Andreia, thanks for the name of this FDK thread: Super Dense Man. Yes, indeed!
And while I'm quoting Andreia... I simply loved this, too:
quote:
“Basking in the glory?” I ask her.
“No,” she says, blushing. “Actually, I was thinking how good your name looks next to mine.
Smooth.
Do you want her to draw you a diagram, Clark?
I love it!!!!
“You have!” he exclaims a little too happily.
Of
course it makes Chad happy to understand the kind of fantasies you've had about Lois, Clark!
Lois Lane, aggressive investigative reporter who you told me wants to get her first Pulitzer by the time she’s thirty? *That* Lois Lane asked you to help her write the story? Buddy, she’s hot for you.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
And Chad's clear-eyed power of observation... Clark, I think you need him around you more often.
That bit of insight sends a thrill through me. So I wasn’t just imagining it. If I hadn’t stopped her tonight, when we were walking to her apartment, she would have kissed me. My stomach hollows out and feels like it’s sliding, and all the blood seems to have left my head.
Hmmm, aaahh, yes, hmmmmmmmm......
We sit in silence for a few seconds and I can tell Chad is working on another way to harass me about Lois. I finally think of something to say to take the focus off of me. “Oh, by the way, Jimmy says he wants his magazine back from you, ‘Bikes and Babes’?” I grin lopsidedly at him.
Okay, good... it
was time for a little comeback, Clark!
Lois nods at him, looking resigned. At least I’m hoping she looks resigned. She wouldn’t try to sneak on board would she? Wouldn’t she? I smile to myself. I know the answer.
So do we!!! Clark, you can't stay in Smallville for very long, when you are so urgently needed in Metropolis to save Lois Lane's life!
“Clark, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed having you here. If you ever decide that being an editor isn’t your cup of tea – believe me, I’ve asked myself that more than once – I want you to know that you’ve always got a job waiting for you here.”
And Perry tells Clark this - the job is yours, so what are you waiting for, Clark?
Wow. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. It’s what I’ve always wanted.
So tell him you want that job already!
And yet, it’s not possible, at least not right now. I have to get a few other things cleared up and make a few decisions before I could even consider something like this.
Duh. He's going home to Smallville to talk to Lana first. ("Lana, I really want this job. It's what I always wanted." - "I can't leave Smallville, Clark! What about my internship in the Mayor's office? Do I mean so little to you that you'll give me up to be a reporter in Metropolis, when you can be an editor here, and have me?" - "No, uh, of course not, Lana, I, uh...." - "Good. Then that's settled. You'll stay in Smallville with me. Let's see, I think it would be nice if we got married about a month from now....")
I turn to look at Lois who is still staring down at the paper in front of her.
“Basking in the glory?” I ask her.
“No,” she says, blushing. “Actually, I was thinking how good your name looks next to mine. Mine being first of course.”
She's
blushing when she's thinking about how good their names look together! Oh, Lois, are you thinking about a few more things, too?
“So what’s your *type*, Clark?” Lois asks me as we walk, finally breaking the silence.
Good question, Lois!
“Well the other night you asked me why Lex Luthor wasn’t my type, and I told you that I was looking for someone who could be honest with me.”
Right... and honesty doesn't necessarily come that easily to Clark....
Keep your pants on, I’m getting ready to come clean, I tell myself. I turn to look at her. “Yeah.”
“So what are you looking for?”
After my last conversation with Lana, that’s easy. “Acceptance.”
“Acceptance?”
“Yeah. I want someone who can accept me for exactly who I am. Someone who doesn’t think they need to mold me, change me, or force me to be someone I don’t want to be.”
Very good. Very, very good. Seriously good, not just jokingly-funny good.
We both laugh together. It feels so good, so right. I wish it could last. I wish I didn’t have to tell her. Did it even matter now? Lana and I probably aren’t even going to stay together...
But this dastardly farmboy is always looking for an excuse not to tell her the truth, isn't he?
“You know,” she says, putting her arm through mine, “I bet if you wanted to fulfill that boyhood dream of yours and move to Metropolis, that Perry would probably give you a job,” Lois tells me, giving my arm a squeeze.
“Hah. Then you’d be stuck with me.”
“That’s what I was hoping for,” she says, stopping our walk and moving in close to me. Her face is just inches from mine, her lips just a moment away. Oh god, I want to kiss her so badly. She looks so beautiful in the light of the setting sun. I want to take her in my arms and just hold her and forget about the rest of the world. But I can’t.
It's so beautiful... and he can't.
“I can’t,” I say softly, lifting my hand to brush a piece of hair that had fallen across her eyes. “Lois, there’s something I really need to tell you before I leave.”
