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Chapter 3: Façade

Clark notices a tire swing hanging from a nearby tree and tosses the football at it, easily sinking the ball through the hole of the tire. He doesn't notice that Lois has parked her car behind him and is now walking toward him. Lois smiled inwardly, not really thinking it would be a good idea to tell him that she had seen his little Hail Mary stunt as well.

"Nice arm, farm boy."

Clark turns around to look at her startled but then smiles and walks over to her.

"When's the first game?"

"I'm not on the team."

"Why not? An arm like that is a "Get out of geek free" pass."

"Well, even if I wanted to play—"

"Which obviously you do," Lois teased a little.

"That wouldn't be the reason. Thanks, I don't really consider myself a geek."

Clark starts to walk away, and Lois walks with him interested in learning more about him, now, when he doesn't really seem to think much of himself.

"So... what do you see yourself as?"

"I don't know. An outsider, I guess."

"That's a recipe for wedgies if I've ever heard one, not that anyone could ever be able to give you wedgies. If you haven't noticed already—you're one built cookie Smallville."

"Have I told you how much I'm gonna miss you?" He asked with a slight blush. It was meant to be taken as teasing annoyance but Lois saw through that almost instantly.

"Is that why you're so grumpy Kent?"

"I'm not grumpy," he argued while bending down to pick up a rock before launching it in the distance. It went far, not too far but far enough before Lois to raise a skeptical brow in his direction.

"OK, so I don't want you to go," he admitted softly much to Lois' surprise. He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for her to respond. She didn't even know what to say, so she was thankful when General Sam Lane drives up and steps out of his car.

"Daddy. Don't you have three thousand guys to baby-sit? Do you really need to keep checking up on me?"

"It would appear that way."

"I know that I'm late. But I can still make it to campus for orientation," she tells him knowing that it wouldn't matter anyway.

"Save yourself a trip. Met U just yanked your acceptance," he tells her with a frown. Lois tried to hold back a smile. Not that it was a laughing matter but she really didn't want to leave Smallville—the town or the farm boy.

"What? They can't do that!" She bit out trying to sound angry.

"They can if you don't have enough credits to finish high school."

"Look, I know I missed a few classes, but..." she trailed off and he quickly filled in the rest for her.

"Lo, you failed the last semester."

Clark laughs with disbelief but when Sam looks sharply at him, he stops laughing. Lois also shots a glare in his direction but then turns it on her father. What he failed to mention or even remember was that she had missed that last semester because she was too busy playing mother to a rebellious sister.

"Not to worry, though. I'm sure that Clark will be happy to show you around."

"Around where?" Clark and Lois both asked at once then glanced over at the other. Sam turns his back to Lois and Clark and begins to walk back to his car.

"Bright and early tomorrow morning you start Smallville High," he tells her with a little smirk in their direction. Smiling, Sam continues to walk to his car. Clark's eyes twinkle in her direction and Lois sighs heavily.

"Great."

Lois and Chloe drive into the parking lot in Lois's car and find a parking spot almost in the front. Lois glances about and notices the welcome back sign with a frown.

"You know, socially divisive cliques and hall passes aside, this place really isn't all that bad," Chloe tries to reassure her cousin as she notices almost unwilling to get out of the car.

"It's the varsity version of Dante's seventh ring," Lois comments snidely.

Chloe laughs as she gets out of the car with Lois following reluctantly behind. She quickly loops her arm through Lois' before she can change her mind and all but drags her to the entrance of the high school.

"Come on, do you know how many people would kill to relive their senior year in high school?"

"Make that semester. Five more credits and I am out of this cow pile."

"Wait a minute. Five credits in one semester? Lois, the only way you're gonna do that is if you add an extracurricular to your class list. Like, say, maybe... writing for the Torch," she suggests with a bright smile. Lois almost forgets that she's not supposed to glow at the suggestion and just manages to hide a smile in a groan.

"Uh, no hard feelings here, cuz, but unlike you, the last thing I want to be is a reporter," she lies to her. Who would guess that Lois Lane becomes an award winning journalist and Chloe becomes…

"Yeah, God. What could be worse than, you know, uncovering the truth and protecting the public?"

