A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews to date. Always loved and appreciated! This chapter is kind of long, sorry about that. I always plan out what I want to happen in a chapter and sometimes it just takes me longer to get there. I guess I could just upload it as two chapters but then that seems to break the flow.
I apologise for any errors in advance. I really wanted to upload this before the weekend was over and I've been so busy with my truckload of marking! Ugh. I'll be glad when this week is over!
That said. Enjoy!
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Chapter Five.
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Lois rubbed her hands together. The nights were starting to get chilly. It was time to drag out the scarfs, mittens and beanies.
"Why am I here watching, Smallville, play football?" she grumbled to Chloe.
"For moral support," Chloe returned.
"Humph. He's got Lana for that."
Her eyes landed on the cheer leader, prancing around with her pom-poms. "Give me a C," she called out, "give me a L."
"Oh please. I think I'm about to throw up," Lois muttered, taking a bite of her hotdog.
Clark had that lovesick look on his face. It was the only thing she couldn't figure out about him; his sad infatuation for Lana Lang. She felt like smacking that look off his face. It seriously annoyed her.
"Has Clark gotten around to asking Lana out yet?" Chloe asked beside her as she blew on her hands.
"What, Smallville," she half laughed, "He's slow and thick as molasses when it comes to the opposite sex."
And no it wasn't endearing, she quietly chided to herself. Clark was annoying. He whined when she took too long in the bathroom.
'Are you nearly finished, Lois.'
'I'm washing my hair.'
'Why is it taking so long?'
'Because I have long hair, Clark.'
It wasn't rocket science.
He got upset when she wore his clothes.
'That's my shirt!'
She'd merely shrugged. 'All my clothes are in the laundry basket.'
'Lighten up Smallville, not like I'm going anywhere.'
'Unfortunately,' he muttered under his breath.
'I heard that.' She punched him in the arm. 'I'll return it.'
Though she hadn't. She strangely liked wearing his shirts. There was something to be said for plaid after all.
"So what's living with, Clark Kent, like?" Chloe asked, giving her a sideways glance.
Chloe seriously needed to get over her crush on him. Maybe they should go out more, check out guys that were not still in high school.
"Oh, Clark is as straight and boring as they come," she shrugged, though not entirely true, there was certainly something … different about him in an endearing way. He also proved useful when it came to helping with her assignments.
"He's your typical boy scout," she continued. Well mannered, overly polite, thoughtful. She couldn't even recalling him swearing. He was everything … she wasn't.
She swore like a trooper, often making him stammer or blush.
"He doesn't even leave the toilet seat up," she mused, "I don't think I've even heard him fart yet."
Chloe giggled. "Neither have I."
"Mrs K is the best mom ever."
Chloe couldn't help feeling a tad envious. Clark was lucky to have a mom like that, and Lois living at the farm sort of bothered her. Not that she worried about Clark getting attached to Lois, not when he only had eyes for Lana, but she often wished it was her living at the farm. Lois was lucky and not even aware that she was. Her eyes rested on Clark. He was looking better than ever
"You still nagging him about his diet?" she asked.
"No," Lois scoffed.
"He's looking pretty fit."
"Now that Lana talks to him, he's always watching what he eats," Lois grumbled as she took another bite of her hotdog. "It's boring."
Chloe shot her a puzzled sideways glance.
"I'm not tempted to steal anything off him," she returned. "And I can't really call him tubby anymore."
Chloe couldn't always understand why Lois was like that with Clark? They were amusing to watch.
"You were the one on a mission to get him fit," she pointed out.
Lois sighed. "Yeah, and damn, but I'm good."
Chloe rolled her eyes.
"I mean look at him," Lois pointed out. "Half the girls in school have the hots for him."
Which is exactly what Chloe didn't want, even though she was happy for him, she told herself. He was starting to enjoy life again, but did he have to enjoy it on the football field and with Lana Lang?
She glanced up to find Lois watching her.
"You know what we need," Lois began, "We need to go out, have fun and pick up some guys."
Chloe screwed up her nose. "I don't know about picking up some guys, but having fun sounds good to me."
Naturally, Lois silently thought, and no thanks to Clark. But her next new mission was to work on Chloe getting over her feelings for Clark.
The game was soon over. Smallville High won of course. Clark played his usual best. Lois had to give him credit for that; he was good and soon to be the local school footy hero. Not only did he have Lana eyeing him off but a number of the cheer leaders. Lois could only imagine the bitchfest that went on in the change rooms afterwards. And Clark was totally impervious to all of it. But Chloe wasn't. Damn, but her cousin seriously needed to move on. She glanced across the field as she picked up her hand bag.
"Uh oh, Clark is closing in on Lana. Five bucks says he doesn't go through with it," she quipped.
