Disclaimer: You know the drill…I own nothing but my ideas…blah blah blah…
Superman
She had stumbled and fallen…again. But this time was different. This time, it wasn't over her own two feet. It was because of him.
She wasn't naïve. She knew from day one that she would fall for him eventually. After their friendship blossomed, it became stuck, like a train that refused to move an inch further on the tracks. There was nothing to do; nowhere to go- she could only just stay and pray for the ride to begin.
Time and time again, he'd saved her. He saved her from herself, whether it was physically or mentally. She had lost track of the number of times that she tripped over her shoelaces or missed a step on the stairs. But he always seemed to be right there to catch her before she could hit the ground.
She remembered the time where she had broken down at the library, sobbing into her knees as softly as she could in the most deserted section, stressed about taking her sister's hurtful jabs about the way she looked or what a "klutz" she was, as if the girls at school didn't already give her enough of that. Brittany would apologize occasionally, but it still hurt. But there he was again, surprising her by scooping her up in his arms and cradling her, letting her stain his blue sweater with tears. He had been there during Brittany's rant, so he knew why she was upset. He whispered into her ear that everything was going to be okay, and that it was a phase that Brittany would grow out of and finally appreciate what a wonderful sister she had.
He was a hero. To her, he was Superman.
Sure, he might not wear a red cape, but his kind, yet determined and confident stride could easily destroy any threat to his way of life. His kryptonite was his family- he would do anything for them. That's just the way he was.
She was sure that Superman didn't falter; that he would just remain clueless to her devotion to him forever, that he never broke down. She was sure of that, until one day, he came to her with hurt in his eyes, his body trembling, tears falling down his cheeks.
That was the moment she realized that even Superman bleeds every now and again.
She had been sitting alone in her backyard at the base of an old acorn tree facing the dense forest behind their home at dusk, reading "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. She had been indulging on fantasy literature lately, and was really getting into the book when she heard a rustling of leaves in front of her.
Alarmed at the noise, she looked up. He was standing a few feet in front of her, his eyes downcast and what looked to be tears sliding down his cheek. The pain in his eyes was so prominent that her heart ached like an anchor had been chained to it.
"…Jeanette?" He spoke, his voice cracking at her name. Then he slumped to his knees on the grass and buried his face in his hands.
At first Jeanette didn't know what to do. She wondered why out of any single person on earth, he had picked her to come to. But then out of instinct she dropped her book and crawled on her hands and knees until hers were touching his, then wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace.
He let his forehead fall to her chest, and a strangled sob escaped his throat. Jeanette stroked the fur of his head, and whispered softly to him the same words he had used to comfort her only a few months ago.
"It's going to be okay, Simon, it's going to be okay…" Jeanette gently rubbed his back.
After a few minutes, Simon's breathing became less erratic and more controlled, but his voice still cracked.
"I'm sorry…" he mumbled into her fur.
"There's no need for you to apologize," Jeanette assured him. Then he pulled his head up, but still wouldn't let his eyes meet hers. Not wanting to let go, Jeanette rested her hands on his lap, savoring his warmth.
"I…I just w-want Dave to b-be happy, I want t-to be a-able to m-make him p-proud…" Simon slurred with a thick voice, then hiccupped.
"And you do, everyday," Jeanette said, confused at his sadness.
"But it's so hard!" Simon exhaled, his voice finally returning back to normal. "Keeping up with my grades is so hard sometimes…I feel like I study too much, and I get so stressed, and sometimes I want to take a break and just be a like Alvin and not worry so much about school, but I don't want to disappoint Dave…" Simon trailed off, new tears brimming in his soft gray eyes.
"Well, I would think Dave would want you to be happy. Alvin doesn't do that great in school, but he's always happy, for the most part…I mean sure Dave hopes that Alvin will improve a little in school, but that doesn't mean Dave doesn't love him any less. Alvin may not be the most intelligent guy in the world, but he's got a heart as big as this Earth itself. It's not what you have in here,-" Jeanette said, tapping her finger to Simon's head, "-but what you have in here." Jeanette put her paw over Simon's heart, which she was surprised to find its beating slowly begin to speed up as her paw remained there.
"Thank you, Jeanette. I really mean it…and I'm sorry you had to see me like this," Simon said, wiping the last of his tears away.
"Even Superman bleeds every now and again," Jeanette said, speaking her earlier epiphany out loud and smiled, slowly moving her paw from his heart to her own lap. But then Simon caught her paw in his before it could fully rest in its intentioned destination.
"Wait…" he began, then put his other paw on her cheek. He began to lean in- slowly, so that she could move away if he was wrong and she didn't like him, at least not the way he liked her- but she didn't back away.
And when their lips met, Jeanette discovered that you don't need a cape to fly.
It may sound absurd...but don't be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed...but won't you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me
-from "Superman" by Five For Fighting