~Part Two~
Lois Lane walked briskly down the sidewalk, stepping carefully over an empty Pepsi can and, on an afterthought, she turned around and kicked it as hard as she could. Damn Clark, Superman, whoever he was. At the thought, she felt the tears pooling in her eyes and quickly blinked them away. She couldn't cry, not until she got home and was settled on her couch with a pint of chocolate ice cream. Or, maybe she'd have rocky road.
She wasn't sure *what* she wanted. She only knew that she was furious, and for good reason. But, oh it had been wonderful while it lasted, she thought wistfully. And now she's like to grab those sensuous lips of his, wrap them around his neck and strangle him with them.
As she walked briskly down Fifth Avenue, the heaviness of night enveloping her, Lois again felt the urge to cry. Or scream. Or both. Clark is Superman. Superman is Clark. It confused her, but yet it all made sense when she thought about it. All the disappearances, the lame excuses, the convenient way that they never appeared to be in the same place at the same time. It all fit, like a thousand piece of a puzzle coming together.
Why hadn't he told her? She wracked her mind for an answer. Was he ever going to tell her? If so, when? When it was too late to change her mind about loving him? But damn him, he had succeeded – she couldn’t do anything now but love him, need him, he just didn’t know it. Even though she was angry as hell at Clark, her feelings for him hadn't disappeared like she wished they would.
The fact was, however, he had deceived her. And it wasn't like it was about something small. It was *huge.* Lois stopped in her tracks, as the realization hit her like a semi-truck. She didn't know the man she loved. She didn't know anything about him- his name, his age, his favourite color. If he had lied to her about his own identity, about who he was, who was to say he hadn't lied to her about anything else? Everything else?
She walked briskly down the hall to her apartment building and, with a shaking hand, inserted her key into the lock. Violently, she turned the key only to find herself locked out. Her door had been open.
<What were you thinking, Lois? Leaving the door open? You live in Metropolis, the big bad city, not in some hick town in the Midwest. Not Kansas… not Smallville. Not… Yes, Lois, leaving your door open is like sticking a sign up saying ‘Please burgle me…’ >
Thinking about it wouldn't do any good, Lois decided as she unlocked the door. She'd only work herself into another fit where she would babble to herself and then feel depressed to the point where she'd have to go out and buy more ice cream. She was spending too much of her paycheck on comfort food as it was.
Dropping her purse on the couch, she walked calmly into her bedroom, sat down on her Queen-sized bed, and picked up her favorite pillow.
***
"Michelle, did you hear that?" Arnold Sitkowitz asked his wife, tilting his ear upward. He was sure he heard something…
The dark haired woman looked up from the latest issue of "Better Homes and Gardens," and thought for a moment. Then, as she figured it out, she smiled.
"It sounded like a scream. I bet you it was Lois. The poor girl must deal with so much stress. I mean, she nearly dies every other week."
"She'll be okay, Pooky. I love that you care though." Arnold moved closer to his wife, taking her in his arms.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
The moment was interrupted by another scream coming from the apartment above. Michelle just shook her head.
***
<I feel better now.> Lois told herself. <I feel better. I really, really feel better. Screaming helps. It really helps. Primal scream therapy- that's the way to go.> Realizing that her attempts to cure a broken heart weren't having any effect, she picked up the phone and dialed her sister's number. She had to stop twice to recollect which order the numbers went in. It had been far too many months since they had spoken.
"Hello?" Lucy's voice was chipper and happy.
<New boyfriend,> Lois thought. She nearly started to cry again.
"Hey Luce," she said quietly, blinking to rid her eyes of the tears threatening to escape.
"Lois, is that you? What's wrong, sis?" She sounded concerned. Lois could picture her little sister, sitting on her couch at home, legs folded under her, realizing after a tiring night of New Year's partying. Lois was a little surprised her sister was even in. Lois could picture Lucy's dark hair pushed behind her ears, and the crinkle of worry between her eyebrows. And she could see the look of pity in Lucy's eyes.
