Lizzie awoke early the next morning, resting her arm over her double bed. She fully expected Clark to be there, waiting for her to wake up, but there was no sign of him. She rolled over and looked around her room, realising that it was empty.

"Clark?" she called out to him, wondering where he had gotten to.

Moving from the bed, she walked out of her room to look in the bathroom, but he wasn't there either. She shook her head, wondering if he had left her alone. It was only when she saw the letter on her bedside table did she realise that Clark had gone.

She took a deep breath, taking the letter from its resting place. She opened it up, reading it slowly as a smile fell over her face. He'd gone again, but she didn't feel the overwhelming sense of disbelief that she thought she would. She had dreaded that she would slump back into her depressed state, but that wasn't the case. She knew this time that she most definitely would be hearing from Clark Kent again.

...

"You graduated?" Clark checked with Lizzie as he held the phone to his ear.

He had managed to take hold of the boss's cell, going outside to make a call to her and his mother. She was stood in her room in her dormitory, wondering how long it would take her to pack all of her things away this time. She was treading over boxes as she spoke to Clark, pointing James in the direction of what to pack in which box.

"Yeah," she replied. "Four long years have gone into this. I still can't believe.

"So what did you end up with."

"A bachelor degree in Politics. BA Politics, anyway."

"No honours?" Clark joked with her.

She rolled her eyes, pushing her underwear into her suitcase as James fought with closing a carboard box. "No, I'm afraid not. Wait until I go for a PhD."

"You're not?" Clark replied with a small snort.

"No," she promised him. "I did manage to get an interview though. You would never guess where for."

Clark took a moment to watch as a tow truck came hurtling past him to pick up one car. A large lorry followed that one as Clark turned to look back at the diner. He felt slightly insignificant at that moment in time. He always knew Lizzie was bright, he just didn't think she would be so successful whilst he was stuck working and serving people their food.

"Go on," Clark urged her.

"The Daily Planet," Lizzie said; a tone of excitement in her voice. "I'm not the only one going for it. There are lots of other people too, plus we're in a recession now, so I don't have much hope. I've applied for other papers and places in the government departments in New York."

"So you're not going back to Smallville?" Clark wondered.

"No," she said. "There's nothing in Smallville, is there? I have more chance of finding a job in the big city."

"Do you have a place to live?" Clark wondered from her. "It's alright saying that you'll stay there, you need somewhere to live, Liz."

Lizzie bit down on her bottom lip after she had listened to Clark's question to her. She looked to the side for a moment, her eyes glancing at James. He was still struggling to put all of her belongings in the boxes. He was currently admiring the teddy which she had since she was a little girl.

"James's parents have rented him an apartment near the Metropolis," Lizzie admitted to Clark. "They're letting me stay there rent free until I get a job."

Clark said nothing for a moment, closing his eyes and glancing up to the sky as he did so. He didn't know what he could say back to her. It had been two years since Clark had seen her last. He called her once a month to make sure she was okay. He wrote occasionally too. She rarely mentioned James to him; it was like she was trying to spare his feelings. He promised her that she didn't need to do that.

"What about him? Is he staying with you?" Clark decided to grunt down the phone.

"Yeah," Lizzie agreed slowly. "It's a nice offer from them, really nice. I didn't know if it was taking advantage, but I intend to get a job as soon as possible."

"It sounds pretty serious," Clark observed.

"I suppose so," Lizzie could do nothing but agree. "Anyway, I suppose that's enough about me. Why don't you tell me what's happening with you?"

"Not a lot," Clark replied with a cough. "I'm still waiting on people."

"Nothing on the secret front?" Lizzie wondered.

Clark had gone to find himself, but nothing had happened so far. He kept his head down, trying to live a normal life, hoping that he would find out who he was one day. That day had yet to come, and Lizzie was beginning to wonder if it ever would. He'd been gone for so long, working in places which he hated.

"No," Clark said. "Something will happen."

"Yeah," Lizzie said. What could she do other than agree with him? She needed him to keep hope somehow. She needed him to believe that things would get better, for his sake more than hers.

"You'll have to let me know the new address of the place where you're moving to," Clark told her.

"Of course," she said. "Look, I've got to go, Clark. I have tonnes of packing to do. Look after yourself, okay?"

"Of course," Clark promised her. "Be good, Lizzie."

"When am I anything but?" she teased him, hanging up the call.

Clark listened as the line went dead. He pressed the phone against his chest and took a seat on the steps which led to the kitchen. The cold didn't bother him, it never had done and he doubted it would in the future. He folded his arms over his chest, thinking about what he had just heard. Lizzie was basically moving in with James. She really had managed to move on.

And Clark was happy for her.

He just couldn't help but dream that he was the one she was moving in with.

...

"Clark, you're not getting any younger."

"I'm not even thirty yet."

"My point still stands," Martha replied to her son. "You're getting on. Haven't you thought about finding a job which is worthwhile, instead of travelling and working in all of these down and out places, honey?"

Clark winced for a moment. His mother was speaking the truth, but sometimes the truth hurt him. Clark couldn't help but know that. He shook his head, rolling his eyes as he moved the phone to his left hand and leant against the glass of the booth he stood in.

