Mr. Kent And ME [BL]

Defending a Friend

He tried to fight back but couldn't escape Soren's hold, no matter what he did.

Although Whitney was tall and looked like he was pulling Soren down, it was clear to the two of them that this was Soren's one-sided control over Whitney.

Clark, breathing heavily, felt the warmth of the sun slowly returning to his body as Whitney moved away from him.

He glanced at his palm, his fingers slightly bent, and gripped the support column of the fence.

The steel pipe immediately softened in his hand, like overcooked pasta.

Luckily, everyone's attention was on the struggle between Soren and Whitney, so no one noticed what Clark was doing.

Some people began cheering and encouraging Whitney to show this new kid what's what.

Clark stood up, like a young, solid mountain,
"Soren."

He called out to the only person who stood up for him.

He felt a soft warmth in his heart.

"I'm okay."

Soren released Whitney and walked straight to Clark.

He had a worried frown, his eyes moist with golden-brown eyelashes sticking to his eyelids, as if covered with morning dew.

"Clark, I..." He nervously swallowed his words, looked Clark up and down, and then gently hugged the alien boy.

He buried his face in Clark's old jacket and said in a muffled voice, "If they bully you again, I'll tell the principal."

Clark and everyone else: ...

...

In the social circles of teenagers around the world, there's an unwritten rule: no matter what happens, you should never involve your parents or teachers.

Breaking this rule often means being seen as an outsider.

You'll be pushed out of the group, and becoming the least popular person in school.

But Soren did just that.

He marched Clark to the principal's office and told the principal everything that had happened.

After getting the principal's promise to talk to Whitney later, Soren finally left.

Even when they were sitting in the lab chairs, Soren kept whispering to Clark, "I can't believe they treated you like that-how could they?"

Clark smiled weakly.

He wasn't sure how to explain everything to Soren, and Soren seemed to have no clue about these social nuances.

In some ways, Soren seemed out of touch with how things usually worked among teenagers.

Clark pulled out a pair of disposable gloves from the lab drawer and handed them to Soren.

He whispered, "I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry... But thanks, Soren."

Just then, Pete came up to their lab table, carrying his backpack.

He gave Clark a big hug, "Clark, did Whitney and the others bother you again? They're such jerks. If I hadn't had to stop by the newspaper office, I would have been right there with you."

Clark said, "I'm okay, Pete, don't worry."

He pulled out a chair from under the table and pushed it towards Pete, then began checking the lab equipment on their table.

Pete shrugged at Soren, giving a look that said, "What can I do? That's just how he is."

Soren leaned closer to Clark, covering Clark's equipment checklist with his hand and lowering his voice, "Clark, why didn't you talk to me this morning?"

There was a hint of hurt in his voice.

Clark looked up and saw Soren shaking his golden hair while pulling a rectangular flat box out of his backpack.

Soren slipped the box under his jacket and said mysteriously, "I wanted to show you this earlier. I brought a special treasure to school."

"Ta-da!" Before Clark could ask what it was, Soren quickly pulled the treasure out from under his jacket and held it up for Clark to see, "It's the HD DVD of Star Trek IV! 'The Voyage Home' is the best movie in the ST series!"

Pete who is sitting nearby, almost toppled over in surprise.

Clark, already used to Soren's nerdy enthusiasm, calmly responded, "Wow!"

Soren, holding the DVD case, said excitedly, "Do you want to come over to my place after school and watch it? It's on the way!"

"Uh-" Clark found it hard to refuse Soren's eager, shining eyes.

He thought for a moment and nodded his head, "Sure, but I need to let Martha know first."

Pete made an exasperated face, his dark skin wrinkling in a frown.

He moved his chair closer to them and said quietly, "Hold on, don't rush to watch the DVD. Did you know Whitney was just chosen as the captain of the football team a few days ago?"

Soren tilted his head, confused. "So?"

Pete bit his lip and looked at Clark, then at Soren, "In the Smallville High School football team, when a new captain is chosen, he has to pick a student to be the 'scarecrow' as part of their ritual."

"What's a scarecrow?" Soren asked, looking curious.

Clark turned around and patted Pete's shoulder, "Forget it, Pete. Don't explain it."

Pete looked puzzled, "Clark?"

Soren leaned in, still pressing for answers, "Don't be cryptic. Tell me, Clark, what's a scarecrow?"

It was really strange to Soren.

He only knew that Gotham City's famous Batman fan group had a member called Scarecrow, but he hadn't heard that Smallville had its own scarecrow.

Was it possible that the real origin of scarecrow was in Smallville?

Just then, the school bell rang, and Clark immediately sat up straight, looking serious and focused on the lesson.

He wouldn't give Soren any more hints about the "scarecrow," so Soren had to swallow his curiosity and start following the teacher's instructions for the chemistry experiment.

Soren had to wait until the end of class to ask Clark again about the scarecrow.

But Clark was tight-lipped, not willing to say a word more.

Not only that, but he cleverly shifted Soren's attention back to their favorite sci-fi topic, talking about the recent release of "Star Wars: Episode I."

Soren's eyes lit up at the mention of Star Wars.

He got really excited, talking non-stop, and even tugged on Clark's sleeve throughout the conversation. "...Anyway, I think Anakin is the coolest in this one! Did you know %...&**&%#@..."