The next day at school, Kara saw Lena in the hallway and noticed a significant difference in her demeanor. Of course, after Kara's encounter with her as Supergirl – and feeling the stark difference in her behavior – she was worried.

"Lena?" Kara asked gently, standing by the girl's open locker.

"Bugger off, Four Eyes," Lena sighed, not wanting to entertain the overly concerned student.

"I'm… here if you need me, okay?" Kara offered, not wanting to give too much away.

Lena's shoulder turned to ice, and she turned away without a word.

~!~!~

"Hey, Alex?" Kara asked her sister, later that afternoon.

"Yes, Kara?" Alex replied dismissively, not looking up from her homework as she sat at her desk in her room.

"I think… I think I…"

"Are you pregnant? Because if you're not pregnant, why are you bothering me? I'm trying to study."

"No! Don't be stupid. Of course I'm not pregnant."

"Okay. You can go then."

"Okay. Well. Here's the deal—"

"No. Kara. You can leave."

"Ouch," Kara said, forcing a laugh.

But it really did hurt.

She and Alex had historically had a complicated relationship. They weren't always close. And honestly, Kara knew better than to bother her while she was doing homework. But the burning question was too much to hold in.

"Am I… Am I annoying, as me?"

"What do you mean 'as you?'"

"As Kara Danvers. As in, not Supergirl."

"What do you mean? Of course you're annoying. You're my sister."

"No, Alex… I mean… to other people."

"Well…" Alex started, hesitating. "You do come on a little… um… strong."

Kara's face fell.

"Hey… What's going on? Where's this coming from?"

Finally, Alex spun around in her chair to give Kara her full attention.

"There's… this girl…"

"Oh, my God, Kara. No."

"No, it's not… It's not like that," Kara said, but the realization that it actually might be like that was hitting her hard as the words came out of her mouth. "It's just… she's not even a friend. But… Lena Luthor…"

"Lena Luthor?" Alex gaped. "What about her?"

"Well… Something… happened to her the other day… and I kind of… helped her. As me. As Kara. But she totally cold-shouldered me and called me Four-Eyes and Girl Scout and Hall Monitor and—"

"Are you trying to tell me she's bullying you?"

"No! That's not the point, okay? Just listen," Kara said, exasperated. "I'm confused, because when I rescued her as Supergirl the other day – you remember that plane incident – she was… she actually said 'thank you.' I don't get it. Is there something wrong with the real me that makes her so… repulsed?"

Alex stared at her sister and sighed, "Why is this upsetting you? She's a Luthor. She hates everyone. They all do."

"Hey!" Kara snapped, scowling. "You don't know her."

"Neither do you," Alex laughed, shaking her head. "You've gotta stop seeing the good in everyone. Some people are just plain scumbags."

"She's not a scumbag, okay? She's not like her mother. She doesn't want to hurt people."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because… Because I asked her. Subtly. As Supergirl. When I was waiting in the hospital with her."

"You waited with her in the hospital?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"Well, yeah. She was having a panic attack and I—"

"Why didn't you let the doctors take care of it?"

"Because they were taking forever, and she was scared! Ugh! You're being so unhelpful, do you know that? You're my sister. You're supposed to be there for me and encourage me and give me good answers. Not give me shit for liking a Luthor."

"You like her? Kara! You can't be serious."

"Not. Like. That!" Kara shouted.

"How can you like her at all?" Alex scoffed.

"Like wasn't the right word. I just… see the good in her is all."

"You're kinda pathetic sometimes, you know that?"

"Wow, Alex. Nice. I'll leave you alone now, Bookworm. Thanks for nothing."

Kara turned around and stormed off to her room, spending the rest of the night completely alone, in total silence.

~!~!~

The usual pep in Kara's step was completely gone the next day, and when she saw Lena at her locker, she dropped her gaze immediately and kept walking.

In fact, she kept walking with her head down so diligently that she crashed into another student, dropping her books.

"Watch it, kid!" the young man said, scowling at Kara, who was kneeling to collect her things.

Kara couldn't look up. The day was already miserable. She didn't need this. And she didn't dare to turn and see if Lena had even noticed the fall.

She didn't have to, though. Before Kara could look, Lena was beside her, kneeling and reaching for the pencils that had scattered. Kara froze and stared at Lena, forgetting all about her textbooks, which slid off her lap back onto the floor.

Luckily, the young man who had been the unintentional victim of Kara's clumsiness had already walked away.

"What?" Lena snapped, not raising her gaze. "Quit staring, Four Eyes. Are you just gonna leave all your shit on the floor?"

"N-No," Kara stammered, turning her attention back to the mess. "Th-Thank you."

Lena didn't say anything. Instead, she shoved the pencils into Kara's hand and turned away, rising to her feet.

Kara stumbled to her own and continued to stare. Why had Lena just been nice to her?

"Lena," Kara said shyly, approaching the girl, who was digging through her locker.

"What is it?" Lena asked shortly, huffing as she turned to look at Kara.

"Did I… Did I do something to offend you?"

"What?"

"Did I do something to offend you?"

Lena blinked. No, she hadn't. But what could Lena actually say?

She decided on, "Luthors don't need friends, Kara, and you can't seem to get it through your head that I'm not interested in—"

"But you just helped me."

"Listen, Four Eyes. I did the polite, civil thing to do. I'm not an animal."

Kara raised an eyebrow, challenging, "You did the nice thing."

"Be that as it may, you may leave now."

Kara sighed and walked away.

~!~!~

Later that night, Kara was distraught again.

"You're failing?!" Alex gaped at her sister, staring down at the report card.

