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Silence.

That's what filled the house...just silence.

Rachel laid in bed unmoving, awake but not moving. She opened her eyes, but they were different.

Her eyes were a demonic red before going back to their original light blue color. Turning towards her clock, she eyes the clock for the time. It read 5 am. Rachel slowly got up making sure she didn't make any noise that could wake up her sleeping mother on the other side of the hall. Slowly setting her feet down, she cautiously made her way to her door careful to not step on some creaking floorboards.

Placing her hand on the side of the door she took a deep breath. Her powers inside of her could be felt trying to take over as she opened her eyes.

This time they were purple.

Rachel was lucky she wasn't angry so much because if she was her demon side she would have a hard time keeping control over her abilities. Running her fingers on the side of the door Rachel could hear the soft clicking sounds of the door locks unlocking. Arella had put locks on Rachel's door once she started acting up, causing her demon side to appear. If she found out Rachel was able to unlock the locks on the door, she would have a to find another way to keep her inside and night

But Rachel didn't care anymore if her mother found out she snuck out at night, she didn't care if her mother found her more terrifying than she already did.

Rachel grabbed her bag and crept down the stairs. Quickly putting on her roller skates, her mother took away because of the barn incident with the metal pipes, she shoved her earphones and blasted her music in her ears. Quietly unlocking the front door, Rachel made her way through town roller skating, despite her injury .

As she rolled through some of the closed stores listening to her music she let her thoughts wander to a certain Kent twin. Jordan. He's the one with powers, not Jon. He was the one to save Jonathan, she thought.

Rachel was snapped out of her trance when a familiar bird landed on her shoulders bringing a smile to her face. Petting the raven the bird jumped closer.

"I missed you Corvus" she spoke lightly petting the animal, "I missed having your company".

She came to a halt in front of a one floor building.

The Smallville Gazette.

Laying a hand on the glass door Rachel could feel someone's emotions inside. Stress? Tiredness? Worry? Probably all of them.

Rachel let out a sigh, pushing the door to the building open. The sound of audible snoring hitting her ears as she did so. Walking closer she saw a silhouette of a familiar woman sleeping, in an uncomfortable position, on a computer keyboard.

Chrissy Beppo

She pinched the bridge of her nose in disappointment. It was nights like these that she started to regret working for the Smallville Gazette but the economy in the small town was bad and this was the only job a 14 year old could do.

Giving the raven a gesturing nod of approval it hopped off her shoulder and onto the counter next to the woman sleeping. Without warning Corvus let out an ear piercing 'croak'. The woman jumped up from her desk fully awake.

"I'm already going to print the paper, alright!" She exclaimed out of nowhere, the girl raised a brow at the journalist. Noticing the teen the woman let out a sigh of relief. "Oh..uhh..Rachel" she smiled. "Chrissy?" Rachel raised a brow. Chrissy's gaze fell on the raven on her desk, "Corvus?".

"What are you doing here this late?" Chrissy asked her, the girl just shrugged in response. Rachel didn't know why Chrissy kept asking that. It wasn't even the first time she had come by this early in the morning to the Gazette with Corvus. "You heard about the bonfire incident" Rachel asked instead. "Oh yeah I did IN fact I was just putting it in this morning's newspaper about it," Chrissy informed her.

Rachel hummed in response, "it was caused by a methane pocket,..only one person got hurt, nothing serious" Chrissy looked at the girl for a second before turning away to her computer screen and typing away. Sarah had texted her after the incident and told her what her father had said that caused the small explosion.

"I'm adding that right now.." Chrissy muttered typing on the computer.

Rachel looked around the small room. A bunch of small newspaper clippings littered the room along with notes about past stories.

"And done!" Chrissy exclaimed with a huge smile but it quickly vanished when she looked at Rachel. "So...umm...how are you holding up?" She asked. Chrissy knew how close Rachel was to Martha. In fact Rachel had even opened up to Chrissy that Martha was like a grandma she never had.

So when Rachel didn't show up to the Gazette for two days Chrissy understood if the girl wanted to be left alone.

"I'm fine" Rachel responded, not meeting her eyes. Chrissy didn't pry further not wanting her to close herself off to her. It took years for Rachel to open up to Chrissy and she wasn't going to let her years of work go down the drain in a matter of seconds. Absolutely not.

Chrissy rummaged through her purse before finding what she was looking for. She handed Rachel a 20 dollar bill to which she accepted with a small smile.

"Well have a nice morning" she smiled at her, "both of you" she gestured to Rachel and Corvus. Rachel gave her a nod before skating out with Corvus on her shoulder.

~

Rachel skated around smallville for what seemed like hours until some stores opened, and settled down for some food at the small restaurant. She was supposed to go to school but she didn't want to face Sarah,..or Sean for that matter. And she didn't care if her mother would yell at her again.

