Chapter 2:
The last couple of weeks had taken Lois' world and tossed it on its head. She had been attacked by a psychopath and kidnapped by another. Not to mention being tortured and forced to admit to herself and Clark that she loved him. She still couldn't quite believe that fact herself. At the time all she knew was that she couldn't put him in pain again with a lie; or God forbid kill him. She was still pissed that she had been forced to admit feelings for him and he had gotten off scot free without having to answer. Though, on second thought, she asked herself if she really wanted to hear him answer no? That would have only exponentially increased her embarrassment. She thought she had played the whole debacle off pretty well. Clark bought my lie…right? She hoped to God he had.
Her confession still had her unsettled. She loved Clark?? Really? The last couple of days had been filled with her fighting the idea tooth and nail. But as she remembered everything they had been through together over the years and how well they now worked together side by side day in and day out, she was weakening to the idea. Her heart was beginning to force her head into being honest. The feelings had crept up on her so slowly that she couldn't point to one moment in time and say, 'it began there'. She would never admit it to anyone, but she had been attracted to Clark since the first moment they met. How could she not be, especially considering the circumstances behind their meeting?
She reflected how their friendship had grown and evolved through the years. Last year they had both lost their significant others, and when a shoulder was needed to cry on they had been there for each other. Since they started working together, they spent practically all their time with each other, and she had to acknowledge to herself what a great guy he was...not that she hadn't always known. She was surprised the day she had noticed herself seeking out his company, preferring him to anyone except maybe Chloe.
She was afraid that Oliver had been right all along. Perhaps their sarcasm and bickering had been a cover for an attraction that neither could face, from the very beginning. She was resigned to the fact that Clark was still in love with Lana, and had eyes for no one else. That's why she was determined to bury these unwelcome feelings and move on. She could do this. She was Lois Lane and she wouldn't be toppled by some country bumpkin farm boy from Smallville, she resolved.
Her damn feelings were betraying her though. Every time she let her mind wonder it invariably strayed to a tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome form. When they were together and he would give her one of his charming smiles she felt her heart rate pick up and her stomach would perform a disturbing flutter. This all completely disconcerted her because she was not and had never been that girl.
To add to her mental anguish, soon after their stay at the Regency she had begun having the most vivid sex dreams about them. She certainly wasn't ready to face that night. Combine that with the memory of the amazing way he had kissed her at the bar, and she was a complete mess. The way her body was reacting to him physically was making her jumpy and in turn irritable. I need a vacation, she thought to herself.
"Earth to Lois!" a voice nearly yelled breaking through her internal ruminations. She was sitting at a table in the Talon with her head propped on both hands completely spaced out. Her eyes came into focus and she concentrated on Chloe who was sitting across from her with a curious expression on her face. She tried to recall what Chloe had just said to her, but her mind was blank. Damn Smallville, she cursed mentally. "Wow, Lois! Where were you? I was trying to get your attention for almost five minutes."
"Sorry Chloe. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. What were you saying," Lois asked, trying not to sound distracted.
"Do you want to talk about it," Chloe asked easily sensing that something was really bothering her cousin and it was beginning to worry her. When Lois shook her head no and took a sip of coffee, Chloe sighed and let it drop. She knew when Lois got like this she just had to wait till Lois was ready to talk, because if she tried to force it out of her, Lois would shut her out completely. Her cousin was seriously one of the most stubborn people alive, Chloe thought affectionately. "Okay, but if you change your mind," Lois replied with a tight smile and silence.
Chloe watched as an internal conflict played in her eyes and waited hoping Lois would open up to her. Then she saw the doors slam shut and Lois said, "What were you saying when I spaced out, Chloe?" That was Lois' not terribly subtle way of saying, 'thanks but no thanks', Chloe understood.
"I was telling you that Jimmy and I are at your services during your move. Oh! I was also saying that I talked to Clark and we figured since he had a truck and all, he would come in really handy. Anyway, he said he'd be here in about fifteen minutes."
Chloe watched as Lois sighed deeply and a look of resignation settled on her face.
