Teaching Indecency 
by Laura S. <lyshaheen@aol.com> 
Rated PG-13 
Submitted November 2007 
__________

Just want to thank Laramoon for her endless patience and help.
:)

__________

The front of the Daily Planet had never seemed quite so
terrifying. She had walked past it dozens, perhaps hundreds of
times and not once had it inspired the spectacular fear coiling
in her belly. Excitement, yes. Confidence, of course. Fear?
Never.

The twenty-three-year-old lightly grasped the door handle and
steadied her breath. She could do this. No problem. She was Lois
Lane. She graduated at the top of her class from Metropolis
University. Scraping through the necessary calculus required to
graduate? That was tough. A job interview at the most
prestigious newspaper in the nation? She could do that.

Instilled with slightly more confidence after her impromptu pep
talk, Lois strode through the lobby, her heels clicking
definitively on the marble floor. With a confident jab to the
"up" button by the elevator, Lois straightened and tilted her
chin as she waited with a practiced air of sophistication.

The facade lasted exactly until the doors closed after her in
the empty elevator. Then she was a wreck again. It had taken an
obscure connection from her- of all things- calculus teacher, to
even begin to finagle an interview with the legendary Perry
White.

Apparently Professor Junipero hadn't spent his entire life
merely scribbling formulas and theorems. Quite a thought,
actually, the fact that he had a life beyond Met U. Lois
mentally reined in her thoughts as they drifted from her ancient
but helpful math teacher to the elevator hurling her up toward
the most terrifying interview of her life. A few stops later and
she was on the floor earmarked for the Daily Planet newsroom.

The Lois Lane who exited the elevator was not the same Lois Lane
who internally quivered inside of it. She straightened her
blouse and confidently glanced around the office like she
belonged there.

Finally, a boy who looked to be nineteen or twenty came up to
her. "Can I help you?" he asked, friendlily enough. He was
struggling with a stack of files and Lois automatically caught
one as it began to slip. "Thanks," he sighed in relief and set
the stack down on a nearby desk.

"Okay, <now> I can help you," the boy gave her an easy grin and
Lois tried to smile back. "Who are you looking for?"

"Perry White. I have an interview," Lois finally responded
crisply. It wouldn't do to appear nervous in front of a simple
go-fer.

"Cool. I'll tell him you're here. Name?"

"Lois Lane."

"Jimmy Olsen," the boy gave her another easy grin and trotted
off though the melee.

A minute later, Jimmy returned. "The Chief's all ready for you,
Lois. Go on in to that office up there."

With that he was gone and Lois felt an unimaginable sense of
loss at the comfort of someone nearly her own age. There wasn't
time for this. She had to pull herself together. After another
quick pep talk, she suddenly found herself knocking on Perry
White's office door, bracing herself for the worst.

One didn't become the editor of a major metropolitan newspaper
by playing nice, she told herself. Or even by playing fair.
Perry White was probably a snake, a low down dirty, devious...

The door was opened by a man in an Elvis tie.

Lois blinked.

Perhaps not, then.

"Ms. Lane! Perry White. It's a pleasure to meet you." The great
bear of a man stuck out his hand and eagerly shook hers.

Lois followed closely behind and the door shut with a quick
click, effectively cutting off the hustle and bustle of the
newsroom. Perry motioned for her to take the chair opposite his
and gave her a hard stare.

"Now, Roger Junipero tells me you're a real whiz at reporting.
I've learned not to question his judgment, so I decided to grant
you an interview," Perry raised a hand when he saw Lois open her
mouth. "But I'm telling you now, we're near overflowing with
competent reporters right now. I'm not sure what I can do for
you."

Lois faltered slightly at this, but it didn't outwardly reflect
on her face. "Mr. White, I'm certain if you would read some of
these samples, you might be persuaded to change your mind." Lois
handed over her portfolio and tried to control the wild staccato
of her heart.

For a near five minutes, Perry was silent as he perused the
articles, his eyes quickly skimming the articles in some parts
and slowing as they critically observed others. It was
dreadfully silent in the office and Perry finally set the file
down and looked her straight in the eye.

"Lois Lane, this is damn fine reporting," he said.

Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn't tear her eyes
from his. This was it; she'd be made or broken.

"But I just don't have the spot for you right now."

Broken.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"And <that> is what Hawthorne meant when he had Dimmesdale join
Hester and Pearl on the stage. Now what is the symbolism of the
light in the sky?"

Clark Kent stared out at his classroom, willing one of his
students to twitch perceptively enough to legitimately call it a
raised hand. Most of the class was glancing desperately at the
clock, or shrinking into their chairs. A few girls near the
front had their chins resting on their hands, gazing up at him
with near predatory gazes. That unnerved him slightly, but
finally a quiet girl named Kaitlin raised her hand timidly.

Pleased that the normally reserved girl was finally speaking,
Clark immediately called on her.

"The l-light represents a divine judgment, as if God is b-baring
their sins for a verdict. When their hands join, it's a symbol
of them mutually a-acknowledging each other."

Excited beyond reason at this intelligent response to his
question, Clark gave her an enthusiastic grin and congratulated
her. He was about to move onto the next subject when his
sensitive hearing picked up on a few cruelly aimed barbs from
some of his less intelligent, more popular students. They were
soft enough that a large percentage of the class had not heard,
but it was obvious Kaitlin had. A hard glare in their direction
silenced them immediately, but the damage had been done.

Kaitlin slunk down in her seat, her face pale and her chin
dipping down onto her chest. Clark looked at her for a moment,
hesitant, before finally, reluctantly continuing on with his
lesson. When the bell rang to signal the end of class and
consequently the end of the school day, the kids bolted.

"Kaitlin," Clark stopped her after the masses had dove for the
exit. "Could you stay a moment please?"

Shuffling forward, her lime green backpack looking for all the
world like it weighed more than she did, Kaitlin made her way to
Mr. Kent's desk. "Yes sir?" she asked quietly.

Now that Kaitlin was at his desk, Clark was torn. He wanted to
find some way to apologize for the behavior of the boys in his
class. To let her know to keep her chin up.

"That was an extremely perceptive response you gave in class,
Kaitlin. And in general, your work has been excellent."

Kaitlin blushed and kept her gaze steady on her feet.

"Mr. Scott, the principal, has asked me to pick a few promising
students to form a competitive literary team. It's called 'ready
writing.' From what I can tell, you're given a prompt and then
set to respond to it by using observation of current events,
literary history and general knowledge. I think you'd be a
wonderful candidate."

Kaitlin looked up at him for the first time, a little more
comfortable. "Really? You think I'd be any good at that?"

"Kaitlin, you're one of the very best and the absolute first one
I thought of when Mr. Scott approached me. And it wouldn't
involve too, too much. One meeting a week until the competition,
which is in three months. What do you say?" Clark gave her an
easy grin, sensing he had already won the shy girl over.

"Okay, Mr. Kent. I'll do it. Thanks for the confidence in me."

"It's not hard to be confident in you, Kaitlin."

"Who else are you recruiting?"

Clark thought for a moment and shook his head. "Maybe Garrett
McKinney, but I'm not sure just yet. We have three spots. He's
the other likely candidate, but I'll still need to find someone
to fit the third spot."

A pink tinge appeared in Kaitlin's cheeks as he mentioned
Garrett. Biting back a smile, Clark thanked Kaitlin for staying
after. "I'll get you some more information about the meetings
after I find our third person. Thanks for staying after."

"No problem, Mr. Kent. See you tomorrow."

Clark gave a short wave and then surveyed his classroom
critically as the door swung shut behind her. His room was a
mess. The little torn edges of notebook paper littered the floor
in a veritable snowstorm. Someone had left their book. The desks
and chairs were nowhere near their respective other. A quick
glance through the wall with his x-ray vision revealed no one to
be in the near vicinity.

Suddenly he became a blur, darting back and forth throughout the
room. A moment later he halted, his form sharpening into his
normal appearance. The room was spotless.

Grinning at having saved the janitors some work, Clark put some
papers in his briefcase to grade and walked out of the
classroom, whistling.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

As Lois wandered aimlessly down the street, she couldn't put her
interview with Perry White out of her head. She had briefly seen
the hustle of the newsroom and she was already enthralled by it.
The heady rush of noise, the frantic pace; it all sounded
wonderful. And though logically she knew that all newspapers
must be something like that, she had stubbornly set her sights
on the Planet. Briefly, Lois thought back to the papers she had
submitted for Perry White's perusal. They were hard-hitting and
edgy, her normal trademark. But, Lois sighed, at the heart of
the matter, they were merely news reports. And as Perry had
gently explained, they had an overstock of reporters capable of
recapping the news.

That one had hurt. Was she not the prodigy her journalism
instructor had set her up to be? For the first time in over
seven years, Lois tried to imagine herself in a different
position than print journalism. She could work in television...
or even get a job writing literature for companies. Her
communications degree was rather universal, so the options were
limitless. But that still didn't ease the ache in her heart.

And she was wallowing. Just because she didn't get accepted at
the first place she interviewed in! Lois hardened her heart
slightly and began to look at things objectively. She didn't
want to work at the Metropolis Star or any of the other local
newspapers. The Daily Planet was like a siren's call and she was
powerless to resist. No, she needed to write one definitive
story. One that would prove for certain she was Daily Planet
reporter material. It had to be something different... something
no other newspaper would uncover. Lois sank down on a bench
outside of Metropolis High. As she looked up at the immense
stone building, nestled quietly among some shady oak trees, she
was struck by the innocent appearance. It looked like a safe
haven, like the worst that could go wrong would be a failed
paper. Her sister Lucy still attended school here. She was a
junior and loved the fast pace of high school compared to middle
school. As she was musing, a nagging doubt crept in her mind.

Something Lucy had said... It had been months ago. Lois had
barely paid attention, much more interested in the story she was
working on for the college newspaper. But it nagged her. The
building shouldn't look so innocent. Why was that? Groaning in
frustration, Lois picked up her cell phone to call her sister.
If she could just remember what was eluding her, she'd feel much
better. She punched in the number and waited impatiently for her
sister to pick up. On the next to last ring, Lucy finally
answered her cell phone.

"'Lo?"

"Luce? It's Lois."

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Okay, think back a few months ago. You were telling me
something about Metropolis High. A scandal, right?"

Lois could almost hear Lucy perking up. "You mean when Nick
dumped Kelly for Alison?"

Exasperated, Lois shook her head, not paying attention to the
fact that Lucy couldn't see her. "No, I mean it was big.
Something bad. The authorities were involved?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry Lois. I forgot all about that. We had some
problems with gang initiations."

'Yes!' Lois thought, 'Mayhem and scandal.'

"Guns and gang warfare?" Lois asked, a note of excitement
starting to infuse her voice.

"No, it's actually between girls. Just one group. They make
their girls do all sort of crazy initiation rites. That's what
started up the controversy. This girl, Beth, drowned last year.
She was supposed to jump in the water tower and tread water for
an hour, but she couldn't manage to climb back up. Someone, or
some people, removed her body and hid it. They're just stupid
tests of will and endurance."

The wheels were already furiously rolling in Lois' head.

"But the gang is still active?"

"As far as I know. The police couldn't get any leads as to who
put her up to the stunt or who moved the body. They had plenty
of suspicion, but no concrete leads. Beth's parents just wanted
to forget everything. They didn't press charges and moved away a
few months later. Eventually the cops just dropped the case. But
everyone knows who it was."

"Who?" Lois asked, barely able to allow Lucy to finish her
sentences.

"Jill Reynolds and Lexy Hartness. They're sort of the 'leaders.'
They're both seniors at MHS."

"Thank you Lucy, you don't know how much you've helped me!" Lois
snapped her phone shut, ignoring Lucy's voice in the background
before she was abruptly cut off. With a broad smile on her face,
Lois spun on her heel and marched back to the Daily Planet.

Here was a scoop just waiting to be served. She knew there was
more to this than preliminary investigations revealed. Treading
water in a water tower? Were these girls crazy? Anyway, if she
could blow the gang scandal wide open, she'd solve an old murder
case <and> perform a cutting expose. It was a blend of hard news
and feature, investigation and delicate undercover work. She
knew she could do it. All she had to do was strike a bargain
with Perry White.

