Teaser: Moving On
Lois Lane sat dejectedly alongside the makeshift fireplace near the antique brick wall in Lana's old apartment above the Talon Coffee Shop. Her younger cousin Chloe Sullivan had just come in after a late night date with Jimmy Olsen. Lois wolfed down the last of her ice cream.
She'd polished off a full quart over the course of the evening. "Wow! You're really in the dumps, aren't you Lo'?" Chloe asked worriedly. At least it hadn't been a fifth of Gentleman Jack, she thought sourly. "Yeah, you might say that, Chlo'." Lois replied.
"How was your date with the ace photographer?" She added, unable to keep the hint of bitterness out of her voice. "Okay, but my guess is that you don't particularly care right now. Do you want to talk about it?" Chloe sat next to the pretty twenty-two year old.
"I don't know. I mean, shouldn't I be happy?" Lois was truly perplexed. "I finally got the job at the Daily Planet, following in your footsteps, all my bills are paid for, the General and Lucy have made up..." Her voice trailed off. "But...?" Chloe prodded.
Lois curled up into a ball on the well worn couch, tucking her feet beneath her. "I mean, it's not as if guys are pounding on my door for a date." Chloe suppressed a smile. Oh is that all? She silently felt relieved. "Boy problems...or lack thereof." Lois nodded sheepishly.
"Pretty pathetic, huh?" Chloe shook her head and grabbed a box of potato chips, snapping off the boxtop in the process. "No Lois. It's just the normal dating blues.
I'm like the queen of unrequited love, but for what it's worth, you're still young, you've plenty of time to find Mr. Right. Besides, with your new position at the Planet, dating will be the last thing on your mind."
Lois stared at her like a deer in the headlights. "Not helping, huh?" Chloe admitted. "Sorry Lo' but I pretty much used up all my great speeches on a certain troublesome farm boy we know. I swear trouble comes looking specifically for Clark." That's no joke, either.
"At least Lana's back to normal." Lois said, though Chloe thought she noticed a decided lack of sincerity in her voice. "Well, not really. Lana is no longer comatose, but she's far from back to normal. To be honest, I don't think that she'll be coming back from this disaster."
"That sucks." Lois remarked. Now that sounds more like my Lois, Chloe thought cynically. "Clark can pull her through right?" Lois added hopefully. "I don't know, cuz. She was talking about leaving Smallville for good this time." Chloe informed her.
"Then Clark's going to sell the farm and go wherever with her?" Lois probed. Chloe noted that her downtrodden cousin seemed unusually interested in the Lana and Clark soap opera.
"I'm not sure. Clark's not the same as he used to be anymore either. The last four years have been hell on all of us, space aliens, meteor freaks, and crazed megalomaniacs to boot."
Lois had begun to consider a new crazy idea that Chloe knew nothing about. "I thought this was your pity party, how did we get on the subject of Lana and Clark?" Chloe asked.
"You're right. Care to help me wallow in some more ice cream?" Lois attempted to grin, yet came up short. "Sure. What is family for, if not to contribute to your cholesterol poisoning?"
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