Pain #3 : Healing
Spoilers: Smallville Third Season Premiere if you haven't seen it. Otherwise none.
Content Rating: PG
Type: Drama
Characters: Clark Kent, Pete Ross.
Summary: My interpretation of a scene that should've been included in the episode "Phoenix" (season three, episode two). This is the final part of "Pain" and "Aftermath"
Content Rating: PG
Type: Drama
Characters: Clark Kent, Pete Ross.
Summary: My interpretation of a scene that should've been included in the episode "Phoenix" (season three, episode two). This is the final part of "Pain" and "Aftermath"
Pete stood in the doorway and blinked.
“Well of all the people to show up on my doorstep... When did you get back?” Clark shifted uncomfortably, shoulders hunched up, hands jammed into the front pocket of his jeans.
“Yesterday” he replied.
“So what are you doing here?” Clark looked up at Pete’s abrupt tone.
“I came to see you, to talk to you,” he explained. Pete folded his arms across his chest and regarded the guy who’d been his best friend since kindergarten, the guy who trusted him enough to tell him his absolute deepest darkest secret and boy had it been a doozie!
“Talk to me? Hell Clark it’s been three months man! Three months and not a word from you, if I wanted to check in on you all I had to do was open the front page of the Daily Planet and there you were!” Clark felt his cheeks flame as embarrassment flooded through him. Pete was right, he was absolutely right.
“I know you have every right to be angry with me” He stuttered and paused when he saw Pete take a step towards him, closing the porch door behind him. His dark brown eyes weren’t just angry, they were furious.
“You are my best friend Clark and you took off for Metropolis without an explanation. Why? What the hell happened to make you go off the rails so completely like that?” he hissed. Clark took a half step backwards and stared at his feet.
“I did something that was really unforgivable and I panicked, I just ran” he sneaked a glance back up at Pete.
“What? What did you do?” Clark sighed. He shook his head and turned and began to walk down the steps. He turned to see Pete standing on the top step, just watching him.
“Remember when I destroyed the ship? Do you remember what happened?” Pete nodded.
“I remember” Clark sighed again, more shakily. A huge lump rose in his throat and he had to swallow several times to get around it. He heard Pete thump down the wooden steps and was aware of him standing beside him, waiting for him to continue.
“My mom and dad were returning from Lex’s wedding. They got caught up in the blast from the explosion”
“I know that” Clark made himself look at him, and Pete frowned at the anguished expression in his friends’ eyes.
“My mom was pregnant Pete” Silence stretched out between them as Pete took in this information.
“She lost the baby. The one thing they wanted more than anything and it was my fault. My dad looked at me in the hospital like he hated me, so I did them a favour and took off” Pete watched Clark tell him this. Saw the brightness in his eyes, heard the ache in his voice.
“And that’s why you went to Metropolis?” Clark looked at him and just nodded.
“Lived my own life the way I thought I wanted to. And for a while it was fun”
“Robbing banks and taking on the Metropolis SWAT team, yeah, I can imagine that could be a blast” Pete retorted cynically and inwardly Clark winced.
“Yeah, well I learned my lesson”
“Red kryptonite taught you a valuable lesson Clark, the longer you’re on it, the worse you get” Clark didn’t need to hear it again after his father had already informed him of the fact. Plus he knew for himself just how bad he could get. And he would only admit to himself just how much he liked its power, the way it pummelled his conscience to the point of non-existence. Clark looked Pete straight in the eye.
“I know that. I need to know something Pete and you can tell me to go to hell if you want to” Pete didn’t reply straight away. Clark took another deep breath.
“I need to know that you’re still my friend” Silence stretched out between them, like elastic becoming thin and painful. Pete huffed out a breath.
“The fact that you have to even ask me that insults me Clark. Of course I’m still your friend, through good and bad, thick and thin or whatever, I’ve always got your back” he cuffed Clark’s shoulder and for the first time Clark allowed himself to smile. The smile abruptly vanished as he looked at Pete.
“It means a lot to me to hear you say that. I haven’t been the best of friends to you in the past” Spending time with Lex rather than Pete when it was Pete he’d entrusted with his secret, a secret he hadn’t dared share with the son of Lionel Luthor. He’d told Lex that he trusted him but deep, deep within his heart there had been that shadowy element of not being entirely sure what had made Lex tick or how he would’ve reacted to the information that Clark Kent was more than he appeared to be. Several times Clark had wondered exactly how much Lex had known, but if he’d suspected anything, he’d kept that information closely guarded. Beside him Pete shrugged.
