A Second Chance

by WinchesterGurl1967

They were young, carefree and completely in love until he made the biggest mistake of his life, shattering both of their hearts in the process. Years later, one event reunites them, but things aren't what they used to be. He has changed for the better. She has guarded her heart. Will this be their second chance? Or will something get in the way of their happiness? CLOIS :)

22. Chapter Twenty-One

A Second Chance

Chapter Twenty-One:

Song used in this chapter: 'Yours' by Ella Henderson

Clark was completely and utterly miserable, as he laid down on his bed, his eyes trained on the white popcorn ceiling, while his mind was consumed with everything that has happened in the past two months.

Things in all of their lives had settled down for everyone—everyone except his two closest friends.

Not too long after that eventful night, Chloe, Lois and himself started their second year of college together at Metropolis University, which made two of the most important people in his life busier than they were during the summer.

Chloe was working overtime at the diner, as well as taking more classes than humanly possible, and on top of all of that she was still interning at The Daily Planet.

Lois was just as busy with her classes, her internship with her cousin, and her job at the bar, which never seemed to have a slow season.

Even though they had quite an intimidating schedule, it didn't stop him from spending as much time with them as possible.

Aside from their overwhelming busy schedules, everyone else in his life finally had a break from the crazy summer every single one of them had experienced.

His mother had been spending less and less time in the office, which was normal for this time of year, and his father didn't have as many responsibilities on the farm now that summer was officially over.

Oliver, Bruce and the rest of the team were putting most if not all of their focus on finding a way to stop their biggest threat from getting what he wanted, of course, they still patrolled every single night, but their main concentration was the safety of their friends and family.

Lex, on the other hand, hadn't made another move against any of them, mainly because they had made sure that he couldn't get close to him or the woman, who was currently the reason he was brooding inside his bedroom instead of getting ready for another day at the University.

Lois Joanne Lane.

For two excruciatingly long months she was the only thing that crossed his mind, and even though he enjoyed thinking about her, in this particular case he was wishing—hoping—praying that he could think of anything else—anything that didn't involve his feelings for her or the fact that absolutely nothing had changed between them.

Ever since the night they shared their first kiss, they had practically went back to the way things were before, except for the fact that now there was this imaginary wall separating them, and honestly, he was starting to wonder if things would ever change between the two of them.

There was a part of himself that wanted to say something—that wanted to confront her, but the other part of himself was absolutely terrified that it would put an even bigger barrier between them.

What the hell was he supposed to do? Continue living in this torment? Or tell her exactly how he felt—what he wanted?

He didn't know, but did know one thing for an absolute fact…he was ready to take their relationship a step further.

The question he kept asking himself was…was she ready too?

"Clark Kent! You better be awake!"

"The chores aren't going to finish themselves."

His thoughts were interrupted by the familiar voices of his parents, and he quickly sped into his clothes before making his way downstairs, where his parents were standing in the kitchen, preparing for another long day. "No need to yell. I'm awake."

Jonathan grinned, widely at his son, as he shook his head from side to side. "Well, it's about damn time, sleepyhead."

"I've been awake for quite some time." He looked pointedly at his father when he gave him a look. "And before you say anything the answer to your question is yes. I already finished the chores."

Martha eyed her son, suspiciously with a frown slowly spreading out across her face from the nonchalant attitude that was practically radiating off of him in waves.

It has been like this for quite some time now.

For some reason, her son had gravitated back to the person he was before the woman, who had changed all of their lives, moved to the city, and there was a small part of herself that wondered if this new change in behavior had anything to do with his training or his biological father, but the other part of herself had a feeling that this was something else entirely.

It had to be about Lois.

What had happened between them to cause this glum attitude?

"Clark, are you okay?"

Clark noticed the curious gaze lingering in her eyes, and quickly plastered on a fake smile, even though that was the last thing he wanted to do right now. "Yes, mom. I'm fine. Just worried about this big test I have today."

It was a lie, but it wasn't like he could tell either of them the real reason he was feeling like this. He hadn't told anyone about what happened between the two of them, mainly because he didn't think everyone needed to be involved in his love life, and Lois, well, it was pretty obvious that she hadn't told anyone either, but deep inside he had a feeling that she had a completely different reason for keeping this to herself.

What was it going to take for him to break down those barriers she had in-between them?

Jonathan clamped his hand down onto his shoulder, squeezing, slightly. "I have faith that you'll pass, besides those studying sessions with Chloe and Lois are probably helping."

That brought a small smile to his face. Ever since they started school, they've been having study sessions since they were all taking the same classes, except for Lois, who was also taking business courses on top of her journalism one, but half of the time they weren't studying.

It was basically an excuse to spend time with each other.

He nodded before quickly changing the subject, not wanting them questioning him anymore on the things he was doing or rather the things he wasn't doing. "So, um, have things calmed down with the whole benefit fiasco?"

Martha nodded. "It's not as bad as it was. Instead of focusing on the reason you and Lois were so close that night, they are more focused on the two mysterious vigilantes."

Clark groaned, miserably from the mention of that. After that night, the media had been a little more than persistent than normal when it came to his relationship with the young intern, actually, a picture of him having her in his arms had been front page news for weeks, but luckily, things were starting to calm down in that department.

"Don't remind me. Do you know how many times we were ambushed at school?"

Jonathan smiled, sympathetically at his son. "That was unfortunate, but we all signed up for this when your mother took the reins, besides I think she had done one hell of a job redirecting their focus to other things."

Martha grinned at her husband. "Well, it wasn't that hard. I mean, the fact that there are two vigilantes running around the city saving people was quite a distraction from everything else. Now, they want to know who's behind the masks of our favorite billionaires."

"That isn't going to happen," Clark scoffed. "Oliver and Bruce have been doing this for a long time. They spent years in their own cities, and no one ever found out it was really them, so it's doubtful that that will happen here."

Jonathan stared at his son for the longest time, as a particular thought, one that has been clouding his thoughts for quite some time, came to the forefront of his mind. "Would you ever do something like that?"

Clark frowned at him for a few seconds before realization dawned on him. "I don't know. I've thought about being more vigilante when it comes to saving people, and it seems like people don't have a problem with Oliver and Bruce, but it's not something that I want to address right now. At least not until I figure out my training with Jor-El and deal with Lex."

Martha nodded, knowingly. "Speaking of, has he made any contact since that night?"

He shook his head from side to side. "None of us have seen him since that night, which I'm thankful for. With school, the media and all these other problems I'm glad we don't have to worry about him for the time being."

"Is Lois still under protection?" Jonathan questioned.

He nodded with a soft smile gracing his lips from the situation she was practically forced into. "Much to her dismay, but it's for her safety, besides if Lex did try something again, he wouldn't have much luck. The only time she's really alone these days is when she's home, and even then, she's usually with Chloe."

"Well, hopefully this ends soon, so we can all go back to our normal lives."

"That would be nice."

The loud shrill of his phone beeping interrupted their conversation, and he quickly glanced down to see a text message from the woman in question.

'You better be at the campus, Smallville, or I will have your head.'

His eyes widened, slightly, as he gulped, silently, and he knew that she meant business from just those few words. Normally, he would question her for sending such a message, but he knew exactly why she had sent that particular message, and there was no way in hell he was going to be late or she would definitely have his head.

Today was the day they were finally putting their plan to set up Chloe and Oliver into motion.

For months, they've been trying to figure out the best way to force their friends to realize that they have deeper feelings for each other, and they had started to wonder if they would ever find a way to push them together, but a few weeks ago they had witnessed them almost kissing, which gave them the indication to move forward with their plans.

It was going to be one hell of a night, he thought to himself.

"Um, I should probably get going."

Martha and Jonathan glanced at each other with knowing expressions plastered across their faces, having a feeling that their son had been distracted by the one and only person, who could get him to do things when he was heavily procrastinating on doing them.

She barked and he listened every single time.

It was actually quite adorable.

Their son was completely and utterly browbeaten by that woman, and they highly doubted that would ever change. She had the ability to make him do things—make him say things he would never, ever say or do, and he had the same effect of her.

