Burn
Author: vikinggoddss
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. This is purely for entertainment value. All characters are owned by DC Comics, WB & CW
A/N: Again, thank you Jen for really helping me to flesh out the dialogue in this chapter. You're contributions really made this work for me. You're the best, girl!
I also want to thank all of you who are following this story, even if you don't leave a review, or just post as guest ...just knowing people are interested…it makes me want to keep going. The feedback is really appreciated, because sometimes reviews spark something inside me that gets the creative juices flowing even more. So to all of you who *do* take the time to comment—thank you. It means a lot. Some of you I can't PM back, but to all of you who comment...just know it is greatly appreciated. I'm tossing Hershey's Kisses ur way!
Okay, without further ado…here's the next part. This is a big chapter. I wanted to make up for not updating last week. Hope this works. :)
****Clois****
Part 7: Truth and Consequences
After a very pleasurable 'marathon' shower with Lois, and a promise to return soon, Clark zipped home to change and grab a change of clothes. And while his Red K high was waning, he was still enjoying the added boldness it gave his usually shy personality and he wanted to take full advantage of it by spending the rest of the weekend at Lois's enjoying this newest aspect of their relationship.
He came to an abrupt stop though when he whooshed into the farm-house and found his mother there waiting for him at the kitchen island. He knew damned well she was here to spoil his plans for later.
"Well…shit!" It came out of his mouth before he could even think to stop it.
Martha's eyes widened. Hearing Clark curse in front of her was proof enough he was still affected by Red Kryptonite.
It happened so fast and the shock of seeing his mother there made Clark pause long enough for Martha to pull the led box she had behind her back and open the lid. The green glow from the kryptonite immediately made Clark stagger.
"Mom…what are you doing?" he groaned, clutching his stomach and backing away from her.
She walked right up to him and pressed the rock against his chest for a second and when Clark groaned and fell to the floor, she quickly put the green rock back in its lead box and safely away from her son. Kneeling next to him, Martha brushed his hair back from his forehead, her heart aching at being the one to put him in pain, but it needed to be done. She knew what Clark was like on Red K and since Chloe had (hesitantly and with much embarrassment) told her what she'd heard going on at Lois's apartment, she knew the meteor rock was definitely in Clark's blood, not just skin deep.
"Clark? Clark, are you okay?" she asked, helping him to his feet. He was breathing deeply and Martha hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, son, but I had to do it. You've been under the influence of Red Kryptonite—"
Clark took another deep breath and let his mother hug him, his arms coming around to hug her back for a moment, before pulling away. "I know, Mom, but it was almost gone. Lois stopped putting the lipstick on last night before we went to the party."
Martha's brow lifted in disbelief. "Really, so you would normally let out a curse word at seeing me waiting for you?"
His face flushed—she had him there. "No. You know I wouldn't," he agreed. He sighed as she helped him to his feet. "Okay, so maybe I was still a little buzzed on it, but now it's totally gone," Clark added, not wanting his mother to feel guilty. He looked down at the floor as all the things he'd said to her last night rushed back. His shoulders slumped. "Mom, I'm—"
"Clark, sweetie," she interrupted. "I know you weren't yourself last night. You don't need to apologize to me."
"You say that every time, mom, but still…I have to say I'm sorry. The things I said—especially about Dad—that was wrong and…" He looked away, obviously miserable for being so hurtful to his mother, "if I could, I'd take it back. I didn't mean it."
Martha smiled at him. He was so strong, but so naïve sometimes about the way he felt. It was time for some straight talk with her son. "Yes, you did. I think there was a grain of truth in everything you said and did last night." Clark's eyes widened and he was about to protest, but Martha didn't let him. "What you said about your father…it was true. Jonathan would not have been there last night, Clark, but he was also as stubborn as you are. I was there, because Lana has been a big part of our lives for a long time and she invited me. That was all."
Clark could feel himself squirming. "I know that, Mom. I—I don't know why I said those things."
