Chapter 7

Clark had driven the entire way, not giving into Jimmy's constant attempts to wiggle himself behind the wheel. Driving allowed his mind to focus, to keep his thoughts from drifting to the woman who was conveniently sitting behind him. Sure, she was still lingering on his mind, but the act of driving clouded it enough that he wasn't entirely consumed. Every now and then his eyes would drift to the rearview mirror, but every time he did so he was greeted with the same visage. Lois had had her head leaning on a pillow, and she had stayed like that for almost six hours.

It was near seven when they arrived in Aspen, the sun setting across the backdrop of the mountains as the moon began to poke its way into the night sky. The resort town was lit with bright snow globe lampposts, their yellow hue lighting up the streets, the majestic feeling of Christmas lingering, even if it had been more than two months since it had passed. The roads were bare, but the large piles of snow on the shoulders of the road and the sidewalks were enough to tell him that they had received a good dumping from the storm the night before.

As the SUV slowly paced along the surprisingly empty streets, he took his sunglasses off. People were littered everywhere, heading from one store to the next on bustling sidewalks. Many of them were bundled up tightly, their florescent scarves and toques glowing in the lighting of the streets.

"Take a right at the next light." Jimmy said, sitting in the passenger seat.

Clark nodded and veered to the right, turning the vehicle onto a smaller, but surprisingly busier street. "This goes right to the resort?"

"Yes." Jimmy replied, looking up from his map as he folded it back up. Turning back to Chloe, he said. "Better wake Lois."

Chloe nodded, somewhat miffed by her boyfriends grin. She gently turned and shook her cousin, who had been sleepy practically the whole ride. "We're here Lois." Her words were soft as she tried to be a gentle as possible.

Lois shifted on her pillow, snaking out a hand and dismissing her cousin. "Shh."

Rolling her eyes, Chloe gripped her cousin on the arm and shook her much harder. "I said wake up, or am I going to have to get Clark to carry you up to our rooms?" That snapped Lois's eyes wide open. She could hear Clark clear his throat nervously from the driver's seat.

"You mean Smallville didn't kill us on the way here?" Lois asked, turning her head to look at Clark in the rearview mirror. All she received in return was a cold stare. Smirking to herself, she looked back out the window, her eyes following each passing lamp post with keen attention.

Clark felt uncomfortable with her stare. Even something as simple as looking at her made his back tense. Sighing, he drove to a large entrance with huge iron gates. Above the gates a sign said. 'White Sheets Resort & Hotel'. His eyes lingered on the sign as they passed under it, the dread of the coming days slowly beginning to sink in ever deeper as he directed the vehicle around the oval entrance. The hotel was hidden by large pine trees, but as soon as they were halfway around the oval, they were treated to a spectacular sight.

In front of them stood a grand building, its century old architecture displaying its brilliances with thousands of lights and windows. Upon the building rested a few large spot lights, illuminating the roof and every hidden crevice that the hundred year old brick and mortar structure may have had. His mouth hung slightly agape as he pulled the vehicle up to the entrance.

To his surprise, a valet stood waiting for him to exit as he slid the transmission into park. Without saying a thing, he wandered out of the vehicle and stood gaping at the building. It was by far the most spectacular thing he had ever seen, and he had seen things that no mere human would ever see. "Wow." He said, walking to the back door and opening it. He didn't even notice Lois as he kept his attention on the building.

Lois edged her way out of the seat and into he crisp air. The altitude would take some time getting adjusted to, but she had dealt with it before. Her father had taken her to the far reaches of the world when she was younger, and she could handle anything in her way. Realizing that Clark had opened the door for her, she frowned and looked at him. He seemed oblivious to her presence, as if the grandeur of the hotel stole his mind and wrapped it tightly around its brilliance. A small smile crept onto her lips as she continued to stare at him. The look of splendor in his eyes was quite possibly the cutest thing she had ever seen. She had seen that look of shock and brilliance on his face before. It was when he had saw her naked when she was about to club him with a shower brush.

