[TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of abuse.
I know I put all the triggers on the first page but better to be safe than sorry :) a brief summary of the important points without the triggering content will be in the end note if you wouldn't like to read it.]

"It's not going to work." He stated, finally having picked up after close to an hour of ignored video calls. "It's not going to work and you fucking know it."

"Maybe it will this time." He countered weakly, almost immediately regretting the words.

"After eleven fucking years, you think it'll work now? What, because we got a few big names on our side? Jethro, I had a fucking group of lawyers last time. He paid them off, got them fired a few months later for good measure and no one heard a word of it." Clark snapped, usual bubbly attitude no where to be seen. Jethro was no stranger to a serious Clark, however. A side affect of being best friends was knowing each and every one of the others' sides.

He circled the room in fast, caged strides, fists clenching and loosing repeatedly, before picking up the phone and speeding down the stairs to the fridge.

He grabbed the cherries, concerned by dwindling numbers, and nodded to the woman hunched at the dining room table as he passed. He received a halfhearted, two finger wave in return before he disappeared back to his room completely, setting Jethro down on the desk again.

Clark couldn't tell whether Jethro had been silent throughout the ordeal or whether he simply hadn't heard the other speak. He wouldn't be surprised either way.

"And if it does work, what happens to us? To Aurelia?" Maybe it was a dirty move, guilt tripping Jethro with the mention of Clark's little step sister - whom he knew Jethro adored - but Clark couldn't find it in his heart to care right now.

Each time he felt the lump tighten in his throat, Clark would pop a cherry on his tongue to will it away. "Jethro, if he goes down, he'll take anyone he possibly can with him. That means me, that means Selene and that means Aurelia."

"Mum would-" Jethro tried but Clark growled something animalistic.

"You and I both know damn well she's struggling enough with her own family, Jethro. She couldn't take us in too." Jethro felt something ugly flare in his chest.

"Her own family? Clark, you're part of our family whether you like it or not! You can't just push us away when it's convenient for you! Why are you making this so much harder than it has to be?" It wasn't often that Ro's voice was anything other than monotone. Now, though? Clark could hear the pain as clear as day.

"I'm not making this harder, I'm being logical! Damien is my fucking father, Jethro, you think I don't know what he's like? You think I haven't seen - haven't experienced - what he'll do to get what he wants?" He countered. Who was Jethro to say that Clark was overreacting? He didn't know a single moment of the pain Clark had been through at the hands of that man.

"Clark, this isn't you. You aren't like this." Clark laughed darkly but Jethro pushed on anyways.

"Where's my Clark? The one that always has a joke to break the tension? The one that's always smiling because 'you never know who might need it'? The one who's always there, even at the worst hours of the night, with the exact right words to lift you up? Where's the Clark that believes that God has a plan for each of us?" He bombarded and Clark screwed his eyes shut, registering distantly that he was out of cherries.

"You know damn well where that Clark is." He stated, voice shaking, and pressed the heals of his palms to his closed eyes. The tattered tube bandages scratched harshly against his skin.

"That Clark died crying beneath that Ash tree the first time his father ever hit him. The last time he ever saw his mother." He whispered, utterly and completely broken. Clark had always wondered when he'd meet his limit. Now, it seemed.

"That Clark was buried, aged eight fucking years old, when his dad stubbed that first cigarette out on his forearm and told him the truth. That he was the biggest mistake his father had ever made."

Since the first day Jethro had found out, Clark had never said the exact words to explain the marks on his arms. They simply didn't talk about it. If the words weren't said aloud, Clark could pretend they didn't happen. It was more than just common for the two of them: not saying what they truly meant. Jethro decided he didn't ever want to hear the words aloud again.

"I'm not going to stop them from trying. Hell, I hope they find their way away from him." He decided, picking up his phone and sitting back on his bed with it. Jethro realised, like a punch directly to his lungs, that Clark had tears pooling in his clouded eyes.

This would be the first time Jethro had seen Clark cry in the last ten years.

"But I'm not going to help them. I'm not going to be the reason Aurelia freezes on the streets, wondering where it all went wrong. Wondering what she did to deserve this." Jethro was much too caught watching the first tear roll down Clark's cheek to think of a response.

When he finally knew what to say, Clark hung up.

[TRIGGER WARNING OVER]

////:\\\\

@ClarkNotKent

————————————————
retweets      likes
    |
    |
@ClarkNotKent

    |
    |
@ClarkNotKent

    |
    |
@chiccennuggies
Clark, buddy, I am literally begging you to just go to therapy like the rest of us
         |
         |
     @ClarkNotKent
     🤩 no 🤩
     ————————————————
     retweets      likes

////:\\\\

"I'll talk to Clark and Jethro, they've been alone - and I can guarantee they've been together - for hours now so whatever was going on has probably been solved. As soon as I've run it by them, we'll decide the soonest date possible to come up and a place to stay nearby." Ophelia said, having remained on call with George and Clay to decide whether or not George would feel safer with them nearer and if there was anything else they could do to help. "Caoi!"