Martha placed a hand on his cheek. "Because, somewhere deep inside you felt that way. Every time you've been on Red Kryptonite, it doesn't change who you are. It's just stripped away your inhibitions." She paused and Clark waited for her to continue, his head spinning. "If you had told me how much it bothered you that I was going to the engagement party, I would have politely declined the invitation. I would never want to hurt you like that. You're my son."
"Mom, I couldn't ask you to do that."
"Why not? It's obvious that it bothered you, so why not tell me the truth?"
Clark was at a loss for words. But Martha wasn't. "Clark, I think you need to start being more honest with the way you feel. Keeping it bottled up inside doesn't make it go away. It just makes it explode when you reach a breaking point, or in your case, when you get a little red Kryptonite in your system."
"So, you're saying that all those things I said to Lana and to Chloe last night…you think deep down I really meant them?"
"I think there's a part of you that really meant them," Martha corrected. "Maybe not consciously, but somewhere—yes, I think you meant them."
Clark stopped his rapid denial and really thought about it, and to his surprise, he realized his mother was right. They were all things he had thought before he'd been dosed with red K. He knew his feelings for Lana had been turning bitter for a while and he also knew that in the back of his mind he still wondered if Chloe still harbored feelings for him. He'd just refused to look at it. And then there was Lois. His eyes widened as everything that he and Lois had shared in the last twenty four hours flashed through his head in rapid succession.
"Lois," he said quietly. His stomach tightened. "Oh no. Mom, I have to talk to Lois. We—" His words came to an abrupt halt and his cheeks went bright red.
Martha was glad he'd brought Lois up first, because she'd been trying to think of a way to bring up Clark's feelings for the girl she loved like a daughter without making her son feel bad. "Speaking of Lois," she said, easing into the conversation, "I've already told you that you need to be more honest in the way you feel..." He took a deep breath already seeing where this was going. "Well," Martha continued, "I can't stress it enough here. Obviously you have feelings for Lois—strong feelings that you've never shared before."
"Mom, it's…it's complicated," he said, trying to wriggle his way out of talking about things he couldn't even describe, much less label at this point.
"Complicated is just a way to say you don't want to talk about it, son. After what I saw last night, I would say whatever you feel for Lois is rather strong, wouldn't you say so?"
Clark flushed hot and knew his face was red. Strong was one word. Lusty. Carnal. Erotic. Those were a few others that came to mind. His cheeks got hotter and he looked away, reminding himself he was standing in the kitchen with his mother.
"Honestly, I don't know what I feel for her. It used to be so easy. Lois was the bane of my existence. She bugged me and I bugged her. It was simple." He ran a hand along the back of his neck as he tried to put his feelings into words. "Lately…"
"Things have changed," Martha supplied, trying to get Clark to see what she could see.
He shrugged. "Yeah." His mother started to smile and Clark quickly added. "I mean, she still has the power to annoy me more than anyone on the planet, but…" He shook his head, "I don't mind it as much. It's just kind of Lois now, you know?" he said, a small smile curling his lips.
"But now that you've crossed that line from friendship into something more…what are you going to do about that. I don't want to see either of you get hurt over this, Clark."
Clark's mouth opened and closed as it dawned on him his mother knew what he and Lois had been up to. "Mom, what do you mean?" he asked, wincing as he realized his voice had come out more as a squeak.
Martha didn't beat around the bush. Clark wasn't seventeen anymore. He was a man and therefore old enough to make his own decisions as far as his sex life, but last night was different and Martha wanted to make sure he didn't simply try and ignore what had obviously happened between he and Lois.
"I mean, you and Lois had sex last night, didn't you?" she said bluntly, forcing him to look at it realistically.
Clark's face exploded with color and he about choked. "Mom!"
Martha wasn't having it. He wasn't a boy anymore. "Clark, you're father once told you, 'if you're old enough to do it, then you are old enough to talk about it'."
