Track 4 | Fever Dream by Alex Warren ft. Clark Kent
Summary: Clark Kent has sworn off dating after heartbreakβuntil the Daily Planet hires a brilliant new editor. What begins as an awkward office tour quickly becomes weeks of undeniable chemistry, near-misses, and growing feelings. As coincidence blurs into destiny, Clark must decide whether some connections are worth risking the risk.
Part of my 2026 Summer Event! Master list here :)
βClark!β Perry called out, as Clark turned with a half smile. βWe have a new hire. Youβll be showing her around, got it?β
βMe? Yeah- ok, I can do that-β
βIβm told youβre less βintimidatingβ than some of the other staff, soβ¦ make her feel at home, Kent. Sheβs a damn good editor, and Iβm excited to have her on the team.β
βUnderstood, sir. Iβll be the best greeting squad youβve ever seen,β Clark grinned. Truth be told, he knew exactly who Perry was referring to when he called the other staff intimidating: his recent ex-girlfriend, Lois Lane, reporter extraordinaire. They had ended on good terms a bit ago, and Clark held no ill will towards her, but he definitely wasnβt upset about some forced separation today. It had taken some time to be able to exist in the same room as her, and Clark was beginning to feel it would be the most fair on everyone if he departed the dating scene completely. Throwing someone into his double lifeβ¦ it wasnβt fair to anyone.
Lost in thought, Clark had completely disassociated until he felt a light tap on his shoulder, causing him to turn abruptly.
βHi!β you waved. βYou must be Mr. Kent. Iβm the new editor, Perry asked me to come find you so we could take a look around?β
Oh. Oh. Perry wanted him dead.
At first glance, Clark felt his heart race in his chest and his entire body go warm. You were a force, with your own gravitational pull calling him closer, and you hadnβt said more than 30 words to him.
Friendly. His job was to make you feel comfortable and he was completely rigid. Gosh darnit, Clark, snap out of it!
βYes! Yes, hi, thatβs me, but you can call me Clark- Mr. Kent just sounds very formal, you know?β He chuckled awkwardly, extending his hand for you to shake, which you took.
βHm. Firm handshake,β you commented.
βOh! Sorry, I donβt know my own strength sometimes. Thatβs what my Ma always says, she says, βClark, you donβt know your own strength sometimesβ- Iβm rambling, Iβm sorry, thatβs so awkward, letβs go!β
You laughed- not a mocking laugh, but an earnest one, like you found his incessant chatter almost⦠charming? No, Clark must be reading that wrong. He had heard about you from Jimmy, and supposedly you were the lead editor at the Daily Bugle over in New York, and Perry had offered to up your salary considerably if you moved to Metropolis. You were far too intelligent to find his prattling charming.
βSo! For the tour. Iβll take you right this way, if you willβ¦β
Clark led you through the bullpen, trying very hard to remember how walking worked.
βThis is where Jimmy sits,β he said, pointing a little too enthusiastically. βHeβs our photographer. Great guy. Terrible at remembering birthdays.β
βHey,β interjected Jimmy. βI remembered yours!β
Clark blinked. βYouβ¦ did?β
You covered your mouth to hide another laugh.
Wonderful. Youβd known him for all of three minutes and youβd already witnessed him lose an argument he accidentally started.
βYou laugh a lot,β Clark blurted. Your eyebrows lifted. βI just mean thatβ¦ that came out weird. I meant-β he rubbed the back of his neck. βItβs nice.β
βItβs because youβre funny.β
βI donβt think Iβm trying to be.β
That somehow made his heart beat even harder.
By the end of your first week, Clark had reached one very important conclusion. Perry White hated him. It was the only explanation.
βKent!β Perry barked from his office. βConference room. Now.β
Clark looked up from his laptop, setting his glasses higher on his nose as he hurried over. You were already sitting at the table, notebook open and pen tapping lightly against the page.
βThere he is,β Perry said. βPerfect. Kent, youβre covering the Centennial Park restoration piece. Our newest editor here is going with you.β
Clark blinked. βTogether?β
Perry frowned. βNo, Kent. Separately. Yes, together.β
Jimmy, who happened to be walking by with his camera slung over his shoulder, poked his head into the room.
βOut,β Perry pointed.
Jimmy disappeared, though not before shooting Clark an unmistakably smug grin.
Twenty minutes later, the two of you were walking toward Centennial Park.
βSo,β you said, glancing over. βAre you always this quiet?β
Clark nearly tripped over an uneven sidewalk.
βWhat? No! I meanβ¦ sometimes. Not usually. I donβt know.β
βIβve noticed you think out loud.β
βYouβve apologized to three strangers today.β
βThey deserved apologies.β
βThe woman whose shoulder you bumped?β
ββ¦He looked offended.β
Your laugh echoed through the park.
Clark decided then and there that your laugh was dangerous.
Because every time he heard it, he found himself trying to earn another one.
βYou know,β you said after a moment, βwhen Jimmy told me about you, I expectedβ¦β
Clark felt his stomach drop.
βI donβt know. More intimidating.β
He barked out a surprised laugh.
βYouβre six foot four.β
βI canβt help that.β
βYou look like you could bench-press a truck.β
βI definitely canβt do that.β
βI meanβ¦ probably not.β
You tilted your head suspiciously before grinning.
