Visiting Smallville: 18b/21
OMG an update! I've been watching Series One of Smallville and I had to sit down and write some of this. I hope you read this... although maybe part 1 should be reread.
Previous Part
Sam stared at Chloe, watching as she tapped her fingers repeatedly against the desk. He had started spending time downstairs once again and the others hoped that it meant he was getting used to the idea of having telekinesis.
“What’s wrong?” he asked curiously, but she ignored him.
“I bet I know.” Sam looked up as his brother strode into the room. Dean grinned widely at him, happy to see him downstairs. Chloe glanced at him, eyebrow raised. “I bet you’re trying to write an article on the election without sounding too much like you’re on Clark’s side.”
She shook her head and Dean looked shocked, joining the two of them at the table. He watched Chloe, waiting for her to explain.
“Clark’s my best friend.” She started, but closed her mouth, uncertain how to continue.
“But…” Sam said, waiting for her to speak.
“But,” she said, smiling weakly. “I don’t think he’s really meant for class president. I mean, sure, it’s not the same as running for actual president, but he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing.”
“He’ll probably be fine at it if he was actually elected.”
“Of course he would.” She said, waving aside Sam’s comment. “But would you want a class president who didn’t even put himself forward? I can’t support him if he’s got no ideas worth supporting.”
“What are his ideas?” asked Sam, actually interested in the conversation.
“Last time I asked him, he had none.” Chloe said, sighing. “I can’t write a biased article, so not supporting him isn’t a problem.”
Dean grinned, understanding what Chloe’s problem was. “The problem is if Clark finds out you don’t support him.”
“Exactly.” She nodded at him.
“I don’t blame you for not supporting him.” Dean said, smiling. “He has no ideas and is running because Lana thought he should. If Clark did get elected, it would really be Barbie running the school. Who wants that?”
Chloe snorted. “I guess I’ll just write the article and hope Clark doesn’t notice that there’s no hidden endorsement.”
“If he gets angry with you,” Dean said, smirking. “Just tell me and I’ll destroy him.”
Chloe’s laughter increased. “He may be a bad candidate for a president but he’s still Clark. I don’t need him destroyed.”
With a grin, she gathered up her laptop and tottered off to her bedroom. Dean turned to Sam, eyebrow raised.
“I doubt you could destroy Clark.” Sam told his brother. “He seems rather indestructible.”
“I’m sure he has a weakness.” Dean said, laughing. “But honestly, I don’t know if I’d want to destroy him. He may have a bazillion meteor powers but he doesn’t seem as mad as any of the other meteor freaks. In fact, he tends to be rather helpful.”
“Not everyone with powers is bad.” Sam said stiffly.
Dean looked up at his brother and sighed. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.” He said awkwardly. He grimaced, trying to find the words that would reassure his brother, but before he could say anything, Sam stood and skulked out of the kitchen.
oOoChloe was sorting through her articles for the Torch when Clark entered the office. He stared at her for a few seconds, a mass of posters in his hand.
“Chloe?” He said, watching as she jumped and turned around. “Any chance you could help us hang some posters? Pete’s convinced that if he puts my name on enough wall space, I’m guaranteed to win.”
Chloe chuckled but shook her head. “Besides needing to remain an impartial member of the fouth estate, I’m still working on my bee story.”
“Did you find anything new?”
Chloe grimaced. “Just that the swarms didn’t migrate from any of the usual places. The beekeepers from all over the state have found their hives empty. It’s like the colonies just up and left.”
“That’s weird.” Clark said, frowning. “Bees are notorious followers. They wouldn’t desert their hive without a good reason.” Chloe raised an eyebrow at him and he reddened. “My mom’s addicted to the Discovery Channel.”
“So how goes the platform?” Chloe said, shoving the latest edition underneath the pile of articles. She didn’t want Clark to see her article on the race for Class President.
“I haven’t started working on it yet.” Clark admitted sheepishly. “I’ve been busy meeting new people.” He grinned. “I even got invited to parties this weekend.”
“I can’t believe it only took one day for you to be compromised by the lure of popularity.” Chloe laughed.
“Remind me to pull your funding after I’m elected.” Clark teased, pretending to be insulted. “Speaking of which, where’s the latest edition?”
Chloe gaped at him, thrown by his change of subject. “No,” she replied hastily, standing in front of the pile of articles as if to hide it from him. “No, no, no, no.” Clark raised an eyebrow at her refusal. “I’m not done proofing it yet.” She said slowly, trying to make up an excuse. “Clark, I really don’t think you should be looking at it just yet. It’s not even done.”
He looked at her in shock. “Come on,” he said. “I’ve been correcting your comma issues since your first laptop.”
He gently moved her out of the way and dug through the pile.
“Clark!” Chloe said harshly, hoping he would stop. Instead, he reached the file containing the drafts for the latest edition and opened it.
She watched his face as he read the draft, grimacing when she saw a frown grace his face.
“Paul for Prez.” Clark read, glancing up at her. “You endorsed Paul?”
Chloe looked away, unable to look at the betrayed expression on Clark’s face. “Clark, I had to be objective.” She replied, hoping he would accept her excuse. “Paul’s still in the race, and he’ll be back on his feet again by fall. It’s great that you’re all gung-ho and sloganing now, but the truth is that the only reason you ran is because Pete suckered you into it. Paul has a clear stance on issues you have yet to articulate.” Clark still looked betrayed, slowly putting the article back onto the pile. “It’s nothing personal.” She finished weakly.