Clark could almost feel his father looking over his shoulder, frowning down on him. He shuffled his feet, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat, so he gave a brief, but affirmative nod.
Martha put her hand on her son's cheek, making him look at her. "That isn't something to be taken lightly and I know you…even on Red K you wouldn't have slept with her if you didn't have feelings for her. Your father and I raised you differently than that. So how do you really feel about her?"
Clark hadn't imagined his face could get any hotter, but hearing his mother say 'he and Lois had had sex'… it had sounded so dirty coming from his mom's mouth, and he went from bright red to beet red. He really-really did *not* want to talk about this with his mother, but he knew his mom loved Lois and she wouldn't let it go until she knew Clark wasn't going to hurt her or vice-versa.
"Okay, there are…feelings there," he said, "but Lois and I are still trying to figure out what they are." He paused and then as he remembered how easily Lois had accepted his secret, he shared that with his mother. "She knows about me, mom."
"About your powers?" Martha asked her eyes widening.
He nodded and Clark couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. "And she not only accepted me, she was excited about it; like I was something special." Martha was smiling too when Clark added. "She promised to keep my secret. It was actually a relief to finally tell her."
Martha was beaming. She realized Clark didn't know it yet, but the way he'd just said that—he was half in love already and he didn't even know it. She decided to back off and let her son and Lois figure out their relationship on their own. She had done enough meddling for the day.
"I'm glad you told her, Clark. I always thought Lois would accept you. She liked to tease you, but she is extremely loyal to those she cares about and both your father and I realized, even if you didn't, that Lois cares about you."
"Yeah, now if I can only get Lois to admit that. She thinks it's just the great—" He choked on his words, realizing at the last second he'd almost told his mother.
Martha chuckled, having a good idea what he'd been about to say. "Oh, I think Lois knows it's more than that. It's just that she's stubborn and might be a little unwilling to admit that she has feelings too."
"Stubborn is putting it mildly!" Clark groaned. "If you looked up the word obstinate in the Dictionary, there'd be a picture of Lois there as a definition."
"Lois has a lot of emotional walls, son. I think we both know it comes from the way she was raised…never having a stable home and moving around so much, every time she became attached she had to leave that person behind." She patted Clark's hand. "I think what you need to ask yourself is what do you really want? Be honest with yourself, Clark, and truly decide if you want to try and scale those walls first, because once you get past the barriers Lois has around her heart…" Martha sighed, needing Clark to see the seriousness of this endeavor, "If you were to turn around and go back to Lana, it would hurt her terribly, and I don't think that's something either of us wants to see happen."
****Clois****
After his conversation with his mom, Clark decided maybe heading over to Lois's with the intent of spending the weekend wasn't such a hot idea. So, instead of an bringing an overnight bag, he simply changed clothes and made his way down the stairs, headed for Lois and who knows what kind of conversation. He was nervous, but he needed to be honest with her and see where her head was at.
"Mom, I'm going to Lois's," he said as he passed her in the kitchen.
"Clark..." she started.
"But I'll be home tonight," he added, knowing his mother would frown upon him spending the night with Lois, without any kind of firm idea where they were headed.
Martha smiled, proud of him. "If you don't...please call to let me know," she said with a smile, and it was obvious to Clark his mother was firmly on team Lois.
He decided not to coment on how happy she seemed. "I will," he said, opening the door to zip on over to the Talon. He froze when he came face to face with Lana and Lex standing there on his front porch. He honestly wasn't too surprised to see them standing there, united to confront him. He took a deep breath and (as much as it sickened him) he realized he owed them an apology too. However, seeing Lana's small hand clasped with Lex's (her huge engagement ring flashing shiny in the sunshine) made him realize something else, too. In that instant, Clark knew without a doubt, it was over with him and Lana. It still hurt, but that would heal with time. And, it was past time he moved on.
He stood there, not saying anything waiting for Lex to make the first move.
