"Do I have to, Clark?"

"People were starting to get suspicious. I have the feeling that glasses just aren't cutting out like the used to, so if you want to keep dating Tim, yes."

"But all of my friends are here..."

"Kon, you can fly."

"But not everyday. People will get more suspicious," Conner said as he started going through his drawers. He knew no matter what he said, Clark was probably going to make him move. He didn't even know what to take. Of course he had to take his S-shield shirt, but other than that. Maybe some jeans, a couple pairs of shoes? He hated moving, and he really didn't like change. Conner loved his home in the middle of nowhere. It was quiet, it was the exact opposite of his other life; he felt at home here.

"It's going to be fine. You were very independent once before."

"And that got me nowhere. I was cold and tempestuous."

"You don't have to become that again, and you won't. You're a caring person, Conner. I know you're going to get through all of this, and I know it's going to be hard, but I'm just a call, or a shout, away. I want you to be happy, and I know that you're happy with Tim, so if you want to continue your relationship, you're going to need to move away before everyone in town recognizes who you are."

"I know, I know. It's not about me, it's about the security of the people that I love," Kon said as he put some old comic books into his backpack.

"It's going to be okay, Kon."

Clark walked over to Conner and he gave him a tight hug. Conner put his face into Clark's shoulder and sighed. After a second, he finally raised his arms and gave Clark a hug back. He knew that Clark was just trying to do what was best for him, for his secret identity, and for the people of Smallville, but did he really have to send him to California?

"Are you all set?"

"I guess, thanks for helping me move in," Conner said as he looked at his new apartment. Clark was going to pay the rent on it every month, and Conner was just going to try to live the life of a normal high schooler. Clark encouraged him to maintain a low profile, but of course, if there was trouble, becoming the superhero he was was certainly fine. When Kon asked about Titan duties, Clark told him he was certainly allowed to meet up for regular Titan meetings, but to just try and see what normal life was like for once. Clark relented that sometimes he missed just getting to be a normal kid with superpowers.

"I'm going to enjoy it. I'll make you happy," Kon said.

"This is about making yourself happy, too."

"I know. It's just a bit of a culture shock right now."

The two of them went out to lunch, and then almost as soon as he had gotten there, Clark was back to Metropolis. Lois had been calling most of the afternoon with some huge story, and she was pissed that Clark wasn't there to see it.

"Yes, Mr. Kent."

"The answer is 345 m/s, which makes the momentum 2432N."

"That's correct," The teacher said.

"Looks like you have some competition, Lydia," Stiles said from the seat behind her.

"I only have competition if I choose to accept the competition, and I choose to accept it," Lydia said with a bit of a grin, and raised her hand to answer the next problem.

"That's correct."

When the next question was posed, no one raised their hand for a few minutes as they worked out the problem. Only two people ended up raising their hands: Conner and Lydia.

"Why don't the two of you come up to the front of the room and show your work on the problem?"

Both of them went up to the front of the board. Lydia cut her eyes at Conner as she picked up the white board marker. Conner gave her a quick smile. He was liking the competition. He always had to work his muscles, but he rarely got to work his brain back in Smallville. Both of them started on the problem with their professor told them to, and each pen began to screech as it was dragged against the board's surface. The numbers and equations started to fly as the two of them raced to see who could finish before the other. Conner really wanted to speed himself up a little bit, but when he did that, he usually made a mistake. His competition was quite fierce as she was nearly done when he was only getting to the third part of the problem. Conner started to work a little faster when he noticed that Lydia slowed down to double check one of her calculations.

"Done!" they said at almost the exact same time. The teacher began to look over the work, and she awarded Lydia with the prize of physics champion. In Conner's haste to beat her, he had forgotten to correctly write his SI units.

"You're going to be fun," Lydia said as she gave him the once over, and then flipping her hair, she returned to her seat. Conner, a bit angry at himself for his mistake, returned to his seat just in time for the bell to ring.

"Over here," Stiles called.

"Okay..." Conner said as most of the lunch room turn to look at Stiles, and then to look at him. He didn't really like being the center of attention unless he made himself that way, but regardless, he walked over to the table that he was beckoned to. Stiles and Lydia from his physical science class were there, and then a few others that he didn't know particularly well.

"Conner, right?" Stiles asked as Conner sat down next to a guy he didn't know.

"And you're Stiles. Hard to forget your name since you were called out for talking at least six times during class," Conner responded. Stiles just gave semi-proud smile and leaned back (though he almost fell out of his seat when he did it).

"Lydia, but you already know that, didn't you," Lydia said with a tilt of the head.

"I did."

"I'm Scott," the guy next to him said, "and this is Alison and Isaac."

"It's nice to meet all of you," Conner said. He pulled a sandwich out of a brown, paper bag, and he started to eat it. Clark had bought him a bunch of groceries before he left.

"How's your first day going?" Alison asked with a smile.

"Fine enough. Already had a showdown in class; sadly, I was defeated."

"By me," Lydia said as she took a sip of her water.

"Don't worry about it. Everyone gets beaten by Lydia," Alison said with a reassuring tone.

"Oh no, he's good, but he just wasn't good enough," Lydia commented.