Great, Lois thought. Now I get to face the source of my problems on the weekend too. She knew it was really sweet and selfless of him to give up his weekend to help her, but she was afraid the man was going to drive her insane. She sat up straight, squared her shoulders, and once again assured herself that she was Lois Lane, damn it, and she would not let this affect her behavior. She would be cool and natural.
"You're too sweet Chloe. I really appreciate all your help. I'll be out of your hair in no time," she finished with a wink.
Chloe laughed with her and then became serious, "You know I'm going to really miss you, Lois. I hope you know how much I have enjoyed living with you."
Lois returned the laugh, "Yeah. Me too, Chloe, but it's not like I'm moving out of the country or something. You're still going to be stuck with seeing a lot of me," she said and reached across the table to grasp Chloe's hand. Lois tilted her head to the side as they shared a knowing smile. "This is good. You'll see. You and Jimmy are going to be nauseatingly happy together," she finished with her trademark mischievous grin that took any sting away that the comment may have caused.
"I think so too, Lois. Thanks," she said appreciating her cousin's support no matter how late it was in coming.
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Clark sat in his truck outside the Talon; his mind had drifted away to a confusing woman and confusing emotions. She challenged him in every facet of his life like no other person he had ever met.
When they were chained in that basement facing possible death and he heard her say that she loved him, his emotions were undecipherable, even for him. There was certainly surprise, but it also made him acknowledge that somewhere along the way their relationship had begun to shift in an unknown direction. After Lois had floored him by informing him that she had lied about loving him, he was surprised not only by her revelation, but also by the small feeling of disappointment that had trickled through him. Why should he care if she didn't love him, was the question that kept haunting him.
She had further sent his head spinning by challenging him to consider how he would have answered the mad man's question. It left him more confused than he could ever remember being. What did he feel for Lois Lane? He once again examined those feelings and they started to reminded him of a modern painting. Colors flowed and swirled together. When you looked at it you knew there was beauty in it, but couldn't quite make out an image.
She made his head swim at times and reveled in throwing him off balance. She seemed to make a game of getting under his skin, and did so with seemingly unconscious ease. Then his mind came to the worst part. Since he had kissed her he had been dreaming about her in ways that made him blush when he woke up. He had never dreamed about anyone, even Lana, like that - he could swear it was almost real at times. Sure he'd had fantasies before but these went above and beyond the wildest of them. He knew that Lois would never let him hear the end of it if she ever found out. Because of them, he sometimes become nervous and bumbly around her and didn't know what to do about it. He thought he had been doing a good job of pushing his thoughts aside, but maybe that was just self delusion.
As his mind snapped back to the present, he was still confused, but he knew it was time to go inside and act normal.
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Lois saw her cousins face light up and she exclaimed, "Clark! You're early." She sprang out of her seat and went to meet him outside of Lois' ear shot.
"Hey Chloe," he replied surprised when she drug him a little farther away from Lois. She had a small frown on her face as she did so."What's going on? Is everything alright?"
"I'm not sure. Has Lois mentioned if anything is bothering her?"
"No. Why are you asking me," he asked.
Chloe cocked her head to the side and sniffed out a breath. "Are you kidding me? You two might as well be attached at the hip." Clark gave her a blank look. She huffed at his obliviousness. "I called you a couple days ago and she answered," Chloe pointed out with a grin.
"My hands were full," he replied defensively.
"Don't get defensive with me. I'm only trying to say that you guys have gotten quite close and I wanted to know if you knew what might be bothering her."
Clark shrugged his shoulders and looked past Chloe to search for Lois. She was facing half away from him at a table off to the side. He noticed that her brows were furrowed and she appeared to be attempting to solve an unseen puzzle. "She hasn't said anything news worthy to me. She was a little shaken up after she got kidnapped, but you know that Lois brushes that stuff off quickly and hasn't really mentioned it since," he said with a sigh remembering how she'd made a poke at his ego during their one
conversation on the subject. "What is she doing that has you worried," he asked never taking his eyes off of the enigma known as Lois Lane.
"She's been unusually quiet and it's not just once or twice. If the conversation lags at all she spaces out and gets that look on her face," Chloe said motioning with her thumb towards Lois. Clark had a skeptical look on his face that seemed to say, 'that's it'. He started to say something, but Chloe cut him off, "I know it's not a lot to go on, but this is Lois we're talking about. Something is up...I know it."
