I'll be offline Wednesday night until late enough on Thursday (if I'm on at all) that I won't be able to post again until Friday. However, thanks to cranking out the chapters recently, I have a massive amount of buffer and will be permanently moving to the once every other day posting schedule after that.
As always, thanks to my wonderful betas!
From Chapter 25
Lois took a seat at the table as she watched Clark pull things out of the refrigerator. “So, how many countries have you been to?”
Clark shrugged. “I moved around a lot after college,” he said. “I'm not sure how many places I've been.”
“Why'd you move around so much?” Lois asked as she got up to reach for a knife. She took the cucumber from Clark and placed it on the cutting board. “Slices?”
“Julienned,” he told her. At her quizzical look, Clark explained, “Cut into thin strips, like match sticks.”
Lois nodded as she began to chop the cucumber.
“I guess,” Clark said as he measured ingredients into a bowl, “I never found someplace that felt like home.”
“And here?” Lois asked, looking up at him.
Clark smiled. “I think this is home.”
Lois smiled at him, knowing in that moment that that was the answer she had been hoping for.
Chapter 26
Lois looked around the newsroom. “We're never going to get any work done,” she grumbled. The Planet had been taken over by models and cameramen. Some sort of ploy by marketing, although for what purpose, she had no idea. Apparently, though, someone was introducing a new perfume in here. Lois shook her head. It was not like the newsroom was the obvious choice for this, but no one had consulted her when they made the decision.
“So, why don't we take the day off?” Clark answered her original question. Lois looked at him, startled, and he added, “Haven't you ever played hooky before, Lois?”
“Come on, Lois,” Lucy whined. “If we leave now, no one will notice.”
Lois looked around. She was not sure about this. She was supposed to be setting a good example for Lucy, not teaching her how to ditch school.
“Lois!” Lucy moaned, bringing Lois' attention back to her. “Let's go!”
With a sigh, Lois took Lucy's hand and led her out the door. She wanted to set a good example, but the truth was that she wanted to leave, too. When else would they get a chance to see Madonna in person?
A minute later, though, she was sorry this was the decision she had made. “Lois Lane! I expected better of you,” Mrs. Harrington, the principle, said to her from the edge of school property. “Lucy, go back to class, please.”
Looking embarrassed, Lucy walked back into the building. “Lois, please go wait in my office. I will join you there for a little chat in a few moments.”
“No, I've never played hooky before, Clark,” Lois lied, not wanting to admit that the first time she tried, she had failed. “Some people don't need to break the rules to have fun.”
Clark shrugged.
“What?” Lois asked. “You played hooky? You?”
Clark shrugged again. If she was going to have that attitude, he did not need to tell her.
“Why are we doing this again?” Pete asked as they snuck out the cafeteria door.
“I told you,” Clark sighed. “I heard Lana say she really wanted the teddy bear that's stuck at the top of the flag pole in front of the fire station. She told Kelly that she'd kiss the boy who brought it to her.”
“And we can't do this after school, why?” Pete asked.
“Because by then, everyone will know and there'll be all sorts of boys trying to climb the flag pole.”
Pete shook his head. “I don't think so. I mean, Clark, Lana's pretty and all, but she's sort of… shallow. Don't you think?”
“Of course she's shallow!” Clark exclaimed. “She's the head cheerleader. It's her job to be shallow. But I know that underneath it all she's really much deeper than that.”
“If you say so,” Pete said, shaking his head.
Clark smiled. He had gotten the teddy bear and received the kiss Lana had promised. They went steady for two months after that – until he realized that Pete was right. She was no deeper than she had been acting.
“I didn't think so,” Lois said smirking.
“Didn't think what?” Clark asked.
“That you ever played hooky. I don't get it. What's so great about playing hooky anyway?”
“It's fun to break the rules a little, Lois,” Clark said.
Lois grimaced. She had actually played hooky once – successfully that is, and it was not what anyone would consider fun.
