Metamorphosis – Sixth Chapter
Lana arrived at the bus stop just seconds before the bus did. "Rory," she panted, "I really need to talk to you." The bus pulled up and Rory got on and Clark (who was on time for once) climbed on right after her. Lana followed them. Rory sat down in a seat right in front of Pete and Chloe's seat and Clark sat next to her. Lana frowned, then shrugged and sat in the seat in front of them. "Anyway," Lana said, then noticed Clark, Chloe and Pete were all listening.

"Yeah Lana? What did you want to talk about?"

"Ummm... at school, can we talk? It's important."

"Sure," Rory smiled then turned to Chloe and Pete and started talking to them.

Lana sat in silence for the rest of the ride, unable to understand why Rory was avoiding her.

Smallville High School

Rory got off the bus and was immediately intercepted by Jared. "Hey," he greeted her with a smile on his face. "Did you get Clark down okay?"

"Yeah. How's your head? Talked to Whitney yet?"

Before Jared could reply, Lana came up to them and said, "Jared, I need to borrow Rory for a little while, do you mind?"

"No."

"Good." Lana dragged Rory away quickly, looking for an empty room in which to talk. She finally found an empty Spanish classroom and pulled her inside. Lana closed the door behind them and said, "So why weren't you at the dance?"

"Oh, I – I mean, Jared wasn't feeling to well, so I decided not to go either," Rory replied uncomfortably.

"But you've been looking forward to this for ages."

"Come on Lana, it's just a high school dance. It's not like it's the end of the world or anything!"

Lana sighed and said, "When I came up to you two this morning, you asked Jared something that sounded a little weird."

"Which was?"

"How's your head?" Lana quoted.

Rory shifted uncomfortably and said, "Oh, well, uh, see, Jared had a really, really bad headache on top of the rest of it."

"Oh. Cause then you asked him, 'Talked to Whitney yet?'." Lana paused, knowing that she almost had her explanation. "It almost sounded as thought they were related in some way."

Rory froze, mind searching for an explanation. She chose a simple one. "Oh, Whitney and Jared are doing an assignment in Science together…"

"Don't give me that crap Rory. I know something's up, I know it involves Whitney and Jared and I know you don't want me to know for some reason!"

"That's cause if you find out, you'll blame it all on yourself! And it's not your fault!" Rory stopped when she realized what she'd just said.

"Okay, that's it. I have to know now," Lana demanded.

"Lana-"

"I'm not taking anything but a yes for an answer."

"Why, oh why, did I have to pick such a stubborn best friend?" Rory lamented.

Lana stared at her and began tapping her foot on the floor.

Rory's mind whirred, desperately trying to think of something Lana would accept. "Well, um, see, the guys on the football team got together just before the dance to um, play football. Just, you know, a friendly game, between friends, you know? And, um, Whitney threw the ball to Jared and it... hit Jared in the head. Yeah. Then, uh, Whitney had to leave and he left without apologizing," she stuttered.

"How could that possibly have been my fault?" Lana asked, confused.

"Oh, I just said that cause I figured you'd stop bugging me?" Rory offered.

Lana laughed and said, "So that's it?"

"Yeah. So we cool?"

"Yeah, we're good."

Several days later
Lana loved the feeling of riding her horse – the way the wind blew through her hair, the way her body shifted to accommodate the movement of the horse, the way everything looked beautiful... Sadly, she had to go back now, as it was almost 5 o'clock. She sighed and turned her horse in the direction of the stables.

She swung her leg over the horse's back and took the reins in her hands, leading him into the stables.

"Your form's good, but his gait's off," she jumped at the sound of a voice behind her. She turned to see a handsome young man walking towards her. Lana was startled to see that though the man couldn't have been much over twenty, he was completely bald. He continued, "You might want to check your shoes."

She nodded but didn't make any move to do so. The man held out his hand towards her and said, "Lex Luthor. I'm a friend of your aunt's."

Lana didn't bother to take his hand. "Sneaking up like that. You're lucky you didn't get kicked."

"You must be Lana. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Lex said to her. God, there are so many beautiful girls in this town.

"We've already met," Lana replied, smirking.

Lex smiled and replied, "I seriously doubt I'd forget meeting you."

"You were a little..." Lana paused, "preoccupied at the time."

Lex's smile shrank a little. "I get the feeling I didn't make such a great first impression."

Lana finished the quick grooming she always gave her horse after a ride and told him, "When I was ten, I went to Metropolis for a riding competition. Your father invited us to stay over. My aunt said you had an indoor pool. When I went to check it out, I found you and a girl skinny-dipping." She paused, then continued smoothly with a twinkle in her eyes, "I think you were teaching her the breaststroke."

Lex almost gaped at her before regaining his composure and saying, "That was you?" Lana nodded. "Wow. You're all grown up now," Lex continued. He saw a cabinet full of trophies, ribbons, plaques and photos of a girl with a horse. "Very impressive," he gestured towards the cabinet.

"It's tacky. But it makes my aunt happy."

Lex saw a picture of the girl – that has to be Lana – wearing a pretty necklace. He took a closer look and realized it was the necklace he'd found when Clark had been tied up like a scarecrow. "That's a very unusual necklace," he remarked, hoping to find out whether he was right.

"Thanks. It's very special to me," Lana replied, confirming Lex's suspicion – that the necklace actually belonged to Lana, not Rory.

"How come you're not wearing it?" Lex asked, a new suspicion forming in his mind. Did Lana have something to do with what happened to Clark?

