"Hello? Lana, is that you?"
Lana felt faint, blooding pounding in her ears, the usual tell-tale sign of things spinning quickly out of control.
"Nell?" she breathed, blindly reaching for a chair behind her. She stumbled onto a stool at the breakfast counter, noticing that all activity in the kitchen had gone still.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Martha asked having noticed the pale expression on the younger woman's face. She placed the plate of sausages on the dining table.
Lana watched wearily as she took a seat across from her at the counter. Over the line, Nell repeatedly asking her if she was still there. Gingerly, Lana brought a hand up to her temple, rubbing it.
"Lana?" Are you still there?" Nell asked frantically.
"Nell...how did you find me?"
There was a slight pause before Nell finally spoke. "Jason called me a few days after you took off. He mentioned the reporter from the Daily Planet that happened to show up at that gala. I had a hunch that I'd find you over there after I asked Jason for the reporter's name."
"You've been in contact with Jason?" Lana asked incredulously, the strength in her voice returning.
"Well, he only is your fiancé," Nell said with a slight laugh that indicated that she wasn't as amused as she pretended to be. "Or do I have to remind you?"
Lana gritted her teeth, her exhaustion resolving into anger. "What are you implying, Nell?" Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Martha perk up, having been finally informed of who was on the other line. Although she wore a polite expression of confusion on her features, Lana could sense that she was just as curious as Nell about what was really going on between her and Clark. Although Lana would never admit it out loud, she'd be as curious as them if she were in their position.
"Lana, for heaven's sake. What were you thinking in going to the Kent Farm? They're good people...I don't think that this would sit well with them...you using them to hide from your fiancé."
"I'm not using them," Lana replied with a slight edge in her voice. She quickly glanced up at Martha, and then lowered her eyes. "They know exactly why I'm here...I've already told them about Jason."
"Oh, and do they know that you're having an affair with their son?"
"Don't," Lana began, her voice shaking, "accuse me of things when you have no idea how I feel. You have no right."
"I think that as your aunt, and the person who raised you, that I do have the right," Nell said firmly, unfazed by her niece's attempts to scare her down. "Please, Lana. Come back to Metropolis so that you and Jason can work this out. Your wedding is next month...don't throw it all away in this one rash decision."
Instead of giving her aunt the satisfaction of knowing that she had succeeded into putting things into perspective, Lana fumed silently on the other line.
"Lana...I didn't call you to upset you," Nell said evenly, sensing her niece's distraught. "I just wanted to let you know that Jason is coming for you."
"W-what? When?" Lana demanded, drawing the attention of Martha.
"He's working on a case right now, so he can't get away until next week."
"Next week?" Lana repeated, the words sounding foreign to her.
"Yes, sometime next week..."
Nell was still trying to persuade her to come back to Metropolis, but Lana wasn't listening. Instead, she blurted out, "You told him didn't you?" She heard Nell sigh loudly, pausing before slowly, but deliberately giving her answer.
"You should have seen him...he was a mess. I wanted to tell him...but I didn't."
"Thank you, Nell," Lana whispered into the phone. Although Nell could be blinded by her own ambitions for her, Lana knew that in moments like these, her aunt really did care for her.
"That still doesn't make this right though, Lana. What you're doing with Jonathon and Martha Kent's son."
Lana closed her eyes briefly. "I know that, Nell. I just need some time to think things through..."
"I hope you make the right decision, Lana," Nell said softly, genuine concern in her voice.
"Me too." Lana waited for the soft click to know that Nell had hung up before hanging up herself. Not wanting to see the expression on Martha Kent's countenance, she closed her eyes, pressing her fingers to them.
After a few moments, Lana glanced up to see Martha with a pot of tea on the table.
"Jonathon used to always put on a pot of tea when I was tired or upset. It really helped cleared my head and calm my nerves." Martha offered a smile, pouring a cup of tea for Lana.
