Pledge

4. The Basement

Author's Note: We didn't do so well in the reads department yesterday, so perhaps I spoke too soon lmao. Oh well. Enjoy the beginning of pledging!

4. The Basement

To say that Mitch was anxious for Week 2 to begin was an understatement.

He didn't like that he didn't know what to expect. All that he knew so far was that Zach said that he could start to beat them up if he saw fit.

Perhaps he would spare Scott, considering that he was the president's second little.

But Zach seemed to hate Scott. That was pretty clear, and Mitch knew why. Scott didn't appear to be taking any of this very seriously. While Matt was shaking in his boots as he was yelled at, Scott stood calmly, eyeing Zach like he had gone somewhere else.

Week 1 hadn't been terrible. Mitch didn't expect it to be. He had been through it, after all. There wasn't much to it. Yelling, learning stupid material that is utterly useless in the real world, cleaning the house...

Mitch found Scott at the library, on the first day of week two.

Scott looked up from his book with a small smile as he approached. "Hi, Brother Mitch Grassi."

His tone held a teasing edge, and Mitch couldn't help but smirk.

"What are you up to, pledge?" Mitch asked, matching his teasing tone.

Scott shut his book for a moment, showing Mitch the cover. "I have a test in an hour."

Mitch eyed the cover. "Is it bad that I don't know your major?"

Scott allowed his chin to drop in surprise. "Brother Mitch Grassi, we are supposed to be twins."

Yeah, Scott wasn't taking this seriously, at all. It was a bit refreshing.

"I'm a media studies major."

Mitch's eyes brightened. "That's cool. We have more in common than I thought."

Scott smiled. "Yeah. Audio Production, right?"

Mitch nodded as two of his brothers passed, clapping Scott on the shoulder, harshly, and shooting Mitch a smile.

He watched as Scott rolled his eyes.

"Why are you pledging?"

This seemed to surprise the freshman, and his eyes widened, just for a split second. "I'm like, safe with you, right? Like... since we're twins, you're supposed to be nice to me?"

Mitch nodded. Even if they weren't, he still wouldn't have the heart to be anything but kind to someone with such beautiful eyes.

"Matt kind of made me do it?" Scott said, crinkling his nose. "This is not my usual crowd."

Mitch couldn't help but laugh. "I don't know if you can tell, but it's not mine, either."

Scott smiled. "Yeah, you were a bit of a surprise, not gonna lie."

"Because I'm clearly gay?" The words came out more harshly than he intended, but Scott's smirk didn't falter.

"No, because you seem far too intelligent. Kevin, too." Scott looked around frantically for a moment. "Are they gonna hurt me for essentially calling them a bunch of idiots?"

Mitch couldn't stop smiling. "They'll never know. I'm protecting you, remember? Anyway, it was the same for me. Kevin made me do it."

"We're simply victims of peer pressure."

"Yeah. But you fit in way better than I do."

"Brother Mitch Grassi, did you just call me an idiot?"