Whisper Part 5

At the Kent farm…

Recap:

Clark is with his parents, and he explains that he now has very blurry eyesight. Clark's encounter with the shooter is not mentioned, because then he would have to explain Alicia's powers. Mr. Kent insists that Clark needs to make a necessary stop before going back to school.

At the Torch office…

Clark tapped his pencil furiously on the desk. The strong emotions of anger, guilt, and sadness over Jodi's death were still present. After the shooter got away, Clark went downstairs and caught a very blurry, very bloody image of Jodi on her living room floor. The body lay as she must have fallen after the shot. The shooter showed no respect in straightening her out and crossing her arms over her chest. Jodi's eyes weren't even closed. The killer did find the time to leave behind his calling card; the meteor rock with FREAK painted on it.

Alicia stopped Clark from closing Jodi's eyes. All Clark wanted to do was show her body some respect for the life she lived, but Alicia reminded him the crime scene should remain untouched. The sound of sirens was beginning to fill the air, and the cops would arrive in a matter of minutes to begin an official investigation. After grabbing his sunglasses, Alicia transported them back to the farm. Clark, feeling helpless, found himself going to his computer and writing a memorial article about Jodi for the Torch.

An article which Chloe had used her red pen freely on.

Clark was brought out of his thoughts by the shattering of his pencil. He sighed and took the break to also scratch his nose. The wire framed glasses felt foreign to his body and gave him a constant desire to scratch.

At least I can see now, Clark reminded himself.

As he went about picking up the splinters, he caught sight of Alicia staring at him from the other side of the desk. Her elbows rested on the desk, her chin resting in her hands as she gazed at him, grinning widely.

"What?" Clark threw the broken pencil away.

"I love the glasses," Alicia gushed. "You're like my big, sexy nerd."

Clark blushed; he couldn't remember anyone calling him "sexy" before.

"Uh…thanks." Clark found he couldn't fully enjoy the compliment, and this did not go unnoticed by Alicia.

"Hey," Alicia got up to stand behind Clark. "It wasn't your fault. You can't blame yourself."

"It is my fault. I could have done more. I should have done more."

"Shhhh," Alicia leaned into his ear. "Just relax."

Alicia began to rub his shoulders. No one had done that for him either, and Clark was unused to the attention. Clark attempted to lean forward to get away, but Alicia's hands guided him to lean back against the chair. Clark's muscles could tell Alicia was applying firm pressure, even though he couldn't feel it. Still, just the touch was soothing enough. Clark allowed himself to close his eyes and relax. "I saw Jodi two weeks ago. I saw how much she was struggling. I was going to ask you if you could talk with her. But I didn't. Maybe if I had she wouldn't have…"

"Not your fault," Alicia repeated, now focusing her attention on his neck. "Say it."

Clark was silent. Alicia stopped the rubs and Clark found he was disappointed. "Not my fault," he conceded.

Alicia hummed in approval and took up massaging his shoulders again.

"What was that thing anyway?" Clark asked. Alicia knew he was referring to the device the shooter had used as a weapon against Clark's attack. If Clark had to guess, it was the device the shooter used to emit the high-pitched noise right before escaping. It looked like a gun with a small, rectangular lightbulb where the barrel should have been. When someone pushed the trigger, an ear-piercing noise was emitted along with a flashing light.

"Not sure. Whatever it is, the light must have broken down the scar tissue on your eyes letting you see again. I'm planning on taking it apart to check if there are any company logos I can find."

"We could just ask Chloe; she's got contacts. She could probably figure out what it is in a matter of seconds."

"We can't have linked to the crime scene, now can we? My big, sexy nerd."

"Ahem."

Clark's eyes snapped open and blushed when he realized that Chloe and Pete had entered the room. Who had coughed to bring attention to their arrival was uncertain. Chloe looked amused, while Pete was nodding with approval. Clark immediately got up from the chair and straightened himself out.

"Chloe," Clark coughed and picked up his red-marked article, "what's up with this?"

"Hi to you to. What's the problem?"

"You butchered my article."

Chloe sighed as she put down her bookbag. "Your article wasn't just a tribute to Jodi. That part was good; great even. But throughout your piece you wrote a rally cry that the Smallville Shooter needs to be locked up with the key thrown away."

"Why is that a problem?" Alicia asked. "Do you agree with what he's doing?"

"No, of course not. Clark, it's nothing personal. Journalism is about sharing unbiased facts. You wrote from a very biased angle against the shooter. Take those parts out and we can run that article as a homage to Jodi. If you want to write an article about the Smallville Shooter, you'll have to give it another try."

"How is it biased saying 'murder's wrong'?" Clark threw his hands in the air.

"Clark, I can't run your article like that." Chloe held her ground.

Clark felt his anger return. He didn't know what to say, so he left.

In the Kent barn…

Lana walked up the stairs to Clark's loft. She had been dreading this conversation, but it needed to be done. He was seated at the sofa, frowning as he looked over loose papers. The creaky stairs alerted Clark of her presence.

But Clark didn't smile when he saw her.

