Again, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! For those of you who've been patient, there's some Clark/Lois in this chapter! Also, we get to see a little of Lex, and no, he's not going to be the 'villain of the story' in this one. I love Lex too much to make him the bad guy, sorry, but I can't help it.

Clark quickly ducked as a blue vase came flying towards his head. Wow, he'd had to use a touch of super speed to avoid that missile. As he scampered out the kitchen door, he thought ruefully to himself that he might have pushed Lois a little too hard this time. He had been unable to resist a tiny love tap to her behind when he'd entered the kitchen to see her bent over in front of the cabinet.

He didn't know what she had originally been looking for, but his mother's poor flower vase had taken the brunt of her irritation. Still, he had to smile as he recalled the outraged gasp she'd given.

"Something funny to you, Smallville?"

Clark jerked around and gulped nervously when he realized what she was holding in her hand. A bag of overripe tomatoes from his mother's garden that she had been going to throw out, but must have not had the chance to do so yet. He remembered from that damn dunk tank how accurate Lois's aim was, and it wasn't like he could use his abilities with her looking right at him.

"I was just teasing, Lois, honestly," he said, holding his hands up defensively and backing anxiously towards the barn.

Her grin turned downright evil as Lois tossed the tomato in her hand, preparing to throw it at him, aiming for his face, no doubt. Unfortunately for her, the tomatoes were really overripe, and it broke apart when it hit her hand, the gooey mess sliding down her arm.

Clark bent over, his hands on his knees the only thing holding him up, he was laughing so hard. The look on her face was classic! He was laughing so hard, that he didn't hear Lois until she was right in front of him, smearing the tomato slime all over his head.

He shouted in disgust, and reached up to grab her arm, pulling it away from his hair. She was so sneaky, though, that she'd brought the whole bag with her, and reached out to smush another one right into his chest.

"Lois!" Clark screeched. "Gross!"

"I'll tell you what's gross, Smallville! This habit you have of always trying something with me! You need to cut it out," she said, as she fought against his hold on her arm, trying to get more tomato on him at the same time.

"I think you're protesting a little too much, Lois," Clark replied with a smirk.

She growled in outrage, and then Clark felt her foot slip around behind his leg. Great, she was trying to judo flip him again. Suppressing his sigh, Clark went with it. Lois jumped onto his stomach, smashing the tomatoes all over his face and chest.

Clark had just about had enough…it would take him forever to get that smell out of his nose. Before she could react, he flipped the two of them over, so that she was beneath him, but he was careful not to put his entire weight on her.

"Are you mad because I dared to touch you, or are you mad because you liked it?" he whispered, even as he pulled his head slightly to one side to dodge another tomato. He grabbed both of her hands in his and knocked the bag of tomatoes out of her reach with his elbow.

She glared up at him and twisted, trying to throw him off of her, or maybe trying to knee him in the groin. With Lois, you could never tell. She let out a brief shout of frustration when she failed to move him even one little inch. Clark could be stubborn, too, when he wanted to be.

He gave her an evil grin and she scowled at him all the more fiercely. Renewing her struggles to free herself, Lois shifted in such a way that Clark's leg slipped between hers, their hips cradling each other just so. Clark gasped as they both froze. He hadn't even realized he was half-hard, and now just that little bit of pressure had him like a rock. Lois's eyes were impossibly wide as she gazed up at him.

The sound of his parents' truck crunching over the gravel at the end of the driveway broke the stalemate. Clark didn't have a clue how long they might have stayed in that position. Who knew, maybe he would have gotten up the nerve to kiss Lois again.

They scrambled to their feet just as the truck pulled up to the house. Clark smiled as big and brightly as he could as his mom and dad got out of the truck, meanwhile praying fervently they wouldn't notice the huge bulge in his pants. The smile faltered somewhat as they both looked at him with raised brows.

"Clark, is there a reason you have tomato juice all over you?" his mother asked, calmly.

He muttered a curse under his breath as he glanced down at his ruined shirt where Lois had crushed rotten vegetables all over him. How the hell had he forgotten about that? He glanced over at Lois, who was suspiciously trying to contain her snickering. Oh, that was why…he'd been on top of Lois.

"Well, Lois-"

"I didn't do anything, Mrs. Kent! Clark tripped me! I have to go clean up now," Lois said, right before she dashed into the house.

Clark glared after her retreating form. Great, now she was probably going to claim the shower first and he'd have to smell like rotting tomatoes for even longer.

"Clark, did you trip Lois on purpose?" Martha gasped, scandalized.

"What! No, of course, I didn't," he said. "I just…I mean she…well, it was an accident…" he stammered, and then his super hearing picked up the water in the shower starting, and Clark's hard-on, which had begun to diminish, suddenly perked up again. After all, Lois in the shower was one of his favorite pastimes these days. "I'm gonna go wait in the barn until Lois is done in the bathroom!" he shouted and disappeared in a flash to his sanctuary.

