Okay, so that meant he’d leapt forward in time. Not as far as he’d planned. But still... he was heading in the right direction. Only another ten years and he’d be back where he’d started.
His mind flashed back to a young, precocious child. The nine year old Lois. She would be... what? Twenty in November of 1987? That’s right. She’d have turned twenty in late September. And, if he recalled his Lois history, she went to New Troy University. It would be her first year given that a serious car accident in highschool had caused her to lose a semester. So... what would a twenty year old Lois Lane be like? Just a look. Surely just getting a look at her wouldn’t hurt the time line.
He was unaware of the sloppy grin that settled on his face when, previous chores forgotten, he began walking towards the New Troy University campus.
AND NOW...
[The beginning of this part should really be read while listening to George Michael’s ‘Faith’. It helps put you in the mood for a party. If you want to hear it, you can do so here: ]
* * * * * * * * *
PART TWO ‘For Better or Worse’
* * * * * * * * *
Lois had to smile as she approached the Alpha Nu Rho sorority house. Even from a block away, she could see that the old place was almost alive - light blazing from every window except a few on the upper floor where members of the sorority leadership lived, music spilling out the doors and windows and onto the street.
“Well, I guess it would be nice, if I could touch your body. I know not everybody has got a body like you. But I’ve got to think twice before I give my heart away...”
People were wandering inside - groups, couples, singles. Lois stopped walking. Paul was probably in there, with Linda hanging all over him. Could she really do this? Could she walk in there, see them and not fall to pieces? Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea, after all.
Still, Molly had done a great job hiring the band. They were good. Playing current hits rather than their own music, of course. But still... She recognized the opening lines of George Michael’s Faith. The ground trembled under the beat.
“But I need some time off from that emotion. Time to pick my heart up off the floor. When that love comes down without devotion. Well, it takes a strong man, baby, but I’m showing you the door.”
Her heart instantly picked up the rhythm. And she found herself singing the familiar song, her heart and feet both lifting almost immediately, and without making a conscious decision to do so, she found herself walking towards the house as she sang softly to herself.
“‘Cause I’ve got to have faith. I’ve got to have faith. Because I’ve got to have faith, faith, faith. I’ve got to have faith, faith, faith.”
She bumped into a couple cuddled together in the darkness and muttered a quick, embarrassed apology. But before that moment could throw her back into depression, the beat of the song again called to her and she resumed singing.
Her feet unexpectedly picked up the beat of the song she found herself half dancing, half walking the remaining distance to the house, her voice stronger now as she continued to sing.
“Before this river becomes an ocean. Before you throw my heart back on the floor. Oh, baby, I’ll reconsider my foolish notion. Well I need someone to hold me. But I’ll wait something more.”
She danced around a couple of young women she didn’t know, not caring if they thought she was crazy.
Her singing trailed off as she stepped through the doors even as the music played on. Spotting Molly almost immediately, she sprinted over, tossing her jacket on a nearby chair, grabbing her surprised friend by the hand and pulling her onto the dance floor. Molly laughed and then began dancing with her friend, joining in when Lois resumed singing - singing the song to each other on the dance floor while ignoring the looks of those around them.
“Before this river becomes an ocean. Before you throw my heart back on the floor. Oh, baby, I’ll reconsider my foolish notion. Well I need someone to hold me. But I’ll wait something more. ‘Cause I’ve got to have faith. I’ve got to have faith. Because I’ve got to have faith, faith, faith. I’ve got to have faith, faith, faith.”
Both young women dissolved into a fit of giggles when the music ended. Arms wrapped around each other’s waists, they moved together off the dance floor.
“You’re in a better mood,” Molly commented when they arrived by the bar that had been set up on one side of the room.
“Well, you know what I always say, Mol? You can’t keep a good woman down.”
Molly smiled, turning towards the bar. “What do you want?” she asked loudly as the band began playing another song. “Want to try some of our special, super-secret sorority punch?”
Lois crinkled her nose in disgust.
“What?” Molly asked.
“Too fruity.”
“How would you know? You haven’t even tried it.”
“My mom was a sorority sister, Mol. Or have you forgotten?”
“Uhh... So... not a fan?”
Lois shook her head.
“So what’ll it be?” Molly asked determined to play bartender.
“A glass of white wine will be fine.”
Molly’s eyebrows rose.
“Okay, so maybe I’m not exactly twenty-one yet. But one glass isn’t going to kill me,” Lois responded. “Besides, everyone drinks in university. It’s a law or something.”
