A/N Now I know that nobody's actually gonna read this, but I apologize for not having updated in a month. Also this is a replacement for the last chapter cause it was crap. Thank you.


Red – Fourteenth Chapter
"Nothing says school spirit like a ring that looks like it was jacked from P. Diddy," Chloe announced to her friends (sarcastically of course).

"I think it looks great Chloe," Clark said sincerely.

"Yeah, and I think we'll be lucky if the glue holds through graduation," Chloe shot back cynically. A curious look appeared on her face. "I wonder if the ruby's even real." Rory grabbed her hand and stared at the ring critically.

"You know what? You could be right," Rory said. Looking at Chloe and dropping her hand, she asked, "Wanna check it out?"

"Let's go," Chloe said. They linked arms and walked off towards the Torch. Pete and Clark watched them walk off for a moment, then walked over to the table the class rings were being handed out from.

"You sure you're gonna do this?" Pete asked Clark.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Clark said nonchalantly.

Pete gave him an it's-your-funeral look which Clark saw, and replied to with an oh-so-original, "What?"

Pete shook his head as he said, "I believe your dad's exact words were, '$350 dollars is a lot of money to spend on something you really don't need.'"

"I earned that money," Clark said matter-of-factly. "Besides, he said it was my decision to make."

Pete snorted and said, "Which means that you're really not supposed to buy it."

Pete handed his order form to the girl at the table and she gave him a ring. Clark handed her his order form and she gave him one as well. He opened the box and took a look at it. It was a standard men's class ring, with a red stone in the middle. Clark slipped it onto his ring finger.

If anyone – say, Pete, or even Clark – had of been looking at that hand, they would've seen something strange happen. The veins in Clark's hand began to ripple, like they sometimes did when he was around the meteor rocks. Only instead of rippling green, they were rippling red. Also, instead of remaining in the one spot, it was moving up his arm and under his shirt sleeve, leaving no trace behind.

As soon as he put the ring on, Clark felt like a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders – like he was finally free. He breathed in deeply, enjoying the feeling, and exhaled with an almost-sigh. Pete looked at him with concern and asked, "You feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, I'm great," Clark said.

"Excuse me," they heard a male voice say. They looked up and saw Lana with a pretty blonde girl. The blonde was wearing tight, low-slung jeans and a sheer, sleeveless, black midriff top. She didn't look very impressed with her surroundings. The principal, Mr. Gibbons, was frowning at her in annoyance. It was he who had spoken.

"It's Jessie, isn't it?" he asked. Jessie nodded and Mr Gibbons continued, "Perhaps Miss Lang didn't tell you, but there's a dress code here at Smallville High."

"Lame and lamer?" Jessie said defiantly.Clark started to laugh, drawing their attention.

"You think that's funny, Mr Kent?" Mr Gibbons asked, a little annoyed. Clark just grinned at him.

Jessie turned back to him and said obstinately, "By the way, I'm not changing."

"Well, perhaps you'd like to discuss your attitude in my office," he said matter-of-factly. He turned to walk down the hall. Jessie rolled her eyes, but started to follow him anyway.

"Excuse me, Mr Gibbons…" Clark called out after them, walking down the hallway after them. They both turned to look at him and Clark said, "I think she looks really hot. And I think that your dress code… sucks."

Lana and Pete exchanged looks of shock, while Jessie was obviously enjoying herself. "Excuse me?" Mr Gibbons asked incredulously.

"I mean, come on… it's her first day. Cut her some slack," Clark said casually. Looking Mr Gibbons up and down, he said with a raised eyebrow, "Besides, I don't think you should be the one giving fashion tips."

Pete and Lana's mouths dropped open in shock as the bell rang. Mr Gibbons stared at Clark disbelievingly for a moment, then he turned to Jessie and said threateningly, "Tomorrow, young lady… proper attire, or you're going straight home."

He walked off, and Jessie's gaze fell onto Clark. He stared right back until Lana interrupted, saying, "I guess we should finish the tour."

They walked away and Clark watched them leave. Pete came up to Clark and said amazedly, "Where did that come from?"

"I dunno," he said. "But I think I liked it."


After school has finished
"And you're sure? He actually disagreed with an adult in a position of authority?" Rory asked disbelievingly.

"Yes! I'm sure. It was really weird, too," Lana replied. "He also said that the new girl – Jessie – looks hot."

"Clark said that."

