Ch. 10
Clark sat uncomfortably, Lois's head on his shoulder. He wanted so badly to lean over and smell her hair. Indulging in his urges, if only somewhat, he looked down at her. She had her eyes closed and was breathing softly. He admired how peaceful she looked, the way her lips seemed to pout slightly when she inhaled each time. The rise and fall of her chest aroused him a little as he tried to fight his emotions. Unable to control them, he slid from her head and the pier, into the water.
The cool water brought a nice sensation of longing. The water rippled around him as he turned around to look at Lois, who still had her eyes closed, her head leaning as if still on his shoulder. She looked so happy; he didn't want to disturb her. He couldn't resist though. With a whack of his hand, he sent a cascade of water hurtling towards her.
Lois snapped out of her reverie when a rush of water slammed into her body. Wait, she said to herself. She wasn't in the water. She opened her eyes to see she was alone, but wet. How? She cursed to herself. Where was Clark? Searching from left to right, she looked for his presence. Unable to find him, she frowned. She was having a good time just resting her head on his shoulder, and then he disappeared. She swung her feet back and forth in the water. On her second swing she hit something hard, her heel throbbing in pain. "Ouch." She yelped.
Clark came out from under the dock and looked up at Lois. He rubbed his head as if he was hurt. "Did you just kick me?" He asked, his eyebrows rising slightly.
Lois lifted her foot up to rub it with her hand. "Maybe, but it felt as if I hit a rock." Her heel was throbbing uncontrollably, the blood pulsating as a bruise began to appear.
Clark gulped a little water in his mouth and squirted it a Lois, getting her a little wetter. "You always said I was hard headed." His grin had shown up.
She kicked water at him before she put her foot back into the water. "Just be careful where you put that hard head of yours. Before you know it I'll crack it open and I'll have to spoon feed you for the rest of your adult life." She smirked at him, knowing he was only lightening the mood.
"Spoon feed me? I think I'd prefer a fork, spoons are for babies." He dipped under the water and came back up.
"And what makes you think you'd be able to use a fork. If I cracked your skull, you more than likely wouldn't have any teeth, hence the spoon." She tried to push him a little.
Clark laughed a little. "I'd just wear dentures; this way if your fingers got close to my mouth I could bite your fingernails for you." He winked at her, smiling wide.
Lois laughed; her feelings of fright that both Clark and she had shared disappeared. She kicked her feet back and forth quickly, the water from her forceful kicking splashing onto him. She was going to stop, but he was turning away coughing and avoiding the steady stream of water. She giggled in delight and continued to kick. She was caught up in her act when she felt him grab her ankle. With a good yank, she was swallowed up by the cold lake. She came up with a sharp gasp, both surprised at what he had done, and at the temperature of the water.
He swam away from her a little as she began to kick out frantically. He laughed again, letting her fume in front of him. He splashed a little water at her. He knew she was going to get him back, but he couldn't resist.
Lois coughed and sputtered some more as he splashed her again. With all her strength, she went to hit him playfully. Before she knew it he had disappeared again. She turned around in circles, looking for him. She felt something brush up against her leg. She jumped a little, almost drowning herself in fright. It was just a fish she reassured herself.
Clark swam underneath her, staring up at her bottom. This isn't right he told himself, he shouldn't be staring at her that way. Shaking himself, he tickled the bottom of her feet.
Lois squirmed mightily as she felt something tickle her feet. That had to be Clark, but when she ducked her head under the water to look, he was nowhere to be found. Again she squirmed, this time something tickled the back of her knee. She swung around in the water, looking for Clark again. She grunted in her frustration at not being able to find him. Her anger turned to fear when she realized he had been under water for more than three minutes.
"Clark?" She asked, hoping that he was okay. When she looked to the shore and saw only Lex, Andrea, and Chloe. "Clark?" She asked again, this time almost frantic, scared that he may have drowned. When she heard no answer again, she panicked, fearing he was on the bottom of the lake. She was about to dive down and look when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Lois?" Clark asked, his hand resting softly on her shoulder from behind.
