Mayor Jones entered the house first. He was always the first one in, and the first one out. It seemed like all his life he walked ahead of people. Constantly looking back to see if they were following.

"Fred. We need to seriously talk about your mystery solving fiascos. They're getting out of hand." He grumbled and made his way up the stairs. Fred knew when a serious talk was on approach, his father became heavy footed and his tone shifted to a stern one. Yet there was no way of getting out of it.

Mayor Jones was already in his son's room, a vast display of traps already catching his attention. He wasn't sure how late Fred usually stayed up of a night, but it was clearly long enough to formulate so many schematics. He would never admit it aloud, but he thought Fred's creations were fascinating. They were out of this world. And while he couldn't bring himself to see their purpose, he put up with it for his son's sake. His eyes glanced around the room to a picture of Fred and the gang. He went over and picked it up, looking at it intently. He certainly looked far happier with his friends than he did in photos with his father, but perhaps that's because of the difficult relationship at hand.

"Hey dad.." Fred murmured as he walked in, closing the door behind him. He looked shameful. He never liked these conversations. Mayor Jones turned around to acknowledge his son, frowning when he saw the expression on his face. He tried his hardest not to hurt Fred's feelings, but most the time it felt like he was doing the opposite. He approached his son, placing a hand on his shoulder

"I'm disappointed in you son...not angry...just...disappointed okay??" He'd say calmly. Fred looked up in a confused manner

"Wait so- you aren't going to yell?" He asked.

"No, I mean where has discipline got you at this rate, you've clearly not given up mystery solving so I'll have to try a different strategy with you." He'd say, letting go of his shoulder and standing by the window. "I strongly believe there's a better use of your time Fred. Clearly you're a bright young man with so much potential. Have you ever even considered options such as politics? Look where it's got our family!" He remarked proudly. Fred by now had walked to his mirror and started to fix his ascot. Mayor Jones was never too sure why he always decided to wear one, it didn't even look remotely smart with his outfit choice.

"Well our generation is different dad! We only have one thing on our minds, solving mysteries and traps!" He exclaimed. Mayor Jones just shook his head

"that's two things Fred." He explained as he walked behind him in the mirror. As he did so he managed to catch sight of himself and Fred. There came that ache In his chest again. That guilty one. There comes a time where every father watches their son grow into a young man, they start to notice resemblances of a younger version of themselves. Only, for Mayor Jones that was far from the truth. It hurt that Fred wasn't even blood related to him. He couldn't tell him how much he wished he was his. There was no remote resemblance at all. The only near enough resemblance Fred had to any parent was the blonde hair upon his head from his supposed mother.

"Dad you know what I mean, we just want answers! Is that wrong??" Fred asked as he turned around. He honestly didn't understand what harm he was causing here. If there was one thing Fred didn't understand, it was that his father had to keep a good reputation for the people of Crystal Cove. He couldn't afford embarrassment.

"Tickling chin whiskers Fred! The Mayor's son is supposed to set an example." He glared. Fred was far from your typical son of a higher authority figure, but Mayor Jones could only see his future in Crystal Cove being secure if Fred left mystery solving behind.

"I'm trying dad! In fact Just yesterday I entered one of my traps into the district science fair. It was rejected for not having anything to do with science but-" he was soon cut off by his dad, who turned him around so they were face to face

"I just don't want you to make a mistake you'll regret." Hed say before cursing mentally. That darn word. Why couldn't he rid of it? It was like a bad omen that lurked in the shadows and when he least expected it, it would come out again.

"you mean like making a bad trap?" Fred asked, looking up at his dad. When it came to Fred, he lacked a lot of emotional understanding, then again he had little of it growing up with the Mayor, who struggled with his own emotions just as much.

"No! Life is not all about traps! Its also about making tough choices. Like what you're going to do with your future career wise, and how it's going to make you look like a sophisticated member of society." He would say as he walked back to the window, staring down over Crystal Cove. "Fred I try tremendously hard to make you see that the path you want to go down is risky. It won't earn you any money, it won't put food on the table and feed your kids, so start considering these things." Hed say as he looked over his shoulder. Fred was still captivated by one of his latest traps, clearly not listening anymore. The mayor sighed and rubbed his temples, there was no talking to Fred these days. If you wanted a serious conversation you were rarely going to get one, Fred didn't seem to have the emotional capacity to deal with deep subjects. Take the alleged lie about his mother for example. Even bringing up how she supposedly died would make Fred cover his ears or quickly change the subject. Mostly change the subject now that he was older. It was hard to even form a bond with a child that just didn't understand. "It's getting on for time now, you need to be heading off for school and I seriously mean heading off to school. Not gallivanting off on some new mystery, understood?" He asked

"Loud and clear!" Fred exclaimed as he raced over and hugged his father "See you later dad." He smiled before heading downstairs and out the door. The mayor was left frozen. He never hugged Fred back anymore, he was so caught up on the past that if he hugged his son, it might break him. So physical shows of affection were difficult for him nowadays. If not occupied for long enough, his thoughts would consume him. They would fester in his head for as long as they physically could, it didn't do his well-being any good at all. He sighed and reached for his phone in his pocket, staring down at the contacts list. There it was. The sheriff's name. He could so easily call him and invite him over before work. It wouldn't seem to clingy would it? I mean he relied on the sheriff for emotional support a lot, wouldn't it start to seem a bit weird? No the Sheriff was his friend, he'd understand.

"Cmon pick up..." he muttered as he paced around the room, staring down at the floor.

"Sheriff Bronson Stone." Came the voice at the end of the other line. It was that same voice that always raised the Mayor's spirits. He couldn't help but smile when hearing that voice. And he wasn't sure why. But being around the sheriff made him feel different to others. Maybe that's because of the bond they'd formed over working together, or was it something more?"

"Hey sheriff.." he began as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Are you busy this morning?.." he asked. Did that sound too obvious? Maybe he should just bail on the thought.

"Not when it comes to you Mayor." He chuckled down the phone. "I'll be over in 10." He would say

Mayor Jones looked relieved to say the least. He smiled and clutched his phone "Okay, see you then" He'd say before placing it down. It was strange really. How his heart could beat so undeniably fast whenever the sheriff spoke to him. He often wondered if it was just a problem he had. Or whether the Sheriff might have felt that way too.