"Have a good day, Autumn."Dad says, leaning over to put a kiss on my forehead. Mom is behind,coming up to ruffle up my hair. "Be good, okay?"

"I will." I smile, genuinely. I get out of the car, while Mom takes my seat in the front. "Are you guys going to do anything today?"

Dadputs a hand on my Mom's shoulder. "Your mom is gonna see if she'll get her old job back." He flashes a warm smile.

"Are you really?" I ask in surprise. This is good news to hear. Everything seems to be going well.

"Yep." Mom says softly, smiling. "I'll see if my old boss will hire me back. I hope you have a good day at school, honey."

I nod. "I will." I've been ignoring Spencer for the past couple days and I don't know if he is angry with me about it. I've also been more in tuned with Melinda.Her silence is almost like mine. We have a reason, but we choose not to tell. The book remains pressed against my chest.

As Mom and Dad drive out of the parking lot, I am about to take my first steps through the gates of the school, when I see a red car pull into one of the open spaces. The doors open slowly, and I could see Spencer come out, laughing with the brightest smile on his face.Wyatt is there, too. The two are laughing, smiling, with music playing in the stereo of the car.

I am struck with an urge,to go over to see Spencer, until I see a beautiful girl, with tan skin and blonde hair. She is in a pink dress, spinning around. My heart twists in confusion and pain. So much pain. Even as the girl wraps her arm around Spencer's shoulder.

I walk inside the gate, ignoring the instant calls of my name by Wyatt. I put in my earbuds,blasting some music to block it all out. His voice, even Spencer's. Mostly Spencer's.

Even with my music in, I could hear the sound of their footprints catching in with mine. I want to run, I want to run, but I can't. I only increase my steps, not even in attention with my own direction. Just to go away.

"Autumn."

I stop. His voice cut through the damn music, no matter how loud I have it. I turn my head around,not wanting to cry in front of him. I am not jealous of the girl who was gripping his shoulder, but it makes me wonder, why didn't he tell me?

You don't tell people about your issues, a voice whispers to me, even when the music has silenced. I clench my fists, looking up at Spencer with determination. Anger. Confusion. So much of it. "Why?" I hiss the word.

"Where do you get off thinking—" He starts, sounding bitter, different from kind-hearted Spencer, protective Spencer. His lips press into a thin line, and I can see his chest flex out. It scares me a little. "It's not what you think, whatever it is."

"She was touching you." The words are out before I take them back. What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I care?

"Wow, another emotion out of you—Jealousy?" He reaches out a hand, gingerly touching a lock of my hair, tucking it behind my ear again. "You are just fascinating, Autumn Wilkes."

Is he mocking me? My chest can't find the strength to breathe, and I keep my eyes planted to the ground. I hope we are not making a scene. Please, do not let us make a scene. I beg to whoever entity can hear me. "Who is she?" I ask him.

"That is Wyatt's girlfriend, Jessica. We met at summer school." Spencer says, too quickly.

"His girlfriend." I repeat the word. "Why was she touching you like that?"

"She often does that. She was being playful—if you've heard of the term." he says,casually.

"But to you of all people?"I whisper.

"Why are you getting so worked up over something as her touching me?" His mouth twists into a smile. "You're  not  getting  jealous, are you?"

"What—n-no!" I shake my head. "Just... I didn't know why she was—"

"Autumn,relax. I would've told you if I was with someone. But right now, I am single as a pringle." He grins widely, before calling out, "Wyatt, Jessica! Come here for a second!"

Oh no. No, no, why would he do this? I made a fool out of myself and now, they're coming over here. Wyatt holding her hand, they're laughing, with Jessica's hair framing around her face. I feel self conscious.

She's beautiful.

When they approach, I quickly hide behind Spencer, shaking like a leaf.

"Hey, Superman. Where's Lois Lane?" Wyatt says with a small laugh, before sounding serious."What's wrong with you?"

"Who's Lois Lane?" A beautiful voice adds. "Is she Superman's love interest?"

My face burns. Love interest? No, no way. Why would he like me to begin with?

Spencer takes a step away,exposing me to the both of them. Jessica gives me a warm, welcoming smile. Wyatt gives a smirk in my direction.

"Ah, there you are." Wyatt announces, waving his free hand between me and Jessica."Doll, this is Lois Lane, but her real name's Autumn. LL, Doll, or Jessica."

Jessica gives him a nudge in his side. "Nice to meet you, Autumn."

I give a small nod, confused. "H-hi."

