Hey! I know this story has been around awhile, but I finally got around to updating. So, enjoy!! :)

Chapter 5

The next day The Daily Planet was in an uproar. There was so much to do now that the shooter was identified. Lex walked through the doors and approached the four people who were responsible for all of the mayhem.

"I just want to thank you for all the work that you did," he said. He was not what one would call sincere, but he was as warm as Lex Luthor could be. He turned away from them and faced the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention please." The noise died down and everyone's eyes were on him. "I have an announcement to make. I am selling this newspaper. I have other business engagements that I need to travel to Florida for, so I will not be able to devote my time to it. But I have sold it to the current Editor-in-Cheif, Joseph Brown."

All eyes in the room turned to face a man who came to stand next to Lex. He was a lean brunette and had a very professional way about him. He smiled and waved at the crowd as they applauded. "Thank you, thank you. I am truly honored to have this opportunity. I am looking forward to working with all of you. I too have an announcement to make. I am replacing myself with my good friend, Mr. Perry White."

Everyone turned again to another man in the room. He was more stocky and older than Joseph. He too waved and smiled at everyone. Chloe and Clark looked at each other. They remembered Perry from a few years back. He wasn't so bad once they got to know him.

When all the announcements were done, everyone went back to their work. Perry made his way around the room, speaking to and shaking hands with many in the crowd. He made his way to Chloe's desk. "Hello, Miss Sullivan. Good to see you again." He extended his hand toward her.

"Hey, Mr. White," she said, standing up smiling and shaking his hand.

"Please, call me Perry. Listen, I remember how you were an inspiring reporter a few years back. You have quite the spirit, young lady. And then you help with a big attempted murder case. You are a fine reporter, Miss Sullivan. That is why I would like to offer you the position of assistant editor."

Chloe let out a gasp. "Oh, wow, Mr. White..Perry…this is such an honor. Thank you!" She grabbed his hand and shook it profusely.

Perry chuckled slightly. "It's not a problem, Chloe. I have great faith in you." he then turned to Clark, who was standing nearby. "Mr. Kent."

"Hi, Mr. White." he smiled. Perry gave him a look. "Perry," he corrected himself. Perry smiled back.

"Mr. Kent, I would like to offer you a job as well. You have potential, young man. How would you like to take Chloe's place as an investigative reporter?"

After the initial shock, Clark replied. "Wow, thank you." They shook hands.

"Well, let's see, I have meetings this morning. But how about this afternoon we meet in my office? Say three o'clock?"

"That'd be great," Clark replied. With that he left.

The four friends turned to face each other, smiling in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh!" Chloe exclaimed. "This is huge! Congratulations, Clark!" She ran to hug him.

"You too Chloe!" he said happily. When they broke they each went to hug their significant other. Chloe kissed Jimmy. Clark waited a second before kissing Lois, since it was their first kiss in a public place. But after a moment he completely sunk into it.

Chloe smiled at them when her and Jimmy broke away. She was ecstatic when Lois and Clark told her and Jimmy about them.

"Hey, listen," Jimmy said, "this calls for a celebration. I want to take everyone out to dinner tonight. You guys pick, anywhere you want."

"Aw, thanks sweetie," Chloe smiled at him.

They decided to go to the best restaurant in Metropolis around six o'clock. Clark went home to take care of things on the farm. He still had some time before he had to get ready for his meeting with Perry. Before he left, he approached Lois.

"Shall I pick you up tonight?" he asked her.

"Clark, you don't have to, I am perfectly capable of-" she started to protest

"I know, I know. But I want to. We're going to the same place anyway."

Lois hovered for a moment and then smiled. "Alright, but this doesn't have to become a habit." She turned to walk away but then stopped and turned to face him. "Thanks."

Clark smiled at her. "Of course," he replied. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips before he left.

The meeting with Perry went well. They discussed all the aspects of Clark's new job. He never thought he would be as excited as he was to start a career in journalism. He did have fun helping Chloe with assignments while they were at Smallville High, but he was never truly serious about it. But if it meant bringing people like Curtis to justice and protecting people like Lois, it would be very rewarding. Maybe his true calling was being close to all the action and stopping it all.

That night he stood in front of Lois's apartment in his nicest suite. He was making sure that all of his buttons were done on his shirt when she opened the door.

