Chapter 6 - Braving the Crowds

Jon had spent his time in the cage feeling hungry, and he'd spent his time so far with Sam feeling comfortably full most of the time. Back on his own planet, his eating had been tightly controlled so he'd be camera-ready at all times. Thanksgiving at the El house had never looked the way it did on TV, and Jon might have enjoyed his first real Thanksgiving at the Kent house a little too much—by his third helping, he'd made himself sick.

Fortunately, the feeling passed in a few minutes, and Jon went upstairs to join the guys playing video games. He still felt that slight pang of nervousness every time he sat down next to Jordan, remembering the first time they'd tried to play a video game together, but there had never been any sign of leftover anger, not since everything had gone down with Sam.

"You wanna brave the crowds with us tomorrow?" Jonathan asked without looking up from the screen.

"Crowds?"

"Black Friday shopping," he said.

Jordan rolled his eyes. "I hate it. You can take my place."

"You guys didn't do Black Friday?" Jonathan asked.

"Uh. I guess not." Jon pushed aside memories of the holidays back at home. He had spent so much of his time here avoiding even thinking about what his old life had been like—he wasn't ready to explore all of those memories now. His therapist had tried to start drawing those memories out of him, the first time they'd met, but he didn't even talk about that with her. The holidays made that really hard, though. The whole season was all about family time and traditions. It was impossible not to compare his past with his present.

"Alright, you've got to come with us."

Jon shrugged. "I can ask Sam, I guess."

"Oh, he'll let you."

"If you were smart," Jordan muttered, "you'd ask him to say no."

Jonathan reached across and shoved Jordan. "Don't listen to him. He just doesn't like the crowds."

"Why do you go if you hate it?" Jon asked.

Jordan glanced over at Jonathan. "He annoys me about it forever if I don't."

Jon's mind flashed back to something Sam had once said—that Jordan went where his brother went. He and his Jordan hadn't really had the same kind of relationship.

Jon pulled his mind back to the present. Sam would probably say yes. Jon didn't have any money, so he couldn't really go shopping, but at least he could come along for the ride.

He didn't realize he was going to have to be up at six in the morning. He was used to getting up on the earlier side, but he didn't usually have to leave the house that early. It was still dark when Jonathan and Jordan rolled up in the truck, but apparently there was some sale at an electronics store that Jonathan wanted to wait in line for.

Jon slipped into the backseat. "Hey."

"Morning," Jonathan said, and he passed back a thermos.

"Coffee," Jordan told him, and Jon nodded.

"Oh, this is for you, too," Jonathan said, and he passed back an envelope.

Jon frowned, opening the envelope as Jonathan pulled away. A few bills were inside—not nearly as much as Sam had given him for clothes, but definitely enough for a nice gift for Sam, and probably a small gift for each of his "family" members. "Where'd you get this?"

"My dad said to give it to you."

Jon shoved back the envelope as if it were on fire. "I can't take this."

"Why not?"

"I'm not his . . . he's not my . . ."

"He knows that, genius." Jonathan tossed it back to the backseat again. "He's not gonna take it back."

"Well, I'm not taking it."

"If you don't take it he'll just hang onto it or use it to buy you something."

Jon frowned, and he picked up the envelope. He'd had money back home. That was one thing his dad had given him—they had to keep up appearances, of course. But Jon wasn't really free to spend it the way he wanted. With every purchase came judgements at home, sometimes in the form of silence, sometimes shouting.

Again, he pushed away the thoughts, like he always did. He couldn't be thinking about his old home.

This gift, too, came with expectations—not that he'd want to spend the money on anything but what Clark had meant it for. But he was still surprised he'd been offered cash so soon after he'd stolen money to run away. How did Clark know he wouldn't do it again?

Even the thought of buying something for Sam made him feel a little uncomfortable. How was he supposed to get it into the house so Sam couldn't see, then hide it for long enough to wrap it? Would Sam think he was hiding something shady? And what was he even supposed to get for the person who had made his life worth living again?