It was like they were one sometimes.

If only they would realize that, Martha thought to herself, as she moved closer to her son. "Have a good day at school, honey."

Clark smiled, softly at her before kissing her cheek. "You too, mom."

"Will you be home for dinner tonight?"

"Probably not. I have plans with Chloe and Lois." He quickly grabbed his bag, and super sped out of the house towards Metropolis, his mind filled with thoughts of the eventful day he would be experiencing. Not only would he be setting up his friends, but he would also be building the confidence within himself to get some answers from the woman, who never left his head.

It would happen.

By the end of the night, he would know if she was ready for more than just friendship with him or if she still needed more time.

Hopefully, it was the former, he thought to himself, as a small smile appeared on his face from the mere idea of things changing between them tonight.

It was time they took their relationship to a completely different level.

He was ready.

Hopefully, she was too.

---

In Metropolis, Chloe and Lois pulled up the University, and started making their way inside of the building, in complete and utter silence, as their minds were consumed with two completely different things.

Chloe couldn't squelch the excitement she felt every single time they walked to class together, of course, they have been doing this for almost two months now, but the mere fact that she was going to school with her cousin and best friend would never grow old.

Her first year, she had done this with Clark and Lana, but more than half the time she had to play advocate for every single one of their arguments, which happened on a daily basis near the end.

Now it was completely different.

Instead of playing monkey in the middle, she could enjoy coming to school with both of them, and even though they weren't together like she wished they were it was ten times better than having to deal with the roller coaster that was Clark and Lana' never-ending relationship.

It was a nightmare, but Clark and Lois were the complete opposite.

Maybe it was because they were meant to be or maybe it was because they weren't exactly a couple yet. Either way she enjoyed being able to spend time with the both of them without having to be wrapped up into a heated argument.

It was nice, but it was also frustrating at the same exact time. Not because they never argued, but because they weren't together yet.

As hard as they tried to hide the truth, deep inside she knew that something had happened between them, of course, they weren't saying anything, but it was as clear as day.

Something had happened and it happened the night of the Senatorial benefit.

When she finally made it home that night, she found them sleeping on the couch together, and honestly, it was the most beautiful thing she had seen in what felt like a lifetime, but the next morning it was like nothing happened.

There was a part of herself that wanted to know what had happened between the two of them, but the other part of herself knew that they would tell her when they were ready, and hopefully that happened soon because she was completely and utterly tired of the unspoken chemistry between the two of them.

Lois, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking of the one thing that has been on her mind for weeks now…the growing relationship between her cousin and best friend.

A few weeks ago, all four of them had been enjoying a night out together, which is something they did more often than not, when she had noticed just how deep their feelings for each other had become, and of course, she didn't hesitate on dragging Clark into her plans.

They had all decided to go to some dance club here in the city, and while her and Clark were attempting not to think of the many problems they were experiencing, like the fact that they hadn't mentioned the heated lip lock they shared exactly two months ago, they had watched, as her cousin and best friend danced to a slow song before almost kissing.

They had stopped themselves, but in that moment, she knew that it was time for things to change between the two of them, and that was also when she came up with the perfect plan to set them up. Clark had been hesitant at first, but eventually, she had made him realize that this was the only way to do this, especially since they both seemed hesitant on making that first move.

It would work.

By the end of the night, they would realize what everyone else knew, and she couldn't wait.

As soon as they reached the door to their classroom, Lois stopped walking, which made her cousin give her a weird look, but she didn't really care at this moment in time. The first part of her plan needed to be addressed. "Um, I need to run to the restroom really quick. You know how Mr. Anderson can be when it comes to leaving the classroom during his lectures."

Chloe eyed her, suspiciously, knowing that she had a point, but for some reason she got the feeling that this had nothing to do with the rules of one of their stricter professors. "You couldn't have done that before we made it to the classroom?"

"What can I say? I didn't have to go then, but those four cups of coffee are hitting me now." She handed over her belongings to her, silently telling her to bring them inside with her before disappearing down the crowded hallway, intending to accomplish the first part of her plan.

Chloe watched her cousin disappear from her sights with a weird expression slowly spreading out across her face before she walked inside the room, and sat down at their desks near the back of the room, her mind consumed with thoughts of the strangeness that was her cousin.

For weeks she had been acting really weird and so has her best friend.

It was like they were hiding something from her.

There was a part of herself that wanted to believe that they were together—that they were sneaking around since it really seemed like that was happening, but the other part of herself knew that that wasn't the reason they were behaving so weird around her.

She shrugged her shoulders, as she pulled out her notebooks, knowing that she would find out sooner or later.

Ten minutes later, Lois was sitting in the courtyard, her feet tapping on the ground, impatiently, as she searched for the one person that was beneficial to her plan, and when he didn't show up after a few more minutes she pulled out her phone, sending him another aggressive message.

'Where the hell are you, farm boy? I swear to god, if your not here in the next two seconds I will ring your neck!'

"Relax, Lo. I'm right here," Clark spoke from directly behind her.

Lois quickly spun around at the sound of his voice. "About damn time."

Clark glanced between the text message and her beautiful face a few times before a smirk spread out across his face. "You know, you can be quite impatient when you want to be, but I think this is a little melodramatic."

She quickly stood up, and took several steps towards him, so they were only a few inches away from each other before crossing her arms over her chest, as her eyes narrowed at him, slightly. "Melodramatic? This is serious, Clark. We only have a few hours to discuss this before we go our separate ways until tonight."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Would you relax? I'm here now, so you have nothing to freak out about."

Lois wanted to berate him on that, but decided against it, and focused on the task at hand before tilting her head to one side, slightly. "What took you so long anyways?"

"Lois, I live in Smallville. Not Metropolis or are you forgetting the fact that it takes me a bit longer to get here than the two of you."

Yeah right, she thought to herself, he probably made it here in less than one minute, of course, every single time she questioned him on how he could manage to get from his small-town to the city without having a vehicle he always had some kind of excuse.

The most recent one being that his mother dropped him off, which was a bunch of crap, but she had vowed that she wouldn't say anything until he was ready to tell her the truth, and she wouldn't break that just because the curiosity, slight anger, and growing irritation she was feeling was starting to get the better of her.

"So, do you know what you're going to tell Oliver?" She quickly changed the subject, not wanting to think about the fact that he hasn't been honest with her yet.

"Yes, Lois. We've been over this a million times. While you and Chloe are spending the day together, I'm going to get Oliver to come to the bar tonight." He smiled, softly at her. "Don't worry so much. This is going to work."

A soft sigh escaped past her lips. "What if it doesn't?"

"Then we'll find another way."

"How can you be so sure that this isn't going to blow up in our faces?"

"Because I have faith that your plan is going to work. You have quite an imagination, and even if this doesn't work, we'll find another way to push those two lovebirds together." He titled his head to one side, slightly. "Are you starting to question your own plan?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe."

"Well, don't. Your very smart, and even though this could go in a completely different way than either of us are expecting I know that they will eventually find their way to each other, and that is all because of you and that brilliant mind of yours."

A wide grin spread out across her face before she bumped her shoulder against his. "And don't you forget it, farm boy."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and started pulling her towards the large building. "Come on. Lets get to class before Mr. Anderson thinks we dropped out of his class halfway through the semester."

"We wouldn't want that."

They walked towards the classroom with wide smiles gracing their lips from thoughts of the night that was ahead of them.

It was bound to work.

Ever since they met, they've been tiptoeing around each other, especially in the past couple of weeks, and it was time that that changed. Of course, they knew that they were doing the same exact thing, but in their case, Lois was adamant on not allowing anything like what happened two months ago happen again until he was completely honest with her, and Clark, he was starting to wonder if she would ever be ready to take that step with him.

Even though he wanted to know what she was feeling—what she was thinking—what she wanted, he was willing to wait for her.

No matter how long it took.

A few hours later, Chloe walked outside towards the main parking lot, searching for her cousin and best friend, who always waited for her since she had an extra class every single day, and found them sitting on a bench in the courtyard talking quite animatedly with each other, as their heads were practically stuck together.

