Interviewing Basketball Stars

Author: Liz Luthor

Disclaimer: I don't 'own' anybody here (except for Amber and Lindsay- they're mine), and I don't have any claims to Smallville. Trust me, the world would be a different place if I actually had legal ownership of the men of Smallville... Heh heh heh...

Couples: Whitney/Chloe, Clark/Lana, Pete/OC (Amber)

Author's Note: Please review!! Also, big thanks to Misha, who gave me a tip about the Sharks' owner—it's Lionel. *sweatdrop*



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Whitney felt relieved the second he stepped through the door. At school, everyone had been ridiculously sympathetic toward him. He knew they meant well, but how could they not see that all they were doing was making it harder for him? He just wanted to try to move on with his life, but they made it near impossible.

He realized that most people spend a good amount of time grieving about death, but he felt like he had already spent enough time doing that when his father was alive in the hospital. It was something about what Chloe had said at the funeral... "He lived a good life." It made Whitney feel a lot better about the whole ordeal.

He walked into his room and set down his backpack. On his way back to the kitchen to get a snack, his mother saw him and gave a little hug.

"Hey, honey. How was school?" she sounded concerned.

He gave her a dissatisfied look. "Not any better than I would've expected." She nodded understandingly and then suddenly raised her head again.

"Oh! You got a message today from the coach of the Metropolis Sharks and guess what!" Whitney blinked and stared in anticipation as his mother's face split into a wide grin. "They decided to give you the scholarship!" Mrs. Fordman gave her son another hug and congratulated him. He had a surprised smile on his face.

"Really!? Oh... Wow! That's great! How-...?"

"Well, they said that when Lex arranged for you to play with them last week, they thought you had a lot of talent, and they were willing to reconsider! So I guess they really liked you!" She was excited for him. He needed something good in his life after...

Whitney suddenly remembered what Lex had said after the funeral. "I'm sure he'll be watching when you play for them professionally." How had he known?



.: The next day :.



Clark had awoken almost two hours earlier than usual, and he was now done with his morning chores and fully ready for school. Unfortunately, it was only 6:45 AM.

He had decided to visit the graves of Whitney's father and then Lana's parents. Somehow, he felt peaceful at the graveyard, especially when talking to Lana's parents. He wanted to see if he could do the same with Mr. Fordman. He knew normal people couldn't talk to the dead, but he thought of it as a blessing. Sometimes he thought it was just a psychological thing, because he couldn't hear any other deceased ones (other than Lana's parents, that is), but he believed that it was possible. It was harder to imagine that he came up with all of this in the back of his mind than that Lana's parents really could reach him. He hoped he'd be able to talk to Whitney's dad, tell him how Whitney was doing and everything.

However, when he reached Mr. Fordman's tomb, he found Lana there as well. 'I guess talking to him will have to wait...' he thought. Although, Lana had seen him talking to her parents...

She turned around, hearing his footsteps. "Hi, Clark. I guess I'm not the only one who gets up at 5 in the morning to visit dead people." She smiled awkwardly and looked back down at the grave. Clark walked over and sat down next to her. They sat in silence for awhile before Lana suggested, "Let's get out of here. It can't be healthy for us to visit the graveyard as often as we do." She got up and shivered as the wind blew eerily. "It's kind of chilly," she laughed.

Clark followed Lana out of the graveyard and up onto a hill. The sun was just starting to rise, and the sky looked so amazing, it was hard to believe such beauty could exist in this jaded vicinity, which brought death and sorrow upon mankind. It made one believe someone had painted the sky to cover up the blackness of space.

Lana and Clark sat and watched the whole sunrise in utter silence. Still gazing at the sky, Clark noted, "No clouds today. Looks like the rain is gone, for now."



.: At school :.



After Pete retrieved his belongings from his locker, he went to Amber's to say good morning, and found Lindsay there talking to her. She didn't seem to have formed any sort of opinion on Pete, but she hadn't disapproved- yet. He waited for her to finish talking and leave before greeting Amber with his usual, "Morning!" followed by a grin. But then he asked about Lindsay. "I know ya'll have been friends since- what?- first grade?- but it's amazing how different you are. I mean, you know, no offense or anything, but sometimes, she's just plain mean!" Amber smiled and shrugged.