She almost drowned herself when he surprised her. She spun around and slapped him hard across the face, furious with him. "You were gone for three minutes!" she screamed. "I thought you drowned." She held her hand as pain was coursing through it. Clark didn't even have a mark on his face. She realized that he hadn't even flinched. "I slapped you hard enough to break your jaw, yet you don't even flinch. I hurt myself more than I hurt you." Her anger dissipated a little as she awaited an answer.
Clark only smiled at her. He didn't think she would hit him that hard, but he also knew that whatever answer he gave she wasn't going to believe. "You're the one who said I was made out of oak earlier. I think you just proved your point." He smiled at her with his ridiculous grin.
Lois couldn't help but let all her anger disappear. That Kent smile was playing to her soft spot again. "I swear Smallville, the next time you do that, I'm going to string you up by your hide." It came out more seriously than she wanted, but he didn't seem to notice, he was still grinning at her. She melted a little, forgetting the cold water as she stared into his eyes.
Clark was uncomfortable with the stare down, so he swam backwards, not knowing what else to do.
"Where are you going?" She asked, swimming back towards him.
"How long can you hold your breath?" He asked, changing the subject.
Lois was a little confused by his question. "Why do ask?"
"Don't worry; just tell me how long you can hold your breath."
Lois looked at him strangely. "Not as long as you can." She quipped. When she noticed his grin falter a little, she answered his question. "A minute I think."
Clark nodded. "Do you trust me?" He asked directly.
She was concerned with his sudden forwardness. "Why, what's going on."
Clark sighed heavily. "Just answer the question Lois." He said roughly, losing his patience.
Seeing how his mood darkened, she answered quickly. "Yes, I trust you."
"Good." He stated, his grin coming back. "I want to show you something. Hold onto my hand and I will take you there. Don't worry, if you need some air, just pinch me and I'll give you a little."
Lois was worried, but too curious not to let him take her hand. When he grabbed her hand, she felt its warmth and size. She nodded that she was ready. With a sudden downward force, she was swimming down to the bottom of the lake; Clark was half pulling her along. They came to the bottom, by the pier. It wasn't very deep, but she was scared a little.
Clark, sensing her discomfort, squeezed her hand reassuringly.
Lois noticed an opening at the pier post. It was big enough to fit through. Oh no she thought to herself. He wasn't planning on taking her into it. She tried to back away, struggling to get away from his grip, but he pulled her closer. Turning to look at her she could see his pleading expression. She didn't like tight spaces, but it was Clark, he would never intentionally put her in harms way.
He was about to pull her into the hole, when she pinched his leg. He turned around, got close to her and put his lips to hers. He let out some of the air in his lungs, filling hers to capacity. He pulled away, and nodded. When she nodded back, he pulled her through the hole with him, his vision picking up the path in the dark.
Lois clenched his hand tighter, scared that he might let go. They swam through the hole as it got bigger. She couldn't see a thing, but she could feel rock with her other hand. Suddenly she could feel him pulling her upward, as if to the surface. It was still pitch black as they crest the surface of the water. "Where are we?" She asked as Clark disengaged his hand from hers. She panicked a little when she couldn't feel his touch anymore.
Clark looked over to a rock and found what he was looking for. With his back turned to Lois, he lit the lamp with the lighter than was there. Instantly, the cavern shone with a bright yellow light
She was about to call his name, but before she did, a yellow light engulfed the cavern where they were. The light bounced of each wall as the as she saw him place it on a rock. She looked around the cavern. It was no more than fifteen feet high, but for the lack of height, it made up in width. "Wow." She breathed, her throat tightening a little as she took in the grandeur.
"That was my first reaction when I saw it too." He said, staring at her with a smile.
"Where are we?" she asked, her curiosity taking over.
"Under the parking area I think." He said looking around the cavern. "I found this about two months ago."
Lois couldn't take her eyes of the splendid colors that were shining off the rocks. "What kind of minerals are these?" She asked, looking at the strange and alien colors.
Clark swam close to her, his voice echoing off the walls. "I'm not sure." He lied. He knew they were from his home planet, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
Lois couldn't tear her eyes away from the ceiling. "How did this come to be?" She asked, fully expecting not to get an answer. Clark certainly wasn't a geologist. She was surprised when he gave her an answer.
