Don’t Go Away
by coolgirl
“I want you come to my wedding.”
“I can't.”
“Why not?”
“I just can't.”
“You hate him that much? Or is it me you hate now?”
“I could never hate you, Lois. But there is no way I'm going to sit there and watch you walk down the aisle with that...”
“What? Thief? Gangster? Psychopath? Murderer?”
“Maybe all of the above.”
“Clark, can't you see what's happening? All you're doing is driving us further and further apart.”
“I'm not the one doing the driving, Lois. You are.”
Part 4 : I am your friend
It took Clark almost the whole of that afternoon to come into terms with what had happened. The thought that Lois was free of Luthor filled him with acute relief. But the thought that she would have been married to him hadn’t Perry intervened at the right time filled him with dread.
He couldn’t digest the thought of her rejecting him for Luthor and of course, Superman! What was Clark Kent before two really powerful men – one super-powered and one extremely rich? Clark was just that naïve, good-for-nothing hick-from-nowheresville with no money and no power! That hurt! Despite Martha telling him that Lois was waiting for him in his apartment and that she really missed him, he couldn’t believe it.
She must have felt remorseful and a bit ashamed. After all, he had been shouting his vocal-cords off for the past year about Lex Luthor. Hadn’t he? She must have been a bit ashamed that her reporting-skills were not that sharp anymore. And she must have been jealous that he was right about Luthor. She had vacated her apartment before the wedding to move in with Luthor. After her aborted wedding, she wouldn’t have gotten her apartment back. So she had conveniently taken over his apartment, making it impossible for him to go back. Nice Lois!
What was he *thinking*? This was Lois. His best-friend and partner. The only woman in his world. The only woman he thought as his equal. Of course, there was Martha, but she didn’t count. But Lois? No, Lois wasn’t shallow. Whatever she was – arrogant, obstinate, fierce, loyal, beautiful, pig-headed, domineering, loving – she wasn’t shallow! It was just that she always seemed to choose the wrong sort of men – that guy in her college, that sleaze-ball Claude, Lex Luthor. She chose Superman too, who, though not a wrong sort of guy, wasn’t right for her.
But he had thought that ‘Clark’ was supposed to be at least her friend. She should have listened to him. And even if she hadn’t believed him, she should have given him some credit as a partner and tried to unveil the truth. Wasn’t that their job? Unveiling the naked truth? Instead she had just ignored all his warnings that would have saved them both the heartache.
She must have either loved Luthor or cared about him deeply. That was the only explanation for her actions. She had run into Luthor’s arms instead of Clark’s when Superman rejected her. Hadn’t she? That had hurt!
He shouldn’t have told her that he loved her. That had complicated the matters. She had probably thought that he was accusing Luthor out of jealousy. Or he should have taken advantage of her trust in Superman and revealed the truth about Luthor as Superman. He had made a lot of thoughtless mistakes, too, which had probably sent her running into that monster’s arms.
When he thought about it, he realized that though Lois was usually right in her intuition about people, she did have a blind spot when it came to *certain* people. He couldn’t find fault with her for that. That was her nature. That was what made him love her all the more.
As his anger slowly gave way to rational thought, he got up from his bed and walked into the living room. The big mess they were in was partly because of him. He had his own part in setting it right. Even if it meant being just friends! Even if it made him jealous that he couldn’t get what a crook easily got! He would set it right, and then he would leave because it would break him apart to be with her and not be able to love her. But he would right the mistake he had done!
And he would start by giving her the much needed space.
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The phone at the living room rang thrice. Lois rushed into the room, only to find Jimmy on it. At Lois’ curious look, Jimmy mouthed ‘wait’ to her.
“Jimmy? Is that you?” the muffled voice from the phone reached her.
“CK? Where are you? You had us worried, man. (pause) When did you get there? (pause) Yeah! We are doing fine. (pause) Sure! Lois, her mother, Perry and I are here (pause) Umm…CK, Lois… well… she wants to talk- ”
Lois snatched the telephone receiver from him, excitedly, only to hear the repeated tone that indicated a disconnected line. For a moment, she looked stunned, as if she could not believe what she was hearing. Then she replaced the phone and ran upstairs to Clark’s room.
In Smallville, Clark too, looked at the receiver as if it were something disgusting. Then he replaced it. He had walked away a few steps, when he suddenly rushed back and picked the phone up. No dial tone!
“Mom!” he shouted, “The phone’s dead too!”
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Two days later, Clark was almost back to normal. He could *see* through the things. He could *hear* the blacksmith, who lived nearly a mile away, hammering the nails. He tried floating, just a few inches, then fell back on the bed with a loud thud!
‘Nope, that’s not back fully.’ He thought to himself.
Smelling his mom’s *super*-cooking with his *super*-nose, he super-sped downstairs. Martha was only too happy to have him back to *almost* normal. After a cup of coffee, Clark told Martha about his decision.
“So, you want to stay here for a while and take over Smallville Post?” Martha enquired.
“Yes.”
“Because there’s no Daily Planet anymore?”
“Yes!”
“And then you will think of moving to some other place?”
“Maybe.”
“Clark! You are avoiding Lois. You can’t do that forever.” Martha said, shocked.
“I know. But I am not just ready to face her yet. You see, I made a muck of things when I told her that I love her,” he said meekly.
“You told her that you love her?”
“Yes and she said – what was it? Aah yes - she does love me, but only as a friend. You see, she isn’t romantically interested in me, Clark. Only in ‘me’ as in ‘Superman’!”
“When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me, Clark Kent? And will you stop referring to yourself in third-person?” Martha scolded.
“It doesn’t matter, mom. I know she doesn’t love me. She can’t ever love me the way I love her. I just hope we can be friends. That’s all she can give me. I can be satisfied with it. I have to be!”
“Of course not!” Martha exclaimed.
“Mom! I don’t want to talk about that, now. Metropolis doesn’t hold anything for me now.”
“Except Lois.” Martha said pointedly.
“What I am saying is,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “without the Daily Planet, I cannot go back to Metropolis. I don’t have a job. How would I pay for my apartment and other things?”
“You seemed to manage quite well these past two months.” she said. Then she added, “Clark, you can’t fool me. I know how your mind works.”
That was the problem. Clark sighed. He couldn’t fool his mother.
“Mom, I want to stay here for a while, working for the Smallville Post till I find something else. I need to be away from Metropolis right now. Too many memories. I hope you guys don’t mind.”
“Of course we don’t. You are always welcome here, honey. This is your home, too. It is just that you can’t start or stop your feelings for Lois just like *that*.”
She got up and laid a hand on his shoulder, looking intently at him, “I am sure Lois loves you, Clark. She just hasn’t realized it yet!”
With that Martha went to resume her cooking and left Clark gaping at her with his mouth opening and closing like some startled fish.
TBC
The fifth part will be posted in the nfanfic section.
