Juicy
Summary: When the Weekly Juice gets their star reporter to use Clark Kent, Molly, a photographer,finds herself breaking them up as she discovers the identity of Superman.
Disclaimer: I do not own Superman, dudes.
Note: Please excuse the major spelling/grammatical errors, as I was rushing with the story to make a CERTAIN PERSON happy. CHA! Continue and enjoy!
Chapter 1: A Little Something Called Guilt
"She has potential. Not a lot. But, she has just enough to take her to the places she wants to go. She loves working for a living and she wouldn't trade her work for a lottery that would provide her with millions. She just loves it too much to let it go. She's good at some sports. Only some. Like cross country running. She runs everyday. She could run forever, she says. She has a nice life, but something captures her vision that burns her eyes. There is but one thing missing from her pleasant life. She longs for a family; a man that could sweep her off her feet, marry her, and they would become one once they make the child of their dreams. But, she doesn't have much potential in finding the one.
She's a pretty girl. Never the gorgeous or beautiful one, but she is pretty. Ebony hair. Brown eyes. Slim. Short. Too short. Decent rack, she reminds herself of assets. Not much ass. Oh, how she wished. But, regardless, she's still a woman who has a sense of attractiveness and magnetism just like every woman. But, she hasn't found the man who sees the beauty inside and out."
Molly Madison laughed. She was currently reading an excerpt from one of the older stories she had written. From the writing style, it was obvious that she was of a much younger age when she had made it. Nonetheless, she felt quite embarrassed, as her tanned cheeks altered to a shade of pink. It seemed as if the girl in the story was a similar version of her high school self. Actually, the physical description suited her even more now than it did before. She was shorter than most people her age, she still had a lack of ass, her hair was black, her eyes were still brown of course, she was still slim thanks to her morning runs, and though a tad smaller, she still had her breasts.
Molly packed away her memorabilia at the bottom of her bed, and decided that it was time to go to work. Now, if there was one thing that wasn't true about the little excerpt, it was her interest in her job. Sure, she loved photography. She loved the way she was able to capture a moment in time, and how that moment could be interpreted in so many different ways. Endless words could describe one image. However, she wasn't exactly thrilled that her photos were of Superman, galas, events, and whatnot. It got boring every now and then; taking the same pictures over and over again. Nevertheless, she got paid several heaps of money for each picture, and it helped the rent and shopping. The most expensive picture was the one of the mayor cheating on his wife. She didn't mean for the picture to slip off to the editor, but wow, the money she got for that photo was inexplicable. Guilt ran through her veins, but at least the guilt came with its rewards.
She headed out the lobby of the apartment building, smiling as the sun kissed her face gently. She adjusted her camera, focusing the lens on a blooming tree filled with birds. As she was about to capture the perfect moment, Ramona, her good friend two doors down, unexpectedly jumped onto the scene, startling Molly.
"Damn nature," Ramona swatted the nonexistent bugs with her hands. "Damn sun," she leered, shielding the sun from her eyes, "Like I need to get any darker!"
Ramona wasn't exactly an outdoorsy, nature person. In fact, she didn't even seem like a people person, but shockingly enough, she was a grade two teacher. For someone who disliked kids so much, she sure had a weird profession.
"Hey Mona," Molly smiled, snapping shots of the birds as they flew into the sky together. It seemed as if Ramona didn't just startle Molly, she startled the birds as well.
"Molly, I need you to come with me tonight." Ramona demanded without hesitation….or question.
Molly shook her head, grinning as she continued to take pictures, "You never were quite good with manners." She settled the camera around her neck, whilst looking at her friend. Ramona stopped a taxi, and they both entered the cab together.
"Screw manners! I need you," Ramona begged. She regained her composure and spoke to the driver, "To the Weekly Juice."
"Sure thing, mam." The driver replied, beginning to steer deeper into the city.
Molly sighed, knowing she was probably going to be dragged into an insane mess. "So, what do you need me for?"
"Damien's taking me to a gala today. All of his friends and their wives are mucho rich, and I- Well, never mind that, but if you go, I assure you that your boss will be pleasantly surprised that you took initiative to take pictures of the gala without him asking," Ramona rambled, as Molly tried as best as she could to listen and comprehend.
"Ramona, I'm already going," Molly rolled her eyes, but grinned deviously, "But, I can't believe that you're intimidated by his friends."
"Well….." Ramona muttered sheepishly, while averting her gaze to the window. She was obviously embarrassed because she, Ramona Black, was never one to feel inferior to anyone. She was bigmouthed, sharp, witty, sarcastic, and certainly reminded everyone that she was much more superior than they could ever be.