"When the first meteor shower came, a piece of it broke away from the large piece that created the lake. It hit the ground first, sliding its way forward. When the main piece hit behind it, it created a wall of rock between the two holes. The meteor that created this hole was sharp and narrow, but long, it burrowed under the ground rather than making a bowl in the earth." He stopped, and pointed behind him to the far end of the cavern, where the roof sloped upwards. "If you look closely, you can see the green meteor is the back wall." He made sure to stay far enough away from it to affect him.
Lois looked at the end wall and how the ceiling sloped upwards gradually as it reached the back wall. "How is this possible that the roof goes up, not down? The meteor came down to earth, not up out of it."
Clark swam around a little. "I would guess that it ricocheted off something harder below, and went upwards a little."
"You guess?" She asked, looking back at him. "You know how this place is created, yet you can only guess on this?" She was teasing him, but only slightly.
Clark splashed water at her, causing the sound to ripple off the walls. "Do you like it?" he asked.
Lois could only look at his face and smile back. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Clark seemed to swell up, his pride at finding this place, and finally being able to show some one, coming through. "We had best get back. Time tends to have no limits in here."
She looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean? We've only been down here few minutes.
Clark smiled at her. "Actually, we've been down here almost twenty minutes."
Lois was shocked. She swam up close to him and took his arm in her hand. Turning it so that she could read his watch, she noticed it wasn't working. "Why isn't your watch working?" She asked, confused.
Clark removed his arm from her grip. "There is some kind of mineral down here that affects digital and mechanical frequencies. Please don't ask me how I know that, it's the only reason I can come up with."
Lois was only intrigued to know more. "These meteors did come from another time in space Smallville, it only makes sense that they have strange characteristics."
"You're right about that." He said, his voice still bouncing off the ceiling and walls. "We better go." He reiterated. "We can come back anytime you want, but I'm sure the others are wondering where we are."
She didn't want to leave, it was all too beautiful. She didn't respond, but she knew they had to go. She felt his hand grip hers again. Just his touch made her tingle all over. Suddenly the cavern went dark again, and Clark started to pull her down into the water.
Chloe looked off into the water, searching for signs of both Lois and Clark. It had been almost ten minutes since they realized they were both missing. She wasn't too concerned, she knew Clark could take care of Lois, but she needed to act scared for Lex and Andrea. Andrea didn't know the extent of Clark's abilities.
"Do you see them?" Lex yelled, from back at the beach.
Chloe, who stood at the end of the dock, answered. "I don't see them." She tried to act like she was worried, but it didn't come out that way. She leaned over slowly to look into the water. Suddenly, two people popped out of the water right below her. In mute surprise, she fell forward into Clark and Lois.
Clark, seeing Chloe fall towards him, pushed Lois away from him as he tried to cradle Chloe as she fell into the water. They went under the water together, her body weight forcing him downwards. If he hadn't caught her, she might have drowned from shock. Coming back up to the surface, he lifted her head above the water.
Chloe coughed and spit out the water in her throat and mouth. She was still in her regular clothes, not bothering to change into her swimsuit yet. It didn't matter now, she was soaking wet from head to toe. She opened her eyes to see Clark, carrying her out of the water and onto the beach. There stood Andre and Lex, both happy to see that she was alright, and that Lois and Clark were okay too.
Clark set Chloe down on her towel. She was only slightly shaken, but she would survive without much difficulty. Looking up at those above her, she frowned at being fretted over. "Come on, I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself." She stood up to prove she was fine. Wobbling a bit, she removed her wet hairclip and allowed her hair to fall around her face loosely.
Clark stood up with her. Seeing that she was fine, he headed back towards the pier to get his and Lois's towels. He heard footsteps behind him as he walked. Turning around to look, he noticed Lois was following him, again. "Are you stalking me?" He asked, his laughter almost coming through.
Lois caught up with him, her hips swaying frantically as she reached him. "No Smallville, I was just wondering if I should tell everyone else about what you showed me. What do you think?"
Clark snorted a chuckle. "When did you begin to care about what I think?"
Lois punched him in the shoulder. "Don't play with me, I'm serious."
Clark stopped at the end of the pier and picked up both towels. He tossed hers at her. "It's your choice whether or not you want tell others. I've known about the place for almost two months and you're the only one I've told."