As he collapsed onto his couch, Clark heard his father say, "I swear, that boy is downright strange sometimes."

Clark groaned as he covered his face with his hands. His dad had no idea.

Over the next couple of weeks, Clark stepped up his campaign to wear Lois down. She, in turn, seemed to have stepped up her efforts to ignore him. Clark's mom definitely suspected something was going on, as Clark caught more than one speculative look coming his way, but she seemed to obliquely approve of Lois, since she never said anything to him.

One glorious time, Clark had almost gotten to kiss her. He'd cornered her while she was doing the dishes and had teased her until she'd turned around and he was right there, and she was so close.

He leaned in and he thought she even swayed a little closer to him, and right as both their eyes started to flutter shut…Lois punched him in the stomach, slipped under his arm and hightailed it up the stairs. Clark was so caught by surprise, he actually gasped from the force of her blow.

Clark sat on the couch in his Fortress, moping as he recalled this incident, and wondered if he was making any progress at all with Lois. Sometimes, it seemed as if she was as interested in him as he was in her, but he thought she might just be scared about getting close to someone. Then, at other times, her resistance was so furious and stubborn, Clark thought he was just getting on her nerves and being a pervy stalker.

Maybe he should just leave her alone.

The thought saddened Clark so much that a heavy sigh escaped before he realized it.

"Haven't seen you that mournful in quite a while, Clark. What's got you so down?"

Clark lifted his head in surprise to see Lex standing at the top of the stairs, looking only the slightest bit hesitant. Ever since the incident where Clark had lost his memories, he and Lex had made some tentative steps at renewing their friendship. Clark supposed he was still a bit unsure about his welcome at the Kent farm.

"Nothing, really. I was just being a broody teenager, I guess," Clark said, a wan smile on his face.

Lex gave him a smile in return, though, and walked over to sit beside Clark on the couch, but not before wiping his hand across the cushion in a vain attempt to brush away years of grime and dust.

"I think I know what your problem is," Lex said.

"You do?" Clark asked doubtfully.

"Remember what I told you a few years ago? A high school boyfriend is not a husband. Certainly, Teague is a little older and more sophisticated than Whitney was, but if you want Lana, you need to be willing to fight for her."

"What? I'm not in love with Lana anymore. I'm not sure if I ever was."

Wow. Clark had never seen Lex with his jaw hanging open like that before. He chuckled softly before reaching out to push it closed with one finger. Lex might have almost blushed, just a little.

"I am sorry if I assumed, Clark, but for the last four years, anytime I saw you all moody and moping, it was over Lana, so I just thought…"

"I know, I know, it's what everyone thinks. But I realized quite a while back that Lana is not the one for me. We just don't fit, y'know?"

"So…" Lex said, and then paused.

"So what?" Clark asked with a grin. If nothing else, teasing Lex lifted his mood a bit.

"So, are you going to tell me what had you making that terribly sad sigh when I came up the steps or not?" Lex asked, exasperated.

"I don't know if I should tell you or not, Lex. Can I trust you?" Clark asked, still teasing, but by the way Lex's whole body stiffened, he knew he'd hit a sore spot. He sighed again. "I want to trust you, Lex. You just have to give me some time, okay?" he said softly.

After a few moments, Lex nodded somewhat jerkily, and Clark relaxed a bit that the fragile truce between the two of them would hold for a while longer.

"Anyway, what has me all broody has nothing to do with, uh, other things. You were right that it is about a girl, just not Lana."

"Chloe?"

"No! No, I think I burned that bridge a long time ago, at the Spring Formal," Clark laughed ruefully. "Don't laugh, okay?"

Lex raised one eyebrow, as if asking sardonically what he could have to laugh about.

"It's Lois," Clark whispered.

Lex laughed.

"Lex, you promised not to laugh!" Clark whined.

"No, I didn't. You asked me not to, but I never said I wouldn't," Lex said with a lingering grin. "All right, all right, I'm sorry. I'll try to help," he said, upon seeing Clark's pout.

"Thanks," Clark muttered.

"I know that Ms. Lane and I don't always see eye-to-eye, but if you feel something deeper for her, then maybe I'm missing something."

"That's just the thing about Lois, Lex. Everyone gets taken in by that tough exterior, but she's really kinda vulnerable. She's been hurt by a lot, so she talks big sometimes. Not to say she's not a strong person, cause she is. She's fierce, and loyal, and funny, and smart, and of course, she's so beautiful. Man, sometimes my whole body aches just looking at her. Heck, sometimes just thinking about her is enough to drive me crazy."

"Sounds like you have it bad, my friend. What's keeping you from winning the young lady's affections?"

