I hope you enjoy this latest installment of my AU.

Someone to Watch Over Me

The bell of the grocery store door jingled as Clark walked in. He smiled at the woman at the counter, who smiled back.

"Good morning, Ms. Stein."

"Good morning, Clark."

He meandered around, putting things in the basket and occasionally checking the list his mom gave him. He paused in front of the fig bars and pulled the wad of bills out of his pocket to check if he had enough for an extra snack. He didn't. Mildly disappointed, he headed over to the cereal section. The bell rang again, and Clark heard several people shuffle inside. Ms. Stein exchanged hellos with them, and Clark's stomach dropped when he recognized their voices. They were Russell's friends. Russell wasn't with them, but Brad was. Brad was Russell's older cousin, sidekick, and fellow member of the football team. Clark quickly grabbed a box of oatmeal and walked faster, hoping to get out of there before they noticed him. It was impossible, really. The store was so small, there was no way they weren't going to see him. Clark steeled himself for the inevitable and put on a stoic face as he regarded the peaches. They chatted as they walked toward the refrigerated section. His back was to them, so maybe they wouldn't notice him.

They didn't for several seconds, before one of the girls whispered, "Hey, is that Kent?"

A moment of silence passed as they all looked at him.

"Hey, Kent," Brad said.

Clark didn't bother to look up.

"Are you ignoring me, Kent?"

He walked over and lowered his voice so Ms. Stein wouldn't hear.

"I saw you got a girlfriend."

Something in Clark twitched.

"I don't know how you managed it. Probably because she's from out of town. Everyone here knows better than to date a freak like you. I mean, even Lana wouldn't go for you. Unless, Lois is into freaks. Does it turn her on, or something?"

Clark was in Brad's face before he knew what came over him. Fear flashed over the taller boy's face before it was replaced by cocky satisfaction.

"What? Did that piss you off, Kent? You gonna hit me?"

Clark was ready to take him up on that, but Ms. Stein interrupted with an apprehensive, "What are you kids doing back there?"

They stared each other down for a few more seconds until Clark forced himself to turn away. He strode stiffly to the register and set the basket down with a little more force than necessary.

"You alright, honey?"

He nodded, but he was shivering with rage.

'''''''''''

Lois absent-mindedly peeled the bark off a twig as she watched Clark thrash around. They were by the riverbank, and she was sitting on a blanket beside their lunch. Clark, however, was violently kicking a log, sending splinters flying everywhere. Of course, he was far enough away that they didn't hit her, but she could see how vicious it was.

"Clark, when are you gonna tell me what happened?"

He paused, swaying on his feet.

"Brad," he said with so much vitriol, poison should have been dripping from his lips.

He reached down, snatched up a stone, and hurled it across the river. It hit one of the upper branches of a tree, which toppled noisily toward the ground.

"Ok, stop," she said sternly as she stood up and walked over to him, "You're gonna sit down and tell me what happened right now."

He didn't sit down, and he avoided eye contact.

"Brad was being an asshole at the store this morning."

"What did he say?"

Clark sighed and looked at her.

"You're gonna get ticked off."

"I'm already ticked off. I told you, if you'd let me, I'd deal with those guys."

He tilted his head and looked down.

"He said...that he couldn't believe that I have a girlfriend, and no one in Smallville would date me because I'm a freak...And...he asked if you...God, Lois, it was so disrespectful!"

"To me?"

"Yes!"

"Clark, I wanna know. It involves me; I have a right."

His brow furrowed, and he bit his bottom lip. She crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly until he huffed and slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"He asked if it turns you on that I'm a freak."

Lois blinked.

"I see. So, where is he right now?"

"Lois…"

"Tell me."

After a minute of silence, he said, "Bleachers."

She turned and walked away, and he followed her, wondering if he would regret this.

'''''''''''

Russell's clique was there, along with their leader.

"Two birds, one stone," Lois said over her shoulder to Clark, who was visibly nervous now.

He wished he could convince her to stop this, but it was too late now. They had been spotted. Lois marched right up to Russell and Brad.

"You both owe Clark an apology," she said decidedly and looked at Brad, "And you owe me an apology."

Russell grinned, and Brad followed suit. The former looked behind her at Clark.

"What, are you getting your girlfriend to fight your battles for you now?"

"Excuse me," Lois said, "I'm talking to you."

Russell looked surprised as he returned his gaze to Lois.

"Are you going to apologize? It shouldn't be hard; you know what you did."

Russel scoffed.

"Apologize for what? I never hurt him."

Anger seethed up inside Clark again.

"If you're so eager to find out which of you would win in a fight, I'll answer that question for you right now. Him. And to make it extra easy for someone like you to understand, I'll fight you, so can see how high the bar is."

Everyone looked confused, except for Clark, who was horrified.

"What?"

"You heard me. If you lose, then you'll know there's no way in hell you could ever beat Clark."

"I'm not gonna fight you!"

"What, you won't hit a girl, but you'll throw rocks at someone you know won't defend themselves?"

Russell gawked at her. Lois, meanwhile, took off her jacket and threw it at Clark, who was starting to panic.

"So, what's it gonna be? You can either apologize or fight."

"I'm still not gonna fight you, kid."

Lois took a menacing step toward him, and he and Brad flinched. Clark twitched, ready to pull her away.

"I'll apologize," Brad blurted, and Russell whipped his head around to stare at him in shock, "Sorry about this morning."

She looked expectantly at Russell, who only looked more defiant. She took another step closer.

"I swear to God," she almost hissed, "if you lay a hand on him again, I'm coming for your punk ass."

She turned on her heel, strode over to Clark, and didn't pause as she grabbed her jacket back and continued away. Clark scurried after her.

"Wow, Lois…"

"If they bully you again, you'll tell me, right?"

"Will you actually fight them?"

"Of course."

He balked at that. As if she could read his thoughts, she looked at him.

"I can handle myself," she said firmly.

He wanted to concede and promise to tell her, but he couldn't if it meant landing her in that kind of situation. She sighed as she looked away.

"Even if you don't tell me, I'll still know. I can read you like a book."

"I know."

He reached for her hand and interlaced their fingers.

"Thank you, Lois."

She made a disgruntled noise, and he smiled faintly.

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