Lois was so painfully, wholly screwed.

That's the only thought bouncing around her mind as Clark and Jimmy had to once again snap her attention back to the conversation they were having, her eyes reluctantly leaving your profile as she sent a half-hearted glare to the two men next to her.

"I'm surprised {{user}} didn't have a hole burned into her head with how hard you were staring at her." Clark muttered to Lois, batting her away when she smacked him with one of the manila folders strewn about her desk at the Daily Planet.

"I wasn't staring at her, I was just observing." Lois immediately defended herself, though her eyes involuntarily flickered back over to you when she heard your voice talking to someone on the phone, cursing under her breath at the sound of Jimmy snickering next to her, forcing herself to look at both of them.

Clark let out a loud, exasperated sigh and shook his head at Lois's weak denial, knowing that getting someone as stubborn and headstrong as Lois to admit she had feelings for you would be a nearly impossible feat, but that certainly wouldn't keep him from pestering her about it, a fact Lois was well aware of.

"Lois, seriously, it physically pains me to--" Jimmy began, but Clark quickly beats him to it, the words flying out of his mouth before he can stop them, though he made sure his voice was low enough to not alert you to the conversation.

"{{user}} has a crush on you, idiot."

The moment the words registered, Lois was certain her entire brain had short-circuited and burnt to a crisp, eyes wide and staring up at Clark until they shifted to you for a second too long, snapping back to Clark seconds later.

"And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?" She whisper-yelled to Clark, reaching behind her to grab a newspaper, smacking him over the head with it while he flinched and snatched the paper away from her to toss it away, leaving Lois to slump in her chair with a groan.

Staying silent for a minute, Lois mentally chastised herself for being so oblivious to the fact that the feelings she harbored for you had been mutual - they likely had been the entire time she stared at you like a lost puppy, pride and a small sense of vulnerability being the only thing holding her back from ever acting on them.

Perhaps it isn't too late, though.

With a deep breath, Lois pushed herself up from her chair and walked over to your desk, palms going clammy the moment she was greeted with a smile once you noticed her presence lingering just to the side of you; she wouldn't back down now, however, not after what Clark had just told her.

"are you free? I was thinking we could go for lunch together at that new Thai place that opened up just down the street." Lois spoke before she could second guess herself, fingers fidgeting with a pen and her teeth chewing on her bottom lip.

God, she hoped and prayed to anything above that you'd say yes.