"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea!" Lana yelled, trying to be heard over the pounding beat of the music at the club.
Chloe shook her head and grabbed Lana's hand, moving them to a quieter corner. She stopped and took an anxious sip of her drink. Chloe stared at the tall man across the room, talking to a petite, blonde girl. Devastatingly handsome in his tight black t-shirt and dark blue jeans, he was easily the best looking man in the club. Something that hadn't escaped anybody's notice – every once in awhile a girl would brush up against him and he'd look down to give them a wicked grin or wink. He didn't even glance in either Lana or Chloe's direction.
"God, it's been like this for the past two nights. How the hell are we going to get him to focus? He's supposed to be helping with this investigation – not causing more problems." Chloe groaned.
"Why didn't you tell me that Clark is impossible to control when he's on Red-K?" Lana glared at her friend accusingly and then directed the hostility towards Clark. He was oblivious as he went onto the dance floor with two girls in tow.
"Nothing's going to happen, you said." Lana reminded Chloe. "He's been on it before with no problems, you said. He can take the ring off at any time… is this sounding familiar to you? Does that," Lana gestured towards Clark, "look like a guy who's about to take off the ring? Or listen to anything we say? He's been avoiding us ever since he put that thing on. At this rate, we're never going to figure out what happened to Maddie."
"Forget Maddie, Lana." Chloe contemplated Clark's behavior with a worried frown. "At this rate, we're not going to be able to get Clark to take the ring off. He's having too much fun." Chloe paused and looked at Lana with a guilty expression. "You're right – this was a bad plan. He could hurt someone. We need to focus on getting him to become Clark again."
"Well, let's break out the kryptonite, then. That's the plan, right? If he gets uncontrollable, I use the green stuff and you grab the ring." Lana hand tightened on her glass and she took a deep gulp of the frothy pink drink. Even though she was wearing a tank top, it was still hot in the jam packed room.
"The thing is, Lana, he's a lot more powerful than that. I don't know if it'll work. I'd forgotten how incredibly," Chloe paused, searching for the right word, and then continued, "stubborn and… well… MEAN he can be. The normal Clark is nothing like that, so I just didn't realize that…" her voice trailed off.
"That this wasn't going to be so simple?" Lana finished for her.
Chloe nodded, feeling miserable and guilty. This is what happened when she chased a story – common sense apparently went out the window.
Sensing her friend's guilt, Lana relented. She threw her arm around Chloe and gave her a quick hug. "It's okay, Chlo. We'll figure something out. We always do."
"Yeah, of course, we do." Chloe didn't look convinced, but gave Lana a watery smile, anyway. "I guess. If we survived the weirdness of Smallville for decades, then we should be able to figure this out."
"Look," Lana said with a determined expression on her face, "we just have to get a hold of him and pull out the green rock. We need to get him alone." She looked across the room to the corner where Clark was holding court on the dance floor, surrounded by a bevy of sexy women. Lana's dainty nose wrinkled in distaste. "It might be hard to get him away from his fan club. But, we have to try."
Chloe shook her head and groaned in frustration. "We've tried that, Lana. He knows what we're up to—he's never going to be caught alone with us. That's why he's been avoiding us."
"Oh, really? Because I thought it was the fact that we're 'buzz-kill' and 'prudes'?" Lana repeated Clark's words with amusement.
"Well, that, too." Chloe laughed. "C'mon, let's try to find Lois and see if she can corner him. Maybe she can get him alone and we can work with that." She made a face. "Lois doesn't know about his 'allergies' so he probably won't run from her."
Clark watched Chloe and Lana move away from the bar, and breathed a small sigh of relief. Maybe they were finally giving up. The two had been on his case to stop and think about the investigation. As if he had time to waste with a bunch of stupid jocks and their secret club. He was having too much fun flying solo.
He grinned at the thought. Why couldn't the two of them understand that? While there was a part of him that knew that it was all because of the ring – the majority of him didn't give a damn. He was ready to loosen up – the normal Clark Kent was way too uptight. He always put other people first – it was time to think about himself for a change.