"The semester's not over, though, and I—"

"Kara! I don't want to hear it! You can't graduate without passing chemistry! If you're going to pretend to be a human, you might as well be a good one!"

Kara stood there, mouth hanging open, and stared, soaking in what her sister had just said.

"Find a tutor," Alex said after a pause to regain her composure.

Kara nodded and mumbled, "Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry I disappointed you, Alex."

Without a reply from her sister, Kara left the room.

~!~!~

The next day, Kara did as she was advised and asked her chemistry teacher about getting a tutor and found out that all she had to do was go to the library after school.

To her shock and horror, when the librarian assigned her a tutor and walked her over to the table where her tutor sat, she saw Lena Luthor in the chair.

"Um, Mrs. Austin?" Lena said, looking up in shock. "I think this one's unteachable. Any chance we can—"

"Now, now, Lena," the teacher tutted. "This is what you chose to do for community service. We don't turn away those asking for help, and if you want these hours to count, you'll work with whoever needs the assistance."

Mouth hanging only slightly open, Lena allowed Kara to sit at the table and looked exceedingly irritated as she noticed just how red Kara's cheeks were.

"S-Sorry," Kara stammered, feeling far from her normal, confident self.

She might've been popular with the rest of the school, but she certainly wasn't popular with Lena.

"Are you going to open your book, or are you just going to sit there like an idiot?" Lena snapped, noticing Kara's stare.

"R-Right. Sorry," Kara blurted, scrambling to open her textbook to the page that was relevant to her latest homework assignment.

"Alright. Well, since I'm stuck with you, and you're hopelessly dense, we might as well try to make this quick, so what's the assignment?"

"Odd problems one through one hundred."

Lena huffed.

"We're going to be here a while so just… try not to talk okay? Just… listen."

Kara nodded apologetically and looked down at the paper as Lena reluctantly scooted closer so she could see which problems Kara was assigned. She'd never felt so insecure in her life.

After an hour and a half, Kara's head dropped to the table as she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh, do get up, will you?" Lena taunted, rolling her eyes. "Don't be such a queen. You're just like Supergirl. Preppy, full of yourself, and oh-so-dramatic."

Kara didn't move. Everything in her was frozen. Did she just say…?

"Get up!" Lena hissed, not loudly enough for the librarian to scold them, but loud enough for Kara to know she was serious.

This tore Kara from her stupor, and she lifted her head immediately, locking eyes with her unwilling tutor.

"Look," Lena started. "You've only got three more problems, okay? Stick with it. You're almost done."

Involuntarily, Kara's eyebrow went up in surprise at the supportive and encouraging comment.

"What?" Lena balked. "It's true. One… two… three. What are you gawking at?"

"Nothing. Anyway, I think I got it, actually. I'll, uh… leave you alone."

"Are you… Are you sure you actually got this?"

Kara hesitated and stared down at the words on the page, which appeared to her like a second language that she definitely didn't speak.

"I…"

"Sit down, Four Eyes," Lena sighed. "Three more."

The two completed the problems together, and by the time Kara closed her textbook, she was feeling surprisingly better about the material.

"Thanks, Lena," she said gratefully, offering a weak smile. "I'm sorry I suck at this, but I appreciate your help."

"Well, it's counting towards my hours of community service for school to graduate, so…"

"Yeah, well… Thanks all the same."

Lena shrugged and stood up, beginning to pack her things into her backpack as she realized that her two-hour shift was over.

"Oh, fuck," Kara blurted, looking at the clock. "I missed the fucking bus!"

Lena blinked, never having had this problem, and stared at Kara in disbelief. What a stupid way to travel.

But… Kara had previously saved her from a terrible, unknown fate. It would be awfully rude of her not to return the favor somehow.

"I could… um… I could give you a ride," Lena said, looking down at her feet as she shifted her weight anxiously.

"What? Really?" Kara asked. "You'd do that for me?"

"I just want us to be even, and I feel like I owe you. Luthors always pay their debts."

"Oh," Kara said simply. "Well… Thank you. I would appreciate the ride. Alex is already home, so… I'm kinda screwed without it."

"Why don't you have a car?" Lena asked.

"Because my family isn't rich?"

Lena felt her stomach drop. How could she have asked such a rude, absurd question? Heat rose to her cheeks.

"Anyway," Lena attempted to recover. "Let's get going. I'm going to be late for dinner at home, and my mother will kill me if I'm not sitting at the table at 6:30."

"Got it," Kara agreed, clutching her backpack as she followed Lena out of the school.

In the car, to Kara's surprise, they bonded over their choice in music.

"Oh, my GOD," Kara laughed. "I haven't heard this song in forever!"

"Sooo good, though," Lena said with an unrestrained grin.

Music was just about the only way she was able to let go of her stress. Kara noticed this and appreciated the new side of Lena that she was experiencing. She felt fortunate to see this, knowing full well that few ever had or ever would.

"Hey, Lena?" Kara asked, as the woman pulled into the driveway at Kara's home.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Okay, can you not gush? Jesus, Girl Scout. Just get your shit and go."

Kara blinked, stunned by the sudden snap back into the Lena Luthor she knew before the car ride.

"Yeah. Right. Sorry," Kara mumbled, gathering her things. "Thanks again."

As she walked up the driveway, Lena watched – quite involuntarily – the way that Kara's perfectly sculpted figure moved in the skirt she was wearing. It wasn't until Kara shut the front door to the home and disappeared behind it that Lena came to and was able to refocus her attention on her goal: getting home in time to not be assassinated by her mother.