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 6: A Little Pre-Party Reminiscing.
Alex watched Pete go from the room, still somewhat holding his breath.
"So…" He said, unsurely.
"So…" Chloe shifted her feet a bit. Suddenly her head jerked up and she clasped her hands. "How about that cup of coffee?"
"Sounds good." He held the door open for her as she walked out, breathing a small sigh of relief.
Both Alex and Chloe were oddly silent as they walked down Main Street.
I really wish I knew what to think about this. I can't believe that I almost kissed her… what was I thinking… I just met her. This place just has me so on edge, ready to jump… I guess that I'm willing to act on impulse a little too much. What is going on with me around here…
Chloe was quiet as well, one hand tightly gripping her bag, her other clenching and unclenching as if she wasn't sure what to do with it. She didn't know where these feelings had come from. It was so unlike her to act like this. After all, she had been dealing with her feelings for Clark for so long… but Alex was just so different from anyone she'd met before. He seemed so in touch with things, with himself… Chloe! She said to herself. Stop, before you get yourself in trouble! But trouble looked so good in those loose jeans…
Alex barely noticed what was going on with Chloe's body. Instead, he stopped and turned to her as they walked in front of the Beanery.
"I think that I'm actually going to take a rain check on that coffee. I need to get home and help mom unpack. But… if I could get your number, I can call you tonight and we can still go to that party… that is, if you want to."
Flustered, Chloe dug around in her bag for a pen, then for something to write on. She found the pen, but was at a loss for the paper. Alex pushed up the sleeve on his hooded sweatshirt and held his arm out for her. She grinned a bit as he tried to resist breaking out in a giggle as the felt- tip pen scratched over his sensitive forearm. He was ticklish…
"So… yeah." She said. "Call me tonight?"
"You bet." They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment and she darted her face toward his and planted a quick kiss on the side of cheek.
"Tonight then." She walked into the Beanery just as Lex was walking out, and saw a very perplexed Clark standing there…
Alex walked the rest of the way down Main Street, then headed out towards the country road that would take him home. He loved to talk, it gave him a feel for the place around him. He could feel the spring clouds overhead, as they passed in front of the sun and then away again, the warm afternoon sun warming his back, then the brisk breeze cooling it. He was invigorated by it. There was nothing quite like the clean, open air of the prairie. Open spaces. That was where it had begun…
JULY 10, 2001 – PAOLA, KANSAS
"Damn, man, I can't believe you're leaving." Alex said. Wiping his hands on the legs of his coveralls. "I don't know what we're going to do with you gone."
"I know it, bud. I don't want to go, but this is just too good a chance for Dad to pass up. I just get to go along for the ride."
Josh and Alex had been friends since the fourth grade. Despite any number of tiffs (including an abortive attempt to strangle each other) the two had remained close despite Josh's switching schools repeatedly through their career. They had thought High School was going to be golden days for them, but it looked like it was not to be. Josh's dad had an offer from a company in Texas, so the family had the house on the market. Despite that, though, the two sat in the middle of the largely empty room painting it.
"Tell me again why we're finishing this room if you're moving…"
"Dude, I've always wanted my own room, and I don't care if I only get it for two or three months, it's gonna be how I want it."
"If you say so."
They sat back and looked around. The room was almost done, the blue-gray walls glistening with still-wet paint.
"So what do we do now? Watch it dry?"
"Um… call someone? I got a new speakerphone."
"Cool!"
The two plunked the phone down in the middle of the room and dialed up their friend Kelsay, the third Musketeer of their little bunch. The three decided to hop on bikes and meet at their special spot in the woods. They'd not spent a lot of time together that summer, but the times that they spent at the spot were among the best they'd ever had.
Alex and Josh rode their bikes hard as they could, but arrived to discover that Kels had already beaten the two of them there.
"Hey there my boys!"
The three hugged and sat down in a circle. Overhead storm clouds were threatening to open up on them. They sat and talked as they always did, completely losing track of time, and oblivious to the world around them. The skies grew darker and darker, and none of them noticed the sudden stillness in the air until things became eerily quiet all around.
