Chapter 13

Far Away

Sunday evening - Smallville Middle School

Clark and Lana had arrived early for just this purpose: wandering up and down the halls and reliving old memories. They stopped for long moments at each of their old lockers and reminisced about this happening or that.

"One thing I remember about us and this locker of mine that you don't," Lana said, "was the day senior year that you walked up to me, having lost all memory of me…of us…and ended up begging for another chance, because 'this time will be different.' Jason and I were at an end in everything but name and you came alongknowing, without any reason to, that we belonged together."

"I wish I remembered that," Clark said quietly.

Later, as they passed by the room that used to house The Torch, Clark cracked a smile and said, "I remember something about you that youdon't remember."

Curious, Lana turned her head toward him and asked, "Yeah? What?"

"Just one word should do for now…Nicodemus."

Lana's brow furrowed as she tried to place that word. "Nicodemus…Nicodemus…why does that sound familiar?"

"Oh, I don't know, but I remember a girl who stormed into school one day wearing a black, floral-print tank top, a black miniskirt, and knee-high boots. I thought she was pretty sexy."

Remembrance struck Lana like a lightning bolt out of a clear blue sky. "Ohhhhhhh! I remember now! Well, I don't remember what I did, but everyone was quick to tell me after I got out of the hospital. I spent a long time apologizing to Lex, and Whitney, and my co-workers at the Talon."

Clark just waited and was rewarded when Lana said, "I don't remember you telling me any stories about what I did to you. In fact, I seem to remember you saying I hadn't done anything to you at all. Was that another lie, Clark?"

"Nope," said a grinning Clark. "You asked if you had done anything to me that you needed to know about. I was my judgment that you didn't need to be embarrassed anymore than you already were, so I kept that story to myself."

Lana's hands shot to her face as she tried to hide her embarrassment. "What did I do?" she asked.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Well…yes, I guess so. You told me your big secrets, I suppose you can tell memy secrets, too."

"Okay." Clark paused as he considered the best way to pass along the essentials while holding down the embarrassment quotient. Finally, he said, "Just after you dumped Whitney, you came to the Torch to find me. I had skipped out on class that day because my dad was in the hospital."

"I remember that. He had been affected by the Nicodemus flower, too."

"Yeah, he had been, only we didn't know about that flower at the time and were totally lost when it came to what was wrong. Anyway, you came in the door looking like some hormonal fantasy of mine come to life and you tried to cheer me up."

"How'd I do that?" Lana asked. "I'm curious because helping someone else was out of character for that version of me."

"Well…you dragged me off to the school swimming pool…and then you decided to go swimming."

"Swimming? I didn't even have a suit at school, so how'd I go swimming?"

Clark just held her gaze and let her mind answer the question for her.

"Oh! Oh, oh, oh!" Lana said. "Please tell me I didn't actually get into the pool."

"You did, and the lack of a suit only slowed you down for the amount of time it took to strip to your undies. I can still remember the way you looked in that lingerie…maybe that's why I've always been partial to the color red."

"Oh…my…God! I can't believe what a tramp I was that day! I came on to Whitney, you, and even Lex. Unbelievable!"

By this time, they had circled around to the gym and they peered through the door to take in the decorations.

"Remember the last time we danced here?" Lana asked.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget? It was only one dance, but it was the one dance I had been wanting. For four years I had imagined being with you at our senior prom."

"Me too. I was so nervous. I showed up late, not having originally intended to go, and was wondering what I had been thinking of to show up after all, when I saw you walking over to me. At first I thought you were just coming over to say hello, but when you extended your hand and asked for a dance, I was so happy. I think I floated inches off the ground all through that dance."

"We could sneak inside and dance to that song again," Clark said. "I'm sure they've got a full list of music from when we were in school and it won't take me long to find the right song."

Lana pulled Clark back from the door. As they headed toward the cafeteria, and the catered dinner that awaited them, Lana said, "Thanks for the idea, Clark, but I'd rather wait to dance to that song, and many others, when everyone else is with us."

Curious, Clark asked, "Any particular reason?"

"Yeah, the last time I had a solitary dance with a guy in that gym, it was with Whitney the day of the spring formal during freshman year. I was getting ready to drive him to the bus station, but we danced together one last time." Lana looked up at Clark with tears welling in her eyes as she said, "It was the last time I saw him alive and I don't believe I should be tempting fate by sneaking in for one more solitary dance. I couldn't bear it if you left now."

Clark stopped Lana in the middle of the hall and raised her face to his. "I'm not going anywhere, Lana, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me."