Something was definitely going on, she thought to herself, as she made her way over to them.

"Well, you two seem to be having a great time. What are you talking about? Anything I should know?"

Clark and Lois quickly stopped talking mid-conversation, and glanced up at her with innocent expressions slowly spreading out across their faces before standing up, simultaneously. "It's not important."

Chloe quirked a brow at him. "Is that so?"

"Really. It was nothing." Lois quickly clapped her hands together, eager to move on from this subject of conversation. "So, are you ready to spend the rest of the day with your favorite cousin?"

Chloe frowned at her words, as she glanced between the two of them. "I thought we were all hanging out?"

"Nope. Clark is meeting us later. Isn't that right?" She glanced over at him with a stern expression resting on her features, mentally telling him to follow along with her.

Clark gulped, silently at the look on her face, knowing that she would kill him if he didn't go along with her plan before nodding his head in agreement. "I have to finish some chores, but I'll meet you guys at the bar later."

Chloe watched him walk away from them with a knowing expression slowly spreading out across her face.

It was quite obvious that he was lying.

Not only because he was a horrible liar, but also because she knew for a fact that he had already done everything he was supposed to do on the farm, hell, more than half the time he finished those things within minutes, especially when he knew he would be spending most of the day with them in Metropolis.

"You two are up to something."

Lois feigned innocence. "What are you talking about?"

"You two have been acting really strange the past few weeks, especially today. What is going on?"

"You're doing that thing again."

"What thing?"

"The thing where you look for a story where there isn't one."

Chloe chuckled at that, knowing that she did do that more often then not, but in this case, she knew she was right. "You can't fool me, Lois. I know that your planning something. What are you up to?"

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"You can try hiding it, but I'll figure it out sooner or later."

"Stop being dramatic, Chloe. We're not planning anything." She linked her arm with hers, and started pulling her towards the parking lot. "Now, come on. We have lots of things to do before tonight."

"Like what?"

"You'll see."

Chloe frowned at her cousin, as a particular thought occurred to her. "Are you performing tonight?"

Lois nodded. "But that isn't the only reason we're all going out tonight."

That made her frown even more so. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She smiled, secretively. "You'll find out soon enough."

Chloe stared at her cousin with a curious expression slowly spreading out across her face, and even though she wanted to question her more she knew that it would get her absolutely nowhere, so relegated to allowing her to drag her to god knows where, but no matter what she would find out the truth.

It was inevitable.

---

Not too long after leaving the University, Clark had made it to Oliver' penthouse, who was completely and utterly surprised to see him since he wasn't here that often unless it had to do with Lex or business with the team, and now—now they were staring at each other, intensely, as they sat across from each other, the room filled with an uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry. Would you run that by me again?"

Clark rolled his eyes at his friend.

Why was he making this such a big deal?

It was a simple question. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? Lois, Chloe and I want you to come out with us tonight. It'll only be for a few hours, and we all get to watch Lois perform, so that's a plus."

"You want me to come to Joey' bar with you guys again?"

He nodded.

Oliver wasn't too sure about that. Last time they had all went out together, which was just last weekend, he had spend the entire night attempting to sober up the woman, who was affecting him physically and emotionally even more so than usual, while Clark did the same thing with his best friend.

It was a very long night.

Why would he want to go through that again?

"You do remember what happened last weekend, right? Do you really want to relive that?"

"That won't be happening this time, besides Lois had to deal with some heavy consequences from Joey after that, hell, she is still dealing with those consequences. Luckily, Joey loves her too much to fire her."

"How can you be so sure?"

A knowing grin spread out across his face. "Because Lois has some high expectations for this night."

That caused him to frown, immensely. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll never find out if you don't come."

Oliver sighed, heavily, as he contemplated on whether he should join them or not. "I don't know, Clark, I—"

"Chloe will be there," Clark interrupted him before he could finish that sentence.

His facial expression never changed. "And that is supposed to convince me?"

Clark nodded, knowingly.

"Chloe being there has no effect on me. I'd go if she wasn't there."

"Sure, you would."

Oliver narrowed his eyes at him, slightly. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It's just that I know you tend to have more fun when she's around and she tends to do the same."

He chose to ignore those words. "I'm still not sure about this. I'd rather not spend the whole night dealing with two drunk women."

"Like I told you. That won't be happening again." When he seemed to be leaning more towards coming with them, he pressed a little further, knowing that he couldn't leave here unless he got an affirmative answer. "Come on, Ollie. It'll be fun."

Oliver rolled his eyes at him. "You know, you sound like a five year old, right?"

"I know." He grinned from ear to ear. "Is it working?"

Oliver sighed, heavily at his friend, knowing that he couldn't deny him when he was looking at him like that, and it would be nice to spend the entire night with all three of them, but that didn't mean he wasn't curious to the fact he was trying so hard to get him to come.

Something was going on.

"Fine! What time are we meeting?"

Clark grinned at him, victoriously. "Eight. Don't be late."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

After making small talk with him, Clark quickly left the penthouse, feeling very triumphant, and sent the mastermind behind this scheme a message, informing her that they were all set for tonight.

Step one was complete, he thought to himself, hopefully his best friend could keep her curiosity to herself until tonight. If the way she was questioning them today was any indication that she knew something was going on he didn't know what was.

They hadn't been all that secretive about their plans, but hopefully Lois could squelch her curiosity with the very active day they would be having.

It had taken them weeks to plan this out perfectly, and now it was happening.

In a matter of hours, his friends would realize what this entire night was actually about, and would be forced to face what everyone has known since the moment they laid their eyes on each other.

Hopefully, this went the way they wanted it to.

If it didn't, they would find another way, but honestly, he hoped that it did work because then the only thing he needed to worry about—the only thing he needed to focus on was the woman, who has been clouding his mind, heart and soul ever since they shared their first kiss.

Hopefully, he could get the answers he wanted and needed by the end of the night.

It was time things changed not only between his friends, but also between the two of them. Their heated exchange had only left him wanting more, and he was determined to figure out what she wanted.

Hopefully, it was the same thing he wanted.

---

Later that night, Clark, Chloe and Oliver were sitting at a booth near the stage at the bar they frequented more often than not since Lois worked here, listening to her sing a song that she had written herself, and every single one of them were experiencing a different flux of emotions from her performance.

Clark was feeling pure excitement, as he grinned from ear to ear from her song choice, and honestly, he couldn't believe that she had written a song just for this moment—just for this night—just for her friends.

It was beautiful, but it also hinted at the obvious feelings between the two of them, and from the looks plastered across their faces they were slowly realizing that there was a deeper meaning behind them dragging them out for the night.

Chloe and Oliver watched her sing and dance on stage with questioning gazes lingering on their surprised and shocked faces.

In the time each of them had witnessed her perform, they had never, ever sang a song like this one before, so what was the reason and meaning behind her newest song? Was it regarding her feelings towards Clark?

As much as they would like to believe that, deep inside they had a feeling that it wasn't that at all, actually, they were starting to wonder if this had more to do with them.

Was that really what was happening right now?

As soon as the song was finished, Lois quickly made her way over to them, and sat down next to her partner in crime with a wide and knowing smile gracing her lips. "So? What did you think?"

Oliver and Chloe were completely and utterly speechless, as they stared at her from across the table, and honestly, they didn't know what they were supposed to say to her.

They were still reeling from the thoughts consuming their minds.

Clark grinned, widely at his friend, knowing that they had definitely caught them off guard, which had been the point, but they needed to know what was going through those heads of theirs before they moved onto the next part of their plan. "I thought it was great. It was beautiful, and the words behind the mesmerizing piano music was really interesting. What was it about again?"

Lois smirked at him, knowing what he was doing, and decided to play along for the time being. "Oh. You know, just your average love ballad. I don't usually write songs like that, but this was something I needed to get off my chest."

Chloe narrowed her eyes, as she glanced between the two of them, and in that moment, she knew that she had been right. This song wasn't about their growing relationship. It was about her feelings for the man sitting next to her.

