Listening- By HuffyTheCampfireSlayer
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the WB Smallville characters (though I wish I did!). But I do own the two new characters in this story.
Part One
Peter Ross and Chloe Sullivan knocked on the door of a house on the outskirts of Smallville.
"When did Clark say he'd be here?" asked Chloe.
"I think he said 9 'o' clock." Pete replied. "But don't hold your breath. It's his loss though. It looks like he might miss one heck of a party."
"What are you talking about? This party will be rocking until the early hours of the morning!" joked Chloe.
"I just mean he hasn't been Mr. Reliable recently."
"I know. What's up with that?" Chloe said confused.
Before Pete could say something in reply the door opened.
"Hey guys! Come on in and join the party." said a well-built guy, with spiky bleached blond hair. "You're Pete Ross right? You're on the football team."
"Well... I warm the bench." offered Pete feebly.
"No that's cool. Ready to step in at anytime." He turned to look at Chloe. Eyeing her up and down. "And you are Chloe Sullivan, the editor of the school paper and the yearbook."
Chloe smiled at him. "Yes I am. It's nice to find a guy who knows your last name." She blushed.
"Wow! You must have done something right dude!" said Pete. "She usually insults a guy the second she meets him."
Chloe elbowed him roughly.
"Hey Ross man! You're here! Heads up!" A nearby jock yelled, throughing him a can of beer.
Pete caught it. He looked at Chloe.
"You be ok if I go join the guys?" he asked, recalling the last time she was alone with a guy, Sean Kelvin.
"I'll be fine." she said, taking the can of beer away from him. "Have fun!"
She placed the beer on the windowsill.
"So do you want a drink?" asked the blond guy. "There's soda and juice in the kitchen."
"Sure," Chloe agreed.
"I'm Kaniel by the way. My friends usually call me Spike. You know, because of the hair. And plus 'Kaniel'?! I don't know what my parents were thinking!"
"Right. You're in the drama club." said Chloe, remembering the last school play. A smile crept up on to her face. It had been a unique event to say the least.
"So when will the Torch be reviewing any of our plays?" he joked.
Chloe smiled at him, then she started to frown. Realising he wanted an honest answer. "Well to be honest it's not really my sort of thing..."
* * * * *
Samantha slipped out of the back door. She doubted anyone would miss her. After all she was just another face in the crowd. She lent against the wall of the house and sighed.
"Hey Sister! You look troubled." said a guy, from the shadows.
He was smoking. She could see the glow of the end of the cigarette.
"I'm ok. It's just a bit loud in there." she explained.
"You need to chill!" said the guy. He cursed under his breath as he dropped a metal tin. The contents scattered over the ground. "Oh no!" He said, frantically scooping up the contents of the tin and a lot of soil at the same time.
"What is that?" Samantha asked curiously.
"Just a bit of homegrown wisdom." he said.
He started to roll another joint.
(We see a close up of the guy putting the soil and marijuana mix on top of the tabbaco. There are little green crystals, from the meteor shower in it...)
A blonde haired girl poked her head out of the door.
"Jason come on! It's my favourite song." she called.
"Yeah ok. Keep your hair on! I'll be in a minute." he stubbed out his cigarette and handed Samantha the joint he'd just rolled.
"Knock yourself out."
"But... I... You... You left your stuff!"
It was too late. He'd already gone inside. She stared at the joint for a moment. It seemed to be begging her to smoke it. She'd never in her life thought about using drugs.
She shrugged.
'Like my life could get any worse!' she thought.
With trembling hands she picked up the lighter. It took her three attempts to light it. She stared at it for a moment, inhaling its aroma. She could still back out of this.
Her hand shook as she took a deep drag on the handrolled cigarette. She coughed vigorously. The smoke felt as if it had torn her lungs out! But she still took another drag. It was better this time, though she still choked a little. Suddenly she felt a rush of energy shoot though her body. It was so powerful! Why hadn't she tried this before? She carried on smoking the joint. Enjoying the effects it was having on her. She giggled to herself. This was the most fun she'd ever had.
* * * * *
Music thumped loudly out of the speakers in one of the rooms of the house. Someone had brought mixing desks and was playing club music that had a headache-inducing beat.
