UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 5th, 2014: To anyone who still has this story in their favorites or their alerts, one thank you for reading in the first place. And two, after a bit of a break from writing and this story in particular, I've pulled it off the shelf and started working on it once more. I'm in the process of rewriting and hopefully putting out a better (more complete) product this time around. So if you keep an eye out you may be seeing Jessica and everyone around again very soon.

"Come on, Clark. Hurry up in there!" Jessica Kent was beating her fist against the bathroom door, trying to get her brother out. It was another Monday in the Kent household and she was continuing with her battle to look good for her senior year. But that wouldn't happen if Clark didn't get out of the bathroom soon. Her bare foot tapped against the hard wood floors as she continued knocking on the door. She had no idea what exactly took that boy so long in the bathroom but somehow he always managed to get in there and take his good sweet time just when she needed it. Finally, the door opened and her "little" brother stepped out with a slightly amused smile. She rolled her eyes as she passed him, mumbling, "For someone who can run five miles in less than five minutes, you are so slow."

Jessica all but slammed the door behind her, frustrated. She had about forty-five minutes to try and tame her long unruly red curls, which, on a good day, took maybe half an hour. Not to mention getting dressed and managing some kind of breakfast. For a few minutes she simply stared at her reflection with slight apathy. Despite her rather vibrant hair color, everything about her look screamed ordinary. Her eyes were the same blue color of her father's and her curls stopped in the middle of her back. She was average height, around 5' 5", and had, as her mother described, an hourglass figure. Her complexion leaned towards the pale side and there were a few light freckles that splashed across her cheeks and nose. She was a far cry from stunning, at least in her mind, and really wanted to change that before she started college next fall. Sighing heavily, she grabbed the flat iron she'd purchased over the summer in a vain attempt to change her hairstyle and went to work. After almost fifteen minutes of struggling, she gave up and let her hair be. She'd lost that battle so she moved onto the other necessary tasks.

Walking out of the bathroom and down the hall, she stepped into her small bedroom. Most of the space was taken up with her twin bed and the keyboard she'd gotten a few years earlier for her birthday. Her walls were covered with posters for all the Broadway shows she listened to constantly and wished more than anything she could see for herself. There were stacks of books littering her floor as well as CD cases, magazines, and clothes that probably should be taken down to the laundry room. She went to her closet, grabbing a pair of clean dark jeans and a bright blue camisole. She tossed a few books into her backpack and slipped on her old cowboy boots before tossing on a short sleeve plaid shirt and heading down the stairs two at a time. When she came into the kitchen, she found her mom putting breakfast onto plates and her brother drinking from the milk bottle, again. "Seriously, dude? That's nasty."

"It tastes better out of the bottle," he argued as she took it out of his hands and wiped the rim off with a napkin.

"It's disgusting," Jessica retorted, pouring herself a glass.

"I don't know where you learned your manners," Martha Kent commented as she handed her eldest daughter a plate of eggs and gave her son a look of slight disapproval.

"On a farm," Clark said with a smile.

Jessica rolled her eyes as Jonathan Kent came into the kitchen, taking off his jacket. He quickly kissed both his wife and daughter on the cheek before grabbing the milk bottle and drinking straight from it, just like his son. Clark choked back a laugh while she just shook her head. He looked between his children, slightly confused. "What?"

"Well, Mom, at least now we know where Clark picked up his habits," Jessica commented sharing a knowing look with her mother. Both women laughed lightly at the men's expense. A moment later, they heard a car pull up the gravel drive and a horn honk. That was Jessica's signal that her best friend, Hannah Lewis, was there to pick her up. She quickly shoveled in some food before grabbing her backpack and giving her mom a quick hug. "See you at school, Clark. Bye Mom. Bye Dad."

Bounding down the front steps, she made her way over to her friend's beat up old Saab, sliding into the passenger seat. The sound of Blink-182 greeted her as she closed the car door. Hannah smiled at her as she turned the car around and peeled down the drive. Her tires spun a bit and gravel flew in the air but both girls laughed as they drove away. Jessica and Hannah had been best friends since the second grade when Hannah stopped Brett Anderson from dumping his chocolate milk on her.

