The bright yellow sun rose as a beautiful red cardinal flew through the sky until it reached its final destination: the end of a telescope that peaked out of a loft of a great big red barn. As the bird landed, the rays of the sun entered into the loft and shined on the motionless body lying down. A young man lifted his head off of the couch as he adjusted his eyes and focused on the bird.
"Good morning Louie." The young man yawned.
The bird quietly chirped back and then flew off.
"Time to wake up Clark," the man said in high pitch voice in an attempt to mimic what he thought a bird's voice would sound like.
As he began to stretch, he heard a barrel of footstep coming towards him and before he knew it, he was covered in kisses.
"Well good morning to you too, Shelby!" he chuckled as the dog spun in circles in anticipation for Clark to get up.
"Clark Kent! Get in here now!" a voice entered the window of the loft from a distance.
Clark looked at Shelby, just realizing he fell asleep once again in the loft of the barn. This was the fourth night in a row and his parent's had warned him that there would be consequences if it happened again. Clark began the trip to the house knowing he was bound to get a tongue lashing from his father… once again. He calmly made his way down the steps from the loft, sliding his hands into his pockets.
He had spent the early part of the previous night staring at the stars through his telescope. His heart was still hurt after his recent break up with Lana Lang, the most popular girl in school. He had laid there staring into space wondering where to go from there. He thought he loved Lana. He thought he trusted her. He even thought that they may have even been destined for each other. But when she broke things off just one week prior, he knew he only had himself to blame. He was never going to be able to open up to Lana and share who he truly was. And that made him feel more alone than anything in the world. After a couple of hours of searching for something in the sky, a basketball slowly rolled and stopped up against his side.
"I'm not in the mood Shelby." He kicked the ball away before it quickly rolled back to him.
"Alright you win!" he exclaimed.
Clark grabbed the ball headed for the hoop just outside the barn, with Shelby not far behind. He spent the next hour shooting basketball. It was the only thing in his life that calmed him down. It was just him, the ball, and the basket. It felt natural, peaceful, and it felt right. He made basket after basket while Shelby would rebound the ball, bumping it back towards Clark. This was his game. The game he fell in love with as a kid.
He remembered back to when he was only 10 years old, learning how to shoot and dribble from his father, Jonathan. He was discovering his first love without even knowing it. He and his Dad spent almost every night practicing and it wasn't long before Jonathan realized that Clark was special. After only two weeks, Clark was already dribbling between his legs, shooting with perfect form, and understanding how the game was played. Jonathan immediately envisioned his son suiting up for his beloved Kansas Jayhawks, only to later find out that his song favored another team whose mascot also happened to be a bird, The Louisville Cardinals.
It only took one more week until Jonathan and his wife, Martha, discovered that their son wasn't just special, he really was out of this world. Clark laughed at the memory of the look on his mom's face after witnessing him discover his first ability. He and Jonathan were playing a little game of one on one. They were tied and the next basket scored would win. Clark had the ball, as his Dad got in his defensive stance. With one swift move, Clark faked a step towards his Dad causing him to take a couple steps back. Before his parents eyes, 10 year old Clark Kent took a dribble and a step, rose up and soared over his father as he dunked to ball on the 10 foot goal. His Dad's jaw dropped. His Mom covered her mouth as her eyes grew as large as the basketball he had just dunked. Clark landed, turned towards his parents and whispered, "whoa."
As Clark threw on his favorite Louisville Cardinals t-shirt and his favorite flannel shirt over top, he took a seat at the table. Jonathan began one of his classic speeches about responsibility, while standing at the window, peering out at the cornfields. With his back to Clark, Clark mouthed and mimicked his father's speech from memory.
"Son, I understand that things aren't as easy for you as other kids. You've spent your first 18 years of life feeling like an outsider."
Clark quickly interrupted. "Well Dad, if you would let me play sports, maybe I wouldn't feel that way. I understand football is too dangerous for the other kids and baseball would expose my powers too easily. But basketball I could do. Sure, I could super speed past everyone or dunk from the other side of the court, or set the other team's jerseys on fire with my eyes. But I was a natural at basketball before my powers. I know how to control them and still be successful because you taught me how to play, the right way to play. It's the only thing I've been able to do without the temptation of using my powers. It's the only thing that's made me feel human."
"Look, your mother and I know that all you want is to accepted for who you are. But you have to understand, you have a bigger purpose in life. When we found you and your ship in that field, we realized that you were sent here for much more than to play a game. You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be Clark. Whoever that man is, he's going to change the world."
Clark began to speak before he was instantly shut up by the smell of the apple pie his mother had just placed on the table. He sat there in silence while woofing down the meal before him. His mother picked up where Jonathan had left off.
"Honey, it's not that we don't want you to play. We would love nothing more than for you to be happy. But you should be focusing on learning more about your home planet, Krypton. When was the last time you visited Jor-El?"
"I don't know mom, a month maybe."
"Okay, well once you stop brooding around here about Lana" Clark winced at the name. "You need to pick right back up on your training. Is that understood?"
"Yes mom."
"And I'm sorry once again for how things ended with Lana. I know how badly you wanted to open up to her.
