It was a cool Friday night. Lois Lane sat on a barstool at the Talon, twirling the white plastic straw that sat in her ice cold coffee. She had nothing to do but sit there, waiting for something to happen. Oliver was gone, and the farm was so big and lonely without Martha around. No way would she spend her Friday night with farm boy Clark Kent, that was for sure. Chloe was caught up in her little world of the Daily Planet and Jimmy. Chloe had been acting strangely coarse lately, and Lois wasn't sure why.

But for the first time in her life, Lois didn't have anything to think about or do. She tucked a stray blond hair behind her ear and twirled her barstool around to find Chloe standing there. "Lois! I've been looking everywhere for you. So, obviously without Oliver you're like totally upset, right? So, who better than the super search engine herself and best cousin ever – me – to find you the perfect man? No one! So I give to you, Mr. Fred Limebugger!" A short man that looked about 30 stood before Lois. Fred had short brown hair, a pale face dotted with red pimples, and he sported a sweater vest and loafers. Fred pushed is large, wire framed glasses up onto the brim of his nose. He stuck out his hand. "Fred Limebugger at your service, Ms. Lane!" Lois didn't shake his sticky palm. "Nice to, uh, meet you, uh, Fred. Why don't you find us a table?" Fred shrugged and scampered away. Lois turned to Chloe. "What the heck? You said 'The Perfect Man'! Why did you get me all excited for that nerd?" "Oh Lois, I'm sorry! He was the best I could do. Not many Daily Planet reporters are exactly smashing. And Fred has a good personality. I thought you could use someone to talk to! Hot or not!" Chloe gave Lois a sad look. "I thought I could talk to you," Lois mumbled. "What was that?" Chloe asked. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." "Nothing." "OK, good. I've got to go." "What's your rush?" "I'm meeting Jimmy in Metropolis! He's planning a romantic dinner for me! What a sweet guy, huh?" Chloe gave Lois a quick pat on the shoulder and rushed off through the nearly empty Talon.

Lois walked over to the table where Fred was seated, looking extremely bored. "Look, Fred," Lois began "I'm sure you're a really great guy. But – I'm really just not looking for anyone to get close to right now. Is that OK?" "Yeah, of course. I know what you mean. I just broke up with Shelley, the ultimate love of my life." "Oh yeah?" Lois sat down as Fred pulled out a picture of a woman with crooked teeth, big sunglasses, and electrifying red hair. She looked almost in her forties. "I'm sorry about Shelley, Fred." For another hour, Lois sat and talked to Fred – as a friend and nothing more. Maybe Chloe was right – she just needed someone to talk to. Hot or not.

The next day, Lois made her way into the kitchen at the Kent Farmhouse. Clark sat there, reading the morning paper and sipping a giant cup of coffee. He was still in his clothes from the day before. "Whoa, Smallville! Where were you last night? Stalking someone or something?" Lois opened a cereal box and poured herself some. "At least I wasn't chatting it up with a Daily Planet reporter until midnight." Lois just shook her head and ate her cereal. "Clark?" she asked. "Yeah, Lois?" "Have you noticed anything strange about Chloe lately?" "Funny you should ask. That's what I was thinking. Doesn't she seem a little – oh, I don't know…." "Forward?" Lois finished his sentence. "Yeah, forward. Like almost rude. And she's never been one to be rude, really. At least for the time I've known her." "Smallville, I've known her since she was wearing her pull-ups. She never doubted anyone and always kept their secrets." Clark nodded. He knew that for a fact. Chloe hadn't slipped even once since she had known about his alienation. "Anyway, I better get to some investigating on her case." Clark laughed at Lois's clever remark and went to do his chores. Lois ran back up the stairs and changed into a blue t-shirt and blue jeans. She pulled her hair back carelessly and threw on a black pair of flats. She raced out the door, grabbing her brown leather purse as she went.

