A Small Burn
Chapter 2 of 6
~SB~
The Party was on at Darbo's Restaurant & Arcade. The Breyer family, the Kent family, Uncle Noah and Aunt Merilee had been celebrating for hours.
While Clark and Kyle were locked in a heated battle of Billiards, the mothers and sons faced off to see who could score highest on the Rail Shooter "Deadshot"(trademark pending). Unfortunately between Tori's indifference to guns, Clark's disdain for guns, and Lois' father having worshipped guns, Team Mom's victory was inevitable. Then after many failed attempts, and so many precious quarters, Brandon finally succeeded in earning a Bat-mite plushie from the crane machine.
Once everyone worked up an appetite, they sat down to eat and swap stories.
Eventually everyone sang happy birthday for Brandon, as Erica- Caitlyn's mom and team lead at Darbo's- brought over some celebratory ice cream.
"Well aren't you gonna make a wish?" Tori said.
"This is for little kids." Brandon said.
"Oh come on, we didn't even know Erica would bring it. That's really nice."
"It's very nice." Clark agreed.
"I mean hey if you don't want it, just slide it over here. I'll take it." Kyle teased.
So Brandon finally shrugged and blew out the candle to everyone's delight. But they wouldn't be so delighted if they knew the… Bizarre contents of his wish, which he quickly tried to shove back into his subconscious.
"So go back." Brandon said to Jon. "You said you already know how to drive a tractor?"
"Yep. I wouldn't stop messing with it, so my dad just said (Jon imitates Clark) € 'Young Man! If you are going to do it, you best do it right.'"
"Well no one thought you'd get the hang of it so fast, did we smart guy?" Lois said, rubbing his head.
"Oh speaking of smarts," Noah said. "I hear you're really killing it in school, B."
"Yeah, he tested in the school's top 1 percent." Tori said.
"No, he tested in the school's one-tenth of one percent." Merilee- the school's counselor- added. "The whole faculty's talking about him."
"Because he's a little super genius." Tori said.
"Yeah, he's crazy good." Jon said. "He always finishes before the rest of the class, and gets all the highest scores. Boy, I wish I was that good."
"You know you're at the top of the class with me right?" Brandon said.
"Yeah but I'm not 1 percent of the whole school."
"Oh are you having trouble at school buddy?" Kyle asked.
"No, It's nothing like that. His grades are fine." Clark said. "Creative projects, puzzles, that's where he excels. But all the paperwork, the quizzes, the tests, it can be a little overwhelming sometimes."
"Oh I totally feel that." Kyle said. "Me, I was horrible in school. But I can build a cabin like Bunyan."
"You know, I've always had a problem with standardized testing." Lois chimed in. "I just wish they would find a new model to fit individual needs."
"I do fine the way it is." Brandon replied.
"Well not everyone learns the same way, Honey."
"Come on, Lois." Clark said. "There's no need to make a problem where there ain't one. Brandon should be as proud of what he accomplished as Jon should be. I think we're all just special in our own unique way."
"Amen to that." Noah said. "And special guys deserve special presents, right?" He then pulled a really long wrapped box out from underneath the table. "Happy Birthday! This here is from me and your aunt Merilee."
"Wow that does look special." Tori said.
"Go ahead! Open it." Merilee said.
Brandon tore open the white sparkly paper, and his eyes lit up when he saw a brown box with the image of a sniper rifle on it. "Whoa! A gun!?"
Both Kyle and Clark showed immediate concern.
"Yeah, and that ain't no BB gun either." Noah said. "I shot my first buck with that very same model."
"Cool!"
"Whoa no no no no. No guns!" Kyle said, pulling the box away from Brandon. "We talked about this, Tori. He's still just a kid."
"I-I know, but…"
"But I'm 12 years old now." Brandon said.
"Exactly. You are still a child. So no guns." Kyle said, trying to put the gun on the floor.
"Son, I know how you feel." Clark said to Brandon. "I wanted to use them too at your age, but my pa made sure I knew how to use them responsib-"
"Give it to me." Brandon grunted to his father. Suddenly the look on his face shifted to cold anger.
It got dead quiet.
Kyle looked back at his son, baffled. "What did you just say to me?"
"I said, GIVE it to me!" Brandon said, slamming his fist onto the table.
This shocked everyone at the table, and many other patrons turned to see what was going on. But more important to Jon, was that all the arcade games behind him turned off at the same time.
"Brandon Breyer!" Tori scolded.
"Alright, we are done here." Kyle said, standing. "We're not having Ice cream. Thank you for coming. Brandon let's go."
Brandon did not move.
"I said let's go."
Kyle grabbed and pulled him by the arm, but he resisted with surprising strength. The thoughts in his head grew increasingly violent.
"Brandon! Up! Now!"
"Brandon," Tori said, calmer. "Listen to your father."
"We. Are. Leaving. Lets go."
Brandon calmed his mind enough to relent and stand up.
"We love you guys, we're so sorry about this." Tori said, grabbing her coat.
"No, it's our fault. See you later." Merilee said.
The Breyers left the diner, leaving everyone confused and uncomfortable.
