[A/N: Before I begin, I have to say that this chapter was like therapy for
me. I crammed in all the little rants that bother me about the show. It
only makes sense that Pete is the genius who brings this to everyone's (OK,
just to Chloe's) attention. It's really great. Revel in my greatness.
Also, I wrote this really fast, fueled by my friend's little thingy, so excuse any spelling mistakes or length problems or plot holes, etc. I'm really, really tired.
Thanks for more reviews. I'm on to two pages now. Wow! I have a hit on my hands!
I need more suggestions, because I have no idea whatsoever as to what to do next. Y'all know the outcome of the cliffhanger on this chapter (which is really lame, 'cause I couldn't think of anything), or at least you can guess by the end, after you read it, of course. But what next? There's no way I'll do it without you. If you don't, my chapters will become few and far between. And I don't want that to happen, and neither do you. Right? Right.
I'll go now. I hear SNL in the other room. Yup, it's late. I have to be somewhere in 12 hours.]
6. Fill-in
Pete halted as soon as he reached the Sullivan's doorstep. He had been running through the pouring rain for a good fifteen minutes, but he still smoothed his drenched jersey and wiped some of the water from his face. Only then did he ring the bell.
Gabe Sullivan answered the door, and Pete heard Chloe cackling at some movie on the TV in the den. Her father calmed himself from obvious laughter and greeted Pete cheerfully.
"Why, Pete, you're soaked to the bone! Where's the fire, and why didn't you take the truck?"
Pete mentally kicked himself. He had left his truck at the Kent Farm. He rushed to mask his worry.
"Well, Mr. Sullivan, I'm here to see Chloe. It's kind of urgent."
"Of course, son. Please, come out of the rain!" He called for his daughter, and Chloe obediently bounced to the door. Pete stepped into the house, took a moment to savor the warmth, and shook himself off like a wet dog.
Chloe giggled. "C'mon, Fido. We're watching 'Young Frankenstein'!"
Pete glanced at the two, the quickly said, "No, no. I need to talk to you now. Alone."
"Oh. Well, okay then. Dad, if you'll excuse us then," Chloe motioned to her father and he moved aside politely. Pete took Chloe by the hand and eagerly pulled her up the steps to her room. Chloe followed curiously.
As soon as they entered Chloe's abode, Pete shut the door plopped down on the fluffy bed. Not playing football all season had definitely had an effect on his endurance.
"So, what's the emergency? Another meteor mutant wreaking havoc on our fair city?"
Pete shook his head vigorously, then reconsidered. "Kinda-sorta. There's good news and bad news. The good news is that Brett's taken care of."
Chloe blinked. "And the bad?"
Pete took a deep breath. "Clark has superpowers like super-speed and super- strength and I think he might have x-ray vision and he can't be hurt like he can stick his arm in a wood chipper and I was locked in his storm cellar because of the flood and I found-" He panted for a few seconds. "-his spaceship, Chloe. I think Clark's an alien."
Chloe looked into her friend's eyes for any sign that he was kidding, but they still held a deadpan expression. She shook her head, and burst out laughing.
"So, let me get this straight," she said between guffaws. "Clark's got superhuman powers, and he's actually a little green man from Mars?"
"I didn't say he was a Martian. Just an alien."
At that, Chloe spurt out a new series of hysterics. "You got me there for a second, Pete, you really did." She wiped a tear out of her eye as she continued to crack up.
Pete couldn't take it anymore. He pounced on Chloe and wrestled her to the ground. She lay silent and stunned.
"I am NOT KIDDING!" Pete yelled, then lowered his voice in case Mr. Sullivan could hear. "Did you ever wonder how he saved everyone so easily? And without a scratch on him, either! You just over-looked it because he's saved you- what- 4 times now? The boy has secrets, we all know that. Just nobody wants to admit that they're this big! Sweet, innocent Clark Kent is really ET in disguise!! It's amazing that someone as perceptive and nosy as you would just ignore the fact that he could be doing things no one should be able to do! If you can just rightfully assume that just because, oh, Sasha got stung by a bunch of meteor bees two years ago that she suddenly gained the ability to control them and is terrorizing the election, why is it so hard to believe there's a superhero in our midst??"