Lex handed him a slip of paper and Clark took and looked down at it, frowning. It was a bill for what appeared to be an outrageously expensive champagne tower—a thousand dollars! Clark raised his gaze and scowled. "You know I can't pay for this."
"I think it's the least you can do after ruining our night, Clark," Lex said with a smirk.
Clark deliberately ignored Lana as he took a step closer to Lex. "And maybe I should ring up a tally for how many times I've saved your ass," he growled. "Let's see where the bottom line lies."
Lex chuckled. "So the hero now wants to charge for his services—kind of makes you sound cheap. I thought you were above that."
Lana took that moment to cut in. "You crashed our party; ruined the entire evening. I think the least you owe us is an apology."
Clark had been willing to give an apology at first, but now…not so much. He turned cold blue eyes on his former girlfriend. "Lana, you rebounded with the one man who hates me enough to try and destroy me, but I owe you an apology?"
She bristled, but her deep dark eyes were pleading when she gazed into his face. "And you were cruel last night, Clark. I don't know what was wrong with you, but I've never seen you quite like that."
"I have," Lex said. "Clark can be ruthless when he wants something." Lex took the last step that had him and Clark almost chest to chest—except Clark was bigger so Lex had to look up to get in his face. "Stay away from Lana. She doesn't want anything to do with you anymore."
Lana nodded apparently in agreement with what her fiancé was saying, but at the same time she held out an envelope to him. "I was hoping we could move past all this and become friends again," she said softly, giving him those big doe eyes of hers, teary eyed and lip trembling.
Clark glanced down at the invitation she held. It was an invitation to their wedding and couldn't help but blink at the blatantly mixed signals he was getting from her and Lex. Stay away, but come to our wedding! Normally, he wouldn't think Lana was capable of that kind of subterfuge, but there had been times in the past-like when she held Lionel Luthor hostage and lied about it...Clark had to honestly look at her and realize that maybe she was trying to manipulate him. It made him start to question her motives in this whole ordeal.
He glanced from Lex back to Lana, trying to figure out what their game was. "Why would you invite me to your wedding after what happened at your party the other night?" He didn't really care—he wasn't going, but out of curiosity, he wanted to know why they were suddenly inviting him.
Lex spoke up. "We just thought it would be the best way for you to move on if you see it with your own eyes, Clark. See Lana marry me—the man she loves."
Clark couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I think I proved I'm moving on, wouldn't you say. If memory serves, I didn't crash your party alone. I had a date…a very sexy date as a matter of fact."
Lana's face fell just a bit and her eyes widened. "But, you can't be seriously interested in Lois."
Clark was more than a little confused at her words. "And why is that exactly?"
"Because, she isn't anything like me, so how can you be interested in her?" she blurted out, surprising both Lex and Clark with her statement.
Realizing Lana was still playing some kind of game, he leaned against the door jamb of his house, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he studied her for a moment. His steely eyed stare lasted longer than was acceptable and Clark was almost amused as (for once) Lana squirmed under his gaze. "I've dated other girls who weren't like you—why would Lois be any different?" he finally asked.
"But you were never serious with anyone else, Clark."
"Oh, so you do think I'm serious about Lois then?" he quipped, catching her in her own slip. He didn't give her a chance to spin it a different way, instead he reminded her, "Weren't you the one who first noticed the spark between us?"
Lana paled, but Clark could tell she remembered the conversation they'd had once upon a time just as clearly as he did. "I called Lois bossy and rude and what was it you said?" He tapped his chin for a moment, as if trying to remember, but Lana spoke up first.
"I said the best ones always start off that way." Her voice had lowered to a husky level and Clark could see the tears filling her eyes.
He tipped his head, refusing to be drawn in to those tears anymore. She was Lex's crying jag to clean up now. "Exactly," he stated. "Well, you were right. Lois and I..." The smile that lit his face was real when he said, "we argue and fight, but the spark is there. I just never stopped long enough to notice it before now."
Lex looked stunned at Clark's admission, while Lana clung to her fiancés arm and looked like she might crumble at any moment.
