Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.
Also, if you have not read my other stories, it would be helpful to do so before reading this one. The chronology goes: Brothers in Arms, Where Do We Go From Here, Tragedies of the Past, Betrayal From Within, Future Sins, Reestablishing Bonds, Parents and Children, New Allies, Rivals or Friends, and Public Enemy Number One.
Double Date
1.
The Kents were on a short trip to one of Martha's relatives. However, the trip was settled on at the last minute, and they had to leave Conner and Max unattended for one night. After school finished on the following day, they were going to head out to Titan's Tower to arrive the night before everyone else.
"We should do something," Conner said. "We shouldn't just go about our regular business."
Max looked dubious. "I don't think that's a good idea. We could get in trouble."
"Nonsense. I'm not saying that we should throw a party or wreck the house. I think we should just do something different from the routine."
"What do you have in mind?"
"I was thinking of inviting Cassie over."
"I don't think you need me involved in any of this."
"I do want you involved. I think we should all do something together."
"I'd only get in the way."
"What if Dan was there, too? We could double date!"
Max stared at him. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"The four of us can hang out. We can see what things there are to do in Smallville."
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with taking my relationship public. Dan said that's the reason he's been forced to move. I wouldn't want to get him or the Kents in trouble."
"It'd just look like four teenagers hanging out. There's nothing there that would cause anyone to get run out of town. The way you two act at school hasn't got you in trouble."
"I'll ask him," Max said, deciding Conner wasn't going to listen to him. "I can't guarantee what he'll say."
"That's all I'm asking for."
2.
"I can't believe he agreed," Max complained as he did some last minute cleaning.
"I'm glad he did," Conner said. "If he didn't, you'd just sit there and be silent for the entire evening. That would be really uncomfortable."
There was a knock at the door.
"That's for you," Max said. "It's Cassandra."
"Did you get x-ray vision? How do you know it's not Dan?"
"Dan pounds the door when he knocks; that was a restrained, polite knock."
Conner shook his head and answered the door. Cassie was standing there. They smiled at each other.
"You look great," he said. "Please, come in."
"Thank you," she said. "You're looking very handsome tonight."
Max came into the room. "Hello, Cassandra. It's good to see you again."
"Hello, Match."
"Oh, out of costume, I'm Max. I'd better get changed."
Max went up to their room. Cassie looked at Conner.
"Max?" she asked.
Conner nodded. "He picked it. He said it sounded comfortable to him."
"Shall I take you on the tour?" he asked. "I don't remember how much of it you had seen the last time you were here."
"The Kents gave me the tour," she said. "What's planned for tonight?"
"When Max's date gets here, we'll go to the local pizza place. They have a karaoke machine there, but I don't know if anyone is interested in that; I can't sing, so I won't be doing it."
"I'm sure you'd do just fine. We can sing a duet!"
Conner gave a nervous laugh. "I'd like to keep you as my girlfriend; I'm afraid that I'd scare you away with my singing."
The phone rang, and there was a knock on the door at the same time.
"Would you get the door for me?" Conner asked. "I've got to get the phone. It's probably Max's date."
Cassie nodded and went to the door. Upon opening it, she saw a blond teenaged boy slightly shorter than her.
"Who are you?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"
Cassie bristled a bit. "I think you've either got the wrong house or are coming at a bad time. Conner and Max are just about to head out."
"Welcome, Dan!" Max called out. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Hey, Max!" the boy said. "Is this Conner's girlfriend?"
Max joined them. "Yes, she is. Dan, this is Cassandra. Cassandra, this is Dan."
"Wait, he's your date?" Cassie blurted out.
"You got a problem with that?" Dan asked, taking Max's hand.
"No, no, I'm just a bit...surprised! I didn't know that Max was, um..."
"Interested in men?"
"Exactly! And, I'm wondering why my boyfriend didn't see fit to tell me that his brother's date was a man, especially when he asked me to get the door."
Having returned from the phone call, Conner frowned. "I didn't? I thought I did. I'm sorry, I forgot."