"Hey, handsome". He looked up when she uttered those words.

The sight before Clark was unlike anything he had ever seen. Lois wore a midnight blue evening dress. Her hair was curled and down with a dark blue flower in one side. Her full lips shined brightly in the light, and her beautiful eyes sparkled. It was hands down the most breathtaking sight Clark's eyes had ever beheld.

"Wow," he said to her. "You look beautiful." That adjective did not seem enough. He tried again. "No, you look exquisite."

Lois smiled at him. "Thank you, Clark. You clean up nice yourself." She approached him. "Now come here." She planted a light kiss on his lips. Clark had almost forgotten something after they broke apart.

"Before we go, I have something for you." He handed her a long black box. "I think it will complete the ensemble."

She opened it, and was shocked with what she saw. It was her silver L necklace from her father. "Oh, Clark. I thought I lost this. It must have broken off when I was struggling with Curtis." The name sent a pang to both of their stomachs.

"You did," he explained. "I found it on the ground near the trail that leads up to the warehouses. I fixed it with some welding tools I have on the farm." He actually just bent the metal back into the perfect shape. But he was not ready to share things like that with her just yet.

She shared at him in disbelief. "Clark, you're incredible. Thank you." She walked a couple of paces into his arms. Clark put his face in her hair and took in her scent. They just stayed like that for a couple of moments.

"Here, let me help you with that," Clark offered, taking the necklace from the box that was still in Lois's hand. She turned around and lifted her long locks up. He fastened the clasp to the necklace and ran his fingers gently over the smooth skin of her neck. She let her hair down when he stopped and he put his arms in a strong hold around her waist. They both smiled in contentment.

"Ready to go?" Clark asked her after a few moments.

"Yea. I much as I would like to stay like this, it is rude to keep people waiting." They walked toward Clark's truck and drove toward the restaurant.

The restaurant was dimly lit. Chloe and Lois were each handed a rose by the waiter. Chloe looked gorgeous in a red spaghetti strap dress and a black wrap with her short hair in tight curls.

"Everybody, I would like to make a toast," Jimmy announced after a bottle of champagne was brought to the table. "To Clark and Chloe. I know you guys will excel at your new jobs. Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you," Clark and Chloe said in unison.

"Cheers," Jimmy said.

"Cheers," the other three responded. The four of them raised their classes and clinked them to each other's.

"So Clark, how are you going to manage taking care of the farm and working full time in Metropolis?" Lois asked him.

"I haven't quite figured that out yet," Clark replied hesitatingly. "I'm sure I'll manage."

"Wow, what are you made of steel? You won't be able to get any sleep," Lois chuckled.

The rest of the evening went well. When the group had finshed their meal they walked out toward their vehicles.

Jimmy and Lois were talking by Clark's truck when Chloe motioned to Clark for him to follow her in another direction.

"Clark, I want to talk to you about something," she said kind of unsurely. "I know you won't have a problem commuting back and forth between the farm and the paper. But Lois doesn't know that, does she?"

Clark looked at her awkwardly for a moment. "No, not exactly."

"Well, are you planning on telling her?" Her eyes were full of genuine concern.

"I want to, Chloe," he said, hope falling from his voice, "but then I think about all that has happened in the past. I'm just not sure if I am ready for that again. And I don't know how Lois will handle it."

"Clark, have a little faith. Lois is smart. But you need to be upfront and honest with her, or else she may end up walking away."

"You're right, Chloe, but…"

"I know it's hard for you, Clark. Remember, I'm different too. But I found someone who accpeted me no matter what. Maybe you have too, it just may not seem like it because of your track record."

"Thanks, Chloe. I feel better about it now."

"Anytime, Clark. And, I just want to say, I'm happy for you and my cousin." he smiled at her. She reached up to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Come on. We'd better get back to our dates."

They walked back to their vehicles and the two couples drove away. Lois sat in the passenger seat and fiddled with the radio stations. "So, you and Chloe seemed to have a nice talk back in the parking lot. What did you guys talk about?" she asked absentmindedly.

"Oh, um…nothing important, really," Clark replied. It hurt him to lie to her, but he just couldn't get up the courage to tell her the truth. Not just yet. He wanted to enjoy what they had for the moment. Especially since it was new and exciting. He did not want anything tainting it. For now he would just have to content himself with driving her home and giving her a good night kiss.