"Lex. Let's go," she murmured, leaning on him as if she might break if he wasn't holding her up.
He didn't want to hurt Lana, but he wanted this continuous vicious circle of pain to be over and done with. He looked away from Lana and her devastated expression. "Lana, I will always be there for you, but I won't interfere with your wedding," he said sincerely, and in his own way letting her know she couldn't yank his chain anymore. His eyes met Lex's and his stare became colder, harder. "Thanks for the invitation. I don't think I'll be attending, but I…" He almost choked on the words, because he considered their whole relationship to be a farce, but he said it anyways to have it over and done with. "I wish you both the best of luck."
"You'll need it," he added silently and under his breath.
And with that, he closed the door and brushed past the stunned couple. His heart was pounding at cutting all ties with Lana the way he was, but he knew it was what he had to do. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Lois and I don't think she'll accept me being detained by you and Lana as an excuse for being late," he said to Lex as he trotted down the steps of the porch and headed for his truck.
He could feel their eyes burning into the back of his skull, but Clark kept on walking, not once looking back. He got into his truck and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lex escort Lana into the backseat of the waiting Limo. She looked so fragile and for one (eternal) second he stared at her, remembering the dreams he'd had of them, but then she turned his way and he quickly averted his gaze, refusing to meet her eyes again. It was over. He took a deep breath, exhaled loudly and started his truck. He pulled out and headed down the long drive without giving them another glance. The only thoughts he had for the couple as he drove away, was cursing their visit, because now (since he had to actually drive) it would take him so much longer to reach Lois's apartment than he had originally planned.
***Clois***
Chloe Sullivan considered herself a good investigator and she could usually get anyone to spill, but Lois was proving to be a tougher nut to crack than she'd expected after the night she'd had.
"So…" she inquired, "you don't remember anything about last night?"
Lois stared at her blankly. "Nope. Not a thing," she said, shrugging, "It's like a huge black hole, but I'm kind of thinking you have a few of the missing pieces. Am I right? Why don't you tell me what I don't know and that way I can put the pieces together."
Chloe frowned at how easily Lois had just turned the tables on her and started questioning her instead. "Well, you and Clark were pretty chummy at the engagement party last night."
"How chummy is pretty chummy, Chloe?" Lois asked, keeping the blush off her face by sheer force of will.
"Um…pretty chummy. Like there was definitely kissing involved," she said trying to shock Lois.
Lois already knew that, (and so much more) but she reacted like Chloe would expect. "Okay, so it was basically 'Lois Gone Wild'" She glanced down at her cleavage. "And that explains the tattoo," she said with a sigh. "Well, at least it was only kissing and I'm pretty sure this wears off," she said with a shrug, trying to down play it. Chloe made an *mmhhmm* sound and Lois thought that would be the end of it, but then her cousin threw her for a loop when she said that it hadn't ended with just kissing.
"Me and Jimmy came here this morning, Lo and…"
Lois blanched and her heart went into double time. "Th-this morning. Why?"
"To give you the antidote," Chloe said, studying her closely now.
"An antidote?" she exclaimed. "I didn't even know there was an antidote…it just kind of wore off."
"When?" Chloe asked slowly.
"When what?" Lois replied, stalling, knowing exactly where Chloe was going with this.
"When exactly did it wear off? Was it last night…or was it…um…this morning?"
Lois put on her best game face. She could see Chloe was trying to gauge her reactions, her sharp, inquisitive mind looking for holes in Lois's story.
"It uh…well I…" And in that moment there was a knock on the door. Lois almost jumped for joy. "Hold that thought," she said to her far too nosy and intelligent cousin as she rushed to the door, ready to kiss whoever had saved her from Chloe's inquisition. Her relief was short-lived though when she opened the door to find Clark standing there.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed softly.
He looked surprised at her reaction. "I told you I'd come back."
