It was a beautiful summer day. The kind of day with blue skies that go on forever and endless sunshine to warm your soul.

Chloe pulled her car to a stop in the Kents driveway; she could see smoke billowing in the air and could smell burning charcoal. She also noticed a large homemade paper banner hanging from the font porch reading "Good Luck at The Planet!" in big, bold red letters. Chloe laughed; it didn't take much to make Mrs. Kent proud, even if Clark had only managed to score a small position in the mailroom.

Any cause for a party was a good cause for Mrs. Kent.

As Chloe walked across the front yard she saw Martha lying out a stack of paper plates on a cloth covered picnic table. She waved merrily to Chloe and pointed over her shoulder towards Clark. He was busy flipping burgers on the grill, but turned briefly to wave at her, spatula in hand. Chloe set down her things, headed to see if there was anything she could help with, when she saw Lana walk out the front door and over to Clark, wrapping her arms around his waist possessively.

Just then, Chloe smiled as she heard a familiar voice in her ear and felt a pair of arms wrap around her as well.

"Here's my girl."

But even though the sun feels good upon your skin...

Chloe turned around to see Jimmy behind her.

"Looks like you came just in time for the Lana and Clark show."

Chloe laughed; she knew exactly what Jimmy meant. It had been nothing but endless, giddy, displays of emotion for weeks. Since Clark told Lana his secret and convinced her to leave Lex for him.

Chloe, ever the good friend, was happy that they were happy—but Jimmy had a point. Enough was enough. "Oh, lucky me." She replied sarcastically.

"At least you didn't have to sit through the first act—an hour of snuggling in the hammock."

Chloe's eyebrows furrowed. "You've been here for an hour? I didn't see your car when I pulled up."

"I'm full of surprises." Jimmy grinned, trying his best to sound mysterious. "Actually, I parked at the Talon where we were supposed to meet up before coming here." He paused, looking a bit agitated. "And by the time I realized you weren't going to show up my car got blocked in by delivery trucks and Lois gave me a lift." He nodded over his shoulder to where Lois was sprawled out on a lounge chair, yakking into her cell phone.

"Of course! I was supposed to meet you at the Talon." The forgotten plans were suddenly remembered and Chloe smiled, embarrassed. "I'm sorry Jimmy—but I was at The Planet doing some research and you will never believe what happened!" Her eyes grew wide with excitement. "If this turns out to be legit it could be a big break on the whole Luthor—"

Jimmy cut her off with an exaggerated sigh and took a step back from her. "Figures."

"What?"

He looked as if he was struggling with what to say. "Can we just not talk about The Planet or the Luthor's or deadlines or anything for once? I mean, we're at a party here."

"Yeah. A party celebrating that Clark got hired by The Daily Planet." Chloe shot back jokingly.

Jimmy was not amused.

…..It can still burn you.

Meanwhile, across the yard Clark was flipping the batch of burgers over one last time, checking to see if they were almost done.

"So, when do you start your new job?" Lana asked, resting her head on his arm as she clung to him.

"Next Monday—9 am sharp." Clark said cheerfully, flipping some of the burgers onto a plate.

Lana sighed and unlatched herself from his arm.

"Something wrong?"

"I just wish you would have reconsidered the job at The Ledger instead. I mean, it's closer to home."

"It's not like I have to worry about a long commute." Clark winked and bent down to kiss her. Lana dodged her head away and crossed her arms defensively.

"I'm serious Clark. You would be closer to home and closer to me." Suddenly the smile that had faded from her face returned with sickening sweetness.

"And as great as that would be," Clark continued diplomatically. "Metropolis is really where all the great stories are."

"Yes, but you are going to be working in the mailroom." She snarled, trying her best to keep her voice down. "We already talked about this—I don't like the idea of you being in Metropolis, tempted to run off and save the day all the time."

"It won't be like that—"

"Using your powers all the time is not safe." She cut him off. "I thought we already agreed about this."

"But Lana—"

Lana could see she wasn't going to win the argument and grabbed the plate of burgers and stormed off towards the table.

Yet you still crave its warmth.

"Chloe, I'm serious here."

Chloe winced at Jimmy's harsh tone. "I'm sorry."

Jimmy reached out and pulled off the Daily Planet ID badge that was dangling from her collar, stuffing it into his pocket. "How about today we don't discuss anything DP related. No Luthor's, no deadlines—just us. I like the sound of that. How about you?"

The words coming out of his mouth sounded harmless, but Chloe felt a nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach. "It sounds like a great idea."

Jimmy leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. "That's why you're my girl."

"And you're my guy!" Chloe felt oddly numb inside, but did her best to put on a convincing smile.

Because sometimes what you want…

Clark caught up to Lana, pulling her shoulder until she stopped moving. "I'm sorry. I didn't know this was such a big deal for you. I," He paused, torn on the inside, but he knew he had to say the words. "I will think about The Ledger. I promise."

"You mean it?"

"Yeah."

Lana smiled and threw her free arm around him, lifting up on her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. As she pulled away she ran her hand down the length of the sleeve on his red jacket, giving him a queer look. "Now all I have to do is work on getting rid of this old, ugly thing and everything will be perfect." She laughed and marched off towards the table. "I don't think they would like it over at The Ledger."

Clark watched her go, feeling like he had been punched with a fistful of Kryptonite.

….Is not what you need.

What good is love when you lose your true self in the process?