Pete stood hastily, realizing that he had been ranting and releasing the anger that had been boiling inside him for a month now. He dusted himself off, then gave Chloe a hand off the floor. "Pete, I-" Chloe began, then stopped and started again. "I'm sorry. I should have believed you. You and Clark listen to all the tall tales I feed you just because around here, they happen to be true. And when you turn around and give me the story of a lifetime, I disbelieve you completely. I'm really sorry." At that, Chloe broke down and threw herself into Pete's arms. They stood like that for a minute or two, with Chloe sobbing into Pete's shoulder and Pete comforting her by rubbing her back. Suddenly, Chloe broke the embrace.
"So lets back track a minute there. You said Clark was a superhero?"
Pete smiled. Sometimes it amused him how Chloe was never swayed off track.
"That's right. He's a hero, but we knew that already. The new development is that he's..." Pete paused and searched for the right word. "Well, super. That's right. Super."
"What was it I called Eric? Super-boy?"
"That's right." Pete cracked his knuckles, a sign that he was in deep thought, then turned back to Chloe. "Come to think of it, that's exactly right. Eric had powers just like Clark, and they even look the same in action. I bet he had something to do with that. A switch-off or something."
"Right..... ALIEN??????" Chloe jumped up in realization of what Pete had told her a full five minutes before. "There is absolutely no way that Clark- MY Clark- is an alien. Nope. None." Chloe shook her head, as if to reinstate the fact.
"There is one way that his ship could have come in undetected. A time not too long ago when the town was in utter chaos, and everyone was completely distracted."
Their eyes locked in revelation. In unison, they said, "The meteor shower."
The two sat in eerie silence for some time, simply basking in the fact that their best friend was an alien who was capable of things they had only dreamed about. The only sound was the television blaring a floor below, and Gabe's hearty laughter. Neither Pete nor Chloe broke their gaze.
Until they both heard the revs of a truck sputter and cease. And then the doorbell rang.
Also, I wrote this really fast, fueled by my friend's little thingy, so excuse any spelling mistakes or length problems or plot holes, etc. I'm really, really tired.
Thanks for more reviews. I'm on to two pages now. Wow! I have a hit on my hands!
I need more suggestions, because I have no idea whatsoever as to what to do next. Y'all know the outcome of the cliffhanger on this chapter (which is really lame, 'cause I couldn't think of anything), or at least you can guess by the end, after you read it, of course. But what next? There's no way I'll do it without you. If you don't, my chapters will become few and far between. And I don't want that to happen, and neither do you. Right? Right.
I'll go now. I hear SNL in the other room. Yup, it's late. I have to be somewhere in 12 hours.]
6. Fill-in
Pete halted as soon as he reached the Sullivan's doorstep. He had been running through the pouring rain for a good fifteen minutes, but he still smoothed his drenched jersey and wiped some of the water from his face. Only then did he ring the bell.
Gabe Sullivan answered the door, and Pete heard Chloe cackling at some movie on the TV in the den. Her father calmed himself from obvious laughter and greeted Pete cheerfully.
"Why, Pete, you're soaked to the bone! Where's the fire, and why didn't you take the truck?"
Pete mentally kicked himself. He had left his truck at the Kent Farm. He rushed to mask his worry.
"Well, Mr. Sullivan, I'm here to see Chloe. It's kind of urgent."
"Of course, son. Please, come out of the rain!" He called for his daughter, and Chloe obediently bounced to the door. Pete stepped into the house, took a moment to savor the warmth, and shook himself off like a wet dog.
Chloe giggled. "C'mon, Fido. We're watching 'Young Frankenstein'!"
Pete glanced at the two, the quickly said, "No, no. I need to talk to you now. Alone."