"First bell is going to ring in five minutes." Spencer says out of the blue between us. "And Homecoming spirit week too..."

"Homecoming?" I pipe up.Homecoming. It meant dancing, looking pretty. Something I can never do. I hardly noticed it was coming up. Not like it matters.

"Yeah, dancing, food,dresses. King and Queen. Very fun." Jessica says, grinning. "You never went to Homecoming?"

I press my lips in a line,and shake my head no in a lie. Carlton took me to Homecoming only to show me off. I never actually enjoyed myself. Plus, I can never afford a dress that isn't too small to fit me. "No," I answer simply.

"Well, that has to change.You're a... sophomore, right?" Wyatt guesses, grinning at me.

"Junior." It's a whisper.

"Oh, great, We have to get you into Homecoming this year! You'll love it. Hey, I got a better idea. Why don't we all go together, all four friends partying!"

At that, my body tenses. Dancing? With all three of them? What if Carlton asks me first, what if I don't look pretty enough, what if—

"Wyatt, hold your horses now." Spencer says, cautious.

"Oh shut up, Superman. Take Lois Lane and have her flyyy." He does a gesture of an airplane,zooming around just as the first bell rings. "Shit, gotta go. I'll see you at lunch, Jess."

Jessica grins, looking at me."You can come to my place at the day of the dance. We'll do makeup,nail, hair. Oh, you must let me do something with your hair!"

I instinctively touch my hair, feel it graze the back of my neck. Is there something wrong with it? To me, it seems fine. Just a mix of brown and black. Jessica gives me doe eyes, so I nod.

She walks away in a direction opposite from Wyatt, towards the path that lead towards the village. Wyatt goes towards the way 300 quad, and Spencer and I make our way to English class. On the way there, he is quiet. This is new. Spencer is never quiet; he usually babbles on about the book we're assigned to, or he has earbuds in, listening to some music I cannot decipher.

"Um," I begin, hating the ever growing silence by the minute. It was making my chest hurt. "I'm. . . sorry for yelling at you earlier."

Spencer cranes his head down to look at me, his glasses slightly falling off his nose. "You're cool, Autumn." He laughs quietly, while I remain oblivious to the joke. "From now on, I'll let you know if any girl has a chance to sweep me away."

I press Speak closer to my chest, hiding back a secret smile. "And thanks for stopping Carlton, Monday. I don't know how to repay—"

"Just come by my house after-school so we can start on the project." He suggests, yawning. "Race you to class!"

He begins to run in stride,and I sigh, making sure I keep up before the bell rings again.

"God, these Algebra II problems are going to be my cause of death." Jessica says, slamming her head against her book. Picking some of the grass, she looks at me with her big blue eyes. "How's your psychology homework doing? Um,Earth to Autumn?"

I tap my pencil against my book, quiet. I shake out of my trance, look at Jessica who issurprised at my silence. Of course, she only met me today. "Sorry,"I say, going back to stare at my notes I've written during A lunch. "My homework is doing great. I can finish soon."

"You're lucky. Mr. Reed gave me these problems on foiling." Jessica bites the end of her pencil; there's teeth marks. "And I have a test this Friday!"

I feel myself smile. It's still foreign. Jessica has the easiest things to worry about. I still have many. "Do you have the notes he gave you?"

Jessica looks through her folder, finds the notes. "I did space out during class. Kinda daydreamed about my Homecoming dress."

There goes that event again.Homecoming. It only brings back horrid memories. Of being broken up,of doing it on the sink. I don't know if I want to go through with the entire thing over and over again.

"Don't you think you should focus more on your studies more than a dance?" I ask. It's what I've done before Carlton came inside my life.

"Oh come on, Autumn.Homecoming is like a relief from the stress from school. First the football game—you know Wyatt is on the team—and then the night after is the dance." Jessica sighs. "Do you have a dress?"

"Isn't the dance a week from now?" I look up from my book, pencil digging into the paper. "Why a dress now?"

"Because all the good dresses will be gone by then." She rolls in the grass so she's on her back, and tilts her head, her bright blue eyes studying me. "Hmm, I'm taking you on a shopping spree. We need new dresses by next Saturday!"

I internally groan. Why did I have to meet her? Why did I have to be so . . . oddly emotional the way she had touched Spencer earlier? I don't like this. It's so wrong. How would Mom react? Knowing I am going out? On one end, it will be good which means I will be spared from Dad's attacks. On the other, I don't know if she'll be okay when I return.

