First let me say many thanks to both Nan and Suz my beta readers who helped me fix a few things and give me their wonderful insights on my story. Thank you for your time and efforts, both of you - my story wouldn't be out here yet if not for your help.
Description: Have you ever wondered just why Lois suddenly changed her hairstyle? Was it her decision, or was it an accident? Here’s a look at what might have happened. A story set in season 3 just after “Ordinary People”.
A Cut Above The Rest
By DJ Rhodes <deejrhodes@sbcglobal.net>
Rated: G?
Submitted: April, 2006
The characters and familiar settings in this story are the property of DC Comics, Warner Bros., December 3rd Productions and whoever else can legally lay claim to them, but the story is an original idea and belongs to me. I am not profiting from this story in any way. It is purely for fun. A special thanks to the all the writers of Lois & Clark, I borrowed a few scenes and dialogues from certain episodes. No copywrite infringement is intended.
This is my very first attempt at a fanfic for Lois & Clark so please be kind. But I do want feedback. Please let me know what you think!
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Lois glanced down at her watch and grimaced as she stepped out of the elevator and headed towards her desk. She wasn't *that* late but she was late enough. Maybe she could get to her desk before anyone noticed. No such luck, she realized, as she saw Perry making a beeline straight for her. She braced herself.
"Lois, so nice of you to join us this morning," Perry chided her, and then paused as he took a second look at her hair.
Lois' hair was pulled back neatly into a low ponytail held by an attractive silver clip. There was certainly nothing wrong or even unprofessional about the way she had chosen to wear her hair today, however, it wasn't *exactly* her choice either. She knew why Perry had taken a moment to give her a second look. She hardly ever wore her hair this way. Well, that wasn't *exactly* true. She wore her hair this way at home, when she was cooking or cleaning and didn't want it to get in the way. Oh, yes, there was even one evening that Superman, well Clark actually, Lois smiled at the thought, had come by to check on her and seen her in all her glory making dinner in her comfy clothes with her hair back in a ponytail. She had quickly taken the ponytail out though. It wasn't really the way she had wanted Superman, err Clark, to see her, well she hadn't known it was Clark back then anyway. Pulling her hair back just wasn't Lois' style. She preferred her straight, smooth bob for work. It fit her personality and her business attire.
"Lois, is there a problem this morning?" Perry asked raising his eyebrows slightly.
"No, no problem Chief. Just a little out of sorts this morning," Lois quickly responded not wanting to expound any further. What good would it do to explain to Perry that she hadn't had a chance to get a hair cut in weeks, maybe closer to several months? After all, how's a girl supposed to fit anything in to her schedule in between discovering a startling revelation about your boyfriend, and best friend, that oh yeah, by the way, he just happens to be the most powerful being on Earth, not to mention he's not from Earth; oh, and then there had been that little romantic getaway to a tropic island which had turned out to be a disaster, she still had mosquito bites that weren't healed yet; and almost being killed twice because she's Superman's girlfriend. Everything had turned out all right in the end of course. Clark had been able to revive her after having frozen her at her own request and they had saved his parents; and that little incident on the island had turned out all right as well. But, when Clark had flown her back to her apartment and she took one look in the mirror at her bedraggled appearance and long stringy hair she realized she was way overdue for a trim. She wasn't growing her hair out after all. Long hair was just way too much trouble, especially for a busy reporter. Lois paused in her thoughts realizing she had been babbling in her thoughts to herself, now there was a new one, and Perry was still standing there looking at her.
"I'm sorry Chief. Just a little trouble getting around this morning. It won't happen again." No, it wouldn't she thought because now that things had calmed down, well sort of, she and Clark still had a lot to sort out, she would get a proper hair cut and be back in business.
"Well, all right then. We have a staff meeting in 5 minutes. I still expect you two to have all your notes together on your story and be ready to present them pronto. Being late is no excuse."
"They'll be ready," Lois promised as she quickly continued on to her desk. She sat down and began grabbing papers left and right, trying to sort her notes on her story and get them in a presentable order. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Clark walking up to her desk. She scrunched her nose slightly and bit at her bottom lip. Please don’t say anything about the hair Clark, she thought. Clark had teased her before about having an image to uphold. She turned to face him and put on her most cheerful smile.
"Morning, Clark."
"Morning, Lois," he replied bending over her and handing her a cup of coffee. He gave her a light lingering kiss on the cheek that sent playful little feelings all through her. "It had cooled off a little bit since you hadn't gotten here yet, but I *warmed it up* for you," he said emphasizing what he had done by tipping his glasses down on his nose slightly.
Lois smiled warmly at Clark and realized this was just one of the things she loved so much about him. He was just so thoughtful when it came to her. Lois had lost count of the number of times that Clark had had gotten her coffee for her or had it ready waiting on her. It was just one of the many small ways that he showed how much he cared for her, and Lois realized how often she had taken those little things for granted.
"Thank you. Has Perry been on a rampage?"
"No, not too bad actually. He's just a little grumpy because it's a slow news day. You know we just brought him the Spencer Spencer story and we got to bask in his praise for, what, a whole two hours maybe before we were on to our next assignment."