She watched them engage in conversation, her eyes narrowing. Maybe she should just beat some sense into that thick head of his.
"Judging by the smile on his face I think he might just have asked her out and she said yes," Chloe muttered, despondently.
Yep she was definitely about to grill Clark out. But he disappeared somewhere with Pete afterwards.
Chloe dropped her home. She was too tired to wait up and went to bed. There was always tomorrow. She set her alarm so she wouldn't miss breakfast. It was even more fun making him squirm in front of Mrs K.
Clark was on cloud nine. He finally summoned up the nerve to ask Lana out and she said yes. After all these years. He could hardly believe it. The other football players treated him with respect now, except Chad, but Clark didn't care.
Lana liked him.
The coach had nothing but praise for him.
Pete was happy because now girls were looking at them. They were part of the 'in group', and were invited back to Sam's house for drinks afterwards. A beer was shoved into his hand. He didn't think twice.
Pete's eyes widened. "Since when do you ever drink?"
"Um, Lois."
Pete grinned. "Yeah man she'd be enough to drive anyone to drink."
Her teasing taunts came to mind; 'It's not poison, Smallville.' He smiled to himself.
"Yeah I guess but she brought me a beer, she didn't drive me to drink."
Pete shot him a curious glance.
"Her idea of a surprise," Clark continued.
Pete looked impressed. "Cool surprise," he said with approval.
He hadn't thought so at the time but now in hindsight, maybe it was. He wouldn't look so uncool if he didn't refuse a beer. Lois' other words also came back to mind; "never drink on an empty stomach.'
He hadn't had anything to eat for a few hours. Still, one beer couldn't hurt. But one soon became two. He could feel a bit of a head rush. It kind of felt good. He was more relaxed, and able to socialise without the usual awkwardness.
"So here's to the man of the game," Sam said out loud, holding up his beer.
Clark couldn't help feeling pleased with himself. He'd one day dreamed of not being a total loser, and for the first time he wasn't. This was turning out to be his year after all.
Sam approached him, handing him a glass with dark liquid in it.
"Ah thanks, what is it?" Clark stammered.
Sam smiled. "Coke."
Clark took a sip. Funny but it didn't taste just like coke. His eyes met Sam's.
"I just added a little whiskey to it," he shrugged. "C'mon lighten up Kent, this is your night."
Four cokes mixed with who knew how much whiskey later, Clark wasn't feeling so good. The room started spinning at an alarming rate. He somehow managed to find Pete, grabbing him by the arm.
"You need to get me out of here."
Pete turned to him, concern crossing his face. "Whoa Clark you're looking … bad."
He helped him to the truck. "I'll drive," he suggested, "I've only had two beers."
Clark was seriously now wishing he'd done the same. What had he been thinking? It wasn't like him, but then he'd never been in such an environment before. Maybe the whole praise thing had gone to his head?
Lois was almost asleep, snuggled up under Clark's duvet, in Clark's bed and she was going to kill him tomorrow. Okay maybe that was a bit too much, make his life a living hell sounded a better option. A rock hitting the window startled her. What was with that? She'd no sooner processed the thought when another rock hit the window. Scrambling out of bed, she yanked the window open.
"Pete," she squinted, peering down at him. What was he doing here?
"I need your help," he called back softly.
Had something happened to Clark? Hurriedly pulling on a pair of tracksuit pants and sweater she silently went downstairs, opening the back door.
Pete was waiting, looking rather anxious and causing her to worry even more.
"What's happened," she blurted out, "Where's Clark? Is he alright?"
"In a manner of speaking," Pete replied, running a hand up the back of his neck, a sheepish look crossing his face, "he's just a bit … drunk."
Lois went still in disbelief. "Clark's drunk?"
Was she hearing things? Goody two shoe's Clark … had been drinking? "How?"
Pete took her by the arm and led her to the truck. "Sam asked us back to his house along with a number of other players, we were drinking beer but I swear Clark only had two."
"He's drunk on two beers?"
"I thought he was drinking coke but I think they might have added a bit more to it."
Just terrific. Mrs K wouldn't be happy.
"Where is the farm boy?"
"In the truck."
Pete pulled the door open but there was no Clark inside.
"Oh this just gets better," she growled.
Where the hell had he gone? She could hardly yell out his name without waking up his mom. A loud crash from the barn filled her in on his whereabouts. She ran towards the barn, Pete on her heels. Dashing up the wooden steps she found him sitting in the loft window, both doors open. At this rate he was going to fall out. She could imagine explaining it to his mom. 'Oh by the way Mrs K, Clark broke his neck by falling out the loft'.
Oh crap.
"Clark," she exclaimed, rushing over to him, hastily pulling the wooden shutter's back into place and locking them. "You want to fall out."
"It's … f-fine," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I can't get hurt."