Jon had never seen Brandon like that. He'd seen Damian mouth off to Batman, but never like that. He always had more tact and eloquence to his wording. He didn't even know where that came from. And were the games glitching out a coincidence? He didn't know what to do with himself at the moment.
But his parents read the room and saw no reason to hang around.
"Look, we'd better be heading home too." Lois said. "We really appreciate this guys. Thanks."
The Kents stood up.
"No problem, Mrs Lane." Noah said. "Hope to see you again. And hey give Blue boy a holler so I can get his autograph."
"... What about me?"
"Uhh… y-yeah you too. You can like, sign it together. If… there's time."
"Bye Lois." Merilee said.
"Yeah see ya."
The Kents left for their car.
Merilee looked disapprovingly at Noah. "'YoU cAn LiKe SiGn It ToGeThEr?'"
"Oh come on. Like you don't want an autograph from Superman." He said, taking the Ice cream like he thinks he's sneaky.
~SB~
Tori and Kyle have left Brandon in his room for the night, and went to decompress with beers on the couch.
"I just don't get that kid." Kyle says. "Turns 12, and all of a sudden he has a mouth on him?"
"So strange. And so unlike him." Tori said.
"I worry about him. He's getting older, he's changing…"
"We were so much worse when we were his age. Do you remember all the running around we did? Sneaking out, fooling around in my parents' basement."
"Hehe Yeah."
"And you know my parents knew exactly what we were doing down there, right?"
"Yep."
"But they just didn't give a shit. They already wrote me off by that point."
That Kyle did remember. Unofficially living with him before they were even out of high school, and tiptoeing around the topic of her dad.
"Oh babe…"
"We can never do that to Brandon. He needs to know we give a shit."
"He will." Then he remembered all the lessons he learned at Brandon's age. In the wild. With a replica rifle in his hands, and a real one in his father's. Where you had to be calm, focused, and direct. "Hey why don't we go camping this weekend, huh? Just the three of us up in Drywood. He can miss 1 monday, right?"
"Oh we haven't done that in so long. Yes."
"Yeah." He kissed her gently. "You know what else we haven't done in a while?"
She smiled. "I think I know what you're thinking."
"Yeah, a little bit of…"
"Going to church. We have not gone to church in awhile."
"Yeah, no. That's totally not what I was thinking about."
"Oh cleaning out the closet? Was that it?"
They laughed, and kissed, and held each other tighter.
~SB~
Everyone was off on Sunday, so Lois was sitting on the couch, enjoying a coffee, and watching Looney Tunes with Brandon, and their cat Goldie, while Clark was doing routine "boy scout" patrols.
Jon couldn't get last night out of his head. He was worried about Brandon, and just wanted to see him again. See how he's doing. It's not like he has his phone number. Or even thinks he has a phone. The only way was to ask mom if she could drive him, but he doesn't know how she feels about it. But more than that, a part of him wanted to know if there was any correlation between Brandon's outburst, and that electrical glitch from last night. If mom got the scent of his curiosity, hers would raise exponentially.
Lois got a text from Clark. It said to switch to the news, because he was on it.
"Ooh gimme the remote. Your father's on the news." She said.
Jon gave her the remote, and she flipped to the local news channel.
There was a man with pompy hair on the screen. "We're coming to you live from Brightburn Square, where we are graced with the arrival of one of the founding members of the Justice League, the Man of Tomorrow, SUPERMAN!"
The camera panned and sure enough there was dad stepping in to put his hand on the man's shoulder.
"Look look! There's daddy!"
"Mmm hmm. There he is."
He had a good 2 feet on the guy, so they had to zoom out and pan up a bit.
"Mr. Superman, we are so honored to have you in our beautiful little town."
"Just Superman, and the pleasure's all mine, Mr. Wayne."
"Oh It's actually Wayans."
"Oh. Sorry. I must've confused you for a certain billionaire playboy."
"Whoa. You must need glasses."
They both chuckled.
Lois facepalmed.
"So what brings you around these parts, Superman?"
"Oh you know me. I go wherever I'm needed."
"That you do."
"But of course personally, It's nice to visit a new city and get the lay of the land, learn its history and whatnot."
"Ah! Well It just so happens I have a pamphlet here that has a very helpful directory, and a guide to all of Brightburn's must see attractions. Such as our prize winning year round Farmers Market. Which fun fact; one in seven …"
He kept rambling as something occurred to Jon. "guide? Do they even know where Brandon lives?" He figured now was as good a time as any to check.
"Hey Mom?" He asked. "Do you know where the Breyers live?"
"Huh? Oh no, but your dad does. He asked last night, but I forgot what he said the address was."
"Can you text and see?"
"Not while he's working, Jon. Why?"
"Well I just wanna go over later so I can see how Brandon's doing. When can you text him?"
"Um… look I don't think it's a good day."
"Why not?"
"Well you know they're probably punishing him, or doing something to cool down, and it'll feel a little weird to just drop in and say "Hey! Your son done throwing a hissy fit?" We just got invited to one party. It's best to give them privacy to deal with it."
"But I'm worried about Brandon, is all."
"He'll be fine. You'll see him at school, right? You can check on him then."
