 In the first season , Lana and Clark Kent ( Tom Welling ) are just beginning their friendship , as she is a popular cheerleader dating star quarterback Whitney Fordman ( Eric Johnson ) , and Clark cannot get near her without getting sick from the kryptonite necklace she wears . In the pilot episode , when her parents are killed in the first meteor shower , Lana is adopted by her aunt Nell ( Sarah @-@ Jane Redmond ) . As the first season progresses , Lana grows closer to Clark , while Whitney begins to distance himself because of his father 's medical ailments . In season two 's episode " Heat " Lana sends Whitney , who left Smallville for the Marines in the season one finale , a video message breaking up with him . Lana 's aunt Nell moves to Metropolis with her fiancé in the season two episode " Ryan " , but Lana opts to move in with her friend Chloe Sullivan ( Allison Mack ) so that she may finish high school in Smallville . 