Okay, so he really was drunk. And he looked it. No way could she chance taking him into the house like this.
"W-Well … actually I can now."
His words puzzled her. What the hell was he talking about? She turned to Pete, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"He's been saying some crazy stuff."
She frowned. "Like what?"
"He's an alien from another planet."
Lois snorted, Alien, yeah right. Then it clicked, his story.
"I think, Smallville, just has his wires crossed at present, he's been writing this story about this boy who is an alien."
Pete nodded and yawned. "Since when did, Clark, write stories?"
He was a bit of a riddle at times. "Go home, I can handle him."
"You sure?"
She nodded. "I'm an expert when it comes to dealing with drunk's."
"Thanks Lois."
Pete left the barn and Lois returned her attention to Clark. Alright she had to get him relatively sober again, ASAP.
"Clark," she began, grabbing him by the arm, "Let's get you onto the sofa."
Away from the window before he did anything stupid, like getting the notion to fly or something, which wouldn't be farfetched seeing he currently believed himself to be an alien.
He managed to get to his feet, swaying, she steadied him with her hands. Again cursing the fact he was drunk, just how had that happened? "Did you eat anything tonight?" she asked.
"Hmm n-no."
"Clark!" she exclaimed. "I told you not to drink on an empty stomach!"
She tugged him towards the duvet annoyed.
"Sor-ry, Lois."
Shoving him onto the sofa, he landed with a thud, his head just missing the coffee table. Leaning over him, she pointed a finger in his face. "Stay here!"
He caught her hand in his. "You're a good friend, L-Loish."
"You won't think so in the morning," she muttered under her breath, which he didn't appear to hear. He still had hold of her, his eyes searching her face.
"Do you k-know … when you were … born?"
She frowned, confused, strange thing to ask. "Of course Smallville, who doesn't?"
Shadow's flickered in his eyes. "I-I don't."
Had he been taking drugs too? Maybe his drink was spiked. Because there was no way Clark would willingly take drugs. Oh crap. Surely no one would be stupid enough to do that; except Chad she silently fumed.
"Clark, your birthday is next month, the 8th of December, you'll be 18."
He blinked. "Could already be 18."
She shook her head. "I'm going to get you a glass of water and don't you dare move from that sofa."
Lois hurried back to the house. She really could do without this hassle. And if Mrs K found out … double crap is what would happen.
Of course Clark wasn't on the sofa when she returned to the loft.
"God you're a pain when drunk, Smallville," she muttered, placing the glass on the desk.
She turned around to find him sitting in the corner, knees drawn to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs.
He looked lost in another world. For a moment she was mesmerised by the pain in his eyes. Her heart sunk; what now? If she ever found out that Chad had done this to Clark, she would kill him.
She approached him, crouching down till she was eye level. "Clark," she spoke.
There was no answer. He really was elsewhere, and a sudden panic hit her.
"Clark!" she said again, more forcibly.
Still nothing.
Placing both hands on either side of his head, she tilted his face up, noticing the tears that tricked down his cheeks.
"I-If I had been … normal," came his laboured breathing. "My d-dad … wouldn't have died."
What did he mean? "Of course your normal, Clark. It was an accident."
There was such sorrow in those beautiful eyes. He shook his head, muttering, "No. No accident," taking a deep shuddering breath his pain filled eyes met with hers, "he was trying to protect me, a-and I … couldn't save him."
Talk about survivor's guilt, he'd obviously been lugging that around for years. She tenderly ran her hands through his hair in an attempt to calm him. "That's what parents do, Clark."
"You don't understand, Lois," he murmured, "I-I'm not from here."
Not this again. She pressed her finger to his lips. "I need to get you on that cosy sofa in the lounge room so you can sleep this off."
And hope to God that he'd been returned to normal in the morning. Grabbing his hands in hers, she tugged at them. "Help me out here, Clark."
Somehow she managed to get him to his feet. Next thing she knew he'd wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Just terrific. But she let him. He probably wouldn't' even remember doing this in the morning. Least she hoped not!
Truth was she felt a bit shaken seeing him in this state. It wasn't right. Clark was always predictable, reliable and did the right thing. He might get embarrassed easily, which is why she loved teasing him, but he was rarely emotional. He had his moments, just that there his were a lot less than everyone else's. As for the whole alien thing, she'd dealt with plenty of enough drunks and had never encountered such delusions. It had to be drugs. It's something she wouldn't put pass Chad either. The creepy egomaniac bastard.
Lois managed to get Clark down the wooden stairs and outside, holding his hand tightly in hers. No way was she letting him go.
"You have to be quiet, Clark," she whispered to him.
Which he … surprisingly was. She turned to face him once they reached the back door. He really looked out of it making her heart twist in a weird way she couldn't explain. He was trembling. It's because it was cold, that's all it was she tried to reassure herself. Resting her hands on his shoulders she gazed up into his face.
