One week, three cities, and another sleepless night. It sounded like a depressing country song. Lex turned over again. He didn't like uncertainty, but it seemed as though that was all he was going to get for a long time. Uncertainty about whether the faked deaths had fooled Lionel. About whether Lionel had found out about the new Kent name. About the next place to hide. About what the hell was keeping Clark so subdued and what to do about that. If anything.
*Dammit, Jim, I'm a runaway, not a xenopsychologist!*
They'd started making their way towards the East Coast. Lex had changed his mind about Gotham City. A city that was going so crazy that it invented its own legend of a half-man, half-bat might be just the place to hide an alien. And even if there was crime there, there wasn't much Luthor influence, thanks to the Wayne family, or its remnant. Bruce Wayne. Now there was a weirdo for you. *Says the man with the alien foster brother. The alien foster brother with powers of super-brooding now. Maybe I'm not in the best stone-throwing position here.*
One more day would bring them there. He'd made arrangements to rent an apartment month-by-month while they looked for something more permanent. He wasn't sure that staying together was such a great idea, but Clark's assumption that of course they were was something he didn't quite have the heart--or guts--to contradict.
***
Clark gritted his teeth. It could be worse. Lex could snore. Or he could talk in his sleep. Or he could stop rolling around like he's sleeping on Mexican jumping beans, Clark concluded, getting sick of thinking of ways it could be worse.
Part of the problem was that he himself was wide awake. He didn't feel like reading or watching tv, even if he thought he could do it without waking Lex up. He was slowly getting used to sharing a room with somebody, even if the hotel rooms they usually stayed in were smaller than most closets back home.
*Home.* Right. Now that's a concept not to think about.
The covers felt like they weighed eighty pounds or so. Which, considering his alien strength and all that, meant that they must be way heavy. Or maybe he just needed to get out.
He pulled his jeans on, grabbed some paper and the pen from the bedside table, and slipped out the door. He wrote a note and shoved it under the door in case Lex woke up. Lex had really gone all hissy-fit one time when he'd gone for a run and not said anything about it until he came back, a few hours later.
He kind of liked Chicago. Nice big lake. Maybe he'd go swimming. He looked longingly at the big Ferris wheel on the pier. What he really wanted was to go on it with a girl, but he'd have settled for his brother. It would be too dorky to go alone. No, they had to leave in the morning, anyway.
As he turned the corner, he saw a girl wave goodbye to another one and inch across the street. It had been warm enough during the day to melt some of the ice and snow, but during the night, the temperature went back below freezing. He watched, hoping she wouldn't notice him.
Something didn't feel quite right. She looked uneasy. Maybe she had noticed him and thought he was a stalker or purse-snatcher or something. He was just about to turn around--maybe go enroll in charm school or something--and go back to the hotel, when a man stepped from a car and confronted her.
"Brian!"
"Yeah." He sounded nasty, like he was grinning and snarling at the same time. Clark gulped. He'd...cornered Lana like that.
"Go away. I have the restraining order." Her voice was shaking.
"And I have a gun. Get in the car, bitch."
"Leave her alone!" Clark was right between them.
"Ooooh, this your *new* boyfriend? She's not worth taking a bullet for, toy boy. Move!"
Clark obeyed the words if not the intent, tackling him, and he hit the sidewalk with a thud. "Uh, I think he's unconscious." Clark looked up and felt awkward, especially the way she was looking at him, eyes all lowered and a tiny, tremulous smile. The other girl had turned around at the noise and was carefully running towards them, trying to avoid the ice.
"Are you hurt?"
"Me? No way." He got to his feet.
"That was brave." She smiled, hesitantly, at him. "But...kind of stupid."
"I guess I'm just kind of stupid that way." Hey, world, look at him! He'd actually said something kind of smooth. Not very smooth, but on the smooth side. Some element of smoothness was definitely present. He tried to lean in a smooth way against the lamppost. "You want to call the police?"
"Yeah." The other girl came to them, hugged the first one, and then stood about a foot away, looking up at him as the first girl pulled out a cell phone. He was really liking this. Maybe there was something else manly he could do. Probably kicking the guy wouldn't be good, though. He was still trying to think of something else manly when she finished talking on the phone. "There's a police car two blocks away. They'll pick him up."
Oh. Police car. Police reports. They could be bad things. "Uh, listen, I, uh-"
"Don't want to get involved with the cops? Got it. Thanks again." She stood on tiptoes and actually kissed him. On the cheek, but still, it was a Kiss. From a Girl. "Good luck." The other one did the exact same thing, but on the other cheek. "Thanks. Not many people stop and help a stranger."
Wow. Rescuing a girl got him kissed. Twice. Two girls. He wasn't as good at math as Lex but even he could figure out that if there had been three girls, he might have gotten three kisses. And without any cheeks left unkissed, another one might have kissed him on the mouth.
