Lois was safe. Mysterio was gone, for now at least, and he was finally back in his own body. It was a win. A small one, but still. Though Clark didn't feel like celebrating. After making sure everyone was taken care of, he had silently slipped out of the house, and across the path to his barn, or as he called it, his Fortress of Solitude. He flopped himself down on the couch, and stared up at the ceiling.

Hours passed, day faded into the night and vice versa, and by the time the sun came up, he wasn't entirely sure how long he had been there. But he didn't want to move. He wasn't ready to face anyone yet, and not even his growling stomach could get him to walk back into the house.

"Clark?"

He held his breath as he heard Martha calling his name from downstairs. Out of everyone on the farm, it was his mother that he wanted to avoid the most. If she saw him this way, she would only offer words that would make him feel better. Something he wasn't ready for just yet.

The smell of bacon assaulted his nostrils when she appeared at the top of the stairs and his stomach growled even louder, vibrating through his body. Martha sighed when she took note of him sprawled on the couch and sauntered over to him, waving the plate full of breakfast in his face.

"Clark, you've been up here for over a day… and you haven't eaten anything. I thought you would need this, so I brought you breakfast."

"Thanks, mom." He faked a smile. "But I'm not hungry."

"Come on, you need to eat something." She insisted, and Clark shook his head.

Though reluctant, Martha set the plate down on the table and sat down beside him. Clark glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, but remained silent. The bacon in front of him had his mouth watering, but he made no move for the food. He cast his eyes down at his hands, hoping that she would eventually leave him be and understand that he was in no mood for conversation.

"Everyone is getting worried about you."

"Everyone needs to mind their business!" He snapped.

"Clark!"

"Sorry." He muttered.

"What's going on?" She inquired.

"Nothing." He lied.

Martha smirked, having seen right through his lie. With no hesitation, she reached out and took his hand into her own.

"Peter mentioned something about a fight, and a fire at Luthorcorp?" She prompted.

"Just a regular day in Smallville, mom." He shrugged.

"I don't buy it, you- you're not acting like yourself."

"And how would you have guessed that?" He challenged.

"A mother knows her son, Clark. Even if that son has super powers."

"You are not my mother."

Martha's mouth opened in shock and Clark realized what he'd said. He shook his head frantically and pulled his hand from hers.

"I didn't mean it that way, I'm sorry." He panicked. "What I meant was that bringing me into your lives was stupid…"

"Clark-"

"Look at everything that has happened because of me. Everything I've put you through… you and dad."

"Yeah, and given the option to choose again, we wouldn't do it any differently." She bit back. "You are our son, blood has never made a difference to us. You came into our lives and granted our wish. A few bumps along the road is nothing."

"But what if it goes too far one day? What if something happens and you're killed because of me? How am I supposed to live with myself then?"

"You listen to me, Clark. I am your mother. I didn't birth you, but I took you in and I raised you. That makes you my son, and there is not anything in this universe or any that could change that!"

"Mom, I didn't mean that. It came out wrong."

"It doesn't matter. I don't want to hear you ever again say that I am not your mother."

"I know, I'm sorry." He sighed. "What I meant to say was that I don't want to be the cause of your suffering."

"The cause of our- oh, Clark… you have got that backwards."

"But it's true, even if you don't want to admit it. Your lives would be much simpler without me, I've seen too much. My eyes are open, and I don't think I can close them again."

"Simpler, yes. Perhaps. But also empty." She corrected him, and then her eyes narrowed as she frowned. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean." She rolled her eyes. "You seem different since you came back, and I want you to know that whatever has caused this change, you can talk to me."

"It's just…" He began, and hesitated. Usually he would be able to talk openly to his parents about anything, from matters of the heart to another case of meteor freaks, but this was different. He didn't know where to even start.

"I saw things, mom. Things that scare me."

"What kind of things?" She pressed.

"It's hard to explain, but the guy we were fighting… he had some sort of ability to create illusions, and his powers worked on me. I saw things born from my biggest fears."

