Newcomer
By Dante
(Disclaimer: Smallville and all related characters are property of Warner Brothers and DC Comics. Alex Byers is not my creation, but my modification of his life is. Apologies to the true Ale X, you know I love ya, man!)
Chapter 4: Flames at The Torch
There is a moment that every high schooler around the world waits for. It makes a right angle on the clock and goes by the name of 3:30. As that magical moment hit Smallville High, hundreds of students bolted for doors and ran for cars and busses.
Alex gathered his books from under his desk as he headed out of the biology classroom. As he walked out the door, he found Chloe waiting for him.
"How about it, new boy? Ready to check out my stomping grounds?"
He gave her his best grin and gestured to the quickly emptying hall.
"Absolutely. Lead on." He crooked his arm and bowed slightly. Chloe giggled and took it.
"Why thank you, kind sir. Let's see, I suppose the first stop should definitely be the lovely Torch offices."
"First stop?" Alex asked, feigning pure shock. "You don't just hole yourself up in front of your computer?"
She raised an eyebrow and gave him a mock glare.
"You ate lunch with Pete, didn't you?"
"Guilty as charged. Sorry. I couldn't resist. He didn't want his chicken nuggets, so how could I stay away?"
Chloe shook her head, looking irritated, but she was hiding a grin. This guy was pretty funny. She tightened her grip on his arm a bit more and opened the door to the Torch office.
"So, here it is." She let go as he roamed the room, inevitably gravitating toward the picture-covered wall.
"So, this is the legendary 'Wall of Weird'."
Chloe moved up behind him and looked at some of the articles. Most of them were photocopies, since the former football coach had destroyed the originals during his fiery rampage.
"Yep, that'd be it. Some pretty strange stuff goes down around here. You missed the more exciting things by a few weeks. An odd thing though, Clark seems to be involved in most of them these days."
"Clark Kent? He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to get himself into trouble?" It was on the last word that he turned to face her, and their eyes met for a moment. Chloe's heart skipped a beat as they locked gazes.
"Um… I…" She turned away, unable to keep meeting his eyes. "I, ah, wanted to show you this. She flipped open the lid on her laptop, which was resting on the desk. She opened up a program and suddenly she and Alex were visible on the screen, apparently being recorded by an overhead camera. "I figured you could send your friends the link to this website and wave to 'em or something."
"Aaw, Chloe, that's so cool! Thank you!" His face lit up. She could tell that his friends meant a lot to him.
"So, these must be pretty good friends, huh?"
He let out a long sigh and seemed to be looking off into the distance, as if looking back into the past.
"Yeah they are. I mean, I've known Eeps… sorry. My friend Josh, we all call him Eeps. It's a crazy little thing that got picked up a couple years ago… but anyway, yeah, Eeps and I have known each other since fourth grade. He even stayed with me for a few months when his folks went out of town. That boy is like a brother to me. And Kels… she and Eeps dated in grade school, and we all got really tight this last summer. I miss 'em a lot. They're really cool guys."
Chloe put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it a bit.
"Don't worry. You're doing great here. Really. I think that you'll find that you and Smallville are going to get along just fine."
"Ya think so?"
"I know so." She grinned for a moment. "Well… you may actually be a little too normal for this town, truth be told."
Alex shook his head. If only you knew… he thought.
"Well, I can't help that. But who knows, maybe this town will weird- ify me."
"I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. This town can grow on you."
He looked up at her and their eyes met again.
"I think it might already be growing on me."
He had been sitting on the desk and stood up now. He wasn't very tall, only about 5'9, but to Chloe he suddenly seemed as if he were filling the room. Their eyes remained locked as they slowly got closer.
"What… what do you mean…"
"Just that… suddenly… Smallville looks a lot prettier."
They were nose-to-nose now, and their heads slowly tilted…
The door to the office slammed as Pete ran in.
"Hey, Chloe…" He stopped in mid-sentence. "Um…"
Chloe and Alex moved away from each other, both a little red in the face.
"Well, Chloe… thanks for showing me around… I think I'm going to get going."
Hurriedly gathering up his bag and sunglasses, Alex stopped in the door.
"I don't suppose that there's any decent place to get coffee around here, is there?"
Still a bit flustered, Chloe waved her hands as she tried to gather her thoughts and her laptop, simultaneously.
"Um, yeah… there's the Beanery in on Main Street. If you wait, I can take you there."
Alex nodded, still slightly ducking his head, as neither of them was exactly sure how much Pete had seen… or if there had been anything for Pete to have seen. A thought sprang into his mind, and he looked over to the shorter man.
"Hey, Pete, you were saying that you're pretty into sports, right?"
Pete smiled and tugged down on his shirt a bit.
"Yeah, I played varsity this year in football, it was pretty nice. What about it?"
"Well it's just that I was hoping to find someone to play ball with tomorrow afternoon and thought maybe you knew where I could find a game."
Pete raised his fists in mock triumph.
"Finally! I have been looking for a partner since Clark played that one game with me. Find me before class tomorrow and we'll talk. I'm late for track practice."
Chloe spoke up at that point.
"Pete, was there something you wanted when you burst in here?"
"Oh yeah! I heard about this huge party from Clark. He didn't say he was going to go… but anyway… Lex is throwing a party for some reason. Clark said that we were invited so…"
"And when is this supposed party occurring?"
"This Saturday."
"Okay."
"So?"
"I'll think about it, Pete."
Pete frowned, gave Alex a helpless look, then shrugged and left, leaving Alex and Chloe feeling very awkward, indeed.