Dirty thoughts began to envelope her mind as she lost herself in them. It was a few seconds before she pulled back, her cousin's slight touch bringing her back suddenly.

"Come on Lois, let's get our bags and check in." When Lois nodded and headed for the back of the vehicle, she stood beside Clark and looked at the building with him. "Beautiful isn't it?"

Clark simply nodded and turned his head to smile at her. A frown came a second later. "How can you afford this?"

Chloe shrugged. "It was actually an all expenses paid trip that our editor got as a gift for an article we ran about the hotel and its century birthday." She smiled as Clark nodded again. "She didn't want to go on vacation, so it was a door prize at the Planet's Valentines Day party."

"And you won?" He asked.

"Jimmy did." Chloe responded, her hand resting on his back. "Now, give us a hand with the luggage. There are bell hops, but we have a lot of things back there."

Tearing his eyes from the building, he followed Chloe to the back as he pulled his leather coat tighter to himself. The air was crisp and well below freezing, but it was invigorating. With a deep inhale, he reached into the back of the vehicle to grab his things. A small man hit his arm as he took a hold of his luggage bag.

"Sorry sir. Let me get that."

"No, that's fine. I got it." Clark responded, grabbing the bag and hauling it out. When the man almost insisted on taking it from him, he sneered at him, instantly causing the bell hop to back off. "I said I got it." He reiterated with a grave voice.

"He's just doing his job." Lois said with a sarcastic smirk, her head feeling much better than earlier. "No need to get pissed." She commented finally. He ignored her as she stood by the steps with Chloe and Jimmy, all three of them resigning to let the hotel staff take their luggage. Clark's anger surprised her, but it might have been well placed considering their circumstances. He didn't seem like the same farm boy she used to know anymore. He had an edge to him now, and it was something that she found both incredibly intriguing and sexy. It made him unpredictable, and she hated it. Just when she thought she had him pegged, he'd do something surprising, causing all her preconceived notions to either go out the window or become clouded.

Clark looked over to Lois as he found his dress clothes and draped them over his shoulder. There were no words needed. He got across his message loud and clear by glaring at her. With the simplest gestures, a stare, a groan, he could see her tighten up and gulp. He still had the upper hand on her, but it also didn't help that she now had ammunition too. With a heavy breath, he walked past them and up the stone steps, his boots crunching ice and snow.

Lois closed her eyes and followed after him, both Jimmy and Chloe in tow as the hotel staff lumbered behind with their things. Her cousin had already elaborated on how they had gotten such fine accommodations, but she was surprised as to the sheer splendor and grandeur of where they were. As they entered the large foyer of the hotel, a large chandelier hanging high above, she frowned at Clark. He seemed on a mission, as if getting to his room was his primary objective and everything else around him was of little consequence.

Setting his bag on the floor by the counter, he nodded to the concierge behind the desk. "Rooms for Olsen and guests."

"Ah, yes."

Clark watched as the brunette with shoulder length hair and deeply set brown eyes reached under the counter and withdrew two cards.

"Insert the card and punch in the last two numbers of your room."

He smiled at her and took the two cards. Turning around, he handed a card to Chloe, who was just catching up with the rest of them. "Here." He said. When she took it, he brushed past her and headed to the elevator. They may have thought him cold and relentless at the moment, but he wasn't willing to admit that he simply had to go to the bathroom really bad.

"What's up with him?" Lois commented, her eyebrows sinking deeply on the bridge of her nose.

"I wouldn't have a clue." Chloe responded sarcastically, looking at Lois and smiling. When her taller cousin rolled her eyes and followed after Jimmy and Clark, she laughed loudly and strode off in their direction.