"How about we go outside? It's too loud to talk in here!" yelled Spike to Chloe over the noise.
"Ok." she agreed.
He led her though the cramped living room, into the kitchen and to the back door.
"After you." he said, opening the door.
Chloe stepped out into the garden with Spike. She smelt smoke in the air. She turned around and saw Samantha.
"What do you think you are doing!" yelled Chloe at her. "Don't you know drugs are dangerous!"
The girl giggled insanely at this.
"So?" She retorted. She raised her cigarette again.
Chloe grabbed it out of her hand, threw it to the ground and stomped on in.
"I think you'd better go. Don't you?" She said, narrowing her eyes at her.
"Whatever. Just take a chill pill!" commented Samantha as she went back inside the house.
"I'm sorry Chloe. I didn't know there people were doing drugs here." apologised Spike, geniunely shocked by the girls behaviour.
"It's not your fault. Besides I've seen it before. In Metropolis..." she faultered off. Chloe felt a few pangs of sorrow as she thought back to her old life in Metropolis.
"...Anyways, I wanted to ask you something." he said, coyly, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah?" questioned Chloe with a grin.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime, you know, for coffee, or a movie. Or something."
Chloe frowned, recalling her last date, when Sean had tried to suck the heat out of her. She remembered joking to Clark that the next guy she dated she'd do a background check on.
'Still, Spike isn't Sean, and I guess I could do a lot worse... What the heck!'
"Sure Spike. I'd love to." She replied.
"Is tomorrow good for you? About 7?"
"I could make time." she teased.
"That's great. Do you want me to pick you up?"
'He's so sweet!' thought Chloe as she smiled again.
"Thank you. That would be nice." She looked back at the house. "We should go back inside. It's cold out here."
"You're right." He agreed, he kissed her on the cheek and drapped his coat around her shoulders. "Come on."
* * * * *
Clark stood outside the house. He glanced at his watch. 8:58 pm. He was on time. For once. He hesistated. He hadn't been to many parties before. Smallville just wasn't renouned for them. What did you do at this point? Should he knock, or just let himself in? The party sounded loud. He doubted anyone would hear him. So he decided to let himself in.
He glanced around the room, searching for a familiar face. There were so many people here! His hopes of finding Pete and Chloe were slim.
"Clark, you made it!" called Pete, walking up to him.
"You sound surprised Pete." Clark replied with a sudden boyish grin.
"Yeah well you've kinda been..."
"It's ok." said Clark. "I was joking. Where's Chloe?"
"I don't know. She went off with this guy almost as soon as we came in."
"That's not like her." commented Clark, with a frown.
"I know." said Pete, still a little in shock. "I don't know what happened really."
"Are you guys talking about me?" said Chloe, bouncing up to them. "Guess who has a date tomorrow?"
"Well, it's not me and it's not Pete, so that just leaves you." deduced Clark, mockingly. "Unless Pete's not telling me something."
"So it's with the drama club dude right?" Pete asked.
"Yes it is. Kaniel and I are going for Coffee."
"Kaniel? I thought his name began with S." said Clark, puzzled.
"It's Spike to his friends." Chloe informed them. "Because of his hair."
"So when are we going to be introduced?" smiled Clark, enjoying this happy vibrant Chloe.
"Oh in a minute. He just went to get drinks. And he's back." She waved at a blond haired guy carrying two cans of soda.
He made his way over to them.
"Here you go Chloe. Hi Pete!"
"Hey Spike," waved Pete in return.
"Oh Spike! This is my friend Clark Kent. Clark, this is Spike..." she frowned realising she didn't know his last name.
"Spike Roberts. Glad to finally meet you. Chloe's said a lot about you."
They shook hands.
Clark looked him straight in the eyes. He wasn't sure if he liked this guy. There was something about him he could quite put his finger on. Maybe he was just being protective of Chloe, after her last date. Spike broke off their eye contact.
"Come on Pete. Let's go find a drink." said Clark, feeling jealousy start to rise from the pit of his stomach. Why was he jealous of Chloe? She was just a friend. Yet he didn't want to be around Spike for a second longer than he had to.