There was a hum in the air and a sudden charge, as if lightning was about to strike, and they all began to get uneasy. Josh's dog, Snow, was curled up by his feet, his ears laid back and a low growl in his throat. Kels was backed up against a tree, and Alex stood at the center of the small clearing. All around them, things began to grow brighter, but the sky seemed darker and darker. The air around them became unbearably bright, and they closed their eyes as the world around them seemed to erupt in light…
Snow nudged Josh awake with his cold nose, wet with the rain that had begun to pour. Josh sat up and looked around. Alex and Kels were both just waking up, having been knocked unconscious where they stood by whatever had just happened. Very shaken, the trio split up and went home and had never talked about what had occurred since.
PRESENT DAY – SMALLVILLE
Alex walked, pondering those events of the previous summer. It had taken months before things had started to happen. Thunder when he got angry, sun when he was happy, wind when he ran, as if the weather was attuned to his mood. He'd read everything he could find on weather patterns, and it seemed as if he was slowly developing some ability to exercise control over them, at least on a very small scale. It had scared him at first, but then, as he came to realize what was happening to him, he embraced it. His mother's garden would never lack for rain, and it would always snow on Christmas… His only fear was that someone would discover what he was and truck him off for research somewhere. But for now, he reveled in what he was becoming. Especially today. His heart glowing with what was happening between he and Chloe (whatever it was that was happening) the sun was shining brightly and the wind was tousling his unruly hair. Life was good, and it was only going to get better here in Smallville.
He walked through the door, and saw that Jane wasn't home yet, but the answering machine light was blinking.
"This is a call for Alexander M. Byers. This is officer Gordon Waynewright with the Texas State Troopers. We're calling to see if you might have any information as to the whereabouts of your friend, Joshua D. Epstein. The kid has disappeared and his mother said that you were as likely as any to know where he might have gone. When you get this message, if you or your mother could give me a call, my number is 903-759-0818…"
Alex dropped his bag in shock.
"Eeps…"
Outside, clouds began to gather…
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 6: A Little Pre-Party Reminiscing.
Alex watched Pete go from the room, still somewhat holding his breath.
"So…" He said, unsurely.
"So…" Chloe shifted her feet a bit. Suddenly her head jerked up and she clasped her hands. "How about that cup of coffee?"
"Sounds good." He held the door open for her as she walked out, breathing a small sigh of relief.
Both Alex and Chloe were oddly silent as they walked down Main Street.
I really wish I knew what to think about this. I can't believe that I almost kissed her… what was I thinking… I just met her. This place just has me so on edge, ready to jump… I guess that I'm willing to act on impulse a little too much. What is going on with me around here…
Chloe was quiet as well, one hand tightly gripping her bag, her other clenching and unclenching as if she wasn't sure what to do with it. She didn't know where these feelings had come from. It was so unlike her to act like this. After all, she had been dealing with her feelings for Clark for so long… but Alex was just so different from anyone she'd met before. He seemed so in touch with things, with himself… Chloe! She said to herself. Stop, before you get yourself in trouble! But trouble looked so good in those loose jeans…
Alex barely noticed what was going on with Chloe's body. Instead, he stopped and turned to her as they walked in front of the Beanery.
"I think that I'm actually going to take a rain check on that coffee. I need to get home and help mom unpack. But… if I could get your number, I can call you tonight and we can still go to that party… that is, if you want to."
Flustered, Chloe dug around in her bag for a pen, then for something to write on. She found the pen, but was at a loss for the paper. Alex pushed up the sleeve on his hooded sweatshirt and held his arm out for her. She grinned a bit as he tried to resist breaking out in a giggle as the felt- tip pen scratched over his sensitive forearm. He was ticklish…
"So… yeah." She said. "Call me tonight?"
"You bet." They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment and she darted her face toward his and planted a quick kiss on the side of cheek.
