I forgot to state in chapter one that for this story, the whole plot about the tornado never happened, and that Clark and Chloe never went to the dance together. Other than that, though, everything from Season One is the same. Also, I didn't really mention it, but Lana doesn't really play a big role in this story, as she didn't really have overwhelming feelings for Clark at the end of Season One, and that's what I'm going by. However, she does have a bigger role in the sequel.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed!

Disclaimer: Yeah…still not mine.

Lois had been in the Talon for all of five minutes before Clark was walking up to her table, a slight smile on his face. "Hey, you're out of the hospital."

Sighing, Lois set down her coffee and resigned herself to conversation. "Yeah. I got out of prison yesterday."

Clark chuckled, pulling out the seat next to her and sitting down. "How do you feel?"

Lois shrugged. "Still a little weak, but the doctor said I should be back to normal in the next couple days. I'm going to have a scar on my neck, though."

"You are?" Clark asked, his brows coming together in concern.

She immediately waved away the concern. "Oh, don't worry. It's just one among my hundreds. Trust me, I have much worse scars." Lois reached for her left sleeve, pushing it and her bra strap out of the way to show a faded round scar on her shoulder.

"Is that a scar from a bullet?" Clark asked, horrified.

Lois chuckled, righting her sleeve. "Don't worry. It's not what you're thinking. When Lucy and I were kids, we found one of the General's guns." She rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the story. "He'd left in a hurry that day, something big was going on, and he'd left it sitting on his desk. Of course, we weren't supposed to be in his office, so he probably thought it'd be safe, but regardless, Lucy grabbed it, accidently fired, and I got this. Could've blown my damn head off." Clark still looked horrified, so Lois decided it was time to change the subject. "Have you seen my cousin today?"

"Don't you live with her?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "You live with your parents; do you always know where they are?"

"They usually tell me when they're leaving," Clark answered, either missing or ignoring her sarcasm.

"Yeah, well, I was still sleeping when she left. I didn't know if she'd said something to you about where she was going or not."

"She told me she was going to the Torch today to do some research for a summer project."

"Which means she's probably investigating another meteor freak," Lois inferred, admiring her cousin's ability to constantly chase after such dangerous people, while at the same time worrying like hell about her. Those freaks were dangerous. She'd witnessed it firsthand.

Clark's lips quirked up in a smile. "Yeah, probably."

"So, what's up with you, Smallville? Milk any cows lately? Take the tractor for a joy ride? Fight the chickens for their precious eggs?" Lois asked jokingly, grinning.

"Har har," Clark muttered, a grudging smile on his face. "Farm life isn't always that glamorous, you know. Usually it's just mucking stalls, but sometimes, there's a fence that's needs to be fixed or the tractor needs work. That's when life gets really interesting."

Lois couldn't help the laughter that came at his joke, rolling her eyes at his sarcasm. "You're learning, Smallville."

"Gee, thanks." Clark stood up, pushing his chair back in. "I should probably get going, though. I really do have chores. I am glad to see you're okay, though, Lois." He gave her another smile before heading for the door.

Lois watched his retreating back with a small smile on her face before finally taking a sip of her now lukewarm coffee.

"I'm finally beginning to see why everyone likes Clark Kent," Lois commented, kicking her feet up onto Chloe's desk.

Chloe glanced up from the book she was leafing through on her bed. "Oh?"

"Mm," Lois hummed in response, idly glancing at the collage of photos Chloe had over her desk. "He's just so nice to everyone. I treat him like an annoying little brother, and he still asks if I'm okay and visits me in the hospital and worries about me having been shot." She shook her head incredulously. "How is anyone that nice?"

Chloe laughed. "Well, that's Clark Kent for you." She sat up, closing her book. "You told him the Lucy and the gun story, then?"

Lois gave Chloe a smirk. "I had to. I showed him the scar and he got so horrified, like he thought I'd been in a gun fight or something. Seriously, what did you tell everyone about me?"

