Chapter 8
Depth
Clark saw Terri's eyes go wide as she spotted the car barreling towards her. Even at super speed, Clark had to practically tackle her to get her out of the way. The car still trimmed him. A shot of pain lanced through his side as it knocked him aside. Clark wrapped himself around her and twisted around instinctively to take the brunt of the impact with the pavement.
They rolled to a stop near the opposite curb. The girl's mother had snatched her up and gotten her back to the curb and was staring down at them with a horrified expression.
"Oh my God! Are you alright?" She asked, sounding near panic.
Terri blinked her eyes open, looking up dazedly at Clark, who was currently laying on top of her. He was gasping some, a bit winded by the speed and the blow, but didn't look particularly in pain. She felt up his side, finding the rip in the side of his shirt, but the skin underneath was unbroken. She pulled her eyes off of him and over to the little girl, who was crying loudly in her mother's arms, obviously terrified. "There, there." Terri said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She looked down, then pulled the teddy bear from between her and Clark and held it up. "We're fine. See?"
The woman edged closer, looking very shaken, and let her daughter retrieve her teddy bear. The girl hugged it to her, her wails dying down and turning to sniffles "Oh God... If you hadn't have stopped her, my little Michelle would have been in that street!" The woman said, tears streaming down her cheeks at the thought of her daughter being plowed over right in front of her.
"She's fine... and I'm fine, thanks to my savior." She said, looking up at Clark, who was shifting up, trying to get off of her without hurting her.
He looked at her at the mention, then glanced over at the woman and back, blushing once more. "I just... I umm..."
"Saved my life." Terri finished for him. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you!" She said earnestly, reaching up and taking his head between her hands, pulling it down.
Clark suddenly found himself in a deep liplock. His eyes closed automatically. It was amazing! Her lips tasted like strawberries and were obviously very experienced at kissing. He felt a bit dizzy when she finally relented and released him.
"Um... it was nothing." He muttered, a bit disconcerted when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.
"Could you give me a hand up?" She whispered in his ear, "I think my ankle's sprained."
He quickly shifted up and looked her over with concern. She had a few scratches and the start of what might well blossom into a bruise on her jaw, but looked otherwise intact. He shifted to x-ray vision and gave her a glance over before helping her to her feet. He lifted her up, setting her gently on her feet, but keeping a hold of her to lend her support. Her ankle looked like it'd been given a nasty twist and may have some bruising, but the bones were still intact.
She put on a brave face, stroking the little girls' hair soothingly and reassuring her she was fine, then suggested her mother take her home. She watched as the mother carried her away and gave the girl a little wave before she rounded the corner. As soon as they were out of sight, she sagged against Clark. "Oh, God! I need to sit down!" She said with obvious pain.
"You want to go to the hospital?" He asked with concern.
She shook her head. "I just want to go to that Talon place. I'm supposed to be meeting my friend soon. I'm sure my ankle will be fine, I just need to get off of it."
Without further comment, Clark gently whisked her up into his arms and simply started carrying her towards the Talon.
She chuckled softly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "My knight in shining armor."
He just blushed, not commenting. He didn't look at the handful of other people who were standing around, staring at them. There had been no one in close proximity when he'd saved her, so there were no real eye witnesses that he knew of other than the little girl and maybe her mother. The man the mother had been talking to had gone into the store after talking to her. He'd come back now, but obviously hadn't seen what had happened. The others had just heard the commotion as well and had come to see what happened.
Jenkins, of course, was nowhere to be seen. He hadn't even stopped. From what Clark had heard, it sounded like he'd perhaps slowed, then quickly hit the gas again, rounding the corner and speeding away, obviously hoping no one would have seen who was driving. Clark knew he had to have felt or at least heard the impact, though it had been minor. The boy hadn't even come back to see if anyone was hurt. Unfortunately, Clark wasn't sure if he should tell the sheriff who it was. If Jenkins was caught and questioned, questions might arise. Like how Clark had gotten from the corner all the way around the speeding car to knock this woman out of the way half way down the block. He knew Jenkins should pay for his recklessness, it had almost gotten someone killed after all, but his need to try to protect his secret plagued him.
She shifted her head up, shifting her camera around and looking it over. She sighed as she removed the large lens that was obviously broken, then tossed it into a trash can as they passed it. She continued her examination, then let out a soft, grateful sigh. "I think it'll make it." She sighed in relief.
"Good. That looks expensive." He said.
She let out a little amused snort. "No kidding! It cost more than my jeep! Of course my jeep isn't exactly top of the line. I think it's actually older than I am, come to think of it."
Luckily, they arrived at the Talon just as a man was leaving and he held the door for them. Clark carried her in, then looked around. The large, curved couch was free, and there was no one close to it, so he took her to that. He set her carefully down, then saw Lana heading over with a puzzled expression on her face. It was obvious she'd seen their entrance.
"Who's your friend, Clark?" She asked, looking at Terri curiously.
"This is Terri. Some idiot nearly ran her down. She twisted her ankle pretty bad. Do you have some ice for it?" He asked.
"Oh! Of course! You ok?" She asked with concern.
"I'll be fine." Terri said distractedly, trying to shift around so she could untie the laces of her short boot without putting pressure on her ankle.
"I'll get it." Clark said, when she winced. He sat down and gently lifted her leg, pulling it across his lap for support, then he very gently undid the laces. She grabbed his sleeve and grimaced in pain as he eased the boot off, but to her credit she didn't make a sound other than a relieved breath when it and the sock were finally off.
"Doesn't look too bad." Clark said as he looked it over. Ya, he could already see the start of some bruising, but all things considered, she was insanely lucky. Clark couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. It was him Jenkins had been aiming for after all.
"Here you go." Lana said as she hurried back over, handing him a cleaning cloth knotted around some ice to form a crude ice pack. Then she pulled a roll of stretchy tan bandaging out and handed that to Clark as well. "This should help keep down the swelling. Do you want me to call anyone for you?"
Terri waved it off, "I'll live. My friend will be here soon anyway. Thanks."
Lana shifted, obviously wondering if there was something more she should be doing.
Clark glanced up at her. "I got it from here. Thanks, Lana." He said distractedly as he started carefully wrapping the ankle.
"You know how to do that?" Lana asked with a little dubious smile.
He let out an amused breath. "I grew up on a farm, Lana. Believe me, I know how to wrap a bandage!" Well, not really on himself, but he'd had to patch up his dad a time or two.
"Right." She said, bobbing her head. She glanced past them, then hurried off.
Terri rooted through the little satchel she was wearing that he'd taken for a purse. From the contents, it obviously was more like a camera bag, albeit a small one. She located another, much smaller lens and snapped it into place on the camera. She pressed a button, turning the camera on. The camera had a view finder near the top, but when she hit a button the small screen on the back of the camera lit up with an opening screen before clearing and focusing on the table across from them. She clicked a couple of pictures, watching how it reacted, then let out a sigh of relief. "Still working." She said happily.
"Well, that's good." Clark said, finishing with the bandage and pinning it into place with the little metal hooks. "You should be able to say the same for your ankle as long as you keep off it for a day or two." He said as he gently settled the ice pack on it.
She winced slightly, then relaxed, leaning back into the cushions a bit. He noticed she didn't seem at all inclined to remove her leg from his lap. She gazed at him, but it was different this time. It was more like she was searching for something than like she was trying to memorize him like before.
After a minute, she glanced around carefully, making sure no one was within earshot, then shifted a bit closer. "How did you do that?" She asked softly.