Molly gave her head a shake but still reached for the wine bottle.
“Hi, girls.”
Lois tensed when she heard Linda’s voice behind her.
“Hi, Linda,” Molly said.
Lois, still not turning to look at Linda, couldn’t help a small smile from forming when she heard the chill in Molly’s voice. It seemed obvious that Molly had chosen sides.
“You going somewhere?” Molly asked.
This time, Lois did turn, seeing Linda all dolled up underneath her jacket.
“Paul doesn’t want to stay at some college party. So we’re going out for supper at some exclusive club he knows about. Then... We’ll see.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
Without waiting for a response, she flounced over to where Paul was in conversation with Bob Stafford. Lois couldn’t help the feelings that rose in her chest when she saw Paul turn and smile when Linda took his arm.
“Using fake ID, I bet. Hope she gets caught,” Molly said. “So how about that wine?”
Lois looked back at her friend who instantly noticed the moisture in her eyes.
“Hey, come on,” Molly said. “Trust me on this. From what I’ve heard, Paul’s not that much of a catch. And at least you won’t have to see either of them again tonight.”
“What do you mean he isn’t much of a catch: What did you hear?”
Molly poured Lois a glass of wine and handed it to her, as if giving herself time to decide whether or not to confide in Lois.
“Come on, Mol. Spill.”
“Okay, I didn’t say anything before because you seemed so enamored with him and I figured if it ever got to that point, you could judge for yourself, but... Well, rumor going around last year from someone who briefly dated him was that he’s really bad in bed.”
Lois, who’d been about to take a sip of wine, quickly pulled the glass away from her mouth as laughter forced its way past her throat. “That’s horrible, Mol,” Lois gasped. “I’m sure it was just sour grapes.”
“No, trust me on this. She went into explicit detail. Seems lover-boy over there thinks foreplay consists of two kisses and some disco music. And that’s being generous. Seems he couldn’t... hold it longer than that.”
“Are you serious?”
Molly nodded. “Paul couldn’t get a date for the rest of the year. I think he was relieved when she graduated and a new crop of girls came to the school.”
“Really?”
Molly nodded again.
Lois wasn’t entirely sure that she believed Molly, but just the thought did make her feel better. The picture of Linda’s reaction when she discovered this for herself - and Lois had no doubt she would soon - tickled Lois’ funny bone. She glanced over at Linda and Paul and this time had to fight the urge not to laugh.
“Well, come on. Get yourself some punch and we can find a seat for you to boy-watch,” Lois said, turning back to Molly. “Remember. We’re on a mission tonight to find you the hottest guy here.”
Molly poured herself a glass of punch and took a sip, spewing it out immediately. “Hey, what is this?” she instantly exclaimed. “Who spiked the punch?”
Lois couldn’t help it - she laughed. The spiking of the super-secret sorority punch, perfected from years of practice, would be sacrilege to Molly. She fell silent immediately when Molly glared at her. “Sorry,” she muttered sheepishly, unable to keep a small note of amusement out of her voice.
Molly gave her a look that could only be described as tolerant exasperation. “Why don’t you find somewhere for us to sit? I’ve got to take care of this.” With that, Molly picked up the bowl of punch and began carefully carrying it towards the kitchen.
Lois watched her go before looking around the crowded house. Spotting a table with a couple of chairs on the other side of the dance floor, she took her wine and slipped through the crowd to get to the table. Fortunately, the table was still available when she finally got through. Taking a seat, she set her wine on the table and took in the general revelry. The band chose that moment to take a break, causing the noise level to drop by several decibels.
“Hey, kid.”
Lois turned, smiling when she spotted the young man, a familiar face at his side, moving towards her.
“Hi, Joe,” she said. “Debby.” Her voice wasn’t quite as warm on the woman’s name. Not cold, exactly, but not really friendly either. After all, old habits died hard. And in high school, she and Debby had, in a sense, been rivals for Joe’s affections. Debby had eventually won - hands down. And although Lois didn’t particularly care, the tension between the two young women remained.
“Lois,” Debby responded, using much the same tone of voice as Lois.
“So Joe managed to drag you out to this?” Lois asked, suddenly deciding that it was time to end their rivalry.
“Where Joe goes, I go,” Debby responded, obviously not picking up on Lois’ intentions.
Lois decided not to respond, instead she looked back at Joe. “So what exactly brought you here? You’re not a member of Beta Beta and Deb’s not even going to university here. Just gate crashing?”
