Note: Just a heads up, guys (and gals), this story is almost to an end. I've finished actually writing this fic and I'm going to be taking a break off from writing for a little while since school for me has started up again. Of course, I'll be thinking up of ideas for my next fic. Suggestions are welcomed, of course! And who knows, maybe you'll see a short fic from me soon! Thanks for reading!
Lana's POV
Clark moves slowly on top of me, his face scrunched up in passion. I reach up to touch his damp curls, brushing them away from his face. We both hit our climax and Clark rolls off of me, his breathing uneven and ragged.
I shift my body so that I'm facing him in the bed. In the moonlight, I can see his body relaxing and his eyes closing. I snuggle up to him and his arms automatically go around my small waist.
"Love you, Lana," Clark croaks.
"I love you, too." I play with the curls until his breathing becomes deep and rhythmic. I, too, close my eyes and allow myself to drift into the world of dreams.
When I open my eyes again, I find myself bathed in blue light coming from an unknown source.
"Hello?" I call out tentatively. I take a step forward and my bare feet comes in contact with dirt and rocks. Definitely not in my apartment anymore.
"Lana Lang," a voice overhead booms.
I spin around, squinting through the darkness for the source. "Who are you?"
"I am Jor-El, the father of Kal-El, whom you refer to as 'Clark.'"
"Where am I?"
"Fear not. Your body is still resting with Kal-El in the comfort of your home. Your mind, however, is here," Jor-El replies.
"What do you want?" I shout, my voice coming out surprisingly steady.
"Kal-El is young and frightened of what the future holds for him. He will not embrace his destiny. He needs someone to help guide and push him toward greater things. I believe that someone is you."
"Only Clark can make his own destiny," I say defiantly. "Even if I were to help you, Clark doesn't take orders from me."
"Ah, but Kal-El is very much in love with you, Lana Lang. You have no idea how much you influence his life and his decisions."
His decisions? My thoughts immediately drift to Clark's decision to stay in Smallville. I would be lying if I said that Clark didn't stay for one sole reason: me.
Instead of voicing this, though, I shout, "Why are you so intent on pushing Clark to leave?"
"Because you and I both know that if Kal-El continues to stay in Smallville, his full potential will never be tapped into. You have fears of this and so do I."
Blood rushes to my cheeks. "You've been reading my thoughts?"
"It was for the well being of Kal-El. I needed to find someone who would be willing to help me."
"I never said that I was going to help you! And stay out of my mind!"
"I will once you understand my concerns."
I cross my arms, waiting.
"Greed and corruption has destroyed my and Kal-El's home planet. Don't let the same thing happen to yours. Kal-El is the only one who can stop this."
"I don't understand…"
"Kal-El's destiny was written in the stars far before the destruction of Krypton. He must fulfill it by traveling to learn more about this world. Only then will he find himself and the answers that lie within him."
"Please, Lana Lang, if not for me, do this for Kal-El. If you love him as much as I think you do, you'll let him go. Kal-El needs to do this, not for the world, but for himself."
The blue light fades, leaving me bathed in darkness. Suddenly, a face swarms in my vision.
"Lana?"
I blink several times to sharpen the image. "Clark? Where am I?"
Clark's brows knit together in concern. "In your apartment."
I feel a pair of hands help me sit up, pulling the blanket up to cover my nakedness.
"Lana? Are you okay?"
I rub my eyes and slowly, my eyes focus on the room in front of me and Clark's concerned expression. "Clark? What happened?"
He visibly relaxes once I turn to gaze at him. "You must have had a dream." He reaches up to brush away fallen locks of hair from my face.
Bits and pieces of my dream come back to me. Jor-El's words echo in my mind, haunting me. As much as I want to believe that it was just a dream, it wasn't. It was Jor-El's way of trying to get me to understand his concerns for Clark's future and this world's.
Suddenly, everything becomes clear. Clark has to leave. Not for Jor-El, not for the world, not even for me, but for himself.
My eyes water as I think of Clark leaving Smallville—leaving me. I know it's selfish of me, but I want him to stay. I want him to stay so that we can create a life together. But the hard, cold reality is that he can't.
"Lana? Are you alright?" Clark gazes down at me, concern evident in his eyes. He brushes away a fallen tear from my cheek and kisses me on the forehead. My eyes tear up even more at his gesture.
"Clark…hold me," I say softly, slipping my arms around his neck. Clark does as he is told, hugging me close to him, whispering words of comfort into my ear.
"Oh, Clark…" I run my hands through his hair, knowing that this will probably be the last time I do this.