Chloe smiled mysteriously, still refusing to answer. "I almost forgot, Mrs. Kent invited us over for dinner tonight, but I had forgotten that I told Lana I would go to the movies with her."

"That's okay, I'll tell her," Lois assured her, dropping her feet off the desk and standing to go rifle through her clothes for something to wear.

"You're beginning to like it here, aren't you?"

Lois paused before turning to Chloe with a frown. "What, you mean in Smallville? Hardly."

Chloe pressed her lips together to hide a smirk. "Seriously. I know you like Mr. and Mrs. Kent, and you just admitted to liking Clark, and you spend plenty of time at the Talon."

"The Kents are great people, regardless of where they live, I said that I could see why people liked Clark, and the Talon has coffee. None of that means I like it here. I mean, seriously, I was almost killed by a vampire boy."

Chloe shook her head at Lois's deflection, refusing to press the issue. "Tell Mrs. Kent I'm sorry about the mix up."

"Alright," Lois agreed, going back to her wardrobe, unaware of her cousin's smug smirk.

"So is this your clubhouse?" Lois asked teasingly, watching as Clark turned in surprise from the window.

"Lois," Clark greeted belatedly, leaning back against the windowsill. "Where's Chloe?"

Lois finished climbing the steps to the loft, taking a seat on the couch and making herself at home. "She forgot she told Lana they could go to the movies, so you're stuck with just little ol' me."

Clark chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh, how will I ever survive?" He grinned at Lois's eyeroll. "Are you coming to Crater Lake with me, Chloe, and Pete tomorrow?"

"Oh, you mean Smallville's excuse for a beach?" Lois's smile softened the blow of her harsh words. "Of course. If I'd known there was a place to cool down two weeks ago, I would've been spending every day there."

"Can't handle the heat?" Clark asked, a challenge in his eyes that Lois couldn't refuse.

She answered with a scoff. "Bring on the heat, Smallville. I can take it."

Clark smirked, raising a doubting eyebrow. "We'll see."

Lois narrowed her eyes in response, but then her gaze landed on something beside Clark. "Why do you have a telescope?"

"I like looking at the stars," Clark answered with a shrug.

"I should've figured you'd have a telescope," Lois commented, "They are for geeks and stalkers."

Clark gave her a look. "And which do you assume I am?"

"Probably a little bit of both, I'd say." Lois grinned as he rolled his eyes at her. "Don't feel bad, Smallville. I just tell it like I see it."

"Why would I ever take offense from that, Lois?" Clark asked, sarcasm coating his words.

Before Lois could think of some witty retort, a male voice coming from the stairs asked, "Did I just hear Clark Kent use sarcasm?"

Both turned to find Lex Luthor climbing the stairs, a smile on his face. Lois was momentarily thrown to see a billionaire rich kid in Clark's loft, but recovering quickly, telling him, "I've been introducing him to the finer things in life."

Lex turned to her, a curious look on his face. Seeing this, Clark introduced, "Lex, this is Chloe's cousin, Lois Lane. Lois, this is Lex Luthor."

"Lois Lane, huh?" He stepped closer to Lois, holding out his hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Lois."

Lois sat up, shaking his hand with a raised eyebrow. "You too, Luthor. Now, why the hell are you here?"

"Lois," Clark groaned, unable to believe the extent of Lois's bluntness.

"No, it's okay, Clark," Lex assured him. "It's a reasonable question, one that Lois isn't out of line in asking." He casually slipped his hands into his pockets as he told Clark, "I actually came to talk to you." He glanced at Lois meaningfully. "In private."

Lois rolled her eyes, standing from the couch. "You could've just asked me to leave. I probably would have." She headed for the stairs, throwing over her shoulder, "See you at dinner, Smallville."

As soon as Lois had left the barn, Clark asked, "So?"