"Clark," she began, "Look at me."
His eyes slowly met hers, a smile crossed his face. "Lois."
That was something at least. But then his face twisted in pain. His trembling grew worse. Instant worry hit her hard in the stomach.
"What is it?" she gasped, clutching him by his shirt.
He shook his head. "I-I don't know."
"We need to get you inside, out of the cold," she quickly spoke, pushing the door open and half dragging him through it.
Her heart hammered in her chest. This wasn't normal. Unless Clark had a reaction to alcohol? Either way the sooner he was on that couch the better.
By the time they reached the couch he was shaking uncontrollably.
"Lie down," she instructed, her breath catching in her throat at the obvious distress etched into his face.
What the hell was wrong with him? "Clark …" This was turning out to be the night from hell.
Taking a deep sigh, she felt him relax slightly. He sat, more like fell back on the sofa. She made him lie down, slipping his shoes off and pulling the duvet over him relieved.
Finally he was on the sofa and the worst had to be over, and just don't think it Lois, she berated. It was never over till the fat lady sang. So where was this mysterious fat lady when she needed her?
Clark was still trembling as if he couldn't get warm.
She gently stroked his hair. "It's alright, Smallville, just go to sleep."
His dark eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks.
He was standing knee deep in snow. A chilly breeze ripped through his clothes. There was snow as far as the eye could see. The landscape was so empty, devoid of anything but snow and rocky mountains.
The sky was a brilliant blue.
Where was he?
He shivered. How had he ended up here?
'Kal-el,' came a voice out of nowhere.
He spun around wildly, but there was no one. He was completely alone. A deep seated fear resided in the pit of his stomach. 'Show yourself!'
The wind howled around him, empty and forlorn. This was all wrong. He didn't belong here.
'What do you want from me?!'
'Kal-el,' that faceless voice sent chills down his spine. 'You are the last of your kind.'
He shivered again. Last of what kind? None of this made any sense.
'But something has happened to you. It needs to be put right. Your powers must be restored if you are to fulfil your destiny. You have to find a way.'
'No!' He didn't need his powers back, they had done nothing but cause him grief. He didn't want them. 'I'm Clark Kent!'
That's who he was. He was not Kal-el. Whoever that voice belonged to they had the wrong person.
But the next words the voice uttered filled him with apprehension. 'You are not human. You are Kal-el, the last son of the house of El.'
No. No. No. This was just some crazy dream.
'You are from Krypton. That was your home. You have a destiny. You will become this planet's saviour.'
Clark shook his head. 'No!' His voice broke off there. He took a deep breath. 'I-I … can't be, this is a mistake?'
'You must find the crystal, Kal-el,' the voice instructed. 'Or all hope is lost.'
He was suddenly engulfed in a fierce snow storm. It whirled around him, tearing at his clothes and hair.
'Find the crystal.' The voice was swept away into the white swirl. 'Learn who you really are.'
He woke with a start. Heart pounding in his chest, along with other things, like his head. Raising a hand he ran it through his sweat drenched hair. The images of the dream still fresh in his mind, disturbing him. And what was that all about? Why did he feel in Lois' words, 'like crap'? Pushing the covers aside he slowly sat up.
Kal-el … Kal-el … you are the last son of the house of El.
He shivered. It felt like a tiny dozen sharp, pointed knives were pressing into his skull. He groaned out loud and then his eyes rested on Lois.
He froze. Lois? She was asleep, curled up on the single seat sofa. What was she doing there?
How did he get here? Last thing he remembered was Pete helping him to the Ute. He'd been … sudden dread filled him. He'd been drinking.
Raking a hand through his hair, feeling angry with himself, his eyes rested on Lois. It didn't take much to put two and two together. Obviously she had helped him to the sofa. But why couldn't he remember anything?
Lois began to stir.
What did he say to her?
Her eyes opened and slowly looked his way. "Clark," she began suddenly, sitting up, worried eyes raking over him. "Are you alright now?"
It must have been bad to cause that worry on her face and in her voice.
He nodded, swallowing. "Yeah … I-I don't remember anything."
"You were …" her voice broke off there, she bit down on her lip, "let's just say you have quite the imagination when drunk."
His head shot up. What did she mean by that?
A small smile tilted up the corners of her mouth. "Alien boy."
His eyes widened with sudden shock. "W-What?"
Tilting her head to the side, she studied his face. "Hmm that was my reaction too."
His heart began pounding in his chest. He licked his dry cracked lips. What else had he said?
"I'm never drinking again," he muttered.
Her smile broadened. "Especially on an empty stomach," she added, then the smile left her face, her eyes narrowed, "What were you thinking, Clark!?"