"I'm still...well...I'm fine, mom. I'm managing okay."

"I know you are," Martha said. She was well aware of that. Clark would always be able to manage on his own. She knew that he was a big boy. "Anyway, what's new in your life? I'm completely fed up here. There are some days when I wish you would just come home."

"One day," Clark replied. "Not a lot is happening, mom. Nothing new has presented itself. Anyway, I hear Lizzie is back in Smallville now."

"Oh, you know about that?" Martha wondered, slightly in shock that Clark knew the news. "I wondered if she told you yet. When did she last write?"

"Last month," Clark said. "She said that she had her flights booked."

"I see." Martha said. Apparently he didn't know then. Martha had only managed to find out because she had bumped into Mr and Mrs Lowe in the store. They were telling everyone the news. They were shouting it from the rooftops.

Martha had smiled, of course she had. What else could she do?

"Why?" Clark asked, sensing the hesitant tone in his mother's voice. "What is it?"

"Well, she has come back," Martha said, wondering how she could tell Clark in the nicest possible way. Nothing could appease him when he found out. "But she came with James."

"Well they are dating," Clark said to his mother. "What did you expect?"

"No," Martha shook her head. "It's not just that, Clark. He's not her boyfriend now."

Martha wondered if her son would manage to understand what she was trying to tell him. She doubted it. Clark never had been one to pick up subtle hints before.

"What is he?" Clark wondered. "Has she left him?"

"No," Martha drawled. "Clark...she's engaged to him..."

That left Clark shocked. He had no comeback to that revelation.

"She's marrying him in the fall in Kansas, Clark." Martha told her son. "You had an idea that this would be coming soon, didn't you?"

"Isn't she a bit too young?" Clark wondered, Martha laughing at her son.

"You sound like her dad," she replied. "She's twenty nine, Clark. She's working for a small Metropolis newspaper...she's grown up. She doesn't look much like the girl you brought home for dinner one night. She's invited me to the wedding. Mrs Lowe gave me the invitation when she saw me. Apparently they were waiting until I popped up. Lizzie came into the store after them; she'd been on the phone or something. She asked about you, Clark. She wondered if she should invite you."

"I don't have the money for a plane," Clark replied. "Why didn't she tell me, mom?"

"She's scared, honey," Martha sighed. "She wants to phone you, but she's scared of what you will say to her."

"I would tell her that I'm happy for her."

"And are you?"

"No," Clark replied bluntly. "He sounds like a nice guy, mom, but...Lizzie...she's...I still care for her. I still wonder what would have happened if I had been normal. I wondered what it would be like."

"I know," Martha whispered. "I know, Clark."

...

Lizzie stayed true to form, calling Clark and writing to him during her stay in Smallville. She told him how she had seen Whitney Fordman and how he had managed to get a girl pregnant and was a single dad. She had snarled at him as he went past, resisting the urge to slap his smug face. Apparently some people never change. She told him of the engagement herself, wishing that she could see him again.

Clark told her that he couldn't come to her wedding. She had fully understood, still wishing that he had been able to come to her. Clark longed for the same, he couldn't deny it. He wanted to see what she looked like. He wanted to see her before she really was taken from him.

And so Clark decided he couldn't stay away. She didn't want him to keep away, and Clark really couldn't stay back. He cared for her too much.

It was the morning of the wedding in the fall. The wind was cool, a small breeze flowing through Smallville. Clark lurked in her back garden, listening to upstairs as he heard Lizzie snap at different people. He could recognise her voice anywhere. Clark wondered if he would be able to catch her by herself without other people. That was all he wanted.

"I need time alone," Lizzie snapped, demanding that everyone leave her alone in her room. "I need to think about everything for a bit."

"You heard her," Ellie Lowe snapped at the others. "Go and wait by the cars."

"That includes you, mother," Lizzie said.

"No," Ellie replied. "I need to speak with you now."

Clark heard other murmurs come from the house, wondering why Lizzie was so wound up with everything. Clark kept his focus on her, using his eyes to look through the house and see her stood in front of her mirror, her hands running down her curled hair.

"What is it?" Ellie wondered from her daughter. "We've been planning this wedding for months. I know when you're faking enthusiasm, and that is what you have been doing in front of your fiancé. I thought that it was just you wanting your way to have a small wedding."

"It is my wedding," Elizabeth retorted. "And no, that is not the problem."

"Then what is the problem?" Ellie asked her daughter.

Elizabeth continued to stare at herself in the mirror, looking at her reflection whilst shaking her head.

She didn't love him.

She cared for him, yes, but she did not love him. She did not feel any passion with him. She felt as though there was something lacking. There was something which wasn't quite right. How could she marry him feeling like that? How could she go through with it?

"I...I can't do it," Lizzie gasped out, her hand resting on her stomach. She felt faint, as if breathing was a chore. "I can't marry James."

Clark inhaled sharply as he heard her speak. He hadn't been expecting that. He hadn't been anticipating Lizzie saying that.

"What?" Ellie whispered, standing in front of her daughter. "What do you mean you can't marry him?"

