A/N: Thank you to JesiLea and LegendsOfTime for the reviews on the last chapter. It was the hardest one to write so far so I really appreciate the feedback and am glad that you liked it.
Thank you also to the new followers and the people who have added this to their favourites. The support is really appreciated. Its going to be a long ride but all these extra bits will tie in to future events.
Chapter 17: Party Plans
Wednesday night had been… unexpectedly eye-opening.
Other than that, Clark had no idea what it was. He had awoken the next morning to find himself alone in the bed, questioning whether the entire thing had been a dream. He almost convinced himself that it had been until he realised that the four pillows he pushed to the other side of the bed - because who need six? - had been disturbed. No, it hadn't been a dream.
But Jackson had gone. Not just from the room but from the entire house over an hour earlier than he needed to for him to get to school on time. He had told his mom that he had a swim practice. that morning. Clark knew otherwise. Swim practice was Friday mornings, not Thursdays. Clark had learned that when Jackson had tried to convince him to join the swim team. The early morning meets, on a Friday no less, had put Clark off more than the fact that he was a terrible swimmer. Jackson had lied. Why? Clark had no idea but he had set off for school early determined to find out.
That ended up being a total write-off.
In fact, the whole of Thursday had been a total write-off.
His arrival at the school had been met by one of the sheriff's deputies and his social worker. At least it had gotten off school for another day.
But that was how Clark's Friday morning started off in the McCall's guest room, groaning as he was woken by bright sunlight breaking into the room four whole minutes before his alarm was due to go off. Apparently, a fire-damaged shell of a house was not a 'safe and nurturing' home environment. Living with the McCall's had suddenly started looking a lot more long-term. On the plus side, Clark reasoned as he climbed out of bed, he didn't have to deal with Derek every day.
Clark pushed Derek out of his head as he shifted through the few outfits he had at the McCall's and picked out some black jeans and a red plaid shirt. His second attempt to return to his 'normal' school life would be a Derek-free day. His mind was too preoccupied with whatever it was with Jackson to think about the whole Derek fiasco.
Clark sighed as he studied himself in the mirror which hung off-centre on the wall. No werewolf business. No weird ghost stuff. He just wanted one day where he could focus on whatever had happened on Wednesday night. "Is that too much to ask?" Clark caught himself talking to his reflection in the mirror.
-TW:H-
The walk from Scott's house to the high school was not as long as the one from his childhood home but Clark still would rather have been able to drive it instead. Something told him, however, that he would not be getting a car anytime soon. Operation 'Get-Derek-to-Buy-Me-a-Car-For-My-Birthday' had recently hit a wall.
Walking past the high school parking lot, Clark caught sight of Jackson's sleek black truck taking centre-stage in the middle of the lot. He had evidently made the rare decision to choose his truck over his Porsche as his method of transport for the day. Clark scoffed and gave a small shake of his head. Who needed two cars? He wondered whether he could convince Jackson to give him the keys to the truck for his birthday. After all, it wasn't just his birthday. No. He shook his head to push the thought away. That was far too presumptuous.
Clark entered the school building, on auto-pilot mode as he made his way to his locker. It was there that his eyes landed on Jackson for the first time since Wednesday night. He was leaning casually against Kyle's locker surrounded by their usual herd of friends.
Clark ran a hand through his hair; a simple action but one that had caused his mind to race when Jackson had started doing it that night. He'd immediately felt a lot more relaxed, Jackson's tentative fingers running through his hair was surprisingly reassuring. Fuelled by sleep-deprived confidence, Clark had made his move, shifting closer to the other teenager, snuggling up against his warm body and resting his head on Jackson's chest. Looking back, Clark would have fully expected Jackson to shove him off. A smile crept on to his face as he realised that even though he didn't know what Wednesday night had been, it had been something.
His eyes met Jackson's blue ones and his smile grew. The books in his locker could wait Clark decided as he took a step towards the group of friends. Jackson didn't share Clark's smile as his blue eyes were cold and distant before he broke eye-contact. A small frown flickered onto Clark's face as his smile disappeared. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting but that wasn't it.
Danny's brown eyes met Clark's as he continued his approach to his friends, nonetheless. They were warmer than Jackson's, giving Clark a friendlier vibe. Danny said something, though Clark couldn't hear what. The general chattering of the other students that filled the hallway preventing Clark from catching his words. He was still too far away.
