CHAPTER 3
Standing in the seemingly endless line of people outside the nightclub made Lois realize she was foolish to think even for a second that Gwen would've settled for an innocent girls' night out at the movies, when nightclubs were more of her scene. Lois on the other hand had put up a good fight for the first few minutes until admitting defeat once again.
"Are we having fun yet?" Lois asked sarcastically, leaning in next to Gwen.
"I told you to have that round of tequila shots, Lo!" Gwen exclaimed, fighting back the giggles while Lois fought the urge to just leave right there and then.
"Like I told you before, I just wasn't in the mood to get hammered," she muttered and Gwen frowned at her.
"What's wrong, Lo? Last time we had a night out on the town you were the one having all the fun! Whatever happened to that Lois Lane?"
"She got a job. A very demanding job in case you haven't noticed."
"Oh, don't be such a party pooper! Let your hair down just for this one night and then you can go back to the office if you like it so much there."
Lois suppressed a grunt as Gwen undid her ponytail, literality letting her hair fall down over her shoulders. A satisfied smile crossed Gwen's face and Lois couldn't help but return the smile. Gwen had always managed to make Lois feel great about herself, on the inside and out.
"You do know you're only getting away with this because you're you?" Lois said, still with a smile firmly in place. Gwen gave her a friendly nudge just as it was their turn to head inside the nightclub. The grumpy looking bouncer eyed their ID's closely in silence before giving them a brief nod indicating they were in clear.
"Trust me, Lo, you'll have the time of your life tonight!" Gwen exclaimed with an excited grin as she practically pulled Lois along with her through the crowded club, heading straight for the bar where people were already fighting to get the bartender's attention.
Without much effort, Gwen pushed through the crowd of people and with a wave of her hand the bartender suddenly stared straight at her. Lois had to admit she was impressed at the way Gwen charmed the bartender into serving up drinks for them within moments.
"You're quite the pro," Lois said while sipping on her drink. Gwen shrugged, unable to mask the satisfied look on her face.
"I learned from the best," she said and Lois raised an eyebrow.
"I'm assuming you're talking about me?"
"Don't look so shocked! You used to have the guys wrapped around your little finger, Lois!"
"Yeah, and we all know how well that turned out."
"I've only heard the short version, Lo, and you really shouldn't beat yourself up about it. The way I see it, you're one step closer to finding Mr. Right."
"Since when do you believe in Mr. Right, Gwen?" Lois asked, sipping on her drink.
"There was a time where I thought Mark was my Mr. Right and even though I was obviously mistaken, I believe that you'll have better luck."
Lois reached out and gave Gwen a quick hug, a sympathetic smile on her face.
"I say we forget about guys for tonight and just have fun?"
"You read my mind!" Gwen exclaimed and downed her drink in seconds. "Come on, Lane! It's time to dance!"
Before Lois had a chance to react, the drink was out of her hand within seconds and she was being pulled out on to the dance floor by Gwen. Lois remained standing still at first until Gwen encouraged her to start dancing, which wasn't something Lois had done in what seemed like forever.
But despite that, it didn't take long before her body started moving along to the beat as if it had a life of its own. Lois was surprised at how quickly she got into the mood again; for the first time in a long time she could put her problems aside and just enjoy herself.
The following morning began with a pounding headache for one Lois Lane. Instead of being at the office, she laid face down in bed under the covers in the guest room. She had already thrown the alarm clock against the wall after hitting the snooze button three times.
Lois had never been a morning person and combining that with a vicious hangover was a sure way of keeping her in bed all day. She however knew she had to get her butt to work soon enough. Preferably before Tess Mercer showed up on the Kent doorstep, something Lois wouldn't put past her new boss.
The abrupt sound of approaching footsteps in the otherwise silent house made Lois immediately sit up straight, only making the pounding inside her head even worse. She let out a loud grunt and squeezed her eyes shut, the sound of the guest room door opening echoing through her head.
"Chlo, if this is your version of a wake-up call then might I just say that –"
"Lois, you mind telling me who's occupying the bathroom? Unless it's actually another you, which I really hope it's not, there's an unknown visitor in my house," Clark said and Lois carefully turned her head, squinting at him.
"Visitor?" she repeated with a puzzled expression, causing Clark to give her a stern look.
