[A/N: People are still reading! I feel so special. Glad to know Pete
fans are out there (Badger Lord, From Here, me, etc.)!!
OK, on this one I need your help. I told you that I have up to Chapter 4 written, but I might change it. I started this story with the intrest of having Pete just know without Clark knowing that he knows (does that make sense?), but I soon realized that once Pete gets past the fact that his friend's a superhero (like he warmed up to the fact that his girlfriend was a fat-sucking vampire), there is pretty much no plot and my story fades into the oblivion of boring, unfinished fics posted on this website. Not gon' happen. But I'm sure I can dig something out, if I had to.
So here's the question: should Clark find out that Pete found out? Should I have a whole chapter dedicated to ClarkAngst about the meteors? Should Pete share a special secret with his best friend (screw Lex- no, not literally!!), or should I be forced to write witty sarcastic comments (not one of my fortes) for Chloe?? The answers to these questions depend on you, or I'm dead in the water. Please???
Done now. Read please.]
3. Hidden
:Ding dong: goes the friendly doorbell, masking the puzzles impossible to solve.
Within seconds, Clark greeted his visitor. "Pete! What are you doing here? I was just about to see Brett, and I thought you weren't coming." The tall boy shifted nervously from foot to foot. The other grinned to himself. It seemed he, Pete Ross, was making the strongest teen in the world uneasy.
[What's Pete doing here? We had this discussion,] Clark reassured himself. Lately, his friend had been acting strangely and showing up at the oddest times. [Mostly, come to think about it, when I've just used a gift. Is he on to me?] Clark shook off the thought for the moment, placing it in the back of his mind as he turned his attention back to the other boy.
"Oh, I forgot about that," lied Pete through his teeth. "Do you have today's history notes?"
"Pete, I've gotta go. Football practice should be ending soon. Or did you forget since you quit the team?" As soon as he said it, good-natured Clark regretted bringing up the issue, but he needed a distraction from his suspicions.
Pete held up his hands to surrender. "Okay, okay. Sorry about it, Clark- man. I'll leave now." He turned on his heel and drove away, but stopped his truck as he turned a corner. The blue and red blur appeared in his rearview mirror.
Someone passing by might have thought a woman had screeched, but it was just Pete's truck. He knew he had to go as fast as possible if he were to keep up with Clark.
Pete panted as he jogged toward the bleachers. [Clark is so lucky, never getting tired like that.] The blur reformed in his now-familiar way as he approached some of the football team. Pete watched his friend slap the boys on the back in greeting, then nonchalantly separate Brett from the others. He then tailed the pair to an alley off the side of the school.
Clark glanced over his shoulder before he began. He sensed movement where Pete had ducked out of view. The hiding boy saw Clark squint at the barrier in deep concentration, then shake his head.
"Pete, if you're there," he called, "I suggest you leave. Now." Pete wondered how Clark knew he was there. Could he see him? [All this supernatural stuff with Clark is making me paranoid. No one can see through walls.]
[But a couple weeks ago, no one could bend toilet seats with their pinkie either,] that voice in his head nagged.
[Shut up. Just shut up.] That seemed to work.
The familiar baritone of Clark's voice slapped Pete out of his reverie. "What's happened to you, Brett?" he was asking. "Have you been affected by the meteors?"
Brett snickered. "Just affected? I think not. More like saved." His fingertips brushed a dumpster he was standing next to. It, and all of it's contents, turned to stone. "It's a good thing I took that tumble into Smallville Quarry. Helps me take care of people who won't stop nosing in my business."
Clark just smiled at the other boy. He drew back his arm, and sunk it deep into the solid rock. Brett's jaw dropped, much like Pete crouched behind the wall. "I'd like to see you try," said Clark, concluding his demonstration.
Pete felt a sudden flush of anger. If Clark was so willing to show an evil jock what he was capable of, how hard was it to tell his best friend?
"Now, Clark, you seem to be a rational guy." Brett sounded a bit shaken, but calm. "There's no need for drastic action." Seemingly out of comfort, he reached out and placed a steady hand on Clark's steel shoulder. Clark stood, solid and pleased it seemed, of the painful expression on the other's face.
Pete was puzzled, but then understood. Brett couldn't use his freakish meteor power on Clark because of his strange invulnerability. Clark knew it. Pete knew it. Brett did not.
"What is it about you, Kent?" yelled Brett, who sounded frustrated. He took it out on Clark's shoulder, which he punched. Hard.
"DAMMIT!!!" yelled the villain, who gripped his hand in pain. Unfazed by the action, Clark swung Brett into the alley like a rag doll. Pete dodged the flying body as he reached for his cell phone. He dialed 911 and left Clark to his explaining.
But Pete didn't go home. He went to the Fortress of Solitude, knowing that this was the ultimate possibility to look around for any clues about Clark. The Kents were away at an adult-only family reunion, and Clark was "helping" Brett ([More like kicking his ass,] thought Pete), which would take a while, if Pete was any judge.
---------------------------------
Couch, window, manure. Pete had seen it all before. It must be hidden somewhere safer than where Pete was almost every day. He didn't know what 'it' was, but it had to be some kind of answer. And like a sign from the heavens, it came to him. The light Clark had left on in his room shone out of the window and onto the rusted doors of the storm cellar. He hadn't remembered ever being there. [Even that time in fifth grade, when we were sleeping in the barn. There was a storm and Chloe said it would be a good idea to sleep in the storm cellar instead. We all agreed, but Mr. Kent refused really quickly.] It seemed like a good place to look.