"And sticking your nose in other people's business," Lois butts in and couldn't help but feel smug about how perfect she would be.

"Like I said; you'd be perfect. Come on, let's go!"

Lois shakes her head at Chloe's remark, and Chloe puts her arm around Lois's shoulder as they enter the school.

"It's gonna be great having you here."

"It might not be so bad," Lois murmurs happy to be with her cousin. They hadn't really seen all that much of each other since Chloe's return from the dead. Not alone at least and Lois really needed to tell her what was going on. She was the only person she felt that she could tell.

"Hey Chlo, do you think that we could talk a little later. I have something kind of important I need to tell you," she began her tone not at all the confident tone everyone associated her with. Chloe turned to her with curious eyes.

"What is it Lois?"

"Not here. I'll tell you later," she says and almost runs into Clark, who is talking to some blonde girl. Lois' eyes narrow slightly before she remembers herself and loses it.

"Sorry," he says with a smile even though it was she who ran into him. Lois returns the smile and can't help but feel smug as his gaze stays on hers.

"Good morning, Clark. Hey... Abby."

Chloe and Lois keep walking only looking back once to both shake their heads in amazement, Chloe because of Abby's transformation and Lois because Clark was still staring. She sent him a wink and then focused on her cousin.

"Whoa. Either she spent an entire summer at a silicon farm, or I am shopping at the wrong makeup counter."

"How old is she, 17? That's like messing with the batter before the cookies are even baked," she asked still feeling a bit predatory.

"Don't tell me that the world isn't nicer to prettier people," Chloe states matter-of-factly while opening her locker. "Besides, you know, I mean it's her body and if it makes her feel better, then it's none of our business."

Lois looks at Chloe in surprise but says nothing. Can't her investigative reporter in training see this as a big story?

"What?"

"I'm just stunned that Miss "Letter to the Editor" doesn't find it one bit disgusting that a girl would get nipped and tucked to transform into some plastic pod person."

Clark approaches with brows raised at Lois' words. So they weren't exactly the most eloquent words to use but they fit so perfectly.

"I think she looks great," Clark say with a smirk focusing on Lois, to which she didn't disappoint. He managed to detect the faintest trace of jealousy before it was gone, but it was there.

"What a shocker," she says dryly and Chloe laughs. "Look, that's the problem with high school. It's all a facade. Everyone's hiding who they really are and trying to be something they're not."

"Well, it sounds like you've got your first article. See you in the Torch."

Chloe and Clark start to walk away and Clark shrugs at Lois. She rolls her eyes but lets out a smirk. It going to be the best damn article The Torch has ever seen!

"Okay, I'll write for you, but you better get me extra credit," she tells her unable to hide her excitement. She had missed working, missed chasing after a scoop, meeting a source, being pushed off a building all for a greater cause—ok, so maybe she didn't really miss falling (being pushed) off of buildings. She'd have to be careful who she upset for now though with no Superman to save the day. Sure, Clark was here but he wasn't really at the stage in his life where he'd be there to catch her every time she was pushed (fell out of) a window. It was going to be a lot easier knowing who she was investigating before the investigation even started, she though throwing a look back in Abby's direction. That just takes some of the fun out of it.

Lois is driving extremely fast through the parking lot as she talks angrily into her cell phone. She was supposed to be mad for getting stuck in Smallville and the only way she knew how to express her anger was over the phone to the university office of costumer service.

"Admissions office? Look, I'm in the nation's cream corn capital retaking calculus! No, don't put me on hold!" She bit out aggrevated that she wasn't being listened to. Just to think, in less than eight years time all she'll have to do is mention her name and she could get anyone on the phone. Or at least pester them to death or have Clark get on the line for her and outwait them with his patience. That was years from now though, and so she had to wait. "Could this day be any worse?"

