The long awaited chapter is here. Have fun and leave comments as well as criticism. And I'm just going to take a moment to beg everyone for ideas: I have no idea at all where this story is heading, if someone could just make some suggestions as to what they'd like to see, it would help me so very much.

Once In A While…

Chapter Five: Memorials and Ice Cream

"Annette?" Clark gently shook her awake and she slowly came to.

"Clark…" She groaned, holding her head as she looked around. Her eyes widened as she realized they were sitting on a bench in the middle of some park.

"W – where are we?" Clark frowned, ignoring her question.

"Does your head hurt? You might have a concussion." Annette blinked, glancing down at herself. She was dressed in a somber black dress with heels. She frowned as she realized that Clark was dressed in black as well.

"You were unconscious, so I changed you." Clark answered her unasked question. "and we're in Smallville. My – friend's – " Clark hesitated, his demeanor slipping for a moment. "memorial service is today." Annette nodded as he helped her stand up.

"Isn't Smallville hours from Metropolis - and how did we get here?" Annette demanded and Clark frowned.

"You ask too many questions for a trophy wife." Clark muttered under his breath and Annette's eyes widened. Wife? She didn't find the thought thoroughly disgusting but she had met him just last night…

"You were out for hours," Clark answered her previous question. "I was going to take you to the hospital if you didn't wake up soon." As he led her towards the Smallville cemetery, Annette decided that they must have taken a cab into town. She would have delved more on the topic but the way her head was hammering and the way her legs felt weak kept her from doing a great deal of thinking.

"…he was the greatest son a man could ask for." Annette's eyes widened as she realized just who was up at the podium.

"Clark, that's Lionel Luther!" She whispered and Clark shushed her. He sounded irritated but Annette caught the amused look flitter across his face as he wrapped his arm around her small waist possessively.

"If he only knew how proud I've always been of him…" Lionel went on and an angry look crossed Clark's face.

"…fucked up bastard, standing up there reciting crap at Lex's memorial…" Annette sent Clark a surprised look as she caught snippets of muttered curses from him but he steadily ignored her; the only tell-tale sign that he was aware of her presence was the way he drummed his fingers impatiently against her stomach as Lionel Luther went on.

Lana listened silently to Lionel Luther's words, trying not to cry. She missed Lex a lot; he'd been a good friend.

'If only Clark was here…' She couldn't help but think. She glanced over her shoulder and up the hill to see if maybe Chloe was standing there. She froze when she spotted Clark standing there with his arms around a frail looking brunette who looked as if she were going to fall asleep any second.

She blinked in surprise and when she opened her eyes the brunette was standing alone.

Annette frowned, glancing around for Clark as she realized he was gone. One moment she'd been gathering up enough courage to ignore her hammering head and kiss him and the next he was gone.

"Clark!" She called, ignoring the woman who had just on stage and was making a speech about how she, as Lex's widow, would never forget him.

"Did you just say 'Clark'?" A woman with red hair asked her, sounding hopeful; a man who Annette assumed to be her husband hanging on to her arm.

"Yeah." Annette smiled. "He's a – friend." She frowned. "One moment he's holding me and the next he's just gone." The woman and her husband exchanged glances.

"Clark Kent?" Her husband asked and Annette's brow furrowed as she shook her head, looking confused,

"I don't know what his last name is, actually." Though it was probably Kal-El, Annette mused silently. "I doubt we're talking about the same person." The woman and her husband nodded, looking disappointed to say the least.

"I suppose you're right." The red head smiled sadly. "I hope you find your Clark." Annette smiled back.

"I hope you find yours as well. I'll tell him you were looking for him if I see him." The woman and her husband nodded as she walked away.

"Chloe!" Lana burst into the school newspaper room, breathing hard. Chloe looked up from the computer she was working on for next week's byline.

"Lana?" She frowned, surprised to see her usually calm friend so worked up. "What is it?" Lana shook her head.

"I saw Clark." Chloe's eyes widened as Lana went on. "At least, I think I did. I was looking for you so I looked up the hill and there he was – with some brunette in his arms, by the way." She babbled on. "And then I blinked and he was gone. And, um, where were you?" Lana finally stopped rattling on and gulped in some oxygen. Chloe swallowed.

"You were probably imagining things." She quickly waved away Lana's words. "It's normal. When you're constantly thinking of somebody, you start to see them everywhere." Lana sighed, dropping into the chair next to Chloe.

"Well, I was thinking about him." Chloe nodded; distractedly checking the time and wondering how much time she could spare for a quick trip to Metropolis. "So, why weren't you there?" Chloe sighed.

"Lex wouldn't have wanted some luxurious memorial where his father got up and gave some bullshit speech about how close they supposedly were." Lana's eyes widened in surprise at Chloe's language.

"Chloe!" Chloe sighed.

"It's the truth and you know it." Lana's face fell and she nodded. "Anyways, we don't know if Lex is even really dead or not. He could be stowed away on some private island living it up for all we know."

Lex shuddered as the officer helped him onto the helicopter. He was scared, his brain screaming for him to run – yet the fact that this was the first ounce of civilization he'd seen in months told him he'd be an idiot to turn it down.

"He tried to kill me." Lex murmured. "He killed his father and he's going to kill me too..."

"He's hallucinating." One of the men told the leader. "There's nobody else on this island. We've checked." Lex shook his head.

"No! He's real. He's going to kill us all!" The leader sighed.

"Knock him out." Lex gasped as somebody hit him over the head and everything faded away.

Annette walked through the small town, utterly annoyed. Clark had disappeared and left her all by herself. A playful smirk slowly overtook her features and she discreetly twitched her nose.

Clark appeared in front of her, looking confused as to where he was.

"I-" He stared at her. "Where'd you come from?" Annette shrugged innocently.

"I dunno, Clark. I think the better question is -where did you come from?"

Jonathon and Martha hurried up to the barn, calling in vain for Clark.

"He was here…" Martha whispered and Jonathon sighed, looking weary.

"I guess he was."

Annette sat in a restaurant with Clark, happily munching her way through her chocolate sprinkle sundae as her foresaid accomplice watched her looking undeniably amused.

"What it is? Are you high?" Annette asked, pouring more syrup onto her sundae. Clark swallowed took a bite of his eggs.

"I bring you to Metropolis's finest and you order a sundae – which isn't even a proper breakfast entree by the way." Annette shrugged, throwing a smile his way.

"I'm a sixteen year old prostitute, Clark. I really don't care what I put in my body as long as there's tons of sugar in it." Clark hesitated, the ring's influence waning for a few seconds, then his usual smirk was back on in full force.

"You know what? You're right, you're only young once." Laughing, Annette offered him her spoon and he took it, genuinely happy for the first time in the last three months. All because he was with Annette in a high-priced restaurant at eleven thirty in the morning eating a ridiculously expensive chocolate sundae.

A/N: This is much longer then the usual chapter, a lot fluffier too. Annette's a very happy fluffy character and so much fun to write too! Angst is really what I've always written so this is kind of a different thing for me.

As of now (if you haven't read the note I had up before), ffnet has decreed that review replies in the chapter will get us all banned so all review replies will now be put up at my yahoo group (Arezue; Desire), the link is as follows: ht tp/ tv. group . yahoo. com/ group / arezuedesire (retype w/o spaces). If you can't subscribe to the group for some reason, let me know; if you have a yahoo id, you should be able to get on.