SunnyDale Or Smallville-Nor So Different After All

SunnyDale or Smallville Ch.3.


Xander sat in a chair in front of Principal Kwan's desk. The Asian man looked for the transcripts for his new student with a frown, "Everything seems to be in order but I do have a few questions." Said Principal Kwan, "It says here you live with your guardian," he asked.

"Yes, sir." Xander said.

"Your guardian's age is listed as twenty-two. That seems a bit young for so much responsibility?"

"William Bradshaw's, my guardian, well his parents and mine were close friends. When my parents died. His parents were supposed to have become my guardians, but his parents and mine were lost in SunnyDale, Sir, and William took on his families' duties. He may be young but he's very responsible guy." Xander told the principal.

'The gods are going to smite me for telling such lies,' Xander thought.

The principal nodded then flipped through the papers, "It says here you...ummm...you burned down your last school?"

Xander blinked in shock, "What?" He stood and grabbed the transcripts from the older man, "I didn't blow...err..." Xander looked up at Kwan with a sickly smile on his face as he corrected himself, "Burn down the school." Then looked back down at the papers, they looked like the ones Willow had made up- he just didn't remember the creative history part of them. He frowned, surely she wasn't still mad at him- those pranks on Kennedy were just supposed to help loosen her up some. The young opinionated slayer's body hair would grow back soon enough and he would admit constantly short sheeting the beds was just childish; but it was possible the thing he had pulled with the sex-toys. Had more than likely been the final nail in his coffin, Willow had apparently decided to retaliate Xander thought. His frown faded into a wince as he recalled what he had done-maybe it had been a bit much. Then he blinked, for a moment there on the papers he thought he saw a ghostly image Willow's face on them sticking her tongue out at him from the papers in his hands. Xander put the transcripts on the desk then looked up and stated defensively, "There was nothing but circumstantial evidence at best!" He told Kwan remembering what the SunnyDale P.D. Had told him when they had been investigating the destruction of the school all those years ago, "I mean come on! Do you really think I would be walking around free with something like that on my record?" Xander asked.

Principal Kwan did not look convinced; "Here is your schedule and locker number with the combination for it. I hope you enjoy your school experience at Smallville High."

"Thank you, Sir." Xander said after taking the papers then walked toward the door but stopped when Kwan called his name.

"I believe everyone deserves a second chance, Harris, but I will be watching you."

Xander nodded, muttering to himself as he walked out the door, " If things continue par course, you'll be eaten soon."


**********


Xander walked down the main hall looking for his next class, stopping suddenly when he saw the mural on the wall. It was of the school mascot. At least he guessed it was the mascot; it was a crow wearing a blue and red suit with a red cape.

'That suit...' he wondered. But his thoughts were cut short when a blonde blur crashed into him, making him drop his half open backpack, scattering books and papers on the floor.

Xander sighed, 'It just figured,' he thought. Then bent down to pick up his stuff.

"Here." There was a hand holding his math book to him. He followed the hand up the arm to the shoulder then the face. It was the blonde girl that told him how to get the principal's office.

"Thanks." Xander said taking it the book.

"I'm Chloe," she said.

"Umm, Xander."

"So, your new here? Where are you from? What do you think of Smallville? Is that eye patch real?" The questions were asked rapidly. Xander blinked and thought only those from SunnyDale could speak with out breathing.

"Yes, California, small," Xander shot back." Do you always question people like that?"

Chloe blushed, "Sorry, it's a habit and a bad one. I run the school news paper-the Torch."

"Ah, a reporter." Xander said understandingly.

"It's my passion." She said.

"Well, my passion...is not to be late for my next class," he said putting the last of his thing back in his pack. "Thanks for helping, see you around." He said getting up and walking away.

Chloe saw something on the ground and pick it up, " Hey, wait you forgot your..." she looked down at the thing in her hand, "...stake?" She turned it over in her hands with a thoughtful look on her face before putting it in her school bag. Then she got up and hurried to class.


**********


'Ah, the joys of lunch!' Thought Xander as he sat down at a table in the quad. He could have eaten in the cafeteria but he always liked eating outside when he could. He sighed and picked at the lunchmeat surprise on his plate.

Rather than face what was on his plate he looked around; he could see all the cliques. You had your cheerleaders mixed in with the football players, who strutted around kings and queens of the school. He idly noted two of the players were tossing a ball back and forth. You had your geeks, who were eating and doing homework or busy talking about whatever club they were in. Then there were the rest of the students clumped together in little close-knit groups.

Xander sighed again he wasn't a jock or a geek, and he was the new kid. He wondered if there was a freak clique, and 'cause god knows with how many times Cordelia called him that he was a shoo-in. Otherwise he was on his lonesome because he was pretty sure there wasn't a 'those who save the world form darkness' clique here. Yeah, he sure was going to enjoy his second time in high school, at least the first time around he had friends. True, not many, but at least he'd had some.


*******


"So, where are we going to sit?" Pete asked.

"Somewhere far from the football team." Said Clark, who still had issues about having been chosen by the football team to be this year's scarecrow. The farther he was the better, was how he felt about it.

Chloe looked around the quad for a table. She spotted Xander sitting at a table and that he had the whole thing to himself.

