Chapter 41
He walked briskly through the myriad of desks and newspaper employees until he reached her section. She wasn't there.
Damn it! He really needed to talk to her.
He jumped up when a folder came out of nowhere to slap him in the arm.
'What the hell were you thinking?' He turned to see a very pissed Chloe staring daggers up at him.
'What?'
'You went to talk to Lana?!'
'Oh!'
'Yeah, oh!' She rolled her eyes at him coming around her desk and dropping the folder with an angry thud.
'Did you talk to her?' He choked out the words.
'Talk to whom?'
She wasn't going to make this easy on him.
'You know who I'm talking about. I tried calling her but she doesn't pick up.' He explained with slumped shoulders.
'Can you blame her? The minute you find out your ex-girlfriend is engaged you're up and running to try and stop her. What did you expect?' Chloe was really irritated and she didn't try to hide it.
'You don't understand. I needed to talk to Lana. Tell her she's making a mistake.'
'And did it work?' She questioned crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for an answer.
'No.'
'What did she say?'
'She said it was her life, her decision to make. Lex made her happy and she was going to marry him.'
'Really? It was her life? Her decision to make?' Her voice dripped with sarcasm. 'And here I thought that it was a group thing, you know? She had to consult all of her friends, get the approval from the ex-boyfriend before she went through with it.'
'That was harsh.' He muttered weakly looking up at her with a hurt glint in his eyes which made her melt immediately.
She let out a long sigh and came around the desk once again to stand next to him.
'Here, sit down.'
Taking his hand she directed him to the chair in front of her and he took a seat while she leaned against her writing table.
'Clark, you have to realise that what you did...' She paused. 'It's not you're problem anymore.' She said a little softer.
'I know. I just think that she's making a mistake.' He insisted with his eyes buried in his large hands.
'Maybe she is, but it's her mistake to make. You can't do anything about it.' Chloe continued as she looked down at him. 'You have to take a breather from this whole
hero-complex thing you've got going. You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved.'
He chuckle weakly.
'What?'
'My mom said that.'
'Yeah, well Mrs. Kent is a wise woman.' Chloe sighed in relief when she saw an allusion to a smile on his lips.
'I had to talk to Lana. She was a good friend. I thought I owed her.' He tried to justify himself.
'Maybe you're right.' Chloe reluctantly agree.
There was a moment of silence before he asked:
'Is she really mad?'
'More hurt than mad.'
'That's worse.' It wasn't a question, he knew her well enough to know that it was true.
'On the Lois Lane scale?' Chloe widened her eyes to emphasize her last statement. 'Way worse!'
Seeing the look of fear in him she continued:
'But she'll get over it.'
Their eyes met and she added:
'She knows you love her.'
He dropped his gaze and couldn't help letting out an aching laugh at that. His eyes snapped back to the small blonde in front of him when he heard her utter:
'She loves you too, you know?'
He gulped.
'She does?'
'She didn't tell me in so many words.'
His chest deflated.
'But trust me... I know my cousin better than anyone and she's definitely in love with you, Clark Kent.'
She smirked when she saw his lips twist for a smile.
'She wouldn't be this messed up if she wasn't. She's just scared.'
'Of what?' He asked innocently.
'She's never felt anything like this before. She's never allowed herself to feel it. Lois is very guarded; when it comes to her emotions she's a control freak and she knows that this she definitely can't control so it scares the living daylight out of her.'
'Do you think she'll forgive me?'
'I'm sure she will.'
His smile slowly turned into his trademark goofy grin as he tentatively inquired:
'So... you think she's in love with me.'
She rolled her eyes at him.
'She's crazy about you. Now get off your ass and take me to lunch. I'm starving!' She stood up straight and picked up her purse.
Clark quickly followed her, still beaming as he felt an intense rush going through him.
'You're buying!' He heard her announce over her shoulder.
'Why me?!'
'You have a lot of making up to do, you might as well start by kissing up to the loving and supportive cousin. That should get you some points.'
He paced around in circles, his eyes darting to the small device on the kitchen counter. Coming to a halt he pressed his sweaty hands together before reaching for it. He quickly dialled the familiar number and waited.
'Pick up, pick up, pick up.' The words drummed in his brain.
He froze when he heard someone answer.
'Hello?!' He exclaimed not caring that his voice was feeble and restless.
There was no answer but he could hear her breathing.
'Lois... Please... talk to me...' He begged. 'I'm sorry.'
He could tell she was holding her breath now probably wondering whether or not to respond.
'Lois... I shouldn't have let you go without an explanation...'
She remained silent. Well, at least she wasn't hanging up on him.
He exhaled sharply.
'I needed to see Lana-'
Click! The maddening sound of a busy signal followed. She'd hung up on him.
Maybe mentioning Lana wasn't the smartest thing to do, he realised.
He quickly redialled the name but this time he was greeted by an unfamiliar and almost robotic voice:
'We're sorry, the number you've dialled-'
He hung with a sigh.
'Great, just great!'
'Everything ok?'
Oliver's question caused her eyes to dart from her cell phone to the man sitting next to her.
'Fine.'