Stiles was giving Scott some kind of look, but Scott wasn't exactly understanding what Stiles was trying to get at. Conner laughed to himself for a moment, and the continued on with the conversation.

"Did you hear about the third murder?" Isaac said. Everyone at the table, aside from Conner, just stared at him, and he shrunk away for a moment.

"We didn't really get many murders in Smallville," Conner said. Sure, there were some problems here and there, but nothing so dire. Those sort of situations reserved themselves for the likes of Gotham or Metropolis.

"Beacon Hills isn't a dangerous place," Scott said with a half smile.

"Per se," Stiles commented quickly.

"Stiles," Alison said with a glare and shake of the head.

"You guys are really good at keeping things secret," Conner remarked as he finished off his sandwich. The bell rang, and lunch was over with.

Conner thanked the group for allowing him to sit with them, and all of them remarked that they would be fine with him joining them again. Lydia seemed particularly interested.

When the final bell rang, Stiles rushed over to Conner. Apparently he made some sort of impact throughout the day because Scott also came to talk to him. They were going on about lacrosse and how he seemed to be in the perfect shape to play the game. Conner knew better than to play sports with heavy physical contact. He feigned interest while suggesting his support of their games as opposed to actually playing.

"Well, it's the first practice. A lot of people come out to see how the team is shaping up," Scott said. He was certainly the friendliest of the group so far, and he was the most sincere.

"Yeah, at least come watch, and who knows, maybe you'll just get crazy and try out for the team or something," Stiles said as he moved his entire body into some sort of amalgamation of emotion that Conner was incapable of deciphering. Either way, the Superboy decided that going and watching the practice couldn't hurt anything, so he walked out to the field as the other two boys went into the locker room. Alison and Lydia waved to him as he walked out on the field.

"Are you trying to pick him up?" Alison asked.

"What gave it away?" Lydia said as she pulled a small mirror from her purse. She checked her makeup, and then she put the mirror back into her bag.

"Hello again," Conner said as he sat next to the girls. Half of the stands were full, and he couldn't deny that he appreciated having someone to sit with.

"Hey. Survived your first day of classes?" Alison inquired as she gave him a warm smile. Conner liked her second best. She had the same sort of warmness that Scott did, but he could sense a hint of sadness; it was like she was trying to hard to be hopeful, optimistic.

"Barely."

"It's cold, isn't it?" Lydia said as she wrapped her arms around Conner's.

"It is a little chilly; here, take my jacket!" Conner said as he removed the jacket and draped it around her shoulders. Alison gave a bit of a chuckle, and Lydia gave a terse, "Thank you." Physicality ranked above romantic gestures. She wasn't interested in dating, just a bit of a hook up.

"I assume you're missing everyone back in the Midwest?" Alison asked. She was trying her best to engage his interests, though she wondered if bringing up friends was the best way of doing it.

"Yeah. I miss my boyfriend the most, but he lived a good bit away from me. Now he's even further," Conner responded.

"Boyfriend?" Lydia asked. She didn't smirk this time, but she gave a smile. Maybe he wasn't the fresh meat that she thought he was.

"Yeah, he lives in Gotham."

"I think my Dad had some sales there. He's pretty big in the gun industry," Alison interjected.

"That's, um, interesting," Conner said as he thought of the number times he had been shot at. It wasn't particularly fun.

"Here's a strictly empirical question," Lydia started, "what's gay sex like?"

"I don't know. I've only had bi sex," Conner said without missing a beat. Alison covered her laugh with her right hand, and Lydia just put him back on the top of the list of people she wanted to get to know a little bit better.

It was in that moment that Conner picked up some chatter with his super-hearing. It was Scott and Stiles, and they were talking about a bunch of stuff, but the one word that really caught his attention?

"Werewolves?" he muttered.

"What?" Lydia and Alison said at almost the same time.

"What is it Scott?" Conner could hear Stiles say halfway across the field. Scott just turned to look at Conner, who in turn tried to make it look like he was talking to Alison and Lydia.

"Wait up!"

"Sorry, I've just got to get home and call my...um, yeah."

"Who?"

"My dad," Conner said as Scott kept trying to talk to him.

"But you heard our conversation."

"I didn't hear anything. I was just talking to Lydia and Alison."

"Then how did you know what I was talking about?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"You said werewolves," Scott said as he got in front of Conner. "I could hear you say it, and I know that you heard me and Stiles talking about the topic. Don't try to deny it."

"Okay, then I won't deny it."

"So, you admit that you heard us?"

"I just said that I wouldn't deny it."

"Ugh, you're worse than Derek."

"Who's Derek?"

"I'm Derek. Scott, we need to talk, without your friend."

"So how was your first day, Kon?"

"It was fine, Clark."

"Anything interesting happen?"

"I think I've already made a few friends," Conner said. He instinctively smiled, and he was happy about it. "It's not Smallville, but it's something."

"Do you need anything right now? I put a little money in your debit account."

"Thanks, Clark."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Actually? Yeah. I kind of like it. I can get to Gotham if I need to, and Metropolis is about the same distance away. Not to mention that you're just a shout away."

"Love you, Kon."

"Love you too, Clark."