An hour later, after an intense interview with Perry, Lois had
her answer. If she could go undercover and find proof leading to
the arrest of whoever was responsible, she had a job. The Planet
would fund her for three months so she could make ends meet.
That was the deal, take it or leave it.

Lois took it.

As she came out of Perry's office, she couldn't keep the
professional apathetic look on her face. Her face split into a
wide smile as she inwardly cheered and cried in happiness. She
was hired! True it was only for three months, but she knew she
could do it. She would fight to expose this scandal. Perry had
even set her up with a small cubicle. It was more than she could
have dreamed of, even an hour and a half ago, after her dismal
first interview.

"Ma Cherie, I have not had the pleasure of meeting you. Are you
a new intern here?"

At the silky voice, Lois glanced up and her step faltered. The
man was gorgeous. Absolutely breathtaking. He was tall, much
taller than herself, with long black hair and piercing brown
eyes. She was so distracted by his face, the cut jaw line, full
lips, that she nearly forgot to be offended by his statement.

"Intern? No sir. I am a fully paid employee of the Daily
Planet," Lois said archly, raising her eyebrows at the man. Too
bad her status only lasted three months, but this man didn't
have to know that.

"Ah. Then forgive me. It is rare indeed that reporters for the
Daily Planet are so exquisite. My name is Claude Malfois. It is
a pleasure to meet you."

Lois extended her hand, never truly regaining her cool after
that first initial once-over of him. "Lois Lane. I'll be working
on an undercover story for a while, and then I'll take over the
hard news."

Instead of grasping her hand in a shake, he gently laid a kiss
on her knuckles.

"That is indeed fortunate for me, Miss Lane. I work in news as
well. To prolong your company will be sweet indeed."

Lois' eyebrows were nearly in her hairline. She didn't know
people actually still talked like that. Though the skeptic in
her was scoffing, she was fighting big time with the hopeless
romantic. And skeptic was fighting a losing battle. Lois looked
up at Claude through her lashes, admiring the tanned skin
revealed by his slightly opened dress shirt.

"Would you do me the honor of allowing me to call on you
sometime?"

"Like... a date?" Lois gulped. She normally wasn't this
tongue-tied! Why was she screwing this up so badly?

"Yes. If you give me your telephone number I will call you soon
to arrange a time." He pulled out a small notepad and a pen and
handed it to her. Lois found herself scribbling her number and
handing it back before she could coherently think.

"Au revoir, Miss Lane." With a last searing gaze that left her
knees a little weak, Claude strode out of the newsroom, leaving
Lois clutching to her cubicle for support.

"Wow."

++++++++++++++++++++

Clark let himself into his small apartment, simultaneously
flipping on the light switch and depositing his briefcase on the
floor. He let out a breath as he looked around at his home and
shuffled into the kitchen to make himself dinner. He didn't
super speed through it today - he really had nothing better to
do. Twenty minutes later, Clark sat down at his spacious kitchen
table and quietly speared a piece of asparagus as he graded
papers. He was glad that Kaitlin had decided to join the Ready
Writing team. And if the way her heartbeat had sped up when he
mentioned Garrett's name, then the more power to her. He'd
invite Garrett to join too. In fact... he could orchestrate some
meetings... Be late a few times...

As Clark's musings shifted farther, he reeled himself in. God,
he was a wreck. He was actually planning to play matchmaker for
a couple of 17-year-olds. These were not the signs of a healthy
man. But things had been hard. The kids he taught were his
lifeline. They kept him sane, all the while steadily driving him
insane. It was a knife-sharp line and he thrived on it. Besides,
he earned a steady income and got summers off. What more could
he want in his life?

His subconscious answered that one quickly. Anything but that.
There he was, thinking about her again after he had told himself
to stop. Clark grabbed onto the couch. Not again. He couldn't
deal with any more tears. Why couldn't he stop? He was a grown
man, not some child.

He would take a shower. Let the hot water scald away all the
painful memories. He moved silently to his bathroom, stripping
as he went. He shoved the water temperature all the way to hot
and stepped in, not waiting for the cold water to turn
blistering.

His shower. Not hers. Not theirs. His apartment. Not theirs. Oh
God. It had been theirs. They had had their life together. They
had made the deepest commitment to each other. They had returned
to this very apartment. He had carried her over the threshold
and made passionate love to her for hours. Tears blistered in
his eyes and he squeezed them shut, willing the memories to
leave him. His wife. His eyes shot open as he threw his left
hand in front of his face. There. His ring. He still remembered
her slipping it on his finger and the way her small hand had
felt in his.

The way she had giggled when he playfully threw her down on the
bed. How she had forbidden him to get dressed. The beautiful
year they had together. He rested his head against the cool tile
behind him and let the memories wash over and soothe his body
and soul. The notes she used to leave for him, all over the
apartment, in the most unlikely of places. The way they used to
be able to finish each other's sentences. The day she had
suddenly clutched her chest and dropped to the floor.

And not even super speed had managed to save her.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest it was called. He couldn't have known, the
doctor had said. It wasn't his fault. There were hardly any
warning signs. The survival rate was less than five percent.
Platitudes. Illogical, unreasonable platitudes meant to soften
blows he deserved. He who could *hear* heartbeats should have
been able to save her. He who had promised to love and cherish
his wife for as long as they both lived had failed her when she
needed him most.

His perfect, wonderful life. Shattered. He had let loose a
barrage and he welcomed it, letting the terrible memories
overwhelm him as he slumped to the floor of the shower,
sobbing.

+++++++++++++++++

"Lucy, are you *sure* this is what the high school kids are
wearing these days?" Lois held up the leopard print blouse and
short leather skirt. "I feel like a hooker."

"Lois, come on. Would I steer you wrong?" At Lois' pointed look,
Lucy relented. "Okay, so sue me, that's not *exactly* what kids
are wearing."

Relieved, Lois threw down the outfit in disgust. "Lucy, why do
you even own that?"

"Hey! I said not all the kids are wearing it. The dorks aren't,
but the cool kids are."

"Don't call them that."

"Oh Miss High and Mighty, I forgot. You were the founding member
of the chess team."

"You are so full of it."

"And you are such a prissy brat."

Lois and Lucy glared at each other amidst the wreck of Lucy's
closet.

"I don't *have* to help you. I'm doing you a favor!" Lucy
shouted at her sister. "Put this on and don't complain." Lucy
shoved a red shirt from Hollister and some Abercrombie jeans at
Lois.

"I'll take the shirt, but I have some jeans from the Gap
already," Lois said, examining the tiny jeans.

"Oh no you don't. I've seen those jeans. They're fully intact.
You will wear those Abercrombie jeans and you will like it,
Lois!"

"What do you mean they're fully intact, you think I'd want jeans
like this?" Lois roughly shook the ripped, battered and paint
splattered Abercrombie jeans at Lucy. "What did you do, get
chased by a pit-bull in a paint factory?"

Rolling her eyes, Lucy continued to dig through her closet,
throwing articles of clothing at her sister. "You are so
clueless. I bought them like that. It's the in thing. God, you'd
think you were thirty, not twenty three for all you know."

"You say thirty like it's a bad thing."

Lois struggled to pick up the mountain of tops and skirts and
pants Lucy had sent her way. "You honestly think I'll need all
of this? I do have my own clothes."

Lucy gave her sister a slow once-over. "If you're going to fit
in at this school, you'd better. I can't believe you're doing
this, by the way, you know you're doomed to fail. Do you think
you're just going to be able to waltz into high school and have
Lexy and Jill spill their secrets to you?"

Lois shrugged. "I'm a good listener."

"Well hate to break it to ya, Sis, but I think you're sorely
under-experienced for this sort of thing. High school is no
child's play."

"Lucy, I was in high school six years ago, I remember it just
fine. I was the Student Council President," Lois said smugly.
She had ruled high school. Lucy was worrying over nothing.

"Uh-uh. The only thing that matters at Metropolis High is Jill
and Lexy. Cheerleading captain? No sway. Student Council
President? Nothing. Football captain? A little."

"Why does he get a little sway and the cheerleaders don't?" Lois
asked indignantly.

Lucy grinned at her slightly clueless older sister. "He and Lexy
sometimes..." She twisted her fingers together and Lois got the
message. 

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Let me see your schedule. I can tell you about some of these
teachers."

Lois handed over her schedule and leaned over to read over
Lucy's shoulder.

"Brown? Good. Kingsley? Blech. Garza? So-so. Redwick. Evil.
West? Okay. Kent..." Lucy trailed off as she started squealing.
"You have Mr. Kent for English Lit! Oh you lucky dog."

"Huh? Why?" Lois grabbed her schedule and reread it. "'C. Kent,
English Lit. Room 203.' What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal? Lois! Mr. Kent is gorgeous! Every single
girl in the school would kill for your schedule! Oh God, I would
kill for your schedule."

Lois rolled her eyes. Great. Sixth period lit would be a blast.
She'd have to deal with moony-eyed senior girls.

"So he's good looking. Wonderful. Anything else to enlighten
me?"

"Lois, you do not even understand! This man... every girl at
school absolutely loves him to pieces. He's fair and apparently
a really good teacher. At the end of the year, he writes every
single student in his classes an entire letter full of well
wishes for college and anecdotes about the year."

"So? He probably has three or four written and he mass-produces
them. Lucy, I appreciate that the man might have some passing
good looks, but come on, be serious."

"I'm not kidding! They're all completely different. He's so
cute," Lucy sighed off, looking a little lovelorn. "Oh! There's
a candid picture of him and his wife in my yearbook from last
year, let me get it."

"His wife?" Lois asked in the general vicinity of where she last
saw her sister. Lucy was digging through her closet, nearly
swimming in messy piles of clothes. "See? The guy's married. I
don't know what everyone is lusting after."

Lucy was hastily flipping through her yearbook and only
disjointedly heard Lois speak. "Oh, his wife's dead."

At Lois' gasp, Lucy looked up. "What?"

"Jeez, you don't have to be so cavalier about it! What
happened?"

"Sudden Cardiac Arrest. It happened about two years ago, but
some of the kids who had Mr. Kent before his wife died are
shocked at how much more listless he is now. There he is." Lucy
pointed to a picture and Lois moved over to get her first look
at the mysterious Mr. Kent.

"Sudden Cardiac Arrest, really? So young?" Lois was musing as
she craned her neck to see the picture. Her breath caught in her
throat slightly. There was a beautiful blonde woman cheering at
a Tigers football game. The photographer must have caught a
private moment, because the man in the picture was staring at
his wife with a huge smile and a slightly adoring gaze. Both
were decked out in full Tigers regalia and Lois was startled by
how handsome the man was. How terrible for this Mr. Kent, to
have lost his wife so suddenly and so young. Kent didn't look
much older than she was, probably 25 or 26, 27 at the most. Lois
couldn't tear her gaze from the contented expression in his eyes
as he watched his wife cheer. He couldn't have known his life
was going to turn around so much in such a short time. Lois
glanced at the caption.

English Literature teacher Clark Kent and his wife, Lana, cheer
for the Tigers at the Oct. 5 football game against Rydell High.
Kent has taught at Metropolis High since he graduated from
college in 2000. "Metropolis High is my home. It really means a
lot to me to be able to impact students in any way," Kent said.
"And the football games are fantastic."

"That's terrible," Lois said softly. "I'm so sorry."

Lucy had already lost interest, however. "Yeah. It's a shame.
But you are so lucky, girl!"

Lois let Lucy's familiar chatter wash over her as she continued
to stare at the picture, suddenly feeling an ache in her heart
for the man she hadn't even met.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Lois slammed her locker shut in exasperation. Were the girls
this dumb when she was in school? She had already endured three
periods of First Day of School Torture. Funny, they should
bottle it as a new kind of agony. Lois had spent the first half
of the day being stared at. It took a great deal of willpower
not to revert to the hard shell she chose for times like this.
But Lois wasn't a fool; she knew that when she slipped on that
particular armor of sarcasm and scathing wit, she lost all
approachability.