"But an illusion is just that, Clark. Something made up."

"Yeah…" He agreed. "Though what I saw in mine could easily become my reality."

"And since when are you, of all people, afraid to stand tall amid the chaos?"

"It's different this time." He shook his head. "I watched you, dad, everyone else that I care about… I watched you all die."

"Death is inevitable for most of us." Martha started. "It's unavoidable, we all have our time sooner or later, but-"

"It was my fault." He cut in. "All of it, no matter how hard I tried to save any of you, there was nothing I could do. And I- I was the cause of it all… tell me, how am I supposed to live with knowing that it could happen? And if it does…. Then what? I'm supposed to accept that there was nothing I could do?"

Without warning, Clark put his arms around her and dropped his head on her shoulder. Martha closed one arm around him, and reached up with her other hand to brush locks of dark hair from his face. She stayed silent, even as she felt her shirt soak up tear drops that fell from his eyes. After letting him have his moment, she shrugged her shoulders, causing him to look up.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

Martha laughed a little. She hadn't imagined having this conversation with Clark. At least, not in this way. They'd talked with him about it when he was younger, but only the way a parent would with a child. His powers had not been a part of that conversation. She flashed him the same smile she always did when they discussed something difficult, and wiped his cheeks dry.

"You won't be losing us, not yet anyway." She assured him. "But when that time does come, you will get through it. You have a wonderful support system of friends, and I have faith that you will always find a way. Many times before, we've found ourselves in situations that seemed like they would only end one way, and then you go and do something, and everything always turns out okay in the end."

Clark drew in a deep breath and nodded. He swallowed back the rest of his tears and attempted a smile.

"How's Lois?" He asked, not wanting to talk further about the illusion.

"She's doing better… but she seems really ticked off about something."

"That's kinda on me." He admitted. "Don't worry about it, I'll sort it out later."

"Right." Martha nodded.

"I'll be over there in a minute, but first… bacon is calling." He grinned.

"Okay, well, we'll be waiting." She told him as she got up and headed for the stairs.

Feeling better than he had, Clark swiped the bacon from the plate on the table and took a big bite out of the first rasher. Another growl rumbled through his stomach as he swallowed it, reminding him of how hungry he'd actually been. He finished eating in a hurry, and took the plate from the table as he headed down the stairs and out of the barn, towards the farm house. As he reached the door, Lois came storming through it and pushed past him, bounding down the few steps and towards her car. He hesitated for a moment, then tailed after her.

"Lois?"

"I'm busy, Clark. Go away." She dismissed him as she reached the car.

"Lois, please wait. I just wanna talk." He pleaded.

"Yeah? And I just wanna get in my car and not have to stare at your annoyingly charming face."

"Annoyingly charming, huh?" He smirked.

"See you later, Smellville… oops, I mean Smallville."

Clark, unable to think of anything more to say, just stood back and watched as she got inside her car, fired up the engine, and drove away. He sighed and headed back inside the house, fixing his eyes upon Peter almost instantly. For now, he would let Lois be as there was something else that was on his mind.

"There he is!" Jonathan grinned. "Welcome back to the land of the living, son."

"Thanks, dad." Clark chuckled, passing him the empty plate and then sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Feeling better?" Peter questioned.

"Yeah." Clark answered. "Uhh, Peter, do you think we could talk?"

Peter frowned, taken aback by the sudden request. Though he had an inkling about what it was that Clark wanted to discuss with him.

"Sure." He hesitated, and stood up from the table.

"I would say the barn, but I don't think I wanna go back there just yet. Outside?"

"Wait, you wanna talk privately?"

"Kinda why I asked first." Clark shrugged.

"Y- yeah, no problem."

Peter headed through the front door that Clark held open, and jogged down the porch steps, over to where the tractor remained stationed. He didn't want to risk anyone else hearing the conversation they were about to have.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Peter prompted, though he didn't feel the need to hear the answer.