"I figured you would want to know that Roger Nixon is no longer a problem," Lex told him, leaning back against the railing.

"What do you mean 'no longer a problem'?" Clark asked worriedly.

Lex gave a slight smile, shaking his head. "Just believe me when I was he won't be bothering you or your family again. I don't know what he had on you –"

"Thank you, Lex," Clark cut in before Lex could get around to asking what Nixon had had on him.

"It's no problem." Lex glanced over his shoulder at the entrance of the barn. "So, Lois Lane. What happened to Lana?"

Clark flushed immediately, his words coming out rushed and awkward, "N-no! I-it's not like that!"

Lex smirked, which only served to make Clark blush even more. "Ah. I see." His smile dimmed and he leveled a serious look at Clark. "You know, it's okay to like other girls besides Lana, Clark. She's not the only girl in Smallville and is certainly not the only girl in the world."

Clark sighed, leaning heavily on the windowsill. "Yeah. Yeah, I know. But…well…Lois is only here for this summer. Besides, she hates me. Or, at least, she likes to pick on me more than she likes me."

Lex's smile returned and he started over to the stairs. However, he paused for a moment to ask, "Clark, have you ever heard that young boys like to pull the pigtails of the girls they like? They like to torment them, and pick on them, because they like them." As he headed down the stairs, he called over his shoulder, "Just something to think about."

Clark was left with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"So, what do you think?" Chloe asked as they approached Crater Lake.

Lois took in the small lake and small surrounding beach with pursed lips. "It's…quaint. Like everything else in Smallville."

"At least quaint it better than tame," Chloe muttered, leading Lois over to where Clark and Pete were waiting. "We've finally arrived, guys. Lois took forever to get ready."

Lois shrugged, unashamed. "I couldn't decide between green and blue."

"Green and blue what?" Clark asked in confusion. "You're wearing a red shirt." In response, Lois pushed off her shorts and pulled off her t-shirt, revealing a tiny dark blue bikini. "Oh…that…" Clark mumbled, his face considerably paler.

"Yes, this," Lois agreed distractedly. "Did you think I was going swimming in a t-shirt and shorts?" She shook her head at Clark's apparent ridiculousness before heading straight for the lake.

Pete watched Lois's retreating back, shaking his head slowly. "Does she know how hot she is?"

Chloe rolled her eyes as she sat down beside the guys. "Yes. She does this on purpose just to make guys flustered. Lois has been…developed for quite some time, and has loved flustering guys since."

"Just flustering though, right?" Clark asked.

"Are you asking me if my cousin is a slut, Clark Kent?" Chloe teased, arching an eyebrow.

Clark flushed and sputtered out, "N-no! I-I didn't mean… I mean I-I…"

Chloe laughed, giving Clark a playful shove. "I'm kidding, Clark! Yes, she just flusters. Sure, she's had her fair share of boyfriends, but further than that? Not that I've heard. And we pretty much tell each other everything."

"Oh," Clark said simply, watching as Lois dove off the dock, disappearing into the water below. "I uh…I think I'm gonna go for a swim." He stood up, shedding his t-shirt before heading for the lake.

Chloe worried her bottom lip, watching Clark for a moment before turning to Pete. "Pete?"

Pete turned to her, frowning at her troubled look. "What's wrong, Chloe?"

"Does…does Clark like Lois?"

Pete looked almost surprised at the question. "Where would you get that idea?"

Chloe gave a shrug. "I don't know…it's just that…he asks about her a lot. And…the way he looks at her… He used to look at Lana like that. Haven't you realized that he's had a startling lack of Lana-zone-outs lately? Now he's always looking at Lois."

Pete sighed, scooting closer to Chloe, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I think you're making something out of nothing, Chloe. Lois and Clark just like to get under each other's skin. You've seen the way they joke around with each other. I don't think it means what you're thinking it does."

"You're right," Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes at her own absurdity. "I'm just over thinking everything."