The next few days were spent lazying around at home. After her recent run in with the law, Silvia thought it best to keep a low profile at least for a little while. Her apartment was littered with wrappers and empty pizza boxes, and there was a small indent in the couch from where she had been lying for much too long. Unfortunately, she ran out of food quickly and was forced to leave the house in less than a week. The blonde got changed and shuffled out the door with a looming disinterest.

The streets were as cracked and littered as always, the smell of gun smoke clinging to the pavement like the scar to a deep wound. People walked by in large trench coats, concealing their weapons and pockets full of drugs. It was always the same in Southside - a bastion of crime.

Central Metropolis sat clustered on an incline. Once the smells of this particular section of the city were alien to her, and their chaotic fragrance set her on edge. There was no metallic bite of blood lingering in the air, no fragrance of burnt wood from building debris or the constant heady warning that rain was due. The fumes from belching vehicles underpinned everything, hiding the violent scents she was so use to.

The crowds were heavy that day. Silvia found herself wedged in the middle of a few particularly thick groups of workers as she visited the shops; as soon as she exited one group she'd enter another.

Eventually, Silvia had plastic bags hanging off of each arm and they twisted against her skin whenever she moved. Her enhanced durability meant that it wasn't as painful as it should have been, but she could still feel it.

Silvia adjusted her grip on the bags, avoiding swinging them into the people around her as best she could. It was difficult in such a compact area but she somehow managed it. Her blue eyes flicked upward towards another oncoming group of people, instantly regretting it when she saw a familiar face through the chaos.

Clark Kent towered over everyone else, it was difficult to miss him when he was approaching. Despite this, the people around him didn't seem to notice. It was like he was invisible to them, and honestly Silvia could see why. He was a complete loser. Unless he was talking your ear off about an interview she doubted anyone would know he was there.

Silvia, however, did know. She was overly aware of his presence because she dreaded having to speak to him again. The moment his eyes locked with hers she had ducked into the closest building she could find, which happened to be a coin operated laundromat.

The loud noise of tumbling clothes inside of washing machines filled the air, only drowned out by the roar of dryers on the opposite end of the room. There were very few people within, only two middle-aged women were waiting in the provided seats and the remaining four were folding their newly washed clothes.

The blonde girl dropped her bags on a few empty chairs with a large sigh. She arched her back until she felt it crack, then stretched her arms above her head until they did the same. A satisfying relief washed over her that was quickly erased when she heard the laundromat's door open.

Please, don't be him. Have mercy on me. Silvia thought bitterly, but she had never been that lucky. From across the room she could hear heavy footsteps pounding against the tiled floor. Each step was clumsily placed and had absolutely no rhythm to it.

"Miss Stone." Clark's voice finally reached her ears and she cringed at the sound. "What are you doing in the laundromat with no washing?"

Silvia sighed in defeat, turning her sharp gaze toward the man. "I came in here to avoid you." She said bluntly.

The tall reporter gave a chuckle, one that made Silvia wonder about his sanity. "Heh, th-thats a good one Miss Stone."

Silvia crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. "Look pal...get lost. I'm not in the mood."

"You...agreed to an interview."

"The hell I did!" Silvia growled, eyes flicking rapidly around the room. They stopped on one of the women waiting for her clothes to dry. "There. She looks bored, why don't you interview her instead?"

"Well, uh, you see...um... I've already sent the first segment to my editor and he uh...he doesn't like to..." The awkward man broke off for several seconds before snapping back into reality. "Um, the point, Miss, is that you're stuck with me." Clark took out his notepad and a brand new pen, both from his briefcase. The ink inside this pen had an obsidian sheen to it unlike the royal blue one Silvia had destroyed. Clark lowered himself into an empty seat, one that seemed much too small for him, as he asked "C-Can you describe life in Metropolis with one word?"

The blonde rolled her eyes and began picking up her bags once more. She heaved the last few onto her arms and glared at the reporter. "Pfft. I dunno. It fucking sucks? We done yet?"

Clark counted with his fingers then opened his mouth to speak but Silvia didn't stick around long enough to hear what he had to say. She trudged out of the building with those bags swinging on either side.

Mere seconds after she had started walking back through the crowds she heard Clark's timid voice behind her. "L-Let me help you with those."

Silvia felt Clark's large hand reach for a few of the bags but she quickly nudged him off before he could take them. She finally bursted out in irritation. "Can you take a hint, dumbass?! I'll snap you in half if you try to lay another hand on me!"

Clark's weak and pathetic face seemed to crack for a second and Silvia saw a flash of...amusement in his eyes. "Fuck. Off." She said to him.

"I-I don't think that language is appropriate for--"

Clark was interrupted when a rather thuggish looking pair of people veered into him on their way around the laundromat. His briefcase was knocked from his hand, smashed its locks on the tiled floor, and spilled its contents all over.