She was going to kill her!

"Lois, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Whatever you have to say you can say it right here."

Chloe stared at her with an expression of complete and utter irritation. "This is really important."

"Fine! I need a refill anyways." She quickly followed her cousin towards the bar, but was surprised, slightly when she was dragged in the other direction, and as soon as she pulled her far enough from the men, she ripped her arm out of her grasp. "Chloe, what are you doing?"

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, as she stared down her cousin, like that would give her the answers she needed. "I could ask you the same thing. What the hell is going on? Why did you drag us here? What was that song about?"

Lois grinned from ear to ear. "You really can't figure it out?"

"Oh. I figured it out all right, but there is no way this plan of yours is going to work. Is this the sole reason you brought us here?"

"Well, no. I really did have to come in tonight. Joey is still really pissed about last weekend, but I really did want to spend the night with all of you."

Chloe stared at her for the longest time, attempting to figure out if she was being honest with her or not. "And the song? Why did it have to be that one? Did you think that was going to achieve something?"

Lois grinned even wider from the way her cousin was becoming so defensive about this, and in that moment, she knew that her plan had worked perfectly. Now, it was time to take it a step further. "It was just a song, Chloe. Don't read so much into it."

"You might think that I don't know what's going on, but I know you better than anyone, and I know that you don't write songs just for the fun of it. It wasn't about Clark. That much is obvious, so it has to be about…" she trailed off, not able to complete that sentence without getting that feeling in the pit of her stomach she felt every single time she was around him, especially since that night a few weeks ago when she had almost kissed him.

Her grin grew even wider. "It was about?"

Chloe was going to respond to her, but then she recalled the way her best friend and cousin have been behaving around her as of late, and even though she didn't want to admit the truth it was practically staring her in the face. "Oh my god! This is what you two have been up to, isn't it?"

"I don't know what your talking about."

"You two planned this whole thing, didn't you?"

Lois played innocent. "Again, I have no idea what your talking about."

Why didn't she see this coming?

"You're a little minx you know that?"

"But you still love me."

Chloe stepped closer to her, and poked her shoulder. "I might love you, but I don't want to hear another word out of either of you regarding the real reason behind this night. Is that understood?"

Lois tried holding in her amusement from this situation, but it was merely impossible. They were too adorable together. There was no way she was just going to let that slip away from them. Not when they were obviously perfect for each other.

Chloe noticed the laughter lingering in her eyes, and gave her a dead serious look. "I'm being serious, Lois. Not another word."

"Got it."

"Good. Now, lets get those drinks before the boys start to wonder where we disappeared to."

Lois watched her cousin walk away for a few seconds before following her to the bar.

It had worked, she thought to herself, it had actually worked.

Her cousin was being defensive, which told her all she needed to know, and by the end of the night they would realize that what they were feeling wasn't one sided, but first they had to give them some time before they moved onto the final part of their plan .

It was something they couldn't be there for, but they had unlocked that door for them, and now all they had to do was open it.

Clark and Oliver watched them walk away from them with two completely different expressions lingering on their faces. One was filled with complete excitement, while the other was filled with utter confusion.

Oliver frowned at them before he returned his gaze to his friend, and frowned even more so when he noticed just how happy he seemed to be right now.

What the hell was going on?

"Why are you so happy? That song wasn't about you."

Clark glanced over at his friend, his smile never fading. "How would you know?"

"Because I've heard the songs, she's written about you. They are more subtle than that. The one she performed at the Fourth of July celebration was filled with more than just a little bit of subtle text."

Clark gave him a look. "Shut up!"

Oliver tilted his head to one side, slightly, as he stared at his friend, his mind finally realizing that he knew exactly what or rather who his best friend had written that song for. "You know who she wrote that for, don't you?"

He nodded.

"Who was it for?"

"If you can't figure that out on your own then your in big trouble."

Oliver frowned at his words, not really understanding, but not even two seconds later realization dawned on him, and he stared, wide-eyed at him. "You didn't…"

Finally, he thought to himself, finally he was catching on.

"I didn't what?"

"Please tell me that you didn't drag us here to make us realize something that isn't there." He leaned closer to him, making sure that the woman in question wasn't anywhere near them. "There is no way in hell this is going to work. Chloe and I will never be a thing."

"Keep telling yourself that."

He was seconds away from responding, but Chloe and Lois plopped down in the seats next to them, stopping him from saying what he wanted to say. "Did you figure out whatever you needed to figure out?"

Chloe nodded, confidently. "We're good. Aren't we, Lois?"

Lois nodded before glancing over at Clark, who was giving her a look, and winked at him, mentally telling him that things were moving in the way they wanted them to.

Clark just smiled at her.

An hour later, they were all laughing, as they enjoyed spending some quality time together, the subjects of the nights activities completely forgetting that their friends had only dragged them here for one specific reason, while the other two waited for the perfect moment to continue their brilliant plan, but when a slower song blasted through the speakers their laughter died out.

Oliver turned towards the beautiful woman sitting next to him. "I believe I owe you another dance."

Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "You mean, you just want to show off more of those dance moves you have."

"Something like that."

Clark watched them walk away with a soft smile gracing his lips before turning towards the woman sitting next to him, intending to ask her to dance just so he could get answers to one of the other problems he's been experiencing for months now, but before he could say anything, she turned towards him, and spoke first, "What did you tell Oliver after Chloe dragged me away?"

So much for that, he thought to himself, he would have to wait a little bit longer to get the answers he wanted—needed from her.

"Exactly what we planned. I gave him the hints he needed, and he put it all together. What did you tell Chloe?"

"The same thing. Do you think they've forgotten already?"

He shook his head from side to side. "I highly doubt it, but I do think that they have other things on their mind right now."

She glanced over towards the dancefloor when he nodded his head in their direction, and couldn't stop herself from grinning, widely at the sight of her best friend and cousin dancing so closely together.

It was beautiful.

"I guess you could say our plan worked."

Clark smiled, softly at her before bumping his shoulder against hers. "Your plan worked. This was all you, Lois. I was just here for back up."

"You were here for more than back up, Clark." She stared deeply into his eyes, noticing that he was doing the same exact thing, and in that moment, she wanted to say so many things to him—she wanted to do so many things, but quickly turned her head away from him, not allowing her heart to take control of this moment. "Um, we should probably leave now, or we might not get the chance to escape again."

A soft sigh escaped past his lips from the way she pulled away from their moment, which has been happening more and more often, but he figured that it would remain this way between them until he forced her to confront the things, they both wanted, even if she didn't want to admit it out loud. "Right now?"

Lois rolled her eyes at him. "Yes. Right now, or did you forget that other little thing we had planned for tonight?"

Oh that, he thought to himself before a wide smile graced his lips from the mere thought of what they would be doing as soon as they made it back to Smallville.

Ever since they wrote that song together for the Fourth of July celebration, they have been writing even more songs together, and honestly, when they did that together it always made him feel giddy inside. Not because they were playing music, but because the only reason they did it was so they could spend time together.

That was his favorite part.

It would always be his favorite part.

A few weeks ago, she had come up with the brilliant idea of giving him the sheet music to one of her newest songs just in the name of getting more practice, but she had refused to sing the words in front of him.

Maybe that would change tonight—maybe she would let him listen to the words.

He really, really hoped so.

"Are you actually going to sing this time or are you just going to judge my piano skills?"

"Your not that bad, actually, your getting better. As for hearing the words behind the music…" she trailed off with a smirk plastered across her face before she stood up, and held out her hand towards him. "You'll just have to wait to find out."

Without hesitation, he slipped his hand into hers, loving the feeling that encompassed him every single time they touched, and quickly followed her outside, having a feeling that this night was about to get ten times better.

As they made their way towards Smallville, they just knew that their friends would figure out that they had left them there without a way to leave since they all had taken once car to get to the bar, and they would be furious, but deep inside they knew that they would thank them for this one day.

It might not be tomorrow.

It might not be one week from now.

It might not even be in a few months, but it was inevitable.