Okay, good. You're so right, there is something - actually, there are two things - that you really need to tell her.
“I should have told you this sooner. I don’t know why I didn’t - I’m ashamed I didn’t. If you give me the chance to prove it, I promise I’ll always be honest with you from here on out.”
She takes a step back and lightly pushes my arm away. My heart sinks, but I push forward. “Remember when I asked if you were married and you said you weren’t and then asked me if I was?”
“Oh my god! You’re married?” she exclaims.
Whoops! “No, no, I’m not married.” She visibly relaxes a little at that admission. “But I do have a girlfriend.”
“I see,” she says softly. She’s upset, I can tell, and rightfully so.
Good. You needed to tell her this. And we can't blame Lois for being a little bit upset when you told her.
“Is she the reason you never moved to Metropolis?” she asks quietly. “You told me you’d always wanted to work for the Daily Planet, but yet you never moved up here. You said it was for personal reasons. Is she the reason?”
I nod my head at her.
Smart, Lois.
“I think that would be a lot to give up for someone - your dreams - even if you love them. You must have one heck of a reason for calling it quits with her,” she pauses for a moment and when I don’t say anything, she continues, “Are you breaking up with her because of me?”
Smarter, Lois. And you know he's half-lying when he's half-denying it.
But can anyone ever love me for who I *truly* am? Could she? I wonder as I look into her face. She has a determined look in her eyes. What is she thinking?
Then she opens her mouth and says the one thing that catches me off guard. “Is that it? Is that everything? Are you hiding anything else?”
Provisionary membership in Mensa International, Lois.
“You said you’d be honest with me, from here on out, always. So I’m asking. Are you hiding anything else?”
I’m floored. I don’t know what to say. I promised her I’d be honest with her, but I can’t, not completely, not yet. I can’t tell her about *me* yet, I don’t know her well enough. Could I trust her? What if she wrote an article about me? They’d take me away and lock me up for sure... But I promised.
“Yes.”
And you made him admit...something.
“There is one other thing. I promised you I would be honest with you, and I will, but you have to give me time to get to know you. We have to give each other time. It’s something I would share with you in time; *now* just isn’t the right time.” A shadow seems to come across her face. She looks disappointed.
Well, DJ... you know I
always want Clark to tell Lois his secret. Always. God, I'm so predictable. And in this story... hasn't Lois been unusally nice? She called Clark a
cute farmboy. She
asked Clark to help her write her story. She told him their bylines looked good together. She smiles and blushes and wants to kiss him. She calls her interview with Lex Luthor an interview and turns down any more "interviews" with him. What reason do you have
not to trust Lois, Clark? Couldn't you have asked if you could go somewhere private because this was a big thing you wanted to share with her and the street wasn't private enough?
Please... please, don’t, I think at her. Give me a chance.
“Then I think it’s time for us to say goodnight, Clark.” Her voice is deathly quiet as she turns away from me.
“Goodnight, or goodbye?” I ask her, holding my breath.
Why do you insist on postponing the revelation, Clark? You love her, she loves you, but you'd rather risk losing her than risk telling her now?
With her back to me I can’t see her face, but I hear the soft sniffle escape from her. “Just goodnight,” she pauses, standing a little taller and squaring her shoulders and then continues, “But if you’re leaving I guess it has to be goodbye also. Look me up next time you’re in Metropolis. Maybe we can take another walk. Maybe you’ll have more you want to say.” She starts to take a few steps away from me.
Lois tells him that she
will listen to him if he wants to speak to her later. Good, Lois. But Andreia, I agree with you: Clark is a Super Dense Man. (Look! Up in the sky! It's SuperDenseMan!)
She halts and when her voice comes, it’s hollow and anguished. “You’d better go, Clark. I wouldn’t want you to miss your flight.” She doesn’t make a motion to turn around, to face me. My heart is breaking.
“Goodbye, Lois,” I say softly. I walk up behind her and place a kiss, ever so gently, in her hair. I feel a slight hesitation in her, as if she might want to turn around. But she doesn’t.
And then I walk away.
And your precious, precious secret is safe from the wiles of Lois Lane, Clark. I'm so proud of you.... Not. Hey, where is Chad when we need him? Someone's gotta beat some sense into that dense, dense skull of yours, oh Densest Son of Krypton!
And Lois. I gave you provisional membership in Mensa international. To become a permanent member you'll need to figure out his secret, the fact that this cute farmboy is a superdense Kryptonian, on your own.
Two more chapters to go, DJ. Like others have said, this is an excellent and just so enjoyable story!
Ann