The next morning, I open my eyes to sunlight peeking through the curtains of the bedroom. I groan and roll over to my side, blindly searching for the familiar warmth that Clark's body gives off. Instead, my hand comes into contact with sheets, cool to the touch. I sit up, sweeping my hair away from my face. Memories from last night plague my mind and immediately, there's a sensation of dread in the pit of my stomach.
Of course, that could also be my stomach's way of letting me know that I'm starved. I glance at the clock alongside my bed and take note that it's almost noon. I pull the covers off my body and slip into a robe to hide my nakedness.
I step out of the sleep quarters, the smell of bacon and eggs wafting through my nostrils. I smile at the sight of Clark in the make-shift kitchen, only in boxers and a white shirt.
"Something smells good."
Clark turns around, grinning at the sight of me. "Hey…how are you feeling?"
I approach him and he turns away from the stove to give me a kiss on the cheek. "A lot better than last night…. Sorry for keeping you up so late."
He peers at me, considering my answer. "Hey, it's fine. I'm just glad that you're feeling better."
I nod and force a smile. Jor-El's voice keeps echoing in my head.
"Lunch should be ready in a few minutes," Clark announces, kissing me once more on the forehead and turning back to tend to the bacon. "I made some coffee if want any."
"Thanks, Clark." I reach over to the platter of cups and pull out my favorite one—a pink and white polka dotted one. I pour myself and Clark some coffee and bring them over to the small table.
"You know, I was going to serve you breakfast in bed, but you sorta ruined my plans by waking up before the food was ready."
I force a laugh, knowing that Clark is only doing his best to cheer me up. I take a sip of the coffee and place it back on the table, returning to Clark's side.
A few minutes later, he scoops the egg and bacon onto two plates and I help by pulling the toast of out the toaster.
"I'll bring these over," I offer, while Clark gets the utensils and napkins.
"If you love him as much as I think you do, you'll let him go." I shake my head, unprepared for the sudden echo of Jor-El's words. My step falters when it starts again. "Kal-El needs to do this, not for the world, but for himself."
Suddenly, there's a loud crash as plates of bacon and eggs come crashing to the floor. Clark rushes over.
"Lana? What happened?" He takes my hand and leads me away from the accident site.
"Nothing." I shake my head, dazed. "I just lost grip of the plates. That's all."
He doesn't look too reassured, but goes to the closet to pull out the broom anyway.
"Here, I'll do it," I say, wanting to make up for my clumsiness. Clark shakes his head firmly.
"Lana, why don't you go sit down? I'll get things cleaned up here and then maybe we could go out for brunch."
"Actually, I'm not all that hungry right now," I confess.
"Maybe we'll eat later then?" Clark shrugs as if it isn't a big deal and continues cleaning up the mess I made. Despite the situation, I can't help but smile slightly. I have the most caring and sweet boyfriend in the world.
I slowly pad across the room to the bedroom, having a sudden urge to lie down. I tuck myself between the sheets of the bed and wait for Clark to join me.
A few minutes later, I hear the sound of the closet door closing and footsteps coming closer. Clark slips into bed with me, worry written all over his face.
"Are you sure that you're okay?" He places a hand to my forehead.
I allow him to feel and cup my face, pretending to check my temperature. I know that he's just looking for an excuse to touch me and I gladly let him.
"I'm fine, Clark." I shift so that I'm facing him. I bring my hand up to take his hand off of my cheek.
Clark continues to gaze at me, my words having no affect on him. "Lana…I can tell when something's up with you. What's wrong? Was it your dream?"
"It's nothing," I lie again. The dream is still haunting me and I try my best to push it to the corner of my mind.
His eyes narrow slightly and he frowns. "Lana, you didn't have another dream from Jor-El did you?"
I sigh, playing with the sheets. "I don't want to talk about it, Clark."
It looks like he's about to push some more, but he doesn't. Instead, he relaxes and holds me close to him. "If you want to talk about it, I'll be here."
"I know you will be, Clark," I say softly, tears welling up in my eyes for the oddest reason. "You'll always be here."
Two Months Later
Clark's POV
"Things seem to be going well between you and Lana," Mom comments as I enter the house, bags of groceries in my arms.
"Things are going great," I reply honestly, placing the groceries on the counter. "I'm even making dinner for Lana tonight."
"That's romantic," Mom teases, rising from the table where she was calculating this month's bills.
I look over at the piles of bills and wonder whether I should ask or not. Mom notices my stare and answers for me, "We're doing fine this month, Clark. Now that we have your extra paycheck from Mr. Green."