She could see the smirk pulling his mouth to the side.
'What?' She demanded.
'Already fighting?' He wondered. 'I would have thought that you two would still be in the honeymoon stage of the relationship. But then again you were never a regular couple.'
'Have you contacted Senator Matthews yet?' She ignored him and went right back into work mode.
'Ok, butting out now.' He said raising his hands up in sign of surrender.
'Good. Cause we have a lot of work to do tonight.' She didn't even look up at him, her attention completely focused on the pile of papers spread out on top of the table in front of them.
He had to talk to her. He couldn't leave things as they were.
He made a move to retrieve his jacket when suddenly he came to a halt.
But maybe she needed space.
God, he sucked at this! He didn't know what to do. He knew what he wanted to do though.
He wanted to see her.
Without giving it a second thought he snatched the jacket from the hanger and super-sped out of the house toward Star City.
The black lettering in front of him began to slowly fuse together in an incomprehensible jumble of words and soon so did the lines until all he could see were smudges of dark ink on the sheets he held.
Putting down the files he looked up to find Lois sitting on the couch next to him, her head droopily hanging over the back of the sofa, her mouth gaping open and he was pretty sure that was a string of drool coming out of the corner of her mouth. He smiled. She must have been exhausted, poor thing.
He could tell that she'd been pretty upset over her fight with Clark. She'd barely been able to focus on anything, repeating questions she'd already gotten the answer to.
When her back started to protest after five hours of sitting in an uncomfortable chair leaning into a table they decided it would be more effective if they moved the work area to the couch in front of the fireplace. The combination of inviting warmth and the smooth texture of leather proved too enthralling to resist and soon she was snoring up a storm next to him. She'd tossed a couple of time before falling into the deep slumber he found her in now.
Shaking his head he scooted over and was about to scoop her into his arms when she slumped against him, her head finding the perfect pillow in his chest, her face burrowing into the comfort of his shirt.
'Lois... Wake up...' He was barely able to say the words.
He was so tired he literarily couldn't see straight. The idea of carrying her and his worn out body up that ridiculously long flight of stairs seemed daunting, even for Green Arrow.
They could just crash there. The room was warm and she looked pretty comfortable from were he was.
'I'm definitely not moving.' He decided with a yawn.
So they would wake up with a little backache, what harm could that do?
Overtaken by sleep and fatigue he didn't even notice the man standing just outside the window, his hands fisted so tight the knuckles turned white, his jaw clenching as his blue eyes took in the sight of his girlfriend and her ex-lover cuddling up on the couch.
He stood there for three excruciating minutes going through a strange succession of emotions that ranged from shock, to anger and range until all that was left was this chest constricting ache that stung every time he tried to inhale.
Chapter 42
'Thanks.'
'Thank you and have a lovely evening.'
Lois nodded and as the taxi drove away she turned to face the familiar farmhouse. Picking up her bag she slowly walked along the short trail that lead up to it and up the front steps. As always, even though it was ten o'clock at night, the door was unlocked.
She twisted the knob and let herself into the lit living room. Her heart spiked a few beats when she saw him in the kitchen, at the sink, his back to her as he washed the dishes.
Hesitantly, she made her way to the kitchen and waited; she waited ten excruciating seconds before he turned around and saw her.
He froze when his eyes met hers. The only thing she could read in his face was shock. He didn't say anything, he didn't move, just stood there with a glass and a towel in hand. It was making her nervous.
'I didn't think I'd be able to sneak up on you.' She said with a fretful smile.
He remained silent and an altered.
'You know, with the whole super-hearing thing.' It wasn't that she felt the need to elaborate on her previous statement; it was pretty self-explanatory; she simply required to fill in the agonizing stillness that had settled between them.
'I get it.' He finally spoke.
He turned around and finished drying the glass he held before placing it back in the cabinet.
'What are you doing here?' He asked after a long pause. 'I thought you were supposed to stay for five days.'
Lois frowned. What was going on? Why was he acting this way?
'Um... Things went better than expected. We managed to get a lot done yesterday and today. Plus a couple of meetings got bumped to next week so your mom though it would be ok if I came home early.' She spoke distractedly too busy watching as he moved around the kitchen drying the rest of the dishes.
'So my mom stayed?'
Why wasn't he looking at her?
'Yeah, she'll be home tomorrow night. She has a meeting with Bruce Wayne tomorrow afternoon.'
After a couple of minutes she had had it. She shook her head.
'Clark!' She called when he refused to meet her gaze. 'What's going on?'
He was finished with the dishes and he dismissively dropped the towel on the counter.
'What do you mean?' He clenched his teeth together when he felt the nonchalant facade start to crumble as he was forced to glance at her.
Her face was marred by a look of confusion and uncertainty.
He'd missed her so much.
'What do I mean?' She repeated incredulous. 'I come home early to surprise you and all I get is a dry what are you doing here?'
Confusion and uncertainty were quickly replaced by rage.
His response was to walk past her without a word and leave her in the kitchen to climb up the stairs.
She remained paralyzed for a few moments and before she was able to snap herself out of it he was coming back down with a bunch of sheets and pillows under each arm.