"Tonight then." She walked into the Beanery just as Lex was walking out, and saw a very perplexed Clark standing there…
Alex walked the rest of the way down Main Street, then headed out towards the country road that would take him home. He loved to talk, it gave him a feel for the place around him. He could feel the spring clouds overhead, as they passed in front of the sun and then away again, the warm afternoon sun warming his back, then the brisk breeze cooling it. He was invigorated by it. There was nothing quite like the clean, open air of the prairie. Open spaces. That was where it had begun…
JULY 10, 2001 – PAOLA, KANSAS
"Damn, man, I can't believe you're leaving." Alex said. Wiping his hands on the legs of his coveralls. "I don't know what we're going to do with you gone."
"I know it, bud. I don't want to go, but this is just too good a chance for Dad to pass up. I just get to go along for the ride."
Josh and Alex had been friends since the fourth grade. Despite any number of tiffs (including an abortive attempt to strangle each other) the two had remained close despite Josh's switching schools repeatedly through their career. They had thought High School was going to be golden days for them, but it looked like it was not to be. Josh's dad had an offer from a company in Texas, so the family had the house on the market. Despite that, though, the two sat in the middle of the largely empty room painting it.
"Tell me again why we're finishing this room if you're moving…"
"Dude, I've always wanted my own room, and I don't care if I only get it for two or three months, it's gonna be how I want it."
"If you say so."
They sat back and looked around. The room was almost done, the blue-gray walls glistening with still-wet paint.
"So what do we do now? Watch it dry?"
"Um… call someone? I got a new speakerphone."
"Cool!"
The two plunked the phone down in the middle of the room and dialed up their friend Kelsay, the third Musketeer of their little bunch. The three decided to hop on bikes and meet at their special spot in the woods. They'd not spent a lot of time together that summer, but the times that they spent at the spot were among the best they'd ever had.
Alex and Josh rode their bikes hard as they could, but arrived to discover that Kels had already beaten the two of them there.
"Hey there my boys!"
The three hugged and sat down in a circle. Overhead storm clouds were threatening to open up on them. They sat and talked as they always did, completely losing track of time, and oblivious to the world around them. The skies grew darker and darker, and none of them noticed the sudden stillness in the air until things became eerily quiet all around.
There was a hum in the air and a sudden charge, as if lightning was about to strike, and they all began to get uneasy. Josh's dog, Snow, was curled up by his feet, his ears laid back and a low growl in his throat. Kels was backed up against a tree, and Alex stood at the center of the small clearing. All around them, things began to grow brighter, but the sky seemed darker and darker. The air around them became unbearably bright, and they closed their eyes as the world around them seemed to erupt in light…
Snow nudged Josh awake with his cold nose, wet with the rain that had begun to pour. Josh sat up and looked around. Alex and Kels were both just waking up, having been knocked unconscious where they stood by whatever had just happened. Very shaken, the trio split up and went home and had never talked about what had occurred since.
PRESENT DAY – SMALLVILLE
Alex walked, pondering those events of the previous summer. It had taken months before things had started to happen. Thunder when he got angry, sun when he was happy, wind when he ran, as if the weather was attuned to his mood. He'd read everything he could find on weather patterns, and it seemed as if he was slowly developing some ability to exercise control over them, at least on a very small scale. It had scared him at first, but then, as he came to realize what was happening to him, he embraced it. His mother's garden would never lack for rain, and it would always snow on Christmas… His only fear was that someone would discover what he was and truck him off for research somewhere. But for now, he reveled in what he was becoming. Especially today. His heart glowing with what was happening between he and Chloe (whatever it was that was happening) the sun was shining brightly and the wind was tousling his unruly hair. Life was good, and it was only going to get better here in Smallville.
He walked through the door, and saw that Jane wasn't home yet, but the answering machine light was blinking.
"This is a call for Alexander M. Byers. This is officer Gordon Waynewright with the Texas State Troopers. We're calling to see if you might have any information as to the whereabouts of your friend, Joshua D. Epstein. The kid has disappeared and his mother said that you were as likely as any to know where he might have gone. When you get this message, if you or your mother could give me a call, my number is 903-759-0818…"
Alex dropped his bag in shock.
"Eeps…"
Outside, clouds began to gather…