Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 18: Heartbreaks & Questions

When Clark woke up the next morning, he found that he was in a strange bed but he recognized the bedroom immediately. He was taken aback, but only for a second as all his memories of the previous night rushed back to him. The drink containing red kryptonite, the song . . . God, had he actually sang in front of everyone? All the women he had flirted with, the bathroom encounter with Oliver, which eventually ended in the bedroom in which he was currently residing.

But he found the words he had told Chloe when she expressed her concern held true. He didn't regret it, didn't regret any of it. Last night had been amazing. Oliver wanted him and even better, he was no longer with Lois.

Did that mean that they were together? Was it just a one-night stand? Clark frowned, as his doubts began to return. Then he pushed the thoughts out of his head. He had just had a great night. That's what he would focus on.

He turned on his side, ready to smile at Oliver. But the smile died quickly. There was nobody where Oliver should be. The other side of the bed was empty. Oliver was gone.

Every happy feeling he had was gone. To make sure he wasn't overreacting, he scanned the entire penthouse. Nothing. Not only did Oliver leave him alone in his bed, he didn't even have the decency to stick around. Oliver couldn't have sent a clearer message on where he stood on what happened.

Their flirting, the little game they had been playing with each other . . . that was all it had been, a game. Oliver had made a move when he got tired of waiting. He even had said those exact words last night!

He had won . . . he managed to get Clark into bed with him. And now the game was over. Clark had to blink away the tears that were filling his eyes. This was an embarrassing situation and he never thought he would get himself into it.

Was it something he said? Was it something he did? Maybe he just wasn't very good. After all, he hadn't been with a man since the last time he had been with Oliver and that was a good three years ago.

He knew he should go, leave while he still had the chance. Oliver had probably been expecting him gone by the time he returned. But he couldn't bring himself to get up. The room smelled like Oliver and if he closed his eyes, he could imagine Oliver lying next to him.

Reality hit every time he opened his eyes. Desperately, he tried to come up with excuses as to why Oliver was not there. He needed a reason, any reason would do. But he knew he had to face the truth, Oliver was gone.

It was time for him to leave as well. There was no use in pretending. As he got dressed, he tried to stay positive. At least he had had that one night. No matter how it was for Oliver, it had been incredible for him. Maybe the memories would be sufficient.

He would be happy to have this one night to look back on, someday in the future but not now. Not now, when his heart was being ripped into pieces, not when a pain was taking over his very essence, pain greater than anything that kryptonite could produce.

Fully dressed, he headed out of the bedroom and slowly made his way to the living room. Glancing around the room a final time, he went to the elevator. A minute later he was on the ground and seconds after he was on his way back to Smallville.

He had never been so happy to see the farm. It was surprisingly empty but he saw a note on the fridge. His mom had to go to Topeka again and she would be back in a couple of days. But then again, that was good. It was better that he was alone.