And despite the fact that she was with some idiots whose worst
problem was how to sneak out of the house on Fridays, she needed
them to like her. That would be the only way she could
infiltrate deeply enough in Jill and Lexy's gang. Lois looked at
the clock and cursed. Two minutes to make it to history. Crap!
She was so going to be late.

Lois slid into her seat in Mrs. Redwick's class just as the bell
finished ringing. As the old woman stared at her, Lois stared
right back, refusing to be intimidated.

"Miss... Lane, is it?" she began. Lois tensed. This was never
good. Throughout the morning, none of her teachers had made her
do anything too embarrassing. Miss Garza had told her to stand
and say her name and where she was from, but that was easy
enough. This woman, Mrs. Redwick, looked like she ate kids for
lunch.

"Miss Lane, please stand and tell us about yourself and your
expectations for this year."

Inwardly rolling her eyes, Lois gave Mrs. Redwick her most
polite smile - one anyone close to her would instantly recognize
as totally fake - and stood to face her bored classmates.

All while she was talking, Lois kept her eye on Jill Reynolds.
Lois had lucked out. Both Lexy and Jill were in her first
period, and then Jill was in both third and fourth as well. She
planned to spend the next few days evaluating them and how the
other students acted around them. So far as she could tell, they
acted like typical, popular high school girls. She noticed them
insulting a few girls behind their backs, they ate lunch with a
table full of beefy looking football players, and the rest of
the time they giggled and passed notes. Lois didn't get it. How
had evolution failed them so? It was all so stereotypical.

Finally, after answering one rapid-fire question after the
other, Mrs. Redwick was satisfied. As Lois took her seat, a girl
who looked vaguely familiar gave her a hesitant smile.

"Hi, I'm Dana Grisham," she whispered.

"Lois Lane." Lois gave her a tentative smile as well.

"I know, I heard the spiel in first period too." 

Lois laughed slightly and straightened when Mrs. Redwick turned
from the board to glare at her class. When the teacher turned
back toward the lesson, Lois leaned toward Dana again.

"Those girls seem pretty popular." She gestured to Jill and a
few of her friends with a nod, playing dumb to their names.
Dana's smile turned wistful.

"Yeah. They are. Truly the top of the food chain here, if you
know what I mean. That's Jill Reynolds." Dana pointed to the
girl with sun streaked blond hair. "And there's Nicole Fisher
and Kylie Robinson. They're all pretty popular in their own
right, but Jill is really their 'leader' if you know what I
mean."

Lois nodded and Dana continued.

"I'd really like to be their friend. They have this group that
they call the 'Rosettes.' If you get in, you're automatically
like... a legend." Lois could feel the palpable waves of desire
radiating off Dana. "You go to all these parties and you pretty
much get your pick of any guy at school. It's so awesome."

'Pay dirt,' Lois thought gleefully. This was easier than she had
anticipated. She shot another glance at Mrs. Redwick and then
turned back to Dana. "Wow," she said softly, trying to inflect a
proper amount of awe in her voice. "That's awesome. Do you think
we could join?"

"Yeah right. Maybe, *maybe*, if you could get either Jill or
Lexy to like you a little they might put up your name for
consideration. But even then, that's just to propose you for
their initiations. It's a rough game."

"But you still want to try it?" Lois asked softly. Dana's hazel
eyes darkened with anticipation and she nodded fiercely.

"I'd give anything to be one of them."

Uneasy, Lois shifted back to her seat. Poor Dana, so intent on
becoming popular she was missing the rest of high school. As
Lois ignored Redwick's lecture, she contemplated what she had
learned so far. So the "Rosettes" were the big bad gang she had
heard so much about. She needed to find someway to meet up with
Lexy or Jill. And some way to get through three more months of
school.

An hour and a half later, it was time for the infamous Mr.
Kent's class. Lois grabbed the Lit book she had picked up from
the front office and headed down to room 203. She waved as she
saw Dana in the hall and grinned in genuine pleasure when she
realized the girl was headed toward the same class she was.

"Hi Lois! You're in Mr. Kent's class too?" Dana said as she
caught up with Lois in the hall.

"Yeah," Lois grinned and lowered her voice. "So I hear he's
pretty cute, what do you think?" 

Dana's jaw dropped. "You mean you haven't seen him?"

"Not in person, no."

Dana grabbed Lois' arm and pulled her through the crowd. "Oh
girlfriend, you are *so* in for a treat!"

Caught up in Dana's schoolgirl excitement, Lois followed her
until they reached the door marked 203. Dana pushed open the
door and they entered Mr. Kent's English Lit. Lois was prepared
to sneak in and unobtrusively find a seat in the back, but Dana
propelled her forward.

"Mr. Kent, we have a new student."

The man looked up from his desk, an affable grin sliding across
his face. "Hi Dana." He turned toward Lois and extended his
hand. "Hello, my name is Clark Kent. I'll be your English
teacher this year."

Lois managed a grin. "Yeah, I got that from the schedule. My
name is Lois Lane," she finished, grasping his hand to shake it.
Her throat suddenly felt a little bit dry at the contact.
However gorgeous he was in his picture, he looked ten times
better in person. As Lucy would - and did - say: "that man is
cute!" His thick hair brushed over his forehead a little, just
enough to be endearing. But despite the obvious good looks, he
looked tired. The intent gaze behind his glasses was a little
haunted, but the smile on his face was genuine.

"It's a real pleasure to have you in my class, Lois. Would you
like to take that empty seat next to Dana?" Clark gestured to a
seat in the second row and Lois nodded. "Okay, great. We're in
the middle of discussing The Scarlet Letter, by Nathanial
Hawthorne. Have you read it?"

Lois nodded and Clark's smile widened. "Great! Well then you'll
be a step ahead of the game. If you'll take a seat, I'll just
introduce you to the class really quick."

At the look Lois gave him, Clark laughed and threw up his hands
in mock surrender. "No speeches, I promise. I'll just say your
name and we'll move on."

Lois grinned at him and moved to the seat Mr. Kent had pointed
out, just as the tardy bell rang. Mr. Kent stepped up in front
of the class, a stack of papers in one hand.

"Hi guys." He watched the class' response with an amused look
glinting in his eyes. About half the class gave a muttered
"hello." Jenny Parkins sat up straight and belted out a chipper
"Hello, Mr. Kent!" to which Clark acknowledged with a nod.

"As I'm sure you all know, we have a new student today. And
don't all turn around to gawk, either!" Sure enough, six or
seven heads turned sheepishly back to the front. "Her name is
Lois Lane and she just transferred from New York City. Now
moving on, I've graded your quizzes over chapters 1-13."

The class groaned and Clark smiled as he began handing them out.
This was his lifeblood, these kids scowling at him. It was scary
how much he relied on them for his general well-being. After
Lana had died, he had withdrawn from all his friends. They
understood and gave him his space, of course, but it was never
really the same. He never came back to them. He could turn his
back on them and they would be fine. They were always more of
Lana's friends than his anyway. But these kids... He wasn't
allowed to abandon them. And that was when he had thrown himself
into teaching with a steadfast determination. It was really all
he had to live for at the moment. His smile turned wry and
self-deprecating. His mother would tan his hide if she knew he
had dark thoughts like that tumbling through his mind.

Throughout the rest of the class, Clark called on a few
different kids, and one time Lois tentatively raised her hand.
So far, this was the only class she had really paid attention
in. She tried to tell herself it was the subject matter, because
she honestly did enjoy literature, but in her heart of hearts
she knew it was because of the way it was being taught. It was
obvious that Mr. Kent genuinely adored literature in general. It
was evident in every thought-provoking question, every time he
refused to let a student slide with a weak answer.

When the bell rang to end the class and the school day, Clark
released his class and bid them to have a good weekend. Most of
them poured out of the class without responding, but a few
students gave him cheery waves and dashed off, obviously excited
for their weekend to begin. He noticed Lois Lane lingering by
her books and he walked over to her.

"So how was your first day at Metropolis High, Lois?" he said as
Lois packed her books into a black backpack.

At the expectant voice, Lois jumped a mile. "God, I had no idea
you were right there!" She shook her head and then smiled. "It
was okay. You know, school is school." Lois shrugged and shifted
her back on her shoulder.

Clark nodded at this, but then shrugged. "You seem extremely
well read and taught. It will be a pleasure having you in my
class this year. I hope you have a good weekend."

Clark gave her a small smile and then returned to his desk at
the front of the classroom. He waved as Lois left the classroom
and then faced his vacant room with a sigh. He hated the
weekend. All those long, empty spaces of time... Time to reflect
on things he didn't want to think about. He briefly entertained
the idea of going to spend the weekend at his parents', but
frankly, they knew him too well. If he went there, they'd be
able to spot his depression in an instant. He had a stack of
papers higher than his knee to grade, but with his speed he was
usually able to make quick work of them. Perhaps he'd spend the
weekend grading things the normal way. He could write some long
feedback to his students. Despite their groaning and protests,
he knew they appreciated the long notes of encouragement.

With an ideal way to spend his weekend decided, Clark grinned to
himself. There. He'd battle those ghosts with activity. But even
with his weekend plan decided, he loathed returning to his empty
apartment. Pulling out his chair, he sat down to answer some of
his long neglected email. He typed in his password and logged in
to the school-wide teacher's email. Seven new messages.

One was from his buddy, Joey, about meeting for drinks. Clark
hesitated and then dashed off a quick reply.

Joe - Sorry bud, I'm swamped with papers all weekend. Maybe next
week? -Clark

He felt a pang for the deception, but all Joe wanted to do
lately was to play matchmaker. He had agreed twice to go out on
blind dates with some of Joe's single friends. The first woman
spoke about herself constantly and Clark hadn't even invited her
back home for coffee. The second woman was actually good company
and Clark had invited her back to his house to sample the
dessert he had made earlier in the day and to share a glass of
wine. They had taken their drinks out on his fire escape and
when she had started to kiss him, he hadn't minded. It had been
so long since he had shared any sort of romantic moment with a
woman, he was nearly swept away by the flood of emotion. They
had kissed fiercely and then she had pulled him inside,
unbuttoning his dress shirt with deft fingers. He ran his
fingers up the back of her shirt, finally darting inside to
caress the warm skin beneath. Quickly divesting themselves of
most of their clothing, they had tumbled to the bed, kissing and
fumbling.

It was only when he had breathed against her skin a whispered
name that everything came crashing down around him. His date
jumped off of him, miffed and hurt as Clark hazily tried to
realize what was wrong. As he slowly came back to reality, he
grimaced and jumped off the bed, grabbing his jeans and shoving
them on.

"I am so, so sor--"

"Go to hell!"

Clark watched as she grabbed her shirt and he held out her
jacket wordlessly. Stomping away with as much dignity as she
could, she opened his front door and slammed it as hard as she
could. A picture in the hall shook loose, but he caught it
before any damage occurred to it.

He gazed at the picture of him and Lana that he had saved from
the cold floor and whispered the name he had said aloud - and to
the wrong person - only a few moments earlier.

"Lana..."

Shaking his head quickly to release the memory from his mind,
Clark turned back to his email. The next email was from Doug
Scott, the principal, asking if Clark had found his third member
for the Ready Writing team yet. Clark dashed off a quick reply,
begging for a little more time and then deleted the next three
messages without reading them. Junk mail. One of the emails was
from a parent, concerned about her son's behavior, and he wrote
her out a note to arrange for a parent teacher conference.

He recognized the last email address immediately and clicked it
open with a little tingle of fear shooting through his chest. It
was from his mother.

Clark Jerome Kent, you had better tell me you've been doing
something constructive with your time. Don't think that just
because you're hiding behind a computer screen that I still
can't tell when something's wrong. I know things have been rough
since... well, I know things have been rough, but you need to
start living again. Lana wouldn't have wanted you to keep to
this lonely path you're beating. Will you come down to visit us
soon? Both your father and I miss you terribly. I hope things
are going all right with your classes, but I'm sure they are.
You were made for that job, Clark. You're wonderful and all the
kids adore you, I can tell. Write back to us soon. 						Love,
Mom 

Clark gave his computer screen a wry grin. His mother was never
one for beating around the bush. He spent the next fifteen
minutes writing a long reply, trying to keep his tone upbeat. He
hated the fact that his parents were worrying about him. He was
fine. He really was. He had grown to accept everything. He had
already experienced the love of his life and he was grateful.
There wasn't anyone else in the world for him and he was all
right with that. If only people would leave him alone. Pensive,
Clark shut down his computer and grabbed his briefcase. He
jogged down the stairs next to his classroom and walked to the
parking lot.

