Hey guys, thanks for all the great reviews! I appreciate it, as always :)
Here's Part 3. I hope you enjoy!
Author: Alison
Disclaimer: Characters belong to DC, WB, AlMiles, etc. etc. etc.
Part 3
When did life become so difficult? It must've happened sometime when she grew up.
She hadn't gotten much sleep. But that wasn't anything new.
It was only ten o'clock in the morning, but she'd already finished her English Lit paper an hour ago and was speedily working her way through her News Writing paper on Nellie Bly's undercover investigations at Blackwell.
Almost finished with her second paper and she was already on her fourth cup of coffee. Lois would be so proud. But she'd tell her later.
After a long afternoon and evening shift last night at the Planet she headed back to her dorm room to continue her research for Clark. She'd found some more information and emailed him again. But she hadn't talked to him or Lois since yesterday.
She still wasn't sure about all of this. She was having a little trouble reading Clark. Just what were his intentions towards Lois? Were there any at all or was this simply a nice gesture for a friend?
But that didn't explain Lois' behavior. Why was she so weird on the phone yesterday? She wasn't being her strange twitchy controlling self. Not once did she try to take over the conversation.
Something was up with those two. Something had happened between them. And she was determined to figure it out.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the reverberation from her cell phone sitting on her desk. She picked it up and, staying focused on her laptop screen, opened it without looking at the ID.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Chloe."
She'd know that voice anywhere. She never tired of hearing it. Ever.
"Hey, Clark. What's up?"
Would he spill more about that night? She'd have to find a way to get him to talk.
"Did you find out anything else about that memorial? I've been going over what you sent me and I think it's gonna be great."
"No, just what I emailed you last night. But I think we need to go see them today about getting it done. Especially if you want this thing up pretty soon."
He'd sent her an email back yesterday afternoon when he got her information on the project. He told her he thought it would be best to set up the memorial as soon as possible. You know…for Lois' sake. Right.
Whoosh!
All of her papers flew off her desk as a blue and red blur appeared in her room and sat on her bed.
"Clark!"
She spun around in her chair and put her hand over her chest as she tried in vain to catch her breath.
"What?"
"I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that."
He smiled, which immediately made her face light up. That Kent charm never failed.
"Well, you said we needed to go see them today. So, here I am."
She shot him a questionable look and went to picking up the papers that flew off her desk.
"Remind me to buy a paperweight while we're out today. If you're going to create a wind tunnel effect every time you show up I gotta do something to save time putting all my homework back together."
He grinned and helped her pick up the papers. He handed them to her as she got back in her chair and stacked the pages neatly on the desk.
"Can I ask you something, Chloe?"
Was this it? She could feel it coming. She just knew it. She set the pages down and looked at him. Something was going on in that E.T. brain of his.
"Okay. Is everything alright?"
He leaned forward on his elbows and kept his head down as he spoke.
"Yeah, everything's fine." He paused and took a deep breath. "What do you think Lois' favorite movie is?"
Lois' favorite movie? Okay, in Chloe Sullivan's experience, a guy only wanted to know a girl's favorite anything if he liked her. But this couldn't possibly be the case with Clark. Could it?
A confused grin crept its way on her face.
"Lois' favorite movie? Why do you want to know that?"
He stood and slowly walked to her window. What was going on with him? This was weird, even for him.
"I just want to do something nice for her."
She kept the confused expression and turned in her chair to face him.
"But, Clark, you're already doing this memorial for her." She paused. Should she say it? She studied him for a moment as he gazed out the window. She prayed her reporter's instinct wouldn't fail her now. "So, what's brought on this sudden interest in Miss Lane?" She waited for some signal from him. He kept his gaze out the window. "Does it have anything to do with you two spending the night together?"
That did it. His head spun around as he briefly met her eyes, but turned and walked back to stand next to the bed, running his fingers through his thick black hair.
"What? No, Chloe. I mean, well, it does, but we didn't…we just talked."
She smiled and slowly nodded her head. She knew he'd be easier to crack.
"So, you just talked? Let me get this straight. Clark Kent and Lois Lane stayed at her apartment…all night…talking. Right."
He turned back to face her, narrowing his eyes and smirking.
"I promise, Chloe. We just talked." His voice softened as he continued. "I'd never seen her like that before."
Okay, now it was getting good. She moved to her bed and padded the space next to her for him to sit.
"Yeah, I got that from you yesterday. But what do you mean? What was she like?"
