[Third person POV]
A few days later…
Clark was lying on his back on the sun-drenched rooftop of the school, his arms folded behind his head, staring up at the cloudless sky. Beside him, Lois Lane sat cross-legged, a sleek purple laptop resting in her lap as her fingers danced furiously across the keyboard. The soft clacking of keys was the only sound between them for a moment—until Clark turned his head slightly, catching the wide, satisfied smile spreading across her face.
He arched a brow, intrigued. "What's got you in such a good mood? It's the first time you're not being insufferably annoying."
Lois didn't even pause her typing. She rolled her eyes dramatically but couldn't hide the proud grin tugging at her lips. "I'll have you know—"
"Boring," Clark interrupted, turning away with a lazy sigh and resting his head on his arm. "Already lost interest."
Lois snorted, clearly unbothered, her shoulders shaking with quiet laughter. "Well, too bad. You put a coin in this jukebox, now you gotta sit through the whole song."
Clark groaned in agony. "Ew. Do you even hear yourself? That sounded so gross."
Lois paused, blinking as her face turned crimson. "T-That's not how I meant it, and you know it! You disgusting pig!" she exclaimed, giving his shoulder a firm shove.
Clark scoffed. "You're the one who said it. I'm just pointing it out."
"Whatever." Lois crossed her arms but couldn't stop the grin that lingered. "You're not ruining my good mood, so don't even try. My dad's working on a story—an interview with a group of fishermen down by the pier—and he's letting me tag along after school! It's gonna be awesome."
Clark turned his head back toward her with an unamused expression. "Wow, you're going to a place that reeks of fish and sweaty men. Truly, dreams do come true. I'm overwhelmed with happiness for you," he said in a flat, deadpan voice.
Lois's smile faltered, her head dropping forward with a sigh. "You really know how to rain on someone's parade, you Debbie Downer," she muttered, punching his arm lightly.
Clark immediately flicked her arm with two fingers, smirking. "Don't punch me."
"Ack!" she yelped, recoiling as the sting shot up her arm. She set her laptop carefully to the side, then retaliated with a slap to his bicep. "That hurt, you brute!"
"You started it, dumbass."
"Ouch! Oh, please! That wasn't a punch, it was a love tap! You're just a whiner!"
Clark's eyes narrowed. "I said don't touch me! I don't like being touched!"
"Argh! Then stop hitting me back, you overgrown baby!"
What followed was a flurry of playful chaos. The two began swatting at each other, growling, and trading harmless blows, like kids roughhousing in the backyard. They rolled around on the rooftop, snarling through grins, their faces twisted into exaggerated expressions of irritation.
At one point, Lois managed to wrangle herself on top of him, straddling his torso as she pinned one of his wrists down with a victorious grin. "Behave, Ayase! I'll have you know I've been taking Karate since I was eight—I could totally kick your ass."
Clark, visibly unimpressed, let out a sigh. The smug, self-satisfied expression on her face struck a nerve.
With a simple shift of his hips and a twist of his arm, Clark reversed their positions effortlessly, flipping her over in one fluid motion.
"Waaahh!!" Lois shrieked, startled as her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. Before she could process what had happened, she found herself flat on her back with both her wrists pinned above her head, Clark leaning over her casually, his expression unreadable.
"Know your place, Ms. Lane," he said, his voice low and smooth. Clark, with one hand still pinning hers, casually pushed his glasses up his nose with his free hand, never breaking eye contact. "It's you who needs to behave."
Lois blinked up at him, her heart hammering in her chest. Her breath came in short gasps as she struggled against him, fighting him off but realizing it was useless. She growled, suddenly realized just how close he was. Inches apart. Close enough that she could count the individual lashes framing his striking blue eyes.
Close enough to feel the warmth of his body and the weight of his presence. Her eyes flitted across his features—his strong jawline, the way his lips curved ever so slightly, and the way the sunlight caught in his hair.
She couldn't look away from his blue eyes, captivating her completely, as if putting her under a spell. She rose slightly, as if to get to a better look.
Their faces inched closer.
Their breaths mingled, warm and uneven.
