The Prince

Part 23

Noah was in and out of the house in a flash, leaving a hastily scribbled note saying he was staying with a friend. When he closed the front door and got into the car, his mood improved again, and he happily smiled at Skye.

"You sure your parents won't mind me staying over?"

"You've met them already, what do you think?" He stared straight at the road as he was talking. "Oh and when Dad asks, the driver took us out."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that you're not allowed to drive yet."

"Thanks for the reminder. Want to walk the rest of the way?"

"I'll shut up now," he mumbled, sure that Skye was serious about dropping him on the side of the road. "Skye?" He asked hesitantly.

"Hmm?"

"This is going to sound stupid, but are you really a prince?"

"You should stop listening to gossip. I don't have a massive fortune that I'm sitting on. Sorry to disappoint you."

"I knew it was too good to be true. You're a toad and will always be a toad, warts and all," he laughed.

When they got to the house, Noah hung back a little until Jackson caught sight of them entering the house.

"Little One and Little Buddy!" He exclaimed rushing forward to hand out his obligatory hugs.

"Hi, Mr Dealer," he said shyly after getting a tight squeeze that felt like a metal band was wrapped around him.

"Noah, go and put your things down, Skye and I will get supper ready," he nudged Noah down the passage while grabbing Skye's wrist and dragging him into the kitchen.

"What happened?" He asked as soon as they were alone.

"He had some trouble at home and needed a place to stay. I thought we could help him out."

"Did you speak to Papa about it?" Jackson asked concerned watching Skye shake his head, his face slightly troubled.

"Don't worry Little One, we'll tell him that it was my doing. He'll never get angry with me."

"Thanks, Pappie," he leaned in for a hug, but quickly pulled back to look at Jackson. "Doesn't he always get mad at you?"

"You win some, you lose some," he shrugged opening the fridge.

"Em, Pappie, maybe you should let me get the food," he didn't need anybody else to experience his version of mac and cheese.

Getting to work, he wondered where Raymond was. He was still supposed to be taking time off from work, but he'd been disappearing at odd times or returning home late. He wasn't much looking forward to the chat he was going to be forced to have. There would be no point in trying to hide anything from his dad, he could smell the rat before you even opened your mouth and try as he might he hadn't yet found the trick to fooling his dad.

After supper, he tried to drag things out as much as possible to avoid his father's eyes that seemed to silently follow him around.

"What about movie night, Pappie?" He suggested, trying to get out of the conversation that he was not in the mood to have.

"Sure!" Jackson immediately jumped up in excitement.

"How about you and Noah start without us? We have a few things to get ready for tomorrow," he motioned for Skye to follow him. Once they were in Skye's room, he turned to him.

"What are you doing, Skye?"

"Don't worry, Papa, I know what I'm doing. You'll need to trust me."

"I know I can trust you, son, but do you think it will help him in the long run if he keeps avoiding his problems?" He was worried that Skye might get into whatever situation Noah was in, over his head.

"He's not avoiding his problems, Dad. I'm giving him space to breathe before he takes on whatever problems are back home. He's only a kid."

"You're only a kid as well. Don't you think you should let the adults handle this?" He looked at Skye with concern.

"When adults handle things they rarely listen to kids. He's my friend, Dad, I wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Trust me," he implored.

"Okay, but come to me or your Dad if there is anything the two of you need. We want to keep both of you safe, that's all."

"I know, I'll be careful," reassured his father.

"Your Dad's obviously already agreed to this, didn't he?" When Skye nodded in agreement, Raymond sighed, "Well, there's nothing to do but go with the flow, I suppose. But promise me that you'll ask for help whenever you need it."

"I promise. Thanks, Dad."

He turned to leave the room to find the others who were holed up in front of the TV watching superhero movies. If there wasn't a space laser or superhero in sight, Jackson wasn't interested at all. Skye watched the two entranced by the movie, sharing a huge bowl of popcorn.

"Little One, we would have waited, but,"

"I know how impatient you can be," he laughed.

"Look who's talking now," Noah interjected, throwing Skye a look.

"Says the guy who walks at the slowest pace possible ," he grinned casting a glance at Noah who still seemed to be in good spirits, thankfully. Luckily Raymond didn't ask any questions about that, but that didn't mean that he didn't know. He'd learned early on that to try and fool his dad was nearly impossible. The only times he could get away with anything, was when Jackson was around and he would inevitably take the blame or distract Raymond from reading them the riot act.

"Oh, I forgot to say that we'll be going to see your grandparents this weekend, no cancellations," Jackson warned Skye. "And before you start the 'Dad, do I have to...' business, you have no choice."

"But Dad," he started, pulling a miserable face.

"And you can bury the, 'but dads', in a hole with all your ideas of trying to get out of this weekend." He turned to Noah, "You don't mind going with us, do you?"

"I think it will be too much for him. I can take him through another time..."

"Yeah, right. I may not be the strictest parent in the world, but even I can smell a sad excuse when you serve it up. I've lived with the two of you long enough to know when I'm being played."

"Okay," he sighed. There was no point in arguing since both his dads would be on his back the whole time until the weekend.

"That's more like it," Jackson chuckled. "Now, come and sit over here," he patted the seat next to him in invitation. With a sheepish grin, Skye went over to sit under Jackson's arm. To his side, Noah seemed to be falling asleep and after the day he'd had, he didn't blame him.

He didn't know why he was getting so involved with someone else's life, but it seemed like Noah needed someone in his corner for a little while. While he might look fragile, he was a really strong person who didn't seem intimidated or in awe of him. And while he knew that he may not be needed and may end up making things worse, he knew that he wanted to help Noah, even if it was for a few days.