"Good morning, sunshine," Hannah quipped as she flashed a smile at her friend. "How are things in the Kent household on this fine day?"

"Same as always," Jessica answered, fiddling with the radio stations before settling on a station playing Fiona Apple. "Clark was about to ask about trying out for the football team again when I came out."

"So you just left him on his own?" Her friend couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"He can handle himself just fine. Besides, it's not like anything I said would've helped. You know how the Kent men are. Stubborn as hell."

"You can say that again."

"They're stubborn as hell." Hannah let out a small laugh at that, peeling down the long country road.

SMALLVILLE

By the time lunch rolled around, Jessica found herself firmly set in the boredom that came along with attending Smallville High. She'd sat at her usual spot in a corner of the crowded cafeteria with a tray of mystery meat and gross green beans that she'd push around and pretend to eat but end up tossing in the trash before fifth period. Hannah had vanished to chat up her latest conquest, some junior boy on the baseball team. Jessica couldn't remember his name. She'd finished skimming through the copy of Cosmo she'd gotten at the convenience store last week when she noticed a certain dark haired boy, sulking by himself across the room. From the looks of his expression, the talk hadn't gone so well with their father after she left. Throwing her food away early, she made her way over to her little brother's table and dropped down into the chair next to him. "Hey Debbie Downer. You know glaring at your food like that isn't gonna make it any more edible."

Clark looked up at her, not noticing her till she said anything. He just rolled his eyes in response to her comment. Pushing his tray away, he leaned back in his chair, the sullen expression still on his face. "Why can't Dad just let me do this? He played football all four years in high school. Why can't I?"

Jessica gave her brother a sympathetic look as she leaned forward and quietly replied, "He's just worried something'll go wrong and someone will get hurt and he doesn't want you to go through any of that trouble. He thinks he's protecting you. He thinks if anyone found out about your…abilities they'd take you away and I think that scares him." Her brother's expression sobered as he glanced down at the ground, a guilty expression starting to cross his face. "Besides you know Dad's the most stubborn person in the world."

The Kent siblings both chuckled at that, the seriousness of their conversation fading a bit. "You've got that right."

"Look, just don't get too discouraged when Dad says no but don't give up either. Sometimes it just takes him a while to warm up to certain ideas. I mean remember how long it took me to convince him to let me go stay with Hannah and her older sister in Metropolis for a month last summer. I had to beg from February to June. Besides, you've got four years of high school to win him over."

"I guess you're right," he conceded with a small look of defeat.

"Of course I'm right. I'm your big sister; I'm always right."

SMALLVILLE

"Okay, so I'm thinking we get a large pizza from Little Caesar's, some grape pop, and a couple trashy romantic comedies and go back to my house, claiming to do 'homework'." Hannah suggested all this in one large breath as she leaned against her car after school that day. "Either one with Heath Ledger or Patrick Swayze. Both are equally delightful to look at."

Jessica let out a small chuckle from where she sat on the hood, glancing around at her classmates as they made their way to their cars. "I dunno. My mom's got her class tonight and I might be needed to play referee between Clark and my dad. Besides, I have chores."

"Ugh, chores." There was a strong hint of disgust in her voice. "Fine, go home, be lame, do your chores. You want a ride or you hoofin' it?"

"I think I'll walk with Clark. He seems to have retreated back into pout face since I last saw him. This whole football thing is really getting to him."

"Oh he's just going through the angsty teenager phase of life. He'll get over it sooner or later."

"Dear God, let it be sooner," Jessica grumbled, sliding off the hood of her friend's car and giving a small wave as she went off to find her brother. She spotted Clark walking out the front doors with Pete Ross, that sullen expression back on his face. Jogging over to join them, she playfully jumped on Clark's back, arms latching on to his shoulders as she had a hundred times before. He barely seemed to notice the additional weight on his back as he held his sister up off the ground. "Hey there Mr. Grumpy Gills. Hey Petey."

"Hey Jess," Pete said with an easy smile, just like always. Today it was a little more excited than usual. "So d'you hear I made the football team?"

