SHOUTOUTS\ANSWERS

SVOC Luva: Hey, where've ya been? Good to see ya. Thanks. Yeah, well, I saw that this category was very low on this quotient and decided to do something about it. Sad, but true. Good to see that I'm not the only one who saw that possibility. No prob. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Spuffyshipper: Hope it was a pleasant surprise. Oh, you poor thing. I know how you feel. Ha ha. Freaked you out, huh? Sorry. Hope you'll stick around for the story. But if you don't, that's okay.

DISCLAIMER

Smallville belongs to the WB. I only own the plot. Oh, and I accidentally spelled Mrs. Teague's name wrong in the first chap. Sorry.

The next day, Lana showed up at the Talon bright and early, whistling happily.

"Someone looks happy," Chloe Sullivan noted. Sitting in the stool beside her was her cousin, Lois Lane.

"Very happy," Lois agreed.

"Yeah, well..." Lana trailed off and giggled. She wasn't really surprised to see her friends there. Mrs. Kent had probably let them in. Chloe and Lois grinned at each other.

"Oh, it was like that, huh?" Chloe teased.

"Oh, shut up! We just kissed!" Lana responded.

"Just kissed?" Lois repeated.

"Really?" Chloe asked knowingly.

"Yes, really," Lana emphasized. "Although, it wasn't for a lack of trying," she continued.

"Oooh," Lois smirked.

"What do you mean?" Chloe wondered, not quite understanding.

"Well, every time I tried to get somewhere, he'd space out---withdraw. Like he was hiding something," Lana told her friends.

"Wow. Weird," Chloe commented.

"Yeah. Usually the guy tries to get some," Lois commented.

"Lois!" Chloe exclaimed scoldingly.

"What? I'm just saying," Lois defended herself.

"I get what you mean," Lana stated. "He's just been acting so weird ever since he had that fight with his mom," she continued.

"Really?" Chloe queried.

"Yeah," Lana confirmed.

"Do you think it means anything?" Lois wondered. Lana shrugged. Just then, they heard a small ding as the door opened.

"Oh, customer," Chloe noted. The trio turned around.

"Kinda early, aren't ya, buddy?" Lois queried.

"Lois," Chloe hissed. Her cousin gave her a "What'd I say?" look in return.

"Can I get a latte?" the man asked, ignoring the exchange.

"Well, we're actually not quite open yet, but I'll see what I can do," Lana promised.

"Alrighty," the man agreed. Lana plugged in the coffee machine and began making the drink. Moments later, the drink was done and some of the other workers came in. As soon as they had officially opened, Lana and the waitresses were completely bombarded with orders and Jason's strange behavior from the previous night was pushed to the back of Lana's mind.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I know this seems slow, but I promise it will pick up.