Lana smiled weakly, accepting the cup from her. Her hands were shaking, causing some of the tea to splash out of the cup. "Thanks, Martha...for everything. For letting me stay here and 'hide out', as Nell put it."
Martha readjusted herself in her seat before reaching for the younger woman's hand. She squeezed it tenderly, but firmly. "There's no need to thank me, sweetie. This is as much as your home as ours. You know that."
For some odd reason, Lana felt herself tearing up. "Everything's falling apart...I can't do this anymore."
Martha released her hand and strode over to the other side of the counter. She placed her arm around Lana's shoulders, rubbing them in a motherly way. "Yes you can...you're strong, Lana. You just have to believe that things will work out for the best."
"I'm trying to...but things are too complicated right now," Lana confessed, doing her best to compose herself.
"Love is complicated. But that doesn't mean that you should give up on it."
Lana wasn't quite sure if Martha had caught on to what was going on between her and Clark, or if she was simply referring to her and Jason. Either way, she was grateful for her advice. "Things with Jason are just...confusing. I love him, I really do, but...I'm not sure. It's not the same..."
"Postpone the wedding, then. You're still young...there's no need to rush into these things. Love can't be rushed, sweetie," Martha said.
"I know...I just...I feel like I messed things up so bad already." Lana fidgeted with her tea cup as Martha soothingly rubbed her back. "By coming here, I mean. Running away."
"Everyone has run away from their problems before. Clark did when he ran away to Metropolis."
Lana remembered that summer well. Everything she did...watching the sunset...or even wiping dishes at the Talon reminded her of Clark. There was just no escaping him. Just like now.
A lump grew in her throat as she thought about Jason in Metropolis, worried about her. The lump grew bigger when she thought of the kindness that Jonathon and Martha Kent had offered her, taking her into their home with no questions asked. And Clark...this wasn't fair to him either.
Overwhelmed with guilt, the tears came faster, heavier. "Oh, Martha...I'm so sorry... You don't know half of what I've done since I came here. I hurt so many people...including Clark."
Martha stroked her hair, comforting her as best as any mother could. "Lana, I'm going to be honest here, but I had my suspicions about what was really going on between you and Clark. I'm not saying that I approve of it...but just know that I want the best for both of you."
Lana nodded, drying her tears with a napkin offered by Martha. "Martha? Can you please not tell Jonathon about this...I don't think that he would be happy with this."
"Of course. My lips are sealed."
"Thank you."
The two women sat there in silence, united by a secret. Once Lana had composed herself, Martha suggested for her to head upstairs.
"I'll keep a plate warm for you. If Jonathon asks, I'll just tell him that you're not feeling well, which is technically the truth."
Lana managed a small smile and stood up, her legs wobbly. As she climbed the stairs, she contemplated the decision that she knew that she had to make.
The moment Clark stepped into the house; he noticed that something was up. Call it his usual hunch, or alien intuition, but something was up.
"Mom?" he called, padding his way to the kitchen where he found his mother in the process of peeling apple skins for her pie.
"Hi, honey. Did everything go okay with Pete?" Martha asked, smiling at her son.
"Yeah. He just needed someone to remind him that Marie loves him, whether or not he can string words together." Clark yanked the fridge open and pushed aside leftovers and the jug of orange juice for the milk carton.
"He's already getting pre-wedding jitters?" Clark heard his mom ask as he proceeded to chug down the milk right from the carton.
"Clark, glass! You're a grown man for heaven's sake."
He grinned as he reached for a cup. "Sorry...it just tastes better that way." He poured himself a good amount of the milk before sticking the carton back into the fridge. While he chugged it down, he noticed that a plate of breakfast foods was sitting on the stove, neatly wrapped in aluminum foil.
"Is that for me?"
Martha glanced up from the apple that she was peeling. "No. For Lana."
Clark's eyebrows knitted together. "Didn't she eat breakfast with you and Dad?"
"She wasn't feeling too well."
A curt answer, Clark thought. Hmm... "Is she okay?"
