Chapter Ten Part Two- "Trouble just walked in"
"And he just walked away?" the raven haired woman asked while walking alongside Lois as they headed towards their morning classes.
Lois nodded, "He's afraid of losing control and it causes him to withdrawal from the people closest to him. I'm use to it, but there's only so many times I can be told 'no'" she adjusts her book bag and looks towards her friend, "But when you care about someone, its important to put their needs before your own. I'm willing to wait as long as possible"
"This Clark Kent sounds like the perfect guy." the woman opens the door and follows Lois inside, "You better hang onto him or someone else is gonna swoop in and steal him."
She just shakes her head and turns around to face her companion, "Clark's not the type of guy that runs off with another girl, he's old fashioned and takes matters of the heart very seriously."
The pair come to a halt at the crossroads in the hallway where they share a quick hug, "I'll see you in the quad after class?" her friends asks with a cheerful smile.
Lois nods and starts to head towards her journalism class, "Don't be late this time Lori or I'll have to find a new roommate." she jokes.
Lori just laughs, "Good luck with that one Lo, there aren't that many people on campus that enjoy listening to you sing along to old eighties ballads." she begins to head towards her environmental science class.
A backpack lay forgotten on the couch while the steamer trunk in the middle acted as a small table that was covered in books and a journal with post notes pasted on numerous pages.
Clark came speeding back from the house with food and bottled water; the young kryptonian placed the items on his desk and began to finish what he was working on.
Hours seemed to fly by and the plate of food stood untouched on his desk, he seemed to be reading at a faster rate then ever before and only stopped when a familiar voice from the past called out, "Shouldn't Smallville's star quarterback be out with friends instead of staying cooped up in his loft reading books?"
"Alicia" he turned around surprised to see his psychotic ex standing in front of him with a small smile on her face, "I'd ask how you escaped, but I guess that's pretty obvious."
She shakes her head negatively, "They said I'm cured" she lifts her wrist up to showcase the thick band around her wrist; "My doctor built this so that small amount of lead could enter my bloodstream and prevent me from teleporting."
Clark listens to what she says with a small amount of skepticism and suspicion, "I'm glad they think your better but that still doesn't change what happened between us. You tried to kill me and Lana."
Alicia avoids his gaze when he mentions her past indiscretions, "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything I put you through." she starts walking closer to him but stops when he begins to back away, "You're the last person on earth that I ever wanted to hurt."
He just stands there silent with his gaze fixed upon her, "But you didn't answer my question. Why are you up here alone on a Saturday night?"
"I'm not alone anymore." he slips past her and begins to close all the books hoping it would put some distance between them, "A lot of things have changed since you left…I've changed." he stacks the books together and places them on his desk keeping his back towards her.
"Does this sudden change have anything to do with Lois Lane returning after being gone for three years?"
Clark stops and in an instant appears in front of her with a threatening tone in his voice, "Until I know that you're telling me the truth about being released from Belle Reeve, stay away from Lois." he steps back and continues to put everything away unaware of the longing looks in Alicia's eyes.
"You may not trust me or believe me but I just want you to know that the whole time that I was in Belle Reeve, just the thought that there was someone out there like me, who knew what it was like to be different, gave me hope. In my darkest moment, you gave me hope, Clark." she leaves the barn, her words seem to affect the young man as he just stands still thinking over the words she spoke.
Lois sat in the dimly lit basement of the Daily Planet going over the last few sentences of her article on the mayor's war on crime when a feeling of paranoia crept up her spine halting further work as she looked around the small bullpen with her senses on high alert.
The sound of her phone ringing caused Lois to jump as she turned her around to pick up, "Lois Lane"
"You disappoint me Miss Lane. I leave an award winning story on your doorstep and you just let it sit in that lockbox you keep hidden under your bed." the computerized voice says angrily.
Her eyes seem to widen at the mention of the files location and does a quick check of the area before responding, "You cant expect it to be in print the moment you hand over evidence, I've got to investigate before writing the article so I don't look like an idiot in front of my boss."
"I expect to see that story on the front page soon or the people you care about are gonna get hurt. I think I'll start by stopping by your cousin's house and pay her a visit."
She rises up from her chair, "You listen here buddy, no one threatens me or my family. If you want that article on the front page then I'm gonna need more to go on then some pictures."
The man smirks at her change in attitude, "Lionel Luthor use to run a facility called Level 3, now Lex has taken his father's pet project and expand it…look for a man named Earl Jenkins."
The phone clicked leaving Lois to stand in the dark basement confused as to who this mysterious caller was and what he wanted from her.
TBC
I should forewarn everyone that the version of Kal your going to see is gonna be a little different but he still has that bad boy swagger that we are accustomed to.