Max's expression didn't change. He had requested that Conner not say anything because he wanted to know what other's reactions would be. Cassie was surprised, but not uncomfortable.
"This complicates things," Cassie said.
"How?" Dan asked, a hint of anger creeping into his voice from the implication that she disapproved of his relationship with Max.
"I was going to pump you for information in the bathroom," she explained. "How you met, what they're like in school, all of that stuff. That's not going to work now."
Dan laughed, his anger gone. "I'm sorry. I don't always make a good first impression."
Cassie waved it off. "Don't worry about it. Are you guys open about your relationship, or is it quiet for now?"
"It's quiet for now," Max said. "It looks like we should be going."
3.
The pizza parlor seemed to be a popular hangout for teenagers, as the booths were mostly occupied. However, the four of them were able to get the last one. Conner and Cassie were on one side of the booth, and Max and Dan were on the other. Conner put his arm around Cassie.
After a brief discussion, they settled on the toppings for the pizza and ordered it. Cassie became aware of a few of the other patrons giving her a look.
"Do I have something on my face?" she joked, hoping that no one recognized her as Wonder Girl.
"You're getting admiring glances from the boys and jealous glares from the girls," Max told her. "On the other hand, several girls are now looking at Conner with interest because it's now clear he's unavailable."
"All that from a couple minutes of observation?" Dan asked.
"The teenage mind is not as unfathomable as people would like to believe."
"Is he always like this?" Cassie asked. "I only see him on the weekend, so I was wondering if he was different during the week."
"I was going to ask you whether he was like this on the weekend," Dan replied.
"He's always like this," Conner confirmed. "It drives me crazy sometimes."
"I'm right here," Max reminded them.
4.
After they ate, Cassie put in a request at the karaoke machine.
"It's a duet," she informed Conner. "We can do it together!"
Conner shook his head. "I can't sing. You really don't want me to go up there; I'll get us thrown out."
"It's all good fun," she argued. "It won't be that bad."
"I've given into a lot of things, but I'm going to stand my ground on this one. It's for the best, trust me."
She turned to Dan and Max for help. "Can't you help me out?"
"Be a good sport," Dan urged.
"You aren't as bad as you think," Max offered as lukewarm encouragement.
"Thanks for the backup, Max," Cassie said. "You could try to sound sincere."
"I've heard him sing," Max told her. "He's not very good."
"I can count on Max to be brutally honest with me," Conner said. "I'm not singing."
"Cassie, your song is ready," the attendant announced.
"Fine, I'll do it by myself," she said as she went up to the stage.
She took the microphone and paused before hitting the start button. How was she going to manage this on her own? It was going to be awkward.
Somebody else took the second microphone. It was Max.
"It's not my place, but I'll sub in," he said, noticing the song. "Are you ready?"
"I can't really do the woman's part," she admitted. "I thought Conner would be here so it didn't matter, but I'm going to butcher it."
"I'll take it," Max said. "You do his part. The parts are pretty gender-free. We'll manage."
"Okay," she said dubiously as she hit the button.
The music to Sonny and Cher's 'I Got You, Babe' started up, and Cassie began. The part she sang was pretty easy. She steeled herself for Max's singing since if Conner couldn't sing, the chances of Max being able to were pretty low.
She was surprised to hear an almost pitch perfect rendition of the song come out of his mouth. Somewhere in his implanted knowledge was the vocal training of an opera singer, allowing him to seemingly effortlessly sing the part. At least, it looked effortless to those watching; Cassie was next to him and could see the adjustments that he was making.
The song ended, and applause burst out. It was by far the best performance that had been given that night. Conner and Dan looked a bit jealous; they didn't really want to see their dates singing with someone else.
5.
The walk back to the farm was a little uncomfortable since they were still a little upset over the karaoke. When they got back to the farm, the two couples separated.
"You know I wanted to sing that with you," Cassie told Conner.
"I know," Conner said. "It's just that Max can do all these things I can't, and sometimes I wonder..."