Clark cleared his throat, and leaned one side against the tractor. "First, I wanted to thank you for not saying too much about what happened at Luthorcorp…"

"No problem." Peter shrugged. "I know that if the roles were reversed, I wouldn't want anyone else to be talking about it."

"Well, it's appreciated." Clark flashed a small smile. "Secondly, I need to ask you something…"

"Oh, o- okay." Peter stammered, raising an eyebrow.

"Back in that basement, when we were fighting Paul and he turned into the other guy… I saw your face. You uh- you looked scared, or uh- or shocked, or something and-"

"It was nothing." Peter cut in quickly. "I just didn't know what to expect."

"Peter, please. At least have the decency not to lie to my face." Clark scoffed. "I get the feeling that there's more to it than your car breaking down here in Smallville. Am I right?"

Backed into a corner by the question, Peter knew he had no other choice. He hadn't intended to keep anything from anyone, but he also hadn't expected to be found here.

"I'm sorry, Clark. I wasn't purposely lying to you, but yes… you're right." He admitted.

"What's going on?"

"I didn't want to drag anyone into this, it's my battle. No one else should suffer because someone wants my ass on a silver platter."

"Still, whatever it is, it's followed you here now, and that makes it my battle too. Though if you'd have just been honest with me from the start, I could have helped better."

"You're right, and I apologize for springing it on you like this."

"So, want to tell me what led you here and who that guy is?"

Peter attempted a smile. "It's a long story, but it started back in New York… Gwen and I were doing great, until a party we were at was crashed by Mysterio, that's who we are dealing with now."

"Mysterio?" Clark questioned.

"I don't know his true identity, but he has powers… well, you've seen for yourself."

"Okay, so Mysterio crashed the party. Then what?"

"He set his sights on us, and we didn't know how to deal with him. We couldn't even attack due to the strength of his powers, so we set out on the road to seek help." Peter explained. "And then our car broke down… that's why I was snippy with you at first, I really didn't want to drag anyone into this."

"Huh, I can understand that." Clark nodded. "And he seems tough, but I think we can take him on together if we figure out his weakness."

"Well, you do seem to be made of steel… but after what happened in that basement, are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Thanks, Clark… this means more than I can ever say."

"No worries, but please be honest with me from now on."

"Yeah, I promise." Peter agreed.

Clark smiled, appreciating Peter's willingness to tell the truth. "So uh, how are things with Gwen?"

"Heh!" He laughed. "She still won't talk to me. Heck, she won't even stay in the same room as me, I walked into the kitchen yesterday and she just stormed out without saying a word."

"Damn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble." Clark apologized sheepishly.

"After the trouble I caused in your love life? I wouldn't blame you. It's no big deal, she'll come around." He shrugged. "How about you? Still caught between Lana and Lois?"

"No." He answered. "Lois won't talk to me, and after Lana's performance, I don't even know what to feel anymore."

"Hmm…" Peter hummed. "I think differently."

"What?" Clark frowned.

"I think you know exactly how you feel, that you're just afraid of admitting it to yourself, and to them."

Clark took this into consideration. With all that had happened over the last few days, he hadn't had much time to dwell on his own feelings. Or maybe he'd just been using all the crazy events as an excuse not to deal with the mess that had become of his love life.

"Oh yeah? How'd you come to that conclusion?"

Peter chuckled. "Well, you almost lost your mind when Lois was missing, and… and the back and forth you have with her. Oh, and the fact that you care about her being mad at you." He pointed out. "I'm no scientist, but the chemistry between you has reached its bubbling point. If anything, I'm concerned you might explode if you don't do something about it soon." He added jokingly.

"It's not that simple." Clark scoffed. "I don't want to hurt anyone, but more than that, even if I do tell her how I feel… where does that put her?" He questioned. "In a lifetime of danger and shattered dreams of living free and raising a family."

"I know a little something about that." Peter admitted. "Though what I've learned about it since is that it doesn't matter if you're together or not, there will always be people who will be out to get her just because they know you care about her. It's better to live happily and fight for each other than to be miserably alone forever because you spent too long fighting your feelings."