They were perfect for each other.

Just like they were.

A few minutes later, Oliver and Chloe made their way back to the booth with smiles plastered across their faces, as they laughed good-heartedly from the amount of fun, they were having with each other.

"Okay. I'll give it to you. You are a brilliant dancer, and I'm sure you have even more moves."

"You could say that again, but did you see the look on that guys face when you bumped into him?"

Chloe gave him a look. "You mean when you practically threw me into him. The poor guy didn't know what to say or do."

Oliver shrugged his shoulders like it wasn't that big of a deal. "What can I say? I'm used to dancing in rooms that are ten times the size of this place. I mean, do they really expect to call this a dancefloor? It's smaller than my penthouse."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Okay. Don't get all worked up about it."

"I'm not worked up," he defended himself.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Sophisticated. I…" she trailed off, as soon as they made it back to the table, which was completely empty. "Where did Clark and Lois go?"

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe they are dancing."

"I'm pretty sure we would have seen them."

"Okay, Maybe they went to get some drinks."

"I'm going to look for them."

Oliver smirked down at her, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What? Can't stand being alone with me?"

She glared at him, playfully. "Sit down and shut up!"

The smile never left his face, as he did exactly what she wanted him to do.

Chloe quickly made her way over towards the bar, searching for her best friend and cousin, but it was like they disappeared into thin air, which was possible since her best friend could do just that when he used his superspeed, but she knew for a fact that he wouldn't do that, especially since he still hasn't been honest with her.

As she was roaming her eyes through the crowds of people, she noticed Joey walking towards the back of the room, and quickly chased after him, catching him before he disappeared into the kitchen. "Joey! Wait a second!"

Joey quickly spun around at the familiar voice, and smiled at the blonde running up to him, even though he was still a little perturbed by the fact that she had broken one of his most important rules.

Bygones were bygones, he thought to himself.

"Hey, Chloe. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Oh yeah. Oliver and I are having a great time, but um, have you seen Clark and Lois? They kind of just disappeared."

He frowned at her. "They didn't just disappear. I watched them leave out the back door not too long ago. You could probably still catch them. I'm pretty sure they couldn't have gotten far."

Those sneaky, conniving, little…

She didn't finish her own thought, knowing exactly what her cousin and best friend had been planning all along, and there was no way in hell she was going to give into their little plan. It was one thing to sing a song about the things they refused to admit, but it was another thing entirely to leave them here all alone.

As soon as she set her eyes on the two of them, she was going to ring their necks for doing this to her, and she definitely wasn't going to give them what they so clearly wanted. There was no way in hell she was going to admit she has feelings for Oliver freaking Queen.

"No. It's fine. Thanks for your help, Joey."

"No problem," he told her before disappearing past the wooden door.

Chloe quickly made her way back over to the booth, where Oliver was waiting for her, and plopped down next to him, as she sighed, heavily. "Well, Clark and Lois are gone."

Oliver snapped his head towards her, completely surprised by those words. "What? Gone? What do you mean they're gone?"

"What do you think I mean? They were here one minute and then gone the next. I don't think this was by accident either. I think this is what they wanted all along."

"I doubt that," he scoffed at the mere idea. "What would be the point of leaving us here on purpose? I mean, we still have the means and capability of leaving whenever we wanted."

Chloe stared at him like he had completely lost his mind, and wanted to smack the stupidity right out of him, but figured that she would give him time to realize what was really happening here. "Really? We have the means and capability of leaving?"

He nodded.

"Think about this really hard, Oliver. We all drove here together in my car. I don't have the keys. You don't have them either. Who drove us here tonight?"

"Lois." As soon as her name fell from his lips, he realized what she was trying to make him realize, and honestly, he should have seen this coming, especially after everything they had done just to get them here. "Oh crap."

"Yeah. Oh crap. What the hell are we going to do now?"

Oliver contemplated that for a few seconds. "We could call Bruce."

Chloe frowned at him. "Isn't he in Gotham until tomorrow?"

He nodded. "But he would come back early if I asked him to."

She waved her hand in the air, aimlessly, not wanting to drag him into the mess they had literally made themselves. "Don't bother him. He's probably busy, besides we got ourselves into this mess. We can get ourselves out."

It was eerily silent between the two of them for several minutes, both of them wondering what the hell they were going to do now that their friends had literally stranded them here before Oliver glanced over at her with a knowing expression slowly spreading out across his face. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

She nodded.

"We were set up," they spoke simultaneously before their eyes found each other and locked together, a lot like the way they did a few weeks ago when they almost felt what it was like to be that close to each other, but quickly looked away at the reminder of that night.

A night they were both trying to forget or at least trying to push down to the deepest parts of their minds.

After several more minutes of uncomfortable silence, Chloe chuckled, nervously, like that would fix the uneasy air between them. "Well, they aren't going to get their wish. They might have thought this would work, but there's nothing between us."

That hurt more than he thought it would, and even though he knew that he shouldn't be playing right into their hands—that he shouldn't be giving them what they wanted, he couldn't help wanting to know the things he's been wondering for months now. "But isn't there something between us?"

Chloe nearly choked on her own saliva from his words, and cautiously glanced over at him, hoping and praying that she was hearing things, but it was as clear as day when she saw his emotions—his feelings lingering in those brown eyes of his. "What did you just say?"

His eyes never left hers. "You heard me."

"You can't be serious, Oliver. You can't be seriously considering giving them what they want."

"Except that I am. I've felt it from the moment we met, and I know you've felt something too. I don't know when it started, but the first time we danced and the night we almost kissed made it perfectly clear that something was happening between us." He took a deep breath before reaching across the table, and enclosed his hand around hers, surprising her, completely. "I like you, Chloe. The question is…do you feel the same way?"

Chloe stared at him wide-eyed, not able to believe that he had just uttered all of those words. It was one think to know how she felt, but it was completely different when he told her the same exact thing she has been feeling for weeks.

As much as she wanted to delve deeper into this—into her feelings for him, she couldn't not because she didn't want things to change between them, but because she was terrified that he would wake up one day and realize that she wasn't what he wanted.

It had happened more than once in her lifetime, and she would be devastated if it happened with him.

"I-I can't do this," she whispered, as she ripped her hand from his, and jumped up from the seat like she was burnt before rushing out of the bar.

Oh, I don't think so, he thought to himself before he tossed a hundred dollar bill on the table, and chased after her.

"Chloe!"

Chloe ignored him, as she rushed down the street. She didn't know where she was going, but she couldn't be around him right now.

"Chloe Anne Sullivan! Where the hell do you think your going? You can't get far without your vehicle or did you forget that Lois practically stole your car?"

"I don't care," she told him over her shoulder.

This was getting ridiculous, he thought to himself, as he took longer strides, attempting to catch up with her.

"You can run from this all you want, but I saw the truth in your eyes. You want this just as badly as I do."

Those words caused her to stop dead in her tracks before she turned around towards him with a dangerous glint lingering in her eyes, and before he knew what was happening, she was stalking towards him, as her facial expression transformed into one of pure irritation. "You think you know me? You think you know what I want? We might spend a lot of time together, but that doesn't mean you know me better than I know myself! I know what I want! You don't!"

"Then prove it. Tell me that you don't feel the same things I've been feeling since we met. Tell me that you don't care about me. Tell me that you don't like me. Tell me that you don't want more with me."

She jabbed her finger into his chest, aggressively. "I don't have to prove anything to you! If you were an actual gentleman, you would listen to what I'm saying instead of behaving like an arrogant jackass by reading into something that isn't there."

A sly grin spread out across his face from the way she was behaving right now. It wasn't the fact that she was trying to convince him that she didn't feel those things, but it was the fact that she was trying to convince herself, and it gave him all the answers he needed.

She felt the same way he did.

Why was she fighting this so hard?

"I might be an arrogant jackass, but at least I can admit what I want."

"And you think I don't know what I want?"

"You know what you want. Your just too scared to admit it."

