Chloe sat on the couch with her legs curled against her chest and a cup of coffee between her hands. She was determined to wait for Lois and make things right.

When Lana had come to her door, their friendship took the front seat and suddenly she found herself sucked into an after-school special of the 90's. Once her mouth started it completely disconnected from her brain, and it felt good. The aftermath? Not so much.

She eyed the clock. Maybe she decided not to come back at all. That possibility hadn't crossed her mind. She sighed and let her head hang sideways against the couch, her eyes focused on the black T.V. screen. She had really messed up.

The sound of the door knob turning made her tighten her grip on the cup, hope and fear mixed within her. She straightened her legs and stood. It was now or never.

She faced Lois and cringed. Her cousin stood in front of the door, heels in hand. The bottom of her dress was coated in dirt, her eyes were still red and her makeup was completely undone. Her heart twisted, how could she have been so selfish?

"I'm sorry, Lo." She whispered, a fervent plea in her tone.

"Don't say anything, okay? I should've trusted my gut. I had no right dumping this on you. Is that coffee?" Her tone changed so fast and drastically that Chloe blinked. "You do know what time it is, right?"

Chloe couldn't help but scoff and smile. That was Lois, she could be down for the count, but she never stopped caring and protecting. That was why she had to get on the Lois and Clark boat.

"I wasn't sure when you'd be home, so I needed to make sure I was awake, and don't change the subject." She watched as Lois walked towards her.

"Fine, in that case, I'll be taking that." That was as close to a warning as she gave before taking the coffee cup from a surprised Chloe. She was about to protest when Lois rose her hand in a stop motion. "I'm jet-lagged, emotionally drained and a mess, literally, so I get coffee, okay?" She took a small sip and dropped her body on the love seat in front of the couch. She let her shoes drop to hold the warm cup with both hands.

"Fair enough, I owe you that much." Chloe sat and faced her. They sat in silence for a little bit, neither knowing what to say.

"You didn't have to lie, you know. I would have understood and not said anything about all this until it blew over."

Chloe smiled.

"Yeah, I know. I really wanted to, so it wasn't a complete lie. I just… I was used to a certain dynamic. Lana was Clark's dream, I was his friend, you were my cousin. This just upset a balance I wasn't even aware I had."

Lois watched her over the rim of her cup, not sure what to make of everything that was happening.

"Well, your balance isn't the only one being thrown off, I liked the way things were too. I had no idea.." she couldn't finish the sentence.

"That he'd be so great? Yeah, he's for real." Chloe smiled. "Let's do something, okay? I'll let you know when it gets weird for me. I don't want to be cut off because I can't control my stupid crush, you're my cousin and he's my friend."

"How would that work though? You'll just walk off?" She shook her head, "I'll just keep as much as possible to myself until this is gone."

"What if you want to be with him when that happens? I don't want you sacrificing yourself for me, if anyone deserves a guy like Clark, it's you." There was so much conviction behind her words that Lois felt a knot form in her throat.

Silence reigned between them, Lois shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, I was with Professor Willobrook today and we found something." Chloe said, breaking the silence and changing the tone of the conversation. "We figured out what the three smaller symbols mean." She felt herself get excited at sharing the information.

"Really? So what is it? Some chant that will make me impervious to Clark's puppy eyes? 'cause seriously, I'm helpless against them and he now knows it."

Chloe laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, it must suck not to be able to hide anything from him. Hopefully he won't realize that those eyes have that effect on every breathing female that comes in contact with him. It's his unknown super power" They laughed it up as images of swooning girls filled their minds. "Anyway, you're going to love this by the way," she paused for effect. "It's a Kawatche wedding chant."

Lois' eyes grew wide in disbelief.

"A wedding chant? Those aliens sure know how to lay it thick, don't they?"

"Subtlety must not be in their wide range of skills." She rolled her stiff neck, fatigue was starting to hit her.

"So what is it?"

"Huh?" Chloe looked confused.

"The chant? What does it say?" Lois put the cup down on the coffee table, exhaustion was winning over the coffee, but curiosity was still fighting it off.

"Oh, right. Hold on, I wrote it.." she reached for her pants pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She cleared her throat and read. "With knowledge comes love and sacrifice always follows."

"knowledge comes love.." she mumbled it to herself, Sylar had said something about knowledge and sacrifice. Her brain was too tired to think of the connection, so she gave up. "Okay, I think that's enough for today, let's go to bed before we turn into zombies and start eating our neighbors."

Chloe couldn't agree with her more.

"Three weeks, really? Wow, almost a month of this craziness." Lois became pensive as he took a bit of Martha's famous apple pie.

"Oh, come on, it hasn't been that bad, has it?" Clark chuckled as he started to put their used plates and leftovers back in the picnic basket.

"Well, that depends on who you ask. My father is so thrilled that I've not only chosen a college, but been accepted to it as well that he hasn't mentioned my failed mission. I'm a pretty self-driven girl, but feeling what you feel during your training days has me on overdrive. I think Chloe has gotten sick of my reorganizing every closet in the house. Uncle Gabe doesn't seem to mind, though." She said with a smile as she helped him.

Her hand brushed over his, the contact sent a shock of electricity through her and she couldn't help but look up at him. His eyes were so open to her that she read his thoughts before his feelings.

"And then there's that." Was that her voice? It seemed lower than usual. She cleared her throat before continuing. "You know, for an innocent farm boy you sure have your mind in the gutter a lot. This magic is bringing out a side of you I thought didn't exist."

"So you though I was blind and dead? To be fair, I don't think the magic has anything to do with that. I'm a guy and you are a very pretty girl." His dark tone made her inhale sharply, leaving her almost speechless, almost.

"Well, this isn't the blushing Clark of yesteryear." She stuffed the last piece of pie in her mouth and averted her eyes.

"Are you blushing? Wow, I've made Lois Lane blush." His eyes danced with uncontained joy and mirth.

She pinched her face and turned away from him. He laughed fully then, a deep-throat chuckle that rattled her nerves and made her go weak in the knees.

"Stop that!" She swatted his arm, he knew full well the effect of that laugh on her. There was no way of hiding it, but that didn't mean she had to take it sitting down.

He stopped her arm in mid-air. His eyes took in her face and memorized each expression that passed through it. She tried to cover her surprise with a smirk. He tucked that look away in 'the many faces of Lois file'. He wanted to remember what she truly felt every time.

He felt her grow uncomfortable under his scrutiny and started to congratulate himself when he felt her lips crash against his. Surprise quickly gave way to surrender and he gathered her in his arms, kissing her back.

She straddled his hips and ran both her hands through his hair, capturing his head. His mind glazed over and all he could think off was her body, her taste. He wondered if that's what drunk felt like.

Her hands left his head and slid under his arms, bringing her flush against him. Her fingers traced the contours of his back as her tongue assaulted his mouth. Her teeth captured his lip and she pulled it before breaking the kiss.

He watched her over heavy-lidded eyes as her mouth curled up. His insides turned to mush and he could no longer think. He leaned in, but before he could kiss her she pushed against his chest and stood.

"It's getting late and I've got a schedule to make. I'll wait for you in the car, give you some time to recover." She winked and walked away.

Clark groaned and blushed furiously at the same time.

Lois Lane was going to be the death of him, so why was he enjoying it so much?

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