The Forfeits.

It was a beautifully warm and sunny day in Smallville, with barely a breeze to be felt. Main Street was closed to traffic and was decked out with stands offering all manner of delicious treats as the country fair was in full swing. There was plenty of food and drink to be had plus entertainment in the form of a coconut shy, a dunk tank, a finger painting booth for the kids, plus a makeshift dancefloor where a hoedown was taking place with music provided by local country and folk musicians. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed and jovial as the whole town - plus a number of people from nearby towns - had come out to enjoy the event. Only two people were feeling a little less than jovial right now, but both had plastered on smiles for the occasion.

Lois was sat beside the small stand just in front of the Talon which had remained closed for the day. Somehow, Martha had managed to find time to bake a plethora of brownies and muffins as well as make several pitchers of fresh lemonade. People were free to leave change in a jar if they wished, and the money would be donated to the local hospital. The cakes were disappearing fast as was the lemonade as people sought a homespun sweet treat plus a little cooling refreshment. A lot of youngsters and more than a few adults had wanted their photo taken with Lois, who reluctantly obliged.

The reason for this was entirely down to what Lois was wearing. Clark had given her one of his mom's red plaid shirts to borrow, with the sleeves rolled up past the elbow, the top two buttons undone to reveal a little cleavage and the bottom two undone so she could tie a knot, revealing a little midriff. The shirt was complimented by a pair of denim shorts which showed off her long tanned legs, and included a leather belt with a huge buckle. She'd chosen to wear her own white sneakers for comfort and had her hair down. She presented one hell of an image that drew a lot of appreciative male attention and some jealous female attention. Lois was the sexiest girl at the fair, bar none - a Daisy Duke for the new century. She was supremely irritated with Clark for coming up with the idea because here she was as the country girl clad in plaid she was absolutely adamant she'd never ever be.

While Lois was drawing attention to herself, Clark was drawing attention of a different kind. He'd spent the best part of an hour early in the morning learning how to maintain his balance and it was far from easy. The stilts were double framed to provide the same rigidity as human shin bones, but they were one metre in length. After many tumbles, including one into the side of the barn that left a gaping hole in the wood, he felt he'd got enough of a hang of it and was ready for the day. Having Lois helping to get him ready behind the Talon was no easy task either. The sooner his forfeit was over, the better.

The real embarrassment for him was the outfit he'd been asked to wear. Lois was grateful that Stanley was of similar physical stature to Clark because it meant the outfit she'd provided could be put to good use. Said outfit was the stereotypical Uncle Sam stars and stripes. It had white leather shoes and red and white striped pants covering all the way down over the stilts, with a tear-off point on the pants where foot met stilts. There was a shiny blue long-tailed jacket which had red and white striped lapels together with a matching rosette with the words 'Vote Kent' on the left breast. Underneath the jacket was a starched white shirt tied together with a red and white striped bow tie. The ensemble was completed with a red-rimmed hat which continued the striped theme and had a blue band around it replete with white stars. The buttons on the jacket were also blue with a white star in the centre. You could not fail to notice Clark, and he knew it.

He had spent some time gingerly walking up and down Main Street, waving to the crowds and getting his picture taken. Though his face showed amusement, he was churning inside and mad at Lois for cooking up the idea. He'd spent his life avoiding drawing attention to himself yet here he was, with people pointing, staring and laughing at him.

Jonathan and Martha had been walking around the fair a little further down the street, shaking hands with and thanking well-wishers and asking them to make sure they voted on Election Day. Chloe and Lana had turned up to see what was going on, with Chloe in particular curious to see the forfeits her best friend and cousin had concocted. She had a feeling it would be embarrassing but even so, her jaw dropped at what she witnessed.

Walking up to the cake and lemonade stand, they both failed to suppress their laughter at the sight of Lois.

"Oh my god, this is what Clark put you up to?" giggled Chloe.

"Lois, I gotta say, you look great!" laughed Lana. She knew Lois had a very agreeable body but she usually hid it behind tomboy attire, preferring jeans and low-cut tops to give a semblance of femininity. This outfit was pure male fantasy and she was surprised that it was Clark's suggestion.

Lois scowled and put her hands to her hips. "I'm getting drooled all over by little boys and grown men who should know better."

"Have you seen Clark?" asked Chloe as Lana looked around. She didn't have to look far.

Not more than 10 metres behind them, Clark had taken a tumble and ended up flat on his back on the sidewalk. His hat had tipped forward and was covering the top half of his face as he flailed about. Passers-by had moved out of the way and the younger ones were laughing.

Lois smirked. "Thanks to me, he's extended his fashion sense beyond all things flannel."

Lana and Chloe moved towards him, laughing even harder than they had with Lois. Upon hearing their laughter, he raised his hat and sighed wearily.

"Gotta hand it to my cuz, she did a real number on you!" laughed Chloe as Clark tried to stand himself back up. He failed miserably, landing heavily on his backside with a groan. Lana raised her hand to her mouth although she still found it funny.

Lana asked, "Clark, are you OK?"

Clark didn't want to point out that spotting Lana in the crowd was the reason he'd taken a tumble. "Hey Lana, Chloe. Yeah I'm fine. I just can't work these stilts. Could you guys do me a favour and help me take them off."