"Yep."

"Clark, as in my brother Clark, as in…" Rory struggled to find another comparison without tipping Lana off to the fact that Clark had had a crush on Lana since kindergarten. "As in… well you know what I mean! It's Clark!"

"I know! It was really, really weird."

"So, did anything unusual happen to him before that? Like, say, an anvil falling from the sky onto his head?" Rory asked. Lana laughed as they left the school building. Rory scanned the crowd, looking for her brother and saw him with Pete, talking to a girl she didn't know. Nudging Lana, she asked, "Hey, is that Jessie?"

Lana looked over at them and Rory saw her face fall as Jessie grabbed Clark's hand and wrote something on it. "Yeah, that's her," Lana said, unenthused.

Rory grinned and said, "You're jealous."

"I am not!" Lana objected, a little too quickly. Rory looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "What? It's," she shrugged and said a little wistfully, "It's Clark."

"You totally like him! Oh, that would be so cool," Rory said happily.

"What would?" Lana asked. "Actually, don't answer that. I'm not even sure I wanna know."

They walked over to Pete and Clark, catching the last few words of something Pete was saying. "…in your imagination?"

"What's in Clark's imagination?" Lana asked, clearly wanting to distract Rory.

Pete glanced nervously at Clark, who instead of also being nervous, simply smiled and said mysteriously, "Wouldn't you love to know?"

There was an awkward silence as Lana and Clark stared at each other for a moment, Lana puzzled, Clark pleased.

"So!" Rory said to break said silence. "Who was that you were talking to Clark?"

"I told you just be-" Lana was cut off when Rory elbowed her gently (for her) in the stomach.

Rory smiled angelically at her brother and said, "Clark?"

"Jessie. The new girl," Clark replied, unruffled by their display of 'affection'.

"You seem to be becoming fast friends," Rory said questioningly.

"I'm just trying to make her feel welcome," Clark replied innocently. Looking at Lana, he said flirtatiously, "Don't worry, Lana. I haven't taken my eyes off you all day."

Pete and Rory exchanged shocked looks, while Lana simply stared at Clark incredulously, surprised by his boldness. Deciding to pass over it, she asked, "So you two still up for that cram session tonight at the Talon?" making sure to include Pete in her question.

"If you're still going to be there? Absolutely," Clark replied, still flirty.

"Yeah, I'll be there," said Pete, giving Clark a strange look which he ignored. He smiled at the girls and Lana laughed a little before walking away.

"See ya tonight!" Rory called after her; she lifted her hand in acknowledgement and flicked it to the side. (I'm sure you know what I mean.)

Rory turned to Clark with an amazed look on her face, not to mention a huge grin. "Where did that come from?"

Clark simply grinned at her and said, "Listen, I gotta go."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"I won't be home 'til later."

"And how do I get home? You have the keys to the truck." (I'm not sure what the driving laws are in America, but let's just say that they can drive at 15)

Clark snorted. "Please, Rory. You can run faster than the speed of sound, and you're worried about not being able to get home?" He looked at her in disdain. "See ya!" With that, he turned and walked off. Rory stared after him, as did Pete.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" she muttered under her breath.

"My thoughts exactly," Pete agreed.


Kent Farm
Rory supersped into the barn, dumping her bag in the loft and rushing back down to her parents. "Hey sweetie," Martha smiled, handing her a cup of coffee.

"I thought that was for me," Jonathan protested, standing up beside his motorcycle.

"No, this is for you," Martha replied, handing him another cup that had been sitting on the bench behind her.

"Hey, Dad, I gotta go do my chores, so, uh… You wanted the garage door fixed, right?" She grabbed a hammer and a screwdriver and made to leave.

"No, 'Rora, fixing the garage door is your brother's job. You need to go feed and water the livestock," he said to her. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Where's who?" she asked innocently.

"Aurora…" Jonathan said warningly.

She slumped and said, "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Martha asked, concerned. "Clark tells you everything."

"After school he took off somewhere. He wouldn't tell me where, and he kept the keys to the truck, so…" Rory trailed off, knowing that her parents would either be understanding, or they'd nail him for it when he came home. Or both. "Soooo… what's your response?"

"Well, I wish he'd told you where he was going, but he's responsible and he's not reckless or stupid. I think we can trust him," Martha said reasonably.

"I think that he should have been home to fix that garage door," Jonathan said sternly.