"And you've never been drunk, Lois," he returned, defensively.
"Yeah but I don't have delusions about being an alien."
He took a deep breath, given the expression on her face she didn't believe it; thank god. Little did she know none of it was a delusion and it was every bit real.
"Are you sure no one spiked your drink?" she continued.
His mouth opened. "What … who would?"
She shook her head. "Because the way you were carrying on …" her voice broke off there. She took to studying his face again making him squirm in discomfort.
"W-Why, what did I do?"
He had to know and cursed his stupidity. That was the last time he let his ego go to his head.
"You said you didn't know when you were born," she began, ticking off a finger, "then you said you were not normal," she ticked off another finger, "you were blaming yourself for your father's death."
She glanced at him. "Nothing new there."
He shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. Damn. He really was never drinking again!
"And you scared the hell out of me when you started shaking, and couldn't stop," she continued, "by that time I had you on the sofa and then you fell asleep, luckily for you because I was about to get your mom, and then you know the shit would hit the fan." She stopped to take a breath, hands coming to rest on her lips.
He knew Lois well enough by now to know she was just getting started and the tirade would continue. She went on and on about how difficult he was, and if he ever did that again she'd gladly push him out the loft window. He watched her pace the small confines of the lounge room, his thoughts drifting back to the weird dream.
Was it a dream? It had felt so real. Maybe it was a vision. And what was that voice? Did it exist inside of his head? All that stuff about his destiny … what destiny. 'Find the crystal'. What crystal? He didn't know anything about a crystal, and as for his powers how was he supposed to fix that? He wouldn't even know where to begin, and he didn't want to.
"Are you listening to me, Clark?!"
His head shot up, eyes resting on Lois' annoyed expression, rubbing his forehead. He couldn't remember having a head ache like this before. His mouth felt like sand paper. It was hard to organise his thoughts.
"Sorry for ruining your night, Lois," he murmured. He was oddly touched that she'd stayed by his side. For her to do that meant she must have been really worried about him.
Muttering under her breath she disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a large glass of water and two disprin.
"Here this should help," she spoke.
He took the disprin from her, popped them in his mouth. His hand shook as he tipped the glass to his lips.
"You look like death warmed up," she remarked.
"I feel it," he muttered, embarrassed that she had to see him this way.
He was always in control. Having his vulnerabilities exposed, blabbing about being an alien, left an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach despite her thinking he was being delusional. What if she hadn't? Of course, but why wouldn't she. He looked like everyone else. There was nothing special about him now he no longer had his powers. Just that he happened to come from another planet.
Krypton; that was your home.
He recalled the words from his dream. Was it real?
He looked up to find Lois watching him.
"Now that you're this big football hero, Smallville, don't let it go to your head."
Clark considered that. She had a point. For a moment tonight he had basked in the praise and was now nursing a hangover.
"I kind of like the ordinary Clark Kent," she continued, surprising him.
"The one no one looks twice at."
"I guess they are just not looking hard enough but there is someone who has, and stuck by your side."
He knew where this was heading. "Chloe," he finished for her.
"Bingo."
He sighed, if only it was that easy. "But I don't have those feelings for her in that way."
"Maybe you need to look a little harder."
He frowned. "I can't help what I feel."
She snorted. "Depends of which head you think with."
Typical Lois reply, but it wasn't true. Not that he was about to argue with her, not in his present state. Given the look on her face he could tell she wasn't pleased with him.
"I guess you'll just have to learn the hard way," she shrugged, and glanced at the clock.
"It's only four, I can still get a couple more hours of sleep in."
She did look tired. He felt bad all over again. "Thanks for looking out for me, Lois."
He would have been screwed without her.
Clark managed to fall back asleep and was awoken by his mom. The smell of bacon sizzling in the frying pan caused his stomach to heave. That wasn't good. Why would anyone want to get drunk? It was horrible.
He stumbled to the shower in the hope it would make him feel normal again. It didn't.
Sneaking into his room he searched through his drawers for clean clothes to wear. His bedroom looked like a bomb had hit it. No thanks to Lois.
He still missed his room, and his bed.
Lois was snuggled under the doona, her hair spilling out across the pillow in tangled waves. He hastily pulled on a pair of jeans and shirt before she woke up. Tip toeing out of the room he walked into the bookcase, spilling half the contents on the floor.
He silently cursed under his breath.
Lois stirred.
Clark quickly evacuated the room before she woke up.
"I'm just going to do chores," he called out as he made his way towards the front door.
"Oh no you don't, Clark," his mom returned, "Breakfast first."
Sighing he walked to the kitchen and sat down, reaching for the jug of juice.
Lois plonked herself at the table, much to his dismay. He was hoping to avoid her.
She looked his way. He didn't like the evil glint in her eyes. She was up to something, or was about to give him a hard time; yet again.
