Lois sat in her living room, her laptop on the coffee table in front of her. Technically, she was supposed to be working on an assignment for her Ethics and Moral Values in Journalism class but she'd mostly just been staring off into space, thinking of the events of the night before.

Lana and Chloe had both taken off right after dropping the red meteor rock bombshell to Lois. Unfortunately, she found that instead of the knowledge satisfying her curiosity, it had aggravated it even more. Chloe's information had made her even more interested in all things Clark. It was like an itch – you think scratching it would make you feel better, but all it did was make you want to scratch it more.

Lois Lane was always fascinated by puzzles – and Clark Kent was the biggest puzzle she'd ever met. And, now that she thought about it, the hottest. Not that it meant anything - it was just a random observation.

Chloe, Lana, and Clark were expected to be at her apartment in about half an hour for a meeting to go over the night's plan. Lois had to keep reminding herself that she needed to focus on catching the killer. She could deal with the whole Clark situation at a later date. A way later date.

A knock on the door snapped Lois out of her reverie. She walked to the entryway and opened the door – only to reveal Clark standing in her hallway – alone. No Chloe and Lana in sight.

"Smallville?" Lois's voice came out a bit squeaky and she quickly cleared her throat. "Weren't Chloe and Lana coming with you?"

Clark smiled nervously. "Actually, they are coming, but I decided to come a bit early. I wanted to talk to you alone."

Lois blinked. Alone? What did that mean? That didn't sound so good. She looked him over and sighed -- back to his usual plaid.

"Can I come in? Or should we just have the conversation out in the hall? Your neighbors might get a kick out of it." Clark teased, a hint of the friendly banter they usually engaged in coming to the surface.

"Oh! Yes, of course." Lois opened the door wider to let him though. "Nice to know that you've gone back to using the front door – and knocking. You know, I'm going to have to pay fifty dollars to get the balcony lock fixed." As soon as the sarcastic remark left her lips, Lois instantly regretted it.

Clark had been smiling, but at her words his smile dropped and in its place was an incredible look of guilt. Lois sighed - why couldn't she just learn to keep her mouth shut?

"I'm sorry about that, Lois. I'll pay for it, of course – ." Clark began.

"No! It's okay." Lois interrupted, holding up her hand. "I'm actually sorry. I was just kidding. I guess it's too soon to joke about that, huh?"

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Lois. I came in here last night and I was rude to you while I was here. I should be apologizing to you – not the other way around."

"It's okay, Smallville." Lois waved away his apology. "Chloe and Lana explained everything to me."

Clark's brows shot up in surprise. "Everything? Uh… what do you mean, they explained everything?"

"They told me about your red meteor allergy. How it makes you act weird." Lois explained, making her way back to the sofa. She sat down cross legged in the corner and looked up at him earnestly. "It's okay, really. I get it – it was like you were drugged."

"Drugged?" Clark echoed, relaxing a bit. For a second he'd been scared that by 'everything' Lois meant everything.

"Now, I had already kind of figured out that you were drugged – I just assumed it was the usual variety. I should have realized that it had to be meteor rock related – you guys are from Smallville after all." Lois s rolled her eyes and smirked a bit.

Clark looked at her strangely. He knew that Diana had made her lose a bit of her memory, but he had thought that Lois would have at least remembered that she'd made the connection the night before.

"How much, exactly, do you remember from last night, Lois?"

"What do you mean? I remember most of it, I think. Why?" Lois flushed a bit and met Clark's questioning gaze. "Did something happen that you're not telling me?"

"No, no! Nothing like that." Clark shook his head sharply. "I just… well… we exchanged words and I wanted to apologize for what I said. I was out of line. But, if you don't remember what I said, then, well…what's the point in apologizing?" Clark said, teasingly.

Lois grinned. "Good try, Smallville. I actually do recall certain very insulting words regarding the amount of alcohol I consume and the number of guys I date. Go on – tell me you didn't mean it and I'll be all magnanimous and forgiving about it." Lois waved one hand airily.

Clark sat down at the edge of the arm chair and leaned forward slightly. He shot Lois a crooked smile. "Huh… I see. That's very big of you."

Lois nodded. "I think so."

"But what if I can't tell you that I didn't mean it?"

Lois looked at him with shock. Clark no longer looked like he was joking and she didn't really know how to react to that. This conversation was not going the route she had planned.

"What do you mean? Are you telling me that you really feel that way about me? And you're not going to apologize?" Lois tried to keep the atmosphere light and joking. "C'mon - are you still wearing the ring or something? Maybe a matching necklace this time?"

"No, I am going to apologize. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way. It was disrespectful and rude. I'm sorry." Clark stated simply. He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "But, I can't lie to you and say that the words didn't come from somewhere. I'm not sure how much Chloe and Lana told you about the red rock and my…well… allergies. But, it's not simply a matter of being drugged. It affects me like a drug, yes. But the choices I make when I'm affected by it are all mine. I'm not completely out of control."

"So, basically, you just act on how you already feel? You just kind of lose the editing process in your head? You just live in the moment?"

"Well, yeah. Kind of – that's one way to look at it."

Lois was silent for a minute. "I don't really know what to say to that. You said some pretty mean things last night, Clark. And now you're telling me you meant them? How can I accept your apology, then? It's not about how you said it – it's about what you said."

"Yeah, I know." Clark said softly.

"So tell me why you feel that way." Lois took a deep breath and willed herself not to get angry. "You've never indicated that you didn't respect me before. I thought we were friends. Kind of."

