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20. Stay

Author's Note: This one is gonna be thirty chapters :)

20. Stay

Scott ran offstage after their set, taking his in-ears out and placing his microphone back into its charging station.

A hand found his back, and he turned. He was in Matt's arms within the next second.

"You did such a good job. I'm so proud of you," Matt said, clutching him. He patted his back, finding a smile gracing his own lips.

"Thank you, Matty. You too, as always."

"You feeling okay?" Matt asked, pulling back as they began to walk again.

"Fine... I promise," Scott replied, but remained quiet as they returned to their respective dressing rooms.

"Scott?" Matt asked, gently, as Scott was about to enter his. He turned to face the voice, wordlessly. "Maybe... maybe later you should just... sit him down, you know? Say your piece. That way, it's all out on the table... with Harry, I mean." Matt looked uneasy as he rambled, clearly not wanting to push Scott past his comfort level.

Scott nodded. Not because he wanted to do this for his own benefit, but because he was determined to clean up this mess for his friends.

He knocked before he could chicken out. He was thankful that Mitch was waiting in his room, so if this went awry, he wouldn't be alone.

The door opened, and Harry's eyes widened.

"Can I talk to you? Please?" Scott asked, trying to make his voice work.

The man in front of him nodded, and Scott followed him inside.

Scott didn't sit on the bed. He knew better. He took a seat on the small couch in the corner. What he didn't expect was for Harry to take the seat next to him. He expected him to remain standing, to pace around with his arms crossed, or to pull up a chair.

He didn't expect their knees to be touching. And he didn't expect Harry to be silent. He didn't expect his eyes to reflect worry.

"Can I just... can I say it all? And then... then you can? If you want to say anything, that is," Scott asked, nervously.

Harry nodded.

Scott inhaled a shaky breath, and Harry leaned forward slightly.

Almost like he was about to take his hand.

"I was coming to... apologize... for... what I did..." Scott said, unable to look at the man in front of him anymore. But when he did look up, Harry was frowning. And suddenly, he was full of courage.

"But then I realized that I don't have to. Because..." he took another deep breath, trying not to make a fool of himself. "Because I didn't do anything wrong. Not that night, anyway. So instead, I'm here to apologize for something else."

Harry looked conflicted, and Scott was thankful that he wasn't kicking him out of his room... yet.

"I'm sorry that you and I can't seem to find a way to communicate with one another. I'm sorry that our... our signals keep getting crossed. I'm sorry that I'm a work in progress. I'm sorry that I'm..."

"Don't say it," Harry warned in a whisper.

"Not getting better."

Harry cringed at the words that Scott echoed from Harry's drunken tirade, that horrible night.

"I'm sorry that I'm... sensitive, and that right now... I need a little extra..." Scott looked at the floor again. He had so much more that he had planned to say. But it was gone from his brain, wiped clean. He couldn't even think of the next word.