"I mean that I can't do it," Lizzie said. "I mean that he isn't the one who I want."

"No," Mrs Lowe snarled back, "the one who you want is thousands of miles away. He left, Lizzie. He left and he didn't come back for you. He doesn't love you. You haven't seen him in years, don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not!" Lizzie snapped back. "I know that Clark left. I also know why."

"Yes, it is a gap year gone wrong," Ellie replied. "You have been with James for years now, Lizzie. He is good for you. He loves you. Do you not care for him?"

"Of course I care for him," Lizzie drawled. "I just...I don't know if I love him or not..."

"You won't let yourself love him," Ellie replied, taking a seat beside her daughter on the bed. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her to her. "You've been too focused on remembering the past for the entire planning process. You've been thinking about the what if's, and it isn't healthy for you, Lizzie. James is here, Clark isn't."

"This isn't about Clark," Lizzie lied. "This is about me not knowing if I love James."

"It has always been about Clark," Ellie protested. "All of it has been. I know that he was your first love, but people learn to love again, Lizzie. They have to. Please, do not throw James away because of him."

Lizzie kept quiet then, not sure what more she could say to her mother.

"You know that you love James. You would not have agreed to marry him if you didn't, would you?"

"No," Lizzie agreed, her voice cautious as she thought things through for a few moments. "I suppose not."

"There you have it then," Ellie smiled, squeezing her daughter in her hold. "You're nervous, honey. I understand that, okay? I fully understand what is wrong. I had the same issue before I married your father."

"Really?"

"Of course," Ellie laughed once. "I sat in my room and wondered if I had made a mistake. I sat there for a long time, Lizzie."

"And now you love him."

"I love him more than I thought possible," Ellie answered truthfully. "Don't let nerves ruin this for you. Don't let that happen, my love."

Clark could feel guilt begin to tear him up again. But the guilt was undermined by the feeling of anguish inside of him. She was having doubts, and he was the cause of them. She hadn't moved on from him. He knew that he hadn't moved on from her. He kept listening as her mother dried her tears and her father escorted her outside.

He moved then, hiding by the gate behind the trees as he saw her leave the house. And it managed to take Clark's breath away.

She looked stunning, he couldn't deny that. Her dress was simple, clutching to her figure. The sleeves were long, running down her slender arms, the material soft silk and white. A laced part covered her chest to her neck. She had a small train behind her, the bridesmaids picking it up to make sure she didn't fall over it. Her mother handed her the white rose bouquet. Her father led her to the car, pulling her veil over her face as Clark continued to watch her.

He stood there long after she had left, unable to contain the thoughts of him being the one at the altar waiting for her.

...

Elizabeth knew it had been a mistake as soon as she was sat in the wedding reception. She forced herself to smile. She made herself be happy. She had to be. This was it, wasn't it? She excused herself after a few moments, standing outside on the wooden balcony which looked over the golf club grounds. She held a glass of champagne in her hands, chugging it back as if it was water.

She looked to the sky, wondering what the future would hold.

Martha watched the young bride wander off, unable to go and say anything to her because of her current predicament of looking after the young Martyn twins. But she knew what Elizabeth was thinking.

...

"I'm sorry."

"You've said multiple times."

"I mean it."

"Do you?" he wondered from her. "Then why did you agree to marry me? I thought we were happy, Elizabeth. We've been together for a long time."

"We haven't been happy in a long time," Elizabeth replied simply. "You know that, James. I know it."

"We could be," James protested to her. "You were made redundant, Lizzie. It is not a big deal...I know that has been stressing you out...but you don't need to take it out on our marriage."

"Our marriage hasn't been right in a long time...don't blame my redundancy on that, James. Don't blame that at all."

"You're not even willing to try, Lizzie," James complained as she continued to pack her bag. "Look, I told you that you don't need to work in that diner. I told you that before...you're still young...there's plenty of time to find another job in a paper."

"I've applied for hundreds," Lizzie complained. "This is a recession, James. Besides, it doesn't matter. I don't want to do this anymore."

"What? Be married to me?"

"Stop it, James," Lizzie demanded him. "I know we've been through a lot together. I get that, but this isn't working. Don't try and make excuses for it."

"I'm trying to save it!" he yelled back at her as she continued to pack a bag, getting ready to leave the apartment at any given moment.

Why was he doing this? Lizzie didn't want their marriage to be saved. She didn't want to work on it, because she knew that there was nothing. No psychiatrist could tell her how she felt. No one could do that.

"You can't save something that is ruined, James," Lizzie whispered. "Please, just stop it. I don't want to fight about this. I'm going back to Kansas for a while. I'll move my stuff out when I come back, okay?"

"Do as you please," James snapped at her, walking into the bathroom and slamming the door behind himself. Lizzie winced at the noise, closing her eyes and shaking her head before she picked up the case from the bed. She moved out of the apartment without another glance behind her.

Little did she know who would be waiting for her in Smallville.

...

A/N: So they will be reuinited again in the next chapter before Zod makes his appearance! Exciting times. thanks to anyone taking the time to read this, I hope you'll let me know what y'all think!