Chapter Two

'thoughts'

Humming quietly under his breath to the AC/DC that was blasting out of his speakers, Dean bobbed his head a bit as he tapped the steering wheel in time to the music. They had ended up parting ways after all to cover both areas of the attacks, so Dean had dropped Sam off in Metropolis near The Daily Planet before taking off for the little farming town of Smallville. He cocked an eyebrow and smirked as he saw a few young ladies and men eyeing his car in appreciation as he drove down the main street of the small town slowly before parking in front of the coffee shop known as The Talon. Getting out, he squinted behind his sunglasses as he took in the rather bustling town around him.

There were autumnal leaves and Halloween decorations everywhere since it was almost that time of the year again. The wind was just crisp enough to make you turn your collar up in protection from it, but it was sunny enough to promise to be a warm fall day. There were several swags of lights saying 'Happy Halloween' hung across the main drag as well as announcements for the Homecoming Parade and football game that was coming up that weekend. The Talon itself had several pots of chrysanthemums in front of it for sale as well as pumpkins and cornstalks to be used for any Halloween décor. It was Midwestern living at its best and it made Dean ache for that normal life he'd never have.

With a shrug, he headed into the coffee shop, not paying any attention to the whispered conversations going on around him as he was stared at. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for him to get a lot of attention, both male and female. It all came with the territory of being Dean Winchester.

He sauntered up to the somewhat busy ordering counter and pulled his sunglasses off as he glanced around, taking in the tasteful furnishings. It was softly lit with fairy lights that were placed artfully around the banisters of the staircase that led up to what looked like an apartment as well as the pillars that framed the bottom of the staircase. There were also a few halogen lamps situated around the main area amidst various silk floral bouquets and trees. All in all, the atmosphere was comfortable and quiet, yet sociable. You could come in for your caramel mocha frappuccino and read the paper or join your buddies with your frothy cappuccinos and iced lattes to either study or just relax before the big game.

It was the best sort of place to get gossip.

Going up to the counter for his own turn, Dean turned on the charm as he smiled at the blonde that was standing behind the register waiting for his order. She smiled back uncertainly and Dean had to bite down the urge to just out and out flirt with her. She was sexy in her tight red t-shirt and equally tight blue jeans behind her white apron. Her curled hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail that accentuated her sharp cheekbones, penetrating blue eyes, and perfect smile. She would be just what he needed, but then he stopped to think about it. There was something in her gaze that spoke of knowledge beyond her age which he guessed to be about nineteen. Too young for him and yet something else that was almost...otherworldly. He glanced at her nametag and winked at her. "So Kara...what would you recommend?" he drawled out slow and sweet and grinned crookedly as she blushed slightly.

"Um...well any of them I guess," she answered uncertainly as she looked at him from under her eyelashes. Oooh yes, she was definitely on Dean's list of wants.

Shaking himself a bit out of his contemplations which involved her on this counter with her legs around his waist, Dean turned up the wattage. "Well then, I'll take a double espresso straight," he stated and she bit her lip.

"Nothing else?" she asked as she rang his order up and he bit his own lip thoughtfully. What would it hurt...?

"Well..." He stopped, but never got to finish his sentence as a tall dark haired man stepped behind the counter.

"Kara, could you hurry? We need to talk," the man whispered to her as he not too subtly glanced at Dean appraisingly. But then he stared at Dean, who was staring right back in shock and they both ignored the quiet protest from Kara.

It was *him*. The guy in the photos and from the past. He was right in front of Dean as if it had been meant to be. Dean felt a thrill go through him, but he couldn't pinpoint what the reason was for as he gazed into the deep blue eyes that were watching him.

"Jason?" The name surprised Dean and he frowned a bit before grunting as a fist grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward and almost over the countertop. "Jason, what the hell are you doing back here?!" the man snarled and Dean felt a moment of panic at the sheer *power* that seemed to be in that grip.

"Whoa man! My name's not Jason! Name's Dean!" Dean protested, but then kicked himself mentally. He could have used that alias to get closer to this guy! But, it was out there, so might as well use it.

"Clark, let him go! You're scaring the customers!" Kara protested as she grabbed at Clark's hand and pulled his fist free from Dean's shirt.

Coughing lightly, Dean adjusted his shirt while rubbing his neck as he eyed the distrustful man. Frowning darkly, Clark eyed him before nodding. "Sorry about that. My mistake," he said with a very light growl threading his tone.

"S'ok, man...I get that a lot. People thinking I'm someone else," Dean retorted sarcastically and smirked. He was surprised when a sheepish grin appeared on the other man's face which seemed to soften the boyish good looks. 'Boyish good looks...Dean, get a grip,' he told himself as he winked at Kara, who smiled back. "How about that double espresso?" he inquired and she nodded before going to make it.