He hadn't lowered his voice and from inside the apartment Chloe called out, "Clark, just the other person I wanted to talk to."
His eyes widened when he realized Lois wasn't alone. Lois just gave him a glare and he lowered his voice too, "I didn't know she was here."
"Yeah, I got that," Lois said, and now that she had no choice, she stepped aside to let Clark in and blew out a long, exaggerated breath as she waited for the real interrogation to start. She glanced at Clark and smirked at how nervous he looked. Well, at least she had someone else here to take some of the heat now.
"So are you back to normal now?" Chloe asked, a small smirk playing about her lips, "or can I expect more of your ranting that we've all betrayed you somehow?"
Clark immediately broke into an apology to Chloe about the things he had said the night before.
Chloe listened and forgave him. She knew what Red K did to him, but when he started to say out loud his behavior was due to the red K in his system—Chloe's eyes about popped from her head and she looked like she was about to hush him up.
"Clark! Are you sure you're back to normal?" she asked, cutting off the rest of his apology.
Clark noticed Chloe's eyes darting to Lois and giving him a non-verbal warning to watch what he was saying.
He smiled in response. "It's okay Chlo, Lois knows about my powers."
This caused Chloe to swing her gaze back to Lois in surprise. "Really?" she asked, putting an emphasis on her statement, "because Lois was just telling me she doesn't remember anything from last night. Isn't that right, cuz?"
Lois rolled her eyes at getting caught lying to Chloe. Clark looked confused as usual, but really this was between Chloe and Lois. "Well, how was I to know that you knew?" Lois retorted. "It wasn't like I got around to asking him 'Oh by the way…who all knows you're a super galactic traveler from outer space', you know?" Clark grinned at Lois's description of him until she completed her thoughts. "I mean seriously, Chlo, was I supposed to just tell you I remember him flying me from the rooftop of The Daily Planet to Oliver's penthouse?!"
"You two went to Oliver's?" she gasped, obviously bewildered by the choice of location.
Clark shot a dirty look at Lois for spilling that can of beans and Lois actually had the good grace to look flustered and embarrassed.
She began to fidget which was never a good sign. "Well…we…um…"
"Yes," Clark broke in, ending Lois's hemming and hawing. "I wanted to show Lois my powers and so I did," he said, taking the brunt of the blame, much to Lois's relief and amazement.
"So you told her your secret…she didn't have to drag it out of you?"
Clark heard the tone of Chloe's voice and cringed inwardly. "Chloe, it wasn't like that." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lois stiffen and Clark swallowed thickly. He couldn't help but wish he was anywhere but here right at this moment. "I mean it was. I wanted to tell her…" Lois relaxed, but Chloe's frown got worse and Clark just decided this was a no win situation for him. He just had to be honest with his feelings like his mother said. "The fact is, I wanted Lois to know about my powers. I wanted to show her what I was capable of. I know she's the only one I've ever told without being asked, but it just felt right."
Lois stared wide eyed as Clark confessed she was special to him. It made her feel all warm and tingly inside and in that moment sickening doubts and fear started to kick in. Lois didn't know how to deal with warm and tingly, so she just kept quiet and hoped Clark and Chloe would just sort of forget she was here.
"But," he stressed striding forward and taking Chloe's hands in his. His eyes were so earnest, so filled with sorrow; Chloe was a goner as soon as he leveled those baby blues on her. "None of that changes my friendship with you. You're my best friend and the one person I've always been able to depend on. I'm sorry for what I said to you last night. You didn't deserve it and I shouldn't have said it."
Still stunned at Clark's revelation that he'd willingly spilled his secret to Lois because he wanted to *impress* her, Chloe's response was painful blend of hurt, confusion and yes, maybe a tad of jealousy. "You say you're sorry, Clark, but some part of you must really think that, because red K doesn't make you a different person. So, somewhere in your mind you think I'm just hanging on—waiting for you to notice me, and I don't know if I should be more embarrassed or hurt that you think that."
