-Chapter Seven-

Kal-El?

Clark could feel Xander and Riley watching him as he walked ahead with Buffy; they were looking at him like he was freak. His worst fear, to never be accepted upon, to be looked upon like an outsider, even Buffy's words of encouragement weren't enough as they walked to Buffy's watcher's house. "They don't think you're a freak," Buffy said to him quietly and reassuringly as they walked down Revillo Drive towards Giles' place, somehow their looks were making it hard for Clark to believe what Buffy was saying, it was a mixture of confusion and fear.

"Some how I doubt that," Clark mumbled looking back at Riley and Xander, he could help but hold back a smile as he saw Anya looking clueless.

"What's he smiling about?" Xander asked Riley, not liking that look, what was he planning?

"I don't know," Riley said looking at how closely Clark and Buffy were walking with each other. Was this a punishment? Was she giving pay back for Faith? He asked himself his jealousy bubbling.

"I don't understand why you two are acting so defensive towards him," Anya said bluntly, "Anyone would think you were jealous of him. Though it's kind of easy to understand why I mean look at him..."

Clark's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed as he heard what Anya next said. Buffy knew Clark heard whatever was making Xander go through a jealous rant behind her, mainly because of the redness of his cheeks. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Give them time," she said, "you know it was hard for me to take it all in at first, maybe if you explained everything to them it might make them understand and be less scared of you."

"An all powerful being from another planet and you think they won't be afraid," Clark mumbled sceptically.

"And a girl who is chosen to fight vampires," Buffy replied back, "trust me they've seen a lot more to be scared of than you," she looked at him with a smile, "and besides, with the way you look the only thing, they'll be afraid of is if you steal their girlfriends."

"What?" Clark gasped shocked at the very thought.

Buffy suddenly laughed out loud, "oh god, I think I'm starting to like the new you. You're so.... good."

"Thanks," Clark chuckled, "I kind of like you when your not moody, your kind of fun. Not that I didn't have fun battling demons and vampires and fighting n hell."

"Well I do have my good sides," Buffy said smiling. She grabbed his hand reassuringly stopping him from walking away, "hey, you don't have to tell them everything. You can just tell them the small details but, trust me when I say you can trust them."

Clark nodded.

It didn't take long for them to get to Giles' place, Riley seemed to be a bit cold with Clark all the way there, maybe he had seen Buffy hold his hand, they had been having difficulties. What was it between them? Riley had thought as he saw her hold his hand, why were they so close? Did he know about her? And how come he hadn't heard about him before? As he stood watching Clark walk up to Giles' he wondered if this would make it easier for him to spy on him, the fact that he was jealous, did it make it any cleaner?

Buffy knocked on the door of Giles' apartment. Clark wondered what he would look like, Buffy had just described him as British, wasn't much to go on. He was almost surprised to see the real Giles at the door, a middle-aged man, he expected a stuffy old man. "Buffy?" he said confused looking at Clark equally confused to see a new person within the group. "What are you doing here? Is there..." he looked at Clark gingerly, "something wrong?"

"Giles its okay, he knows," Buffy said shaking her head at Giles' attempt at being aloof, "we got a problem though. Vampire attacked him."

"Oh right, yes come in," Giles said kindly in a stutter kind of way. He stepped out of the way letting them through. Clark smiled sheepishly and thankfully to Giles, Riley, Anya and Riley following them in. "Rupert Giles," Giles said to Clark holding out his hand.

"Clark Kent," Clark said taking his hand and shaking it, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"It's alright, I was actually reading a fascinating journal on the occult," Giles said smiling excitedly at the thought of the book. Buffy thought he looked like a small child at Christmas, it was kind of sad yet funny how he could get so excited over something like that.

"Calm down G-man," Xander smirked, "anyone would think you'd just won a million bucks."

Clark smiled at them as Giles mumbled something under his breath. "Those vampires seemed almost jittery," Clark said, "like they'd been starved."

"And you've had experience with vampires?" Riley said curiously yet still keeping his guard up.

"Only once," Clark replied, "when I first met Buffy."

"Yes, sorry if I seem a little left out in this reunion but when did you and Buffy meet?" Giles asked cleaning his glasses.

"In Metropolis," Clark said.

"It was when I ran away," Buffy said looking away guiltily not able to look at Giles as she remembered how he spent three months searching for her when she had run away. Not that he found her, she didn't want to be found, after Angel and her mother she just wanted to be alone. She didn't want to be a slayer, she didn't even want to be Buffy, when she left Sunnydale she was Anne.

"Thought you lived in Smallville?" Riley said curiously as he wondered why Buffy hadn't told him, she'd run away.

"Well, Buffy wasn't the only runaway," Clark said guiltily as a pang hit his stomach at the havoc he had caused during his time in Metropolis when on red kryptonite. "I was kind of going through a rough patch and well let's just say I wasn't myself when we met."

"You mean tossing vamps like they were nothing is normal for you," Xander said sarcastically.

"Personality wise," Clark said, still not sure how he liked Xander, "and its not like I was attacking them. They attacked me remember?"

"Excuse me, tossing vamps like they were nothing?" Giles repeated curiously.

"We went out to fight some vamps that attacked him outside the bronze, threw them around the alleyway like they were nothing," Xander said, "like he had strength of ten men."

"Not to mention he shot fire out of his ear blowing them up," Riley said.

Clark looked around nervously. "So what are you a demon?" Xander asked curiously, "I mean, you got to much of tan to be a vampire."

"Let's just say I'm not from around here," Clark said.

"Yeah we know," Riley replied raising an eyebrow at his lame excuse that Clark had grown used to using when divulging his secret. "You're from Smallville, we know that, doesn't explain what you are?"

"I'm a man," Clark said defensively, though telling truth he was male, unless there was something about Kryptonian genealogy he didn't know about. His parents had always treated him like he was from Earth and even though he felt like an outsider he was one of them. He was human. In his heart.

"No man can do what you do," Xander scoffed.

"Clark," Buffy groaned exasperated with Clarks defensiveness and Riley and Xander's obvious distrust of him. Why didn't they trust him? Well she knew why Xander didn't, but what was up with Riley? He had been funny with Clark since they had left the Bronze, even before that. Was he jealous? Did she want him to be jealous she asked herself as a funny feeling hit her stomach. "Just tell them. It'll be okay."

Clark paused nodding an okay to Buffy. "I'm not from this planet," Clark said, "I wasn't born anywhere near this galaxy. I'm an alien."

"An alien?" Riley repeated sceptically.

"You don't look like an alien," Anya said looking him over almost hungrily. "You're too fleshy and muscly."

"I know," Clark said, "I was raised by humans."

"He's good Riley," Buffy said defensively, "He saved my life and helped me save others before."

Riley looked at her closely seeing her conviction. He loved it when she was like this. It made him remember why he liked her, she always could stand by what she believed. "Okay," Riley said, "sorry I doubted you Clark."

"Though, you can't blame us CK," Xander shrugged apologetically following Riley's lead, "besides, you know I never gave you a fair chance. Let's start over," he said returning to his usual cheerful self pushing out his hand to Clark, "Xander Harris, and you are?"

"Kal-El," came Giles' voice from behind Clark. It made Clark freeze his eyes almost falling out his head as he heard that name. He turned around slowly the colour drained from his face as sees Giles look at him awe. He smiled brightly and unsure, "is it you?"