"Do what?" he asked warily.
"Get from that corner all the way over to me and knock me out of the way? You were just a blur you were so fast!"
"I... I couldn't have gotten all the way from the corner to you. I wasn't that far away." He said, trying to make it sound convincing.
She gave him a little smile, then flipped a switch on her camera and started paging back through photos. After the test shots she'd taken in the Talon, they started with a slightly out of focus close-up of Clark's face, the murky gray of clouds behind him along with the tops of some of the buildings. There were a few pictures that were just a blur, then a blurry picture that was obviously of Jenkins in his red convertible, the next was pretty much the same, but in very sharp focus. He could see the shock on Jenkins' face. More followed, slowly stepping back through time as she went, the convertible inching away, Jenkins' head turning back to look behind him. Then Clark noticed the little blur about halfway between her and the corner. In the next picture it was less blurry, obviously a person, a male his size and shape, wearing the same colors as him. In the next picture he was standing on the corner in sharp focus, staring at her, his eyes wide with alarm.
She left it on that picture, looking over at him and just waiting silently to see his response.
Damn it! Of all the bad luck! He'd never thought she might catch him on film! Well, this was digital, but whatever. Hey... wait a second... "You... didn't have your camera up, even. How did you...?" He said, trailing off, perplexed. He knew he'd seen her face clearly... and the camera had been hanging around her neck. Her hands had been picking up the teddy bear, not aiming her camera, let alone pushing the button!
She gave him a little smile, taking another glance around, then looking back at him. She looked intent, but didn't say anything. He glanced back down at the screen as it flickered... and saw himself staring back at him, the Egyptian style décor behind him unmistakable. He furrowed his brow, reaching over and taking the camera, bringing it closer for a better look. The screen blinked again, and a picture appeared of himself staring down at the very camera he was viewing the image on! She glanced over at the counter and an image of the counter appeared on the screen, then she looked back at him, obviously waiting for his reaction.
"How...?" He asked softly, staring at her in shock.
She gave him a little grin. "I suspect you know how. It's not my first time to Smallville. Last time I was here, I was about six. My mother and I were passing through when the meteors came down. One hit near us... I woke up in the hospital, and I could see."
An image popped up on the screen of a young, red haired girl in a hospital gown, gauze wrapped around her head. It was obviously an image of the girl looking in a mirror, her brilliant green eyes wide with amazement. "That was all that really changed for a while, then a couple of years later I realized I could transfer my mental images to digital media. Only what I could currently see at first... but with time my photographic memory has become pretty literal."
Images appeared on the screen, looking like fleeting glimpses from her past, then he saw images of himself from when they'd first met. Him flashing a smile, him looking embarrassed, his hands shoved in his pockets nervously.
"It might not be that impressive a gift in comparison to speed like that or being impervious to damage, but I like it." She said with a little shrug.
"What do you mean, impervious...?" He asked carefully. She might have him on film (kind of anyway), so the speed thing was a little hard to refute, but...
She reached over, brushing her hand over the skin of his side through the hole he hadn't even noticed in the side of his shirt. There was a slight hint of a bruise starting, but the skin didn't even have a scratch. "There was a pointed ridge next to the headlight. At that speed, it should have sliced through you like a knife. I felt the impact, so don't try to tell me it missed."
He stared at the floor, trying desperately to think of a way to explain that away.
"Oh, don't look so tense! It's not like I'm going to tell anyone! I mean if I did, you'd tell them my secret, now wouldn't you?" She said reasonably, "I don't want to end up in some scientist's lab somewhere any more than you do."
"Like anyone would believe me even if I did. I couldn't exactly prove it, now could I?" He replied, his gaze sweeping around to make sure no one wandered within hearing.
"Oh, believe me, it's not always voluntary. You think I wanted pictures of nearly getting creamed? When I get scared or alarmed it goes off like the rapid fire button. You should have seen it the first time I had a bad nightmare with my camera too close to the bed! Man, were those some interesting pictures! Actually, some of them ended up being some of my most popular pieces. It's pretty cool actually. Nowadays just entering R.E.M. sleep sets it off even when the dream isn't bad. I sleep with my camera on my nightstand every night now. Talk about keeping a dream journal!" She smiled, then it faded as she glanced around before going on, "I read some of the stories about other people with odd... 'gifts' after the meteor shower. They rarely ended happily, which worried me, but you seem to be handling it well." She said, her eyes focusing on him once more. "Have you ever met other people like us that didn't go horribly wrong in the end?"
Clark weighed his options, then decided he might as well be honest with her. Well, to an extent, anyway. How many others could he really talk about such things with? Besides, she was putting herself on the line by telling him as much about herself as she had... opening up a little bit himself seemed like the least he could do. "Not many." He admitted sadly. "Most of them I've had to end up getting locked away. Something about it seems to just drive them a bit crazy. Maybe it's the power. They start thinking they can do whatever they want and..."
"Go over to the dark side." She said dramatically.
He let out a little, amused breath. "Ya."
"Well, I might be a bit stronger than some girls, but that might just be genetics... and overall I have a rather innocuous gift with no real 'power' to speak of, so hopefully that won't happen to me!"
"Let's hope not." He said, giving her a little smile.
"So... you said you get them locked away... why?" She asked, staring at him avidly.
"Because they're usually hurting people or worse." He said, furrowing his brow. Did she think he was supposed to feel some kind of kinship to them and let them go?
"No... I mean obviously they would need to be put away if they were a danger, but why were you involved? You guys have cops here, don't you?"
He flashed her a sad little smile. "The cops can deal with normal stuff... but they're not exactly equipped for what that meteor shower threw at them. I do it because most of the time I'm the only one who can."
"You really are a knight in shining armor, aren't you?" She asked with a smile, reaching over and stroking her fingers down his cheek. "I don't think I've ever run across such a beautiful person who was even more beautiful on the inside. Looks and powers... and neither of them has corrupted you. You are a very rare person, Clark."
He blushed a bit and dropped his eyes. He glanced around again and his blush darkened. Chloe was standing near the door, but from the little smirk on her lips she'd been there long enough to note Terri's interest in him.
Terri grinned, obviously enjoying his embarrassment. "So... is there anyone else who appreciates your many merits?"
"Hmm?" He said, pulling his eyes back to her and furrowing his brow.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" She clarified with a little chuckle.
"Oh... um... well, I kind of... um..." He stammered.
"Oh, no need to gush over me like that, Clark!" Chloe said mirthfully, coming over and claiming the arm of the couch beside him as her perch and gazing at Terri with open interest. "Hi there. I'm Chloe." She said.
"Hi. I'm Terri. Oh... oh, sorry! Didn't mean to be manhandling your boyfriend." She said, shifting away from Clark.
"Oh, hey, no! Don't move on my account." Chloe said quickly before Terri could move her leg off Clark's lap.
Terri settled back down, though she looked a bit confused. "Are you two...?"
Clark looked up at Chloe, "Um... we... uh..."
"What he's trying to say," Chloe said mirthfully, "Is that we've been friends a long time, and we recently dabbled with being boyfriend/girlfriend... but we're really much better at just being friends."
"Are you sure...?" He asked her softly.
Chloe ruffled his hair, then leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Ya. I know we were going to wait to make it official until the whole alien issue was over, but it's pretty much died down. Besides, it's been a while since I've seen someone make you smile and blush like that. I'm certainly not going to stand in your way!"
"Um... I'm sure she's probably seeing someone already." He said in an embarrassed undertone.