“No, I understand, Chloe.” Clark replied dully, turning and leaving the office.
Chloe grimaced, slumping down next to her desk.
oOoWhen Pete and Clark sauntered into the Talon, Dean grinned. At their entrance, Lana had stopped attempting to take his order and had turned away. Sighing in relief, he quickly swallowed the rest of his coffee and stood up, leaving the Talon.
The main street of Smallville was busier than usual as the High School had just finished for the day. He strode between the varying students, catching sight of the familiar blonde hair of Chloe. She was wandering despondently up the street. He caught up with her, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around.
He looked at her expression and grimaced. “I’m guessing Clark discovered you weren’t endorsing him.”
She nodded. “He said he understood... but he didn’t look like he did.”
“He probably thought you were a guaranteed supporter.” Dean pointed out. “And I bet an endorsement in the Torch would help his confidence.”
“His confidence?”
“You told me he wasn’t very fond of public speaking.” Dean replied. “Maybe if he knew you supported him, he’d feel more confident about the speech he has to do.”
Chloe bit her lip. “You’re making me feel worse.” she moaned. “You suck at pep talks.”
“I wasn’t giving you a pep talk.” Dean told her, grinning. “I was just telling the truth.”
“Maybe this is why I don’t hang out with you that often.” she grumbled. “You just make me feel bad.”
“I don’t do this all the time.” Dean laughed. “But who else am I supposed to talk to? Sam’s being all mopey, no matter how many times I tell him telekinesis is cool.”
“I have never heard you say telekinesis is cool.” Chloe told him. “In fact, most of the time you seem to be avoiding the subject.”
Dean looked at her then grimaced. “That’s because it’s not cool. The last guy I met with telekinesis-“
“The only guy you’ve met with telekinesis.” Chloe interjected.
“Yeah, him.” Dean continued. “Well, he wasn’t exactly the nicest person around.”
“I don’t see why you’re thinking about it so much.” Chloe said, adjusting her bag strap.
“Thinking?” Dean repeated. “I’m hardly thinking about it. Sam’s thinking about it.”
“He’s allowed. He’s the one with the powers.” she said. “But he is getting a bit too depressed.”
“He’s bringing everyone else down.” Dean agreed.
“Him and... other things. I still haven’t figured out the attack of the killer bees.” Chloe grimaced. “I’m hoping it’s a completely meteor-free freak accident.”
“I don’t think you get them in Smallville.”
“Neither do I, but I’m allowed to hope.” She looked down. “How about we go to a movie, stop thinking about telekinesis and bees.”
“A movie?” Dean said slowly. “Where’s the cinema?”
“There’s one about ten minutes outside Smallville.” She told him. “I really want to see the Spiderman film that’s just come out.”
“Spiderman?” Dean sniggered. “Aren’t there enough super-humans in Smallville?”
“But none in costume.” She told him.
Dean looked as though he was debating whether or not to go, but eventually he sighed. “I suppose. Just remember to tell your dad. Don’t want him kicking us out.”
oOo“Where have you been?”
Dean looked up and smiled innocently when he saw the scowl on Sam’s face. “What? Did I miss my curfew?”
Sam was not impressed. “Ha ha.” he said, looking away. “Where have you been?”
“Why? Were you worried?”
“No.” Sam insisted.
Dean stared at his brother, taking in his hunched position and the dark circles around his eyes. He obviously hadn’t been sleeping. Finding out about the telekinesis was hurting him more than anyone else.
“I went to the cinema.” Dean told him. “With Chloe.”
“Chloe?”
“Yeah. We bumped into each other when I left the Talon.” He told Sam, slumping down on his bed. “Clark’s not too happy with her and she’s still thinking about the bee thing. I think she just wanted to do something else.”
“What did you see?” Sam asked reluctantly.
“Spiderman.” Dean admitted. “It wasn’t too bad. Almost made me wish I had super spidey powers.” Sam snorted and Dean grinned at him. “I think Chloe enjoyed it. She seemed to have something for superheroes. I think it’s the costumes.”
Sam grimaced. “Superheroes aren’t real.”
Dean raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“So, about all the moping,” Dean started, smirking at his brother. “Is it going to stop?”
“What else is there to do?” Sam grumbled. “It’s Smallville. There’s not much around here.”
“There’s coffee.” Dean said, grinning. “And tomorrow you are coming to the Talon with me. You can be my Barbie buffer.”
“Exciting.” Sam drawled. “I want to spend my days in a coffee house.”
“We could look into the freak bee attack.” Dean said. “Chloe said she’s getting nowhere with it except the fact that the bees were from many different colonies around the state.”
“It would be something to do.” Sam said and he smiled at his brother.
“So you are going to venture outside of the house tomorrow?”
Sam nodded.
oOo“I’m glad you feel that way, because according to my latest poll, you’ve got a shot.”
When Pete finished speaking, Chloe sank into the spare seat to his left. He glanced quickly at her but didn’t say anything.
“Hey.” Chloe said hesitantly.
Clark looked at her. “Hey.”
“How’s it going?” Chloe asked, trying to pretend that her endorsement had never existed.
Clark opened his mouth but Pete spoke before he had a chance. “Just answer ‘no comment’. That way she can’t misquote you.”
