Hi guys! I'm back from Peru! I was able to get on an internet cafe there and I was absolutely floored by all the responses. Those absolutely made my day and I'm ashamed to say I was very nearly more excited by that then all the breath-taking sights I saw! Here's chapter 5. Against my better judgment, this is unbeta'd. I sent it off to Missy and Catherine to read, but I'm afraid I didn't give them too much time. I promised I'd post as soon as I got back and I'd hate to break that. So here this is, I hope they can forgive me for going ahead and posting!
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The phone rang in Lois’ apartment, breaking her from her pleasant thoughts about the evening. She ran to catch it before the caller hung up, extracting her phone from inside the cupboard (how did it get there?) and giving a breathless “hello?”
“Mon petit trésor, how are you?”
Lois gripped the phone a little tighter at the silky voice. “Claude! Hello. I wasn’t expecting you to ca—I’m fine, how are you?”
“Wonderful, now that I have finally got you on the phone. Would you be free for a late dinner tonight?”
“Oh Claude, I’m so sorry. I’ve already eaten. Perhaps we could meet tomorrow evening?”
There was a short pause at the other end of the line. “You wouldn’t be free for lunch tomorrow?”
Lois wrinkled her nose, though Claude couldn’t see it. “Not unless you’d like to eat in the cafeteria.”
Claude’s deep chuckle sent pleasant tingles down her body. “Of course, I forgot about your assignment. How is it playing a high school student? Are the children insufferable?”
“No, they aren’t so bad. I rather like a few of them. I’m getting closer though, I can feel it!” Lois began excitedly, happy to be able to finally talk about her case. “I’ve befriended two of the most popular girls in school and my main suspects.”
“Oh really? And have they led you to believe you’ll find any new evidence?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I am positive that I’ll be able to nail this case. I’ve already got a ton of notes on them all typed up and stashed at my house.”
“Very efficient,” Claude said approvingly. Lois sat down in her armchair, curling her arms around her knees. She was tired of talking about the case. Now she wanted to bring him back to talking about dinner.
“So would you be free tomorrow, Claude?”
“Hmm…” Lois heard the rustle of a few pages. “I have a meeting with Perry White, but I could meet you after that. Say… 7:30 at the new restaurant on Bellavie?”
“That would be wonderful.”
“Then I will see you tomorrow then. I’ll look forward to it.”
The phone hung up with a firm click and Lois kept it at her ear for a moment, still a little shocked at the interest the gorgeous reporter was showing her. Finally she pulled the phone from her ear and frantically looked around her room.
What was she going to *wear*?
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Twenty two hours later, Lois found herself sitting opposite Claude Malfois at an intimate table for two. She was dressed in the classic “little black dress,” though hers had a slightly devious slit up the side. Claude had been an enchanting date so far, deftly ordering for the two of them in French and generally being the perfect gentleman. Everything had gone so smoothly she hadn’t even pitched a fit when Claude hadn’t asked what she wanted for dinner. It was a romantic enough gesture, she told herself, and she shouldn’t take offense at it. Instead she focused on the way the dark fringe of his hair brushed his forehead irresistibly. He really was a gorgeous man. He was speaking to her about his current assignment and she let his warm voice wash over her as she drifted.
She had a really great time with Mr. Kent last night. Their jokes and banter seemed high above the two real high school students who chaperoned them. Lois started slightly at the word. Chaperoned? Was that really what it was? She couldn’t deny that Clark Kent was incredibly attractive and kind to a fault. It was an insane combination, one that wasn’t really supposed to exist in real life. It was commonplace in the stack of reread romance novels by her bed, but hard-bodied English teachers were the stuff of fiction.
Or so she had thought before she laid eyes on Clark Kent.
But she couldn’t deny the frisson of attraction between them and it was a considerable thorn in her side that she couldn’t act on her feelings. Lois Lane had always been a woman of action and waiting idly never sat well with her. But a lot of things more important than her hypothetical love life were at stake here. Despite her instincts telling her to remain stolid and focused on the case, she couldn’t help but start feeling a sense of attachment to the people she’d met. Her English teacher remained at the forefront of that list, she realized with a start, though she had come to like many of the students there as well. When she had gone through high school the first time she had been so blinded by fitting in and cumulating impressive stats for her college résumé that she hadn’t even given the experience a second thought. Reliving it with the hindsight of her real high school years behind her was an eye opening occurrence. She had also grown slightly concerned for Mr. Kent. Despite his good mood the previous night, he had shown up looking tired and haggard in class. Not many of his students seemed to notice or care, however, that he hadn’t greeted them with his normal cheery smile and wave. The change in him had been so obvious she wondered if the students were both blind and stupid.
