Thank you, Carol, for all your help!
From Chapter 34
Lois smiled as she leaned over to place a light kiss on my lips. It was only as she backed away that realization seemed to dawn. “So,” she asked, having no idea how much her question was getting my pulse to race, “how come you hadn't mentioned this earlier? Isn't this what made you consider this story to begin with?”
I took a deep breath as a way to stall. “Yeah,” I admitted.
“So, why the big secret?” Lois asked and I said nothing. This relationship wasn't even going to last a day, was it?
Chapter 35
“I… I'm not sure,” I finally settled on, which was at least partly the truth. I mean, I sort of knew why, but on the other hand, it might have occurred to me before now that this might come up again. I wasn't sure why I hadn't considered it before. Although, it was sort of stretching it to say that meant I wasn't sure why I hadn't mentioned it, wasn't it? “We weren't really friends yet when I bumped into him,” I added. “And then… well, I don't know. I guess it just never occurred to me to mention it since then.”
Lois looked at me suspiciously for a minute, and I could feel myself start to flush, but then she seemed to decide to accept my sorry monologue of an excuse.
“So, are you going to interview him for the article?” she asked instead.
I shook my head. “I hadn't really considered it, but I doubt he'd agree if I asked, so probably not. I may make reference to him, but not by name. But the incident where we met would probably make a good lead-in to the article.”
Lois grimaced. “I should be thinking about that, too. Having a great lead-in is not my strength.”
“Well,” I smiled at her, feeling more relaxed now that we were on more Clark Kent ground than Boy in Black, “you don't need a great lead-in if you can bring in a story with a great headline.”
“True,” Lois smiled at me. “That is definitely my plan. Always bring in front page stories.”
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I watched the interchange below me with fascination, excitement, and some nausea. It was what I needed, and taking the camera out of my backpack, I snapped a couple of photos as evidence. I was going to crack this story wide open. Clearly that was important to my chances for the internship. Still, some part of me had hoped I wouldn't be able to do it – that I had misremembered or something and these kids weren't really doing drugs. While part of me wanted to show Mr. Dwight that he was wrong, and a little bit racist, part of me had hoped that he was right.
I sighed. Since I was correct, I now needed to decide what to do. I could sit back and assume I had a good chance of getting the recommendation as long as my article this time around was passable, or I could try to really impress Professor Halkuff – and maybe save the lives of some children in the process.
I flew off to the camera store near campus and ordered prints of the pictures I had taken. Tomorrow morning, I would take these to the police.
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“Hey,” she said when I answered the phone. I could hear giggling in the background. Was she having a party? That seemed so unlike her.
“Hi,” I replied, wondering if she could even hear me over the noise in her room.
“How was your afternoon off?” she asked, and I could hear the teasing in her voice.
“Useful,” I told her. “I was working on the article for the journalism class that decides the second recommendation. How were your classes?”
“Friday afternoon classes,” she replied. “Boring. As usual. So, what is your article about?”
I gave a small sigh. I had never told her either, but since I told Lois, I might as well tell Maddie. It wasn't a secret anymore. “You remember the night of the frat party last semester? The night we… uh…” I stammered, suddenly not sure how to say it.
“Yeah,” she said softly, but with the noise in the background I couldn't hear her clearly. Was she amused at my discomfort or did she feel the same way?
“Anyway, with so much going on that night, I never mentioned it, but that afternoon I took a walk around the area outside of campus and ran into a kid, maybe eight or nine, who was already in debt for marijuana. So, I'm writing about drug use in elementary schools.”
There was a pause before Maddie replied, “You're going to be famous one day, aren't you?”
“Come on, already,” came the voice in the background, and I realized that the giggling that I had heard was Alicia.
“Sorry,” Maddie said to her and I could clearly hear the amusement in her voice now. “Alicia and Chris are over here and we were thinking that we should all branch out a little more. So, we talked about going off campus for dinner tonight and then maybe to a movie as well. Interested?”
“Sure,” I said. It sounded like fun.
“I'll give Lois a call. Do you want to call Josh?” Maddie asked before I could respond. I had been about to volunteer calling Lois. Then I realized the potential for awkwardness I had caused.
“Um… actually, I should call Lois. But maybe we shouldn't come,” I said.
“'We' who?” Maddie asked. “You and Lois or you and Josh?”
“Me and Lois,” I replied, feeling my heartbeat quicken. “Um… Mads…”
“Clark?” Maddie asked when I trailed off, sounding concerned. She had no idea. I hoped this wasn't going to destroy everything between us. Or things between her and Lois.