He put his head down. He'd already had a similar conversation with his mother, but he figured he deserved to get it again and it didn't help that Lois was giving him the 'I told you so' look. He decided to tread lightly and adhere to his mother's advice about being more honest with what he felt. "Alright, maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I may have wondered…but, I didn't consciously think that or look at you like I wanted to keep you in my back pocket. I promise. I've never thought of you like that, Chloe."
And all of the sudden the mood turned even more somber when Chloe said softly, "I know you haven't."
The sadness in Chloe's voice made Lois feel rotten—like she was a thief that had stolen Clark away and the silence in the room was deafening as the awkward meter rose to an all-time high. Looking for a way out of (what was becoming) a very uncomfortable heart to heart; Lois took the opportunity to put some distance between herself and Clark for a moment. "Look, maybe I should…" She made a motion to leave and Clark nodded, allowing Lois to escape and giving Chloe the privacy to tell him what she really felt.
"Look Chloe…" Clark started, trying to make this right for his friend, someone he cared dearly for, but would never love her the way she had wanted.
Chloe stopped him with a shake of her head. "No. It's not your fault. You've never lied to me, Clark." She took a moment to get herself together. "And I love Jimmy. I do," she said earnestly, "It's just…I guess I always thought…somewhere in the back of my mind…if you were ever going to get over your Lana obsession…it would be me you'd turned to."
Clark wished he could just use his super speed and dart the hell out of the situation. He'd thought he and Chloe were past this, but after last night, he supposed she was right, somewhere, he had known she still had feelings for him. But the worst part was, he had no idea how to reply to Chloe's words and he knew that nothing he could say would be the right thing in this instance. Not even 'I'm sorry'.
"Chloe…"
"Don't," she said, interrupting yet another apology. "You don't have to apologize for the way you feel…" She gave him her quirky smile. "I already accepted your apology for being a real jerk last night, but I don't expect one for where your heart lies." She shrugged. "I even kind of saw this coming, you know?"
Clark gave her a blank look. "Saw what coming?"
She rolled her eyes. Clark could be so intuitive, yet so dense at the same time. It was one of his endearing quirks now. "You and Lois."
Clark's jaw literally dropped. "You saw me and Lois…as a couple?" He gave a small laugh, before he realized she was serious. How could she have seen such a thing when he hadn't?
She grinned at the utter stupor on his face. "C'mon Clark, you and Lois have been involved in some kind of foreplay or another for years. I saw the spark between you the first time when she dunked you at the pep rally."
That really threw Clark for a loop because he would swear on a stack of bibles he couldn't stand Lois then, but as he thought about it…he remembered the rush when she ran up to him after she'd landed him in that tank, all smiles and proud of herself. When she'd ran her hands through his hair, he'd felt something, but he'd chalked it up to the fact that Lois was a hot girl touching him. He was a healthy teenage male after all. But, maybe his mom and Chloe were right. Maybe all this time the bickering had just been his way of denying that he found Lois Lane totally sexy.
He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "I don't know if I totally agree with that, but there's something there now and I don't want you to be hurt because of it, Chloe." He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down so that they were eye to eye. "You mean too much to me."
"I know that. I guess I just kind of got used to being the only one who knew about you and that made me feel special."
Clark sighed. "You are special. No matter who I tell my secret to. You're still my best friend," he said.
Chloe gave him her pixie like grin. "Still your sidekick extraordinaire, right?"
"There's no one I trust more, Chlo," Clark said softly.
Chloe flushed with pride and pleasure and she might have said more, but a sound came from the bedroom. Something that sounded suspiciously like Lois grumbling and Chloe smirked. "Um, well as much as I love hearing that, you better let Lois out now…she's probably chomping at the bit."
Clark sighed. He still had to deal with Lois and what had happened between them. He glanced at Chloe as if ready to ask for her advice, but she held up a hand and her face said loud and clear she knew where he was going and didn't even begin to want to hear about it.
