Hayley nearly literally bumped face first into Clark Kent, catching herself less than a foot shy of the action when his words, rather than any attentiveness, brought her up short. She immediately stepped back just once to a comfortable distance, smiling up at him as if nothing was wrong and as if she hadn't been avoiding him along with everyone else.

"Hi, Clark." The words were meant to sound lightweight and carefree, to float gracefully instead of lingering awkwardly in the air as they ended up doing. There was something about Clark - about Superman - that continued to put her on edge. They both knew what it was, knew that their history had made things complicated.

And so, after a second, she added, "I wasn't avoiding you."