"Lois is! She's so…so stubborn! I've told her about a million times that I like her and that I want to go out with her, but she won't listen. Keeps telling me that 'kissage between us is not gonna happen again, Smallville'. She makes me nuts," Clark said petulantly.

"Ah, so there's been, er, kissage then?"

"Yeah," Clark said, and a beatific smile crossed his face as he recalled the few times he'd been able to lock lips with Lois Lane. The problem was, he wanted more!

Clark came back to reality by Lex snapping his fingers in front of his face. Clark glared at Lex, who merely grinned unrepentantly. Before he could give his friend grief over the teasing, Clark heard his mother calling from the barn doors.

"Clark! I've got your cap and gown for the graduation ceremony! Come down so we can make sure they fit."

Lex hung around for a few minutes more as Clark tried on his cap and gown, turning around in the front yard to give his mom proof that the fit was fine. By the time he left, Clark felt better about their newly re-established friendship. There were still a few obstacles to get around, but Clark could see himself someday being honest with Lex about some things.

Clark could hardly believe that he was graduating from high school tomorrow. In truth though, he was a little conflicted. Graduation meant being a grown-up, with grown-up responsibilities. Even though he'd been shouldering adult tasks for most of his teen years, part of him was a little sad that he wouldn't be walking through the halls of Smallville High anymore, just worried about his next class instead of thinking about careers and his future.

He felt cheered as a new thought struck him. Perhaps the reason Lois kept saying no was that she saw Clark as just a high school kid. Well, she wouldn't have that excuse after tomorrow, would she? By the time he went to bed that night, he was formulating numerous new plans to get Lois to say yes to a date with Clark Kent.

Clark had no idea what time it was when he jerked awake on the living room couch to see his parents staring at him anxiously. He frowned at the obvious worry on both their faces.

"Thank goodness, Clark! We've been trying to wake you for almost ten minutes!" his mother said, reaching out to touch his shoulder as though to reassure herself he was all right.

"What?" Clark asked, still feeling numb from the terror that had been the dream. He couldn't recall what he'd dreamed, he only knew that it had scared the hell out of him.

"You just kept yelling 'It's coming! It's coming!' over and over again. What did you see, son?" his dad asked.

"I, uh, I don't remember," Clark mumbled. He rubbed one hand across his brow and then looked at his hand in confusion. He was actually sweating! That rarely happened to him these days.

"I think we could all use a cup of hot cocoa," his mother said decisively. "Come on into the kitchen and I'll get the milk warming."

A few minutes later, Clark was wrapping his hands around a warm mug, breathing in the sweet smell of his mom's special recipe for hot chocolate, renowned throughout Lowell County. Still, even as he took a sip, Clark couldn't help but worry about what his nightmare really meant.

"I think it might have been a warning of some kind," he said softly. His parents knew what he was talking about immediately.

"It might have just been a bad dream, son. You used to have nightmares quite a bit when we first brought you home," his dad protested.

"I do remember those days, Clark. And you can't let your graduation tomorrow be spoiled by a nightmare," his mom said as she ran a caressing hand through his hair.

"Nightmare? Is that what all the fuss is about?"

The Kents looked up to see a sleepy Lois coming down the stairs. Clark couldn't help but grin at the bunny slippers she was wearing.

"Lois. Sorry we woke you," his dad said.

"No biggie. If it makes you feel any better, Smallville, I have nightmares all the time," Lois said. She reached into a cabinet to grab a mug and helped herself to a serving of hot cocoa.

"You do?" Clark asked, immediately concerned. How was that something he never knew about her?

"Sure," she said as she sat down across from him at the kitchen table. "Most of them involve this huge, ugly, troll-like beast that keeps trying to hit on me." This was said with a smirk that she quickly hid behind her mug when Clark shot her an exasperated look.

"Gosh, that's terrible, Lois," he said, flatly, not amused.

"Isn't it?" she snickered. Then she seemed to realize at the same moment that Clark did that his parents were giving them odd glances, and attempted to change the subject. "Though, I do have this recurring dream where I'm falling off a building, and some flying guy in a red cape saves me. Weird, right?"

Clark didn't know what to make of that. He still floated over his own bed sometimes, but the flying thing that he'd thought would be his next ability had never really materialized, and he was still very much earthbound at the moment. He perked up a bit at the thought that Lois's dream might be a bit prophetic and she was dreaming of being saved by him! He wasn't too keen on the idea of a red cape, though. That would just be ridiculous.

"But anyway, I guess two in the morning is as good a time as any to let you know the news. The General has recruited me for the hunt for my wayward sibling. We're leaving for Heidelberg tomorrow, well, I guess later today, really."

Clark could not believe she would just throw that information out there like it was no big deal. He gaped at her in astonishment, but to his frustration, she refused to meet his gaze.

"Oh, Lois, I'm so sorry to hear you'll be leaving us, but family is important," Martha said sympathetically.