Mr. Green was an old friend of Dad's. Once the excitement of graduation had settled down, Mom and I had decided that an extra paycheck around the house could come in handy. Since I was familiar with farm work, Mr. Green had offered me a job as a farm hand and I had accepted. I work Monday to Friday, getting the weekends off.
"That's great, Mom." I return to putting the produce in the fridge.
"I'm just worried about the winter months. I don't think Mr. Green's going to need a farm hand around during then," Mom confesses, helping by putting the canned foods in the walk-in pantry.
"We'll manage," I reassure her, repeating our overly-used mantra since Dad's passing. "I'll go around shoveling snow if I have to."
"Well, I'm glad that I don't have to worry about you getting frostbite." Mom folds the empty paper bags and places them in the pantry as well.
Once we're done putting the groceries away, I notice Mom straightening the stack of papers at the table.
"I'll give you a lift to the Talon," I offer as I hand her the handbag sitting on the edge of the counter by the door.
"Oh, no, that's okay, Clark. You should probably get started on setting things up for tonight."
"Actually, I wanted to drop by the bookstore," I say sheepishly, hoping that she won't catch on to my ulterior motive to drive her to work.
Mom gives me a knowing smile as she passes me on her way out the door.
Fifteen minutes later, after dropping Mom off, I'm pounding the sidewalks of Main Street, searching for the tiny bookstore squeezed in between Molly's Hair and Nails and the antique shop.
I ignore the 'No Food or Drinks' sign place in the shop window and enter the crammed bookstore with a cup of coffee and scones anyway. Shelves run from the ground up to the ceiling. The shop seems to be in the middle of remodeling since half of the books are stacked in one corner, being alphabetized and categorized by my girlfriend.
My girlfriend…seems to just roll off the tip of my tongue, doesn't it? I wasn't lying when things have been great between Lana and me. Her reluctance to share that one nightmare of hers in the beginning of June seems like the only hiccup in our relationship so far. Don't get me wrong, Lana and I fight like any other couple. We bicker over the littlest things. Yesterday we were even arguing over what kind of popcorn to get at the theatre. Lana had wanted kettle corn, and even though I'm more of a salt and butter type of guy, I hadn't put up a fight. It was only when Lana found out later, that she had insisted that I go buy myself a bag of regular popcorn. Needless to say, we bickered throughout the whole movie and it was only at the end that I silenced her with a kiss that left her breathless. We ended up being thrown out of the theatre for "doing things that a thirteen year old should never see," as the manager had put it kindly.
"I'll be with you in a second," Lana calls from the back, clearly having not realized that I'm the one who stepped through the door.
"Actually, I have a delivery for Ms. Lana Lang." I hear some shuffling in the back and Lana emerges.
"Clark!" Lana grins as she notices the bag in my hand with the Talon logo on it. "Is that for me?"
"It's gonna cost ya." I smile as she runs into my arms and places a kiss on my lips. I pull away, savoring her taste.
"Is that payment enough?" Lana grabs the bag from me and starts on a scone. I watch her gobble up the food that I brought her.
"Someone's hungry." I laugh when she turns to me, her mouth full of bread.
Once she swallows the food, she replies, "I haven't eaten anything since this morning…and that was only a muffin."
"You want me to run to the market and get you a sandwich?"
She shakes her head. "No, I'm fine. I'll just have to wait until tonight to fully satisfy my cravings."
"That reminds me…how does pasta sound for dinner tonight?" I take the empty paper bag from her and hand her a coffee.
"Sounds great," Lana says brightly, sipping the coffee.
"Lana? Are you in here?" someone calls from the back of the store, interrupting our time together.
"I'm in the front Mrs. Andrews," Lana yells back.
"I guess that I'd better get going." I shove my hands in my pockets.
Lana gives me an apologetic smile. "I'll see you tonight?"
"Definitely," I say, leaning in to kiss her. My arms wrap around her petite waist and I feel her hands playing with my hair. My lips brush against hers once, twice, and a third. Unfortunately, a loud cough behind us interrupts us.
Lana pulls away from me to face a fuming, fifty-eight year old Mrs. Andrews.
"You should have taken my mom up on her offer of returning to the Talon," I whisper into her ear. "At least we could make out all we wanted there."
"Oh, and have your mother catch us making out in the back. I don't think so."
I laugh and wave 'bye' to Mrs. Andrews. Walking out of the shop and down Main Street, I can hear Mrs. Andrews lecturing Lana on how sex-crazed the teenage boy's mind is.
Lana's POV
"Lock up after you're done, would you, Lana?" Mrs. Andrews calls from the front of the shop.
"Sure, Mrs. Andrews. I'm just going to go through a few of these books." I hear her mumble a 'thanks' and the jingle of the door announces that her departure from the store, leaving me alone.