She lowers her eyes to hang up her phone. When she looks up again, she screams as Brett, wearing only his football pants, darts in front of her car. She slams on her brakes as Brett slams against her windshield, cracking it, then rolls off the hood of the car and onto the pavement, unconscious.

"You'd think I would have remembered that," she mutters and exits her car slowly grabbing her phone to call in the accident.

Lying on his back on a gurney with an oxygen mask strapped to his face, Brett is wheeled into an ambulance outside Smallville High. He has dried blood along the side of his neck. Lois glances over in the crazy man's direction once again and frowns before finishes off her statement to the officer. The spectators who are held back by police tape.

"No, that's everything," she says when he asks her once again, for the third time, if she had anything else to add.

"Thank you."

Clark approaches Lois as she catches sight of a worried, wet Abby out of the corner of her eye. Lois gives Clark a small smile as he takes her arm to steer her away in obvious concern.

"Lois, what's going on?"

"He just ran right out in front of me. I don't know. They said he's gonna be okay; physically, anyway. The cops think he kind of lost it."

"Who, Brett? I just saw him at practice an hour ago. He was fine."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah."

"Think about it, Clark. It's the start of a new season, scholarships, the entire town counting on you to be their hero. Who knows what kind of neuroses are hiding behind that "Big Man on Campus" mask?"

"No way. If anything, Brett was too overconfident. He probably just didn't see you."

"Yeah, that might explain the broken windshield, but do you want to tell me why he was running around half naked, soaking wet? Who would do that?" Lois asks, knowing exactly who would but wants Clark to start wondering too.

There are several guys wearing only towels, changing after their showers when Clark walks into the boy's locker room. Lois walks in following Clark, not intimidated in the least. Clark tries to stop her from going any farther.

"Hey, hey! The last time I checked, you were missing a few prerequisites for being in here."

"So you have been checking me out," she says smugly with her hands on her hips. Some of the guys laugh in surprise when they see Lois and Clark blushes at her comment before stepping closer to her in order to reason.

"Lois, just wait outside".

"Are you kidding? Tortured senior can't keep up the hometown hero act and buckles? This is as juicy as my teen cosmetic surgery article," she tells him with a flick to his nose and then walks over to a group of shirtless guys standing by the lockers.

"Excuse me. How well did you know Brett Anderson?" She asks with a friendly smile and Clark groans from behind her. She manages to elbow him in the stomach, taking pleasure in his surprised grunt before crossing her arms as one of the guys looks her up and down.

"Not as well as I'd like to know you."

"Charming. Look, Brett ran in front of my car. Do any of you guys know what that was all about?"

Lois and the guys continue to talk as Clark walks farther into the room to look through the next row of lockers. Lois is proud that she didn't even have to tell him to snoop around. As soon as he finds Abby's necklace, he'll come back and wait for her to finish up her questioning. Lois decided to cut out the waiting part and just walked away from the ogling boys and went to the exit. Clark was beside her in a matter of moments and Lois couldn't help but smile at his smug expression as they exited the locker room.

"What did you find?" She asked and he looked at her in amazement before brandishing his souvenir.

"A, for Abby?" Lois questions and he can only nod in agreement. "You seemed pretty buddy-buddy with her earlier, why don't you go and talk with her," Lois supplies.

"Lois, you know it's not like that," Clark feels the need to explain, wanting her to know that he's not involved with anyone. She merely raised her eyebrows at him and he blushed before mumbling something about see you at dinner before taking off. Lois laughed softly and called out before she could help herself.

"Hey Clark!"

He turned to face her and she managed to refrain from gulping when his soulful bright eyes met hers. "I'm glad it's not like that," she muttered and turned on her heel to walk the other way leaving him with a grin.

Lois is seated at the computer in the Torch office. She is on the website of Beechwood, the cosmetic clinic belonging to Dr. Fine. At the top of the screen the words, "You are one procedure away from perfection," are in bold and Lois grimaces.