Chloe looked down, biting her lip. “Did you hear about Felice?”
“Yeah, I was just at the medical centre.” Clark replied, ignoring Pete. Chloe smiled at him. “She was stung way worse than Paul. She’s in a coma.”
Chloe winced. “Two candidates attacked in a week.” Pete stated, looking worried. “That’s a pretty freaky coincidence.”
“I think we’ve moved past coincidence.”
“What do you think is going on?” Chloe asked Clark, wondering if he had managed to find out something.
“I don’t know,” Clark admitted. “But remember last year, Sasha’s accident when she was stung by a whole hive of bees?”
“You think that because of that, she’s somehow controlling them?”
“It’s a theory.” Clark said sheepishly.
“Yeah, by several leaps and bounds.” Chloe chuckled. Clark looked away, clearly still upset from the previous day. “But I’ll look into it.” She smiled at him. “In the meantime, watch your back.”
oOo“I’m not too fond of bees.” Dean said, as they slowly clambered down into Shuster’s Gorge. Chloe had rung them to tell them about Sasha’s accident the previous year, telling them that they had to check the gorge out.
“Neither am I.” Sam replied.
“Why are all the bugs in Smallville so weird?” Dean asked, grimacing. “This is the second bug related thing in less than a year.”
“Because the meteor rocks make everything in Smallville weird.” Sam answered, picking one up from the bottom of the gorge. “If that girl got attacked by a hive of bees from this gorge, no wonder she’s turned into the queen bee.”
“It’s like bug boy all over again.” Dean grimaced. “Except there’s less walking on walls.”
“She’s going a bit far though.” Sam said, tossing the rock to Dean. “It’s a school election. No need to incapacitate the victims.”
“I think another side effect of the meteors is mental instability.” Dean commented, turning the rock round in his hand. “Why are these meteors different to others? I mean, there have been other meteor strikes, right?”
“I’ve read about a few since we got to Smallville.” Sam admitted.
“So that’s what you were doing when you refused to come downstairs.” Dean sniggered. “Looking up meteors.”
“In the 50s, a woman was hit by a meteorite in her own home.” Dean raised an eyebrow. “She got a few bruises but I didn’t hear of any special powers. Apart from Smallville, I can’t find anywhere else that has a correlation between meteor strikes and special abilities. I can’t even really find many people with special abilities who aren’t from Smallville.”
“There’s definitely something about these meteors.” Dean agreed, pocketing the rock. “But what we need to do is find out about the bees.”
“There aren’t any bees here.” Sam pointed out.
“Of course there’s not.” Dean said, grimacing. “All the bees have left, remember? They’re busy attacking candidates for school president.”
oOoLana had called her at the Torch, mumbling hysterically about a bee attack at the Torch. When Lana had calmed down, she had explained the whole encounter. Sasha had gone after another candidate, but this time her attack had failed. Lana had hung up and Chloe had done an extensive search, learning as much as she could about bees in an attempt to learn exactly how Sasha was controlling them.
Despite learning a ridiculous amount about bees, she eventually decided to head over to Sasha’s house.
The house was locked, and so she wandered around the back of the house.
When she reached the shed, she found Clark standing in the middle of the room, looking at a few pictures stuck to the wall. She turned on her torch, suppressing a snigger as Clark jumped.
“Lana told me about the Talon.” Chloe said, attempting to explain her appearance. “Thanks for the call.” she finished, sarcastically.
“Sorry.” Clark said weakly, distracted.
“It’s all right.” she replied, shrugging. And it was true. Her conversation with Dean the previous day had calmed her down, knowing that she couldn’t expect Clark to be pleased by her lack of support. “I’m not mad.”
“Look, Chloe. I don’t hold it against you.” Clark said, finally turning away from the wall to look at her. “The endorsement, I mean.”
“Thanks.” she said, smiling. “I could have warned you, though. I was worried about how you would react, so I didn’t tell you.” She laughed slightly. “Probably made it worse.”
Clark nodded. “I just don’t like being in a fight with you.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t my favourite part either.”
“Everything has changed in my life in the last year,” Clark admitted slowly. “With my parents, with Lana. The only thing constant has been you. I’m glad for that, Chloe.”
Chloe beamed at him. “Me too.”
They stood in a comfortable silence for a few moments, smiling at each other. Chloe jumped as she felt something drop onto her shoulder.
Clark reached forwards, wiping her shoulder with his finger. He rubbed the two fingers together, scowling.
“This feels like honey.” he stated, frowning.
Chloe, however, was looking upwards. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the golden stalactites connected to the ceiling.
“Yeah,” she said, shocked. “That’s what you usually find in a hive.”
Clark gaped at the ceiling. “Don’t tell me Sasha did all this.”
“No, her worker bees did.” Chloe stated, remembering what she had read online.
“How is she controlling them?”
“I think she’s emitting something called the queen mandibular pheromone.”
Clark raised an eyebrow. “She picked that up when she fell in the hive?”
“She was stung over a thousand times.” she told him, wincing at the thought. “They were Africanized honeybees and the doctors didn’t hold out much hope because she was allergic.”
“How do they account for the miracle recovery?”
“They don’t.” She replied. “And neither could I until I found out the accident happened in Shuster’s Gorge.”
Clark sighed. “That’s the deepest crater in town.”
