The sun slowly set down in Smallville as beautiful orange, yellow, and red colors swirled around in the sky and created a masterpiece no artist could ever invent or design with a typical paintbrush. Down inside a yellow farmhouse and inside the kitchen was a red haired wife and mother sitting down in a chair and reading a book that was placed in her hands as sweet wind blew in her face from the open window across from her. It was a wonderful evening for a regular Friday era as peaceful silence flowed around in the room she sat in and filled her ears with tranquility.
Suddenly though, the screen door to the right of her opened up to show a six foot three brown haired teenage boy wearing a red flannel shirt and blue jeans come walking through with a sigh fleeing his mouth. "Hey mom, I'm going down to go see Pete. I should be back soon." Clark told her, walking over to the fridge and swinging it open so he could bend down and grab a soda from the bottom shelf. Standing back up with a straight posture, he strolled back over to where the entrance was as he opened up the coke can with his finger, hearing it release with a snap and sizzle with a crackle.
"Okay sweetie." Martha replied, her eyes still glued to the paperback in front her as she waited for the sound of the door to open up again and then squeal shut. The sound never came. Looking up from the novel, she titled her head to the side when she saw her son still standing there, his arms placed to his side as he had the can placed somewhat to his lips while he stared off in space. It wasn't long until he came back however, exhaling and
looking over at his mother with a slight frown that made her curious to what was going on.
"Mom," He simply began, silence echoing in the room for about thirty seconds until he turned his head over to her while leaning against the wooden post next to him. "Can I ask you something?" Clark inquired, watching her place the tome aside and sit up in the chair she sat in, licking her lips as she stared right into the boy's eyes to see what was going to happen next or truly pay attention to what he had to say.
"Sure honey, anything." Martha answered, hearing him sigh once more as he shifted positions with his feet and gaze without blinking to whatever was in front of him. Again, he gawked into his own world, thoughts flowing into his mind that she could not hear or understand since he was his own self and not in her head. Sometimes she wished that she did understand the boy. Not because he was confusing or anything like that, but mostly since his life was so complicated, she just wanted to know how to be there for him. Snapping his neck over so his face was looking at hers abruptly, the teen bowed his eyes to the ground as he continued to rest his side on the stake.
"Were you mad…that I ran away?" Clark asked her desolately, crocking his head to the side as Martha sighed sadly, her shoulders dropping at the question as she kept her eyes locked on the boy wretchedly. Obviously, what he did was getting to him not only by the query, but by the way he was acting. She did not grasp it at times. He had made a mistake and everyone accepted it and forgave him for it. Or at least had his family. Either way, it should be in the past and not something he should feel guiltily about. Darting her eyebrows up, she shook her head and placed her arms on the table, crossing and leaning in to them while keeping her sight on her son.
"I was sad, but not angry Clark. Sometimes people just need their own personal time to figure things out on their own, and to do that, you needed to get away." Martha informed him, watching his chest exhale air as he got up from resting on the post and saunter over to the table where he pulled a chair out and sat down in it while setting the coke can aside. As he did, he couldn't help the words that flew out of his mouth and into his mother's ears.
"I ran from my problems though." Clark reminded her, the painful memories of what happened three months ago forcing to come back into his mind. He pushed them back even if he still thought about it and kept his focus on the woman in front of him, who shook her head at his words while grabbing his hand gently and rubbing the skin with her thumb tenderly.
"Clark, everyone does that. Don't think just because your troubles are bigger then everyone else's that you didn't have the excuse to escape from them." Martha said, staring into his greenish blue eyes that were flowing with care, concern, friendliness, and just a boy who wanted to get out into the real world. She knew how much he hated his secret. She knew how much he hated keeping that secret, secret. From time to time, she wished she could take all his pain away because of how much it was killing him.
When he was growing up, instead of being able to kiss his knee when he got a scrap, she would hold him close as he cried because a school bully called him a freak. Never did he physically get hurt. It was always his secret that would emotionally kill him. Things had changed since then. He was now seventeen and living his own life. When someone knew his secret, she couldn't hold him close and let him cry - he dealt with it himself. His life was so hard to value and appreciate at times for that reason.
"Why do you ask anyway?" The mother questioned, seeing him bow his head and slowly pull away from her kind grip so he could place his head in his hands and shake it back and forth. He did not want to worry the woman with his tribulations, however, he knew when it came to her, there was no way he could escape her wrath of questions. She always found a way to make him come clean even after he lied.
