The rest of the week was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for Linda, emotionally speaking: her friends had dropped the whole dance issue, but even after talking with her mother, Linda found it a little awkward to be around Dick—and it didn't help that he appeared to be avoiding interacting with her as much as possible. The young girl was disappointed, but she kept it to herself as she buried herself in her schoolwork, art, and chores—especially with the crops ready for harvesting.
Monday came quicker than expected, but despite her apprehensions Linda was definitely looking forward to dressing up in her various outfits. After doing her morning chores and eating breakfast, she quickly got dressed and admired herself in her full-length mirror before grabbing her backpack off her bed and heading downstairs. She stopped at the foot of the stairs when she saw her parents cleaning the kitchen.
"So, what do you think?" she asked.
Martha and Jonathan looked over at their daughter. The theme for the day was 'Favorite Television Character,' and Linda had chosen to go as the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who: she wore a dark blue suit with pinstripes over a white dress shirt and deep red tie; a pair of deep red high-top Converse shoes, a long cinnamon brown coat, and a replica of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, completed the look.
"With all the female characters from that show at your disposal," Jonathan replied, amused, "you choose to dress up as the male lead."
"Because the Doctor actually wore glasses on a regular basis in some of his incarnations," Linda said, smiling, "and they make him look clever." She saw Jonathan raise an eyebrow, and she grinned as she gently adjusted her loose ponytail, "and because he's the most awesome character on the show." She pointed the sonic screwdriver at her pets as they ate from their food dishes and pushed the button; its blue light glowed while it made its trademark sound effects, but both Krypto and Streaky ignored her as they continued eating.
"Guess it doesn't work on wood and pets," Linda remarked, smirking.
Martha chuckled then she grabbed her camera off the counter. "Let me get a few shots before you leave," she said. Linda put her backpack down and stood in various poses while Martha took picture after picture. After she finished, Linda grabbed her backpack and kissed her parents' cheeks.
"Have a good day, sweetie," Jonathan said.
"I will," Linda replied, "and as the good Doctor would say: Allons-y." She grinned and blurred out of the house. Martha and Jonathan chuckled and shook their heads before going back to work.
Around three thirty, Clark had returned from an interview for a story he was working on. He made his way over to his desk and he logged into his computer; immediately, he saw the popup window, indicating he had new email. He opened his email, and saw an email from his mother with 'Spirit Week: Day 1' in the subject with some attachments. Clark clicked open the email and saw the photos Martha had taken of Linda; he grinned and chuckled as he clicked through each one.
"So, she's gone over to the geek side, huh?" Clark glanced over and saw Lois looking over his shoulder at the photos, amused. "I can't believe she got roped into liking that dopey show."
"Oh, it's not too bad, actually," Clark replied, smiling.
"An alien time traveling in a phone box," Lois said. "That is lame and totally unbelievable."
"Unlike a man who can fly," Chloe pointed out as she joined them.
"If anyone ever sees a blue flying box," Lois said, "I will recant my statement." She saw the last photo of Linda and raised an eyebrow. "And why does she look like she's running?"
"'He saves worlds, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures and runs a lot.'"
The trio looked over to see Jimmy standing nearby, arms folded, staring at the photo with a slight smile on his face. When he realized the group was looking at him, he looked almost embarrassed at being caught, like he had no place in the conversation; his smile disappeared as his cheeks turned red. "Sorry, I'll go."
"No, Jimmy, it's okay," Clark reassured, "you're fine."
"You sure?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, yeah, it's okay," Lois answered quickly, walking over and putting her arm around Jimmy's shoulders. "Clark really doesn't mind you ogling his cousin."
"I don't?" Clark asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Lois," Jimmy said calmly.
"I mean, she's really not that bad looking, either," Lois continued, "and the fact that she shares the same obsessions as you definitely works in your favor."
"Lois, stop," Jimmy said, more firmly. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do," Lois insisted. "What Lucy did to you was unacceptable."
"And it was two months ago," Jimmy pointed out, "and I've dealt with it." He knew it was a lie—he was still embarrassed and hurt by what had happened—but he didn't want them knowing that.
"So, then what's stopping you from going after Linda?" Lois asked. "Clark doesn't mind you going after his cousin."
"Uh, Lois," Chloe spoke up suddenly, "I need some help with my article." Before Lois could protest, Chloe steered her over to her desk, leaving Clark and Jimmy alone; the two just stared at each other, uncertain who should speak first.
"Just for the record, Clark," Jimmy said after a few minutes, "I wasn't ogling Linda."
"I know," Clark replied, knowing that wasn't completely true but deciding it wasn't best to bring it up. "And don't be too upset with Lois; she means well."
"I know," Jimmy replied, "and I know she's hurt that Lucy moved out to live with their father, but I wish Lois wouldn't take that as an invitation to try fixing me up with someone just because she feels guilty. I'm doing just fine on my own."
"And you and I both know that's not entirely true," Clark said honestly. Jimmy didn't say anything, but his expression gave him away. "But I said I wasn't going to pry, and I'm not going to."
"Thanks," Jimmy replied. He glanced at the photo on the screen and smiled a little. "She did a pretty good job with the costume."
"She really likes the show," Clark said helpfully.