“Yeah, you do the meteorite math. The bees did something to her to make her their queen bee.”
“Now all the bees in the state are taking their cue from her.” Clark finished.
“And they’re helping her make Smallville High her own personal hive.” Chloe said, finally realizing exactly why Sasha was going after the candidates.
“We better find her.” Clark said, looking horrified. “If she doesn’t like the way the vote goes, the school won’t be a pretty sight.”
“Neither will she.” Chloe told him. “Bees are only loyal to a point. Once she loses control, her scent will change, the bees will know. They won’t be happy.”
oOoIt was dark by the time Dean and Sam returned from Shuster’s Gorge. Chloe was sitting in the kitchen, tapping her fingers on the table.
“You still up, Sullivan?” Dean said as he shut the door.
“It’s not that late.” she laughed. “I don’t know how you spent so long at Shuster’s Gorge.”
“Sammy decided that he had to investigate every single nook and cranny.” Dean said, shooting a grin at his brother. “I have never picked up so many meteor rocks in my life.”
“Clark called.” Chloe said, smiling slightly.
Dean noticed her look. “I guess you’ve made up then.”
She nodded. “He talked to Sasha. Apparently, the bees turned on her. I guess they figured out that she was never going to win the election.”
“Is she alright?” Sam asked.
“I guess.” Chloe shrugged. “If any of them had stung her, she’d be in the hospital. Clark must have done something.”
“I bet he did.” Dean agreed.
“He told me that the bees won’t be bothering anyone anymore.” she said. “He said he torched them somehow.”
“So what’s going to happen with the election?” Sam asked, sitting next to her. “I guess Sasha isn’t going to be running anymore.”
“She dropped out. Felice did too.” Chloe announced. “But we’ll find out the winner tomorrow.”
“I’m going to head up.” Dean said, bringing the rock out of his pocket. “Look at my growing rock collection. It’s currently contains... two rocks.”
Chloe laughed, waving as he headed up the stairs. She then turned to Sam. “So, you went out today?”
“Why do you sound so shocked?” Sam asked, smiling at her.
“And you’re smiling.” she laughed.
“Is that so unusual?”
“It has been recently.” Chloe told him. “I mean, you barely expressed any interest in the killer bees until today.”
“You try coping with the fact that you’re telekinetic.” Sam said, grinning. “It’s not exactly something most people have to deal with.”
“In Smallville, it seems to happen to quite a few people.” Chloe pointed out. “But, honestly, Sam, are you sure it wasn’t just a fluke? You’ve said it yourself; you can’t move things with your mind even if you focus.”
Sam smiled at her. “Let’s hope that’s true.”
oOoDean was hunting out a good cup of coffee, impressed by how the Talon had suddenly regained its popularity. Sam was hovering awkwardly by a table of cakes, Clark and Pete standing next to him.
Chloe was meandering through the crowd, taking pictures of what was going on.
Pete and Clark had attempted to talk to Sam, but eventually they had given up when he only gave one word replies.
“I can’t believe Felice and Sasha both dropped out and you still lost.” Pete said, sighing dramatically. “Where did I go wrong?”
“You ran a good campaign, Pete.” Clark told him, grinning. “We had fun. Met some new people, and we have enough shirts to last a lifetime.”
Chloe had finally arrived in front of them, camera raised.
“Please tell me that’s not for the Torch.” Pete begged.
Chloe shook her head, smiling at the three guys. “It’s for Paul. Since he couldn’t attend his own victory party himself, he asked me to take pictures for him.”
“Chloe, you were right to endorse him.” Clark said and she turned to look at him. Sam tried to pretend he wasn’t listening. “He was the more qualified candidate, and I got caught up in the whole popularity rush.”
“Don’t start gloating just because you guys won.” Pete begged and Chloe chuckled.
“Well, my candidate may have won, but my friends lost.” She laid a hand on Clark’s arm. “I’m really proud of you tonight, Clark.”
“Why?” Clark asked, looking down at her hand.
“Because you’re exhibiting dignity in the face of defeat.” she explained. “It’s the quality that all great leaders possess.”
He smiled down at her, passing her a coffee. Chloe beamed up at him, removing her hand when Dean appeared at her side. Sam turned, frowning at his brother.
“What?”
“Well, I’ve had my coffee and Lana seems to be eyeing me.” He smirked as Clark tensed up. “Well, she might be eyeing someone else.” he said, staring at Clark. “But either way, she’s heading over here so I figured it was time to head out.”
“She has a boyfriend.” Clark stammered and Dean grinned.
“I don’t care. I just want to get out of here before she makes contact with me.” he nudged his brother. “So shall we go?”
“Chloe?” Sam asked, looking at her. “Are you coming?”
“She doesn’t have to.” Pete said, smiling at her. “I mean, you need to spend some time here not taking photos.”
Chloe grinned at him. “I can’t get home if I don’t leave with them.”
“I can drive you home.” Pete offered. “I need to apologise for how I treated during this whole election thing anyway.”
“Pete,” grinned Chloe. “That’s so sweet.”
“So I guess you’re staying.” Sam said slowly. “We’ll see you later.”
Chloe nodded, waving at them as they left the Talon. As Chloe lowered the camera, Clark shuffled off to see Lana and Lex.
