Hey, guys!
Two chapters in two days, I think that might be the fastest update on this story.
I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Eight
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Jon-El's first week with the Kents came and went. It had been filled with awkward moments, glares from Jordan, and enough unease from everyone to last a lifetime.
But… Good things had happened too. Jon-El had learned how things worked in this family. He'd had a couple of good conversations with Lois and Clark too. And admittedly, as more time went by, the more comfortable he was living in this house.
He sighed from his spot at the picnic table in the middle of the backyard. The yellow sun shined brightly overhead, but Jon-El tried to ignore it.
As time had gone on, the original weakness from the yellow sun went away, now it just felt like an itch. So he tried to ignore it as he wished that it would fade into nothing one day.
Jon-El looked over at the barn. He could see the twins talking amongst themselves, and if he looked over at the porch he could see Lois sitting in one of the chairs.
He wondered what the twins were talking about… Were they talking about Candice? Or maybe Sarah? Or were they talking about something that wasn't girls?
After a few moments, curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to the twins. He could be around them if there was an adult around, and Lois was sitting on the porch. Surely that was close enough.
As soon as he got into earshot, he almost wished that he had stayed over at the picnic table.
"I just hope that this new info helps take down Ally for good," Jordan said.
Jon nodded, though he didn't seem quite as passionate as his twin. "Me too," he answered. "What she's doing to those people isn't right."
Jon-El swallowed, but decided to stay quiet. Maybe this wasn't the kind of conversation he should be a part of… He had been one of Ally's most loyal followers, her right hand man, second in line for ascension.
"Can't believe that they all believe her too," Jordan added.
It slipped out before Jon-El could stop it. "She was right though."
The reaction was instant. Beside him, Jon tensed up, and Jordan's eyes flashed red.
Jon-El fought the urge to duck his head and fade away into the shadows. While most of her stuff had been lies, not everything she said was fake.
"I mean, she was right about the inverse stuff," Jon-El said. "It's hard not to believe her once you've seen it."
Jordan took a step forward. "So you still follow her?" he asked.
Once again, Jon-El found himself fighting not to back down. "She tried to kill me," he told Jordan. "Why would I still be a follower?"
"What made you follow her in the first place?" Jordan asked. "You had everything."
Jon-El bit back a scoff. "You don't know anything about me," he snapped. He didn't hate Jordan, but he was definitely getting on his nerves. Jon-El's reasons were his own, they were none of Jordan's business.
Jordan took another step closer. "Sure I do," he said. "You're just a spoiled little brat who decided that the end of both our worlds is just a game to you. Bet you're here now to turn my brother too, to make him believe that as well."
Jon-El tried to swallow back his anger. That emptiness in him felt deeper than ever. Jordan had no idea what he was talking about. Jordan had no idea what all he had been through.
"You know what? Forget this," Jon-El said, then began to walk towards the house.
"Just like you'll forget all of the damage you caused on the other earth!" Jordan called to him.
Jon-El spun around, images of Anderson's dead body flashing in his head. He wished he could forget, oh how he wished he could forget…
"Shut up!" he shouted. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Make me."
"Boys!" Lois said, and Jon-El turned around at the sound of her commanding voice. "That's enough."
Jon-El looked behind him at Jordan, who sent him a glare in return. Surprisingly though, he kept the deadly red glow out of his eyes. Jon-El wondered if it was because Lois was watching them and would see it.
They looked at each other for a moment, then Jon-El walked inside. He thought that Lois would stop him when he got to the porch, maybe to lecture him or at least to say something, but she didn't.
As soon as he knew that Lois wasn't paying attention to him, he ran up the stairs and into his room. When he reached his room, he slammed the door.
On his world, there had been a lot of door slamming throughout his life. Sometimes it was his mother slamming the door, though it was more often his father. It was a sound that signified fighting, but as soon as the door slammed the yelling was normally over.
On this world, Lois and Clark discouraged slamming the doors. All the doors shut gently, even if there was a fight. There were no signs of superpowered aggression in the doorframes, no signs that a door had ever been ripped off of its hinges.
Jon-El laid down on his bed, then sighed loudly into his pillow. He wanted to scream, but he decided against it. If he did, then Jordan would hear it and he would know how much his words had affected him.
He knew that he shouldn't have let Jordan's words get to him, but he couldn't stop it. Some of his words had cut deep, and they were obvious signs that Jordan still hated him and didn't trust him. Well, that and the constant heat-vision filled glares…
He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. He hated this stupid house. It was so familiar, yet so foreign. There was just something about it that just reminded him that it wasn't the house his parents had been living in since he was a baby, yet he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Faintly, he heard the sounds of the twins going into their rooms. For a second, he thought that Jon was maybe on the phone with his girlfriend, but he didn't care to go check. So what if Jon was talking to Candice? It didn't involve him and it never would.
A little later, the front door finally shut with a firm bang. From downstairs, he could just barely make out Lois and Clark's voices.
Suddenly, a thought popped into Jon-El's head.
He had gotten into a fight with Jordan, and if it hadn't been for Lois stepping in, who knew what would have happened?
Would they kick him out for fighting with Jordan? Would they put him back in that cell because of the fight?
At the thought of the cell, Jon-El shuddered. The glass walls that allowed anyone to see everything he was doing, the yellow lights that weakened him and made his skin itch and burn.
He couldn't go back…
Jon-El sat up and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.
If they sent him back, then he would never see the outside world again. He would see nothing more than the four stupid walls of his cell.
Jon-El swallowed as he looked around the room, then over towards the window.
He couldn't stay in this stupid room any longer. He needed to get off of this farm, even if it was just for a few minutes.
Jon-El walked over to the window, then opened it up. Thankfully, the window opened up right onto the roof of the porch. He didn't have to worry about a two story drop. He would be fine.
He raised the bottom half of the window, then squeezed out of it and onto the roof.
The cool fall air hit his back, and he shivered as he pulled his leather jacket tighter around him. He didn't realize that it was so cold outside yet.
As quietly as he could, he shut the window behind him. After all, he wasn't gonna be able to get back in that way. Once he got back, he would probably just sit on the porch for a bit, then walk inside. No one would ever know.
Jon-El took a deep breath, then slid off of the roof. A few weeks ago, he had been able to fly, but the feeling of falling the few feet from the edge of the roof to the porch rails made his stomach churn with nausea.
He jumped off of the porch and into the grass below, then began to run. If anyone was going to catch him, it would be now.
But as even as the farmhouse faded from Jon-El's view, no one came for him.
I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!