Chapter 5 - Secrets

Lex was barely willing to admit even to himself that he was counting the days until Clark's next visit.

He considered visiting the farmer's market that weekend, since he figured the Kents would have a booth—maybe he could take another shot at a better second impression with Jonathan—but he decided against it. The accident would be too fresh in all of their minds, and Lex didn't want to risk letting something slip about Clark sneaking over to the mansion.

Lex still wanted a chance at paying Clark back, though. He made a point of paying a visit to the stables to see Lana later in the week, under the pretense of looking for Nell. He'd dropped by over the weekend with the same excuse, which was when she'd told him about Clark saving Whitney's life.

He waited at the stable for ten minutes before Lana arrived on horseback.

"You again," Lana said, her eyes locking on his. She dismounted and lead the horse the rest of the way in.

Lex half smiled. "Nell around?"

"She's working. I'll tell her you stopped by."

That was obviously an invitation to get out, but he was here on a mission. "How's the quarterback doing?" he asked.

Lana's eyes narrowed. "Why do you care?"

"Because he was in a car accident."

Her nose wrinkled, and her head lowered. "I'm so sorry, Lex. Your, uh, family has a reputation."

"It's quite alright." Lex was used to people assuming he had ulterior motives. His father gave people reason to respond that way all the time. Of course, today, Lex actually did have an agenda, though he liked to think it was a noble one.

"Whitney's doing well, thanks for asking," Lana said. "He was just lucky Clark was there."

"I know the feeling." Lex's heart rate picked up—this was his opening. "Kinda makes you wonder if you're with the right guy. One chucks footballs, the other helps save lives."

Her expression darkened again. "For someone who just moved into town, you've got a lot of opinions."

"You just seem more interesting than that. By the way, did you ever find your necklace?"

"No. What does that have to do with—"

"You should ask your boyfriend what he was doing before the big game."

A slight pause. "He was with me."

Lex gave her a pointed look. "Are you sure?"

Lana looked away, her forehead creasing, and Lex left the stables.

There was a lift in Clark's step as he strode into Lex's study. It had been difficult to wait a whole eight days to come back to the mansion. Nowhere else could he feel as free to be himself.

He waved at Lex, who was sitting at his desk like last time, then he set his backpack down on the couch before making his way to Lex's desk.

"Hey," Lex said, looking up from his computer and standing. "I've got something for you."

"Really?"

Lex reached into his desk and pulled out the lead box that held Lana's necklace. Then he opened it.

Clark jumped back, holding his hands out in front of him and bracing for the horrible sickness. But it never came. He straightened up slowly, lowering his hands.

Lex chuckled. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. But it's pretty cool, right? You should be able to touch it without any pain."

Clark took a step closer, squinting at the open box. The green necklace still glowed within it, but it didn't have the same effects as before. "What did you do to it?"

Lex smiled and closed the box. "I know a jeweler. One of the best in the world. I had him make you a replica."

"A replica?"

"Yeah, it's a fake emerald that looks exactly like the meteor rock. I know you wanted Lana to have her necklace back, but you didn't want to get sick every time she wears it. I figured this way you can have it both ways."

"You told the jeweler about me?"

Lex raised an eyebrow. "I asked him to make the necklace, and I paid him what he was worth. He didn't ask questions." Lex held out the box. "Give it to her. Or leave it somewhere she can find it, or whatever you want to do."

Clark squirmed. "I don't know, Lex, that necklace is really special to her. It's sentimental. I don't think I could deceive her like that."

Lex nodded slowly. "You like this girl, right? You want to date her?"

"Of course."

"You think you want to marry her?"

"I mean . . ." He was fourteen. Marriage wasn't really on his mind. At the same time, it had been so long, he couldn't imagine ever falling for anyone else. "I guess I do."

"So when you tell her your secret someday, tell her the truth about the necklace. I'm sure she'll understand."

"I . . . I don't think I could tell her my secret."

Lex stared at him for a moment. "You're worried about deceiving her about a necklace, and meanwhile you're already planning to lie to her for the rest of your life?"

It sounded really bad when he said it like that. "Not lie."

"Then what?"

"I just . . . wouldn't tell her the truth."