"Hey," was all he said.

"Hey." Lana took in a deep breath as she walked closer. "Clark, I want to talk with you about what you overheard in the Talon. I wouldn't have said those things if I knew you'd hear it."

"But you meant them." Clark wasn't asking.

"I don't know," Lana confessed. "I don't know where we are right now. I'm very confused. We're friends, but I think both of us, if we're honest, want more than that."

Lana waited for Clark to confess feeling the same way.

Instead, Clark said three words that broke Lana's heart.

"I kissed Alicia." Clark couldn't even look at her as he said those words. "I tried telling you at the jewelry store, but…"

Lana nodded in understanding. She remembered Clark saying he needed to tell her something, right before the robbery occurred.

"Do you want to date her?"

"No". Please say "no". Lana implored in her mind.

"I'm not sure," was Clark's reply.

Clark was looking at her the same way he had many times before. His eyes were pleading, as if asking her for something. But Lana didn't know the question, so she couldn't give an answer.

"Well, maybe you should find out." Lana knew she was going to cry, so she got up to leave. But if this was it for them, she couldn't let those be her last words.

"Clark," Lana turned around at the top of the stairs.

Clark looked at her hopefully as he waited for Lana to continue talking.

"Thanks for being honest," Lana said.

The light faded. "Well, if we're going to be friends, I didn't want you to find out from someone else."

Friends. Lana felt the lump in her throat harden, as the urge to cry continued to build.

"Hi, Lana," Alicia said, brushing past her. In her hands were two Talon to-go cups. "I got you a Chai latte this time. You need to calm down."

Amidst Alicia's pawing, Clark's eyes were locked on Lana.

I will not beg. I'm willing to make this work, but Clark, you need to be honest with me. Like you just were.

Lana calmly walked down the rest of the stairs. The tears came, even though her mind was on other matters.

How did Alicia get that coffee so fast? I came straight from the Talon; she wasn't even in line and there were ten people when I left. There's no way she could have gotten coffee and made it here in that time.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Clark's sensitive ears picked up Lana sobbing inside her car as she drove away. He sighed and sat back down on the sofa.

It was over. This time, things between him and Lana were truly over.

Clark had played this conversation so many times in his head, and each time was different. In the worst imaginary scenarios, Lana had already found someone else and reminded Clark that she had given him many chances. Other times, Clark brought Lana to tears. The reality was Lana had taken his confession calmly and asked him what he wanted.

You, Lana. I want you.

But Clark could not say that without telling her his secret, which he knew could never happen.

"What is it, my sexy nerd?" Alicia's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Nothing." Clark removed the glasses to rub his eyes. He blinked a few times. All the blurriness was gone. Sighing with relief, Clark placed them down on the trunk in front of him. "Finally."

"No!" Alicia wailed. "Put them back on."

"No way. I hate those things; never again."

Alicia brought her lower lip forward in a pout. "Please?"

"No."

Clark was surprised when Alicia's response was to give his cheek a quick peck. "Pretty please?"

"No?"

Alicia kissed his cheek longer this time. "Pretty, pretty please?" she whispered in his ear.

"No." Clark found himself refusing only out of curiosity of what Alicia would do next. Her response was to sit on Clark's lap; she took his face in her hands and kissed him tenderly on his lips.

"For me?" She asked, her lips centimeters away from his.

Clark gulped. "Okay."

Grinning triumphantly, Alicia placed the glasses back on Clark's face. He was able to see just as clearly with or without them. Alicia rewarded him with more kisses on his lips and neck.

Clark's stomach twisted in turmoil as he felt he was being unfaithful to Lana.

It's over, he reminded himself. I can't be with Lana. It's too dangerous; I can never be fully honest with her.

Clark gave in, and permitted himself to enjoy Alicia's caresses and even pulled her closer to him.

"So, now that you can see again, do you still have enhanced hearing?" Alicia asked in-between kisses.

"Yeah," Clark confessed. "I just don't really have a handle on it."

"Want to try?"

"Hmm?"

"Come on." Alicia took hold of his hand and dragged him to the lower level of the barn. Clark watched as she began to turn on the radio resting on a standing toolbox. "We'll make it real noisy in here and you just concentrate on hearing my voice, okay?"

"Okay." Clark realized he would need to gain control over this new power if he ever hoped to use it to catch the Smallville Shooter. He went through the barn, turning on various pieces of farming equipment. Soon the entire barn was filled with the sounds of clangs, bangs, and static.

Clark walked to one side of the barn; Alicia stood at the other end. Clark closed his eyes and began to concentrate on the noises surrounding him; cataloguing them and then pushing them aside until he heard Alicia's voice, as clear as day.

"Clark, can you hear me?" Alicia whispered over and over.

The boy gave a thumbs up as a signal that he could.

"Clark, will you go out with me?"

Clark hesitated, although he didn't know why.

"Sure."

"What?" Alicia called over the clanging noises.

Clark sped around, turning everything off so the barn was quiet once more.

"I said I'd love to," Clark whispered into Alicia's ear.