As he entered the elevator, Clark hit the button for the fifteenth floor, the top floor in fact. "I have a feeling we're going to be even more surprised about our residence." He said aimlessly to the others as they entered with him. It took not only a few second for the doors to close, but it seemed like an eternity. He almost had his knees crossed as he tried desperately not to show his need to go to the bathroom. He thought he was doing a convincing job of selling it. That was until Lois commented on it.

"Something up Smallville?"

"No Lois." He said sourly, his eyes clenching shut in pain. He had never had to go this badly before, and in truth it was even more painful now that Lois was near him. His mind screamed at him to keep control as he thought about bouncing around to keep his attention of it. He had to sell it though. It didn't help that going up on an elevator made his bladder sink. "Ergh." He groaned.

Lois kept a wary eye on him as he began to moan. She could see a tiny little bounce in him too, his ankles lifting slightly every couple of seconds. As the doors to the elevator opened, he exited in front of them all and rushed forward. She exchanged a few awkward glances with both her cousin and Jimmy as they finally worked their way into the hallway. About half way down, Clark was furiously sticking a card into a beige colored door, the mechanical lock giving him trouble.

"Damn it." Clark explained, his frustration coming through as he struggled to punch the right numbers. His hands were shaking furiously as he finally gave in and bent his knees together. He had no idea what was happening. He had never had to go this bad before.

Lois, seeing his troubles, and his mask of absolute pain, frowned and walked up to him. Even if his presence was uncomfortable, she wanted to see what the problem was. He uttered a few curse words that surprised her as she got right up to him. "Something wrong?" She asked again.

"Yes damn it." He said in a hurry.

She grabbed the card from his hand and swiped it in one fluid motion. Quickly punching in the numbers, she heard a beep and the color on the lock flipped from red to green.

Clark thanked her and pushed into the room. He didn't even bother to stop and set his bags aside, instead he dropped them on the floor as he walked quickly to the bathroom. Only one thing dominated his mind at the moment.

Lois stared in wonder as Clark dropped his things and almost galloped to the bathroom with his wet boots on. Her eyes fell to the floor as wet boot markings littered the freshly cleaned carpet. As the door to the bathroom closed, her attention went back to him. She closed the door behind her and slipped her shoes off. A few soft moans were audible as she walked around the place, her eyes scanning the large room. Everything was red. The walls, the carpet, the bed sheets, they were all a dark shade of crimson. There was a kitchen, a large one actually. It adjoined the two rooms, both Chloe and Jimmy walking into it at the same time she did. "This is one heck of a room." She said with wide eyes.

"Where's Clark?" Chloe asked suddenly.

There was a loud flush and a creaking of a door. Clark came around the bedroom and said. "Just had to take care of something."

Lois laughed out loud. "I swear Smallville; you must have the bladder of a senior. I've never seen someone in so much pain over having to urinate." She continued to smile as he turned red in embarrassment. That was Clark, his usual bumbling and embarrassed self. She felt much more comfortable around him when he was like that.

Chloe smirked and opened the fridge to inspect its contents. There wasn't much of anything in it, a few jars of pickles and some butter. "Looks like we'll have to call room service."

Lois leaned over her cousin's shoulder to peer into the fridge. Her cousin was right, they needed room service, and they needed it bad. "I thought you said this wall expenses paid? Shouldn't the fridge be full?" Her annoyed tone did one over on Clark it seemed.

"Quit nitpicking." Clark said with a grunt, wiggling his toes in his socks as he headed towards the bedroom.

Rolling her eyes, Lois found a phone and hit zero. A few minutes later, she had ordered numerous quantities of food, her cravings taking a hold of her conscious. To her, if it was all expenses paid, she was going to take full advantage. A knock a the door came as she set the phone back on the wall, her head swiveling to the couch as Clark got up. "I got it." She said suddenly, whisking by him and towards the door.

Clark frowned, but heard a knock at the other door. With a small laugh, he headed into the other room and opened the door. A bell hop came through with the rest of his and Lois's luggage. He helped the young man put the things on the bed and slipped him a ten for his troubles. The young man grinned widely as he exited the room. Slipping his wallet back into his pants, he looked at the large king sized bed and frowned. There was only one bed!