She clicks the page with her mouse and the line at the top of the screen is replaced with another that says "Do you want to make an appointment?" There is a yes button next to a no button. Lois clicks yes with slight hesitation. This meeting hadn't turned out quite like she wanted it to last time. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea…

"Hey Lois!" Chloe called out from the doorway causing her to startle slightly but she moved to quickly exit the site and then shut down. It had been her idea to meet Chloe in here so they could talk.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Chloe asks with a smile and moves a chair to sit. Lois smiles back tentatively, not really sure how much she should tell her cousin or where to begin.

"Yes," Lois manages to get out and that's it. Chloe merely raises an eyebrow and her smile is now amused.

"Something has happened to me Chlo," she began hesitantly and once again stopped waiting for Chloe to urge her to continue.

"What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain and I'm not quite sure if I should."

"You can tell me anything Lois," Chloe reassures giving Lois a side hug.

"I'm not too sure. You might think I'm crazy," she admits dropping her head into her hands. "If this wasn't happening to me, I'd think I was crazy."

"What is it about?"

"Destiny," she answers simply but truthfully and knows she'll have to give her cousin a little more information.

"I know things about the future that I shouldn't know, because I've already lived them," Lois finally manages to get out and Chloe looks intrigued which Lois is thankful for.

"So, how do you know that you've lived it before?"

"I can remember."

"Of course, but how did you manage to…" Chloe trails off unsure as to how to continue

"Go back in time?"

"Yeah."

"Something happened, something awful and my family was taken away from me in a split second," Lois tried to explain with tears in her eyes. If Chloe hadn't believed her before, she couldn't deny the tears. They were of grief and loss, of a sorrow so deep it cut you to the bone. There was no way a pain that deep could be imagined. Besides…Lois Lane never cried.

"Your family?" Chloe asked with curiosity.

"Yes. Though, I really don't know if I can tell you who that means exactly right now Chlo," Lois said with a little frown. It was obvious that her cousin had a crush on Clark and before she went and said something that could hurt her, she thought that maybe it would be wise to find Chlo a man. Yes, Lois thought with a nod. She'd make that her next mission after dealing with this crazy doctor woman. After Chloe was happily in a relationship she'd feel more comfortable letting it slip that Clark Kent is the love of her life and future husband and father to her children—ok, so maybe she wouldn't say all that, she didn't want to scare anyone with 'crazy talk'. Plus, it wouldn't be Chloe playing match maker this time around if Lois had anything to say about it.

"I'm here to restore the balance between good and evil, whatever that means," Lois finished with a grimace. Chloe laughed at her expression and had a million questions.

"So, how are you supposed to do that?"

"I'm going to have to have a talk with the woman who sent me back and then figure out the rest on my own I guess. That's why I was kind of hoping for your help…"

"Of course!" Chloe quickly assures excitedly. "How am I supposed to help exactly?" She asks after a brief pause.

"I'm not exactly sure. I guess, just be on the look out for shady characters or something."

"Right."

"And I'll let you know how my meeting with Lara goes," Lois offers and then winces as soon as she realizes she probably shouldn't use names. Maybe Chloe didn't catch it.

"Lara?"

Definitely shouldn't have mentioned any names.

"Uh, Clara?"

"What?"

"What?" Lois asks pretending to be confused and Chloe merely narrows her eyes. Lois sighs heartily but decides to give in when she notices the stubborn glint in her cousin's eyes.

"Lara is the woman who sent me back and that's really all I can tell you about her."

"Because you don't know anything else?"

"Because I can't tell you anything else—yet."

"And am I supposed to just go with that?"

"Yes. For now," Lois answers firmly with no room for argument.

"Ok Cous, I'm here for you."

"Thank you," Lois tells her honestly.

"Hey Lois?" Chloe asks as they both stand up and head towards the exit.

"Yeah?"

"This family that was taken from you, were you happy?"

"I was so happy Chloe," Lois manages to choke out.

"And can you go back to them, when you're done?"

"No. This is my timeline now. What I choose to do effects that same future. I just have to wait and hope that I'll have them with me again soon."

"I'm sorry for your loss Lois," Chloe told her and Lois hadn't realized how badly she needed to hear someone say that. How badly she needed to hear it so she could put her feelings of loss behind her. She would have it all again, she would do everything in her power until she did.

