A/N: Let the drama begin. Please review!
Chapter 2: Moving On
"How long after you are gone will ripples remain as evidence that you were cast into the pool of life?"
Grant M. Bright
8 Years Later
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"I'll be home any minute. I want you out by the time I get there. I won't let my life be disrupted any longer. I don't care how complicated you think this is. Uncomplicate it!" the young businesswoman spoke angrily into her cell phone as she entered the elevator. The elevator was empty except for a member of the custodial staff and as soon as they went down one level the uneasy janitor fled the elevator for a quieter ride down to the first floor.
The woman barely noticed the janitor's presence to begin with and therefore could care less about being a disturbance. She was in the middle of a major crisis and had no time to worry about the way other people perceived her.
"I'm not joking around. I know what you're up to and I won't tolerate it. You can't intimidate me into keeping my mouth shut. I have all the information needed to guarantee that you'll be locked up in prison for the rest of your life. I've given you plenty of chances to conform and you blew me off. I'm sick and tired of your games and I'm not letting you take advantage of people any longer. I've stopped letting myself care about how you've destroyed your life. I'm living my life and after I hand off this information to the police you'll never hear from me again. I can make myself disappear just as easily as you can," the woman continued to argue as she exited the elevator at the parking garage.
She listened in silence as she shuffled around in her purse in an attempt to find her car keys. Her eyes narrowed in frustration and her purse fell to the ground, spilling the contents onto the concrete floor. Her pocketbook opened and a pile of pictures fell out along with a crumpled and faded newspaper clipping. She drew her fingers through her long, wavy, blonde hair as she picked up the pictures. On the top of the pile was a laminated photo of a newborn baby, and beneath it was a picture of a young man and woman staring deeply into each other's eyes, completely lost in their love. She couldn't help but smile at the memories the washed over her.
Her eyes then fell upon the newspaper article that read 'Midnight Mystery at Milton Warehouse.' The smile that brightened up her face moments before faded into a grim line of worry. Underneath the headline was a picture of four young girls standing in a line with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. The memory would always stay with her. It was the day her life had abruptly changed. She sighed as she scooped up everything else that fell from the purse and dumped it carelessly back inside. She stood up, smoothed out her formal attire and continued her conversation.
"There's no way you can change your life around and start over. You lost that opportunity a long time ago. It isn't like you can snap your fingers and wipe the slate clean. Life doesn't work like that. You're going to have to deal with it," the blonde snapped into her cell.
She now had a firm grasp on her car keys and hit the unlock button as she approached. The person at the opposite end of the conversation shouted into the blonde's ear. The blonde's facial expressions hardened into rage.
"Don't you dare threaten me! You brought these problems onto yourself. I'm sorry this had to end up this way, but there's nothing left for me to do. I can't save you and I certainly won't lower myself to help you anymore. I shouldn't have ever gotten involved. It was trouble from the start."
She flung the door to her Mercedes open wide and threw her purse into the passenger seat. She sat down and brought her hand to her temple and massaged at the point of her forming headache. She just needed to get home and get this drama over with. It was causing her so much stress and she couldn't handle it any longer.
"Listen-- I have to go. I'm sorry about everything. I wish this could have worked out better for you, but I have bigger priorities and I can't help you through this any longer. I just stopped at the production agency and now I'm going to finish this once and for all."
The blonde checked her mirrors and sighed as she listened to resistance from the person on the other line.
"What does she have to do with any of this? I haven't talked to her in years. We've all moved on with our lives. She's living her dream. She's a journalist now and she's supposed to be pretty good. I'm not that surprised, though. She always had talent and an eye for trouble. If you even try to pull her into this, I'll tell her everything and she won't hesitate to publish every word of it."
She pulled her seatbelt on, and slid the key into the ignition and prepared to end the conversation. "I don't want to talk about this with you. You know childhood friendships never last. Things that happened to me in high school are so far behind me. I've made mistakes and now I've pulled myself back up to where I want to be. I have my whole life ahead of me and anything that happened back then will be nothing but a memory after today. "
"You have no idea what you have just done," a cold voice replied back to her through the cell phone. "I'm not ready to forget the past. You can't destroy my dream. I'll build a new life and there's nothing you can do to stop me. I'll have the life I should have had. I'll have a life without you in it." The line went dead.
She whipped her cell phone to the side and turned the ignition. The car's engine revved, the car doors locked. Her eyes widened in horror as she finally smelled the sickening odor of fuel. In a split second the car erupted into a blazing inferno and an explosion shook the foundation of the parking garage. Smoke clouded the air as car alarms echoed against concrete and urgent sirens approached the scene.
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood, Smallville. I'm seriously starting to have second thoughts about taking you to meet my boss. I don't care if you already know him. I don't understand why you can't find work elsewhere. Just because Chloe is off on maternity leave, it doesn't mean that you can just pop back into town after traveling the world for the past three years and expect to take her place. The Daily Planet won't be able to handle both of us and I have been working here for over a year now. I don't intend on going anywhere." Lois Lane pushed ahead through the Daily Planet's glass doors, letting them slam into Clark Kent's face.
