Chapter 11

First Week of Christmas

Clark didn't look cold at all, but he still nodded and went with me as I took off down the path that would eventually lead us out of the park. I was a little jealous of his Superhuman-whatever at that moment.

Okay, yeah, not just at that moment, I was permanently jealous of his Superman powers. I wanted to be able to fly and look through stuff and break shit without hurting myself. On the other hand, I didn't want the kind of responsibility that came along with those powers. Maybe it was best that I just stayed a perfectly normal human.

As we continued down the path, it suddenly hit me that I wasn't in the middle of hyperventilating. I was actually quite at ease. The fact that we had talked together, shared something we couldn't share with anyone else, it had somehow made me relax around him. I felt that because we had one thing in common that we couldn't share with anyone but the other, we had become confidential. The thought made me smile a bit, mostly from relief. It would've sucked if I was doomed to forever be a nervous wreck whenever he was near.

We reached the outskirt of the park after a few minutes of walking in a friendly silence. The wind had picked up so it was much colder than it had been before, and my hair was blown everywhere once again. It was ridiculous. I couldn't see anything because of the wall of hair, so, instinctively I grabbed hold of Clark's arm for guidance.

"I can't see a bloody thing." I grumbled and tried to sweep some of it away from my eyes. He laughed heartily and placed his right hand on top of the hand I had wrapped around his left arm, patting it a few times. It was a slightly old school, kind of grandfatherly move that me him all the more adorable. Just like when he said 'swell'.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure you don't walk in front of a bus." He dropped his hand again, but kept our arms intertwined and I was left wondering when we'd become close enough to walk arm in arm down the street without it seeming weird. We probably looked like a perfectly cute geek couple to other people, with his glasses and neat hair and gentlemanly jacket and nice pants, and my glasses and overall geek aura.

Stop thinking like that. I firmly told myself. I knew that a relationship between me and Clark was probably completely off the table, especially given the things he had told me about his last attempt at a relationship.

We reached the street now and stopped, neither knowing what we should do next.

Clark, ever the gentleman, turned to me and asked, "So, what do you want to do now?"

I really didn't know, but I knew that if I just shrugged and said' you decide' I'd seem uninterested or lazy and expecting him to entertain me, and that was not the image I wanted to get across. I figured I was a bit hungry, so I went with that.

"We could find some place to eat?" I suggested. "Get me out of this cold?" We both smiled a bit at how I hadn't mentioned him getting out of the cold either. It was funny how his powers sort of were an inside joke that we already seemed to have formed.

He suggested a Chinese restaurant he'd heard was supposedly really good, and I had to sheepishly admit that I didn't like Chinese.

"That's okay," He laughed, clearly amused with my embarrassment, "We'll think of something else."

It was amazing that someone with such a sad story could be so happy. It was really inspiring.

After strolling down the streets for some time, we stepped into a nice little café that looked really cozy. The tables were small, with comfortable chairs, and soft music played from the radio. It was one of those places where the food was prepared in the same room you ate it in. We sat at the bar, Clark ordering a sandwich and me ordering a pasta-salad thing with lots of bacon in it that tasted great.

After all, bacon is a vegetable, right?

We ate mostly in silence, which I was thankful for, because I just couldn't eat and talk at the same time. I always made a mess that way. I was glad I had chosen something that could be eaten with cutlery this time, instead of that pizza I had the first time we ate together.

A small TV was placed in one corner of the bar and I noticed Clark following the news with great interest.

I started to pay attention too, just as a 'breaking news' sign flashed and the blonde news reporter said something about a hostage situation in down-town Metropolis.

Clark cleared his throat and determinedly said, "I'll.. go use the bathroom." He turned to me and winked and I smirked, subtly giving him a thumbs-up with the hand in my lap and then turned back to the TV.

Ten seconds later, a red-and-blue silhouette zipped past the café window, just as the reporter said, "We can only hope that Superman hears the news and saves the day, once again."

I felt myself frown at her words. It dawned on me just how dependent Metropolis had become of Superman. We had almost become lazy, always expecting Superman to save the day. What did they plan to do once Superman got old and died? Then he wouldn't be able to keep saving the day.

And save the day he certainly did. Only a minute after Clark had excused himself, Superman was at the crime scene. Two minutes later, the reported visibly showed relief as she announced that Superman had successfully saved the hostages and the wrong-doers were now being handed over to the authorities.

