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There's not gonna be Lexis is there? If so, let me know when I can stop skimming chapters with one eye closed with Lex's name and start readily freely with both eyes open. 
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good chapter, are lois and lex dating?Comment
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Not in the boyfriend/girlfriend sense, but let me answer that with my reply to the next comment.
All I'll say is, Lex is trying but Lois isn't having a bar of it. She isn't attracted to him at all, and that's all I'll say about that.Comment
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Awes poor Clark bar (love that) such tragic things in his life. I am liking your Nell, looking after Clark when he's orphaned. Can't wait to see how Clois will interact.Comment
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Can't wait for another chapter!
Great story as alwaysComment
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must have more goodness plzComment
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Chapter Four
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”
Clark looked at Nell as they worked together to sweep the shop and make it ready for opening.
“I don’t know,” he sighed.
“You’ve been upset since that dinner with Lex the other night.”
“He wants to buy what’s left of the farm. Nell, that was my home. It’s been in the Kent family for generations. Why would he be interested in it?”
“Well, maybe that’s something you need to investigate,” she said quietly. “I remember when you were a freshman in high school, you and Chloe used to investigate all manner of things for the school newspaper.”
“I don’t do that anymore.”
She frowned. “I never understood that,” she said. “Clark, honey, you’re meant for so much more than selling flowers.”
“But I’m helping you,” he said reasonably, well aware that they’d already had this conversation far too many times in the past. Nell often told him he was as stubborn as his father.
“I know, sweetie, but this isn’t the life I wanted for you. I’m sure it’s not the life your parents wanted for you either.”
Clark sighed heavily, leaning on the broom.
“Nell, I ...”
“Clark, I love you dearly. You were always a good boy and you’ve become the kind of man I can be proud of, but I want more for you than this shop.”
“But Lana ...”
“Lana would have realised eventually that she was holding you back. Clark, why don’t you take some of the money your parents left you and enrol in some classes at Met U? See what’s out there.”
Once the farmland had been sold, there hadn’t been much left over after the mortgage had been paid but there had been enough for Clark to go to college. His grandfather had insisted the money be held in trust until he turned eighteen and Clark had invested it.
“I don’t know,” he said slowly.
“Clark, I don’t mean to be blunt, but really, this shop is far too small for two of us. I could get by with a part-timer. I want you to really think about this. And think hard.”
He bit his lip, then went back to sweeping, turning the sign around on the door when it was time to open. There were no customers waiting outside, despite the unseasonably warm weather. He had to admit that Nell was right about one thing. They really didn’t do enough business to justify her keeping him on full-time. The only reason she did was because he was her foster son, and nephew by marriage. Nothing else.
Business was slow for the next couple of days and Nell told him to take a few days off. Faced with nothing to do, Clark took her advice and checked out classes at Met U. He was told he could take a couple of classes but he couldn’t enrol full-time until the Fall. They did have a good journalism program which sounded interesting.
Back when he had been a sophomore, the school board had hired a new principal, Mr Reynolds. The man had decided that Clark was a bit of a slacker and needed to be brought into line, so he’d had him write an essay on where he thought he might be in five years’ time. Clark had written that he would be in college, probably studying journalism. He had enjoyed working on the Torch with Chloe and considered himself to be a fairly decent writer.
When he wasn’t out trying to help out as the Guardian, Clark spent the time pottering around in his little apartment. He was surprised when he received a call from Lex.
“I wondered if you would like to meet me for lunch,” Lex said.
Clark’s immediate thought was that Lex was still trying to persuade him to sell the land and his first instinct was to refuse, but he decided it couldn’t hurt to hear the man out. Not that he was planning on selling. Someone had already tried once and Clark wanted to preserve what was left of his parents’ legacy.
When he had been a freshman, a man named Bob Rickman had come to Smallville, looking to build a pesticide plant and he had decided what remained of the Kent farm would be the perfect location. He had tried to persuade Clark to sell and when that hadn’t worked, had tried threats and murder. Chloe had helped him investigate Rickman and, along with a man who had once worked with Rickman, the sleazy businessman had been put away.
