Chapter Text
Then
When Kara was a child, she used to do many things.
She used to go to Rao’s Temple, learning her people’s ways and their prayers. They had several meditation techniques to master, each of them meant to help them throughout different situations in life. She also used to learn the Code of Honor, practicing it every day and showing Kryptonian values proudly. She understood the value of :zrhythrevium and how everything Krypton did was for Kryptonians and their wellbeing.
She used to accompany her ukr, Zor-El, to his lab in the Science Guild, seeing him design tools and chemical compounds she could only dream of. Or walk down the streets of Argo City with ieiu holding her hand, showing her the city and how to behave in Kryptonian society.
Being from the prestigious house of El and being the only daughter of the head scientist of the Science Guild, and Allura In-Ze, head Judicator, no less, she always had an incredible thirst for science and knowledge.
And her parents always made sure to satisfy her enquiries.
“What’s this, ukr?” big blue eyes staring intently, questions swirling in them.
“That’s part of the air purification system, inah”, he would say, eyes never leaving the project agile hands were currently working on.
He could spend hours explaining things to her, about the different animal and plant species present in Krypton, even though a lot of them were already extinct by the time she was born; how their culture had created tools and technology that was unthinkable in other parts of the universe, he would explain the physical principles and mathematics behind each discovery and each question she asked was in kind responded.
It was in his lab, when he was building a propulsor for new military spacecrafts when she fell, playing with one of the many tools ukr kept there, and hit her head, leaving a small ident in her forehead, between her eyebrows.
“Where are we going, ieiu?”, nose smushed against the glass, blue eyes studying outside. Her toddler hands were leaving faint stains on the window, but she couldn’t care less.
“rroshes kryp w Starhaven bim, :zrhueiao. We are in space”, her mother, crouched behind her would answer, barely above a whisper. Showing her the vastness and immensity of space, the possibilities of new worlds and realms, seemingly unimaginable. (We are going to Starhaven, love)
“Here Kara, I’m about to explain you how matter behaves…”, five-year-old Kara perched on his knee while he bounced her softly, cerulean giant blue eyes stared at a book, while wise and glimmering with excitement darker blue ones looked at her.
She was thirteen when it all ended.
A few weeks prior to her official investment into the Science Guild as the youngest member ever. When the alerts that had been blaring nonstop for a few months finally silenced.
But not because of salvation. It was the only warning before doom finally took place.
“Sitodh inah! kehpodh kryp w rrosh bim”, her ukr had woken her up in the middle of the night, the fear painted in his eyes was enough to spur Kara into action. Looking out the window she could see the sky painted the reddest color she had ever seen, pieces of the planet were raising into the air, as if pulled by zero gravity, before slamming back, tearing into pieces whatever was in their way, the beautiful forests and lakes were now covered in fires, lifting through cracks on the ground, making the tremors harder to sustain. (Wake up, inah! We have to go)
She ran down the stairs, pulled by her father, his hand grabbing her wrist in an iron-grip, if she hadn’t been utterly terrified, she would have complained from the pain.
She didn’t.
She followed her father blindly throughout the ruins of what once was an amazing-looking city, her home.
From the tall buildings with incredible technology, all that was left were scattered pieces. Having collapsed as a result from the constant tectonic movement that had been constantly increasing due to its core instability.
“There is no time, inah!”, her ukr’s yell pulled her from her new-found dreadful knowledge. He and her ieiu were crouched in front of her, eyes shimmering with unshed tears and lips trembling from fear.
“We are going to send you with Kal-El to a planet named Earth. Its yellow sun will give you incredible powers. Look after your cousin. ukiemodh kryp w rrip”, he rushed out, as fast as he could. Kara could barely make out the words before her parents were hugging her farewell. Allura slid her pendant around her inha’s neck, promising to accompany her always. (We love you)
There really wasn’t much she could do, was there?
The next moment they were watching Kal-El being launched in his pod, her aunt Lara and uncle Jor-El were clinging to each other, and she was trying to be brave, to keep her head up and show proudly the strong big girl her parents had raised. Her parents secured her in her own and then she was going.
