Staying Human

Chapter 6: Losing It

Chapter 6: Losing It 

 Mitch slammed on the breaks and the car came to a screeching halt in the driveway of their home. Without even taking the keys out of the ignition he opened the door and slammed it shut stomping up the walk to the front door. "Mitch! Babe wait! Please!" Scott yelled running after him and grabbing his arm just as he reached the door. Mitch stopped and stared at the ground trying to compose himself before completely freaking out on Scott. He was so tired of the secrets, the lies... 

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Mitch yelled yanking his arm away from Scott and glaring up at him. He really didn't want to fight but for fucks sake this was the last straw for him.

 "I-I'm sorr....." 

"NO! Don't fucking say you're sorry!" Mitch cut him off and put his hand up in front of himself. Scott sighed and looked down. Mitch was right to be angry with him Scott knew it but he didn't know what to say to make it better. Mitch sighed and put his fingers to his temples. "Look I have tried so hard to be there for you...and help you any way that I can but you're making it pretty fucking hard for me to do that." 

"I know Mitch and...." 

"Just let me finish!" Mitch snapped and Scott clamped his mouth shut. "I have no idea what you've done in your past, how many people you've killed and I really don't care about all of that. I don't even really care too much about the fact that you left that Brett guy bleeding to get caught. What I care about is the fact that after everything we've been through...that whole time running, fighting and hiding you STILL can't be honest with me!" Mitch was fuming with anger. He'd been holding his tongue and just letting Scott be...well...Scott but now....all that suppressing was coming out. Scott wasn't sure what to say to that. Mitch was right, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what to say. Mitch was glaring at him waiting for him to respond but he couldn't. "Really? You have nothing to say? Nothing at all?" Scott shrugged his shoulders and Mitch scoffed. 

"I-I really don't know what to say...." He finally said softly. 

"How about the fucking truth about everything?? What is going on Scott? Who's Brett and what does he want from you?!" Mitch yelled throwing his arms up in frustration. Scott stared at the angry boy not knowing how to explain everything. "Really? Nothing?" Scott shrugged and looked down at the ground. Mitch shook his head and opened the door walking inside and leaving Scott standing on the porch. Scott sighed and reached into his jacket pocket pulling out the small box with Mitch's ring in it. This whole night was a stupid idea... "Uh Scott?" He was pulled from thought by Mitch's voice and he rushed inside thinking there was a problem. As he entered the living room he froze, shocked at the sight. 

"Hiya Scotty!" 

"Joey? What the hell are you doing here?" He asked more angry than he wanted it to sound. Joey Graceffa made a face at Scott's tone but quickly shook it off and smiled. 

"Nice to see you too Scott." 

"What Scott means is we didn't know you were coming." Mitch replied and threw Scott a glare. 

"I know, sorry to just drop in like this but I missed you guys!" He said cheerfully. "Is it a bad time?" Mitch and Scott exchanged looks and then Mitch smiled. 

"Of course it's not a bad time, it's just been a long night that's all." He said and walked over to Joey. He embraced him sending and hint of jealousy through Scott. Scott walked over to the boy and held out his hand, softening his face to look more friendly. He didn't hate Joey, but the kid just got on his nerves, and well...it really was a bad time for him to be here. Joey took Scott's hand and shook it as Scott smiled slightly.

 "Nice to see you again Joey, sorry I'm just tired. Rough night. How'd you get in here anyway?" He asked and Joey smiled. 

"Uh....I may or may not have picked the lock." Both Scott and Mitch raised an eyebrow at him. "What? I thought it'd be fun to be waiting in here when you got back!" He laughed. By the way, I heard Mitch yelling out there...not like I meant to but I mean you weren't being quiet or anything." He admitted. Scott sighed and rubbed his forehead. 

"It's not important. Everything's fine now." Mitch said quickly and Joey shrugged a little. 

"Well hey it's late, you guys can stay up or whatever but I'm just going to go to bed. I'll see you two tomorrow." Scott said earning another glare from Mitch. He walked out of the room and up the stairs before Mitch could say anything else to him. He hated himself enough without Mitch yelling at him more, besides he was exhausted from not sleeping very well...stupid dreams. After changing and brushing his teeth, he slumped into bed and turned out the light.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 "So....you and Scott....are you guys ok?" Joey asked hesitantly. Mitch sighed and sat on the couch. 

"Yeah we're fine." He mumbled and then frowned when he saw Joey's scowl. "What?" Joey rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. 

"Come one, that was a pretty big fight...I mean from what I heard. And everything's just fine?" He eyed Mitch suspiciously until Mitch finally shook his head. 

"No things aren't fine...." He finally admitted. 

"Tell me what's going on." Mitch was silent for a moment debating whether or not to tell him about Brett. He decided not to just yet. 

"It's just hard. Scott's so great, sweet and he takes care of me but..." He paused trying to find the right words. 

"But?" Joey pressed. 

"But he has so many secrets. And he can never seem to tell me the truth, like he hides things from me all the time. I guess he thinks he's protecting me but I just want him to be honest you know?" Mitch explained. Joey nodded and sighed. 

"That sounds rough. What do you think he's protecting you from?" Joey asked scooting closer to Mitch on the couch. 

"His past, the things he did back then." Mitch answered. Joey didn't know what to say exactly. He could sense that Mitch wasn't telling him everything but he wasn't going to ask for every detail. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be for Mitch to be with someone like Scott. I mean yes Scott was a good guy and he saved Joey's life but he did have a huge hidden past. "That's not all..." Joey raised an eyebrow at this and gestured for Mitch to continue. "He's been having nightmares, horrible nightmares and he won't tell me what they're about. He's completely exhausted from not sleeping well and I want to help but he won't let me." Mitch let out an exasperated sigh and crossed his arms. 

"I know it's not my place to give you advice here, I don't really know all the details but...whatever he did before he met you and these nightmares he's been having...maybe you don't really want to know? I mean they could be really awful." Joey pointed out. Mitch knew they were probably really awful but he still wanted to help. He didn't want Scott to go through this alone. 

"I get that they're probably really horrible, but that doesn't mean he should have to deal with it alone. He and I are in this together...at least I thought we were..." He mumbled. 

"Ok. Just...I know I don't know him that well but from what I gather he's not very good at opening up. He probably never learned so...don't be too hard on him." He suggested and placed his hand on Mitch's shoulder. Mitch smiled at Joey and realized how much he'd missed his friend. Joey was right, to an extent. Scott didn't know how to express his feelings, but he could at least try. They needed to come to an understanding somehow. 

"Thank you Joey, I'm glad you're here." He smiled and wrapped his arms around Joey who leaned into the embrace. 

"Anytime Mitchie."