Chapter 4: Dinner and a Show
*****
"No one is ever gonna know because nothing is going to happen between us. Ever," he stated flatly, placing a harsh emphasis on the last word.
He gently shoved her aside and reached out for the door knob but was slapped away by Maria, who brought her face within an inch of his and looked him coldly in the eye.
"I know, Clark."
"Know what? What are you talking about?" he asked in frustration of her constant annoyance.
"The baby,' she replied.
Clark's jaw grew slack and his lower lip trembled. His eyebrows arched in worry as sweat began to trickle down upon them.
"How - how did -"
"A little birdie whispered in my ear. Now if you don't cooperate with me, 'Farmboy Knocks Up Homecoming Queen' is gonna be the headline everyone will be reading when they come back from Spring Break. I'd hate to think what people would think about that." she trailed off, her lips pursed.
Though he was relieved she didn't know that he was the one carrying the baby, the situation was still grave. If people believed Lana was pregnant, it would cause a lot of headaches, not to mention unwanted attention. A deep, cold and hollow feeling penetrated the pit of Clark's stomach. They were powerless against her; she had them at her whim. He swallowed.
"What do want?" he asked nervously, praying it wouldn't be anything that would compromise his morals.
Her eyes softened and she casually flipped her hair to one side while letting out a cute laugh before replying.
"Oh Clark, I'm not going to force myself on you... though the thought had crossed my mind. I'm not going to make you break up with her and be with me instead - I just want a chance. Lana's gone for a week, and you're not going to be terribly busy, so I just thought we could spend some time together, getting to know one another," she said innocently.
"Get to know one another?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I haven't been taken out in a very long time for reasons I don't understand... I put out more than Michael Jackson at a Boy Scout meeting. Anyways, you're going to take me out on a date. Several dates, actually," she exclaimed, the gears evidently churning in her head. "Oooh, you can take me to the park, shopping, dinner, we're going to have so much fun!"
Clark groaned silently at the prospect of having to endure her infuriating shrill voice for a whole week, and having to avoid her grabby hands as she would no doubt try futilely to paw at him to no end.
"And before you know it, you'll have fallen in love with me," she mused. "Though I feel bad for Lana you know, you having knocked her up and then leaving her for me. Tell you what, we'll keep the whole thing a secret and adopt her baby so that she won't have to live with the stigma of being a single teenage mom. I'm such a nice person... anyways, you pick me up for dinner tomorrow. I'll call you later with all the details."
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which he couldn't avoid having stood there silently, still stunned by the description of her delusional fantasy, before she opened the door and skipped down the hall, daydreaming of her future life with Clark Kent. She suddenly paused, turned around and tossed a set of keys to him.
"Oh honey, could you lock up the Torch for me? I'll get the keys back from you tomorrow night. See ya then!" she exclaimed as she continued strolling to her locker while humming 'The Wedding March.'
*****
The sound of a single foot tapping on the hardwood floor echoed out into the hall as the Kents sat down to dinner. Clark fidgeted in his seat nervously as his family quietly ate their meal. He skilfully arranged his mash potatoes into a mountain before placing his fork down and letting out a huge sigh.
"Can I be excused? I'm not very hungry," he requested with some contempt.
"Sit down, and eat your dinner," Jonathan replied sternly.
"But dad - "
"No buts, son. Now I know you're upset, but you have to do whatever Maria wants until we figure something out."
"I can't believe this!"
"Well believe it. She's blackmailing you and we can't do a damn thing about it right now."
"What could we ever do about it? Let's just ask her to stop. I bet she would if we asked nicely," Clark spouted sarcastically.
"Clark, honey, just sit down and finish your dinner. We can talk about this later," said Martha, hoping to at least delay the shouting match.
"I bet Lex could do something," Clark muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Jonathan asked, standing up and placing his hands firmly on the table.
"You heard me! Maria's father works for Lexcorp."
"So what, are you suggesting we ask Lex to threaten her father's livelihood? We are not stooping down to that level, and there is no way - no way are we letting Lex Luthor get involved in our affairs - especially not now."
"Well I guess I'll just be Maria's slave forever," Clark stated bluntly before getting up, throwing his napkin on the table and stalking off upstairs.
*****
Clark held the receiver a few inches away from his ear as Maria continued to squeal on the other end.
"Okay, okay. I'll pick you up at seven. Bye!" he finally uttered.
Before he hung up, he heard a smacking sound which he surmised was Maria kissing the phone. Exhausted from the conversation, he flopped down onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling wondering just what he had gotten himself into. The only bright part of the day was convincing Maria to move their date out of town as not to spread rumours around of him cheating on Lana while she was away.
Lana.
He looked down at the phone and reached his hand out for it but paused. He wasn't sure it was the best thing to do - telling Lana. Maybe he could take care of the whole thing before she got back, he mused. Clark mulled this over before realizing that he had to be honest with her no matter what, so his hand darted out for the receiver once again. He flinched as it began to ring. Looking up at the clock, he realized it was 10pm, the usual time that Lana would call him most nights. Clark got comfortable on the couch before pressing the talk button. He barely got in a 'hello,' before being accosted by the familiar shrill voice. He cupped the bottom of the phone with his hand tightly and groaned out load. Clark looked up at the clock again and could have sworn he saw the seconds hand begin to move backwards.