Rickman had found Clark to be a tough customer, and so would Lex.
Clark met the billionaire at an exclusive restaurant, feeling very out of place. Lex was charm itself, ignoring the manager’s look of disdain at Clark for his casual clothes. Every other diner in the restaurant was wearing what Clark took to be designer threads and very out of his price range.
“Clark, I’m glad you could make it.”
“Uh, thank you, Mr Luthor.”
The other man smiled. “Lex, please. Mr Luthor was my father.”
Clark nodded and smiled back, still feeling a little uncomfortable with the situation.
“What would you like to drink? They have an excellent Sauvignon, from the Napa Valley.”
“Um, just water, please,” he said, fidgeting nervously. “I don’t really drink.”
Well, it wasn’t like it actually affected him, he thought. Lex looked surprised.
“Really? You’re missing out on an experience.”
Clark just nodded. Lex waved his hand at the waiter and ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to be brought to the table. He continued to watch as Lex ordered expensive appetisers, from escargot to caviar. None of it sounded appealing to Clark.
“So, tell me a little about yourself Clark.”
“Um, what do you want to know?”
“Your parents died when you were ten?”
He nodded. “Car crash. I don’t like to talk about it much.”
“You were married?”
He nodded again, feeling almost like a ventriloquist’s dummy, his movements almost as if he was being manipulated.
“My wife and daughter were killed by a drunk driver.”
“Yes, I read about that.”
Clark had the impression Lex had had him investigated very thoroughly, which didn’t make him at all comfortable. The other man continued to ‘interrogate’ him for a few minutes.
There was a brief lull in the conversation as the appetisers were brought out. To Clark, it looked like Lex was trying to ‘woo’ him or something because the man barely touched the food, pushing it on Clark. To be polite, Clark took the bite-sized piece of toast spread with caviar and sour cream and ate it, trying not to grimace at the taste.
“Lex, why did you ask me here?” he said.
“I wanted to get to know you.”
“Why?”
“Because I think we could be good friends, Clark. I know we had very little opportunity to get to know each other in Smallville, but I’ve heard that you’re a man of integrity. That’s rare in my world.”
Why did Clark have the feeling that Lex was fishing for something?
Lex asked him what his plans were, suggesting that he couldn’t spend the rest of his life working as a florist. Clark ended up admitting that he and Nell had been discussing the same thing and that he had been considering enrolling at Met U.
“I know someone you should talk to,” Lex replied. “Perry White. He’s the editor-in-chief at the Daily Planet. I’m sure I can talk him into seeing you and perhaps employing you. At least part-time until you get your degree.”
“Um, thank you, Lex,” he said, wanting to tell the man he would rather not owe him any favours. He had the impression it would make very little difference.
Nothing was mentioned at all about the land Lex wanted to buy, which was odd in itself. Clark left almost two hours later still trying to figure the man out.
***
Lois was still trying to get a bead on what was going on at army headquarters. Jake Cohen had tried to help but he really hadn’t been much help at all. He kept telling her that his hands were tied for the simple fact that her father’s mission in Afghanistan had been classified.
Frustrated at the lack of news, Lois had walked out of the Daily Planet hoping a little fresh air would help get her mind off it. She hadn’t expected to bump into Clark Kent on the sidewalk. Literally bump into him that was.
“Ow!” she said.
“Um, Miss Lane, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Clark said.
“Well, that’s kinda obvious!” she snapped, then realised what she had said. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Not really, no.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“With you?” she said, looking up at him. This close, she could see he was very tall and very well-built.
Clark seemed to be trying for a disarming smile.
“Well, I have been told I’m a good listener.”
“Um, sure,” she said. “I could use a coffee anyway.”
She walked with him to her favourite coffee shop a couple of blocks from the newspaper office. He watched, his mouth upturned in amusement at her complicated order.
“What?” she said.
“It must run in the family,” he replied. “Chloe orders almost the same thing.”