“So, we haven’t had any Pete and Chloe time in a while...” Pete trailed off, slinging an arm around Chloe. Chloe grinned, allowing him to lead her into the crowd.
Previous Part
Sam stared at Chloe, watching as she tapped her fingers repeatedly against the desk. He had started spending time downstairs once again and the others hoped that it meant he was getting used to the idea of having telekinesis.
“What’s wrong?” he asked curiously, but she ignored him.
“I bet I know.” Sam looked up as his brother strode into the room. Dean grinned widely at him, happy to see him downstairs. Chloe glanced at him, eyebrow raised. “I bet you’re trying to write an article on the election without sounding too much like you’re on Clark’s side.”
She shook her head and Dean looked shocked, joining the two of them at the table. He watched Chloe, waiting for her to explain.
“Clark’s my best friend.” She started, but closed her mouth, uncertain how to continue.
“But…” Sam said, waiting for her to speak.
“But,” she said, smiling weakly. “I don’t think he’s really meant for class president. I mean, sure, it’s not the same as running for actual president, but he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing.”
“He’ll probably be fine at it if he was actually elected.”
“Of course he would.” She said, waving aside Sam’s comment. “But would you want a class president who didn’t even put himself forward? I can’t support him if he’s got no ideas worth supporting.”
“What are his ideas?” asked Sam, actually interested in the conversation.
“Last time I asked him, he had none.” Chloe said, sighing. “I can’t write a biased article, so not supporting him isn’t a problem.”
Dean grinned, understanding what Chloe’s problem was. “The problem is if Clark finds out you don’t support him.”
“Exactly.” She nodded at him.
“I don’t blame you for not supporting him.” Dean said, smiling. “He has no ideas and is running because Lana thought he should. If Clark did get elected, it would really be Barbie running the school. Who wants that?”
Chloe snorted. “I guess I’ll just write the article and hope Clark doesn’t notice that there’s no hidden endorsement.”
“If he gets angry with you,” Dean said, smirking. “Just tell me and I’ll destroy him.”
Chloe’s laughter increased. “He may be a bad candidate for a president but he’s still Clark. I don’t need him destroyed.”
With a grin, she gathered up her laptop and tottered off to her bedroom. Dean turned to Sam, eyebrow raised.
“I doubt you could destroy Clark.” Sam told his brother. “He seems rather indestructible.”
“I’m sure he has a weakness.” Dean said, laughing. “But honestly, I don’t know if I’d want to destroy him. He may have a bazillion meteor powers but he doesn’t seem as mad as any of the other meteor freaks. In fact, he tends to be rather helpful.”
“Not everyone with powers is bad.” Sam said stiffly.
Dean looked up at his brother and sighed. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.” He said awkwardly. He grimaced, trying to find the words that would reassure his brother, but before he could say anything, Sam stood and skulked out of the kitchen.
oOoChloe was sorting through her articles for the Torch when Clark entered the office. He stared at her for a few seconds, a mass of posters in his hand.
“Chloe?” He said, watching as she jumped and turned around. “Any chance you could help us hang some posters? Pete’s convinced that if he puts my name on enough wall space, I’m guaranteed to win.”
Chloe chuckled but shook her head. “Besides needing to remain an impartial member of the fouth estate, I’m still working on my bee story.”
“Did you find anything new?”
Chloe grimaced. “Just that the swarms didn’t migrate from any of the usual places. The beekeepers from all over the state have found their hives empty. It’s like the colonies just up and left.”
“That’s weird.” Clark said, frowning. “Bees are notorious followers. They wouldn’t desert their hive without a good reason.” Chloe raised an eyebrow at him and he reddened. “My mom’s addicted to the Discovery Channel.”
“So how goes the platform?” Chloe said, shoving the latest edition underneath the pile of articles. She didn’t want Clark to see her article on the race for Class President.
“I haven’t started working on it yet.” Clark admitted sheepishly. “I’ve been busy meeting new people.” He grinned. “I even got invited to parties this weekend.”
“I can’t believe it only took one day for you to be compromised by the lure of popularity.” Chloe laughed.
“Remind me to pull your funding after I’m elected.” Clark teased, pretending to be insulted. “Speaking of which, where’s the latest edition?”
Chloe gaped at him, thrown by his change of subject. “No,” she replied hastily, standing in front of the pile of articles as if to hide it from him. “No, no, no, no.” Clark raised an eyebrow at her refusal. “I’m not done proofing it yet.” She said slowly, trying to make up an excuse. “Clark, I really don’t think you should be looking at it just yet. It’s not even done.”
He looked at her in shock. “Come on,” he said. “I’ve been correcting your comma issues since your first laptop.”
He gently moved her out of the way and dug through the pile.
“Clark!” Chloe said harshly, hoping he would stop. Instead, he reached the file containing the drafts for the latest edition and opened it.
She watched his face as he read the draft, grimacing when she saw a frown grace his face.
“Paul for Prez.” Clark read, glancing up at her. “You endorsed Paul?”
Chloe looked away, unable to look at the betrayed expression on Clark’s face. “Clark, I had to be objective.” She replied, hoping he would accept her excuse. “Paul’s still in the race, and he’ll be back on his feet again by fall. It’s great that you’re all gung-ho and sloganing now, but the truth is that the only reason you ran is because Pete suckered you into it. Paul has a clear stance on issues you have yet to articulate.” Clark still looked betrayed, slowly putting the article back onto the pile. “It’s nothing personal.” She finished weakly.
