than mine. Just his past is overwhelming enough. I can feel hot tears running down my cheeks along with the warm water. I hastily wipe them off even though there is no one but me to see them. I don't want to cry. I want to be glad for Clark even if he doesn't know what greatness lies ahead of him. I don't even know why I think his calling is bigger than mine. I guess, it's just a gut feeling.
After all the soap is rinsed off of my body, I shut off the water and dry myself. I quickly throw the pair of jeans and simple blouse that I had selected on. I make my way out of the apartment, grabbing my purse on the kitchen counter.
As I walk down the stairs, I see a bob of blonde hair sitting at the Talon counter. I square my shoulders and start coming up with greetings. "Hey, Chloe" sounds too friendly for the beginning of a post-argument conversation. Maybe, "I'm sorry, Chloe?" Nah, too sentimental. Ugh. I decide to keep my mouth shut and let her start it off.
Apparently, as I find out, she also has the same idea in mind when I approach the counter top.
"Umm…hi?" I say, then mentally slapping myself because that was not the impression that I wanted to make. That sounded timid and scared.
Instead of greeting me back with the same shy attitude, she goes right into it. "Look, Lana, you're probably wondering why I'm even here since it's clear that you blew me off this morning, but I really can't stand this awkwardness between us. I hate us fighting. I don't even remember what we were fighting about," she says all in one big breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cindy looking on curiously, but she turns her head when she catches my attention.
"So, can we just put this all behind us? I mean, it's almost the end of the year and I would really hate it if we stopped being friends because of one stupid argument," Chloe continues. She pauses and looks at me, awaiting my reaction.
I smile with relief and hug her. "You took the words right out of my mouth."
We both laugh and it helps to break the ice.
"So…are we okay now?" I ask, pulling out of the hug.
"Like peanut butter and jelly," Chloe chirps back.
I grin and suddenly I find that I can't stop smiling.
"Are you feeling okay, Lana?" Chloe stands up to get a better view of me. "You seem like you're…"
"Glowing?" Cindy finishes. She blushes when she realizes that she's been caught eavesdropping.
Frankly, I don't care because Cindy is one of my closest friends. We met our freshman year on the cheerleading squad. She was the only girl who didn't stuff their bra or spread nasty rumors around about people. She and I were best friends that year, but after I quit the squad, we started growing apart. We reconciled during junior year right after Dawn Stiles spread vicious rumors about her and Ben Grey having sex in the boy's locker room. I never found out the whole story behind that; I just knew that Cindy needed a shoulder to cry on, so I lent her mine. After that, we started hanging out more since Cindy quit the squad and took up a job at the Talon. I'm not as close to Cindy as I am to Chloe, but how could I ever be? Chloe opened up her home to me and treated me like a sister. My relationship with Cindy is a lot different from Chloe's, but I'm glad to have such wonderful friends in my life.
I snap out of my daze when I hear Chloe calling my name.
"Oh, sorry," I say quickly, focusing my attention on them again.
"Cindy and I were just talking about how…different you are today," Chloe informs me.
"What do you mean?" I ask, knowing exactly what they mean.
"Isn't it obvious?" Cindy says, leaning on the counter.
"What is?" I ask, getting annoyed that they know more about me than I do about myself.
"You and Clark," Cindy simply replies.
My eyes grow wide and wonder if Cindy saw Clark's truck pull up in front of the Talon this morning. If she did, then she must think…
"You and Clark had sex," Cindy squeals. Chloe gasps and quickly turns her head my way, looking for any sign of verification.
"Shh!" I hush them, glancing around, still paranoid that Mrs. Kent is going to jump out from behind one of those Egyptian columns.
"Lana, when did you and Clark become an item?" Chloe asks, hurt apparent in her eyes.
I shake my head and reply, "We're not, Chloe. Cindy is just jumping to conclusions," I say, glancing at her sharply.
Cindy takes that as a cue to shut up and go refill some coffee mugs.
Chloe is still staring at me, waiting for an explanation of some sort.
"Clark invited me to Crater Lake last night to talk," I tell her. "I guess we must have fallen asleep. Clark drove me back to the Talon this morning and Cindy must have seen his truck and assumed that we…did it."
"So, you didn't have sex?" Chloe asks.
I shake my head and am relieved when Chloe smirks at me.
"So you were out all night with Clark?"
I groan and know that she's not going to let this drop.
"Chloee," I whine.
She just laughs at me and pulls me up from my chair. "C'mon, let's go shopping. You still have a lot to tell me."
We link arms and she practically drags me out the door, already starting on enlightening me on what styles are in this year for prom dresses.
Another teen bopper? I swiftly flip the page of Teen People to find yet again, another teen bopper. I give up. I fling the magazine underneath my seat and resume tapping the heels of my boots on the shiny floor of Meg's Prom Dresses.
Okay, so it's not exactly Metropolis, but at least everything is on sale. Meg's Prom Dresses only comes into Smallville once a year during Prom season, renting what used to be the Fordman's store as space. Nowadays when it's not Prom season, the Fordman's store serves as a flea market for the frequent bargain hunters. The place is nearly packed, last minute shoppers looking for bargains on prom dresses.
I quickly pull my feet back in, allowing for two girls from school to pass by.
"It's full," I tell them, noticing them glancing under the stalls to check for any empty ones.
"Oh, thanks," the taller one of them says and they quickly exit the fitting room. I look under my seat for the magazine again and instead of reading it, I put it to use as a fan. They really need to get some air conditioning in here.