When she turned around, after tense seconds of trying to will herself not to look, she knew what she would see; she could see her parents holding each other and waving. It lasted but a second and then the flames that had started erupting from the cracks on the ground became lava and just when she watched her cousin’s pod accelerate to the speed of light, Krypton vanished. All the drifting pieces of her homeplace suddenly stopped drifting away, before rapidly coming together into one last big explosion, taking away everything she ever knew, a memory she’ll be the only one capable of keeping alive.
Argo City and Kandor, those waterfalls and oceans her parents had taken her to so many times, gone. Those dreamland landscapes and the wide variety of species, history that existed only in her memories. It all turned into space ash and little else after an explosion that shook her pod off-course and into the Phantom Zone.
There were many theories as to how the Phantom Zone had come to be, either the collision of two massive blackholes, or an antimatter field that blocked outside matter to follow the flow of time. It didn’t really matter, she was stuck, seeing her parents’ crying faces as they said their farewells, the collapse of it all, and the explosion that ended her world, her people, over and over.
Three-year-old Lena was very curious.
And Moma was always there to answer every question, and gifting her with kissies of course. Moma knew it all, or at least that’s what baby Lena thought, because whenever she had a question, she’d answer with certainty in those green eyes she also saw in the mirror, a tingle of amusement and love always present, the endless patience she gifted Lena.
“Why is the sky blue?”, forest green eyes were squinting at the beautiful blue of an Irish sunny summer, the breeze ruffling her jet-black hair and getting it into her big eyes. A small chubby hand trying to cover them from the blinding light.
“Because of the atmosphere. It has many gases that scatter the light and make it look blue”, she would answer, patiently, lovingly, darker green eyes also squinting at the sun while a slender hand squeezed her shoulder, a kiss was then pressed to her temple, the most tender smile she ever saw, painted in Moma’s face.
“What is the sun?”, this one was very common, and Lena’s curiosity was never sated, space, stars, planets, she always wanted to know more about things she could barely grasp at such young age, always eager to learn and discover, question after question that needed a deserving and clear answer.
“Is a star. Stars are big mases of gas that are constantly burning in its surface, that’s why we can see them”, it was the standard answer, because Lena was very very smart but she was still young and had so much to learn, and she still didn’t know it, but her Moma was proud of her, extremely proud, so much that she’d always talk proudly about her little girl whenever they went to the store or to the park, in that Irish accent she associated with home.
They had a simple life, it was just them, living adventures. Her mother would often take her outside and explore, doing small experiments with her and always inciting the young girl to ask, to know. She always found opportunities to teach the girl something, like why plants where green and why people said you had to sing to them.
“They are green because of chlorophyll, it’s a substance that allow plants to store solar energy. They convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, that’s why they are vital for life”, she had said, ripping a piece of grass and showing it to Lena under a home-made microscope, so she could appreciate the small brick-like cells in them.
“Why does soap make bubbles?”, Lena was in the bath, shaking her hands in the water and making more and more bubbles, filling their bathroom with the colorful floating spheres. Her mother sunk one hand into the water and then blew a bubble using her fingers as mold.
“Superficial tension. There is water between soap molecules. And the circle is the simplest and most natural shape of all”, her answer was given in a serious voice, conspiratorially, and Lena laughed a full-belly laugh.
She didn’t laugh a lot after that.
A few days after the bubble experiment, it was successful according to Lena’s notes, her mother took her to the beach, in a lake, its blue-greenish waters were translucid and near the shore, small fishes could be spotted, swimming carelessly. It was a sunny summer day, they had a picnic with all of Lena’s favorites, there was apple juice and baguettes, grapes and pineapple. Her mother read her a story about a young man and a young woman, whose families hated each other but who still chose to be together, despite what others told them, their love was stronger, and she told Lena to never give up on her dreams, she’d always be with her.
They swam, built sandcastles and took sunbaths.