"You want something real. You want something you've never experienced. You want to delve deeper into the things your feeling for me, but your scared that I'm going to do something to screw this up or worse you think that I won't feel the same way. I'm pretty sure I've made it clear how I feel, and I've definitely made it clear that I want more than just friendship."

A soft sigh escaped past her lips from the revelations they were revealing to each other. "You don't want me, Oliver."

"Yes, I do, and I can prove it."

"How?"

"By doing this." He quickly gripped the sides of her face in his hands, surprising her, slightly, and crashed his lips against hers, feeling his heart beat like a jackhammer inside of his chest from the feel of her body against his.

Chloe' eyes widened to the size of saucers the second his lips met hers, as her entire mind, body and soul was lost on her from his sudden movement, but refused to allow her shock to ruin this moment before she kissed him back with just as much passion.

Oliver grinned against her lips before wrapping his arms around her smaller body, and pulled her against his chest, loving the feel of her before he slowly backed her up until she was pressed up against the side of the building.

Chloe groaned, softly from the feel of his hands on her body—from the way his lips attacked hers so passionately—from the feelings that erupted inside of her, as their chests were pressed together, tightly, and couldn't stop herself from getting lost in his kisses, her hands flinging around his neck, effectively pulling herself closer to him.

After a few more seconds, they pulled away from each other, simultaneously, their breaths meshing together, as they stared deeply into each other's eyes. "You really like me?"

Oliver nodded. "Do you feel the same way?"

Chloe chuckled, softly at that. "I'm pretty sure you know that I do."

"Good." He moved even closer to her. "So, um, does that mean you'll consider going on a date with me?"

"Yes, Oliver. I'll go on a date with you."

They smiled, widely at each other before wrapping their arms around each other, and started making their way towards her apartment. At first, the idea of being stranded had been a little mind-consuming, but now—now they couldn't manage being anywhere else. It not only gave them the opportunity to spend time together, but it also gave them the opportunity to delve deeper into the things they were feeling.

Things were looking up for them, and they couldn't wait to see where this journey took them.

---

A few hours later, Clark and Lois were inside the loft sitting down on the bench in front of the oakwood piano, and honestly, she was feeling extremely nervous about letting him hear the words to her newest song.

For weeks, he had been practicing the notes, but she had refused to let him hear the words for one reason and one reason alone…it would change everything.

Of course, she wanted things to change between them, hell, she's wanted it for two months now, but she couldn't—wouldn't allow herself to go down that road with him until he was completely honest with her.

Hopefully, after hearing the words, she could make him understand that without actually saying it since she had promised herself that she would wait until he told her.

It would only complicate things if she was the one that confronted him.

He would be angry.

She would be upset.

And it would ruin everything.

That was the last thing she wanted.

Clark noticed how nervous she seemed to be, and couldn't help wondering what was making her so nervous, especially since they've done this a million times in the past. "Are you okay?"

Lois glanced over at him, and smiled, softly before nodding. "I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little nervous."

"Why? It's not like I haven't heard you sing, hell, that's how we met."

"This is different, Clark."

"How?"

"You'll see."

He gulped, silently from the look in her eyes, and was immediately starting to regret practically begging her to allow him to listen to the words to this particular song, but it was too late to take back his words.

Hopefully, it was a good thing and not something that would cause anymore problems between them.

"Just don't judge it," she added. "It's not exactly finished yet."

"When have I ever judged you?"

"Just promise."

"I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that, farm boy." After nodding at him, effectively giving him the indication to start playing the familiar notes, she took a deep breath before singing the most heartfelt song she has ever written in her life.

I wear your winter coat

The one you love to wear

So I keep feeling close

To us beyond compare

The moment we can have

You catch me in your eyes

That beauty on my pillow

That holds me in the night

And I will find my strength to untame my mouth

When I used to be afraid of the words

But with you I've learned just to let it out

Now my heart is ready to burst

'Cause I, I feel like I'm ready for love

And I wanna be your everything and more

And I know every day you say it

But I just want you to be sure

That I'm yours

When the song came to an end, the room was filled with complete and utter silence, as both of their minds were consumed with the true meaning behind her words, and they were both too hesitant to even look at each other, let alone speak.

Clark had absolutely no idea what to do or even what to say to the woman sitting next to him. At first, he had been a little nervous at the reasons she didn't want to share this with him, but now—now he fully understood her reasons for being so uneasy regarding this particular song. It not only held so many different emotions, but it also told him exactly what he wanted to know.

She was ready for more with him.

But…

It was quite obvious that she was hesitant for some reason.

Why? Why couldn't she just admit the truth? Why was she hiding behind that wall in her heart? Why was she pushing him away?

He didn't know, but he was going to find out.

Clark very slowly looked at her, immediately noticing that she was even more nervous than she was a few minutes ago, and even though he understood her reasons for wanting to keep this from him, he also wanted to know what she was thinking—what she was feeling—what she wanted. "What was that song about, Lois?"

Lois cautiously glanced over at him with an emotion-filled expression plastered across her face before she sighed, softly from the look on his face, knowing that he already knew the answer to that question. "You already know."

"I need to hear you say the words."

She stared deeply into his beautiful aquamarine eyes, feeling herself becoming lost just like she always felt when they were this close, but before she could listen to her heart, she looked away from, choosing to hide behind that wall instead of telling him what she wanted. "I-I can't."

Before she could completely turn away from him, he gripped her chin between his fingers, forcing her to return her gaze to him, and slowly moved his hand to the side of her face, loving the way she closed her eyes from his touch. "Don't. Please don't do that, Lois."

"Don't do what?" She asked him as soon as she opened her eyes.

"Don't pull away from me." He stared deeply into her eyes before glancing down to her lips then back up to her hazel eyes, like he was asking for permission to do the one thing he's dreamed of doing since the moment he first felt her lips against his, and the second she copied his movements he leaned towards her, their lips pressing together, gently.

It was soft.

It was sweet.

It was romantic.

It was passionate.

Lois immediately lost herself in his kiss, even though she knew she shouldn't be doing this right now, and flung her arms around his neck, her fingers running through his soft, black strands, as she tilted her head to one side, kissing him a little harder.

Clark smiled against her lips, loving the way she reacted to him before wrapping his arms around her body, tightly, and pulled her closer to him, their chests brushing together, lightly, as their hearts, minds and souls mended together, beautifully.

This.

This is exactly what he wanted, and he was never going to let her go.

She was his and he was hers.

After a few seconds, they pulled away from each other, simultaneously, and stared into each other's eyes, both of them wanting to say so many things, but the things they were feeling in their hearts overpowered the words in their minds before they quickly gravitated back to each other, their lips reconnecting in a more passionate kiss.

Lois ignored the little voice in her head telling her that they needed to stop—that they still had things to deal with—that there were still things keeping them apart before she crawled into his lap, her arms interlocking behind his head, effectively pulling him flush against her own body.

Clark growled low in his throat from their new position before one of his hands slowly traveled up her body, his fingers tangling in her brunette locks, while the other one spread out across the span of her lower back, his fingers curling, slightly, as he claimed her mouth with his.

Lois gasped, loudly from the sensations that were spreading throughout her entire body from just his touch, which gave him the opening he needed—wanted, and felt that familiar feeling of excitement stir in the pit of her stomach when his tongue roamed over every crevasse of her mouth before tangling with her own.

It was magical.

It was intense.

It was the best thing she has ever felt in her entire life.

As they were wrapped up in their heated lip lock, her phone started vibrating, violently and ringing, loudly from the top of the piano, causing both of them to pull away from each other, slightly, and stared into each other's eyes, their lips barely touching, as their breaths meshed together like they were one.

"Are you going to answer that?" He breathed against her lips.

It took her a second to regain her composure, but quickly crawled off of his lap, and answered her phone, attempting to calm her racing heart. "Yeah?"

"About damn time you answered," Chloe spoke through the other line. "This is the third time I've called."

Her eyes widened, slightly from that.

How did she not hear her phone?

Oh right, she thought to herself, she was too busy making out with the man, who brought out sides of herself she didn't even know existed, but he had a habit of making her do things she never would have thought of doing with another man.

