Cecily pulled off the freeway and onto the two lane road that led to Smallville. Her home.
She smiled at the thought. There was a time that she hadn't felt that way. Metropolis had always been home. Smallville was simply where her father, brother and step mother lived. She had always enjoyed the time she spent with her family their on the farm but she had always felt that her true home was with her mother, in Metropolis.
That had changed two years ago in an instance. A car accident had taken her mother away from her. At first she had felt lost. Felt alone. Felt as if she had not only lost her mother but also her home.
She soon realized though that she had another home. She still had family. People who loved her. A place where she was welcomed. And she had still had Lex. At least until she had pushed him away.
Even after she had told her that she needed some space she had kept tabs on him. She kept the an eye on the news, keeping track of what was going on with LuthorCorp. She had called and talked to Clark, listening as he told her what was going on in Smallville. Lex often came up in those conversations.
She was happy that Clark was trying to be Lex's friend. She knew from experience that it wasn't easy but that Lex needed someone in his life. Someone who cared about him. Since she had walked out on him she knew that Lex had no one else except for her brother.
Then Clark had started mentioned Club Zero. She knew all about Club Zero. She had wanted to go to Lex then but there had been things at school that she had to do or risk throwing away the whole semester. It had been Saturday night by the time she had gotten to Smallville.
Clark and Lex had been at the opening of the Talon. She knew that wasn't the place to talk to Lex. She had to wait until he went home and so she had waited for Clark to come home and then went over to the Luthor Castle.
Since then, her life had been a whirlwind. Graduation was looming on the horizon. Lionel Luthor had been pressuring them to set a date so that preparations could start being made. Seeing that the union was inevitable Lionel had taken control of the wedding planning to get all the positive public relations he could out of it.
Cecily didn't really care. All she cared about was being able to spend her life with the man she loved. Lionel could do whatever he wanted for the wedding. The only thing she cared about was having her family there. Martha and Clark she knew would be there. It was her Dad she wasn't so sure about.
She knew he wasn't going to like the idea of Lex Luthor being his son-in-law. That was why she hadn't told him they were dating. She saw no point in getting him upset over this if Lex and her weren't going to be together. That had all changed now. She and Lex were going to get married. She could no longer put off telling her Dad about them.
She saw the Welcome to Smallville sign alongside of the road. She had told her Dad that she was coming home this weekend and that she would tell them who her fiancé was. Something that she had been dodging for the last month.
"It's about time," Martha had said when she had told her over the phone. "Do I get any hints about who he is?"
"I'll tell you this, Martha," Cecily told her, "you already know him."
It wasn't long before she was pulling her car up alongside of the curb outside of the Talon. She pulled in right behind Lex's silver Porsche.
Cecily got out and headed inside. There were a few groups of students here and there. She didn't recognize anyone other than Lana Lang behind the counter.
"Cecily hi," Lana said as she recognized Clark's sister. "Clark isn't here," Lana told her assuming that Cecily had stopped by looking for her brother. "He took the bus home this afternoon."
"Actually, I was looking for Lex," Cecily told her.
"He's in the back going over the books," Lana told her nodding her head toward the office door. "Go on back," Lana said assuming that Lex wouldn't mind the interruption.
"Thanks," Cecily said coming around the counter and heading toward the office door.
Lana watched her disappear inside and then turned her attention to a customer who had approached the counter. She was still filling orders when Lex and Cecily came out of the office and left the Talon together. As she watched them leave, Lana couldn't help but wonder what was going on.
Clark had headed straight home after school today because Cecily had been coming over with her fiancé. Lana knew he was curious to find out who it was that his sister had been dating the past three years but wouldn't introduce them too. She had to admit she was kind of curious herself.
After what she had just seen, Lana wondered if it was possible it was Lex Luthor. It would explain Cecily's hesitation of telling her family and also explain the two of them leaving the Talon together. Lana would have to just make a stop by Clark's later this evening and find out what was going on.
"Where's Dad?" Clark asked his mother as he came down from putting his books up in his room.
"Out in the fields," Martha told him. "We don't expect your sister till right before dinner. Your father said he'd meet her fiancé then."
"I thought he would be more anxious than that," Clark commented getting a drink.
"Your father is anxious, Clark, he's just trying to cover it up by working. He spent last night going through people in town he thought it could possibly be as she said we already knew him."
"Did he come up with any possibilities?" Clark asked her.
"About half the town between the age of eighteen and twenty-five."
I laughed. My Dad had been speculating for the last three years who it was that Cecily had been seeing. He had even asked her who it was after she and him had broke up with him a little while back. Cecily had told him it wasn't important.
It was how secretive that Cecily had been that made Clark wonder who it was that she was seeing. His family may have secrets but they usually didn't keep secrets from each other. Clark knew that meant that Cecily felt that their father wouldn't approve of who it was she was seeing.