"Well, I guess so." Jon hadn't considered those things. It didn't stop him worrying, but if he can see him at school, that's fine.
The man on the news kept talking. "And another fun fact; this isn't our town's first close encounter with the third kind." He said.
"What do you mean?" Superman asked.
"Oh didn't you know? We had a meteor crash down outside of town about 10 years ago."
Lois raised an eyebrow.
"Oh fancy that. I'd love to hear more about it."
"Of course sir. But I'm being told that's all the time we have today. Do you have anything to say to Brightburn?"
"Just uhh, keep up the good work farmers, and remember to do your chores kids." He looked and pointed straight into the camera, as though he was talking to someone specific.
"Hmh. Guess that's his not so subtle way of saying we'd better quit slacking off, champ." Lois said to Jon, standing up.
He stood too as he saw his dad sign off.
"You're always welcome here, Superman."
"Thanks Mr. Wayans."
They shook hands.
"This has been William Wayans at Brightburn Square. Back to you Tabby."
Brandon watched as the Man of Steel flew off just before the feed returned to the anchor lady.
As he ate his breakfast, his parents packed for the camping trip.
"This needs batteries." Tori said, holding a lantern. "Brandon It's gonna be cold. You're gonna need your warm Jacket, ok?" She went upstairs.
Brandon barely registered the advice. Strangely, all he had on his mind was Superman. "What could I ask if I was there? What would he know about what's happening to me? Maybe I'm just like him. Or like, one of those Metahumans? But what would he say I should do with these weird powers? Would he say I'm special and have a bright future? Or would he think I'm dangerous, and get me 'professional help'?
(Sigh) I wish Jon would come with us. I can talk to him. More than my parents anyway. That is what they are right? Do they know I can do this? Did they do this to me somehow? Even If I asked they'd probably tell me not to worry about it.
Or scold me.
Tell me to trust them, cause they know best right?
They know when I can or can't have a gun. On MY birthday. How dare they deny me?
They know better than me? They think they ARE better than me?
I'm the one with the power.
They're just liars.
Worms.
I can take what I want.
I could crush them!
I could EAT them!
Just Like WORMS!
MAGGOTS AND WOR-
"Brandon." Kyle said, taking the fork from his mouth.
As Brandon snapped back to reality, he saw the concerned look on his father's face. Then he saw the fork that once had scrambled eggs on it. It was bitten and bent and crumpled. Like it was no stronger than a plastic straw.
Brandon bucked up realizing his dad was expecting an answer. "W-what?"
"Uhh, Your mom said to go get your warm coat."
"Ok sure." Brandon Quickly got up and went to their coat closet.
"Oh hey buddy?" Kyle said.
"Yeah?"
"What do you say when we get there I bust out my gun and show you the ropes, huh? Let you earn your birthday gift."
"Yeah cool."
Kyle walked up the stairs looking bewildered at the broken fork. "Guess we don't gotta worry about the dentist." He thought. Brandon has displayed some strange behavior recently, but this is? This shouldn't be physically possible.
He found Tori Brandon's bedroom. "Hey hon. Um…" He saw she was preoccupied with something she found under Brandon's mattress.
"Look what I found." She said, holding out a pile of lewd photos and magazines.
He pocketed the fork. "What is that?" Kyle asked. "Is that like his Idea of porn?"
"I think so." She flipped through the items. Images of women in bikinis, underwear, various states of undress...
"Wow. Guess we knew this day was coming." He said, almost impressed.
X-ray Images, anatomy diagrams, photos of… discarded animal intestines…
"What the hell is that?"
Roadkill, surgical procedures in progress, human flesh maimed or burned to the bone...
"Is… this like a guy thing?" She asked.
"No, not any guy thing I know." He answered bewildered.
This modestly thick stack of paper just seems to go on and on, to their mutual shock.
"Maybe we should have the talk with him."
Kyle tended to agree, but coherent thoughts escaped him. "What is going on with my son?" He thought.
~SB~
Lois was hunched over her laptop in the mid afternoon warmth, continuing her morbidly curious dive into Brightburn's meteor event. This had gone beyond the first few DuckDuckGo results and basic Wikipedia articles, and took her to pdfs and forum sites that undoubtedly invited a few viruses. When "Smallville" landed in the window and stripped away his super suit, and Lois hadn't even turned to bare witness to it, that's how you know she was in the zone. It was bordering on that "Bring your work home" hunger he was always afraid of.
He put a top and jeans on and put his arm around her. "Hey honey."
"Oh hey Smallville."
"Whatcha reading?"
"Stuff about the meteor."
"What meteor?"
"You know the one the not-Bruce guy on the news was talking about yesterday?"
"Oh yeah. Cool. It's been pretty slow in this town. I'm mostly keeping an eye out for lost pets." He said, shifting the topic.
"Uh huh you know, the reports of this thing really don't make sense." She said, oblivious to what he said.
It did sometimes amuse him when she got like this.
"They say it landed somewhere in the outskirts of town, but according to meteorologists, they apparently lost communication with satellites at the time of its descent. They couldn't pinpoint it, but they estimated it's landing zone had to be anywhere from deep in the forest, to dangerously close to a few homes out that way. Then I found out a Star Labs truck had been seen roaming around those areas that week, then any concrete info after that just stops. That's really weird. Hey when you get a chance, can you hit up any of your Star Lab buddies to see what they know about it?"