Or maybe that was just the way high school kids were. Had she paid any attention to her high school teachers beyond the superficial? As much as she tried to argue with herself that she had, she knew she was lying. She hoped he was okay. He had been distracted all day.
“Lois?”
Lois jumped at Clark’s voice. But she was staring at Claude. Oh, she had been ignoring him, hadn’t she? She put on a soothing smile to ruffle over his hurt feelings, but he was looking past her.
“Lois?” the voice spoke again, and this time Lois turned around in her chair, dread rapidly replacing her insides with jelly. The object of her daydreaming and secret nighttime fantasies was standing behind her, a disapproving look fixed firmly on his face.
“H-hi Mr. Kent,” she said shakily. Her inner voice was screaming at her. BUSTED! BUSTED! BUSTED! Mr. Kent looked furious and suddenly she did feel like the young student she role-played as.
“What are you doing here?” Lois blurted out, hoping to counter his questions. While Lois could pass for 17 or 18 with little difficulty, she knew Claude looked his thirty years. It was his smooth charm and worldly eyes that she had fallen for in the first place. From what she knew about Mr. Kent, she was sure he wouldn’t approve of his student meeting such an older man on what was obviously a date.
“I’m taking my parents to dinner,” Clark said stiffly, shooting a glare over at Claude. Lois looked and sure enough a pleasant looking older couple was looking at them curiously. “Now who is this?”
Despite her guilty feelings, Lois bristled at his audacity. He didn’t own her. The farthest thing from that! He was merely her teacher and despite those erotic fantasies, that was the way things were going to stay. He certainly had no business prying into her private affairs.
“This is Claude Malfois,” she said, praying Claude wouldn’t blow her cover. Her gaze shifted warily to him and caught the tail end of him sizing Mr. Kent up. “Claude, this is Mr. Kent,” she stressed the name and the “Mr.” “my English teacher at Metropolis High.”
Claude reached out a hand to shake, which Clark coolly accepted. He turned to her and she nearly gasped at the anger in his gaze. It faded slightly, as he looked at her, but she saw it rear up again when his eyes slid back to Claude. “Lois, can I speak with you privately for a few minutes?”
Lois gave him a belligerent look and finally followed him to a shadowed corridor. Once away from Claude, she noticed that his eyes no longer looked dark with anger, but instead sparkled with something she couldn’t place.
“Lois Lane, you are out on a date with a man who is entirely too old for you,” he started, getting straight to the point. “I don’t know what he told you, but that man is certainly not a college student.”
“I know he isn’t,” Lois said, trying desperately to think of a cover story. Her relative? She briefly entertained the idea of trying to elaborate on the story that Claude was her cousin, but she reluctantly quashed the notion. She wasn’t quite dressed for a platonic date with a cousin. Her older brother’s best friend? A childhood acquaintance? The idea held some merit. He could chalk up her fancy dress as an opportunity to impress her childhood crush. But something in her recoiled from such a blatant lie. For the first time since she had taken up her false life, she felt the sting of her conscience. It was obvious that Mr. Kent was upset on her behalf at the thought of someone “robbing the cradle” so to speak.
“He’s,” her mind wildly churned, “a friend.”
Great, what a lame cover story. Fortunately, it was the truth and therefore she could defend it. Clark’s face darkened at her words. “Lois, please, where are your parents? Do they know you’re spending time with an older man?”
“They wouldn’t mind,” Lois murmured, feeling intensely uncomfortable with the situation.
“Lois you look beautiful in that dress,” Lois’ head snapped up at the unexpected compliment, but Clark’s face still looked grim. “And I’m afraid that man you’re with knows it. He’s not expecting anything platonic out of this night, Lois!”
Lois didn’t quite know how to respond, a first in a long while.
“Please do not go home with that man, Lois.” Clark thought for a moment and grinned as an idea struck him. “Look, stay and eat dinner with him. Enjoy yourself. But let me drive you home. My parents are here, I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”
The notion of driving home with Clark took a moment to digest. Lois took a long, serious look at her senior English teacher. He was obviously distressed at seeing her here with an older man. His espresso colored eyes implored her to consider his suggestion and he kept raking his fingers through his hair, mussing it completely.
“Okay, Mr. Kent. If you really want me to, I’ll go home with you instead of with Claude.”
