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Some Other Place & Time: Jonah Marais
"What are you doing?" I hear Clark say as I look at the pale blue sky through the telescope from my roof.
"Got an extra credit paper on different types of clouds." I reply.
"You need extra credit?"
"A 105 never hurt no one." I inquire and he scoffs.
"I thought all clouds were the same." Clark tells me.
"Not even close." I look away and pick up my notebook before handing it to him.
"There's like thirty types of clouds here."
"Twenty four to be exact."
"And you find this interesting?"
"I find many things interesting, Kent. Including this."
"How? Why?"
"Cause it's science and I like science." I take my notebook. "And I already saw a few of them move."
"Really?" Clark looks through the telescope. "Hey, there's a really big one."
"That's cumulonimbus. Thank you." I tick it off the list of clouds. "Tell me when it's moving."
"Do they depend on weather or affect it?"
"Yeah." I nod. "Cumulonimbus clouds grow on hot days. When warm, hot air rises them very high in the sky and from far away, they look like huge mountains." I pick up my water bottle and sip some.
"I think it's moving."
"Here." I hand him a pair of binoculars before I look through the telescope. "It is! Holy shit, it's rising. Yes, I was right! As usual." I look away and turn to the page of my report before I add a few sentences to it. "What are you hiding in your hand?"
"What?" Clark questions.
"I'm not blind." I turn to him. "Reveal yourself." I urge and he holds up a newspaper. "Why did you feel the need to hide this from me?" I take the newspaper.
"You were so happy about the clouds, didn't wanna rain on your parade." He chuckles at his own joke.
"Don't make me push you off this roof."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Sorry. Sorry." Clark enters the diner as I wipe down the counter.
"You got a girlfriend now, I'll give you a pass this time." I set the rag aside.
"What? I don't-"
"The park is a few blocks down from here. I have eyes. Now I kinda wish I didn't."
"Funny."
"Oh, that's just a preview, Thomas Sennett." I refill the coffee machine.
"Who?" Clark walks past me.
"Exactly." I scoff and turn. "You haven't told the others yet, I respect that. So, your secret's safe with me." I grip his shoulder and head inside the kitchen.
"We're not together." He follows me. "We were just...talking."
"Yeah, your tongue was being really sentimental. I wish we had bleach here. Stupid store policy." I open the fridge and grab some vegetables to dice. "You're not a good liar. So don't even try playing poker, for future reference." I open the oven and take the pigs in a blanket out.
"Thank you."
"Yeah." I set the tray down.
"Why are you cooking all of this? It looks like a buffet."
"It is, technically. Lex and Helen asked me if I would make the food for the wedding last week. Said I happily would."
"That's great. This all looks amazing."
"Thanks. Now I gotta get started on the Mediterranean Salad. Can you get me the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, basil, salt and onion powder?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks." I turn and we walk past each other. I open the small hidden cabinet underneath and grab the bottle of oregano. I now stand back up and head over to the table. I set it down and grab a big knife from the board behind me. "Oh, and the feta cheese too."
"Got it." Clark walks past me. "But cheese in a salad?"
"It's Greek. My mom makes it every year for my birthday. It's my favorite appetizer ever."
"Then I guess I'll have to try some." He sets all the ingredients down.
"I'll make you some. If you promise not to eat a single thing from here on out."
"I'll do my best."
"Just get me the measuring cups." I shove him and place a cucumber down on the cutting board, then grabbing the knife.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"I never realized the small town press could be so pithy." Lex enters the study as me and Clark read the article.
"What do you think your father's up to?" I wonder.
"Apparently, he's already got a team working overtime installing some pretty sophisticated machinery down there."
"What for?" Clark asks.
"I wish I could tell you, but I'm the last person he'd ever let back into those caves. He's tightened security. I doubt even you guys will be able to get past." Lex sits behind the desk.
"Uh, where's this tailor? I'm kind of pressed for time today."
"I canceled him."
"Why?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"Because Helen's not walking down the aisle tomorrow." Lex reveals and my face drops.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Brianna. I know how hard you worked to get everything together. I'll refund-"
"I don't want your money, Lex. I care about you and Helen."
"We saw her last night. She seemed really happy." Clark inquires.
"Yeah, well, a lot can change in twenty four hours." Lex gets up.
"Why'd she break it off?"
"I've always been fighting my destiny, trying to avoid becoming my father. But we all have certain genes that, no matter how much we wanna change, dominate us."
"What'd you do?" I cross my arms.
"I betrayed Helen's trust." Lex sits back down. "Then I fought my own nature and did something very un-Luthor-like. I confessed my sin, hoping she'd forgive me."
"My guess is she didn't." I sit on the couch and Clark joins me.
"Don't tell anyone, guys. I wanna hold onto my romantic notions for one more day."
"Your secret's safe with me, Lex." I nod.