In the background, I could see Superman talking to the police officers, looking devastatingly handsome. Despite my earlier musings about becoming too dependent on Superman, I felt a surge of pride.

Five minutes later, Clark had finished his 'bathroom break' and came back in, fully dressed. I had to admit, I was impressed. He must've become incredibly fast at dressing, considering how long he'd been Superman and had to do a speed-change.

"Did I miss anything?" He innocently asked.

"Oh, yeah, Superman just saved a bunch of people." I said with enthusiasm, "it was awesome!"

"Did he now?" Clark said, his eyes glinting with mirth.

"Yup. It was pretty cool." I smirked, "However, he seemed to be getting lazy. It took longer than usual. He looks like he's gained a few pounds around the belt too.."

Clark raised an eyebrow, like 'Oh, really?' in a silent response to my light mocking and I couldn't help but laugh. A lopsided smirk graced his face and he ordered another drink from the bar as he sat down again.

I was left in amazement over how fast I'd become comfortable enough around him to jokingly accuse him of getting fat without breaching any boundaries.

We idly chatted as he finished his beer, this time me being the focus, since we'd spent most of the day talking about his double life. We covered different things, like childhood and friends and education. Boring stuff, really.

"So, parents?"

I shrugged, "Lives in New York. My dad's a cop; my mother's a teacher at an elementary school. Pretty average. Both in their mid fifties.." I smiled wryly when I thought about how extremely ordinary my life was, especially compared to his.

"I'm an only child, because my mother was involved in an accident and couldn't get pregnant afterwards.." I admitted.

"I'm sorry." He said. I shrugged it off.

"Don't be. Can't miss something I never had, right?" I smiled at him to show that I wasn't bothered by it.

"I'm an only child too." He admitted.

"Yeah, I guess we would've known if you had any siblings." I winked at him and finished my own drink, digging into my purse to pay for my food.

He did the same, and we left the café. I had halfway feared that he would offer to pay for my lunch too, since that's what gentlemen do, and I was relieved when he didn't. It would've felt too much like a date if he paid for my food, too. He must've reached the same conclusion.

We walked around for a bit, stopping every once in a while to look through shop windows.

"That." I said, pointing at an extended edition box-set of Lord of the Rings. "I need that." It was beautifully displayed in a movie shop window.

"Want to go in?" Clark asked.

I sighed wistfully at the box, but shook my head. It was beautiful, but the price-tag was really ugly news. "I can't afford it. Not so close to Christmas, anyway." I admitted. "I'll just tell Diana that it's what I want for Christmas. She's filthy rich so she always gives great gifts."

I was a bit embarrassed when admitting that I couldn't afford it, but I knew Clark wasn't the type to judge.

He shrugged, not dwelling on the matter.

"I've never seen them." He admitted after I finally managed to haul myself away from the shop window and we had continued further down the street.

"WHAT?" I all but shouted. He jumped a bit, surprised by my sudden outburst. "But they're.. They're the greatest movies since EVER. How have you succeeded in avoiding them? I mean, the third movie won eleven awards! That's, like, the highest amount of awards ever given to to a movie!" I was surprised he hadn't watched them, to say the least.

He shrugged." I think they came out while I was.. Not on earth. And then when I came back, the hype had died down, I guess. I know they were insanely popular, but I never really watch movies a lot."

"Oooh." I nodded. "Well, now I know what we're going to do next time we hang out!" I flashed him a sideways grin and elbowed him slightly. He returned the grin. For a moment, I was afraid he was going to say 'what makes you think I want to hang out with you again?', but of course he didn't.

In fact, he didn't look like the prospect of hanging out with me again was the most repulsive thing he'd ever heard. He looked like it wasn't such a bad idea.

"Sure."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

We continued walking, until I saw the time. It was already five pm. I had a pile of homework waiting for me at home. I had to get up early the next morning.

Crap.

"Woah, look how late it already is!" I exclaimed.

He looked at his watch himself. "Yeah. Time flies by fast in good company."

I smiled gratefully at the compliment. "I'm really sorry Clark, but I think it's time I head home. I still have homework."

He nodded, understanding.

"I'll walk you home."

_._._._._._._._.

A few days later found me hanging out at a clearance sale with Diana. We'd been wandering aimlessly around the city for some time when I spotted the sale and decided that my meager paycheck could handle a bit of clothes shopping when the clothes were fifty percent off.