Clark didn't bother opening the car door or walking Lois to her front door. He knew she would protest anyway. He was lucky she let him pick her up in the first place.

Before exiting Clark's vehicle, Lois looked over at Clark. She did not want to leave him just yet. And impulse overtook her, and she went with it.

"Do you want to come in?" Clark's head were so flooded with his thoughts he didn't even register the question at first.

"What?" he asked stupidly. Then he thought about his reply. He wasn't sure if he should make up some excuse to go back to the farm. But then he turned to look at Lois and he saw just how gorgeous she was. Clark knew he wanted this very much.

"Clark, please stop staring and just say something. If you don't want to, it's okay. I know we just started dating…"

"No, Lois. Believe me, I want to. I'm sorry, I just never thought I would be in something so new again."

Lois smiled warmly at him. "Ok. Let's go then."

They walked inside. Lois shut the door immediately. She pushed Clark up against the wall and placed a kiss on him hard. Clark sunk into it and they continued like that for a couple of minutes.

"I'm going to go change. Be right back." She gave him a mischievous smile and went back to her bedroom. Immediately after Clark took off his shoes, jacket, and tie and went to have a seat on her couch.

As he was unbuttoning the top of his shirt, nerves ran up and down his body. He felt as if he could vomit. He could not lose his control with Lois. No matter what happened, he needed to know his own strength.

At the same time, Lois was also feeling rather anxious as she entered the bathroom. She was so distracted that she did not even notice that the light panel directly above her was coming loose.

She was taking the pins out of her hair and pulling her dark locks back, all the while thinking about the man in her living room. She had wanted for so long now to be Clark Kent's girlfriend. He was definitely something special, and that is probably why she felt the way she did now. The only men she had ever been with before were complete duds, especially when compared to Clark. And she did not want to ruin what she now had with him by taking things too fast. Why did she bring him up here on a stupid whim? Maybe it'll be okay she thought to herself. He wanted this just as much as me, and he is very respectful..

Her thoughts were clouded by the abrupt noise above her. The light panel in her bathroom was quickly detaching itself from the ceiling, and it was coming closer and closer to falling down on top of her. She had no time to escape, so she just let out a scream.

Clark shot up suddenly from his seat when he heard the sound that Lois made. He ran at lightning speed toward the source. He opened the bathroom door and found the light panel was inches from hitting Lois. Both of their hearts beat rapidly as he instinctively grabbed the light panel and tossed it to the side.

Lois stopped and stood shocked at what had just happened before her. This caused Clark to feel extremely frightened. He could not lose Lois. She was the best thing that had come along in a very long time.

"Clark," she gasped after a few moments, breaking the silence. "What the hell just happened?"

"Lois, I can explain." There was no avoiding it now. He needed to be honest with her. "You see, there are a few things you don't know about me," he began to tell her.

"You don't say," she said sarcastically. "Well, then you better tell me, and quick." She seemed shaken and angry at the same time.

"Well, to start off, I'm not from here," he started and he finished when he had told her all about his background and his abilities. He did not leave anything out. When he was finished, Lois merely stared at him for what seemed to Clark like hours. Then she finally spoke.

"Well, for starters this explains a lot. Now, I have a question." She put her hands on her hips and stared at him fiercely. "Were you ever going to tell me any of this?"

"Of course," Clark immediately replied in a nervous tone.

"When?" she shot back. "Were you going to wait until I poured my heart out to you? Told you I loved you? Geez, Clark, I thought you were different! Special. But you are just like every other man out there." There were tears forming in her eyes now.

Clark's mind was still set on Lois's last question. "Do you love me?" He asked quietly.

She stared him straight in the eye, moved past him, and opened the door. " I guess you'll never know. Get out."

Clark did not argue with her. He knew this was what was best. He simply stared at the floor as he made his exit. Lois slammed the door behind him. He could hear her crying on the other end as he stood at the door. As much as he wanted to go back in there , hold her and apologize, he knew he shouldn't. He just had to accept that this is how it was going to end. So walked to his truck and drove home, preparing as best as he could to face his life alone.

To Be Continued…