“Lois and I are dating,” I said so quickly the words all ran together.
“What? Clark, I couldn't understand you,” Maddie said, laughing.
“Lois and I are dating.” I said the words more slowly now. “I'm sorry, Mads. I know this could be awkward, so Lois and I…”
“No, it's fine,” Maddie said over me. “It's fine with me. Really. It's been ages since you and me… Well, anyway. So, I guess you should call Lois and I'll call Josh.” Her words were casual, but I could hear the hitch in her voice. I had hurt her again. I sighed. I bet Maddie wondered if I had ever really liked her, but I had. Really.
“Maddie,” I started, although short of apologizing I wasn't sure what to say.
“Want to meet at the gates on 98th Street?” Maddie cut me off.
I nodded before realizing she couldn't see me and so quietly told her I'd see her there in fifteen minutes.
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Lois gave me a smile as I met her outside her dorm. We had decided to go together to meet everyone. It was going to be awkward enough to see Maddie, having Lois with me would make it easier. Of course, I realized I was being somewhat unfair. This was going to be far easier for me than for Maddie.
I hoped Josh was able to make it. Steve was no where to be found, so if not, it would be Alicia and Chris, Lois and myself, and Maddie. It would be hard enough for Maddie to have to be out with Lois and me. No need for it to be even worse by her feeling like the fifth wheel.
“Maddie's a big girl,” Lois said to me, giving my hand a squeeze. “It's going to be okay.”
“I know,” I told her. “It's just… I know it's my fault we're not together anymore. I'd hate to make her feel like I never really cared about her at all.”
“Do you still care about her?” Lois asked, and I could hear the worry in her voice.
“No,” I rushed to reassure her. “Well, I mean, yes. Not that way anymore. But she's my friend, and I don't want to hurt her.”
Lois nodded. “I feel the same way. But I'm sure Maddie will be fine. It's not like we got together the instant you guys broke up or anything.”
As we approached the group by the gates, I tightened my hold on Lois' hand, whether for fortitude or to make sure I didn't drop it in deference to Maddie, I wasn't sure.
“Great. We're all here,” Maddie said brightly as we reached everyone else. She was smiling, but a quick look at her eyes showed that she was feeling uncomfortable. Alicia glanced at the place where Lois and I had linked our hands, but looked away quickly. I wondered how she felt about this – was she happy for us, or angry for Maddie's sake? Josh and Chris just looked uncomfortable.
“So,” Alicia said. “Here we all thought it was Steve that was the dog in our group. But I guess it was you after all, right, Clark?” Okay, so her position on this was pretty clear.
“Hey,” both Lois and Maddie said at the same time.
“That's not fair, Leesh,” Maddie said quietly. “It's been months since Clark and I…” she trailed off.
“Maybe Clark and I should just go,” Lois offered.
“No,” Maddie said. “I'm fine. Really. And if I'm fine, no one else should have a problem with this either.” She gave Alicia a firm look. Alicia didn't reply, but shot me a look I couldn't read.
“We thought we'd go to Hunan Palace,” Josh tried to change the subject. “Figured it would be a bit cheaper to eat family style.”
“Sounds good,” I said, trying to sound a lot more comfortable than I was feeling.
I gave Lois' hand a squeeze and glanced at Maddie as we approached the restaurant. Lois nodded to show she understood, and I let go of her hand to walk a little ahead.
“Hi,” I said softly to Maddie as I walked alongside her. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Sure,” she said, still trying to sound more comfortable than I knew she felt. We stepped to the side as Lois and Josh made their way inside to see if there was a table available now. Alicia and Chris stayed outside, Alicia still giving me dirty looks.
“I just..” I wished I knew what to say, but while I didn't, I knew I wanted to say something. I had to let Maddie know that this thing with Lois didn't mean that I had never cared about her. I sighed. “I just don't want you to think… I really did love you, Maddie. And I really do care about you. Still. I just…”
Maddie smiled at me, and I could see the sheen of tears in her eyes. “I know, Clark. Really. I'm not angry. Disappointed maybe, but not angry. I guess… For awhile I had hoped you'd tell me whatever the big secret was and we could work past that, but I don't feel that way anymore. I… I still care about you, too, Clark. But I'm not interested in getting back to together anymore.”
I smiled at her, glad to hear that she was over us, too. I moved forward to give her a hug and she came willingly into my arms.
“Hey,” she said into my ear, although not softly. “Isn't that guy Paul?”
I released her and turned to see where she was looking. “Yes. And… I don't know who that girl is.”
Maddie laughed softly. “I can't believe Alicia called you a dog.”