“Hi,” Chad said softly in her ear the day after he had come over to her house. Lois stared resolutely ahead. If she turned toward him, she would start to cry, she knew she would. Was he going to break up with her here? Right here in the hallway? Right now, just before the bell for last period rang? She would have to switch lockers. Would they let her do that? She could not come back here day after day to the place where Chad had broken up with her. Of course, since he had never asked to be her boyfriend, it wasn't like he could actually break up with her, right?
“Lois,” Chad said, just as softly as before, placing a hand on her shoulder. At his insistence, she turned towards him, her eyes swimming with tears. “Can you come over after school?” he asked her.
Lois nodded. So he was going to wait. At least she was not going to have to change lockers.
Chad reached up to brush a tear from her cheek. Then leaning close to her, he whispered, “Please don't cry. It makes me sad. I just want to talk. I swear.”
Lois nodded again, afraid to talk.
“Forget it,” Chad said softly, “Let's just go now.”
“Now?” Lois finally managed to get a word past the lump in her throat.
“Yeah, I'm not going to be able to concentrate on physics anyway knowing you're upset. And I doubt you'll get much out of your English class either. So, let's go now.”
“You want to cut school?” Lois asked, not sure why she was stuck on this.
Chad nodded, “Just for today. This is more important.”
Lois nodded again. She supposed making sure he was no longer associated with the girl with the alcoholic mother, the girl who was Metropolis' own Lolita, would be more important than physics. She should be happy he was telling her he wanted nothing more to do with her rather than just ignoring her.
She packed the books she needed into her book bag and closed her locker. Chad grabbed the bag before she could, swinging it over his left shoulder. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand. Lois blindly followed him, staring at his hand in hers the whole way.
“Have you tried my new fragrance?” a woman asked, bringing Lois out of her memory and spraying both Lois and Clark with an atomizer before she moved around the rest of the newsroom.
“Ugh!” Clark said, and looked over to see Lois waving her hand in front of her face.
“What was that?” she asked grimacing.
“I think it was perfume,” Clark said.
“Well, it smelled awful.”
Clark nodded his head in agreement.
***********************
Lois looked over at Clark. He looked different today. He looked… well, he looked sexy. How odd. Still, she could not seem to stop looking at him. Had he always been this good looking?
She removed her compact from her purse to steal a glance at her reflection. Wow, she looked awful! Did she always dress like a prude? She slung her purse over her shoulder, bolting for the ladies room. She had talked to Clark earlier. Darn it! How could she have let him see her looking like this?
She fished through her purse in the bathroom. Why didn't she keep make-up here in case of emergencies? Ages ago she had thrown some blusher and lipstick in here, but she could really use some concealer for those crows-feet developing near her eyes. Some eye shadow and liner would be nice, too. Oh well, she would have to make do with what she had.
Finally finding the blusher and the lipstick, she applied both, taking a step back to look at her handiwork. She still looked like some sort of Puritan. With a flick of her hand, she released her hair from the clip it had been in all morning. Remembering a trick Lucy had taught her, she flipped her head upside down, shaking her head from side to side before moving upright again. There – her hair looked better now.
She still had to do something about her clothes, though. What had she been thinking coming in to work in this outfit when she worked with someone who looked like Clark? She pulled her jacket off and unbuttoned the top three buttons on her blouse. She grimaced at her skirt. It was way too long. What was she going to do about that?
Then she remembered and rummaged through her purse again. Eureka! She may not normally keep make-up in her bag, but Lois Lane never went anywhere without a pair of scissors. She took the skirt off to make sure she cut in a straight line and a few minutes later had turned her ankle-length skirt into a mini. It had some ragged edges since she had no way to hem it (not that she knew how), but a ragged skirt was better than a prudish one, right?
Feeling much better about her appearance, Lois packed up the rest of her stuff, throwing the remnants of her skirt away, and went back to her desk. Hmph! Clark did not even look up as she came over.
“Want some coffee, Clark?” she asked.
“Sure, Lois,” he said, still looking at his computer screen.
