Settling In At Smallville
By Lanie (lindalee)
It's November, and Chloe is settling in at Smallville Junior High. She has also started working at the 'Torch'. Her collection of strange facts about Smallville after the meteor shower is growing rapidly. It now occupies a wall in her bedroom, not in a notebook. She hasn't made to that meteor museum that Pete told her about, she is going to try to see if Pete will take her. Clark keeps backing out, coming up with 'lame excuses' not to go. She even told she didn't care if he 'spaz'd out.
"Hey Pete." Chloe walks up to his locker.
"Hey Chloe." Pete smiles, he has been in love with her since she first came to school.
"Will you take me to the museum?" Chloe asks trying to be casual.
"What?" Pete comes back "I thought that you and, oh I see Clark backed out on you again." Pete knows his best friend will do that if he really doesn't want to do something, its like he has something just come up. And the fact is he probably didn't want to 'spaz' in front of Chloe, which I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to embarrass myself in front of her either. "It's like he always has something he's got to do, isn't it."
Yes, it just like that." Chloe answers.
"That's Clark." Pete smiles and gets his books for class.
"Something funny?" Clark asks as Pete snaps shut the lock on his locker door.
"Nope." Pete says. Clark has noticed that Pete smiles a lot when Chloe is around. "We better get to class." Clark and Pete both walk away to their class. "Yes, this weekends okay." Pete turns back and finally answers Chloe's question.
What's this weekend?" Clark asks
"That's for me to know and you to wonder about." Pete smirks.
Clark is busy trying to figure out what his best friend and his new friend are up to this weekend. It's driving him nuts. Pete knows this and during Mr. Jackson's class he is smiling. He goes to his next class leaving Clark alone in class with Lana. He actually makes it through without making a total fool of himself. He starts to sit further away from Lana and that seems to help. The class bell rings and he is going to his locker and Pete is already waiting on him.
"Give up?" Pete asks
"Yeah. What are you to up to this weekend?" Clarks relents
"I am going to finally take Chloe to the museum since you keep ducking out on her." Pete answers triumphantly. "You are a 'wuss' Clark Kent. What do you think old man Johnson's going to do. Nothing." They both head to their next class.
At lunch the three are sitting together. Chloe bring up the fact that she is thinking of applying for the editor's position on the 'Torch' since Tammy Middlebrook with be going to college next year.
"I'd be the first freshman editor. That would look really good on college apps." Chloe waits for the guys to agree. "Tammy will be gone, and Principal Kwan and Mr. Holder like my work. Don't you think I have a chance?"
"Yeah, of course." Pete comments
"I don't know... Is anyone...?" Clark fumbles for words and looks a little green.
"Hey Clark, Are you okay?' Lana Lang walks up beside him.
It never fails he always goes 'spaz' around her even if he can't see her. Pete thinks privately.
"I just need some air." Clark answers. He gets up to only fall flat on his face and send his tray sailing across the floor. The whole room rumbles with laughter and Clark feeling dizzy and nauseous, can only wish to disappear.
Pete has learned over the years to think on his feet. He knows he has sot help his friend out. He goes into saving Clark mode. "Clark, man didn't I tell you that mystery meat looked bad." Pete attempts to help his friend up from the floor; Lana is standing next to them. " Hey Chloe, can you get the trays?" Pete is giving his friend the look, which means get rid of Lana.
"I've got them." And she stands between the guys and Lana. She has learned the routine, now. Clark 'spaz's around Lana, in order to restore balance to his world, you have to make Lana disappear. "Hi, I'm Chloe. Don't we have English class together?" She steers Lana toward the trashcans. Which gives Pete the chance to help pick up Clark from the floor. Both Pete and Clark go outside.
Outside the cafeteria, and away from Lana Lang, Clark begins to recover. "Are you getting better? Man, at least your consistent." Pete laughs.
"Yeah, Clark Kent 'spaz for hire" Clark adds, "Can't believe it happened in front of the whole cafeteria."
"Hey, what's the diagnoses, Doc" Chloe asks Pete.
"He'll live with embarrassment for the day." Pete quips.
"Well at least you made everyone laugh." Chloe says trying to help her friend.
"Great! I'm not trying to be funny or the class clown. I would just like to be normal." Clark says
"What's normal?" Chloe comes back, "That's boring. You are fearless and inventive."
They all laugh and the bell rings for their next class. They all go into Biology and sit together in the back.
"No, I don't think you should do that." Clark says trying to stop, too late. The glass breaks dousing Clark with frogs and formaldehyde. That's how his day was continuing to go.
Pete and Chloe could only look at their friend and try not to laugh. The whole class was already laughing. And for the second time today Clark wished he could disappear.