Clark trusted Chloe's intuition concerning her cousin enough that her worry planted a spark of curiosity in him. Maybe she was working on a story that he didn't know about and it wasn't going well. She usually obsessed over stories until they were solved. So, Clark decided he would keep an eye on her because Lois had a strong penchant for getting herself into trouble going after difficult stories. What he said to Chloe was, "She seems normal at work. Unless you count the other day when she blew up on Jimmy for practically nothing, that is. I think he hid from her for a couple of hours. She went to apologize to him, but she couldn't find him - which, of course, made her mad all over again. She finally did track him down when she went to the supply room for pens, and 'wah la' there was Jimmy looking a little frightened. He claimed to be organizing the area, but I saw a Subway wrapper; so, I'm pretty sure he ate lunch in there," Clark said and they both laughed.
Lois turned and saw Chloe and Clark laughing at the base of the stairs that lead to her old apartment. They had been over there for awhile. She wondered what they were talking about. Clark looked over Chloe's shoulder at her, humor sparkling in his blue eyes, and he shot her one of his big smiles. Right on cue her heart picked up - damn smile. She cocked her head to the side in a questioning gesture as a small smile parted her lips. She put down her coffee and smoothly got up from the table walking towards them. "What are you two talking about over here," she asked a few steps from them.
Chloe turned to face her, a big grin still evident on her features. "Not a whole lot. We were just catching up. I haven't seen Clark in what seems like forever. You're almost done packing. We should head upstairs and get this show on the road," Chloe said and scampered up the stairs to avoid any further questions from Lois.
"Okayyy," Lois said drawing out the word. She shrugged and looked at Clark. He was staring up the staircase and by the look on his face, he seemed to think Chloe's behavior was a bit odd as well. "Thanks for the help today, Clark. I know it's your weekend too, and you certainly didn't have to spend it lugging my stuff around," she said and moved towards the stairs.
"You're welcome, but I think it's become sort of a tradition...me 'lugging' your stuff from place to place and then back again," he teased with and exaggerated sigh.
"Yeah, well at least you're good at something. Because of me and
my moves, you now have the security of manual labor to fall back on if the newsroom gets to be a little to much for your poor little small-town upbringing to handle," she shot back at him.
He just shook his head and a tiny smile formed as he followed her up the stairs. He noticed her tight clinging jeans and how great they made her retreating form look before he could stop himself. The sight triggered an image from his dreams, and it flashed through his mind. His step faltered. He stared straight down while he battled to rid his head of the image before things got embarrassing. What was wrong with him?
Lois stopped in the apartment's doorway, her hand on the doorknob and turned back when she realized he wasn't right behind her. She looked down and saw him staring at his feet halfway up the stairs. Okay, that's weird. What is he doing? "Are your feet convincing you of the woes of your wardrobe choice," she asked sarcastically pointing at his flannel shirt. "Because if they're not, you have to actually lift those feet and put them on the next step to make it to the top," she said opening the door and stepping into the apartment.
Clark followed her through the door after he'd composed himself. She noticed he had a sheepish look on his face. "Everything okay," she asked.
He nodded. "So, what's first?"
The four friends spent the next couple of hours packing all of Lois' possessions into three vehicles: Lois', Chloe's, and Clark's. They didn't have to worry about large furniture because the stuff at the Talon wasn't hers. She had bought new furniture which had been delivered to her Metropolis apartment the day before. Once they had finished packing the cars, they pulled away from the talon like a caravan.
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The cavalcade of cars pulled up to Lois' new apartment, and they all got out and quickly unloaded them. She thanked them and told them that she could handle everything else, but they all insisted on staying and helping.
The guys were busy hanging pictures while Chloe helped her arrange the furniture in the living room. They had tried three different combinations already and Lois was a little frustrated. She took a moment to step back and survey the room. The door to the apartment led into the spacious living room that was well lit by a row of large windows and two glass French doors that opened onto the balcony. The room was open and had tall ten foot ceilings. The Living room was separated by a crème colored wall and the kitchen's marble bar. A hallway led to her bedroom and the guest bathroom. Overall, she was satisfied with the place.
