Laughing Jack x Male!OC

1.

(A/N Picture is Arlo)

With a sigh I walk up the stairs of the new house, I hated having to move but thinking about it, I couldn't care less. I never had many friends at the old house anyway "Arlo, sweetie! Can you come help your stepfather and I with the boxes?" my mother yells up the stairs to me. I had already came up to check out the rooms, my mother had said I could choose my room first. "Yeah, coming!" I head back down to the truck and give a small smile to my mother as I pass her. Kevin, my step-father, smiles at me and hands me two boxes "careful there bud, these are fragile" he says as he ruffles my hair, all I do is glare at him before walking into the house with the boxes "don't act like your my father, cause you're not" I mutter under my breath before walking into the kitchen and setting them on the counter.

After helping with the other boxes I go and grab the ones with my things and walk up the stairs to the room I chose and sigh once again as I set the boxes down and look around the room 'it looks so plain.. At least mom bought paint' I think to myself and walk over to the window opening it and I smile to myself as I see i'm able to get onto the roof if I can't sleep at night.

I walk back down and smile at my mother "hey mom? Where'd you set the paint down?" "just over near the front door hun" she smiles at me before she and Kevin start unpacking some things. I nod to myself and look near the front door and hum softly as I check for the color I chose. I finally find it and walk back to my room with the paint, tray, and roller. I remove my hoodie after setting everything down and I open the paint can pouring some into the tray.

Though before I can start I hear a quiet thud in the attic, and the entrance to it just so happens to be in my room. I look up at it in confusion and stand up walking closer to it and I go to reach for the latch "hey Arlo, need any help?" I jump slightly and look over "no, thanks though" I walk back over to the paint and start painting the wall where the closet is. I hear Kevin sigh "well then, do you mind me asking why you were going to open the attic door before I walked in?" I knew he was looking at me curiously, even with my back to him "it's nothing too important, I just thought I heard something up there" I mumble "I see.. Would you like me to check?" he walks in a couple steps "no, it's fine" "alright"

"Arlo, if you ever need anything, just know you can come to me. Alright?" I hear him say after he walk back out of my room "no need. I can talk to mom" I mutter in slight annoyance "your mother doesn't know a lot about male puberty you know" he says with a chuckle "I'm 17, Kevin I already spoke to her about that stuff a few years back" my eyebrow twitches in annoyance, now I wanted to punch him harder, I never liked him, I always get a bad feeling about him whenever he's here. I heard his footsteps fade after a few more minutes, I figured he was annoyed by the attitude I give him.

I finally finished painting after a long few hours, I had some paint on my pants, but that's alright. I was about to leave my room but I hear another thud in the attic, curiously I grab the small step stool I used while painting and I set it down under the latch and step up to check it out, though before I open it I look over at the door to see if my mother or Kevin were near my door. Once I made sure they weren't I opened the little door to it, a ladder sliding down after I do, I move the stool and step up going up to the attic and I look around hoping to find whatever made that thud. Though instead of finding an animal I saw a small Jack-In-A-Box, curiously I pick it up and look it over "huh? Looks old and worn down" I mutter to myself "interesting though" I then go back to my room, still holding the worn down and colorless box. I walk down stairs and walk over to my mother, who was in the kitchen with Kevin. "Hey mom, look what I found up in the attic" I say to her as I hold up the small box "why were you up in the attic?" Kevin asks, I just give him a slight glare "what is that?" she asks curiously "a Jack-In-A-Box" I say with a quiet chuckle "I thought I heard a small animal or something up there, so I went to check, but I just found this."

A couple days pass and I finally finish unpacking my last box, it took a long time, but I expected it. I smile to myself and walk over to my desk and look at the small box again, I've been doing that for the last couple of days, mostly trying to find out what the writing said I couldn't figure out what the first word was that was written on it, it was scratched up and such so the only words I understood on it was 'Jack-In-A-Box' I didn't want to open it just in case I broke it because it looks old and worn down, so you never know what could happen. I sigh and get up to go see if mother had something I could use to at least somewhat be able to read the writing on the box better, though before I could take even one step towards my door I could hear my computer turn on, in confusion I turn to face it and I take a seat at my desk again and check around my computer to see if there was something around it that could've turned it on "what the hell, it's never done this before" I let out another soft sigh and decide to just leave it on "it's a new computer too" I get up and walk downstairs and look around the house to try find where my mother is. "Hey Kevin! Where's mom?" I yell out expecting him to be home like he usually is. After a few moments of waiting for an answer I become even more confused "Kevin?!" I yell out again and look around to find either of them but stumble upon a note left on my bedroom door, which I hadn't noticed before. The note read

Arlo,
Your mother and I went out to grab a few things,
Tomorrow we will be having a little get together in the backyard with a few of our neighbors.
We will be back in a few hours

~ Kevin

I crumple the note and toss it into the garbage can I had beside my desk and sit back down "a note" I chuckle humorlessly "they couldn't just say they were going out for a few hours?" I sigh and shake my head getting up again and I go to grab a damp cloth to see if it was dust or something covering up the writing on the box. After returning to my desk I turn on music before I start to gently dab the place where the first word on the box is, surprisingly enough, it was a lot clearer once it was dampened.