Lex gave him a look. "Clark, what do you think lying is?"

Clark winced. "It's not like that."

"Look, you have an amazing gift, and you're going to want to use it. You should use it. But the more you do, the more you're going to have to lie about it." Lex rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe it's not my business, and I'm the last person you should ask for advice about long-term relationships, but . . . even I know you don't want to build a marriage on secrets and deception."

This whole thing was spinning out of control, forcing Clark to consider things too far in his future to even imagine. "Okay, maybe I'll tell her about my abilities someday. But I still don't want to deceive her about the necklace."

Lex looked down at his hands, then back up at Clark. "How often do you have to lie to protect your secret?"

"I don't know. Sometimes?"

"If I'd been knocked out when my car hit the water, so I didn't see you use your powers, wouldn't you have lied to me about how we survived?"

"I—I guess."

"And that's okay. You didn't know me, you didn't know if you could trust me." Lex frowned. "Even the great Jonathan Kent must know there's a time and a place for half-truths. I think that necklace qualifies."

It still didn't feel right to Clark. "It's different."

"How?"

Clark began to pace. "Well, it's not safe for people to know about my secret. If word gets out, people will try to take advantage of me or experiment on me. Anyone who knows the truth is in danger."

"Okay, so keeping secrets protects them. And you."

"Exactly."

"I get it. But isn't that what you'd be doing if you gave her a fake necklace?"

Clark shifted his weight. He could see what Lex was saying, but it still didn't feel the same to him. "It kind of protects me. But it doesn't protect her."

"Sure it does, Clark. You don't know what effects the meteor rocks have on people long term. They're alien. For all you know, they could be radioactive or something."

Clark knew what he meant, but Lex's use of the word alien still stung a little.

Based on Lex's grimace, Clark's discomfort must have been visible on his face. "I'm sorry, Clark, I didn't mean—"

"I know." Clark sighed. Judging by Chloe's Wall of Weird, Lex was right about the meteor rocks, anyway. Clark hadn't even considered that. Considering that Greg Arkin had turned into a bug boy from meteor infection, it probably was dangerous for someone to be wearing the meteor rock all the time.

Lex picked the lead box. "Forget it."

The look on Lex's face was so defeated, it hurt to look at. It occurred to Clark that Lex had been trying to give him a gift, and Clark had done nothing but push back. "Lex, I—I really appreciate it. I'm going to give Lana the replica."

Lex's eyes widened. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I think you're right about the meteor rocks. My friend Chloe, she thinks they infect people and sort of mutate them."

"Interesting theory."

"Yeah. She's got a whole wall of newspaper clippings. It sounds crazy, but . . . I mean, it sounds a lot crazier to say I'm an alien."

Lex let out a half laugh. "Have you ever seen it happen?"

"Have I seen someone who was affected by the meteors?" Clark blinked. "You haven't heard about what happened with Greg Arkin this week."

"Who?"

Clark's heart skipped—he could tell Lex what had really happened. Not just the parts of it that the police could know, or even just the parts Chloe knew. He could confide everything.

He breathed in to start telling the story, but stopped himself at the last moment. Just because he could tell the whole story didn't mean Lex wanted to hear it. Lex was twenty-one, and a billionaire, and ran a huge company. He wouldn't want to hear Clark's high school drama—he'd already had to hear Clark talk about Lana. "Um, it's kind of a long story. I don't know if you want to sit in your study and listen to me ramble."

"No, we couldn't have that."

It took Clark a half second to realize Lex was being sarcastic.

"Doritos and Red Vines in the downstairs dining room, if you want them."

Clark shrugged, barely holding back a grin. "I'm more of a Twizzlers guy."

"Now that's gross. I can't believe I'm friends with you."

Clark laughed. "Race you down there?"

"What, are we nine?"

"Come on, I'll give you a head start."

Lex rolled his eyes, but jogged lightly toward the door of the study. Clark raced past him at top speed. He smiled wryly to himself—his dad would kill him if he knew he was showing off like this.

But as Clark passed, he glanced back over his shoulder at the look of wonder on Lex's face. And for the first time in his life, Clark felt proud to call himself an alien.