Chapter Twenty-Three: Making Plans

It had just stopped raining when Silvia heard about the recent attack on Metropolis. She had gotten dressed in record time and sped as fast as her legs could carry her down to the centre of the city... but by the time she got there it was over.

Green Lantern, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, Starfire, Cyborg, and Shazam were all there cleaning up the mess. She also spotted a rather short boy that was entirely green. No, not just his clothes, his skin, hair and everything but the whites of his eyes were coloured in that shade. He even had fangs on his bottom set of teeth. Beast Boy, that was his name. She had seen him pop up a few times when she decided to do some research on Starfire.

In the distance she saw Superman lifting the culprit into the air, likely to take him back to jail. His gaze caught hers as if the mask still covering her face was no obstacle for him and he smiled. He almost looked proud to see her there. Silvia bit her lip and looked away, grumbling something about him looking like a doofus.

Superman's grin widened but he couldn't stay to tease her about it. Before she knew it he was gone, and she was left standing awkwardly within a throng of so-called heroes.

To say that she appeared out of place would be an understatement. The rest of them at least had some colour to their costumes, even Nightwing had bits of blue on him, but she was draped in shadows with a mask that would send a small child into a fit of terror if she ever tried to save one.

Shazam spotted her just as she turned to leave and quickly flew in front of her. He towered compared to her; she only barely came up to his chest. That made the truth even more awkward.

"Reaper! I need to talk to you!" He boomed, his voice carrying through the vicinity much more than it would have if he was in his true form.

"Look, I'm not going to tell anyone about your secret if that's what this is about." Silvia replied in a hushed tone, glancing over her shoulder to see that Shazam's volume had grabbed the attention of some of the others.

"Oh, thank goodness!" He sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Then maybe you'd like to go bowling with me tonight! A ton of my friends from school are going!"

Silvia felt something become lodged in her throat, but that was nothing compared to how taken back she was by his invitation. To hear something so childish come out of such a large men was still daunting. "Umm... I don't think so."

"Aww come on, please? You already know my identity and I know yours, we should try and get along!" Shazam's eyes seemed to plead at her in a way that may have been cute on a kid, but on a grown man it was just weird. "You can bring your friends too if you want!"

Silvia stifled a laugh. Friends? She couldn't have less of them if she tried. "Look I appreciate the offer, pipsqueak, but I really don't understand why you're asking me of all people."

Shazam huffed. "I like to forget that the world needs saving sometimes, it can be really hard knowing that it never gets better no matter how many times you try. I just thought maybe you needed a break as well..."

Silvia's gaze softened though he had no way of seeing it. Now she truly could imagine him as the age he was... It must have been difficult being so young and carrying even more responsibility then even she did.

"Also, if I bring a hot chick my friends are totally gonna flip out."

Silvia narrowed her eyes at him. Well, she certainly didn't feel sorry for him anymore. "Take Starfire."

"Yeah, like it won't be obvious that something's up if I bring an orange chick with glowing eyes." He said sarcastically.

Behind her Silvia could sense people approaching, likely the ones that noticed they were talking beforehand; Green Lantern and Nightwing.

"Look, I really don't think this is a good idea..." She sighed.

"I think it's a great idea." Shazam's bottom lip stuck out and his arms folded over his chest. Was he... pouting?

"I just..." Silvia's shoulders slumped in defeat. How was she suppose to deny a twelve year old the distraction from a world of absolute shit? "Fine. I'll go."

Shazam's eyes widened. "R-Really?!"

"Don't make me say it again."

The man's lips stretched into a grin and his posture straightened. "Awesome! I'll see you tonight at five! Bring your friends!"

In an instant Shazam was off, disappearing into the night before Silvia could mutter "but I don't have any!"

She figured that he hadn't heard her because there was absolutely no answer. Silvia sighed... She didn't want to be laughed at by a bunch of kids for being a complete loser.

"What was that about bowling?" Green Lantern finally stepped beside her. "I can pretend to be your friend for the night if you want."

"Ugh... I can't think of anything I'd want less..." Silvia groaned.

"How about two people pretending to be your friends?" Came the familiar voice of Nightwing as he appeared at her other side, a smug look on his face. "You aren't exactly in the position to be picky, not if you don't want to embarrass yourself."

"I don't have to prove myself to a bunch of preteens!" Silvia said in annoyance despite it feeling like a complete lie.

"You sure about that?" Nightwing smirked and Silvia growled at him.

"If I'm being honest, I think you did a really great thing for Billy. It's easy to forget that he's still just kid." Green Lantern said, a rare moment of sincerity coming from him. "I can barely handle the pressure as it is, I can't imagine what it would have been like if I was his age. If there's ever anything I can do to give him a few minutes to be a regular kid I'll do it... So, can I be your plus one?"

Silvia blinked him in slight surprise. He really did sound like he cared about this. "Well, alright..." She turned to Nightwing who was readjusting his mask. "And you?"