His mom sat down at the table, he grabbed a piece of toast. Lois piled her plate with bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and well everything she could.
"So," she began, taking a bite of her toast. "You and Lana looked cosy last night."
And there is was.
"Lana," his mom began, eyes meeting with his. "You've not mentioned her before."
But before he had to chance to speak, Lois interrupted. "Head cheer leader, pretty, every boy in high school has the hot's for her."
He felt like throttling her. He saw puzzlement in his mom's eyes. "I thought you liked Chloe?"
"I do, but we're just friends." He placed a strong emphasis on the word 'friends' and shot Lois a pointed look.
"No accounting for taste," she muttered.
He lowered his fork. She certainly wasn't shy in expressing her opinions.
"I know you don't like Lana," he began.
Lois shoved a forkful of eggs in her mouth, shrugging. "I don't dislike her, don't even know her, just she seems …" her words broke off there, "Not your type."
He shot her an annoyed look. "And you would know my type?"
Martha watched the two of them argue back and forth, amused. Lois was right, Lana wasn't his type. Clark's type was sitting right in front of him and he didn't even know it. Neither did Lois. She sighed and shook her head.
"I asked her out and she said yes," Clark stated.
It wasn't often Martha saw him so defensive. Lois was good at getting him in to that state.
"Good for you, Clark," Lois retorted. "I guess you can spend your evening talking about pompoms, and how great you are, and then you can tell her how pretty she is. She'll bat her eyelashes at you and you'll feel that hot adolescence puberty flush boys get."
Martha tried not to smile at Clark's disgruntled expression. Then she noticed how unusually pale he looked this morning. He really hadn't been himself either. She always had been acutely in tune to where her son was at.
"Are you feeling alright, Clark?" she asked. "You've hardly eaten a thing."
He exchanged a knowing look with Lois, before glancing her way. "I'm fine, just not hungry."
"Now that Clark has the hot's for Lana he's all self-conscious about his weight," Lois piped up.
Trust Lois to give her two bits worth. He glared at her. She grinned, putting another forkful of scrambled eggs in her mouth. "He thinks he's too fat."
"Is this true, Clark?" his mom asked, looking concerned.
Could Lois be any more annoying? Was this payback for last night? Or her being mad because he wasn't dating Chloe? He didn't understand her.
"No," he returned, but he could see his mom was now critically assessing him.
"You have lost a lot of weight," she continued.
He noticed the amusement dancing in Lois' eyes and shook his head. "I'm at training four days a week for two hours."
"Then you should be eating more," she pointed out, reaching for the tongs and placing two bits of bacon on his plate.
He stared down at it, his stomach hurling. This was all Lois' fault. She knew how hangover he was.
Forcing a smile to his lips he muttered. "Thanks, mom."
"Hmm, maybe I should start monitoring what you eat now Lois has brought it to my attention," she declared.
He inwardly groaned, and shot Lois a glare. She merely smiled in that infuriating way of hers.
Poor Clarkie, she really was giving him a hard time this morning. But she was pissed off with him. For one, he had worried the clappers out of her last night. And two, his stupid infatuation with Lana Lang, and three, now she was sorry she'd ever suggested he get fit.
If she had known it would end like this, she wouldn't have! Not only that but she couldn't figure out why he was bugging her so much. Why should she care who he dates? Chloe was a big girl, she could take it.
She spent the afternoon shopping with Chloe, filling her in about Clark's antics last night, omitting certain facts along the way. She told her that he did have a date with Lana, and how smug he was about it. By the time they sat down to have a coffee, Chloe glanced at her, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"You know Lois all you have done is talk about Clark for the last hour."
"No I haven't," she scoffed.
"If I didn't know any better I could almost swear you like him."
"Yeah right," she snorted, sipping her latte. "And talking about Clark maybe it's time you moved on."
Chloe shrugged. "I'll always be his friend."
"Even if he starts going out with Lana?"
"Why should that change anything?"
Her poor little cousin was so naïve at times. "Because he'll be too busy with her. You just wait, it's only a matter of time before he tells you that he can no longer work at the Torch."
Chloe went strangely quiet and the penny clicked. "Don't tell me," she began, feeling outraged.
"He just said he couldn't be as committed because of his training, and between that and his farm chores he didn't have the time."
Lois sat there, fuming. She began stirring her coffee with her spoon in an agitated manner.
"Don't begrudge him, Lois," Chloe continued, "It's his last year of high school and I'm happy for him, you haven't been here these last three years. You didn't see him become this recluse after his father died."
"He still blames himself," Lois softly spoke, as memories of his pain streaked face came to mind. "He said some strange stuff last night."
Chloe frowned. "Like what?"
"He said if he'd been normal his father wouldn't have died."
