Band of Blue TOCChapter 19Lois woke early the next morning. She sat up in bed and stared at the closed door to her bedroom.
‘I’ll stay on the couch in case you need me.’ She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them.
Is he still out there? While she continued to stare at the door she replayed the previous evening. After sobbing in Clark’s arms she had felt so drained. The General didn’t want to see his daughters. Either that, or he didn’t want his daughters to see him. It would have been nice to know which situation it was as they meant very different things in terms of her daddy’s emotions. When she’d cried it all out she had looked up into her comforter’s eyes and felt her heart swell with more emotion.
Why did I kiss him? She wasn’t so much in denial as to claim that Clark had been the one to initiate it, although she’d thought he was about to for a moment.
The memory of Clark’s lips on her had her lifting her fingers to her own. It had been so sweet and tender; comforting; just what she needed. But now she didn’t know what to expect. Clark had worked his way into her life and her thoughts; he’d been an incredible friend yesterday.
I don’t want any more than friendship though. She climbed off the bed and went to the bathroom. After showering and dressing slowly, so as to delay the inevitable conversation, she finally entered the living room of her apartment and stood quietly in the doorway.
Looking at the spot in front of the door she recalled the feel of Clark’s arms around her.
Clark had one hand in the small of her back, holding her close. She felt something touch her cheek; his fingers, then his whole hand cupping her cheek. His lips teased at hers and she opened her mouth ever so slightly. His hand moved to her neck and travelled round till it was in her hair. She sighed then, unexpectedly, he pulled away. Lois felt her position change and suddenly she was being carried. One strong arm under her knees, the other round her shoulders Clark carried her into her bedroom. It felt familiar. She looked into his eyes as he carried her. She was safe. Her heart beat louder. She felt her stomach churning in nervousness. He placed her gently on the bed. ‘Sleep Lois, rest. I’ll stay on the couch in case you need me.’ Clark smiled then turned and left. Lois felt strangely disappointed. Taking a deep breath she walked round to the front of the couch only to find it empty.
He didn’t stay. As she glanced around she noticed blankets tucked at the side and she smiled.
He did stay. She frowned.
Where is he? As she set off to search the kitchen she heard a sound from behind. Turning around she placed the sound out on the balcony.
“Clark?” she said as she headed out but it wasn’t Clark. “Superman!” She almost shouted in surprise. For a moment she could swear that Superman looked shocked also. “What are you doing here?” Her voice had a breathy quality to it.
Gosh, he takes my breath away, she thought.
“Miss Lane. I, er ran into Clark and he told me about your father. I just dropped by to ask if you were ok.”
“Clark. You know Clark?” she asked in confusion.
“Er, yes.” Superman paused. “How are you Miss Lane?”
Lois had a sudden memory flash of Clark calling her Miss Lane yesterday. Narrowing her eyes a little she stepped towards Superman. Raising her eyes to the top of Superman’s head she gauged his height. Tipping her head to one side she felt disappointment in her heart. Superman was taller, although only by a fragment.
“I’m fine, thank you for your concern Superman.” She stepped back. “So, where did you see Clark then, I was expecting him still to be here?”
“Er.” Superman paused. “He popped out to get coffee and donuts for breakfast.”
“Oh, ok.”
“I should leave now. I hope your father recovers soon.” Superman turned and stepped up and off her balcony. Lois watched him fly away and felt a little piece of her fly off with him.
Why do I feel this way? She stepped back into the apartment and saw the empty couch. Suddenly she realised she’d have to talk to Clark when he returned.
I have to get out of here before then. She grabbed her coat and bag and left immediately.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Clark changed out of his costume and searched for the nearest donut stand while trying to shake off the shock of Lois finding him on the balcony. He had thought, for a moment, that the secret was out when she caught him returning from a save. Thankfully he’d come up with a good reason for Superman visiting and also a good excuse for where Clark had gone.
He made his way back to Lois’s apartment after picking up the coffee and donuts. He turned the handle on the door it didn’t open. He knocked.
“Lois?” he called. When there was no reply after a minute he tried again. “Lois?”
Knocking harder he looked through the door with his x-ray vision. Searching the whole apartment he soon realised that she had left. He turned and walked away in disappointment, the bag of donuts dangling from his fist.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chloe answered the door to find Clark standing on the other side.
“Clark! It’s too early on a Saturday morning for you to be calling here. Either that or you are incredibly late for Best Friend Friday.” Chloe was only teasing about the BFF as Clark had called her last night to let her know about the situation with Lois and her father.
Clark stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him. “I kissed her,” he said in a shocked tone.
“Kissed who?” asked Chloe. Her eyes widened. “Lois?” Clark walked over to the couch and dropped himself into the seat.
“And now she’s run off.” He leant his head back and dropped the donuts from his hand. Chloe walked over and picked up the package. Opening it and peering inside she looked back up at Clark and frowned in question.
Clark lifted his head. “Oh, er, I went out for coffee and donuts to bring back for Lois and she was gone when I got back.” He dropped his head back again.
Chloe lowered herself to the couch next to Clark and started the interrogation, er investigation into the situation.
“So how is Uncle Sam?” She started quietly and sensibly with the questions.
Lifting his head once more off the couch he replied. “Don’t know any more than we did last night ... that it was a mild heart attack and that he won’t let anyone see him.”
“I can believe that. Uncle Sam has an image to uphold, even with his own daughters.” She shifted position. “So you kissed Lois and now she’s run off.” She gave Clark a wide smile. He turned and looked at her in annoyance, obviously not liking being teased.