“No, I understand, Chloe.” Clark replied dully, turning and leaving the office.
Chloe grimaced, slumping down next to her desk.
oOoWhen Pete and Clark sauntered into the Talon, Dean grinned. At their entrance, Lana had stopped attempting to take his order and had turned away. Sighing in relief, he quickly swallowed the rest of his coffee and stood up, leaving the Talon.
The main street of Smallville was busier than usual as the High School had just finished for the day. He strode between the varying students, catching sight of the familiar blonde hair of Chloe. She was wandering despondently up the street. He caught up with her, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around.
He looked at her expression and grimaced. “I’m guessing Clark discovered you weren’t endorsing him.”
She nodded. “He said he understood... but he didn’t look like he did.”
“He probably thought you were a guaranteed supporter.” Dean pointed out. “And I bet an endorsement in the Torch would help his confidence.”
“His confidence?”
“You told me he wasn’t very fond of public speaking.” Dean replied. “Maybe if he knew you supported him, he’d feel more confident about the speech he has to do.”
Chloe bit her lip. “You’re making me feel worse.” she moaned. “You suck at pep talks.”
“I wasn’t giving you a pep talk.” Dean told her, grinning. “I was just telling the truth.”
“Maybe this is why I don’t hang out with you that often.” she grumbled. “You just make me feel bad.”
“I don’t do this all the time.” Dean laughed. “But who else am I supposed to talk to? Sam’s being all mopey, no matter how many times I tell him telekinesis is cool.”
“I have never heard you say telekinesis is cool.” Chloe told him. “In fact, most of the time you seem to be avoiding the subject.”
Dean looked at her then grimaced. “That’s because it’s not cool. The last guy I met with telekinesis-“
“The only guy you’ve met with telekinesis.” Chloe interjected.
“Yeah, him.” Dean continued. “Well, he wasn’t exactly the nicest person around.”
“I don’t see why you’re thinking about it so much.” Chloe said, adjusting her bag strap.
“Thinking?” Dean repeated. “I’m hardly thinking about it. Sam’s thinking about it.”
“He’s allowed. He’s the one with the powers.” she said. “But he is getting a bit too depressed.”
“He’s bringing everyone else down.” Dean agreed.
“Him and... other things. I still haven’t figured out the attack of the killer bees.” Chloe grimaced. “I’m hoping it’s a completely meteor-free freak accident.”
“I don’t think you get them in Smallville.”
“Neither do I, but I’m allowed to hope.” She looked down. “How about we go to a movie, stop thinking about telekinesis and bees.”
“A movie?” Dean said slowly. “Where’s the cinema?”
“There’s one about ten minutes outside Smallville.” She told him. “I really want to see the Spiderman film that’s just come out.”
“Spiderman?” Dean sniggered. “Aren’t there enough super-humans in Smallville?”
“But none in costume.” She told him.
Dean looked as though he was debating whether or not to go, but eventually he sighed. “I suppose. Just remember to tell your dad. Don’t want him kicking us out.”
oOo“Where have you been?”
Dean looked up and smiled innocently when he saw the scowl on Sam’s face. “What? Did I miss my curfew?”
Sam was not impressed. “Ha ha.” he said, looking away. “Where have you been?”
“Why? Were you worried?”
“No.” Sam insisted.
Dean stared at his brother, taking in his hunched position and the dark circles around his eyes. He obviously hadn’t been sleeping. Finding out about the telekinesis was hurting him more than anyone else.
“I went to the cinema.” Dean told him. “With Chloe.”
“Chloe?”
“Yeah. We bumped into each other when I left the Talon.” He told Sam, slumping down on his bed. “Clark’s not too happy with her and she’s still thinking about the bee thing. I think she just wanted to do something else.”
“What did you see?” Sam asked reluctantly.
“Spiderman.” Dean admitted. “It wasn’t too bad. Almost made me wish I had super spidey powers.” Sam snorted and Dean grinned at him. “I think Chloe enjoyed it. She seemed to have something for superheroes. I think it’s the costumes.”
Sam grimaced. “Superheroes aren’t real.”
Dean raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“So, about all the moping,” Dean started, smirking at his brother. “Is it going to stop?”
“What else is there to do?” Sam grumbled. “It’s Smallville. There’s not much around here.”
“There’s coffee.” Dean said, grinning. “And tomorrow you are coming to the Talon with me. You can be my Barbie buffer.”
“Exciting.” Sam drawled. “I want to spend my days in a coffee house.”
“We could look into the freak bee attack.” Dean said. “Chloe said she’s getting nowhere with it except the fact that the bees were from many different colonies around the state.”
“It would be something to do.” Sam said and he smiled at his brother.
“So you are going to venture outside of the house tomorrow?”
Sam nodded.
oOo“I’m glad you feel that way, because according to my latest poll, you’ve got a shot.”
When Pete finished speaking, Chloe sank into the spare seat to his left. He glanced quickly at her but didn’t say anything.
“Hey.” Chloe said hesitantly.
Clark looked at her. “Hey.”
“How’s it going?” Chloe asked, trying to pretend that her endorsement had never existed.
Clark opened his mouth but Pete spoke before he had a chance. “Just answer ‘no comment’. That way she can’t misquote you.”
Chloe looked down, biting her lip. “Did you hear about Felice?”