"So, how did your not-a-date-but-totally-a-date-date go?" Diana asked as she picked up a brightly orange t-shirt with one finger and threw it down again like it was contaminated.

"Not a date." I grumbled from behind a cute black and dark purple dress that I was seriously considering buying. It could go well with my hair and complexion.

"Sure. Whatever." She waved my denial away. "But how did it go?"

Folding the dress and tucking it under my arm so I wouldn't lose it, I considered her question.

"It was nice." I admitted. "We had a great time. It turns out that he's extraordinarily easy to talk to."

"That's nice." Diana nodded, presumably in deep thought. She held up a t-shirt with a cartoon-y shark on it and regarded it before shrugging and draping it over her arm with the rest of the clothes she'd found. "So, did you bang him?"

"Diana!" I spluttered. I had progressed beyond being surprised by her constant crude remarks, but that didn't mean I didn't get embarrassed by them. "No! I told you, it was just a – "

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she rolled her eyes at me, "just a friendly date between two friendly friends. What's wrong with being friends and having great sex at the same time?"

"Dude, this is not a subject that should be discussed in public." I growled/whispered at her after noticing a mother with two children giving us the stink-eye.

"Besides, you don't even know what he looks like. How do you know he's not four foot five and has crooked teeth?"

"Because, Georgia my dear, despite your other faults and defects, you have really good taste in men."

".. I decide to take that as a compliment." I settled with saying after a moment, and then walked over to another clearance table, this one containing shoes.

"I'm starving like a teenage boy in the middle of a growth spurt, let's go eat somewhere." Diana said once we had left the shop, each with a decent sized bag of new and cheap clothes, and my wallet screaming at me to end its emptiness and stop buying shit.

"Sure." I shrugged. "I know this great little café that serves great pasta-salads.." I suggested.

"Meh. Pasta-salads are boring." She pouted. "Too much salad and pasta and too little meat."

"Their sandwiches are great too." I coaxed.

"Is there bacon?" She squinted her eyes at me.

"All the bacon you could possibly want." I smirked, figuring I'd have her hooked with that comment.

"I resent that. No amount of bacon, not matter how large, will ever qualify as all the bacon I could possibly want."

Still, we went, me never mentioning that it was the same café Clark and I had been at a few days before.

_._._._._._._

I had the next Friday off, and since it was the first week in December, Diana and I decided to go celebrate the upcoming Christmas by going out. We agreed to meet at the same café we'd eaten at a few days before, the café Clark and I had been at too, which Diana still didn't know.

She'd probably just tease me if she knew.

Anyway, I'd gotten quite fond of the café in the short time. The owner was nice, a middle aged man with thinning hair and a growing belly. His wife was even sweeter. She had a slightly worn look about her, but you could tell she'd been beautiful in her youth. She liked to sit down and talk when the café wasn't busy, and didn't mind me not ordering a whole lot, since I couldn't afford to eat out all the time. I usually just ordered a coffee or something and we'd have a pleasant chat.

The first day I came back after Clark and I's not-date, she'd smiled sweetly at me and asked how my boyfriend was. I had blushingly said that he wasn't my boyfriend, but that I was sure he was fine.

It had pleasantly surprised me that she could actually remember me after only one visit to the café.

During one of our chats, she had told me that the café was quite popular as a late night bar too, so Diana had succeeded in coaxing me into going there at night and see what it was like.

We went at nine pm Friday evening, Diana absolutely determined to get moderately drunk and have fun.

I just planned on surviving a night with potentially drunk strangers, all dancing and talking and a lot of them probably trying to get laid.

On our way there, I suddenly spotted Clark, of all people, walking a hundred feet ahead of us in the opposite direction. In just a small moment, he'd pass by us. I gripped hold of Diana's arm, getting her attention.

"That's Clark!" I hissed at her.

She'd never seen Clark and she had no idea what he looked like, so that exclamation probably didn't help much.

She squinted her eyes at the people-filled street. "Where?" she asked.

I didn't get to answer, because just then Clark caught sight of me and smiled brightly at me.

In case you were wondering, yes, that did totally turn me knees into jelly.

"Hey Georgia!" he said cheerily.

"Oh my god, hi!" I sounded surprised, like I hadn't spotted him at all. I was a bit panicked over Clark meeting Diana. She was probably far too crude for his taste and I wasn't sure I wanted him to know that I had weird friends just yet.

