Pledge

6. Exile

6. Exile

Mitch caught up with Scott in the library a few days later.

It was the beginning of Week 3, and Zach's words from rush weighed on his mind.

"Why are you worried? It's not like you're the one who will have to chug a handle of vodka while being paddled 'til you bleed," Zach interjected, laughing.

"That's not real," Kevin said, his voice hopeful.

"Oh, it's real, baby boy. Week 3, I heard."

Mitch sat down across from his twin, taking in his appearance. His hair was a bit dirty. Sleeping under a porch would do that, he supposed. And he looked like he might fall asleep right here.

But his eyes brightened when he saw who had sat across from him.

"Brother Mitch Grassi," he said with a smile.

Mitch loved how he said his name, even if he was simply teasing him by doing so.

"Glad you're alive."

"Barely," Scott joked, and returned to reading from a textbook.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Mitch asked.

"I think I have to say yes, even if I don't want to," Scott teased.

Those words sounded horrific out of context, Mitch noticed.

"When I left after the staff party. Was Jax nice to you?"

Scott's eyes softened. "Why?"

Mitch shrugged, unsure of how to explain his uneasiness.

"Did he hurt you when you were pledging or something?" Scott asked, his voice suddenly serious.

"What? No. No," Mitch held up his hands. "In fact, he wasn't even mean to me in front of everyone else. He's acting differently with you and I don't like it. That's all."

Relief flashed across Scott's face and the smirk returned. "Ah, lucky me, then."

"Kirstie told me that he makes you uncomfortable."

Scott groaned. "She shouldn't have told you that."

"I'm glad that she did."

Scott sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Jax was fine. Very nice, actually."

This surprised him. "What did he say?"

"He apologized for yelling at me in front of everyone. And for letting Brad hit my head against the wall. He asked if I was okay, checked the back of my head. Then he gave me some advice that you've already given me, though he used some slightly different verbiage."

Mitch raised an eyebrow.

"He said that I should stop being such a 'dick' to the brothers," Scott said, putting air quotes around the word.

"Dick?" Mitch asked. "That's how he thinks you're acting?"

"I can see it. I told him that I'm sort of... dissociating. I'm sure it looks like I don't care. And every answer I give when they ask me a question sounds like I'm making a joke, but I swear I'm not." Scott put his head in his hands for a moment. "It's not my fault I'm this awkward when people scare me," he finished with a laugh. "I tried to explain that to him."

Mitch's heart panged for him. "What did he say to that?"

"Surprisingly, he like... held me?" Scott replied with another small laugh, like he couldn't believe it. "Said he was sorry that they're scaring me. Said that I'll be amazed by how close it brings me to my pledge class, and to them. To him." He shrugged. "Sounds like a crock of shit to me, but hey, I've wasted two weeks on this, might as well see it through."