She chewed on her lip. “Oh, right. I forgot you and Chloe were close. Did you and she ever ...”
He frowned at her for a moment, then it was as if a lightbulb had been switched on over his head.
“Oh. No. We’re just friends. Good friends. Lana was her best friend.”
“Lana?” Lois raised her eyebrows. “Oh. Your wife.”
The girl on the counter handed Lois her coffee and they sat down at a table. She noticed that Clark had ordered just a simple flat white.
“I would have thought you’d be working at the shop,” she said.
“It was quiet, so Nell told me to take a few days off.”
She studied him for a moment. He seemed a little uncomfortable under her gaze but said nothing.
“You know, I can’t quite picture a guy like you as a florist.”
“Uh, well, it helps pay the bills,” he said.
“You never thought of doing anything else? Chloe said something about you working on the school paper with her.”
“Yeah, I did for a while. The truth is, I was considering enrolling in classes at Met U. Well, Nell kind of pushed me into it.”
“Hey, don’t ask me about higher education,” she told him. “I got kicked out of Met U my first semester. Under-age drinking.”
She’d been extremely lucky she’d only been kicked out for that instead of assault. Not that she’d actually assaulted anyone. A few fraternity boys had challenged her in a drinking game, not realising that she’d spent half her teenage years drinking with Green Berets and Navy Seals. One of the frat boys had come on to her and she’d shoved him just hard enough to make him land on his butt. Police had arrested her the next day after the youth had been found paralysed, but Chloe had helped her prove her innocence, almost getting herself killed in the process.
Clark frowned at her.
“So, how did you end up a reporter without a college degree?”
“Oh, I never said I didn’t get a college degree. My father put his foot down. It was either shape up or ship out.”
“So ...”
“So I went to Kansas State. It doesn’t have as good a journalism program as Met U, but it’s still good.”
“What made you choose journalism for a career?”
“I had to repeat my senior year at Smallville High and there was this girl. Abby. She’d had plastic surgery, at seventeen, mind you.”
Clark frowned. “Wait. I think Chloe told me about this. You wrote that story?”
“Yeah.” Lois laughed softly. Some of the students had sent in emails to the paper saying her story had ‘changed their life’.
She had talked Chloe into talking to Lex, hoping he would persuade the dean at Met U to overlook her lack of credits and had got into the university after only a few weeks at the high school.
After the infamous Met U incident, in which she and Chloe had managed to break a story about college athletes faking drug tests, she had begun to see the potential in journalism as a career.
“So, what were you considering studying?” she asked.
He grimaced. “Uh, actually, journalism. I mean, I worked with Chloe for about a year or so on the Torch and I did spend some time working on the Met High paper when I was there.”
“Why did you move?” Lois asked curiously.
“Well, Nell met this guy after the tornado. Dean. He’s an insurance adjustor. They decided to get married a few months later and we had no choice but to move to the city. Nell and Dean got a divorce a few months after Lana and I moved back to Smallville.”
She saw his expression change from one of resignation, to fond recollection, and then to sadness. She guessed Smallville held a few memories for him, both good and bad.
Clark sighed softly, then sipped his coffee.
“Um, so why were you upset?” he asked, clearly eager to change the subject. Lois knew she couldn’t avoid it, and maybe talking it over with someone who didn’t have such a vested interest would help.
“My father went missing while he was on a mission in Afghanistan. I’ve tried all the top brass in the military but they either can’t or won’t help. They keep saying it’s classified.”
“It must be frustrating,” he said.
“The thing is, I get it. I mean, my dad’s been practically all around the world on these missions and you know, being a general, it’s his job. I just wish ...”
“You wish he’d spend more time at home,” Clark finished.
“See, my mom died when I was six and it’s like he suddenly forgot he had two daughters who just needed a father, not a military commander.” She found herself telling him about her father executing a ‘chain of command’. He would give the orders and she would pass them down the line, so to speak, making sure her sister obeyed the rules.
Clark shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess maybe it was his way of coping.”
“I know he loved my mother very much and he took it hard when she died.”