Lois sauntered over to the coffee area, pulling out two cups from the cupboard.
“Wow, Lois! You look…”
“Cut it out, Stan,” Lois said, annoyed. Stan was blocking her view of Clark.
Flushing, Stan went back to his desk.
Finishing with the coffee, Lois picked up the two mugs and walked back to Clark's desk. “Here you go,” she told him, setting his mug down. “Light and ridiculously sweet. Just the way you like it.”
“Thanks, Lois,” Clark said, reaching for his mug, still not taking his eyes off the screen. What was she going to have to do to get him to notice her?
She went back to her desk to place her coffee down and then moved back over to Clark. He took no notice as she walked around his desk and behind his chair.
“How are you, Clark?” she leaned over to whisper in his ear.
“Huh?” Clark responded. At least he had stopped typing.
Lois stood up and began kneading his shoulders, but Clark spun his chair around. “Lois, what is…” He threw her a crazed look once he was facing her. “Lois, what did you do to your skirt?”
“Don't you like it?” she asked with a pout.
“I… uh, Lois, are you all right?”
Lois sat herself in his lap, nuzzling her lips near his neck. “I am now that you're paying attention to me.”
Clark tried to back away from her, moving his face away from hers, but she followed him. “Lois, are you feeling okay? You aren't acting at all like yourself.”
“I told you, I'm fine. Don't you like me this way?”
Clark closed his eyes, trying to keep clear headed, which was hard to do with Lois in his lap. “Um… Well, yes, but not as much as when you're… well, you.”
Lois pulled away, the pout back on her face. “You don't like me like this?”
“I do,” Clark repeated. “I just… I'm worried about you.”
“Oh,” Lois said, the pout disappearing. “I'm fine.” She resumed her previous position.
“Do you want something, Lois?” Clark asked.
“Just you, Clarkie.”
“Clarkie?”
“Don't you like it?”
Afraid of what her reaction might be if he said no, Clark said nothing.
***********************
Having extricated himself from Lois earlier, and still having no idea what she was up to, Clark had decided that a walk around the block was in order. When he came back, though, Lois attacked him. Pinning him up against her desk, she leaned as close as she could to kiss him, but Clark leaned back further.
“Lois,” he pleaded, “please. You're starting to make me uncomfortable.”
Lois pouted again. Clark wondered how he could keep track of her mood swings. “I don't want you to be uncomfortable,” she said in a childlike voice.
“I'm sure you don't, Lois,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady, but she was still pressed intimately up against him. “But I'd prefer it if you just stepped back a half step or so.”
“Oh,” Lois smiled, still speaking in a childish voice. “But I can still stay close to you?”
“Yes,” Clark said, thinking that he would be fine if he could get her somewhere where he wasn't feeling her breasts pressed to his chest.
Lois took a small step back. “So, let's get out of here.”
“What?” Clark asked her. “Aren't you the one that said we had work to do?”
“And you said I was no fun "cause I wouldn't play hooky. Now I want to and you don't?”
“I do, Lois,” Clark sighed, “I just, I don't know if that's such a good idea right now.”
At that, Perry came running out of his office, chasing Rehalia, the cleaning lady. “Rehalia, I love you!” Perry exclaimed.
Clark looked at Perry, then turned to Lois, then back to Perry. Okay, so whatever was wrong with Lois was wrong with Perry, too. Taking a look around the newsroom, he began to suspect that everyone but him was suffering from whatever it was.
***********************
“Hi, Lex,” Lois said as he approached her. She wished he would move to the side a bit. Like Stan earlier, he was blocking her view of Clark.
“So, are we still on for dinner tomorrow night?” he asked her.
“Sure,” Lois said distracted. Then seeming to remember where she was, she turned to Lex more fully. “Although, you need to know, you and I are just friends. Clark has my heart.”
Before she could see Lex' response, though, she turned. Was that Clark there over by the elevator?