βI think youβre just a really bad liar.β
The interview itself went smoothly, though Clark spent most of it pretending not to notice how close your shoulder brushed his whenever the two of you leaned over the same notebook.
Afterward, you stopped at a small coffee shop around the corner.
βMy treat,β you said.
βOh, you donβt have toββ
βYou showed me around all week.β
βYou bought me coffee yesterday.β
βSo now weβre even.β
βI wasnβt keeping score.β
Clark looked down at the paper cup in his hands.He hadnβt been keeping score either.
But he remembered every conversation. Every smile. Every time youβd wandered over to his desk with a grammar question you absolutely couldβve answered yourself.
Maybe you just liked talking to him.
No. Donβt assume that, Kent. You were probably just being friendly.
Across the cafΓ©, a little girl tugged on her motherβs sleeve and pointed toward Clark.
βMommy,β she whispered loudly. βThatβs Superman.β
The mother laughed softly.
βNo, sweetheart. Superman doesnβt wear glasses.β
Clark let out the breath heβd been holding.
You looked between him and the little girl.
βI think sheβd make a pretty convincing argument.β
Clark instinctively smoothed it down.
He hadnβt even realized he was smiling. For the first time in longer than he cared to admit, going home didnβt sound nearly as exciting as staying exactly where he was.
Three weeks after your first day at the Planet, Clark had developed a routine.
Heβd arrive ten minutes early. Pretend it wasnβt because you usually walked in five minutes later. Fail spectacularly at acting surprised when you did. It was pathetic.
Jimmy thought it was hilarious.
βYou know,β Jimmy said one morning, spinning lazily in his chair, βmost people just ask someone out.β
Clark kept typing. βI donβt know what youβre talking about.β
Jimmy leaned over his desk. βYou smiled at your computer because they emailed you a comma.β
βIt was a very thoughtful comma.β
You stepped out, coffee in one hand and a stack of marked-up pages in the other. βMorning!β
Clark looked up so quickly he almost knocked his glasses off. βMorning.β
You smiled before disappearing toward your desk.
Jimmy waited exactly three seconds.
ββ¦Thoughtful comma.β
Clark buried his face in his hands.
By Friday afternoon, Metropolis had settled into one of those steady spring rains that blurred the skyline into watercolor.
Clark had just returned from an interview when he caught part of a conversation outside Perryβs office.
ββ¦headed back next weekβ¦β
ββ¦itβs a great opportunityβ¦β
He couldnβt hear the rest.
Normally, he wouldβve tuned in with his super hearing without a second thought. Instead, he stopped himself. It felt wrong. If you wanted him to know, youβd tell him.
Still⦠Going back? Back to New York?
The thought lodged itself in his chest and refused to leave.
For the rest of the day, every time he looked over, you were smiling. Laughing with Lois. Talking to Perry. Packing papers into your bag.
His mind filled in every blank with the worst possible answer. By the time the office emptied, Clark had convinced himself you were leaving.
Not that youβd ever been his to lose.
You slipped your coat on and headed toward the elevator.
βYou heading out?β you asked.
Clark stood so quickly his chair rolled backward.
βI was wondering ifβ¦ maybeβ¦ if you werenβt too busyβ¦β
βIf youβd maybe like to get dinner sometime.β
Clarkβs heart pounded so loudly he wondered if you could hear it.
βIf the answerβs no,β he rushed on, βthatβs completely okay. I just figured Iβd rather know than let you go back to New York and spend the next six months wondering if I imagined all of this.β
Your expression softened.
βI was talking to Perry about covering a story in Gotham next week.β
βIβll be back the next day.β
βI was beginning to think you werenβt interested.β
βYou kept looking at me like you wanted to say something.β
βAnd then youβd ask if I wanted another coffee filter.β
For a moment, neither of you spoke. Rain tapped softly against the windows.
βSoβ¦β you said, taking one small step closer. βWas that dinner invitation still available?β
Clark smiled. It wasnβt nervous this time. It wasnβt forced. It was simply happy.
βIβd really like that.β
From somewhere across the newsroom came Jimmyβs unmistakable voice.
βYou told Jimmy?β you asked.
βI absolutely did not.β
Jimmy rounded the corner holding a twenty-dollar bill.
Cat rolled her eyes, handed him the money, and pointed toward Clark.
βTold you heβd get there eventually.β
βFor legal reasons,β Jimmy said, stuffing the bill into his pocket, βthey were friendly predictions.β
You laughed again. Clark was beginning to think that sound could fix just about anything.
As the two of you stepped into the elevator together, he caught your reflection in the polished doors.
For weeks, heβd convinced himself the feeling would pass. That eventually the butterflies would settle, the overthinking would stop, and youβd simply become another coworker.
Instead, every day had felt a little more impossible than the last. A little brighter. Like something that couldnβt quite be explained.
Something that had arrived without warningβ¦and somehow made the whole world feel different.
Special thanks to @pixynari for my beautiful dividers!!
I really hope you guys enjoyed this lead single of my first ever event! This one is extra super special to me because I see Alex Warren live one week from today (yay!) lots of love for this song and for Clark. Thank you for reading!