"Look man...I'm sorry about that. There was this guy, Jason Teague, and we weren't exactly friends. I didn't mean to...I'm just sorry," Clark said uncomfortably as he ran a hand through his hair. His gaze kept flicking over Dean's face, but the only way Dean noticed that was because he was doing the same thing.

"Yea it's ok. I wasn't kidding when I said that I've had that happen before, though generally it's from some jealous boyfriend!" Dean commented with a slight chuckle while wincing internally. Why was he being so honest?! And was he...flirting?!

"Well um...Jason was dating my girlfriend..." Clark admitted and Dean let out a laugh as he shook his head. It seemed to relax Clark as he stuck out his hand. "Name's Clark Kent."

"Dean Winchester," Dean replied congenially as he shook the offered hand without hesitation. A part of him was screaming at him to stop being so honest and friendly with this complete stranger who was also a suspect, but the rest of him was putting up a good muffle over it. "Been attacking former boyfriends long?" he joked and Clark grinned in return. Dean told himself to stop admiring the dimples and the way Clark's eyes lit up, but his mind told him to shove it.

"Not long I guess...you're new around here?" Clark asked as he leaned against the counter on his with his arms crossed over his chest.

Dean smirked as he rested his arms on the counter and bent in to lean against the counter while looking over the relaxing younger man and admiring the bulging biceps and framed pecks. "Just passin' through. Am a Kansas man myself. Home's not far from here," he answered, then blinked as a cup of steaming coffee was placed in front of him. He looked over and smiled winningly at Kara. "Why darling...you made it so nice!" he declared and winked at her before pulling out his wallet.

"It's on me," Clark suddenly said as he reached over and stopped Dean with a hand on his arm. He smiled when Dean looked at him in surprise. "My apology for manhandling you," he added as his smile turned lopsided.

"Well I'll drink to that," Dean replied as he took a sip of his espresso in an effort to dispel the sheer *want* that had gone through him at the touch. He winked again at Kara as he put his cup down. "Perfect. Thanks sweet cheeks," he complimented her. He turned and cast another look over Clark in a quick once over before starting towards one of the tables. Or he would have if he didn't almost run over a young petite brunette. He stopped abruptly as he lifted his mug up so he wouldn't splash all over her. "Oh I'm so sorry!" he stated and wondered if he was now going to be cursed now that his luck had worked on finding Clark.

He blinked then as he noticed that she was staring at him with wide eyes like a deer caught in the headlights in her rapidly paling face. "J-Jason...you're...you're alive..." she whispered thickly as fear and panic flashed over her face.

"No, no! Name's Dean! I'm not this Jason guy!" Dean protested quickly as he reached out for her in concern. He had to *definitely* research whoever this Jason Teague guy was pronto! This mixed identity thing was getting old fast!

"Lana, it's ok! He's not Jason!" Clark stated soothingly as he came around the counter to her side. She looked up at him fearfully and he smiled gently. "It's ok...Jason isn't coming back, remember? It's not possible," he said soothingly.

Dean felt his heart sink at the tenderness and protectiveness that Clark was showing to the girl. 'Girlfriend...shoulda known,' he thought sadly, but he hid it as they looked over at him, one unsure and the other encouraging. "Yea, not Jason right here...name's Dean Winchester," he introduced himself, but he could feel the false charm that was coming into him no matter how hard he tried. He just couldn't figure out what he was disappointed about: that Lana was Clark's girlfriend or that there wasn't a chance in hell for something more now with Clark. The irony was not lost on him though over him wanting Clark instead of Lana, but he shrugged it off. "I was just...passin' through on my way to Metropolis to pick up my baby brother before going...going home," he explained and cleared his throat as he got stuck on the word 'home'. He hadn't been to Lawrence since their father had died and had meant to never go back. Things change in a New York minute as they say.

"Oh...well I hope you have a good trip," Lana responded somewhat coldly and Dean bit down on his naturally sarcastic reply as he forced a smile. She half-smiled back at him before going around him to the counter. Glancing at Clark, Dean shrugged before going over to sit at one of the alcoves to drink.

He kept an eye on the trio though as they spoke quietly near the back of the shop. Lana gestured wildly a couple of times and Dean caught the words 'meteor infected' and 'Lex', but basically was a bit lost. He read their lips as best he could and figured out that they were talking about the recent attacks. Apparently, all three of them had been attacked at their farm. Lana was talking about a Lex and he figured out that she must mean Lex Luthor. But the conversation turned then to Lana as well as Clark warning Kara away from Dean himself. Dean wasn't sure on why he was such a threat to them just yet, but that piqued his interest for sure.