To be continued...
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the WB Smallville characters (though I wish I did!). But I do own the two new characters in this story.
Part One
Peter Ross and Chloe Sullivan knocked on the door of a house on the outskirts of Smallville.
"When did Clark say he'd be here?" asked Chloe.
"I think he said 9 'o' clock." Pete replied. "But don't hold your breath. It's his loss though. It looks like he might miss one heck of a party."
"What are you talking about? This party will be rocking until the early hours of the morning!" joked Chloe.
"I just mean he hasn't been Mr. Reliable recently."
"I know. What's up with that?" Chloe said confused.
Before Pete could say something in reply the door opened.
"Hey guys! Come on in and join the party." said a well-built guy, with spiky bleached blond hair. "You're Pete Ross right? You're on the football team."
"Well... I warm the bench." offered Pete feebly.
"No that's cool. Ready to step in at anytime." He turned to look at Chloe. Eyeing her up and down. "And you are Chloe Sullivan, the editor of the school paper and the yearbook."
Chloe smiled at him. "Yes I am. It's nice to find a guy who knows your last name." She blushed.
"Wow! You must have done something right dude!" said Pete. "She usually insults a guy the second she meets him."
Chloe elbowed him roughly.
"Hey Ross man! You're here! Heads up!" A nearby jock yelled, throughing him a can of beer.
Pete caught it. He looked at Chloe.
"You be ok if I go join the guys?" he asked, recalling the last time she was alone with a guy, Sean Kelvin.
"I'll be fine." she said, taking the can of beer away from him. "Have fun!"
She placed the beer on the windowsill.
"So do you want a drink?" asked the blond guy. "There's soda and juice in the kitchen."
"Sure," Chloe agreed.
"I'm Kaniel by the way. My friends usually call me Spike. You know, because of the hair. And plus 'Kaniel'?! I don't know what my parents were thinking!"
"Right. You're in the drama club." said Chloe, remembering the last school play. A smile crept up on to her face. It had been a unique event to say the least.
"So when will the Torch be reviewing any of our plays?" he joked.
Chloe smiled at him, then she started to frown. Realising he wanted an honest answer. "Well to be honest it's not really my sort of thing..."
* * * * *
Samantha slipped out of the back door. She doubted anyone would miss her. After all she was just another face in the crowd. She lent against the wall of the house and sighed.
"Hey Sister! You look troubled." said a guy, from the shadows.
He was smoking. She could see the glow of the end of the cigarette.
"I'm ok. It's just a bit loud in there." she explained.
"You need to chill!" said the guy. He cursed under his breath as he dropped a metal tin. The contents scattered over the ground. "Oh no!" He said, frantically scooping up the contents of the tin and a lot of soil at the same time.
"What is that?" Samantha asked curiously.
"Just a bit of homegrown wisdom." he said.
He started to roll another joint.
(We see a close up of the guy putting the soil and marijuana mix on top of the tabbaco. There are little green crystals, from the meteor shower in it...)
A blonde haired girl poked her head out of the door.
"Jason come on! It's my favourite song." she called.
"Yeah ok. Keep your hair on! I'll be in a minute." he stubbed out his cigarette and handed Samantha the joint he'd just rolled.
"Knock yourself out."
"But... I... You... You left your stuff!"
It was too late. He'd already gone inside. She stared at the joint for a moment. It seemed to be begging her to smoke it. She'd never in her life thought about using drugs.
She shrugged.
'Like my life could get any worse!' she thought.
With trembling hands she picked up the lighter. It took her three attempts to light it. She stared at it for a moment, inhaling its aroma. She could still back out of this.
Her hand shook as she took a deep drag on the handrolled cigarette. She coughed vigorously. The smoke felt as if it had torn her lungs out! But she still took another drag. It was better this time, though she still choked a little. Suddenly she felt a rush of energy shoot though her body. It was so powerful! Why hadn't she tried this before? She carried on smoking the joint. Enjoying the effects it was having on her. She giggled to herself. This was the most fun she'd ever had.
* * * * *
Music thumped loudly out of the speakers in one of the rooms of the house. Someone had brought mixing desks and was playing club music that had a headache-inducing beat.
