Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 19: Confrontations & Batrayal

'Oh, shit,' were the first two words to run through Clark's mind. Oliver remembered! How did Oliver remember? Then again, he had been slipping for a while now.

His mind immediately flashed back to last night. "My Blondie." His heart sank and his stomach tightened. Oliver heard him and he must've connected all the dots.

"I see you are not denying my claims," Oliver pointed out. "So I can assume that I was correct? You and Kal are the same person?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, we are. That was me three years ago."

Brown eyes looked at him, filled with betrayal. "How could you do this to me?"

"I never meant to . . ." Clark started, "I didn't want to hurt you."

Oliver laughed, but it was a cold and harsh. "You didn't mean to hurt me? You lied to me! You pretended to be this great friend and listened as I poured out my heart, as I told you all my feelings for Kal. Was it funny for you? Did you find it amusing, listening to the confident Oliver Queen go all mushy and heartbroken over you?"

"No, Oliver, it wasn't funny at all," Clark said, "I wasn't pretending to be your friend."

"You always did enjoy messing with my head," Oliver continued, "Even three years ago, I remember all the times I had to go after you." He shook his head. "I KNEW, the minute I saw you in the penthouse, I knew that I had seen you before."

"I didn't know then," Clark cut in, "When I saw you, I felt as if I had met you before too but I didn't know where or when."

"When did you remember?" Oliver wanted to know.

"That night." He admitted.

"So, you've been lying to me for quite a while now." Oliver said.

"I couldn't tell you, Oliver!" Clark exclaimed, "I mean, how do you tell somebody something like this? At first, we didn't know each other well enough . . ."

"And later?" Oliver asked, "How about later? Don't lie, Clark, you never planned to tell me and you know it!"

"No, you're right, I never was going to tell you," Clark agreed, "But I had my reasons. If I told you I was the same person that only three years ago broke your heart, would you have ever seen me the same way again?"

"I always thought you were so good," Oliver said sadly, "So honest and so pure. I was wrong."

"I am not perfect, Oliver, I never pretended to be," Clark said desperately. "I've told you that before. If you thought that, then you never knew me at all."

Oliver was silent. "Oliver, who I was then," Clark said, "The person you met three years ago, that wasn't me."

"I should've known," Oliver whispered, "I can't believe it took me this long to figure this out. It was all there . . . why you were so desperate for me not to know about your summer in Metropolis, the shooting comment, your goddamn EYES."

He met Clark's gaze. "Tell me, Clark, was I one of those things you regretted?"

"No, never," Clark said automatically, "You were one of the few parts of that summer I didn't regret."