Whatever Danny said must have been about him for Jamie did a double-take over his shoulder. Jamie's bright blue eyes matched Danny's in warmth, a stark contrast to Jackson's. A huge grin was plastered over Jamie's face as he waved and called out, "Hey! Clark!" Jamie enthusiastically beckoned him over and even went as far as to shove Kyle so there was room for Clark to stand right next to him. "I'm so glad you're back. Jackson was extra moody yesterday!" The guy had no filter.
Clark sent a questioning look in Jackson's direction but he was too busy sending a sharp glare in Jamie's direction. Jamie wasn't fazed at all, evidently used to being on the receiving end of such glares.
"You sure you're ready to be back in school?" Danny asked, his concerned gaze fixed on Clark.
"This keeps me distracted. Distractions are good," Clark shrugged in response, eager to move away from the topic of Laura's death that Danny was referring to. Distractions didn't work when people talked about it. He received doubtful looks from Danny and Kyle whilst Jamie looked totally oblivious to the cause of their concern and Jackson busied himself with inspecting the floor. "Trust me. I've had plenty of experience with grief," he shot at them bitterly.
Kyle raised his eyebrows. He didn't look at all convinced but he didn't argue. "I think we all need a good party," he commented lightly.
Clark glanced at Jackson to gauge his reaction to Kyle's comment. He hadn't heard the guy say anything since he joined them. It wasn't like him. Clark caught Jackson watching him absent-mindedly, not appearing to pay attention the conversation going on around him. Jamie was enthusiastically agreeing with Kyle's comment as Danny let out a light chuckle.
Jackson hurriedly averted his gaze when he realised Clark was looking at him, taking a sudden interest in a nearby flyer about the winter formal. That thing was almost a month away. It was the least of Clark's worries.
"Did I hear someone say party?" Lydia joined the conversation, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. It was almost like she heard the word 'party' and dropped everything. Jackson appeared to visibly relax upon Lydia's arrival. He wasted no time in pulling her close to him and greeting her with a kiss.
Disappointment instantly soared over Clark as he felt his heart sink. It was his turn to inspect the floor, feeling stupid as he glared at the scuffed off-white vinyl tiles that lined the corridor. Wednesday night had been nothing. He'd read too far into it. Dared for something good to come out of his move to Beacon Hills because his life was completely falling apart in the twelve days since his return.
The sense of eyes boring into him was the feeling which eventually got Clark to look back up. Jackson and Lydia had separated, somewhat at least. They were stood side by side and Jackson had his arm wrapped around her waist. The eyes boring into him had been Jackson's and there was a thunderous look plastered over his face clearly intended to silence him. That's when it hit him; Jackson had left over an hour early for school on Thursday morning to avoid him.
"I do know of one guy who is hosting a party tonight," Kyle told them as Clark's attention was drawn back to the conversation happening around them. Jackson's gaze had finally left him and moved to Kyle to focus on the conversation himself. "But it's a definite no-go."
"How's a party a no-go?" Clark forced himself to join in with the conversation and ignore the millions of thoughts and feelings soaring through him at the moment. Distractions. He reminded himself.
"It's a birthday party," Kyle explained further, earning himself blank looks from the three boys and Lydia. "Hunter Lopez's birthday party." The clarification earned Kyle mumbles of agreement from everyone except Clark who still had the same confused expression.
Clark was lost, "Who's Hunter Lopez?"
Jamie gaped at him. Totally unhelpful.
"He's the quarterback of the school's football team," Lydia started filling him in. She seemed to know everything about everyone. "He transferred here right at the start of the school year because of his parent's jobs. He's good, from what I've heard. But, as you know, Beacon County is one of the few places that doesn't go totally crazy over football."
"The guy's an asshole," Jamie took over. "He got on the football team easy 'cause no one cares about that. He starts acting like he runs the school just 'cause he made quarterback. Oh, his face when he found out football wasn't the thing around here…" Jamie laughed at the memory whilst Jackson scoffed as he thought back. "Mate, you should have seen it," Jamie told Clark in between laughs.
"Everyone knows Jackson is the one around here," Lydia stated matter-of-factly.
"Hunter's desperate to change things though," Kyle added.