I check the cat shaped clock hanging on the far wall and take note that it's almost eight-o-clock. Better get going to Clark's. I quickly gather my large tote bag and dump a pile of books into it. I then pull out two twenties from my wallet to cover for the books.
After grabbing the key hanging on a hook in the back room, I lock the front door and exit the store from the back. The alleyway in the back of the store is dark and dim. I hurry to the lighted sidewalk and breathe a sigh of relief at the fixed street light.
"Lana Lang."
My heart lurches at the sound of my name. I stop, glancing around me, but there is no one. Up ahead, I see the lights from the Talon shining brightly.
"Who's there?" I call. But there is no response. I readjust my tote bag on my shoulder and begin a brisk walk to the Talon. Unfortunately, I don't get very far as the voice calls my name again.
I stop, frozen in fear. I'm torn apart at dialing Clark's number on my cell or trying to talk to the voice again.
"Please do not be afraid. I am Lara, Kal-El's birth mother."
I shake my head, confused. Am I hearing things?
My question is answered when the feminine voice speaks again.
"Please, I need to speak to you. Come to the caves where we can talk without interruption or fear of exposing Kal-El's origins."
I open my mouth to reply, but my voice is lost. I look around frantically, making sure that this isn't some sick joke. I hug my bag closer to my body and break into a run to the Talon.
I enter from the back, not wanting to see anyone. Luckily for me, no one is in the supply room at the moment. I dash upstairs to my apartment, slamming the door shut. Throwing my bag to the floor, I sit on the sofa, my head in my hands, going over everything that's just happened to me.
I knew that I shouldn't have ignored that dream…the one with Jor-El voicing his concerns about Clark's future. I was so sure that night…so sure that I had to let Clark go. But the next morning, I couldn't. Just seeing him standing there clad in boxers and making me breakfast made me never want to let him go. So, I lied and told him that nothing was bothering me and for the past two months, I've been slowly trying to push it out of my mind.
I think back to Jor-El's words that have been practically seared into my memory. "Kal-El needs to do this, not for the world, but for himself."
"For himself…" I whisper, hoping that saying the words aloud will help me understand what it is that I have to do.
Wasn't I the one who was afraid of holding Clark back?
"He will not embrace his destiny."
Is this true? Clark has done about almost everything to avoid the future. He even blew up his space ship that he traveled to this planet in, his only link to his past at the time, it would seem. He ran away from his parents, his mother who needed his love and comfort. And most of all, he ran away from me, after swearing his love for me. Why is that? Why would Clark go to such lengths to avoid his destiny?
"Kal-El is young and frightened of what the future holds for him."
Clark may seem invulnerable, but he's not. He has his weaknesses like any other person, and I'm not talking about Kryptonite. How many times have I heard a friend or a classmate talk about what the future holds for them? Talk about their doubts for college and for their careers? Heck, I've even talked to Clark about this a few times.
The fact is: Clark is scared. It's the only explanation of why he's not out there right now trying to figure out who he really is. He's been to the future due to Jor-El's doing…he knows how much positive influence he could have on others' lives if only he embraced the future. Clark has always had a knack for caring for and helping for complete strangers. If he could just put it to use and realize how much he's needed…
"You have no idea how much you influence his life and his decisions."
Guilt sinks to the bottom of my empty stomach as I ponder these words. The main reason Clark is staying in Smallville besides caring for his mother is me. But I know that Clark would have followed me to Paris if I had decided to go back. And the worst part is I wouldn't have put up much of a protest.
I love Clark so much…too much. Too much that I'm holding him back from his full potential, I realize sadly. Clark is my life now…I've basically replaced air and water for him. And he's done the same with me. It's not a bad thing…
Clark and I have been so consumed with our love that we haven't noticed other opportunities waiting for us out there. For me…art…and for Clark…the world. As much as I know and would like for Clark and I to tackle these opportunities together, we can't. Clark can do art with me and I could support him in getting a degree in journalism, but I can't…what…travel the world with him? I'll only hold him back like I am now.
The hard cold truth is, Clark has to leave. Like I've thought before, not because of Jor-El's expectation for his future, not even for me, but for himself. He needs to do this, even though he doesn't realize it yet.
"He needs someone to help guide and push him toward greater things. I believe that someone is you."
What was that adage? If you love someone, set them free? It sounds cliché, but I guess that in this case, it's true.
I owe it to Clark and to myself to do this. Although he's content right now, Clark will eventually get to wondering what else is out there. I could never live with myself knowing that I'm the one who held him back from finding out.
Slowly, I lift my head from my hands, knowing what I have to do.