“Yeah, I was just at the medical centre.” Clark replied, ignoring Pete. Chloe smiled at him. “She was stung way worse than Paul. She’s in a coma.”
Chloe winced. “Two candidates attacked in a week.” Pete stated, looking worried. “That’s a pretty freaky coincidence.”
“I think we’ve moved past coincidence.”
“What do you think is going on?” Chloe asked Clark, wondering if he had managed to find out something.
“I don’t know,” Clark admitted. “But remember last year, Sasha’s accident when she was stung by a whole hive of bees?”
“You think that because of that, she’s somehow controlling them?”
“It’s a theory.” Clark said sheepishly.
“Yeah, by several leaps and bounds.” Chloe chuckled. Clark looked away, clearly still upset from the previous day. “But I’ll look into it.” She smiled at him. “In the meantime, watch your back.”
oOo“I’m not too fond of bees.” Dean said, as they slowly clambered down into Shuster’s Gorge. Chloe had rung them to tell them about Sasha’s accident the previous year, telling them that they had to check the gorge out.
“Neither am I.” Sam replied.
“Why are all the bugs in Smallville so weird?” Dean asked, grimacing. “This is the second bug related thing in less than a year.”
“Because the meteor rocks make everything in Smallville weird.” Sam answered, picking one up from the bottom of the gorge. “If that girl got attacked by a hive of bees from this gorge, no wonder she’s turned into the queen bee.”
“It’s like bug boy all over again.” Dean grimaced. “Except there’s less walking on walls.”
“She’s going a bit far though.” Sam said, tossing the rock to Dean. “It’s a school election. No need to incapacitate the victims.”
“I think another side effect of the meteors is mental instability.” Dean commented, turning the rock round in his hand. “Why are these meteors different to others? I mean, there have been other meteor strikes, right?”
“I’ve read about a few since we got to Smallville.” Sam admitted.
“So that’s what you were doing when you refused to come downstairs.” Dean sniggered. “Looking up meteors.”
“In the 50s, a woman was hit by a meteorite in her own home.” Dean raised an eyebrow. “She got a few bruises but I didn’t hear of any special powers. Apart from Smallville, I can’t find anywhere else that has a correlation between meteor strikes and special abilities. I can’t even really find many people with special abilities who aren’t from Smallville.”
“There’s definitely something about these meteors.” Dean agreed, pocketing the rock. “But what we need to do is find out about the bees.”
“There aren’t any bees here.” Sam pointed out.
“Of course there’s not.” Dean said, grimacing. “All the bees have left, remember? They’re busy attacking candidates for school president.”
oOoLana had called her at the Torch, mumbling hysterically about a bee attack at the Torch. When Lana had calmed down, she had explained the whole encounter. Sasha had gone after another candidate, but this time her attack had failed. Lana had hung up and Chloe had done an extensive search, learning as much as she could about bees in an attempt to learn exactly how Sasha was controlling them.
Despite learning a ridiculous amount about bees, she eventually decided to head over to Sasha’s house.
The house was locked, and so she wandered around the back of the house.
When she reached the shed, she found Clark standing in the middle of the room, looking at a few pictures stuck to the wall. She turned on her torch, suppressing a snigger as Clark jumped.
“Lana told me about the Talon.” Chloe said, attempting to explain her appearance. “Thanks for the call.” she finished, sarcastically.
“Sorry.” Clark said weakly, distracted.
“It’s all right.” she replied, shrugging. And it was true. Her conversation with Dean the previous day had calmed her down, knowing that she couldn’t expect Clark to be pleased by her lack of support. “I’m not mad.”
“Look, Chloe. I don’t hold it against you.” Clark said, finally turning away from the wall to look at her. “The endorsement, I mean.”
“Thanks.” she said, smiling. “I could have warned you, though. I was worried about how you would react, so I didn’t tell you.” She laughed slightly. “Probably made it worse.”
Clark nodded. “I just don’t like being in a fight with you.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t my favourite part either.”
“Everything has changed in my life in the last year,” Clark admitted slowly. “With my parents, with Lana. The only thing constant has been you. I’m glad for that, Chloe.”
Chloe beamed at him. “Me too.”
They stood in a comfortable silence for a few moments, smiling at each other. Chloe jumped as she felt something drop onto her shoulder.
Clark reached forwards, wiping her shoulder with his finger. He rubbed the two fingers together, scowling.
“This feels like honey.” he stated, frowning.
Chloe, however, was looking upwards. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the golden stalactites connected to the ceiling.
“Yeah,” she said, shocked. “That’s what you usually find in a hive.”
Clark gaped at the ceiling. “Don’t tell me Sasha did all this.”
“No, her worker bees did.” Chloe stated, remembering what she had read online.
“How is she controlling them?”
“I think she’s emitting something called the queen mandibular pheromone.”
Clark raised an eyebrow. “She picked that up when she fell in the hive?”
“She was stung over a thousand times.” she told him, wincing at the thought. “They were Africanized honeybees and the doctors didn’t hold out much hope because she was allergic.”
“How do they account for the miracle recovery?”
“They don’t.” She replied. “And neither could I until I found out the accident happened in Shuster’s Gorge.”
Clark sighed. “That’s the deepest crater in town.”
“Yeah, you do the meteorite math. The bees did something to her to make her their queen bee.”