Rachel took a few bites of her food at the back booth of the diner ignoring the disapproving stares she was getting by some passing adults. She turned the page of her book she was reading, needing the answer to why her powers were acting strange. To know why it was only in the presence of Jordan.

What was so special about Jordan?

Out of nowhere an idea popped into her head. Maybe she could go visit Jordan at the farm to see if he is ok.

But we kissed. Wouldn't that be awkward?

Maybe she should go talk to Clark about him being Superman, nothing else. Don't ask if Jordan's ok. Correction if Jonathan and Jordan are ok or not. She shook the image of her and Jordan kissing out of her head and focused on her second thought instead. She shouldn't get close to other people. She already lost one and she didn't want to feel the same pain again.

Getting up from the booth she shoved her book in her bag and quickly paid for her meal. Not bothering to put her skates back on she made her way to the farm with Corvus on her shoulder. She stopped dead in her tracks. Corvus let out a 'croak' in surprise. "I'm just gonna talk to Clark, nothing else" Rachel told Corvus. Corvus let out another 'croak' telling her he didn't believe a word she said.

Rachel rolled her eyes resuming her walk to Martha's farm. Or we'll go to her son's family farm now, she hoped. Last thing she wanted was the Kent farm to end up in the hands of the money eating bank in Smallville.

A familiar house stuck out snapping Rachel out of her thoughts.

The Kent household.

The house in the middle of the fields brought a small smile to Rachel's face as she remembered spending her weekends and afternoons in the place.

She's going to miss spending her afternoons here.

~

"Here goes nothing" she whispered, her eyes went to Corvus, "a little privacy" she told him. Corvus let out a disappointed sight but neither less flew away to give her her privacy. Rachel softly knocked on the door of the Kent residence. Not even a second later Clark opened the door. His face morphed into one of confusion when he spotted the girl standing in front of the door.

"Rachel?" Clark asked, "uhh..what are you doing here?"

"We need to talk about Superman" she told him whispering the 'Superman' part, "and about Jordan". Clarks face turned serious at the mention of Superman. Rachel could feel his emotions, he was conflicted.

"Uhh..yeah let's...uhh take a walk".

She nodded letting Clark take the lead towards the fields. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" he asked Rachel but she had other plans.

"You're Superman aren't you?" Rachel diverted the question to him. Clark stopped walking and looked her dead in the eye. "...Yes," he confessed. She hummed in response. "All those times Martha told me you were Superman I thought she was crazy" Rachel said, Clark looked at her surprised. "She told you?" Rachel nodded. "Yup" she said, popping the p, "though I did find it hard to believe at first."

Clark raised a brow, "why did you find it hard to believe that I was Superman?" He asked with an amused smile. "Welllll..the first time I met you I thought you were the most clumsy person to ever live" she honestly told him.

"I do kinda tend to over do it, but on purpose" a laugh escaped Rachel's lips with that statement. "Your secret is safe with me Clark, I promise." Clark nodded in appreciation.

"Thank you"

They started making their way back to the house in silence.

"Do they know? Jonathan and Jordan'' Rachel asked him. "Yes'' was Clark's only response but it didn't sound like he was relieved. "After I showed them that I was Superman they didn't want to talk to me or Lois".

Rachel didn't need to use her powers to know what his emotions read, sadness. It was written all over his face

"Look Clark, I know that it is none of my business but it would have been better if you told them years ago" she told him, "lying to the people you love has its consequences' '. He let out a tired sigh, "I know, I learned that the hard way". They reached the front of the house. She looked up at him, "Well I should-" "Rachel?" Lois's voice rang in Rachel's ears. She turned around to see Lois beside the front door. Rachel glanced at Clark before looking back at her.

Clark, noticing her state of mind, decided to answer his wife instead. "Rachel knows" he answered. Rachel Shifted uncomfortably in her place. Seriously Clark. "She does," Lois asked uncertainly. The boys looked at Rachel as if expecting her to answer. "Well come in" Lois gestured for the girl to go inside.

"I don't want to bother-" "-Nonsense" Lois interrupted her. "I think our boys would like to see a familiar face over," Lois said, gesturing for the girl to go inside, "there upstairs".

"Well if it's not a bother" she told them but it sounded like she wasn't really sure she should stay. But neither would she be lying if she said she didn't want to stay.

She started up the porch stairs when she stopped. "Uhh..you wouldn't mind if I brought Corvus in with me, would you?" she asked them, "he doesn't like when I'm in the same room with people he doesn't know".

Clark and Lois looked at her confused. "Corvus?," Clark asked. Rachel mentally slapped herself. She still hadn't introduced Corvus to them yet, but then again Corvus doesn't really like people that much. 'Bad experiences'. She turned towards the barn, whistling a short tune.

A familiar bird let out a 'gurgling croak' swooping down and landing on the girl's shoulder. He let out a 'croak' eyeing two adults left and right.

"Lois, Clark, this is Corvus" my familiar she wanted to say but they couldn't know she was a half demon witch.