She had stocked the apartment with food yesterday. She was getting hungry and she assumed the others were too. She went into the kitchen and pulled out a frozen pizza. She turned the oven on and listened to Clark and Jimmy discussing whether one of the pictures was straight or not. She smiled to herself and put the pizza into the oven. She rejoined Chloe and returned to work.
The living room came together quickly after that. "It all looks great, Lois," Chloe said close to her ear.
Lois turned and smiled appreciatively at her. It really did. "Thanks. I think so too." The guys finished and stood beside them eyes scanning their work. "Thanks everybody. That would have taken me forever to do on my own," she said and patted Clark's arm.
He smiled down at her, but his face turned serious. "Do you guy's smell something burning," he said a moment before the fire alarm near the kitchen screamed to life.
"Oh shit! The pizza," Lois exclaimed and darted into the kitchen. She yanked the oven door open releasing a cloud of smoke. "Hot, hot, hot," she fumed.
"I'll go help her. Somebody else want to order us an un-charred pizza while I do," he joked and moved towards the kitchen.
When he made it to Lois, she was pulling the blackened pizza out of the oven with a pair of dog shaped oven mitts.
She looked up at him and yelled over the shrieking alarm, "Hey, Smallville, be useful and put that height to work by shutting that stupid alarm off." She motioned with her head towards the offender in question. She put the pizza in a paper bag and told him, "I'm taking this to the dumpster so that the smell doesn't linger."
He nodded and turned to deal with the ear piecing noise. He stretched as far as he could, but he still came up about six inches short of his target. He sighed in frustration and tried again, stretching as hard as he could. He let out a victorious grunt when his fingers came into contact with the alarm and he managed to remove it from the wall. He heard Chloe exclaim, "Wow. When did you learn to do that and why didn't you tell me."
What is she talking about, he wondered. Then he looked down and saw he was floating almost a foot off the ground. In his shock, he lost his control of the burgeoning ability and dropped out of the air. He stumbled and let out a little yell of surprise. Chloe moved quickly to his side putting out a hand to steady him.
"I flew," he hissed out in surprise so that only she could hear. Then his eyes darted around the apartment to reassure himself that no once else had seen his exhibition.
"I saw! I told you years ago that you needed to get on that one," Chloe giggled.
He rolled his eyes, but couldn't respond because Lois breezed by them. She was cursing barely above a whisper, but his hearing caught it. He smiled, humored by her quiet rant. She slammed the oven door closed and violently cranked it off. "Easy Lois. Don't take you're lack of culinary skills out on the poor oven," he said with a chuckle. "I've had blackened Salmon but, congratulations, you've created a new application for that cooking technique."
She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Clever Smallville," she deadpanned. "See if I try to feed you again." Her stance became defensive and her voice contained a chill.
His smile broadened. "Is that a promise?" Their eyes locked. He stared right back at her, not backing down from her cool facade. In his peripheral vision he saw Jimmy coming towards them, take one look at Lois' expression, and quickly turn around and retreat back to the living room. Clark had learned to love their verbal exchanges. The fire that they lit in Lois' eyes was worth the price of admission, he thought fondly. An unexpected thought flashed through his mind, she's gorgeous.
Lois was looking into his eyes, which was making it difficult for her to maintain her glare. She found all she wanted was to get lost in him. Not this again. I will beat these feelings. She saw an emotion she couldn't quite place flash in his eyes and his whole face softened towards her. That did it. She spun on her heals breaking their eye contact and said quietly, "Whatever. Just order some pizza or something." She fiddled nervously with the oven temperature knob, making sure it was off.
Chloe was absorbed in bouncing her gaze between Clark and her cousin. Okay, something was going on between them. She wondered if they were even aware of it. They tended to be oblivious of each other most of the time, but she had never seen Clark look at Lois the way he just had. Chloe thought it was affectionate verging on loving, and Lois was nervously rubbing her hands together. Lois being nervous around Clark? Something was most definitely up.
The moment was broken when Jimmy walked in and announced with excitement, "The pizza will be here in thirty minutes."