"Jeez, I never thought about it that way…" Clark muttered.

"All I'm saying is that if you let her slip through your fingers, then you'll end up regretting it. No one wants to wind up sitting alone thinking about what could have been with the one that got away."

"I guess…" Clark shrugged. "So, back to Mysterio. Do you know his weakness?"

"I'm afraid not. We never got to find out because we couldn't fight him without being placed under an illusion."

"Hmm, this is gonna be harder than I thought."

"We've got to think of something."

"We will." Clark assured him, flashing a small smile. "And I don't know about you, but I could use a coffee. What do you say, wanna hit the Talon?"

"After the last twenty four hours plus, I think I could use a boost." Peter agreed. "Perhaps we can think of something while we drink."

The Talon…

Clark took both coffees and walked over to the table where Peter was already seated, waiting for him. He placed one cup down on the table, and took a sip of his own coffee before sitting down on the chair opposite.

Peter glanced behind Clark, and noticed Lana standing there with a suggestive look on her face. It didn't take long for Clark to notice his distraction, and as he shot a questioning look, Peter pointed towards her.

"Lana, can I- can I help you?"

"I was just wondering what happened last night. I came by, just like we agreed. Your mom told me you weren't there." She explained.

"Oh! Right!" He remembered, mentally kicking himself for forgetting in the first place.

"So, where were you?" She pressed.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't feeling myself last night because I'd had a rather-"

"Were you with Lois?" She cut in.

"Not this again." He groaned. "No, I wasn't with Lois. I was alone in my barn because I was upset after a rough day, and after the past few days I've had, I really don't need you waltzing my way and throwing accusations in my face."

Lana drew in a breath and nodded. She had no intention of arguing with him. "You're right, I'm sorry. That wasn't nice… but what happened?"

"I don't want to get into it, but I would like to clear things up. Come by the farm tonight?"

"Uhh, yeah." She agreed and smiled before turning on her heel and walking away.

As soon as she was out of ear shot, Peter sank back into his chair and whistled, catching Clark's attention.

"Shut up!"

"I never said anything!" Peter grinned.

"No, but you will."

Clark shot him a warning look that told him not to push the subject further, and before their conversation took another turn, Chloe bounced over to the table with a coffee in one hand and a binder in the other. She set the binder down on the table and pulled up a chair, sitting down in between the two of them with a huge grin across her face.

"Good to know you made it out of there." She greeted Clark.

"Hello to you too, Chloe." He laughed with a goofy smile.

"Considering the fact that you're both here, I assume the party crasher has been dealt with." She inquired.

"Yes, well not- not exactly." He stuttered.

"Oh?"

"It's a long story, but until I tell you that it's been dealt with, I want you to be careful, alright?"

"Okay." She agreed. "Just let me know if there's anything I can do."

"I will. Thanks." He smiled. "Actually, there may be one thing…"

"Yeah?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think you could find out the guy's actual name?" He asked.

"Isn't it Paul?"

"We thought it was, but then he turned into this guy called Mysterio… we need all the information we can get."

"Oh, okay." She nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Just call me the second you find something, if you find anything."

"Got it." She concluded, getting up from her seat, picking up her binder and heading towards the exit.

The Kent Farm…

As the truck pulled up the farm, Peter glanced over to the barn, where a streak of blonde hair caught his attention as it stood out against the shadows created by the four wooden walls, and sighed. It had been almost two entire days, and she still hadn't spoken to him. He was pulled back into the truck when the engine shut off, and Clark's voice broke through the silence.

"Go."

"Huh?" He hummed, pretending not to know what he was referring to.

"The longer you leave it, the worse it'll get. Go. Make things right." Clark prompted.