"Exactly what did you do last night? Almost looks like you had a run in with a –"
"You don't wanna finish that sentence, Smallville," Lois warned, well aware that she looked like a complete mess. "Not that it's any of your business, but I went out to a nightclub in Metropolis with… Gwen. Who's most likely the person occupying your precious bathroom. Either that or I got lucky last night, which I seriously doubt."
"Right," Clark said, loudly clearing his throat. "So, I take it the night was a success?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking."
"Well, now you have your answer."
Just as Clark opened his mouth to object, he was caught off guard by someone appearing behind him in the doorway wrapped up in a towel. She gave Clark a sly smirk while eyeing him up and down before squeezing past him into the guest room.
"You must be Clark," she said, extending a hand towards Clark. "I'm Gwen Parker. Lois' old friend."
"Nice to meet you," Clark said, keeping his attention firmly fixed on Gwen's face. She certainly didn't seem like the shy type which only made Clark more uncomfortable.
"Smallville!" Lois snapped, ignoring the increasing headache. "Don't you have somewhere to be? Like, The Daily Planet?"
"Consider me gone," Clark said, smiling politely at Gwen before turning around and closing the door behind him as he left. Lois pulled the covers over her head as she moaned and groaned, wishing for the splitting headache to disappear.
"You forgot to mention the fact that your farm boy was such a cutie, Lo," Gwen teased as she plumped down on the bed.
"He's not my farm boy, Gwen!" Lois muttered from under the covers and Gwen couldn't contain a laugh.
"Whatever you say, sweetie," she said sarcastically and got off the bed. "You keep forgetting I can read you better than anybody. Whenever you like someone, you tend to go overboard with the denial."
"I'm not in denial!" Lois snapped, pulling back the covers as she sat up in bed again. "My relationship with Clark Kent is strictly business!"
"So you're saying that even though you work with the guy and now live in the same house, there's nothing going on between you two?"
"Nothing whatsoever!"
"Then you don't mind if I have a go at him?" Gwen asked with an innocent smile as Lois reluctantly got out of bed.
"I highly doubt he's your type, Gwen," Lois said, walking up to the full length mirror. When she saw the messy hair, bloodshot eyes and smeared make up she sighed heavily. It was nothing she hadn't seen before.
"What makes you so sure he's not?" Gwen asked with a clear hint of annoyance in her voice.
"'Cause he's the furthest thing from a bad boy."
"Right. And why would I want a guy behaving like a gentleman?"
"Glad we cleared that up. Now, if you excuse me, I'm in desperate need of a shower," Lois yawned and exited the room, heading straight for the bathroom down the hall.
The moment Gwen heard the bathroom door slam shut, she immediately started to rummage through her suitcase looking for fitting clothes. Eventually she pulled out a pair of low-cut jeans and a sparkling tank top, letting the bath towel drop to the floor in record time.
Without wasting another minute Gwen quickly put on the clothes, applied make up and did her hair before rushing out of the guest room. On her way past the bathroom door she smiled at the sound of the running shower, knowing she would have a couple of minutes alone with Clark before Lois bothered to show up.
When arriving down the stairs, Gwen found the kitchen and living room to be completely empty. Aside from Lois taking a shower upstairs, not a sound could be heard inside the house. Gwen quickly walked over to the kitchen window, straining her neck to see if Clark were outside.
"Looking for someone?"
Gwen let out a yelp as she turned around facing Clark whom had suddenly appeared in the kitchen.
"For such a big fellow, you sure move quietly," she said while catching her breath.
"Years of practice," Clark said with a polite smile and stepped around her.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
"So I've been told."
"So, Clark, how about breakfast?"
"I've already eaten."
"I meant for me."
"Oh… well, I guess that can be arranged."
With a pleased smirk on her face, Gwen watched as Clark fumbled about in the kitchen. He was well aware that she was staring at him which made him very self-conscious. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Gwen was actually checking him out. The very notion would make Lois laugh and so Clark quickly dismissed the thought.
"I take it you guys had fun last night?" he asked casually, still with his back against Gwen. She jumped up on the kitchen counter, leaning back enough to reveal her belly button piercing, waiting for Clark to finally turn around.
"Pretty much. I still kick Lois' butt in tequila shots but then again she did outdo me on the dance floor more than once," Gwen said with a dramatic sigh at the end.
