Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey, and believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.


Nine

She stared at the calendar with a distasteful frown. She had one week left until doomsday. DOOM.

"So what are you going to do?"

Lacey glared at the calendar one last time before she responded to Gina. Her neighbor and, surprisingly, her best female friend in this world was lounging on Lacey's couch and idly flipping through Lacey's mail. "I'm thinking about stringing myself up as a piƱata and letting the kids in the building hit me with an aluminum bat."

Gina's blue eyes rolled toward the ceiling. "That sounds like so much fun. Why don't you get a root canal while you're at it?"

"I would, but I'm on a budget." Lacey stuck her tongue out at Gina and flopped into an armchair. She set her feet on the top of her coffee table with a shrug. "Seriously though? I'm not doing a thing. Denial denial."

"I say you should just let me take you clubbing. We'll get you hooked up with some cute guy. Or hey, there's a new doctor on my floor. He's cute. He'd make a great p-" Gina stopped and stared at an expensive looking envelope. "Hey, something not a bill."

Lacey quirked an eyebrow as Gina tossed the envelope to her. Her eyes widened as she opened it carefully.

It was an invitation to the Lane-White wedding.

Oh dear.

"Why so pale?" Gina asked and sat up. "Looked like a wedding invite. Don't tell me you have some kind of phobia against weddings."

Lacey shook her head. "Huh? No. It's just an invite to Lois's wedding."

Gina did the math. Lacey had filled her in on some of the basics about the people at the Daily Planet. "And you're worried about your 'friend' Clark."

She hated the way Gina said that. It made Lacey regret ever confiding in her about her friendship with Clark. Gina didn't mean anything by it, but she was of the mind that Lacey should just grab the guy while the grabbing was good. Lacey disagreed. Vehemently. She felt guilty enough just for being friends with him. The continuity of this world was all screwed up and Lacey was positive it was her fault. "Why shouldn't I be? The guy was pining over her for years. I think he still is. An actual set date for a wedding could be traumatic."

"You're overreacting."

Lacey gave her a withering stare. "How would you feel if the guy you were crazy about announced he was going to get married and sent you a invite?"

"I'd send the bride a nice gown.." Gina said thoughtfully. "..with a bull's-eye on it."


So maybe she was wrong. The next morning at work, Clark seemed perfectly.. Well.. Clark. The day was busy for almost everyone and so Lacey didn't get much of a chance to talk to Clark at all.

Lacey yawned as she entered the elevator. It was already filled with people wanting to get home, but she worked her way into a corner in the back. Ahh.. Solitude. Corners were nice. Lacey allowed her mind to wander as she stood there.

Something jabbed into her side and a low voice whispered in her ear. "Don't move."

Well, crap. What a way to end the workday. Lacey sighed. She didn't need this. "What do you want?"

"I've seen you around."

"Your point is?"

"I'm bored." Gina grinned at her and got an elbow to the ribs from Lacey. "OW!"

Lacey glared at her and ignored the stares from the other elevator passengers. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Sheila wanted more hours before she heads out on maternity leave." Gina shrugged. "So what's going on in the world today?"

The elevator came to a stop and everyone filed out. "Lex Luthor is filing for some more appeals or something. Superman stopped some wildfires, Bruce Wayne is throwing a gala for some new business venture he's opening here in Metropolis, and Lana Lang the fashion designer has decided to let Cat Grant interview her. And I almost broke a nail when typing."

"That sounds great." Gina's tone said otherwise. "So what are you going to get the soon to be newlyweds?"

"I have no idea. I'm not good at shopping for others. I'm a horrible gift giver." Lacey scowled. "I mean, I really suck."

"You can't be that bad."

"I once gave my friends dvds of V."

"Of what?"

"A really cool mini seri.." At Gina's blank look, Lacey sighed. She really wished she wasn't raised as such a fangirl. "Nevermind."

"Okaaaay." Gina linked her arm with Lacey's. "What do you say we go get drinks?"

"Gina, it's not even seven." Lacey argued. The last thing she wanted was a drink. "Can't you save this torture for next week?"

"What's next week?"

The women looked to see Clark standing in front of them with a cheerful and curious look on his face.

Gina smiled brightly at him. She'd met him a few times and thought he was the cutest thing since Mickey Mouse. If Lacey didn't make her move, she was going to lock them both in an elevator until she did. "Next week is--Mmphat!" She was cut off by Lacey's hand clamping over her mouth. Her eyes glinted dangerously at Lacey, even as Lacey gave her a death glare in return.

"It's nothing. I just want to postpone yet another social outing that requires me to get sloshed." Lacey explained. Oh yeah, they all knew she was lying, but what could one do? She gave another glare to Gina before removing her hand. A moment later she wished she hadn't.

"Are you going to Lois Lane's wedding?" Gina blurted out. She looked as innocent as she could be. Luckily for her she was as waify as a girl could get. She also knew that Lacey was going to shove her into traffic as soon as they hit the street.

Friendship was so special.

Clark was surprised, but he nodded. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

Gina shrugged. "Just curious. I saw the invite at Lacey's." She smiled at them both but turned to Lacey. "Since you refuse to come with me, I'm going to go. I'll call you later, ok?"

Lacey sighed and nodded. "Fine. Just don't wait until midnight."

"Oh please, it isn't as if you actually sleep. You'd be a vampire if you had your way." Gina teased her. "Nice seeing you again, Clark."

"You too." Clark smiled at her. He waved as Gina walked away. "Have a nice evening!"

Lacey rolled her eyes at him. "You are such a dork."

It was Clark's turn to sigh as his friend walked away. He followed her through the revolving doors and to the sidewalk. "Is everything alright with you?"

She stopped to give him a confused look. "Of course. Why would you ask that?"

"Maybe it's because I know you." Clark pointed out. "So what is it?"

Lacey adjusted the strap on her tote bag and shrugged. "Honestly? I was worried about you."

"Me?" Clark was surprised. Why would- Oh. Realization dawned on him. The wedding. He gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I knew it was coming."

"Did you?" Lacey cautiously asked. "I mean, you two were, you know. And you've been-"

"I'm fine." He insisted. And he was. It wasn't the fact that it didn't hurt, but it wasn't something he was going to allow keep him down. He had a feeling that if he did, there'd be hell to pay.

"Good. Because if you were going to go all emo again, I was going to drop kick your ass back to Kansas."

See? Hell to pay. Clark smiled at her. "I'm fine." He repeated.

Lacey placed her hands on her hips. "Prove it."

"What?" Clark was taken aback. "You want me to prove it? How?"

She hadn't thought that far ahead. "I don't know. Just.. I don't want you freaking out or like, pretending that all is well when it isn't."

The look of concern she had for him made him want to smile. He had to admit that he kind of liked having her worry about him. "It is. Would you rather I be miserable?"

"What? No!" Lacey shook her head. "Of course not. I just want you to be cool with it all."

"I am." Clark patiently said.

Lacey was quiet. "Oh. Um.. Then me shutting up about it would be a very good move now."

Clark shook his head and gently took her by the arm. "Want to grab something to eat?"

"As long as I'm not cooking, yes." Lacey was grateful for the subject change.

"If you were cooking, I wouldn't be asking."

Lacey did a double take and saw him grinning. She felt a little weak in the knees. Damn that grin. "You really need to stop hanging out with me."