"Oh... well..." Terri said with a little smile, "That's a little complicated."
"Too bad." Chloe sighed sincerely, then she leaned closer to Clark, "But still, we really should 'break up' if you're going to have girls hanging on you like this. Might get tongues wagging, otherwise."
"She nearly got hit by a car! I was just helping her with her hurt ankle." Clark said, his cheeks still glowing.
"He neglected to note that he's the one who kept me from being hit by that car." Terri chimed in.
Chloe's eyes went wide and darted between them, then she smiled. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. He's probably saved half the town by now, one by one. He has a bit of a hero complex, and uncanny timing. He might be habitually late for everything and is rarely around when you want him to be... but he always seems to be there when you need him."
"Well, that's what's important, isn't it?" Terri asked, grinning at Clark. Once Clark had squirmed sufficiently, She turned her attention back to Chloe, "So, what's the 'alien issue'?"
"Hmm?" Chloe said, then she caught on, "Oh, it's, well see there is this article that ran in the high school paper..."
"Oh! You mean Alienation?" Terri asked.
Chloe blinked in surprise. "Did you see the copy up by the counter?"
"No, I read it online." Terry replied, "I spent a couple of rather memorable months in Smallville when I was a kid, and I still tend to follow the local news. I've been reading the Torch since it first went online, though it's only really gotten interesting the last couple of years."
"Well... I should say thank you. I'm the current editor." Chloe said, obviously very pleased.
"You're Chloe Sullivan?" Terri asked in surprise, "Oh, wow. It's so weird when you read someone's work and then suddenly meet them! I find your stories fascinating!"
"Well, I always enjoy meeting a fan." Chloe said with a grin, "Especially since there's probably only five or six of you out there!"
Terri chuckled. "Oh, I very much doubt that. But what does the article have to do with you and Clark?" She said, getting back on track.
"Oh, well, it's just been a tricky proposition for any of the boys at school to break up with their girlfriends since that was published. None of them want people starting rumors that it was them that wrote that article."
"Ah. I see." She said, then she eyed Clark, a mischievous grin slipping over her lips. "Would you like me to manhandle you more, then?"
"Um, no, that's ok." Clark said quickly when he saw Chloe opening her mouth.
"Killjoy." Chloe muttered mirthfully. She looked over to Terri, "Have you ordered anything?"
"Just the ice." Terri replied.
"I can go order you something if you want. Clark, what kind of pie do you want?"
"I don't want anything, thanks." He demurred.
Chloe let out a little snort. "You're eating something if I have to force feed you like a toddler!"
Just then Lana walked up, handing a surprise Clark a large brownie on a napkin and a mocha.
"What's this?" He asked quickly before she could walk away, "I didn't order anything!"
"No..." Lana said with a little mischievous smile, "Your mother did. She called me earlier. She figured you'd be stopping by here after school today. I'm supposed to call her and tell her if you don't eat it, so don't make me make that call!"
"Oh, come on! Why is everyone ganging up on me all of a sudden?" Clark sighed a bit irritably.
"Maybe because you seem to be trying to starve yourself to death." Lana replied, "It's been over a week since I've seen you even touch anything in lunch at school, and from the look of you, you haven't been eating much any other time either. If you refuse to take care of yourself, then someone has to do it! Now eat up, because I don't want to have to tattle on you!"
Chloe snickered merrily at Clark's obvious embarrassment.
"By the way, sorry!" Lana said to Terri, "I had a waitress call in sick, so I'm shorthanded today. I'll be back to get your order in a minute. That table has been waving at me for attention for about three minutes now."
"No problem." Terri said, watching her hurry off.
Clark sighed and set down the drink, then started eating the brownie a bit irritably.
"See? I'm not the only one that cares." Chloe said in a little cutesy voice as if talking to a little boy as she stroked his hair, then leaned over and gave his forehead a little kiss.
Clark just rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, little more than the word 'ridiculous' clear enough to be understood.
"Anyway, if you're not sure what you want, they have amazing cappuccino here." Chloe said to Terri, "I'd highly recommend it. I think Lex lives on the stuff, doesn't he Clark?" She asked mischievously, smirking down at Clark.
Clark's chewing had paused for a second when she mentioned Lex's name, but then he took another bite, pointedly ignoring her.
"Lex? You mean Lex Luthor?" Terri asked.
"Ya." Chloe said in surprise, looking back over at her, "He's co-owner of this fine establishment. You've heard of him?"
"Heard of him and spoken to him on the phone about half a dozen times in the last few days!" Terri said with a chuckle, "He and my friend Elise just got engaged. No wonder he wanted to meet here."
Chloe's jaw dropped, but Clark's reaction, though far more subtle, was the one that caught Terri's attention. He instantly stopped chewing, the pain that flashed through his eyes before he looked away was so strong she could almost feel it. He forced himself to swallow the bite in his mouth, then distractedly dropped the half eaten brownie onto the napkin on the table.
"Oh, very nice." Chloe grumbled in dark irritation, "He ran off and got himself engaged. Figures. That only took what? A week?"
"Chloe." Clark said in a low, reprimanding voice, not looking at her.
"Just saying it happened awful quick. He certainly doesn't waste his time, now does he? And he didn't even bother to tell his 'best friend'?" Chloe grumbled.
"Drop it, Chloe." Clark muttered, his gaze fixed on the floor. He'd known Lex had talked about finding a girl and settling down... but somehow he never imagined he'd actually do it! And especially not pretty much instantly!
"You're Lex's best friend?" Terri asked in surprise.
"We're friends..." Clark replied noncommittally.
"Oh please! You two are inseparable!" Chloe replied, "Closer than brothers! I doubt anyone could have a better friend than you! Especially him! In fact, I doubt that bald jerk even has any other friends. The way he treats people sometimes..." She muttered irritably.
"Chloe!" Clark said in a sharp undertone.
She looked over at him and sighed and rolled her eyes, then made a little gesture of zipping her lips closed.
"Well, hello again, Mr. Kent." The sheriff drawled, sidling up to them with impecable timing. "I hear tell you pulled someone out from in front of a maniac driver a few minutes ago. From the bandage I'd say this was her." She said, eyeing Terri's wrapped ankle on Clark's lap.
"Ya, that was me." Terri offered when Clark didn't chime in right away. "Sorry, I was a bit shaken up and didn't think to call the police."
"Timely reporting of crimes, whether they succeeded in their intent or not, is crucial in capturing and dealing with people who put the public in danger." The sheriff said in a reprimanding voice.
"I understand. Sorry. I'm new in town." Terri replied penitently.
The sheriff eyed Clark again, noting the way he pointedly wasn't looking at anyone. "Would you like to tell me what happened, Mr. Kent?"
Clark gave a little shrug, "I just saw her about to be hit by a car and got her out of the way." he said shortly.
"Well, who was driving it? If it was a local, I'm sure you, of all people, would recognize them." The sheriff prompted.
Clark gave a little noncommittal shrug. "Red convertible. The driver was a white guy with dark hair. Kinda young, maybe late teens." He said. He was sure she'd probably gotten most if not all of that information already from people who'd heard the commotion and caught a glimpse of Jenkins squealing away.
"You don't have any more than that?" She asked, obviously dubious that he was telling her everything.
"I didn't get a real good look." Clark replied evenly, "It happened pretty fast, and I was a little busy getting her out of the way."
The sheriff turned her gaze on Terri.
Terri pulled her eyes off of Clark and nodded, "Ya. It was all very fast. I barely saw anything before Clark shoved me out of the way. It was all kind of a blur, and I didn't get another look after. Whoever he was, I don't think he even stopped to see if we made it."
