Hayley shook her head in confusion at his words. "What do you mean you drew the line because it's there, but they're both you? I don't get it."
It didn't make sense to her. Thanks mainly to Bart's efforts, Hayley was beginning to understand the idea of Bart Allen and the Flash being different sides of the same person, which could reasonably be extended to Clark as well and seemed in line with what he said a moment before. But now he was talking about distinctions and lines drawn and that was something she didn't entirely comprehend.
It was nothing she had ever really had to deal with. The closest she had come was the people here finding out about what she'd done to Superman, but there was no fancy nickname or cool costume to go with it. She was just Hayley Stark.
To the latter, she intentionally paused to give it some thought. When she spoke, it was with decisiveness. "Not right away."
She took a deep breath to explain. "When I realized you were Clark, I didn't feel guilty. Not right away. I realized I'd made a mistake, sure, but I thought I had been doing the right thing. It wasn't until I talked to other people-" She gave an unconscious, partial glance back toward Kon as one such example. "-that I realized why it was wrong.
They still would have talked to me, even if I didn't know you were 'Clark Kent, journalist,' and I would have felt the same. I mean, I don't know if I would have given back the K.. I can't answer that. I didn't even know I'd do it now until I decided to. But apologizing? You being Clark made that way harder."
She paused. "I think Superman will always remind me of how I died and how I screwed up big time and Clark Kent will always make me feel safer, but I wouldn't still be here talking to you if I wasn't trying to trust both sides."
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It didn't make sense to her. Thanks mainly to Bart's efforts, Hayley was beginning to understand the idea of Bart Allen and the Flash being different sides of the same person, which could reasonably be extended to Clark as well and seemed in line with what he said a moment before. But now he was talking about distinctions and lines drawn and that was something she didn't entirely comprehend.
It was nothing she had ever really had to deal with. The closest she had come was the people here finding out about what she'd done to Superman, but there was no fancy nickname or cool costume to go with it. She was just Hayley Stark.
To the latter, she intentionally paused to give it some thought. When she spoke, it was with decisiveness. "Not right away."
She took a deep breath to explain. "When I realized you were Clark, I didn't feel guilty. Not right away. I realized I'd made a mistake, sure, but I thought I had been doing the right thing. It wasn't until I talked to other people-" She gave an unconscious, partial glance back toward Kon as one such example. "-that I realized why it was wrong.
They still would have talked to me, even if I didn't know you were 'Clark Kent, journalist,' and I would have felt the same. I mean, I don't know if I would have given back the K.. I can't answer that. I didn't even know I'd do it now until I decided to. But apologizing? You being Clark made that way harder."
She paused. "I think Superman will always remind me of how I died and how I screwed up big time and Clark Kent will always make me feel safer, but I wouldn't still be here talking to you if I wasn't trying to trust both sides."