“Always put on sunscreen, UV rays can damage your cells”, she had said
It was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
Moma said she would go for a short swim before packing up and returning to their house, Lena saw her go into the water, her pale skin glimmering with the sun, her slender figure disappearing into the small waves, but she didn’t worry, Moma was an excellent swimmer. Lena was designing a bigger door for her last sandcastle, very preoccupied with its architecture, and she waited.
And waited.
When the last sunrays hid in the horizon, the pink hues of the sky turning into deep oranges and reds, until finally stars appeared on the sky Lena knew that Moma wasn’t going to come back, she couldn’t do much but wait by the shore, her tiny body trembling with the small wind currents, a dreadful pain and fear settling deep into the pit of her stomach, making her small body heavier than ever.
Hours later someone found her and called the police. Rescuers came and a lot of questions were asked but, for the first time ever, she didn’t know the answers and her mother couldn’t provide them for her.
She didn’t even last a full day in the orphanage before an elegant-looking and clearly wealthy man came for her, he had strong features and cold blue eyes, but those seemed to warm up a little at the sight of her, with her teddy bear clutched into her tiny fist. She was taken in a Bentley to the airport and then to the United States in a private jet, she didn’t like the amount of luxury, it made her nervous and worried. The house she was taken to was huge and scary, but maybe her new family would be nice.
They weren’t, Lena realized quickly.
Lillian, her horrendous stepmother, hated her. At first, Lena thought it was because she was new and didn’t know the rules of the house, but she tried to behave properly, Moma had taught her manners after all. Nothing seemed to be enough, though. Lillian would criticize her and yell, those icy blue eyes became her worst nightmare and haunted her at nights, hidden under the blankets she’d crush her teddy bear and beg the universe for her Moma to come back and take her away from the punishments and fear Lillian made her go through. She didn’t usually hit her, but it didn’t make it better, she’d punish her by standing outside in the cold, or having to shower with cold water, and all those dreams of sunny days became further and further a memory.
And then, there was Lex.
Her older brother used to praise her and read her bedtime stories when she first arrived at the house, making her feel less lonely. That was, until she beat him in chess for the first time, at the age of six, after that, the mask fell and her brother showed his true colors. Whenever she’d do something and show him, seeking recognition, he’d mock her, or yell, telling her how dumb she was and how little she was destined to accomplish. Sometimes, he would even pull her hair or push her against walls. The worst part was that he always sided with Lillian helping her make her life a living hell.
It wasn’t entirely bad though; he had his good moments.
Like that time she was building her first propulsor, many books were open around her, covering every possible surface in her enormous bedroom, tools were scattered on the bed and the floor, pieces of equipment and components thrown over her desk, and in the middle the prototype sat. It was meant to be similar to a jet pack with the controls being easier to access and like to a neuronal network that didn’t rely on using her hands to control them. It was incredible and Lex told her so.
“Amazing, sis, I guess I was wrong about you and there is something worthy about you”, he had said, a wicked smile covering his face and she felt her tiny heart swell with affection at the well-deserved compliment, she wanted to impress her big brother, she wanted him to care for her the way he used to. But he was manipulative.
“However…”, Lex waited for a couple dramatic seconds before lashing out with the full force of his hatred “it is completely useless” he slammed the prototype, making it fall into the ground and then gave her advice “if you really want to impress me, you might want to increase its potency, making it capable of turning fuel into energy”
And she did, only to have it taken from her so Lex could use it for God knew what, he showed some time later to yell at her for not being able of doing something more powerful, spit covering her tiny face, his smelly breath clouding her senses.
It was just the beginning; she just didn’t know.
Only Lionel ever showed her affection and it was only on rare occasions, whenever he wasn’t drinking his weight in alcohol or on a business trip. He showed her the only amount of affection she would receive for years, praising her brilliant mind, and always helping her accomplish more. Like her fifth birthday when he gifted her first chemistry set, and smuggled candy into her room. Albeit those moments were few and scarce in between, it made her feel human and loved, helping her cope with her new living conditions.
She was always his favorite. Maybe because she reminded him of her Irish love.
It only fueled Lillian’s hate.
