"You're fired…"
"What?!" Richard yelled nearly jumping out of his chair.
"We feel you haven't been giving this job your all. We will be replacing you very soon." His boss informed him grimly. Richard laughed hysterically.
"You're serious aren't you?" he said through his manic chuckles
"Dead serious, Richard. Please go, pack your things and leave. Nice working with you and goodbye." Perry White told him firmly. Richard walked out the door and down the hall with a dreamy, helpless smile on his face. That was the start of everyone's problems.
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"And so he comes home with a face like a long wet week moaning about how he's lost his job like it's the end of the oblivious to everyone else in the whole damn house! And THEN he goes off to have 'a few' and doesn't come home till the crack of dawn!" Lois told her sister exasperatedly, running a hand through her tangled hair. Lily nodded understandingly back at her.
"But that's only the start of it! Next morning he's not in bed so I assume he's down in the kitchen. I go downstairs and there he is not making breakfast or anything.No! Hes slumped half on the couch drunk and asleep! Arghh!"She cried out in frustration. Lois collapsed on the couch staring at the ceiling. A single tear ran down her already red cheek.
"He's not the man he used to be, Lily. He sits at home moping all day and stays out all night getting drunk. Sometimes he's drunk by the time I come home from work! He trashes the house, singing like a lunatic! Such an example for Jason! It's no use talking to him. He just goes straight out the door! He doesn't care about anything anymore. Not even Jason! This isn't the man I loved, Lily.Hes changed! What am I going to do?!" Lois asked her sister hopelessly.
"Moneys so tight I'm going to have to take Jason out of his kindergarten. But HE doesn't give a damn.He can find money for his drinks but can't be bothered about his family. I can't live like this anymore, Lily!" She told her sister with tears streaming down her face.
Lily put her arm around Lois and hugged her tight as the younger sister sobbed quietly.
"Maybe you should move out, Lois.Start off anew. You could even stay with me" Lily suggested.
"I would if only I could be sure he's not coming back. If only some one could just tell me. 'He's gone loopy for good. Leave him to his misery and get a life.' Oh, I don't know any more!" Lois cried hopelessly again.
"Mommy…?"Came a little voice from upstairs. Lois quickly wiped her red eyes and steadied herself.
"Coming, honey." she told Jason reassuringly as she entered his room.
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Breathing deeply, Lois straightened her cream colored pencil skirt. Her head held high, she strode out of the lift and down the hall. Hard as she tried, Lois could not help but over hear the whispers going round.
"I heard Richards cheating on her."
"Really? I thought he'd gone nuts because she was cheating on him with Superman."
"What a slut!"
Hurt, she fought back tears for the thousandth time. Her pace quickened before she came down heavily on her chair and put her head on the table.
"Is it just me, or is Lois Lane having a break down?" Jimmy whispered to Clark who shrugged in reply. Jimmy watched as Clark brought a cup of coffee into the lion's den.
"Coffee?" Clark offered. Lois looked up, startled, but smiled thankfully when she saw Clark.
"Thanks Clark. You're a dear." To which he smiled shyly. Clark watched as Lois slowly sipped the drink. Her gorgeous green-brown eyes were closed. Her beautiful long lashes rested on her slightly puffy cheeks. No matter what she was doing, Lois always managed to look so perfect in his eyes.
"Ughh…"she sighed, frowning slightly, setting the cup down.
"What's wrong? Is it the coffee? Do you want sugar? I can get it if you want…"Clark offered, his words tumbling out. Lois smiled again.
"No, no…The coffee couldn't be better.No.Richards just being a little…difficult." she explained smiling sadly. Clark could see the pain in her eyes and it broke his heart. He would give anything to stop her from ever being sad again.
"Clark?" Lois asked. He started.Realising he had been staring, he blushed furiously.
"Em…I'll be going now…"He stammered. Smiling weakly, he backed away, knocking over the chair behind him on the way out.