He tried to stop Greg from picking up the jar of dissecting frogs, he was too quick and it hit his head instead. 'Only Greg could be such a butterfingers, it's a wonder that the bugs he collected didn't bite him. No,' Clark thinks, 'that would be the thing that would happened to me today.'
"Are both of you, okay?" Ms. Saunders asks, checking that Clark doesn't have any cuts. 'I could swear that hit his head. There's not a mark.' She thinks to herself strange. "Greg, go and get Mr. Williams so that the mess can be cleaned up."
Greg wasn't even touched with the frogs or formaldehyde. Clark is soaked though and though. "Clark, why don't you go by the office and see if they can call your parents for you." Ms. Saunders suggests.
"They aren't home." Clark says feeling the heat of embarrassment climbing up his face.
He was going to have to go through the rest of the day like this.
"Why don't you go and see if you take a shower at the gym?" Chloe suggested, she was trying to think of clothes for Clark. There wasn't anyone the same size. 'Wait a minute.' she thought, 'David. He was in high school, but they were about the same size.' "I think I can find you a change of clothes."
"Really?" Clark had some hope.
"Do you mind if I call a friend? Chloe asks Ms Saunders picking up her cell.
"No, not this time." Ms Saunders made all students turn off their cells in class.
Chloe dials David's number and hopes he answers.
"Clark it's your lucky day." Pete says. He brings the clothes that Chloe borrow from David to Clark in the gym showers. "He wears jeans and shirts, just like you and me. Not like that other guy, what's his name who paints his nails."
"I don't think there's enough soap in the world to get rid of this smell." Clark shouts.
"Sorry man, it's just like Greg. Just stay away from him and maybe nothing else bad will happen." Pete laughs.
"I am just waiting for the day to get worse." Clark says, "I still have study hall and history to make it through and Lana is in both."
"Just stay away from her. Maybe it will help." Pete suggests
"Where are the clothes?" Clark asks
"Here you go." Pete hands them to him.
"Well at least it's not pink." Clark says looking at a green polo. Pete can only laugh. The class bell rings. "Great. I guess I'll be late."
"Ms. Saunders gave me a pass for you. I got go." Pete lays the note and Clark's backpack down."
"Thanks, Pete." Clark adds
"Don't thank me. Chloe is the miracle worker." Pete says with a big grin.
Clark makes through the rest of the day without any other incidents. He kept his distance from Lana. 'Pete was right' Clark thinks. "Hey Chloe, thanks for the rescue. I owe you."
Clarks tells Chloe.
"Well, I could go for another home cooked dinner. What are my chances?" Chloe teases
"The forecast looks very favorable." Clark smiles.
"Green isn't your color, though." Chloe adds looking at the shirt.
"Beggars can't be choosy." Clark comments and holds up the trash bag with his clothes in it. Chloe laughs. "I have to catch the bus. Later."
Clark makes it home, and Martha is in the garden. She sees her son in clothing that she has never seen before. "Clark, what happened?"
"You can thank Greg for this." Clark holds up the bag with his clothes in it. "I don't know what you can do with them."
"Whew! I remember that smell." Martha comments and the smell would be so much worse in the house. "I think we just give these a good send off." She closes the bag.
"What was Greg doing with formaldehyde?" She couldn't wait for that answer.
"He decides he wants to get a closer look at the frogs we are about to dissect. He reaches up to the shelf. I tried to stop him, instead I get a shower of formaldehyde for my trouble." Clark shrugs and goes inside the house. "I was lucky that Chloe found someone who would lend me clothes and I owe her a home cooked meal."
"I think we can do better than that." Martha smiles. She is glad that Clark has a good new friend in Chloe. She seems to bring out the best parts of his personality. Those pieces he keeps hiding from everyone. Clark changes his clothes and he is back outside for chores.
Finally the week comes to an end. Clark has made it through without any further incidents. 'Knock on wood' he says to himself, 'that nothing else happens. Clark goes inside and gets his books for Mr. Jackson's class. He looks for Pete and Chloe, 'where are they?' He arrives in class everyone is there including Lana and Chloe. 'What's going on?' He realizes he has only his boxers on. He runs out of the room, and now he is in the middle of a cornfield.
He is jolted awake by his alarm, which he ends up smashing when he tries to turn it off. "It was just a dream." Clark is relieved, but dad's going to have to fix the alarm clock, again.
Clark really does make it through the day, without incident. He catches up with Pete and Chloe making their plan to go to old man Johnson's.
"I will pick you up on Saturday, my dad is letting use his truck." Pete just got the farm license, Clark getting his license helped. Pete turns to Clark. "You survived man, even with the 'you smell like dead frogs' jokes all week."