Lois recovered herself quickly and strode out of the kitchen, saying over her shoulder, "Perfect. You guys up for a movie while we wait?"
"I'd love to stay for a movie," Chloe said and drug Jimmy with her into the living room. "I could use the time to relax. With all the excitement, I didn't realize how tired I am." She pushed Jimmy down on the couch and stretched out on it, resting her head in his lap. "What movie did you have in mind," Chloe asked innocently.
Lois was searching through her freshly unpacked movie shelf and said offhandedly, "I just got the Matrix trilogy with all the special features and stuff. We could watch one of them if you want." Clark had taken a seat on the love seat while she spoke. Lois turned slightly and looked at them, noticing the seating arrangements. The only open space would put her right next to Clark. She looked at Chloe suspiciously because her cousin had a look on her face that suggested she was pleased with herself...too pleased.
Truth be told, Lois wanted to be near him, but didn't want to want to. They settled on the second movie and she put it in and sat down. She had had enough of over thinking what was happening to her. By doing so, she was enabling her feelings to control her. The only thing to do was relax and stop obsessing. I'm just going to sit here and enjoy my friend's company, she thought.
Clark was thinking what a nice day it had been just hanging out with Chloe and Jimmy, but mostly Lois. Even though they worked together all day he wasn't tired of seeing her. On the contrary, as he sat next to her he felt calm and content.
Some time later he heard a knock on the door and got up to answer it. Lois got up as well and went into the kitchen. She grabbed paper plates, napkins, and four drinks. Lois and Clark got back to the group at the same time and proceeded to pass everything out.
Everyone was silently eating and watching the movie, except for Chloe who was watching Lois and Clark. She noticed that when they didn't think the other was looking they would sneak glances at each other. Clark didn't like mushrooms and she noticed him wordlessly place them on Lois' plate, aware that she loved them, and she automatically passed her crusts to him. Lois finished her drink, but was apparently still thirsty. Chloe watched as she met Clark's eyes and a silent conversation passed between them. It ended with Clark giving a little sigh and handing her his drink. She smiled brightly at him and he soon sported one to match.
Lois leaned into Clark and he slid the arm that had been resting on the couch behind her onto her shoulder. Chloe's eyebrows shot into her hairline. She was going to have to talk to each of them separately and figure out what was going on.
Lois relaxed into Clark's warm embrace. It felt amazing being this close to him. Lois breathed in his clean scent and sighed happily. She felt like she had come home. She had to fight her sudden desire to lean up and kiss him. Lois chastised herself for the thought. Thinking things like that was dangerous and she couldn't let herself explore the idea. She had to be satisfied with their friendship, she decided, and shifted bringing them even closer together.
Clark felt her shift and looked down at her. Her complete focus was on the TV. He wondered if their closeness was affecting her at all, she looked oblivious to it. He on the other hand, was aware of every single place their bodies were touching. Her shirt had ridden up on her waist exposing a strip of her tanned hip and stomach. He had to mentally restrain himself from reaching down to feel her silky skin. Watch the movie, Clark, he commanded himself. He was angry with himself about the less than honorable thoughts and dreams that kept popping into his head lately. His parents certainly would not approve.
When the movie ended, Chloe looked over at them again and saw that Lois had fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. Clark looked at Chloe and mouthed, 'she's asleep' to her. Chloe nodded. He shifted, trying not to jostle her. He slipped off the couch, picked her up and headed for her bedroom.
Clark stood beside her bed but hesitated to put her down. She was so serene in her sleep and she fit in his arms so perfectly. Finally, he shifted her so that he could hold her in one arm and leaned down pulling the covers down with his free hand. Then he placed her gently on the bed and covered her. He once again found himself rooted in place. With a mind of its own, his hand reached down and brushed a stray hair off of her face. She shifted and mumbled almost inaudibly, "Hmm Clark."
He pulled his hand back quickly and left the room closing the door silently behind him. As he joined Chloe and Jimmy they were shutting the TV off. "I don't know about you two, but I have to get going. I won't be back to Smallville till really late as it is."