Peter thought it through for a second and looked back over at the barn. Gwen was sitting on one of the stacks of hay, with Shelby sitting at her feet. Before he could talk himself out of it, he opened the truck door, jumped out, and slammed it shut behind him. Dirt crunched beneath his feet as he walked calmly over to the barn. As his shadow tainted the little bit of light that did seep into the barn, Gwen looked up, her eyes widened and she stood up, preparing to walk away.

"Please, don't leave. I just wanna talk."

"So, talk…" She said coldly.

"You're still mad?"

"No, no, I'm delighted." She answered sarcastically.

"Come on, I don't even know what it is that I'm supposed to have done."

Gwen turned her full attention to him, folding her arms across her chest with a frown set deeply on her face. "Oh, I guess you have convenient amnesia." She scoffed.

Peter swallowed the petty words on the tip of his tongue, knowing that they would only lead to an argument that was unwanted.

"No, but the memory of whatever I said is hazy." He spoke softly.

"Yeah? Well, not for me."

"I know." He sighed, forcing himself to look up at her. "And I wish I could say more, but the best I can offer is an apology… I'm sorry."

At last, Gwen's eyes softened, and she unfolded her arms from her chest. "I appreciate the effort, but I don't know if sorry is enough to erase the words from my memory."

"Okay, then why don't you tell me what you want?" He suggested, sitting down on the haystack and patting the empty space next to him.

Gwen considered it for a second, then sat down beside him. "What I want is to forget you ever said it, but that's not gonna happen." She answered. "I guess, I just want answers…"

"Answers?" He prompted.

"Yes. Answers. Why did you say those things? Did you mean them? And why have you been acting so strange?"

"I haven't been acting strange!"

"You have though." She insisted.

"How?" He questioned.

"Saying those words, getting moody, and don't think I haven't noticed, the last few days, how you've been avoiding me."

"Huh, I had no idea that you've been feeling that way." He muttered.

"I just don't understand it, and I want you to clear it up for me."

Peter ran his hands through his already messy brown hair and nodded. "I'll do my best." He promised, and took a deep breath. "But first, you want those answers?"

"Yes." She confirmed. "I know it sounds stupid, but it really hurt me when you called me annoying just because I care. And the reason I've not wanted to be around you is because every time I look at you, all I hear are those words in my head."

"No, Gwen. I didn't mean it, and I do have an explanation, but you might laugh in my face and dump my ass when I tell you." He said, laughing as he thought about the last few days.

"It's not funny, I just want you to be honest with me."

"You're right. It's not." He agreed. "The thing is… the night of the fundraiser, when Clark and I tackled that party crasher, we somehow switched bodies. For the last few days, I have been in his body and vice versa."

"So… you're saying that it was Clark that said those things, not you?" She raised an eyebrow. "I am so done with you and your stories right now, Peter. I asked you for the truth, not some story that's only possible if you lived in the land of Bugs Bunny."

"It's not a story, it's the truth!" He swore.

"Doesn't matter." She shrugged. "Just promise me that you won't be saying anything like that to me in the future."

"I cross my heart." He assured her with a smile. "Can I ask you something?"

"You know you can."

Peter bit his lip, thought about changing his mind and then decided that it was too late. Mentally bracing himself for her answer, he reached over and took her hand, running his thumb over her smooth skin.

"What is it, Peter?" She prompted when he remained quiet for more than a minute.

"I don't quite know how to ask this…" He admitted. "But, have you ever thought about ending it?"

"Ending it?" She repeated, concern flashing through her eyes.

"No, not like that." He shook his head.

"Oh." She commented.

"I'm putting it the wrong way." He sighed. "What I meant was have you ever thought about breaking up?"

Gwen opened her mouth, taken aback by his question though not entirely surprised by it. She remained silent for a moment, thinking back over everything they have been through together right until that point, and trying to read his expression.

"I can't lie…" She began, and his heart dropped as he imagined the worst. "There are times where I have thought about it."

"Hmm…" He acknowledged, letting his hand slip from hers and averting his eyes to the ground.

"But that's not what I want." She added. "We all have thoughts, but not all of them are good ones or ones that I would ever consider."

