His heart was pounding. Oliver’s lips were about to touch his. Rrrinnggg. Clark’s eyes flew open and both jumped apart at the sound of the phone.
Both were shocked at what they had been about to do. Clark was disappointed that they actually hadn’t gotten to kiss and saw the same frustration reflected in Oliver’s eyes. The phone was still ringing so Clark went to pick it up.
“Kent Farm.” He answered.
“Clark, it’s Chloe.”
Of course, it had to be Chloe. The one person who had been encouraging his love for Oliver would call when they had been about to kiss.
“Hey, Chlo,” he said, “Since when do you call home?”
“Since I called your cell phone and you weren’t picking up.” Chloe replied.
“Sorry, my phone is in my room and I was a bit distracted.” Clark told her. That was the understatement of the year.
“It’s fine.” She said.
“So, what’s up?” He asked. “Must’ve been pretty important if you’re trying both the numbers.”
“Clark, have you seen the Daily Planet this morning?” Chloe asked, her tone nervous.
“No,” Clark responded, “I haven’t had a chance to look at the paper yet.” He scanned the house and found the paper in the living room. “There it is. Hold on, let me go get it.”
“Clark, wait!” Chloe exclaimed, “I have to tell you something before you get the paper.”
“Okay, go ahead.” Clark said.
“Lex proposed to Lana.” Chloe told him.
Clark almost dropped the phone in surprise. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Oh, Clark,” Chloe said sadly, “Lex proposed.”
“What did she say?” Clark asked.
“She hasn’t given him an answer yet." Chloe told him. Now he had to find the paper. In a second, he had sped into the living room and sped back.
His fingers fumbled with the paper and he looked for the appropriate section. He gasped at what he saw.
“Chloe,” he said into the phone, “It says . . . it says here it’s because of me. Is this true?”
“Clark . . .” Chloe said.
“Chloe, I need to know.” Clark said urgently. He dropped the paper and didn’t notice when Oliver picked it up.
He didn’t see the shocked expression on Oliver’s face when he read the headlines nor did he catch the distress filling his brown eyes, the theories already forming in that quick mind.
Clark took a deep breath. “I know better. Look, I know better. You know, I've tried so hard to let Lana go that . . . if she marries Lex, there's no going back. Is it true?”
“I would double down on the fact that Lana's still in love with you." Chloe admitted.
“I can’t let her do this.” Clark said.
“Whoa, Clark,” Chloe said. “Wait a minute. I . . . it’s a lot more complicated now.”
“What could be more complicated than living your life with regrets?” Clark asked, puzzled.
He could hear her sigh. “Clark, I thought you said you were over her. What about Oliver?”
“Chloe, I don’t know what I feel about Lana,” Clark said, “She was my first love and a part of me will always care about her.”
“But you’re not in love with her anymore!” Chloe said impatiently, “Clark, what will you tell her? And again, I ask, what about Oliver? I thought you were in love with him.”
“Unrequited love sucks, Chloe,” Clark replied, “But that’s what it is - unrequited. There’s nothing there.” He avoided telling her that they had been about to kiss when she called but truth be told, he knew nothing could come of it.
In fact, he was a little angry with Oliver. How could the man have had sex with Lois just the night before and then come and tried to kiss him? Why did he have to love him so much?
“Chloe,” he continued, focusing on the situation at hand, “I have to at least talk to Lana, find out what she is thinking.”
“Alright,” Chloe said, knowing she was unable to stop him, “Do what feels right, but please, Clark, think before you act. There is so much more at stake now.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” He promised.
They exchanged goodbyes and he hung up. He turned back to Oliver who was sitting at the table, expression stiff.
“Hey, sorry about that.” Clark apologized.
“It’s fine.” Oliver said, his voice low. “If you are in a rush, we can postpone you cooking for me until another time.”
'He overheard the conversation.' Of course, he had. Oliver had been sitting right there and Clark had been going off, as if he was alone. Was Oliver upset that Clark was going to see Lana? He groaned inwardly. This situation was so confusing.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, forcing a smile. “And don’t think of trying to sneak out! I’m cooking and that’s final.”
At his light tone, Oliver cracked a smile. “Darn.”
Neither mentioned what had almost happened before the phone call and Clark liked to keep it that way. He wasn’t ready to talk about it.
