Chapter 7: Obsession
That night a boy sat in a tree with a video camera, watching Lana in her room after the dance. She took off her tiara and put it in a drawer full of crowns, ribbons, and trophies. She saw a gold box on her bed and opened it then butterflies fly out.
A few minutes later the boy got into a his car and drove home. As he walked inside, he peeked around the corner of the living room to sees a video of Lana playing on the television. He looked in a little further to see his mother sitting on the couch.
"Is this what you do with your time now, Greg?" His mother asked, as she held up a handful of tapes.
"Where did you get those?" Greg asked.
"What do you think?" His mother asked. "In that hole you call a room."
"You had no right to go in there," Greg said.
"Oh, you've got a lot of nerve talking to me about privacy." His mother said. "I am in the garden club with Lana's aunt. How am I going to face Nell knowing that my own son is creeping around videotaping her niece? Is that where you were tonight?"
"No, I was out collecting." Greg replied.
"Two disgusting habits," his mother said.
"Insects aren't disgusting, mom." Greg said.
"Look what has become of you, Greg." His mother said. "This isn't you."
"People change," Greg said.
"Really?" His mother asked. "Monday morning, I am phoning Claremont Military Academy."
"Yeah right, Mom." Greg said.
"No, Greg. I've had it with your behavior," his mother said. "This time I'm making the call."
"Hey, who's gonna take care of my bugs?" Greg asked then walked out to his room, which had dozens of tanks full of insects. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a jar full of fireflies giving off a green glow.
"Don't worry, guys."Greg said. "I'm going to take you somewhere safe."
Greg started driving out of Smallville with his car filled with his bug tanks. He took a sharp turn and one of the tanks breaks, letting green fireflies and many other bugs loose. Greg started slapping at them as they swarm over him.
"No! No!" Greg screamed. "Ah! Aah!" He continued to scream as he crashed into a telephone pole.
A little later, Greg's mother knocked on his door. "Greg?" She asked. "Greg, where have you been? Greg!" She walked in to see all the tanks were gone and he wasn't there. Greg's mother walked out as Greg on the ceiling looked down, with bug bites all over.
The next day, Greg walked up behind Lana while she was looking at a butterfly mobile. "Beautiful isn't it?" Greg asked.
"Greg. Hey, I didn't recognize you without your glasses." Lana said.
"Did you know the average butterfly only lives for eight hours?" Greg asked.
"The fast die young," Lana said. "They're the rock stars of the insect world."
"Hey, Lana, I was wondering if you would help me with my Lit paper." Greg said.
"Nathaniel West assignment giving you brain freeze?" Lana asked.
"Yeah, it's kicking my ass." Greg said.
"Sure, okay." Lana said.
"Great," Greg said. "How about my house after school?"
"Library might be easier," Lana said.
"It's a date," Greg said then Whitney approached.
"Lana, your aunt's looking for you." Whitney said then Lana walked on. "Hey, bug boy, do me a favor and quit tailing my girlfriend."
"You afraid of a little competition, Whitney?" Greg asked.
"We're not in competition, Greg." Whitney said. "But if I find out you've been leaving butterflies in my girlfriend's bedroom, you'll know about it." He said, then left.
"Yeah, well, just remember." Greg began. "Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug."
Later while Whitney was driving home, Greg ran up the side of a tree near the road with super speed. As Whitney drove by, Greg jumped on top of the truck and pounded on the roof, denting it. The driver's side window broke and the truck rolled onto its side knocking Whitney unconscious then Greg stood back, watching tentatively.
Klark was driving his Ferrari on the opposite of the road towards the truck and swerved to stop in time. Greg looked up to see him then ran. "Good timing," Klark thought. As Whitney's truck caught fire, Klark ran towards it and pulled him out. The truck exploded and Clark shields Whitney with his body. The flames engulfed them, then the smoke cleared and Clark and Whitney were both uninjured.
Whitney looked up to see Klark. "Who are you?" He coughed out.
"Klark Luthor," Klark replied.