I almost hope the day he does try it again, I am in a coma. That's what Mom said when she talked about the times Dad stopped her from leaving. It still brings chills to my core. I am always gone between the hours of 7am to 3pm. What if during the time I am at the dance,something bad happens to her?

My throat dries, and I reach for my bottle of water in my backpack.Breathe, Autumn. I glance at Jessica, and shake my head, suddenly giggling. She's sticking out her tongue, humming a small song I don't know.

"Jessica—"

"Yes, favorite season?"she laughs, rolling back on her stomach. "So, will you come? It's just one night."

I chew on my lip. She's kind, though a huge part of me think she's lying. But then I see her eyes, blue, genuine. Real. My mind is screaming no, but my mouth says the one opposite. "Yes." Since Dad is better—his promise feels concrete—I guess I can have one luxury.

Jessica squeals, and reaches up to grasp both of my hands. "Oh, we are going to hit every store in the mall! How about Wednesday after school?"

I nod, something strange tugging at my lips. A smile. It actually feels real this time.

Jessica won't hurt me, I think.

"Ah, if it isn't our lovely princesses. Hope we didn't keep you two waiting." Wyatt announces.We turn around to see him and Spencer at the curb, Wyatt honking the horn of his car. "We decided to make a quick little run near the big gym to meet the boys."

"You and your boys."Jessica rolls her eyes, and puts her notebook in her backpack,shaking the grass out of her blonde locks. "Come on, Autumn."

I pick up my things, following Jessica towards the car. Spencer gets out of the car to open the door to the backseat, like a gentleman. I slide in the seat in the middle, while Jessica goes to the one behind Wyatt. Once we're buckled in, Wyatt drives out of the school's road, turning on to Avenue L.

"Anyone wanna grab a bite before we head home?" Wyatt asks. "Lois, Doll?"

"Unless we go to Starbucks. They have some good pastries." Jessica swoons. "What do you say,Autumn? Some Starbucks?"

I shake my head. I pull out my earbuds, and plug in my music. It's something more softer,blocking out the sound of Wyatt's radio, Spencer and Wyatt chatting,Jessica piping in.

I pull out Speak and continue reading where I left off during lunch. She's still silent,until this mysterious IT comes in. It's an instinctive reaction to be so locked down. She feels scared, and I sympathize. I feel the same around Carlton. Around Dad when he's still evil.

If I had a report card like hers, what would mine be like? B's everywhere, but a D or an F in socializing. It feels accurate.

I start when I feel someone poking my shoulder. My chest constricts, and I look up to see Spencer looking concerned. He does a gesture in taking out things from his ears, and I mimic it with my earbuds.

"Yes?" my voice is barely a squeak.

"I was just saying, you want me to bring Clover to your house? I know she misses you."Spencer's glasses are about to slide off his nose. I want to push them back. But I do not. He does it himself.

I miss Clover dearly; Mrs.Johnson had to take her to a veterinary hospital to get her checked,even though I should have gone with her. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah,says she's healthy as a horse." He grins. "Mom says she's lucky to have you find her."

My face ignites with fire.Another reason she is called Clover. She's a lucky puppy. "She's at home, right?"

"Yeah, I think as we speak my mom is feeding her with a bottle."

Wyatt makes a quick turn,going into the drive-thru. He orders drinks for Jessica and himself,while I simply ask for a bottle of water. I pay him what money I have in my pocket, and in a few minutes, Wyatt is driving us to Spencer's house.

Jessica looks over my shoulder at my book, licking some whipped cream off of her straw. "Whatcha got there, lovely season? Speak? I thought that was for like, freshman. Or was it The Great Gatsby?"

I shake my head, force a smile. "For a project I have with Spencer."

"Mm," she muses, pausing to take a sip of her iced coffee. "When is it due?"

"End of the school year." I answer. "We may paint a tree."

"Oh, I love trees!"Jessica says, before her eyes widen. "I got an idea, make some leaves, and write things that happen in the book."

I feel the smile on my face grow. Why is she so optimistic?

"Your place of interest, my good man and lady," Wyatt announces as he pulls by the curb. I get out of the backseat, and watch as Jessica races to go the passenger seat. I go to the sidewalk as Jessica hops in the passenger seat to place a kiss on Wyatt's cheek. "See you two tomorrow." He waves in our direction. "Superman, watch Lois Lane, okay?"

"Got it. You watch Mary Jane, Spidey."

Wyatt laughs, and as he drives away, Jessica shouts. "Hey, Autumn, check your psychology book!"

I wave as the two go away,and walk with Spencer to go inside his home.