***********************
He was not even sure how he had managed to get free of Lois that time, but Clark knew an opportunity when he saw it. He packed up his stuff and headed for home in an effort to avoid any more weird interchanges with Lois. It was late anyway.
He decided to walk – to try to figure out what was going on in the newsroom. Something had caused everyone in the office to act crazy – to act in love or in lust anyway. The only thing Clark could think of was the perfumes from this morning. Could one of them be contaminated with something that everyone was allergic to? Could this even be called an allergic reaction? Or was this supposed to happen? Did someone plan this? What about that perfume that smelled awful from this morning? Could that be it?
Suddenly, he heard screaming and looking up, realized a bus was about to run someone over. Clark dropped his stuff and ran toward the man, scooping him up and pushing him out of the way just before the bus hit them.
“Wow! Thanks, CK!”
Clark looked down. It was Jimmy. Placing him down, he asked, “Jimmy, what were you doing?”
“I was trying to get April's attention. Clark, I love her!” he said and Clark cringed. This had gone too far.
***********************
Having picked up several magazines geared towards women, Clark had decided to spend the evening looking through them. He was not sure what he was hoping to find. Even if the woman was advertising her perfume in here, there was no reason she would use herself as a model. On the other hand, if the mayhem she was causing was done on purpose, she was likely a megalomaniac and since in his experience megalomania correlated with egotism, maybe she would.
He heard a whoosh from the balcony and called a hello to Superman as he flipped through another magazine. Stopping, he stared. Was that her? Was it really going to be that easy?
He felt Superman stop behind him, but continued staring at the picture, trying to determine…
“Well, you've had a bad day, haven't you?” Superman said with a bark of laughter.
Clark looked up at him startled. “I have actually. How did… Oh, right. You've done this before. I keep forgetting that.” At the look on Superman's face, he felt badly. “I'm sorry, Clark. You probably don't forget that, do you?”
Superman smiled slightly, taking a seat on the floor in front of Clark. “No, I don't. But that's okay. It's not your fault.”
“Maybe,” Clark thought out loud, “you could step in as me for a day or something?”
Superman smiled, “I would love that. But it wouldn't work. I tried it.” Off of Clark's startled look, he rushed to explain. “When Superman was pushed out of town because of the heat wave, I had to leave town as Clark, too. It was clear that I was unable to be here and not help out. So, I left, or I tried to, but Lois figured out what was going on before I did.
“Anyway, when I planned to leave, I told Lois I was going to Smallville. I had tried to leave when she wasn't around, but she was working late, trying to crack the story, of course and prove my innocence. So she was there, and before I left, I ended up kissing her. I hadn't planned it, but it just happened.
“I didn't think it was all that important, but my Lois said it was. I was worried about what would happen here when you didn't try to leave. So, I thought I'd pose as you and kiss Lois.”
Clark's eyes got wide, and Superman rushed to explain better. “My Lois said it made her realize how important Clark was to her. I didn't want you to miss out on that.
“So, I decided on a practice run with your mother. This way if it didn't work, I wouldn't blow your secret.”
“And Mom knew it was you?” Clark asked.
“Immediately. Way too fast for me to think there was any hope of Lois not noticing. Anyway, I don't miss being Clark for mundane things. I miss my interactions with Lois, Perry, and Jimmy. And I'm not sure I could fool any of them.”
“I'm sorry,” Clark said.
“No, don't be. This isn't your problem. And besides, you calling me Clark helps a lot. I know it seems small, but it makes me feel even more real around you, less like a cartoon cutout.”
“Clark, I don't think anyone thinks you're a cartoon cutout. Well, maybe some people, but not a lot. Lois certainly thinks you are real.”
Superman laughed. “I guess. Although, I could live with her not getting it. Really. The attention from her makes me uneasy. It makes me long for my wife in a way no one else does.”
“Well, they are a lot alike,” Clark smiled.
A knock on the door interrupted them both. “Do you mind getting it?” Clark asked.
“No, feel free to continue to figure out the perfume thing,” Superman said as he moved to the door.