“Same here. I guess that makes us even now, huh?” Clark glanced at him.
“I guess it does”
END
“Well of all the people to show up on my doorstep... When did you get back?” Clark shifted uncomfortably, shoulders hunched up, hands jammed into the front pocket of his jeans.
“Yesterday” he replied.
“So what are you doing here?” Clark looked up at Pete’s abrupt tone.
“I came to see you, to talk to you,” he explained. Pete folded his arms across his chest and regarded the guy who’d been his best friend since kindergarten, the guy who trusted him enough to tell him his absolute deepest darkest secret and boy had it been a doozie!
“Talk to me? Hell Clark it’s been three months man! Three months and not a word from you, if I wanted to check in on you all I had to do was open the front page of the Daily Planet and there you were!” Clark felt his cheeks flame as embarrassment flooded through him. Pete was right, he was absolutely right.
“I know you have every right to be angry with me” He stuttered and paused when he saw Pete take a step towards him, closing the porch door behind him. His dark brown eyes weren’t just angry, they were furious.
“You are my best friend Clark and you took off for Metropolis without an explanation. Why? What the hell happened to make you go off the rails so completely like that?” he hissed. Clark took a half step backwards and stared at his feet.
“I did something that was really unforgivable and I panicked, I just ran” he sneaked a glance back up at Pete.
“What? What did you do?” Clark sighed. He shook his head and turned and began to walk down the steps. He turned to see Pete standing on the top step, just watching him.
“Remember when I destroyed the ship? Do you remember what happened?” Pete nodded.
“I remember” Clark sighed again, more shakily. A huge lump rose in his throat and he had to swallow several times to get around it. He heard Pete thump down the wooden steps and was aware of him standing beside him, waiting for him to continue.
“My mom and dad were returning from Lex’s wedding. They got caught up in the blast from the explosion”
“I know that” Clark made himself look at him, and Pete frowned at the anguished expression in his friends’ eyes.
“My mom was pregnant Pete” Silence stretched out between them as Pete took in this information.
“She lost the baby. The one thing they wanted more than anything and it was my fault. My dad looked at me in the hospital like he hated me, so I did them a favour and took off” Pete watched Clark tell him this. Saw the brightness in his eyes, heard the ache in his voice.
“And that’s why you went to Metropolis?” Clark looked at him and just nodded.
“Lived my own life the way I thought I wanted to. And for a while it was fun”
“Robbing banks and taking on the Metropolis SWAT team, yeah, I can imagine that could be a blast” Pete retorted cynically and inwardly Clark winced.
“Yeah, well I learned my lesson”
“Red kryptonite taught you a valuable lesson Clark, the longer you’re on it, the worse you get” Clark didn’t need to hear it again after his father had already informed him of the fact. Plus he knew for himself just how bad he could get. And he would only admit to himself just how much he liked its power, the way it pummelled his conscience to the point of non-existence. Clark looked Pete straight in the eye.
“I know that. I need to know something Pete and you can tell me to go to hell if you want to” Pete didn’t reply straight away. Clark took another deep breath.
“I need to know that you’re still my friend” Silence stretched out between them, like elastic becoming thin and painful. Pete huffed out a breath.
“The fact that you have to even ask me that insults me Clark. Of course I’m still your friend, through good and bad, thick and thin or whatever, I’ve always got your back” he cuffed Clark’s shoulder and for the first time Clark allowed himself to smile. The smile abruptly vanished as he looked at Pete.
“It means a lot to me to hear you say that. I haven’t been the best of friends to you in the past” Spending time with Lex rather than Pete when it was Pete he’d entrusted with his secret, a secret he hadn’t dared share with the son of Lionel Luthor. He’d told Lex that he trusted him but deep, deep within his heart there had been that shadowy element of not being entirely sure what had made Lex tick or how he would’ve reacted to the information that Clark Kent was more than he appeared to be. Several times Clark had wondered exactly how much Lex had known, but if he’d suspected anything, he’d kept that information closely guarded. Beside him Pete shrugged.
“Same here. I guess that makes us even now, huh?” Clark glanced at him.
“I guess it does”
END
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