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clana-forever: Thank you for all your compliments! But I have a long way to go before I even come close to becoming the next J.K. Rowling.

Clark's POV

Lana and I are finally in the mansion now, though separately. Lana needed to use the bathroom and after painstakingly looking over swarms of heads, I finally spotted Cindy for her. Girls. I'll never get why they need to always seem to need to go to the bathroom in packs. Is it some unwritten rule in the handbook of being a girl or something?

I empty my drink and set the cup down, knowing that one of the many waiters and waitresses will come to receive it. The mansion is packed with what it seems like all of the seniors of Smallville High. There are couples out on the balcony and I'll bet that some of the more daring ones are upstairs searching for an unoccupied room. The jocks and their girlfriends have separated into two groups now. The jocks are huddled together over by the pool table and the girls are sitting over by the refreshment table, exchanging gossip. In all of these cliques and groups, I have yet to spot Chloe. Even better, I have yet to seen the master and host of this extravagant bash.

I figure that Lex is probably in the office. There are rarely any students in there since the media is hogging up most of the space. Apparently, from what I've heard, he's supposed to make his announcement in a few minutes.

As for Chloe and Tim... Now, if I were an investigative reporter and I smelled the perfect scoop for the school newspaper, where would I be?

Certainly not in this room, I decide as I look around at my former football teammates calling me over to join them in a game of pool.

I shake my head at them and they shrug. I slip out of the room and make a mental note to return there later to check if Lana is looking for me.

I make my way to Lex's office and sure enough, Chloe is there with Tim. Tim is standing off to the side, hands in pocket. He looks uncomfortable and a little overwhelmed by all the cameras.

"Hey, Tim." I approach him with an easy smile. "Not quite your environment, huh?" I gesture at the cameras and microphones set up at the podium.

"Yeah…more like Chloe's. Mine usually consists of books and research papers."

I nod toward Chloe who is unsurprisingly whipping out a pen and notepad from her purse. "Do you mind if I have a word with your date?"

"Go ahead. It's not like she's paying much attention to me anyway," Tim says ruefully.

"When it comes to journalism and getting to the scoop first, Chloe tends to shut everyone but her subjects out. Don't take it personally." I offer an encouraging smile to him and head off to Chloe's side.

"Oh, hey, Clark!" Chloe says, sounding a bit breathless. "Where's Lana?"

"Bathroom." I decide to cut to the chase. "Chloe, Lana mentioned to me that you had to tell me something."

Chloe lowers her pen and notepad and looks around. She jerks her head to the side to follow her out. Once in the hallway, she launches into it, no doubt not wanting to miss her exclusive inside the office.

"I followed up on your theory about the fertilizer and you were right." Chloe takes a breath. "There are traces of meteor rock in it."

The wheels in my head are spinning now. "Chloe, if your information is correct…do you think that my dad's heart attack was because of the meteor rocks?"

Chloe looks at me with pity in her eyes. "Clark…even if my friend over at LexCorp analyzed the sample right, there's no proof that your dad's heart attack was caused because of this fertilizer. Your dad already had a history of heart problems before this. Have you ever thought that your dad's heart attack just happened because…well, it just did?"

"Chloe," I begin impatiently, "my dad and I were down in the storm cellar with the fertilizer when he had that heart attack. He started coughing and he was standing right beside it."

"Clark, I know that you want to blame someone or something for your dad's condition, but sometimes, things just happen for a reason. I'm sorry about your dad, but don't waste your time trying to solve mysteries. Spend the remaining time he has with him."

I shake my head stubbornly. "Chloe, I know that this fertilizer has something to do with his heart attack. I just know it…trust me on this, okay?"

"I do trust you, Clark. It's just…even if you did find a connection between Lexcorp experimental fertilizer and your father's heart attack, what can you do? By that time, it'll be too late for your dad," Chloe says a little desperately.

I refuse to believe her words. "Chloe, will you stop saying that? My dad will get better. What makes you think that he won't?"

Chloe takes a breath. "Clark, you and I both know that there's a slim chance of him getting a heart transplant. I'm just giving you some advice here, okay?"

"You're my friend! You're supposed to say that he'll be alright!" The words are tumbling out faster than I had anticipated.

"Clark!" Chloe holds up her hands in the air, the notepad and pen in one. "Calm down! I'm only trying to─"

"To what? To help?" I yell the words at her. "Well, right now, you're not much help!"

"Clark, despite what you may think, I am trying to help you. You're my best friend and I care about you. I just don't want you to regret not spending enough time with your dad as you could've."

"Do friends tell each other that their dad is going to die? Do they offer no support whatsoever and lose all hope in a bad situation?" My voice is rising louder and louder, attracting fellow classmates that pass by.

