Clancy John "CJ" Powell is the second-born of four and only son of Marge and Herbert Powell, and brother of Eliza, Jacqueline, and Stephanie. Being the only boy amongst his sisters CJ feels lonely in the family and oftentimes being misunderstood. It has been implied, however, that he is Marge's favorite, much to Eliza's dismay.

The fact that his oldest sister, Eliza, stays at a private school and is hardly at home, he takes over her obligations in looking after his younger sisters, Jacky and Steph, making the bond between the younger Powells stronger when it comes to taking sides in a fight between CJ and Eliza.

Despite him being bullied by his older sister most of the time and fighting with her over petty things, CJ secretly looks up to Eliza, even blames himself when she runs away from home one day to stay with their lost uncle for a few months. Realizing the falling apart of his family and the misery of their mother due to Eliza's disappearance, CJ decides to look for her on his own and convince her to come back home.

At 15, CJ falls madly in love with Reverend Lovejoy's daughter, Jessica, who is a troublemaker just like his sister, Eliza. Throughout high school, CJ and Jessica have an on-again/off-again relationship, and, despite having dated other people, they reunite in college where they attempt to have a stable relationship and eventually get married shortly after graduation.