"Chloe, are you done yet?" I call. I've been waiting patiently for her to finish trying on a dress, but now my patience is running out. I glance at my watch. It's 6:29. I promised Clark that I would go down with him to the caves later. I'm guessing that he's going to tell me more about his heritage and give me a demonstration of his powers.
To be honest, I didn't feel anything when he told me his big secret. It was all numbness at first. In fact, it still hasn't really sunk in yet. The man I'm in love with is from another planet. Who would've thought?
My opinion of him still hasn't changed. He's still the man who has saved me and countless others from the dangers of living in Smallville. He still makes my heart beat faster when he's in eyesight and his smile melts my heart. He's my rock and I'm sure that I am his. His caring nature and selflessness attracts me to him and makes me fall more in love with him with every passing minute I spend with him. I still love him and always will. I don't know how many times I've stressed that to myself and to him. It's just that now, the final puzzle pieces are finally coming together. The puzzle of Clark Kent is becoming clearer and if I can just find the last pieces, maybe there is a puzzle piece for me too.
I hear the fitting room door creak open and my thoughts of Clark vanish as Chloe emerges in...capris and a fun-tee?
"What happened to the dress?" I ask, standing up and searching for the powdery blue dress that she brought into the fitting room. I already have my dress.
"I'm buying it," Chloe replies and I notice the dress in her arms.
I shrug and follow her out of the fitting room. As she waits in the line, I hurry to an empty seat by the fitting room entrance. I check if Chloe is looking and then whip out my phone. I know that I'm probably breaking one of the major rules of girl's- day-out, but I can't help it. I need to hear his voice.
I sigh when there are no messages from him. I hope that he's not grounded. I start to dial his number when a hand snatches the phone away from me.
My face burns red when Chloe catches me.
"And whose number were you dialing?" Chloe demands, her hands in her hips in mock anger.
I smile and blush some more. She's already guessed.
"Lana, you haven't forgotten the biggest rule of girl's-day, have you?" she asks me, handing me back my phone.
"No guys?"
"Yes, and I hate to remind you, but Clark Kent is a guy too," Chloe informs me.
"No he's not; he's my baby," I tell Chloe, trying to keep a straight face.
Chloe's face contorts into confusion and then to false disgust. "Eww…okay…please don't ever refer to Clark as your 'baby.'"
I laugh at the disturbed expression on her face and am pulled to my feet by her.
"So, what now?" I ask as we link arms again, our usual shopping buddy stance.
"Shoes!" she replies excitedly.
I groan. I don't want to be mean, but I really want to get back to my apartment now. Clark could call any minute now and I don't want to miss him. I could tell by the way that he invited me this morning, that the caves are important to him. They must have some significance to him or he wouldn't have tried so hard to preserve them during our sophomore year. My guess is that they have something to do with his past. The symbols on the cave walls look…alien. I've only been in there a couple of times and I'll admit that they freak me out.
"Umm…Chloe…I just remembered…I promised…umm…Cindy that I'd help her close up the Talon," I fib, knowing that she'll never believe me. But, I have to talk to Clark now. I need him to know that I'm okay with his secret. I never actually said it yet.
Chloe glances at me and then at the Talon from across the street from where we are standing. We are outside of Meg's Prom Dresses now, about to head to Shoes Galore.
"But, Lana, the Talon doesn't close until eight."
"I know…but…today we're closing early," I make up, knowing that it's a terrible lie.
Chloe continues to stare and I begin to spill the real reason I want to get back home. When I'm finished, Chloe doesn't say anything at first.
"Chloe…?" I ask, wondering if she's mad that I lied to her.
"Lana, can I ask you something?" She pulls me to the side to allow the customers to exit from Meg's Prom Dresses.
I nod.
"What's really going on between you and Clark?"
"To be honest…I'm not sure," I say slowly. "We're taking it one day at a time."
"Well, I guess it would be pointless to tell you that Clark's still madly in love with you," Chloe says, tucking a stray of blonde hair behind her ears.
"And it'd be pointless to say that I'm still madly in love with him," I say quietly. There's a bit of tension between us now. I know that Chloe still isn't exactly over her crush on Clark. But, I also know that she's trying to move on.
"Look, Lana, I don't want a guy to get in the way of our friendship," Chloe says.
"I don't either," I tell her earnestly. "So…what are we going to do?"
"Well, first, you're going to promise me that the two of you will get it right this time."
I nod and smile.
"And second, you're going to promise to stop moping around. It's time that you and Clark stop being stubborn and just accept the fact that no matter where you run off to, you're always going to end up together again."
I sniffle a bit and hug Chloe. "You have no idea how much your support means to me," I tell her, trying not to cry. Like I said before, Chloe's like a sister to me. I want her to be happy for me and vice versa. Even without her support, I would've still pursued a romantic relationship with Clark. But now that she's given me her blessing, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. I'm sure that Clark will also be enthusiastic. I always felt that he was torn apart between me and Chloe. He didn't want to hurt Chloe, but he didn't want to give up his love for me either.
Chloe pats me on the back and waits for me to regain my composure.
I pull away a moment later and I notice tears in her eyes too.
"You know what? Go home and talk to Clark. I can go shoe shopping another time," Chloe announces.
"Are you sure?" I question, glancing at the Talon and then back to her.
"I'm positive."
We hug once more before I cross the street and head into the coffee shop that I worked so hard to build. I spot Mrs. Kent behind the counter and she waves at me. I blush and wave back, wondering what Clark told her about our morning venture. I decide to ask him later and run up the stairs to my home.
Just as I'm finished unlocking the door, I hear the phone ring. I briskly shut the door behind me and drop my purse on the couch. I run to the phone and pick it up.
"Hello?" I answer, sounding out of breath.
"Lana?"