The song ended and he glanced down at the vapid blonde clinging to his arm… she was stroking his chest with one hand and looking at Clark with a blatant invitation in her eyes. For some reason, it annoyed him. He felt strange and wanted a challenge. Not some piece of meat that was ready to jump him in public. Clark smirked – he had more class than that.
"Hey, Smallville! Wanna dance?" A voice broke into his thoughts. His heart started beating faster and he unceremoniously pushed the blonde girl away. He turned slowly and looked down at Lois Lane. Her hazel eyes were sparkling with amusement and her beautiful lips were smiling.
"I don't know, sweetheart. Are you talking to me?" Clark flashed her a wicked smile as he checked her out. He didn't even try to hide the desire in his eyes as he let his gaze wander down her body. A nice body – decked out in a white sparkly shirt and a short black skirt. Her long legs were perfect – he noticed that she was wearing strappy, black high heels and her nails were painted a deep red. For some reason, that fascinated him.
"Of course I'm talking to you!" Lois said in an exasperated tone. His eyes jerked up and he saw that her face was flushed and she looked slightly flustered. Of course, being Lois Lane, she quickly recovered herself and made a show of looking around the crowded club. "Do we see any other Smallvilles around here? I do believe you're the only one."
Clark's arm snaked around her slim waist and he pulled her flush against his body, before she even had time to let out a sound of protest.
"You know, Lois, I don't really think there's anything 'small' about me," he said smoothly, while his free hand played with the ends of her long hair. His voice was soft and silky like velvet. "Wouldn't you agree? Maybe it's time we find a new nickname?" He looked down at her with amusement as she futilely tried to get out of his grasp, liking the feel of her body moving against him.
Lois stopped struggling once she realized that Clark's arm was like steel. No matter how much she moved, it made no difference – his arm didn't budge. And, furthermore, he wasn't breaking a sweat. She looked up at him and her eyes narrowed. Far from looking like this was requiring any effort, he looked amused – and faintly bored. Lois felt a surge of anger at the cavalier way in which he was treating her.
Clark was acting like a first class jerk and while she could deal with jerks – after all, she did all the time – for some reason it was really pissing her off that Clark Kent was acting like one. For God's sake, it went against the laws of nature. The sun rose in the morning, Lois Lane kicked butt and Clark Kent was nice – that's the just the way it was.
Lois glanced up and met Clark's amused gaze. His beautiful blue-green eyes were staring at her so intently she felt hot. She swallowed and stared up at him for a full moment before she realized what she was doing. She made a face and frowned at him.
"Maybe we should stick to the other one, then," Lois finally suggested, through gritted teeth. "Farm boy….Or maybe I should start calling you Plaidman or something."
Clark almost laughed. He had to hand it to her. Most girls would have freaked out by now. Not Lois – she had to continue baiting him. He loosened his hold and she instinctively moved a few steps back. This time he didn't hold it back – he let out a mocking laugh.
Lois flushed at the sound of his laugh. "Listen, Sma—I mean, Clark. You're obviously taking this whole 'undercover' thing way too seriously. You do realize that since I know you, you can drop the act – I already know you're a dork."
Clark lifted a brow, not bothered by her insults. "Really? Hhmm, that's interesting. Did you ever consider, Lois," Clark moved forward and closed the distance between them, "that this may be the real Clark? That the other one is the act?" He knew she was nervous – a mere mortal wouldn't have known, but he could her heart beating faster. She was hiding it well.
"No, I didn't consider that," Lois looked really annoyed now. He stopped smiling. "I know this isn't you. I've lived with you, remember? I've known you for awhile. This…" she gestured towards his clothes, "is not you. I'm not sure what Chloe and Lana did to you, but we're going to fix it." Lois grabbed a hold of his arm. "C'mon, let's go outside to talk."
Clark shook her hand off and he looked past her, avoiding her earnest gaze. His eyes landed on a gorgeous woman leaning back against the bar. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the room.