"Don't pity me. I can hear it in your voice." She was unreasonably cross and she knew it, but she didn't care. A little hostility could be expected from someone who had just been lied to and betrayed by the man she loved. After all, it was Lucy's fault. She was the one who suggested Lois start dating again. If not for Lucy, she wouldn't have been trying to care about Clark. Or Superman. Or whoever he was. And if she hadn't been so vulnerable to
Clark/Superman, then she wouldn’t have fallen in love, and she wouldn't be in this mess. Of course, if she hadn't befriended Clark, she could very well be married to Lex Luthor, the biggest criminal in Metropolis, and she would still be "Mad Dog Lane," hardened reporter with no real friends. And she would have missed out on the love of a lifetime. Maybe the "blame Lucy" idea wasn't so great after all. No, it wasn't Lucy's fault. It was Clark's.
"I can't pity you for anything I don't know about, Lois. Now *you* called *me.* What's up?"
Lois transferred the phone from her left ear to her right, as she turned on the bedside lamp.
"Oh, Luce. I don't know what to do. It's Clark. I'm in love with him." She was amazed at how easily the words came. She had assumed that, when she finally said those three words about Clark, it would be difficult, like playing tug of war with Superman. Little did she know…
"And that's a problem? Lois, I'm not seeing where loving Clark is a bad thing. He's obviously nuts about you. And he's not a creep, unlike the guys you usually date."
"Like you should talk!" Lois scoffed. After several silent moments, she returned to Lucy's comments. "Sorry, it's been a stressful day I guess. The problem is, Lucy, I don't want to love him. After what he did to me, I should hate him. I should want him dead and his body dumped in some ocean in China or something. But I can't. And it kills me because I want to."
"Hold on, Lo. Back up here. What did he do to you to make him worthy of such a punishment? You don't usually hate just anybody. They really have to piss you off."
"He, uh… well he…" Lois struggled with what to tell her sister. She wanted to tell her everything, the absolute truth. That Clark was Superman. But she couldn't bring herself to betray him.
"He lied to me about some stuff. Big stuff. Big stuff that I can't tell you. But believe me, Lucy, it's big. Like elephant-sized big, or maybe dinosaur-sized, I don't know. He's been lying to me about this big dinosaur-sized thing since the day I met him. He's been hiding things from me, big things. I just don't know what to do, Lucy. And on top of what this thing is that he's been hiding, he didn't even tell me about it!"
"What?" The confusion was evident in Lucy's voice. Lois rolled her eyes. Hadn't she been listening to a word she said?
"I mean he didn't *tell* me his big dinosaur secret, I found out by myself. It was like one minute I was in heaven, kissing him… and *wow* can he kiss. I think Clark is like the God of Kissing. Anyway, I was kissing him, and then BOOM! It was like 'Party's over, Lois. You had two minutes of happiness now this twisted little thing called fate has to make you suffer for years to come, because you aren't allowed to be happy.' Why can't I be happy, Lucy?" She tried to choke down a sob, but the lump in her throat continued to rise. No longer could Lois stop the tears that poured down her face.
"I don't know what to say, Lo. But I figure that if you really…"
Her comment was cut off by a muffled scream. Lois heard what she thought was Lucy's phone dropping to the floor.
"Lucy? Lucy? You there? Lucy, are you okay?"
"Hello, Lois Lane," It was an unfamiliar voice, yet suffused with an iciness she hadn't thought possible. "Goodbye,
Lucy Lane."
Another scream, this one more strangled and pain-filled than the last, reached Lois via the phone line. On Lucy's stifled scream, the phone clicked and left Lois horrified.
As her pulse quickened and a chill ran up her spine, Lois wondered fearfully if she'd ever see her sister again.
She ran to the window and yelled for Superman. It was the only thing she could think of to do.
**********
OKay, thats it for this part! I know it was a little bit
but what can I say? It was an... artistic place to stop. <g>