The sheriff nodded, taking notes, "There was some glass on the street. Did the car actually hit you?" She said as her eyes went down to the rip on the side of Clark's shirt.
"That was probably from my camera lens." Terri supplied, "It broke when I hit the ground. I threw it away in that trash can on this side of the street about twenty yards from where it happened. It was smashed and I didn't want to get cut, so I just tossed it."
"You seem awful quiet, Mr. Kent." The sheriff noted, eyeing Clark, obviously having noticed how withdrawn he seemed, "Anything you'd like to add?"
"Nope." Clark said, gently taking a hold of Terri's leg and lifting it a bit so he could slip out from under it, then setting it gingerly down on the couch.
"Where are you going?" The sheriff asked.
"To the bathroom." Clark replied as he walked off, not awaiting leave to go.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Sorry about him!" Chloe quickly interjected, getting up off the arm of the chair. "It has nothing to do with this. We broke up today." She added in an undertone, "He's just a little... um... I'm just going to go check on him..." She said, hurrying off after him.
"Teenagers." The sheriff muttered, rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to Terri.
Chloe hurried back towards the restrooms. Clark was already out of sight, so she just hoped he really went where he said he was going. She paused, listening at the door of the men's room, but she couldn't hear anything. She gave the door a little knock. "Clark?" She called softly.
The only sound was that of one of the stall doors closing.
Chloe sighed. She glanced back to make sure no one was looking, then quickly slipped in the door. She glanced around. She'd never been in the men's room before. Well, ok, not this one at least. It was pretty nice, but she supposed she shouldn't have expected anything less here. Some places might skimp on the décor of the men's room, but Lana wouldn't.
The room appeared empty, but the furthest stall had its door closed. She bent down and glanced under. He wasn't hard to spot. He was sitting on the floor against the wall, his legs drawn up.
"Clark..." She sighed softly as she walked over.
"Just go away, Chloe." He replied , though his voice was little more than a whisper.
"You know I can't." She said as she opened the stall door and looked down at him. His arms were wrapped around his legs and his head was resting on his knees. "And if you really wanted me to, you would have at least locked it."
"Chloe..." He said softly. He was obviously trying to make it sound exasperated, but it just came out almost like a soft plea.
She knelt down beside him and wrapped her arms around him, drawing him in.
He didn't resist, letting her pull him against her. His hold on his legs loosened and he put his head on her shoulder, letting himself sag into her a bit. She stroked his hair soothingly, just like his mother used to when he was little and upset. He tried not to let himself cry, but her gently stroking fingers seemed intent on coaxing the tears out.
He pulled away after a minute and struggled up to his feet, shifting his head away until he'd scrubbed the tears from them. He took a deep breath, then forced it out. "This is stupid." He muttered, slipping past her and going over to the sink.
She walked over as he turned on the water and splashed some on his face. She reached out, resting her hand on his shoulder. "No, it isn't."
"Yes, it is." He said as he dried his face a bit roughly. "He said he was going to find a girl and settled down. I knew he was serious. It was stupid not to realize he wouldn't waste time. That's just not how he is. He decides to do something and he does it. It's done. He's engaged. Soon he'll be married, maybe even starting a family." He said, his voice tightening, "This is better for everyone."
"It's obviously not better for you!" She shot back.
He shook his head. "It will be." He glanced up at the mirror, at the lost, hollow eyes that looked back at him, then quickly looked away. "Someday." He added softly.
She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "You need to get out and have some fun. Forget about stupid bald billionaires who don't know a good thing when they've got it. Hey! There's a party tonight, why don't we go?"
"It's a Thursday." Clark muttered, "Who has a party on a school night?"
Chloe gave a little shrug. "It was supposed to be happening Friday night, but they sent around the word at school today that it's been changed to tonight. The weather report says it's going to be raining all tomorrow, and Saturday night as well. Tommy said he heard that whoever is throwing the party already bought the keg, so..." She shrugged again. "I'd have you home by ten latest. If it's lame, we can leave early. Of course, if you'd rather not, I can just come over to your place and we can watch a movie or something."
He gazed at her for a moment, then sighed, "Sure. We can go." He muttered without much enthusiasm. He'd really rather not, but he could tell by the mention of Tommy that she wanted to go... and why. Of course it was also obvious she had no intention of leaving him alone tonight, so if he didn't go, neither would she. He could deal with being around drunken idiots for a while if it'd make her happy. She deserved at least that much for putting up with him.
"Cool!" She said, her face lighting up. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home, then come back by to pick you up around dusk."
He just nodded again and let her lead him out. He just followed, lost in his own thoughts until she suddenly came up short.
"Crap." She muttered under her breath.
Clark looked up to see what was the matter. His breath caught in his throat as he spotted a very familiar bald head. Terri was still sitting on the couch, and there was a girl with long black hair hugging her desperately. Clark felt his stomach sink as he realized who it must be. Her friend... Lex's new fiance.
"Speaking of my savior," Terri said when she spotted him, "There he is now."
The dark haired young woman turned tearful, red rimmed eyes on him, then sprang up and darted over to him, wrapping her arms around him,"Oh God! Thank you so much!" Elise gasped, hugging him a bit desperately, "I don't know what I would have done if anything bad happened to her!"
Clark just stood there, not sure what to do. He looked up as Lex turned. When their eyes met, something unreadable flashed through Lex's eyes, but then he forced a smile. Clark could tell he hadn't been counting on Clark being there.
"I should have guessed." Lex said softly, "Saving lives is a bit of a hobby of his. Elise, I'd like you to meet my friend Clark."
"It is wonderful to meet you, Clark!" Elise said, pulling back enough to gaze up at him adoringly.
"Um... ya... hi." Clark muttered uneasily, wishing she'd let go. Damn it! She was supposed to be some stuck up, bitchy debutante that he could hate! How was he supposed to hate such a delicate, sweet looking, doe-eyed girl who obviously cared so much about her friend? Life just wasn't fair.
"Did you hear?" Lana blurted excitedly from where she stood on the other side of Lex, "They're engaged! Lex and Elise are getting married!"
Lex let out a barely perceptible sigh and closed his eyes for a second, but then hitched his smile up again, looking over at Lana. "I was just about to tell him about that." He said evenly, the implication that she should have kept her mouth shut and let him say it wasn't very subtly hidden in his voice, but somehow Lana managed to miss it. She was still grinning and all but bouncing with excitement.
"Ya. I heard already." Clark muttered. He forced a little smile. "Congratulations."
"Clark is Lex's best friend in the whole world." Terri offered with a little smile.
Clark blushed and dropped his eyes, but they just met Elise's smiling face.
"Wonderful!" She said happily, then she turned her head to look over at Lex, "Oh this is just perfect! So is he going to be your best man?"
Lex's cheeks tinged a bit pink, "I... haven't had the chance to ask him yet."
Lana gave a little snort. "You act like there's a chance he'll say no." She said merrily, "I mean come on! He was your best man last time, wasn't he?"
Elise blinked, "Last time?" She asked, finally dropping her hold on Clark as she turned, her eyes darting over to Lex in askance.
"Ya, what a psycho that lady was!" Lana said with amusement, "She even nearly got him to close this place down! Glad he got rid of that one!"
"If you recall, that woman drugged me to get me to marry her, and the marriage was annulled." Lex said a bit tightly, then added, "That would have been right after she tried to murder me."