"Yeah, you two should go. I think I'm going to stay with Lois tonight. I have some things I want to get done here tomorrow anyway. Plus, I promised to help Lois finish unpacking the rest of her things," Chloe said. She ran her hand down Jimmy's arm and pulled him closer gently kissing him. "Good night. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night Clark," she said turning to him.
"Are you sure," Jimmy asked.
"Yeah. You guys drive safely. I'll call you later Clark."
"Okay night," Clark said and gave her a hug.
Once the door closed behind them, Chloe went in search of something of Lois' to sleep in. She was going to get to the bottom of Lois and Clark's strange behavior, starting with getting details out of Lois tomorrow. She smiled in anticipation.
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Water cascaded down his tan chest. Lois needed to feel him, to touch him, to taste him. She placed her hands on top of his shoulders and ran them down his chest. Their journey paused to message his chest. He flexed it under her fingers and she sighed contentedly. Her hands moved onward tracing the defined line cutting his abs in half.
She looked into his eyes and saw unbridled passion being held barely in check as he restrained himself in order to let her hands explore him. When he looked at her like that she felt her core pulse and liquid fire poured down her stomach to settle there. She dug her nails back up his body causing him to shudder and buried her hands in his dark wet hair. She leaned up towards him and he bent to meet her. Their lips crashed together in a hungry kiss. He pressed her against the shower wall and began kissing her sensitive neck, licking and sucking off the water as it ran down it. She moaned and mumbled out her encouragement. Her breathing grew erratic as his body pinned her against the wall. He ground against her, and a groan escaped her lips. The water cascaded over them. Her skin was on fire and each drop sent a tingle through her as it made a lazy path down her.
Flash
His hands seemed to be everywhere at once and his mouth was eliciting indescribable pleasure as he greedily sucked and drug his teeth across her erect nipple. She gasped and arched into him calling out his name. She felt him smile against her chest and he began brushing his lips down her stomach and stopped just below her belly button. He tenderly grazed his teeth across the sensitive skin there, eliciting a gasp from her.
He looked up at her as he knelt in front of her. He made a stunning picture. His dark hair looked ink black wet and it clung to his forehead…Her heart skipped a beat and all she could think was that he was sexy as hell. The water made his skin glow and his blue eyes shone like sapphires behind long dark lashes. A droplet of water clung to one of his lashes sparkling in the light. When he blinked it began to run down his cheek. Lois' stomach tightened even further and she bent down to kiss the drop off his cheek.
Flash
She felt herself being lifted up and she looked down to watch as he settled her legs over his strong shoulders. Before another thought could enter her mind she felt a streak of sensations as the sensitive nerves at her core registered ecstatic pleasure and shot it through her body. His tongue stoked and tasted her. She moaned out, 'god yes'. He took a finger and pressed it slowly into her, searching for that one spot that would send her over the edge. He added another finger and swirled them. She bucked against him increasing his pace and urging him on.
Flash
Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist and the water was cascading over them. She pulled his face roughly against hers and her tongue darted into his mouth. His teeth clamped on it and he pulled away dragging his teeth along her tongue. She harshly gasped into his ear, "I want you now."
He captured her mouth and electric chemistry shattered over them. He pulled her up high against his chest and quickly entered her. She let out a silent groan throwing her head back. Their wet bodies slipped across each other allowing their pace to quicken. He moved into her and she impatiently pulled him deeper with her legs. Their wet bodies glided over each other and a moan was shared between them as he hit just the right spot. She yelled his name and scraped her nails across his shoulders.
"Say it again," she heard him gravely pant against her ear.
"Wha-" was all her excited mind could muster.
"Say it again. My name."
She gave him a low chuckle and purred, "Clark." He moved into her again and she threw her head back seeing stars, and she crashed over the edge.
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She heard a voice urgently calling her and it ripped her out of sleep. She frantically sat up in bed and looked around the room breathing heavily. Her hand wiped away the sweet beading on her brow as she tried to calm her breathing and cool her burning body. She desperately attempted to piece her dream together, when out of no where a hand touched her arm. Shock seized her and in reflex she jerked away. In her haste she ended up throwing herself off the bed, landing heavily on the floor with a curse.
She jumped up quickly to confront her unknown attacker. On her feet, she assumed a martial pose. Then she heard a familiar voice ask, "Lois? Are you okay?"
