Author's
Notes: Thanks for all the kind comments. I do appreciate knowing you liked the chapter enough to leave a review. If you feel like you have nothing to say, I always like to hear what your favorite line was or if one in particular made you laugh. Feel free to ask questions. Thanks.
CHAPTER TWO
Chloe and Lois arrived at the restaurant at the same time. The cousins' careers began to take off at the same time and that meant they were losing control over their schedules. They always felt bad they couldn't see each other more often and made a habit of at least weekly lunches together. Every once in a while they even invited Clark to join them. Today was one of those days.
"Where do you think he is?" Lois commented. "I passed a sale on flannel on the way. You don't think he's fallen off the wagon again, do you?"
Chloe rolled her eyes suspecting it was more likely that some lives were being saved or international disasters were being averted. "Let me check my messages."
"He's my partner," Lois complained protectively. "Why would he leave you messages and not me?"
"If you're his partner, then why don't you know where he is?" Chloe said as her voicemail picked up. "Besides you frighten him."
Lois seemed to take a little pride in that thought. "He's always disappearing-"
"Shh," Chloe hushed and lifted her finger, stopping her cousin, so that she could focus on the message she'd received. It was from a man she cared dearly for but never got to see often enough, Pete Ross.
"Chloe, you're not gonna believe this. Golden Boy has seen the light! He's decided it's time for Lois to know!"
Chloe's eyes were wide as she looked over at her cousin surreptitiously.
"But get this. Clark doesn't want to tell her. He wants her to figure it out. So he's going to try and subtly give her hints. Clark! And subtle! Do you see where this is going? Call me when you get a chance. This can only end well. For us, I mean."
Chloe couldn't contain her snort, and Lois turned giving her an inquiring look.
"Farm boy come up with an excuse for ditching us?"
Chloe shook her head hanging up her cell phone. "No sorry. Pete Ross just left me a funny message."
"What'd he say?" Lois asked with a grin.
Chloe looked for Clark briefly and needed an out. "You know what? I think I'm going to give Pete a call right now."
Lois rolled her eyes but didn't object any. She was content to sit back and imagine a dreamy Superman coming to save her once again and whisk her off for other super things.
"Shoot!" Chloe cursed. "Pete moved into a bigger building and I don't know his new work number."
"Call information," Lois suggested. "If it's registered, they'll have it."
Chloe agreed and called them up. When prompted for which city, Chloe answered, "Wichita." She listened patiently and answered, "Yeah, can I get the new number for Pete's Garage?" Chloe chewed on her lip wondering what was taking Clark so long. "Yeah they just moved and added a new line, I need the new one. Yes, please." Chloe answered after writing down the new number. "Pete!" Chloe cheered when she connected through. "How are you?"
"Chloe?" Pete responded, happy to take a small break. "You got my message?"
"Yeah, I did. I'm finding it hard to believe," Chloe chuckled.
Pete flinched as there was a small windstorm in his office blowing his paperwork all around. "Clark! Clark, stop it! Stop it now!" Pete yelled. "Chloe I gotta-"
Chloe was listening in and could hear the frustration in her friend's voice.
"Oh is that Chloe?" Clark asked happily.
"Yes, now will you please-"
"You got time for lunch?"
"I want to catch up with Chlo-"
Clark put his hand on the base ending the phone call for Pete with a click. "Well come on then, you can talk to her in person."
Pete saw Clark looked pretty happy and was serious. "You're gonna give me a lift back after lunch though, right?" Pete clarified putting the phone back.
"Yup," Clark said, changing into his tights. He grabbed a hold of Pete and made him carry Clark's clothes. "Scream if you want to. I don't mind." Clark said with a wink as they took off to the sky with a sonic boom.
Chloe heard her line go dead as she had apparently been hung up on.
"Pete's Garage?" Lois commented seeing her cousin's phone call had ended abruptly. "Not the most original of names."
"He got a degree in mechatronic engineering not creative writing," Chloe explained. "And all the mindless consumers with their computerized SUVs wouldn't understand it, if he called it anything else."
"Smallville helped him name it, didn't he?" Lois asked.
Chloe nodded in resignation. "Clark gave Pete the first sign when he started up his own business."
"Can we give up on him showing, now?" Lois commented. "I'm so hungry I could eat a donkey."
"Give up on who?" Clark said with a grin as he arrived at their table with his friend following close behind.
"Pete!" Chloe cheered pushing Clark to the side as she gave her old high school friend a hug.
"Hey Chloe," Pete grinned and hugged her back. "You know, Lane, with that kind of appetite you could make a lot of money in Mexico."
"What?" Lois asked in confusion.
"Never mind," Pete replied, grinning when he saw Clark was just as confused. Pete turned to Chloe. "How you been?"
"Scoot over," Clark said forcing his way onto Lois's side of the booth.
"I've been good," Chloe answered making room on her side for Pete. "Real good. Your message though. Wow!"
"I know!" Pete grinned.
"Hang on," Lois interrupted, pointing an accusatory finger. "Weren't you in Wichita a second ago?"
Pete plastered an all too innocent look on his face. "Who? Me?"
"What'd you do?" Lois asked looking at him curiously. "Hitch a ride on the Superman express?"
Pete turned to Chloe and Clark. "Umm…"
"Oh I got it," Lois suddenly realized. "You had your calls forwarded to your cell. Whoo, sorry. Brain fart."
"That does make sense," Clark agreed tapping his chin in thought.
