The Bittersweet Ballad of Pete Ross ~Chapter Three~
Title: The Bittersweet Ballad of Pete Ross
Author: The Satyr Icon
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Set in Icon AU; Freshman Year
Classification: Smallville; Chloe/Clark; Pete Ross; het_fic
Disclaimer: All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & MilesMillar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster; I am just writing for fun, and if I owned them, all would be good and clean in the World.
Summary: Pete and Clark go camping, but why is Chloe coming along? and why does that infuriate Pete?
Word Count: 46,164
Written: Start: Plot: December 2004 Actually Writing: July 2006 Finished: August 2007
Chapter Two
http://the-satyr-icon.livejournal.com/65893.html
~The Bittersweet Ballad of Pete Ross~
~CHAPTER THREE~
"Ross Brand Creamiest Corn", perhaps the most creamed corn ever canned was a Ross Creamed Corn, Amalgamated creation; the corn was grown and harvested on the south side of town from acres upon acres of cornstalks, and the stylish red and yellow cans were once a staple on every table in Smallville. The cans sold well regionally, as well, in the local markets and general stores of Kaitisnertown, Huntington, Tabbiton and even bitter town rival, Grandville. The high regard of the Ross corn and corn-related products was such that it was rumored that it was a Ross corn on the cob in the artwork that graced the huge billboard that welcomed visitors to Smallville for years.
Until 1989.
Rodney Ross, CEO of Ross Creamed Corn, Amalgamated, and his brothers-slash-board of directors had big ideas for their delicacy. They wanted to go national. They knew that had a superior product. But they knew that they needed the money to accomplish that goal of having their cans of corn on every pantry in the country, more money than Smallville Savings and Loan could lend them.
Enter Lionel Luthor.
A friend got in touch with a contact that got in touch with an advisor, and Luthor, a multi-millionaire from Metropolis, heard of the Ross' plight; he was quite intrigued. He cared not for their product, nor their equipment or machinery, but he cared very much for their land. He, too, wanted to expand, expand his LuthorCorp empire. He had first started his empire, ironically, in Grandville, and then started buying up land in Metropolis. The lion-maned Luthor built his wealth on commercial endeavors and spent most of the 1980's greedily buying up technological enterprises. The 1990's, he felt, were for buying up land of amber waves of grain, or in this case, the emerald and gold of cornstalks.
The Ross contingent were ecstatic to be approached by Luthor (and his lawyers and advisors and consultants) about wanting to help take "The Creamiest Corn" national. They would be partners, of course: Luthor would provide the capital to acquire more land, more equipment, more of everything needed to go national. All the Ross family needed to make the deal possible was to sell Luthor their land rights and the canning plant.
Rodney and his family could not have be asked to make a harder decision. Land was a precious commodity, especially to the Ross family; they literally bled for their land in the rough climate before segregation. But now, they had a chance to be a national company, accomplish their next goal. The chance would never come around again, just like the chance to acquire the land long ago.
Curiously, Luthor wanted to make separate deals: the land was on one contact, and the canning plant was on another. Negotiations stalled because Rodney wanted to keep the rights to the equipment, both farm and for canning, which Luthor wanted initially. Lionel's cronies drew up a new contract; Luthor would not seek partnership in the name of the product, just the land and plant; all equipment and even the trademark would remain in Ross' hands, for 1.45 million dollars. For that amount and some other minor concessions by the Ross Family, it was a done deal, and on a fateful October day when only one contact was signed, the heavens came crashing down around Rodney and Lionel, their family and lawyers. Meteors slammed into Smallville, destroying nearly the entire town and striking many farms; several intergalactic chunks plowed the Ross cornfield, decimating the land and produce, and nearly killed young Lex Luthor, Lionel's son, who was on hand for the signing.
Smallville became a national disaster area that October day and everyone that had survived the meteor strike pulled together to rebuild the town, to help their neighbor. But Lionel was an out-of-town visitor, and four days later, Rodney and his brothers got a notice to remove their remaining equipment from Luthor property. The calamity that struck the town became an even more a personal and business tragedy: the only signed contract was for the land, for the sum of $875,000. The other unsigned contracts were lost in the debris, and in the chaotic few days of the aftermath, forgotten. The Ross family were out of their land, most of their equipment was destroyed, and the plant? A medium sized meteor wiped out the main floor, and there was no corn to can anyways. There was no recourse; the Ross family had no land, no corn, no plant, just money. It was a bad time to be a Ross.
Pete Ross remembered that he cried, standing at the new chain-link fence that was erected around what the Ross farmland, watching the LuthorCorp construction crews cut down the last of the cornstalks, level and pave the ground. He was only four years old, but he remembered what he saw, what made him cry, and that memory burned into his psyche. When he got home from school the day Chloe wiggled into the camping trip, Pete went to that same spot, and looked out towards the field. The LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant Number 3 was built on his family farmland, so to speak, with several miles acting as a buffer between the plant and Pete's home. He thought, just like the land was stolen, that Lex, now a Smallville resident, was stealing Clark's friendship away from a Ross.
Just looking at once was acre after acre of cornstalks but now....flat and in the distance, a crap factory, made Pete mad enough to spit. And he did spit, spit towards the plant, like he did almost everyday thinking about the Luthors and the plant. Then he thought of the camping trip. Chloe was taking his friendship with Clark away too, and he spit again.
