Seventeen Years Old, Fear

Clark suddenly blurted out his long-suppressed feelings, and for a moment, his parents didn't know what to say to comfort him.

"Son..."

This topic had lingered in the house for a long time. They hoped their son would keep himself hidden, dreading the day government agents would show up and take him away.

But a teenager in high school craved attention on campus—they'd been through that stage themselves and understood the feeling.

"I'm done. Gotta go."

The atmosphere at the table was heavy. David wasn't interested in this old, worn-out subject. His ears twitched slightly as he glanced out the window, acting as if nothing was wrong, then got up, grabbed his bag, and left.

"From 'dear brother' Clark: excitement +9, dejection +7..."

Another wave of emotion points harvested.

Heh.

David had just strolled out to the edge of the farm.

Right on time, the school bus pulled up in front of him.

"Hey, David."

He boarded the bus. Inside, boys and girls were chatting and laughing, their faces glowing with the youthful energy of high schoolers. A few greeted him.

He nodded in response and found a seat in the back.

David leaned his head back, lazily watching the scenery outside.

The sky was a clear, washed blue, white clouds drifting like cotton balls. Endless green grasslands stretched out, merging into dense woods in the distance—a sight that brought a sense of peace to the heart.

This rural little town called Smallville, tucked away in Kansas, had one redeeming quality: its remoteness and backwardness meant most of the natural landscape was preserved, the air fresh and clean.

The bus paused briefly, then started up again.

"What about Clark? David." A crisp, lively girl's voice came from the other side of the seat, tinged with curiosity.

The two brothers didn't stick together all day, but it was odd for one to be missing during the morning ride.

"He's in the back." David answered casually, without even turning to see who it was.

Chloe—short blonde hair, fair face, always squinting and showing her canine teeth when she smiled, a mix of mischievousness and cuteness. She loved digging into weird and interesting things, and was the reporter and editor-in-chief of the school paper.

She sat in her seat, craning her neck to look at the Kent farm, wondering what had happened.

"Just a high schooler having a spat with his parents. Nothing special.

You wouldn't be interested." David's tone was flat.

"Come on, stop acting like you're an adult all the time, David."

Hearing that, Pete, the short, slightly goofy-looking black kid sitting next to Chloe, shot him a knowing grin.

"Makes you look like a loner. Girls aren't into that."

On campus, the Kent brothers were known for not liking group activities. Clark came across as big and tall but shy and awkward, bad with words—like a dependable ox.

In everyone else's eyes, David preferred quiet solitude, kept to himself, and had a slightly aloof, mysterious vibe.

"Looks like Clark's missing the bus today."

Chloe turned back, teasing.

"If you hadn't been born on a farm, people would've spread rumors that you were a vampire from the Renaissance, holed up alone in an old castle."

David and Chloe knew each other well—she and Pete were two of Clark's few close friends, and they'd gotten acquainted over time.

Staring out the window, David didn't bother to respond.

Living a second life, even if his body was still influenced by hormones and carried some teenage mindset, he was definitely different from impulsive, hormone-driven adolescents.

Take his Kryptonian brother Clark, for example.

"Even Kryptonians go through puberty."

He sighed inwardly, his gaze drifting to the front of the bus, where a lovey-dovey couple was chatting and flirting.

Lana Lang—sleek black hair, a slightly upturned nose, pretty and attractive. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad. Not the flashy, outgoing type, but she had countless admirers and secret crushes at school.

And her blonde, handsome boyfriend—

"The star quarterback and the cheerleading captain dating? Shocking, I tell you."

He mentally rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, if Clark—who can barely talk to a girl without blushing—could steal Lana from Whitney, I'd have the headline for the next Torch Report."

Seeing where David was looking, Chloe snickered. "But we all know that's not happening."

A crush was usually impossible to hide. Clark's feelings for Lana were obvious to her and Pete, even if they never said it out loud.

After all, a guy who spaced out staring at the same girl in class, who got nervous and flustered whenever she talked to him—what else could it be?

As someone who'd grown up with him for over a decade, if Clark genuinely loved football, David would support him.

"Too bad young Superman's brain is fried by hormones."

Clark wanted to join the football team and play smash-mouth ball, mainly because Lana's boyfriend Whitney was the team captain.

"Trying to follow suit, shine on the field, and catch the eye of his secret crush."

So naive...

David shook his head silently.

"Looks like unless something unexpected happens, Clark's plan to join the football team is dead in the water, right?"

Suppressing a smirk at Clark's pitiful crush, Pete turned serious and glanced around before leaning in to whisper.

"David, what about you?"

"I already told you, I'm not joining the football team."

He had zero interest in carefully controlling his strength to play house with a bunch of generally rude, arrogant gorillas on the football team.

"But it's the only way." Fear flickered in Pete's eyes.

"What way?" Chloe asked, puzzled. "Pete, why are you suddenly talking so quietly?"

Like he was sneaking around, afraid of something.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"You're a girl, you wouldn't get it, Chloe."

Pete stole a glance at the football players roughhousing a few seats ahead, as if scared they might turn around any second, and swallowed nervously.

"We're trying to avoid becoming unlucky scarecrows."

"Scarecrows?"

"It's a school football tradition. Before the big game, the team paints a Smallville 'S' on someone's chest and hangs them up like a scarecrow."

David explained with a smile.

Like some morale-boosting ritual before an army marches off to war.

A bunch of reckless, fearless kids riding on youth and audacity.

"Looks like I underestimated how savage the football players can be." Chloe frowned, her expression complicated.

"So Clark and I were thinking of joining the team, even if it's just holding jerseys or handing out water—they don't mess with their own." Pete, a short black kid, said.

He shot David a look that was both warning and persuasion.

"You're still laughing, David.

If Clark doesn't make it, the target this time might be one of you two brothers."

It wasn't just empty talk.

That's how American high schools worked—athletes were the stars everyone worshipped, while nerds, no matter how good their grades, were still nerds and got picked on first.

A pair of farm-born, high-achieving 'nerd' brothers had quite a reputation on campus.

"You know.

Clark's situation might make Whitney take a shot at you, his brother."

"Stupid Clark."

David rolled his eyes at the thought.

Clark thought he was hiding his crush on Lana well, but anyone who interacted with them could see it, including Lana's boyfriend.

Even though the young superman came off as dull, shy, and bad with words—the least popular type among guys—his tall, strong build and handsome face still made him a huge threat.

"Especially since Lana, even with a boyfriend, treats Clark differently from everyone else."

With the risk of going green, Whitney, used to being the star on campus, couldn't help but burn with jealousy.

Meanwhile, Pete was whispering to persuade David to join the football team.

Whitney, chatting with his girlfriend, either by coincidence or because he caught his name, glanced back while laughing, let his gaze linger on David with undisguised coldness, then turned away.

"He's really coming for me?"

Seeing that, David raised an eyebrow, caught off guard.

Should he start being scared now?

"Seventeen-year-old, Thanos-level physique, and I'm afraid of school bullying?"