I'm Dating the Man of Steel

Chapter 17

I stared at the note. Confusion and terror took over all my senses. What did he mean? Clark was first? Does that mean he intends to kill him? He knows how. He nearly succeeded. If it hadn't been for Lois I don't think Clark would be here now. She saved his life. And to think a few hours ago life couldn't have been more perfect.  Clark and I were happy and finally starting to get a sense of normalcy. Now how are we supposed to live happily when I know he could be taken from me at any moment. I shook the thought away. What am I saying? He's Superman for God's sake. Lex couldn't hurt him. When the cops arrested Lex they took all of his mysterious green rocks so they could get them analyzed. Clark would be fine. I kept trying to convince myself of that but something gnawed at the back of my mind. This feeling I couldn't seem to shake. Like things were about to get worse. 

A knock at the door snapped me back to reality. 

"Hailey. Are you alright in there?" Came Clark's muffled voice. 

"Uh- Yeah! No problem. I'm fine." I say quickly. 

I crumple up the note and toss it in the trash can. I didn't want Clark seeing it. It would only upset him and he seemed content with the way things were. 

"Alright. Just checking." He said. I heard his footsteps recede and I breathed a sigh of relief. 

He can't know. I couldn't bare it if he found out. He radiant smile would disappear. His thoughts would become consumed with how to stop Lex from hurting me or anyone else he cared about. Even though he was Lex's first target. He never put himself first. He was always concerned with the needs of others. He was so selfless. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with him. 

I sighed and got ready to take a nice, long, hot shower. 

*******

The following day Clark and I went back to work. The newsroom was abuzz with questions for me. I guess all of Metropolis knew about my encounter with Lex and Superman. Never doubt how fast news travels in a big city like this. So many questions were fired at me it made my head spin. I was trying my best to answer them but it felt more like my words were coming out in a jumbled mess. Clark tried his hardest to push back the crowd of people but more often than not  he was pushed away. Not intentionally, there was just so many people. By the time I reached my desk I was so worn out I wanted to go back home. The crowd eventually died down when they realized I couldn't give coherent answers. Once everyone had left I practically slammed my head on my desk. I could hear a chuckle come from behind me. I turned around to see Jimmy. 

"Sleeping on the job?" He joked. 

I rolled my eyes and resumed my previous position. Head down, eyes closed, deep breaths. As traumatizing as that all was there was a bright side to it. All the commotion caused me to forget about the note. Of course, now that I'm alone it's weighing on my mind again. The words scrawled on the page penetrated my deepest thoughts and ignited my worst fears. My chest felt tight. I couldn't let him find out. But what would I do? What could I do to protect him? I mauled the thought over and over again in my mind. 

Throughout the day I continued to get asked questions. A lot of which I couldn't answer. Not without giving away Clark's identity. The day felt like it was getting longer and longer with no end in sight. 5:00 couldn't come fast enough. I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. I was tired and drained. Every second was a new battle. To make matters worse Clark could barely see me all day. He always got pulled away for some reason or another. I kept trying to imagine what he would say if he were here. Though I found that damn near impossible. I can't think of what Clark would say because each time he speaks it's something new. Something that he knows I need to hear. I wished desperately for him to be here with me. He was my rock through all of this. 

****

At last! 5:00! I practically ran to Clark's desk. He could tell I was ready to go home. He wrapped up his last sentence for his article and saved the document. I grabbed his messenger bag and handed it to him. He smiled and slug it over his shoulder then grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers. Such a small action was enough to calm my nerves. We walked out of the building together. Hand in hand. We mostly small talked about what we did at work when I wasn't being bombarded and when he wasn't being pulled away for the smallest of things. Clark and I both agreed today was possibly one of the longest days ever. Clark hailed us a cab and we were on our way home. In the car I rested my head on Clark's shoulder. I could feel his warmth. Something about him made me feel calm. I sighed in content. Clark looked at me and let out a soft laugh. 

"What?" I said. 

"Nothing." Clark responded. 

*Clark's POV*

I knew she was tired. I could tell by the look on her face. She sighed deeply and I let of a small laugh. She looked up at me. 

"What?" She asked. 

There were so many ways I could have responded. The truth was I loved it when she had that look of comfort on her face. After all I put her through. Even after my possession with the Red Ones she trusted me. She put her faith in me. Just as I put my faith in her. We always knew how the other would think and act. We knew the best ways to help the other person. Somehow she found her way into my heart and my mind. Sometimes it seemed that her sole reason for living was me. She was always trying to make me happy. I just wished she knew that all I needed to be happy was to be near her. She consumed all my thoughts. I wanted to keep her safe. I want to protect her. I want her to look as content as she is right now. I squeezed her hand and smiled. 

"Nothing." I said. 

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A/N

Thank you all for being so patient with me! Thanks for all the reads and sweet comments! I read every single one! I can't believe how many reads this story has gotten! The support y'all give me is crazy! I appreciate it so much! I think I'll crank out one or two more chapters on this book before I start on the next one! Also I'll be doing some MAJOR editing on this story just because I want it to be the absolute best for you guys! Thanks so much for reading! You all are amazing! *hugs and kisses* 

~Echo S.