Clark studied Lois for a moment before answering. "We are friends. Not kind of – I consider you a friend. You think it was easy for me to come in here and tell you the truth? I could have come in here and used the meteor rock as an excuse. I could have told you I didn't mean any of it. The only reason I'm telling you what really happened is because I consider you a friend. A good friend." He paused. "I feel like I owe you that much, at least."

"So the truth is that you think I'm an alcoholic slut? That's not exactly a friend-like thing to say." Lois declared bitterly, losing her battle with her temper.

"No, Lois, that's not the truth. That's not how I feel, at all." Clark exclaimed.

"Then, what are you saying? I'm confused."

Clark hesitated. "The truth is... I'm jealous."

"You're jealous?" Lois stared at him blankly.

"Yes – I've been thinking about everything that happened over the past few days. I had a conversation with…well…I…I realized the stuff I said to you was coming from feelings that I have. Feelings that I don't usually let myself think about." Clark struggled to convey his jumbled thoughts to her.

"Feelings? What kind of feelings?" Lois repeated faintly.

"Feelings of jealousy, of course." Clark said impatiently. This was hard enough and Lois wasn't making it easier.

Lois cleared her throat. "Jealous of what, exactly?"

"Well… of you." Surprised by her question, Clark stared at her. He had thought that she had already figured that part out. "I see the way you go out and just do whatever you want to do. You do what makes you happy. The stuff I was saying last night – I was angry that you came to school here and basically didn't give a damn about what anyone thought."

Lois didn't answer, her mind working through it all. Okay, so maybe she had been thinking something else entirely when he had said he was jealous. He wasn't jealous of the guys she went out with – he was jealous of her. Which made her happy, of course. The last thing she needed was Smallville getting all alpha-male on her.

Clark continued when he didn't get a response from her. "You drink too much if you want to – someone dares you to dance on a table and you do it. Some guy went out and trashed your reputation and you dealt with it in stride." He shook his head and added in admirable tone, "You take no prisoners. Lois. You meet life head on – life doesn't happen to you. Lois Lane happens to life."

Lois took a deep breath and tried not to get too happy and proud at his words. She didn't know why she cared if Clark respected her or not, but she really had to know. Lois had to hear him say that he didn't view her as a screw-up.

"Okay, Smallville, that's not what you said before. Last night, you were saying that all those things were bad. Now, suddenly they're good?"

Clark cleared his throat and fixed his eyes on the carpet. "Yeah, I know. I'm saying that I'm jealous of the fact that you can let go and do all that stuff. I'm not saying that I like that you do it. There's a difference, Lois."

"Why don't you like it?" Lois prodded, her heart starting to beat a little faster at his words. She looked at him and noticed that his hair was a little too long. For a second, her fingers itched to feel his hair … she imagined it would feel soft and silky.

Clark lifted his head right at that moment and caught Lois staring at him with an indefinable expression on her face. He could hear her heart pounding and her breathing was shallow and uneven.

He gazed into her hazel eyes searchingly and considered what would happen if he told her the truth. That he wanted to beat up every guy she went out with. That every time she accepted a dare or threw herself into a challenge, he was torn -- between applauding her courage or covering her up with a million plaid shirts and never letting her out in public. That he didn't know what would have happened if he hadn't taken off the ring last night. That he still couldn't believe that she'd had the power to make him take off the ring with just a few simple words.

No one had been able to make him walk away from red kryptonite willingly before – not his mother, father, Pete or Lana. But with a few words, she had managed to have a more powerful affect on him than kryptonite. The thought amazed him and, at the same time, scared the hell out of him.

When she didn't get an answer, Lois looked at him searchingly and repeated, "Clark, why don't you like it?"

Clark blinked and decided to go with a quasi-truth. "Because it's beneath you. A lot of the things you do are kind of disrespectful to who you could be. I think you don't give yourself enough credit. You deserve more."

Lois let out the breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding in. She felt a mixture of relief and disappointment course through her body.

"Well, that's really sweet of you, Smallville. If it makes you feel any better, I agree with most of that."

"Most?" Clark raised a brow, with a slight smile.

"Yeah, most. Not all of it, because…well… you are a bit of a prude, you know." Clark laughed. "But, yeah, I'm not exactly proud of a lot decisions that I've made since my senior year of high school….I could have done better. But I am trying to change that. Maybe I don't do things the way you would do it, but I have my reasons – ."

"I know you do, Lois. It's okay, I get it. You don't owe me any explanations. It's not even about that." Clark interrupted, not wanting her to hear why she needed to go out with a different guy every other week. Any guy that wasn't him.

"Look, last night, someone pointed out to me that I didn't put the ring on just because I wanted to help Chloe and Lana. I guess there was a part of me that wanted to put it on because I wanted to be that person."

"What person?"

"The person I become when I'm affected by the meteor rock – a person who can just jump in and do whatever." Clark shrugged and gave her a rueful grin. "A person that doesn't think too much. So, this morning, I realized a lot of what I said to you last night came from that – the feeling that you can just naturally be like that – and I need a drug to make it happen. So, I took that frustration out on you – I'm sorry."

"I see – so, basically, what you're saying is that I'm perfect and you wanna be me?" Lois let out a huge laugh. "OK, then, I can live with that. I accept your apology, Smallville. Just, please don't say the word 'sorry' again. I think you've broken your own record. Which is no easy feat."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't think I used the word 'perfect' but…okay."

"Right!" Lois nodded brightly and shifted a bit on the sofa.

"Yeah…" Clark voice trailed off as he looked around her brightly lit living room.

An awkward silence stretched between them. Neither one seemed to know where to go from there. It seemed that their friendship was at a cross roads and it was up to one of them to take the next step and determine which direction they were going to take.