"What about there?" she asked pointing to the table where Xander was sitting.

"With the new guy," asked Pete warily, "You sure...'cause he looks kind of dangerous."


Chloe just rolled her eyes at that, "His name is Xander," she said.

"Chloe, how do you know that?" asked Clark.

"I bumped into him in the hall and asked," She told them. "Anyway he has the table to himself." She said and began to walk towards Xander. The other to boys exchanged a look and followed her.


**********


"Hi!"

Xander looked up from his plate and saw Chloe followed by the two boys he had seen with her that morning.

"Hey." He said.

"Can we sit with you?" She asked.

"Mi table es su table." Xander said with a grand gesture at the table. She smiled and sat down across from him. Her friends hesitated but followed suit.

The brunette boy said "Clark" as he sat down next to Xander.

"Pete." Said the other as he sat down by Chloe.

There were a few moments of awkward silence then Clark asked, "So what do you think of Smallville."

"Small," Xander said with a smirk.

"And that joke never gets old," muttered Pete.

"Don't feel bad, my hometown was called SunnyDale, the joke was it was sunny-even when it wasn't." Xander said cheerfully.

"So, did you really burn down your old school?" Chloe asked bluntly and out of the blue.

Xander's eye widen in surprise then he frowned and asked, " How do you know about that?"

"Chloe..." Clark sighed resigned.

"Come on, Chloe don't start with the first degree..." said Pete.

Chloe just glared slightly at her friends. Xander Harris was an oddity because, well, how many people actually carried around a wooden stake, she looked back to Xander and asked, "Well did you?"

Xander shook his head, "No, that was a joke by one of my friends," he saw he disappointed look on Chloe's face. "Actually I blew it up." Xander had to laugh at the other three's shocked looks.

Chloe recovered first, "Why?"

"There were...extenuating circumstances..." yeah, the mayor turned into a giant demon and was going to eat the class, "I did have a good reason..." Xander muttered.

"What sort of reason could there have been?" Clark asked wide-eyed.

"Clark, it was high school 'nough reason right there," Pete said, and addressed Xander, "But you're just yanking our chain, right?"

"Maybe..." Xander said with a grin. Another awkward silence fell before Pete spoke up.

"About the patch, it real or a fashion statement?" Pete wonderingly asked. Xander lost his grin and look away for a moment, the silence came back. Pete seemed to realize his faux pas. "Oh, man...you don't..."

Xander shook his head, "No, it's...Well, you know, it's all fun and games..." he murmured softly.

After that the conversation turned toward the Torch, school events, and the places in town to hang out.

Suddenly a voice shouted, "Look out!"

Clark turned to see a football sailing toward him. He closed his eyes waiting for it to hit him. There was moment, then nothing? Clark slowly opened his eyes, and saw that Xander's hand was holding the ball inches from his head. Clark sighed in relief.

"Hey, can we have the ball back?" asked Whitney Fordman with a slightly smirk, as he came up to the table. Xander began to toss the football up and down in his hand.

"You did that on purpose." Xander stated coldly, he hated people like this guy.

"No, I didn't-we didn't." Whitney denies hotly.

Xander raises a skeptical eyebrow; the one not covered by the patch and says, " The guy you've been passing to is on the other side of the quad. Somehow I don't think you're that bad of a player if that," Xander indicated the letterman's jacket the other boy was wearing as an illustration, "is anything to go by. Quarterback, right?"

"Yeah, and?" Whitney puffed up challengely. Xander just smirked, 'Ponce' thought and promptly wanted to smack himself. Spike really had been a bad influence on him if he was thinking in English slang terms. Then Xander's smirk morphed into a wicked grin.

"Here how about I help you figure out where it was supposed to go..."he said as stood and drew back his arm then threw the ball powerfully toward Whitney's playing partner. The ball flew unerringly on target and smacking exactly where Xander had aimed with enough force that to make the poor receiver wince and blow on his hands after he had caught it.

Whitney gaped in surprise. Clark and Pete sniggered under their breath. Even Chloe smirked a bit.

Xander gave Whitney a hard look, "You should go away now, " he told the other boy before sitting back down and ignoring him. Glaring at all of them, Whitney scowls and stalks off humiliated.

When Clark managed to stop sniggering he told Xander, "You know, Whitney Fordman's not one to let something like that pass." He was speaking from experience.

"And the entire team tends to follow his lead. You just became persona non grata to the whole football team, Xander." Chloe said with a worried expression.

"Chloe, stop being such a wet blanket-did you see the look on Whitney's face?" Pete crowed, "He is so eating crow right now and it looks good on him. Dude, that was so cool!"

Clark nodded, then cocked his head and fluttered his eyelash flirtishly at Xander, "My hero," he said with a mock swoon and Xander laughed.

Chloe stood up and hit Pete and Clark with her notebook and then she hit Xander too for good measure.

"What did you hit me for?" whined Xander.

"Cause they," she said pointing to Clark and Pete, "maybe morons, but for some reason I think you'll prove to be a bigger one!" Then grabbing her school bag, and lunch tray, she walked away annoyed.


***********
From across the quad someone had been watching Xander Harris's interplay with Whitney Fordman and had seen Xander toss that football with speed, strength and accuracy. Speed and strength they wanted for their own...