What was it about him that made her dismiss every rational thought?

"Really? I didn't hear my phone."

It was silent on the other line for a few seconds before Chloe spoke, "Why are you breathing heavily?"

"What? I'm not. I mean, I wasn't…" she quickly stopped talking before she revealed something, she would rather her cousin not finding out at this moment in time, and took a deep breath, attempting to calm her rapidly beating heart. "Is there a reason you called?"

"You bet there was a reason I called. Oliver and I just thought you should know that we made it back to the apartment safe and sound. You know, since you and that best friend of mine stranded us at the bar."

That brought a wide smile to her lips. "If it makes you feel any better, we dropped your car off before coming to Smallville."

"We noticed."

"So? Is Ollie with you?"

"Yes. He is with me, and that's all the information you're going to get."

Lois pouted, even though she knew that she couldn't see her. "Oh. Come on. We went through all of that, and your not going to give me any of the deeds?"

"Nope. Call this your penance for putting us through all of that." It was silent on the other line for a few seconds before she spoke again, "When will you be coming back?"

An even wider smile graced her lips from those words. "Why? Do you plan on doing something with my best friend?"

Chloe sighed into the other line. "First of all, that is none of your business, and second of all, we aren't even close to crossing that line, so when will you be here?"

Lois glanced over at Clark, who was grinning, widely from the conversation he was overhearing, and gulped, silently, as thoughts of what had just happened between them flashed in front of her eyes, but she quickly pushed it down to the deepest parts of herself, not wanting to think about that right now. "I don't know. In a little bit."

"Don't have too much fun without us."

"Goodnight, Chloe."

"Night, Lois."

As soon as she ended the call, she shoved her phone into her back pocket, and locked eyes with Clark, who was still grinning from ear to ear. "Well, Chloe and Oliver are at the apartment."

"I'm guessing things went well."

"I guess so."

They stared at each other for the longest time, both of them unable to stop their minds from replaying their very intense and very heated moment over and over again before Lois took a step back from him, knowing that if she got too close, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from giving into her hearts demands. "Um, I should probably get going. It's late, and I don't want to be driving all night."

His smile fell the second she turned away from him, obviously intending on leaving without another word before he quickly shot up from the bench, and chased after her, not letting her leave without them discussing what had just happened between them.

Last time, he had allowed her to just brush it off like nothing happened, but this time—this time he wasn't letting her get off as easily—this time he would be getting the answers he wanted and needed.

He quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her from taking another step, and slowly turned her around towards him, immediately noticing the nervousness lingering in those beautiful orbs of hers. "Lois, you can't leave. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because we need to talk about this."

Lois took a step back from him, putting some much-needed distance between the two of them. "No. We don't."

"Yes. We do." He took another step towards her, not allowing her to escape from him. "You can't keep doing this. You can't kiss me like that and then run away. Do you realize what that is doing to me? For two months I've been wondering if you wanted the same thing I want, but then it happened again. I'm not letting another two months pass before we finally talk about this."

Her heart broke from his words. Not only because the past two months had been hell for her, but also because it had been hell for him, and now she was going to have to tell him the complete opposite of what he wanted to hear. She wanted him, god, she just wanted to run into his arms, and kiss the life out of him, but she couldn't.

At least not until he was completely honest with her.

"That shouldn't have happened. Neither of us are ready." It was a lie, but she needed to find a way to make him understand without being forced to tell him the truth.

Clark shook his head from side to side, vehemently, as he pulled her closer to his body, their chests mere inches away from each other, while his thumbs caressed the tops of her hands. "Your wrong, Lois. I'm ready for so much more with you, and I know that your ready too."

"How can you possibly know?"

"I can see it when you look at me." He moved even closer to her, his chest pressing against hers, lightly. "I can feel it when you touch me." He released her hands, and traced his fingers down her arms until they were resting on her waist. "I can sense it when were breaths away from each other." He squeezed her waist, softly in his hands before pulling her flush against his body, causing her to gasp, loudly from his ministrations. "I can hear it when you say my name." He rested his forehead against hers, and stared straight into her eyes, like he was looking into her soul, as his lips brushed against hers, lightly. "But, more importantly, I can tell when we're lost in the passion that both of us feel."

Lois was completely and utterly speechless from the way he had uttered those words—from the way he had effectively wrapped her into his embrace, as he muttered those words—from the way his actions had made her feel inside, and honestly, it was very slowly starting to break down her resolve.

Everything he had just told her—everything he had just done to get that point across was messing with her head in more ways than one, and she was completely surprised by the way he was behaving.

It was something she has never witnessed in the time she has known him, and against her better judgement it was seriously making her fall even deeper, but she refused to let that stop her from listening to head instead of her heart.

"We can't do this, Clark."

"Why not?"

As much as she wanted to keep up this ruse—as much as she wanted to find a random excuse that would explain the reasons, she couldn't do this with him, she knew that it wouldn't stop him from getting the answers he wanted, which meant that she needed to be honest with him.

Even though, she vowed that she wouldn't be the one that confronted him it was the only way she could make him understand, and that's exactly what she was going to do.

"Because you've been lying to me."

Clark pulled away from her, slightly from those words, but kept his hands firmly wrapped around her waist, as a frown etched onto his features. "What do you mean I've been lying to you?"

It was now or never, she thought to herself.

"I know, Clark. I know that you're a metahuman."

His eyes nearly popped out of his head from those particular words coming out of her mouth, and even though he knew that she had just given him an opportunity to be completely honest with her, he still couldn't do it—he still couldn't be honest with her. "What? I'm not a metahuman. What makes you think that?"

Another lie, she thought to herself.

Why couldn't he just be honest with her?

"Dammit Clark! Stop lying to me. I know you're the one saving people in Metropolis. I know that you have more than one ability. I know that your parents, Chloe, Oliver and Bruce have been keeping it a secret. Some longer than others, and I know that you're the one Lex wants."

How could she possibly know all of that? He questioned himself before taking a step back from her, but still kept his hands on her waist, even though he had a feeling that he wasn't going to the answer he was about to receive.

"How do you know all of that? Did someone tell you? Was it Lex? You can't believe a single word he says. He's a manipulator. He wants to tear us apart."

"The only person tearing us apart is you." She saw the hurt in his eyes from her words, and she momentarily regretted saying anything, but it was too late to change her mind. "No one told me, Clark. I found out on my own."

"You mean, you…" he trailed off, not able to say the words himself.

"Yes, Clark. I investigated you."

As soon as the words slipped past her lips, he pulled away from her, as fast as he could possibly manage, and took several steps away from her until there was more than enough room between them, unable to stop the anger that filled every fiber within his being from what she had done. "You investigated me?"

"Yes. I didn't have a choice."

"You didn't have a choice?" He quickly spun around towards her, as pure rage pumped through his veins, causing her to take a step back from the way he was looking at her, and glared, heatedly at her. "You always have a choice, Lois. You decided to do this. No one forced you. You investigated me. How could you do this to me?"

"I'm sorry, Clark." Tears filled her eyes not only from the anger he was feeling, but also from the guilt she was experiencing before she dropped her head, not able to look him in the eyes. "You might think I did this on purpose, but I didn't. I really didn't have a choice, Clark. If you let me explain—"

"Let you explain?" He interrupted her. "What is there to explain? You went behind my back and investigated me! You knew my fears. You knew all the trust problems I've had not only with Lex but with Lana, and you still did this. Why? Why did you do this?"

Her head lifted from his words, and the tears fell from her eyes before slowly cascading down her cheeks, as she moved closer to him. "I didn't have a choice, Clark. I didn't want to do this, hell, I didn't even suspect you until Lex told me that you were the one, he wanted."

"When did this happen?"

"Three months ago."

"The Forth of July celebration," he guessed before his hands curled into fists at his sides, as the anger he was feeling kept building and building within his body. "You've known this for three months? You've been hiding this for that long? Why the hell didn't you tell me? Why didn't you trust me enough to ask me instead of investigating me? Why didn't you trust me enough to be honest with me?"