"Clark!" Chloe yells, obviously hurt at my words. For a moment, I have the urge to apologize and take them all back, but I don't. Hearing her words…her words of how Dad will die—not might, but will—is too much for me.

Instead of screaming at her some more, I march right into the office full of reporters and over to Lex, who is standing on the podium, ready to make his announcement.

"Lex!" I exclaim and push my way through the media. Near the podium, I am met with Lex's security, but they let me through once Lex gives them the signal. Apparently, he still thinks that we're friends.

"Clark, I'm glad you could make it," Lex greets as I near him. "But as you can see─" he gestures to the room full of people, "─I'm a little tied up right now."

"Cut with the crap, Lex," I say through clenched teeth. "How did you do it?"

Lex blinks as if he has no idea what I'm talking about. "Clark, what are you talking about?"

"Why did you lie to me about putting meteor rocks in that fertilizer that you supplied me?" I ask, my voice rising, capturing the attention of several reporters in the front.

"Clark," Lex begins calmly, "what fertilizer?"

I blink. "What do you mean 'what fertilizer'? The fertilizer that you supplied me and my parents for the farm!"

Lex looks slightly amused. He glances around the room with a smile playing on his face. "Clark, are you feeling okay? I never supplied you or your parents with fertilizer."

"Yes, you did!" I shout, grabbing his shirt. "It's your fault that my dad is in the hospital!" Around me, Lex's security tenses up and the mumblings of reporters grows louder. Several flashes go off from cameras.

"Clark, if you remember, I did approach you and your parents to see if you would be willing to be part of a trial-run for a new type of fertilizer that my company came up with. Unfortunately, your father turned it down. So, I approached another family—the Johnsons, in Grandville—and they reported back to me a few weeks ago. The fertilizer worked smoothly and now Lexcorp officials and environmentalists are going to approve it on Monday."

I shake my head and release him, thoroughly confused. "No—you're lying!"

Lex looks around at the amused reporters who are laughing and shaking their heads like I'm nuts. "Clark, if I did somehow supply you with this fertilizer—where is it then?"

"It's─" I stop and realize something. A grave mistake that I made when I got rid of the fertilizer.

"Clark?" Lex prompts. The room is completely silent, waiting for my answer. An occasional flash from the many cameras goes off.

I grit my teeth, my fists clenching. "I don't have it. I got rid of it."

"You got rid of it?" Lex is smiling now, pronouncing every word loud and clear so that the reporters can take it down for tomorrow's morning edition of the Daily Planet.

"I—I left it on your doorstep. I didn't know what else to do with it…." I confess, knowing that no one is buying a word that I'm saying. So, this was Lex's plan all along. He must have realized that the fertilizer had something to do with Dad's heart attack and decided to devise a plan—a plan against me. A plan that would make me out like some crazed man.

A seething rage overcomes me and I find myself moving toward Lex, my fists clenched and raised. Lex's security acts immediately, calling for backup and running towards me. I feel them grab my shoulders, but I shove them aside, sending them flying a few feet. Nothing too revealing, though.

Before I can do any real damage to Lex, somebody in the crowd shouts my name.

"Clark!"

All heads turn and I see Lana running and pushing her way through the mob with Chloe at her heels. Chloe must have gotten Lana.

"Clark!" Lana cries again and I lower my fist. She runs up to me and grabs my arm, trying to drag me away from Lex.

Flashes go off and the murmuring of voices grows even louder. One reporter even has to the nerve to shout out, "Hey, can I get a quote from you?"

I turn angrily toward him, ready to use some foul language, but Lana tugs my arm even harder and I look at her. Her eyes are pleading with me to let it go. I do for her sake and allow her to drag me away from Lex and the podium.

Once we get out of the room, chaos ensues and we can hear reporters yelling out questions at Lex. Some even attempt to follow us out, but Tim and Chloe get there to take care of it, waving us to go.

Once outside, we manage to shrug off some curious classmates.

"Clark, give me your keys," Lana says, sticking out her hand. Although her voice is soft spoken, I know that I have no say in the matter. I hand them to her silently and we get into the truck.

Lana's POV

"─and all along, Lex had this planned. He wanted to make me out like some liar or crazed man—and he did. By tomorrow morning, all the citizens of Smallville and Metropolis will know that Clark Kent, good, old American, Kansas farm boy, is a raving lunatic and a liar to boot."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself." I scoot closer and pat his leg. Clark had just finished recapping the events at the mansion during my absence in the bathroom; starting with his conversation with Chloe to the sour ending of his friendship with Lex.

"Yeah…usually I make the Smallville Ledger for my heroic acts…but this? The Daily Planet is going to have a field day with this…. I'm not surprised if Chloe is up right now writing away at her exclusive for this Monday's edition of The Torch."

"Clark, Chloe's your friend…she would never do that," I say, frowning a bit at his attitude. Clark seems to take notice of this and apologizes.