"I still can't believe she's seen every episode before me," Jimmy replied, pretending to be annoyed.
Clark chuckled and smiled. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Dad's helping her design a shelving unit with doors to hold all her DVDs."
"Let me guess," Jimmy said, amused, "Linda wants it to look like the TARDIS."
"Complete with working sounds and lights." Jimmy laughed a little.
"Olsen!"
Jimmy suddenly stiffened, getting a deer-in-the-headlights expression as he quickly scrambled toward Perry's office. Clark watched the teenager, then glanced at the picture Linda. He chuckled and shook his head before closing out his email and getting to work on his story.
Later that afternoon, after school, Linda had decided to spend some time in the art room, working. She sat in front of an easel, a couple of smocks protecting her costume as she focused intently on her painting. It was still in the early stages, but anyone would have been able to recognize the bright colors and patterns slowly taking the shape: a bunch of brightly-colored balloons. She dotted each with a speck of paint to appear as they were reflecting light, the tip of her tongue jetting out of her mouth.
"That is looking really nice."
Linda smiled a little as she turned her head and saw Dick approaching. He had dressed as Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Sherlock Holmes: a dark purple dress shirt (top button undone) under a slim cut black suit, a pair of knock-off Oxfords, dark grey double-breasted long coat (unbuttoned with the collar turned up), and a navy blue scarf doubled up and looped around his neck; his hair was tousled and styled almost exactly as Cumberbatch's.
"Hey," Linda replied, "what are you doing here?"
"Waiting for Wally and Cutter to finish," Dick answered as he came over. "We're gonna go to the Talon; wanna join us?"
"Actually, I was planning on finishing this up today," Linda said as she went back to work, "then I have to go home." She looked at him apologetically, as if to save 'harvest time.'
"I understand," Dick said as he watched her painting. He knew it was just a two-dimensional painting, and he had been really impressed by Linda's drawing from the contest (even if he hadn't been too thrilled knowing the story behind the dancing scene), but he was still surprised by how much talent Linda had; the details she painted into the balloons made them appear so real that Dick expected them to float away at any moment.
Linda glanced over at his watched him looking at her painting, and she felt a little self-conscious. "It's not very good, is it?" she said softly.
"Are you kidding?" Dick asked. "Linda, this is really good."
"You really think so?" Linda asked.
"Yeah, I do," Dick replied. He glanced down at Linda, watching her as she focused all her attention on her work, and he almost left her alone, but he took a deep breath. "Hey, Linda, could I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," Linda said, not looking up or stopping, "what's up?"
"Could you stop for a moment?" Dick asked gently. "It's kind of important."
Linda furrowed her eyebrows, but she rinsed off her brush and wiped it before setting it aside; she stood up and put her smocks on her chair. "Okay," she said, "you have my full attention. What's up?"
Dick swallowed nervously, his heart racing, but he took a deep breath. "I've been doing some thinking," he said quickly, "and I know you said you didn't want to go to the homecoming dance, but I was kinda hoping you'd want to go with me."
Linda raised an eyebrow, surprised. "What?" she asked.
Dick stepped forward, gently grabbed her shoulders, leaned over, and pressed his lips to hers. Linda let out a little muffled squeak, but she made no attempt to pull away. After a few moments, Dick slowly pulled away and looked down at her.
"I want to take you to the dance," he answered softly.
"Huh?" she asked, slightly dazed.
Dick smiled softly. "Will you go to the dance with me, Linda?"
"Why?" Linda asked suspiciously, coming out of her stupor. "Did Mattie and Andy put you up to this?"
"No," Dick answered quickly. "I'm doing this because I really like you." He took a deep breath as he took her hands in his. "Linda, I don't know what it is, but there's something about you that's special, and I know you're not used to this stuff…to be honest I'm not, either, but I really enjoy being around you—and I think we should go for this."
Linda wanted to pull away from him, to tell him that he'd be better off without her, but as she stared into Dick's eyes, she found herself unable to. "Okay," she replied softly.
"Huh?" Dick asked.
Linda chuckled softly as she stood on her tiptoes, gently and briefly kissing his lips. "I'll go to the dance with you," she answered.
"Really?" Dick asked, slowly smiled. Linda nodded, and Dick's grin widened as he leaned over and kissed her again.
"Wally, I'm not sure this is the 'Wholock' crossover people were hoping for."
The two teens pulled away and look over to see Cutter and Wally standing near the art room door, looking amused as the embarrassed expressions of both Dick and Linda.
"I don't know, Cutter," Wally continued. "Some people might actually pay to see this 'Who Liplock'."
"Very funny, you two," Dick replied, smiling.
"So, is this official?" Wally asked hopefully, raising an eyebrow, "because Mattie and Andy'll be really disappointed if we tell them you two finally hooked up and nothing comes from it."
"How about we just wait and see?" Linda asked, amused. She glanced at the wall clock and winced before turning to Dick. "I need to get back to work; I have to be home in thirty minutes."
"Alright," Dick said, "we'll leave you alone." He leaned over and kissed her again. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay," Linda replied, smiling as she watched him leave, herding Cutter and Wally out with him. After the door was closed, Linda sighed dreamily as she turned back to work on her painting.
(End of Chapter 2)