Silvia swallowed. She stood there staring at him for several seconds then dropped her bags. She actually started to feel a little bad for the reporter. Too proud to utter a single word to anyone, Silvia knelt and scooped up all of the papers, notepads, paper clips, folders and other crap that was littered across the ground.

"Please, Miss Stone it's alright." Clark appeared beside her, finishing the job before she could.

Silvia muttered "You're making me look like a moron, Kent." under her breath. She then pulled to her feet, glancing around the pavement for the two men. "Fucking assholes."

Clark, refastening his briefcase, joined her. "Takes one to know one...r-right?" He quipped awkwardly, jabbing his elbow into Silvia's arm.

Silvia stared back at him, dumbstruck. The two of them fell into silence, even the roar of the city wasn't loud enough to eliminate the awkwardness. Since when did he have a sense of humour?

She felt the edges of her mouth break into a slight smile, a laugh rising in her throat that she quickly forced back down. Silvia huffed, though it came out uneven at the effort it took to hold down a chuckle. "Take my bags, Kent. If you're lucky I'll answer some of your stupid questions."

Clark flashed her a bright smile, revealing his perfectly aligned teeth and deepening laugh lines. He bent down and picked up the shopping in one motion. The reporter gave a heavy exhale. "M-Must have been hard lugging these around all day." Though he insinuated that the bags were heavy, he didn't even break a sweat.

Silvia rolled her eyes and turned on her heel. "Hurry up, before I change my mind."

Clark followed her through the large groups of people, each step the equivalent of three compared to Silvia. This resulted in her having to almost jog to stay ahead of the tall man, whilst he seemed to be walking as slowly as he possibly could without it becoming too obvious.

When they made it to the bus stop the transportation was already there. Both of them had to quicken their pace to reach it before the bus left. However, when they got on board it became obvious that Clark could barely fit through the walkway between the seats by himself, let alone with arms full of shopping bags.

Silvia motioned towards the front seat and Clark gave a grateful grin before sitting there with the multiple bags. Thankfully, there was no more room for Silvia so she sat a few rows behind him, grateful to have at least a few minutes of quiet. She stared out the window, watching the surroundings change the further they drove. The large buildings with plentiful windows turned into burnt down houses and smashed glass. Every now and then Clark would look over his shoulder at Silvia, brow furrowed like so many others when they saw how horrid Southside was.

When the bus skidded to a halt, everyone inside was forced forward. Silvia bumped her head against the seat in front of her with a loud groan. Suspiciously enough Clark didn't budge. Silvia was used to it and she still always ended up hitting her forehead... The blonde shrugged, assuming that his massive size gave him more stability despite him being even clumsier than she was.

Exiting the vehicle was as difficult as it was entering, at least for Clark. Once they were outside though the familiar smell of smoke and blood filled Silvia's senses. Clark's nose scrunched up, eyes narrowing behind his rectangular glasses.

"What's the matter, loser? Never been to the slums before?" Silvia asked mockingly.

"I-I'm a reporter, of course I've been here before." Clark's shoulders tensed at the sudden alarm that pierced the air. Two men ran right passed them, trying to escape the sound. It looked like they had intended to rob someone's house but were startled by the security system. It was rare that anyone in Southside had one. "Doesn't mean I have to like it..."

Silvia thought to chase after them but, technically speaking, they hadn't done anything wrong. She made a mental note to keep a close eye on them. "Let's go." She said, not seeming too surprised at witnessing a crime.

Clark's gaze stayed fixed on her as they started down a particularly narrow alleyway. The path was completely deserted, as expected. It was never safe being outside in the slums, especially not so late in the evening.

After they had passed quite a few abandoned buildings her apartment came into view. An old, rickety building that looked like it could fall apart at any moment. Clark's jaw tensed at the sight. "I couldn't imagine living there." He said lowly.

"Are you insulting my home?" Silvia spoke, smirk hidden behind golden locks.

Clark's gaze flicked over to her apologetically, voice stammering when he tried to speak. "Th-That's your... I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it. Not all of us can get paid for annoying people." Silvia stepped up to the doors and took the shopping bags from Clark's arms. "It's even worse inside, but if you want those idiotic questions answered then you're free to come in."

"I'd love to, Miss-" Clark froze, mouth tightening into a thin line. His forehead wrinkled and his pupils dilated beneath his glasses. "Actually, um... Is it alright if we do this another time?" He suddenly said, voice forced to be calm but she could tell he was in a hurry. This was made even more obvious by the fact that he had started jogging away before she could even give her answer. The man waved, hair jolting with each step that he took before disappearing around the corner.

Silvia blinked, still trying to register how quickly the man had changed his mind. The girl pursed her lips, and with a particularly exasperated sigh, she marched inside of the apartment building. She had finally decided to give the guy a break despite his apparent lack of concern for her personal space, and then he decided to delay it even longer. Silvia had hoped that doing the damn interview would get him to leave her alone, but now even that would have to wait.

Silvia tossed her shopping onto the floor with a growl. That man was probably the most irritating person she had ever met, perhaps even more so than that Boy Scout Superman.

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