They already arrived at the Weekly Juice, before Molly could finish their little talk. They paid the cab driver, exited the taxi, and were about to disperse, but Molly gently grabbed Ramona's wrist. "Clearly we aren't finished this talk, but I got your back tonight. No worries."
Ramona smiled, "Thanks Molly." And both of them walked their separate ways.
Molly entered the Weekly Juice. It was hectic, as usual. Everyone was jogging in different directions, carrying several heaps of papers and pictures. Many were on cell phones, office phones, or talking to each other. On her first day of work, it seemed like an odd place, but she learned to live with this hectic lifestyle. Now, it just seemed normal. A quiet day was an odd day. A very odd one at that.
"Madison, get your ass over here stat!" The loud bark of Jerome McKinley could be heard echoing across the whole office.
Molly rolled her eyes, gazing over at her friend John, "What's up his ass this time?"
"Something big," John stated. "You better get over there."
Molly nodded her head, and rushed over to Mr. McKinley's office. She opened the door without a knock, and found her boss rising from his seat with a truly peeved expression.
"What's up, Mr. McKinley?" Molly asked, taking a seat in front of his desk.
He threw a package on her lap, and with a huff, gave his response, "Give this present to the Daily Planet. I'm sure those assholes will stop bothering us once you hand it over yourself."
Molly furrowed her eyebrow; a questioning stare bore her face, "Sir, I wasn't aware that we were quarrelling with the Daily Planet. What did they do? Or, better yet, what did we do?"
"They think you're stealing their pictures and stalking celebrities. They basically bashed us, more specifically you, all over television in the interviews. Jesus, Madison, don't you watch television?" Jerome sat down, rubbing his temples as if it would alleviate the extreme stress that he felt.
Molly's mouth formed an 'O' for several seconds as she heard the disturbing news. "My photos are one hundred percent authentic, no stalking including."
"Are you mad?" Mr. McKinley asked, raising his head to glance at Molly.
She nodded her head furiously, as she stood up, "Hell yeah, I'm mad!"
"Good!" Mr. McKinley smiled. "Now, march out there and stick it to them!"
"Will do, Sir!" Molly turned the knob of the door.
Just as she was about to exit his office, McKinley called out, "Oh, and Madison…."
"Yes, Mr. McKay," Molly answered.
"Don't look like a jackass." He warned as a small formed on his lips.
She smirked, "That's your job."
She left his office and the Weekly Juice, marching off to the Daily Planet. Okay, so she wasn't exactly that mad, but she knew that vulgar actions excited and pleased her boss to no end, so she didn't want to disappoint him. Truthfully, she was a bit irritated that she was insulted on television, even if she remained an anonymous photographer to the public. She started to imagine if people actually knew her name. If they knew the name, they'd match it to her picture, and she would be criticized and loaded with lawsuits from celebrities claiming to be stalked by her. Well, that was the harsher version of her future. In reality, she'd just be seen as a sick freak.
She planned to just be her usual self. She wasn't an explosive person when she was mad. She was just two times wittier, colder and harder. She entered the Daily Planet, and found it familiar from the last time she visited. She travelled swiftly to Perry White's office by elevator. She ignored the secretary, and the foreign looks. Only some noticed that she wasn't apart of their paper, but others were busy working their hearts out. She found Perry's office with ease, and walked over to the door, opening it without knocking or consent.
"What do you want now, Lo-" Perry stopped when he realized that the person at the door was not Lois. It was a relatively pretty girl with short black hair.
"And just who the hell are you?" He asked.
Molly smirked, "Rude to me on television and in person. You're quite the charmer, I see."
Perry stood up, still oblivious as to whom this girl was.
She laughed, handing him the package and a name, "Molly Madison; photographer of the Weekly Juice."
Now, normally Perry White was a confident man with a feisty spirit and a mouth that could spit out just about any witty comment. But, at that moment, he was at a loss for words. Usually, when he did blast people on interviews and TELEVISION, the victims never confronted him. This allowed him to become more superior then others. But, this was- this was much different. He allowed himself to smile, suppressing the shock he felt.
"Listen, Perry, I respect you and your paper. As far as I'm concerned, the Weekly Juice has done nothing to offend you. We just take better pictures, courtesy of me." Molly spoke, as he unravelled the package.
His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the pictures inside. "Great Caesar's ghost….."
By the shocked expression plastered on his face, Molly knew what photos her evil boss had sent. The pictures were of an unfaithful Perry White cheating on Alice Spencer with someone who would probably be named a two cent prostitute if the pictures were ever released. Molly suddenly felt guilt running through her veins. Why did McKinley make her do this?
"Where did you get these?" He asked, obviously frightened of what his future might be. "You have copies, don't you?"