Lois caught the towel and began to dry herself off. "Well, I guess if you kept it a secret, I guess I can keep it to. It's nice to know something that others don't, especially when it comes to something like that." She grinned. It would be their little secret.
Clark smiled inwardly. She was usually loose lipped about such things, but he could see she was serious. Wrapping the towel around his neck, he grabbed both ends on his chest with each hand. "I appreciate it Lois."
"No problem Smallville." She smirked, her hair still clinging to her back. She raised her arms up to dry her hair. Her bikini lifted her breasts up; she couldn't help but notice Clark staring at her. She didn't want to scare him away, so she pretended not to notice.
Clark watched her dry her hair. His eyes glanced down to stare at her chest. He couldn't tell if she knew he was looking, but he glanced away before she could catch him. Smiling a little, he heard the sound of vehicles coming down the road. Without even thinking, he turned to Lois. "There are people coming." He blurted it out before he could think of a good excuse for knowing. He knew Lois was going to bug him about it.
Lois stopped drying herself and looked at Clark with a puzzling frown. "What do you mean there are people coming? She looked around the lake. "I don't see anyone."
"Listen carefully Lois. Block out all noises and just focus on what is in the background." He knew she didn't have super hearing, but he was sure that anyone could be trained to listen better. It was a mind over matter issue. "Can you hear them?" He asked after a few moments of watching her try to pick up the noise of the vehicles.
She shook her head and frowned at him. "Quit playing Smallville, you're getting cruel. Making fun of my hearing and trying to tell me that there are people coming. Geesh!"
"Lois, I'm serious. Just wait thirty seconds and you'll see them." He looked seriously at her.
She laughed at him, how in the world could he hear vehicles coming down the road? She began to laugh again, but stopped abruptly when she heard a vehicle in the distance. She tried to focus her ears to the sound again, but she couldn't pick it up. "I heard it too, only briefly though." She said, looking directly at Clark.
"I told you." He replied, a grin widespread on his face.
"I think you're just playing with me. You are, aren't you?" She said, confident she hadn't heard what she thought she had.
"I'm serious Lois. They should be here in a couple seconds."
Sure enough, seconds later almost a dozen cars came into the parking lot. The dust that was flying around clouded their movement, but Lois could see how many of them there were. She looked back to Clark, who was grinning at her, proud of his win over her. "How in the world could you hear them Smallville?"
Clark shrugged. "It takes practice. If you stay quiet, which I know is a problem for you; you can learn to pick up even the slightest sounds. The key is to block everything out around you."
Lois looked at him with amazement. "You believe that anyone can do this?"
"Yes, but they need to practice." He lied, but she was going along with it.
"How much did you practice?" She asked, curiosity taking over.
Clark looked over to the many people exiting their vehicles. "I didn't really practice. I spent so much time in my loft by myself; I just sort of picked it up. It's hard to explain, but all I know is that can teach you how to do it." The last words spewed out of his mouth in a hurry, before he could think about what he was saying.
Lois weighed what he had proposed. It would be nice to learn some abilities that weren't physically demanding. Her father had taught her how to be quick, agile and smart, but Clark was offering her a chance to try and become more aware. She loved being able to do things that others couldn't. "Sure Smallville, I'll let you teach me, but don't expect me to be able to do it."
Clark nodded. "I don't expect much in terms of results, but even the slightest improvement in anyway is good. Most people lose their hearing, not gain any."
"So when do we start?" She asked, kidding only slightly.
"When you find yourself in a situation where you want to hear something, but it is just out of your grasp. I won't sit you down like a teacher and try to drill knowledge into you. I think that would only infuriate you." He grinned at her wickedly, his tongue poking out his lips ever so slightly. Lois was serious about it, and now he had to make up a bunch of bull to tell her. Cursing to himself, he began to walk back to the beach.
Lois was beside him in a second. "High School kids." She sighed. The day wasn't going as well as she had hoped.
Clark looked over at her. "They're almost our age Lois; you don't have to talk about them as if they're locusts." He could see she didn't like little immature high school kids. The noise became louder as the seniors came onto the beach. There were almost thirty of them.