“She was upset; in shock. I held her while she cried it out and then ...” He trailed off.
“And then ...” Chloe motioned with her hand, still grinning.
“I kissed her. Well actually she kissed me but then I carried her into the bedroom.” Clark was prattling on.
“Bedroom!” Chloe squealed.
“But I left her there and stayed on the couch.” Clark stopped to take a breath. “Chloe, I really like her but I think I’ve made a big mistake. I shouldn’t have kissed her back ... or maybe I shouldn’t have left the bedroom.” He sighed.
“Clark.” Chloe lowered her voice. “I don’t think you could have done anything different. Lois, although she’s a very strong, independent kind a’ gal, loves to run at the first sign of awkwardness.”
They both sat in silence for a few moments. Chloe watched Clark as he dwelled on the situation and obviously blamed himself for it. Chloe was about to speak to when a phone beeped. She fumbled in her pocket but discovered it was not her own. Clark pulled out his and checked the readout.
“Sorry Chloe. Looks like someone left a message and I’ve not picked it up. Just let me check it.” Clark stood and walked a few paces away then dialled into his messages.
Chloe stood and wandered into the kitchen portion of the apartment. She turned and looked back at Clark when she heard him whisper a name in what seemed confusion.
Ollie. Who is Ollie? She headed back to the couch to sit down with her drink and just happened to pass very close to Clark. Close enough to hear a snippet of the message.
... team were next in town. Well, they drop by tonight and you agreed it would be good for Superman to meet them. If you still want to ... Chloe kept her expression as neutral as possible and sat back down. When Clark hung up and sat down she just smiled at him.
What kind of team wants to meet Superman? *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chloe felt her heart beating in her chest; the blood pounding faster than usual reverberated in her ears. Why am I doing this? She rode up in the elevator slowly.
I can’t believe I’m spying on Superman ... and Oliver Queen. Why is Clark meeting with Oliver Queen, and why is it as Superman? How does Oliver Queen even know that Clark is Superman? Chloe admitted that her reporter instincts had reactivated recently and hearing the small part of Clark’s message had initiated a growth from seed to full grown tree instantly. She wasn’t proud of the actions she had taken the rest of the day. Once Clark left she’d used all her computer skills to hack into Clark’s messages and listen to the whole communication. The invitation for Superman to meet a ‘team’ had ended with an address which Chloe had traced to the CEO of Queen Industries. And now she was riding up the elevator to that very apartment.
The elevator came to a halt and Chloe took a breath before opening the railings. The elevator door swooshed back with a loud sound and Chloe looked up into the face of a very shocked Superman.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Chloe!” Clark exclaimed in utter shock. The he looked down at his outfit. No! “Erm.” He tried to think of something to say to explain his knowing her name but nothing came to mind.
She stepped forwards, seeming to have recovered from her own shock. “It’s ok Clark, I know.”
“You know?” Clark knew he looked shocked. “How long have you known?”
“How long have you known?”
“I guess I’ve always had my suspicions. The quick exits, the miraculous recoveries, the lame excuses but I think when I saw you catch a car like it was a beach ball that kinda confirmed everything.” “I had it figured out the first time your photo was in the Planet. You spent the night at my apartment, remember, and you’d left your glasses at home. I recognised your face.” Chloe paused. “In fact, I know you so well I may have recognised you anyway even without that peep at your uncovered face.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I figured if you wanted to tell me you were part of the superpower persuasion you would when you were ready; on your terms not on mine.” Chloe just gave a lob-sided smile. “I just did Clark. But I was actually waiting for you.”
It was at that point that Clark heard the cough from behind. “Who’s the party crasher Superman?” He turned round to face Oliver and strode back into the room.
“This is my friend, Chloe.” Clark turned to look back at her as she stepped into the apartment.
“You’re a good friend Chloe.”
“Obviously not good enough.”
“There were so many times I wanted to tell you.” “Seems she decided to follow me.” Chloe strode towards the owner of the apartment, her hand out in introduction. As Clark watched her tentatively shake Ollie's hand the memories he’d been fighting for the last minute burst through suddenly.
“Clark I don’t blame you. Loose lips sink ships and god knows I’ve sunk my share of flotillas. What about Lana? Does she know?”
“No.”
“Well, I want you to know that I will never be the iceberg to your Titanic and your secret will never, ever leave my lips, no matter what.”
“I appreciate that.”
“There’s still a few blind sports though. Like how did we get beamed from the Kawatche cave to the North Pole? And what was really going on in that forty story igloo.”
“Chloe, there’s a lot of things about me that even I don’t understand. The meteor rocks, they didn’t make me who I am.”
“So you are saying you were born this way?”
“I wasn’t born anywhere near Smallville, in fact I wasn’t born anywhere near this galaxy.”
“OK ... ok so that would make you like an ...”
“Yeah.”
“Ahhh but you look so ...”
“Human? I’m still the same person.”
“Clark I ... I , I think you’re so amazing. You save people’s lives and take zero credit for it. To me you’re more than just a hero ... you’re a superhero.” Clark shook his head to clear the vision. He saw Chloe and Ollie still shaking hands. It must have taken less than a second to experience the whole conversation. As he let the memories sink in one line stood out.
“... how did we get beamed from the Kawatche cave to the North Pole? And what was really going on in that forty story igloo.”
I know what to do with the crystal. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Comments are over
here.