….
"Clark?"
He didn't answer, seeming to have zoned out.
"Earth to Smallville!"
He blinked and looked at her. "Sorry?"
"I said can you find a time to see what your guys at Star Labs know about this?"
"Uh, yeah sure."
"Thanks."
"But I really don't see why you're so focused on this. Meteors land on earth all the time. Even more so if I didn't punch half of them."
"You know better than anyone that some meteors aren't just rocks anymore. And if one goes missing, there has to be a story behind it."
"Whatever you say. By the way did Jon ever see the Breyer kid at school?"
"Brandon? Nah, he wasn't there. Apparently his parents took him camping. Go figure."
"Uh huh. Well I'll get dinner started. Make sure to call Jon inside in a few."
"Yeah."
Clark went downstairs while Lois stayed hunched over her computer.
~SB~
Jon was out in the big field playing with Goldie. He was disappointed that he could not see Bandon earlier that day, but it was good to know that his parents weren't mad enough to lock him in his room or something.
But it was certainly a lonelier day without him there. Ordinarily they eat lunch together, have a lot to talk and joke about, and humble bragging about their grades. but today, most of his attempts to find someone else to talk to failed. The nerdy kids were sticks in the mud, the sporty kids found him too small to join any games, Caitlyn doesn't have the same lunch, then that mean fat kid took his burger and all he had was some potato chips to hold him over until dinner.
"(Sigh) Being the new kid really sucks." Jon said to Goldie. "I miss Kathy. And Mar'I. Heck I even miss Damian. When Am I gonna get to do the hero stuff with those 2? My powers are working fine… sometimes. And It's not like I'll get hurt. And with them, I won't have to worry about making friends at school." He chucked a pebble, and knocked a can off the fence. "Ahh but I already made one with Brandon. It'll suck not being able to tell him about it. But maybe I could? Maybe he could be that one normal friend I tell everything to. That's who mom and dad are right Goldie?"
Goldie Meowed.
"What? No I don't mean marrying Brandon! You weirdo. He's my friend. Dad has friends that aren't heroes, or mom, that know he's Superman."
Goldie Meowed.
"Well, you know there's… I just think there's a few things we have in common. Things maybe, he doesn't know about. But I don't even know how to ask him about it. What do you think?"
Jon looked down noticing Goldie wasn't paying attention. She was crouched and growling. Ready to pounce on a rat a few feet in front of her.
She pounced before Jon could say anything. She missed and chased the rat around the field.
"Goldie wait!" Jon gave chase to the cat and mouse.
They went through the fence where they weren't supposed to go. He had to stop her before they got in trouble. He jumped clear over the fence, and continued running. If he ran too fast, he'd pass them or hurt them. He had to pace himself.
They zigzagged all over the lush bronze field, and he couldn't get a handle on her. She started running in a straight line, and he saw an opportunity to lunge and get his arms around her. He jumped, but he missed and ate the grass and dirt.
Before he even had a moment to feel embarrassed about it, he looked up and saw Goldie getting snatched up off the ground by an enormous bird. His mood changed from annoyance to panic.
"Goldie No!" He got up and chased the bird down. Nothing held back, he ran as fast as he could. He jumped for the bird, but fell shot. "Give her back!"
Goldie put up a fight. She thrashed, she clawed, and she refused to make it easy on this bird of prey. She managed to steer it to a big tree. Jon saw it, and ran for it. He jumped and climbed up as fast as he could.
Goldie got free of the bird's grip, but it was chasing her around the branches.
"Come on Goldie! Down here!" Jon weaved around the branches trying to get up to Goldie.
The bird was fumbling around the branches, and Goldie had run to a long branch. It was getting precariously thin, So Jon had to try to jump to her before she fell. He found a clear path from the branch he was on. He leapt with all he had, but the bird dove at the same time. Goldie had to jump back to avoid it, Jon grabbed the branch, his strength cracked it, and Goldie's landing broke it completely.
They both fell, but the bird snatched Goldie out of mid air. Jon slammed into the ground. He got back up as fast as he could, but his mind was racing. The panic, the exhaustion, the frustration, the wind knocked out of him, his feelings were overwhelming.
"LET HER GOOO!" He screamed into the heavens as the bird flew away.
A flash of red brighter than the sun overtook his vision.
A pop reverberated in his eardrums.
He closed and rubbed his eyes.
He looked into the sky. The sight made his heart drop. A cloud of smoke in the middle of the air. A blackened clump of gruel falling from it, to the ground before him.
~SB~
Faintly, he detected the smell of smoke and ozone creeping through the fresh air of Drywood National Forest. His dad hadn't fired a shot yet. Maybe someone else had a fire going nearby.
"Hey Brandon." Kyle said, hunched over the log with his rifle pointed outward. "Are you paying attention?"
Brandon repositioned his replica. "Yeah, I think I get it. Stay calm, stay still, wait till the head stops moving, don't hesitate."
"That's good. And remember, it's not a video game. If you miss the first one, don't bother with a second shot."