"Mom, I'm home!" he shouts, dropping his keys into a glass container. "Autumn's here,and she wants to see Clover!"

Mrs. Johnson appears with a white coat on—I now remember she said she's a vet—her red hair piled into a messy bun, her doctor tag dangling off her shoulder. "Hey kiddos, Clover is in your room, Spence. She's been sleeping. And a pleasure to see you again, Autumn! Hungry?"

"No thanks," I say. "May I go see my puppy?"

"Sure, sure." She waves her hand, and I see the tattoo on her arm. I follow Spencer upstairs, pausing a few seconds to stare at the portraits pinned up. A toddler version of Spencer staring at Stephanie as a baby. Spencer's parents at their wedding, smiles on their faces. Then I see another woman, with flaming hair and green eyes like Stephanie, her arms around Stephanie and Spencer. She looks like Mrs. Johnson, younger. Who is she?

I look away from the pictures, going upstairs to enter Spencer's room. But first I give alight knock.

"Come in, come in. Welcome to my sanctuary." Spencer announces.

I walk in the room, and I can feel my jaw collapse as I take in everything. His room is so much more different than mine. He doesn't have tally marks on the wall where his bed is propped. There's not a broken mirror, but a perfect one, oval shaped. His desk is cluttered with papers and markers. A guitar sits on the far left near a chair by the window. I see a small circular dish on a nightstand, the tiny cigarette butts. My suspicions about our first meeting was right: he smokes.

But why?

He is sitting cross-legged on his twin sized bed, his glasses discarded as he pets Clover's head.Her deep blue eyes are lit up when she sees me. She gives a happy yelp. A calendar with Superman pictures is above Spencer's head. Along with pictures of newspaper clippings around. Titled Lost Girl, Family Distraught, and Baker's Daughter Mysteriously Vanishes date back from at least two or three years ago. A recent paper clip, Police Gives Up on Runaway Search, is right near Spencer's headboard. What made them give up the search?

And the Baker . . . is that Mr. Johnson? Who was the daughter? The one in the picture before you reach the hallway?

I reach out my arms, smiling brightly at Clover. "Hi, sweetie." I let Spencer put her in my arms, and he scoots until he's at the edge of the bed. I've been in a boys room before—Carlton's—but Spencer's room doesn't fill me with dread. I'm not shivering of the notion of him hitting me. But just because I'm not emotionally reacting, doesn't mean my physical side will not show.

I turn Clover in my arms, and rub two fingers on her belly. Her tongue sticks out, doing an effort to smile. "Tell your mom I'm glad Clover is okay."  I pull her face close to mine, and her soft nose tickles my cheek. It doesn't hurt this time.

"Least we could do. Can't have you getting bit and sick. And heck, Mom likes seeing you smile."He looks up at me, and then I notice something in his eyes. A tiny fleck. "I do too."

Silence captures the room then. He likes seeing me smile, a rare thing I've done ever since I met him. It feels like a compliment, I think. I thought he'd say something rude, about how I have a weird little gap, a tiny chip of it broken on my carnivore tooth.

"Can I ask you something, Autumn?" he says, going towards his desk. "I've been going through sketches for the project, and I think I did a good tree."He pulls a long piece of paper out, observing it. He turns it over. "What do you think?"

I look at the sketch of the tree, seeing how powerful the colors pop along the branches. The stump is black, but as it reaches, it blends with other colors of red, brown, amber, yellow, wintry blue, pink and rose . . .

Oh.

". . . Spencer, it's beautiful." Is all I can say.

"Knew you'd like it.Figured we'd go through the four seasons." he says, chuckling. "And another thing. Are you going to Homecoming?"

"Yes." Oh, please don't ask me out. I know I have to go with Carlton regardless. I look down at Clover, who nestles herself against my chest.

"I'm not going to ask you out," Spencer says, and I realize I must have said my thoughts aloud. "But just knowing you're going with Carlton makes me want to kick him. So, how about this. I'll go with Wyatt and Jess, and if anything happens, if Carlton threatens to put his hands on you," He walks forward, then takes a step back. "I want you to give me a signal. Like, I don't know, look at me, or take off one of your heels. Anything, and I'll stop him."

I can only nod, feeling tears mist up my eyes. The memory of him beating Carlton is still fresh. I don't want him to get suspended because of me. But he's so willing. I look at a poster of Superman, his cape flowing in the wind while holding someone. Is that the Lois Lane?

Guess I am Spencer's Lois Lane, but also his weakness. 

Kryptonite.