"I know it is, Brianna." He nods back. "Nice watch. You have good taste." He tells Clark.
"I didn't pick it out." Clark looks at me.
"Thank God. Cause we both it would've been involving something completely and utterly stupid." I retort.
"I'm gonna have severely disagree with you there. I have good taste in things."
"Name three things." I cross my arms.
"Books."
"Me."
"Fine. Movies."
"Again, me." I nod before crossing my legs.
"Have I mentioned how much I don't like you?" Clark questions.
"Not as much as I've shown you how much I don't like you. You're lucky they even had your size. It's not every day you go to the mall and tell the guy, hey, I'd like to purchase a big ass watch for a big ass guy who looks like he can lift tractors for a living."
"So you admit it, I'm stronger."
"You are the most deluded person I know."
"You're the most arrogant person I know."
"Kent, just say you're afraid of me. It's okay." I nod mockingly while patting his shoulder and he scoffs. "I need to talk to you." I get up and Lex follows me.
"Brianna, is everything okay? Is it your mom? The baby?" Lex starts to panic.
"You said you confessed your sin to Helen. Does that sin have to do with you breaking into her office and stealing whatever was in there?"
"Brianna-"
"Jesus fucking Christ." I whisper. "I should've never told Helen that I thought it was your father. That was too easy." I shake my head in disbelief.
"Brianna, I-"
"What did you take? What was inside, Lex?" I clench my jaw.
"A vile. Of blood. Whose? I don't know. I didn't have it analyzed. Unless...Unless it's yours?"
"Yeah, congrats, you rang the dinner bell. It's mine. Want a balloon?" I turn.
"Brianna, wait." Lex turns me around.
"What was so important about this blood anyway?"
"I thought it would give me the answers I've been looking for."
"Oh, so, a file on Martha wasn't enough?"
"Brianna, I-"
"That's Kent's mother. My friend, Lex. And you crossed a line." I leave.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"I'm gonna have to put a stop to these unauthorized visits." Lionel says as me and Clark enter the caves.
"Mister Luthor." Clark greets.
"What are you two doing here?"
"We were just curious." I speak up.
"I suppose so." He laughs. "According to poor Doctor Walden, you're talked about quite a bit on these walls. Apparently, you are going to rule us all."
"I'm surprised someone like you, Lionel, would put stock in anything he had to say." Clark comments.
"I know you worked closely with the man, Clark. I'm sure there are insights you could give me. It would be extremely helpful." Lionel tells him.
"He didn't tell me anything."
"Hmm."
"What's with all the machinery?" I wonder.
"I'm going to unlock the secrets hidden in these walls." Lionel looks around.
"Didn't you see what happened to Doctor Walden? It's dangerous." Clark inquires.
"Yes, but I have something he didn't. The key. Once I insert that key into the slot, I'm convinced the answers will be revealed to me."
"I don't understand. I thought the key was stolen from your vault."
"It was, but before it mysteriously disappeared, I had it analyzed. The composition was...unique. There's nothing like it on Earth, with one exception." He walks closer to us. "The meteor rocks found here in Smallville." He then whispers and my eyes widen as he steps away. "So I have fashioned my own key." He opens a small metal box and shows it to us. "It's identical in every detail."
Inside the box is a key, exactly like the one to Clark's ship, except that it is a bright shade of green and transparent.
"Isn't it beautiful? Look." He urges and I see Clark grimace, becoming sick from the kryptonite.
"Kent." I lead him all the way back.
"Clark? You don't look well. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just...be careful." Clark chokes out.
"Lionel Luthor's never gotten anywhere in life playing it safe." Lionel closes the box.
"Instead, everyone with a heartbeat can't stand to breathe the same air as him." I walk past him.
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"Why aren't you dressed?" I enter the loft and walk up the stairs before I see him staring at me. "What?"
"Uh..." Clark goes into his pocket and pulls out a pink corsage to match my dress.
"Okay, fine. You have good taste in flowers." I admit and he chuckles before putting the corsage on my wrist. "You're welcome." I hand him his tuxedo.
"Um, there's something I have to do first."
"Okay." I nod. "I'll meet you there?" I fix my chains and necklace.
"Yeah." Clark replies after a few seconds.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah." He smiles.
"Okay." I pat his arm and turn.
"Brianna, I'm..."
"What?" I turn back to him.
"You look beautiful. You always do." Clark steps forward and hugs me, making me thickly swallow.
"Don't make me throw up on the way there, Kent." I joke before walking down the stairs in panic.
What the hell is he gonna do with that box?
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Brianna, where's Clark?" Jonathan asks as I walk over to him and Martha.
"He said he had something to do. It seemed important." I give them a look. "I think he has the key." I whisper to them and they stand up.
"Mister Kent." Lex walks over.
"I'm sorry, Lex. It looks like you're gonna have to start your wedding without your best man." Jonathan tells him.