It didn’t take long for him to finish breakfast and Oliver refused to eat without him so a little while later, they were both sitting at the table, eating.
“This is good, Clark.” Oliver said, after taking a bite of one of the pancakes.
“Yeah?” Clark asked. He wanted Oliver to see that there was more to him than just superpowers.
“It’s delicious,” Oliver declared. “You know I’m going to have to spend some quality time working out because of you.”
“Like you don’t do it every day anyway,” Clark said, rolling his eyes. “You and that yoga.”
“Been talking to Lois?” Oliver teased, “Even she complains. Nobody appreciates . . . I told her I’d show her the finer points this afternoon.”
Clark smiled but it was hard. “I wish her luck.”
Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Watch it buddy, or you’ll be joining her.”
“I’ll have you know that I’m very flexible.” Clark said smugly.
“I’m sure you are." Oliver purred, giving him a blatant once over.
Clark blushed. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Mean it like what?” Oliver asked innocently. “I was just agreeing with you.”
“You’re awful.” Clark said, shaking his head.
“Actually, I heard I’m quite good." Oliver retorted with an exaggerated wink.
Clark had to resist flirting back. 'Lana and Lois, remember? Weren’t you just saying on the phone that you were going to go talk to her?'
But did it matter? He had no intention of getting back together with Lana. His only plan was to talk to her and make sure she was okay. He didn’t want her to get married to Lex unless she was completely positive of what she was doing.
He cleared his throat, growing serious again. “Oliver, not that I’m not happy to see you, but I never asked why you came.”
Oliver tilted his head in confusion and then smiled. “Oh yes, I wanted to just check in after yesterday. I felt badly about cutting you short on the phone.” He paused for a minute. “I think you’re rubbing off on me, Clark."
“Why do you say that?” Clark asked.
“Because you’re the one with the guilt complex, not me.” Oliver pointed out.
Clark laughed. “Oh, Oliver . . . ”
“And that’s another thing,” Oliver interrupted, “How come you always call me Oliver? My friends call me Ollie you know.”
“I don’t know.” Clark hadn’t ever thought about it before. “It’s just . . .”
“No need to stress over it,” Oliver said, “Just a random thought.”
“Okay, if I ever think of an answer, I’ll let you know,” Clark replied. “But you were a little off this morning, you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Oliver said, “I came to see you, you have an interesting way of sleeping, Clark. It just threw me off a bit.”
Clark flushed. “Yeah, the floating. I was a little surprised myself.”
“Never happened before?” Oliver asked.
“Oh no, it’s happened tons of times before,” Clark told him, “It’s been a few years, that’s all.”
“Knew you were special, Clark,” Oliver said, “What I didn’t know was that you have the ability to defy gravity. I mean, if you’re floating, flying is not too much of a reach.”
“Actually . . .” Clark started.
Oliver looked shocked. “You’re kidding?”
Clark shook his head. “Nope, it’s definitely not a joke. I’ve . . . flown before.”
“But you don’t do it very often?” Oliver asked.
“I’m scared of heights.” Clark confessed and looked away, embarrassed.
But Oliver didn’t laugh. He felt Oliver cover Clark’s hand with his and that made him look at him again. His expression was full of compassion.
“That’s nothing to be ashamed of, Clark,” Oliver said, “We all have our fears, even me. Maybe one day I’ll tell you about some of mine.”
Clark felt better. “Thanks. I just wish I could overcome it, that’s all.”
“If you ever need help, I’m here,” Oliver offered, “I mean, I can’t help you once you’re off the ground but if you’re serious about wanting to get over your fear of heights . . .”
“That sounds great,” Clark said, “But not immediately.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” Oliver responded seriously, “Just give me a call.”
“I might do that.” Clark said. The duo shared smiles and then finished their breakfast in silence.
Afterwards, Oliver tried to help Clark clean up but he refused, claiming that he would get everything done quickly.
When it came time for them to part, it was very awkward. They had avoided mentioning the almost kiss and from what Clark gathered from the conversation, they were both just dismissing it as a mistake.
“I’ll see you later then?” Oliver said. “Thanks for breakfast.”
“It was my pleasure,” Clark responded, “Have fun with the yoga.”
“Have a good day, Clark.” Oliver said and left.
“It’s already a good day,” Clark whispered as he watched Oliver drive off. “Any day I see you is a good day.”