"Oh please, Weekly Juice isn't as evil as you deem it to be," Molly sighed, "Look, I haven't the slightest clue about how my boss was able to get these pictures. He must have been snooping around my desk. But, from what I saw at the time, you were obviously drunk or drugged. It was just a wrong place, wrong time kind of thing for me too.
"McKinley is trying to scare you, or even worse, he's trying to provoke you. Ignore it, send the peace treaty, both our offices will have a party, and you can forget about it. My boss doesn't even know how to work the photocopier, so I assure you those, plus the others at the office, are the only copies. They'll be burned. Trust me, what you see are just misconceptions of my boss. He would be a fool to actually print these to the public."
Perry White didn't look convinced, but he had no other choice. He either had to trust this girl's word, or he'd lose everything. He pulled out a piece of paper, scribbling some words. He stood up, and passed her the note, "Well, it looks like we're even now…."
"Even? What are you talking about?" Molly inquired.
"It's between your boss and me. If he wants to tell you, then he will. But I don't think I'm entitled to share." Perry explained, as he ripped the picture to shreds.
"Very well," she raised her eyebrows. "Anyway, I'm glad we have this straightened out, even if it wasn't the best route to take. Personally, I never really knew you disliked us so much, but you have nothing to worry about. Bye, Mr. White."
"Bye. I'll see you at the gala, I presume." He spoke.
She nodded her head, "I'll be the one with the camera." With that, she exited his office.
"Lois, Clark, get in my office now!" She heard him bark. 'Are all bosses the same?' she thought silently to herself.
Walking down the hall, she was about to catch a glimpse at the reporters. Lois seemed like an uptight woman with her sharp eyes, brown curls, and pale skin. She took a glimpse at Clark, and sulked, suddenly focusing on her condition of being vertically challenged. She was about to exit the area, when something bumped into her…..or rather someone. It was a little boy.
"Sorry, miss," the boy apologized politely. His brilliant blue eyes gazed at her, as if to studying her. "Hello….are you new here? Because I don't think I've seen you here before. Do you work with my mother? She's the one that walked into Mr. Perry's office."
Molly laughed, but then held her hand to her chin, "Considering that you're a stranger, I don't think I should be talking to you."
The boy laughed, and she realized just how adorable this kid was. "You're funny, Ms. um…..um…..."
"Molly," she stuck out her hand for him to shake.
He smiled, "Jason." He shook her hand, a giggle escaping his lips.
"Well, Jason, it was snazzy meeting you here, but the boss is calling my name." Molly frowned, rolling her eyes at the thought of her boss.
Jason nodded his head, "Okay. Nice meeting you too. Bye, Ms. Molly!" And the last thing she saw before leaving was a little hand waving goodbye.
.xxx.
Molly propped her head on her hand, as her elbow rested firmly on the dinner table. She had just finished taking a sufficient amount of pictures at the gala, but that wasn't what was boring and tiring her to tears. She was currently seated at Ramona's table. Ramona's boyfriend, Damien, and his cronies were giving some spiel about their businesses and whatnot.
Leaning over Ramona's shoulder, Molly whispered, "I'm going outside for some fresh air."
Ramona nodded her head, desperately wanting to join her friend, but she knew how important it was to Damien that she meets his friends.
Molly stole a drink from a passing waiter, and began to journey outside to an isolated balcony when something caught her eye. Heather, a reporter at the Weekly Juice, was conversing with a freakishly tall man. 'Well, he isn't freakishly tall. I'm just really…..short,' she thought bitterly to herself. The man looked familiar, and when he turned closer to Molly's view she was able to catch a glimpse of the man's appearance. She held the champagne glass close to her mouth, while folding her arms, and studied his features. Piercing blue eyes hidden by glasses. Dark chocolate hair gelled attractively. Good build to match his height. A goofy, adorable smile. For once, she approved of Heather's choice. He seemed very sweet. 'Good for you, Heather,' she sighed. Heather never chose the right man.
"Molly, there you are! I forgot to ask how it went with Perry, but I see that our present worked to our advantage," Mr. McKinley smirked evilly, "Now that bastard won't be on our tail anymore. Good work, Madison. Expect a fatter pay check."
"I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this," Molly frowned. She didn't like to play with fire, as much as her boss. When she discovered that he wasn't paying attention to her, she decided to face where he was exerting all his concentration on. But, he was only staring at Heather and Clark……really hard. Heather…..reporter from the Weekly Juice…..Clark…..reporter from the Daily Planet…..
Molly tugged on her boss's sleeve, a smirk forming on her lips, "Okay, what's the juice? You're smiling like an idiot, and I'm assuming it's because you have something planned involving Heather."