“Compared to Paul, I'm virtually a saint,” I said, still looking across the street.
“You are a really great guy, Clark,” Maddie said.
I smiled at her. “Not great enough to deserve you,” I told her honestly.
“Will you be honest enough with Lois to deserve her?” Maddie asked me, her tone
cautious.
I sighed, not knowing the answer. Maddie's implication was correct – I wouldn't deserve Lois anymore than Maddie if I didn't tell her about the Boy in Black. That didn't mean I was about to offer up all my weirdness for her inspection either, though.
“I hope you do,” Maddie said softly. “I hope you stop running from whatever it is.”
“They're ready for us,” Lois said as she and Josh came outside, and I was glad for the interruption.
Then Lois glanced across the street and her skin got slightly pale.
“What's wrong?” Alicia said as she walked closer to us.
“Paul,” Lois said. “With Grace. Clark… I need to do something. Grace is nice and she's new on staff. She doesn't know Paul.”
I nodded. “What do you want to do?”
“I should have talked to Professor Matthews already. I was just so embarrassed.”
“For now, maybe we should go confront Paul? Give Grace a chance to leave?” Maddie suggested.
“We?” Lois asked.
“Of course,” Josh answered. “We'll all go. We're not going to make you go alone.”
Lois nodded, and started across the street. I smiled. I could hear her heart racing inside her chest, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from doing the right thing.
“Hi, Lois,” Grace smiled at her as we approached.
“Hi,” Lois said quietly.
“I'm Lois' friend, Maddie,” Maddie offered her hand to Grace. “This is Josh, Alicia, and Chris. And this is Lois' boyfriend, Clark,” Maddie said throwing a look at Paul that was clearly meant to make sure he understood. Lois had moved on; he hadn't crushed her. I had to smile at Maddie's ability to do that even though it must have been difficult to refer to me that way. She really was something special.
“Nice to meet you all,” Grace said.
“We came to talk to you about Paul,” Lois said, her voice soft, but gathering strength.
“What about me?” Paul asked, his voice hard.
“Don't worry, Paul,” Josh offered when Lois didn't reply immediately. “We aren't going to tell Grace anything that isn't true.”
Grace was looking confused now, and then Lois spoke up. “Look maybe Paul really likes you, Grace,” Lois offered. “But I just wanted you to know that as best I can tell, Paul doesn't date girls he can't get things from. Usually articles or sex.”
“Geez, Lois,” Paul said, sounding amused. “Grace might think you're serious.”
“I am serious,” Lois said. She turned back to Grace. “Paul's also dating Linda.”
“You told me that was over,” Grace said turning to Paul.
“It is,” he said, his gaze on Lois again. “Lois doesn't know what she's talking about.”
“Maybe it is over,” Lois said. “But he only dated her because she was sleeping with him. And he only dated Michelle because she let him steal her stories. He stole one of mine, too. Only he hadn't asked permission for that one. And then we went out once because I told him I'd sleep with him. When I changed my mind, though, he said I'd need to start giving him more stories to use with his byline. Otherwise what was the point?”
“Lois,” Paul said, the warning clear in his voice.
“No,” Lois said, and she was trembling, but her voice was strong. I was feeling so proud of her. “I'm going to talk to Professor Matthews tomorrow. He knows you stole my story. And I don't want you getting away with doing it anymore.”
“You told me you just needed one story,” Grace said, turning to Paul. “That it was a one time thing that you needed for your quota as editor.”
Paul shook his head. “Lois is just bitter, Grace. I broke up with her a few weeks ago.”
“Why would she be bitter? She already has a new boyfriend,” Alicia pointed out. “And,” she gave me a glance, but this one was less cold than before, “Clark is a lot hotter than you are. It seems to me that she traded up.” I saw Chris hide a smirk, and I bit my lip. This side of Alicia, sort of crude and cold, which had been so prevalent when we first met, had faded the longer she dated Chris, but somehow it wasn't surprising to see it come out to protect one of her friends.
“And why would she claim that she and Michelle both gave you stories to use with your byline? She didn't even know you had asked Grace to do that as well,” I added.
Grace got up, looking at Paul with disgust. “I can't believe I ever fell for your line,” she said. “Sorry I won't be able to join you for dinner after all.”
“You can come with us,” Lois offered, smiling. “We were just about to eat at Hunan Palace.”
“Thanks,” Grace got up and joined us as we all crossed the street. I turned back once to look at Paul. He was still sitting where we had left him, his mouth hanging open in shock. He looked so surprised at being caught, I couldn't help but laugh.