He was glad Lois Lane had joined his class. She seemed like a
good kid and one who would add some diversity. Despite her
passive answers today in class, he had caught a glimpse of fire
when she had argued with him over a point in the novel. He had
never encountered a student who contradicted his views on the
novels in class. It was a refreshing change. He'd have to keep
his eye on her. Maybe he'd found his last Ready Writing team
member.

As Clark headed toward his beat up Jetta, a flash of red caught
his eye and Clark curiously glanced toward the light. A showy
red convertible was parked next to his car and at a closer look,
he saw it was Jill Reynolds'. His satisfied smile listed a
little. He knew he was supposed to care for all his students
equally, and on paper and in class he was extremely fair. But in
his secret heart, he disliked the girl immensely. She was too
loud, too powerful, too dangerous. When he was within fifteen
feet of his car, his heart dropped when he realized whom Jill
was talking to.

Lois Lane.

Lois Lane, the girl who had held so much promise! He couldn't
let her get sucked into Jill's "friendship." Clark quickened his
step until he reached the two.

"Hello girls," he said loudly, interrupting their conversation.
He knew it was rude. He knew he should just get in his car and
drive off, but something deep inside of him rebelled. It would
be like leaving a kitten with a lion.

Both Lois and Jill looked up, and Clark was surprised to see a
flash of annoyance on Lois' face. It was quickly covered up,
however as both girls waved.

"Hi Mr. Kent," Lois called out. She continued to lean against
the car. Jill stepped forward however, and held out her hand.
Though confused by the greeting, Clark stuck out his hand out of
habit. Jill grasped it lightly and his eyes widened when she
stroked his knuckles seductively with her fingers. He hastily
pulled his hand back.

"Hello Clark," Jill drawled softly. Clark quickly recovered from
Jill's unusual handshake and set about rebuffing her advances.

"Please Jill, you can call me Mr. Kent." Clark took a
deliberative step backward and gave her a hard glare. That was
it. He wasn't letting Lois leave with this girl. She was a
menace.

"Lois, do you have a moment? I'd like to talk to you about
something,"

"I was actually about to catch a ride home with Jill," Lois
said, giving Jill a big smile.

Clark frowned. "It'll just take a few minutes..."

"Sorry, Mr. Kent, but I have to leave," Jill said breezily,
apparently recovered from his rebuff. "Lois, you coming?"

Clark searched his mind wildly for something to say. He had seen
students get mixed up in Jill and Lexy's crowd before and it
wasn't a pretty transformation. "I can drive you home!" he
finally blurted out.

Jill gave him a cool once-over.

"Sorry, Mr. Kent, but I don't think that would be very
appropriate. Come on, Lois." She slipped her Gucci sunglasses
over her eyes and sank into the low-slung car. Lois gave him a
slightly apologetic glance before getting in herself. Clark had
to jump back to avoid his toes being flattened as Jill sped out
of the parking space at an illegal speed.

Clark stared after them, incredulous. That girl was vicious!
He'd have to corner Lois Lane one of these days and beg her to
find some new friends. Dana. Dana was nice. His cheeks stung
from the unexpected rush of blood. Imagine that girl
insinuating... It was positively insulting. Clark unlocked his
car, slightly petulantly. After those blatant advances on her
part... it was obvious it was just sour grapes, but she had
another thing coming if she thought he would ever in a million
years come on to one of his students. Despite the fact that he
was only about eight years older than most of them, a world of
experience and development lay in those years. And there was no
way in hell he'd ever be tempted by a conniving girl like Jill
Reynolds. Clark started the ignition and backed up quickly, his
thoughts racing along like the ever-increasing speed of his
car.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Later that night, Clark's third Ready Writing candidate was the
only sober person in the room. Music blasted from the walls of
the dance club, pounding through the floors and walls. Lois
watched as Jill poured down her fourth drink. Though she wanted
her to be a little loose, she definitely didn't want her
unconscious. Lois firmly grabbed the drink from the girl and
pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, Jill. Let's go over there." Lois gestured to a far
wall vaguely, trying to keep Jill away from the liquor. After
that bizarre meeting with Mr. Kent, Jill had driven her over to
Lexy Hartness' house and told her that she better have her fake
ID ready. Grinning, Lois had said that it wouldn't be a problem,
and just like that, Jill had given her some more
club-appropriate clothing. Apparently the fake ID was some
friend criteria and she had passed. Lexy's smile grew more
genuine and for the next two hours, the three girls dominated
the upstairs of Lexy's house. Finally, primped and dressed to
kill, they gave Lexy's housekeeper a casual wave and left in
Jill's sporty convertible.

And just like that, Lois found herself managing two inebriated,
underage teenagers.

Grabbing a firm hold of Lexy and Jill, Lois led them to a
quieter part of the room - relatively quieter anyway - and sat
them down on a couch.

"Great club!" Lois shouted over the music.

Lexy nodded and slurred. "Hell yeah. We go here every
Saturday."

"Do the other Rosettes go sometimes?" Lois asked innocently,
holding her breath in anticipation.

"Yeah sometimes," Jill said. "But some of them can't get in. No
fake IDs. You have a really good one. It looks real. Where did
you go?"

"Oh... I went to my... cousin," Lois quickly tried to turn the
conversation back around.

"Hey so tell me about the Rosettes. Everyone thinks you guys are
so cool."

Jill beamed. "We are so cool. And not just anyone can be a
Rosette either. You gotta work at it. You have to really want
it."

"How do you make sure someone really wants it?" Lois prodded.

"Ini-Inita-Initati-Tests."

"Wow. So how many of you guys are there?"

Lexy answered for Jill, who had been distracted by one of the
guys walking past.

"Six. We almost had seven, but..."

"You mean Beth Warner?" Lois held her breath. Beth Warner was
the name of the girl who had died last year. She recognized her
mistake an instant later as Lexy's eyes grew startlingly more
sober.

"I don't even know who that is," Lexy said harshly. She grabbed
Jill and tried to stand. "I think it's time we got another drin-
whoa." Lois was on her feet, keeping both girls steady before
they tripped and fell. It was definitely time to go. She had
befriended the girls she thought might be involved in Beth
Warner's murder and it was only her first day. As she grabbed
the keys from Jill and shuffled them out the door, Lois
grinned.

Not too shabby. She definitely wasn't half bad at this
undercover investigation thing.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The next day, Clark slept late and cooked himself a leisurely
breakfast. Finally, once he was fortified by an omelet and a
tall glass of orange juice, he sat down to read and grade. There
were a few different assignments shuffled together, but his real
interest was in the free write he had assigned yesterday. He had
given the class twenty minutes to speak their mind about The
Scarlet Letter. The responses to the free writes he
spontaneously gave were actually more for his benefit and
enjoyment than his students'. In a way, he felt this was a
method for them to really let loose, granting him precious
insights into the minds of his seventeen- and eighteen-year-old
charges. But as Clark read through the thick sheaf of papers in
his hand, his excitement dimmed considerably. His class really
hadn't gotten the point of the exercise. About a quarter of the
papers were merely reasons why some students thought "that
Hester chick" (apparently "free write" translated into
"acceptable time to forget all proper English and grammar")
needed to just get out of there. Nearly all of the rest read
like term papers. If he had wanted analyses on rhetoric, he
would have assigned it. Finally Clark flipped over the last
page. It was Lois Lane's paper. If the caliber and type of
papers he had read before were any indication, Clark didn't have
high expectations. He pulled out her paper and started reading
the wide scrawl.

A few sentences into it, Clark slowed and reread everything. One
side of his mouth quirked up. Did she really just say that? He
quickly finished her paper and then immediately read it again,
this time allowing himself to fully smile and laugh. This was
what he wanted! The paper centered around her views on the
story, strengthened by references to current events and personal
experience. And all through the paper, she'd bring up the most
outlandish theories and proceed to explain them in ways that
actually gave him pause. Clark gave the paper his full smile, to
which it lay immune. He had definitely found his third Ready
Writing candidate.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

"Lois? Do you have a few minutes to stay after, today? You too,
Garrett and Kaitlin." Clark cleared his throat as his class
spilled from the room. Lois glanced up, surprised, and nodded.
"Thank you."

"What's up, Mr. Kent?" Lois grabbed a desk from the front row
and sat on top of it, swinging her legs over the side. Kaitlin
and Garrett stood next to each other, meticulous about keeping a
safe inch and a half from each other.

"Lois, I've been reading some of your papers over the last week
and your writing is wonderful," Clark began, staring earnestly
at her. 

Lois shrugged her shoulders slightly and glanced uneasily at
Garrett and Kaitlin. Why were they there? Over the past week,
Lois had befriended more members of the Rosettes and had gone
out with them a few nights. In her classes, Lois had taken to
merely composing mental story notes and planning her
conversation, actions and questions, rather than focusing on any
sort of senior schoolwork. Fortunately, senioritis was in full
swing at Metropolis High and her glazed look wasn't so unlike
the rest of the class'. But in Mr. Kent's class, she was
embarrassed to admit that she actually paid full attention. She
tried to tell herself it was because of the subject matter, but
in reality she knew she found the man drop dead gorgeous and the
way he taught exciting and fresh. Not that she'd ever reveal
that little bit of information to Lucy. She'd never hear the end
of it. But besides his obvious good looks, Lois was drawn to the
way it seemed that he actually cared about his students. It was
obvious that his lessons took a lot of careful thought and
planning. His comments on their papers were a contradictory
blend of soothing and provoking, sometimes leaving Lois so
incensed that she'd spill out another hundred words of a rebuff,
clarifying her point and falling into the trap Mr. Kent had
undoubtedly set up.

It drove her crazy, but she sort of craved the stimulation.

"And so I was wondering if you would join the Ready Writing
team. We need a third member to make the team and you'd be a
fantastic addition," Clark finished. Lois blinked slightly. It
was obvious that while she was off daydreaming Mr. Kent had been
speaking to her.

"What?" Lois cringed at her rather unintelligent sounding
response. A writing team? She so did not have time for that.

"Ready Writing. It'd be really fun! Mr. Kent told us we could
have pizza study groups and if we do well enough we could make
it to state!"

Time nearly alone with her fox of a teacher could almost be
worth the pain of being involved in such a geeky activity. Lois'
brain was spinning in overdrive, weighing the consequences of
her actions.

More time to hear that laugh of his that sent those pleasant
shivers down her spine... or should she throw that extra time
into the case? The case, her *career*, her conscience reminded
her fiercely, obviously disgruntled by her baser instincts to
ravage the poor man.

"Okay, I'll do it."

The lesser half of Lois jumped for joy while the career driven
part stalked off to sulk.

Lois' stomach dropped a little at the wide, sincere smile that
Mr. Kent gave her. They were probably close to the same age. It
galled her that he thought she was a high school student. Though
it was probably for the better, Lois sighed. She didn't need the
distraction of a tall, dark and handsome.

"Okay, so I think we could meet here after school in a few days
to get started. I'll give you a few of last year's prompts to
practice on," Clark said. He handed out a small stack of papers
to each of his students. "Is that okay?"

Garrett nodded and Clark bit his lip to hide a smile as Kaitlin
looked up at him from under her lashes. Garrett continued to
remain oblivious.

"Kaitlin, why don't you go grab a bite to eat with Garrett right
now?" Clark suggested innocently. Kaitlin turned toward him, her
eyes wide and frightened. "You two could look over the
prompts."

"Sure," Garrett said, shrugging his shoulders. "You can drive
with me, Kaitlin. Wanna get some Quiznos?"

The frightened look on Kaitlin's face gradually shifted into a
smile. "Okay!"