He nodded, his expression showing complete understanding.
“Tell me about your parents,” Lois said softly.
“Well, my mom was from Metropolis and she met my dad when he came up to do a finance course at Met U. My dad was a fifth generation farmer. He spent practically all his life on the farm.”
“From what Chloe tells me, they were highly respected in the community.”
“Yeah, they were.”
“She said you don’t like to talk about the accident.”
He grinned suddenly.
“Is this an interview, Lois?”
She laughed, a little sheepish. “I guess it does sound that way, doesn’t it?” She reached out and touched his hand. “I just really want to get to know you, that’s all.”
He looked a little uncomfortable at her touch, withdrawing his hand as if he’d experienced an electric shock.
“Lex kind of said the same thing,” he told her.
“Lex?”
“He asked me to lunch earlier.”
She chewed on her lip. “Clark, I think it only fair that I warn you about Lex. You can’t trust him.”
“So why are you ...”
“Okay, you’re right. He offered to help me find out what happened to the general and I am using him, I guess, but ...”
“The other night, he seemed kind of possessive.”
She grimaced. “Yeah. He does give that impression.”
“Are you, um, seeing him?”
“No,” she said emphatically. “I mean, I know he wants to and he keeps asking me out, but I’m not interested in him like that. I don’t really have time for relationships.”
“Because you’re so focused on your career?” He nodded. “I can understand that. After Lana, I ... well, I kind of shied away from relationships.”
“You must miss her very much.”
“I do,” he said. “Losing her and Laura ... I mean, there are so many times I wish I could go back in time and prevent it, but ...”
She grasped his hand again. “You can’t think like that. I mean, you can’t change the past, no matter how much you want to.”
“I know,” he sighed. “Still ...”
“Clark, Chloe told me you blame yourself for the accident. You shouldn’t. I mean, I read the article in the Ledger.”
He looked a little alarmed. “You read ...?”
“Hey, like you can talk,” she said, opting for a teasing tone. “You’re the one who left me flowers anonymously. Why did you anyway?”
“I was out walking one night and I saw you in the window of your apartment. You were crying.”
Lois realised it must have been shortly after she had heard about her father. As much as she wanted to admonish Clark for what he’d done, especially as it really was a huge invasion of her privacy, she realised that he really did have only the best of intentions. He was clearly as gun-shy as she was when it came to relationships.
Her phone beeped with a text message. Jimmy.
911. Perry’s looking for you.
“Everything okay?” Clark asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Just Perry on the warpath. This was nice, Clark. Thanks for listening.”
He smiled. “You’re welcome. Uh, any time you need a listening ear ...”
She grinned, handing over her phone. “Tell you what. You give me your cell number and I might just take you up on that.”
He quickly added his number to her contacts list and handed the phone back. Lois got up to leave, pausing at the door to give him a brilliant smile. Maybe nothing had been resolved, but it really had felt good to talk to someone who wasn’t part of her trusted inner circle. She had a feeling he wouldn’t be on the outside for very long.
***
Clark was surprised once again to get another call from Lex the next day telling him to report to Perry’s office at two o’clock that day. He did so, nervously knocking on the door and waiting for the man’s order to enter.
Lex was sitting on the couch beside the huge desk, looking relaxed and casual.
“Clark,” he smiled. “Good to see you’re punctual.”
“Mr Luthor.”
“Lex, remember?” the man reminded him.
He nodded and shrugged. Another man stood up from the desk, holding out a hand. Clark looked him over. He was in his fifties with sandy-blond hair which was thin on top.
“Perry White,” the man said. “You’re Clark Kent?”
“Yes sir.”
“Spent a couple of weeks in Smallville a few years ago. Investigating some oddities.”
“Uh ...”
Lex distracted them. “Perry, I’ll get out of your way.” He got up and left, closing the door behind him. Perry told him to sit down and make himself comfortable.
“You’re a friend of our publisher?” he asked.
“Uh, not exactly, sir,” he replied.
The other man nodded. “Tell me about yourself. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-three, sir. Twenty-four in May.”