"Yeah, the guy's built up his own little army," Jamie said with a laugh. Everyone else looked amused as well, as far as Clark could tell. Even with a so-called 'army', they didn't seem fazed by Hunter. "Turned all the players on the football team against the players on our team. He's constantly trying to pick fights with some of the guys on the team."
"Basically, Hunter is a tool," Kyle concluded. "And we're not going to any party he throws. Let alone his birthday party."
-TW:H-
When he used to attend high school in New York, Clark would spend his free periods socialising and having fun with friends. Ever since transferring to Beacon Hills and his life being plunged into chaos, Clark had to resort to spending his free periods in the library, failing to catch up on mountains of work.
He stared at the chemistry book open on the table in front of him as if it were written in a different language. He never thought he could hate a subject as much as he hated Math but Harris' monotone teaching had put Chemistry right up there with Math. It was also obvious that he was under the suspicious watch of the librarian which was not helping his concentration.
"Is it bad that I'm actually quite enjoying seeing you completely stumped by something?"
He recognised the amused voice but it was definitely not one he had expected to hear in the middle of the library during one of his free periods. His frown deepened further as Clark looked up at Mr Kenneth. Didn't he have papers to mark if he wasn't teaching a class?
The young teacher stuck his hands into his trouser pockets. "It's actually refreshing to see you not know an answer," Kenneth admitted casually. The spurt of information that Clark had demonstrated during their first history lesson together had not been a fluke. The teenager was a budding historian in the making and it had only drawn Kenneth more to the new student.
"It's actually a common sight outside a history classroom," Clark informed him with a shrug as he absent-mindedly twirled the pen in his hand.
"Now I know that isn't true," Mr Kenneth countered immediately. "Ms Morrell tells me you're well acquainted with the French language."
"I know the basics," Clark responded modestly as he eyed the teacher carefully. The historian was giving off no clues as to his motive for randomly striking up a conversation with him in the middle of the library. Despite his efforts, Kenneth was unreadable and that unnerved Clark.
"You know," Kenneth continued, taking the seat across from Clark and getting himself comfortable. His casual actions almost made it seem like they were two people catching up over coffee in a café. It was very strange. "I've had a few interesting conversations with Ms Morrell about you, Clark."
"It's great to know you're talking about me when I'm not there," Clark commented sarcastically, his eyes awkwardly dropping to his open chemistry book. Suddenly its contents seemed a lot more inviting.
"She told me you only went for one session with her," Kenneth informed him and Clark looked back up when his teacher had continued to speak. "Given more recent events, perhaps it's worth giving her another shot?"
"I'm fine," Clark insisted. His 'use school as a distraction' technique wasn't really working when it was all people kept talking to him about.
Kenneth let out a light sigh, clearly not convinced. "I get it, Clark. You want to push it out of your mind, run from it and act like nothing's happened. Because it's easier that way. Because you don't have to face the truth and drown in a wave of grief, guilt and 'what-ifs'." Kenneth spoke with a slight frown on his face; his dark brown eyes were distant, looking up to his left.
There was a pause during which Clark didn't know how to respond so he stayed quiet, studying the man in front of him. The smallest flicker of remorse crossed the teacher's typically unreadable expression before his eyes met Clark's. There was something about the man's eyes which drew Clark in. The man in front of him was young and still retained many youthful facial features and his trademark boyish smile which made many of the girls in Clark's history class melt instantaneously.
But there was something about his eyes which didn't match his youthful appearance.
They were heavy with a general tiredness which created a stark contrast to his smiley, lively teaching methods which grasped the attention of the majority of the class. Though Clark was fairly sure the guy's appearance alone contributed a lot to that. Mr Kenneth was hard to read but from his eyes, Clark felt he was burdened by something.
"But that's a short-term solution," Kenneth suddenly continued to talk, pulling Clark out of his thoughts. "If you let it all build up inside you, you're eventually going to explode. Trust me, Clark. Talking helps. It might not seem like it right now but it does." And then Kenneth smiled. It wasn't his trademark boyish smile but it felt more genuine. It was small and pained but Clark felt it.
"I don't know…" Clark trailed off hesitantly. The new side to his history teacher had confused him and he was struggling to think properly.