As the owner of the voice registered to her she relaxed. "Chloe what are you doing here? You scared the hell out of me," she shouted. She put a hand over her chest and once again tried to calm her racing heart.
"Well, I stayed when the guys left because I wanted to help you finish up tomorrow. You were calling something out that I couldn't understand and it seemed like you were having a nightmare, so I tried to wake you. It backfired and you flipped off the bed. Are you okay," Chloe finished motioning Lois to sit back down.
Lois hesitated for a second and then sat, staring at the wall behind Chloe. What had she been dreaming about? Whatever it was had her heart racing and her body extremely worked up in a disturbingly familiar way. She thought frantically not wanting to let it slip away. Then it hit her like an anvil. A Shower and Clark. She tried to put the pieces together and more images began to slowly become clear to her. The more she dug into the memories the faster they came, and soon she was remembering more than just a shower. Her holding Clark's wallet. His arms around her reaching for it. Running and falling on the bed. Kissing. Clothes quickly coming off. Their bodies moving together. Clark calling her name out.
The images slammed together into a cohesive memory and Lois once again jumped off the bed. "Oh my god! We had sex. No wonder my head is so confused," she yelled so absorbed in her revelation that she failed to remember that she was not alone. Her fingers began messaging her temple, trying to ease the dull ache spreading there. Pacing back and forth quickly she reran the memories over and over.
Chloe sat stunned on Lois' bed. What was Lois talking about? She couldn't keep silent any longer. "Who had sex," she asked breaking the heavy silence. She reached out and turned the bedside lamp on to see Lois' face better.
Lois looked up at her panicked, realizing that she had just verbalized her thoughts. Oh crap. How was she supposed to explain this? "Uhhhhh, nothing. It was just a really strange dream," she supplied lamely. Chloe continued to just stare at her, waiting for more details. "Me and Brad Pitt hit the sheets in dream land is all," she added and Chloe looked at her skeptically.
"I can't believe you're trying to lie to me, Lois. I know you too well for these stunts." Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrow - looking very much like an annoyed Lois. "You want to try telling me the truth and while you're at it let me in on whatever it is that's been bothering you lately."
Lois' stomach knotted nervously. "What are you talking about? Nothing has been bothering me," she lied ineffectually.
"I'm not blind Lois. Now come on and tell me. You know I'm always here for you."
Lois recognized the caring in her cousin's words and let out a defeated groan. "I've been having unexpected feelings for someone," she said meekly.
"Clark," Chloe stated knowingly.
Lois' head shot up. "I didn't say that. Who mentioned Clark."
She met Chloe's eyes. "Do you really want to play the denial game or would you like to get it off your chest? I'm not blind. I see how you two are behaving around each other lately."
Lois huffed and sat heavily on her bed. "Fine. You're right. It started with that bitch Maxima. She suggested that there was something between us. Well, not so much suggested as stated it and then tried to kill me because of it." Chloe moved to Lois' side and took her hand physically expressing her support. "Then the psycho interrogator asked me if I loved him." Lois trailed off and became very introspective.
"Clark told me about that. He said that you answered yes, but you had pushed the sensor off your finger," Chloe provided with a shrug of her shoulders. Lois remained silent and after a moment looked up into Chloe's eyes with a small frown. "Oh. Ohhhh. You didn't take the sensor off," Chloe said as a statement not a question, shaking her head.
"No Chloe, I didn't." Lois sounded defeated. Then her body became rigid and she angrily exclaimed, "I was doing just fine. I was happy. I had work and friends, and my life was not sucking. Then these two strangers blow my sense of normalcy out of the water and make me feel things for a completely unavailable person who's only ever seen me as an annoyance to be tolerated."
Chloe ran her hand through Lois' hair in an attempt to sooth her and clasped her hand stopping her rant. Lois was having a melt down and Chloe realized she was going to have to channel her best Dr Phil material to calm her down. Chloe turned Lois' head and looked into her eyes. "First of all, Clark sees you as way more than an annoyance. If he felt that way would he choose to work with you or spend his day off helping you move?" Lois narrowed her eyes in thought and remained silent. "You know he wouldn't. You may be surprised by how you're feeling but..." Chloe paused became sheepish.