It wasn’t in her nature to give in like that. She should have told him that she was a big girl and that she didn’t need any protecting. But to be completely honest, every time she looked into Claude’s dark eyes, she superimposed Mr. Kent’s over them. They looked quite different; Claude was much thinner and taller than Mr. Kent was. But she still compared them in her mind and Claude kept coming up short, as much as it galled her. And she would meet his parents! Though this whole scenario would be a great deal pleasanter if Clark knew she was a dateable age. Unfortunately the empathy and kindness she was falling for would have been directed at any one of his students. She had gathered that he had a protective streak. One day in class she had observed him unobtrusively removing a hateful, cruel note from one of the shyer, less popular girl’s chair. After class she peaked through the window and saw him talking to the culprit, his voice too low to overhear but his eyes steely and firm. The girl was never even aware of the prank.
She noticed a similar scenario occurring when he had given Garrett a quick talking to at their meeting last night. Kaitlin had gone to the restroom and Lois was returning from refilling her drink as she caught the tail end of their conversation.
“—gentleman. I expect you to act as one.”
“But Mr. Kent, you know I’m a good guy. You think I’m going to be mean to a nice girl like her?”
“You could start by doing a few more polite things.” Clark rose with one fluid movement and pulled out Lois’ chair for her as she returned to the table. Lois had sat, watching while shaking her head at Garrett’s bemusement. It seemed Mr. Kent had been born in the wrong era. Gentleman-like manners were hardly commonplace and neither was that fierce desire to protect.
The thought and memory stayed with her as she followed Mr. Kent back to their respective tables. He gave her a curt nod and she gazed at him coolly while she returned to Claude’s table. No matter what the circumstances, she still hated feeling chastened. Claude was looking at her in amusement when she returned and she had to fight down the urge to give him a fierce slug across his smirking face.
“I’ll be driving home with Mr. Kent,” she said dully, grabbing her water and taking a big gulp to avoid his gaze.
“So your teacher has you trained like a puppy?” He asked in his soft voice, the one she had found so silky and alluring a few days before. Now it just set her teeth on edge, though she might be projecting her embarrassed anger unfairly on Claude.
“What are you talking about? He’s merely concerned over what his student is doing out with such an older man,” she told him petulantly.
“He was quite angry when he caught sight of us, Lois. I think your Mr. Kent was experiencing the green glare of jealousy. He spent a few too many seconds appraising you in that scrap of fabric you’re passing off as a dress. Seems like he’s only human.”
Even as Lois’ mind rejected the idea as ludicrous, her traitorous heart lurched a little unsteadily. “You’re insane. Mr. Kent cares about all of his students equally and he sure wouldn’t make any kind of advance on a student of his!”
Her anger was flushing her face, and she barely noticed her voice rising up a notch.
“To even insinuate such a thing speaks of your own unscrupulous morals!” Lois glared at the man she had once thought so attractive. “You’re wrong, and worse than that, it’s you who’s jealous.”
“What does that man have for me to even scrounge up the slightest bit of jealously, mon choux? Certainly not his dinner companions.” Claude’s nose screwed up slightly as he appraised the older couple Clark was dining with. “That woman should know that that peach dress is doing nothing flattering for her skin tone.”
“That woman has done nothing to you,” Lois whispered fiercely, angry on the woman’s behalf. “The only thing she’s done is raise a wonderful son!”
“You would think he’s wonderful. You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”
“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Oh but you are. How pleasingly ironic the whole situation is!”
“That’s it. I’m leaving,” Lois hissed, grabbing her coat and purse. “You’re a bastard.”
Claude murmured something in return, too low for her to hear. His voice had never lost that veneer of calm, however, and unbidden, frustrated tears sprang to her eyes. She hastily blinked them away, but not before she banged her nose against a solid chest suddenly blocking her way.
She knew before even looking up who it was and she quickly inhaled, filling her nose with his comforting scent. As swiftly as her mind had processed that the strong body was Clark Kent, he had even more quickly disentangled herself from him and steered her toward his own table.
“Are you all right, Lois?” His gentle voice spoke in her ear, comforting her. She nodded and he gave her arm a tender, but unfortunately platonic squeeze. He led her to the empty fourth chair at their square table and pulled it out for her.
“Mom, Dad, this is Lois Lane, one of the students I was telling you about.”
Lois glanced at Clark and then back at his parents. He had been talking about her? To his parents? They gave her a pair of friendly grins. They appeared to be in their sixties, though they both looked extremely healthy and vibrant. His mother especially had an impish sparkle to her eyes that made Lois think she was not quite as matronly as she first appeared.
“Hi Lois, it’s wonderful to meet you! I’m Martha Kent,” she said.