Lois and Clark shared a smile before a shadow fell across
Kaitlin's face and she grudgingly turned toward Lois. "Do you
need to come too?" she asked. Lois shook her head and tried not
to be too offended at the wide smile that split Kaitlin's face.
Kaitlin hastily followed Garrett out of the door, trying to
match his longer strides.

Alone with Mr. Kent. She tried to hide her delight and instead
raised her eyebrows at her matchmaking teacher. He gave her an
embarrassed smile. "She's just so shy. It's really obvious she
likes him. And high school boys are real idiots sometimes."

"That's the truth," Lois said. She hesitated. While she had him
alone, she should try and pump him for some information. "So Mr.
Kent, did you know Beth Warner?"

Clark's eyes shadowed immediately. "Yes, I did," he said
somberly. "She was a wonderful student."

"Do you have any idea what could have happened to her?"

"Beth wasn't the kind of girl to climb in a water tower for
kicks, Lois. But unfortunately she had severe confidence
issues." Clark's voice was barely more than a whisper. "I'm
afraid she hung out with the wrong crowd."

It was obvious this topic upset Mr. Kent far more than she had
expected. Mindlessly, Lois put a comforting hand on his
shoulder. His gaze met her for a moment and she was shocked by
the intensity she saw there.

"Lois, please don't try and join up with Lexy and Jill. I'm
afraid they're very dangerous," he said hoarsely. "They don't
care what kind of stunts they pull as long as it gives them a
laugh."

Clark stepped back and Lois' hand fell from his shoulder.

"I can handle things, Mr. Kent," Lois said. "Thanks for asking
me to join the team. I'll try and write a practice essay for
you." She squinted at his face, but the raw feelings in his eyes
were masked again, replaced by the easy smile she recognized.

"Thank you, Lois. Have a good rest of the afternoon."

Clark turned toward his desk and avoided watching her go. He
couldn't understand why a smart, pretty girl like Lois Lane was
hanging out with Jill and Lexy. It was obvious that Lois didn't
lack the confidence to ignore the girls. He couldn't figure it
out and deep down it nagged him. There was something wrong with
the entire scenario, but he couldn't put a finger on it.
Sighing, Clark stood up and decided to walk home - anything to
delay the inevitable return to his empty apartment.

As Lois jogged down the front steps of Metropolis High, she
caught sight of Jill and waved. Jill stopped walking and waited
for her to catch up.

"Hi Lois," she said.

"Jill, hi. What are you doing here so long after school's been
out?"

Jill flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and rolled her
eyes. "Mrs. Krasinski made me stay after school to finish up
some problems I missed on my quiz." She wrinkled her nose in a
look of pretty disgust. "What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Kent asked me to join his writing team." Lois shrugged and
chose her next words carefully. She knew that such an "uncool"
extracurricular could damage her chances. Time to lie. "I so
don't care about writing, but he's like, really hot. So I said
yeah."

"Mmm... Hot is right. But don't mention him around Lexy. She
gets a little upset." Jill lowered her voice conspiratorially.
"Don't tell anyone I told you this, okay?"

Lois nodded enthusiastically and leaned closer.

"But Lexy totally had a thing for Mr. Kent in the beginning of
the year. One day, she stayed after school and tried to flirt
with him a little. He wouldn't budge at all. He completely
ignored her attempts. So she got a little angry and she
completely offered to sleep with him."

Lois' eyes widened.

"Just like that? She said "Mr. Kent, I want to sleep with you?"

Jill giggled and slapped her arm. "No, she didn't sound so
stupid. She said in this low voice, oh she would kill me if she
knew I was telling you this, but she goes 'Clark Kent, I can
make your wildest fantasies come true.'" Jill burst out into
giggles and Lois was hard pressed not to join her as she
pictured the scenario.

"Oh my god! Poor Mr. Kent! I bet he flipped."

"Hell yeah. He firmly told her to go home and the next day he
had transferred her out of his class. So the whole Mr. Kent
thing is a touchy subject for Lexy."

Lois shook her head at the sheer brazenness of such an action.

"That's really crazy. So what's the plan for tonight?" Lois
asked casually, playing on the assumption she was invited.
Fortunately, Jill didn't seem to question her.

"I think we're going dancing, you up for it?"

"Of course," Lois smiled and Jill nodded. As they drove off,
Clark watched from the window, hating himself for how much he
cared.

_____________________________________

When Lois pulled up to the slightly dinghy pizza parlor, she had
her doubts. The pavement was cracked and rough to drive on, and
the paint job could definitely use another coat. She thought
back to the immaculate, posh dance club she had attended a few
nights ago with Jill. The differences were striking. But before
she could fully convince herself that nothing good could come
out of such a place, she saw Mr. Kent through the window,
already sitting with Garrett and Kaitlin. He gave her a big
smile and wave, and she lifted her hand in acknowledgement.
Sighing like a martyr at the lengths she'd go to for her story,
Lois pushed open the door and took the empty seat by Mr. Kent
and Kaitlin.

"Hi guys," she said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Nice
place."

"Great! I'm glad you like it," her teacher said happily,
oblivious to her sarcasm. "We waited for you to order. What kind
of pizza do you like?"

"Mmm... Pineapple and jalapeno."

Garrett and Kaitlin blinked at her. She noticed Mr. Kent covered
his mouth to hide his smile. "Anything else, Lois?"

"Anchovy. Pineapple, jalapeno, anchovy... oh! And I nearly
forgot. Goat cheese. Do you think they have that here?"

Clark had to lean his head into his hand to keep from cracking
up at the horrified expressions on Garrett and Kaitlin's faces.

"That's perfect, Lois. That's exactly what I get on my pizza
too. Why don't we get two of those? That should be enough for us
four, right?" He innocently raised his eyebrows and after a few
more moments of Kaitlin staring at him, she finally cracked a
smile.

"Oh you're joking - good. I thought you were both serious!"

Clark smiled at her and shook his head. "No, I'm not that crazy.
How about half cheese, half pepperoni. Does that sound okay to
you guys?"

Garrett and Kaitlin nodded and Clark jogged up to the counter to
place the order. He had just finished ordering their large pizza
when Lois came up beside him at the counter.

"Sir?" she said, stopping the retreating pizza boy. "I'd also
like to order a slice of jalapeno, anchovy, pineapple and goat
cheese pizza."

Both the boy and Mr. Kent gaped at her.

"I-I don't think we have goat cheese," the boy finally
recovered, scrawling down the order. "Jalapeno and anchovy,
you're sure?"

"And pineapple."

"Your stomach, lady." he tore off the order and stuck it on a
pin to shoot down to the cooks. "Should be ready in like fifteen
minutes."

Lois shot Clark a triumphant smile and sauntered back to their
table. Shaking his head in complete admiration, Clark stumbled
after her.

"You're insane."

"You're just cowardly. I think it sounds delicious," she said as
she slid into her seat. She pretended not to notice as Garrett
and Kaitlin jumped apart guiltily.

"You do not."

"Yes I do."

"You can't. You'd have to have a stomach of steel to digest all
of that." And I'm the only one who can boast *that* claim, he
added to himself.

"We'll just have to see, Mr. Kent. Now let's get to the point of
this whole meeting. Did you grade our papers?"

Feeling like he had just lost a battle he hadn't been aware he
was fighting, it took Clark a moment to refocus.

"Yes. I wrote down some notes and suggestions for you all to
follow." he passed out their respective papers and Lois hid a
smile.

"Too much free time, Mr. Kent? You wrote nearly as much as we
did."

Clark blushed, a little thrown by his student's teasing. He
wasn't used to this. Lana had never teased. And his mom loved
to, but he was so use to her good-natured jibes he barely
registered them anymore. None of his students ever teased him.
Except this fascinating contradiction sitting in front of him.

Their conversation eventually switched to their essays. Clark
praised Kaitlin on her concise, well thought out points and
explained to Garrett how he could improve his. Finally he turned
to Lois and his grin widened slightly.

"Lois, yours was wonderful. Now, you can see where I marked some
points I wish you had clarified slightly, but let me read you
this part..." Clark trailed off and picked up Lois' paper to
read aloud the section that had really struck him.

"It was beautifully written, Lois. You're a natural."

Though not unaccustomed to effusive praise, Lois couldn't deny
that she flushed a little bit more when Mr. Kent complimented
her than when her ancient creative writing teacher had.

"Thank you, Mr. Kent."

Just then the pizza boy interrupted and set down a large pizza
pie in front of Garrett, Kaitlin and Clark. He then returned
with a smaller plate for Lois. She warily eyed the unappetizing
pizza slice in front of her and her bravado faltered slightly.

Watching her like a hawk, Clark crowed his victory over her.
"Aha! You won't eat it, will you? Admit it. That's disgusting."

"That is a very gross looking slice of pizza, Lois," Kaitlin
added supportively as she helped herself to a slice of
pepperoni. Garrett grunted slightly and Kaitlin turned back to
stare at him.

"I think it looks delicious," Lois said haughtily. She grabbed
the slice and took a big bite, trying not to wrinkle her nose as
her mouth was assaulted by the spicy, salty taste.

Clark rested his chin on his hand as he watched Lois struggle to
eat her slice. About halfway through, he gently pulled her plate
away from her and replaced it with a slice of cheese pizza.
After glaring at him warily for a few moments, she accepted the
slice and proceeded to eat with a vengeance.

Clark idly glanced at the half eaten pizza and shrugged as he
took a big bite. Lois gaped at him as he casually finished the
rest of her disgusting pizza and leaned back contentedly.

"Mmm... You're right, Lois. That was delectable."

Round two for Clark Kent! He thought victoriously as she stared
at him in disbelief. He grinned mischievously and set about
polishing off a second slice of the slightly more normal pizza.

_________________

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 tresor, 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*?

________________

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 resume 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
facade 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.

______________________

After Clark's parents had gone to bed, he remained seated,
staring into the fire. It stung that Lois had been to dinner
with such an older man. Why was she doing this? First, she hung
around Lexy and Jill, the scourge of Metropolis High School, and
now she was seeing some greasy Frenchman? Nothing added up and
it certainly didn't fit her character.

He regretted losing so much control. He shouldn't have risen to
the man's bait. But the alternative was unpalatable. That man
didn't look like he was expecting anything platonic. Clark's
stomach dropped at the thought of Lois sleeping with that man.
She was too young. Much too young. And Claude had heartbreak
written all over him.

Clark stretched out the couch and tried to sleep, but it eluded
him. He kept seeing the frightened look on her face when Claude
had come over. Lois Lane didn't seem like the kind of person who
scared easily and the fact was verified when she had replaced
the expression with a sort of fixed glare. But she had been
covering her feelings. He tossed over onto his side and stared
at the cushion of his couch. Why was he even thinking about her?
He had done his part. Swept in, played the disapproving father
and brought her home chastened. She was safe tonight, and he
felt a bubble of relief rise up in his chest.

He'd feel the same if he ran into any of his students, he
thought as he turned again to stare into the dying flames. If he
had run into Kaitlin there for example, dining with a
30-year-old man, he'd certainly put a halt to it. And Dana too.
He started naming off all of the girls in his classes as he let
his eyes slip shut. When he got to Jill Reynolds, the drowsy
stupor his counting had left him in halted slightly. He'd save
her too. Feeling extremely magnanimous at this revelation, Clark
drifted off into sleep.

He was dancing with Lana at some black tie event. She looked
beautiful and she smiled at him, saying something he couldn't
catch. It didn't matter. He grinned back, his heart feeling
light and airy. He could see his parents at a table behind the
dance floor, sitting with Kaitlin, Lois, Jill and Mr. Scott, the
principal. This odd collection of people didn't faze him,
however, nor did it seem unusual. He turned back to Lana and
kissed her, closing his eyes in bliss.

When his eyes drifted open again, he was dancing with Lois Lane.
It didn't seem strange to him though, and he sighed. Lois put
her arms around his neck and he pulled her to him. This felt
nice. It felt right. He leaned down to kiss her, but as soon as
their lips touched, the scene changed. He was forcibly torn
apart from her and the warm, rosy glow of the room had diffused.
The lighting now looked cold, sterile and he finally noticed
that Lois' dress was the exact same as Lana's. Lana! His mind
violently revolted. What had he done? Where was she? Desperate,
he grabbed Lois' arm and asked her if she knew where his wife
was. She shrugged and Clark grimaced.