"I lent it to my boyfriend."

Lex understood. Lana's boyfriend tied Clark up out there; probably cause he realized Clark has a crush on her. "Lucky guy. What's his name?"

"Whitney Fordman."

"Isn't that the guy the Kent kids saved today?"

"I just came back from seeing him – and thanking Rory. She's my best friend," Lana explained seeing Lex's puzzled look. "Whitney's lucky they were there."

"I know the feeling," Lex said understandingly. He paused, wondering if Clark would appreciate this. "Kind of makes you wonder if you're with the right guy. One chucks footballs, the other saves lives."

Lana frowned. "For someone who just moved into town, you sure have a lot of opinions."

"You just seem more interesting than that. While you're nursing your boyfriend back to health, why don't you ask him where he was just before the dance."

"He was with me," Lana lied.

"Are you sure?" Lex waited for an answer. When none came, he said, "Tell your aunt I stopped by."

Lana watched him leave, frowning. What does he know that I don't? And why was he so interested in Clark and Whitney?

Luthor Mansion

"What is it about Kents and gifts?" Lex asked Clark, frustrated. "It's yours. Hand it to Lana. Tell her what happened. Trust me, once she opens it, you'll win her heart. That necklace gives you the power Clark – all you have to do is use it."

Clark stared at Lex for a moment, then looked at the box. Well, I don't have to take it and give it to Lana. Rory really should know about the lead protecting us from the rocks. He hesitated, then took the box.

Lex smiled and clapped him on the back. "Tell Rory I said hi." Clark turned to leave and Lex said, "Oh, and Clark?" Clark turned to face him. "You and your sister are welcome any time."

Clark nodded and left.

Kent Farm

Clark supersped into the house and yelled, "Rory!"

Rory heard her name from her room and supersped down the stairs. "Yeah? What's the matter?" she asked, noticing a black box in his hands.

"Lex just gave me this Rors."

Rory stared at it. "Um... what is it?"

"It's a box, made of lead. Guess what's inside?"

"What?"

Clark opened the box and its effect on Rory was immediate; she gasped and staggered back a few steps. Clark was shocked and immediately closed the box. Rory leaned on the wall, trying to catch her breath. Another difference between her and Clark was that often the meteor rock effect lasted for a little while after it had been taken away, whereas with Clark, the pain left as soon as the rock did.

"Rors? You okay?"

"What the hell was a meteor rock doing in there?" she snapped.

"It's not just any meteor rock; it's Lana's necklace. Lex must have picked it up in the field."

"But... I turned it off when she first got it! I shouldn't be able to feel the pain from it anymore!"

Clark thought for a minute, then his eyes lit up. "I have a theory. See, the lead in the box stops the pain for me, and for you too. What if, when you stop the pain with lead, it also stops your power working on it and you have to do it again?"

Rory thought about it; it made sense. "Well that sucks," she grumbled. "I'll just have to touch it – again – when Lana gets it back."

School the next day

Lana walked up to Whitney as he shut the door of his locker. He turned and smiled when he saw her; she didn't smile back. "Can we talk?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Lana hesitated, she didn't want Whitney to get really mad at her. "Where were you before the dance on Saturday?"

Whitney stopped smiling and said, "Can we talk about this later?"

"It's a simple question, Whitney."

"I was getting ready for the dance."

"So you didn't grab Clark – who, by the way, is my best friend's twin brother and one of my good friends – and hang him up in a field?" Lana asked suspiciously.

Whitney winced and tried to explain himself. "Lana, it was just a prank."

Lana pursed her lips and looked down, feeling anger pulse through her veins. "Could I please have my necklace back?" she asked, a little too calmly.

Whitney winced again; he was in for it now. "I lost it."

Lana stared at him, unable to believe what she'd just heard. "Were you planning on telling me that? Or was that a prank too?" She turned and stormed away. Whitney watched her go sadly.

The next day in the stables

Lana finished feeding the horses and turned to see Whitney standing there. "Your aunt said you were out here," he said awkwardly.

Lana nodded as though it were the most normal thing in the world and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Better." He hesitated, trying to find words that described how he felt. "That's not why I'm here though. Lana, when I saw you and Clark outside your house that night, I freaked out."

"What did you think we were doing?" Lana asked, surprised.

"I guess I got scared and did something stupid," he said to her. "I would do anything to take that back," he said intensely, staring into her eyes.

Lana noticed someone come in behind Whitney. "It's too late, Whitney," Greg said calmly. "She's mine now."

That night – Kent farm

Clark looked at the box that held Lana's necklace. He made his decision and went over to her house.

He opened the top of the box and grabbed the necklace. His hand trembled and the veins began to pop out, turning green as they did so. He moved forward to place the necklace on the doorknob.

"Whitney? Is that you?"

Lana came to the front door and opened it, stepping outside. She looked around; there was nobody there, which puzzled her. She turned around and saw her necklace, her favourite necklace, hanging on the doorknob. She pulled it off and smiled. Clutching it to her chest, she looked around again and said softly, "Thank you." Then she turned and went inside.

Clark watched her from the road, smiling too. He then supersped back to the farm.

A/N I love all your reviews guys, thanks especially to Spidey2 and Friesian Lover5690, you rock! In this chapter I just did the stuff that is important to the rest of the season, if you want to know what really happens, watch the episode! And Greg by the way is Bug-Boy in case you didn't know.
Please review! Love you all!
Xx.maddy-sparx.xX