No Good at Goodbyes

Chapter 2: Two Weeks

Author's Note: Okay, here's chapter 2. Thanks for the encouragement! I still don't love this one, but I'm taking this as a lesson in perseverance, lol.  Please continue to let me know what you think, I really appreciate your comments and votes!

Chapter 2: Two Weeks

Mitch actually found himself growling as he climbed out of his car, angrily trudging up the walkway to Scott's front door, two weeks later.

The text messages were unread. It hurt Mitch's heart, and he needed to give the tall blond a piece of his mind.

...And maybe he just really needed to see his friend's bright blue eyes, his smile, and to feel the warmth of his comforting hugs.

Mitch really loved those hugs. Scott was always so good at them.

He remembered the first time Scott hugged him. Scott was in eighth grade and watched as his classmates pulled Mitch's hood of his sweatshirt over his head before pushing him forward into a locker. Mitch remembered that the impact made his binder explode open, and papers went everywhere, right as the bell rang.

Groaning, Mitch got to work, picking up each piece of paper, angrily thinking about how long it would take to put them in the correct order again later. Mitch looked up to find Scott picking up as many of the strewn sheets of paper as possible, working with a small smile on his face.

"Hey, Scott," Mitch sighed.

"Hey. You okay?" The question was a simple one, but Mitch felt his heart warm up a bit at the sound of it.

Mitch nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks for helping." They finished stuffing the papers back into the binder and stood, slowly.

"They're jerks to me too, you know." Scott offered, rubbing the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable.

For some reason, that statement made Mitch much more upset than the thought of what they had just done. "How so?"

"I guess they don't like us theater kids," Scott replied, shrugging.

Mitch felt his lip quivering, and confusion coursing through him as to why this bothered him so much.

"Mitch, I'm sorry! Hey, hey, it's okay." Scott said, grabbing Mitch and pulling him in for a tight hug. "We'll just look out for each other, okay?"

Mitch leaned into the taller boy's grip, feeling overwhelmed, but somehow, he also felt at home. "That sounds good."

Mitch pounded on the door a moment later, refusing to let his fond memories deter him from doing what he had set out to do.

He almost started yelling as soon as the door opened, but it died on his lips and his eyes softened as an overwhelmed-looking Mark answered the door.

"Hi, Mitch..." Mark muttered, shifting from foot to foot, looking suddenly like he wanted to slam the door.

But Mark would never do that. He was far too polite.

"Hey, Mark. Is he home?"

Mark hesitated for a moment, but shook his head. "No... no, he went out."

Mitch eyed Scott's car in the driveway and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so...?"

"Kirstie picked him up an hour ago." Mark added, and Mitch struggled to determine if this was a lie.

Mitch would have asked if he could wait around for him, but to be honest, Mark made him a bit uncomfortable.