Jerome nodded his head eagerly, no longer able to suppress the excitement, "Heather, our faithful reporter, has just been 'fired'," he used his fingers to quote the word 'fired' and continued, "and is now romancing with Clark Kent, reporter at the Daily Planet."
"Hmmmm, now you wouldn't be implying that you, or rather Heather is using Mr. Clark Kent sexually for gossip and stories, are you?" Molly sipped on her champagne.
Jerome shrugged, "How would you feel if we erased 'weekly' from the Weekly Juice?"
"I would feel very alarmed if you replaced it with 'Daily'." Molly gave an uneasy smile, "That's a lot of work, you know. Deadlines, twice the phone calls, twice the migraines. Everyone would be-"
"Everyone's fine with it," Jerome stated. "But, the question remains: is my star photographer ready for it? You'd get less than half the work, considering that I've hired James Harper and David Whiskey as photographers."
"Uh," she folded her arms, glancing at Clark and Heather who were laughing about something. Oddly enough, Heather didn't seem to be using her fake laugh. Molly squinted, deciding to take the plunge with her company, "Fine."
"Good. Well, I have to go talk to some jackasses about some deals I'll never make with them. I'll see you tomorrow, Madison." He patted her shoulder, left with a wide smile on his face.
She browsed over at Heather and Clark again, when she spotted something oddly familiar about him. She took a deeper look, but then was confronted by Lacy Parkinson……someone who should have been interviewing Mr. Bruce Wayne at the moment.
Molly furrowed her brow questioningly, "Shouldn't you be interviewing…Hmmm, I don't know……Bruce Wayne!"
Lacy smirked, "We just finished. It was so short…. But damn, is that man ever sexy. I think I got enough Juice for the paper, my friend. Listen to this."
"You must be Lacy Parkinson…..?"
"Yes, and you must be Bruce Wayne," Lacy stressed for a second, and began the interview, "Okay, so, let's just get started. So, I heard about your project here in Metropolis, and although I think it's really ingenious, don't you think you're moving a bit …fast?"
"Well, we want to get this project done by Christmas, so I think the idea is to move as quickly as possible, and it just so happens, the location is great," he paused, "and judging by the expression on your face, you disagree."
Lacy chuckled, "Yes. It's just….. You're a Gotham native. Now, say someone from Metropolis, or Chicago, or Toronto came over to Gotham and decided to exploit a valley of land to create a huge mall. Now, this someone sees this place as just a clear space. With a little tree chopping and grooming, it will have the look of paradise. But, to you, the Gotham native, you see it as a place of solace, solitude, comfort and relaxation. It comforted you when you lost your job, it soothed your friend when she was pregnant, it calmed our souls when we lost everything…… Mr. Wayne, I think it would be appropriate if you actually stayed in Metropolis for a while and observed the area. Kind of live here for a bit to get the feel of it. I'm rambling right now, so just….tell me what you think."
"Well, for one," he said, as if getting ready to emit a witty comment, "I actually agree."
"Go on…."
"And two, I'll bump up the date, and three, all of this will be conclusive if I see you tomorrow."
Lacy stopped the tape recorder, squealing like a six year old.
Molly nodded her head, smirking, "Ah, so you chose my little touching speech about the people, solitude and whatnot. Very nice. Very nice."
"It was perfect. I basically memorized what you told me. How did you know he would fall for it? I mean, he's Bruce Wayne for Christ's sake." Lacy asked, eye wide with excitement and dire interest.
"For that reason alone, that's how I knew. He's Bruce Wayne, Lacy. He's not the type to fall for just any girl……just the girl that stands out in his little black book. And look, you're not even in his black book, yet you still have him wrapped around your finger…..Let's just see if you can hold onto him," Molly shrugged, still staring at the Clark and Heather. She was trying to study them, but more-so Clark.
Lacy smiled, but then frowned a bit, "I think he's coming to the Weekly Juice tomorrow. I swear to God, if Mr. McKay embarrasses me I will slice his head off."
"I'll keep that in mind. I want front row seats to that." Molly sipped her champagne, all the while glancing at Clark and Heather. There was something familiar about that Clark Kent, and there was also something tugging at the bottom of her stomach as she saw that Clark Kent smile at Heather. A little something called guilt.
Okay, so it sounds awfully gay right now. I mean, I'm womanish enough to admit it! Trust me. All will be fine in due time! The summary sucks. And frankly, I wrote this story in an hour because my friend was nagging my ear off to do it. We came up with ideas, and decided to do this. Very weird concept…..courtesy of her.
Please excuse the weird introduction….I was reading my mom's little school story, and decided that I should start the story off like that, so I just made up some mumbo jumbo story/excerpt.
Anyway, just review if you want another chapter.
Much Love,
MinteeFresh