[REAL LIFE]

7/14/2017

"My name is Kara Zor-El. 24 years ago my planet, Krypton, was in serious peril.

My cousin, Kal-El, was sent to a planet called Earth for his own safety and protection.You may know his story. The story you don't know is that I was sent to protect him," I start, not looking at the script.

I was at Brendon's house trying to learn my lines for the first episode of Supergirl. Today was the third day I had the script, so it's going slow, but really good. This is the second time we've read through it, and I almost know all of my lines. I've read through it by myself multiple times, but this was the first time with another person.

"You're pods coordinates are interlocked with Kal-El's, blah blah blah, you will follow him to Earth," he said. I tried my best not to laugh, and actually succeeded.

"I'm not afraid, Father."

"The trip is long but you'll sleep most of the way and we'll be with you in your dreams. You'll journey to Earth to look after your baby cousin, Kal-El. Jesus, this is a lot of words. Because of the Earth's yellow sun, you'll have great powers on this planet. You will do extraordinary things," he reads, pretending to.be out of breath.

"I won't fail Kal-El or you."

"I love you, Kara. EXPLOSION! You must go, now. Go!"

"Brendon, you're not supposed to read where it says explosion. That's sound effects. It's just so we know to have a pause there," I explain to him, laughing.

"Oh, that makes so much more sense!"

"You're honestly so stupid sometimes," I tell him before starting my lines again. "

"Things didn't exactly go according to my mother's plan. Krypton's destruction sent a shock wave that knocked my pod off course and into the Phantom Zone. A region in space where time doesn't pass. I slept there for 24 years until somehow I got here. When I arrived, I was still a 13-year-old girl. But in that same time my cousin Kal-El had grown up and revealed himself to your world as Superman, the most powerful man in the universe.

My cousin wanted me to have the same safe human-type childhood he did. So he placed me with my adoptive family, the Danvers: Scientists who once helped him understand his own super abilities."

"I know I'm not your mom, sweetheart.

But you're safe here," Brendon says, adding a weird accent to make him sound more like a 'female'. I glare at him, again trying hard not to laugh.

"They had a daughter, Alex, and despite being born on different planets, we both shared one thing. We knew our lives would never be the same again.

"My cousin, he didn't need my protection. I didn't have a mission anymore. But even though I had all the same powers he did." I pretend to grunt in pain. "Sorry, sorry.

"I decided the best thing I could do is fit in. After all, Earth didn't need another hero."

"Can we stop now? I'm bored, and you have all the lines memorized already!" Brendon asked, putting the script down on his lap.

"Can we finish going through it this time please? Then I promise we'll do whatever you want," I tell him.

"Whatever I want?" He asks, raising one eyebrow.

"Who knows? You'll just have to read through the script with me." He immediately picks the script back up again and I continue reading.

"I need two tickets in the orchestra section for Wicked. No, not for Miss Grant. Her mother wants to see it. Yes, again. Sure, I'll hold. Charlie? I'm calling about the Correspondents Dinner, I need to make sure Miss Grant doesn't end up next to Bill O'Reilly again.

"I work at Catco Worldwide Media.

An online and print empire built by my boss, Cat Grant, the most powerful woman in National City. At least, for the next few days.

"Did you see this? There was an armored car robbery last night.

There were no witnesses except for this homeless guy - who swears the perp had horns," 'Brendon' says. Right now he's reading lines from Winn's character, who is the 'nerd tech guy'.

"Thanks."

"Like, on his head! I'm telling you, they're out there. Aliens!"

"Winn, there's no such thing as aliens," I say, trying my best to sound convincing.

"Well, you might feel differently if you read this website," he suggests.

"You write that website."

"I contribute," he says matter-of-factly. "Hey, um, I was wondering if maybe you wanna I don't know, go see, go see a movie tonight."

"I-I can't. I'm sorry. I have a date."

"Date, really? - Mmm. That's great Fun."

"Dating is fun."

"Unless your girlfriend makes you spend three hours reading a script she has already memorized," Brendon huffs.

"Brendon," I warn. He rolls his eyes and looks back down.

"Who is that with?"

"It's an online date. Says we are 82% compatible, so Should be good."

"You know that you can't quantify emotions based on an algorithm?"

"Winn, you're IT, isn't your whole life based on algorithms?"

"Yes, so if there was an algorithm for love I think that I would know about it.

It's just like you're gonna know when it hits you, Kara."

"It'll be all âWah-powâ," I say, smiling at him. He was pretending to be all fancy as I said that, as if it's a fancy word.

"Ugh, this elevator is a human petri-dish.It's like standing up in coach," he says, doing his 'girl voice' again. I roll my eyes, but continue.

"She's here."

"How do you do that?"

"Good morning, Miss Grant."

"The only reason I bought this building was because it had a private elevator.

That way, I don't have to get soaked in cheap cologne every morning, getting to my office. Find out who used it, have them reprimanded, or bathed, I don't care which," he pretended to be a snoody white girl and flipped his imaginary hair.

"Here's your latte. Hot."

"That'll be new and different. I have a meeting with the board today at lunch, so cancel sushi with my mother. Oh, and cancel my therapist. I won't be needing it - if I'm not having lunch with my mother."