Kenneth placed his hands on the table in front of him and pushed himself up to a standing position. "There's no rush. Take your time. Think on it. But I do hope you take my advice," Kenneth told him before he turned and walked away, heading for the door which led out of the library.
Clark stared after him completely perplexed by his own observations throughout the conversation. He had no time to try and figure anything out for a loud bang to his side made him jump. Startled, his head spun around and he relaxed when he saw Jamie. The economics textbook that had appeared on the table was clearly the source of the loud noise. Jamie received glares from both Clark and the librarian for his actions.
Jamie took a seat next to Clark. "What was that about?" He questioned with a short nod in the direction of the door. He had obviously seen Mr Kenneth leaving as he'd approached.
"Just history stuff," Clark shrugged, pulling his chemistry textbook closer as he tried to return his focus to the notes he'd been attempting to make.
Jamie stared at him with a dubious look. Clark tried to ignore it and focus on his notes but it was off-putting and unnerving. He sighed, dropped the pen onto his notepad and turned to Jamie defeatedly. "Alright!" Clark caved easily. He really needed to work on that. "He was just checking on my well-being; trying to convince me to take up Ms Morrell's counselling sessions again."
"That guy is officially creepy," Jamie stated.
Clark let out a laugh. "Right, sure," he responded sarcastically with an amused shake of his head.
"I'm serious, mate," Jamie insisted. His usual enthusiastic tone was non-existent and there was a look of concern on his face. "That guy is way too invested in you."
Clark couldn't take him seriously, "Do you ever stop spouting nonsense?"
"Clark. He was the one who first convinced you to see a counsellor. You told me he was waiting outside to check on how your first session went. He's checking up on you now and trying to convince you to go again," Jamie defended his argument.
"That's part of his job. Teachers don't just teach," Clark countered.
"But he actively tracked you down today, Clark! That's weird," Jamie wasn't planning on backing down any time soon. He didn't trust Mr Kenneth at all. "I haven't even mentioned the fact that he would let you get away with murder!"
Clark sighed, tiredly rubbing his temple as he reluctantly asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Our first history lesson after the winter break - your first history lesson with him," Jamie continued with determination. "You were a total smart-ass, you disrupted the class and you showed him up. You got away with it completely. The next day, you ran out of the class, disrupting it for a second time and you got away with it. And this Monday! It was evident you left Allison to do all the work on your history project and you got away with it!"
"You're reading far too much into this," Clark replied dismissively. He also made a mental note to ensure he never told Jamie that Mr Kenneth had been the one who had convinced him to return to the game and support the team on Wednesday night. Jamie and his crazy wild theories would have a field day with that one!
"I don't trust him, Clark. It's like he's fixated on you," Jamie maintained, his voice low and hushed like he was afraid Kenneth was going to turn up out of nowhere and hear him. "What if he's a murderer? You might be a target he's stalking."
Clark stared at him in utter disbelief, almost rendered speechless. "Man, you watch far too much TV."
Jamie opened his mouth, intending to argue but his light blue eyes darkened as he looked past Clark and he clamped his jaw shut. Clark glanced over his shoulder, intrigued to see who had received such a reaction from Jamie. Stood behind him, shifting his weight awkwardly from foot to foot was Jake; his dirty blonde hair falling over his forehead.
Despite only knowing Jamie for twelve days, the two boys had become pretty close quite quickly. Clark put it down to the fact that he was willing to put up with more from Jamie than the rest of the guys though he was slowly growing less patient. Regardless, Clark had observed that Jamie had become somewhat protective and wasn't surprised by the cold greeting he was giving the boy who had taken his place on the lacrosse team.
"Err… hi," Jake greeted awkwardly with a half-hearted wave before using his hand to push his hair off his forehead and into its usual messy quiff. Clark followed Jake's eyes to the copy of Jekyll and Hyde that Clark had out on the table. The first half of Clark's free period had been especially productive - it was funny what he could get done without all the interruptions. He'd managed to complete the English essay assignment on said book with his time. Yet to order his own copy, Clark had resorted to borrowing the library's one to complete the assignment. Jake pointed to the book. "Is that the library's copy? I don't suppose you're finished with it? I kind of lost mine and need to get that assignment done."