By Dante
(Disclaimer: Smallville and all related characters are property of Warner Brothers and DC Comics. Alex Byers is not my creation, but my modification of his life is. Apologies to the true Ale X, you know I love ya, man!)
Chapter 4: Flames at The Torch
There is a moment that every high schooler around the world waits for. It makes a right angle on the clock and goes by the name of 3:30. As that magical moment hit Smallville High, hundreds of students bolted for doors and ran for cars and busses.
Alex gathered his books from under his desk as he headed out of the biology classroom. As he walked out the door, he found Chloe waiting for him.
"How about it, new boy? Ready to check out my stomping grounds?"
He gave her his best grin and gestured to the quickly emptying hall.
"Absolutely. Lead on." He crooked his arm and bowed slightly. Chloe giggled and took it.
"Why thank you, kind sir. Let's see, I suppose the first stop should definitely be the lovely Torch offices."
"First stop?" Alex asked, feigning pure shock. "You don't just hole yourself up in front of your computer?"
She raised an eyebrow and gave him a mock glare.
"You ate lunch with Pete, didn't you?"
"Guilty as charged. Sorry. I couldn't resist. He didn't want his chicken nuggets, so how could I stay away?"
Chloe shook her head, looking irritated, but she was hiding a grin. This guy was pretty funny. She tightened her grip on his arm a bit more and opened the door to the Torch office.
"So, here it is." She let go as he roamed the room, inevitably gravitating toward the picture-covered wall.
"So, this is the legendary 'Wall of Weird'."
Chloe moved up behind him and looked at some of the articles. Most of them were photocopies, since the former football coach had destroyed the originals during his fiery rampage.
"Yep, that'd be it. Some pretty strange stuff goes down around here. You missed the more exciting things by a few weeks. An odd thing though, Clark seems to be involved in most of them these days."
"Clark Kent? He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to get himself into trouble?" It was on the last word that he turned to face her, and their eyes met for a moment. Chloe's heart skipped a beat as they locked gazes.
"Um… I…" She turned away, unable to keep meeting his eyes. "I, ah, wanted to show you this. She flipped open the lid on her laptop, which was resting on the desk. She opened up a program and suddenly she and Alex were visible on the screen, apparently being recorded by an overhead camera. "I figured you could send your friends the link to this website and wave to 'em or something."
"Aaw, Chloe, that's so cool! Thank you!" His face lit up. She could tell that his friends meant a lot to him.
"So, these must be pretty good friends, huh?"
He let out a long sigh and seemed to be looking off into the distance, as if looking back into the past.
"Yeah they are. I mean, I've known Eeps… sorry. My friend Josh, we all call him Eeps. It's a crazy little thing that got picked up a couple years ago… but anyway, yeah, Eeps and I have known each other since fourth grade. He even stayed with me for a few months when his folks went out of town. That boy is like a brother to me. And Kels… she and Eeps dated in grade school, and we all got really tight this last summer. I miss 'em a lot. They're really cool guys."
Chloe put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it a bit.
"Don't worry. You're doing great here. Really. I think that you'll find that you and Smallville are going to get along just fine."
"Ya think so?"
"I know so." She grinned for a moment. "Well… you may actually be a little too normal for this town, truth be told."
Alex shook his head. If only you knew… he thought.
"Well, I can't help that. But who knows, maybe this town will weird- ify me."
"I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. This town can grow on you."
He looked up at her and their eyes met again.
"I think it might already be growing on me."
He had been sitting on the desk and stood up now. He wasn't very tall, only about 5'9, but to Chloe he suddenly seemed as if he were filling the room. Their eyes remained locked as they slowly got closer.
"What… what do you mean…"
"Just that… suddenly… Smallville looks a lot prettier."
They were nose-to-nose now, and their heads slowly tilted…
The door to the office slammed as Pete ran in.
"Hey, Chloe…" He stopped in mid-sentence. "Um…"
Chloe and Alex moved away from each other, both a little red in the face.
"Well, Chloe… thanks for showing me around… I think I'm going to get going."
Hurriedly gathering up his bag and sunglasses, Alex stopped in the door.
"I don't suppose that there's any decent place to get coffee around here, is there?"
Still a bit flustered, Chloe waved her hands as she tried to gather her thoughts and her laptop, simultaneously.
"Um, yeah… there's the Beanery in on Main Street. If you wait, I can take you there."
Alex nodded, still slightly ducking his head, as neither of them was exactly sure how much Pete had seen… or if there had been anything for Pete to have seen. A thought sprang into his mind, and he looked over to the shorter man.
"Hey, Pete, you were saying that you're pretty into sports, right?"
Pete smiled and tugged down on his shirt a bit.
"Yeah, I played varsity this year in football, it was pretty nice. What about it?"
"Well it's just that I was hoping to find someone to play ball with tomorrow afternoon and thought maybe you knew where I could find a game."
Pete raised his fists in mock triumph.
"Finally! I have been looking for a partner since Clark played that one game with me. Find me before class tomorrow and we'll talk. I'm late for track practice."
Chloe spoke up at that point.
"Pete, was there something you wanted when you burst in here?"
"Oh yeah! I heard about this huge party from Clark. He didn't say he was going to go… but anyway… Lex is throwing a party for some reason. Clark said that we were invited so…"
"And when is this supposed party occurring?"
"This Saturday."
"Okay."
"So?"
"I'll think about it, Pete."
Pete frowned, gave Alex a helpless look, then shrugged and left, leaving Alex and Chloe feeling very awkward, indeed.