In recent months Clark was starting to think he might know who it was. It was just little things. The way that Cecily had always seemed more interested than usual when he talked about Lex. Things she had said about her boyfriend that seemed to fix Lex. Then there was the name - Alexander. Clark knew that Alexander was Lex's full first name. The coincidences just seemed to numerous.
Then Cecily had said she broke up with him and Clark figured that it wasn't important. That in fact, if he was right about who it was then maybe it was better that he didn't know officially. That would just add a whole knew level of difficulty to his friendship with Lex- a friendship that was complicated enough as it was.
Then he had seen her reaction as he told her about everything that had happened in Smallville surrounding what had happened at Club Zero. He could tell she knew more than what he was telling her. See the horror and concern in her eyes as he talked about Lex. He was even more sure about his theory then. He had wanted to ask her but had held back. If she wanted him to know she would tell him. It was right after that incident, that Cecily had announced that not only had her and her mystery boyfriend gotten back together but that they were engaged. The timing seemed a little too coincidental for Clark. Still he kept quiet. He would wait for them to open up about it.
"Clark, do you know something I don't?" she asked him. "You've talked to Cecily more than your father or I have. Did she tell you something else?"
"No, I just have a guess at who it is. Had for awhile but then she said she broke up with him and I figured it wasn't important. I never asked her though because I figured she would say something when she was ready. You know this family and keeping secrets." Clark told her wondering how it was that his Mom seemed to know what he was thinking at times.
"Who do you think it is Clark?"
"Need some help with dinner?" Clark asked trying to dodge the question.
Seeing that Clark wasn't intending on answering her question, Martha nodded and the two of them finished dinner preparations. Martha was just putting the casserole in the oven when they heard a car pull into the driveway. Both of them rushed to the window.
They saw Cecily's car come to a stop in the driveway followed by a familiar silver Porsche. Clark smiled as he watched the two of them get out of their cars. He had been right all along.
"You don't actually think . . ." Martha said sounding a bit distracted. Clark looked over in her direction to find his mom looking back at him. "That was who you thought it was wasn't it?" Martha asked noticing the lack of surprise on Clark's face.
"Dad isn't going to be happy, is he?" Clark commented to his mom. He didn't need an answer from her. His dad didn't like his friendship with Lex. He was going to like this even less.
"No he isn't," Martha admitted. She wasn't too sure about how she felt about it herself. She wasn't sure what to make of Lex sometimes although she had to admit that he was a good friend to Clark.
Trying to leave her misgivings behind, Martha put down the pot holder she was holding and headed out to the front porch. She and Clark stepped out onto the porch as Lex was closing Cecily's car door for her.
Although he appeared as calm as always, Clark knew Lex well enough to see that he was nervous about being here. Like Clark and his mom, Clark figured Lex knew that Jonathan Kent's reaction to his daughter's fiancé was not going to be the usual joyous reaction.
Cecily slipped her hand into Lex's as the two of them headed toward the porch. Clark had to admit that they looked good together.
"Isn't this the part where I'm suppose to be freaked out because my best friend is dating my sister?" Clark asked jokingly trying to break the tension of the situation.
"Tough, I knew him first," Cecily joked back to him as Clark walked down the stairs to meet her and give her a hug.
"Congratulations," he told her really meaning it. He knew she really loved him from the way she had talked about him over the years. As for Lex, there were things about him that scared Clark but he genuinely liked the guy. He deserved someone like Cecily in his life. Someone who really cared about him. Maybe Cecily was what Lex needed to keep him from becoming like his father.
"Thanks," Cecily said hugging him back
As Cecily moved to receive a hug from Martha, Clark was left standing face to face with Lex.
"You sure you're okay with this?" Lex asked Clark searching his face for the answer.
"I'm not the one you need to be worried about," Clark told him.
"Don't remind me," Lex told him.
"Congratulations," Clark told him holding out his hand. When Lex took it Clark pulled his friend into a hug. Surprised Lex returned the hug. "Don't hurt her," Clark told him.
"I won't," Lex said with more conviction in his voice than Clark had ever heard from him before.
Martha let her step daughter go and then gave Lex a hug. There had been plenty of times that Martha had wanted to hug the young man but she had never felt comfortable doing so. Martha had never felt that the gesture would have been well accepted.
She could see that Lex was more than what everyone saw. More than some spoiled rich kid. She truly believed that he wanted to change peoples' opinion of him but that wasn't going to be easy.
She could also see how lonely and empty his family life was. That was clear after meeting Lionel just a few times. That was why she was secretly glad that Clark had befriended Lex. He needed someone like Clark in his life. Someone like Cecily.
She had seen it right away as the two had walked up the driveway. These two young people loved each other. Despite the differences of their lives they cared about one another and Martha knew the fact that they had gotten back together was proof that no matter what the world tried to throw at these two that they could make it. She knew the challenge was going to be to get her husband to see it.