"Don't jinx me. I still have to get out of the school." Clark jokes
"Here call me Saturday, before you leave your place." Chloe hands him a piece of paper with her number on it.
"I have your home number." Pete answers
"That's the cell." Chloe responds
"Oh, yeah. It must be nice to have one of these. Think you could talk to Clark's parents about getting at least one." Pete says, wishing his friend could be apart of at least the 20th century, if not the 21st.
"Chloe, when did you want to come for dinner?" Clark asks trying to change the subject. He already knows that his parents won't get him a cell. He has asked. He is still waiting for the PC.
"My dad is working late tonight. Think you mom would mind." Chloe turns around and just time to see Lana coming up to them. "Let's go Clark before your good karma ends."
They both head out before Lana can get close.
"Well you can ask her yourself, she had to come pick up some parts for dad. I am meeting her at Logan's" Clark says as they almost run out the door. He knows his mom doesn't care.
"Okay." Chloe smiles.
"Pete, does Clark not like me anymore. He is avoiding me so much lately." Lana asks
"No, it's nothing like that. He just has to meet his mom at the feed store." Pete tells her and she heads out to the bus.
Clark and Chloe both head over to the feed store.
Martha is waiting. She smiles. "Hi Chloe. How are you?" she asks
"Good, hoping I can get a free dinner from you." Chloe has learned that Martha Kent has a great sense of humor. 'That's where Clark got his from.' She thinks.
"Sure. Do you need to stop at your house?" Martha asks
"No, I just need to call my dad and let him know where I will be." Chloe answers and dials her dad cell to leave him a message.
Pete gives Chloe a call as promised on Saturday afternoon. "Hey are you ready to be mesmerized by the meteor rocks?" he says when Chloe answers. "It's just Chloe, mom." Pete gets this look from his mother. "Remember, we are going out to Johnson's."
"Okay, when are you planning to be home?" Abby Ross asks her son.
"Chloe does tend to attract trouble, almost as much a Clark." She reminds him not to get into trouble; he has to answer to her and she's the judge.
"Hey, Earth to Pete Ross. Com Check." Chloe yells. She has been trying to get him to hear her for a full minute.
Pete pulls the phone away from his head. "Ow! Lower the volume. I'm deaf on that side, now."
"You were already deaf. I have been yelling for a whole minute." Chloe comes back. "Do you remember where my house is?"
"Sure do, see in a few." Pete hangs up the phone and gets the truck keys. He runs out the door before his mother can think of anything else to tell him.
Pete arrives at Chloe's house and pulls into the drive. He rings the bell and Gabe Sullivan opens the door. "Hey Mr. Sullivan. How are you?" Pete asks.
"Good. How about yourself?" Gabe smiles because he can tell that Pete really likes Chloe.
He always has a smile when he's around her. Gabe is glad the Chloe has made to good friends in Clark and Pete. She can be difficult to get to know, she closes off a lot of the times because of her mom's leaving.
"Doing great." Pete answers. "Is Chloe ready?"
"Of course I am. You have to come up and see this first though." Chloe looks really proud of something.
"See what?" Pete looks nervous.
"Come up here." Chloe gets her stoic face.
"All right already." Pete goes up. 'I have no idea what she's up to now.' He thinks to himself.
She shows him into her room where, she has converted a wall to the weird stories she has been collecting since moving to Smallville. Pete looks over the articles and asks "What is all of this?"
"I think these things happened because of the meteor rocks, and in turn the exposure." Chloe answers. "Starting with this one I have been collecting them off and on since I was 8." She holds up a cover of Time with little Lana's picture.
"You had better not let Clark see that. You know how he feels about her." Pete points out the obvious. "This like X-files or Outer Limits kind of stuff."
"Yeah, I remember how stuck on her he is." Chloe says sounding disappointed
"You haven't even seen the best, I have made a web page for myself." Chloe show him the screen on her laptop. "What do you think?"
"It's great, but you know that the EPA said nothing was wrong with them." Pete comments
"I don't think they really know. I have found articles that say otherwise." Chloe hands him some printouts. "I am thinking of calling this the Strangeness of Smallville."
"Nope, I'll help you think of something better." Pete adds "You ready to go."
Chloe grabs her notebooks and cameras. She just got the digital and is eager to use it. "Have notebook, will report." Chloe has a smile that lights up her eyes and Pete thinks so.
Pete drives to Old Man Johnson's Meteor Museum. Which is a dilapidated old barn.
Chloe looks at Pete, "You have got to be kidding me."
"Nope. Trust me it's got a lot of information for that board of yours." Pete answers.
"It better have or you are going to be in for some serious hurt." Chloe says with a evil eye.