Joe laughed. “Just don’t report us, okay?”
“No problem.”
“Actually, though, we’re not staying. Although, I’ve heard a lot of people are planning to crash.”
“Really? Why?”
“Biggest party on campus. What do you think?”
“Okay, stupid question. So what brought you by if you’re not crashing the party?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Lois’ eyebrows rose. “Really? What about?” She gestured to the chairs.
Joe and Debby both sat down before Joe continued. “I just thought you should know that word that you were actually the one who broke the story about the football players is all over campus. A lot of people are really mad at you.”
“Great! I get the hassle. Linda gets the glory.”
“Just wanted to warn you to watch your back.”
“Why? What have you heard?”
“Crazy talk, probably. Nothing that really makes much sense. Still, I thought you should know.”
“We thought you should know,” Debby said, joining the conversation for the first time.
Lois, surprised, looked at Debby, giving her a smile when the meaning of her words sank in. Maybe Debby wanted to put the rivalry of the past to rest, too. Debby returned the smile with a tentative smile of her own.
“Thanks,” Lois said softly, giving the response directly to Debby.
Debby shrugged, obviously slightly embarrassed by the acknowledgment.
“Just watch your back okay?” Joe said. “I sort of feel responsible. I never should have given you that tip.”
“No!” Lois said, reaching out to touch his hand briefly but withdrawing it almost immediately in order to avoid raising Debby’s ire. “This isn’t your fault! This is what I do. I dig into the slimy underbelly of society and expose it to public scrutiny.”
“Not that you have any delusions of grandeur,” Joe said with a grin.
Lois gave him a smile. “None whatsoever,” she responded playfully.
“The play,” Debby said.
“Huh?” Lois responded.
“Oh, right,” Joe said, even as he rose to his feet. “We’ve got tickets to a play and we really should be going, but... Are you sure you’re going to be all right? I mean, we could stay and make sure that...”
“Go!” Lois said emphatically. “I’m fine.”
Joe hesitated for a moment more before deciding to accept her assessment. “Just be careful, kid. I’d hate to see anything happen to you.”
“Hey, I’m indestructible,” Lois said, not allowing him to realize how much his obvious concern was unnerving her. Whatever he had heard must have been pretty bad. “But thanks for the warning.”
She watched, lost in thought as Debby and Joe left the table. What possibly could have spooked Joe so badly? And what should she do about it? Before she could ponder the issue too deeply, a man’s voice saying her name brought her out of her thoughts.
“Lane.”
Lois looked up from where she was nursing her wine. “What do you want, Bob?” she asked. The last thing she needed right now was to deal with Paul’s side-kick, Bob Stafford.
“I wanted to tell you to knock it off.”
“Knock what off?” she asked, not in the mood for games.
“Spreading that lie that you were actually the one who got the story about the football players.”
“Not that I really care what you think, but it’s not a lie.”
“You know what your problem is, Lane?”
“No. But I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“You need to get laid. Might get rid of that pole up your...”
“Bite me,” she said, interrupting him.
He leaned over, placing his palms flat on the table, his face so close to hers that she could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Watch your step. We know how to handle people who aren’t team players.” After straightening up, he walked away without a backward glance.
Lois rolled her eyes. If Joe were to be believed, she had bigger things to worry about than Bob Stafford.
“Hey, Stretch!”
Lois spun around in her seat, expecting trouble. “Teddy?” she asked when she saw the young man standing there. She let out a breath of relief. If there was one person in this room she didn’t have to worry about, it was Teddy. He was in gymnastics with her and harmless as a fly. If only he would stop calling her ‘Stretch.’
“How’s it going, Teddy?”
“Not bad. But you’ve missed the last few classes, Stretch.”
She sighed. Maybe she should drop the gymnastics, which was what she was currently using to stay in shape along with her usual morning jogs, and take up some sort of self-defense. Judo, maybe. Or Tae Kwan Do. Yes, definitely Tae Kwan Do. She’d do better learning some sort of kick-boxing than wrestling techniques.
“Stretch?”
Lois’ attention was diverted from Teddy by the monster of a guy with no-neck coming to a stop behind him. Lois tensed. He had to be a football player. Was he with Teddy? She glanced at Teddy, noting that he seemed as surprised as she by a new person entering the conversation. He wasn’t with Teddy.
“Uhh...” Teddy said, glancing over at the other man. “Yeah, it’s because of the positions she can stretch into in gymnastics.”