"No?"

"No. Not a chance in Hell. Peter, I love you more than I can put into words, and that means I am here for the long haul. No matter how many times we may argue over something stupid, or how many threats we face, I'm not gonna up and leave. It would break my heart just as much as it would break yours if I ever did that." She stated. "Unless you're trying to tell me that that's what you want?"

"Huh? No, Gwen. God, no! You're the best thing that ever happened to me, I don't wanna lose you."

"So, why did you bring it up?" She inquired.

"Because I'm worried that one day you will have had enough of all the death threats, and all of my bad habits, and want out."

"That day will never come to pass, trust me on this. After everything we've been through, it only makes me want you more."

Peter chuckled at how silly his worries had been and then smiled. "It's good to hear."

"Come here, you goof." She laughed, and put her arms around him.

His smile widened as his own arms closed around her. Despite what he had seen in the illusion, it was reassuring to hear Gwen say the exact opposite of what he was expecting. He held her close to him and glanced down as he felt the warm, wet tongue of Shelby, who'd taken to licking his hand that rested firmly around Gwen's waist.

Clark heaved a sigh as he watched Peter trail off towards the barn, where Gwen was sitting quietly with Shelby by her feet. He remained still as he took in their exchange, then tore his eyes away from them, and stopped when he spotted Lois leaning against the fence that kept the cows in their corner. The entire mess that had been made over the last two days was something he wanted to clean up, but he hadn't a clue where to start. Between the drama with Lana, and now the coldness from Lois, he couldn't leave all as it was.

He glanced back towards the barn, where Peter had managed to clear the air and he and Gwen were now laughing together, and his eyes narrowed. Forcing one foot in front of the other, he marched over to where Lois was standing, fully intent on clearing the air between them. He waited a second for the mooing of the cows to calm, and then cleared his throat.

"I'm gonna head inside while you feed the cows." Lois stated before he'd got a word out.

"Oh, I'm not here to feed the cows." He said quickly. "Actually, I was hoping we could talk."

"If you don't feed the cows, they'll go mad, Smallville."

"You're mad at me… and for real this time." He guessed.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock." She rolled her eyes. "You asked me on a date, that I only agreed to because I didn't have anything better to do, and then stood me up after making me wait hours looking like a damn fool. At the very least, I'd have thought you'd be decent enough to give me an explanation."

A small V shape formed in between Clark's eyebrows as he thought of what he could say that would help. He had no idea what to do in this type of situation since he spent most of his time avoiding upsetting the women in his life.

"I do have an explanation, though you'll probably call me crazy or accuse me of making excuses."

Lois turned away from the cows so that she was facing him. Her eyes were still cold, and sent a shiver through his spine. He was used to her pretending to be mad at him, but that was just teasing. This was real.

"I'm listening…"

Another moo cut in the conversation and Clark found himself wishing he had waited until she'd come closer to the house. It was too late to turn back now though.

"I wasn't the one that asked you on the date."

"Excuse me?" Her eyes widened. "Have you gone and bumped your head?"

"No!" He squeaked. "Please, just let me explain."

"Okay." She sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"The night of the charity event, when Peter called me back into the hall, something happened and we sort of… we somehow switched bodies."

"So, you're saying that you weren't you for the past two days?"

"Exactly." He confirmed. "Peter didn't know what to say or do when he was trying to be me, which is why he asked you on a date… and I didn't mean to stand you up, it was-"

Lois shook her head. "I've heard enough."

"You have?"

"I can't believe you, Smallville." She scoffed.

"It's the truth, I swear!" He threw his hands up defensively.

"Hah, yeah right. Next you'll be telling me that pigs can fly." She snapped. "I really should have known better."

"Lois, please wait-"

"I don't want to hear it… Look, I know that we don't get along but you took it way too far. Standing me up and then coming up with some excuse that sounds like the story of a hobo high on meth is just cruel."