"You know Chloe, you took this far better than I expected you to," Lois points out as they stroll down the hallway and exit the school.

"Well, I do live in Smallville. If you hadn't noticed already Lois, this place is—"

"Weird," Lois finishes for her with a smile and Chloe laughs.

"Exactly!"

Lois is in an office at Beechwood, seated across the desk from Dr. Fine, the next day. She couldn't help but marvel at the fact that she always seemed to get into trouble. If her memory was correct than this lady was going to go psycho as soon as the interview ended. Clark better get his butt here on time, she thought darkly and tried to keep a smile on her face for cover.

"My parents don't understand. They say I'm too young for plastic surgery," Lois lies and almost grins smugly when the crazy doctor seemed to buy it.

"Well, some parents don't remember what it was like. When I was your age, I wasn't exactly homecoming queen. I worked harder than all the pretty girls only to watch everything get handed to them. Seven surgeries and two years changed all that.'

Dr. Fine spreads her hands in a gesture of presenting herself, showing Lois how beautiful she is now compared to her memory of herself in high school. Lois smiles breathlessly, pretending to be impressed. She mentally rolls her eyes.

"You know, I was actually interested in that new procedure you used on Abby. It is really true that you only have to come in once?"

"That's why I developed the process. I didn't want to watch my daughter go through the pain that I endured only to have what other girls are lucky enough to be born with. So let's get you scheduled here."

"Yes, please."

Dr. Fine starts to schedule Lois on the computer. From Lois's purse, which is sitting on the desk, there is a high pitched chattering noise like a tape recorder malfunctioning. Dr. Fine looks at the purse suspiciously. Lois stands up and reaches for her purse. She could have slapped herself for the rookie mistake.

"You know, I'm actually running a little late."

"Are you recording this?" Lois grimaces at the anger in her voice and can't help but think that she probably should have left Clark a note so he'd get there sooner. Dr. Fine stands up and grabs the purse. She opens it up and pulls out a small tape recorder. Lois takes the recorder away from Dr. Fine.

"I'm going to expose you."

Probably not the best thing to say, Lois can't help but chastise herself as she walks toward the door and Dr. Fine follows her.

"Who are you to stop people from being their best?"

"Call me crazy, but I've always been a firm believer that beauty... It's on the inside."

Lois turns to leave, and Dr. Fine grabs her by the hair. Lois let out a yell and turned to knock some sense into the doctor not seeing until it was too late that she already had the needle in her hand. Dr. Fine turns Lois around and injects her in the neck with a syringe. Lois falls to the ground.

"The people that say that are the ones who already have it on the outside."

Lois regains consciousness and finds herself strapped to the table in Dr. Fine's office. Dr. Fine is looking down at her. Lois manages a glare but can't do too much because of the straps.

"Great! What are you doing?" Lois spits out in annoyance.

"Giving you the inside scoop. You really want to know what it was like for Abigail all of those years? Hmm? Well, you're gonna find out," she snaps while grabbing Lois' face viciously.

The crazy doctor lady lets go and walks over to the switch on the wall. She flips it, and the body-shaped cover starts to lower down to Lois. She starts to breathe heavily in fear as she sees the large needles coming toward her. She was really regretting not leaving that note for Clark. She almost called out for Superman but that wouldn't really do much good.

"And without the suppressant to balance out your serotonin levels, you'll be filing your story from the psych ward."

"You're crazy lady," Lois says with disgust as Dr. Fine smiles maliciously.

There are tubes on the outside of the cover that fill up with a green liquid. Lois struggles against the straps that are holding her down looking nervously from Dr. Fine to the needles coming toward her. She recognizes the green gas almost immediately and for a second wishes Clark far away.

Clark super speeds to the procedure room and crashes through the glass door. He grabs the cover and pulls it off the table before it is completely lowered.