“Yeah?” asked No-Neck. “Maybe we should see just how far we can bend her. What do you think, four-eyes?” He clasped Teddy’s shoulder none-too-gently.
“Wha...” Teddy began.
“Hey, leave him alone!” Lois objected, jumping to her feet. “If you’ve got a problem with me, take it up with me.”
“You’re right,” No-Neck said, releasing Teddy’s shoulder in order to place a hand in the center of his chest. “Get lost, four-eyes,” he said, giving Teddy a push that caused him to stumble backwards.
Once Teddy recovered his balance, he hesitated for a moment, looking at Lois. She nodded. Teddy was a nice guy, but he weighed no more than a hundred and ten pounds. No-Neck would easily make mincemeat out of him. Teddy turned and fled.
“What’s up, Frank?” another man said.
Lois turned around to see someone else approaching from behind. She knew, however, who this person was. No one who went to New Troy University would have any doubt about this individual’s identity - Donald Landover, star quarterback for the New Troy University Devils. He was flanked by two other no-neck Neanderthals.
“And the hits just keep coming,” Lois mumbled under her breath.
“You met Lane yet?” Frank asked Landover.
“So you’re Lane,” Landover said, running his eyes down her body in a way that made her want to squirm.
“What’s it to you?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest to force his eyes to return to her face.
He smirked at her, but his eyes blazed. She had to force herself not to take a step back, but instinctively she knew to show no fear. Landover would thrive on her fear.
“Now what are we going to do with you?” Landover asked, making a circle around her, eyeing her up as if considering the problem.
“Since she can apparently bend any way she wants, I say we find out exactly how far she can bend before breaking,” Frank repeated.
“She can bend any way she wants?” Landover asked.
Frank nodded. “Yeah.”
“So you’re pretty flexible, are you?” he asked Lois.
She simply glared at him over her shoulder.
“I can think of a way to put that flexibility to use.” Landover came to a stop in front of her before making an obscene gesture with his hand that caused the others to laugh, but made Lois feel slightly dirty.
She refused to let her feeling show on her face and instead ran her eyes deliberately down his body until it rested on the place he had just grabbed. “Now, why do I think you don’t have the equipment to take advantage of it?”
His smirk faded. He stepped in closer, leaning towards her. “I’d be careful if I were you.”
“Why? You think I’m scared of you?” She injected as much incredulity in her voice as she could manage.
He kept her eyes fully on hers. “I never said you needed to be scared of me. It’s just that you’ve made a whole lot of enemies in this school. Someone might try to...” He shrugged. “Well, I can hardly speak for what others might do.”
“What’s going on here?”
Landover looked over to see who had interrupted. “Nothing,” Landover said, stepping back, hands raised innocently. “We were just talking.”
Lois glanced over at the newcomer to the crowd. Her eyebrows rose. Ryan Wiley, flanked by a few Beta Beta guys. But what was Ryan doing? He hated her as much as Landover did - and for exactly the same thing. Still, he was big enough to be intimidating - unlike Teddy. And he’d obviously grabbed a few of the bigger Beta Beta guys to back him up.
Ryan and his posse stood there, waiting until the football players backed away.
“Thank you,” Lois said, confused.
Ryan turned and looked at her, disgust radiating off his face. “I didn’t do it for you. But Molly doesn’t deserve to have her party turned into a brawl. If Landover wants to exact his revenge somewhere else, he has my blessing.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
Lois sank back onto her chair. Picking up her wine, she took a sip, her hand trembling slightly in delayed reaction. Oh, yeah. Joe was right. The football players were mad at her. And after her encounter with Landover, she knew she needed to take the threat seriously.
“I thought I might find you here.”
Lois tensed. Now what? She looked up. “Russell?” she asked, confused when he staggered slightly before sitting down at her table. Great! Just what she didn’t need. Dealing with Linda’s step-brother - and by the looks of it, he was sloshed. The last thing she needed right now was another warning about stealing Linda’s thunder.
He slapped his bottle of beer on the table so hard it slopped over slightly. Not that Russell noticed.
“Just what is it with you?” Russell asked. “Think I’m not good enough for you or something?”
“What are you talking about?” Lois asked, looking around in hopes that Molly might be making her way over to rescue her from this bozo.
“The date! We had a date. You stood me up!”
“I didn’t stand you up,” Lois said. What was taking Molly so long anyway? “I called and cancelled.”
“You’re gay, aren’t you.”