He'd have to remember that, he decided, as he turned the corner and began running, using his speed. By the time he got back to the hotel, he'd imagined what would have happened if there had been thirty-seven girls.
*Dammit, Jim, I'm a runaway, not a xenopsychologist!*
They'd started making their way towards the East Coast. Lex had changed his mind about Gotham City. A city that was going so crazy that it invented its own legend of a half-man, half-bat might be just the place to hide an alien. And even if there was crime there, there wasn't much Luthor influence, thanks to the Wayne family, or its remnant. Bruce Wayne. Now there was a weirdo for you. *Says the man with the alien foster brother. The alien foster brother with powers of super-brooding now. Maybe I'm not in the best stone-throwing position here.*
One more day would bring them there. He'd made arrangements to rent an apartment month-by-month while they looked for something more permanent. He wasn't sure that staying together was such a great idea, but Clark's assumption that of course they were was something he didn't quite have the heart--or guts--to contradict.
***
Clark gritted his teeth. It could be worse. Lex could snore. Or he could talk in his sleep. Or he could stop rolling around like he's sleeping on Mexican jumping beans, Clark concluded, getting sick of thinking of ways it could be worse.
Part of the problem was that he himself was wide awake. He didn't feel like reading or watching tv, even if he thought he could do it without waking Lex up. He was slowly getting used to sharing a room with somebody, even if the hotel rooms they usually stayed in were smaller than most closets back home.
*Home.* Right. Now that's a concept not to think about.
The covers felt like they weighed eighty pounds or so. Which, considering his alien strength and all that, meant that they must be way heavy. Or maybe he just needed to get out.
He pulled his jeans on, grabbed some paper and the pen from the bedside table, and slipped out the door. He wrote a note and shoved it under the door in case Lex woke up. Lex had really gone all hissy-fit one time when he'd gone for a run and not said anything about it until he came back, a few hours later.
He kind of liked Chicago. Nice big lake. Maybe he'd go swimming. He looked longingly at the big Ferris wheel on the pier. What he really wanted was to go on it with a girl, but he'd have settled for his brother. It would be too dorky to go alone. No, they had to leave in the morning, anyway.
As he turned the corner, he saw a girl wave goodbye to another one and inch across the street. It had been warm enough during the day to melt some of the ice and snow, but during the night, the temperature went back below freezing. He watched, hoping she wouldn't notice him.
Something didn't feel quite right. She looked uneasy. Maybe she had noticed him and thought he was a stalker or purse-snatcher or something. He was just about to turn around--maybe go enroll in charm school or something--and go back to the hotel, when a man stepped from a car and confronted her.
"Brian!"
"Yeah." He sounded nasty, like he was grinning and snarling at the same time. Clark gulped. He'd...cornered Lana like that.
"Go away. I have the restraining order." Her voice was shaking.
"And I have a gun. Get in the car, bitch."
"Leave her alone!" Clark was right between them.
"Ooooh, this your *new* boyfriend? She's not worth taking a bullet for, toy boy. Move!"
Clark obeyed the words if not the intent, tackling him, and he hit the sidewalk with a thud. "Uh, I think he's unconscious." Clark looked up and felt awkward, especially the way she was looking at him, eyes all lowered and a tiny, tremulous smile. The other girl had turned around at the noise and was carefully running towards them, trying to avoid the ice.
"Are you hurt?"
"Me? No way." He got to his feet.
"That was brave." She smiled, hesitantly, at him. "But...kind of stupid."
"I guess I'm just kind of stupid that way." Hey, world, look at him! He'd actually said something kind of smooth. Not very smooth, but on the smooth side. Some element of smoothness was definitely present. He tried to lean in a smooth way against the lamppost. "You want to call the police?"
"Yeah." The other girl came to them, hugged the first one, and then stood about a foot away, looking up at him as the first girl pulled out a cell phone. He was really liking this. Maybe there was something else manly he could do. Probably kicking the guy wouldn't be good, though. He was still trying to think of something else manly when she finished talking on the phone. "There's a police car two blocks away. They'll pick him up."
Oh. Police car. Police reports. They could be bad things. "Uh, listen, I, uh-"
"Don't want to get involved with the cops? Got it. Thanks again." She stood on tiptoes and actually kissed him. On the cheek, but still, it was a Kiss. From a Girl. "Good luck." The other one did the exact same thing, but on the other cheek. "Thanks. Not many people stop and help a stranger."
Wow. Rescuing a girl got him kissed. Twice. Two girls. He wasn't as good at math as Lex but even he could figure out that if there had been three girls, he might have gotten three kisses. And without any cheeks left unkissed, another one might have kissed him on the mouth.
He'd have to remember that, he decided, as he turned the corner and began running, using his speed. By the time he got back to the hotel, he'd imagined what would have happened if there had been thirty-seven girls.