"Clark!" Lois exclaims relieved until she notices his face contort with pain. Her heart cries out to him as green smoke starts to rise from the tubes and fill the room. Clark is obviously weakened and begins to gasp as he stumbles away from the table. Dr. Fine walks up to Clark and hits him across the face with a large metal object. He falls to the ground. Dr. Fine then walks toward the table where Lois kicks her in the face, knocking her off her feet. Lois unfastens the straps holding her down and slides of the table. She sees Clark struggling on the floor and quickly rushes to his side.

"Clark! Are you okay?"

"Get me out of here," he groans out to her as she wraps her arms around him in a need to comfort.

"Okay."

Lois grabs Clark arm and helps him stand up. Behind them, Dr. Fine grabs a scalpel that has fallen to the floor next to her and picks it up. She stands up and comes after Lois and Clark with it, but before she can do any harm, Lois turns around and kicks her in the chest, sending her back to the floor.

"Bitch."

Lois helps Clark out of the office, not asking him questions and not needing to. She just needed to get him as far away from the Kryptonite as she could manage.

Lois stands against the wall in the crowded hallway looking proudly at the front page of the Torch. There is a picture of her next to an article she wrote called "Skin Deep." Chloe comes down the stairs and walks to Lois smiling.

"Admiring the genius within, huh?"

"It had a typo," Lois lies trying to hide her pride. She was damn proud of it that was for sure and she couldn't help but think that if she wanted too, she could have found a way to get into an article of the Daily Planet. A byline is a byline; she smirks as they start to walk away together.

"Oh, nice try. So I followed up on the Abby storyline, and it looks like Mother Makeover is gonna be playing "mirror, mirror" on the psych ward wall from now on."

"Is Abby gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be back next week. So are you excited for your first pep rally?"

"Hmm, not exactly the Friday night I've been dreaming of."

"Oh, come on, it's your debut as Smallville's newest celeb."

"Yeah, right. One plastics 'r' us piece, and they're gonna be holding tables all over town for me."

"You'd be surprised. I mean, not that I'm ceding my stance on a woman's right to choose rhinoplasty, but..." she smiles and hands over a stack of paper. "...you've got fan mail. Looks like your little exposé struck a couple chords."

"I didn't even expect anybody to read this, let alone have a..." Lois trails off reading one of the pages, "A life-changing experience"? Please."

"Whatever. Say what you want, but I know inside, it's getting to you. Welcome to the bullpen, Miss Lane!" Chloe exclaims and Lois smiles as she turns to walk away. "Now, I'm off to see Clark Kent in a wet T-shirt. Care to join me?"

"Like I've never seen that before," Lois made sure to respond but couldn't help the excitement in her belly just thinking about it. She quickly moved to join Chloe in her fast paced walk to get there.

Lois throws a football at the target of the dunk tank and misses. Clark, who is sitting above the tank in a T-shirt and shorts, smiles at Lois teasingly. Jason tosses another football to Lois who is standing next to Chloe. A large group of students watches excitedly.

"Keep your eye on the target."

"Come on, Lois! Didn't those guys on the base teach you anything?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lois says with a smirk.

Chloe laughs and Clark just gestures at the target, urging Lois to take her shot.

"Doesn't matter 'cause you are going down."

"That'll be the day."

The students watching all start to chant.

"Dunk! Dunk! Dunk! Dunk! Dunk! Dunk!"

Lois pulls back her arm and chucks the football at the target, hitting it dead center. Clark drops into the water tank with a splash. Lois throws up her arms and cheers.

"Whoo!"

Chloe laughs as she and the rest of the students cheer and clap. Lois runs to the tank as Clark stands up, soaking wet, with a huge smile on his face.

Lois reaches out musses his wet hair, not being able to help herself, then turns and starts to walk back to Chloe. Clark splashes some of the water from the tank at her, and she turns back to smile at him again as he shakes out his hair with his hand.

Lois is oblivious as the smile on Chloe's face begins to fade as she sees the growing affection between Clark and Lois. Lois gives Clark another triumphant smile and Chloe looks on curious. Could Clark Kent be a part of Lois Lane'future?

Hope you liked it...review!!! please.