Finishing his coffee, he stood up and headed out, knowing that he had to investigate Clark now for sure. He had a very strong gut feeling that Clark was almost directly connected with the accidents. He pulled out his phone as soon as he got outside and called Sam. "Hey."

"Hey...so did you find out anything?" Sam asked and Dean could tell by the low tone that his brother was most likely in either a library or the city hall records and didn't want to be heard.

"Maybe. I need to investigate about this Jason Teague guy first," Dean answered as he squinted in the bright sun before putting his shades on and sitting against his car. "But I found out who the quote unquote victims are. They all look pretty damn healthy for having nearly gotten squashed by a tractor and having nails shot at them from a hardware store," he added as he tilted his head back to absorb the sun.

"Well that's good, isn't it?" Sam retorted and Dean had to snort at the smile he could hear in his brother's voice.

"Yes and no. I'm talking zero scratches, bruises, and injuries here, man. It was like nothing had happened!" Dean explained and sighed as he looked around. "Something's really weird about them, Sam. I'm gonna stick around and see if I can't get Clark or maybe Kara to open up to me," he added and it was Sam's turn to snort.

"Let me guess...Kara's a hot babe and you're going to show her the Winchester charm?" Sam remarked and Dean couldn't stop the grin that crossed his lips.

"Well, could do that. She's got the longest damn legs I've ever seen!" he declared in appreciation, but the image in his head wasn't Kara...it was Clark. He shook his head and blew out a breath. "So what about you? Find anything in your research mode, Watson?" he asked wittily and Sam chuckled as the sound of a page turning was heard.

"Not much outside of reports saying that in both cases there were supposedly voices heard just before whatever blew up did so. The authorities are saying that it's probably vandals, but from the evidence in these police reports, there weren't any finger prints and no signs of breaking and entering," Sam replied before sighing heavily. "I'm thinking of checking out the last site for EMF readings."

"Sounds like a plan. Want me to come back to help?" Dean inquired as he straightened up and stuffed a hand into his jacket pocket to get his keys.

"Nah, I got this. That office's security is pretty routine. You'd think that with them being so high end that they could afford a decent security system," Sam responded and they both chuckled. It wasn't often that they got bested by a security system and Sam was better than Dean was at breaking the codes, which was interesting since Dean had been the one who'd taught him everything.

"All right. You call me though if you get like...arrested or whatever. Try not to get your pretty girly mug on the cameras," Dean teased his brother and grinned as Sam chuckled before hanging up. He looked up at the sky for a minute in contemplation then stood up. But he didn't get anywhere as Clark suddenly stopped him.

"Who were you talking to?" Clark interrogated him grimly as he leaned his hand on the car next to Dean's hip, putting them in each other's space.

Swallowing a bit as he leaned back, Dean stared at Clark. "What? Whoa, were you like...eavesdropping on me?" he shot back as he tried to think fast on how to answer. For a reason he couldn't explain, he didn't want to nor enjoy lying to Clark. There was just something about the other man that inspired both a sense of honesty and secrecy that were constantly conflicting within him.

"Who is Sam?" Clark questioned him intently, enunciating the words as he leaned in even closer. When Dean didn't answer, he huffed and ran a hand through his hair before glaring at Dean. "Don't get involved! Whatever you guys are doing, stay out of this!" he hissed out.

"Dude fine! Just...back off, will ya? Go make sure your girlfriend isn't accusing anyone else of being some weird ex-boyfriend, would ya?" Dean protested testily, somewhat alarmed at Clark's intuitiveness and how angry he was. Clark's eyes narrowed as he shifted back and Dean put his hands up before heading for the driver's side and opening the door. "Whatever man...I don't even want to know how you were eavesdropping on a *private* conversation," he added before getting into his car. He started the car up and glanced in the rearview mirror to lock eyes with Clark before he pulled out and drove off. Now he was *definitely* going to investigate Clark's involvement!

Clark watched Dean drive away and crossed his arms over his chest. Since the moment he'd seen Dean, he'd felt things that he couldn't explain. He'd even recognized the guy from a couple of years back when they'd been dealing with a bunch of the meteor freaks that had broken out of Belle Reve and gone after him, Chloe, and Lana. But when he'd heard Dean talking with a guy named Sam about the Luthorcorp attacks, a sense of protectiveness had risen up. He couldn't let a couple of innocent guys get caught up in whatever was going on. He just hoped that they stayed out of it.

TBC

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