“What do you think you’re doing with those clothes?”, she sneered. Icy-blue eyes staring her down, hate simmering in them like a snake at its pray. “You look like a homeless child, dress properly, you’re a Luthor now”, she waved her hand dismissively, not before throwing a scowl in her direction, disdain clear in her stone-cold mask.
“You have zero class, Lena, dear”, she would stand from the table and slap Lena’s cheek once before siting again and cleaning her hands as if nothing had happened, all regal and poised, sending her to her room without dinner or to help in the kitchen to ‘value what you’re given’. It were those nights when she could find relief and safety, the staff of the manor loved her, if not pitied her, and they were always eager to let her help, teaching her to cook and giving her some snacks here and there to make sure she ingested the amount of calories needed for her age. They would even let her listen to music and they were the only ones who gifted her birthday cake every terrible year she spent there.
Lillian, however, could go endlessly for hours, Lena often wondered how the woman didn’t run out of saliva.
And one day, after selling God-knows what idea to Lionel, she managed to convince him to send Lena to a public high school in the middle of Nowhere-land, so she could appreciate all that was being given to her, honestly, that excuse was starting to get old, in Lena’s opinion. In reality, it was just a low-blow attempt to temper her obviously bright mind, she had just beaten Lex for the nth time at chess last night and even outstand him with her prototypes and experiments, and Lillian, tired of seeing her boy lose and already hating the raven-haired girl her husband brought home, took the chance to get rid of her. Since Lena had just ended her middle-school studies, top of her class and two years ahead, it was the perfect timing for Lillian.
Beep…beep…the constant sound of life-support, the only reason she breathed for years, numbing, endless as the space confinement she found herself in, the deafening silence driving her further and further away from reason and logic.
When her pod finally, finally, landed, everything was a bigger mess she could have imagined. At first her head ached and she was severely disoriented, the light was really bright and Rao! What are all those sounds? And the smell, it was like nothing she had ever smelled before, on Krypton, there were sweet smells and sour ones, some were bittersweet and everything was so green!
Before she could find out, though, the top of her pod was being covered by the shadow of a towering figure of a man in a red and blue suit with her house crest.
She didn’t recognize him, he had uncle Jor-El’s profile but his green eyes, those were Aunt Lara’s. She must’ve spent more time in the Phantom Zone than she thought. A lump formed in her throat. Fear and disappointment started building in her body, choking her, her hand clutching the necklace ieiu put on her neck, the only thing she had of rurrelahs, before her pod left the death remains of her world. Forgotten to everyone but her, the only true daughter of Krypton.
“Kal-El?”, she breathed, voice trembling, ocean blue eyes flashing with a whirlwind of emotions. She was smart but she didn’t want to understand the situation, she didn’t want to see Kal-El not needing her anymore, her whole purpose, lost.
“Kara?”, his green eyes widening comically, it definitely would have been in any other circumstances. She nodded. He didn’t seem to be able to place her entirely, he was only a baby the last time they saw each other.
“ta-nahn kryp?”, she croaked, it was desperate, she was relieved, but only just, she had seen her planet blow off, repeatedly for years and it had taken a toll on her. She still felt disoriented and so lost that it took her a while to notice that Kal-El was watching her questioningly. (Where are we?)
Well crap.
Of course. How would Kal speak Kryptonian if he left being a baby and she wasn’t there to teach him?! Rao! She started gesturing exaggeratedly in an, futile, attempt to make him understand. Her vision blurring with unshed tears, fear finally starting to take over her.
“zhgam” he finally said, apparently having spent that time trying to form a coherent sentence in his mind. “I will take you to some people that will take care of you”, he explained, a weight dropping to the pit of her stomach. (Come)
“rrup chao khap :zrhythrevium. awuhkhodh khap zha”, tears were welling in her eyes as she tried to explain, simplified of course, his Kryptonian was broken and slightly unintelligible. They were here already after all. “El Mayarah”, she pleaded, pointing to the crest in his chest, and then to the one still on her robes, the ones she was wearing that night, why couldn’t she stay with him? (You and I, family. Don’t leave me)
“zha voi”, he explained, his green eyes seemed sad and regretful. She definitely was, she needed him, even if she didn’t understand a lot, they were better together. (Not safe)
In the end, Kal-El flew, yes, flew, her to a beautiful wooden house on the outskirts of a small town, or what she assumed was one, the house was well-kept, with a lot of plants and green stuff around it. After knocking softly on the front door and waiting a few minutes in tense silence, a blonde woman with kind blue eyes came out to talk with them.