"You kissed me, Clark," she said softly. The name sounded odd on
her tongue and he realized she had never called him that before.
It was always Mr. Kent. Mr. Kent! Wait! Lois Lane was his
*student*! His eyes widened in shame at what he had done and the
urge to find his wife beat faster through his blood.

"Where is she?!" he shouted, willing the noise in the place to
die down.

Lois looked unfazed by his angry words.

"She's gone. She left."

"No, no she didn't!"

A new voice joined them. "She's gone," his father said.

"She left," his mother added right after him.

"No! She's not gone!"

Lois put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You kissed me."

"I did, but-"

He blinked furiously and suddenly found Doug Scott standing in
front of him. He was standing with Kaitlin, her arm through
his.

"See, if you can date Lois, then I think I can date Kaitlin," he
said jovially. No! Clark tried to grab Kaitlin away, but she
spun just out of his reach, laughing. That was wrong. He wasn't
her age. She was too young!

"Clark, you're going to wake up someday," Lois said from behind
him, slipping a hand down his back. He turned and shoved it off,
feeling pressured from all sides.

"It's okay, honey, wake up," his mother said. He whimpered in
response, his mind replaying his kiss with Lois. "Wake up." 

"Clark, wake up!"

Clark wrenched himself away and barely had time to gasp before
he plummeted down five feet to the sofa. It creaked ominously
beneath his weight and he gazed up into the concerned faces of
his parents.

"Hi," he said a little weakly, brushing his hair out of his
eyes.

"Are you okay, honey?" His mom sat down on the side of the sofa
and touched the back of his hand. "You were shouting something
awful out here."

"It was just a nightmare," he said, shrugging off his mother's
touch.

"Have you been having these frequently?" his father interrupted.
Clark watched the look his parents gave each other. To tell the
absolute truth, he hadn't been plagued by nightmares in a long
time. It had been two years since Lana had died and while in the
months immediately following, she was a constant nightly
visitor, the dreams had dwindled since then into nothingness. He
actually managed to get through most of his day without dwelling
too heavily on her.

Until tonight. But the horrifying part of the dream hadn't been
seeing Lana and being torn apart from her. That was more or less
the usual in his nightmares. He could handle that. Lately, if
his dreams were restless, he made himself some hot chocolate and
it put him back to sleep in no time. No, tonight was different.
He had, oh God, he had dreamed about kissing one of his
students! There were laws against that sort of thing. He didn't
find her attractive, he told himself firmly. She was
17-years-old. Beautiful, yes. But there were many beautiful
girls in his life. He racked his mind for one and stubbornly
decided that there was. He just couldn't think of her at the
moment. And she was smart, but he was a teacher! He was
surrounded by intelligent women. Most of whom were about thirty
years older than him, but that didn't matter either.

None of these were acceptable excuses for dreaming about his
student. Disgusted with himself, he answered his mother a little
more curtly than he had intended.

"I'm fine, mom!" His mother withdrew, giving her son a hurt
look. Dropping his head in one hand, he spoke without glancing
up from his knee. "Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you.
But I'm fine. Please go back to bed."

He could feel his parents' concerned gazes linger on his form
for a moment, but finally they acquiesced to his request. His
mother kissed his cheek as she stood and his father patted his
back as they left for Clark's master bedroom.

The fire had died completely and as his parents snapped off the
light, the room plunged into darkness. His cheeks burned, though
no one was witness to it. He felt the shame pour over him,
suffocating his body and mind.

His thoughts shifted to Lana, and the night they had first
kissed.

Their senior year in high school. The Smallville Bears had just
crushed their rivals in the homecoming game and he was looked up
to as the hero of the game. Despite the little bit of nagging in
his mind that told him there was a dark reason why he was so
wonderful at the sport, he was ecstatic.

After he had caught the touchdown that won the game, he was
mobbed by his teammates, his coaches, the fans. The air burned
with the scent of tailgating and fall, and the blue and gold of
his team replaced the world's color. Exhilarated crowds crushed
him as they all yelled their victory and the fans decked
themselves out with face paint and toted posters that looked
slightly bedraggled after the game.

And there, amidst the sweaty bodies and screaming town, he
caught Lana's eye as she leaned against the bleachers, looking
cool and collected among the fray. He pushed his way through,
never taking his eyes off the girl who had agreed to go out with
him.

Buoyed by the crowd's festivity, he marched straight up to her
and kissed her, his heart pounding wildly in his ears. After a
moment, she pulled back and gave him a sly, secret smile.

That smile had surpassed all of the rest of the evening. He
returned home and immediately grabbed every single yearbook he
owned. It was quite a few, considering he had bought one every
year he had been at school since kindergarten. He lined them up
and opened them to her picture. There she was. He watched her
grow from a pigtailed, white blond kindergartener to a freckled,
glasses wearing middle schooler and finally to the sleek
honey-blonde she was today. He had known her family forever. She
had made him cry in the first grade, he remembered with a wry
grin, after she had pointed out that his shirt was on backwards
and that he wore two different kinds of shoes. He had been
embarrassed. That was when his mother had been laid up with the
flu, he remembered vaguely. He must have dressed himself that
day. And then in the fourth grade they had been partners in the
science fair. Their project, an in-depth analysis and search for
the longest lasting gum flavors hadn't won them any prizes, but
it was definitely one of the more fun times he had that year.
They had given away sticks of gum at their table and while
theirs wasn't the most scientific booth at the fair, it was by
far the most popular.

Clark smiled as he continued to look at the yearbooks. There, in
the seventh grade yearbook was a candid shot of him and Lana
dancing together - their bodies at least two feet apart - at the
Halloween dance. She was dressed as a ballerina and he was a
vampire. They both beamed at the camera, Clark's plastic fangs
distorting his real smile. They had grown up together and by the
ninth grade she was his best friend. They spent nearly every
afternoon that summer swimming in the pond or lounging around
the Dairy Queen, splitting sundaes and using the spot as a
meeting place with their friends.

The unthinkable had occurred in tenth grade. He had been helping
his father paint over the glaring red of their barn with a more
subtle white. The red kept peeking through the white paint
however, giving the entire barn a pink tinge. Clark and his
father both were growing frustrated with lugging the ladder back
and forth. Finally, his father went in the house to grab a
sandwich and Clark glared at the paint cans and the half
finished barn. It was doubly frustrating because he knew he
could have the whole thing done in under a minute if his father
would just let him use his stupid "gifts." He was concerned by
how much his father complained about a pain in his back. The
constant movement wasn't doing anything for that hurt. His
father would forgive him. Glancing around to be sure he was
alone, he grabbed the paint cans and flew up to the top of the
barn. He paused for a moment and then a Clark-colored blur
zoomed around the barn, painting layer upon layer on the house.
He used up their paint supplies and finally stepped back to
survey his handiwork. The house gleamed a pristine white, no red
peeking out at all. He heard the crack of brittle leaves as his
father approached and he turned, grinning in modest pleasure at
his work.

Lana stood there, staring at him in horror.

Dread rapidly replaced his insides. Stupid! Stupid, Clark! His
father had warned him about this. He had been careless.

"Lana!" He shouted as she began to run. He took off after her,
easily overtaking her without even the benefit of his super
speed. "Lana, wait." He grabbed her arm and a spike of pain
struck his heart when she flinched.

"Lana, please. Let me explain."

She glared at him, but it wasn't the defiant anger he was used
to. This was painful. There was fear mixed in her eyes. There,
in the girl who had split sundaes and memories with him, was
panic. She was frightened by him. His life story spilled out of
him then, as he spoke fast and jumbled his words. He tried to
will her to understand that it was still him, he wasn't any
different. They stood there in the wheat field for a long while,
the golden plants swaying around their bodies. Finally, after
the outpouring of words had stopped, he looked at her in
apprehension.

Had he lost her?

She turned from him, folding her arms protectively. A swift gust
of October wind sliced the air and Clark shrugged out of his
sweatshirt. She took the shirt wordlessly and pulled it over her
head. That more than anything relieved him. She wasn't repulsed
by his things at least. Finally she gave him a tiny smile and a
nod.

She wouldn't tell anyone. But he had to promise her he'd be more
careful. "Not everyone will be as forgiving as I am," she told
him softly. At the time he had been so relieved that she was
speaking to him the words barely registered. Later, as he
reviewed their conversation from every angle, the words stung.
She thought his existence was something to be forgiven. He told
his parents that she knew the secret but he never repeated that
bit to them. It festered inside of him, easy to forget when the
sun was shining and Lana was smiling but painful in the dark
nights.

Clark abruptly shut his yearbook. Things were okay now. He was a
big senior. The football team adored him. Lana had finally
managed to get past seeing him as the freak boy who could bench
press semis. In fact, she had actually sneakily insinuated that
he use his freezing breath to salvage their melting ice cream
the other day.

She had accepted him and tonight they had kissed. A broad smile
slid across his face as he took a flying leap on his bed,
halting a quarter centimeter above the mattress. His dreams that
night were pleasant and full of Lana Lang.

Clark stirred from his musings, fully aware that he wasn't a
senior in high school anymore. Lana and he had dated all through
college and married right after. His first love, he thought a
little wistfully. Though she wasn't perfect, she had brightened
his days. He had someone to confide in; a genuine partner. He
had lost her though, and he had to square with that.

But why on earth was the only woman he had found himself
dreaming about since his wife's passing only 17-years-old? Were
the fates taunting him? Laughing at his plight? His thoughts
grew more and more fantastical and he finally reeled himself in.
What was this? He was a wreck. Lois Lane was not in his
thoughts. He had dreamt about her, yes. The thought of her
sleeping with Claude - or anyone else - seriously disturbed him,
true. But that didn't mean anything. She was just there. His
feelings were fluctuating as his grief began to fade. Obviously
his subconscious latched onto the person he had seen that day.
As he thought through his situation logically, the panic in his
heart began to die down. He wasn't attracted to his student.
That would be wrong. And Clark Kent was a straight arrow kind of
guy.

Clark snuggled down on the couch to sleep, ignoring the pitiful
part of his conscious that told him he was lying to himself.

___________________

"You're warm for his form, aren't you?"

Lois gave her sister a baleful glance over the tub of Rocky Road
ice cream they were sharing. At her silence, Lucy let out a
squeal and Lois viciously stabbed the rock hard, sugary
confection.

"You know it's not so hard for me to imagine this as your head,"
Lois ground out as she bit down on the spoon and jerkily chewed.
Lucy was positively beaming.

"I told you so. I so told you. Didn't I tell you? I told you
you'd think he was hot," Lucy crowed. "And what's this? You eat
dinner with him and his folks? He saves you from a sleazy
Frenchman? It's so much *better* than I ever imagined! Lois,
your life is a hell of a lot more fascinating than Days of our
Lives."

"You're too gracious, Luce."

Lucy tucked a pajama clad leg under her as she shifted on the
chair to rest her chin on her hand. "Aww, come on Lois. You know
I'm just kidding. Well not really, you actually are more
interesting than Days of our Lives. They keep focusing in on
Tony the comatose firefighter. Seriously. Why focus on him? It's
annoying. When you get you job at the Daily Planet will you
write me a scathing review?"

Lucy continued on without waiting for Lois to continue. "This is
so much fun. I miss you, you know. Want to stay here at Mom's
for a while? It'd help your cover." Lucy held out the last r in
a trill.

"That's just annoying. Not persuasive at all."

"But back to boys. Mr. Kent. Or Clark." She drew out every
syllable of the name. "I can't believe you called him that here.
It just slipped out so naturally. Just how much are you thinking
about him these days?"

Lois sighed and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was
nearly three a.m. She really should be heading to bed soon, but
she found she was too keyed up to even contemplate it. Besides,
as much as Lucy's riling annoyed her, she was her little sister
and she had missed her.

But she couldn't tell Lucy that!

