Title: New Friends, Old Places

Disclaimer: See prologue.

Rating: PG-13

Author: Supergurl15

Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update. I have a huge, part of my overall final grade (as in 60 percent), biology project due in a few weeks and I haven't even started on it! So the updates will definitely take a lot longer...

Just a note: Gunn's gonna be in this story and maybe Lorne, but uh, Fred's not. It's supposed to take place BEFORE Fred is rescued from Pylea. Right about the time Darla shows up and Angel starts having nightmares about his past, hence the sleeping.

And now to answer some reviews!

Imzadi- Wow... someone sure likes Lindsey. ;) Maybe I'll put him in the story... but I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet.

White Tiger16- Thanks for your review, glad to see you're enjoying the Smallville/Angel crossover-y goodness.

Kool Gyrl- Glad ya like it! Gracias amiga!

Angel Fan- Ummm... this takes place around season 2 of Angel. When Angel has the weird dreams about his past, aka when Darla decides to make a reappearance. Ya know... how he would sleep for hours, stay up for two hours, and then sleep some more. Yep, sometime around that timeline. So there's no Fred and not that much of 'the host'.

Just as a reminder, I own nothing... just the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts are in italics.

Chapter 3

"Umm... ya know, maybe I should stay, to 'hold down the fort'." Chloe said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers as she watched Angel and Gunn load the suitcases into the car. She had tried this routine throughout the course of two days. She just couldn't make up her mind, and she felt like the unlucky piece of rope that somehow had ended up in a merciless game of Tug of War because of it. On one side of the rope there was the unselfish reason; go, help save hundreds or maybe thousands of people, but there was always the possibly of running into Clark and/or Lana. And on the other side was the selfish reason; don't go, let innocent people die, but evade Clark and Lana for another two to three years or so.

When you put it like that it sounded so simple, but she would feel horrible if something did happen to Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley, or Angel. Then there was her dad, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, Pete, Pete's family.

She hadn't even told them that she was from Smallville, because technically she wasn't. Sure, Metropolis was about an hour and a half drive from Smallville but there was a huge difference when it came to your not so average farm town and your freakishly huge big city. She had told them that she was from Kansas though the Smallville part was bound to come later. Maybe sometime during a boring gap in someone's conversation.

"Uh, never mind." Chloe said, noticing the disbelieving stares she was getting from both Gunn and Angel. For the most part everyone had two or three suitcases compared to Cordelia's five. And as expected, since Chloe was the first to run out of the Hyperion and basically thrust her suitcase at Angel, her stuff was shoved to the worst place a bag of luggage could be, the bottom. So it was virtually impossible to get it now.

Cordelia and Wesley walked through the front door of the Hyperion a minute or so later. Wesley was carrying a small black bag and two weather worn looking texts. Cordelia was toting another case of luggage in one hand and a pair of sunglasses in the other.

"Damn girl, I thought we were staying for a week, not a month." Gunn took the last suitcase from Cordelia. Placing it in the back, he slammed the trunk closed.

"Just being prepared. Who knows what the weather's like in corn field capital of the world... besides I can't leave the valuables behind." She countered.

"Was there anything you didn't manage to pack?" Chloe climbed into the passenger's seat of the Plymouth, not giving the option to anyone else. Hey, first come first serve, right? And if you can avoid a bad situation, i.e. being squished like a gummy bear in the backseat between two guys... Wait, was that a bad thing? "You have enough clothes in there to start your own store."

"Har, har, you guys are hilarious." Cordelia opened the back door or the car and painstakingly placed her purse on the floor, to the point where it almost looked comfortable, that is if purses could actually be 'comfortable' and weren't inanimate objects.

Chloe sat in the passenger's seat, drumming her fingers against the side of the door. Everyone seemed to be almost finished loading their stuff in the trunk.

Two seconds later, Angel opened the door to the driver's side, fastened the seat belt and glanced over at Chloe who was still absentmindedly drumming.

"Oh no." Angel said jokingly, feigning a sad pout.

"Oh no?" The drumming stopped suddenly and Chloe turned to look at her critic, trying hard to keep a straight face and murderous look in her eyes.

Chloe loved to prank him; it was almost like her second job. Like the time whenshe purposefully gave him a mug of coffee that Cordelia had made and told him it was blood. Of course he couldn't just let a prank like that go 'unpunished'. Needless to say, the next day everyone but Chloe had the day off and there was a truckload and a half of work sitting on her desk.

"What do you mean 'oh no'?" Chloe reiterated.

"Well, that seems to be the last of it." Wesley also opened the back door of the car. As he nearly tripped over Cordelia's purse he wished that vampires weren't affected by the sunlight so they could have at least traveled during the day.

Gunn and Wesley both took the window seats leaving Cordelia to be sandwiched in between them.

"Uhhh... guys, elbow room, personal space?!" After much wiggling Cordelia was finally able to get comfortable enough to where there were no elbows poking her in her side.

