Lieta and Ann,
Sorry - my online time the last two days was incredibly limited, but I do appreciate the feedback!
Lieta - You know, I may have to steal the nickname idea. I have at least one other phone call already written - but Clark finds it less confusing. It never occured to me to have Superman use a nickname.
Oh, I just had the best idea for how the nickname thing comes about! (Still no idea for a nickname, but I'll think of something.) Look for this in a future chapter. (Probably very future since I'm more likely to put it in what I'm working on now (chapter 34) than something that's nearly done.
Ann-
She really seemed so in love with him, but clearly their relationship had ended badly, one way or another.
Well, I will have to agree with this even if I won't give other hints. Things do end badly. The flashbacks in this story thus far explain differences between the Lois and Clark we know and the ones in this story. And since the differences aren't good, bad things had to have happened to explain the differences.
The difference between the Clarks is obvious. The Lois difference is a bit more subtle, as she's basically just a bit more "Lois". She's more guarded about her feelings, less willing to trust, etc. As Clark is actually more open with Lois, since he's not hiding a secret identity, we see Lois being a bit more back and forth in her treatment of Clark. One minute she feels really close to him and the next she's backing far, far away.
The Chad story is a pivotal reason why, although there were earlier flashbacks that set the stage for this slightly, too. The Lois/Claude story here is a bit more drawn out and while we never knew enough about what happened in the show to be sure, I think it was more hurtful here. (It's in chapter 10 if you want to see it, but basically Claude and Lois have a bit more of a relationship before he turns into a cad than I got the impression they did in the show.)
And yes, Clark did really repress those memories - both guilt over the two people who died, but also over what happened to his father. He still helped out while he traveled, but of course, those rescues were colored with his earlier attempts and also seen as negative since he had to move all the time. He's helped out once or twice in Metropolis, too, but once it stopped being incidental things when something happened right in front of him and instead he tried to fill in for Superman, he nearly had a panic attack. He didn't know why, but basically, this Clark associates a lot of bad things with using his powers for good.
It's interesting to me, because his life from then on was very much like the Clark we know, but he really views it all so differently. Even when the memories were repressed, they colored his thinking. But of course, there's also the fact that Martha and Jonathan did not repress what happened and so while they don't talk about it, they are more cynical, too.
It will be interesting to see if Lois knows Clark's secret when this fic is over!
Well, you had to know I wouldn't tell you that.