Lana finally registered the coldness in his tone and realized he might not have wanted that little tidbit brought up in front of his new fiance. "Oh... um..." She said, looking back towards the back of the room, "I'll be right there!" She said, then looked back, "Gotta go." She said quickly before scurrying off.
Lex sighed, shaking his head slightly as she went up to a table. From the surprised looks on the faces of the teens at the table, it was pretty obvious no one had really called her over.
Chloe gave a little snort. "She may have put down her pom-poms, but she still has the occasional cheerleader moment." She muttered ruefully under her breath.
"Well, I should be going." Clark muttered.
"But you haven't even touched your drink!" Terri protested.
"I'll get it put in a to-go cup." Chloe quickly volunteered, going over and grabbing the mug. "We've really got to be going. We're going to a party tonight, so Clark's got to run home and get his chores done before it starts."
"A party? On a school night?" Lex asked dubiously.
"What are you? His mother?" Chloe quipped sarcastically.
Lex just looked at her perplexed as she went past him, her shoulder bumping his rather unnecessarily in passing.
Clark glared after her in exasperation. She saw the look, but just smiled back.
"I just think it's a bit..." Lex started, then trailed off, his eyes having caught on the rip on Clark's shirt. "Did the car actually get you?" He asked quickly, stepping closer and reaching out.
Clark's eyes darted over to Lex's as he felt his warm hand press against the bare flesh of his side. His stomach instantly tightened and the tiniest shiver of pleasure went through him before he could force himself to shift back. The movement got Lex's hand off of him, but his other hand had been holding the bottom hem of his shirt up, and the movement exposed a bit more of him. Clark saw Lex's eyes catch on his slightly more prominent than usual ribs and widen with even more concern. "I'm fine." Clark said quickly. "The edge of the car caught on my shirt, but it barely even brushed me."
Lex looked up at Clark when the young man brushed his shirt back down into place.
To avoid further discussion on the topic, Clark moved over to the couch, resuming his seat beside Terri. She'd set the ice pack on the table and put her foot down, so the spot was open, but there was no room for anyone to sit on the other side of him (unless they sat on the arm of the couch, as Chloe had, but Lex wouldn't do that!).
Lex didn't look happy, but he went over, taking a seat on the opposite end of the curved couch. It gave him a clear view of Clark, but the table between them made the spot more... appropriate. Elise looked tempted to sit by Terri once more, but chose instead to sit beside Lex. Very close beside him. She seemed to sense his less than pleased mood and slipped her hand over, lacing her fingers in his and resting her head against his shoulder comfortingly.
"I don't care, by the way." She said softly after a moment, breaking up the slightly uncomfortable silence that had settled over their little group.
Lex looked over at her in surprise. "About...?"
She flashed him a little grin. "The other wife. Whatever happened, it's over now."
"Right." He said quickly, then took a deep breath and sighed it out. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before. That one's a really long story, and not exactly one I like retelling. The saddest part is, if I'd have just..." He paused, his eyes flicking, meeting Clark's gaze. He took a little breath, then forded on. "If I would have just listened to my best friend I could have avoided the whole ordeal. Clark knew there was something wrong from the beginning. He tried to warn me, but I didn't want to hear it. I let her twist it around and even turn me against him. I turned my back on him when I should have known he was just trying to protect me. He always has, since the day we met. When I finally got out from under her spell, and Clark forgave me, no questions asked... that was when I swore to myself that I would never let anything come between us like that again."
Clark held his gaze for a moment longer, then dropped his eyes. He really wished Lex wouldn't say things like that. Not here, not after what had happened between them. Hearing Lex talk that way about him made it really hard not to say anything... and especially not to do anything. God! He had the almost overwhelming urge to go over there and take Lex into his arms and... no. That was stupid. Lex was engaged. His eyes caught on a glint of light and he saw the ring on Elise's finger. Lex's mother's ring. Clark quickly dropped his eyes again.
"That's beautiful." Elise sighed with a smile on her lips. "Well, don't worry, I don't plan on ever coming between you. I'm sure Clark and I are going to be great friends. I've only just met him, and I already adore him!" She said happily.
Clark glanced up, then his eyes locked. She was kissing Lex. She was kissing him, and Lex was kissing her back... not like he had to for show, like he wanted to. His fingers grazed gently down her cheek, then brushed down her neck, then sliding gently around, drawing her closer.
Lex flinched as there was a sudden, sharp thwack to the back of his head. He broke the kiss and looked over, watching Chloe glare daggers at him as she stalked past him and over, taking her perch on the arm of the sofa and looking like she'd dearly love to beat the crap out of him. He opened his mouth, about to ask her what the Hell that had been about, but just then he caught sight of Clark.
Clark quickly darted his eyes away, staring fixedly at a spot on the floor across the room.
Lex closed his mouth. Clark's eyes were watery and his his whole posture was tense, his expression the carefully controlled neutral one he used when he was upset.
"I should go. I have chores to do." Clark muttered, shifting forward to rise.
Terri quickly grabbed his elbow to stop him. "Whoa! Just a second there, gorgeous. Aren't you even going to say goodbye?"
"Sorry." Clark muttered softly, "I just... I have to go."
She gave him a little smile and a nod. "I know." She said, shifting closer and slipping her arms around him, "I just wanted to give you a proper goodbye."
Before Clark could even say anything, Terri leaned in and claimed his lips. It was just as nice as the first time... even nicer in fact, since he wasn't still stunned and winded from a near death experience. He closed his eyes, letting her go on a bit...
Chloe watched the quickly deepening liplock with surprise, a little smirk tugging at the side of her lips. Wow... if she wasn't mistaken, it looked like tongues were getting involved! After a moment, she started to wonder what that odd little sound was... it was like a ticking, but softer. It sounded like it might be coming from behind the couch. She leaned back some, trying to locate it, then her eyes caught on a flickering light. Terri's camera was in her hand, resting on Clark's shoulder... and her finger was holding down the button. Image after image of Lex trying to pretend that Terri and Clark making out right in front of him wasn't upsetting him filled the screen.
Chloe tried to disguise her snort of laughter as a cough.
When Terri finally let up on him, she just shifted back a little, then rested her forehead against him. "You are the most amazing kisser..." She purred softly, a bit out of breath. "If you don't have plans for this weekend maybe you could come by and help me unpack...? I could show you some of my work."
"I... uh... I don't have any plans." Clark panted. She'd thrown him for a bit of an emotional loop, and he wasn't sure he could handle a girl like this... but she'd managed to quell the pain in his heart for the moment... and he was all for anything that could do that. "And... I mean if you don't have anyone to help you, I guess I could help out. You really shouldn't be doing too much walking around and heavy lifting with that ankle." He reasoned.
"I'll give you a call, then." She murmured, still mere inches from him, "What's your number?"
Clark stammered, temporarily blanking out his own phone number.
Chloe held out her phone with his number displayed on the screen.
Terri looked at it, then grinned up at her. "Thanks. Got it." She said, finally shifting back. "I look forward to seeing you again, Mr. Clark Kent. I have a feeling you and I are going to get along famously."
Clark just gave her a little embarrassed grin, then got up. "Um... see you later." He said.
"You can count on it!" Terri replied with a mischievous grin.
"I can send over a couple of my maids to help you settle in." Clark heard Lex offer as he made his way to the door. "Since you're injured it is the very least I could do."
"No thanks. I think I have it covered." Terri replied merrily. She gave Clark a little wave as he glanced back at her one last time.
- 0 – 0 – 0 –
"You didn't tell me the party was at Crater Lake." Clark said as Chloe shifted the car into park.