"I just feel so rotten for treating Chloe like that…she was only trying to help and I just yelled at her." Clark sighs and rubs his face. "I wouldn't blame her if she gives me the cold shoulder at school on Monday."

"Hey, Chloe understands that you're stressed right now. I mean, your dad is in the hospital and it's not as if she was exactly saying the words that you wanted to hear at the moment." I squeeze his thigh.

"Yeah…I guess. It's just…when she told me that my dad will die instead of 'might', I got so scared. It just hit me right then that I'm never going to see my dad working on the tractor or bailing hay again." Clark rubs his face some more and slouches.

I move my hand from his thigh and gingerly rub his back in small soothing circles. I continue doing this until I feel his muscles ease up a bit and he leans back on the couch.

"All this time I thought I knew Lex. I even defended him in front of my dad. I guess I never knew him at all," Clark says bitterly.

"You may have known him at one point…but everyone changes. Some for the better, some for the worse. That's life." I squeeze his shoulder and he looks up from the floor. "It hurts when you lose a friend…especially your best one, but eventually you learn to let go and move on."

"Did I ever tell you how wise you are sometimes?"

I laugh under my breath. "I'm not wise, Clark. I've just been through a lot more than most people our age have." Slowly, my mind drifts to the day of the meteor shower, but I deliberately push it out of my mind.

"Thanks, Lana. I mean, for everything. For dragging me out of there before I really did hurt him…." Clark pauses and I immediately know what he's thinking. "It's ironic, huh? I was just talking to you about not acting stupid in front of all those cameras before we went in and look how that turned out."

I don't know exactly what to say to this. So, I shift in my seat and envelope his upper body, pulling it close to mine. I stroke his hair and I feel him relax.

We sit in that position for a while. Outside, the beginnings of dawn begin to show. They're faint, but I can see them well enough from the couch.

Clark's POV

I take in her soft, feminine scent and relax against her. My thoughts drift to the events at Lex's mansion and then to the dance Lana and I shared before the chaos. I smile at the memory and know that it will be forever etched into my mind.

Then, it happens.

I jerk my head up and I hear Lana gasp. She's calling my name, but it's all a blur of noise.

"It is time, Kal-el. The end of the first half of your journey is near. Soon, you must embark on the final one. You have until your commencement before you must return to me. Choose your path wisely, my son. If you venture onto the wrong one, there is no telling if you'll be able to turn back."

The voice and moments fades just as fast as it came. I stand up, feeling confused and scared. What does Jor-el want from me now? And why now? Just when my life was finally coming together…

"Clark?" Lana stands and shakes my arm, trying to get my attention.

"No…" I whisper, my fists clenching.

"Clark? You're scaring me!" Lana cries, almost in tears. "What's going on?"

I turn to her panic-stricken face. "Lana, it's Jor-El."

"Jor-El?" Lana repeats. "What does he want?"

I feel her take my hand, but I shake it off. "I don't know."

"Clark, where are you going?"

"I'll be back, Lana." I take her hand and look her in the eyes. "I promise I will. No matter what happens."

"Clark!"

I hear her call my name and slowly close my eyes. Nonetheless, I super speed out of the loft and to the caves.

"Jor-El! What was that message about?" I yell at the walls. My voice echoes back to me and I try again. "Jor-El!"

Nothing.

I kick some rocks with my shoes and wait.

"I won't listen to you! You can send as many cryptic warnings as you want, but in the end, it won't matter! I won't leave Lana behind like before! I won't return to you!"

No response, so I keep yelling, venting out my anger.

"I've screwed up too many times in the past with Lana and I swore to myself and to her that I won't make the same mistakes again. So guess what? I'm through playing with your mind games! You're not my real father—you have no right to tell me what to do! Leave me and the people I care about alone!"

Suddenly, a bright glow from behind the wall to the right of me shines to the point of blinding. I cover my eyes with my arm and I'm transported into a blue light with no end.

"Kal-el, you are foolish! Living with these people has blinded you from your true destiny! Do you really think that you have a choice in this matter? Do you think that I do? Your destiny was written in the stars far before the destruction of our home planet and your mother's pregnancy!"

"You're lying! You wrote that message in the ship! You created and wanted this destiny for me!" I shout back, refusing to listen to this man—this thing—that nearly tore apart my family and ripped me apart from Lana.

"You're wrong, my son. And the sooner you see this, the better off you'll be."

Jor-El's voice sounds tired and grave and I falter before picking up where I once left off.

"What did you mean that I have until my commencement before returning to you? And what paths?"

"You'll see in due time, Kal-El. For now, return to the one that you call 'Lana.' We will meet again."

The blinding light disappears and I find myself in the darkness of the caves with more questions than answers.