Men are what their mothers made them.

-- Unknown --

"You sure you're okay?" I asked Leon as soon as he opened the door.

"Yep." Leon said, moving aside so I could get in.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed him rubbing his ass. It had really been a hard fall...

I didn't say anything though. I shook my head a little and laughed quietly to myself. This was the guy who was gonna help me out until my car got fixed.

"Is there a bathroom around here or something?" I asked him suddenly.

"Uh, Yeah." Leon nodded. "Down the hall and third door on the right."

"Thanks." I said, walking past him.

It was a small, cozy house filled with a huge collection of candles. It was like wherever I turned there were candles of all sizes everywhere. His mom must've been a collector of a lot of shit...

I walked past family photos; I wanted to stop and look but didn't want to come off as nosey.

Okay, yeah, I was a nosey person but I wasn't about to prove that to someone I barely knew. To someone I barely knew and yet I was still hanging out with... at his mother's house no less.

By the time I got into the hall, I had forgotten which way Leon had told me to go so I decided to wing it.

I went down the hall and opened the second door to the right... like Leon had told me... I think.

But when I walked in, it didn't look *anything* like a bathroom. There was a full sized bed along with posters along the wall. I skimmed the room a little and noticed little picture frames sitting on the dresser.

Somehow I found myself in someone's room. Not just someone's room, Leon's old room.

The room was pretty clean and everything looked like it was placed perfectly... like those model rooms they use to advertise a house for sale.

The posters on the walls were of his musical taste, obviously, because they were lined with stuff from Jimi Hendrix to Aerosmith.

I couldn't help but look around some more. I wondered how long it had been since Leon had actually stayed in this room and if it had actually been that clean when he was staying in there. He had a huge CD collection. Two long CD holders were set against the wall.

I kneeled down a little and started to skim through them. It wasn't hard... they were in alphabetical order...

"Boyz 2 Men..." I laughed under my breath and shook my head, imagining Leon actually listening to this stuff. My fingers skimmed over some more CD's and stopped when I noticed familiar album covers.

"Oh, that just rocks." I murmured, pulling a CD out.

"Can't tell the difference between a bathroom and a bedroom?" Leon's voice broke my concentration.

"Sorry," I said, turning around and smiling. "I took a wrong turn, and ended up flirting with your CD's."

"Right," He nodded, his arms crossed against his chest.

"I mean, who knew you were into Boyz 2 Men?" I smirked.

He stopped leaning against the door frame and I could see a defense starting to build up. "That's not mine..."

"Right, of course it isn't." I smiled, "I haven't made it past the C's but I can't wait to find that New Kids on the Block CD..."

I was totally teasing him and I hoped he knew it.

"Hey!" He said, walking into the room now. "The Boyz had harmony."

"I'm just kidding, Leon." I said, turning back to the CD's. "I have to say, The Cult... great choice there."

"They're not satanic or anything..." He sighed as if he had to defend the band before or something.

"Well, I know that." I said quietly, letting him know I wasn't attacking him. "Most of their music, if not all, is pure soul."

"You listen to The Cult?" Leon asked me, looking me over.

"Uh, yeah." I looked at him like he was crazy. Of course I listened to them... always had been a huge fan of theirs. I had actually attended three of their concerts in a span of 4 months a few years back.

"You're bullshitting me." Leon said after a moment, as he suddenly came to a conclusion.

I wasn't insulted. I mean, it wasn't like the band was mainstream or anything and I guess I didn't seem like the type of girl that would've been into that kind of 80's rock. Then again, Leon didn't strike me as a guy who would have a CD collection varying from The Cult to Vanilla Ice, either.

"I'm totally serious," I told him. "I love their stuff. Oh, and Billy Duffy? Total guitar God in my eyes."

"Okay, this is too weird." Leon laughed. "It's cool that you like them."

"I love them!" I said, looking over their Sonic Temple CD. "God, I had the hugest crush on Ian Astbury for the longest."

"Yeah?" Leon asked, a small smile on his face; a slight tease in his eyes. "So did I."

I looked at him for a moment before I busted out laughing.

"I'm kidding." He said, holding his hands up to defend himself. "I really am."

The next thing I knew, Leon was sitting down next to me on the floor and we were talking about our concert experiences and our taste in music. We even debated a little over who rocked more and who sucked less.

**

"You were not at the Duran Duran concert." I shook my head.

"I'm telling you... I was!" Leon insisted. "John Taylor gave me a picture and everything."

"...and this was in?"

"'82." He confirmed.

"Right, Because you were all of what? Seven?" I asked, holding back a laugh.

"You're damn right!" He leaned back on his elbows, "That's why I can say that I'm sure I've been to more concerts than you. I started going since I was like, five."

"Depeche Mode." I cut him off, throwing a challenging smile at him.

"You have never been to a Depeche Mode concert." Leon shook his head. "Uh uh, no way..."

"It's a fact, my friend." I shrugged.

He looked at me for a moment, "White Snake.'87"

"Van Halen. 1988. front row, center."

"Guns N Roses... '88."

"The Cult." I grinned proudly.

"I've already said that." Leon said.