She glanced over at him. "I didn't realize it mattered where it was." She said, furrowing her brow, She glanced down at his clothes, noting he was wearing a t-shirt with nothing but a light flannel over it, "Oh, sorry! Do you think you'll be warm enough in those clothes? Do you want me to run you back home for a jacket?"
Clark sighed, unbuckling his seat belt. "No. It's fine." He muttered, getting out of the car.
By the time he made it to the bonfire, he was already feeling a bit queazy from the meteor rock in the lake, though the bonfire was a good fifty meters from the water. He just ignored it. Someone handed him a tall plastic cup full of beer in passing. He never usually drank, but he went ahead and took a healthy slug. It tasted like crap, but he didn't really care. He knew it probably wouldn't do anything to wipe away the memory of Lex with that girl on his arm, his mother's ring glistening on her finger... but it was worth a try.
"Hey, Clark. I was wondering if you'd come." Pete said as he walked over to him.
Clark just gave a little shrug. "Nothing better to do, so I might as well."
"Ya... well... it's not exactly the most healthy place for you to be." Pete said in an undertone.
Clark just gave another shrug, "We're practically in the parking lot. I'm a little queasy, but it's not strong enough to do anything this far away. Besides, Chloe wanted to come."
"Ah." Pete said. "I thought you were calling that off."
Clark rolled his eyes. "She may not be my 'girlfriend' anymore, but she's still one of my closest friends, Pete. It's not like I'm going to stop hanging out with her."
"Ya, I guess." Pete muttered with a slight shrug.
After that, they just stood around for a while. Pete had brought a can of pop, but Clark only had the beer to drink. When he refilled his glass from the keg, Pete looked over at him, then glanced around before saying in a low voice, "You really think you should be drinking?"
Clark just gave a little half amused snort. "It tastes bad, but I doubt it's going to do anything to me."
"Then why you drinking it?" Pete asked with a grin.
"Because I'm hoping I'm wrong." Clark muttered.
Pete caught on to his somewhat less than talkative mood and let him drink in peace.
By the time Clark was on his third glass he actually thought he might be starting to feel something. It wasn't the euphoria he was hoping for, but the pain in his chest seemed to ease back just a bit. Well, it was better than nothing. He filled his glass again.
He tried not to groan in irritation as he spotted Lana heading for him. He'd done so well avoiding being caught alone with her, but apparently his luck had run out.
"Oh... hey, I'll talk to you later." Pete said quickly.
"Traitor." Clark muttered with dark amusement.
Pete just flashed him a grin and 'wandered' quickly away.
"Hey, Clark." Lana said a bit uneasily as she came to a stop before him.
"Hi, Lana." Clark said, walking a bit away from the keg as a couple more people came up the get refills. She, unfortunately, followed.
"So, how's your new friend doing?" She asked.
"Who?" He asked, furrowing his brow.
"Um... the redhead you were making out with just a couple of hours ago?" Lana said mirthfully, though there was an ever so slight edge to her laugh that made it obvious she hadn't liked seeing that.
Clark shrugged. "Ok as far as I know. She stayed after I left, so you've seen her more recently than I have. I just met her. It's not like we're texting each other and chatting incessantly on the phone."
She bobbed her head. "Right." She muttered. There was a somewhat awkward feeling silence between them, then she said, "Listen, you don't have to avoid me. Chloe explained about last Friday. And... you know... since then." She said.
He nodded, "Ya, she told me."
She paused, and he suspected she was waiting for some kind of apology, but if she was, she was out of luck. He just gazed at her evenly.
"And... I mean I can see why you kept up the act." She said when it became obvious he wasn't going to comment further, "It seems kind of silly, really. Anyone thinking you wrote that. To be honest, I didn't even think it was all that great of an article. Certainly not worth all the fuss! People are still wearing those buttons! And I even saw a girl wearing a t-shirt with that alien picture on it the other day! You'd think they would be over it by now. I mean it was just the ramblings of a sexually confused boy who obviously needs some serious psychological counseling ."
"Like you can talk!" Clark muttered.
"What was that?" She asked.
"Nothing." He said, polishing off his beer and thinking about heading back for another. Lana was totally killing any benefit he was getting from it.
"You know... if you wanted someone to pretend to be your girlfriend to try to prove you weren't that alien guy, you could have always asked me." She said a bit leadingly.
He gave a snort. "First off, I didn't ask Chloe to do that. She just did it. Second of all, I would never have even kissed you, let alone pretended to go out with you."
She blinked those overly large eyes at him, "Why not?" She asked, looking a bit irritated.
"Listen, it's just never going to happen, Lana." He said, fed up with her constant emotional about-faces, "You always have been, and always will be a princess." Ok, perhaps the beer was affecting him more than he realized, but this felt very, very good, so he didn't bother trying to stop himself, "I'm no prince. I'm never going to be what you want. You want someone who needs you... who will be dedicated heart and soul to you and only you. I can't do that. It's just not the way I'm made. There will always be secrets I can never tell you, priorities in my life that aren't related to you. We are never going to be 'together'. Yes, I like Chloe. She's a very good kisser, but we're just friends as well. One of the best things about her is that she realizes that! Perhaps we seem closer than you and I do... That's probably because we are. She understands and accepts things about me that you quite obviously never will."
"You make me sound like a shallow bitch." Lana said irritably.
Clark just sighed, "You can be sometimes."
Her jaw dropped in indignation. "Well you're pretty high on yourself, aren't you? What makes you think I even want you?" She shot back.
"Perhaps the 'you cheating bastard' look you get when I so much as smile at anyone else?" he offered.
"Oh please! You're the one who's practically been stalking me since we were kids!"
"You're my friend, Lana. I care about you, so I try to look out for you. I admit, I was infatuated with you when we were kids, and it lingered into my teens... I thought I loved you... but it was just a crush. I didn't know what real love felt like back then. It's a hundred times stronger than anything I ever felt for you."
He stopped there, suddenly realizing what he'd just said. The truth of it stabbed into him viciously.
He was in love with Lex.
He'd been able to delude himself into denying it before... but now that he'd unconsciously admitted it, he couldn't seem make himself deny it anymore.
Lana slapped him across the face and stormed off, but he only vaguely noticed it. It's not like the pathetic little gesture even hurt. He found himself wandering over to the keg and refilling his cup.
"Man, what did you say to her?"
Clark looked over, seeing Tommy standing beside him, watching Lana disappear between the parked cars. Clark gave a little shrug. "Just trying to get it through to her that we're just friends. I probably could have phrased it better." He admitted. "She'll get over it."
"Man, you're just having to beat them off with a stick, aren't you? What's your secret?" Tommy said with admiration.
Clark let out a breath. "If I had a secret when it came to girls, they wouldn't keep storming off in a snit... let alone smacking me first!"
Tommy shifted a bit, "I saw you with that hot redhead at the Talon. She certainly didn't leave mad."
Clark just gave his shoulder another little half shrug. "Well, yes she's hot, obviously... but she's a little old for me, not to mention a little more open and... um... 'friendly' than I'm used to."
Tommy nodded his head distractedly, taking a little sip of beer from his cup. Clark noticed he had one of the alien pins on his jacket. He was surprised at first, but then he realized the article probably would have resonated with Tommy. He'd had to deal with trying to hide the fact that his father was an alcoholic most of his life. He still remembered when they had been in grade school and the other kids took to teasing him for it. He'd withdrawn and barely spoken the entire school year. Luckily, the biggest instigator of the teasing had moved away that summer, and the other kids had lost interest, so he'd eventually come back out of his shell. It'd been hard enough just to watch... Clark didn't want to know what it would have been like to live through.