George and Clay uttered another thank you and waved before Ophelia hung up, leaving them alone together. Once again, the two fell into a stunned silence. Neither minded not speaking for now, both attempting to take in everything that had happened.

"We're... really doing this." Clay finally uttered, having placed George on the coffee table after everyone had slowly trickled from the house. George nodded slowly.

"Don't get cold feet now." George joked and Clay chuckled, shaking his head.

"No! No, I'm.. relieved... It doesn't feel real." He admitted softly, running a hand through his hair. "I can't wait until this is all over and your here with me." He smiled and George returned it easily, eyes creasing in the most endearing way.

"Me neither."

////:\\\\

Ophelia
Small problemo, señor
5:57pm

Best Friend
?
5:57pm

Ophelia
[A screenshot of a conversation between 'Girl 🤮' and 'Bunsen burner boy' reading "I won't stop you guys but I'm not helping." and multiple delivered messages of either "Clark?", "What?" or something similar.]
5:58pm
Clark's out
5:58pm
He and Jethro aren't responding
5:58pm

Best Friend
Did something happen?
5:58pm

Ophelia
Idk but I'll find out
5:59pm
By tomorrow, we'll have a date we're coming up at
5:59pm
Dw your pretty little face ab it, just thought I'd warn you
5:59pm

Best Friend
Alright, keep us updated then I guess
6:00pm

Ophelia
Will do, baby boo
6:01pm
Seen

////:\\\\

Jethro wasn't an idiot... Jethro wasn't an idiot when it came to Clark... Jethro knew when Clark was upset. And right now? Clark was worse then upset.

The only logical answer Jethro had come to was to drive to the local garage, buy them out of cherries, drive to Clark's street and climb in through Clark's bedroom window with as many bags of cherries as he could possibly carry. Really, the plan shouldn't have been so very normal for them but they weren't exactly normal people.

"Are you bloody insane?" Clark had bit when Jethro pushed open the window, dropping through a bag of cherries. It was odd to see the tears down Clark's face and not hear them in his voice. He supposed Clark's ability to hide his emotions was the reason Geo and Ophelia didn't know.

"With you as my best friend? I don't doubt it." He hoisted himself up and through the window, more than just glad to be on solid ground again.

"What If Damien had been in here?" Clark continued, locking the door and switching the lights off. Jethro switched on the bedside lamp, routine all too familiar by now.

"Then I pretend I'm robbing the place." He shrugged, decidedly ignoring the way Clark attempted to swipe away the tear tracks on his cheeks for fear of worsening the ache in his chest. "Look, Ash, I'm not here to try and convince you, I'm here to make sure you're safe." Jethro admitted earnestly and Clark tipped his head back in a desperate attempt to just stop bloody crying.

"I'm never safe Ro, that's who I am." Clark joked easily but Jethro didn't laugh. Instead, he sat himself on the edge of Clark's bed and simply watched him. "Way to make a guy insecure, bub." Clark murmured, certain he'd finally broken the flow of tears.

"You're even cute when you cry, that's not fair." Jethro decided after another beat. Normally, Clark would make some quick, flirty quip in return. Normally, it wasn't Jethro complementing him. "Come here." Jethro opened his arms and Clark certainly wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He walked his way into Jethro's arms and let Jethro manhandle him into his lap, moving both of them to sit against the headboard. Clark tentatively placed his hands against Jethro's chest beneath where his cheek was rested, staring down at where Jethro's hands were clasped at his hip.

"You have your reasons to want them not to get rid of him, that's okay. But, if they do manage to, know that you're not alone. You still have our family." Jethro lightly squeezed him closer and Clark pretended he didn't hear his heart stutter. "We won't let anything happen to Aurelia or to Selene. I won't let anything happen to you."

Clark liked moments like these. It wasn't often that Jethro would hold him - let him hold onto Jethro's arm or throw a leg over his lap, maybe, but never was it Jethro touching Clark. He'd almost forgotten how very nice it was to be held. He felt warm an undeniably safe, a rare luxury in Clark's life.

"Think you can stay the night?" He finally had the courage to ask, a flicker of insecurity telling him the request was all too large, all too risky. Jethro pressed a crooked smile to Clark's hair.

"I'm sure mum wouldn't mind if she knew I was spending it with her favourite son."

——————————————
1.9k words

Summary of trigger section: Clark doesn't believe the plan will work. He's spent almost eleven years trying to escape Damien (his father) since his mother died and been unsuccessful in every attempt. Clark is worried about what will happen to Selene (his step mother and Damien's wife) and Aurelia (his five year old step sister and Damien's daughter) if the plan does work. He refuses to help them on accounts of not putting Selene and Aurelia in danger.

If y'all unalive me then it means I won't be able to fix things so plox don't 🤩✨

Double update bc I write when I'm nervous and I'm learning to paraglide tomorrow so like 🤩✨

Feedback is welcome and appreciated!!

Yours, Dandelion