"Yeah, well…" Rory stood there awkwardly for a moment. "The livestock awaits!" She handed him the screwdriver and hammer and supersped away.


Kent Farm, later (sunset or dusk or twilight, whatever you wanna call it – bout an hour before then)
Rory walked into the house and saw her mother sitting at the table, looking over what appeared to be bills. "Hey Mom, I'm gonna have to go soon. Me, Lana, Chloe, Pete and Clark are gonna do some studying at the Talon tonight."

Martha looked at her. "Clark hasn't come home yet."

"Oh." Rory twisted her hands together and said, "Well, I promised Lana I'd be there early, so…"

"I understand. Go on, have fun," Martha said with a smile.

"Mom, we're gonna be studying," Rory laughed.

"Exactly! Besides, with your memory, who needs to?"

"Mom! You're supposed to encourage me to study, not tell me not to!" she said in mock horror.

Martha laughed and said, her eyes twinkling, "Go on, sweetie. I'll call you when he gets home, 'kay?"

"Okay," she said quietly. Rory hugged her and said, "Love you Mom."

"I love you too 'Rora," she replied. "Now shoo! Get out!"

"I'm going!" she called over her shoulder, superspeeding to the barn to get her stuff and then off to the Talon.


Half an hour later, still at the Kent Farm
Marta heard the sound of the truck pulling up outside just as she finished making the pasta sauce. She looked out the window and saw Clark get out. Grabbing the phone, she dialled the Talon and waited as it rang a few times before someone picked up.

"The Talon, Lana speaking," she heard.

"Lana, hi, it's Martha. Could I speak to Rory please?"

"Sure Mrs. Kent, I'll put her on for you." Martha heard Lana say distantly, "It's for you." She then heard someone walk across the floor and grab the phone.

"Mom?"

"He's home."

Clark opened the door and stepped inside just as she said this. "In fact, he just came through the door."

"Great! Tell him that Pete and Chloe are gonna be here soon and," she stopped, and Martha assumed she was checking to see if Lana was out of earshot. "And tell him not to run, okay?" she whispered.

"Got it. No running. He'll be there later."

"Bye," Rory said cheerfully.

"Bye." Martha hung up the phone and said to Clark playfully, "Well, aren't you home a little bit late?"

"Just a little," Clark replied. Nodding towards the phone, he asked, "Rors?"

"Yep," Martha confirmed.

Just then Jonathan walked in. "Where were you?" he asked, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

"Elsewhere," Clark replied cryptically.

"I thought you were supposed to be here. Working on the garage door," Jonathan said in his no-nonsense voice.

"Dad, that'll take like, two seconds," Clark said, almost patronizingly.

Jonathan nodded, then frowned as he saw the ring on Clark's finger. "I thought we agreed you weren't getting that ring."

"And I thought we agreed it was my decision to make," Clark retorted. He turned his back on them and started to fiddle with the ring.

"That's because I assumed you'd make the right one," Jonathan said sternly. "Clark, that ring cost a lot of money-"

"And I'm tired of watching every nickel and dime around here!" Clark burst out angrily, turning back to them.

"Uh, Clark, why don't you go and get changed? Rory said something about a study session at the Talon," Martha attempted to calm them down.

Clark glared at his father and said bitterly, "I have chores to do." He walked out and Martha looked at Jonathan, confused.

"What was that all about?" Jonathan asked, stunned.

She shrugged and said, "I think our not-so-normal son might be going through some classic teenage rebellion."

"Well, I think I liked dealing with heat vision a lot better than dealing with that," Jonathan replied unhappily. Martha just smiled, amused. Jonathan looked at her and said seriously, "Martha, that was a bad decision he made."

"But it was his to make," Martha reassured him. She continued knowingly, "I seem to recall a certain young man who defied his father and spent $500 on an old motorcycle."

Jonathan grinned, remembering, and Martha went on, "Challenging him is only going to make it worse."

Jonathan sighed and shook his head, a small smile lingering on his lips.

A/N I realized earlier that I never described Rory, so here's a little bio of her.

Name: Aurora Kent
Nicknames: Rory, Rora, Rors
Fears: Bats, Vampires (mwahahaha)
Appearance: Long blonde hair, blue eyes, good figure (not super skinny), beautiful. (She has to be, she's Kryptonian.)
Hobbies/Interests: Reading books, playing music, riding

And now you can review and berate me for not updating in so long. Please?