"Chloe!" He shouted, walking into the kitchen area and finding the sink. Having found a glass, he turned on the tap and filled it full. With a long draught, he set the cup aside as he saw Chloe come around the corner with Lois. "Chloe." He said again in desperation.

"I heard you the first time." She replied. "What is it?"

"There's only one bed in each room."

Chloe smiled. "So?"

Instead of Clark exploding, it was Lois who did. "What?" She was furious. Firstly, she had been too enraptured by Clark's odd behavior recently, and secondly, she hadn't put any thought to it earlier.

Chloe turned around to face her livid cousin. "I don't see what the problem is. You both want the bed, you both want each other." She was pushing them both, but she had to get them past their stubbornness.

Clark's eyes widened at her words, his pupils slowly going to Lois. She stared back with even wider irises. She looked frightened beyond belief, and he was sure she was seeing the same thing in him. "I'll take the couch." He stammered, walking suddenly over to the TV and flopping onto it. "See." He began with a pained voice. "It's comfortable." He groaned in frustration at what had just happened. Chloe had just raised the awkwardness of the situation to a whole new level, and now the night was going to be even more painful than he had imagined it.

Lois stood at he sink with her cousin, her eyes flaring in anger as she turned her attention to Chloe. "Can you not keep your mouth shut?" She asked angrily.

"What?" Chloe feigned ignorance.

"Don't play stupid with me; you know damn well you did that on purpose."

"So?" Chloe asked, playing coy with her.

Fed up, Lois stormed into her bedroom, awkwardly slamming the two glass doors together as she went in. She wished she had a simple wood door that would have closed soundly, but she had to resist the urge to absolutely smash the doors shut. She didn't want to have to pick up the bill for having the carpet cleaned of thousands of pieces of glass. With a sigh, she fell onto the large mattress, thinking that the food that was on its way couldn't get there soon enough.

-

Jimmy walked out of the bathroom, shaking the last remaining drops of water off his as he came to the kitchen. His eyes focused on his girl, who was leaning down on the counter with her head between her crossed arms. By the large TV he could see Clark laying face first on the couch, a few soft groans coming from him. Frowning, he walked over to Chloe and placed a loving hand on her back. "Something wrong?"

Chloe lifted her tired face up and smiled weakly. "Yes."

"What is it?"

"Clark and Lois."

"Again?" He asked with a raised pitch to his voice. "I'm really second guessing your decision that we bring them along."

"I do too." She relented, her frustration going over her and ending at the sink where she stared. "That's it." She said with authority. "I'm staying out of this. They can spend the whole week being miserable while you and I have a great time." She kissed him softly as she wouldn't allow her cousin and her best friends moods get her down too. "Did you here that Lois?" She shouted, knowing Clark had heard her.

"What?" Lois yelled back through the doors.

"I'm done with you two. If you can't be civil or act normal around each other, then you can forget about hanging around with Jimmy and me. We want no part of your misery." All she got in response was a loud humph and snort from Lois. She smiled to herself as she heard a soft rap at the door. She was about to go, but Lois came through the bedroom doors and rushed past her.

"Food's here." She exclaimed hurriedly, rushing passed the two. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Clark still slumped on the couch. She didn't bother with watching him for long though, she had food to attend to. Opening the door, a large tray was brought in by a small hotel staffer. "Just leave it here." She commented, ushering the small woman from the room and grabbing a hold of the brass tray. Quicker than she needed to, mainly because she wanted to keep her mind off Clark, she wheeled the thing into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

Slipping in all the drinks she had ordered, she grabbed a spoon from the drawer and found her most sought after order. With a huge grin, she picked up the ice cream and headed towards the couch where Clark was. She was going to forthright and bold, making him act uncomfortable. She was tired of acting like a little love struck puppy. Sure, it hurt her to know that she did in fact love the oaf, but she told herself she wouldn't be his pushover. "Shove over Smallville." She pushed herself into a spot by his legs, making him move.