"Clark? What are you saying?" asked a stunned Lana.

"It means I'm committed to making 'us' work, Lana. When tomorrow comes, I'll write my article and turn it in to Perry at the same time I turn in my resignation. I don't know what I'll do with the rest of my life, but I know I want to do it with you."

Lana looked at Clark as if unable to believe what she had just heard. She then asked, "Clark? Was that a marriage proposal?"

"Mmm…not yet, you might call it a promise though and I guess I've already given you a ring, so that can be your promise ring. As for a proposal, I want to do that the right way. Also, I need to give you enough time for you to be really sure I'm still what you want. I don't think two and a half days is quite enough."

Lana thought, Try nineteen years, Clark, that's how long I've known, how long I've been sure. Just ask me already! What she said, however, was, "Where'd you come up with that quote in such an archaic form of English?"

"College…I had to take an elective in literature, so I took 'Literature of the Bible.' You'd be surprised how often I use stuff I learned in that class in my articles."

As they neared the cafeteria, Clark could hear some music playing softly, but was not able to place the song until they entered the doors and saw a banner hanging on the far wall. It said, "Far Away - The Class of 2005 comes home."

"'Far Away,' by Nickelback, is the theme of this reunion?" Clark asked.

"Yeah, Didn't you know? It's supposed to stand for all the people who had to come so far to get back here. It also stands for those of us who have gone so far in our personal lives since we graduated…kind of like you."

Clark heard what Lana said, but his mind was focused on the lyrics of the song which had another meaning entirely. Here, in this time and place, what he had done to her, done to both of them, finally sank in, and it threatened to crush him beneath its weight. His face sank into his hands and he was unabashedly crying. Concerned, Lana pulled him to the side of the room and shooed off anyone who tried to approach.

"What's wrong, Clark?" she asked

"That's the exact wrong song and the exact right song for me to hear right now," Clark replied. "It says everything. 'Who was I to make you wait?' Exactly right! And the chorus. 'I love you. I've loved you all along. And I miss you, been far away for far too long. I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go. Stop breathing if
I don't see you anymore.'

"When Lex died, when my legitimate excuses ran out, I should have come racing back here to beg you to take me back. But I was too proud…and much too scared. So, I took solace in assuming you had found someone else to make you happy." Clark paused and then said, more softly, "Afraid to risk my heart, I ended up hurting both of us…how can you ever forgive me?"

Lana leaned over her boyfriend as he slumped down on his haunches and said, "What else does that song say, Clark? I'll tell you. It says, 'I love you. I have loved you all along. And I forgive you, for being away for far too long. So keep breathing, 'cause I'm not leaving you any more. Believe it. Hold on to me and never let me go.'"

When Clark looked up at her, she said, "I forgive you, and yes, Clark, I will marry you, whenever you get around to proposing to me."

"Did you just accept?" asked a confused Clark.

"Oh yes, and some day you'll get around to proposing, and then it will be official, but I've already accepted." Lana then reached into her clutch purse and pulled out the ring that Clark had made for her in the Fortress of Solitude.

As she tried to put it on, she dropped it, but Clark snatched it out of the air and said, "Here, let me." He sank down on one knee in the old Smallville High cafeteria and said, "Lana, my love for you is stronger than ever. I am humbled by your strength and your constancy. To have held onto me through all our years apart is more than I deserve, but I'll be damned if I'll let it go to waste. Will you allow me to become your husband? Will you marry me?"

Lana nodded her head furiously, signaling Yes, and held out her left hand. Clark stood and slid the diamond solitaire on her ring finger, and they collapsed into each other's arms kissing and crying, a celebration of the culmination of a more than twenty-year-long love story.

A few people had been watching from nearby, having been concerned ever since Clark started crying. The men were somewhat slow on the uptake, but the women knew right away what had happened. They didn't know the stories of the people involved, but they knew that Lana Lang and Clark Kent had just become engaged.

Clark and Lana finally collected themselves and turned back to the room only to receive a round of heartfelt applause from their small crowd of onlookers.

"We really need to work on this proposal business, Lana," Clark said quietly. "The first time around, I proposed in a panic right after telling you everything. This time, I proposed after you accepted. This just isn't a very romantic way of doing things."

"Clark. The only thing truly needed for romance, is two hearts that beat as one. Everything else is just gravy." Lana's eyes were shining as she said, "Besides, if you think I'm letting you off the hook just so you can propose again, you're seriously mistaken."