“Now all the bees in the state are taking their cue from her.” Clark finished.
“And they’re helping her make Smallville High her own personal hive.” Chloe said, finally realizing exactly why Sasha was going after the candidates.
“We better find her.” Clark said, looking horrified. “If she doesn’t like the way the vote goes, the school won’t be a pretty sight.”
“Neither will she.” Chloe told him. “Bees are only loyal to a point. Once she loses control, her scent will change, the bees will know. They won’t be happy.”
oOoIt was dark by the time Dean and Sam returned from Shuster’s Gorge. Chloe was sitting in the kitchen, tapping her fingers on the table.
“You still up, Sullivan?” Dean said as he shut the door.
“It’s not that late.” she laughed. “I don’t know how you spent so long at Shuster’s Gorge.”
“Sammy decided that he had to investigate every single nook and cranny.” Dean said, shooting a grin at his brother. “I have never picked up so many meteor rocks in my life.”
“Clark called.” Chloe said, smiling slightly.
Dean noticed her look. “I guess you’ve made up then.”
She nodded. “He talked to Sasha. Apparently, the bees turned on her. I guess they figured out that she was never going to win the election.”
“Is she alright?” Sam asked.
“I guess.” Chloe shrugged. “If any of them had stung her, she’d be in the hospital. Clark must have done something.”
“I bet he did.” Dean agreed.
“He told me that the bees won’t be bothering anyone anymore.” she said. “He said he torched them somehow.”
“So what’s going to happen with the election?” Sam asked, sitting next to her. “I guess Sasha isn’t going to be running anymore.”
“She dropped out. Felice did too.” Chloe announced. “But we’ll find out the winner tomorrow.”
“I’m going to head up.” Dean said, bringing the rock out of his pocket. “Look at my growing rock collection. It’s currently contains... two rocks.”
Chloe laughed, waving as he headed up the stairs. She then turned to Sam. “So, you went out today?”
“Why do you sound so shocked?” Sam asked, smiling at her.
“And you’re smiling.” she laughed.
“Is that so unusual?”
“It has been recently.” Chloe told him. “I mean, you barely expressed any interest in the killer bees until today.”
“You try coping with the fact that you’re telekinetic.” Sam said, grinning. “It’s not exactly something most people have to deal with.”
“In Smallville, it seems to happen to quite a few people.” Chloe pointed out. “But, honestly, Sam, are you sure it wasn’t just a fluke? You’ve said it yourself; you can’t move things with your mind even if you focus.”
Sam smiled at her. “Let’s hope that’s true.”
oOoDean was hunting out a good cup of coffee, impressed by how the Talon had suddenly regained its popularity. Sam was hovering awkwardly by a table of cakes, Clark and Pete standing next to him.
Chloe was meandering through the crowd, taking pictures of what was going on.
Pete and Clark had attempted to talk to Sam, but eventually they had given up when he only gave one word replies.
“I can’t believe Felice and Sasha both dropped out and you still lost.” Pete said, sighing dramatically. “Where did I go wrong?”
“You ran a good campaign, Pete.” Clark told him, grinning. “We had fun. Met some new people, and we have enough shirts to last a lifetime.”
Chloe had finally arrived in front of them, camera raised.
“Please tell me that’s not for the Torch.” Pete begged.
Chloe shook her head, smiling at the three guys. “It’s for Paul. Since he couldn’t attend his own victory party himself, he asked me to take pictures for him.”
“Chloe, you were right to endorse him.” Clark said and she turned to look at him. Sam tried to pretend he wasn’t listening. “He was the more qualified candidate, and I got caught up in the whole popularity rush.”
“Don’t start gloating just because you guys won.” Pete begged and Chloe chuckled.
“Well, my candidate may have won, but my friends lost.” She laid a hand on Clark’s arm. “I’m really proud of you tonight, Clark.”
“Why?” Clark asked, looking down at her hand.
“Because you’re exhibiting dignity in the face of defeat.” she explained. “It’s the quality that all great leaders possess.”
He smiled down at her, passing her a coffee. Chloe beamed up at him, removing her hand when Dean appeared at her side. Sam turned, frowning at his brother.
“What?”
“Well, I’ve had my coffee and Lana seems to be eyeing me.” He smirked as Clark tensed up. “Well, she might be eyeing someone else.” he said, staring at Clark. “But either way, she’s heading over here so I figured it was time to head out.”
“She has a boyfriend.” Clark stammered and Dean grinned.
“I don’t care. I just want to get out of here before she makes contact with me.” he nudged his brother. “So shall we go?”
“Chloe?” Sam asked, looking at her. “Are you coming?”
“She doesn’t have to.” Pete said, smiling at her. “I mean, you need to spend some time here not taking photos.”
Chloe grinned at him. “I can’t get home if I don’t leave with them.”
“I can drive you home.” Pete offered. “I need to apologise for how I treated during this whole election thing anyway.”
“Pete,” grinned Chloe. “That’s so sweet.”
“So I guess you’re staying.” Sam said slowly. “We’ll see you later.”
Chloe nodded, waving at them as they left the Talon. As Chloe lowered the camera, Clark shuffled off to see Lana and Lex.
“So, we haven’t had any Pete and Chloe time in a while...” Pete trailed off, slinging an arm around Chloe. Chloe grinned, allowing him to lead her into the crowd.