At the Planet, Chloe sat at her desk typing away at her latest article. Lois approached her. "Hey Lo! How did your date go last night?" "I talked to Fred, and you were right, he has a good personality." "When am I not right, Lois? I think you know me well enough to know that I'm a pretty smart person." "Yeah, that's why I'm here. I thought I knew you, and I thought you were smart, but lately you've been acting…" Lois's voice trailed off. "Mean? I know. I've just been following this really great book I'm reading. The author's father killed the author's uncle, who was more like a father to him. It makes me angry and sad, and bad feelings came up about my mom and – I'm sorry, Lo. I'm sorry if I'm acting like I don't have time for you or anything. Are we cool?" Lois nodded. "So this book – is it really worth reading?" "Totally. Trust me, you should try it. The author is just so convincing and smart." Lois shrugged. She doubted that this writer was as convincing as Chloe made him sound. She didn't want to read a book that made Chloe – the sweetest person she knew – angry.

Lois said goodbye to Chloe and left the planet. As she was hiking the stairs, she ran into someone and fell. The person's papers flew everywhere. The both lay on the landing of the stairs, covered in old copies of the Daily Planet and pieces of stray notebook paper with scribbled quotes written all over them. Lois sat up. She looked straight into the eyes of a gorgeous blond boy. His hair flopped around his head just before his ears, showing off his tan face and white teeth. He wore a black silk shirt with a popped collar and blue jeans. "Sorry about that," he told Lois, gathering his papers. "It's no problem, really. What are all of these papers for?" "I'm working on my third book. I'm visiting Metropolis to get some good writing advice. One of the reporters is editing what I have so far." The boy gathered all of his papers and stood up. "Sorry about that, again," he said, walking down the remainder of steps. Lois found a piece of notebook paper at her feet. "You forgot this!" she called. The boy looked. "Keep it. You'll like it." He walked away as Lois looked down at the paper in her hands. It read: "When Hearts Like Ours Beat. By Lucas Scott."

That night, Lois lay on the couch in the farm house living room. She had read the paper over and over since she had gotten home from the Planet. But she couldn't comprehend the meaning of Lucas's words. All she knew was that his writing was deep and heart-felt. And good. Really good. She smiled each time she read the paper, although she had no idea what Lucas was trying to get across. Lois wanted to talk to him. His writing was convincing and intriguing and she wanted to read more. She decided that she would go to the Planet tomorrow to talk to Chloe and try to get a hold of Lucas Scott. She folded up the sheet of paper and stuck it in her back pocket. She was never one to be sentimental, but for some reason this paper made her soft. Clark sat in the kitchen, as usual, eating a piece of pie. He had the news on and was watching it attentively when Lois walked in. "Hi Lois. Anything on Chloe?" "Oh yeah. I totally forgot. Umm...it actually makes sense." Lois went on to explain Chloe's uncouth behavior. When Lois stopped, Clark nodded, as if he understood. Lois got up and went upstairs. This had been a long day. She was confused and tired, and found herself with nothing to look forward to. She suddenly felt lonely again as she changed into her flannel pajamas. But she heard a small crumble as she pulled off her jeans. She reached in to the back pocket and unfolded the sheet of paper. She suddenly wasn't lonely anymore.

Lucas awoke from a heavy sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about that girl. He hadn't caught her name. He hoped she would be at the Daily Planet again today. He got out of bed and changed into his work clothes. He grabbed his brief case and a cup of coffee and fled. It felt good to be a working man. When he arrived at the Planet, there was no sign of the girl. But he wanted to get in touch with her, not only because she had the first page of his book. But for another reason he couldn't quite explain. He decided to call Haley once he was in his office.

"Hello?"

"Hey Hales. How's James?"

"I'm good, thanks for asking!"

"Sorry. How are you?"

"Good. And James is good, too. He's sleeping like a….well, like a baby."

"Cool. Where's Nathan?"

"Where else but playing basketball?"

"Hah."

"So, Luke what's the real reason you're calling? You hardly ever call me anymore since you went to Kansas."