"Corvus can go inside if he wants," Lois told her. Rachel sent her a smile before making her way inside the house. The walls were decorated in family photos. Some of a young Clark and some of Martha and her husband Jonathan. Rachel found herself smiling at that one, but neither less took a step up the stairs.

All of a sudden Rachel felt waves of all kinds of emotions, surprise, anger, sadness, frustration, helplessness,..but most of all anxiety.

Rachel had to hold on to the stair railing to prevent herself from falling. Corvus wasn't as lucky though. He landed on the floor with a small 'thud'.

Whoever was feeling these emotions was very conflicted. Something about this person though, was strange. Inside of her her powers were reaching out to this person, as if wanting to help. Rachel let Corvus jump on her shoulders only to receive a beak strap. Ignoring the bird on her shoulder she slowly started walking towards the direction the emotions were coming from. Raising her hand to knock she suddenly stopped when she spotted the door a little open.

She pushed to the door slowly, the sight behind the door making her freeze. Inside the room, sitting down was a familiar black haired boy.

Jordan.

~

Jordan was writing in his journal when he noticed the door opening. At first he thought it was his brother, but boy was he wrong.

"Rachel" he spoke, as if believing the sight in front of him wasn't real. His longtime childhood crush stood on the doorway of his temporary room, looking directly at him. He quickly closed his notebook and stood up. "Jordan" she said, but the way she said made Jordan feel something fuzzy inside.

"W-what are you doing h-here?" He stuttered out, blushing a bit. Rachel averted her gaze to the room. "I just wanted to drop by" she mentally slapped herself for the lame excuse.

Rachel found herself staring at Jordan, remembering the kiss they shared at the mines.

Her breath caught in her throat in a loss of words opening and closing her mouth a fish out of water.

What was this boy doing to her? I mean it was just a kiss. Right?

His lips against hers.

A loud 'gurgling croak' rang through the room gaining the attention of both the nervous teenagers. Jordan stumbled back in surprise, spotting the bird that was on her shoulder.

"What the-" "-this is Corvus" Rachel spoke, gesturing to Corvus on her shoulder, "my bird".

"O-h" Rachel gave him a small smile before letting Corvus jump onto the small desk next to the wall. Corvus gave Jordan a small bow earning a few laughs from both teens.

"Your mother told me I could come inside soo...I wanted to see if you and your brother were ok" she told him, "you know,..after yesterday's events."

"Y-yeah, yeah where fine" he said looking at the bird on the desk trying to open his journal but failed miserably. "Are you ok?" Jordan asked, finally turning to look at Rachel.

Not trusting her voice Rachel just nodded her head.

"How's everyone doing after last night?" He asked, scared of the answer. "Tag Harris broke his arm..other than that nobody else got hurt" she informed him, "supposedly caused by a methane pocket".

"You don't have to worry about someone finding out about your powers" she told him, Jordan eyes widened in shock. "Rachel you can't-" "-Jordan calm down ok, I won't tell anyone I already promised your dad" Rachel said putting her hand on his chest for him to calm down. Jordan found himself softly grasping her hands.

Her hands were as soft as cotton in Jordan's opinion that he found himself imagining Rachel running her soft hands through his hair. Rachel had to close her eyes and take a few deep breaths in order to cope with his emotions missing with hers.

They fell in a comfortable silence, but he decided to break it.

"I shouldn't have kissed you at the bonfire without your permission-" "-Jordan it wasn't your fault Sarah's my best friend and Sean's girlfriend,"

"I'm sorry how things turned out" she apologized, retracting her hands from his, but she later regretted it though when the warmth of his hands was replaced with coldness.

"I just wanted to hang out with you," Rachel confessed "you were so sweet that summer we met, when I saw you take a pill and the funeral I just thought if someone like you had issues then like me wasn't so messed up". She tugged on her sleeves.

"I think maybe it means where both are a little messed up," he smiled at her. Rachel couldn't help but blush at his adorableness.

Without thinking Jordan pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Rachel couldn't hold it in any longer. Her eyes turned purple, taking Jordan by surprise. But he wasn't scared, in fact he was the total opposite, he smiled which surprised Rachel. If anyone could say that Corvus was also taken by surprise by his reaction.

"I have to go" Rachel said quickly retracted herself to leave but Jordan stopped her. "Rachel?" He grabbed her hand, "your different to".

"Jordan I-" "Hey man do you have a-woah Rachel?" Jonathan was walking when he noticed her.

Rachel pulled her hand out his grab and made a run towards the door passing Jonathan. Jon stumbled back in surprise seeing the girl run out. What surprised him even more was a raven bird flying out following her out of the room.

"Rachel!!" Jordan yelled, trying to stop. He ran past Jon down the stairs and past his parents who also had looks of confusion written on their faces. It was too late though, as he pushed open the front door and the silhouette of Rachel was shrinking in the distance. He mentally slapped himself for what he had done.

He had scared her away.

And it was all his fault.

~ ~

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