Distracted, he replied casually, "Nice try, Lois. See you around – I see someone more… fun."
He moved past a sputtering Lois and didn't hear her yell, "Hey, don't walk away from me. Clark Joseph Kent, I was talking to you!"
His eyes were on the black-haired woman across the room. He saw that she was watching him closely but she didn't make a move to get closer to him. She waited for him to walk to her. As he got closer, he slowed down, taking in her outfit. She was wearing a red halter top, with a short dark blue skirt. Her legs were miles long and were encased in knee-high red boots. She wore heavy silver bracelets on her wrists.
When he was right in front of her, he noticed that her lips were a deep red and her eyes were like dark sapphires, fringed with long, black eyelashes. He had been wrong – she wasn't just the most beautiful woman in the room. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. She didn't bother to move as he stepped closer to her. Looking faintly bored, she shot him a quizzical look.
"So, you've been waiting for me, huh?" Clark asked, fascinated by the beauty.
"Waiting for you? I don't even know you." Her voice was husky, soft, and more than a little arrogant.
He leaned in closer to her, expecting her to pull back. Instead, she straightened and brought herself to her full height. Clark's eyes widened in surprise when he saw that she was at his eye level. They were the same height. Involuntarily, his eyes went down to her shoes and he saw that she was wearing heels. So, she was a bit shorter than him – but that still made her the tallest woman he'd ever met. She was at least six feet.
Clark found that he was a bit unsettled by that. Unbidden, an image of Lois floated through his mind. Now, Lois was the perfect height – not too short, like Lana. Or too tall like this woman.
He frowned – why was he thinking of Lois Lane when this beautiful creature was in front of him? He banished thoughts of the annoying brunette from his mind and focused on the mysterious woman.
"Well, let's take care of that, shall we? I'm Kal… and you are the most beautiful woman in this place. But, what's your name?" Clark gave her a wicked grin.
"I'm Diana," she replied, but didn't return his smile. She looked at him curiously. "Are you always this… well… subtle… Kal?"
He let out a laugh. "Not always, no. Something's gotten into me tonight, I guess." He glanced down at the ring on his right hand. "Maybe we can explore my… subtleties… somewhere private?"
She bit her lip. For a second, it seemed to Clark like she was trying hard not to laugh. He paused – that didn't make sense. Before he could ask, she responded, with a serious look, "Ah… that seems fine. Why don't we go back to your place?" She slid her arm around his waist and tugged at him lightly. He didn't move and continued to examine her with a frown on his face. Something didn't seem right.
Startled, Diana stared at the young man next to her. She'd tugged at him – and he hadn't moved. Tentatively, she tugged a bit harder. Again, he was hard as rock. She pulled at him with a bit more strength, and he didn't budge. She frowned - if she had pulled at any normal human with that level of pressure, they would have gone flying. Diana considered forcing him to move, but decided she didn't want to push it. It wasn't the time or the place.
Diana let her arm slide away from him and took a step back. She looked into his eyes warily, all of her senses on high alert. She didn't make a move to touch him - she didn't want to provoke him without knowing his full strength. And, she couldn't fight him in such a public place, anyway. Innocent people might get hurt.
"Why do you look so surprised?" Clark asked her suspiciously.
Diana quickly plastered the "bimbo girl" smile on her face that Christine had forced her to practice in front of the mirror. "I'm just surprised that you're taking so long to leave." She placed her hand on his muscular arm and batted her eyelashes, all while cringing inside.
"Let's go to your place, Kal. Show me your… subtleties." She breathed the last word in a hushed whisper, hoping she sounded like a flirty college girl.
It was all lost on him. Clark had stopped looking at her and was instead focused on the side of the room. She followed his gaze and saw that he was watching three young women in the corner. They were talking to each other and gesturing towards Clark with worried expressions on their faces.
He looked back at her with a grim expression. "Sure, let's go." Before Diana could even blink, he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crush of people towards the exit.