Clark glanced at the book which rested on top of his completed English assignment. Jake didn't have to know that he'd finished it though. "Actually, I'm still using it. Maybe you should try again tomorrow," he lied. It may have been petty and awkward but Clark didn't care. He was still pissed off that the guy had taken his place on the team. Jake sighed in defeat but didn't argue, trudging away without another word.
Clark shifted back round in his seat to find Jamie smirking at him, holding up Clark's completed Jekyll and Hyde assignment in his hand. "Still using it?" Jamie chuckled. Luckily for Clark, Jamie was the type of person who got distracted really easily. Jake's interruption had made him completely forget about his Kenneth suspicions.
Clark shrugged innocently, "Teacher's are always going on about proof-reading."
His assignment was dismissively thrown back down onto the table as Jamie glanced in Jake's direction. The retreating boy had decided to tackle one of his other pieces of work instead at a table on the other side of the library. "So what's your plan?" Jamie asked.
"Plan?"
"Yeah. To get your spot on first line back from Miller," Jamie expanded whilst doing his best attempt at a discreet nod in Jake's direction. "You must have a plan."
"Not really," Clark responded. It was a lie. He knew exactly how he was going to get his spot back from Jake but he couldn't be doing with all Jamie's questions. All he had to do was prove to Coach that he could do everything that Scott could do in some subtle way that wouldn't attract him the scrutiny that Scott was under from Jackson. Easier said than done. "But I am getting back on that team."
-TW:H-
Math had never been Clark's forte. Since transferring to Beacon Hills High School and landing himself a teacher with the most monotone of monotone voices ever who tended to drone on and on, things had taken a turn for the worse. If Clark thought his Math grades were bad before, he was not looking forward to seeing how things went.
His teacher fuelled no enthusiasm in Clark toward the subject and the only way he could make it through the lessons was by taking a bathroom break halfway through. His teacher had yet to clock on to his pattern. It was definitely saying something when Clark would look forward to spending a few minutes in the dingy, stinking boys' toilets just to get out of Math for a bit.
Clark spent his mid-Math break leaning against the wall and checking through his phone. He had to be careful though because he had a habit of getting too drawn in and losing track of time.
"Still hate Math? Nothing changes there then."
Clark looked up in surprise when he heard Cora's voice, pocketing his phone immediately when he confirmed it was her. He had convinced himself that Jamie's theory was crazy and that Ms Morrell's had made sense. He assumed he hadn't heard from Cora because he'd moved past the overwhelming sensation of returning to the place his family had died. He frowned; was Cora's presence a result of him trying to process Laura's death or was Jamie right?
"You're back!" He commented in surprise.
Cora nodded, "Yep."
"So how does this work for you? Where have you been the last few days? Does the time pass instantaneously for you or do you… go somewhere?" Clark suddenly had a rush of questions flood into his brain and he bombarded her with them.
"Time's weird," Cora admitted slowly and she appeared to be contemplating how much to tell him. "There's nothing in between these conversations with you. It's just… darkness."
"Do you see anyone else?" Clark asked, willing to investigate Jamie's theory. If she was a ghost, there was a chance she could see and talk to other ghosts. Like Laura.
Cora shot him a look. The same one she used to give him when he stumbled over math problems as a child. The one that said 'you should know the answer'. When Clark didn't realise his mistake Cora answered, "Darkness, Clark."
"Right," Clark chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Of course. "Well, do you hear anyone?" He rephrased.
Cora pursed her lips. She was thinking about it. Clark wasn't sure why; it was a simple yes or no question. "Not exactly. There's nothing. But sometimes I get these snippets of conversations that you're having. I can't see you but I can hear you. And sometimes I really want to intervene - like when you and Derek were arguing but I can't. There's this barrier, holding me back."
Clark gaped at her, "That sounds horrible."
"It's definitely not fun. It's like when you're little and watching all the older kids having fun but they say your too little to join in," Cora explained. Clark knew exactly what she meant. With six years between them and Derek, and an eight year gap with Laura, they'd often been left to watch as their older siblings got to do fun and exciting things. Cora sighed, "I miss having fun."
"Trust me. There's been very little fun around here recently," Clark retorted bitterly.
"Then do something about it! Throw a party! They're fun!" Cora encouraged with a wide grin, her brown eyes lighting up at the idea.
Clark shook his head, "I'm really not in the partying mood, Cora."