"How about we go outside? It's too loud to talk in here!" yelled Spike to Chloe over the noise.
"Ok." she agreed.
He led her though the cramped living room, into the kitchen and to the back door.
"After you." he said, opening the door.
Chloe stepped out into the garden with Spike. She smelt smoke in the air. She turned around and saw Samantha.
"What do you think you are doing!" yelled Chloe at her. "Don't you know drugs are dangerous!"
The girl giggled insanely at this.
"So?" She retorted. She raised her cigarette again.
Chloe grabbed it out of her hand, threw it to the ground and stomped on in.
"I think you'd better go. Don't you?" She said, narrowing her eyes at her.
"Whatever. Just take a chill pill!" commented Samantha as she went back inside the house.
"I'm sorry Chloe. I didn't know there people were doing drugs here." apologised Spike, geniunely shocked by the girls behaviour.
"It's not your fault. Besides I've seen it before. In Metropolis..." she faultered off. Chloe felt a few pangs of sorrow as she thought back to her old life in Metropolis.
"...Anyways, I wanted to ask you something." he said, coyly, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah?" questioned Chloe with a grin.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime, you know, for coffee, or a movie. Or something."
Chloe frowned, recalling her last date, when Sean had tried to suck the heat out of her. She remembered joking to Clark that the next guy she dated she'd do a background check on.
'Still, Spike isn't Sean, and I guess I could do a lot worse... What the heck!'
"Sure Spike. I'd love to." She replied.
"Is tomorrow good for you? About 7?"
"I could make time." she teased.
"That's great. Do you want me to pick you up?"
'He's so sweet!' thought Chloe as she smiled again.
"Thank you. That would be nice." She looked back at the house. "We should go back inside. It's cold out here."
"You're right." He agreed, he kissed her on the cheek and drapped his coat around her shoulders. "Come on."
* * * * *
Clark stood outside the house. He glanced at his watch. 8:58 pm. He was on time. For once. He hesistated. He hadn't been to many parties before. Smallville just wasn't renouned for them. What did you do at this point? Should he knock, or just let himself in? The party sounded loud. He doubted anyone would hear him. So he decided to let himself in.
He glanced around the room, searching for a familiar face. There were so many people here! His hopes of finding Pete and Chloe were slim.
"Clark, you made it!" called Pete, walking up to him.
"You sound surprised Pete." Clark replied with a sudden boyish grin.
"Yeah well you've kinda been..."
"It's ok." said Clark. "I was joking. Where's Chloe?"
"I don't know. She went off with this guy almost as soon as we came in."
"That's not like her." commented Clark, with a frown.
"I know." said Pete, still a little in shock. "I don't know what happened really."
"Are you guys talking about me?" said Chloe, bouncing up to them. "Guess who has a date tomorrow?"
"Well, it's not me and it's not Pete, so that just leaves you." deduced Clark, mockingly. "Unless Pete's not telling me something."
"So it's with the drama club dude right?" Pete asked.
"Yes it is. Kaniel and I are going for Coffee."
"Kaniel? I thought his name began with S." said Clark, puzzled.
"It's Spike to his friends." Chloe informed them. "Because of his hair."
"So when are we going to be introduced?" smiled Clark, enjoying this happy vibrant Chloe.
"Oh in a minute. He just went to get drinks. And he's back." She waved at a blond haired guy carrying two cans of soda.
He made his way over to them.
"Here you go Chloe. Hi Pete!"
"Hey Spike," waved Pete in return.
"Oh Spike! This is my friend Clark Kent. Clark, this is Spike..." she frowned realising she didn't know his last name.
"Spike Roberts. Glad to finally meet you. Chloe's said a lot about you."
They shook hands.
Clark looked him straight in the eyes. He wasn't sure if he liked this guy. There was something about him he could quite put his finger on. Maybe he was just being protective of Chloe, after her last date. Spike broke off their eye contact.
"Come on Pete. Let's go find a drink." said Clark, feeling jealousy start to rise from the pit of his stomach. Why was he jealous of Chloe? She was just a friend. Yet he didn't want to be around Spike for a second longer than he had to.
To be continued...