"Well you know, you're only as good as your next story," Lois said with a smile.
"Yeah, you don't have to remind me," Clark said returning her grin. "So you want to tell me what happened this morning? And why you're sporting *this*," Clark asked swatting a finger at her ponytail causing it to swing, "new hairstyle."
"Oh Clark, we've just been so busy lately. You know, your parents getting kidnapped, you proposing to me, me finding out you are," Lois paused and mouthed, "Superman," then she continued on in a normal voice, "and me almost being killed," she paused for emphasis, "twice."
Clark winced visibly at her verbal assault and Lois felt a twinge of guilt for coming off irritated at him. Then, she realized he looked like he still had a big question mark written across his face.
"I haven't had time to re-schedule my hair appointment that I missed," Lois rolled her eyes at him finishing her explanation. "My normally scheduled appointment had been for the evening that I instead chose to follow you to Mazik's jewelry store and then proceeded to watch you rob it, and then I had rescheduled my appointment for the day that we ended up taking our not so perfect trip to paradise," she said as she stood up and gave him a playful pat on his cheek. She noticed a small bit of cinnamon powder, probably from his morning donut, by the corner of his mouth when she did that, and so she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss to take care of the donut.
"Mmmm, Cinnamon. Not as good as chocolate though," she said teasingly. Clark blushed just noticeably and felt his face for any more crumbs.
"Don't worry I got it, if you don't quit rubbing your mouth though, people might think you didn't enjoy my kiss," Lois said smiling playfully as she flirted with him.
"Hmm, never. Maybe I should leave a few crumbs there more often," he flirted back.
As much as Lois was enjoying this little banter, she realized she would never have her notes sorted in time for the staff meeting. Just then Perry stuck his head out of the conference room door.
"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt your conversation with actual work, but would the two of you care to join the rest of us in here?" Perry questioned grumpily as he stepped back inside closing the door. Lois gave Clark a panicked look.
"I haven't had time to sort my notes on our story yet!" she said, grabbing a handful of her papers and holding them up in the air in an exasperated gesture.
"Here, give them to me. We worked on this story together and I think I can sort your notes for you a little faster than you can," Clark said as he looked around to make sure no one was watching. At super speed, he scanned and flipped through all the typed pages and smaller pieces of paper and shuffled them around back and forth until he set the small pile in Lois' outstretched hands.
"Thanks. It's times like these that I can see how handy you are to have around," Lois said with an impish grin. She turned and headed towards the conference room. Clark followed right at her heels.
"You can thank me later by going to lunch with me."
"Oh, Clark, I'm sorry. I can't. I rescheduled my hair appointment for lunch today. Dinner?" She asked him hopefully.
"Dinner," he agreed.
**********
Nothing of too much interest came out of the staff meeting. Clark had been right; it was definitely a slow news day. As Lois walked back towards her desk she noticed she had a voice mail. She sat down, grabbing her phone to check it as she turned her computer on. There was only one new message for her.
"Hi Lois, this is Brandi, the receptionist at Metro Chic hair salon. I'm sorry I've been out of town for the last couple of weeks. Stacy, the temp they hired to cover for me while I was gone, told me when I got back this morning that you had called and rescheduled your hair cut for lunch today. See the problem is that your hairstylist, Cassie, doesn't work here any more. She gave notice right before I left to go on my trip. I meant to call you before I left to let you know but I must have forgotten. Stacy should have told you that when you called back to reschedule. Temps are so inefficient sometimes. Anyway, I'm sorry. I can still get you in at lunch today but it will have to be with someone else. Give me a call you've got my number. Thanks. Bye!"
Lois felt her heart skip a beat. Cassie was gone? Just like that? How could she leave just like that without telling Lois? She had been cutting Lois' hair for, well, how many years had it been? She had cut it ever since Lois had worked at the Planet anyway. She knew just what Lois wanted and always got it perfect. What was she going to do? The thought of having to go to a brand new hairstylist made Lois uneasy and slightly nauseated. She remembered the first time she had Cassie cut her hair. She had been so nervous. The simple bob haircut that she wore might not look like a difficult cut, but it could be. If they didn't cut it with just the right angle it didn't want to turn under like it was supposed to and instead would try to flip up on her. She liked her hairstyle. It was very, well, her. It was quick and easy to fix which was good for a busy reporter but it also had a no nonsense business look about it. Lois flipped through her rolodex and pulled up Brandi's number. Maybe Cassie had just gone to another hair salon in Metropolis and Brandi would have her number. If so, as much as Lois liked the convenience and close proximity of Metro Chic and the other people who worked there, they catered to her so much, she would just have to change salons and follow Cassie.
"Metro Chic this is Brandi. How may I be of service?"
"Brandi, this is Lois. Cassie is gone? Gone as in moved across town to another hair salon?" she asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid not. Gone as in eloped with her boyfriend who moved to Buffalo and took her with him."
"Oh my god, you’re kidding!" Lois said incredulously.