"I know she's rude sometimes, but that's not the real her. She is a nice person, but when you think about the way society is, some of the time you just want to fit in. And sometimes, part of fitting in is being someone you're not. I think she's just really confused about where she stands in certain areas, and she doesn't want to lose her friends or her reputation. When she's not surrounded by a lot of people, she feels more like herself, but she can't find a way to let her friends know what she's really like, or they'll reject her. At least, that's what she thinks. High school is a risky world." She shut her locker and let Pete help her up, nodding a 'thank you'.

"I guess I can see where you're comin' from. Clark can be kind of insecure sometimes, and he used to be pretty shy, but I think now he's a lot more confident. And Chloe- man, Chloe is the bravest person I know! She doesn't give a crap what people think of her, and nothing fazes her. Talk about inspiration," he smiled. "Yeah, it's good to have friends." He put his arm around her waist and walked her to class.



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During lunch, Chloe was (as always) working on the Torch in the office and trying to eat at the same time. She didn't mind, though- for her, there was no other way to live than swiftly.

'Alright, just move that column over there... and... I'm done!' She finished what little was left of her lunch and started heading out the door. In the hall, however, she noticed a trio of girls walking towards her. 'I can sense this one coming...' she thought ominously. They stopped a few feet from her and the one on the right asked, "Chloe Sullivan?" Chloe nodded slowly.

The girl in the center laughed and scoffed, "This is the girl who likes Whitney??" She laughed. "Yeah right!" Chloe looked confused. 'Why do people think I like Whitney...?'

"Oh, whatever. Listen, honey-" (Chloe HATED it when they referred to people as 'honey'. There was nothing as annoying and condescending as being called 'honey' from one of them.)- "I don't know what you think you've got over Lindsay. I mean, think about this realistically. You've got next to no fashion sense, you're in with the nerd crowd, and then there's that pathetic little obsession you have with the Torch." Another simultaneous scoff from the three of them.

"I know! I don't even read that stupid thing! I don't know anyone who does." Whitney was standing in the hallway behind the group of girls.

Chloe retorted, "Okay, what the heck? I just bumped into the three of you, and suddenly you're jumping all over me! And since when did anyone say I liked-" she was cut off by the girl on the right.

"Look, we're just letting you know where you stand. I mean, look at this thing!" She pulled a copy of the Torch off of a desk. "The articles are retarded!"

Whitney stepped forward and yelled, "Cut it out! Stop searching for something to pin her with! And if this is what you do in your free time, I highly suggest you get a hobby. At least Chloe has that much sense." He took Chloe's hand and led her away from the girls.

A little further down the hall, Chloe turned to Whitney and said, "You know, it's not like I didn't appreciate that or anything, but I just want you to know that if you hadn't been there, I would've held my ground. I'm not some defenseless geek."

Whitney raised his eyebrows. "Well, you weren't saying anything when I was there. But trust me, I never thought of you as a defenseless geek." He laughed, and then shrugged, still grinning. "Look, I just thought I should say something."

'I wonder if he heard the part about me "thinking I had a chance with him"... Wait a minute—a grin??' Chloe pondered. "You seem happy," she noted. '...Especially for a guy who's dad just passed away.'

"Oh, I just found out yesterday they gave me my scholarship back!" He was excited.

"Well, congratulations! You deserve it," she smiled.



.: At Lex's mansion :.



Lex massaged his eyes- he was so sick of reading, he felt like his eyes were bleeding. Suddenly, one of the staff entered and said attentively, "A young Mr. Fordman wishes to speak to you, Mr. Luthor." Lex let out a sigh and got up to meet him, but then a smile crossed his face as he remembered Whitney's scholarship. 'I guess he heard the news.' He stretched- he'd been sitting for at least two hours going over the idiotic new "Terms and Policies" his father was making him enforce at the plant.

Upon his entrance to the library (where Lex usually met with guests), he found Whitney still standing, looking anxious. He casually walked forward and greeted, "You wanted to talk?"

Whitney was evaluating him. "How did you know I got the scholarship?" he asked.

Lex couldn't help but smile. "Actually, the Sharks' coach- his name is Coach Browning, you might need to know that- called me up and asked about you. Congratulations, by the way." Whitney returned a grateful smile.



.: End :.



Author's Note: This one turned out much longer than the others so far! It seems kinda pointless, really, but there are lots of relationship changes going on. Anyway, yay Whitney! I had to give him something. ;) Oh, and by the way—I'm still not exactly sure how it is in the show, but here, Clark, Chloe, Whitney, Lana, and Pete are juniors (Whitney and Lana being seventeen, the rest being sixteen). In any case, please review! Many thanks! :D



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