- "You think it's easy keeping a lid on your secret? I've got to think about it every time we're around other people to make sure I don't slip. I've got to remember to say 'meteor rock' instead of 'kryptonite'. And I always got to cover your unexplained exits." - Pete Ross, Asylum
Pete and Lana help Clark and Perry White.
Pete was concerned about Clark during his time away from Smallville and showed the Kents a newspaper article about Clark's crimes in Metropolis. Powerless to help Clark, Pete waited patiently for his safe return.
Pete helped Clark hide his powers from a journalist when solar flares began to effect his powers. Jonathan acted as a decoy, so Pete could take Clark into hiding. However, as they left they received a distressed call from Lana as Perry White was threatening to jump to expose Clark's secret. Clark tried to save him, but now the solar flares had completely depowered him, Clark relied on Pete to save the day, which he managed to do by hoisting them up with the help of his car.
Pete confesses to Clark that keeping his secret is not easy.
Pete finally confessed to Clark that he was struggling to keep Clark's secret when Lex also learned about Clark's powers. Pete tried to convince Clark that Lex could not be trusted with such dangerous information.
Pete gets involved with street racing.
Pete assisted Clark when he was temporarily blinded. Nathan Dean kidnapped Pete to blackmail Pete's mother, Judge Abigail Ross, while Clark was helpless to intervene. Clark managed to find Pete before Nathan Dean tried to kill him. Clark didn't mind when Pete told everybody his own version of the events, detailing his "heroics."
Pete reveals his feelings for Chloe.
Pete joined the running team and became involved with street racing, giving him the nickname, Pete "The Boss" Ross. However, when his sponsor asked him to purposely blow a street race and Pete did not comply, the sponsor threatened and blackmailed him for $20,000. Out of fear and desperation, Pete asked Clark to steal money for him. Furious that Pete would put him in that position, Clark had to figure out a way to save Pete, without having to resort to theft. Although Clark managed to save Pete, this deeply effected their friendship.
Pete refuses to reveal Clark's secret.
When Chloe was exposed to a kryptonite-based airborne agent, she gained the ability to make anybody tell her the truth, which made Pete blurt out that he'd been in love with her for a long time. Both Chloe and Clark were shocked by this and Pete was extremely embarrassed. When Clark asked why he never told Chloe before, Pete reluctantly admitted that he knew he never had a chance, because he knew Chloe was in love with Clark and he just couldn't compare. Pete's parents got divorced at the end of his junior year. Rather than deal with the turmoil at home, he began spending the night at the Torch office. Chloe caught him and questioned what he was doing. Pete reacted angrily but eventually confessed what he was dealing with.
Pete leaves Smallville.
When Frank Loder began investigating Clark, he targeted Pete and beat him up. Lex arrived to save him just in time. This made Pete decide to move to Wichita with his mother after the divorce. Although he appreciated Clark's friendship and honesty with him, he confessed that he could no longer stay in Smallville without either being killed or revealing Clark's secret.