Spots (mxm)

Chapter 5: It's Always a Trap

It was around six o' clock when Arron finally decided to begin making dinner. It didn't seem like his mother was going to be home in time to cook, so he figured she'd be happy when she walked in the door and found that food had already been made and was waiting for her.
Of course it wasn't going to be anything super fancy since he was tired from his awesome day, but some home made pasta with garlic bread sounded just right.

After climbing up onto the counter to get down the garlic, parsley, and pepper he'd put away yesterday before bed, Arron carefully got down and found the cheese and pasta his mother had bought while he was at school.

In a separate pan from the pasta he began to melt the cheese with the spices, but turned the heat down on both burners and ran to his backpack when he heard his phone vibrating inside the top pocket. When he got the compartment open he clicked the accept button and held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi honey, I got offered an amazing job today and considering we only came here with a little money, I couldn't really find a logical reason to turn it down. Unfortunately, it means that I have to be out of town often each month."

"Oh uh, that's okay." Arron mumbled awkwardly.

It really wasn't considering they had just lost his father only a month ago, but he knew that she was just doing what she had to in order to keep food on the table.

"So, Arron... you're going to have to stay with another family while I'm gone. I managed to meet a nice man today who works in the company and wouldn't mind taking you in while I'm away. He has several boys, and one your own age that even goes to your new school, so it will be a great chance to make friends."

Arron's face drained of color as she spoke. He didn't want to go live somewhere else. They had just done that. They were already at their somewhere else. At his silence she quickly continued. "I know we just moved, but you're already packed so it shouldn't be too much trouble. Just think of it as a chance to get to know one of the more influential prides in the area."

"Pride?" Last he remembered, a group of cheetahs were definitely not called a pride.

His stomach felt like if he had eaten lunch, he would be losing it right about then.

"Yes, the Leo pride has agreed to take you in. I haven't been to the home, but I was told that it was plenty big enough and they had several spare rooms you could choose from."

After a good shake of his head he pursed his lips and replied.

"That sounds nice."

The words left a sour taste in his mouth but his mom's new excited tone told him that that he had definitely said the right thing to make her happy.

"That's the spirit! I'm sure that you'll have a blast. They have a pool and a playground in their backyard, too."

"I'm not ten anymore, mom." He stated dryly, even though those things did appeal to him, slightly.

"Oh don't go telling me that you wouldn't be out there swinging for hours if you got the chance." She replied.

He couldn't argue that.

"Don't worry honey, you'll have fun and I'll be back as often as I can. I'll be making good money at this job so we'll be much better off soon."

He couldn't think about getting her hopes down, so he put on a fake smile and happily spoke into the phone.

"Sounds great mom, do they want me over tonight? What's the address?"

As she told him that they did indeed want him to come by, and that the father of the household was actually going to come over and pick him up later, he swallowed and told her how excited he was.

After taking down the address, just in case, and a phone number they told each other good night and she told him she'd call as soon as she could. Once Arron hung up the phone he quickly gobbled down his dinner, storing the extra portion in a Tupperware container on the counter before running upstairs to drag down his suitcases. On his second trip upstairs he grabbed his pillow and one of his smaller blankets. It had a worn picture of spiderman on it and was definitely childish, but his father had given it to him two years ago for his birthday because he had been so obsessed with that new movie. Arron knew he should leave it, but if he was going to walk into the lion's den, he needed his superhero... or at least the memory of him.

It was about twenty minutes later when he heard a firm knock at the door.

Well. Here we go.

Arron quickly ran around switching off all of the lights and making sure that all the chords were unplugged so that they didn't waste electricity, then ran over to the door and opened it. As his eyes rose to the man standing before him, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

This guy is huge!

His hair was the epitome of a mane, circling his face partially as normal hair, then picked up as a medium sized golden beard. While it would normally make a human look awkward, it always worked perfectly well with male lions. A full mane showed exactly how powerful the lion shifter was, and judging from this man's stature and perfect mane, he was top cat in the Leo pride.

"Hello sir." Arron stuttered slightly.

He almost felt like he should bow down, but when a loud booming laugh echoed into the night from the man he blinked and raised his eyebrows.

"No need for sir. Just call me Jordan." The man replied.

"Oh, okay... my name is Arron."

Jordan stuck his right hand out, and Arron quickly placed his much-smaller one in it to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Arron. You ready to go?" He asked.

Ah, he noticed my suitcases behind me. Well, he technically was ready. The one good thing he could think about in his current situation was that it really didn't feel like his new house was his home yet, so moving again didn't take too much of an emotional toll... however, knowing that his mother wasn't waiting for him at the new place he was going to did hurt a lot.

"Don't worry kiddo, your mom is going to be home sooner than you think. Till then, you're welcome at our home."

Jordan offered his hand to him again, but this time when Arron took it, he was pulled into a strong hug. He wasn't sure why, but the man reminded him of how his father had used to hug him when he'd gotten home from a rough day at work. Before he knew it he was sniffling against Jordan's dark red sweater as he tried to blink back tears that just wouldn't obey. Arron felt Jordan's hand switch from holding his own, to his back, where it began rubbing comfortingly.

"It's okay, Arron. Your mom told me what happened and if you ever need a shoulder or a hug, just come get me."

It felt so nice to hear those words and receive that hug. Sure, his mother had hugged him plenty of times since the accident had happened, but Jordan's hug felt just like his father's had.

"Alright! We need to head back. I see you've already made yourself dinner but I'm starved."

Arron took a step back as he sniffled and nodded, rubbing at his nose with the back of his hand before turning to grab his backpack, blanket, and one of his suitcases. Jordan grabbed the other, and pretty soon they were on their way to his home.

"I'm sure your mother told you that I have four boys. Two are in elementary school, twins, Jared and Jamie. Tarren just graduated high school last year and Rylan is a junior, just like you."

Rylan.

She had said he had boys, and being part of the Leo pride was manageable... but he was Rylan's father?

"Hey kiddo, you feeling okay?" Jordan asked as he glanced over at him.

It took Arron a couple of minutes to find his voice again, then stumble over his poor excuse.

"Yeah, just... stomach upset from dinner and a stressful day."