“What?” Lois asked, looking at the drunk man sitting at her table for the first time and wishing he’d lower his voice.
“Yeah. That’s it, isn’t it? You’re a freaken dyke!” With the last word, he gestured towards her, knocking over his bottle of beer.
Beer poured over the table and into her lap.
“Idiot!” she exclaimed, jumping up and rushing over to a nearby table to grab some napkins. Moving as quickly as she could, she began to wipe futilely at her jeans and top and arms and neck and everywhere else that had been sloshed with beer.
When she’d finished cleaning up as best she could, she looked back at her table. Russell, it seemed, had vanished. Just as well. Maybe he wasn’t so drunk as not to realize the need for a strategic retreat. After all, if he’d still been there, she’d have killed him!
Marching back over to her table, she picked up her glass of wine and downed the remainder. Molly had obviously been detained - the joys of being the hostess, no doubt. So she’d find Molly, make her excuses and then head back to the dorm. As she set down her glass, she looked at it in confusion. That had tasted slightly salty. Weird.
Dismissing that thought from her mind, she turned to look for Molly. With everything that had happened, Lois was no longer in the mood for a party.
* * * * * * * * *
Clark had enjoyed his walk. He could have been to New Troy University in less than a second. But he was enjoying the anticipation. That precocious nine year old child was now a twenty year old young woman. And he had been given an opportunity to see it.
But it would just be a glimpse, he promised himself. He couldn’t afford anything more. No. Once he’d had a chance to see what she was like at twenty, he’d return to the time machine and start working on getting it fixed.
Of course, he really had no idea how to go about finding Lois. He knew she’d gone to New Troy University. But since she had been raised in Metropolis, did she live at home with her folks, on campus or somewhere else entirely? And on a Friday evening, was she even going to be on campus? Maybe he’d have been better off finding a place to hide the time machine tonight and then taken a look for her on campus in the morning.
Rounding a corner, he noticed the house immediately. Hard not to. It was lit up and practically bouncing under the force of the loud music coming from inside. People were outside, talking, laughing, rough-housing and generally enjoying the newly falling snow.
He smiled, his mind taking him back to his days in university. It briefly crossed his mind to wonder what all the neighbors were thinking of the racket. But looking around, he realized that this close to campus, the apartments around here were probably all occupied by university students who, even if they weren’t at this party, were out doing some partying themselves on this Friday evening.
Or they were out on dates - a tried and true Friday evening mating ritual that took place at universities throughout the country.
What if Lois was on a date? His heart twisted at the thought, even though he knew he had no right or reason to be jealous. Even if she were on a date, he knew she was single in 1993. So none of these relationships, assuming she’d had any, had lasted. Besides, it wasn’t as if she were his - at least, not yet. Still, seeing Lois with another man and knowing he couldn’t interfere if he didn’t want to disturb the time line would be hard.
Hey, why was he thinking so negatively? She could be doing something with her girlfriends or studying or, knowing Lois, getting in trouble. A small grin quirked at the corners of his mouth on the last thought.
He glanced back at the house when the volume of the music suddenly increased. The door had opened and three of the occupants spilled out into the street. By the look of their shadows, it appeared that one was drunk and the others were holding him up.
“Hey, I don’t wanta leave.” Or her. The drunk slur of a woman made it clear that one of those leaving the house was a woman. “I wanta dance some more. Com’ on. Let’ssss go back inside ‘n dance.”
Clark stopped and watched as the shadows of the men and woman got closer. The men appeared to be sober. The woman, however, was quite drunk.
“No, it’s time to get you home,” the one of the men responded.
“I don’ wanna go home,” the woman slurred. “Hey, whata ‘bout you?” She turned her attention to the other man. “You wanna dance?”
The new target just grunted as the men continued to half drag the woman down the sidewalk.
“Girlfriend got a little bit too drunk,” one of the men explained when he spotted Clark watching them.
Clark nodded. He’d carried enough of his friends home while in college to know what that was all about. They approached him on the sidewalk and he smiled in understanding.
As they got up beside him, the woman suddenly turned, grabbing onto his jacket. “What about you, handsome? You wanna dance?”
Clark reached up to pry the woman’s hands off his jacket when he caught his first sight of her face, staring up at him through blurry eyes. For a moment in time, the world around him seemed to stand still.
“Lois,” he whispered.
TO BE CONTINUED...
ML
She was in such a good mood she let all the pedestrians in the crosswalk get to safety before taking off again. - CC Aiken, The Late Great Lois Lane
