The Prince

Part 15

Before he knew it, all three of the Dealers or Cooks, he still hadn't figured out how that worked, stood in front of him in their dressing gowns. He didn't feel so out of place with what he was wearing, obviously for this family comfort was chosen above style. Looking at the three of them was like looking at a glossy magazine ad. How was it that they all looked so perfect? They must be vampires. Not the sparkly weird ones, the cool hot ones that made you feel weak in the knees.

"Nice to see you back again, Noah," Raymond greeted him more reservedly, with a warm smile.

Thinking that he'd be asked why he was there, he was surprised when they didn't mention the topic at all. They carried on as if it was the most natural thing in the world to have him there. This family was strange. Surely, nobody was this perfect?

"Skye says you're in the same class." Raymond handed him a cup of tea.

"In the same grade. I'm only in Class C," he mumbled blushing again. Why was he blushing, he was in the first in Class C. Granted that if he fell any lower, he'd be kicked out, but still, he was top of some ranking.

"They're both working at the bakery too," Jackson sat down with his own tea.

"What is this?" Noah breathed in the deep, rich honey-scented aroma that steamed from his cup. It was the first time he'd come across something that smelled and tasted so fresh and comfortingly warm.

"Do you like it? We tried it the first time we went camping in South Africa and it stuck," Raymond explained with a smile remembering their trip. Far from the grand holiday that his fathers made them believe they were getting, it turned out to be camping across the country and roughing it under the worst conditions. It felt like a one-month-long boot camp.

"Ugh, please don't remind me," Jackson pulled a face at Raymond. "There were no hotels like on the brochures, no golden beaches, no safe safaris ending with dancing and a massive meal. No, we had to buy our own tents and were given pocket money to enjoy the trip!" He turned to Noah, "It was hell!"

"Don't exaggerate, Dad. We had fun." Skye reminded him.

"You and your father had fun, but I didn't like sleeping in the middle of snakes and scorpions. And do you remember that massive brown spider?" He immediately jumped up. "I've got the pictures here somewhere," he mumbled getting up and flopping down in front of the TV with the remote.

"You've gone and done it now," Skye smiled briefly at Noah.

"What did I do?"

"You've got him scratching around the old photos. Now you'll have to sit through all of them," Raymond sighed, getting up to start cooking.

After they'd eaten, Jackson made them sit through the pictures of their trip. Halfway through, Noah had to pinch himself to stay awake, but it seemed as if there was no end in sight.

"Honey, I think the kids need to get to bed now. We can carry on another time." Raymond reminded Jackson.

"Are you tired, Little One?" He turned to Skye.

"Pappie, you know I love you, but you take too many pictures on our vacations. You're worse than a tourist. I think I'll call it a night."

Noah jumped up and followed him back to his room where he sat thinking about this strange family. It was as if they were reading each other's minds, the way they interacted. He was surprised when Skye's parents didn't ask a thing and the fact that Skye didn't seem to offer any information was strange.

Climbing under the heavenly warm duvet, he was soon out for the count, without a care in the world.

The next morning, Noah sat up ramrod straight when he heard a knock on his door, slightly confused by where he was.

"I'm not waiting for you if you're late." Skye's eyes drifted over him with his hair sticking out in all directions and still sleepy look.

Noah felt like he was being dissected by a surgeon the way Skye was looking at him. As if he was waiting for something to happen or maybe an alien to sprout from his stomach.

"I'm up, I'm up!" He threw the covers off him and jumped up, looking around for his clothes. "Where are my clothes?"

"Josh," Skye said by way of explanation, which only confused Noah more. "Just wear what he'd put out. That isn't too hard is it?" He sighed.

"What if I slapped your head that hard?" He grumbled as Skye closed the door. After a hot shower, he was surprised to see that a school uniform was hung out for him. Surely, this can't be mine, he thought, taking a sniff.

No, that definitely wasn't his. It did smell really good though. They must use real flowers to wash their clothes with. With a shrug of his shoulders, he slipped the clothes on, surprised at how well they fit, as if they were tailored for him.

"You're up late enough." Skye lifted his head from his breakfast.

"Sorry, I didn't have my phone with me," he sat down opposite Skye, wondering what next when a muscled, blond god came walking through the door with a bag in hand. His eyes nearly popped out looking at the very attractive man in front of him. He was more of a have a hot fling with than the take-home-to-mom type. But good god, was everybody in this house extremely hot or did he just feel insecure being surrounded by them?

"Noah, is it?" Josh dropped a bag on the kitchen counter. "I hope the clothes fit. Somebody didn't give me more than a few hours' warning," he said pointedly.

"If you're so perfect, shouldn't you know?" Jackson snapped back, instantly irritated by Josh.

"Not in front of the kids you two." Raymond chastised them, giving Jackson a kiss before sitting down. "Now, I'm not sure what you're going to do about books, but it really was nice to have you over." Raymond smiled, immediately setting Noah at ease and his heart ablaze.

Noah felt as if he was staring at the sun, the way he felt the warm flush cross his cheek when Raymond looked at him. His immediate reaction was to say yes please and worry about the consequences later.

"It's okay, Mr Cook, most of the ones I need are at school." He found it hard to look away from those deep blue eyes. Like Skye's, it felt as if they were boring into your soul, trying to get to every secret you hold.

When they were done, Jackson held up a lunch bag to each of them with a huge grin. Skye looked to the heavens and sighed before stepping into his father's embrace. He briefly smirked at Noah, before he too was enveloped in a tight hug.

"My two boys, off to school! It makes me so happy I could..."

"Dad!" Skye silenced him.

"...do anything but cry. Apparently crying is prohibited in this family," he sniffed before leaving the room.

"If you ask me any questions, just know that I can have your tongue out of your mouth before you can even scream." Skye threatened as they walked to the bus stop.

"I wasn't dreaming of it anyway," he huffed, thinking how overbearing Skye could be. "And can we leave the butchering until after school?" He was sure that Skye would probably be good at that too.