"Well, I fell for you, not him. He's nice, but he's not my type."
She kissed him. He smiled.
"I'm glad."
She sat on his lap, and they kissed again.
"Did you see where they went?" Cassie asked. "Dan looked kind of angry. I'm not even sure I'd say they were going out; they seemed kind of distant tonight."
"Max is probably taking things slowly. They might be practicing martial arts to burn off energy; it's the type of thing they'd do."
"I've got a better idea," Cassie said, as they started a long kiss.
Since their attention was occupied, neither of them noticed the door open or people enter until a man's voice called out, "Conner! Max! Lois and I are here and brought pizza! Where are-what do you think you're doing!"
The two jerked away from each other and saw a flushed Clark and an amused Lois staring at them.
"I can explain!" Conner said. "We were just, uh-"
"I know what you were doing," Clark scolded. "Where's Max? What's he doing?"
"Um, he might be in the barn."
"I'll get him," Lois said, as she headed off.
A few moments later, Lois marched Dan and Max into the room. Max looked calm as always, but Dan was a bit flustered.
"Why'd you leave your brother and his girlfriend alone in the house?" Clark demanded of Max. "How could you think that was responsible?"
Conner noticed something. "Max, what's that on your neck?"
Max touched the mark on his neck, and then turned to Dan. "I think you need to be a little more careful. My collar should cover it, though."
Dan blushed. Clark gawked at them.
"You mean, they-" Clark began.
"Were up to pretty much the same thing," Lois finished. "I think teenage hormones will win out every time."
"Exactly how far were you all going to go if Lois and I didn't come here?" Clark asked.
"I don't see how that's any business of yours," Max said calmly.
The other three teenagers winced. They knew that the quickest way out of the situation was to get the lecture over and done with, not making a confrontation out of it like Max was doing.
"It's my business because I'm family," Clark said. "I don't want any of you acting in haste and doing something that you'll regret."
Max opened his mouth to respond to that, but Cassie, Conner, and Dan all put their hands over it to prevent him from speaking.
"You're right," Conner said. "We probably were acting without thinking. I don't know what came over me."
"Why don't we all have a slice of that pizza?" Dan suggested. "It'll give us some time to think things through and to calm down."
"That sounds like a good idea," Lois said. "Max, I know the kitchen is your domain, can you help me heat it up and set the table?"
The efforts to separate Clark and Max were successful, and the pizza was eaten, though the four teenagers were not particularly hungry.
6.
After Cassie and Dan had left, Clark was really ready to give Conner and Max a lecture, but Lois intervened and merely sent them to bed early.
"I'm surprised you got caught," Conner said. "I figured you'd hear her coming."
"I did," Max admitted. "I could hardly stop without giving anything away though."
"Why were you so confrontational tonight?"
"I didn't think that Clark needed to overreact so much. There really wasn't a lot more that Dan and I were going to do. I think you and Cassie are responsible enough if you were going to continue."
"So, you weren't going to get caught up in the moment?"
"I'm not disposed to go any further at this time."
Conner gave Max a look. "Are you guys having problems, or do you think it's going too fast?"
"Don't you think you're prying a little bit? Do you really want to hear every gory detail?"
"You're the one who brought it up."
Max nodded. "I'm sorry for being defensive. I'm still trying to become comfortable with the physical aspect of a relationship."
Conner made the connection. "It's because of your past. I'm sorry, I should have realized."
"There's no reason you should have. This is unfamiliar territory for me."
"You'll get used to it. You deserve happiness."
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Just a light little story this time. I thought I'd take the opportunity to answer questions from the comments and reviews.
I have thought about having Inertia make an appearance. However, my first thoughts are to have him cause more trauma and angst for Match, and I already do that quite a bit. It may happen at some point in the future, but I currently have no plans to use him because I've got the next few stories mapped out in my head.
I apologize for the weird section breaks in this story. The way I normally do it isn't working.
Any and all comments welcome!