Hayley's expression hardened when he mentioned lying to her being the smartest course of action, her muscles tensing. It hurt to hear him say it and there was a deep understanding in those words that, no matter what she did, he would probably never trust her again. Not unless he could understand.

"Would I be friends with someone with secrets? Yeah, of course. Everyone has secrets. And well, okay, most of them aren't as big as yours, but I'm not going to rule someone out for lying." She crossed her arms with the sudden feeling of vulnerability that set in.

"You said you understood why I was afraid and why I attacked you, but you keep acting like I'm.. I don't know. A villain? If I had known who you are, it wouldn't have happened. And I'm not- Obviously I'm not blaming you, but I'm not going to tell anyone and I-"

She swallowed hard, trying not to let the hurt filter into her tone. Her expression was pained.

"I'm not that person, Clark. The things that happen here aren't even close to possible in my world. I'm fifteen. I'm not- I'm not trying to make excuses, I know it was bad. ..No one prepared me for any of this. No one even prepared me for middle school. I make it up as I go and so far, yeah, I've done an okay job with some terrible mistakes. I'm not a hero and I might not even be a good person, but I'm trying not to be a bad one. I'm really trying."