"No, I'm afraid not. It was very sudden. She called me the day before I left on my trip and said she was in Las Vegas on her honeymoon. She said she wouldn't be coming back to work because her boyfriend, now husband, played football in college at Metropolis U. He’s a running back and has just been signed on to play with the Buffalo Bills. She was moving to Buffalo, New York that weekend. Apparently, when he got the good news, he celebrated by asking her to elope to Vegas with him. It's a real shame. I mean I'm happy for her and all but she was the best stylist I had. I hate to lose her. Anyway, I meant to call you but of course I was sort of thrown for a loop by the whole thing and I was leaving to go out of town the next day. I had to scramble to find stylists who could cover all of Cassie's appointments until I could get back. I can still get you in today, Lois, but it will be with Deidre. She's fairly new but she's also really good. She is on the cutting edge of the hair fashion trends, no pun intended."
Lois sat there contemplating what to do. The Buffalo Bills? Wasn’t that one of Clark’s favorite teams? She couldn’t remember. It wasn’t like she and Clark discussed sports that often. That was more of a typical Clark/Jimmy conversation. Hmm, Buffalo was several hours from Metropolis, wasn’t it? Or was it closer? She briefly considered checking on it and then stopped herself. Lois, get a grip, she told herself. You can’t follow your hair dresser to another city, let alone another state. But a new person? Oh well, whoever she went to now was going to be new.
"Lois? Lois, are you still there?"
"Yeah I'm here. Okay, Deidre it is then."
"Great, Lois. I know how you hate change, but trust me, Deidre is great. You'll love her. See you at lunch."
"Okay, bye Brandi." Lois hung up her phone and sat there pouting slightly. She just didn't understand some women. How could you just up and leave your home and friends and a good job with people who counted on you, for a guy? Even, if he was going to play for the Buffalo Bills, she thought sarcastically. The thought irked her a little. She knew she was being silly but independent, hard working, ace reporter Lois Lane just had a little trouble wrapping her mind around that one. Especially, since she had been experiencing her own kind of relationship problems recently. Oh, Clark hadn't asked her to give up her career, or move or anything like that. Oh no, she had just managed to figure out that he was living the life of two people and had been ever since she had known him and had lied to her about it the whole time.
Clark picked this inopportune moment to walk up to her desk. "Hi, sweetheart, why the long face?"
Lois looked up at him, eyes flashing, and all she could manage to spit out as she got up and stalked off was, "Men!"
Clark watched her stomp off and wondered what he had said? He started to chase after her and then thought better of it. When Lois realized he wasn't following her, she turned around and followed him back to his desk. It was apparent by the look on her face that she had decided she had more to say. Clark braced himself.
"Did I say or do something," Clark started but Lois interrupted him.
"I'm just frustrated with men in general. You all expect us women to be so flexible, and forgiving, and willing to support your every whim and decision," Lois said beginning her rant. She knew she was being unfair to Clark. She was mad about Cassie, but she still had some feelings about her own situation with Clark lying dormant that she hadn't completely come to terms with yet, and they were just fueling the situation.
She stopped and looked at Clark's face, it was wounded. He looked like a puppy who had just been gruffly scolded. The look melted through her anger and softened her.
"I'm sorry." She took his face in her hands and kissed him tenderly on the lips. She continued, "It's not you. I mean it is to a certain extent. I guess I still have a little hostility pent up over coming to terms with our situation and relationship. There's still so many things I have yet to consider and make a decision about and sometimes I feel like my whole world is spinning out of control and," Clark put his finger up to her lip and interrupted her.
"Lois, you're babbling."
"I know. See something like this just shouldn't make me so crazy."
"Something like what?" Clark asked and Lois realized she hadn't actually told him what she was really upset about.
"My hairstylist quit."
"Is that all?" Clark asked innocently.
"What do you mean 'is that all'?" Lois said, her eyes flashing. "I've only been going to the same stylist since I started working at the Planet.
"I'm sorry. I won't pretend to understand how upsetting or stressful that news is for you, especially since I don't go to a stylist." That comment made Lois pause for a moment. She couldn't help but let a smile break out across her face.
"No, I guess you wouldn't would you? Your hair would break every pair of scissors they owned," she acknowledged still smiling.
"There, now there's the smile I know and love. But come on, that can't be the only thing that got you worked up."
"No, you're right," Lois said, feeling herself getting somber again. "We need to talk. But right now I've got to get to an interview with our lead and get finished so I don't miss my re-rescheduled hair appointment with Deidre, my new hairstylist. We can talk more tonight over that dinner we promised."
"Okay, sounds good to me. And don't worry, I'm sure Deidre will do a great job on your hair. You're probably worrying for nothing."
"I hope so."
Just then Clark tilted his head up as if he was hearing something.
“Something’s happening isn’t it?” Lois asked him.
“Yeah, I’ve gotta go,” he said reaching for his tie.
“Go, I’ll make an excuse to Perry. See ya this afternoon,” she said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. She watched him dash off and whispered ‘be careful’. She knew he would hear her.
*********
...to be continued in part 2
