The Distance Between Us

Back to Your Roots

Four Years Later

Conner yawned as he got up from his bed. The Kansas sun was barely over the horizon, but Conner knew he had no time to waste. He dragged himself out of bed and stumbled over to the shower. His blood started to get pumping as the water sprayed on top of him from above.

After his shower, Conner dried himself off and got dressed in his favorite black T-shirt with a red S insignia and cargo jeans. He slipped his new letterman jacket for the Smallville Bulls football team over his form and hurried downstairs for a hearty breakfast.

His mom was cooking his favorite breakfast meal—pancakes accompanied by two slices of bacon. "Here you go, honey!", she said, placing it in front of him. "Fresh off the stove!" "Thanks, Mom!", he said. As he started digging in, his mother sat across from him at the table, sucking in her perfectly curved pink lips. "Conner, I have a bit of news for you..."

Before she could say another word, there was a loud honking sound from just outside. "Oh, sorry, Mom! It'll have to wait!", Conner said, grabbing his backpack and slinging one strap over his shoulder. "Dave and the rest of the guys are doing our annual pre-school year ritual barbecue. And since we're gonna be seniors this year, this is gonna be one page-ripper for the history books!"

He ran out the door, leaving Lana alone in the house. She sighed loudly as she ran her perfectly manicured hands over her face. I just hope Conner doesn't hate us for this...
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"Bye, guys!", Conner called out to his football buddies as he jumped off Dave's pick-up truck and bonded towards the house. He pushed open the door to see his mother sitting on the sofa in front of the television set. Sitting beside her on her right was Conner's biological father, Clark Kent.

"Dad!" He dropped his backpack by the door and jumped onto the couch next to him. "What are you doing here? Its not Saturday yet." He saw Clark exchange a nervous glance with Lana. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Clark looked his son right in the eye, each pair the same shade of ice blue. "Conner, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Lana placed both hands on Clark's shoulders, peeking over at their son from over. "Your father has just gotten an great job offer.", she explained calmly. "Not just any job. His dream job. One that he's always wanted." Conner cocked his head to the side. "What kinda job?" Clark cleared his throat. "Perry White has offered me a position as chief reporter at his newspaper—the Daily Planet."

Conner blinked twice. "But...the Daily Planet is the newspaper for Metropolis." Clark nodded. "Exactly. Which is why, in order to get the job, I'll have to move to Metropolis." Conner shook his head. "Oh. Well, I don't wanna stand in the way of your dreams. But, I am really gonna miss you."

Lana sighed. "Conner, you don't understand. Due to this joint custody agreement, we all have to move to Metropolis." Conner reared back. "What?!" He leapt to his feet. "Are you insane?!", he shouted at the top of his lungs. "I can't transfer out of Smallville High! They just voted me captain of the football team! And I was going to ask Angela Mutton to Homecoming!"

Clark stood up to eye-level with Conner. "Conner, you're friendly, you're funny, you're easy to get along with. You'll make new friends in no time." Lana stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "C'mon, honey. It isn't the end of the world." "Not for you two!", he snapped. "Your lives are over! I'm a senior, my friends all live here, and I'm the quarterback, dammit!" Lana gasped. "Conner! Language!"

Clark placed his hands on his shoulders. "Conner, its all going to be okay. Its not like we're moving somewhere where no one knows us. We're moving back to Metropolis. You grew up there, remember? You'll get to see all your old friends again! Including that...that redheaded girl..." He turned to Lana, snapping his fingers to jog his memory. "What was her name again? Morse Code or something?"

Lana nodded. "Megan Morse." She looked at her son. "Remember, Conner? She was your best friend. Won't it be nice to see her again?" Conner blinked twice, lost in thought. He hadn't thought about Megan in years. When he first moved away, they had talked on the phone and chatted on video almost daily. But as Conner got more and more involved in his new school and friends, he called her less and less until he stopped calling her altogether.

"Conner?" Waking up back to reality, Conner blinked a few times. "Oh. Oh, yeah. It'll be great to see her."
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That night, Conner sat on the edge of his bed. Shifting through all the framed pictures of him with friends and family, he finally found the one he'd received from Megan as a going-away present. It had collected quite a bit of dust from standing in the back of his dresser for all those years. If it hadn't been for this photograph, Conner may have forgotten about Megan entirely.

After staring at it for what felt like hours, Conner positioned the frame on the edge of his dresser, facing his bed. He lay down on his side and continued to stare at it. It was comforting to know there would be a familiar face willing to spare some time for him once he got back home.

As he closed his eyes, her smiling brace face being the last thing he saw before falling asleep, his final thoughts were, I'm sure she hasn't changed a bit since I've been gone.