A/N: Look, another chapter! And so soon after the last one! Aren't y'all lucky?

Back at the Planet, Chloe was desperately trying to keep up with Ethan's train of thought.

"Are you saying you want me to meet with your parents?" Chloe asked this incredulously. "Why?"

Ethan gave Chloe a reassuring smile and said, "Because you're an important part of my life, that's why."

Chloe was not convinced. "Ethan, we've only known each other for three days. Three days! That's definitely not long enough to justify me meeting your parents."

A sudden thought struck her, like a lightning rod. "Oh, God. What will they think of me if we've only been seeing each other for three days and I want to meet them? They'll think I'm some kind of gold digger, or something."

Ethan grasped her firmly, and gave her a gentle shake. "Chloe, I already told my parents about you, and it was THEIR idea. So stop stressing."

She was on the verge of tears, trying to think of a suitable outfit to meet your boyfriend's parents in. Chloe didn't know what was wrong with her; before Ethan came into her life, she had never worried about how she looked. Now, all her time was devoted to shopping. She had become one of those girls she had once scoffed at in Chicago!

Ethan didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he had to laugh at the expressions which were flitting across her face. Alternating looks of fear and disgust were coming over her face, like she kept going over the same two issues.

Ethan put a stop to this by kissing her soundly. Jimmy walked by and was so shocked, he nearly ran into another copy boy. Ethan paid no mind and kept at it until she was relaxed again. Chloe laughed and ran a hand through her hair. "What was that for?"

Ethan smiled. "To get you to stop worrying. Did it work?" Chloe grinned ruefully. "I don't know. Better do it one more time to make sure."

He obliged; by this time even Perry had come out of his office to see what the fuss was about. Seeing Chloe and Ethan, he leaned against the doorjamb, smiled, and thought in his head, "About damn time."

Lana was having the same problems after the kiss she had just received from Clark. Her feet were walking, yet she didn't realize it. Clark looked over at her face, and then laughed. "Lana, how could you ever think I would just want to be friends?"

Lana shrugged. "I don't know. I've been burned before, I guess."

At his questioning look, she continued. "So I left high school, went to NYU, and majored in communications." Lana shot him a grin. "Minor in advertising, of course."

"Straight out of college, I met David at about the same time I was offered a temp job at an advertising agency."

She laughed. "He was wonderful. He took me on walks on the beach and surprised me in the morning before work with a dozen roses. That was . . . before I found him in a very compromising position with some woman from his work . . ."

Clark gave her a sympathetic glance. "I'm so sorry."

Lana shuddered. "Oh, it gets worse. It was in my bed."

Clark gave a comforting squeeze on her shoulder. "What a jerk."

Lana shrugged once again. "I thought I was over it." She raised a hand to his cheek. "I didn't mean to take it out on you."

Clark grabbed the outstretched hand and kissed it. "You can find ways to make it up to me."

Lana let her hand fall, and then asked Clark, "Why did you take off on us eight years ago?"

Clark tried to laugh it off. "You don't have enough time for me to tell you the whole story."

Lana pressed, "Clark . . . I'm serious."

Clark shut his eyes and stopped walking. "Let's eat, and I'll tell you."

They sat down in a small booth at one of the local delis crowding the street. Sharing a sub, Clark began. "Lana, I felt trapped by my own powers."

He took a bite and continued, "You know, you would think that having abilities like that would liberate you. Instead, it enclosed me in my own personal box. I couldn't use them, in fear I would be found out."

He paused, almost lost in thought, and Lana laid her hand on top of his free one. Clark looked up, and said, "When that guy almost died at the wheel, I lost it. I couldn't even save an innocent person! I almost didn't, because I knew somebody could be watching."

He sighed. "But I did, and you guys saw. I can't say I regret that day, but it did test me. I may have taken the wrong turn, but I had to do something. I couldn't stay in my safe box forever."

Lana shut her eyes and felt sympathy for the teenager he used to be, and affection for the man he had become. "Clark, eight years ago, I couldn't understand that. All I could see was how it would affect me."

They both smiled in unison, breaking the tension that hovered in the air. Clark leaned over and kissed her. The moment was unforgettable, and nothing would spoil it.

Nothing, except maybe a man with the logo "Lex Corp" across his chest, holding a tape recorder and hiding in the bushes.