Chloe went sort of still, puzzling her. "You know something I don't cus?"
She slowly shook her head. "No, just there was a time I thought there was something more to him."
Lois curiosity was piqued now.
"He had this habit of suddenly just disappearing and reappearing across town, it was weird."
"I've never see him do that."
"No that was years ago," Chloe dismissed, but Lois noticed the reflective look on her face.
"And there's more?"
She glanced up. "I investigated his adoption by the Kent's and let's just say they were pretty reticent when it came to his actual adoption procedure. So I dug a little deeper."
Lois was all ears now, what big mystery could there possibly be about Clark Kent?
"His adoption was done through Metropolis United Charities," Chloe continued, "But what was most strange was they were only in business for six months, and Clark's was the only adoption they handled."
That was a bit strange, but hardly earth shattering news, Lois mused.
"What surprised me even more was Clark's reaction when I told him," Chloe pointed out. "He got really mad about it."
"But the adoption is legit?" Lois asked.
Chloe nodded. "Yes."
"And he has a birth certificate?"
A puzzled smile crossed Chloe' face. "Doesn't everyone?" She frowned. "Why?"
Lois shook her head. "Oh no reason."
It was obviously a spiked drink that had Clark going looney last night. "So why did Smallville get angry at you."
Chloe shrugged a shoulder, sipped her coffee. "I have no idea, you know Clark is often emotionally distant when it comes to certain things."
Except when he drinks, Lois mused. The funny thing about Clark is that beneath his placid farm boy image there was a whole lot of other stuff going on there. That made him interesting in a way.
Clark had been waiting for this moment for three years. He didn't know what to expect, well he had built up a number of different expectations over the years. Played out a number of fantasies in his head, which he thought would only ever be that. Now that it was about to happen he felt nervous.
It didn't help having Lois tease him about it. Luckily she went out with Chloe for the day.
He'd spent that day trying to remember anything from the previous night and his drunken escapades but there was nothing. The only thing he remembered was the dream. It played on his mind throughout the course of the day.
He hadn't even told his mom about it yet. He still needed time to process the information.
Lana proved a handy distraction that night. They went to the movies, watched a film he could barely concentrate on. The only thing he could think about was her. Did he chance holding her hand? Was it too soon? She leaned in closer towards him, he caught a waft of her perfume. She smelled really good.
Afterwards they went for coffee. She did most of the talking, about living with her Aunt Nell, high school, being a cheer leader. They talked about their favourite subjects at school, what teachers they liked and who they didn't like. It was nice. He began to relax a bit towards the end of the evening.
"You don't say much about yourself," she observed, nibbling on a biscuit. "Most guys are always boosting about themselves."
"There's not a lot to say," he replied.
She leaned across the table, gazing into his eyes. "C'mon Clark, there has to be something?"
He scratched his head. "You know farm life, it's pretty tedious, there's just me and my mom now, oh and Lois."
Lana frowned slightly. "Lois?"
"She needed a place to stay, so she's living with us at the moment."
"Oh," Lana began.
"We are just friends," he quickly added, "Not to mention she's really annoying, uses up the hot water, bosses me around all the time." He recalled this morning, thanks to her his mom was now watching everything he ate.
A slow smile crossed Lana's face, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "She sounds like an annoying sister."
"Yeah, that's sums it up."
"I wish I had a sister or brother," she said, wistfully. Her eyes rested on him. "Hey that's something we have in common, Clark."
Great, they finally had something in common, apart from liking English and History. And she was nice, not as shallow as Lois made her out to be.
However, tiredness soon got the better of him. He couldn't stop yawning by the time he dropped Lana home.
"I'm sorry," he stammered, "I had a bad night sleep."
She smiled sweetly at him. "It's okay, I have them too."
She did? "How come?" he asked, suddenly curious.
"I have nightmares sometimes."
He didn't need to ask, he already knew it was probably of her parents. He still felt bad about that, as if it was all his fault.
"Yeah, so do I."
He walked her to the front door. She turned to him once on the porch. "I had a lovely night, Clark."
"Me too," he agreed, "We should do this again, and soon."
Her smile widened. "I'd like that."
She was so close he could almost lean towards her and kiss her. Too soon. He didn't want to freak her out. He needed to take this slowly.
"I'll see you at school on Monday," he breathed.
"I hope you have a better night sleep tonight," she smiled, and leaning towards him she kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight," she whispered, her breath tickling his neck.
He stood rooted to the spot, surprised, and not knowing what to do next. Finally finding his voice he said goodnight back and walked to the Ute.
Great going Clark, he silently berated. She must think you are completely clueless, which he was. Why couldn't he just be cooler?
Still, nothing could dampen his good mood, not even Lois, who happened to be pouring herself a glass of milk as he walked through the back door of his house. She was wearing her boy pyjamas and bunny slippers.