"No way! Congrats, Petey boy." She flashed him a bright smile, adjusting a bit at the feeling of Clark's book bag in her stomach. "Maybe now I'll actually come to one of the games."

"Yeah right," Clark laughed disbelievingly, holding onto his sister's legs. "You're the only person in Smallville who hates football."

"No. I don't hate football. I just don't find boys chasing a ball up and down a field in super tight pants like that entertaining. I mean, there is nothing appealing about tight pants. That's one reason I'm glad you aren't on the team, baby brother. I do NOT need to see you in tight pants."

"But you'll come see me play, right?" Pete asked, still smiling.

"Of course. As soon as you get off the bench, I'll come see a game."

"Great. I'll catch you guys later." He gave the Kent siblings one last smile before jogging over to his bus.

"So is there a particular reason you're on my back?" Clark asked her as they left the school parking lot, heading for home.

"Oh I just figured you could carry me all the way home. I mean you're super strong and all that."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." At that, Clark let go of Jessica's legs and leaned back, causing her to let out a squeal as she fell from his back just barely landing on her feet. She playfully punched him in the arm as they walked. "Hey! That wasn't nice, mister."

Clark just laughed. For the next fifteen minutes or so they walked leisurely along the side of the road, chatting about easy subjects and avoiding any mention of football. Jessica knew that it would normally take her brother about three minutes to get home when he was by himself but he didn't seem to mind the slow pace. They stopped when they reached Loeb Bridge like they'd done every other time they crossed the bridge. Ever since they were little, they'd stop and lean over the bridge looking into the water below. Jessica had always liked to lean over as far as possible, sometimes a little too far. When she was fourteen, she'd almost fallen in, she'd leaned over so far. Luckily for her, her super strong eleven-year-old brother had been there to keep her from falling into the water below. Today, she leaned over just like she had a million times before, her hands tightly holding the rail. Clark was on the other side of the bridge, leaning casually against the rail as he gazed seriously into the water below. She decided to let him have his moment of pouting, leaving him be. After a few minutes, she let go of the rail and started crossing the bridge. She paused when she reached the other side, glancing back at her brother. "Come on, Clark. We can only dawdle so long."

She barely registered what happened after she shouted across the road to Clark. A red flat bed truck drove past her, the breeze blowing her red curls across her face. Her nose scrunched at the feeling of her own hair tickling her, brushing it back out of her eyes. The next thing she knew something was flying off the back of the truck and the sound of squealing tires filled the air. Her eyes widened and for a second she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her as she saw a silver car slam into her brother, crashing through the railing and down into the water.

"CLARK!"

Terror seeped into every inch of her as she ran back to the railing, looking down into the water. She could see where the car had gone in but there was no sign of Clark or the driver of the car. It felt as if her heart was a jackhammer in her chest, tears starting to fill her wide eyes. Her body froze as she prayed her brother would pop out of the water, perfectly fine like he was every other time she worried about him. She waited and waited and waited for what seemed like forever and then he did just that. A sob escaped her mouth as she saw him break through the water and take a large gasp of air as he swam to the riverbank, holding onto the unconscious driver of the car. She ran down the side of the bridge, stumbling over a few rocks as she made her way down to where her brother was. Her arms were thrown around him, the tears now falling freely down her cheeks. "Oh my God. Oh my God."

"Jess, I'm fine. I'm fine. But he's not breathing."

Jessica let go of her brother, looking down at the bald headed man lying on the bank. His face was an unhealthy pale color and there was a small cut on his cheek. His eyes were closed and his body was completely still. Gathering up all the knowledge she'd gained the last summer from her lifeguarding job, she started on chest compressions before leaning down and breathing into his mouth. A few curls fell forward into her eyes as she continued, desperately trying to get some air into the unconscious man's lungs. Finally, he responded, coughing up the water that had made its way in. A sigh of relief escaped her and she sat back a bit, giving him the space to breathe some fresh air. His eyes glanced between her and Clark as he breathed heavily. A confused expression spread across his face as he looked at Clark. "I could've sworn I hit you."

Clark glanced nervously at his older sister before responding, "If you did, I'd be- I'd be dead."