"Thanks for holding the door, Lois," Clark replied sarcastically.
"Don't expect kindness from me, Kent. I've worked my butt off to get where I am at now and you think you can just stroll in and get a job. No one's going to be holding doors open for you. Working here means kill or be killed," Lois said seriously as they both entered an elevator to go up to the newsroom.
"I'm sure I'll be able to handle myself, Lois. I've taken journalism classes during my travels, and I have some experience from high school. I'm willing to work my way into this position. Even if Perry isn't willing to hire me right away, I'll go out and wait for the right story and prove myself by writing a Daily Planet-worthy article."
"You're way out of your league, Smallville. Working with Chloe at the Torch didn't give you much experience since basically everything you wrote about had something to do with those meteor freaks. No one takes that stuff seriously here. A story won't just fall into your lap. It takes more than a great story. You have to be willing to go all out to get the truth. It's our job to provide readers with the whole story. This is not the place for summaries and fluff pieces. Don't expect to just magically find a story, because chances are that I'll have already beaten you to it," Lois smirked.
"Well, it's good to know you're supportive," Clark retorted sarcastically.
"If I wasn't supportive of your foolish endeavor, I would have never arranged this interview. I'm just making sure that you are aware of how slim your chances are. Be realistic, Smallville."
Let's just get this over with. Perry's expecting us," Clark adjusted his tie as he prepared to enter the office of Perry White.
"I can't believe he even suggested this idea!" Lois stormed out of Perry's office with Clark trailing close behind her, wearing a disoriented expression. She stopped at her desk and spun around to confront him, unaware of just how close behind he was. Her facial features froze in a moment of shock as she found herself nose to nose with Clark Kent.
They both jumped back as if they had been burned. Lois' eyes filled with irritation as she continued to rant. "I can't believe Perry could even ask me to partner up with you. I work alone. I haven't had a partner since high school. This is pure idiocy!"
"I promise that I won't get in the way. I'll find my own stories. You won't even know I'm here." Clark stumbled and crashed into Chloe's abandoned desk and sent a picture of Lois sailing across the desk and onto the floor. Glass from the frame shattered and erupted everywhere. "Oops."
Lois placed her hand to her temple where a headache was forming. She lifted her gaze from the broken picture into Clark's deep eyes. "Listen, I can already see how this is going to turn out. If half of my desk is turned to rubble due to your clumsiness or if I have to make up for your slacking even once, I swear I'll make your life miserable. In this partnership I'm in charge. You follow me around and take notes. Maybe you'll learn something. The sooner you write a story, the better. Once Perry sees that you can't work here, I'll be free of this punishment and things can go back to normal. Chloe will be back to reclaim her desk eventually and you can go back to the farm. Seeing you in something other than plaid is kind of creeping me out."
"I just think you're upset that I might actually be good at this. You don't want to have any competition. You're being hostile and abrasive because you refuse to admit that I might be a decent reporter," Clark looked at Lois knowingly, a smug grin plastered on his face. He sat down in Chloe's office chair, leaning back to enjoy his victory… when the back of the chair snapped and he went tumbling to the floor, sending more items from Chloe's desk into the air in disarray.
Lois rolled her eyes and sighed sadly. "Welcome to the bullpen, Smallville."
Clark sat in a momentary daze on the floor. He checked over his shoulder in hopes that no one else had seen his fall, but to his dismay several people were chuckling at their desks. "Do you mind giving me a hand?" Clark gestured toward the various items that had previously been arranged on Chloe's desk that were now scattered all over the floor.
"Remember what I said about how no one will be holding the doors for you here? The same rule applies for all office supplies," Lois smirked at Clark as he crawled on all fours, picking up paperclips and post-it notes. Just when Clark was about to rise from the floor, Lois decided to casually knock one of Chloe's pencils off of her desk.
Clark's shoulders stiffened and he muttered a curse under his breath.
"What's wrong, Clarkie? Is working at the Planet too tough for you?" Lois laughed as Clark glared back at her. "Just so you know, I think you'll have to pay for the chair as well."
Before she could continue with Clark's slow torture, the shrill ring of her phone made her jump in alarm. "Maybe this is the story we're searching for now," Lois laughed as she picked up the receiver. Clark pulled himself up from the floor as he watched Lois answer her call.
"Yes, this is her," Lois replied in a formal tone.
Her eyes furrowed in confusion for a brief second as the smile that was previously on her face disappeared instantly.
"What?" She felt her throat become dry as she continued to listen. "That's not possible."
"What's wrong?" Clark walked over to Lois and placed a hand on her shoulder. He could see deep emotion in her eyes. She looked like the world had just come crashing down around her.
The phone fell from Lois' hands and clattered to the floor. Her hands were shaking violently as she looked up at Clark with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words escaped her trembling lips.
"Lois?"