Greg's mother returned to her house and saw the thermostat says at forty-eight degrees Celsius.
"Greg! What's going on here?" His mother asked, as she walked up the stairs. "Greg? I have had–" She stopped as she walked in his room to see it full of spider webs. Greg's mother then turned around to see Greg standing there. "What the hell has gotten into you?"
"About two million years of intelligence and instinct," Greg replied.
"You stop this," his mother said. "Stop this right now."
"I can't. See, it's too late. Nature's already taken it's course," Greg said. "First I'll eat, then I'll molt, then I'll mate."
"You need help," his mother said then started to leave but he blocked the way.
"Hey, Mom? Did I ever tell you about the Pharaoh spider?" Greg asked. "It's a fascinating creature. See, after it hatches, it kills its mother." He then opened his mouth and webs came shooting out.
After that Greg took a shower. He started to scrub his neck and a chunk of skin fell to the floor. Greg then continued to peel skin from his face, neck, and chest.
Later that day, Lex saw Chloe outside of her school. "Hey Lex, what are you doing here?" Chloe asked.
"I wanted to ask you about a possible student that Klark encountered today," Lex asked.
"Do you know his or her name?" Chloe asked, as she led him to the Torch office.
"No, but Klark described him to me." Lex said. "Short, dark hair, kind of geeky looking. His words."
"My guess would be Greg Arkin," Chloe said. She got out the most recent yearbook and showed Lex a picture of Greg.
"Yeah, that's him." Lex said. "It says here that he was a reporter for the Torch, is he still?"
"Well, if your definition of a reporter is someone who actually turns in articles, then no." Chloe replied. "Greg hasn't shown his face in the office for like week."
"We've got to find him," Lex said.
"What's the sudden interest in Greg?" Chloe asked. "What happened between him and your brother?"
"It was nothing," Lex said and headed for the door. "I'll take to you later."
"Please Lex, don't do that." Chloe said.
"Do what?" Lex asked.
"Just shut me out," Chloe replied. "Lex, you're not outgrowing me already are you?
"Chloe, I could never outgrow you." Lex said. "Other than vertically."
"It's amazing how far that Luthor charm will get you," Chloe said and they both smiled. "Now, what's up with Greg?"
Later that day, a little ways outside of Smallville Lana was riding a horse. She rode back to the stable and got off where Klark was waiting. "Your form's good but his gait's off," Klark said "You might want to check your shoes. I'm Klark Luthor."
"Sneaking up like that," Lana began. "You're lucky you didn't get kicked."
"You must be Lana, Nell's niece." Klark said. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"We've already met," Lana said.
"I seriously doubt I'd forget meeting you," Klark said.
"You were a little preoccupied at the time," Lana said.
"I get the feeling I didn't make a great first impression," Klark said.
"When I was ten, I went to Metropolis for a riding competition." Lana began. "Your father invited us to stay over, my aunt said you had an indoor pool. When I went to check it out, I found you peeking at a girl skinny dipping with your brother. I think he was teaching her the breast stroke."
"That was you? Wow," Klark said, then looked over at a case of ribbons, trophies, and plaques. "Very impressive."
"It's tacky," Lana said. "But it makes my aunt happy."
Lex noticed and pointed to a picture of her wearing a gold necklace with a bright green gem. "That's a very unusual necklace," he said.
"Thanks, it's very special to me." Lana said.
"How come you're not wearing it?" Klark asked.
"I lent it to my boyfriend," Lana replied.
"Lucky guy," Klark said. "What's his name?"
"Whitney Fordman," Lana replied.
"Oh, I met him today." Klark said. "Pulled him out of his truck before it exploded."
"I just came back from seeing him," Lana said. "He's lucky you were there."
"I know the feeling," Klark said. "Kind of makes you wonder if you're with the right guy. One chucks footballs, the other helps save lives."
"For someone who just moved into town, you've got a lot of opinions." Lana replied.
"You just seem more interesting than that," Klark replied. "Well good luck nursing your boyfriend back to health. And tell your aunt that I stopped by," he said, and left.