Chapter 2 [Talon—about fifteen minutes earlier]

As with Clark, Lana dealt with the moodiness and surliness within the house by getting out and busying her mind. While he did chores in the barn, she showered and drove her blazer into town for a coffee escape at the Talon. I didn't deliberately cheat on him! How was I to know that it was Bizarro and not Clark? He was SO like that week when he was without his powers! Why can't Clark just pay attention to me? WHY? She smacked the steering wheel with her hands in frustration and felt tears stinging her eyes. I love him! Why can't he put me first? She took a breath and wiped her eyes. Then she got out of the vehicle and headed into the former theater.

The Talon was a ghost town, echoing her footfalls back at her. Strangely enough, not many people occupied the café at that particular moment. Three people talked quietly at the corner table over by the staircase.

Miranda Arighatto, her longtime friend, saw her come in and noted the frown. Now what? She immediately fetched a metal cup, poured milk into it and started the frothing.

Lana walked over to the counter. "Hi, Miri. What's going on? Weird to see the place so deserted."

"Yeah it is. Chalk it up to the recession. You'd think the gloom would bring the caffeine junkies out. Even Chloe ditched me this morning," Miranda griped. "Speaking of ditching, how come you're here so early? I would've thought you and Clark would've been enjoying some quality time together?"

Lana shrugged. "We've…got problems to work out. Things weren't quite what they seemed."

The sensei rolled her eyes. "And here we go again. Don't tell me Mr. Plaid got cold feet already?" She mixed up the cappuccino and grabbed two bran muffins from the case. "Start on the drink. I'll have your muffin ready in a minute." She motioned to the blonde waitress in the corner. "Winnie, watch out front for me please? I'm taking a break." She poured herself a coffee, set that cup in addition to the two muffins on a tray and headed for the back room. She shut the door. "So what happened? I thought there were finally sparks going off between you two."

Lana sighed. "It's been great, Miri. Clark was so romantic and giving. He made time for me. The old concerns weren't that big of a deal. And then…." She frowned and wiped her eyes off.

"And then what? Did he hurt you?" Miranda demanded.

"No…I found out it was a dose of the Smallville weirdness," Lana continued. She blew her nose on a tissue and then washed her hands in the sink before continuing on her muffin. "Clark had a clone."

That got the waitress' attention. "A clone? So the guy I saw you with at the Farm and here wasn't Clark Kent?"

Lana grimaced. "Technically he was. But he wasn't my Clark. I can't believe I didn't see it!" She stood and paced the room. "It seemed so perfect."

"Maybe because you didn't want to see it?" The waitress shook her head. "Even if this is Smallville, I can't believe there were two of him."

"There were until I had to choose. I…umm…destroyed him," she admitted.

"You destroyed him? With what, a dose of reality?" Miranda supposed.

"A blue meteor rock. He blew up. I just wish I understood why this stuff keeps happening to Clark and me!" Lana continued.

Miranda's head swum with those facts. Lana was around a clone? Where was Clark during that time? She could see that her friend didn't want to play twenty questions. Rather the latter needed to be nudged gently back onto the right path. She took a deep breath and advised, "Lana, you've wanted to be with him since we were in grade school. Now you've got that. You both have struggled with your respective issues. For a month, you achieved the peace you wanted," she noted while biting into her own muffin and washing that down with coffee. "Sometimes when things are going the way we want, we overlook the obvious because it's inconvenient."

"Kind of like dropping a piece of crystal?" Lana guessed.

"Right. My master used to say is that we are a sum of our good and bad points. Everything has to be in balance. Our lives are a continuing struggle to achieve that harmony. Clark is wrapped up in himself some times. When he is, give him a theoretical kick in the pants. But you can be that way too when you feel like you don't have enough in your life," her friend continued.

"Like when?" Lana queried defensively.

"Like when you went to Paris and brought back that guy, Jason, last year? Maybe your obsession over getting back at Lex for the stuff that happened between you both? I know there's more to that situation than you told me. Point is, Lana, if you love him, open up to each other. Talk these things through. You two have a symmetry. Use it or you'll lose him," Miranda advised.

Lana drank her coffee while pondering that point. "Meaning what?"

"A relationship is about give and take. Remember how you were when Whitney went off to join the Marines? Clark's got that in him too. Don't ask me why but it's the feeling I get about him." Miranda smirked. "You do fall for the heroes, don't you?"

"I do. I don't regret it. There is something special about Clark. As much as he helps people, he should do more. I feel like I'm holding him back. I don't want him to resent me," Lana pointed out.

"You mean like dealing with those frat boys from KU? Oh yeah, I remember him on trash detail. But let's say he becomes an officer or a fireman, could you handle that? If you have even a small piece of him, would that be enough?" Miranda rebutted.

Lana sulked. "Why can't we just live on the farm and be happy that way? It would be so easy."

"Some people aren't allowed such bliss, Lana. Life has plans for us all. Right now, you have to find your own way. Where you and Clark go is up to you both to decide. Talk to him. Remind him that you love him and not this clone. You've gotten past some situations in the past. Have faith," Miranda indicated.

Lana nodded and ate her muffin. "So I have to decide if sharing Clark is better than not having him at all?"

"Precisely," Miranda agreed while rubbing her friend's arm. "Sorry I have to be getting back up to the front. Sit back here as long as you want and think about what we've talked about. You've got a good deal with Clark. Don't let it go without a fight." With that, she headed through the door and back to the floor.

Lana finished her breakfast moodily. Why can't I have Clark all to myself? It isn't fair. The world keeps taking and taking from us. She finished the muffin and cappuccino. I guess we have duty, don't we? With that, she headed out through the café and to her blazer. She determined to drive and put her thoughts in order.

Then that talk with Clark would be forthcoming…