“Clark?!”, she questioned, blue eyes filled with concern darting between the two of them, kind eyes lingering just a little longer on her. Concern and sadness dancing as the puzzle pieces started to click in her mind.
“Hi, Eliza, sorry for dropping on you like that, but something happened…”, he turned to look at Kara with concern in his eyes and a little of what seemed like regret (?), “She’s my cousin Kara Zor-El. Could you please look after her?”
Kara stood there, on the porch of a house she didn’t know, in a planet she didn’t know and with people that didn’t even speak her language, whom she didn’t understand, seeing others make decisions about her future without even asking her what she wanted and ignoring the growing pit of hurt and fear in her stomach. Seeing her only family member and survivor of her planet fly away. This was going to be fun.
It wasn’t.
Not in the slightest.
The first days were the worst, she didn’t understand the language and her powers were a huge issue. She broke several door handles and furniture with her strength and she was terrified of even getting close to her new family members, even though they did seem set on helping her, on making it as easy as possible, it just wasn’t enough for a young soul with such a heavy burden. Eliza and Jeremiah spoke a little of her language, and they made the biggest efforts to understand, to be there for her. Eliza often cradled her in a way only a mother could, at first Kara would tense up and freeze, but eventually she started letting herself feel loved.
“nahn rrip voi”, she would repeat, rocking them both in the porches’ sofa, letting Kara soak her sweater in her tears, combing her fingers through her golden hair. (You are safe)
Jeremiah reminded her of her father, always there to teach her something, helping her own daughter, Alex, bridge the space to reach the Kryptonian girl, he was always understanding and he was the one who helped her most to control her powers, even building her lead-lined glasses to tamper her senses.
“vokaiu voiehd w rrip”, he had said when he gave her the one thing that would truly help her move forward. Feel less out of place. (These will help you)
At night, when the nightmares that plagued her mind were overwhelming, when the sounds of a dead world flooded her mind along with memories of ukr and ieiu, hugging her and showering in love and care, her hear broke over and over. And then there were the nights when she would dream of the end, of the smell of burnt flesh and the splatters of blood, about the bodies of her friends, :zrhythrevium and the ruins of her house, of the Science Guild. Those nights she’d wake up screaming, more than once, she burnt sections of the roof with her unhinged heat vision.
Fortunately, Alex was there, she was always there.
Her je.
She’d hug her when she woke up screaming and held her whenever she broke something else, no matter how small of big, Alex was her rock and support, teaching her words and idioms, showing her the new planet she was stranded in and she’d have to call home, even if it’d never truly feel like it, she was certain of that.
Kryptonian meditation helped, it was her safe space, the only one true moment when she felt connected with her people again, with their ways. She’d lit a candle in the middle of her room, and sit cross legged on the floor, calling for strength from her people and Rao, to guide her path in this new world, with this new powers that still seemed so far away from her control. She found peace in the silence it brought, in the sounds of the world outside, the feel of the sun on her skin and the strength it provided.
Alex soon discovered her love for science, and albeit at first it was still very painful, it was the way she could connect with her culture, her world, moreover, with her ukr, remember his wise eyes and how they always shone with excitement when he talked about science. And so she lent her books of physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry and whatever else she could find.
She found her refugee in books and movies.
They also helped her a lot with the language and soon enough she spoke a lot of Earth’s languages, understanding the nuances and tones, and maybe it was a way to patch the pain about her forgotten language, which not even Clark (Rao!) seemed to speak, but it was something.