"Right." Brandon inhaled and exhaled the way his father instructed. He pulled the trigger, and his pellet hit the tin can square.
"That's my boy." Kyle said, patting him on the back.
Being out here in the woods always relaxed him. And he could think of no better place to have one on one time with his kid. They were in a good place, so he figured it was as good a time as any to have… that talk.
"You know, you just had your birthday, which means you are becoming a young man. Your body's changing."
"Ok."
"Well, you might start developing feelings about women, and women's bodies. I was just like you at your age. I thought about girls all the time. Nobody was around to tell me that… it was ok to touch it or play with it."
Brandon didn't like where this was going. "With what?"
"Uh, you know. Your… your penis."
And there it was. He knew exactly why it came up then. He was annoyed that they rooted through his things, but he felt too awkward that he had to acknowledge it. "...Ok."
This wasn't much easier for Kyle. But it was for Brandon's development, so he had to power on through it. "Look. The thing about sex is, it's not about organs or body parts. I mean, it is that too, but it's about finding the right person and falling in love."
Brandon just stared at him. He hoped he was processing what he was saying.
"Look man. All I'm saying is that you're a guy, and you're gonna have certain urges. You know about girls you see in movies, or girls in class or whatever. And I'm just saying it's ok to give in to them now and again."
"Like… now?" Brandon asked.
"What?"
"Like right now?"
"No. No, Not right now. I mean later now. Or not even later now, later later. Just not right now right now. You know what I mean?"
Once again, Brandon just stared at him.
"Good talk." Kyle said, looking down the sight.
Brandon did pick up what he was putting down, just had no Idea what to say to it. "Alright, Dad! From this day forward, I promise to masturbate with pride!" Yeah he was glad this conversation reached a quick end. That… that was a poor choice of words.
~SB~
As Ma and Pa chatted it up at the dinner table, Jon sat in silence with his head hung low.
At some point, Lois asked "Where's Goldie anyway?"
Clark said he didn't know, and he noticed Jon bit his lip, but didn't answer.
"Jon?"
Jon looked up.
"Did you see her?"
"No. I… saw her run back to the house earlier. I thought she'd be here."
"Hm. Hope she's alright."
It got quiet. Clark observed Jon's demeanor, and figured something was bothering him.
"So Jon." Clark said. "Brandon wasn't at school today, huh?"
Jon glanced up and shook his head.
"Are you okay?"
Jon nodded.
"You hardly touched your food."
"I'm just tired. I'm alright."
"Jon I know the move was tough, but Brandon doesn't have to be your only friend here. You're a smart, charming young man, and once you start talking to more people, you'll feel right at-"
"I-I know dad. That's not it. It's fine."
"Sweetie, you're definitely not fine." Lois said. "You know you can tell us anything. Did your powers go off at school again?"
"What? No. My powers are fine, mom."
"Well you have been practicing, right?" Clark asked.
"Yes."
"We haven't trained together in a while. I don't want you getting ahead of yourself."
"I can handle my powers on my own."
"Well I don't wanna hurt your feelings son, but you haven't done a good job of proving that to me."
"Clark…"
"So do I need to ask your permission to use all my powers?"
"Of course not, I'm telling you to be careful. When I was your age, my powers didn't come nearly as fast as they are for you. But they were still scary, and only got worse with strong emotions. So you need to pace yourself, and tell us whatever's wrong with you before you do something you'll regre-"
"Nothing is WRONG!"
Jon slammed his fork into the table.
It punctured the wood, and he snapped the handle with his thumb.
He looked at his own hand, shaking.
His mother looked extremely disappointed.
His father only looked on almost studyingly.
"Jonathan, you need to-"
"Go straight to bed. I- I'm so sorry pa. I'm really tired."
Jon left his fork and hustled to the stairs.
"Jonny!" Lois called. She sat back down and sighed, knowing he wasn't coming back.
"...Good talk." Clark said, picking the fork out of the table.
~SB~
Caitlyn awoke in the middle of the night to a strange noise. She sat up and listened closer to find the source of it. It sounded vaguely like… country music? Just over the foot of her bed, she could see a glow shining through the darkness from her desk.
Cautiously, she got up out of bed to investigate it. As she approached her desk, she could see her laptop was open. There was some website playing an old school song that repeated "Send her to me". She didn't know that site, or that song, the only thing she did know was that she had deactivated and closed her laptop before she went to sleep.
Fear and confusion ran through her body, and she quickly closed her computer like it was hot to the touch. The music stopped. She turned around and breathed in and out. Fully prepared to return to bed, and chock this whole thing up to a really bad dream.
…And then it played again.
She stopped in her tracks and turned to see that the computer was still open and playing that song like she hadn't done anything.
She cautiously raised her hands towards the computer, afraid she'd burn when she touched it. Then she closed it as quickly as she could, and placed some books on top of it. She backed away very slowly. She turned to the sound of her drapes rustling in the breeze of the opened window. She swore it was closed. She could feel a sort of presence from beyond the curtains.
