Clark arrived at the Beanery early. This time, driving one of the sports cars had been fun, not like last time when he had gone to the Kent farm. He found himself going slightly past the speed limit. He made sure to order a plain coffee for himself and then a non-fat no-foam latte for Chloe.
"Hi." Chloe said and sat down at the table just as the waitress brought over the drinks.
"Hi." Clark smiled. Her very presence was comforting. She looked exactly as he remembered, with her short blonde hair, radiant smile, and smelling of vanilla. "I bought you a coffee. This is your go-to, right?"
"Sure is. But we've never met before. Well, we did at the Torch office a few days ago, but that's it. Have you been having me followed?"
"No!" Clark raised his hands in protest. "I promise I didn't. I just…remember things that didn't happen, or they happened differently. That's what I was trying to explain earlier."
"That you're actually Clark Kent, not Julian Luthor."
Clark nodded emphatically. "Exactly."
"Well, I do have a theory." Chloe pulled an article out of folder. "There are plenty of people who've woken up from comas or had near death experiences recounting being able to see what was going on around them. It's called astral projection. I'm thinking that while you were in a coma your spirit, or your essence, wasn't attached to your body. Instead, you were flying over town, observing everyone. Once your essence reconnected with your body, your mind combined the memories of what you experienced with what you wished happened."
"I guess that makes sense." Clark admitted. That theory would explain how the natural world conflicted with his memories. But if it was true, why would he imagine his friends being in danger on a weekly basis? "I just have a hard time believing I'd willingly picture people hurting others."
"What do you mean?"
"Like Greg. I remember he attacked a few people."
"Well, he's not exactly a boy scout." Chloe sipped from her latte. "Greg has been known to videotape certain girls without their knowledge."
"Does the name Lana Lang mean anything to you?"
"No. Should it?"
"She was a friend."
"A girl friend?"
"No. We never dated. I asked you out, though." Clark immediately regretted saying that.
"You did, did you?" To Clark's relief, she was smiling. "How'd it go?"
"Terrible," Clark admitted. He remembered asking her to the Spring Formal where a massive tornado decided to strike the town. Knowing Lana was on the road where the tornado came down, Clark left without a word to Chloe. Lana ended up being sucked into the tornado, but Clark had saved her from being harmed. He had to take Lana to the hospital and then check on his parents, so he never made it back to the dance. Afterwards, Chloe had suggested they just be friends and since that was what she wanted, Clark went along with it.
"Oh, yeah? What happened? You have bad breath?"
Clark opened his mouth to confess he abandoned her on the dance floor. Then, he stopped himself. If that never happened, why did Chloe have to know about it?
"There was a big storm; our plans got ruined. That's it." Clark smiled, getting an idea. "You had worn pink and looked beautiful."
Chloe looked down at the table shyly. She quickly changed the subject. "Hey, did you get a new haircut?"
"Yeah." Clark touched his head. "Does it look bad?"
"No. You look great."
There was a pause in the conversation.
"So, how did that interview go you were preparing for?"
"It was amazing." Chloe grinned and started to go into detail about her experience.
Lois sat at a nearby table. Rather than try and hide her presence or adopt a disguise, she had told Chloe the truth. That she would be at the Beanery all day to drink coffee and procrastinate on doing homework. Being in a small town worked in her favor this time, since there weren't many other options for Lois to go.
Lois hadn't exactly lied. She had been at the Beanery since late morning, and she had done some homework. But she desperately wanted to overhear what Julian had to say. She made sure to get a seat nearby and put in earbuds to make it seem she was listening to music. Maybe not doing her homework, but at least absorbed in her own musings.
She promised to leave Chloe's "date" with Julian Luthor alone.
The conversation between Julian and her cousin had become hijacked by Chloe talking about journalism and her excitement over her article being accepted by the Inquisitor. The Daily Planet didn't have much space to dedicate to a small-town hero.
Lois sighed. Maybe her cousin's theory on astral projection was right. Chloe had investigated it with her once her article had been written, submitted, and she needed to do something to distract herself. Chloe had shot down her theories of evil twins and clones. Chloe's theory was the most plausible one. But astral projection just wasn't that fun.
She opened her Algebra homework as her cousin and Julian were starting to leave.
"Allow me," Julian said and reached for his wallet. Even from where Lois was sitting, she could see his eyes nearly fall out of his head.
"What?" Chloe asked.
"I guess I never realized…I'm rich." Julian thumbed through the bills in his wallet. He laughed. "Coffees on me," he announced to the waitress.
The entire coffeeshop rapped on the tables in appreciation. Lois herself ordered another caramel latte with an extra pump of vanilla and caramel swirl on top on the Luthor tab. She needed some sugar to ease the pain of coming up empty.
Julian hadn't said anything that was too unusual. He already mentioned Greg Arkin, but Lois wrote down the name Lana Lang. She looked down and shrugged.
It wasn't much, but it was something to look into.