Lois's hands twitched beneath his grip, her heart thudding wildly. Clark's hand slid slowly from his glasses down to her waist, pressing gently into the small of her back as she arched slightly beneath him. Her lips parted. His eyes dropped to them, then flicked back up to her purple eyes, which captivated him just as much as his captivated her.
They were centimeters away.
One heartbeat away.
And then—
BRRRRRRRRRING!!!
The shrill ring of the school bell shattered the moment like glass.
Clark blinked rapidly. Lois gasped. They stared at each other for a second longer, frozen in place, both of their eyes widening in horror before both scrambled apart like the rooftop had suddenly caught fire.
Clark rolled off of her, hastily adjusting his shirt and pushing his glasses back into place, while Lois rolled around the ground away from Clark and awkwardly pushing herself back up.
Neither said a word.
Their hearts still pounded.
Their faces were flushed.
Their breathing uneven.
"…We should probably… go back to class," Lois mumbled, still avoiding eye contact. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and her face was practically glowing with embarrassment.
"Yeah," Clark replied, his throat dry, voice hoarse. He cleared it awkwardly. "Yeah. Definitely. You, uh… go on ahead without me."
Lois nodded quickly, not trusting herself to speak again. "Sure… Don't mind me… I'm just gonna… be on my way…" she stammered, each word stumbling out like her brain was buffering.
Without another word, she turned sharply on her heel and power-walked toward the rooftop ladder. Her hands fumbled on the rungs as she descended with far more urgency than grace. About halfway down, she paused, unable to help herself.
She looked back.
Clark was still standing there, staring right at her, their eyes locking for one second too long.
Lois's heart skipped. She shook her head furiously, like she could physically jostle the memory out of her brain, and climbed down the last few rungs before hopping off and bolting toward the door. She yanked it open and slammed it shut behind her, leaning her entire body weight against it once inside, her chest heaving.
Her head hung low, hair falling forward like a curtain, hiding the blush spreading across her cheeks. Her laptop was clutched tightly to her chest, as if it could somehow steady the whirlwind inside her.
Back on the rooftop, Clark had both hands over his face, groaning into his palms as he pushed his glasses up in frustration.
And then, almost as if their thoughts were synchronized on the same absurd radio frequency, they both mentally screamed:
'What the hell just happened?! What was that all about?!'
A beat passed.
Then—
"Wow, Master Kal-El…" came the voice of Sol, his AI companion, speaking smoothly through his glasses. "Is this what you meant when you said the two of you were connected? Because I must say, that was quite the… unexpected development."
Clark froze in horror.
"If I had known where that was heading, I would've blocked the bell from reaching either of you. Honestly, the timing was tragic—"
"SHUT UP!" Clark snapped, his voice strangled with embarrassment.
Without hesitation, he tore the glasses off his face and, in one fluid and panicked motion, hurled them into the sky. The glasses spun rapidly, a glint of sunlight catching the metal frame as they shot into the atmosphere like a missile, nearly breaking the sound barrier.
His face was burning. He didn't care where the glasses went. He didn't care that he had no backup pair. He just wanted to erase the last five minutes of his life.
But fate had other plans.
With a sharp whistle of returning speed, the glasses zoomed back from the stratosphere, closing in like a homing missile, and smashed right into his face with pinpoint accuracy.
The impact knocked Clark clean off his feet, sending him sprawling backwards into the rooftop floor with a dull thud.
He lay there, dazed and wide-eyed, limbs splayed out like a starfish, the glasses now perfectly in place on his nose where they belonged.
Meanwhile, Lois was navigating her way down the staircase, brushing past students who were either heading to class or loitering in the halls. She kept her head down, her laptop hugged tightly to her chest like a shield. Her face still burned, and her heart hadn't slowed in the slightest.
She was too lost in thought.
Too lost in him.
She stared straight ahead, jaw tense, her mind racing even faster than her feet.
And far above her, Clark remained on his back, staring up at the sun with a blank expression, his thoughts spinning in unison with hers.
As if their minds were still linked, still locked together even miles apart, both thought the same thing in eerie unison:
"What would've happened… if that bell hadn't rung?"
Would they have done it?
Would they have kissed?
And if they had…
What would've happened next?
********************************************
Read More advance Chapters on: patreon.com/Shadow_D_Monarch3