"I don't know. It just seems like everyone is going to be upset that I left." Clark told her, knowing that his two female friends were not going to be easy to handle. One of them had came to his apartment during his months of escape, and the other he left behind and then saw again three months later only to take her to a night club. Running his hands down his face, he sighed and rested his chin on his palms, his elbows on the table now as Martha rubbed his arm that was covered in a red plaid shirt sympathetically.
"Pete's your friend honey. You two have known each other your whole life. I'm sure that he out of all people will understand that you…needed to get away. Now, I can't speak for Chloe and Lana." She reminded him, also knowing that the girls were going to be harder to speak to about this then his long time friend. Nodding his head that was still in his hands, he stared vacantly at the fruit basket in front of him, not daring to blink as he felt the rub of the hand on his limb.
"I think I'm going to have to let them have their own space for a while. Clark said, seeing through the corner of his eyes his mother nod her head at his words. It wasn't that females were less easy to handle, it was just the fact that he knew Pete all his life like the woman had said. He would understand that he needed to get away. He also knew the secret that no one else knew. Well, at least his other friends didn't know. The point was he could to take it easier then everyone else.
"That might be best." Martha assumed, watching him nod his head again as she looked out the window, seeing the sun almost done setting and dark clouds slowly overtaking the different colors that roamed around. "You'd better get going before it gets dark though Clark." Turning his head over to the window, he sighed and bounced it up and down, seeing that it was getting dark and he still had a lot to do before he went to sleep for the night. Miserably getting up from his chair and pushing it back in, he forced a slanted smile on his face, which just looked like a smashed frown as he ran his hands down his face one more time.
"Your right." He mumbled, his chest going up and then down heavily as he slowly moved his feet over to the door. When he did, Martha suddenly titled her head to the side and darted her eyebrows down solely because of the way he looked. As he walked he slumped, and his face looked tired and exhausted with one more expression that she knew couldn't be true. Did he actually look…scared?
"Clark?" She called out, stopping him in his tracks as he turned around and faced her again, his hand now on the doorknob of the entrance gate as she brought her head up evenly and gulped loudly while she continued to exam him.
"Are you okay?" Martha asked him, her voice coming out in the same motherly tone she used every time she was worried about him. She was worried about him. It hit her then that the feeling that was jumbled up in her stomach wasn't just any old feeling. She only got it when she knew something was wrong. An emotion that made her nauseous and sick at the same time. Looking down at his body for a quick check, the boy nodded his head with a weak smile as he opened up the door.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Clark didn't know if he was telling the truth or lying. He had so much to be anxious about that he didn't know what he was feeling. Happiness, care, fear, or anxiety. Gulping loudly, the mother licked her lips as she stood up straight in the chair, slowly nodding her head at his words while speaking her own.
"You sure? You look…bothered. Like something bad is about to happen." Martha informed him, wondering if he felt the same thing she felt. A mix of alarm and trepidation were rushing through her veins. Strolling his eyes down his body again, Clark shook his head and shrugged before walking out of the door and into the exterior, leaving the mother to sit at the table in thought of what had just happened. Never did she know that might be the last conversation she would ever have with the boy.
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Obscurity wandered around the skies of the urban as dark clouds made their way over the atmosphere and a chill of wind blew in from the heavens. Down at the Ross household, children playing inside the house and lights shining through the windows filled the residence as Friday night officially overtook their senses. Pulling up in the driveway was a red truck, the lights turning off as soon as the engine did while a tall farm boy wearing a red flannel shirt walked out and shut the door after him, his eyes staring at the house in front of him. Sighing and bowing his head, he made his way over to the front porch, forcing his stone legs to move at the hesitation that was filling his body.
Eventually though, he made his way to the entrance, bringing his hand up and balling it into a fist as he knocked on the door four times before he heard the sound of chairs squealing and a familiar voice enter his ears. As he chewed on his lip, less then five seconds went by he stood at the veranda until the dark green entry opened up to show a shorter African American boy stand with a surprised face when he saw who it was.
"Hey." Clark weakly said, his voice coming out quiet when he saw the reaction his friend held. Looking behind him at his family for a second, the other teen took a step forward and shut the door while the other teen stepped back so he could come onward. After he did, he simply placed his arms to his chest and leaned his back against the gateway.