"What," Lois said after a second.
"This is kind of embarrassing, but I saw enough of a connection between you two way back when you were attending Smallville High to make me...to make me jealous."
Lois spluttered out a laugh. "What? You've got to be kidding me. That's ridiculous. And people need to stop saying we have a 'connection'," she said grumpily.
"I'm just telling you what I saw, and I'm not the only one. Jimmy has said for years that you two have electrifying chemistry. Also, when Lana got back from Paris she thought the two of you were together. She told me and Clark as much."
At the mention of Lana, all emotion drained from Lois' face and her jaw twitched as she ground her teeth. "Well we wouldn't want something coming between the happy couple now would we," she said coldly.
She was jealous of Lana, Chloe realized. Tonight certainly was a night for revelations. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Lois jealous. She must really have it bad for Clark. Chloe decided to steer clear of Lana for the moment and continue her pep talk, "Besides, you two don't say it, but I know that you are basically best friends. You spend more time with him than I do with Jimmy and we're engaged."
"We work together. We're bound to see each other," Lois pointed out.
"You two don't have to work together as much as you do. He two don't have to collaborate on most of your stories, but you do anyway. You also see him after work a lot. You told me a little while back that you went out to a bar after work and were together so long that you had to get a hotel room."
Lois blushed, cleared her throat and looked away from her - none of which Chloe missed. She quickly put her reaction together with what Lois had said when she first woke up, and thought she knew what was going on. She treaded lightly, "Lois, did something happen between you that night?"
Lois looked back at Chloe and she could tell that she had put the pieces together. She might as well get it off her chest. Maybe she would feel better afterwards. She could only hope. It couldn't get worse, right? "I can tell you already know that something happened," she chuckled and nudged her cousin's shoulder. She narrated their evening up until the point where she and Clark had sat down to eat.
"I've been having dreams about us being together," she put special emphasis on together and Chloe easily understood her meaning. "And I thought it was just my Id playing stupid tricks on me, but tonight it was like the clouds rolled back and the dreams came into focus. They are so not dreams. We had sex, Chloe," Lois whispered with incredulity. "The worst part is that if I am really honest with myself, I knew all along, but I couldn't face all the changes lately. Everything has been happening all at once and I've been a bit overwhelmed. I know I'm a good liar, but the morning after it happened, I took the gold medal in lying to myself. At that moment I was telling myself anything to make it not true." Her grim eyes fell to her hands as they fiddled with the bed sheet. "But I guess I have to face the music eventually. Why not now." Chloe's forehead drew together at the resignation she heard in her cousin's voice.
It was what Chloe had expected, but it still surprised her. It was unbelievable, but true. "Wow. I mean really, WOW. Has he said anything to you about it?"
"No. I don't think he remembers. We drank a lot. Besides he has acted completely normal around me even after everything that's happened lately. Nothing has changed for him, while I'm sitting over here drowning in change." She threw herself back onto the bed and pulled her pillow over her face letting out a muffled scream of frustration.
Chloe mulled over everything she had been told. She didn't think Clark was as unaffected as Lois seemed to believe. For instance, there were the glances he kept giving Lois when she wasn't paying attention, and the way he had looked at her in the kitchen was full of meaning. Chloe kept her conclusion to herself and determined to talk to Clark to see where he stood.
Chloe lay down next to Lois and wrapped an arm around her. "It's going to be all right, Lois. I'm always here for you," she said wrapping her arm tighter around Lois.
Lois' head popped out from under the pillow and she rested on top of it. She let out a sigh. "I know it will. I can beat this. It's only Smallville after all," she said weakly. "I do, however, have a new found appreciation for your struggle in high school with Captain Oblivious."
They both let out a small laugh. "Yeah, he is pretty oblivious." Chloe brushed Lois' bangs behind her ear and said, "You should get some sleep. It's really late."
Lois nodded and hugged Chloe. "Yeah. Thanks for listening. I think I feel better."
"No problem. Good night."
"Night."
They shifted on the bed getting comfortable. She definitely needed to talk to Clark, was her thought right before her eyes became heavy and she succumbed to sleep.
TBC