"Mom?" She called out, as loudly as her fear would allow her. She shook as she backed away. The wind blew harder. The curtain flew upward for a moment, and Caitlyn's heart nearly burst from her chest when she saw a dark, small figure behind it. It's head was mostly cast in shadow, but she saw enough of it's skin, face, and body structure to recognize it. And who she saw terrified her all the more.
Before she could scream at the top of her lungs, her mother nearly broke the door down and turned her lights on. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"Someone's there! Behind the curtain!" Caitlyn said, hyperventilating.
Erica put herself between Caitlyn and the window. She moved towards the eerily still curtain. And swiftly she pulled the curtain to the side, only to reveal an empty wall. "Honey there's no one here."
"You have to believe me he was right there." Caitlyn said desperately.
"Who was?"
As her mind raced, she struggled to find the words. Or believe them, for that matter. "B-Brandon Breyer."
~SB~
Back in the Drywood forest, Tori and Kyle awoke in the middle of the night, and found Brandon's tent empty. They got their flashlights and searched the woods for him.
"Brandon? Brandon!" Kyle called out to no answer.
"Brandon where are you baby!?" Tori called, seeing only trees. "Can you hear me!?" Her worry grew with each passing second that she did not see her son.
She scanned the trees until she rounded a corner and was suddenly met with a flash of pale skin and green eyes.
"AAH!" Tori jumped, but relaxed when she saw it was Brandon. She sighed in relief. "Oh my god. Brandon, your father and I are totally freaking out."
"Sorry, I was just going pee." He replied.
Tori Sighed in relief and hugged Brandon. Kyle was very confused, but nonetheless accepted his reason for being up so late. They all went back to sleep in their tents.
~SB~
The Following day at school, Jonathan Kent sat alone trying to eat lunch in the courtyard, But he barely touched his food. So many thoughts swirled around in his head, and drove him to melancholy. He had no idea how long he could keep lying to his parents, but he was more afraid of what they'd do if they learned the truth. Would they beat him? Would they bar him from ever using his powers? Would they send him away to some training camp? Would they move and change their names? All he knew was if they knew, they would never trust him again. He couldn't even trust himself in that moment. His powers got worse with big emotions, and his emotions have been messed up and confusing since even before... He had to keep his emotions in check. Never let himself lose control again.
And as if some cosmic entity chose then to present his first obstacle, The Fat boy from class came over to him with his equally dimwitted friends. He hadn't even noticed until he picked his tray up off the table.
"'Sup Goggles?" He said. "You done eating this?" He started chowing on the school lasagna on his tray.
Jon tried to keep himself calm. "Can I have that back?"
"No. Get up. This is our seat."
"Yeah everyone knows we sit here, geek." Said the other kid.
He continued to sit there and not say anything. The fat kid leaned into his his ear. "Are you DEAF!?" He yelled. Jonathan cringed as his Kryptonian hearing amplified the noise. "I said get lost."
"Look, I'm not in the mood for this. Can I just please have my tray back, and then I'll go?"
The kid slammed the tray onto the table, making food and Jon jump. "Oh You're not in the mood? You gonna do something about it Jonny Boy?"
Jon bit his lip, and tried to look away from him.
"Oh why the long face, bud? Miss your boyfriend, huh?"
Jon's grip on his pant legs tightened.
"He's probably out making out with some of them maggots to make you jealous." He puckered up his lips and made kissing sounds on Jonathan's ear.
"Stop it!" Jonathan said, pressing his hand to his chest. He desperately fought the urge to push him away with all his force.
"Don't touch me!" The kid swatted Jon's hand away and pushed his face hard enough to knock him to the floor. All the kids started staring. "I told you to leave! You don't belong here! You don't even belong at this school! Why don't you go live where that blue flyboy is so your mom can keep fucking him behind your daddy's back!?"
Jon crawled on the floor filled with rage, trying to fight back tears, and the urge to actually fight back. "S-shut up!"
"Or what?" He grabbed Jon by the jacket and stood him up. "Make me!" Do something!" Jon prayed he would't hit him, or he'd break his hand. "Do something you little bitch!"
"Hey!"
The kid and his friends stopped and turned to see who said that. Jon looked up as well. His eyes widened as he saw Brandon was the source.
"He's not a donut so let him go!"
"Oh look. King Shit Maggot Boy's back." The kid wrapped Jon's neck in his arm like a headlock. "Wanna pop a smile, Jon? Show those little bitch dimples?"
"Bite your tongue, Lard ass. Pick on someone your own size."
"What did you say!?" He let go of Jon and stomped right up to Brandon. "I am so sick of your maggot eating little-"
Before he had a chance to react, Brandon slammed both fists into the top of his head, and under his chin at the same time. His teeth clamped down on his tongue, and he recoiled and shouted in pain. He held his mouth as blood started pouring out of it.
"I said, Bite. Your. Tongue."
He Moaned in pain and kept hold of his mouth.
The other 2 kids backed away in fear.
Jon was taken off guard by Brandon's unbecoming behavior, but he was thankful he was willing to do that for him.
Brandon got a drop of his blood on his finger, observed it for a moment, then leaned into the kid's ear as blood fell from his mouth. Jon focused his hearing, in time to hear Brandon say, "By the way, that's what I'll look like when I fuck your sister." He could not un-hear that.