"You didn't let me finish... 4 times in 89. Sonic Temple tour." I raised my eyebrows.

"Damn... 4 times?" Leon asked, amused. "Freak."

"Let's go back to those MC Hammer CD's, nerd." I started to get back up, only to be pulled down by Leon.

"No... no... no... okay," He paused for a second, "Journey --" He suddenly became quiet and mumbled something to himself.

"Journey?" I sat up straight and looked at him. "Journey?" I asked again. "As in the Journey that sang --"

"Yeah," He said, looking away. "That would be them."

I leaned in a little to see what he was mumbling and listened as he cursed at himself.

He was embarrassed for letting that one slip out.

I opened my mouth and then shut it, debating on whether to say anything or not.

"Wham!" I said, after a moment, avoiding all eye contact.

I heard him clearing his throat and then felt his eyes on me. "Wham!?" He asked.

"Hey --" I started to defend myself.

"Wham! does *not* count as a concert experience." Leon said.

"Why not?" I frowned.

"Well," He said, starting to list off the reasons on his fingers. "One, they weren't a band... they were... entertainment if that's what you can call it..."

"Oh come on..." I sighed.

"Two," He nodded. "They wore white shorts! They constantly slid across stage busting out some moves that even Michael Jackson would never pull. They were the Chip N Dale dancers for..."

"For what?" I asked, tilting my head to the side, wondering if he was going to finish.

"...for girls who...hadn't even been through puberty." He finished quietly.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked with laughter. "You are something else, you know that?"

"He sure is," A voice said from the doorway.

"Mom!" Leon jumped to his feet, running his hands through his hair.

"Hey." She smiled at him and then looked down at me.

I smiled at her, a little embarrassed.

"Oh," I said, remembering my manners and getting up. "Hi," I shook her hand. "I'm Amber..."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lorraine." She nodded, her dark green eyes twinkled.

I could see the little features they both shared. They eyes, both color and shape and the mouth. Both of their faces were so defined and they both had strong profiles. You could see the tiny creases on the corners of her eyes... she was definitely one to smile a lot.

"How did you get in?" She turned to Leon. "I thought you left your key here last time."

"I did..." Leon said, looking down.

"Leon..." She shook her head. "You went through that window didn't you?"

"Well..." He shrugged.

"You know what I told you about that." Lorraine sighed, "You're way too big to be climbing through that thing. You already know... you break..."

"I buy. Yeah I know, ma." Leon smiled. "Don't worry."

I got that feeling that Leon had been the only child. They were just so close... you could tell. The way he and his mother interacted was just interesting. They both seemed to say more with gestures and facial expressions.

"C'mon... let's go in the kitchen, huh?"

********

"So Amber," Lorraine said, setting a soda in front of me. "He driving you crazy yet?"

"Thanks." I said, taking a sip. "Actually, he's been pretty easy to get along with... most of the time, anyway."

"Hey, now!" Leon protested. "Like sitting in that car with you for over an hour didn't drive me nuts? Can we say whiplash?"

I rolled my eyes and nodded towards the window, "Can we say crash and burn?"

"You let her drive your car, Leon?" Lorraine asked, looking confused.

"Yeah." Leon ducked his head like it was nothing.

"That's a first." Lorraine said, smiling.

"Yeah, and with the way she was driving, it'll probably be the last." He muttered.

"I was not that bad!" I protested.

"I still can't believe you let someone else drive your car," Lorraine shook her head. "You never let anyone drive your car... not even Carlos..."

"Ma, it's not that big of a deal." Leon insisted.

Lorraine stayed quiet and just looked back and forth at us...

She smiled, "How long have you guys known each other?"

"A few weeks," I told her.

"Ah... wow, you met where? At the shop?" She asked.

"Yep." I nodded.

"Oh, ma…" Leon sat up straighter, trying to get his mom's attention.

"I see." Lorraine said, turning to smile at Leon.

"Ma, it's not like --" Leon tried again, only to be cut off.

"So how long have you two been dating?" She asked me.

My mind went blank as I stared at Lorraine. Somehow my mouth opened a little but then I shut it and threw a look a Leon.

"D-dating?" I mumbled.

He avoided my eyes and leaned forward, "Uh, ma, that's what I was trying to tell you..., we aren't dating... we're just..."

"Oh!" Lorraine said. "I'm so embarrassed... I'm sorry... I jumped ahead of myself there." She laughed.

"It's... its okay..." I laughed, easing up just a little.

"So, you guys are in that stage then? You know, talking about it? Like a pre-couple..."

Everything got quiet just then. Suddenly, Leon wasn't smiling; he looked flustered and I wasn't laughing anymore.

"What?" I asked.

"Wait, huh?" Leon said almost at the same time.

We looked at each other and then at Lorraine...

"No!" We managed to say together.

"Ma," Leon tried again. "I'm helping her out for a few weeks. We're friends."

Lorraine just shrugged, which surprised me, and stood up. "Hm."

"Ma," Leon stood up suddenly, and turned to me, "I need to talk to her for a second."

"Yeah," Lorraine smiled and walked out of the kitchen. "You sure do."