"Clark, go to the Mackenzie's and see if you can use their phone." The dark haired boy jumped up and ran up the hill to the road. The man sat up a bit, breathing still labored as he looked at her curiously. The faintest bit of blood was trickling down his cheek and she found herself searching her backpack for something to stop the bleeding with. She pulled out the t-shirt she'd meant to put in her locker for gym class and pressed it to his cheek. "You've got a cut," she explained, checking the cut. "You're lucky that's all the damage you've got."

"I suppose so," he said, pushing himself up into the sitting position. She pulled the shirt back, checking the bleeding and letting her hands rest in her lap when she saw that it had stopped. His blue-grey eyes met hers and she found herself blushing a bit for some reason. "Thank you."

Jessica hadn't been expecting a "thank you" from the handsome man that her brother had pulled from the river, at least not one for her. She pushed her hair back and looked down at her lap. "Clark was the one who pulled you out. I was just the one having a slight panic attack up on the bridge."

"Well, it wasn't your boyfriend's face that I saw when I started coughing up river water," he commented.

Her nose wrinkled as a look of distaste spread across her face. "Clark's not my boyfriend; he's my younger brother."

The faintest hint of red could be seen on his ears as he said, "Oh, I just assumed- you two look nothing alike."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied before extending her hand to him. "I'm Jessica Kent."

He took her hand in his own as he introduced himself as well. "Lex Luthor."

She instantly recognized the name; you'd have to have been living in a cage not to have heard of Lex Luthor, son of billionaire and CEO of everything incorporated Lionel Luthor. She'd been raised hearing her father grumble under his breath every time that Lionel Luthor's name was on the news or in the papers. He'd done some bad deals with friends of her parents and Jonathan had had less than fuzzy feelings for that family since. She had to say, she didn't seem to see anything wrong with the Luthor sitting next to her. Except for that cut on his cheek. "Well, I'd say it's nice to meet you but considering the circumstances of the situation, it could be better."

He laughed lightly at her comment, though it quickly changed to a cough as he turned his head away. Just then Clark came back down the hill, slowing as he reached the pair. He looked down at his older sister saying, "The sheriff and EMTs are on their way. Sheriff Ethan said he'd call Dad." The teenager turned to the man he'd saved, asking, "How're you feeling?"

"A little dizzy and damp but I'm alive," Lex answered with a slight smile.

A few minutes passed and then they heard the sound of approaching sirens. Soon, Sheriff Ethan was interrogating the Kent siblings while EMTs checked over Lex. They had both Clark and Lex wrap up in blankets, trying to help the pair dry off. Clark set himself down on a rock with Jessica perched next to him, ruffling his wet hair a bit. While they watched the police pull the sports car from the water, a familiar old truck pulled up and next thing they knew Jonathan was running down the hill to his kids. "Clark! Jess! Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Clark answered, both of them standing up as he pulled them each into a hug.

"Who's the maniac that was driving that car?" Jonathan called out to one of the officers, looking angrier than either teen had ever seen him.

"That would be me," Lex answered, stepping forward with a calm expression on his face. His hand extended to the Kent patriarch as he introduced himself. "Lex Luthor."

The hand was completely ignored by Jonathan and Jessica almost wanted to smack her dad for being so blatantly rude, hoping he didn't offend the man too much. She liked that her father's reputation was generally good in the eyes of most people he met and didn't need some old grudge against the other Luthor causing problems. "I'm Jonathan Kent. These are my children." He shed his jacket, wrapping it around his son. Jessica nudged her father but he didn't seem to notice.

Lex lowered his own hand, masking any awkwardness between the men. He turned to Clark with a slight smile as he said, "Thanks for saving my life."

Clark simply shrugged his shoulders with that usual "farm boy charm" as Hannah called it and replied, "I'm sure you would have done the same thing."

Jonathan took Clark by the arm and started to walk them both back up to the truck when Lex called out, "You have quite an extraordinary boy there, Mr. Kent. If there is any way I can repay you-"

"Drive slower," was all that Jonathan said to the man before making the way up the hill to the truck, opening the door for both Jessica and Clark to slide in, the door slamming behind them. He settled behind the wheel and started the engine. "Way to be rude, Dad," she mumbled as the drove away from Loeb Bridge.