Chloe tried to sit back and enjoy the silence before the impending storm that she knew was bound to come.

"Uh, Chloe?"

"Yeah?" Chloe put the Starbucks cup back in the holder and looked up at Angel innocently.

"I don't think anyone cares if there's a flea, on a fly, on a frog, on a log, in a hole at the bottom of the sea."

"Well, I can't really help it if the extreme boredom option is kicking in, he who abuses the term
'classical music'."

They had been on the road less than thirty minutes due to everyone's unnecessary pit stop at Starbucks. And after thirty minutes of non-stop classical music and cramped conditions Chloe had no idea what went through her head when she decided to go on the twenty-two hour 'vacation'. She groaned inwardly, now that she thought about it they would be on the road a lot longer than a day. Angel wasn't sun proof so they would have to stop during the day. Unless they wanted a pile of ashes for a driver.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, Mozart and Chopin are great every now and then but c'mon..." Cordelia added leaning forward so she had a side view of Chloe and Angel.

"Girl's gotta point." Gunn said from the backseat, somewhat glad that Cordelia had moved so he had a little breathing room again.

"Well, I guess I should be happy that you guys are at least trying to work together." As the car turned sharply to the right leftover vanilla latte splashed onto Chloe's olive green cargo skirt.

Chloe glared at the dark haired vampire before grabbing a napkin and blotting at the spill.

Angel smirked slightly, which went unnoticed by the fumbling and ranting blond.

"So what are we up against this time?" Gunn asked, the seriousness of the question seemed out of place among the void chaos.

"Well, we don't know exactly," As Wesley began to speak the car became deathly silent, the only noise was the gentle hum of the engine as the black Plymouth sped down the winding dark road. "But I've done a lot of research on the matter and it could be a variety of demons, gods, mythical beasts, hot dog vendors..."

"Hot dog vendors?" Chloe repeated, she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

"Ah, yes," Wesley paused before continuing, "that fit the description of our mystery killer."

"So how can we fight this thing if we don't even know what we're dealing with?" As the car turned onto another winding road Cordelia couldn't help but wonder if they were lost. She could have sworn that they had passed that same road sign three miles ago. "We could be walking right into the next apocalypse or some unbeatable dark god or something..."

"Can I get another latte please?"

"Uh huh." Lana chirped amicably to the man in the dark suit. It wasn't until he had asked about a coffee refill that Lana realized he had been in the Talon for a good portion of that morning. It was odd really. She had never seen him before, and Smallville was the type of town where everyone knew everyone else, regardless if you were away at college or not.

Grabbing the Hazelnut blend from the coffee machine she walked back over to the strange man reading the daily edition of the Smallville Ledger.

He smiled at her toothily as she poured the coffee, expressing his gratitude.

Suppressing a shutter, Lana smiled politely back. There was something about this guy that screamed 'off'.

"You've got mail!"

Pete sat down at his computer; partially glad it was one of the things that his mom hadn't decided to take with her to Wichita. At least he had some form of technology when he came to visit his dad every now and then. Even after his parents' divorce they still sometimes feuded over what was whom's. It was hard at first, getting over the initial shock, but after some time and 'coaching' from Chloe; Pete came to accept the break up.

He clicked the 'new message' icon and waited for the page to load.

Chloe. He didn't even have to look at the email address to know it was her, just the subject said it all.

With the click of the mouse the link opened and he quickly, yet carefully read the words on the screen. ................................................................................................................................................

From: Chloe

Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2004 5:31 PM

To: Pete Ross

Subject: How's life on the home front?

Hey Pete!

I guess everything's fine here... it's summer break! That in itself is the very essence of the word 'fine', 'carefree', 'lackadaisical'. And now that we have brought up the lovely topic of summer break, I've made up my mind and I am definitely/most undoubtedly coming to Smallville within the next two days or so. On "business" matters!!! Business matters, as in work related stuff. So there will be no need to inform Clark and/or Lana. I mean it Pete Ross, no pranks, tricks, "coincidental reunions". I know a few vampires who wouldn't mind having a new chew toy. (J/K... or am I? wiggles eyebrows mysteriously:)

So I guess I'll be seeing you soon, right? I'll call you when I get to Smallville.

Cya!

-Chloe

So, Chloe's coming back to Smallville. Deleting the email, Pete leaned back on the computer chair. I've gotta find some way to make those three friends again, even if it kills me. Who knew Chloe could hold a grudge this long, she'll be old, gray and forgetful once she finally decides to talk to Lana and Clark. I need a plan, something foolproof and guaranteed to work...

Pete smirked; he knew exactly what he had to do. He just hoped that they would all go through with it and not ask too many questions, by the end of the week they would all be best buds again.

And what did she mean by vampires?

Author's Note: And for those of us who are I/M (instant messenger) impaired:

J/K- just kidding

Cya- see ya!