"Hmmph. You always were boring," Cora folded her arms with emphasis, her tone and actions both striking Clark as extremely childish.
"Laura died, Cora. I'm not going to throw a party," Clark growled in frustration.
Cora wasn't fazed by the irritation in his tone. She met his eyes; strong, confident and determined, "You wanted a distraction."
"It's not right, Cora," Clark sighed. As much as he wanted to distract himself and give off the impression that he was fine, he couldn't throw a party so soon after finding out about her death. "She was torn in half. She was murdered. And Derek just tossed what he could find of her in some makeshift grave. She didn't deserve any of that. She deserves a proper funeral. She certainly doesn't deserve me acting like nothing happened and having a party."
"I didn't get a proper funeral," Cora challenged. "Neither did anyone else who died with me."
A wave of guilt flooded over Clark. Cora was right. They hadn't been able to risk proper funerals; to draw attention to themselves as much as it would have done. The official report may suggest it was an accident, some faulty electrics, but Laura and Derek had always been convinced it was hunters.
"You didn't deserve that either," Clark choked out. "None of you did."
There was a silence during which the twins held each other's stares. No words were spoken but the stares were soft and sympathetic of the events the other had to go through.
"Do you know what a funeral is, Clark?" Cora broke the silence after a minute, speaking softly.
Clark stifled a laugh. It didn't seem appropriate given the topic, "I'm not that stupid." When Cora continued to stare at him, expecting an answer, Clark expanded, "It's a service which gives someone their final resting place."
"That's one way to look at it," Cora confirmed with a nod. "I prefer to look at it as a celebration of someone's life." She paused, a smile appearing on her face before she instructed, "Throw a party. Celebrate Laura's life. Have fun. She wouldn't want you moping around."
-TW:H-
Clark's food tray hit the table with a purposeful thump. It did its job, gaining him the attention of the five people sat at it. Lydia had been shoving her phone into Allison's face, showing her the latest pictures she had taken of her dog, Prada. Danny, Jamie and Kyle had been enthusiastically talking about their win two days ago. With Jackson not around - Clark hadn't seen him since that morning - they hadn't been worried about Jackson starting one of his rants about Scott.
All five eyes were on him, their previous conversations disregarded. Clark took a seat, a mischievous smile on his face. "You guys really don't like this Hunter guy? I know the perfect way to piss him off," Clark stated. Kyle straightened, immediately convinced and intrigued to know Clark's plan. Jamie shared Clark's grin and Lydia tilted her head inquisitively. Danny and Allison did not look so convinced, sharing mutual doubtful looks.
"Are you planning on telling us or do we have to guess?" Kyle's response was sarcastic and impatient.
"We throw a party to rival his and make it the best one ever!" Clark grinned. It was petty (again) especially since he didn't even know the guy. But Cora had convinced him to throw a party and he was going for it. All or nothing.
"You want to throw 'the best party ever' with about five hours to plan and prepare?" Lydia remarked incredulously, using air quotes and making it sound impossible with ease.
Growing up with Jackson as his best friend, Clark knew exactly how to play to people's egos in order to manipulate them, "If anyone can do it, Lydia, you can."
Lydia beamed at the praise. Just like that, she was on board.
"Where are you having this party?" Allison asked and Clark noted the purposeful use of the word 'you' instead of 'we'.
"Scott's house. His mom's on a double shift at the hospital tonight," Clark answered, leaving out the fact that Scott would also be working late at the veterinary practice. As far as he'd planned, by the time Scott knew what was going on, the party would be in full swing. "One rule. Don't tell Scott. I want it to be a surprise party to congratulate him on making first line," Clark bluffed, looking in particular at Allison. Out of everyone, she would be the one most likely to tell him and then the entire party would most likely be halted. He couldn't see Scott agreeing to host a party.
"So we're hosting a house party without the host?" Kyle summarised.
Clark shrugged, "I live there." He received surprised looks from all five of them. He'd momentarily forgotten he hadn't mentioned his new living situation to them. "I'll explain later. Right now, we have a party to plan."
-TW:H-
A/N: There we go! Jackson's avoiding Clark (I did mean it when I said this is slow-burn), Jamie's suspicious of Mr Kenneth, Cora's back, and the gang are throwing a(nother) party. What could go wrong?!
Thoughts and feedback are always appreciated.