Clark felt as if his heart had been ripped out, the flame that was only ignited last week extinguished. The slight breeze froze; the trees and their branches stopped swaying. The only two things that seemed to move was the woman beside him and man before her.

"Lana..." Jason said. "Clark."

Clark wrenched his eyes away from Lana, not thinking coherently. He opened his mouth, but there were no words. He cleared his throat. "Lana..."

He didn't know why it came out more as a whimper rather than a name, but he neither cared nor noticed. He couldn't lose her now...not now.

A minute passed. An hour. A day. A week. A month. A year. A lifetime.

Time began moving again. Lana exhaled and closed her eyes, the beating of her heart terrifying her and comforting her at the same time. She looked straight ahead at Jason, the features on her face set in stone.

She wasn't surprised when she turned to Clark and found him gazing at her intently. She opened her mouth, the words coming out almost robotically. "Clark, can you give us a few minutes?"

Clark wasn't sure about what he was expecting her to say. Yet, he felt slightly cold as he nodded his head numbly and watched her go.

He watched her get into the passenger seat of the Escalade. Watched as Jason shut the car door and start the engine. The hums of the engine followed them as they turned out of the driveway and away from him.

He wanted to scream, shout, do anything but stand there, a distant figure beneath the sea of night stars. Instead, he walked numbly to the porch steps of the yellow farm house and waited.

The engine hummed to a stop. Above them sat the 'Welcome to Smallville' sign, the same sign that Lana had passed on her way into the town with Clark.

Lana watched as Jason unbuckled his belt and removed his hands from the steering wheel. After a slight pause, he finally turned to her.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on or do I have to ask?"

She couldn't bring herself to look at him. Instead, she fiddled with her engagement ring. In the moonlight pouring in from the open car window illuminated the diamond, making it seem bigger and more significant.

"Jason...when I introduced Clark as an old classmate at that gala...I wasn't lying," she confessed quietly, her voice carrying out of the window and fading into the vast cornfields. "Clark and I have known each other all our lives...we went to kindergarten together, elementary school...it wasn't until high school that we really started talking."

"Let me guess. This is the part where you tell me that you two used to date," Jason spoke up, his voice sadistic.

"Jason..." Lana sighed, still refusing to look at him. "I'm sorry. I really am."

"You know what? It's okay."

Lana, surprised, turned to him. "It is?"

Jason nodded and reached for her clammy hands. "Lana, I still love you," he said seriously. "You can call me insane...mental...crazy. It's just...you mean the world to me, Lana. I have my suspicions about what went on while you were here, but I'm not going to ask."

"Jason─"

"Lana, it's okay." He released her hands and brought his hands to cup her face on either side. "I'm willing to put this behind me...I just... I want you to marry me, Lana. I still want to get married next month. How 'bout it? Let's just leave right now...forget about this whole thing."

"Jason, I know you...you wouldn't let this go just like that," Lana said softly.

He shook his head firmly. "You're wrong, Lana. I would. Because I love you...you're the only person who can make me feel this way. I can't bear to lose you."

"Oh, Jason...I can't. I'm so sorry...but I can't." Lana pulled off her engagement ring and handed it to him.

His face fell. "You're in love with him, aren't you?" he asked quietly.

"Jason, I care about you...I really do. But it's not the same. Please understand," Lana whispered, tears of guilt whelming in her eyes. "You deserve someone else who can make you happy."

"You do make me happy," he pleaded.

Lana placed hand to his cheek in a friendly way. She pulled away quickly, her hand wet. She swallowed the lump in her throat reluctantly. "Jason, I'm sure that one day, you'll find what you're looking for. But believe me, I'm not that person."

Not another word was uttered between the two as the engine hummed to life. Despite the situation, Lana smiled weakly to herself.. The weight on her finger was gone and so was the one on her chest.

Clark watched with a neutral expression as the Escalade pulled up into the driveway. He watched as Lana got out of the passenger's seat and gave Jason a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. Finally, the Escalade rolled away from the driveway with Jason in there.

He forced himself to stay seated on the porch as wait as she made her way over to him. Just when Lana was close enough for him to make out her face, she held up her left hand.

Clark squinted, unsure of what he was supposed to see. His eyes grew wide with recognition as noticed that the usual spark on her finger was gone.

He swallowed hard and stood, staring into her eyes that were shining. A few tentative steps and he was in front of her. No words were need as they embraced, Clark holding on to Lana for dear life.

"I'm sorry," Lana breathed into his chest, her eyes closed tightly.

"Why?"

"For doubting us..." She pulled back and caressed the side of Clark's cheek. "I..."

"Shh," he hushed gently, brushing her lips with his thumb. "I love you Lana, you know that right?"

She smiled, the glow of the moonlight illuminating her features. "And I love you, too."

Clark sealed her lips with a kiss, pouring all of his love for her into this kiss, knowing that their love would never waver again.