"Oh no. You put me as the 'pickle in the middle' enough with you and Lana—you're not doing it with me and Lois. She's family, Clark. Not to mention Lois is not Lana. If she even got a whiff that I'm giving you pointers on how to talk to her, she'll have me gutted and filleted in seconds flat. I will not experience the wrath of Lois Lane because you're too big a chicken to talk to her yourself!" she said pointedly.
Clark looked down sheepishly, realizing Chloe was right. "I know, it's just…she's so stubborn," he said quietly.
"Yeah, well I think you knew that before you gave her Clark Kent's tour of the Galaxy!" she teased.
Clark shot her a rankled look, but whatever he'd been about to say was cut off by another sound from the bedroom. Chloe had to put her hand over her mouth to stop her giggles when Lois could easily be heard complaining "Oh…C'mon…how much longer is this gonna take?"
"I think that's my cue," Clark said with a smirk as he went to the bedroom door and opened it to find Lois sitting on the foot of her bed, staring at him.
He smirked at how patient she appeared when he knew she was anything but.
Lois tried to pretend to be relaxing, but her body was coiled as tight as a spring and she proved it when she immediately hopped up. "I figured I might as well get comfy or else I'd wear a tread pattern in my rug waiting for your emo moment to be over."
Clark saw beneath her sarcasm though when she paused in the doorway and whispered. "Is she okay?"
He gave a half-hearted shrug—not wanting to lie, but not wanting to worry Lois either. "Yeah, I guess."
Lois stepped past him and back into her living room. She could still read the pain on Chloe's face, even though Chloe tried to hide it. However, Lois knew her well and she didn't like seeing Chloe upset, so she said the first thing that popped into her head to make her baby cousin feel better. "Look cuz, for what for what it's worth…we were both on some kind of love spell, meteor rock induced craziness. It didn't mean anything." And, without thinking, she glanced down to the tattoo still visible on her chest and added, "Guaranteed it'll blow over before this stupid thing fades."
Clark's eyes snapped to Lois's and his brows drew down into a scowl. Chloe noticed and nudged Lois, so that the older cousin was forced to meet Clark's disbelieving gaze. "I don't think he agrees with you…but that's for you and him to work out." She hugged Lois. "I'm sorry I'm feeling jealous. But, that's my problem, Lo…not yours. Don't take it out on Clark," she whispered, before she grabbed her purse and car keys, said a hasty goodbye and was out the door before either Clark could explode on Lois and her utterly thoughtless comments or Lois could make it even worse by saying something even more insensitive.
As soon as the door shut behind Chloe, Clark rounded on her. "Didn't mean anything? Really? Is that what you're telling yourself?"
Time seemed to stand still for a moment as Lois and Clark faced off. They'd bickered and argued, even downright gotten into heated arguments, but this was different and they both knew it. This was about more than who was right or wrong in a silly debate over who used the last of the hot water. This showdown was about feelings that neither one of them were quite ready to name, not to mention not they weren't exactly very good at expressing them either.
It had been said—Jimmy could have called it—and he would have been right, because, it was only a matter of time before all that tension just exploded…and on that day, in Lois's apartment, it did…
***Clois***
Okay guys, I know evil place to leave it, but I already have the next part done—it's in Jenna's capable hands. I know there was no 'real' Clois action here, but I think realistically they would both need to take a step back and reevaluate. I was trying for Clark to be reserved, yet determined. Hope that came across. Let me know what you think…and will Lois continue to run as we all know she likes to do…or will she finally fess up and admit she's falling for the oh-so-sexy-Mr. Kent? I also added the Chloe scene because, as we all know, it was a little after Crimson that she kind of started acting jealous and weird with Lois. I thought having Lois know about Clark's powers could be an added catalyst to those emotions, because in cannon, I just thought Chloe was being petty and I like Chloe too much for her to be like that.
Anyhow, reviews are like sweet morsels of chocolate that feed my creativity, so toss me a cookie will ya? :)
Taz