Clark slapped his hand against his forehead. “Oh right, right, sorry. Lois, I apologize. They actually do have names other than Mom and Dad. My mother, Martha, and my father, Jonathan.”
Lois was grateful that Clark didn’t mention anything about Claude, nor did he ask any questions. He simply handed her his menu and asked what she would like. Unlike Claude, her annoying scamp of an inner voice chirped.
As Lois looked over the menu for the first time, a shadow fell across the table. She looked up to see Claude standing over them and suddenly her stomach twisted in a knot laced with iron. He wouldn’t… No, he couldn’t blow her cover. All of a sudden she licked her lips nervously as their eyes met. He saw her fear; he knew what she was thinking. The black eyes narrowed slightly, as if weighing her importance to him on the grand scale of things. She barely noticed Clark standing, his mild mannered gaze suddenly much more intimidating until he blocked Claude from her sight and their staring match was abruptly ended. Clark stood between Claude and herself, his fist bunched rigidly at his side.
“Stay away from her,” he said simply, in a low voice designed not to bring attention to their table.
Claude took a step toward her anyway, but Lois let out a sharp gasp when Clark grabbed his arm and stopped him effortlessly. Claude’s eyes widened in surprise slightly at the steel grip, but he eventually stopped struggling and Clark reluctantly let him go.
“He’ll find out who you are eventually,” Claude hissed, his façade of calm finally breaking. “And I’d hate to be around to see the fallout.” Noting the anger tensing Clark’s shoulders, Claude took a hasty step back. “Not so fast, Loverboy. I’m out of here. Have fun with your underage student.”
Clark remained standing, frozen as he stared after Claude’s retreating back. His form was stiffened with palpable tension. Finally, after a moment Clark grabbed his chair and sat eased himself back down on it.
“Have you decided what you’d like to order, Lois?” He finally asked, the anger in his voice gone as swiftly as it had come.
Lois was mortified. What a way to impress him. First she shows up with a man he thinks is at least fifteen years older than her and then he turns out to be a complete jerk. She picked up the menu and randomly chose the cheapest thing on there.
“I’ll just get some spaghetti.”
She looked down at her menu, wishing the night was over. Her expectations had been so high and Claude had changed so quickly. One moment he was charming and suave and the next he was saying those hurtful things. And then Mr. Kent had been there, looking so gosh darned handsome and blocking him from her view and now acting like nothing had been wrong at all. Her thoughts furiously whirled around in her head, and she almost didn’t feel the soft hand that slipped on her back.
She raised her pounding head and saw that Martha Kent had patted her back reassuringly. When her clear blue gaze met her eyes, she simply smiled slightly and pulled her hand from her back. Incredibly, she felt a little better. Mr. Kent hadn’t noticed. He was steadfastly trying to talk about everything but the scene that occurred, but failing miserably. Every few seconds his gaze would flicker back to Lois, as if assuring himself she was still okay and that Claude hadn’t come back.
Letting out a deep breath, Lois forcibly told herself to relax. Once she paid full attention to the story Mr. Kent’s father was telling, she could actually even calm down some. Soon the lulls of their easy, familiar banter relaxed her even further and she didn’t even have to pretend to have a good time.
An hour later, Lois pushed back her food and leaned back with a satisfied smile on her face.
“That was delicious. Thanks for letting me eat with you guys,” Lois said to no one in particular. She reached into her purse to hand Mr. Kent some bills to cover her meal, but he looked scandalized at the thought.
“No, no put that money away! I’ll take care of it.”
“But Mr. Kent, you came here with your parents. You didn’t expect a whole other meal to pay for.”
Clark glanced at her plate of spaghetti. “Yes, like you were so expensive. It’s fine, please. I insist.”
Clark was already handing his credit card to the waiter and a few moments later the bill was all paid for. Grumbling slightly as she stood, Lois followed him and his parents out the door. It was as they were walking out that a horrible thought hit her.
He was going to drive her home! To the apartment she lived in *alone*. It was obvious from the outside that the rooms inside were for singles or couples. He couldn’t find out that she didn’t live with her family. Heaving a big sigh as she climbed in his car, she directed him to her parent’s house. Great. Lucy would throw a fit.
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As you can see, things are progressing in the tangled web of the teacher/student relationship. I'm fully aware that some of this might have been slightly inappropriate, but at the same time, it was how I imagined Clark and Lois acting to the situation I placed them in. I mean no offense to any teachers or students with this portrayal. Hope you guys are still hanging with me. Let me know what you think!
--Laura