"Just tired. I suggested that she go back to bed." Martha reached down to pull out her cutting board from the cupboard.
"Where's Dad?" Clark asked casually, walking over to the sink. He rinsed it before setting it on the dish rack.
"Out at the hardware store getting some parts for the tractor. He needs you to help him lift it when he gets back."
He nodded, watching his mother begin slicing up the apples. "I'm thinking of heading out to Metropolis after I help Dad. I'll be back for dinner and that pie."
Martha laughed, remembering the days when he used to sit by the oven, waiting to be the first one to sample her baking. "I'll be sure to save some pie for you in case you don't come back in time."
"Thanks, Mom." He leaned against the counter, watching her pull out other ingredients to make the crust. His eyes wandered over to the dining table where a pot of tea was set in the center along with a half empty cup.
"Were you drinking tea this morning, Mom?"
"No. Lana was." Martha glanced up at her son, noticing the wheels turning in his head. "When did you become so keen?"
"Well, you normally don't drink tea unless you're upset or cold." Clark turned his head, careful to watch his mother's expression.
Martha sighed, putting down her knife. "Clark, Nell Potter called this morning."
Clark felt himself tense up. "W-what? Why?"
"You'll have to ask Lana that. I didn't want to pry...but she seemed pretty upset."
Clark's good mood faltered. "Do you think that I can go up there...to check on her?" He was careful to word his question in a way that seemed as if he cared for Lana only as a friend, and not as the likely subject of Lana's and Nell's conversation.
"Go ahead," Martha said gently. "Tell her that I have saved some food down here for her if she's hungry. I'm making sandwiches and soup for lunch, so let her know that lunch will be ready in an hour as well."
Clark nodded, not quite sure that he got all of that. But that was the least of his worries as he headed upstairs to his boyhood room.
He knocked lightly on the door. When he didn't a response, he pushed it open, slipping in. Inside, the flannel curtains were drawn closed, the light from outside trying its best to shine through the fabrics.
Lana, he assumed was the lump on the bed. She had pulled the covers over her head. He approached the bed cautiously. "Lana?" He gingerly took a seat on the bed.
There was a slight groan before Lana appeared, sitting up. Clark noticed the redness around the rim of her eyes and the bags underneath them.
"Mom told me what happened. The phone call from Nell." Clark reached for her hand and tenderly brushed the hair away from her face.
Lana sighed, and rubbed her eyes. "Clark...Nell called to tell me that Jason is coming next week...to Smallville."
Clark swallowed hard. "How did he find out that you're here? Did Nell tell him?"
She shook her head. "No...Jason mentioned you to Nell and she put the pieces together... I don't know how Jason could've found out where I was...I mean, even if he remembered you from the party, I never mentioned you to him..."
Clark pulled her closer to him, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. They sat there in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
"Clark, what am I going to do?" Lana whispered into his shoulder.
"I don't know," he replied truthfully. "Maybe..." he began, fighting the lump that had formed in this throat, "we should just let things happen..."
Lana lifted her head off his shoulder, puzzled. "Are you saying that we should just forget everything that's happened since we've been here?"
"No, I mean..." Clark paused, gazing into her eyes. They were pleading for him to make a decision for her...but he couldn't. She had to make that decision by herself. "Let's not worry about it...if things happen, then they happen."
Lana glanced down at the plaid comforter. For some odd reason, she felt as if she had lost him. "Yeah...I guess." She was frowning now, tears whelming up in her eyes.
Clark looked away, knowing that he was being a coward. Did she want him to fight for her? He wasn't sure.
"Clark...I've hurt so many people by being here...Jason...and even..." Clark's name was at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Maybe she just wanted to hurt him as much as he had hurt her by his comment before.
"Yeah." He pulled away slightly. "Listen, I'm going to head to Metropolis for a while. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Oh, okay." Lana released him and closed her eyes as he planted a kiss on her forehead. She watched as he padded toward the door. With one final glance at her, he was gone.
A/N: Sorry for the late update. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to leave a review!