Lois hid a smile behind her hand as he closed the door behind him. Lately, Lois noticed how sweet a guy Clark was. Those earnest, deep blue eyes peering out of his glasses. They seemed somehow so familiar and mysterious. Something attractive about him was slowly showing. As if there was some thing more to him. Lois shook her head.No.Deal with one thing at a time. Sighing, she returned to her work.
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"At first, when I see you crrry.Yeah, it makes me smmiiile.Yeah, it makes me smmiiile!"
A man stood in the middle of the road hollering, a crazed smile on his face. A bottle of beer in his hand, he danced round and round in the pouring rain, oblivious to the approaching car.
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"And so the clever cat pranced all the way home." concluded Lois. Jason looked happily at the illustrations in the picture book. Lois pulled the bed covers around her son and kissed his head.
Rrriiinggg! Shrilled the phone downstairs.
"I'll be right back love…"She told Jason and hurried to answer the phone.
"Yes? Yes, this is his house" she said grimly
"What?! Are you sure? Oh my god…"Lois exclaimed as she collapsed into a nearby chair.
"Yes, Il is there in a minute. Thank you…" Quick as she could, Lois dialed her sister's number.
"He's dead Lily." Lois whispered unbelievingly.
"He's what?!" yelled the elder on the other side of the line.
"Dead.Gone.Forever, Lily." Lois whispered back. Forever. The word echoed in her head. Lois suddenly felt alone, scared, empty…Forever…
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"Where's Lois?" asked Clark. She wasn't in the office and Clark was starting to worry.
"You haven't heard?" Jimmy replied grimly. Clark shook his head. Jimmy patted his arm.
"Let's just say she's now 'single and available'" he told Clark before walking off.
"Oh…"
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Curled up alone on the couch, Lois sobbed uncontrollably. Richard was gone. He was never coming back.Ever.Her life was once again shattered completely. What was she going to do? Lois sobbed harder. Why couldn't it be easy for her? Just once in her life? Why?
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That night Lois's troubled sleep was interrupted by the squeak of Jason's window. Her heart hammering, Lois shot out of bed. Softly opening the door of his room, she peered around. There, hovering by the window was the Man of Steel, gazing at Jason. Moonlight shone through the window. His huge frame casting a shadow across her son. Lois stared, wide eyed, at him. This caped wonder! So deep, so powerful, so…perfect! How Lois wanted to just rush to him and collapse in his strong arms! Accidently, she let the door creak. Superman looked up at her with a small smile that made her weak at the knees.
"I hope you don't mind…"he said softly in his sweet, powerful and yet gentle voice. Lois shook her head, unable to utter anything that made sense. In the far distance, an alarm went off. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't. The way it always was…
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"Ooo! Lois has a crush!" taunted Lucy. Lois blushed furiously in front of her grinning sisters.
"Does he have a name?" Lily probed. Lois mumbled something non-sensecical. Lucy nudged her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't hear you…"she teased.
"Clark Kent!" Lois yelled at her. Lucy's jaw dropped.
"You're not serious. That geek from your office?" she exclaimed.
"He's not a geek, Lucy.Hes really sweet." Lois told her, turning pink again.
"Well, it's about time you started to move on anyway. It has been half a year since…"Lucy rambled but was cut off by a sharp nudge from Lily.
"Its okay, he can't hurt me anymore." Lois told them with a small smile. Her sisters beamed back at her.
"Well I've got a new romance too!" Lucy chimed.
"What happened to yesterdays?" Lily frowned.
"He started counting his change in front of me…"Lucy shuddered. Lois and Lily giggled uncontrollably. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"As I was saying, his names Nate, hes super cute, not too bright but still.Hes soooo cute!" Lucy gushed.
"I'm sure he is…"Lily replied sarcastically to which Lucy pouted. The three girls burst into a fit of giggles again.
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Frantically, Lois rushed towards the lift.
"Shit, shit, shit." she swore under her breath glancing at her watch yet again. The lift crawled at snail's pace upwards. Minutes crawled by.