Pete nodded sheepishly. "I guess that I must have had my calls forwarded." Pete turned to Chloe and began patting her on the back when she appeared to be choking on her water. "You okay there?"
"Sorry," Chloe admitted through some painful snickers. "Went down the wrong pipe."
"I always knew you had a drinking problem," Lois said shaking her head at her cousin.
Pete and Chloe kept whispering things to each other and chuckling at private jokes throughout the lunch. Clark could hear them just fine, but could tell Lois was getting annoyed.
"Excuse me waiter," Pete made a face, setting his glass down. "Could I get some more ice? My water's warm."
The waiter refilled it, and again within two minutes Pete's ice had melted and his water was warm again.
"That's so weird," Lois commented. "My ice hasn't even melted yet."
"Mine neither," Clark added with a grin.
Pete finally caught on to someone's abuse of heat vision while Chloe was holding back more giggles. "Clark…" he began dangerously.
"Excuse me a second," Clark said getting up. "I need to use the little boys' room."
As soon as Lois thought he was out of earshot, she shook her head. "I swear that man has the bladder of a pregnant woman. He's running off to the bathroom probably two dozen times a day."
In the blink of an eye Superman had appeared right in front of their table in the crowded restaurant. Lois looked up in shock, and was slightly confused when both Pete and Chloe slapped their hands over their mouths to keep from saying anything inappropriate.
"Excuse me, Miss Lane," Superman said looking both ways and ignoring the stares he was garnering. "I heard you were investigating the disappearances in Suicide Slums?"
"Umm… yes," Lois answered feeling a bit flustered and fighting a blush. She paused and looked up angrily. "Wait a second. That was a private conversation between Clark and me only! How'd you hear about that?"
Superman glanced briefly at the other two highly amused people at the table before tapping his ear and answering, "Super-hearing, remember?"
"Oh right," Lois admitted in embarrassment. "Hang on. Were you spying on me?"
"What?" Superman yelped hoping no one noticed the hitch in his voice. "No, no I would never… Umm… I gotta go."
"Wait," Lois asked turning towards Superman. He had already zipped away at super speeds as she feebly finished, "Were you spying on Clark then?"
Chloe couldn't take and cracked up into her napkin.
Pete had a dead serious expression on his face. "You know I bet he was spying on Clark."
Clark walked back up to the table with a smile. "So what'd I miss?"
Lois was once again exasperated by Clark's ridiculous timing and jumped right in. "You just missed-"
"Hang on," Clark said making a show of patting his pockets. "I left my comb in the wash room." He turned and went back in.
Superman suddenly reappeared at their table again, just as Chloe had started to get a hold of herself, sending her into another coughing fit.
"Just be careful, Lois," Superman added when he saw her looking at him strangely. "Oh and try the tiramisu. It's delicious." Super speed engaged and the Man of Steel disappeared once more.
Clark came back from the restroom with his comb in hand. "Found it. Man I'm craving some tiramisu," Clark said settling himself down. "So what were you saying Lois?"
Lois looked at Pete and then back at Clark suspiciously. "Did you know Superman is spying on you?"
"Superman?" Clark said chuckling weakly. "Why would he spy on me?"
Pete had a grim look on his face and stared right at Clark. "You know why he would."
"I do?" Clark asked worriedly.
"He does?" Chloe repeated, wondering what Pete was up to.
Pete nodded. "He's worried you might fall back into your old habits."
"My old habits?" Clark asked not liking the direction of this discussion.
"What old habits?" Lois inquired noticing Clark's discomfort, thinking this had to be good.
"Are you going to tell them, or do I have to?" Pete asked, keeping up his solemn expression.
"I think I'd need to know what you were talking about to answer that," Clark warily replied, glancing at Lois' extremely eager face.
Pete kept staring at Clark like he was scolding him. "Clark, well, when Clark gets angry, he…"
"What?" Lois asked trying to imagine what Clark would do when he was angry besides brood. She chanced a glance at Clark and saw he looked fearful of some bitter truth.
Pete shrugged and forlornly explained, "He stalks and hunts down homeless people and beats them up."
"I what?"
"You what?"
"Smallville, that's horrible!" Lois scolded.
"I don't!"
"Clark figures no one cares about them so no one will notice." Pete shrugged. "I mean it is true and all, but still. That's just cold, Kent."
"That's ridiculous!" Clark insisted. "No one would honestly believe that."
"Really?" Pete continued. "If it's not because you like smacking around hobos and bums, then you tell me. Why would Superman be spying on you, Clark?"
"What are you… I mean… I don't…" Clark was at a loss.
Pete just grinned as he took a big drink. "Man this ice water is cool and refreshing."
Clark shut up, figuring he may have somehow deserved this. Although being known for beating up the homeless, seemed a bit unfair compared to lukewarm water with lunch.
"I'm so disappointed in you," Lois said shaking her head.
Clark turned to plead his case when he saw the amused glint in Lois' eye. He sighed and realized he'd been had.
"The dangerous and psychotic Clark Kent," Chloe stated with a smile, "the scourge of the poor, unfortunate, and downtrodden everywhere."
"Ha ha ha," Clark mockingly laughed. "You know this is how rumors get started. I might as well start my own rumors. I got one for you: I'm Superman."
Chloe and Lois both burst out laughing for entirely different reasons.
Pete whispered to Chloe, "And this is subtle."
"Stop it," Chloe was crying into her napkin by now. "You guys really need to stop or I'm gonna pee myself."
Lois thought Chloe was laughing a bit harder than warranted and honestly asked, "Am I missing something?"