OK, on this one I need your help. I told you that I have up to Chapter 4 written, but I might change it. I started this story with the intrest of having Pete just know without Clark knowing that he knows (does that make sense?), but I soon realized that once Pete gets past the fact that his friend's a superhero (like he warmed up to the fact that his girlfriend was a fat-sucking vampire), there is pretty much no plot and my story fades into the oblivion of boring, unfinished fics posted on this website. Not gon' happen. But I'm sure I can dig something out, if I had to.
So here's the question: should Clark find out that Pete found out? Should I have a whole chapter dedicated to ClarkAngst about the meteors? Should Pete share a special secret with his best friend (screw Lex- no, not literally!!), or should I be forced to write witty sarcastic comments (not one of my fortes) for Chloe?? The answers to these questions depend on you, or I'm dead in the water. Please???
Done now. Read please.]
3. Hidden
:Ding dong: goes the friendly doorbell, masking the puzzles impossible to solve.
Within seconds, Clark greeted his visitor. "Pete! What are you doing here? I was just about to see Brett, and I thought you weren't coming." The tall boy shifted nervously from foot to foot. The other grinned to himself. It seemed he, Pete Ross, was making the strongest teen in the world uneasy.
[What's Pete doing here? We had this discussion,] Clark reassured himself. Lately, his friend had been acting strangely and showing up at the oddest times. [Mostly, come to think about it, when I've just used a gift. Is he on to me?] Clark shook off the thought for the moment, placing it in the back of his mind as he turned his attention back to the other boy.
"Oh, I forgot about that," lied Pete through his teeth. "Do you have today's history notes?"
"Pete, I've gotta go. Football practice should be ending soon. Or did you forget since you quit the team?" As soon as he said it, good-natured Clark regretted bringing up the issue, but he needed a distraction from his suspicions.
Pete held up his hands to surrender. "Okay, okay. Sorry about it, Clark- man. I'll leave now." He turned on his heel and drove away, but stopped his truck as he turned a corner. The blue and red blur appeared in his rearview mirror.
Someone passing by might have thought a woman had screeched, but it was just Pete's truck. He knew he had to go as fast as possible if he were to keep up with Clark.
Pete panted as he jogged toward the bleachers. [Clark is so lucky, never getting tired like that.] The blur reformed in his now-familiar way as he approached some of the football team. Pete watched his friend slap the boys on the back in greeting, then nonchalantly separate Brett from the others. He then tailed the pair to an alley off the side of the school.
Clark glanced over his shoulder before he began. He sensed movement where Pete had ducked out of view. The hiding boy saw Clark squint at the barrier in deep concentration, then shake his head.
"Pete, if you're there," he called, "I suggest you leave. Now." Pete wondered how Clark knew he was there. Could he see him? [All this supernatural stuff with Clark is making me paranoid. No one can see through walls.]
[But a couple weeks ago, no one could bend toilet seats with their pinkie either,] that voice in his head nagged.
[Shut up. Just shut up.] That seemed to work.
The familiar baritone of Clark's voice slapped Pete out of his reverie. "What's happened to you, Brett?" he was asking. "Have you been affected by the meteors?"
Brett snickered. "Just affected? I think not. More like saved." His fingertips brushed a dumpster he was standing next to. It, and all of it's contents, turned to stone. "It's a good thing I took that tumble into Smallville Quarry. Helps me take care of people who won't stop nosing in my business."
Clark just smiled at the other boy. He drew back his arm, and sunk it deep into the solid rock. Brett's jaw dropped, much like Pete crouched behind the wall. "I'd like to see you try," said Clark, concluding his demonstration.
Pete felt a sudden flush of anger. If Clark was so willing to show an evil jock what he was capable of, how hard was it to tell his best friend?
"Now, Clark, you seem to be a rational guy." Brett sounded a bit shaken, but calm. "There's no need for drastic action." Seemingly out of comfort, he reached out and placed a steady hand on Clark's steel shoulder. Clark stood, solid and pleased it seemed, of the painful expression on the other's face.
Pete was puzzled, but then understood. Brett couldn't use his freakish meteor power on Clark because of his strange invulnerability. Clark knew it. Pete knew it. Brett did not.
"What is it about you, Kent?" yelled Brett, who sounded frustrated. He took it out on Clark's shoulder, which he punched. Hard.
"DAMMIT!!!" yelled the villain, who gripped his hand in pain. Unfazed by the action, Clark swung Brett into the alley like a rag doll. Pete dodged the flying body as he reached for his cell phone. He dialed 911 and left Clark to his explaining.
But Pete didn't go home. He went to the Fortress of Solitude, knowing that this was the ultimate possibility to look around for any clues about Clark. The Kents were away at an adult-only family reunion, and Clark was "helping" Brett ([More like kicking his ass,] thought Pete), which would take a while, if Pete was any judge.
---------------------------------
Couch, window, manure. Pete had seen it all before. It must be hidden somewhere safer than where Pete was almost every day. He didn't know what 'it' was, but it had to be some kind of answer. And like a sign from the heavens, it came to him. The light Clark had left on in his room shone out of the window and onto the rusted doors of the storm cellar. He hadn't remembered ever being there. [Even that time in fifth grade, when we were sleeping in the barn. There was a storm and Chloe said it would be a good idea to sleep in the storm cellar instead. We all agreed, but Mr. Kent refused really quickly.] It seemed like a good place to look.