"Need a ride?" came a soft voice from the window. Lois nearly jumped a foot into the air. Quickly she recovered.
"No, thank you. The lift should be here soon enough." She said primly. Her heart pounded so loud she was afraid he'd hear it. Silently she begged him to rush in and literally sweep her of her feet and soar high, high into the gorgeous blue sky and-
"Are you sure?" Superman asked again with a small smile. Again Lois nearly jumped.
"Weelll…"she reply biting her lip and glancing up at the lift again. She sighed.
"I guess so…"she told him giving him her dainty hand. Lois clutched him tightly in fear as her feet left the ground. His free hand was firmly around her waist. She trembled at his slightest touch. The Man of Steel gazed into her dancing, sparkling eyes. He saw fear, yearning and sorrow that broke his heart. For love Superman knew he would do anything but for Lois he would do so much more. He flew her up to the roof top and set her down gently.
"Thanks" Lois managed to say. The smile he flashed melted her heart. Her legs felt like lead. He reached to touch her soft cheek. She just stood there staring at him, frozen.
"Words can't describe anything about you, Lois" he whispered brushing aside a strand of her wavy brown hair. He started to say something else but instead gave her an apologetic look before flashing away. Lois breathed deeply, trying to absorb what had happened. Feeling slightly more normal, she made her way to her computer like one in a dream.
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"Lois? Em…well…I was wondering if you were free tonight?" Clark asked her as they were packing up to go home. She glanced up in surprise and stared at him blankly.
"Never mind…"he stammered.
"What? No! Um, I mean.Yes! Yes, I'm free." She said quickly. Clark's face lit up.
"Great! I mean friends can go out to dinner can't they?" he beamed. Finally he was getting somewhere! Lois beamed back at him.
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"I really enjoyed myself Clark. I haven't had this much fun since- well, for a long time. Thanks…"Lois told him. Clark grinned and looked at the ground. Lois deliberately walked slowly up to the door and fumbled for her keys. Clark didn't move. She took as long as possible to open the door. Clark remained silent.
"Well, good night then." she told him from the door way.
"Yeah…um…err…yeah…I mean…Lois?" Clark stammered. Lois looked up hopefully.
"Maybe…well…I dunno…um…well…I guess I had a good time too." He finished sadly. Lois smiled.
"You're a really nice guy, Clark. Maybe we should do this more often." She suggested. Clark smiled goofily.
"Yes, I'd like that a lot. Good night, Lois." he said happily.
"It's a date then…"Lois replied and shut the door. Clark stared at the door unbelievingly.
It's a date, it's a date. The words sounded happily over and over again in his head.
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Lois lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Slut…she called herself. You're in love with Superman and you're planning dates with Clark?! Slut…She told herself again. Oddly, it felt so right. Like she was meant to love two men. Slut…she repeated before rolling over to sleep.
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A light breeze blew her hair off her face. Sighing, she sat on the edge of the building. Glancing around, Lois cautiously pulled a cigarette and lighter from her bag. Slowly, she inhaled the smoke. She sat back and started to relax. Suddenly, Lois caught a hint of black from the corner of her eye. Caww! Startled, her hand slipped and she fell backwards, off the building. Nothing more than a squeak escaped her lips. Fear enveloped her as she fell down, down towards the busy traffic. She closed her eyes and helplessly waited for the death that was spelt out for her. Strong arms held her tight. A hand cradled her head as she shivered with shock. Superman held her as she sobbed softly into his shoulder. Her heart beat wildly. The Man of Steel flew high into the sky hugging Lois to him as if he would never let go. High above Metropolis, he stopped. Gently he stroked her hair and let her sob. Slowly Lois raised her watery eyes to his. Their lips met. Fire surged through her body. Fireworks went off. Bells clanged joyfully.
"I love you, Lois." Superman whispered to her.
Author's Note :
Yes this is a one shot. I performed a terrible cliff hanger. Yes Perry fired his own nephew. shock If your uncle fired you would you be depressed? My point…And Richard goes loony mostly because he got addicted to alcohol.