"But I-"

"No! You don't get to plead your case. I figured that you were mature enough to know that your actions have consequences, Smallville. And this is one of them. I don't want to hear how you were body swapped and how you didn't mean to stand me up. There is an explanation but that's just not it. You're just too much of a mouse to admit that the reason you didn't show up was Lana. I know that she was at the Talon last night, but I just know that you didn't show up because you are once again falling all over her. It's not good for you, I get it. But what you did to me is not okay and now I'm left wondering when you will wake up and realize what's right in front of you. Though somehow I doubt you will because you've got Lana dust in your eyes and even if you did, I can't even begin to imagine forgetting what you did. Actions hurt, Clark. Sometimes more than words. Nobody forced you to set up that date, you could have just-"

Before he could think too much more, he stepped forward, grabbed her face firmly but gently and cut off her rant by pressing his lips to hers. All thoughts in his head melted away and his eyes fluttered closed. Lois's own eyes widened in shock and she froze for a second before she relaxed. Clark pulled away, leaving her standing speechless with her mouth agape.

"I know how it sounds, but I swear it's the truth." He said, breaking the silence.

"Don't…" She half whispered. "I don't care about the why anymore. We don't need to complicate things."

"I really didn't mean to stand you up. I'm sorry… and, to prove that it wasn't a cruel prank, I was wondering if you'd give me another chance at it."

"Chance at what?" She questioned. "A date?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Hmm… I don't know." She hummed.

"Please." He pleaded. "I promise that it won't be a repeat."

"But why?" She frowned. "I don't get it, you don't like me and now you're begging for another chance… I'm confused."

"That's not true."

"No?"

"No." He confirmed. "If anything I think…" He stopped, hesitating over what he was about to say.

"You think…" She prompted.

"I think that I'm- that I- I… Ugh, I'm not good at this kind of stuff." He huffed.

"Relax, Smallville." She cut in. "Take a breath and try again."

"Sorry." He muttered and drew in a breath.

"I think I'm catching feelings." He blurted, and exhaled right after.

"Catching feelings? That's a little vague." She teased.

"Lois, please… I'm trying."

"It's okay, I know what you're trying to say."

"No, I want- I need to say it." He insisted and licked his lips. "I think I might be falling for you."

Lois's mouth hung open and she blinked at him several times before she was able to process what he'd said. Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she watched his cheeks flush pink as he rubbed the back of his neck and stared down at the ground.

"Wow…" She gasped. "There it is."

"Yep."

"Because you were honest with me, I'm going to come clean and admit something myself."

"Oh?" He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I know that I torture you with my teasing, but I don't actually hold any negative feelings towards you, Smallville." She admitted. "And I didn't agree to the date because I was bored, I agreed because I genuinely thought that it could be fun."

"Does that mean you're giving me a second chance?" He smiled a hopeful smile.

"Alright." She sighed. "This is the last chance. Tomorrow night. Same place. Same time. If you miss it again, then… Well, I will be upset with you and I won't forgive you." She warned.

"How about now? Do you forgive me?" He questioned.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Because I won't be missing it." He grinned.

"Good." She concluded. "Now, come closer, I want to say something…"

"Uhh…"

"Don't think. Just do it."

Clark exhaled deeply and took two steps forward so that the tip of his shoes were touching hers, the smile not leaving his face. Her grin widened as she got him right where she wanted him. She boosted herself up on her tiptoes so that her face was aligned with his, leaned in and kissed him. His eyes closed instantly, and his hands slid to her waist while hers hung around his neck. As their lips danced around, neither noticed the crunching of dirt beneath tires, or the sound of a car door opening and closing, and neither of them noticed Lana standing in the driveway. She stood for a few seconds, watching the two before she got back in the car and drove away.

A chorus of mooing from the cows caused Clark to break the kiss as he couldn't help but laugh at the timing. Lois laughed too as he turned his attention to the herd. She followed his stare and laughed harder as she saw several pairs of eyes on them.

"I told you they'd go mad if you didn't feed them." She joked, and he laughed.