"It's okay mom, I knew she wasn't the one I wanted reveal my true self to. I could never be myself around her and it only hurt us both and held us back. I've began to accept that I'll probably never find the woman of my dreams."
"You'll find that special someone one day Clark. She will blow you away. You won't be able to breathe around her. You won't be able to stop thinking about her. And most importantly you will be able to be yourself around her without even trying. Promise you won't lose hope on that."
"I promise mom."
"And no more nights out in the barn, I want you under this roof with us so your mother isn't worried sick about you." Spoke Jonathan.
Clark nodded his head and watched five cardinal birds fly across the sky in unison. How he wished to be one of them so that he escaped it all. He wanted to fly away sometimes and be free to experience the world. As he lost himself in his dreams his phone rang. It was his best friend Chloe.
"Hey Chloe, I'm almost done eating."
"Yeah sorry Clark, my cousin kind of had an emergency and is staying with me and my Dad for now. I'm already running late thanks to her COMPLETE LACK OF BATHROOM SHARING EQUALITY," She raised her voice away from the phone. "I have to get to the Torch before school starts for some last minute edits so I won't be able to pick you up."
"That's fine Chloe, I can just-"
"Don't worry Clark, my lovely cousin just volunteered to swing by and give you a ride. She'll be there in 15 minutes."
"But Chloe I don't… wait… which cousin?" He asked with raised eye brows and a concerned look.
"You know which one, see you at school Clark!" And the phone went dead.
He sat there for a minute looking at his phone. "What just happened?" He breathed looking at his mom.
"What was that about, sweet heart?"
"I… I have a new ride to school today."
"Nobody named Chloe?"
"No," he said while looking back at his phone. "Her cousin."
Clark gathered his back pack and grabbed an apple and headed out the door. His mind was flooded with thoughts about meeting Chloe's infamous cousin. The one she never shut up about. Clark would never admit it to Chloe but he secretly couldn't stand it. The more and more Chloe described her or told stories about her, he became more and more irritated. Just the sound of her name sounded like nails on a chalk board. And now he was going to have sit through an entire car rid with her. For a second he considered just super speeding to school like he originally planned but saw his basketball out of the corner of his eye. "Well I guess I can shoot around until she gets here" He thought to himself. "Hopefully that will keep me calm enough to last the trip to school." He removed his shirts, revealing his perfectly sculpted upper body and abs. He put them in his bag before noticing Shelby staring at him. "What? I don't want get my shirts all sweaty before school." The dog licked its lips before lying down to watch Clark.
Meanwhile a car flew down a gravel road towards the Kent farm. A young woman sat in the driver's seat blasting her favorite Whitesnake song while singing at the top of her lungs. She scrunched her nose as the smell of cow manure filled her nostrils. "What am I getting myself into?" She questioned between verses of the song. Just as her favorite part of the song was about start, a red bird flew by her head and landed on the steering wheel. Startled, she swatted at the bird while losing control and spun off the side of the road. "Great!" she yelled, getting out and seeing that she was stuck in the mud. She looked up and saw a farm in the near distance. "How do I always seem to get myself in these situations? First boys, then school, now this, I'm stuck in 'podunk farmersville' where birds attack you out of nowhere!" She complained as she began walking towards the farm.
She was still complaining to herself as she got closer until she spotted him. "Well hello Smallville," she whispered seductively, admiring his physique. "Where has this town been hiding you?" She crouched down behind the tractor and watched him.
Clark, completely unaware she was watching, was lost in the game he loved. Everything was just so peaceful. The girl watched as he made shot after shot. She rolled her eyes, thinking he must be another dumb jock who only cared about getting girls and partying. Clark drove towards the basket and dunked it with ease. The ball rolled back behind him towards the driveway before stopping at the foot of a girl wearing jeans and a very revealing tank top. She had light chestnut colored hair and prettiest hazel colored eyes he had ever seen. She picked the ball up and looked around. "I don't understand how you country folks can live out here." She shook her head until her eyes landed on Clark's chest and followed up to his eyes." Her heart fluttered a little bit and her face reddened slightly. 'That was weird.' She thought. 'I have never had that happened before.'
Snapping out of it, she tossed the ball at Clark, who was staring at her speechless. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. That thought quickly left his head as the ball drilled him in the groin, dropping him to his knees. That was the one area on his body that was still vulnerable to a little pain without a help from some kryptonite.
She gasped, "Oh sorry, I thought you were looking at me." She helped him to his feet before they stood just a foot from each other.
Clark began to swear in his mind. He already didn't like her. He was convinced this was going to be the worst car ride of his life. Then he looked into her eyes again. All of the sudden a calm rushed over him. He had never experienced anything like this. He didn't know why but her eyes made him feel safe, loved, and accepted all at the same time.
A cardinal bird landed on the goal looking down on them. Neither of them knew it at the time, but they would both look back on this moment as the moment they had fallen hopelessly in love with each other.
"Hello… hello!" She waved a hand in front of his face. "You are Chloe's friend Clark, right?"
He broke his stare and quickly shook his head yes, "And you must be-"
"Lois, Lois Lane."