Still, I forced myself to introduce them. "Clark, this is my best friend Diana, Diana this is Clark, one of my friends from work." I said, saying it in a way that made it sound like I'd never mentioned Clark to her before.

"Oh, reaaally?" Diana drawled, and I could see her eyes roaming all over him, mentally judging whether I'd done a good job this time or not. "Nice to meet you, Clark."

"Likewise, Miss Diana." Clark replied nicely, still a pleasant smile on his face. He turned back to me. "It was rather fortunate that I found you; I've been meaning to ask you a favor."

"Oh?" I said, hoping it wasn't a favor I'd epically fail at. "What can I help you with?"

"I've been thinking about writing an article on the reporter education and I was wondering if I could do an interview with you, seeing as you're in the middle of that education."

"Wow, erh," I was a bit surprised, to say the least. He actually wanted my opinion on something that was going to become an article, he wanted to ask me questions and print them in one of the biggest papers in the city. "Sure, why not." Insane.

I couldn't say no, obviously, not with his big blue eyes looking so hopefully at me.

"Swell!" he said, which made Diana snicker slightly, "I'll call you later and arrange the details."

"Sure. We can meet over lunch or something. I'm the whole weekend." I replied, hoping it didn't sound too desperate.

"Me too. How 'bout we do the interview tomorrow? Over lunch?" He asked.

"Sure!" I smiled.

He looked at his watch and did a double take. "I'd stay and chat, but I've actually really got to be going now. Thanks again. I really appreciate your help."

He gave me a one-armed hug around my neck and shoulder, which I only partly managed to respond to, not only because it happened so fast, but because I was distracted by my face coming into contact with his firm chest.

I smiled in reply and he briskly continued down the way he'd been heading before.

Diana whistled slightly under her breath.

"And I really appreciate your ass."

"Diana!" I groaned, knowing that with his super-hearing, Clark could probably hear her. On that note, I decided to quickly tug her along, not wanting her to start talking about my crush when he might still be within hearing range. I made her turn around from her obvious staring and continued down the way towards the café.

"Georgia, I know you said he was good looking, but, damn, that guy is smoking!" She said. "Well, a bit geeky with the glasses and a bit too polite, though I get the feeling he's working a fine body underneath the clothes, so –" she suddenly broke off, a look of realization on her face. "Oh my GOD, he's like the male version of you! You basically have a crush on yourself! You even have the same glasses, you narcissistic little shit!"

"We do not have the same glasses at all." I grumbled. She laughed loudly and ruffled my hair, which I really didn't appreciate.

It was with a sigh of relief when we finally reached the café.

"How about I break one of your legs, would that be geeky and polite?" I suggested and stepped inside.

"Aw sweetie, you'd never do that. You're too geeky and polite." She smirked. She jumped onto a bar stool and I placed myself in the one to the right.

"I think I'll get a beer." She decided, "you?"

"Just give me something with alcohol in it." I groaned and rested my tired head against the bar counter.

"Tough day, sweetie?" The owner's wife, Lizbeth, asked me before opening Diana's beer for her and placing a shot of some kind of alcohol in front of me.

"I've been spending it in her company, what do you think?" I complained and pointed towards Diana. Diana just shrugged innocently at that. "You love me." She said nonchalantly and took a swig from her beer.

Lizbeth looked like she completely felt my pain and pushed the shot further towards me. "It's on the house." She said.

I downed my shot, only cringing a bit at the taste. I had never been the biggest fan of alcohol that hadn't been mixed with something.

"But seriously, he just arranged a lunch-date-interview-thing with you. That's a great sign!" she started chugging her beer.

Diana put the bottle down again, letting out a content sigh and smacking her lips once. She then proceeded to turn around in the chair and lean against the counter, obviously spying for an attractive male she could sink her claws into.

I quickly ordered another shot. This was going to be a long night, I thought with a sigh.

I guess this could be considered late, but since I said I couldn't guarantee that I'd post at all, I think you should be grateful anyway.

My first exam is this Tuesday, and it's something as horrible as a combined Geography-Biology-chemistry oral examination, so wish me luck.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a review if you did.

Also, I think it's far to warn you all that this chapter will be the last chapter I post for some time. I've run out of chapters already written, and I want to at least have a few in spare. It's a lot less stressful that way.