To control her strength, Eliza enrolled her to an animal shelter, after Jeremiah died, to help feed and care for them, and to help her cope with another loss; since Kara had always shown interest in animals, in the diversity planet Earth offered and she always seemed extremely concerned with their wellbeing; she thought it’d be a good idea, and it was.
Kara fell in love with them.
At first, she didn’t want to hold them or pet them, too afraid of her otherworldly strength, until one day a black stray cat, who had an injured ear, was brought by an old lady, he had lost his family, attacked by dogs, and she somehow felt so connected to him that she spent hours sitting on the floor, trying to gain the courage to pet him. After he approached her and sat in her lap, purring softly, the answer came and she extended a trembling hand to touch his furry head. She called him Streaky and she made sure his time in the shelter was the best possible, bringing him treats and toys, never missing the opportunity to pet his soft black fur or play with him, since those razor-sharp claws did nothing to her.
She also loved the other animals and she soon found a resemblance of normality in them and a resemblance of home in the science behind their care, diet and needs.
Once, Alex sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night to go meet with a guy from school, one of those football players Kara knew, from movies obviously, to stay away from, but her sister seemed interested in him and the blonde girl wasn’t going to spoil it for her.
Her sister had told her about the encounter, aware that even if she didn’t tell her the Kryptonian would hear the moment she got out of bed, besides, she trusted no one the way she trusted Kara, and she knew her sister would keep her safe, even from a distance, they were the best of friends after all. Kara heard the moment the window of their shared bedroom creaked open, the chilly spring air riffling her golden tresses, and the smell of the night, salty with a hint of grass, this out in the countryside; and the soft thud from the landing after Alex jumped from it, she still pretended to be asleep, knowing from experience that her sister preferred her privacy, or as much as she could get with a super powered alien sister anyway.
She followed the sound of her heartbeat all the way until it stopped, in the depths of the forest that surrounded Midvale, and waited. She waited for another heart to approach Alex’s but none did, even after a while and just when she thought her sister would accept that she had been stood up she heard the crunch of branches under the weight of a big animal, the sound of its breathing loud in her sensitive ears. Without sparing a second thought, she yanked the window open and took off into the night sky.
The Kryptonian landed in a clearing in the forest, right between Alex and a big grizzly bear, which apparently had ended there due to the sounds of her sister ranting and angrily hitting a tree, not very smart, honestly. However, she approached the bear fearlessly, knowing from her previous life how to deal with nervous, scared and aggressive animals.
“rrosh nahn ghao :bem”, she coaxed him softly in Kryptonian, her indestructible hand reaching out to touch his snout. When it finally touched her hand, he received a soft pat and then he went away. (Go, it’s okay)
That was the moment she realized and understood the importance of animals and the impact she had on them. She knew, from books, that the balance of Earth’s species was being altered and maybe, after that night of chilly air and a scared sister, she could help restore the balance of her new home, so it wouldn’t face the same fate her home world did.
Standing in front of her new school Lena sighed heavily. Well, this definitely was not her space, she was going to stand out like a sore thumb.
More like the whole hand.
The worn-out sign by the entrance read ‘Midvale Public High School’. Even though the school appeared to be in good conditions and the environment as amicable as it could get, for a building filled with cocky teenagers with way too much free time, she was still on edge. Teenage boys and girls were standing in groups, chatting excitedly with each other about pre-puberty issues she honestly couldn’t care less about. The front was entirely painted in a toasted red that seemed to have been done decades ago, and okay, maybe she was being a little bit tough on the school but she didn’t ask to be there when she could be at one of the top boarding schools for prodigy kids, very far away from Lillian.
The bright side to going to a public school was that Lillian wanted nothing to do with said small town and hence had given her free access to a small cottage they owned nearby. It was quite simple, with the foyer overlooking a small garden, it had one floor and only two bedrooms, the irony wasn’t lost to her, but she had to admit that the Luthors had good taste when it came to their summer houses.