The kid hurried away crying with his friend's hands on his back. "Alright Breyer just chill. Chill", One of them said. They left the courtyard, undoubtedly on their way to the nurse.
The other kids cheered and applauded Brandon for standing up to the school bully. Jon stared on in a mixed state of shock, confusion and relief. As Brandon approaches him, Jon took some breaths and tried to regain his composure.
"Hey Jon."
"(Clears Throat) Hi."
They bumped fists.
"It's really good to see you, Brandon. Thanks for the help."
"Hey Don't mention it. Someone had to teach that asshole a lesson." Brandon Grabbed his backpack and pulled a saran wrapped sandwich cut in half diagonally. "Here. take half." He Handed a half to Jon and they sat down at the table. Brandon sat on top of it.
Brandon ate while Jon looked at the sandwich. "Why were you at lunch so late?"
"Had some work to catch up on. Would have missed the whole lunch, but it was a piece of cake."
Something was different about Brandon. When they first met he was pretty quiet, reserved, and a bit standoffish, but now he was talkative and confident.
"Hey, you seem a little… Different." Jon said.
"So do you." Brandon retorted. "I thought you'd be all happy-go-lucky, and playing 4 square or something."
He had a point there. He'd been keeping it together, but he had a hard time faking a smile when he felt bad.
"Yeah, I've had a… An off couple days. Chores at home, nobody wants to hang out, and that guy didn't help."
"Yeah I feel that, dude."
"You?"
"I dunno. I just feel good. Had a really good trip out to the woods, I guess. My dad gave me a shooting lesson, and a good talk, and now I feel like nothing can touch me."
"I wouldn't say nothing. The fat kid's probably gonna be pretty mad when he sees us still at his table."
"Pfft. I don't care. You saw him crying. He won't come back. This is our table now. YOU HEAR THAT!?" He shouted to the rest of the courtyard. "THIS IS A HOSTILE TAKEOVER! SUPER NERD'S ISLAND FOREVER! ALL WHO ENTER HERE SHALL BE DESTROYED!"
The kids who heard him cheered and laughed at his audacious assertion of dominance.
Jon sat blushing in embarrassment and holding back laughter. "Brandon! Sit down! You can't call us super nerds."
"Ok, Maggot Nerds?"
"No."
"SUPER Maggot Nerds?"
"NO!"
Finally Brandon and Jon shared a big laugh together.
Jon was actually starting to feel a little better being with Brandon. He hadn't thought about that weekend's events for the first time. And he finally, gratefully started eating the sandwich half Brandon gave him.
~SB~
After School, Brandon invited Jonathan back to his house. They played out among the trees as they talked about their family issues.
"Seriously?" Brandon asked. "You're like never around guns?"
"No, not really." That was to say Jon had never been around guns Willingly, though he had been shot at once or twice. "The only one we have is the shotgun my grandpa had, but it's never loaded."
"Why doesn't your dad like guns?"
"It's not that he doesn't like them, he just doesn't feel like he needs them. And he thinks problems should be solved with more of a finger than a thumb."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I dunno. Something about non-violence."
"So what, do you think your dad's gonna stop you from using guns when you're older?"
"Uh… no. are you still upset about the thing at the party?"
"Oh, no. I got over it. I got to try a replica in the woods, and it's not as easy as it looks."
"So your dad didn't punish you too much over your… blow up?"
"No, but he did give me a talk about some… other stuff."
"What kind of talk?"
"The talk."
"What is The talk?"
"(sigh) See, he went though my stuff, and found my stash... of some photos… and magazines…"
Jon stared blankly and Brandon, and Brandon could see the gears slowly turning in his head.
"OH!" Jon finally said, and immediately blushed.
"Yep." Brandon said.
"That talk!"
"Yeah."
"And… and you-"
"Yes."
"Do that."
"Mmm Hmm lots of that."
"Uhh… yeah. That must've been pretty embarrassing, huh?"
"Tell me about it. But then dad gave me the talk, said like, we all have urges, and it's ok to give into them, and I think we're cool now."
"Oh that sounds nice."
"Yeah. Haven't you had those talks with your dad yet?"
"No... not really. I guess we haven't really needed to."
(Snickers) Haven't needed to? You're telling me you've never done it?"
"Done wha- No!"
"Come on, Jon." Brandon went up behind Jon and grabbed his shoulders. Jon blushed again. "You've never been staring at a pretty girl, and got caught with a 'Pencil' in your pocket?"
Jon shook his head and pulled away from Brandon. "No! Shut up!"
"Or what about the pool, Beach, or whatever? You ever get a little excited seeing the girls in their swimsuits?"
"I said shut up!"
"Oh man especially the older women in their small little two piece-"
"I don't think I like girls like that, Ok!? Drop it!" Jon turned and briskly walked away, almost running.
"... Wait, what?" Brandon ran to catch up. "Jon!"
He soon caught up with Jon, who stopped, and stared at the floor.
"Jon?" Brandon followed his gaze down.
He caught sight of a large-ish fluffy animal, dead in the dirt. Flies, leaves, maggots, and other insects surrounded it's body. It's blood dark and dried, it's guts hanging out, and being eaten by the small creatures. Jon was frozen stiff.