"I know, I'm sorry. Are you enjoying the book?"

"Don't change the subject. What's up?"

"I miss you Haley. I miss Tree Hill. I miss seeing James and Lily get older. What can I say? I have no better reason for calling you."

"It's a girl isn't it?"

"No. Of course not!"

"Yes it is, Luke. Don't try to deny it my friend. You've got a crush. I can smell it."

"You can smell it in North Carolina?"

"Yes, sir. Now I need you to tell me about her. What's her name?"

"I have no clue."

"Well, what a healthy start to a relationship."

"We just bumped into each other at work. It's nothing big. I don't even know her."

"Wrong. You don't know her yet. So why are you wasting your time talking to me? Go and get her!"

"Really?"

"Luke, I'm pulling for you. Haven't I always?"

"Yeah. Thanks Hales. I'll go try to find her."

"Good. Call me later."

"I will. Bye!"

"Bye Lucas!"

Lucas hung up with a smile. Who better than Haley to give him that extra boost of motivation? Like she had said, she was always pulling for him. And he didn't want to let her down. He left the office and went to look for the girl.

"Chloe, have you ever heard of a guy named Lucas Scott?" Lois stood in front of Chloe's desk at the Daily Planet, clutching the paper tightly in her hand. "Yeah! He's the author of that book I was telling you about!" Lois's jaw dropped. Suddenly it began to make sense. Lucas's words were very convincing as Chloe had said. Just enough to make you mad. Piece by piece, Lois played the puzzle back in her mind. Lucas was a famous author that just happened to stumble on her. He'd probably met tons of girls like her, and never wanted to commit because they were just another fan. "Yeah, and as luck would have it, he's working here at the Planet for some kind of research job. I'm going to talk to him on my lunch break. You can come if you want. Lois, can you kind of get out of my way? I have a deadline." "There you go again with your smarty-pants act!" "Sorry! Would you please remove your body from the desk?" Lois laughed at Chloe's super-polite tone. "OK. I will. And I'll go with you to see him on your lunch break, too." "Great. Oh, Lois? Why did you want to know who he was?" Lois almost showed Chloe the paper, but decided to keep it private. "I was uh….just curious."

Lucas sat at his desk at lunchtime. He had had no luck finding the girl. He searched everywhere, or so he thought. He never thought of searching the basement for the girl, where she really had been. He picked at his lunch when his phone rang.

"This is Lucas Scott at the Daily Planet research office. Can I help you?"

"Wow! You certainly do have that perfect office voice!"

"Hey, Haley."

"Any luck with the girl?"

"Nope. I searched everywhere and can't even find a trace of her."

"Well, it might help if you know her name!"

"Yeah. I'll try again tomorrow. I am here for another couple of months, after all."

"True."

The sound of a baby crying filled out Haley's end of the line.

"Sorry, Luke, I need to feed James! Talk to you later!"

"Bye, Hales!"

Lucas hung up just as his phone rang again.

"Mr. Scott, you have two visitors."

"Um….OK. Send them in Louise."

"Yes, sir."

The door opened just as Lucas hung up. Two girls stood in the door frame. One of them was her. She gave a quick little wave. "Howdy. Nice to meet you – again. I'm Lois, Lois Lane. And I enjoyed the first part of your book more than you know." Lucas smiled. "Thank you." The other girl looked confused. "You guys know each other?" Lois nodded. "We had a little run-in yesterday." "Oh." Lucas's smile faded. Was all Lois thought of it a "little run-in"? Lois handed him the sheet of paper. "Anyway, I'm Chloe Sullivan." The other blond girl stuck out her hand and Lucas shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. Please sit down." Chloe saw the glow on Lois's face and her mean streak settled down. "I would, Mr. Scott, but I should be getting back to work. It was great to meet you. I loved your book!" Chloe left the room quickly, leaving Lois and Lucas to talk among themselves and get to know each other.