Rodney Ross was less than an hour away from Smallville, still in Grandville on some business, and Judge Ross was at the courthouse; her docket for that day was full: arranging for Sean Kelvin to be remanded to Belle Reve Sanatorium, and listening to the opening arguments for a couple of lingering lawsuits stemming from the Grayson Circus and Carnival bloodbath and the Captain Marvel-Sivana/Smallville affair earlier in the year. Pete did not want to call them at work about something like a camping trip or Chloe's involvement, especially when he KNEW that Chloe wouldn't get the okay to go from her father, let alone get one from the Kents. He thought of the factors against her: she and Clark were dating, and well...having Chloe on the trip would be an invitation to girl trouble. He grinned. No way her dad would let that happen.
And he thought of Clark's parents; They were always strict with their son. Heck, even Clark going to public school was up for discussion every year. He remembered that Clark spent some days every summer worrying he'd get home-schooled by his mom. The Kents were no push-overs.
'No way Chloe's goin' with us,' Pete thought, and went to the kitchen to get his after-school snack, a huge bowl of cereal. He had two options: He had some homework to finish up or maybe re-start his season campaign on Madden 2001, his favorite game for Playstation; his team, the Metropolis Sharks, were killing the league with 'Pete Ross' running the ball. Of course, the need to win beat out the need to open the school books for a while.
Pete's room was larger than Clark's bedroom, and far more colorful, with posters of sports stars (Danny Cody, hulking linebacker of the Metropolis Sharks and right-fielder Jay "Wonder Nut" Williamson of the baseball team, the Metropolis Knights), some posters of his favorite music stars (Ice Cube, R. Kelly, and Moby) on the walls. The shelves were lined with some books, some plastic models (mostly tanks, his favorite type and with Clark's help, a spaceship), and some framed pictures, of himself, and of his friends;a bunch of him and Clark, and a few with Chloe, and one of all three of them. One one shelf was devoted to his football trophy, "Most Improved Player", one he hoped would be the first of many awards. He went past his audio equipment (Pete liked to dabble with personalized music mixes, and liked to to be the DJ for his friends' get-togethers) to a small, two-shelf wooden bookcase and pulled out the football video-game case, took out the new disc, and slipped it into his Playstation. He let the game load, and smiled as he chose his saved game.
Two whole football games were played, and Pete had his usual after-school bowl of Cocoa Puffs cereal by the time his mother arrived at home, arms filled with manila folders. He barely greeted her when the phone rang; he saw "Clark" on the caller ID, and figured it was the Kents calling and letting Pete know that they were nixing the whole deal. With a sly grin, he told his mom, "It's for you."
Judge Ross set down her briefcase and took the phone. His stomach full, Pete leaned against the hallway wall and listened in on the phone call. He was surprised that his mom was talking to Mr. Sullivan and the Kents; Chloe must have got through his first line of defense, her own father. 'That's normal,' Pete thought; Mr. Sullivan was wrapped around his daughter's finger. But the Kents and his mom were a different story, he figured. When he heard his mother say,"If thats how you feel Martha, I agree. Chloe may go," he felt like throwing up.
"Mom...Chloe...Clark...together...overnight," he stammered. He leaned against the wall for support.
"That was a concern, but that Chloe has a level head on her shoulders, Pete," she admonished. "I know her; She volunteered at the courthouse while you were volunteering over at the pool, during girls' sessions." Her tone was sharp at her son. "And Clark...well, we know that boy." A smile crept on her face; Clark was always over, helpful, and she still had that sweet memory of the tall lanky white boy at their family reunion, totally at home.
"Mom..." Pete whined. Why couldn't he just say how he felt, that everyone was turning on him, he didn't know. She gave him a look that ended his fuss. She went into her study and closed the door. She wished she could spent a few more minutes on why she felt could go, but there were weightier matters to go over in the folders she carried, and those that were on her desk.
He dragged his feet while he sulked back to his bedroom, and was going to slam the door, but thought better of it. He flopped face first onto his bed, and tried to figure out how his camping trip plans went to hell. He thought that his mother would squash Chloe's hopes, but as a judge, she was for equal rights, so maybe he shouldn't have been all that shocked.
But what had totally floored him that the Kents, people that were so strict and protective that they could keep Clark off Little League baseball teams, Pop Warner Football teams, Junior Wilt Chamberlain basketball teams while they were growing up...could be all right with Chloe going on the trip. Pete shook his head at her luck; It took the boys two years to get to go alone. Now Chloe got to go, on her first attempt, with no adult supervision. He was mad, and he stewed in his room. He stared the posters on the wall, flicked on the television and tried to watch a few programs, but nothing could hold his attention, or take away the anger. He fluffed up his pillow, and reached for his TV remote and saw the picture of Clark, Chloe and a much happier Pete staring at him; he seethed. Finally, he grabbed his cell. He need to vent, to talk to Clark about it.
Pete went into the hall, grabbed the phone off the base. Pete went to his desk first to call, didn't like the chair felt, and went back to lying on his bed. He punched in Clark's number into phone.
Chapter Links
Prologue ~ One ~ Two ~ Three ~ Four ~ Five ~ Six ~ Seven ~ Eight ~ Nine ~ Ten ~ Eleven ~ Twelve ~ Thirteen ~ Fourteen ~ Fifteen ~ Sixteen ~ Epilogue
The Satyr Icon