"Sounds like lunch with my mother before I moved," I say, rolling my eyes.

"And mine when I told her that I wanted to be a musician and showed her the songs. Would you believe me if I told you I used to be Mormon?"

"You? Mormon? I would've never believed it," I tell him, leaning back against the couch. I was sitting on the floor, and he was on the longer part of the couch.

"Well believe it babe. My parents were very strict about it too. No friends over on Sundays, I don't even think I was allowed outside on Sunday. My parents and I are fine now. It took awhile, but we are."

"Well I'm happy for you. It's a lot better than what my mom and I could do. Let's continue."

"Also, I've emailed a list. Prepare termination letters for the Tribune employees as noted. But it would be so nice if you handwrote them. Use the lesser card stock."

"You're downsizing the Tribune? But that was your first acquisition," I ask with an inquiring tone.

"Go see if the new art director has the layout ready. It's not that I don't see your frown, it's just that I don't care enough to ask why it's there."

"All those people, they're going to lose their jobs. What's going to happen to them, to their families? They don't have to downsize at the Daily Planet.

Metropolis has a person who wears a cape and flies around performing heroic acts. The Planet puts this superlative man on their cover 54% of the time."

"You wanna save the Trib? Go find me a hero, Kerah. Wow, what kind of boss can't remember their employee's names?"

"Kat Grant, Kara. Hello? Hello?"

"I'll be just a minute. Who is this James guy?"

"Brendon, shut up! Miss Grant sent me for layouts and she doesn't like to wait."

"Well no shit," he says.

"That's not the line."

"Well, she can wait a minute."

"Have you met Miss Grant?

"Yeah, what is she gonna do? Fire me right after hiring me? Her loss. Hey,I'm the new guy."

"Oh, it's him," I say. I'm supposed to be looking at a picture of Superman, so I pretend to do that. "I've seen this picture, uh, like a million times."

"It won the Pulitzer. What the fuck is a Pulitzer?"

"Some art award."

"Oh, ok."

"Wow."

"Yeah, only 'cause it was the first real shot of him."

"Little secret, he actually posed for that."

"I guess he likes me."

"Oh, my God, you're Jimmy Olsen. The photographer from the Daily Planet."

"Cam, can we stop please? Pretty please?"

"But we've barely started," I told him. He slid off the couch and got onto his knees.

"Pretty please Camari? Pretty, pretty please?" He begged. He clasped his hands together and begged even more.

"Ugh, fine. What do you suggest we do then?"

"Something that involves lots and lots on energy," he says, making his voice go deep and winking.

-----

Just a few short minutes later, I was being thrown into his swimming pool.

One second, he was carrying me somewhere while making out with him, the next I was surrounded by water. I quickly swam up to the surface and spat out the water in my mouth. I wiped my eyes clear of water, then opened them, staring directly at Brendon, who is nearly falling over from laughter.

"Fuck you Urie,"I yell at him, which makes him laugh harder. He actually falls to the ground this time.

"Help me out you ass wipe!"

"No! I know how this goes. I go to help you out and you pull me in. There's no way I'm going near that pool."

"I can't swim," I tell him. We've never gone swimming before, so he doesn't know if I actually can or not. I know how to, but he doesn't know that.

"Oh fuck," he says, immediately standing up and walking to the edge of the pool. He reaches his hand towards me, and I grab it. When he starts to pull me to the edge, I yank his arm and he goes flying over my head and into the water.

"Ha! Get wet, bitch! Wait, nevermind!" I yell as he surfaces. He wipes his face and looks at me with a weirded out look. "Shut up, you know that's not what I meant!"

"I'm ignoring your weird-ass comment for now. Why did you tell me you can't swim!"

"So I can pull you in," I tell him and smile. He swims over to me and rolls his eyes. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into him like we were before he threw me in. I wrap my legs around his waist and he pulls me closer. We both smile and look at each other.

"Hi," I whisper.

"Hi."

"Can I borrow a shirt and some sweatpants so I can go get my swimsuit?"

"Oh you're no fun. I was thinking we could take them off," he said, adding a wink to the end.

"Oh, so that was your plan now. When were you planning on telling me about it?"

"Just now," he says, still whispering.

"What if I want to continue swimming though?"

"We can do that, just without clothes on."

"But Brendon," I whine.

"Fine. I'll go get you some clothes," he says and let's go of me. We both get out of the water and go inside. He gives me a towel before he goes upstairs.

"Thank you," I tell him as he gives them to me.

"No problem. What do you say we go out for dinner tonight?"

"Sounds good. I'll bring back other clothes then. Level of fanciness?"

"On a scale to five, it's probably a 3.5. Wear a dress, but not a really fancy one," he tells me. I nod before heading to the bathroom to change.

I leave a few minutes later, driving the 10 minutes it takes to get to my apartment while listening to the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack, which I was completely in love with. I sing along to Sincerely, Me, and nearly cry during Requiem. It is my dream to someday see it on Broadway, but I've never been able to.

I quickly grab my swimsuit and a black and white dress. I realize that all of my swimsuits are sort of revealing since I usually only go swimming at Addi's, but I quickly brush it off. Throw my belongings in a bag along with some makeup for later. After grabbing a water bottle from my fridge, I grab my bag and head out again.