"So... umm... Sullivan didn't seem all that upset when you were making out with the redhead." Tommy said, keeping his voice casual.
The reason for Tommy's sudden chattiness started becoming clear, despite the light fog that had started creeping into Clark's brain. The very carefully conversational questioning and the way he wasn't looking at Clark, along with the glances he'd seen Tommy giving Chloe in the hallways at school made his real question pretty apparent. "Ya, well I absolutely adore Chloe. She is such an amazing girl... and one of the closest friends I've ever had. But... sometimes when you try to make something like that something more, it ends up making it less."
Tommy looked over at him. "What do you mean by that?"
"We're much better friends than lovers. We don't want to mess with a good thing. You know what I mean?"
"Um..." Tommy said, glancing over at Chloe, then back at Clark.
It was obvious he got it, but he'd like it spelled out for him just to be sure, so Clark obliged. "We're not together anymore. We're just very good friends, and that's all we'll ever be. We realized it a bit ago, but with that," he said, reaching over and lightly tapping Tommy's pin, "Chloe said we should wait a bit before making it official. Everyone's so quick to think guys are gay if they aren't seeing anyone, you know?"
Tommy nodded, "I've gotten a number of gay jokes thrown at me just for wearing the pin."
Clark nodded, "I can imagine. Still, I think the speculation's died down enough now. There's no point in keeping it up any longer, otherwise people are going to be starting rumors that I'm cheating on her or something after the thing with the redhead. Besides, I've gotten the feeling she's been wanting to move on, too. I notice she's been smiling at you an awful lot lately."
Tommy's eyes widened and darted over to him. "Hey, man, I never...!" He stammered quickly.
Clark held up his hand. "Like I said, she's my friend, not my girlfriend. I want her to be happy. If you want to take a shot, go for it."
"You... you're really cool with that?" Tommy asked sceptically.
"Completely." Clark replied without hesitation, "And you can tell her I said I was. Just one thing, though... you hurt her and you'll have me to deal with, got it?"
Tommy straightened a bit, then nodded. "Got it." He replied seriously. He then turned, starting towards Chloe.
"Oh, by the way." Clark called after him.
Tommy turned, looking back curiously.
"Tell her I'm catching a ride home with Pete."
Tommy nodded again, then went on.
Not that he was really going to bother Pete for a ride. He'd just walk home. He just didn't want her feeling obliged to take him home. He wasn't sure he was going to stick around much longer and didn't want to make her leave early. Clark took a drink, watching the boy sidle up to Chloe. Tommy took a bracing drink from his cup before tapping her shoulder and catching her attention.
"Oh... hi, Tommy." Chloe said in surprise.
"Hey." Tommy said, almost sounding a bit nervous. "Having fun?"
Chloe gave a little snort. "About as much fun as you can have while standing around in the cold, watching your classmates get drunk while listening to crappy music."
He chuckled, "Ya. I think the beer is supposed to help improve the music."
"Ya, well the beer tastes like crap too, so I don't see how it's helping anything."
"Then why are you drinking it?"
"I'm not." She said, then leaned a bit closer and whispered, "But if I put it down I'll have to deal with people trying to give me another beer, and if I refuse I'll look like a prude."
"Ah." He said, nodding. "This is my first beer, too. I don't really like to drink."
She opened her mouth to ask why, but then closed it again when she remembered who his father was and realized what a stupid question that was. She wouldn't want to touch liquor if alcoholism ran in her family either.
"You know, you should make it at least look like you're drinking." He said, nodding towards her glass, which was still nearly full. "Here." He said, switching her glass for his half empty one.
"Thanks." She said. She could have just dumped some of it out in the grass, but he was obviously trying to be chivalrous, so she let him.
There was a somewhat awkward pause after that. He took a drink from her beer (actually it was more like a small gulp since he was still a bit nervous), then grimaced. "This is pretty awful. It's really better cold. Not much, though. Next time I'll have to remember to bring some cream soda. In the dark no one would know the difference."
"Ya." She said with amusement, "That would have been a good idea."
There was another somewhat awkward silence as they watched a couple of their classmates spinning around way too wildly for even the rather chaotic music spewing out of the boom box someone had brought. Chloe caught Tommy watching her, but he quickly darted his eyes back away, taking another drink to cover, followed by another grimace.
The two dancers tripped and sprawled onto the ground, then the boy rolled over onto his stomach and threw up while the others all laughed. Chloe saw Tommy reach his glass out and pour out some, leaving only about a third of a glass, then he brought it back, keeping it far away from his mouth. She grinned.
"So..." Tommy said after another moment, "Not that the floor show isn't entertaining... but you think you might want to go somewhere and talk? It's a bit noisy here..."
She looked over at him in surprise. He was trying to look confident, but even in the flickering light he could see he was obviously nervous. "Oh... Um..." God how she'd love to! "I don't know..." She forced herself to say.
"Um... Clark's ok with it, if that's what you're worried about." He offered quickly.
She blinked in surprise. She looked past him, over to where she'd last seen Clark. He was standing there, all by himself with a beer in his hand. He saw her gaze and flashed her a little smile and gave her a thumbs up.
She blushed, but grinned. The whole 'breaking up' thing really had been for Clark's benefit, considering how much he was obviously drawn to Terri... but she couldn't deny that she'd been kind of interested in getting to know Tommy a bit better now that he'd actually noticed she existed. She flashed Clark a smile, then gave Tommy a little nod. "Ok."
"Cool." Tommy said, beaming and tilting his head a bit to the side, then leading her off, away from prying eyes.
Clark just watched them go. At least Tommy was tactful enough not to slip his arm around her or otherwise paw her where people could see so soon after their 'break up'. Even in the dim light of the bonfire he could see her cheeks flush as she grinned, her eyes sparkling happily as they made their way away from the crowd.
Clark took a deep breath and sighed it out. At least someone could be happy tonight. Tommy seemed like a really nice guy. If she liked him, she deserved him. Still, he was glad he didn't have to watch it. Not that he was jealous. He'd told the truth. He wanted her to be happy... he just didn't really want to be around happy people right now. Not to mention him standing around watching would surely have gotten tongues wagging.
He looked over and spotted a couple not too far away making out quite passionately, apparently unconcerned with the fact that they were in plain sight. The aching pain in Clark's heart flared up once more, so he walked away from the bonfire, not wanting to have to keep his face composed to keep others from seeing his pain. They would surely misinterpret it if they saw it. Not that he cared a whole lot, but Chloe shouldn't have to catch flak for his mood swings. And it didn't help that the flickering light of the flames was starting to make his head hurt. Or maybe that was the beer. He didn't think that was supposed to start until the next morning, but he was certainly no expert. Besides, his head didn't hurt nearly as bad as his chest did.
As the pain in his heart burned ever brighter, he found his feet taking him towards the lake, though the queasiness in his stomach increased with every step. He couldn't believe Lex was getting married! Elise seemed like a nice girl, but...
He reached the shore and turned, walking along the gravely beach. He tried to drink some more of the beer, but the meteor rock had him too queasy by this point to even try to finish it. He stumbled a couple of times, but that was probably just a combination of the alcohol, darkness and his proximity to meteor rocks. He even had to dodge to the side now and then, avoiding larger rocks with some crystals embedded in them. There had been a lot of shrapnel all around when that meteor had crashed down here, but luckily most of the smaller fragments, and especially the loose crystals, had been scavenged by souvenir seekers over the years.