"Oh. Well, okay then. Dad, if you'll excuse us then," Chloe motioned to her father and he moved aside politely. Pete took Chloe by the hand and eagerly pulled her up the steps to her room. Chloe followed curiously.
As soon as they entered Chloe's abode, Pete shut the door plopped down on the fluffy bed. Not playing football all season had definitely had an effect on his endurance.
"So, what's the emergency? Another meteor mutant wreaking havoc on our fair city?"
Pete shook his head vigorously, then reconsidered. "Kinda-sorta. There's good news and bad news. The good news is that Brett's taken care of."
Chloe blinked. "And the bad?"
Pete took a deep breath. "Clark has superpowers like super-speed and super- strength and I think he might have x-ray vision and he can't be hurt like he can stick his arm in a wood chipper and I was locked in his storm cellar because of the flood and I found-" He panted for a few seconds. "-his spaceship, Chloe. I think Clark's an alien."
Chloe looked into her friend's eyes for any sign that he was kidding, but they still held a deadpan expression. She shook her head, and burst out laughing.
"So, let me get this straight," she said between guffaws. "Clark's got superhuman powers, and he's actually a little green man from Mars?"
"I didn't say he was a Martian. Just an alien."
At that, Chloe spurt out a new series of hysterics. "You got me there for a second, Pete, you really did." She wiped a tear out of her eye as she continued to crack up.
Pete couldn't take it anymore. He pounced on Chloe and wrestled her to the ground. She lay silent and stunned.
"I am NOT KIDDING!" Pete yelled, then lowered his voice in case Mr. Sullivan could hear. "Did you ever wonder how he saved everyone so easily? And without a scratch on him, either! You just over-looked it because he's saved you- what- 4 times now? The boy has secrets, we all know that. Just nobody wants to admit that they're this big! Sweet, innocent Clark Kent is really ET in disguise!! It's amazing that someone as perceptive and nosy as you would just ignore the fact that he could be doing things no one should be able to do! If you can just rightfully assume that just because, oh, Sasha got stung by a bunch of meteor bees two years ago that she suddenly gained the ability to control them and is terrorizing the election, why is it so hard to believe there's a superhero in our midst??"
Pete stood hastily, realizing that he had been ranting and releasing the anger that had been boiling inside him for a month now. He dusted himself off, then gave Chloe a hand off the floor. "Pete, I-" Chloe began, then stopped and started again. "I'm sorry. I should have believed you. You and Clark listen to all the tall tales I feed you just because around here, they happen to be true. And when you turn around and give me the story of a lifetime, I disbelieve you completely. I'm really sorry." At that, Chloe broke down and threw herself into Pete's arms. They stood like that for a minute or two, with Chloe sobbing into Pete's shoulder and Pete comforting her by rubbing her back. Suddenly, Chloe broke the embrace.
"So lets back track a minute there. You said Clark was a superhero?"
Pete smiled. Sometimes it amused him how Chloe was never swayed off track.
"That's right. He's a hero, but we knew that already. The new development is that he's..." Pete paused and searched for the right word. "Well, super. That's right. Super."
"What was it I called Eric? Super-boy?"
"That's right." Pete cracked his knuckles, a sign that he was in deep thought, then turned back to Chloe. "Come to think of it, that's exactly right. Eric had powers just like Clark, and they even look the same in action. I bet he had something to do with that. A switch-off or something."
"Right..... ALIEN??????" Chloe jumped up in realization of what Pete had told her a full five minutes before. "There is absolutely no way that Clark- MY Clark- is an alien. Nope. None." Chloe shook her head, as if to reinstate the fact.
"There is one way that his ship could have come in undetected. A time not too long ago when the town was in utter chaos, and everyone was completely distracted."
Their eyes locked in revelation. In unison, they said, "The meteor shower."
The two sat in eerie silence for some time, simply basking in the fact that their best friend was an alien who was capable of things they had only dreamed about. The only sound was the television blaring a floor below, and Gabe's hearty laughter. Neither Pete nor Chloe broke their gaze.
Until they both heard the revs of a truck sputter and cease. And then the doorbell rang.