"Really? I've always imagined Lois –"
Clark came close to dropping the coffee cup at the sight of Gwen's exposed belly button piercing, remaining stunned for what seemed like forever. The smirk on Gwen's face grew wider when she saw that her little plan worked like a charm.
"Something the matter, Clark?"
"No! I was just trying to find –"
"Actually, I'm not really that hungry. How about you show me around this farm of yours? Lois kind of forgot that part when I showed up yesterday," Gwen said and slid off the counter, still maintaining eye contact with Clark. "That is, if you got the time?"
"I guess I have enough time to do a quick tour," Clark blurted out, putting away the coffee cup before they exited through the kitchen door. Gwen lingered off the side to Clark, giving him a sideway glance ever so often. Farms really didn't interest her one bit but she was more than willing to at least pretend to be interested in cattle and tractors.
"It must be a lot of hard work running a farm all by yourself," Gwen suddenly blurted out and Clark gave her a puzzled look. "Lois told me."
"Of course," Clark sighed. "Well, actually, I focus mostly on my work at The Daily Planet these days now that I have help from one of the neighbors."
Gwen suddenly spotted the red barn in front of them and eagerly picked up the pace.
"Mind showing me what goes on in there?" she asked and pointed towards the barn.
After rushing down the stairs into the kitchen, Lois quickly put on the coffee maker while nibbling on one of the muffins Martha had left behind. Knowing it was only a matter of time before her cell phone started ringing non-stop Lois guessed she had most likely beaten the world record in the quickest showers category to avoid running a minute later than necessary.
She was already dressed up in her regular work outfit and had actually managed to do her hair up in a ponytail. Now all that was left was the impromptu breakfast that consisted of a cup of coffee and muffin, which really wasn't all that different from Lois' standard breakfasts. While waiting for the coffee she leaned over the kitchen counter, flipping through the pages of the morning paper.
Her eyes suddenly fixated on a headline and for a moment everything around her faded away.
"Last time I checked, barns weren't exactly the hottest place in town, Clark," Gwen laughed, walking in through the kitchen door with Clark when she saw Lois. "Morning, Lo! Anything interesting happening in the world?"
"I'll say," Lois mumbled and finally looked up from the newspaper, turning around facing Gwen. "Apparently we left that club just in time last night."
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked with a frown.
"The police found a guy's dead body out back in the alley," Lois said. "He'd been poisoned."
"And they think the murderer is someone from the club?"
Lois' attention suddenly shifted from Gwen to Clark when he spoke up.
"I'm guessing that's a pretty safe bet since the guy was last seen inside the club by the bartender," she said and handed Clark the newspaper before stepping over to the coffee maker, inhaling the scent of freshly made coffee before pouring herself a cup.
"God, I can't believe someone actually got killed at the same club we were at," Gwen blurted out and Lois nodded along while taking a swig of coffee.
"If that isn't a sure way of stopping people from partying, I don't know what is," she said, ignoring Clark's incredulous stare. "So, what were the two of you up to?"
"Oh, Clark was just showing me around the farm. Have you seen his loft out in the barn?" Gwen exclaimed and Lois gave Clark a sly smile.
"Who hasn't seen farm boy's little love shack by now?" she teased and Clark glared at her in silence.
"Lois, I think we better get moving," he said and Lois' eyes immediately darted to the kitchen clock.
"Crap! I'm so fired! Gwen, let's go!" she exclaimed and quickly finished her coffee.
"You go ahead, I got some errands to run," Gwen blurted out.
"You sure?" Lois asked.
"I'm sure," Gwen said with a nod. "I need to get my car looked over at one of the auto shops in Metropolis amongst other things."
"Okay. Well, I'll see you around lunch then?" Lois asked, hand resting on the kitchen doorknob, momentarily frozen on the spot.
"Absolutely," Gwen smiled. "I'll even bring the food."
"You know the way to a girl's heart," Lois grinned and headed out the door to her car.
Gwen grabbed her leather jacket and car keys, flashing Clark a smile before heading out the door herself.
"See you later, Clark!" she shouted over her shoulder seconds before the kitchen door slammed shut behind her. Clark watched through the window as Lois drove first, closely followed by Gwen in her Mustang.
There was something about Gwen that made Clark uncomfortable and almost blushing at the same time, which was pretty much the same effect Lois had had on him but worse. Instead of dwelling on it, he waited until both cars were out of sight before he super sped out the door, heading for The Dailey Planet.
TO BE CONTINUED...