He knew it was insanely stupid to be this close to the lake, but he didn't care. The starting aches of physical pain overrode his emotional pain a bit, as he knew it would. If only it worked a bit better. His heart still ached angrily. His mind kept wandering back to Lex... to speculations of what he was doing with that girl right now. Laying her down in the same bed they had shared, having sex with her. Did he like making love to her as much as he had with Clark? Well, he was marrying her, wasn't he? She'd probably washed all thoughts of Clark out of Lex's head by now.
God, that thought stabbed through him. Lex had had countless lovers before him, and he seemed quite capable of forgetting all about them when they were gone. Would it be the same with him? Would he become just one more forgotten lover?
He reached the foot of the pier that extended out into the water and stepped up on it to cross. He paused, looking down the pier. It would be sheer insanity walking out over the water... and yet he set his beer glass on one of the posts and started slowly walking out over the deadly water. The pain increased with every step, aching through his body like vindictive fire in his veins.
He finally made himself stop when he'd nearly reached the end of the pier. The pain was so strong it washed away all thought... yet not quite to the point of incapacitating him. It pushed Lex from his mind so cleanly. He just stood there... almost enjoying the purity of the physical pain. He could feel it sucking the strength from his body, but he was pretty sure he could handle a few more minutes before he'd have to start back to keep from collapsing. He just stood there until he started to waver. Finally, a vague sense of self preservation kicked in and he turned, starting back before it was too late.
He looked up as he realized there was someone standing in front of him, blocking the way. It was dark, the moon currently hidden behind a bank of thick clouds, but he thought he could make out a letterman jacket.
"Well, hello there, Kent."
Clark shut his eyes. Oh, great. It was Jenkins. He'd know that self important sneer anywhere. Clark tried to walk past him, but the boy grabbed his arm, shoving him back towards the end of the pier. Clark went sprawling, but quickly tried to regain his feet. He struggled, managing to get up onto his knees, but couldn't quite make it back to his feet.
"I see those little party favors I slipped in your beer are finally kicking in." He said as he came to a stop, gazing down at Clark, obviously enjoying seeing him struggle.
"Why... why would you..." Clark gasped, trying to force out words.
"Did you tell the sheriff I was the one driving?"
Clark shook his head, though it made him rather dizzy.
"Ya, well you're a goody two shoes. You're probably planning on telling, aren't you?" He growled.
"Didn't... tell... about... scarecrow... did I?" Clark gasped, his vision starting to dim. If he didn't get away from this lake soon he was dead and he knew it.
Jenkins chuckled. "Guess not. Still... I was planning this since before that nasty little accident you nearly caused. I planned this whole fucking party just to get my hands on you!"
Anger flickered in Clark at the implication it had been his fault, but he was too weak for it to last long. "Why?" he managed to force out.
"Don't you think I know it was your little bald headed freak of a boyfriend that fucked up my life?"
"What?" Clark managed, trying to figure out what the Hell he was talking about.
"I leave for fucking military school on Saturday! I thought my parents were just being assholes, but come to find out, LexCorp is funding it! They have to ship me out to keep their fucking jobs!" He grabbed the hair on the back of Clark's head roughly, leaning down to get right in his face. "I may not be able to get through Luthor's security to get at him... but he isn't protecting you, now is he?"
"Why... would he care... if you did something... to me?" Clark forced out, wondering how much longer he could possibly stay conscious. He was doubtful whatever drugs he'd been slipped would have been enough to take him down alone, but the meteor rock was doing just as good as any drug could anyway.
Jenkins laughed nastily. "Deny it all you want, but I know you wrote that fucking article. You've been acting like a love-sick freak ever since Luthor took you home with him after the market. Don't try to tell me he wasn't fucking your ass all afternoon. I'm not normally into guys, unlike you and rich boy, but I'm willing to give it a try in this case. If the rich boy who can have any piece of ass he wants is giving you a ride, maybe you're worth a go. Besides, I want to see how he likes it when he finds out I've fucked his little boy-toy. Maybe when I'm done I'll haul you over and find some guys drunk enough to fuck you too. Maybe even drive you over to that biker bar on the edge of town. Bet there's plenty of big, burly bikers that'd love to give that ass of yours a good hard fuck. Let's see if baldie still wants you when he finds out you're all used and dirty."
Clark struggled to get away, but he was too weak to do much of anything by this point. Jenkins was able to keep him up with just one hand gripping Clark's hair, straightening up and using the other to free himself from his jeans. "Come on, Kent." He said, prying Clark's mouth open. "Suck it nice and I might even use some lube when I fuck your ass."
Clark tried to resist, but Jenkins managed to shove himself into Clark's mouth. "Come on! Suck it, bitch!" He chuckled wickedly.
Clark might have been drifting in and out of consciousness by that point, but he wasn't dead yet! He clamped his teeth down as hard as he could.
Jenkins let out a surprised cry of pain, punching him in the side of the head and using his hold on Clark's hair to tear him away.
Clark wished he could have kept a hold, or better yet, been strong enough to sever it, but he wasn't, especially with the flashes of light and wave of vertigo the blow sent through him... though the taste of blood in his mouth was at least a little satisfying. Suddenly Jenkins let go of his hair and backhanded him hard. It spun him and he fell away from his attacker. He heard Jenkins' sudden alarmed cry of "Shit!", felt a hand catch on the collar of his flannel, but he was so limp the cloth just slid off him.
He plunged in to the cold water, then it seemed to suck him down. Pain arched through him, the power of the large meteor rocks below him so strong it made him convulse, forcing the remaining air from his lungs. Water rushed in to replace it as his muscles gave in and went limp. All remaining fight quickly left him. The pain seemed to burn out inside him, overwhelming his nerves until they couldn't feel anymore. Even his thoughts had become vague. Somewhere deep in his mind he came to the realization that this was the end. He felt vague regret... the sadness that his parents and friends would mourn him... but the strongest thought was of Lex... a pang of sorrow that their last words to each other had been so meaningless and distant... and one last fleeting hope that the girl really did love him... and that she'd help Lex forget about him...
He just stared down at the faint green glow as he felt his heartbeat slow...
... Then stop.
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A/N – Yes, for those few who haven't figured it out yet, I am an evil sadist :) Hmm... I could just end it there... maybe sum it up with a funeral... a heartbroken Lex filled with regret as they lower the coffin into the ground... then going off and finding solace with Elise and Terri. Maybe he wouldn't even turn out evil in the end. Maybe he'd be a better man, because he would want to be a man that Clark would have been proud of. Oh, and Jonathan could finally realize he was being a huge flaming asshole. Wouldn't that be nice for a change? Maybe Martha would finally realize that too and divorce him. Yes, Jonathan occasionally has his moments... but those are really few and way too far between. Heck, her with Lionel might even be better. Sure Lionel is Satan... but he can be tolerable when he's trying to play nice for her. She makes Lionel a better person. She'd be doing the world a favor if she de-eviled him a little. That scenario certainly has some appeal.
What do you guys think? Seriously. I don't just do whatever my reviewers tell me to or anything, but reviews have been known to sway me in the past, sometimes take the story in directions I hadn't even thought of. Tell me what you like about what I've written, what you'd like to see more of, whatever. I can't promise that I will cater to your wishes... but I guarantee there's no chance of it if I don't even know what those wishes might be. This thing's drawing to a close, no matter which way it goes. Throw in your two bits while you still can!