“What brought you to the Daily Planet?”
Clark found himself liking the older man as he began telling Perry about growing up in Smallville, the deaths of his parents and his marriage to Lana. The older man was alternately sympathetic and amused as Clark told him of his various investigative exploits with Chloe and his time working for the Smallville Torch.
“What about an education, son? You know, we can’t just hire anyone who walks in off the street, no matter who they are friends with.”
That was fair, Clark thought. He told Perry of his thoughts of taking classes at Met U.
“I know I’m green, sir, but I’m a hard worker.”
“I appreciate that, son, but no matter what Lex promised you, I can’t just hire you right off the bat.”
“I’m not asking for a handout sir. The truth is, Lex ... well ...”
“Lex told you he could get you a job here.” Perry nodded knowingly. “Lex may be my boss, but when it comes to reporters, I have a say in the hiring and firing. I do appreciate you coming in though.”
The door was flung open and Lois came barging in.
“Perry, I think I’ve got something on this Intergang ...” She stopped, gazing at Clark. “Uh, Clark. Hi.”
“Hi Lois,” he said, feeling a little sheepish. She seemed to give herself a mental shake.
“Uh, what was I saying?”
“What about that fluff piece I gave you?” Perry asked.
“You know I don’t do fluff pieces.”
Clark frowned. What on Earth was a fluff piece? Perry saw his frown and started to explain.
“Father of five drowned last year saving his second-youngest child. Wife was pregnant with their fifth at the time.”
Lois rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
“Maybe I could ...” Clark suggested hesitantly. “I mean, on a ... a freelance basis.”
Perry thought it over, for about five seconds, then handed over a thick folder.
“Tell you what, kid, you do a good job on this, we might see about getting you a job here.”
Clark grinned. “Thanks Mr White. I won’t let you down.”
He left the office, still grinning as Perry began lecturing Lois on the proper respect to show her editor. As he walked toward the stairs, he saw Lex in another office speaking agitatedly on a phone.
“I don’t care how much noise he’s making,” he was saying. “You need to keep him under control. No, you listen to me. My plan is starting to come to fruition and I do not need the likes of Sam Lane ...”
Clark frowned. What was this about Lois’ father, he thought, deciding to use his super-hearing.
Unlike most of his other powers, the super-hearing was the hardest one he’d had to learn to control. Nell had tried to ease his anxiety about his emerging abilities but she really had had no idea how to deal with it. As loving a foster mother as she was, she just wasn’t equipped for it. Clark’s abilities had been one of the major issues in Nell’s marriage to Dean, although the couple had been careful not to place blame.
When Clark had first begun to develop the super-hearing, any noise had felt like someone was setting off a percussion in his head and it had hurt like hell. He’d found himself retreating to a quiet corner of the apartment, refusing even Lana’s attention. It had been unbearable for the first few days until he’d learned to filter out the sounds.
Clark listened in on the conversation, slowly coming to the realisation that Sam Lane’s disappearance had nothing to do with any insurgence in Afghanistan. Lex had forced someone to arrange an accident, keeping the general and his men detained in some twisted plan to make Lois turn to him. He was clearly trying to use it to seduce Lois. The question was, why? Why would he continue to pursue someone who clearly didn’t want that kind of relationship with him? It just added to the mystery that was Lex Luthor.Comment
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I was waiting for this, well done. I need more clois pls, I miss them so much
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Yeah, sometimes, Clark needs a kick in the rear.
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Yay update!!!! Damn Lex and his nefarious schemesComment
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Uh huh, I knew Les was somehow "involved" with the General's disappearance! Now that Clark knows, let the investigation begin. Hopefully, with Lois in tow because their talk at the cafe was nice.
Update soon!
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I know what you mean. I really miss seeing them on my screen.
You are so right.
Grr, Lex is a schemer all right.
You know Lex. He will scheme and plan and twist things so he will get what he wants and damn the consequences. Now that Clark knows, he will be more wary of Lex than ever. Whether he will tell Lois is another thing.Comment
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