Chloe and Lana each bent down to grab a foot as Clark sat up and leaned forward to release the straps attached to his feet. After the stilts and tear-offs had been removed, he took the shoes and put them on. Still dressed ridiculously, he was at least able to walk normally now which was a small blessing. The three of them headed back to Lois' stand.

"Clark, was it your idea for Lois to dress up like that?" asked Lana.

"Actually, I suggested she go for a stars and stripes outfit too but she shot that idea down and went with my second choice," he replied as Lois glared at him.

Chloe's eyes bugged out as she realised the implication. Clark had wanted Lois to embarrass herself with her Windgate club stripper outfit.

The country music in the background died down a little and the band's lead singer called for Jonathan and Martha to come over and say a few words. They both made their way over, with Jonathan taking the mic to a small round of applause.

"Uh, thank you everybody. Just for today, I would like to keep the politics out of it and just have everybody enjoy themselves. It's a beautiful day so why not? However, I would like to thank everybody for their support and let you know that come what may, I am humbled and truly honoured to have had so much support. To my wife Martha - I would not be the man I am today without you, sweetheart. It really is as simple as that. I love you."

Martha smiled and leaned in to give him a little kiss as the crowds cheered. The Smallville Gazette's photographer asked if he could take some photos to which they agreed but after the first couple of photos, Jonathan took to the mic again to ask for "my son Clark and my campaign manager Lois to come and join us."

Lois and Clark both looked at one another wide eyed before slowly stepping forward. They were now going to be immortalised in the local paper in these outfits. As they got closer, Chloe and Lana had moved towards the front to get a closer look. Jonathan and Martha then spotted Clark and Lois approaching and their mouths dropped. Neither had known about the bet or the outfits. As they both walked up to the Kents, Jonathan took to the mic again.

"I have to say, I wasn't expecting this," he chuckled as they both looked at the ground sheepishly, trying to avoid the eyes in the crowd. "Knowing these two like I do, I'm guessing they both made a bet and both lost, and this is the forfeit. While I'm certainly curious to know more, I should add that they represent the hard work and dedication that I value. No doubt, as hard as it was to keep to their word on this, keep to their word they did."

He turned to Clark. "Clark, you are turning into a fine young man right in front of my eyes, and a son any father can be proud of - present state of dress excepted!" There was some laughter from the crowd before he continued, turning to Lois. "Lois, your passion and determination are to be admired and I am proud of the person you've become too. Martha and I consider you to be one of the family."

Lois looked up to see Jonathan and Martha smiling at her as a few in the crowd went 'Ahh!'. She didn't know what to say. She'd long since hoped to be accepted by the Kents because she'd become very fond of them and felt relaxed in the stable family environment they'd worked so hard to create at the farm, but to have them acknowledge and accept her in public brought tears to her eyes. Tears she kept at bay as the photographer lined up the extended Kent family for a few group photos, plus a couple of photos of just Lois and Clark on their own.

Talking through gritted teeth, they continued their own conversation.

"As soon as I get home, I'm getting out of this," said Lois.

"As soon as I get home, I am burning this," replied Clark.

Both recognised that Clark's dad was right though. They had indeed kept to their word.

Jonathan handed the mic back to the band's singer. As the music started up again, he requested for Jonathan and Martha to join the hoedown. Before long, Clark's parents were dancing along with the band members as more folk joined in. Martha waved to Clark and Lois to join in, to which they both reluctantly agreed. Despite their reluctance, they both actually enjoyed themselves.

A little later on, they were walking around the fair with Lana and Chloe, sipping on lemonade and nibbling on the barbecued short ribs from one of the many barbecue stands. No matter how messy they got, everybody loved barbecued short ribs. Chloe had had a go at the coconut shy, failing miserably. As they all moved along, they heard a shout from somewhere nearby.

"Hey Miss Lane, how about a go at the dunk tank."

Before she'd had a chance to register the request, Clark had dashed over to where players had to stand to throw the ball, catching the ball that was tossed to him.

"C'mon Lois. You got me once. Now it's my turn." He had a huge grin on his face despite his ridiculous outfit.

Lois felt her heart sink. She knew his throwing arm was a thing of wonder but with so many people now watching her, she couldn't chicken out. Her only course of action was to summon up the bravado and hope that his aim was off. Handing her phone and keys to Chloe, she made her way up to the platform above the tank.

"Bring it on, Farmboy! You might have been the high school quarterback, but that target is not a meathead jock in the end zone."

Clark let the first couple of throws miss just to get Lois to flinch before she upped the verbal sparring. Victory would be all the sweeter as he knew he'd land the third throw. They were in their own little battle of wills as the gathering crowd began to chant, "Dunk! Dunk! Dunk!..."

"When it comes to getting me Smallville, you don't have what it takes!" Lois taunted.

Within seconds, Lois heard the 'thunk' of ball hitting target and felt the platform give way, sampling free floating in air for a millisecond before she dropped suddenly into the drink. Clark roared with delight as a huge cheer went up in the crowd. Chloe and Lana were laughing heartily as Clark high-fived a few people beside him. Lois rose to the surface with a look of shock on her face. Wiping the water out of her eyes and off her face, she watched Clark strut towards her with the smuggest grin she'd ever seen before he removed his top hat and placed it on her head. As her wet clothes clung to her body, eliciting yet more appreciative stares and whoops from the male populace observing, all she could do was try to splash Clark as he ducked away laughing.

This little game between them was going to run and run. You could bet on that.

FIN.