*****
*****
"No one is ever gonna know because nothing is going to happen between us. Ever," he stated flatly, placing a harsh emphasis on the last word.
He gently shoved her aside and reached out for the door knob but was slapped away by Maria, who brought her face within an inch of his and looked him coldly in the eye.
"I know, Clark."
"Know what? What are you talking about?" he asked in frustration of her constant annoyance.
"The baby,' she replied.
Clark's jaw grew slack and his lower lip trembled. His eyebrows arched in worry as sweat began to trickle down upon them.
"How - how did -"
"A little birdie whispered in my ear. Now if you don't cooperate with me, 'Farmboy Knocks Up Homecoming Queen' is gonna be the headline everyone will be reading when they come back from Spring Break. I'd hate to think what people would think about that." she trailed off, her lips pursed.
Though he was relieved she didn't know that he was the one carrying the baby, the situation was still grave. If people believed Lana was pregnant, it would cause a lot of headaches, not to mention unwanted attention. A deep, cold and hollow feeling penetrated the pit of Clark's stomach. They were powerless against her; she had them at her whim. He swallowed.
"What do want?" he asked nervously, praying it wouldn't be anything that would compromise his morals.
Her eyes softened and she casually flipped her hair to one side while letting out a cute laugh before replying.
"Oh Clark, I'm not going to force myself on you... though the thought had crossed my mind. I'm not going to make you break up with her and be with me instead - I just want a chance. Lana's gone for a week, and you're not going to be terribly busy, so I just thought we could spend some time together, getting to know one another," she said innocently.
"Get to know one another?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I haven't been taken out in a very long time for reasons I don't understand... I put out more than Michael Jackson at a Boy Scout meeting. Anyways, you're going to take me out on a date. Several dates, actually," she exclaimed, the gears evidently churning in her head. "Oooh, you can take me to the park, shopping, dinner, we're going to have so much fun!"
Clark groaned silently at the prospect of having to endure her infuriating shrill voice for a whole week, and having to avoid her grabby hands as she would no doubt try futilely to paw at him to no end.
"And before you know it, you'll have fallen in love with me," she mused. "Though I feel bad for Lana you know, you having knocked her up and then leaving her for me. Tell you what, we'll keep the whole thing a secret and adopt her baby so that she won't have to live with the stigma of being a single teenage mom. I'm such a nice person... anyways, you pick me up for dinner tomorrow. I'll call you later with all the details."
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which he couldn't avoid having stood there silently, still stunned by the description of her delusional fantasy, before she opened the door and skipped down the hall, daydreaming of her future life with Clark Kent. She suddenly paused, turned around and tossed a set of keys to him.
"Oh honey, could you lock up the Torch for me? I'll get the keys back from you tomorrow night. See ya then!" she exclaimed as she continued strolling to her locker while humming 'The Wedding March.'
*****
The sound of a single foot tapping on the hardwood floor echoed out into the hall as the Kents sat down to dinner. Clark fidgeted in his seat nervously as his family quietly ate their meal. He skilfully arranged his mash potatoes into a mountain before placing his fork down and letting out a huge sigh.
"Can I be excused? I'm not very hungry," he requested with some contempt.
"Sit down, and eat your dinner," Jonathan replied sternly.
"But dad - "
"No buts, son. Now I know you're upset, but you have to do whatever Maria wants until we figure something out."
"I can't believe this!"
"Well believe it. She's blackmailing you and we can't do a damn thing about it right now."
"What could we ever do about it? Let's just ask her to stop. I bet she would if we asked nicely," Clark spouted sarcastically.
"Clark, honey, just sit down and finish your dinner. We can talk about this later," said Martha, hoping to at least delay the shouting match.
"I bet Lex could do something," Clark muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Jonathan asked, standing up and placing his hands firmly on the table.
"You heard me! Maria's father works for Lexcorp."
"So what, are you suggesting we ask Lex to threaten her father's livelihood? We are not stooping down to that level, and there is no way - no way are we letting Lex Luthor get involved in our affairs - especially not now."
"Well I guess I'll just be Maria's slave forever," Clark stated bluntly before getting up, throwing his napkin on the table and stalking off upstairs.
*****
Clark held the receiver a few inches away from his ear as Maria continued to squeal on the other end.
"Okay, okay. I'll pick you up at seven. Bye!" he finally uttered.
Before he hung up, he heard a smacking sound which he surmised was Maria kissing the phone. Exhausted from the conversation, he flopped down onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling wondering just what he had gotten himself into. The only bright part of the day was convincing Maria to move their date out of town as not to spread rumours around of him cheating on Lana while she was away.
Lana.
He looked down at the phone and reached his hand out for it but paused. He wasn't sure it was the best thing to do - telling Lana. Maybe he could take care of the whole thing before she got back, he mused. Clark mulled this over before realizing that he had to be honest with her no matter what, so his hand darted out for the receiver once again. He flinched as it began to ring. Looking up at the clock, he realized it was 10pm, the usual time that Lana would call him most nights. Clark got comfortable on the couch before pressing the talk button. He barely got in a 'hello,' before being accosted by the familiar shrill voice. He cupped the bottom of the phone with his hand tightly and groaned out load. Clark looked up at the clock again and could have sworn he saw the seconds hand begin to move backwards.
*****