Chapter Eight of Secrets No More.
Just before Lana's body fell to the floor a pair of strong hands grabbed her. Pulling her into his arms the teen made his way past Clark and into the Torch.It was Whitney.
Gently, he set her down on the couch that occupied the office. "Lana, sweetie, please wake up." He gently shook her, bringing her out of a daze of sorts. Lana quickly surveyed her surroundings before her eyes settled on a familiar set of blue ones.
Clark Kent.
Lana's eyes went wide. She began to shake. Whitney turned around and glared at Clark. "You freak! Look what you did to her!"
Clark tried to say something but Chloe was immediately on the offensive. "Whitney, Clark didn't do anything to her. She fainted when she bumped into him at the door." She glared at the football captain. "And don't you dare call Clark a freak! He's never done anything to you or anyone else for that matter."
"Yeah, he hasn't done anything, yet." Whitney stressed the word yet. "What if in a second he attacks us? Are you going to come to his rescue then?!"
Chloe glared at Whitney. She'd known Clark for a very long time and knew that he would never harm anyone. "Why do you say that, Whitney? Clark's already saved two people in this town, Lex Luthor and that girl at the school! Why do you hate him so much?"
Whitney wouldn't answer her question, though. Lana was still shaking and he turned his attention back to her. He murmured a few things into her ear to try and get her to settle down. Finally, after four or five minutes of this she stopped quivering. Whitney got up and then helped off the couch. That's when Lana did the unexpected.
She slowly moved away from Whitney and headed for Clark. Whitney was shocked by this revelation. He'd fully expected her to stand by his side. Clark stood there, not moving, not sure of what was going to happen. Without a moment's hesitation Lana stopped in front of him. She lifted her arms and gently touched his face. "You don't seem any different, Clark." she told him softly.
Clark felt his cheeks flush at her touch. "Uh, that's because I'm not." her replied, feeling himself getting embarrassed. "It's just that now, you know what I really am."
Lana pulled her hands off of Clark. Like him, she began to feel embarrassed from their brief, yet close contact. The fact that her boyfriend and Chloe were in the room didn't help things, either.
"Lana, get away from that freak!" Whitney spat at her.
Lana spun around. "He's not a freak, Whitney! He's different, so what? He's not human! Why can't you accept that?"
Whitney walked up to Lana under the careful scrutiny of Clark. "It's because of that, he's not human! He's an alien! We don't even what his intentions are! Now it's time to go!" He roughly grabbed Lana's arm and tried to pull her out of the Torch causing Lana to try and tug himself free.
"That's enough Whitney!" Clark yelled at him causing him to let her go. Lana quickly ran away from him and back towards Clark, Pete, and Chloe. Clark looked at his arm and noticed the bruise marks that Whitney had left behind. Anger rose in Clark and he walked towards the cowering jock.
"Don't you even come near me you monster!" Whitney yelled to him, trying to sound brave. He tried to dart to the side and run for it but Clark blocked his escape. Before Whitney knew it, he was in a corner with no means of getting out.
Clark eyed the jock with such rage. Why in the world would he do that to Lana? She'd only tried to stand up to him about Clark. She didn't see him the way that Whitney did and she didn't agree with him that Clark was a monster or an alien freak.
Clark raised his fist and smashed it into the concrete wall next to Whitney's head. Pulling out his hand he held some dilapidated bits of concrete. Using his super strength, he slowly crushed them into dust. "Whitney, the next time you ever, EVER, hurt Lana or anyone else, I'll personally do this to you." he said with every bit restrain the had. Then he moved to the side. "Get out." he said, pointing to the Torch's door. Not once hesitating, Whitney bolted for it.
Everyone seemed to take in a sigh of relief after Whitney's hasty departure. Lana felt tears coming down he cheeks. "Why did he hurt me?" she seemed to ask anyone who was listening. She let out a slight sob as Chloe placed a hand around her and pulled her into a hug.
"Clark, maybe you should get out of here." Pete offered. "We'll take care of Lana."
"No, Pete." Clark replied. "I'm here and I want to make sure she get's out of here safely." Pete nodded his head. Chloe pointed Lana towards the door as the two girls headed outside with Pete in the front and Clark behind them.
More than a few students and teachers were shocked to see Clark Kent walking down the halls of Smallville High. He protectively stood closer to the two girls as they all headed for the exit.
It was just after they left the building that the foursome met back up with Whitney only this time he had backup in the form of most of the football team. Noticing that they were blocking his their path Clark made his way to the front. "Whitney, I'm not going to repeat myself. Leave them alone or I'll…."
"…You'll what, freak?" Whitney finished. "You'll attack me? You'll kill me right here and then?" He seemed to be pushing Clark's buttons. "Go ahead, do something. Prove me right." He told him confidently.
Clark walked up to where he was no more than a few inches from Whitney. "I know what your trying to do and it won't work." Whitney said nothing and continued glaring. "I'm not going to do anything to you. Because then, I'd be no better than you." Clark turned back to Lana and motioned for her to join him. She held up her arm for all to see. "You harmed your own girlfriend. Why? Because of what she said? Because she defended me?" The crowd looked at the bruise on her arm then back to Whitney, who suddenly felt very small in the crowd of people.
"I, er, don't know what to say…." Whitney trailed off. He wasn't sure of what to say or do for that matter. The football players backed away from him in disgust. "How could you hurt her?" one of them questioned their captain. Whitney tried to answer him but couldn't. Slowly but surely, they moved around to where Clark and his friends were standing. Other students did as well. There was no one left to help Whitney. No one left to support him.
Whitney looked at the horde of students in front of him. "This isn't over, freak. I swear to god, this isn't over." Whitney turned around and ran as fast as he possibly could for his truck.
The Smallvile students cheered as they saw Whitney run off. Soon their own curiosity gave in and they began to ask questions about Clark. They were eager to learn more about him, if at all possible. Clark politely answered their questions as best as he could, seeing as how there were several coming at him.
Clark was about to tell everyone he had to leave when suddenly several media vehicles showed up. Reporters from all the big networks, NBC, CBS, etc., began rushing for him.
"Here we go again." Clark mumbled. He turned around and gave an apologetic look to his friends. Just before he could do anything Chloe pulled him into a passionate kiss. "Don't be gone long." she whispered into his ear. Clark nodded and flashed her a smile. Just as the reporters were about to get within two or so feet of him, Clark suddenly shot into the air a good twenty feet. Everyone watched in awe as he did a forward somersault in mid air and landed on both his feet. Before the reporters could do anything else Clark supersped away.
End of Chapter Eight.