"Oh, I just want to kick everyone's ass at bowling." He smiled and Silvia rolled her eyes beneath her mask.

"You can come, only because I want to watch you eat your words when I win."

Nightwing grinned and she just knew he was about to give her some smart ass comment before she heard her phones message tone blare through the air.

"Is that... the Terminator theme?" Green Lantern asked half amused and half surprised.

Silvia struggled to reach her hand into her extremely tight pocket and pulled it out. "You say one word and you're automatically uninvited."

Green Lantern now looked just as entertained as Nightwing... and that was saying something. Silvia chose to ignore it and glanced down at the phone screen. 'Can't wait to see you tonight - Clark'

Fuck.

She had completely forgotten that they had a date planned. He was meant to be cooking her dinner. Guilt automatically washed over her. He had told her it was an important night too... That he had something to tell her. Silvia's expression twisted into one of regret.

"I gotta go..." She said, not giving the two heroes a second glance. "I'll see you later."

The rush to Clark's was a long one. She was so adamant about reaching him in time that she only stopped off home to throw her regular clothes on top of her costume and stuff her mask into her pocket. It was almost four by the time she got there.

Clark swung open the door not long after she had knocked, expression brightening at the sight of her. "Sil? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but weren't you suppose to be here about two hours from now?"

Silvia shifted on the spot uncomfortably, trying not to meet his gaze. Seeing him smile would only make her feel worse. "Yeah... about that..." She started, head hung low.

Clark's brow furrowed in concern. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"W-Well, there's this kid right? A-And he's got it pretty rough..." Silvia tried to come up with how to explain this to Clark but she couldn't find any way around it. A large exhale escaped her lungs. "I may have p-promised him that I'd go bowling... I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to change our plans for tonight?"

She glanced up just in time to see Clark's shoulders slump very slightly and his smile weaken. He looked disappointed. He sighed and composed himself. "Well, I did cancel last time so I guess this makes us even."

Silvia's eyes widened. "Y-You're not mad?"

"What?" Clark looked a little surprised at her words. Had he ever been angry at her for something so small?... Had he ever expressed anger towards her at all outside of his costume? He was positive that he hadn't, and this only made him worry. The more she exposed herself to him the more he saw just how scared she was that he'd suddenly hate her. "Of course not. Bowling sounds like more fun then I had planned anyway."

Silvia froze for a second, searching his eyes for any sign of annoyance. Like usual, there was none. A shaky smile rested on her face; relieved and genuine but somehow sad. "You're the best." She said and he could have sworn that he saw her eyes glistening under the sunlight.

Silvia laid both hands on either side of his face and stood up on her tiptoes. She pressed her lips against his and Clark instantly tensed... He always did that when they kissed. Silvia's fingers caressed his cheek as she leaned back, lips slowly parting from each other. She stared at him in confusion like every other time this had happened.

"Why does it feel like you're holding back?" She finally built up the courage to ask. It was like he overthought every movement. He'd kiss back but only barely, in a way that seemed stiff and controlled. He'd touch her waist or her hair but she knew he was over thinking it. He was like a robot... One that was afraid to hurt her if he didn't think all of his actions through.

Clark bit his lip and shrugged. "Guess I'm just a bad kisser."

"That's definitely not it." Silvia said in a defeated tone. She knew he'd never answer the question even if there was an exact reason.

Clark gave her a faint smile but desperately changed the subject. "So, where are we meeting everyone?"

Silvia froze. Shazam hadn't told her where to go. "Uhh... the bowling alley?"

"I figured that much out for myself." Clark teased. "Which one?"

"Umm..."

"You don't know, do you?" Clark said with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"No idea."

"Well where does this kid live?"

"Fawcett City."

Clark raised an eyebrow at her. "Fawcett City?" His lips tightened as if the answer were obvious. "You do realise there's only one bowling alley in that city, right? Safe bet they're meeting us there."

Silvia tilted her head to the side oddly then gave a rather awkward laugh. "O-Oh yeah! I totally knew that!"

Clark felt a chuckle rumble in his chest. She may have been clueless but it was somehow charming. It made him feel like a regular person whenever he was with her... but this was also dangerous. He couldn't afford to forget that he wasn't.

Clark looked down at her affectionately as she tried to brush off her embarrassment then there was a sound, a scream for help.

Silvia glanced up the moment Clark seemed to tense. He was concentrating on something, like he could hear something that she couldn't. That was impossible though, it was Clark... He didn't have hearing like her.

"I just remembered that I have some errands to run." Clark said in an almost rushed tone. "It might be best if I just meet you there."

"Alright." Silvia shrugged. She was use to this by now. She thought that he'd eventually run out of 'errands' but apparently that wasn't the case. She went to descend the stairs, turning around a second later to say goodbye but Clark was no longer there.