He had a feeling that this would be the highlight of his day though. As he headed to the Luthor mansion, he had no idea what to expect.
A servant went to get Lana, or so they said. So he waited in the study. But it was Lex who showed up.
“They said Lana was here.” Clark said.
“She was,” Lex responded. “But I'm afraid you just missed her.”
“I'll come back later.” Clark said stiffly, prepared to leave.
“So you really think you can convince her?” Lex asked. “You think you can talk her out of making the biggest mistake of her life by marrying me?”
“We both know that you swept in after . . .” Clark started evenly.
“After you crushed her?” Lex finished with a smirk.
“You knew she was vulnerable, and you played her until she thought she was in love with you.” Clark hissed.
“If you really see Lana as that naïve,” Lex shot back, “You obviously don't think as much of her as I do.”
“It must be eating at you that she's hesitating,” Clark said, a hint of menace in his tone. “Wondering why she hasn't given you an answer.”
“I guess it would, if I didn't know what the answer was going to be,” Lex said casually. “You see, I highly doubt she'll say no, Clark . . . now that she's carrying my child.”
Clark couldn’t hide his shock at the revelation. Lana was pregnant? With Lex’s kid? He recalled Chloe’s hesitance on the phone and it quickly dawned on him that she knew that Lana was pregnant. That’s why she didn’t want him to go.
Lex looked smug. “I’m sure you can show yourself out, Clark.”
Without another word, Clark turned on his heel and left. He had no smart remarks for that one and he certainly made enough of a fool of himself for that day.
He returned home, not ready to face anyone just yet. However, the alone time wasn’t meant to be. Lois came into the barn next.
“Smallville, sorry about the article,” she said, “It's bad enough to have a broken heart, but to have it splashed all over the newspapers . . .”
“I guess that's what reporters do, don't they?” Clark asked.
“Okay, I think that little zinger just ricocheted off of Linda Lake and hit me.” Lois stated, looking offended.
“Look, I'm sorry,” Clark said. After all, it wasn’t her fault that Lana was having Lex’s baby and it certainly wasn’t her fault that Oliver was with her and not him. “People keep secrets for a reason.”
“I don't know,” Lois said doubtfully. “If you ask me, I think a secret is just a big loophole in the whole ‘thou shall not lie’ clause.”
“There's just no gray area with you, is there?” Clark questioned. And wasn’t that ironic? It seemed he and Lois had that in common.
“Not when someone I thought I knew better than anyone has been keeping the biggest secret of all.” Lois declared.
“What are you talking about?” Clark asked.
“What would you do if one day you realized someone close to you had a serious hero complex?” Lois asked slowly.
Clark looked at her, suddenly uneasy of where this conversation was going. “Hero complex?” He repeated.
“Hiding his true identity from everyone he supposedly cares about,” Lois continued. “You can't tell me you wouldn't find something wrong with that.”
“Who exactly are we talking about?” Clark asked carefully.
“Green Arrow, A.K.A. Oliver Queen.” Lois finished.
She knew? But he couldn’t help but feel relieved it wasn’t him she was talking about. “Oliver.”
“Jimmy snapped photos of Green Arrow getting slashed in the arm exactly where Ollie's arm is cut.” Lois informed him. “Plus, the time printed on the photos is exactly the same time Ollie disappeared on me that same night.”
“When are you planning to unload this theory on Oliver?” Clark wanted to know. And how much time did he have to warn him?
I need proof first . . . definitive proof,” Lois said. “That's where I thought you might come in handy.”
“Me?” Clark echoed, “What could I possibly do?”
“We have to find proof!” Lois said, “I can’t do this alone, Smallville.”
“Lois,” Clark said, not very willing to betray Oliver, “I don’t know, I’m not very good at this.”
“Smallville, you and Chloe have gone on adventures tons of times,” Lois pointed out, “Some of her investigative skills must’ve rubbed off on you."
“Look, Lois, I’m going to have to think about it for awhile,” Clark said, “See if I can come up with a plan and what not. And you may want to think about it too.”
“There’s nothing to think about,” Lois said, “Oliver’s been lying to me and I’m going to get to the bottom of it. But if you need to think about it, fine. Let me know what you decide.” He waited until she left and pulled out his phone.
Dialing the familiar number, he listened as the phone rang. Oliver picked up on the second ring.
“Queen,” he answered.
“It’s Clark,” he said, “We have a problem."