"Holy shit." Brandon said. "I think that's a woodchuck." Brandon walked around it and crouched at it's back, facing Jon. "Looks pretty nasty, huh? Bet a Bobcat got it. There are lots of those around here. But you probably already know that, huh?" He poked it with a stick.
Jon started to shake where he stood. What he thought he had put out of his mind that day was starting to come back to him. He wanted to say something to pull Brandon away from there, but he couldn't get words to form. And then Brandon put his finger into the opening of it's belly, and pulled it open further.
"Woah, that's pretty freaking cool. You can totally see it's ribs!"
Jon gasped and his breathing quickened.
"Hey Jon. Take a picture so I can tell people I killed it."
Jon gaged.
"Jon?"
Jon gaged again, covered his mouth, and ran behind a tree.
"Woah Jon!" Brandon ran after him.
Jon hunched over and wretched but nothing was coming out. Brandon tried to console him, but realized his hands were messy from touching the corpse.
"I-I'm taking your sanitizer real quick." Brandon reached into Jon's pocket, took his small hand sanitizer bottle, and rubbed some into his hands. Then he held Jon and rubbed his back. "Hey take it easy alright?"
Jon sat down on a large root and started crying into his hands.
"I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to freak you out. I just like looking at dead things. I know it's really weird, but…"
"(sob) I… I killed my cat."
"What?"
He tried to speak more clearly. "I killed my cat Goldie!"
"Oh… man." Brandon didn't know what to say. "How… How did you do that?"
"(sniff) I-I was playing in the field with her, and I was thinking about yo… about stuff, and there was this bird… I tried to save her but… I-I just lost it and she blew up! I didn't mean to!"
Brandon was stuck confused. "Blew up?"
"I-I had fireworks."
"Soft Boy Jon just playing with fireworks by himself?" Brandon thought. "That doesn't sound like him at all." He felt that there were details he was leaving out, but he elected not to further broach the subject, in the state he was in. He had been holding this in all day or more, and Jon needed support.
Brandon sat down close to Jon. He felt at a loss, for he has never been known for his emotional support skills. "Man. I'm sorry for your loss. That… must be pretty rough. But it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what you were doing, and accidents happen."
Jon looked at Brandon, his glasses off, and tears in his eyes. "But they shouldn't happen to me! Not like this! My dad trained me to be better than this. To handle big stuff. To use… I Should be more responsible. I shouldn't be losing control. I should be like him. But he makes everything look so easy, and I feel so weird all the time, and these things start happening and… I just feel like a freak." Jon got onto his knees and faced Brandon directly. "Brandon please you can't tell him. You can't tell anybody. Not until… I don't know just don't tell. Please?"
Brandon stared for a little bit. Jon couldn't read the look on his face. Then he put his hand on his shoulder. "Listen, buddy. You're not a freak. You're like the coolest person I know in this town. So what if you're feeling a little weird, so what if you lose it once in a while. So do I. You're not bad for it. And again, what happened to your cat wasn't your fault. You wanna go crazy and forget the rules for a little while, go crazy with me. Any time. I got your back. And don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."
Jon Sighed in relief and hung his head. He tried to wipe the tears from his eyes, as Brandon tapped his head prompting Jon to look back up.
"Both of them." Brandon said with a smirk.
Jon Looked at him and felt a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders.
Brandon took his hand and they stood up. Then they threw one arm around each other in a "Bro Hug".
"Thank you." Jon said.
"No Problem." Brandon replied.
He let go and gave him a shoulder pat.
Jon truly felt like he found a good friend in Brandon. Even if his fixation with dead bodies was a bit off-putting, and even though he might never feel as strongly about him as he does, this was not a friendship he hoped to lose anytime soon.
"Oh wait. Um…" Brandon stopped and squinted, and raised his brows like he was making a decision. "You know what? If it makes you feel any better, I think I have a little secret of my own to show you." Brandon walked away.
"Oh no, you don't have to. I think I'm alright now."
"No it's cool. It's only fair, I trust you, and if I don't tell somebody soon I'll go outta my mind." He stopped in front of a bolder bigger than both of them combined.
"Um, ok. Then what is It?"
Brandon rubbed his hands together, mumbled something to himself, and grabbed the bottom of the bolder.
Jon was about to object to what he knew he was attempting, but before he could speak, Brandon grunted, and pulled the rock until it was up and over his head. It took him no more effort than it would any normal kid to move a table. With dirt and bugs falling off the bottom, Brandon walked until he was under the center of the stone, and held the whole thing above his head like a trophy.
Jon stared speechless, with his mouth hung open.
"Yeah!" Brandon said, triumphantly. "You're not so freaky now, huh?"
This display of power was not something Jon found freaky. So then, why was he so terrified?
End of Chapter 2
NOTE Hey readers, however many of you are. Sorry I sort of dropped off the map there. With this pandemic, I've just kinda felt in a funk, and got busy with other stuff, but now I'm feeling motivated to start writing again. Expect chapters of this and more of my work to be published with more frequency from now on. Tune in next time on A Small Burn.