"I'm not thinking of him at all! I just want to solve this case.
I'm running out of time you know. Mr. White only gave me so
long. I've been undercover a week and a half already."

"That's not that long," Lucy said helpfully, trying to console
her older sister. "Plus, you've done loads better than I had
ever thought. I can't believe Lexy and Jill are already letting
you try out to be a Rosette."

Lois nodded, pleased with Lucy's admiration. She decided to
grant her little sister a bit of a concession. "And fine, you
win. I think Clark Kent is a really cute, really decent guy."
Lois sighed as she morosely stabbed the ice cream. "But that's
not really here nor there. He thinks I'm a kid, Luce. And it
really... well-" She paused and gave Lucy a wry smile. "To put
it in your language... it really sucks."

Lucy laughed aloud and high-fived her sister. "Nice to see high
school is getting to you. Pretty soon you'll be using chat speak
in your emails."

Lois' gaze darkened. "Don't hold your breath."

The smile on Lucy's face dimmed somewhat as she took in her
sister's words. She hadn't ever heard Lois sound actually
dejected by a guy before. Usually they either caved and dated
her or they bolted and she'd be so furious she'd hate their
guts. This strange, glum middle ground left Lucy a little
hesitant.

"You really like him?"

"I think he'd be exactly the kind of guy I'd be looking for,"
Lois started slowly. It seemed like the words took a long time
to form around her lips. A harsh look came back in her gaze a
moment later. "If I was looking for anyone, that is. Which I'm
not."

"Sure, sure," Lucy placated mindlessly, her brain whirring. She
paused. "Lois? Hey, I know this is kind of a sudden idea..."
Lucy trailed off, unsure of how to phrase the next part of her
query. "But have you ever thought of just... telling him?
Letting him know the score? He could help you, I'm sure of it.
Mr. Kent knows all of his students very well. He makes it a
point to do so. Maybe you know, if you told him, you could work
together on the case. Then, when it was all finished he'd be
done seeing you as an untouchable 17-year-old and as the
beautiful, successful woman you are."

The shock in Lois' eyes was easy to read but hard to place. Was
she shocked at Lucy's suggestion? Lucy cringed and looked down
at the melting chocolate chunk in front of her.

Which was why when Lois threw herself in her arms, the breath
was knocked out of her.

"Ahh! Lois! Get off me," Lucy tried to shove her sister's
strangling arms away. "Get off!"

When Lois finally pulled back, her eyes were slightly misty and
it alarmed Lucy much more than the tackle hug had. "What?
What?"

"You're a good sister, Lucy Lane," Lois said, sniffling
slightly. "I'm sorry I'm crying. I think it's a mix of the
stress and some old fashioned PMS."

"I'm not sure if I wanted to know that, Lois."

Lois gave her another watery grin and Lucy sighed. To hell with
it. She pulled her unflappable older sister into a hug and held
on tight. "So you'll consider telling Mr. Kent about you? I just
want you to be happy."

When Lois spoke it was muffled against her shoulder. "I know you
do, Lucy. Thank you."

"So you'll do it?" Lucy pressed.

Lois' voice rang loud and clear, even from where it was muffled
against the cotton of Lucy's ancient Metropolis Middle School
gym shirt. "Are you crazy? And risk being scooped? Hell, no."

Lucy started to laugh, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
That was her fireball sister. She was back.

"Good. I'd hate to have to covet your husband at the wedding."

"Covet?"

"Psh, yeah. I'd be trying to seduce him before the wedding. One
Lane sister is as good as the next, right?"

"I hate you."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." Lois said petulantly. She wriggled out of
Lucy's arms and dove for her spoon. "But all this talk means
more ice cream. You up for a run to that all night grocery
store?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I am. The unbeatable team Lane and
Lane strike again!"

"Just when there's ice cream involved."

"Of course."

___________________

Lois returned to her seat the next Monday, utterly perplexed by
Mr. Kent's behavior. He hadn't looked at her once all class
long. Despite her raised hand and, in her own opinion, excellent
answers, he had called on nearly everyone but her.

Was he embarrassed at having eaten dinner with her last night?
That was strange; he had been fine when they had gotten that
pizza with Garrett and Kaitlin. And besides that, he had acted
normally after Claude had gone.

Finally Clark asked a question that no one knew the answer to.
No one but her. Smiling triumphantly, she raised her hand high.
Clark's gaze flitted to her for a second before checking out the
rest of the silent class. Finally he heaved a sigh and called on
her.

"Lois? Do you know the answer?"

Was that her imagination, or did he sound exasperated? She
bristled. He didn't have to go play the whole knight in shining
armor bit last night. If that's what had him so miffed, it was
his own fault. She answered the question perfectly, challenging
him to disagree with her. To her relief - or was it
disappointment? - he didn't. The class passed by more slowly
than it ever had. When the bell rang, she bolted.

Clark stared after her retreating figure through the walls of
his room, his head pounding. He could see that she was angry
with him for ignoring her. But how else could he act? Every time
he caught sight of her thick brown hair, every time his hearing
distinguished her heartbeat, he was brought back into his
nightmare. It lived inside him, ready to rear up at the
slightest provocation.

Absently, he continued to watch her as she laughed with Kaitlin.
He was glad to see them together. Good, solid company. Yes, he
was very pleased to see her with students her own age. Lois
parted ways with Kaitlin and approached a large group of
seniors. Prominent among them was Lexy, Jill and a variety of
other popular girls. He groaned. Why? This was so frustrating.
He could see that the road she was on was going to lead to
nothing but heartbreak, but he couldn't say anything! Even if he
did, he was sure Lois wouldn't listen. Every time he mentioned
Jill or Lexy she got quiet and her eyes flashed a little
dangerously. He couldn't help but feel she was in complete
control of herself, and that was why it frustrated him to no
end. She was an enticing enigma.

No, not enticing, he told himself furiously. Just an enigma.

He had been wrong. He kept thinking about her even when she
wasn't there! His behavior horrified him. Never, never in a
thousand years had he ever contemplated feeling anything for a
student. It was unthinkable. He felt so dirty. His heart
anxiously beat faster against his ribcage. This was wrong. This
was so wrong. He hung his head in his hands and sat there for a
moment, his eyes squeezed tightly shut and his ears focusing on
everything but the voice he could clearly distinguish if he was
so inclined.

____________________

Surrounded by the stylish girls, Lois shouldn't have felt so
confident. After all, she was new and an outsider trying to bust
into the most tightly knit group on campus. But as they sat
around her, giggling about so and so's new haircut, she couldn't
help but feel a little superior. This was the great group that
ran the school? These girls? Some of them couldn't even pass
bio. Her contempt for them ran deeper after Jill had confided in
her Lexy's story about Mr. Kent. Despite her current frustration
with him, she didn't like the thought of Lexy Hartness trying to
dig her claws into her English teacher. He was hers.

The possessive thought rang strangely in her head. Hers? What
was she thinking? He was merely an attractive man. Who was kind
and funny. And loyal and brave. Nothing to get excited about,
she told herself firmly. This kind of thinking was dangerous for
her case. She turned back to the girls. Jill had started
speaking in a low voice.

"Lois, I think you have it takes to join the Rosettes. What do
you say? If you pass our initiation tests you're in."

Definitely need to stop daydreaming! This was what she had been
waiting for. She had to play it cool.

"Really? Initiation tests, huh? Well I'd love to join." Lois
thought back to the daring streaks that ran through the girls.
It was their collective shared trait. "I'm up for anything you
can throw at me."

The girls all squealed at that, and Lois smiled indulgently.
Lexy disentangled herself from the group and stood in front of
her. Lois rose to meet her and they faced off.

"This is an honor, Lois. I hope you know that we don't ask just
anyone to join us." Lexy gave a derisive laugh that set Lois'
teeth on edge. "Like that girl Dana. She's always sucking up to
us. As if we'd consider her." Lexy laughed and the group joined
her. The sound echoed dully in Lois' ears, but she forced
herself to grin.

"What's the test?" she asked, a little too quickly. She wanted
them to stop ridiculing Dana. It hurt to hear the pretty and
friendly girl put down so vehemently by the people she adored.

Lexy didn't waste time. She got straight to the point.

"Go steal the answers to Redwick's next test. By tomorrow, okay?
That's the first one."

Lois nodded, already contemplating sneaking back into the
building. She left out a soft sigh of relief. These were the
awful initiation tasks? They were no problem. Maybe Lucy had
underestimated this so called "gang."

"How many tests are there?" Lois asked, idly buffing her
fingernails along her jeans.

The girls looked at each other and then finally to Lexy.

"There are three," Lexy said finally. "Including the one I just
gave you. Not so bad, no?"

"No," Lois agreed. "Not so bad."

_________________

In the dark night, one might not have noticed the figure if they
hadn't been watching the softly rustling leaves. He stood,
slowly appraising the tall building that housed Lois Lane's
apartment. He had watched her come home nearly every night and
he knew that she wasn't due back for a long while. She had gone
out to meet some kids for drinks and dancing.

Well that was just perfect.

Rising to his feet with a catlike grace, he strode quickly and
opened the glass door into her building. It was unlocked; the
foolish, bumbling neighbor downstairs always forgot to check
that the door shut firmly behind him. It was easy enough to
catch the door and slip into the building. He walked down the
hall quietly, arranging his features in a pleasant smile as an
elderly woman passed him. She smiled at him and he could almost
hear her thoughts. What a nice young man. Such a handsome boy.
Must be new here. As she passed and turned out of sight his face
twisted back into a hardened scowl. His job was hanging by a
thread and that damn Lois Lane was his replacement. If she got
the story - if she could solve what the police couldn't - he was
gone. An involuntary growl sounded deep in his throat as Claude
patiently picked the many locks on Lois' door. At last the door
clicked open and he slipped in, handheld scanner tucked casually
in his back pocket.

_________________

It was with a self-satisfied smile that Lois banged on Jill's
door, a crumpled sheet of paper fisted victoriously in her hand.
When Lexy opened the door, Lois showed it to her, watching
triumphantly as Lexy nodded and took the answers.

"You'll get the second test tomorrow."

The door slammed shut, leaving Lois sputtering slightly in its
wake, her foot already poised to step in the doorway.

Well that went well. Grumbling slightly, Lois turned around.
That wasn't quite the reception she had hoped for. The door
creaked behind her and Jill rushed out, catching up with her on
the walkway.

"Lois, I'm sorry about Lexy," she began in a hushed whisper.
"She's just a little uptight right now. Thanks for getting the
answers. I definitely needed this." Jill smiled, but it didn't
warm her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lois."

Lois murmured a goodbye as she watched Jill trudge back into the
house. This was odd...extremely odd. Jill was almost always
smiling, chipper and active. Today she was none of the three.
And Lexy, well, Lexy never was completely kind, but she normally
wasn't so snappish. Both Jill and Lexy were on edge and as Lois
watched Jill's shadow disappear into the house, she set her
mouth into a determined line. Something was up and she was
definitely going to get to the bottom of it. It was broad
daylight, but hedges skimmed the house on all sides. If she
could crawl in the bushes she wouldn't be visible, Lois mused.
Making a snap decision, she resigned her white capris to the
trash and dove into the dirt behind the bushes.

Sliding along on her hands and knees, Lois kept her eyes on the
ground, eyeing the insects there suspiciously.

"Don't you get too close," she muttered fiercely to them. "I
don't like you. I don't like you at all. And I will squish
you."

A large June bug continued on its merry way, trekking over her
fingertips. She held her breath and glared. She didn't like
bugs. They were small. They were creepy. They crawled on her
hand when she specifically told them not to.

After a few moments the bug had passed and Lois let out a sigh
of relief. She continued on her way, earning a mouthful of bush
when she focused a little too much on the ground and not enough
on the path in front of her.

Finally, after what had seemed like hours and hours of trekking
through extreme wildlife - was the real world only a few feet
away? Behind that brick wall could there really be showers and
air conditioning? - Lois reached the spot under Jill's window.
She poked her head up and prayed that they weren't staring at
the window.

Both Lexy and Jill were sitting on Jill's bed, cross-legged and
looking at something spread out between them. Lois craned her
neck but Jill's casually stretched out leg blocked her view.

