Sorry this updates taken forever and a half. I'm really going to try to update everyday for the rest of this week to make up for it. No joke. So be ready!

If only life could've given us a break. If only enough time could've passed quietly so that I could collect enough trust in Lana to reveal my secret. Then everything could've ended so sweetly and smoothly and we would waste no more time being apart.

But between Lana and me, there grew a barrier. The monkey wrench in the machine, so to speak.

I uncovered it while walking Lana home the next night. Confidence bubbling, smile gleaming.

"So, I seems we've talked about pretty much everything humanly known to man except a few things," I spoke up as soon as there was a pause in our conversation.

"Really? What do we need to cover?" she asked curiously.

"Well, there's psycho serial killers – which I don't think would be a very good subject walking down Metropolis streets at three in the morning – and…family." I swallowed, feeling a little nervous, but excited.

"Family…yeah…"

She said nothing more, so I decided to poke her verbally poke her a little more. "So, how about your parents? Strict or laid back?"

"Actually…they're both dead. They died a little over eighteen years ago."

My nervousness and excitement sunk into empathy and sadness. "Oh. Oh, I didn't – I'm sorry, Lana."

"No, it's okay. You didn't know."

Hands went back into my pockets. Nice move, Kent.

She pulled her hair behind her ears and looked straightforwardly at the approaching crosswalk. "They died in the meteor shower."

My heart dropped, my mind frozen with disbelief. "Meteor shower?"

"Yeah. The one in Smallville? 1989?"

"I remember. I just…" I swallowed deeply, trying to rid my insides of the newfound guilt. "…I didn't realize anyone had died in it."

"That's probably because my parents were the only ones."

I stared at my feet as we waited at the crosswalk, suddenly wishing I hadn't brought family up. I felt awful. I felt like a murderer…I was a murderer.

To avoid a longer awkward silence, I decided to change the direction of the subject. "So, who did you live with growing up?"

"When I was little, I lived in a tiny apartment with my Aunt Nell," She informed as the walk sign lit up and we trudged along the slashed white lines of the pavement. "We had so much fun together. She loved playing board games with me. Sometimes I'd make up games of my own…she was always so excited and eager to learn the rules…

"When I was about seven, she dated and eventually married my Uncle Dean. He's a great guy, you know…funny and caring. He owned a small bar and sometimes he'd sneak me in and let me play the jukebox. Nell was so angry when she found out I'd used up almost all my money on that thing." She laughed to herself a little, but soon the smile faded away. "Then…Nell passed away…unexpectedly. The doctors said she had some kind of rare heart disease that had no outside symptoms. My 10th birthday had been just two days away…I spent the whole day in my room, crying. Dean understood though. He was so nice after she died – nicer than he was when she was alive. He comforted me, and promised that he would continue to take care of me."

My heart gushed out to her as I noticed her eyes watering a bit. She didn't cry though. She remained strong, even in her voice.

"And he did. His bar began to gain customers and success. Soon he moved it into a bigger location, added a few things…and renamed it The Pulse."

I glanced over at her in surprise. "Your uncle owns that club?"

She nodded. "He let me help behind the bar, waitressing at first. But I got bored with it quickly and during my breaks I would sing karaoke for the audience. Dean noticed how happy I was on stage, so he proposed that I start up an act. Eventually it just kind of turned into me becoming a sort of showgirl. He never had me do anything I didn't want to do, though. He had the idea to have me only spend time with guys afterwards if they formally requested me ahead of time." A few hairs slipped from her ear and fanned into her face, but she made no attempt to move them.

Without thinking about it much, I reached over and guided the stray hairs back with the others and tried to grin encouragingly.

She looked up at me and then sighed. "And that's what I've been doing for the past four years….since I was eighteen. That's all my life has become…singing, drinking…falling asleep on strange guys' cars…"

I smiled, but it left quickly. "If you're not happy, why don't you just leave and move on to something better? You should audition for American Idol or something."

"I can't. Not after everything Dean's done for me. He's been there for me for so long. I can't abandon him." There was a brief moment of silence before she turned to me, still walking and added, "So, that's my story. How about yours?"

I raised my eyebrows, caught off guard a little bit, but I quickly swallowed and smiled. "Um…definitely not as interesting as yours."

"Oh, let me guess – raised to become a sweet, goody-two-shoes kind of boy by an apple-pie-making mother and an All-American World's Greatest father. You were the popular high school quarterback that every girl wanted, but no one could have, and you are currently studying to become some kind of business man that will get you enough money to buy your folks a nice, relaxing home in Florida to retire."

I laughed. "Close."

She grinned at me with intrigue. "Oh yeah? What did I get wrong?"

"Well, the quarterback thing, for one. I was more of a…nerdy outsider to be honest."

"Okay, that was my second guess. What else?"

I bit my lip, shuffling my feet a little more than I usually do. The girl had just told be almost her whole life story. How was I suppose to answer to that without revealing anything about my origin?

"Clark?"

Gulp. "Nothing. I'm trying to think of something to prove you wrong, but…I guess you're just psychic."

She stuck a fist out into the night and then snapped it back towards her chest victoriously. "Yessss! I knew I had the power."

I tried to smile through my mental pain. It hurt to lie. But telling her the truth when she was still clearly upset about her parents' death was not something I wanted to get into.

After a few minutes of silence that were bordering on awkwardness, I decided to less than gracefully change the subject. "So….how's work going?"

"It's all right," she retorted. Suddenly she jolted in remembrance and pointed a finger at me. "Oh! I almost forgot! I meant to ask you a really big favor."

"Really? Me?" I wondered with curiousity.

"Well, Dean was thinking about doing a little remodeling at the club over the next few weeks. Nothing huge, just some color changes and stuff. Anyway, he also wants me to change up my singing act a little bit, annnnd….I was wondering if you'd consider doing a duet with me." She stopped in front of me, as we had finally arrived in front of her apartment. Her eyes gazed widely into mine with hope, a tiny smile hovering over her face as she waited for my answer.

I frowned, looking away from her tempting face. "Lana…I don't know…"

"Clark, come on. You're an amazing singer. You'd only have to do it on the first night that all the remodeling is finished. Just once, Clark. Pleeeaase?" She snatched my hands in hers squeezing them encouragingly. "It'll be fun. I promise."

I sighed in defeat. I didn't really feel up to it, but I knew I didn't have a choice. Plus, a duet meant a lot of rehearsals with her…more time then just a eight-minute walk home. "Okay. Just as long as I don't have to wear any glitter crap."

"Don't worry. I won't let the glitter people touch your face." She giggled and then hugged my torso like a preschooler to a teddy bear. "You're the best, Clark. I can't wait!"

I grinned, rubbing her back with only the friendliest of intentions. "When do you want to start rehearsing?'

"How about…every Friday night? I'll just tell Dean I can't take requests those nights and we can practice in my dressing room until closing time."

I pulled out of the hug and nodded once. "Sounds good."

"Okay, cool. And remember to drink lots of fluids – wouldn't want to let that angelic voice to go flat." She laughed as she backed away toward her apartment.

"Same goes for you, then. Bye, Lana."

"Bye!"

I stood there until she left my sight behind the door. As soon as she was gone, my smile began to reluctantly fade, recalling our conversation earlier. It gave me a horrible pain in my stomach, like something was eating it from the inside out. The thought of being the reason her parents were dead – and then lieing straight to her face – I could hardly bare to think of how she'd react when she found out the truth.

I wandered back to the dorm rooms and plopped down on my bed, staring up at the colorless ceiling and waiting carelessly for the sun to rise once again.

Yes, the news of her parents was indeed an obstacle. But it was an obstacle I was determined to break past.