SMALLVILLE

When the Kent clan had arrived back at the farm, Martha had pulled both of her children into tight hugs, gushing over how happy she was they were both okay and something about how when Sheriff Ethan had called and then she trailed off, pulling them back into the tight embrace. After a bit of overprotective fawning on their mother's half, Clark retreated out to the loft, saying something about how he was going to work on homework. Jessica sensed that he'd either being going up there to get lost in his thoughts or look across the field at a certain neighbor of theirs. The elder Kent child made herself useful and helped her mom in the kitchen, her mind turning over everything that had happened that day. She'd nearly had a heart attack when she saw that car crash through the bridge and her brother. Clark had done some amazing things over the years but to survive getting hit by a sports car? That was almost more than she could wrap her head around. She knew her brother wasn't like most people. She'd known that since she was ten years old and stumbled across the secret hidden in their storm cellar. After running to her father rambling about what she'd found, Jonathan and Martha had sat her down and explained exactly what had happened when they'd found Clark the day of the meteor shower. She'd been completely flabbergasted over the information at first but listened to her parents when they said they didn't want to Clark to know until he was old enough to handle it. She was starting to think that that time might be coming soon.

"Mom?" Martha stopped in the midst of her cooking to look over at her daughter curiously. "I think it might be time for you and Dad to explain some stuff to Clark. Like where he's really from and all that."

Her mother seemed to contemplate what her daughter had just said to her, turning the facts over in her mind. "I've been thinking the same thing, sweetie."

"It's just after what happened today, he's going to be curious if he isn't already. He deserves to know the truth. It might help him deal with stuff better. And then at least he'll know why he can do all this crazy stuff."

Martha smiled at the teenager before pulling her into a hug and asking, "When did you get so wise?"

"Somewhere between my stint on the cheer squad and third period Calculus," Jessica answered with a light chuckle.

The backdoor swung open, interrupting the charming family moment, as Hannah came bursting into the room. Her eyes were wide and there was an excited grin on the blonde's face. She grabbed the redhead by the arms as she asked, "Please tell that it's true you and your brother saved the extremely handsome billionaire from drowning on the way home today?" Almost as an afterthought, she glanced over at her best friend's mom and quickly greeted, "Hey, Mrs. Kent."

"Hi, Hannah. Would you like to join us for dinner?"

"Thanks, but I'm just here to interrogate your daughter before I have to get back home," Hannah replied before turning back to her friend. "Now tell me - is it true? Did you save a billionaire? Please tell me it's true because that would mean this day just got ten times more interesting."

"It depends on how you define saving but yeah, I suppose so." Hannah squealed at this news, practically bouncing with the excitement of her friend's revelation. "Calm down. It's not like I did that much. Clark was the one who pulled him out of the river, not me."

"Yeah, but Clark has a Y chromosome and can't divulge all the details about the incredibly sexy playboy who is now gracing our Podunk town with his presence. Now, please divulge away." Jessica glanced nervously over at where her mom was peeling potatoes, not wanting to have this conversation in front of the woman who'd given birth to her. Hannah, however, simply rolled her eyes at her friend's reluctance. "Oh, come on, you big prude. Let's leave the room since you clearly can't say anything in front of your mother without turning into a nun. Be right back, Mrs. Kent."

"You girls take your time," Martha called out with a smile as she watched the girls disappear upstairs to Jessica's room.

Once they were in her bedroom, both comfortably seated on her bed, Hannah started pestering again. "Okay, now tell me everything." Jessica found herself spending the next twenty minutes giving her best friend every detail about the excitement of the afternoon, from walking across Loeb Bridge to giving Lex Luthor CPR to her father practically giving the billionaire a verbal slap in the face. She casually left out the details of Clark being hit by the car rather than jumping in after it. She was proud to admit that for probably the first time in all the years that she'd known Hannah, she'd finally managed to render the girl speechless, at least for a few minutes. Then, it passed and a grin broke across her face as she asked, "Why is it you Kents have all the fun?"

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