Clark groaned heavily as he moved. Not bothering with staying, he got up off the couch and walked to her bedroom where his boots were.

Chloe and Jimmy watched it all in mute mode, their tongues both held in check as they had watched Lois steel herself and shut away her emotional receptors. In a way, Chloe admired the fact that Lois could do such a thing, but she also pitied her. Her cousin certainly didn't know the right time to open up. "Where are you going?" She asked, turning her attention to Clark.

"I don't know, for a walk maybe." He pushed through the door and found his boots. With a grunt, he pulled them over his feet and picked up his bags. He turned around and walked back into the main room. Dropping the bags beside the couch, he let them fall loudly with emphasis as he stared coldly at Lois. Instead of her tightening up and getting uncomfortable, she simply smirked her stupid smile of hers. With a snort, he walked from the room, not bothering to speak any further as he closed the door loudly behind him.

Jimmy watched as Clark slammed the door. "My lord, they're worse than a married couple." He said with a frown, turning his attention back to his girlfriend.

"That they are." She admitted, her eyes going to the TV and Lois. "Maybe we should go out for something to eat? I don't think I can deal with any more of this atmosphere."

He nodded to her and went to the bedroom and found their coats. Bring them back in, he slipped hers over her shoulders and put his own on.

"Jimmy and I are going to go find something to eat." Chloe said to Lois, who turned around suddenly.

"Why?" She asked. "There's plenty of food here?"

"Well," Chloe began. "Unlike you we can't stand being in this room any longer." When Lois growled a deep throaty rasp, she smiled and went for the door. "Maybe when we come back you'll be a little less childish." They didn't give her cousin a chance to say anything back as they slipped out into the hallway where Clark had disappeared to earlier. With a deep sigh, she grabbed Jimmy's warm hand and headed towards the elevator. "So, where to my fine gentleman?" She asked with a slightly mocking tone, something she had picked up from Lois and Clark's horrid friendship.

"I don't know, let's try a downtown restaurant. I saw plenty of great places on the drive in."

Chloe smiled brightly as they entered the elevator. "Sounds good to me."

-

Clark walked along a snow covered path. The pathway led up from the side of the hotel and into the trees. It looked like an oft used trail, something that was groomed, but the previous people had made it rough again with their treading. He really didn't know where he was going, but he had simply wanted to get the hell away from Lois. It was Chloe's fault, but once again he couldn't stand being near the woman he was hopelessly in love with, but couldn't say anything to. He was a coward, and he knew it. He didn't need anyone else to tell him that, he had come to that conclusion the day before. With his hands in his coat pockets, he continued along the dim lit trail. The sound of his boots crunching snow was the only thing he could hear as he allowed himself to get lost in the dark mysterious woods.

The farther he walked, the farther he felt his attention waning away from Lois. Instead of her voice still cutting through his head, he allowed the sound of pine trees swaying in the wind dominate his consciousness. The small garden lamps on the side of the trail lit his way, their glowing blue brilliance filling in the shadow of his path as he continued forward.

The altitude change presented no distraction for him, well, other than the fact he probably couldn't get enough breath to scream at Lois. He chuckled to himself as he continued his walking. A few minutes passed by in silence, the wind and his boots still the only sound audible. Suddenly he heard a snap and a hiss, but didn't put to much stock into it. Looking back to the trail, he came to an opening. There was an old wood shed and a few benches. He could hear breathing, but couldn't be sure whether or not it was human or animal. Focusing his ears more intently, he listened to the heartbeat. It was slow and soft, almost lethargic. With a curious itch, he wandered around the shed.

His eyes went wide as he stared at a woman lying naked on a picnic table, a blanket underneath her to protect her body from the snow.

"Oh my god!" The woman gasped.