Winter Formal

Clark stopped before walking under the "WINTER FORMAL" banner that hung over the door to the school gym.
   "Are you actually nervous, Smallville?"
   Clark turned to see Diana standing at his side, an amused smirk across her face.  He opened his mouth to respond, but completely halted when he actually got a good look at her.
   Diana's bright blue dress was no different than what half the girls at the dance were wearing: traditional, simple, and elegant.  The difference was that, for the first time, Diana was actually wearing something—other than jeans—that hugged her figure.  She vaguely resembled something between a princess and a supermodel. The way her shimmery dress highlighted her curves made Clark feel embarrassed just for having eyes.
   Diana rather enjoyed Clark's stunned reaction.
   "You—you look nice," Clark finally stammered out.
   Diana smiled and gently punched his arm. "So do you."
   Clark shrugged. "Thanks."
   After a long pause, Diana raised her eyebrows at him. "Are you gonna go in?"
   Clark took a deep breath. "...Eventually."
   "Have you never been to a dance before?"
   "No, I have, just..."
   "Not with someone you cared about this much."
   "Yeah."
   Diana nodded, and her smile faded a little.
   "You'll be fine. Don't worry."
   Clark did his best to put on a smile despite his nervousness. "Thanks."
   Diana nodded again, doing her best to put an encouraging smile back on.
   With one more deep breath, Clark stepped under the banner and walked into the gym.

   It was dark.  Aside from spinning glitters of red and white light, the entire room was in shadow—normal, for a school dance.  Music boomed. Dozens of teenagers swarmed the room: boys in their tuxes, and girls in their dresses.  Clark was surprised at how long it took him to recognize many of his classmates in formal wear.  There was Nelson Nash, somehow still managing to look lazy and smug despite his sharp-looking tux.  There was Cat Grant, wearing a dress so short that she risked public indecency.  And further back, at the center of it all, stood Lois.
   Clark felt his heart stand still for a moment when he caught sight of her. When she saw him, too, and their eyes met, his feet almost lifted off the floor.
   While Lois was definitely stunning in her red dress, her eyes were what caught Clark's attention. Ever since Lois and Bruce had broken up, and Clark had actually let himself feel attracted to Lois, he felt more and more stunned each time he saw her eyes. "The eyes are the windows of the soul," Mr. Frank had told Clark once. If that were so, then that probably explained it. Clark, more than most other people, always tried to look at who people were at heart—who they really were underneath. And it was for that very reason that—despite the fact that she didn't have Diana's figure or Zatanna's attitude—Lois was the most beautiful girl Clark had ever seen.

   Lois caught sight of Clark, and felt her heart skip a beat. She felt silly for feeling this way; for falling so hard so fast for someone that she'd only known for a few months. But there was something about him—about the two of them—that seemed just... perfect. As though they were everything that each other ever wanted or needed.
   Lois tried to mentally shake herself. It was completely ridiculous, the way she was thinking. After all, she'd seen the statistics. Less than fifteen percent of high-school relationships ever made it all the way through college and beyond. And even then, most of those relationships ended in late, painful breakups or divorce. But, still, there was that tiny one-percent that did make it. Were she and Clark that one percent? Were they made for each other?
   Lois mentally shook herself again. She'd just gone from "wow, he looks amazing in that tux" to "I wonder if we'll get married" in the span of about two seconds.
   Finally, Lois realized she had a choice: she could hold on to her rationale and stay safe, keeping Clark at arm's length, or she could give into the romance and just let herself fall.
   She chose the latter.

   "Hi, Lois."
   "Hey, Smallville."


   Bruce stood at the edge of the room, watching the dance from the safety of the shadows.
   "Hey, what are you doing here?" a voice asked him.
   Bruce turned to see Diana standing at his right.
   "I... I knew she'd be here, since it's her job to cover it for the Star. And I thought I should be here, too. I didn't think she'd have gotten another date this fast."
   "But you broke up with her."
   Bruce hung his head a little. "Even though Lois and I aren't together anymore, I wanted to... I wanted to be here for her. I owed her that much. I didn't want her to be alone."
   Realization sparked in Diana's eyes. "You still care for her, don't you?"
   "...Yeah."
   "And you broke up with her because you hoped she'd stop getting herself in trouble chasing Luthorcorp."
   "Yes."
   "Well, no offense, Bruce, but this wasn't all about you. This whole crime spree... it affects everyone."
   "I know. I should have realized that before."
   Diana and Bruce turned back to the dance floor, and saw Clark and Lois laughing together.
   "Look at them," Diana said. "They really do seem great together."
   "...Yeah." Bruce turned to Diana. "Why did you let Clark out of going with you, anyway?"
   Diana sighed. "I knew he didn't really want to go with me, and... I felt bad keeping him away from Lois. It was kind of inevitable that they'd get together anyway."
   "You don't think you had a chance with him?"
   "...Not really." Diana shrugged and gave a half-smile. "As long as Lois exists, there's no chance for me and Clark. Simple as that."
   Bruce nodded in understanding. "Sorry. I know how that is."
   Diana put her hand on his shoulder. "Well, hey, don't worry. I'm sure you can find a new girlfriend somewhere around here." She nodded towards the corner of the room, where a group of four girls in low-cut dresses all giggled and flirtatiously waved at Bruce.
   Bruce took one look at them, then turned back to Diana. He stayed silent in thought for a few seconds, thinking it all over.  "...Yeah, I think I'll be okay," he said with a slight smirk.
   Diana laughed. She turned back towards the floor, only to see Bart standing in front of her with a stupid grin on his face. His tux was a little disheveled; Diana guess he'd been using his super-speed.
   "So!" he said excitedly, "You wanna dance?"
   Diana began to shake her head, but couldn't help laughing at Bart's insane goofiness.  Here he was, a curly-haired boy a year younger and four inches shorter than her—and he wanted to dance.  She nodded her head, and Bart pulled her by the hand toward the dance floor.

   Bruce left early, not wanting his presence to cause any problems. Diana, Bart, Clark, and Lois spent the night laughing and dancing together. Despite the drama that had led to their being here, tonight they were nothing but the best of friends.  Whether as allies in a war against crime, as brothers and sisters, or as boyfriend and girlfriend, they were never closer to one another than they were here and now.
   And, at the center of it all, Lois and Clark held one another.