She had a feeling she knew. Chloe was well aware of what the day before yesterday was, even though she had never seen Lois on that day. But Lois had told her what she did when Chloe accidentally walked in on her crying over some pictures one day. It wasn't the anniversary, but she'd come across the pictures while going through some boxes. So, Lois told her. That's when she learned that Lois needed that time of year. And she needed it alone. This was why it was so perplexing that she let Clark stay with her that night. It just didn't make any sense.
He sat on the bed next to her and kept his head down.
"She was crying. I'd never seen Lois cry before."
Now, she could see it. He saw the softer side of her. Sure, Chloe always knew it was there. But, Lois kept so many walls up that she never let anyone else see. But she let him see. Why?
Chloe nodded her head. She took a breath and turned to face him.
"So, this is how you've gone from hating her and wishing she never came back from Europe this summer, to wanting to do something nice for her."
He looked up at her, his gaze intense.
"I never hated her, Chloe. She just…got on my nerves. But, I never really minded it."
There it was. It was all falling into place. At least as far as he was concerned. But what about Lois?
She could feel it. She told herself she was over him, and, in a way, she was. But you never forget your first love, even if that's not what he was.
She dropped her eyes and looked at the floor as he continued.
"That's just the way Lois and I are. We irritate each other, but I don't think either of us are really that bothered by it."
Chloe raised her eyebrows and gave him a skeptical look.
"Are you sure she feels the same way?"
Wow, that question could have many different meanings.
"I don't know. Lois can be a hard read sometimes."
She laughed as his face broadened into a smile.
"Yeah, I know."
They sat there, the silence so loud she knew his super-hearing should've already made him deaf. She didn't want to push it too much further. She could tell by now he had feelings for her whether he realized it or not. But she didn't want to say anything out loud. That would make it real, especially if he hesitated in answering. She didn't know if she could handle that.
She'd thrown herself into her college courses and work at the Daily Planet when she found out he and Lana were finally together. That kept her busy and kept her mind off thinking her two best friends were consummating anytime they were alone together. She just couldn't bear it.
She'd never imagined him with Lois. It was even funnier to imagine Lois with him. They were like night and day, or, more appropriately, human and extraterrestrial. But whenever they were around each other, they seemed to have their own language and own little knowing glances at each other. They finished one another's sentences and knew how each took their coffee. It was little things, sure, but those were beginning to grow into something else. She just never really took the time to see it until now.
They needed to get going. Her papers and those articles for the Planet would just have to wait. Maybe she could drag some more out of him later. That is, if she really wanted to know, which she still wasn't too sure. She still needed to talk to Lois and get her side of that night just to make sure she wasn't blowing this all out of proportion. Which a small part of her hoped she was.
"So, we should probably get going." She stood and walked to her desk, reaching for the information on the memorial she'd printed out last night. "I found this place down on Sixteenth Street where we can buy the marker. They can engrave it for us, too. I just need to get them all the information." She paused and gestured with her finger towards him as she continued. "Oh, and you said you wanted the brown marble marker, right? I already put it on hold online last night. The website said they could put a picture on it, too, but they need to get it ASAP for it to be ready soon."
She picked up the papers and handed them to Clark.
"Okay, yeah, that sounds great." He paused. "I've got a slight problem with the picture, though."
"And what's that?"
He grinned sheepishly and looked up at her.
"I don't have it."
Her mouth dropped. Why is it you could depend on him to save your life, but the little everyday things were lost on him?
"Okay, so where is it?"
"Still at Lois'. I was thinking maybe you could go tomorrow and get it. Didn't you say something about coming home this weekend?"
She sighed and put her hands on her hips.
"Well, yeah, but that was before I had all this work to do."
He looked surprised and dropped his eyes to the floor.
"Oh. Okay."
Her heart sank. She couldn't stand that. She hated disappointing him.
She half-smiled and rolled her eyes.
"But I guess I can make a special trip just for you."
He looked at her and smiled as he stood.
"Thanks, Chloe. I mean…for all your help. I couldn't have done this without you."
He moved closer to her and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, melting into his embrace.
"You're welcome, Clark."
She pulled away from him and reached for her coat on her bed. She threw it on and grabbed her bag in the floor and cell phone off her desk as he moved towards the door.
She still loved him. She always would. But, she knew she had to let him go. For her.
"By the way, it's Breakfast at Tiffany's."