"Kind of telling us at the last minute, though, aren't you?" Clark said, and tried not to sound accusing. He wasn't sure how well he succeeded.

"Well, you know how it is, Smallville. Sometimes things happen and people have to move on. That's just life," she said mulishly, still not looking at him.

Clark felt a rush of something that was perilously close to panic at the thought of Lois leaving. He didn't want to say anything in front of his parents; however, he swore she was not going to leave without giving him a chance to talk to her first.

To his supreme aggravation, Lois managed to avoid him for most of the next morning, and he couldn't go searching for her because his mom kept him busy getting ready for graduation. Clark really didn't see what the point was of picking out a nice suit and tie, as no one was going to be able to see it hidden under his graduation gown. When he dared to try and say this to his mother, he got a whole lot more nagging and fussing than he was comfortable with.

An hour before he was supposed to be at Smallville High for the ceremony, Clark was in his loft, trying to figure out how to make his tie look like a proper tie. He pulled one end through the knot, but it didn't look anything like Lex's ties always looked. With a huff of irritation, Clark pulled the tie off and threw it onto the couch.

He glared down at it, and considered blazing it out existence with his heat vision.

"Having a bit of trouble there, Smallville?"

Clark jerked around in surprise to see Lois standing at the top of the stairs. She'd been avoiding him all day, and now she showed up right before he had to leave? Not fair, he whined inwardly.

"Lois. I, um…" Great, he'd been wanting to talk to her all morning, planning out all the things he would say to make her change her mind about leaving Smallville. Now, words seemed to have completely deserted him.

Lois smirked at him and walked over to the couch. Clark still couldn't find any words as she looped the tie around his neck and began tying it efficiently. He could only stare down at the top of her head as she concentrated on her task. Her knuckles brushed against his chest as her hands worked, and Clark swore that he could feel it even through the fancy dress shirt.

"Should've known you had no clue how to tie a tie, Smallville. It requires skill and dexterity, and little artisanship, all of which you are completely lacking. There, I think that'll do it," she said and patted the knot with one hand. She half-turned to go back down the stairs, but Clark caught her hand.

"Don't go," he said quietly.

"We have to get going, or we're going to be late for your graduation," Lois said, a nervous laugh escaping her.

"No, I mean, don't go, Lois. Don't go to Europe with your dad. Please," he said softly.

She'd been avoiding his gaze the entire time since she'd walked up into the loft, even while she was fixing his tie, but now she finally looked up at him.

"Clark," she sighed, her voice filled with a kind of fond exasperation. "Why are you pushing so hard for this? Surely you can see that the two of us would never work."

He saw then that she really didn't understand how serious he was in his feelings about her. A little emboldened that she was at least listening for a change, and desperate to make her see, Clark reached his other hand around her back to pull her closer to him. She gasped a little in surprise, but she didn't pull away.

"Lois, what are you so scared of?"

"Everything. And nothing. And I don't know, Clark. How can you not be terrified of what's happening here?"

"So you do admit you feel something," Clark said, trying not to gloat. He felt like he was cautiously approaching a wild animal, and had to step so carefully so as not to startle her into running away…again.

"Of course I do, you idiot. That doesn't mean I'm going to give in to it if it's not a good idea."

"It could be a good idea. It could be the best idea we've ever had, but how will you know if you don't give it a chance?" Clark asked. He held her just a fraction tighter, pulling their bodies ever closer together. His head was slowly bending towards her as he tried to convince her, and he was pleased to note that she unconsciously tilted her head up to meet his. "All I'm asking for is a chance, Lois," he whispered just as his lips touched hers.

"Clark, what are you doing up there? It's time to go!" his mother called, and he could hear her footsteps starting up the stairs.

Lois jerked backwards and stared at him with big, shocked eyes, before she quickly took several steps back. Clark let her go, because what else could he do at this point? By the time his mom got up to the loft, he and Lois were separated by several respectable feet, although to Clark, it felt more like miles.

"Oh, good, you're all dressed and ready to go. I thought I was going to have to help you with that tie," Martha smiled.

"No, Lois took care of it for me," Clark said.

"Well, thank you, Lois. That was very kind of you. See, you and Clark can get along when you want to."

"Who knew?" Lois said, and she was inching her way closer to the exit.

Clark wanted to reach out and stop her, but he knew Lois would kill him if he mentioned anything about what had just happened between them to his mother.

"I'm going to go on ahead and scout us out some good seats at the graduation, Mrs. Kent. We certainly want to be able to see Smallville walk across that stage, don't we?" she said, her voice sounding distinctly brittle. She hightailed it down the stairs before Clark could think of anything to stop her.

His mother looked at him suspiciously. "Lois was acting a little strange. You two weren't up here fighting, were you?"

Clark sighed heavily, the ache in his chest feeling like it weighed a ton. "No more than usual, Mom."

TBC