"A little far from your new home, aren't we Clark?" Pete inquired with a sharp, angry tone, looking at him for an answer impatiently as he sighed and bowed his head, seeing immediately that he was infuriated. Unlike what he had hoped would happen, he saw that he was going to have to converse his way out of this one, and even if the glare his friend was giving him felt like a thousand knives stabbing his stomach, he had no choice but to look him in the eyes and shrug despondently.
"Pete, I am so sorry for what I did. Can we just put this thing in the past and get on with our friendship?" Clark asked him, staring in his eyes with a look that detained regret and repentant as Pete dropped his jaw, his eyes shooting open wide as he let out a disgusted sigh at his words. Every movement he made sent fear rushing down Clark's spine, even his inhales scaring him as he shook his head and bit his bottom lip.
"Friendship? You call leaving your friend behind a friendship!?" He exclaimed, his teeth clutched together and feeling like they were about to break as the other boy stumbled at first, completely taken aback at his outburst as he continued shaking his head.
"Dude, it's the fact that you didn't even think about talking it out with me that upsets me the most. I've always been there for you, and in return you run away because you were a coward!" Pete shouted, the racket and clamor from inside his house making it so no one but the boy in front of him could hear him, who was standing with his mouth cracked open and his eyes floating with hurt and distress.
"Pete…I-I never knew-" Cutting him off, he rolled his eyes and stood up straight from leaning against the door while his friend resumed stumbling.
"You never knew I felt that way. How typical. The high and mighty Clark Kent can go and pay every speck of attention to Lana Lang and save her precious live but he can't even take a second to worry about the brother he's known his whole life." A lump in his throat now cutting him off from talking, Clark felt his mind stop working as he stood silent; the only sound that was heard was an owl hooting and kids fooling around from inside the quarters. One question floated around the teen's mind though as he tried to find the right words to say. Why didn't he tell him all this before? He had the chance. It didn't make sense at all.
"Pete, can't we just work this out?" Clark queried, the words the only thing he found left in his head. Popping his lips together and making the sound of saliva against skin, Pete chuckled and shook his head, shifting positions on his feet and sighing a lung full of air from his chest.
"That's your solution to everything, isn't it Clark? Let's just work it out. Forget it all happened. Forget that you left your best friend behind to think about if you really are my pal at all. Do you know how many times I thought that you're just using me man? Do you!?" He yelled, shoving his head in his hands and forcing his back against the door simply to get all his anger out. Obviously, no words could explain the rage he felt that very moment. Grabbing his shoulders gently, his friend tried to keep him still, but instead he pushed him away and walked over to the other side next to the bushes away from him.
"Let's talk about this Pete!" Clark told him, raising his voice so he made him know that he was being serious. Rolling his tongue around in his mouth, Pete licked his lips and nodded his head after he sniffed back the tears in his eyes, gulping loudly and darting his eyebrows up sarcastically while Clark stared at him sincerely.
"Talk about it? You want to talk about it?" He asked him, seeing him merely nod his head as he took a step forward and threw his hands up in the air. "Okay then, let's talk about it. Let's talk about how you not only didn't think that your best friend would be there for you and 'talk it out' but how you left me here with a huge burden!" Pete retorted, his voice getting louder by the second at the anger that was flowing through his body. Confused at all this though, the farm boy did not have a clue at what was going on anymore. He came here three minutes ago and suddenly now he was in a fight with his comrade. He thought he would be the easy one to deal with.
"W-what are you saying Pete?" Clark staggered, running his fingers through his hair as his friend looked away with a loud exhale through his grunted teeth and shook his head furiously.
"I'm saying your secret sucks man!" Pete yelled, throwing his hands in his face as he ignored the confused expression he held. "I was left here, alone, knowing that someone could come storming through my house and kill me because I knew that you're different! You left me here to carry that responsibility man. I will say it now that I will always hate you for that." He choked out, shaking his head as Clark's eyes went wide and water started to flow around in puddles. When he tried to speak, his chin quivered, and no words came out as he stood in shock. As soon as he did regain his voice, he felt like crying instead of talking though.
"Pete-" Shaking his head again, Pete opened up the door with his hand behind him and on the doorknob as a large lump formed in his throat and made him sniff loudly. "Always." He strongly said before walking inside his house. Taking two steps forward to get in the house, the door suddenly slammed right in front of his face, leaving Clark to stand in pure shock of what had just happened. To stand startled at the last words Pete might ever speak to him….
To be Continued…