Shoot.

And the window was tightly shut and locked.

Double shoot.

But by the grim look on Jill's face, whatever they were
discussing looked big. And more important than whomever Gustavo
Fuentes (the exchange student Jill was currently lusting over)
had last batted his eyelashes at. Instinctively, Lois knew she
had to get in that house.

Speeding up her crawl, Lois continued to circle the house. There
had to be an open window somewhere... there! The bathroom window
swung open to tempt a breeze, the soft Pottery Barn curtains
mildly stirring with the slight hint of air.

Perfect. When she reached the window, Lois hefted herself up on
the sill and vaulted into the house, grimacing as she took in
her beyond repair outfit. It had been a cute outfit, too. But
there were more important things at hand, Lois mentally scolded
herself. Like how the heck she was supposed to sneak through the
house looking like she had just wrestled a pit bull in a mud
pit.

And like how she was going to avoid the person turning the knob
to the bathroom door. Giving an inward shriek of surprise, Lois
ducked into the shower, tugging the curtain straight just in
time.

Heavy footsteps entered the room and Lois let out a silent sigh
of relief that it hadn't been Jill's youngest brother. Henry was
only four and had taken to pulling open the shower curtain
whenever he went to the bathroom, just to be sure no monsters
had taken residence there since he had last peed. A sharp
whistle echoed in the room and Lois held her breath as Jill's
oldest brother, Kyle, home from college for a few days,
completed his business.

Don't take a shower. Don't take a shower. Lois repeated the
mantra in her head, fear and adrenaline pumping through her
veins. Finally, after what seemed like years, Kyle flushed and
left the room.

Without washing his hands. Gross. Lois wrinkled her nose and
mentally crossed off a couple points on Kyle's attractiveness
list. She quickly hopped out of the tub and cracked open the
door. The hall was empty, though Jill's door was tightly shut.

More bad luck. Lois groaned and slipped toward the door anyway,
mentally composing a cover story. If she was caught... Okay, if
she was caught, she had gotten mowed over by a kid on a bike
outside the house. Her ankle felt sprained so she hobbled up to
door and since it was unlocked, wandered inside to find a phone
and some ice. That satisfactorily explained the mud, Lois
thought proudly. Though she didn't relish facing Lexy if she was
caught. Or the subsequent act of hopping around on one foot to
prove her story. She reached for the door and pressed her ear
against the cool wood. She could just barely make out murmurs.
Jill's bed was pressed to the wall closest to the door. Shutting
her eyes tightly, Lois focused on just her hearing.

"...ipment...week...New York." That was Lexy, Lois thought. She
sounded excited. When Jill spoke next, though her words were
slightly garbled, Lois could tell she sounded less than
pleased.

 "...dangerous...legal."

What was dangerous? Lois mentally stamped her foot in
frustration. The voices suddenly stopped and Lois paused for a
moment. Oh God, the doorknob was twisting! Letting out a spastic
volley of internal curses, Lois grabbed the handle of the
nearest knob and threw herself in the room, shutting it tightly
behind her, panting slightly. She heard Lexy and Jill pass the
door, heading into the kitchen. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lois
was about to escape into the hall and subsequent freedom when a
voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Why, hello there."

Whirling on her axis, Lois turned to find Kyle lying on his bed,
baseball in hand as he eyed her curiously. He had taken his
shirt off in the heat of the day and was dressed only in a pair
of cut off shorts. His half-naked state gave her wildly spinning
brain an idea.

A bad idea, but an idea nevertheless. The best defense was a
good offense, right? Or was it the opposite way around?

Adding a sultry sway to her hips, Lois marched right up to the
bewildered college student and placed a grubby hand on his
shoulder.

"Hi Kyle," she said breathlessly, obviously appraising his naked
chest. "Have you been working out?" She trailed a finger down
his chest, speculatively rubbing her palm across the washboard
abs of his stomach.

"Umm..." After a moment of stuttering, a slightly knowing grin
fitted across his face. "Did you sneak in here all the way to
see me, babe?"

Lois smiled coquettishly. "Oh Kyle, would I do that?"

He caught her around the waist, pulling her closely into him. "I
don't know, babe, would you? You don't need to sneak around. I
think you're pretty cute for a kid."

Lois fought down the wildcat urge to knee him in a private
place. It was time to bolt.

"Oh Kyle." She jutted out her lower lip. "You caught me. I snuck
in here to see you, but I don't want Jill to find out! I know
she'd tease me. I knew it, but I had to see you."

Kyle very nearly started preening in front of her. "It's okay
babe. I know it's hard for girls like you when you see a BMOC
like me. I'll help you get out of here, kid, okay?"

"Oh would you do that?" The simpering edge in her voice made
Lois want to throw herself off a cliff.

"Sure I would, babe, for a price. Though you'll thank me for it.
A kiss? I want to give you something for your trouble."

Kyle pulled her into his arms and kissed her, groaning
appreciatively while Lois rolled her eyes. In a moment of sheer
instinct she shut her eyes and pictured it was Clark Kent she
was kissing. Sparks exploded against her brain as she felt the
warm skin of his back under her fingertips. She pressed herself
more tightly against him, her lips gradually growing less
passive and more active as she heard Clark's soft whimper into
her mouth. The sound drove her crazy and she brought a hand to
thread through his silky hair. Through her kiss-induced haze, a
thought began to burrow into her consciousness. Clark's hair
wasn't so long... oh God! She pulled back roughly, finding
herself looking into the satisfied face of Kyle Reynolds.

Not Clark Kent.

Clark Kent! No! Bad Lois! She had to get out of there.

"Please help me get out," Lois whispered. Kyle looked at her a
moment, obviously misinterpreting her shocked expression as
testimony to his kissing skills.

"Sure babe, whatever you want."

Kyle went to his big window and shoved it up, removing the
screen as he did so. Jumping out first, he gallantly extended a
hand to help her down. And there she was, in the bushes by the
front door. Thrilled at escaping Lexy's detection and still
mentally gagging at the thought of Kyle's tongue in her mouth,
Lois squeezed his hand gratefully. Then, with as much dignity as
possible, she walked down the driveway and into the fading
twilight.

It had been an interesting sort of day. She was still worked up
over Clark ignoring her in class. She couldn't pinpoint it
exactly, but he had looked really stressed. Between her dismal
day at school and subsequent dismissal by Lexy and Jill, Lois
was a little bummed.

Bummed. Lois smiled to herself at the lingo she was using, even
in her head. It had been so easy to drop back into the role of a
high school student. But things hadn't been so dark when she had
last been at Metropolis High. She hadn't been having raunchy
dreams about teachers and there hadn't been girl-run gangs
secretly terrorizing the school.

Thankfully. Her head would have exploded. As it was, her mind
was desperately trying to filter through all the information she
had gathered today. It would help to go home and jot down her
thoughts. Lois glanced up and found that while she had been
wandering and musing, night had fully set. The streets were
strangely empty for a night in Metropolis, and she glanced
around a little uneasily at the dark alleys as she rushed past.
Maybe walking home hadn't been her brightest idea. The area was
slightly residential and there wasn't a taxicab in sight. A pay
phone was lit up in a yellow pool under a lone streetlight.

She would call Lucy to come pick her up. She still had a good
twenty-minute walk anyway. Funny, it hadn't seemed that far when
she had merrily made her way to Jill's, euphoric about the
stolen test answers she had gotten with ridiculous ease.

When the hands grabbed her from behind, her startled yelp was
almost immediately followed with rolled eyes. It was just too
predictable, wasn't it? How silly to think that she, Lois Lane,
could walk home one night without running into disaster. Cold
steel pressed against her neck and she shivered. A knife. Guns
she could deal with, but knives had always frightened her. The
edge scraped at the soft skin of her neck and she froze, all
thoughts of fighting and fleeing vanishing in wake of the liquid
fear consuming her.

"Your wallet." The voice was rough and the body behind her felt
burly and solid.

Lois reached into her pocket, letting the man know what she was
doing, and held it up in the air for him to grab. Instead of
taking the bait and dropping one of the hands confining her, she
felt the man nod behind her. "Throw it on the ground, right
there."

Lois did as she was told and stiffened when she felt the man
inch closer to her.

"I gave you my wallet! There's a credit card and cash in there.
Now leave me be," she said, careful to keep the edge of fear out
of her voice.

"Not so fast, doll

Lois grimaced. She was sick of the nicknames. Between Kyle
calling her "babe" and this joker calling her "doll"... Her wry
amusement dissolved into a whimper as the knife slid across her
throat lightly. A bright red line appeared on the otherwise pale
skin of her neck and a drop of blood dripped down the snowy
skin.

Keeping the knife trained on her neck, he reached down with one
hand for the belt buckle of his pants. Lois' stomach dropped in
horror at the motion and she forced her wild mind to calm enough
to plan. With one hand unbuckling his belt and one had on the
knife... he was only keeping her against the wall with a knee
pressed between her legs. It was risky, but what else could she
do? Taking a deep breath that brought tears to her eyes as it
forced the knife closer, she threw her body to the side,
tripping over his leg but effectively pulling her neck away from
the glittering knife.

"Help!" she began to scream, but it was cut off the second she
opened her mouth. Despite his size, the man was nimble and fast.
He tackled her and she came down hard on the cold cement, crying
out as her legs scraped against the rough ground. He shoved her
jaw shut and held it, straddling her waist as she struggled
futilely. The man glared at her, panting hard as he brought the
knife down angrily, skipping her neck and instead aiming
directly for her heart.

Lois screamed, though no sound came out with the man's hand
clamping her jaw shut. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited,
her last image of earth the bloodstained knife speeding directly
toward her.

The knife grazed the front of her shirt, tearing though the
fabric before a roar filled the night air. The knife was gone,
her skin miraculously unbroken. Lois forced her eyes open, but
they felt glued shut. A dark shape, nearly snarling with anger
had her assailant tackled on the ground. The man struggled, but
he was obviously no match for his attacker and Lois' angel.

Lois struggled to her feet, pressing a fist against her mouth as
her breath came in ragged gulps. There was no light in the area,
save for the lone streetlamp about fifteen feet away. The pool
didn't extend so far as to their location however, and Lois was
forced to only discern her savior and attacker's silhouettes.
The man on top had the obvious edge. He spoke a moment later,
hissing quietly at his prisoner. Whatever he had said frightened
the man into submission, though he still half-heartedly
struggled against the iron grip grinding him into the pavement.

"Lois, please call the police with that phone right there.
You'll be perfectly safe, I assure you. I won't take my eyes off
you."

The voice was calm and gentle, at odds with the fearsome picture
he made in the dark. It was familiar. Soothing. Clark's.

"Clark?" she said a little timidly, not even realizing her
lapse. Clark didn't seem to notice either.

"It's okay, Lois. You're all right. Just go call the police and
then this will all be over."

Lois followed the directions speaking in a nearly calm voice to
the woman at the end of 911. When she hung up, the fact that her
English teacher had just saved her from certain death and was
pinning a man twice his size to the ground rushed to hit her on
the head.

"Y-you," Lois began then changed her mind. "Where the hell did
you come from?"

Clark grunted as an answer as the man beneath him attempted to
break loose. Lois tensed, ready to fight, but Clark quickly
subdued him again. "I live around here. I was walking home when
I heard a scuffle in the alley."

Actually, he had been watching a basketball game in his
apartment when he had heard her heartbeat. At first he thought
his tortured musings were following him home and he nearly
covered his ears with his hands, desperate to stop the mental
images and dreams. The heartbeat refused to leave him however,
and he paused. It was speeding up and then... another heartbeat?
What? Though he had always had an active imagination he couldn't
fathom what his subconscious was trying to tell him by throwing
in another heartbeat into the mix. Finally he caught the
breathless, near cry for help and he realized that it hadn't
just been his emotions kicking into overdrive. Lois needed him!

Thankfully both Lois and her assailant were too busy to notice
that he jumped out of his third story window in his haste to get
to her. When he saw them struggling and when he saw the knife
flash from the man's hand... Clark shuddered. He had very nearly
been too late. It had been easy enough to overcome the man,
howev