Puffing her cheeks, she strode inside confidently. Ignoring the weird looks some other students shot her way, she was used to it by now, as annoying as it was, always followed by the shadow of her last name. The smell of adolescent sweat, paper and junk food inundated her nostrils from the moment she crossed the threshold, she sighed, moving to her locker and willing herself to get the best out of this shitty place.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime but were only a couple of years, Kara was allowed to join Alex and go to high school, she wasn’t as thrilled by the classes as everyone thought, no, she wanted to fit in, to make friends and meet people, however, she was also absolutely terrified, Rao knows she had always been weird, even on Krypton, and now everything could, and would, go wrong, she just knew. She later realized that perhaps ‘wrong’ wasn’t entirely accurate. She was excited and eager to learn more about Earth’s science, since it was seen as obsolete on Krypton, she had a vague idea about it and she always liked to learn.
The place was noisy from laughs, conversations and the constant thud of people walking, thank Rao she had her lead-lined glasses; filled with hormone-ridden teenagers, girls in tight jeans and boys showing off their ‘muscles’ and their ‘masculine voices’, Kara couldn’t help but laugh at the similarities they had with peacocks, although peacocks at least had nice colors. She had gotten there with Alex, and even though her sister was adamant in walking her to her classroom, she didn’t need a babysitter, heck, she could certainly take care of herself.
And okay, maybe Alex might have been more worried about her unveiling her closely kept secret, but she still could manage on her own. She had survived this long without no one finding out, hadn’t she?
After roaming aimlessly through the corridors and getting inside the wrong classroom three (or was it four?) times, she managed to land on the correct one, she had chemistry lab the first period. Fortunately it was the beginning of a new school cycle and she wasn’t the only lost one. With a deep sigh she opened the door and moved to the only vacant spot left, sending a quick prayer to Rao that that day ended without fallbacks, or the least amount possible. The tables were separated in partners and her new lab partner was already there.
All air left her lungs at the sight of the most gorgeous girl she had ever seen, not even on Krypton she had seen someone so breathtaking, and they were literally genetically engineered.
The girl was sitting on her spot ignoring the rest of the class, who were howling like a pack of wolves, reading a book which title read ‘Advanced Quantum Mechanics’. She had silky black hair, falling in light curls over her shoulders, her sharp jaw and striking features gave her strong appearance, and the alabaster of her skin made her jade-green eyes pop even more. She was wearing crimson red lipstick, which made her lips seem even softer, overall, she looked like a Greek goddess, directly from the Iliad.
Kara was smitten.
So smitten, in fact, that she tripped her way to the vacant seat, not without promptly hitting her foot in more than one stool. Woops. Fortunately, everyone was too preoccupied with their individual conversations to notice the faint dents she left in them (double woops).
When she got to the table, she took a seat, barely managing to tear her gaze from the goddess next to her, before remembering her manners and forcing her brain to collaborate.
“Hi, I’m Kara”, she knew she had a goofy smile plastered even without having to look herself in the mirror, a smell of cinnamon and apple filled her nostrils, and maybe she felt a little lightheaded.
The voice was sweet and melodic like honey, without a hint of jealousy, hate or God-knows what else that she had always encountered in her previous schools, and it sounded quite close.
She lifted her gaze to see a beautiful girl sitting on the stool next to her. Her hair was styled in a messy golden ponytail, making her look innocent and young, paired with the bluest eyes she had ever seen, even behind her glasses, kind and open, filled with so many positive emotions she couldn’t even believe it was possible. In fact, she almost forgot the girl had said something and her brain only caught up after she started getting nervous and fidgeted with said glasses, a light pink flush dusting her sun-kissed cheeks. Cute.
Shaking her head in disbelief, she extended her hand for the girl to shake, this seemed to be the correct action because as soon as she did, the other girl rushed to shake it with her own. A strong, calloused hand gave hers a soft squeeze, and sparkles seemed to be ignited in her body, making her fingers tingle and her mind hazy. And okay, she wasn’t here to be friends with anyone, only because her ass of a stepmother hated her, but maybe, Kara was different.
“My name is Lena”, she finally answered, before the circumstances became any weirder, their hands, still clasped between them, as if both were reluctant to let go.