"We can wait."
"Hey, don't worry about Clark. You have far more important things to do here. Good luck." He leaves with Martha.
"Brianna, I need you to know-"
"Tell Helen I'm coming back." I tell Lex before following Martha and Jonathan.
"Brianna, no." Jonathan stops me. "This is too dangerous. You could-"
"I don't care, Jon. I'm not letting him die. I'd rather." I keep walking.
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"The hell?" I lean over from the back seat.
Martha and Jonathan follow my gaze to the huge ring of energy, taller than a nearby telephone pole, shining and transparent, now coming straight for us.
"Ah!" Martha cries out.
Jonathan swerves to avoid it and ends up driving into a field as sparks shower down from the telephone pole. The truck tips over and rolls several times, landing upside down. I grunt before letting out a few coughs.
"Damn!" I place my hand on the roof and kick the door open with all my might.
I now take off my seatbelt and I cough before climbing out of the car. I hold my head before falling to my knees. I let out a few more coughs before going to get Martha and Jonathan out who seem to be unconscious.
I then hear a whoosh and my eyes widen. I now get up and I take off. Once I'm far enough, I see Clark super speed to the truck. I close my eyes in relief, knowing him and his parents are okay. I turn and continue running home.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Hey." I walk over to Clark before turning him around with glassy eyes. "Your dad told me about the baby." I hug him. "I'm so sorry." I whisper against his neck before placing my hand on the back of his head. "I'm sorry." I squeeze him and he slowly hugs me back.
"This is all my fault. I did this." Clark rasps out.
"How could you do this?" I pick my head up.
"The same way I always do. I bring pain and suffering to everyone's lives."
"That's not true."
"Yes, Brianna, it is. "I've—" He pauses and my eyes dart around his face. "If you knew the truth, you'd never talk to me again."
"Try me." I look him in the eyes and he stares back at me.
"I tried to cover up my past and push it away." Clark's eyes now fill with tears. "I-I couldn't. He said if I didn't go, everyone I love would be hurt. He was right." He starts pacing around.
"Clark!" I turn him around before cupping his neck and he leans his head against mine. "Clark." I whisper and he sighs.
"No, Brianna, stay from me. Stay away from me before I hurt you too." Clark now pulls away and runs up the stairs.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"We tried to get there fast enough, I don't-"
"It's not your fault, Bri." Pete tells me as we sit on my bed.
"But he's blaming himself." I inquire. "He was just trying to protect his family."
"I know." He nods before sighing. "So he doesn't know you were in the accident?"
"No. I was in be backseat."
"You got lucky."
"I shouldn't of." I shake my head. "Cause now Martha lost her baby."
"And that's not your fault. Things happen for a reason." Pete wraps his arm around my neck.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Kent, where are you going?" I run over as he walks away from the motorcycle and grabs his leather jacket from a bale of hay.
"Away from here." Clark tells me.
"The Clark Kent I know wouldn't run away from his problems."
"The Clark Kent you know is a lie." He puts on his jacket.
"Kent, goddammit!" I harshly grab his arms, turning him around to face me. "Just talk to me. About anything you want. You can't do this."
"No one can save me. Not even you." He inquires.
"I know that." I nod. "But your parents need you. Lana does. Chloe, Miles and Pete. Me."
"It's the other way around." Clark looks away.
"What?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"That's why I have to leave." He turns away from the motorcycle and I shake my head to myself in disbelief.
"Okay, you know what? No!" I shout. "And what you said back there was bullshit by the way. You would never hurt me, Clark. You know why? Because I would never hurt you." I shake my head and he gets up from the motorcycle.
"Come with me."
"What?" I raise my eyebrows.
"Come with me." He repeats.
"My mom is having a baby, I have a summer internship, Kent."
"And we can balance both of those. Come with me." Clark's chest heaves up and down.
I slap him across the face. I then hit his chest with my fists repeatedly before he cups both sides of my face.
"Come with me." He looks into my eyes. "I want you to come with me. We can hold up until June. Then we can go to Virginia. Together. Get a place close to the job, we can start over. Come with me." He rubs my cheeks with his thumbs and I look down before holding his wrists.
"Smallville's your home." I now look back up at him.
"Not anymore." He shakes his head.
"Clark." I shakily whisper and he places a lingering kiss on my forehead before heading over to the motorcycle.
"Call me if you change your mind. I'll wait for you. I always will." He puts on his sunglasses and I look at the red ring on his finger.
"No!" I shout as he drives off. "Clark! No!" I start to run after him, but he's too fast.
Fuck.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
🪐🌙✨🚀🌌☄️
and that's a wrap on season 2💅🏻 for my new readers, do you think brianna will find clark? will he take the ring off for her or tell her what he's really feeling with it on?
i pledge allegiance to the stand.
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