"So how did your date go?" she asked, sounding almost sincere. Did she really care?
"It was great," he returned, reaching for a glass from the cupboard. "We saw a movie, had coffee and talked, well she did most of the talking."
"Naturally, you are not the chattiest person," Lois snorted, "Except when drunk," she quipped, a teasing smile on her lips.
He shook his head. "I'm never drinking again."
"Probably a good idea, Smallville. Doesn't suit you."
Filling his glass with water he turned around to find her watching him. She was still here? Of course she was. It was Lois, no doubt she wanted to get her 'teasing quota' before she went to bed.
"Have you kissed her yet?" she casually asked.
Was she serious? "No," he stammered, "It's the first date."
Just because she went around kissing boys at random, didn't mean he was about to follow suite.
She just shrugged as she took a sip of her milk. "Sounds boring."
He glared at her.
"Oh well, at least you can say you've kissed a girl," she smirked.
"What? You?"
Amusement sparkled in her eyes. Pretty. No … what she was … was annoying.
"It was hardly a proper kiss, Lois," he scoffed.
Maybe he shouldn't have said that. Uh oh, he knew that look in her eyes. Lowering her glass on the bench she approached him, smiling. He swallowed. A protest was about to form on the tip on his tongue, but something stopped him. She was so damn cocky. For once he wasn't going to let her get the upper hand.
"Let me fix that for you, Clark."
Lois was expecting him to step back, protest loudly, but he just stood there, eyes sort of challenging. Without really thinking twice about it she pressed her lips against his. No doubt he would be pulling back. But he didn't. Hmm, he tasted like iced coffee. His lips were soft and then they parted slightly, hesitatingly. Quite suddenly he was kissing her back. For someone that had never done this before he was sure good at it. The way his lips roamed over hers, not in a pushy or demanding way. It was kind of sweet and tender, mingled in with a hint of shyness too. It was … oddly enjoyable.
Get a grip Lois, she silently chided. Time to end this. She pulled back. "What was with that?" she exclaimed.
She noted the uncertainty reflected in his eyes. "Was it bad?"
Ah … she didn't have the heart to lie to him. "No."
A relieved smile hovered on his lip. Oh crap. Why did he have to be so darn cute?
"Was that like a trail run before you kiss Lana?" she demanded, trying to gather her wayward thoughts into a semblance of order.
His cheeks reddened slightly. "You started it, Lois."
She folded her arms, needing to put some distance between them. That kiss … had caught her by surprise. But it was Clark Kent for Christ's sake! Goody two shoes, boy-scout Smallville that Chloe had a crush on, not her. Nope, no way, she refused to lower herself to teenage crushes.
"Oh well, consider yourself prepared," she quipped, punching him in the arm for good measure. "Just don't do it again."
He raised an eyebrow. "I won't if you won't." There was a hint of amusement in his eyes.
Huh, so now it was just being cocky. For a wild crazy moment she felt like kissing him senseless till he begged her to stop. Then he'd be sorry, then … Her lips tingled at the thought. Bad idea, very bad idea!
Oh crap.
"Not in this lifetime, Smallville," she huffed, "I'll see you in the morning."
Clark frowned, he could almost swear she was a bit flustered. For once he had caught her unawares and it felt good. So did the kiss. His frown deepened.
"Goodnight Lois," he murmured, and watched her disappear up the stairs.
Why was it so easy to kiss her when he couldn't even bring himself to kiss Lana? He would be changing that on their next date. He was going to kiss her, and it would be even better than his kiss with Lois. Because … well that kiss was … nice. And Lois was an expert at kissing, probably why. She seemed to enjoy it. If he had to be completely honest so did he. The way her lips yielded beneath his … it was … best forgotten. He'd chalk it up to experience. As always with Lois she was completely unpredictable at times. He yawned and stumbled to the couch, pulled his shirt off and almost fell on to the couch in relief. A good night sleep is what he needed. His head had been in a muddled state all day. As he closed his eyes, fatigue washed over him.
A voice echoed in his head; Find the crystal, Kal-el.'
He choose to ignore it. He didn't want to know about destiny.
He just wanted to live his life as any other normal young man.
He wasn't special.
He was just Clark Kent.
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A/N: Thank you for reading! I know the Lana scene was a bit painful but there are not too many more of them to come, and it is mostly about Clark and Lois.
Love to read what people think so send me a review and let me know what you liked about the chapter, and/or what you would like to see.
I'm trying to keep this story as original as possible, but at the same time not taking it too far out of canon either. I know my other story is more popular than this one, but I also really enjoy writing this story too. I'll be writing the next chapter to that other story straight after this but it will probably be a week before that happens. Life just happens to be insanely busy at the moment.
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