Lois grunted her displeasure as she walked by some of them, their eyes staring at her almost naked body. "Pigs." She said under her breath as she glared at each and every one of them.
Clark laughed; he heard what she had said.
She stared over at Clark in wonderment. He couldn't have just heard her. "You heard that?" She asked, her eyes wide with wonder.
"I did." He replied, his head turning to her. The grin on his face was priceless.
Lois was about to say something back when she noticed a gaggle of young girls pass by them, their eyes inspecting every inch of Clark. A pang of jealously went through her body. She shook her head slightly. What did she have to be jealous for? Clark wasn't hers. She could see Clark blushing, and she knew that was her opportunity to badger him a little. "Have a soft spot for the young ones Smallville?" She teased him around her little finger.
Clark blushed, a deep red. This was the Lois he knew, the Lois he expected. "I, well, they were staring at me first." He tried to hide what he really felt.
"Oh, don't play stupid with me. You're ecstatic aren't you?" She could see that she was making him more uncomfortable by the word. She pushed on. "I swear, the way they were looking at you, you could probably go through all of them in an afternoon." She knew she had pushed him too far with that comment, but she couldn't resist.
Clark almost fell. Was she serious? He asked himself. Regaining his footing as they walked, he looked over at Lois. Her smile was making him angrier by the second. "Get your mind out of the gutter!" He almost yelled it at her.
Lois strode a little more confidently. "Now, what kind of fun would that be?" She said, the sarcasm hanging off her every word. "I swear, you just need to let yourself go buck wild sometimes Smallville." She walked backwards in front of him, her face looking into his angry features. With a shove to his chest, she pushed him back a little. "Go on; find yourself a youngling to vent your sexual frustration on."
Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was like Lois, but she was pushing him to the edge of erupting in anger. The things she was saying were so absurd and rude. He had half the mind to just turn around and do exactly what she was telling him to do.
They got near the others on their towels, but before they sat down, she couldn't resist taking another jab at him. He was so easy. "I bet you don't even know how to approach a woman." She laughed loudly.
Clark stood there staring at her. She was really getting on his nerves. He thought she would never shut up. He knew how to shut her up though. He stopped just before they got to Lex, Andrea, and Chloe. He wasn't about to let Lois get the last laugh. He turned around abruptly, stopping for only a second as he headed back in the direction of the young girls.
Lois, surprised, yelled to him. "Where are you going?" She demanded. She watched and listened as he looked at her over his shoulder.
"Why, taking your advice of course." He said it with such seriousness that it got the reaction out of Lois that he wanted. Smiling to himself, he continued towards the giggling young girls that were staring at him.
Lois watched a retreating Clark Kent, her horror at what he just said registering in her mind. Her poking fun had finally driven him over the edge. Now she watched as young infatuated little girls were hanging off his every word. "What have done?" She cursed to herself. Turning around to look at the others behind her, she couldn't help but notice their puzzled faces.
"What in the world is he doing?" Chloe asked.
Lois was barely able to speak. "I was badgering him as usual, and I pushed him over the edge." She turned around again to look at Clark. He was now conversing casually with more than three young ladies.
"What the hell did you say to him Lois?" Chloe demanded.
"I-I told him to go and release his frustration on one of those young bimbos." Her voice rose slightly when she had said frustration.
The others picked up on it and stared at her wide eyed.
It was Andrea's turn to say something. "He actually listened to what you said?"
Lois shook her head quickly. "No, he was disgusted as I expected him to be, but I couldn't keep myself from going one further."
Chloe groaned heavily. "I don't think I want to know what you said, but I just can't help myself."
Lois looked at all three of them. "I essentially told him he wasn't a man. I bet him that he didn't even know how to approach a woman he didn't know."
Andrea and Chloe groaned in unison, their sounds of displeasure ringing in Lois's ear.
Lex chuckled a little.
Lois looked at Lex with a deathly stare. "What are you laughing at?" She almost screamed.
"That." He said, pointing his nose forward.
Lois turned around to see three young girls practically hanging of Clark; their body's leaning up against him. She almost screamed, but she looked back at Lex, Andrea and her Cousin. "What in the world do you think he is going to do?" She asked, mortified.
Lex could only chuckle again. "All three of them, I think…"