"Trust you?" She laughed, but there was absolutely no humor laced in her voice before she narrowed her eyes at him, as complete and utter anger filled her insides from his accusing words. "I think the question you need to be asking yourself is how in the hell am I supposed to trust you. You've been lying to me ever since we met. You had opportunity after opportunity to be honest with me, but for some reason you decided that I wasn't trustworthy enough. You knew. You knew that I had connections to people like you and you still refused to be honest with me."

Clark felt his anger die down somewhat from her words, knowing that it had been unfair of him to keep something like this from her, but it was also wrong for her to investigate him, even though she didn't know the whole truth. "Lois, I—"

"No. I'm not done yet," she interrupted him before taking a deep breath, attempting to calm the anger that has slowly been building over the past few months. "You might think that I did this on purpose, but I didn't. I didn't want to know this. I didn't just wake up one day and decide to investigate the man I have feelings for. If you can honestly stand there and think that then you don't know me as well as I thought you did."

The anger he was feeling practically disappeared in the blink of an eye not only from the words she was saying, but also from the truth that was lingering in her eyes, and in that moment, he knew he had made a terrible mistake.

He had made her feel like he didn't trust her.

That was the last thing he wanted her to feel.

"Lois, I'm sorry."

"Your sorry? Sorry for what exactly? For lying to me? For making me feel like a complete idiot? Or for accusing me of doing this on purpose?"

"All of it. I'm sorry for everything, but mostly, I'm sorry for making you feel like I don't trust you because I do, Lois. I trust you with my life."

"Then why couldn't you be honest with me?"

"Lois, you have to understand that I've been keeping this from everyone for as long as I can remember, and—"

"That's an excuse not a reason," she interrupted him, as tears filled her eyes once again. "Do you know what it's like to think you know someone and then have that ripped out from underneath your feet? I was happy. You have no idea how happy I was, but then Lex told me that you were the one he wanted. I didn't want to believe it, but he left me no choice. I had to know if he was telling the truth, so I investigated you, and I was so conflicted when I realized the truth, but I came to the decision to wait until you were ready to me yourself."

"This is why you've been pushing me away, isn't it?"

"Yes, Clark. It's the entire reason I've been pushing you away, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is the truth. I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest with me." At his nod, she continued, "When were you planning on telling me? Were you planning on telling me at all? Or were you just hoping that it wouldn't ever come up? Did you think that we could start a relationship with lies standing in our way?"

Those were all the questions he had been asking himself for months now, and he still didn't have the answers, but he knew that she needed—wanted the truth.

And he was going to give her what she wanted.

"Honestly, I don't know. I wanted to tell you. I really did, but I didn't know how to say the words."

The tears cascaded down her cheeks from the true meaning behind his words. "You mean, you didn't trust me enough to be honest with me. This has nothing to do with your ability to find the words. This has everything to do with the fact that you trusted everyone except me."

He frowned at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, I understand your parents knowing, hell, I even understand Chloe knowing the truth, but Oliver and Bruce? How could you tell them but not me?"

His eyes widened, slightly from her words, as his heart broke inside of his chest from the look on her face, and he took a step towards her, hating the way she stepped away from him.

It wasn't from fear or anger or even disgust.

It was from heartbreak.

He had broken her heart.

"This is the second time you've mentioned them. How do you know I told them?"

"It doesn't matter." She stared at him for the longest time, hoping and praying that he would use this time to finally be honest with her, but when he remained silent more and more tears fell down her cheeks before she turned away from him, intending to get the hell out of here and now.

Clark knew that if he didn't do something—if he didn't say something, he was going to lose her before he even had her, and there was no way in hell he was going to lose the only person that made him feel the way she made him feel.

Happy.

Without hesitating, he super sped directly in front of her, stopping her dead in her tracks, and held up his hands, as she took a few steps back from him, her eyes widening from the mere fact that he had actually used his abilities in front of her. "Lois, please. Please. You can't leave like this."

It took her a second to regain her composure after witnessing him appear directly in front of her before she stared deeply into his eyes, pleading with him to honest with her. "Tell me the truth, Clark."

"Lois, I want to tell you everything. I really do, but this is complicated. You think you know the truth, but you don't know anything at all."

"What do you mean I don't know everything?" She questioned him before her mind recalled the moment that her cousin had told her that she didn't know everything, and now he was telling her the same exact thing. "What else are you keeping from me?"

"I want to tell you, Lois, but this isn't the way I wanted things to happen."

"Just tell me, Clark."

"It's complicated, Lois."

"There is nothing complicated about this. You either trust me with this or you don't."

In that moment, he knew he had to make a choice that would either make them or break them, and as much as he wanted to say the words out loud, he couldn't form them in his mouth. "I-I can't. I'm sorry, Lois."

The tears fell faster and faster down her cheeks, as her heart broke inside of her chest, and she could feel her body trembling from the hurt she was feeling, but she refused to break down in front of him—she refused to let him see how much he was hurting her—she refused to let him comfort her.

"Goodbye, Clark," she whispered before brushing past him, and rushing down the stairs, intending to get as far away from this loft—from this barn—from this farm—from him as she possibly could.

Clark watched her practically run away from him with tears filling his eyes before they cascaded down his cheeks like a waterfall, but he quickly swiped them away, aggressively, knowing that he didn't have the right to feel heartbroken.

This was his fault.

He had done this.

He had broken her heart.

He had refused to be honest with her.

He had ruined everything.

He had lost her.

The second the last thought entered his mind, the tears fell faster and faster down his cheeks, as he curled his hand into a fist, and punched the wooden beam closest to him, shattering it into a million pieces before he collapsed down to his knees, his breathing becoming harsh and rapid. "What the hell have I just done?"

---

Several minutes later, Lois was speeding down the familiar streets of Smallville, her body trembling from her tears, and her vision was becoming clouded and blurry, as more and more sobs rocked her body, but she refused to stop driving.

She needed to be as far away from this town—from Clark as possible.

She just needed to get away.

Honestly, she didn't know if she even going home. Her cousin would only feel sympathy for her, while her best friend would feel nothing but anger, and those were the last things she needed right now.

She just wanted to forget this night ever happened.

All of a sudden, bright, beaming headlights shined into her car, causing her to turn her head towards the passenger window only to see a SUV speeding towards her seconds before it smashed into the side of her car.

The car flipped over and over again, causing her head to bang, violently against the steering wheel, knocking her out unconscious, as the glass from the windows shattered into millions of pieces, the debris inside her car flying in every which direction.

As soon as the car landed on its side in a ditch, a tall man crawled out of his car, made his way over to the totaled vehicle, and pulled her unconscious body out of the car before dragging her to his own vehicle, tying her hands and feet together just in case she woke up.

He slowly got back into his car before dialing a familiar number, and spoke into the device as soon as his boss answered. "It's done, sir. Where do you want me to take her?"

"Take Miss Lane to the warehouse," the voice responded.

After hanging up the phone, he quickly drive away from the scene, intending to do exactly as his boss had advised.

---

Lex Luthor placed his phone back onto the desk with a smirk plastered across his face, and quickly grabbed his jacket before heading towards the warehouse his associate was bringing the woman, who he intended on making suffer until she gave him what he wanted.

It had taken him two months to find the perfect time and place to take the one person that meant everything to his former friend.

Originally, this second attempt was only supposed to be a way to force him to come out of the shadows, and make him reveal himself not only to her, but to him as well.

But…

Things had changed after his first attempt.

The feisty brunette was never alone, which had been very problematic, but he was determined to get what he wanted, and now all he had to do was wait for the young superhero to come to her rescue.

It would happen.

Soon, he would have all the information he needed to move onto the next part of his agenda…taking down Clark Kent.

This was an exciting chapter to write. In the previous story, I mainly focused on Clark and Lois, but I decided to focus on other characters as well. Bruce will get a highlight too, but that will come later.

Now, I mentioned in an earlier chapter that we would be getting into some heartbreaking scenes. This was the first of many, but I can guarantee that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope you enjoyed chapter twenty-one