Jon was still lost in his doubts by the time they pulled up at a shopping mall, the parking lot completely full. They ended up having to walk for more than five minutes in the freezing cold to get to the mall, and then they had to stand outside for another hour with a crowd of people waiting for the store to open. Jon ended up being thankful for the coffee.

Jon could see why Jordan hated this. He could also see why Jonathan liked it, sort of. There was an exciting energy to the crowd, even if it was dark and cold and a little miserable. His own Jordan would have hated it . . .

He squeezed his eyes shut. Again, with the memories of his other world. He wasn't sure why they were coming up so much more often now. Maybe it was because he'd been too concerned with his own survival before. Still, it didn't make much sense—he was happy. This was home, not the hell he'd lived in before.

"Five minutes," Jordan assured Jon, looking at his face with concern.

"I'm fine," Jon said, a little too quickly.

"It'll be warm in there."

Jon nodded, and he forced a smile.

The shopping itself was enjoyable, and Jon managed to focus on the task in front of him. Jonathan and Jordan laughed and joked and teased, and they brought Jon into it. Jonathan bought a couple of things for himself at the electronics store, along with a couple of movies for his dad, and then they went into the mall, and Jordan got a sweater for his mom and a wallet for his dad, and Jonathan got a book for his mom. Jon was lost at first, but Jordan helped him, and he ended up picking up some tea for Clark and Lois, which Jordan said they would like, and he even went into a pet store and got some treats and a rubber ball for Lieutenant.

By lunchtime, Jon still had no idea what to get for Sam. Jon and Jonathan went to order while Jordan saved them a table in the crowded food court, and Jon shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Guess you guys are already done," Jon said.

"Nah, we'll probably shop for some friends," Jonathan said. "You've got time."

Jon winced. "I really don't know what to get him."

"Just write him a nice card or something," Jonathan told him. "Parents eat that stuff up."

"Yeah, I guess." Maybe he was overthinking this. "It's not like he's gonna get me a bunch of stuff, right?"

Jonathan raised his eyebrows.

" . . . Right." Jon sighed. He hadn't even been able to convince himself.

Jon and Jonathan carried trays loaded down with burgers, fries, and sodas to the little table, and for a few minutes, none of them spoke. They were no diner burgers, but Jon knew he still would have killed for food like this in the cage—or, better yet, back under his parents' roof, where a pound gained or a zit that might show up on camera was practically a war crime.

Jon was on the last of his fries when Jonathan nudged him. "That girl is totally checking you out."

Jon's eyes snapped up, just as a girl at the next table looked away. She looked familiar . . .

"Do you know who she is?" Jonathan asked.

"I didn't see her face," Jon said. "Do you know her?"

Jonathan shook his head.

Jon went back to his fries when he felt eyes on him again, and he looked toward the girl. This time, their gaze locked for a moment before she looked away.

Realization washed over him. It was the girl from the party. The pretty one who had been staring at him from a distance while he talked to what's-her-name, before she'd disappeared.

"She's hot," Jonathan said. "You should talk to her."

"Yeah, right."

"Seriously. You gotta meet people before you start school, right?"

Jon frowned, avoiding looking in the girl's direction. "What would I even say?"

"Say you're new in town and you'd love to have someone show you around."

Jordan rolled his eyes. "That's so lame."

"Hey, you gonna take advice from the guy who's had all of one real girlfriend his whole life, or the better-looking version of you?"

"Not sure having a dozen ex-girlfriends makes you the expert," Jordan muttered.

Jon glanced again toward the girl at the same time that a big crowd of people passed between their tables. He craned his neck to see through the crowds, but by the time they cleared, the girl was gone. "She left," he said.

"Whatever," Jonathan said, picking up his tray. "You still need to shop for Granddad, right?"

Jon sighed, and he followed.