She followed him into the living room where he dumped all the paraphernalia he was carrying onto the couch and started making his bed.
'Clark!' She called when he refused to meet her gaze.
'What?' The word came out a little harsher than he'd expected.
'What? I think you just stole my line there.' Lois noted looking down at him in disbelief while he continued to make his bed. 'What's going on? Why are you acting this way?'
'Acting like what?' It was getting harder and harder to sound calm and collected.
'Like total idiot!' She snapped at him.
He just needed to keep his eyes on the sheets he was spreading out. He couldn't look at her or-
''Why are you pissed?'
'Who says I'm pissed?' He fisted his hands into the fabric, pulling at it a little too forcefully until it ripped.
'Right... You're not pissed at all.' She jibbed sarcastically.
'Lois, what do you want?' He sighed but still kept his gaze away from her.
'I wanna know why you won't even look at me.'
'I'm making by bed.' He replied; the anger seeping into his one.
'Do you have to do it while we're fighting?'
'We're not fighting.'
Lois had to pause for a second and get a grip on herself otherwise she would soon find herself trying to choke her boyfriend regardless that she knew it wouldn't be very effective.
'Last time I checked I wasn't the one who went running back to my ex-girlfriend.'
He jerked his wrists at her remark and successfully ruined another sheet.
'Oh, really.' He said gruffly, ignoring the damage he was causing to his mother's bed linens.
'And just what's that supposed to mean?'
'I think you know.'
'Um... No, not really!'
'Try a little harder.'
'Ok, you're going to have to quit with the oh! so subtle insinuations and just come right out and tell me what the hell's wrong with you!' By the end of that sentence she was almost shouting at him.
Suddenly he was in her face, towering over her, startling her with his swiftness and his unexpected proximity.
'I saw you!'
She was still catching her breath from the initial scare when she asked:
'You saw me?'
'Last night.' He gritted pinning her with his eyes and causing her stomach to contract wildly.
'Last night? I was...'
'Cuddling up with your ex-boyfriend.'
That threw her for a loop.
'Last night? Cuddling up with... What are you talking about? How-? You were in Star City last night?'
Her mind was swarming with questions and the fact that his face was three inches from hers wasn't helping.
'I went there to-'
A light bulb went up.
'You were spying on me?!'
'No, I went there to talk to you because you wouldn't answer the phone!' He raised his voice. 'And when I got there you were...' He was forced to trail off as the words seemed to get caught in his throat at the memory.
'How dare you spy on me?'
'Well, apparently I had reasons to.'
Her eyes widened dangerously at him.
'You just made the quantum leap from idiot to full-fledged asshole!' She stared daggers up at him. 'One - I was working late last night and I dozed off on the couch. I don't remember cuddling up to anybody, much less Oliver. Two - even if I did, this so does not compare to running after my ex-boyfriend to stop him from getting married.'
'How many times do I have to say this? Lana was my friend and she-'
'This has nothing to do with whether or not Lana was your friend. This has to do with your pathologically self-righteous need to butt into other people's lives and dictate to them what is right and what is wrong.'
'Lana is alone and vulnerable.'
This was too much, how delusional could he be about the girl that up until very recently he claimed to be madly in love with? He didn't even know her!
'Lex is manipulating her and-'
'Oh, for the love of God!' She growled cutting him off once again. 'You have this twisted, sugar coated, fantasy image of a Lana that doesn't even exist. She's not a helpless little girl, Lana is not vulnerable, she knows how to fend for herself. When you lose your parents at such a young age you become a master in the art of self-preservation.' She could feel the ache crawling its way through her ribcage, paralyzing her muscles and forcing her to rip the words from her chest. 'Believe me I speak from experience. You learn to be guarded about everything in your life, especially your feelings. You learn to choose very carefully who you let in since you can't afford the luxury of getting hurt. And you know why? Cause if you do, you
know,' She emphatically repeated the last words. 'you know there won't be anyone there to pick up the pieces.'
As the rage and pain welled up in her eyes he knew she wasn't talking about Lana anymore.
She inhaled sharply and stared intensely up at him as she added:
'Even though some times you do make rookie mistakes...' She spat out. 'you also learn to never make them again.'
With that she turned around and began to leave but he hastily chased after and caught up to her in a second.
'Lois! Lois, wait!' He choked out when he realised he was about to lose her.
She jerked away from his hand when it reached for her, but he clasped onto her arm and wouldn't let her go making her turn and burn her painful gaze into him. She tried to pry herself from his grasp, but as much as she struggled she soon found herself trapped as he held her by her shoulders.
'Lois, I'm sorry, please forgive me.' He didn't care if he was begging, if he sounded pathetic and weak. 'I'm so sorry. I didn't know- I didn't think it-'
'Let go of me.' The words were barely audible as she continued to fight him.
'No, Lois, listen to me! I don't want to lose you.'
'It's too-'
His heart stopped, his eyes grew wide and glassy.
'Don't say that!' His frantic hands blindly pawed their way from her shoulders to the crook of her neck, to force her to look up at him. 'Don't-' He suddenly found that he couldn't breathe at the prospect of losing her. 'I can't... I love you!'